Digvijaya's Double Jeopardy

Trouble is brewing for AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh. After Goa, where the Congress failed to form the government despite a bigger tally than the BJP, Singh faces dissent in another state he is in charge of. The party's Telangana unit is peeved over reports that Singh sounded out state leaders on making Anumula Revanth Reddy, the TDP's working president in Telangana, the Congress's face for the 2019 assembly elections. Party workers are now gunning for Singh's head. Courting Trouble?

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Kerala is all eyes and ears as the state's high court hears the SNC-Lavalin corruption case, in which Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan won an acquittal from a CBI special court in 2013. Unless the high court upholds the acquittal, Vijayan will have to step down. Even if top legal eagle Harish Salve, who has been hired to defend the CM, finds all the right answers in court, the ruling LDF cannot duck this Opposition query-just who's paying Salve's fees?

Raje's Dinner Date

Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje was so delighted with the state's 2017 budget, presented on March 8, that she promised to take principal secretary (finance) P.S. Mehra out for dinner. Raje also described finance secretaries Praveen Gupta and Naveen Mahajan as 'beauties'. For a change, officials need not curry favour with a CM.

Chair Man

When Rabri Devi had suggested that her son, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, was chief minister material, Lalu Yadav's younger son said the top job belongs to Nitish Kumar. But post-UP poll results, Tejashwi has once again suggested that the next PM will be a Bihari. JD-U leaders, who want Nitish to be the Opposition's PM candidate, wonder if Tejashwi wants Nitish to leave Bihar for him. Nitish is yet to comment.

Much Ado, Mayor

Kolkata mayor Sovon Chatterjee had prepared for the worst on March 17, stepping up security at his office and posting a doctor. The trigger was the Calcutta High Court order for a CBI probe into the 2016 Narada sting operation, in which top TMC leaders, including Chatterjee, were shown allegedly accepting bribes. Chatterjee emerged from his office only after his party decided to appeal against the verdict.

Candid Corruption

On March 19, at the launch of a book in Guwahati, the BJP's Jorhat MP, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, caused consternation by declaring that he did take bribes. All for public good though, he claimed-"to donate money for marriages and building temples". Tasa said the rural folk were a content lot but the 'suited booted' made high demands, so he took bribes to fulfill their demands. Is the PM listening?

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Courting Trouble

Kerala is all eyes and ears as the state's high court hears the SNC-Lavalin corruption case, in which Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan won an acquittal from a CBI special court in 2013. Unless the high court upholds the acquittal, Vijayan will have to step down. Even if top legal eagle Harish Salve, who has been hired to defend the CM, finds all the right answers in court, the ruling LDF cannot duck this Opposition query-just who's paying Salve's fees?

--- ENDS ---
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By Press Trust of India: Jammu, Mar 26 (PTI) Chairman of Anjuman Minhaj-e-Rasool, Moulana Syed Athar Hussain Dehlavi, today urged the Central government to bring a resolution reiterating 1994 Parliament declaration that PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan are part of India.

"The GoI should bring a resolution in this session of the Parliament and unanimously pass it reiterating its stand that Jammu and Kashmir is integral part of India, including PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan," he told reporters here.

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He said passing the resolution would foil the designs of Pakistan to make Gilgit-Baltistan its province.

Both Houses of the Parliament had unanimously adopted a resolution on February 22, 1994, emphasising that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India, and that Pakistan must vacate parts of the state under its occupation.

"It is time to pass the resolution of 1994 again and show our resolve on PoK Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir," he said.

The Cleric also strongly batted for declaring Pakistan a terrorist state by using the platform of the SAARC.

"Pak, which is the biggest launching pad of terrorism, should be declared as terrorist state. There is no need to hold talks with Pakistan," he said.

He accused Pakistan of instigating the youths in Kashmir to trigger violence in the Valley and disrupt the works of development. PTI AB TIR

--- ENDS ---
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Manish's family and the neighbours are alleging that it was the Nigerian residents in the society, who drugged him.

By Ilma Hasan: Candle march held by the family of 19-year-old Manish Khari, who died under mysterious circumstances on Saturday in Delhi-NCR's Greater Noida area, turned violent as protestors started smashing cars with sticks, today evening.

The march was led by Manish's family, who they alleged was poisoned by their Nigerian neighbours.

Manish with his family lived in NSG Black Cat Enclave, a housing society in Greater Noida. A class 12 student, he did not return home after he went for walk on Friday evening. However, when he did return, the parents found him to be disoriented. He complained of chest pain and palpitations and died next morning.

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Manish's family and the neighbours are alleging that it was the Nigerian residents in the society, who drugged him. The residents stormed into their house and even raided their fridge.

The Nigerian residents were arrested, after the parents filed a complaint, but were soon released and are now under protection for security reasons.

Residents on NSG Enclave on Monday staged a candle to Pari Chowk, led by Manish's father.

"I had seen Manish standing outside the Nigerians' house in a drugged state. Police isn't investigating the case, they let them go. Today would be Manish's 20th birthday," he said.

Also read

Why gangrape and death of one UP teenager never hit the headlines

--- ENDS ---
27.03.2017 LISTEN

Tee Rhyme after releasing "Tafo" which is still trending on all social media platforms, most of his fan were expecting another song from Tee Rhyme and he has finally dropped another hip hop song Tittled "Koomi" .On this Koomi  song, Tee Rhyme is alleged of making a mockery of Shatta Wale.

Tee Rhyme the stylish rapper released his Koomi song which features Amerado over the weekends, but the song is gaining new attention with some serious punchlines made by Tee Rhyme the stylish rapper .

According to fans of SM Movement,part of Tee Rhymes verse seems potentially aimed at Ghana's finest dancehall King,Shatta Wale.According to them,a few lines in particular suggest that Tee Rhyme is making a mockery of their King Shatta Wale.

In an exclusive new single, Tee Rhyme raps, 3ny3 obia n'ano so biaa na y3fr3 no Shatta wae. meaning "having a big mouth doesn't mean you are your own boss or a Shatta".

Fans on social media have started decoding this line describing it as a direct mockery to Shatta Wale.

Do you think Tee Rhyme the stylish Should have edited his line or he had the intention of mocking Shatta Wale ?

Well,we are still trying to figure out what exactly Tee Rhyme was trying to say with that verse in that line.
27.03.2017 LISTEN

Manner Records signee and Ghanaian Songstress Petrah serves us this brand new jam dubbed 'Odo'. On this one she featured Ghanaian Reggae/Dancehall Samini and Nigeria's Cynthia Morgan and was produced by Brainy Beatz. For the first time she is doing something in the local dialect. Enjoy!



Twitter : @Petrah0

Instagram: @Petrah0
Nana Ama McBrown having fun with SpreadLove Christian Morgan

27.03.2017 LISTEN

Kumawood film goddess Nana Ama Mcbrown who was a guest judge on Talented Kidz on Sunday has promised to award Christian Morgan after the competition, upon watching his overwhelming inspirational rendition of Bob Marleys 3 Little Birds which emerged him as a Star Performer for a second time.

He took home two boxes of indomie and twenty exercise books from sponsors of the show.

Morgan made the song his own by telling Ghanaians not to worry about The Dumsor, a part that got the audience cheering so hard. He further inspired them not to worry about his sight for every little thing is going to be alright.

Christian used his performance to encourage Lottie Oduro Green with whom  plus others  he came into the competition from the Western Region but was evicted in the previous week not to worry about her eviction.

SpreadLoves Christian Morgan kept challenging his audience not to be discouraged by any circumstances as his performance left no doubt in the minds of many that disability is really not inability.

His ability to jump around during his spectacular art brought the audience in a state of amazement.

A viewer after watching his previous performances from home, showed up on stage to give Morgan an award from her heart I am Mrs Favor from Budumburam, Winneba, I am a Liberian and after watching the programme, i loved him and he just touched my heart so i want to give something for them to continue the test.

The guest judge, Kumawood film goddess Nana Ama McBrown who was overwhelmed blessed Christian and promised to give him a present even if he doesnt win but expressed optimism that Christian is a winner.

If you dont win the competition, I shall personally award you!

Morgans rasta costume which added a touch of awesomeness to his art was sponsored by Asor Body Works.

He is currently the only contestant representing Western and Central Regions in show as he has survived four eviction weeks.

The 12 year old pupil of the Cape Coast School for the Deaf & Blind and beneficiary of SpreadLove Home & Abroad (NGO) is an epitome of greatness.
Joe Mettle

27.03.2017 LISTEN

Ghanas current biggest gospel music export, Joe Mettle has represented Ghana on the world stage at the Stellar Awards held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, USA. The Stellar Awards is the biggest celebration that recognizes and honors gospel music in the world.

Joe Mettle was named as an artist with an International Sound among artists from England, Trinidad, Japan, South Africa and France. The coverted International Sound Stage presented by Zoe Records, is a showcase of top gospel artists from around the world and gives the artists the Stellar Awards experience.

Joe Mettle was spotted on the red carpet in a stunning Ghana outfit and shoes all made by Ghanaian fashion entrepreneurs; making a statement not just for Ghanaian music but also pushing Ghana as a brand on the world stage. The 32nd annual edition of the Stellars was hosted by Erica Campbell and saw performances from Kirk Franklin, Travis Green, Fred Hammond Shirley Ceaser, Tamela Mann, and Jonathan Butler among many other big names.

Many Ghanaians have tipped him to win the Artiste of the year as well as the Gospel Artiste of the year awards at the Vodafone Ghana Music awards which comes off in a few weeks. In the history of the scheme, no gospel musician has ever won the top award but this year Joe Mettle stands a likely chance to make history.

Joe has recently revealed that he will release a new single ahead of the Easter celebrations. The song, Wadi Nkunim speaks of Christs victory on the cross and what it means to humanity and the Christian walk.
Jullie Jay-Kanz

27.03.2017 LISTEN

The management of incarcerated Jamaican super star Shawn Storm ,Kims Media House and Kwashawna Records has signed a partnership deal with top Ghanaian female reggae/dancehall blogger Jullie Jay-Kanz.

According to the record label's manager Kimberley Campbell who contacted Jullie through her mail for the deal, the award winning Ghanaian blogger will work with the label as their official publicist and representative in Africa as they also represent her in Jamaica.

The news was broke to the media by Kimberly through their social media accounts on Saturday evening as confirmed by Jullie Jay-Kanz via a Facebook post she made.

She wrote: "Shawn Storm's management (Kim Media House /Kwashawna Records Jamaica) Will Be One Of My Clients With Effect From 26 March, 2017. I Will Be Working as their official publicist and Representative in Africa."

Talking in an interview in Jamaica, Kim stated that, She appreciates the good works of the Ghanaian female reggae/dancehall blogger and named her as one of the best when it comes to the worldwide reggae/dancehall blogging and promotion and that was the reason why she contacted her for the partnership.

"I Was really impressed with her page and good works. I have been trying to get a writer in Ghana to work with since working with Shattawale but no luck. But thank God I eventually found her."

Kimberly Campbell also manages Ghanaian dancehall superstar Shattawale as his agent in Jamaica and Jamaican female reggae musician Range.
Award-winning radio presenter Kwamena Idan is gearing up to celebrate 10 years on radio.

He revealed in an interview with BEATWAVES that the celebration will be climaxed with a mega gospel concert dubbed 'Kwamena Idan 10th Anniversary With Adom FM' on Sunday, April 2 at the Royalhouse Chapel, Ahenfie.

Kwamena Idan in chat with BEATWAVES mentioned that some of the gospel artistes billed to perform at the free event are Willie & Mike, Obaapa Christy, Bro. Sammy, Joyce Blessing, OJ, Minister Kofy, Oheneba Clement, Francis Amo, Apostle Oko Hackman and many others. The anniversary musical concert, he said, has Bishop James Saah as the special guest of honour.

In addition to the gospel concert, Kwamena Idan will also host a cocktail party for his showbiz friends and fans within the capital at a venue yet to be announced.

The host of Adom Live Worship expressed his gratitude to his listeners for their immense contribution towards the success of Adom Live Worship, adding, Without their support, I couldn't have come this far.

He pointed out that he would continue to use his programme to educate listeners about the teachings of Christ and also bring others closer to God.

The presenter revealed that before his mega concert, he will make some donation to some selected needy institutions in the country as part of his social responsibility.

Kwamena Idan, with a number of awards, including the best radio gospel show host and DJ by the African Gospel Music Awards in UK in 2014 to his credit, began his radio career started in the late 90s at Radio Windy Bay on University of Education, Winneba campus, where he served as the programmes manager till 2003 before leaving to Mett FM, now Angel FM in Kumasi.

At Mett FM, the renowned radio presenter assumed the position of event manager from 2003 to 2005 when he said goodbye to the station.

He then joined Jet FM, now Light FM in Kumasi, as the drive time host and programmes manager.

Years on, Kwamena Idan left Jet FM to join Goodness FM in Takoradi. Two weeks after joining the Takoradi-based radio station, he said goodbye and travelled to Accra in 2007 to be part of Multimedia's Adom 106.3 FM.

Since 2007, Mr Idan has hosted several shows at the Kokomlemle-based radio station.

By George Clifford Owusu
27.03.2017 LISTEN

Dancehall artiste Stonebwoy has described his fellow musician, Jupitars interpretation of his song Migraine as a reflection of himself.

Jupitar in a couple of social media post insinuated that a line in Stonebwoys latest single, Migraine took a swipe at him.

According to Jupitar, his recent endorsement as the only true dancehall artistes by Music Producer and Programs director of Hitz FM, Mark Okraku Mantey may have sparked the jealousy that led to the release of what he termed as a diss track (Migraine) from Stonebwoy.

It all boils down to when Mark Okraku Mantey endorsed me the best dancehall artiste so maybe he also wants to prove a point. He is trying to prove a point but he should come boldly and do it, because is normal, it showbiz, he said.

Jupitar told Joy News MzGee he was disappointed his colleague Stonebwoy showed no sense of remorse after social media went frenzy over the import of the song, with fans of both artistes throwing jabs at each other.

Though Stonebwoys management via social media cautioned that the Jupiter mentioned in the song had nothing to do the artiste and rather refers to the planet, Jupiter, the dancehall act was not convinced or enthused hence released a song titled W.A.R within 24 hours to address the issue.

The funny thing is that his manager, Cedi has my number and he himself Stonebwoy has my number, it is ego. He went ahead posted the song and mentioned Jupiter thinking people will talk and I will just ignore and let it go? No, he stressed

At the end of the day, I also have fans and people are judging due to our type of work and I also need to maintain my title, maintain my joy and maintain my space, Jupitar, who insisted that Stonebwoy could have used any other planet but Jupiter, said.

However, Stonebwoy, who just returned from Jamaica, indicated in an interview with MzGee that Migraine was not directed at Jupitar or any other artiste.

He describes his colleagues reaction as unfortunate, adding that he cannot be held liable for the misconception.

He questioned why his colleague did not see his mention of the planet Jupiter in the Migraine track in a positive light?

That line can never be for Jupitar. When I write my song, I address issues and people take it their own way. Jupitar is showing how he has taken it and I cannot stop that.

"He knows deep down his heart that I am not referring to himFor anyone to see this differently it means that what they have in their mind, Stonebwoy opined.

He refuted Jupitars assertion that Marks endorsement instigated Migraine.

I do dancehall musician sometimes I do contemporary. I am versatile and Ghana knows that. I do not see any reason why I personally should be interested in seeing people in my space, not progress.

"If Mark applauds Jupitar, that is good for Jupitar, it is good for him to stand up on that (endorsement) and keep making moves but It doesnt mean I do not do dancehall that I think I do, Stonebwoy noted.

Asked if he had listened to Jupitars W.A.R track, Stonebwoy revealed he had made himself a promise never to.

Stonebwoy, who was born and breed in the Ashaiman Municipality, got back from Jamaica to see the street to his home in Ashaiman named after him.
By Press Trust of India: Hyderabad, Mar 27 (PTI) Clean energy player Greenko today announced raising USD 155 million in equity funding from an affiliate of GIC and an entity wholly-owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

GIC is investing USD 123.9 million and the ADIA subsidiary the remaining USD 31.1 million, a company release said here.

Definitive agreements have been signed with them in this regard, it added.

advertisement

With this transaction, GIC continues to be the majority shareholder of the city-based renewable energy company.

The funds will contribute to the continued growth of Greenkos platform through the development of new renewable energy projects, including recently acquired Solar Projects and low-risk expansions of existing wind farms, it said.

The transaction demonstrates Greenkos continued ability to attract long-term infrastructure capital and commitment from the existing shareholders on business, the release said.

Greenko is a owner and operator of renewable energy assets in India. The company has a utility scale portfolio of over 2,000 MW of wind, solar and small hydro assets. PTI VVK RSY

--- ENDS ---
Parliament's Appointments Committee will resume public hearing today, Monday at Parliament House to vet the final batch of President Akufo-Addo's ministerial and deputy ministerial nominees.

The vetting, which is expected to continue while the House is on recess, will scrutinize in all, four Ministers of State and fifty Deputy Ministers of State.

The four Ministers of State including Deputy Majority leader and Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, who has been nominated for Procurement, will appear before the Committee today.

Educationist, Professor Kwesi Yankah, designated for tertiary education, Dr. Nura Gyeile for the Agriculture Ministry, and Brian Acheampong, Minister of State designate at the office of the President, will all be vetted today.

Parliament approves Deputy Regional Ministers

Parliament last week approved the 10 Deputy Regional Ministers appointed by the President.

This was after their screening by the Appointments Committee.

They were approved by consensus.

110 ministers

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has so far named a total of 110 ministers with 50 of them being deputy ministers.

The number of ministers was met with an uproar from a section of Ghanaians who believe the ministers were too many for the small Ghanaian economy.



By: Sixtus Don Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Upper East Regional Director of Health services Dr. Kofi Issah has adviced the Ghanaians particularly those in the region to take enough fluids and avoid overcrowding to prevent being infected with Cerebrum Spinal Meningitis (CSM).

In an interview with Citi News in Bolgatanga, Dr. Issah debunked reports that, two students in Bawku died from Cerebrum spinal meningitis (CSM).

He said, One died at home and One died at the hospital. With the one who died at the hospital when we conducted preliminary test it showed that, he died from one of the meningitis organisms which the sample has been sent to Tamale for a confirmatory test.

But the one who died in the house people will use the symptoms to tell the cause of death so if hes been buried then it end there otherwise we have to take substance from him to test in order to ascertain the cause of death.

He stated that, the Bawku hospital has recorded about Thirty One(31) suspected CSM cases from January to 25th March 2017.

Dr. Issah has admonished residents of the Upper East Region to take a lot of fluids, avoid overcrowding and sleep in well ventilated rooms to prevent further transmission of the disease.

The Upper East Region lies in the Meningitis belt, it means that every year you should expect cases of meningitis. That is why we(health personnel) will advice that, people should cover the mouth and nose when sneezing into a crowd and all public places should be well ventilated.

The weather too is dried so people should drink a lot of fluids(water) and organic fruits to keep the throat wet because of the dust during this time when you dont take enough fluids, the throat get dried which then leads to cracks within the throat and when one coughs, the meningitis organism is released and transmitted Dr. Issah stated.

Dr. Issah hinted that, the Navrongo and Bawku health directorates will soon engage the Navrongo and Bawku prison officers and prisoners on alternative ways to improve ventilation and best health practices during the meningitis season to avert any epidemic.

we can only mitigate the effects of CSM until such a time that, as a society we decide to change our form of housing, modify our social and cultural gatherings knowing how the meningitis organisms spreads.



By: Frederick Awuni/Citifmonline.com/Ghana
In 1969 when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon he proclaimed those two footprints to be one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. On March 18, 2017 fifteen budding Ghanaian business and social entrepreneurs living abroad (largely in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey) gathered on the 9th Floor of the Museum of Art & Design for brunch. That was the beginning of a unique experience of discovering and supporting each other; and thinking through engagement with mother Ghana. The 13 men and two ladies believed they were taking one giant leap for themselves and for Ghana. The event was organized by the effervescent Mr. Charles Nimmo Ntiamoah-Mensah well known as Mr. CNN under the banner of his 3G Media, Inc. The author served as the moderator and the event was graced by the hardworking and economic-minded Ghanas General Consul based in New York City- Mr. Bernard Quantson.

The discussions were animated and a sense of connecting with like-minded Ghanaians Living Abroad (GLAs) to excel in business and social enterprise to benefit self, community, and Ghana was palpable. The 15-cold weather braving souls believe that if they stay connected and share ideas, the moon will indeed be reached and Ghana will benefit immensely. Dreams cost nothing, actions to realize them cost blood, sweat and tears. They are willing to sacrifice, and call on others to join them. The next meeting will be announced for May 2017 and will be held at the Ghana Mission in NYC. The picture portrays the attendance: From left to right- standing - Kofi Koranteng, Kofi Karikari, Kwasi Twum Ampofo, Kwabena Fosu Oware, Fred Kojo Kyeremeh, Hon. Bernard Quantson, King Ohenew Asumaning, Kwadwo Adu Ameyaw, Dr. Owusu Kizito, Daniel Affum-Darkwah, Bernard Aduse Poku; and seated from left to right - Charles Nimmo Ntiamoah- Mensah, Mary Margaret Edusei, Dr. Kofi A. Boateng, and Gloria Arthur.

The group wasted no time and worked on crafting a statement of mission/purpose. Evoking the example of the immense multi-faceted support of Jewish Americans to the State of Israel, the group evolved a working draft that states: To offer mutual support for success and promote the socio-economic development of Ghana through the marshalling of human, financial, and material capital; led by Ghanaian business and social entrepreneurs living abroad.

Here is a sampling of the budding business and social entrepreneurs:

Improving Conditions for Orphans and Patients: Daniel Affum-Darkwah leads TADMI, Inc, a NJ based nonprofit organization that has been collecting material to support orphanages and hospitals in Ghana since 2012. Himself a lab technician with connections to major hospitals, Daniel has been able to make TADMI the go to organization to pick up almost new and refurbished hospital supplies. The problem of others in Ghana selling his donated items and the burdens of clearing customs are his persistent headaches. TADMI plans its 4th Annual Fund Raising Gala on April 22, 2017 (www.tadmi.org). A Ghanaian Engineered Quality Cell Phone: Kwasi Twum Ampofo recently took delivery of the first consignment of his self-designed KTA dual SIM cell phones. The KTA phones are comparable in many features to the best of Apple and Samsung but priced hundreds below at $149.99 (www.ktamobileusa.com). Pooling Investment Funds from GLAs: Kofi Koranteng, leading Highlife Management LLC, has succeeded in getting Ghanaians to pool funds at a minimum rate of $5,000 for investments with nearly 60 participants paid up. This is an example of one giant leap in getting GLAs to contribute beyond funerals and outdooring (917-292-1067). Documenting and Sharing GLA Stories Online  Watch out Ghanaweb! Here comes Ghanaian American Journal published by Fred Kojo Kyeremeh of Connecticut. Its mission is to focus on the many accomplishments of GLAs; and track their challenges, contributions to mother and host countries, and serve as a vehicle for connections (www.gareport.com). GGs Kitchen -The Tastiest Catering: Based in Yonkers, NY, Gloria Arthur has built a reputation for offering the most original and tastiest morsels that can grace tables and make palates love their hosts at any event. Call 914-471-7656. A Real Estate Deal Maker: Mary Edusei has been selling real estate for 14 years and has three offices in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Valley Stream. If you are ready to buy or sell, Mary is ready to serve you with her army of courteous agents. Call MayJay Property Management, Inc at 917-686-5108 Making YOU Money: Dr. Owusu Kizito as head of InvestiGroup is at the concluding stages of his efforts to raise $3 million with 80% committed to building infrastructure in Ghana. He plans to expand his financial management activities to China. In the meantime, if you need business plans, tax, and management counseling reach out to 908-977-7320- (www.fundinginvestigroup.com). Engineering to Soccer Scholarships: King Ohenew Asumaning is the man behind the Denkyem  Give to Ghana logo. His day job is an engineer with General Electric but his passion is scouting soccer talents from Ghana to gain scholarship admissions to U.S. universities. To date Denkyem has placed 400 youth in schools (www.denkyem.org). Mr. African Fashion: More popularly known for his fashion label  KWABS COUTURE- Kwabena Fosu Oware an MRI Specialist at the Hospital of Special Surgery in NYC by day, believes in showing off African fabrics and is fully invested in making a name for himself as an avant-garde designer to be reckoned with. Building the Largest Media House: That is the dream of Kwadwo Adu Ameyaw of NJ. He wants to gather, feed content, and distribute online, TV, and Radio (www.themonteoz.com).

A common refrain from the exchanges was that GLAs generally do not support each other. For example, more than 90% of KWABS customers are foreigners. Hon Quantson praised the group for daring to go beyond culture and funerals to think, and do business since that is the key to Ghanas long-term development. There are rising opportunities in Ghana that will materialize for GLAs who learn to trust and work together, he added. The attendees on their part bemoaned their countrys visiting officials sidelining them in their rush to court foreign investors when they fail to realize that though not individually wealthy yet, by their reputation and work connections, GLAs are best situated to attract foreign investors to Ghana just as George Owusu and partner attracted Kosmos to successfully drill for oil in Ghana in recent memory.

They live here. They work here. They know the terrain here. Why skip them? Jewish Americans direct where their visiting leaders should go, why do Ghanas leaders ignore that well-proven track? But first, budding GLA business and social entrepreneurs must know, work, and support each other. Look out for the May meeting.

[email protected]
The elders of the Tema stool have called on President Akufo Addo and the Local Government Ministry to ensure that they appoint a Ga indegene as the Municipal Chief Executive for the Tema Metropolitan Assembly.

According to them, the Tema stool will not accord the needed courtesy to any non-Ga indegene who is appointed for the job.

Addressing the media at the Tema Traditional Council, the Tema Traditional stool Secretary, Nii Amarh Somponu II noted that though Tema has become cosmopolitan over the years its identity has always been the same and nothing has changed.

He said the New Patriotic Party government over the years appointed a Ga indigene as the MCE of Tema and that the Tema stool believes the administration of President Akufo Addo will not do otherwise.

Nii Somponu II noted that  from Ada to Accra it is only Tema that is facing challenges in the appointment of a non Ga indegene as its MCE.

He said soon after the inauguration of our President, a meeting was held with all three Members of Parliament in Tema together with the Regional Chairman of the NPP and at the core of the discussion was the issue of whom we want as the Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tema so we are surprised things are likely to have a different twist.

He added that though a meeting was held with all three MPs over the subject matter, it looks like the actions of the same three MPs are rather putting road blocks on who should be elected as our MCE.

Nii Somponu II intimated that should a non Ga indegene be appointed as MCE, the Tema stool will fight back in equal measure to express their discontent.

Meanwhile some youth within the Metropolis have mentioned one Benjamin Ashitey as their preferred choice for the position of MCE and are appealing to the authorities to give him the nod to govern Tema.

According to them though Mr Ashitey is relatively youthful, he has contributed a lot to the benefit of the party at both constituency and regional levelsand must be allowed to bring his expertise on board in Tema.

We don't want non Ga-Dangme as Ashaiman MCE

The agitations by the Tema stool comes on the back of a similar request by a group known as the Ga-Dangme Movement in Ashaiman who had cautioned against any attempts by government to appoint a non Ga-Dangme as the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the area.



By: Elvis Washington/citifmonline.com/Ghana
27.03.2017 LISTEN

Two police officers have appeared before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly robbing a student at gunpoint of GH11,000.

The money was withdrawn from a bank by Christopher Haga who had been sent by his elder brother.

General lance Corporal Isaac Amejor and Constable Samuel Asamoah were charged alongside Crosby Ofori Danso who is unemployed.

They both pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit a crime to wit robbery and robbery before the court presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh which remanded them into police custody.

Prosecuting Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mawuenyo Nanegbe told the court that Mr Amejor and MrAsamoah, police officers at the Rapid Deployment Force headquarters and Kasoa respectively on March 19, this year, accosted the complainant who was sent to withdraw cash at Global Access bank at Abeka Lapaz.

After withdrawing the money, Mr Haga was waiting for a taxi home when the accused persons attacked him.

Mr Amejor who was in police uniform and armed with AK 47 rifle together with Mr Asamoah and Mr Danso pushed the complainant into a waiting taxi and sped off to Nyaho Clinic at Dworwulu.

DSP Nanegbe said the accused persons informed the complainant that they have information that the money he withdrew from the bank was stolen money as such he was needed at the Police Headquarters for questioning.

According to the prosecutor, the complainant disagreed with accused persons and denied any wrongdoing, but the accused insisted the bank transaction was fraudulent.

Mr Haga, however, agreed to follow the accused persons to the police headquarter but pleaded with them to allow him to communicate with his brother who sent him.

The prosecutor said the accused persons declined and drove the taxi to the Ghana International Trade Fair Site and at a gun point threatened to kill him if he dared them.

The accused then took the money from the complainant and pushed him out of the taxi and sped off. When the complainant informed his brother about the incident he advised him to return home.

However, on his way back, the complainant spotted Mr Amejor on duty at Prudential Bank at the Bawleshie branch and informed his brother who mobilised to get Mr Amejor arrested.

When Mr Amejor was searched, GH2,000 was retrieved from him. He then led the police to arrest Mr Danso who also refunded his share of the booty of GH4,056.

DSP Nanegbe said Mr Asamoah who was then on interdiction was arrested by the Kasoa police.

The accused persons admitted to police that they took the money from the complainant.

They are to reappear on April 7.
Parliament will on Monday consider for approval a bill that will allow the government to redirect money from various statutory funds to the Finance Ministry for the financing of government priority projects.

The GETFund, NHIS fund, District Assembly Common Fund, among others will be affected by the bill passes into law.

A cap will also be placed on spending of internally generated funds by various MMDAs for the remainder to be sent to the Finance Ministry.

The Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament is likely to oppose the bill.

Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Ato Forson, says the Earmarked Funds-Capping and Realignment Bill (2017) will have dangerous consequences on the countrys economy.

"If care is not taken we are going to a see a new scenario where the banks are saying a lot of government contractors not getting paid and therefore they, [contractors] are not servicing their debt," he said.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, who laid the bill before Parliament argues that the bill is part of the current governments desire to address the rigidities and imbalance in public expenditure adding that if not passed into law, it ramification on revenue is a clear indication that the rationalisation of statutory funding in annual budgets has the tendency of affecting governments financial plan.

But Minority Members in Parliament who argued to the contrary noted that the bill if passed into law will channel usage the internally generated funds state own enterprises to the sole prerogative of the Finance Ministry, hence dwindling the resource available for the government agencies to run effectively.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
National Security operatives have swung into action to retrieve the V8 Toyota Land Cruiser in possession of popular movie actor John Dumelo.

The operatives caught the actor, who was part of the failed campaign to get John Mahama elected for a second time as president, with a vehicle belonging to the state, and retrieved one of them from a spraying shop at Abelemkpe, Accra, recently.

The second V8, ash in colour, which John Dumelo allegedly claimed was in possession of his girlfriend, is currently being pursued by the operatives, DAILY GUIDE learnt at the weekend.

Total Denial

When news broke that one of the two V8 Toyota Land Cruisers classified as missing from the pool of state vehicles had been retrieved from John Dumelo at an auto mechanic's shop, he allegedly took to Facebook, a social media platform, to rubbish the publication, claiming that he bought the vehicle impounded by the state.

He posted, I have not granted any interview both private or public to which I mentioned the name of the first lady for buying me a V8, although DAILY GUIDE insists that it contacted him on Thursday via telephone and he said, I wouldn't like to comment about it.

He continued, I bought the vehicle myself; I never said it anywhere that Madam Lordina bought it for me. I have in my entire NDC life met her Excellency only once at a public event. Treat any publication that tries to link my purchase of a V8 to the former first lady as trash.

Cynical Reaction

Did I work at the flagstaff house or hold any political appointment that entitled me to a state car? And Im sure some people within the NDC are rejoicing because of this false news, he reacted cynically before signing off with Keep rejoicing

The vehicle retrieved at the spraying shop, with chassis number JTMHVOJ2F4159829, 2015 model with full option, had been dismantled and was going through re-modeling, including re-spraying  with parts allegedly imported from Dubai.

When the operatives invited him to the garage, he reportedly panicked before surrendering the expensive vehicle without any protest. The car was subsequently driven to the Office of the President Annex, close to the State House.

Tip-off

The operatives, upon a tip-off, swooped on the garage a couple of weeks ago and got hold of the auto mechanic who told them that the vehicle belonged to John Dumelo.

He was then telephoned to come to the garage and upon arrival, Dumelo reportedly said initially that he bought the V8 from a car dealer  Svani Company Limited  and claimed he was yet to complete the payment.

The operatives then keyed the chassis number into a centralized computer system but the results showed that the vehicle was registered in the name of the National Security Secretariat, which is a property of the Government of Ghana.

Sensing he was getting into trouble, he's reported to have quickly changed his story, claiming that it was the former first lady, Lordina Mahama, who had given the V8 to him.

The security operatives immediately decided to cross-check from the former first lady to ascertain the facts but the actor (Dumelo) reportedly pleaded with them to stop and just take the vehicle away.

The operatives' checks at Svani Motors along the Spintex Road indicated that the company imported the vehicle for the National Security Council Secretariat and that it (company) is one of the several auto dealers used by the government to import vehicles for the state.

Free Cars

DAILY GUIDE sources say John Dumelo got two V8s from the erstwhile NDC government, with his girlfriend driving one of them.

When he was asked to direct the operatives to the whereabouts of the other vehicle, he allegedly pleaded with them to allow him to travel to London and come back to produce it, saying by then the girlfriend would have returned from a trip she had made with the ash V8 Land Cruiser.

As at press time yesterday, the second vehicle had not been returned but Dumelo is claiming that he purchased the seized vehicle registered GE 8118 16.

By William Yaw Owusu
The Mayor (middle) addressing the media while the minister (left) and officials of NADMO and AMA look on

THE MAYOR of Accra, Mohammed Adjei Sowah has laid out his plans for addressing the perennial flooding within the metropolis, with a call on residents to desist from the act of dumping refuge into drains.

According to Mr. Adjei Sowah, residents of Accra should expect less flooding this year as the raining season sets in gradually, due to some major emergency dredging projects currently ongoing in some flood-prone areas of the city.

Mr. Adjei Sowah was addressing journalists when he embarked on an inspection tour of some drainage systems within the metropolis on Friday in the company of the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Ishmael Ashietey and some executives of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) as well as the National Disaster Management Organization.

A total of four drainage systems located at Kaneshie sub-metro, Sukura within the Ablekuma Central constituency, Osu, where dredging works are being carried out by Dredge Masters, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies, were inspected.

Dredge Masters was contracted recently by government to carry out emergency dredging of some drains in Accra.

Operations Manager of Dredge Masters, Sena Adiepena told DAILY GUIDE that a total of 22 drains are expected to be desilted within a period of about two months by Dredge Masters to prevent the recurrence of flooding as the raining season sets in.

The Mayor indicated that Once the desilting is going on we may have less floods but Ghanaians also should assure us that they will stop dumping refuge in the drains, they will also cover the sand in their communities so it will not run into the drains. So it's a win-win situation. Once you help we'll also help you, he said.

In future, AMA will ensure the construction of proper drains that will be able to absorb the water that is generated in Accra in order to address the flood situation, according to him.

He disclosed that as part of my plans at the AMA, the Assembly is to consider alternative use of waste because oftentimes if the refuse collectors are unable to collect the waste, people then dump them into the drains.

Once we make waste to be something that generates cash also for individuals back home, I am sure that people will stop dumping them into the drains,

Commenting on the tour, the regional minister stated: It is a good exercise. This is exposing to us a lot of flaws in the drainage systems in the city. I believe when we get back, we will start talking to the AMA and other relevant authorities on how to look at these things once again.

BY Melvin Tarlue
President Akufo-Addo presenting The Most Disciplined Award to Abdulai Ubaida Napari

President Akufo-Addo could not hide his soft spot for the girl-child education when he went to the Krobo Girls' Senior High School in the Eastern Region over the weekend to defend girls' education.

The occasion was the 90 years' anniversary of the establishment of the school.

He could not but yield to an appeal by the students and the headmistress of the school, Cecilia Obenewaa Appiah, for government to come to their aid for the construction of an 18-unit classroom block.

Decision

Minutes into his speech, the president asked the Minister of Education, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, to see to the building of the 18-unit classroom block the headmistress is seeking to a spontaneous applause from management, students and past students of the school.

He quoted the legendary Dr Kwegyir Aggrey's famous statement which says, If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a girl, you educate a nation to back his conviction.

President Akufo-Addo was of the firm conviction that If we are to transform the lives of our people, if we are to transform our economy from a raw material producing and an exporting one to value added one, we need a literate population andtherefore, achieving excellence in girls' education is a must if we are to shed the evils of poverty, ignorance and disease and put our country on a path of progress and prosperity.

Justification

According to him, Several studies across the world have indicated that investing in girls' education is arguably the most effective measure any developing nation can employ to improve its standard of living.

It is also widely acknowledged that educating girls, produces considerable social and welfare benefits such as lower infant mortality and fertility rates; again research has found out that a mother's level of education has a direct influence on economic productivity of both the family and the nation.

He quoted Ghanaian-born former United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Anan, who said at the World Economic Forum in 2000 that No development strategy is better than the one that involves women as central players; it has immediate benefit for nutrition, health, savings and re-investment at the family, community and ultimately at country level. In other words, educating girls is a social policy that works; it is a long-term investment that yields an exceptionally high return. We need those with power to change things to come together in an alliance for girls' education; governments, voluntary progressive groups and above all, local communities, schools and families.

Also present were Minister for Women, Gender and Social Protection, Otiko Afisa Djaba; Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Gloria Akuffo  who is an alumni of the school; the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Reverend Cephas Hormenyo; Gladys Norley Ashitey, former MP for Ledzokoku and Deputy Minister of Health who is also an old student.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent
Parliament will be doing a number of businesses this week before it rises by the end of the week as it vets nominees for ministerial and deputy ministerial positions and at the same time consider budgetary estimates for the ministries, departments and agencies.

Vetting of the extra four ministers of state-designate and 50 deputy ministers-designate will begin today with the appearance of Sarah Adwoa Safo (MP for Dome/Kwabenya) before the Appointments Committee as Minister of State-designate at the Office of the President in-charge of Public Procurement; Bryan Acheampong (MP for Abetifi), Minister of State-designate at the Office of the President; Prof Kwesi Yankah, Minister of State-designate at the Ministry of Education in-charge of Tertiary Education and Dr Nura Gyeile, Minister of State-designate at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

The deputy ministers-designate will start appearing before the Committee tomorrow and those who will be involved are Kwaku Kwarteng (MP for Obuasi West), Finance; Abena Osei-Asare (MP for Atiwa East), Finance; Charles Adu Boahen, Finance: Joseph Cudjoe (MP for Effia), Energy and Dr Mohammed Amin Anta, Energy.

On Wednesday, March 29, the following deputy ministers-designate will be vetted: William Owuraku Aidoo (MP for Afigya Kwabre South), Energy; Joseph Dinkiok Kpemka (MP for Tempane), Attorney-General; Godfred Dame, Attorney-General; Kwabena Owusu-Aduomi (MP for Ejisu), Roads and Highways and Patricia Appiagyei (MP for Asokwa), Environment, Science, Technology and Innovations..

On Thursday, March 30, O.B. Amoah (MP for Akwapim South), will appear as deputy minister-designate for Local Government and Rural Development; Nii Kwartei Titus Glover (MP for Tema East), Transport; Barbara Asher Ayisi (MP for Cape Coast North) Education; Anthony Karbo (MP for Lawra), Roads and Highways and Michael Gyato (MP for Krachi East), Water Resources and Sanitation.

The vetting will then be suspended as the House takes a break till the first week in May.

During sitting on Friday, March 24, a number of estimates for the ministries were considered and approved by the House. Prominent among them were the Ministry of Interior which was allocated a budget of GH1.57 billion for the 2017 fiscal year as against GH1.46 billion approved for 2016 by the immediate-past government. The Ministry of Defence was allocated GH821.7 million for 2017 as against GH887.1 million approved for the same ministry in 2016 by the last government. The Ministry of Energy was allocated GH887.7 million for 2017 as against GH1.1 billion in 2016.

The Ministry of Roads and Transport was given an amount of GH871.for 2017 as against GH624.6 million, which eventually ballooned to GH843 million at the end of the 2016 fiscal year.

Out of the amount allocated to the Ministry of Roads and Transport, GH408.8 million would be used for management and administration, GH300.2 million for the construction of roads and bridges, GH151.7 million for road rehabilitation and maintenance and GH10.5 million for road safety and environment.

Members of Parliament argued that the Ministry of Roads and Highways is very crucial because of the number of bad roads in the country and urged the government to find more money for it to rehabilitate them.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member for Manhyia North, Collins Owusu-Amankwah, praised President Akufo-Addo for realising the importance of the road sector to the socio-economic development of the country by topping up the budget of the Ministry for 2017, but said looking at the huge task and demand in the road sector, the money allocated to the ministry could still be inadequate.

A number of budgetary estimates for some key sectors such as the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Food and Agriculture are yet to be considered and approved by parliament.

By Thomas Fosu Jnr
By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, Mar 27 (PTI) The Bombay High Court today asked the Greater Mumbai civic body to hand over a plot of land here to the Indian Meteorological Department by the month end to build another weather station with Doppler radar system.

A bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur also asked the IMD to install Doppler radar system after getting the land in suburbs and ensure that it starts functioning as soon as possible.

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The bench gave its directions to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbail while hearing a public interest plea concerning the heavy rains which had brought Mumbai to a halt in June 2015.

The plea by advocate Atal Bihari Dubey, while detailing the vagaries of monsoon, has sought the courts intervention for mitigating effects of the clement weather on Mumbaikars lives.

While there is one Doppler radar system at Colaba weather station in South Mumbai, a state government panel had recommended for setting up another system in the suburbs.

The Doppler radar system monitors weather conditions and issues warnings particularly during monsoons.

In his plea, Advocate Dubey said barely one system is not sufficient for the megapolis and there is a need to install another in the suburbs.

The IMD had identified three sites to build the weather station to install the system, but the civic body has not yet given it the land.

The high court had in the past come down heavily on the corporation for dragging its feet on the matter and directed the civic body to ensure that all efforts are taken to grant approval for the site.

The MCGM and the IMD have already written letters to the Maharashtra government urging that it should waive off the charges needed to be paid for the plot of land procured for installing the Doppler Radar system in suburban Mumbai.

The state government is yet to take a decision on the issue. PTI SVS NRB RAX RYS

--- ENDS ---


The police in the Ashanti Regional have grabbed one Kwadwo Bamba, 37, who is believed to have played a role in physically attacking the Ashanti Regional Security Liaison Officer, George Adjei, on Friday.

The police also have the names of men who reportedly took part in that dastardly act, and are working assiduously to arrest them to assist in investigations.

The suspect, who is the organizer of the Delta Force, is currently in custody assisting in investigation.

It will therefore be in their own interest to turn themselves in, as the command will do everything possible to apprehend them.

This was contained in a press release, authored and signed by Chief Inspector Godwin Ahianyo, Deputy Ashanti Regional Police PRO.

The police, however, did not state whether Bamba had been officially charged.

Assault

A group of stoutly-built men, who claim to be part of Delta Force, said to be a vigilante group for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), last week allegedly stormed the office of Mr. Adjei, at the Regional Coordinating Council, attacked and dragged him along.

They claim Mr. Adjei is an 'outsider' (not an Ashanti) and so he could not promote the interest of the Delta Force, who claim to have played crucial roles in helping the NPP to secure victory during the 2016 presidential election.

The paper gathered that the Delta Force is rooting for one Mohammed, who is a leading member of the vigilante group, to be appointed as regional security coordinator so that he can serve its interest.

Police

Chief Inspector Ahianyo deplored the attack on the security coordinator in his office, sternly warning that the police would not tolerate such level of indiscipline.

He stated that any person or group of people who want to cause trouble in the region should quickly abandon the diabolic plan because the police are combat ready to meet them boot-for-boot.

From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi


An eight-member delegation from Japanese Embassy and JICA headquarters in Japan has paid a courtesy call on Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance at his office in Accra.

The team, led by Kaoru Yoshimura, Ambassador of Japan to Ghana, included Kazuhiko Koshikawa, Executive Senior Vice President, JICA-Tokyo and Noriaki Sadamoto, First Secretary, Japan Embassy.

Receiving the delegation, the Minister expressed gratitude to Japan for the decades of cooperation with Ghana in the various sectors of the economy.

Mr. Ofori-Atta said the government was committed to stabilizing the macro economy, strengthening revenue collection and ensuring value for money in government contracts.

He said government was also implementing measures to re-profile the country's debt, adding that all these measures were aimed at freeing fiscal space for growth and jobs.

Hon Minister took the opportunity to invite investors from Japan to take advantage of the peace and security in the country and partner government to make Accra, the Dubai in Africa, i.e. a conference and business destination.

He expressed appreciation to JICA for its support in various sectors of the economy over the years, adding that Ghana looks forward to a sustainable and effective cooperation between the two countries to accelerate her development.

Mr. Koshikawa reiterated the commitment of Japan to assisting Ghana through Technical Cooperation Projects; Technical Cooperation for Development Planning; Country-focused Training; JICA Partnership Programs, Grant Aid and Loan Aid.

He said some of JICA projects, as of March 2017, involves the construction of a new bridge across the Volta River as part of the Eastern Corridor Project; strengthening Community based Health Services and focusing on the Life-Course Approach in the three Northern Regions.

Project for Enhancing Market Based Agriculture by Small Holderness and Private Sector Linkage in Kpong Irrigation Scheme and Project for construction of Advanced Research Center for Infectious Diseases at the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research are also part of the projects by JICA.

Mr. Koshikawa highlighted the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship Phase 2 and the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, where he added that approximately 80 Japanese volunteers were in the country, the highest in the world.

In attendance from MoF were Charles Adu-Boahen, Deputy Minister-designate; Abena Osei Asare, Deputy Minister-designate; Yvonne Quansah, Director, ERM-Bilateral and Ali Mohammed, Head, Japan, China, Korea Unit.

Other JICA officials included Koji Makina, Chief Representative, JICA-Ghana; Masanori Kurisu, Director, Africa Department; Akiko Komori, Deputy Director; Masashi Yamamoto and Joshua B. Mabe, JICA representatives.

Source: Public Relations Unit (MoF)


The Guangdong General Hospital team from China presenting the medical equipment to KATH officials

The first four ailments that topped the admissions chart at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi in 2015 are all related to cardiovascular disease.

The ailments include heart diseases, diabetes, stroke and chronic kidney ailments, authorities at KATH have announced.

Dr Isaac Kofi Owusu, Consultant Cardiologist at KATH, who made the disclosure, warned that cardiovascular disease is currently a huge problem in the country.

He, therefore, appealed to the relevant bodies and government to dedicate time and resources to educate the citizenry about the disease to help save precious human lives.

Dr Owusu was speaking when officials of the Guangdong General Hospital in China presented equipment used in the treatment of cardiovascular disease to KATH.

The equipment, valued at $150,000, are electrocardiogram, ABI system, digital retina camera and consumables.

The Guangdong General Hospital team had collaborated with KATH personnel in a programme christened 'Sino-Ghana Cardio Cooperation Programme'.

The three-year programme which came to a close on Wednesday is titled 'cardiovascular risk assessment and target organ damage among Ghanaians'.

The study, among other things, was aimed at unearthing factors that really cause cardiovascular disease among Ghanaians and how they can be tackled.

During the research period, the Guangdong General Hospital team also performed open heart and space maker implantation surgeries for free for people.

Dr Owusu disclosed that about 1,000 people selected from the Central, Ashanti, Northern and Greater Accra regions benefitted from the three-year study.

He said the team observed that young and middle-aged women in the Northern Region had blockages in their arteries, a sign that they could suffer cardiovascular disease in future.

Dr Owusu stated that the final results of the three-year study would be officially made public soon to help the awareness creation and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

According to him, signs that most Ghanaians could suffer from cardiovascular diseases are rampant, based on their intensive study.

He, therefore, admonished Ghanaians to adopt a healthy lifestyle by exercising their bodies regularly, increase intake of vegetables, eat less salt and fat and eat a lot of fruits to help save them from suffering cardiovascular disease.

Prof Jiyan Chen of the Guangdong General Hospital expressed delight about the effective collaboration between his hospital and KATH, expressing the hope that the two medical facilities would continue to work together in future.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi


The organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) vigilante group, Delta Force, Kwadwo Bamba has rendered an apology to President Akufo- Addo for leading an attack on the newly appointed Regional Security coordinator George Agyei.

The vigilante group led by Kwadwo Bamba, a 37year old mechanic unleashed an attack on the newly appointed Regional Security Council, Mr. George Adjei at the premises of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) on March 24th on the basis that he did not campaign for the party in the 2016 election campaign.

Following which Bamba Kwadwo was arrested by the Ashanti Regional Police Command for playing a key role in the attack.

Speaking on 'Maakye' on Hot93.9FM, Bamba Kwadwo on behalf of the group has apologised to the President for the group's conduct after he was released from police custody on Monday, March 27.

"I want to say that we ( Delta Force) regret what we did and have petitioned the National Youth Organizer, Sammy Awuku to apologise to the President Nana Akufo- Addo on our behalf."

"We would even wish for him (Sammy Awuku) to help us organize a press conference to apologise to the President, the National Security Coordinator, the National Security Minister, Our Mayor and National executives and also use this medium to apologise to all Ghanaians, we regret what we did." He stressed.
Johannesburg (AFP) - South African President Jacob Zuma has ordered his finance minister to return from an overseas investment trip, the presidency said Monday, fuelling speculation that a cabinet reshuffle is imminent.

Zuma's decision to recall Pravin Gordhan from Britain has led to media and opposition speculation that he could be sacked. The two men have had an increasingly uneasy relationship in recent months.

Friction has soared between Zuma, who is seeking to fund a "radical economic transformation", and Gordhan who is taking a stand against graft and heavy spending.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance warned that the developing incident would be seen as "a major setback for the economy in South Africa" and was a prelude to a reshuffle.

"(It) is so bizarre that it appears, at best, calculated to humiliate the minister or, at worst, to suggest that the minister is about to be fired in a cabinet reshuffle," said shadow finance minister David Maynier.

Local media have also speculated that the recall is a precursor to a change of personnel at the top of government.

"Fears are growing that President Jacob Zuma will finally pull the trigger and reshuffle his Cabinet," wrote the Daily Maverick news site.

The tension has also spooked the foreign exchange markets with the rand losing almost three percent against the US dollar on the day, with $1 now buying 12.65 rand. The treasury could not be reached for comment.

'Reshuffle is ready to go'

"President Jacob Zuma has instructed the Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan and Deputy Minister Mcebisi Jonas to cancel the international investment promotion roadshow to the United Kingdom and the United States and return to South Africa immediately," the presidency said in an emailed statement which did not give a reason for Gordhan's recall.

South Africa was granted a reprieve at the end of last year when rating agencies did not drop it to the "junk" investment category following a series of downgrades, but they warned of the impact of poor growth and political instability.

Nomura market analyst Peter Attard Montalto said that the week ahead could prove critical for South Africa's political and economic stability.

"It seems this week is going to be really decisive either way. It is also possibly that Zuma wants PG there if he only reshuffles the deputy," he wrote in a note to investors.

"A reshuffle is ready to go and something Zuma wants to do. It could be deployed rapidly if Zuma does want to do it... This is going to be a key week for political risk."

In December 2015, Zuma suddenly sacked Gordhan's predecessor Nhlanhla Nene and replaced him with an obscure lawmaker, triggering panic among investors and a sharp drop in the rand.
27.03.2017 LISTEN

Government has assured the military personnel that it will embark on a Barracks Regeneration Project to address the accommodation challenges of the military. Through this project, new accommodations will be constructed, while the old ones would also be renovated.

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia made this known in Accra, at the graduation of the Ghana Military Academy Special Medical Intake 3, on behalf of the President.

Vice President Bawumia said the role of the military in protecting the country cannot be underestimated, stating that the Barracks Regeneration Project will enhance the living conditions of the military.

According to him, the graduation of these medical officers in the military has come at an opportune time, when government is constructing a military hospital in Kumasi to serve the middle and northern sectors of the country.

The Ghana Military Academy has produced over 3,500 officers since its establishment in April 1960. It has also been a training ground for cadets from other African countries, including The Gambia, Nigeria and Liberia.

Dr Bawumia congratulated the army for the swift response to the crisis in The Gambia, by deploying a team of armed personnel to that country to help ensure peace.

He said government will provide them with the necessary logistics, in order to take up such challenges when need be.

The Acting Commandant of the MATS, Brigadier General Omane Agyekum, in a message, indicated that the need for the Special Medical Intake arose out of the high demand for officers to man the 37 Military Hospital and other health facilities.

He said the Ghana Armed Forces has carved an enviable niche for itself, urging the graduants to zealously guard the hard-earned reputation. Ten awards were given to graduants who excelled in the various fields.

Key among them was the Chief of Defence Staff award, which went to Junior Under Officer Teng Yenbil Bernard, with the Best Female Award going to Junior Under Officer Lasidji Berlinda Narh. In all, 99 cadets graduated from the Military Academy. This is made up of 51 cadets for the military, 24 from the Navy and 24 from the Airforce.

By Maxwell Ofori, Flagstaff House
27.03.2017 LISTEN

Government will soon introduce the necessary legislation to provide permanent funding for the Zongo Development Fund to ensure its sustenance.

The Vice President, Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, who announced this on Saturday March 25, 2017, said this is to ensure that no government uses the excuse of no funding to scrap it.

Speaking at the 49th Annual Celebration of the Birth of Prophet Muhammed, organized by the Tijjaniya Muslim Mission at the Aboabo No.1 School Park in Kumasi, Alhaji Bawumia said:

In line with our agenda for the transformation of Ghana we made a case and said, since independence in 1957, no budget of Ghana has dedicated funds for the transformation and development of Zongo communities in particular. We said if Allah gives us the way, we will establish a Zongo development fund to address this issue. Allah has given us the way, and in our very first budget, were less than 3 months in government, but in our very first budget Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has established the Zongo Development Fund. Not only did he establish a Zongo development fund, he appointed a Minister for Zongo and Inner City Development

We provided, for this year, Ghs219 million for the Zongo development Fund. Ghs219 million. As Sheikh I C Quaye once said, the money e big o. The equivalent of the budget for five ministries, so it shows that we took it very seriously. It is not a token, and when we pass the law, Insha Allah in the next few months, were going to make sure that it is in the law, every year at least the equivalent of $50 million will be in that fund every year, so that no government can come and say there is no money for Zongo development. It will be in the law, and we will make sure it happens, Insha Allah.

Cue 1: Zongo Dev Fund law

Commending the Tijjaniya Muslim Mission for its commitment to providing educational facilities, including efforts to set up a university, Vice President Bawumia assured of Governments commitment to begin paying Arabic tutors this year, while working towards making Arabic examinable at the Junior and Senior High School levels.

Cue 2: Arabic Teachers pay

He called on all Ghanaians, especially Muslim youth, to take advantage of the business-friendly policies contained in the maiden budget of the Nana Akufo-Addo government to venture into business and wealth creation.

Dignitaries present at the programme included Shiekh Tijani Aliu Cisse, Chief Imam of the Grand Mosque; Ghanas National Chief Imam Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharabutu; Alhaji Samson Kwakwa, Alhaji Abdul Kadir Tahir, President of the National Council of Zongo Chiefs and other senior Muslim clerics.

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, was represented by the Sumankwahene, Baffuor Asabre Kogyawoasu.

Chief Imam Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharabutu and Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia were presented with citations for distinguished achievements in leadership, service and knowledge.
A Techiman-based businessman, Mr. Kwadwo Adjei, has petitioned the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to investigate the abrupt suspension of the trial of the case: The Republic Versus Jacob Agongo and Alhassan Issaku.

According to him, the manner in which the State Attorney in Sunyani suspended prosecution of the case, after receiving a phone-call from one of his superiors in Accra, requires an investigation.

He noted in the petition that the State Attorney, after receiving a phone-call, suspended prosecution, with an explanation that it was a directive by his superiors to forward the docket to Accra.

Mr. Adjei stated that the action of the State Attorney was surprising, so he confronted him, and the latter reiterated that he had the instruction from his superiors to withdraw the case, and that was exactly what he did.

When Mr. Theophilus Appoh, the State Attorney, was contacted on phone, he told The Chronicle that as a subordinate at the Attorney General's Office, he takes instructions and orders from his superiors, so if a directive comes that he should suspend prosecution of a case, there was no way he would have disobeyed, and that this is not the first time such orders had been given.

However, according to Mr. Adjei, he suspects one of the former political heads at the Attorney General's Department as the brain behind the abrupt suspension of the trial, because, according to him, during one of their meetings with the police in Sunyani, one of the suspects, Jacob Agongo, said he would let the said political head, who is his friend, tribesman and a brother, call for the docket, and the case will not see the light of day.

Mr. Adjei narrated that in the year 2012, the two suspects, Jacob Agongo and Alhassan Issaku, were agents of a company called STE EVAME SARL, which is based in the Republic of Togo, however, the two suspects misappropriated various sums of monies belonging to the company.

The said company, according to Mr. Adjei, supplies the two suspects with motorbikes in Ghana, precisely in Wenchi, for which they sell on commission basis, with an arrangement that they sell the motorbikes and deposit the proceeds into the company's accounts.

After some time, the directors of the company realised that the suspects were not depositing monies as arranged and agreed upon into the company's account. The Director, therefore, came to Wenchi and asked the suspects to render accounts.

Mr. Adjei continued that the Director sought the services of an Auditor, who audited the operations of the suspects' business, and found out that they (suspects) were unable to account for a total of 441 motorbikes supplied to them, which was approximately GH1,000,000.

The two suspects conspired and bolted with all the accounts records, which compelled the Director of STE EVAME SARL to report the matter to the police, where the suspects were taken to the police station and secured with padlocks, and the keys retained by the police.

Surprisingly, the police later released the keys of the padlocks to the suspects without the notice or concern of the Director of STE EVAME SARL, and they (suspects) started selling the motorbikes. A report was made to the Wenchi police, but they did not act upon the complaint.

However, according to Mr. Adjei, a Power of Attorney has been given to him by the Director of the company, so he petitioned the Director of CID in Accra, who instructed the Brong-Ahafo Regional Crime Officer to investigate the matter.

During the Regional Crime Officer's investigations, it was realised that the suspects had sold 420 of the motorbikes out of the 441 impounded, leaving 21 motorbikes and some parts, which are currently in the custody of the Techiman Police.

He stated that a case docket was built and forwarded to the Attorney General's Office in Sunyani for advice, which, after studying, the Attorney General's office advised that the suspects be charged with fraudulent breach of trust.

Upon the receipt of the Attorney General's advice, the police invited the suspects severally to be arraigned before court, but to no avail. According to Mr. Kwadwo Adjei, when the State Prosecutor in Sunyani, Mr. Theophilus Appoh, was about to prosecute the case at the Wenchi Court, a call came from Accra directing him to suspend prosecution of the case, and forward the docket to the national capital for study.

The case docket has since been sent to Accra, but nothing has been heard about the case, while the motorbikes left are still in the custody of the Techiman Police and deteriorating.

He expressed anxiety on when the docket was coming back to Sunyani for the trial to continue. Meanwhile, the Techiman Police is pressurising him to come for the motorbikes in their custody.

The businessman has, therefore, petitioned the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, and has copied to the Interior Minister and the Inspector General of Police, to intervene to make the rule of law manifest in the matter to woo more foreign investors into the country.

From Michael Boateng, Techiman
By Isaac Arkoh, GNA

Mampong (Ash), Mar 27, GNA - The Most Reverend Professor Daniel Yinkah-Sarfo, Primate and Anglican Archbishop of the Internal Province of West Africa, has rallied the church to do more to support the poor and the vulnerable in the society.

He said it should lead the effort at providing proper care and adequate protection for them.

He made the call at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Asante-Mampong Babies Home.

The occasion was used to raise funds for the orphanage, established in 1967, by Anglican Missionaries from Whitby - United Kingdom.

It is presently home to 45 babies - some of them have lost their parents, others found abandoned and there are also those born to the mentally retarded.

The Most Rev Prof Yinkah-Sarfo said the church could not be indifferent to the suffering, the pain and troubles of the underprivileged.

It needed to show genuine Christian love, bring hope and confidence to these people, he added.

'As Christians, we must work with unity of purpose to promote the spiritual and physical development of the people.'

He applauded the care givers of the Home for their extraordinary commitment and dedication to the cause of humanity.

He reminded them that although they might be confronted with challenges in their humanitarian work, there could be no dispute that 'God is in firm control and things could only get better'.

Mrs. Patricia Kyeremateng, the Ashanti Regional Social Welfare Director, expressed worry over the breakdown of the extended family system, something, that provided security and anchor to the weak in the society.

She also complained about the rising cases of child neglect and parental irresponsibility and said this needed to be tackled.

Mrs. Margret Amoating-Adae, Superintendent in-charge of the Home, thanked the church and other benefactors, whose generosity had kept them going.

GNA
27.03.2017 LISTEN

A GNA feature by Iddi Z. Yire

Accra, March 27, GNA - The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), has chalked out another success, following the recent launch of a book: 'Strides and Strains of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in West Africa: The WANEP Story.'

The book, which gives an overview of the WANEP's 17 years of peace building practice in West Africa, reminds the public of the outcome of years of hard work, perseverance and dedication of the organisation staff over the years.

The launch of the book, which was performed in Accra early this year by Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for West Africa and the Sahel, and chaired by Mr Alain Marcel Da Souza, the ECOWAS Commission President, shows the significance the UN and ECOWAS attach to the role of WANEP in Africa.

In attendance were Dr Sam G. Doe, the first Executive Director and Co-founder of WANEP and Mr Emmanuel H. Bombande, the second Executive Director and Co-founder of WANEP.

This story would not have been possible without the vision of the co-founders: Dr Doe and Mr Bombande and all those institutions and individuals, who supported the dream and gave it meaning.

Indeed, the legacy of WANEP which these gallant men of Africa proudly contributed to, will continually keep them peaceful even in the world beyond.

Their dream is today translated into a household name in peace and security in Africa with more than 100 staff and 500 members across the Region.

This is the story of WANEP! An audacious step by non -state actors to contribute and complement state efforts at rebuilding the aftermath of the senseless wars and destruction which led to wanton loss of lives.

Over the past 30 years, the West African sub-region has witnessed a series of intra-state conflicts in most countries, with the escalating full scale civil wars as in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire, leading to death, destruction and public despair.

The devastating effects of these conflicts caused governments and inter-governmental agencies in the sub-region not only to consciously identify the root causes but also to seek collaborative efforts with CSOs to reduce them.

It was within this context that WANEP was established to promote human security and development in West Africa and the rest of Africa.

Thus, conceived in 1996, WANEP was officially launched in 1998 in response to civil wars that had plagued the West African sub-region in the 1990s.

The Executive Director of WANEP Chukwuemeka B. Eze, said the WANEP was a story of Africans, by Africans, and for Africans and had become an attitude rather than just an organisation.

'WANEP was clear from inception that it was going to adopt the approach of locating empowering, and accompanying civic power and agency to build peace.

'This approach has not only proven to be effective but has transformed a good number of its current and former staff from the state obscurity in peace practice to enviable heights,' he added.

Dr Chambas said WANEP, since its establishment in 1998 had contributed immensely to the quest for peace and stability in the Region, and had, steadily, become an outstanding reference among CSOs across the West African region.

Mr Da Souza remarked that the wisdom of ECOWAS to formally collaborate with CSOs and in particular WANEP was in line with the ECOWAS vision of transforming itself from an ECOWAS of States to an ECOWAS of Peoples.

"Ever since, the emphasis on human security became enshrined in international normative frameworks and adopted by ECOWAS as the undergirding principle for its Regional Conflict Prevention programme.

He said the issue of peace and security could no longer be the sole preserve of governments. "Building peace and ensuring human security is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders.

"Governments everywhere have come to recognise and accept the critical role of civil society in complementing its efforts at building peace and sustainable development."

The book is divided into six chapters with an introduction and conclusion.

To put the book in proper perspective, Chapter One provides a comprehensive overview of the peace and security milieu in West Africa within which civil society organisation like WANEP emerged in the late 1990s.

While the focus is on the general security landscape of West Africa in the 1990s emphasis is also placed on current peace and security challenges as well.

The purpose of this overview is not provide an exhaustive review of the available data on West Africa conflicts but to establish a working foundation for the discussion on the assumptions, approaches, and mechanism of WANEP for dealing with these conflicts from a peace building perspective .

Furthermore, this chapter explores the role of the Economic Community of West African states and its members states as well as civil society in tackling these security challenges, it also situates WANEP within the framework of multi-track diplomacy to establish its relevance as a track II and V diplomacy response to West Africa's challenges of conflict, instability and insecurity.

Chapter Two discusses the origins and institutional development of WANEP since its establishment in 1998.

Tracing its emergency as a peace building organisation, this chapter examines the charging structure of WANEP in terms of staffing and governance and how it has been also to carve a niche for itself as a strong and resilient network through the adoption of achievable goals, principles, vision and mission statement.

The Third chapter relates about theory to civil society peace building in West Africa.

The discussion in this section is done under three main thematic areas namely, capacity building (which includes the West Africa peace building institute-WAPI story, Active Non-violence and peace education): Women in peace building program: and Early Warning and Early Response Network (including, Dialogue and Mediation, Election Management and Democratic Governance).

The other special intervention programmes of WANEP were also highlighted and briefly discussed.

Chapter Four of the book looks at the concept of networking and the kind of networking WANEP does and how it links to collaborative approaches to peace building, moreover, it discusses the challenges and prospects of networking as practiced by WANEP.

In the course of its development from 1998 till date, partnerships with various stakeholders have played a key role in the attainment of its goals and objectives.

Therefore, chapter Five deals with how WANEP has built and sustained strategic partnerships with various institutions and donors at the global, continental, regional and state levels respectively.

The chapter also explores the experience of WANEP in managing these multiple donors and partnerships.

Chapter six examines transitions within civil society organisation using the experiences of WANEP.

It especially discusses WANEP transition and strategic planning processes as stipulated in its succession plan.

It is interesting to note that many organisations have either ceased to exist or gone down after the transition of their leadership, but the case of WANEP had success story, from the transition of the first Executive Director, Dr Doe to Mr Bomdande to the current Executive Director, Mr Eze.

WANEP has demonstrate the capacity of managing successful transitions without any negative impact on the organisation. The book shares the experience of WANEP in managing successful transition taking its succession plan policy into consideration.

In line with its principle to build collaborative partnership for peacebuilding, WANEP has since 1998 cultivated strategic partnership with an array of national, regional and international levels to establish platforms for sharing experiences and best practices so as to avoid duplication efforts.

In fact, the WANEP success story, deserves commendation, the organisation needs the support of all and sundry as part of efforts to help promote the West Africa sub-region's security, peace and development.

GNA
The group was planning an attack ahead of the Parliamentary elections that scheduled for Aprim 12, said SSP Kulgam Shridhar Patil.

By Shuja-ul-Haq , Ashraf Wani: Jammu and Kashmir Police today busted a Hizbul Mujahideen module in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district and arrested six people.

According to reports the arms and ammunition that police recovered from the gang were stolen from different police stations during the unrest after Burhan Wani's killing in July.

The group was planning an attack ahead of the Parliamentary elections that scheduled for Aprim 12, said SSP Kulgam Shridhar Patil.

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Recovered weapons include two AK 47 rifles, one Chinese pistol and one INSAS rifle with ammunition.

Also read

Tral encounter ends, top Hizbul Mujahideen commander killed: 10 things you need to know

--- ENDS ---
By Joyce Danso, GNA

Accra, March 27, GNA - Samuel Agbeko, a father of three, and his brother, Kwame, have been charged with the defilement of a 13 year-old girl, at Kotobabi, Accra.

Agbeko's brother, whose name was only given as Kwame, is however at large.

However, Agbeko, an electrician, pleaded not guilty, when he appeared before an Accra Circuit, presided over by Mrs Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku.

The Court turned down an application for bail filed by Agbeko's defence counsel, and he was, subsequently, remanded into police custody to reappear on April 6.

Meanwhile, a medical examination has found the victim to be 14 weeks pregnant.

Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Agnes Boafo told the Court that the complainant, an interior decorator, was the aunt of the victim, and she resided at Maamobi, in Accra.

However, the victim lived with her father at Kotobabi, she explained.

The Prosecutor said the accused person also lived, with his wife and children, in the house where the victim resided.

ASP Boafo explained that the victim and Agbeko's children were friends, so she usually visited them in their room.

She said on one of such visits in December 2016, Agbeko's children were absent, so their father took advantage of the situation and lured her into a three-in-one stuffing chair, and had sex with her.

According to the Prosecutor, following that encounter, Agbeko made the girl his 'sexual partner'.

Then sometime in February this year, the victim was playing with Agbeko's children, when Kwame visited his brother.

The Prosecutor said Kwame instructed Agbeko's children to leave the room, thus leaving the victim alone with him.

Kwame, consequently, had sex with the victim in the same stuffing chair that Agbeko had been using to abuse her, ASP Boafo said.

The victim, thereafter, reported the incident to the complainant, who reported it to the Police at the Nima Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit, where a medical form was issued to the victim to go for examination.

The prosecutor said When Agbeko was arrested, he admitted the offence in his caution statement.

GNA
Ghana is practically begging China to help in the fight against Chinese nationals who are contributing to the destruction of its environment through illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu, today [Monday], held an emergency meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, and the Mayor of Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Province, to discuss how they could collectively deal with the role of Chinese nationals in the illegal mining menace in Ghana.

The meeting saw the Minister ostensibly woo support from the Chinese to fight illegal mining as he concluded by saying, we are begging you to help us address this particular difficulty that we are having.

This in spite of the fact that Ghanas laws are clear on illegal mining, and also restricts foreigners from engaging in the licensed small scale mining activity.

The Guangxi Zhuang Province is known to see the emigration of a number of Chinese nationals to engage in illegal mining in Ghana.

Chinese involvement in illegal mining has become rampant over the last decade with some blaming them for the proliferation of heavy machinery in illegal small-scale mining and the escalation of pollution in major water bodies.

The Ministers meeting with the Chinese delegation, took place at a time when five Chinese nationals are facing prosecution in Ghana for illegally mining for gold in River Ankobra at Bamianko Dawule in the Nzema East Municipality.

Five illegal miners were arrested over the weekend

Mr. Amewu described the recent arrests as encouraging, as he noted that, the role of some Chinese nationals in the illegal mining chain in Ghana, with Indians at the top, providing demand and Ghanaians at the bottom at the operational level.

This did not however mean the Chinese were not welcome to engage in mining activities, the Minister stressed.

We are not saying Chinese governments or Chinese corporations should not come to Ghana. We want to work with you; but we want you to work in an environment that is more suitable so that when you are enjoying the returns on your investments, you will know that you really toiled for it.

Environmentally friendly mining

The main issue here is credibility, as Mr. Amewu noted that the Akufo-Addo government was looking to ensure mining Ghana is done in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.

Any person who will come to this country and not abide by that, we will not be prepared to work with that person. So we will be calling on you to reach out to your fellow Chinese from this particular community that they need to come together for us to resolve this problem.

Since he assumed the portfolio as the Minister of Lands and Forestry, Mr. Amewu has hinted that government would start using drones and other modern technology to fight illegal mining in Ghana to ensure the protection of water bodies.

As another special intervention, he also revealed government was in talks with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), to plant trackers into earth moving equipment known to be used by illegal miners who are operating deep inside the forests.

Ahead of the realization of these initiatives, indications from the Minister are that the ministry has so far been engaged in media campaigns for the time being.

On our own, we have started some media campaigns over the last two-three weeks. The public sympathy is so high that we believe seriously that any action that we take will be supported by all Ghanaians, he said.

In every single community, there are chiefs, landowners, politicians and so these actions are collaborative actions so we have sounded a clear warning, especially to those responsible whether politicians or chiefs. We will come after you.

Battling galamsey will protect Chinese investments

On the whole, Mr. Amewu said the arrival of the Chinese delegation was very good news to his ministry, military and other related agencies.

Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Sun Baohong

We are prepared to work with you and collaborate with you to address this problem. Help us address the issue of illicit mining The people here are your people. You speak the same language with them and they understand you better. So let us begin the fight, he said to the Chinese delegation.

Nobody is going to lose at the end of this fight because as we keep on saying, a sustainable environment free of the pollution of water bodies, free of the destruction of our forest, free of the degradation of our land is a credit to the Chinese because a lot of Chinese investments are in Ghana.

Ghana has a long-standing relationship with China, that has seen the Asian powerhouse loan several millions of dollars for Ghanas infrastructural development.



By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
27.03.2017 LISTEN

Abuja based CSOs and concerned Nigerians in conjunction with over 40 civil society groups nationwide have concluded arrangements to lead a solidarity visit to Amnesty International Nigeria in support of their activities which help in no small way to put the excesses and arbitrariness of State agents in check as it is in developed democracies all over the world.

The solidarity visit will hold on Wednesday 29th of March, 2017, from the Unity Fountain opposite Transcorp Hilton Hotel to the Amnesty Intl Office in Maitama, Abuja, at 9am.

This has become necessary following the protests against AI last week and the wicked siege laid against its office for days as sponsored by fifth columnists. This has earned our nation bad reputation globally.

We can no longer sit by and watch while paid protesters attempt to rubbish the correct reports and good works of AI on the appalling human rights record of this administration thereby promoting and defending such records in the process.

The participation of men and women of goodwill from all over the country in this solidarity rally would be highly appreciated.

Together, we can rescue our nation!

Thank you.

Jude Ndukwe Ariyo-Dare Atoye

Convener, MANTRA Co-Convener, CDNDC

08023140065 08030620882
Forty (40) former Members of Parliament, who served under the Kufuor Administration, have sued the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Finance over pensions owed them, demanding at least GHc 233,495 each.

Among the plaintiffs are the Senior Minister in the Nana Akufo-Addo administration, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, and the acting New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman, Freddie Blay and Kwamena Bartels.

The initial lump sum was said to be GHc 13,735 per plaintiff, but interest accrued on the amount from January 2009 to February 2016 raises the amount to GHc 233,495.

That would mean government would have to give out almost GHc 10 million to settle the former MPs.

The plaintiff's claim is anchored on one of the recommendations by the Chinery-Hesse Committee Report, which says that persons who exited Parliament, having served two full term periods and are above 50 years, should be paid some sums of money as pension benefits.

Among the other reliefs, the disgruntled former MPs are also praying the court refund their legal bills.

The former MPs have since 2011 been negotiating with government regarding the pensions, but the attempts to have their demands met have proved futile.

Seth Terkper, former Minister of Finance

They noted in their writ that, in a letter dated June 25, 2015, the Attorney General directed the Ministry of Finance to make the payments, but the Minister of Finance at the time refused, neglected or failed to make the payments as directed.

The former MPs said the conduct of the Finance Minister caused them much distress and suffering, as most of them are unemployed and unable to sustain their families as their advanced age made it difficult to find employment.



By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The organizer of the Delta Force, a pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) vigilante group in Kumasi, has apologized to President Nana Akufo-Addo and members of the party following its assault on the newly-appointed Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, George Agyei.

The organizer, Kwadwo Bamba, who was arrested on Saturday for leading about two hundred members of his group to the premises of the Coordinating Council, was released on bail today [Monday]

Speaking to Citi News after his release, Kwadwo Bamba said the group will now obey the President.

We are begging the President we are waiting for anything the President will say. We are ready to obey our President. I feel bad about the whole incident and I wish it will not happen again, he assured.

Mr. Bamba's group had said it would not work with Mr. Adjei who was recently appointed by President Nana Akufo-Addo, because he did not contribute to the party's electoral success.

Meanwhile, police have asked those who were involved in the attack to report themselves, saying we are also asking those who were involved to make themselves available to the Police because at all cost we will make sure that whoever is picked is made to face the full rigours of the law.

The NPP's election victory in 2016 was followed by widespread reports of people believed to be NPP supporters taking over toll booths, public toilets and other state installations.

In most cases, such political crimes are swept under the carpet, as the culprits are often protected by the party in power.

Members of such groups are often promised jobs by their parties, but become agitated once such promises delay in materializing.



By: Felicia Osei/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Chinese illegal miners and their Ghanaian accomplices who were arrested on River Ankobra in the Western Region last Friday, appeared at the Sekondi High Court on Monday [March 27th 2017], where they were remanded into police custody to reappear on April 10, 2017.

The accused miners were first sent to the Sekondi Magistrate Court immediately after they were brought from Ankobra River, to seek a court order to have them in police custody until Monday.

The Magistrate Court in Sekondi was the only available court in session at the time they were brought. That explains why they were taken to that court.

At the first hearing, the state prosecutor in the person of Sergeant Francisca Nyarko and counsel for the accused Stephen Alewabah, sort to move the case to a court that has the jurisdiction to hear it.

Presiding Judge Susanna Eduful granted them their plea, and the case was transferred to the Sekondi Circuit Court.

When the accused were taken to the Circuit Court, the court was not sitting, and so they had to be transferred to another court. This time, they ended up at the Sekondi High Court.

At the Sekondi High Court, a Senior State Attoney, George Sackey, took over from Sergeant Francisca Nyarko. The presiding Judge is now High Court Judge Justice Edward Amoako Asante.

When hearing commenced, Counsel for the accused persons in opening his defense, prayed the court to grant the 10 accused persons bail.

He argued that, both the five Chinese and the Ghanaians legally reside in Ghana with requisite documentations, and that they can be granted bail pending the first hearing of the case.

But senior state attorney, George Sackey, also argued that, the state had not finished with its investigations into the matter, and is thus holding talks with the Minerals Commission to ascertain whether the miners had authentic mining permits on the river.

He argued again that, when the accused persons are granted bail, they may have the opportunity to distort evidence that the witnesses in the case may be willing to provide, and that the accused should be made to remain in police custody.

The presiding Judge Justice Edward Asante after hearing the two arguments, refused to grant the accused persons bail, stating that, the state be given two weeks to gather other facts to support its case.

He gave them 10th April to reappear in court.



By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/Citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Chinese diplomatic mission in Ghana has pledged its support to government to help in the fight against illegal mining popularly referred to as 'galamsey' involving some of its nationals.

Hundreds of Chinese migrants have been rounded up for their roles in perpetuating illegal mining and in the process polluting the countrys water bodies.

A delegation from the Embassy made this known when they spoke to the Lands Minister, John Peter Amewu, during a meeting.

Officials of the Ghana Water Company have warned that the country risks importing water for consumption unless illegal mining activities stop.

According to the Accra West Regional Director of the Ghana Water Company, Ing Peter Deveer, galamsey has badly polluted water bodies in the country resulting in an excessive increase in the cost of water treatment.

Mr. Deveer was speaking on the sidelines of a community dialogue programme at Chorkor in Accra to celebrate World Water Day.

"Today, there are over 663 million people worldwide living without safe water supply close to home, spending countless hours queuing or trekking to distant sources and coping with the health implications of using contaminated water," he said.

Citing a report on the spate of water pollution in the country, Ing Deveer told Joy News, "the rate at which things are going we could be importing water in the next ten to 20 years."

Meanwhile, researchers at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have said Ghana has no problem with water sources, however, potable water sources are diminishing at such a fast rate that the country faces a looming water crisis by the year 2030 if the current conditions continue to persist.

The Chinese diplomatic mission promised to engage government and their nationals to respect Ghana's laws and advise them to engage in other businesses other than galamsey.

Mr Amewu said government would crack the whip on both local and foreign galamsey operators with stiffer punishment.

"A new mining law, which is an amendment to the mining law we have has introduced stiffer punishment. Foreigners, for instance, can go and make a payment between 30,000 and 300,000 penalty units. That is huge and this should be deterring," he said.

He believes for the right application of the law all stakeholders must work together.

In a related development, the police in Takoradi in the Western region arrested and placed before court five Chinese and Ghanaians for their engagement in illegal mining activities.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim
By Godwill Arthur- Mensah, GNA

Accra, March 27, GNA - The Reverend Evans Nketsiah Egyir, the McCarthy District Pastor of the Church of Pentecost, has admonished the youth to develop the spirit of patience and not to rush in life to gain material wealth.

He said the youth must acknowledge that their needs would be provided by God at the appointed time and with this assurance, they would not commit suicide or harm themselves when they could not meet their needs.

''For instance, if you have completed school and you're not getting a job, it doesn't mean you should kill yourself, but you must pray for God's appointed time,'' he said.

Rev. Egyir, who gave the advice in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Monday, said every Christian must inculcate in him or herself the spirit of waiting which required discipline, humility and perseverance.

Commenting on the dwindling moral standards in the society, he said the clergy must continue to preach the gospel of Christ and not be perturbed or tired because the word of God would prevail over the evil deeds of men.

With regards to the strange deaths occurring in the country, Rev. Egyir said many people had entered into occultism and that could be a contributory factor, and therefore, urged Christians to pray fervently to break the stronghold of occultism in the country.

Commenting on some pastors merchandising the gospel, he said, there were genuine pastors who had been called by God to do His work and win souls, while others had entered the ministry of priesthood just to exploit the people for their selfish gains.

Rev. Egyir, therefore, urged the genuine men of God to continue preaching the true gospel so that humanity would differentiate between them and the fake ones.

He admonished Christians to be watchful at all times and not allow themselves to be deceived with the notion that anointing oil would save them, saying; 'salvation comes from Jesus Christ alone, who sacrificed His life to bring salvation to those who believe in Him'.

GNA
By Kodjo Adams, GNA

Accra, March 27, GNA - Government remains committed to creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive since the sector constitute a key component in the country's economic growth, Mr Ibrahim Awal, the Minister of Business Development, has said.

He said government was working on improving on the country's framework to remove any bottlenecks that hindered private investors and give opportunity to expand their businesses and employ more people.

Mr Awal said this in Accra to mark India Business Day on the theme: 'Promoting India-Ghana Business Relations through Trade and Investment,'' organised by the World Trade Centre, Accra (WTCA).

He said Ghana and India had a long relationship in the area of industrialisation, energy, health and education and expressed the hope that the partnership would continue to enhance their mutual benefits.

He said government had established a national entrepreneurship and innovative plan to drive local business ownership and equip Ghanaians with the needed creative skills to create jobs for themselves.

Mr Awal noted that the Small and Medium Enterprises play a critical role in creating jobs for the citizenry and, as such, government had put in place fiscal policies to reduce the high cost of doing business and stimulate economic growth.

He said government had set up an Industrial Development Fund to support critical private sector industrial initiatives, as one of the means of tackling the rising unemployment levels.

Mr Awal said Ghanaian businesses faced significant challenges in exporting or importing goods at the ports, and as a result, government had reduced fees and charges at the ports to ease business transactions.

'Government has introduced reforms in port clearing systems and benchmark our ports against some of the best in the world such as Dubai and Singapore, and make our ports some of the most efficient in Africa to support import and export,'' he said.

He urged investors in the country to respect the country's laws for investment.

Mr Birender Singh, the India High Commissioner to Ghana, said India had been supportive to the country's development over the years through lines of credit and grants amounting to US$ 230 million.

The High Commissioner said the partnership with the country would not only deepen the friendly relations between the two countries but would also deepen economic co-operation and collaboration.

He said India would continue to work with the country to overcome the global challenges that confronted the two nations and the rest of the world.

He thanked the Ghanaian community for its enormous support, saying India's trade investments had, over the years, provided jobs for many Ghanaians.

Mr Emmanuel Doni Kwame, the Managing Director of WTC Accra, urged the Indian business community to invest in water and energy since there would be challenges in the sector due to water pollution.

He said the Centre brought together businesses and government agencies involved in international trade to provide essential trade services, missions and market research to stimulate economic development.

GNA
I'm writing a book where a portion is dedicated to the legacy of Nkrumah in global political affairs. I've continually maintained that if the first two pages of any book on Africa's politics does not mention Nkrumah's name, you can trust me to throw that book away. It's not good enough. Nkrumah remains the preface of Africa's politics and nationalism. For that matter, it's essential to emphasise Nkrumah's frontal role in the African struggle for independence, beginning from Ghana. However, I think it's also historically accurate to allocate him as one of the founding fathers of modern Ghana alongside with his political friend and rival J. B. Danquah.

Prior to Nkrumah's invitation to join the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), which had been formed by J. B. Danquah and co. in 1947 as a pro-self-governance organ, Danquah had effectively expanded the expediency for self-governance ideology for the Gold Coast. Between 1927 and 1951, Danquah had already gained a national reputation as a lawyer, Newspaper editor of the "Times of West Africa" which he founded in 1931, youth activist between 1937 to 1947, and member of the British Legislative Assembly in 1951. Nkrumah came to inherit a legacy that made his radical "self-government now" possible. We may have divisive ways of interpreting history but Nkrumah's alliance with the UGCC, was a cushion for his political ambitions, and one that gave him much orientation of state affairs.

I perceive Nkrumah as a "now now" politician. For example the motto of the Convention People's Party (CPP) was "Self-government now", and again his foreign policies of decolonising Africa was a "now" agenda. On the 24 May 1963 in a meeting represented by 31 African states in Ethiopias capital Addis Ababa, and that which gave birth to the Organisation of African Union (OAU), Nkrumah made a passionate appeal for an urgent African unity against the influence of imperialism. He began his speech by saying Our objective is African union now" and ended with the words, "Africa must unite!" Nkrumah's radical political kingdom was always imminent. His opponents, J.B. Danquah and co., were progressive radicals. Both had the same political goals but the means were of diverging stratagem.

Pan-Africanism is shaded in different spheres of outlook and meant differently to both Nkrumah and J. B. Danquah. Whereas Nkrumah was more concerned about continental African identity and unity, J. B. Danquah was concerned about national identity and unity. Nkrumah had a brave nationalistic policies though, nevertheless, his foreign policies became a struggle that led to his downfall, and the nightmare of Ghana.

Nkrumah's matchless role for Ghana's independence is undisputed. His contribution to Africa's liberation surpasses every African leader. His political theories of decolonisation, and authentic Africanness against neo-colonisation were keen. Without Nkrumah, Ghana's history would have been something else. However, the struggle was not a one-man battle. Others laid the foundation and fought alongside which makes Nkrumah a pioneer co-founder of modern Ghana irrespective of the rivalry that existed between him and his opponents.
Brexit will soon become a reality, with Great Britain initiating its legal separation from the European Union. Meanwhile, an influx of West Asian refugees has given the continent its biggest humanitarian crisis since World War II. This might also be one of the reasons for the rising tide of right-wing nationalism that is taking centre stage in Europe.

France has remained in a state of Emergency since the horrific November 2015 terrorist attack in Paris, in which 130 people were killed and over 350 injured. There has never been a better time, it would seem, to hear out a prominent European statesman. Nicolas Sarkozy (NS), 62, led the world's ninth largest economy and fifth largest military power from 2007 to 2012. His keynote interaction at the Conclave with senior journalist Karan Thapar (KT), on 'Globalism in the Age of Protection: The Balance of Interests', dealt with the unpredictability of global politics and the challenges facing today's world

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KT: Why are major western democracies suddenly becoming subject to right-wing populism-whether it's Trump, whether it's Brexit, whether it's the threat of Geert Wilders in the Netherlands or the possibility of Marine Le Pen? What is this telling you about what's happening in the West?

NS: You must understand the anguish, that in a certain sense, is gripping the West. For centuries, the main axis of the world was the western axis. The West dominated because, demographically, we had the most people. But now the axis of the world is an Asian axis. Four of the seven billion people on Earth are now in Asia. The West is today a demographic minority. Demography makes history. So, there is a sentiment, a fear of the disappearance of our model and culture, which creates identitarian stress. And this gives the extremist a chance to ride on these fears. This change is nothing compared to what is in store-by the end of the century there will be 11 billion people on the planet. How many inhabitants can live on this earth, how do we regulate the streams of migrants? Will this demographic explosion not lead to the extinction of a certain form of humanity?

KT: What global impact might Donald Trump have? His election win and two months in office have already shaken people. What might be the outcome four years from now?

NS: Trump has been elected whether one wants to deny it or not. We have to work with the President of the United States. When Barack Obama was elected, everyone loved him. When Trump came to power a lot of people didn't like him-but the United States is what it always was. You don't work with a country because you like the personality of its president; you work with a country because of what it is. The United States is the world's biggest economic and military power. The world is now multipolar. This creates an amazing opportunity for a gigantic country like India, which should play a role like it did during the climate conference and take on big issues, just like the US does.

KT: Trump wants a closer relationship with Russia but his attitude to Xi Jinping is more muscular. What does the relationship between these three countries mean for India?

NS: It changes current affairs but it doesn't change things fundamentally. I like Mr Obama a lot, but I wasn't in agreement with him when he said that the big problem of the world was Putin. The big problem of the world is terrorism. China is a huge country, one that the world needs, but it must understand that it also has obligations. And the less one agrees with a country, the more one should speak to it. Once we understand the interests-the strategic and vital interests of a country-it becomes possible to find a solution. I remember when Mr Putin had the bad idea of invading Georgia-three days later I was in his office in Moscow, looking for a way to settle things. And we did find a way out. It wasn't a perfect solution, but we found it. If we only speak to those we agree with, the conversation will soon be over. India can help countries to have dialogue with each other. India is the world's biggest democracy, has a diversity of cultures, of languages, of religions-and it works. You can bring to the world the tradition of dialogue, of understanding, of respect of differences which you have within you. You have been able to build, from this extraordinary mosaic of differences, a functioning democracy. That is the envy of others.

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KT: Do you think the attitudes in Europe regarding Islam are an understandable response to fear, or is this thinly-disguised racism?

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NS: In Europe we have a problem-not with all Muslims, but with a section of them. It is deeply upsetting when young people, born in France and brought up in France, are led to hate France. Youngsters born in France are less integrated than their grandparents, who came from Algeria or Tunisia. It's not a question of racism. We have experienced the horror of terrorism in Paris, and many perpetrators were French. France cannot allow its inhabitants to be killed. So, in France we say everyone can follow their own religion, everyone can follow their own culture but you must respect France. And nothing can justify or excuse killing people. Democracy cannot be feeble or weak when it comes to terrorists.

KT: India believes Pakistan supports terrorism-the Mumbai attack of 2008 and those at Pathankot and Uri. Are western countries doing enough to rein in Pakistan?

NS: Is Pakistan doing enough? No. I'm not the only one to think that or to say that. Is the situation in Pakistan simple or easy? No. Should we encourage everything that can help India and Pakistan to have a better relationship? Yes. But at the end of the day, we will win the battle against terrorism if we are together-if we are all together. We must all put pressure on Pakistan so that the guilty are brought to justice. It means that there can be no weakness when it comes to dealing with terrorism, not here, not anywhere. This subject will become more and more pressing-don't believe that it will be resolved just by defeating Daesh in Syria. We need to identify the killers who today are in Syria but are now coming back to their home countries. It's going to take longer than we are willing to admit.

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KT: Could you explain to the audience why France-which stands for human rights-seems to be denying Muslim women the right to wear burkinis or the hijab, and has a problem with Sikh students wearing turbans?

NS: It is not true to say that in France young Muslim girls freely choose to wear a burkini or to cover themselves in a prison made of cloth. Behind them stands an elder brother or a family that dictates their behaviour. From the very soul of my being, I believe in equality between women and men. I will never accept that men can consider that the body of women as something diabolical. Everyone should live their culture-I respect that. But when you say that the body of a woman is so tempting that it has to be masked from the sight of men, that is a fundamental disrespect of equality. I think that girls should be able to select their own husbands, to dress the way they want to. What does this have to do with the Sikhs and their wearing of turbans?

KT: Why do the French believe that wearing a turban in school or in public places is in conflict with secularism? To us, secularism permits everyone to wear whatever religious symbols they want. Why is it a problem in France?

NS: In schools in France, we don't want to recognise children by their religion. If you want to go to a religious school, you have the right to do that. But if you don't, you have the same dress without any signs of religion. We have the right to ask for our French identity to be respected. Everybody has the right to ask for their identity to be respected.

KT: Are you saying that migrants, when they go to another country, must follow the identity and culture of that country? That multiculturalism is somehow a mistake?

NS: I believe in multiculturalism. When we go to an Arab country, Carla (Bruni)covers her shoulders and her arms. If you are invited to a country, you must respect that country. If you don't want to adopt the culture of that country, you can stay at home. For me, it's the last one to arrive who must adapt to those who are already there. If you don't want to adopt the way of life in France, you should go elsewhere.

KT: Who is going to be the bigger loser from Brexit-Great Britain or the European Union?

NS: The second largest European economy leaving is a loss for Europe. It's also a loss for Great Britain-are you sure that in a few years Great Britain will not have problems with Scotland? When divisions start, they don't end. And I would like to tell you something-the most unstable and cruel continent in the world is not Africa, it's not Asia, it was Europe-where we assassinated 6 million Jews. If we have become the most civilised and stable continent in the world it's because of the European Union. Europe must prepare itself for very difficult times ahead.

KT: Are you worried that Angela Merkel, who's been in power for 11 years and who opened her door to Muslim migrants, could now be looking at a possible defeat?

NS: I loved working with Ms Merkel. We disagreed on a lot of issues but we always overcame them. But to fight her you need to be a strong personality. She's a lady who has brought honour to Germany; she has served her country well.

--- ENDS ---
Do you want to become a National Open University of Nigeria student? If you don`t know  National Open University Application Form for 2017/2018 is now available. The University wants to inform all candidates, guardians, parents and persons about the possibility to become a student this year. If you are interested, you can apply.

National Open University of Nigeria Application Form 2017/2018

If you don`t know the list of National Open University of Nigeria courses, you can find it here! This information can be beneficial for all potential candidates to the National Open University of Nigeria. Now you can be aware of NOUN ongoing application process, and you just need to read through the information below.

National Open University of Nigeria Application Form 2017/2018

What is the National Open University of Nigeria?

It`s largest tertiary institution in Nigeria. The National Open University of Nigeria was established in 1983. It has more than 120 000 students. The motto of the University is Work and Learn. The current location is Jabi, Abuja. Due to its popularity, the University is best known for the short name  NOUN. The primary colours of the National Open University of Nigeria are green and white. It`s the 21st most preferred educational institution in Nigeria.

National Open University of Nigeria Application Form 2017/2018

Available Programmes at National Open University of Nigeria

School of Arts and Social Sciences can provide you Bachelor and Master degrees in Politics, Criminology, Mass Communication, Theology, Economics and International relationships.

School of Agricultural Sciences can provide you Bachelor and Master degrees in various sector of Agriculture.

School of Education can provide you knowledge in Biology, Business Education, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Chemistry, Agricultural Science and Integrated Science.

School of Science and Technology can give you Master and Bachelor degrees in spheres, like Computer Science, Data Management, Chemistry and many other.

The full list of National Open University of Nigeria Courses is available on the official website www.noun.edu.ng.

READ ALSO: Abu Zaria postgraduate school fees

The National Open University of Nigeria announces the sale of application forms. Only the academic institution can announce the sale for an application form. The sales are to be announced for the next programmes:

Doctor of Philosophy Programmes 2017/2018

Master Degree

Post Graduate Diploma

Undergraduate

Diploma

Certificate

How to take National Open University of Nigeria Application Form

The registration for NOUN application is exclusively online. The online registration goes twenty-four hours per day and seven days in the week. Still, you might need to start the application process with all other participants. Take a note that you are required to fill the National University of Nigeria Application Form.

National Open University of Nigeria Application Form 2017/2018

What can you do before registration?

If you want to become a National Open University of Nigeria Student, then you need to pay a registration fee. You can pay the fee from the following approved banks:

First City Monument Bank 067680617

Ecobank 0005701770

Zenith Bank 1012587332

Skye Bank 1790047324

If you want to make the payment with using other banks, then you need to contact representatives of NOUN if they have a partnership agreement with that bank.

How much money should you pay for registration?

You are required to pay to pay the next fees for National University of Nigeria Application forms; every program has its fee:

Undergraduate programmes  N 5000

Postgraduate and Master Programmes  N 7500

Doctor of Philosophy Programmes  N 10000

National Open University of Nigeria Application Form 2017/2018

If you want to pay more

If you want to pay above the stipulated fee, then ask the customer support for NOUN Teller.

Check your code

When you`ve successfully pay for the NOUN application form  you can proceed and collect the Application pin CODE. Note that the CODE is always equivalent to the sum that you have paid.

Main registration process

When you`ve finished the above steps of National Open University of Nigeria Application form, you can proceed to the main registration. You can now visit the official web page of the NOUN  www.noun.edu.ng. When you open the website, click on the title: Application Form.

National Open University of Nigeria Application Form 2017/2018

Application form

When you load up the Application Form page in your browser, you can enter Application PIN and enter your personal National Open University of Nigeria Online Application Form.

What to do on your personal page?

On your personal National Open University of Nigeria Online Application Form, you can fill the registration form with necessary details. Please, write in all required data and information about yourself correctly.

What to do when you finish?

After you completed the National Open University of Nigeria Online Application Form registration, you can edit it if necessary. You can use easy navigation through the registration process with your browser. Check everything before submitting the registration form.

Did you check the form?

When you`ve looked through your application form and found no mistake or incorrect data  you can now submit your request. Just click the Submit Button on the displayed screen when you`ve finished.

National Open University of Nigeria Application Form 2017/2018

At the End

When you submit your application  you will be able to print out your provisional admission letter.

Important Notes

All applicants of National Open University of Nigeria 2017/2018 should pay the stipulated cost in the bank. You should obtain the official receipt that can prove that you`ve paid the fee. The application process is still ongoing, and you can apply for it right now.

READ ALSO: NNPC/Total scholarship

Source: Legit.ng
How did Christianity come to Nigeria? What is the impact the Christianity had in the state? If you are interested in learning more about it, then read on. This article will answer your questions.

History of christianity in Nigeria

General information

As you probably know, Nigerian is home to people from two major religions: Christianity and Islam. Depending on the year of the survey conducted as well as the organization that conducted it, the numbers differ as well as the ratio of Muslims to Christians.

Thus, for instance, in 2008, the survey by one organization showed that there are at least 53% Muslims, and 45% Christians, while the other study demonstrated other numbers which were 50% Christians and 49% Muslims. Meanwhile, the research by the Pew Research Center that same year showed at least 52% Muslims, 46% Christians, and 1% non-religious individuals.

READ ALSO: Soyinka is unfair, Christianity is a peaceful religion - CAN

Nevertheless, they say that the Northern states are where most Muslims live which Christians can be found mostly in the South of the country.

History of christianity in Nigeria

According to ot the Nigeria Christian Fellowship, there are at least seventy million people who consider themselves Christians. Other sources mention that this number is around eighty-five million. Despite the violence and persecution which follows those not supporting Islam in the different area but opt for Christianity or staying away from any religion, the number of Christianity adherers constantly grows.

This fact only proves what God said about those who will persecute those loving Jesus. Here are a few verses about it in the Bible.

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12)

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange was happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and God rests upon you. (1 Peter 4:12-14)

Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! (Luke 6:22)

History of christianity in Nigeria

The beginning of the history of Christianity in Nigeria

The history of this religion actually roots back to the days when Jesus commanded to take the Good News that He saves those believing and trusting Him to the ends of the world. This happened after He resurrected and showed up to the disciples.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)

From that time on, the first Christians took the Gospel to all the ends of the world including the places where Nigeria is now.

Bulus Y. Galadima and Yusufu Turaki explored the spread of Christianity of Nigeria in the work they called Christianity of Nigeria.

To provide the clear understanding of how this religion came to Nigeria, we have to mention that the state we know today was divided into several regions which had their own social and economic conditions which either stimulate the spread of it or prevented it from it.

History of christianity in Nigeria

Christianity in the South of Nigeria

Thus, in the South of Nigeria, mostly Yoruba and Edo groups were ruling and dominating. They had their own particular system of laws, administrative organization, and the strong influence of the traditionalists power.

Another important fact about this region is that to the West of the territory Nigeria has today, people were often enslaved or involved in slavery which came to this land in the seventeenth century. This influenced the country greatly too. Unfortunately, a lot of conflicts, sometimes even military ones took place here and in between the tribes. As a result of such unstable situation, the Christian missions only got here in the 1840s.

Meanwhile, at the same time, the Fulani and Jihadists forced people living in the North to support Islam. The Eastern territories had no structure or organization in their lands. In facts, when the scientists call the Middle Belt of the country, was an area with no systems of one law and political systems.

Nevertheless, when Christianity came here around the same time it did to the Western part, it met no obstacles in spreading.It It is important to realize that the religions in Nigeria were all influenced by the common traditionalists beliefs and superstitions. People accepted Jesus Christ but still had the mentality impacted by the indigenous religions.

The good news for the Christianity is that Islam did not come to this region until in the 1970s the civil war broke out.

History of christianity in Nigeria

The origin of Christianity in the North of Nigeria

The northern area of the state was where Hausa and Bornu people lived. However, there were at least 250 other ethnic groups who were either Muslims or adherers of other religions. The Muslims started the slave trade in this region. It was of the same scale as the one initiated by the Europeans.

In the meantime, the Middle Belt is where people we know as pagans lived. They believed in evil spirits, and other things peculiar to this religion. The origin of Christianity in Nigeria in this part roots back to the 1930s when Christians were allowed to enter the territory which was previously closed to them by the Muslims.

History of christianity in Nigeria

History of religion in the Hausa tribe

One of the few ethnic groups that were always open to the influence of different religions is the Hausa people. They were of much interest to different scientists and religious activists from all over the world. That is why, they had a contact with the rest of the world throughout the whole time, especially during the Middle Ages.

The birth of the Christian Church in the Northern Nigeria

The emergence of the Christian Church in this region had to struggle with the difficulties three different contexts brought. The first context was that of the Islamic raids which got so popular that people not always could escape from it and choose what they wanted to believe in.

Meanwhile, there were a lot of people whom the scholars characterize as the pagans who struggled between their traditional approach to religion and faith in Christ.

Finally, another factor that the Church had to deal with was that of the British invasion which brought its own system.

History of christianity in Nigeria

The brief history of Christianity in Nigeria

The first attempts to bring Christianity to the area where the modern country is today date back to the 1470s and 1620s. However, despite all the efforts of the Portuguese missionaries, there was not much fruit from this.

However, the first fruit became possible, as the Americans and British decided to free the slaves. Those who were once enslaved and got their freedom back were more likely to support Christianity, come back to their own home and help share the religion there. Thus, first Christians appeared on the West Coast of Africa, Yorubaland, Niger, and Cross River, state that Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology.

READ ALSO: Meet Footballers Who Converted To Christianity From Islam

By the 1970s a lot of missionaries cam to Nigeria to help spread the Christianity here. Thanks to their faith and hard labor here, around 45% of all the population in the area became Christians. The first missionaries in the Western regions were Methodists and Baptists. At the same time, the first missionaries in the East were Catholics and Presbyterians. Here, the history of Christianity turns its new page in the 1840s.

The Niger areas were first touched by the Christian missionaries thanks to the effort of Sir William Wilberforce who fought for the freedom of the slaves. He started this massive campaign in the Great Britain stating that African slaves should be freed.

History of christianity in Nigeria

His efforts were successful in Great Britain, so in the 1840s the country sent three huge ships with people who were supposed to bring peace and establish healthy trading relations with people living in the Niger state.

Thus, the first missions came to this area around the same time the trade and colonialists came here too.

The Quote from a decent work on the history of Christianity in Africa can help you gain a better understanding of what the missionaries work there looked like as well as what goals these people had.

By the end of the Victorian Age, (1832-1900), missionary work had started already in other parts of the world, such as China, Japan, Korea, India, South Africa and other parts of the world, except the Sudan (Central Nigeria).

Both in England and North America, the theme, "The Sudan, the worst manned mission field in the whole world" was beginning to ring louder and louder in many missionary conferences, especially the Keswick conventions in England and later Canada.

During the same period, the Student Missionary Movement was beginning to have a strong influence on the need of global evangelization in North America and Europe.

Furthermore, during this same period, the anti-Islamic sentiment was quite high in Europe and North America within Christian circles. Islam was viewed as the greatest social evil which threatened the survival of Africa, in particular.

The challenge for Christian missions was of two kinds: (l) to stop the spread and influence of Islam in Africa; and (2) to win Africa for Christ before it was too late.

History of christianity in Nigeria

How did missionaries try to reach out to the Africans?

Christians who came to Africa to help spread the Good News of Jesus Christ tried to do several things which would demonstrate the love of Christ to people living here.

They helped them by establishing better medicine. A lot of epidemics and viruses claimed lives of people living here. So, when talking about the impact of Christianity in Nigeria, we should mention how the helped them advance this area. They brought educational programs to fight off the illiteracy through different educational programs and institutions. They helped them promote better situation with the translation and literature in the state to help them keep up with the rest of the world. Finally, they established new missions to keep up the good work.

This is what we can state about the situation with the Christianity in Nigeria and the impact it has on the population. You can learn more about it, as many historians found this subject matter interesting too.

Source: Legit.ng
Did you think about giving your child to a Navy school? Nigerian Navy Secondary school can be the best place for your children to learn how to be independent. He/she can also meet new friends at the school and new challenges. Nigerian Navy schools can forge a character of the person. Therefore, you may need to learn more about which school you need to choose.

Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools

Nigerian Navy Secondary School

If you want your child to become a student of one of the Nigerian Navy Secondary schools, then you need to start with Purchasing NNSS application scratch card. You can contact the school about buying the scratch card or find NNSS designated outlet and purchase the card there. You should pay the fee of N 1500, and you will be granted with a registration scratch card. After that, you should gently scratch the gray part of the card and find out your personal identification number and serial number. Do not miss the card.

Registration process

Find the official website www.nnedu.org

Choose the Admissions Tab and click the Candidate Registration Link.

Choose the Menu Bar and click on the Log In. You need to enter your scratch card details, like PIN code and serial number.

You can start the registration by selecting the file with your passport.

You can fill your personal data, secret question, and secret answer and also your parent school information.

All pictures should be GIF, JPG and JPEG formats with size no more than 20KB.

Before clicking the submit button double check your data for mistakes.

When you click the submit button  your application will be sent the Nany Entrance Exam Team.

You can now have your Exam Number and Registration Number on your displayed page.

You can now print your exam docket to proof your successful registration.

You may log into the system any time and look for your Entrance Exam information.

Keep your telephone Number active to look get a massage from the Navy Entrance Exam Team.

Successful Candidates

Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools

Successful candidates will be noticed about the Nigerian Navy Secondary School Exam results by SMS or email. The list of successful candidates will also be posted at the Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools. Successful candidates should also pick up their letters of invitation to the interview.

READ ALSO: Insurance companies in Nigeria ranking

The candidates who passed the exams will also be instructed to log in the NNSS Admission Portal to print the Letters of the Admission Slip and the Provisional Admission.

List of Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools

Nigerian Navy Secondary School Ojo

Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools

It the first Nigerian Navy Secondary School established by the Navy in 1982. According to the data from the official website, it has the greatest concentration of children and Navy personnel in the country. One of the primary goals for the school is to provide a qualitative education for children. The children are trained to become serving and retired personnel of the Navy. The school maintains high academic standards. The motto of the school is Hard work and discipline. The school sees its mission in producing disciplined youth that can serve the community.

Nigerian Navy Secondary School Abeokuta

Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools

This school was created in 1990, but it had the first wave of students in 1991. The Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Abeokuta is located in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. The school has more than 1000 students, which are called navy boys. This school is mainly focused on the hard work and discipline. The students of the school are divided into four houses.

Blue House or Aikhomu House

Green House or Nyako House

Purple Empire or Koshoni House

Red House or Omotsola House

The system of the houses was created to maintain competition among students.

Nigerian Navy Secondary School Ogbomoso

Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools

This Nay Secondary School was established in 2012. It received the first students in the October 2012. Resa-Asa Ogbomoso of Oyo State. The main purpose of the school is to provide affordable and qualified secondary education for the children of Navy personnel. NNSS Ogbomoso is one of the new schools of the Navy. Therefore, it seeks to explore the possibilities of the Naval personal. As a Navy School, it provides students the basics of discipline and order. Still, the school seeks for pioneering education techniques.

Nigerian Navy Secondary School Port Harcourt

Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools

The Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Port Harcourt was established in 1994. It had its first students on 14 November 1992. It`s located at Harold Wildson Drive in Borokki. The school was created to meet the demand of naval personnel in the Eastern Naval Command. The main task for the school is to provide qualitative secondary education and prepare youth to serve in Navy. The Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Port Harcourt has more than 1400 students. One the most important parts of the school is discipline and hard work.

Nigerian Navy Secondary School Imeri

Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools

NNSS Imeri was established in 2012. It had its first students in October 2012. The main goal of the school is to provide affordable and qualitative education to Navy personnel. It`s a new school and has not many students. Amongst 80 students of the school, there are 53 boys and 27 girls. The students are organized into two arms named after Nigerian Navy Ships. The students are also divided into four houses identified by colors: yellow, purple, red and blue. The houses are to be named after the icons of Nigerian Navy. It`s a newly established school that is based on the pioneering pedagogical techniques in the school`s curriculum.

Nigerian Navy Secondary School Calabar

Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools

The official name of the school is Nigerian Navy Secondary School Akpabuyo Calabar. It was founded on the 4th of August 2006. The school is currently located at Ikot Offiong Ambai Village in Cross River State. The school was created as another step for expensing the Navy education amongst youth. NNSS Calabar was planned as a continuation of the military education of the Eastern Naval Command. The main purpose of the school is to train future Navy members of the armed forces.

Nigerian Navy Secondary School Okura Olafia

Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools

The official name of the school is Nigerian Navy Secondary School Okura Olafia. It`s located in the Okura, Kogi state. The school sees its mission in training youth for further service in the Navy. It`s necessary to create a great Naval fulfillment to secure the country and fulfill constitutional roles of the Navy. Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Okura Olafia was established in 2015 as the seventh Nigerian Navy Secondary School. The main idea of the school was to fulfill the demand of young people in acquiring qualitative and affordable Navy education. The mission of the school is to train children to serve in Nigerian Navy.

READ ALSO: Nigerian army training: What are the stages?

Source: Legit.ng
- Abubakar Suleiman has decried the prolonged detention of four of his brothers by the Department of State Services (DSS)

- Suleiman said his brother were 'kidnapped' by operatives of the DSS in Nasarawa state over four years ago

- He also said the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Nnamdi Kanu is currently making efforts to secure the release of his brothers

Abubakar Suleiman has decried the prolonged detention of four of his brothers by the Department of State Services (DSS)

Abubakar Suleiman has decried the prolonged detention of four of his brothers by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Suleiman who spoke to Legit.ng in an interview said his brothers - Umar Muktar, 30; Haruna Sidi Agba, 43; Ahmad Kallamu, 25; Abdullah Ahmad, 39 were taken away by the DSS on July 4, 2013.

He said, Nnamdi Kanu the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra recently contacted his family over the prolonged detention of his brothers.

Suleiman said Muktar, popularly referred to as Lagos boy is a cattle businessman living in Lafia, Nasarawa state before his arrest.

He was kidnapped and abducted and taken away in Hilux and a jeep car with sniper guns, Suleiman said.

Abubakar Suleiman has decried the prolonged detention of four of his brothers by the Department of State Services

He said Muktar is married to two wives and has five children while Agba, popularly known as Garkuwan Bukan Kwato is also a businessman with two wives and six children.

READ ALSO: It is possible Dino Melaye does not have a certificate - Senator's schoolmate speaks

He was removed from his car driving along Awe town in Nasarawa state, he said.

He added that Kallamu, a 300 level student of the Nasarawa state college of Education, Akwanga was taken away within the college premises, while Ahmad, popularly known as kudi banza-banza is married to three wives and eight children.

Suleiman said his brother were 'kidnapped' by operatives of the DSS in Nasarawa state over four years ago

Suleiman had earlier told Legit.ng on Monday, March 20, that he had approached the Federal High Court to seek the release of his brother held by the DSS.

He said it was painful that since their arrest, the secret police is hyet to charge them to court despite several attempt by their counsel to gain access to them at the DSS facility where they are being held.

I filed the case in the FCT High Court but the court said they have no jurisdiction to hear the matter. That is why we came here to re-file in the Federal High Court because they are denying that these people are not with them, Suleiman said.

READ ALSO: How police invaded "Malaysian Forest", a popular shrine in Enugu, where kidnappers dumped CSO Ejiofor Enechis corpse

But their inmates that lived with them in that DSS custody came, almost five of them or more than that came and informed us that our brothers are there with them.

He also said the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Nnamdi Kanu is currently making efforts to secure the release of his brothers

Kanu stayed with my younger brothers in DSS office, he said.

Speaking further, Suleiman said, counsel to his brothers have made several attempts to inquire from the secret police their whereabouts, the offence committed and when they will be charged to court but to no avail.

He said the counsels have met always met a dead end as the secret police on those occasions denied that individuals are being held by the agency.

He also said that despite DSS denial, former inmates who have met their brother at the facilities headquarters in Abuja, are ready to stand as witnesses on the matter.

If to say they took them to court, that means there must be charges against them, Suleiman added.

READ ALSO: My mummys life is in danger, Apostle Suleman threatens to kill her  Stephanie Otobo

He noted that although is not a lawyer by profession, he understands that when arrested, an institution has only two days to arraign a suspect before a court of competent jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, on the same note, Abdulkadir Yahaya told journalist at the Federal High Court that three of his sons were also being held by the DSS.

He said that for some time, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Nnamdi Kanu had made efforts to help his family secure the release of his sons.

He said Nnamdi Kanu the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra recently contacted his family over the prolonged detention of his brothers.

The Yahaya said: So, Kanu wants to prove to the whole world that they are all held in there.

My son is also there, nobody knows the offence they committed. They (DSS) just came in as if they are kidnappers and took them since 2012, he said.

Meanwhile, speaking to Legit.ng on the issue, a sister to Nnamdi Kanu said her brother has been keen on facilitating the release of the boys who have been in detention since 2012.

Princess Kanu to Legit.ng that her brother has gone as far as getting a lawyer for the men.

She said Kanu has also offered to foot the legal fees of the detained individuals.

On how Kanu met with the boys, Princess said: They met while they were in detention at the DSS."

In fact, he arranged for their lawyers and made initial payments for their papers to be filed in court.

One of their lawyers came from Kano to see him in court and has visited him several times in Kuje to discuss their cases.

READ ALSO: Fayose attacks Fayemi over alleged looting of Ekiti treasury

She said: From what he told me, the boy Usman Abubakar is from Bida, he helped my brother with his laundry and some minor chores while he was with the DSS.

"He said wanted to study Mass Communication but was abducted by DSS in the middle of night, the parents thought he was dead until my brother asked somebody from Abuja to travel to Bida to inquire about his family.

Another inmate was Muktar Umar from Lafia Nassarawa State detained for over over years without trial.

My brother sent a lawyer to contact his family in Lafia Nassarawa state because they thought he was dead; he also paid for the families to come to Abuja, lodged them in hotels and paid for their lawyers, she said.

Meanwhile, after his last court sitting, Kanu who spoke at the entrance of the Federal High Court in Abuja, said he invited the families of the detained individuals to meet with him in court due to the difficulty to gain access to him in Kuje Prison.

He also said he took up their matter solely because he detests injustice.

READ ALSO: Nigerian guy threatens to leak ex-girlfriend's pictures for cheating, unless she returns phone he bought for her (photos)

"These people; there children are in DSS custody; theyve been there for five years without trial. Thats what they do in this country.

"This is very terrible. Over 200 people locked down there without trial and this is not justice in any way or form.

What makes you human is your ability to reason. Here, people dont reason. That is why they are detained

Their children have been there for a very long time. Usman Abubakar is in detention. Mukhtar Umar is in detention, and DSS dont want to bring them to court.

Ibrahim Yahya is there. I was with them. For five years, they are still in detention.

Watch video of the families and Nnamdi Kanu speak in court below:

Source: Legit.ng
By Press Trust of India: From Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Mar 27 (PTI) Pakistan today said the logistic agreement signed between India and the US, that enables them to use each others military assets and bases for repair and resupply, has jeopardised the idea of an Asian Century.

Its National Security Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Janjua said the growing cooperation between India and the US - including with the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) signed in August last year - has jeopardised the idea of an Asian Century.

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The LEMOA agreement enables India and the US to use each others land, air and naval bases for repair and resupply.

Speaking at a conference on Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean: Challenges and Prospects for Pakistan, Janjua said, "Inter-state tensions in the region and significant investments in blue water navies by countries like India have brought oceans into focus as sensitive security space."

The conference was held to analyse the challenges in the realm of maritime security emanating from militarisation and nuclearisation of the Indian Ocean and power projection in the region, emerging alliances and threats to the Beijing-backed USD 45 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Janjua said the idea of an Asian Century was under threat because "security architecture and strategic stability of the region had come under stress", adding India and the US have "carved out space to preposition themselves in this ocean. India is being propped up as a counter-weight to China through geo-political, economic and military moves."

Sehar Kamran, President of the Centre for Pakistan and Gulf Studies - one of the organisers of the conference, said fulfillment of the vision of Asian Century needs a focus on 3Cs ? connectivity, cooperation, and communication.

The conference recommended to place special emphasis on modernisation of the Pakistan Navy. "Pakistan should increase and modernise its naval fleet, and pursue technological advancements in sea-based deterrents to ensure an assured second strike capability, especially in the context of the growing threats by the belligerent India," said Kamran.

Federal Minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain claimed "competitors" were opposed to the CPEC and were "already seeking to sabotage it."

Former deputy chief of naval staff Vice Admiral (retd) Iftikhar Ahmed said, "If we have the requisite infrastructure and enabling environment at Gwadar and the region, Gwadar will surely emerge as the economic hub of the region."

The CPEC begins in Chinas restive Xinjiang region and ends in southern Pakistans Gwadar port. The stated aim of the project is to economically link China with Euro-Asia region.

He stressed that the Iranian port of Chahbahar, being built by India and Iran, posed no challenge to Gwadar and the two could compliment each other. PTI SH ABH

--- ENDS ---

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- MASSOB leader, Uchenna Madu, says Biafra can be resolved through referendum instead of war and violence

- Madu describes the 1914 amalgamation of the southern and northern protectorate of Nigeria as a failure

- The MASSOB leader says the failed amalgamation of Nigeria led to the Nigerian Civil war which resulted in the death of over three million Biafrans

MASSOB leader, Uchenna Madu, has said the referendum on Biafra will soon take place.

The Movement for Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), has disclosed that it has started mobilising people on the need to support the Biafra referendum, which it says is imminent.

READ ALSO: Certificate saga: Dino Melaye's school mate finally reveals the truth

According to the Guardian, the leader of the group, Uchenna Madu, in Abakaliki in a statement on Sunday, March 26, said the Biafra republic can be resolved through referendum instead of war and violence.

He said: Nigeria was on January 1, 1914 artificially cobbled together by the annexation of the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria in an exercise officially tagged Amalgamation.

Decades of massive bloodletting which interrupted these monumental failures came to global reckoning between 1967-1970 when eastern Nigeria found itself in a genocidal war.

READ ALSO: EFCC indicts Saraki and his aides in N19bn Paris Club scam

In the war, over three million Biafrans died. The current escalation of the quest for exit from the failed Nigerian union must therefore be seen by the global community as the continuation of an almost 50 years old fight for self-determination. Referendum can resolve the matter instead of war and violence.

Meanwhile, Professor Wole Soyinka has joined the train of people demanding to know the health status of President Muhammed Buhari. Soyinka who also professed his support for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) said there is no doubt that President Buhari is ill, but he needs to reveal what is wrong with him.

Legit.ng gathered that Professor Wole Soyinka made this statement at Paris Book Fair over the weekend, according to Vanguard.

Below is a Legit.ng video of pro-Biafra protesters staging a protest in front of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The Nobel Laureate said the pro-Biafra agitators had a right to assert themselves as a distinct people, even within a political and geographical zone anywhere in the world.

Source: Legit.ng
Out of 10 educational institutions in America, four have reported a decrease in the number of Indian applicants for the fall 2017 intake.

By Anand Patel: 25-year-old Waqar Ali, an MBA graduate from Allahabad, is taking English classes for IELTS exam to meet admission criterion of a Canadian university. He holds a conditional admission for an advance level course in IT consultancy from the university and hopes to join it from fall session. This was not his dream destination though.

Ever since he passed out from a college in Jalandhar the lure of working in the Silicon Valley propelled his desire for higher study at an American university. But with the victory of Donald Trump his dreams came crashing. The recent spurt in attacks on immigrants has only cemented Waqar's decision not to go to US during Trump era.

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Waqar's dilemma echoes in a survey report on the state of higher education in the US. Out of 10 educational institutions in America, four have reported a decrease in the number of Indian applicants for the fall 2017 intake.

SURVEY REPORT

This startling revelation has been made in a survey titled 'Trending Topics Survey: International Applications for Fall 2017 -Institutional and Applicants Perceptions' by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admission Officers (ACCRAO). The key findings of the survey were released last week.

Swarnim Shrivastava's story is no different. A 20-year-old student at DU is gearing up for masters in business studies from Australia. "Since I will be on my own in an alien country, my parents didn't agree for US. I was advised that Australia is much safer for Indians so I will be applying for universities there later this year," says Swarnim.

Into overseas education consultancy for over two decades now, Ajay Mal, sales director at Krishna Consultants in Delhi's Patel Nagar is worried by the trend. "Parents are coming to us with specific requests that they don't want to send their wards to anywhere else but the US," he says. The recent attacks and incidents of hate crime have alarmed both students and their parents but we hope that the Trump government will soon realise that these students contribute in a big to their universities earnings, so we expect they will do something about changing this perception, he added.

The report says, "Over the past year, international educators expressed concern that the political discourse surrounding foreign nationals in the US leading up to the November 2016 US presidential election could be damaging to international student recruitment efforts". It further says that 39 per cent of responding institutions reported a decline in international applications, 35 per cent reported an increase, and 26 per cent reported no change in applicant numbers.

The highest downfall has been that of students from the Middle East. But decline in applications from India and China are alarming. As per the survey, 26 per cent of institutions have reported undergraduate and 15 per cent decline in graduate applications from India as well.

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WHAT LED TO THE DOWNFALL

The survey has also listed a number of reasons for the downfall. The most frequently noted concerns of international students and their families, as reported by institution-based professionals, finds that for individuals from other countries the environment is not as welcoming as before. Apart from concerns that benefits and restrictions around visas could change, especially around the ability to travel, re-entry after travel, and employment opportunities and concerns that the travel ban might expand to include additional countries.

A complete and final report will be available by March 30, after a full review of the data.

ALSO READ:

Donald Trump's immigration plans could impact 3 lakh Indian-Americans

How Donald Trump's merit-based immigration proposal could benefit Indians

Trump targeting over 200 Indian immigrants; India seeks details from USA

Also watch:

US federal judge blocks Trump's revised travel ban, President calls it 'unprecedented judicial overreach'

--- ENDS ---
Some have said that the best book an atheist can read is the bible. And this is because some bible verses are so unbelievable to us humans.

The Holy Bible is the regarded as the final authority by most believers in the Christian religion

Below are some of such verses:

1. Genesis 19:8

"See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof."

Can you offer your daughters to men, the way Lot did? This is one verse that make many to turn away from the bible.

2. Exodus 21:20-21

"And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property."

This was a verse used by slave-owners during the period of slavery, and before it was abolished. In fact, all of Exodus 21 talks about the rules for treating slaves and this allowance of slavery has led many to question the goodness of the bible.

3. Leviticus 25:44-45

"And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves.

"Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property."

The fact that this bible verses about slaves even includes children, makes it seem like God approves of child trafficking.

READ ALSO: 7 Bible verses you will not believe

4. 1 Peter: 2:18

"Servants, be in submission to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.

"So if you are a slave, and your master beats you harshly, the slave should just accept it. After all, fear of your master is a good thing."

Surprisingly, modern Christianity almost unanimously condemn the practice of slavery, even though the Bible condones and accepts in in numerous places.

5. Deuteronomy 22:20-21

"But if the thing is true, and evidences of that she has had intercourse is found for the young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her fathers house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her fathers house. So you shall put away the evil from among you."

Many feel like this is unfair to women and why should the woman be stoned, what happens to males whose state of purity cannot be proven.

6. Deuteronomy 23:1

He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the LORD."

So, if your penis is cut off or your balls are crushed, God does not accept your worship. God only accepts worship from people whose private parts are in good condition.

This has made many distrustful of other bible verses.

7. Leviticus 21:18-19

"For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is sterile."

So people with defects are not allowed inside God's temple to offer sacrifice or be priests. This has been a major turn-off for many.

READ ALSO: See Nigerian churches where single people are finding love

8. 2 Kings 2:23-24

"Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!

"So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths."

Legit.ng recently interviewed Cobhams Asuquo a musician who explained the difference between gospel and Christian music. Watch the video below:

Source: Legit.ng
Suspected terrorists have attacked the houses of two police officers in Kashmir's Shopian district

By Ashraf Wani: Suspected terrorists on Monday night barged into the houses of two police officers in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.

They ransacked and opened fire at the houses of ASI Dilbar Ahmad and Constable Reyaz Ahmad, who are brothers.

They broke the window panes of the house and vehicle before fleeing.

No one was injured in the attack.

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ALSO READ | Kashmir: 2 militants, including top Hizbul commander, killed in encounter

WATCH VIDEO | Kashmir: Security forces shoot dead 2 militants, including top Hizbul commander

--- ENDS ---
Senate president Bukola Saraki has appeared before the Senate committee on ethics and privileges over the seizure of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) allgedly owned by the Senate.

Senator Saraki has told the Senate committee on ethics and privileges that he was not involved in the importation of the seized SUV.

The vehicle was impounded by officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in January after discovering that the documents used in clearing it were allegedly forged, according to The Cable.

READ ALSO: BREAKING! Dino Melaye graduated with third class in Geography - ABU VC

There have been allegations that the row of the senate with Hameed Ali, comptroller-general of customs, is as a result of the action of the agency.

Former majority leader, Sen. Ali Ndume, told the committee on Monday, March 27, that had no evidence linking Saraki to the ownership of the seized vehicle, The Punch reports.

He said his point of order which the Senate ordered its probe, was based on media reports. But Ndume asked the panel to probe the matter.

Saraki on his part, told the committee that he was neither an importer nor involved in the importation of the said vehicle by using any agent on his behalf," Daily Post reports.

Thank you members of the Senate Committee for inviting me. I am not an importer, I have no agent involved in importing the vehicle on my behalf, he said.

READ ALSO: EFCC indicts Saraki and his aides in N19bn Paris Club scam

The Senate president said the senators had the responsibility to protect the institution from those trying to pull the Senate down at all cost, stressing that the only difference between the military administration and that of democracy was the National Assembly.

Watch below a video of Nigerians accusing Buhari of corruption.

Source: Legit.ng
Fulani herdsmen who have continuously attacked Benue towns and communities have been very successful because of their tactics, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has revealed.

Many communities in Benue state are still mourning their loved ones as a result of attacks by the herdsmen

Chief Mike Okibe Onoja, a former permanent secretary in the federal civil service, made the revelation on Monday, March 27, 2017 adding that the Fulani herdsmen have adopted the guerilla-style approach in their attacks on communities.

Legit.ng learnt that Chief Onoja described the attack by the herdsmen as guerilla war while lamenting that such attackers are hardly ever arrested because of this strategy.

READ ALSO: My son started killing at the age of 12  Vampires mother, Mrs Chibueze

The Nation reports that Onoja, who spoke in Makurdi, the capital of Benue state shortly after he was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree of Letter by the state university, said the security situation in the country particularly in Benue state, calls for urgent and immediate action by the federal government.

This is not an open confrontation where they can face security agents. Is like a guerilla type of situation where they take you by surprise, attacked you and run away.

And in that type of situation, it is difficult to arrest the particular individuals for prosecution, so federal government must step up surveillance in every nook and crannies of the affected states to beat them.

It is surprising that none of the herdsmen behind the killings in Benue state and other parts of Nigeria has been persecuted.

It is either they mark, strike and get away uncaught or they are doing it with the backing of some very strong people in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Just In: Police storm "Malaysian Forest" in Enugu, where kidnappers dumped CSO Ejiofor Enechis corpse

But so far, they have been very smart about it. They attacked, killed people, destroyed houses and run away like in a guerilla type of war, he reportedly stated.

Legit.ng had earlier reported that the state has endorsed a law banning open grazing by herdsmen as a way of tackling the persistent clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the state.

Legit.ng's correspondent was recently in Kaduna to assess the level of damage in the attack by alleged herdsmen on the southern part of the state. Here is the video:

Source: Legit.ng
Bypolls to the Srinagar and Anantnag Lok Sabha seats will be held on April 9 and 12, respectively.

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: Approximately 20,000 additional Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) will be deployed in Jammu and Kashmir for the upcoming bypolls in the Srinagar and Anantnag Lok Sabha seats.

"We are planning to send 200 companies of paramilitary forces to Jammu and Kashmir for election duties. These forces are in addition to those already deployed for law and order duties," a Home Ministry official told India Today.

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A company of paramilitary force comprises around 100 personnel.

Bypolls to the Srinagar and Anantnag Lok Sabha seats will be held on April 9 and 12, respectively.

KASHMIR SIMMERS

Kashmir continues to simmer after violent incidents in the recent past.

Official sources told India today that Jammu Kashmir police had sought deployment of 350 companies, considering law and order issues in the troubled state.

But after a meeting, it was decided that 200 companies would be deployed for both parliamentary by polls.

On Sunday, two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed when they tried to ambush a police party that included three officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police in south Kashmir's Pulwama district.

The top police officers of the district were returning after a meeting with the chief election officer in connection with the forthcoming bypolls.

ALSO READ | 2 Hizb militants killed while trying to ambush police party in south Kashmir

WATCH VIDEO | Kashmir: Security forces shoot dead 2 militants, including top Hizbul commander

--- ENDS ---
With the onset of the summer, it seems Pakistan and the terror groups backed by it are planning to add to the heat by carrying out attacks during the tourist season in the Kashmir valley.

By Ajit Kumar Dubey, Manjeet Negi: The September surgical strikes by Indian soldiers left the Pakistani terror infrastructure bleeding and have forced the jihadis to chart new courses.

Sources said the troops deployed on the Line of Control (LoC) have been warned that terrorists will attempt to infiltrate using a mix of traditional and fresh routes where the terrain is difficult to be guarded.

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"The Army and BSF units deployed under them are guarding the routes from Uri, Tangdhar, Poonch, Nowgam, Naushera and Macchhil, which can be used for making entry into the Indian territory by terrorists who are desperate to disrupt peace here," said the sources.

With the onset of the summer, it seems Pakistan and the terror groups backed by it are planning to add to the heat by carrying out attacks during the tourist season in the Kashmir valley to disrupt the normalcy there. Terrorists have also moved towards the LoC from their camps to cross over to India.

"We have received inputs from agencies that there would be attempts made by the terrorists from across the Line of Control (LoC) to target tourists coming to Jammu and Kashmir this year for which they are already making preparations," Army sources told MAILTODAY.

INTEL AGENCIES TRACKING MOVEMENTS ACROSS LoC

The intelligence agencies and Army spies have been keeping an eye on the movements across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and inputs suggest that operatives of Lashkar-e-Taiba and other outfits are moving towards new launch pads to infiltrate, the sources said.

A few small groups have even been seen by agencies towards Gulmarg and Tangdhar. Sources say some intelligence reports suggest that a few terrorists may even have been successful in infiltrating and would be tracked by the troops on the ground there.

Army sources said the units are also keeping an eye on suspected terrorist camps in PoK across areas where jihadis are expected to make infiltration attempts. Sources said the surgical strikes have had an impact on the deployment pattern of terror groups as they are now increasingly mingling with civilian population to avoid being earmarked for action by Indian troops.

SURGICAL STRIKES

The September surprise raids saw a rare public announcement by India that it had launched a military operation across its de facto border with Pakistan. They followed PM Narendra Modi's warning that those India held responsible "would not go unpunished" for a terror attack the same month on an army base in J&K's Uri sector.

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"Terrorists are now creating their camp infrastructure very close to villages on the PoK side so that their bases cannot be differentiated from locals," they said. "Terrorist leaders were keeping civilians at camp sites in the past as well, but the camps merging with villages is a new development following the strikes."

Sources say terrorists are not even using the two camps and six launch pads that were destroyed by Special Forces. They added that Pakistani agencies have the capability to regulate the number of terrorists as they get regular supply of operatives from radical groups backed by state agencies.

"ISI and Pakistan Army are capable of regulating terrorist tap in Kashmir and they can decrease or increase the numbers as per requirements," sources said, adding there is suspicion terrorists have been able to cross over from Poonch but units there are not confirming it.

Forces are also keeping an eye on surrendered terrorists and the ones who have returned from Pakistan via Nepal as they are providing support infrastructure to infiltrating groups from there. "One Ruda Ul Ameen Dar was a surrendered terrorist, but was killed by forces sometime back in Kashmir. He was providing all kinds of support to militants," said sources.

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ALSO READ | Muslim women form human chain after Westminster terror attack

ALSO READ | Bangladesh: 2 militants killed in Sylhet army operation

WATCH VIDEO | Kashmir: Security forces shoot dead 2 militants, including top Hizbul commander

--- ENDS ---
BEIJING  A Chinese court has ruled in favor of Apple in design patent disputes with a domestic phone maker, overturning a ban on selling iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus phones in China, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Last May, a Beijing patent regulator ordered Apples Chinese subsidiary and a local retailer, Zoomflight, to stop selling the iPhones after Shenzhen Baili Marketing Services lodged a complaint claiming that the patent for the design of its 100c mobile phone was being infringed on by the iPhone sales.

Apple and Zoomflight challenged the ban by the regulator, the Beijing Intellectual Property Office.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court revoked the ban on Friday, saying that Apple and Zoomflight had not violated Shenzhen Bailis design patent.

The court ruled that the regulator had not properly followed procedures in ordering the ban while there was no sufficient proof to claim that the designs constituted a violation of intellectual-property rights.
Season 2, Episode 6: Indian Four

Two weeks ago, I wrote about Wendy Rhoadess period in exile, and how it has affected both her as a character and a show that relies on her as a unifying element. Her time as a free agent had left Chuck and Axe without the woman they claimed but could not possess, and her re-entry into their lives rekindles a conflict that circumstances had miraculously conspired to resolve. Billions isnt a exactly comedy, but the psychology it assigns to these two Masters-of-the-Universe types emphasizes the absurd gulf between their intellectual capacity and their raw, bone-stupid masculinity. They may sip on fancy scotch or take the private helicopter to dinner, but at heart theyre possessive and tempestuous beasts, like Jake LaMotta in expensive shoes.

After a season of taking losses in his quixotic pursuit of Axe Capital, Chuck has finally notched a series of stunning and improbable victories. Having realized that he cant go toe to toe with Axe, whose money and power are too overwhelming, he has instead treated him like Muhammad Ali did George Foreman in The Rumble in the Jungle, countering his superior strength with a rope-a-dope tactics. His prosecution of Lawrence Boyd was a move to grant him a stay of execution from an attorney general hellbent on firing him, but it also turned into a proxy battle against Axe, who offered Boyd his counsel and his resources, including the dark arts of his fixer, Hall.

For as much as Axe gloats about Chucks sending other people away in cuffs while he remains free, Boyds ensnarement is an unambiguous win for Chuck and a warning that he can do the seemingly impossible. Recall that Chuck asked his assistant United States attorneys to get creative and find him a big case  not one that he could successfully prosecute, but one that would allow him to keep his job. That they nailed Boyd for bid-rigging treasury auctions is essentially making something out of nothing, which is a much greater result than Chuck or his morale-challenged team ever expected. The case against Boyd was a stalling tactic made good, like a kid feigning sickness to get out of a test only to ace it when he returns to class.

The good news keeps on rolling in, too. Chucks game of 12-dimensional chess also secures him freedom from scrutiny from the attorney general, who calls off Oliver Dake in the middle of a damning inquiry. Just as Dake gets Lonnie to admit that Chuck didnt really recuse himself from the Axe prosecution, he has to pack up his things and go, although not before leaving an ominous threat of future action. (I took an oath to the people of the United States, Dake says. When I see someone putting his own interests above that oath, theres nothing I like better than making sure they never get a job in the legal profession for the rest of their lives.) Meanwhile, Chucks father uses his connections to undermine Axes play on a proposed casino upstate, just after Axe spends $5 million on a now-worthless piece of land.
Molina has been doing wonderful work in the series, and this week he has one of his best moments, when he is overcome by a sense of shared pride at seeing Joan Crawford surrounded by a crowd of fans after a preview of Baby Jane. Its extremely vulnerable work from him. He bursts with happiness for her. (Jessica Langes stare back at him is an intense kaleidoscope of pride, gratitude and steely self-satisfaction.) Aldrichs career unhappiness post-Baby Jane is evident when we see him directing a bullying and uncooperative Frank Sinatra (Toby Huss) in 4 for Texas and trying to assuage the fears of Davis, who is baffled that the offers havent been pouring in.

Throughout, Aldrich has been supported by Pauline (Alison Wright, who plays Martha on The Americans), his right-hand lady (as she calls herself), script-reader and assistant, cheerleader and troubleshooter. In the second side arc in the episode, Pauline rises to the forefront, speaking the first line after the credits sequence when she compliments the editor on his seamless job piecing together the beach scene in Baby Jane. Pauline has a secret. She has written a script for Crawford and wants to direct it. In this risky pioneering pursuit, she recruits Crawfords right-hand lady, Mamacita, asking for advice on how to approach the star. Mamacitas reaction to such an unorthodox idea is unexpected, leading to a hugely entertaining scene in which she lectures Pauline on census information in the United States. Women will someday outnumber men, Mamacita informs an astonished Pauline, and Hollywood will have to respond by catering to that majority.

This is not just a timely topic but a timeless one. (Kathy Batess Joan Blondell points this out in one of the shows 1978 interview segments: Any film starring women that makes money will be treated as a fluke by the Boys Club.) Were seeing a situation like that right now with Hidden Figures, the best picture nominee that is still in theaters months after it opened and has box-office receipts far exceeding those of X-Men: Apocalypse and Star Trek Beyond, according to a recent report by The Wrap. Will the success of Hidden Figures be treated as a fluke? Or will it spur a paradigm shift in terms of business decisions? Money talks. The Boys Club would do well to listen.

Wright is touching in her portrayal of a woman stepping out into the unknown. But Pauline hasnt yet played a large enough role in the series to warrant this much time, especially when there are such tantalizing glimpses of Bette and Joan, alternately freaking out and relishing the experience of being in a hit again. The script (by Tim Minear and Gina Welch) sometimes veers toward pandering in Paulines scenes. (Pauline tells Mamacita that her own mother wasted her life in marriage and child rearing, and then adds, Not that theres anything wrong with domestic work.) The points made about women and power in Hollywood are important ones, but they are more effective circling in the electrically charged orbit of Davis-Crawford.

In their separate spheres, Davis and Crawford deal with the success of Baby Jane very differently. In real life, Davis did tons of publicity for the film (Sarandon re-creates Daviss appearance on the Andy Williams Show when, in a flowing, sky-blue dress, she sings a funky pop song called Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?). Crawford did very little publicity, despite Warners warnings that this could hurt her come Oscars season. The reviews of Baby Jane focus mainly on Davis, causing Joan to toss down a newspaper in fury: Its like I wasnt even in the damn thing!
Heres a look at whats coming up this week.

ECONOMY

Consumer confidence is expected to edge down.

On Tuesday at 10 a.m., the Conference Board will release its reading on consumer sentiment for March. The Consumer Confidence Index is expected to fall slightly to 113.6 from 114.8 in February, but thats still considered a healthy level. Februarys reading was the highest in more than 15 years. Nelson D. Schwartz

FINANCIAL INDUSTRY

Companies will watch early Brexit negotiations.

Theresa May, the British prime minister, is expected to invoke Article 50 on Wednesday, beginning the formal, two-year process of negotiating Britains exit from the Europe Union, known as Brexit. Corporations that have made Britain their European headquarters will be closely watching the negotiations to determine how their businesses might be affected.

The outcome of the negotiations will be especially critical for financial companies, which may have to relocate employees and some operations to continue to provide services to Europe-based clients. A number of banks and insurers have already indicated they will probably move some employees to countries in the European Union. More announcements may come this week as the process begins. Chad Bray

TECHNOLOGY

Samsung is set to introduce a new smartphone.

Samsung Electronics, the South Korean manufacturer that gained notoriety after a number of its Galaxy Note smartphones caught fire last year, is hoping to find a path to redemption. On Wednesday, the company will introduce the Galaxy S8, its first notable smartphone release since the debacle, in New York. Brian X. Chen
More and more, states have taken the position that, if Congress is not willing or able to enact strong privacy laws, their legislatures will no longer sit on their hands, said Chad Marlow, a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union.

Online privacy is the rare issue that draws together legislators from the left and the far right. At the state level, anyway, some of the progress has come from a marriage between progressive Democrats and libertarian-minded Republicans, who see privacy as a bedrock principle, Mr. Marlow said.

States have often been a kind of regulatory laboratory. Be it tax cuts, emission regulations, gay rights or gun laws, advocates on both the left and the right have long worked at the state level to push agendas that Washington is too busy or hostile to handle.

In the case of online privacy, consumer groups and civil liberties advocates had a friendly ear in many quarters of the Obama administration. Now they face a White House and a Congress that are looking to roll back regulations, not create them.

But federal blockage can create local opportunities.

What youre seeing is this growing recognition of the intrusiveness of these technologies, and some efforts  not to regulate them out of existence, but to regulate them in ways that allow people who care about this to preserve their own privacy, said David Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown Law School, and the former director of the Federal Trade Commissions consumer protection bureau. So whats going to happen is California is going to supplant Congress, and its going to be augmented by states like Illinois, Minnesota and even Texas in efforts to protect consumer privacy.

In Illinois, the right to know legislation recently cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee, paving the way for a full vote sometime in the next few weeks. Technology companies and their trade organizations are lobbying fiercely against it.

I think I created 30 jobs when I filed this bill, said Michael Hastings, a Democratic state senator who sponsored the measure.
Representative Jim Cooper, a centrist Democrat from Tennessee who has often worked with Republicans, said: We need to fix the flaws in Obamacare. I hope Republicans are willing to do that, instead of just destroying Obamacare. But, he added, before we can work with them, the Republicans have to bargain in good faith and stop sabotaging Obamacare.

Mr. Obamas health care law may not be imploding, as President Trump says. But in states as diverse as Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, the public insurance marketplaces  a central innovation of the Affordable Care Act  are in trouble. Consumers have seen big premium increases for health plans sold by a shrinking number of insurers. People will have to come to the bargaining table sooner rather than later, said Chris Jacobs, a health policy analyst.

Within a few weeks, insurers must decide whether they will participate in the marketplaces in 2018. Insurance markets could quickly unravel if the House wins a court case challenging the legality of subsidies paid by the government to insurers on behalf of low-income people.

The comments by President Trump and Speaker Ryan predicting the collapse of the A.C.A. and health insurance exchanges could become a self-fulfilling prophecy, said Kevin J. Counihan, who was the chief executive of the federal insurance marketplace, HealthCare.gov, under Mr. Obama.

Mr. Counihan said he saw a risk that some counties might not have any insurers on the exchange next year as major insurers like Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealth pull back from the program. Republicans in Congress, especially those from rural areas, share that concern. The Obama administration worked hard to keep insurers in the market, and to promote sign-ups during open enrollment season. Whether the Trump administration will do so is unclear.

Mr. Counihan suggested several areas where Republicans and Democrats in Congress could work together. They could, he said, give insurers more discretion to charge higher premiums for older adults, reflecting their medical costs. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers can charge older adults no more than three times the rates for young adults. The House Republican bill would have allowed them to charge five times as much, or more if states wanted. A ceiling somewhere between those numbers might be appropriate, Mr. Counihan said.

In addition, he said, Congress could shorten the length of grace periods during which insurers must provide coverage to consumers who fail to pay their premiums. Lawmakers from both parties have also expressed a desire to give states more freedom to pursue their own ideas for expanding coverage, controlling health costs, reducing premiums and stabilizing insurance markets. Giving states more flexibility is consistent with Republicans federalism philosophy. It also has potential appeal to Democrats because many states, including some with Republican governors, are to the left of the Trump administration on health policy.
WASHINGTON  Since Carl Icahn, the billionaire investor, was named by President Trump as a special adviser on regulatory matters, he has been busy working behind the scenes to try to revamp an obscure Environmental Protection Agency rule that governs the way corn-based ethanol is mixed into gasoline nationwide.

It is a campaign that fits into the charge Mr. Trump gave Mr. Icahn, to help the nation break free of excessive regulation. But there is an additional detail that is raising eyebrows in Washington: Mr. Icahn is a majority investor in CVR Energy, an oil refiner based in Sugar Land, Tex., that would have saved $205.9 million last year had the regulatory fix he is pushing been in place.

Mr. Icahn, known internationally for his pugnacious and persistent approach to activist investing, has brought that same technique to his new role. He quizzed Scott Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general, about the ethanol rule when Mr. Icahn helped interview Mr. Pruitt for the E.P.A. job. Mr. Icahn later reached out to Gary D. Cohn, Mr. Trumps top economic adviser, to raise the issue. Mr. Icahn said he even had a telephone conversation in February with Mr. Trump himself.

The blitz has already generated at least one clear outcome: Since Mr. Trump was elected president with Mr. Icahns very vocal support and nearly $200,000 in political contributions to Republican causes  the stock price of CVR Energy has soared. By late December, it had doubled. It is still up 50 percent from the pre-election level, generating a windfall, at least on paper, of $455 million as of Friday.
You certainly saw the power of united Democratic resistance to the Trump agenda on Friday, said Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut. Theres no way you can explain the failure of that bill without the story of a united Democratic and progressive resistance.

Of course, much of the story revolves around the inability of the fractured Republican majority to reach a consensus. But while many Republican lawmakers were under pressure to oppose the health bill, Democratic members of Congress also felt the heat thanks to the new wave of activism in response to Mr. Trump.

Though the ability of Democrats to do much more than say no remains limited, their success in helping to thwart Mr. Trump will not only embolden them to confront him again  it will also inspire activists to push them to do whatever it takes to block his path.

Having tasted victory, the resistance forces will feel even more empowered to insist that Democrats continue withholding any cooperation and not granting Trump any victories when he is so wounded, said Brian Fallon, a Democratic strategist.

Still, this rising energy could create internal turbulence for Democrats if activists turn their attention to the next major showdown in Washington: the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch. The court battle has not yet engendered the same intensity among activists as the health care bill or Mr. Trumps executive orders on immigration. Some Democratic senators are uneasy about rejecting Judge Gorsuch, preferring to save any fight for an opportunity by Mr. Trump to fill a seat now held by a liberal justice.

But the partys senators may now be pressed to take a more aggressive posture against Mr. Gorsuch, opposition that may not halt his confirmation but would force Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster for such nominations.

An infrastructure plan may be a safer harbor for Mr. Trump  a measure many in Washington are mystified that he did not try to pursue at the outset of his administration. But Mr. Schumer suggested that the president would find Democratic votes only if he defied his party and embraced a huge spending bill, rather than just offering tax incentives for companies to build roads, bridges and railways.
I think theres a lot of flexibility in terms of some of my contacts and conservatives in terms of not making it totally offset, he said. Does it have to be fully offset? My personal response is no.

The health care failure also makes the tax overhaul more politically complex as the fissures within the Republican Party have been laid bare. Mr. Trump followed Mr. Ryans lead and lost, making it more likely that the White House will try to steer the direction of tax legislation.

I would be surprised given the health law debacle if the Trump administration sits back and lets Congress fashion the legislation without weighing in on the substance, said Michael J. Graetz, a tax law professor at Columbia University. That is one of the lessons that the administration will take from the failure of the health bill.

It remains unclear whether Mr. Trump and Mr. Ryan are in agreement on taxes.

Since last summer, Mr. Ryan and Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, have been aggressively pitching a reform blueprint that includes a border adjustment tax. It would be a 20 percent tax on imports that, by making imports more expensive, would spur domestic production, they say. They think the plan would raise $1 trillion to compensate for the lower revenue that much lower tax rates would probably bring in.

Mr. Ryan and Mr. Brady are unlikely to simply hand over tax policy to the White House. Mr. Brady said on Sunday that getting rid of the contentious border tax provision would have severe consequences and that he hoped to produce a bill based on the House plan this spring that would be passed later this year.

Mr. Bradys tax-writing committee is expected to convene a meeting about an overhaul on Tuesday.

We have so much in common with the Trump administration, it wouldnt make sense to have a separate tax bill from Secretary Mnuchin, a separate one from Gary Cohn, a third from whomever, Mr. Brady said on Fox News, referring to the Treasury secretary, Steven T. Mnuchin, and to one of Mr. Trumps top economic advisers. Why not take the basis of the House plan?
As details trickled into print and pixels about Russian tampering with the election that put him in the White House, a snappish President Trump lashed out in his favored medium. On Feb. 15, he wrote on Twitter: The real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by intelligence like candy. Very un-American!

No need to consider here the confectionery metaphor or the denigration of information-gathering agencies implied by his wrapping intelligence in quotation marks. On the matter of divulging government material, though, history strongly suggests that a more accurate tweet would have been: Very American!

Leaked information  its uses and abuses  lies at the heart of the current episode of Retro Report, a series of essays and video documentaries that study major news stories of the past and how they influence events today. Presidents themselves have long encouraged seepage when it suits their purposes, as the New York Times columnist James Reston observed decades ago. The ship of state, he said, is the only known vessel that leaks from the top. It is when unauthorized disclosures put them on the spot that leaders start wailing. This has been so since the earliest days of the republic.

President Barack Obama may have publicly extolled the virtues of a free press, but his government pressed criminal charges against more people for news leaks than all previous administrations combined. Rhetorically, anyway, Mr. Trump has raised the temperature many more degrees by declaring the news media to be nothing less than the enemy of the people, a phrase more familiar coming from the likes of Stalin and other despots.
A 20-year-old in Jodhpur's Pipda city was set on fire for protesting against felling of trees in her farm.

By India Today Web Desk: In her attempt to save trees from being felled, a 20-year-old was burnt alive in Pipda city of Jodhpur district in Rajasthan.

The incident occurred on Sunday when 20-year-old Lalita protested cutting of trees in her farm. The trees were reportedly being cut for construction of a road.

Lalita had an argument with villagers over the cutting of trees. The argument escalated and the villagers allegedly poured petrol over her and set her on fire.

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The girl was rushed to a hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.

According to some reports, the village sarpanch Ranveer Singh was allegedly involved in the incident.

"The sarpanch and other people poured petrol on her and burnt her alive. The body is in the mortuary. We will arrest the accused soon, after a fair investigation," police officer Suresh Chaudhary was quoted by ANI.

ALSO READ:

Kerala: 20-year-old dies after being set on fire by jilted lover in college

DU's Hansraj College slapped with Rs 90,000 fine for felling trees in premises

Mumbai: Cutting of 5000 trees for metro projects stayed till further orders

--- ENDS ---
RIO DE JANEIRO  A year after helping push for the impeachment of the leftist President Dilma Rousseff, fewer conservatives are turning out for protests in Brazil, which is good news for her equally unpopular successor, Michel Temer. But the demands of those still demonstrating have hardened, and turned even further to the right.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in at least 18 states on Sunday in support of the sprawling Operation Car Wash graft investigation that drove Ms. Rousseffs impeachment for breaking budget laws, although she was never personally accused of graft. The investigation is threatened by nervous lawmakers who are seeking to restrict its scope and calling for amnesty from illegal campaign financing.

Protesters in the Copacabana seafront area of Rio de Janeiro and along Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo brandished posters, shouted slogans and even carried a cardboard cutout of Sergio Moro, a federal judge who has sentenced dozens involved in the Operation Car Wash case.

But the number of protesters was significantly smaller than before the impeachment, and the protesters on Sunday did not target Mr. Temer, despite a growing number of references to him and his ministers in leaked corruption testimonies. Some demonstrators even argued that removing Mr. Temer would only create more political instability.
SEOUL, South Korea  Prosecutors said Monday that they were seeking to arrest former President Park Geun-hye of South Korea on criminal charges including bribery and abuse of power.

Whether they can arrest Ms. Park, who was removed from office in a historic court ruling this month, will depend on whether the Seoul District Court will issue an arrest warrant. If arrested, Ms. Park would be the first former South Korean leader put behind bars since two former military dictators were imprisoned on corruption and mutiny charges in the mid-1990s.

On Monday, prosecutors formally asked the court for the warrant. It usually takes several days before the court studies evidence and decides whether an arrest warrant is justified.

Prosecutors have been discussing whether they have enough evidence to apply for an arrest warrant since they questioned her for more than 20 hours last week.
SOFIA, Bulgaria  The former prime minister of Bulgaria verged on retaking power Sunday as his center-right party held a narrow lead in a contested election, a sign that Bulgarians still see their future lying with the European Union.

While official results were not expected until Monday, it appeared that the former leader, Boiko Borisov, would form a new government in Bulgaria, the European Unions poorest member, probably in a coalition with an alliance of smaller right-wing nationalist parties.

The Socialists, who had advocated stronger ties with Russia and had vowed to block a renewal of European Union sanctions against the Kremlin, could not convince enough voters that they were the better alternative and conceded defeat.

The result appeared to be a disappointment for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has sought to exploit divisions in the European Union to strengthen Russias influence  particularly in a country like Bulgaria, which was one of the Soviet Unions closest allies.
DUBAI  Iran imposed sanctions on 15 American companies, saying that they were involved in human rights violations and had cooperated with Israel, the state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday, in a tit-for-tat reaction to a move by Washington.

The agency quoted Irans foreign ministry as saying the companies had flagrantly violated human rights and cooperated with Israel in its terrorism against Palestinians and in the expansion of Jewish settlements.

It was not immediately clear if any of the companies, which included the military technology firm Raytheon, had any dealings with Iran or whether they would be affected by Tehrans action, which IRNA said would include seizing of their assets and a ban on contacts with them.

The affected companies, many of them military contractors, also included ITT Corporation, United Technologies and the specialty-vehicle maker Oshkosh Corporation.
One of its productions, Our Trojan War, was staged last week in Austin, Tex., in a run that is due at BAM Fisher in Brooklyn in April.

Marco Reininger, who served in Afghanistan, took part in an earlier production, of Sophocles play Philoctetes. Seeing, through the play, how little had changed about the reality of armed conflict and the experience of the humans tasked with executing it pulled me in very deeply, he said. The warriors and citizens of ancient Greece had the same questions and carried the same trauma as soldiers do today.

The fate of projects like the Warrior Chorus is likely to be determined in key congressional appropriations committees as they consider whether the two endowments should be funded, and at what level. In the past, lawmakers have cited the military and veterans programs when justifying budget increases for the endowments, which now each receive roughly $148 million.

Many committee members have not said whether they will support the agencies. But at least one, Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who is chairwoman of the appropriations panel that oversees the endowments, has backed them.

In explaining her support, she spoke of the N.E.A.s work in her district, including the arts therapy work, which she fought to extend and is being carried out at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in her own state.

I have consistently supported funding for the arts and humanities and have seen the direct benefits of these programs in communities across Alaska, Senator Murkowski said in a statement. She cited the program at the Alaskan base, which treats our wounded warriors.
As a comedian, Sarah Silverman is known for her no-holds-barred explorations of her life and circumstances; her provocative, unapologetically left-leaning riffs on politics and social issues; and an appearance at the 2016 Democratic National Convention where she rebuked boisterous supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders for being ridiculous.

Now, Hulu is hoping Ms. Silverman can make the most of these impulses in a new topical series that will include trying to connect with people far different from herself.

The video service said on Monday that it had given a 10-episode order to a half-hour show tentatively titled I Love You, America, in which Ms. Silverman will discuss the current political/emotional landscape of the country.

In a brief description of the shows format, Hulus statement said that Ms. Silverman was looking to connect with people who may not agree with her personal opinions through honesty, humor, genuine interest in others, and not taking herself too seriously.
Season 1, Episode 7: Not So Grand Jury

Familial bonds are often the trickiest ones to navigate. But as Maia learns, family need not be made up of ones actual relations. This weeks episode of The Good Fight is full of clever twists and scintillating reveals, all of which work to break down Maias illusions about the privileged life her parents have swaddled her in. On one hand, this finally integrates her more fully within the culture of her new firm, which she has felt disconnected from despite the fact that her presence has been a disruptive one. On the other hand, there is something disturbing about the way Mike Krestevas witch hunt against Reddick, Boseman & Kolstad primarily circles around the white characters rather than the black lawyers who have built the firm from the ground up. That Barbara and Boseman  both finely acted characters  remain ciphers mars an otherwise stellar episode.

Maia may be new to the firm, but its her decisions that set the course for its future. She learns from Lucca that Henry was indeed wearing a wire and passed the false information along to Mike, as Elsbeth expected. Maias divided loyalties provide the emotional backbone of the episode. Each plot turn comes back to her faltering relationship with her parents. After all, it becomes increasingly difficult to ignore that she cant trust her father and that his actions are affecting her colleagues. Mikes primary tactic, beyond using Henry, is to get an indictment from the grand jury in hopes of bankrupting the firm. Hes able to scare a few of their minor clients to drop them. The firms strategy to feed Henry false information through Maia is undercut after Mike finds out that the Travis Leopold plan is a complete fiction. This leads Elsbeth to come up with a new tactic: playing the race card.

In their grand jury testimony, Barbara and Boseman highlight the racial dynamics of their firm. They say African-American so many times it becomes farcical. Boseman evokes the name of Harold Washington, Chicagos first black mayor. Barbara explains that the reason the firm takes on police brutality cases isnt just a matter of financial gain but also because the victims feel more comfortable with black lawyers who understand their plight in ways that white ones never would. Mike and the newly introduced assistant United States attorney, Spencer Zschau (Aaron Tveit), recoil every time race is brought to the forefront. Throughout the proceedings, they insist with mounting discomfort that the case has nothing to do with race. Mikes boss, Wilbur Dincon (Adam Heller), is right to worry about the optics. Theyre essentially persecuting a majority black firm for its choice to fight on behalf of the black victims of police brutality cases in a deeply segregated city.

After their first gambit fails, Mike subpoenas Diane, Marissa and Maia, hoping that by targeting the only white people at the firm he can bypass the casess racial elements. It doesnt quite work. Marissas sense of humor delights the jury. Elsbeth sues Mike in civil court for interfering in the contractual obligations of the firm as a way to get a window into the grand jury proceedings. Soon it becomes apparent that Mikes case rests on Diane and the police brutality case from the series premiere. He suggests that she passed along information about the case while at her former firm in order to secure a job with Reddick, Boseman & Kolstad.
Hours later, United issued a clarification, saying that the teenagers and their parents had been traveling with pass riders, tickets given to employees or their friends at a heavily discounted rate, and that with this comes the responsibility of a dress code.

When taking advantage of this benefit, all employees and pass riders are considered representatives of United, read a statement that United posted late on Sunday evening. And like most companies, we have a dress code that we ask employees and pass riders to follow. The passengers this morning were United pass riders and not in compliance with our dress code for company benefit travel.

These are tickets that are typically left over, usable when there are empty seats on a plane. The regular paying passengers are known in the business as revenue customers.

While some details of this tale remain murky  as of right now, the family remains anonymous  dress codes for employees, their families and friends who are traveling on free or discounted passes have been in place for decades, although not all are strictly enforced.

Both of Betty Hornes parents, for example, worked in the aviation industry, and both for United. Her mother was a flight attendant and her father a flight engineer. Ms. Horne, 60, said she had started taking discounted flights thanks to her parents in the 1950s, and even then took great pains in the way she dressed.
AMERICAN WAR

By Omar El Akkad

333 pages. Knopf. $26.95.

Omar El Akkads debut novel, American War, is an unlikely mash-up of unsparing war reporting and plot elements familiar to readers of the recent young-adult dystopian series The Hunger Games and Divergent. From these incongruous ingredients, El Akkad has fashioned a surprisingly powerful novel  one that creates as haunting a postapocalyptic universe as Cormac McCarthy did in The Road (2006), and as devastating a look at the fallout that national events have on an American family as Philip Roth did in The Plot Against America (2004).

Set in the closing decades of the 21st century and the opening ones of the 22nd, El Akkads novel recounts what happened during the Second American Civil War between the North and South and its catastrophic aftermath. It is a story that extrapolates the deep, partisan divisions that already plague American politics and looks at where those widening splits could lead. A story that maps the palpable consequences for the world of accelerating climate change and an unraveling United States. A story that imagines what might happen if the terrifying realities of todays wars in Iraq and Afghanistan  drone strikes, torture, suicide bombers  were to come home to America.

El Akkad  who was born in Cairo and grew up in Doha, Qatar, before moving to Canada  worked for The Globe and Mail, and reported on the war in Afghanistan, the military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay and the Arab Spring. His familiarity with the United States war on terror informs this novel on every level, from his shattering descriptions of the torture endured by one of his main characters to his bone-deep understanding of the costs of war on civilians, who suddenly find themselves living in combat zones or forced into refugee camps with no other future on the horizon.

There are considerable flaws in American War  from badly melodramatic dialogue to highly contrived and derivative plot points  but El Akkad has so deftly imagined the world his characters inhabit, and writes with such propulsive verve, that the reader can easily overlook such lapses.
The beauty of Pervitin lay in the delightful feelings of euphoria, self-confidence and sharp mental focus it gave its users. It could also banish sleep for up to 48 hours or more. This made the drug especially useful during the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and then again in the rapid offensive by tanks through the Ardennes Mountains in May 1940. Officers and military doctors provided a torrent of appreciative testimonials. Im convinced that in big pushes, where the last drop has to be squeezed from the team, a unit supplied with Pervitin is superior. Pervitins effects were deemed fabulous. Ohler writes of the French campaign: In less than 100 hours the Germans gained more territory than they had in over four years in the First World War. Winston Churchill, he records, was dumbfounded.

Image

The strengths of Ohlers account lie not only in the rich array of rare documents he mines and the archival images he reproduces to accompany the text, but also in his character studies. One such character is Otto F. Ranke, the head of the Research Institute of Defense Physiology and the key player in liaising between Temmler and the armed forces, who was himself becoming steadily more habituated and experiencing alarming side effects from Pervitin overdose. Ohlers portrait of Ranke, based on a close analysis of his correspondence and notes from the field, is persuasive, even if the larger conclusions Ohler draws are unsubstantiated. For whether the availability of Pervitin was simply a supplemental aid or whether it provides an essential explanation for the success of the blitzkrieg approach remains an open question.

Similar problems arise in the other major tale at the heart of Blitzed: Hitlers own journey into addiction (or in Ohlers terms, his polytoxicomania). Here the prime character is Theodor Morell, Hitlers private physician, a slick and fawning charlatan. Ever anxious to keep his patient in top form, first for the Nazis huge open-air rallies and later for vital meetings with top generals or world leaders, Morell plied Hitler not only with sundry quack remedies but also with near-daily injections. Initially these consisted of glucose and multivitamins for rapid energy. But by the fall of 1941, when Hitler briefly fell ill, they additionally included steroids and hormonal concoctions made from pigs livers and other animal offal. And in the summer of 1943, in the run-up to a crucial Axis summit, Morell introduced the opioid Eukodal, a drug Ohler describes as a pharmacological cousin to heroin. Once hooked, Hitler asked for it frequently. Eventually he was on an ever-varying cocktail of about 80 substances, more than a dozen of them psychoactive. But it is above all Eukodal that Ohler sees as the key to Hitlers ever more implausible megalomaniac overconfidence and buoyancy in the face of one military setback after another.

Ohler effectively captures Hitlers pathetic dependence on his doctor and the bizarre intimacy of their bond. His suggestion that Hitler had, by the end of his life, become a junkie in the throes of addiction and withdrawal is a proposition that should be considered seriously. But while Blitzed repeatedly tacks back and forth between the medicating of the supreme commander and the major mistakes of judgment with regard to military tactics that characterized his conduct of the war, the connections between events remain unclear.
By India Today Web Desk: Bad news continues to pour in for popular comedian Kapil Sharma who assaulted colleague Sunil Grover while coming back from Australia in a flight. Reports have now emerged that Air India chief Ashwani Lohani has sought a report of his behaviour in the flight and the flight carrier is now all set to issue a warning to the comedian.

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Also read: Without Sunil Grover, The Kapil Sharma Show turns into a sad version of Laughter Challenge

The incident happened on March 16 when Kapil and his gang was returning from Melbourne. The comedian, in an inebriated state, created quite a ruckus. Not only did he hurl abuses at his colleagues, he also ended up hitting Sunil. Even Ali Asgar and Chandan Prabhakar were not spared and were at the receiving end of his abuses.

Also read: Sunil Grover to appear as Mashoor Gulati in a live show with Kiku Sharda

When the passengers started having problem with his behaviour, the cabin crew asked the comedian to calm down and be seated. At this point, Kapil apologised, but then he got up again and continued with his abuses. Then, a pilot came out and gave him a strict warning. The drama stopped there and then and for the rest of the journey, Kapil was sleeping most of the time.

Post the ruckus, most members of Kapil's team--Sunil Grover, Chandan Prabhakar, Ali Asgar and Sugandha Mishra--have quit the show.

--- ENDS ---
Selin  the language-intoxicated, 6-foot-tall Russophile daughter of Turkish immigrants  arrives at Harvard in the mid-90s, almost appallingly innocent. In the year we spend with her, she flirts with one classmate, in her stilted fashion; smokes a few cigarettes; travels to Hungary to teach English; dances perplexedly at a club  It went on and on, the dancing. I kept wondering why we had to do it, and for how much longer. Mainly, she reads  but how she reads. Batuman is wonderful on the joy of glutting oneself on books. In The Possessed she describes devouring Anna Karenina sprawled on her grandmothers super-bourgeois rose-colored velvet sofa, consuming massive quantities of grapes and tearing through Babel while baking an ill-fated Black Forest cake; her memories of the Red Cavalry sequence forever mingled with the smell of rain and baking chocolate. A dictionary is a fetish object in The Idiot, and Batuman conveys Selins all-night reading benders with druggy fervor. Her instincts are, in general, excellent  she is Selin, more or less  save the odd, unhappy decision to repurpose details, characters, conversations and even whole scenes from her previous book: judging a beauty contest of boys legs at a Hungarian summer camp, being given chase by a wild dog. Too often, the novel reads like a greatest-hits version of The Possessed.

But the real pleasures of Selins company come from her differences from the author, not their commonalities. Shes not the type to fire off manifestoes on the sterility of M.F.A. fiction (not yet, at least); she scarcely knows what to think and envies her classmates the quantity and confidence of their convictions. It was a mystery to me how Svetlana generated so many opinions, she says of a friend. Any piece of information seemed to produce an opinion on contact. Meanwhile, I went from class to class, read hundreds, thousands of pages of the distilled ideas of the great thinkers of human history, and nothing happened. Selin is amazingly passive and almost seems miscast in her own life as protagonist. Shes a born Watson, a Boswell; her gift is not for the living, but the telling, for the shaping of a story. Inevitably, she gravitates to larger, louder personalities: worldly Svetlana and Ivan, a math scholar from Hungary  and the novels reluctant leading man.

Selin comes to believe she has two lives  one at school, the other in her cryptic email courtship of Ivan. The idea that our most important and exciting experiences occur in private, in secret, Batuman tells us, is from Chekhov, whose ghost presides benevolently over the book. Selin could be any number of his gentle, ineffectual intellectuals, whose very gentleness and ineffectuality make them so important, according to Nabokov. In an age of ruddy Goliaths it is very useful to read about delicate Davids, he remarked in one of his lectures at Cornell. All this lovely weakness, all this Chekhovian dove-gray world is worth treasuring in the glare of those strong, self-sufficient worlds that are promised us by the worshipers of totalitarian states.

But does Batuman judge Selin more harshly? The title, The Idiot  as with The Possessed, cribbed from Dostoyevsky  seems like an unfair indictment of gentle, hardworking Selin, but at its root, idiot is a benign word, even a strangely sweet one. It originally described someone who doesnt serve in public life (from the Greek idios, pertaining to the self), someone who is a private individual, who belongs to herself. And so much of Selins heartache hinges on her efforts to bridge distances between her private and public selves, between her and other people, using the same tools we all reach for: language, travel, jokes. Sex belongs on this list, too, but Selin  and The Idiot, in fact  is curiously prim. I wondered about this; why this reticence about desire in a book about falling in love, and as a teenager at that? I wondered, too, why here, as in The Possessed, so many of the books more emotionally charged scenes happen offstage and are conveyed to us in summary, if at all. Batuman is an energetic and charming writer and, perhaps, there are wages to this kind of charm  namely in remembering to relinquish it when you need to, remembering to risk being messy, boring or obvious to get at those truths only fiction, she tells us, can access. But for all these moments of evasion, there is more oxygen, more life in this book, than in a shelf of its peers. And in the way of the best characters, Batumans creations are not bound by the book that created them. They seem released into the world. Long after I finished The Idiot, I looked at every lanky girl with her nose in a book on the subway and thought: Selin.
The tiny stake gained by American, based in Fort Worth, reflects the sheer size of the companies and reluctance in both countries to give foreign investors meaningful say in how an airline is run. But the deal could help American capture more traffic between the United States and China through arrangements like code sharing, an industry term for a partnership that allows two airlines to more easily book passengers on each others flights.

China Southern said Tuesday that details of the business cooperation with American had yet to be finalized but were likely to include code sharing, staff exchanges and collaboration on sales and passenger loyalty programs.

The share purchase is kind of cosmetic in a way, because the whole thing is about code sharing and putting passengers from China onto the U.S. aircraft, said Geoffrey Cheng, the head of transportation and industrial research at Bocom International in Hong Kong.

Today, Chinese airlines account for more than 60 percent of assigned flight routes between China and the United States, said Corrine Png, a longtime transport industry analyst in Singapore. Among American carriers, United is the most established thanks to a partnership with Air China, the third major Chinese airline, based in Beijing. It has a route share of about 20 percent, Ms. Png said, while Delta and American each have a share of about 8 percent.

Much of the growth is from the China side, where traffic from outbound visitors more than doubled between 2010 and 2015, according to official statistics. Chinese airlines are better positioned to tap that market because of to their home-carrier advantage and their deep networks, which reach into the Chinese hinterland from the aviation hubs of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
The important first step, assuming he is approved by the Senate, will be the appointment of a new director of the enforcement division.

Since 2009, two of the three directors were former federal prosecutors who worked under Ms. White in the United States attorneys office in Manhattan. They adopted policies reflective of the approach of the Justice Department, like requiring some defendants to admit to violations and granting deferred prosecution agreements in exchange for cooperation.

As the S.E.C. recovered from the debacle over the failure to detect the Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernard L. Madoff, aggressive enforcement became the watchword. This was reflected in annual increases in the number of enforcement actions filed  even though some involved minor transgressions  and large corporate penalties that were promoted as signs of the agencys renewed vigor in enforcing the securities laws.

Mr. Clayton told the senators that there is zero room for bad actors in our capital markets. Yet, he also pointed out that the penalties imposed on companies in settlements should be reduced because shareholders do bear those costs and we have to keep that in mind. He noted that greater deterrence was possible by pursuing individuals rather than seeking large payments from corporate violators.

The focus on individuals is similar to the policy adopted in 2015 by the Justice Department that conditioned credit for a companys cooperation on providing evidence of individual wrongdoing by employees and executives.

The challenge in this approach will be that scaling back corporate penalties could send a message to corporations and Wall Street that they have little to fear from the S.E.C., which cannot pursue criminal cases, because they face only modest financial exposure if violations are uncovered. Without the threat of a significant monetary penalty, it will be an open question whether there will be real cooperation from organizations or just lip service about providing assistance while avoiding disclosures that might implicate current management.

Since the Justice Department adopted its new approach to corporate cooperation, there have been few individual prosecutions for violations inside companies. Even the indictment of six Volkswagen employees over their role in the rigging software to thwart emissions tests did not reach the upper levels of the company, and five of the defendants remain in Germany and so are outside the reach of the United States government.
Carl C. Icahn is known for his pugnacious and persistent approach to activist investing.

Now, as a special adviser to President Trump, Mr. Icahn is applying that style to regulatory matters, generating protests from ethics experts and Democrats about a growing list of potential conflicts.

One regulatory fix that he has been pushing would have benefited CVR Energy, an oil refiner based in Texas in which Mr. Icahn is a majority investor. (The company has already seen its stock soar since the election.)

And he has provided input to the White House on the selection of the new head of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, while being a major investor in companies that have been targeted for enforcement action or investigation by the agency.

Kelly Love, a White House spokeswoman, dismissed the criticism, saying that Mr. Icahn was simply a private citizen whose opinion the president respects.
Saudi Arabia announced a sharp tax cut for its state oil company on Monday, part of an effort to make it more appealing to international investors in preparation for its promised initial public offering.

The tax rate is a vital piece in a puzzle the Saudis need to work out with investment bankers to determine the value of Saudi Aramco, the worlds biggest producer of crude oil. Current valuation estimates, ranging from $400 billion to $2 trillion, depend on various calculations of the worth of operations, projections of commodity prices, and costs including taxes.

The Saudis hope to offer 5 percent of the company to foreign investors late next year, which would raise as much as $100 billion in what could be the biggest initial public offering in history.

The new tax rate for Saudi Aramco will amount to 50 percent, slashed from 85 percent, retroactive to Jan. 1, according to a royal order. The company also pays a 20 percent royalty on revenues.
WASHINGTON  More than 40 percent of patent lawsuits are filed in a federal court in East Texas with a reputation for friendliness to plaintiffs. That curious fact was the backdrop for a Supreme Court argument on Monday over whether the court should halt what many big technology companies say is pernicious forum shopping in patent cases.

In recent years, a single judge based in Marshall, Tex., oversaw about a quarter of all patent cases nationwide, more than the number handled by all federal judges in California, Florida and New York combined.

The Texas court is a favorite venue of patent trolls, or companies that buy patents not to use them but to demand royalties and sue for damages. Many tech companies filed supporting briefs in Mondays case, TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group Brands, No. 16-341, urging the Supreme Court to limit the places where defendants in patent cases may be sued.

But a few companies urged the justices to retain the current rules, saying there was a value in letting cases be considered by courts that have developed expertise in patent matters. And some pharmaceutical companies said they should be able to sue the makers of generic drugs all at once in a single court.
One of the ancient grains that has not yet made it into your granola is fonio, a finely textured high-protein member of the millet family. The West African grain can be used for soups and baking, in porridge or as a starch like polenta. Pierre Thiam, a chef and a native of Senegal, will discuss its use and demonstrate African cooking at the Museum of Food and Drink in Brooklyn: African Culinary Traditions, $30, Thursday, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Museum of Food and Drink, 62 Bayard Street (Lorimer Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-387-2845, mofad.org.
Since Major Food Group took over the former Four Seasons space in Midtown, there has been much hand-wringing over what will become of the Grill Room and Pool Room, which have landmark status, but very little over the fate of the square bar that greeted patrons as they climbed the stairs to the restaurant.

Preservationists and students of New York drinking culture will be relieved to know that the rosewood bar  designed, like the rest of the restaurant, by Philip Johnson  will probably be the least altered part of the space.

Really, the biggest changes weve made are in functionality, lighting and cleaning, and replacing all the materials, said Jeff Zalaznick, a partner in Major Food Group, which plans to reopen the space this spring as the Landmark Rooms at the Seagram Building.
We had had all these deep emotional conversations about how you navigate the terrain of adolescence, she said. Why did that stop when you turned 20?

Image The Big Life is a guide for women in their 20s and 30s who are hungry for a job they love, a supportive network of friends, respect from their bosses and partners who want all those things for them as badly as they do.

A book had long been on the table, and Ms. Shoket decided it was time to write it. But before she did, she wanted to brush up on the topics that matter to women in their 20s and 30s. So about a year ago, she decided to host a dinner with a few of them.

It went for hours and hours, she said. We talked about relationships, about pressure, about equality. We talked about where their ambitions come from and what they hear from their parents.

She decided to have more dinners. Eventually, she formalized the questions that kept coming up into a list that covers work idols (Who is your icon of where youd like to be in five years?), generational differences (How do you think differently about work than your parents did?), imagined deadlines (What do you feel you must accomplish by the time youre 30? And what will happen if you dont?) and more.

In the first few pages of her book, Ms. Shoket encourages readers to host their own get-togethers. It shouldnt just be the six or eight women I can fit around my dining room table who could benefit from talking about this, she said. This should be a conversation thats happening at dining room tables, propped up on pillows on floors, on little fold-up tables sitting in front of the TV, everywhere.
Santiago Barberi Gonzalez, the president and creative director of Nancy Gonzalez, a Colombian accessories firm and one of the largest purveyors of crocodile handbags in the world, died on March 24 in New York. He was 40.

His mother, Nancy Gonzalez, confirmed his death but did not give the cause.

Mr. Barberi Gonzalez, a colorful, charismatic and diminutive figure known to friends as Santi, was considered the creative visionary and the growth engine behind the company, which he founded with his mother in 1998 while he was a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.
Karan Johar has opened up on the premature birth of his children, twins Yash and Roohi, saying that his heart sank when he first got to know that there were complications with their birth.

By India Today Web Desk: Karan Johar, who recently welcomed his children Yash and Roohi, born to him via surrogacy, has penned a moving note sharing his experience of knowing his kids were premature. The twins, named after Karan's parents Yash and Roohi, were bon two months premature, and they have been in the NICU ever since.

While Karan was 'terrified' that there were complications with his babies' birth, he has now spoken to the millions of people who have premature babies every year.

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In his note, the filmmaker wrote, "I have previously shared the wonderfully exciting news of the birth of my children, Roohi and Yash. None of the many overwhelming emotions that I am currently feeling as I take my baby steps into parenthood would have been possible without the marvels of medicine and the progress it has made today.

"Even the most anticipated events can sometimes leave us shaken, confused. And events that occur without any warning can turn our worlds on their very heads. My children were born two months premature and worryingly underweight. Like any person in this situation and on the brink of fatherhood, my heart sank.

"Knowing that there were complications with my babies' birth owing to how soon it was, I was terrified. All I wanted to do was hold them and protect them but they needed to be in the NICU. It was painful to see how tiny they were... Thankfully, I had a great support system. Roohi and Yash were in the hands of the most competent and patient doctors. Something that had its roots in an ordeal, soon turned into an experience that I will never forget."

Johar goes on to say how the 'guidance, support and solidarity' of his doctor and 'the unfailingly vigilant care he provided for the twins, they are both on their way to a happy and healthy childhood'.

Karan continues, "As someone with a voice, I want to reach out. Millions of preemies (premature babies) are born every year... but babies are resilient. With the right kind of care, they stand just as good a chance of survival as anyone else."

"Having a premature baby is something you don't expect to happen to you. The whole experience has ignited a passion in me to help premature babies get the best chance they can... to help those in anguish who want the best chance of survival for their early born babies.

"Premature babies, when provided with the right kind of care, have just as good of a shot of making it, as babies born on time. If your baby is a preemie, don't be discouraged. Seek help.

"If your baby is born premature, don't lose faith, don't lose heart. I can only share my own experience and hope someone takes heart from it. I feel blessed to have had the care my children received while at the NICU and for all the prayers and support I had - but I urge anyone in the same situation to remember that your baby has the best chance of a long, happy life, too. Don't lose hope."

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Earlier this month, speaking at the India Today Conclave 2017, Karan Johar said how he was more 'the mother than the father' of his children. Johar was asked who could be the mother of his children, when he answered, "I am the mother of my children. I am more of a mother than I am a father."

The Ae Dil Hai Mushkil director said, "My need to have children comes from my sense of nurturing. I wanted to channelise the love within me." Karan went on to say that when first he saw his children Yash and Roohi, they were premature. They were supposed to be born in the first week of April, but they were delivered in February. When he later saw them, he wept.

"I didn't even realise that tears were rolling down my face because I just could not believe that there were two pieces of me staring at me, vulnerable, innocent and all piped and tubed up," Karan Johar said.

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ALSO READ: I'm the mother of my children, says Karan Johar

WATCH: Karan Johar on being the mother of his children, wanting to marry SRK

--- ENDS ---
Somalia, which has been hit by a series of crises that sound like a page from the Book of Job, is starting a major effort to vaccinate 450,000 people against its latest plague: cholera.

The country, in the Horn of Africa, has long suffered from weak central government, fighting among clan warlords and terrorist acts committed by Al Shabab, an Islamic militant group with some factions aligned with Al Qaeda.

In 1993, the capital, Mogadishu, was the scene of the Black Hawk Down battle between United States Army Rangers and clan militias. American troops sent to protect food aid shipments ended up fighting the warlords who were seizing them.

The worlds largest refugee camp complex in Dadaab, Kenya, contains 260,000 Somali refugees who fled the civil war in the 1990s or subsequent floods and famine.
What do you know about the history of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment in the United States?

The editorial Pumping Life Into the Equal Rights Amendment states:

The progress of womens equality has not exactly been swift in American history. The endorsement of the Equal Rights Amendment on Wednesday by the Nevada Legislature  35 years after the congressional deadline for passage  is being read by supporters as an encouraging sign, however slow-paced.

The E.R.A., which would enshrine in the Constitution the guarantee that a womans rights are equal to a mans and shall not be denied or abridged, at first moved quickly toward passage in the 1970s. But it fell three states short of the 38 needed for final approval by 1982, the deadline set by Congress. Opponents in Southern and Western states had dug in with richly fantasized warnings of the legal and cultural chaos that would ensue from a broad mandate of gender equality.

Echoes of the same misogyny were heard from Republicans in debate before Nevadas Democrat-controlled Legislature approved the amendment after decades of earlier failures. Proponents insisted the victory was more than hypothetical  pointing to Congresss extension of an earlier E.R.A. deadline as evidence that Congress could do so again if two more states approved the measure. The National Organization for Women is already taking aim at Virginia and Illinois, where the amendment has had considerable support but has been defeated in recent years.

Even some liberals snickered at the news from Nevada about the revival of the amendment. But the equality movement pointed to a new galvanizing force: the outrage of women and men at President Trumps sexism and vulgarity that resulted in millions of Americans marching in protest after his inauguration.

The legislative losers in Nevada tended to be Republican men complaining rather antiquely that the E.R.A. would harm family life, advance abortions and force women into military combat roles. Their other argument was that women, having achieved equality in many spheres since the 1970s, no longer need the amendment for protection. Theyre wrong on that score.

This bill is about equality, period, said State Senator Pat Spearman, pointing to a raft of well-documented studies of continuing inequality. For example, the gap in earnings between women and men will not close until the year 2058, according to the Institute for Womens Policy Research. The percentage of impoverished women has increased in recent years, while only 5.8 percent of chief executives on the list of the Fortune 500 companies are women. Women account for just 19.4 percent of congressional seats now; it might take another century to raise that to 50 percent. The United States is ranked 45th in the 2016 Global Gender Gap of nations, below European nations, Belarus and Namibia, among others.
President Trumps childhood home in Queens has been sold, in a transaction facilitated by a lawyer who specializes in shepherding real estate investments made by overseas Chinese buyers. The identity of the purchaser, who paid more than $2 million for the modest Tudor-style home, was obscured behind a recently created limited liability corporation, Trump Birth House. The sale closed on March 23.

In an email, Michael X. Tang, a lawyer registered as the representative for the corporation, said he was not permitted to disclose any information regarding the transaction. The $2.14 million sale price is more than double the average value of comparable homes in the area, according to the property site Trulia.

The value is intangible  its not about the house or the bricks or the lot size, said Misha Haghani, principal of Paramount Realty USA, which represented the property in an auction shortly before Mr. Trump was sworn in as president. The value lies with the association with the current president of the U.S. of A.

It is not known what will become of the property. Mr. Haghani said that while plans for a presidential library and a museum had been floated to him by representatives for the buyer, nothing had been made firm.
ALBANY  Its an occurrence as uncommon in these parts as a bearhug from the governor or an indictment-free year.

On Monday, New York State legislators embarked a rare and rigorous five-day workweek here, the first time in nearly six years that they have been scheduled to be in the Capitol from Monday through Friday.

The prospect of spending five consecutive days at your place of employment might not be a shock for someone with, say, a job. But the lawmakers say their seemingly light legislative schedule does not take into account ample time spent on the clock in other ways: budget hearings, which can drag on; community and district events, which often occur far from Albany; fielding constituent concerns, via phone, email and the occasional screed; and researching the myriad issues they are responsible for tackling.

All of which, it can be argued, makes criticizing their lack of time in the Capitol unfair.

Its kind of like saying your workweek is the time you spend typing on a keyboard, or that a radio reporters workday is the three minutes their voice is on the air, or that a schoolteacher doesnt spend time grading papers, said Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried, a Democrat from Manhattan, who is his chambers longest-serving member. I cant imagine any legislator that only works a five-day week.
Fearless Girl, the wildly popular statue that has spent the last few weeks staring down the financial districts well-known Charging Bull, has received a new lease on life. Originally scheduled to be removed next week, it will now remain in place until early 2018, officials said on Monday.

Fearless Girl was created by the sculptor Kristen Visbal and erected in Bowling Green, a small park, by the financial firm State Street Global Advisors in honor of International Womens Day in March.

The statue was an immediate hit, drawing crowds who snapped selfies or stood alongside the bronze child and mimicked her pose: hands on her hips, slight smile on her face, and her skirt and ponytail seeming to blow in the breeze.

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York stood beside the statue during a news conference on Monday as he announced the decision to extend its stay until the next International Womens Day, on March 8, 2018. He called the statue a symbol of standing up to fear, standing up to power, being able to find in yourself the strength to do whats right.
MONTCLAIR, N.J.  In a newsroom wedged into a storefront here, reporters worked on stories about the contentious issues driving the conversation around town, like a property reassessment that could affect taxes and testing in the public schools. An editor read through submissions for a St. Patricks Day limerick contest. And Kevin Meacham, the newspapers top editor, was in his office, looking at a mock-up of a front page on his computer, XXXX taking the place of headlines waiting to be written.

The team of journalists was preparing to publish the second issue of The Montclair Local.

This month, the weekly newspaper arrived for the first time in mailboxes around town. A local family decided to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into starting a news organization from scratch, hiring reporters to cover zoning board meetings and high school wrestling tournaments and whatever else residents in this New Jersey suburb care about.

The investment  by a software engineer who studied artificial intelligence, no less  seems like a quixotic one when so many newspapers are struggling and many readers prefer to catch up on town news on Facebook. But the engineer, Heeten Choxi, whose journalism experience was limited to a middle school newspaper, believes there is no better way than print to deliver local news.

It looks beautiful, Mr. Choxi, who has lived in Montclair for three years, said as he flipped through a copy of the first issue. News tends to be more fragmented, he added, referring to social media. You find out about topics youre already looking for. You dont get that same broad exposure to all the different things happening in town.
A white Army veteran from Baltimore, who the police said traveled to New York to kill black men, was indicted on Monday on rare state charges of murder as terrorism.

A grand jury voted to upgrade existing charges against James Harris Jackson, 28, who the police say confessed to plunging a sword into Timothy Caughman, 66, on March 20 in Chelsea. The killing sent shockwaves throughout New York at a time when there is widespread concern in the city and around the country over rising hate crimes.

The grand jury voted to charge Mr. Jackson with murder as an act of terror in the first- and second-degree, Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, an assistant district attorney, said during a brief appearance in Criminal Court in Manhattan. Judge Tamiko A. Amaker ordered Mr. Jackson, who was also charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime and misdemeanor weapons possession, to return to jail until his arraignment on April 13 in State Supreme Court.

Mr. Jackson cocked his head back and stared at the ceiling as he stood in handcuffs and a khaki prison jumpsuit next to his defense lawyer, Sam Talkin. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison without a chance of parole.
In a statement, the State Department justified its decision by arguing that it is not appropriate for the United States to participate in these hearings while litigation on these matters is ongoing in U.S. court.

That is absurd. For starters, the mere presence of American representatives at the hearings would have had no bearing on legal challenges to the Trump administrations efforts to ban people from Muslim-majority nations from traveling to the United States. In the past, State Department officials have attended hearings on contentious issues that have been the subject of litigation, including the C.I.A.s secret prison network, the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and immigration detention policy.

The failure to send representatives puts the United States in ignominious company. During the commissions most recent session, only the governments of Cuba and Nicaragua chose not to face their critics. The Cuban hearing dealt with human rights concerns of Cubans of African descent. The Nicaraguan hearing was about the countrys dismal record on freedom of expression.

No government enjoys being the subject of a hearing before the commission. But for years, the commissions sessions have served as a crucial forum for critics of government policy to air their grievances in a prominent, neutral forum. The government of Colombia, for instance, recently dispatched a senior representative to respond to concerns about a spate of attacks targeting human rights defenders. The government of El Salvador did the same when the subject was the threats and stigmatization faced by that countrys gay and transgender communities.
To the Editor:

Re Depressed by Politics? Just Let Go (Op-Ed, March 18):

Of course Arthur C. Brooks, the president of the American Enterprise Institute, advises your readers to avoid political news so we will be happier. Nice try.

If I ignored the news, I wouldnt know that the American Enterprise Institute hosted Speaker Paul D. Ryan when he unveiled his plan to kick an estimated four million to six million Medicaid beneficiaries off the rolls while providing a tax cut for the rich.

Sorry, Mr. Brooks; I am going to continue to follow what you and your political cronies are doing to Americans, and to resist you at every turn. Now that is happiness.

MARTHA CASEY, ARLINGTON, VA.

To the Editor:

Arthur C. Brooks contends that some peoples depression about politics may be based on an illusion that something affects us.
Speaking exclusively to India Today, 33-year-old Li Max Joy said he was shocked to see a rise in hate crime in Australia. Joy said he was attacked for the second time in two weeks.

By Devina Gupta: In yet another attack on an Indian in Australia, 33-year-old Li Max Joy was attacked by a group of five people in Hobart.

A nursing student and a part time taxi driver from Kerala, Li Max Joy is shaken after the incident. Speaking exclusively to India Today, Joy said he was shocked to see a rise in hate crime in Australia.

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"I drive taxi on Friday and Sunday. On Saturday, when I was driving a taxi early morning at 4:30, I wanted to go to the toilet at McDonalds. There were five people who were having argument at McDonalds. I just avoided them and tried to come out of McDonalds to the car park. But out of 5 people, three of them punched me. They started telling me 'why are you Indian blood'. I can't use expletives that they said. They said, 'Why are you black Indian, why are you here'. Three of them manhandled me and one of them punched me on the head. It was after McDonalds store people called police, I was admitted to a hospital," Joy said.

'SHOCKED OVER RISE IN HATE CRIME'

Li Max joy has been living in Australia for the past 8 years, but is shocked to see rise in hate crime. This is the second time he has been targeted in the past two weeks.

"It the second time something like this has happened in two weeks. Last week, a few teenagers were sitting at a taxi stand, one of the boys took water in his mouth and spewed on my face. It is not only Indians, but immigrants are being targeted for their different language or accent," said Joy told India Today.

APPEAL TO INDIAN GOVERNMENT

Pleading to the Indian government, he has demanded immediate intervention they way Indians are being harassed.

"I am feeling a bit of Trump effect here. My wife was also targeted, we want Donald Trump here in Australia so that we stop seeing all these back people here. When we are living at a place when you don't have friends or relatives, ofcourse we feel really sad and afraid of being in a place where you are being manhandled anytime," said Joy.

MP RAISES HATE CRIME ISSUE IN PARLIAMENT

On March 19, a Catholic priest also from Kerala was stabbed in Melbourne by a 72-year-old man. Kerala MP Jose K Mani has decided to raise the matter in the Parliament now.

"I will be raising the matter of attack on Indian diaspora in the Parliament. It is time that the government ensures their safety and facilitates dialogue with global community," Mani told India Today

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"99 per cent people don't report it because they are scared. They think if news goes into their family they will be ashamed because if someone hits you then you have to hit back. I can only request my government where I came from," he added.

WATCH: Indian man abused, assaulted in Australia; calls it 'Trump effect'

ALSO READ:

You bloody black Indians: Kerala man abused, assaulted at an Australian restaurant

Australia: Indian priest stabbed, asked about nationality before attack

Female Indian techie, 7-year-old son found murdered in the US, says family

Indians are valuable, ashamed of killing of Kuchibhotla: Kansas governor

--- ENDS ---
One important answer would be to spend a bit more money. Obamacare has turned out to be remarkably cheap; the Congressional Budget Office now projects its cost to be about a third lower than it originally expected, around 0.7 percent of G.D.P. In fact, its probably too cheap. A report from the nonpartisan Urban Institute argues that the A.C.A. is essentially underfunded, and would work much better  in particular, it could offer policies with much lower deductibles  if it provided somewhat more generous subsidies. The reports recommendations would cost around 0.2 percent of G.D.P.; or to put it another way, would be around half as expensive as the tax cuts for the wealthy Republicans just tried and failed to ram through as part of Trumpcare.

What about the problem of inadequate insurance industry competition? Better subsidies would help enrollments, which in turn would probably bring in more insurers. But just in case, why not revive the idea of a public option  insurance sold directly by the government, for those who choose it? At the very least, there ought to be public plans available in areas no private insurer wants to serve.

There are other more technical things we should do too, like extending reinsurance: compensation for insurers whose risk pool turned out worse than expected. Some analysts also argue that there would be big gains from moving off-exchange plans onto the government-administered marketplaces.

So if Mr. Trump really wanted to honor his campaign promises about improving health coverage, if he were willing to face up to the reality that Obamacare is here to stay, theres a lot he could do, through incremental changes, to make it work better. And he would get plenty of cooperation from Democrats along the way.

Needless to say, I dont expect to see that happen. Improving Obamacare requires doing more, not less, moving left, not right. Thats not what Republicans want to hear.

And the tweeter-in-chiefs initial reaction to health care humiliation was, predictably, vindictive. He blamed Democrats, whom he never consulted, for Trumpcares political failure, predicted that ObamaCare will explode, and that when it does Democrats will own it. Since his own administration is responsible for administering the law, that sounds a lot like a promise to sabotage Americans health care and blame other people for the disaster.

The point, however, is that building on Obamacare wouldnt be hard, and wouldnt even be all that complicated.
I recently watched a curious debate that took place in 2015 at the Free Press Society of Denmark. On one side was Geert Wilders, the far-right Dutch politician and anti-Islam campaigner whose ascendance to power was, Im happy to say, checked by the elections in the Netherlands this month. On the other side was Flemming Rose, the journalist who angered many Muslims in 2005 by publishing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

The crux of the debate was what to do with Muslims and Islam in Europe. Mr. Wilders argued that the Quran must be banned and mosques must be shut down. Mr. Rose, in contrast, explained that this view is unacceptably authoritarian, and Muslims deserve freedom like everyone else. You cannot deny Muslims the right to build a mosque or to establish faith-based schools, he said, simply because some Europeans find them offensive.

Most Muslims watching this debate would probably sympathize with Mr. Rose, thinking he was defending them. Mr. Rose, however, was merely defending a liberal principle: freedom for all. It was the very principle that led him to publish the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad  cartoons seen by many Muslims, including me, as offensive.

This is just one of many manifestations of a paradox Muslims, especially those of us living in the West, face in the modern world: They are threatened by Islamophobic forces against which they need the protections offered by liberalism  freedom of speech, freedom of religion, nondiscrimination. But the same liberalism also brings them realities that most of them find un-Islamic  irreverence toward religion, tolerance of L.G.B.T. people, permissive attitudes on sex. They cant easily decide, therefore, whether liberalism is good or bad for Muslims.
Vacant offices. Barren corridors. The hush of work not being done settles across the capital city, a silence of memos untyped, papers unpushed, file cabinets sealed shut. The machine of state is not in use. This is not Washington today; it is Petrograd, Russia, 100 years earlier, where after the Bolsheviks seized power in late October, the bureaucrats of the Russian state  tens of thousands of them  locked their desks and pocketed the keys on their way out the door. They declared themselves on strike, protesting what they viewed as the Bolsheviks shocking and illegitimate violation of the public trust.

Some held out a month, some lasted two, with the longest  the bankers in the former Ministry of Finance  standing firm until mid-March. In these five months, ordinary accountants, lawyers and administrators demonstrated great civic courage at significant personal cost. They either lived with the threat of arrest or were arrested, then handed over to the capricious Extraordinary Commission for the Battle to Combat Sabotage and Counterrevolution  known as the Cheka, forerunner to the K.G.B.  which shot people in basements and which was created in December 1917 with the express purpose of suppressing the sabotage of government employees, as the new regime called the strike.

Compared to the events the revolutionaries wanted to commemorate, the strike is mostly forgotten. This is in part because it ultimately had little effect, or rather, it had an effect profoundly contrary to what its participants intended. Truth be told, their intentions hardly mattered. But the decisions they faced and the choices they made are worth remembering today, as we approach the centenary of the October Revolution amid reports of a deep state protest in the United States.

The Russian bureaucrats strike stood in contrast to their reaction to the revolution of February 1917, when the czar fell and Russia became a republic, which they greeted with enthusiasm and relief. The February Revolution held open a chance to live out the early 20th-century bureaucrats dream: to serve as rational administrators of science, the market and the rule of law, rather than enactors of an incompetent monarchs will. Modern expertise would finally be allowed to triumph over autocratic politics. Some housecleaning would be required: Senior officials in the old regime were jailed and investigations into their crimes against the Russian people were opened. But with the exception of a handful of institutions, most notably the secret police, whose offices were torched, the Russian state continued to function as usual  which is to say, not very well.
In the movie Iron Man 2 (yes, superhero films are my guilty pleasure, so just bear with me) the villain, a rogue Russian scientist, informs the hero, Iron Man, of his theory on how easily he could be brought down:

If you could make God bleed, people will cease to believe in Him. There will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come. All I have to do is sit here and watch, as the world will consume you.

The point is clear: Invincibility is an illusion constructed by false assurances. Puncture the fantasy, expose the mortal, and the dispirited faithful will destroy the false deity.

Last week, the House Freedom Caucus made the fabricated God of Chaos bleed.

Trump was a weak president further weakened. He was already unpopular on a historic scale. He was already being proven to be a complete liar and hypocrite. He was already being exposed as a blustery failure.

But the one thing that he could hold on to was the long-maintained mirage of personal success and deal-making. He was the master of tough with the Midas touch.
Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist and biomedical research investor who is one of Mr. Trumps few supporters in Silicon Valley, is an outspoken advocate for government-fostered science. A week before the election, he said: Voters are tired of hearing conservative politicians say that government never works. They know the government wasnt always this broken. The Manhattan Project, the Interstate Highway System, and the Apollo program  whatever you think of these ventures, you cannot doubt the competence of the government that got them done. But we have fallen very far from that standard, and we cannot let free market ideology serve as an excuse for decline.

That, however, is exactly what Mr. Trumps budget does. In service to small-government ideology, it proposes to whack 18 percent from the N.I.H.s budget, and even more from the Department of Energy and the E.P.A.s science programs. A $250 million annual grant program administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration supporting coastal and marine management, research and education would be killed, including programs that provide important resources to help coastal states prepare for the coming effects of climate change (no surprise there, since Mr. Trump doesnt believe in climate change). The earth sciences division at NASA comes in for a 6 percent cut; other reductions take aim at the United States Geological Survey and the National Science Foundation, a big player in scientific research.

The cuts in human health programs have drawn the heaviest criticism. Mary Woolley, president of Research!America, nonprofit advocates for medical research, says Mr. Trumps budget doesnt reflect the priorities of a nation committed to protecting and improving the health and well-being of its citizens. The N.I.H.s 27 institutes underwrite the bulk of the nations medical research; after hefty budget increases in the early 2000s, championed by Senator Arlen Specter, who was a Pennsylvania Republican, the economic downturn and internal turmoil have led to cuts that erased most of those gains.

Mr. Trumps budget greatly worries medical researchers like Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, chairman of the psychiatry department at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Nearly 60 percent of Dr. Liebermans $240 million departmental budget is sponsored research, most of it underwritten by the N.I.H. Each year we eat what we kill  there is no guaranteed recurrent revenue, he said. And this is true for all academic medicine.
When I came to this country from Ireland some 45 years ago, a cousin, here 15 years before, advised me that Catholics vote Democratic. Having grown up in the Irish Republic, I was well disposed to Republican Party principles like local autonomy and limited government. Yet a commitment to social justice, so central to my faith, seemed better represented by the Democratic Party. I followed my cousins good counsel.

But once-solid Catholic support for Democrats has steadily eroded. This was due at least in part to the shift by many American Catholic bishops from emphasizing social issues (peace, the economy) to engaging in the culture wars (abortion, gay marriage). Along the way, many Catholics came to view the Democrats as unconditionally supporting abortion.

Last years election was a watershed in this evolution. Hillary Clinton lost the overall Catholic vote by seven points  after President Obama had won it in the previous two elections. She lost the white Catholic vote by 23 points. In heavily Catholic states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, she lost by a hair  the last by less than 1 percent. A handful more of Catholic votes per parish in those states would have won her the election.

Her defeat is all the more remarkable considering that Mrs. Clinton shared many Catholic social values. By contrast, Mr. Trumps disrespect for women, his racism, sexism and xenophobia should have discouraged conscientious Catholics from voting for him. So why did they? Certainly his promises to rebuild manufacturing and his tough talk on terrorism were factors. But for many traditional Catholic voters, Mrs. Clintons unqualified support for abortion rights  and Mr. Trumps opposition (and promise to nominate anti-abortion Supreme Court justices)  were tipping points.
President Trumps Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, knows that investing in the Internal Revenue Service yields significant returns  he said as much during his confirmation hearings. And hes right: Every dollar spent on the agency returns $4 in revenue for the federal government, and as much as $10 when invested in enforcement activities.

Mr. Mnuchins boss doesnt seem to care, but he should. And not just because the I.R.S. more than pays for itself. Cutting funds for the I.R.S., which has already endured years of budget cuts, would make it impossible for the president to pay for things he says he cares about, including infrastructure, Social Security and the military.

Mr. Trump made his disregard for the I.R.S. obvious this month in his budget proposal, which calls for reducing the agencys funding by 2 percent, or $239 million. Unfortunately, the seemingly endless cuts have compromised the agencys ability to collect taxes, combat identity theft, prosecute tax criminals and deliver taxpayer services.

The size of the audit staff has fallen by 30 percent, resulting in a decades-low audit rate of 0.7 percent for individual taxpayers. For large corporations, the number of returns audited in 2016 fell by nearly half compared to 2006, to 9.5 percent from 17 percent. Meanwhile, the enforcement unit lost 7,000 employees. The criminal investigations unit has also suffered staff reductions, resulting in fewer cases, prosecutions and convictions.
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It was the worlds most personal resettlement program. As other countries said no, ordinary Canadians signed on for a grand social experiment: adopting Syrian refugees for one year.

So what happens as that year ends?

On todays episode:

 We talk with Jodi Kantor and Catrin Einhorn, who have been writing a series on refugees in Canada, and to Peggy Karas, a Canadian sponsor of a refugee family.

 Now that the Republican health care bill is dead, what is the future of the Democratic plan it was supposed to replace? We talk to Margot Sanger-Katz, who has been reporting on our health care system for years.

Background reading:

 Ms. Kantor and Ms. Einhorns latest piece in their Refugees Welcome series focuses on Month 13, the national nickname for the end of the yearlong commitments that sponsors made to refugee families.
One of the great treasures in ocean preserves is the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, established in 2009 and expanded in 2014 to cover about 370,000 square miles.

Thats a lot of water to explore, and this year the research vessel Okeanos Explorer has been doing just that, collecting data and videos on the ocean and some of the astonishing creatures that live there.

The ship is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which studies oceans and climate change, among other subjects. Scientists on board the most recent cruise  southwest of Hawaii  used a remotely operated vehicle, the Deep Discoverer, which can descend almost 20,000 feet, to take video of remarkable creatures like the deep water siphonophore.

These bioluminescent tubes (which can grow up to 140 feet long) are actually colonies of smaller organisms that have specialized jobs, like swimming or reproducing.
Ernest Schoedsack and Ruth Rose helped bring King Kong to life on movie screens in 1933. But before they did that, the two  a cinematographer and a writer  fell in love aboard a ship bound for an unconventional scientific expedition. The man who brought them together was William Beebe.

Beebe was among the earliest celebrity scientists. From his perch as an ornithologist at the New York Zoological Society (today the Wildlife Conservation Society), he founded the Department of Tropical Research at the turn of the 20th century.

Unlike most ecologists of his time, Beebe saw the world beyond sciences narrow lens. He recruited artists, historians, writers and scientists for his expeditions. Together they created awareness about the complex ecosystems primarily in the jungles of South America and the waters of Bermuda and the Galapagos.
By Press Trust of India: From Aditi Khanna

London, Mar 27 (PTI) Police today said the man behind the terror attack outside the British Parliament last week had an interest in jihad but theres no evidence he was part of the Islamic State group, which had claimed him as its "soldier".

The Scotland Yards Indian-origin deputy assistant commissioner, Neil Basu, in a statement said Khalid Masoods attack had echoes of the rhetoric of the Islamic State but no evidence at this stage suggests he was linked to the group.

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"His attack method appears to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of IS (ISIS) leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians, but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others," he said.

"There is no evidence that Masood was radicalised in prison in 2003, as has been suggested; this is pure speculation at this time. Whilst I have found no evidence of an association with IS or AQ (Al Qaeda), there is clearly an interest in Jihad."

Basu added there has been much speculation about who Masood was in contact with immediately prior to the attack and his communications that day remain a line of enquiry and called on the public to report if they heard from him on March 22, the day of the attack.

"I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why. Most importantly, so do the victims and families," he said.

Basus statement came as Masoods mother expressed her shock at the attack. Janet Ajao said she had "shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident".

"I wish to make it absolutely clear, so there can be no doubt, I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity," she said in reference to her son, 52-year-old Masood, born Adrian Russell Ajao before he convverted to Islam.

Masood was shot dead by security officials after he plough through pedestrians and fatally stabbed a policeman just outside the British parliament on Wednesday.

Four people were killed and dozens more injured. PTI AK ABH

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In the three years since launching his fashion label, HAAL, the Swedish designer Anders Haal has redefined what it means to be a Nordic brand  his designs are a sharp departure from the Scandi cool look of his contemporaries. Everyone here now is trying to get away from that aesthetic but Im trying to push and play with it, he says. Im trying to use an international language so you cant say exactly where it comes from. At a glance, his elevated sporty streetwear could hail from anywhere  though a certain sense of functionality prevails. The carefree approach he takes to his own wardrobe  the 34-year-old wears the same thing every day: a staple ribbed T-shirt and leather pants, which he says he will wear until they fall apart  also informs his brand. I dont focus that much on my own appearance, he offers nonchalantly. Youre supposed to wear the garments and feel comfortable. Its not sculpture, but of course you want to feel sexy and beautiful. It doesnt have to be more complicated than that.

Haal got his start in womens wear. But his designs  which have been picked up by Opening Ceremony, Mameg in Los Angeles, and SSENSE in Canada  are now often categorized as unisex. I decided not to compromise, he says. Unisex is a natural part of the brand identity. (Selfridges in London picked up the collection two years ago in its Agender concept space.) Haal, who hails from the village of Stenstorp, 200 miles west of Stockholm, considers himself an outsider. I grew up in the countryside, I was in my own world and I guess I never left that feeling of not belonging, he says. Its a very common thing in fashion, sometimes it feels like its a community of outsiders.

So he turned to the big American lifestyle brands, like Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, for inspiration  and then turned that aesthetic on its head. He subverted classic polo shirts with ominous slogans like Calamity. In reality Im a small label, he says, but Im trying to say something bigger. For spring 2017, Haal examined perennial archetypes  from preppy cheerleaders in zippered denim skirts to gothic Lolitas in ruched satin and surfer dudes in tie-dye  and tried to make them coexist. The purposefully disparate collection includes tie-dye ribbed T-shirt dresses and terry cloth track pants in washed gray and pink, diaphanous double-pleated slip dresses, tailored riding stirrup pants, a black leather trench coat and a short leather skirt printed with the slogan Oprah for President 2020. Its about the mix and about how you put things together, he says. Far from offering another didactic approach to lifestyle, Haal wants the wearer to make what they will of his designs. Theyre very different identities but I want them to get along in the collection, Haal says, adding that the message of his label is one of freedom and diversity. Its just how I see the world right now, we have to get along.
British government officials will meet with representatives of American technology companies this week to demand that they do more to help in the fight against terrorism and online hate speech, the latest move in a widening global push against encryption technology that blocks access to the private messages of criminal and innocent users alike.

The meeting, set for Thursday, comes after Amber Rudd, Britains home secretary, said that the countrys intelligence agencies should have access to encrypted messages sent through WhatsApp, an instant-messaging service owned by Facebook. Her remarks are in response to the terrorist attack on Wednesday in London, when Khalid Masood, a 52-year-old Briton, drove a car into pedestrians, killing three of them, and then fatally stabbed a police officer.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, but its precise connection to Mr. Masood is not clear.

The London police said on Monday that they were focusing on Mr. Masoods communications and repeated a plea to anyone who knew him to come forward with tips.


The rousing musical Once on This Island, which uses the style of a Caribbean folk tale about love to explore class tensions, will be revived on Broadway this fall.

The producers Ken Davenport and Hunter Arnold said Monday that they would commence an international search, beginning in Haiti, to cast Ti Moune, the peasant girl whose love for a wealthier boy is at the heart of the story. The musical is set in the French Antilles, and is based on the novel My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy.

The show features music by Stephen Flaherty and a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, a composing team that won a Tony Award in 1998 for the score of Ragtime, and that is represented this season on Broadway with Anastasia, now in previews.

Once on This Island was first produced in 1990 at Playwrights Horizons, an Off Broadway nonprofit, when Frank Rich, then a theater critic for The New York Times, wrote, the audience feels the otherworldly thrill of discovering the fabric of its own lives in an enchanted tapestry from a distant shore. The production transferred that year to Broadway, directed by Graciela Daniele and starring LaChanze, and ran for 19 previews and 469 regular performances.
Travelers can take advantage of extra savings by booking tours during Indias off-season, and some deals extend to travel beyond summer. Safari parks offer peak wildlife viewing in April and May, while mountainous regions provide respite from the heat in June.

On the Go Tours is offering two India tours for the price of one on bookings made by April 15. The discount applies to all India tours fewer than 12 days in length for select departure dates until Dec. 31. Rates range from $768 to $948 per person, with accommodations, breakfast and transfers included. An 11-day Taj and Raj itinerary includes stops at the Taj Mahal and the historic havelis of rural Shekhawati (from $1,785 versus $3,570 for two travelers).

Five India tours from Peregrine Adventures are 15 percent off (promo code 30273 by April 15 for travel through Oct. 31). The Essence of South India tour includes two nights in Munnar, a tea-growing region in the Western Ghats mountains (from $2,112). The Rajashthan Revealed tour includes morning and evening safaris at Ranthambore National Park, where tigers emerge in warmer months seeking watering holes (from $2,461). Tours include accommodations, breakfast and transportation.

G Adventures has several different land and river cruise tours of India discounted 20 percent to 40 percent. Summer is a good time to visit the mountainous region of Ladakh, where a two-week trekking tour is available in June (from $1,879 versus $2,349). The National Geographic Journeys Ganges River cruise includes a stop in the Unesco-protected Fatehpur Sikri, where 16th-century sandstone monuments and temples from the Mughals first planned city still stand ($2,099 versus $3,499). Accommodations, some or all meals, and transportation are included (book by April 30 for departures before August).
Do this and similar exercises hundreds of times over multiple sessions weekly; continue for months; and, gradually, presbyopia lessens, a number of studies show.

One study also examined functions of the eye itself and found none of these improvements were because of changes in the eye. Theyre all in the brain.

Various smartphone apps say they offer this kind of vision-improving training; I used one called GlassesOff, the only one I found that was backed by scientific studies.

Perceptual learning can improve the vision of people who already see quite well and those with other conditions. For example, a study tested the approach in 23 young adults, around age 24. Compared with a control group of 20 young adults, the treatment group increased letter recognition speed. Similar training is an effective component in treating amblyopia, also called lazy eye, which is the most frequent cause of vision loss in infants and children, affecting 3 percent of the population. It may also improve vision in those with mild myopia (nearsightedness).

It should be acknowledged that some researchers involved in many of these studies have financial ties to GlassesOff. However, other studies with no commercial links obtained similar results, and several scientists I spoke to, including those without ties to GlassesOff, thought the science behind the app was credible. One study published in Psychological Science trained 16 college-aged adults and 16 older adults (around age 71) with Gabor patch exercises for 1.5 hours per day for seven days. After training, the older adults ability to see low-contrast images improved to the level that the college-age ones had before training.

Scientists dont know exactly how perceptual learning relieves presbyopia, but they have some clues based on how our brain processes visual information.
WASHINGTON  Top House Democrats on Monday called on the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee to recuse himself from the panels investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, thrusting the entire inquiry into jeopardy amid what they described as mounting evidence he was too close to President Trump to be impartial.

The demands followed revelations that the committees chairman, Representative Devin Nunes of California, had met on White House grounds with a source who showed him secret American intelligence reports. The reports, Mr. Nunes said last week, showed that Mr. Trump or his closest associates may have been incidentally swept up in foreign surveillance by American spy agencies.

The new revelation that the information actually came from a meeting held on the grounds of the White House intensified questions about what prompted Mr. Nunes to make the claim about the intelligence gathering, and who gave him the information.
WASHINGTON  The new Republican government is in deep trouble.

President Trump and his majorities in the House and Senate had hoped to head out for their spring break celebrating the chest-thumping accomplishments of finally gutting President Barack Obamas health care law and installing a conservative Supreme Court justice. They were determined to show the American public: We got this.

Instead, the health care legislation unraveled in mortifying fashion, leaving Republicans unable to follow through on their central argument for being put in power. They will probably get their Supreme Court justice. But the confirmation of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch is likely to require a partisan maneuver that will inflame the already tense Senate and make it even harder to accomplish anything legislatively on Capitol Hill. And this is before Republicans get to the always formidable jobs of funding the government and raising the debt limit  both tasks they have been loath to take on in the past.

Right now they look like the gang that couldnt shoot straight, said John Feehery, a Republican strategic adviser and former top congressional aide.
Around the time the Russian ambassador asked that Mr. Kushner meet with Mr. Gorkov, American intelligence agencies were concluding that Russian spies, acting on the orders of Mr. Putin, had sought to sway the election by hacking political targets, like the Democratic National Committee, and passing stolen emails to WikiLeaks.

Mr. Kushner had not yet stepped aside as chief executive of Kushner Companies, which was trying to attract investment for the companys crown jewel, an overleveraged Manhattan office tower on Fifth Avenue. The company was in the midst of negotiations to redevelop the building with Anbang Insurance Group, a Chinese company with ties to the Beijing government.

Senate investigators plan to ask Mr. Kushner if he discussed ways to secure additional financing for the building during his meeting with the Russian banker, a government official said. Ms. Hicks said that no such business was discussed at the half-hour session, during which Mr. Gorkov expressed a desire for an open dialogue. Nor did the issue of the American sanctions against Russian entities like Vnesheconombank arise, she added. It really wasnt much of a conversation, she said.

Mr. Gorkov, in the statement, went further. He said that bank managers, as part of a new strategy for the institution, met with international financial institutions in Europe, Asia and America to talk about promising trends and sectors. He also met with representatives of business circles of the U.S., including with the head of Kushner Companies, Jared Kushner.

And in an interview on the state-owned Rossiya 24 TV channel on Dec. 29, the same month that he met with Mr. Kushner, Mr. Gorkov said he hoped that the situation caused by Ukraine sanctions imposed by the Americans against Russian banks like his would change for the better.

The inquiry into Mr. Kushners dealings with the ambassador and Mr. Gorkov may further complicate Mr. Trumps efforts to move past the Russia situation. Last week, the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, confirmed in testimony to Congress that his agency had begun a counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference and whether any associates of the president might have colluded with the Russian government.

Mr. Trumps former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, has been under scrutiny in the F.B.I. investigation because of his ties to pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine. In August, he was forced to step down as the chairman of Mr. Trumps campaign amid reports that his name emerged in a secret ledger in Ukraine listing off-the-books payments for consulting work he did for a Russian-backed government there. He has denied any wrongdoing and has said he never worked for the Russian government.
It was 4 a.m. when Dr. King finished. He woke his wife, Coretta, and she made coffee. We sat and we talked, Mr. Wilkins said. He was a great man, a great man.

When Richard M. Nixon became president in early 1969, Mr. Wilkins detected a turning away from the paths of cultural decency and left government to join the Ford Foundation in New York. For three years, he oversaw funding for job training, education, drug rehabilitation and other programs. But he was powerless to support many projects he considered worthy and became disillusioned with the work.

In 1972 he began a new career in journalism, writing editorials for The Washington Post. He also began to put aside what he called his desperate search for white approval. His editorials on the Watergate scandal that drove Nixon from the presidency, along with reporting by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and cartoons by Herbert Block, helped The Post win the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1973.

Mr. Wilkins joined The Times editorial board in 1974 and later became an Op-Ed page columnist. In 1977, he and other minority journalists accused The Times in a federal lawsuit of racial discrimination in hiring and promotions; the case was settled for cash and pledges of improvements. He left the newspaper in 1979 and was an associate editor and columnist for The Washington Star in 1980 and 1981.

From 1979 to 1989 he was a member of the board that awarded journalisms Pulitzer Prizes. He was also on an advisory panel that recommended Janet Cooke of The Washington Post for a feature-writing Pulitzer in 1981, for her article on an 8-year-old heroin addict. It was exposed as a fabrication after she won the prize. He said the episode had harmed blacks in newsrooms all over the country. Ms. Cooke, who returned the prize and resigned, is black.

From 1982 to 1992, Mr. Wilkins was a senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington think tank. From 1988 until his retirement in 2007, he was the Clarence J. Robinson professor in history and American culture at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. During his teaching years, he wrote for newspapers and magazines and was a frequent commentator on radio and television.

Roger Wilkins was born in Kansas City, Mo., on March 25, 1932, to Earl and Helen Jackson Wilkins. Some of his ancestors were slaves in Virginia. His father was a journalist and his mother was the first black national president of the Y.W.C.A.; she helped desegregate the organization in the 1960s. In Kansas City, Roger attended the all-black Crispus Attucks School, founded in 1893 and named for a slave killed by the British in the Boston Massacre of 1770.
BAIDOA, Somalia  First the trees dried up and cracked apart.

Then the goats keeled over.

Then the water in the village well began to disappear, turning cloudy, then red, then slime-green, but the villagers kept drinking it. That was all they had.

Now on a hot, flat, stony plateau outside Baidoa, thousands of people pack into destitute camps, many clutching their stomachs, some defecating in the open, others already dead from a cholera epidemic.

Even if you can get food, there is no water, said one mother, Sangabo Moalin, who held her head with a left hand as thin as a leaf and spoke of her body burning.

Another famine is about to tighten its grip on Somalia. And its not the only crisis that aid agencies are scrambling to address. For the first time since anyone can remember, there is a very real possibility of four famines  in Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen  breaking out at once, endangering more than 20 million lives.
A 30-year-old man has been arrested in connection last week's terror attack near the British Parliament

By Indo-Asian News Service: A 30-year-old man was arrested on Sunday in connection with the terror attack near the British Parliament on Wednesday, police said.

Police said they detained the man at an address in Birmingham city on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts. The suspect currently remains in police custody, Xinhua news agency reported.

By far, police officers have carried out a total of 15 searches at various addresses, and 12 people have been arrested as part of the investigation. Nine have been released with no further action, according to the Metropolitan Police.

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On Wednesday, Khalid Masood, 52, drove a car through crowds of pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing three: Aysha Frade, a 43-year-old British national of Spanish origin, Kurt Cochran, an American tourist whose wife was injured in the attack, and Leslie Rhodes.

A police officer was also fatally stabbed by Masood, who was later shot dead by police.

ALSO READ | UK Parliament attacker acted alone: Scotland Yard

UK Parliament attack: 5 dead, nearly 40 injured; All you need to know

WATCH VIDEO: London in limbo as terror grips Westminster; 5 dead, 40 injured

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UNITED NATIONS  Saying the time was not right to outlaw nuclear arms, the United States led a group of dozens of United Nations members on Monday that boycotted talks at the global organization for a treaty that would ban the weapons.

There is nothing I want more for my family than a world with no nuclear weapons, Ambassador Nikki R. Haley of the United States told reporters outside the General Assembly as the talks began. But we have to be realistic. Is there anyone who thinks that North Korea would ban nuclear weapons?

Ms. Haley and other ambassadors standing with her, including envoys from Albania, Britain, France and South Korea, declined to take questions.

The talks, supported by more than 120 countries, were first announced in October and are led by Austria, Brazil, Ireland, Mexico, South Africa and Sweden. Disarmament groups strongly support the effort.
Benny Tai, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong and a founder of the protest group Occupy Central With Love and Peace, told reporters that each of the three founders faces one charge of conspiracy to commit public nuisance and two incitement charges. The six other protesters face one to two counts of those charges.

The nuisance charge carries a maximum jail sentence of seven years.

The charges send a strong message that the authorities are going to create more conflict in the community, that they will continue a hard-line approach, Chan Kin-man, a sociology professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a founder of Occupy Central With Love and Peace, said in a telephone interview before his arrest.

It was unclear why the police waited this long to bring charges, but Mr. Chan said that the current Hong Kong government, led by the unpopular chief executive Leung Chun-ying, had waited until Beijings preferred candidate, Carrie Lam, was selected on Sunday to succeed him.

Bringing charges earlier might have hurt her campaign, he said, because she was a loyal deputy to Mr. Leung. In 2014, Mrs. Lam had tried but failed to defuse the protests in a televised debate with student representatives.

More than 900 people were arrested during the protests in 2014, which paralyzed parts of the city for nearly three months. Among them, 81 have been convicted of various offenses as of the end of January, according to the Hong Kong Department of Justice.
SYDNEY, Australia  A powerful cyclone packing wind gusts as high as 160 miles per hour struck the northeastern coast of Australia on Tuesday, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee, leaving 48,000 homes without power and drenching Queensland with heavy rains.

The Category 4 storm, named Cyclone Debbie, battered the tourist islands off the coast before hitting the mainland with its full fury, gathering enough force that officials feared the potential for widespread damage. Aggravating the situation was the storms slow, potent march onto the coastline.

Debbie is a very large, slow-moving system, said John Fowler, a spokesman for Ergon Energy, noting that 48,000 customers were without power in the Bowen, Whitsunday and Mackay areas. This one is actually taking its time, so the longer it takes, the more damage it will do  not just to our network but obviously to property as well.
MOSCOW  A day after the largest antigovernment protests in more than five years, a Moscow court on Monday slapped the opposition leader behind the outburst, Aleksei A. Navalny, with a 15-day prison sentence for resisting arrest.

At the urging of Mr. Navalny, tens of thousands of Russians  many of them in their teens and 20s  poured into the streets in scores of cities across the country on Sunday to protest endemic corruption among the governing elite, despite a blanket ban against unsanctioned rallies of any size.

The police responded by beating protesters and arresting more than 1,000 in Moscow alone, though by Monday many had been released.

As Mr. Navalny was led into the courtroom for a hearing that lasted much of the day, he told reporters that he was amazed by the number of cities that took part in this and by how many people came out. After the judge ordered him jailed, Mr. Navalny was whisked away without being allowed a chance to comment further.
PARIS  A general strike and widespread protests over high crime and economic hardship paralyzed French Guiana on Monday, as the government struggled to quell growing unrest that has disrupted travel, closed schools and thrust one of Frances often-overlooked overseas territories into the spotlight of the presidential campaign.

The French prime minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, announced on Monday that a delegation of ministers would travel to the South American territory by the end of the week to try to address demands by protesters, who have refused to negotiate with lower-level officials.

The unrest has shuttered schools and blocked access to the main airport; prompted a travel alert from the State Department of the United States; and even postponed the launch of an Ariane 5 rocket, carrying a Brazilian satellite and a South Korean satellite, from the aerospace center that France and the European Space Agency run off the territorys coast. Roads to neighboring Brazil and Suriname were also blocked.



French Guiana, which has a population of around 250,000, was settled by the French in the 17th century, becoming a slave colony and then a penal colony. The latest protests have been the largest in French Guiana since 2008, when a strike lasting longer than a week shut down schools and the airport, and compelled the government at the time to cut fuel prices. And there is a long history of such unrest, according to Stephen Toth, an associate professor at Arizona State University who has written a history of French Guiana.
BERLIN  You could never palm it, flip it or plunk it into a vending machine. But apparently it can be pinched: One of the worlds largest gold coins, a 221-pound Canadian monster called the Big Maple Leaf, was stolen overnight from the Bode Museum in Berlin, the police said on Monday.

The coin is about 21 inches in diameter and over an inch thick. It has the head of Queen Elizabeth II on one side and a maple leaf on the other. Its face value is 1 million Canadian dollars, or about $750,000, but by gold content alone, it is worth as much as $4.5 million at current market prices.

And though it weighs about as much as a refrigerator, somehow thieves apparently managed to lug it through the museum and up at least one floor to get it out of a window at the back of the building. The police are still trying to figure out exactly how they did it.

The Bode Museum, which sits on Museum Island in the Spree River, is part of the complex belonging to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, or in German, the Preussischer Kulturbesitz. The local east-west commuter railway runs across the island along the back of the museum.
But he said that a warmer tone of light was being used in the city center, after consultation with the cultural authorities, which normally painstakingly monitor even the slightest changes to the countrys patrimony.

Residents in some neighborhoods have complained that the cast-iron tops of many old-style lampposts have been changed to look more modern, and that many dome-shaped lamps that hang over city streets have been replaced with drab, rectangular lights. Many wonder why Italys culture officials have not intervened.

Municipal culture officials in Rome did not return calls for comment, and the national authorities charged with protecting and preserving Italys cultural heritage said that urban lighting had never fallen under their mandate.

Theres this idea that when something doesnt work, people think that the superintendency is a sort of constitutional court to avoid messes when it comes to culture, but it doesnt have that role, said Luca Del Fra, a spokesman for one of Romes state cultural authorities.

Technically, it was out of their jurisdiction, Mr. Del Fra said. But, he added, in the spirit of collaboration between institutions, the superintendency would work with city officials to try to understand the problems and resolve them.
GAZA CITY  After spending a day at the beach, Mazen Fuqaha, a commander of Hamass military wing, dropped his wife and children at the entrance to their Gaza apartment block and went to park his car.

His life ended in a garage, where he was found dead in the drivers seat of his car after sunset on Friday, shot four times in the head from close range. Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls the Palestinian coastal territory of Gaza, blamed Israel. The group presented no evidence but said the quiet assassination bore the hallmarks of a hit by Mossad, Israels spy agency, and pledged to respond.

Israeli officials have not commented on Mr. Fuqahas death other than to say that he was involved in planning attacks against Israel.

The mysterious killing of a leader of Hamass military wing, the Qassam Brigades, has raised tensions with Israel and threatened to undermine the fragile cease-fire that ended 50 days of deadly fighting in Gaza in the summer of 2014.
The death of a 43-year-old delivery van driver in Syria with no known political connections could easily have faded into obscurity. Instead, photographs showing he was burned, beaten and starved in a Damascus prison have propelled him to prominence in a landmark legal action targeting officials close to President Bashar al-Assad.

A judge in Spains national court agreed on Monday to hear criminal proceedings against high-ranking members of Syrias security services over the 2013 death of the driver, identified in court documents only by his first name, Abdul, to protect relatives in Syria.

The complaint, filed by Abduls sister Amal, who manages a Madrid beauty salon, accuses nine of Mr. Assads top security chiefs of state terrorism, alleging that they used government institutions to commit crimes of extreme violence aimed at terrorizing the civilian population and silencing dissent after Arab Spring protests in 2011.

While Syria may dismiss the complaint as meaningless, international jurists said it could represent a legal reckoning for Syrian officials who have acted with impunity in six years of war.
WASHINGTON  The United States is sending more than 200 additional soldiers to Iraq to support the Iraqi militarys push to retake western Mosul from the Islamic State, military officials said on Monday.

The deployment includes two Army infantry companies and one platoon equipped to clear away roadside bombs. The soldiers are expected to leave for Iraq within the next 36 hours.

The troops, about 240 soldiers in all, are from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., and will reinforce the more than 5,000 troops the United States already has in Iraq.
The video that has now gone viral show illegal miners fleeing the spot along with the tractors and trolleys in which the illegally mined sand was being carried. The video footage also shows policemen throwing stones at the fleeing members of the sand mafia.

By Hemender Sharma: Morena district police have cancelled all gun licenses of three villages following Sunday's incident in which illegal sand miners resorted to indiscriminate firing on a joint team of the police, mining department and forest department when they tried to confiscate a JCB machine used for illegal mining on the banks of Chambal river.

Speaking to India Today, Morena district Superintendent of Police Vineet Khanna accepted that there was indiscriminate firing from the side of the illegal miners. "Our team had gone to stop illegal sand mining and confiscate the heavy machinery used for the purpose but there was heavy resistance and indiscriminate firing following which we also had to resort to firing. We have identified eight people and an attempt to murder case has been registered against them along with 24 others who have not yet been identified," he said.

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No arrests had, however, been made till the filling of this report.

VIRAL VIDEO

The entire incident was video recorded. The video that has now gone viral show illegal miners fleeing the spot along with the tractors and trolleys in which the illegally mined sand was being carried. The video footage also shows policemen throwing stones at the fleeing members of the sand mafia.

Police managed to seize one tractor-trolley from the spot but had to abandon the idea of getting the JCB machine as it grew dark. The JCB machine that was seen in videos of the incident had gone missing when police reached the spot on Monday morning.

According to Kapoor the miners are from three nearby villages Jarah, Barasin and Caneera and gun licenses of the residents of these three villages now stand cancelled. "Police would soon be acting to seize the licensed weapons from these three villages," Kapoor said. Police are also likely to launch a drive against illegally owned weapons in the three villages.

MORENA'S HISTORY

Morena is notorious for illegal sand and stone mining and IPS officer Narendra Kumar was killed in one such incident when a driver of a tractor carrying illegally mined stone drove over him as he tried to stop the vehicle a few years back. Last year another police constable was killed in a similar fashion when he tried to stop a vehicle carrying illegally mined stone.

Following these incidents the state government had even announced sending a team of Special Task Force of the state police to the district but this too could not curb illegal mining activities.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is now undertaking the Nmami Devi Narmada yatra alongside the river Narmada urging people to make conservation of the river into a mass movement. He is also talking about strict action against illegal minors but this seems to be of little deterrence to the mining mafia operating across the state.

Also read:

Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan's nephew caught evading mining royalty

--- ENDS ---
An American military airstrike targeting Islamic State fighters and equipment on March 17 may have killed as many as 200 people, including civilians, according to Iraqi officials. The airstrike was part of an effort to recapture Mosul that began last October and has taken a heavy toll on civilians.

March 17

The airstrike hit the neighborhood of Mosul Jidideh, where Iraqi government forces and Islamic State fighters had been engaged in heavy fighting.

2 Miles Western Mosul ISIS-HELD Nineveh Ruins 1 Eastern Mosul Government-HELD Airstrike Area Mosul Jidideh neighborhood 2 Old City Tigris Recent government gains Mosul Mosul Airport Baghdad IRAQ Government-HELD 1 2 Miles Mosul Baghdad Eastern Mosul Government-HELD IRAQ Western Mosul ISIS-HELD Nineveh Ruins Old City Tigris Recent government gains Airstrike area Mosul Jidideh neighborhood Mosul Airport Government-HELD 1 The New York Times | Source: Conflict Monitor by IHS Markit (areas of control as of March 20).

Airstrike area Mosul Jidideh is a densely populated neighborhood in Mosul Airstrike area Mosul Jidideh is a densely populated neighborhood in Mosul The New York Times | Source: Satellite photograph by Planet Labs from March 24, 2017.

March 23

Reports of mass casualties started to emerge about a week after the airstrike. Rescue efforts continued as many civilians continued to be found under the rubble, some still alive.

Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse  Getty Images

Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse  Getty Images

March 24

After reports of scores of civilian deaths, the United States military said it was investigating the incident.

March 25

The U.S. military confirmed that it had carried out an airstrike at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties on March 17.
By Baishali Adak: For long, India has been known as the land of snake charmers. But how many of these slithering serpents roam our tropical country? Nobody really knows.

Now, four organisations - Madras Crocodile Bank (MCB), Global Snakebite Intiative, indiansnakes.org and Pune-based Premium Serums - will find out.

Together, they have launched a 'first-of-itskind' study in India called the 'National Venomous Snakes Survey.'

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While India boasts of 10 per cent of the world's snake population numbering some 200 species, the survey will especially focus on the 'big four'.

These are the poisonous and most dangerous spectacled cobra (naja naja), common krait (bungarus caeruleus), russell's viper (daboia russelii) and saw-scaled viper (echis carinatus).

HERPETOLOGIST ROMULUS WHITAKER TO LEAD TEAM

Herpetologist Romulus Whitaker will lead the team. At least 700 people - naturalists, photographers and doctors - have been involved for the project spanning 5-10 years. Armed with a website, a mobile application and their forest-combing skills, they will map the entire country - from the Himalayas to the deserts and rivers - and come up with a comprehensive 'snakescape' of India.

Conservationist Jose Louies told MAIL TODAY, "This was a much-needed research. First, we have no such data available for medical or ecological usage. Second, snakebite deaths are hugely ignored in India. As per 2011 government data, some 45,900 deaths occur every year due to snakebites.

That is 125 deaths per day and five deaths per hour. Most deaths take place in in UP, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha." "Since we don't exactly know what kind of snakes are found where, and have not bothered to develop targeted anti-venom serums (AVS), people die.

Hospitals are ill-equipped and awareness among villagers is low," he said. The pilot project will be launched in Naaglok village in Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh, which has been supported by CM Raman Singh.

ALSO READ | Government marks World Wildlife Day, organises mass burning of poached wildlife products

Khokon Saha, big fish of turtle trade, in West Bengal police net

ALSO WATCH | Meet the Snake Lady of Maharashtra who saved over 50,000 reptiles

--- ENDS ---


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The Canadian parliament has passed a landmark anti-Islamophobia and religious discrimination motion that calls on politicians to condemn anti-Islamic behavior and rhetoric. It called on the government to recognize the need to "quell the public climate of fear and hate".

The vote on Friday (March 24) follows months of fierce debate in Canada, including protests from both the motion's supporters and detractors. The non-binding motion was passed by 201 votes to 91.

Liberal first-term MP, Iqra Khalid, introduced the motion, also known as M-103, last December, but it gained significance after the January attack on a Quwbex Mosque that left six Muslims dead.

"I think that we need to continue to build those bridges amongst Canadians, and this is just one way that we can do this," Khalid said after the vote in parliament.

The motion garnered an online backlash, petitions against it and nationwide protests. According to local media, Khalid has also received death threats after introducing the motion. Khalid told The Star that her office has been swamped with hateful messages over the Motion 103.

The majority of Canada's Conservative MPs voted against the motion. Conservative MP David Anderson put forward an amendment to the motion to try and change the wording to include other religions. He argued the motion should be to "condemn all forms of systemic racism, religious intolerance and discrimination of Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus and other religious communities". But the amendment was rejected by Liberals.

While condemning Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination the Motion-103 took note of petition e- 411 to the Canadian parliament. The petition, passed by the parliament on October 26, 2016, reads:

"Whereas:

"Islam is a religion of over 1.5 billion people worldwide. Since its founding more than 1400 years ago, Muslims have contributed, and continue to contribute, to the positive development of human civilization. This encompasses all areas of human endeavors including the arts, culture, science, medicine, literature, and much more;

"Recently an infinitesimally small number of extremist individuals have conducted terrorist activities while claiming to speak for the religion of Islam. Their actions have been used as a pretext for a notable rise of anti-Muslim sentiments in Canada; and

"These violent individuals do not reflect in any way the values or the teachings of the religion of Islam. In fact, they misrepresent the religion. We categorically reject all their activities. They in no way represent the religion, the beliefs and the desire of Muslims to co-exist in peace with all peoples of the world.

"We, the undersigned, Citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to join us in recognizing that extremist individuals do not represent the religion of Islam, and in condemning all forms of Islamophobia."

Liberal Member of Parliament Frank Baylis (Pierrefonds--Dollard, Quebec) sponsored a petition (e-411 Islam) condemning Islamophobia initiated on June 8, 2016 by Samer Majzoub, President of the Canadian Muslim Forum, one of the largest Canadian Muslim group founded in 1993.

According to Center for Enquiry Canada, E-petitions are a new feature of Canada's federal parliamentary system."..a feature which promises to provide increased access to Parliamentarians.

This new system is designed to allow individuals or groups to write and submit petitions to Parliament.

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From Reader Supported News

Trump also promised during the campaign to "drain the swamp" and to name outsiders, rather than lobbyists and professional political hangers-on, to important policy positions in Washington. It's not working. Trump should have hired people from the swamp, who know how the city runs and how to get things done. But Trump isn't capable of learning from the mistakes of others. Instead, he brought in the likes of Steve Bannon and neo-Nazi Sebastian Gorka to run the show.

This same "drain the swamp" thing has happened in the past. Jimmy Carter promised in the 1976 campaign to bring in outsiders, to push out the insiders, and to turn Washington politics upside down. Instead, he couldn't get along with Democratic Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd (D-WV) or House Speaker Tip O'Neill (D-Mass.) and was able to pass almost no legislation of any note. In the 1980 elections, voters punished the president -- and the Democrats in Congress -- for the gridlock by giving the presidency to Ronald Reagan by an electoral vote of 489-49, the Democrats lost the Senate, and they lost 34 seats in the House.

CNN political commentator David Gergen, who has served in senior positions for presidents of both parties, including Ford, Reagan, and Clinton, said last week that Trump's first 100 days in office have so far been the worst in presidential history -- and we're only two-thirds of the way into it.

Gergen and others argue that, absent a major unifying event like, God forbid, a terrorist attack, it will be virtually impossible for Trump to push through Congress any controversial or polarizing legislation. With his abject failure on the health care bill, an utter lack of a bully pulpit, no political capital to hold over the heads of either Democrats or Republicans on Capitol Hill, and the Democrats' willingness to use the filibuster in the Senate, Trump is simply crippled legislatively.

That's good for the country, for the most part. (I say "for the most part" because I think the country really does need a major infrastructure spending bill.) Don't expect any major legislation on school vouchers, though. Don't expect any new legislation to restrict abortion rights. Don't expect any real effort to shut down the departments and agencies that Trump railed against during the campaign. His own party members just aren't intimidated by him. They don't feel compelled to do what he wants.

Now is not the time for the opposition to sit on their laurels. There's an old saying in Washington: "Don't kick a man when he's down. But once he's down, don't stop kicking him." And that's what Democrats, progressives, and others have to do -- keep kicking. If we keep up the pressure, if we continue our activism, if we block legislation, if we remain in the streets, we can make this president an asterisk in the history books. We can emasculate him starting now. Let's do it.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
From Paul Craig Roberts Website

The mental convolutions in which some will engage in order to ignore the evidence that the polar ice caps are melting -- and if not from warming from what? -- is as astounding as the convolutions and denial of basic facts that characterize those who believe the government's official 9/11 fairy tale.

If all science is rigged, as a few of you say, by the Bilderbergs, Rockefellers, or the Rothchilds, then where does your science, your information come from? If there is no reliable scientific information about climate change, what is the basis for your argument? Why are only carbon industry spokespersons honest? How come the Rothchilds didn't rig them also?

Yes, the carbon tax is another way of following the money, but it obviously leads in the opposite direction of where a few want to take it. The carbon tax is not a solution offered by climate scientists. It is the industry solution backed by the industry's free market libertarian allies and Wall St, which sees it as another profitable trading vehicle. The industry sees it as a replacement for regulation and emphasis on alternative green energy sources.

The readers who assured me that the polar ice always melts in summer and refreezes in winter did not know that more melts than refreezes and that the polar ice cap is shrinking dramatically.

The readers who said that there is no global warming now say that it is natural and not man-made, that it has happened before, and so on, which means next to nothing. The biosphere evolved in a way that supports life. When the delicate balance is altered, life dies out. With 150 years of deforestation while 1,500 gigatons of CO2 are dumped into the atmosphere, why is anyone surprised that the biosphere alters? If warming, whatever the cause, can result in the sudden release of methane equal to 1,000 gigatons of CO2, why would this have no effect?

Some readers assure me that global warming is the result of US geoengineering for war or against humanity; others say it results from the particles released in chem trails.

Some readers are exasperated with global warming denial:

"I fish 150 days a year minimum for decades now. Being an outdoorsman I notice the environment as do all of my hunting and fishing friends in upstate NY and MA. Not one of them denies global warming anymore, though it took more time for most of them to come around. But if you spend time outdoors eventually it washes over you -- something ain't right! In the late '90s in western NY in November I stood in a Great Lakes Tributary in neoprene waders and the temperature hit 85 f. This killed the fishing because the snow-melt lowered the water temperature to the point the fish became lethargic while I broiled and had to run for the parking lot to change into my jeans and drink some water. I had already been noticing that winters came later and lasted for a shorter duration while summers were definitely hotter. The heatwaves threatened inland fisheries in the Catskills that never had problems before with heat-induced fish kills. I started researching global warming and it didn't take too much to convince me that what I had been experiencing was at the very least a substantial break from what I had grown up with and heading one direction -- toward warming. There is so much natural evidence for observant outdoors-men -- the range of former primarily southern birds like Cardinals and Red-Bellied Woodpeckers that never wintered here are now established year-round in Northern climes. Range expansion due to global warming goes for plants and insects as well. I am so very tired of being told to ignore my lying eyes, to ignore common laws of physics and common sense, to accept ever more implausible explanations for obvious causes of events. This is truly the age of deception sponsored by the forces that constitute US corporate rule."

Funny, isn't it, that everyday experience corresponds with global warming.

Some readers do not understand that the measured rising temperatures are not products of a global warming model, but are actual measurements. The models can be as wrong as you like, and they have under-predicted the melting of the polar ice caps, but the actual measurements show warming. Are the Rothchilds paying or ordering all the measuring stations to report higher temperatures?

What is the point of telling me that you disagree with climate scientists? What does that mean? Are you more knowledgeable than climate scientists?

What is most amazing is those few who believe carbon industry climate science, but not other climate scientists. It is certainly the case that there is peer pressure in every discipline to stay within the paradigm of the profession. In economics, for example, just ask me or Michael Hudson about closed neoliberal minds. My Oxford professor's theory of chemical absorption was suppressed for 4 decades because it did not fit within the existing paradigm. There is no doubt that the climate scientists could be wrong that CO2 emissions are the cause of global warming. But their explanation is the best that we have and is the only explanation that we can do anything about. So, should we just ignore what we do know, or think we know, on the basis of faith that God or nature will turn it around? The consequence of the information being correct, yet doing nothing is apocalyptic.

Keep in mind, also, that the same peer pressure that exists in science and academic disciplines also exists among carbon industry-financed climate science. How many scientists warning about global warming do you know who are financed by the Koch brothers?
From The Nation

Judge Neil Gorsuch knows full well that he is attempting to take a place on the Supreme Court that should have gone to another jurist, Judge Merrick Garland. Shortly after Donald Trump nominated him, Gorsuch called Garland "out of respect." Later, Gorsuch described Garland to be an "outstanding judge."

Yet, Gorsuch sacrificed his own self respect last week, during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. The nominee refused to answer a simple question about the shameful treatment of Garland, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit judge who President Obama nominated to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the cabal of lawless partisans who corrupted the confirmation process in 2016.

The senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee asked Gorsuch a simple question about the refusal of the Senate to even consider the Garland nomination: "Do you think he was treated fairly by this committee, yes or no?"

"Senator," Gorsuch replied, "as I explained to you before, I can't get involved in politics. There's judicial canons that prevent me from doing that, and I think it would be very imprudent of judges to start commenting on political disputes between themselves, or the various branches."

That was a legalistically-worded, yet shamefully dishonest answer. Instead of making a case for his confirmation, Gorsuch's testimony strengthened the already powerful argument for rejecting this nomination.

When Minnesota Senator Al Franken raised the issue, Gorsuch continued the charade, announcing that: "There is a reason why judges don't clap at the State of the Union, and why I can't even attend a political caucus in my home state to register a vote in the equivalent of a primary."

Franken explained that, "I think you're allowed to talk about what happened to the last guy that was nominated in your position. You're allowed to say something without getting involved in politics. You can express an opinion on this." The senator pointed to the legitimate constitutional concerns that had been raised by the failure of the Republican-controlled Senate to even consider the Garland nomination.

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UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd is upset. She considers it "unacceptable" that she can't read your private chat messages and wants that fixed. Naturally, she publicly ties her demand that you surrender your privacy to the fight against terrorism. Fortunately, Rudd won't get her way. That's not because her demand is evil and wrong-headed, although it is. It's because her demand is impossible to implement.

British police and intelligence agencies want to read WhatsApp messages sent and received by Khalid Masood, who killed four and injured 50 on March 22 in London before being shot dead himself. They can't access those messages because WhatsApp uses "end to end encryption."

What this means is that WhatsApp messages are encrypted at the sender's end and decrypted at the receiver's end. The company itself never has access to the plain text of messages and therefore cannot turn that information over to police.

Rudd would like to see "back doors" built into applications so that governments can access messages' plain text under "carefully thought-through, legally covered arrangements." That's a pipe dream, for two reasons.

First, such a "back door" would destroy both the security of, and the user base for, any app whose creator allowed it. If one government can get in through a back door, so can other governments, and so can non-government hackers. No one who cares about messaging security and privacy (including, but obviously in no way limited to, terrorists) will use such an app.

Secondly, there are, and always will be, secure "end to end encryption" alternatives to apps whose makers allow them to be legally crippled as Rudd would like. That genie escaped the bottle in 1991 when Phil Zimmerman released the first version of "Pretty Good Privacy," a strong encryption program that anyone can install and learn to use on, these days, almost any device (using the OpenPGP standard).

Governments' war on strong encryption has been over for more than two decades. Strong encryption, and the public, won.

That doesn't mean your encrypted messages are secure, though. As WikiLeaks's "Vault 7" release of CIA documents shows, the world's intelligence agencies have shifted focus from hobbling encryption to compromising our devices and the operating systems that run on them. That way they can read our messages before we encrypt them or after we decrypt them.

Remember: It's not Amber Rudd and us versus the terrorists. It's Amber Rudd and the terrorists versus us.
In the wake of the repeal Obamacare fiasco, there is naturally much soul searching, finger pointing, and freely profferred advice. As is normal, the suggestions, coming from various parts of the political spectrum, contradict each other. Still, one piece of advice seems the most plausible: Dump the Freedom Caucus, which was formerly known as the Tea Party. When they stiffened the mainstream Republican resolve to prevent President Obama from getting anything done, their nihilism had the smell of roses for the GOP. But now that the same modus operandi is being applied to the host body, the stench of decay is unavoidable.

The traditional conservatives, no less than President Trump, may be reluctant to turn upon a group with whose philosophy, if not strategy, they agree on most issues. But there is a solid politico/philosophical basis for such a pivot: the election returns. While it is true that during the Obama years the Democrats lost nearly a thousand elective offices, including of governors and legislators, it is equally true that in six of the last seven presidential elections, they won the popular vote. The conclusion is that the nation currently has a split personality, and the division is manifest in the difference between presidential year voting and all other years.

If we set aside the delusional Trumpian rhetoric that he won dramatically, we see that the nearly 3 million votes cast more for Hillary than for Trump is a record for losing despite winning. The truth is that the Electoral College is a Rube Goldberg contraption that was meant by the Founding Fathers to exclude demagogues. Instead the device got enmeshed in precisely what the Founders tried to avoid. So as long as we abide by the Constitution and play by its rules--as we indeed should-- we have no choice but to accept Trump as our president. But the popular vote has its voice at the table as well.

Amusingly, Republicans contort themselves in trying to talk their way out of that fact. One is to dwell on the large number of counties that went red. Well, yes, but a lot of those are relatively uninhabited, and where in the Constitution exists the principle of one acre equals one vote, rather than the current interpretation--as settled law--of one person, one vote? Or Republicans talk about how nice things would be if you just take California and New York, among the largest and bluest states, out of the calculation. But it just so happens that a lot of fellow Americans live in those two states, with California having a population and an economy larger than many countries.

So enough with the sophistry, and let us turn to the meaning of the unavoidable election returns. During the primary season many a politician behind in the polls said that the only poll that counts is on election day. And that unique poll last year indeed showed that the country is evenly divided, with the slightest tilt to the left. In a parliamentary system, the prime minister would have to rule from the middle, with a cabinet split among the two major parties. In the American system, however, with winner take all, the president can with impunity ignore the divided vote and rule hard left or right. That is what Bush II did in 2001 and what Trump started out doing.

In this regard, one might conclude that American exceptionalism does not extend its blessings to the matter of heeding the voice of the voters. Suppose, however, a Republican president tried that approach for a change. Were Trump to swing to the left now by negotiating with the Democrats, the hard right would howl, but he would be behaving in a venerable parliamentary manner. He could point to the popular vote mandate. With neither side prevailing, that mandate is for the middle of the road. That is how the numbers add up, that is how water finds its level, that is how common sense holds sway.

The result would be negotiations and compromises which would leave both sides dissatisfied but neither side outraged. Except of course for the thirty or so members of the Freedom Caucus. But they have to learn that for them to have their way, they must work hard to accumulate a majority of the votes in future elections. Until then, they cannot be allowed to exercise a veto and paralyze the political process. If Trump wants to be a winner, that may be the only political strategy available to him--one that is based on the hard facts of that public opinion poll of November 8, 2016, the only one, we are often told, that counts. So let it count.
President Trump is a sad president in more ways than one" Not only is he not qualified to sit on the chair he occupies, but his idea that he was grown enough to occupy it has shown he has much growing to do, and worse of all, he doesn't have qualified advisors surrounding him, or at minimum they are incompetent.

The health care issue exposed all the above. The Republicans have since the passage of Obama Care 7 years ago promised their constituents they would repeal it and replace it with a superior program. Trump took up the trumpet during his campaign with promises that on the first day he would repeal Obama Care and within weeks a new and superior program would be approved by Congress.

Sixty-four days into his presidency Trump took his first major political black-eye administered to him by his own party. Not only did he fail to follow through "on my first day" but making it worse he had to finally admit he didn't have the votes in his own party to pass the health care reform.

Recollect the days of President Clinton who was constantly accused of making policy decisions after taking a reading which way the political winds were blowing, this was possible because Clinton had "political" advisors as well as "policy" advisors.

Not suggesting that Clinton was right on putting politics before national interests, simply that at the level of such an office, presidents should be surrounded by qualified political and policy advisors as should have Trump.

Had he, his political advisors would have taken a reading on the mood of the districts members of his own party represent. Doing so, he would have found that the one coalition he need in bulk to support his health reform legislation, was not susceptible to political strong-arm-tactics persuasion. Why? Because in those Congressional districts the Republican candidates won by a greater margin than President Trump did. In other words, they were stronger in their own Congressional District than the president. Further his advisors could have easily found that telephone calls, e-mails and letters to those district representatives were 100 to 1 opposing the change the White House and Speaker Ryan proposed.

This information alone would have indicated that the bill was dead on the water. Needless to say, the policy advisors were also way off their mark -- otherwise they would have known that the reason for the opposition was due to the bill itself.

Trump seems to be from the old-school of salesmanship that sometimes serves him well and other times leaves his face smeared with eggs and lately with even more rotten eggs. The old-school adage is "every sales person worth his salt will BS in the course of a sales presentation, but the real sales person will go out and turn the BS true. Otherwise you are not a sales person, you are a BS artist." His campaign rhetoric, positions and ideas on a multiple of issues -- build a wall, Mexico will pay -- China will obey or lose -- Japan, Korea and Europe need to pay more for protection and buy more from us -- US companies will return to the US and of course other grandiose promises were all part of the "sales presentation" with a lot of BS thrown in to win the votes.

But once the election was over and he won -- time to turn the BS into truth, but so far no truth simply more BS. The surprise is -- where in the hell are his advisors? Or are they as incompetent as the record of failure so far shows? Are such people doing right by the president or do they read him as a man who only wants to hear agreement with his words and ideas? If so, what kind of persons are these fools?

President Trump will now face the investigation of collusion with Russia by some of his top advisors that will further damage the office of the president. It would seem that these fools that surround President Trump are leading him (and the nation) into a very deep crevice which in turn lead to a period of terrible uncertainty, another major recession, and loss of faith in our democratic process and opened to civil disobedience as not seen since the Vietnam days.

President Trump must now make an immediate change in the direction his presidency is going by ridding his office of such incompetency, becoming more political astute with proper advisors, study and seek the best available advise on issues facing the nation before taking political action.

Or resign the Presidency.
FROM THE START of his presidency, Donald Trump's "war on terror" has entailed the seemingly indiscriminate slaughter of innocent people in the name of killing terrorists. In other words, Trump has escalated the 16-year-old core premise of America's foreign policy -- that it has the right to bomb any country in the world where people it regards as terrorists are found -- and in doing so, has fulfilled the warped campaign pledges he repeatedly expressed.

The most recent atrocity was the killing of as many as 200 Iraqi civilians from U.S. airstrikes this week in Mosul. That was preceded a few days earlier by the killing of dozens of Syrian civilians in Raqqa province when the U.S. targeted a school where people had taken refuge, which itself was preceded a week earlier by the U.S. destruction of a mosque near Aleppo that also killed dozens. And one of Trump's first military actions was what can only be described as a massacre carried out by Navy SEALs, in which 30 Yemenis were killed; among the children killed was an 8-year-old American girl (whose 16-year-old American brother was killed by a drone under Obama).

In sum: Although precise numbers are difficult to obtain, there seems little question that the number of civilians being killed by the U.S. in Iraq and Syria -- already quite high under Obama -- has increased precipitously during the first two months of the Trump administration. Data compiled by the site Airwars tells the story: The number of civilians killed in Syria and Iraq began increasing in October under Obama but has now skyrocketed in March under Trump.



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What's particularly notable is that the number of airstrikes actually decreased in March (with a week left), even as civilian deaths rose -- strongly suggesting that the U.S. military has become even more reckless about civilian deaths under Trump than it was under Obama:



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This escalation of bombing and civilian deaths, combined with the deployment by Trump of 500 ground troops into Syria beyond the troops Obama already deployed there, has received remarkably little media attention. This is in part due to the standard indifference in U.S. discourse to U.S. killing of civilians compared to the language used when its enemies kill people (compare the very muted and euphemistic tones used to report on Trump's escalations in Iraq and Syria to the frequent invocation of genocide and war crimes to denounce Russian killing of Syrian civilians). And part of this lack of media attention is due to the Democrats' ongoing hunt for Russian infiltration of Washington, which leaves little room for other matters.

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by Greg Palast for Op-Ed News

When RyanCare-TrumpCare finally ended up face-down in the swimming pool, triumphalist Democrats whooped and partied and congratulated themselves on defeating the Trump-Ryan monstrosity.

But deep in their counting house, counting their gold, three brothers cackled with private jubilation.

David and Charles Koch knew the day was theirs.

Joining them in the celebration was Brother Billy, William Koch, who will share in their $21 billion windfall that the President arranged for them only hours before TrumpCare crashed--when Trump announced his State Department had formally approved the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Let's start with that $21 billion.

The XL Keystone Pipeline would take the world's heaviest, filthiest crude from Canada's tar sands, and snake with it all the way down to Texas.

[Watch this clip from The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.

https://youtu.be/LvZ5Sa5jEtw

Now here's a question I never hear from our sleep-walking media: Exactly why are we sending oil all the way across the United States to Texas. I mean, doesn't Texas already have a little oil?

In fact, Texas is drowning in oil, choking in it. But the Kochs' Texas refinery can't use much local crude. The Koch Industries Flint Hills refinery on the Texas Gulf Coast was designed specifically to crack only the world's "heaviest" (i.e. filthiest) crude.

Texas crude ain't heavy enough, ain't dirty enough, for the Kochs' Gulf Coast operation, originally designed for imports for the world's major source of heavy crude: Venezuela. The price the Kochs paid for Venezuela's oil was set by its President Hugo Chavez, and now, by Chavez' chosen successor, Nicolas Maduro.

Chavez and Maduro both told me they'd squeeze the Kochs by their tankers. They have.

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When this man's marriage proposal was rejected, he slit his lover's throat with a razor blade, stabbed her to death, poured petrol on her mother and set her ablaze.

By Rohini Swamy: A jilted man slit the throat of his lover and set her mother ablaze using petrol after she rejected his marriage proposal.

Amare Gowda Patil, the accused, stabbed his lady love with a knife to make sure she was dead. After he poured petrol on her mother and setting her on fire, he tried to kill himself, but that turned out to be a futile attempt.

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The incident took place in Karnantaka's Gangavati village.

The couple (Photo: India Today)

Gowda, who is already married, fell in love with Shahnaz Tavaragera and asked her to marry him over and over. But since she refused each time, he decided to kill her.

Gowda offered to drop both Shahnaz and her mother Kamalabi to Kushtagi when he saw them waiting for a bus. The mother and daughter agreed. The man drove them to an open field and attacked them.

Also read: Bengaluru: Jilted lover throws acid at boyfriend for refusing to marry her, slashes face with surgical knife

Gowda slit Shahnaz's throat with a razor blade and when her mother called out for help, he poured petrol on her and set her mother ablaze.

Amare Gowda Patil (Photo: India Today)

Hearing their screams, nearby villagers rushed to help them. Gowda had fled the scene by then. The victims were taken to a nearby government hospital and later to a government hospital in Bengaluru.

Shahnaz succumbed to her injuries but her mother who suffered 30 per cent burns is said to be recovering.

After attacking his lover and her mother, Gowda consumed poison and tried to end his life but he was saved by one of the villagers and taken to a district hospital.

Also read: Haryana: Murder mystery solved after 10 months, wife kills businessman husband for lover

A case has been filed against Gowda and as soon as he recovers and gets discharged, he will be arrested. Gowda had been trying to win Shahnaz's love for over two years now and they were in a live-in relationship and had even taken a place together on rent.

Due to some misunderstandings, the couple separated and Shahnaz's wedding with another man was fixed. When Godwa began forcing her to marry him, Shahnaz filed a police complaint stating that she was being harassed by Gowda.

--- ENDS ---
Since when do Democrats attack one another on universal health care? I thought we were trying to realize Harry Trumans dream. I thought this campaign finally gave us an opportunity to put together a coalition to achieve universal health care.

That was Hillary Clinton, in the heat of her 2008 primary battle with then-Senator Barack Obama.

Obama, Clinton suggested, was committing a shameful act of friendly fire by sending around fliers that misled voters on health care and other topics around which Democrats should seek to unify.

This is wrong and every Democrat should be outraged because this is the kind of attack that not only undermines core Democratic values, Clinton said, but gives aid and comfort to the very special interests and their allies in the Republican Party who are against doing what we want to do for America.

How quickly things change.

In 2016, confronting yet another unexpected challenge in the person of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Clinton trampled on what appeared, in February of 2008, to be a statement of principle.

Previously an outspoken proponent of single-payer health care, Clinton, speaking at a campaign rally early last year, painted Sanders Medicare for all proposal as pie in the sky.

I wish that we could elect a Democrat who could wave a magic wand and say, we shall do this and we shall do that. That aint the real world were living in! Clinton said.

But the former Secretary of State didnt stop at dismissing Sanders proposal as unrealistic; she insisted that, if it was enacted, it would dismantle the progress made by Obamacare and send health insurance to the states, turning over your and my health insurance to governors.

Chelsea Clinton, adding to the concentrated barrage of attacks, pursued a similar line during a speech in New Hampshire, arguing that Sanders plan to replace the Affordable Care Act with a single-payer program could strip millions and millions and millions of people of their health insurance.

These claims, as everyone who examined them at the time recognized, amounted to little more than the smears Clinton decried eight years prior.

Contributing one last disingenuous item to a mountain of misinformation, Clinton said, I dont know where [Sanders] was when I was trying to get health care in 93 and 94.

A response came swiftly: He was literally right behind her.

Fast-forward to the present, and we have a rather different health care fight on our hands: Republicans are attempting to make good on their longstanding promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with something, in the words of President Donald Trump, really great.

Predictably, the plan put forth by House Republicans, led by the supposed policy wonk Paul Ryan, was a craven mess that wouldve stripped millions of their insurance whileof coursegiving massive tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. The plan was, as Voxs Dylan Matthews recently put it, an act of class warfare by the rich against the poor.

As such, Democrats forcefully aligned against it.

Bernie Sanders, an independent, entered the fray as well, but from a different angle than most Democrats. Being the party of no is not sufficient, Sanders insists; Democrats must articulate an alternative just as forcefully as they have articulated their opposition to GOP-care.

Never lose sight of the fact that our ultimate goal is not just playing defense, Sanders recently tweeted. Our goal is a Medicare-for-all, single payer system.

He was almost instantly derided, most prominently by the liberal columnist Paul Waldman, who scoffed in response to Sanders tweet: Like saying Never lose sight of the fact that our goal is to remodel the kitchen when there are arsonists pouring gasoline on your porch.

The sentiment is not unfamiliar: Not now, says the Sober Liberal, not now. We can save the Utopian ideas for the future; at present, we must beat back the barbarians currently attempting to breach the gate.

But if the 2016 election results have taught us anything, it is that saying the other side is bad is not nearly enough. People are eager for something to organize around and to vote for.

Contra Waldman, it is possible to resist Republican efforts to dismantle the current health care order while also articulating the need to move beyond it, to something better.

In fact, to resist most effectively, we must do precisely that; insisting that Obamacare is already great wont do.

The American health care system is such a hideously complicated tangle of institutions, The Weeks Ryan Cooper noted back in January. The fact that ObamaCarea reasonably good-faith effort to make the system betterdid not stop the vicious cruelty of medical billing, and in many ways only added to the systems psychotic complexity, ought to weigh on us all.

And it ought to weigh most heavily on Democrats.

In January of this year, a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 60% of Americans say the government should be responsible for ensuring health care coverage for all Americans.

Democrats casting about for issues that will consolidate their base and inspire progressives at the grassroots level have been granted a remarkable opportunity by their Republican opponents.

What better program to unify around, particularly given the present circumstances, than one that guarantees health care to all Americans as Republicans scramble to take it away from millions as a sop to the rich?

In 2008, Hillary Clinton believed she sensed an opportunity to put together a coalition to achieve universal health care.

Today, if they choose to take it, Democrats have that opportunity once more. This time, they cannot afford to blow it by smearing those who insist upon Medicare for all.

From their position of powerlessness, Democrats can begin to feed off of the demands for universal coverage by constructing an ambitious and stark contrast to the disaster that is GOP-care, thus laying the groundwork for future electoral victories.

If not now, when?

Jake Johnson is a freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter: @johnsonjakep.
2017 marks the 18th anniversary of the Specialized Enduro, an impressive milestone in an industry that sees bike models come and go in the blink of an eye. Just think, if the Enduro were a teenager in the US it would now be eligible to vote, buy rifles, cigarettes, dirty magazines, and get drafted into the military.



Of course, the very first Enduro had 26 wheels, but back in 2013 Specialized unleashed a 29 wheeled version into the world, skipping right over the 27.5 wheelsize that was being heralded as 'the next big thing.' The first Enduro 29 was more forward-thinking than anyone really realized, and it's only over the course of the last two seasons that the number of longer travel 29ers has truly begun to grow, spurred on in part by the widespread acceptance of 1x drivetrains, and the increasing number of tire and fork options suitable for aggressive riders.

Specialized Enduro 29 Details



 Intended use: all-mountain / enduro

 Travel: 165mm

 29" wheels

 Full carbon frame

 66 head angle

 432mm chainstays

 12 x 148mm rear spacing

 Sizes: S, M, L, XL

 Weight (size L): 29.5lb (13.4 kg)

 Colors: Graphite / Black, Hyper / Red

 Price: $8,500 USD / $3,500 frame only

 www.specialized.com

 Intended use: all-mountain / enduro Travel: 165mm 29" wheels Full carbon frame 66 head angle 432mm chainstays 12 x 148mm rear spacing Sizes: S, M, L, XL Weight (size L): 29.5lb (13.4 kg) Colors: Graphite / Black, Hyper / Red Price: $8,500 USD / $3,500 frame only

The distinctive X-Wing frame shape remains, as does the yoke-mounted rear shock, in this case Ohlins' STX 22. There's now a 73mm threaded bottom bracket, and internal cable routing, with a perfectly placed rubber grommet to keep the brake line from rubbing on the frame.

Frame Details

The swingarm brace has been removed, but the carbon seatstays have been bulked up to preserve the frame's stiffness. There's plenty of room in the downtube to store a tube, pump, and a few snacks.

Suspension Design

Geometry

Specifications

Specifications Price $8500 Travel 165mm Rear Shock Custom Ohlins STX, 216x57mm Fork Ohlins RXF 36, air sprung, 160mm travel Cassette SRAM XG-1295, 12-speed, 10-50t Crankarms SRAM XX1 Eagle, 30t chainring Chainguide Specialized Bottom Bracket SRAM GXP XR, 73mm Rear Derailleur SRAM XX1 Eagle, 12-speed Chain SRAM XX1 Eagle Shifter Pods SRAM XX1 Eagle, 12-speed, trigger Handlebar Specialized DH, carbon, 27mm rise, 780mm, 31.8mm Stem Syntace MegaForce 2 Grips Specialized Sip Grip Brakes SRAM Guide RS, carbon levers, 200mm front / 180mm rear rotor Hubs Roval Traverse SL, DT Swiss Star Ratchet, 54t engagement Rim Roval Traverse SL 29, hookless carbon Tires Specialized Butcher front / Slaughter rear, Grid casing, 2.3" Seat Body Geometry Henge Expert, hollow titanium rails, 143mm Seatpost Command Post IRcc, 125mm travel Compare to other All Mountain/Enduro/XC













Climbing

There's something about having a seemingly endless amount of travel that's tough to beat when it comes time to plow through chewed up, bomb-hole filled sections of trail.

Descending

Specialized Enduro vs Trek Slash

The carbon Roval Traverse SL wheels held strong for the duration of the test. With a 30-tooth ring up front and a 10-50 tooth cassette in the rear you'll have a hard time ever justifying pushing the Enduro S-Works up a hill.

Component Check

 Specialized Roval Traverse SL Wheels:

 SRAM XX1 Eagle Drivetrain:

 Specialized Slaughter tire:

The Command Post works well, although it'd be nice to see a 150mm option... Rumor has it Specialized might have something on the way. The Guide RS brakes have plenty of power and good modulation, but where's the pad contact adjust dial?

What's Missing?

Pinkbike's Take

Specialized didn't go off the deep end with the new Enduro, but that's because they didn't need to. The previous version was far enough ahead of its time that refinements rather than massive revisions were all that was necessary. Even with a slacker head angle and more travel, the Enduro is still an incredibly well-rounded bike, one that can just as easily serve as an enduro race machine as it can a daily driver.  Mike Kazimer

About the Reviewer

Stats: Age: 34  Height: 5'11"  Inseam: 33"  Weight: 160lb  Industry affiliations / sponsors: None

Twenty-two years deep into a mountain biking addiction that began as a way to escape the suburban sprawl of Connecticut, Mike Kazimer is most at home deep the woods, carving his way down steep, technical trails. The decade he spent as a bike mechanic helped create a solid technical background to draw from when reviewing products, and his current location in the Pacific Northwest allows for easy access to the wettest, muddiest conditions imaginable.

Age: 34  Height: 5'11"  Inseam: 33"  Weight: 160lb  Industry affiliations / sponsors: None

There are a total of four models for the Enduro 29: the S-Works and Pro, which have full carbon frames, the Elite, which uses a carbon front triangle and an alloy rear end, and the full-alloy Comp. The number of sizes has been increased, and the bike is now available in S, M, L, and XL.The S-Works version tested here is the top-of-the-line option, with a full Ohlins suspension package, SRAM Eagle XX1 drivetrain, Roval carbon wheels, and a price to match, to the tune of $8500. For riders who aren't quite ready to sell a kidney in order to afford all that bling, the Enduro Pro is $6500, the Elite is $4500, and the alloy Comp is $3200.Thanks to some cleverly manipulated images that appeared in the months prior to the launch of the new Enduro, many riders expected it to resemble the Demo 8, with its futuristic one-sided design. Specialized did consider going down that route, but instead ended up with a bike that's not too far removed from the previous version, although there have been some welcome changes, including the addition of a threaded bottom bracket shell.Along with moving away from a pressfit bottom bracket, Specialized also tucked the derailleur and brake housing into the frame rather than running it under the downtube. The lines run through tubes molded into the carbon fiber, which prevents any annoying rattling and makes maintenance less of a hassleThe seatstay design was altered slightly, and along with making the switch from an alloy to a full carbon rear end, there's no longer a brace connecting the two sides of the swingarm. In order to make sure that this didn't reduce the frame's stiffness, Specialized reinforced the portion of the arm that's connected to the rocker link. They also made the decision to use the same size bearings for all of the Enduro's pivot points, simplifying things for consumers and shops when it comes time for an overhaul.The Enduro also gets Specialized's SWAT system, a pack rat's dream setup that allows the inside of the downtube to be used for storing whatever you can fit in therejust don't forget to take out that half-eaten tuna sandwich at the end of a ride. In addition to the storage compartment, there's a multi-tool mounted to the bottle cage, and a spare quick link and chain breaker are hidden underneath the stem's top cap. It may seem a little gimmicky, but it's anything butthere's something to be said about being able to fill up a water bottle and head out on a ride without needing to wear a pack.No surprise herethe Enduro 29 still relies on the proven Horst Link suspension layout for its 165mm of travel, with the rear shock mounted to a yoke that wraps around the seat tube. What is a little surprising, though, is that Specialized decided to hold off on going with metric shock spacing, at least for nowa 216 x 57mm Ohlins STX 22 handles the rear suspension duties. There's also a coil sprung version of the Enduro available, for riders who want to keep up with what the cool kids on the EWS circuit are doing.Specialized didn't need to go too wild when they updated the Enduro 29's geometry, but they did slacken the head angle to 66-degrees, versus the previous versions' 67.5-degree head angle. The seat tube was steepened by one degree to 76, and the chainstay length grew ever-so-slightly to 432mm.Increasing the travel on the Enduro 29 could easily have turned it into a sluggish pig on the climbsafter all, 165mm of travel and big wheels doesn't exactly sound like the recipe for speeding uphill. Luckily, that's not the case, and the Enduro performed very well during both technical and not-so-technical climbs. There is a slight amount of suspension movement during out of the saddle efforts, but it's certainly not enough to be distracting. The relatively steep seat angle creates a more forward, upright, and centered position, which makes it easier to keep the front end weighted and on the ground no matter how steep the ascent. Even after I swapped out the stock 60mm stem for something shorter to match my personal preference there wasn't any unwanted front wheel lifting or wandering.There are three high-speed compression positions on the Ohlins STX 22, along with a blue dial for adjusting the amount of low-speed compression, but the difference between each setting isn't as dramatic as what you'd find on either a Fox Float X or a RockShox Monarch Plus. I settled on running the shock in the middle setting for the vast majority of the timeit provided enough support for climbing, while remaining supple enough for climbing or descending through chunky terrain.For as much travel as the Enduro 29 has it's still very manageable, so much so that I affectionately started calling it the BFG (Big Friendly Giant). The combination of a 66-degree head angle and 432mm chainstays adds up to a bike that's capable of plunging down the steepest descents, but still remains maneuverable at slower speeds. Of course, the handling isn't as snappy as the Stumpjumper 29, its shorter travel sibling, but it's still quick when it needs to be. Unlike a bike like Nukeproof's Mega 290, it's not as crucial that you keep things fully pinned at all timesyou don't need to be harboring dreams of Enduro World Series glory to have fun on the Enduro 29. Getting the front wheel up and manualing through sections of trail was a breeze, and lifting the back wheel up for rapid direction changes didn't pose any problems either.I'm a big fan of the latest batch of shorter-travel 29ers, but spending time on the Enduro reminded me that there's something about having a seemingly endless amount of travel that's tough to beat when it comes time to plow through chewed up, bomb-hole filled sections of trailthat extra cushion let me get away with making bad decisions on more than one occasion. No matter whether I was rolling through webs of slippery roots or navigating a steep section of trail that required heavy braking, the rear suspension felt very neutral and predictable - there's a reason the Horst Link design is so popular.The Ohlins STX 22 shock delivered a plush, bottomless feel, sucking up every harsh landing and poor line choice without skipping a beat. The Enduro has a fairly linear suspension curve, but there was enough ramp up at the end of the stroke that I never experienced any harsh bottoming out. Although the shock is equipped with Specialized's AutoSag feature, I found that the resulting setting was a little soft for my liking, and ended up setting it up manually with 30% sag.Up front, the RXF 36 fork was a smooth operator that's still supple and silent even after months of regular mud baths. I ran 110 psi in the fork's main chamber, and 135 in the ramp-up chamber for my 160 lb weight. I'd probably increase the amount of ramp up in drier conditions, which is done by adding air via a Schrader valve on the underside of the fork, but in the mud and muck those numbers worked well to provide enough small-bump compliance and traction. Although the Ohlins name gives the RXF 36 or the STX 22 an aura of exoticness, I wouldn't say either one is head and shoulders above the current offerings from Fox and RockShox, but they're certainly in the same performance bracket, and leave little reason to upgrade.I've been lucky enough to have spent a good amount of time on both the Enduro 29 and Trek's new Slash over the last few months, so it seemed worth taking a moment to go over how those two compare on the trail. On paper, the two bikes aren't far off when it comes to geometry, with similar chainstay and reach measurements, although the Slash has a 1-degree slacker head angle, and 15mm less rear travel. There's also the fact that you can't do bar spins on the Slash due to the Knock Block system, and you can fill the downtube of the Enduro with Twinkies if you'd like.As far as overall climbing performance goes, I'd say the Enduro edges out the Slash due in part to its steeper seat angleit's a more comfortable position for extended uphills. Both bikes pedal best after flipping a lever to increase the amount of compression damping, but the Enduro doesn't seem to go quite as far into its travel during standing pedaling efforts.While neither bike will hold you back when it comes to making mincemeat of technical terrain, there is a distinct difference in how they feel on the descents. Comparing the Enduro to the Slash is like comparing a 4-door luxury sedan to a sporty coupe. It doesn't take much encouragement to get either bike up to speed, but the Enduro is a little plusher on really rough sections of trail, with a more forgiving feel than the race-bred Slash. The Slash works best when you take charge and keep your weight over the front wheel, while the Enduro is a bit more tolerant of less aggressive riders. Both bikes will happily get airborne when the opportunity arises, and I wouldn't hesitate to take either one into the bike park for some lift-served laps.I had nothing but positive experiences when I reviewed the 27.5-inch Roval Traverse wheels a couple of seasons ago, and the same holds true for the 29 version. They're nice and wide, with a 30mm internal width, light, quick engaging, and hit the sweet spot of being stiff but not harsh.Constantly riding in mud and grit can be punishing for a drivetrain, but the 12-speed Eagle group handled it all without any issues. I can see some riders bumping up to a 32- or 34-tooth chainring over the 30-tooth ring that's spec'd, but that smaller ring does help to take the sting out of those extra-steep climbs.Winter was particularly harsh in the Pacific Northwest this year, which meant that most of my rides involved mud, rain, and more snow than usual, and on more than one occasion building an ark seemed like a better idea than heading outside. For that reason, I ended up swapping the Specialized Slaughter semi-slick rear tire and installing something with a little meatier tread. The Slaughter is a great option for drier conditions, but for winter riding I'll take all the grip I can get.Specialized's S-Works bikes are meant to be the pinnacle of what's available, equipped with the highest-end frame and components for riders in search of the best of the best. For the most part, the Enduro 29 reflects thatcarbon wheels, Ohlins suspension front and rear, an XX1 Eagle drivetrainbut there are two exceptions worth mentioningThe first is the 125mm dropper post. On a bike with big wheels and 165mm of travel, the last thing you want is for the seat to get in the way when dropping into a rowdy line. The bike's steep seat angle exaggerates the reduced amount of drop, putting the saddle in a position where it's even more of a hindrance. Specialized aren't the only ones guilty of spec'ing their highest end all-mountain bike with a 125mm dropper postTrek does the same thing on their Slash 29  but at the very least, I'd like to see the large and XL sizes come with a 150mm dropper post. Specialized's Command post does work very well, and the lever is one of the best out there, but an extra 25mm of travel would be much appreciated.My second gripe has to do with the SRAM Guide RS brakes. Yes, the levers have been upgraded to carbon, but for me, the ability to adjust the pad contact point is more important than saving a few grams. The Guide RSC model, or the Ultimates would have been a better choice, especially considering the bike's asking price.
Writings on the Wall

Many years ago, I got a phone call from Troy Torres at a political candidates office. He had seen an election estimate I had written and didn Read morePower of polls and weekend talks
"We can't understate how much we appreciate the support of GovGuam. It just says a lot about how we can work together. We're on the same island."  Amy Forsythe, Guam Joint Women's Leadership Symposium

Nearly 300 attendees from different branches of the military attended a women's leadership conference at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort Friday.

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Men and women of all ranks, from enlistees to officers, participated in the 3rd Guam Joint Women's Leadership Symposium to network and share "key leadership methods," said the event's social media coordinator, Amy Forsythe.

"This event is an opportunity for higher-ranking leaders to share their knowledge with the next generation of military leaders," Forsythe said. "I wish they had events like this when I was coming up."

Forsythe said the event emphasizes the joint mission each branch and the civilian sector share in, and improves cohesion between the Department of Defense and GovGuam.

Sen. Telena Nelson, a captain in the Guam National Guard, presented two resolutions at the conference, recognizing Rear Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, commander of Joint Region Marianas; and Senior Chief Petty Officer Latoya Blaine for being keynote speakers at the event.

"It's an honor to present this resolution to you because as a legislative body, it's necessary to always have a good relationship with our military partners," Nelson said while presenting the resolution to Chatfield.

Meanwhile, Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo shared a similar message of support through a pre-recorded video presentation.

"We can't understate how much we appreciate the support of GovGuam," Forsythe said. "It just says a lot about how we can work together. We're on the same island."

One of the focal points of the conference was the generational differences in leadership and management, especially concerning social media usage and professionalism.

"You never stop being a sailor," Forsythe said. "Professionalism has to extend into your personal life."

This appears to be the same position Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller took in a video addressing a recent nude photo scandal targeting female Marines on Facebook, according to a March 7 Stars and Stripes article.

Neller is quoted as saying, "There is no time off for Marines. We are all-in 24/7."

Indeed, Blaine said excellent leadership means a willingness to engage in the professional and personal hurdles many junior service members encounter.

"When you're leading enlisted personnel you have to remember that often times they're coming straight out of high school," Blaine said. "It's our job as leaders to help them grow into responsible leadership positions themselves."

The symposium served as a training event in Guam dedicated to providing service members and Department of Defense civilians professional development through networking, education and mentorship, a press release states.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-27 14:00:08

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Argex Titanium Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---MONTREAL, Quebec (FSCWire) - Argex Titanium Inc. (TSX:RGX). has issued a press release with the following headline:Argex Titanium Publishes New Corporate PresentationTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Argex Titanium Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Argex Titanium Inc.Source: Argex Titanium Inc. (TSX: RGX, WKN: A1J1GR, ISIN: CA04014T1021)Date: March 27, 2017Time: 8:00 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Argex Titanium Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Canada Zinc Metals Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (TSX Venture:CZX). has issued a press release with the following headline:Canada Zinc Metals Engages Structural Consultant for 2017 Exploration ProgramTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Canada Zinc Metals Corp., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Canada Zinc Metals Corp.Source: Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (TSX Venture: CZX, ISIN: A0RAQJ, WKN: CA1353061080)Date: March 27, 2017Time: 8:30 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Canada Zinc Metals Corp. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
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B2B commerce platform built on Salesforce recognized for CRM-enhanced eCommerce and ability to support sales representatives globally and locally

CHICAGO, March 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CloudCraze, the enterprise B2B commerce platform built natively on Salesforce, has been recognized by Forrester, an independent research firm, in The Forrester Wave(TM): B2B Commerce Suites, Q1 2017. The company was named a strong performer and cited for aggressively building out its implementation partner network, and for its globalized and localized sales support and CRM-enhanced eCommerce. The report also notes CloudCraze is "a best fit for existing Salesforce B2B customers that are looking to build on their investment in Salesforce and get up and running with eCommerce relatively quickly and easily."

"Being recognized by Forrester as a strong performer is an enormous honor and we're proud of the value we provide our customers, said Chris Dalton, CEO of CloudCraze. "We're dedicated to empowering B2B companies with an agile and robust platform that captures insight from sales, service, and commerce interactions to enhance the customer experience and increase revenue. Our number one priority is giving our customers the flexibility and connectivity necessary to drive digital transformation in the rapidly evolving market."

The report states that due to CloudCraze's Salesforce nativity, the platform "enables existing Salesforce customers to spin up enterprise commercial selling sites in very short time frames. The company is well positioned to leverage its pre-integration with Salesforce to offer salespeople CRM-enhanced eCommerce as well as globalized and localized sales support."

Companies included in The Forrester Wave(TM): B2B Commerce Suites, Q1 2017 are evaluated on their current offering, strategy and market presence. CloudCraze received the highest score possible in the target market and B2B focus, and total cost of ownership criteria. It received a four out of five in the product strategy and roadmap and company vision criteria.

CloudCraze offers B2B companies a fast, scalable and connected solution for digital commerce. The platform improves the B2B experience by empowering customers to communicate, research, browse and purchase wherever and whenever they want. It further supports businesses by providing a holistic view of the customer through commerce native on Salesforce, the world's leading CRM solution. CloudCraze's API-first, Salesforce-native architecture and micro-service offerings support customer engagement with greater agility and flexibility to innovate, like connecting the customer to AI-driven experiences.

"The B2B industry is experiencing a marked transformation towards digital and as a result, cloud-based solutions are becoming increasingly more critical for organizations' commerce strategy," furthered Dalton. "The connectivity and agility of the cloud will enable buyers and sellers to move beyond the complex, rigid solutions that many still use today. As the industry continues to advance, CloudCraze will remain on the forefront of innovative technologies to help B2B organizations enhance their digital commerce success."

For more information, visit www.cloudcraze.com.

About CloudCraze

CloudCraze delivers robust B2B commerce native on Salesforce that allows businesses to generate online revenue fast and easily scale for growth. CloudCraze delivers seamless interactions across commerce, sales, marketing and service for a 360-degree view of data that's 100 percent connected to the customer. With its trusted Salesforce infrastructure and core capabilities, the powerful CloudCraze platform provides infinite flexibility to extend functionality, add products and channels, and conduct billions of dollars in transactions anywhere. CloudCraze powers eCommerce for Coca-Cola, Avid, AB InBev, Barry-Callebaut, Ecolab, GE, L'Oreal, Kellogg's, WABCO and more.

CloudCraze is a Platinum Salesforce ISV Partner.
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the 3D Printing Metal Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017-2027" report to their offering.

3D Printing Metal Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-27 07:05:40

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3D printing metal is also referred to as metal additive manufacturing. This is a manufacturing technology used for the production of complex structures and smaller designs. The introduction of 3D printing metal has helped manufacturers to design and develop complex structures with ease which would have not been possible without the use of conventional manufacturing techniques. 3D printing metal is a manufacturing technology in which manufacturing is done layer by layer and hence, the accuracy of the production is also increased to a higher level. This technique, most commonly, requires only metal powder which can be used to manufacture various parts and components as per the requirement of the producers. There are special machines which are capable of manufacturing such complex structures. However, they must be operated under human supervision. The use of powder metals for the manufacturing of products has enabled manufacturers to use several types of metals and their alloys. Thus, the permutation and combination of several metals has enabled industries to produce products which are more durable, economical and suitable to be used for various industrial and commercial applications.This additive manufacturing process collects the powder in the reservoir and then, according to the need, it deposits the metal powder on the manufacturing bed to form layers of the product. These layers usually have a thickness ranging from 20 m to 100 m. Once the layers are properly placed and distributed, they are either bound together (known as 3D printing) or melted using a high energy beam. In the second case, the bean source is ideally one high energy laser, but many systems use two or more lasers with varying power standards under the inert gas environment. The most commonly used processes are Laser Cusing, Selective Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) and Laser Melting (SLM). The lone exemption to this process is the Electron Beam melting (EBM) process which operates in full vacuum condition with the electron beam. The melting process is repeated layer by layer, slice by slice, until the last layer is melted and the full products are complete. Then it is removed from the powder bed and post processing is done according to the product requirements.Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2858 3D Printing Metal Market Dynamics:When combined with powerful and modern tools that optimize analysis and simulation process to generate an optimal design solution, such technologized tools are able to design tools which produce perfect, lightweight designs that are functionally accurate and optimized for production via. 3D printing or additive manufacturing. The resulting parts do not only take a reduced amount of time to design, but are also lighter and significantly stronger than part designs that are manufactured using conventional manufacturing methods.Owing to these enhanced properties, 3D printing metal has abundant applications in the automotive, aerospace, construction, defense and medical industries. 3D Printing Metal market is anticipated to grow in all the industrial and manufacturing sectors owing to its growing applications in lightweight engineering products. The 3D Printing Metal market is estimated to grow since the regulatory authorities are pressing the manufacturers to use products which are more ecofriendly and use minimum amount of natural resources during the production process. 3D Printing Metal Market has a lot of scope in research and development division since the researchers and scientists are coming up with new metal and softwares which are more efficient and economical. Space constraint is becoming an important factor for the manufacturers now, they are opting for more light and spacious products, which in turn, is expected to fuel the growth of the 3D Printing Metals market in the consumer goods sector. The market for the 3D Printing Metal is anticipated to grow at a healthy CAGR in the coming future. Furthermore, the growing applications of the products manufactured by 3D printing in commercial and industrial sectors is expected to propel the growth of the overall 3D Printing Metal market in the near future.3D Printing Metal Market segmentation:3D Printing Metal can be segmented on the basis of Raw Material, Manufacturing Process and End Use.By Raw Material, the 3D Printing Metal Market can be segmented into:Powder, FilamentOn the basis of Manufacturing Process, the3D Printing Metal market can be segmented into:Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), Laser Melting (SLM)OthersOn the basis of End Use,the 3D Printing Metal market can be segmented into:Aerospace & Defense, DefenseEngineering and industrial, PowerMedical & Dental, Others3D Printing Metal MarketRegional Outlook:3D Printing Metal can be divided into seven different geographical regions/divisions -- North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan, Middle East and Africa. The North America and European countries have presence of all industrial and commercial sectors alongside the existence of globally prominent players, which is a boon for the 3D Printing Metal market in these regions. The rapid industrialization in the Asia pacific region, especially in China and India, is estimated to fuel the growth of the 3D Printing Metal market. Industries and manufacturers are striving to reduce scrap rates in their operating plants and with the use of 3D printing metal technology, they are also efficiently doing it. Thus, the market is anticipated to grow in the near future. The use of 3D printing metal products in the consumer goods is becoming easier and economical owing to the new inventions and advances being made in this technology. Therefore, it is expected that the 3D Printing Metal market will see rapid growth in all the developed and developing countries in future.Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2858 3D Printing Metal Market: Market ParticipantsSome of the market participants in the 3D Printing Metal market are:3D Systems Corporation, Arcam ABEOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems, Optomec Inc.Voxeljet AG, GKN PlcSandvik AB, Renishaw PlcCarpenter Technology Corporation, Renishaw PlcLPW Technology
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Disposable Hygiene Adhesives Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017-2027" report to their offering.

Disposable Hygiene Adhesives Market

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Today, disposable hygiene adhesives plays a very important role in the manufacture of user-friendly and environment-friendly hygiene products. The disposable hygiene adhesives are mainly used for the production of disposable hygienic products such as baby diapers (nappies), feminine care products, and adult care products. Also these adhesives are used in other hygienic applications including medical dressings, hospital bed pads, and surgical drapes. Basic usage of disposable hygiene products is for the absorption of liquids or solids with no leakage and enough comfort. Depending on their end-use, different kinds of disposable hygiene adhesives are employed for different applications. For example, spiral spray adhesive and elastic waistband attachment adhesives are the common adhesives used for diaper manufacture.Global Disposable Hygiene Adhesives Market: DynamicsDisposable hygiene adhesives are used across various end-use industries such as packaging, healthcare, personal care, and pharmaceutical. Upsurge in demand for different end-use products is the crucial factor boosting the demand for disposable hygiene adhesives, in turn, propelling the overall growth of global disposable hygiene adhesives market. Also, increasing use of disposable hygienic products due to better education, awareness through media, affordability & availability of disposable hygiene products, etc. are promoting the growth of global disposable adhesives market. Also awareness and increasing adoption of female hygienic products in Asian countries such as India and China is an important driver for disposable hygiene adhesives market in the APAC region.Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2859 Currently, media makes people more aware about importance of disposable hygienic products and its environment-friendly nature. The government organizations also try to promote the use of these hygienic products to improve the health of infants, kids, and women. Consumers are looking for improved features of the products such as thinner cores, better absorption, improved softness, and changing substrates.Global Disposable Hygiene Adhesives Market: SegmentationThe global disposable hygiene adhesives market can be segmented on the basis of origin, type, application, end-user, and end-use industry. On the basis of origin, global disposable hygiene adhesives market can be segmented into synthetic adhesives and natural adhesives. On the basis of type, global disposable hygiene adhesives market can be segmented into hot melt adhesives, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), amorphous poly-alpha-olefin (APAO) and polyurethane, and adhesives based on styrene block copolymers (styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), styrene-isoprene-styrene (SIS), styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene (SEBS), and others. On the basis of application, global disposable hygiene adhesives market can be segmented into construction adhesive (or bonding adhesive), core adhesive (or fluff pad adhesive), positioning adhesive, elastic adhesive, frontal tape adhesive, side tape adhesive, and others. On the basis of end-user, global disposable hygiene adhesives market can be segmented into baby & infant care, feminine care, adult care, specific or specialty care, and others. On the basis of end-use industries, global disposable hygiene adhesives market can be segmented into medical and healthcare, personal care, pharmaceutical, and other packaging applications.Global Disposable Hygiene Adhesives Market: Region-wise OutlookNorth America and Asia Pacific are expected to be the key regions for disposable hygiene adhesives market in the upcoming years. China, Japan, and India are expected to remain key countries in the Asia Pacific disposable hygiene adhesives market throughout the forecast period. The betterment in education sector and increasing awareness about the necessity of hygiene products in Asia Pacific propel the disposable hygiene adhesives market in the region.Also, the disposable hygiene products demand in Europe is expected to increase in future with moderate growth rate followed by Middle East & Africa and Latin America.Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2859 Global Disposable Hygiene Adhesives Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants involved in the manufacture of disposable hygiene adhesives include Bostik SA, H.B. Fuller, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Nordson Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, Foreverest Resources Ltd., GitAce, Guangdong Rurga New Material Technology Co., Ltd., TSRC Corporation, and Exxon Mobil Corporation among others.
The death toll is expected to increase as some of the injured passengers are critically injured. The local villagers along with Assam Rifles troops and the local police extended help to the injured.

By Manogya Loiwal : Three major road mishaps occurred during the day on NH-2 and NH-37 killing around 21 people including 3 personnel of the Assam Rifles and three women and injuring several others.

The first mishap occurred around 3.30 am when a tourist bus ferrying passengers from Guwahati to Imphal skidded into a deep gorge near Chakumai Bridge in Makhan on NH-2. More than 40 passengers were injured in the road mishap and at least twelve passengers including a woman and three personnel of Assam Rifles were killed.

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The death toll is expected to increase as some of the injured passengers are critically injured. The local villagers along with Assam Rifles troops and the local police extended help to the injured.

Parliamentary Secretary for Home L Sushindro personally visited Makhan mishap spot and took stock of the situation. He was accompanied by top ranking police officers.

"The incident was very unfortunate. The government will extend as much help as possible to the injured persons and bereaved families of those who were killed in the mishap. Ex-gratia of 5 lakh rupees will be given to each deceased's family and 30 to 50 thousand rupees to the injured persons," L Sushindro said.

The injured persons are undergoing treatment at different hospitals in Imphal.

The second road mishap took place on NH-2 at Lairou Ching situated between Senapati and Maram where a truck driver lost his life.

Yet another accident that occurred was when a passenger carrier was going to Imphal from Jiribam and accidentally fell into a 300-feet-deep gorge near NH-37 (Imphal-Jiribam Road) between Irang and Khongshang in Tamenglong district. Eight passengers including two women were killed and seven others were injured.

The accident happened around 12.20 PM today. Identities of the dead and injured are yet to be established. The ill-fated SUV was reportedly carrying 15 passengers. Six of the injured have been brought to hospitals in Imphal.

Meanwhile Chief Minister N Biren tweeted that he has already assigned a ministerial team to make a spot inquiry into the accident of Senapati and visit the injured persons at the hospitals.

(Inputs from Jit Ningomba in Manipur)

Also read:

Manipur: 17-hour long strike called by DESAM affects normal life

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Double Crown Resources Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---HENDERSON, Nev. (FSCWire) - Double Crown Resources Inc. (OTCQB:DDCC). has issued a press release with the following headline:Double Crown Resource Enters Collaborationwith AmityUniversity of India onAdvanced Intermodal Transport SystemTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Double Crown Resources Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Double Crown Resources Inc.Source: Double Crown Resources Inc. (OTCQB: DDCC, WKN: A1JPCD, ISIN: US25857H1032)Date: March 27, 2017Time: 8:45 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Double Crown Resources Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-27 09:02:01

NOTICE TO ATTEND ELANDERS' ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Shareholders in Elanders AB (publ) are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 26 April 2017 at 3 p.m. at Gothia Towers, Massans gata 24, Gothenburg, Sweden.

RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE

Shareholders who wish to attend the Annual General Meeting must be recorded in the share register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB on Thursday 20 April 2017 and notify their intention to participate no later than on Thursday 20 April 2017.





Shareholders whose shares are registered with a nominee must re-register the shares in their own name with Euroclear Sweden AB in order to be entitled to attend the Meeting. Such registration, which can be temporary, is requested with the nominee and must be duly effected on Thursday 20 April 2017. This means that shareholders must advise their nominee well in advance of this day.





There are a total of 35,357,751 shares in Elanders, whereof 1,814,813 class A-shares with ten votes per share and 33,542,938 class B-shares with one vote per share. The shares entitle to 51,691,068 votes in total. The company does not hold any treasury shares.

NOTIFICATION

Notification of participation can be made via the company's website, www.elanders.com , or alternatively by e-mail to arsstamma@elanders.com , in writing to Elanders AB (publ), Att: Annual General Meeting, P.O. Box 137, SE-435 23 Molnlycke, Sweden or by telephone +46 31 750 07 21. The notification shall set forth name, social security number or company registration number, address and telephone number, number of shares and, where applicable, the number of advisors (maximum two) that will accompany the shareholder at the Meeting.





Shareholder represented by a proxy shall issue a power of attorney for the proxy. If the power of attorney is issued by a legal entity, a registration certificate or a corresponding document which indicates the authorized signatories of the legal entity must be enclosed. The original power of attorney, and any registration certificate or the equivalent, should be sent to the company well in advance of the Annual General Meeting at the address above. Proxy forms are available at www.elanders.com and can also be ordered from the company at the address above.

PROPOSED AGENDA

Opening of the Meeting Election of Chairman of the Meeting Preparation and approval of the voting list Approval of the agenda Election of two persons to approve the minutes Determination of whether the Meeting has been duly convened Presentation by the Chief Executive Officer Presentation of the work performed by the Board and its committees Presentation of the annual accounts and the auditors' report as well as the consolidated financial statements and the auditors' report for the group Resolutions regarding

a) adoption of the income statement and balance sheet as well as the consolidated income statement and balance sheet

b) allocation of the company's profits according to the adopted balance sheet

c) the discharge of Board Members and the Chief Executive Officer from liability Determination of the number of Board Members, deputies and auditors Determination of the remuneration to the Board of Directors and the auditor Election of Board Members and Chairman of the Board

a) re-election of Carl Bennet;

b) re-election of Erik Gabrielson;

c) re-election of Linus Karlsson;

d) re-election of Cecilia Lager;

e) re-election of Anne Lenerius;

f) re-election of Magnus Nilsson;

g) re-election of Johan Stern;

h) re-election of Caroline Sundewall;

i) re-election of Pam Fredman;

j) election of Dan Frohm; and

k) re-election of Carl Bennet as Chairman of the Board. Election of auditor Resolution regarding the nomination committee The Board's proposal on guidelines on remuneration to senior executives The Board's proposal on amendment of the Articles of Association Closure of the Meeting

DIVIDEND DISTRIBUTION (ITEM 10 b)

The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 2.60 per share for the financial year 2016. The record date for the dividend is proposed to be Friday 28 April 2017. If the Annual General Meeting approves the proposal, it is expected that the dividend will be disbursed by Euroclear Sweden AB on Wednesday 3 May 2017. The last day for trading in the company's shares including the right to dividend is Wednesday 26 April 2017.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS ETC (ITEMS 2 and 11 - 14)

The nomination committee, composed of Carl Bennet (Carl Bennet AB), Chairman, Hans Hedstrom (Carnegie Funds) and Britt-Marie Arenberg (representative of the minority shareholders) proposes:

the appointment of Carl Bennet as Chairman of the Meeting,

that the Board shall be composed of ten Members without any deputies,

that the remuneration to the Members of the Board shall amount to SEK 3,930,000, to be divided so that the Chairman receives SEK 670,000 and the other Members not employed by the company receives SEK 335,000 each, the chairman of the audit committee receives SEK 134,000 and each other member of the audit committee receives SEK 67,000, the chairman of the remuneration committee receives SEK 70,000 and each other member of the remuneration committee receives SEK 35,000.

the re-election of the Board Members Carl Bennet, Erik Gabrielson, Linus Karlsson, Cecilia Lager, Anne Lenerius, Magnus Nilsson, Johan Stern, Caroline Sundewall and Pam Fredman and the election of Dan Frohm as new Member of the Board.

the re-election of Carl Bennet as Chairman of the Board,

that the company shall have one auditor without any deputies,

that remuneration to the auditor be paid according to approved invoices within the limits of the offer, and

the re-election of PricewaterhouseCoopers AB as auditor of the company.

Dan Frohm, 35 years, has an M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management from Linkoping University. Dan Frohm is an experienced advisor for global technology companies on a variety of strategic and operational improvement topics. He recently worked as Senior Manager and Practice Head of Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) at the management consultancy Applied Value LLC based in New York.

The proposal concerning the auditor is consistent with the audit committee's recommendation.

For further information on the proposed Members of the Board, please refer to the nomination committee's proposal which is available at the company's website.





THE NOMINATION COMMITTEE (ITEM 15)

The nomination committee proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves:

to instruct the Chairman of the Board to convene a nomination committee for the Annual General Meeting 2018, composed of the Chairman of the Board, one representative of each of the company's two largest shareholders as per 31 August 2017 and one representative of the minority shareholders,

that, in the event any of the two largest shareholders refrains from exercising its right to appoint a representative to the nomination committee, such right shall pass to the shareholder that, next to these two shareholders, has the largest shareholding in the company,

that, in the event a representative no longer represents the relevant shareholder, or otherwise resigns from the nomination committee prior to the completion of its work, such shareholder shall be offered the opportunity to appoint a new representative to the nomination committee,

that, in the event a representative represents a shareholder that has sold all or the main part of its shareholding in Elanders, the nomination committee may resolve that such member shall resign and, if deemed appropriate by the nomination committee, offer another representative for a larger shareholder a place in the nomination committee, and

that the nomination committee shall perform such duties that fall on the nomination committee in accordance with the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.

GUIDELINES ON REMUNERATION TO SENIOR EXECUTIVES (ITEM 16)

The Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves on guidelines for remuneration to senior executives principally entailing the following. Remuneration and other terms and conditions of employment for senior executives shall be based on market conditions and be competitive in all markets where Elanders operates, to ensure that competent and skilful employees can be attracted, motivated and retained. The total remuneration to senior executives shall comprise basic salary, variable remuneration, pensions and other benefits. The variable remuneration shall be limited and connected to predetermined and measurable criteria elaborated with the purpose to promote the long-term added value of the company. The Board shall retain the right to deviate from the guidelines if motivated by particular reasons on an individual basis.

THE BOARD'S PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION (ITEM 17)

In light of Elanders' changed strategic focus, the Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to amend the company's business object in  2 of the articles of association.

Existing wording:

"The object of the company's business is to pursue book printing and publishing, to acquire and manage real property and any other activities compatible therewith."

Proposed wording:

"The object of the company's business is to, directly or indirectly, provide logistics and production services, own and manage real estate and movable property and any other activities compatible therewith."

DOCUMENTS

The annual report and other supporting documentation will be held available at the company and on its website, www.elanders.com , at least three weeks before the Meeting. Copies of these documents will be sent to shareholders who so request and provide their postal address. Copies will also be distributed at the Meeting.

The shareholders are reminded of their right to demand information according to Chapter 7 Section 32 of the Swedish Companies Act.

PROGRAM FOR SHAREHOLDERS

2:30 p.m. Registration opens

3:00 p.m. The Annual General Meeting begins

After the Annual General Meeting a warm meal will be served.

______________________________

Molnlycke, March 2017

The Board of Elanders AB (publ)

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Elanders AB via Globenewswire


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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Far Resources Ltd.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, BC (FSCWire) - Far Resources Ltd. (CSE:FAT). has issued a press release with the following headline:Far Resources Plans for a Second Drill Program at Zoro Lithium Property, Snow Lake, ManitobaTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Far Resources Ltd., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Far Resources Ltd.Source: Far Resources Ltd. (CSE: FAT, FWB: F0R, WKN: A2AH8W, ISIN: CA30734R1001)Date: March 27, 2017Time: 9:15 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Far Resources Ltd. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Aircraft Washing Systems Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017-2027" report to their offering.

Aircraft Washing Systems Market

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Over the years, more than dozens of people would be involved in washing an aircraft, which was not only immensely time consuming, but the eminence of work was also not up to international standards. On an average, a team of 17 to 20 people would take about 9 to 10 hours to clean one Jumbo (707) aircraft. Also, there are other issues to be considered, such as injuries caused by even a minor carelessness. Presently, in many countries aircraft washing and cleaning is assigned to manual labor. In India, Indira Gandhi International Airport (New Delhi) will soon get washing robots to clean jumbo jets. According to DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited), the technology will be imported from Sweden. Currently, apart from British airports, this technique is used by Qatar and Thai airways. The new aircraft washing systems will be entirely computerized and will comprise spray nozzles, cleaning brushes and mobile power units.In the Middle East region, the aviation industry is very keen on green practices. Airlines cannot afford spending extensive periods of time on cleaning activities. Therefore, a company named Clean Middle East developed a new aircraft washing technology known as dry wash. Dry wash is developed and produced by Rhoba-Chemie GmbH, (Germany) to clean aircrafts without water. This concept has a big edge over its counterpart since it inhibits corrosion, improves physical appearance, reduces chemically contaminated waste water and minimizes water consumption.As the use of airplanes has increased exponentially, commercial and private aircraft agencies spend billions of dollars every year in aircraft maintenance. Now, international standards of aviation safety and rules also mandate aircraft cleaning. Cleaning is done by both, private and in-house agencies. However, cleaning is not a secondary job and must be carried out with possible aircraft washing systems (equipment).Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2855 The commonly used aircraft washing equipment are:Carts used to clean the floor of an airplane are included in aircraft washing systemsCoatings used to add extra shine are included in aircraft washing systemsAero brushes used to remove dust from surface are included in aircraft washing systemsWax and buff balls used in the belly area are also included in aircraft washing systemsAircraft squeegee used to remove water and liquid from different areas are included in aircraft washing systemsWashing mops used to clean the surface are included in aircraft washing systemsAircraft washing systems companies such as Riveer (U.S.) have launched automated aircraft washing systems. Such aircraft washing systems take two minutes to clean the aircraft and the wash water is reclaimed and reused again.Aircraft Washing Systems: DynamicsThere is a never ending battle against corrosion in aircraft maintenance, particularly in rotary aircrafts operating over saltwater. Therefore, the U.S. Department of Defense has concluded on rinsing the aircrafts on a weekly or daily basis to combat this problem. Increase in these aircrafts and their running is forecasted to directly create demand and a large growth opportunity for the aircraft washing systems market.Aircraft Washing Systems: Segmentation by MethodWhen it comes to washing the exterior of an aircraft, there are two types of methods: dry and wet. The wet wash requires water and cleaning agent (soap) in three steps, i.e. scrub, rinse and dry. The major problem with this method is that the water needs to be clean and mineral-free. However, most water has some mineral content, which actually captures dirt and leaves deposits on the surface.On the other hand, the dry wash method cleans and shines the surface in a single step and hence, is becoming a more popular choice. As compared to a wet wash, the cost of dry wash chemicals are expensive and much like waxing your car. This process involves a lot of elbow grease but end results are often less intrusive. With a dry wash interior cleaning and maintenance can be performed simultaneously.Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2855 Aircraft washing systems: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global aircraft washing systems market identified across the value chain include:Riveer, Nordic Aerowash EquipmentHydro Engineered Inc., Cleaning Debrring Finishing Inc.JRI Indstries, Stoelting Cleaning EqipmentUtrasonic Power Corporation, Jensen Fabricating Engineers Inc.Wanner Engineering Inc., Ransohoff CincinnatiEncon Evaporators, Daimler Industries Inc.KMT Aqua Dyne Inc.
Near Field Communication (NFC) Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2015-2025 Research Report By Future Market Insights

Near Field Communication (NFC) Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-27 06:32:11

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# 685 Words

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NFC Market OverviewNear Field communication (NFC) is a wireless communication technology. NFC is a short range communication technique that allows devices to share information. NFC has emerged as an effective alternative to other short range communication technologies, such as Bluetooth and WiFi. In NFC technology, radio communication is established between devices by touching them simultaneously or by bringing them into proximity. Market share of NFC technology is growing rapidly because of increasing adoption of this technology into smartphones and smart cameras.NFC Market DynamicsNFC technology is gaining popularity because of its various advantages such as safety, versatility and convenience. NFC is much more secure for transaction than other techniques as it requires PIN and does not provide physical access of your credit card information to retailers. Versatility refers to a wide range of industrial applications of NFC. NFC is very convenient as it is easy to use and NFC enabled devices can be carried anywhere without much hassle. As stated earlier, NFC technology has wide range of application, such as contactless payments, information sharing, information reading from smart posters and also for providing authentication of information whenever required.Request Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-464 Global Near Field Communication (NFC) market share is expected to grow rapidly in the near future. Factors which are driving the growth of NFC market are increasing deployment of NFC in the booming smartphones and smart camera market, increase in contactless payments, improved user experience and reduction in size and cost of semiconductor chips. On the other hand, factors which are restraining the growth of NFC market are security concerns due to hacking of smartphones, PCs or tablets etc. devices, short range communication, strong competition to NFC from alternative payments methods, high development cost, and lack of consumer awareness about potential benefits of NFC technology. NFC technology is anticipated to be used in a host of applications in the future due to the increasing demand of online and in store payments in retail store, increasing demand of connectivity between devices for information and data sharing.NFC Market SegmentationGlobal NFC market is segmented on the basis of applications, product types and regions. On the basis of applications, the market is further sub segmented into broad range of applications, such as contactless payments, data sharing, infotainment, access control & authentication, medical & healthcare, transportation and others. Out of all these applications contactless payment application is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecasted period. This is mainly because of rising adoption of mobile wallet payments, improved financial transparency and public sector servicing. On the basis of product type, the market is further sub segmented into non-auxiliary and auxiliary products. Non- auxiliary products are further categorised as tags, readers and controller ICs/Chips. Auxiliary products include micro SD cards, SIM cards and NFC enabled covers. Out of all these product types, NFC readers are projected to experiences high market growth during forecasted period, it is prominently because of emerging applications areas and increasing demand of NFC readers in authentication and access control applications. On the basis of region, the global NFC market is sub-segmented into seven regions, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), Japan as a separate region, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Middle East & Africa region. North America region is largest in terms of market share with USA leading the market. Asia Pacific region is expected to show high growth rate during forecasted period because of increasing awareness and adoption of NFC technology into retail and transportation. Followed by APAC, Europe region is also estimated to be promising market with countries such as Germany and U.K.Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-464 NFC Market: Key PlayersKey players in the Global NFC market are Gemalto N.V., DeviceFidelity, Inc., Visa Inc., Broadcom Inc., STMicroelectronicsN.V., Toshiba Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Identive Group, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Infineon Technologies and On Track Innovations (OTI) Ltd. etc. These key players are focusing mainly on vertical integration activities and to gain competitive advantage players are also investing heavily on research & development activities to generate innovative technologies.
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Automotive Brake Fluid Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017-2027" report to their offering.

Automotive Brake Fluid Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-27 06:59:42

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# 626 Words

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In the automotive market, initially mechanical brakes were used which were gradually replaced by hydraulic brakes, where brake fluid was required. The first hydraulic system was developed in 1914 by Frederick Duesenberg, an American automotive pioneer. Today, most automotive brake fluid is either silicone based (DOT5) or glycol based (DOT3).Most drivers check their engine oil or tire pressure regularly, but very often drivers check the brake fluid in their vehicle. Automotive brake fluid is a type of hydraulic fluid used in hydraulic clutches & brake applications in motorcycles, automobiles and some bicycles. It plays a crucial role as it transfers force when a driver applies the brake. Additionally, automotive brake fluid helps prevent corrosion and serves as lubricant for all movable parts.Automotive brake fluids, across the world, are regulated products and need to meet certain specifications and recommendations set by industry agencies and associations such as the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Japanese Standards Association (JSA the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations (FMVSS), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and GB12981-2003 in China.Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2856 Automotive Brake Fluid Market: DynamicsThe burgeoning demand for vehicles in countries like China and India is forecasted to drive growth for the automotive brake fluid market. Companies are establishing production sites in these regions so as to satiate the local demand. For instance, BASF opened an automotive brake fluid production plant in Pudong, Shanghai to support the demand of local customers; which in turn is driving demand for automotive brake fluid in China. However, the lack of awareness/understanding among end user is restraining growth of the global automotive brake fluid market.The main route to this market is via the aftermarket, which includes workshops, automotive service centers and retailers for supply to DIY (do it yourself) end users. The retail aftermarket includes general & automotive retailers and petrol forecourts. The remaining market for brake fluid is held by OEMs for the first fill in a vehicle. Therefore, tie ups with OEMs becomes an important driver across all regions since they provide an assured route to the market through the sale of new cars.Automotive Brake Fluid Market: SegmentationAutomotive brake fluid are of two types: petroleum and non-petroleum. Petroleum-based automotive brake fluids are rarely used in the automotive industry.The DOT (department of transportation) classifies automotive brake fluids by their chemical composition and boiling point. Therefore, the global automotive brake fluid market can be segment by type as: DOT 3 (glycol ether based), DOT 4 (glycol ether based/borate ester), DOT 5 (silicone based), DOT 5.1 (borate ester/glycol ether). DOT 5.1, DOT 4, DOT 3 are based on poly glycol compounds and DOT 5 is based on silicone. Gylcol fluids are used in 99% of the motor vehicles in various grades. Additionally, most cars run on DOT 3 which has lower water content since fluid causes corrosion in the brake system. Brake pistons, cylinders and lines undergo wear and tear as a result of braking over a period of time. The cost of replacing any component is significant and replacing brake fluid can help save a major portion of that cost. Automotive brake fluid varies from vehicle to vehicle, depending on various factors such as model, vehicle production year and type of brake system.Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2856 Automotive Brake Fluid: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global automotive brake fluid market identified across the value chain include:Beijing Haidian Huiyuan Synthetic AgentsBosch, CoptonCnpc, Castrol(Bp)Caltex, Exxon MobilDelian Group, FuchsFaw(First Automobile Works) Group Corporation, Jilin HairunIrico Group, OriginalLaike, Shenzhen Pingchi Industry CoShell, SinopecTotal, TeecZhuhai Gaida Shiye, Tianjin Xuqi Gongmao
Fruit Concentrate Puree Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026 Research Report By Future Market Insights

Fruit Concentrate Puree Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-27 06:36:45

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The Exotic Fruit segment will retain its dominance in the global fruit concentrate puree market during 2016  2026The Exotic Fruit segment in the global fruit concentrate puree market is estimated to be valued at more than US$ 400 Mn in 2017, which is estimated to increase at a CAGR of 5.7% over the forecast period to reach more than US$ 700 Mn by the end of 2026. The Exotic Fruit concentrate puree market is anticipated to record absolute $ opportunity of US$ 274.34 Mn between 2016 and 2026. The Exotic Fruit segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 3.8% in terms of volume over the forecast period.Rising demand for baby products containing exotic fruits is likely to create robust growth in the Exotic Fruit segmentThe rise in demand for baby food is expected to drive the growth of the Exotic Fruit segment during the forecasted period. Sales of instant baby foods is on the rise due to the fast paced life of modern day parents. The people living in urban areas dont have enough time to prepare food at home and thus tend to buy instant baby food products to fulfil the basic requirements of their infants. As most of the baby food products consist of exotic fruits such as banana, apple, melon and mango, there is a significantly high demand in the global market. Baby food products containing the puree of exotic fruits have a better taste and are most preferred by children, which in turn multiplies the sale of exotic fruit purees in the global fruit concentrate puree market. Exotic fruits are relatively cheaper than orchard or berry fruits. Consequently, various manufacturers are focussed towards providing puree concentrate made of exotic fruits. This factor is expected to create a positive impact on the Exotic Fruit segment.Request Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-102 Fruit juices are commonly prepared from juice concentrate. However, several juice manufacturers have now started using puree concentrate in fruit juices to give a smooth blend and to increase the thickness. Many types of puree concentrate especially the purees made from exotic fruits like apple puree concentrate is used in almost all the juices. Moreover, a large proportion of fibrous matter is naturally found in exotic fruits, which leads to an increasing demand for and growth of the Exotic Fruit segment in the global fruit concentrate puree market.Many companies in North America and Europe are launching smoothies and juice products prepared from exotic fruit puree concentrate in powder form with added minerals and nutrients. These companies are selling their products directly to end-users/customers for direct consumption. Also, application across various food and beverage products is likely to increase the volume and value growth of the Exotic Fruit segment in the global fruit concentrate puree market. The rising use of puree concentrate made from exotic fruits as a sweetener in snacks and baby products is also creating robust growth in the Exotic Fruit segment.Send An Enquiry@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-102 global fruit concentrate puree marketPerformance of the Exotic Fruit segment across the different regional fruit concentrate puree marketsThe tomato puree concentrate segment is expected to remain the dominant segment in terms of both value and volume in the North America, Western Europe, and MEA fruit concentrate puree markets. In Latin America, the banana puree concentrate segment is expected to dominate in terms of both value and volume from 2015 to 2026. In Eastern Europe, the pineapple puree concentrate segment is anticipated to remain the dominant segment in terms of value from 2015 to 2026. While in the APEJ fruit concentrate puree market, the mango puree concentrate segment is expected to dominate in terms of value throughout the forecast period.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-27 17:23:01

Industry Trailblazers Examine Trends, Research and Hard Truths

New York, NY - March 27, 2017 - The ADVERTISING Club of New York and Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) announced today that they are hosting the industry's first-ever event specifically focusing on Black women. THEIR TRUTH: The Summit on Black Women in Advertising, Marketing and Media is part of the I'mPART program, a diversity initiative of The ADVERTISING Club of New York, and will be hosted at The Paley Center on March 27th. The event will be available beginning at 6:30 pm ET, via Facebook Live on IPG's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/InterpublicGroup/.

The event is intended to shed light on recent workforce composition numbers, foster discussion and empower the industry to course correct the number of Black women in leadership positions. Despite equal opportunity and gender initiatives aimed at improving the ratio of women to men in leadership positions overall, recent workforce composition data for the U.S. ad industry shows that women of color are not making as much progress. THEIR TRUTH will promote action utilizing the hashtag #impartoftruth.

THEIR TRUTH will be introduced by Gina Grillo, President and CEO of The ADVERTISING Club of New York, and Michael Roth, Chairman and CEO of IPG. Tai Wingfield, from the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI) will present current research during the event about Black women professionals. THEIR TRUTH will include a panel of Black women industry trailblazers, moderated by Joy Reid from MSNBC. The panel will include: Jocelyn Carter-Miller, President, TechEdVentures and SoulTranSync and IPG Board Member; Pam El, EVP, Chief Marketing Officer, NBA; Vita Harris, EVP, Chief Strategy Officer, FCB; Jeanine D. Liburd, EVP of Marketing, Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, BET Networks; Lisa Price, SVP, Founder & Creative Director, Carol's Daughter and Carol H. Williams, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Carol H. Williams Advertising (CHWA). The evening will also include a reading by Valerie Graves, Author, and ex CCO of UWG and Vigilante.

Statistics show that among major demographic groups, Black women have the lowest upward mobility, and are underrepresented on corporate boards. They make up 1% of ad industry executives in the U.S., where there are 93 Black women executives out of a total of 8,734 executives in the industry, according to the EEOC.

"While we knew this was an issue that needed to be addressed, the numbers were still startling to see. With such a glaring issue, it's hard to believe that this is the first major industry event to focus specifically on Black women," noted Michael Roth, Chairman and CEO of Interpublic. "We are very proud to bring this issue to the fore, especially with the remarkable slate of talent who are joining us for the event. Diversity and inclusion is a key value for IPG and a clear imperative for the entire industry. It's essential that both gender and race are on our agendas and this event is an important step forward," he continued.

"Current research on Black women in business is eye-opening and much of what we see is encouraging," commented Tai Wingfield, SVP of Communications at the Center for Talent Innovation and an author of the study. "Titled Black Women: Ready to Lead, our research shows us that not only are Black women qualified and competent to lead, but that they are leaning in, they are confident, and they are ready to take on even greater positions of leadership. There are insights companies can apply to promote more upward mobility," Ms. Wingfield continued.

"Focus on issues related to Black women is critical," commented Heide Gardner, SVP, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, IPG. "Given the industry's legacy of decades of attention to the lack of racial diversity, and the recent explosion of interest in gender, we need to take stock of where we are, not only from a quantitative standpoint, but also from a qualitative standpoint by learning from the experiences of Black women who have thrived. We need to make certain that we are conscious of the importance of ensuring that all women are included in the industry's gender equality movement," she continued.

"The industry needs to do better and this is a first step toward ensuring that we are deliberate about inclusion," stated Gina Grillo, President of The ADVERTISING Club of New York. "I think that many assumptions were being made - that a rising tide would lift all boats. The data shows that's not what's happening for Black women and with that insight, we can improve," she continued.

# # #

About Interpublic

Interpublic is one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies. Major global brands include BPN, Craft, FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding), FutureBrand, Golin, Huge, Initiative, Jack Morton Worldwide, MAGNA, McCann, Momentum, MRM//McCann, MullenLowe Group, Octagon, R/GA, UM and Weber Shandwick. Other leading brands include Avrett Free Ginsberg, Campbell Ewald, Carmichael Lynch, Deutsch, Hill Holliday, ID Media and The Martin Agency. For more information, please visit www.interpublic.com.



# # #

Contact Information

Tom Cunningham

(Press)

(212) 704-1326

Jerry Leshne

(Analysts, Investors)

(212) 704-1439





This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: INTERPUBLIC GROUP OF COMPANIES, INC. via Globenewswire


While the new maternity benefit law has been hailed as a right step in right direction, it may have adverse impact on the hiring of female staff particularly in new and small companies. Startups and SMEs have betrayed nervousness about the 26-week maternity leave provision of the law.

By Prabhash K Dutta: The new maternity benefit law may have its side effects on hiring of female staff by companies especially the startups and small enterprises.

In a survey conducted by social engagement platform LocalCircles, nearly 66 per cent startups and SMEs said that they would think deep before hiring female staff once the new law is notified.

advertisement

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 is awaiting presidential assent. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his government's intention clear in his last radio address that the new law would be notified soon.

The new maternity benefit law provides for a leave of 26 weeks instead of existing 12 weeks. The Bill has been passed by both the Houses of Parliament.

But, while the law is about to be implemented, the startups and the small and medium sized enterprises have expressed concern about 26-week maternity leave provision.

WHAT DOES THE SURVEY INDICATE?

Nearly 26 per cent of the SMEs and startups said that they would prefer hiring male employees to female ones. This means a huge loss of opportunities for women. The job market is already skewed against women.

About 40 per cent of the respondents said that they would still hire women but they would consider if the cost of 26-week maternity leave was worth hiring the talent.

However, 22 per cent said that they expected no change in the hiring pattern. 12 per cent were yet to make up their mind about hiring female staff post-new maternity benefit law.

Graphics by LocalCircles

A sizeable percentage of companies are also nervous about their working ecosystem and profitability considering the number of female employees they already have.

About 35 per cent of the startups and SMEs said that the new law would have a negative impact on their working both in terms of cost and profitability.

However, 39 per cent respondents welcomed the new law saying that this would have a positive impact on the overall working ecosystem. They said that 26-week maternity leave would translate into happier workforce.

Graphics by LocalCircles

THE MATERNITY BENEFIT LAW

Besides providing six-month-leave to working mothers, the new law makes it mandatory for the employers having 50 employees or 30 female staff to arrange for crche facilities either in the office premises or within 500 metres from the work place.

The move has been welcomed by all quarters, but it may have a negative impact on hiring of female staff as the companies are already thinking in terms of the cost of crche facilities and six-month paid leave.

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Majority of the startup companies and SMEs, which took part in the survey, viewed the new maternity benefit law as a challenge at a time when capital and loan availability have become easier for them. They are more inclined to consolidate their business than catering to their social responsibility.

ALSO READ|

Mann Ki Baat: Modi announces 26-week maternity leave as he defines 'New India' as change in mindset

Parliament passes bill to raise paid maternity leave to 26 weeks from 12

WATCH

--- ENDS ---
PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-27 08:33:01

DUBLIN, Ireland, March 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Klox Technologies Limited, a subsidiary of Klox Technologies Inc. ('Klox') has announced that the European College of Veterinary Surgeons ('ECVS') has accepted their poster presentation concerning Phovia(TM): "KLOX BioPhotonic System, a promising innovative approach to canine Chronic Otitis Externa: preliminary report of a randomized controlled clinical trial."

Phovia(TM) is a first-in-class, proprietary treatment using a topical photo converter in conjunction with a multi-LED light to create hyper-pulsed multi-wavelength fluorescent light. It is based on Klox's patented BioPhotonic technology platform. This non-invasive, non-thermal treatment is targeted for serious skin and soft tissue disorders for companion animals and horses.

Otitis Externa is one of the most common conditions affecting dogs, which can account for to up 20% of veterinary consultations1. With standard of care ('SOC'), it can be challenging to manage this condition and in chronic cases, failure of SOC will lead to ablative surgery. The Study compared two different protocols of the Phovia(TM) treatment versus current SOC. The results indicated this could be a new therapeutic approach to delay or avoid ablative surgery in canine Chronic Otitis Externa. The results will be presented as a poster presentation at the upcoming ECVS Annual Scientific Meeting, which is to be held July 13-15 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Chronic Otitis Externa is currently one of several indications being investigated by Klox within the skin and soft tissue disorders for companion animals and horses sector, as Dr. Ricardo Garvao, Head of Animal Health at Klox, explains: "In simplistic terms, this technology can 'kick start' the animal's healing mechanisms while controlling bacteria. This makes it a versatile technology with different applications in several fields, as already demonstrated in humans. We are currently investigating Phovia(TM)'s potential in other common animal conditions such as pyoderma, periodontitis and wounds.

"Our development of products for animal health has progressed significantly and this is an important milestone for Phovia(TM). We're convinced our technology can improve the clinical outcome for animal patients and in cases reduce the reliance on systemic products. We expect to continue bringing exciting news and novel product solutions to the veterinary practitioner."

Klox will be sharing their vision for Animal Health at VetHealth Global(TM) - The International Animal Health and Nutrition Business Conference being held, June 12-14, 2017 in Prince Edward Island, Canada. They have been selected as one of the Emerging Companies presenting at the Innovation Spotlight Series.

__________

About Klox Technologies

Klox is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products based on its proprietary BioPhotonic technology platform to address skin and soft tissue disorders. Klox is advancing its programs as part of its multiple franchises focusing on indications across Dermatology, Wound Care, and Oral Health. For more information please visit www.kloxtechnologies.com

References:

1Saridomichelakis, M, Farmaki, R, Leontides, L, & Koutinas, A 2007, 'Aetiology of canine otitis externa: a retrospective study of 100 cases', Veterinary Dermatology, 18, 5, pp. 341-347
PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-27 15:03:01

Regulators to address international spectrum issues at DSA Global Summit as policy makers look to define universal service in the 5G world

Proactive PR for Dynamic Spectrum Alliance

Sian Borrill

sian.borrill@proactive-pr.com

+44 1636 812152

Regulators from around the world are set to attend the fifth annual Dynamic Spectrum Alliance Global Summit, to continue discussions on effective spectrum management and the role of dynamic spectrum access in enabling new connectivity solutions.

The Summit, which will take place in Cape Town, South Africa from 9-11 May 2017, will welcome regulators from around the world, including:

Mr. Pakamile Kayalethu Pongwana, CEO, Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)

Hon. Hector Huici, Secretary of Communications and Information Technologies, The Ministry of Communications, Argentina

Dr. Martha Liliana Suarez Penaloza, Director, Agencia Nacional del Espectro (ANE), Colombia

Dr. Agostinho Linhares, Manager, Spectrum, Orbit and Broadcasting Division, Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicacoes (ANATEL), Brazil

Mr. Peter N. Ngige, Assistant Director, Frequency Planning, Communications Authority Kenya

Mr. Mario Maniewicz, Deputy Director, Radiocommunications Bureau of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Geneva

As the demand for connectivity increases, the emphasis is being placed on efficient and effective spectrum management. Moving society from spectrum scarcity to spectrum abundance is the only way to maximise the true potential of 5G and IoT. Dynamic access technology, coupled with unlicensed spectrum, will help in driving the necessary availability and innovation, commented Kalpak Gude, DSA President.

He added: Regulators play a key role in spectrum management decisions that drive investment in new wireless technologies. These regulatory decisions help create the canvas upon which wireless internet access solutions are drawn. We look forward to open discussions on spectrum policies from regulators and industry leaders from around the world. Were interested in learning what challenges regulators from different regions are facing and how they are seeking to address those issues. We also look forward to hearing from industry leaders regarding technological advancements that will enable the bridging of the digital divide as well as expanding access capacity to handle the vastly larger data flows that are expected.

Since the 2016 Global Summit, which was held in Bogota, Colombia, the previous co-host, ANE, has had a busy year. Most recently, the regulator has submitted a proposal to develop rules for licence-exempt access to TV White Space (TVWS) technology. This would not only enable the efficient use and management of spectrum TV bands in Colombia, but it would also bring connectivity to the most remote areas of the country. During a successful pilot project in 2016, TVWS technology connected schools in the village of Rio Arriba, Aguadas, for the first time.

The Global Summit we co-hosted in 2016 in Bogota, Colombia, was a great opportunity to discuss the current state of broadband access and state of the art spectrum access technologies worldwide. In the specific case of Colombia, this event contributed invaluable information and discussions for ANE's TVWS regulatory project. An initiative that is helping to promote affordable internet access in remote areas, and especially in public schools, said Dr. Martha Liliana Suarez Penaloza, Director, Agencia Nacional del Espectro (ANE).

DSA members including Adaptrum, 6Harmonics, and C3 in partnership with Microsoft have also launched successful TVWS pilot projects across Africa. The latter partnership has recently been involved with a project with UNHCR in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, where last-mile connectivity is bringing the Internet to those who need it most. Connectivity, through TVWS technology, is bringing new opportunities to the 28,000 refugees residing in the camp providing affordable access to enable better communication, access to learning, and empowering them to build a sustainable future. More information about the project can be read here.

To secure your place at the Dynamic Spectrum Alliances fifth annual Global Summit in Cape Town, South Africa (9-11 May 2017), or for more information please visit: http://dynamicspectrumalliance.org/global-summit/.

ENDS

About the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance

The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance is a global organization advocating for laws and regulations that will lead to more efficient and effective spectrum utilization. The DSAs membership spans multinationals, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and academic, research, and other organizations from around the world, all working to create innovative solutions that will increase the amount of available spectrum to the benefit of consumers and businesses alike.

For further information about the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance, please visit www.dynamicspectrumalliance.org/, or follow @dynamicspectrum on Twitter. Alternatively join the Alliance on Facebook or LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201703270055

Regulators to address international #spectrum issues at #DSA Global Summit
PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-27 04:14:02

TCB Sets Regional Qualifiers and Main Event

Torneio CrossFit Brasil

Thales Antoniolli

TCB Events Director

torneio@crossfitbrasil.com.br

@tcboficial

https://www.facebook.com/torneiocb

The host cities have been set for the Torneio CrossFit Brasil (TCB) (CrossFit Brazil Tournament), the main event for the sport in the country. The cities chosen to host the qualifiers are: Mogi das Cruzes /SP, Paulinia /SP, Niteroi /RJ, Belo Horizonte /MG, Curitiba /PR, Brasilia /DF and Fortaleza /CE.

The events are organized by CrossFit Brasil and by Eta! Comunicacao e Eventos, with sponsorship by Gladius Equipment and by Progenex Suplementos in 2017.TCB also has Rocktape, CrossX Solutions, Ultrawod, PAM CrossFit, Vitoria Hoteis and Laroc Club, signed on to the project.

This Monday (March 27), registration begins for the TCB Regional Qualifiers. 960 entrants are expected, divided among 8 Regional Qualifiers.

Were always seeking to bring new elements to the public, the athletes and to our sponsors. For this 8th edition of the TCB, we are launching the Teen Category (ages 14 to 17) and opening up another sub-category in the Master (ages 38 - 44 and over 45). In addition, without a doubt, the most significant new aspect will be the venue chosen for the grand final. The Laroc Club, Brazils main Sunset Club at this time, will provide us with the opportunity to add a bit more of a show for the public. We will be having 4 days of competition in Valinhos /SP, with evening trials, excellent audio-visual quality and performance, exclusive box seating, in an environment that is not only totally innovative for this particular sport, but also for national sport as a whole, said Thales Antoniolli, the events organizer.

Dates and Venues:

May 27 and 28

Para-Northeast Qualifiers (Fortaleza /CE)  CARRANCA CROSSFIT (@carrancacf)

North-Central-West Qualifiers (Brasilia /DF)  NACAO CROSSFIT (@nacaocrossfit)

June 3 and 4

South Qualifiers (Curitiba /PR)  CROSSFIT HIGH PULSE (@crossfithighpulse)

SP Capital Qualifiers (Mogi das Cruzes /SP)  FERA CROSSFIT (@feracrossfit)

June 17 and 18

Rio de Janeiro Qualifiers (Niteroi /RJ)  CROSSFIT TROIA (@crossfit_troia)

SP Interior Qualifiers (Paulinia /SP)  PAM CROSSFIT (@pamcrossfitbr)

June 24 and 25

Minas-Espirito Santo Qualifiers (Belo Horizonte /MG)  V6 CROSSFIT (@crossfitv6)

Grande SP Qualifiers (Paulinia /SP)  PAM CROSSFIT (@pamcrossfitbr)

August 24, 25, 26 and 27

TCB (Valinhos /SP)  LAROC CLUB (@larocclub)

The original source-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the source-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201703260050
Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Sterilization Equipment Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017-2027" report to their offering.

Sterilization Equipment Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-27 06:52:22

Press Information

Future Market Insights

616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,



Valley Cottage, NY 10989,



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email





Published by

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+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 663 Words

616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: www.futuremarketinsights.comAbhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Sterilization is the process of eliminating biological agents or any forms of lives, which include transmissible agents such as fungi, bacteria, spore forms, unicellular eukaryotic organisms and spore forms that are present in a specific surface, region, medication, fluid, etc. Sterilization is an unavoidable process in medical industry withefficacy and sterility of the sterilization equipment as prime factors. The serious issues over utilization of unsterilized equipment such as lethalhepatitis and HIV threatening public health, emphasise the importance for effective infection control. Sterilization equipment are thus a crucial part of the heath care setting owing to their extensive utilization for disinfecting and aiding in reprocessing tools and devices. With governments engaged in introducing productive measure to uplift and improve public heath, the scope of application of medical service, tools and devices has expanded significantly. Recent pandemics such as Ebola virus has emphasized the crucial need of hygienic environment and proper administration of medical faculties. Ultra high sterilization temperature equipment finds an extensive utilization in sterilization of food containers such as milk, juice & beer bottles.Global Sterilization Equipment Market: Market DynamicsWith the growth of geriatric population and increasing concern over post-operation acquired infection and diseases, the demand for sterilized equipment is increasing significantly. The increasing investment in healthcare infrastructure and focus over public health by introducing stringent regulations regarding medical equipment is positively influencing and propelling the global sterilization equipment market. However, in relatively emerging economies and countries, the high cost of sterilization equipment acts as a barrier and challenges revenue sales growth of the sterilization equipment market. Not only the utilisation is limited to medical application, but also the food and beverage industry is a prime application segment of sterilization equipment market. With prominent consumption in cleaning and disinfecting container and packages, the thriving sector is expected to create significant revenue opportunities during the forecast period. Sterilization equipment market participants are focusing over the development of equipment catering to a wider scope of tools and having extensive disinfecting properties. The sterilization equipment market is expected to witness a growing trend of outsourcing sterilizing services to independent operators during the forecast year.Request For Report Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2842 Global Sterilization Equipment Market: SegmentationOn the basis of product type, the global sterilization equipment market can be segmented as following:Heat Sterilization, Low Temperature SterilizationEthylene oxide sterilization, Vaporized hydrogen peroxidePlasma sterilization, Filtration SterilizationRadiation Sterilization, Beam radiationX-ray, GammaThe global sterilization equipment market can be segmented on the basis of technology as:Steam-flush pressure pulse, Gravity displacementPre-vacuumGlobal Sterilization Equipment Market: Regional OutlookNorth America sterilization equipment market accounts for maximum revenue contribution during the forecast period. Followed by North America, Western Europesterilization equipment market is expected to contribute significant revenue share during the forecast period owing to increasing demand for medical devices from key markets such as Germany, France and Nordics. The evolving healthcare infrastructure in Asia Pacific spearheaded by India, China and ASEAN is expected to create significant revenue and unit sales opportunities for manufacturers in the region. Pivotal focus over healthcare spending and government initiatives to improve medical services is expected to moderately increase the consumption of sterilization equipment moderately in Japan. Likewise, increased investment for medical services in the Middle East and Africa has propelled the demand for sterilization equipment. Even though the revenue contributions of Eastern Europe and Latin America sterilization equipment market are relatively low, escalating number of small and medium medical facilities are expected to register relatively higher revenue growth during the forecast period.Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2842 Global Sterilization Equipment Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global sterilization equipment market include Tuttnauer, Steris Corporation, Cantel Medical Corporation, Matachana Group, Celitron Medical Technologies Kft, Getinge Group, Belimed Ag, which is a part of A Metall Zug Group, MME group Inc, Anderson Products, Inc, MMM Group and Nanosonics Ltd among other key participants in the global Sterilization Equipment Market.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-27 04:31:01

Migrants in Japan can now send money online to more than 140 countries

WorldRemit Launches Online Money Transfers in Japan

WorldRemit

Lucas Germanos

+44 (0) 7951 940 671

media@worldremit.com

WorldRemit, the leading online money transfer business, has launched in Japan.

Customers in Japan will now be able to send money to family and friends worldwide, using a mobile phone, tablet or computer  cutting out the need to travel to agent locations or bank branches during business hours.

Bringing the offline remittance industry to mobile, WorldRemit's arrival in Japan underlines its status as a major player in the global FinTech revolution.

Japan is the third largest economy in the world by GDP and has a supportive regulatory environment for financial services. The number of foreign workers living in Japan exceeded 1 million for the first time in 2016. According to the WorldBank, these migrants sent $4 billion in remittances to family and friends abroad in 2015 alone.

With WorldRemit, people in more than 50 countries can send instant and secure transfers to more than 140 destinations. Known as the WhatsApp of money, WorldRemit makes sending money as easy as sending an instant message.

Ismail Ahmed, CEO at WorldRemit, comments: "Japan and the broader Asia Pacific region are important parts of our global growth strategy. Remittances are crucial to many people living in this region, and we are very pleased to be able to offer our digital services to customers in Japan. This adds to our current send markets in this region, which provides a very solid base for further expansion into neighbouring countries.

Tsuyoshi Ijichi, Country Director for Japan, comments: Japan represents a key market for WorldRemit. We are here to serve the many migrant communities in Japan who send money, offering them more choice and a safer, faster and lower cost service than legacy competitors.

WorldRemit customers currently send over 580,000 transfers every month.

ABOUT WORLDREMIT

WorldRemit is changing the way people send money.

Its easy  just open the app or visit the website  no more agents.

Transfers to most countries are instant  send money like an instant message.

More ways to receive (Mobile Money, bank transfer, cash pickup).

Available in over 50 countries and 140+ destinations.

Backed by Accel Partners and TCV  investors in Facebook, Spotify, Netflix and Slack.

WorldRemits global headquarters are in London, UK with regional offices in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201703260050

WorldRemit Launches Online Money Transfers in Japan
Claire Moxim, hostess of Pets and Their People learns how equines that are abused, mistreated or abandoned receive help and are rehabilitated.

By: Tellico Village Broadcasting

Horse Haven of TN on Tellico Village Broadcasting's Pets and Their People

Contact

Keith Sanderson

***@maxapooch.com Keith Sanderson

End

-- "Horses and human history are so intertwined that I felt it was important to do an episode of Pets and Their People that explored an organization that helped equines " said Keith Sanderson, creator and producer of the popular Tellico Village Broadcasting program, Pets and Their People.He adds, "Even though many states don't classify equines as pets there is no doubt that many owners are as attached to their horse, or mule, or donkey as dog or cat owners are attached to their canine or feline."It is because of the history of the human/equine relationship, Horse Haven Tennessee Executive Director Terry Holley and Jenny Lindsey Communication and Marketing Associate appear on the latest episode of Pets and Their People."We selected Horse Haven of Tennessee to feature when examining the issue of equine abuse, because of the outstanding work they do in helping horses, donkeys and mules," says Sanderson.Most people are familiar with the work organizations such as animal rescues do for companion animals. However, many people, especially urban dwellers don't realize that horses, mules and donkeys are sometimes abandoned, abused or maltreated, and what can be done to help these animals. It is organizations such as Horse Haven Tennessee that provide a valuable services, similar to the services that of a cat or dog rescue might provide.Claire Moxim, hostess of Pets and Their People provides an in depth interview of Holley and Lindsey about Horse Haven Tennessee, what it does, and how it helps equines by rescuing them, rehabilitating them, placing them for adoption, and other programs.According to Holley, "Horse Haven of Tennessee was formed in 1999 when Nina Margetson turned her vision for equine rescue into reality. Over 900 horses have been cared for by the only nonprofit equine rescue serving the entire state of Tennessee."Lindsey adds, "We can take care of up to 60 horses and we also have volunteers who foster some of them."The latest episode of Pets and Their People featuring Horse Haven of Tennessee can be viewed in Tellico Village on Tellico Village Broadcasting's Charter Channel 193 daily at 1;00 p.m.. It can also be viewed anywhere online https://vimeo.com/ 209913687 Tellico Village Broadcasting is a non-profit organization staffed by volunteers. It's web site is www.tellicovillagebroadcasting.orgTVB broadcasts announcements of upcoming events and produces recorded video programs related to Tellico Village people and activities. These announcements and programs are viewed on Charter Cable 193; on our website home page, and on monitors at local Tellico Village facilities.TVB is supported by and a component of the Tellico Village Property Owners Association. Our well-equipped recording and editing studio is located at 210 Chota Road; upstairs in the Public Safety Building. Our staff meetings are conducted on Tuesday mornings. Recordings are made on a scheduled basis.www.horsehaventn.orgThe organization assists law enforcement officials by transporting and caring for horses that are seized during criminal abuse and neglect cases. The horses are then cared for while the cases play out in court.Four paid employees lead nearly 100 volunteers who are the backbone of the organization and make daily care and training possible. Holding facilities are now open in Middle Tennessee to facilitate statewide rescue efforts.Horse Haven of Tennessee sponsors Equine Cruelty Investigator Training, helped to create the Animal Abuse Task Force, formed the, launched theandprograms, and initiated the "Studs-to-Buds"gelding effort.is the organization's major fundraising effort and the 2016 event raised $95,000. Of the 137 horses brought to Horse Haven of Tennessee in 2015, 82 have been adopted and rehomed.
CU Boulder Study Highlights Dynamic Research as Economic Driver

Contact

Dan Powers

***@co-labs.org

720-389-0455 Dan Powers720-389-0455

End

-- Federally funded research facilities in Colorado contributed an estimated $2.6 billion to the state's economy in 2016 and supported more than 17,600 jobs, according to a new report from the University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business.The reportalso shows how 33 federally funded laboratories help make Colorado a national center for research and innovation."Colorado's federally funded research labs fuel our innovation economy," said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. "Their impact is far reaching, attributing to Colorado's high-quality talent pool and expanding into our startups and private industry. These labs help to ensure our state's future progress."For the latest report, the Leeds Schools' Brian Lewandowski surveyed Colorado's 33 federally funded research laboratories, from the Crops Research Laboratory in Fort Collins to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden. He collected detailed data on employees' educational attainment, organizational budgets, spinoff companies, technology transfer and more.The study also summarized the federal science funding landscape, drawing from national reports to highlight Colorado's top-tier ranking among states in funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce (second), Department of Interior (second), NASA (third), Environmental Protection Agency (fifth) and National Science Foundation (sixth).Among Lewandowski's findings: The estimated economic impact of federally funded laboratories in Colorado in fiscal year 2015 was $2.6 billion; it was $2.5 billion in fiscal years 2013 and 2014. Colorado's federally funded labs directly employed nearly 7,800 people in FY 2015, and supported an additional 9,800 jobs through the multiplier effect (people employed by instrument makers, utility companies, etc.). In the latest year available, 2014, Colorado's scientists and research groups received funding support from many agencies, making the state one of the top in research funding from departments such as Commerce and Interior, and agencies such as NASA and the National Science Foundation. Colorado's federally funded scientists live in 30 of the state's 64 counties, with the highest number in Boulder, Larimer and Jefferson counties. Ten labs reported active commercialization programs, from tech transfer and licensed technology to spin-off companies and public-private partnerships with shared space or equipment."Colorado's federal research facilities conduct wide-ranging basic and applied research that results in scientific and commercializable research advancements,"said Brian Lewandowski, associate director of CU Boulder's Business Research Division. "Beyond the research, these facilities play an important economic function in the Colorado economy, including employing a body of highly educated researchers and through the purchasing of goods and services within the Colorado economy."A critical finding in the report is that federal investments in this state support a strong scientific and technical workforce. Of those employed in federal laboratories, 55 percent have master's or doctoral degrees, compared with 15 percent statewide; and Colorado ranks fourth among states for the percentage of the workforce engaged in science and engineering jobs.That expertise has a strong effect on the state's powerful innovation economy. Highly educated and trained workers leave federal employment to form spinoff companies and others develop technologies based on discoveries and inventions coming out of the research laboratories. Many of the state's federally funded research laboratories work within powerful partnerships that include industry and academia."We found that the labs add value in dollars, jobs and beyond," added Brian Payer, CO-LABS Board Chair and Program Manager of Strategic Operations for Sphera. "We learned about tremendous synergy between the laboratories, businesses and the community. The labs spur innovation through spin out companies, technology licensing, cooperative work agreements, and access for formal and informal conversations with world-class experts across an incredible breadth of disciplines. In addition, we learned that people want to live here, making it easier for the labs to recruit top-notch talent to the state."Work conducted in Colorado's federally funded research laboratories is also critical to protecting lives and property. A NOAA research group in Boulder, for example, works on weather modeling innovations that improve forecasting, especially for high-impact storms. These innovations give emergency managers and others better information, earlier.That team developed the HRRR, or High-Resolution Rapid Refresh model, now used in the 122 National Weather Service offices around the country."NOAA's research efforts have been crucial to improving the forecasts of hazardous aviation weather, which impacts the safety and the efficiency of the National Airspace System," said the Federal Aviation Administration's Steve Abelman.The FAA has long supported NOAA's weather research efforts, and the outcomes have included validation of turbulence, in-flight icing and thunderstorm forecasts now used operationally in the national airspace, according to Abelman. "Long-term research has led to new and improved weather prediction models such as the High Resolution Rapid Refresh, which is integrated into FAA decision-making every day," he said.The collective impact of the labs' research also ripples out to every state in the country," said Dan Powers, executive director of CO-LABS. "Ranging from partnership agreements to licensing of technology to outright free access to the research from these taxpayer-funded labs, thousands of companies throughout the United States representing hundreds of thousands of jobs utilize this science in ways that make us healthier, safer, more sustainable and global leaders in innovation."Located in one of the nation's emerging business hubs for innovation and entrepreneurship, the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder is redefining ways to deliver research, teaching and service; resulting in principled leaders who drive innovation and effective change. A diverse community of thought leadersincluding motivated students, top-tier faculty, talented staff, engaged alumni and corporate partnersforge a collaborative and collegial environment fostered by integrity and pride. The Leeds School of Business stimulates authentic business solutions to yield economic growth regionally, nationally and internationally. Learn about our globally-recognized programs at www.colorado.edu/ business CO-LABS is a non-profit consortium of federal laboratories, research institutions, businesses and economic development organizations that provide financial and in-kind support for programs that promote the retention and expansion of Colorado scientific resources. To learn more, visit www.CO-LABS.org
Meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh are on strike in protest against Yogi Adityanath government's action of shutting down slaughterhouses. The government says it is taking action only against illegal slaughterhouses.

Action is being taken only against illegal slaughterhouse, said minister Siddharth Nath Singh. (File Photo)

By India Today Web Desk: With meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh calling a strike in protest against the new government's crack down on slaughterhouses, the state government was forced to come out with a clarification over the raging issue.

Talking to reporters in Lucknow, senior minister Siddharth Nath Singh said the government has issued no such order to shut down shops selling meat or eggs in the state. Singh also urged people not to believe 'rumours' being circulated on the social media.

advertisement

"Action being taken against illegal slaughterhouses only, legal slaughterhouses should continue to follow regulations. Those who have proper license would not be shut down," Singh said.

The minister also asked the officials not to get "overexcited" while acting against the slaughterhouses.

"Vigilantism by police is unacceptable," said Singh and urged officials to not be "overexcited" in crackdown.

LUCKNOW'S FAMOUS FOOD OUTLETS DOWN SHUTTERS

The mutton and chicken sellers who have pulled down their shutters have threatened to intensify their stir from today, said Mubeen Qureshi of the Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal.

As a result, non-veg food outlet, including the famous Tunday and Rahim's, who had shifted to mutton and chicken dishes after buffalo meat became scarce, too kept their shops shut.

The meat sellers are piqued over the crackdown on slaughterhouses which has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people, Qureshi said.

Closing down of illegal slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh was on top of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) agenda and after Yogi Adityanath took over as chief minister, the state machinery has launched a massive crackdown.

"The drive is continuing in the entire state to check cattle smuggling and illegal slaughter houses," additional superintendent of police (ASP), DGP headquarter, Rahul Srivastav had said last week.

Also read: Meat sellers go on strike in Uttar Pradesh against Yogi Adityanath's crackdown

Also read: Vegetarian days ahead for Yogi Adityanath's UP: Meat vendors plan state-wide indefinite strike from today

Also read: Only police, administration can act against illegal slaughterhouses, says UP DGP

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

--- ENDS ---
Wavecell, a leading cloud communications provider in Asia, strengthens its management resources to further scale up company's global initiatives

By: Wavecell Pte Ltd

Contact

Wavecell Pte Ltd

Head of Marketing and Communications

***@wavecell.com Wavecell Pte LtdHead of Marketing and Communications

End

-- Wavecell, Asia's leading cloud communications provider, announced the addition of Christophe Riccardi as Chief Operating Officer whom will be based in Singapore, further filling out its team of cloud communications and messaging industry veterans. He has over 20 years of experience in Telecommunication and Mobile industry and was most recently leading an international sales organisation as VP Head of Sales for SAP within the SAP Mobile Services business unit.Riccardi will focus on driving Wavecell's innovation in the multi-channel communications space in APAC. He will bring a combination of extensive sales experience and international business strategy expertise to ensure Wavecell's operational success during a period of rapid growth. Additionally, Riccardi will accelerate the company's expansion further into Asia Pacific.Riccardi is Wavecell's highest profile hire in the recent year and it is fitting to the industry's potential growth where it was recently announced that 2017 will be the year of the cloud-based communications provider, which is a timely news for Wavecell. With Riccardi's knowledge and experience in Europe and in North America whilst leading global organisation, Wavecell is reinforcing its executive team to support global initiatives."I have known Christophe as a prominent and respected leader in mobile space for more than 17 years and have worked closely with him for several years," said Wavecell CEO and Co-Founder, Olivier Gerhardt. "Christophe joins Wavecell with a wealth of business development and operational management experience with a vast understanding of the cloud communications industry. We are thrilled to have a steady hand in the executive team as we continue to expand our product line and broaden our customer base.""What I found most compelling about Wavecell is its constant drive to be the cloud communications leader in Asia Pacific," said Christophe Riccardi. "I am excited and honoured to take on this role to deliver our vision and to spearhead our strategies to reach as many milestones as possible. Besides, it is a tremendous opportunity to be working alongside with a strong and passionate team that Olivier had painstakingly built over the years."###Wavecell simplifies real-time communications using Video Live-Interaction, IP notification and messaging for any platforms such as applications, websites, and services. Our strength lies in offering cloud-based multichannel communications to developers and enterprises for them to build better services by integrating our APIs and SDKs. Wavecell ensures first-class connectivity to many countries while maintaining high-security standards on the platform.
Gursha, an Ethiopian restaurant, brings to the UAE authentic Ethiopian flavors and culinary tradition

By: Gursha

Gursha Ethiopian Cuisine

End

-- Gursha, an Ethiopian family- friendly restaurant located in Palm Jumeirah brings to the UAE authentic flavors of Ethiopia. Focusing on the traditional way of eating, the restaurant offers a communal ambience of dining together and sharing a meal with a group.One of the highlights on the menu is Ye Getoch Gursha Platter that is also known as the King's Feast, which comes fully packed with pretty much all the main dishes on the menu including appetizers. Portioned for a serving of two, one could enjoy spicy lentils and curries like Misir or Doro Wat, Fitfit bread like Shiro soaked in sunflower juice or Suf soaked in chickpea powder juice and meat or beef like Kitfo along with freshly cut lush green vegetable salad on the side. The aromatic combination is served in a large plate with a variety of traditional dishes made with tantalizing spices giving it the raw texture and tempting aroma.The platter is accompanied by Injera, a gluten free sourdough bread with a soft and spongy texture known to be one of the staple food items in Africa. The Injera is placed at the bottom of the plate with vegetables and meat on it. All the dishes at Gursha are relished with the Injera on the side that is made from teff flour. Gursha also offers many other delectable dishes like BuTicha - a chickpea dip with lemon juice, Tibs - grilled beef sauteed in aromatic spices that one can devour with some house beverages making it perfect for a full-fledged Ethiopian dining experience.Commenting on the King's Feast platter, Mr. Beide Worku, Executive Chef said, "We are very pleased to introduce Gursha to the UAE, making Ethiopian Culinary culture accessible to the masses. Focusing on its origin, Gursha promotes a more traditional way of enjoying a meal that encourages people to sit together and get communal. We are positive that the UAE, hosting residents and expats alike from different nations, will be receptive towards what Gursha has to offer. The King's Feast is one of our signature dishes and we are hopeful it will help showcase the tastes of Ethiopia here in the region. We also have other platters for different tastes still centred around the spirit of sharing"The Ye Getoch platter also known as the King's Feast is Gursha's signature dish, priced at AED 275.
The Defence IQ Armored Vehicles Market Report provides a detailed analysis of why Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the top countries to be targeted for armored vehicles for the coming years.

End

-- Saudi Arabia and the UAE topped the countries to be targeted for armored vehicles for the next decade. Irrespective that the oil prices have not yet been covered, the faith in these nations to purchase new armored vehicles or remodel the existing one is worth appreciating. Due to global economic slowdown and reduced oil prices, the defense market is becoming more sensitive to cost and value for money, both in terms of acquisition and through life costs.The Defence IQ Armored Vehicles Market Report 2017 provides a detailed analysis of why Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the top countries to be targeted for armored vehicles for the coming years. The Middle-East accounts for over 15.8 percent of the world fleet (23,511), with active procurement programmes in Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and increased spending on armored vehicles forecast until at least the end of the decade. The advanced armored vehicles are of vital importance for Saudi Arabia, which is the second biggest arms importer in the world (after India), so armored vehicles are required for the security of the military personnel and supplying the arms to the army men.A senior official of Aurum Security stated, ""He further added,Protecting our soldiers and civilians remains the highest priority of armored vehicle manufacturers. This is the reason behind the continued growth in the demand for advanced armored vehicles from the international market, both for new capability and to replace some aging fleets.For more information about armored civilian and military vehicles designed & manufactured by German-based Aurum Security, please visit http://www.aurum- security.de/ en/our-cars/ short-summary.html Based in West Germany, Aurum Security is specializing in design and manufacturing of highly protected vehicles. The Lloyds certified ISO 9000 company is engaged in R&D, design, prototyping and manufacturing of protection systems and armored military and civilian vehicles. From the overall designs of the vehicle to the minute details of the interiors, they strive to provide quality in every aspect of what they do. Producer of the most protected armored civilian vehicles in the world all the vehicles has passed certification at iABG, Germany, on the ballistic level VPAM 10, which is the highest level for civilian vehicles. With access to all the latest developments, they develop armor components as light as possible with the lowest possible costs.Aurum Security GmbHFalkensteiner Str. 7760322 Frankfurt am MainGermany: +49 69 348 77967: +49 69 348 77969http://www.aurum-security.de/en/
- ZEDRA expands its London team with esteemed professional in Funds and Corporate - Appointment highlights ZEDRA's commitment to drive company growth by developing and investing in Funds and Corporate Services respectively

By: www.zedra.com

End

-- ZEDRA, the fast-growing international specialist in trust, corporate and fund services has widened the scope of its client offering with the new hire of Bridget Barker.In her role, Bridget will be entrusted to support and enhance ZEDRA's Corporate and Fund Services and provide further opportunity for new market growth within her role as Executive Director Funds & Corporate. She will also participate in key networking events, global panel discussions and spokesperson opportunities.Bridget joins ZEDRA from leading city law firm Macfarlanes with almost 36 years experience and is one of only three 'Senior Statesmen' for private equity funds listed in the Chambers Legal Directory, 2017. Her experience in legal issues, particularly related to fund raising in the areas of private equity and real estate is extensive.Bridget has a wealth of experience having spent many years working in the private funds industry with a special focus on private equity, real estate and credits funds as well as advising investors from across the world. She is renowned as a leading professional in the market and has been consistently ranked in theover the past decade as one of the world's top private funds lawyers.During her career with Macfarlanes, Bridget developed and headed its funds group, as well as leading the wider Macfarlanes investment group which comprised of 90 lawyers.Ivo Hemelraad, ZEDRA Group Director Corporate Funds & Legal, commented, "We are delighted to welcome Bridget to our team. We're committed to continuing to grow our Funds and Corporate Services office and Bridget has particular strengths that will fully complement our existing team. Bridget has an extraordinary industry profile and with our growing service capabilities here at ZEDRA, she will have the perfect platform to help us build our firm in the UK and beyond."Niels Nielsen, ZEDRA CEO said, "Bridget's appointment underscores our commitment to drive company growth by developing and investing in our Fund and Corporate Services which is in line with our overall business strategy. Her vast knowledge and broad range of experience will play a key role in providing and implementing high quality solutions for our clients."ZEDRA is based in 11 jurisdictions around the globe and currently employs 370 staff worldwide.Bridget will work closely with Ivo Hemelraad and the wider ZEDRA Funds team to guarantee that new business goals are being completed in line with ZEDRA's strategic vision, whilst providing a clear and tactical path to grow and develop existing client relationships as well as establish new ones.PhotographyBridget Barker, click here:ZEDRA logo, clickFor further information, please visit www.zedra.comGuy StephensonNacelle LimitedTel: +44 (0)20 8333 9125Guy Stephenson: gstephenson@nacelle.co.ukZEDRA is an independent, global specialist in trust, corporate and fund services. The company was acquired from Barclays in January 2016 by an independent investor group, with an ambitious plan to grow the company, expanding and strengthening the services it offers to clients around the world. It currently has global offices in 11 jurisdictions, including Jersey, Guernsey, Luxembourg, the Isle of Man, the Cayman Islands, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Singapore, the UK and Switzerland.ZEDRA's 370 strong team of industry experts is dedicated to creating and delivering bespoke solutions for clients. The business is focused on the strong commitment of an experienced team, fostering an entrepreneurial approach to delivering exceptional client services.ZEDRA has diverse client base including high-net-worth individuals and their families, international corporations, institutional investors and entrepreneurs. Under the ownership of a private independent investor group, ZEDRA have the flexibility, boldness and expertise to respond to complex needs whilst maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance in an ever-evolving regulatory environment.www.zedra.com
ZEDRA celebrated the launch of its latest regional hub office in Singapore last week at the prestigious Aura Sky Lounge of the National Gallery Singapore.

By: www.zedra.com

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-- The launch, as ZEDRA's CEO Niels Nielsen suggested, "wasn't just a celebration of the new Singapore office, but a celebration of the firms' achievement so far in Asia and beyond. It also offered the opportunity to engage with our trusted partners as well as build new relationships in the city".Nielson added, "I'm really proud of our growing reputation and our team in Singapore led by our Managing Director Wendy Sim, who has worked hard to establish ZEDRA as a fully independent modern and entrepreneurial global specialist in Trust, Corporate and Fund services."The launch marks a new stage for ZEDRA in Asia. Wendy Sim said, "We have now built a highly talented team in Singapore who will be based at our Marina View, Asia Square Tower offices. Working closely with our colleagues in Hong Kong and the other nine offices in the ZEDRA network, we are perfectly positioned to grow our Asian business."Guy StephensonNacelle LimitedTel: +44 (0)20 8333 9125Guy Stephenson: gstephenson@ nacelle.co.uk ZEDRA is an independent, global specialist in trust, corporate and fund services. The company was acquired from Barclays in January 2016 by an independent investor group, with an ambitious plan to grow the company, expanding and strengthening the services it offers to clients around the world. It currently has global offices in 11 jurisdictions, including Jersey, Guernsey, Luxembourg, the Isle of Man, the Cayman Islands, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Singapore, the UK and Switzerland.ZEDRA's 370 strong team of industry experts is dedicated to creating and delivering bespoke solutions for clients. The business is focused on the strong commitment of an experienced team, fostering an entrepreneurial approach to delivering exceptional client services.ZEDRA has diverse client base including high-net-worth individuals and their families, international corporations, institutional investors and entrepreneurs. Under the ownership of a private independent investor group, ZEDRA have the flexibility, boldness and expertise to respond to complex needs whilst maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance in an ever-evolving regulatory environment.
Mark Spain Real Estate has been honored as one of Atlanta's Top Workplaces in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's (AJC) 6th annual ranking of 150 small, midsize and large companies.

By: Mark Spain Real Estate

Mark Spain Real Estate named a 2017 Top Workplace in Atlanta

Contact

TC McClenning, @RealtorPRt

Top Cat Creative Services

***@topcatcreative.com

404-819-0643 TC McClenning, @RealtorPRtTop Cat Creative Services404-819-0643

End

-- According to the AJC, the award is based upon employee feedback, recognizing those employers who have invested as much in their employees' well-being as they have in tangible company perks, thereby earning the loyalty and respect of their employees in the process."Our team members represent us out in the communities and in client's homes across metro Atlanta and Athens, so of course we want them to be happy, well-trained, knowledgeable and provide remarkable customer service," explained Chairman and CEO Mark Spain. "The only way they can do that is if they love what they do, where they work and are given all the necessary tools, education and information in a timely manner to be the best real estate agents they can possibly be."Spain further explained how the company's sales structure differs from some traditional real estate firms. At Mark Spain Real Estate, everyone works together to succeed instead of competing against each other, such as in a traditional real estate brokerage model. The result is a more caring and close-knit team culture.In slightly over a year, the firm has expanded to 125 team members, opened a second office in Athens, Ga., will open another location south of Atlanta in Stockbridge in the next couple weeks. Two additional officesone west of and the other east of Atlantaare scheduled to open before year-end.The 2017 AJC Top Places to Work ( http://www.ajc.com/ top-workplaces/ ) award joins a growing list of accolades for Mark Spain Real Estate, including an(ABC) Pacesetter Award and a City of Alpharetta Business of Excellence Award. In addition, the Atlanta real estate firm was named to the Inc. 5000 last fall in its first full year in business. The Inc. 5000 is the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. Mark Spain is also the only metro Atlanta real estate agent to be endorsed by Barbara Corcoran, the real estate mogul frequently seen on ABC'sMark Spain Real Estate's main office is located at 12600 Deerfield Parkway, Suite 450, in Alpharetta. To learn more about the company or the active Atlanta and Athens real estate markets, call 770-886-9000 or visit www.markspain.com . The Mark Spain Real Estate app is also available as a free download at app.markspain.com.MSRE is a leading, Georgia based, independent real estate firm. Prior to forming the company in January 2016, Mark Spain and his team were annually the No. 1 large team for sales production with the Atlanta Realtors Association for more than 10 consecutive years and annually appeared in the top 25 of the REAL Trends/list of America's top 1,000 agents and teams. In 2016, MSRE achieved 1,842 home sales for total gross sales of $443 million. This was over 600 homes more than the team's total closings in 2015. Gross sales also sharply increased by $160 million, year-over-year. In 2016, Mark Spain surpassed $3 billion in collective gross sales for his career while heading his namesake brokerage. In addition, his firm became the No. 1 most reviewed on Zillow in the entire United States.
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South Koreas KT Corp is providing its artificial intelligence (AI) home assistant platform to an apartment complex in Busan, introducing what it claims is the worlds first IPTV service featuring AI.





GiGA Genie is an automated voice recognition butler service enabling users to control home appliances and listen to music using voice commands. But, unlike other voice assistant services, the IPTV set-top box allows users to give commands through the TV screen.The smart home platform will be rolled out to the Lotte Castle apartment complex in the southern port city of Busan. The new complex will become populated during the second half of 2017.Under the contract, the telco will provide a total of 5,500 units of its flagship AI speakers NUGU for a 1,225-household apartment complex to be constructed in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, by 2021. The NUGU speaker, which was launched in August 2016, will be installed in each room and living room of the new apartments, enabling the control of home lighting, heating, gas taps and elevator calls via voice commands.The company will provide more convenient and safer smart home service through GiGA Genie, Kim Joon-keun, a KT official told Yonhap news agency. KT will actively cooperate with other builders to provide the service.Competitor SK Telecom has also signed a deal to build an AI-based apartment complex with real estate development company Asia Developer.
The TSA's Selective Laptop Ban

Last Monday, the TSA announced a peculiar new security measure to take effect within 96 hours. Passengers flying into the US on foreign airlines from eight Muslim countries would be prohibited from carrying aboard any electronics larger than a smartphone. They would have to be checked and put into the cargo hold. And now the UK is following suit.

Its difficult to make sense of this as a security measure, particularly at a time when many people question the veracity of government orders, but other explanations are either unsatisfying or damning.

So lets look at the security aspects of this first. Laptop computers arent inherently dangerous, but theyre convenient carrying boxes. This is why, in the past, TSA officials have demanded passengers turn their laptops on: to confirm that theyre actually laptops and not laptop cases emptied of their electronics and then filled with explosives.

Forcing a would-be bomber to put larger laptops in the planes hold is a reasonable defense against this threat, because it increases the complexity of the plot. Both the shoe-bomber Richard Reid and the underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab carried crude bombs aboard their planes with the plan to set them off manually once aloft. Setting off a bomb in checked baggage is more work, which is why we dont see more midair explosions like Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.

Security measures that restrict what passengers can carry onto planes are not unprecedented either. Airport security regularly responds to both actual attacks and intelligence regarding future attacks. After the liquid bombers were captured in 2006, the British banned all carry-on luggage except passports and wallets. I remember talking with a friend who traveled home from London with his daughters in those early weeks of the ban. They reported that airport security officials confiscated every tube of lip balm they tried to hide.

Similarly, the US started checking shoes after Reid, installed full-body scanners after Abdulmutallab and restricted liquids in 2006. But all of those measures were global, and most lessened in severity as the threat diminished.

This current restriction implies some specific intelligence of a laptop-based plot and a temporary ban to address it. However, if thats the case, why only certain non-US carriers? And why only certain airports? Terrorists are smart enough to put a laptop bomb in checked baggage from the Middle East to Europe and then carry it on from Europe to the US.

Why not require passengers to turn their laptops on as they go through security? That would be a more effective security measure than forcing them to check them in their luggage. And lastly, why is there a delay between the ban being announced and it taking effect?

Even more confusing, the New York Times reported that officials called the directive an attempt to address gaps in foreign airport security, and said it was not based on any specific or credible threat of an imminent attack. The Department of Homeland Security FAQ page makes this general statement, Yes, intelligence is one aspect of every security-related decision, but doesnt provide a specific security threat. And yet a report from the UK states the ban follows the receipt of specific intelligence reports.

Of course, the details are all classified, which leaves all of us security experts scratching our heads. On the face of it, the ban makes little sense.

One analysis painted this as a protectionist measure targeted at the heavily subsidized Middle Eastern airlines by hitting them where it hurts the most: high-paying business class travelers who need their laptops with them on planes to get work done. That reasoning makes more sense than any security-related explanation, but doesnt explain why the British extended the ban to UK carriers as well. Or why this measure wont backfire when those Middle Eastern countries turn around and ban laptops on American carriers in retaliation. And one aviation official told CNN that an intelligence official informed him it was not a political move.

In the end, national security measures based on secret information require us to trust the government. That trust is at historic low levels right now, so people both in the US and other countries are rightly skeptical of the official unsatisfying explanations. The new laptop ban highlights this mistrust.

This essay previously appeared on CNN.com.

EDITED TO ADD: Here are two essays that look at the possible political motivations, and fallout, of this ban. And the EFF rightly points out that letting a laptop out of your hands and sight is itself a security riskfor the passenger.

EDITED TO ADD (4/12): This article suggests that the ban is because of a plot to hide explosives in iPads.

Posted on March 27, 2017 at 6:28 AM  91 Comments
Four militants including a woman have been killed in an Army operation at Shibbari's Atia Mahal of Sylhett, chief of operation Brig Gen Fakhrul Ahsan confirmed it to reporters.

By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: Four militants including a woman have been killed in an Army operation at Shibbari's Atia Mahal of Sylhet, chief of operation Brig Gen Fakhrul Ahsan said.

He said also they are not declaring the end of the operation but the bodies have been brought out from inside.

The death toll in the operation stood at 10 as six persons, including two policemen, were killed and dozens of others injured.

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The Islamic State (IS) reportedly claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Wearing suicidal vests, the militants exploded bombs, charged grenades and shot from inside.

Army's para commandos are conducting drives at Atia Den of Shibbari since the last four days.

The military commandos were called out on Saturday morning, two days after a security siege by police's SWAT, counter terrorism unit and elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

(With inputs from IANS)

Also read:

Suicide attack outside Dhaka international airport; ISIS claims responsibility

Bangladesh: 6 killed, over 40 injured in blasts in Sylhet

Bangladesh: 2 militants killed in Sylhet army operation

--- ENDS ---
The striking North Face of the Bernese Alps is the result of a steep rise of rocks from the depths following a collision of two tectonic plates. This steep rise gives new insight into the final stage of mountain building and provides important knowledge with regard to active natural hazards and geothermal energy. The results from researchers at the University of Bern and ETH Zurich are being published in the Scientific Reports specialist journal.

Mountains often emerge when two tectonic plates converge, where the denser oceanic plate subducts beneath the lighter continental plate into Earth's mantle according to standard models. But what happens if two continental plates of the same density collide, as was the case in the area of the Central Alps during the collision between Africa and Europe?

Geologists and geophysicists at the University of Bern and ETH Zurich examined this question. They constructed the 3D geometry of deformation structures through several years of surface analysis in the Bernese Alps. With the help of seismic tomography, similar to ultrasound examinations on people, they also gained additional insight into the deep structure of Earth's crust and beyond down to depths of 400 km in Earth's mantle.

Viscous rocks from the depths

A reconstruction based on this data indicated that the European crust's light, crystalline rocks cannot be subducted to very deep depths but are detached from Earth's mantle in the lower earth's crust and are consequently forced back up to Earth's surface by buoyancy forces. Steep fault zones are formed here, which push through Earth's crust and facilitate the steep rise of rocks from the depths. There are textbook examples of these kinds of fault zones in the Hasli valley, where they appear as scars in form of morphological incisions impressively cutting through the glacially polished granite landscape.

The detachment of Earth's crust and mantle takes place at a depth of 25-30 kilometres. This process is triggered by the slow sinking and receding of the European plate in the upper earth's mantle towards the north. In specialist terminology, this process is called slab rollback. The high temperatures at these depths make the lower crust's rocks viscous, where they can subsequently be forced up by buoyant uplift forces.

Together with surface erosion, it is this steep rise of the rocks from lower to mid-crustal levels which is responsible for the Bernese Alps' steep north front today (Titlis -- Jungfrau region -- Bluemlisalp range). The uplift data in the range of one millimetre per year and today's earthquake activity indicate that the process of uplift from the depths is still in progress. However, erosion on Earth's surface causes continuous ablation which is why the Alps do not carry on growing upwards endlessly.

Important for natural hazards and geothermal energy

The analysis of the steep fault zones are not just of scientific interest though. The seismic partly still active faults are responsible for the rocks weathering more intensively on the surface and therefore landslides and debris flows occurring, for example in the Halsi valley in the extremely steep areas of the Spreitlaui or Rotlaui. The serious debris flows in the Guttannen area are based, among other things, on this structural preconditioning of the host rocks. The leakage of warm hydrothermal water, which it is important to explore for geothermal energy and the 2050 energy policy, can be traced directly back to the brittle fracturing of the upper earth's crust and the seeping in of cold surface waters. The water is heated up in the depths and arrives at the surface again through the steep fault zones -- for example, in the Grimsel region. In this sense, the new findings lead to a deeper understanding of surface processes, which influence our infrastructures, for example the transit axes (rail, roads) through the Alps.
A new analysis raises concern over high prescription rates in the USA of a common drug used to treat overactive bladder. The drug, oxybutynin, when taken orally, is consistently linked with cognitive impairment and dementia in the elderly. The analysis shows that oxybutynin, is prescribed in more than a quarter of cases of overactive bladder (27.3%), even though other more suitable drugs are available. This work is presented at the European Association of Urology conference in London, where concerns are also being expressed about the lack of funded alternatives to oxybutynin in Europe.

Overactive bladder (OAB) is extremely common in persons over 65. Initial treatment is normally via behavioural modifications, which can then be followed by first-line medical treatment such as antimuscarinic medications, including oxybutynin. Antimuscarinic drugs are synthetic compounds, originally derived from mushrooms, which block the activity of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor. They have several uses, including control of OAB. Oxybutynin is the least expensive antimuscarinic used for OAB, and so tends to be the drug of choice for health care plans such as Medicare. However, a body of evidence has shown that oxybutynin is linked to greater cognitive decline in the elderly ref1.

An international group of clinicians, led by Dr Daniel Pucheril (Vattikuti Urology Insitute, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit), looked at evidence from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, where 1,968 patients had received antimuscarinic medications. They found that oxybutynin was prescribed to 27.3% of patients aged over 65 receiving a new antimuscarinic prescription for OAB. Additionally, despite the United States Food and Drug Administration recommendation that patients starting oxybutynin be closely monitored for adverse central nervous system side effects, the authors found that only 9% of elderly persons received a neurologic exam at the time of drug prescription.

Around 16% of US adults suffer from overactive bladder, which translates into tens of millions of sufferers in the US.

According to Dr Pucheril, "We looked at a representative sample, but when you extrapolate to the US population the figures are huge. We estimate that over the six years of our analysis, 47 million individuals in the USA were taking various types of antimuscarinic drugs for OAB, with around 55% of new prescriptions going to the over 65's.

After lifestyle modifications, antimuscarinic medications constitute the most common first line therapies. In the United States, the majority of elderly persons are insured by Medicare. Medicare insurance plans have often have tiered medication formularies to minimize drug expenses. Oxybutynin is the least expensive antimuscarinic drug available, but its pharmacologic properties may cause significant cognitive side effects in elderly persons. Despite evidence of these side effects, physicians are not commonly checking for cognitive effects in those using these medications."

Dr Pucheril continued "We're not saying that everyone should change from oxybutynin to another drug -- it still has its uses, and coming off the drug without medical supervision is not recommended. Nevertheless, doctors need to look closely at the levels of prescribing. More than anything else, the funding bodies have to make it easier for doctors to prescribe newer antimuscarinics which are much less likely to cause cognitive dysfunction."

Commenting, on the European situation, Professor Helmut Madsbacher (Innsbruck) said: "This new work from the US highlights a more general problem which also exists here in Europe. In Europe, oxybutynin use varies from country to country. What we find is that where a range of antimuscarinic drugs is funded, as for example happens in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, then oxybutynin use is low, at around 5% to 7%, for obvious reasons. However, in some countries only oxybutynin is funded, and this creates a problem. For example, the only antimuscarinic funded by Italian health Authorities is oxybutynin, and this leads to some areas with around 70% of antimuscarinic prescriptions being oxybutynin."

Professor Andrea Tubaro (Sapienza Universita, Roma) added: "If an alternative drug is not funded by the health system then it becomes too expensive for a patient to buy themselves. In Italy generic oxybutynin costs around 5/month, but someone wishing to pay for a different antimuscarin or an up-to-date alternative such as a beta3 agonist will end up paying around 50/month. Even in strictly economic terms, there's no sense in saving a few Euros on a drug which risks worsening dementia, one of the most costly conditions which medicine can treat. This is a problem in Italy, but funders in all countries really need to support the use of a range of drugs."
Scientists are reporting a test which can predict which patients are most at risk from aggressive prostate cancer, and whether they suffer an increased chance of treatment failure. This test, reported at the European Association of Urology conference in London, and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, may give men a better view on how to deal with their prostate cancer risk.

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer, killing almost 100,000 men each year in Europe. But it is not invariably fatal, in fact more men die with prostate cancer than of prostate cancer. Current screening methods, and in particular the well known PSA blood test, can identify prostate cancers, but are not good at identifying how dangerous they are or even whether they should be treated. This makes if difficult to identify which men with prostate cancer are at real risk and need rapid treatment, and which don't.

Prostate cancer is has a genetic component but it has until now been impossible to understand how aggressive the cancer might be Now a new multi-national study has discovered the basis of a simple blood test which can predict whether a man is susceptible to aggressive prostate cancer.

Recent years have seen extensive research on the genetics of prostate cancer, with over a hundred mutations identified, however most of these are only present in a small number of men. Recently there has been a particular focus on the "Kallikrein" region of chromosome 19. This is a group of 15 closely-linked genes which code for proteases -- molecules which break down proteins. In fact, the well-known test for prostate cancer, the PSA test (Prostate Specific Antigen), is based on one of the Kallikrein genes, KLK3.

The researchers, led by Dr Alexandre R. Zlotta, of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute (Toronto, Canada) and Paul Boutros (Ontario Institute for Cancer Research) intensively searched for small single-point inherited mutations in the whole Kallikrein region, in a large group of 1858 men with aggressive prostate cancer (defined as having a Gleason score above 8). The men came from three independent groups, in Switzerland (part of the European Randomized Screening Study for Prostate Cancer, Pr Recker and Dr Kwiatkowski), Canada, and the USA. They were able to show that variants of the Kallikrein 6 gene were associated with more aggressive prostate cancer.

"These genes are found in between 6 and 14% of men" said Alexandre Zlotta, "This makes it one of, if not the, most common genes yet found to be associated with aggressive prostate cancer. Even if we take the lower, 6% figure, then that means around 17m North American men and 22m European men carry these gene variants."

The KLK6 variants also independently predicted treatment failure after surgery or radiation for prostate cancer in a Canadian cohort of men from the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC).

Dr Zlotta said "We found that in those men with prostate cancer treated by surgery or radiation, who had these inherited gene variant mutations had a three-fold increase in the risk of treatment failure, which means that after treatment, they were three times more likely to have the cancer recurring than the rest of the population. This is really a quite significant increase in risk. Similarly men with these gene variants were three times more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer (Gleason 8 or more). To put this into context, around 10 to 15% of all prostate cancers are the aggressive prostate cancer we are dealing with here, but of course they lead to a greater mortality.

"What does this mean? Firstly the test has only just been developed -- it's still science, rather than something which is generally available. So it needs to be further validated and costed. It should mean that if you have a high PSA level but are unsure about having a biopsy to confirm whether you have cancer, this test could help you decide. It also means that we can begin to look at better screening for those who are at risk, for example among those men with a family history. As the test is refined we may be able to move towards more intelligent prostate screening."
Since the ancient times, humankind has used plants to treat diseases. An example is the plant Artemisia annua, used for over 2,000 years in traditional Chinese medicine to treat intermittent fevers. Nowadays, the artemisinin molecule -- the active ingredient synthesized in the microscopic hairs (trichomes) of this plant -- is the main component of malaria treatments worldwide. In fact, the Chinese scientist Youyou Tu was awarded in 2015 with the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of artemisinin and its application in therapies against malaria.

Regardless of artemisinin's effectiveness against malaria and other diseases caused by parasites and despite its anti-tumour potential, its usage faces a problem: the low content produced by the plant and the high cost of its chemical synthesis result in a scarce and expensive drug.

Now, an international research team led by researchers from the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) and Sequentia Biotech S.L. has been able to obtain, through genetic engineering, Artemisia annua plants that produce twice as much artemisinin. The work, published today in The Plant Journal, identifies a gene involved in the formation of plant trichomes and in the synthesis of terpenes, such as artemisinin. "We have discovered that the AaMYB1 gene has a dual function: it promotes trichome formation in the leaves and artemisinin synthesis inside the trichomes," explains Soraya Pelaz, ICREA researcher at CRAG and senior author of the article. "By manipulating this gene, we have managed to grow plants which contain much more artemisinin than their wild-type counterparts," she adds. Noting that 90% of malaria cases and 92% of deaths caused by this disease occur in sub-Saharan Africa, this finding could be a major step towards reducing the production costs of such a necessary drug.

The plant as a factory

This study is a perfect example of knowledge transfer. Luis Matias-Hernandez, first author of the discussed work, began to study the formation of trichomes in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana when he was a postdoctoral researcher at the CRAG group led by Soraya Pelaz. The acquired insight made him think that the formation of trichomes could be manipulated in plants with industrial applications. For the past two years, and thanks to a Torres Quevedo contract, Luis Matias-Hernandez has been directing a line of research aimed at obtaining Artemisia plants that produce large amounts of artemisinin at the spin-out Sequentia Biotech, from which he keeps collaborating with CRAG.

"One of the main goals of Sequentia Biotech is to produce artemisinin of the same quality but at a lower cost. Our ambition is to reduce the price of the drug, so it can be accessible to everyone in the future," underlines Luis Matias-Hernandez. "We want to use Artemisia as a natural low-cost factory for antimalarials, and we are testing different strategies to do it," adds the researcher.

Beyond artemisinin

Collaborating with Peter E Brodelius, researcher at the Linnaeus University in Sweden, the scientists were able to identify the gene AaMYB1 among the array of genes expressed in Artemisia trichomes. At CRAG, the researchers designed transgenic plants that overexpressed this gene and found that they accumulated larger doses of artemisinin than non-genetically modified plants.

But the investigation went further. To confirm the role of the AaMYB1 gene in the formation of plant trichomes, the researchers searched for similar genes in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and found the gene AtMYB61. When this gene was overexpressed in the model plant, it also produced a higher amount of trichomes on its leaves, demonstrating that these genes play a key role in the formation of trichomes in evolutionarily distant species. Soraya Pelaz explains that "in addition to its role in Artemisia, the identification of this gene can also be useful for other plants whose trichomes produce substances of interest." Luis Matias-Hernandez adds "There are many plants that produce substances of interest in their trichomes. For example, menthol and thymol are terpenes produced in the trichomes of mint and thyme, respectively."
To time how long it takes a pulse of laser light to travel from space to Earth and back, you need a really good stopwatch -- one that can measure within a fraction of a billionth of a second.

That kind of timer is exactly what engineers have built at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2. ICESat-2, scheduled to launch in 2018, will use six green laser beams to measure height. With its incredibly precise time measurements, scientists can calculate the distance between the satellite and Earth below, and from there record precise height measurements of sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets, forests and the rest of the planet's surfaces.

"Light moves really, really fast, and if you're going to use it to measure something to a couple of centimeters, you'd better have a really, really good clock," said Tom Neumann, ICESat-2's deputy project scientist.

If its stopwatch kept time even to a highly accurate millionth of a second, ICESat-2 could only measure elevation to within about 500 feet. Scientists wouldn't be able to tell the top of a five-story building from the bottom. That doesn't cut it when the goal is to record even subtle changes as ice sheets melt or sea ice thins.

To reach the needed precision of a fraction of a billionth of a second, Goddard engineers had to to develop and build their own series of clocks on the satellite's instrument -- the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System, or ATLAS. This timing accuracy will allow researchers to measure heights to within about two inches.

"Calculating the elevation of the ice is all about time of flight," said Phil Luers, deputy instrument system engineer with the ATLAS instrument. ATLAS pulses beams of laser light to the ground and then records how long it takes each photon to return. This time, when combined with the speed of light, tells researchers how far the laser light traveled. This flight distance, combined with the knowledge of exactly where the satellite is in space, tells researchers the height of Earth's surface below.

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The stopwatch that measures flight time starts with each pulse of ATLAS's laser. As billions of photons stream down to Earth, a few are directed to a start pulse detector that triggers the timer, Luers said.

Meanwhile, the satellite records where it is in space and what it's orbiting over. With this information, ATLAS sets a rough window of when it expects photons to return to the satellite. Photons over Mount Everest will return sooner than photons over Death Valley, since there is less distance to travel.

The photons return to the instrument through the telescope receiver system and pass through filters that block everything that's not the exact shade of the laser's green, especially sunlight. The green ones make it through to a photon-counting electronics card, which stops the timer. Most of the photons that stop the timer will be reflected sunlight that just happens to be the same green. But by firing the laser 10,000 times a second the "true" laser photon returns will coalesce to give scientists data on surface elevation.

"If you know where the spacecraft is, and you know the time of flight so you know the distance to the ground, now you have the elevation of the ice," Luers said.

The timing clock itself consists of several parts to better keep track of time. There's the GPS receiver, which ticks off every second -- a coarse clock that tells time for the satellite. ATLAS features another clock, called an ultrastable oscillator, which counts off every 10 nanoseconds within those GPS-derived seconds.

"Between each pulse from the GPS, you get 100 million ticks from the ultrastable oscillator," Neumann said. "And it resets itself with the GPS every second."

Ten nanoseconds aren't enough, though. To get down to even more precise timing, engineers have outfitted a fine-scale clock within each photon-counting electronic card. This subdivides those 10-nanosecond ticks even further, so that return time is measured to the hundreds of picoseconds.

Some adjustments to this travel time need to be made on the ground. Computer programs combine many photon travel-times to improve the precision. Programs also compensate for how long it takes to move through the fibers and wires of the ATLAS instrument, the impacts of temperature changes on electronics and more.

"We correct for all of those things to get to the best time of flight we possibly can calculate," Neumann said, allowing researchers to see the third dimension of Earth in detail.
Students and faculty at West Virginia University aren't waiting for internet giants like Google and Facebook to provide solutions to fake news.

The WVU Reed College of Media, in collaboration with computer science students and faculty at the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, is hosting an artificial intelligence (AI) course at its Media Innovation Center that includes two projects focused on using AI to detect and combat fake news articles.

Students in the senior-level computer science elective course are working in teams to develop and implement their own AI programs under the instruction of Don McLaughlin, research associate and retired faculty member of the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Stephen Woerner, a computer science senior, is on one of the teams charged with creating a system that detects fake news articles. His team's approach utilizes a machine learning system to analyze text and generate a score that represents each article's likeliness that it is fake news. Woerner added that this score is accompanied by a breakdown that explains the rating and provides transparency.

"Artificial intelligence can have all the same information as people, but it can address the volume of news and decipher validity without getting tired," Woerner said. "People tend to get political or emotional, but AI doesn't. It just addresses the problem it's trained to combat."

This collaboration with the computer science course serves as an example of the Media Innovation Center's mission to support initiatives, projects, research and curriculum innovations that intersect its work in technology, media and information networks.

"Fake news isn't just a media problem," said the Center's Creative Director Dana Coester. "It's also a social and political problem with roots in technology. Solving that problem requires collaborating across disciplines."

McLaughlin says working at the Center has helped his students this semester, as it suggests a more creative atmosphere than classrooms he's used in the past.

"I've taught this course before, but the students seem to be more enthused this time. We appreciate the space and the breakout areas available for team collaboration here at the Center," said McLaughlin. "Those amenities are valuable in a university environment."

Each team will demonstrate their completed AI project during the last week of classes at the Media Innovation Center located in the Evansdale Crossing building.
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The janitorial-services industry has drawn attention for its poor working conditions. Not only do janitors frequently work alone at night, they are vulnerable to sexual harassment and often fear retaliation for reporting harassers, according to a University of California, Berkeley, report.

A new state law is trying to combat the problem: The Property Service Workers Protection Act aims to protect janitors from sexual harassment. The law also aims to prevent wage theft by requiring employers to keep records for three years that contain detailed information about workers' hours and pay rates.

Janitorial employers will soon have to register with the state labor commissioner, and the list of employers will be publicly available through a database.

Additionally, the new law directs the state to create a "sexual violence and harassment prevention training" program.

Workplace Culture

According to the University of California, Berkeley, Labor Occupational Health Program's report, the structure and culture of the property service industry can lead to exploitation because of the following factors:

Janitors often work in isolated conditions at night.



Workers are often Latina and undocumented immigrants. They are less likely to report issues because of "fear of retaliation, language barriers, or lack of familiarity with their rights or resources available to them."



"Layers of contracting and subcontracting" make the situation worse by reducing the accountability of employers.



The workplace culture includes "poorly trained managers and supervisors, inadequate or nonexistent sexual harassment policies, unfair investigations that humiliate workers, and retaliatory threats." As an example, the report shares the story of a Latina janitor who received unwanted sexual requests via text message from a male co-worker. She said that when she reported the matter to her supervisor, he initially joked and asked, "So did you do it?"



Provisions of the Law

Under the law (which took effect Jan. 1) janitorial employers must maintain records for three years of the names and addresses of all workers, the hours they worked, and the wages they received.

However, Mark Terman, an attorney with Drinker Biddle & Reath in Los Angeles, recommends keeping these records for four years. When coupled with an unfair business practices claim, the statute of limitations for unpaid wage claims in California is four years, he noted.

Beginning July 1, 2018, the law will require janitorial employers to register each year with the state labor commissioner. To register, employers must meet certain conditions. For example, they must have satisfied any final judgments for unpaid wages. Information about janitorial employers will be accessible through a public database.

"The idea is by having that public accountability, the employers are going to be more careful," said Lisa Von Eschen, an attorney with Lamb & Kawakami in Los Angeles.

The law also requires the state to develop a sexual violence and harassment prevention training program for janitorial employers and their workers, effective Jan. 1, 2019. This program will include input from an advisory panel, formed by the state's director of industrial relations. The training must be conducted every other year.

"The hope is that the training will provide some awareness for these women that they have rights, and they don't have to put up with this," Von Eschen said.

The law's training requirements go further than California's existing sexual harassment training law, Terman said. Currently, supervisors at companies with 50 or more employees must receive this training every other year. The existing law doesn't require in-person training; instead, it can be done online. The new law requires training for all janitorial employers regardless of size, and it requires that the training be done in person.

Penalties

Employers that violate the registry requirements could face civil fines. If a janitorial company fails to register, it could face a fine of $100 for every day that the business is unregisteredup to $10,000.

Also, any business that contracts with an unregistered janitorial company could be hit with a fine of $2,000 to $10,000 for an initial violation and $10,000 to $25,000 for a subsequent violation.

If the Property Service Workers Protection Act is successful, the California State Legislature might use it as a model to regulate other industries, including the construction, agriculture and garment industries, according to Terman.

"I see this as part of a trend to further regulate industries that are perceived to not comply well with wage and hour laws and other California laws," he said.

Broad Definition of 'Employer'

The definition of "employer" under the act could easily capture nonjanitorial companies, according to Matt Oster, an attorney with Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & Rabkin in Los Angeles.

The law defines an employer as "any person or entity that employs at least one employee and one or more covered workers" and that enters into agreements to provide janitorial services.

For instance, a property owner might hire a management company that has one employee who predominantly does janitorial work. The property owner might not think of the management company as a janitorial companybut under the act, that business could be considered one.

"Understand that it may apply to service contracts that you wouldn't really think it would apply to," said Oster.

In their contracts, companies should consider adding that the service provider is not a janitorial-services company within the meaning of the law, according to Oster.

Also, the contract should probably have an indemnification provision that makes the service provider liable for all misrepresentations, Oster added.

Moreover, "in the event there is no indemnification or the service provider does not have the money to pay any fines levied against the client, I would argue that the client did all it could to comply with the law," he stated.




Page Content

A restaurant manager was an executive employee as defined by California law and therefore was not entitled to overtime compensation, the California Court of Appeal ruled. Most of the employee's duties were exempt managerial tasks and although the worker spent some time performing nonexempt tasks, that time amounted to less than 50 percent of his workweek, the court said.

From December 2008 to December 2012, Geraldo Ramirez managed two restaurants owned by Vipul Mehta and his wife Sushma Mehta. Ramirez worked 50 hours a week, splitting his time between the two restaurants. He received a $43,000 salary.

Ramirez's daily duties included counting cash, entering daily sales information, making daily bank deposits, writing checks, placing food orders, buying produce, marketing, preparing and delivering catering orders, and working the register. He was also required to prepare food and serve customers because the restaurants were understaffed.

The Mehtas sold one of the restaurants in December 2012. According to Ramirez, he was fired at that time, but the Mehtas claimed that Ramirez declined an offer of continued employment for less pay at the remaining restaurant.

One week after he ceased working for the Mehtas, Ramirez filed a lawsuit seeking unpaid overtime compensation. The trial court rejected Ramirez's claim, finding that, according to the executive exemption under California law, he was not entitled to overtime pay.

[SHRM members-only HR Q&A: What is the difference between California overtime exemption requirements and federal overtime exemption requirements?]

Ramirez appealed the trial court's ruling.

Six Components of Executive Exemption

California Labor Code section 515 authorizes the Industrial Welfare Commission to establish exemptions from the overtime compensation requirements for executive, administrative and professional employees. Wage Order No. 5-2001 governs overtime exemptions for restaurants. The executive exemption has six components:

The employee's duties and responsibilities involve the management of the business.



The employee directs the work of two or more other employees.



The employee has the authority to hire or fire other employees.



The employee exercises discretion and independent judgment.



The employee earns a monthly salary not less than twice the state minimum wage.



The employee is primarily engaged in managerial duties.



The trial court found that Ramirez primarily performed tasks falling within the exemption, noting that he directed the work of others, was authorized to hire and fire, customarily and regularly exercised independent judgment, and regularly and directly assisted the owners. Ramirez was paid a salary more than twice the minimum wage.

Although Ramirez did perform some nonexempt tasks, such as serving customers, the time spent on these activities was less than half of his work time, and so he was primarily engaged in managerial duties, the trial court found.

At issue on appeal were the first and sixth components of the executive exemption, the appellate court noted.

Ramirez argued that making bank deposits, inputting sales data, paying bills, calculating employee hours for payroll purposes, handling inventory, ordering supplies and marketing were not managerial functions. The appellate court disagreed, however, concluding that all of those tasks were directly related to managing the restaurants and contributed to the smooth functioning of the businesses. Furthermore, the tasks were all assigned to the manager and not performed by nonexempt employees.

The appeals court also noted that the evidence showed that Ramirez spent approximately 20.25 hours per week out of his 50-hour workweek performing nonexempt work. This was less than the "more than half" required to change Ramirez's status to nonexempt.

The court affirmed the trial court's decision that Ramirez was not entitled to overtime pay.

Ramirez v. ISB Mehta Corp., Calif. Ct. App., No. H042072 (Feb. 27, 2017).

Professional Pointer: Assigning nonmanagerial tasks to managers, particularly if a business is short-staffed, may seem like a good way to manage limited resources. However, if the managers perform these tasks regularly and spend significant time doing so, they may no longer be considered exempt executive employees and may be owed overtime pay if they are working more than 40 hours a week.

Joanne Deschenaux, J.D., is a freelance writer in Annapolis, Md.
Page Content

The gender pay gap has been in the spotlight lately as states and cities debate expanded fair-pay laws and bans on salary history inquiries in the hiring process. But a patchwork of local laws creates compliance challenges for multistate employers that want to equalize pay among male and female employees.

Employment attorneys told SHRM Online that businesses can be proactive by conducting regular fair-pay audits and fixing any unexplainable pay disparities.

Michelle Lee Flores, an attorney with Cozen O'Connor in Los Angeles, said the first step in conducting a fair-pay audit is to get the support of management and the people who make budget and compensation decisions to rectify any disparities uncovered in the audit.

Furthermore, the audit should be conducted under attorney-client privilege, said Lara de Leon, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Orange County, Calif., and San Antonio. There are legal risks associated with conducting an audit, and working under attorney-client privilege can potentially protect information from discovery during litigation or a government audit.

Unique State Laws

The best practice for multistate employers is to conduct a federal analysis to see if their pay practices are in line with the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, explained Mickey Silberman, an attorney with Jackson Lewis in Denver.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Managing Pay Equity]

Consider doing separate analyses in jurisdictions with their own pay equity laws, especially in California, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, because those locations impose unique obligations on employers, he said.

The federal Equal Pay Act prohibits employers from paying workers of one sex less than the other for performing substantially the same job, unless the pay difference can be justified by:

A seniority system.



A merit system.



A system that measures pay by the quantity or quality of production.



A differential based on a factor other than sex.



In California and Massachusetts, however, the legal standard is broader, Silberman said.

California's Fair Pay Act took effect in 2016, requiring fair pay for men and women who perform "substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility." The law was expanded to include race and ethnicity, effective Jan. 1.

Beginning on July 1, 2018, the Massachusetts equal pay law will prohibit wage discrimination for "comparable work" based on gender.

Therefore, one reason to consider doing separate analyses for California and Massachusetts is that pay disparities may exist under their laws that don't exist under federal law, Silberman said.

Safe Harbor

The Massachusetts and Puerto Rico laws have offered some opportunities for employers, Silberman said.

Massachusetts provides a "safe harbor" if an employer can show it conducted a reasonable pay analysis within the last three years before a claim was brought and that it has taken remedial steps to begin addressing the pay disparity. This will serve as an affirmative defense to a pay discrimination claim.

In Puerto Rico, the analysis must have been done with the last year prior to a claim. Although the audit and subsequent remedial steps aren't a complete defense to a pay equity claim in Puerto Rico, an employer that has met the safe harbor requirements won't be subject to certain double penalties under the new law.

This is another reason to conduct a narrow audit in these jurisdictions, Silberman said. If an employer doesn't want to show plaintiffs' attorneys an entire nationwide analysis, it can conduct separate audits for these locations and take advantage of the safe harbor.

Job Grouping

Once employers have decided how to approach the audit, they will need to gather relevant information.

HR professionals should take a look at what type of data they can pull from their human resource information system (HRIS), de Leon said. "Demographics, job title, compensation bands, performance information and anything else that is relevant to an employee's pay should be considered."

Silberman noted that because the job-grouping standard is broader under California and Massachusetts law than under federal law, the parameters should be adjusted accordingly in those states.

Pulling HRIS information may be easier said than done, de Leon cautioned. "Make sure you have up-to-date and accurate data, as some things may need to be fixed."

Employers should then determine how jobs can be grouped together, Flores said. This could be done on a department-by-department basis, but jobs should also be cross-referenced with the same or similar jobs in different departments.

If there's a pay disparity, the employer will need to figure out the reason, Flores added. "Are the employees doing different things while they are sitting there? Does one employee have seniority or is something else going on?"

De Leon noted that the comparison in California isn't limited to a single establishment like it is under federal law. Therefore, employers in the state should consider running comparisons between locations, toosuch as offices in Irvine and Long Beach.

Bridging the Gap

Businesses need to be prepared to address any issues they find in an audit, de Leon noted. "You may need to give some workers an increase and reclassify others that aren't really in the right job category."

Through the audit process, employers may discover gaps in their policies for setting starting pay and calculating merit increases or promotions, she added. It may be necessary to train managers on making consistent compensation decisions.

She added that pay decisions should be documented, particularly when they are outside the norm. "If you have that one special person who deserves more pay, document why so there's a record about the reasons the decision was made."

Silberman said he expects more state pay equity laws to pop up over the next few years. "Pay equity has been such a focus, and it has traction," he said. "It will be interesting to follow the developments over the next few years and to see what happens if these laws succeed in narrowing the pay gap."
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By Reema Parashar: The Centre is considering amending Civil Aviation Requirements(CAR), based on whose provisions airlines have banned Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad.

The government has to strike a balance, top sources say. Service and safety can't be at conflict, and the issue will be discussed with stakeholders to find a balance.

It can't be denied that if an MP is banned by an airline, than it makes his work quite difficult.

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This is the first time the CAR has been used this way. It was implemented in November 2014 after due process of consultation.

ALSO READ | Even TV star Kapil Sharma misbehaved on flight, why ban Ravindra Gaikwad only: Shiv Sena MP in Parliament

WATCH VIDEO | How can they ban an MP? Rajya Sabha echoes support to Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad

--- ENDS ---
Four years after receiving its first American made P-8I Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft India is retiring the three remaining Russian made Tu-142 aircraft the P-8I replaces. In 2009, the year the first P-8Is were ordered, India had eight elderly and heavily used Tu-142s that needed extensive, expensive and time consuming rebuilding to remain in service. Many Indian politicians and bureaucrats wanted to continue with the Russian equipment. But the military experts on these matters insisted that the growing Chinese threat (with Western type ships that are replacing the old Russian designs) requires an effective response. That meant buying more expensive American aircraft.

The Indian decision to switch to U.S. maritime recon aircraft was rather recent. In 2007 India received another Russian built Tu-142. Beginning in 1988 India received the first three of these aircraft and kept getting more until it had eight in service. The Tu-142, which was introduced in the 1970s, is the maritime patrol version of the Tu-95 heavy bomber. The Tu-95 aircraft itself entered service in 1956 and is expected to remain in service, along with some Tu-142s variant, until the 2030s. Over 500 Tu-95s were built and it is the largest and fastest turboprop aircraft in service. Russia still maintains a force of 60 Tu-95s mainly because it cannot afford a replacement. India could afford something better but the Tu-95/142 can still get the job done.

The 188 ton Tu-95 has a 50 meter (167 foot) wingspan and a flight crew consisting of a pilot, copilot, engineer and radioman, and an unrefueled range of 15,000 kilometers. Max speed is 925 kilometers an hour, while cruising speed is 440 kilometers an hour. Originally designed as a nuclear bomber, the Tu-142 version still can carry up to ten tons of weapons (torpedoes, mines, depth charges, anti-ship missiles, sonobuoys) and a lot more sensors (naval search radar, electronic monitoring gear). There are two 23mm autocannon mounted in the rear of the aircraft. The mission crew of a Tu-142 usually consists of eight personnel, who operate the radars and other electronic equipment. Patrol flights for the Tu-142 can last twelve hours or more, especially when in-flight refueling is used. Maximum altitude is over 14,000 meters (45,000 feet), although the aircraft flies much lower when searching for submarines. India requires aircraft like these for patrolling the vast India ocean waters that surround the subcontinent. India wanted to upgrade the electronics on its Tu-142s, but has been put off by the high price, and low performance, of what the Russians offered.

The first eight P-8Is were ordered in 2009 and four more (for $250 million each) in 2015. In mid-2013 the first one to arrive spent months being flown around to various naval air bases that it expected to operate from. This included the naval air base in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where P-8Is are being used to monitor the three main Chinese trade routes through the Indian Ocean. By late 2014 six P-8Is have been delivered and eighth one arrived in late 2015. The Indian crews and senior commanders were very pleased with the performance of the P-8I, which mainly serves as a maritime patrol aircraft. Training has shown that Indian subs (similar models to what China has) can be detected and tracked by the P-8I. So far the Chinese have not provided enough of their own in the Indian Ocean for the P-8Is to go after but the Indians expect that to change soon.

In 2010 Indian naval planners calculated that they needed at least 24 P-8I aircraft. But so far have only been able to convince the government to buy a dozen. The admirals expect the performance of the P-8I to convince the government to pay for another twelve. In 2011 the navy was allowed to investigate the merits of buying another four P-8Is, largely in response to growing Chinese naval activity in the Indian Ocean. India ordered a custom version of the American P-8 and the first eight cost about $220 million each. The growing expense of maintaining their existing Russian Tu-142M reconnaissance aircraft, and the need for a more capable recon aircraft, led to that initial order. The first P-8I arrived ahead of schedule. Since 2005 India has bought $10 billion worth of American P-8I, C-130J and C-17 military aircraft and find it is a long-term bargain compared to the cheaper Russian equivalents.

What has made the Indian admirals so enthusiastic about an aircraft that first flew in 2009 and is remarkably similar in terms of the equipment and techniques to the half century old P-3s it replaces? Mainly it is the long and successful track record of these aircraft. Arguably the most successful maritime patrol aircraft ever, the P-3 experience, and some of the same gear were merged with the equally admired Boeing 737 air transport to create the P-8, and that aircraft has exceeded expectations.

India required aircraft like these for patrolling the vast India ocean waters that surround the subcontinent. India wanted to upgrade the electronics on its Tu-142s but has been put off by the high price, and low performance, of what the Russians offered. There was also some question of whether the Russians could meet their schedule and cost assurances. Then the P-8 was noted and the U.S. was willing to provide a customized (to Indian needs) version at a price the Indians could justify. Other navies in the region that used the P-3 were enthusiastic about the P-8 as a worthy successor to the reliable and effective P-3. The U.S. and Indian navies both receives the P-8 at about the same time even though the P-8Is are slightly different than the P-8A.

The P-8 is based on the widely used Boeing 737 airliner. Although the Boeing 737 based P-8A is a two engine jet, compared to the four engine turboprop P-3, it is a more capable plane. The P-8A has 23 percent more floor space than the P-3 and is larger (38 meter/118 foot wingspan, versus 32.25 meter/100 foot) and heavier (83 tons versus 61). Most other characteristics are the same. Both can stay in the air about 10 hours per sortie. Speed is different. Cruise speed for the 737 is 910 kilometers an hour, versus 590 for the P-3. This makes it possible for the P-8A to get to a patrol area faster, which is a major advantage when chasing down subs first spotted by distant sonar arrays or satellites. However, the P-3 can carry more weapons (9 tons versus 5.6). This is less of a factor as the weapons (torpedoes, missiles, mines, sonobouys) are lighter and more effective today and that trend continues. Both carry the same size crew of 10-11 pilots and equipment operators. Both aircraft carry search radar and various other sensors.

The 737 has, like the P-3, been equipped with hard points on the wings for torpedoes or missiles. The B-737 is a more modern design and has been used successfully since the 1960s by commercial aviation. Navy aviators are confident that it will be as reliable as the P-3. The P-3 was based on the Electra civilian airliner that first flew in 1954, although only 170 were built, plus 600 P-3s. About 40 Electras are still in service. The Boeing 737 first flew in 1965, and over 5,000 have been built. The P-8A will be the first 737 designed with a bomb bay and four wing racks for weapons. The P-8 costs about $275 million each.
The U.S. DEA(federal anti-drug agency) believes a small but very effective drug cartel known as Las Moicas is on its way to becoming a major source of heroin in the United States. DEA identified Las Moicas as a separate cartel faction in 2009 that was based in Michoacan state That led some investigators to conclude its personnel were once members of the now-splintered Familia Michoacana cartel. Other circumstantial evidence suggests that is highly probable. Las Moicas initially focused on Californias heroin market. It may have cooperated with a California-based gang called the Mexican Mafia (also known as La M). According to the DEA, at one time Familia Michoacana was known to have worked with La M. In 2015 Las Moicas began expanding its operations, but did so while maintaining a low profile. Now the DEA has concluded Las Moicas ranks with major heroin traffickers like the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels. Apparently Las Moicas continues to work with smaller criminal gangs. Other cartels began making extensive use of this technique four to five years ago. The major cartels outsource (sub-contract) some operations to smaller gangs. The smaller gangs are sometimes called affiliated gangs. For example, at one time the government estimated the Gulf Cartel had twelve affiliated gangs which handled operations in specific areas or performed specialized criminal tasks. Las Moicas may have refined this technique. (Austin Bay)

March 26, 2017: Police in Tamaulipas state recaptured one more prisoner who escaped in the mass jailbreak of March 23. By the next day police recaptured 12 of the 29 escapees. One escapee, however, killed a civilian while attempting to steal a car and 16 escapees remain at large.

March 23, 2017: Using a tunnel 29 prisoners escaped from the prison in Ciudad Victoria (Tamaulipas state). Following the mass jailbreak, police discovered a 37 meter (120-foot) long escape tunnel beneath the prison. The tunnel was 4.5 meters (15 feet) below ground. Authorities said it had taken the prisoners several months to dig the tunnel. Most of the escaped prisoners are believed to belong to Los Zetas cartel. Cartel members attempted a mass break from the prison in December 2016. In that incident a group of cartel gunmen attacked the prison. Two Zetas factions are fighting a turf war in Ciudad Victoria.

Miroslava Breach Velducea, a journalist with a national reputation, was murdered in Chihuahua City (Chihuahua State) as she drove her car out of her garage in order to take one of her children to school. Media in Mexico City described her murder as an assassination. She was the third reporter murdered in Mexico this month.

March 21, 2017: Firefights in Cuauhtemoc (Chihuahua State) between factions of the Juarez Cartel have left eight cartel members dead. At least four policemen were wounded responding to the clashes. Officials believe a senior leader of the Juarez Cartels La Linea enforcer faction was killed in one of the firefights. La Linea is sometimes described as the cartels enforcer wing, but some security officials believe it has become a faction. Most of the gunfights occurred along a highway north of Cuauhtemoc, late on the night of March 19 and into the next day. Since March 19 police have seized 14 cartel vehicles and some of them turned out to be armored SUVs. The Juarez Cartel (or at least parts of it) and the Jalisco New Generation are fighting a turf war in Chihuahua State.

March 18, 2017: Five senior members of the Sinaloa Cartel have escaped from the Aguaruto State Prison in Culiacan (Sinaloa State). One of the escapees, Juan Jose Esparragoza Monzon, was identified as a senior lieutenant of Sinaloas current top leader, Ismael Zambada. Esparragoza Monzon is the son of the now deceased Juan Jose Esparragoza. The elder Esparragoza was one three founders of the Sinaloa Cartel (along with Zambada and Joaquin Guzman).

March 14, 2017: Some 40 schools in the San Miguel Totalapan area of Guerrero state have reopened. The schools closed in late February protest attacks by Los Tequileros gang.

Investigators in Veracruz State have found over 250 skulls in a mass grave outside of the city of Veracruz. Authorities believe drug cartels used the wooded site, known as Colinas de Santa Fe, to bury the bodies of murder victims. It is likely the site contains the bodies of many people who have disappeared over a period of years. Civilian anti-cartel groups began combing the site in mid-2016. Citizens groups have formed in several states to look for mass grave sites and investigate them. So far Veracruz site is the largest mass grave site discovered.

March 12, 2017: The government announced it has arrested Giulio Perrone, a member of the Italian Camorra (Naples) mafia organization and will extradite him to Italy where he is wanted for cocaine smuggling. He had been a fugitive since 1998. Interpol discovered that he was living in the city of Tampico (Tamaulipas state). Police arrested him in Ciudad Madero (Tamaulipas state). Italian criminal groups and Mexican cartels do have contact. In 2008 authorities arrested several members of an Italian criminal organization known as the 'Ndrangheta on charges of aiding smuggling operations run by the Gulf and Los Zetas cartels.

March 9, 2017: Media report a Los Zetas faction has released a video showing the faction beheading a rival gang member. The video is similar to those released by the Islamic State. The video purportedly showed a man kneeling. He was then beheaded. The video was temporarily available on the internet but was quickly removed.

March 7, 2017: The governments official crime monitoring service reported that 2,156 people were murdered in January 2017 and 2,098 in February 2017. Media reported that this set a record for most murders in a two month period (4,254). In the first two months of 2011 3,554 people were killed.

March 6, 2017: In Puebla State Federal police arrested Saul Romero, who was wanted in the U.S. on charges of human trafficking. He is charged with forcing underage girls to become prostitutes in six U.S. states.

March 3, 2017: U.S. prosecutors in Indiana have charged 17 suspects with helping a Mexican cartel smuggle methamphetamine and cocaine in the U.S. Most of the suspects were arrested in 2016.

March 2, 2017: Two suspected cartel gunmen murdered Cecilio Pineda Birto outside a carwash in the town of Pungarabato (Guerrero State). Pineda was a journalist who specialized in live streaming reports on crime in Guerrerro state. The murderers fled on a motorcycle. Pineda was also a critic of what he called government inaction, corruption and collusion with criminals. He had recently reported on Los Tequileros, a criminal organization operating in Guerrero state. He had accused state government officials of conspiring with the leader of Los Tequileros. The gang is notorious. Several communities in Guerrero state have protested the impunity the gang appears to enjoy. In late February a group of public school teachers in the state announced they would go on strike until authorities arrested the senior commander of Los Tequileros, Raybel Jacobo de Almonte. Several local self-defense militias (autodefensas) in Guerrero state claim that they organized specifically to defend their homes against Los Tequileros.

March 1, 2017: Police discovered the bodies of eleven murder victims in the town of Boca del Rio (Veracruz state). Investigators said the corpses showed signs of torture. The murders were attributed to narcotics traffickers who are fighting a turf war in the state.
Confidence in the Bay of Plentys commercial and residential property markets remains high, with Tauranga/Mount Maunganui maintaining the top four ranking in the latest Colliers International quarterly survey results.

The results show net confidence in the Tauranga/Mt Maunganui commercial market is the second highest in the country at 56 per cent, behind only Queenstown.

While the result is down from 65 per cent in the last quarter, the city has maintained its second place ranking for the third quarter in a row.

The Tauranga/Mount Maunganui residential market also remains strong, with net confidence at 56 per cent, putting it in third place.

Colliers International Tauranga director Simon Clark welcomes the citys continued high confidence ratings.

Its indicative of the continued population growth we are experiencing, and the growth in all sectors of the market to cater for these new residents moving to our city.

This is also further enhanced by the prosperity of Port of Tauranga, the kiwifruit industry and tourism.

Confidence in the Rotorua market also remains strong. The city was ranked ninth in the commercial survey (4 per cent) and eighth in the residential survey (40 per cent).

Colliers International Rotorua commercial and industrial broker Mark Rendell says the city is experiencing strong demand in the industrial sector in both leasing and sales, with demand exceeding supply and forcing prices up.

In the commercial sector, the strong demand for high quality offices continues, with business owners becoming increasingly conscious of employees safety and job satisfaction.

The new Kmart development is opening up opportunities for new convenience retail, although secondary retail is getting enquiries but at reduced rental rates.

The Colliers International surveys found overall net confidence in the New Zealand commercial property market remains positive at 24 per cent, down from 32 per cent in Q4 2016, while confidence in the national residential market remains steady at 41 per cent.
For the past three years, Juliet and her mate wintered with their flock in an Atlanta, Georgia, shopping center parking lot - here, the Canada geese nested and raised their young during the cold months. But earlier this year, tragedy struck and Juliet's mate was accidentally hit and killed by a car.

When the flock moved on, Juliet just couldn't. Canada geese stay with their mates for their entire lives. Juliet stayed at the spot where her mate had died - she couldn't accept he was gone forever.

Dodo Shows Odd Couples Kitten Isn't Sure About His Pittie Brother  At First

This browser does not support the video tag. Facebook/Kaitlyn Ross 11Alive

And Juliet's heart wasn't the only broken one - people who worked in the stores around the nesting site watched her as she waited. Juliet would wander up and down the sidewalk. Her vigil for her fallen mate lasted three whole months. "It's cute and sweet and heartbreaking all the same time," one observer told local news. The landlord of the shopping center told employees not to feed or give water to Juliet, hoping she would go away on her own. But she still refused.

This browser does not support the video tag. Facebook/Kaitlyn Ross 11Alive

Finally, earlier this month, help came for the heartbroken goose. People from Atlanta Wild Animal Rescue Effort (AWARE) arrived to rescue her. To the great relief of local residents who had become sympathetic to her, Juliet was brought to the rescue center where she could recover. "Juliet has only been here a couple of days, so we're still making sure her physical condition is good," Scott Lange, executive director of AWARE, told The Dodo. "Once we're comfortable that it is, we'll begin work on reintroducing her to other geese."

A few more days at the rescue center worked wonders for Juliet. "She's eating well and in good physical shape, so we're going to be moving her outside and introducing her to another goose," Lange said after Juliet settled in. And just last week, Juliet was introduced to a male goose who had come to the center a month ago, starving and with a broken wing. Like Juliet, the center was a safe haven for him where he could regain his strength. As Juliet was released into the male goose's enclosure, she saw that he was enjoying a bath in his pool.

AWARE

She spent a few moments walking along the edge of his pool, before hopping in herself.

This browser does not support the video tag. AWARE

"So far, so good," Lange said. "If they continue to get along, we'll eventually release them together."

AWARE

Even though nothing can bring Juliet's first love back, hopefully she'll learn to make new friends - and maybe even love again.
When a neglected Shetland pony arrived at a sanctuary in Belgium, he could barely walk off the trailer.

That's because his hooves hadn't been trimmed in an estimated 10 years - typically, horses' hooves are supposed to be trimmed every few weeks. His hooves had grown so long that they curled around one and half circles, or 540 degrees. But no one - except his owner - could see just how bad the pony's hooves had gotten, because he was kept hidden from public view, far from the road, in a makeshift shelter. When the owner decided to hand the neglected animals over to authorities, the animal welfare unit in Wallonia alerted rescuers at Animaux en Peril, a local sanctuary. Rescuers came to bring the poor pony, along with a malnourished horse from the same owner, to safety.

When they arrived, rescuers couldn't believe their eyes. They found the pony and horse standing on manure that had accumulated nearly 2 feet high. The animals were also so emaciated, they risked death. "[The] pony and horse have a body index (condition of being overweight) of one in five, the last stage before death by undernutrition," the sanctuary wrote. "It is cachexia, or extreme leanness, that causes muscle wasting, the body literally self-consuming." The pony weighs just about 154 pounds, "the weight of a big dog." Normally, Shetland ponies weigh about 450 pounds.

Dodo Shows Foster Diaries Guy Falls In Love With His Little Meatball Of A Foster Dog

It's believed the animals were locked up in their makeshift shelter, nonstop, for three months at least. The pony and horse, now named Poly and Everest, were helped onto trailers and driven to the sanctuary, where rescuers rushed to get them cleaned up.

Poly needed his hooves trimmed immediately. Even so, he may never be able to walk normally again because of permanent damage to his joints. "In 24 years of existence, our refuge has never hosted an equine with hooves so long," the sanctuary wrote.

Poly and Everest were shampooed and sheared to get the lice and filth off of their irritated skin. Rescuers realized that the animals must have been suffering pain and neglect for years. "It is impossible to imagine the distress of the last few years, the omnipresent suffering, the hunger that gnaws and disintegrates, the torture of itching, the confinement in the impenetrable air," the sanctuary wrote. "Under torture time is infinite."

After just five days at the sanctuary, it became obvious the neglected animals were feeling more like themselves. Rescuers even wrapped Poly and Everest in comfortable blankets.

"Poly and Everest are better already!" the sanctuary wrote last week. "[Poly] already feels much lighter ... just as his companion in misfortune [does]." It's expected that their owner could face fines and jail time for making them live in such terrible conditions. The local prosecutor has two months to decide whether to prosecute the case.

In the meantime, Poly and Everest just have to focus on getting even better.
Shiv Sena MP has added yet another name to the list of probables for President of India--RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

By India Today Web Desk: As political corridors are abuzz with talks of who's going to be the next President of India, several names are doing the rounds, ranging from BJP veteran L K Advani to even superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has added yet another name to the list of probables--RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Raut said Bhagwat will be good choice to make India a 'Hindu Rashtra'.

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Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has a knack for not always voting the same way as rest of the BJP allies. In the past, it has voted for Congress-backed candidates--Pratibha Patil in 2007 and Pranab Mukherjee in 2012.

The presidential election is due in July this year.

WHAT SHIV SENA SAID AND HOW IT MAKES PRESIDENTIAL RACE INTERESTING: Batting for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said someone with clean image should occupy the country's highest post, adding that the party has heard Bhagwat's name was being discussed for President of India. The Sena MP said that if India is to be made a Hindu Rashtra, then Mohan Bhagwat is a good choice. "This has been discussed in our party. Even Sena President Uddhav Thackeray is of the opinion that for making India a Hindu Rashtra, Bhagwat should be made the President," he said. Sanjay Raut said a staunch Hindu nationalist like Narendra Modi was the Prime Minister and another Hindutva proponent, Yogi Adityanath, had become Chief Minister of India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh. "He (Mohan Bhagwat) is a strong leader, staunch nationalist, has a deep knowledge of the Constitution. So if the BJP wants to make India a 'Hindu Rashtra', his name must be considered. He is the most suitable candidate," Sanjay Raut said. "In the last two Presidential polls, Balasaheb (Thackeray) had gone against the flow and done what was in the interest of the nation. Even then, the Presidential candidates had come to 'Matoshree' to discuss the elections," Sanjay Raut said in response to a question on whether he would attend the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strategise about the Presidential polls. Earlier reports had hinted at Lal Krishna Advani being the frontrunner for the president's post. Some suggested that Narendra Modi was thinking of giving a befitting 'gurudakshina' to Advani by nominating him for the post. Another senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi too is believed to be in the running for the president's post. In an irony of sorts, Joshi had reportedly met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to discuss the Presidential polls with him. Both L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi are accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case in which the final verdict is awaited. Joshi and Advani led the Ayodhya movement and were colleagues at RSS too. Manipur Governor Najma Heptullah too is said to be in running for the presidential race. A five-time Rajya Sabha member, Heptullah was a Congress member till 2004. Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha had pitched Amitabh Bachchan's name as the President of India. The BJP leader said it would be a matter of pride if a cultural icon like Amitabh Bachchan was made the country's president.

(with inputs from agencies)

ALSO READ:

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ALSO WATCH

--- ENDS ---
NEW YORKShould the Fearless Girl stand up to Wall Streets Charging Bull forever?

Thats the question New York City officials are facing after a statue of a ponytailed girl in a windblown dress went up in front of the bronze bull early this month and immediately became a tourist draw and Internet sensation.

What was intended as a temporary display to encourage corporations to put more women on their boards is now getting a second look in light of its popularity, which has spawned an online petition seeking to keep it.

Read more:

Fearless Girl statue stares down Wall Streets iconic bull

Holding State Street to its pledge is why Fearless Girl must stay: Wells

But does keeping the girl past her scheduled April 2 deadline forever alter the meaning of the bull? After all, the 11-foot-tall, 7,100-pound bull has been hugely popular in its own right; it was placed in a lower Manhattan traffic median in the wake of the 1987 stock market crash as a symbol of Americans financial resilience and can-do spirit.

Some fans of the bronze girl already see the bull much differently.

The bull represents men and power, says Cristina Pogorevici, 18, a student from Bucharest, Romania, who visited the statues this past week. So she is a message of womens power and things that are changing in the world right now.

Holli Sargeant, 20, a visitor from Queensland, Australia, says the four-foot-tall, 250-pound bronze girl is standing up against something and we see her as a powerful image. She represents all the young women in the world that want to make a difference.

Such shifting perceptions of the bull  from American hero to villain of sorts  outrage bull sculptor Arturo Di Modica, who wants the girl gone.

He dismissed Kristen Visbals statue as nothing more than an an advertising trick, noting the bronze was a marketing effort on the eve of the March 8 International Womens Day by Boston-based State Street Global Advisors and its New York advertising firm, McCann.

As for his bull, I put it there for art, the Italian-born sculptor told MarketWatch, which first reported his anger. My bull is a symbol for America. My bull is a symbol of prosperity and for strength.

The girls sculptor has no hostile feelings toward the bull.

I love Charging Bull! Visbal told The Associated Press on Sunday, speaking from her home in Rehoboth Beach, Del. But women are here, and were here to stay.

She was commissioned to create a 36-inch-tall girl with hands on hips and chin up. Then we thought, this is a really big bull and we should increase the height to 50 inches, she said. But I made sure to keep her features soft; shes not defiant, shes brave, proud and strong, not belligerent.

The sculptor based her work on two Delaware children  a friends daughter she said had great style and a great stance, and I told her to pretend she was facing a bull. The second was a beautiful Latina girl, so everyone could relate to the Fearless Girl.

Visbal, who was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, while her American father was in the foreign service, is to be honoured Monday along with State Street on the steps of New Yorks City Hall by a group of prominent bipartisan women who are asking that the statue be made permanent.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday the statue will be allowed to remain through February 2018.

De Blasio says the artwork has inspired many people and fuelled powerful conversations about women in leadership. He calls the decision a fitting path for a girl who refuses to quit.

The Daily News says the statue, which stands on Department of Transportation property, will get a longer-term permit through the department's art program.

David Levi Strauss of Manhattans School of Visual Arts, known for his writings about the impact of art on society and politics, says he is excited by the dynamics the girl statue has brought to the space and agrees the overall meaning has shifted.

The girl has changed the meaning of the bull forever, he says. With public art like this, you never know whats going to happen; its a Rorschach test onto which people are projecting their own opinions and feelings.

A similar point-counterpoint was played out at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, erected in 1982 in Washington, with three soldiers in bronze added two years later, seemingly interacting with the stark marble wall bearing the names of the dead. The result prompted debate; some said the soldiers infused life onto the wall, while protesters blasted the statue as a tasteless intrusion.

When it comes to the girl facing the bull, Strauss said, the bulls stature diminishes. Shes the individual standing up to the beast of power. ... Shes frozen in a sort of dream of winning, and thats what appeals to people. Shes irresistible.

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By Press Trust of India: Gilgit-Baltistan

From Aditi Khanna

London, Mar 27 (PTI) A motion has been tabled in the UK parliament condemning Pakistans "arbitrary" move to declare the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region, bordering disputed PoK, as its fifth province.

Bob Blackman, a Conservative Party MP, who regularly speaks out in support of the rights of Kashmiri Hindus in the House of Commons, tabled the Early Day Motion (EDM) titled Annexation of Gilgit-Baltistan as by Pakistan as its fifth frontier on March 23.

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EDMs are formal motions tabled in the House of Commons as a means of drawing attention to a particular issue or cause.

The motion said that Gilgit-Baltistan has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947 and the country is attempting to annex the already disputed area.

The EDM reads: "That this House condemns the arbitrary announcement by Pakistan declaring Gilgit-Baltistan as its Fifth Frontier, implying its attempt to annex the already disputed area."

It noted that "Gilgit-Baltistan is a legal and constitutional part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India, which is illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947, and where people are denied their fundamental rights including the right of freedom of expression."

It further said that the attempts to change the demography of the region in violation of State Subject Ordinance and forcibly and illegally to build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which further aggravates and interferes with the disputed territory."

Other British MPs are expected to sign the EDM during the course of this week as a show of support to the motion.

A spokesperson for Blackman?s office indicated that a formal debate on the issue is also likely to be proposed in coming weeks.

Pakistans minister for inter-provincial coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada on Marach 14 told Pakistani media that a committee headed by Advisor of Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had proposed giving the status of a province to Gilgit-Baltistan.

He also said that a constitutional amendment would be made to change the status of the region, through which the USD 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes.

India has termed as "entirely unacceptable" any possible attempt by Pakistan to declare the Gilgit-Baltistan region, bordering disputed PoK, as the fifth province.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson said any such step would not be able to hide the illegality of Pakistans occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir which it must vacate, forthwith.

Gilgit-Baltistan is treated as a separate geographical entity by Pakistan. It has a regional assembly and an elected Chief Minister.

Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh are the four provinces of Pakistan.

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It is believed that Chinas concerns about the unsettled status of Gilgit-Baltistan prompted Pakistan to change its status. PTI AK PMS AKJ PMS

--- ENDS ---
United Airlines barred two teenage girls from boarding a flight Sunday morning and required a child to change into a dress after a gate agent decided the leggings they were wearing were inappropriate. That set off waves of anger on social media, with users criticizing what they called an intrusive, sexist policy, but the airline maintained its support for the gate agents decision.

The girls, who were about to board a flight to Minneapolis, were turned away at the gate at Denver International Airport, the company said Sunday. United doubled down on that decision, defending it in a series of tweets on Sunday.

The incident was first reported on Twitter by Shannon Watts, a passenger at the airport who was waiting to board a flight to Mexico. In a phone interview from Mexico Sunday afternoon, Watts said she noticed two visibly upset teenage girls leaving the gate next to hers. Both were wearing leggings.

Read more: Cool your jets. United Airlines had a right to enforce dress code: Menon

Watts went over to the neighbouring gate and saw a frantic family with two young girls, one of whom was also wearing leggings, engaged in a tense exchange with a gate agent who told them, I dont make the rules, I just enforce them.

Watts said the girls mother told her the two teenagers had just been turned away because the gate agent said their pants were not appropriate travel attire. The woman had a dress in her carry-on bag that the child was able to pull on over her pants, and the family boarded the flight.

The girl pulled a dress on, Watts said. But please keep in mind that the dad had on shorts that did not hit his knee  they stopped maybe 2 or 3 inches above his knee  and there was no issue with that.

Watts judged that the two girls who were barred from boarding were in their young teens and the girl who changed into a dress was 10 or 11.

Watts described the situation in a series of tweets before her flight to Mexico took off. By the time she landed her tweets had been shared widely, often accompanied by sharp criticism directed at the airline.

Jonathan Guerin, a spokesman for United, confirmed that two teenage girls were told they could not board a flight from Denver to Minneapolis because their leggings violated the companys dress code policy for pass travellers, a company benefit that allows United employees and their dependants to travel for free on a standby basis.

Guerin said pass travellers are representing the company and as such are not allowed to wear Lycra and spandex leggings, tattered or ripped jeans, midriff shirts, flip-flops or any article of clothing that shows their undergarments.

Its not that we want our standby travellers to come in wearing a suit and tie or that sort of thing, he said. We want people to be comfortable when they travel as long as its neat and in good taste for that environment.

The company did say Monday that regular-paying flyers are welcome to wear leggings aboard its flights, even though two teenage girls were barred by a gate agent from boarding a flight from Denver to Minneapolis on Sunday because of their attire. Chicago-based United sought to clarify its stance in a post on its website late Sunday titled, To our customers ... your leggings are welcome!

The post said employees are regularly reminded about its dress code.

Guerin said both teenage girls stayed behind in Denver, made an adjustment to their outfits and waited for the next flight to Minneapolis. Guerin did not know if they had successfully boarded or not, and also had no information about the girl Watts said she saw change into a dress at the gate.

The company largely confirmed Watts account earlier in the day in a response to her on Twitter that did little to mollify the concerns of its critics.

In a series of dozens of tweets, the company said the incident was not simply the result of an overzealous gate agent. Instead, it said United Airlines reserved the right to deny service to anyone its employees deemed to be inappropriately dressed. It also referred to the dress code applied to pass travellers.

In our Contract of Carriage, Rule 21, we do have the right to refuse transport for passengers who are barefoot or not properly clothed, the company tweeted. It added, There is a dress code for pass travellers as they are representing UA when they fly.

Few critics appeared to be satisfied by that explanation, which also did little to de-escalate a perilous public relations situation for the company. United was the target of scores of angry and mocking tweets Sunday, including from social media savvy celebrities like model Chrissy Teigen and actor LeVar Burton.

I have flown united before with literally no pants on. Just a top as a dress. Next time I will wear only jeans and a scarf, Teigen wrote on Twitter.

By Sunday afternoon, the companys Twitter account was engaged in a tense back-and-forth with Academy Award winning actress Patricia Arquette, who posted dozens of angry tweets about the situation.

Employees running Uniteds Twitter account spent the day walking a public relations tightrope: explaining to angry social media users why the company was not wrong to bar the young women from boarding, while reassuring potential customers that they would not also be barred if they showed up in leggings.

People like to be comfortable when they fly, Watts said, and leggings and yoga pants have become pretty standard casual attire for women.

Im pretty sure yoga pants are a thing, Watts said. Theyre part of modern America. Theyre a staple, a go-to clothing item.

Guerin said the company was aware of the criticism levelled at its social media team, but said they were working as hard as they can.

We could have stopped to immediately ask the right questions, he said. We are always engaging with our customers as quickly as possible. Now we are going back. All day weve been going back since that earlier tweet. Now were going back and telling people what is actually going on.

With files from the Associated Press

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Theres the retirement that looks like the commercials: biking, travel, enjoying the family.

And then theres the one where you cant get up the stairs anymore.

Most of us happily plan for the first, when our health is good and energy high. The second can be hard to contemplate, when health falters and medical crises can change lives in an instant.

Yet a focus on just the active part of retirement can shortchange your quality of life once you begin to decline, which is why financial advisers suggest you also look at how youll live in that later phase. Heres what you should consider for that second stage.

Certified financial planner Dana Anspach of Arizona doesnt want her clients to prematurely give up their homes or make other moves that may not suit them. One couple she advised, for example, moved into a continuing-care community  one that includes independent living, assisted living and nursing home care  in their 80s and moved back out again a year later because they couldnt entertain or decorate their apartment the way they wanted. (They used their refunded deposit to buy a condo and had enough money to pay for in-home care.)

Anspach also has heard horror stories of elders who stayed too long in unsafe conditions until health crises propelled them into the hospital  and left their families scrambling to deal with their care and what to do with the family home.

The key, planners say, is to start thinking and talking about how you want to cope when your health begins to fail.

You have so many more options if you plan earlier and set up the trajectory of where youre wanting to go, says Danielle Howard, a CFP in Basalt, Colorado.

Howard starts with the somewhat easier decisions, such as whom the clients want to make medical and financial decisions should they become incapacitated. Then the discussion moves to the harder topics  imagining life when they cant navigate stairs or drive or handle daily activities such as cooking, cleaning, dressing or bathing themselves.

Could they stay in their current home? Would it need to be modified? Who will provide their care, and how will they pay for it?

Anspach advises clients who dont have long-term care insurance or family members willing to provide care to save their home equity for such expenses, rather than using it to boost their retirement income. (Home equity can be tapped with lines of credit or reverse mortgages or by selling the home.)

If parents do expect children to help, Anspach says, they need to make sure the kids are on board and that those kids lives are stable enough to provide care if the parents move closer.

You dont want to move across the country and have them get transferred somewhere else, Anspach says.

Parents also should consider how they can make things easier for their caregivers, says Ed Vargo, a CFP in Cleveland. Vargo encouraged his in-laws to move from a home that was 20 minutes away to one that was five minutes away.

That 20 minutes can turn into an hour back and forth, and you may be going multiple times a day, Vargo says.

His mother-in-law, Rose Forrester, understood those dynamics well. Before she retired three years ago, Forrester was a physical therapist who provided in-home care to older patients  and a caregiver to her mother, who also lived 20 minutes away. Eventually, Forrester and her husband, Dan, moved the elderly woman into their home, where she lived for three years until her death.

Then the couple began to talk about what they should do to make things easier for themselves and their kids in coming years. Neither wanted to leave their home of four decades, but both realized its stairs and layout would be tough to navigate someday.

I could have stayed 10 more years, but in 10 years I knew I wasnt going to have the energy to move, Forrester says. The couple moved to a one-level, ranch-style home three years ago, when he was 68 and she was 66.

Vargo is now talking with his father about moving closer. The older man initially rejected the idea but after a few years of discussions has said hes now considering it.

Theres a tendency for people to tell other people what they should do. That doesnt really work, Vargo says. Have a discussion, share your concerns, but be patient.

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He has three cute kids, a wife who is Instagram au fait and is himself part of a generation thats more DiCaprio than it is De Niro.

Oh, and yeah, he wants to be prime minister.

Sound familiar?

Just water for me, says Michael Chong to our server one recent afternoon at Torontos Soho House. Hydration before ambition, indubitably, for the Member of Parliament (for over a decade now) for the Ontario riding of Wellington-Halton Hills.

At 45 years old  born just a month apart from one Justin Trudeau  hes ensconced in one of the battles of his life: running not only as leader of Canadas Conservative Party and, ergo, the official opposition, but also as the standard bearer for whats been described as an inclusive, sober conservatism during a time when identity politics has possibly taken up too much oxygen in his party.

My conservatism is an optimistic conservatism, he tells me, off the top, after wed done our requisite catching-up about our days at Trinity College at U of T (we crossed paths there in a time, incidentally, when a floppy-haired DiCaprio had not yet met an iceberg and Chong, if I recall, already had the political bug).

How is Chongs selfie game? One cant help but wonder, this being the semiotics of our age. Well, while he might not have quite the PhD in camera-mugging that the present PM has, he did not long ago post a photo of himself driving a truck, on his farm, blithely picking up big, bad bales of hay. Virile!

And hes not above poking a little fun at himself. When an official-looking portrait of Chong inexplicably wound up on a poster for sanitary public washrooms in Guatemala, he did what any rising political star would do: make an appearance on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, in which he took it in stride.

I think its perfect since as a Canadian politician youve been probably talking crap for years, said host Mark Critch.

Well you know, Mark, my No. 1 priority is winning the Conservative leadership race, Chong responded with a smile. But my No. 2 priority  just behind  is hygienic Guatemalan washrooms.

Moving into young cool dad mode, Chong sounds not unlike many a 21st-century parent when we detour briefly into the subject of screen time rules that he and the missus, Carrie, have for their boys. Weekends only, he says.

Of course, one thing that doesnt require its own overt hashtag is Chongs heritage. Its his own immigrant story that could bring dozens of ridings, especially in suburban Toronto and Vancouver, back into the winnable column, as one writer in Macleans recently mused. Chong is, in that way, a possibly aspirational figure, as demonstrated by a photo of his ancestors that recently made the rounds.

Reflecting on the picture  a black-and-white portrait from 1929 that showed his grandparents, and their children, resplendent in their Chinese silks  Chong says that his grandmother in the image was pregnant with his father and that his dad, Paul Chong  touched by the Battle of Hong Kong, in 1941, when Canadians defended the city  would later be inspired himself to set sail to Canada.

Politics is about telling a story, he goes on, and the party has to better connect with Canadians by better telling our stories.

Clearly at home in his own duality  his dad, a doctor, would go on to marry a woman from the Netherlands  Chong explains that his own family now is two halves of the Canadian story: my wifes family has been here since 1830, Scottish-English-Irish, and Im the other half, in that my parents both came here as immigrants.

Before the last election, he points out, the Conservatives were doing better on the diversity front than other parties but, since 2015, the Liberals have clearly leapfrogged past.

I had to ask: how did he personally self-identify growing up?

Canadian! he socks back. Some of this, you dont realize this until you grow up, but in our household my mother couldnt understand Cantonese and my dad couldnt understand Dutch. So there wasnt really a choice. Being biracial, moreover, you dont have a foot in either world, so you cling to a new identity . . . which was Canadian. (For the record: Chong does self-identify with Chinese garlic spare ribs. He confirms that much.)

An aversion to a nonhyphenated model of identity? Its clearly been a theme in Chongs career, as evidenced by his resignation, in 2006, from Stephen Harpers cabinet over the tabling of a motion recognizing Quebec as a nation within a united Canada. Making a principled stand against the statute  one that gave him his first major breeze of publicity in the nation  Chong said at the time, It creates a system of two-tiered citizenship and thats unacceptable to me.

Fast-forward to 2017.

Who are your supporters? I broach.

He points to younger conservatives under the age of 30, a group he likes to sometimes glibly call the Chontourage and with whom he clearly enjoys a following. As well: Conservatives who care about the environment, a constituency he calls green conservatives, drawn by his campaign centrepiece of a revenue-neutral carbon tax.

And about his precise pathway to winning  considering thats hes squarely in the middle of the pack in the polls? Chong points to the particularities of the preferential ballot and the fact that the final result could, hence, be made by as few as a hundred party members. Theres a fluidity to the race, he maintains.

But does his polite brand of politics align with the mood of the party, one that seems to be scratching at various itches of late? Its a question that hangs over a conversation I had later with Rudyard Griffiths, the TV broadcaster and swami-about-town who was also Chongs roommate at Trinity years ago.

In many ways, hes a reluctant politician, shares Griffiths, adding, but what you get is what you see. Theres not a lot of political artifice.

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NORRISTOWN, PA.Prosecutors in Bill Cosbys sex assault case in Pennsylvania are fighting defence efforts to question 2,000 potential jurors.

They also want the jury selected weeks before the scheduled June 5 trial so jurors can prepare to be sequestered.

The trial is being held near Philadelphia. But jurors are being chosen from the Pittsburgh area, nearly 300 miles away, because of worldwide publicity about the case.

The defence bid to start jury selection June 5, if successful, could delay testimony for weeks.

The battle over jury selection Monday is the latest legal manoeuvring in the case.

The judge must still decide how much the jury will hear from Cosbys deposition about his long history of extramarital affairs.

Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting a woman  Andrea Constand, now a Toronto resident  at his home in 2004.

Read more about:

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There are many things in the world that deserve moral outrage.

Animal cruelty, gun violence, racism, terrorism, sexism, people who drive below the speed limit in the passing lane, boot-cut denim, hidden service charges, 80 per cent of the Kardashians, cauliflower, ER wait times, the Snuggie  I will happily hoist my pitchfork and mob with you in solidarity over these abominations.

But unless Im missing something  and this is always a 50-50 prospect  the outcry this weekend after two teen girls were barred from a United Airlines flight because they were garbed in leggings does not qualify as a moral outrage.

Im not sure it even warrants mild indignation.

So help me understand what Im not getting. Help me follow the jet fuel of this alleged discrimination that drew the ire of celebrities, including Chrissy Teigen, William Shatner, Seth Rogen, LeVar Burton and Patricia Arquette.

To recap: the girls were en route from Denver to Minneapolis on Sunday morning when they were told their leggings were inappropriate and theyd need to change if they wanted to board the flight. Another traveller, Shannon Watts, witnessed the kerfuffle and fired off a series of tweets, framing the incident as sexist.

Read more:

United Airlines defends decision to bar two girls from flight over leggings

This sentiment snowballed and soon United was under an avalanche of scorn.

As the mother of 4 daughters who live and travel in yoga pants, Id like to know how many boys @United has penalized for the same reason, wrote Watts.

I suppose thats a reasonable first reaction. I have 10-year-old daughters who basically live in leggings, whether they are on terra firma or jonesing for a $15 Kit Kat at 30,000 feet. If I had to guess, about 40 per cent of the females who were on my flight last week from Samana to Toronto were in leggings or yoga pants.

Economy might as well be called sardine class these days. Are airline seats now supplied by Graco? The point is: no traveller, male or female, should be penalized for taking an active interest in comfort, even if that means the rest of us are subjected to the retina-searing blight of flip-flops and tank tops.

So if you travel by air, if youve noticed the rapid hobofication in how passengers dress, it seems likely there might be more to this story than random and appalling discrimination. That is, it seems there might be a simple, non-controversial explanation for why the leggings girls were told to change.

And sure enough, there was: the leggings girls were what United calls pass riders, meaning they were relatives or friends (of employees) who also receive the benefit of free or heavily discounted air travel.

They were not paying customers. They were travelling under the terms of a corporate benefits program, one that is bound by its own internal logic and rules, including a dress code. Now, whether that dress code is anachronistic and in need of an update, as Sarah Silverman observed on Twitter, thats another matter.

But for those girls who expected to be on that flight in those leggings, the problem was not sexism. If they were not pass riders and had instead purchased tickets, they could have boarded without issue. But since United views pass riders as ambassadors for the brand, it has every right to enforce an existing dress code.

Remember, this is the airline industry, where pilots wear crisp uniforms and flight attendants are often bedazzled with scarfs, pins and jaunty hats. It might seem goofy and pretentious to everyone else, but frontline optics are a central plank in consumer marketing. Yes, those girls obviously do not work for United. But as pass riders, they must abide by their responsibilities in what amounts to a great perk.

If an airline offered me a free ticket but asked that I fly in either a tux or hazmat suit, Id now be browsing Freeman Formalwear or the closest Level 4 lab.

So come on, overreacting celebrities! At least wait until you hear all the facts before strapping yourselves into the outrage machine. Save a bit of contempt for the real disgraces and barbarities in our midst.

These girls were not victims of anything except their own ignorance.

As United pointed out: We regularly remind our employees that when they place a family member or friend on a flight for free as a standby passenger, they need to follow our dress code. To our regular customers, your leggings are welcome.

You see? Your leggings are welcome. End of story. Now enjoy your flight and please check any moral outrage before arriving at the airport.

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The expression surrounded by history came vividly to life last July as film crews worked along the shores of Lake Ontario to recreate several key moments in Canadian history.

One involved dozens of actors dodging explosive blasts as they ran up the shore in full battle gear, depicting Canadian troops landing at Juno Beach during the D-Day invasion. A couple of hundred metres away, several other actors and crew members were shooting a scene from the mid-70s when boat people from Vietnam arrived on Canadian shores.

Nearby, an explorer was becoming the father of New France.

Theres Champlain, said one of the producers.

Its all part of Canada: The Story of Us, a sweeping CBC docudrama series celebrating Canadas heroes and presenting the stories behind the nation 150 years after confederation. It premieres Sunday at 9 p.m.

Samuel de Champlain, played by Toronto-based actor Greg Zajac, was in full costume and enjoying a Coke between scenes in a makeshift cafeteria. A few days earlier, Zajac shot a scene where he beheaded a shipmate in Canadas first coup.

It was quite a power play, said Zajac. He put it on a plank and left it out for everyone to see.

Its a historical detail Zajac did not know and neither will most viewers.

Its the right show at the right time on the right channel, executive producer Julie Bristow said of the show. Were calling it history for a new generation.

This isnt just a collection of Heritage Minutes. The 10-hour series boasts a cast of thousands, plenty of CGI graphics showing forts, settlements and stampeding buffalo herds, as well as more than 100 contemporary stars providing surprising insight and commentary.

Weighing in, for example, on Gen. James Wolfes daring surprise attack at the Plains of Abraham, is mixed martial arts star Georges St-Pierre.

Its very important to use surprise, he says, because what you dont see coming, thats what knocks you out.

Gen. Rick Hillier adds his insights as well, along with CBC stars Eugene Levy, Catherine OHara and Rick Mercer. Former Research In Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie tips his hat to tough pine industry pioneer William Hazen. Also heard are Tatiana Maslany, Lorne Cardinal, Roberta Bondar, David Suzuki, Sarah Gadon, Peter Mansbridge, Rick Hansen, Colm Feore, Clara Hughes and Christopher Plummer.

Bristow, CBCs former head of factual programming, had worked in the past with Jane Root, the former BBC executive whose company Nutopia produced similar docudramas for the U.S. and Australia. The countdown to Canadas 150th anniversary seemed like a most opportune time to mount a similar venture here.

The plan was ambitious: tell 50 stories depicting Canadian heroes and moments. Tell them with historical accuracy and make it all come alive for the YouTube generation.

Bristow had her own doubts but was heartened to see her two teenage daughters get hooked on a rough cut she brought home. It dramatized Laura Secords heroic walk through enemy lines to warn the British of a pending American attack during the War of 1812.

The series is really about acts of extraordinary and ordinary people, said Bristow. Without something they had done, Canada would never have been the same.

It was important to Bristow and others to make sure female and indigenous stories were a big part of the mix.

History is very white and male, she said. The Story of Us sought to avoid the traditional history as almost an instrument of colonization approach.

Checking the facts was a team of historians led by two primary consultants: author and historian John English and Gerald McMaster, a Plains Cree and Blackfoot curator, artist, and author.

English gets why many Canadian students are more dazzled by American history.

Were so overwhelmed by American pop culture, he said. But you have to remember that we were there at many of the same events. We get left out of their history. They cant get left out of ours.

He feels new Canadians may be the most intrigued by the show.

Many people who do not come from an English, French or aboriginal background are intrigued by what Canada was, he said. And, of course, by what it will become.

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Its 2017, and yet here we are talking about the rise of tuberculosis (TB).

How can that be?

Many of us are under the misconception that TB is a disease that was brought under control decades ago and no longer has a profound effect on the health of the worlds population  let alone right here in Canada.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Tuberculosis remains an epidemic in many parts of the world, and newer, nastier versions are only a plane ride away. Last year, the World Health Organization determined that TB is now the globes No. 1 infectious killer, surpassing HIV/AIDS. In 2015, 10.4 million people around the world became ill with TB and 1.8 million people died.

Here in Canada, about 1,600 new cases of TB are diagnosed every year  but dont let that number fool you. While this doesnt sound like a homegrown epidemic, we cannot lull ourselves into thinking we are immune from the spread of this disease.

TB is an airborne disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Microscopic droplets of the disease can be spread from person to person when someone with active TB coughs or sneezes, but in general it takes prolonged exposure to catch it. The good news is TB is preventable and its curable.

Approximately 70 per cent of Canadian TB cases occur among foreign-born individuals and 20 per cent among Canadian-born indigenous people  and while these numbers are slowly decreasing, the bad news is were not reaching our reduction targets quickly enough. Ontario has about one third of all cases.

In fact, current statistics show Canada now lags behind the U.S. when it comes to decreasing TB rates. Many of my colleagues around the country would likely agree that when it comes to reducing TB rates, theres a potential sense of complacency and less of an urgency than there was a decade ago. So, what is affecting our progress?

Firstly, there are continued high TB rates among indigenous peoples. For example, recent numbers from Statistics Canada show the incidence of TB in Nunavut is comparable to rates in some countries in Asia and Africa. There are multiple reasons for this, but poor housing conditions (overcrowding and poor ventilation), higher rates of other health conditions such as diabetes and malnutrition and reduced access to medical care are all contributing factors.

Secondly, immigration patterns have changed. Decades ago, immigrants coming to Canada hailed from European countries  where TB rates are relatively low. Nowadays, they are primarily from Asia and Africa  where TB rates are much higher.

These two factors alone should be a wake-up call for Canadian health authorities. We need to get back on track and treat TB with a renewed sense of urgency, focusing on our indigenous and foreign-born populations. Canada needs to invest in TB research, clinical care, and public health programs. And most importantly, there is a vital need for Canadian provinces and territories to work together in the fight against TB.

Dr. Sarah Brode is an assistant professor, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, a staff respirologist at University Health Network, and heads the Tuberculosis Service at West Park Healthcare Centre. Doctors Notes is a weekly column by members of the U of T Faculty of Medicine. Email doctorsnotes@thestar.ca .

What you need to know about TB

TB mainly causes symptoms in the lungs and airways. It can also affect other parts of your body, such as your bones, kidneys and lymph nodes.

About 90 per cent of people who become infected with TB do not develop the disease. This is called latent tuberculosis. They do not feel sick, have no symptoms, and do not spread TB to others.

Those who do get sick have active tuberculosis. The symptoms of active TB can include a bad cough that lasts longer than 2 weeks; makes you cough up blood sometimes; makes you cough up phlegm sometimes (thick liquid that comes up from your lungs or airways)

Call your health care provider if you have any of the listed symptoms or think you may have been exposed to TB

TB can be cured by taking antibiotics. You must take antibiotics to avoid spreading TB to others and increasing your risk of getting TB again, especially a type of the disease that is harder to treat.

In severe cases, the disease may lead to death if untreated.

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OTTAWAProtecting Canadians privacy is one reason the government has hit the brakes on promised transparency reforms, Treasury Board President Scott Brison says.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Saturday, Brison said reforming Canadas aging access to information regime remains a priority for the Liberals, despite continued delays.

Brison said the government has run up against important considerations in the efforts to broaden the access system to include ministers offices, the Prime Ministers Office and the federal court system. Those considerations include the neutrality of the public service, the independence of the judiciary and Canadians privacy rights, the minister said.

These are important issues and we need to be prudent as we move forward, Brison said.

But again, we take this seriously. We believe that government information ultimately belongs to the people and the principle of open by default, but we need to get this right. This is a file that is important, and its important that we address what are legitimate concerns, and we will.

The Star asked Brisons office on Sunday how Canadians privacy rights are an impediment to making government documents available to Canadians. In an emailed response, Brisons office suggested minister was speaking broadly about the principles that underpin the access system, including censoring information about private citizens.

We look forward to continuing our work with Canadians, the information commissioner and parliamentarians to improve and strengthen access to information, wrote Bruce Cheadle, a spokesperson for Brison.

Canadas access to information (ATIP) system was established in 1982. It allows any Canadian to access internal federal government documents. Citizens, businesses and researchers can use it to figure out how Ottawa makes decisions and to dig up historical records, basically pry loose information the government has kept from public eyes for whatever reason.

But the system has not been updated since it was introduced and experts have warned it has aged badly with decades of successive Liberal and Conservative governments neglect.

In the 2015 campaign, the Liberals proposed sweeping reforms to the system, including expanding its application to ministers offices, giving an independent watchdog the power to compel departments to release information and making access to government documents open by default.

A number of those changes have now been delayed indefinitely. And there are concerns that, like the previous Conservative government before them, the Liberals promise to overhaul the system will be overtaken by other priorities as the 2019 election nears.

In an interview with CBC on Saturday, Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault said the delays came as a surprise to her. But Legault said shes committed to a positive approach with the government, praising Brison for removing most ATIP fees and for directing departments to treat information as open by default.

But Legault also warned that the window for reforms is closing.

I think that the government is on the record  the prime minister is on the record (in favour or reform), Legault said.

So lets got on with it. Because time is actually running out.  People will judge the government on how theyre implementing their promises.

Correction  March 27, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that originally quoted Scott Brison from transcripts of the interview, circulated by the Parliamentary Press Gallery. The quotes have been updated and clarified to reflect Brison's actual language from an audio recording provided by his office.

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Personal injury law firm Diamond & Diamond has hired a lobbyist to persuade politicians to kill a private members bill aimed at fixing a system critics call a black hole for accident victims.

The public affairs firm, the CCS Group, registered to lobby for Diamond & Diamond, known for its flashy, U.S.-style advertising, the day after Liberal MPP Mike Colle (Eglinton-Lawrence) introduced the Personal Injury and Accident Victims Protection Act.

We are asking that members dont support the private bill, reads the CCS Groups filings on behalf of Diamond & Diamond.

The bill calls for major restructuring of Ontarios contingency fee system  you dont pay unless we win  including a dramatic curb on how much lawyers can charge for their services.

Why are they so afraid of this bill? Colle said. Why not make the bill a vehicle to improve protection for accident victims?  There are people who are victims of serious accidents who are trying to get justice and they are put through hell and we shouldnt be standing by and allowing it.

Critics say that hiring a lobbyist in an attempt to quash a private members bill is an unusual move considering such proposed acts rarely become law.

Neither Diamond & Diamond nor the CCS Group has responded to the Stars requests for comment.

The Toronto-based lobby firm, which calls itself one of Ontarios leading public affairs firms on its website, also represents medical marijuana company MedReleaf Corp., an environmental waste company, road-builder the Miller Group, and several First Nations, according to the lobbyist registry.

The CCS Groups public filings with the provincial lobbyist registry show the firm is targeting numerous MPPs, including those in Barrie, London, Hamilton and Mississauga, where Diamond & Diamond has offices. Also targeted are the offices of Ontarios attorney general and minister of finance.

Colles bill was inspired in part by an ongoing Star investigation into Ontarios contingency fee system, referral fees and the marketing practices of personal injury lawyers.

The bills introduction came a month after Ontarios legal regulator decided to crack down on referral fees and advertising. On Feb. 23, the Law Society of Upper Canada voted to cap the fees lawyers take when they refer clients to other lawyers and decided the lawyers can no longer advertise for services they dont intend to provide.

Late last year, the Star looked at Diamond & DiamondDiamond & Diamond and found that for many years it has been attracting thousands of would-be clients and then referring cases out to other lawyers in return for sometimes hefty referral fees. The Star found that the firms marketing, which has included women in tight T-shirts and ads above the urinals at the Air Canada Centre, has raised the ire of some lawyers and the law society. Diamond & Diamond has told the Star it has a growing number of lawyers working cases at the firm, but would not say how many cases are referred out.

In another story, the Star found that for years many personal injury lawyers working on contingency for accident victims have been double dipping  taking more money from their clients than the law allows. As a result, many Ontario residents have been overcharged thousands of dollars and probably do not know it.

In simple terms, lawyers working on contingency cannot take a sum of money called costs in addition to a percentage of the settlement, according to the Solicitors Act, legislation governing how lawyers behave.

Colles proposed bill calls for contingency fees to be capped at 15 per cent of the settlements awarded to accident victims. The Stars investigation showed that lawyers often take 30 per cent or more of a victims settlement. The bill also calls for a ban on lawyer referral fees and would require clients to give their express written consent for any referral.

As well, it would require all contingency fee agreements to state clearly how lawyers will get paid, make any advertising for legal services subject to approval by the law society, and grant clients who have signed up with a personal injury lawyer a 10-day cooling-off period in which to cancel their agreement.

Since Colle tabled Bill 103 on March 8, he told the Star he has heard from Diamond & Diamond and is willing to meet with them. He has also been contacted by Adam Wagman, president of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, which represents about 1,600 personal injury lawyers, clerks and staff, and plans to meet with him.

In a written statement to the Star, Wagman said the trial lawyers association was looking forward to meeting with Colle. Calling a cap on contingency fees an attack on access to justice and accident victims, Wagman said the bill as proposed gives insurance companies and other huge corporations carte blanche to run roughshod over injured accident victims.

In a separate written statement to the Star, Paul Harte, a past president of the trial lawyers association, said it is disappointing that Diamond & Diamond would so quickly hire a lobbyist to quash an attempt to protect the public from misleading advertising and referral fees.

Lawyers have a professional obligation to improve our legal system, he said. They should avoid such obviously transparent attempts to protect their business interests at the expense of vulnerable consumers.

Colle told the Star that to counter the lobbying activities, he will do his best to give his side of the story, a story that cries out for something to be done.

He said a range of players, including the legal community, the law society, the government and insurance industry, are to blame for the totally inoperable system that accident victims must go through  a system Colle calls a black hole, that is confusing, so expensive, so long. Whats good about it?

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Impaired driving charges were stayed against an accused man because Toronto police officers who were asked to testify booked their vacation at the same time as the mans trial, the Crown recently informed a judge in a College Park courtroom.

Crown attorney Lindsay Kromm told Ontario court Justice William Horkins on March 10 that the April trial for Saman Azimi would not be able to go ahead as planned because she was informed that the officers she had asked to testify would not be making themselves available.

The case had already dragged on for more than two years, for a variety of reasons, and any further adjournment would have meant the case would have breached the time limit for matters in provincial court set by the Supreme Court of Canada in a landmark ruling last year.

Kromm said she had asked for several officers to testify to respond to a Charter of Rights and Freedoms application brought by the defence, alleging constitutional violations following Azimis arrest in October 2014.

She explained in court that a trial notification for next months trial had been sent to Toronto police on June 23, 2016, but it was only in January that the officer in charge of the case emailed Kromm to say he didnt believe many of the officers requested to testify were necessary.

I told him there was a charter application before the court and it was my opinion that those officers were necessary and I required them to be here for trial, Kromm told Horkins, according to a court recording obtained by the Star.

She said she then received a further email informing her that two of the officers were unavailable for trial because they were going on vacation to Florida.

That email came after the defence had already argued before Horkins that the delay in the case had been unreasonable and the charges should be stayed, in what is known as an 11(b) application.

So I responded, I told them that I didnt want Your Honour to waste time writing an 11(b) decision if the officers were going to be unavailable and we would have to adjourn the second trial date, the consequences of which would be obvious to anyone, she said in court.

I spoke to my deputies and we responded to the officers that this was the problem of the Toronto Police Service, they were going to have to find a way to get these officers back, even if it was for one day to attend the trial.

After Horkins released his 11(b) decision in February dismissing the defences application for a stay of proceedings, Kromm said she received another email from two Toronto police officers.

Who, to the best of my knowledge, have not attended law school, but saw fit to inform me that in their opinion, the officers I requested were unnecessary, the Toronto Police Service was not going to make them available, and that I should learn my case, and these officers were not required, Kromm told Horkins.

The officers are clearly required. I came to that conclusion on the basis of legal knowledge and experience. I obviously would not have asked for their attendance were they not required to respond to the charter application.

A spokesperson for the Toronto police, Meaghan Gray, told the Star the Crowns comments are concerning and the force is looking into the matter.

Kromm did not return a request for comment from the Star for this article.

The court acknowledged the Crowns appropriate exercise of discretion in staying the prosecution, which ultimately allowed the court to use the vacated dates in April for other trial matters, said Emilie Smith, speaking for the Ministry of the Attorney General.

Azimis lawyer, Daniel Lerner, said the case highlights the need for all players in the justice system to work on reducing court delays, particularly in light of the Supreme Courts ruling in R v. Jordan last year, which set strict timelines to bring an accused to trial.

(This case) is an example of where the Crown and the courts and the defence are addressing delay issues, but were dependent on other parties like the police, and it's not clear to me, generally speaking but also based on this case, what steps the police have taken to address delays in the criminal justice system, Lerner told the Star.

I think what this case brings out is: How aware are the police forces of their role in dealing with delays?

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By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) The collaboration between India and Vietnam in films, broadcasting and information dissemination will strengthen the bilateral relations between the countries, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said today.

"Cooperation in the field of institutional capacity building in social media and student exchange programs between premier institutes (dealing with journalism and films) of both the countries would bring the nations close," he said.

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The Information and Broadcasting Minister was speaking at a meeting with the delegation led by Vietnam Minister of Information and Communications, Truong Minh Tuan here.

The year 2017 marks the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic relation and 10 years of strategic partnership between the two countries.

Naidu also extended the support of his Ministry to promote exchange programs between public broadcasters of the two countries, besides content creation, screening and distribution of films.

Meanwhile, Truong Minh Tuan gave an overview of the media scenario in his country at the meeting and expressed hope that the national broadcasters of both the nations would work closely in the field of real-time information gathering and dissemination. PTI MP SRY

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Two Haudenosaunee men are facing a court injunction filed by Enbridge Inc. that they say is denying them their traditional hunting rights.

Earlier this month, an Ontario Superior Court judge granted the injunction against Wayne Hill and Todd Williams for setting a series of live rabbit traps and blocking workers access at sites along Enbridges Line 10 pipeline.

Its the latest move in an escalating dispute over Enbridges maintenance work on the pipeline, which has run through traditional Haudenosaunee territory near Hamilton since it was built in the 1960s.

I was talking to them, and meeting with their indigenous liaison, and they said well, we dont have to involve you, Williams said.

Enbridge says the current digging at the contested sites along Line 10 is not a new project, but part of standard maintenance the company does on all its pipelines, and it doesnt require consultation with the Haudenosaunee.

The company says it did notify the elected band councils of the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the New Credit before maintenance work began.

Williams  an engineer  and Hill represent the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, an arm of the unelected Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council. Together Williams and Hill oversee the institutes environmental and archeological monitoring program.

They want Enbridge to notify them of planned excavation work along the aging pipeline and to pay the costs for Haudenosaunee monitoring staff on worksites where preventative maintenance is being done, to ensure that the work is carried out according to accepted environmental and archeological standards.

Sections of Line 10 are due to be upgraded and replaced over the coming two years.

That constitutes a new project, called the Line 10 Westover Segment Replacement Project, for which Enbridge is consulting with local indigenous groups.

Its been paying for Haudenosaunee monitors on the Westover Segment replacement project since November 2015.

When the existing Line 10 was built there were no agreements in place at all.

Hill worries that the maintenance work being done now risks uncovering important archeological sites that may have been missed in the 60s.

Enbridge says should that happen, the company would stop work and notify the provincial government, the landowner and the appropriate First Nation.

But thats not good enough for Williams and Hill. They want to be included at the outset of maintenance work just like they are for new projects.

Its more about observing and sharing information about whats going on, Williams said. Why not have native monitors? Thats what weve been trying to establish.

Williams said what he and Hill are asking for is exactly what they get from other pipeline companies operating in the area, including TransNorthern and Imperial Oil.

Were like an independent third party observer making sure the archeologist has rules and that its overseen to ensure that nothing is missed, Williams said.

But Enbridge refuses to work with them, Williams said.

Theyre not involving us. Theyre saying they dont have to, he said.

Its kind of ignorant, really, Hill said. Weve been here long before Enbridge ever arrived. We have treaty rights.

Frustrated, Williams and Hill began showing up at Enbridge dig sites earlier this winter and refusing the workers access. On one occasion, Williams blocked access to a work site with his pick up truck. Another time the Hamilton Police were called, though neither Williams nor Hill have been arrested or charged.

But with more than 10 active dig sites along the pipeline, it was like whack-a-mole. Every time Williams and Hill left one location for another, Enbridge would simply continue the work once theyd left.

Thats when Williams started placing steel cage live traps at the sites.

Hes been checking the trap line daily for the past few weeks. He hasnt caught anything yet, but thats not really the point. The traps are a tactic.

The right to hunt freely across Haudenosaunee land is protected by a 300-year-old treaty.

Signed in 1701 with the British, the Haudenosaunee ceded all the land of present-day southwestern Ontario to the crown in return for a guarantee of free and undisturbed hunting rights in the territory forever.

Williams and Hill argue that treaty is still in effect and at least one Ontario court ruling appears to agree with them.

In 1989 two Oneida men were found hunting raccoons in the same territory, in violation of Ontarios Game and Fish Act. They were charged with hunting without a license. But at trial, Judge G.A. Phillips dismissed the charges, saying the treaty of 1701 exempted the Oneidas from the provincial law.

In his ruling granting Enbridges injunction, however, Justice David. A Broad ruled that even though the 1701 treaty may still apply in certain cases, it does not justify Williams and Hills unlawful resort to setting traps and blocking the work sites.

Enbridge says the men are interfering with the regular operations of the pipeline, and putting workers and the environment at risk.

In the statement of claim, Enbridge also accuses the men of causing $400,000 worth of damages due to trespassing, an additional $400,000 in damages from intimidation and breaching the peace.

We have reached out, in person and in writing, to understand (the Haudenosaunees) concerns but a negotiated resolution has not been achieved and the two individuals continued to interfere with the preventative maintenance work, Enbridge spokeswoman Suzanne Wilton wrote in an emailed statement.

Hill says he feels his and Williams request isnt unreasonable.

To have a colonial company like Enbridge say they dont have to engage or respect those treaty rights, it just makes my blood boil, he said.

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Conservative leadership candidate Michael Chong is calling a Globe and Mail column that outlined the writers attempt to nurse one of his children  without his knowledge or consent, and while she wasnt lactating  odd, but inconsequential.

The column, written by Leah McLaren, was posted to the Globes website March 22, but it has since been removed. The Globe and Mail and Leah McLaren did not respond to requests for comment.

This incident happened over 10 years ago. It was odd, no doubt, but not of any real consequence, Chong said in an emailed statement Monday. I entered this race to discuss important challenges facing Canada. I am happy to discuss those. But I wont be making any further comment on this.

Archived versions of the column began circulating Sunday night on Twitter, drawing incredulous reaction on social media.

Social media reaction

In the column, McLaren wrote that she was about 25 at the time of the incident, which happened at a Toronto house party. She didnt know Chong  but noted that he was already the Conservative MP for Wellington-Halton Hills  nor whom the baby belonged to.

McLaren wrote that she went upstairs and walked into a bedroom with coats piled high on the bed and noticed that in the corner, sitting wide awake in a little portable car seat, was the cutest baby Id ever seen.

After smiling at the baby, McLaren, who wrote she was feeling a bit glum and distracted, picked the baby up and sat down in a chair to cuddle him.

Somehow, my pinky finger ended up in his mouth and I was astonished at the strength of his sucking reflex. Cmon lady, said his eyes, she wrote.

And I suddenly knew what he wanted. And I of course wanted to give him what he wanted. The only problem was, I had no milk. But would it be so bad, I wondered, if I just tried it out  just for a minute  just to see what it felt like?

McLaren wrote that she began to unbutton her blouse, before Chong walked in and picked up his son, leaving with a swift and polite goodbye.

The column concluded with McLaren saying that since having her own children, shes breastfed her friends babies and allowed hers to be fed by them, and that it doesnt actually feel odd at all.

In any case, this is all to say that breastfeeding is a lovely and marvellous thing, as is co-feeding and everyone should do it. Just dont try it with a strangers baby in a bedroom at a party if you are 25 and stupid, she wrote.

Apologies to Mr. and Mrs. Chong.

There appear to be several chronological inconsistencies in McLarens account. Based on McLarens age, the incident appears to have happened around 2000 or 2001. However, Chong wasnt elected MP until 2004.

As well, a Toronto Star profile on Chong in January 2015 lists his sons as ages 10, 7 and 5, suggesting the earliest his oldest child was born was in 2004.

Although strange, there probably arent any legal issues surrounding McLarens actions, said University of Toronto political science professor Courtney Jung. Jung is the author of the book Lactivism, which explores the politics, social pressure, business, history and marketing surrounding breastfeeding.

Its a different story ethically, though.

I think its probably always unethical to give a baby anything, to have a baby ingest anything without the parents consent, Jung said, noting that the baby can have a severe allergic reaction to someone elses milk, or be allergic to milk altogether. Jung was also critical of McLarens endorsement of co-feeding for the same reason, calling it a terrible idea.

Since McLaren wasnt lactating, what she attempted wasnt really breastfeeding, Jung said.

This is the second time this month Chong has been the focus of an unusual story outside his political career: On March 16, a Canadian tourist in Guatemala tweeted a photo of the MP being used to advertise a top-quality, hygienic experience in the public washrooms there. Its unclear how his photo ended up on the poster.

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Toronto police are appealing to the public to help them solve a 2001 case involving a 23-year-old man shot dead in his Etobicoke driveway.

Sudarsan Velauthapillai was shot several times after he got out of a vehicle near Finch Ave W. and Highway 27 on Oct. 1, 2001, just before 9:30 p.m.

He had been returning home after dinner with his girlfriend, who escaped the attack unharmed, police said.

Police found a fishermans hat at the scene, which they said fell off the suspects head as he ran away. It had a black, blue and white camouflage design.

The shooter is described as about 22-25 years old, Sri Lankan, and medium height and weight. He would now be 37-40 years old and may be left-handed, police said.

A DNA profile was developed in March 2002 which police believe belongs to the shooter. It does not currently match with any other known profile in the national DNA data bank.

All we need from you is his name, nothing more, Gallant said in a video message to the public.

This information was already released by police in years past, said Det.-Sgt. Stacy Gallant.

It is being released once more because police are optimistic that with the passage of time, someone who may know who was responsible . . . (could) be in a position to disclose that information.

Gallant and the homicide team are hoping that police appeal makes it to other parts of the country or world where there are other Tamil communities that may have new details or leads regarding the case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com , or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).

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Apoorvya Kapoor started applying for jobs in Canada even before she arrived from India last May, but none of the 200-plus resumes she sent out to GTA employers yielded a response.

Frustrated with the grim employment prospects, the new immigrant attended a job fair in Mississauga in November put on by the Newcomer Centre of Peel and a staff member asked if she would consider relocating outside of Greater Toronto.

You go to all these websites and 95 per cent of the job postings are within the GTA, said Kapoor, who has an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering and a masters degree in hospital administration from India. I just never thought about that.

Thats the mindset the Peel newcomer service agency is hoping to change with an innovative program, called the Rural Employment Initiative, which aims to connect newcomers with job openings in smaller Ontario communities.

Currently, the program serves any employer outsode the GTA, but ultimately it hopes to focus on communities with populations under 10,000.

Youth from these communities are leaving for the big cities to study and when they finish school, they dont go back, said Oliver Pryce, the projects co-ordinator.

These communities have all these unmet labour market needs. We are hoping to fill these gaps with newcomers who are willing to relocate and work outside of Greater Toronto.

The project is the brainchild of the Newcomer Centre of Peel and the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporation, a federally-funded group representing 61 rural communities. The employment initiative itself is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Over the past year, Pryce has been reaching out to municipal economic development departments, local business sectors and employment services in smaller communities. So far, the project has already established partnerships in Huron County, Owen Sound, Thunder Bay, Windsor and Woodstock.

While local employers and stakeholders are committed to offering leads for job openings, the newcomer centre will provide the communities with diversity awareness training  and more importantly, screen newcomers and refer suitable job candidates to them for consideration. The program will also connect relocated immigrants with newcomer services in their new community.

Since the project shifted into high gear in November, it has received more than 100 job leads, drawn 90 newcomers interested in relocating and made three successful matches.

The jobs, many in the manufacturing sector, include auto parts production, mining, information technology, health care, project management and marketing.

When a client (immigrant) comes to us, we make sure they understand what it means by rural and what it means to move to these communities. We give them the tools where to look for those opportunities in smaller communities, said Pryce.

We look at their family structure. When you move, its not just one person, but your family and children are involved. We look at their resumes and credentials to ensure their job readiness.

Kapoor, who moved to Kitchener and started her job at Grand River Hospital as a project manager in February, said employment is every new immigrants top priority and most, especially singles like her, wont mind moving to where job opportunities are.

Although smaller communities do not have the ethnocultural diversity of big cities, she said all her basic daily needs are met living in downtown Kitchener.

We come here as skilled workers. We have good education and years of work experience. Having a good career is our incentive, said Kapoor, a native of New Delhi. For new immigrants, you cant have a closed mind. You have to be flexible in order to get what you want.

Neethamol Parapanatuputhenpurakal Subramannian came to Canada in December from India, where she had been a registered nurse in a hospital and long-term care facility in Kochi, a city in the state of Kerala.

After initially staying with a former colleague in Brampton, she got a job interview at a nursing home in Woodstock through the Rural Employment Initiative in February for a personal support worker position. She was hired and is now working toward getting her nursing licence in Ontario.

The living environment here is definitely better. The cost of living is lower and the people are friendlier. My colleagues were eager to help me. When I moved into my apartment, they brought me furniture. My superintendent even gives me a ride to work, she said. I wouldnt have known about the opportunities that existed in rural Canada.

Pryce does caution newcomers to adjust their expectations when looking for their first jobs in Canada.

Some of our clients are engineers but dont have experience in manufacturing or dont want to relocate and work in the manufacturing industry. That can be a challenge, said Pryce, who is working on a job fair on May 30 profiling employers from smaller Ontario communities.

I think the rural employment program works best for the most recent immigrants who are eager to get their first jobs in Canada. They are new to the country and more willing to make their first step in smaller communities.

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A child or youth is shot in Ontario almost every day, according to a groundbreaking study that attempted to identify at-risk groups for firearm injuries.

In the study, based on government health and immigration databases and published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, a team of Toronto researchers found Canadian-born youth, particularly males, have higher rates of unintentional firearm injuries compared with immigrant youth.

The study found there were an average of 355 firearm injuries a year between 2008 and 2012, when a total of almost 1,800 firearm injuries were reported among children and youth in Ontario.

Canadian-born males suffer 12.4 such injuries per 100,000 people  72 per cent higher than the 7.2 among immigrant males.

However, the risk of being a victim of intentional firearm assault is 43 per cent higher for refugees, at 4.7 per 100,000 people, than for non-refugees (2.4 per 100,000 people), the study found.

Also, immigrant children and youth from Africa are almost three times as likely, and those from Central America are more than four times as likely, to be a victim of such targeted firearm assault than their Canadian-born counterparts, said the study by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and Torontos Hospital for Sick Children.

Dr. Natasha Saunders, the studys lead author and a pediatrician and associate scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children, said the findings are astonishing.

A child or youth injured by a gun each day in this province is staggering, Saunders said.

Our findings indicate that this is a conversation we should be having with our patients and their families, particularly with these newly identified high-risk populations.

While Canadian-born males under age 24 suffered 1,032 accidental and 304 assault-related firearm injuries over five years, the comparable numbers for their immigrant counterparts were 148 and 113 respectively.

Female non-immigrants had 137 unintentional and 31 assault-related firearm injuries; female immigrants had 12 and less than six in the respective categories.

Although immigrants had a lower rate of unintentional firearm injury, overall they were as likely to suffer such injuries in targeted assaults as Canadian children and youth. Children and youth in rural areas were more prone to unintentional firearm injuries, but urban residence was positively associated with the risk of assault from a firearm.

The data did not allow the researchers to dig deeper into why some subgroups face a higher risk of firearm assault.

Its hard to extrapolate but vulnerable youth are more likely to be victimized, said Dr. Astrid Guttmann, chief science officer at ICES and a pediatrician at Sick Kids.

Possible contributing factors, the study suggests, may relate to higher rates of poverty, lack of access to resources and more bullying and peer aggression among first-generation immigrant adolescents.

The observed variation in firearm injury by region of origin may have been related to higher participation in Canadian gangs by Indo-Asian, Caribbean and African immigrants than by those from other regions, and it highlights the need to ensure a healthy transition to Canada by these particular at-risk groups, the study said.

Publication of the report coincided with the release of the Canadian Pediatric Societys updated position statement on firearm safety, which includes several recommendations for clinicians, including asking families if they have firearms at home, particularly for kids struggling with mental health issues.

Given that three-quarters of the firearm injuries among children and youth are accidental, Guttmann said, the report speaks to the importance of gun safety and storage for gun manufacturers and gun owners, as well as the enforcement of gun control legislation as part of the prevention strategy.

The majority of these injuries are unintentional and are entirely preventable, making this an important public health problem that needs to be addressed with targeted prevention programs, Guttmann said.

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SOFIA, BULGARIAThe centre-right party of former prime minister Boiko Borisov took the lead in Bulgarias parliamentary election on Sunday, a pair of exit polls showed, a result that if confirmed by official returns indicates support for the country keeping its European identity.

The Alpha Research exit poll said Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, known by its acronym, GERB, won 32.2 per cent of the vote, with the Socialist Party coming in second with 28 per cent, while a separate exit poll by Gallup International Balkan had GERB with 32.8 per cent and the Socialists with 28.4 per cent.

The leader of the Socialists Party conceded defeat and said the party would not take part in a coalition government with GERB.

Official results are expected Monday. If they confirm the exit polls, Borisov, a political maverick who combines man-in-the-street rhetoric with a pro-European Union disposition, will be handed a mandate to form his third cabinet.

The result appeared to be a setback for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who has sought to exploit divisions in the European Union to strengthen Russias influence, particularly in a country like Bulgaria, one of the former Soviet Unions closest allies.

Borisov, 57, a burly former firefighter and bodyguard of the countrys former Communist leader, has been a leading figure in Bulgarian politics for more than a decade. Although many Bulgarians are unhappy about the countrys endemic corruption, they nonetheless saw Borisov and the GERB as preferable for leading the country.

Bulgarians chose to play it safe and bring GERB back to power, betting on their future in the European Union, said Genoveva Petrova, the executive director of Alpha Research, a Sofia-based pollster. The Socialists failed to convince people that they could be an agent of change.

The election was held at a particularly challenging time for Bulgaria, a nation of 7.2 million that has been a EU member for 10 years and a NATO member for 13 years but still maintains close cultural ties with Russia in a balancing act of East and West.

Europes fractures over the migrant crisis and the impending departure of Britain from the European Union have complicated Bulgarias balancing act. The election of President Donald Trump, who has criticized the EU and NATO and expressed admiration of Putin  further emboldening the Russian leader  have made the challenge tougher.

GERB did not win enough votes to govern alone, and will probably form a coalition government with the United Patriots, an alliance of three nationalist parties that exit polls showed placing third.

Borisov, 57, resigned as prime minister after his party lost the November presidential election. Parliament was dissolved in January, and the president appointed a caretaker government that will stay until a new government is formed.

Borisov said GERB had the duty to form a government because this is the will of the people and because we triggered these early elections. He declined to say what parties may be in a future coalition, pending final results.

Support for the nationalist alliance reflected widespread anger over an influx of migrants to this southeastern European country, which borders Greece, Turkey and Romania, and over Turkeys open support for a party representing Bulgarias sizeable Muslim minority.

Along with immigration, the election campaign focused on the future of the European Union, which Bulgaria joined in 2007, and the influence of Russia and Turkey on domestic politics.

The Socialist Party, led by Kornelia Ninova, who campaigned on forging closer relations with Russia, is made up mostly of ex-communists. It wanted EU sanctions against Russia lifted and tried to woo voters with promises of higher salaries and pensions.

If GERB fails to form a government, we will try to do so, Ninova said.

The Socialists also opposed the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a free-trade agreement between Canada and the EU. Ninova went as far as calling Bulgarian members of the European Parliament who voted to approve that agreement traitors.

The partys pro-Russian message intensified as the campaign progressed which scared away some undecided voters, Petrova said.

The GERB partys popularity faded during Borisovs previous term as prime minister because of the slow pace of reforms to eliminate graft and poverty and to overhaul the judicial system. Bulgaria is the EUs poorest member.

It is now pledging to fight corruption and to raise minimum wages, and supports EU sanctions on Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis.

A populist party named Volya (Will) may end up entering Parliament. Exit polls showed it winning about 5 per cent of the vote, exceeding the 4-per-cent minimum threshold.

The party is led by Veselin Mareshki, a wealthy businessman whose anti-establishment message combines patriotic rhetoric with promises of strict immigration controls and friendlier relations with Moscow.

The Central Election Commission pegged voter turnout for the election at nearly 43 per cent at 5 p.m., a larger showing than in previous elections.

The election sparked protests at the Turkish border by Bulgarian nationalists who were determined to keep Bulgarian citizens living permanently in Turkey from coming in to vote. The protesters claimed Turkish officials were forcing expatriate voters to support DOST, a pro-Ankara party running for the first time.

Some 10 per cent of Bulgarians are of Turkish origin or Muslim. More than 300,000 Bulgarians have settled permanently in Turkey, but still hold Bulgarian passports and are eligible to vote.

The border tensions prompted a spat between the two nations leaders. While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized what he described as pressure on ethnic Turks in Bulgaria, Radev retorted that his country would not accept democracy lessons from Turkey.

We will not allow any interference of foreign powers in Bulgarias internal affairs, Borisov said Sunday.

With files from the New York Times

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HARTLAND, MICHIGANA humiliating defeat, the Associated Press story said. Dealmaker fails to seal the deal, read the headline in Herald Bulletin of Anderson, Indiana. Trumps presidency perilously off course, declared the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, of all places.

I think hes doing a great job, said Everett Pitts, 45. I think hes trying.

Pitts, a quality assurance worker in the Ohio village of Columbus Grove, believes Obamacare has done nothing but hurt the people. But he does not believe Donald Trump is responsible in the slightest for his inability to fulfill his campaign promise to get rid of it.

I dont see how anybody could be mad at Trump for trying to fix it, he said. Its all about Congress. I think that Congress is just trying to fight everything that he does even though hes trying to do right by the people, for the first time in years. The first time in years that we have a president that really cares.

In theory, Trumps dramatic Friday failure hurts his image in all sorts of ways. A man who promised to immediately repeal the Affordable Care Act did not repeal it at all. A man who vowed to steamroll Washington was steamrolled by Washington. A man who portrayed himself as the worlds best negotiator was unable to cut a deal even with members of his own party.

In practice, most of the people who voted for him are not inclined to lay blame at his feet.

They stood with him as he mocked a man with a disability and insulted the family of a dead soldier. They were not wavering in the slightest, or seeing him in any new light, over a trifling legislative defeat.

Interviews in three Trump-friendly counties in Michigan and Ohio on Sunday revealed a smattering of disappointment in the president. Some Trump voters on Medicaid, the government insurance program he had threatened to cut, said they were newly concerned about him.

But the real culprits, in the minds of most of his base, were everyone other than him, more or less.

If anyone should be embarrassed, his supporters declared, it was obstinate House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic Party.

And the disloyal group of right-wing Republicans called the House Freedom Caucus.

And the Republican leaders in Congress, like House Speaker Paul Ryan, who vowed for seven years to repeal and replace Obamacare without ever coming up with an actual plan.

If Trump did anything wrong, said Republican voter Tom Schumm, it was that he didnt judge properly the incompetence he was dealing with from the numbnuts in his own party.

The Republicans have, as usual, bumbled the whole issue. They seem to, when they get in charge, spend so much time fighting among themselves that they dont get anyhing done, Schumm, 67, who sells Mason jars online from his Ohio home. For seven years, they voted all these repeal-and-replace laws; it was easy for them then. Now theyre in charge, when it means something, and they say, Aw, well, we cant do that. Wait a minute: You said you could.

As failure loomed, Trumps team began to heap blame on Ryan, long a favourite punching bag of chief strategist Steve Bannon. After their American Health Care Act was withdrawn, though, Trump settled on a target that seemed curious: the Democrats, who do not control either the House or the Senate.

His supporters immediately jumped on board. The messaging tactic played to the immense public loathing of Congress, which is far less popular than the unpopular president.

It was the Democrats not willing to be with them, said Shawn Reed, 48, a factory worker in Findlay, Ohio, near Toledo.

It doesnt matter what he says, the Dems are going to disagree, said Joe Braidic, 56, a teacher in the Ohio village of Pandora. Instead of Congress working for whats best for us common people, nothing ever gets accomplished.

Trump tried a different message in a tweet on Sunday morning: Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!

A central feature of Trumps campaign rhetoric was his pledge to achieve sweeping change immediately through sheer force of personality and talent. Obamacare repeal, he said, would be so easy. But his supporters were not holding him to his grandiosity. Instead, they professed optimism about his elaborate supposed Plan B: allow Obamacare to collapse on its own, then return to the table as Democrats beg him for help.

Everybody wants this thing changed right now, and thats not how it works, said Brian Salamin, 60, a maintenance technician in the small Michigan township of Pittsford.

Hes smart in the sense that hes going to let Obamacare implode. People are going to be so fed up with it theyre just going to say to hell with you people. And then theyll get something passed.

Even if the demise of Trumps bill angers some voters, there are benefits to its death: The failure protects Trump from the wrath of voters he would have harmed.

Independent analysts said the bill would have resulted in the loss of insurance for millions of people and it would have disproportionately hit lower-income older people in rural areas, a large part of Trumps base.

The people least inclined to give Trump a pass over the bill were recipients of Medicaid, the program for low-income people. Trumps plan would have amounted to a 25-per-cent Medicaid cut over time.

George Conrad, a former oil field worker now disabled and impoverished, voted for Trump because he thought opponent Hillary Clinton would try to take away his 40 guns. When he learned of Trumps health plan, he began to re-evaluate the president.

Well have to wait and see. I think Trump blew a lot of smoke before he was elected to get elected, Conrad, 57, said at a clinic in Zanesville, Ohio, earlier in the week. If Trump were to cut Medicaid, he said, I wouldnt vote for him again. It has an astounding effect on my livelihood and my two kids.

But even some of the Medicaid recipients Trump alarmed were willing to cut him slack. Former Ohio school bus driver Jonalee Evans, a 51-year old who is now disabled, voted for Trump to end elite corruption.

She was not willing to believe he would knowingly betray someone like her.

I think hes just being misinformed about a lot of this, she said two days before the bill failed. I really do. Once I think he finds more out about what all the Medicaid takes care of for people that are low-income, in poverty, he wont touch it.

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LAS VEGASA man sitting at the back of a public bus on the Las Vegas Strip opened fire for no apparent reason as passengers got off at a stop in the heart of the tourism corridor, police said.

Gary Breitling, 57, of Sidney, Mont., was shot and killed Saturday before the gunman barricaded himself in the vehicle, shutting down the Strip for hours, the Clark County coroners office said. He died at a hospital.

Rolando Cardenas, 55, has been accused in the shooting, and he surrendered peacefully after a standoff inside the double-decker bus that lasted more than four hours, police said Sunday.

Another victim was shot in the stomach and was hospitalized but is expected to live. Both victims were seated in the back with Cardenas, police said.

Read more: Gunman surrenders after fatal shooting on Las Vegas strip

He was booked into jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, burglary and opening fire on the bus. An attorney for him could not immediately be found. Attempts to reach his family were unsuccessful.

The bus had stopped on the Strip near the Cosmopolitan hotel-casino and passengers were leaving when Cardenas stood up and fired several rounds from a handgun, police said. The man didnt fire all of his bullets, but he did shoot at police during the barricade. Police said they didnt fire any shots. Assistant Sheriff Tom Roberts also said that authorities believe Cardenas may have had mental issues.

It was not known how many people were on the bus at the time of the shooting, but the bystanders and the victims had fled. Police have started a hotline seeking to hear what those passengers witnessed.

Because authorities did not know if more victims were inside, crisis negotiators, robots and armoured vehicles surrounded the bus. Officers swept into casinos to warn tourists to hunker down until further notice, leaving the normally bustling pedestrian areas and a road notorious for taxi-to-taxi traffic completely empty.

Visitors also hid out inside some of the other prominent hotel-casino properties nearby, including the Bellagio, Paris, Planet Hollywood and Ballys, which also hold restaurants, shops and attractions.

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MOSCOWRussian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who organized a wave of nationwide protests against government corruption that rattled authorities, was jailed for 15 days on Monday by a Moscow court for resisting police orders.

Navalny was arrested Sunday as he walked to a protest in Moscow and spent the night in jail before appearing in court.

Tens of thousands of anti-corruption protesters took to the streets across Russia on Sunday in the biggest show of defiance since 2011-2012 anti-government protests. President Vladimir Putins spokesman on Monday chided opposition organizers for putting peoples lives at risk in the unauthorized protests and defended the actions of Russias helmeted riot police, which critics called heavy-handed.

Journalists and well-wishers on Monday packed the courtroom in central Moscow where Navalny was taken. He posted a selfie on Twitter from there, saying: A time will come when well put them on trial too  and that time it will be fair.

Read more:Nationwide anti-corruption protests bring thousands into Russias streets

The 40-year-old Navalny, Russias most popular, charismatic opposition leader, has been twice convicted on fraud and embezzlement charges that he has dismissed as politically motivated. Navalny, who is currently serving a suspended sentence, has also recently announced his bid to run in Russias 2018 presidential election.

Even the slightest illusion of fair justice is absent here, Navalny told reporters Monday at the defendants bench, complaining about the judge striking down one motion after another. Yesterdays events have shown that quite a large number of voters in Russia support the program of a candidate who stands for fighting corruption. These people demand political representation  and I strive to be their political representative.

The Kremlin has dismissed the opposition as a Westernized urban elite disconnected from the issues faced by the poor in Russias far-flung regions. Yet Sundays protests included demonstrations in the areas that typically produce a high vote for President Vladimir Putin, from the city of Chita in eastern Siberia to southern Dagestans capital of Makhachkala.

Russian police say about 500 people were arrested in the protests Sunday, but a human rights group published a list of detainees that has more than 1,000 names. On Monday, the European Union called on Russian authorities to release the demonstrators.

Putins spokesman chided the organizers for inciting illegal acts.

The Kremlin respects peoples civic stance and their right to voice their position, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. We cant express the same respect to those who consciously misled people and who consciously did it yesterday and provoked illegal actions.

Peskov defended the Russian police in riot gear who were seen manhandling protesters, some of whom were minors, calling their response highly professional and lawful. He also claimed that underage protesters in Moscow were promised cash if they were arrested.

Asked about the Kremlins reaction to the wide geography of the protests, something that has not been seen at least since 2012, Peskov said the Kremlin is quite sober about the scale of yesterdays protests, and are not inclined to diminish them or push them out of proportion.

Putin constantly talks to people and is well-briefed on the sentiment in the country, Peskov insisted.

Russian state television completely ignored the protests in their broadcasts on Sunday, and authorities didnt comment on it in any way.

Russian law allows officials to sanction or ban demonstrations, although Navalny and other opposition activists often have defied official bans.

Over the years, Navalny, a lawyer, has evolved from a lone blogger to someone who leads a group of like-minded activists, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, whose full-time job is to investigate official corruption.

Separately on Sunday, police arrested Navalnys associates who were at their office, setting up and monitoring a webcast of the Moscow rally. Thirteen of them spent the night at a police station while authorities raided their office, reportedly removing all equipment. It wasnt immediately clear what charges they may be facing. The activists were taken to court late Monday afternoon.

Local media on Monday reported protesters still in detention and some facing a trial later on.

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The paparazzi no longer stake her out at her sons private school or search for her on the streets surrounding the black tower that her husband, the president of the United States, named for himself.

Like legions of New Yorkers who hibernate in their apartments, Melania Trump is a virtual shut-in, her refuge 58 storeys above Manhattans hoi polloi and laden with enough gold to embarrass a Saudi prince.

Shes the great white whale, said Miles Diggs, a paparazzo, as he and his partner hunted celebrities in Soho on a recent afternoon in a Chevy Suburban equipped with cameras and a laptop. They were searching for the actress Emma Watson, who, unlike Melania Trump, they were confident they could find.

When it comes to getting people, I dont miss, Diggs said. But Melania has just been so elusive.

Two months after her husbands swearing-in, the new first lady of the United States approaches her role with a discernible reticence, her paucity of public appearances  each defined by tight smiles and spare verbiage  overshadowed by a vanishing act that stretches days on end.

Yet by retreating to her midtown triplex, where she is said to tend to Barron, the Trumps 11-year-old son, the first lady guarantees herself even more attention. An ever-clamorous chorus of gossipmongers, pundits, historians and even body-language experts dissect her every move, fashion choice, and facial expression to unearth a true State of Melania.

Good luck with that.

Melania Trump is a Rorschach test in Louboutins, inspiring praise from those who see in her inscrutable gaze an elegant, dutiful mother charting a new role for the first lady; compassion from those imagining her as the presidents unhappy captive, her penthouse-turned-prison costing taxpayers ungodly sums to secure; and contempt from those rendering her as her husbands chief enabler, abiding his sexist and anti-immigrant bluster, and echoing at one time his baseless questioning of president Barack Obamas citizenship.

Melania Trump is as ugly on the inside as she is pretty on the outside was how Dan Savage, the sex columnist and gay activist, put it in a recent podcast. He flayed folks on the left who view her as some sort of sympathetic figure  the pretty princess in the tower locked up by the orange ogre with the bad comb-over.

The hashtag #FreeMelania is now a pillar of Twitter-speak, while questions about the Trumps marriage inspire headlines such as Melanias Struggle, an Us Weekly yarn that claimed that the 46-year-old first lady is secretly miserable. The article included an interview with a family friend who later acknowledged that his insights may be compromised by not having spoken to her in several years.

Her handful of appearances have yielded few clues, her smile fixed whether attending her husbands address to Congress, greeting the Netanyahus at the White House, or popping up at a Republican fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend while the president remained in Washington.

Only her couture appears to change: a black Ralph Lauren dress one day, a red Givenchy on another.

Among the rare moments the first lady has spoken publicly was while reading Dr. Seusss Oh, the Places Youll Go! this month to children at a Manhattan hospital, her Slovenian accent as obvious as her large diamond ring and sky-high stilettos.

Youll be as famous as famous can be, with the whole world watching you win on TV, she recited from the book.

She smiled and seemed receptive when Tara McKelvey, a BBC reporter, approached with a question. But the aides came in and swooped her away and had her pose for a picture, McKelvey said. She wanted to answer. She was trying to answer.

A few days later, Melania hosted a White House luncheon to celebrate International Womens Day, at the start of which guests stood and applauded after someone with an appropriately hushed voice announced, Ladies and gentlemen, the first lady of the United States.

Melania Trump entered the room, strode to the rostrum, smiled and said, Your excellencies, esteemed represent 

Whatever she said next was unknown beyond the dining room because White House aides ordered the media pool to exit.

Karen LeFrak, a friend who attended the White House event, wrote in an email that Melania Trump didnt do the lunch for publicity and she does not seek attention. Describing her friends adjustment, LeFrak said she is carving out an important role to support women and children and redecorating their residence in the White House, where she will move after Barron completes the school year.

Mrs. Trump is enjoying her life and new role, wrote LeFrak, the wife of developer Richard LeFrak, a longtime friend of the president. As for the Trumps marriage, LeFrak wrote that they are very happy! Their relationship is great.

All these rabid rumours about her and their relationship are laughable and fictional, she wrote.

The first lady has yet to hire her own spokesperson. Deputy White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Saturday that the first lady anticipates a very busy upcoming week in D.C., and will be joining the president soon.

Louise Sunshine, a former Trump Organization executive, has spoken with the first lady a half-dozen times since the election. She described her as circumspect and very composed and very reserved as she absorbs her new duties and learns to deal with the president and his advisers, a circle Sunshine compared to a den of wolves.

There are a lot of forces there competing for attention, Sunshine said. Shes trying to assess the best way and the best place for her as the first lady and as the wife of a very impulsive, compulsive, erratic president. Lets say erratic, accomplished president.

She doesnt gossip, she doesnt tell anyone her innermost thoughts, shes not that trusting, Sunshine said. She does things with a great deal of forethought. Shes totally different than Donald, which is the good news. She thinks things over and says things in a thoughtful manner.

Her task is all the more complex, she said, because the president is the perpetual star of his own one-man show.

He dances alone, Sunshine said. Hes not into the tango.

An exception to that rule occurred a month after the inauguration, when the president and the first lady shared a stage. She introduced her husband at a Florida rally, removing her sunglasses as she stepped to the microphone and, apropos of nothing, defended herself against unspecified attacks.

I will always stay true to myself and be truthful to you, the first lady promised, no matter what the opposition is saying about me.

It was eight days before she emerged again, hosting a black-tie dinner at the White House for the nations governors, an event she said she hoped would be a respite from political labels and partisan interests.

On a Monday, Barron Trumps Secret Service detail picked him up from school on the Upper West Side and delivered him to the Fifth Ave. tower his father made famous. Ivanka Trumps jewelry line is on display in the lobby. Visitors can find books, coffee mugs and aftershave lotion bearing the name and visage of the 45th president.

The first lady is invisible.

Hillary Clinton did not remain in Arkansas with Chelsea, then 12, when her husband decamped for Washington. Instead, she settled into a West Wing office, immersed herself in health-care restructuring, and inspired the American Bar Association to host a debate about whether she held too much power.

After her husband became president, Michelle Obama, while caring for their two young daughters, spent her first weeks awash in plaudits as she toured federal agencies, read to schoolchildren and landed on the cover of Vogue.

Melania Trump has made a far different impression. Soon after the election, she announced that she would remain in New York until June, a decision that prompted questions about her fondness for her thrice-married husband, whose profane, sexist banter had roiled his campaign.

Although Melania has popped up here and there, her absences have unsettled purists who cite Jacqueline Kennedy and Nancy Reagan as beacons of stand-by-your-president rectitude.

This is an important tradition and part of the pomp and parade that is this country, said Robert Watson, a Lynn University professor who has studied first families. This is bigger than Melania and Barron and bigger than the Donald.

Yet Melania Trumps approach may be an opportunity to retire an anachronistic role, said Katherine Jellison, an Ohio University history professor. Its about being the wife of a high-profile man, and inadvertently she may be disassembling the role.

The signal Im getting is she doesnt want to be first lady, Jellison said. This is not just low-profile, but no profile.

Before she became Mrs. Trump, Melania Knauss was a model whose high cheekbones and piercing blue eyes hijacked stylist Phillip Blochs attention when she walked into a Manhattan fashion show.

I remember thinking, wow, shes beautiful, shell be a star, he recalled. She also exuded aloofness, and her visibility on New Yorks fashion circuit  never great  grew more infrequent after Barrons birth.

Over the years, Melania Trumps Facebook posts have suggested solitude. Her photos are often devoid of people and shot through glass, either a car window or from her apartment, as if her perspective is from inside a luxurious fishbowl.

Anthony Senecal, the Trumps former butler at Mar-a-Lago, occasionally drove Melania on West Palm Beach, Fla., shopping trips to boutiques and the Whole Foods supermarket. He said she could be personable in ways the public rarely sees. Once, when she was alone at Mar-a-Lago, he said, she urged him to take time off to visit his dying sister.

She said, Tony, there isnt anything I cant get here  people will bring anything I ask for, you go be with your sister,  he recalled. She said, From now on, when Im here, consider me taken care of. 

But she added: When Donalds here, youll have to stay.

Melanias warmth, he said, is often masked by a restrained veneer. She just adapts, period, he said. You dont know if she likes it or doesnt like it. This is his job, and this is my job to support my husband. 

Downtown, as they hunted for celebrities in Soho in mid-March, Miles Diggs and his partner, Cesar Pena, tallied up a days work: They shot Malia Obama as she walked into a Tribeca office building, Robert De Niro as he left a restaurant, and the actor Michael Colter as he bought odor-eaters at a Duane Reed drugstore.

They stopped trying to get the first lady last fall after striking out at Barrons school. But, in their self-interested view, they think that she could help endear herself to the public with an unscripted foray every now and then.

A photo of her coming out of Barneys with a bunch of shopping bags, Diggs said, envisioning the headline: First Lady Shops Till She Drops.

Can you imagine how that would sell? he asked.

Yet its uncertain whether Melania Trump wants anyone to see beyond her practised smile.

On the night before the swearing-in, she joined her husband at the Lincoln Memorial for a concert. In a backstage tent beforehand, the president-elect bantered for 20 minutes with his advisers, a campaign volunteer who had travelled to Washington for the festivities, and a reporter.

All the while, the first lady sat in a folding chair alongside her husband, as still and silent as a mannequin, as if oblivious to the chatter around her.

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Replying to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha, communication minister Manoj Sinha said there are many companies who have approached the Department of Posts for collaboration with India Post Payments Bank.

By Supriya Bhardwaj: The Central government has stated that more than two dozen companies want collaboration with India Post Payments Bank.

Replying to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha, communication minister Manoj Sinha said that there are many companies who have approached the Department of Posts for collaboration with India Post Payments Bank.

"While the department is in various stages of discussions with them, the decision on formal partnerships will be taken after carefully evaluating the entire value proposition that they propose for the common man," Sinha said.

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In June 30, 2016, India Post Payments Bank had launched its two branches in Raipur, Chhattisgarh and Ranchi, Jharkhand with basic products and banking services in partnership with Punjab National Bank (PNB).

How payments banks differ from regular banks?

Sinha stated that the payments banks are different from regular banks in the following fundamental ways as per RBI guidelines for Licensing of Payments Banks:

Payment Banks are not allowed to undertake lending activities directly. It can accept demand deposits only that is savings and current accounts and will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs. 100,000 per individual customer. Payment Banks cannot accept Non Resident Indian (NRI) deposits. The Payment Banks cannot set up subsidiaries to undertake non banking financial services activities.

--- ENDS ---
My former lawyer, Amal Clooney, must not stop until she convinces the United Nations and the Iraqi government to bring the Daesh members responsible for kidnapping and raping Yazidi client Nadia Murad to justice.

To understand Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, is to acknowledge that bombs alone will not eradicate the extremist ideas behind it and Clooney knows that.

Murads nightmare began when Daesh militants arrived at her village in Sinjar Kurdistan in northern Iraq on Aug. 3, 2014.

Thousands of men and older women were killed on the spot, including her mother and six of her brothers. More than 360,000 Yazidis were displaced in a matter of days.

In a dignified and passionate testimony at the UN, Murad explained how she and thousands of women were raped, sold as sex slaves and passed around to Daesh fighters.

Were they spoils of war as Daesh attempted to sell it to the world to justify its brutality?

Not a chance. The Yazidis are not at war with anyone.

They are estimated at 700,000 people  an ethnic and religious minority, who worship a fallen angel named Melek Tawwus, or Peacock Angel.

Al Qaeda in Iraq branded them as infidels years before Daesh subjected them to this brutality similar to the bloody medieval times in ancient history we read about or try to re-enact in heartbreaking Hollywood dramas.

Murad refused to become a statistic among hundreds of Yazidi women who took their own lives in captivity.

Daesh justifies this killing and raping spree as fair game against the kufar, non-Muslim people, such as Yazidis, Jews, and Christians.

At a whim, even a nonpracticing Muslim like myself will counter this Daesh misinterpretation of the Quran by reiterating the first phrases of verse 256 of Al Bakara chapter in the Muslim holy book, which clearly states: There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion.

Killing ISIS on the battlefield is not enough. We must kill the idea behind ISIS by exposing its brutality and bringing individual criminals to justice Clooney argued in a passionate address at the U.N. earlier this month.

The prominent British-Lebanese lawyer remains unhappy about what she called the inaction of the UN. Standing before a room full of UN council delegates she asked, Why, why is it that nothing has been done?

Some argue that the notion of bringing Daesh to court is not realistic, saying there may not be enough evidence to incriminate individuals who committed some of the worst crimes in history.

I strongly disagree and I know for a fact that many of my fellow journalists and human rights defenders specialized in covering Daesh have compiled an abundance of incriminating evidence, testimonies, and videos, including the Human Rights Watch report titled Iraq: ISIS Escapees Describe Systematic Rape.

To see the faces of the Daesh fighters who raped and killed thousands of innocent people paraded in a televised trial may begin to put off the fire of the Yazidis. It may give all the victims of Daesh a taste of justice.

A broadly televised trial will introduce their crimes, victims, legal arguments, and court debates of Islamic misconceptions that may have led some of those extremists to believe they are righteously untouchable.

It is indeed a golden opportunity to address maladjusted young men susceptible to sophisticated Daesh media. A counterattack in the form of a trial broadcast on mainstream media could correct the extremist ideas of disaffected Muslim youth, like the teenagers I met in Egypts jails being psychologically radicalized at the hands of skilled extremist ideologues.

According to Clooney, to see those Daesh monsters in such court proceedings requires that Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al Abadi send a letter to the UN requesting an investigation.

Theres already a resolution drafted and ready, she said, And if Iraq just sends the letter, then there will be a vote.

One must wonder what the hold up is since Iraq is fighting Daesh in a wrenching war to reclaim its sovereignty.

Clooney has already moved mountains when she lobbied Germany to authorize the issuance of an arrest warrant against a Daesh commander who is allegedly responsible for the sexual enslavement of Yazidi women.

Nadia Murad, now living safely in Germany and nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, may be free but the 3,000 Yazidi women in Daesh captivity are still fighting for their lives and yearning for justice.

Mohamed Fahmy is an award winning journalist and war correspondent. He is the author of The Marriott Cell: An Epic Journey from Cairos Scorpion Prison to Freedom.

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Four of the worlds most desperate, godforsaken countries are facing what the United Nations calls the biggest humanitarian crisis in generations. Yet most of the globe can barely muster the energy to give it any notice.

In Somalia, northern Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen, more than 20 million people are threatened by famine. A cruel combination of drought and war threatens them with hunger, thirst and eventual starvation.

The UN has been banging the drum to draw attention to this slow-motion crisis, warning that money is urgently needed to stave off what is a largely man-made disaster. It says its humanitarian agencies must raise $4.4 billion (U.S.) by the end of March to confront the threat.

Seldom, though, has the world been less interested. Preoccupied with their own internal difficulties and fixated on the antics of the Trump administration, most countries have little time and less cash to spare for a crisis unfolding far, far away.

That is sadly reflected in contributions to the hat the UN is passing around for Somalia, Yemen and the other countries facing famine. As of late last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world body had received less than a tenth of the money it needs  just $423 million (U.S.)

Its a shameful response, but not a surprising one. War and civil conflict make the security situation so difficult in the affected countries that delivering aid is a high-risk activity.

In South Sudan, aid workers have been murdered and the UN says the government is spending oil revenue on weapons to battle its rivals while its people starve. And in Yemen, torn apart by war, two-thirds of the population needs immediate help.

Countries that traditionally provide the most help are less inclined to act. Chief among them is the United States, the biggest donor to the UN and usually the most generous contributor to international aid programs. The Trump administration, though, is radically uninterested; its proposed budget would slash foreign aid by more than 28 per cent.

To its credit, Canada has stepped up. The Trudeau government pledged just over $119 million to help avert starvation in the four affected countries, to be channeled through UN agencies and non-governmental humanitarian organizations. The money will go to provide food, clean water and basic health services.

This is good as far as it goes, but it wont go very far toward meeting the enormous need. Canada can, and should, do more. Ottawa has earmarked $450 million for a peace mission (likely somewhere in Africa) that keeps getting postponed. It should consider redirecting some of that money to save people who cant afford any more delay.

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Re: Province supports Muslim prayer space, March 24

Province supports Muslim prayer space, March 24

The Ontario Public School Boards Association issued a statement saying the schools of Ontario welcome and provide a safe space for students who practice the very broadest range of religions and beliefs. The education minister fully supported this statement.

This goes against the purpose of the public school system, which should operate without regard to religious practices if it wants to treat all groups in a non-discriminatory manner. Either the school boards should permit religious practices for all religions or none.

If all religions are permitted to practice their religion in public schools, then there is no need for publicly funded religious schools for Catholics. This would make the separate school system redundant and all taxpayers would rejoice.

Rather than making up rules as they go, the province should initiate further dialogue on the true purpose of public schools in Ontario.

What schools should be publicly funded? Should religious practices be permitted? Is it discriminatory in our diverse society to fund Catholic schools?

Frank Dekeyser, North York

The controversy over prayers in school has gone on far too long. The solution is simple: All prayers should be left entirely to home, church, synagogue, mosque, temple, etc. There should be a two-minute silence first thing every school morning so that students can reflect on their prayers or on whatever else they please.

William Bedford, Newmarket

I am tolerant of all religions, creeds and colours and proud that Canada has a constitution that is open and welcoming to all. However, I am against prayers of any kind in public schools and do not agree with this ruling at all. Public schools are secular in Canada and should remain so.

Joanne Hamilton, Whitby

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Editors' pick: Originally published March 27.

Ever stopped at an ATM for cash only to realize all you had with you was your cell phone?

At Wells Fargo (WFC) , that's no longer a problem. The San Francisco-based bank announced an upgrade today to all of its 13,000 ATMs allowing customers to make cash withdrawals using smartphones rather than debit cards.

"This is really about convenience and choice," Jonathan Velline, Wells Fargo's head of ATM and branch banking, said in a phone interview. "The response from our customers has been terrific."

Other large financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) , have announced similar upgrades to ATMs, but Wells Fargo is the first to roll the digital service out to its entire network. Staying abreast -- or ahead -- of such adaptations is vital to Wells and other U.S. banks, whose customers withdrew $5.8 billion from ATMs during 2015, taking an average of $122 each time, a Federal Reserve study found.

To access cash without an ATM card, the nearly 20 million customers who use Wells Fargo's mobile app will be able to obtain an eight digit one-time ATM access code, which will be sent directly to their phone.

"They can go in and request the one-time access code and still get their money and get out of that embarrassing situation," Velline said.

Wells Fargo has wrapped strong safeguards into the digital ID process, he added. The eight-digit code, for instance, is only valid for 30 minutes and it must be followed by the customer's regular four-digit personal identification number, or PIN.

"We've embedded security into the design," Velline said. "There's a lot of layers of security around the application itself."

In at least one way, it's even safer than using a plastic card since it doesn't provide an access point for "card skimming," a process in which thieves attach an electronic device to an ATM card reader that captures users' card numbers and PINs, he added.

Wells Fargo is introducing its digital service as CEO Tim Sloan works to rebuild the bank's image after a scandal around the opening of 2 million unauthorized consumer accounts by workers trying to meet sales goals of eight products per customer.

The bogus accounts, created over a period of five years, led to the dismissal of more than 5,300 employees and a $185 million settlement with the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and local governments. Afterward, government clients pulled back from lucrative bond deals, and then-CEO John Stumpf abruptly retired.

Sloan, who has acknowledged the bank's failings, said it's committed to "being better every day" and regaining the trust of its customers.

That includes "driving the future of banking," he said. "Our industry changes every day. That's why we created the Payments, Virtual Solutions and Innovation Group in October, to bring together teams that are driving the next generation of payment options and digital and online offerings."

The bank said that later this year it will unveil technology that allows its customer to use the near-field communication features of their Wells Fargo digital wallets to access ATMs. That's the same process that allows merchants to accept cash-register payments via Apple Pay (AAPL) or Android (GOOGL) Pay without using either a card or a PIN. Currently, 5,000 of the bank's ATMs have the hardware to connect with its digital wallet.

Wells Fargo fell 1.2% to $55.15 on Monday amid a broader selloff in finance stocks. The company is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings and hold its annual stockholders meeting in April.

EXCLUSIVE LOOK INSIDE: Wells Fargo, Apple and Google are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust portfolio.Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells the stocks? Learn more now.
Unease has set in on Wall Street in light of Republicans' bungled push to repeal and replace Obamacare and growing questions over the president's ability to accomplish what was expected to be a market-driving agenda.

U.S. stocks plunged on Monday while gold and the Japanese yen gained as investors weighed a growing unlikelihood of sweeping tax reform in the near future and instead stared down the possibility of a government shutdown next month. "Trump Trade" trended on Twitter, and not in a positive light.

"This past week we found out that the world is still a dangerous place and getting deals done in Washington is tougher than most boardrooms," wrote Jefferies analysts in a Sunday note.

The last few days have been rough for Congressional Republicans and President Trump. Besides the failed efforts on health care reform, last week also saw FBI Director James Comey confirm that his agency is investigating ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The administration will try this week to reset the narrative. The president plans to unveil a new White House office on Monday headed by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to overhaul the federal bureaucracy and fulfill campaign promises, according to the Washington Post. Trump will sign a sweeping executive order on Tuesday rolling back much of the Obama administration's efforts on climate change, according to Bloomberg.

Still, Wall Street remains wary of what's to come, especially as tax reform, the element driving the post-election rally, appears farther out on the horizon than ever.

"Debate over the Republican health care plan, the American Health Care Act, sparked investor concern about the probability and timing of anticipated policy tailwinds to earnings. Our Washington, D.C. economist expects legislation that lowers the corporate tax rate and makes incremental tax reforms to be enacted by late 2017 or early 2018, meaning corporate earnings will likely not be affected any earlier than next year," wrote Goldman Sachs analysts.

"It appears the market did fall in love with the President's pro-growth policies immediately following the election, with more domestically-oriented companies and those with above average tax rates meaningfully outperforming. However, the market quickly lost interest in these names following the initial love affair," wrote RBC Capital Markets analysts.

The S&P 500 fell 1.5% last week, marking its second down week in nine weeks and its worst week since November. The CBOE Volatility Index that measures volatility spiked to 14.16 on Friday, marking its highest point of the year, albeit still historically low, noted Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid.

While Trump and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan have attempted to put on a united public front on their agenda moving forward, cracks in the GOP coalition are hard to ignore.

House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows on Sunday said his group could support a tax reform plan that is not revenue neutral, a direct contradiction with House Republicans' tax blueprint that includes the border adjustment tax and eliminates interest deductibility to pay for tax cuts. The House Freedom Caucus is the group that tanked health care reform.

"The risk now is that the health failure will make the GOP Congress even less cohesive and less likely to follow its leaders," the Wall Street Journal warned in a Sunday editorial. "The other big risk is that Republicans will now settle for a modest tax cut without a fundamental reform that clears out special-interest favors."

WSJ ran a story Monday that a market correction -- namely, a 10% pullback from March 1 highs -- might not be so bad. "It's like dental work," Michael Farr, president of the money management firm Farr, Miller & Washington, told the publication. "You dread it. You don't want to get it. But you're glad when it's over and you feel better."

But investors feeling good about a stock market pullback might be wishful thinking. Before anyone tackles tax reform, they have another big fish to fry: a potential government shutdown. The continuing resolution currently funding the government expires April 28, and the White House and Congress will have to strike a deal to avoid a market-rattling government shutdown.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told NBC's Chuck Todd on Sunday that he does not want to shut down the government but indicated he will be a tough negotiator -- and doesn't want to deal with Trump.

"If President Trump would stay out of it, because his budget, done by Mulvaney is so far to the right, slashing middle class things like education, like transportation, like medical research, like clean air and clean water, no, we can't work," he said. "But left alone, McConnell, Ryan, and the Democrats could come to an agreement."

Wall Street will most certainly be watching.
Saudi Arabia slashed taxes on its state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco, clearing some headspace for the group to make profits for investors ahead of a planned sale of a 5% stake that will almost certainly be the biggest ever initial public offering.

Taxes on the income of the world's biggest oil producer will tumble to 50% from their current level of 85%, Saudi Arabia said on Monday. The cut will be backdated to Jan. 1.

"This Royal Order on tax for oil and hydrocarbon producers operating in the Kingdom brings the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in line with international benchmarks," said Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih in a statement. "It is very important to make it clear that the hydrocarbon resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remain sovereign and that any reduction in tax revenues arising from this Royal Order is replaced by stable dividend payments and other sources of revenue from hydrocarbon producers to the government."

The tax burden on Saudi Aramco will be a key component in determining the price of the business which is expected be valued at more than $2 trillion, making it the world's most valuable company when it comes to market, probably next year. The company is yet to say where it will list, though it is likely to be on a number of exchanges, possibly including the NYSE and Hong Kong, as well as the Saudi exchange.

Saudi Arabia has begun talks with possible cornerstone investors in the share sale. On Monday, China Petroleum Corp., known as Sinopec said it had been invited to take a stake in the operation and that talks were ongoing. "We talked with them on the plan," said Sinopec Chairman Wang Yupu at a Monday press briefing. "We will get into more detailed conversations with them."

The Saudi Aramco stake sale is part of a wider strategic plan to reduce the Kingdom's dependence on hydrocarbons. Cash from the sale will be used to establish a sovereign wealth fund that will invest outside of the oil business and in support of developing non-oil sources of income within Saudi Arabia.

Prior to the royal decree issued on Monday, Saudi Aramco had paid a 20% royalty on sales and 85% tax on its profits. The decision to cut the tax rate to 50% had been flagged earlier this year and is in line with the recommendation of Saudi Aramco's own management to the Saudi government.

The new 50% tax rate will apply to all Saudi oil companies with capital of more than 375 billion Saudi riyals ($100 billion), according to a report appearing on the Saudi state-owned news source the Saudi Press Agency. Saudi oil companies valued at between 375 billion and 300 billion riyals, will pay 65% income tax, those at between 300 billion and 225 billion riyals will pay 75% and any company below that threshold will continue to pay 85%.
As exit day from the EU on 29 March draws near, the terms in which the UK will leave is still unclear.


Since the time he was appointed as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, Pahlaj Nihalani has been in news, almost always for the wrong reasons. With his strict "dos and don'ts" for filmmakers, he has (at least) tried to censor all what he believes are against the Indian values. What he also has been doing is pushing India to a regressive hellhole.

By Vivek Surendran: "YES, I AM A MODI BHAKT"

Introducing the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification Pahlaj Nihalani as a devout follower of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not only do justice to his existence but might also help us understand why he functions the way he does.

"Main to PM Modi ka bhakt hoon (I am PM Modi's bhakt)," Nihalani told India Today in an exclusive interview in June 2015. In November 2015, former film producer, produced a music video titled "mera desh hai mahaan" and dedicated it to PM Modi. This video almost got him sacked from his position as the chairperson of the CBFC, but he survived.

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You can watch the video here and catch a glimpse of sycophancy to level X:

Before the 2014 General Elections, Nihalani produced another music video titled "Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi" as well. You can watch it here, and don't be surprised to see the same muscular man, this time, as a Hindu, praising PM Modi.

PAHLAJ NIHALANI, BACK IN THE DAYS

Nihalani's first association with Bollywood and movies, in general, was as a producer. He is known to have launched Govinda in his third movie Ilzaam in 1986 and Chunky Pandey in his movie Aag Hi Aag the next year. While producing movies, he was a different man.

Nihalani was successful as a producer, thanks to a cheap cinematic model of filling the movie and songs with sexual innuendos. For instance, this is a song from Nihalani-produced movie Andaaz. And this is just one of the many songs from the movies produced by the gentleman.

And by the way, if someone asks Nihalani about the above song or the many similar songs in his movies, he has an answer and that is, "Don't ask me, it's my freedom of expression. And why aren't you talking about my other films?"

NIHALANI AS THE CBFC CHAIRPERSON AND CONTROVERSIES THAT FOLLOWED

Fast forward to the year 2015, an India with Narendra Modi, Nihalani's idol, as the prime minister. In January 2015, Nihalani was appointed as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification. By then, Nihalani was a changed man, a nationalist from the core, someone who cares about what Indians watch and how their thoughts, ideas and ideals could be corrupted.

ABUSIVE LANGUAGE IN FILMS

Making his power felt, Nihalani rolled out strict guidelines for the Board and under it, cuss words could not be allowed in movies despite certified "Adult". A month later, he decided not to let A-rated movies be telecast on television, even if they were re-cut for a U-certificate.

He sent a circular mentioning 30-odd words, saying, "It has been noticed that some of the objectionable words/abusive words are not still deleted from the films. All ROs are directed not to allow such words in any category of the certificate. This is also applicable to regional languages films."

All these words apply to the film censors who would apply the rules about censoring these words in films. pic.twitter.com/eiOUm08SZj- Dave Besseling (@davebesseling) February 13, 2015

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THE SPECTRE CUT

In November 2015, Nihalani made headlines for cutting kissing scenes in Daniel Craig starrer James Bond movie Spectre saying the scene is 'too long for comfort'. This is the same man who produced a movie called 'Aag ka Gola' that is known for a lip-lock between Sunny Deol and Archana Puran Singh more than anything else. Nihalani, after a controversy rose, cleared his stance saying the decision to cut the kissing scene in Spectre was not his, but that of the examining committee of CBFC.

Why shouldn't Indians, if they want to, watch a man and a woman kissing? How will that corrupt their minds, Mr Nihalani? Did people wrong after they saw your protagonists kiss in 'Aag Ka Gola' or the pelvis-thrust-in, bust- thrust-out songs you made?

THE UDTA PUNJAB ROW

Nihalani made national headlines after the Board he leads demanded 89 cuts from Abhishek Chaubey's Udta Punjab, produced by Anurag Kashyap with Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in the lead. Taking the Board head-on, the makers sent the movie to the Revising Committee of the Censor Board, but ended up getting harsher suggestions.

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The Revising Committee wanted the makers to drop the word 'Punjab' from the movie title because it is based on the growing drug addiction among the youth in the state and hence, is defamatory to Punjab.

After the makers moved court, on June 13, the Bombay High Court asked the Central Board of Film Certification to give the movie an A certificate with just one cut, saying that there was no blanket ban on Udta Punjab.

| FYI | Here's why the Censor Board should let Indians watch Udta Punjab without cuts |

HOMOPHOBIA

What began as a ban on a movie called Unfreedom, that dealt with the theme of homosexuality, Nihalani's intolerance towards the idea of homosexuality soon escalated to a point that it led the Board into muting the word 'lesbian' from the movie Dum Lagaake Haisha, a family entertainer.

Photo courtesy: www.moifightclub.com

Fellow right-leaning Board member Ashoke Pandit condemned the above move in a tweet, categorically saying, "if it's true".

Came to know through news papers & If it's true then muting"Lesbian"in a film is shameful.I condemn it.#freedomofexpression- Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) March 3, 2015

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Recently, Nihalani made headlines again for refusing to certify a Malayalam movie that dealt with homosexuality -- Ka Bodyscapes-- stating that the movie glorifies "the subject of gay and homosexual relationship" and that the portrayal of Hindu religion is derogatory.

Speaking to India Today, the director of Ka Bodyscapes, Jayan Cherian, said, "I have been going through this process for the last twelve months. There are two high court verdicts in favour of us. The CBFC has had 3 screenings of the movie. They are outrightly denying a certificate. They are not even asking for any cut (sic),"

Presenting his side of the story, Nihalani told Deccan Chronicle that the CBFC hold nothing against homosexual people and said that the Board has, in the past, certified movies like Aligarh, Moonlight and Parched that dealt with the same theme. "We, at CBFC, are not homophobic," he said.

THE FEAR OF SEX

This could be stretching it, but does Pahlaj Nihalani fear sexual expression being normalised? What else could be the reason behind refusing a censor certificate to a movie like Lipstick Under My Burkha that has middle-aged Indian women exploring their sexuality and sexual fantasies? The reason for not certifying Alankrita Shrivastava-directed Lipstick Under My Burkha was that "the story is lady oriented, their fantasy above life."

This is the same CBFC that certifies movies like Great Grand Masti that is an explosion of sexual innuendos, sexism, objectification of women and a movie of which we couldn't even put out the trailer on the website.

Why such double standards, Sir?

When asked whether the CBFC should become more liberal in the internet age, Nihalani siad, "I have to follow rules and regulations that are in place. In any case we cannot allow people to do whatever they want."

| Opinion | Dear Censor Board, stop shoving sanskaar down our throats |

MORE SYCOPHANCY

Nihalani, who has helped the CBFC earn the title of "Sanskari Censor Board" has made a new demand a couple of days ago. The Board asked the makers of an upcoming film to delete the phrase 'Mann ki baat' from a dialogue because it that is the name given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly radio address to the nation.

"They [CBFC] categorically asked for the words 'Mann ki baat' to be removed from the first sentence. When I approached the Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani, he told me: PM ka radio show hai, delete the line," Mid-Day quoted the director of the movie Sameer, Chhara, as saying.

Nihalani, crushing the choices of millions of Indians, and embracing the role of a moral police, said, "I will give the right kind of content. I will monitor the sensitive things that might harm the society. In the name of modern, we can't barter our country. We can't sell our culture." He vouches that whatever he does is "in the interests of the nation." He stabbed irony in the heart by saying, "today there is a lot of focus on "double-meaning" dialogues, gaaliyan (abuses) and other offensive material are freely used."

PUSHING INDIA TOWARDS REGRESSION

In the name of upholding "Indian culture" and "sanksaar", it is safe to assume that Pahlaj Nihalani is shoving his ideologies, that he possibly derives from the Bharatiya Janata Party, down every Indian's throat. Without them asking for it. Without knowing or even wanting to know how they feel about it.

At a time when there is so much conversation about feminism, gender equality, objectification of women, sexuality, sex in general, the kind of steps the CBFC is taking are regressive and is pushing the conversation in the wrong direction. When there are millions in India trying to normalise how men see, treat women and vice-versa to ensure a sane, normal society, the Board's "ban-this-ban-that-ban-all" policy is not helping one bit.

IN NIHALANI'S DEFENSE

Assuming Nihalani, someone who has made his fortune making, selling movies that in turn sold sex, directly or indirectly, is not as regressive as he seems to be, there is an argument that he is just doing his job. As the chairperson of the CBFC, his job is to implement the guidelines that are in place and former Board chiefs being lenient, possibly keeping in mind the times we are living in, cannot be a reason to expect Nihalani to do the same.

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Windstream Holdings, Inc. provides network communications and technology solutions in the United States. Its Consumer & Small Business segment offers services, including traditional local and long-distance voice services, and high-speed Internet services; and value-added services, such as security and online back-up. It also offers consumer video services; video entertainment service under the Kinetic brand; voice and Web conferencing products; and advanced hosted-voice, network management, and business continuity services, as well as owns and operates cable television franchises. This segment serves approximately 1.4 million residential and small business customers. The company's Enterprise segment offers integrated voice and data services, which deliver voice and broadband services over a single Internet connection, data transport services, and multi-site networking services; and other data services comprising cloud computing, and collocation and managed services as an alternative to traditional information technology infrastructure. Its Wholesale segment provides network bandwidth to other telecommunications carriers, network operators, and content providers; fiber-to-the-tower connections to support the wireless backhaul market; voice and data carrier services to other communications providers and large scale purchasers; and special access services and time division multiplexing private line transport. The company's Consumer CLEC segment offers traditional voice and long-distance services, nationwide Internet access services, and dial-up and high-speed, as well as online backup and various email services. Windstream Holdings, Inc. also leases and sells broadband modems, home networking gateways, and personal computers; and sells home phones. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Two teenagers who were dressed in leggings were not allowed to board a flight one United Airlines Sunday due to breaking the dress code the airline has for travelers with special passes, said a spokesperson for the airline.

The two teen girls, who had been traveling with another companion, would not have been banned from boarding for wearing leggings if they had been paying passengers, said a spokesperson for United as the U.S. based airline tried to respond to a huge backlash on social media.

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alerts:

The girls were told they could not board their flight until they had made changes to their clothing. The airline said the two girls accepted what they were told and understood.

The spokesperson said the two and their companion missed their flight and it was not known if the three flew on a later plane or made other travel arrangements.

Though those three passengers made no complaints about how they were treated, another passenger Shannon Watts, who heard the discussion between the girls and the airline employees, set off a huge amount of criticism across social media with tweets that described the policy as targeting women unfairly.

Watts wrote that the airlines behavior was sexist and it sexualizes young females, and the families were inconvenienced and mortified.

United pass travelers typically are employees of the company, family members of an employee or friends.

The tweets by Watts and the defense made by United of them touched a nerve for many females who had made leggings an important part of their wardrobes.

Popularity of leggings sparked criticism that they were called inappropriate attire in certain circumstances. There are schools that have barred female students from wearing leggings in class.

Outrage against Uniteds policy could be seen across the different platforms of social media as well as criticism for the response it gave to the initial criticism it received.

Chrissy Teigen a model tweeted that she has flown on United wearing just a top as her dress.

United released a statement that said leggings are welcome, and then explained its pass holders policy in much more detail.

That same policy bars any attire revealing undergarments, midriff baring tops or attire designated as swimwear or sleepwear such as mini-skirts or shorts that are above the knee.

The United spokesperson said that in an initial response, the airline could have explained the situation better.
A Pakistani father has decided to forgive 10 Indian youths found guilty of murdering his son in UAE in 2015. The youths were death-row convicts.

By Kaswar Klasra: While diplomatic tensions between Pakistan and India continue to escalate, a Pakistani father has decided to forgive 10 Indian youths found guilty of murdering his son in UAE in 2015.

Muhammad Farhan of Peshawar was killed in 2015 during a brawl over bootlegging in Al Ain city. In December last year, a UAE court sentenced the 10-all from Punjab-to death. Another youth had been spared the gallows, but was fined Rs 2 lakh.

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Muhammad Riaz, the father of the deceased, has now decided to forgive his son's murderers after consulting his family members and other relatives. "It's true that Riaz has decided to forgive them. It was a painful decision.

However, he has made the final decision," a member of Riaz's family told MAIL TODAY. MAIL TODAY got to know that Dubai-based hotelier and social worker SP Singh Oberoi played a vital role in saving the death row convicts.

OBEROI'S NGO

Oberoi runs an NGO that has been running a campaign to save the lives of death row convicts. His long effort has finally convinced the deceased's family to accept 'money for blood'.

Sources say it was his NGO that arranged the 'money for blood'. However, the amount of money was not known.

A court in Abu Dhabi recently ruled in favour of 'money for blood' asking the convicts' counsel to submit the same.

According to UAE law, if one causes the death or injury of another person accidentally or intentionally, the person has to pay blood money (diya).

The blood money is to be paid to the victim's family as compensation and the amount is given in accordance with Sharia.

Death row convicts can file an appeal against death penalty if both the parties reach a settlement. Followed by the court ruling, Riaz flew to Abu Dhabi last week to sign the requisite documents.

Oberoi's NGO bore his travelling expenses too. With this agreement, a ray of hope has emerged for the 10 Indian youths to start life afresh.

OBEROI SAVED 17 PUNJAB, HARYANA YOUTHS

Oberoi had saved 17 youths from Punjab and Haryana from death row in the past. He has already filed an appeal in the Abu Dhabi High Court against death penalty to the 10 convicts in this case.

Sources said all the 10 belong to poor families, who have been working in UAE as plumbers, electricians, etc.

They are Harpreet Singh (24) and Chander Shekhar from Hoshiarpur district, Toni (24) of Batala, Satminder Singh (25) of Thikriwal village, Ajay Kumar (27) of Punia village, Dharamvir Singh (25) and Kulwinder Singh of Ludhiana, Harjinder Singh of Moga, Gurpreet Singh of Patiala and Jagjit Singh of Gurdaspur. Soon after they were sentenced to death, their families had approached AAP and BJP leaders, and had even met the chairman of Punjab SC Commission, but to no avail.

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After that, they approached Oberoi. The UAE court has set April 12 as the next date of hearing.

ALSO READ | Riyadh : Indian sex slave's rescue reveals widening web of human traffickers in India

Pakistan arrests more than 100 Indian fishermen off Gujarat coast

ALSO WATCH | India Today Conclave 2017: Abdul Basit and G Parthasarthy on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism

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Today, were excited to announce the launch of two new Interconnect Exchanges  Europe (London) and Asia (Singapore)  making private connections to the Twilio platform now available on three continents.

Twilio Interconnect provides resilient, scalable private connections from your infrastructure to Twilios data centers. A private connection protects your calls with network-level security with predictable high quality guaranteed.

Not all voice conversations are created equal

Have you ever had a conference call where poor audio quality caused the entire call to go downhill? We have. How about two-factor authentication calls when a digital voice gives you a code to put in your browser -do you ever notice quality problems on those? Probably not.

This is because not all conversations are the same. Different types have different requirements for security, quality, and reliability and we recognize that each workflow requires different connectivity building blocks. Thats why Twilio launched private connections in the United States last year.

Interconnect to the rescue!

With four private connection types available in North America, Europe, and Asia, you have the building blocks to meet the most stringent quality and security requirements.

Cloud Connect: connect directly from your AWS Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and avoid traversing the public internet.

Cross-connect: connect via a dedicated, physical interconnection.

MPLS: connect your private network with Twilio using your existing MPLS network.

VPN: connect via a virtual point-to-point connection with IPSec tunnels

Twilio Interconnect lets our customers connect to us with private enterprise-grade connectivity. The CxEngageTM Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) platform is designed to enable exceptional customer experiences. The platform is architected for global high availability and redundancy, highly secure, true multi-tenant, and instantly scalable anywhere anytime. Twilios London & Singapore Interconnect exchanges allows us to expand our private connectivity offering anywhere anytime.  Matt Despain, VP Product at Serenova

With Twilio Interconnect, you can move your communication workflows to the cloud in less time, for less money, and without the headaches that legacy providers often bring. We usually provision Cloud Connect and VPN connections in one business day. Our cross-connect connections are often set-up in less than a week. You can request bandwidth changes for your Interconnect Connection(s) directly on the Console.

Building multi-tenant solutions with Twilio?

You are able to share a given Interconnect Connection in your Master account with one or more Subaccounts, allowing you to retain control over costs.

Need to track configuration changes related to your Interconnect Connections because of security/compliance requirements or simply for historical reporting purposes?

With Twilio Interconnect, you can do so via Audit Events. They can be an instrumental tool in giving you full visibility into your Connections.

Now you can work with a single provider for all your global communication needs. Take a communication workflow for a call center in one region and easily replicate it globally with no risk. Our private connections work the same way in California, Virginia, London, and Singapore, so you dont have to worry about the regional telecom differences. You can simply focus on what your customers need.

How to get started

If youd like to learn more about Interconnect:

We cant wait to see what you build!
Militants launched 88 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in ATO area in Donbas over the past day.

This is reported by the ATO press center.

The largest number of militants attacks was spotted in Mariupol direction, where the enemy used 122mm artillery, 120mm mortars, grenade launcher and heavy machine guns to shell Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) and Vodiane (16km north-west of Donetsk).

The tense situation was also observed in Donetsk direction, where terrorists used almost all types of heavy weaponry. Ukrainian strongholds in Troitske (69km west of Luhansk) came under 152mm artillery, 120mm and 82mm mortar fire. The enemy also fired at Avdiivka (18km north of Donetsk) and Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk), using 120mm mortars. In addition, militants used Grad-P multiple rocket launchers to shell residential areas of Avdiivka.

In Luhansk direction, Russian-backed militants used antitank guided missile launchers to shell Ukrainian positions near Novozvanivka (70km west of Luhansk). ATO troops in Novooleksandrivka (65km west of Luhansk) and Krymske (42.5km north-west of Luhansk) came under grenade launcher fire.

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Since the start of anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in eastern Ukraine, 193 servicepersons of the National Guard of Ukraine have been killed.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko stated this during the events dedicated to the third anniversary of establishment of the National Guard in Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

Both the people and the leadership of the state highly appreciate the contribution of the guardspersons to national security. Some 1,175 soldiers were deservedly awarded. Some 193 guardspersons were killed defending Ukraine, President Poroshenko said.

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The signing of protocols on the full implementation of the free trade area within the GUAM countries (Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia and Moldova) allows deepening the cooperation already this year.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman said this at the meeting of the heads of government of the member states in the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development  GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia and Moldova) in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Today we have signed a number of documents that will allow us to fully implement the free trade area within our states in 2017. This will have a positive impact on the development of our national economies and deepen our cooperation," Groysman said.

According to the Ukrainian PM, it is strategically important for the GUAM member states to develop the transport communication.

"We have agreed that we will improve the situation. Of course, the GUAM format is a very important format for interaction," the Prime Minister of Ukraine added.

He thanked his colleagues for supporting the initiative to hold a meeting between the GUAM member states.

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Canada will not lift the anti-Russian sanctions until the Kremlin starts to implement the Minsk agreements.

This was stated by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Chrystia Freeland, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

We will continue to put pressure on Russia, including through the existing sanctions, until the Russian Federation completely fulfills the commitments undertaken in accordance with the Minsk agreements and uses its influence on separatists to force them to fulfill their obligations, Freeland said.

According to her, the ultimate goal of the Canadian support for Ukraine is to increase the countrys security, stability and prosperity

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As of today, 12,000 residents have already returned to the city of Balakliia in Kharkiv region, who were earlier evacuated in connection with fire and subsequent explosions at the rocket and artillery depots.

This was reported to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during the report on liquidation of the consequences of fire at the military depots in Balakliia, the press service of the Head of State reports.

"The Head of State was informed about the liquidation of consequences of the fire at ammunition storage depots located near the city of Balakliia, Kharkiv region. As of Monday morning, 12,000 local residents returned to the city," the statement reads.

The demining works continue.

As Ukrinform reported, on March 23, at 2.45 a.m., a massive fire broke out at some sites of ammunition storage depot, located near the city of Balakliia, Kharkiv region, which triggered explosions.

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Why didn't we notice this prominent difference in all of Prince Charles and Lady Diana's photographs?

By India Today Web Desk: Sexism knows no bounds--from expecting women to be petite, to having longer hair or to even being shorter than their husbands, the society doesn't get tired of telling us what to do. But we're tired of being told how to be more feminine than we innately are.

Are you reading this, society?

While we were under the impression that commoners have a real hard time dealing with the painfully patriarchal society, two Twitter users burst the bubble. Seems like contagious sexism in the society spares nobody, not even royalty.

Picture courtesy:Twitter/LadyDianaNews

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Prince Charles and Lady Diana in their random pictures are the same height, but staged pictures of them have Prince Charles look taller than Lady Diana. The question is, WHY?

Also Read:Shouldn't you already know what Sonam and Alia are saying about women and sexism?

Even a Google search confirms that Prince Charles and Lady Diana were both around in at 1.78metres, or approximately 5 ft 10, in height.

And all this time, we've looked up to people with power to bring about a change in the stagnant mindsets of people who expect women to conform to "social standards".

Did it only take a few extra inches of height for a man who has so much power to feel better about standing next to his wife?

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03/24/2017

By Edwin L. Aguirre

While many students hit the beach, ski or catch up on sleep over spring break, a team from UMass Lowell spent the week teaching more than a hundred schoolchildren in Haiti about astronomy, rocket science, space exploration and the lives of famous scientists, engineers and mathematicians.

Called the Astronomy Roadshow, the annual trip is part of the educational outreach program organized by the universitys Haiti Development Studies Center (HDSC), which is based in the port city of Les Cayes, about 200 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haitis capital. The center was established in 2013 by Prof. Robert Giles, chair of the Department of Physics and Applied Physics, to engage faculty and students from Haiti and UMass Lowell in research and education as well as solving life-threatening issues such as lack of clean water through affordable, sustainable technologies.

The team was led by physics Asst. Prof. Silas Laycock, who made his third visit to the country since 2015. Joining Laycock were Cecil Joseph, an adjunct physics faculty and staff scientist at UMass Lowells Biomedical Terahertz Technology Center, and Thomas Heywosz, a math senior who went on the trip for his Honors College project.

Assisting them in translating Creole and in classroom instruction were Dayana Alabre and Ralph Douyon, two Haitian freshmen English majors enrolled in the universitys online degree program. They live outside Les Cayes and are working in the HDSC as research interns.

Education is central to our mission, says Giles. For students and teachers, the opportunities to make a difference in peoples lives are limitless. The center is a place where research is a pathway to critical change.

From Black Holes to Mars Landers

The HDSC team brought a variety of materials for experiments and activities for the fifth-, sixth- and 10th-graders at Sainte-Marie des Anges elementary school, including books, posters and game cards.

Online student Dayana Alabre shares her knowledge of the solar system with her young students. During the lessons, schoolchildren learned about the solar system and how the suns gravity keeps the planets in order. In one activity, Laycock taught them how a black hole could warp the fabric of space-time as predicted by Einstein using a large, stretched-out Lycra sheet, a ball and some weights. In other activities, they learned how to design, build and test rockets using straws and empty plastic soda bottles as well as Mars landers made from balloons, strings, cups and tape. The team also hosted a family star party on the school grounds, where students and parents could ask questions and look through the teams portable telescope.

The team also discussed the lives and achievements of influential women and minority astronauts, rocket scientists, physicists, astronomers and mathematicians. By showing the diverse backgrounds of these people, the team hoped to help youngsters gain self-confidence and inspire them to pursue their interests in the STEM fields.

The students were very respectful, and they asked outstanding questions about the subjects, notes Heywosz. On the last day, one class had a student tell us how much they appreciated what we were doing and that they enjoyed all the class activities we did with them.

For the teams final session, the members held a seminar for the schools dozen teachers on how to develop class activities and lesson plans so they can improve their instruction.

A Nation of Possibilities and Challenges

Visiting Haiti is truly an eye-opening experience. It gives you a sobering perspective on what you have and what is really necessary in life, says Heywosz. Haitis economy and infrastructure were devastated by a powerful earthquake in 2010 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and the country has been struggling to recover ever since.

Math senior Thomas Heywosz supervises students on how to build rockets using straws and empty plastic soda bottles. "This was my second visit to the country, the first time being last June, and the aftermath of the hurricanes destruction is still evident, especially in the countryside. It is always amazing to see how much Dayana and Ralph can get done given the fact that they are dealing with living conditions most Americans would not be able to handle, says Heywosz.

Despite the extreme hardship and poverty, the Haitian peoples resilience, spirit and optimism remain strong.

The visiting faculty and students from UMass Lowell are part of my success in overcoming learning challenges, says Alabre, who plans to teach English when she graduates. They are amazing, hardworking people who believe in a better future for Haiti.

Alabre says the ideas and teaching methods that the university visitors introduced have made an impact on the school: The activities inspired the schools director, Father Leslie, to purchase two telescopes so teachers can host stargazing nights for the students.

Douyon agrees. The Astronomy Roadshow has introduced to the Haitian educational system many things that it did not have before, like astronomy, he says.

One of the most important things that we do in our workshops is using effective methods of teaching that are widely known in the United States, but new to Haitian teachers. One of these methods is to use common, everyday objects in a practical way for students to learn about astronomy. The Astronomy Roadshow opens the minds of young students to astronomical insights, but does so in ways that make it fun to learn and explore the universe.
Security forces are worried about a seemingly increasing trend among the local boys to join militancy in the last one year. This could be the reason why some militants gave gun salute to their slain associates in Kashmir.

By Shuja-ul-Haq : What can be termed as a disturbing trend, militants were seen giving gun salute to their killed associates in South Kashmir.

A video clip from the funeral of the militants killed yesterday in an encounter in Pulwama has surfaced. It clearly shows militants with AK 47 rifles participating in a gathering of people and giving gun salutes.

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They were seen firing gun shots in the air. This is not the first time such scenes have unfolded. The militants have managed to do this in the past as well.

This can be described as a disturbing trend, which reminds of the times in 1990s when the militancy had just begun in Kashmir. It also hints at the volatility of the situation in South Kashmir.

AWANTIPORA ENCOUNTER

The two militants were killed yesterday near Awantipora in a gun-battle with police. The militants were identified as Shahbaz Ahmed Wani alias Rayees and Farooq Ahmed Hura of Nazneenpora village in Shopian district.

Police later said that the two militants were members of Hizbul Mujahideen. Both the slain militants were local residents. As soon as the news spread about their killings protests and clashes were reported in Pulwama.

Protests and clashes were reported even during the funeral of the slain militants. The security forces have been worried about the trend of local boys joining the militant groups after Burhan Wani's killing last year.

Reports suggest around 60 boys have gone missing in South Kashmir since July last year. Many suspect that they have joined the militant groups like Hizbul Mujahideen.

ALSO READ| Kashmir: 2 militants, including top Hizbul commander, killed in encounter

Watch video here

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Yemen/UNICEF/2017

Download photos, videos and b-roll here



SANA'A, 27 March 2017  After two years of brutal conflict, families in Yemen are increasingly resorting to extreme measures to support their children, said UNICEF in a report released today as the war in the Middle Easts poorest country enters its third year.

Coping mechanisms have been severely eroded by the violence, which has turned Yemen into one of the largest food security and malnutrition emergencies in the world. Families are eating much less, opting for less nutritious food or skipping meals. Close to half a million children suffer from severe acute malnutrition - a 200 per cent increase since 2014 - raising the risk of famine.

The number of extremely poor and vulnerable people is skyrocketing. Around 80 per cent of families are in debt and half the population lives on less than US$2 a day, according to the report.

As family resources diminish, more and more children are being recruited by warring parties and pushed into early marriage. Over two thirds of girls are married off before they reach 18, compared to 50 per cent before the conflict escalated. And children are increasingly being used by armed parties as the fighting intensifies.

Yemens health system is on the verge of collapse, leaving close to 15 million men, women and children with no access to health care. An outbreak of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea in October 2016 continues to spread, with over 22,500 suspected cases and 106 deaths.

Up to 1,600 schools can no longer be used because they are destroyed, damaged, being used to host displaced families or occupied by parties to the conflict. Some 350,000 children are unable to continue their education as a result, bringing to 2 million the total number of children out of school

The war in Yemen continues to claim childrens lives and their future, said Meritxell Relano, UNICEF Representative in Yemen. Relentless fighting and destruction has scarred children for life. Families have been left destitute and are struggling to cope.

The number of children killed in Yemens conflict increased by 70 per cent, and nearly twice as many children were injured and recruited into the fighting since March 2016 compared to the same period last year, the report says.

Citing United Nations-verified data, the report Falling through the Cracks notes that in the past year alone:

 The number of children killed increased from 900 to more than 1,500;

 The number of children injured nearly doubled, from 1,300 to 2,450;

 The number of children recruited in the fighting neared 1,580, up from 850 this time last year;

 Attacks on schools more than quadrupled, from 50 to 212;

 Attacks on hospitals and health facilities increased by one third, from 63 to 95.

Working with partners, UNICEF continues to provide urgent life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable children, including vaccinations, therapeutic food, and treatment for severe malnutrition, education support, psychosocial counselling and cash assistance.

On behalf of the children of Yemen, UNICEF is appealing for the following urgent measures:

 An immediate political solution to the war in Yemen. Parties to the conflict must work to reach

a negotiated solution, prioritizing and upholding the rights of children in the war-torn country.

 An end to all grave violations of childrens rights. Children must be protected at all times.

 An immediate and massive scale up of the multi-sectoral response to combat malnutrition

among children and pregnant and lactating women. Improving humanitarian access

throughout Yemen is a must to reach the most vulnerable.

 Strengthening family coping mechanisms by supporting the provision of free and quality

basic services - where possible at local levels - and the provision of cash assistance at scale.

We need to act now to pull families back from the brink. The risks for generations to come are extremely high, said Relano.

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London, England (UroToday.com) Dr. Shahrokh Shariat delivered a presentation on biomarkers for patient selection, starting the bladder urothelial carcinoma sub-session of the Immuno-Oncology session at the EAU 2017. Since the recent molecular characterization of bladder urothelial carcinoma, it is evident that this disease is associated with multiple mutational drivers, a large mutational load, treatment resistance is acquired commonly and early, and there is vast intratumoral heterogeneity.Molecular biomarkers allow small populations of patients with relevant molecular defects to have a chance at successful targeted therapy. PD-L1 expression is an emerging biomarker with prognostic implications, as 21-28% of tumors are positive, associated with advanced tumor stage, carcinoma in situ, high grade disease, disease recurrence, cancer-specific survival, overall survival, and lymphocyte invasion. However, there are pitfalls associated with PD-L1 immunohistochemistry expression, namely focal dynamic expression, intra- and inter-tumoral heterogeneity, temporal and spatial evolution remains largely unknown, and the expression is modulated by anti-cancer therapies. Dr. Shariat notes that we also need to be more consistent and standardized in how we perform and report the PD-L1 quantitative expression pattern.Dr. Shariat concluded his talk by outlining his idea of a cancer immunogramm for each patients tumor, allowing precise treatment for each individual. Key components of this immunogramm include (i) tumor foreignness (mutational load), (ii) general immune status (lymphocyte count), (iii) immune cell infiltration (intratumoral cells), (iv) absence of checkpoints (PD-L1), absence of soluble inhibitors (IL-6, CRP), absence of inhibitory tumor metabolism (LDH, glucose utilization), and tumor sensitivity to immune effectors (MHC expression and IFN-gamma-sensitivity). Knowledge of these key aspects of every patients tumor truly would be a huge step towards personalized medicine. According to Dr. Shariat, precision medicine is the right therapy, for the right tumor, in the right patient, at the right time.Speaker(s): Shahrokh F. Shariat, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, AustriaWritten By: Zachary Klaassen, MD, Urologic Oncology Fellow, University of TorontoTwitter: @zklaassen_mdat the #EAU17 - March 24-28, 2017 - London, England
London, England (UroToday.com) The highly anticipated thematic session Controversies in Metastatic Prostate Cancer this morning at the EAU 2017s annual congress was a standing room only event. Professor Bertrand Tombal started the proceedings by highlighting that there truly is no current evidence regarding the role for local treatment of oligometastatic disease. As he suitably noted in his opening statement, this is a discussion of emotion vs facts. Furthermore, what does local treatment truly entail: treatment of the primary? Or local treatment of metastatic deposits?In the current landscape, there is no standardized definition of oligometastatic disease. At a recent meeting in St. Gallen, Switzerland, the Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference, world experts were asked What is the most meaningful definition of oligometastatic prostate cancer? The majority (84.8%) agreed that the definition should be 3 synchronous metastases (bone and/or lymph nodes), although a proportion of delegates (12.1%) felt this number should be 5 synchronous metastases.How we diagnose these patients is also challenging, as Dr. Tombal notes that the imaging landscape is rapidly evolving. Traditionally we have used Tc99m bone scintigraphy, however there has been emergence of whole body MRI to enhance ability to diagnose soft tissue lesions. Furthermore, we have seen an abundance of studies (nearly 250 studies published in 2016, compared to ~50 studies in 2015) assessing the role of PSMA PET in advanced prostate cancer, which carries high diagnostic value but demonstration of clinical benefit is still pending.For high/very high risk prostate cancer patients (up to T4/N1) standard of care may be local treatment + lymph node template based treatment, however new imaging technologies are allowing patients to be assessed for whether they are truly localized or have oligometastatic disease. According to Dr. Tombal, the question is not about local treatment but about adding local treatment of metastasis deposits outside the lymph node base template. A study from 2015 assessed 15 single-arm case series reporting on 450 patients with metastasis directed therapy of regional and distant recurrences after curative treatment showed that some men will derive a progression-free survival benefit (51% progression free 1-3 years after salvage therapy) [1], although these studies are clearly prone to selection biases.Given Level 1 evidence in the EAU-ESTRO-ESUR-SIOG guidelines, Dr. Tombal highlighted that all patients with M1 disease at diagnosis should be offered castration therapy in combination with docetaxel. A recent meta-analysis of the randomized controlled trials demonstrated that the addition of docetaxel was associated with a significant survival advantage (HR 0.77; 95%CI 0.68-0.87) [2] in this patient cohort.In summary, Dr. Tombal warned about new imaging technologies and how we discuss/treat metastatic patients, noting Dont trust everything you see. Even salt looks like sugar. A final word of caution provided by Dr. Tombal is provided by the definition of the band-wagon effect: A phenomenon whereby the rate of uptake of beliefs, ideas, fads and trends increases the more that they have already been adopted by others. To answer the potential therapeutic benefit of treating oligometastatic disease, we require and anticipate data from ongoing clinical trials.1. Ost P, Bossi A, Decaestecker K, et al. Metastasis-directed therapy of regional and distant recurrences after curative treatment of prostate cancer: A systematic review of the literature. Eur Urol 2015;67(5):852-863.2. Vale CL, Burdett S, Rydzewska LH, et al. Addition of docetaxel or bisphosphonates to standard of care in men with localized or metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer: A Systematic review and meta-analyses of aggregate data. Lancet Oncol 2016;17(2):243-256.Speaker(s): Bertrand Tombal, Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc Universite catholique de Louvain, Brussels, BelgiumWritten By: Zachary Klaassen, MD, Urologic Oncology Fellow, University of TorontoTwitter: @zklaassen_mdat the #EAU17 - March 24-28, 2017 - London, England
"Congress government feared that AAP will ask about the unconstitutional appointments of 13 OSDs and giving ministerial ranks to five of them so the voice of opposition was curbed," Leader of Opposition H S Phoolka said.

By Manjeet Sehgal: Denied a debate on Governor's address in Punjab Assembly, the Opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday staged a walkout.

Party leaders questioned the appointments of advisors to the government or Officers on Special Duty (OSD) and the state government's plan to curtail the expenses alleging they were busy showering appointments on key aides.

"Congress government feared that AAP will ask about the unconstitutional appointments of 13 OSDs and giving ministerial ranks to five of them so the voice of opposition was curbed," Leader of Opposition H S Phoolka said.

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Phoolka said the Congress government has no answer for the questions to be raised by the opposition and they preferred to run away from debate.

"AAP seeks reply from the government over the issue of government filing application in the court to scrap the case of a liquor peddler who was nabbed by the police on the directions of Elections Commission during elections in Bathinda for illegally carrying 1,25000 liquor bottles. Court had earlier denied bail to him and sent him to jail but Congress government is shielding the drug peddlers after assuming the power," Phoolka said.

The AAP leader criticised the government for cancelling the debate and said it was mentioned in the copies of schedule distributed to the members on Friday that debate on Governor's address under vote of thanks will be held at 2 PM on March 28 but the whole schedule was changed on Monday morning.

He said that there was no mention of debate in the revised schedule and the debate was postponed till the next session.

"The debate was even not held in 2002 when Congress came to power is a lame excuse and does not carry any democratic and constitutional point. It can be vulnerability of the opposition party SAD that it did not raise the voice against the unconstitutional step but AAP and Lok Insaaf Party will oppose it this time," Phoolka said.

ALSO READ:

EVM tampering row: AAP writes to Election Commission, demands verification of paper trail in Punjab

--- ENDS ---
Russia justified its 2014 annexation of Crimea, and ongoing support for rebels in east Ukraine, by claiming ethnic Russians there were threatened by nationalists and faced discrimination. But while Russian rhetoric, frequent military drills, and the legacy of Soviet aggression raise concerns, there is surprisingly little tension within the Baltics' Russian minority community. VOA's Daniel Schearf visited the Latvian capital, Riga, to find out more.
One of the worlds largest gold coins, a 2007 Canadian Big Maple Leaf identical to the one shown above, was stolen from Berlin's Bode Museum on Monday. (Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters)

Thieves broke into the German capitals Bode Museum before dawn Monday and made off with a massive 221-pound gold coin worth millions of dollars, police said.

Berlin police spokesman Stefen Petersen said thieves apparently entered through a window about 3:30 a.m. Monday, broke into a cabinet where the Big Maple Leaf coin was kept, and escaped with it before police arrived.

A ladder was found by nearby railway tracks.

The coin, more than an inch thick with a diameter of almost 21 inches, has a face value of $750,000. By weight alone, however, it would be worth nearly $4.5 million at market prices.

Petersen would not comment on whether authorities had surveillance video of the crime, but said police assume more than one person was involved because of the weight of the coin.

The museum says the coin is in the Guinness Book of Records for its purity of 999.99/1000 gold. It has a portrait of Britains Queen Elizabeth II on one side and maple leaves on the other.

It was produced in limited quantities by the Royal Canadian Mint to promote a new line of its Gold Maple Leaf bullion coins in 2007. It has been on display at the Bode Museum, on Berlins Museum Island, since December 2010.

Berlin museums spokesman Markus Farr said the coin is on loan from a private collection, but he would not elaborated.

Detectives specialized in crimes involving art are investigating.
(Washington Post illustration; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The paparazzi no longer stake her out at her sons private school or search for her on the streets surrounding the black tower that her husband, the president of the United States, named for himself.

Like legions of New Yorkers who hibernate in their apartments, Melania Trump is a virtual shut-in, her refuge 58 stories above Manhattans hoi polloi and laden with enough gold to embarrass a Saudi prince.

Shes the great white whale, said Miles Diggs, a paparazzo, as he and his partner hunted celebrities in Soho on a recent afternoon in a Chevy Suburban equipped with cameras and a laptop. They were searching for the actress Emma Watson, whom, unlike Melania Trump, they were confident they could find.

When it comes to getting people, I dont miss, Diggs said. But Melania has just been so elusive.

Two months after her husbands swearing-in, the nations new first lady approaches her role with a discernible reticence, her paucity of public appearances  each defined by tight smiles and spare verbiage  overshadowed by a vanishing act that stretches days on end.

Yet by retreating to her midtown triplex, where she is said to tend to Barron, the Trumps 11-year-old son, the first lady guarantees herself even more attention. An ever-clamorous chorus of gossipmongers, pundits, historians and even body-language experts dissect her every move, fashion choice and facial expression to unearth a true State of Melania.

Good luck with that.

(Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

Melania Trump is a Rorschach test in Louboutins, inspiring praise from those who see in her inscrutable gaze an elegant, dutiful mother charting a new role for the first lady; compassion from those imagining her as the presidents unhappy captive, her penthouse-turned-prison costing taxpayers ungodly sums to secure; and contempt from those rendering her as her husbands chief enabler, abiding his sexist and anti-immigrant bluster, and echoing at one time his baseless questioning of President Barack Obamas citizenship.

Melania Trump is as ugly on the inside as she is pretty on the outside was how Dan Savage, the sex columnist and gay activist, put it in a recent podcast. He flayed folks on the left who view her as some sort of sympathetic figure  the pretty princess in the tower locked up by the orange ogre with the bad comb-over.

The hashtag #FreeMelania is now a pillar of Twitter-speak, while questions about the Trumps marriage inspire headlines such as Melanias Struggle, an Us Weekly yarn that claimed the 46-year-old first lady is secretly miserable. The article included an interview with a family friend who later acknowledged that his insights may be compromised by not having spoken to her in several years.

Her handful of appearances have yielded few clues, her smile fixed whether attending her husbands address to Congress, greeting the Netanyahus at the White House, or popping up at a Republican fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend while the president remained in Washington.

Only her couture appears to change  a black Ralph Lauren dress one day, a red Givenchy on another.



First lady Melania Trump dons a black Ralph Lauren dress to speak at a luncheon for International Womens Day in the State Dining Room of the White House on March 8. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Circumspect and reserved

Among the rare moments the first lady has spoken publicly was while reading Dr. Seusss Oh, the Places Youll Go! this month to children at a Manhattan hospital, her Slovenian accent as obvious as her large diamond ring and sky-high stilettos.

Youll be as famous as famous can be, with the whole world watching you win on TV, she recited from the book.

(The Washington Post)

She smiled and seemed receptive when Tara McKelvey, a BBC reporter, approached with a question. But the aides came in and swooped her away and had her pose for a picture, McKelvey said. She wanted to answer. She was trying to answer.

A few days later, the first lady hosted a White House luncheon to celebrate International Womens Day, at the start of which guests stood and applauded after someone with an appropriately hushed voice announced, Ladies and gentlemen, the first lady of the United States.

Melania Trump entered the room, strode to the rostrum, smiled and said, Your excellencies, esteemed represent  

Whatever she said next was unknown beyond the dining room because White House aides ordered the media pool to exit.

Karen LeFrak, a friend who attended the White House event, wrote in an email that Melania Trump didnt do the lunch for publicity and she does not seek attention. Describing her friends adjustment, LeFrak said she is carving out an important role to support women and children and redecorating their residence in the White House, where she will move after Barron completes the school year.

Mrs. Trump is enjoying her life and new role, wrote LeFrak, the wife of developer Richard LeFrak, a longtime friend of the president. As for the Trumps marriage, LeFrak wrote that they are very happy! Their relationship is great.

All these rabid rumors about her and their relationship are laughable and fictional, she wrote.

Only Monday, the first lady announced the hiring of a communications director, Stephanie Grisham. On Saturday, before being named to the position, Grisham said in an email that Melania anticipates a very busy upcoming week in D.C., and will be joining the president soon. She remains focused on Barron as he finishes the school year, Grisham noted.

First lady Melania Trump holds a fan as she tours the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens with Akie Abe, wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in Delray Beach, Fla. (Joe Skipper/Reuters)

Louise Sunshine, a former Trump Organization executive, has spoken with the first lady a half-dozen times since the election. She described her as circumspect and very composed and very reserved as she absorbs her new duties and learns to deal with the president and his advisers, a circle Sunshine compared to a den of wolves.

There are a lot of forces there competing for attention, Sunshine said. Shes trying to assess the best way and the best place for her as the first lady and as the wife of a very impulsive, compulsive, erratic president. Lets say erratic, accomplished president.

She doesnt gossip, she doesnt tell anyone her innermost thoughts, shes not that trusting, Sunshine said. She does things with a great deal of forethought. Shes totally different than Donald, which is the good news. She thinks things over and says things in a thoughtful manner.

Her task is all the more complex, she said, because the president is the perpetual star of his own one-man show.

He dances alone, Sunshine said. Hes not into the tango.

An exception to that rule occurred a month after the inauguration, when the president and the first lady shared a stage. She introduced her husband at a Florida rally, removing her sunglasses as she stepped to the microphone and, apropos of nothing, defended herself against unspecified attacks.

I will always stay true to myself and be truthful to you, the first lady promised, no matter what the opposition is saying about me.

It was eight days before she emerged again, hosting a black-tie dinner at the White House for the nations governors, an event she said she hoped would be a respite from political labels and partisan interests.

Her husband had others ideas, tweeting before salad was served: Big dinner with Governors tonight at White House. Much to be discussed, including healthcare.



A person in Sofia, Bulgaria, holds a #Free Melania poster during a rally in solidarity with the Womens March in Washington on Jan. 21. (Nikolay Doychinov/AFP/Getty Images)

Unnerving absences

On a Monday, Barron Trumps Secret Service detail picked him up from school on the Upper West Side and delivered him to the Fifth Avenue tower his father made famous. Ivanka Trumps jewelry line is on display in the lobby. Visitors can find books, coffee mugs and after-shave lotion bearing the name and visage of the 45th president.

The first lady is invisible.

Neither her face nor her name appear on any T-shirt, shampoo bottle or refrigerator magnet. Nor can she be found at the Trump Bar or the Trump Grill, an absence thats fine by Georgianne Crager and Cherryl Nance, two pals in fur coats visiting from Mississippi.

You dont see her skinning and grinning for photo ops because shes a mother first, said Crager, 61, a nurse. An amazing woman! I dont understand why the liberals pick on her.

Her friend nodded.

Have you heard the saying, The dog that caught the car? Looks to me like she got run over, Crager said. I feel sorry that she lost her freedom. But I admire that she said, Im staying right here. 

Hillary Clinton did not remain in Arkansas with Chelsea, then 12, when her husband decamped for Washington. Instead, she settled into a West Wing office, immersed herself in health-care restructuring, and inspired the American Bar Association to host a debate about whether she held too much power.

After her husband became president, Michelle Obama, while caring for their two young daughters, spent her first weeks awash in plaudits as she toured federal agencies, read to schoolchildren and landed on the cover of Vogue.

Melania Trump has made a far different impression. Soon after the election, she announced that she would remain in New York until June, a decision that prompted questions about her fondness for her thrice-married husband, whose profane, sexist banter had roiled his campaign.

Although Melania has popped up here and there, her absences have unsettled purists who cite Jacqueline Kennedy and Nancy Reagan as beacons of stand-by-your-president rectitude.

This is an important tradition and part of the pomp and parade that is this country, said Robert Watson, a Lynn University professor who has studied first families. This is bigger than Melania and Barron and bigger than The Donald.

Yet Melania Trumps approach may be an opportunity to retire an anachronistic role, said Katherine Jellison, an Ohio University history professor. Its about being the wife of a high-profile man, and inadvertently she may be disassembling the role.

The signal Im getting is she doesnt want to be first lady, Jellison said. This is not just low-profile, but no profile.



President Donald Trump waves as he walks with first lady Melania Trump during the inauguration parade on Jan. 20. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Personable in private

Before she became Mrs. Trump, Melania Knauss was a model whose high cheekbones and piercing blue eyes hijacked stylist Phillip Blochs attention when she walked into a Manhattan fashion show.

I remember thinking, wow, shes beautiful, shell be a star, he recalled. She also exuded aloofness, and her visibility on New Yorks fashion circuit  never great  grew more infrequent after Barrons birth.

Over the years, Melania Trumps Facebook posts have suggested solitude. Her photos are often devoid of people and shot through glass, either a car window or from her apartment, as if her perspective is from inside a luxurious fishbowl.

Summer rain in NYC, she captioned a photo of a water-pocked window overlooking Central Park.

Driving between skyscrapers was her title for a photo from beneath soaring glass towers and billowing clouds.

Bye! Im off to my #summer residence, she announced in a rare selfie from a bathroom. Unsmiling, her eyes are concealed behind oversized black sunglasses. A gold-tinted mirror behind her reflects a toilet.

Anthony Senecal, the Trumps former butler at Mar-a-Lago, occasionally drove Melania on West Palm Beach, Fla., shopping trips to boutiques and the Whole Foods supermarket. He said she could be personable in ways the public rarely sees. Once, when she was alone at Mar-a-Lago, he said, she urged him to take time off to visit his dying sister.

She said, Tony, there isnt anything I cant get here  people will bring anything I ask for, you go be with your sister,  he recalled. She said, From now on, when Im here, consider me taken care of. 

But she added: When Donalds here, youll have to stay.

Melanias warmth, he said, is often masked by a restrained veneer. She just adapts, period, he said. You dont know if she likes it or doesnt like it. This is his job, and this is my job to support my husband. 

Twelve days after President Trumps inauguration, after she had returned to New York, Jae Donnelly, a freelance photographer, snapped a picture of the first lady and Barron entering a dentists office near Trump Tower.

Donnelly wouldnt reveal how he knew her destination, but within hours the photo was on the Daily Mails website and circulating on the Internet, with a headline about her running errands.

Donnelly no longer pursues her. The opportunities are so few, he said, and you could be waiting for days upon days.

Downtown, as they hunted for celebrities in Soho in mid-March, Miles Diggs and his partner, Cesar Pena, tallied up a days work: They shot Malia Obama as she walked into a Tribeca office building, Robert De Niro as he left a restaurant, and the actor Michael Colter as he bought odor-eaters at a Duane Reed drugstore.

They stopped trying to get the first lady last fall after striking out at Barrons school. But, in their self-interested view, they think that she could help endear herself to the public with an unscripted foray every now and then.

A photo of her coming out of Barneys with a bunch of shopping bags, Diggs said, envisioning the headline: First Lady Shops Till She Drops.

Can you imagine how that would sell? he asked.

Yet its uncertain whether Melania Trump wants anyone to see beyond her practiced smile.

On the night before the swearing-in, she joined her husband at the Lincoln Memorial for a concert. In a backstage tent beforehand, the president-elect bantered for 20 minutes with his advisers, a campaign volunteer who had traveled to Washington for the festivities, and a reporter.

All the while, the first lady sat in a folding chair alongside her husband, as still and silent as a mannequin, as if oblivious to the chatter around her.

Staff writer Justin Jouvenal contributed to this report.
D.C. Public Schools has no plans for an all-girls high school like the one it opened in August for black and Latino boys. Instead, the school system plans to create support groups for girls and host a systemwide all-girls conference later this year.

Ron Brown College Preparatory High School, an all-male school, opened its doors last summer. The 100-student school aims to boost achievement for black and Latino boys, who historically have the lowest test scores and graduation rates in the city.

The school has drawn controversy, with the American Civil Liberties Union questioning why the system did not create an all-girls counterpart. The school system replied last fall that Ron Brown was designed with the specific needs of young men in mind and that it was working to expand opportunities to meet the unique needs of our female students.

[ACLU questions legality of D.C.s minority male school program: What about black girls?]

On Monday, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and Schools Chancellor Antwan Wilson announced those opportunities.

DCPS officials said they held listening sessions with more than 100 girls of color and did not hear that girls wanted their own school.

Instead, they said, girls want a space, such as an after-school club, to talk about their days and their feelings and to learn about one another. Girls want to learn how to build their confidence, the school system said in a news release.

This tells me that whatever is done is done specifically for their needs and not just a simple replication of what weve done for boys, Wilson said in an interview. It needs to be unique to them.

Like many urban school systems, DCPS has struggled to raise graduation rates and test scores for students of color. School systems across the country  including in Miami, New York, Minneapolis and Oakland, Calif.  have spent millions on initiatives, particularly for black males, that aim to provide unique programs to keep students in school and boost academics.

[Uplifting each other: All-boys Ron Brown High is coming together in debut year]

In the District, its the girls turn.

Through a program called Reign: Empowering Young Women as Leaders, the school system will host a citywide conference for young women of color on June 3 and workshops during the 2017-2018 school year. Educators will receive training on gender and racial equality, and innovation grants will be awarded to help schools focus on the academic, social and emotional needs of girls.

Wilson did not rule out an all-girls school in the future. Should there become a strong desire for us to have a school that is specifically for the needs of young women, then I absolutely will be supportive of that, he said.

In recent weeks, there has been a public outcry about the number of children, particularly teenage girls, who go missing in the District. Last week, the mayor announced that she would dedicate more resources to the problem and establish a task force to determine what social services teenage runaways need to stabilize their home lives.

[D.C. Mayor Bowser creates a task force on missing children after a public outcry]

Bowser and others say there has not been an increase in missing teenagers but rather that law enforcement has made a more concerted effort to publicize those cases on social media.

Bowser and Wilson said the announcement of Reign was not a direct response to the public outcry.

We know when we instill that amount of confidence and high expectation and [they] know how to get help when one needs it, we know we put our girls in the best situation, Bowser said.

Reign will cost the school system $1 million in the first year. When DCPS unveiled the boys initiative in 2015, officials said they would spend $20 million over three years.

We will continue to build. Once this is fully implemented, it will be the equivalent of what we are doing with our young men, Wilson said.

Last week, Wilson spent a morning with H.E.R. Story, an all-girls group at Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School. The 13 girls told Wilson that the gathering of peers helped boost their confidence.

[D.C. program aims to curb need for remedial college math]

I come from a neighborhood that most people call ghetto,  said Asia Newman, a 10th-grader. But this has shown me I dont have to be the stereotype of not going to college, or getting pregnant in high school. I can be better than that. I can go to college and make something of myself.
Every one of the 190 seniors at Ballou High applied to college this year, a first for the long-struggling public school in a poor neighborhood of Southeast Washington.

Randy Sams, 18, applied to at least 14 colleges and said he has been accepted at 12, including Penn State and Virginia State universities. Hes waiting to hear from his top choice, Temple, a public university in Philadelphia. The deciding factor will be financial aid offers. Sams will be the first in his family to attend college.

Ayanna Rouse, 18, also applied to 14 colleges. She committed to the public Radford University in Virginia. Shell be the first in her family to attend a four-year university.

Ballou ranks among the citys lowest-performing high schools on core measures. Its graduation rate last school year, 57 percent, was second-lowest among regular schools in the D.C. Public Schools system, behind Anacostia Highs rate of 42 percent. (That comparison doesnt include alternative schools.) Last school year, 3 percent of Ballou students tested met reading standards on citywide standardized exams. Almost none met math standards.

Despite these challenges, administrators said it was the Class of 2017 that decided all seniors would apply to college. The students themselves set the ambitious goal last spring. Administrators say they never doubted the students would meet it.

Jamanda Porter, a college and career coordinator at Ballou, helped the seniors apply to college. (Bill OLeary/The Washington Post)

There are some schools and communities where college is an automatic next step. There is no celebration, said Yetunde Reeves, Ballous principal. Our kids dont get that same message. We are trying to create an environment where going to college is what Ballou does as well.

[Graduation rates climb to an all-time high at D.C. Public Schools]

Erin Bibo, deputy chief of college and career programs for DCPS, said Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, a selective-admissions campus in Northwest, is the only other school in the system in which 100 percent of its seniors have applied to college.

Ballou, with about 930 students, is in one of the poorest wards in the city, and every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Educators say that getting some students to go to class is a struggle. Attrition is high: Many who enter as freshmen drop out along the way to graduation.

Some, including Sams, hesitated to enroll at Ballou because of its reputation as a troubled school. Ballou was made famous by Ron Suskinds 1998 book A Hope in the Unseen, which chronicled the journey of a student overcoming challenges as he traveled from Ballou to the Ivy League.

But Reeves said that she and her staff are working to change the image of Ballou by raising expectations. Many students have parents who did not go to college.

Now, these students are aiming for college. Many have applied to the citys public University of the District of Columbia. Others have targeted historically black schools such as Tennessee State University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Ballou attributes part of its success this year to Jamanda Porter, a college and career coordinator, who has been at the school for almost two years. She works with every senior, even those who think they want to join the military or start working right away, to apply to at least one college.

We are meeting our students where they are, but we are pushing them to higher expectations, Porter said.

For years, schools and nonprofit organizations across the District have devoted resources to getting students not only to graduate from high school but also apply to college. The DC College Access Program, for example, raises millions of dollars for scholarships, and it funds a college counselor in schools and holds college-orientation seminars for families.

Bibo said schools with college readiness programs sometimes dont coordinate efforts between groups to help every student. Porters job is to coordinate the efforts of programs such as DC-CAP with the schools academic counselor and others focused on graduation and college readiness. Porter also meets with students individually to come up with a post-graduation plan.

[D.C. program aims to curb need for remedial college math]

Only two other schools in the system, Anacostia and H.D. Woodson High, have a full-time college and career coordinator, but officials announced last month that the system will fund a coordinator in six others starting next school year.

Porter and others at Ballou said some of the students who applied to college are struggling to graduate on time, but the staff is committed to helping them finish and come up with a plan for once the students get their diploma.

Assistant Principal Shamele Straughter said that even if they do not end up enrolling in college, applying sends a message to the students about their education options.

Now they have choice. That is the beauty of this entire thing  you get to pick, Straughter said. I am excited about seeing what the acceptance rate is going to be.

As of last week, Sams, who plans to major in computer engineering, had an 86 percent acceptance rate.

[Path to a new life takes these minority high school graduates back to preschool]

He said he never doubted that he would go to college. Sams is the youngest of four children in his family. While his mother is excited about all of his college offers, Sams said she also is waiting to see what will happen. He said she is mindful that one of his older brothers was also accepted into college but ended up not enrolling.

She might think thats what I am going to do, Sams said. But he said he will definitely enroll.

I always wanted to be a standout from the rest and not be a statistic, Sams said. I also wanted to prove to my family that this is what we could do.
BLOOD DONATIONS

Blood drives April 7, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Loudoun County Fire and Rescue, 801 Sycolin Rd., Leesburg, 800-733-2767; April 15, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Leesburg Public Safety Center, 65 Plaza St., Leesburg, 800-733-2767.

Inova Blood Donor Center Mondays noon-8 p.m., Tuesdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Fridays 6 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays noon-4 p.m. Dulles Town Center, 45745 Nokes Blvd., Sterling. 866-256-6372 or inova.org/donateblood.

FIRST AID

First aid/adult, infant and child CPR/AED (Automated External Defibrillator) Fauquier Hospital Medical Office Building, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588. Call for schedule. $85. Registration required.

HEARING

Disability Resource Center Technical assistance through the state Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and presentations to businesses, groups and schools. Third Tuesdays 2-5 p.m., Workplace, 205 Keith St., Warrenton. Call for an appointment, 800-648-6324; TDD, 540-373-5890. Free.

MENTAL HEALTH

Counseling for sexual violence survivors Provided by Loudoun Citizens for Social Justice. 703-771-9020.

Crisis Intervention Treatment and Assessment Center Provides emergency mental-health, substance-use and developmental services to Loudoun residents. Daily from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. 102 Heritage Way NE, Suite 102, Leesburg. Emergency services are available 24 hours a day at 703-777-0320.

Crisislink Suicide and crisis intervention. Community education, a volunteer crisis response team and CareRing, a telephone outreach program for the elderly and disabled. 703-527-6016, volunteer@crisislink.org or crisislink.org.

Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services This mental health nonprofit organization is accepting clients from ages 16 to 30 for a coordinated services program with Loudoun County to help young people with their first experience of psychosis find hope and recover. For information, call Lisa Beran at 703-388-6572 or go to prsinc.org.

Piedmont Chapter, National Alliance on Mental Illness Serves Fauquier, Orange, Madison and Rappahannock counties. Support group, education classes and events for people living with mental illness and their family members. First Wednesdays 7-9 p.m. Fauquier Hospital, 500 Hospital Dr., Sycamore Room A, Warrenton. 571-426-8213.

Mental health first-aid A public education program offered by the Loudoun County Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Developmental Services to help residents understand mental illness and seek intervention. Go to loudoun.gov/mhfirstaid.

Northern Virginia Chapter, National Alliance on Mental IllnessA support group, classes and programs for people living with mental illness and their family members. naminorthernvirginia.org.

PREGNANCY, PARENTING

Adoptive family preservation Adoptive families discuss common experiences; registration required. Third Tuesdays 12:30-2 p.m., Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Rd. Call 703-941-9008, Ext. 23, or email jmellario@umfs.org.

Birthright of Loudoun County Free pregnancy tests, baby clothing, transportation and support throughout pregnancy, 823 S. King St., Leesburg. 703-777-7272.

Bond Between Us A nonprofit organization that offers support to birth parents when children have been placed for adoption. Fourth Tuesdays 7:30 p.m. Call for location. 703-771-7844.

Breastfeeding support Mondays 9:30-10:30 a.m., Fauquier Hospital Family Birthing Center, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588.

Dad support New and expectant fathers share ideas. First Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg. 703-858-6360.

For the Childrens Sake A group for separating or divorcing parents to share advice. Four-hour session weekly. Information: 703-391-8599 or fitsfoundation.org.

La Leche League Mother-to-mother support and breastfeeding information. 10 a.m. second Wednesdays in Warrenton, 540-351-6103. Third Fridays 10:15-11:45 a.m., call for location, 703-444-7386. Second Fridays 10:15 a.m., Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Rd., 703-829-0349; Thursdays 10 a.m.-noon, Panera Bread, 43670 Greenway Corp. Dr., Ashburn, lllashburn@gmail.com. Third Fridays 10:15 a.m., Christ the Redeemer Church, 46833 Harry F. Byrd. Hwy., Sterling, 540-338-4637.

Loudoun Fatherhood Program Fathers discuss the joys and challenges of being a parent. Meets every other Saturday for two hours for four months; sponsored by Northern Virginia Family Service. 571-748-2796. Free.

Loudoun Nurturing Parenting Program Positive parenting techniques; children attend with parents. Registration required. Call 703-771-3973, Ext. 27, or email nurturingprogram@lcsj.org. Free.

Mothernet/Healthy Families Loudoun Program links first-time parents with medical, social and educational resources to give children a socially and physically healthy start in life. Family support workers meet with participants in homes. English-Spanish translation provided. 703-444-4477, Ext. 217, or inmed.org.

New mother support Wednesdays 9:30-11:30 a.m. Inova Loudoun Medical Pavilion, 224 Cornwall St., Leesburg. Babies welcome. 703-858-6360.

Young parent services Support for teenage parents. Loudoun County Department of Family Social Services, 52 Sycolin Rd., Leesburg. Call for times. 703-771-5375.

Online childbirth education program Inova Loudoun Hospitals Web-based program uses animation, videos and interactive activities to guide users through the basics of childbirth, breastfeeding and caring for newborns. 703-858-6360 or thebirthinginn.org/classes.

Parenting Alone group For parents of school-age children who have lost a spouse or partner to cancer. Second Tuesdays 5:30-6:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Call 703-698-2536 or email jennifer.eckert@inova.org.

Pregnancy and childbirth support Childbirth Solutions Resource Center, 8393 W. Main St., Marshall. 571-344-0438.

SENIORS

Chair yoga Age 55 and older. Mondays 11 a.m.-noon, Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. Wear comfortable clothes. Bare feet or socks are encouraged. 571-258-3400. $2 drop in.

Exercise equipment Age 55 and older. Weights, treadmills, bikes and a cardio-glide. Instruction provided. Weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

Eye care LensCrafters staff members clean glasses and make minor repairs. Second Wednesdays 1-2 p.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 703-430-2397. Free.

Inova Loudoun mobile van Blood pressure checks. Second and fourth Tuesdays 9:30 a.m.-noon, Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling, 571-258-3280; first Wednesdays 9:30 a.m.-noon, Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039.

Laughing yoga for seniors Improve flexibility and balance. Thursdays 9:30-10:30 a.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

Loudoun Adult Day Centers For seniors with physical limitations or memory loss, a safe and social environment, therapeutic activities, individualized care and respite for caregivers. Limited transportation. Sliding-scale fees. Weekdays in Leesburg, 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., 703-771-5334; Purcellville, 571-258-3402; and Ashburn-Sterling, 571-258-3232.

Senior Outreach Services Free and confidential assistance from an Area Agency on Aging case manager. Call for an appointment or sign up at the Senior Center at Cascades. First and third Wednesdays 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 571-258-3280.

Senior Outreach Services Free and confidential assistance from an Area Agency on Aging Elder case manager. Sign up in the Leesburg Senior Center lobby. Second and fourth Thursdays 11 a.m.-noon and 12:30-4:30 p.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

Senior Outreach Services Free and confidential assistance from an Area Agency on Aging Elder case manager. Call for an appointment or sign up at the Carver Center. First and third Mondays, 12:30-5 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 703-737-8741. Free.

Tai chi for seniors Stretching and strengthening movements. Mondays 11 a.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

Zumba gold class Age 55 and older. Wear rubber-soled shoes and comfortable clothing; bring water and a towel. Tuesdays 11 a.m., Tuesdays and Fridays 1 p.m. Senior Center of Leesburg, 102 North St. NW, Leesburg. 703-737-8039. $24 per month.

Zumba For people 55 and older learning Zumba for the first time, or those who prefer a lower-impact version. The fitness program combines Latin and international music with dance.Thursdays 11 a.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 571-258-3280. $12.

SUPPORT GROUPS

Al-Anon Service Center of Northern Virginia A volunteer is available 24 hours with information for spouses, family members and friends of problem drinkers. 703-534-4357 or 877-339-8350. Mondays 8 p.m. Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 125 W. Washington St., Middleburg, 540-554-2747; Tuesdays 7:30 p.m. St. James Episcopal Church, 14 Cornwall St. NW, Leesburg, 877-339-8350; Fridays 8:30 p.m. Grace Episcopal Church, 6507 Main St., The Plains, 800-344-2666; Tuesdays 12:15 p.m. Warrenton Church of Christ, Route 29 N., 540-347-7448; Tuesdays 7 p.m. and Saturdays 8:30 p.m. Warrenton Presbyterian Church, 91 Main St., 800-344-2666.

Alcoholics Anonymous Various meeting times and locations in Loudoun County. 800-208-8649 or 703-876-6166. nvintergroup.org.

Alzheimers caregiver support For those who care for people with Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia. Fourth Wednesdays 4-5:30 p.m. The Villa at Suffield Meadows, 6735 Suffield Lane, Warrenton. 540-316-3800.

Alzheimers caregivers support For those caring for people with Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia. Second Mondays 7-8:30 p.m. Galilee United Methodist Church, 45425 Winding Rd., Sterling. 703-430-9229. galileeumc.org.

Alzheimers caregivers support Emotional, educational and social support for family members and friends of people with the disease. Third Saturdays 10 a.m. Loudoun County Area Agency on Aging, 20145 Ashbrook Pl., Ashburn. Call 703-771-5407 or email lesley.katz@loudoun.gov.

Alzheimers caregiver support group Fourth Thursdays 3-4 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 540-903-6831 or alz.org.

Alzheimers support First Tuesdays 10-11 a.m. Spring Arbor Assisted Living, 237 Fairview St. NW, Leesburg. 540-338-6520.

Alzheimers support First Wednesdays 4 p.m. Leesburg Adult Day Center, 16501 Meadowview Ct., Leesburg. 703-771-5334.

Alzheimers support Fourth Thursdays 3-4 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 571-258-3400.

Talk About Curing Autism A nonprofit organization educating and supporting families affected by autism. tacanow.org.

Autoimmune support Last Thursdays 6:30-7:30 p.m. Jackson Building, 209 Gibson St., Leesburg. autoimmunesupport@hotmail.com.

Bereaved parent support One-on-one counseling is available. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814 or scsm.tv.

Bereavement support Age 18 and older. Third Mondays 1 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. Sponsored by Capital Caring. 703-957-1800.

Bereavement support Tuesdays through March 28, 7:30- 9 p.m. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814. Free.

Breast cancer support Fourth Tuesdays 7-8 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Tower, Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-349-0588.

Breast cancer support For those with new diagnoses or starting treatment. Register if attending for the first time. Fourth Mondays 5-6:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-858-8857.

Breast cancer support For those who have finished treatment, have had a recurrence or have metastatic breast cancer. Register if attending for the first time. Fourth Mondays 6:30-8 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-858-8857. Free.

Breast Cancer Support Assistance Fund Loudoun County residents who have received a diagnosis or have undergone treatment in the past 12 months are eligible to apply for financial assistance. Areas included are wigs, bras, puffs and prostheses, mammograms and medical bills, food and help with utilities, rent or mortgage, and transportation costs. The Pink Assistance Fund has been established by the Loudoun Breast Health Network. lbhn.org.

Cancer support Oncology nurses, social workers and spiritual-care providers offer education and support to patients, families and caregivers. Second Mondays 5:30-6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-2273.

Cancer support Life with Cancer, for patients, family members and friends. Second Thursdays 7 p.m. Ashburn Presbyterian Church, Room 202, 20962 Ashburn Rd. 703-729-2012 or ashburnpresbyterian.org.

Caregiver support Emotional, educational and social support. Encourages caregivers to maintain their physical and emotional health while caring for people with dementia or other chronic illness. Fourth Thursdays 3-4 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 540-903-6831.

Caregiver support and resource group Wednesdays 10:30 a.m.-noon (no meeting first Wednesdays), Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814. scsm.tv.

Caring for Aging Parents Support group. Confidential. Fourth Wednesdays 7:30 p.m., Family Focus Counseling Service, 20-B John Marshall St., Warrenton. 540-349-4537.

Chadd parents support For parents of children with ADD/ADHD. Fourth Sundays 3 p.m. KinderCare, 44051 Ashburn Village Shopping Plaza. chadd.novaloudoun@gmail.com.

Chronic illness support Tuesdays 1:30-2:30 p.m. Spiritual Care Support Ministries, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814 or scsm.tv.

Coffee and Conversation Support for those discouraged because of illness, bereavement, caregiving or a loved one in the military. Thursdays 10 a.m.-noon. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814.

Compassionate Friends For parents who have experienced the death of a child. First Wednesdays 7:30 p.m. St. James Episcopal Church, 14 Cornwall St. NW, Leesburg. 540-882-9707.

Creating and Connecting Two-hour art therapy and relaxation workshop for cancer patients. Every other month, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Call for dates. 703-858-8850.

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of Western Loudoun Saturdays 3 p.m. Purcellville Library, 220 E. Main St., Carruthers Room. Call 703-431-7160 or email kathy@dbsanca.org.

Drop-in grief support Second and fourth Wednesdays 1-2 p.m. St. Davids Episcopal Church, 43600 Russell Branch Pkwy., Ashburn. Sponsored by Capital Caring. 703-597-1781.

Families Overcoming Drug Addiction Support group. First and third Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. myfodafamily@gmail.com or 540-316-9221.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth and parent support A group in partnership with Metro DC PFLAG. Fourth Sundays 4-6 p.m. Unitarian Universalist Church, 22135 Davis Dr., Sterling. 703-328-6518.

Griefshare Open to anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. Tuesdays through May 23 from 7-8:30 p.m. Purcellville Baptist Church, 601 Yaxley Dr., Purcellville. Call 540-338-0918 or email caring@purbap.org. Workbook, $15.

Griefshare Nondenominational seminar and support group. Tuesdays 7:30-9 p.m., and Wednesdays, 1-2:30 p.m. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814. Free.

Grief support Sponsored by Hospice Support of Fauquier County. Individual counseling available. First and third Thursdays 3:30-5 p.m. Hospice Support Office, 42 N. Fifth St., Warrenton. Registration required. Email hospicesupport@verizon.net or call 540-347-5922.

Grief support Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814.

Hospice support Free medical-equipment loan facility for Fauquier County residents. Especially needed are donations of wheelchairs, bedside commodes, rolling walkers, electric hospital beds, shower benches and chairs, adult diapers, lift chairs, Ensure and hospital bed mattresses. 540-347-5922.

Look Good, Feel Better For women undergoing or emerging from cancer treatment. Every other month, 6:45 to 9 p.m. ,Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Call for dates. 703-776-2820. Free.

Loudoun CHADD support Led by Children and Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Third Thursdays 7 p.m. Leesburg Town Hall, lower-level conference room, 25 W. Market St. 703-669-2445.

Lyme disease support Fourth Sundays 2-4 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Conference Room A and B, Leesburg. Go to natcaplyme.org or email loudounlymeadvocates@

gmail.com.

Lyme disease support Third Thursdays 7-9 p.m. Warrenton Church of Christ, 6398 Lee Hwy. Access Road, Warrenton. 540-341-8245 or email phillipsgeo@comcast.net.

Lyme disease support Age 18 and older. First Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. Email charphealy@yahoo.com.

MADD Loudoun victim support For those who have been affected by drunken driving. Third Wednesdays 7:30 p.m. 210 Wirt St., Leesburg. 540-338-6491.

Man-to-Man Cancer Support Sponsored by Loudoun Cancer Care Center, for prostate cancer patients and their families. Second Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. Call 703-858-8857 or email karen.archer@inova.org.

Menopause support Third Thursdays 6:30-9 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg (second floor, Patient Education Room). 703-858-8060.

Mens grief support Second Mondays at 7 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 703-568-3346. Free.

Multiple sclerosis support Saturdays 10:30 a.m. Fauquier Hospital Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-349-2826.

Multiple sclerosis support Last Sundays, September-June, 2-4 p.m. Cascades Library, 21030 Whitfield Pl., Potomac Falls. Call ahead to confirm. 703-771-4256.

Nar-anon family support For those affected by loved ones with addiction. Meaningful Mondays, 7-8 p.m., Galilee United Methodist Church, 45425 Winding Rd., Sterling. 703-203-9792; Wisdom Wednesdays 7-8 p.m., St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 37730 St. Francis Ct., Purcellville, 703-606-7125; Serenity Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. Leesburg Presbyterian Church, 207 W. Market St., Leesburg, 703-606-7125.

Overeaters Anonymous For fellowship and support. For locations and times, call oa.org.

Parkinson's support Open to those with Parkinson's disease, their family members and caregivers. First Tuesdays 1:30-3 p.m. Call for Ashburn location. 571-442-8851.

Post-partum support Second and fourth Wednesdays 1-2:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Cornwall Campus, 224 Cornwall St., Leesburg. Call 703-909-9877 or email lamckeough@gmail.com. Registration required.

Reach to Recovery Home visit program for mastectomy and lumpectomy patients. Temporary prostheses, exercise instruction and encouragement. 703-938-5550.

Sexual assault and incest survivors group counseling Services provided by Loudoun Citizens for Social Justice and the Loudoun Abused Womens Shelter are free and confidential. 703-771-9020.

Sexual assault survivors empowerment support Sponsored by Sexual Assault Victims Volunteer Initiative. Child care available with 48 hours notice. Mondays; call for times and locations. 540-349-7720.

Spiritual support group For cancer patients, family members and friends. Third Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-858-8850.

Spouse loss support Sundays through April 2, 2:30-4 p.m. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. Facilitated by Liz Shaw. 540-349-5814. Free.

Stroke survivors and caregivers support Second Wednesdays 11 a.m.-noon, Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg, second floor, Patient Education Room. 703-858-6199 or jill.lieb@inova.org.

Suicide counseling Third Wednesdays 7-8:30 p.m. Leesburg Town Office, Conference Room 2, lower level, 25 W. Market St., Leesburg. 703-587-1618 or survivorsofsuicidelossleesburg@gmail.com.

Womens support Sponsored by Services to Abused Families. Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Confidential location. 540-825-8876.

Widows and widowers support Third Mondays 11 a.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039.

Womens cancer support Woman to Woman, first Wednesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Registration required. 703-858-8850.

MISCELLANEOUS

Brain trauma survivors brown-bag lunch For survivors and caregivers. First Tuesdays, noon-1:30 p.m., Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg, second-floor Patient Education Room. Call 703-737-3150 or email jberg@braininjurysvcs.org. Free.

Child developmental screenings For ages 2-5. Children may not be kindergarten-age-eligible. Sponsored by the Loudoun County public schools Child Find Center. 571-252-2180.

Cholesterol screenings Weekdays from 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Fauquier Health LIFE Center, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-2640. Registration required. $35.

Dementia: Effective Communication Strategies April 8 at 1 p.m. Cascades Library, 21030 Whitfield Pl., Potomac Falls. Bob Bell of the Alzheimers Association National Capital Area Chapter will discuss how to decode verbal and behavioral messages and identify communication strategies for each stage of the disease. 703-444-3228. Free.

Emergency food supplies Loudoun County residents in need can receive a free three-day supply of groceries. Supplies are distributed Mondays through Saturdays by Loudoun Hunger Relief. Call 703-777-5911 or go to loudounhunger.org.

Fauquier free walk-in medical clinic Call Thursdays from 12:30 to 1 p.m. to register for the clinic, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Patients are seen by appointment Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Fauquier and Rappahannock residents only. Bring proof of address for the first visit. Patients cannot have Medicaid, Medicare or private insurance. Information: 540-347-0394 Tuesdays or Thursdays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Fauquier Hospital Bistro Senior Supper Club Nutritious meals and fellowship for people 55 and older. Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:30-6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Bistro on the Hill, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588. $5.49.

HEROES (Hometown Enabling Relationships, Opportunities and Empowerment through Support) is a program for military families. Support to military members and families, from pre-deployment up to two years post-deployment. Assistance includes financial help, job placement, family care and mental-health services. caring@purbap.org or heroescare.org.

Inova Loudoun Hospital Mobile Health Services Blood pressure screenings, Tuesday 9 a.m.-noon, Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling; Wednesday 10 a.m.-noon, Lansdowne Woods, 19400 Leisure World Blvd., Leesburg. For information, call 703-858-8818 or go to inova.org/mobilehealth. Free.

Loudoun Cares information and referral help line Call 703-669-4636 for help in finding resources for county residents dealing with eviction, utility cut-offs, needed health care and employment.

Motor skill screenings Birth to 21 months. First Thursdays, Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing Center, 19465 Deerfield Ave., Suite 201, Lansdowne. Call for an appointment. 703-858-7620. Free.

Northern Virginia long-term care ombudsman Call 703-324-5861 for help in resolving complaints related to long-term-care facilities.

Road to Recovery Free rides to appointments for cancer patients. Call 410-781-6909 or email jen.burdette@cancer.org. Free.

Safe sitter classes For girls and boys ages 11-14. First Saturdays except for holiday weekends. 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg. To receive a Safe Sitter Certificate, students must pass practical and written tests on babysitting and handling an emergency. Take a lunch from home or buy one in the cafeteria. $70, includes handbook and snacks. Registration required. 703-858-8818 or charlene.martin@inova.org.

Seven Loaves Food Pantry Individuals and families can receive a three-day supply of food, distributed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m.-noon. Go to sevenloavesmiddleburg.org or call 540-687-3489.

Tree of Life Food Pantry Serving western Loudoun County. Food is delivered Wednesdays and Saturdays. 703-554-3595.

 Compiled by Sandy Mauck

TO SUBMIT AN ITEM

Email: ldliving@washpost.com

Fax: 703-777-8437

Mail: Health Calendar, The Washington Post, 104 Dry Mill Rd. SW, Suite 101, Leesburg, Va. 20175

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar
A man was fatally shot this weekend in Prince Georges County, police said.

About 5:20 a.m. Saturday, officers responded to the 13000 block of Edinburgh Lane in Laurel after a report of a shooting, the Prince Georges County Police Department said in a statement. The victim was found in a car and identified as 33-year-old Marvin Bryan of Lanham, the statement said.

Police asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact them at 301-772-4925 or visit pgpolice.org .
Materials recovered from the home of a Catoctin High School student after a reported threat against the school. (Frederick County Sheriff's Office)

Authorities said they stopped a Frederick County teenager after her parents reported that she was planning violence at her high school.

The Frederick County Sheriffs Office said the 18-year-old student at Catoctin High School in Thurmont was transferred to a hospital for an emergency evaluation because she was deemed a threat to the school and herself. She remained hospitalized Monday.

The Sheriffs Office identified the student as Nicole Cevario. Investigators said in a statement that they obtained an arrest warrant charging her with possession of explosive material with intent to create a destructive device and possession of incendiary material with the intent to create a destructive device.

Officials said that they believe that the threat was serious and that Cevario was actively acquiring materials needed to execute violence at Catoctin High School, the statement said. Authorities said they found a shotgun, ammunition and bomb-making materials that included pipes, shrapnel, fuse material and fireworks at the teenagers home.

[Police investigate threats against schools in six states]

Materials recovered from the home of a Maryland student after an alleged threat against a high school. (Frederick County Sheriff's Office)

Officials said they also found detailed plans in a journal for carrying out a shooting on April 5.

Based on the journal, authorities said, the teenager had been planning this event for some time and compiling intelligence on behavior activities. She had notes on the schools emergency procedures involving security and drills, along with intelligence on security personnel who are assigned to the school, according to the Sheriffs Office.

Her journal also included a timeline of how she was going to execute the plot, as well as her expectations at each stage of the event, authorities said.

[Facing the same threat, schools in Los Angeles, New York take different tacks ]

Maj. Tim Clarke, a sheriffs spokesman, said that Cevarios parents reported concerns about their daughter to school officials Thursday and that law enforcement became involved. The student was removed from a classroom at the school that day and taken to a hospital.

Clarke said officials believe Cevario was acquiring items to go through with the threat. No weapons or explosive devices were taken to the school, officials said. He said that officials are confident that the safety at the school is fine based on an investigation.

This potentially could have been a serious incident, Clarke said. In a statement, officials said Cevario had plans and equipment that would have caused a significant life safety event if she had followed through with the threat.

Materials recovered from the home of a Catoctin High School student in connection with an alleged threat against the school. (Frederick County Sheriff's Office)

Officials said they believe that Cevario made the plans alone and that no one else was involved.

In their statement, authorities praised Cevarios parents for letting people know of the potential threat and said they were being cooperative in the investigation.

They absolutely did the right thing, the statement said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Frederick County authorities at 301-600-2583.
The activist was referring to print advertisements in which Baba Ramdev, owner of Patanjali Yogpeeth and Divya Yog Mandir (both trusts), had used photos of martyrs on martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh.

By Manjeet Sehgal: An RTI activist from Punjab, Parinder Singh Kitana has accused Yoga guru Baba Ramdev of commercialising martyrs Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev in a recent advertisement of Patanjali products.

Citing print media advertisements, in which Baba Ramdev owner of Patanjali Yogpeeth and Divya Yog Mandir (both trusts) had used the photos of martyrs on martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh on March 23, Kitana in a legal notice, said that using the martyr's photos was nothing but an act of commercialisation of the supreme sacrifices made by them.

advertisement

"It is a matter of shock and disbelief that you have tried to commercialize the sacrifices made by the Martyrs, with a view to popularize the Patanjali products. You have made no bones of your intentions by stating in the advertisement itself that the products of Indian companies like Patanjali should be purchased by the countrymen, in preference over foreign companies, since the Martyrs had fought against the foreigners," the legal notice sent to Patanjali Yogpeeth and Divya Yog Mandir trusts said.

ACTIVIST DEMANDS UNCONDITIONAL APOLOGY FROM PATANJALI

The legal notice, issued on March 25, stated that besides amounting to commercialisation of the name of martyrs, the advertisement also amounts to insulting them and the cause for which they have sacrificed their lives.

The complainant has demanded an unconditional apology from Patanjali and also an assurance that similar things will not be repeated in the future.

Kitara has also threatened pursue the case in the court in case the apology is not tendered and published in the newspapers which carried the controversial advertisements within a period of one month.

Patanjali advertisement carrying photos of martyrs

"I demand for unconditional apology from you which may be published in the same newspapers, in which your aforesaid advertisements have been published, and with the same prominence, within a period of one month from the date of receipt of this notice by you, which is being sent to you through e-mail," the legal notice said.

PATANJALI UNAWARE OF LEGAL NOTICE?

Kittna, who is a resident of village Kittna of tehsil Garhshanker in Hoshiarpur district, is a well known social and RTI activist. He has,in the past, exposed several cases of corruption including the one against an IAS officer involved in embezzlement of funds in the name of a cultural event. The bureaucrat is now facing a trial in the court.

When contacted the communications department of Patanjali Yogpeeth expressed ignorance about the legal notice. "No, we have not received any notice in this regard. We will reply as soon as we receive it," an official with the department told India Today on the condition of anonymity.

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ALSO READ | Baba Ramdev's Patanjali products worth Rs 70,000 looted from Patna shop

Ramdev's Patanjali fined Rs 11 lakh for misleading advertisements

--- ENDS ---
Mist surrounds Key Bridge on the Potomac River on March, 10, 2015. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

D.C. police and firefighters are searching the Potomac River near Key Bridge after a person reported seeing somebody in the water Sunday night, according to a fire department spokesman.

The spokesman, Vito Maggiolo, said the call came in about 11 p.m. Authorities searched for about two hours without finding anyone and about 1:10 a.m. declared the search a recovery operation.

D.C. police had no immediate information Monday morning.

[Womans body found near Blue Plains]

Police on Saturday morning recovered a body of a woman from the Potomac River near the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant. Authorities have not yet released the womans identity.
Mohamad Khweis quit his job as a Metro Access driver in Northern Virginia, sold his car and created a new email account to buy a one-way ticket abroad, prosecutors said, traveling a circuitous route to the border between Turkey and Syria before contacting an Islamic State facilitator to take him across. He was undeterred by reports of land mines and bombs along the route.

He made it from his couch in Alexandria to an Islamic State safe house in Raqqa in about two weeks, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick and Raj Parekh, a trial attorney in the Justice Departments Counterterrorism Section, wrote in a court filing last week. This is not a person who frightens or breaks down easily. . . . This defendant knew exactly what he was doing.

Prosecutors are disputing contentions by defense attorneys that Khweis, 27, who is charged in federal court in Virginia with providing material support to terrorists, was coerced into making incriminating statements when he was detained in Iraq last year. His attorneys claimed this month that he was denied access to the American attorney his parents hired and that authorities took advantage of his intense desire to return home to Alexandria.

At the heart of the dense legal filings on both sides is a fundamental dichotomy. Was Khweis, who allegedly joined and then left the Islamic State early last year, a hapless dreamer or a sophisticated operator?

Khweis, who was born to Palestinian immigrants and raised in Virginia, spent months with the Islamic State before running away and being captured by Kurdish forces in Iraq. While with the terror group, he underwent intensive religious training in various Islamic State safe houses. Videos of terrorist attacks were found on his phone. He told investigators, according to the court documents, that he thought he was destined for military training because he didnt have any skills to offer ISIS, using another term for the Islamic State.

Prosecutors said Khweis was repeatedly offered a Kurdish lawyer, including a free public defender, and declined the offer. He was also regularly visited by a U.S. consular officer.

When interviewed by intelligence agents looking for sensitive national security information, Khweis was treated well, prosecutors said.

He was often observed smiling, laughing, appearing engaged, answering all questions and willingly volunteering information to assist the interviewers, the prosecutors wrote.

When he later met with an FBI clean team whose interviews could be used in court, prosecutors said Khweis remained cooperative and at each interview signed away his right to remain silent or speak only with an attorney present.

The defendant was also informed that an American-trained attorney is available to him, but (given that he was in Kurdish custody at the time), the agents ability to provide the defendant with access to him may be limited by the decisions of the local authorities, the prosecutors wrote.

Khweis was given an information sheet by the State Department, which said that Iraqi lawyers do not argue for either side and that the right to remain silent does not apply, according to court filings.

Khweis was interviewed by the FBI multiple times before his attorney, John Zwerling, was added to his list of contacts. But prosecutors said that even after the State Department official met Khweis and got Zwerling approved as a contact, the prisoner waived his rights and gave an additional interview.

Six times, according to court documents, Khweis signed papers waiving his right to remain silent. He also signed a document consenting to a search of his electronic devices.

His detention was not secret, prosecutors add  he was seen by Red Cross and State Department officials and received letters from his family addressed to the Irbil center where was held. He also appeared on Kurdish television, in an interview discouraging others from joining the Islamic State.

The defense filing exposed tension between the FBI, State Department and Kurdish authorities over the Americans detention. Kurdish officials said Khweis needed to be moved out of the country or into their court system. State Department officials complained that they couldnt get access to the prisoner.

Zwerling said prosecutors chose to smear the defendant rather than confront the issues raised in those messages, because the facts that we used came directly from the communications of government officials.

Prosecutors acknowledge that some emails reflect pressure placed on the FBI by Kurdish authorities to bring the investigation to a premature conclusion. But, they contend, the Kurds were not being manipulated by the FBI into keeping Khweis detained. In fact, the Kurds dictated the schedule of interrogations.

It is sheer folly to suggest that one FBI Special Agent had the authority or the ability to control the actions of senior members of the Kurdistan Regional Government, the prosecutors wrote.
(McKenna Ewen/The Washington Post)

In a tiny hearing room at one of the countrys most remote and unforgiving immigration courts, Elena Albamonte walked right past the table she had used for years as the governments highest-ranking prosecutor here. Instead, she put her briefcase on the other table, taking a seat next to an Armenian man in prison garb who had illegally crossed into the United States.

After a three-decade career overseeing deportations as a government immigration lawyer, Albamonte has switched sides.

Ready, your honor, Albamonte said to immigration court Judge Dan Trimble after tidying a thick file of legal documents.

She knew her chances of persuading Trimble to grant her client political asylum were awful. Even before President Trumps crackdown on the nations 11 million undocumented immigrants, the judges at Stewart had been deporting detainees at startlingly high rates. Trimble had turned down 95 percent of those seeking asylum from fiscal 2011 to 2016, according to a study of immigration judges by Syracuse University.

But for 40 minutes, Albamonte gamely made the case for Geregin Abrahamyan, a 33-year-old who said he was repeatedly beaten and threatened because of his political activity in Armenia.

Abrahamyan had been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since the day he and his pregnant partner and their 3-year-old daughter crossed from Mexico seven months earlier and turned themselves in at a Border Patrol office. Mother and daughter were quickly granted parole and live with Abrahamyans parents in California. But Abrahamyan was shipped across the country and had yet to meet his son, who was born in August.





Albamonte, 60, argued that he was eligible for asylum despite being turned down once before and that he had suffered additional beatings in Armenia that the court should know about.

The prosecutor, Cassondra Bly, pushed back on each point, just as Albamonte had done when she was ICEs deputy chief counsel at Stewart. Indeed, it was from that old seat that Albamonte grew bothered by some of the lawyering she saw across the room. Not only did a lot of immigrants attorneys show up unprepared for bond hearings but many didnt show up at all, appearing instead by audio link. At Stewart,a privately run detention center three hours from the closest major airport, many lawyers literally phone it in.

[This company is making millions from Americas broken immigration system]

They really put their clients at a disadvantage, Albamonte said. She described a lawyer who called in to a bond hearing, having never met his client or reviewed much of his file. A winnable bond request was denied. The mans family, out $3,000 in attorneys fees, was distraught.

Sometimes you just cringe, wondering if [the opposing lawyer] is going to make the obvious argument, Albamonte said. She couldnt do the other sides work for them, but she took little pleasure prevailing in a lopsided contest.

She doesnt apologize for prosecuting hundreds of asylum cases that ended in deportation.

Not everyone has a right to asylum under the law as it is written, she said. But everybody does deserve competent, fair representation. Thats how the system is supposed to work.

And that is how she wound up staying here, far from her home in the Washington suburbs, living in a tiny Southern town and working on the opposite side of the issue that defined her career.

I never expected any of this, she said.

From prosecutor to defender

Albamonte witnessed the growing dysfunction of the countrys immigration system throughout her years of government service. She began in the State Departments citizenship program two years before the last major immigration reboot, the 1986 amnesty granted to 2.7 million undocumented people by President Ronald Reagan. She went on to handle immigration cases for the Justice Department and then ICE.





In 2011, amid a surge in Central American refugees, she agreed to move to ICEs facility in Stewart County, Ga., 800 miles and cultural light-years from the Washington region, where shed grown up and raised two children of her own. It was a big switch for a city dweller who grew up thinking barbecue meant hot dogs and hamburgers on a gas grill.

I had a lot to learn about the South, she laughed.

She had planned to stay only three or four years before returning to Washington. But she grew fond of Americus (population 18,000), a Victorian enclave 45 minutes from the Stewart center. The town reminded her of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls, and she found a newly renovated three-bedroom house to rent for less than a studio apartment in the District.

And she liked the job, which was essentially making sure no one got asylum who didnt meet the criteria, especially if they had broken the law in the United States.

I have no problem seeing criminal aliens sent back, she said. I mean, I dont think you can compare shoplifting to murder, but for anything serious, its reasonable to send people back.

Albamonte took pride in protecting the country from what Trump calls bad hombres. But she also worried about the good people the system sent back. Even as a government lawyer, she saw judges and prosecutors failing to find the mercy that she feels is buried within the statutes.

I do see people denied that I personally believe should be granted asylum, she said.

[She fought deportations. Now she faces the same fate.]

By the time she retired in 2014, she had met a guy  a local lawyer named Chuck Faaborg  and decided to stick around for another year or two. The couple opened a bookstore-cafe, Bittersweet Books. Albamonte thought she might hang her shingle and handle visa cases. An easy, low-gear use of her expertise.

But the phone calls came right away from Catholic Charities and desperate families: Could she take this asylum case? And this one? With up to 1,900 detainees at Stewart, the need is huge.

There is no one else down here, Albamonte said. I said yes.

I am not a criminal



Elena Albamonte gets a surprise visit from a visa case client. Her immigration law practice is in Americus, Ga., 45 minutes from the Stewart Detention Center. (Michael A. Schwarz/For The Washington Post)

The offices of Albamonte Immigration Law occupy an old insurance office in downtown Americus, a precinct of barbershops and antiques stores in handsome 19th-century buildings.

Her seven employees field 20 or so calls a day from detainees seeking help in a badly backlogged immigration system. More than 500,000 pending cases clog immigration courts even as Trump promises to build more detention centers, hire more immigration judges and ramp up deportations.

Can you spell that, your sponsors name? asked Zoya Hasnian, 21, a paralegal whose parents immigrated to the United States from Pakistan. She handles the Urdu translations and plans to begin law school in the fall.

Were still waiting for the forms, lawyer Jessica Canado-Wallace told another client in Spanish.

Elena, called a voice from another cubicle, someone wants to know if we speak Russian.

No, Albamonte called back. Tell them to try the Kuck firm in Atlanta.

Her office features an extra-large window she requested as an antidote to those years of working in a sunless prison. Next to it  near the Live the Life Youve Imagined plaque  is a whiteboard list of clients: Hoxha, Ozkan, Mendez, Matiroysyan.

She went back to Stewart for the first time in the service of an asylum seeker just months after leaving ICE. She didnt have to flip any ideological switches. Shes a lawyer, not an activist. Yes, it was weird at first to go up against her former colleagues, but not uncomfortable.

Its not like Im a different person, she said. I think they appreciate that I know what Im doing.

Dana Leigh Marks, an immigration judge in San Francisco and president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said team switchers can be welcome in a legal thicket as tangled as immigration.

I say its more complex than tax law because there is no TurboTax for immigration, Marks said. It can be a tremendous advantage to the system to have someone knowledgeable about how both sides work.

[A lawyers spirit is broken in a tough immigration court]

In the past year, Albamonte has represented 15 Stewart asylum seekers facing deportation. She prevailed in six of those cases, and those people will be eligible for green cards. Five are in removal proceedings, one is appealing, and three are waiting for a ruling. Not a bad batting average in a court with one of the countrys highest rates of denial.

One reason Stewart rejects so many asylum seekers is that many immigration lawyers wont take cases there. Its too remote and its inmates too poor to pay the $5,000 or more that most asylum cases cost. Albamonte said she does some pro bono work and charges others a range of fees based on the complexity of the case.



In a 2009 photo, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement employee waits to enter the Stewart Detention Center, one of the countrys most remote facilities. (Kate Brumback/Associated Press)

These days, when Albamonte passes through security at the door of the detention center (no cellphones, no car keys, no money), it is as routine as when she did it with an ICE badge.

Hey, Elena, a guard greets her on the morning of Abrahamyans hearing.

Hey, Jackie, said Albamonte, who has learned to say hey instead of hi.

A uniformed ICE agent talking to a detainees family stops to give her a hug.

How is life on the outside? he asked. Better money, right?

Ha! Better money on the inside. I have all these mouths to feed, she said, looking over at her co-counsel Canado-Wallace and paralegal Hasnian.

He turned back to the family. As Albamonte walked on, he told them in Spanish that she was a local lawyer who handled asylum cases.

Waiting in the hearing room were Abrahamyans parents, who had flown five hours from Los Angeles and driven three from Atlanta in the hope that their son would be granted asylum.

They themselves had gotten asylum 12 years ago. The father, Arshaluys Abrahamyan, was a doctor who operated a blood bank and ran afoul of corrupt officials in Armenia.

Geregin Abrahamyans case turned on old documents and vague law: Did a failed attempt to gain asylum in 2003 make him ineligible or could his previous case be reopened? Trimbles view might mean the difference between quick deportation and a chance for asylum. When Albamonte sensed the judge leaning toward the former, she seized his offer to delay the hearing for a month.



Geregin Abrahamyan, an Armenian asylum seeker, has been held at the Stewart Detention Center for seven months. His lawyer, Elena Albamonte, is fighting to keep him from being deported. (Michael A. Schwarz/For The Washington Post)

Abrahamyan was led away with a last look at his parents. Later, in the centers bare visitation room, he shook his head at the long delay. He spends his days playing chess with detainees from Russia, Armenia and El Salvador. He walks in the warm Southern sun each day in the exercise yard and talks to his 3-year-old daughter  almost 3,000 miles away  whenever he can.

I have never seen my son, he said, tears welling over at the mention of his children. I am not a criminal, but I am here seven months.

In the hallway outside, his parents crowded near Albamonte, baffled and anxious over the additional wait.

This helps us, she assured them. More time would give them a chance to gather evidence that his life in Armenia was at risk. It would also allow time for the habeas petition she had filed on Abrahamyans behalf to work its way through the court.

Im glad you understand all of this, Arshaluys Abrahamyan said with his hands out.

As Albamonte left she exchanged a friendly goodbye with Bly, the ICE prosecutor, once a peer, now her opponent in this case. The womans post in Georgia was over, and she was heading to Minnesota.

Albamonte wished her well and began driving home to a desk stacked with files and voice mail filled with anxious clients. Her life was here now. And so was her work.
Their dreams  to become a lawyer, an interior decorator, a sailor in the Navy  are a lot like the dreams that other kids at their Maryland high school have.

Its their nightmares  seeing relatives killed, paying off coyotes, being raped at the border, spending weeks in a detention center, being homeless in a new country  that make them so different.

Theyve survived untold horrors, said Alicia Wilson, the executive director at La Clinica Del Pueblo, which is working with Northwestern High School to help these teenagers.

The Hyattsville school has absorbed dozens of these students  part of a wave of more than 150,000 kids who have crossed the U.S. border over the past three years fleeing violence in Central America.

We usually hear about these young immigrants only when theyre accused of committing heinous crimes  such as the two undocumented students charged with raping a 14-year-old classmate in a bathroom at Rockville High School. Or when they become victims of heinous crimes  such as Damaris Reyes Rivas, 15, whose mother wanted to protect her from MS-13 in El Salvador but lost her to the gang in Maryland.

Undocumented teenagers draw pictures of scenes being described to them by another student. (Petula Dvorak/The Washington Post)

Otherwise their struggles, hopes and fears are mostly invisible.

In country with a growing compassion deficit, plenty of people resent these kids, demonizing them along with other undocumented immigrants. But I wish those folks got to spend the time with them that I did. Theyre funny, vulnerable, hard-working and stunningly resilient.

[Protesters question school safety, immigration policy after reported rape]

At Northwestern, I listened as about two dozen immigrant teenagers met in a trailer behind the high school to talk with mental health counselors dedicated to them. They arent all that eager to share what theyve been through.

Id say 90 percent of them are victims of some kind of abuse, said Angie Castro, the counselor who tries to pull the kids out of their shells during trust-building activities.

I saw lots of family and friends killed, a girl in bright red sneakers told me when we talked alone.

Some of the other teenagers are hiding from gangs. At least one escaped a family member who was raping her. Many know what dead bodies look like or what being held in a freezing cold room everyone calls the icebox at a border detention center feels like.

They spent weeks in detention centers while waiting for their sponsors  usually family members they havent seen in years  to claim them. Some of them didnt mind.

They had good food, one teenager told me.

I got to sleep, another said.

Its interesting, Castro said when the kids took a pizza break. Most of them tell us that the time in the detention centers  which for a lot of them was the first time they got three meals a day, they could sleep through the night, they werent assaulted  was the first time in their lives they felt loved.

Yes, theyve survived untold horrors. Now, they have to survive high school. One of the conditions of their release from detention centers is that they enroll in school.

Some schools are well equipped to handle surges of immigrants. But not this one. Northwestern, which once had a primarily African American student body, became 58 percent Hispanic last year. Almost 200 undocumented, unaccompanied minors enrolled in 2015. More than half of them dropped out by the end of the school year, Wilson said. Even now, there are no Spanish speakers on Northwesterns counseling staff.

Beyond the usual issues of language and assimilation that any immigrant faces, these kids are leaving the families theyve grown up in and trying to find places in families theyve been connected to only through their cellphones.

Thats when theyre especially vulnerable to gangs such as MS-13, which is experiencing a resurgence in Maryland and Northern Virginia.

[Behind the rise in seemingly chaotic MS-13 violence: A structured hierarchy]

Through a program fueled by private donations and county funds called Mi Refugio, La Clinia del Pueblo is working on forming close-knit groups within Northwestern as an alternative to gang life.

The organization understands the complexity of these kids lives, including the pressure to work and send money to the relatives they left behind.

Nearly all of the teenagers have after-school jobs.

That teenager with the red sneakers, a senior, tried to explain this to a school counselor who was pushing her to finish her scholarship essay before the deadline.

Its not my deadline, its yours. But you better get on it, the counselor says.

I know. But Im so tired when I get home, I dont have time to do it, said the teenager, who works long hours at McDonalds.

Of course shes tired. After school and a full fast-food shift, she has only about five hours left for homework and sleep.

I want to go to school, and I want to be a lawyer, she told me. Then I can help other kids like me. In Honduras, I wouldnt have been able to go to school like this. My family didnt have money for me to go to school.

She came across the border with her mother two years ago, then spent two months at a detention center in Texas.

The United States is different now, though, she said. Its different than Obama United States.

She is scared of being deported. Her mother is, too.

On a Thursday in March, the La Clinia del Pueblo counselors tried to help the kids face their fears with a team-building exercise. They blindfolded half the students, then paired them up with guides to help them navigate an obstacle course outside. Up and down stairs, over milk crates, jumping off a short ledge.

I couldnt believe how scary it was, and it was just outside here walking around, one teenager said after the exercise. But I had to trust [my partner] to help me.

There are people who will help you, Castro and others tell them. You have to learn to trust. Thats the next part of their American journey.

Twitter: @petulad
Acting Brooklyn district attorney Eric Gonzalez holds a Thompson submachine gun, one of 217 firearms seized during a joint gun trafficking case announced March 8. Twenty four people were charged with weapons offenses and conspiracy for trafficking guns purchased in Virginia to be sold on the streets of Brooklyn. (Charles Eckert/Newsday)

A few weeks after police recorded an alleged gunrunner boasting about how lax Virginias gun laws are, Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has proposed an amendment that would restore the states policy of allowing no more than one handgun purchase per month.

Virginia is once again becoming the go-to state for criminals to purchase weapons in bulk, McAuliffe said in announcing the proposed amendment. He cited the gunrunning case from earlier this month, in which 24 people  nearly all from Virginia  were charged with smuggling more than 200 weapons to New York City.

[NYPD undercover operation links Virginia residents to gun-trafficking ring]

McAuliffe attached the amendment to a Senate bill that prohibits sharing law enforcement information with states that do not recognize Virginias concealed-weapons permits. That bill, passed by the General Assembly last month and sent to McAuliffe for action, was sponsored by Sen. Richard H. Stuart (R-Stafford), who was not happy with the amendment.

Hes just making a game out of it, Stuart said. Its disheartening to me that the governor is more concerned about the people in New York City than he is about Virginia citizens who are actually . . . playing by the rules.

McAuliffe is attempting to revive a law that was championed by Gov. L. Douglas Wilder (D) in the early 1990s, when Virginia had built a reputation as a gunrunning capital. Wilders bill, enacted in 1993, made it illegal to buy more than one handgun in a 30-day period in the state.

The law lasted until 2012, when Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) signed its repeal.

Stuart said he doubted the current amendment would have a chance of passing the Senate or House of Delegates, both of which are controlled by Republicans.

His original bill is intended to protect Virginians who have concealed-weapons permits and travel to states that do not honor them, Stuart said.

If a police officer in Maryland, for instance, checks a Virginia plate in the law enforcement database and sees that the driver has a concealed-weapons permit, the officer could make an excuse to stop the driver and make an arrest simply because the concealed weapon is not legal in that state, Stuart said.

That bill passed the state Senate with substantial Democratic support. The General Assembly will consider amendments and vetoes from the governor in a session on April 5.
The failure of Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare has emboldened Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) to renew his stalled crusade to expand Medicaid in Virginia. On Monday, he proposed an amendment to state budget language to give him power to set an expansion in motion, and called on the Republican-controlled General Assembly to immediately begin making plans.

But Republican legislators were unmoved by the plea, saying they would reject the amendment and that they stood firm against expanding Medicaid.

McAuliffe, though, said national momentum is on his side. He pointed to three other Republican-controlled states  Kansas, North Carolina and Utah  that are considering an expansion of the federal health program for the poor and disabled under the Affordable Care Act, and said Virginia cant afford to be left behind.

It is clear that the ACA is now the law of the land and here to stay. It is not going to be repealed. That is what the president of the United States said on Friday, that is what the speaker of the House said on Friday, McAuliffe said during a news conference at the state Capitol. There are no excuses anymore.

Under Obamacare, states have the option of expanding Medicaid to a greater population of recipients. Thirty-one states have done so. The federal government pays 100 percent of the cost to expand Medicaid through next year for states that opt in, then will pay 90 percent through 2020, with states paying the remainder.

An estimated 400,000 Virginians could be covered under an expansion of Medicaid, according to the McAuliffe administration. That translates to $6.6 million in federal money per day, or $10.4 billion total so far, that Virginia has declined, officials said.

We have worked on this for many years. I would ask . . . that we do the common-sense thing to bring this money back to care for our citizens, McAuliffe said.

Virginia Republicans have resisted every attempt to join the expansion, which has been one of McAuliffes priorities since taking office in 2013. They argue there is no guarantee the federal government will continue to reimburse at 90 percent after 2020, potentially leaving the state on the hook for hundreds of millions in costs.

After failing to get an expansion in a budgetary showdown during his first year in office, McAuliffe has tried numerous tacks, but this year he had all but surrendered. In the budget he submitted in January, he included language that said the governor could begin implementing Medicaid expansion if the ACA was still in place by Oct. 1, when the new fiscal year begins.

Hanging over that was the assumption that President Trump would follow through with his campaign pledge to kill Obamacare. Republicans who control the state legislatures money committees made clear theyd never give McAuliffe that power even if the ACA was repealed, and they stripped the language out of the budget they sent to his desk last month.

[McAuliffe enters final General Assembly session with eye on legacy]

On Monday, McAuliffe revived that language as an amendment to the budget. He also called on the General Assembly to immediately convene a special joint committee that had been created to assess the impact that repealing the ACA would have had on Virginia.

The legislature will gather April 5 to consider the governors amendments and vetoes, but leaders said Monday that McAuliffes new budget language stands no better chance this time.

In a joint statement, the Republican leadership of the House of Delegates said expanding Medicaid would lead to increased costs and eventually blow a hole in the state budget.

The lack of action in Washington has not changed that and in fact, the uncertainty of federal health policy underscores the need to be cautious over the long term, the leaders, including House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) and the man selected to replace him as speaker when he retires next year, Del. Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights), said via email.

Virginians can barely afford our current program, much less an expansion, they said. Every federal dollar not spent on expanding a broken program is a dollar not borrowed from future generations.

McAuliffe said he had notified the Republicans over the weekend that he intended to make this case, but that he had spoken only with Cox. The governor declined to characterize his discussion, saying he doesnt negotiate in public.

This just happened on Friday, McAuliffe said, suggesting that the issue needs more time. There are no more excuses. If you just dont want to do Medicaid expansion because youre afraid of the tea party or for some other reasons, thats a different issue. . . . Its really up to the Republicans in the legislature.

Not all Republicans have been so ironclad in their opposition.

Even before the failure of Congress to come up with a replacement for Obamacare, conservative radio host John Fredericks labeled McAuliffe Gov. McGenius for continuing to push for Medicaid expansion.

On his March 13 program, Fredericks noted that even the Republican alternative would have continued to provide federal funding to states that expanded Medicaid  suggesting that there is little risk that Virginia would be left on the hook for the cost of expansion.

You were right, I was wrong, Fredericks said.
A sign warns about city sewage where it enters the Potomac River at the Oronoco outfall in Alexandria, Va. (Bill O'Leary/AP)

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is proposing to give the city of Alexandria until 2027 to stop millions of gallons of raw sewage from entering the Potomac River, two years beyond a deadline set under legislation passed by the General Assembly, his office said Monday.

In amendments to a state bill that seeks to stop decades of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay caused by combined sewer pipes in Alexandria and other jurisdictions, McAuliffe (D) also proposes changing the start date for repairs to July 2024 from July 2023.

The governor suggests that state environmental officials allow for more extensions until 2030 if permits are in order and it can be shown that delays are due to complications beyond a jurisdictions control.

The amendments  expected to be filed Monday before a midnight deadline and opposed by environmental groups  send the legislation back to the General Assembly for its reconvened session April 5. When that happens, the legislature could accept the amendments or reject them and risk a gubernatorial veto.

Alexandria is among about 800 old cities in the United States that have combined sewer pipes, which handle both rainwater and the effluent washed down sinks and toilets. For Alexandria, that means about 70 million gallons of combined raw sewage and rainwater entering into the Potomac every year, according to city estimates.

Alexandria officials originally pushed for a 2040 deadline, arguing that the $400 million job of repairing four discharge pipes is too complicated to complete before 2029.

On Monday, Mayor Allison Silberberg welcomed the possibility of extra time.

We are grateful to Governor McAuliffe for requesting a more reasonable timeline to complete this mega project, Silberberg (D) said. This is a huge lift for our city, but we are fully committed to doing what is needed for the four outfalls in Alexandria and getting them done right.

Environmental groups, which have argued that the city could upgrade its sewer lines by 2024, called the extended deadline bad for the river and for people who swim, fish or kayak in the Potomac.

We know that the public feels that this should be fixed immediately, said Dean Naujoks, an environmentalist with the Potomac Riverkeeper Network.

State Sen. Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax) said it is unfair to allow Alexandria more time to fix the problem when Fairfax County, the District and other jurisdictions across the country have upgraded their sewer lines or are in the process of doing so.

Its never been clear to me why the city of Alexandria seems to have so much difficulty solving a problem that everyone else has either solved or is working diligently toward resolving, he said.
Maggie Walker, sitting in her wheelchair circa the 1920s, was a civil rights pioneer in Richmond, Va. (Courtesy of National Park Service, Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site)

Heather Huyck never would have let her students climb the rickety stairs up to the attic of an empty building in Richmond. But shes glad she wasnt there to stop them.

Under piles of debris, the young researchers from the College of William & Mary found about 30 boxes filled with old documents. They appeared to tell the story of Maggie Lena Walker, an African American whose accomplishments in the early 20th century are just beginning to be widely recognized.

Walker was the first African American woman to run a bank in the United States. She also started a newspaper and a department store and ran a nationwide insurance system. She spread the tools of economic independence while Jim Crow was perpetuating bondage, and she hired and trained black women at a time when even white women struggled for opportunity.

Huyck sensed a major find. After negotiating with the family who owned the building, she brought the papers back to Williamsburg to begin going through them.

It was then that something extraordinary happened. Huyck couldnt do the work alone, so over time she gathered volunteers. Through church, word-of-mouth and the network of history buffs around Colonial Williamsburg, a corps of mostly retired women came together on the project.

From left, Heather Huyck, Elizabeth Johnson, and Sharon Ochsenhirt go through a recently found box of files of Maggie L. Walker. The diverse group of women called the Maggie Walker Community meet every Tuesday in Williamsburg, Va., to catalog and preserve papers related to Walker, a civil rights icon from Richmond who was the first African American woman to run a U.S. bank. (Gregory Schneider/The Washington Post)

They met every Tuesday over the past eight years, a diverse group  black, white, Asian  ranging in age from 50 to 89. In between the rote work of removing paper clips and transcribing letters, they talked. About history, but also about marriage. And children. And food. They helped each other through surgeries and health scares. One woman transitioned to assisted living. Another lost her spouse.

So while they were preserving the papers that told how Walker navigated the challenges of race and gender in early 20th century America, they were finding the same threads in their lives.

What we have gained from this, Huyck said, is an amazing community.

The Maggie Walker Community, they call themselves. But now its coming to a close. Huyck finished the project earlier this month and returned the boxes to the owners in a ceremony in Richmond attended by brass from the National Park Service, which maintains Walkers home as a historic site.

This is a good example of how stories that havent been easily accessible are now going to be available to a much wider audience, said Stephanie Toothman, the Park Services associate director for cultural resources. Walkers papers, she said, help with understanding the role of black women as community builders and organizers.

Its unclear where the papers will end up. The Stallings family, which owns the papers, are undecided; some members want to donate them to the Park Service, others favor the Smithsonian. For now, theyre in storage.

Huyck hopes there is a lasting legacy not just in the papers, but also in the connections formed in their group of about 16. Especially in a town such as Williamsburg, which is devoted to retelling history but has struggled with race in its depictions of Colonial charm.

The group working to preserve and catalog the papers of Maggie L. Walker include, seated from left, Marsha Kalison, Doris Crump Rainey, Elizabeth Johnson, Andrea Li and, standing from left, Beth Haw, Andrea Partee, Susan Nelson, Heather Huyck, June Ross, Shelby Hawthorne, Vivian Miller Short, Belinda Randall, Sharon Ochsenhirt and Cynthia Garman-Squier. (Gregory Schneider/The Washington Post)

Ive met this wonderful group of women who have opened my eyes to a world I did not know about and have been accepting of everybodys differences, said group member Marsha Kalison, a retired accountant.

I think it would be terrible for the group to die, said Sharon Ochsenhirt, a retired archivist. My goal is to make sure they keep going.

Huyck spent years working for the National Park Service before retiring in Williamsburg and becoming a research associate and adjunct professor at William & Mary. Her specialty is womens history, and the students who found the documents in Richmond nearly 10 years ago had gone there to make a film about Walker.

Walker has long been a towering figure in Richmond, where a governors school is named for her. Her father was an Irish-born Confederate working at a nearby hospital for wounded soldiers. Her mother was a former slave who cooked for Elizabeth Van Lew, the abolitionist and Civil War spy. As Reconstruction gave way to Jim Crow in the early 1900s, Walker took over leadership of a mutual aid society called the Independent Order of St. Luke.

With its budget flagging, Walker elbowed past the male establishment to impose financial discipline on the group and used its national scope to build institutions to help the black community. She died in 1934 at age 70, and her funeral brought thousands of mourners.

[Historic black cemeteries seek same support Virginia gives Confederates]

The papers that Huycks students found in the former St. Luke building gave glimpses of the lives she touched. There were letters from people asking how to finance a home, from a church looking to raise enough money to burn its mortgage, from women applying for jobs.

Walkers personality came through  tough, demanding, persistent. She told one young woman asking for work not to bother until she had polished her handwriting. When a field organizer kept seeking more money, she demanded to know why he wasnt producing more members.

Walker was a grand woman, fond of feathers and hats, owner of a Pierce-Arrow. She corresponded with luminaries such as W.E.B. Du Bois and NAACP leader Walter White and spoke up to the white establishment. Walker believed the African American community needed to support its people. She urged residents to boycott Richmonds white retailers, who often made blacks enter through separate doors or stay out of showrooms, and started her emporium as an alternative.

The women working on her papers sat in pairs, one reading, the other transcribing. They wore purple smocks, rubber gloves and breathing masks to protect the fragile documents. Huyck and her husband bought acid-free folders and file boxes. Scanning company Iron Mountain donated services to digitize 100 of the most important documents, and for the past two years, Colonial Williamsburg provided meeting space in a library building.

Many letters in the files felt personal to the volunteers. One woman wrote to Walker after being stopped from trying on coats in the Miller & Rhoads department store in downtown Richmond. Walker complained to the president of the company, who replied that there are nice people and there are not-nice people and we try to serve the nice people, and therefore the manager may have made a mistake, Huyck recalled.

What he meant, she said, is that he would give this woman permission to try on coats because she was affluent and of a certain complexion. Vivian Miller Short, one of the volunteers, was horrified when she realized that the woman in the letters was an old family friend.

It hurts, she said, still embarrassed at the notion of complexion defining someones station. Its painful.

But those situations triggered conversations among the women working on the letters. Short recalled having to shop in the basement at Richmond department stores because of her race. Other women in the group remembered separate drinking fountains and waiting rooms in the train station in Richmond, the bus station in Williamsburg.

It wasnt all painful. Much of the conversation involved everyday things, cultural touchstones that they shared. It turned out, for instance, that most of the black women in the group had been born with the aid of midwives. They sometimes had a second birth date  the day the midwife got around to filing the official paperwork.

Some topics brought universal agreement  they all loved the movie Hidden Figures, set in nearby Hampton  while others broke them into factions.

One of the first things I learned, Ochsenhirt said during a recent gathering of the group, is there are two kinds of turnip salad.

There are? June Ross asked.

Theres the turnip salad made with leaves and the turnip salad made with turnips, Ochsenhirt said.

My grandfather made dandelion salad, said Belinda Randall, and the room spiraled into a salad debate.

It was the way they connected as women, mothers, wives  as people  that made them feel they had achieved something special.

Theyve lived life. They say what they mean and mean what they say. You dont have to guess and play mind games. Theyre lovely ladies, said Cynthia Davis, at 50 the youngest member of the group. She has been attending only for the past couple of months; shes a caregiver for the groups most senior member, Doris Crump Rainey, 89.

And in many ways, the spirit of Maggie Walker  merely suggested by the brittle, crumbling papers  came to feel like a presence in their lives. When things would get frustrating, the women asked themselves: What would Maggie do?

That included when Huyck was laid up after surgery a few years ago, and the Maggie Walker Community came to her aid. They organized, and a different woman showed up with food every day. Lots of food.

I had never been part of such an amazing outpouring, Huyck said.

Finally, earlier this month, the group finished the last of the original boxes. The women put everything into neat files and on March 10 staged a ceremony at the Hippodrome Theater near Walkers house in Richmond. They had assembled gift bags  containing womens health pamphlets, toothbrushes, Kleenex and, in a grandmotherly touch, hard peppermint candy  to thank the Stallings family and others who had helped.

But Ronald Stallings Jr., who hosted the event, had a surprise. On the floor in the back of the meeting hall was one more box of documents, discovered by the family just that morning.

It was dirty and smelled like smoke and dry rot, but the ladies lit up when they saw it. Huycks husband carried it out to the car, and a few days later, she ordered more acid-free folders from Staples.

And for at least one more month, or until they lose access to their space in the library, the Maggie Walker Community is back at work.
"We have good safety regulations but never in my dreams expected a Parliament member to be involved in such an incident," the minister said, and added that violence of any kind can be a disaster for airlines.

By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: Even as Shiv Sena mulls bringing a privilege motion over its Lok Sabha MP Ravindra Gaikwad having been put in no fly list of all domestic airlines, the carriers apparently have the support of Union Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju.

Sources told India Today that Raju has been supporting the airlines in the Shiv Sena MP's case. "In fact, the Union Minister was in the loop when the decision to ban Gaikwad was taken. We have his solid backing," they said.

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The sources further said Raju had also been informed about the two FIRs which had been lodged against Gaikwad for assaulting an Air India staffer on March 23. The airlines believe the Union Minister would keep espousing their genuine cause and help them take the matter to a logical conclusion.

While the Osmanabad MP has threatened legal action against Air India, Raju was seen defending the airlines. He said rules are the same for everyone. "We have good safety regulations but never in my dreams expected a Parliament member to be involved in such an incident," he said, and added that violence of any kind can be a disaster for airlines.

Gaikwad was forced to travel by train on March 24 after the member airlines of Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) put him in the no fly list. They even refused to seek an apology from the Osmanabad MP as it would have meant allowing him to fly again.

Air India had cancelled Ravindra Gaikwad's ticket booked for 4.30 pm on March 24. Subsequently, Gaikwad booked a ticket for 5.50 pm with IndiGo. However, close on the heels of Air India, IndiGo too cancelled Gaikwad's ticket and refunded the fare. Left with no choice, the Shiv Sena MP was forced to travel by train.

Six Shiv Sena MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today over the issue. The Union Civil Aviation Minister was also present in the meeting. Mahajan appeared in a mood to bring about rapprochement between the two parties.

After the meeting, the Speaker said, "Kiski galti hui, kya hua wo alag baat hai. MP ko sadan mein aana hota hai, har baar train se nahi, kabhi plane se bhi aana hota hai (Whose fault it was and what happened is another issue. MPs have to attend Parliament. They cannot come by train every time. On some occasions, they also have to come by flight)," she said.

Shiv Sena has defended Gaikwad. The party raised the matter in both houses of Parliament today. Party MP Anandrao Adsul condemned all airlines banning Ravindra Gaikwad. Shiv Sena even gave shutdown call in Osmanabad in support of Gaikwad.

Also read: Aviation minister on Ravindra Gaikwad controversy: 'Whatever action has to be taken will be taken'

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Also read: Even TV star Kapil Sharma misbehaved on flight, why ban Ravindra Gaikwad only: Shiv Sena MP in Parliament

--- ENDS ---
Laura and Jordan McLinn during a visit to Washington in June for a right to try rally. The boy has Duchenne muscular dystrophy. (Laura McLinn)

Wheres Jordan? asked Vice President Pence as he walked into the White House meeting of terminally ill patients and their families. All eyes shifted, and Pence made a beeline for a 7-year-old boy from Indianapolis with a broad grin.

Back home, when Pence was Indianas governor, Jordan McLinn and his battle with Duchenne muscular dystrophy had helped inspire passage of a state right-to-try law intended to give the desperately ill access to medications not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Fast-forward to Washington, where Pence is now in a position to encourage national right-to-try legislation.

Were going to get this done, he assured Jordans mother, Laura McLinn, and the other families gathered last month.

Thirty-three states have passed such laws, which ostensibly allow patients to take experimental medicines outside of clinical trials and without FDA oversight as long as the therapies have undergone preliminary safety testing. Many of the remaining states are considering such bills or are expected to do so.

And now, for the first time, federal legislation is gaining traction.

Jordan McLinn, who became the face of Indianas right-to-try legislation, joined then-Gov. Mike Pence when he signed it into law in 2015. (Courtesy of McLinn family)

Congressional supporters may try to attach a measure  drafted with a unique and highly controversial restriction on the FDA  to the agencys must-pass funding bill this year. The anti-regulatory mood dominating Washington is boosting these efforts.

President Trump recently weighed in, accusing the agency of denying drugs to patients with terminal conditions: The FDA says, We cant have this drug used on the patient . . . but the patient is not going to live more than four weeks!

The right-to-try campaign is the ultimate in patient empowerment, according to its champion, the Goldwater Institute, a libertarian nonprofit organization that wrote the model legislation that has become the foundation of most statutes. It represents a unanimous voice from the states and the people saying that patients ought to be able to make these life-or-death decisions to save their own lives, said the institutes executive vice president, Christina Sandefur.

But the increased momentum is raising alarms, with opponents saying that such laws largely offer false hope. Thats because many drug companies are reluctant to provide medications outside of clinical trials  and why critics insist that the FDA is not the problem. In 2016, they note, the agency revamped its expanded access program to speed unapproved drugs to patients who have no alternatives and cant get into clinical trials. The FDA approves almost all such requests, the data shows.

A lot of this is smoke and mirrors for some other agenda, said Andrew McFadyen, executive director of the Toronto-based Isaac Foundation, which assists U.S. and Canadian patients seeking access to medications. A weaker FDA is what they are after.

[Trump calls the FDA slow and burdensome, but its faster than ever]

The legislation pushed by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) would forbid the federal government from interfering with the state laws and would exempt doctors and drug companies from liability for prescribing or providing experimental drugs. It also would limit the FDA in an unprecedented way: If a patient were injured or killed by an unapproved treatment under a right-to-try law, agency officials would not be allowed to use the information to delay or block approval of the treatment.

Supporters say such a provision is crucial to spurring drug companies to make experimental drugs available to terminally ill patients, without worrying that an adverse event could prompt the agency to stop a trial conducted as part of the drug-approval process.

The notion that the FDA would be barred from considering all data has consumer advocates, ethicists and drug-safety experts in an uproar. If a person is harmed by an experimental drug, they say, that has implications for anybody who might eventually take the medicine. The idea that you blind the FDA to any negative side effects in using an investigational agent is just nonsensical, said Alison Bateman-House, a bioethicist at the New York University School of Medicine.

FDA Associate Commissioner Peter Lurie told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee at a hearing in September that the provision would be detrimental and raise significant ethical issues. With 11,000 expanded-access requests over the past decade, he said, only twice did the agency temporarily halt clinical trials because of adverse events. Both times, drug development resumed after the problems were resolved.

Right-to-try opponents are also skeptical that constraining the FDA would be enough to induce pharmaceutical companies to make unapproved drugs available. Manufacturers, they say, dont like to provide experimental therapies in part because they dont want to be besieged by desperate patients but also because of the potential cost involved.

The drug companies main lobbying group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, is noticeably cool to right to try, saying that any legislation should protect the integrity of clinical trials and the FDA oversight of expanded access to maintain the best interests of patients. Those interests, others say, include protecting terminally ill patients from spurious therapies.

[Former head of FDA defends importance of proving drug effectiveness]

Right-to-try supporters reject that latter point as paternalistic. Even if a federal law does not end up helping patients, it wont hurt them either, they insist. Were asking for a very special carve-out for a very small exception that doesnt cost us any money, said Matt Bellina, a Navy veteran with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrigs disease, who testified at last falls hearing. Im not asking to build a wall. Im asking you to make an exception for people who really need it.

He added, At some point in the near future, Im going to suffocate under the weight of my chest, so what difference does it make if we have a side effect?

Traditionally, these patients have received unapproved treatments by enrolling in a clinical trial or, if that is not possible, by going through the FDAs expanded-access program. The program allows the agency to authorize use of an unapproved therapy if it determines that the drugs potential benefit justifies the treatment risk.

The FDA concedes that the programs requirements once were too complicated and time-consuming; its application form called for 26 types of information and seven attachments, Lurie wrote in a blog post. By contrast, officials say, the streamlined process takes doctors just 45 minutes. Last year, 99 percent of the almost 1,800 requests were approved, many in just hours or days.

Still, right-to-try supporters argue that the FDA should be getting far more requests and that the low numbers suggest many doctors still find the process too daunting.

Yet state right-to-try laws, with their minimal requirements, arent being used much. There are almost no reports of doctors turning to the laws on patients behalf. The one exception: Houston radiologist Ebrahim Delpassand, who treats patients who have lethal neuroendocrine tumors. The Goldwater Institute frequently points to him as an example of a physician utilizing right to try.

Delpassand said Friday that he turned to the Texas right-to-try law in 2015, not long after its passage, to increase the number of patients he was treating using an experimental radioisotope therapy. The FDA had earlier denied his request to add patients. Officials declined to comment, citing confidentiality rules.

In Indiana, Jordan McLinn was 3 years old when he was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. We know what happens, his mother said recently. You lose muscle function, and then you die.

A couple of years later, a friend pointed out a story in the local newspaper about a state legislative hearing on a right-to-try bill. Jordan testified and quickly became the public face of the legislation. When Pence signed the bill into law, the boy was at his side.

Laura McLinn initially hoped that the measure would help her son get an experimental therapy, but the manufacturer declined to make it available. Jordan is now participating in a clinical trial run by a different company.

Three infusions in, Jordans mother thinks that he is much improved. On a family vacation, he was full of energy and raced past his parents to the beach. That has not happened in two years, she said.

She plans to keep working on right to try, though it never benefited Jordan. If even just one person finds the one doctor and one drug company to help, she said, thats important to my son.

Read more:

Trump calls for lower drug prices, fewer rules at FDA

Four former FDA commissioners denounce drug importation as risky

Three women blinded by unapproved stem-cell treatment at South Florida clinic
Karuna Reddy, of Bowling Green, Ky., rubs Gulal, a colored powder, into a friend's hair during a Holi festival celebration at Kereiakes Park on Sunday. (Austin Anthony/AP)

Nevada

Police apprehend man after bus shooting

A man sitting at the back of a public bus on the Las Vegas Strip opened fire for no apparent reason as passengers got off at a stop in the heart of the tourism corridor, police said Sunday.

Gary Breitling, 57, of Sidney, Mont., was shot and killed Saturday before the gunman barricaded himself in the vehicle, shutting down the Strip for hours, the Clark County coroners office said. He died at a hospital.

Rolando Cardenas, 55, has been accused in the shooting, and he surrendered peacefully after a standoff inside the double-decker bus that lasted more than four hours, police said.

He was booked into jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, burglary and opening fire on the bus.

 Associated Press

California

Suspect arrested in quadruple homicide

The four people killed last week in a quiet Northern California neighborhood include a woman and her two children, authorities said.

The victims are Angelique Vasquez, 45; her daughter, Mia Vasquez, 14; her son, Alvin Vasquez, 11; and Ashley Coleman, 21, according to the Sacramento County coroners office.

Detectives did not immediately know what relationship Coleman had to the family, Sacramento Officer Matthew McPhail said.

Police found the victims Thursday when they broke into a single-story home in Sacramento after a relative reported that something might be wrong.

Authorities arrested Salvador Vasquez-Oliva, 56, on suspicion of homicide after finding him in San Francisco. They have not named a motive or said what relationship he has to the dead. Police have not said when or how the victims were killed.

 Associated Press

North Carolina

World War II veteran receives Purple Heart

A 92-year-old North Carolina man has finally received the Purple Heart he earned more than 70 years ago while fighting in Belgium during World War II.

Oscar Davis Jr. was a private assigned as a radio telephone operator when he was knocked down by a large piece of shrapnel during the Battle of the Bulge, according to a Fayetteville Observer report. The radio on Daviss back protected him, but the German artillery barrage knocked down a tree that fell on Davis, injuring his spine.

He was paralyzed from the waist down for three weeks and ultimately rejoined his unit in Germany.

Davis was told long ago that he would receive the honor, but the award paperwork was never signed.

Decades later, he smiled as Lt. Col. Marcus Wright leaned down to pin the Purple Heart to his jacket Saturday.

This has been some day, Davis said. I couldnt believe all this was going to happen. I just want to thank the Lord.

 Associated Press
President Lyndon Johnson chats with Roger Wilkins after a White House swearing-in ceremony. Mr. Wilkins served as the director of the Community Relations service. He also held the rank of assistant attorney general in that job. (File/Associated Press)

Roger W. Wilkins, a ranking Justice Department official during the 1960s who later composed Pulitzer Prize-winning editorials about the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post and wrote unsparingly about the conflicts and burdens he experienced as a black man in positions of influence, died March 26 at a nursing home in Kensington, Md. He was 85.

The cause was complications from dementia, said his daughter Elizabeth Wilkins.

In a career that traversed law, journalism and education, Mr. Wilkins made matters of race and poverty central to his work as an assistant attorney general in the Johnson administration and later as one of the first black editorial board members at The Post and the New York Times.

By kinship or friendship, he was linked to many black leaders of the civil rights era. Roy Wilkins, who led the NAACP from 1955 to 1977, was an uncle. In law school, Roger Wilkins was an intern for Thurgood Marshall, then director-counsel of the NAACPs Legal Defense and Educational Fund and later a U.S. Supreme Court justice.

From a young age, he once wrote, he was compelled to spend his life blasting through doors that white people didnt want to open.

Roger Wilkins in 1997. (Khue Bui/The Washington Post)

Mr. Wilkins said he lived at times with a painful duality as an African American who had risen to positions of leverage in white-controlled halls of power.

He felt an obligation to serve the black community, but he also desired an identity independent from it  my own personal exemption, he said. In New York, he could feel at home in Harlem, in the bohemian Greenwich Village and in a tony apartment on Central Park West.

He spent periods of his life at the Ford Foundation, where he awarded grants from its luxurious New York offices, and on the riot-ravaged streets of Detroit, where he was confronted by gun-wielding state troopers unaccustomed to encountering a black federal authority. At checkpoints, he learned to hold up his hands and shout, Department of Justice, Department of Justice!

Intense and sensitive, Mr. Wilkins described himself as restless, given to heavy drinking and susceptible to bouts of despair and deep depression. He saw himself as a microcosm of high-achieving black America at a time of limited new opportunity amid still-festering historical bigotry.

I was a man living in a never-never land somewhere far beyond the constraints my grandparents had known but far short of true freedom, he wrote in his 1982 autobiography, A Mans Life. I knew no black people  young or old, rich or poor  who didnt feel injured by the experience of being black in America.

After an early career as a welfare caseworker in Cleveland and an international lawyer in New York City, he came to Washington in 1962 as a special assistant to the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Four years later, President Lyndon B. Johnson tapped Mr. Wilkins to lead the Community Relations Service, an agency established under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and eventually overseen by the Justice Department.

1 of 66 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Notable deaths so far this year View Photos Remembering those who have died in 2017. Caption Remembering those who died in 2017. Mamie Peanut Johnson Mamie Peanut Johnson, the first female pitcher in the Negro leagues, died on Dec. 18. Read the obituary: Mamie Peanut Johnson, hard-throwing woman in baseballs Negro leagues, dies at 82 Katherine Frey/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

In an era of urban rioting, Mr. Wilkins, then 33, became one of the administrations point men on inner-city rage that exploded from Washington to the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The three years he spent in the job, he recalled, were a blur of pain and glory. His resources were meager and the need monumental.

Mr. Wilkins said he frequently was received during his travels as an outsider from official, white Washington. He felt betrayed by Justice Department colleagues who, amid the race riots in Detroit, dined with a city power broker at a segregated club. Mr. Wilkins was not invited.

After Richard M. Nixon became president in 1969, Mr. Wilkins left government service for the Ford Foundation, where he oversaw funding for job training, drug rehabilitation and education for the poor. He described the job as a glass prison, a well-funded, well-intentioned endeavor that was constantly stymied by internal politics and a leadership that was disproportionately white, elite and out of touch with minority struggles.

Compounding his frustration was his ambivalence about the glittering social life he led. Through a relationship with the MCA heiress and writer Jean Stein vanden Heuvel, Mr. Wilkins moved in a high-society circle that included Norman Mailer, Arthur Miller and Leonard Bernstein.

I loved it but it tore me apart, he wrote in his memoir. It was as if, by entering that world at night, I was betraying everything I told myself I stood for during the day. He came to think of himself as an ersatz white man.

In 1972, he left the Ford Foundation to join The Post, which two years earlier had published a commentary by Mr. Wilkins, titled A Black at the Gridiron Dinner. The essay excoriated the organization, a club frequented by Washington journalists and politicians, for applauding gross displays of racial offensiveness  including a sketch that featured Vice President Spiro T. Agnew singing Dixie as a tribute to Nixons effort to win white votes with his Southern strategy.

Mr. Wilkins said he and then-Washington Mayor Walter E. Washington were the only blacks among the 500 media and political leaders in attendance.

There were no Indians, there were no Asians, there were no Puerto Ricans, there were no Mexican-Americans, he wrote in The Post. There were just the Mayor and me. Incredibly, I sensed that there were few in that room who thought that anything was missing.

The piece struck like thunder in Washington and impressed editorial page editor Philip L. Geyelin. From his place on the editorial board, Mr. Wilkins later told an interviewer, he wanted to help make The Post speak more precisely and more powerfully to the needs of the poor and the outcast, whoever they were.

But his brief tenure was consumed by the unfolding Watergate political scandal that led to Nixons resignation in 1974.

When The Post received a 1973 Pulitzer Prize for public service for its Watergate coverage, Pulitzer board members cited the investigative work of reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the editorial cartoons of Herbert L. Block, known as Herblock, and the newspapers editorials, many of them written by Mr. Wilkins.

In 1974, he received an overture from the Times and spent a few years on its editorial board before working as an urban-affairs columnist from 1977 to 1979.

As he did at The Post, Mr. Wilkins had disagreements at the Times with highly educated, liberal-minded white colleagues who assumed his sparkling credentials and pedigree made him a voice of what they considered moderation on race and social issues.

In his memoir, he wrote that his years-long attempt to gently enlighten colleagues and political leaders had little impact, and that he had come to believe in groin fights as the way to achieve progress.

Raised in an integrated community

Roger Wood Wilkins was born on March 25, 1932, in Kansas City, Mo., where he began his schooling in a one-room, segregated schoolhouse.

His father, Earl, a business manager of the Kansas City Call, a black newspaper, died of tuberculosis at 35. His mother, the former Helen Jackson, was instrumental in the racial desegregation of the national YWCA and eventually served as its first African American president.

After his fathers death in 1941, Mr. Wilkins lived briefly in Harlem near his uncle Roy, whom he recalled as a distant, dignified man. He moved with his mother to Grand Rapids, Mich., after her marriage in 1943 to a doctor, Robert Claytor.

The family lived in a racially mixed neighborhood, where Mr. Wilkins said he had many white friends but where interracial dating would have been unthinkable. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1953 and its law school in 1956.

He left the Times in 1979 and remained involved in public affairs as a senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, a professor of history and American culture at George Mason University, a commentator in print and broadcast media, and a publisher of the NAACPs journal, the Crisis, from 1998 to 2010.

In 1980, Mr. Wilkins and Post columnist William Raspberry became the first black members of the Pulitzer Prize board, which Mr. Wilkins later chaired. In 2001, he published Jeffersons Pillow, a well-regarded historical study addressing the contradictions between the ideals of the Founding Fathers from Virginia and their ownership of slaves.

In a career coda, Mr. Wilkins served on the D.C. school board from 2000 to 2003 and saw himself as an advocate for the citys most troubled children. Inner-city education today has the same moral importance as voting rights did 40 years ago in Mississippi, he told The Post at the time. To make things go right, you have to change the culture.

Mr. Wilkinss marriages to Eve Tyler and Mary Floy Myers ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 36 years, Patricia King, a law professor at Georgetown University, of Washington; two children from his first marriage, Amy Wilkins and David Wilkins, both of Washington; a daughter from his third marriage, Elizabeth Wilkins of Washington; two half sisters; and two grandsons.

Ive always thought that if I had 15 lucid moments before I die, Ill want to look back and see that I tried to act with honor, 15 minutes by 15 minutes throughout my life, Mr. Wilkins wrote in A Mans Life.

He added: The struggle of life is not won with one glorious moment like Reggie Jacksons five straight home runs in a recent World Series  wonderful and thrilling though that was  but a continual struggle in which you keep your dignity intact and your powers at work, over the long course of a lifetime.

Matt Schudel contributed to this report.
The MP from Osmanabad in Maharashtra was put on a no fly list by almost all the private airlines in support of Air India refusing to fly him after he assaulted one of its employees.

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad thrashed an Air India staffer with slipper at the Delhi airport. (File Photo)

By India Today Web Desk: The Shiv Sena has come out in full support of its Osmanabad MP Ravindra Gaikwad who was blacklisted by several airlines after he thrashed an Air India staffer with slipper.

The party, an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre and in Maharashtra, is likely to bring privilege motion over issue of Gaikwad being put in a 'no fly list' by the private airlines.

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Meanwhile, the party has called a shut down in Osmanabad in support of Gaikwad in the controversy.

Party president Uddhav Thackeray had sought an explanation from Gaikwad over the incident, he, however, refused to take any punitive action against the errant MP.

MP TAKES TRAIN AFTER AIRLINES REFUSE TO FLY HIM

State carrier Air India on Friday (March 24) barred Gaekwad, who had assaulted its staffer, from its flights and even cancelled his return ticket to Pune from Delhi. Private airlines IndiGo followed suit and cancelled the MP's ticket while refunding the fare.

Gaekwad, who has been unapologetic about the incident, was barred from flying by four private carriers after his brazen assault on an Air India officer.

The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which has Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir as its members, has taken a "strong view of the incident and accordingly taken a decision to bar Gaikwad from flying," an FIA source said.

Also read: Where is Ravindra Gaikwad? Shiv Sena MP who assaulted Air India staffer goes 'missing' from train

Also read: Ravindra Gaikwad row: Shiv Sena MP unlikely to be arrested any time soon. Here's why

Also read: Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad may now have to travel by train or bus as airlines ban him

WATCH: Exclusive: Defiant Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad dares Air India to blacklist him

--- ENDS ---
The March 14 front-page article A deaf, mute defendants 12-year legal limbo said that Brittany Binger, a 16-year-old who was killed in Virginia in 2005, was unwilling or not welcome to live in either parents home. I am Brittanys aunt. In 2004, my brother sent Brittany to Florida to live with her mother in the hope that she could have a fresh start, start the new school year, make new friends and turn her life around. She had behavioral issues, skipped school and argued with her father. She visited me often in summer in her preteen years and never gave me any problems.

Nobody in our family was aware that Brittanys friends provided her with a train ticket to return to Virginia. If we had known, she would have been taken in by my brother, me or another family member. We found out she had returned when the police arrived at my brothers workplace to inform him of her death. If her friends hadnt provided her with that train ticket, she might very well be alive today.

The 12-year process of not having justice for Brittany has been grueling. Its frustrating sitting in many courtroom hearings watching Oswaldo Martinez, the man charged with killing Brittany, nod to his interpreters. The taxpayers of Virginia should be outraged by how this accused killer has been catered to these past 12 years. There will never be closure for me or my family.

Carol Pyle, Mechanicsville
Tom Davis, a Republican from Virginia, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2008 and twice chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of the Republican conference.

Two months does not make a presidency or define a Congress. But unless the current trajectory is reversed, the Trump administration faces a difficult midterm that could undo its agenda and put House gavels and subpoena power in Democratic hands.

It is no exaggeration to say that the 2018 midterm campaign has already begun, with disruptive town hall meetings, party advertising and aggressive fundraising all underway. Democratic candidate-recruiting efforts are in high gear, and two upcoming special House elections in districts President Trump won, in Georgia and Montana, will see millions of dollars spent by both sides in efforts to create the narrative and momentum for next years contests.

The collapse of House Republicans push to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act not only exposes the long-standing fissures in the House GOP caucus but also emboldens Democrats to avoid any participation in legislative deliberations. It recalls the old adage: If your opponents are committing suicide, dont stand in their way.

Midterm elections are relatively low-turnout affairs, and history shows that angry voters tend to dominate that turnout model. That is what happened in 2006 for Democrats and 2010 for Republicans. Right now, Democratic voters feel angry and aggrieved while Republicans are divided and dispirited. Republicans have proved they can be a potent opposition party but have, so far, failed in graduating to a governance party. Moreover, legislative stalemate will give the Democrats the ability to present themselves as the party of change, with a wider appeal to independent voters.

The collapse of the Republican health-care bill was a massive case of legislative malpractice. But playing the blame game and pointing fingers do little to advance the ball. The Republican conference has no Plan B. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) is the only member with the legislative gravitas and fundraising base to lead such a diverse group. The caucus should use this failure as a teachable moment. The American Health Care Act faced united opposition from such disparate groups as the American Medical Association, AARP, the American Hospital Association and the insurance industry, as well as the Koch brothers and the Club for Growth. Republican leaders badly lost the messaging war on a bill few had read and the public didnt understand. The predictable Congressional Budget Office score didnt help matters.

What is ironic about this situation is that the bill was never going to become law. It was merely the first step in a legislative process that may well have yielded a more popular measure. But as a branding exercise for Republicans, it was a disaster. Note that midterm elections now operate more in the parliamentary model, where voters opt for or against the party in power and where individual legislative votes matter less. Case in point: Half of the Democrats who ran in competitive districts in 2010 and had voted against the Affordable Care Act lost their reelections anyway, as their candidacies were viewed by voters as a chance to send a message for or against President Barack Obama.

With Trumps approval numbers in the dangerously low 40 percent range and a restless Republican base, the GOP faces a treacherous path. Leaders must choose their next steps carefully. Tax reform, or even tax cuts, could be even more difficult to accomplish than health care in terms of pitting deficit hawks and special interests against any reform.

Infrastructure plans also require money that could otherwise be used to help finance tax reductions, although this area offers some opportunity for immediate job creation and Democratic support to offset intraparty GOP divisions.

Even such basic moves as passing spending measures to cover the remainder of this fiscal year and lifting the debt ceiling will require Democratic votes  and whatever Democrats agree to is unlikely to be acceptable to large swaths of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

My advice to the House GOP is: Get your act together or face losing the majority. There is time to recover from a difficult start. This will entail compromise and, in some cases, working with Democrats to get half a loaf. But your fumbling of health care puts you in a weakened bargaining position, and your internecine fighting dispirits the party base. As James Bonds nemesis liked to say , Choose your next move carefully, Mr. Bond. It may be your last.
There is nothing new about a Russian government seeking to exert influence in Western countries. For many decades, the Soviet Union supported Western communist parties and ran disinformation campaigns (Operation Infektion, the campaign to convince the world that the United States invented AIDS, was one of the most famous). The KGB slipped money and guns into the hands of terrorists and extremists, the Red Army Faction and the Irish Republican Army among them.

After the demise of the Soviet Union, these games stopped. The KGB was in disarray; more important, a large part of the Russian establishment then wanted to join the West, not undermine it. But now we live in a different era. Russia is run not by reformers but by very rich men who believe that Western institutions, and Western democratic ideals, threaten their power and their stolen money. They have returned to their old tactics  but with some new twists.

We already know that social media makes it much easier for the Russian state to spread disinformation. Less attention has been paid to the Russian private businessmen who make it much easier for the Russian state to win friends and buy influence than their Soviet counterparts did. Most independent Russian oligarchs are nothing of the sort: Their money came originally from the Russian state, through manipulated privatizations and money laundering. They depend upon the state in order to keep it, and if asked they will use it to do the states bidding. Yet much of what they do on the states behalf looks like ordinary business: buying and selling companies, investing in property, hiring consultants.

That context helps explain the career of Paul Manafort, President Trumps former campaign manager and longtime affiliate. According to the Associated Press, Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire, hired Manafort in 2005, both to help his company and to influence politics, business dealings and news coverage inside the United States, Europe and former Soviet republics to benefit President Vladimir Putins government. Manafort does not deny working for Deripaska, who hired him legally. But he says he did not work on behalf of the Russian state. Technically, he is right. In practice there is no difference.

In practice, Manafort was working for the Russian state in at least one other capacity as well. From about 2007 to 2012, Trumps future campaign manager served as an adviser to Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian politician who in 2010 was elected president of Ukraine. Once in power, Yanukovych worked to preserve the corrupt relationships between Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs. He also stole billions of dollars, weakened the Ukrainian state, undermined the constitution and unleashed his security forces on protesters before fleeing in disgrace. Technically, Manafort would be correct to say, again, that his work for Yanukovych was not done on behalf of the Russian state. But in practice, again, there was no difference.

Russian private money has also played a role in Trumps career. Though Trump has said repeatedly that he has never invested in Russia, Russia has invested in him. Famously, Donald Trump Jr. declared in 2008 that Russian money made up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. More recently, a Reuters investigation showed that holders of Russian passports invested at least $98 million into seven Trump properties in Florida alone, a number that doesnt include any investors who hid their names behind anonymous shell companies.

Technically, none of this money had anything to do with the Russian state. But in practice, it likely won goodwill and influence for Russia. Over many years, and long before he became president, Trump repeatedly praised Russia and its president. In 2007, he declared that Putin is doing a great job. In 2015, he described the Russian president as a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond.

Just like Deripaskas payments to Manafort, the disproportionate Russian investments in Trumps businesses, which Trump still owns, werent bribes. They didnt involve the KGB, and they probably didnt include any secret payments either. The question now is whether our political system is capable of grappling with this particular form of modern Russian corruption at all. Congress cannot simply ask the question was this all legal, because it probably was. Congress, or an independent investigator, needs to find a way to ask, was this moral, because it surely wasnt, and does it constitute undue influence, which it surely does.

Read more from Anne Applebaums archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook.
People in an overflow room listen to testimony during a hearing on a proposal to become a 'sanctuary city' at City Hall in Rockville, Md., on March 6. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

THE POLITICAL turmoil and outrage attending a bill that would limit the cooperation granted to federal immigration authorities by state and local officials in Maryland are disconnected from the effect of the latest, watered-down provisions that actually appear in the legislation. So are accusations by immigration restrictionists that the bill would transform Maryland into a sanctuary state, whatever that means.

No doubt, the intent of the sponsors of the measure, known as the Maryland Law Enforcement and Trust Act, was to sharply curtail many kinds of assistance rendered to federal immigration authorities by state and local officials in police departments, sheriffs departments and penal facilities. As the bill has emerged from the Democrat-dominated House of Delegates in Annapolis, however, its real-world impact would be modest at best, and certainly nothing to justify the huffing and puffing from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who said it will make Maryland a sanctuary state and endanger our citizens.

Please. A coolheaded analysis of what the bill does and does not do hardly justifies Mr. Hogans fulminations, nor his vow to veto it the moment it reaches my desk.

The words sanctuary city (or county) have no legal or clear-cut definition; they are political darts thrown for the purpose of suggesting a locality is soft on illegal immigration. In fact, hundreds of cities and counties around the country have detailed and nuanced rules that determine the circumstances under which they do or dont share with the feds certain information regarding undocumented immigrants. Some of the policies are measured and sensible; others, such as those adopted in San Francisco, are not.

The policies as now described in the bill that cleared the House in Annapolis, by a largely party-line vote of 83-55, are in the former category.

Mr. Hogan is exercised that the bill would prohibit most localities from holding undocumented immigrants in jail for 48 hours after their scheduled release date at the request of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, so they can be transferred directly to federal custody. But nothing in the amended legislation would bar those localities from informing ICE of release dates so that federal officials could detain inmates when they walk out of jail.

Similarly, the bill requires localities to comply with any warrant to hold undocumented immigrants issued by federal courts on the basis of probable cause. Such a warrant would be easily obtainable by ICE in the case of prisoners who pose a danger to public safety or national security. Despite Mr. Hogans assertions, nothing in the bill blocks local officials from sharing information with federal authorities about an undocumented immigrants criminal record or responding to subpoenas. And jurisdictions that have decided to cooperate even more closely with the feds, including Frederick, Harford and Anne Arundel counties, could continue doing so.

The bill strikes a symbolic blow against the Trump administration by pledging the states refusal to help compile a Muslim registry, as Donald Trump, as a candidate, said he might do. But such a registry would face enormous legal obstacles before it ever become federal law. The bill prohibits local police from asking people on the street randomly about their immigration status, which is largely barred in the state anyway.

If adopted by the state Senate, the bill would represent that increasingly rare legislative thing: a compromise.
The March 25 editorial The way forward: Fix Obamacare reflected what is now the rational and politically productive way to proceed with the Affordable Care Act. However, Obamacares repeal has become an obsession with House Republicans. Their focus is on nothing but obliteration. Anything that gets in the way will be trampled  human beings, health-care systems, finances, etc. They will cripple the ACA so it dies for lack of sustenance. When the cries of pain arise, Republicans will blame someone else, but they can tell those who suffer they have their freedom back.

Bill Kercheval, Falls Church

The Affordable Care Act needs some tweaks, and the American Health Care Act needs a do-over. Both sides are losing. Is it too radical to ask that a bipartisan group in Congress draft an alternative health-care plan for the American people? It would have to include some compromises.

John Hrastar, Silver Spring

The American people want their president and Congress to relearn the art of compromise. How about this for a start: the Democrats agree not to filibuster the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, and the Republicans agree to fix the Affordable Care Act rather than repeal it. Both sides would be giving up something significant for the well-being of the American people.

We need nine members on the Supreme Court for it to function properly. Twenty million people need health care; allowing the ACA to explode or implode would be irresponsible and childish. The Democrats are upset that Judge Merrick Garland never got a hearing on his Supreme Court nomination, and the Republicans are upset about Obamacare. Both sides have valid points and are rightfully upset. But now it is time to do what will help Americans. This would require a great deal of trust from both sides, and the timing is critical. Our leaders should compromise and get our government working again.

David Kenehan, Arlington

Lets not blame House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) for the defeat of Trumpcare. Republicans and Democrats alike heard the clamor and protests by the folks back home. It is time for both political parties to seriously negotiate with health-insurance companies and pharmaceutical corporations. We no longer need middlemen making hundreds of millions of dollars of profit from us, the people.

An alternative to the current coverage? A single-payer system; it is time.

Rosario Roose, Germantown
White House press secretary Sean Spicer, left, shakes hands with Mick Mulvaney on March 16 as the White House budget director prepares to brief the media on President Trump's budget proposal. (Andrew Harnik/Associated Press)

There was bound to be a political commotion when the Trump administration released its 2018 budget. After all, it isnt every day that the White House proposes deep cuts in agency spending: For 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency would be down 31 percent; the State Department, 29 percent; the Department of Education, 14 percent; and the Department of Transportation, 13 percent.

Outrageous, screamed critics. Good programs are being gutted. Surely true. But some ineffective or unimportant programs would also be gutted. The reflexive horror from Congress and (yes) the media to spending cuts reveals a central cause of chronic budget deficits. Theres a bipartisan unwillingness to answer this question: What is government for?

Once upon a time, before World War II, there was a strong consensus for limited government. In 1929, federal spending was 3 percent of gross domestic product; now it is 21 percent. Pay-as-you-go finance also enjoyed broad support. If more government was needed, it had to be covered by higher tax revenues. There was an unwritten fiscal constitution, writes Bill White in his book, Americas Fiscal Constitution.

According to White, the government traditionally borrowed for only one of four reasons: war, starting with 1812; depression, starting with the Panic of 1819; geographic expansion (Jeffersons Louisiana Purchase); and preserving the union (the assumption of state debts after the Revolution). For almost two centuries the president and Congress never planned to incur debt, White writes, simply to reduce taxes or to pay for routine annual spending.

This gradually changed after World War II. The crucial break occurred in the early 1960s when President John F. Kennedy accepted the advice of his economists that tax cuts would spur economic growth, although the budget was already in deficit. The assumption was that continuous strong economic growth would generate the higher tax revenues to pay for new programs.

We went from limited to open-ended government. Any group that could garner the votes got federal aid. Government operated a railroad (Amtrak), promoted public TV, subsidized farmers and much more. Spending discipline eroded. The trouble was that the central assumption  that rapid economic growth would automatically finance new government programs  was over-optimistic.

No matter. Consider the contrast between the last half of the 19th and 20th centuries. After Kennedys conversion, the federal government ran deficits in every year from 1963 to 1997, except for one (1969). After the Civil War, the response was much different. The debt was a then-staggering $2.7 billion. White reports that the government ran surpluses in every year from 1866 to 1893.

We should revert to the budgets role as an exercise in political choice, not an instrument of economic policy. That doesnt mean ignoring economics and trying futilely to balance the budget during recessions. The late economist Herbert Stein argued that when the economy nears full employment, the budget should near balance. This remains a good rule of thumb. Well, with the economy near full employment, the deficit exceeds $500 billion.

We need limited government not in the sense of smaller government  thats impossible  but in the sense of government that is focused and reflects agreed-upon boundaries. What jobs must government do? Who deserves benefits and why?

The standard Washington narrative blames Republicans for the budget stalemate because they reject higher taxes. This is a half-truth. Democrats have stymied candid discussion by ruling out cuts in benefits for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. These programs constitute more than half of present federal spending and two-thirds of growth through 2027, projects the Congressional Budget Office. Putting them off-limits squeezes other programs, as Trumps budget makes clear.

Trump has offered some good and bad choices; but at least he has offered choices. We need to go further. Heres what we should do.

First, determine how much we need to spend on defense. (At 15 percent of the budget, its too little now, in my view.)

Second, begin trimming programs for the elderly by gradually cutting benefits for the affluent and raising eligibility ages. Preserve most, though not all, of the safety net.

Third, eliminate  again gradually  marginal or ineffective programs, from Amtrak to farm subsidies to broadcasting grants. These cuts might not shrink government but would liberate funds for more important programs, such as research and defense.

Fourth, find a new tax (my candidate: a carbon tax) whose slow increase would close the considerable remaining deficits after spending cuts and increases.

The odds that Congress would pass anything like this are negligible. We have used government as a massive slush fund for whatever cause or interest seems popular. The carelessness is now woven into the social and political fabric. We need a leader who can shift public opinion and reconcile Americans to the need for choices, many unpopular. That person is nowhere in sight.

Read more from Robert Samuelsons archive.
A few days before the House Freedom Caucus brought down the American Health Care Act, Rep. Mark Meadows laid out the stakes for his group: This is a defining moment for our nation, but its also a defining moment for the Freedom Caucus.

The North Carolina Republican was right. The vote was indeed a defining moment  a test in which the Freedom Caucus had to decide: Would it remain a minoritarian opposition bloc whose only role was to defend truth without compromise? Or could it become something bigger, transforming itself into a majoritarian governing force that could lead Congress toward achievable conservative victories and have a lasting impact on the direction of our country?

The Freedom Caucus failed the test.

For weeks, as President Trump courted the group, members of the caucus used their leverage to make the bill better. They asked for language capping the maximum income to receive the tax credit  and got it. They asked to allow states to choose between a traditional block grant and a per capita block grant  and got it. They asked to allow states to impose work requirements on able-bodied Medicaid recipients  and got it. They asked for language preventing non-Medicaid-expansion states from becoming expansion states  and got it. They asked for flexibility for states to change essential health benefits  and got it.

But each time they got a concession, and were asked to support the bill, they instead came up with new sets of demands that made the legislation increasingly unpassable. Eventually it became clear to Trump that the Freedom Caucus would never take yes for an answer. So he cut them off, sending former Freedom Caucus member Mick Mulvaney, his Office of Management and Budget director, to Capitol Hill to deliver a message: The president was done negotiating.

That was the moment the Freedom Caucus made its choice. Caucus members could have pocketed their wins, declared victory and voted to move the legislation forward  vowing to keep working to improve the bill. But unable or unwilling to accept success, they chose instead to deliver Trump a major defeat on the first legislative effort of his presidency.

The result, one senior GOP official told me, will likely be that the White House will no longer negotiate with them in future debates and will go to moderate members and Democrats to get things done. The House Freedom Caucus has made itself irrelevant.

Indeed, Trump is already writing them off. He blasted the group on Twitter, declaring, Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare! And in an interview with The Posts Bob Costa on Friday, Trump said his strategy going forward will be to let Obamacare fail and then work with Democrats to fix it. Well end up with a better health-care plan. A great plan, he said, adding, And you wouldnt need the Freedom Caucus.

Thats the lesson Trump took from this experience: Democrats whose motto is Resist! would be more reasonable partners to work with than the Freedom Caucus.

Thankfully for conservatives, Democrats have thus far shown no interest in working with Trump. Perhaps, one day, Obamacare will deteriorate to the point where Democrats are willing to put aside their feelings and cut a deal. If they do, it will be far a more left-leaning, big-government approach to health care than anything the Freedom Caucus opposed in this legislation.

Will the Freedom Caucus learn from its mistake? The group has already lost one member, Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex.), who quit over the health bill debacle, declaring , Saying no is easy, leading is hard, but that is what we were elected to do. Leaving this caucus will allow me to be a more effective Member of Congress and advocate for the people of Texas. It is time to lead.

Poe is right. Freedom Caucus members need to understand that they are not in the opposition anymore. In the opposition, you can vote to repeal Obamacare 60 times without giving much thought to what comes next. But governing is different. Governing is messy. You have to make compromises and concessions. The goal is not to support the most conservative legislation; it is  to paraphrase William F. Buckleys famous rule  to support the most conservative viable legislation that can win.

Freedom Caucus members had a chance to repeal the individual mandate and the employer mandate, transform Medicaid, end $1 trillion in Obamacare taxes, expand health savings accounts and defund Planned Parenthood. Instead, they chose to keep Obamacare intact.

They failed to lead. They chose to think and act like an oppositional minority, instead of a majoritarian political movement. Unless and until they choose otherwise, they will never fundamentally change the direction of America  which, one assumes, is why its members ran for office in the first place.

Read more from Marc Thiessens archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
When it comes to political malpractice, failing on repeal-and-replace is not Exhibit A. For weeks there has been a more obvious question for Stephen K. Bannon and President Trump: Why are they driving Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer into the arms of the implacable opposition?

Wouldnt the smart play be to coerce, or induce, or at least leave a tiny bit of room for Schumer (D-N.Y.) to cooperate? Wouldnt the natural first move for Trump have been to assemble, from both parties, a populist majority in Congress?

Last week two of my Post colleagues, conservative commentators Marc Thiessen and Ed Rogers, argued that Schumer is sinking his partys 2018 prospects by joining the irreconcilable resistance instead of working with the president where possible. By leading a filibuster against Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch, voting even against Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao (wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [R-Ky.]) and generally refusing to play ball, Schumer is showing that he didnt get the 2016 message from middle America, they opined.

Thiessen and Rogers may be right that uncompromising resistance will not help Democrats win independent voters in 2018.

[After the health-care fiasco, Trumps next move may be even more disastrous]

But their analysis overlooks two points: Trumps behavior from Inauguration Day on left Schumer no choice. More important, whats bad for Democrats isnt necessarily optimal for Trump  especially if his and Bannons goal was to blow up both parties and forge a new working-class, nationalist majority that can carry Trump to triumphant reelection in 2020.

To be clear: I think thats the wrong goal for our country. But if Trump had begun his administration by seeking a bipartisan infrastructure bill, Schumer would have had no choice but to cooperate, and might well have welcomed the chance. Half the unions that normally support Democrats would have been on Trumps side and pressing both parties to get on board.

Instead, Trump opened his presidency with a dark and one-sided address that gave no credit to his predecessor and opened no doors to cooperation. He followed that address with bizarre misstatements about crowd size and tweets mocking the protesters who marched in vast numbers the next day. Why didnt these people vote? Trump taunted.

These people were Schumers base. Only days into the administration, thousands of liberals were demonstrating outside the Brooklyn apartment building where the senator lives. Grow a spine, Chuck! they demanded. Filibuster everything!

Even then, you might have made a case that for the good of his party, and the country, Schumer should stand up to his left wing. But he would have had to make common cause with a president who was belittling him as head clown and Fake Tears Chuck Schumer.

Even more difficult, he would have had to make cause with a president who selected as his first objective the erasure of President Barack Obamas principal accomplishment. No Democratic leader could be in any way accomplice to that goal and expect to survive. No Democratic leader would want to.

Imagine if Trump instead had told House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) that repeal-and-replace, and even tax cuts, had to wait. Imagine if Bannon had insisted that Congress first take up his trillion-dollar infrastructure plan.

There would have been some grousing from deficit hawks. But weve seen often enough that the one place Democrats and Republicans can find common ground is on measures that worsen the deficit.

[The lessons Trump and Ryan failed to learn from history]

There would have been disagreements, too, on the structure of the plan  how to pay for at least some of it, how to balance spending on roads with spending on mass transit, how radically to gut environmental protections on behalf of speed of execution.

But the pressure on Democrats to cut a deal would have been enormous. Would it have split the party? All the better, from Trumps point of view. And if it split the Republicans, too, wouldnt that have advanced the grand Bannon plan for world domination?

Which leads to an interesting question: Why didnt Trump start with infrastructure and cooperation?

One possibility is that he didnt because he couldnt, temperamentally. He couldnt control his jeers and insults, and Bannon couldnt control them either, so before the administration could even choose its first priority, the decision was essentially made for it: Democrats had been alienated and Trump had to start with initiatives that he thought could pass with only Republican support. The simultaneously gathering cloud regarding Russia only made it more certain that no Democrats could be seen advancing a Trump initiative.

Another possibility is that the more conventional Republicans inside the administration  Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Pence  argued for more conventional Republican goals and won.

Whatever the case, Trump missed an opportunity to reshape politics that may not present itself again.

Read more from Fred Hiatts archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
If President Trump and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) had paid attention to Mitt Romney, they could have avoided the fiasco of their now dead and unmourned health-care bill. They would not now face a situation in which both of them are being blamed because they both deserve to be. And the Republican Party would not be engulfed in a festival of recriminations.

I speak here of the Romney who, in 2006 as governor of Massachusetts, saw governments job as coming up with business-friendly solutions to problems the market couldnt solve on its own. Believe it or not, Republicans once upon a time believed in more than tax cuts and deregulation.

And so Romney worked with Democrats to pass the Massachusetts health-care plan which, he explained, was entirely within his partys philosophical wheelhouse: The Republican approach is to say, You know what? Everybody should have insurance. They should pay what they can afford to pay. If they need help, we will be there to help them, but no more free ride. 

Yes, requiring everyone to buy health insurance on the private market and providing adequate subsidies so lower-income citizens could afford it really was a conservative idea. It was an alternative to liberal calls for a government-run single-payer system.

[The health-care debacle isnt Trumps biggest failure]

(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

The mandate was seen not as oppressive, but as an endorsement of personal responsibility. If you can be required to buy car insurance (because everybody is at risk of getting into an accident), why not require people to buy health insurance (because everybody is at risk of getting sick)? But because health coverage is financially out of reach for so many, the fair thing is to ask them to pay what they can and have government fill in the rest.

The debacle that was Trumpcare, a.k.a. Ryancare, is a reminder that conservatism has gone haywire. It has abandoned trying to solve social problems, except for offering free-market bromides as if they were solutions.

There are many reasons the Republicans health proposal failed (beyond the fact that it was an awful mess of a bill). They include Trumps breathtaking contempt for policymaking, to the point where, as Tim Alberta recounted in Politico, the president used a barnyard epithet to deride the serious and thoughtful policy questions put to him by a group of House Republicans.

Trump once again revealed himself to be a fraud who really doesnt give a damn about the lives of those who voted for him. As recently as January, he said in an interview with The Post: Were going to have insurance for everybody. There was a philosophy in some circles that if you cant pay for it, you dont get it. Thats not going to happen with us. But then Trump fought for a bill that would have done just what he said he wouldnt by throwing 24 million Americans off health insurance.

This is Ryans mess, too. He was equally unconcerned about the suffering his bill might create. He thought he could slap together old ideas pulled off the GOP policy shelf and not face any pushback from his colleagues.

And there was the inspiring citizen mobilization that forced Republican legislators to confront the reality that millions of Americans have benefited from a law that Ryan, Trump and company, with a stunning indifference to fact, falsely insist is a failure. Trumps opponents learned that they can win. This will only energize them more.

[After the health-care fiasco, Trumps next move may be even more disastrous]

But the bills collapse was, finally, testimony to the emptiness of conservative ideology. Romney himself, remember, had to play down his greatest achievement because President Barack Obama had the nerve to learn from the Massachusetts experience: The Affordable Care Act is rooted in the principles and policies of Romneycare. To win the 2012 presidential nomination, Romney could not afford to be seen as the progenitor of Obamacare because conservatism now has to oppose even the affirmative uses of government it once endorsed.

Democrats can celebrate, but they cannot be complacent. They will have to expose and fight any efforts by the Trump administration to sabotage the Affordable Care Act through regulation. They should propose a package of improvements to make the ACA work better and dare Trump  and the dozen or so non-right-wing Republicans who helped block the Trump-Ryan bill  to join them.

But above all, the GOP needs an appointment with its conscience. In every other wealthy democracy , conservative parties think its heartless to leave any of their citizens without health insurance. Do Republicans really want to be the meanest conservatives in the world?

Read more from E.J. Dionnes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) Sebi today banned Reliance Industries and 12 others from equity derivatives trading for one year and directed the Mukesh Ambani-led firm to disgorge nearly Rs 1,000 crore for "unlawful gains" made through alleged fraudulent trading in a nearly 10-year-old case. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said it will challenge the order before the Securities Appellate Tribunal and termed Sebi directions as "unjustifiable sanctions". After finding that RIL made unlawful gains, Sebi has asked the company to disgorge Rs 447 crore, along with an annual interest of 12 per cent since November 29, 2007, which itself would be more than Rs 500 crore, taking the total disgorgement amount to nearly Rs 1,000 crore. The case relates to alleged fraudulent trading in the futures and options (F&O) space in the securities of RILs erstwhile listed subsidiary Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL).

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In a 54-page order passed by Whole-Time Member G Mahalingam, RIL and 12 other entities have been prohibited from dealing in the "equity derivatives in the F&O segment of stock exchanges, directly or indirectly". The ban will be in place for one year from today. The 12 other entities are Gujarat Petcoke and Petro Product supply, Aarthik Commercials, LPG Infrastructure India, Relpol Plastic Products, Fine Tech Commercials, Pipeline Infrastructure India, Motech software, Darshan Securities, Relogistics (India), Relogistics (Rajasthan), Vinamara Universal Traders and Dharti Investment and Holdings. Reliance Industries has been directed to disgorge the amount, along with interest within 45 days. Mahalingam said the directions are being passed after taking into consideration the magnitude of the fraud across the markets. "I am inclined to pass certain directions against the noticees in order to protect the interest of the investors and reinstil their faith in the regulatory system," the order said. "The noticees may, however, square off or close out their existing open positions." In the statement, Reliance Industries said it is in the process of consulting its legal advisors. "We propose to prefer an appeal and challenge the order in the Securities Appellate Tribunal. We remain confident of fully justifying the veracity of the transactions and vindicating our stand," the company said. The Reliance Industries group had earlier sought settling the case, but Sebi had refused. The proceedings in the long-pending case were expedited in the past few months. RPL has been merged with the listed parent firm. As per the Sebi order, RIL by employing 12 agents to take separate position limits of open interest on its behalf by executing separate agreements with each one of them and cornering 93.63 per cent of the November futures of RPL, "acted in a fraudulent manner". Furthermore, Sebi said RIL "manipulated" the F&O segment through 12 of its agents and allowed them to hold the contracts till the last day of expiry. Thereafter by closing out the derivative contracts on November 29, 2007, RIL "has engaged in a pre-planned fraudulent practice and the same cannot be held to be a mere breach of position limits by the clients attracting penalty under the exchange circulars", the order noted. On the basis of an analysis of the trading strategy and pattern adopted by RIL in the cash market during November 2007 and specifically on November 29, it was found that there has been a manipulation of the last half an hour settlement price, Sebi said. November 29 was the expiry day of the November futures of RPL. Mahalingam also said RIL made unlawful gains to the extent of Rs 513 crore. In March 2007, RILs board of directors decided to raise resources by offloading its 5 per cent stake in Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL). Between November 1-6, 2007, the noticees took substantial positions in the November futures contract of RPL. As a result, the holding in derivatives contracts of RPL reached 95 per cent of the market-wide position limit. Following an investigation into the matter, Sebi later issued show-cause notices. PTI RAM ANZ BJ ARD

--- ENDS ---
If your company is being sued for patent infringement, theres an awfully good chance youll need to get familiar with Marshall, Tex., population around 25,000.

The Eastern District of Texas is where a stunning number of patent cases are born  nearly 45 percent of the nations total, according to an amicus brief filed at the Supreme Court.

One U.S. district judge, Rodney Gilstrap, who presides over the federal courthouse in Marshall, received about one-quarter of all the patent cases initiated between 2014 to 2016  more than were assigned to all federal judges in California, New York and Florida combined, according to Mark A. Lemley, a Stanford law professor who filed the brief on behalf of himself and other professors.

[Supreme Court to consider curbing suits filed in Texas court]

The Supreme Court on Monday debated whether such forum-shopping is what Congress intended to happen with patent litigation  and whether there was anything wrong with it.

Briefs in the case are filled with this thing about a Texas district which they think has too many cases, said Justice Stephen G. Breyer, adding I dont know whether thats good, bad, or indifferent.

James W. Dabney, a New York lawyer representing a company called TC Heartland, said, right or wrong, it was contrary to a Supreme Court ruling that is 60 years old. He contends that a patent suit must be filed in the place where the alleged infringer is headquartered or where it has a regular and established place of business.

Instead, the Indiana-based Heartland was sued in Delaware, the district with the second highest number of patent suits, about 10 percent. Kraft Heinz alleges that Heartlands liquid water enhancers infringe on Krafts MiO.

Companies like to sue in places such as East Texas and Delaware, because those courts are seen as patent-friendly, with rules on speed, discovery and dismissal of claims that favor patent-holders. Critics say they also encourage costly litigation and settlements.

Krafts lawyer at the Supreme Court, William M. Jay, told the court that Congress is looking at the situation. But if theres a problem, he said, it is not one that should be settled with his companys case.

The justices acknowledged that their case from 1957 seemed definitive. The problem is that Congress has altered the law about legal venues twice since then, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has basically rewritten the rules from what the Supreme Court set.

Justice Elena Kagan noted the unusual nature of the case. Usually when the Supreme Court rules, we can be pretty confident that Congress is acting against the backdrop of that decision, she said. But I think that that would be an odd thing to say in this case, given that for 30 years the Federal Circuit has been ignoring our decision and the law has effectively been otherwise.

Under the Federal Circuit rules, patent lawsuits can be filed wherever a company has even minimal sales of its products. Heartland, for instance, shipped a relatively small portion of its water enhancer for sale in Delaware, but two lower courts ruled that was enough to keep the case there, rather than transferred to Indiana.

Dabney told the court there was no reason to adhere to the Federal Circuits ruling. This court has again and again and again stood up for its authority to declare what the law is, he said.

The case is TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group Brands.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, listens as Ivanka Trump speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on March 17, 2017. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Ivanka Trump is planning a trip to Germany to attend a summit on the economic empowerment of women, a senior administration official said Sunday.

The first daughter was invited by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during Merkels recent White House visit, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss details of the trip by name and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The W20 summit, a women-focused effort within the Group of 20 countries, will be held in Berlin in late April. Trumps plans are still being worked out, but she hopes to study successful apprenticeship programs during her visit.

Merkel and Ivanka Trump spent time together when Merkel visited the White House to meet with President Trump. At the request of German officials, the first daughter helped arrange a meeting between American and German business leaders to discuss vocational training.

The meeting marked the second time foreign leaders reached out to Ivanka Trump to coordinate an economic conversation. During Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus visit last month, she helped organize a meeting on economic development opportunities for women. That came together at the suggestion of Trudeaus office.

Trump has been discussing job-training opportunities with chief executives for some time, starting with meetings she held before her father took office. She has also pledged to work on expanding economic opportunities for women.

The first daughter is viewed as a rising power in the young administration. She is getting an office in the West Wing, a security clearance and government-issued electronic devices even though she is not an official employee.

Trump is relinquishing control of her lifestyle brand, but she retains ownership. She has also pledged to voluntarily comply with all ethics rules that apply to employees. Still, ethics experts have raised concerns that by not becoming an official employee, she could skirt transparency and ethics provisions.
Conservative donor Rebekah Mercer attended the 12th International Conference on Climate Change, hosted by The Heartland Institute in Washington this week. (Oliver Contreras for The Washington Post)

The atmosphere was buoyant at a conference held by the conservative Heartland Institute last week at a downtown Washington hotel, where speakers denounced climate science as rigged and jubilantly touted deep cuts President Trump is seeking to make to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Front and center during the two-day gathering were New York hedge fund executive Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah Mercer, Republican mega-donors who with their former political adviser Stephen K. Bannon helped finance an alternative media ecosystem that amplified Trumps populist themes during last years campaign.

The Mercers attendance at the two-day Heartland conference offered a telling sign of the low-profile familys priorities: With Trump in office, the influential financiers appear intent on putting muscle behind the fight to roll back environmental regulations, a central focus of the new administration.

On Thursday, the father and daughter joined Heartland Institute President Joseph Bast at his table for the keynote luncheon speech, held in a ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel. They listened intently as Patrick J. Michaels, director of the Cato Institutes Center for the Study of Science, argued that the Obama administration erred in finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health.

The Mercers presence indicates that the wealthy family is continuing to support the work of the Heartland Institute  a group that embraces views that have long been considered outlier positions by the scientific community, but that are ascendant in Trumps Washington.

Hedge fund executive Robert Mercer speaks on the phone during a climate change conference hosted by The Heartland Institute in Washington this week. (Oliver Contreras for The Washington Post)

Many of the people who are now prominent in the Trump administration attended our conferences, even spoke at our conferences, read our publications, Bast said in an interview. I think were seeing the fruit of a decade of hard work on this issue.

[The Mercers and Stephen Bannon: How a populist power base was funded and built]

Half a dozen Trump transition officials and administration advisers attended the gathering, including Myron Ebell, director of energy and global warming policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who headed Trumps EPA transition team.

Ebell, who has regularly challenged various aspects of the scientific consensus that humans are driving the warming of the planet, received Heartlands Speaks Truth to Power Award.

During a session Friday titled Resetting Climate Policy that the Mercers attended, Ebell thanked the people in this room and people like you around the country.

Its the people who have worked persistently against global warming alarmism that made this election result possible, he added.

But exactly where the Mercers stand on climate change  and the scope of their environmental agenda  remains a mystery.





When approached by a Washington Post reporter at the event, Rebekah Mercer declined to be interviewed.

The Heartland Institute has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Mercer familys foundation, which gave the group more than $5 million between 2008 and 2015, according to tax filings. But the size of the Mercers contributions dropped sharply in recent years, from $885,000 in 2014 to $100,000 in 2015.

Heartland officials declined to comment on the Mercers support, saying they do not discuss their donors.

During the same two-year period, the Mercer foundation contributed $500,000 to Berkeley Earth, a nonprofit research organization whose founder, Richard Muller, is a physicist and onetime climate change skeptic who declared in 2012 that his research shows that humans are indeed driving global warming.

Berkeley Earth set out in 2010 to reanalyze the highly influential surface temperature data kept by scientific institutions such as NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration  data that document considerable global warming and have come under fire from climate change doubters. The ultimate Berkeley Earth analysis, however, largely vindicated the original temperature records, reporting that concerns raised by doubters did not unduly bias the record.

In an interview Friday, Muller said that Robert Mercer contacted him after Muller gave a speech about big data and climate science at Renaissance Technologies, Mercers hedge fund.

He has been very supportive of our work and never once did he indicate to us that he had a hope for outcomes in what we did, Muller said. He added that Berkeley Earth continues to receive funding from Mercer, whom he described as very open.

The Mercers appeared deeply immersed in the arguments showcased at the Heartland conference. They attended half a dozen panels over two days, including one billed as a discussion of how climate science shows that nature, not human activity, is the chief driver of changes to the earths climate. Before Thursdays keynote speech, Rebekah Mercer, wearing her signature diamond-studded glasses, chatted animatedly with Bast, while her famously taciturn father sat next to her, quietly eating his salad.

The Heartland Institute has been challenging various aspects of the scientific consensus on human causation of global warming for years through gatherings such as last weeks International Conference on Climate Change . The group also helps organize the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change, which offers a contrary view to the leading authority on climate change, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In 2012, Heartland paid for a Chicago billboard that read, I still believe in Global Warming. Do you? alongside a picture of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, triggering major backlash and criticism.

Bast, the groups president, said at the time that the billboard was intended to be an experiment, noting that it got peoples attention.

Kenneth Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said Heartland has a long history of promoting alternative facts about climate change as well as crank climate denialist theories that are far out of the mainstream scientific consensus.

Kimmell said the fact that key Trump administration officials are embracing some of their theories is alarming.

It is distressing to see us going backwards on basic climate science, he said.

[As Trump administration grants approval for Keystone XL pipeline, an old fight is reignited]

In a statement, Bast called the union one of the environmental advocacy groups most responsible for politicizing climate science. Im not at all surprised that they disapprove of an open objective debate over the causes and consequences of climate change.

Several organizations that have received funding from the Mercer foundation helped sponsor the Heartland conference, including the Media Research Center, the Heritage Foundation and the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, a small group based in Bellevue, Wash., whose vice president once vowed to destroy environmentalists by taking their money and their members.

The gathering drew about 300 people to the Grand Hyatt, whose corridors buzzed with chatter about carbon levels and fake climate science. A man marketing the film Climate Hustle bore a sign that read, Hello, My Name is Al Gore.

The overarching theme of the two-day gathering: that fossil fuels and elevated levels of carbon dioxide actually benefit human health, the environment and regional stability.

In a session titled Fossil Fuels and World Peace, speakers said that fossil fuels and climate change could help boost food production. Craig Idso, chairman of the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, said that without fossil fuels, the world risks chaos and mass starvation.

Climate research, however, suggests many possible risks to crops, such as wheat and corn, as a result of warming and associated consequences such as drought in some regions.

Idso did not deny climate change, but embraced it. It will be next to impossible to meet the challenge of feeding Earths population without a rise in the Earths temperature, he said. CO2 is not a pollutant. It is the very elixir of life.

Throughout the conference, speakers repeatedly accused climate change scientists of manipulating their studies to produce results supporting their theories.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), chairman of the House science committee, who issued a subpoena to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists over a study finding that there had been no slowdown or pause in global warming, told the group that its time for good science, rather than politically correct science.

Steven Milloy, publisher of JunkScience.com, said the government has perverted science.

There is no science going on in NOAA or NASA or EPA, said Milloy, who served on the Trump EPA transition team, to chuckles and applause. There is no such thing as climate science.

Ebell warned attendees that getting their agenda through will not be easy, swiping at Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as part of the swamp that likes to attend international climate meetings. And he noted that Trumps daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, reportedly support the United States remaining in the Paris climate accord.

He urged those in the room to press for several top priorities: making a 31 percent budget cut to the EPA, overturning the agencys finding that carbon dioxide endangers public health and withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, an issue on which the administration has not yet adopted an official policy.

You add all these up, he said, and it changes the entire direction of the country.

Brady Dennis and Steven Mufson contributed to this report.
President Trump plans to unveil a new White House office on Monday with sweeping authority to overhaul the federal bureaucracy and fulfill key campaign promises  such as reforming care for veterans and fighting opioid addiction  by harvesting ideas from the business world and, potentially, privatizing some government functions.

The White House Office of American Innovation, to be led by Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law and senior adviser, will operate as its own nimble power center within the West Wing and will report directly to Trump. Viewed internally as a SWAT team of strategic consultants, the office will be staffed by former business executives and is designed to infuse fresh thinking into Washington, float above the daily political grind and create a lasting legacy for a president still searching for signature achievements.

All Americans, regardless of their political views, can recognize that government stagnation has hindered our ability to properly function, often creating widespread congestion and leading to cost overruns and delays, Trump said in a statement to The Washington Post. I promised the American people I would produce results, and apply my ahead of schedule, under budget mentality to the government.

In a White House riven at times by disorder and competing factions, the innovation office represents an expansion of Kushners already far-reaching influence. The 36-year-old former real estate and media executive will continue to wear many hats, driving foreign and domestic policy as well as decisions on presidential personnel. He also is a shadow diplomat, serving as Trumps lead adviser on relations with China, Mexico, Canada and the Middle East.

[Jared Kushner proves to be a shadow diplomat on U.S.-Mexico talks]

Jared Kushner, President Trumps senior adviser and son-in-law, center, arrives for a Feb. 15 event at the White House with wife, Ivanka, left, and Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, right. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

The work of White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon has drawn considerable attention, especially after his call for the deconstruction of the administrative state. But Bannon will have no formal role in the innovation office, which Trump advisers described as an incubator of sleek transformation as opposed to deconstruction.

The announcement of the new office comes at a humbling moment for the president, following Fridays collapse of his first major legislative push  an overhaul of the health-care system, which Trump had championed as a candidate.

Kushner is positioning the new office as an offensive team  an aggressive, nonideological ideas factory capable of attracting top talent from both inside and outside of government, and serving as a conduit with the business, philanthropic and academic communities.

We should have excellence in government, Kushner said Sunday in an interview in his West Wing office. The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens.

The innovation office has a particular focus on technology and data, and it is working with such titans as Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff and Tesla founder and chief executive Elon Musk. The group has already hosted sessions with more than 100 such leaders and government officials.

There is a need to figure out what policies are adding friction to the system without accompanying it with significant benefits, said Stephen A. Schwarzman, chief executive of the investment firm Blackstone Group. Its easy for the private sector to at least see where the friction is, and to do that very quickly and succinctly.

Some of the executives involved have criticized some of Trumps policies, such as his travel ban, but said they are eager to help the administration address chronic problems.

1 of 83 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  See what President Trump has been doing since taking office View Photos The beginning of his term has featured controversial executive orders and frequent conflicts with the media. Caption The beginning of the presidents term has featured controversial executive orders and frequent conflicts with the media. March 17, 2017 President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son, Barron, walk to Marine One at the White House en route to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Obviously it has to be done with corresponding values and principles. We dont agree on everything, said Benioff, a Silicon Valley billionaire who raised money for Democrat Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign.

But, Benioff added, Im hopeful that Jared will be collaborative with our industry in moving this forward. When I talk to him, he does remind me of a lot of the young, scrappy entrepreneurs that I invest in in their 30s.

Kushners ambitions for what the new office can achieve are grand. At least to start, the team plans to focus its attention on reimagining Veterans Affairs; modernizing the technology and data infrastructure of every federal department and agency; remodeling workforce-training programs; and developing transformative projects under the banner of Trumps $1 trillion infrastructure plan, such as providing broadband Internet service to every American.

In some cases, the office could direct that government functions be privatized, or that existing contracts be awarded to new bidders.

The office will also focus on combating opioid abuse, a regular emphasis for Trump on the campaign trail. The president later this week plans to announce an official drug commission devoted to the problem that will be chaired by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). He has been working informally on the issue for several weeks with Kushner, despite reported tension between the two.

Under President Barack Obama, Trump advisers said scornfully, some business leaders privately dismissed their White House interactions as NATO meetings  No action, talk only  in which they were lectured, without much follow-up.

Andrew Liveris, chairman and chief executive of Dow Chemical, who has had meetings with the two previous administrations, said the environment under Trump is markedly different.

After he left a recent meeting of manufacturing chief executives with Trump, Liveris said, Rather than entering a vacuum, Im getting emails from the presidents team, if not every day, then every other day  Heres what were working on. We need another meeting. Can you get us more input on this? 

[Inside Trumps fury: The president rages at leaks, setbacks and accusations]

Kushner proudly notes that most of the members of his team have little-to-no political experience, hailing instead from the world of business. They include Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council; Chris Liddell, assistant to the president for strategic initiatives; Reed Cordish, assistant to the president for intergovernmental and technology initiatives; Dina Powell, senior counselor to the president for economic initiatives and deputy national security adviser; and Andrew Bremberg, director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Ivanka Trump, the presidents elder daughter and Kushners wife, who now does her advocacy work from a West Wing office, will collaborate with the innovation office on issues such as workforce development but will not have an official role, aides said.

Powell, a former Goldman Sachs executive who spent a decade at the firm managing public-private job creation programs, also boasts a government pedigree as a veteran of George W. Bushs White House and State Department. Bremberg also worked in the Bush administration. But others are political neophytes.

Liddell, who speaks with an accent from his native New Zealand, served as chief financial officer for General Motors, Microsoft and International Paper, as well as in Hollywood for William Morris Endeavor.

We are part of the White House team, connected with everyone here, but we are not subject to the day-to-day issues, so we can take a more strategic approach to projects, Liddell said.

Like Kushner, Cordish is the scion of a real estate family  a Baltimore-based conglomerate known for developing casinos and shopping malls. And Cohn, a Democrat who has recently amassed significant clout in the White House, is the hard-charging former president of Goldman Sachs.

Trumps White House is closely scrutinized for its always-evolving power matrix, and the innovation office represents a victory for Wall Street figures such as Cohn who have sought to moderate Trumps agenda and project a friendly front to businesses, sometimes in conflict with the more hard-line conservatism championed by Bannon and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.

[Inside Trumps White House, New York moderates spark infighting and suspicion]

The innovation group has been meeting twice a week in Kushners office, just a few feet from the Oval Office, largely barren but for a black-and-white photo of his paternal grandparents  both Holocaust survivors  and a marked-up whiteboard more typical of tech start-ups. Kushner takes projects and decisions directly to the president for sign-off, though Trump also directly suggests areas of personal interest.

There could be friction as the group interacts with myriad federal agencies, though the advisers said they did not see themselves as an imperious force dictating changes but rather as a service organization offering solutions.

Kushners team is being formalized just as the Trump administration is proposing sweeping budget cuts across many departments, and members said they would help find efficiencies.

The presidents doing what is necessary to have a prudent budget, and that makes an office like this even more vital as we need to get more out of less dollars by doing things smarter, doing things better, and by leaning on the private sector, Cordish said.

Ginni Rometty, the chairman and chief executive of IBM, said she is encouraged: Jared is reaching out and listening to leaders from across the business community  not just on day-to-day issues, but on long-term challenges like how to train a modern workforce and how to apply the latest innovations to government operations.

Trump sees the innovation office as a way to institutionalize what he sometimes did in business, such as helping New York Citys government renovate the floundering Wollman Rink in Central Park, said Hope Hicks, the presidents longtime spokeswoman.

He recognized where the government has struggled with certain projects and he was someone in the private sector who was able to come in and bring the resources and creativity needed and ultimately execute in an efficient, cost-effective, way, Hicks said. In some respects, this is an extension of some of the highlights of the presidents career.
Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch testifies during the third day of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 22. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trumps Supreme Court nominee, may fall short of the votes needed for smooth passage in the Senate next week, potentially dashing Republican hopes for an easy victory after the stinging defeat of the American Health Care Act last week.

Gorsuch needs 60 votes to clear a procedural hurdle required of high-court confirmations in the Senate, but Republicans, who hold just 52 seats, may not have the votes in a chamber that is divided deeply along partisan lines.

Republicans do, however, have the votes to choose the nuclear option  to change the rules and allow Gorsuchs confirmation  and others after it  to proceed on a simple majority vote. That would upend a long-standing Senate tradition that forces the governing party to seek bipartisan support.

I think this is tragic,said Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who added in an interview on MSNBCs Morning Joe that he doubts that Gorsuch will be able to get the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster threatened by some Democrats. But he also said Republicans will most certainly choose to end the practice.

With relations between Democrats and Republicans already strained, the brewing fight over Gorsuchs confirmation and how it could change the way the Senate does business is likely to make the partisan rancor even more intense in the coming days. While Republicans need at least eight Democrats to join with them to block a filibuster, no Democratic senator has announced plans to back Gorsuch.

(Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

[Rulings offer glimpse into what kind of justice Gorsuch would be]

Gorsuch, 49, has been on the Denver-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit for the past decade. Trump nominated him to fill the seat made vacant when Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016. Republicans say that Gorsuch will be confirmed despite Democratic opposition  a threat that suggests they are prepared to make the change allowing a simple majority vote.

A final vote on Gorsuch is still more than a week away. On Monday, the Judiciary Committee delayed a vote on Gorsuch for one week at the request of Democrats. Republican leaders are hoping to confirm him by April 7, when a two-week congressional recess is scheduled to begin, so that Gorsuch can join the court by late April for the final cases of its term that ends in June.

Democrats have called that timetable rushed, noting that since the 1980s it has taken 29 days on average between the start of a Supreme Court confirmation hearing and a final confirmation vote.

Coonss prediction came after consultations with senators in both parties about brokering a deal that would lead to Gorsuchs confirmation without upending current Senate traditions, according to multiple senators and aides familiar with his negotiations.

The hope was to find a bipartisan group of rank-and-file senators who could negotiate a deal that would again steer the Senate away from partisan brinkmanship on federal court vacancies. A group of 14 senators from both parties warded off a similar impasse in 2005  but just three members of that Gang of 14 remain in office. And Coons signaled Monday that he has found little appetite for a new agreement.

Weve got a lot of senators concerned about where were headed, he told MSNBC. Theres Republicans still very mad at us over the 2013 change to the filibuster rule. Were mad at them for shutting down the government, theyre mad at us for Gorsuch, and were not headed in a good direction.

Democrats used the nuclear option in 2013 to change how the Senate confirms executive-branch nominees and lower-level federal judges, against the strong objections of Republicans.

[No bipartisan gang to save the Senate this time on Supreme Court fight]

Four years later, Democrats are finding there is little upside to cooperating with Trump and Republicans. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) last week announced plans to filibuster Gorsuch. Others including Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) followed suit. No Democrat has announced support for Gorsuch, and some moderates say they are still mulling a final decision.

Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) said he is planning to meet with Gorsuch again before deciding. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) said in a statement that she is in the process of reviewing the nomination and will not make a final decision for several days. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) had no comment about his plans when asked on Monday. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) also said that he had not decided but added that he would not be splitting his votes by voting to end a filibuster but then voting against Gorsuchs confirmation. My cloture vote and vote for him will be the same, he told reporters.

The White House and Senate Republicans are hoping that a multimillion-dollar ad campaign bankrolled by conservative legal groups can help put pressure on Manchin, Heitkamp, Donnelly and seven other Democrats facing reelection next year in states that Trump won in November. Two of those 10 Democrats  Sens. Robert P. Casey Jr. (Pa.) and Bill Nelson (Fla.)  have said in recent days that they will vote against Gorsuch.

If the pressure campaign doesnt work, GOP aides privately hope that senior Democrats can prevail upon colleagues to at least help break a filibuster to preserve Senate tradition. White House press secretary Sean Spicer cited comments by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), who has served on the Judiciary Committee since 1979 and told the Vermont political website VTDigger over the weekend that while he is opposed to Gorsuch, I am not inclined to filibuster.

Many Democrats know that supporting Gorsuch would cost them support back home.

At a town hall meeting Sunday afternoon in Rhode Island, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) was welcomed with a standing ovation for his role in the Gorsuch hearings as a member of the judiciary panel.

The senator said Gorsuch had failed to win over any Democrats with evasive answers on issues such as campaign finance and gerrymandering. One constituent, holding a sign showing her support for Merrick Garland  President Barack Obamas Supreme Court nominee, who was blocked by Republicans last year  asked whether Republicans would really blow up the filibuster to get Gorsuch through.

They can, but by all rights, 60 votes ought to be the standard, Whitehouse said. When he doesnt get 60 votes, thats going to give Mitch McConnell a tough choice. Hell have to either change the candidate or change the rules. And its not going to be easy for him to change the rules, because a lot of people in his caucus will push back. We have to have the vote, show this guy cant get 60, and see where it goes from there. In the crucible of the Senate, sometimes good things can emerge.

Over a few rounds of questions, Whitehouse raised the possibility that Gorsuch would be blocked and Republicans would start over with a more moderate nominee. In a short interview after the speech, Whitehouse said he was confident that more than 40 Democrats would hang together. If four, or five, or two, or no Democrats want to support him, the result is the same  not 60, Whitehouse said. This is a problem [Republicans] should have seen when they picked a nominee off of a list from special-interest groups.

Asked about the possibility that the filibuster would be nuked, ripping it away from Democrats in future fights, Whitehouse chuckled. To my mind, theres no reason to lose a fight in order to save yourself for a later fight, he said. You just face the same fight later, plus youve already lost.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said Monday: The Rs are going to do what the Rs are going to do. Im going to make my decision based on the merits. What we learned in the Garland case is that theyre going to do whatever they want to do. The way I look at it is that the Supreme Court is the only office that requires a 60-vote threshold. That mandates that there be some bipartisanship.

Weigel reported from Coventry, R.I.
Federal employees and their advocates reacted skeptically Monday to the establishment of a new White House campaign to overhaul the federal bureaucracy using private-sector practices, warning that the approach is too simplistic to have long-lasting effects.

Government workers and those who have recently left federal jobs said the new White House Office of American Innovation  led by Jared Kushner, President Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser  has a worthwhile mission to make a bureaucracy long known for inefficiency more nimble and less costly.

But these employees doubt that valuable ideas can come from yet another White House task force with the goal of fixing government. They said they worry this initiative will lean exclusively on the corporate world for ideas rather than inviting experts inside government to share theirs. And these employees suggested that the real aim was to farm out work to private companies, costing taxpayers the same  or even more  than keeping it in-house.

[Trump taps Kushner to lead a SWAT team to fix government with business ideas]

The new office is envisioned as a White House power center staffed with consultants and former business executives who put a particular emphasis on using technology to help transform the government of 2.1 million civilian employees.

The first thing Im hearing is, this is reinventing government version two, or three, or four, said Bill Valdez, president of the Senior Executives Association and a longtime Energy Department official, referring to similar SWAT teams set up by the Clinton, Bush and Obama White Houses to make government operate more like a business.

Valdez said he is optimistic that Trumps real chops in business and Kushners energy might lead to good ideas, and he wrote a letter to Kushner on Monday offering the help of the SES as they go about their journey.

But Valdez cautioned that the Trump innovators may not realize that government has many rules dating back to the dawn of the civil service in 1883 that will make it harder to bring private-sector practices to government.

For one thing, political appointees in the government might be surprised if they seek to hire friends or business associates who they consider the best candidates for jobs. In general, the rules about nepotism are unfamiliar to people who join the federal government from the private sector, where you can hire whomever you want, Valdez said.

The sprawling and troubled veterans care system is expected to be among the first targets of the innovation office, which was first disclosed by The Washington Post. That focus alarms some critics of the new office, who fear the recommendation will be a push for more private care outside the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Im very concerned that this reimagining effort is another name for dismantling VA, said Marilyn Park, legislative representative on VA issues for the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employee union.

The agency still is recovering from a scandal over staff coverups of long patient wait lists for doctors appointments and struggling with a backlog of appeals when veterans are denied claims for benefits. President Trump promised during his campaign to give veterans more access to doctors outside the system, a change unions and some veterans groups have denounced as the first step toward privatization.

Some VA employees said they welcome more attention from the White House after years of questions about proper oversight of the decentralized system of hospitals and clinics.

The more people looking at VA, the better for the veterans, said Joseph Colon, a health systems specialist in the office that is in charge of credentials for the medical staff at the VA Caribbean Health Care System in Puerto Rico. Theres a lot of poor decisions made at the local level.

Other employees said they dont trust the administration to steer clear of possible conflicts of interest when engaging private companies to help make government work better.

Were concerned this administration may cherry-pick certain government functions that could be personally beneficial to their supporters, said Steven Lenkart, executive director of the National Federation of Federal Employees, which represents 110,000 blue- and white-collar workers. The union also is concerned that a lopsided focus on disabling offices that enforce environmental or labor regulations will come out of the office.

The excuse will be, its for the efficiency of government, Lenkart said.

At the Social Security Administration, budget cuts of 10 percent since 2010 and a surge in applications for disability benefits have resulted in a backlog of appeals for hearings when applications are rejected.

Witold Skwierczynski, president of AFGEs National Council of Social Security field operations locals, said the innovation office might conclude that the appeals backlog  with an average 550-day wait for a hearing  could be whittled down if hearings were conducted on the Internet.

You cant do a disability hearing over the Internet, he said.

Teresa Gerton, who served in the Obama administration as deputy assistant secretary for policy at the Labor Department, overseeing veterans employment and training, said it will be tempting for the new office to replace people with computers to save money.

The thinking will be, if we can just automate services, customers will interact with government workers or all you need is a Web portal and you can find a job, Gerton, now president of the National Academy of Public Administration, said. But its not true. Not everyone is comfortable with the Internet, and people need in-person conversations before theyre ready to use electronic tools.

Read more at PowerPost
By Press Trust of India: Karachi, Mar 27 (PTI) Sima Kamil, a veteran banker was today appointed President and CEO of the United Bank Limited (UBL), becoming the first woman to lead a major Pakistani bank in the conservative Muslim nation.

Kamil, who will initially serve as deputy CEO at UBL, is slated to take over the top slot after May 31, when the current CEO Wajahat Hussain leaves the company, Dawn newspaper reported.

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The United Bank Limited is one of the big five commercial banks in Pakistan.

Kamil, who moved recently to UBL, had been leading Habib Bank Ltds (HBL) Branch Banking since 2011 and oversaw a large expansion of HBLs branch network.

She dealt with HBLs retail, consumer, small and medium enterprises, and rural banking initiatives, as well as the banks wealth management division as head of the HBL Asset Management Company Ltd.

She had previously been associated with the microfinance industry as a director of the First MicroFinance Bank.

She also has experience at international financial institutions, including American Express, a financial services company, and Standard Chartered Bank.

Kamil has a business degree from Kingston University in the UK and an MBA from the City University, London.

According to UBLs website, the bank controls assets of more than Rs 1 trillion. It operates 1,281 branches all over Pakistan, including 22 Islamic banking branches and one branch in Karachi export processing zone, and 18 branches outside Pakistan. PTI AKJ AKJ

--- ENDS ---
About 400 constituents showed up at a town hall meeting Sunday in Rhode Island with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Sen. Jack Reed and Rep. James Langevin. (Stan Godlewski/For The Washington Post)

At their first town meeting since the Republicans surprise surrender on the Affordable Care Act, progressives in blue America celebrated  then asked for more. Rhode Islands two Democratic senators, joined by Rep. Jim Langevin, told several hundred happy constituents that the next step in health reform had to mean expanded coverage, provided by the government.

We have to look harder at a single-payer system, said Langevin (D-R.I.), using a term for universal coverage.

Im old enough to have voted for a single-payer system in the House, said Sen. Jack Reed, Rhode Islands senior senator.

The very best market-based solution is to have a public option, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said.

Progressives, emboldened by Republicans health-care failure, are trying to shift the political debate even further to the left, toward a long-standing goal that Democrats told them was unrealistic. They see in President Trump a less ideological Republican who has also promised universal coverage, and they see a base of Trump voters who might very well embrace the idea.

The weekend after the implosion of the GOPs American Health Care Act brought that into the open. In several TV interviews, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) promised to reintroduce a Medicare for All bill when the Senate returns to work. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) held a town hall in her San Francisco district where she happily egged on protesters demanding a plan like Sanderss.

I supported single payer since before you were born, said Pelosi, who has argued since the passage of the Affordable Care Act that it could be a bridge to European-style universal coverage. (The House passed a bill with the public option jargon to describe a Medicare-style national plan that could work as a competitor against private insurers.)

In the glow of victory, Democrats spent the weekend thanking activists who showed up at Republican town halls, worked congressional phone lines and made the AHCA politically untenable for many Republicans  especially moderates. Activists also had succeeded in getting most Senate Democrats on the record against Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

[Who is to blame for the failure of the health-care overhaul? The finger-pointing begins.]

In Rhode Island, where Democrats hold every major office, activists have been pushing the local party to the left. Sanders won the states 2016 primary, and the Working Families Party, which endorsed him, has held weekly organizing meetings to find targets for activists. Gov. Gina Raimondo (D-R.I.), a former venture capitalist, has pitched a version of the free public college tuition plan Sanders ran on. Whitehouse, who emerged in the Gorsuch hearings as a key critic, was even protested after hed voted for several Trump Cabinet nominees.

That was key, said David Segal, a former Rhode Island legislator and executive director of the progressive group Demand Progress. Fifteen hundred people showed up to demand that a senator whos generally seen as progressive be more progressive.

But health care was the issue with the most apparent running room for the left. Since January, Democrats and activists had held events that promoted the Affordable Care Act  which for the first six years since its passage had been a loser in polls  by presenting people whod been helped by the law. In the three weeks that the American Health Care Act was debated in public, even some conservative allies of the president argued that it had become politically impossible to scale back health coverage.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) listens to questions from the audience during a town hall Sunday in Coventry, R.I. (Stan Godlewski/For The Washington Post)

The victory of a Republican candidate who promised insurance for everybody, and who once favored universal insurance, made some Democrats ask if an idea once dismissed as socialism might have some bipartisan openings in the post-ideological era of Trump.

Donald Trump staked out the high moral ground by calling for a feasible system of universal healthcare to replace Obamacare, wrote Newsmax publisher Christopher Ruddy, a Trump friend, 11 days before AHCA crashed to earth. He shouldnt retreat from that no matter how much the establishment GOP dislikes it.

In response, elected Democrats have felt freer to make health-care demands, despite controlling no branch of government. The windup often suggests that Republicans are right, and that the health-care system must be tweaked.

We have ideas, they have ideas, to try to improve Obamacare, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a Sunday interview with ABC News. We never said it was perfect. We always said wed work with them to improve it.

On the details, Democrats now argue that Trump should move to the left. Asked where Democrats might work with the president to fix health care, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) suggested expanding Medicaid in states that havent expanded it yet  anathema to Republicans and conservative groups that fought against it. (Medicaid expansion is optional-only because of the 2012 National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius decision, which was argued by conservatives and struck down small parts of the ACA.) Sanders, who couldnt get all of his colleagues in the Democratic caucus to endorse a prescription drugs importation bill, said he believes that this Republican president might.

President Trump said a whole lot of stuff on the campaign trail, Sanders said on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday. One of the things he talked about was lowering the cost of prescription drugs. There is wonderful legislation right now in the Senate to do that. President Trump, come on board. Lets work together.

Some Democrats remain skittish about the threat of being tarred by ideological conservatives in tough elections. Saving the Affordable Care Act from repeal united Democrats and healed divisions between the partys base and its politicians. The next health-care debate might not do that. The only Democrats facing elections soon are candidates for open House seats in deep-red districts, and few have endorsed single payer.

Instead, theyve cautiously discussed fixes that might be worked out between the parties. Jim Thompson, a candidate for an open seat in Kansas, said after the AHCAs collapse that parties should sit down and find a plan that expands coverage, lowers costs, and brings us together. Jon Ossoff, whose bid for an open seat in Georgia has become surprisingly competitive, has run TV ads saying he opposes repeal but favors tweaks to the law. Both parties should sit down and deliver more affordable health care choices, he said after Fridays debacle.

That approach reflects how, despite Fridays setback, Republicans have long benefited from attacking a government takeover of health care. And most special-election Democrats arent ready to test whether the landscape has changed.

Obamacares ongoing collapse is a case study in what occurs with a top-down, government centered approach to healthcare, said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Jesse Hunt. Candidates who advocate for a Bernie-style single payer system do so at their own peril.

That hasnt stopped the Democrats base, just as Republicans demanded years of fealty to a repeal message, from seeking more on health care. The Coventry town hall, which filled most of the citys largest high school auditorium, was a target-rich environment for local groups trying to get signatures to support expanded health care. J. Mark Ryan, 49, who led the local chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, walked from row to row with cards that people could sign if they wanted the state to pass a single-payer bill.

Any Republicans who are interested in being re-elected should be interested in this, too, he said.

Michael Fuchs, 55, got Whitehouse to sign a different card, for a campaign simply to get Rhode Island to endorse the essential health benefits that were negotiated away in the final version of the AHCA. Doing so, he pointed out, would protect the states customers even if Republicans made a successful run at the law. But in the long run, he, too, wanted national health insurance.

We could at least lower the buy-in age for Medicare to 55, he said.

Over more than two friendly hours, the elected Democrats got the most applause when they swerved left on health care.

The very best market-based solution is to have a public option, Whitehouse said. Paraphrasing Benjamin Franklin, he said that a government-managed insurer would reveal what games private insurers had been playing. The best way to show that a stick is crooked is to put a straight stick next to it. If you do that, the private sector cant manipulate the market by withdrawing.

But as the town hall went on, activists demanded to know if Whitehouse could go further. After several rounds of questions about the need to investigate Russias involvement in the 2016 election, and the need to filibuster Gorsuch, Ryan, with the physician group, asked the senator if he could get behind universal coverage.

Why not endorse it this year? Ryan asked.

In the spirit of the weekend, Whitehouse didnt rule it out. We already do it for the people we care the most about  our veterans and our seniors, he said.

Read more at PowerPost
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan told Republican donors Monday that he intends to continue pushing for an overhaul of the nations health-care system by working on two tracks as he also pursues other elements of President Trumps agenda.

We are going to keep getting at this thing, Ryan said three days after intraparty opposition forced him to pull the American Health Care Act after it became clear it did not have enough Republican votes to pass.

On an afternoon call with donors to his Team Ryan political organization, he continued: Were not going to just all of a sudden abandon health care and move on to the rest. We are going to move on with rest of our agenda, keep that on track, while we work the health-care problem. . . . Its just that valuable, that important.

Ryan (R-Wis.) did not disclose details of what the next iteration of health-care reform might look like, but he suggested that a plan was being developed in time to brief the donors at a retreat scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Florida. His remarks indicated that Republicans may be trying to regroup more quickly than Ryan had suggested they would on Friday, when he declared Obamacare the law of the land for the foreseeable future.

When were in Florida, I will lay out the path forward on health care and all the rest of the agenda, Ryan said in the call Monday, according to a recording obtained by The Washington Post. I will explain how it all still works, and how were still moving forward on health care with other ideas and plans. So please make sure that if you can come, you come  it will be good to look at what can feasibly get done and where things currently stand. But know this: We are not giving up.

(Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

Trump said Friday that he wanted to move on to the rest of his agenda  tax reform, in particular  and that he was content to leave the Affordable Care Act in place and let it explode.

If the Democrats  when it explodes, which it will soon  if they got together with us and got a real health-care bill, Id be totally open to it, and I think thats going to happen, he said.

In addition, White House press secretary Sean Spicer left the door open at Mondays briefing to further efforts. Were at the beginning of a process, he said. I dont think weve seen the end of health care.

Ryan did not take questions on the roughly 10-minute call. Zack Roday, a spokesman for the speakers political operation, declined to comment. AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for the speakers office, said Ryan huddled with Trump at the White House on Monday and also met separately about the coming legislative agenda with Vice President Pence, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. Its safe to say were having these conversations, she said. We look forward to talking with our members on Tuesday when we get back.

[Divisions threaten Trumps hope of winning his next big legislative battle: Taxes]

The call Monday came at the most challenging moment of Ryans 17-month tenure as speaker: the failure of the American Health Care Act, for which he played the central role in assembling and promoting, throws into doubt the Republican Partys basic ability to govern even with unified control of the White House and Congress.

Speaking to the donors Monday, Ryan gave an explanation similar to the one he offered reporters on Friday  where he said that moving from an opposition party to a governing party comes with growing pains.

But he was more forthright in seeming to lay the blame on the members of the House Freedom Caucus, the hard-right bloc that was a crucial factor in the health-care bills demise.

Basically . . . 90 percent of our members of the conference were there and ready to go and be a governing party and were happy with where we were, and around 10 percent were still in what I would call opposition party mode,  Ryan said on the call. About 10 percent of our people, a particular bloc, just werent there yet, even with the presidents involvement.

While Freedom Caucus members played a central role in opposing the bill, Ryan did not mention a significant group of moderate Republican who also had qualms about the proposal. The Post has counted at least 25 GOP members not considered aligned with the hard right who had announced they were opposing or leaning against the plan.

In a Sunday interview with ABCs This Week, Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said he still considered the bill to be in the negotiation process and that conservatives and moderates would come together, hopefully in the coming days, to find consensus.

But it remained unclear how the GOP health-care push could be salvaged. Trump has turned his sights on the hard right, tweeting Sunday that Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!

One Freedom Caucus member, Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex.), announced Sunday that he was resigning from the group out of disgust for how it handled the issue, raising the prospect that the group could crack up after foiling Trump and Ryan on a front-burner item.

I think that there was nothing that could be added to the bill that the Freedom Caucus would ever vote yes on, Poe told CNN on Monday. I got the opinion that theres some members of the Freedom Caucus, they would vote no against the Ten Commandments if they came up for a vote.

There was no indication that there would be any further Freedom Caucus defections  nor evidence that the moderates who abandoned the bill could be wooed back.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a founder and former chairman of the group, said he had no regrets about killing the bill.

The lesson here is dont try to pass a bill that only 17 percent of the country approves of  thats a problem, he on MSNBC Monday. When no one likes the legislation, you have to do it different.

[With AHCA defeat, some Democrats see chance to push for universal coverage]

GOP House members who returned to Washington on Monday split on whether the bill had any near-term prospects.

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) said he had been slammed over the weekend by constituents angry that the bill had failed: We maybe make a few tweaks and change it, but I still think its valid. Bring it up. We worked too hard on this.

But Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) said he did not believe the fundamental politics of the issue had changed or that his colleagues could stomach another internecine battle.

Its an open wound right now  ask the Freedom Caucus, Collins said. Im guessing weve all moved on, because its not going to do any good to open the wound again.

Ryan acknowledged on the call that he leads a deeply divided conference that is threatening to descend into open infighting. By pulling the bill Friday, Ryan said, he moved to let a little pressure off the system, let some nerves cool a little bit and then get back talking with each other while we work on this issue and all the other issues.

Ninety percent of our conference was very, very upset with about 10 percent, and I didnt want things being done and said that people would regret, he said. So I sent folks home for the weekend to just kind of soak in what had happened, appreciate the situation and start over and get back to work again.

Nonetheless, tensions remained evident. Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) rose in a closed-door meeting of House Republicans Thursday night to lambaste Meadows and the Freedom Caucus, only to be talked down by colleagues wary of sparking an intraparty shouting match.

But Scott let loose in a tweet Saturday: Mark Meadows betrayed Trump and America and supported Pelosi and Dems to protect Obamacare.

And then there are the tensions between Ryan and Trump, a fraught relationship dating back to the presidential campaign that was once again cast into doubt Saturday when Trump asked his 27 million Twitter followers to tune in to the Fox News show of Jeanine Pirro  who proceeded to call for Ryans removal as speaker.

In a Fox News interview Sunday, Priebus said the tweet and Pirros call were coincidental and that Trump was helping out a friend by promoting Pirros show.

Ryan did not mention the episode in the call Monday, but he said he had spoken to Trump four or five times this weekend . . . and we see it the same way: Were completely united on how we move forward and where we go from here and how we need this effort moving.

In a strange way, this really merged our teams  our team in the House with the presidents team  even more closely, he said at another point in the call. I think the White House, the president in particular, has a much, much clearer understanding of just the dynamic that we have in the House Republican Conference. And so that, if anything, is very helpful that he really now appreciates the challenges we have of governing and of becoming a governing party.

Philip Rucker contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee acknowledged Monday that he had made a secret visit to the White House last week to view intelligence files he then cited as proof of potentially improper spying activity against President Trump, casting new doubt on the independence of a congressional investigation into Russian election interference.

The admission by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) triggered calls among Democrats for his removal as chairman of the House panel and bipartisan appeals for an independent probe of Kremlin meddling in the 2016 election and potential connections between Russia and Trump associates.

The committees ranking Democrat, Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), called late Monday for Nunes to recuse himself from any further involvement in the Russia investigation and all oversight matters pertaining to any incidental collection of the Trump transition, noting Nunes was a member of Trumps transition team.

Nunes has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed calls for him to step down Monday night, saying on Fox News that Im sure that the Democrats do want me to quit because they know that Im effective at getting to the bottom of things.

The development coincided with the disclosure that Trumps son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, had privately met in December with the chief executive of a Russian bank being targeted by U.S. sanctions and that Kushner has agreed to discuss such contacts with the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Trump administration officials sought to play down the significance of both developments, describing Kushners contacts as inconsequential and refusing to answer questions about the Nunes visit. Im not going to get into who he met with or why he met with them, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.

Trump, in his response, sought to pressure the House committee, arguing that the panel should be probing Bill and Hillary Clintons ties to Russia instead of those of his campaign advisers.

In a pair of evening tweets, Trump wrote that the Trump Russia story is a hoax and listed a string of financial and other connections the Clintons have had over the years with Russia. He asked why the House Intelligence Committee is not investigating the former president and former secretary of state.

Nuness meeting with a source and his review of intelligence material apparently occurred in a secure space for handling classified files within the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House. Nunes returned to the White House the next day  bypassing colleagues on the House committee  supposedly to brief Trump on what he had learned.

The attempts to keep such matters hidden from public view, however, added to the perception that the Trump administration has failed to be forthcoming about contacts with Russia and is working with allies on Capitol Hill to blunt congressional probes.

The Senates top Democrat said that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) should remove Nunes to salvage that chambers investigation of Moscow influence. If Speaker Ryan wants the House to have a credible investigation, he needs to replace Chairman Nunes, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

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.

Asked about Nuness White House visit, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said, Not good. Its not a confidence builder. He said were rapidly getting to the point where a select committee or independent commission is needed to conduct the investigation into Russian meddling.

Nunes said in an interview Monday that no one in the Republican leadership had asked him to step aside, and he defended his actions as part of an attempt to investigate potential misconduct by U.S. spy agencies against Trump associates.

Everybody is worried by process and they should be worried about what Ive actually said about what Ive seen, Nunes said, when asked whether it was proper for him to visit the White House under those circumstances. Why all the worry about where I saw information? We go to the White House all the time, our job is providing oversight of the executive branch.

Nunes had previously refused to say how or where he had seen classified files he cited in a hastily arranged news conference last week, saying that he had obtained troubling evidence that U.S. spy agencies incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition.

At a time when the White House was struggling to defend Trumps baseless accusation that he had been wiretapped under orders issued by then-President Barack Obama, the Nunes assertion helped shift public attention and, to some, cast Trump as a victim of espionage abuse.

In reality, Nunes appeared to be referring to legitimate intelligence operations against foreign individuals who were either in contact with Trump associates or mentioned them in conversations that were monitored as part of routine U.S. surveillance. Nunes reiterated Monday that he has seen no evidence of illegality.

Current and former national security officials described Nuness trip to the White House complex, apparently late in the evening after he had slipped away from his staff, as highly unusual. Doing so would ordinarily require Nunes and the person he met with to have been cleared in advance and accompanied by an escort  requirements that seemed to undercut White House claims to have no information about the encounter.

How incredibly irregular, said Matt Olsen, who served in the Obama administration as the head of the National Counterterrorism Center and the general counsel at the National Security Agency. The only explanation youre left with is that this is all being orchestrated by the White House.

Nunes again declined to disclose with whom he met, citing the need to protect people who bring information to the committee, and Im going to protect my source. His office said he met the source on the White House grounds.

The House Intelligence Committee is authorized to handle classified information and routinely meets with officials  including whistleblowers  from U.S. spy agencies.

Nunes spokesman Jack Langer said that because of limitations on House computer systems, Nunes could not have used secure facilities at the Capitol to review the files. He added that the White House grounds was the best location to safeguard the proper chain of custody and classification of these documents.

Nunes has said that the documents include references to Trump advisers and associates but do not pertain to Russia. In the past few days, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former campaign advisers Carter Page and Roger Stone volunteered to make themselves available for interviews with the Senate and House Intelligence committees.

On Monday, officials from the White House and Senate said that Kushner had also offered himself for an interview with the Senate Intelligence Committee, at a date yet to be determined. The development was first reported by the New York Times.

A senior congressional official said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) spoke with the White House counsel some weeks ago to warn that the panel would be seeking to speak with administration officials, including Kushner. The White House indicated to the committee over the weekend that Kushner would be willing to participate.

The White House had previously disclosed that Kushner met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at Trump Tower in December, a session also attended by former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was fired for lying about the nature of his contacts with Kislyak.

On Monday, the White House acknowledged a previously undisclosed meeting between Kushner and Sergey N. Gorkov, chief of Russian government-owned Vnesheconombank. The bank, which handles Russias pension funds and deals with development activity for the state, including foreign debts and investments, has been under U.S. sanctions since July 2014, in response to Russias intervention in Ukraine.

The bank also has been tied to Russian intelligence services.

In early 2015, one of the banks New York-based employees, Evgeny Buryakov, was arrested and accused of being an unregistered spy for Russias foreign intelligence service, working with two Russian diplomats who were also secretly acting as spies. According to the U.S. government, they collected information about U.S. sanctions against Russia, and American efforts to develop alternative energy resources.

Buryakov pleaded guilty in March 2016 to conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government, though he never admitted to being an employee of Russias foreign intelligence service.

Spicer defended Kushners meetings, saying that he was the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials during the campaign and transition period.

Robert Costa and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost
Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex.) resigned from the Freedom Caucus on Sunday and took a swipe at its opposition to the Trump-backed health-care bill. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

President Trump cast blame Sunday for the collapse of his effort to overhaul the health-care system on conservative interest groups and far-right Republican lawmakers, shifting culpability to his own party after initially faulting Democratic intransigence.

His attack  starting with a tweet that singled out the House Freedom Caucus as well as the influential Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America  marked a new turn in the increasingly troubled relationship between the White House and a divided GOP still adjusting to its unorthodox standard-bearer.

And the tweet served as a warning shot, with battles still to come on issues such as taxes and infrastructure that threaten to further expose Republican fractures, that Trump will not hesitate to apply public pressure on those in his party he views as standing in the way.

In a sign Sunday of the ripple effects on the GOPs conservative flank, one high-profile member of the Freedom Caucus, Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex.), resigned from the group and took a swipe at its opposition to the Trump-backed health-care bill.

Saying no is easy; leading is hard, he said.

(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

The rising tensions followed a flurry of finger-pointing after Fridays decision by Trump and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) to pull the health-care measure, effectively ending for now the GOPs years-long quest to repeal President Barack Obamas signature domestic policy achievement.

Not long ago, many Republican leaders, even as they were wary of Trumps background and style, had considered his presidency a chance to unify the party around passing a long-sought policy agenda.

But now, in the health-care bills raw aftermath, Republican leaders are learning that the Trump presidency is doing little, if anything, to heal their party.

Weve been here before, said Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), the co-chairman of the centrist Tuesday Group. The only difference is now we have a Republican president, and some people thought the fever might break a little bit. But apparently not.

Trumps attack Sunday had the look of a coordinated effort.

His tweet appeared at 8:21 a.m. as official Washington prepared to tune into Sunday news shows: Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!

Less than an hour later, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus appeared on television to echo his bosss sentiments, saying his missive hit the bulls eye.

As if to rub salt in the GOPs wound, Priebus hinted that Trump may simply start looking past the Republican majority and try forging more consensus with moderate Democrats in future legislative battles. Priebus pointed to the Freedom Caucus and the Tuesday Group for heavily resisting the health-care bill.

We cant be chasing the perfect all the time, Priebus said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. I mean, sometimes you have to take the good and put it in your pocket and take the win.

Although Trump targeted conservative opponents of the bill Sunday, he has also shown signs of frustration with its moderate critics. On NBCs Meet the Press, Dent acknowledged that Trump told him in a private meeting that he was destroying the Republican Party and that he was going to take down tax reform, as first reported by the New York Times magazine.

Trumps tweet came a day after a strange episode that prompted speculation that he was seeking to undermine Ryans standing.

Trump encouraged his Twitter followers Saturday to watch Jeanine Pirro, one of his favorite Fox News Channel hosts, that night.

On her program, Pirro said that Ryan should resign as speaker, adding that despite his swagger and experience, he presided over a failed effort that allowed our president in his first 100 days to come out of the box like that.

Priebus, in his Sunday appearance, dismissed the episode as a coincidence, and Trump has said in recent days that he has a good relationship with Ryan.

He doesnt blame Paul Ryan, Priebus said on Fox News. In fact, he thought Paul Ryan worked really hard. He enjoys his relationship with Paul Ryan, thinks that Paul Ryan is a great speaker of the House.

Nonetheless, the episode served to highlight the challenges ahead for Ryan in attempting to regain control over the House GOP and maintain a working rapport with the White House.

Doug Heye, a GOP strategist and former congressional aide, said Republicans inability to forge consensus on health care shook the party to the core.

Its hard to see where we can be successful, and it leads to a lot of questions as to whether Republicans can govern, even with a Republican in the White House, he said.

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, a Republican former congressman who helped found the Freedom Caucus, was at a loss Sunday to explain why so many of those members were not prepared to vote for the health-care bill.

Speaking on Meet the Press, Mulvaney said that conservatives were not the only ones to blame, saying, It was a bizarre combination of who was against this bill, some folks in the Freedom Caucus and then moderates on the other end of our spectrum.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), who heads the Freedom Caucus, responded to the tweet without any animosity toward the president.

I mean, if [Democrats are] applauding, they shouldnt, because I can tell you that conversations over the last 48 hours are really about how we come together in the Republican Conference and try to get this over the finish line, he said on ABCs This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

A spokeswoman for the Freedom Caucus did not comment on Trumps tweet or Poes departure. It was unclear whether Trumps statement had a direct effect on Poes decision to leave the caucus.

The tweet directed at the Freedom Caucus was a reminder that nothing goes without notice, said one Trump associate with direct knowledge of White House strategy.

The Trump associate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak for the White House, said that Trump was disappointed in Meadows and others in the caucus and wanted to remind them that he can use his powers to make their lives more difficult if they are not with him in the future.

The Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America, which is an affiliate of the Heritage Foundation, a longtime conservative think tank, are known for staking out positions that are often at odds with those of GOP leaders.

Heritage Action on Sunday defended the House Freedom Caucuss decision not to support the health-care legislation while striking a conciliatory tone with the president.

The bill had no natural constituency and was widely criticized by conservative health-care experts because it left premium-increasing provisions of Obamacare in place, said Dan Holler, a spokesman for Heritage Action. We now have the opportunity to reset the debate, and conservatives are eager to work with the administration and congressional leadership as things move forward.

The Club for Growth did not respond to requests for comment.

The House GOP bill would have repealed and replaced key parts of the Affordable Care Act. It came under consistent criticism from both ends of the political spectrum. Ryan and Trump pulled the bill Friday afternoon after deciding it could not pass  after weeks of negotiations with conservative and centrist Republican members of the sizable GOP House majority.

Although Ryans job doesnt appear to be in jeopardy, his ability to shepherd the rest of the Republican agenda through his chamber is in doubt.

Some Freedom Caucus members are wary of efforts that would add to the federal deficit. But in a sign that Meadows may be willing to compromise on tax reform, he said that tax cuts dont necessarily have to be paired with spending cuts or revenue increases.

Does it have to be fully offset? My personal response is no, he said on ABC.

Since Friday, Trump aides have been talking increasingly about reaching out to moderate Democrats for help not only on another health-care bill but also on other priorities. But prospects for such cooperation remain difficult.

There has been virtually no outreach to Democrats about a tax package. Although Democrats like the idea of infrastructure spending, the parties have different visions of how it should be paid for.

If he aims a proposal aimed at the middle class and the poor people . . . we could work with them. But I dont think theyre headed in that direction, and theyre going repeat the same mistake they made with the health-care bill, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) predicted of tax reform on This Week.

Aides and advisers to Trump say its clear that he will need support from some Democrats, particularly in the Senate, to move parts of his agenda forward beyond tax reform.

Michael Steel, who was a senior aide to then-Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), said Trump is at a crossroads as he takes up tax reform.

The president is going to have a choice: to reach out to moderate Democrats and work in a bipartisan fashion; or to reach out to recalcitrant Republicans in his own party that he wasnt able to get this time, Steel said.

Read more at PowerPost
Rodrigo Duterte does not need your money. But he will take it.

Since his electoral triumph last summer, the man famous for cursing foreign leaders and calling for mass killing seems to be raking in the cash for Manila. A tidy $24 billion in deals with China. Fresh billions from Japan. Not to mention the tens of millions in military and development aid the United States sends each year  despite his call for a separation.

Indeed, eight months into his tenure, with President Trump in power and Asian affairs in flux, Dutertes devil-may-care diplomacy and relentless talk of slaughter seem to be paying off, propping up his domestic popularity even as an International Criminal Court prosecutor warns of a possible war crimes investigation against him.

Courting the president of the Philippines are new friends such as China, which last week sent a vice premier to Dutertes home town, and Russia, which recently dispatched two warships to Manila on a goodwill visit. Both see Duterte as an ally against the U.S. militarys Asian ambitions.

Old partners such as the United States and Japan might bristle at Dutertes rhetoric and rights record, but they are willing to speak softly because they need his help countering Chinese claims to most of the South China Sea.

Duterte supporters attend an overnight vigil to demonstrate backing for his drug crackdown in Manila. (Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images)

Duterte, meanwhile, seems happy to flirt with his various suitors, alternating between swearing and sweet talk, backtracking as required.

As a presidential candidate, the longtime mayor of Davao City promised Filipinos an independent foreign policy, vowing to stand up to the Americans and make money from everyone else. With deals and dignitaries streaming in, Duterte can credibly say he delivered  at least for now.

But much of the Philippines prefers the United States to China; Duterte may want to align himself with Beijings ideological flow, as he put it, but swaths of the countrys establishment do not.

Dutertes defense secretary, Maj. Gen. Delfin Lorenzana, recently expressed concern about Chinese survey ships lingering in waters off the Philippine coast. Faced with questions from reporters, Duterte seemed confused; he eventually asserted that he would ask the military to tell Beijing to back off  but in a friendly way.

There is a growing sense that his foreign policy is a short-term fix, said Herman Kraft, a political scientist at the University of the Philippines. We have a tiny window when we can still play both sides.

Duterte has a flair for the dramatic, and his entrance to the foreign policy stage was nothing short of spectacular.

Casting insults at President Barack Obama, he made a show about finding new best friends in Moscow and Beijing  although his calls to curtail the decades-old U.S.-Philippine military partnership were quickly played down by members of his own cabinet.

China, seeing an opportunity to curry favor with a key U.S. ally, invited him to the Chinese capital, where he signed billions in deals. Duterte thanked his hosts by railing against the United States.

Not a month after his speech in Beijing, Donald Trumps triumph had Duterte singing a different tune. The two countries could now stop feuding, he said  a turnaround that gave him room to quietly reach out to the United States.

While Trump prepared for his inauguration, a U.S. ally stepped in. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid a visit. He toured Dutertes home in the southern Philippines, reportedly admiring his bed and mosquito net, and announced $8.7 billion in aid.

Dutertes diplomatic maneuvering allowed him to press ahead with state-led killings of alleged drug dealers and users while securing billions of dollars worth of deals. Despite all his shenanigans, he hit a strategic sweet spot, said Richard Javad Heydarian, an assistant professor of political science at Manilas De La Salle University.

But, Heydarian added, this may be a bit of strategic beginners luck. If he keeps at this for a few years, he will be seen as a flip-flopper.

Filipino and foreign experts are skeptical about whether big promises from China and Russia will actually materialize and, if they do, whether the money will keep coming.

China will eventually make a move in the South China Sea that Filipinos find unpalatable, said Jose L. Cuisia Jr., who, until June, was the Philippine ambassador to the United States. When that happens, it will be hard for Duterte to do as China pleases, and those Chinese pledges could dry up, Cuisia said.

I am not sure that we will see a strong relationship with China and Russia in the long term, he said.

For now, Duterte seems likely to woo as many allies and investors as possible, said Aileen S.P. Baviera, a China expert at the University of the Philippines Asian Center.

Because of Trump, most countries want to hedge their bets and remain as flexible as possible, she said. And right now, China looks like a more stable partner than the U.S.



Read more

Duterte, the Catholic Church and the fight for the soul of the Philippines

Rodrigo Dutertes next target: 9-year-old children

Criticized by the Catholic Church, Duterte invites Filipinos to join him in hell

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Pro-democracy activists march to the venue where an elite election commission was set to pick Hong Kongs new chief executive on Sunday. (Jayne Russell/AFP/Getty Images)

Hong Kong police arrested nine leaders of the 2014 pro-democracy campaign on Monday and charged them with violating public order, protest leaders said  just a day after a new chief executive who has pledged to unite society was chosen for the semiautonomous territory.

If convicted, the activists face many years in prison.

On Sunday, an elite election commission dominated by Beijing loyalists picked Carrie Lam, a career civil servant, as Hong Kongs new chief executive, though opinion polls showed she was not the most popular candidate.

There is mounting frustration in the former British colony, where tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters rallied for weeks in late 2014 as part of the Umbrella Movement. Authorities, however, refused to make any political concessions.

Lam vowed Sunday to heal the divide and ease the frustration, as well as protect Hong Kongs core values, such as freedom of the press and of speech, respect for human rights and the independence of its judiciary.

[A selection, not an election: Pro-Beijing committee picks loyalist to lead Hong Kong]

Yet, less than 24 hours later, several students, lawmakers and academics who took part in the 2014 pro-democracy campaign, also known as Occupy Central, said they had received phone calls from police informing them that they faced criminal charges.

The timing is obviously deliberate, said Chan Kinman, a sociology professor who was a leader of the movement and who reported to police Monday evening with the eight other activists. The activists were later released on bail.

Chan said he faces charges of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance, incitement to commit a public nuisance and incitement to incite a public nuisance, each of which carries a prison term of up to seven years. The other eight activists face some or all of the same charges as Chan.

He said the authorities apparently delayed the arrests to avoid a public backlash that might have upset Lams chances of being chosen by the 1,200-member election commission.

Carrie Lam said her governments first mission is to mend cleavages in society and to create a dialogue, but now with this action, I dont see how the government can create a dialogue with the opposition, Chan said in an interview.

People were very frustrated yesterday when the most popular candidate wasnt chosen and the peoples will was not respected by Beijing, he said. It seems the authorities want to send a signal they will continue their hard-line approach to civil society and the opposition.

The Hong Kong chief executives role is a tough balancing act, with demands from the central government in Beijing often at odds with the wishes of the citys 7.3 million people. But there are already doubts about Lams ability to balance those demands: She is believed to have been strongly backed by Beijing, and Chinese state media welcomed her election.

Under the terms of the 1997 handover from British rule, China vowed to grant Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy under the one country, two systems model, but critics say it has not fully kept that promise  for example, when booksellers from the territory were spirited out of Hong Kong in 2015 to face detention and interrogation on the mainland.

[With Hong Kong booksellers silenced, China now goes after exiled dissidents]

The pro-democracy demonstrations began in September 2014 with a sit-in in central Hong Kong. The protesters used umbrellas to defend against tear gas used by police, leading the campaign to be nicknamed the Umbrella Movement or the Umbrella Revolution.

The protests were initially peaceful but subsequently marred by periodic scuffles with police.

Lam served as chief secretary  effectively the second most powerful role in the citys administration  during the protests, before standing down in January to compete in the chief executives race. She is due to take over July 1. She said she did not have any advance knowledge of the decision to arrest and charge the nine activists.

Prosecution actions are undertaken independently by the Department of Justice, under the Basic Law, she said at a news conference Monday, referring to the territorys mini-constitution.

I made it very clear that I want to unite society and bridge the divide that has been causing us concern, she said, according to local media. But all these actions should not compromise the rule of law in Hong Kong.

Also facing charges are the two other founders of the Occupy Central movement  University of Hong Kong law professor Benny Tai and the Rev. Chu Yiu-ming  as well as six student leaders and legislators who played key roles in the movement, protest leaders said.

If the offense is in line with the facts, I am prepared to plead guilty, Tai said on emerging from a police station, according to local media.

Joshua Wong, one of the most recognizable figures in the student movement, is not among those charged. But he said the authorities decision proves that Lam is taking a hard-line approach that will only further polarize society.

Mabel Au, director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, said the charges were a blow to the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in the territory, adding that the timing raised questions about whether political maneuverings were a factor.

This vindictiveness shows contempt for well-established freedoms in Hong Kong and will only lead to more political tensions, she said in a statement.

Read more:

Whats behind the student suicides sweeping Hong Kong

The saga of Hong Kongs abducted booksellers takes a darker turn

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Just over four centuries ago, the third-born child of a leather tradesman walked the streets of this medieval market town, nestled in the countryside of an enchantingly verdant island, and imagined stories set on a vast continent he would likely never see.

Epic French battles. Illicit Italian love affairs. Brooding Danish princes.

William Shakespeare, forever after known as Englands national poet, was obsessed with Europe.

Its an obsession that survives in Stratford-upon-Avon, where the men and women who tread daily in the Bards footsteps past half-timbered Tudors are fixated on their countrys imminent rupture from the European Union.

But is that break a historical triumph, or a tragedy?

Actors perform at Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, on March 16. Last June, the town voted 52-48 percent in favor of Brexit, a result that matched the outcome across the U.K. (Griff Witte/The Washington Post)

Nine months after Britain voted to leave the E.U.  and just before the United Kingdomformally gives notice to its soon-to-be-erstwhile partners across the English Channel on Wednesday  there is nothing remotely approaching consensus. Stratford is every bit as polarized as the U.K. as a whole, split between those basking in glorious sunshine and others mired in the winter of their discontent.

The vote here exactly mirrored the national tally  52 percent opted to leave, 48 percent chose to stay  and if anything, the battle lines have only hardened as the departure draws near. Britain remains a house divided as it prepares to leap into the unknown of a first-ever E.U. defection.

To Brexit opponents in this charming tourist magnet of a town, the country is making an epic mistake, a misguided turn away from the world after centuries of looking outward. The internationally minded Bard, they insist, would have cringed.

My daughter lives in Madrid, shes married to a Mexican, her children were born in Amsterdam. Thats the nature of the world now, said Meg Gain, a retired librarian who is campaigning for Britain to somehow pull back from the Brexit brink. And all I can see is borders being enclosed and walls being put up.

But to supporters, British liberation is nearly at hand after decades under the thumb of unelected Brussels bureaucrats. Shakespeares English heroes, they insist, would have approved.

The country is ready, said Kate Himmens, an enthusiastic Brexit backer, former civil servant and local guide. Were ready to have our freedom back.

Standing on the site of Shakespeares final home in Stratford  it was torn down long ago, although the grounds were opened last year as the towns newest tourist attraction  she was seized by a verse from Henry V in which the English king orders his men into battle against the French at Agincourt midway through the Hundred Years War.

Follow your spirit, and upon this charge cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!  she crowed, punching the air for emphasis.

Then she stopped and suggested a modern twist:

It should be, I suppose, For Harry, England and Brexit! 

Shakespeare gets no say in Brexit, of course, having died 401 years ago  long before the United Kingdom existed, much less the still-in-its-infancy experiment that is the European Union.

But that hasnt stopped both sides from periodically attempting to enlist the services of the Bard of Avon, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language.

During last years campaign, politicians, columnists and scholars all pondered what the Bard might have made of it all.

Brexit backers point to his patriotic verse  This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England  and his often unflattering depictions of continental Europeans. Plus, they note, theres no evidence he ever left his native island, despite the French coast looming a mere 19 miles across the English Channel.

E.U. advocates, meanwhile, argue that he read deeply about continental Europe, even if he never visited; that many of his plays were set there; and that he saw England as rooted firmly in a broader European history.

He takes the English people to Venice, to Rome, to Athens. For Shakespeare that idea of Europeanism connects us back to our roots  to who we are, said Carol Chillington Rutter, professor of Shakespeare at the nearby University of Warwick.

He didnt travel to Europe, she speculated, less because he lacked interest and more because it cost too much money for a jobbing playwright with a family to support in Stratford.

And even his seemingly patriotic verses, she noted, arent always so. Henry Vs famous order to charge the French positions at Agincourt  Once more unto the breach, dear friends  rings less of glory when you know what happens next. The English are about to get their behinds whipped, she said. Those guys are doomed.

Regardless of his stance on Brexit, scholars say that Shakespeare would have undoubtedly been intrigued by the subject  and may not have needed to go far had he chosen to write about it.

I think he would find it most interesting that Stratford was as accurately divided on this matter as the nation, said Paul Edmondson, head of research at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

The town of Shakespeares birth, death and much in between would not be unfamiliar to him.

The basic layout of central Stratford, set on the banks of the swan-saturated Avon, is unchanged since medieval times. The brown-and-cream palette of half-millennium-old buildings dominates the streetscape. The Bards spacious, two-story childhood home on Henley Street is precisely where he left it.

If Shakespeare came back, he might wonder what Marks & Spencer is, said Himmens, the volunteer guide, referring to the ubiquitous British retailer. But hed have no trouble finding his way around.

Two hours by train from London, or a five-day walk in Shakespeares era, Stratford is heavily reliant on tourists, giving it an international outlook and affluence unusual for provincial England. But like much of the country outside the major cities and university towns, it swung in favor of Brexit.

To Himmens, who once lived in Spain and who regularly visits longtime friends in France, it was an easy choice.

Were the closest of friends with Europe, she said. We want to remain friends  but not be governed by them.

Her husband, a fellow guide who stands where Shakespeares front door once stood, welcoming children with a doff of his black feathered cap, agreed.

There are 27 other countries being told what to do by unelected people. It can only end in tears, said George Himmens, a mustachioed 69-year-old. We want to get out before the tears start.

And the notion that there may be tears in Britain once the economic costs of breaking up with the countrys closest trading partner come to bear? The Europeans, Himmens suggests, doth protest too much: Those French farmers! What are they all going to do with that bloody Camembert?

Brexit looks very different to Jonathan Baker, a former English teacher who chairs a local group campaigning to keep Britain in even as it heads out.

The voters may have spoken last June, he acknowledged. But as the reality of Brexit sets in, he clings to the hope that the country can still change its mind  especially when the stakes are so high.

Weve had 70 years of peace thanks in part to the European Union, he said. Thats something not to be taken for granted.

Nor, said Tomas Budi, is the effect that Brexit will have on Britains young, said Tomas Budi. The 21-year-old is from Spain but has spent the semester in the U.K. under an E.U. student exchange program known as Erasmus. The program is named for the Dutch theologian whose writings are believed to have influenced the Bard.

It is a program that Shakespeare, keen student of Europe that he was, might have found appealing. But its one that could end, for Britain at least, once it is out of the E.U.

Since coming here Ive met students from England and Greece and France and Italy. You grow up as a person and your thoughts become more global, Budi said as he and his mother paused for coffee after a day of sightseeing in Stratford. If the U.K. leaves, European students wont have the opportunity to come here and study. And British students wont have the opportunity to go to France or to Spain.

I think thats a mistake.

Read more

Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon to seek second independence referendum

Populist wave falls short in Brexit capital of Britain, but Labours troubles deepen

Anti-immigrant anger threatens to remake the liberal Netherlands

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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A day after Russias largest wave of unsanctioned protests in years, opposition leaders on Monday cheered the turnout as a sign of widespread dissatisfaction with the system created by President Vladimir Putin.

Anti-corruption whistleblower Alexei Navalny has sent the Kremlin a sharp message by single-handedly sparking nationwide rallies noteworthy both for their geographic diversity and the enormous tally of protesters detained in a single day.

The question now is how authorities will respond to the show of defiance.

In Moscow, Navalny was ordered jailed for 15 days and fined $350 on two charges, including refusing to obey police. That will give the Kremlin time to review what happened and decide whether to ignore the protests, accede to demonstrators demands to crack down on official corruption, or launch a crackdown of their own on opposition leaders.

[Heres what I saw at the huge Moscow anti-corruption protest]

1 of 29 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  See photos of Russian citizens protesting against government corruption View Photos Unsanctioned rallies swept across Russia to protest corruption in the government of President Vladimir Putin. Police respond with barricades, tear gas and hundreds of arrests. Caption Unsanctioned rallies sweep across Russia to protest corruption in the government of President Vladimir Putin. Police respond with barricades, tear gas and hundreds of arrests. Moscow Riot police stand guard blocking a street during an anti-corruption rally in central Moscow called by prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who was arrested along with scores of others. Alexander Utkin/AFP/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue.

The high number of arrests  more than 1,000 people were taken into custody in Moscow alone, and dozens more in cities across the country  provided a sign that authorities were ready to respond in force if protesters try again.

Navalny had called for the rallies after he published a report alleging that Russias prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, has amassed a fortune in luxury yachts, estates and vineyards. He said the size and scope of the protests indicated that Russians were fed up with Putins government, despite an approval rating that has not dipped below 80 percent in three years.

Yesterdays rallies, especially the number of them in outlying regions  we havent seen anything like that since the 1980s  first of all shows how completely artificial that famous 84 percent support is, Navalny told The Washington Post via Facebook Messenger in the courtroom.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, responding to the protests for the first time Monday, brushed aside the notion that they were a sign of anything significant, and instead called them a provocation because organizers lied when they told people the demonstrations were legal. We cannot respect those who mislead people by calling for illegal rallies, Peskov added.

Peskov pointed out that authorities had offered a park northeast of central Moscow for the demonstration. Throughout Sundays rally, police urged protesters to go there.

Peskov also claimed that teenagers  who showed up in large numbers  were paid to turn out.

As has become his practice, Peskov avoided mentioning Navalny by name. Actually, demonstrators on Sunday did, too: No one was chanting Navalnys name at the Moscow rally. Among the chants were, We want answers, You cant jail everyone, and Shame.

(David Filipov, The Washington Post)

Official Moscow has dismissed Navalny, who has said he will run for president in 2018, as a widely reviled nuisance with little political support and whose allegations of official corruption are an attention-grabbing stunt. Furthermore, a conviction in a fraud case, which Navalny says was politically motivated, could block him from entering the race.

Putin, who almost certainly will run for reelection or anoint his successor, is hoping for a landslide to validate his past six years of authoritarian rule. State-run television, where most Russians get their news, ignored the rallies, including the demonstration in Moscow, where by some estimates 25,000 people showed up.

[How to understand Putins jaw-droppingly high approval ratings]

Authorities had sought to keep people from turning out by refusing to grant permits to organizers in dozens of cities and warning of arrests if the demonstrations were held without permission.

Instead, the rallies appeared to amount to the largest coordinated protests in Russia since the street demonstrations that broke out in 2011 and 2012 after a parliamentary election that opposition leaders decried as fraudulent. Back then, Putin accused Hillary Clinton, secretary of state at the time, of inciting the protests.

On Sunday night, the State Department condemned the detentions, and called for the release of peaceful protesters.

Peskov said the Kremlin cannot agree with the American appeal. The detained protesters, he said, had broken the law by attending demonstrations that had not received permits.

The challenge confronting Russias small, fractured opposition is to find a way to take advantage of the popular discontent.

Vladimir Milov, the leader of Democratic Choice, one of a handful of small opposition parties, suggested that Russia under Putin has reached a turning point.

The entire country is against Putin; no one turned out to support Putin, Milov wrote in his partys Livejournal blog. We say that the only thing propping up this regime is law enforcement and brutality, but even here there are signs of cracking.

Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin analyst, agreed that Navalny had scored a serious success by pulling off rallies in dozens of cities despite the bans and arrests. He also noted that many participants were younger than the people who usually show up at demonstrations.

The new phase of the radical opposition is clearly not aiming at elections, where pensioners vote, but on mass disorder in the streets, where young men of draft age take part, he said.

But Navalny said the rallies suggested strong support for his anti-corruption platform in an election campaign.

If thousands of people turn out for unsanctioned meetings in the regions, that means millions support them, Navalny said. This confirms that people will come out to elect a person with my views. Now our demand to allow me to run looks even more authoritative.

Read more:

10 critics of Putin who died suspiciously

A film about a slain Putin critic gets a screening just off Red Square

This is what its like to be the token American journalist on Russian state TV

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Floral tributes to the victims of the previous weeks attack are placed outside Londons Palace of Westminster on March 27. (Matt Dunham/AP)

British police said Monday that they have found no evidence that London attacker Khalid Masood was linked to the Islamic State, despite a claim by the militant group that he was its soldier.

The 52-year-old clearly had an interest in jihad, Neil Basu, deputy assistant commissioner of Londons Metropolitan Police, told the BBC. But, Basu said, there was no evidence or information that he discussed with others his plans to carry out the attack Wednesday outside Parliament.

Four people were killed and dozens were wounded when Masood drove a rental car through a throng of civilians on Westminster Bridge and then assaulted a police officer with a knife at the gates of Parliament. Masoods vehicle hit speeds of 76 mph as he drove along the bridges sidewalk, and the entire incident lasted just 82 seconds.

Masood was shot dead by security forces after he fatally stabbed the officer, Keith Palmer.

The Islamic State claimed Masood as one of its own the next day in a statement to Amaq, a news agency affiliated with the group.

Basu said investigators have found no evidence to substantiate that claim but acknowledged that the group had influenced Masood.

His methods appear to be based on low-sophistication, low-tech, low-cost techniques copied from other attacks and echo the rhetoric of [Islamic State] leaders in terms of methodology, he said.

[London attacker lived among them. Now Birmingham Muslims are worried.]

Police said Saturday that they believe Masood had acted without assistance from others and that his motives may never be fully known. Nine people arrested in the case have been released without charge, while two remain in custody.

Masood was using the online messaging service WhatsApp just minutes before he began his rampage. British officials have in recent days stepped up demands that technology companies enable intelligence services to access encrypted messages, with Home Secretary Amber Rudd saying there must be no place for terrorists to hide.

Basu on Monday dismissed as speculation reports that Masood had been radicalized while in prison. Masood had a track record of criminal convictions for assault and gun possession but was not on any lists of known extremists. The Saudi Embassy said over the weekend that he had made three visits to the kingdom, where he worked as an English teacher.

I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why, Basu said. Most importantly, so do the victims and families.

[I immediately recognized him: What we know about the London attacker]

His comments came as Masoods mother spoke out for the first time since the killings, saying in a statement that she was shocked, saddened and numbed by her sons actions.

I wish to make it absolutely clear, so there can be no doubt, I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity, said Janet Ajao, who lives in Wales.

The family of one of the victims also spoke out Monday. Relatives of American tourist Kurt Cochran, who was 54, said they bore no ill will toward anyone after Cochran was killed while walking along the bridge with his wife, Melissa. She suffered a broken leg and rib.

The couple were on the final day of a European vacation to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.

His whole life was an example of focusing on the positive, said Melissa Cochrans brother, Clint Payne. Not pretending that negative things dont exist, but not living our life in the negative  thats what we choose to do.

Read more:

In the aftermath of London attack, some Brits praise their strict gun laws

A terrorist attack in London and the all-too-familiar response

After privileged childhood, attacker became a loner. Was he acting alone?

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
By Press Trust of India: Los Angeles, Mar 26 (PTI) Didnt sleep well last night? Your may have a hard time identifying whether people around you are happy or sad, scientists say.

Researchers from University of Arizona in the US found people have a harder time identifying facial expressions of happiness or sadness when they were sleep deprived versus well-rested.

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About 54 participants, who were shown photographs of the same male face expressing varying degrees of fear, happiness, sadness, anger, surprise and disgust were studied.

Participants were asked to indicate which of those six emotions they thought was being expressed the most by each face.

In order to assess participants ability to interpret more subtle emotional expressions, the images presented were composite photos of commonly confused facial expressions morphed together by a computer program.

For example, a face might show 70 per cent sadness and 30 per cent disgust or vice versa.

Participants saw a total of 180 blended facial expressions at each testing session.

Their baseline responses to the images were compared to their responses after they were deprived of sleep for one night.

Researchers found that blatant facial expressions - such as an obvious grin or frown (90 per cent happy or 90 per cent sad) - were easily identifiable regardless of how much sleep a participant got.

Sleep deprived participants had a harder time, however, correctly identifying more subtle expressions of happiness and sadness, although their performance on the other emotions was unchanged.

When participants were tested again after one night of recovery sleep, their performance on happiness and sadness improved, returning to its baseline level, researchers said.

"While the difference in performance was not overwhelming, its enough that it could have a significant impact in critical social interactions, said William DS Killgore of University of Arizona.

The study was published in the journal Neurobiology of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms. PTI APA MHN MHN

--- ENDS ---
An Iraqi runs through a destroyed building as Iraqi forces battle with Islamic State militants in western Mosuls Somod neighbourhood on Monday. (Suhaib Salem/Reuters)

The U.S. military is not considering immediate changes to procedures governing airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, officials said on Monday, as the Pentagon defends the conduct of its air campaign against the Islamic State following a spike in reported civilian deaths.

Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of U.S. Central Command (Centcom), is not looking into changing the way we operate, other than to say our processes are good and we want to make sure we live by those processes, said Col. John Thomas, a spokesman for the command.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Thomas said that Centcom, which oversees the campaigns in Iraq and Syria, sought to use existing military guidelines to discriminate appropriately civilian targets from military targets.

The comments come as military officials respond to allegations of increased casualties, deepening questions about how the Trump administration will balance the presidents pledge to accelerate the defeat of the Islamic State with the militarys promise to protect civilian life.

According to Airwars, a British monitoring group, the frequency of civilian deaths alleged to be linked to U.S. strikes in Iraq and Syria has now outpaced those linked to Russia. The scrutiny has been compounded by a string of high-profile reported U.S. attacks in both countries, including assaults on a mosque, a school, and, most recently, a building apparently used as a shelter in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

The U.S. military is investigating those incidents.

[U.S. military acknowledges strike on Mosul site where more than 100 were allegedly killed]

Asked Monday about the spike in reported incidents in Mosul, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the United States does more than any nation to protect civilians from errant attacks.

We go out of our way to always do everything humanly possible to reduce the loss of life or injury among innocent people, he said at the Pentagon. The same cannot be said for our adversaries and that is up to you to sort out.

Military officials reject suggestions that the Trump administration, which is taking steps to establish a more aggressive approach to counterterrorism operations, may have relaxed restrictions on airstrikes. They blame militants for concealing themselves among civilians and using residents as human shields.

While Votel is not exploring any near-term shift in rules for the ongoing air war, officials did not rule out future changes. As part of a review of the current strategy against the Islamic State, President Trump asked commanders in a Jan. 28 memorandum to explore loosening restrictions imposed by the Obama administration that were designed to protect civilians. Officials are discussing proposed changes to that overall strategy.

Military officials said that any changes that may occur would not alter the air campaigns compliance with international law and would seek to keep civilian deaths to a minimum.

Despite U.S. denials, the perception of a shift in American tactics has persisted on the ground, including during Iraqi forces battle to retake remaining militant-held areas of Mosul.

Officials in Mosul have called on the U.S.-led coalition to use more caution and less heavy ordinance in the dense urban area. Iraqi police forces are closing in on the Old City, where 400,000 civilians are estimated to be trapped among narrow streets of tightly packed buildings. Iraqi forces on the ground call in airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition as they are advancing.

On Monday, Iraqi civil defense teams were hunting through the rubble in neighborhoods of western Mosul, attempting to retrieve the bodies of hundreds of residents who died as Iraqi forces advanced with the backing of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes.

In the Mosul al-Jadida neighborhood, one of the worst-hit areas, the U.S.-led coalition has admitted carrying out an airstrike on March 17 that is alleged to have resulted in mass civilian casualties. It said it was targeting Islamic State fighters and equipment.

Rescue teams on Sunday finished excavating a main building that residents say was hit in that strike  recovering 101 bodies. Residents in a nearby street also accused coalition strikes of wiping out entire families over a period of several days when they described the bombardment as hellish.

Reporters have been banned from the scene since the incident was publicized, and Iraqi authorities have offered their version of events, saying the building was booby-trapped and blown up by Islamic State fighters.

Initial results are opposite from the rumors that have been published, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Monday. No one is more keen to protect civilians than us.

[Mounting claims of civilian deaths after U.S. targets al-Qaeda in Syria]

There have also been reports of numerous civilians killed in U.S. strikes in Syria, where American forces are working with local forces ahead of an expected offensive on Raqqa, the Islamic State stronghold there.

The United States has gradually increased the number of troops it has in Syria, including in an area west of Raqqa, where a major dam has been the site of fierce clashes.

Reports that the Tabqa dam, which U. S-backed Syrian forces are seeking to recapture, has also been hit by airstrikes have contributed to a sense of panic in the area.

On Sunday, the Islamic State issued a warning that the dam could burst because maintenance teams were no longer able to reach it.

In the city of Raqqa, downstream from the dam, residents have been terrified by the intensified bombing and of the risk of a dam breach. Hundreds of Raqqa residents fled into the desert Sunday after the Islamic State warned on its Amaq News Agency site that the dam could collapse at any moment. The exodus halted after the Islamic State erected checkpoints to prevent people from leaving.

People dont know what to do, said one Syrian living in Turkey who is from Raqqa and is in regular contact with his family and friends there.

The U.S. military says that no major damage has been done to the dam. Thomas said the United States had adjusted its air operations to protect the site.

We are being conscious to use munitions . . . that dont have a significant blast effect to try to very much use the minimum force and explosive force necessary, he said.

Morris reported from Irbil. Liz Sly contributed to this report from Beirut.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday lauded the Trump administration for its staunch support of Israel in the United Nations and continued military aid, saying that militant Islam is a common enemy of both nations.

In a video feed from Jerusalem to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Netanyahu said the Trump administration is backing the Jewish state in word and policy.

You see that expressed in seeing Ambassador [Nikki] Haley standing up for whats right and the truth at the United Nations, he said of the U.S. envoy who frequently accuses the United Nations of institutional bias against Israel.

[U.S. diplomat accuses U.N. of bias against Israel]

You see it in the budget request submitted by President Trump, he added, referring to the proposed slashing of most foreign aid except for that provided to Israel. It leaves military aid to Israel fully funded even as the fiscal belt is pulled tighter.

(Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

Netanyahu made no reference to settlements in the West Bank, which the United States wants Israel to limit. But he congratulated the newly confirmed U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, a friend of his who is a longtime supporter of settlements.

David, I look forward to welcoming you warmly to Israel, and especially to Jerusalem, he said, in an oblique reference to the administrations stated aim to relocating the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Moving the mission would place the United States in a singular position and anger Palestinians who want part of the city as the capital of an independent state.

As the pro-Israel lobbys conference got underway in Washington, a crowd of hundreds, many of them young Jewish American activists, protested in opposition to AIPACs support of the Israeli governments stance on settlements.

In his remarks, Netanyahu said, Israel is committed to working with President Trump to achieve peace with the Palestinians and all our Arab neighbors.

But he urged the Palestinian Authority to stop teaching children to hate Israel, to stop paying the families of terrorists and to recognize the Jewish state.

My hand is extended to all our neighbors in peace, he added.

Netanyahu did not mention the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration and five other world powers over his governments fierce opposition. But he briefly reiterated that the Israeli policy is to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and to counter its aggression in the region.

He lingered on what he called the mutual goal of the United States and Israel to defeat militant Islam, which he called a battle between modernity and medievalism.

We wont let them drag humanity away from the promise of a bright future, to the misery of a dark past, he said.

Vice President Pence and Haley were the highest-ranking Trump administration officials to speak at the conference. Sitting presidents have often but not always addressed the gathering.

Haley drew several rounds of sustained applause and a standing ovation for brief remarks Monday in which she said she will not tolerate the rote criticism of Israel that she said has become commonplace at the United Nations.

The days of Israel-bashing are over, Haley said. We have a lot of things to talk about, in the Middle East and elsewhere, she added. There are a lot of threats to peace and security. But youre not going to take our No. 1 democratic friend in the Middle East and beat up on them.

Haley claimed some early successes. She noted that U.S. objections sank the appointment of a senior Palestinian statesman, Salaam Fayyad, to a U.N. post, and that she had successfully lobbied for the retraction of a U.N. report likening Israels treatment of Palestinians to apartheid.

So anyone who says you cant get anything done at the U.N., she said, they need to know theres a new sheriff in town.
Flanked by French Deputy Representative to the United Nations Alexis Lamek (L) and British Representative to the United Nations Matthew Rycroft (R), U.S. Ambassador to the United Nation Nikki Haley speaks Monday to reporters at the United Nations headquarters in New York on a nuclear weapons ban treaty, which the U.S., Britain and France oppose. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The United States, Britain, France and other major powers protested on Monday as the United Nations began work on what backers said would be a binding prohibition on nuclear weapons.

Russia and China also sat out the opening General Assembly session. Russia had voted against launching the effort last fall. China abstained.

The proposed ban, backed by Pope Francis, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres and dozens of humanitarian and nonproliferation groups, sets most of the major nuclear powers against more than 100 smaller non-nuclear states who seek a treaty this year.

As a mom, as a daughter, there is nothing I want more for my family than a world that has no nuclear weapons, said Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. But we have to be realistic. Is there anyone who believes that North Korea would agree to give up its nuclear weapons on the U.N.s orders?

She and representatives from Britain and France spoke to reporters as the U.N. General Assembly began discussion on the issue. More than 30 nations sat out the first session, many at U.S. urging, in support of the argument that a blanket ban now is impractical or dangerous.

Is it any surprise that Iran is supportive of this? Haley asked. It is not.

[Hiroshimas ex-mayor urges Trump to meet atomic bomb survivors]

North Korea developed nuclear weapons through a rogue program and is attempting to field a long-range missile that could deliver a weapon to U.S. shores, according to U.S. officials. It can already target U.S. forces and allies in Asia, they have said.

Iran denies it sought a nuclear weapon, but agreed to curtail its nuclear program in an international deal led by former president Barack Obama and heavily criticized by President Trump.

Although Obama had set the eventual eradication of nuclear weapons as a goal, his administration also opposed a U.N. ban.

The Trump administration has not yet said whether it will affirm the long-range goal of eliminating nuclear weapons or pledge to further shrink the U.S. arsenal. The White House is conducting a new nuclear posture review expected to take a year or more.

Haley said Monday that the United States and other major powers boycotting the U.N. discussion believe in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The landmark treaty that took effect in 1970 commits nations with nuclear weapons to move toward disarmament while prohibiting non-nuclear states from obtaining the weapons. Signers of the treaty also agree that all nations may have access to nuclear power and other peaceful uses of nuclear technology.

As a presidential candidate, Trump suggested that U.S. allies Japan and South Korea could develop nuclear weapons and defend themselves, instead of relying on the U.S. nuclear umbrella, and suggested that nuclear weapons could be effective against Islamic State militants. He said both that he wanted the United States to have an up-to-date and perhaps expanded nuclear arsenal, and that he would like to see a nuclear-free world.

At the General Assembly session Monday, diplomats said they would pursue a draft document this spring. A model is the two-decade-old U.N.-backed ban on land mines, which is credited with reducing use of those weapons even though major nations including then United States, Russia and China have declined to sign it.

Toshiki Fujimori , a baby when he survived the 1945 U.S. nuclear bomb attack on Hiroshima, Japan, addressed the opening session.

Everybody thought I would die, yet I survived. Its a miracle, Fujimori said. I am here at the U.N. asking for the abolition of nuclear weapons. . . . This is the mission I am given as a survivor.

It faces a steep hurdle. The U.N. Security Councils five permanent members  who hold veto power  are the five original big nuclear powers: The United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China.

The U.K. is not attending the negotiations on a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons because we do not believe that those negotiations will lead to effective progress on global nuclear disarmament, British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said Monday. They cannot and will not work.
Then-South Korean President Park Geun-hye bows in apology as she addresses the nation at the presidential office in Seoul on Nov. 4. (Yonhap news agency/European Pressphoto Agency)

South Korean prosecutors, citing concerns about destruction of evidence, asked a court Monday to order the arrest of former president Park Geun-hye, who was impeached earlier this month in connection with a corruption and influence-peddling scandal.

Prosecutors grilled Park for 14 hours last week, the first time she agreed to answer questions about her role in the scandal.

The Seoul Central District Court scheduled a hearing Thursday morning to decide whether Park, 65, should be detained for further questioning.

Usually in South Korea, subjects of such requests wait at a detention center to hear the outcome of the court hearing, so they can go straight into custody. But these are not usual times, and it is not clear whether Park will follow this practice.

Park lost her immunity from prosecution when South Koreas Constitutional Court dismissed her from office on March 10 after concluding that she had continuously violated the law. Prosecutors have identified 13 charges that could be leveled against her, including bribery, abuse of power and leaking confidential information.

A lot of evidence has been collected so far, but as the suspect denies most of the criminal allegations against her, there is a possibility of her destroying evidence, the prosecution said in a statement Monday.

[ South Koreas impeached president questioned for 14 hours amid corruption probe ]

However, analysts said, Park already has had plenty of time to destroy evidence. She was suspended as president in early December when the National Assembly passed a motion to impeach her and forwarded the matter to the Constitutional Court.

But she remained in the presidential Blue House throughout the three months that the court was deliberating, and then stayed on for 60 hours even after she was impeached before returning to her private home in southern Seoul.

Park also refused to allow prosecutors access to her office during their investigation and declined to talk to them or to appear before the court deciding her fate. She has denied the allegations against her.

The scandal centers on Parks relationship with Choi Soon-sil, her lifelong friend and confidante.

Park was a notoriously reclusive president  her former chief of staff said he would go weeks without seeing her, and some of her own ministers said they had never met with her in person  but she secretly was relying on Choi, who had no policy or political experience and no security clearance.

Choi is accused of extracting a total of $70 million from major businesses on the promise that they would get favorable treatment from Parks government. Prosecutors have said that Park colluded in the scheme.

Choi is now on trial, as is Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of Samsung, who is alleged to have given or promised to give Choi about $37 million. Choi is said to have offered to ensure government support for the merger of two Samsung units  crucial for Lee to retain control of the huge conglomerate.

Choi and Lee have denied any wrongdoing.

[ South Korean president removed from office over corruption scandal ]

Two of Parks former presidential aides, a prominent prosecutor and the head of South Koreas national pension fund, the worlds third largest, also have been caught up in the investigation.

It would be unfair not to seek a warrant considering that her accomplice Choi Soon-sil, as well as those government officials who followed her direction and the ones who gave kickbacks, have all been detained, the prosecution said in its statement Monday, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

There is no guarantee that the arrest warrant will be granted. Prosecutors sought to detain Lee of Samsung in January, but their application was rejected. A second attempt was successful, and Lee is now being held in the same facility outside Seoul as Choi.

Still, opponents of Park were pleased at the move.

This request for an arrest warrant for Park on bribery and other charges is a historic decision, said Youn Kwan-suk, spokesman for the main opposition Democratic Party. It is a reasonable conclusion under the law.

Many of the people who rallied in the streets of Seoul over the weekend of Parks impeachment held signs calling for her arrest. Some artists made replica jail cells with a cardboard cutout of Park inside, while vendors sold snacks including prison bread and prison milk.

But Parks supporters were dismayed by Mondays request. The Liberty Party, a group of Park loyalists who broke away from the ruling party after she was suspended, said it hoped the investigation could be completed without the arrest of the former president.

Read more:

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

After impeachment, South Korea may reset relations with China, North Korea

South Koreans celebrate presidents impeachment

South Korean prosecutors say president colluded in corruption scandal

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Today a large number of people gathered at Jantar Mantar including farmers from Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. Many young faces also came out today - college students belonging to the Tamil community.

By Shalini Lobo: Tamil Nadu farmers along with Bharatiya Kisan Manch put up a united front today raising their demands before the government. What started off as a skull protest keeps coming into headlines with each passing day as farmers find new ways to raise their demands. Yesterday it was a mock funeral at Jantar Mantar and today farmers were holding white rats in their hands which symbolised that farmers were not compelled to eat rat meat as they now had nothing left.

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"We don't have money, clothes or crops and nothing to reap. Tamil Nadu is suffering the worst drought in the last 140 years and the government is releasing only Rs 2000 crores for our relief. This seems like a joke. We are compelled to eat rat meat now," said a protesting farmer placing a rat in his mouth.

Today a large number of people gathered at Jantar Mantar including farmers from Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. Many young faces also came out today - college students belonging to the Tamil community.

"We are here to support the Tamil farmers. We should be grateful for the food we eat, the water we drink and the clothes we wear. But unfortunately, the government isn't", said Suresh, an MBBS student sitting with the farmers on the streets of Jantar Mantar.

DMK MP Thiruchi Shiva also made his way to Jantar Mantar and sat with the farmers. "I met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and put forward the farmers' demands. He said if we need more fund then it will have to come out of the National Disaster Relief Funds," said the MP.

Yesterday the Tamil Nadu film fraternity also made their way to Jantar Mantar with top actors like Prakash Raj, Vishal, Saravanan lending their support to the protesting farmers.

The demands raised by these farmers include Rs 40,000 crores as drought relief, writing off farmers' loans, interlinking of rivers and setting up a Cauvery Management Water Board.

Also read:

EPS concerned about RK Nagar by-polls, not farmers' cause: DMK leader MK Stalin

Tamil Nadu farmers soldier on with skull protest in Delhi's heat even as government turns deaf ear

Also watch:

Tamil Nadu farmers' skull protest at Jantar Mantar: MDMK chief Vaiko joins protest, slams Modi

--- ENDS ---
Leading congressional Democrats, backed by Senator John McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate, are pushing for the establishment of an independent commission into alleged collusion between the Russian government and the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.

The pressure for the establishment of such a commissionwhich would require a vote by the Republican-controlled Congress and the consent of President Trump himselfintensified in the wake of last Wednesdays extraordinary action by Representative Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Nunes visited the White House and gave Trump a closed-door briefing on information he had received about US intelligence agencies collecting the communications of Trump transition team members, reportedly including Trump himself, in the course of their surveillance of foreign government officials.

Nunes provided details to Trump which he did not share with either Republican or Democratic members of his own committee. Even some congressional Republicans described his actions as bizarre, and Nunes later apologized to the members of his committee at another closed-door session.

Nunes announced Friday that he was postponing a scheduled public hearing, set for Tuesday, March 28, at which former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Quinn were to testify about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections and possible contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign.

The committees ranking Democrat, Adam Schiff of California, denounced the postponement, saying it was part of an effort by the White House to choke off public information. He said that the canceled public hearing made it quite clear that the White House was unhappy with the events of the week, which included the nationally televised hearing Monday where FBI Director James Comey confirmed that his agency was investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government officials, although he presented no evidence and refused to discuss any details.

Speaking on the CBS program Face the Nation, Schiff claimed, We know that Russia was involved in hacking our democracy. We know that the evidence or information is sufficient to warrant an FBI investigation of this.

This is typical of the slippery language and McCarthy-style innuendo that characterizes the Democratic Party-media campaign over Trump and Russia. By hacking our democracy, Schiff was referring to the actions of unidentified hackers who obtained emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and supplied them to WikiLeaks, which made them public.

Far from undermining democracy, the publication of these emails documented a Democratic Party conspiracy against democracy. The emails detailed the efforts of the DNC to sabotage Clintons main challenger, Bernie Sanders, and Clintons efforts to ingratiate herself with major banks while concealing from ordinary voters her endearments addressed to the Wall Street fat cats.

Schiff went on to denounce President Trump for interfering in the House investigation, concluding, I do think the events of this week call out the need for an independent commission, quite separate and apart from what we do in Congress.

The most prominent Republican to back the formation of an independent commission is Senator John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who is identified with an ultra-hawkish foreign policy stance towards Russia.

This is the issue that underlies the entire campaign over Trumps alleged ties with Russia, which has been concocted from anonymous and unverified leaks from the military-intelligence apparatus to the New York Times and Washington Post. There is a ferocious opposition in the US ruling elite to any shift away from the policy of confrontation with Russia, in the Middle East, Ukraine and the Baltic states, pursued over the past decade.

At last Mondays hearing, Schiff played the role of chief prosecutor on the Trump-Russia connection, citing a series of contacts between Russian officials and figures in Trumps entourage and suggesting darkly that these were not coincidental, but likely part of a monumental conspiracy.

However, the three most prominent individuals he namedformer Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former foreign policy adviser Carter Page, and longtime Trump confidant and right-wing political operative Roger Stoneresponded by offering to testify publicly and under oath before the committee. All have flatly denied any collusion between the Trump campaign and the hackingby Russians or otherwiseof the Clinton campaign.

The Democratic minority leader in the US Senate, Charles Schumer of New York, added a new element to the campaign over Trump and Russia when he suggested during the week that it would be unseemly for the US Senate to approve the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the US Supreme Court while the president who nominated Gorsuch was under FBI investigation.

Appearing Sunday on the ABC program This Week, Schumer denied that this amounted to calling for a delay in filling the vacancy on the Supreme Court for years. Lets see where this investigation goes for a few months and delay it, he said. If the investigation looks like its nowhere, fine. If it looks like its really serious, yeah, we ought to consider what I said.

Schumer said after the lengthy appearance of Gorsuch before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at which the nominee refused to answer any questions about his attitude to specific legal and judicial issues, that Democrats would filibuster his nomination. This would force the Republicans, who hold only a 52-48 majority in the Senate, to win the support of eight Democrats for Gorsuch, which appears unlikely, or to change the Senate rules to make confirmation of the nominee possible with a simple majority vote.

By linking Gorsuchs fate to the FBI investigation into the Russian role in the US elections, Schumer was suggesting that the alleged Trump-Russia connection could be used as leverage in a wider array of issues, ranging from judicial nominations to tax and budgetary policy.

At the same time, Democrats have intensified their rhetorical fire on the issue, with several more representatives declaring that the alleged Russian hacking was an act of war, implying that it should be dealt with as such, through some form of cyberwar retaliation.

Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey told a meeting of the House Homeland Security Committee, I think this attack that weve experienced is a form of war, a form of war on our fundamental democratic principles.

Similar statements were made by two Democrats, Jackie Speier and Eric Swalwell, during the House Intelligence Committee hearing where FBI Director Comey testified.

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin of Maryland, called the hacking of the DNC and Podestafor which no conclusive link to Russia has been establishedAmericas political Pearl Harbor.

The Washington Post published an op-ed column Sunday by Jennifer Palmieri, former spokeswoman for the Clinton presidential campaign, under the headline, The Clinton campaign warned you about Russia. But nobody listened to us.

Bemoaning the failure of the media to take up the allegations of connections between Trump and Russia during the election campaign, Palmieri declared, Now that Trump is president, though, the stakes are higher, because the Russian plot succeeded.

She added, If Clinton had won with the help of the Russians, the Republicans would have impeachment proceedings underway for treason. No doubt. Instead, dealing with Russia falls nearly solely on Democrats shoulders.

Palmieri concluded, echoing Schumer, that every issue addressed in Congress should be tied to demands for the formation of an independent commission into the Trump-Russia connection. Members of Congress should use every procedural tool available to force votes on such a commission, she concluded.
Aden (AFP) - Ten people were killed Monday in a jihadist attack on a government building in southern Yemen that also saw 10 assailants die, including a suicide bomber, officials said.

The suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into the entrance of the local government headquarters in Huta, the provincial capital of Lahj, a security official said.

Security forces killed nine militants, including three wearing explosives belts and others armed with guns, when the assailants attacked the building following the bombing, the official said.

Six soldiers and four civilians were killed in the bombing and gunfight, and two soldiers and two civilians were wounded, the official said.

Lahj's deputy governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, accused Al-Qaeda of being behind the attack.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has exploited a power vacuum created by the war between the government and Huthi rebels who control the capital Sanaa and number of major cities along the Red Sea coast.

The United States regards AQAP as the jihadist network's most dangerous branch.

Washington has conducted more than 40 air raids, including drone strikes, against AQAP in March alone. Many of the strikes have targeted towns in southern provinces where the radical group is known to operate.

At least 25 suspected AQAP members have been killed in the raids.
Ah, books, the original movies.

From fairytales and folklore to YA and graphic novels, written (and drawn) stories have inspired Hollywood for years. The upcoming Ghost in the Shell, starring Scarlett Johansson, made some serious miscalculations in casting, but its original manga series captivated fans around the world. Instead of that mediocre sample, we picked 10 of our favorite page-to-screen movie adaptations  films worthy of their stellar source material.

SEE ALSO: 9 apocalyptic movies to get you in the mood for 'Logan'





Holes

Louis Sachar's novel about a boy sent to dig holes in lieu of juvenile detention is a genius novel. We have our protagonist, Stanley Yelnats, his mysterious new friend Zero and the lost boys of Camp Green Lake  and then we have the story of 19th century outlaw Kissin' Kate Barlow and wonder how these worlds could possibly meet. The 2003 film stayed true to the book's twisting connections and clever details and also dropped a dope beat.

Where to watch: Rental or purchase on Amazon/iTunes/YouTube

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1

Deathly Hallows gets a bad rap for "all the camping," but it only comprises about 20 percent of the movie (yes, I have done the qualitative research). The "tremendously grand" film removes us from the comfort of Hogwarts, of teen romance and classroom spellwork and thrusts its characters and viewers deep into the wizarding war (with a brilliant score from Alexandre Desplat). There's an airborne battle sequence, Ministry infiltration, a gorgeous animated story and an old lady who turns into a murderous snake. Who still calls this a children's series?

Where to watch: Rental or purchase on Amazon/iTunes/YouTube

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

This two-hour movie journeys through all six of Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novels with a devilish charisma no director besides Edgar Wright could have handled. There are minor tweaks that make more sense on screen and a fabulous cast, from Michael Cera as the title character to Brandon Routh as a superpowered vegan ex-boyfriend of Scott's new squeeze Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). The movie came out before the sixth novel released so it ties things up a little differently, but with as much satisfaction.

Story continues

Where to watch: Rental/purchase on Amazon/iTunes, YouTube

Brokeback Mountain

How do you take Annie Proulx's 60-page short story and turn it into a beautiful film? With Ang Lee, for starters, and with Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger as steadfast leads for the heartbreaking story of Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar.

Where to watch: Rental or purchase on Amazon/iTunes/YouTube, free streaming with Showtime subscription

The Shining

Stephen King's creeptastic thriller about the Overlook Hotel has endured largely in conjunction with Stanley Kubrick's chilling 1980 adaptation. The music and cinematography complete the chilling isolation of the Overlook and Jack Nicholson's transformation from family man to deranged killer is a thrill to behold.

Where to watch: Rental or purchase on Amazon/iTunes/YouTube, streaming on Netflix

Omkara

This modern Indian adaptation of Othello is as excellent as it is unexpected. Shakespeare's characters speak thickly accented Hindi and use cell phones and the update is seamless. Othello becomes Omkara, a political enforcer both feared and regularly shunned for being a bastard of mixed caste. Director Vishal Bhardwaj doubles as writer and producer, as well as composer of the film's stirring soundtrack.

Where to watch: HD streaming with ads/subtitles at Einthusan

Clueless

Amy Heckerling's adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma was a bizarre and wonderful choice. Not only is it a classically adored comedy but it's deftly feminist and true to the material, including Cher's characterization as a well-intentioned but oblivious busybody. Also, Paul Rudd!!!

Where to watch: Rental or purchase on Amazon/iTunes/YouTube, streaming on Hulu

The Adventures of Tintin

Herge's delightful adventures about a young sleuth and his adorable dog were first adapted as a successful cartoon series. In 2011, Steven Spielberg took a crack at directed this motion-capture feature with a screenplay by Steven Moffat, Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright (hey, he's good at this!). It draws on some of the best Tintin comics with spectacular if slightly creepy motion capture (the characters are very real but not quite real enough, and a breathtaking single take in the final act.

Where to watch: Rental or purchase on Amazon/iTunes/YouTube

The Godfather

It's tough for movies to match their source material and rarer still for them to outstrip it. The Godfather continues to be remembered for its cinematic legacy  to the point where the existence of Mario Puzo's novel will shock the unfamiliar. Puzo collaborated on the screenplay, which led to a worthy adaptation  even in the sequels.

Where to watch: Rental or purchase on Amazon/iTunes/YouTube

The Little Prince

You might remember Antoine de Saint-Exupery's short story from having to translate it in a French class where it turned out to be surprisingly poignant. The story gets a lovely adaptation with the 2016 film, distributed by Netflix, in which an overworked little girl meets the Aviator, who tells of his friendship with a little prince. Beyond heartbreaking beats about childhood and adventure, the animation of the Prince's world is simply marvelous.

Where to watch: Netflix

WATCH: The best and most underrated movies of 2016
Prepare a Strong Application

Between preparing for the LSAT, asking professors for recommendation letters and simply finding a best fit, applying to law school is a challenging process. That's why experts say to start early and devote a significant amount of time and effort to the process.

Here are 10 tips to craft an application that will impress admissions officers.

1. Discuss your career goals.

Cameron Dare Clark, who is African-American and from a low-income family, told U.S. News that his emphasis on his dream of becoming a civil rights attorney likely strengthened his application.

"The most effective way to create a clear and coherent application is to start with the vision and work backwards," the then-second-year Harvard Law School student said in an email.

2. Demonstrate strong writing skills.

Experts say strong writing skills are a key to success in law school. And, emphasizing writing-related work experience on a resume might impress admissions officers, Anthony Ervin, the North Carolina Central University School of Law director of admissions, told U.S. News.

Applicants should also remove any fluff and jargon from an application and keep job descriptions and essays concise, using strong verbs and colorful wording, experts suggest.

3. Share experiences that shaped your character.

Ervin told U.S. News that applicants should communicate their personal drive in their admissions materials, and any anecdote they include should help explain why they want to enter the field.

"Our criteria is we're looking for passion, work ethic and commitment," Ervin says.

4. Include a specific thesis in essays.

A thesis is "the key concept or idea that your essay will set out to explore," Michelle Kim Hall, a senior law school admissions counselor at Stratus Admissions Counseling, wrote in a U.S. News blog post. Centering essays around one differentiates them from diary entries and resumes, and keeps them focused.

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"The ability to write about a complicated idea in an organized way is a valuable skill for any attorney," she wrote.

5. Make sure recommendations are positive.

"Have the confidence to ask the professor whether they will give you a good recommendation," Kim O'Brien, then director of admission at Concordia University School of Law, said to U.S. News.

One expert also told U.S. News that applicants should meet with the recommendation letter writer beforehand for 30 minutes to ensure the writer is aware of the candidate's strengths.

6. Find recommenders who know you well.

Experts suggest seeking out letters of recommendation from faculty who know the applicant well and can offer detailed insight into the applicant's strongest qualities.

"What matters is the substance of the letter," says O'Brien. "The ones that really made a difference were the ones that were specific and gave examples to support their opinion of the applicant."

7. Don't apply too late.

At many law schools, rolling admissions is commonplace, and applications can often be submitted through June, depending on the school. Applicants should consider applying earlier than later because the admissions process may become more competitive if they wait, experts say.

Shawn P. O'Connor, founder and then-president of the former Stratus Prep, recommended applying by November in a U.S. News blog post. Those who need more time to strengthen an application or plan to take the December LSAT might wait until the end of the year.

8. Prepare for the interview.

After you apply, a law school may invite you to interview -- a chance to show your personality, O'Connor wrote in another U.S. News blog post. These can be in person or virtual, in either individual or group settings; regardless, preparation is key.

O'Connor suggests brainstorming responses beforehand but not seeming scripted, being genuine and specific, and offering new information that's not already on your application.

9. Differentiate yourself on your resume.

Mike Spivey, founding partner of the Spivey Consulting Group, which specializes in helping law school applicants, told U.S. News that a resume should illustrate to admissions officers who you are as a person and what sets you apart, telling your story in a unique way.

"One hundred percent of admissions is differentiation," Spivey says.

10. Prove you're ready for law school.

Law school resumes should indicate that an applicant is committed to public service, has strong communication skills and is familiar with the legal profession, ideally with related work experience, Ervin says.

He says the goal of the resume is to show you'll thrive in law school if admitted. But O'Connor also wrote in a U.S. News blog post that applicants shouldn't include only law-related activities and try to paint a comprehensive picture of who they are.

More About Applying to Law School

Learn more about applying to law school on the U.S. News website, and find additional advice on our Law Admissions Lowdown blog.

For more tips and information, follow U.S. News on Twitter and Facebook.

Jordan Friedman is an online education editor at U.S. News. You can follow him on Twitter or email him at jfriedman@usnews.com.


Kia gave us plenty of warning that it would eventually build a car like this. Back in 2011, Kias Frankfurt show stand featured a rear-drive GT concept, and then, three years ago, Kia unveiled the rear-drive Stinger GT4 two-door concept in Detroit. While we knew that a Genesis-based Kia would eventually emerge, we didnt know that the hamster brands reach into the premium segment would be a four-door hatchback and that itd actually name it the Stinger.

We know that all kinds of silly names come up in the product-planning meetings at car companies, but rarely does one actually become a chrome trunk badge. Alas, we tease, but Kia gets some credit for being ballsy, if also slightly confusing. Hyundai has taken the risky but necessary gamble of spinning off Genesis as a separate luxury brand with a buying experience that is distinct from that for Accent intenders. Its most glaring need, apart from a line of crossovers, is a smaller rear-drive BMW 3-series fighter. So its surprising that, despite several Kia concept cars that warned us of its arrival, the very product that Genesis craves will appear first as a sort of Asian mini Porsche Panamera built on a Genesis platform and wearing a Kia badge. We live in strange times indeed.

The unusual but appealing design originated in Kias European studio and furthers the reputation of Hyundai-Kia chief design officer Peter Schreyer for delivering visual feasts. Say what you will about Kia, but it is not afraid to mix genres or take chances. The Stinger rides on a shortened version of the Genesis longitudinal-engine, rear-drive component set. It comes with a generous helping of high-strength steel to hold down the mass. The front suspension uses struts while a multilink arrangement carries the rear. At 114.4 inches, the Stingers wheelbase is about four inches shorter than the Genesis G80s, but the whole car is a bit larger than its intended targetsAudi A4, BMW 3-series, Infiniti Q50, and Lexus ISand a low roof gives it a rather aggressive stance. Eventually, the Stinger will be joined by a Genesis doppelganger with more-formal sheetmetal.

A turbo 2.0-liter four, familiar from Hyundai-Kia front-wheel-drive models, is rotated 90 degrees and delivers 255 horsepower and 260 pound-feet while the step up is a 365-hp 3.3-liter V-6 with twin compressors, the base engine in the big Genesis G90 bankers barge. The eight-speed automatic from Kias last anomalous luxury reach, the forgettable K900 (see, you forgot about it), transmits the torque to either the rear axle or both axles.

The only hitch may be that American buyers have proven fearful of things they dont understand, such as a luxury hatchback sedan sold in the dealerships of a brand that normally trades in more modest fare. No doubt this is why Kia chose Stinger for the name instead of K901 or something equally forgettable.

The stinging begins this summer with prices expected to fall in the bustling $35,000-to-$45,000 range.



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MANILA, Philippines (AP)  The Philippines military said Monday they have rescued three more Malaysian tugboat crewmen held hostage by Muslim militants for eight months in the south of the country.

A brief military report said troops rescued Zulkipli Bin Ali, Mohammad Ridzuan Bin Ismail and Fandy Bin Bakran late Sunday in southern Sulu province. They were taken to a hospital for check-ups.

Two other Malaysian crewmen from the same group, who were kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf militants in July off Malaysia's Sabah state near the southern Philippines, were rescued last week when they were abandoned by their captors as a naval patrol closed in.

Abu Sayyaf militants survive mostly on ransom kidnappings, extortion and other acts of banditry, often targeting tugboats in the seas bordering the southern Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The group, named as a terrorist organization by the Philippines and the U.S., still has more than two dozen foreign and local hostages in its jungle encampments.
Many baby boomers are hoping to do more traveling as they enter their retirement years. After decades of cramming travel into long weekends and limited vacation time, new retirees often have a pent up desire to visit new places. Here's how baby boomers plan to travel in retirement:

A travel bucket list. Many baby boomers (38 percent) say they have created a travel bucket list that they hope to embark upon within the next several years, according to an AARP survey of 889 baby boomers. Boomers have an average of eight places they hope to visit. "A lot of people are celebrating going into retirement," says Keith Deane, a certified financial planner for Deane Retirement Strategies in New Orleans, Louisiana. "They like to go all out taking a big vacation or a long trip or a cruise."

[See: The Top Travel Destinations for Retirees.]

Domestic travel. Boomers are slightly more likely to prefer domestic travel (53 percent) to international destinations (47 percent), AARP found. "There is no language barrier and there is no passport needed," says Patty David a senior research advisor at AARP. "There is no money changes element, and it's just a little bit easier." When daydreaming about travel within the U.S., boomers have a preference for the farthest-flung states of Hawaii and Alaska.

A third of boomers say world events and security concerns make them reluctant to travel. "In the past, retirees have been taking big international trips," Deane says. "But with the international climate the way it is, more people have been staying in the U.S. to travel." The most desirable international destinations among boomers in the AARP survey are Australia and Italy.

Traveling as a couple. Most boomers prefer to travel with a spouse or significant other (65 percent), AARP found. Far fewer boomers are planning for solo travel (18 percent), trips with children or grandchildren (20 percent) or friend getaways (9 percent). Some single boomers (13 percent) say they might avoid travel because they have no one to go with. "We see seniors and retirees exploring on their own and also spending vacations with family and friends," says Josh Belkin, vice president and general manager for Hotels.com North America. "Interest in travel cuts across all ages, and the passion to see the world is something most everyone shares."

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[See: 10 Retirement Hot Spots in the U.S.]

Spring and summer trips. Most baby boomers prefer to travel during the spring or summer, but the fall is only slightly less popular. "Those seasons are when the weather is the nicest," David says. "You don't have the hassle of packing your winter boots or your big heavy coats or your gloves." Many people would like to avoid winter or crowded holiday travel in retirement, AARP found.

Urban destinations. Just over half of baby boomers say they would like to visit specific cities or towns (52 percent), according to the AARP survey. "They want that small town feel and they want close proximity to good places to shop and eat," David says. Far fewer boomers are planning to relax in beach or mountain destinations (10 percent each) or cruises (11 percent). Only 4 percent of boomers say they are interested in visiting parks or camping. Some boomers are held in place by health issues or not being fit enough to travel, but urban areas often have amenities and public transportation that make it easier for older people who can't drive to get around.

[See: 10 Ways to Celebrate Your Retirement.]

Finding travel deals. Some boomers fear they won't be able to visit the destinations on their bucket list, most often due to a lack of money (45 percent). But there are also many discounts for older travelers on everything from hotels to rental cars. And retirees have the luxury of traveling when they can find a good rate, instead of during national holidays and school breaks. "I juggle my time off by when I can find good airfare to travel to a destination I have not been to yet," says Linda Cateriano, a travel consultant at Expedia who has a bucket list of trips that includes Myanmar, Portugal, Cuba and Ecuador. "This sometimes means traveling during nonpeak times to get the best rates."

Emily Brandon is the author of "Pensionless: The 10-Step Solution for a Stress-Free Retirement."
Photo credit: Chelsea Lupkin

From Delish

We're here to confirm what you've been thinking for years: Cooking an Easter ham is just as stressful as baking a bird for Thanksgiving. Chances are you've got the same number of family members squeezing into your dining room, expecting a delicious, meaty centerpiece, but the internet doesn't give as much attention to the springtime holiday. Until now, that is. Here's everything you need to know in order to respond to Grandma's claims that your ham doesn't look like hers used to, and your curmudgeonly cousin's mumbles that there better be enough meat to go around.

The tradition dates back thousands of years.

According to culinary historians, eating ham at Easter dates back to at least the sixth century in Germany. Because pigs were abundant in Northern Europe, farmers slaughtered and hung them in the fall. They were one of the only meats preserved at the time of year, and therefore the only meat ready to eat in the early spring. Early American settlers brought pigs with them to the New World, where the tradition continued.

You can buy ham fresh or cured.

Photo credit: Gina Ferazzi / Getty

Fresh ham is exactly what it sounds like: an uncooked hunk of meat (most often the leg) that must be cooked before eating. Don't plan on picking one up at your local market. It's typically only sold at specialty butcher shops. Cured ham indicates the meat has been preserved, and supermarkets mostly sell the meat ready-to-eat.

Some hams are a little bit country, some are a little bit rock and roll.

That's to say, you'll run in to two types of cured ham: country and city. Country hams are popular in the South and are dry-rubbed with salt and seasonings, smoked, then hung to age for an extended period of time - sometimes years. City ones are more common in supermarkets, and follow a wet curing method, which involves brining the meat in a salt mixture. If all you care about is the taste, know that country hams tend to be saltier, while city hams are often moister.

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Always check the label.

You'll want to watch out for two things. One is that the ham is completely cooked. Most city hams are, but they occasionally require an extra zap in the oven. The other thing to look for is that the label simply doesn't read "water added" or "ham with natural juices." This tells you that the meat's been plumped with water or salt solution.

Avoid canned ham at all costs.

Photo credit: Flickr / Photocapy

The stuff is like the hot dog of the ham world. It's made from the scraps of other hams, packed with gelatin, sealed, and cooked by steam. If that's not enough of a deterrent, consider the fact that it's shelf-stable for two years. The stuff's better suited for your in-case-of-impending-doom food stash than Easter brunch.

You can call a ham hotline if you have any questions.

It's the Easter version of the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line, and ham lovers can throw out questions all year long. The folks behind Kentucky Legend Ham keep the lines (1-866-343-5058) open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and have been asked just about everything, including what wine pairs well with ham (Sauvignon Blanc for ham without a glaze, Riesling for a sweet glaze) and whether you can freeze chunks of ham in an ice cube tray to add them to mixed drinks.

If you're wondering about the answer to that, take a second to think about your life choices, then we'll tell you: It's not recommended.

There's a simple formula that tells you how much ham you should buy.

It's the ultimate faux-pas to leave guests hungry after you serve the main course, so keep these calculations in mind. For boneless ham, it's this: 1/2 pound x number of people. You'll need a heavier bone-in ham to account for the weight of the bones, so follow this equation: 3/4 pound x number of people.

Not all glazes are created equal.

Photo credit: Ethan Calabrese

Many store-bought hams come with a packet of glaze. Do yourself a flavor favor, and throw it in the trash. Homemade glazes are insanely easy to make, and you can have a lot of fun by throwing in oddball ingredients like pineapple juice, Root Beer, and marmalade.

Easter ham tastes just as good the next day.

The meat will stay good in your fridge for days. You could stick to the slices you ate on Sunday, or you could wow the fam with another delicious recipe, like stuffed shells or corn chowder.

Follow Delish on Instagram.

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The incident took place when the child Sai Dharshan was playing with some children of the locality on Sunday morning and a bike-borne man approached him.

As the clueless kid went close to the bike, the unidentified man picked him up and rode off.

he children playing with Sai panicked and alerted his grandparents, who immediately informed the police.

During investigation cops found a footage captured in a nearby CCTV camera which showed the man kidnapping the kid on his motorbike.
By Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan defense and interior ministers and the head of the country's intelligence service survived a vote of confidence called on Monday over the failure to tackle mounting insecurity and the Taliban insurgency. Defence Minister Abdullah Habibi, Interior Minister Taj Mohammad Jahid and Masson Stanekzai, head of the National Directorate for Security were all summoned before parliament over a string of security failures in recent months. About 50 people were killed this month when gunmen attacked Afghanistan's largest military hospital, Kabul's 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital, just across the road from the heavily fortified U.S. embassy. While all three officials survived, the fact of their summons to parliament, which has the power to sack ministers, underlined mounting frustration with the Western-backed government's handling of the security situation in Afghanistan. Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, the speaker of parliament, said the vote had been called over "weakness in management and the worsening security around the country," notably the hospital attack. Habibi, in particular, faced widespread ridicule for his alleged tendency to fall asleep at inappropriate moments, with pictures circulating on social media showing him sitting in a variety of meetings, with eyes closed and head leaned forward. "If we put the minister in a sack and sent him to another country and opened the sack there, he wouldn't have any idea how he got there," deputy speaker Humayoun Humayoun told parliament this month. In his address to parliament on Monday, Habibi denied falling asleep in meetings, saying he sometimes avoided looking up so as not to accidentally stare into the eyes of any women present. The vote in parliament came just days after security forces abandoned the district of Sangin in the strategically important southern province of Helmand that has been heavily contested by the Taliban. The loss of Sangin, where British and American forces suffered heavy casualties trying to defeat the insurgents, highlighted the growing control exerted by the Taliban, who are fighting to restore strict Islamic rule after being driven from power by a U.S.-led campaign in 2001. U.S. officials estimate that government forces control less than 60 percent of Afghanistan, with the rest either contested or under the outright control of militant groups. Last year, the United Nations reported 3,498 civilians were killed in the conflict and 7,920 were wounded, while at least 6,785 soldiers and police were killed in the first 10 months of the year, according to figures from U.S. authorities. (Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Beirut (AFP) - At least 16 civilians were killed and dozens wounded on Saturday in an air strike on a rebel-held area outside Syria's capital Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

It said it was not immediately clear who was responsible for the strike on the town Hammuriyeh in the opposition bastion of Eastern Ghouta.

"Sixteen civilians, including a child, were killed and around 50 others wounded in an air strike on the main street in the town of Hammuriyeh," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

It was not immediately clear if all the wounded were civilians or if some were rebel fighters, he said, adding that the death toll could rise further because a number of the injured were in serious condition.

The Eastern Ghouta region outside Damascus has been under a devastating government siege since 2012, and is also the regular target of regime air strikes and artillery fire.

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.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

Government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey brokered a nationwide truce in December, but violence has continued across the country.
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have slowly making their way into the mainstream, especially over the past year. The technologies were earlier gaming-centric but now, it seems that companies such as retail giant Amazon could make them intrinsic to everyday activities such as shopping, according to a new report.

New York Times reported Saturday, citing anonymous sources, that Amazon was considering using AR and VR to provide customers a better feel of products they would generally be wary of buying online, such as furniture and home appliances. The company could actually create a physical store for the items and use the technology to give users a virtual tour of it.

We are always thinking about new ways to serve customers, but thinking is different than planning, Drew Herdener, an Amazon spokesman told the Times.

Read: Amazon Might Open A Bookstore In New York City

Amazon has been trying to diversify its retail offerings. In 2015, it opened physical bookstores and in 2016, it came out with the Amazon Go grocery store concept which lets customers pick whatever they want and walk out the doors, while scanners and sensors detect the purchases and charge them for whatever they picked without any check-out queues.

If the company goes the AR way, it wouldnt be the first company to do so. Lowes already uses VR to showcase to customers how to use its products for home improvement.

It also uses AR in its app, which lets customers navigate their way through its stores.

As far as Amazons AR venture goes, it could either be an idea that the company puts its weight behind and changes the way people shop on its platform, or it could be one of the many experiments the company is doing to diversify its retail model, like Prime Air drone delivery and Dash Buttons.

What appears to be clear is they havent yet zeroed in on a format theyre willing to massively scale. This is a company that the moment it figures out something that works, it puts nuclear energy behind it, Scott Galloway, a professor of marketing at New York Universitys Leonard N. Stern School of Business told the Times.

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The family of the Utah man killed in last weeks London terror attack are determined to stay positive and focus on the legacy he left behind, saying they know thats what their lost loved one would want them to do.

Kurt Cochran was one four people killed when Khalid Masood drove an SUV into the crowded Westminster Bridge and crashing into a fence before stabbing an unarmed Metropolitan Police constable to death near the Houses of Parliament last Wednesday.

Masood was then shot dead by an armed police officer.

Cochran was knocked off the bridge onto a concrete underpass 20 feet below.

"The most difficult part of all of this is that Kurt is no longer with us, and we miss him terribly," Cochrans brother-in-law, Clint Payne, told reporters at a press conference Monday.

He and 10 other relatives traveled to London to be with Cochrans wife, Melissa, as she recovered from injuries sustained in the attack, including a broken leg and rib, and mourned her husband.

Read: Family Mourns American Dad Killed in London Terror Attack: 'This Pain is So Heart-Wrenching'

"Right now, she is just trying to focus on healing herself and getting to the point where she can be healed and be able to return home, Cochrans sister-in-law Shantell Payne said.

Immediately after the attack, a photo emerged of Melissa lying on the ground, bloodied and being tended to by another woman. The haunting image alerted her family to what had happened.

 [W]e got online and looked and realized that that was our loved ones and so that's how we found out, Melissas father, Dimmon Payne, said.

The couple was celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary by traveling to Europe, and was on the last leg of their trip when Cochran was killed.

Read: British Foreign Minister Desperately Tried to Save Cop Who Was Killed in Terror Attack

Though devastated by the sudden loss, Cochrans family said they are trying to remain positive and remember him for the amazing man he was.

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"Last night we were speaking as a family about all this and it was unanimous that none of us harbor any ill will or harsh feelings towards this," Sarah McFarland, Melissas sister, said. "So we love our brother, we love what he brought to the world and we feel like that this situation is going to bring many good things to the world."

Clint Payne agreed, saying, "He was an amazing individual who loved everyone and tried to make the world a better place. He left a legacy of generosity and service that continues to inspire us. We are deeply saddened to lose him but are grateful that the world is coming to know him."

Watch: British Prime Minister Makes Defiant Speech Against Terror As Support Floods In

Related Articles:
Before King Tut, Hatshepsut or Ramesses I  in fact, before there were any pharaohs at all  someone pecked an image of a hunter and a dancer wearing an ostrich mask into a rock on a hill along the Nile River.

The image, discovered recently by archaeologists, provides a tantalizing glimpse of Egypt's Neolithic period, or Stone Age. It likely dates back to the latter half of the fourth millennium B.C., said Ludwig Morenz, an Egyptologist at the University of Bonn in Germany. The depiction of a masked dancer in this era is particularly fascinating, Morenz told Live Science.

"[In] ancient Egyptian culture, we know many, many masks, but they are basically all masks for the dead," Morenz said. "And here we have a mask culture which predates pharaonic culture." [In Photos: Spider Rock Art Discovered in Egypt]

An ancient necropolis

The ancient find sits on Qubbet el-Hawa, the Hill of the Wind, near Aswan. In the pharaonic era, this was near the southern border of Egypt, and it was the site of a necropolis for the nobles of the ancient city of Elephantine, which was on the island of Elephantine in the Nile.

The necropolis was used from about 2200 B.C. onward, Morenz said, and it likely had nothing to do with the Neolithic use of the site; rather, this stretch of the Nile likely appealed to both Stone Age and later people because it is a relatively shallow stretch of rapids, called a cataract, with an island and easy pullouts for boaters.

"What I think is quite likely is that these rock images were placed on ancient pathways which have nothing to do with the later pharaonic necropolis, but where there was communicative access for whatever reason," Morenz said.

Long history

The images are barely visible in the rock today, but their discovery required no excavation  or, in Morenz's words, it was still "archaeology for lazy people." The team discovered the carved rock simply by surveying the landscape around the Qubbet el-Hawa necropolis.

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The carving shows a hunter with a bow next to an ostrich. By the ostrich is a person wearing an ostrich mask. This person might have been a shaman, and the mask might have had ritual purposes, Morenz said. Archaeologists aren't yet sure what the belief system behind these rituals might have been, but there are examples of other Near East Neolithic cultures that used masked dancers, he said.

A drawing showing the Neolithic rock carving from Qubbet el-Hawa in greater clarity. Mask use was previously unknown from this era of pre-dynastic ancient Egypt.  David Sabel

"Similarity does not necessarily mean there was a direct contact, and it does not even necessarily mean that there was an influence," Morenz said. "Sometimes things may be similar due to similar conditions."

However, there may well have been contact between the Neolithic people of Egypt and their neighbors in the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Elam, where other examples of ancient masks have been found, Morenz said.

Whatever their purpose, masks for the living dropped out of tradition by the time the pharaohs united Egypt around 3100 B.C. For now, Morenz said, the carving opens up new questions into this mysterious era of Egyptian history while also lengthening the history of Qubbet el-Hawa.

"This archaeological area is about a millennium older than we knew before," Morenz said.

This finding was recently honored as one of the current most important discoveries in Egyptology by Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
Sweimeh (Jordan) (AFP) - Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit urged Arab governments on Monday to do more to resolve the conflict in Syria rather than leaving it to other powers.

He was speaking as Arab foreign ministers met to prepare for the Arab League's annual summit, set for Wednesday in Jordan.

"In my view it's not right that Arab governments stay out of the biggest crisis in the region's modern history," Abul Gheit said.

He urged them to "find an effective way of intervening to stop the shedding of blood in Syria and end the war".

The Syrian government was not invited to the summit.

The bloc suspended Syria's membership in late 2011 after anti-regime demonstrations were brutally repressed.

Abul Gheit in February ruled out an early Syrian return to the bloc, saying that this was up to the League's 21 other members.

He said the issue would only be raised when "a political settlement" was in sight for Syria's devastating civil war which has killed 320,000 people.

On Monday, he called on Arab governments to "work in every possible way to play a more active role in major crises", including in Yemen and Libya.

"It is not right that this kind of terrible crisis gets passed over to international and regional powers to manage as they like and control according to their own interests," he said.

"These conflicts all pose a serious threat to Arab security," he said.
A prominent Chinese studies scholar based in Sydney was reportedly barred from leaving China after visiting the country, prompting concerns from friends and an intervention from the Australian government.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Chongyi Feng, an associate professor in Chinese studies at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), was prevented from boarding Australia-bound flights leaving Guangzhou. He was reportedly stopped twice in as many days last week.

It is unclear why Feng has been barred from leaving the country, and he did not discuss his circumstances while speaking to ABC. According to his laywer, Chen Jinxue, Feng has not been formally arrested or charged, reports the New York Times.

Both UTS and the Australian government have reached out to Fengs family, while the latter has also been in touch with the Chinese government about his case.

UTS has been in regular contact Dr Feng, who has assured the University that he is fine, and that although he is currently unable to leave China, for reasons we do not yet understand, he nonetheless has freedom of movement in China and freedom of communications, says UTS in a statement.

Citing two Chinese lawyers in touch with him, the Sydney Morning Herald reports Feng was advised verbally by Chinese security police that he was under suspicion of threatening state security, but could freely travel within the Peoples Republic. The ABC reports that Feng had no problems entering and leaving China before this.

According to the ABC, Feng is a prominent figure in the Chinese-Australian community, and has been vocal about how Beijing could be exerting its influence in Australia through Chinese-language media.

[ABC, SMH]

This article was originally published on TIME.com
VIENNA (AP)  An Austrian court has found a man guilty of terrorism-linked charges for spreading Islamic State group propaganda, and sentenced him to prison.

The court in the western city of Linz convicted the Austrian national for "participation in a terrorist organization." The man, who is not being identified in accordance with Austrian privacy laws, has been given an 18-month prison sentence, three months of which are suspended.

The man was accused of spreading videos of radical Islamic preachers and beheadings prepared by IS. The court was told Monday that police started investigating him after he hung an IS flag from his balcony several years ago.

He acknowledged interest in IS but denied being part of the group.
At least six Japanese high school students are feared dead after an avalanche hit a ski resort north of Tokyo on Monday, local officials said. The incident occurred in Tochigi prefecture while the students were taking mountain-climbing lessons in Nasu town, about 75 miles north of the Japanese capital.

About 50 students from seven high schools had participated in the mountaineering trip when the avalanche hit Nasuonsen Family Ski Resort, according to authorities in Tochigi. Two students and one teacher were injured, Japans Kyodo News reported, citing fire department officials. Two students and an instructor were missing, according to reports.

Search and rescue operations have been launched with emergency personnel sifting through the area to determine whether more people are buried under the snow, Japans national broadcaster NHK reported.

The mountain climbing trip that started Saturday was due to end around noon, an official from one of the schools told Kyodo.

The resort reportedly has three ski runs and is popular among families and beginners.

Television footage from NHK showed rescue operations being carried and the accident area being cordoned off.

Japan often receives large amounts of snow that increase the risk of avalanches.

Last month, a New Zealand man snowboarding at the Japanese island of Hokkaido was killed after being swept away by an avalanche. The incident happened when he and his friends were snowboarding in an off-limits area near the ski slope. The area was reported to have been hit with several avalanches in the past.

In January 2015, at least four people died in multiple avalanches across Japan after heavy snowfall and high winds increased danger level. Among those dead were two men from Argentina.

In February 2012, three people were killed in an avalanche in the northern Japanese prefecture of Akita following snowstorms in months leading up to the accident.

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Former President Barack Obama is planning to extend his stay in Tetiaroa, a South Pacific island once owned by legendary Hollywood actor Marlon Brando, as he starts to pen his memoir about his experiences of the eight years he spent as the American president. Both Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, inked a multimillion-dollar book deal with Penguin Random House last month.

The former president traveled to Tahiti, French Polynesia, in a private jet in mid-March where he is expected to stay for the next month as well, the Washington Post reported Sunday. The luxury resort he checked into is frequented by Hollywood stars. During his stay in French Polynesia, he is expected to visit some of the other islands as well, including honeymoon hotspot Bora Bora, according to the Telegraph.

Read: Here's What Obamas' Net Worth Is After Signing More Than $65 Million Book Deal With Penguin Random House

After a successful auction last month, reports surfaced that Penguin Random House will pay the Obamas more than $65 million for the global rights to two books that they will write. The Obamas plan to donate some of the advances from their books to charities, including the Obama Foundation, the New York Times reported last month.

After leaving the White House, the Obamas have kept a low profile. They have taken many vacations ever since, including Palm Springs, the Caribbean and Hawaii. They have not publicized their personal life likely because they are aware that each public movement of theirs will be widely scrutinized.

He is enjoying a lower profile where he can relax, reflect and enjoy his family and friends, former senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said, the Post reported.

Two weeks after leaving the White House, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama headed to billionaire Richard Bransons Moskito Island for a relaxing break. During the vacation, he was photographed kite surfing and wrestling with his tycoon pal on Necker Island, according to the Sun.

Story continues

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The Muslim body has claimed that any order against triple talaq would be an infringement on their right to follow and profess any religion.

By India Today Web Desk: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has opposed PILs against triple talaq in the Supreme court.

The Muslim body has claimed that any order against triple talaq would be an infringement on their right to follow and profess any religion.

It has also been contended that the petitions are based on an incorrect understanding of Muslim Personal Law. Any legislative reform, they say, must be sensitive to the cultural context of India, adding that reforms in other countries can't be applied to India. The next hearing in this case is likely to be on Thursday (March 30)

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GOVERNMENT'S FOUR QUESTIONS OVER TRIPLE TALAQ

The government, which wants triple talaq banned on the grounds that they violate the right to gender equality, secularism and binding international covenants, has tabled four questions before the apex court.

One, whether the practices of Triple Talaq, 'nikah halala' and polygamy are protected under Article 25(1) of the Constitution, which gives all citizens 'the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion'.

Two, whether the right to practice and propagate religion is subject to other equally important rights, like the right to equality and right to life.

Three, whether Muslim personal law falls under Article 13 of the Constitution which provides that any law is void if it is not in conformity of the Constitutional scheme.

The fourth argument said these practices are incompatible with India's obligations under international treaties and covenants to which the country is a signatory, as well as marital law prevalent in various Islamic countries. (With inputs from PTI)

WATCH: Triple talaq violates rights of Muslim women: Allahabad High Court

ALSO READ:

Woman fighting triple talaq: 'Muslim board member asked me to withdraw petition'

Allahabad High Court calls triple talaq unconstitutional, says no personal law board is above Constitution

Narendra Modi raising 'triple talaq' issue for political gains: Asaduddin Owaisi

Triple talaq: 1 million Muslim women sign RSS-backed petition against the practice

--- ENDS ---
Jet startup Boom believes the future is supersonic, and it's now got enough money to prove it.

The company announced on Thursday that it raised $33 million for its first major round of funding, enough for the company to build a demonstrator of its XB-1 supersonic aircraft.

Boom first emerged in 2016 with grand plans to create supersonic passenger jets that could reach 1,450 miles per hour. The company hopes to test its XB-1 demonstrator in 2017, with commercial flights still a few years away.

That aircraft will be one-third the size of the passenger aircraft that Boom hopes to eventually build. The XB-1 "will demonstrate in flight the key technologies for practical supersonic travel"  essentially proving that the company's technology and design can make supersonic flights safe and efficient.

An artist's visualization of Boom's supersonic passenger jet.

Image: boom

If successful, Boom would mark the first reintroduction of supersonic travel since the Concorde program was canceled following safety and cost concerns.

Boom believes that its supersonic passenger jets will cut travel times for long flights. In one video, the company claimed its jets will fly New York to London in three hours as opposed to seven.

The company already has a partnership with Virgin Group, including its manufacturing arm, The Spaceship Company.

Boom's funders include 8VC, Caffeinated Capital, Palm Drive Ventures, RRE Ventures, and Y Combinator, which will also add its president, Sam Altman, to Boom's board of directors.

Boom projects that tickets for its aircraft will cost roughly the same as a current ticket in business class, though it hopes that by reducing costs it can bring the price down.

WATCH: This ambitious U-shaped skyscraper could soon loop over NYC
A New Jersey courtroom erupted as the men accused in the shooting deaths of two men found in a burned out Audi owned by Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member Kim DePaola made their first court appearance on Friday, multiple outlets report.

NJ.com reported that suspects Clarence Williams, 26, and Gerry Thomas, 28, were denied bail in the alleged murders of Aaron Anderson, 27, and Antonio Vega Jr., 25. As Thomas was being led out of the courtroom, a fight broke out between Andersons mother, Michele Ryerson, and the suspects female relative.

The bickering escalated into both parties yelling obscenities, then someone threw a cell phone at Thomas relative as she attempted to leave the courtroom, according to the New York Daily News. Another woman was seen preparing to hurl her shoe on a recording of the altercation.

Officers were able to separate the feuding parties after several minutes, the outlet reports.

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.

Ahead of the detention hearing, Passaic County Superior Court Judge Ernest Caposela cautioned the families to keep their emotions at bay, according to Page Six.

I understand you have very strong feelings and may want to blurt something out, he said.

During the brawl, Thomas attorney Gregory Aprile requested the names of those involved so that he may ask that they be excluded from future hearings, Page Six reports.

Charges are pending for one person involved in the altercation, according to the outlet.

A statement from the Paterson Police Department sates that the suspects, both Paterson residents, both face charges for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery, arson and possession of a firearm following their arrests last Monday.

While the 2015 Audi is registered to DePaola, the vehicle was mostly used by her son, Chris Camiscioli, 27, who was out of town after a friend had dropped him off at the airport in the car, the statement says.

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DePoala addressed fans about the news on Sunday, assuring everyone that she and her son were safe.

I am humbled by the outpour of love and support during this very difficult time, DePoala wrote in a Notes screenshot on Instagram. My son and I are both safe. Our deepest condolences of out to the victims families of this truly horrific tragedy.

This article was originally published on PEOPLE.com
As British Prime Minister Theresa May prepared to outline plans for divorcing the U.K. from the European Union, Labour Party spokesman Keir Starmer warned his party would block any deal that does not deliver same benefits the country currently enjoys.

May planned to trigger Article 50 to trigger the mechanism for leaving the trading block this week, more than nine months after Britons voted on the issue.

Read: How Much Could Brexit Cost The UK?

The Sunday Times reported May would send a letter to EU leaders in Brussels Wednesday, announcing the start of negotiations, a process that is expected to last two years, and the following day publish the governments Great Repeal Bill, which converts EU law into British law. Opposition lawmakers are wary of the measure because it gives ministers wide-ranging powers to change the rules as they convert the statutes. The letter will detail key demands for an exit deal.

Meanwhile, the biggest investment banks already were beginning the process of moving some London-based operations elsewhere.

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has said Labour members of Parliament will support an exit measure only if it guarantees unfettered access to the European market, something that already has been ruled out by the EU, which doesnt want Britain to benefit from the exit.

Read: Populism, 'Brexit' And 'Frexit' Could Damage EU Economies

Corbyn told ITV Sunday if total access is denied, the threat to jobs in this country is absolutely huge. Most of our manufacturing industries have a European sale and European supply chain in them. And if we dont maintain this unfettered access to the European market then quite clearly those industries are very much at risk.

Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, was scheduled to deliver a speech Monday in which the Guardian reported he will say the ideological approach to extricating the U.K. from the EU would be disastrous and divisive.

Starmer told the Guardian he will lay out six tests that must be met before Labour will support a deal, including guarantees of transitional arrangements, maintaining cross-border security and fair management of immigration.

Story continues

The truth is that Brexit cannot tackle stagnant wages, resolve a chronic skills gap, reduce unequal growth across the U.K. or improve underfunded public services, Starmer is expected to say. Brexit cannot mend public trust in politics or build more cohesive communities. And it cannot provide a place for Britain in a more complex and chaotic global order.

Bloomberg reported Bank of America Corp., Standard Chartered Plc and Barclays Plc were considering moving operations to Dublin while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. have their eyes on Frankfurt, Germany, in case Brexit results in them not being able to sell services from London. Other cities likely to benefit include Paris, Amsterdam and Madrid.

London stands to lose 30,000 financial industry jobs and $1.9 trillion of assets after Brexit, the nondoctrinal Bruegel economic think tank has estimated.

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By Ian Graham BELFAST (Reuters) - The British government on Monday gave Northern Ireland's largest political parties a few more weeks to clinch a deal on a power-sharing regional government, staving off the risk of a suspension of devolved power for the first time in a decade. Northern Ireland politics has been in crisis since Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein pulled out of government in January. A March 2 election ended the majority pro-British unionists had enjoyed in the province since Ireland was partitioned in 1921. The expiration on Monday of a three-week deadline to form a government raised fears that devolved institutions set up under a 1998 peace agreement might collapse and power revert to the British government in London. The last time that happened it took five years to re-establish self-government. While no one is predicting the political impasse risks returning Northern Ireland to the violence that killed 3,600 people in three decades, it could increase sectarian tensions and freeze decision-making as Brexit approaches. "I think there are a few short weeks in which to resolve matters," Britain's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire told reporters shortly after the deadline expired at 1500 GMT. He did not explain on what basis more time would be given. While the law obliges him to call new elections, which would be the third in 12 months, it also gives him some leeway on when exactly to hold them. He said there was no appetite for a return to direct rule from London, a move which would require the law to be changed, but which some feel could prove unavoidable if repeated elections fail to bring the parties together. "I believe there is an overwhelming desire among the political parties and the public here for strong and stable devolved government," he said. The crisis is an unwanted distraction for British Prime Minister Theresa May two days before she is due to trigger divorce proceedings to take Britain out of the European Union. While Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has become one of the most vocal critics of May's Brexit strategy, Northern Ireland's leaders have been relatively muted. Both regions voted to remain in the EU in last year's referendum. As the only part of the United Kingdom with a land border with the EU, Northern Ireland faces severe disruption to its economy. Any sign of border controls could inflame opinion among Irish nationalists who want a united Ireland. "We desperately need local political representatives to speak on our behalf if we are to ensure that UK and EU negotiators have a proper understanding of Northern Irelands unique circumstance," the Northern Ireland branch of the Confederation of British Industry said after Brokenshire's statement. "There has seldom been a more important time to have a strong well-functioning Executive." The crisis began in January when Sinn Fein pulled out of the province's government citing the "deep-seated arrogance" of power-sharing partner the Democratic Unionist Party over the DUP's handling of the abuse of an energy subsidy scheme. Sinn Fein presented a long list of demands as conditions to re-enter government, including funding services for Irish language speakers, gay rights and inquiries into deaths during the decades of sectarian violence. The DUP balked, suggesting Sinn Fein was asking for too much because it wanted the talks to fail. "I wonder whether Sinn Fein were serious about reaching agreement at this time," DUP leader Arlene Foster said. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams posted a video to the party's website that suggested he was not likely to soften its demands. "Unionism is in my opinion at a crossroads. Whether it embraces everyone and upholds the rights of everyone ... or it doesn't," Adams said. "There can be no equivocation, no conditionality." (Writing by Conor Humphries and Padraic Halpin; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Belfast (AFP) - The British government on Monday gave Northern Ireland's squabbling parties extra time to reach a deal to end their stalemate and form a power-sharing executive, after a deadline to do so expired.

"We now have a short window of opportunity," Northern Ireland minister James Brokenshire said in Belfast, adding that the parties had "a short few weeks".

Brokenshire said the failure of the talks so far was "extremely disappointing" and would cause "widespread dismay" in the province.

He said that despite the British government's efforts, "agreement at this stage has not proved possible" as there were "significant gaps" between the Democratic Unionist Party and Irish nationalists Sinn Fein.

But he added: "I believe that there remains an overwhelming desire among the political parties... here for strong and stable devolved government".

With no government in place, Northern Ireland has not been able to approve a budget this year and Brokenshire warned there would be an impact on public services.

Sinn Fein brought down Northern Ireland's executive in January in a dispute with the DUP.

Elections were then held earlier this month in which Sinn Fein made major gains but the DUP remained the largest party.

Three weeks of talks between the two sides failed to reach an agreement by a 1500 GMT Monday deadline.
Belfast (AFP) - Northern Ireland's squabbling parties have abandoned talks to form a power-sharing government before Monday's deadline to resolve their bitter political differences.

The main two parties in the British province said no deal would be reached by the 4:00pm (1500 GMT) cut-off, following a snap election triggered by the bad blood between them.

James Brokenshire, Britain's Northern Ireland minister, must decide what to do next, with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein unable to work together.

He has three options: set a new talks deadline, call a fresh election, or suspend devolution and return administration of the province fully to the UK government.

"The talks have failed," said DUP leader Arlene Foster, who was first minister in the outgoing government.

"We were willing to form an executive today but Sinn Fein have walked away.

"There wasn't a spirit of compromise to get back into the executive."

- McGuinness funeral handshake -

Northern Ireland Assembly speaker Robin Newton confirmed no deal was reached and matters were now in Brokenshire's hands.

"The deadline required by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 for the appointment of ministers will not be met. The implications of that are now for others to consider," he said in a statement.

Sinn Fein's terminally-ill deputy first minister Martin McGuinness resigned in January, citing Foster's handling of a bungled green energy scheme.

That brought down the executive and prompted a snap election on March 2.

Socialists Sinn Fein, representing Catholic Irish nationalists, gained ground. However, the conservative DUP, representing pro-British Protestants, narrowly remained the largest party in the 90-seat assembly.

Foster and Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Fein's leader in Northern Ireland, shook hands at McGuinness's funeral on Thursday, triggering hope of a deal.

In his eulogy, former US president Bill Clinton urged both sides to "finish the work of peace" in Northern Ireland.

Story continues

"The only way a lasting peace can ever take hold and endure is if those who have legitimate, legitimate griefs on both sides embrace the future together," he said.

But O'Neill and party president Gerry Adams felt the DUP had not gone far enough to accommodate a bolstered Sinn Fein's demands.

"The talks process has run its course. Sinn Fein will not be supporting nominations for speaker or the executive," O'Neill said Sunday.

- Brexit backdrop -

Nationalist newspaper The Irish News called Monday for further talks.

"It is better for them to get it right late, than to abandon the talks on time," it said.

"Failure for these talks is simply not an option."

The News Letter, a unionist newspaper, said full government from London was preferable to hurried concessions to Sinn Fein's current demands.

"It is essential that Sinn Fein's disgraceful, deliberately destabilising conduct is not rewarded," it said.

The crisis comes two days before British Prime Minister Theresa May is due to give Brussels formal notification of the UK's intention to leave the European Union.

While the United Kingdom as a whole voted to leave the EU, a majority in Northern Ireland wanted the UK to stay in.

There are concerns in Northern Ireland about the impact Brexit might have on the open border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state.

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator wrote in the Financial Times newspaper on Monday: "We will not stand for anything that weakens dialogue and peace in Northern Ireland."
London (AFP) - British telecoms giant BT Group has been hit with a bill of around A350 million in fines and compensation following delays to high-speed cable installations by its broadband unit, a watchdog said Monday.

BT has been fined a record A42 million (39 million euros) and must compensate rivals by around A300 million for a "serious breach of rules," Ofcom said in a statement.

The breach concerns work carried out by its Openreach unit, which BT earlier this month agreed to legally separate to remedy concerns over competition in the UK telecoms sector.

Created by BT in 2005, Openreach maintains tens of millions of copper and fibre lines connecting telephone exchanges to homes and businesses across the UK -- giving it a competitive advantage over rivals.

Ofcom's Investigations Director Gaucho Rasmussen said in a statement Monday:

"We found BT broke our rules by failing to pay other telecoms companies proper compensation when these (installation) services were not provided on time.

"The size of our fine reflects how important these rules are to protect competition and, ultimately, consumers and businesses. Our message is clear a we will not tolerate this sort of behaviour."
By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - Can society afford modern medicines? It's a question facing governments worldwide and nowhere more so than in Britain, where a new budget test due to take effect on April 1 threatens to throw up another hurdle to patients getting the drugs. For the last 18 years Britain has led the way in measuring drug cost-effectiveness in a rational and dispassionate way, using a model of economic benefits developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE has inspired copycat agencies across Europe - and in countries as diverse as South Korea and Mexico - giving it an influence beyond Britain's 3 percent slice of global drug sales. Now, however, the original system is struggling and patient charities and drugmakers are alarmed, especially given the wider funding uncertainties facing the National Health Service (NHS), which offers free care at the point of delivery. The new rules mean drugs costing NHS England more than 20 million pounds ($25 million) a year will no longer get automatic funding, even if they are cost-effective. Instead, firms will have to haggle to get them used, resulting in a potential delay of three years. Peter Johnson, professor of medical oncology at the University of Southampton, fears his patients may lose out on a wave of costly new immunotherapy drugs that are starting to transform treatment. "Just when we are seeing an increase in the pace of progress with these drugs, I'm worried that this country is going to be unnecessarily slowed down by the new affordability cap," he told Reuters. Since immune system-boosting drugs like Merck & Co's Keytruda, Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo and Roche's Tecentriq can be used against a wide range of cancers, their budget impact will be significant. "Almost all these new cancer drugs will hit the 20 million pounds ceiling very quickly indeed, particularly when they are used for common cancers like lung cancer," said Johnson, who also acts as chief clinician for Cancer Research UK. Meeting rising demand from medical advances and aging populations is a universal problem, whether healthcare is funded by UK-style general taxation, compulsory social insurance common in western Europe or private insurance as in the United States. But NICE is unusual in putting a clear number on the benefit it expects from new drugs, using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), where one QALY equals a year of perfect health or two years of middling health. Its basic cost-effectiveness threshold is up to 30,000 pounds per QALY and in future it wants to incentivize drugmakers to come in below 10,000 pounds by offering rapid approval for "exceptional value" products. NICE data, however, shows only 10 to 15 percent of the drugs it approves currently meet this lower cost-effectiveness hurdle. RESPONSIBLE PRICING Carole Longson, director of NICE's center for health technology evaluation, says the onus is on drugmakers to price medicines responsibly. "Given the pace of technological innovation, the demands of people who need healthcare and the return on investments that shareholders wish for, the system is struggling," she said. In some cases that may mean phasing payments, rather than simply cutting prices, when treatments like cancer immunotherapy or gene therapy offer long-lasting benefits. "We need to find ways to structure the budget impact," she said in an interview. NICE's QALY thresholds have long provoked controversy and complaints among drugmakers whose products have fallen on the wrong side of the equation, yet the system has stood the test of time, albeit with tweaks such as looser requirements for end-of-life care. The new budget test, however, is "a kind of fudge", said Karl Claxton, a health economist at the University of York, who served on NICE's appraisal committee from 1999 to 2012. "As a result of trying to put patches on all of this, we end up with a very confusing and rather arbitrary approach," he said. The upheaval comes at a tricky time for the government, which is about to trigger proceedings to leave the European Union but wants to encourage investment by pharmaceutical firms, which account for a fifth of all UK business R&D spending. "It's a disastrous signal to send to the rest of the world," said Mike Thompson, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, who still hopes the government could change its mind before the end of the month. (Editing by Greg Mahlich)
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP)  A center-right, pro-European Union party is the clear winner in Bulgaria's parliamentary election, according to near final results Monday.

With about 96.7 percent of the votes counted, GERB had 32.6 percent of the votes, the central election commission said. The results allows party leader Boiko Borisov, a former prime minister, to form his third Cabinet.

The Socialist Party was in second place, polling 27.1 percent. Its leader, Kornelia Ninova, conceded defeat and said the party wouldn't take part in a coalition government with GERB.

GERB didn't win enough votes to govern alone, and will likely seek to form a coalition government with some of the three smaller parties whose votes exceeded the 4 percent minimum threshold to enter parliament.

The near final results showed the United Patriots, an alliance of three nationalist parties, winning 9.2 percent and the Party for Rights and Freedoms of ethnic Turks with 8.9 percent. If confirmed, the anti-establishment Volya (Will) party will enter parliament, scoring just over the minimum 4 percent required to have seats in the legislature.

Borisov, 57, resigned as prime minister after his party lost the November presidential election to former air force general Rumen Radev, a Socialist, who favors closer relations with Russia.

Parliament was dissolved in January, and the president appointed a caretaker government that will stay until a new government is formed.

Borisov said GERB had a "duty to form a government because this is the will of the people and because we triggered these early elections."

"These results make is possible for Bulgaria to have a stable government, which is especially important as the country takes over the EU's rotating six-month presidency in January 2018," political analyst Antoni Galabov said.
By Harish V Nair: Ahead of the crucial hearing wherein the apex court will decide the validity of triple talaq, the All India Muslim Personal Board (AIMPLB) has urged not to meddle with its personal laws.

"It is humbly submitted that the court ought not to venture into the area of changing personal laws by following the trend in several other countries. It is pertinent to note that any change or reform that comes with the backing of legislature takes due care of diverse cultural background, sensitivity and sensibility of the stakeholder community and thus is in spirit adheres to both the principles - the principle of democracy and the principle of separation of powers", the AIMPLB written submissions said.

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"It is important to note that changes in other countries, with a distinct socio-cultural and even legal back ground must not be applied in Indian context, without appreciating the distinct nature of the Indian society, as doing so shall not only destroy the democratic legislative process underlined in the Constitution of India but it shall also be great injustice to the followers of Islam in our nation," it said.

Eight aggrieved Muslim women wanted the court to scrap the practice of triple talaq and polygamy. The Modi government has already supported the ban on triple talaq, saying, "gender equality and the dignity of women are not negotiable" and told judges that "even theocratic states have undergone reforms in this area of law" which reinforces that these practices cannot be considered an integral part of practice of Islam.

The Centre's affidavit had come at a time when AIMPLB, defending the validity of triple talaq, even took the bizarre ground that if the practice is discontinued, a man could even murder or burn his wife alive to get rid of her.

"If a serious discord develops between a couple, and the husband does not want to live with the wife, legal compulsions of time-consuming separation proceedings and expenses may deter him from taking the legal course. In such instances, he may resort to illegal, criminal ways of murdering or burning her alive," AIMPLB stated in an earlier affidavit.

GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN'S DIGNITY NON-NEGOTIABLE, SAYS CENTRE

But in its affidavit, the Centre said: "Gender equality and dignity of woman are non-negotiable, over arching constitutional values can brook no compromise. These rights are necessary in letter and in spirit to realise aspirations of every individual woman." The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has opposed PILs filed against

the controversial triple talaq in the Supreme Court, saying petition against Muslim Law Board is "not maintainable". The Muslim body has claimed that any order against triple talaq would be an infringement on their right to follow and profess any religion.

It has also been contended that the petitions are based on an incorrect understanding of Muslim Personal Law. Any legislative reform, they say, must be sensitive to the cultural context of India, adding that reforms in other countries can't be applied to India. The next hearing in this case is likely to be on March 30.

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Earlier, over a million Muslims from across India had signed an RSS-affiliated Muslim Rashtriya Manch petition to end the controversial divorce practice of triple talaq.

ALSO READ | Ban triple talaq, group of Muslim women lawyers, activists urges PM Modi

WATCH VIDEO | All India Muslim Personal Law Board opposes PILs filed in SC over triple talaq

--- ENDS ---
Nothing against baggy pants in general, but they're maybe not the best choice in apparel for a robbery.

Lot of room for unpleasant friction, high possibility of tripping and, of course, they can get snagged on the fence you're trying to jump and leave you hanging upside down, pantsless, and looking very guilty.

SEE ALSO: Gang of dolphins refuses to stop showing off in front of film crew

That's exactly the scene Jesse Sensibar stumbled upon outside of Miles School in Tuscon, Arizona, last week.

The man was trying to break into a room on Miles's campus when he noticed an on-duty locksmith looking at him and ran, according to WSVN Arizona. While trying to hop the fence his pants got caught on one of the spikes, catapulting him over but leaving his pants behind.

Sensibar noticed the scene while driving by and snapped a picture, adding, "he smiled for the camera," according to his Facebook post. When he drove by the scene 15 minutes later, the burglar had been apprehended and was in the back of a police car.

You probably don't even want to think about what happened in the 15 minutes that are undocumented, but surely there was a lot of blushing involved.

WATCH: Why some people think cilantro tastes like soap
Japan is known for its wacky cafe themes, and it's latest? A "makeup free" zone.

The cafe, aptly named Naturalia, says it'll only hire women who don't wear any makeup.

SEE ALSO: Japan opens cafe with beds for naps, basically a dream come true

Cafe staff say in a YouTube video promoting its concept, that the owners came up with the concept after they were unable to find a cafe in their city where the staff looked "plain and ordinary"  so they decided to create one themselves.

The owners are about to launch a second branch in Tokyo, after their original cafe in Sapporo, Hokaido, took off. The Sapporo cafe was opened in 2015.

Staff at the cafe, who are paid a starting rate of up to $12 per hour, also can't have "excessively dyed hair or garish manicures" in addition to having no makeup.

The company website adds that it won't hire women who smoke, or have previously worked in night-time work establishments such as nightclubs or cabarets.

Some of Naturalia's staff

Image: naturalia/campfire

Naturalia initially held a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for its Shibuya, Tokyo branch. It drew contributions of $8,500  191 percent over its goal.

It's worth noting that the Shibuya district is home to the popular Harajuku area.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ayano Sato/Epa/REX/Shutterstock (7941601k) Young Women Pose For Photographs in Harajuku Fashion District During the Mercedes-benz Fashion Week in Tokyo Japan 15 October 2015 the Presentation of the Spring/summer 2016 Collections Runs From 12 to 17 October Japan Tokyo Japan Tokyo Fashion Week - Oct 2015

Image: Ayano Sato/Epa/REX/Shutterstock

Harajuku has become synonymous with eccentric street fashion, with women often seen dressing up and decked out in heavy makeup and elaborate clothing.

[H/T RocketNews24]

WATCH: Japans latest trend? A spamusement park
Ottawa (AFP) - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party will introduce legislation in the coming weeks that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Canada by mid-2018, reports said Monday.

Passage of the bill would make Canada the first G7 country to legalize the recreational use of pot nationwide.

The announcement prompted shares of companies producing cannabis for medical purposes to surge on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

"This will legalize access to cannabis, but at the same time will regulate and control access," Health Minister Jane Philpott said. "We want to make sure the profits are kept out of the hands of criminal organizations."

Trudeau's Liberal caucus was briefed on the timeline for the proposed measure during a weekend meeting, public broadcaster CBC reported, citing unnamed sources.

The legislation would be unveiled the week of April 10 and passed by July 2018, CBC said.

The new regulations would broadly follow recommendations by a federally-appointed task force issued in December, it added.

They called for setting a minimum age of 18 or 19 years old for pot use, in line with restrictions on alcohol consumption.

They also outlined criminal penalties for trafficking and selling cannabis to underage people.

Under the proposed rules, Canadians would be allowed to grow up to four plants at home for personal use. Personal possession would be limited to 30 grams (one ounce).

Each province would determine the appropriate means for distributing the drug.

The Canopy Growth company, which cultivates cannabis for medical use, jumped 11 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange to Can$11 ($8.22) a share.

Another producer, Aurora Cannabis, saw an increase of Can$2.50, while shares of Aphria gained 8.4 percent to reach Can$6.70.

The surge reflects the market's potential importance.

A report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer last year predicted modest tax revenues, based on projections of 4.6 million consumers spending Can$4.2 to Can$ 6.2 billion a year for 655 tonnes of cannabis.

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But the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce estimated tax revenues could reach up to $Can5 billion or more if added tourism revenues are taken into account.

As a proliferation of pot stores are jockeying to grab early market shares, the authorities say a current ban on possession and sale of marijuana for recreational use remains in effect for now.

"Until we have a framework to control and regulate marijuana, the current laws apply," Trudeau said in early March.
CHICAGO (AP)  A Chicago man has been charged with child endangerment after police say they found a handgun hidden in a baby stroller alongside a 1-year-old boy.

Chicago police say 32-year-old Anthony Kennedy fled Friday afternoon as officers approached him in a West Side neighborhood, but that he was soon captured.

Police said in a statement that officers also found marijuana in the stroller. Kennedy is also charged with unlawful possession of handgun by a felon and other charges.

The child is in the care of relatives.

Kennedy was ordered held on $100,000 bail. An attorney who could speak on behalf of Kennedy is not listed.
Santiago (AFP) - Thousands of people marched in major cities in Chile Sunday to demand an end to a privatized pension system put in place more than 35 years ago under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Banging drums and carrying signs and banners, protesters marched through central Santiago to express opposition to the pension system, known by its Spanish acronym as AFP.

"We are going to put an end to the AFP, like it or not," said Luis Mesina, coordinator of the protest movement and leader of the peaceful march in Santiago.

Protesters also staged massive demonstrations in the cities of Valparaiso, Concepcion and Valdivia.

The system, which manages $170 billion in funds, has come under fire because of low returns to pensioners, who had been led to expect annual payments amounting to 70 percent of their last salary.

It was created in 1981 by neo-liberal economists influenced by the University of Chicago's Milton Friedman.

Known as the "Chicago Boys," they replaced a government funded pay-as-you-go system with one in which workers and their employers paid a proportion of their earnings into privately-run pension funds.

The system has been widely imitated, but has fallen out of favor with many Chileans scraping to get by on meager benefits.

President Michelle Bachelet in August 2016 announced plans to reform the system, but has held off submitting it to Congress while she struggles to reach a consensus on the changes.

Paula Narvaez, a spokeswoman for the president, said Bachelet will reach a decision on the reforms within a month.
A serious mental illness can be costly. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. workers lose nearly $200 billion in wages every year when mental health problems interfere with their ability to work .

"There's a huge need and a lot of good that people can do in this field," says Dr. Brett Kaylor, chief resident in psychiatry at Augusta University in Georgia.

Medical school professors and practicing physicians say that every medical student needs rigorous training in the fundamentals of psychiatry during medical school, even those who do not intend to specialize in psychiatry after medical school.

Here are three reasons why experts say it is essential to attend a medical school that offers a comprehensive introduction to psychiatry.

[See data on the global shortage of mental health care providers.]

1. Future doctors should be prepared to treat patients who suffer from a mental illness. Experts say no matter what a medical student's career plans are, he or she will most likely encounter many patients with mental health concerns as a physician. According to statistics from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, nearly a fifth of U.S. adults cope with a mental illness in a given year. Experts say it is difficult to provide this large segment of the U.S population with effective medical care without understanding their psychiatric condition and its impact on their overall health.

"The brain is a complicated organ, and these are complicated diseases that have a major impact on other organs," says Dr. Joe Parks, medical director for the National Council for Behavioral Health and professor at the Missouri Institute of Mental Healthat University of Missouri--St. Louis.

Parks says that training in psychiatry is particularly important for medical students who plan to focus on primary care or internal medicine. "Psychiatric illnesses are the most common illnesses that a general practitioner runs into," Parks says. "They are the most common cause of disability."

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Parks says that all medical students should have at least six weeks of clinical rotations in psychiatry and ideally eight weeks. "Choose medical schools that have longer psych rotations," he says. "Four weeks is not adequate."

[Ask about a medical school's wellness curriculum during admissions interviews.]

2. Psychiatry offers important lessons on how doctors can establish strong relationships with patients. Experts say that clinical training in psychiatry teaches medical students how to empathize with patients even when they are being difficult, which is a transferable skill that medical students can apply throughout their careers as doctors.

"At the core of all medicine, no matter what specialty you are dealing with is the patient -- the person," says Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, a professor of psychiatry and chair of the psychiatry department at Columbia University. "There needs to be the ability to develop a rapport and a therapeutic relationship with the person."

Lieberman, who is also the psychiatrist-in-chief at New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, says that training in psychiatry is one of the best ways for medical students to learn how to communicate effectively with their patients. "It'll help you no matter what you do," he says.

Kaylor of Augusta University says psychiatry requires doctors to relate to patients on a personal level. "It offers a much deeper connection to people and what's meaningful to them than some other specialties."

[Explore how medical school education is changing.]

3. Psychiatrists are in demand. According to a 2016 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges, there is a severe shortage of psychiatrists in the U.S. The report showed that 2,800 additional psychiatrists are needed to fulfill the current level of demand for mental health services.

Because of this national shortage, there are often more seats in psychiatry residency programs than there are applicants for those programs, except for elite psychiatry residency programs, Lieberman says. This means that a medical student who opts to specialize in psychiatry has a higher chance of matching with a residency program than if he or she chose a different specialty, he says.

Another benefit of studying psychiatry during medical school and setting the stage for a psychiatry career, experts say, is that there are an abundant number of jobs in this field.

"One pleasant surprise about psychiatry is that the job market is unbelievable," says Dr. Edward Zawadzki, a private practice psychiatrist in South Florida. "You can pick up and go anywhere in the country and get a respectable job."

Searching for a medical school? Get our complete rankings of Best Medical Schools.

Ilana Kowarski covers graduate schools for U.S. News. You can reach her via email at ikowarski@usnews.com.
A school, a mosque, a crowded civilian neighborhood. Those are targets that the United States armed forces stand accused of attacking in Syria and Iraq in less than one week in March.

The civilian death toll from American airstrikes in Iraq and Syria is at an all time high since the launch of an international military campaign against the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014, according to monitoring groups. The spike in reports of civilian deaths is raising questions about whether the Trump administration has loosened the rules of engagement governing U.S. forces in the region.

In the month of March so far, U.S.-led coalition airstrikes resulted in 110 separate incidents of reported civilian casualties, allegedly killing more than 1,200 people, according to Airwars, an organization tracking airstrikes. That number is already triple the previous high posted in January of this year. In January and February, the coalition surpassed Russia - whose forces have launched relentless airstrikes in parts of Syria - in the number of civilians killed, Airwars found.

The deadliest of the alleged attacks was in Iraqi city of Mosul on March 17, in which as many as 200 people died. The U.S.-led military coalition fighting ISIS acknowledged on Saturday that it launched an airstrike in the same location on the same day as the lethal blast. In a statement, the coalition said the attack targeted ISIS fighters and equipment. The Iraqi military blamed the deaths instead on booby traps laid by ISIS fighters. Iraqi military officials however say the coalition has stepped up air strikes in support of the Iraqi ground campaign. The U.S. military is investigating the incident.

Read More: The U.S. Troop Presence in Syria Is at Its Highest Ever. But How Long Are They on the Ground for and Why?

In a statement released on Sunday, Centcom commander Gen. Joseph Votel said, The death of innocent civilians in Mosul is a terrible tragedy. We are investigating the incident to determine exactly what happened and will continue to take extraordinary measure to avoid harming civilians.

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The surge in reported civilian deaths spans the region. In Syria, the U.S. acknowledged an airstrike on a mosque complex outside of Aleppo that killed a reported 46 people on March 16, saying the attack intended to hit a nearby building where members of a jihadist group were meeting. According to Syrian human rights groups, another strike hit a school where displaced families had taken shelter outside the ISIS-held city of Raqqa, killing at least 33 people on March 22. In Yemen, U.S. forces launched more airstrikes in one week than in any single year under the Obama administration.

The recent killings coincide with an escalation in the fighting on the ground in the Iraqi city of Mosul, where Iraqi troops are battling through densely populated neighborhoods in a final push to oust ISIS from the city. The close-quarters combat could partly explain the increase in civilian deaths.

The sheer number of allegations this month is something weve never seen. But again, that may equally be connected to the west Mosul campaign. Its not clear to us that we wouldnt have seen these same levels and fatalities under Obama, says Chris Woods, the head of Airwars.

The allegations come as the ground war against ISIS reaches a crescendo. American-backed Iraqi troops are battling their way through the last neighborhoods under ISIS control in Mosul, a city of more than a million people that the militant group ruled for more than two years following its sweep across Iraq in the summer of 2014. Intense street-to-street fighting in the western section of Mosul raised concern about the estimated half a million people trapped in the area.

In Syria, U.S.-backed militias are approaching the city of Raqqa, the presumed capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic State. The U.S. recently sent Marine artillery to Syria in order to support the militia fighters on the ground there. However, U.S. forces are relying on militia fighters for targeting information, raising further concerns about civilian casualties in the expected battle for the city.

As presidential candidate, Trump vowed to accelerate the war on ISIS launched by President Obama in 2014. Speaking at a campaign rally in November 2015, he famously declared, I would bomb the sh-t out of em, referring to oil infrastructure taken over by ISIS. He later suggested the U.S. should kill the families of terrorists. Since taking office, his administration has intensified the use of force in conflicts across the Middle East, nearly doubling the number of U.S. troops in Syria and expanding American operations in Yemen.

The increase in civilian deaths is also raising concerns that the military campaign against ISIS could inadvertently alienate the public in areas reclaimed from the jihadists control, sowing the seeds for militancy even after ISIS is defeated. Experts say ISISs sophisticated social media operations could amplify the political fallout of any civilian killings.

If youre doing a lot of damage to civilians, ISIS is going to be able to shape the message, external to Raqqa or external to Mosul, or wherever it is, says Lt. Col. Jay Morse, a retired U.S. Army judge advocate, who is now with the Center for Civilians in Conflict, in an interview with TIME. And now you increase the likelihood that youre going to fight this exact same fight in another city on another day.

This article was originally published on TIME.com
By Patrick Markey MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Perched in bombed-out apartments overlooking west Mosul, Iraqi police snipers have in the last few days advanced to within a few hundred metres of the mosque where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr alBaghdadi declared his caliphate nearly three years ago. Through holes knocked in walls, troops have a clear view of the al Nuri mosque's crooked, brown minaret and Islamic State's black flag on its white tip -- a hugely symbolic target in the battle to recapture Mosul now in its sixth month. Al Nuri maybe tantalising close, but risky close-quarters fighting in the narrow alleys of Mosul's Old City near the mosque and reports of huge casualties after an air strike are forcing Iraqi and coalition commanders to change tactics. Eyewitness from Western Mosul's al-Jadida district and Iraqi officials this week said a coalition air strike a week ago on IS targets may have collapsed homes where rescue officials say as many as 200 people were buried in the rubble. Conflicting accounts are emerging. But if confirmed, it would be one of the worst massacres since the 2003 U.S. invasion as Iraq's Shi'ite-led government tries to avoid alienating Mosul's mostly Sunni population. Already the battle around the Old City had slowed, forcing Iraqi forces and coalition allies to rethink how to push through tight, densely populated streets, where fleeing residents say they are used by militants as cover. "We know that once the mosque falls this is the end of the Caliphate," said Staff Sgt Hassan, a Federal police sniper watching the maze of houses below. "But first we're trying to protect families coming out." Recapturing Mosul will deliver a major blow to Islamic State as preparations increase to retake its main base in Raqqa, Syria. Iraqi special forces, federal police, Kurdish forces and Shi'ite militias surround militants in Mosul, cutting off routes to Syria. Backed by U.S.-led coalition air strikes and advisors, counter terrorism troops (CTS) captured eastern Mosul by January. Since then, CTS, federal police and rapid response brigades have pushed through about half of the west. In Islamic State-held areas, residents describe well-prepared militants who stayed behind. Some are foreign, some Iraqi. They force residents to leave their homes, breaking down walls to make tunnels. They make families retreat with them or herd them into buildings from which fighters fire on troops. "They drive around on motorbikes looking for high positions on buildings, and they have tunnels between the homes," said Walid, a resident who fled from near the Old City. "I saw one Russian, by his accent, he spoke only some Arabic." Even in retreat, militants are still dangerous. Two suicide bombers in an armoured bulldozer ploughed through military barricades two weeks ago, detonating the huge explosive-laden vehicle to destroy Humvees and Abrams tanks at one post. But the U.S.-led coalition say it has degraded Islamic State weaponry, jamming small drones they use to drop munitions, cratering roads where commanders suspect suicide bombers will speed into army positions, and targeting mortar crews. ANCIENT ALLEYS In recent battles around the Old City, troops describe tough, street-by-street fighting in wrecked buildings, where narrow alleys are often cleared by grenades. Streets are blocked by earth barricades manned by tank crews and troops with shoulder-fired rockets to stop suicide attackers. Next comes Mosul's Old City, whose origins date back to the Assyrian empire and whose alleys, streets and ancient fortress walls reflect Roman, Ottoman and Persian conquests. Even people born there say they sometimes get lost. "We sometimes don't see the enemy face to face," said Abu Taib, a federal police officer draped in ammunition. "In the smaller alleys, we don't even go in, it's too dangerous. Sometimes we surprise them, sometimes they surprise us." That kind of terrain, and the risk of more civilian casualties prompted a rethink of tactics as Iraqi forces push to finish the Mosul campaign. U.S. Army Brigadier General John Richardson, a commander from the U.S.-led coalition, said Iraqi forces were considering isolating the Old City rather than fighting through it while opening up a second front to split militant ranks and clear the rest of Mosul. "They know the old city is the centre of gravity and they know they are going to have to eventually go in clear it. The mosque is symbolic," he said. "They have run into some tougher resistance, but it's the terrain rather than the enemy." Federal police and Iraqi army sources also say initial plans are for the military to seal off the Old City and to evacuate civilians to allow U.S.-trained CTS special forces to take a larger role in carrying out incursions inside. Bringing the 9th Army division in from the north would also force Islamic State to fight on two fronts and draw fighters away from the Old City, where commanders fear civilian casualties may undermine security and fan the sectarian tensions that helped Islamic State thrive. HALT AIR STRIKES The Jadida incident is already complicating the campaign. Rescue workers are still searching the site of the March 17 explosion, where one health official said 160 bodies had been recovered. Iraq's military says 61 bodies have been pulled out so far. Eyewitnesses describe a massive explosion that collapsed buildings and buried residents inside. But what caused the blast is unclear. The U.S.-led coalition said it carried out a strike on IS targets in the area but is still investigating. Iraq's military said Islamic State boobytrapped a building packed with civilians and fired from it to draw an air strike. But it said there was no sign an air strike hit the collapsed building. Other eyewitnesses say an air strike may have hit a truck bomb, which exploded and destroyed nearby buildings. Already Sunni lawmakers are questioning the campaign. Iraqi Parliament speaker Salim al-Jabouri told al-Arabiya television that more civilian casualties could result in a halt to operations until a way to protect residents is found. "The international community should step in and save Mosul from blind air strikes," Mosul lawmaker Faris al-Sanjari told Reuters. "You can't kill dozens of civilians just to kill one Islamic State sniper." (Additional Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; editing by Giles Elgood)
By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Mar 27 (PTI) Describing US President Donald Trump as "a man of action", Vice President Mike Pence today said that for the first time "in a long time" the White House has been occupied by a person who will stand by its allies.

"Hes a man of action," Pence said in his address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference.

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"For the first time in a long time, America has a president who will stand with our allies and stand up to our enemies. Under President Donald Trump, if the world knows nothing else, the world will know this; America stands with Israel," Pence said amidst applause from the audience.

Trump stand with Israel "because its cause is Americas cause", he said, adding that the US was considering moving its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. The move will signal Americas recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

"After decades of simply talking about it, the president of the United States is giving serious consideration to moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem," he said.

Pence said Trump is "invested" in finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A few weeks ago he had sent Jason Greenblatt, his special representative for international negotiations, to Israel and the Palestinian territories "to bring a message that President Trump is committed to forging a lasting peace in the Middle East."

However, he said, Trump will "never compromise the safety and security of the Jewish State of Israel." "And together, we will confront those enemies who threaten our people and all that we hold dear," he added.

Pence also said that the US will hunt down and destroy the Islamic State "at its source".

"Just last week in London, in the shadow of Parliament, radical Islamic terrorism reared its ugly head, claiming the lives of innocent civilians, including an American. At this very moment, our administration is crafting plans to defeat radical Islamic terrorism so it can no longer bring violence to our enemies or inspire violence here at home," Pence said.

"And let me be clear. President Trump is working with our military, we will hunt down and destroy ISIS at its source so it can no longer threaten our people, our allies or our most cherished ally, Israel," he said.

Pence said this administration has put Iran on notice.

America, he said, will no longer tolerate Irans efforts to destabilise the region and jeopardise Israels security.

"The Ayatollahs in Tehran openly admit their desire to wipe Israel off the map and drive its people into the sea. For decades, Iran has funnelled weapons and cash to terrorists in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip," he said.

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"Theyve gone to great lengths to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Due to the disastrous end of nuclear-related sanctions under the Iran deal, they now have additional resources to devote to sowing chaos and imperilling Israel," Pence said.

"So let me be clear. Under President Donald Trump, the United States of America will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. This is our solemn promise to you, to Israel and to the world," he told the predominately Jewish audience. PTI LKJ ABH

--- ENDS ---
Variety reports that Colin Farrell could be set to join the live-action remake of Disney's classic animation, expected to start filming soon with Tim Burton in the director's chair and Danny DeVito and Eva Green also on the cast. Given the current success of Disney's live-action "Beauty and the Beast," in theaters now, casting decisions will no doubt be crucial for "Dumbo."

Filming on Disney's "Dumbo" is expected to start soon with Tim Burton lined up to direct. However, the front-of-camera cast is proving a little more problematic. The studio has already been turned down by Tom Hanks, opting for war movie "The Grey Hound" instead, and Will Smith, busy with the third installment of "Bad Boys," as well as Chris Pine and Casey Affleck.

Colin Farrell is now apparently in talks to play the father of the children who make friends with the big-eared baby elephant after seeing him at the circus. This would be the Irish actor's first Tim Burton movie, unlike fellow cast members, Danny DeVito and Eva Green.

"Dumbo" will be the fourth collaboration between Danny DeVito, set to play the circus owner, and filmmaker Tim Burton, following "Batman Returns," "Mars Attacks" and "Big Fish." French actress Eva Green, who plays trapeze artist Colette, previously starred in "Dark Shadows" and Tim Burton's most recent film "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children."

Disney will no doubt pay particular attention to its cast for "Dumbo," a film that will combine live-action scenes with animated sequences. In fact, casting decisions could play a crucial role in the success of the movie, based on the studio's fourth animated classic, released in 1941. Disney certainly got it right when picking Belle in its recent remake of "Beauty and the Beast." Actress Emma Watson, even turned down "La La Land" to take the lead role in Disney's film. Released March 17 in the USA, "Beauty and the Beast" has already grossed $700M worldwide, easily taking the top spot in the global box-office ranking for 2017.

Disney can also count on the directorial expertise of Tim Burton to seal the movie's success. The filmmaker's live-action adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland" grossed more than $1 billion for the studio in 2010.
Photo credit: NIST

From Popular Mechanics

There is an elegant, simple, and entirely accurate way to define the second. A second is 1/86,400 of the time that it takes the Earth to rotate once on its axis. With 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes per hour, and 60 seconds per minute, there are 86,400 seconds in a day. There has never been a more accurate definition for the second, and there never will be.

If only the real world were so simple.

That clean, mathematical definition has a major problem: The length of a day changes ever so slightly. It can vary year to year based on a number of factors, from the amount of snowfall at the poles to space weather particles hitting our planet. In addition to the random variations, the rotation of the Earth is gradually slowing due to tidal forces from the moon, lengthening our days. The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) corrects for this by deciding when a year will have a leap second. We had one last year.

Over the past few decades, scientists have been trying out ever-more-elaborate ways to define the second as accurately and consistently as possible. The people who do this job for the United States work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, out in Boulder, Colorado. I went there to see how they keep the world running on time.

A Brief History of a Brief Amount of Time

The Persian scholar Al-Biruni first used the term "second" around 1000. He defined it-as well as the day, hour, and minute-as fractions according to the lunar cycle. The first mechanical clocks to mark the second appeared in the 1500s, and in 1644 French mathematician Marin Mersenne used a pendulum to define the second for the first time, leading to the international adoption of grandfather clocks by the end of the 17th century. In the 19th century, scientific institutions worked to define the second in astronomical terms, and in the 1940s an international agreement defined the second as 186,400 of a mean solar day.

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It was in the 1950s, however, that researchers recognized the Earth's rotation is not consistent enough to provide a standard unit of time. Instead, the second was redefined according to the length of a year, and officially became the fraction 131,556,925.9747 of the year 1900. The definition would not endure.

Around the same time, the first accurate atomic clocks were being developed that used cesium. Finally, here was a natural phenomenon precise and consistent enough to define a second. In 1967, the Thirteenth General Conference of the International Committee for Weights and Measures officially defined the second as "the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom." And that has remained the official definition ever since.

America's Top Time Lab

Photo credit: Jay Bennett

With the new official definition of a second in place, the problem became one of engineering, chemistry, and physics, as scientists around the world collaborate to build the most consistent clocks ever conceived. In the United States, NIST defines the second, and its measurement is averaged with the measurements of other institutions around the world to create Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC.

NIST uses two primary clocks to measure the second, called the F1 and the F2. These devices are not really clocks at all in the traditional sense, but rather particle physics experiments that are designed to find the specific frequency of electromagnetic radiation that causes a cesium atom's outer electron to transition. That frequency is exactly 9,192,631,770 hertz, and it falls into the microwave range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

"It's about four times the frequency your microwave oven runs at," says NIST physicist Steve Jefferts, lead designer of the F1 and F2, and the clock guru who makes the calibrations to define time in America.

The only major difference between the clocks is that F2 is newer and its chamber is encased in a liquid nitrogen container to cool the system, which decreases background interference and makes the clock more accurate. Interestingly enough, NIST had already created a model to correct for interference in the F1 clock, and after building F2, they were able to confirm that the calculations they used were correct, effectively making F1 more accurate.

When I visited the NIST labs in Boulder, teams had just finished disassembling and moving the F1 cesium fountain clock to a new building. F2 will be moved next, once they get F1 back up and running. I found Jefferts tinkering with F1, "in the middle of a huge tune-up."

He had taken the entire fountain chamber, which weighs around 600 pounds, off the optics table and disassembled it to replace internal components. When he put it back on, all the precisely aligned mirrors and glass instruments bolted to the optics table needed to be readjusted, which he had been working on for the past three days. Wrench sets, pliers, wire cutters and optical instruments were scattered over the tables.

Photo credit: Jay Bennett

"Give me a minute to safe up the room," Jefferts said after he popped out from behind a blacked-out doorway to the lab. "There are lasers on in here, dangerous ones."

Large red lamps line the hallways of NIST outside each lab door, and when they are on, it means that lasers are on inside the rooms and eye protection is required. Almost all of the red lamps were switched on when I visited the facility. Horologists, those who study and measure time, were busy tinkering with atomic clocks and taking measurements.

A Clock Made of Microwave Lasers

Ask Jefferts to explain how the clock works, and it's not long before the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics become part of the conversation.

The F1 and F2 clocks doesn't count seconds, he says. They measure masers, which are microwave lasers, to find a signal that is exactly 9,192,631,770 Hz. At roughly 9.2 billion cycles per second, the frequency of that maser can then be used to measure the second according to its official definition. The problem is that even though you can get exactly 9,192,631,770 Hz dialed in, it will "drift" over time, so the clocks need to be calibrated constantly.

The calibration is done with the alkali metal cesium. A cesium atom has one electron orbiting its nucleus in the highest energy level, all by itself. This lone outer electron is either "spin up" or "spin down," which refers to a quantum measurement of the electron's angular momentum. This spin produces a magnetic field, and the magnetic field is either aligned with the magnetic field of the atom's nucleus, or it's not. A maser that is exactly 9,192,631,770 Hz will force that outer electron to transition from spin up to spin down, or vice versa.

"Give me a minute to safe up the room. There are lasers on in here, dangerous ones."

So here's what's going on. A gaseous ball of about 10 million cesium atoms is released into the bottom of a cylindrical vacuum chamber, which is the "fountain." The chamber has four layers of magnetic shielding, and on the F2, the liquid nitrogen casing keeps temperatures around the entire system steady at about 80 Kelvin, or -193 degrees Celsius.

Lasers are used to slow and cool the atoms to near absolute zero, and then more lasers are used to elevate the ball of cesium up the chamber. As a result, all of the atoms' outer electrons are aligned according to their nuclei. The ball of cesium passes through the maser at the top of the chamber. If calibrated to exactly 9,192,631,770 Hz, the maser will force every single one of the atoms' outer electrons to transition. The ball of atoms then settles back down to the bottom of the chamber and additional lasers are used to measure them, checking to see how many transitioned.

"Okay, I just lied to you," says Jefferts after I finally start to grasp the concept.

The problem is that if you measure 10 million cesium atoms and all but three transition, you know the maser frequency is ever-so-slightly off, but you don't know if it is too high or too low. So Jefferts intentionally calibrates the maser at a frequency that's too high and one that's too low. When he has the two measurements equal, he can calculate the average frequency to land on 9,192,631,770 hertz.

That maser, running through a cable, is then preserved in a high-tech temperature and pressure vessel-a converted egg incubation chamber. The measurement is then used to evaluate a suite of commercial atomic clocks, also stored in egg incubation chambers, and give them a weighted grade. The time of the commercial clocks is averaged, according to their weighted grade, and that sets the official civilian time for the United States. Simple right?

The Uncertain Future of Time

So 2016 had a leap second. But unlike leap years, leap seconds are not predictable in advance. Climate change, which will send ice at the poles to the equator as water, will make the inconsistencies in Earth's rotation even more pronounced.

Continuing to correct for these changes with leap seconds is a controversial issue. The leap second is expensive for computing and financial institutions, which must account for it in calculations and modifications, so many people think we should simply let leap seconds accumulate until we have a full leap minute, then make the adjustment. Jefferts, however, is in agreement with most astronomers and thinks we should keep the leap second.

"I'm certainly in the minority around here from that point of view. I'm a sailor, and many years ago I taught celestial navigation, and so I sort of have this very personal linkage idea that, dammit, the sun should be overhead on the 21st of March or the 20th of March [the spring equinox] at noon at Greenwich... We should not be accumulating leap seconds so that that is no longer true."

Photo credit: Jay Bennett

Leap seconds are far from the only ongoing uncertainty about time. The current definition of a second, 9,192,631,770 periods of a maser that will cause cesium to transition, isn't perfect. For one thing, the duration of a second, as currently defined, is slightly different at altitude compared to sea level due to general relativity, so corrections need to be made. There's also the more fundamental problem that our current measurement is not exactly 186,400 of a day. It could be more accurate, and as a matter of fact, we have clocks that are more accurate.

These optical clocks, as they are called, work similarly to cesium fountain clocks. However, instead of levitating a ball atoms, they simply trap those atoms in place in a chamber with a system of lasers and then use one specific laser to cause them to transition. The difference is in the frequency. A laser in the visible spectrum has a frequency that is around ten thousand times higher than the 9,192,631,770 Hz maser. A definition for the second based on an optical clock would therefore be counted as some 90 trillion periods of radiation, sometimes called "ticks," rather than 9 billion, as it is now.

The problem is no one can agree on which atoms are the best ones to use.

"Here in Boulder, if you walk over to JILA, Jun Ye will tell you that strontium is obviously the right atom to replace cesium with," says Jefferts. "And if you walk down to the end of the hall here, those guys will tell you ytterbium is absolutely the right atom. And then if you walk to the hall over there, those guys will be like no it's aluminum ions. Unless of course you go to the room next door, at which point it's mercury ions, I'll tell you it's mercury ions!"

Photo credit: NIST

Additionally, lawmakers, who Jefferts says often have trouble grasping the definition of the second in the first place, are unlikely to change the standard unless they have a practical reason. If there is a financial incentive, or a need to make computers more accurate, for example, the official definition of a second could be changed to an optical clock measurement. But whether that will happen in our lifetimes is unknown.

Until then, like Jefferts, you might just want to memorize the number 9,192,631,770, lest you lose track of the time.

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Its not hard to start an argument these days in Washington. President Donald Trumps newly released budget will surely spark thousands of them, as analysts, partisans, Big Bird, and eventually members of Congress debate both sides of every issue. But there are some things to which most reasonable people can and should agree. Chief among these is that the United States has a long-standing and continuing interest in preventing countries and terrorists from building nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, the only way to interpret Trumps proposed budget cuts for the State Department and the international programs they fund is that he couldnt care less.

One of the critical investments the State Department makes is funding our obligations, and then some, to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a U.N.affiliated agency the United States helped create in 1957. Yes, you heard a lot about the IAEA during the Iran nuclear agreement debate. You may also remember them from the lead up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when they correctly stated Iraq had no nuclear program  warnings ignored by the previous GOP administration.

Regardless of what you may have heard about the United Nations or the IAEA itself, the agency may be the greatest national security bargain the United States has. As the old cliche goes, if we didnt have it, we have to invent it. Washington provides a significant percentage of the IAEAs annual budget and, on top of that, additional resources known as voluntary contributions. This money ensures that the IAEA can handle its current responsibilities by having the tools, people, skills, and resources needed to do its job  which is, to put it bluntly, to help keep us and other countries safe and enable all to benefit from the peaceful benefits of nuclear technology.

So in plain English, what does that mean? IAEA inspectors are on the ground in Iran monitoring that Tehran fully complies with its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It helps monitor nuclear materials in over 50 countries to deter diversion and to certify that none have been syphoned off for illicit weapon programs. It helps ensure the safety of nuclear facilities all over the world. Its increasingly on the front lines of preventing terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons. Oh, and its also part of the fight against the Zika virus and other deadly insect-borne diseases (they nuke male insects so they cant breed, poor guys).

In the face of these critical assignments, the Trump-proposed budget comes along and guts funding. Or, to put it a bit more generously, the White House is saying, Sure, we know, it all seems important but our resources are not unlimited and somebody else will have to pick up the slack.

If these efforts were costing us billions of dollars every year and came at the expense of maintaining a modern military, keeping our air and water clean, taking care of our veterans, they might have a point. The United States has to prioritize, but the sum total of our investment in the IAEA is less than $200 million per year  about half in dues and another half in voluntary contributions. Thats million with an m. By ignoring the IAEA experts, George W. Bushs invasion of Iraq cost thousands of lives and trillions of dollars. Pick your expenditure of choice and see whether there is a better bargain anywhere?

Or look at it another way: If Trump were to cut back the proposed Mexican border wall by just 30 miles, he could fund the IAEA for a year. Each new B-21 bomber is going to cost over $500 million, enough to fund the IAEA for more than 2 years.

A closer look at what the IAEA does helps make clear why this approach is short sighted, risks our security, and should be rejected by even a thrifty Congress. Lets look at what we get for this modest investment:

Inspecting every nook and cranny in Iran. Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, IAEA safeguards inspectors have unprecedented and invasive access to Irans nuclear infrastructure, including anytime-anywhere visits to clarify doubts or questions about Irans declarations or behavior. This visibility goes beyond anything Washington could gain based only on our national technical means, i.e., intelligence assets. When the IAEA declares Iran to be in compliance with their nuclear commitments under the deal, we can have confidence in that statement; should the IAEA find Iran is not in compliance, that statement provides confidence to other countries and audiences that a unilateral claim by the United States under President Trump would not.

Knowing peaceful nuclear activities are, in fact peaceful. Roughly 400 nuclear power plants, research reactors, and fuel-cycle facilities are located in scores of countries around the world, utilizing tons of uranium, plutonium, and other nuclear materials each year. But little sleep is lost over their proliferation potential because the IAEA employs what amounts to an atomic accounting department that keeps track of every fuel rod and every barrel of nuclear material. It is this level of knowledge and expertise that allows nuclear power plants to run, and for nuclear medicine to treat cancers all over the world. Without the IAEA providing this service, nuclear commerce and the peaceful benefits of nuclear power would come to a crashing halt, and cheaters could create weapons programs unchecked and likely undetected.

Keeping nukes out of terrorist hands. The IAEA develops and promotes guidelines for how to protect the materials terror groups need if they intend to go nuclear  and it sends expert teams when asked to judge how well those guidelines are being implemented. Last year, it conducted seven so-called International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) missions, and 11 countries have requested IPPAS missions for the coming year. The IAEA maintains the global database for information about lost and stolen nuclear materials, which could make their way to terrorists. Last year, over 180 incidents were reported to the IAEA, 14 of which involved theft of nuclear material or radiological sources that were then offered for sale. Many of these incidents would not otherwise be known to the United States.

Preventing the next Fukushima. The IAEA develops and publishes nuclear safety standards and codes of conduct that states can apply to the construction and operation of their own nuclear facilities to minimize accidents and the potential for nuclear contamination. Since an accident anywhere is an accident everywhere, the United States benefits from safe operation of nuclear facilities all over the world.

Applying the atom to development. The IAEA helps the developing world use nuclear technology to improve crop yields, sterilize food, treat illness, purify water, all of which help lift communities out of poverty and reduce risks of conflict. The IAEA is developing techniques to reduce populations of the mosquitos that carry the Zika virus, and provided nuclear tools to diagnose Ebola. These contributions protect us against the spread of deadly infectious diseases.

Expanding clean energy. The IAEA is creating a fuel bank of low-enriched uranium to serve as a back-up supply to the global market for nuclear fuel. This insurance policy reduces the demand for new enrichment plants and the spread of technology that could be misused to make material for nuclear weapons, even as it supports growth of nuclear energy.

These are just a few examples to illustrate how the Trump team fails to understand the full nature of the threats facing America  and how programs developed over decades of careful investments and political commitment help make America safe. Yes, it takes money  but its a great bargain at the price. These programs are, in large part, why America is (or has been) looked to by the majority of countries for leadership and stability. Since the end of World War II, Washington has gone the extra mile and made the extra investment both because it makes the world safe and because it makes American prosperity and leadership possible. Without these investments, American wont be great or first for long.

Photo credit: SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP/Getty Images
Whatever his staff might say, however much the White House finger may be pointed at Speaker Paul Ryan, it is President Donald Trump who is the biggest loser in the Republican failure to bring Obamacare repeal to a vote in the House of Representatives. Trump promised Americas voters that he would rid them of Obamacare. He asserted that only he, as an outsider, had the ability to negotiate a replacement for the health care program. He has failed, at least for now, and his credibility has taken a major jolt.

Beyond the Obamacare defeat, for that is what it is, the president has yet to make good on his new immigration proposals. A single judge in Washington state stopped his first executive order, and two judges, in Hawaii and Maryland stopped his second. The decision not to have a vote on a replacement for Obamacare renders problematic Trumps ability to bring about tax reform or modernize Americas aging infrastructure, two more of his critical priorities.

The collapse of the Republican effort to reform Obamacare has international ramifications, as well. Though he kept his promise to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), Trump has yet to offer a substitute of any kind. He has thereby opened the door for China to create an alternative trading bloc that excludes the United States. He has yet to declare China a currency manipulator. He has yet to renegotiate NAFTA, or the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. He is unlikely to be moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. And he has yet to explain how he will fund a wall with Mexico, for which that country certainly will not contribute as much as a peso.

Clearly, Trump has a credibility problem that goes far beyond his tweets, which foreign leaders have begun to recognize that they can simply ignore. Whereas until now it appeared that Americas NATO partners were being frightened into spending 2 percent of GDP on defense needs, they may no longer have to do so. The Chinese may feel more confident about maintaining, or even building upon, their aggressive posture in the South China Sea. The Israelis may now look for clever ways to circumvent the presidents admonition not to build more settlements, knowing that their support in Congress  where Trumps influence clearly has taken a blow  will remain as solid as ever. The Russians may surmise that they have little incentive to reach an understanding over Ukraine, Syria, or anywhere else. The Iranians may act on their threat to abandon the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) if, as expected Congress passes new sanctions against the Tehran regime. And, most dangerously, the mad Kim Jong Un may conclude that Secretary of State Rex Tillersons threats of military action are baseless, and that he has nothing to fear from an administration that cannot even mobilize its own party in Congress to pass the presidents high-priority legislation.

The House non-vote also has serious ramifications for the administrations national security budget proposals. The administrations budget reflected the presidents priorities: it called for a $25 billion increase in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget and a $54 billion increase in the Fiscal Year 2018 national security budget, of which $52 billion was allocated to the Department of Defense, while reducing the budgets of dozens of domestic programs. Congressional opposition to the presidents proposals, emanating from some Republicans as well as Democrats, was mounting even before the Obamacare debacle. In its aftermath, there will be more resistance to the domestic program cuts, which in turn will mean either that the defense budget be reduced, or that the sequester be lifted. The latter prospect has just become more difficult, meaning that the presidents promises to bolster Americas forces also may ring hollow. Should that be the case, it will fuel international cynicism about the presidents ability to deliver on his promises.

Congressional inaction on Obamacare was clearly a defeat for the president, but having only been in office less than 100 days, he certainly has time to recover. There question is whether he, or his advisors, will recognize that blaming the speaker of the House is not the solution, and that the true art of the deal, is to tone down the rhetoric and begin to find real ways to find common ground with the Congress, including moderate Democrats, at least insofar as international security is concerned. This will not be an easy transformation for President Trump. Nevertheless, unless he stops reveling in his outsider image, his fate will be that of that other outsider president  Jimmy Carter, whose record in the White House was nothing short of dismal. It is a prospect that the president and his aides surely will wish to avoid at all costs.

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After a zeitgeist-defining freshman season that arrived smack dab in the middle of the McConaissance, general consensus is that True Detective kind of went off the rails in Season 2, and HBO has yet to greenlight Nic Pizzolatto's buzzy anthology series for Season 3.

But a third outing is inching closer to reality, according to EW, which reports that Emmy-winning writer-producer David Milch (creator of Deadwood and NYPD Blue) "is coming on board to work with Pizzolatto."

Pizzolatto, who created the show and has written every episode so far (sharing co-writing credit with Scott Lasser for two episodes in Season 2), has reportedly finished the first two scripts for a prospective third season.

SEE ALSO: Matthew McConaughey did not disappoint in bizarre graduation speech

While the show hasn't been officially renewed yet, HBO boss Casey Bloys told reporters that the network was still very much interested in continuing the series during the Television Critics Association summer press tour last July  although at the time, he noted that Pizzolatto hadn't settled on a new story idea yet.

"It is not dead. Ive talked to Nic about it, and I think both Nic and HBO, were open to a third season," Bloys said. "I think its fair to say I dont think Nic has a take. He is working on some other projects. But were open to somebody else writing it, with Nic supervising it ... its a really valuable franchise for us. I think both seasons averaged about 11 million viewers an episode. So not dead, just Im not sure we have the right take for a third season yet."

SEE ALSO: Everyone is loving Reese Witherspoon on 'Big Little Lies' and its about damn time

There's no word on the extent of Milch's involvement, and HBO declined to comment on EW's report, but it's worth noting that True Detective was Pizzolatto's first foray into running a series, while Milch has decades of producing experience under his belt, including creating three shows for HBO: Deadwood, John from Cincinnati and Luck, although the latter two were both canceled after one season.

Still, a rookie could find a worse partner to hit the mean streets with than the man best known for gritty crime dramas and prestige HBO fare  and their collaboration might hold us over until Milch can get his long-awaited Deadwood revival back on track.

WATCH: Ed Sheeran is set to make a tour stop in Westeros
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Justice has been served for a poor dog found with her muzzle brutally bound with electrical tape after her abuser was sentenced to five years in prison  South Carolina's maximum for animal cruelty.

Read: Dog Found With Muzzle Taped Shut is Given the Best Day Ever After Her Amazing Recovery

William Dodson, 43, of North Charleston, was convicted Sunday of animal cruelty against Caitlyn, an American Staffordshire bull terrier mix that captured the hearts of millions after she was discovered severely abused in 2015.

Dodson was also given a 15-year sentence the day before on a gun charge. Prosecutors said he tossed a loaded pistol, cocaine and marijuana as he fled from North Charleston police. He will serve the two sentences simultaneously under a plea agreement, according to The Associated Press.

"This is as good as it gets us. Five years is the maximum possible penalty for felony animal cruelty in South Carolina," Charleston Animal Societys Aldwin Roman, whose organization was responsible for the rescue of Caitlyn, said in a press conference. "This is a violent crime, theres no way around it, and if its not considered one, thats just ridiculous."

It was while Dodson was free on bail from his previous charge when he had Caitlyn chained up. Her muzzle was wrapped with electrical tape to prevent her from barking, and it had cut off blood flow to her tongue, leaving her in critical condition.

It took the Charleston Animal Society 36 hours to free the pup, and she then endured multiple surgeries to have part of her tongue removed and left her snout permanently scarred.

Caitlyn is now in great shape, despite the visible scars and emotional trauma.

Read: Detectives Rescue Dog From Suspected Fighting Ring, Seize Guns From Scene

Shortly after she recovered from her wounds, Barkbox treated her to the best day ever to celebrate her comeback, where she visited a firehouse and met the North Charleston mayor.

Story continues

Caitlyn is every dog. Every dog whos been abused, neglected, shes like the face for other dogs," said Charleston Animal Societys Kay Hyman, in a video captured by Barkbox. "And because of her bravery and her survival, I think thats why Caitlyn deserves a dogs best day."

The Charleston Animal Society also began Caitlyns Anti-Cruelty Fund a year after she was rescued to rescue other animals that are tortured or abused and help them recover.

To donate to the charity, visit their website.

Watch: Humane Society Offers Nearly $50,000 for Arrest of Suspect Who Tortured Cat That Later Died

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It was just another workday in an office cubicle when, once again, an advertisement interrupted Julia Martin's playlist. "Thanks to you, some woman will get to be poked in the ribs by a tiny little foot. Some woman will get to shop for pants with elastic waistbands -- and be happy about it. Thanks to you, some woman will get to carry her own child. Egg donors make motherhood possible," the voice said. "Women 21 to 31, apply today."

Fat chance, Martin thought. "I stood up, I took my headphones out and said something like, 'I don't know why people would donate eggs,' and the girl in the cubicle next to me stood up said, 'I did that,'" Martin recalls. "It was like a foot-in-mouth moment."

That was about two years -- and a very different mindset -- ago. Today, Martin is such a proponent of egg donation that not only has she gone through the process twice, she also took a job at Shady Grove Fertility in Rockville, Maryland, educating potential donors about the process. "[Donating my eggs was] the most special I've ever felt ... in adulthood," says Martin, 24, whose name has been changed in this story since she donated her eggs through Shady Grove's anonymous program before joining its staff. "It makes an impact on who you are as person. It fundamentally shaped me."

Egg donation is a medical process that spurs young, healthy women's ovaries to produce extra eggs, which are then retrieved and made available to other women struggling with infertility. While women can donate eggs to a friend or a family member, women like Martin are typically recruited by fertility clinics or egg donation agencies to join an anonymous donor registry. Couples seeking healthy eggs, then, select a donor whom they'll probably never meet but who will, if all goes well, become their child's biological mom. "You're giving away something that's very precious to these recipients," Martin says. "To them, this is the end of a very long road."

[See: In Vitro Fertilization Grows Up.]

In part because more women are delaying childbearing, which compromises the quality of the eggs but not the uterus, egg donors are in increasingly high demand. While there are no national statistics tracking how many women donate eggs, more seem to be attempting to meet that demand, says Michele Purcell, a registered nurse at Shady Grove Fertility, where about 15,000 women apply to be egg donors each year.

"Before, it was on a much smaller scale," says Purcell, who directs the center's egg freezing, donor egg and gestational carrier programs. "Now, reproductive medicine and reproductive technology and availability are so much more commonplace. Women now are hearing about egg freezing and being able to take control of their own fertility, and they also learn about being able to donate their eggs."

But just because you can doesn't mean you should. Start with these expert tips when deciding whether to become an egg donor:

1. Find out if you're eligible.

Only about 3 percent of the 15,000 women who apply to donate eggs at Shady Grove Fertility wind up doing so. Some are ruled out because they're too old (32 is the cutoff), too far away (the center requires women to be able to travel from home or work to one of their locations in an hour or less), or have too little education. Women who smoke, are obese or who have certain health conditions like some sexually transmitted diseases or cystic fibrosis may not be candidates either. Others rule themselves out once they learn more about what the process entails.

[See: 16 Health Screenings All Women Need.]

2. Know what to expect.

Unlike, say, donating a pile of old clothes to Goodwill, "you can't just walk in and give an egg," Purcell says. Rather, candidates typically fill out lengthy, detailed applications (essays included) and undergo thorough physical and psychological evaluations including blood and genetic tests before being cleared.

If women are accepted and selected (recipients can browse donor photos, hobbies, education, health history and more), the process usually takes a couple of months. During that time, a donor undergoes most of an in vitro fertilization cycle: She first takes birth control to synchronize her menstrual cycle with the recipient's, then gives herself daily injections to spur egg production. The process can be uncomfortable or even painful, can in tensify emotions and requires frequent appointments to monitor progress and at least one invasive procedure during which the eggs are removed. Donors are advised to avoid vigorous exercise, sex and alcohol. "It's not fun and can be very overwhelming," says Dr. Shannon Clark, an OB-GYN and maternal-fetal medicine specialist at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, who went through five cycles of IVF before becoming pregnant as an egg donation recipient.

3. Know the risks.

Pumping your body with fertility drugs and undergoing an invasive procedure under anesthesia come with risks, as do other aspects of egg donation. For instance, there's a 5 percent chance any cycle will overstimulate the ovaries, which can cause blood clots and requires hospitalization, according to Egg Donor America. And, while there's no clear link between egg donation and long-term health risks, the procedure is still too new and poorly tracked to be sure. Don't overlook ethical and psychological considerations either. For instance, do your family members and partner support you becoming a biological parent? "Those are your eggs and genetics; it's a big decision," says Clark, even though becoming an egg donor shouldn't compromise your own fertility. "Make sure you're educated and aware of what you're doing."

4. Shop around.

Not all egg donation "brokers" are created equal. Consider asking your OB-GYN for a referral, and look for a facility whose staff includes medical, legal and psychological experts who take the time to answer all of your questions -- as well as those you didn't know you had -- both initially and throughout the process. Will you have someone to call when you have questions about, say, whether you're taking the right dosage of medication or if your abdominal pain is normal? Ultimately, listen to your gut: You should feel like a person making an important decision -- not a page in a donor egg catalog. "The egg donor should be ... the most important part of the equation," Clark says. "Everything should be in her best interest -- not the woman receiving the egg."

[See: 8 Tips to Ease Gynecologist Appointment Anxieties.]

5. Do it for the right reasons.

While many women may first be lured to egg donation by the financial rewards -- Shady Grove compensates women $14,500 for two cycles, on average; Egg Donor America pays $5,000 to $10,000 per cycle -- that's not reason enough to commit to something you can't take back. What is? An honest and highly informed desire to help women like Clark, whose twins are now six months old. "I was not able to share my genetics with my children, but I did carry them in my body ... which means a lot," she says. "It's made a huge difference in my life."
Minsk (AFP) - More than 100 people in Belarus appeared in court on Monday over protests at the weekend against hardline President Alexander Lukashenko, with dozens of them jailed, including journalists.

The Viasna rights group, whose offices were raided by police during the Saturday protest, said 111 people were sentenced in the capital Minsk for participating in the rally, and 20 others in other Belarusian cities.

By Monday evening at least 40 people had been punished with jail time of between four to 25 days, according to Viasna, with others awaiting trial.

One of those put behind bars for 15 days was journalist Ales Borozenko of an opposition Belarusian channel based in Poland, whose equipment was smashed during the protest.

"Despite statements by the West that political repressions are unacceptable, the authorities are continuing their policy of strangling public protest," said Ales Beliatski, Viasna's director.

Scores of people turned up for a protest Saturday in Minsk, the latest in a series of rallies against a new tax on people working less than six months a year as the country suffers an economic slump.

The government had not sanctioned the rally, with riot police filling the city centre in full force, and some officers patrolling with automatic rifles for the first time in decades.

Police detained more than 1,000 people in Minsk, according to Viasna, which also saw its offices stormed and over 50 people detained for several hours.

Two key opposition figures, Vladimir Nekliayev and Mikola Statkevich, were both detained Saturday before the protest, with Nekliayev still under arrest Monday although he was taken to hospital with high blood pressure.

The European Commission had called for all detained protesters to be "immediately released".

Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, previously cracked down on the opposition following his re-election in 2010, which resulted in sanctions imposed by the European Union.

Most of them were lifted last year after the strongman had released political prisoners and took other steps to appease the west.
The White House said Trump called Prime Minister Modi and congratulated him on his recent electoral success.

By Press Trust of India: US President Donald Trump today called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and congratulated him on his recent electoral success, the White House said.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that Trump congratulated Modi on his success in the assembly polls.

Following the elections held in five states that begun on February 4 and ended on March 9 after polling was rescheduled on some seats, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed the government in four states: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

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It, however, lost Punjab to main rival Congress after the results were announced on March 11.

Anchored mainly by Modi and his aide Amit Shah, the BJP juggernaut rolled on in UP and in the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand, bagging three-fourth majority.

The BJP returned to power in the politically-crucial state of UP after a gap of 15 years during which regional parties such as the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party held sway.

Goa and Manipur had hung assemblies after the polls, but the BJP managed to form the government with the support of other parties.

The elections in the five states had turned into a virtual referendum on Modi's popularity following his decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.

ALSO READ | After UP election, BJP prepares a fresh Dalit-oriented strategy eyeing 2019 polls

Feeling Trump effect here, second hate crime against me in 14 days: Indian attacked in Australia

ALSO WATCH | Post election results: Could BJP's win in Uttar Pradesh impact rest of country?

--- ENDS ---
Dubai (AFP) - Dubai's Emaar Malls has offered $800 million to buy Souq.com, the Middle East's largest online retailer, it said Monday, challenging a reported offer by global giant Amazon.

"Emaar Malls has submitted a bid of $800 million (736 million euros) for Souq.com in line with the strategy to align e-commerce with physical shopping," Emaar Malls said in a statement.

Amazon, which walked away from talks with Souq.com earlier this year, had offered up to $650 million (600 million euros) for the company, according to Bloomberg.

As of Monday Souq.com had not publicly responded to Emaar's offer.

Founded in 2005, the e-commerce site emerged as the highest-valued internet company in the region last year after a funding round raised more than $275 million (250 million euros).

Investors in the site include Standard Chartered Private Equity and the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group.

Souq.com has reported more than 1.5 million sales to customers in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Emaar Malls owns Dubai Mall, one of the world's largest shopping centres.

It is the retail arm of real estate giant Emaar Properties, which is the largest company listed on the Dubai Financial Market and was behind the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)  The Anaheim Ducks spent months hoping to find more consistency on offense, and Ryan Getzlaf is finally rewarding that faith.

Getzlaf had four assists, Andrew Cogliano scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and the Ducks won their fourth straight game by defeating Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers 6-3 on Sunday night.

Patrick Eaves scored two goals, raising his total to six in 13 games since being acquired from Dallas in a trade, as Anaheim moved two points ahead of idle San Jose and Edmonton for first place in the Pacific Division with seven games remaining.

Pairing Eaves, a "pest" in the best sense as Getzlaf described him, with breakout star Rickard Rakell and the rejuvenated captain has given the Ducks the more-balanced offense they had been seeking.

Getzlaf has 20 points in his last 12 games, continuing his outstanding play since the bye week with his seventh career game with at least four assists.

"Obviously, Getzlaf has been the guy that stirs the drink here right now," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.

Said Eaves: "I was hoping for this. Getzy is playing out of his mind right now and just the way he possesses the puck, it makes it really easy to play on his line."

Paired with resurgent special teams  Josh Manson had a short-handed goal and Ryan Kesler scored on the power play  the Ducks looked like a group capable of making a lengthy playoff run.

Jonathan Bernier made 25 saves for the Ducks, who improved to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.

Lundqvist made 28 saves in his first start since suffering a hip injury on March 7, and Brady Skjei, Derek Stepan and Rick Nash each scored for the Rangers. New York could have clinched a playoff spot with a win.

Cogliano alertly raced in to score on a rebound after a faceoff between Kesler and Stepan sent the puck off Lundqvist.

"I was surprised that he was that alone," Lundqvist said. "I should make a better push there. I think that play surprised everyone."

Story continues

Eaves doubled the Ducks' lead 2:04 later, with Nick Ritchie adding an empty-net goal with 1:38 remaining.

Despite getting goals on odd-man rushes from Nash and Stepan early on, the Rangers found themselves conceding and creating too many chances for the surging Ducks. That forced Lundqvist to catch up to game speed earlier than his teammates wanted.

"We wanted Hank to come in hitting on all cylinders and I don't think we were all that sharp in front of him," said Stepan, who scored for the second straight game. "But we still had a chance."

Lundqvist said he felt fine after missing seven games before serving as Antti Raanta's backup against Los Angeles on Saturday. It looked that way as Lundqvist stretched out to deny a shot from a hard-charging Corey Perry at the start of the third, only to give up goals to Cogliano and Eaves a few minutes later.

"We made some mistakes where they cashed in," Lundqvist said. "I felt pretty good at the start of the game and then that second goal and, I think, the fifth goal, some tough bounces against a good team."

The Ducks even found a goal from their beleaguered power play, breaking out of an 0-for-16 funk when Kesler tipped in Sami Vatanen's cannon blast of a slap shot in the first. The play stood as first called after a video review showed Kesler holding the stick at his shoulders, good enough for his team-leading eighth power-play goal.

"With the way my luck's been going, I thought it for sure was getting called back," Kesler said.

NOTES: Ducks D Cam Fowler had two assists in the first, good for his seventh multipoint game this season. ... Rangers C Mika Zibanejad recorded two assists, giving him five over his last three games. ... The Rangers scratched D Dan Girardi, who had missed 12 games with ankle injury before returning to play 20:03 with an assist against the Kings.

UP NEXT

Rangers: at San Jose on Tuesday night.

Ducks: at Vancouver on Tuesday night.
TOKYO (Reuters) - An avalanche in central Japan on Monday killed seven high school students and a teacher who were among a group of almost 50 on mountain climbing training, police said. The avalanche swept down the hillside at around 8.30 a.m. near a ski slope in Nasu, 160 km (100 miles) north of Tokyo, where 40 high school students, accompanied by eight teachers, were climbing, a local government official said. Thirty-eight of the group were injured and two were in critical condition, the official said, adding that there had been no fatal avalanches in the region for at least three years. "We have avalanche incidents once or twice a year around here, but haven't had anything this big," a fire department official said. An avalanche warning from a local meteorological observatory was in place for the area at the time of the accident. A separate local government official said thee would be an investigation into why the group was climbing during an avalanche alert. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Nick Macfie)
BERLIN  This month, relations between Turkey and the two countries home to the bulk of Turkeys European diaspora, Germany and the Netherlands, publicly exploded in a fit of acrimony and insults. But the dispute was playing out on two levels, only one of which was immediately apparent. As impossible as it was to ignore Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans repeated accusations of Nazi practices by Europe, it was easy to overlook the history of mutual tension leading up to that outburst  including Erdogans own long-running subversion of Islamic religious institutions catering to diaspora Turks in Europe.

On the surface, the fight was over the Erdogan governments efforts to campaign in Europe ahead of a pivotal referendum vote next month aimed at remaking Turkey as a centralized presidential state. For the first time ever, German and Dutch officials banned Turkish government ministers from making stops in their respective countries to lobby for votes, claiming that Europes democratic systems shouldnt be used as vehicles to aid in Erdogans power grab (though it seemed more than a coincidence that the governments of both European countries were about to face re-election themselves). Erdogan responded by making his Nazi accusations and threatening to annul Turkeys refugee deal with the EU that is said to have slowed refugee inflow into continental Europe.

That tensions reached such heights so quickly reflects the way nationalist populism can be mutually complementary across international borders. But it also reflects a longer-standing problem specific to Turkey and Europe  namely, the Turkish governments conviction that diaspora Turks everywhere in the world owe their first allegiance to Turkey. Erdogan doesnt just want Turkish expats votes; he wants their unwavering loyalty, and, to the consternation of European governments, he has proved willing to go to extreme lengths to secure it.

That includes speaking engagement by Turkish politicos and Turkish-language propaganda, and instances where the two overlap. (In an interview with a German-Turkish newspaper in 2011, Erdogan declared that forced integration requiring immigrants to suppress their culture and language violated international law. It wasnt the first time Erdogan used language that Europeans felt crossed a line: A year earlier, in Cologne, Germany, hed said, Assimilation is a crime against humanity.) But Erdogans efforts also include more subtle tactics, including shaping the religious life of Turks residing in Europe to serve his governments political goals by using state-paid imams as spies.

The Sehitlik Camii mosque, in Berlins immigrant-heavy district of Neukolln, is a case in point. Until mid-July last year, it had been the site of a cautious but thoroughly progressive experiment. The mosques young imam, Ender Cetin, a native Neukollner of Turkish descent, began opening up his house of worship to non-Muslim visitors: for example, holding open-house Saturdays. He began engaging in public dialogue with Jewish rabbis and Christian priests.

The Sehitlik Camii mosque, Berlins largest Islamic house of worship, basked in media attention for these efforts, viewed as it was by integration proponents as an exemplary initiative to cut the yawning gap between Germanys Muslims and other Germans. But Cetin was not alone: He was part of a new generation of Muslim clerics across Germany who sought to better weave the Turkish Muslim community into the fabric of mainstream Germany. These young priests made it their business to pick up solid German or, like Cetin, hailed from Germanys Turkish community and were born and raised here, then trained in Turkey. They reached out to the German media and ventured into German public schools to teach religion classes for Muslim pupils; a few even broached ultra-sensitive topics, such as homosexuality.

But this religious glasnost came to an abrupt halt this past summer, in the aftermath of the failed coup attempt in Turkey. The scuppered putsch prompted a crackdown across Turkey and reached into Germany, as well as other European countries with diaspora Turks.

Cetin and his allies found themselves facing the wrath of Diyanet, Turkeys directorate for religious affairs. Diyanet is Turkeys official Islamic authority and the paymaster of about 900 mosques in Germany  and many more across Western Europe. The directorate was created in 1924 with the aim of keeping Islam in check in secular, republican Turkey; in the era of Erdogan, critics say, it has become a political tool to further the interests of his Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP). Diyanets budget covers the salaries of all of Turkeys export imams active in Western Europe, every one of whom is a Turkish civil servant.

In the wake of the coup attempt, the Diyanet headquarters in Ankara  one of the Turkish states most powerful institutions  yanked tight the leash. Cetin and others, including the entire Sehitlik Camii governing board, were unceremoniously disposed of  accused of being followers of Fethullah Gulen, the mysterious exile whom Erdogan has blamed for the coup. A note on the mosques entrance gate read: Gulen supporters unwelcome. The brief experiment at Sehitlik Camii and other Diyanet-funded parishes was snuffed out, and the faithful returned to the well-worn path of Islam they were on before; an Islam more oriented to the culture of Turkey than Western Europe  and more loyal to the party of Erdogan than any other.

The lives of many Turkish migrants, particularly older ones of first or second generation, still revolve around the insular world of the mosque parish and the Turkish community. A broad spectrum of Turkish-language newspapers and broadcast media, from the left to the far-right, are available in Germany. But most popular among those with Turkish passports, observers estimate, are probably Ankaras official state news channels, which meticulously follow the AKP line. According to Haci-Halil Uslucan, a migration specialist at the University of Duisburg-Essen, The Turkish media received in Germany is roughly 80 to 90 percent government-friendly, manipulative, and unilateral. Observers say the regimes propaganda has an even bigger impact in the diaspora: Unlike their countrymen in the homeland, the diaspora Turks dont have the reality of everyday life in Turkey to contrast with the exaggerated reports.

The long arm of Ankara also reaches beyond its borders via the network of Diyanet imams and mosques in Europe, which is managed by the Cologne-based Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB)  the largest Muslim organization in Germany with branch offices across the country. The mosques function  at least until recently  has not been expressly political, nor are Turkeys imams as a whole in the service of either Erdogan or the AKP. (There are also, in addition to Diyanet-financed mosques, independent, self-financed Turkish mosques in Germany.) But the missions of the AKP and Diyanet-funded mosques abroad dovetail ever more frequently, as the case of the Sehitlik Camii imam and a mosque-based espionage scandal in Germany last year vividly illustrate.

As the Turkish population in Germany  much of it with roots in poor, rural, and religious eastern Anatolia  swelled beginning in the 1960s, when the first Turkish gastarbeiter, or guest workers, arrived in West Germany to handle the grunt work of the booming postwar economy, makeshift mosques began to pop up in migrant districts of Germanys inner cities, usually in the form of small prayer rooms in multistory walk-ups. There were at the time  and remain today  few sources of imams for the Anatolian workers other than Diyanet. DITIB came to life in the early 1980s in order to supply the flock with leadership and often purports to speak in the name of the Turkish community today, a fact that troubles many leftist and liberal-minded Turks in Germany.

The condition of Turks in Germany became an urgent concern in the 1980s and 1990s, when Germans belatedly took notice of the burgeoning Turkish community in their midst  and of its youngest generations filling up the classrooms of urban secondary schools. Study after study showed that Turkish children performed poorly in German schools, that Germanys new underclass was disproportionally immigrant  and, unsurprisingly, that the Turkish community in Germany identified with Turkey and its traditions over Germany and its ways.

Observers underscored the discrimination against and exclusion of the Turkish community in Germany as the reason for the migrants condition. The guest workers were never meant to stay in Germany, even though 3 million eventually did so. But experts also zoomed in the use of imported imams as part of the problem  a contributing factor to Europes broader failures to integrate. Few of the holy men learned proper German, and their stints of four years abroad were hardly enough to understand the day-to-day lives and problems of their migrant flocks, whose lives were rooted in Germany, dealing with the German authorities, schools, employers, and neighbors. In one measure of how out of touch they were (and remain): The Friday sermons delivered weekly at the houses of worship are a one-to-one facsimile of those written by the Diyanet higher-ups in Ankara, which are delivered weekly across Turkey.

But as Erdogan has grown increasingly autocratic, Diyanet has begun to look more like a tool of the regime  and DITIB a vehicle of the conservative AKP philosophy. DITIB has become an extended arm of the Turkish president, Erdogan, Islam expert Susanne Schroter told Die Zeit. Through it, the Islamic AKP ideology extends to the classrooms. The changed role of Diyanet and DITIB came under harsh scrutiny in Germany last year in the aftermath of the attempted coup. Not only were reform-minded imams like Ender Cetin ousted, but preachers loyal to Erdogan were also caught red-handed by German intelligence services submitting lists of suspected Gulen supporters to Turkish authorities.

The German authorities charged 16 clerics with illegal secret service collaboration and searched mosques and apartments, confiscating computers and reams of paperwork. One German parliamentarian with Turkish heritage called DITIB a political proxy of Erdogan and demanded the German government cease cooperation with it. Equally compelling evidence of activity on behalf of Ankara existed in Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. According to Turkish media, Diyanet employed imams in 38 countries to gather intelligence on suspected Gulen followers. In Germany, DITIB issued a statement categorically denying the charges of espionage and protesting the searches.

The German weekly Der Spiegel, which broke the story, claimed that the imams reports at their disposal underscored how far Erdogans power reaches into German society. One of Erdogans objectives, charged Der Spiegel, was to divide the Turkish community abroad between friends and foes of the regime. It concluded: DITIB is an important part of the web of the Turkish president in terms of Turkish citizens abroad. Erdogan considers DITIB an instrument to expand his rule in Turkey.

On April 16, the day of the referendum, there will be voting stations in 57 countries hosting the Turkish diaspora. Germany will have voting booths in 13 cities, located in the embassy and consulates  almost twice as many as during the 2015 elections. There is no polling on how Turkish nationals abroad might vote. In addition to AKP-front lobby groups organizing for Erdogan, opposition groups are campaigning against it. Erdogan has most probably profited from the ban on Turkish government politicians, said said the Berlin-based Turkish journalist Ahmet Kulahci, which is, according to Kulahci, exactly what he intended. Indeed, caught between the politics of two worlds, Europes Turkish migrants might well be the decisive factor in a pivotal vote that could confirm or reject the swing to authoritarian solutions in Europe and beyond.

Photo credit: MAJA HITIJ/Getty Images
MILAN (Reuters) - European Union antitrust regulators are looking into a tender process organized by the Italian government to build out an ultra-fast broadband network in parts of the country, a spokesman for the Commission said on Monday. "The Commission is in contact with the Italian authorities on this issue. This does not in any way prejudge the opening of any formal investigation," the spokesman said, commenting on a document Reuters had viewed earlier. Rome, as part of its plans to roll out fast Internet nationwide, is running tenders to deploy networks in so-called "white" areas that would not normally be economically viable. Phone incumbent Telecom Italia took part in the first tender but then withdrew and said it would invest its own money in developing a network in the areas. A source close to the matter said Telecom Italia had asked the EU watchdog to look into a possible breach of EU state aid rules and the way the tenders were awarded. The government, which has made the development of a broadband network a top priority, has enlisted the help of state-controlled power utility Enel to lay fibre-optic cables. Enel unit Open Fiber won the first tender launched by state-owned Infratel and has said it is confident of winning the second. (Reporting by Stefano Rebaudo and Francesco Guarascio, writing by Stephen Jewkes; editing by Agnieszka Flak)
By Crispian Balmer VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis told Europe's leaders on Friday the continent faced a "vacuum of values" as they marked the EU's 60th birthday, condemning anti-immigrant populism and extremism that he said posed a mortal threat to the bloc. Prime ministers and presidents from 27 EU member states have descended on Italy to mark the 1957 founding Treaty of Rome, receiving a papal blessing on the eve of the anniversary. However, celebrations have been tempered by a string of crises, including prolonged economic turmoil, an influx of migrants and Britain's decision to leave the bloc, that have raised fears for the future of the union. "When a body loses its sense of direction and is no longer able to look ahead, it experiences a regression and, in the long run, risks dying," Francis told the leaders gathered in an ornate, frescoed chamber in the heart of the Vatican. Just six nations signed the original treaty in 1957 and on many levels the EU can be viewed as a success, swelling to embrace 28 countries gathered in the world's largest trading bloc and blessed with rising life expectancy and solid prosperity. But with anti-European parties gaining support, the pope warned of a growing split between EU citizens and their institutions and said greater solidarity was the "most effective antidote to modern forms of populism". SPIRITUAL VALUES The Argentinian-born pontiff told the leaders they needed to promote Europe's "patrimony of ideals and spiritual values" with greater passion and vigour. "For it is the best antidote against the vacuum of values of our time, which provides a fertile terrain for every form of extremism," he said, mentioning the attack in London this week by a British-born convert to Islam, who killed four people. [nL5N1H05C9] The pope has repeatedly criticised Europe over the past five years for its perceived lack of vision, drawing the ire of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2014 when he described the EU as an elderly woman who was "no longer fertile and vibrant". He adopted a less hostile tone on Friday, but urged the continent not to close in on itself and resurrect walls -- a message aimed as much at U.S. President Donald Trump as at EU leaders struggling to deal with mass immigration. Some 1.6 million refugees and migrants reached the European Union between 2014 and 2016 and how to handle them has been a major point of contention between member states. "It is not enough to handle the grave crisis of immigration of recent years as if it were a mere numerical or economic problem, or a question of security," the pope said. He decried a worrying "lapse of memory" where people see today's immigrants fleeing war and hunger as a threat to a comfortable lifestyle, forgetting that modern Europe sprang from the ashes of World War Two and mass migration. Thousands of demonstrators are expected to take to the streets of Rome on Saturday in at least six different rallies called by numerous groups across the political spectrum to protest against various aspects of EU rule. Some 5,000 police have been called up to patrol the streets and the interior ministry has warned it will crack down swiftly on any violence. Anti-migrant posters have been plastered on boards across the city, calling people to join one of the many marches to put pressure on the EU to turn back the newcomers. (Additional reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Gareth Jones)
On Saturday, the European Union celebrated its 60th birthday (the Treaty of Rome was signed 60 years ago). The leaders of 27 EU member states met in Rome and signed a declaration reaffirming their commitment to the European project.

Celebrations, however, are likely to be short lived. The leader of the 28th member state, British Prime Minister Theresa May, is expected to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, on Wednesday, after which the terms of the U.K.s departure can begin to be negotiated, though negotiations wont start until the summer.

But the Brits may soon get a taste of their own referendum medicine. On Tuesday the Scottish parliament is expected to hold a vote to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence; the first, in 2014, failed, but that was before Brexit, which Scots were overwhelmingly against. May has said that a second referendum should not be held until after Brexit is completed; Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants it to be in 2018 or 2019, before Scotland is officially out of the European Union. Sturgeon cant technically do so without Mays blessing, but Scotlands lawmakers, who postponed the vote because of last weeks terror attack in London, are expected to give her theirs.

Europes celebrations were also dampened by other events on the continent. In Belarus, over 400 were detained on Saturday over planned protests against the countrys parasite tax on the under-employed. Still more were arrested for demonstrating on Sunday. This, in addition to the 150 already detained for protesting the tax (now suspended until 2018) earlier in March. Mikalay Statkevich, a prominent opponent of the Belarusian government, was missing for three days, according to his family, only to reappear Monday saying hed been taken by security services.

Belarus had crackdown company on Sunday. Hundreds were detained across Russia for taking part in anti-corruption protests, including opposition figure and presidential candidate Alexei Navalny and American journalist Alec Luhn. Luhn was released after more than five hours. Navalny was to spend the night in prison and appear in court, again, on Monday.

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Some in the United States noted their governments unusual silence on Sundays events  the State Department waited hours to say anything about the crackdowns.

The United States government cannot be silent about Russias crackdown on peaceful protesters, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said in a statement on Sunday. Whether U.S. President Donald Trumps White House comments on the largest protests in Russia in five years will be seen in the week ahead.

Photo credit: OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP/Getty Images
Once again, the European Medicines Agency is taking action against a clinical research organization in India over faulty study data.

In the latest episode, the agency recommends suspending more than 300 drugs that are for sale or are being reviewed for use across the continent based on misrepresentation of study data conducted by Micro Therapeutic Research Labs, according to this statement.

Read the rest...
London (AFP) - Britain's intelligence expertise may be "too precious" to use as a bargaining tool in the upcoming Brexit talks, experts said, after a terror attack in London highlighted the need for continued European security cooperation.

The suggestion that Britain could use security to negotiate with Brussels came following US President Donald Trump's election and his calls for a more isolationist foreign policy.

"If the US does adopt a more isolationist stance, then ongoing security cooperation with the UK becomes more valuable," the Institute for Government said in November.

"This could strengthen the UKs negotiating hand in Brexit talks, as it could use the promise of ongoing cooperation on security measures to extract a more favourable deal from the EU," the think tank said in a report.

Prime Minister Theresa May in a speech in January talked up the importance of Britain's intelligence to the rest of Europe, suggesting it could be part of the negotiations.

"Our intelligence capabilities -- unique in Europe -- have already saved countless lives in very many terrorist plots that have been thwarted in countries across our continent," she said.

But using security as a negotiating chip would entail the possibility of withholding cooperation -- an unthinkable prospect for most analysts in an era of shared threats.

The attack in London last week in which 52-year-old Khalid Masood -- said by the Islamic State group to be one of its "soldiers" -- killed four people and injured dozens more outside Britain's parliament underlined that fact.

"It's quite difficult to see how you might actually use that as a bargaining lever," James de Waal, a former diplomat at the London-based Chatham House, told AFP.

De Waal also emphasised that "a lot of the security cooperation relationships are not done through the EU, they're done on a bilateral basis".

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David Galbreath, professor of international security at the University of Bath, also said Brexit would not hamper intelligence cooperation, pointing out that Britain was "a conduit for the Americans to share with the Europeans".

- 'Very important time' -

Politicians from May's own Conservative Party have also called for the issue to be taken off the table.

"The seriousness of the matter and the degree of mutual interest give weight to the suggestion that this aspect of negotiations be separated firmly from others, it is too precious to be left vulnerable to tactical bargaining," Conservative MP Bob Neill, chair of the House of Commons Judicial Affairs Committee, said last week.

Europol boss Rob Wainwright earlier this month told a parliamentary committee that there was "concern" in the European police community "that British expertise and even leadership is not lost at a very important time" of heightened terror threat.

British police too have stressed the importance of maintaining close ties with continental colleagues, with outgoing Metropolitan Police chief Bernard Hogan-Howe insisting "we want to keep a good relationship with Europe".

Shortly before last June's Brexit referendum,former head of domestic intelligence agency MI5 Eliza Manningham-Buller, warned of the dangers of leaving the EU.

"If Europe is weakened by our departure, it will weaken our security," she said.

When asked by the AFP, Britain's interior ministry vowed that London would "discuss with the EU and member states how best to continue cooperating on security, law enforcement and criminal justice.

"We're clear that we'll do what is necessary to keep our people safe," the ministry said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Congressional Republicans on Monday pointed fingers and assigned blame after their epic failure on health care and a weekend digesting the outcome.

The divisions, coming on top of House Republicans' inability to deliver on a priority they all share  repealing and replacing "Obamacare"  raised serious questions about whether they will be able to achieve their other legislative goals for the year or even pass must-do spending legislation in time to avert a government shutdown at midnight April 28.

The hard-right House Freedom Caucus, which withheld a bloc of votes from the White House-backed health care legislation, came in for most of the criticism from fellow lawmakers.

"Clearly moving forward, we're going to have to look at where a governing majority comes from. That's going to require some answers from the Freedom Caucus," said GOP Rep. Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania.

Like a number of other more moderate-leaning Republicans, Costello said he would have voted "no" on the bill in the end, partly because it kept moving to the right as House leaders and the White House made concessions to the Freedom Caucus without ever succeeding in locking in their support. President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan decided to pull the bill from the House floor on Friday after it became clear it was bound to fail.

"They're going to have to know when it's time to get to the 'yes,'" Costello said.

Freedom Caucus members bridled at the criticism, insisting they had done Trump and fellow Republicans a favor by blocking a piece of legislation that polled poorly and embraced the basic structures of Obamacare without significantly reducing premiums.

The Freedom Caucus spokeswoman, Alyssa Farah, said over Twitter that blaming the group ignored the opposition coming from moderate-leaning Republicans. And Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a Freedom Caucus leader, accused GOP leaders of a rushed and secretive process in promoting their legislation, which would have eliminated the Obamacare mandate for people to carry insurance or face fines, and shrunk a Medicaid expansion, but relied on tax credits similar to those in President Barack Obama's law to help consumers purchase insurance.

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"They rolled it out after it was hidden away. When they rolled it out, they said it's a binary choice, take it or leave it," Jordan said on MSNBC. "Normally when you have hearings on a piece of legislation that impacts this much of our overall economy, you would bring in some witnesses and hear from some witnesses about what's going to happen if this legislation actually becomes law. We had none of that."

Trump took on the caucus late Monday on Twitter, writing: "The Republican House Freedom Caucus was able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. After so many bad years they were ready for a win!"

The divisions extended to whether Republicans should immediately try again to make good on seven years of promises to repeal and replace the health care law or cut their losses for now and move on to overhauling the tax code, a priority Trump seems more excited about. Senate Republicans, who had hoped to act next on the health legislation despite divisions of their own, voiced displeasure with the failure by their House counterparts.

"It's disappointing. We've got to fulfill our promises," said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. "Hopefully the temperatures have gone down just a little bit and we can get to an outcome. We don't have the option of inaction. We own it and we've got to fix it."

House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady said he's encouraging the Senate to advance its "repeal and replacement plans" on health care. But the No. 2 Senate Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, said there would not be another attempt to advance Republican-only health care legislation. "I don't think we can give up," he said, "but it's clear it needs to be done on a bipartisan basis."

For Republicans who want to show voters they can govern after gaining control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, the outcome on health care suggests the opposite. The one bright spot for the GOP is Trump's nomination of conservative appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, which will be considered on the Senate floor the week of April 3.

The disunity comes as Congress is fast approaching a deadline to pass government-wide spending legislation or face a shutdown. Given that lawmakers have a two-week recess in the middle of April, there is little time to negotiate an agreement. In the past such spending deadlines have been occasions for brinkmanship, including in 2013 when conservatives forced a 16-day partial government shutdown in a failed attempt to defund Obamacare.

The tentative game plan this time around to wrap up more than $1 trillion in unfinished spending bills is to draft a bipartisan omnibus measure that would fund the government through Sept. 30. Its outlines remain fuzzy and subject to change according to the whims of GOP leaders, but the working thesis is to craft legislation that could pass by a bipartisan vote without a filibuster by Senate Democrats.

Conservatives, however, may be disappointed that they wouldn't score many wins in such legislation, even though Republicans control the entire government. They may insist on more money to build Trump's border wall or even press to "defund" Planned Parenthood. And Democrats could abandon the effort if Republicans press too hard for the border wall or lard in too much extra money for the Pentagon, raising the specter of a shutdown showdown not far away.

___

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Alan Fram and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
A United Airlines' gate agent reportedly forced the girls, one of them aged 10, to change their clothes or wear dresses over the leggings.

By Indo-Asian News Service: United Airlines has been criticised on social media after it barred two girls from flying for wearing leggings.

The incident took place on a flight from Denver to Minneapolis on Sunday morning, BBC quoted activist Shannon Watts as saying.

A United gate agent was "forcing" the girls, one of them aged 10, to change their clothes or wear dresses over the leggings, Watts tweeted.

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HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE INCIDENT: Shannon Watts, founder of the group Moms Demand Action for gun reforms, tweeted about what happened to five girls when they tried to board a flight at Denver airport. She said three of the girls were allowed to fly after putting dresses over the top of their clothing, but two were prevented from boarding. She slammed the airliner for its actions, asking: "Since when does United police women's clothing?". Although United has not officially commented on the incident, it did respond on Twitter by explaining the dress code requirement of its United pass travellers. United Airlines said the girls were travelling on a ticket that had a dress code. They were "United pass travellers", which are tickets for company employees or eligible dependents, the airlines explained in a Twitter exchange on the issue. Watts' tweets have been shared and responded to by thousands of users, including actress and activist Patricia Arquette.

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The following material contains mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised.

According to court and police records, when a St. Petersburg, Florida, police officer arrived to break up a fight, he got more than he bargained for  a blow from a used tampon!

Watch: Sea Sponge Tampons?

One woman was so upset by his intervention that she pulled down her clothes, removed the feminine-hygiene product, and chucked it at the officer. She is being charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Its bio-warfare! says Doctor on Demand's Dr. Tanya Elliott. Its incredibly gross, but to say its a deadly weapon is a bit much, right? disagrees ER Physician Dr. Travis Stork. Although the officer could potentially have been exposed to a blood-borne disease, it wasnt exactly like pulling a gun.

Watch: The Real Deal: Organic Tampons

Deadly or not, The Doctors agree that this is an extreme example of taking a bad situation and making it oh, so much worse.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  Thousands of Hamas supporters waving the movement's green flag marched through the streets of Gaza Saturday for the funeral of a militant leader and high-profile former prisoner who was mysteriously shot dead, as the group's leaders pledged retribution.

Senior Hamas member Mazen Faqha was found shot dead at the entrance of his house in Gaza City late Friday. Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, said Faqha was shot four times in the head with a silenced gun and blamed Israel for "assassinating" him, but provided no proof to support the accusation.

Faqha was sentenced to nine terms of life imprisonment for directing suicide bombing attacks against Israelis. He was freed along with more than 1,000 other prisoners as part of an exchange in 2011 that released captive Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. Faqha was among dozens of West Bank residents Israel deported to Gaza or elsewhere because of the severity of their crimes.

The funeral included many Hamas militants and leaders who vowed revenge for the killing.

Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar called for a crackdown on collaborators, whom Hamas suspects did Israel's bidding.

"Certainly, they (Israel) have collaborating hands. We will cut these hands and necks," he said. "Our means of revenge are multiple, our means of deterrence are multiple and we know very well the means of restoring rights."

Hamas typically executes those convicted of collaborating with Israel. The Israeli military had no comment.
A Utah couple has been arrested for abusing their foster children, who were allegedly found tied up and locked in a dark room where they were denied water, officials said.

Cops discovered three boys between the ages of 7 and 11 zip-tied to beds at the home of Diane Waldmiller, 41, and Matthew Waldmiller, 40, on Thursday, according to reports.

The officers were responding to a child neglect complaint made through the Division of Child and Family Services, police told the Deseret News.

For 10 to 13 hours at a time, the couple would allegedly lock the children in their room, which had no light bulb and had its windows painted black, the Deseret News reported.

The boys werent allowed water and had their mouths and hands duct-taped shut. In addition, their beds had no sheets or blankets, authorities said.

Read: Mom Who Allegedly Abandoned Toddler Daughter At Grocery Store Arrested: Cops

The children were also forced to wear diapers and as a form of punishment, and were made to eat rice doused with salt and cayenne pepper, cops said.

At one point, the boys managed to escape the room to go dumpster diving for food, but their foster parents caught them and punished them by screwing the windows shut, officials said.

A nurse practitioner reportedly said the children were underweight.

"This was not reckless. It was not negligent," Roy Police Sgt. Matt Gwynn told the Deseret News. "This was intentional."

Read: 4 Charged With Neglect In Connection With 9-Year-Old Who Starved To Death: Cops

Diane and Matthew Waldmiller were taken into police custody Sunday on felony abuse charges, authorities said.

They were being held in the Weber County Jail on $31,500 bond each.

Three other boys and a young girl who were found at the home were taken into protective custody.

They were reportedly living in separate rooms from the alleged victims and appeared to be in good condition.

The Waldmillers have been continuously licensed as foster care providers since August 2013, the Deseret News reported.

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Records show the couple was in good standing with no agency actions against them.

Watch: Three Young Children Die in Fire While Visiting Grandpa's House

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By Ian Graham BELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland could be set for a fresh election or a return to direct British rule of the province after the two main parties in negotiations to form a new government said on Sunday that talks had run their course without success. The British province's nationalist and unionist parties have until Monday to form a new power-sharing government after snap elections this month or risk decision-making being taken back to London for the first time since 2007. Sinn Fein, the province's largest nationalist party, said that no substantive progress had been made on any of the key issues responsible for the impasse and that it would not support nominations to form a new regional executive. "This talks process has run its course," the party's Northern Ireland leader Michelle O'Neill told reporters. Both O'Neill and the leader of the main pro-British party, the Democratic Unionist Party's (DUP) Arlene Foster, blamed each other for the collapse, with Foster saying there was little to suggest that Sinn Fein wanted to secure agreement. "While regrettable, the reality is that sufficient progress was not achieved in the time available to form a new executive," Foster said in a statement. Sinn Fein had collapsed the previous government and surged to within one seat of the DUP at the March 2 election to deny pro-British unionist politicians a majority in the regional assembly for the first time since Ireland was partitioned in 1921. Britain's Northern Ireland minister James Brokenshire responded by urging the parties "even at this stage" to agree to work to form an executive, a position backed by Irish foreign minister Charlie Flanagan. "This is a critical time for Northern Ireland. We are on the cusp on the triggering of Article 50 by the British Government," Flanagan said referring to Britain's plans to begin the process of the leaving the European Union this week. Northern Ireland is considered the region of the United Kingdom most economically exposed to Brexit because of its close trade links to the Republic of Ireland. The border between the two is the UK's only land border with the EU. If there is no agreement by Monday's 1500 GMT deadline, Brokenshire will have to decide whether to call another election -- the third in less than a year -- or to legislate for a return to direct British rule of the province, something he has repeatedly said he is against. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has raised the prospect that the parties could be given more time to form a new devolved administration, but Britain's government has not proposed an extension and Sinn Fein is against such a move. (Editing by Padraic Halpin and David Goodman)
Once again, Gilead Sciences is facing a challenge to a European patent over its Sovaldi hepatitis C treatment, which is a building block for subsequent medicines the drug maker has launched.

The latest challenge was filed by various groups, led by Medecins du Monde and Doctors Without Borders, that claim the patent is not warranted under European laws. Specifically, the groups maintain the so-called base compound is not inventive, which is a way of saying the patent is not sufficiently unique.

Read the rest...
A 9-year-old girl has been hailed a hero after calling 911 from inside a car where authorities said both her parents overdosed on heroin.

Read: Pilot and Wife, Dead from Overdoses, Discovered by Their 4 Kids: Police

"They're both breathing," the girl can be heard saying in a call to 911.

"Okay, okay, but you're unable to wake them up?" the dispatcher asked.

"No, I tried, and they won't wake up," she said.

Her mother was passed out behind the wheel of the family Jeep and her father was unconscious in the back seat.

The little girl took her dads phone and used it to call for help.

But before she called 911, the little girl frantically called her grandmother, Anna Dove. "My mommy's fallen asleep and I can't wake her up. She said, 'I'm gonna die, grandma. I'm gonna die. We're gonna wreck, we're all gonna die,'" Dove told Inside Edition.

With the girl still on the phone, Dove used another phone to notify police. The operator instructed her to have the little girl dial 911.

"I am going to stay on the phone with you until they get there, okay?" a dispatcher is heard saying to the girl in the 911 call.

"Okay, I'm scared," she replies.

I know you're scared, but you'll be okay, it will be alright, the operator said.

The operator tried to figure out the exact location of the car.

"Are you in a tan Jeep? asked the operator.

Watch: Why Children Are Being Taught How to Save People From a Heroin Overdose

"It's like chocolate milk, it looks like chocolate milk," replied the little girl.

The Jeep was found in a parking lot in Cincinnati.

Amazingly, the girl had the smarts to reach into the front seat and place the car in park.

"That little girl stopped a moving car and threw it in gear to keep from wrecking," Dove told Inside Edition.

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In grainy footage, you can see emergency vehicles rushing to the scene. Both parents were treated with Narcan, a nasal spray used to treat an opiate overdose, according to reports.

Throughout the ordeal, the girl was comforted by her pet feline.

"I have my cat in here with me," she told the dispatcher.

"I found it on the street and it was all alone, and it liked me," she said.

Dove said her granddaughter's efforts saved lives.

"She knew they were in trouble, she knew it was a case of life or death," Dove said.

Watch: Onlookers Gawk and Film Married Couple Passed Out In Apparent Heroin Overdose

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WARSAW, Poland (AP)  The American Jewish Committee, a global Jewish advocacy organization, celebrated the opening of a new Central Europe office on Monday in Warsaw.

The AJC, a 111-year-old organization based in New York, has a long history of engagement in the region.

It was the first Jewish organization to call for recognizing German unification after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it supported Central and Eastern European nations as they worked to become democracies and join the European Union and NATO.

Poland's President Andrzej Duda welcomed the AJC to Poland, saying that Poles "still remember with gratitude your support for our aspirations."

"I am convinced that this gives an additional boost to the trans-Atlantic cooperation," he said in a message that an aide read out at a gala celebration Monday evening.

The organization says it is committed to supporting democracies in the belief that open, tolerant societies provide greater security to Jews and other minorities.

The new office, based in Warsaw, will work in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Its priorities will include supporting the region's already good ties with Israel and the United States, relationships seen as key to promoting geopolitical security for Jewish people.
Associated Press

Concerns over the Buffalo Bills troubling loss to the New York Jets were quickly overshadowed by even bigger worries regarding the status of Josh Allens throwing elbow on Monday. Suddenly, the entirety of the organization and its fanbase is holding its collective breath while awaiting the results of medical tests to determine the severity of Allens injury sustained in the final minutes of a 20-17 loss to the Jets  and what impact it will have on the second half of the season and the franchises Super Bowl aspirations. The reality, however, is bracing for the potential of having to turn over a very Allen-centric offense to journeyman backup Case Keenum to keep the AFC-leading Bills (6-2) afloat in the interim.
United Airlines denied boarding to teenage girls wearing leggings to one of their flights and led to an outrage on social media.

By India Today Web Desk: Two teenage girls were banned from a United Airlines flight because they were wearing leggings. The airlines said the girls failed to abide the dress code for special pass travelers. United pass travelers are typically company employees or their friends or family members.

The airlines received a lot of backlash on social media since the incident. Responding to the criticism, airline officials said that they can "refuse passengers who are not properly clothed."

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A United spoksperson told Washington Post that the girls "were not in compliance with our dress code policy for company benefit travel". Hence, they were barred from boarding the flight.

Also read: Hurt, but London is still moving: Londoners react to the Westminster terror attack

Many people on social media were enraged seeing the sexist approach of the airlines and expressed their anger regarding the unfair treatment.

According to a Reuters report , Jonathan Guerin, a United spokesman said, "The two girls, who were traveling with a companion, would not have been turned away for wearing leggings had they been paying customers."

He also added, "They were instructed that they couldn't board until they corrected their outfit. They were fine with it and completely understood," Guerin said.

Also read: Royal troll: Middle Eastern airline Royal Jordanian pokes fun at laptop ban

Though the passengers did not complain about the treatment, another traveller, activist and Twitter user Shannon Watts overheard the discussion and touched off a firestorm on social media with a series of tweets.

1) A @united gate agent isn't letting girls in leggings get on flight from Denver to Minneapolis because spandex is not allowed?- Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

"This behavior is sexist and sexualises young girls," Watts said on Twitter. "Not to mention that the families were mortified and inconvenienced."

Also watch: What happens when kids read sexist comments? They talk sense. Here's proof

--- ENDS ---
New York (AFP) - Former Pimco co-founder and bond guru Bill Gross settled a wrongful termination and breach-of-contract suit against his ex-employer, the two parties said Monday in a joint statement released by Pimco.

The terms of the settlement were not released, but a person familiar with the matter said Pimco agreed to pay $81 million. Pimco is owned by German insurance and financial giant Allianz.

Gross, now a top fund manager at Janus Capital Group, said the funds would go to charity.

"Pimco has always been family to me, and, like any family, sometimes there are disagreements," Gross said. "I'm glad that we have had the opportunity to work through those."

The company said it would establish a new "Founders Room" at its California headquarters dedicated to Gross and other key founders and leaders, and also will make Gross a "Director Emeritus" and establish an annual "Bill Gross Award."

"Bill Gross has always been larger-than-life," said Pimco group chief investment officer Dan Ivascyn, who praised Gross for building Pimco "from the ground up."

The gushing tone from both sides marks a sharp reversal from the acrimony after Gross' departure.

In his original suit, filed in October 2015 in California, Gross asserted that his firing the prior year was engineered by a "cabal" who was "driven by a lust for power, greed, and a desire to improve their own financial position."
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on Monday accused Israel of having killed one of the Palestinian Islamist group's officials after he was shot dead in the Gaza Strip.

Mazen Faqha, 38, was shot dead by unknown gunmen Friday with four bullets from a pistol equipped with a silencer.

"By killing Faqha, the enemy told us: 'I've scored a point against you and I can take away one of your heroes even in the heart of Gaza," Meshaal told supporters at a memorial in the Palestinian enclave.

"It's a new blood debt that adds itself to all those before. The conflict with the occupier (Israel) remains open," said Meshaal, who was speaking via video link from Qatar where he lives.

"The military and political leadership of Hamas is ready to meet the occupier's challenge."

Hamas "is capable of continuing its mission. Our will is stronger than their weapons and we will defeat them in the end," he added.

Hamas authorities partially reopened the crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel Monday, after a one-day closure following the assassination.

"From Monday morning, travel through the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing will be permitted temporarily for some categories," said Iyad al-Bozum, a spokesman for the interior ministry in the enclave.

Anyone would be allowed to enter Gaza, he said in a statement, but those leaving would remain restricted to senior politicians, the sick and families of prisoners.

The latter two groups would be limited by age -- only those under 15 and over 45.

Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, closed the crossing totally Sunday after blaming Israel for the killing.

The group did not give details on the reason for closing the crossing, though there was speculation authorities may be seeking to prevent those responsible for the killing from leaving.

Hamas officials have said the killing bears the hallmarks of Israel's intelligence service Mossad, but Israel has not commented on the shooting.

Story continues

On Monday, Gaza's attorney general Ismail Jaber placed a gag order on information relating to the "assassination".

According to Hamas, Faqha formed cells for the group's military wing in the West Bank cities of Tubas, where he was born, and Jenin.

Faqha's funeral on Saturday drew thousands of Hamas supporters into the streets with chants of "revenge" and "death to Israel".

Ismail Haniya, until recently head of Hamas in Gaza, and Yahya Sinwar, who replaced him as leader, headed the procession.

The Erez crossing is the only one between Gaza and Israel for people. Another crossing with Israel, Kerem Shalom, is used for goods and remained open on Sunday, Palestinian officials said.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade. Palestinian militants in Gaza and Israel have fought three wars since 2008.

Gaza's sole crossing with Egypt has also remained largely closed in recent years.
Paris (AFP) - With 27 days to go before the first round of France's presidential election, outgoing President Francois Hollande said he still has work to do -- to help ward off a victory for far-right leader Marine Le Pen

Here are three things that happened in the campaign on Monday:

- 'Populism can't prevail' -

Hollande, visiting Singapore, said his final mission before he steps down in May would be to ensure that "populism, nationalism and extremism cannot prevail, including in my own country".

The National Front's Marine Le Pen is seen as one of the leading candidates to replace him in the election, which follows Britain's vote to leave the European Union and the election of the populist Donald Trump in the United States.

- Don't spy on me: Le Pen -

Le Pen charged that the Hollande government is spying on her campaign, echoing allegations by her conservative rival Francois Fillon.

"I'm not naive, I know that the government has used (wiretaps) for many decades," Le Pen said, adding: "It must stop."

Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas said the wiretapping allegations were "as far-fetched as they were odd", noting that only an investigating magistrate can order wiretaps, citing a 2013 law.

- Fillon urges transparency panel -

The scandal-plagued Fillon told the anti-corruption group Transparency International that he would set up a commission on "transparency and morality in public life" if elected.

The Berlin-based group responded in a tweet that a similar initiative was presented to Fillon's cabinet in 2011 when he was prime minister but it never made it to the floor of parliament.

Fillon, who has been charged with misuse of public funds in a fake jobs scandal involving his wife Penelope, was the only one of the 11 candidates for president who missed a deadline last week to outline proposals for good governance to Transparency.

Penelope Fillon is expected to learn Tuesday whether she too will face charges that she was paid with taxpayers' money for fictitious jobs as her husband's parliamentary assistant.
Yesterday was the two-year anniversary of President Barack Obamas most indefensible and harmful foreign-policy decision. On the evening of March 25, 2015, a statement from National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan was posted on the White Houses website: President Obama has authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support to GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council]-led military operations. While U.S. forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate U.S. military and intelligence support. Two days later, Obama called Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and reaffirmed the strong friendship between the United States and Saudi Arabia and emphasized the United States support for the action taken by Saudi Arabia, GCC members, and others.

With those little-noticed declarations, the United States offered its political and military support to a Saudi-led bombing campaign of Yemen, thus becoming a co-combatant in yet another war of choice in the Middle East. That war has now extended into the presidency of Donald Trump. The result has been a disaster by every plausible metric.

Two years ago, the Saudi government gave a number of justifications for the intervention, primarily to restore to power the sitting president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and to defend Saudi territory from Houthi forces that were actually advancing and capturing territory in the south of Yemen. A U.S. senior administration official proclaimed, [O]ne reason why the Saudi intervention is positive, is we dont want AQAP [al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula] to try to establish itself as the vanguard of Sunni opposition to the Houthis.

The less openly acknowledged reason the Obama administration so strongly endorsed and backed the Saudi-led bombing campaign was to ensure Sunni governments provided at least tacit support for the Iran nuclear deal. As Rep. Adam Schiff, minority leader of the House Intelligence Committee, said, U.S. support would be perceived as an indicator of our willingness to push back against Iranian efforts to increase hegemony in the region [and] that may influence how comfortable they are with a nuclear agreement, adding, it is very important for the U.S. to have Saudi Arabias back when it comes to Yemen. One anonymous Pentagon official put it coldly: If you ask why were backing this  the answer youre going to get from most people  if they were being honest  is that we werent going to be able to stop it.

Today, Hadi is still in exile, Houthi forces remain entrenched in urban settings in southern Yemen, and Iranian malign influence in the Middle East has only increased (according to every U.S. military official testifying before Congress). In addition, AQAP has only grown from approximately 1,000 members in 2014 to 4,000 in 2016, according to the State Department. And the United States has made little diplomatic effort to help broker a cease-fire and ultimately resolve this internationalized civil war in which it is a direct participant.

More critically, the Saudi-led bombing has been conducted in an immoral and indiscriminate manner from the very beginning, including with U.S.-supplied cluster munitions, the use of which is widely condemned internationally. As the U.N. Panel of Experts documented in its excellent report released in January, the Saudi-led coalition has violated international humanitarian law and human rights law with its use of air power at least 10 times in 2016. The 10 documented strikes resulted in 292 civilian fatalities, including at least 100 women and children.

Most horrific was the Oct. 8, 2016, double-tap bombing of a community hall in the capital of Sanaa that resulted in at least 827 civilian fatalities and injuries. The airstrike targeted a funeral gathering, first with a U.S.-supplied GBU-12 Paveway II guidance unit fitted to a Mark 82 high explosive aircraft bomb, dropped at 3:20 p.m., followed by a second one minutes later as mourners were still reeling. As the U.N. report notes, the air campaign waged by the coalition led by Saudi Arabia, while devastating to Yemeni infrastructure and civilians, has failed to dent the political will of the Houthi-Saleh alliance to continue the conflict.

According to the most recent United Nations estimate, 5,000 Yemeni civilians have been killed and over 8,000 injured during the past two years, with an additional 21 million Yemenis, or 82 percent of the population, in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. As U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein stated on Friday, Over the past month alone, 106 civilians have been killed, mostly by air strikes and shelling by Coalition war ships.

Throughout these airstrikes, the United States continued to provide intelligence, targeting guidance, in-air refueling, weapons, and contractor support. Indeed, under Obama, the United States sold $115.3 billion worth of weapons and services to Saudi Arabia through August 2016. In mid-December, after Trump was elected, Secretary of State John Kerry, standing next to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, even decried the pace of weapons sales, noting they can be much lengthier than I like or certainly than the buying country likes, and I wish we could find a way to really accelerate it and speed it up more. As the foreign minister knows, Ive worked very hard to accelerate it and try to move it forward.  [O]ne of my recommendations to the next administration will be that we try to find a way in our laws to accelerate it. Kerrys recommendation has been heard, as the Trump administration has reportedly decided to approve one $1.5 billion weapon sale that had been delayed by Obama.

The morning after that NSC news release was posted on the White House webpage two years ago, Gen. Lloyd J. Austin, commander of the U.S. Central Command, was asked about the objectives of the U.S. support. His stunning reply remains the most accurate characterization from a U.S. official: I dont currently know the specific goals and objectives of the Saudi campaign, and I would have to know that to be able to assess the likelihood of success. Other than dropping weapons with an unconscionable lack of discrimination and proportionality, it appears there are no clear goals and objectives to this day.

On a personal note, in the nearly 20 years of having had the privilege of working and interacting with U.S. national security officials and staffers, I have never followed an issue that virtually nobody can justify or defend. Military officers who have watched or played a role in the Saudi-led bombing campaign are especially sickened by the brutality and strategic pointlessness of the airstrikes. But as the civil war rolls into its third year, do not expect any reduction in airstrikes or U.S. support for them. This shameful war now extends into a second presidential administration and a new Congress that seem even more enthused by it.

Photo credit: MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP/Getty Images
Iranians trying to enter the United States are running into obstacles and facing heightened scrutiny, despite the court-ordered freezes on President Donald Trumps two travel bans.

Frequent travelers to the United States, Iranians are seen as a bellwether for how the Trump administration will impose a new vetting regime on people from Muslim-majority countries even if its executive orders are overturned. Of the six nationalities targeted by the March 6 travel ban who received visas to enter the United States in fiscal year 2015, Iranian nationals made up 57 percent.

Sima Alizadeh, an immigration lawyer who mainly works with Iranians, said barely any of her clients have successfully moved through the visa process since the end of January, even after Trumps first travel ban was halted by federal courts. Normally she has far more success digging her clients out of bureaucratic black holes.

Its very weird not to see visas being given to Iranians abroad for such a long period of time, she said.

Iranians, more than any other group targeted by the travel bans, are being watched by lawyers and advocates seeking to anticipate how the administration may tighten the visa process for Muslim travelers. Unlike other applicants covered by the bans from Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, who are more likely to come to the United States through the refugee resettlement program, Iranians have deep ties to America. Almost 500,000 Iranian-Americans live in the country and Iranian nationals often travel to the United States on family or marriage visas, tourist visas, or for work and study. Out of 15,453 foreign students studying in the United States last year from the six banned countries, 12,269 came from Iran.

Four Iranian-American organizations have filed a lawsuit against the executive orders and their implementation in Washington, D.C. Their case, headed to court on April 13, documents unresolved arbitrary visa process interruptions and denials that occurred despite the travel bans legal limbo.

Story continues

In one declaration included in the suit, a woman reports that her Iranian parents were asked about her religion during an application for a tourist visa, a question they never received on previous applications. They said they were Muslim and were denied.

U.S. consular officials have broad discretion to vet visa applicants. Even before the executive orders, applicants deemed high-risk were routinely denied without any explanation or recourse to appeal. During previous administrations, Iranians already were subject to a lengthy vetting process that required significant documentation and traveling to consulates in nearby countries for interviews.

Still, immigration lawyers from multiple Iranian-American groups say they have noticed a distinct trend. Alizadeh, who works at Pars equality center, a nonprofit that provides legal services to Iranian-Americans, estimated she was usually able to push 70 percent of her visa cases abroad through the process and averaged three to five visa approvals a week in her six years of working mainly with Iranians. Now more than 80 percent of her cases have stalled, she estimated.

Alizadeh has also noticed her clients are getting more scrutiny.While Middle Eastern male applicants are sometimes flagged for extra screening because their names may match those with links to terrorism, now even her female clients are getting stuck. You know its not the normal rhythm, so you can see the weirdness in it, she said. Most of the holds seem baseless.

Jamal Abdi, policy director of the National Iranian American Council, also said he had seen a chilling effect, with visa interviews cancelled during the roll out of the travel ban and never rescheduled.

Lawyers advising immigrants and tourists said it was difficult to distinguish between a directive-driven shift in the application of the law and, say, the whims of a subset of bureaucrats who may be responding to the administrations tone. Much of what is going on is happening behind the scenes and we only see glimpses into it when a person reaches out, said Babak Yousefzadeh of the Iranian American Bar Association.

Trumps March 6 travel ban executive order was accompanied by a less-scrutinized memorandum, that calls for immediate heightened screening protocols and procedures for issuing visas. The memorandum is not specifically blocked by courts.

Recently leaked internal cables from the State Department, first reported by Reuters, offer a small window into how the administration aims to implement stepped-up vetting through avenues outside the executive orders. They instruct consular officials to more deeply scrutinize a wider pool of applicants and focus on applicants links to the Islamic State. They also cap visa interviews to 120 per adjudicator per day, noting that limiting scheduling may cause interview appointment backlogs to rise.

A State Department official said the department was taking steps to further strengthen our already strong screening and vetting procedures.

Its unclear if the instructions differ significantly from previous diplomatic memos on vetting procedure since those have rarely been disclosed. Immigration legal advocates are sounding the alarm that new vetting protocol could amount to a backdoor to achieving the same aims as a so-called Muslim-ban. But the cables have left even counterterrorism experts perplexed, though for somewhat different reasons. They said vetting procedures are already rigorous and effective, and most of the instructions in the memos seemed at once redundant and oddly imprecise.

Parts of the State Department instructions seem to rehash standard practices, they said, like asking for a travelers personal information, contacts, and checking social media activity. Anyone seeking a visa from those countries listed in the cable would be heavily scrutinized because those countries are current conflict zones, said John Cohen, a former counterterrorism coordinator at the Department of Homeland Security.

Rick Ozzie Nelson, a national security expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the administration seemed to be trying different strategies all at once to make it very difficult for people from these countries to get visas or be able to travel.

Vague language in the instructions, such as targeting populations warranting increased scrutiny, might encourage consular officials to be overly restrictive. You dont want to be that officer and embassy that is doing extreme vetting and lets the wrong person in the country, Nelson said.

We might as well shut down the consular affairs offices, because its getting to the point of diminishing returns and even silly.



This post was updated to include a quote from Jamal Abdi, policy director at the National Iranian-American Council, at 1:55 p.m.

This post was updated at 3:45 p.m. Sima Alizadeh has been working with Iranians for six years, not 10. A previous version also stated Iranians are commonly flagged. Alizadeh has seen Middle Eastern men, not just Iranians, sometimes put on hold for name checks related to terrorism, not commonly.

Photo credit: TASOS KATOPODIS/AFP/Getty Images
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Coastal areas in northeast Australia were battered by high winds and heavy rainfall early on Tuesday as a powerful cyclone that prompted authorities to urge some 30,000 people to evacuate bore down on the country. Cyclone Debbie was upgraded overnight to a category four storm, just one rung below the most dangerous wind speed level, and authorities warned it could reach level five by the time it makes landfall around midday local time (0100 GMT). The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said Debbie continued to gather strength, despite slowing its progress during the night - the storm had been expected to make landfall several hours earlier than the most recent forecast. It is expected to be the most powerful storm to hit the state of Queensland since Cyclone Yasi destroyed homes and crops and devastated island resorts in 2011. "The eye itself is probably 50 kilometers (31 miles) across," said senior forecaster Adam Blazak. Authorities urged thousands of people in low-lying areas at risk from tidal surges and winds of up to 300 km per hour (185 mph) to flee their homes on Monday in what would be the biggest evacuation seen in Australia since Cyclone Tracy struck the northern city of Darwin in 1974. It was unclear early on Tuesday how many people had heeded that advice as gales lashed tourist resorts at Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands. Authorities have stockpiled food and fuel, and the army is on standby to deal with the aftermath. Townsville Airport was closed and airlines Qantas, Jetstar, Rex and Virgin Australia said they had canceled several flights to and from the region. The Abbot Point coal terminal and ports at Mackay and Hay Point were closed. BHP Billiton suspended operations at its South Walker Creek coal mine and Glencore halted operations at the Collinsville and Newlands coal mines. Queensland produces some 95 percent of Australian bananas and while Cyclone Debbie is on course to miss the largest growing regions in the state's far north, analysts said heavy rains and strong winds could cause significant crop damage. Greg Williamson, the mayor of the town of Mackay, which lies in the path of the storm, said the cyclone had proved more unpredictable than initially forecast. "It's been a matter of trying to second-guess where it's going to happen," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "It's trying to make strategic decisions with assets and people's lives." Police blamed the wild weather associated with the storm for a traffic accident on Monday in which a 31-year-old female tourist died. (Reporting by Jane Wardell; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Police cracked down on Hong Kong democracy activists Monday charging them over the Umbrella Movement mass protests, a day after a pro-Beijing candidate was chosen as the city's new leader.

Carrie Lam was selected as the new chief executive Sunday by a committee dominated by pro-China voters, but promised to try to unify the deeply divided city.

The vote was dismissed as a sham by democracy campaigners who fear Beijing is tightening its grip on semi-autonomous Hong Kong and say Lam will be no different from its unpopular current leader, Leung Chun-ying.

Those concerns were heightened Monday when police charged nine leading campaigners who took part in the Umbrella Movement of 2014 -- including student protesters and lawmakers -- in connection with the rallies.

The protests saw tens of thousands take to the streets calling for fully free leadership elections, but failed to win concessions from Beijing.

Rights group Amnesty International said the police charges showed the city's freedom of expression and right to peaceful assembly was "under a sustained attack".

All nine activists reported to Wan Chai police station Monday night, with around 200 supporters gathering outside.

They were all charged with either conspiring to cause public nuisance or inciting others to do so. They will appear in court Thursday.

The activists range in ages from 22 to 73 years old and police said they had been charged "in connection with the illegal Occupy Movement" of 2014.

Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan described the move as a "death kiss" from Leung, who will step down in July.

Chan said she had been arrested at the end of the protests, but had never been charged before.

Professor Chan Kin-man, a founding member of Occupy Central, one of the groups behind the 2014 rallies, called the charges "ridiculous".

Speaking outside the police station Monday night, Chan said the prosecutions would not deter the fight for democracy.

Story continues

"We are honoured to have participated in the Umbrella Movement," he told supporters.

- Future targets -

The crackdown comes less than four months ahead of Lam's inauguration on July 1, when China's president Xi Jinping is expected to visit Hong Kong to mark the 20th anniversary of the handover of the city by Britain back to China in 1997.

"It does somehow protect the 20th anniversary ceremony in the sense that it deters the protesters from conducting any radical or violent campaigns," said political analyst Edmund Cheng of Hong Kong Baptist University.

Young legislator Nathan Law, one of the leaders of the Umbrella Movement, was among the supporters outside the police station and said he expected to be the "next target".

"But for us, the harder you suppress us, the harder we bounce back," he said.

Law was already convicted last year with fellow student leaders Joshua Wong and Alex Chow for taking part in, or inciting others to take part in, an anti-China protest that led up to the major rallies.

They were given community service or suspended sentences.

Lam repeated that she wanted unity Monday, but said her approach "should not compromise the rule of law in Hong Kong".

The department of justice said it had not given prior warning to Lam about the prosecutions and insisted the decision to lay charges was "apolitical".
Budapest (AFP) - Hungary said Monday it was ready to begin detaining asylum-seekers in camps on its southern border with Serbia after passing a law this month that has drawn criticism from rights groups and the UN.

Hungary's parliament approved on March 7 the systematic detention of all asylum-seekers in camps on the border composed of converted shipping containers.

The move was part of policies by hardline anti-immigration Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a strong admirer of US President Donald Trump.

From Tuesday, asylum-seekers entering Hungary as well as those currently in the country will be confined in camps at the its southern borders while their applications are processed.

"The border protection agencies are fully prepared for the entry into force of the reinforced legal border closure on March 28," said a statement by the interior ministry.

"The police, the defence forces and the Immigration and Asylum Office have made the necessary preparations for the implementation of the required measure," said the statement.

The ministry said the purpose of the restrictions is to "prevent migrants with an unclear status from moving freely around the territory of the country and the European Union, and to thereby reduce the security risk of migration".

According to the government 324 shipping container homes have been installed at two separate locations called "transit zones" built into a fence that Hungary erected along the 175-kilometre-(110-mile)-long border in 2015.

EU member Hungary previously systematically detained all asylum applicants but suspended the practise in 2013 under pressure from Brussels, the UN refugee agency and the European Court of Human Rights.

Rights groups like Amnesty International have condemned the new rules for failing to meet Hungary's international obligations to asylum-seekers.

The UNHCR also said that systematic detention will "have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who have already greatly suffered".

According to refugee rights group the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) some 400 asylum-seekers are currently housed in the country's internal camp network, and now face relocation to the border camps.

A second "smart fence" complete with night cameras, heat and movement sensors, and multilingual megaphones warning against crossing the barrier is also under construction, with completion scheduled by May.
India's film censorship board has barred Sony Pictures' channel from telecasting Oscar-recognized film, The Danish Girl.

The movie was slated to air on Sunday. However, the film authority objected to its supposedly "sensitive storyline" and dubbed it "unsuitable" for audiences below 18.

SEE ALSO: BBC documentary creates a stir, India bans channel from filming in tiger reserves

In The Danish Girl, Eddie Redmayne plays the main character grappling with his gender identity, and is based on historical events of the world's first sex reassignment surgery.

The broadcaster tweeted: "We regret to inform you that Sony Le Plex HD is unable to telecast the television premiere of the award-winning film The Danish Girl on March 26 as the necessary certification to enable the telecast of the movie has not been received."

We know how much you wished to watch The Danish Girl this Sunday & regret the inconvenience caused. We thank you for your constant support. pic.twitter.com/eti2TAxBRV  Sony Le PLEX HD (@SonyLePLEXHD) March 24, 2017

The whole subject is controversial, and its unsuitable to be viewed by children. It talks about a man who wants a sex change and has a genital operation to become a woman. The subject is sensitive and how do you edit a subject like that? Mumbai Mirror quoted a Censor Board member as saying.

The Danish Girl won an Oscar for Alicia Vikander, who plays Redmayne's wife, in the Best Supporting Actress category last year.

Indians took to social media to express their disappointment.

Say hello to the Taliban!

At your doorstep now, mitron.



Vigilantes controlling your

TV screens

Foods

Clothes

Lovehttps://t.co/es4Z1EO3av  Rakesh Sharma (@rakeshfilm) March 25, 2017

Banning the screening of "the Danish girl" just proves yet another authority controlling the society. Suppression=regression=aggression  Esha Gupta (@eshagupta2811) March 26, 2017

Canceling tv premier of movie THE DANISH GIRL symbolises the judgemental prospective of our censorboard . Most enchanted movie ever seen .. pic.twitter.com/k6edD0LY8E  Mehak Garg (@mehakgarg1341) March 26, 2017

Amazed at how regressive we are ! CBFC Cancels TV Broadcast of The Danish Girl Due Its 'Sensitive Storyline https://t.co/Gfe5v3eKwe  Soni Mahdi Aggarwal (@SoniAggarwal) March 27, 2017

@SonyLePLEXHD this is terribly sad news. Why did the CBFC wake up so late? India is a multicultural nation, accept it. Just painfully sad.  Throw It Alok (@HaanWahi) March 26, 2017

They have called for an overhaul of the authority.

Story continues

Nothing will change with the CBFC until the Cinematograph Act and the criteria for selection of Examining Committee members are updated.  Suprateek Chatterjee (@SupraMario) March 25, 2017

@ShashiTharoor Sir the CBFC is doing some ridiculous censorship & moderate moral policing in every film, can u do something abt it as a MP?  Satyakam (@satyakam92) March 26, 2017

The Danish Girl is hardly the first high-profile film to face the Censor Board's axe.

Earlier this year, the Board removed the word "prostitute" from the 2017 Oscar-winning Iranian film The Salesman because they found it objectionable.

The CBFC censored the word 'prostitute' from the Iranian film, The Salesman.



For perspective, WE managed to censor a movie from IRAN.



smh.  Peglet (@PedestrianPoet) March 25, 2017

And back home, more recently, a film dialogue was deleted because of a weird reason.

Censor Board joke of the day pic.twitter.com/0CDnGu2v0t  Sand-d Singh (@Sand_In_Deed) March 25, 2017

"Mann ki baat" is a common phrase translating to "straightforward talk." It's also the name of prime minister Narendra Modi's radio show.

What does the Censor Board want really?

Censor board will probably start making their own movies in a while  Kalyani Adhav (@KalyaniAdhav) March 26, 2017

Its own movies? Hope not!

WATCH: 5 strange film bans in other countries
In a stark evidence of UP's crumbling education system, the probe by India Today has unearthed a shady nexus of parents, touts and teachers aiding cheating on school exams.

By Syed Masroor Hasan, Md Hizbullah, Nitin Jain: A squall of cheat sheets wrapped around stones sweeps into examination halls. Yards away, tech-savvy young men frantically tap touch screens of their smartphones to transmit answers back to pupils writing papers inside.

In the middle of its board-exam season, Uttar Pradesh is hit hard by mass copying. A state-wide investigation by India Today has caught the epidemic on camera. In a stark evidence of UP's crumbling education system, the probe has unearthed a shady nexus of parents, touts and teachers aiding cheating on school exams.

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From Mathura, Deoria, Ballia, Mainpuri to Meerut, students as young as 10th graders were seen using unfair means to achieve good marks in their current pressure-packed board exams, helped as they were by their relatives and a well-oiled cheating mafia, the investigation found. At a number of test centres in UP, India Today's investigative teams filmed associates scaling walls to ping paper balls inside examination rooms, with police looking the other way.

At Mathura's Sardar Patel School, gangs of touts sitting outside received copies of Monday's question paper on their smartphones within seconds of its distribution inside, the probe observed. Answers were relayed back to the candidates after quick surfing of key books.

EASY GATEWAY TO JOBS

For many pupils from lower-income groups, cheating seemed to be the only gateway to college and jobs in a state that has a poor track-record in education. The nation's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh suffers from a chronic shortage of teachers at its schools.

According to the 2015-16 Unified-District Information System for Education (U-DISE) data, there's one teacher for 56 students at the secondary level, compared with one for 27 nationally. India Today's investigative reporters found how a racket of school and government administrators was apparently capitalising on the desperation for higher education. At his home in Meerut, Premchand Lodhi, principal of the city's Rani Avantibai Inter-College, explained the modus operandi behind the rampant cheating. Bribes, he told India Today's undercover reporters, fix everything and anything - from test centers to sending subject experts right there to the examination room. "It will cost around Rs 3 to 4 lakh for getting a (test) centre of your choice. We'll say we want a centre at xyz location. They will have everything fixed," Lodhi said, sitting on a sofa.

He admitted being in collusion with what he called "like-minded" school officials. "Brother, we'll have like-minded principals (centre superintendents). We pay Rs 2 to 3 lakh. Our work is done," he insisted. "So, will you be recovering that money from students?" probed the undercover journalist. "It's recovered from those who are weak and want to pass the exam," he replied. "It also depends on the situation at that point in time. At least 10-15 students are pushed through if the situation is conducive," Lodhi continued. Till now, he acknowledged, many students had a plenty of opportunity to copy freely during exams. "Teachers facilitate it themselves. Nowadays you get objective-type questions. You don't have to write much," he said.

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RS 1,000 FOR CHEATING

Sushil Kumar Sharma, founder of Meerut's KVSS Vidyapeeth Senior Secondary School, also accepted that he manipulated allocation of test centres.

"We manipulate the centre allotment when it's done in November/December," he claimed, quoting a cost as low Rs 1,000 a student to rig exam. "If you want a good division for your candidate, it will cost anything between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 per head. If there are 50 cases, it will be done easily in Rs 50,000," Sharma said.

Everything, he claimed, remained under the knowledge of the officials concerned. "Without that, it's not possible," Sharma said.

Reacting to India Today's expose, Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar described the phenomenon of cheating as "absolutely unacceptable". "Mass copying, which we are witnessing in some states in board examinations, is an unfortunate sin," said the minister. "It hurts, it pains and it's really a downfall of our system. This is unacceptable. Compromising on merit is absolutely unacceptable," Javadekar remarked.

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He vowed to take up the matter with state authorities.

Commenting on the India Today investigation, Dinesh Sharma, Deputy CM, UP said that he will act against the officials involved in cheating. "Officials involved in cheating will be jailed. We will strike at the root cause of cheating,"he added. Sharma said, "Cheating won't be tolerated at any cost. Have asked police to conduct anti-cheating raids."

Watch the video here:

Also read: From dream destination to a dreaded one: How Indian students are now avoiding Trump's America

--- ENDS ---
By Olesya Astakhova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Iran's president met Russia's prime minister on Monday in a bid to develop a warming relationship that has been greatly strengthened by both sides' involvement on the same side of the war in Syria. Beginning a visit to Moscow, President Hassan Rouhani told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev: "I hope that a new turning-point in the development of our relations will be reached." Iranian arms purchases and Russian investment in the Iranian energy sector are likely talking points for Rouhani, less than two months before Iran's May 19 presidential election. Iranian media say he will discuss several economic agreements - potentially valuable prizes for the moderate leader, who is keen to show his people that Iran is benefiting from its 2015 deal with world powers to rein back its nuclear programme in returning for an easing of international sanctions. "Rouhani desperately wants to finalise at least one deal based on new petroleum contracts before the election," said Reza Mostafavi Tabatabaei, an energy analyst and president of London-based ENEXD, a firm involved in the oil and gas equipment business in the Middle East. "Western companies like (France's) Total are waiting for U.S. approval before any investment in Iran, so Rouhanis only chance is Russian companies that might sign a deal before the election." As key allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia and Iran have played decisive roles in the past 18 months to turn the tide of the Syrian conflict in his favour. When Russian jets used an airbase in Iran to launch attacks against militant targets in Syria last summer it was the first time Moscow had made a military deployment there since it was an occupying force in the 1940s. Economic ties have developed in parallel: bilateral trade nearly doubled between January 2016 and January 2017, according to a statement by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development cited by the Sputnik news agency. "The political and military relations right now between the Islamic Republic and Russia are the strongest that weve seen ever," said Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. WORRY FOR WASHINGTON The rapprochement is a concern for both Saudi Arabia, Tehran's main rival for dominance in the Middle East, and for U.S. President Donald Trump, who has expressed an interest in working more closely with Russia but has issued a number of harsh statements about Iran. After Iran carried out a ballistic missile test in late January, Trump tweeted that the Islamic Republic has been put on notice and moved quickly to issue new sanctions. Of greatest probable concern to Washington is the sale of military hardware to the Islamic Republic. Last year, Russia provided Iran with its S-300 missile defense system, which had been purchased in 2007 but was stalled for years because of sanctions. Senior Iranian defense officials have expressed interest in purchasing SU-30 fighter aircraft and T-90 tanks from Russia. On the energy front, Russia played a key role last autumn in helping break a deadlock over OPEC output levels, where agreement had long been hampered by tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, OPEC and non-OPEC sources told Reuters at the time. President Vladimir Putin personally intervened with both Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and Rouhani, leading to a landmark deal where Iran was allowed to boost oil production while Saudi Arabia agreed to a cut. Russias political, economic and military alliance with Tehran made it a unique mediator between Iran and Saudi Arabia, to lead them to a point that is beneficial to both, and also to Russia, Tabatabaei said. Rouhanis economic team is expected to sign approximately a dozen memorandums of understanding during the visit, which will also include talks with Putin on Tuesday. (Additional reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Arbil (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraqi forces renewed their assault Monday against jihadists in Mosul's Old City, after days in which the battle was overshadowed by reports of heavy civilian casualties from air strikes.

Iraqi forces began the massive operation to retake west Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group last month and have recaptured a series of neighbourhoods, but the battle poses a major threat to civilians in the city.

Iraqi officials and witnesses have said air strikes took a devastating toll on civilians in the Mosul Al-Jadida area in recent days, but the number of victims -- said by some to number in the hundreds -- could not be independently confirmed.

"Federal Police and Rapid Response Division units began to advance today on the southwestern axis of the Old City," Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat, the commander of the federal police, said in a statement.

Jawdat said that one of their targets is Faruq Street, which runs near the Al-Nuri mosque.

IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only known public appearance at the mosque after IS seized Mosul in 2014, calling on Muslims to obey him.

Iraqi interior ministry forces have been operating in the area of the Old City for several weeks, but they have faced tough resistance and progress has been slow.

The Counter-Terrorism Service, which along with the Rapid Response Division is one of two special forces units spearheading west Mosul operations, has made faster progress in areas farther west.

But the Old City -- a warren of narrow streets and closely-spaced buildings in which the UN said 400,000 people still reside -- poses unique challenges in terms of the difficulty of advancing as well as the danger to civilians.

Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, the spokesman for Iraq's Joint Operations Command, said that interior ministry units have deployed snipers to target IS jihadists using civilians as human shields.

- Heavy toll on civilians -

However, Iraqi forces have also frequently fired mortar rounds and unguided rockets during the battle for Mosul -- weapons that pose a much greater risk to residents of areas where fighting is taking place.

Story continues

The battle has already taken a heavy toll on civilians, pushing more than 200,000 to flee in addition to others who have been killed or wounded in the fighting.

An AFP photographer saw civil defence personnel and volunteers digging through the remains of houses to recover the dead in Mosul al-Jadida on Sunday.

The remains of at least 12 people -- among them women and children -- were placed in blue plastic body bags.

Rasool said that the defence ministry has opened an investigation into the reports that strikes killed civilians in west Mosul.

The US-led coalition against IS has indicated that it may have been responsible for at least some of the civilian deaths.

"An initial review of strike data... indicates that, at the request of the Iraqi security forces, the coalition struck (IS) fighters and equipment, March 17, in west Mosul at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties," it said in a statement on Saturday.

But that only addresses one day, while Iraqi officials referred to strikes carried out over several days.

On Sunday, US Central Command chief General Joseph Votel called recent civilian deaths in Mosul a "terrible tragedy".

"We are investigating the incident to determine exactly what happened and will continue to take extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians," he said in a statement.

Iraq is also carrying out strikes against IS with warplanes and helicopters.

The Joint Operations Command announced on Monday that Iraqi F-16 strikes had destroyed targets including bomb factories and weapons stores in the IS-held town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul.
AL-BAB, Syria (Reuters) - Syrian rebels who drove Islamic State from the town of al-Bab in northwest Syria this year discovered an extensive network of tunnels dug by militants as part of their defenses, a tactic that has slowed the military campaign against them. "The tunnels complicated the fighting a lot and stopped our advance for weeks," said Mohammed Abu Yousef, a rebel in a group fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army as part of a Turkey-backed military campaign in north Syria. FSA rebels in al-Bab said they had found about 15 km (9 miles) of tunnels under the town that had linked its central areas and jihadist headquarter buildings with the town's fringes and battle fronts. Islamic State has been steadily forced from much of its Syrian territory since late 2015. It has lost all its land along the border with Turkey as well as the desert city of Palmyra as it is repelled into its strongholds along the Euphrates basin. It is under assault from three rival forces: FSA rebels backed by Turkey, Syria's army supported by Russia, Iran and Shi'ite militias, and the Syrian Democratic Forces, an umbrella for Kurdish-led groups supported by a U.S.-led coalition. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State described the militants' use of tunnels in several different cities as "a challenge for our partner forces" and meant to allow them to "move undetected". In one tunnel, a little over a meter (yard) wide and high enough to allow a man to stand upright, the walls and ceiling were covered with chicken wire and an electrical cable ran above with light bulbs occasionally dangling down. AMBUSH The fighting to take al-Bab lasted for weeks in January and February, costing many lives as Turkish jets and armor pummeled Islamic State positions in the town and FSA groups tried to capture ground. Evidence of the battle can be seen in its rubble-strewn streets. In one district, houses were partially collapsed from fighting and bombardment and the large aluminum water tank from a building's roof lay on its side, dotted with bullet holes. "When we entered an area and ensured it was clear of Daesh fighters they would suddenly appear behind us using the tunnels and they killed a lot of our people by outflanking them this way," said Abu Yousef, using an acronym for Islamic State. His fellow rebels infiltrated some of the tunnels themselves to ambush the jihadists and blew up others to prevent them being used, he said. Some of the tunnels came out inside buildings in the town, including one that residents told rebels had previously been used by Islamic State for a prison. Abu Yousef said residents told rebels that the tunnels were dug using pneumatic drills over a period of months. Inside some tunnels were ventilation shafts and rest points with mattresses and bedding. At a high point overlooking al Bab, a narrow gash in the ground revealed the sloped opening to a tunnel near pitted concrete pillars of a damaged building from which hung slabs of roof, with twisted steel rebars poking out from the sides. (Writing by Angus McDowall in Beirut; editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he was committed to working with U.S. President Donald Trump to advance peace efforts with the Palestinians and with the broader Arab world.

Netanyahu made the pledge in a speech to the largest U.S. pro-Israel lobbying group at a time when the Trump administration is seeking agreement with his right-wing government on limiting settlement construction on land the Palestinians want for a state, part of a U.S. bid to resume long-stalled peace negotiations.

But Netanyahu, speaking via satellite link from Jerusalem, avoided any mention of the delicate discussions, and stopped short of reiterating a commitment to a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel's hand and my hand is extended to all of our neighbors in peace, Netanyahu told the annual convention of American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Israel is committed to working with President Trump to advance peace with the Palestinians and with all our neighbors.

But he repeated his demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, something they have refused to do.

Netanyahu heaped praise on Trump, who has set a more positive tone with Israel than his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, who often clashed with the Israeli leader.

He thanked the new Republican president for a recent U.S. budget request that leaves military aid to Israel fully funded. He also expressed confidence in a U.S.-Israeli partnership for preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon, following its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and for confronting Iran's aggression in the region."

On the settlements issue, a round of U.S.-Israeli talks ended last Thursday without agreement. Gaps remain over how far the building restrictions could go, according to people close to the talks.

Netanyahu's coalition is grappling with divisions that have sparked speculation that he could seek early elections.

Story continues

Many Israelis had expected Trump, because of his pro-Israel campaign rhetoric, to give a green light for settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. But Trump unexpectedly urged Netanyahu last month to hold back on settlements for a little bit.

There is skepticism in the United States and Middle East over the chances for restarting Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy. Peace talks have been frozen since 2014.

Most countries consider Israeli settlements, built on land captured in a 1967 war, to be illegal. Israel disagrees, citing historical and political links to the land, as well as security interests.

Trump has expressed ambivalence about a two-state solution, the mainstay of U.S. policy for the past two decades, but he recently invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to visit.

Related:

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.

(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; Editing by James Dalgleish)
By Hilary Russ

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Jersey's credit rating was cut on Monday, affecting $37 billion of debt, the 11th time Wall Street has downgraded the state's bonds since Governor Chris Christie took office in January 2010.

Persistent underfunding of the state's public pension system and weak budgetary position contributed to the rating cut. So did the $1.1 billion of annual revenues the state will lose by 2021 because of sales and estate tax cuts passed last year in conjunction with a gasoline tax hike, Moody's Investors Service said.

Christie, once a Republican presidential candidate, will leave office at the end of the year when his second term expires.

His fiscal 2018 budget proposal last month included a $2.5 billion contribution to the state's retirement system for public employees, a $647 million increase from this year.

Moody's said the bigger contributions under Christie were still not meeting actuarial recommendations and unfunded liabilities were mounting.

"This rating action confirms what the Governor has been saying since 2009," said Willem Rijksen, spokesman for the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, in a statement. "The pension system must be reformed or it will fail and continue to damage the entire state budget."

Christie and the Democrats who control the legislature passed bi-partisan reforms in 2011. Christie has since said more changes are needed to halt ballooning costs, but Democrats soured on Christie's suggestions after he failed to fund the system the way he had agreed to under the prior reforms.

Christie signed a 23 cent gas tax hike in October, the first such increase since 1988, to help raise more money for road, bridge and transit projects. He only agreed after striking a deal with Democrats to trim other taxes.

Moody's cut its rating on the state's general obligation bonds one notch to A3, while its outlook was revised to stable.

Most of the state's debt, however, is appropriation backed, meaning lawmakers must set aside funds for debt service payments every year. Those various bonds were also downgraded one notch to either Baa1 or Baa2, putting them in the lowest investment grade category of triple-B.

(Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by David Gregorio)
Paris (AFP) - Hanane Charrihi never felt shunned by the country of her birth until a radical drove a truck through a crowd celebrating France's national holiday in Nice, killing 86 people, including her mother.

Born in the Riviera city to Moroccan parents, the 27-year-old was still trying to come to terms with her loss when she suffered the added ignominy of being told she was no longer welcome in France -- as she grieved at the site of the carnage.

The incident, one of several involving Muslims in Nice recorded in the days after the July 14 attack, highlighted a spike in anti-Muslim sentiment in France after the third major jihadist attack in a year and a half.

In an interview with AFP, Charrihi, who wears a headscarf, said the taunts she endured that day left her doubly scarred.

"I'm living in fear of Daesh (the Islamic State group) like everyone else, but also in fear of racists," said the young author, who has written an ode to her mother, country and religion titled "Ma Mere Patrie" (My Motherland).

"When I take the metro in Paris, I stay away from the edge. I'm terrified someone might give me a push."

France's presidential election has upped the ante, she said, accusing candidates on the right and far right of "hounding" Muslims in speeches that conflate Islam and terrorism.

"It's a turbo-charged race," she said. "If you put a bit of Islam in the tank, it goes faster, because everyone is afraid of Daesh."

- 'We don't want you here' -

Charrihi said she first noticed a shift in attitudes toward Muslims, particularly those wearing headscarves, after the January 2015 attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a magazine that had printed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

On trips into Paris from the suburb where she lives with her husband and two boys, she drew stares -- even if most were "out of curiosity rather than unkindness".

Story continues

It was in her native Nice that she came face-to-face with blatant racism.

As thousands of mourners gathered to pay tribute to the dead on July 18 on the seafront avenue where the massacre took place, a man on his way to the beach with a deckchair harangued Charrihi and her sisters who had come to lay flowers at the site.

"We don't want any more of that here. We don't want you here anymore," he told them.

As the women were leaving, another man taunted them.

"So you move in packs now?" he asked, adding heartlessly, when learning that their mother was among the victims: "Good! That's one less."

Charrihi accuses the news media of abetting the prejudice by focusing on a radicalised minority that "does not represent all French Muslims".

"They interview 16-year-old imbeciles who speak rubbish," said Charrihi, a trained pharmacy assistant who defends an Islam "of peace, respect and tolerance", including the right for Charlie Hebdo's cartoonists to savage Islam and other religions with their pencils.

Buoyed by hundreds of messages of support, she and her siblings have set up an association to deter young people from radical Islam and promote unity -- following the example of Latifa Ibn Ziaten, the mother of a soldier who was among seven people killed by Mohamed Merah in Toulouse in 2012, who has become a peace ambassador.

Charrihi said her book and association were her way of fighting back against the IS group, which claimed the Nice attack as the work of one of its "soldiers".

"Dividing us is exactly what Daesh wants," she said. "I lost the person who is most dear to me... This is my way of taking revenge."
HARRISBURG - In an extraordinary decision, a federal judge on Monday dismissed the corruption case against a wealthy Chester County businessman, saying the government had failed to prove he attempted to bribe former state Treasurer Rob McCord.

U.S. District John E. Jones III delivered the decision from the bench, after hearing two weeks of government testimony in the case of Richard Ireland.

"This is a tough call, but it is a call that has to be made," the judge told a shocked courtroom.

The ruling was a striking blow to federal authorites who have led a long-running pay-to-play investigation into lobbying and other political activity in Harrisburg.

As the judge announced his decision, Ireland's attorney, Reid Weingarten, dropped his head and smiled. Supporters of Ireland, 80, flocked to shake his hand.

"It's unusual," Weingarten said of the ruling, "but in this instance, it's right on."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Consiglio declined to comment.

McCord pleaded guilty two years ago to extortion charges after being caught strong-arming donations from campaign contributors, including some who had state contracts. He also became a star witness for the government.

But during his three days on the stand, McCord provided such lukewarm support for the governments case that prosecutors grew increasingly short with him, almost treating him as a hostile witness.

Irelands lawyer, Weingarten, noted in a motion filed last week that McCord repeatedly testified that he did not believe, until prosecutors convinced him otherwise, that he and Ireland were engaged in anything illegal.

At one point, Weingarten asked, It is true, is it not, that in 2008, you never believed yourself to be in a bribery conspiracy with Dick Ireland? Correct?"

McCord replied: Thats correct.

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Yogi Adityanath, the chief priest of one of the largest temples of Uttar Pradesh, Gorakhnath mutt in Gorakhpur, has been chosen to run the most populous and politically weightiest state in the Indian Union. For long he has dominated the headlines because of his vituperative brand of politics articulated in statements like "given a chance, I will install Ganesh statues in every mosque". After the BJP came to power with a landslide in 2014, he did not step back from making offensive speeches. The stoking of sentiments through such bellicose language was what helped the BJP garner massive support in the 2017 election and he has been duly rewarded for his efforts.

Indeed, the newly minted chief minister is the BJP's fiercest campaigner for Hindutva. He ran a brazenly communal campaign, yet, the decision to appoint him as chief minister is justified on the ground that he is a five-time MP and, for that reason a popular choice. At this time, it could be argued that he has been elected again and again from Gorakhpur-one of the most backward districts of UP-in part because he is the head of a temple and by virtue of his spiritual status can command veneration from voters. He is an icon of militant Hindu sectarianism, who has built his political career by using religious politics as an instrument of electoral mobilisation. By choosing him, the message the BJP sends is that it will continue to try and capture power by resorting to overt communal mobilisation. His choice signals a front-staging of issues such as cow vigilantism, love jihad and forced religious conversion. Crucially, his appointment seems to be clearing the way for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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The elevation of Adityanath came as a surprise to many observers. Critics have highlighted his hate speeches against Muslims, which of course can't be dismissed as irksome details of his past, best forgotten now that he is chief minister. But beyond minority baiting, the really important issue is the deliberate amalgamation of the spiritual and temporal domains, which has serious consequences for the future of liberal democracy. For the first time in independent India, a head of a religious institution has been appointed to the most important constitutional-political post in a state. This is emblematic of the new institutional relationship between religion and the state being forged under the BJP regime. The ruling regime has ceded considerable power to the spiritual domain-a risky decision in this case because Adityanath is known to be strongly self-governing and defiant.

Secularism is a central idiom in India's political life. But its meaning has become increasingly contested, hence, secularism as an ideological formation and a set of cultural and political practices has been under attack even though it has emerged as a defining characteristic of modern democratic societies. Even if we approach secularism as a series of constantly evolving and contested processes of defining and redefining the place of religion in public life, the elevation of a priest to the post of chief minister is the most blatant contravention of the separation of religion and state power essential for modernity and democracy. At a minimum, the institutions and authority of the state have to maintain a formal, if not substantive, distinction from those of religion, but this central principle of secularity has been compromised in the machinations of UP politics.

The elevation of Adityanath marks a new moment in modern Indian politics, which may be used to dismantle the fundamentals of our republic. His anointment has in one stroke converted the electoral majority into a majoritarian one. It is an acknowledgement that the BJP's victory was driven by Hindu consolidation and not the development promises of Narendra Modi. It represents the most explicit and tacky attempt at speeding up the transformation of a secular republic into a Hindu state.

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Zoya Hasan, Professor Emerita, Centre for Political Studies, JNU

(Zoya Hasan is Professor Emerita, Centre for Political Studies, JNU)

--- ENDS ---
The Canadian maple leaf may soon get another leafy friend. Canadas Liberal government is poised next month to introduce legislation to legalize marijuana, CBC first reported Sunday. Under the bills provisions, the drug could be legalized by July 1, 2018, nicely coinciding with Canada Day.

Its one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus most controversial campaign promises  but one that helped his Liberal Party capture the youth vote and propel it to victory in the countrys 2015 elections.

But before American youngsters crash Canadas immigration website again, Trudeau warned the drug is still illegal until the legislation passes. Until we have a framework to control and regulate marijuana, the current laws apply, he said earlier this month. And legalization will have strict federal guidelines.

The federal government will oversee the supply and license producers, but provinces will regulate the drugs distribution, sale, and prices. There will also be a limit of four plants per household. The national age for buying marijuana will be 18, but provinces can boost the age limit as they see fit.

Theres a decidedly different battle playing out in Canadas southern neighbor. Washington, D.C. and seven U.S. states legalized recreational marijuana use: California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, and Maine. President Donald Trumps administration hasnt yet taken a stance on legalization  or looking the other way while states green-light the drug. But Attorney General Jeff Sessions is avowedly against it, saying in the past its a very real danger and increase heroin and cocaine usage as a gateway drug.

The news up north follows the December release of a lengthy Canadian federal task force report on implementing marijuana legalization. Former Justice Minister Anne McLellan, who chaired the report, said 18 was the ideal minimum age. Eighteen is the age at which young adults  and I call them deliberately young adults  are expected to be able to make decisions, whether its who to vote for, to buy alcohol, to smoke, she said in an interview.

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The Liberal platform said legalization would keep the drug out of the hands of children, and the profits out of the hands of criminals. McLellan said total prohibition was ineffective. We arent even meeting our public health goals, right? Weve got this prohibited substance. Whats the most easily available substance to your teenage kids? More available than alcohol? More available than tobacco? It is cannabis. So weve failed. So lets fix it.

But law enforcement groups voiced concerns about legalization. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) released a response in February outlining concerns with regards to impaired driving [and] impact on organized crime. It added public education is critical and should begin immediately as the government paves the way for legalization.

Trudeaus push for legalization caught political flak from other parties, even parties on the left who fear it could turn into another one of Trudeaus broken promises. I do not believe Justin Trudeau is going to bring in the legalization of marijuana and as proof that  we are still seeing, particularly young Canadians being criminalized by simple possession of marijuana, said British Columbia MP Peter Julian of the left-leaning New Democratic Party.

In February, Trudeau reneged one of his top campaign promises to reform the countrys electoral system. The move was widely criticized by opposition parties and some of his own supporters.



Canadas Conservative party largely opposes legalization. But not Kevin OLeary, widely considered a frontrunner in the race for the partys leadership. The former reality star-turned politician (sound familiar?) told conservative news outlet The Daily Caller he would embrace legalization as long as it doesnt increase impaired driving.

Photo credit: Cannabis Culture/Flickr/Creative Commons
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  An 87-year-old Kansas man who has donated 32 gallons of blood over more than six decades credits his father for his award-winning generosity.

Harold Facklam Jr. of Topeka recently was recognized by the Kansas Health Care Association and the Kansas Center for Assisted Living for the 259 pints he has donated through the American Red Cross, the Topeka Capital-Journal (http://bit.ly/2o1p4Lo ) reported.

Facklam, who donated until health reasons caused him to stop in April 2015, said he doesn't think about how his donations have affected others or even saved lives.

But he gave a nod to his late father, Harold Facklam Sr., who he said encouraged him to donate when the younger Facklam was almost 21 in 1951. Facklam's father gave blood for about 11 years, stopping at age 60.

"My father was giving; he certainly had a great influence on me. He was very, so pleased to give and that's why I started, of course," Facklam Jr. said.

For years, the younger Facklam sprung to action every time a newspaper or radio announcement said the Red Cross would be in his area accepting blood donations. After each visit to the donor center, Facklam made his next appointment to do it again.

He donated a pint of whole blood four times a year, ultimately winning Kansas American Red Cross recognition with 38 pins as he reached specific gallon markers.

The generosity is running in the family; one of Facklam's two daughters, a granddaughter and son-in-law have donated blood over the years.

Facklam also has been honored for his volunteer work with the United Church of Christ in Kansas' Geary County, where he spearheaded the committee that rebuilt the church after lightning destroyed it in 2001.

"Church was a very important part of our life, always," said Facklam, who has been married for 66 years.

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Information from: The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal, http://www.cjonline.com
Moscow (AFP) - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to 15 days behind bars and fined Monday after staging the biggest anti-corruption protests in years, an act branded a "provocation" by the Kremlin.

The United States and the European Union voiced deep concern after Navalny and more than 1,000 others were detained in the Moscow protest on Sunday, with the State Department calling the arrests an "affront to democracy".

A Moscow district court handed down the sentence after finding Navalny guilty of disobeying police orders. His fine was 20,000 rubles ($350) for organising an unsanctioned protest.

The lawyer turned activist, 40, who has announced plans to run for president next year, called Sunday's protests after publishing a report accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of nonprofit organisations.

"The authorities are being accused of multi-million theft, but they remain silent," a haggard-looking Navalny said in court, insisting the protests were legal.

"More than 1,000 people were arrested yesterday but it is impossible to arrest millions," he said.

Navalny's lawyer Olga Mikhailova told reporters that his defence team would appeal the rulings.

About 7,000 to 8,000 people demonstrated in Moscow on Sunday, according to police figures, making it one of the biggest unauthorised rallies in Vladimir Putin's 17 years in power as president or prime minister.

The Kremlin called the protest "a provocation and a lie", and claimed that minors had been promised "financial rewards" to participate.

Demonstrations were held not just in the capital Moscow and second-largest city Saint Petersburg, but also in a number of provincial cities where protests are rarely seen.

They attracted a significant number of minors born since Putin came to power.

"I am very happy that a generation that wants to be citizens, that isn't afraid, was born in the country," Navalny said.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russians' "civic stance" would be respected if expressed legally but, without mentioning Navalny by name, suggested "some people will continue using (politically) active people... to their own ends, calling them to illegal and unauthorised actions".

- EU urges protesters' release -

Navalny was arrested as he was walking to the Moscow protest and another 1,030 people were detained, according to OVD-Info, a website that monitors detentions of activists.

Most were fined and released overnight, while about 120 remained in custody on Monday morning, OVD-Info said.

Navalny's campaign director Leonid Volkov was jailed for six days. according to the Interfax news agency.

One policeman was hospitalised after suffering a head injury, the interior ministry said.

The EU urged Russia to release the demonstrators "without delay" and expressed concern that police action had "prevented the exercise of basic freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly".

"We call on the Russian authorities to abide fully by the international commitments it has made, including in the Council of Europe... to uphold these rights and to release without delay the peaceful demonstrators that have been detained."

Britain, in a statement by its foreign office, also called on Russia to release those arrested, as the "widespread arrests in Russia contravene its international commitments to uphold citizens rights".

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the detention of "peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values".

- 'Hope for a normal future' -

The protests drew comparisons with the mass anti-government rallies that swept Russia in 2011 over alleged vote-rigging after a parliamentary election, which snowballed into the biggest challenge against Putin since he took power in 2000.

Navalny said Sunday that he was "proud" of the demonstrators.

"You are the country's best people and Russia's hope for a normal future," he wrote on Twitter.

Despite the scale of the protests, Russian state television news did not cover them, broadcasting soap operas and nature films instead.

The Russian constitution allows public gatherings when authorised by city authorities, but that privilege is rarely accorded to Kremlin critics.

Navalny won a surprise 27 percent of the vote in the Moscow mayoral election in 2013, and afterwards announced plans to seek the presidency.

But he has been the subject of several legal prosecutions, and in February was found guilty of embezzlement in a case he called politically motivated. He was given a five-year suspended sentence which could make him ineligible to run in next year's polls.

Navalny and his team, ignored by official media, have taken their anti-corruption campaign online, using social media to expose the hidden fortunes of high-ranking officials.
Moscow (AFP) - At the age of 16, Darya Moroz is too young to vote in Russia but she sneaked out to join the opposition protest in Moscow on Sunday -- without telling her parents.

"I didn't tell them because I was afraid of arguments," Moroz said after she came out to support opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

"I just said I was going for a walk."

She was not alone. The unauthorised protest in Moscow on Sunday drew unprecedented numbers of students and others born after President Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, who have known only his rule.

"There were a lot of young people detained, aged 17 or 18," said Oleg Yeliseyev, a lawyer who helped three teenagers get released without charge from police stations.

"This is the first time in Russia basically. Protests are getting younger," Yelisyev told AFP.

"We don't have exact statistics but there were really a lot of minors and students," a spokesman for OVD-Info, a group that monitors police detentions in Moscow, confirmed to AFP.

"In each of the police stations there were at least two or three teenagers. That didn't happen before."

- 'Generation has been born' -

Navalny, with his social networking savvy and readiness to send Tweets even from a courtroom, is streets ahead of other Russian politicians.

His approach clearly appeals to the internet generation that does not watch state television nor has first-hand memories of the 1990s, a decade often considered one of economic and political chaos preceding the "stability" of the Putin era.

In court on Monday, Navalny told journalists he wanted to thank high school and university students for taking part.

"I'm really happy that a generation has been born in the country who want to be citizens, who aren't afraid," he said.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Navalny of "consciously deceiving minors, children basically", by encouraging them to attend an unsanctioned rally.

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Peskov said that Navalny had offered "financial rewards" to minors if they were detained, though he gave no evidence to back up his claim.A YouTube video posted Sunday by a nationalist news site shows a young boy apparently in a police van saying Navalny had promised that the European Court of Human Rights would pay 10,000 euros ($10,900) in compensation for detention.

The video, which has no identifying details nor explains why a cameraman would be inside a police van, had been viewed 50,000 times as of Monday.

- 'There are no answers' -

Moroz, who is studying computer programming at university, said she decided to join the protest after Navalny's anti-corruption group released a video expose linking Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to a vast property empire.

She said she was shocked the authorities did not react.

"The only thing that happened was that Medvedev blocked Navalny on Instagram. I was gobsmacked, basically," she said.

"In our country, there are no answers, no attempts to refute anything, nothing."

She went to the protest with a friend, Vlad Korostelev, a 19-year-old computer security student.

They said police pulled friends from the crowd on the central Pushkin Square and hauled them into police vans.

Riot police "pulled people out at random... people who weren't holding posters or doing anything," Korostelev said.

Moroz said she was "scared for myself and them."

"A lot of people were very young and they had never been in that situation, they didn't know what to do, they were just in a panic," she said.

"It's scary to live in this country and you need to try to fight this, because it's totally out of line."

One of those detained was 17-year-old Roman Shingarkin, a student who shinned up a lamppost with another young protester.

He told The Village, a local news site, that officers "detained us quite harshly: a policeman hit me in the stomach."

His parents collected him from the police station after its juvenile crime unit filed a report saying he shouted slogans and disobeyed police -- claims which he denies.

"I'm not sorry I went to the protest. I'm just sorry I caused trouble for my parents," he said.

A poll Monday by the opposition-leaning Ekho Moskvy radio station found that 76 percent backed school children taking part in protests.
DEAD SEA, Jordan (AP)  The Latest on the Arab Summit held in Jordan (all times local):

6:30 p.m.

Jordan's foreign minister says Arab foreign ministers unanimously endorsed more than a dozen policy resolutions, including one rejecting unilateral steps that "jeopardize the historic and legal status" of Jerusalem.

This was an apparent reference to President Donald Trump's previously stated intentions to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the city at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians seek a capital in east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Jordanian minister, Ayman Safadi, said Monday that the resolution is one of "about 17" to be adopted later this week at a gathering of Arab heads of states in Jordan.

He says the ministers also reaffirmed the need to establish a state of Palestine alongside Israel.

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6:15 p.m.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has received Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Cairo, meeting him at the airport before holding "extensive" talks alongside aides in the presidential palace.

Egypt later expressed its solidarity with Bahrain in confronting terrorism, condemning "in the strongest terms" all attempts to destabilize the security and stability of the kingdom and supporting all its efforts to fight them. In a Foreign Ministry statement Monday, Egypt said it was stating its position in light of the arrest a day earlier of what Bahraini authorities claimed was a "terrorist cell" that had been planning assassinations and attacks on several vital targets in the kingdom.

Arab leaders are scheduled to meet Wednesday at a regional summit in Jordan.

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2:40 p.m.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has received a royal welcome in Jordan, in a lavish ceremony complete with cannon salutes, guards on camel back and a cream-colored vintage Mercedes.

Salman is in Jordan to attend the annual Arab Summit, to be held on Wednesday. Issues on the summit agenda include conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen.

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Saudi Arabia is an important financial backer of Jordan. Jordan's King Abdullah II greeted the Saudi monarch on the tarmac at a military airport on the outskirts of the capital, Amman.

The two monarchs are expected to sign several economic and political agreements on the sidelines of the summit. Jordan faces an increasingly dire economic crisis, in part because of the spillover from conflicts in neighboring Syria and Iraq.

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1:50 p.m.

Jordan's foreign minister has told Arab counterparts that the region must come together and urgently confront crises that have been allowed to fester, including violent conflicts and millions of children deprived of the right to an education.

Ayman Safadi spoke Monday, as foreign ministers prepared resolutions for Arab heads of state meeting Wednesday for their annual summit, this year hosted by Jordan.

Safadi painted a grim picture, saying the "Arab political system has failed to solve the crises and halt the collapse as the trust of Arab citizens in the joint Arab institutions has eroded." He says more than 12 million Arab children are being denied access to an education, presumably in part because of conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Libya.

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10:30 a.m.

Sudan's official news agency says President Omar al-Bashir will attend Wednesday's Arab Summit in Jordan, despite a long-standing warrant for his arrest by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide.

The international group Human Rights Watch urged Jordan to deny entry to al-Bashir or arrest him, citing its obligations as an ICC member. Jordan says that as an Arab League member, Sudan has the right to attend the annual meeting of Arab leaders.

Al-Bashir was charged in connection with alleged atrocities in the country's Darfur region. The U.N. estimates 300,000 people have died there and 2.7 million have fled their homes.

Sudan's news agency SUNA reported Sunday that he would attend the summit. He has traveled frequently since his indictment but is careful where he goes.
By Ronnie Cohen (Reuters Health) - In states that legalized medical marijuana, U.S. hospitals failed to see a predicted influx of pot smokers, but in an unexpected twist, they treated far fewer opioid users, a new study shows. Hospitalization rates for opioid painkiller dependence and abuse dropped on average 23 percent in states after marijuana was permitted for medicinal purposes, the analysis found. Hospitalization rates for opioid overdoses dropped 13 percent on average. At the same time, fears that legalization of medical marijuana would lead to an uptick in cannabis-related hospitalizations proved unfounded, according to the report in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Instead, medical marijuana laws may have reduced hospitalizations related to opioid pain relievers, said study author Yuyan Shi, a public health professor at the University of California, San Diego. This study and a few others provided some evidence regarding the potential positive benefits of legalizing marijuana to reduce opioid use and abuse, but they are still preliminary, she said in an email. Dr. Esther Choo, a professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, was intrigued by the studys suggestion that access to cannabis might reduce opioid misuse. It is becoming increasingly clear that battling the opioid epidemic will require a multi-pronged approach and a good deal of creativity, Choo, who was not involved in the study, said in an email. Could increased liberalization of marijuana be part of the solution? It seems plausible. However, she said, there is still much we need to understand about the mechanisms through which marijuana policy may affect opioid use and harms. An estimated 60 percent of Americans now live in the 28 states and Washington, D.C. where medical marijuana is legal under state law. Meanwhile, the opioid epidemic - sparked by a quadrupling since 1999 in sales of prescription painkillers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin - kills 91 Americans a day. Shi analyzed hospitalization records from 1997 through 2014 for 27 states, nine of which implemented medical marijuana policies. Her study was the fifth to show declines in opioid use or deaths in states that allow medical cannabis. Previous studies reported associations between medical marijuana and reductions in opioid prescriptions, opioid-related vehicle accidents and opioid-overdose deaths. In a 2014 study, Dr. Marcus Bachhuber found deaths from opioid overdoses fell by 25 percent in states that legalized medical marijuana. Since last year, when New York rolled out its medical marijuana program, Bachhuber has included cannabis in a menu of options he offers his patients who suffer chronic or severe pain from neuropathy and HIV/AIDS, he said in a phone interview. Bachhuber, a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, was not involved in the new study. Many of Bachhubers patients ask for help quitting highly addictive opioids, and some have used marijuana to taper off the prescription painkillers, he said. Nonetheless, a 1970 federal law puts cannabis in the same category as heroin, Schedule 1 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, and finds it has no medicinal value. Consequently, doctors can only recommend, not prescribe, marijuana, and physicians who work for the federal government cannot even discuss the weed. Federal prohibition also has led to severe limitations on marijuana research. In January, a National Academies report found conclusive or substantial evidence that cannabis can effectively treat chronic pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea and spasticity. The report, written by an independent panel of medical experts, found no evidence of cannabis overdose deaths. It did, however, find links between cannabis use and an increased risk of vehicle accidents as well as the development of schizophrenia or other psychoses, particularly among the most frequent users. Bachhuber lamented the dearth of research on the best ways to use marijuana as medicine. We have information that it works based on the National Academies report, he said. But we dont know who it works best for, at what dosage, for how long. Last week, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the nations top cop, reiterated his concerns about marijuana and heroin, an illegal opioid. I am astonished to hear people suggest that we can solve our heroin crisis by legalizing marijuana, he told law enforcement officers in Virginia, so people can trade one life-wrecking dependency for another. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2mRVepg Drug and Alcohol Dependence, online February 21, 2017.
By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) - Lesbian, gay and bisexual adolescents report higher rates of tobacco use than heterosexual teens, according to a U.S. study that also highlights gender differences in smoking habits. Overall, about 41 percent of lesbian and gay teens use tobacco products including both traditional and e-cigarettes, as do 39 percent of bisexual youth and 32 percent of adolescents who are uncertain about their sexual orientation, the study found. That compares to 30 percent of heterosexual teens. Lesbians were more than twice as likely as straight girls to smoke, the study also found. Gay teens, however, had roughly the same odds of tobacco use as heterosexual boys. "Gender does matter in tobacco use among sexual minority youth," said lead study author Dr. Hongying Dai of Children's Mercy Hospital and the University of Missouri in Kansas City. While some previous research has found teens who aren't heterosexual tend to be more drawn to smoking than their straight peers, the current study offers fresh insight into how both gender and sexual orientation may separately influence tobacco use, Dai said by email. For the study, researcher examined nationally representative survey data collected from 14,703 adolescents in high school in 2015. Most of the participants were heterosexual, while 6 percent were bisexual, 2 percent were gay or lesbian and about 3 percent said they weren't sure about their sexual identity. The survey looked at how often youth used four types of tobacco products over the previous month: cigars, snuff or chewing tobacco, traditional cigarettes, and e-cigarettes, which are battery-powered gadgets with a heating element that turns liquid nicotine and flavorings into a cloud of vapor that users inhale. Gay and lesbian teens, as well as youth uncertain about their sexual orientation, or "questioning," were more likely than their straight peers to use all four types of tobacco products, researchers report in Pediatrics. Bisexual teens, a predominantly female group, were more likely than heterosexual youth to use cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes but less likely to use snuff. The results highlight the need for tobacco control policies that specifically target youth who arent heterosexual, the authors conclude. Limitations of the study include the lack of data on transgender teens and the exclusion of youth who dropped out of high school, the researchers point out. The study also counted any amount of tobacco use the same way, so it didnt separate teens who reported trying one cigarette from youth with a daily smoking habit. It also wasn't a controlled experiment designed to prove whether sexual orientation directly influences tobacco use. "Sexual orientation is not the cause of the smoking disparities; the stigma of being LGBTQ is the problem," said Michele Eliason, a researcher at San Francisco State University who wasn't involved in the study. "Many youth fear rejection by family and peers and hide their sexuality," Eliason said by email. "This is very stressful and smoking is used as a form of stress release." It's also possible that some lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer/questioning (LGBTQ) teens may be open about their sexuality and engaged in LGBTQ communities, where they find more acceptance for smoking and drug use, Eliason added. When teens have a social support network with other smokers, they are more likely to start smoking themselves. Providing a strong support system at home can make a difference, said Heather Corliss, a public health researcher at San Diego State University who wasn't involved in the study. "The most important thing parents can do is to support their teens unconditionally and without judgment. This recommendation applies to parents of all teens regardless of their sexual orientation," Corliss said by email. "Teens who have a strong attachment to a parent are less likely to use tobacco than those who are less connected to their family," she added. "Parents should foster strong relationships with their teens, while at the same time maintaining consistent rules and limits." SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2nYdO2a Pediatrics, online March 27, 2017.
On March 21, the 44-year-old Yogi Adityanath, five-term MP from Gorakhpur and the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, gave his final address in the Lok Sabha. An unusually mellow Adityanath, clad in his trademark saffron attire, promised to transform UP into a model state, "free from the prejudices of caste and religion, riots and anti-social activity". "I will invite all of you to see the new Uttar Pradesh," he said. Part of the transformation-that of Adityanath himself from firebrand Hindutva icon to a messiah for development-had evidently begun.

However, few recent announcements have been as startling as the party's March 18 decision to appoint the stocky yogi from eastern UP chief minister of India's largest state.

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The chorus of alarm was not unexpected. Adityanath, whose political career began in 1998, has a well-documented record at making vitriolic anti-Muslim speeches. "When I speak, thousands listen.. When I ask them to rise and protect our Hindu culture, they obey. If I ask for blood, they will give me blood. I will not stop till I turn UP and India into a Hindu rashtra," Adityanath had said at a rally in 2009. One of five private member bills he introduced in the Lok Sabha last year was for changing the name of India to Hindustan in Article 1 of the Constitution. In November 2015, he targeted Shah Rukh Khan for suggesting there was intolerance in the country, saying there was no difference between the language of the actor and Hafiz Saeed. "If a huge mass of people boycotted his films, he will have to wander on the streets like a normal Muslim," he had said.

The Modi-Shah CM pick took even senior cabinet ministers by surprise. Adityanath vaulted over other contenders-home minister Rajnath Singh, UP BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya and minister of state for railways, Manoj Sinha. Maurya, the party's OBC face, was appointed deputy CM, as was Dinesh Sharma, a Brahmin.

With Adityanath at the helm, the Opposition predicted, the state would slide back to the uncertainty of the mandir-masjid days and polarisation. "No more pretence! Yogi Adityanath to sit where Pantji, NDT (Narayan Dutt Tiwari), Bahugana et al once sat. Great test PM has put BJP trolls to. Explain this," senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid tweeted.

To many, Adityanath's swearing-in on March 19 may have seemed like a carefully worked-out plan, a return to the BJP's hardline Hindutva agenda after a campaign promising development. However, party sources reveal that the yogi's appointment was not a given. His selection had less to do with his Hindutva leanings and more to do with electoral calculation and the BJP's promise of corruption-free government. Else, party insiders say, it would not have taken them a week to announce his name.

In the aftermath of their thunderous victory in UP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah were unlikely to have missed a worrying trend. The total votes polled by the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party exceeded the BJP's vote share by four percentage points. This meant that had UP's two largest parties joined hands, they could have stopped the BJP's victory march. Modi and Shah believe the entire Opposition will be ranged against them in 2019. A Bihar-style mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), which brought the saffron party to its knees in the 2015 state elections, could well become a national reality in 2019. In UP, where the BJP scored its largest block of 71 Lok Sabha seats in 2014, this could be an insurmountable obstacle between Modi and victory. Hence, winning UP for the party in 2019 was one of the key pre-requisites for the candidates the duo scanned. The names included those of Maurya, Sinha and Rajnath Singh. All three leaders, including Rajnath Singh, were keen on the job, driven perhaps by the BJP's brute majority in the UP assembly, which assured them a stable tenure.

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Their names, however, were crossed out for various reasons. Rajnath Singh, 65, was seen as past his prime. Maurya was seen as too soft to be able to deal with the harsh political realities of India's largest state. Sinha, 55, was perceived as intelligent but laidback. BJP president Shah was the most vocal proponent of Adityanath's candidature. The prime minister was initially uncomfortable with the yogi's name for two reasons. One, his polarising speeches clashed with Modi's new 'pluralist' image and, two, Adityanath had stridently opposed him before 2014, when he felt Modi had gone soft on Hindutva. This was the time when Adityanath identified himself more with the VHP than the BJP. The PM gave his assent only after Shah brokered an agreement whereby the yogi would not only eschew 'VHP-type Hindutva' but also rein in his saffron followers. His primary task, however, would be to end corruption and nepotism. Modi and Shah believe that if Adityanath pulls the state out of its legacy of maladministration, the political message from India's largest state could reverberate across the country.

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Photo: Maneesh Agnihotri

At around 3 am each day, Adityanath rises in his modest bedroom at the sprawling Gorakhnath mutt. After performing puja, he heads towards the mutt complex before turning towards the cowshed, where he feeds the cows jaggery. After a breakfast of fresh gram, porridge and fruit, he sits in his office within the complex from 9.30 am to 11 am, hearing out the steady stream of constituents who turn up to air their grievances and seek his intervention. There are property disputes and family quarrels, all of which he tries to help resolve. Muslims too flock to him to remedy their problems; some of his close aides are Muslim and a lot of the patients who come to the 400-bed charitable hospital in the mutt complex are Muslim. The management of the four dozen-odd educational, health and other institutions the mutt runs in Gorakhpur and Maharajganj districts have equipped him with administrative skills.

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Born Ajay Singh Bisht, son of Thakur forest ranger Anand Singh Bisht, he studied near his native village in Panchur in Pauri Garhwal till Class 10 and then went to Kotdwar. He did his BSc Mathematics from a college in Rishikesh. His secretary and collegemate R.S. Rawat says Adityanath always had a spiritual bent of mind. "He was a great devotee of Lord Hanuman and used to fast every Tuesday," he says.

Soon after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992, Adityanath got in touch with Mahant Avaidyanath, head of the Gorakhnath mutt in Gorakhpur and a BJP MP. He would initially visit him at his MP bungalow in Delhi and then started going to his mutt in Gorakhpur. The mahant was evidently impressed with his spritual fervour and enrolled him as a disciple.

Joining the Nath Sampradaya of Sanatani Hindus, which transcends caste lines, was an advantage. This was one more reason that weighed in Adityanath's favour, as the sampradaya extends across the country and the BJP hopes Adityanath's appeal will cut across caste lines at a national level as it does in UP right now. The Modi-Shah calculation is that if Adityanath succeeds even partially as an administrator, he would have few opponents either from the Opposition or within the BJP.

The party expects him to deliver on law and order and change the UP government's reputation for bestowing favours into a record of dispensing justice. The expectations on the law and order front are also based on the fact that the rise of Adityanath the strongman ended the reign of gangster-politicians like Harishankar Tiwari and Virendra Pratap Shahi in Gorakhpur, the wild east of UP.

Adityanath first figured in Shah's reckoning when a pre-demonetisation electoral survey by the BJP in UP gave the party 250 plus seats. Any fewer seats and the top BJP leaders would have opposed his name, for various reasons, whether for his brusque ways, his anti-Muslim rants in a party coming out of the deep saffron shadow or for the fact that he might overshadow them on the national turf in the coming years. His disavowal of the culture of bhai-bhatijavaad (nepotism) made him seemingly impervious to influence and nepotism.

When the BJP's post-demonetisation survey gave it 306 seats, Adityanath had already emerged as a key CM contender. Shah believed he was the perfect man to stem the administrative rot in UP. "Yogiji has a very strict stance against nepotism," says UP BJP spokesperson Chandramohan. "He believes in dispensing justice, not extending favours. Like Modiji's arrival gave a shock to UP's favour-driven culture, Yogiji is giving shivers to middlemen and favour-seekers." A source close to the BJP high command says Adityanath has been selected for two things UP needs the most to pull it back from the brink: his clean image and unrelenting work in the pursuit of the cause he espouses. "However, he should know that the days of strident Hindutva are over," he says. Kirtivardhan Singh, BJP MP from Gonda, adds, "Calls to the CM for transfers and postings are out, because people fear Yogiji's incorruptible aura."

Meanwhile, Adityanath's criticism of Modi turned to respect after he managed to get 71 seats in UP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls without mentioning Ram or any other emotive Hindutva issue. It convinced the yogi that the saffron rhetoric did not work at the ballot boxes as effectively as raising the aspirations of the people and limiting Hindutva to opposing the Muslim appeasement by rival parties.

Having become CM, Adityanath hit the ground running. In his first cabinet meeting after taking over, he advised his ministers to exercise restraint and refrain from indulging in demagoguery or vendetta. He then gave the party manifesto to his senior bureaucrats and asked them to make plans to realise its promises.

On his third day in office, the new CM asked state chief secretary Rahul Bhatnagar to direct police stations to clamp down on unlawful activities and track down wanted criminals. He also wanted anti-Romeo squads formed to curb sexual harassment. A drive to close illegal slaughterhouses saw queues of butchers seeking licences.

"I am yet to see a chief minister handing over the party manifesto to the bureaucracy on his first day in office and asking them to work on it. This shows both his dynamism and authority," says Bharat Pandya, a senior BJP leader in Gujarat. Senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said he will observe Adityanath for six months before judging him.

In his farewell address in the Lok Sabha, Adityanath reminded the House about how he had freed Gorakhpur from gang wars, riots and abductions for ransom. As he sets out to try and replicate these achievements in UP, he will do so with the knowledge that no politician will be as closely watched as he will be in the next few years.

--- ENDS ---
Bamako (AFP) - Former rebels and Mali's opposition parties Monday boycotted a national summit enshrined in the country's 2015 peace deal, laying bare divisions with the government and armed groups it relies on for security.

The talks were agreed in the accord signed by Tuareg-led rebels, the government and pro-Bamako militias aimed at ending successive separatist uprisings in Mali's north, most recently in 2012, and to isolate jihadist groups.

"We want a united Mali and we are open," said President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita at the conference's opening ceremony, speaking only to his own delegates and commanders supportive of his rule, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA), the former rebel alliance, and Mali's opposition groupings said a lack of consultation and time for preparation meant they would not attend.

"The parties involved have not been able to reach a consensus, taking into account our worries," a CMA statement said, describing failed sessions with international mediators.

The implementation of the peace accord struck has been piecemeal and insurgents who refused to sign the deal are still active across large parts of the country.

Mali's north fell under the control of jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012 who hijacked the rebel uprising, though the Islamists were largely ousted by a French-led military operation in January 2013.
Cops in Washington say they arrested a man a mere 10 minutes after his release from jail.

A call came in Friday from the county courthouse, where a security officer reported seeing a man exiting a citizen's vehicle in the parking lot, according to the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office.

Watch: Cop Fired for Allegedly Stealing From Drivers During Traffic Stops

The security officer detained the 30-year-old until deputies arrived.

Upon searching the suspect, deputies found what they believe to be methamphetamine and heroin, an official told KBKW.

The man reportedly told detectives he found the drugs in another vehicle he had been inside previously.

Read: Child Momentarily Feared Kidnapped After Day Care Gives Woman the Wrong Kid

The sheriff's office said the suspect was seen entering vehicles on surveillance footage taken at the courthouse.

He was arrested for allegedly prowling cars.

Officials also note that a victim has yet to come forward to claim the stolen narcotics.

Watch: Prankster Ties Up Traffic While Eating Pancake Breakfast in Busy Intersection: Cops

Related Articles:
The white supremacist who cops say traveled to New York City to kill a black man before fatally impaling a 66-year-old with a sword gave a startling jailhouse interview, and with it, a glimpse inside his dark mind.

One of the more notable  and stomach-turning  revelations came when James Jackson traveled from Baltimore with the intent of murdering a younger black man in what he envisioned as a way to protect white women.

Read: Man Angry Over Juice Tries to Torch Store Because He Thought Owner Was Muslim: Cops

"I didnt know he was elderly," the 28-year-old told the New York Daily News. Instead, Jackson said he would have preferred to have killed "a young thug" or "a successful older black man with blondes... people you see in Midtown. These younger guys that put white girls on the wrong path."

Jackson said he chose Timothy Caughman, 66, at random and that he envisioned it as a practice run for what he hoped would become a spate of racist slayings to make a statement.

He said he hoped white women would say: "Well, if that guy feels so strongly about it, maybe I shouldnt do it."

But after allegedly plunging an 18-inch blade into Caughman's chest in an unprovoked attack as the victim collected bottles in Manhattan, Jackson said he began to worry about how his actions might affect his family.

"I got depressed... I saw it was too late. Its irreversible," he told the Daily News. "I didnt want to put my family through any more pain."

Also revealed in the interview was Jackson's upbringing by liberals in the deep blue state of Maryland, where he even attended the prestigious Quaker school, Friends School of Baltimore.

"I guess its like anything  if something gets pushed on you too much, you reject it," he said.

Reject, though, is not a strong enough word for what police say Jackson did March 20 after taking a bus from Baltimore and checking into a Times Square hotel the Friday prior.

Story continues

Watch: Man Arrested for Stabbing Worshipper in What Police Are Calling a Hate Crime

According to the NYPD, Jackson first followed one black man before becoming spooked and then turning his attention to Caughman.

Caughman was found still alive but later died at a hospital.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called the crime an "unspeakable human tragedy."

"This is an assault on what makes this the greatest city in the world: Our inclusiveness and our diversity," the mayor said. "Now its our collective responsibility to speak clearly and forcefully in the face of intolerance and violence  here or across the country. We are a safe city because we are inclusive. We are a nation of unrivaled strength because we are diverse. No act of violence can undermine who we are."

Jackson has been charged with murder as a hate crime and is being housed at Rikers Island prison, where he told his interviewer he believes he'll die at the hands of the predominantly black populace.

"I don't blame them, Id feel the same if I were in their shoes," he said.

Watch: 4 Charged With Hate Crime After Streaming Abuse of Mentally Disabled Man: Cops

Related Articles:
Washington (AFP) - The United States criticized Moscow on for arresting hundreds of people demonstrating against corruption, calling the move an "affront" to democracy.

The march in Moscow was one of the biggest unauthorized demonstrations in recent years. Police put the turnout at 7,000-8,000 people.

"The United States strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters throughout Russia," acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

"Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values."

Among those arrested was opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose anti-corruption foundation organized the marches.

Toner said the United States was "troubled" by the arrest of Navalny, who has announced plans to run for president in the 2018 election and published a detailed report this month accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of nonprofit organizations.

Police said about 500 people had been arrested in Moscow, while OVD-Info, a website that monitors the detention of activists, said at least 933 had been detained, as well as dozens in other cities.

Russia's Interfax news agency said 130 people were arrested in Saint Petersburg, where about 4,000 people gathered in the city center.

"The United States will monitor this situation, and we call on the government of Russia to immediately release all peaceful protesters," Toner said.

"The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve a government that supports an open marketplace of ideas, transparent and accountable governance, equal treatment under the law, and the ability to exercise their rights without fear of retribution."

US President Donald Trump is under intense pressure over his Russia ties, amid an FBI probe of Russian interference in last year's presidential election, including Moscow's possible collusion with Trump's campaign.
London (AFP) - British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday urged Scotland not to choose independence, while also fighting a political crisis in Northern Ireland in the frantic final days before she launches Brexit.

With Britain still reeling from a terror attack at the gates of parliament, May is preparing to embark on a journey out of the European Union this week that will change Britain and the EU forever.

"Now is not the time" for a referendum, May said before meeting First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a Glasgow hotel -- their first talks since the Scottish leader announced plans for a vote.

Both leaders said they were not ready to compromise.

The Edinburgh parliament on Tuesday is expected to back Sturgeon's call for a new independence vote -- three years after one in which Scots voted to stay -- to be held before Britain leaves the EU in 2019.

May will send a letter to EU President Donald Tusk with Britain's formal departure notification on Wednesday, opening up a two-year negotiating window before Britain actually leaves the bloc in 2019.

The Sunday Times reported that the letter would run to eight pages and British media said it would be handed over in person by Britain's EU envoy Tim Barrow at the same time as May addresses British MPs.

The notification will come nine months after Britain voted by 52 percent in favour of leaving the EU, the first country to do so, in a decision that shocked the world and caused a sharp devaluation of the pound.

The EU is expected to provide an initial response by Friday and an EU summit on April 29 will come up with a more detailed strategy, but the talks themselves are not expected to start until May at the earliest.

- 'We want a deal' -

The prospect of those negotiations breaking down and Britain leaving with no deal in place is a growing concern for UK business leaders and among pro-EU politicians on both sides of the Channel.

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier last week warned that if no deal was reached, it could mean queues at the port of Dover, disrupted air traffic in and out of Britain and even see the transport of nuclear material suspended.

Story continues

"We want a deal," Barnier told reporters, after May said that "no deal is better than a bad deal".

Barnier also said Britain must "settle the accounts" after EU officials said London faced an exit bill of around 60 billion euros ($65 billion) -- likely to be a major bone of contention in the negotiations.

The launch of Brexit, which has raised wider questions about European integration, will come just days after EU leaders celebrated the 60th anniversary of the bloc's founding treaty in Rome with a declaration in favour a "multi-speed Europe".

Tens of thousands of pro-EU demonstrators took to the streets of London and other European cities on Saturday but for many Britons the country's departure cannot come soon enough.

- 'Out of control' Brexiteers -

The run-up to the historic moment has been particularly frenzied for May, who had to be rushed out of the British parliament last Wednesday after an attacker went on a rampage outside the gates.

Briton Khalid Masood, 52, ran over and killed three pedestrians, then stabbed a police officer to death before being shot dead himself just inside the gates of the symbol of Britain's democracy.

Scotland and Northern Ireland are providing two further headaches for Conservative leader May.

In Northern Ireland, Britain on Monday extended talks aimed at ending a deadlock on forming a power-sharing executive after a deadline to do so expired.

"We now have a short window of opportunity," Northern Ireland Minister James Brokenshire told reporters, saying failure to reach a deal so far was "extremely disappointing" and would cause "widespread dismay".

Northern Ireland voted for the UK to stay in the European Union and the border with the the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state, is a concern for negotiators.

Scotland also voted overwhelmingly for Britain to stay in the EU.

As well as exposing deep rifts between different parts of the country, the Brexit vote showed up the divide between the haves and the have-nots of globalisation and the raw wounds from the global financial crisis and years of austerity.
Miami (AFP) - Mice began infesting human settlements some 15,000 years ago in the Middle East, said a study Monday that suggested the little rodents have been scurrying underfoot far longer than previously thought.

As soon as hunter-gatherers began settling down rather than roving from place to place, house mice began to edge out their wild counterparts, said the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer-reviewed US journal.

"The research provides the first evidence that, as early as 15,000 years ago, humans were living in one place long enough to impact local animal communities -- resulting in the dominant presence of house mice," said co-author Fiona Marshall, a professor of anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis.

Previous research has pointed to the rise of farming as the starting point for transforming human relations with the animal world -- particularly small mammals like mice.

But this study suggests "that the roots of animal domestication go back to human sedentism thousands of years prior to what has long been considered the dawn of agriculture," said Marshall.

In hunter-gatherer villages in the eastern Mediterranean region, house mice were common more than 3,000 years before the earliest known evidence for agriculture, said the findings.

When hunter gatherers settled in one place, they provided shelter and regular access to crumbs and scraps.

Mice would learn to benefit from this and would stick around, marking an early phase of domestication.

Researchers focused on an ancient Natufian hunter-gatherer site in the Jordan Valley of Israel, where excavations have shown a wildly swinging ratio of house mice to wild mice during different prehistoric periods.

They studied variations in the molar shapes of fossilized mice teeth going back as far as 200,000 years.

At times when people were more likely to settle for long periods, the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) reigned over the short-tailed field mouse (M. macedonicus), and pushed most of them outside the settlement.

Story continues

In periods of drought or food shortages, when hunter-gatherers were forced to move more often, the populations of house mice and field mice reached a balance.

"The findings provide clear evidence that the ways humans have shaped the natural world are tied to varying levels of human mobility," said Marshall.

The study included researchers from the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, France, and Lior Weissbrod of the University of Haifa in Israel.
Raje said she was paying special attention on Dholpur and nearby places those have been long ignored. She announced a Rs 100 crore hospital just to replace a congested old one.

By Rohit Parihar: Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has been in Dholpur to supervise by-election in Dholpur. Half of her 30 ministers have been assigned the task to ensure ruling BJP's victory in Dholpur on April 9.

Besides Raje's son Dushyant Singh, MP who is heir to erstwhile Jat royalty of Dholpur, and state BJP president Ashok Parnami too has his task cut out for it. Ahead of the Assembly poll in December next year, this by-poll is a test of the government's popularity.

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Raje, married in Dholpur on the banks of Chambal, is known as its erstwhile Maharani and from here she made her entry into politics in 1985 when she defeated heavyweight Banwari Lal of Congress with 23000 votes, but later on she lost to him by 4000 votes in 1993 and shifted base to Jhalawar thereafter.

Congress has again fielded Banwari Lal because he has contested ten times from here and won five of those elections but his son lost to BJP in 2008. The seat has returned to Congress seven times and five times to the Bhartiya Janta Party.

But in 2013, despite a BJP wave that swept across the state, Dholpur returned an independent MLA BL Kushwah who defeated Banwari Lal but lost the seat after convicted for the murder case of his sister's boyfriend. That is why a by-election is being held here.

Raje, sensing that Dholpur would be a test of her popularity, inducted Kushwah's wife Shobha Rani to the party a few months ago and now fielded her in by-polls ignoring all criticism of making a convict's wife as party's candidate. On March 8, in her 2017 budget, Raje said she was paying special attention on Dholpur and nearby places those have been long ignored. She announced a Rs 100 crore hospital just to replace a congested old one. Why Dholpur by-poll is so crucial for her when she has 160 members in the 200-strong-Assembly and she will continue as the chief minister to lead the party in Assembly elections in December 2018 irrespective of the results?

Probably one reason is that, it is her first by-poll after September 2014 when the party lost three out of four by-elections just after it had won all 25 seats in general elections. All four seats were vacated by MLAs who won as MPs but their recommendations for the tickets were ignored in three cases by the high command in an attempt to expand the base. Thereafter the party has done very well in panchayats and local body polls. But Dholpur is a test of her popularity and governance in her own as well her son's home town which has never been BJP's stronghold.

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Rajasthan's access to Dholpur is via Agra and this place borders UP where voters have overwhelmingly voted for the BJP. Will a loss in any way affect her chance to continue as the CM and will she be called to Delhi to be in the union cabinet? That has been ruled out by the party and herself. However, the results will make party introspect about its prospects in 2018 Assembly polls and will give credence to one perception that she has not been as strong administrator as she used to be. It will also make a few dissidents go after her and make a demand for her removal as the chief minister. A win will directly make Raje insist that she has been handling the state very well though it won't be a reflection on voter's mood across the state.

ALSO READ:

Dholpur Assembly by-election a prestige issue for the BJP

Rajasthan: Congress seeks home minister's resignation over comments in Bikaner gangrape case

--- ENDS ---
Environmentalists, climate advocates and many world leaders have feared this moment ever since President Donald Trump took office. On Tuesday, with the anticipated signing of an Executive Order, the great climate policy dismantling is slated to begin.

This will kick off the unwinding of the Obama administration's climate efforts, including the landmark set of regulations known as the Clean Power Plan. This program, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is America's most comprehensive effort to slash carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and steer the economy away from fossil fuels.

Trump, it seems, is determined to turn the wheel back toward those dirty fuels, no matter the environmental costs.

SEE ALSO: EPA chief calls historic climate treaty a 'bad deal' because this is our life now

The regulations require power plants to reduce total carbon emissions by 32 percent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.

Despite its flaws, the Clean Power Plan is still the country's best defense against human-driven global warming, energy experts say.

Absent the policy, U.S. utilities will move far more slowly to curb their appetite for coal and natural gas  even as the rest of the world adopts more renewable energy. The plan is also essential to the U.S. meeting its targets laid out in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Without it, America's word will be less credible on the international stage.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at the U.N. signing ceremony for the Paris Climate Agreement in April 2016.

Image: spencer platt/Getty Images

"It's definitely a little depressing," said Noah Kaufman, a climate economist at the World Resources Institute, said of the expected reversal in Washington.

"It's frustrating that the federal government doesn't seem to want to play a more productive role," he said.

Still, virtually no one expected the Clean Power Plan to escape the Trump administration unscathed.

Trump and many of his top officials, including EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, have said they are uncertain or outright skeptical of the mainstream scientific consensus that the world is warming, and that human activity is primarily to blame.

Story continues

Adding to environmentalists' gloom, Pruitt, who oversees the Clean Power Plan, is one of its most ardent critics.

Scott Pruitt, self-professed "leading advocate against the EPA" (and head of the EPA).

Image: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

As Oklahoma's attorney general, Pruitt led a nationwide legal battle to dismantle the regulations. The rule, which was designed to go into effect in 2015, was stayed by the Supreme Court in February 2016 until those lawsuits are resolved.

"Imagine a rule that raises the cost of electricity, hurts the most poor among us, cuts domestic jobs and results in a dramatic re-shaping of the American electricity system," then-attorney general Pruitt wrote in a 2014 op-ed in The Hill.

Image: spencer platt/Getty Images

Some large utilities have endorsed the plan and filed legal briefs in its favor. Dominion Resources, a major consumer of coal, said the rule was "challenging but ultimately manageable" in a 2016 brief.

The Obama administration estimated the plan would cost states and utilities around $8.4 billion a year. By contrast, public health and climate benefits could add up to around $34 billion to $54 billion per year in 2030 by driving down toxic air pollution, reducing water contamination and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental groups have also criticized the plan. But as they see it, the policy doesn't go far enough to drive the kind of dramatic emissions reductions and renewable energy development that the U.S. needs to meet its long-term climate targets.

Under the Paris Climate Agreement, the U.S. has pledged to reduce it greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025, compared to 2005 levels.

"The fact is that even with the Clean Power Plan and all of President Obama's other final and proposed regulations, the U.S. was not on a clear pathway to meeting the Paris target," said Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School.

Without the Clean Power Plan and other programs Trump is expected to target, the U.S. has even less of a shot to get there, he added.

Repealing the policy "would seem to make it even less likely that we will see the kind of economy-wide shift away from fossil-fueled power that we need," Burger said. "It stalls progress toward the ultimate goal of net-zero or even negative emissions."

Numerous scientific studies show that unless we reach net-zero or negative emissions by 2100, the world will sail past the threshold of dangerous human-caused climate change and stay there, causing prolonged droughts, damaging sea level rise and killer heatwaves, among other impacts.

Any delay in cutting emissions, even just for a four year presidential term, could have major climate change consequences given that the U.S. is the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter.

Climate experts are taking some solace in the fact that the U.S. is already making substantial progress on clean energy because of market forces.

In recent years, coal-fired electricity has become less popular as utilities shift to cheaper natural gas, promote energy efficiency and invest in increasingly affordable wind and solar power.

Image: George frey/Getty Images

Since 2010, more than 250 U.S. coal plants have retired or committed to retire, driving U.S. coal use down to its lowest level in history, the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign announced earlier this month.

"That [clean energy] transition has continued since Trump's election, and we expect that it will continue in the coming years," said John Coequyt, climate policy director for the Sierra Club.

However, the Clean Power Plan still represents an important "backstop" to keep America from reversing to its earlier, more carbon-intensive energy system. "If it doesn't exist, emissions reductions will be diminished," Coequyt said.

The EPA regulations are also key to maintaining U.S. leadership on climate and clean energy issues. If America lags behind, China, India and other large economies are poised to take over the mantle, experts said.

China, for instance, said it will plow about $361 billion into clean energy projects by 2020 as part of its broader effort to shift away from fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has proposed gutting many important federal energy programs that have helped launch the nation's large-scale solar industry and supported companies including Tesla.

"China has done a total about-face on climate in the last five to six years, and it's not because China is a goody two-shoes. It's because China sees a strong economic interest in making this transition," said Paul Bodnar, who oversaw international climate issues at the National Security Council during the Obama administration's second term.

"It would be good if, instead of arguing about whether or not we want to engage on this issue, we're getting ready to out-compete China in that [clean energy] race," said Bodnar, now managing director of the Rocky Mountain Institute.

"It's kind of like arguing about whether the automobile or the horse-and-buggy is the future of transportation, while somebody else is focused on making automobiles," he said.

Mashable Science Editor Andrew Freedman contributed reporting.

WATCH: Watch how global warming heats up the world from 1880-2016
Miles Teller is headed to the small screen.

The Whiplash actor has landed the lead role in Amazon's drama series Too Old to Die Young, Mashable has confirmed.

The show, from Nicolas Winding Refn (Neon Demon), explores the criminal underbelly of Los Angeles.

SEE ALSO: Netflix and Amazon finally win Oscars

Teller will play a police officer entangled in the world of assassins. Refn will direct the entire series.

This is the latest Amazon show to attract a big Hollywood A-lister.

Amazon already has a few projects in the works, including one from David O. Russell starring Julianne Moore and Robert De Niro, and another from Mad Men showrunner Matthew Weiner.

On Monday, the streaming service also announced Barry Jenkins' Underground Railroad limited series.

WATCH: 8 underappreciated films you probably missed
By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Balkan country of Montenegro was on the verge of becoming NATO's newest member on Monday after U.S. senators voted overwhelmingly to clear the way for a long-delayed final vote on its accession to the alliance. The vote was 97-2 in favor of ending debate and allowing a vote later this week on the ratification of its NATO membership, far more than the 60 needed. The only two "no" votes came from Republican Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee. Before the vote, Paul argued that there was no point in forcing American taxpayers to take on the risk of defending such a small country if it were attacked, a condition of membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Arguing that Montenegro has only 2,000 people in its military, Paul said its membership would "add another country to the welfare wagon of NATO." Backers of the former Yugoslav republic's membership said it was important to support the countries of eastern Europe that share democratic values against Russian aggression, and to reinforce their ties to the West. "Montenegro is trying to do everything that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin hates, where you actually can vote for your own leaders," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the party's leading foreign policy voices. Reuters reported last week that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wrote to the leaders of the Senate earlier this month to say Montenegro's membership in NATO was "strongly in the interests of the United States." The vote in the U.S. Senate had been held up for months as Senators Paul and Lee blocked a quick vote. Senate aides said they expected a final vote on Tuesday or Wednesday. They said they expected Montenegro's NATO membership would receive the required two-thirds majority. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Good morning. These are todays top stories:

Jared Kushner to head new White House office

President Donald Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, will run a newly created government office called the White House Office of American Innovation, the Washington Post first reported. Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump, will be tasked with using business ideas to fix problems the federal government has been facing, such as lack of care for veterans, according to the newspaper.

Manhunt follows deadly Ohio nightclub shooting

At least one person has died and 15 others were injured inside a crowded nightclub in Cincinnati yesterday after a dispute between several men escalated into a gunfight, Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said at a news conference. Authorities are still seeking suspects.

Ted Koppel tells Sean Hannity hes bad for U.S.

Veteran journalist Ted Koppel told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he and other opinion-based news programs were bad for America during a CBS segment that aired yesterday. Do you think were bad for America? You think Im bad for America? Hannity asked. Yeah, Koppel responded. He later added: You have attracted people who are determined that ideology is more important than facts.

Also:

Civilian deaths from airstrikes in the war against ISIS are at an all-time high.

Eight high school students are feared dead after an avalanche at a ski resort in Japan.

Khalid Masood, the suspected London attacker, had taught English in Saudi Arabia.

United Airlines says passengers can wear leggings following backlash after two girls were barred from a flight over their attire.

Former Vice President Joe Biden says he regrets not being president.

Cadburys chocolate bars could shrink in size or become more costly because of Brexit.

More Americans are drinking a daily cup of coffee, according to an industry group.

The Morning Brief is published Mondays through Fridays. Email Morning Brief writer Melissa Chan at melissa.chan@time.com.

This article was originally published on TIME.com
Muslims complain they are frivolous bills meant to spread fears and sow suspicion of their religion in a nation divided.

But supporters of state proposals to prevent Islamic code from being used in American courts argue they aren't overtly anti-Muslim and are needed to safeguard constitutional rights for average Americans.

The bills, variations of which have been around for years, don't specifically seek to ban Islamic law, known as Sharia, even though some lawmakers concede that's their intent.

Instead, the proposals broadly call for banning the application of any foreign law, legal code or legal system that doesn't grant the same rights and privileges as the state or U.S. constitutions.

"I believe very strongly in the values of America to allow for religious freedom," said Connecticut state Rep. Robert Sampson, a Republican sponsor of a bill. "I just don't want our court system to start using what is religious law from other countries to make decisions. I'd like to preserve our way of life."

Muslim leaders say the bills are among a range of proposals and decisions at all levels of government that they're gearing up to fight this year, from President Donald Trump's travel ban to local planning and zoning rulings against mosque projects.

"These are thinly veiled attempts to alienate Muslims in America," said Hazem Bata, of The Islamic Society of North America, based in Indiana, where once such "anti-Sharia" bill has been introduced.

The bills have been introduced in at least 13 states, a number that will likely grow as the legislative year progresses, said Jonathan Griffin, of the National Conference of State Legislatures, who has been tracking the proposals. Anywhere from 15 to 30 states see the proposal introduced in a given year, he said. Ten states already have some version of them on the books since they started cropping up around 2010.

While many of this year's bills likely won't become law, they're gaining traction early in Montana and Arkansas, where the legislatures are poised to approve bills and send them to the governors this month.

Story continues

Supporters point to a 2014 report by the Center for Security Policy, a conservative think tank whose critics deride as anti-Muslim, that cites nearly 150 cases in which it says Sharia played a role.

The cases, some of which date to the late 1970s, mostly involve divorce, child custody and other family law proceedings where either the plaintiff or defendants invoked Islamic laws and customs to make their case.

"Sharia should be very concerning to all of us," said state Rep. Heidi Sampson, a Maine Republican who has proposed legislation. "It is a way of life and a legal code which is designed to impinge on culture, family life, marriage, equality of the sexes  a whole host of areas."

Sampson and other lawmakers say a 2010 New Jersey case highlighted prominently in the report is particularly troubling.

A Muslim woman accused her husband of sexual abuse and sought a restraining order in 2009, but the judge denied the request after the husband argued, in part, that a wife must comply with her husband's sexual demands in Islamic custom. An appeals court ultimately overturned the ruling.

But Will Smiley, an editor at the Harvard Law School's SHARIAsource, an online collection of academic writings on Islamic law, is skeptical the bills proposed by lawmakers would have made a difference in the initial ruling.

"These new laws don't provide any new safeguards," Smiley said. "Courts can still make mistakes, like most observers agree that New Jersey court did."

Many of the other cases cited in the center's report don't appear to show evidence that U.S. courts based decisions on Sharia or other foreign codes, said Jay Wexler, a professor at Boston University's School of Law who specializes in separation of church and state issues.

"The facts of a case might require a court to consider in some way a foreign custom or law," he said. "But that does not mean that the court is applying foreign law."

Supporters stress the proposals would affect all religious codes and foreign laws equally.

If parts of Jewish, Christian or other laws ran counter to fundamental constitutional rights, they too would not be applicable in U.S. courts, said Montana state Sen. Keith Regier, a Republican.

"They're saying it's hateful, and I have no idea where they're getting that from," he said of opponents. "Read the bill and tell me what is hateful or distasteful in there."

But opponents maintain the bills as proposed don't serve a practical purpose.

"The U.S. legal code already states that American courts can only adhere to American laws," said John Robbins, executive director of the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "It's a stupid solution to a nonexistent problem."

___

Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/philip-marcelo .
Belfast (AFP) - The British government gave Northern Ireland's main parties extra time to form a power-sharing government after a deadline to resolve their bitter differences expired just two days before the launch of Brexit.

The main two parties in the British province abandoned talks before the 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) deadline following a snap election triggered by the bad blood between them.

James Brokenshire, Britain's Northern Ireland minister, gave the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein limited additional time to resolve their differences.

If they cannot, he will either have to call a third set of elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 12 months, or suspend devolution and return administration of the province fully to the UK government.

Brokenshire said there was "widespread dismay" that no executive had been formed in the three weeks since the March 2 election.

"We now have a short window of opportunity to resolve outstanding issues and for an executive to be formed," he told reporters in Belfast.

"On timing, there are a short few weeks in order to resolve matters."

He said there was "overwhelming desire" for devolved government in the province and no appetite for an immediate second snap election.

Brokenshire said the lack of an agreement on the budget for the province and the impact it would have on public services meant there had to be a fixed outcome soon.

Without a deal in place, a senior civil servant is set to take control of Northern Ireland's finances on Wednesday, though only 75 percent of the previous amount of funding will be available.

- Blame game -

The socialist Sinn Fein party, representing Catholic Irish nationalists, and the conservative DUP, representing pro-British Protestants, blamed each other for the collapse in talks.

"We were willing to form an executive today but Sinn Fein have walked away," said DUP leader Arlene Foster, who was first minister in the outgoing government.

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"There wasn't a spirit of compromise to get back into the executive."

In turn, Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Fein's leader in Northern Ireland, blamed DUP intransigence.

"We are standing firm. Previous agreements need to be implemented," she said.

"Unfortunately, the DUP maintained their position in relation to blocking equality, delivery of equality for citizens -- that was the problem."

Tensions boiled over in January when Sinn Fein's terminally-ill deputy first minister Martin McGuinness resigned, citing Foster's handling of a bungled green energy scheme.

That brought down the executive and prompted the snap elections in which Sinn Fein gained ground but the DUP narrowly remained the largest party in the 90-seat assembly.

McGuinness's funeral on Thursday triggered hopes of a deal.

In his eulogy, former US president Bill Clinton urged both sides to "finish the work of peace" in Northern Ireland, while Foster and O'Neill were pictured shaking hands.

But both sides remain entrenched.

- Brexit backdrop -

The crisis comes just before British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday is due to give Brussels formal notification of the UK's intention to leave the European Union.

While the United Kingdom as a whole voted to leave the EU, a majority in Northern Ireland wanted the UK to stay in the bloc.

There are concerns in Northern Ireland about the impact Brexit might have on the open border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state.

Irish foreign minister Charlie Flanagan said the power vacuum was "particularly concerning" for the island as the "serious challenges" of Brexit were about to begin.

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator wrote in the Financial Times newspaper on Monday: "We will not stand for anything that weakens dialogue and peace in Northern Ireland."
Brussels (AFP) - NATO said it has rescheduled a key meeting of foreign ministers for Friday after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was unable to make the original date next week.

"Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers moved forward to 31 March," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said on Twitter on Monday.

The NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels had been planned for April 5 and 6, but that was thrown into chaos last week when Tillerson revealed he would not be attending due to other commitments.

The State Department has confirmed that Tillerson would attend the rescheduled NATO talks if they could be held this Friday.

Diplomats have worked frantically in recent days to make the new date, with Britain revealing Monday that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will delay a visit to Moscow to fit in with Tillerson.

"We have unfortunately had to postpone the foreign secretarys visit to Russia planned this month due to rescheduling of the NATO foreign ministers meeting," a spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office said.

Johnson has spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, "and looks forward to reinstating his visit as soon as possible," he added.

The rescheduling drama shows the importance attached to Tillerson's first visit to NATO headquarters, amid doubts about the commitment of President Donald Trump's administration to transatlantic ties.
ROME (Reuters) - Humanitarian ships rescued almost 1,200 migrants who were crossing the Mediterranean Sea at the weekend on an array of small, tightly packed boats, Doctors Without Borders said on Sunday. A young woman was found unconscious on one of the vessels and later died, the group said. Some 412 people were crammed onto a single wooden boat, while the others were picked up from huge inflatable dinghies, which had set sail from the coast of Libya. The weekend rescues mean that about 22,000 mainly African migrants have been picked up heading to Italy so far this year, while around 520 have died trying to make the crossing. An Italian prosecutor said last week that humanitarian ships operating off Libya were undermining the fight against people smugglers and opening a corridor that is ultimately leading to more migrant deaths. The chief prosecutor of the Sicilian port city of Catania, Carmelo Zuccaro, said he also suspected that there may be direct communication between Libya-based smugglers and members of charity-operated rescue vessels. Non-governmental organisations deny any wrongdoing, saying they are simply looking to save lives, but they are facing criticism in Italy, which has taken in about half a million migrants since the start of 2014. A parliamentarian with the right-wing Northern League party on Sunday accused the NGOs of acting as a "taxi service", bringing migrants straight to Italy rather than to closer nations, such as Tunisia and Malta. "If the government does not decide to put a brake on these NGO boats, we will find ourselves overrun by tens of thousands of African immigrants by the end of the year," lawmaker Paolo Grimoldi said. Migrants who have come this year have told of increasing violence and brutality in Libya, where rival factions battle for power and people smugglers operate with impunity since the 2011 overthrow of former leader Muammar Gaddafi. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by David Goodman)
With a sharp decline in the field price of potatoes due to a bumper crop this year, the farmers were left with no option but to set their produce on fire.

By Manogya Loiwal : There can be nothing more painful for a farmer than to set his own crop and produce on fire. Several farmers in Malda district of West Bengal have been compelled to burn tonnes of the produce owing to loss in the sale of potatoes. Malda is now standing witness to approximately 50-60 quintals of potato crop being burnt to ashes in areas of Habibpur, Ratua and Damangolain in just a week.

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"In our area, potato cultivation is good and it is growing in excess but as we are not getting the proper amount for the potatoes, we are burning them," said Abdul Karim, a farmer.

The favourable climatic conditions this year lead to a leap in the production from 120 lakh ton to an addition of 20 lakh ton, summing to 140 lakh ton this year as compared to last year.

Approximately, 50,000 potato farmers of Malda district have been cultivating potato in 9153 hector land. In the year 2015-16, production was 324016 tonnes and the production has been increasing consistently. With a sharp decline in the field price of potatoes due to a bumper crop this year coupled with inadequate infrastructure to support small farmers for storing their harvest, the farmers were left with no option but to take such extreme measures.

Tension spread in the area when the farmers could not reap the production amount fearing the repayment of loan payment taken specifically for the farming period and farming purpose.

Malda has three cold storages having a capacity of approximately 2,50,500 crops of all kinds. This time the production of potato has gone up to 3,50,000 approximately.

"I keep potatoes in this cold storage. Till now, I have 100 bags of potatoes but I am able to keep only 20 bags of potatoes in the cold storage, rest 80 bags are left in the field and i am wondering where to keep them," said the worried owner of the cold storage in Malda, Kamal.

FARMERS SUFFER DUE TO NO COLD STORAGE FACILITY

Paucity of cold storage with no assistance from the government's end has lead left the farmers with no choice but to set potatoes ablaze.

The expenditure of one acre of land amounts to Rs 17,000-18,000 including purchase of seeds costing Rs 4,000, fertilizers costing Rs 6,000 rupees, labour expenses of Rs 3,000 and the most important of all the interest on the bank loan or private loan.

The farmers frustrated with such situations are even planning to decide on giving up of potato farming, if required.

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"From next year onwards, I don't think I will invest in potatoes, because we only seem to be in a loss. I had borrowed a lot of money for farming the potatoes. Where will we farmers get money now? we're always drowned in debts," said Lalu Saha, a farmer in Malda district.

Another suffering farmer Farjul Rehman said, "As we are not getting the profitable price for the potatoes, we are going to burn the potatoes. We won't cultivate potatoes the next time. Even the government is not helping us in any way."

Adding on to the calculation of expense, the transport from the field to the buyer will add on increasing their loss column.

"Calculating the cost for labour and transport, we are going through a heavy loss. One bag of potato will cost us Rs 20, adding the labour and transportation of Rs 250-300," said Abdul Karim, another farmer.

This crop burning has not only affected Malda, but has spread to many other districts of West Bengal including Burdwan, West Midnapore and Hoogly - the district famous for Singur and its anti- Land acquisition movement by Mamata Banerjee.

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Swapan Hajra, a 45-year-old farmer of West Midnapore was among the three farmers who recently committed suicide.

"Hajra was from our village. He had cultivated potatoes on 5 acres of land after taking loans but as the price of potatoes was less, he had to go through mental stress as he went through loss of more than Rs 1 lakh. Due to this, he committed suicide," said Hajra's neighbour, Suman Maity.

Two more farmers in Burdwan district of West Bengal commit suicide owing to the loss they were facing and after not being able to repay the debt taken for cultivation of crops.

(With inputs from Bhaskar Roy in Malda and Sujata Mehera in Burdwan)

Also read: Malda: 4 killed, 20,000 houses destroyed as cyclonic storm lashes north Bengal

Also read: Tamil Nadu farmers soldier on with skull protest in Delhi's heat even as government turns deaf ear

--- ENDS ---
WASHINGTON (AP)  Israeli leaders hoping President Donald Trump would be a rubber stamp for the Jewish state are hearing plenty of reassuring rhetoric at this week's annual gathering for the "unbreakable" alliance. Missing from the agenda: Concrete steps advancing the Israeli government's top priorities.

The Iran nuclear deal, so despised by Israel, is solidly in place. The U.S. Embassy is no closer to moving to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government wants. As it has under past presidents, Washington is still telling Israel to slow settlement construction.

It is making for an unusual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference, one relieved of the strains that marked the last years of President Barack Obama's tenure but also filled with significant uncertainty.

Netanyahu on Monday called the U.S.-Israeli relationship "stronger than ever."

His ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, said a day earlier that for the first time in years or even decades, "there is no daylight between our two governments."

Vice President Mike Pence said he and Trump "stand without apology for Israel and we always will."

But it's too early to tell whether Trump will ultimately fulfill Israel's wishes. And there are indications he's reconsidering several stances adopted during the campaign.

As a candidate, Trump repeatedly vowed to be the president to finally relocate the embassy to Jerusalem, which Israel considers its capital. As Pence said Sunday, that unequivocal promise has morphed into Trump now "giving serious consideration to moving the American Embassy."

Though Trump in the campaign said he'd renegotiate or dismantle the Iran nuclear deal, which Israel fiercely opposes, as president he's continuing to implement the accord while examining whether it should stand and hitting Iran with other, non-nuclear sanctions. GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan, rather than urging that the deal be terminated, told AIPAC that the U.S. must "vigorously enforce" the deal and "tighten the screws on Iranian compliance."

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Netanyahu has taken some reassurance from the fact that Trump's budget proposal safeguards every penny of Israel's $3.1 billion in U.S. assistance, even as it seeks to slash foreign aid overall. And while the Obama administration stung Israel by allowing a U.N. resolution critical of Israel to pass in Obama's final weeks, new U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has pledged not to let that happen again.

"We said, 'The days of Israel-bashing are over,'" Haley told AIPAC on Monday.

The biggest question mark may be Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

On that matter, Obama and Netanyahu struggled to speak with a unified voice. Trump has shown significant flexibility  stunning many last month when he broke with decades of U.S. policy by saying the U.S. could live with a one-state solution, rather than a two-state solution involving Palestinian statehood, if both Israelis and Palestinians agreed.

Now Trump and the Israeli leader are both speaking vaguely of a broader Middle East package. Israel's Arab neighbors, who traditionally opposed Israel but have realigned because of common concerns about Iran  would serve as guarantors.

"The common dangers faced by Israel and many of our Arab neighbors now offer a rare opportunity to build bridges towards a better future," Netanyahu said.

Trump's diplomacy in the region appears to be gaining speed. As Netanyahu spoke to the AIPAC conference by video from Jerusalem, White House envoy Jason Greenblatt was headed to Jordan to attend an Arab summit, according to a U.S. official who wasn't authorized to discuss the trip publicly and requested anonymity.

Greenblatt, Trump's longtime business attorney, will be an observer at the summit, but plans to use his visit to discuss the type of regional approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Netanyahu and Trump have floated. While in Amman, Greenblatt plans to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan and Algeria, the U.S. official said.

Another issue central to the conflict  settlements  remains a work in progress for Israel and Trump. The president's softer campaign tone about Israel's construction of Jewish homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank has been replaced by Trump's suggesting in his first White House meeting with Netanyahu to "hold back on settlements for a bit."

At that meeting, Trump and Netanyahu voiced confidence they could work out an understanding, while providing few hints how.

A visit by Israeli officials last week ended with a public statement saying Israel would take Trump's concerns "into consideration" and pledges by both countries to keep talking.

___

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP
London (AFP) - British police said Monday they had found no link between the man behind last week's terror attack outside the British parliament and the Islamic State group, which had claimed him as one of its "soldiers".

The statement came as 52-year-old Muslim convert Khalid Masood's mother spoke out for the first time, saying she was "deeply shocked, saddened and numbed, and relatives of the US victim voiced their grief.

"Whilst I have found no evidence of an association with IS or AQ (Al-Qaeda), there is clearly an interest in Jihad," Neil Basu, deputy assistant police commissioner, said in a statement.

Masood was shot dead after ploughing through a crowd of pedestrians and fatally stabbing a policeman just inside the gates of the British parliament in a frenzied attack lasting just 82 seconds on Wednesday.

Four people were killed and dozens more injured.

Basu said Masood's low-tech methods appeared to be "copied from other attacks and echo the rhetoric of IS leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others".

He also said there was "no evidence that Masood, who was born as Adrian Elms, was radicalised in prison in 2003" as suggested in some media reports.

Basu said he changed his name to Masood in 2005.

Masood served two stints in prison for a knife attack in 2000 and again for knife possession in 2003.

"His last criminal offence was in 2003 and he was not a current subject of interest or part of the current domestic or international threat picture," Basu said.

The police commander said Masood's communications on the day of the attack were "a main line of inquiry" and he asked for anyone who had heard from him to come forward so as to establish "his state of mind".

The government has confirmed that Masood used the WhatsApp messaging service shortly before the attack, saying it was crucial that the security services be allowed to access the heavily encrypted app.

Story continues

Twelve people have been arrested since the attack and two men remain in custody after nine were released without charge and one woman was let out on bail.

- 'Do not condone' -

Masood's mother Janet Ajao also on Monday released a statement saying: "Since discovering that it was my son that was responsible I have shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident".

"I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity".

The family of US tourist Kurt Cochran, who was one of the victims of the attack, spoke on Monday of a "humbling and difficult experience".

Cochran and his wife Melissa were in London to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary -- their frist trip out of the United States.

She is still recovering from a broken leg, a broken rib and a cut to the head sustained in the attack.

In the first public statement by a victim's family since the attack, her brother Kurt Payne thanked the emergency services and members of the public for "the outpouring of love and generosity".

"The most difficult part of all of this is that Kurt is no longer with us, and we miss him terribly," he said.

"He was an amazing individual who loved everyone and tried to make the world a better place."

US President Donald Trump announced Cochran's death last Thursday, calling him "a great American" in a tweet.
Ayr (Australia) (AFP) - Torrential rain hampered relief efforts Thursday after a powerful cyclone wreaked havoc in northeast Australia, with floods sparking emergency rescues as fed-up tourists began evacuating from resort islands.

Cyclone Debbie has pummelled Queensland state since crashing ashore as a category four storm on Tuesday between Bowen and Airlie Beach, ripping up trees, washing boats onto land and causing widespread damage.

It has been downgraded to a tropical low as it tracks southeast, but continues to pack damaging wind gusts and dump huge amounts of rain, with Brisbane now in the firing line.

Meteorologists forecast the city would be soaked by a month's worth of rain in a single day, with the popular Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast areas also set to be drenched before the system moves offshore Friday.

Theme parks and beaches in the area were closed for the day.

"We have a very, very large state here and this is a very, very big weather system that's going to wreak havoc all the way down the coast," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

Emergency service crews, who have received more than 3,000 calls for help, rescued dozens of people overnight and early Thursday from floodwaters, with some plucked from roofs and tops of cars.

"Significant rainfall in Mackay -- sudden increase in calls for service. A number of rescues undertaken & still being undertaken," Queensland police tweeted.

Despite this, no deaths have been reported with only one significant injury -- a man crushed by a collapsing wall. Before the cyclone hit, thousands of people moved to higher ground, out of the area or to safe refuges.

The wild weather has made the clean-up difficult as crews battle horrendous conditions to reach isolated communities and restore power.

Many roads remain flooded and towns cut off with hundreds of schools closed and authorities keeping a close eye on dams as water levels rise.

- A significant experience -

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Great Barrier Reef islands were among the worst hit.

Tourists and residents have been stranded for days on devastated Hamilton and Daydream islands, battered by terrifying winds of more than 260 kph (161 mph) at the height of the tempest.

Hundreds were evacuated Thursday after struggling with no power and toilets not flushing as water ran low.

"They've been through a significant experience, but they are safe. That's the main thing," Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner Mark Roche told reporters.

Jacqui McCullagh, who was staying on Hamilton Island, said the once-lush area was in a bad way.

"Boats washed ashore, houses without roofs, windows smashed in, trees snapped in half, gum trees torn out of the ground and those that do remain standing, are bare and lifeless," she told the local Whitsunday Times.

The military has mobilised 1,300 soldiers to help assess the full extent of damage and help the clean-up, with helicopters and planes deploying to restore infrastructure and supply emergency food, water and fuel.

Debbie has officially been declared a catastrophe by the Insurance Council of Australia, allowing claims from the disaster to be prioritised.

The economic cost to a region that relies heavily on farming is expected to be huge, with sugarcane crops hit hard and the cattle industry also impacted, officials said.

"Producers in the Whitsunday area were planting winter vegetables and they're expected to suffer heavy crop losses as well as infrastructure, crop and irrigation equipment damage," said Queensland's Rural Economic Development Minister Bill Byrne.

"In the Mackay district, it's understood that the cane fields at Proserpine, Mackay and Sarina have been flattened."
A new device that attaches to a smartphone can detect whether a man's sperm concentration or motility is abnormal with 98 percent accuracy.

Researchers hope the device, which is about the size of a small box of crayons and costs less than $5 to make, can address the need for a rapid and cheap way to detect male infertility. Problems with sperm contribute to infertility in 40 percent to 60 percent of cases where a couple has trouble conceiving, said study leader Hadi Shafiee, a professor of engineering in medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Current laboratory methods of semen analysis are either inaccurate or expensive and require men to provide a sperm sample in awkward circumstances. [Trying to Conceive: 12 Tips for Men]

"This device is going to make male infertility screening as simple as home pregnancy tests for a woman," Shafiee told Live Science.

Smartphone semen analysis

The device has two parts: a box-like piece that attaches to the phone as if it were a larger-than-normal phone case, and a chip, which is about the size of a microscope slide. To test his sperm, a man uses a pipette (a turkey baster-like tube, but smaller) to put a semen sample onto a chip, and then he inserts the chip into a slot on the box-like attachment. Lenses on the attachment essentially turn the smartphone's camera into a microscope, and a software app automatically counts the total number of sperm, calculates their concentration per milliliter and detects their movement and speed, or motility.

Over-the-counter sperm checkers available now measure only sperm concentration, Shafiee said, which isn't enough to determine a man's fertility; it's also important to know how effectively the sperm cells move.

The researchers had untrained users test the device using 350 semen specimens from the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center. They found that the untrained testers could use the device to detect abnormal sperm samples with 98 percent accuracy. That rate is based on World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for an abnormal sperm sample, in which there are less than 15 million sperm cells per milliliter of fluid, and less than 40 percent of sperm are motile.

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The sensitivity of the test, or the ability to correctly diagnose abnormal samples, was 99.3 percent; the specificity, or the ability to correctly detect normal samples, was 89.4 percent. [Conception Misconceptions: 7 Fertility Myths Debunked]

The test cannot detect if a man's sperm has abnormal morphology  meaning the cells are misshapen or malformed, Shafiee noted. However, abnormal sperm morphology is a contributor to infertility in less than 1 percent of infertility cases, he said.

At-home testing

The test could be sold as an over-the-counter product, Shafiee said, but it might also be a boon for fertility clinics and small hospitals. Currently, the standard for semen analysis is a computer-and-microscope system called computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA). Those systems cost between $50,000 and $100,000, Shafiee said, so many smaller clinics can't afford them and resort to having the staff conduct manual sperm counts using a microscope. Manual counts are not as accurate as computer-based ones, Shafiee said.

The device might also be helpful for men who don't want to father any more children. There are 500,000 vasectomies in the United States each year, Shafiee said, and men are supposed to return to the clinic for follow-up analysis at least twice in the months following the procedure to ensure that it was successful.

But many men don't. "Something like 30 percent actually return," he said.

Offering men an at-home option could boost this compliance, Shafiee said.

The researchers published their findings in the journal Science Translational Medicine today (March 22). Their next step is to submit materials for Food & Drug Administration approval.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
The stunning implosion on Friday of the American Health Care Act, the Republican Partys replacement for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), may have been a defeat for President Trump and his party, but it certainly isnt the end of the push to reform health care in the United States.

The repeal and replace drama has understandably captivated the American media for weeks. But it isnt just Americans who are fascinated by the unfolding story. International media outlets have also been covering each moment, as the world watches mostly with what seems to be incredulity. For people living in just about every country making up the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, in which universal health insurance is seen as both a mundane fact of life and practically a right of citizenship, the AHCA proposal is downright odd.

Nowhere is the incredulity more pronounced than among our neighbors to the north in Canada. As two physicians who have practiced medicine in Canada, now working respectively in Toronto and Boston, we ask this question: Are there lessons that Canada can teach America about health care, particularly in this time of change?

There seem to be two answers to this question: absolutely yes and absolutely no. Some describe the Canadian health care system as an example of health care at its best, the pinnacle of equity and excellence. Others portray it as a failed socialist experiment, a disaster so unmitigated that people die waiting for care.

Read more: GOP leaders pull health care bill, with no clear path forward on reform

Neither characterization is correct. The Canadian system for health care is complex, just as is the US system. Theres no question that Canadians have achieved undeniable success, accomplishing the double feat of providing universal health coverage for medically necessary services at low administrative cost. It is not without problems, including the often-overstated but real issue of long wait times for non-urgent care. But it has by and large contributed to better health outcomes than the US system at lower cost  Canada spends 11.2 percent of its gross domestic product on health care, the US spends 17.6 percent. This success makes the Canadian example worth considering for the US, or at least learning from.

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How has Canada been effective at providing care and containing costs? We suggest two main reasons for its success, both of which offer lessons for the US.

First, to Canadians, health care is more than a matter of money and medicine: It is an expression of core national values. Its no coincidence that the late Tommy Douglas, the former premier of Saskatchewan who introduced universal public health care to Canada, was chosen by Canadians from across the country to be The Greatest Canadian of All Time in 2004. Simply put, universal health care has become central to how Canadians think about their identity. It reflects a national determination to take care of each other at moments of vulnerability, and to place well-being over wealth.

This national aspiration has helped Canada weather discussion and debate for decades about the right way to reform the system because there is broad agreement on the fundamental goals and values that underpin it. In other words, when there is national agreement on the fundamental importance of health care for all, the remaining debate is around matters of fine-tuning and making the system better. Such agreement has eluded Americans for decades, leading to the enormous national debates around the ACA, and now the AHCA.

We suggest that a broader national conversation among Americans about our collective responsibility for health as a public good is essential if we are to find a solution that transcends this political moment.

Second, the feature that has likely been at the core of the Canadian health care systems success is a federal requirement to provide insurance to cover all necessary doctor and hospital services, which has been part of the plan since its inception. Although actually providing health care is decentralized to 13 provinces and territories, each of these regions is required to provide free point-of-care treatment to all citizens through one central payer that guarantees coverage for an agreed-upon package of essential services.

The health care plan for each province and territory is shaped from that core guarantee of universal public coverage, bound together by national legislation. That has buffered Canadian health care from multiple challenges. This central, long-established, and legislated imperative also encourages the organization of the provision of medical services, the elevation of primary care to a central role in care coordination, and the rational allocation of resources to ensure that everyone has access to the care they need at all levels, from primary care to advanced and highly specialized quaternary care.

Read more: In Trump country, voters know whos to blame for the health bill debacle. And its not their president

The US is challenged on both of these fronts. There is no national agreement on the core principles that inform American health care, and no attempt has been made to create a single legislative linchpin around which all other elaborations revolve. Since the ACA was first proposed, little of the debate was focused on the core building blocks needed to create a high-performing health care system. Rather than tackle the existential question of why Americans need universal health care in the first place, the conversation centered around patches that have been stitched together to create the flawed but critical coverage network that the ACA provides. This led to legislative compromises and deals struck between interest groups, all administered by a range of disparate stakeholders.

To make progress on providing sensible health care, the US needs to decide what having a health care system means to Americans. Is it simply a way to coordinate the exchange of dollars for care? Or is it an expression of our highest aspirations, an investment in the well-being of our communities?

If it is the latter, America would make an historic mistake by dismantling the ACA. Instead, its citizens and lawmakers should be clamoring to take the next step toward structuring our health care system in a way that will allow for organized delivery of care.

Single-payer systems, like the Canadian version, or a single provider system, as seen in the United Kingdom and other countries, provides the means of bringing care under the umbrella of a single, accountable authority. This is neither socialism nor an attack on individual liberty. It is simply making a promise: to protect each other from disease and preventable harm, recognizing that our capacity to do so is perhaps the most meaningful measure we have of our societys worth.

It is heartening that recent national opinion polls suggest that Americans are beginning to agree with that promise. It is also becoming clearer that Americans care more about health care for all than previously thought. We could certainly look to our northern neighbors for a workable example of how this feeling can be translated into healthier populations, and a system that is geared towards well-being.

Danielle Martin, MD, is vice president for medical affairs and health system solutions at Womens College Hospital in Toronto. Her latest book, Better Now: Six Big Ideas to Improve Health Care for All Canadians, was published in January. Sandro Galea is professor and dean of Boston University School of Public Health. His book, Healthier: Fifty Thoughts on the Foundations of Population Health, will be published in June.
A question at the daily White House briefing about a racially motivated killing in New York led to a charged exchange Monday afternoon about how the administration responds to hate crimes, especially anti-Semitic ones.

Reporter April Ryan asked press secretary Sean Spicer for a reaction to the rise in hate crimes, specifically last weeks slaying of Timothy Caughman in New York. The suspect, James Jackson, a white man, told investigators he had come to New York to kill as many black men as he could. Ryan had attempted to ask Attorney General Jeff Sessions about the case earlier in the briefing, but he left the podium without answering.

I think hate crimes, anti-Semitic crimes of any nature should be called out in the most reprehensible way, said Spicer. There is no room for that in our country, and I think the president noted that in the joint address. There is one issue that despite policy should unite us; thats calling out hate, calling out divisiveness based on the color of ones skin, ones religion, ones gender. The presidents been very clear on that. Hes called it out before, with certain particular situations he made it very clear. At the opening of his joint address, thats what he led with, a call to denounce hate no matter where we come from politically.

Spicer then turned the tables on the questioner, saying that the White House and people on the right have come under unfair criticism over their responses to hate crimes.

I do think that there has been a rush to judgment in a lot of other cases when it comes to in particular some of the anti-Semitic discussion. Where people have jumped to the conclusion about denouncing people on the right, and in that particular case we saw that the president was right and this rush to judgment by a lot of folks on the left was wrong, and none of them have been held to account on that, and that is something that equally needs to be called out. When people are charging something of someone that is not true, theres been nothing to go back to those individuals, nothing on the left who came and asked for everyone on the left to denounce something that they werent guilty of. And I think there needs to be an equal go back in time and call out those individuals for rushing to judgment and calling out those individuals.

Story continues

Earlier this month, an American man was arrested for allegedly calling in threats to Jewish Community Centers, allegedly as a way to settle a romantic score. Last week an Israeli teen was arrested in other, similar cases. His motive has not been disclosed.

The White House has been criticized for its slowness to condemn the threats to the community centers, finally doing so last month after Trump neglected to denounce the attacks at a pair of press conferences. There were also criticisms of a White House statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day that left out any mention of Jews. Spicer called those criticisms pathetic.

Trump also did not publicly denounce an attack at a Canadian mosque where six Muslims were killed. While the president phoned Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to express his condolences, he made no mention on Twitter, where he called out an attack by a new radical Islamic terrorist in France that resulted in no fatalities six days later.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Tirana (AFP) - Forty years ago, Irina Sallaku's husband Xhavit disappeared and she has spent decades wondering what happened to him.

Now 84, the only thing she knows is that he was executed by the Sigurimi, Albania's despised Communist-era secret police which terrorised the population for decades until it was disbanded in 1991.

And with the recent opening of the Sigurimi's vast archive of secret files, she is hoping to find some answers at last.

Born in the former Soviet Union, she met Xhavit while he was studying in Leningrad and ended up following him back to Albania which was then under the iron-fisted rule of dictator Enver Hoxha.

Things started to go wrong when Hoxha's paranoid regime cut ties with Moscow in 1961, putting huge pressure on mixed couples like them, and Xhavit's eventual disappearance ripped the family apart.

"I was sent with my two daughters to a labour camp for 12 years," she says, showing a yellowed photograph of her husband and their twins in park.

Years later, one of the daughters, Elena, found the indictment against her father and three documents concerning his execution. But each had a different date, making it impossible to know which was correct.

And they have no clue where he was buried.

"I have no hatred for anyone," Irina says.

"The only thing I want is a grave where me and my relatives could lay a wreath and cry."

- 'Draining the abscess' -

More than 25 years after the fall of Communism, Hoxha's 41-year dictatorship and its secrets are still poisoning Albania's politics, and many hope the opening of the files will turn the page, allowing wounds to finally heal.

"The opening of the communist secret police's archives will help eradicate the evil that continues to poison Albanian society," said prominent Balkans writer Ismail Kadare.

"It is like draining an abscess -- a painful surgical procedure but one which is essential."

Story continues

The Sigurimi was a powerful tool in the hands of Hoxha, who crushed all opposition and anti-communist dissent, and kept this country of three million people isolated from foreign influence until his death in 1985.

Over that period and until the collapse of Communism in 1991, more than 100,000 people were put in camps, another 20,000 were imprisoned and some 6,000 others died or simply disappeared.

Unofficial sources believe that about 20 percent of Albanians collaborated with the Sigurimi, informing on "suspicious" activities of friends, neighbours, colleagues or even family members.

Western intelligence sources estimate that up to 10,000 people worked for them during the Communist period.

- Painful secrets -

"The archives of the dictatorship contain painful secrets for many Albanians," says Gentiana Sula, whose grandfather died in prison and who heads up the body responsible for opening the files.

Initial estimates suggest there are "millions of pages of documents, more than 120,000 files and 250,000 records," she says.

In 2015, parliament passed a law to open the Sigurimi's archives and in December last year, an independent authority was set up to help anyone seeking information about their own experience or the fate of a loved one.

The main aim of opening the archives is to ensure that no former Sigurimi collaborator is able to hold a public position.

But another key objective is to bring transparency to Albania's fractious political scene where the allegation of collaboration or being an informer for the Sigurimi is a potent weapon which crops up on a weekly basis, whether in the press or in parliamentary exchanges.

Although proven cases are very rare -- in 26 years, just two politicians have publicly admitted it -- some lesser known figures have discreetly withdrawn from public life after being tarnished by such slurs.

With rumours swirling and speculation rife, manipulating the issue has "fuelled political immorality which, for years, has held Albanian politics and society hostage," the author Kadare told AFP back in 2008.

- Extensive manipulation -

Nearly 10 years on, things have finally started to change, despite strong opposition, says Aleksander Cipa, president of the Union of Journalists, noting that some of the political class "are carrying the weight of past sins on their shoulders."

Until now, the extent of manipulation in both the political and the public sphere has been so extensive that it has been difficult to sort fact from fiction.

But for Sula, the documents in the archives should end all that.

"Opening those files will put an end to all this speculation," she says.

Although the process of opening the archives began in December, it has been slow because of the need to first gather then inventory the vast quantity of documents from many different locations.

And experts suggest the process of uncovering the truth could take more than two years.

- Many files destroyed -

For Albanian Ombudsman Igli Totozani, opening the files "is a step towards a clean-up operation."

Such an operation has already begun in the form of a judicial reform which states that magistrates "must not have collaborated with or had any links to the Communist secret service," he explains.

The same requirement will be made of politicians.

But even though the files are being opened, many questions are likely to remain unanswered.

"A large number of files were destroyed in 1991 and 1992, when the communists were still in power," explains Kastriot Dervishi, former head of the archives at the interior ministry.

It also happened during the armed rebellion of 1997, when the country sank into anarchy.

"The truth will not be easy to establish but it is important to know it in order to discover everything" about one of the most repressive regimes of the 20th century, Kadare concludes.
Akshay Kumar has finally revealed why he changed his name from Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia to the name the entire world knows him by.

By India Today Web Desk: A question that must have bothered every layman who knows who Akshay Kumar is, is why the star changed his original name. Unless you've been living under an Everest-sized rock, you'd know that Akshay Kumar is not Akshay Kumar's real name. Khiladi Kumar was born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia, and then changed his name to Akshay Kumar, the name that made him one to reckon with.

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While many people know Akshay Kumar's real name, most don't know why the actor changed his name in the first place.

At a recent interation with Hindustan Times, the Baby star spilled the beans. He said that yesteryear actor Kumar Gaurav was responsible for Akshay changing his name.

Kumar said, "No one has ever asked me this question. My first film was Aaj (1987) which was directed by Mahesh Bhatt and starred Kumar Gaurav. The name of Gaurav's character was Akshay. I had a 4.5 second role in it and I would only observe Gaurav and his acting. I don't know what happened but one day I just went to the court and got my name changed."

Akshay went on to say, "I don't know why I changed my name... I just went to the Bandra East court and got it done. Main kuchh bhi nahi tha us time pe, phir bhi maine visiting card banwaye. Then I went out to get work, time was in my favour, and I got films after that."

Well, the cat's finally out of the bag!

ALSO READ: Rajinikanth to play 5 roles, Akshay Kumar to sport 12 looks in 2.0?

ALSO READ: Priyanka is the biggest international star we have, says Naam Shabana's Anupam Kher

ALSO WATCH: Review of Akshay Kumar's Jolly LLB 2

--- ENDS ---
Pakistan has begun work on a fence that will trace its mountainous northwest border with Afghanistan, Islamabad announced Saturday.

A better managed, secure and peaceful border is in mutual interest of both brotherly countries who have given phenomenal sacrifices in war against terrorism, Pakistans army chief, General Qamar Bajwa, said in a statement from the countrys tribal hinterlands, the Wall Street Journal reports.

But instead, a border fence could further inflame tensions between Pakistan and its landlocked northeasterly neighbor. For one thing, Afghanistan disputes the legitimacy of much of the border, which was drawn up under British colonial rule; for another, each side accuses the other of harboring terrorists.

The measure follows a spate of terrorist attacks in recent weeks that have killed more than 100 people on Pakistani soil. Islamabad blames these on militants that it says have relocated across its porous border, which it closed for more than a month in February, citing security reasons.

Meanwhile, Kabul had long accused Pakistan of offering safe haven for the Afghan Taliban and the allied Haqqani network. Its a charge with which Washington concurs, reports the WSJ.

Building a fence will not help solve the problem, but will only create more tension, General Dawlat Waziri, a spokesperson of the Afghan Ministry of Defense, told the WSJ. To counter terrorism, Pakistan needs to deny sanctuaries to terrorist groups, stop financing, training and helping them.

[WSJ]

This article was originally published on TIME.com
Paris (AFP) - Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Monday unveiled a grand plan to clean up the French capital, putting teeth into the campaign by stepping up enforcement operations.

The city will be "uncompromising with those who sully the public space," she said, addressing one of the main complaints of residents and tourists alike.

The Socialist mayor said the squad of police handing out fines -- dubbed the "incivility brigade" -- will be increased by 50 percent by mid-2018.

The City of Light, which will learn in September whether it will host the 2024 Olympic Games, will invest 22 million euros ($24 million) in new street cleaning equipment, she said.

Another 1.5 million euros is earmarked for pest control.

Teams will carry out an evening sweep in addition to the morning garbage collection rounds, the mayor said.

Seven mobile teams will circulate to keep key areas clean, notably tourist sites.

According to city records, 33,000 people were fined in 2015 for offences such as littering, stamping out cigarettes in the street and dumping, paying 68 euros each.

The number rose to 37,000 last year.
Abdul Jalal Hashimi grew up in Kabul and fled with his family to the United States after working more than six years against the Taliban alongside American military forces.

A 32-year-old Muslim, he has known few Jews personally, but come Passover he'll be among more than a dozen refugees sharing special holiday food and swapping life stories with congregants at Temple Beth-El in his new hometown of Richmond, Virginia.

The experience, he said, is aimed at breaking down stereotypes and eliminating bigotry.

"What I hope is to know each other," said Jalal, who prefers that name, in a blog post the synagogue posted on its website ahead of the Seder.

The Conservative synagogue's senior rabbi, Michael Knopf, said in an interview that it's the first time his congregation has marked the global refugee crisis through special readings and rituals at a Seder. Congregants and guests will be using a supplement to existing Haggadahs, the collection of recitations and stories that guide the evening, including the telling of the Israelites' liberation from Egypt.

The supplement was written by HIAS, a Jewish resettlement organization first established in the 1880s that has helped millions of Jews fleeing pogroms, war and other tragedies. In recent years, the nonprofit has helped resettle refugees of all faiths and ethnicities and offers aid around the world to people ineligible for entry to the U.S.

Last year, Muslims comprised 51 percent of the 4,191 people from 47 countries assisted by HIAS and its network of more than 320 synagogues that have signed on to support refugees.

The HIAS Haggadah supplement last year was downloaded from the group's website more than 3,000 times and distributed in hard copy at events and through other organizations, said Rabbi Rachel Grant Meyer, HIAS director of education and community engagement.

"Throughout our history violence and persecution have driven us to wander to seek freedom," she said. "Passover really feels like the time on the calendar that just makes the most sense to put people's attention on the global refugee crisis. There is clearly so much resonance with Jewish history."

Story continues

Rituals suggested by the supplement include refugee guests and Seder leaders rising from the table to place a pair of shoes on the doorstep while reciting a phrase that translates to: "My father was a wandering Aramean," or sometimes, "An Aramean sought to destroy my father." (Aram was a region of the Middle East in ancient times.)

That phrase, according to the supplement, represents "the essence of the Jewish experience: a rootless people who have fled persecution time and time again." The words, the group is instructed to read, "acknowledge that we have stood in the shoes of the refugees."

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism suggested last year placing a banana among other traditional symbolic foods on the Seder plate. The banana honors 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, a Syrian boy of Kurdish background whose lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach in 2015 as he fled Syria with his family. His brother, mother and three other children also drowned when their dinghy capsized. Aylan's father survived and described how his two young sons loved bananas, a luxury in war-torn Syria. He'd brought them a banana as a daily treat.

Rabbi Dan Moskovitz of Temple Shalom in Vancouver, Canada  where Aylan's family had hoped to eventually settle with a relative  wrote the banana story for the Action Center Haggadah supplement. This year, his Reform congregation will use the banana on Seder plates while welcoming a Kurdish family from Syria that it sponsored. The family's resident relatives attended a Seder there last year, "so all will be reunited," he said.

The congregation also sponsored another Syrian family, raising more than $100,000 to help both. Moskovitz expects 200 congregants to join them for Passover. Among the questions for discussion: "Who are the pharaohs of today?" (According to the Passover story, Egypt's pharaoh enslaved the Jews.)

The HIAS supplement estimates there are 65 million displaced people and refugees globally. That number is to be read aloud at the Seder start.

Knopf expects Afghanis, Iraqis and Syrians, including Jalal, to attend his synagogue's Seder, along with more than 100 congregants. Because of "the cruelty with which our government is treating the refugee issue," Knopf said, "we felt a moral obligation and a religious obligation to do our part to care for refugees and to support our friends in the Muslim community."

Stories of individual refugees are woven into the HIAS supplement, including an accounting of the sparse belongings they brought, coupled with these words: "Just as the story of our own people's wandering teaches us these lessons time and time again, so, too, do the stories of today's refugees. The meager possessions they bring with them as they flee reflect the reality of rebuilding a life from so very little."

Added Meyer: "It shouldn't be about faith. It should be about helping people who are being persecuted and making sure that they don't succumb to the same fate the Jewish people did."
When Sarah Krasley Kickstarted her customizable bathing suit line, she faced an ethical dilemma: should she Photoshop her models if her company mission was to make women feel more comfortable in swimwear? She went searching for some guidance online, but came up short.

That's when the idea for the Retouchers Accord was born. What if she could get retouchers, photographers, designers, brands, celebrities and media companies to follow a code of ethics for altering images? She put together a board, a website, social media accounts and strategy sessions to suss out a pledge  and all the while, in the background, new complaints about excessive photoshopping kept exploding on social media.

SEE ALSO: Hey, trolls: Woman will wear a bikini if she wants, thank you

It seemed as if the time was ripe for change. But a big hurdle remained.

"We heard a lot of folks in retouching and styling saying this is never gonna work. You cant tell a client not to retouch the work," she said.

Thanks to an amazing group of collaborators, we launched the first Hippocratic oath for image-makers! Join us: https://t.co/wzT5N4C5Kw pic.twitter.com/451ClLxjmR  retouchersaccord (@retoucheraccord) March 21, 2017

So how do we get to a point where retouchers can "practice authenticity" and "advance the understanding of healthy body image," per the oath? It will be up to armies of social media users to keep praising body positive campaigns, consumers buying products from brands that don't "body sculpt" models in photos, and industry folks raving about how it's good for business, activists and Retouchers Accord supporters said.

And the stakes are high. Advocacy groups warn of the psychological dangers of seeing a constant stream of perfect bodies that don't exist. The barrage can contribute to eating disorders and a lack of self worth. Altered images have become so ubiquitous it's a given that celebrities don't look anything like what you see in magazines and on film, but even when we know the images aren't real, a damaging expectation is set.

Story continues

SEE ALSO: The secret Hollywood procedure that has fooled us for years

Krasley's pledge can't fix the problem on its own, and it won't please the most ardent body positive activists, but it can get the ball rolling from the industry's inside. It's open to interpretation and focuses on using retouching in an ethical way, not doing away with it completely.

"We're looking to help in this moment were in right now. There arent any guidelines, theres a lot of outcry, we need some organizing principles and guidelines to get the industry out of this paralysis of, 'Oh this problem is too big we dont know what to do,'" she said.

That's something Dana Suchow can relate to. The body positive activist and founder of dothehotpants.com went viral in 2014 when she posted an article to her fashion blog spotlighting photos she wishes she hadn't altered. Back then, she couldn't see a place for fashion and body positivity to coexist. Today, the glimpses are there, but it's still not mainstream, she said. Everyone's still feeling around in the dark for a way to make it so.

"Brands are starting to learn they can make money off body positivity, as well, but is Chanel going to be showing cellulite and body hair? Absolutely not. Theyre going to keep requesting [heavy Photoshop] because thats what society wants," Suchow said.

The cover of March 2017 @voguemagazine. Can we please stop with the aggressive photoshop? Look at Gigi's hand/arm... pic.twitter.com/3tqppySyaz  Kim Pincombe~Cole (@kimpcole) February 8, 2017

Women are gonna be insecure about their knee caps now that Kendall and Gigi set the standard of not having any  https://t.co/jlrYw9w414  anna (@hesthirIs) October 20, 2016

Photoshop fails have been publicized far and wide  like when Gigi Hadid's arm looked like Inspector Gadget's on the cover of Vogue or when she went knee-less for W. There are far more fails than success stories these days, Krasley said.

"Women are under daily attack, whether you walk by a billboard, you see a magazine, you get something in the mail, you see a popup, you see something on TV, ... How do we fight this battle? Its daunting when you try to look at it. I commend Retouchers Accord for beginning to try," Suchow said.

Even more daunting is that for every retoucher who signs the pledge, there are plenty of others who won't, said Substantia Jones, a photo activist and founder of the Adipositivity Project, a photo series that proudly puts fat on display.

What's to stop clients from going elsewhere? You.

"Theyre going to need it to be backed up with dollars, the consumers are gonna rule on this one," Jones said. That means, if you want the standards to change, you have to buy from brands that strive for realness in their ads and call out ones that don't.

The final draft of the pledge was finished earlier this month, and it's clear that early adopters were already on board with body positivity. But the hope is that eventually it won't be all about preaching to the choir.

One retouching agency that's taken the oath and is a member of the accord's advisory board, Feather Creative, has had a more natural approach since its founding. They'll fix lighting and smudged makeup, but extreme retouching isn't their game.

"Its been pushed to the extremes and now were seeing the industry pull back from that," Cofounder Linn Edwards said. "When digital photography came on the scene, suddenly anything is possible, the style of retouching went too far, people were too airbrushed, the ability was suddenly there to easily shape somebody ... Nobody wants to get left behind, nobody wants to be the one person going too far."

Mix, match & share! For every unretouched swim photo you post with #AerieREAL, well donate $1 (up to $10K) to @NEDA. A post shared by aerie (@aerie) on Mar 21, 2017 at 6:02pm PDT

Some brands are using their stance against Photoshop as a marketing tool. Aerie stopped Photoshopping models  the company says the models are completely unretouched  in 2014 and by 2016, sales spiked 20%. And Target just came out with a Photoshop-free swimwear campaign, too. In 2014, ModCloth became the first retailer to sign an anti-Photoshop pledge created by girl empowerment advocates Brave Girls Alliance. It goes further than the Retouchers Accord  no material alterations unless marked with a "Truth in Advertising" label  but only about 40 small retailers have signed it since ModCloth, Nancy Gruver, a Brave Girls Alliance leader said. She's hopeful that retouchers on the inside can move the needle more.

Krasley is, too. Can retouchers help each other write contracts with policies that avoid awkward conversations about excessive alterations with clients? Can they convince celebrities to only work with retouchers that take the pledge? Can they teach each other authentic retouching techniques? Can they get Adobe involved? Can they get fashion magazines in on this, too?

shoutout to target for not using photoshop in their latest swimwear campaign!!! pic.twitter.com/2wkxVPebia  gab (@gabby_frost) March 20, 2017

They're lofty goals, but Krasley sees potential because a similar, and very successful, pledge already exists in the product design industry.

The Designers Accord, which aims to mainstream sustainability in design practice, launched 10 years ago and now has thousands of members and is taught in design programs.

Valerie Casey, who originally wrote the online manifesto which would become the Designers Accord, is now on Krasley's board. To thrive, Retouchers Accord members will need to articulate how they can make their clients more successful, Casey said.

"That was the key to the success of the Designers Accord  we werent the conscience for our clients, we were their competitive advantage," Casey said.

But Krasley thinks it can go one step further.

"I hope the public outcry makes it so this isnt a competitive advantage any more, this is just something you need to do, like youre a weird outlier if you don't."

WATCH: Robotic glove lets people with limited hand mobility perform daily tasks
ATLANTA (AP)  Atlanta authorities say a suspect was wounded by police gunfire after he shot a woman then turned his rifle on responding officers.

Atlanta media report that police were answering a call at 4:30 a.m. Monday from a woman who said she was being held against her will at a south Atlanta apartment complex.

Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Jeff Glazier says the 23-year-old woman was shot in the stomach and hand as she tried to drive away from the gunman.

Glazier said the 21-year-old suspect fired at police officers with a rifle. Five officers returned fire, and the man was hit in the stomach and leg.

The suspect and victim were both reported in stable condition Monday afternoon. The races of those involved were not known.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting.
Colorado police are investigating an incident at a Colorado mosque after someone shattered glass doors with rocks and threw a Bible in the prayer room.

Leaders at the Fort Collins Islamic Center said the attacker threw the biggest rock he could find to break the glass door after attempting to break in using a screwdriver. Once inside, the vandal turned over trash cans and chairs and threw a Bible in a prayer room.

Police confirmed the damage when they responded to the early Sunday morning incident. They are currently asking for assistance from the community to solve the crime.

Colorado police investigate vandalism at a mosque after someone threw rocks and a Bible through the building's doors https://t.co/Hw4xlxJ8ox pic.twitter.com/QxjodU4tKp - CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) March 27, 2017

On Sunday afternoon, the community held a rally at the mosque. Fort Collins Police Chief John Hutto tweeted, This is the Fort Collins I love; not the hateful, divisive crime of last night.

Unacceptable! I urge anyone who has information about this incident to come forward and help us solve this crime. @FCPolice @FCCrimeStopper - John Hutto (@FCPSChief) March 26, 2017

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is urging state and federal officials to investigate the incident as a hate crime. CAIR has been active in calling for hate crime investigations in a slew of incidents at mosques around the country. The group says a report it will soon release details a significant increase in anti-Muslim attacks between 2015 and 2016.

This article was originally published on TIME.com
These have been a choice few days for aficionados of scandal. Washington hasnt seen their like since the heyday of Whitewater, Iran-contra, and Watergate  in other words for nearly two decades. And in many ways Kremlin-gate, the burgeoning scandal over Team Trumps connections to Russia, is in a class by itself.

When, in the past, has an FBI director ever announced that his agents were investigating allegations that the president and his closest associates  including his senior advisor-cum-son-in-law  were guilty of collusion with a hostile foreign power? Never. Yet thats just what James Comey did on March 20 when he told the House Intelligence Committee that the G-men were looking into the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russias efforts.

To make the event even more surreal, Comey and his fellow witness, Adm. Michael Rogers of the National Security Agency, all but called their boss, the commander in chief, a liar by publicly dismissing his allegations that former President Barack Obama had wiretapped him. I have no information that supports those tweets, and we have looked carefully inside the FBI, Comey said. As for Donald Trumps desperate claim that Obama had asked Britains GCHQ spy agency to wiretap him, Rogers said, Ive seen nothing on the NSA side that we engaged in any such activity nor that anyone ever asked us to engage in such activity.

It is impossible to conceive of J. Edgar Hoover publicly calling out any of the presidents that he served in such a fashion  and yet Comey had good cause to do so, because Trump has shown that he is prepared to smear the reputation of the intelligence community in order to save his own. And while Hoover was always paranoid about subversives worming their way into the government, not even he went so far as to hint at a possible conspiracy between the American president and the ruler in Moscow.

Yet the jaw-dropping revelations were just beginning. Two days after the House hearing, on March 22, The Associated Press revealed that in 2005, Paul Manafort, Trumps erstwhile campaign manager, had signed a $10 million-a-year contract with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska to influence politics, business dealings and news coverage inside the United States, Europe and former Soviet republics to benefit President Vladimir Putins government. This comes on top of Manaforts already disclosed work on behalf of Viktor Yanukovych, the deposed Ukrainian leader who is a close Kremlin ally. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicers clumsy attempts to distance the president from Manafort  he claimed that Trumps former campaign manager played only a very limited role for a very limited amount of time  simply served to signal how serious this revelation actually is.

And, of course, Manafort is hardly the only current or former Trump associate with suspiciously close ties to Moscow. We have only recently learned that Michael Flynn, Trumps first national security advisor, made $68,000 while serving as a consultant to Russian firms in 2015. Campaign foreign-policy advisor Carter Page maintained close ties with the Kremlin and its state-owned oil companies. Longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone has admitted to communicating with Guccifer 2.0, the moniker used by Russian intelligence to leak damaging information about Hillary Clinton, and with Julian Assange, the head of WikiLeaks, another Russian front organization. Trust me, it will soon [be] the Podestas time in the barrel, Stone tweeted on Aug. 21, 2016, weeks before WikiLeaks began leaking emails stolen from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

Even Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law, it now emerges, met before the inauguration not just with Russias ambassador to Washington but also with Sergey Gorkov, who is close to Putin, was trained by Russian intelligence, and runs a state-owned bank that has been placed on a U.S. sanctions list. No one knows what they discussed, but its possible that Kushner, whose family real estate firm is desperate for foreign financing, was hoping to get an investment from this Russian bank to supplement the hundreds of millions of dollars it has sought from Chinese companies closely connected to the leadership in Beijing. (One wonders how Kushner has time to not only deal with Russia policy  but also to broker peace in the Middle East; advise on relations with China, Mexico, and Canada; and reorganize the whole U.S. government. Clearly Ivanka Trump married a man of prodigious and hitherto unsuspected talents.)

Perhaps there is an innocent explanation for all of these contacts between Trumpites and Putinites. Perhaps. But the sheer scale of the communication, and the efforts to conceal it, suggests the possibility of a nefarious connection that extends well beyond Trumps well-known admiration for Putin. If CNNs anonymous sources are to be believed, The FBI has information that indicates associates of President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clintons campaign.

There is, to be sure, no proof that has yet been made public of such serious charges. They may well be false. But by now we do know enough to call for an energetic and impartial investigation  and its doubtful that one will ever emerge from the House and Senate intelligence committees. Rep. Devin Nunes, the California Republican who chairs the House panel, has been particularly compromised not just by his service on Trumps transition team but also by his unbecoming eagerness to act as Trumps defender in this whole sordid business.

On March 22, Nunes went so far as to reveal classified information suggesting that either Trump himself or his aides might have been caught as incidental subjects of legally obtained surveillance. Having apparently acquired this information the previous day from an intelligence official in the White House, Nunes did not bother to notify his fellow committee members. Instead, he rushed out to try to buttress Trumps indefensible allegations of wrongdoing against former President Obama.

Trump predictably claimed vindication, but in fact Nuness information was hardly exculpatory. In the first place, even Nunes did not allege that Obama did anything wrong or that Trump himself was the target of a wiretap. At most, Trump or his associates were caught chatting with someone else who was a target of lawful surveillance. This is a long, long way removed from Nixon/Watergate territory as Trump has tweeted, even if the intelligence community did not do a good enough job of completely masking the identity of the Trump officials. In any case, it is hardly reassuring to know that Trump or his aides were in regular contact with individuals whose communications were targeted as part of a criminal or counterintelligence investigation. Nuness revelation raises far more questions than it answers: Just which unsavory characters were Trump and/or his aides talking to, and why? What were the motives of the intelligence official who was said to have leaked this information? And why are Nunes and Trump so selective in their outrage about leaking, only objecting when the resulting information hurts the president?

The only way we will begin to unravel this mystery is with the appointment of a special counsel to lead the Justice Department prosecution and of a bipartisan committee  either a House-Senate select committee or an outside panel like the one that investigated 9/11  to lead the public inquiry. Such an investigation will either clear Trumps name  or not. Either way, it will provide some relief from the nonstop drip of revelations.

As New York Times columnist Charles Blow reminds us, on Nov. 3 the Trump campaign released a television commercial claiming: Hillary cannot lead a nation while crippled by a criminal investigation. The same is true of Trump: He cannot lead the nation while crippled by Kremlin-gate. It is thus in his own interest to facilitate a credible inquiry that will get to the bottom of this mess as soon as possible. Unless, of course, he has something to hide. In which case, his present conduct, designed to obfuscate and cover up, makes perfect sense.

Photo credit: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/Getty Images
Questions about the relationship between the Trump administration and Russia continue to swirl ahead of a closed-door session at the House Intelligence Committee. On Monday, newspapers reported that the Senate Intelligence Committee will interview Jared Kushner, President Donald Trumps advisor and son-in-law, over meetings he took after the election with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak and a prominent Russian banker, Sergei Gorkov.

Kushner met with Kislyak he was a member of the Trump transition team and still a private citizen. After that meeting, which took place in early December, Kislyak requested a second, to which Kushner sent a deputy, to whom Kislyak conveyed he wanted Kushner and Gorkov to meet. Kushner and Gorkov met at a later date.

Gorkov is the head of the Moscow-based Vnesheconombank, a government owned development bank that is sanctioned by the United States for Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea. Vnesheconombank describes itself as funding major investment projects  like Russian President Vladimir Putins pet project, the 2014 Sochi Olympics  and provid[ing] support for Russian enterprises.

It is also the bank at which Evgeny Buryakov worked under non-official cover as a banker while actually working for Russian intelligence (the U.S. attorney who announced he pled guilty back in March 2016 was Preet Bharara, whom the White House fired earlier this month).

Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, whose recently exposed alleged corruption was the impetus for massive protests across Russia on Sunday, sits on the banks supervisory board.

Previously, Gorkov was the deputy chairman of the executive board of Sberbank, Russias largest state bank, most recently in the news for hiring Trumps longtime lawyer to defend it in court. Gorkov graduated from Russias Academy of the Federal Security Service  that is, of the FSB  in 1994, and is also a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Merit for Services to the Fatherland, second class.

Story continues

White House spokesperson Hope Hicks told the New York Times that the meeting, which lasted 30 minutes, really wasnt much of a conversation, but that Gorkov communicated his interest in maintaining an open dialogue.

Mr. Kushner will certainly not be the last person the committee calls to give testimony, but we expect him to be able to provide answers to key questions that have arisen in our inquiry, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), vice chair of the same committee, said in a statement.

Indeed, Kushner is not the only current or former member of the Trump team to face an interview from Congress. Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, as well as former advisors Carter Page and Roger Stone, have all said they would testify before the House Intelligence Committee.

But that committee is itself in the crosshairs. The chair of the panel, Rep. Devin Nunes (R.-Calif.), said Monday that he went to the White House last week just before he held a controversial news conference to reveal that Trump associates had been caught up in incidental intelligence collection, fueling speculation that the White House may have fed him that information. Last Friday, Nunes cancelled an open hearing scheduled for Tuesday, replacing it with a closed hearing in which FBI chief James Comey and NSA director Mike Rogers will testify again.

House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D.-Calif.) has called for an independent investigation. Some other committee members are more forceful  Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D.-N.J.) said on Thursday that Nunes, himself a former member of the Trump transition team, should step down.

Its clear that Chairman Nunes, a member of the Trump transition, is still playing for the presidents team at the expense of properly performing his job, he said.

On Monday evening, House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) issued a statement saying he, too, felt Nunes should recuse himself. After much consideration, and in light of the Chairmans admission that he met with his source of information at the White House, I believe that the Chairman should recuse himself from any further involvement in the Russia investigation, as well as any involvement in oversight of matters pertaining to any incidental collection of the Trump transition, as he was also a key member of the transition team, the statement read.

Nunes said he would not recuse himself, as everything is politics here.

The White House also weighed in, in its way. At a briefing on Monday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer would not say with whom Nunes met with or from where he got his sources, and referred those who asked back to Nuness public comments. Asked if Nuness sources could have come from within the White House, Spicer said, anything is possible.

Update, March 27 2017, 3:15 pm ET: This post was updated to include Spicers briefing comment.

Update, March 27 2017, 3:49 pm ET: This post was updated to include the statement from Burr and Warner.

Update, March 27 2017, 7:57 pm ET: This post was updated to include Schiffs statement and Nuness response.

Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
(MOSCOW) - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appeared in court on Monday, a day after being detained at a major opposition rally that he led the previous day.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Russia on Sunday in the biggest show of defiance since the 2011-2012 anti-government protests.

The Kremlin has dismissed the opposition as Westernized urban elite disconnected from the issues faced by the poor in Russias far-flung regions, but Sundays protests included demonstrations in the areas which typically produce a high vote for President Vladimir Putin, from Siberias Chita to Dagestans Makhachkala.

Russian police say that about 500 people were arrested, while human rights groups say 1,000 were taken into custody. On Monday, the European Union has called on Russian authorities to release the demonstrators.

The protests were led by Navalny, a charismatic opposition leader who has recently announced his bid for presidency. Navalny was grabbed by police while walking to the rally from a nearby subway station. He posted a selfie on Twitter from the courtroom on Monday morning, saying: A time will come when well put them on trial too and that time it will be fair. If found guilty, he could be jailed for 15 days for staging an unauthorized rally.

The 40-year old Navalny, arguably Russias most popular opposition leader, has been twice convicted on fraud and embezzlement charges that he has dismissed as politically motivated. Navalny is currently serving a suspended sentence, and Sundays arrest could be used as a pretext to convert it into jail time.

Separately, police arrested 17 associates of Navalnys who were at their office, setting up and monitoring a webcast of the rally. All of them spent the night at the police station while authorities raided their office, reportedly taking out all equipment. It wasnt immediately clear what charges they may be facing.

Whether Navalny and his associates will be slapped with new charges could indicate which approach the Kremlin will take in dealing with a new wave of discontent: crack down on it even further or exercise restraint.

Story continues

Russian state television completely ignored the protests in their broadcasts on Sunday, and authorities didnt comment on it in any way.

___

Geir Moulson contributed to this report from Berlin.

This article was originally published on TIME.com
By Andrew Osborn and Svetlana Reiter MOSCOW (Reuters) - Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was handed a 15-day jail sentence on Monday for his part in a big anti-government protest in Moscow which buoyed the liberal opposition's morale a year before a presidential election. Sunday's protest and others like it across Russia were estimated to be the largest since 2012 and foreshadow a presidential election which Vladimir Putin is expected to contest. Opinion polls suggest Navalny, who hopes to run against Putin, has little chance of unseating the Russian leader, who enjoys high ratings. But Navalny and his supporters hope to channel public discontent over corruption to get more support. Navalny, who will appeal the court's verdict, was found guilty of disobeying a police officer at Sunday's Moscow protest and sentenced to 15 days in jail. He was also fined for organizing the protest, which the authorities said was illegal. Navalny told reporters in the Moscow courtroom that he and his allies would not give up. "You cant detain tens of thousands of people," he said. "Yesterday we saw the authorities can only go so far." Police detained more than 1,000 protesters across Russia on Sunday as crowds took to the streets, at Navalny's urging, to demonstrate against corruption and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev's spokeswoman has dismissed corruption allegations against him as "propagandistic attacks". Navalny said Russians would keep protesting for "as long as people see tens of billions of dollars being stolen by top officials". The Kremlin dismissed the protests as an illegal provocation and rejected U.S. and European Union calls to free detainees like Navalny. "We can't agree with these calls," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call, saying the police had been professional and properly enforced Russian law. He said the Kremlin had no problem with people expressing their opinions at protest meetings, but the timing and location had to be agreed with authorities in advance, something he said had not been done in large part on Sunday. "We can't respect people who deliberately misled minors - in essence children - calling on them to take part in illegal actions in unsanctioned places and offering them certain rewards to do so, thus putting their lives at risk," said Peskov. A Reuters reporter saw Navalny being loaded into a van after his court appearance. It was surrounded by supporters holding placards reading" "We believe" and "Alexei, we are with you." Police then detained the group of around 20 young people. (Editing by Andrew Roche)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian police on Sunday detained 17 people who work at an anti-corruption foundation headed by opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a director of the fund and Navalny's press secretary told Reuters. Earlier on Sunday police detained Navalny, who wants to run against President Vladimir Putin in next year's presidential election, at an unsanctioned anti-corruption protest in Moscow that Navalny organized. Similar rallies were held across Russia. "Seventeen members of the foundation were detained by police at the foundation's office where we were doing an online broadcast of today's protest. We are charged with disobeying the police," Roman Rubanov, director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, told Reuters by phone from a Moscow police station. A law enforcement source confirmed to Reuters that 17 people from Navalny's foundation had been detained, without elaborating. Earlier this year Navalny's foundation published allegations that Russian Prime Minister and former president Dmitry Medvedev had amassed a huge fortune that far outstripped his official salary. Medvedev's spokeswoman called the allegations "propagandistic attacks" unworthy of detailed comment and said they amounted to pre-election posturing by Navalny. (Reporting by Denis Pinchuk and Svetlana Reiter; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Catherine Evans)
By Denis Pinchuk and Natalia Shurmina MOSCOW/YEKATERINBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Police detained hundreds of protesters across Russia on Sunday, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny, after thousands took to the streets to demonstrate against corruption and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The protests, reckoned to be the biggest since a wave of anti-Kremlin demonstrations in 2011/2012, come a year before a presidential election that Vladimir Putin is expected to contest, running for what would be a fourth term. Opinion polls suggest the liberal opposition, which Navalny represents, has little chance of fielding a candidate capable of unseating Putin, who enjoys high ratings. But Navalny and his supporters hope to channel public discontent over official corruption to attract more support. A Reuters reporter saw police detain Navalny, who hopes to run against Putin, as he walked along central Moscow's Tverskaya Street with supporters, part of an unsanctioned rally as a police helicopter circled overhead. Police put Navalny in a truck around which hundreds of protesters crowded, trying to open its doors. "I'm happy that so many people came out (onto the streets) from the east (of the country) to Moscow," Navalny said, moments before he was detained. The Kremlin said on Friday that plans for the central Moscow protest, which the city's authorities had rejected, were an illegal provocation. The United States condemned the arrests, saying the action was an affront to democratic values. "We call on the government of Russia to immediately release all peaceful protesters," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement, adding that Washington was "troubled" to hear of the arrest of Navalny. SEVERAL HUNDRED DETAINED Grigory Okhotin, one of the founders of OVD Info, a human rights organization that monitors detentions, said around 600 people had been detained in Moscow on Sunday. Police said around 7,000 to 8,000 people were on Tverskaya Street and surrounding areas by mid-afternoon and put the number of detentions by late afternoon at around 500. As evening drew in, hundreds of riot police lined up on Manezh Square at the end of Tverskaya Street and drove protesters away from the Kremlin's walls. Some opposition supporters on Manezh Square shouted: "Putin is a thief" as tourists wandered nearby. Navalny called the protests after publishing allegations that Medvedev, the prime minister and former president, had amassed a huge fortune that far outstripped his official salary. Medvedev's spokeswoman called the allegations "propagandistic attacks" unworthy of detailed comment and said they amounted to pre-election posturing by Navalny. Elsewhere, at a rally in the far eastern city of Vladivostok, a Reuters reporter saw 30 people being detained after unfurling banners reading: "The prime minister should answer". "I've come out (to protest) against corruption and want the authorities to answer the accusations in the Navalny film," 17-year-old student Denis Korneev said at the Moscow protest. "In many countries the government would have resigned over this." Witnesses told Reuters that four people were also detained at a rally in Yekaterinburg in the industrial Urals region. On Yekaterinburg's Labour Square, protesters waved posters reading: "We are the authorities here" while nationalists and supporters of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party looked on. Local media reported that large protests also took place in other cities, including St Petersburg and Novosibirsk. State media broadly ignored Sunday's protests. (Additional reporting by Anton Zverev and Svetlana Reiter in Moscow, Alexei Chernyshov in Vladivostok and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Catherine Evans and Peter Cooney)
Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi Arabia on Monday cut taxes on oil companies in a major move that could attract investments in its energy giant Aramco, expected to be offered to investors in 2018.

King Salman decreed a new set of income tax rates on oil companies working in the kingdom, ranging from 50 percent to 85 percent depending on the firms' investments, after it was 85 percent across the board.

The royal decree published Monday said companies investing more that 375 billion riyals ($100 billion) will be subject to a 50-percent tax rate.

"Saudi Aramco's tax rate is reduced from 85 percent to 50 percent, bringing it in line with international benchmarks," the government-owned oil giant said on its Twitter account following the decree.

Saudi Arabia plans to sell five percent of Aramco next year, as part of efforts to build up a large sovereign wealth fund. The sale falls within the kingdom's strategy to diversify its oil-dependent economy away from hydrocarbons.

"The royal decree concerning taxes is in the interest of the kingdom, its citizens and future generations," said Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, whose country is the worlds biggest oil exporter.

Saudi Aramco chief Amin Nasser said the royal order "is positive for the kingdom's economic diversification," and in line with the "Vision 2030" for economic reforms led by the king's son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The kingdom has intensified economic reform efforts after oil prices plunged last year below $40 per barrel from above $100 in 2014.

The government made unprecedented cuts to fuel and utilities subsidies in a country long-accustomed to some of the cheapest petrol prices in the world.

The budget deficit last year amounted to $79 billion, down from the record deficit of $97 billion registered in 2015.

The energy minister insisted the country's oil wealth would remain sovereign despite the sale of Aramco shares, and that a drop in tax revenues would be compensated by investment returns.

"The hydrocarbon resources of Saudi Arabia remain sovereign and any reduction in tax revenues" will be "replaced by stable dividend payments and other sources of revenue from hydrocarbon producers", Falih said.

Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan also gave assurances that the tax cuts would "not have any negative impact on the state's ability to provide services".
Activist media said a second convoy of rebel fighters and their families began leaving al-Waer neighborhood in Homs on Monday, March 27, as part of a deal that the Syrian government claims will help end fighting in the area, .

The Homs Media Center, which shared the footage here, said 1,850 people were leaving for the rebel-held area of Jarabulus in Aleppo.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the convoy, citing local sources.

The agreement, reached on Monday, March 13, came after a month of escalated shelling of the neighborhood by pro-regime forces. Credit: YouTube/Homs Media Cenetr via Storyful
By Aleksandar Vasovic and Ivana Sekularac BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia is committed to European Union membership but it will work hard to improve relations with its traditional ally Russia, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told Reuters ahead of a presidential election on Sunday. The poll will test the popularity of Vucic, a frontrunner in the race, as well as his center-right Serbian Progressive Party, economic reforms and a bid to bring the country closer to the EU. "Serbia is on the European path and that is our strategic goal. We want our society to be modelled after most developed Western European countries," Vucic said at the weekend. But, he said he would work hard as president to maintain good relations with fellow Christian Orthodox Russia as well. Powers in Serbia are strictly divided between the president and prime minister. Under the constitution the president signs bills into laws, commands the military, presides over the national security council and represents country abroad, but economic and foreign policy is in hands of prime minister. Serbia, which in the 1990s was seen as pariah of Western Balkans for its central role in wars that followed the collapse of Yugoslavia, expects to complete negotiations on EU membership by 2019. Many Serbs remain sceptical about joining the bloc and view Western European countries as outspoken advocates of the 1999 NATO bombing to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians in the former province of Kosovo, in which thousands of civilians had been killed. "We have to show ordinary people what are we doing together (with the EU)," Vucic once a firebrand nationalist, said. "We have to show concrete roads and concrete projects." The West sees integration of Western Balkan countries as a way to stabilise a region recovering from a decade of wars and economic turmoil. Russia opposes the integration of Western Balkan countries, including Serbia, into NATO and the EU and is trying to extend its influence. On Monday, Vucic travelled to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin for talks on trade and military cooperation. Last year, Russia donated six MIG-29 fighter jets, and Vucic said he now plans to negotiate a purchase of surface-to-air missiles with Putin. "We are also discussing economic cooperation with Russia, we would like to attract more investors," Vucic said, adding investors could profit on trade deals with EU member states. Vucic said his country is also looking to build economic cooperation with China. He said he expected a Chinese private company to start flights between Beijing and Belgrade. (Editing by Julia Glover)
THURMONT, Md. (AP)  An 18-year-old student meticulously planned a mass shooting at her high school in which she intended to die, authorities in Maryland said Monday.

A shotgun, ammunition and bomb-making materials including nails and fireworks were found at Nichole Cevario's home in Thurmont on Thursday, Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins said at a news conference.

There is no evidence that anyone else was involved, Jenkins said.

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.

One of the teen's parents notified Catoctin High School officials Thursday of a potential threat of violence and Cevario was removed from the classroom and turned over to investigators, the Frederick County sheriff's office said in a statement. Cevario was later taken from the school to a hospital for an emergency evaluation and remains hospitalized, officials said.

"This attack was prevented by the parents, who stepped forward," Jenkins said.

Cevario's journal "clearly spelled out" detailed plans for an attack she had been working on for some time, including a timeline of the attack with her expectations for each stage, officials said. She had set April 5 as the day of the attack, the sheriff said. She was acquiring the materials and compiling details about school emergency procedures associated with drills conducted by school staff and on the school resource deputy.

Cevario's diary showed "evidence of mental health issues, emotional issues," Jenkins said. There was no indication that bullying was an issue, but the diary showed "a lot of frustration in her personal life," Jenkins said.

Investigators don't believe anyone was working with Cevario and they think they've eliminated any threat to the school and community, officials said. While explosive materials were located during the investigation, they weren't combined in any form that created an explosive device.

Investigators have obtained an arrest warrant charging Cevario with possession of explosive material with intent to create a destructive device and possession of incendiary material with the intent to create a destructive device. They say the warrants will be served when she is released from the hospital.

A man who answered the phone at Cevario's home and her attorney, Alan Winik, declined to comment.
A shrine built over a cave that is revered as the tomb of Jesus is in danger of "catastrophic" collapse, according to a report by National Geographic.

The shrine (or the "Edicule," as it is often called) is located within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. According to legend, Helena, the mother of emperor Constantine the Great (A.D. 272-337) visited Jerusalem in the fourth century and discovered the cave where Jesus was buried after being crucified. Whether Jesus was actually buried in the cave is unknown, and many scholars doubt that Helena actually discovered it; nevertheless, the cave has been a place of Christian pilgrimage for many centuries.

Since the fourth century, a series of shrines and churches have been built over the cave, each one eventually being destroyed or falling into disrepair. Today, the cave is covered with the Edicule, which in turn is covered by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. [See Photos of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem]

Repair and restoration work at the Edicule has been going on for the past year, during which the limestone bed that Jesus' body was supposedly buried on was revealed. Today (March 22), National Geographic reported that the Edicule is in danger of "catastrophic" collapse if further repairs are not undertaken soon.

The National Geographic Society is a partner in the repair work and has access to a report on the structure's stability, which was written by a team of scientists from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA).

"When it fails, the failure will not be a slow process, but catastrophic," said Antonia Moropoulou, chief scientific supervisor of the NTUA team, National Geographic reported.

National Geographic says the NTUA team needs to conduct a new 10-month project, one that would cost 6 million euros (about $6.5 million), to repair and strengthen the Edicule's foundations. The project would also add new sewage and rainwater drainage to protect the Edicule from water damage. Archaeological excavations would need to be conducted before repairs begin so that the foundations of the shrine can be strengthened without destroying archaeological remains.

Story continues

This new archaeological research could shed light on the history of the various churches and shrines that have been built over the cave since the fourth century.

The report has not been made public, and Live Science could not verify the details reported by National Geographic.

Originally published on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
With Adam Rawnsley

Yemen, again. The Pentagon is examining plans to increase support for Saudi Arabias two-year-old war against Houthi rebels in Yemen, several Defense officials tell Foreign Policy. The potential escalation of American involvement in the bloody conflict comes even as the administration examines its broader strategy in the region, including looking at ways to counter Iran and to defeat Islamic State and al Qaeda militants, FPs Paul McLeary and Dan De Luce were first to report on Sunday.

The Pentagon views increased support for the Saudi-led coalition as one way of pushing back against Irans influence in Yemen, as well as shoring up ties with Riyadh  an ally that felt neglected by the previous administration. We had a commitment that they will increase cooperation, during meetings last week in Washington, a Saudi military spokesman said. A U.S. military official confirmed the Saudi take on their D.C. visit, saying, were interested in building the capability of the Saudis and the U.A.E. to operate in Yemen.

Pen pals. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recently sent a letter to the White House asking for a lifting of some Obama-era restrictions on the U.S. effort in the country, with an eye on the coming fight for the key Red Sea port city of Hodeida, the Washington Posts Karen DeYoung and Missy Ryan write. The requests made in the letter, according to officials, would enable the military to support Emirati operations against the Houthis with surveillance and intelligence, refueling, and operational planning assistance without asking for case-by-case White House approval. An increase of U.S. Special Operations Forces, as requested by the Emiratis, was not a part of the Mattis plan.

Mosul strikes. There continues to be conflicting reports out of Mosul, where the U.S.-led coalition on Saturday said it was investigating allegations that one of its airstrikes killed at least 100 civilians  and possibly as many as 200  in a building in the Western half of the city.

Story continues

The Iraqi military has offered a counter-narrative to the claims, however, saying Sunday that the targeted building had been booby-trapped by the Islamic State and theres no evidence of a coalition strike. Baghdads civil defense force reported that over 170 bodies have been pulled from the rubble. Around 200,000 people have escaped the fighting in Western Mosul in recent days, but its estimated that half a million are still trapped by the fierce, house-by-house fighting, putting civilians in danger in the tightly-packed city.

If initial reports of coalition airstrikes prove true, and the reported numbers of dead would rank as by far the highest number of civilians killed by an airstrike since the U.S.-led coalition entered the war in 2014. The Mosul strike follows two reports last week that American planes killed dozens of civilians in strikes in Syria in recent days.

Counting. One non-profit group that has been tracking civilian casualties in Iraq and Syria said over the weekend it was suspending its investigations into Russian strikes due to the overwhelming reports of deaths caused by U.S and coalition aircraft. The group, Airwars, said in a statement Friday that due to a spike in reports of U.S.-related deaths, it had taken the difficult decision to suspend detailed assessing of alleged Russian actions in Syria  so as best to focus our limited resources on continuing to properly monitor and assess reported casualties from the US and its allies.

Generals want more effort in Somalia. As the bombs drop on ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria  and debates swirl over how much rules of engagement may or may not have been loosened under the Trump administration  U.S. generals want to do more in Somalia, as well.

The head of U.S. Africa Command, Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, said late last week that he wanted more flexibility to deploy Special Operations Forces to Somalia to assist local troops in battling the al Shabab terrorist organization, promising, were not going to turn Somalia into a free fire zone. He added, its very important and very helpful for us to have little more flexibility, a little bit more timeliness, in terms of decision-making process,

Any uptick in the U.S. involvement in Somalia, and any relaxing in the authorities granted the military in acting there, would be in line with the increased American troop presence and bombing missions in Iraq, Syria, and proposals to do the same in Afghanistan, representing one of the most significant increases of U.S. military presence in years, as FP recently reported here.

NATO concerned about Russia in Libya. And then theres this. NATO officials are increasingly worried about Russian influence in Libya, as the Kremlin looks to be throwing its support behind Gen. Khalifa Haftar, a rival of the U.N.-backed coalition government in Tripoli. I am very concerned about Russian forces seemingly gathering to influence the situation there. It troubles me very much, Rose Gottemoeller, a deputy secretary general at NATO told an alliance meeting over the weekend.

The fact that they have turned to the General nowto General Haftarand theyre putting an emphasis on working with himthats not the attempt at establishing a government of national unity that was established by the U.N. Security Council resolution, she added. Africoms Waldhauser also said Friday that the Pentagon wants to keep its footprint in Libya in order to ensure that the Islamic States decline in the country continues.

Welcome to SitRep. Send any tips, thoughts or national security events to paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or via Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley.

Deterrence. Japan is getting pretty tired of having its territory in the Sea of Japan serve as target practice for North Korean ballistic missiles. The Washington Post reports that some officials in Tokyo are pushing to acquire a capability to hit North Korea before its missiles hit the country, independent from American help, should Pyongyang ever decide to launch an attack against the Japanese mainland. But that would raise thorny legal issues as Japans pacifist constitution only allows for defensive and not offensive military action.

Fashion forward. Spring is upon us, and while the rest of the fashion world is donning bright, vibrant colors and floral prints, American special operators in Iraq are slipping into black uniforms in order to blend in with their Iraqi counterparts. Military Times reports that images circulating on social media show U.S. troops wearing long sleeve black uniforms that look like those worn by Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service soldiers. U.S. officials tell the paper that individual commanders can make the call on the ground as to what form special operators uniforms will take.

Threats. Syrias war of words over Israeli airstrikes is heating up. Russias state-owned Sputnik news site reported on Sunday that the Syrian government passed a message to Israel through Russia, warning that the Assad regime would launch ballistic missile attacks if Israel strikes inside the country once again. The warnings follow a recent round of strikes launched by the Israeli Air Force against suspected arms shipments to Hezbollah during which Syria launched an SA-5 missile at the jets. Israels Arrow anti-missile system reportedly intercepted the missile and Syrian officials later appealed to Russia put pressure on Israel to stop the air raids.

Rumors. Syrians near the Tabqa dam west of the Islamic States capital in Raqqa are frightened and confused following conflicting reports that the structure was damaged in recent fighting. The BBC reports that the Islamic State put out a statement saying airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition had compromised the structural integrity of the dam and that it was on the verge of collapse. The U.S. recently airlifted Syrian anti-Islamic State fighters near the dam, but Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve tweeted on Sunday that to our knowledge, the dam has not been structurally damaged. Nonetheless, some Syrian civilians are already picking up and moving out of the area.

Membership. Congress will vote this week on Montenegros bid to join NATO. The tiny Balkan country hopes to join the alliance despite opposition from Russia, which Montenegrin authorities accuse of backing a failed plot to assassinate the countrys former pro-NATO prime minister. Trump administration officials from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to European Command chief Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti have all voiced their support for the bid. Montenegros accession has strong backing from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) but some, like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) have argued against extending membership.

Shade. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is notoriously averse to the press, booting all but one favored reporter from his trip to China, cutting back on the departments press briefings, and offering little public commentary. Why? I dont understand, exactly. He must have had some good reason for that, says George Shultz, who served as secretary of state in the Reagan administration. Speaking to CBSs Face the Nation, Shultz argued that reporters help communicate a secretarys vision to the world. So maybe theyre on your side, maybe theyre not, but at least try to help them get the facts straight, he said.



Photo Credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images
Photo credit: NASA

From Popular Mechanics

Astronauts ventured out on a spacewalk Friday to prep the International Space Station for a new parking spot.

NASA's Shane Kimbrough and France's Thomas Pesquet emerged early from the orbiting complex, then went their separate ways to accomplish as much as possible 250 miles up.

"We are ready to get to work," Mission Control informed them.

Their main job involves disconnecting an old docking port. This port needs to be moved in order to make room for a docking device compatible with future commercial crew capsules, and provide more clearance. The new docking device - the second of two - will fly up late this year or early next and hook onto this port.

If all goes well, flight controllers in Houston will relocate the old docking port Sunday, using the station's robotic arm. Then next Thursday, the crew will conduct another spacewalk to secure the unit.

SpaceX and Boeing are developing capsules capable of flying astronauts to and from the space station. Until the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner come on line - possibly next year - U.S. astronauts will have to keep riding Russian rockets to orbit.

Before working on the docking port, Kimbrough replaced a computer-relay box with an upgraded version. Pesquet, meanwhile, looked for signs of a small ammonia coolant leak in outdoor plumbing. He patted and tugged at hoses, but did not spot any frozen flakes of ammonia. A GoPro camera caught his every move for playback later.

"No flakes. All good," Pesquet reported.

Also on the spacewalkers' to-do list Friday: replace a pair of Japanese cameras and grease latching mechanisms on the end of the big robot arm.

NASA wants to cram in two and possibly three spacewalks before Kimbrough, the station's commander, returns to Earth on April 10.

Before a third spacewalk can be conducted, however, Orbital ATK needs to launch a cargo ship to the space station with replacement parts. That shipment was supposed to be there by now, but repeatedly has been delayed because of rocket concerns. It's unclear when the Atlas V rocket will be ready to soar from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Story continues

NASA has been contracting out cargo deliveries since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011. The space agency is counting on private companies to do the same with astronauts.

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By Robert Hetz MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro said on Monday he was convinced the center-right minority government would get enough parliamentary support from opposition parties to approve delayed plans for this year's budget. The long-postponed budget, which will aim to bring down one of Europe's largest public deficits, was put on hold after two inconclusive elections left the country without a functioning government for nearly a year. The budget vote will be a key test for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's fragile administration and its ability to get backing from other parties in a country unused to consensus government. Rajoy conservative People's Party (PP), which has 137 of parliament's 350 seats, is in talks with other parties including centrists Ciudadanos and Nueva Canarias of the Canary Islands to get the 176 votes it needs to pass the budget into law. "We are sure that we will get the necessary parliamentary support," minister Montoro told journalists at an event in Madrid. Rajoy said at the weekend that the cabinet would approve budget plans on Friday prior to their being put to the parliamentary vote. It is still not clear when the vote will take place. The Socialist party, gearing up for a leadership battle in May, has said it will not support the budget as it seeks to emphasize differences with Rajoy's PP and reclaim the left-wing vote from youthful anti-austerity party Podemos. European Commission forecasts imply politicians must agree to budget cuts worth a combined 0.8 percent of economic output in 2017 and 2018 if Spain is to meet its fiscal targets, according to analysts Capital Economics. Spain's economy has powered out of a crippling recession to become one of the euro zone's fastest growing economies, albeit aided by external factors such as low interest rates and oil prices. However, Spain must push through the budget to put in place plans to shrink its deficit to a target of 3.1 percent of economic output agreed with Brussels from a projected 4.6 percent in 2016. The country narrowly avoided fines last year from the European Union after overshooting its Brussels-set deficit target for 2015. Spain was given two more years, until 2018, to bring its deficit below 3 percent. (Writing by Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Angus Berwick and John Stonestreet)
UPDATE: "We are grateful for the European Union. They saved our jobs," a veteran researcher at DuPont's 515-acre Stine-Haskell pesticide labs and field-testing complex in Newark, Del., told me this morning, after bosses told hundreds of R&D and support staff that most of the business will be sold to an unnamed company, as part of a deal with European anti-monopoly regulators to win approval for DuPont to merge with Dow Chemical Co.

Speaking on condition I not identify the researcher, the person added that DuPont veterans are hoping the Stine complex and their projects are sold to another U.S.-based operator, such as Philadelphia-based FMC Corp., North Carolina-based Arysta Life Sciences, or another outfit that's looking to grow.

Without a sale, they feared they would have been laid off, as DuPont boss Edward Breen and Dow chief Andrew Liveris hunt for $3 billion in cost cuts. They worried they could have ended up like the nearby DuPont Experimental Station's former Central R&D unit, where, last winter, scientists and technicians were let go, retired early or transferred out to business groups

Instead, DuPont Co. will spin off most of its 600-person Stine-Haskell research center in Newark, Del., a list of its bug-killer and weed-killer pesticides, and other facilities in India and elsewhere, to an as-yet unnamed buyer, to please European Commission anti-monopoly regulators so they will approve the company's planned merger into the larger Dow Chemical Co., company bosses told workers in DuPont's agricultural units this morning.

The buyer should be announced by late April. DuPont is divesting insecticides Rynaxyphyr (which kills moths and caterpillars that eat fruits and vegetables; licensed to Arysta), Cyazypyr (kills citrus flies) and Indoxacarb (which EPA calls a reduced-risk substitute for organophosphates, for use in protecting fruits and vegetables), and a list of -sulfuron herbicides often used to kill weeds in grainfields (complete list below). DuPont will keep other pesticide businesses, including staff and facilities at the Haskell complex on the Stine-Haskell site. Not everyone yet knows which company they will stay with.

Story continues

EARLIER: DuPont shares rose 1% in morning trading - the biggest rise of the Dow 30 stocks today -- after the Wilmington, Del. chemical maker said it agreed to conditions set by Europe regulators for its planned merger into Dow Chemcial Co. Below are excerpts from DuPont CEO Ed Breen's "DuPont Colleagues" note to staff this morning, and from a second note by DuPont ag boss Jim Collins and pesticide chief Tim Glenn. See also DuPont's public statement on its divestments:



"I am pleased to share that the European Community today conditionally approved our merger of equals with Dow, marking another significant milestone toward closing the transaction," Breen wrote in today's email.



"The EC conducted a thorough review... and in approving the transaction has required us to divest a portion of our Crop Protection [pesticides] portfolio and R&D assets. [Europe also required Dow to sell its acid copolymers and ionomers business.]



"In Crop Protection, DuPont will divest its Cereal Broadleaf Herbicides and Chewing Insecticides portfolio," along with its pesticides "research and development pipeline and organization" -- with the important exceptions of "seed treatment, nematicides, and late-stage R&D programs, which DuPont will continue to develop and bring to market."



UPDATE from Collins and Glenn: According to a separate note to "DuPont Crop Protection Colleagues," the divested bug-killers list "includes the Insecticides Rynaxypyr, Cyazypyr and Indoxacarb, and the Herbicides metsulfuron, chlorsulfuron, tribuneron, thifensulfuron, fuupysulfuron, trisflusulfuron, ethametsulfuron, azimsulfuron, and lenacil."

The spinoff business will be run, at least for now, by Jean Pougnier, DuPont's Crop Protection Business Development Director."



Businesses DuPont will keep, and combine with Dow businesses in a new spinoff pesticide and seeds business that is supposed to be headquartered in Delaware, include "an excellent portfolio in corn and soy broadleaf [weed] and grass control, a robust cereal weed control portfolio, DuPont's storng position in disease control," to be joined with "Dow AgroSciences' industry leading insecticide portfolio."



BACK TO BREEN: European approval brings Dow and DuPont "one significant step closer to finalizing the merger" and splitting the combined businesses into three companies, including "a much stronger, world-class Ag competitor," with "broad, deep offerings and a greatly expanded pipeline across seed germplasm, biotech traits, and crop protection," even without the businesses to be divested, Breen added.



"We will retain over half of DuPont's Crop Protection business, bringing together with Dow a strong portfolio of crop protection chemistry," including "an excellent portfolio in corn and soy broadleaf and grass control, a robust cereal weed control portfolio, DuPont's strong position in disease control, and Dow AgroSciences' industry leading insecticide portfolio."



The split doesn't hurt the business and financial opportunities from the Dow deal and $3 billion in additional planned expense cuts, Breen added: "This outcome maintains the strategic logic and value creation potential of our merger with Dow."



DuPont is "in negotiations to divest" the businesses Europe insisted the companies separate, selling them "to a buyer that has a complementary businesss and places the same level of importance on continuous innovation." Europe insisted "that a buyer would have the capability to be a strong innovator and competitor in crop protection."



What happens to the people at DuPont's suburban Wilmington headquarters, its sprawling Stine-Haskell lab and growing complex in nearby Wilmington, and other sites worldwide?

"We are confident that colleagues who are part of the divested operation will have many opportunities going forward..." Breen noted.



DuPont ag boss Jim Collins and his lieutenant Tim Glenn are meeting with DuPonters today to talk about whether their groups will stay or go.



Even before the sale, Europe is requiring DuPont to set up "a 'Divestment Business'" that will begin to "operate separately from DuPont."



What's next? "We continue to engage constructively with regulators" in other countries, Breen added, "to obtain clearance for the merger, which we are confident will be achieved." No timetable provided.



Breen concluded by praising DuPonters' "sustained focus and hard work" amid the merger and separation plans.



EARLIER: The planned merger of DuPont Co. with the larger Dow Chemical Co. has won approval from European regulators, the companies said this morning, after DuPont agreed to split its pesticides research and development business.

Europeans had worried Dow-DuPont and its planned agricultural pesticide and crop seed development successor company would reduce research spending and push prices higher, squeezing European farmers.

(Dow and DuPont also plan a materials company, based mostly on non-ag Dow business lines, and a "specialty" company from DuPont's electronics, safety-materials, yogurt-cultures and other DuPont lines.)

ALSO: Reporting to Jean Pougnier, senior officers in the DuPont spin-off company, which employees are already nicknaming "DivestCo" or "RemedyCo," include, among others: Ravinder Balain, Asia Pacific business leader; Sebastia Pons, Europe-Middle East-Africa; Marcelo Okamura, Latin America; Phillip Hathcock, North America; Brad Gollhart, Global Operations.

Also: Kathy Shelton, Global R&D; Rolfe Ambach, Herbicides Global Marketing; Robert Alber; Insecticides Global Marketing; Cori Anne Natoli, Communications; Pete Thomas, Demand Leader and Hold Separate Project Leader; Mark Blythe, Finance; Mark Kuller, Legal Counsel; Henry Shaw, HR. Mazars Group has been appointed European Union Monitoring Trustee to keep the company's secrets.

Collins and Glenn concluded that they hope for a "seamless transition" for customers.

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Photo credit: instagram / hanseldoan

From Delish

Even though the first day of spring has come and gone - and Starbucks is touting its new warm-weather cups - the cold weather and its accompanying flu season have yet to peter out. So as nice as it would be to start ordering refreshing frappuccinos, chances are you're sticking with hot lattes and drip coffee in the morning. Now there's a new healthy option if you're fighting off a cold or simply want to prevent one: The Medicine Ball.

What started as a secret menu order has now morphed into a full-fledged menu item at Starbucks stores across the country - mostly thanks to popularity on social media (*cough* Instagram *cough*). It's also sometimes known as the Cold Buster because it consists of a venti cup with one bag of Jade Citrus Mint Tea and one bag of Peach Tranquility Tea, half-filled with hot water and half-filled with steamed lemonade. You finish it off with honey and a pump of peppermint, if you feel so inclined.

Apparently people were loving it so much that a single location was whipping up upwards of 20 in a day. This led the company to make the drink official, ensuring customers would get the right concoction every time.

If you're feeling sniffly, or just want to avoid catching your coworker's cold, you may want to pick one of these babies up. We can't guarantee it will cure you, but it should help. And be pretty damn tasty.

Follow Delish on Instagram.

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Millie Bobby Brown opened up on Instagram about what propelled her to recently cancel a scheduled appearance.

The 13-year-old actress, who's been busy filming Season 2 of Netflix's Stranger Things, said she's in need of rest after a hectic work schedule. As a result, she pulled out of a planned Saturday appearance at Collective Con in Jacksonville, Florida.

SEE ALSO: 'Stranger Things' Season 2 headed to Netflix in fall

"I just think I've worked too hard and I have to rest, as I've had a really long shoot and I'm still filming Stranger Things," she said in a video. "I'm sorry to everyone who was going and I promise you guys I'm gonna get back to you."

 A post shared by Millie Bobby Brown (@milliebobbybrown) on Mar 25, 2017 at 10:24am PDT

"I love you guys all, thank so much for your continued support," she said.

In 2016, Brown experienced a meteoric rise to fame following her starring role as Eleven on the Netflix sci-fi series, and just recently landed a film role in the upcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Stranger Things was renewed for Season 2 in August and is scheduled to return on Oct. 31.

WATCH: Introducing 'Hamster Things'
Cayenne (AFP) - Life in French Guiana was severely disrupted by a general strike on Monday that closed schools and shops and stoked fears of further instability in one of France's overseas territories.

The French government appealed for calm in the South American territory which has been gripped by protests since last week over security and the state of the economy.

"The first priority is the fight against insecurity," French President Francois Hollande said of the crisis that has elbowed its way into the country's presidential election campaign.

Barricades have been erected on roads since last week, snarling traffic, and the US State Department has warned travellers to stay away, citing the risk of violence.

The barriers were temporarily lifted on Sunday and some stores opened so people could stock up on food and other supplies before the strike began.

But many shops were open on Monday and there were fewer demonstrators, with dozens manning the barricades blocking cars from entering the capital compared with hundreds the previous day.

Air France and Air Caraibes cancelled all flights into Guiana and schools and universities were closed after 37 labour unions launched the strikes demanding a "Marshall Plan" to improve public services and security.

The unions have called for a "journee morte", or complete shutdown of activity, on Tuesday, the newspaper France-Guyane said.

The protests also led to the postponement of an Arianespace rocket launch at Europe's Guiana Space Centre in Kourou.

French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said a delegation of ministers would be sent to Guiana before the end of the week if certain conditions were met, without elaborating.

"The situation is tense," said Ericka Bareigts, the French minister for overseas territories, appealing for calm.

- 'All we have is plundered' -

The French government had previously sent a delegation to negotiate with strikers, but many of the territory's 22 mayors refused to meet the officials, instead demanding that French ministers come in person.

Story continues

"This has gone on long enough! All we have is plundered, it's time to recognise the people of Guiana," a woman at a barricade blocking access to the airport in the capital Cayenne told AFP on Sunday.

The "Collective to Get Guiana Moving" has called for better access to health services and electricity, economic development and job creation programmes, and renewed efforts to keep children from dropping out of school.

Guiana, with about 250,000 inhabitants, relies on huge injections of public funds.

"We have the impression that the government does not see how completely fed up the people are," Antoine Karam, Guiana's representative in the French Senate in Paris, told French television Monday. "Today, 30 percent of the population still does not have access to drinking water or electricity".

"We are not treated the same way as the French on the French mainland," said the Socialist Party lawmaker.

Several of the candidates running for the presidency in France have pounced on the crisis which flared just weeks before the first round of voting on April 23.

"This situation is the consequence of the failed policies of Francois Hollande," said conservative candidate Francois Fillon.

Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Front candidate, condemned what she called a "cruel minimum service" delivered by French governments to Guiana.

A similar revolt gripped French Guiana in 2008 over soaring fuel prices, shutting down schools and the airport.

The strike ended after 11 days, when the government agreed to cut fuel prices.
STOCKHOLM (AP)  The Swedish Armed Forces says a soldier has drowned after being trapped in an armored vehicle he was driving that fell through the ice during a military exercise in northern Sweden.

The army says six other soldiers were treated for hypothermia after they tried to help the driver. They included the driver's companion who managed to escape from the 22.5-ton vehicle before it plunged into the snow-covered river after 10 p.m. Sunday.

"The worst thing that can happen has unfortunately happened," said Col. Mikael Frisell, regimental commander of the exercise.

The 23-year-old soldier from southern Sweden, who was not identified, was participating in a weeklong winter training exercise for some 1,200 soldiers and military personnel.
Beirut (AFP) - US-backed Syrian fighters on Monday paused their offensive on a key dam held by the Islamic State group to allow a technical team to enter the complex, a spokeswoman said.

There have been fears about the integrity of the dam after fighting in the area forced it out of service on Sunday, following earlier UN warnings that a collapse would be "catastrophic".

With air support from the US-led coalition against IS, the Syrian Democratic Forces are fighting to seize the town of Tabqa and the adjacent dam on the Euphrates River, as part of their battle for the jihadists' stronghold in nearby Raqa.

"To ensure the integrity of the Tabqa dam... we have decided to stop operations for four hours beginning at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT)," SDF spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement.

"This is to allow a team of engineers to enter the dam and carry out their work."

Ahmed said the pause could be extended if necessary.

The IS-held structure was forced out of service on Sunday after its power station was damaged, a source there told AFP.

The United Nations has warned that damage to the dam "could lead to massive scale flooding across Raqa and as far away as Deir Ezzor" province downstream to the southeast with "catastrophic humanitarian implications".

The source at the dam told AFP on Monday that a technical team "will assess the level of damage and repair that is needed so that the dam can resume its operations, after it was put out of service yesterday".

"If fixing the damage will require more time, then we will coordinate with the SDF to request additional time to finish repairs, resume the dam's work and remove any threat to it," the source added.

IS issued warnings through its propaganda agency Amaq on Sunday that the dam could collapse "at any moment".

The US-led coalition said on Monday it was "taking every precaution" to ensure the structure's integrity.

Story continues

"To our knowledge, the dam has not been structurally damaged," it said in an online statement alongside satellite images of the dam.

The SDF had also denied the dam was damaged, and said military operations around it were being conducted "slowly and with precision".

The alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters launched its offensive for Raqa city in November, seizing around two thirds of the surrounding province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

At their closest point, they are just eight kilometres (five miles) from the city, to the northeast.

But they are mostly further away, between 18 and 29 kilometres from Raqa.
The following material contains graphic images that may be disturbing. Parents are advised that these images may not be suitable for young children.

Some acne is a normal part of teen life, but 15-year-old Tiffanis extreme form has subjected her to years of excruciating pain, disfiguring scars, and cruel taunts from her peers. Can The Doctors help?

The first boil appeared on Tiffanis face on her 11th birthday. She covered it with makeup, but soon more developed on her face and body  and then one under her arm ruptured, revealing a gaping wound.

Alberto, her father, rushed Tiffani to the emergency room. I didnt know what to think  I was so scared! Tiffani weeps.

Watch: Extreme Acne

Tiffani was diagnosed with hidradenitis suppurativa, a skin disease that attacks the sweat glands and causes painful lesions. In spite of treatment, including two surgeries to remove the sweat glands under her arms, the cysts and lesions spread to more areas of her body.

Her peers at school asked cruel questions about her appearance, adding the pain of rejection to Tiffanis physical agony. The toughest part is the pain, and people saying what happened to your face? It just hurts my feelings a lot. Tiffani says.

ER Physician Dr. Travis Stork asks, What would it mean to you if your skin wasnt painful and looked normal?

It would mean I dont have to hide, she responds.

Watch: Hope for Teen suffering from Hidradenitis Suppurativa?

The Doctors send Tiffani to Dermatologist Dr. Sonia Batra for answers. Tiffani says her facial scars drain two to three times a day. Dr. Batra performs cortisone injections to collapse her scars and reduce the draining, then promises to join Tiffani on the set of The Doctors to discuss her diagnosis and treatment.

This is one of the most severe cases Ive seen, Dr.Batra announces. Tiffani isnt just suffering from hidradenitis suppurativa  she also has follicular occlusion, a very severe form called acne conglobata. This is causing her facial scars and draining. The condition she was already diagnosed with is causing the specialized sweat glands, called apocrine glands, in Tiffanis armpits and elsewhere to swell, hurt, and form sinuses and cysts.

Story continues

One thing that fuels all of these conditions is an excess of the hormone androgen. The root cause of Tiffanis problems is polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). This disorder often causes hormone imbalances, which why her symptoms started around puberty.

Youve seen the best of the best, and now we know what were dealing with, ER Physician Dr. Travis Stork reassures Tiffani.

Watch: Living with PCOS

Dr. Batra confirms that there are newer anti-inflammatory treatments than the ones originally subscribed for Tiffani. Now that her PCOS has been diagnosed her hormones can be balanced, and her pain can be relieved with medication. Finally, her scars can be diminished by lasers or injections.

Tiffani and her family dont have to face this alone anymore. The Doctors have arranged for Tiffani to receive 10 therapy sessions with Doctor on Demand to help her cope with the trauma shes experienced.

But thats not all! Dr. Amber Long of Asarch Dermatology & Aesthetics in Denver, Colorado, offers Tiffani ongoing care for her skin. Asarch Dermatologys physicians will use state-of-the-art laser technology to soften and minimize her scars. A team of experts will also treat her PCOS and manage her pain control, all at no cost. This package of care is valued at more than $30,000.

Dr. Stork reveals that Tiffani is the kind of person who will be paying forward the care she receives. Tiffani wants to become a doctor, and I think shes going to have such empathy and be an amazing physician!

A gentle reminder to all of us, concludes Dr. Stork. When you see someone, you dont necessarily know the pain, the physical struggles theyre going through. The last thing they need in addition to all that is to be bullied and made fun of. Tiffani, youre a shining example to all of us.

Doctor on Demand was created by The Doctors' executive producer.
It had been four months since Hannah Eimers family had laid her to rest when she received a bill in the mail to repair the guardrail her loved ones said was responsible for the teen's sudden death.

Hannah was killed November 1 when the 17-year-olds car left Interstate 75 in Tennessee, traveled into the median and hit the terminal end of a guardrail, officials said.

The guardrail impaled the vehicles drivers door and hit Hannah in the head and the chest, her devastated family said.

"The guardrail device failed to perform properly and penetrated Hannah's car, causing her death," Hannah's father, Stephen Eimers, wrote on Facebook.

Read: City Apologizes After Family of 12-Year-Old Boy Fatally Shot By Cops Were Billed For Ambulance

He said that the guardrail, manufactured by the Lindsay Corporation, had been removed from the Tennessee Department of Transportations procurement list before his daughters death due to its poor performance.

InsideEdition.com has reached out to the Lindsay Corporation for comment.

Although TDOT saw reason to ban the purchase and installation of this unit they chose to leave the existing units in place, Eimers wrote. "TDOT CHOSE TO PLAY RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH PEOPLE'S LIVES, AND HANNAH PAID WITH HER LIFE."

Then, months after Hannahs death, a bill addressed to the teen arrived at the familys Loudon County home.

Read: Woman Celebrating 21st Birthday Killed After NYPD Traffic Agent Drunkenly Crashes Car: Cops

"TDOT actually had the audacity to send Hannah a bill for the damage to this deadly device that caused her death," Eimers wrote.

A spokeswoman for the TDOT told InsideEdition.com that the letter sent to the Eimers family was mistakenly sent due to a processing error.

A new letter has been sent to the family to apologize, to explain the error and to instruct that they should not pay the previous bill, the spokeswoman said.

Story continues

The TDOT's Commissioner also has called Eimers to apologize and the TDOT has implemented measures to ensure this type of mistake does not happen again, she continued.

The TDOT announced a contract to remove and replace the guardrail terminal end that the family said is responsible for Hannah's death is being put out to bid on March 31.

The guardrail end terminals will be removed beginning later this spring, the spokeswoman said.

The guardrail end terminal at the location where Hannah Eimers was killed has already been replaced with a different product, she continued.

Watch: Survivor of Car Crash That Killed Her Friends Leaves Hospital After 6 Months

Related Articles:
ONEONTA, Ala. (AP)  An Alabama coroner has identified the four members of a Jackson, Tennessee, family killed in a weekend small plane crash.

AL.com reports (http://bit.ly/2nZBS4N ) that the victims were identified as 45-year-old Joseph Connell Crenshaw, 43-year-old Jennifer Dawn Crenshaw, 16-year-old Jacob Addison Crenshaw and 14-year-old Jillian Celeste Crenshaw.

The plane crashed in Blount County Saturday afternoon.

Blount County 911 executive director Caleb Branch says the Cessna 210 departed from Kissimmee, Florida, and was traveling to Jackson, Tennessee.

Tennessee and Alabama media report that the teenagers were students at the University School of Jackson. The school issued a letter to parents saying the two students and their parents were returning to Jackson from a spring break trip.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were investigating the crash.
By Tom Westbrook SYDNEY (Reuters) - Thousands of Australians fled their homes on Monday as a powerful cyclone bore down on coastal towns in Queensland, where authorities urged 30,000 people to evacuate low lying areas most at risk from tidal surges and winds of up to 300 km per hour (185 mph). Cyclone Debbie is expected to gather strength before making landfall in the northeast state early on Tuesday, with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology forecasting a category four storm, just one rung below the most dangerous wind speed level. The growing alarm persuaded the state government on Monday to warn some 25,000 people living in parts of Mackay, a city 950 kilometers (590 miles) north of the state capital Brisbane, to head south to higher ground. "Because of the intensity of this cyclone ... we are very concerned, at the moment, at the prospect of a tidal surge in Mackay," State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters. "It's very clear that the time for people to move is now." The evacuation from Mackay would be the biggest seen in Australia since Cyclone Tracy struck the northern city of Darwin in 1974. State authorities had already advised thousands of residents in two townships several hundred kilometers (miles) to the north of Mackay to leave their homes, though some were preparing to ride out the storm. Television images showed residents in areas around Townsville, about 400km to the north of Mackay, protecting homes and shops with sandbags and plywood boards. "We'll just give it a go and rally together," Cungulla resident Mike Kennedy told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Palaszczuk warned it would be the most powerful storm to hit the state since Cyclone Yasi destroyed homes, crops and devastating island resorts in 2011. Authorities had set up 15 evacuation centers in safer parts of Mackay to provide shelter for those most endangered and least able to leave, Palaszczuk added. Far to the north in Townsville, some 3,500 people had left, and authorities asked 2,000 more people in the town of Bowen to also quit their homes. The Abbot Point coal terminal and ports at Mackay and Hay Point were closed until further notice, ports spokeswoman Fiona Cunningham said. BHP Billiton suspended operations at its South Walker Creek coal mine, which is just to the south of the cyclone's expected path. Glencore said it was halting operations at the Collinsville and Newlands coal mines. Gales were already lashing the tourist resorts at Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands. Townsville Airport was closed and airlines Qantas, Jetstar, Rex and Virgin Australia said they had canceled several flights to and from the region scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. Queensland produces some 95 percent of Australian bananas and while Cyclone Debbie is on course to miss the largest growing regions in the state's far north, analysts said heavy rains and strong winds could cause significant crop damage. The cyclone is expected to miss most of region's coal mines, weather and mining data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows, and no major dry-bulk vessels are in storm's path. Police blamed the wild weather associated with the storm for a traffic accident in which a 31-year-old female tourist died. Police did not give the woman's nationality. (Additional reporting by Byron Kaye, Sonali Paul, Colin Packham and Benjamin Weir. Editing by Jane Wardell and Simon Cameron-Moore)
Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump's son-in-law and top aide Jared Kushner will appear before a Senate panel investigating Russian interference in the US election, the White House said Monday.

Kushner, 36, was Trump's main intermediary with foreign governments during the 2016 election campaign and now plays that role in the White House.

He arranged meetings between Trump and leaders from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

But it is his contacts with Russian officials that are now coming under the microscope, amid explosive allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

Trump took to Twitter to insist that "Trump Russia story is a hoax," urging lawmakers to instead focus on his losing rival for the presidency, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state.

US intelligence has concluded that Russia launched a broad-ranging campaign designed to help Trump win election.

In addition to investigations in the Senate and House of Representatives, an FBI probe of Russian interference in last year's presidential election, including Moscow's possible collusion with Trump's campaign, is placing the president under even more pressure over his Russia ties.

"Throughout the campaign and transition, Jared Kushner served as the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials," a White House official said.

"Given this role, he has volunteered to speak with Chairman (Richard) Burr's committee, but has not yet received confirmation," the official said.

Burr chairs the Senate intelligence committee.

Related Video:

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.

- 'Follow the facts' -

In a joint statement with his Democratic counterpart Senator Mark Warner, Burr said Kushner's decision to appear showed the panel's independence.

"From the beginning of this investigation, we have committed to follow the facts wherever they lead us," they said.

"Mr Kushner will certainly not be the last person the committee calls to give testimony, but we expect him to be able to provide answers to key questions that have arisen in our inquiry."

Story continues

The development comes amid renewed questions over the impartiality of a parallel inquiry from the House Intelligence Committee.

It is led by Congressman Devin Nunes, who is under fire for briefing Trump about issues related to the investigation.

Last week, Nunes revealed that Trump's own communications may have been swept up in intelligence gathering on suspected foreign agents.

Nunes worked on Trump's transition team and is now leading an investigation into possible links between that campaign team and Russia.

The House's top Democrat Nancy Pelosi called for Nunes to be removed from his chairmanship of the inquiry. She was joined by her counterpart in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, along with the House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, Adam Schiff.

"Chairman Nunes is falling down on the job and seems to be more interested in protecting the president than in seeking the truth," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

"You cannot have the person in charge of an impartial investigation be partial to one side."

Pelosi criticized Nunes's "discredited behavior."

"Speaker Ryan must insist that Chairman Nunes at least recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation immediately," she said in a statement.
Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump's attorney general warned US cities that turning a blind eye to illegal migrants could jeopardize billions in federal funding, as the administration doubled down on tough immigration policies Monday.

Jeff Sessions demanded so-called "sanctuary cities" -- from Boston to Chicago to Los Angeles -- do more to turn illegal immigrants over to the federal authorities for deportation.

"The Department of Justice has a duty to enforce our nation's laws, including our immigration laws," he said from the White House.

"Unfortunately, some states and cities have adopted policies designed to frustrate this enforcement of immigration laws."

The Justice Department would work to claw back grants worth around $4.1 billion a year, he warned.

The 70-year-old former senator zeroed in on the issue of illegal immigrants who have been convicted or detained on suspicion of serious crimes.

He cited examples of those involved in "drug trafficking, hit and run, rape, sex offenses against a child and even murder."

Trump's backers in the right-wing media often feature stories about Hispanic immigrants who have committed violent crimes while in the country illegally.

"Assaults, burglaries, drug crimes, gang rapes, crimes against children and murderers," Sessions said. "Countless Americans would be alive today and countless loved ones would not be grieving today if these policies of sanctuary cities were ended."

"These policies endanger lives of every American," he added.

The Trump administration is trying to force local police to keep immigrants detained until the immigration authorities -- with their more limited resources -- can show up.

However, the administration's critics accuses it of creating a climate of fear, and falsely associating immigrants with criminality.

They point to multiple studies that show immigrants commit crime at lower rates than native-born citizens.

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- 'Police state' -

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights accused Sessions of trying to "create a police state" where local law enforcement "are acting at the behest of the federal government to round up immigrants in communities across the country."

Some local law enforcement officials in cities with large migrant populations warn that such a policy would poison community relations.

In January, police chiefs from major cities stressed they wanted to tackle crime, whoever carries it out.

"Cities that aim to build trusting and supportive relations with immigrant communities should not be punished because this is essential to reducing crime and helping victims," the group said in a joint statement with mayors.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti gave an equally strident response, accusing Sessions of trying to push local authorities into unconstitutional actions.

"LA's values are not for sale," he said. "There are constitutional protections against the kind of punitive, counterproductive actions proposed today by the attorney general."

"Slashing funds for first responders, for our port and airport, for counterterrorism, crime fighting and community building serves no one -- not this city, not the federal government, not the American people."

San Francisco insisted that "sanctuary cities are safer cities."

"When immigrants can enrol their children in school, access health care for vaccinations, and report crimes, our city and county is safer," said Deirdre Hussey, spokeswoman for San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.

"It is shocking that the US attorney general, the nation's top law enforcement official, does not agree with this basic principle of public safety."

The debate is unlikely to be resolved soon, with many legal issues expected to be taken up in the courts.

Legal experts question whether immigration offenses should be treated as criminal acts or whether so-called detainer orders from the federal authorities provide legal grounds for local detention.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump says that empowering and promoting women in business are priorities in his administration.

In a round-table discussion, the president is telling a group of female business owners that his team will work on barriers women face. He says the administration is also trying to make childcare more affordable and accessible.

The gathering comes on the first work day since the Republican-led plan to repeal and replace the nation's health care law was pulled before a House vote, a major setback for the Trump administration.

The White House is trying to focus this week on another campaign priority: creating jobs and economic issues.
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump is poised to roll back a slew of environmental protections enacted by Barack Obama, in a move designed to untether the fossil fuel industry but which calls America's commitment to global climate accords into question.

In a maiden trip to the Environmental Protection Agency, Trump will sign a wide-ranging "Energy Independence Executive Order" to rollback Obama-era legislation, a White House official told AFP.

The new president will unveil a series of measures to review regulation curbing oil, gas and coal production and limiting carbon emissions.

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.

The centerpiece is an effort to slow walk -- but not repeal -- Obama's Clean Power Plan, which restricts emissions from coal-fired power plants.

The package will "help keep energy and electricity affordable, reliable, and clean in order to boost economic growth and job creation," the White House said.

Some experts and environmental groups warned this could mean the United States missing its internationally agreed targets under the Paris Climate Accord.

Curbing emissions from coal-fired power plants was a pillar of America's commitment to cut carbon emissions by 26-28 percent by 2025.

"It will make it virtually impossible" for the US to meet its target said Bob Ward, a climate specialist at the London School of Economics.

But economists and even some former Obama administration officials say the move will do little to stop the coal industry's decline.

Natural gas, automation, and cheap renewable energy, have all made the sooty fuel an expensive prospect.

The Trump administration has not said whether it will pull out of the Paris deal.

"Whether we stay in or not is still under discussion," a senior administration official told AFP.

The United States is the world's second largest polluter. Around 37 percent of domestic carbon dioxide emissions come from electricity generation.

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- Politics at play -

Trump could face a cool reception at the agency's imposing Washington headquarters.

Trump has repeatedly questioned humans' role in warming the planet, prompting critics to charge the fox is guarding the hen house.

Trump has done little to assuage those fears, vowing to slash EPA funding by a third, appointing anti-climate litigator Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA and Exxon's CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State.

But Trump's climate skepticism has struck a chord with many Republican voters.

Some 68 percent of Americans believe climate change is caused by humans, but just 40 percent of Republicans say they worry about it, according to Gallup.

During the 2016 election campaign Trump donned a hardhat and embraced miners from Kentucky to West Virginia, promising to return jobs to long-ravaged communities.

He won both states by a landslide.

Since coming to office he has coupled his pro-miner rhetoric with support for the fossil fuel industry.

- 'War on coal' -

Some experts warn the economic payoff from abandoning the clean power plan will be limited.

"In my view, it will have virtually no impact," said professor James Van Nostrand of West Virginia University, who said the decline of coal had more to do with higher mining costs and cheaper natural gas and renewables.

"Defunding or dismantling the EPA and repealing its regulations is not going to bring the coal industry back."

"The constant narrative about the 'war on coal' and the alleged devastating impact of EPA's regulations on West Virginias coal industry will now be exposed for its inherent speciousness," he predicted.

Referring to the plan, the senior administration official told AFP: "It's going to take some time."

In 2008 there were 88,000 coal miners in the United States, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Today, the number of coal miners has fallen around 25 percent. More people work in Whole Foods, an upscale supermarket chain.
Defeating the Islamic State was candidate Trumps top national-security priority, one of the few policy issues on which he was consistent. While his claim to have a secret plan  and that keeping it secret was good strategy  was risible to national security experts, his policy goals were and are consistent. American effort should focus on fighting the Islamic State. Regime change to push Bashar al-Assad out of power was not only a lesser objective, but counterproductive to a stable end-state for Syria that prevents terrorism and too costly given Russia and Irans support for the regime. Stability is to be prioritized over humanitarian relief or democracy promotion. Russia is to be palliated, their interests supported.

He proclaimed that we are going to convey my top generals and give them a simple instruction. They will have 30 days to submit to the Oval Office a plan for soundly and quickly defeating ISIS. While strictly speaking that deadline has passed without apparent formal approval, the Departments of State and Defense have indeed been prioritizing defeating the Islamic State. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made his first big international event the gathering of the coalition fighting the Islamic State, reinforcing the presidents twin messages that it is the administrations top national-security priority, and that the United States will increase our pressure on ISIS and al Qaeda and will work to establish interim zones of stability, through ceasefires, to allow refugees to return home.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis met early with Middle Eastern partners and has taken a number of decisions that look to strengthen forces in the fight: increasing the number of American servicemen and women in Iraq and Syria, reinterpreting the advise-and-assist mission to put U.S. forces closer to the front, parachuting U.S. forces in to sever routes around Mosul, getting presidential approval for greater delegation of authority for operations, and further delegating that authority to commanders.

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To many observers, the emerging approach looks like the Obama strategy only better resourced. This is especially true of Democrats, but not only  conservative stalwarts Kimberly and Fred Kagan make the same criticism in their American Enterprise Institute report on Syria.

I have the sense the administration actually is making a departure from the Obama approach, and sees bigger game afoot. The White House may not yet have formally agreed on an anti-Islamic State strategy, but their incremental choices are adding up to a coherent approach that departs from the Obama approach in four important ways.

First, they are prioritizing speed. President Obamas strategy envisioned a years-long campaign to defeat the Islamic State. While that approach had the advantage of affixing responsibility for outcomes on the countries of the region and incentivized them to develop the governing capacity essential to stabilizing the territory once regained, it paid the very steep price of humanitarian disaster for Iraqis and Syrians in the Islamic States control, escalating pressure on surrounding governments taking in refugees and buffeted by violence, decimation of moderate opposition within Syria, further radicalization within Western societies, and disaffection for our efforts by publics in the region. As Tillerson said, Our end goal in this phase is the regional elimination of ISIS through military force. The choices President Trump has made are dramatically picking up the pace of operations. So much so that some have begun to worry we will be the victims of battlefield success, winning before we have stabilization alliances and forces in place.

Second, they are committing the United States to a long-term involvement. President Obama prioritized minimization  leaving responsibility for the victory and subsequent stabilization on local allies. He patronizingly said we cant want it more than they do, as though desire and capacity were one and the same, turned a cold shoulder on both territory and governance slipping away from Baghdad. By contrast, Mattis and Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford both said flat out in congressional testimony that unlike the Obama administrations accelerated withdrawal from the region, after the Islamic State fight concludes, the United States would leave troops in Iraq for a long period of time. Signaling our commitment to outcomes rather than imposing arbitrary timelines is a significant change in approach, one providing desperately needed assurance to those who share our objectives.

Third, they are clear about the priority being assisting the countries we want to win the wars now underway. The White House is less conflicted than the Obama administration about authoritarian tendencies, civilian casualties, and domestic human rights records of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and other countries fighting insurgent upheavals and Iranian destabilization in the Middle East. They have unambiguously chosen a side in the fight. And while that will create qualms among many about the domestic and warfighting choices of those countries, strategy is impossible without setting priorities. Stable states working with us to stamp out terrorism is this administrations priority for the Middle East. As Tillerson said at the coalition meeting, When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. We must continue to keep our focus on the most urgent matter at hand.

Fourth, they are laying the foundation for an anti-Iran coalition once the Islamic State problem has been solved. While making concessions on many things, the Obama administration had been inflexible or unclear as to the basis for compromise with regional allies that had been stymieing our campaign to defeat Islamic State. While the Trump administration does not yet appear to have found a formula for agreement with Turkey over the role of Kurdish forces in retaking Raqqa, on most other issues they do appear to have reached consensus with regional allies. The pivot to pushing back on Iran may come as an unwelcome surprise to the NATO allies and others gathered around Tillerson in Washington last week, but it is a shrewd positioning. And another way to describe shrewd positioning is good strategy.

Photo credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump has tapped son-in-law Jared Kushner to lead a new White House office, that aims to apply ideas from the business world to help streamline the government, the Washington Post reported Sunday.

The White House Office of Innovation is to be unveiled Monday with sweeping authority to overhaul the bureaucracy and fulfill key campaign promises like reforming care for veterans and fighting opioid addiction, the Post said.

"I promised the American people I would produce results, and apply my 'ahead of schedule, under budget' mentality to the government, Trump was quoted as saying.

It is conceived as a sort of SWAT team made up of former private sector executives charged with bringing fresh ideas to the business of government, according to the report.

"The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens," Kushner told the Post.

The 36-year-old is a senior adviser to Trump with far-reaching influence over domestic and foreign policy.

Top Trump strategist Stephen Bannon, who has called for "deconstruction of the administrative state," will not be part of the new group, the Post said.

Technology and data are expected to be a key focus of the effort, and the White House has been working with the likes of Apple CEO Tim Cooke, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Tesla's Elon Musk, the Post said.

"There is a need to figure out what policies are adding friction to the system without accompanying it with significant benefits, Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of investment firm Blackstone Group, told the Post.

Its easy for the private sector to at least see where the friction is, and to do that very quickly and succinctly.
Berlin (AFP) - Turkish voters in Germany, as deeply split as those in their ancestral homeland, started casting early ballots on Monday in a referendum that could vastly boost President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers.

Hundreds of expatriates lined up at consulates in Germany, which has 1.4 million eligible Turkish voters, and in five other European countries ahead of the controversial April 16 plebiscite.

The vote sparked a bitter row when Germany and The Netherlands blocked campaign events by Turkish ministers earlier this month, leading a furious Erdogan to accuse both countries of using "Nazi" methods.

As in Turkey, the voters flocking to polling booths were divided on whether the proposal would help bring stable government or allow a strongman to impose one-man rule.

"I voted for democracy!" said one, Hussein Saregul, indicating that he had stamped the brown ballot paper for a "no" vote -- not the white version for "yes".

Saregul, who has lived for eight years in the eastern city of Dresden with his family, said he was sorry relations between Germany and Turkey had been so tense in recent weeks.

"We hope that the 'no' vote will prevail," he said, adding that the referendum is only "in the interest of one man. It is a step towards dictatorship."

- Crackdown, arrests -

Germany, the most populous EU country, is home to the world's largest overseas Turkish community, about three million strong, a legacy of the "guest worker" programme of the 1960s and 1970s.

Turkish voters in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France and Switzerland can also cast their ballots for the next two weeks, until April 9.

Other countries will start later, with a total of around three million allowed to vote in 120 Turkish missions in 57 countries.

Turkey itself will vote on April 16 on the proposal to create an executive presidency and abolish the post of prime minister.

Germany and other Western nations have voiced concern about the plan, and about a crackdown in Turkey in the aftermath of a failed coup last July that has seen thousands of people arrested or fired from their posts.

Story continues

Germany's top-circulation newspaper Bild recommended opposing the constitutional change, in a bilingual German-Turkish article.

It argued that modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, "would have said no", describing him as "authoritarian but not dictatorial".

- 'Neighbours argue' -

Turkish community leader Gokay Sofuoglu spoke of a "deep split" that ran through the diaspora and said the rift had intensified because Erdogan was labelling opponents of the referendum traitors and terrorists.

One voter in Berlin, Aslan Ismael, accused European countries of being biased against Erdogan.

"The German media and German politicians want a 'no' vote," he said, also complaining that Turkish ministers had been blocked from several rallies by local authorities citing logistical reasons.

"I don't understand this bashing, these anti-Erdogan measures," he said. "Those high-ranking officials wanted to come and explain what the reform is all about.

"In Germany, the principle of freedom of expression is very important and it has not been respected," he said, adding that he was not a member of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).

An opponent of the proposed change, Berlin-born Sirin Manolya Sak, said that in the debate tensions "have been fuelled by both sides".

She said she regretted that Turks and Germans "who have lived together for 60 years in Germany -- neighbours, friends, work colleagues -- are arguing today".

"It's a shame ... that suddenly we wonder if some are integrated or not, just because they vote this way or that."
By Stefanie Eimermacher and Mehmet Kucuk BERLIN (Reuters) - Turks living in Germany began casting their ballots on Monday in a referendum that proposes changing Turkey's constitution to increase President Tayyip Erdogan's powers. The controversial vote takes place amid increasingly strained ties between Turkey and Europe, home to an estimated 2.5 million Turkish citizens eligible to vote. Bans on some campaign rallies by Turkish officials in Germany and the Netherlands have prompted Erdogan to accuse European leaders of "Nazi methods". German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday Erdogan's rhetoric was setting back integration in Germany by years and it would take years to repair the damage. Germany has about 3 million people of Turkish background, including some 800,000 ethnic Kurds. About 1.41 million are Turkish citizens eligible to cast ballots at the voting stations located mostly in Ankara's 13 consulates around Germany. Erdogan argues the proposed strengthening of the presidency will avert instability associated with coalition governments, at a time when Turkey faces terrorist threats. Critics, including European leaders, say it will concentrate too much power in his hands. Dozens of people lined up outside the Turkish consulate in Berlin to vote as a handful of supporters of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish opposition party, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), held up protest signs. One sign read: "6 million HDP voters are not represented at the ballot box." Several HDP lawmakers have been arrested in Turkey. Erdogan's critics say they worry that Turks in Germany opposed to him will refrain from voting to avoid repercussions for themselves or their families back home. STABILITY OR DICTATORSHIP? Erdal Cakiroglu, voting in Berlin, told Reuters he supported Erdogan's proposed changes. "Let them think what they would like to think," he said, gesturing at the protesters. "But we are sticking together for Turkey and the future of the Turkish Republic ... we are here to support the stability of our country." Tarik Demir, a construction worker in Berlin, also supported the measures. "The AKP (Erdogan's ruling party) has made positive changes in Turkey. They've implemented social benefits, they built many houses and streets," he said. Retired bank employee Demiral Sadet said many of her friends were apprehensive about returning to Turkey until they saw the outcome of the vote. "Erdogan is running everything. Why should he have more power?" she asked. Melahat Yildiz was also against the changes: "Until the end will I say no, for my country because I love my country, for the future, for my Turkey and for my grandchildren and for all the children in Turkey I will say no." Metin Cagli, who travelled to vote in Munich from Rosenheim about 65 km (40 miles) away, said the constitutional proposals would give Erdogan too much power. "We're against a dictatorship. We want ... the best for our country. We are social democratic people," he said. In Germany, voting will take place from March 27 to April 9, with sealed ballot boxes then flown to Ankara to be counted on the evening of April 16, when people in Turkey vote. France has just over 318,000 Turks eligible to vote and the Netherlands nearly 245,600. Austria, Belgium, Britain and Switzerland also have sizeable Turkish communities. Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and broadcasters NDR and WDR said on Monday that Turkey's secret services seemed to be spying on supporters of the Gulen movement in Germany. Turkish authorities accuse U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating a failed coup in July. The media outlets said that in February the head of Turkey's National Intelligence Agency (MIT) gave the head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Agency (BND) a list containing the names of hundreds of supposed Gulen supporters living in Germany. They said the list included the registered addresses, mobile numbers and landline numbers of those people as well as photos in many cases. An investigation by German authorities found that some of the photos seemed to have been taken in secret, such as by surveillance cameras, they said. They said the list included the names of more than 300 people and more than 200 associations, schools and other institutions supposedly linked to the Gulen movement. (Additional reporting by Reuters TV and Michelle Martin; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
In the U.S., the challenge of financially preparing for a child is exacerbated by the the lack of a federally mandated paid maternity leave. The U.S. remains the only developed country without such a policy. And while some states have implemented paid leave funded by state insurance, and more companies are making such policies a priority for their most competitive talent, generous paid-leave benefits have largely not trickled down to most American workers.

Currently, only three states have paid-leave policies funded by state insurance (with New York and D.C. soon to join their ranks). For American workers whose states dont provide that option, new parents can take time off under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. During those weeks, financial compensation can be provided by either companies, where employees get partial or full pay depending on company policy, or as part of short-term disability insurance. For an increasing number of white-collar workers, especially those in the tech sector, leave policies have been improving as companies court talent; for example, the company Etsy offers 26 weeks of paid leave for new mothers and fathers.

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But the lack of a blanket policies that offer wage replacement during parental leave is at odds with what most Americans wantand say that they need. A recent study by Pew Research Center found that the majority of Americans support paid leave, with 69 percent of respondents saying that they returned to work more quickly than they would have liked because they could not afford to lose more wages. That might be why some new parents are now turning to baby registries and crowdfunding sites to help with their finances during parental leave.

That was the case for Alisa Taylor-Parisi, an expecting mother in Panama City Beach, Florida, who set up a cash maternity fund on the registry website Babylist. Taylor-Parisi works as a manufacturing engineer at the company Oceaneering. The company offers 12 weeks of leave, but only four of those weeks are paidand the paid leave amounts to only 60 percent of her normal salary. When you first think about it, it's no big deal. Then you do the math and that's a substantial part of your income to not be getting given that your expenses are going to increase with baby stuff, said Taylor-Parisi.

Story continues

Natalie Gordon, the founder and CEO of Babylist, says that the site has seen users asking for financial support for their maternity leave via the the Enter Your Own option field where, in addition to baby items, users can ask for funding for cash for fun experiences or staples, such as diapers. Over 200 leave funds have been created on the site since last May, with the average cash goal set to $2,000.

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Soon-to-be parents asking for money instead of gifts isnt new. But the practice of raising money specifically for parental leave has a different tone. Many women who started maternity funds spoke about the inadequate nature of paid leave in the U.S. Changes in public or company policy can feel far away, especially for expectant parents who have a more concrete deadline than politicians and HR offices. Establishing a maternity-leave fund to solicit help from family and friends is one market solution that feels immediate and tangible.

Kimberly McClellan, another user on Babylist, felt that being explicit about her ask for leave funding the request more comfortable. The biggest worry was how to manage all the new expenses of a baby while I was off work and without pay, said McClellan, a 36 year-old marketing specialist in Denton, Texas, in an email. I thought it would be great to give people the option to just contribute money if they chose to, but I wanted to make it clear that any cash donated would be used for salary replacement while both me and my husband were off work to care for the baby. I felt like that would be a more understandable request than just for cash to be used for anything and everything.

The trend of parents asking family and friends to forgo baby gifts in favor of money is in line with surveys that have found that Millennials increasingly prefer experiences over material things. Cash allows families to spend more time with their newborns, while other gifts will soon be outgrown. And yet the most popular baby registry platforms, Amazon and Toys"R"Us among them, still mostly offer only baby goods or gift cards. That may be why crowdfunding and cash registry sites are seeing more new parents take to their platforms for financial assistance during maternity leave.

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But much like crowdfunding medical bills, some wonder whether crowdfunding maternity leave is appropriate. On the parenting forum The Bump, one user wrote: To me, asking for money in almost any situation is really tacky. If you can't afford to take maternity leave, that's on you. Your family and friends are not responsible for you being able to take time off work.

Sara Margulis, the co-founder and CEO of the crowdfunding website Honeyfund, says that she believes that those on forums who oppose asking for money for honeymoons or maternity leave are a loud minority. We do see a lot of people using our baby category on Plumfund (a version of Honeyfund for non-wedding related crowdfunding efforts) to help fund maternity leave for whatever portion is unpaid, says Margulis. While its not the cultural norm in the U.S., Margulis notes that gifting money is acceptable in many cultures. Besides the lack of paid leave being an issue friends and family can rally around, its also possible that technology is just facilitating something that was already happening anyway: Family members providing financial assistance to struggling new parents.

A spokesperson for GoFundMe says that they have seen thousands of campaigns for parental leave funding in the past several years, and that those efforts have collectively raised millions of dollars. Sometimes, these accounts are setup for self-employed expecting parents who will have no income during their leave.

Audree Marguerite Willoughby, a 23-year-old expecting mother in Nicholasville, Kentucky, has been working two jobs in her first and second trimesters to prepare for her baby, and didnt qualify for paid leave at her new full-time job in time for her due date. She started the fund on Babylist in hopes of not falling into more debt. Between my maternity-leave fund and my parents' loan, my husband and I should be able to make it through the next couple months without having to struggle, says Willoughby via email. I feel there should be some sort of financial assistance for parents to allow both the mother and father to spend those crucial first few months with their newborn ... I realize that, economically, paid parental leave is a lot easier said than done, whether it be privately or government funded. It would require a lot of changes that are clearly not going to happen any time soon.

McClellan, one of the users on Babylist, says that while shes glad her company has a paid-leave policy, she believes that government-mandated paid leave is necessary. And while she had some concerns about starting her own fund, she ultimately thought that her social circle would understand the need for financial assistance. I was a little concerned that friends and family might think I was being too forward or perhaps even greedy by adding the maternity-leave fund to my registry, but then I reminded myself that most people I know have been in my same situation and could understand how extra funds are needed when a new baby arrives, said McClellan.

Margulis, at Plumfund, says that despite the noise, the biggest reason to give to a maternity-leave fund is likely empathy: It's not Instagrammable, but the privilege and the benefit of being able to stay home for that extra month for your newborn is very special and anyone who's had a child can relate to that. And that seems to be truer for a certain population: friends or family with children. While the expecting mothers on Babylist have all have positive feedback on their maternity-leave funds, the amount raised has ranged from $20 to a few hundred dollars, short of their goal of several thousand. Taylor-Parisi has raised $375 so far, all from women with children.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
By Ian Simpson (Reuters) - Ohio police have made no arrests yet in a fatal weekend shooting in a Cincinnati nightclub, in part because there was no security video footage of the mayhem available to investigators despite a history of violence at the venue, authorities said on Monday. The shooting at the packed Cameo Nightlife early on Sunday left a 27-year-old man dead and wounded 16 others, a number that was one more than authorities initially thought. The gunfire, which sent hundreds of patrons fleeing and ducking for cover, grew out of a dispute inside the club, where two shootings took place in 2015, authorities said. Unlike last year's massacre at a Florida nightclub, there was no indication that the Cincinnati shooting was "terrorism-related," authorities said on Sunday. The rampage in Orlando last June was the worst mass shooting in the U.S. history, leaving 49 people dead. Even though Cincinnati police lacked a video recording of the chaos, Chief Eliot Isaac said on Monday the department was confident of finding those responsible. The best witnesses to the shooting were those who had been shot and were still recovering from wounds, Isaac said at a televised hearing of the public safety panel. In addition, some witnesses were reluctant to cooperate immediately after the incident, police have said. Isaac said another person had come forward late on Sunday claiming to have been hit by gunfire, raising the number of wounded to 16. Two people remained in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre. Patrons managed to bring guns into Cameo Nightlife even though four off-duty police officers were providing security in the parking lot. Employees also used handheld metal detectors to check patrons for firearms before they could enter the club. Even so, one customer told the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper that clubgoers in a "no-wait" line were not being screened. Club owner Julian Rodgers issued a statement late on Sunday expressing condolences to the victims. "We will do everything in our power to cooperate and make sure the monsters that did this are caught and brought to justice," he said. A telephone call to the club was not answered and its Facebook page was unavailable. The shooting was the worst this year in the United States in terms of the total number of dead and wounded, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, which tracks U.S. shootings. (Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Frank McGurty and Matthew Lewis)
By Dan Whitcomb (Reuters) - A bystander who touched off a social media furor after she saw United Airlines stop two teenage girls dressed in leggings from boarding a flight admitted on Monday that she did not fully grasp the situation when she started tweeting her indignation. The girls, who were flying standby on Sunday from Denver to Minneapolis using free passes for employees or family members, were told by a gate attendant that they could not get on the plane while wearing the form-fitting pants. Passengers using the passes are considered airline representatives, United Air Lines Inc spokesman Jonathan Guerin said, subject to a dress code that prohibits sleep or swimwear, torn clothing and revealing attire. The girls were fine with the policy, Guerin says, but a traveler named Shannon Watts who overheard the exchange took offense. Watts was further incensed when another woman who was listening told her 10-year-old daughter to put a dress on over her leggings, apparently thinking United's policy applied to all passengers, not just those flying free. Her subsequent tweet storm, which accused the airline of "policing women's clothing," quickly went viral, with celebrities such as model Chrissy Teigen and actors Seth Rogen and Patricia Arquette decrying United's stance. After the incident, United's mentions on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram exploded from its average 2,000 daily mentions to 174,000, nearly 70 percent of them negative, said Kellan Terry, a spokesman for the social media analysis firm Brandwatch. Watts, in a phone interview on Monday, conceded that she did not initially realize that the girls were using passes that entailed following a dress code. Regardless, she said, the policy is wrong-headed. "I don't get why that's the issue here," she said. "A dress code still shouldn't be gendered and sexist. To be clear, this was happening very publicly right here in the gate." American Airlines Group Inc has a policy on free passes that is similar to United's, but Delta Air Lines Inc defers to travelers' "best judgment" about their clothing. United may have limited any damage to its image if it reacted more quickly to the tweets and explained its policy on the free passes, Terry said. "Once the fire starts to burn, it's all about containing that fire," he said. United's Guerin conceded that the airline could have done a better job of getting the facts out early. "But our response following that, once we did have all of the facts, I think we reacted the right way with this," he said. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
By Angus McDowall and Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - A U.S.-backed Syrian alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias on Sunday took a military airport in northern Syria held by Islamic State, close to the country's largest dam that may be in danger of collapse. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias supported by a U.S.-led international coalition, said in a statement it had seized the air base. Earlier, SDF spokesman Talal Silo said its fighters had seized "60 to 70 percent" of the airport but were still engaged in intense clashes with the ultra-hardline militants inside the air base and on its outskirts. The SDF, backed by U.S. special forces in a campaign that has driven Islamic State from large swathes of northern Syria, fights separately from other rebel groups that seek to topple President Bashar al-Assad's rule. The SDF has been battling the militants near the Tabqa dam and air base west of the Syrian city of Raqqa in an accelerating campaign to capture Islamic State's stronghold. Hundreds of families were fleeing the city of Tabqa to the relative safety of outlying areas as U.S.-led coalition air strikes intensified in the past few days, according to former residents in touch with relatives. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria, said a week-long campaign of U.S-led strikes on Tabqa and the western countryside of Raqqa province had killed at least 90 civilians, a quarter of them children, while injuring dozens. A media representative for the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State said it was looking into the Observatory's assertion. Last week, the Pentagon said there were no indications a U.S.-led coalition air strike near Raqqa had hit civilians, in response to an Observatory statement that at least 33 people were killed in a strike that hit a school sheltering displaced people near the city. The Pentagon added it would carry out further investigations. A group of civic bodies and local and tribal notables from Raqqa province warned of an impending humanitarian crisis in the city of Raqqa as a result of the escalating campaign to seize the de facto capital of the militants. "We call for immediate efforts to save people and protect them," the statement of the Turkey-based opposition-run Local Council of Raqqa Province said, urging the international coalition to provide safe passage to civilians and ending bombing of infrastructure in the fight against Islamic State. DAM AT RISK The Pentagon said last Wednesday it had for the first time airdropped local ground forces behind enemy lines near Tabqa in a move aimed at retaking the major dam. Islamic State said on its social media channels that Tabqa dam had been put out of service and all flood gates were closed. It said the dam was at risk of collapse because of air strikes and increased water levels. Islamic State captured the Tabqa Dam, also known as the Euphrates Dam, which is about 40 km (25 miles) upstream from Raqqa and the air base, at the height of its expansion in Syria and Iraq in 2014. The United Nations warned this year of catastrophic flooding in Syria from the Tabqa dam, which is at risk from high water levels, deliberate sabotage by Islamic State and further damage from air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition. The director of the Syrian government's General Authority of Euphrates Dam that formerly operated the huge project blamed U.S. strikes in the past two days for disrupting internal control systems and putting the dam out of service, and warned of growing risks that could lead to flooding and future collapses. "Before the latest strikes by the Americans, the dam was working. Two days ago, the dam was functioning normally," Nejm Saleh told Reuters. "God forbid ... there could be collapses or big failures that could lead to flooding," Saleh said. An SDF spokesman denied that coalition strikes hit the structure of the dam and said the air drop landing last week was conducted to prevent any damage to the main structure by engaging the militants away from the dam. "The capture of the dam is being conducted slowly and carefully and this is why the liberation of the dam needs more time," Silo said, adding that militants dug inside the dam knowing they would not be hit for fear of damaging the dam. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had also learned from its own sources that the dam had stopped functioning but that Islamic State remained in control of its main operational buildings and turbines. The dam is about 4.5 km (2.8 miles) long. The SDF has advanced a small distance along the dam from the northern bank but its progress is slow because Islamic State has heavily mined the area, the Observatory said. (Reporting by Angus McDowall in Beirut and Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Amman; Additional reporting by Kinda Makieh in Damascus and Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Tom Heneghan and Peter Cooney)
(BEIRUT) - U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces captured a strategically important air base from Islamic State militants in north Syria on Sunday in the first major victory for the group since the U.S. airlifted the forces behind enemy lines four days ago.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced they had captured the Tabqa air base, 28 miles west of Raqqa, the Islamic State groups de facto capital in Syria.

The U.S., which has provided substantial air and ground support to the SDF, ferried hundreds of SDF forces, as well as U.S. military advisers and U.S. artillery, behind ISIS lines earlier this week.

The airlift was a major development to the SDFs multi-front campaign to bear down on Raqqa, as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces simultaneously press their assault to seize Mosul from the militants, in neighboring Iraq. SDF forces are within 6 miles of Raqqa from the north.

Tabqa air base was captured by ISIS militants from the Syrian government in August 2014. Shortly afterward, the group announced it had killed about 200 government soldiers at the base, in a mass killing recorded and distributed on video over social media.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group also reported the SDF advance.

Meanwhile there were conflicting reports over whether civilians had begun evacuating Raqqa due to concerns over the stability of the nearby Tabqa Dam.

The militants said U.S.-led coalition airstrikes had locked up the dams gates, causing the water level behind it to rise. The activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently reported that ISIS had ordered Raqqa residents to evacuate, though without their furniture. Tabqa Dam is 25 miles upstream of Raqqa on the Euphrates River.

U.S.-led coalition forces said the dam was structurally sound.

U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces were in control of a spillway north of the dam which can be used to alleviate pressure on the dam if need be, the coalition said in a letter to The Associated Press.

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The coalition says the dam has not been structurally damaged, to its knowledge, and says it has not targeted the dam.

The Observatory said there were no evacuations happening from Raqqa, as did the activist-run Raqqa 24 media center.

Raqqa 24 said engineers employed by the militants had restored power to the dams gates and the structure was functioning normally.

The reports from Raqqa came as a leading Syrian opposition group called on the U.S.-led coalition to stop targeting residential areas in and around the city.

The Syrian National Coalition said in a statement that it was increasingly concerned about civilian casualties in the campaign against the extremist group. The exiled opposition coalition is taking part in U.N.-mediated talks in Geneva.

The SNC said it believed coalition forces were behind an airstrike that killed at least 30 civilians sheltering in a school in the countryside outside Raqqa on March 21. The coalition has said it is investigating.

The U.S. has provided substantial air and ground support to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who are closing in on Raqqa as well as the Tabqa Dam.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said coalition airstrikes have killed 89 civilians in Raqqa province in the past week, including 35 in a school in the village of Mansoura.

This article was originally published on TIME.com
By Ellen Francis and Tom Perry BEIRUT (Reuters) - The U.S.-led coalition said on Monday it saw no imminent danger to a major hydroelectric dam that allied Syrian militias are fighting to take from Islamic State, unless the jihadists planned to blow it up. It spoke after a senior Syrian government official warned on Sunday that the Tabqa Dam had already been damaged by U.S.-led air strikes targeting Islamic State and cited an increasing risk of catastrophic flooding and collapse. For its part, Islamic State said on Sunday that the dam's operating systems were not working properly and it was vulnerable to collapse. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, paused operations for four hours on Monday to allow engineers to inspect the Euphrates Dam at Tabqa, a major target in their campaign to encircle and capture Islamic State's biggest urban stronghold of Raqqa. An SDF spokeswoman said the dam should be fully captured within days after the forces took its northern entrance last week. Raqqa city is located around 40 km (25 miles) downstream on the Euphrates river to the east. A Kurdish leader separately told Reuters he expected Raqqa to eventually become part of a new system of federal government being set up by Kurdish groups and their allies, a step certain to deepen Turkish concern about rising Kurdish power in Syria. The SDF, which includes the Kurdish YPG militia, has been closing in on Raqqa since November with support from coalition air strikes and U.S. special forces on the ground. The YPG has said a final assault on the city will begin in early April. Neighboring Turkey opposes the Kurdish role in Raqqa, and has been lobbying Washington to take part itself. Washington says no decision has been taken on when and how Raqqa will be captured, even as the SDF approaches the city. The SDF seized Tabqa air base on Sunday, the first such facility to fall under the control of Syrian Kurdish militias and their allies that now control swathes of northern Syria after six years of multi-sided civil war. The SDF says it will repair and use the base. The SDF's Raqqa campaign said in a statement the assault on the Tabqa Dam had been put on hold for four hours following a request by the Syrian government's water authority. The SDF later said there was no damage or "malfunction" at the dam. The U.S.-led coalition said that "to our knowledge, the dam has not been structurally damaged". "We do not assess the dam to be in imminent danger unless ISIS plans to destroy it," said Colonel Joseph Scrocca, a spokesman for the U.S-led coalition fighting Islamic State, using another acronym for IS. "The SDF are in control of a spillway north of the dam that provides water to an irrigation reclamation canal which can be used to alleviate pressure on the dam if need be. If the lake reaches dangerous levels the SDF can relieve the pressure through alternative means." "LOOMING CATASTROPHE" The director of the Syrian government agency that formerly operated the dam has blamed U.S. air strikes for damage to internal control systems at the dam that had put it out of service. Syria's government earlier this month warned of a "looming catastrophe", saying the dam at Tabqa and another further north were being targeted by the U.S.-led aerial campaign. The SDF and coalition have denied this. The United Nations has also flagged concerns about the dam, warning in February of a risk of disastrous flooding, citing risks from high water levels, deliberate sabotage by Islamic State and further damage from coalition air strikes. The dam stretches 4.5 km (2.8 miles) across the Euphrates river. Islamic State captured the dam and air base at the height of its expansion in Syria and Iraq in 2014. "Our forces are advancing in a way to ensure the safety of the dam," Jihan Sheikh Ahmed, the SDF spokeswoman for the Raqqa campaign, said via a social messaging site. "Islamic State will put up fierce resistance, especially since the dam is strategic," she said, but the dam "will be liberated in a short period of time ... This relates to the developments of the battle, but it should happen within days." The SDF has also advanced on Raqqa from the east in recent days, capturing the town of Karama on Sunday. The political wing of the SDF is helping to set up a predominantly Arab civilian council to run Raqqa after its capture. Kurdish officials told Reuters on Friday the coalition was helping to train a Raqqa police force. The establishment of a local government allied to the SDF in Raqqa would expand the sphere of Kurdish influence in northern Syria, mirroring governing arrangements put in place in the city of Manbij after its capture by the SDF last year. Saleh Muslim, the co-chair of the Kurdish PYD party, said he expected Raqqa to eventually join a decentralized system of government being set up by Kurdish groups and their allies, though this would be up to the people of Raqqa. "We expect (this) because our project is for all Syria ... and Raqqa can be part of it," Muslim said in a telephone interview. "Our only concern is that the people of Raqqa are the ones who take the decision on everything." Muslim added that Raqqa needed to be in "friendly hands", otherwise it would represent a "danger to all Syria, particularly northern Syria, the federal system of northern Syria, the areas of self administration". (Additional reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington; editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Deborah Lutterbeck REUTERS - The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq has taken every measure to protect civilians and will investigate reports of civilian deaths during an operation in Mosul, a U.S. general involved in the operation said on Sunday. Brigadier General Matthew Isler, a deputy commanding general for the U.S.-led coalition, told Reuters he could not provide details of the military investigation into civilian deaths in western Mosul on March 17. "The coalition takes every feasible measure to protect civilians from harm. The coalition takes every allegation seriously and investigates all credible allegations," Isler said in a telephone interview from Baghdad, Iraq. The U.S. military said on Saturday a U.S.-led coalition strike had hit an area where residents and officials said as many as 200 civilians may have been killed as result of an air raid. Isler would not comment on specifics in the investigation. Conflicting accounts emerged on Sunday about an explosion in west Mosul on March 17 after a U.S.-led coalition strike against Islamic State that local officials said collapsed buildings, killing and burying many people. Iraq's military said 61 bodies were recovered from a destroyed building that Islamic State had booby-trapped, but that there was no sign the building had been hit by an air strike. Witnesses and local officials said many more bodies were pulled from the building after a coalition strike targeted IS militants and equipment in the Jadida district. Isler said there was a big focus on this investigation but did not speculate about how long it would take. He said Islamic State had intensified fighting in Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq that militants seized in a lightning advance across a third of the country in 2014. Iraqi forces are engaged in a months-long operation to drive Islamic State from the city. Isler said the militants decided sometime in mid-March "that they were going to prepare lethal engagement areas for the defense of that terrain, that they would clear out what was homes, schools and mosques and fight from those positions and try to deny the Iraqis from advancing any further." (Reporting by Deborah Lutterbeck; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Andrew Hay; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Andrew Hay)
By Elena Fabrichnaya, Steve Holland and Patricia Zengerle MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Russian bank under Western economic sanctions over Russia's incursion into Ukraine disclosed on Monday that its executives had met Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a top White House adviser, during the 2016 election campaign. A U.S. Senate committee investigating suspected Russian interference in the election wants to interview Trump associates, including Kushner, 36, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and has agreed to testify. Kushner previously acknowledged meeting the Russian ambassador to Washington last December and only on Monday did it emerge that executives of Russian state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) had talks with Kushner during a bank roadshow last year. The bank said in an emailed statement that as part of its preparing a new strategy, its executives met representatives of financial institutes in Europe, Asia and America. It said roadshow meetings took place "with a number of representatives of the largest banks and business establishments of the United States, including Jared Kushner, the head of Kushner Companies." VEB declined to say where the meetings took place or the dates. There was no immediate comment from Kushner. Allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russian actors were behind hacking of senior Democratic Party operatives and spreading disinformation linger over Trump's young presidency. Democrats charge the Russians wanted to tilt the election toward the Republican, a claim dismissed by Trump. Russia denies the allegations. But there has been no doubt that the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, developed contacts among the Trump team. Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign on Feb. 13 after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with Kislyak and misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations. U.S. officials said that after meeting with Russian Kislyak at Trump Tower last December, a meeting also attended by Flynn, Kushner met later in December with Sergei Gorkov, chairman of Vnesheconombank. White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed the meetings, saying nothing of consequence was discussed. Gorkov was appointed head of VEB in early 2016 by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He graduated from the Federal Security Service, or FSB, Russias internal security agency. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Merit for Services to the Fatherland, according to the bank's website. According to two congressional staffers, some Senate investigators want to question Kushner and Flynn about whether they discussed with Gorkov or other Russian officials or financial executives the possibility of investing in 666 Fifth Avenue in New York or other Kushner Co or Trump properties if the new administration lifted the sanctions. VEB, aside from being under sanctions, has been grappling with bad debt after financing politically expedient projects such as construction for the Sochi Winter Olympics. It received 150 billion roubles ($2.6 billion) in support from the Russian budget in 2016, when its senior management was sacked and replaced by a team of executives from Russia's biggest lender Sberbank . In an article posted on Dec. 18, Forbes estimated that Jared Kushner, his brother Josh and his parents, Charles and Seryl, have a fortune of at least $1.8 billion, more than half of which Forbes estimates is held in real estate. Forbes did not provide a specific estimate for Jared Kushners net worth on his own. FOREIGN CONTACTS On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that Kushner is willing to testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by U.S. Senator Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican. Throughout the campaign and the transition, Jared served as the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials ... and so, given this role, he volunteered to speak with Chairman Burr's committee," Spicer told reporters at his daily briefing. The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate panel also said Kushner had agreed to be interviewed but no date had yet been scheduled. Simply meeting with representatives of a U.S.-sanctioned entity is not a violation of sanctions or against the law. Evgeny Buryakov, 41, a Russian citizen who worked at Vnesheconombank and whom U.S. authorities accused of posing as a banker while participating in a New York spy ring, pleaded guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge on Friday. Buryakov admitted in federal court in Manhattan to acting as an agent for the Russian government without notifying U.S. authorities. He was prosecuted by the office of the U.S. attorney in Manhattan under Preet Bharara, who was among several chief prosecutors fired or asked to resign earlier this month by the new administration. CLASSIFIED INFORMATION Also on Monday, a mystery rooted in Trump's claim that he was wiretapped by then President Barack Obama during the election campaign deepened with the disclosure that a top congressional Republican reviewed classified information on the White House grounds about potential surveillance of some Trump campaign associates. U.S. Representative Devin Nunes, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, visited the White House the night before he announced on Wednesday that he had information that indicated some Trump associates may have been subjected to some level of intelligence activity before Trump took office on Jan. 20. Democrats have said Nunes, who was a member of Trump's transition team, can no longer run a credible investigation of Russian hacking, the U.S. election and any potential involvement by Trump associates. Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi last week called Nunes "a willing stooge of Trump." Nunes spokesman Jack Langer said in a statement that 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." White House spokesman Spicer did not shed any light on who at the White House helped Nunes gain access to a secure location. It was the latest twist in a saga that began on March 4 when Trump said on Twitter without providing evidence that he "just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory." FBI Director James Comey told Congress last Monday he had seen no evidence to support the claim. (Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Polina Devitt in Moscow and Patricia Zengerle, Steve Holland, Mark Hosenball, John Walcott, Arshad Mohammed and Warren Strobel in Washington; editing by Yara Bayoumy and Grant McCool)
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States wants to cut by a quarter the troop cap for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of Congo, said diplomats, despite warnings by France and others against drastic changes to the world body's largest and most expensive operation. The mandate for the $1.2 billion mission in the central African state, known as MONUSCO, expires on Friday. The confidential Security Council negotiations on its renewal are taking place amid U.N. warnings that violence is spreading across Congo ahead of planned elections before the end of 2017. The United States wants the troop cap to be cut to 15,000, diplomats said, and despite a request by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to add two extra police units - 320 officers - Washington does not want to change the current total of 1050. Guterres told the council the extra police units were needed "in light of the increasing threat of violence related to the elections and the political situation." The United States mission to the United Nations declined to comment due to the ongoing negotiations. "There's a reduction that can be made in MONUSCO," said a senior Security Council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, last week. "It would be premature to massively draw down MONUSCO or massively change it this year." It is the first peacekeeping mission to come up for renewal since U.S. President Donald Trump proposed that Washington - the largest U.N. contributor - cut funding to the world body. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, is reviewing each of the 16 U.N. peacekeeping missions around the world and plans to spotlight the issue with a special meeting in April when the United States is president of the Security Council. The Congo mission has a troop cap of 19,815, though there are only 16,893 U.N. soldiers on the ground after the previous U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon made reductions in 2015 and 2016. The Security Council endorsed the reductions but refused to reflect the changes in the mandated strength of the force until it saw progress, snubbing Congolese government calls for the mission to be more than halved. 'STAKES HIGH' Resource-rich Congo, which gained independence from colonial power Belgium in 1960, has never had a peaceful transition of power and President Joseph Kabila's refusal to stand down when his final term expired in December raised fears the chronically unstable country could slide back into civil war. Opposition leaders signed a fragile deal with the ruling coalition and allies of Kabila on Dec. 31 that requires him to step down after elections that must happen by the end of 2017. France leads Security Council action on Congo and proposed a troop cap of 17,000, diplomats said. Following the U.S. call for a deeper cut, France has asked the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping how few troops the mission could operate with. "Stakes are very high," French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters. "We can't allow the political process to derail. MONUSCO needs the capacities to prevent and act if necessary in case of troubles." Washington provides the most money for the total $7.9 billion U.N. peacekeeping budget, paying 28.5 percent, but Trump and Haley want to enforce a 25 percent cap. For the planned April council debate to review peacekeeping operations, Haley has asked her counterparts to consider "are current missions still 'fit for purpose?'" according to the two-page concept note, seen by Reuters. A second senior council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned: "We cannot sacrifice the effectiveness of the peacekeeping operations simply for the sake of saving resources." Outgoing U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said the peacekeeping budget represents "0.4 percent of world military expenditure" and the cost of a U.N. operation was significantly less than a similar operation by a western country. "We are in the process of closing down (Ivory Coast), we'll be closing down Liberia, we'll be closing down Haiti - that alone will save several hundreds of millions of dollars in the overall bill," Ladsous told reporters. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Photo credit: FRESCO NEWS / Mark Beach

From Popular Mechanics

An Uber self-driving car was involved in a serious crash in Tempe, Arizona. The crash, which left one car dented and the other seemingly on its side, appeared in photos on Twitter late Friday night, which were later verified by the company and Bloomberg. Uber did not confirm whether there were injuries or if the car was carrying passenger at the time of the crash.

Uber's self-driving program launched publicly in Arizona last month. Problems with the service were already being reported prior to this incident.

BREAKING: Self-driving Uber vehicle on its side after a collision in Tempe, AZ.



Photos by @fresconews user Mark Beach pic.twitter.com/5NCF2KG0rW - Fresco News (@fresconews) March 25, 2017

This news comes at the heels of a series of crises for the company, beginning with a boycott after they reduced fares on trips during a taxi strike at John F. Kennedy International Airport protesting President Trump's immigration ban. The boycott successfully convinced Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to resign from Trump's advisory council.

A few weeks later, the company found themselves mired in scandal again, when a former female employee wrote a blog post detailing sexist harassment she experienced while employed at Uber and the failure of the company to act on her allegations. The ride-sharing giant was soon hit with yet more scandals, when a software program called Greyball was discovered that helped the company evade police attention in areas where their business was not authorized by law. Waymo, Alphabet Inc.'s autonomous car business, has also sued Uber for allegedly stealing lidar designs (Uber denies this).

This crash, which flipped one car on its side, appears to be one of the more serious self-driving car accidents. Others, at companies like Waymo, have resulted in minor damage. It remains to be seen whether Uber can recover from the slew of scandals that have plagued them over the last few months. For a company already struggling with their reputation, an accident like this can't be good news.

Story continues

Source: Fresco News via Bloomberg

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DUBLIN (AP)  Britain says Northern Ireland is at dire risk of losing self-government if rival parties fail within weeks to resolve key differences.

Secretary of State James Brokenshire says local leaders still have "a few short weeks to resolve matters." Otherwise, he warns, Britain will be obliged to assume full control of the territory's unraveled government.

Brokenshire spoke Monday just minutes after the formal expiry of a legal deadline to revive a Catholic-Protestant government, the central achievement of Northern Ireland's 1998 peace accord.

The main Irish nationalist party, Sinn Fein, triggered power-sharing's collapse in January and withdrew again from talks Sunday citing multiple grievances with the British Protestants of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Brokenshire says Belfast civil servants will assume essential government responsibilities this week, but the government limbo cannot continue indefinitely.
LONDON (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has postponed a planned trip to Russia due to a NATO foreign ministers meeting being rescheduled, a spokesman for his office said on Monday. Johnson was due to visit Moscow to discuss the differences between the two countries over Syria and Ukraine, in the first such visit by a British foreign secretary for five years following a deterioration in bilateral relations. "We have unfortunately had to postpone the foreign secretary's visit to Russia planned this month due to rescheduling of the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting," a spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement. "The foreign secretary has spoken to (Russian) Foreign Minister (Sergei) Lavrov, and looks forward to reinstating his visit as soon as possible." The NATO meeting was brought forward to March 31 from early next month. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, Editing by Paul Sandle)
ATHENS, Greece (AP)  The United Nations says its envoy to Cyprus will host a dinner for the ethnically divided island's rival leaders in hopes of getting stalled reunification talks back on track.

A statement Monday said U.N. envoy Espen Barth Eide will host the April 2 dinner at the defunct Ledra Palace Hotel inside the U.N.-controlled buffer zone that cuts across the capital, Nicosia.

The dinner is seen as an ice-breaker between breakaway Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and the island's Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades after a month-long talks hiatus.

Negotiations broke off amid Turkish Cypriot anger over legislation making the commemoration of a 1950 referendum for Cyprus' union with Greece compulsory in Greek Cypriot schools.

Turkish Cypriot officials say talks can resume only once the "mistake" is corrected.
United Airlines has responded to criticism over its decision block two teenage girls from boarding a flight Minneapolis on Sunday for wearing leggings.

The company doubled down on its decision in a statement, saying employees and their dependents who benefit from free or heavily discounted air travel, known as pass riders, had to adhere to the companys dress code. It also said this rule does not apply to regular paying passengers.

Like most companies, we have a dress code that we ask employees and pass riders to follow the airline wrote. The passengers this morning were United pass riders and not in compliance with our dress code for company benefit travel.

To our regular customers, your leggings are welcome, United added in the statement.

The decision to bar the girls from boarding the plane sparked outrage online, with many social media users criticizing what they saw as a sexist policy.

This article was originally published on TIME.com
Two girls wearing leggings were stopped from boarding a United Airlines flight Sunday because they did not comply with the companys dress code for pass riders, the airline said. Pass riders are passengers who are either airline employees or their relatives who have perks to fly free or at discounted rates.

Pass travelers are required to wear neat and professional clothing to represent the airline well, according to United Airlines policy, cited by CNNMoney. They are not allowed to wear form-fitting lycra or spandex tops, pants and dresses, clothes that have offensive words or graphics printed on them, "excessively dirty" attire, or anything that is "inappropriately revealing."

"Pass riders should use good judgment and common sense" about clothing not mentioned on the airline's list, the policy stated. Moreover, those enjoying the perks of airline employment "should always meet or exceed the casual standards" of the flying public, the report added, citing the policy. Most airlines in the world have a similar policy.

The airline triggered criticism for barring two girls from boarding a flight from Denver to Minneapolis because they wore leggings. The matter was first reported on Twitter by Shannon Watts, founder of gun reform group Moms Demand Action.

Watts told the New York Times on Sunday that she saw a frantic family with the two girls at Denver International Airport having an argument with a gate agent, who told them, I dont make the rules, I just enforce them.

The girls mother reportedly told Watts the daughters were denied boarding because the gate agent said they were not wearing appropriate travel attire.

But please keep in mind that the dad had on shorts that did not hit his knee  they stopped maybe two or three inches above his knee  and there was no issue with that, Watts told the Times.

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United Airlines responded to the criticism and explained its policies in a statement saying: "The passengers this morning were United pass riders and not in compliance with our dress code for company benefit travel. We regularly remind our employees that when they place a family member or friend on a flight for free as a standby passenger, they need to follow our dress code."

However, Twitters users, including celebrities, slammed the airline for such a policy, which they called sexist.

Related Articles
United Airlines has released an official statement addressing its recent dress code ban, while Delta, sassy rival airline, is busy trolling.

On Sunday morning, activist Shannon Watts drew attention to the airline's controversial dress code policy on Twitter, explaining that two girls wearing leggings were told by a United Airlines gate agent that they would not be able to board their flight to Minneapolis unless they changed clothes.

Naturally, Twitter users lost all chill and Delta used the opportunity to its advantage by tweeting a message of leggings acceptance to all. After some serious backlash, United is now assuring customers their "leggings are welcome."

SEE ALSO: United Airlines bans 2 girls with leggings from flight because they weren't 'properly clothed'

In a statement shared on United's website Monday morning, the airline set out to explain its decision to prevent the girls from boarding.

"We care about the way we present ourselves to you, our customers, as we believe that is part of the experience on board our flights," United wrote.

The airline went on to explain the reason the two girls were scrutinized for their fashion choice is because they were "pass riders," also known as friends or relatives of United employees who receive free or heavily discounted air travel and have a separate dress code they must adhere to.

1) A @united gate agent isn't letting girls in leggings get on flight from Denver to Minneapolis because spandex is not allowed?  Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

The passengers this morning were United pass riders who were not in compliance with our dress code policy for company benefit travel.  United (@united) March 26, 2017

"When taking advantage of this benefit, all employees and pass riders are considered representatives of United. And like most companies, we have a dress code that we ask employees and pass riders to follow" the statement read.

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"The passengers this morning were United pass riders and not in compliance with our dress code for company benefit travel. We regularly remind our employees that when they place a family member or friend on a flight for free as a standby passenger, they need to follow our dress code."

In relation to those not flying on standby, the airline said it is perfectly fine to wear your active wear: "To our regular customers, your leggings are welcome."

Meanwhile, Delta used this time to remind passengers that its airline fully condones comfort, and therefore, leggings are always welcome.

Flying Delta means comfort. (That means you can wear your leggings. )  Delta (@Delta) March 27, 2017

United told 9 News that although the dress code for pass riders will remain an "internal policy," it is separate and unrelated to safety-related dress code guidelines on United's website, which state a regular passenger may be refused or removed from a flight if they are "barefoot or not properly clothed."

Mashable reached out to United for additional comment and is awaiting response.

WATCH: Airbus is redefining the future of flying.
United Airlines is receiving loads of criticism on social media after two female travelers in Denver were barred from boarding a flight due to their clothing.

Leggings, it seems, aren't the Chicago-based carrier's preferred pants.

Read: Graffiti Artist Banned From All National Parks After Vandalism: I'm a Bad Person

The two teens were stopped Sunday under an employee travel pass that includes a dress code, according to a company spokesperson.

@united Was there something's strange about all these girls leggings?  Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) March 26, 2017

The spokesperson said the dress code bars such travelers from wearing spandex or Lycra pants such as leggings. The teenagers reportedly agreed to change their clothing and take a later flight.

But company code or not, the internet reacted to the news with widespread disdain, with some celebrities leading the charge.

"I have flown united before with literally no pants on. Just a top as a dress. Next time I will wear only jeans and a scarf," model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen quipped on Twitter.

I have flown united before with literally no pants on. Just a top as a dress. Next time I will wear only jeans and a scarf.

 christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 26, 2017

Academy Award-winning actress Patricia Arquette demanded a response from the company.

"@united Why aren't you allowing girls to wear leggings on flights? Who is your gate agent policing girls clothing?" the actress tweeted.

Comedian Sarah Silverman said she's boycotting the carrier.

"Hey @united I fly a LOT. About to go on tour all April and changing all my @united flights to other airlines," she wrote.

Even a starship captain got into the mix as Star Trek legend William Shatner tweeted "See? I've done it before!" along with a vintage still of him in red leggings aboard the Enterprise.

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Despite the kerfuffle, United didn't back down and affirmed the decision by employees in Denver to bar the teens. In response to Arquette, the company's Twitter said only that "The attire of the pass traveler did not meet our rules."

The company also posted an attempt to reassure female flyers worried that they, too, might be barred from flying.

"To our customersyour leggings are welcome! Learn more about our companys pass travel privilege," the company wrote along with a link to their statement on the incident.

To our customersyour leggings are welcome! Learn more about our companys pass travel privilege: https://t.co/5e3euG1H9G.  United (@united) March 27, 2017

The statement reads:

"Let us take a moment to explain today's news:

We care about the way we present ourselves to you, our customers, as we believe that is part of the experience on board our flights. One of the benefits of working for an airline is that our employees are able to travel the world. Even better, they can extend this privilege to a select number of what we call "pass riders." These are relatives or friends who also receive the benefit of free or heavily discounted air travel  on our airline as well as on airlines around the world where we have mutual agreements in place for employees and pass riders.

Read: Flight Attendants Sue American Airlines Claiming They Were Called 'Sows' and Prostitutes

"When taking advantage of this benefit, all employees and pass riders are considered representatives of United. And like most companies, we have a dress code that we ask employees and pass riders to follow. The passengers this morning were United pass riders and not in compliance with our dress code for company benefit travel. We regularly remind our employees that when they place a family member or friend on a flight for free as a standby passenger, they need to follow our dress code.

"To our regular customers, your leggings are welcome."

Watch: Man Who Shot Southwest Airlines Worker Used to Work for the Company: Cops

Related Articles:
A United Airlines gate agent at the Denver International Airport refused to let multiple women wearing leggings board a flight Sunday because they werent adhering to the companys dress code - prompting outrage on social media from people who called the policy sexist.

Shes forcing them to change or put dresses on over leggings or they cant board, Shannon Watts, who was waiting at a gate at Denver International Airport, tweeted. Since when does @united police womens clothing?

1) A @united gate agent isn't letting girls in leggings get on flight from Denver to Minneapolis because spandex is not allowed? - Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fdr-gridlock%2Fwp%2F2017%2F03%2F26%2Ftwo-girls-barred-from-united-flight-for-wearing-leggings%2F

Watts, founder of the Moms Demand Action campaign, said the female gate agent turned away two young women for wearing leggings because they didnt have anything to change into. A third girl was let on to the flight because she had a dress in her bag. Watts claimed one of the girls was as young as 10, although it was not confirmed.

In a tweet replying to Watts, United said it shall have the right to refuse passengers who are not properly clothed via our Contract of Carriage.

@baddestmamajama United shall have the right to refuse passengers who are not properly clothed via our Contract of Carriage. ^FS - United (@united) March 26, 2017

The airline then released a second statement on Twitter, attempting to clarify why the girls were prevented from getting on their flight.

The passengers this morning were United pass riders who were not in compliance with our dress code policy for company benefit travel. - United (@united) March 26, 2017

According to the contract, the airline can refuse to let a passenger board if he or she is barefoot or not properly clothed. It did not specify what properly clothed meant. There is also a specific section pertaining to pass travelers, who are required to follow a specific dress code that includes a ban on spandex. The girls who were turned away were standby pass riders, or people traveling as relatives of a United employee.

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Many took to Twitter to express outrage over the so-called leggings ban - with some even vowing to stop flying with United.

If you can't wear leggings on a plane I don't wanna fly @united ever again wtf https://t.co/EpNNKHidJ2 - Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) March 26, 2017

New @United Policy: All ten year olds should wear prairie dresses so creepy adults won't sexualize them on airplanes. Good idea, no? pic.twitter.com/njBgLT8C5W - Imani Gandy (@AngryBlackLady) March 26, 2017

It is unclear if other airlines have similar policies.

This article was originally published on TIME.com
Tabqa Dam (Syria) (AFP) - US-backed forces battled the Islamic State group around a key Syrian town Monday, after the capture of an airbase brought them closer to besieging the jihadists in their stronghold Raqa.

Backed by air power from the US-led coalition that has been bombing IS since 2014, the Syrian Democratic Forces are laying the groundwork for an assault on the heart of the jihadists' so-called "caliphate".

Operations are currently focused on the strategically important town of Tabqa on the Euphrates River, and the adjacent dam and military airport.

Late Sunday, Arab and Kurdish fighters from the SDF seized Tabqa airbase and pressed north towards the town itself.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, said the alliance was fighting north of the airport to reinforce its positions.

"The SDF could bring supplies to the airport in the coming days and use it as a launching point for additional military operations," he added, reporting "heavy strikes" in the area.

SDF spokesman Talal Sello said the alliance would "begin rehabilitating the airport after clearing out explosive devices" left behind by IS and said the base's main landing strip was seriously damaged.

- Fighting pause at dam -

Bolstered by air strikes and military advisers from the US-led coalition, SDF units are approaching Tabqa from the south via the airport and via the north near the IS-held dam.

The road to the dam was strewn with bits of burned vehicles and the casings of ammunition and the bodies of several alleged IS fighters lie in the shallow water of a canal, evidence of fierce fighting.

On Monday, the SDF observed a brief truce in fighting to allow a technical team to enter the dam after it was forced out of service the previous day.

An SDF spokesman later said inspections had been successful and the pause in fighting was now over.

"There is no damage to the dam or its function, the engineers have finished their work and confirmed that the dam has not been damaged, and on this basis the ceasefire ended," Jihan Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement.

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A source at the dam had earlier said the work to assess and repair damage at the dam could last two or three days.

The UN has warned that damage to the dam "could lead to massive scale flooding across Raqa and as far away as Deir Ezzor" province downstream to the southeast.

IS issued warnings through its propaganda agency Amaq that the dam "is threatened with collapse at any moment because of American strikes and a large rise in water levels".

The US-led coalition denied the dam had been "structurally damaged" and said it was "taking every precaution" to ensure its integrity.

The SDF launched its offensive for Raqa city in November, seizing around two thirds of the surrounding province, according to the Britain-based Observatory.

At their closest point, they are just eight kilometres (five miles) from the city, to the northeast.

But they are mostly further away, between 18 and 29 kilometres from Raqa.

- Rebels quit Homs district -

Syria's conflict began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 but has turned into a brutal war pitting government forces, jihadists, rebels, and Kurds against each other.

In addition to the US-led coalition's bombing campaign, Russian warplanes are carrying out air strikes in support of Assad's government.

On Monday, a spokesman for the Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham told AFP it shot down a "Russian helicopter" over a government-held town in the northwestern province of Latakia.

But a spokesman for Moscow's forces in Syria, headquartered at the Hmeimim air base in Latakia, said Monday that all Russian aircraft inside Syria were safely at their bases or on missions.

Russia's air support has helped Syrian government forces regain the upper hand in swathes of territory across the country.

Assad's government has also relied on "reconciliation" deals, under which rebels agree to quit territory in exchange for an end to siege or bombardment, and safe passage.

On Monday, evacuations from the last opposition-held district of the central city of Homs resumed under a similar deal, SANA state news agency reported.

Homs governor Talal Barazi told AFP that around 1,900 people left Waer on Monday, 670 of them rebels.

UN-mediated talks between government and rebel representatives continued Monday in Geneva, aimed at bringing an end to the war that has killed 320,000 people.

Speaking in the Swiss city, High Negotiations Committee chief Nasr al-Hariri stuck by the opposition group's long-held demand that Assad cannot have any role in the transition and future of Syria.

The UN's envoy Staffan de Mistura was in Jordan on Monday to brief an Arab League meeting on the talks.
San Jose (AFP) - US President Donald Trump's hardline anti-immigrant policies are likely to dominate a summit of leaders of Mexico, Central America and Colombia this week meant to focus on regional infrastructure, analysts said.

The gathering, officially the 16th Tuxtla Summit, named after the Mexican city where the first took place in 1991, will be held Wednesday in Costa Rica's capital San Jose.

Foreign ministers of the 10-country group will hold a preparatory meeting Tuesday.

Mexican President Enrique Penas Nieto, whose country is directly impacted by Trump's proposed border wall and renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), will be present at the summit.

Also attending is Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, whose country for the past 17 years has received billions in US funds to fight drug cartels and leftwing guerrillas. While drug production is said to have increased recently in Colombia, a peace deal with FARC rebels has been struck.

The official agenda speaks of public-private partnerships to spur road transport, communications and electricity networks in the region.

But the leaders will hold a closed-door, open-agenda meeting ahead of the formal sessions, in which they likely "will talk of other topics such as migration, security and the relationship with other important partners," Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez said in a recent news conference.

- Common position on Trump -

Some, such as Santos, for instance, have scheduled bilateral meetings with other leaders.

Carlos Murillo, a political analyst at the University of Costa Rica, said: "There are issues that cannot be tackled only locally. They need regional policies, such as the position on the Trump administration."

He added that there was little consensus, for example, between Mexico and Central America -- especially Guatemala and Honduras -- over migration.

Free-trade agreements with the United States were another source of divergence. Mexico comes under NAFTA, while Central America has its own, separate CAFTA pact that does not appear to be threatened.

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With Central America supplying most of the migrants now illegally crossing the Mexico-US border, two presidents -- Costa Rica's Luis Guillermo Solis and Honduras's Juan Orlando Hernandez -- this month separately traveled to Washington to meet Trump's Homeland Security chief, John Kelly.

On his return, Solis last week hinted at concerns about deported or thwarted migrants to the US turning to relatively prosperous Costa Rica as their next option.

"There are limits" to how many migrants his country can absorb, he said, singling out problematic flows from Venezuela and the poorer Central American countries -- El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

Hernandez in his meeting with Kelly highlighted progress made to improve security and employment opportunities in Honduras, according to a Department of Homeland Security statement.

Those goals are part of the conditions under a $750 million US fund called the Alliance for Prosperity Plan for Central America launched under former US president Barack Obama.

- Some leaders unconfirmed -

The Tuxtla summits over the years have broadened to include all Central American countries as well as the Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic.

The leaders who have confirmed their attendance at the San Jose summit are presidents Pena Nieto of Mexico, Santos of Colombia, Hernandez of Honduras, Solis of Costa Rica, and Juan Carlos Varela of Panama.

El Salvador will be represented by its foreign minister, Hugo Martinez. It was not yet known what representation Nicaragua and Belize would send.
Washington (AFP) - The Pentagon said Monday it was reviewing more than 700 video feeds of coalition air strikes on west Mosul, Iraq after reports of a large number of civilians killed in bombings.

Amid rising concern over a jump in civilian casualties in fighting in Iraq and Syria, Colonel J.T. Thomas, a spokesman for the US Central Command, said they were putting a high priority on investigating the Mosul reports.

Nineveh provincial governor Nawfal Hammadi said "more than 130 civilians" were killed in strikes over several days in Mosul's al-Jadida area, and attention has focused on one allegedly particularly deadly strike on March 17.

US investigators are also looking at the apparent bombing of a school in Mansura near Raqa, Syria on March 21, and a building next to a mosque on March 16 in Al-Jineh, in Aleppo province.

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said that 33 people were killed in the Mansura bombing and 49 in Al-Jineh, where the US target was a meeting of Al-Qaeda officials.

Thomas called examining what happened in west Mosul "the priority at this time" for Central Command.

He said the reports of a heavy civilian toll in the northern Iraqi city could represent several days of bombing against the Islamic State group.

"In Mosul, there are multiple days of strikes," he told journalists in Washington in a Pentagon conference call.

"The numbers of civilian casualties that have been reported variously -- one of the things we're looking at is if some of those numbers are cumulative from different incidents, different engagements, in this highly contested, very ferocious battle that's going on in Mosul."

Investigators are studying more than 700 video feeds taken during air strikes on that area of Mosul over a 10-day stretch around March 17, he said.

"We know that we were dropping bombs in the immediate vicinity," he said, noting that the bombs used are "quite precise."

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He also said they were studying "intriguing information about secondary explosions" that news reports suggest could have been sparked by the bombing.

"We have not made any specific determinations at this time," he said, adding that the probe had not risen yet to an official investigation.

Thomas declined to discuss questions raised in US media on whether President Donald Trump's administration had eased controls on coalition air strikes against jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq, possibly leading to the surge in civilian deaths.

"With a densely populated area, and the kind of door-to-door, street-to-street fighting, with more bombs being dropped, and there are still thousands of civilians still in western Mosul, that is one of our significant concerns."
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  U.N. talks aimed at banning nuclear weapons began Monday, but the United States, Russia, China and other nuclear-armed nations are sitting out a discussion they see as impractical.

Supporters of the potential pact say it's time to push harder toward eliminating atomic weapons than nations have been doing through the nearly 50-year-old Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

With international tensions rising while public awareness of the nuclear threat has waned, "the need for progress on nuclear disarmament has rarely been as urgent as it is today," U.N. Under Secretary-General for disarmament Kim Won-soo said as the talks opened.

More than 100 countries voted for a U.N. General Assembly resolution last year to start discussions, with nations including Austria, Brazil and Ireland leading the effort.

But the U.S. and several other nuclear powers say a ban won't work and the world should instead stick with a more gradual approach.

"As a mom, as a daughter, there is nothing I want more for my family than a world with no nuclear weapons. But we have to be realistic," U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said as she and colleagues from Britain, France and about 20 other nations, not all of them nuclear states, gathered Monday outside the General Assembly hall to show opposition to the talks starting inside.

Haley argued that a treaty would end up disarming nations "trying to keep peace and safety," while "bad actors" wouldn't sign on or comply.

"North Korea would be the one cheering, and all of us and the people we represent would be the ones at risk," she said.

North Korea carried out two nuclear tests last year and has continued to test ballistic missiles as recently as this month, in violation of U.N. resolutions. The North has said its nuclear efforts are meant as a deterrent against what it sees as U.S. hostility. North Korea's U.N. Mission didn't immediately respond to an inquiry Monday about the disarmament talks.

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Opponents of the ban plan say gradual disarmament has made a difference. The U.S. has reduced its nuclear arsenal by 85 percent under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Haley said; Britain has cut its nuclear forces by over 50 percent since the height of the Cold War, according to Ambassador Matthew Rycroft.

Still, "our countries continue to rely on nuclear deterrence for security and stability," French Deputy Ambassador Alexis Lamek said.

Chinese and Russian representatives didn't join the boycotters' news conference, but the two countries had said previously that they wouldn't participate in the talks.

Japan, which during World War II experienced the only atomic bomb strikes in history, did take part in opening remarks Monday. Saying that North Korea's actions challenge the non-proliferation approach, Japanese representative Nobushige Takamizawa said it was "crucial to have a realistic perspective as to how nuclear disarmament measures can contribute effectively to addressing actual security concerns."

The negotiations aim to create "a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination." Backers hope a document will be inked by July.

Any treaty would bind only nations that ratified it. But despite the opposition from key nuclear players, supporters of the proposed ban feel it could help create a new international norm of rejecting atomic arms.

"It's very difficult to eliminate a weapon that you haven't prohibited first," said Beatrice Fihn, the executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, an advocacy group.
Washington (AFP) - The US Senate voted overwhelmingly Monday to advance the approval of Montenegro as the newest member of NATO, in what supporters of the alliance's expansion argue would send a stern message to Russia.

The procedural step, which advanced on a 97-2 vote, sets up a final approval in the chamber in the coming days.

President Donald Trump's administration has encouraged lawmakers to back the small Balkan nation's bid.

"It is strongly in the interests of the United States that Montenegro's membership in NATO be ratified," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Senate leaders in a March 7 letter.

To date, 25 of NATO's 28 members have ratified Montenegro's accession, a country of 620,000 people seen as a geostrategic ally.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization holds its summit on May 25 in Brussels, where Trump will use the opportunity to reaffirm Washington's strong commitment to the alliance, according to the White House.

The Kremlin is opposed to Montenegro's accession, calling it a "provocation" that would reinforce the pro-Western military alliance's presence in the Balkans.

The US vote comes days after a Montenegrin special prosecutor accused "Russian state bodies" of involvement in an alleged coup plot during Montenegro's election last October.

Moscow branded the accusation "absurd."

Russia also stands accused of interfering in the US presidential election last year, when US intelligence agencies say it leaked hacked emails that damaged Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Senator John McCain, among the move's strongest backers, framed Montenegro's accession as nothing less than a "test" of resolve against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"He attempted a coup" to overthrow the freely-elected Montenegro government," McCain told the Senate Monday.

"That coup failed. But I can assure that if we turn down Montenegro, it will not remain the democracy that it is today."

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Senator Marco Rubio weighed in saying the Senate is "sending a clear message to Vladimir Putin that we will not accept the establishment of Russia's sphere of influence over countries that desire to ally themselves with the free and democratic community of nations."

As with all international treaties, a two-thirds majority is required for final Senate approval. Success is highly likely.

Republicans Rand Paul and Mike Lee voted against the measure.

Paul warned Washington against spreading itself too thinly when its military is involved in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen, and said Montenegro in NATO will antagonize Russia while doing "nothing" to advance US national security.

"Most Americans can't find Montenegro on a map," Paul said in a sharply worded Senate speech. "Are you willing to send your kids there to fight?"

Besides the United States, the Netherlands and Spain have yet to ratify Montenegro's membership.
Washington (AFP) - The US ambassador to the United Nations received a rapturous welcome Monday at Washington's biggest pro-Israel forum, where she vowed never to allow "Israel-bashing" at the world body.

Nikki Haley was addressing the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference for the first time since President Donald Trump named her Washington's UN envoy.

And she drew a clear line under the record of her predecessor, who in December abstained from a UN Security Council vote, thus allowing a resolution criticizing Israeli settlements to pass.

Haley described Resolution 2334 as a "kick in the gut" to all Americans, and warned other UN members that the United States would retaliate against any new attempt to isolate Israel.

"Basically what it comes down to is that I'm not there to play, and what I wanted to make sure of was that the United States started leading again," she told the lobby group's invitees.

- 'No greater friend than Israel' -

"Never do we not have the backs of our friends. We don't have a greater friend than Israel," she added. "And to see that happen was not only embarrassing it was hurtful."

"What I can tell you is that everybody at the United Nations is scared to talk to me about Resolution 2334," Haley declared, to warm cheers from the large pro-Israeli crowd.

"And I wanted to let them to know that, look, that happened but it will never happen again. The days of Israel-bashing are over."

Trump's administration has already made several gestures to reassure Israel's government that, in Haley's words to AIPAC, "a new sheriff is in town" and US policy has changed.

Welcoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House last month, Trump did tell his guest that he would like Israel to "hold back on settlements for a little bit."

But he and Haley have repudiated the critical vote and he has appointed an ambassador to Israel -- David Friedman -- with a history of skepticism toward a two-state peace deal.

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US officials still insist they support the eventual goal of Israel and a future Palestine living side-by-side within agreed borders -- but they will not pressure the Jewish state for concessions.

Israeli leaders, in turn, have expressed confidence.

Ambassador Ron Dermer told AIPAC: "For the first time in many years... there is no daylight between our two governments."

Now, Netanyahu's government want Trump and Friedman to make good on a campaign promise to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which Israel claims as its undivided capital.

Such a move would dismay Palestinians and some Arab leaders, and US officials have not repeated the promise since Trump came to office, but Netanyahu alluded to it in his remarks to AIPAC.

"David, I look forward to welcoming you warmly to Israel and especially to Jerusalem," he said, speaking by videolink to pass a message to the ambassador and his supporters.
Vatican City (AFP) - A panel advising Pope Francis on child protection has called on the Vatican to react "directly and compassionately" to letters from victims of clerical sex abuse, reviving an issue that unleashed a storm just weeks ago.

The Pontifical Commission on the Protection of Minors made the recommendation after a weekend meeting.

It was the panel's first meeting since Marie Collins, an Irish survivor of abuse, angrily quit after a similar request was turned down.

"The Commission discussed the importance of responding directly and compassionately to victims/survivors when they write to offices of the Holy See," the panel said in a statement issued on Monday.

"Members agreed that acknowledging correspondence and giving a timely and personal response is one part of furthering transparency and healing."

The statement added: "They acknowledged that this is a significant task due to the volume and nature of the correspondence and requires clear and specific resources and procedures."

The panel was set up by Francis two years ago to advise him on concrete measures for ensuring the safety of minors after the Church was hit by a string of paedophile scandals.

On March 1, Collins, a 70-year-old Irishwoman who was raped by a hospital chaplain at 13, resigned from the commission, accusing senior Vatican officials of throwing up roadblocks to reforms.

She singled out the dicastery, or Vatican ministry, which is in charge of the clerical abuse dossier, saying it was guilty of a "shameful" lack of cooperation.

The final straw, Collins said, was the refusal to guarantee that all letters from victims or survivors would receive a response, and to cooperate with the commission on developing guidelines to protect children.

Indirectly responding to Collins, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, in charge of the dicastery, said it was for local bishops, not the central authority of the Holy See, to reply to abuse victims.

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"It's a misunderstanding to think that this dicastery in Rome could deal with all the dioceses and religious orders in the world," he said.

Separately, the commission on Monday said it would carry out further trips abroad to strengthen awareness of child protection procedures.

Collins' departure left the commission with no abuse survivors working for it.

Peter Saunders, a Briton, was sidelined last year after a row over the panel's handling of allegations of serial abuse by an Italian priest that were brought to its attention.
By Diego Ore and Lesley Wroughton CARACAS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Venezuela called on Monday for the suspension of an Organization of American States meeting intended to air regional concerns over the OPEC nation's economic crisis and democratic standards. The Washington-based OAS is due to debate Venezuela on Tuesday after its secretary-general, Luis Almagro, said the country should be suspended from the regional bloc if it does not hold elections. Last week, 14 nations urged elections and freedom of jailed opponents of President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government, turning up the pressure after authorities thwarted a referendum on him last year and postponed local polls. Maduro, the 54-year-old successor to Hugo Chavez, says the OAS is a pawn of hostile U.S. policy. His government said in a statement that Tuesday's proposed meeting broke the bloc's rules and should be canceled. "If this illegal, unilateral, deviant and biased behavior in favor of violent extremists in Venezuela continues, we will proceed with severity and firmness," the statement read. Venezuela's suspension from the OAS would not have any major financial implications for the crisis-hit nation, but would be a symbolic defeat the ruling Socialist Party is keen to avoid. Visiting the OAS on the eve of the debate, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez lashed out at Almagro and accused him of a campaign to destroy Venezuela. "He lacks independence when he voluntarily bows to the wishes of the most powerful nation of this organization and becomes its spokesman," she told the OAS permanent council, saying Almagro was obsessed with denigrating Venezuela. "Almagro has used 21 percent of his tweets - one in every five - for his campaign against Venezuela." Even though regional disquiet is growing, diplomats believe Almagro lacks the two-thirds of votes necessary to trigger a suspension of Venezuela, given staunch support from some leftist governments and sympathies among Caribbean nations that have long received subsidized oil from Caracas. Opponents say Maduro has turned Venezuela into a dictatorship and wrecked the economy by fanning corruption and persisting with failed socialist policies. He accuses foes of an "economic war" intended to presage a coup against him. Maikel Moreno, the Venezuela Supreme Court chief whose rulings have been crucial to overriding the opposition-led National Assembly and preserving Maduro's power, asked the government to push for Almagro's removal as OAS boss. Socialist Party officials announced an "anti-imperialist" march for Tuesday to coincide with the OAS session. (Additional reporting by Eyanir Chinea; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne and Girish Gupta; Editing by James Dalgleish and Dan Grebler)
Veteran journalist and retired ABC "Nightline" host Ted Koppel told Fox News anchor Sean Hannity that he is "bad for America" in an interview that aired Sunday on the "CBS Sunday Morning" show. Koppel and Hannity spoke on a segment about the state of American media and political polarization.

During the interview, Koppel showed clips of Hannity and radio host Rush Limbaugh as well as left-wing comedians like John Oliver and Stephen Colbert and cited all of them as examples of important personalities in the media who are "driving the country further and further apart." Koppel added that the combination of opinion and editorial content is dangerous.

Hannity, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump who has been accused of blurring the line between opinion and news, responded to Koppel calling him "cynical." Hannity also defended his style of journalism and said, "We have to give some credit to the American people that they're somewhat intelligent and that they know the difference between an opinion show and a news show."

Koppel agreed that he is cynical, to which Hannity responded: "Do you think we're bad for America? You think I'm bad for America?"

"Yeah," Koppel replied to Hannity's question. Koppel tried to put forward his arguments but Hannity kept on interrupting him. The veteran journalist also said that Hannity is "very good" at what he does but also criticized him and said, "You have attracted people who are determined that ideology is more important than facts."

Koppel's full name is Edward James Martin "Ted" Koppel. The British-born American broadcast journalist is best known in the media industry for hosting ABC's "Nightline" show since its inception from 1980 to 2005. Koppel retired in late 2005. Koppel has been critical of Fox News earlier. In March 2016, while speaking to Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, Koppel told O'Reilly that he had made reporting on Trump's campaign "irrelevant."

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"You have changed the television landscape over the past 20 years. You took it from being objective and dull to subjective and entertaining. And in this current climate, it doesnt matter what the interviewer asks him  Trump is gonna say whatever he wants to say, as outrageous as it may be," Koppel told OReilly, according to New York Daily News.

After CBS aired the segment Sunday, Hannity took to Twitter and criticized it. He accused CBS of shortening the 45-minute interview and said CBS was broadcasting "Fake Edited News."

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New York (AFP) - The popular bronze statue of a young girl staring down a bull on Wall Street will stay in place until March 2018, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday.

Initially installed on March 7 for one week, the "Fearless Girl" sculpture appeared in media around the world, seen by many as a defiant symbol of women's rights under the new administration of President Donald Trump, who has bragged about sexually assaulting women.

The exhibit of artist Kristen Visbal's work was first extended until April 2 and is now set to run until next year's International Women's Day on March 8.

De Blasio, an outspoken Trump critic, said the statue "means so much to the people of New York," especially the city's women and girls.

"She spoke to the moment," he told reporters in front of the defiant girl.

The relevant municipal agencies voted in favor of keeping the statue, he said.

The artwork was installed by asset managers State Street Global Advisors, with City Hall's agreement.

It marked the start of the firm's campaign to encourage companies in which it invests to increase the number of women on their boards of directors.

The young girl faces down the "Charging Bull" sculpture, installed in December 1989 -- also temporarily at first -- by Italian-American artist Arturo Di Modica to symbolize "the strength and power of the American people."

It has since become a symbol of Wall Street.

Visbal chose to depict a young girl to show others that it is possible for them to forge a career on Wall Street, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said.

She was referring to a recent report showing that fewer than 20 percent of board seats of S&P 500 companies are occupied by women.

"We can issue all the reports we want," Brewer said, "they will have not have the symbol a sculpture does."
Photo credit: Best Motoring / YouTube

From Road & Track

The McLaren F1 has been back in the news thanks to the announcement McLaren would be making another three-seater hyper-GT with immense speed and style. Back in the 1990s the F1 blew people away with its performance, including everyone's favorite Japanese-speaking car-testing program, Best Motoring.

Back when the F1 was new, Japanese television show Best Motoring got their hands on a silver example to put through its paces and find out if it was all that great. With a center seating position, a 627-horsepower 6.1-liter V12, a slick six-speed manual transmission, and a top speed of 242 mph, we have a hard time believing the F1 could be anything other than perfect.

Nonetheless, Best Motoring took the F1 through a series of tests, including a 0-1000 meter sprint, a flying lap of Tsukuba circuit, and even a top speed run. It's rare these cars get pushed to the limit these days, so seeing one slide through the corners spitting flames is a real treat.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  Regrouping after a rocky few weeks, the White House declared Monday that President Donald Trump doesn't consider the health care battle to be over, suggesting he may turn to Democrats to help him overhaul the system after his own party rejected his proposal.

The sudden interest in bipartisanship is a shift for a president who has spent months mocking Democratic leaders as inept. And Democrats indicated they have no interest if his intent is still to dismantle "Obamacare."

But Trump's interest reflects the strained state of his relations with conservatives in his party and his search for a way to regain his footing after the painful withdrawal of his health care legislation last Friday.

"I don't think we've seen the end of health care," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday, pointing to "a series of fits and starts" that marked the process that led to passage of President Barack Obama's health care law, too, in 2010.

Trump's failure to win the votes to pass his bill has prompted the new president to rethink how he intends to promote his agenda in Congress.

White House officials are signaling a renewed focus on job creation, taxes and the administration's push to win confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, a bright spot for the president. House Speaker Paul Ryan huddled at the White House with Vice President Mike Pence, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus to discuss the legislative agenda, a Ryan spokesman said.

Yet the rosy notion of Democratic cooperation glosses over recent history.

Trump is viewed with broad contempt among the party's base. Before his inauguration, the incoming president called Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer the "head clown" in tweets about the health care law.

Schumer said in light of the withdrawal of the House bill the president should no longer attempt to undermine the Obama law. "He's in charge, people want him to make their lives better, not make them worse because of some political anger or vendetta," he said.

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In the meantime, lawmakers face the possibility of a partial government shutdown on April 29 unless Republicans and Democrats can manage to pass a federal spending bill or provide an extension of current funding levels.

Trump had initially blamed Democrats for the health care measure's failure, predicting an eventual collapse of the law. But he later acknowledged a more widely held view: That the bill was undone by hard-line conservatives of the House Freedom Caucus, who refused to back a measure they said did not go far enough in repealing the current law.

Trump on Sunday complained on Twitter that Democrats were gleeful that "the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!"

Spicer on Monday reiterated that Trump had learned "a lot in this process about loyalty" but brushed off questions of whether the president had written off working with conservatives. He also dismissed suggestions that Trump encouraged his 27 million Twitter followers to watch Judge Jeanine Pirro's program on Fox News on Saturday as a slap against Ryan. Pirro opened her show with a call for Ryan to resign.

Republicans warned that a blame game would be counterproductive.

"It would be a huge mistake for the message on this failure on health care to be to assume that conservatives won't be good allies," said Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union. "Most conservatives stood with the president."

Publicly, Trump on Monday greeted female business owners to a round-table discussion on jobs and later joined with Republican lawmakers and members of his Cabinet as he signed into law bills focused on overturning Obama era regulations.

"I will keep working with Congress, with every agency, and most importantly with the American people until we eliminate every unnecessary harmful and job-killing regulation that we can find," Trump said.

The White House also has sought to deflect attention from Trump's troubles.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions opened Monday's daily briefing at the White House with a vigorous new call for "sanctuary cities" to comply with federal laws or risk federal funding. The administration has targeted cities which shelter people living in the country illegally by refusing to help the federal government enforce immigration laws.

Post-health care, many issues remain for the White House.

Gorsuch, Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, remains on track for confirmation with solid support among Republicans. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on the judge on April 3.

While the House is moving forward on plans to overhaul the tax system, the White House has not yet made its views explicitly clear on what approach it would support and there is a broad expectation that the work could stretch beyond Capitol Hill's self-imposed August goal for completion.

__

AP Congressional Correspondent Erica Werner contributed to this report.
By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fresh off a defeat on U.S. healthcare legislation, the White House warned rebellious conservative lawmakers that they should get behind President Donald Trump's agenda or he may bypass them on future legislative fights, including tax reform. The threat by White House chief of staff Reince Priebus to build a broad coalition on tax reform that could include moderate Democrats came as the Republican head of the tax-writing committee in the House of Representatives said he hoped to move a tax bill through his panel this spring. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady said his committee had been working on tax reform in parallel with the failed healthcare reform push. "We've never stopped working," Brady told Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo." "We will continue to make improvements." Brady said the committee planned to move on the bill in the spring. He said he wanted the House blueprint to be the basis for Trump's tax reform plan rather than have competing versions from Treasury and the White House. Investors on Wall Street worry the healthcare bill's defeat bodes poorly for tax reform. Equities have rallied since Trump's election partly on expectations of tax cuts. Economic growth would be more modest without fiscal stimulus and U.S. equity index futures fell to a six-week low on Sunday. Both Trump and Priebus have scolded hardline conservatives who rejected legislation backed by the White House to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Priebus held out the possibility of working with moderate Democrats as well as Republicans to pass other aspects of Trump's agenda, such as his proposed budget, the revamp of the tax code and a renewed effort at healthcare reform. "If we can come up with a bill that accomplishes the goals of the president with Republicans alone, we'll take it and we'll move forward with it," Priebus said. But he added: "I think it's more or less a warning shot that we're willing to talk to anyone. We always have been and I think more so now than ever." In an embarrassment for Trump, who had campaigned for the White House on what he said were his skills as a dealmaker, the healthcare bill was pulled from the floor of the House of Representatives on Friday because it failed to draw enough support from within Trump's Republican Party. Objections from members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and from moderate Republicans left leaders short of the votes needed for passage, with Democrats unified in opposition. Trump failed to win over the Freedom Caucus lawmakers despite courting them intensively. Outside conservative groups such as the Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America that are closely aligned with the Freedom Caucus had strongly opposed the Republican healthcare bill and urged lawmakers to reject it. In a tweet on Sunday morning, Trump lashed out at both the Freedom Caucus and the conservative groups, saying their actions had left "Democrats smiling in D.C." Priebus said it was a "real shame" that conservative lawmakers decided not to get behind the healthcare bill. "And I think the president is disappointed in the number of people he thought were loyal to him that weren't," he said. MIDDLE-CLASS TAX CUT Trump has put tax reform at the top of his legislative agenda now that the healthcare bill has failed. Priebus said Trump was not backing off his view that the tax reform bill needed a border tax. He also said that the measure would include a middle-class tax cut that he said might help to attract votes from moderate Democrats. In a sign that not everyone in the Freedom Caucus was in line with its approach and a positive signal for Trump as he looked ahead to tax reform, U.S. Representative Ted Poe, a Texas Republican, said he had resigned from the group. "In order to deliver on the conservative agenda we have promised the American people for eight years, we must come together to find solutions to move this country forward," Poe said in a brief statement. "Saying no is easy, leading is hard." Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer criticized Trump over his handling of the healthcare bill and said Republicans would face roadblocks from conservatives on other issues. "They're going to repeat the same mistake they made on Trumpcare with tax reform," Schumer told ABC's "This Week." He urged Trump to go a different path: Reject the Freedom Caucus and work with Democrats. "If he changes, he could have a different presidency," Schumer said. "He's going to have to tell them he can't work with them and we'll certainly look at his proposals. But it's going to be guided on our values." Republican Representative Mark Meadows, chairman of the Freedom Caucus, said on Sunday he was optimistic on tax reform and that his group could support a plan that is not revenue neutral. "So, tax reform and lowering taxes, you know, will create and generate more income," he said. "And so we're looking at those, where the fine balance is. But does it have to be fully offset? My personal response is 'no.'" Another Freedom Caucus congressman, Jim Jordan, rejected fingerpointing over the collapse of the health bill. "Instead of doing the blame game, let's get to work," he said on "Fox News Sunday." (Additional reporting by Jessica Toonkel and Jennifer Ablan in New York; Writing by Caren Bohan; Editing by Andrew Hay and Peter Cooney)
The tense Donald Trump-Angela Merkel meeting this month may have been even tenser behind the scenes. Not because of awkward attempts to rebuff a handshake, or poorly-fashioned surveillance jokes, but because of a fake invoice for NATO payments. To the tune of some $376 billion. With interest.

German officials told the Sunday Times the U.S. President handed the German Chancellor a bill reportedly amounting to over $376 billion to reflect Germanys shortfall in defense spending since 2002 as a NATO alliance member. An anonymous German minister told the Sunday Times, which first reported the story Sunday, that the gesture was ridiculous.

The concept behind putting out such demands is to intimidate the other side, but the chancellor took it calmly and will not respond to such provocations, the minister said. Merkels office hasnt yet publicly responded to the disputed report but White House spokesman Michael Short denied it as false.

NATO defense spending became a top sticking point for Trump, who excoriated allies on the presidential campaign trail for freeriding off U.S. defense commitments by not footing their fare share of the bill. During his visit to Brussels last month, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis issued a fuzzy ultimatum that the United States would moderate its commitments to NATO if allies didnt boost their defense expenditures.

After his meeting with Merkel on March 17, full of more public cringe-worthy diplomatic snafus, Trump took to Twitter to say Germany owed the United States money for NATO (but first, of course, he had to bash the media):

Despite what you have heard from the FAKE NEWS, I had a GREAT meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nevertheless, Germany owes..  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2017

vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2017

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German officials and former U.S. officials rebuked the claims, as thats not how NATO defense spending works. There is no account where debts are registered with NATO, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement responding to Trumps allegations.

The idea that countries owe the United States for what they rightly see as a defense posture that serves Americas own direct interests, is considered absurd by many allies, former U.S. ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder told Foreign Policy.

NATO asks member countries to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense, though only five of 28 members currently meet that requirement  the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Estonia, and Greece.

Germany currently spends 1.2 percent of its GDP on defense. But its also NATOs second-largest contributor to civil and military budgets after the United States, funding 14 percent of the alliances common shared budgets and programs.

Berlin announced in February it would up defense spending by some $2 billion in 2017 and boost the size of its armed forces to 200,000 over the next seven years. But experts and former officials contend Germanys decision was borne out of new security threats, not Trumps badgering.

[Russian President] Vladimir Putin is a far bigger reason defense budgets in Europe are now rising than Donald Trump, Daalder said.

Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Inside a nondescript local government office meeting room in southern Maryland, Paige, a 26-year-old recovering heroin addict, sat at a table with 11 parents and two sisters of opioid junkies and bluntly told them the self-destructive behaviors of their loved ones weren't their fault.

"My parents could have done nothing different to save me," Paige said, her voice cracking. Her eyes welled, her voice trembled. Someone pushed a box of tissues to her. Paige dabbed at her eyes and continued: "There was nothing they could have done to stop me from being an addict. They love and loved me very much. I just wanted to get high, and anyone who got in my way was collateral damage. I started at age 12 with weed and drinking. I could give you a million reasons why; they'd all be b.s." (Note: Paige asked that her full name not be published to protect her privacy.)

Paige, the guest speaker at a support group meeting for loved ones of opioid addicts, concluded, and the other people in the meeting promptly talked of the panoply of horrors their junkie kids or siblings have put them through. One woman, 73, described how police officers crashed into her home three times while investigating her addict son -- now serving a 30-year prison sentence -- for illegal drug activity. At the last raid, a SWAT officer plucked her infant granddaughter from her crib. A teenage girl spoke in a halting voice about how her addict older brother stole money she was saving to donate to a heart association. Some parents spoke of their fear their child would overdose.

[See: 10 Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids' Health.]

Deep Emotions

The raw emotion ricocheting through the room was typical of the monthly meetings held by Parents Affected by Addiction. "The purpose of our group is to allow parents and other relatives to cry and hug, and most importantly, not be judged as a bad parent or bad family member," says Amy, the woman who organized PABA in 2013 and asked that her full name not be published because her husband has a sensitive government job.

The opioid epidemic that's raging across the country has prompted loved ones of addicts -- parents, grandparents, siblings and others -- to form support groups like PABA. These groups aren't the same as Nar-Anon or Al-Anon, long-established support programs for loved ones of addicts and alcoholics, respectively. Those groups recommend a spiritual approach based on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous and hold meetings that typically last an hour to 90 minutes. PABA says nothing about the 12 steps. Its March meeting was scheduled to last for 90 minutes, but it broke up after nearly two hours. Al-Anon and Nar-Anon meetings are "great, but they're very structured," Amy says. "A lot of us, parents and grandparents, need more than five minutes to share."

Fear and Hope

The different groups are alike in that they all provide a place for loved ones of people suffering from substance abuse to gather and share fears, frustrations and glimmers of hope with each other, which helps them realize their troubles aren't unique. "It's amazing how alone we can feel when we don't know others are struggling with the same thing," says Deni Carise, chief clinical officer at Recovery Centers of America, which has substance abuse rehabilitation centers in three northeast states.

Increasing numbers of families are grappling with the opioid epidemic. In 2015, drug overdoses driven by opioids -- including heroin, which is illegal, as well as prescription pain relievers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine and fentanyl -- were the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine. There were 20,101 fatal overdoses related to prescription painkillers and 12,990 stemming from heroin, according to ASAM. On March 1, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared the state's opioid addiction crisis a state of emergency and committed an additional $50 million over the ensuing five years for drug prevention, enforcement and treatment.

[See: Am I Just Sad -- or Actually Depressed?]

For the loved ones of an addict, there's no cost to joining a support group, which can bolster their mental outlook as they deal with an array of fraught emotions. Joining such a group, whether it's Nar-Anon or Al-Anon or one formed in recent years in response to the opioid epidemic, is generally helpful, experts say. Here's how they recommend going about it:

1. Let go of shame. Many family members of addicts feel stigmatized and don't talk about their loved one's disease to outsiders or even each other. "It's a disease with shame, and it shouldn't be, because it's just as deadly as cancer," says Sharon Olszewski, 65, who started a support group in suburban Maryland. People who hold on to a sense of stigmatization can cut themselves off from the support of a group, several PABA members say. Olszewski launched a group after someone from Caron Treatment Centers, which has several residential treatment programs in the eastern part of the country, asked her in December 2014 to talk to other loved ones of addicts about her role in her son's recovery. Olszewski's son, Tony, has twice been through treatment at a Caron facility and now works at one as a counselor's aide.

2. Check with state and local authorities and rehab facilities. Officials with your state and local health or social services departments may be aware of support groups, Carise says. Rehabilitation centers in your area can also make referrals. Some local law enforcement agencies can help you find one as well. For example, the Charles County Office of the Sheriff typically hosts every third PABA meeting. You can also go online to search for support groups.

3. Try different groups. "If you don't like a support group the first time, go back and keep trying," Carise says. "If the first one isn't what you want, try a different one. Meetings tend to have personalities of their own, just like people."

4. Become engaged. "People can get the most out of a support group by participating honestly, as much as possible, and attending regularly," says Anita Gadhia-Smith, a psychotherapist who practices in the District of Columbia and suburban Maryland. "Speaking in the group, connecting with other members both before and after the meeting, and offering to do service within the group are ways to enhance connection and benefit the most. Attending regularly is especially important in order to form relationships with other members of the group, which takes time."

[See: How to Find the Best Mental Health Professional for You.]

5. Don't give up. "Where there is life, there is hope," says Cris Prillaman, spokeswoman for the New Destiny Treatment Center in Clinton, Ohio. "Don't enable people, but keep reaching out. You don't have to reach out with a check, but with love and concern and compassion. You can't predict when someone who's an addict addict for years will decide they've had enough."

Ruben Castaneda is a Health & Wellness reporter at U.S. News. He previously covered the crime beat in Washington, D.C. and state and federal courts in suburban Maryland, and he's the author of the book "S Street Rising: Crack, Murder and Redemption in D.C." You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him at LinkedIn or email him at rcastaneda@usnews.com.
Scientists have discovered some of the world's largest dinosaur tracksmeasuring as long as the average person is tallin western Australia.

The 5.5-foot-long tracks likely belonged to a long-necked, small-headed sauropod. They're part of an unusually diverse array of dinosaur tracks imprinted into the rocks on Australia's Dampier Peninsula.

SEE ALSO: Earliest dinosaurs may have originally come from Britain, new study says

Paleontologists from the University of Queensland and James Cook University recently identified 21 different types of tracks on the 16-mile stretch of coastline. Rocks in the Kimberley region date back to 127 million to 140 million years ago, the team said in a new study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Richard Hunter lies next to a 5.5-foot-long sauropod footprint.

Image: steve salisbury

"It's such a magical placeAustralia's own Jurassic Park," Steve Salisbury, the study's lead author a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Queensland, said in a news release.

Salisbury and his team spent more than 400 hours investigating and documenting the "unprecedented" panoply of dinosaur tracks.

They found five different types of predatory dinosaur tracks and at least six types of tracks from herbivorous sauropods, including the human-sized footprints.

"Most people would be able to fit inside tracks that big, and they indicate animals that are probably around 5.3 to 5.5 meters [17.4 to 18 feet] at the hip, which is enormous, Salisbury told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Paleontologists document dinosaur tracks on Australia's Dampier Peninsula.

Image: steve salisbury

In terms of size, the sauropod tracks top a dinosaur footprint found in the Mongolian desert that measured about 3.8 feet long.

Salinger's team also identified four types of tracks from two-legged, plant-eating ornithopods and six types of tracks from dinosaurs bedecked with spikes and plates, such as the stegosaurus.

Their work was prompted by the potential development of a $40 billion liquified natural gas processing plant in Walmadany. Concerned the plant would pave over the area's stunning environment, the Goolarabooloo people, the local traditional custodians, contacted Salisbury and his team.

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"We needed the world to see what was at stake," Phillip Roe, the Goolarabooloo law boss, said in the news release.

Fortunately for residents and paleontologists alike, the west Kimberley region was listed as a National Heritage Place in 2011, and two years later, the natural gas project collapsed.

WATCH: 'Ancient Earth' series brings rare and wonderful dinosaurs back to life
Johannesburg (AFP) - South African President Jacob Zuma has ordered his finance minister to return from an overseas investment trip, the presidency said Monday, fuelling speculation that a cabinet reshuffle is imminent.

Zuma's decision to recall Pravin Gordhan from Britain has led to media and opposition speculation that he could be sacked. The two men have had an increasingly uneasy relationship in recent months.

Friction has soared between Zuma, who is seeking to fund a "radical economic transformation", and Gordhan who is taking a stand against graft and heavy spending.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance warned that the developing incident would be seen as "a major setback for the economy in South Africa" and was a prelude to a reshuffle.

"(It) is so bizarre that it appears, at best, calculated to humiliate the minister or, at worst, to suggest that the minister is about to be fired in a cabinet reshuffle," said shadow finance minister David Maynier.

Local media have also speculated that the recall is a precursor to a change of personnel at the top of government.

"Fears are growing that President Jacob Zuma will finally pull the trigger and reshuffle his Cabinet," wrote the Daily Maverick news site.

The tension has also spooked the foreign exchange markets with the rand losing almost three percent against the US dollar on the day, with $1 now buying 12.65 rand. The treasury could not be reached for comment.

- 'Reshuffle is ready to go' -

"President Jacob Zuma has instructed the Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan and Deputy Minister Mcebisi Jonas to cancel the international investment promotion roadshow to the United Kingdom and the United States and return to South Africa immediately," the presidency said in an emailed statement which did not give a reason for Gordhan's recall.

South Africa was granted a reprieve at the end of last year when rating agencies did not drop it to the "junk" investment category following a series of downgrades, but they warned of the impact of poor growth and political instability.

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Nomura market analyst Peter Attard Montalto said that the week ahead could prove critical for South Africa's political and economic stability.

"It seems this week is going to be really decisive either way. It is also possibly that Zuma wants PG there if he only reshuffles the deputy," he wrote in a note to investors.

"A reshuffle is ready to go and something Zuma wants to do. It could be deployed rapidly if Zuma does want to do it... This is going to be a key week for political risk."

In December 2015, Zuma suddenly sacked Gordhan's predecessor Nhlanhla Nene and replaced him with an obscure lawmaker, triggering panic among investors and a sharp drop in the rand.
Maurice Breton loves his Starbucks  and not just a cup of the coffee giants bold brews. He also appreciates the companys approach to orchestrating rich retail experiences and commanding choice real estate.

Sure, Starbucks has thousands of stores, but Breton, the founder of Comfort One Shoes, has adopted a similar approach.

For one, he has targeted highly populated areas with generous foot traffic and wealthy patrons. For another, Breton has opened stores that are sometimes across the street from each other, like the two Comfort One doors and Mephisto shop he owns on Washington, D.C.s Connecticut Avenue.

Our first mission was to own this market, said Breton. We can deal from strength with landlords and vendors.

The independent retailer, which now owns 22 stores plus an e-commerce site, admits it is an unusual and somewhat risky strategy for a shoe store. But Breton said his instincts (and meticulous research) led him to recognize that two different types of customers can exist on the same street.

Breton, 64, has made a career out of trusting his gut.

He gained his first exposure to retail at Summer & Putnam, a department store in Worcester, Mass., in 1970, when he was a high school student at Barnard. The store buyer had two openings: one in furniture and the other in shoes. I figured shoes were lighter to move around, quipped Breton.

He thrived on the energy he experienced on the sales floor. In 1973, after a short stint at a bank, Breton returned to footwear, working at a boutique called Hallies Airstep Shoes. A year later, he found himself selling shoes at Filenes Basement in Boston. Before long, he was managing the shoe department, and with solid results, executives at the Federated-owned store sent him to Atlanta to run a 65-person footwear team for its newly acquired retail chain, Richs.

Rising up through the buying ranks, Breton became Federateds VP of footwear in 1982. But it was his next job, at Hofheimers in Norfolk, Va., where he mastered merchandising (learning about Euro comfort sizing); saw the perks of personal customer service; and fine-tuned his business acumen (months after joining, he and others pulled off a management-led leveraged buyout).

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After seven years at Hofheimers, Breton was ready to branch out on his own.

On July 1, 1993, he opened Comfort Zone, a tiny store at 201 King St. in Alexandria, Va. Soon after, though, lawyers from a wholesaler with the same name said he had violated a trademark. Rather than fight it in court, he simply dropped the letter z.

Sensing high demand in the area for Euro comfort brands, Breton opened two more stores within two years.

We were pretty aggressive in that way. I had come out of several multi-store environments. Federated was 450 stores, Hofheimers was 157, Breton said. I knew that our store, at 800 square feet, wasnt going to give me the lifestyle we were used to. I had to create enough critical mass. I always dreamed big. I told my wife and family we were going to build an empire when we started this. We still have a ways to go.

As Comfort One continues to grow  Breton said he might look to snap up like-minded retailers along the Eastern Seaboard  the company still relishes old-fashioned retail charm.

Breton personally knows each of his 130 employees and gives them regular pep talks. (Todays going to be a great day for you, hes told associates on more than one occasion.) He also hands out business cards and, most important, interacts with customers every chance he gets.

Breton  who runs the company with his wife, Deborah, and son, Garrett, 37  said harvesting customer loyalty is the foundation for success. In fact, its why all his store employees complete a rigorous 21-hour training course, called Comfort One University, and then shadow a seasoned salesperson for another 21 hours.

Lots of stores say they have good service. Thats not even good enough anymore, said Breton. You have to have extraordinary service, extraordinary experiences in stores. Customers trust us for unique product, exceptional comfort and fit, and exceptional customer service.

Brand executives agree the Comfort One team does just that.

Maurice is committed to the store experience and provides a very high level of service. He is a passionate believer in training his staff, and he engages his brands in that training, said Dave Quel, president of Ecco USA. Hes not one to sit still  hes constantly evolving his business, and in turn, hes pushing his vendor partners forward. Hes always challenging us to make better, more innovative products and to [seek out ways to] maximize our business together.

David Kahan, CEO of Birkenstock Americas, added: Maurice is the only retailer who has established fine European brands in the region. His customers are quite discerning, and they recognize true quality and craftsmanship. Maurice also is one of the only independents who has an extensive department store background, ranging from chain operations to buying. This gives him a perspective most independents dont have: He understands the dynamics of the business across all channels and he is able to synthesize these insights into a strategy that makes Comfort One unique.

While he embraces the tried-and-true salesmans touch, Breton knows times are changing. Case in point: Earlier this month, the industry veteran gave Footwear News a tour of the nations capital, driving from store to store in his new Tesla. Breton, in the middle of talking, switched on the cars enhanced autopilot system.

Its not something you get used to right away, he said, his hands in the air. But you adjust.

Adjusting is what Breton has done time and again.

Hes dealt with the rise of big-box retailers. And hes competed against e-tail giants such as Amazon and Zappos. But his greatest threat now is the companies he does business with: Many footwear brands deliberately jump over the mom-and-pop channel to open branded stores in the same market, as well as sell direct-to-consumers. It is a problem that plagues every independent retailer.

Its gotten much worse. Its a major issue now, said Breton, with a rare rise in his voice. I get it: Brands are doing whats best for them. And we need to do whats best for us.

He said discount pricing is another thorn. I have way too much respect for what my sales associates and managers do on the selling floor, and the experiences they deliver to our customers that allows them to spend 45 minutes with someone who then shops the shoe elsewhere for $5 less. It totally devalues what they do.

To win, Breton has been methodically planning a new course. Among his plans is a more aggressive push into exclusives with brands such as Hartjes and BeautiFeel, as well as more private-label offerings, which currently account for 35 percent of sales.

Whats more, Comfort One executives plan to buy commercial real estate across the D.C. region. The Bretons made their first big splurge buy last year for a historic building in Old Town Alexandria at 200 King St.  fittingly, it sits across the street from another Comfort One, the companys first door.

Rents in D.C. are very expensive, said Bretons son Garrett, vice president of merchandising. Buying the building was a huge step. Wed been talking about it and preparing for years. This will be the flagship and will ensure the future of our company.

The three-story brick building  it cost $3.3 million, plus $1 million to renovate  is expected to open in August. As the Bretons walked through the vacant space, with its rickety floorboards and drafty windows, they pointed out where the buying offices and stockroom will be and highlighted the possibilities for the main floor. The Bretons are aiming to create a 7,500-sq. ft. shoe emporium.

Weve reinvented ourselves a number of times, said Maurice Breton. Now were prepared to buy and sell a lot more shoes.

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A growing number of African designers are emerging as movers and shakers in the fashion industry. (Photos: Courtesy of Brother Vellies, Omondi, Maki Oh, Lisa Folawiyo, and Oxosi)

As of late, films surrounding African-Americans like I Am Not Your Negro and Get Out have become national, viral sensations. But the focus on the African community now has been greater than ever  particularly within the fashion world. Legendary designers such as Marc Jacobs centered his entire fall/winter 2017 show in February around the 70s hip-hop generation.

The subject of diversity has always been hotly debated in fashion, and it was one of the most contested issues in fashion this past season. Whether it pertains to size, gender, or race, the call for more diversity doesnt just stop at models, but designer talent as well. However, we are finally seeing some progress.

A growing number of African designers are emerging as movers and shakers in the fashion industry and are helping break the perennial glass ceiling. They are rising to the top of the sartorial food chain, and as some would say  its about time.

Were going to share with you five brands that all have one commonality: Theyre all made by talented designers delivering African fashion on a global scale.

Aurora James, founder of Brother Vellies. (Photo: Courtesy of Brother Vellies)

Aurora James, Founder of Brother Vellies

Aurora James is the mastermind behind the beloved African-inspired shoe and accessory line Brother Vellies. It was born out of Jamess inherent desire to meet two goals: first, to share her favorite African footwear style with the rest of the world  called the velskoen (pronounced fell-skoon), but known colloquially as vellies. Second, Jamess mission was to do more to support African people than merely provide donated goods. As seen in the now ubiquitous 1:1 model initiated by brands like Toms, James explains to Yahoo Style, To dump manufactured Chinese goods in Africa hurts their local industries; 70 percent of the manufacturing industry in Ethiopia has died out as a result of American donated goods.

James would rather impart long-lasting jobs for African people. There has been this perception that Africans are not capable and are forever in need of a handout, James says. But sometimes its not a handout that they need, its faith and opportunity.

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Today, Brother Vellies shoes are handmade throughout South Africa, Ethiopia, and Morocco  with Kenya being the locale for the companys workshop where James welcomes artisans of any gender, background, and tribe to take part and assemble the shoes using their unique ancestral artisan skill sets. James continues to travel to Africa regularly for inspiration and to become immersed in the diverse African culture, as well as to work with the local artisans. But still, James has bigger dreams. As I grow and scale, its a constant challenge to train people to keep up with things, she says. In a perfect world every single thread and button would be made on the continent in a really beautiful natural way.

The brand has since gone on to win the prestigious 2015 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and was nominated for the CFDA Swarovski Award for Accessory Design in 2016.

Recho Omondi, founder of Omondi. (Photo: Courtesy of Omondi)

Recho Omondi, Founder of Omondi

Recho Omondi is the founder of the line Omondi. You might recognize the young designer for her signature colorful crewneck sweaters, which have recently popped up all over your Instagram feed. Theyve been wore by fashions elite, including Teen Vogue EIC Elaine Welteroth, editorial director of New York magazine Stella Bugbee, and founder of Glossier Emily Weiss. The sweaters all charmingly display the wearers surnames hand-stitched into the fabric. But aside from the names of fashion editors, Omondi has also stitched more controversial words such as N****s in celebration of Black History Month. Omondi is unapologetic about the controversy. It was tongue-in-cheek, and the people who understand it are buying it, she tells Yahoo Style. Theres something curious about a socially charged curse word hand-sewn into pastel embroidery.

Despite the sweaters widespread popularity, they are only a small portion of what the Omondi brand is all about. Growing up, Omondi split her time between Nairobi, Kenya, and parts of middle America, where she moved around between Oklahoma, Kansas, Michigan, and Illinois.

Omondi had worked stints at Calvin Klein, Suno, and Theory before launching her own brand in 2014. Her aesthetic can best be described as a junction between her Kenyan roots and NYCs downtown cool street scene. Its contemporary, seasonless, and non-gender-specific.

The designer is proud of her strong voice and self-assurance, which she credits to her rearing. I was never told I couldnt achieve things, Omondi says. In fact I was told the opposite  that I could do anything. Omondi hopes to use her line to inspire and encourage all women, regardless of color.

Lisa Folawiyo, founder of her eponymous line. (Photo: Courtesy of Lisa Folawiyo)

Lisa Folawiyo, Founder of Lisa Folawiyo

Lisa Folawiyo is known for her luxurious and opulent take on a West African-style print known as Ankara. Her designs possess the spirit and liveliness of African culture, but reinterpreted in a contemporary fashion through her custom-made Ankara-like prints, texturizing [it] with embellishments whilst creating modern silhouettes.

Folawiyo works with a team of talented artisans who help add a luxurious hand-made opulence through their intricate beadwork, which at times can take up to 240 hours to make for each garment. We took a quintessentially African fabric and gave it a very modern, luxurious language, Folawiyo tells Yahoo Style. However, she continues to look to Africa for inspiration, From the Fulani (Northern Nigerian tribe) culture to childhood trips back to my fathers hometown and the Lagos Skyline, we dig deep into our roots and find various aspects of our culture that inspire and innovate.

Without any technical training, Folawiyo launched her line in her home after the birth of her daughter in 2005. Since then, the designer has become a major success among celebrities, such as Hollywood starlet Lupita Nyongo as well as Beyonces sister, Solange Knowles  seeing as they not only champion a wide variety of designers, but they also are creatives who continue to celebrate fashion individualism, says Folawiyo.

Amaka Osakwe (far right), founder of Maki Oh. (Photo: Courtesy of Maki Oh)

Amaka Osakwe, Founder of Maki Oh

Amaka Osakwe established her brand Maki Oh in 2010 and counts former first lady Michelle Obama, Lupita Nyongo, and Beyonce among her fans. How did Osakwe react when she found out these extraordinary female leaders wore her line? Excited.com.uk.org.co.za, Osakwe tells Yahoo Style.

During New York Fashion Week in February, Osakwe made headlines by casting all black models for her presentation, something she has done since she started her line in Lagos, Nigeria, where Osakwe is based. Her collections place a strong emphasis on identity and culture, fusing African techniques within a contemporary lens. The aim has always been to celebrate my culture, she says. I definitely want to highlight the depth and finesse that lies in traditional African artistry, preserving its elegance and true beauty.

Her clothes are meant to function as a type of narrative. I see them as forms of communication in the same way traditional African clothing was worn, she elaborates. They are pieces of a wider story about the beauty and strength of women. Its wonderful to have had our clothing communicate with these women.

It was largely through Instagram that Osakwes brand found a firmer footing within the American market. The designer was contacted through the social media platform by Sherri McMullen, an Oakland boutique owner who helped put the designer in touch with mega e-commerce retailer Farfetch. Osakwe explains, These types of collaborations continue to be exciting because the world keeps getting smaller. Instagram has made it so much easier and quicker to tell the world our stories. In a few DMs, we have been connected to individuals and stores around the world. Im thrilled to see what the future holds for more connections like these.

Akin Adebowale (far left), co-founder and CEO of Oxosi, and Kolade Adeyemo (far right), co-founder and president of Oxosi. (Photo: Courtesy of Oxosi)

Akin Adebowale and Kolade Adeyemo, Co-Founders of Oxosi

Oxosi is an e-commerce platform that bridges the gap between luxury contemporary African fashion and global visibility. Launched in 2015, it features a three-part business model: e-commerce, content, and community.

Designers such as Amaka Osakwe and Lisa Folawiyo were part of Oxosis first series of trunk shows. They released limited pieces online for sale with the idea of bringing native African brands to a global marketplace, with hope of generating commerce that will directly contribute to the brands as well as to the African economy.

In the case of Osakwe, Oxosi did much more than just hold a trunk show. We partnered with Maki Oh to present her F/W17 collection during New York Fashion Week, Adebowale tells Yahoo Style. We made sure it was not your typical fashion presentation by adding some key Oxosi elements, such as the Oxosi Fuji Ambassadors (a traditional African band) and recreating an authentic Nigerian street scene. It was a major success and a unique opportunity to amplify Makis brand in tandem with ours.

The Oxosi founders goals extend much further than simply commerce. Its not only about selling clothes, but also about providing access to an Afromodernist perspective that has not been explored, says Adeyemo. Adebowale adds, We think its important to continue to work with our designers to showcase their talent and share their vision. The relationship with our designers is reciprocal, and we definitely want to continue to collaborate in nontraditional ways.

With partners like Oxosi, African designers are well positioned to expand their outreach and hopefully become a much bigger part of the global fashion community.

Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.
Astronaut Thomas Pesquet brought his friends wedding rings to space with him. (Photo: Thomas Pesquet/European Space Agency )

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet was allowed to take 1.5 kg, or about 3.3 lbs, of personal items with him to the International Space Station, where hes been since November. Among those items, Pesquet managed to squeeze in a little something special for his friends, who are getting married this summer.

On Sunday, he posted a photo of their wedding rings, floating in almost-zero gravity aboard the station.

In my 1.5 kg hand luggage, I brought the wedding rings of my friends getting married this summer! he wrote in French and English on Instagram, Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter. Ill be back in time to be their witness.

We still dont know who the lucky couple is or whose idea it was to send the rings into space. What we do know is that the beauty of the image and the kindness of the gesture have moved thousands of people to comment on Pesquets social media accounts.

Many of them sound better in French: Cest extraordinaire, ce symbole nen sera que plus fort! wrote one Instagram follower. That translates to: It is extraordinary, this symbol couldnt be stronger!

On Facebook, someone wrote that the rings are like two little stars that shine in the vastness of the sky.

Many of the commenters agreed that this is loading symbolism on top of symbolism. The circular shape of rings first inspired ancient Egyptians to use them as an emblem of eternity. The ring finger was thought to have a special vein that connects directly to the heart. (Well, sure it does, just like the rest of your body.)

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The ISS is in orbit about 248 miles above Earth  not exactly outer space, but thats the farthest people are getting these days. Although we cant surmise what Pesquets friends intended, their rings seem to be reminding us simultaneously of just how small two peoples lives are in the grand scheme of the universe, and just how big two people can feel that their love is.

Their marriage is also, apparently, something that deserves this extraordinary gesture by an astronaut. Now theres one more layer: By the magic of the Internet, their union is blessed around the world by all of Pesquets followers. The 39-year-old astronaut will return to Earth this May. Lets just hope he doesnt accidentally leave those rings back on the station!

Read more from Yahoo Beauty + Style:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.
United Airlines is in hot water after a dress code incident on Sunday morning.

In a series of live tweets, activist Shannon Watts explained that two girls who were wearing leggings were asked by the United Airlines gate agent to either change clothing or not board their flight to Minneapolis.

SEE ALSO: Teenagers spot fire on plane flying overhead, avert major disaster

1) A @united gate agent isn't letting girls in leggings get on flight from Denver to Minneapolis because spandex is not allowed?  Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

2) She's forcing them to change or put dresses on over leggings or they can't board. Since when does @united police women's clothing?  Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

3) Gate agent for flt 215 at 7:55. Said she doesn't make the rules, just follows them. I guess @united not letting women wear athletic wear?  Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

"This behavior is sexist and sexualizes young girls. Not to mention that the families were mortified and inconvenienced," Watts explained on Twitter.

"As the mother of 4 daughters who live and travel in yoga pants, I'd like to know how many boys @ United has penalized for the same reason. Their father, who was allowed to board with no issue, was wearing shorts," she wrote.

Another girl in grey leggings was allowed to fly after changing into a dress, according to Watt's tweets.

After a large amount of backlash from Twitter users, United Airlines responded to angry inquiries online, citing a dress code that appears in their "Contract of Carriage" that allows them to "refuse passengers who are not properly clothed."

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@finallydeirdre UA shall have the right to refuse passengers who are not properly clothed via our Contract of Carriage. ^FS  United (@united) March 26, 2017

"Casual attire is allowed as long as it looks neat and is in good taste for the local environment," the airlines also tweeted.

@PattyArquette Casual attire is allowed as long as it looks neat and is in good taste for the local environment. (1/2)  United (@united) March 26, 2017

The internet was outraged, both over United's actions and its public response to the controversy.

@united @PattyArquette Friendly Advice, United: No one is nearly as offended by a little girl in spandex as they are by this situation.  Nick Bolton (@NickBolton13) March 26, 2017

@shannonrwatts There are women in leggings and bathing suits in a recent @united safety video. https://t.co/b1xByiCZ3f  Ian Schafer (@ischafer) March 26, 2017

The only place @united's Contract of Carriage mentions clothing is regarding safety. Were these dangerous leggings? https://t.co/gQhX7l943d  Chris (@filmbuffcw) March 26, 2017

@shannonrwatts Hey, @united, you know how this ends, right? Images of women in leggings tagging you on social as they fly your competition.  Jenn (@jennvzande) March 26, 2017

Please #mansplain to me why a 10 yr old in leggings is "inappropriate attire" #boycottunited https://t.co/YOaqd7d8wm  Girl Science (@GoGirlScience) March 26, 2017

The @united response to this leggings thing is a case study on how not to respond to a brand crisis https://t.co/stO7dco5co  laura olin (@lauraolin) March 26, 2017

Mashable has reached out to United Airlines for comment and will update this post accordingly.

UPDATE: March 26, 2017, 2:14 p.m. EDT The two girls were United Airlines "pass riders," defined by the company as "United employees or their eligible dependents standing by on a space-available basis."

There is a separate dress code for pass riders, unrelated to United Airlines previous citations of the "Contract of Carriage," that remains "internal policy" and will not be released, according to a statement made to NBC's Colorado affiliate, 9 News.

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The notion of Apple releasing augmented reality glasses may have seemed ludicrous even a few months ago, but a new report from the Financial Times suggests that Apple is dead serious about making such a product a reality.

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According to the report, Apple began investigating the feasibility and utility of developing smart glasses a little bit more than a year ago. Presumably, Apples initial research in the area has been promising because the company is now eyeing the possibility of taking it from a science project towards a consumer product.

As its engineers have become more adept at miniaturisation technology with products such as its AirPods wireless headphones and the iPads Pencil, AR seems to have overtaken Apples secretive car project as the companys top priority for its next big launch, beyond the iPhone.

Previous reports have said that Apples AR research team now boasts hundreds of researchers and engineers with broad experience in fields like Augmented Reality, head-mounted displays, optics and more. As a prime example of the talent Apple is attracting and bringing in-house, Apple last year hired Zeyu Li, a vision algorithm engineer from Magic Leap.

Its also worth noting that Apple CEO Tim Cook has been uncharacteristically effusive when discussing the potential for augmented reality. Given how notoriously tight-lipped Apple tends to be when it comes to discussing new technologies, Cooks willingness to heap unrestrained praise on the technology is definitely worth paying attention to.

Not too long ago, Cook said that Apple is high on augmented reality for the long run and that the technology may ultimately prove to be as impactful as the smartphone itself. In a similar vein, Cook said the following about AR during an interview on Good Morning America about six months ago.

Maybe its something were talking about, Cook said, maybe its someone else here that is not here, present, but could be made to appear to be present with us. So theres a lot of really cool things there.

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As intriguing as all of this is, Apple isnt likely to launch a pair of smart glasses for at least another year. A previous report from Bloomberg claimed that Apple a few months ago placed an order for small quantities of near-eye displays from one supplier for testing and that a finished product might appear on store shelves as early as 2018. That projection, however, might be a tad too optimistic.

Incidentally, Robert Scoble earlier this year claimed that Apple will eventually release a pair of Augmented Reality glasses via a not-so-secretive partnership with Carl Zeiss AG, a reputed German company with decades of expertise and experience in developing a myriad of advanced optical systems.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
Apple might have the most iconic line of smartphones on the planet but that doesnt mean its had an easy go of it in every corner of the map. In China, for instance, Apple has been forced to fight for the privilege of even selling its products, with government officials constantly bashing the company and endless legal hurdles that regularly threaten to damage its reputation. This week, Apple can claim at least a small victory in the country as a Beijing court ruled in favor of Apple in a patent case versus a small Chinese phone maker which cried foul.

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Shenzhen Baili  a practically nonexistent smartphone maker which seems to have continued to live on after its failed business ventures solely for the purpose of collecting on its claims against Apple  won a ruling last May from the Beijing Intellectual Property Office stating that Apple had infringed on its design patents for its 100C smartphone. The 100C, while rounded on the edges like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, is fairly generic and could easily be mistaken for just about any Android device from the past few years.

Nevertheless, the ruling threatened to give Apple headaches down the road, and so it was brought before a judge in Beijing. In the time since Baili initially filed the lawsuit in late 2014 the company has completely collapsed, and reports suggest that at present theres very little to the company aside from a name and the backing of Chinese tech giant Baidu. The favorable ruling for Apple doesnt necessarily mean itll be the end of the legal road in this case, but its certainly a promising sign.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
It turns out you can't keep a bad phone down. With the launch of the highly anticipated Galaxy S8 approaching, Samsung announced plans today (March 27) to offer refurbished Galaxy Note 7s as part of an effort to minimize that discontinued handset's environmental impact.



Specifically, Samsung released a statement that it plans to recycle parts of the Note 7 to be used as refurbished or rental phones in some markets. It plans to remove the parts of the phablet that can be reused while extracting precious metals used in the phone's components  that includes copper, nickel, gold and silver  in what it called an eco-friendly way.





Credit: Jeremy Lips/Tom's Guide

Credit: Jeremy Lips/Tom's Guide

If you've forgotten about the Note 7  and Samsung probably hopes you have  that big-screen phone launched last August to much fanfare. It quickly became apparent that there was a problem with the Note 7, though, as some consumers reported that the phone was catching fire. Samsung recalled the Note 7 in September, issued a new version that claimed to fix the problem and then faced a new spate of reports involving exploding phones.

MORE: Best Galaxy Note 7 Alternatives

By October, Samsung had discontinued the product altogether. As for the remaining Note 7s out in the wild, Samsung has issued a series of software updates aimed at disabling them, the most recent of which came out last week.



Samsung subsequently blamed the battery for the explosions, citing specific design and assembly problems that it's vowed to fix in future phones. With the flaws in the Note 7 identified, then, that left Samsung with a tricky problem to solve: what to do with the roughly 3 million Note 7s it's retrieved. The company had been under pressure from environmental groups, with Greenpeace interrupting Samsung's press event at last month's Mobile World Congress with a protest about the Note 7.



Reusing Note 7 parts in refurbished phones seemingly settles that question. Greenpeace said in a blog post that it would "make sure Samsung takes into account the voice of millions of our supporters and abides by its commitment."



Samsung's statement about its plans for phones with reclaimed Note 7 parts was notably vague about when and where those phones would show up. Samsung would only say that refurbished phones would only be available "where applicable," suggesting that it would work with regulatory authorities and carriers in different markets while also considering demand for the phones. "The markets and release dates will be determined accordingly," Samsung said.



In other words, don't expect a new-and-improved Galaxy Note 7 sales push. This sounds like Samsung is trying to salvage some useable parts, while its main focus will continue to be on developing new flagships. That includes the Galaxy S8, which will be unveiled later this week, as well as a new version of the Note, which Samsung has said will likely arrive later this year.
Dane Jasper is cofounder and CEO of Sonic, the largest independent internet service provider in Northern California.

Last week Senate Republicans voted to abolish vital internet privacy rules created by the Federal Communications Commission. Lobbyists for big telecom companies want these rules abolished, but Sonic disagrees, and we urge the House of Representatives to reconsider this attack on Americans privacy.

Consumers deserve their privacy when they use the Internet. Internet access is an essential part our lives today. The vibrant and dynamic ecosystem of amazing applications, tools, people and content has driven the growth of the internet, which in turn has transformed every aspect of society  from business, government and education to our privates lives. And its precisely the openness of the internet that has fueled this prosperity; its integrity is now being put into question.

When carriers threaten to monitor their subscribers use of the internet, it puts a trusted relationship with the public at risk. If your telephone company was advocating for the right to automatically monitor your audio telephone calls and sell what they hear, would this make you comfortable about using your phone? Of course not; it is a ridiculous concept. For carriers to advocate for the ability to monitor your use of the internet is, frankly, just as creepy.

The way people use the internet and the things they use it for is intimate and private  and it should remain that way. Whether its shopping, dating, seeking a job, emailing your lawyer or browsing a support forum, what you do on the internet is your own private business and should not be sold for profit by large corporations.

Our countrys founders recognized the importance of privacy, codifying in the fourth amendment the ...right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects While this is in regards to government access, the point is the same for personal privacy  should an oligopoly carrier that you have no choice but to use have the right to follow your every virtual step?

Story continues

And while were on the subject, we should be talking about another related concern: the oligopoly that hinders competition. Most American consumers have only one or two carriers to choose from that can deliver reasonable speed internet access.

If consumers had more competitors to choose from, I believe the free market would achieve the outcome of both privacy protections and network neutrality. Carriers who sold your usage information or compromised access to some content would find that consumers moved to another service, and their business interests would result in better practices. Its precisely this oligopoly thats the real culprit  everything else including net neutrality is a mere symptom.

But Sonic, Ting, Google Fiber and a few others aside, Americans do not have enough competitive choice. Until that happens, regulation of privacy and neutrality in the internet ecosystem is critical.

This is critical moment for the history of the internet. Its more important than ever for people to stand up for their rights to privacy because  and make no mistake  it affects everyone. The House has a chance to uphold this right - we hope theyll make the right decision.

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westworld thandie newton maeve

Ask Zhenan Bao why she went from designing batteries to creating synthetic, human-like skin and she'll give you a simple answer.

"I decided it was time to start helping people," Bao, a chemical engineering professor at Stanford, tells Business Insider.

Bao's 17-member Stanford team is developing is flexible, stretchable skin that can sense touch and temperature. In those ways, it's a lot like the stuff that sheathes the robotic bodies of Westworld characters.

But this skin isn't for robots. It's for people.

Many (though not all) of the roughly 2 million Americans currently living with limb loss use prostheses, or what some call artificial limbs. The prosthetic landscape varies widely when it comes to fit, size, range of motion, and removability, and cost.

But most currently available prostheses  even the advanced ones  lack a sense of touch.

Sensor skin bao flexible prosthetic synthetic stanford

Some, like the brain-linked prosthetic hand developed by DARPA in 2015, allow users to "feel" physical sensations, but that prosthesis isn't flexible, and can't bend or stretch.

The ones that can bend don't have sensors, so "patients have to rely on visual control to grab an object," Bao says. In other words, you could only tell if you'd successfully picked something up based on what you see.

To build the new synthetic skin, Bao's team faced three major challenges: 1) get the material to flex and stretch, 2) give the material a sense of touch, including the ability to detect pressure and temperature, and 3) figure out how to send the rich information the skin picks up about its environment to the brain.

That third challenge was the most important, Bao says, because "if the skin can sense but the brain can't understand it, then theres no sense of touch."

As far as the first and second challenges go, Bao and her team had to build all their materials from the ground up  starting with the very molecules they're made of.

Story continues

Zhennen Bao Stanford flexible skin robotics prostheses

"Our skin can move and adapt to different surfaces, so our electronic materials needed to have similar properties," Bao says. "But current electric materials are rigid and solid, so we had to design new materials from a molecular level."

Bao's work recently earned her a 2017 L'Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science award, which honors innovative women researchers with a 100,000 (about $108,000) prize.

To give the synthetic skin the ability to sense touch and temperature, Bao's team designed tiny, pyramid-like structures that are 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair, along with material that changes its electrical conductivity depending on how hot or cold it is. Push on the microscopic pyramids, and they change shape. Heat up the material, and it expands.

Finally, Bao's team had to engineer a way for that information to get translated and transmitted to the brain.

"We have to design circuits that can collect all of that sensory information and convert it into electrical pulses that our brain can understand," she says. "And we've demonstrated the initial concept of this."

So far, the design is only a proof-of-concept, meaning the team has shown that the skin can be produced, just not yet on the scale needed to cover a full-fledged prosthetic limb.

Bao says the technology has a long way to go before it can be used on everyday prostheses. Nevertheless, she remains hopeful about the future of prosthetic technology.

"It's really the thought of being able to do something that can really change people's lives, that's what excites us," she says. "The ultimate goal is to change the future of electronics by designing materials that mimic human skin."

NOW WATCH: Kids designed their own prosthetic arm attachments that give them super powers





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By Kentaro Hamada and Taro Fuse TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp <6502.T> wants its U.S nuclear unit to file for Chapter 11 protection from creditors as early as Tuesday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, seeking a quick ringfencing of losses before the Japanese parent's financial year ends. While a Westinghouse bankruptcy filing would help limit future losses for Toshiba, it still falls far short of drawing a line under its problems. Any filing would trigger complex negotiations between Toshiba, the nuclear unit and creditors, and could embroil the U.S and Japanese governments given the scale of the collapse and U.S. state loan guarantees for new reactors. A worry for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is that a bankruptcy would give President Donald Trump cause to criticize Japanese firms operating in the United States. "Westinghouse is a major employer and nuclear industry company with ongoing nuclear new build projects in two different states, one of which is supported by U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantees," said George Borovas, the global head of nuclear at law firm Shearman & Sterling. The future of Toshiba and Westinghouse has already been raised in bilateral talks, with Japan's Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko agreeing to share information on developments during talks in Washington with his U.S. counterparts Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The source said Toshiba is keen on a Tuesday filing as it would prefer to avoid a day close to a shareholders meeting on Thursday that will seek approval for the sale of its prized memory chip unit. "A March 28 filing is one proposal. The thinking is that it would great if we could pull that off but whether it goes that well or not, is another issue," said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and declined to be identified. The Japanese conglomerate wants to avoid upsetting investors as it seeks to sell more than half of its chips unit and gain funds that would allow it to remain viable as it absorbs losses at Westinghouse. Toshiba on Monday reiterated a previous statement that it was premature to comment on a potential bankruptcy. The company's main lenders, including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp <8316.T> and Mizuho Bank Ltd <8411.T> may also balk at a Tuesday filing. They favor an even more cautious approach to shareholders, said a financial source familiar with the matter. "Lenders are aware that Toshiba wants to file by the end of the month, but if possible would like to see it after the meeting," the source said. Separate sources with knowledge of the matter said last Friday Toshiba had informed its main banks that it was planning a March 31 filing for Westinghouse. Toshiba shares closed down 2.1 percent. $9 BILLION CHARGE A Chapter 11 filing for Westinghouse would be decided by the U.S. unit's board and would not require approval by Toshiba's shareholders, It could increase charges related to the unit to 1 trillion yen ($9 billion) from a publicly flagged 712.5 billion yen estimate, sources have said. While that would be a much bigger-than-expected hit in the short-term, it could limit the risk of future losses at two U.S. nuclear projects in Georgia and South Carolina. The power plants Westinghouse is building are called the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station in Fairfield County, South Carolina and the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Burke County, Georgia. Scana Corp and Santee Cooper own the plants in South Carolina, and Georgia Power leads a consortium that commissioned the Georgia plants. In any Westinghouse bankruptcy, the utility companies would be among the largest creditors of the developer, owed the work that has yet to be completed and potential penalties, sources have said. The Nikkei business daily reported on Monday that Toshiba has asked South Korea's Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) <015760.KS> to sponsor its Westinghouse bankruptcy reorganization. A Seoul-based KEPCO spokesman said that no request had been made. (Additonal reporting by Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo and Jane Chung in Seoul)
President Donald Trump has spoken highly of Fox News before, even as hes criticized other mainstream media outlets. His latest promotion for the network, however, is raising more eyebrows than usual.

On Saturday, Trump tweeted to his 27 million followers a tune-in for Jeanine Pirros Fox News show Justice With Judge Jeanine, writing, Watch @JudgeJeanine on @FoxNews tonight at 9:00 P.M. Just hours later, Pirro opened her show with a blistering segment calling for Speaker of the House Paul Ryan to resign.

Paul Ryan needs to step down as speaker of the House, she said in kicking off her show. The reason? He failed to deliver the votes on his healthcare bill, the one trumpeted to repeal and replace Obamacare, the one that he had seven years to work on, the one he hid under lock and key in the basement of Congress, the one that had to be pulled to prevent the embarrassment of not having enough votes to pass.

Americans elected the one man they believed could do it: a complete outsider beholden to no one but them, and Speaker Ryan, you come in with all your swagger and experience, and you sell them a bill of goods, which ends up a complete and total failure, and you allow our president, in his first 100 days, to come out of the box like that? she went on. She insisted that the buck stops with Ryan, adding, This is not on President Trump. No one expected a businessman to completely understand the nuances, the complicated ins and outs of Washington and its legislative process. How would he know which individuals upon whom he would be able to rely?

Story continues

Related:

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.

Social media quickly exploded with accusations that Trump was informed of the content of Pirros show ahead of time. When reached for comment, Fox News pointed to Pirros comments on her program about not speaking with the president, as well as a later interview with Reince Priebus.

Its not unusual for Trump to tweet such plugs. Even still, they usually occur when the show involves an interview or profile of himself. Trump last tweeted a promotion for Pirros show in August, when he appeared in an interview with the judge.

In his campaign, Trump assured his followers that the GOP would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, if he were to win the presidency. The new proposed healthcare plan, however, dubbed by the GOP as the American Health Care Act, failed to secure enough votes to pass. Ryan said after news broke that Americans would be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future.

Later, when pressed by Fox News Chris Wallace, White House Chief of Staff Priebus insisted that Trump did not know of Pirros opening segment beforehand. Well, first of all, I will go on record, we do love Judge Jeanine, and so does the president. I think it was more coincidental, he said.

Priebus added that Trump was simply doing Pirro a favor. He went on to say that POTUS doesnt even want Ryans resignation. He doesnt blame Paul Ryan, Preibus told Wallace. In fact, he thought Paul Ryan worked really hard. He enjoys his relationship with Paul Ryan, thinks that Paul Ryan is a great speaker of the House.

Watch Pirros opening segment below.

.@JudgeJeanine: "Paul Ryan needs to step down as Speaker of the House." https://t.co/LBJGBALEx8 pic.twitter.com/k2tRj9Goz6  Fox News (@FoxNews) March 26, 2017
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Mary Mallon

Mary Mallon (Sept. 23, 1869 - Nov.11, 1938), better known as Typhoid Mary, was the first person in the United States identified as a carrier of the pathogen associated with typhoid fever.

Choosing a career as a cook in the New York City area for seven families in 1900, she worked in Mamaroneck, New York. Within two weeks of her employment, individuals where she worked had all developed typhoid fever.

Without suspecting her of being a carrier of the fever, she moved to Manhattan in 1901, where members of the family for whom she worked all developed fevers, with one in the household dying.

In 1906, she took a position in Oyster Bay, Long Island, and within two weeks 10 of the 11 family members were hospitalized with typhoid fever. Changing jobs again, a similar occurrence happened in three more households.

In December of 1906, one family hired a communicable disease researcher named George Soper to investigate the reason for the outbreaks of typhoid fever. Soper published the results of his findings on June 15, 1907, in the Journal of the American Medical Association. He believed that Mary Mallon might be the source of the outbreak.

Soper discovered that a female Irish cook, who fit the physical description he was given, was involved in all of the outbreaks. Due to Mallons disappearance after each episode, Soper was unable to locate this Irish cook. On purpose, Mallon did not leave a forwarding address. Later, authorities suspected that Mallon knew she might have been responsible for the spreading of the disease.

Finally, Soper found Mallon working at the Sloane Hospital for Women in New York City. Twenty-five individuals were infected and two died. She again departed her employment, but the police were able to find and arrest her when she brought food to a friend on Long Island.

After arresting her, public health authorities forcefully placed her on quarantine on March 27, 1915. Mallon was given the option of having her gallbladder removed in the hopes that this would stop the outbreak of the disease. Mallon refused the operation and thus remained confined in isolation for the remainder of her life.

On November 11, 1938, she died of pneumonia at age 69. An autopsy found evidence of live typhoid bacteria in her gallbladder. Mallons body was cremated, and her ashes were buried.
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.
MATTOON -- Expanding academic programs while dealing with the states budget impasse are priorities for all four candidates for the Lake Land College Board of Trustees in the April 4 election

Incumbents Robert Luther, Doris Reynolds and Mike Sullivan and challenger Matt Forcum are running for three available seats with six-year terms on the board.

Matt Forcum, a resident of Mode in Shelby County, is a real estate agent and auctioneer with Century 21 in Effingham. The candidate said he got his first experience in local government when he was elected to the Stewardson-Strasburg school board at age 18.

In addition, Forcum served four years as a Holland Township trustee and has been the township supervisor for the last eight years. Forcum said he opted to not seek re-election as supervisor and decided instead to run for the Lake Land board as another opportunity for community service.

I am a Lake Land graduate and I am passionate about the future of that institution, Forcum said.

The colleges board has done a good job of keeping tuition and property tax rates low while contending with the state not having a budget for nearly two years now, Forcum said. If elected, Forcum said he wants to help step up pressure on state leaders to resolve this budget impasse.

Forcum said he also wants Lake Land to expand the technology-related and other dual college credit courses that it offers for high school students. He said this will help Lake Land increase enrollment while giving the students an edge on starting their college educations and careers.

Robert Luther, a Mattoon resident, is completing his first term on the Lake Land board and previously served from 1988 to 2006 as the colleges president.

As a board member, Luther said he has been proud to serve at a time when Lake Land has initiated several new programs. He said these have included Career Academy vocational courses in high schools, the Presidential Scholarship program, and a stepped-up advertising campaign.

Lake Land recently enrolled a record 40 percent of new graduates of in-district high schools, Luther noted. He said this shows that promoting the college more and paying more attention to the needs of students is paying off for the college.

If re-elected, Luther said he wants to help lobby for the state to release funding that it had authorized nine years ago for expanding the student center. He added that ensuring Illinois meets its funding commitments to community colleges and state universities is a top priority.

Its hard to operate a college without adequate financial support, Luther said. There is only so much we can cut without getting down to the bones of the college.

Doris Reynolds, a Mattoon resident, is a broker/real estate agent with Century 21 in Mattoon and has served on the board for 24 years. She said one of her favorite aspects of being a trustee is taking part in commencement ceremonies and seeing the new graduates there.

Its a joyous thing. They have really accomplished something. Education is something that really changes peoples lives, Reynolds said. She added that Lake Land has needed to make budget cuts, but has ensured these cuts do not affect students educational opportunities.

Reynolds said community colleges are unique in that they provide retraining, vocational and transfer opportunities for students. Reynolds said she is particularly pleased that 33 percent of the students who transfer from Lake Land transfer to Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Lake Land strives to be innovative to meet the needs of students, Reynolds said. For example, she said, the college provides teaching staff for its John Deere Tech program and this company provides the educational resources for the programs farm equipment maintenance courses.

Reynolds said she wants to help create more job-specific programs, particularly in the medical field. She said a good example of this is the new bachelors degree track program for Lake Land students who transfer to the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing.

Mike Sullivan, a Mattoon resident, is director of manufacturing projects for Olney-based Illinois Eastern Community Colleges and has served for 30 years on the board. The 1970 Lake Land graduate said he has been passionate about helping students throughout his life.

Sullivan said he began his service on the board when Luther was president and Lake Land began a series of campus facility improvements, followed by academic programs expansions. He said the colleges Agriculture Division has grown into one of the top programs of its kind in the state.

The Agriculture Division shares space in one of the campus newest facilities, the West Building, with a variety of manufacturing skills classes, Sullivan said. Programs such as these could play an essential role in answering President Donald Trumps call for job creation, he said.

It is going to be the community colleges throughout the nation that are going to get those skills trained up to what is needed, Sullivan said of available jobs in the workforce.

Sullivan said Lake Land needs to expand its partnerships with area businesses and with high schools to offer for more workforce training programs. He said Lake Land also needs to keep pushing for the state to meet its funding commitments to community colleges.
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2. Comments must not involve little more than name-calling and insulting remarks.

3. Comments must not be made by "anonymous" or "unknown".

4. Comments must not try to sneak in some free advertising for themselves (like spam).

I invite anyone who wishes to comment on this blog to do so. I enjoy the comments, whether you agree with what I have said or not. But some people want to abuse the right to comment, and since this is my blog, I have decided to lay down the following rules. If your comment violates these rules, it will not be published.
Midwest Bank is pleased to announce that Joe Bolubasz has joined their team as vice president in their Lincoln location. Bolubasz will focus on business development in the Lincoln market. "We're excited to add someone to our team who brings with them such a high level of involvement and familiarity with the business community in Lincoln," said Brian Wolford, Lincoln Market president.

Bolubasz is originally from Omaha, Nebraska, and started his career in banking in 1985 for a small community bank that was later acquired by Norwest in 1990. He took advantage of learning all facets of the bank but primarily spent a bulk of his time building and growing business and professional relationships in the Lincoln and surrounding communities.

"Midwest Bank is a strong community bank built on exceptional personal service and lasting relationships. This culture is consistent with my values and career objectives," added Bolubasz. Over the years, Bolubasz has been involved with numerous community organizations and currently serves as a board member for the People City Mission and Lincoln Independent Business Association.

Midwest Bank, headquartered in Pierce, Nebraska, has ten bank locations in nine communities across Eastern Nebraska: Pierce, Pilger, Plainview, Creighton, Wisner, Norfolk, York, Deshler and Lincoln. Midwest Bank's core mission is to build strong relationships with their clients through honesty and flexibility. For more information about Midwest Bank, call (402) 420-0560 or visit midwestbank.com
Lincoln, Nebraska, March, 2017, KidGlov is excited to announce the addition of Amber Wright to its incredible team of savvy branding professionals. Wrights title is content editor, where she will use her communication and English skills to craft copy for print, broadcast, online and social media, perform proofreading tasks and coordinate projects.

Were so thrilled to have Amber join KidGlov, said Kelley Peterson, vice president/creative director. Her enthusiasm, optimism and dedication to doing good work is contagious.

KidGlov skillfully delivers traditional marketing and advertising, as well as surprises audiences with a multitude of unexpected brand experiences that advance and position organizations for success. For more information visit KidGlov.com.
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A 22-year-old Lincoln man was sentenced to 12 to 24 years in prison Monday in connection with two statutory rape cases.

Dennis Tomka pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted first-degree sexual assault in February.

Police said Tomka and a 16-year-old engaged in sexual acts with two different 15-year-olds in January and February of 2016.

In Nebraska, children younger than 16 cannot legally consent to sex.

Tomka will have to register as a sex offender.

He received credit for 44 days served in jail.
Two roommates face drug-dealing charges after federal and state investigators intercepted Ecstasy bound for their south Lincoln apartment and found marijuana and LSD there, according to court documents.

The investigation resulting in Benjamin Dixon and Micah Ketcham's arrests began in early March after U.S. Customs and Border Protection staff found eight packages containing 1,050 Ecstasy pills while examining mail from Germany at JFK Airport in New York, an affidavit for their arrests said.

The packages were addressed to Dixon at the address they share, the affidavit said.

Nebraska State Patrol investigators brought one of the packages to the pair's Colonial Heights apartment at 2811 Tierra Park Drive for delivery March 23, the affidavit said.

When Dixon and Ketcham didn't answer apartment intercom calls, the investigators dropped off the package at the complex's office, where Dixon picked it up later, the affidavit said.

Investigators detained him and then searched the pair's apartment and seized $1,010, multiple scales, several ounces of marijuana and nearly 200 hits of LSD, they said in the affidavit.

Dixon and Ketcham, both 22, were arrested and taken to Lancaster County jail.

Prosecutors charged them both Friday with delivery or intent to deliver Ecstasy.

Both have since been released from jail on $10,000 bond.
SAN DIEGO -- With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy, I don't know what makes someone a redneck. But, in the immigration debate, I have a pretty good idea of what makes someone a racist.

You won't learn it from listening to how the issue is discussed on conservative talk radio. Or as I call it: "Immigration for Dummies."

For instance, many right-wing radio hosts are in denial and insist they have absolutely no idea how the GOP got labeled as "racist." They assume it's simply because they want to stop illegal immigration, most of which comes from Mexico and Latin America. It's as if Republicans were just sipping iced tea at the Lincoln Day Banquet and a stranger came up and hung a sign on them with that awful word on it. They don't deserve to be saddled with that title, the hosts say.

C'mon, folks. Let's get real. Republicans are always preaching to the rest of us about how we need to take responsibility for our actions. So it's only fair that they own up to the offensive things they've said and done over the years when it comes to immigrants -- both legal and illegal.

Recently, a reader defended President Trump for dividing families through deportations and then put me on notice: "Please don't respond to me if you're going to call me a racist."

That was not my plan. Generally speaking, the "racist" label fits if you can't talk about the immigration issue without describing immigrants by using a d-word: dangerous, defective, diseased, damaged or detrimental to society.

For example, there is nothing wrong with running for president and making border security a major part of your campaign.

But you might be a racist if you say something like: "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. ... They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems to us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists."

A member of Congress is free to speculate about what the America of tomorrow will look like given changing demographics.

But you might be a racist if, like Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, you say that you're not worried about whites becoming a minority because "Hispanics and the blacks will be fighting each other before that happens."

It's fine if, as a reader, you fire off an email to a Mexican-American columnist saying that Trump should deport every illegal immigrant.

But you might be a racist if you make value judgments and declare that you want these folks removed because "Mexicans are such SCUMBAGS."

It's understandable that one could worry about the strain that immigration puts on our environment, resources, infrastructure and programs.

But you might be a racist if you claim that "Mexicans will destroy us just by being here."

It comes with the territory if you tell that columnist that you take exception to something he has written.

But you might be a racist if you tell him to "get the [expletive] out of here and go back to your drug-infested thieves of the world."

It's acceptable if you're an elected official who is passionate about patching up a porous border and fixing a broken immigration system.

But you might be a racist if you compare immigrants to -- drawing from actual quotes -- cows, rats, dogs, grasshoppers, cockroaches or livestock.

Americans should be able to have a real discussion about whether too much immigration causes overpopulation.

But you might be a racist if you use insulting language about how the supposed promiscuity of Latinas leads to high reproductive rates.

Finally, it's natural to get angry when horrendous crimes are committed by illegal immigrants who shouldn't even be in this country. The heartbreaking case of a 14-year-old girl in Rockville, Maryland, who was allegedly sexually assaulted by two older students who are here illegally is just one recent example.

But you might be a racist if you use tragedies like this to make sweeping generalizations about whole groups of people and "Willie Hortonize" every illegal immigrant in this country as menaces to society who are prone to violence and predisposed to engage in criminal activity -- even while many Americans continue to invite these brutes into our homes so they can raise our children while we go to work.

In the immigration debate, you don't get called a racist by accident. You have to put in the effort. Sadly, a lot of Americans pull it off.
Members of Nebraska's congressional delegation took a hard line on Russia Monday while indirectly suggesting the Trump administration could help boost Nebraska agriculture by negotiating new trade agreements.

Four of Nebraska's five Senate and House members -- all but Sen. Ben Sasse -- participated in a teleconference from Washington with Nebraska high school students gathered in Lincoln for the 20th annual Capitol Forum on America's Future.

Rep. Don Bacon of Omaha said Russia was "clearly interfering with our election" last year and that it would be wise to view President Vladimir Putin as an adversary who may be ready to make aggressive moves in the Balkans "if we don't show a strong hand."

"Russia is not our friend," Sen. Deb Fischer said, describing Putin as a belligerent thug.

The United States must "beef up our cybersecurity" and strengthen the ability to conduct cyberattacks of our own, Fischer said.

Without directly referring to President Donald Trump's rejection of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement or his vow to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, both Fischer and Rep. Adrian Smith argued for trade agreements that open markets for Nebraska's agricultural products.

"The longer we wait, the more we lose," Smith said.

As for NAFTA, Smith said, "A lot of folks in agriculture will tell you it's been very important" for Nebraska.

If the new administration is intent on renegotiating that agreement, he said, it should "do so very carefully."

Trade agreements have "a huge impact on Nebraska," Fischer said, especially at a time when agriculture is struggling economically.

"Nebraska has been a beneficiary of NAFTA," Bacon declared.

Answering other questions posed by students from 20 high schools who participated in the daylong event, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Lincoln said Congress needs to focus on devising a new plan that will better address health care costs after last week's demise of a Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.

Fischer said: "My fear now is we will see the collapse of Obamacare (and) we don't have a replacement at this time."

All five members of Nebraska's congressional delegation are Republicans.

The Capitol Forum is co-sponsored by Humanities Nebraska and Secretary of State John Gale.
CLEARWATER  Authorities say a passenger has been killed in a rollover crash in Antelope County.

The crash occurred on a rural road early Sunday morning, southwest of Clearwater. The Nebraska State Patrol says the driver's view of an approaching curve apparently was limited by fog. The vehicle ran off the roadway and rolled.

Jayda Oligmueller died in the crash, according to the state Roads Department's safety division. The driver and another passenger received minor injuries.

According to a memorial page for Oligmueller, she attended Wisner-Pilger High School, where she participated in gymnastics and volleyball.

The crash is being investigated.
NORTH PLATTE  A man who pleaded guilty to killing his wife on their farm near Maxwell in western Nebraska has been sentenced to 20-60 years in prison.

Emerson Craig, 62, had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in January.

Craig told authorities in April 2014 his wife had been crushed under a large hay bale. His wife, 52-year-old Heidi Craig, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials said autopsy results showed she had actually died of blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation.

Investigators said Craig had obtained a life insurance policy on his wife that would pay double if her death was the result of an accident.
A Macy police officer was killed in a crash Sunday, the Nebraska State Patrol confirmed Monday.

Sgt. Curtis Blackbird died after his cruiser ran into construction equipment while driving in heavy fog en route to a call, according to the State Patrol and the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska.

Tribal officials in a Facebook post honored Blackbird Monday.

"Sergeant Blackbird dedicated his life to serving his people," the social media post said. "His loss is felt in every corner of our reservation and beyond."

Further details about the crash weren't available Monday.

The crash is being investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol and Thurston County Sheriff's Office.

Blackbird served Omaha Nation Tribal Law Enforcement for 17 years and was also an EMT, according to the Nebraska Law Enforcement Memorial's Facebook page.
State Sen. John Murante of Gretna is urging "corrective action" to ensure noncitizens don't register to vote using forms Nebraska Democrats included in refugee welcome baskets this month.

His comments came after state Democratic Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb shared video on social media showing envelopes with voter registration forms tucked into a pile of welcome baskets the party collected during a leadership meeting in Lincoln March 16.

"We need to be absolutely certain that these forms are not submitted," Murante said Monday during a news conference at the Capitol.

Murante is chairman of the Legislature's Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. The Republican is considered a potential candidate for Nebraska secretary of state in 2018.

Kleeb said last week the goal wasn't to encourage voter fraud, but to "make sure that folks are embraced by the Nebraska Democratic Party."

The baskets were donated to two refugee resettlement agencies, Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska and the Refugee Empowerment Center.

Both organizations have said they removed the registration forms and other political materials before sharing other items from the baskets.

Still, Murante asked Kleeb to quickly compile a list of any noncitizens who might have received registration forms.

A letter he sent to Kleeb asks that the list be delivered to county election officials by Wednesday, given that Omaha and Lincoln have local primary elections scheduled for April 4.

Only citizens may vote in most U.S. elections, and refugees generally must wait five years after their arrival to obtain citizenship.

Submitting a fraudulent voter registration form is a felony in Nebraska, but the state has no screening system to ensure those who register are citizens.

A voter-identification law passed in Kansas in 2011 requires people to present proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in that state.

Murante, who has led recent efforts to require voter ID in Nebraska, said he's unaware of any legislation here that would have required proof of citizenship at time of registration.

"It's something I'm looking into," he said.

"Any ballot that is cast illegally cancels out the ballot of a person who is legally entitled to vote," Murante said. "There is no such thing as an insignificant amount of voter fraud."
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MOUNT PLEASANT  One of the candidates for village trustee, Charles Haakma, has had numerous run-ins with police over the years.

Those incidents include one in which he called a female tenant vulgar obscenities, according to documents obtained through an open records request. In another incident, he reportedly got into a confrontation with an officer after parking in an emergency lane in front of a grocery store.

Reached Friday, Haakma, 66, argued those run-ins have largely been driven by those he has clashed with, including police officers.

In one ongoing case, he was cited last August for disorderly conduct in connection with a parking dispute with a neighbor, who recorded Haakma using obscene language directed at him, according to a police report. The neighbor asked Haakma to move his vehicle and Haakma reportedly yelled obscenities at him. The neighbor later called police.

Haakma is challenging the citation; a jury trial is scheduled for May 31, according to court records.

Haakma was arrested in 2011 and cited for disorderly conduct after a dispute with a tenant. The incident stemmed from a confrontation between Haakma and a woman, whom Haakma called a prostitute and other vulgar names, according to a report.

Haakma also challenged that citation, which court records show was eventually dismissed.

Haakma said he was provoked in each disorderly conduct incident.

In the 2011 case, the woman was upset with Haakma because he contacted police about warrants the woman had for her arrest, according to the report. In the 2016 case, Haakma believes he was set up by the neighbor so the neighbor could capture his words on a recording.

Criticizes police

Police logs show dozens of other calls involving Haakma, but hes never been charged criminally in Wisconsin, according to court records.

Haakma laid much blame at the feet of the Mount Pleasant Police Department. He blasted the department  which he would have some oversight of as a member of the Village Board  as a corrupt agency rife with nepotism that doesnt properly investigate incidents.

Officers have heard his frustration firsthand. In November, he reportedly parked in a fire lane outside of Piggly Wiggly, 5201 Washington Ave. When an officer confronted him, he said he was getting bread for the homeless and got argumentative with the police officer. Dispatchers sent a second officer to the incident because of how Haakma was acting, according to a police report.

You think (youre) God with a gun! Haakma is quoted as saying.

Asked about the vulgar language and general combativeness detailed in the reports, Haakma attributed it to his time in the military.

You say horrible things to get people to move, and unfortunately my training, my experience, I get the emotion in me so I respond to naughtiness, said Haakma, a U.S. Army acting first sergeant.

Haakma is running in the April 4 general election against incumbent Trustee John Hewitt, who on Friday didnt respond directly to Haakmas dealings with police but said Haakma is a very negative person.

Haakma disputed that characterization, saying he is only negative about some issues in the village.

Ive lived here for 18 years of my life, he said, and Ive seen very, very good things happen in Mount Pleasant.
RACINE  A proposal to remove criminal cases ending in dismissal or acquittal from the states online courts database has drawn criticism from freedom of information activists.

But the head of a local nonprofit that works to help those with criminal records re-enter the workforce is applauding the proposed changes.

The recommendations, made last Tuesday by a 28-member oversight committee, call for all records of felony cases that end in dismissal or acquittal to be removed from the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access database, popularly known as CCAP, after a year or two, as determined by state courts director J. Denis Moran. Records of dismissed or acquitted misdemeanors would vanish in half that time.

Right now, Class A felonies, such as homicide, are retained both online and in the courthouse for 75 years. All other felonies are retained for 50 years. Misdemeanors are retained for 20 years.

Moran convened the oversight committee last year to examine database retention.

Asked about the proposed changes on Friday, Jim Schatzman, executive director of Racine Vocational Ministry, said the proposal makes a tremendous amount of sense.

Although Schatzman primarily works with people with conviction records, he said having cases for dismissed charges or acquittals appear alongside cases that ended in conviction just adds an additional barrier.

For those who were charged with a crime but not convicted, it creates a picture of guilt even when there isnt guilt, he said.

When an employer or landlord opens a CCAP (record on someone) and the first thing they see is 1 of 26... its hard to overcome, Schatzman said. We teach our folks to educate the employers and be proactive and talk about their backgrounds and say you are going to see a bunch of stuff on there, but I have received two convictions.

CCAP, which contains all manner of criminal and civil records, allows users to click through to see if a case has been dismissed, but Schatzman said often times employers or landlords wont go through those extra steps when they see a person with several cases.

Access

While the missing records would be out of reach of employers and landlords who could use the information to discriminate, they would also be out the grasp  at least without a trip to the courthouse  to members of media and others who have grown accustomed to having the information at their fingertips.

Whats more, the state would be left with an online compendium of the guilty that could lead to even more discrimination, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council President Bill Lueders warns.

That might make matters worse for people who think the database has been used against them, said Lueders, who sits on the oversight committee but voted against the recommendations.

I also dont like this idea thats at the core of it: that the proper way to deal with potential misuse of information is to restrict access to information.

According to committee materials, 9.3 percent of the felonies and 16.3 percent of the misdemeanors currently in the database were dismissed or resulted in acquittals.

Past efforts

Lawmakers have been looking to pare down information on CCAP for years due to complaints that people use it to snoop on neighbors, and employers and landlords use it to discriminate against job applicants and renters.

Republicans tried unsuccessfully in 2015 to remove cases for nonviolent offenses where the charges were dismissed prior to trial, the maximum penalty was six years or less in prison, and the defendant was under 25.

State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who sits on the oversight committee along with Lueders and court clerks, said Friday that he doesnt see a problem with CCAP mainly containing convictions.

If somebody has charges that are dropped, which means there was no evidence or they had the wrong person or the wrong name, it should not remain on CCAP for the rest of their life like a scarlet letter, Vos said. I guess I would much rather take off the people who were innocent instead of having them lumped in with everybody else.

The committee plans to meet four more times through August. Moran plans to wait until the panel completes its final report before deciding on his next steps, Wisconsin courts spokesman Tom Sheehan said.
RACINE  Fewer than two weeks before the end of the due diligence process between the city and Gorman & Co. on the Machinery Row project, Mayor John Dickert is deeply concerned about the projects future.

Right now, were kind of fighting for our lives with this project, Dickert said.

Machinery Row is the name of a riverfront redevelopment plan, announced in mid-2014, that called for renovating two massive former J.I. Case Co. buildings from the early 1900s, at 820 and 900 Water St. On Dec. 16, the city declared previous developer Rodney Blackwell and FDP MR LLC. in default on a $4.5 million loan.

In February, city Development Director Amy Connolly introduced Ted Matkom, the Wisconsin market president for Gorman & Co., to aldermen and announced that Gorman is hoping to step in as the projects new developer. But since then, a crucial part of the projects funding  $9 million in historic tax credits granted to the city in April 2014 with the condition of the work getting done  has possibly gone up in smoke.

When we gave those tax credits for Machinery Row, we maxed the state allowable amount just for that project, which means that nobody got any money for that entire year, said State Rep. Tom Weatherston, R-Caledonia. We gave it all to Racine and then the whole project fell apart.

Extension sought

Dickert said the city is asking for a six-month extension for the credits, which would keep them allocated through the end of 2018. But he said Republicans in the state Legislature are not only uninterested in granting the extension, but want to take away the credits entirely.

Were seeing opposition from the Republican Party to extending the credits, even with a developer like a Ted Matkom and Gorman, which to us is very surprising, he said. I mean, if you came in and said, this is Bob from South Carolina, I could see it. But this is Gorman.

Gorman, based in Oregon, Wis., has completed three developments in Racine, the Belle Harbor Loft Apartments, 134 Main St., The Harbor at State and Main, and the Mitchell Wagon Factory Lofts, 815 8th St. It also has projects throughout the state.

While Weatherston didnt know specifically what opposition Dickert was referring to, he said he finds it difficult to imagine that local representatives could convince the Legislature to approve the extension. He also said he doesnt foresee the credits lasting through the end of the budget process this June.

Right now they have them until the budget process is done, but then youll likely see a redistribution of those credits unless the City of Racine makes a very good case between now and then, he said.

Committed

Matkom said that Gorman is examining its financing sources with regards to Machinery Row. He called the tax credits a major source and said they were still up in the air because of the budget process.

He also removed any doubt that Gorman will try to take on the project.

We are committed to the project no matter what at this stage, Matkom said.

Dickert said Gorman has been lobbying in Madison to try to keep the credits alive.

They like the project, Dickert said. They think it can happen. We think it can happen. But they cant go anywhere without the $9 million. That blows the whole thing up.

Weatherston didnt like the projects long-term prospects.

I wouldnt be surprised if they lost all those credits, he said. "In my personal opinion, the project is collapsed. I havent heard a really good plan from (Dickert) or anyone else on how to revive that plan.
SOMERS  The University of Wisconsin-Parksides low ranking in Gov. Scott Walkers proposed state budget did not go unnoticed among top Parkside officials.

That ranking, from University of Wisconsin-Madison Associate Professor Nicholas Hillman, is based on whats known about a proposed performance-based funding system to allocate $42.5 million in new money for the 2017-19 budget.

Parts of that system are still unknown or vague, but its expected to include metrics like overall graduation rates, average time to earn a degree, percentage of students in internships and low-income student graduation rates.

By five key indicators, Hillmans analysis ranks Parkside last among all UW schools.

Parkside would especially be hurt by graduation rates, which are based on full-time students who enroll in the fall and finish at the same college where they began.

More than half of Parksides graduates are not counted in those stats, Chancellor Debbie Ford told The Journal Times Editorial Board. Thats because many at Parkside start as part-time students, come in as transfers or enroll in the spring, she said.

Its a national standard that all universities look at. Its a traditional one that we argue ... doesnt fit us, Vice Chancellor Mel Klinkner said.

Ford said the university is talking to its legislative delegation from Racine and Kenosha and UW System officials about its concerns.

What we want to make sure is we have the right measures identified, Ford said.

Parkside also wants any performance-based measures to be phased in, similar to how standards for technical colleges were rolled out. Metrics for technical colleges were developed in the first year of a two-year budget and implemented in the second year, Ford said.

Were asking for some time to work with the governor and his staff and the Legislature to develop those outcome measures that really fit with the university system, she said.

A spokesman for the governor did not return a message seeking comment Friday.

Wyllie Hall

Performance-based funding wasnt the only area Parkside comes up short, as Walker has also recommended against funding a proposed renovation of Parksides Wyllie Hall.

Ford said Parkside hopes to at least get money to plan for the eventual renovation, which was also denied in the 2015-17 state budget.

University officials worry the buildings infrastructure  like mechanical, electrical or plumbing systems  will fail before the project is funded, Ford said.

The cost of doing emergency repairs outweigh the cost of doing the full project, she said.

The governors budget is now in the hands of the Legislatures budget committee, which has scheduled a series of public hearings this spring.
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The cows will die.

We thought that would get your attention; it certainly caught ours.

The quote came from Rosa Jimenez, 26, whose husband works on a Pepin County dairy farm, as she talked about the difficulties and fears facing undocumented workers in Wisconsins dairy industry in the face of President Donald Trumps increasing crackdown on illegal immigration and his effort to move ahead with plans to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Yes, we need the work, but the farmers also need us because there are farms where 20, 25 or 30 people work, and nobody has papers, Jimenez said, Imagine if they got rid of all or them, if they did a raid and took everybody. What are the farmers going to do? The cows will die.

Jimenez is not the only worrier these days. Dairy farmers across the state are nervous about the future of their farms and their states $43 billion-a-year dairy industry which relies heavily on immigrant laborers, many of whom are here illegally, according to the news report by Wisconsin Public Radio and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.

Even as state legislators last week were busying themselves with the honorific job of naming cheese the states official dairy product at the behest of fourth-graders at Mineral Point Elementary School, there is talk in Americas Dairyland of selling off herds to cut losses before the labor market dries up and farms are forced to shut down.

If ICE came in here and checked my employees and found they were undocumented and those 10 people left, my next option of course is to close down  and try to find a market for my cows and sell out, John Rosenow, a farmer in Buffalo County with about 550 cows, told reporters. I wouldnt be able to farm anymore and it would just about kill me. I mean the cows have to be milked. I know of no other source of labor.

The decline in recent immigration numbers has already pushed up wages for dairy farm work. While laborers used to command wages of $8 an hour, shortages have pushed it up to $11 to $13 an hour, and in some places as high as $15, according to a USA Today report this month.

That, too, puts pressure on dairy farms to survive.

Statistics in the news story from the dairy industry lend credence to Rosenows fears. An estimated 51 percent of all dairy workers in the United States are immigrants and, of those, more than three-fourths are undocumented.

According to the news report, researchers estimate that eliminating immigrant labor in the dairy industry would reduce production by 23 percent or 48 billion pounds of milk. Shedding immigrant labor would cost the U.S. economy $32 billion and eliminate more than 208,000 jobs in dairying and related industries.

And, yes, that would cost consumers, too. The WPR-Wisconsin Center for Public Journalism story posited it would drive up milk prices by 90 percent  pushing the cost of a retail gallon of milk from $3 to about $6.

There are possible solutions for the dairy states looming immigrant worker shortage. Seven years ago, a survey showed 85 percent of Wisconsins dairy farmers backed a proposal for a guest worker program for the dairy industry  but that has not happened. There are such programs for seasonal crops like blueberries and sweet potatoes, the news report said, but not for year-round employment like dairy farms. Cows are not seasonal  they need to be milked.

The dairy industry is not alone in facing immigrant worker anxiety. As Oconto Falls dairy farmers, Tim OHarrow told reporters, This country cannot produce enough food to feed its own people without foreign labor. It isnt just dairy. Its workers in slaughterhouses, its workers picking fruit. Its all aspects of food is being supplemented by foreign labor. Because American citizens will not, will not do the work. It isnt a matter of how much money. Its a matter of they will not do it.

Those are the fears that criss-cross Americas Dairyland. There is some irony in the fact that Trump, who has steadily pushed for an immigration crackdown, was elected in part because of strong support in rural Wisconsin.

Some dairy farmers, like Jason Vorpahl of Random Lake, make a distinction for their workers. We need some way to keep our (immigrant) labor force thats here intact. I am OK with deporting the felons. And I am OK with deporting people who are looking for a handout and arent working. But I am not OK with deporting the hard-working, tax-paying immigrants who are here right now, Vorpahl said.

There is irony, too, in the fact illegal immigrants have helped build the current $43 billion state dairy industry which accounts for half of all the states agricultural revenue as the number of dairy farms has decreased steadily, but their size has increased. Immigrant labor has allowed that to happen.

The question now is whether Trump and Congress can parse a solution to campaign promises versus the states need for a reliable dairy workforce. Otherwise, the cows will die.
50MW to be imported via Kushaha-Kataiya power line

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) plans to import 50 MW of electricity from India via the newly built Kushaha-Kataiya cross-border transmission line while proposed imports of another 50 MW through the Parwanipur-Raxaul transmission line will not happen for more than a month.
Authorities told to provide compensation to Sahs family

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bimalendra Nidhi has instructed the concerned government officials to provide Rs 1 million in compensation to the family of late Basudev Sah who was killed by Indian paramilitary forces more than six years ago.
BRB: Indian govt should apologise for SSB killing in Kanchanpur

Coordinator of Naya Shakti Nepal Baburam Bhattarai has said that the Indian government should apologise for the March 9 killing of Gobinda Gautam by the Shasastra Seema Bal at the Nepal-India border in Punarbas of Kanchanpur.
DPM Nidhi hands over Rs 1m to SSB firing victims family

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bimalendra Nidhi on Monday handed over a cheque for Rs 1 million to Urmila Devi Sah, widow of Basudev Sah, who was killed in firing by Indias Shashastra Seema Bal (SSB) on May 25, 2010 at Nepal India border area in Biratnagar.
Finance Ministry releases Rs3.4b for election security

The Finance Ministry has released Rs3 billion and Rs400 million to Nepal Police and the Nepal Army respectively in the first phase for security arrangements for the upcoming local level elections.
Ghode Jatra being observed in Capital

The annual festival of Ghode Jatra, known as the Horse Racing Day which falls on the Nepali month of Chaitra, is being celebrated in the Kathmandu valley with much gusto on Monday. It is known as the oldest festival celebrated in the country's cultural hub of Kathmandu valley.
Interview Subash Nembang

Positive vibes are fine but inter-party talks have nothing concrete to offer yet With the Madhesi Morcha and the CPN-UML at loggerheads over the issues of constitutional amendment and federal demarcation, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal recently held discussions with leaders of the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the Samyukta Loktrantrik Madhesi Morcha in a bid to come to a consensus.
Khadka calls for referendum

Nepali Congress senior leader Khum Bahadur Khadka has registered a proposal to hold a referendum on restoring Nepal as a Hindu state.
Locals return to work in lokta paper factory

Asmita Nepali of Sibai, Ghandruk gave up her job at a fancy goods store in Pokhara and returned to her village to work in a factory that produces lokta paper.
Ministry, chief secy at odds over education regulations

A rift has surfaced between the Education Ministry and Chief Secretary Somlal Subedi after he rejected Education Regulations for discussion in the Cabinet arguing that the rules would go against the jurisdiction of the newly created local level units.
Morcha leaders warn against holding polls sans amendment

Sanghiya Samajwadi Forum Nepal Chairman, Upendra Yadav, on Sunday ruled out the possibility of conducting the polls without amendment of the new constitution.
Nepal and India sign new oil supply agreement

Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Monday signed a new petroleum supply agreement that is expected to smoothen supplies of petrol, diesel and cooking gas from India.
New Indian envoy calls on UML chair Oli

India's newly appointed ambassador for Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri called on CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli on Monday.
Only 38 specialist doctors apply for 117 govt vacancies

Only one third of the specialist positions sought by the Health Ministry got applicants, in yet another grim reminder that specialist doctors do not want to work in government hospitals.
Opposition leader Navalny and hundreds others arrested during Russia protests

Russia's main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has been arrested at an anti-corruption protest he organised in the capital, Moscow.
PM Dahal meets Chinese Prez Xi, says meeting was fruitful

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is on a six-day visit to China, held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday.
PM Dahal urges Chinese traders to invest in Nepal

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is on a six-day visit to China, urged Chinese investors and traders to invest in Nepal, saying Nepal is a virgin land for investment and that there were prospects for investments and returns in every sector.
PM: Partnership with China can change our economic landscape

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has claimed that partnership between Nepal and China in various sectors can change the economic landscape of Nepal.
RBI proposes IRs4,500 note exchange limit

Visiting officials of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have proposed to allow Nepalis to exchange demonetised Indian banknotes worth IRs4,500 per individual.
Russia jails protests leader Alexei Navalny for 15 days

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been jailed for 15 days for resisting police orders during mass protests on Sunday.
Achyut Wagle holds PhD in economics and is currently a professor at the Kathmandu University School of Management. He is an econo-political analyst, writing for The Kathmandu Post for many years.
Syria rebels 'take control' of IS-held airbase near Raqqa

US-backed Syrian rebels say they have taken full control of a key airbase held by the Islamic State group (IS) near its stronghold, Raqqa.
Two killed in bus, bike collision

Two people died when a bus and a motorcycle collided near Babagas of Khairahani-9 in Chitwan district on Monday.
Yadav warns of peoples revolt

Chairman of the Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal Upendra Yadav has warned of peoples revolt if the state continues killing innocent people in Madhes.
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.

Vote

View Results
Duane Moores sense of humor is such that you could call him a card, but actually, he has invented a whole deck  souvenir cards featuring 52 
Public school advocates warned Monday that a multimillion-dollar spending increase for schools proposed by Gov. Scott Walker over the next two years could be in jeopardy.

The message comes as lawmakers launch their review of Walkers 2017-19 state budget plan this week and in the wake of the governor visiting communities across the state to promote his plan.

A divide among lawmakers about how to deal with Gov. Scott Walkers proposed budget bill threatens to significantly reduce or even potentially eliminate the increased state aid the governor has proposed for schools, an organization representing public school boards told its members on Monday.

The proposed $649 million increase in funding for public schools is under threat, public school advocates say, because of a plan some lawmakers on the budget-writing committee are considering to build the next state spending plan from current funding levels instead of using Walkers proposals as a starting point.

At stake are the substantial increases Gov. Walker has proposed for public schools, including increases in per pupil aid, aid targeted specifically to rural schools and funding from school-based mental health services, to name a few, Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) lobbyist Dan Rossmiller wrote in a blog post aimed at school board members. Working from the base budget rather than Gov. Walkers proposal would erase the proposed funding increases for public schools as a starting point for budget discussions. This would put public schools back to square one in the budget debate.

Kim Kaukl, executive director of the Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance, said Monday that his organization has asked its members to contact members of the budget committee and their areas lawmakers to support Walkers proposals and oppose writing the budget from current funding levels.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, earlier this month expressed support for crafting a budget based on current funding levels, but Senate Education Committee chairman and Joint Finance Committee member Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, said Monday that Senate Republicans support working from the governors proposals.

I honestly think its a slap in the face to say to the governor, Were not going to work from your budget,  Olsen said.

Rossmiller said its unclear if some lawmakers are deciding whether to build the entire budget from current funding levels or build funding plans for specific agencies.

If lawmakers dont write a budget from Walkers proposals, public school advocates say they worry schools will likely see a smaller increase as lawmakers choose where to spend the states money at a time when the states transportation budget faces a $939 million shortfall in its highway program.

Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said Monday the governor appreciates the overwhelming support his budget is receiving from public school leaders across the state and that he is confident that a majority of the members of the Legislature share his commitment to student success and building a strong workforce.

Vos raises issue

Vos told a WASB audience this month that writing a budget based on current funding levels would give lawmakers more control of the process and that smaller and steadier increases are more resistant to fluctuations in the national and state economies, according to a WASB recap of the discussion.

Assembly Education Committee chairman Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac, said Monday that discussions about which approach to take are still being held.

He said he is not privy to details but understands there are concerns over whether previous estimates on the amount of money lawmakers have to work with will end up being accurate.

There has been some concerns as we start to put the budget together that those projections might not be held, Thiesfeldt said. If thats the case, its not just going to be education (that would be affected). Its just a cautious approach, is what it is.

The states nonpartisan fiscal bureau released figures last week showing Walkers proposal for the states next budget creates a larger structural deficit than previously thought, nearly $1.1 billion, in the ensuing budget cycle beginning in 2019.

Rossmiller on Monday asked his organizations members to call legislators and ask them not to start from current funding levels in an effort to preserve the funding increase for schools Walker has proposed.

Thiesfeldt said he hasnt decided whats the best approach.

I think we need to give more money to schools, Thiesfeldt said. I was surprised at the amount the governor invested, but I think that the public, by and large, believes education is a good place to spend their money.

People know that number

Republican lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, have said the amount of money for K-12 schools in Walkers budget may not be feasible given other areas of the budget that need increases, like money for roads.

Working from Walkers budget proposal also puts lawmakers in the position of having the public perceive their work as taking away from schools if the budget ultimately does not include the full $649 million increase Walker has proposed.

People know that number, Olsen said. Hes spent a lot of time making sure people know that number. To me, anything less than that would be perceived as a cut.

Requests for comment from JFC co-chairs Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, and Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, were not immediately returned.

JFC hearings on each agencys budgets begin Tuesday.
U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, a Democratic survivor in Trump territory, dove Monday into a race for governor that will also put a Minnesota seat in Congress up for grabs.

Walz, who lives in Mankato and has represented southern Minnesota for the past decade, is the first Democratic entrant from beyond the Twin Cities metropolitan area and the fourth from his party overall to announce a run. Two-term DFL Gov. Mark Dayton has said he will not seek re-election next year.

Walz launched his campaign with a One Minnesota theme, pledging to bridge geographical splits on issues facing the state, from transportation to guns.

I think Im the one who can unify folks to see a bigger picture, to make sure it isnt this divide weve had and to bring a little different perspective to this race, he said.

The former geography teacher and enlisted soldier came to St. Paul to open a campaign account, flanked by his wife and daughter. Wearing a red-and-black flannel jacket, blue jeans and scuffed shoes, Walz reminded reporters of his small-town Nebraska upbringing.

I always say I graduated with 24 kids in my high school class, 12 of whom were my cousins, he said. That does create a unique perspective on things.

He narrowly beat Republican challenger Jim Hagedorn last year to retain his Minnesota 1st Congressional District seat during a GOP landslide in much of Minnesota and the country.

Walz, 52, said that he won despite Trumps convincing win in the congressional district. That, he said, speaks to his ability to attract swing voters.

In an interview with MPR News, Walz said he was fully committed to the run for governor and wouldnt retreat to a congressional re-election bid if he falters.

Theres no turning back, he said. I want to work to make Minnesota the one Minnesota we know it can be. So Im all in.

As it now stands, he might not have a choice. The DFL Party might not hold its endorsing convention until after candidate filing closes in June 2018.

The run-up to a Walz gubernatorial campaign had been in the works for weeks or more. In February, Walz confirmed he was considering a run.

Walz joins several Democrats who have already announced theyre running: St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, State Auditor Rebecca Otto and state Rep. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul.

Other candidates are pondering the race, including fellow DFL Rep. Rick Nolan from the states 8th Congressional District.

While deemed a top contender in his party, Walz has some challenges ahead of him. Even as a member of Congress, Walz isnt widely known by Minnesota voters. He must prove he can raise the millions it will take to wage a statewide campaign.

His schedule could be tricky. Hes the ranking member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, so hell be busy in Washington while trying to build ground-level support in Minnesota.

Hell no doubt be branded as a Washington politician, which can have a stinging effect with voters.

That could explain why no one has made the direct DC-to-governors mansion leap since Republican Al Quie in 1978. Only two other governors have gone straight from the nations capital to the state capital: U.S. Sen. Elmer Benson in 1936 and U.S. Rep. Winfield Hammond in 1914.

The Republican field for governor has yet to take shape, but several big-name politicians are sizing it up.

A Walz bid for governor puts his congressional district in play. National Republicans have already indicated they would invest in flipping a seat the party once held. Hagedorn has already announced his intention to run again and other Republicans could get in, too.

Running in an open seat only increases my will to work exceptionally hard and personally engage southern Minnesotans in one-to-one conversations to earn their trust and votes, Hagedorn said in a statement.
Where is Ron Johnson?

I want to participate in our democracy and tell my senator, Ron Johnson, my viewpoints in these chaotic times.

I have tried every means I can think of to contact him. I have tried to phone him at his offices and his voice mailbox is full, so I cannot leave a message.

I have tried to email him, but there is no confirmation, and I have yet to receive a reply. I have mailed him a letter, with no response. I would like to invite Sen. Johnson to take part in a listening session in southwest Wisconsin.

He was here recently for a fundraiser which was by invitation-only, so none of his constituents were allowed to attend.

His most recent open listening session was held in January 2016. Our democracy is based on the premise that our representatives in Washington will listen to and act upon the voices of the people they represent.

If Sen. Johnson does not take the time to respond to the people he represents, if he does not even acknowledge the people he represents, it's time to ask the question, who is he working for?
A Stoughton native and UW-Madison alumnus working as a journalist in Russia was among hundreds of people arrested during an opposition rally in Moscow on Sunday.

Alec Luhn, who graduated from UW-Madison in 2010 and also worked as a Wisconsin State Journal intern, said Russian police arrested him for taking photos of other arrests at the protest, which drew thousands of people and was one of several rallies held across the country by opponents of President Vladimir Putin.

Police searched (Luhn), confiscated his phone and put him in a police bus, where he was held for two hours before being driven to a police station on the outskirts of Moscow with 16 other detainees, according to the Guardian. He was told he would be charged with participating in an unsanctioned protest, despite repeatedly telling police he was a journalist and showing Russian foreign ministry accreditation.

Russian state media estimated 500 people were arrested at the same Moscow protest, while an organization that monitors political repression said the number of arrests was over 800.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


VOA Learning English presents Americas Presidents.

Today we are talking about John Quincy Adams. Does his name sound familiar? John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, was the son of John Adams, the second president.

Like his father, Quincy Adams had a sharp mind and a difficult personality. And, like his father, Quincy Adams served only one four-year term in office.

But Quincy Adams went on to have many successful years working in a different job. He is the only former president (so far) to serve in the House of Representatives.

Great expectations

The parents of John Quincy Adams, John and Abigail, were strong patriots. Theirs was one of the founding families of America.

Abigail Adams especially raised her son to serve his country. She expected him to become president. She told him that, with his good education and training, if he did not serve in a high public office it would be his own fault.

Quincy Adams did not disappoint his mother. As a child, he learned to speak at least four languages and read Greek and Latin. He also studied Shakespeares plays.

At age 10, he traveled with his father to Europe. As a young man, he worked alongside John Adams in American diplomatic offices in Paris, Amsterdam and St. Petersburg.

Finally, Quincy Adams returned to his home in Boston in time to graduate from Harvard. He was working as a lawyer by the age of 23.

Stories confirm that Quincy Adams was a brilliant boy and young man. But he rarely compromised his ideas. His inability to work with other lawmakers and to consider public opinion were partly to blame for his difficult presidency.

Poor politician. Excellent diplomat

Quincy Adams may have been a poor politician, but he was an excellent diplomat. In the early part of his career, he served as the American ambassador to the Netherlands, Germany, Russia and Britain.

He helped lead the negotiations that ended the War of 1812.

And he served for eight years as secretary of state under James Monroe.

Some of that presidents accomplishments owe a lot to Quincy Adams. He helped negotiate the purchase of Florida from Spain.

And, he was of the people responsible for the Monroe Doctrine. It warned Europe not to interfere in the Western Hemisphere.

But Quincy Adams could be impatient, especially with lawmakers. Many of them, he believed, did not care much about the country and wanted to help only themselves.

Quincy Adams also avoided political battles. As secretary of state, he appointed people whom he thought were capable, even if they did not support his political party.

Similarly, when he became president, he tried to bring political opponents -- along with representatives of different parts of the country -- together in his cabinet.

His opponents, however, refused to serve.

And, although his cabinet included southerners, he did not really have the support of the South.

Presidency

Yet Quincy Adams talked about unity in his presidential inaugural speech. Adams said the Constitution and the representative democracy of the United States had proved a success. The nation was free and strong and stretched across the continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

He noted that political divisions had eased. So now, he said, it was time for the people to settle their differences and make a truly national government.

In his first message to Congress, President Adams described his ideas.

The chief purpose of the government, he said, was to improve the lives of the people it governed. To do this, he offered a national program of building roads and canals. He also proposed a national university and a national scientific center.

Adams said Congress should not be limited to making laws only to improve the nation's economic life. He said it should make laws to improve the arts and sciences, too.

But many people of the West and South did not believe that the Constitution gave the federal government the power to do all these things. They believed these powers belonged to the states.

Their representatives in Congress rejected the presidents proposals.

In addition, a new opposition party was trying to weaken support for Quincy Adams. They supported a general from Tennessee named Andrew Jackson.

Historian Harlow Giles Unger says John Quincy Adams was never able to meet the high expectations many people had for him.

His presidency was a complete failure, Unger told VOA. He was able to accomplish nothing.

Retirement  sort of

Quincy Adams lost the presidential election of 1828 in a landslide.

He refused to attend the inauguration of Andrew Jackson. He returned to his home in Quincy, Massachusetts depressed and worried about the country.

His wife, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, believed they were returning to Massachusetts to stay. She was an American, but was born in England. Her mother was British. She was, at the time, the first foreign-born first lady.

John and Louisa had four children, but their only daughter had died as a baby. Their sons were grown by the time Quincy Adams retired from the presidency.

Soon he became restless.

Some neighbors asked if Quincy Adams would consider representing the district as a member of the U.S. Congress. He agreed  but only if voters would let him act as he believed was right, instead of as what would be politically popular.

Apparently they agreed, too, because voters elected Quincy Adams to the House of Representatives nine times.

In Congress, Quincy Adams often fought for citizens individual liberty. He strongly opposed slavery. His ideas were not widely popular at the time, especially among other lawmakers. They had created a rule that said Congress would not even consider any measures against slavery.

Yet Quincy Adams defended the rights of enslaved people -- frequently, and sometimes successfully.

He died at the age of 88, a few days after suffering a stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives.

At the time, lawmakers were considering a proposal. And, as usual, John Quincy Adams was loudly voting no.

Im Kelly Jean Kelly.

Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

patriot - n. a person who loves and strongly supports or fights for his or her country

fault - n. responsibility for a problem, mistake or bad situation

disappoint - v. to make someone unhappy by not being as good as expected or by not doing something that was hoped for or expected

graduate - v. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

accomplishment - n. the successful completion of something

landslide - n. an election in which the winner gets a much greater number of votes than the loser

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

See how well you understand the story of the sixth president by taking this listening quiz. Play each video and then choose the best answer.
The idea may be a little out of this world.

Ten years ago, scientists started noticing very brief, but powerful radio bursts coming from outer space.

Called fast radio bursts, or FRBs, they have been identified as millisecond-long bursts of radio emission. Scientists believe these emissions were made in a group of stars billions of light years away from Earth.

A new theory says the radio bursts may be evidence of highly developed alien life. A paper describing the theory was published this month in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The bursts cannot be seen with the human eye, but were observed by very large radio telescopes.

Many scientists believe that these powerful flashes may be related to the collapse of a massive star. But scientist Avi Loeb says researchers have yet to confirm any natural cause of the emissions.

Loeb is chair of Harvard Universitys Astronomy Department and works at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

He believes the bursts might be coming from powerful equipment, like a transmitter used on Earth to broadcast radio or television signals. He thinks the device could be as big as a planet and have enough power to send large spaceships great distances.

Light Powered Spaceships

While noting this is just speculation, Loeb told VOA what he suspects might be producing the fast radio bursts. He says, imagine a spacecraft moving like a sailboat, powered by light from the huge planet-sized transmitter.

If you have a sailboat, the wind is pushing the sail, and the sail carries the boat along with it. You can imagine doing exactly the same thing with light. If you bounce light off a sail, you could push a spacecraft. And in principal because the spacecraft doesnt carry its own fuel, you can push it all the way to the speed of light. At very high speeds.

Loeb says it could be created by alien life forms belonging to a highly developed civilization.

He thinks the powerful bursts could be a sign of leakage  when light hitting the sail moves just past the edge of the sail. It shows up on Earth as a very bright, fast-moving radio wave.

"And the idea is that the beam of light that is being used to push the sail is leaking. We see leakage of that radiation and if the beam is powerful enough we could see it from a great distance and because the beam is sweeping across the sky, we would see it as a flash of light, as a burst of radio waves, the way these fast radio bursts appear."

Alien Threat?

If there are aliens  life outside our planet  are they a threat?

Loeb does not think so. If they do exist, they are great distances from us, he notes, so there is no danger for us directly.

The bursts were first observed in 2007. Since then, a total of 18 have been identified using very large radio telescopes.

Some of the researchers have been at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in the American state of New Mexico. They identified where one burst came from -- a dwarf galaxy more than three billion light-years from Earth.

Sarah Burke-Spolaor teaches physics and astronomy at West Virginia University. She reported on the discovery earlier this year in two journals: Nature and Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Burke-Spolaor says the fast radio burst was first discovered in November of 2012 at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The NRAO radio telescope later helped to identify where the FRB came from. What makes this emission different is that it is the only one to keep sending bursts  about 200 times, so far.

Burke-Spolaor says there are many ideas about what FRBS are. She says the leading theory  is that these are related to neutron stars in other galaxies. They could also come from black holes  areas with a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape.

She describes Avi Loeb as an out of the box thinker. She says his theories have an important job: they make us (scientists) reconsider our assumptions and what we know and dont know.

She adds, it doesnt mean the theory is anywhere near right, but we dont have enough evidence to rule it out.

Where did Loeb get his theory?

And where did Loeb get the idea that the fast radio bursts come from light pushing a spaceship?

Loeb leads a team developing technology to send spacecraft to a planet called Proxima b. The project is called Breakthrough Starshot. He and the team are developing thousands of small spacecraft with sails. They want to use laser beams to push those sails forward.

That got him thinking.

The fact that we are starting to think about propelling a spaceship, a spacecraft with light made me think about the possible signals that we could detect from the sky from a civilization that is using this technology.

For now, Loebs idea is just a theory. He and others say it will take more information to know if his theory is right.

Im Anne Ball.

Anne Ball reported this story from VOA Learning English with information from VOA. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. And find us on our Facebook page.

See how well you understand the story by taking this reading quiz.

Quiz - Are Fast Radio Bursts Evidence of Unknown Life? Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

burst  n. a short period of producing or doing something that begins suddenly

emission  n. the act of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source

alien  n. a creature that comes from somewhere other than the planet Earth

speculation  n. ideas or guesses about something that is not known

dwarf  adj. smaller than normal size

assumption  n. something that is believed to be true or probably true but that is not known to be true

detect  v. to discover or notice the presence of (something that is hidden or hard to see, hear, taste, etc.)
Nine Hong Kong activists were told on Monday that they are to be arrested for their involvement in the student protests of 2014.

The protests became known as the Umbrella Movement. Tens of thousands of student protesters filled Hong Kongs streets three years ago to demand full democracy for the city.

Now, police plan to charge the nine with taking part in mass demonstrations and inciting others to create a public nuisance.

The announcement was made one day after longtime government official Carrie Lam was chosen as Hong Kongs first female chief executive. She is currently the citys deputy chief executive.

The 59-year-old Lam won a special election on Sunday. She received 777 votes from Hong Kongs 1,200-member electoral committee. The committee is filled with supporters of the government in Beijing.

After her election, Carrie Lam talked about Hong Kong. She promised to protect the citys core values, such as inclusiveness, freedom of speech and clean government. She noted that city residents see these values as very important.

Pro-democracy activists are worried about Lams victory. They say she is likely to support pro-China positions. And they are worried about Chinas growing involvement in Hong Kong. They fear the former British colony will no longer be governed under the one country, two systems plan, which guarantees the city many freedoms.

Some activists are refusing to accept the election results. Legislator Nathan Law was a member of the election committee. But he says he did not mark his ballot.

The Beijing government has the final say on who is going to be appointed. As long as it is a very closed system, a selection, you should not add legitimacy to the system.

Pro-democracy activists want the citys residents  not a committee -- to choose the chief executive. They also do not believe Lam can balance the interests of the public and the demands from China.

Takchi Tam is a democracy activist.

I do not think she will keep the balance. I think she will betray Hong Kong people.

Lams supporters, such as Ivan Tsim, believe she will ensure the citys security and economic growth.

I am more concerned [about] the education and the housing, of course. These are two big issues for Hong Kongnese.

Lam has promised to spend more than $600 million dollars for education. She also promised to increase the supply of housing.

Political observer Dixon Sing says Lams election will always be seen as a sign that China will never lessen its control of the city.

Politically, as long as [Chinese president] Xi Jinping, the real hardliner, continues to govern China, he will continue to tighten his grip on Hong Kong and stop Hong Kong from democratizing.

Felix Patrikeeff of the University of Adelaide campus in Hong Kong told VOA that Lam is probably the best leader Hong Kong could expect.

He said, "Shes not only trusted by China but also I think that there would be a grudging respect for her in Hong Kong itself. Thats notwithstanding the fact that she was not genuinely popularly elected there.

Patrikeeff says the election is a sign that Chinas control over the city is growing.

On Monday, Chinas state-controlled Global Times newspaper said Lams margin of victory provides an important basis for Hong Kongs future unity. The newspaper said the election was open and transparent.

But most experts said it was not a democratic race and most of the citys democracy activists have rejected the results.

Im Jonathan Evans.

Joyce Huang reported for VOA News from Hong Kong. VOAs Fern Robinson and Victor Beattie reported from Washington. John Smith adapted their reports for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story

nuisance  n. a person, thing, or situation that is annoying or that causes trouble or problems (usually singular)

core  adj. most important or most basic

legitimate  adj. allowed according to rules or laws; credible

resident  n. someone who lives in a particular place

hardliner  n. someone who holds strongly to a policy

grip  n. power or control

grudging  adj. said, done or given in an unwilling or doubtful way

genuine  adj. actual, real or true

margin  n. a measurement of difference

transparent  adj. honest and open; not secretive
Chinese President Xi Jinping has been described as Chinas most powerful leader in many years.

Xi is firmly in control of the worlds most populous country. China watchers say that was clear during recent high-level meetings in Beijing.

Now, experts are wondering whether Xi could seek a third term as president.

In early March, thousands of delegates gathered in Beijing for Chinas National Peoples Congress and the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference.

Plans for future policies are announced during the meetings.

Delegates repeatedly referred to Xi Jinping as core leader of the (Chinese Communist) party. That was not done in the past for his predecessor, Hu Jintao.

However, the term core leader of the party was used years ago for former leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

Willy Lam studies Chinas leadership. He told VOA the description of Xi as a core leader means he will be in power a long time.

So having been designated the core leader, that means he is virtually emperor for life, and that is the message Xi Jinping wants to tell the Chinese people and leaders of other countries, that he will be around to guide the realization of the Chinese Dream, Lam said.

The Chinese Dream is a term used by Xi when he took power in 2012. The saying means the redevelopment of the nation.

As Xi nears the end of his first five-year term as president, some China watchers believe it is too early to consider his successor. Succession is a politically sensitive issue in the country. It also can take a long time.

Changes in Chinas leadership have become more predictable since 2000. Under the constitution, the president can serve up to two terms.

A major political leadership meeting this year

Later this year, another major political meeting will take place in Beijing. The 19th Communist Party Congress will be held. The Congress will lead to changes in the partys central leadership in October or November.

The Communist Party Secretary of Guizhou Province, Chen Miner, has been suggested as a possible candidate for the presidency after Xi Jinping leaves office.

Jean-Pierre Cabestan is a political scientist at Hong Kong Baptist University. He said many people think that Xi will wait until close to the end of his second term, in 2022, before naming his successor.

The theory is that he wants to wait another five years before designating a successor, said Cabestan. He also said that as the party congress nears, talk of Xi as a core leader will intensify.

The 19th Party Congress will be a time of change for Chinas top decision-making group, the Politburo Standing Committee. It is made up of between five and nine party members. Some wonder whether Xi will reduce the current number from seven to five.

As many as four committee members may be replaced, experts say. The Standing Committee is part of a larger group of 25 members known as the politburo. It is the executive committee of Chinas Communist party. About half of those members will need to be replaced because of age limits. Experts say age requirements are also an issue for the powerful Central Military Commission.

Xis power has increased with new duties

Since he became head of Chinas Communist Party in 2012, Xi Jinping has aggressively strengthened his power. He now holds nearly all the most powerful positions in the party and government.

Xi serves as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. He is head of state as President of the Peoples Republic of China. And he leads the military as Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

He also serves as the head of other important groups. These include the Central National Security Commission and the Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs.

Experts see this as a sign that he plans to be in office for many years. Willy Lam compares Xi to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It looks like he wants to leave a big legacy, and thats why he is, in a sense, emulating President Vladimir Putin, by giving himself a virtual office for life, he said.

However, as Cabestan notes, that would mean a change to current laws.

Now, whether he is going to stay more than 10 years as president is another story because that would require an amendment of the constitution, he said.

Lam told VOA that Xi sees himself as the Mao Zedong of the 21st century. Mao was Communist Chinas first leader until his death in 1976

Cabestan points out that Xi may step down from the job of president while continuing to lead important groups such as the military or security commissions.

Will Xi serve three terms?

VOA spoke with some delegates at the two meetings earlier this month. Some wondered whether Xi will seek a third term. Most supported the idea, but several placed importance on the need to follow the rules.

According to party regulations it is two terms, said Luo Shaming who added that Xi is doing a very good job.

Zhao Yan Fen said age is not too important. What is more important is whether a leader can really help promote a countrys development and the development of the world, she said.

Im Mario Ritter.

Bill Ide and Brian Kopezynski reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted their reports for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Do you think Chinas President Xi Jinping will seek a third term? Let us know in the comments section.

____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

refer  v. to call

core  adj. the central part of something

predecessor n. a person who served in a position before someone else

designated  adj. named, appointed to some position

virtually  adv. almost, very nearly

successor  n. the person who follows someone else in a position


 :     ,   ,   

  ,        , -     28         .
On Nov. 1, Linn Benton Food Shares warehouse in Tangent received two truckloads of food and household supplies arranged by the local branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
scholarship, news and new ideas in legal history
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Brazils under-fire meat industry received a major boost as China, Chile and Egypt began lifting restrictions on imports from the Latin American country.

Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi announced Chinas total reopening of the market for Brazilian meat in a statement released Saturday by the ministrys press office. This testifies categorically to the solidity and quality of the Brazilian sanitary system and is a victory for our exporting capacity, he wrote. Chile and Egypt also confirmed changes to their bans.

Operation Weak Flesh, the Brazilian police investigation into allegations that inspectors were bribed to approve the sale of tainted meat, dealt a body blow to the countrys agricultural industry. Brazil accounts for about 20 percent of global beef exports and almost 40 percent of chicken exports. Twenty-five countries put some kind of restriction on Brazilian meat imports in the wake of the scandal. The first available data from the Trade Ministry showed meat exports plunged 99.9 percent from the daily average to USD74,000.

China, including Hong Kong, is the biggest export market for Brazilian meat, buying about a third of the $5.5 billion of beef shipped from Latin Americas largest economy last year, according to the meat exporters group Abiec. Hong Kong and Macaus restrictions on Brazilian meat remain in place.

According to the ministry of agriculture, Chinas ban on Brazilian products will be suspended from today, with the exception of meat processed in 21 plants still under investigation by Brazilian authorities. Fifty-seven Brazilian meat-processing plants will be able to send their goods to China as they did before March 19, when Chinese customs stopped accepting all Brazilian meat imports for inspection, in accordance with a government order. MDT/Bloomberg
Cooperating with other public departments, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) has recovered several valuable items from the Lai Chi Vun shipyards area. The items include old adverts of the shipyards and tools used to build the boats. Two lots of the shipyards were already demolished due to safety concerns. As recently as the 1950s, the coastal villages were thriving in Macau. Historical accounts indicate that at that time there were around 10,000 fishermen and over 30 shipyards in Macau, many of them in Lai Chi Vun.

Health Bureau inspects Beijing Imperial Palace

The Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement that it had issued requests to the management of the Beijing Imperial Palace site in Taipa, which was shut down in July 2016, following an inspection. According to the same statement, the inspection revealed garbage bags and areas with stagnant water were found on the outskirts of the hotel. Further investigation revealed that the refuse had been left by building security. The SSM requested that the security company properly dispose of garbage bags, as well as take action to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes. The topic was raised in a spoken enquiry by lawmaker Chan Hong at the Legislative Assembly last week.

Musical Yoga concert to be held in April

The Macau Orchestra (OM) will present the concert Weekend Music Party  Musical Yoga on April 22 at 4 p.m. at the Dom Pedro V Theatre. The Cultural Affairs Bureau, which is supporting the event, said in a statement that the concert will fuse classical music with yoga. The concert will feature relaxing classical pieces such as the lively and simple Canon in D Major by Pachelbel, the graceful and tranquil The Swan by Saint-Saens and Griegs fluid Morning Mood, which is reminiscent of an early morning in Morocco. The OMs next concert in this series will be Weekend Music Party  Memory of Youth, which will be held on June 24 at the Dom Pedro V Theatre.

15 arrested in identity theft scam

A group of 15 people were arrested in an identity theft scam, the Judiciary Police (PJ) reported, accused of forging applications in order to obtain more than MOP8 million in illicit loans. Among the arrested persons is a bank manager, who allegedly falsified the loan applications and signed the paper work. For this, he reportedly received tens of thousands of patacas. Meanwhile, some of the others arrested were casino workers, who assumed the identity of business owners to apply for the loans. The scheme was put to an end when the bank became suspicious and investigated the missing funds, which totaled around MOP8.8 million. The PJ said that the investigation is ongoing and that other members of the group may still be apprehended.

Green Exchange to launch this Friday

The Green Exchange, an online environmental project matching platform, officially launches on March 31. The platform was jointly set up by the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), the Guangdong Association of Environmental Protection Industry and several other associations in an effort to boost the development of the regions green economy. A statement released by IPIM noted that the Green Exchange would create more business opportunities and drive the technology transfer among Macau, the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region and other countries and regions. In particular, the platform would enable exchanges of advanced environmental technology with the EU. The launch will take place at 5:45 p.m. at the Macau International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition 2017.

Creative Macau to hold photo exhibition

A photography exhibition by freelance photographer Ieong Man Pan, titled 99999, is slated to launch this Thursday at Creative Macau. Ieong stated that the exhibition  which includes gambling chips, among its subjects  would reveal the strong culture of materialism in Macau. It is about Macau, as the idea came from my observation after gambling [was] legalized. The series reflects the current state of Macau in my eyes, said the photographer, as cited in a press release issued by Creative Macau. Ieong is currently building an online photo database of Macau, which will allow individuals and organizations to obtain high-quality photographs of the region, as well as learn more about local photographers. The exhibition will run until April 29.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) has issued a statement confirming that an inauguration ceremony will be held on Thursday (March 30) for the newly-revamped Cinematheque Passion, which will open to the public the following day.

The ceremony will feature the screening of three short films by local Macau directors Tracy Choi, Chao Koi Wang and Antonio Faria, with Cinematheque as the overarching theme.

The cinema house, located at Travessa da Paixao No. 13, is a three-storey multifunctional building that offers film screenings, local video storage, and a lending library for film journals and books. Local film materials and videos, periodicals and magazines are available for residents in the film information room on the first floor.

Operated by CUT Ltd., Cinematheque Passion will promote film culture in the city, particularly Macau films. Locals and tourists will be able to use the facility and enjoy local and international films.

Each month, the cinema house will host different thematic film festivals or programs, such as the Director-in-Focus program.

According to the IC statement, two or three international films will also premiere in Macau every month.

For two weekends each month, local shorts or feature-length films will be screened at the Cinematheque under the Discover Macau: Local Indies Revisited program.

For the first month, April, we will be focusing on local talent and showcasing works from Macau over the last 20 years. These include short films, which are very popular in Macau, and feature-length films, Albert Chu, chairman of the CUT association  affiliated with CUT Ltd.  told the Times in an interview earlier this month.
Dr Martin Luther King has taken a crowd of nearly 25,000 people to the steps of the state capital of Montgomery, Alabama to highlight black grievances.

The procession marks the end of a five-day march which started in Selma last week and it brings to a close a month of civil rights protests in Alabama.

Troops policed the roads surrounding the capital and army helicopters hovered overhead as the crowd swelled to nearly 25,000.

Dr King, who addressed the protesters from a podium in the square, described the trek as one of the greatest marches in the history of America.

Our aim is not to humiliate and defeat the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding, he added.

Dr King tried to present a petition of black grievances to Governor George Wallace but he refused to meet the delegation.

The civil rights leader said he would ask trade unions to refuse to transport or use the states products and he urged the Federal Government and the Treasury to withdraw all assistance from the area.

Dr King also said that demonstrations would have to continue where essential conditions remained unmet.

When the march began last week, large bombs were planted at a black church, a funeral parlour and a leading black lawyers home.

They were later discovered and detonated by experts from the army base at Anniston, Alabama.

To prevent further attacks, US President Lyndon Johnson gave the marchers the protection of nearly 3,000 troops, plus FBI and local police assistance.

But three days ago Viola Liuzzo, a white civil rights advocate who had been ferrying demonstrators to their homes, was shot dead on a lonely stretch of road near the route of the march.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Ku-Klux-Klan movement have reportedly tried to contact President Johnson to dicuss his aversion to their organisation.

There was no immediate response from the US President, who recently launched a scathing attack on the group, describing it as a band of hooded bigots, whose loyalty was not with the United States.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

The protests came just months after the signing of the Civil Rights Bill which created equal rights regardless of race, colour, religion or national origin.

The Voting Rights Act, which banned literacy tests and poll taxes which had previously been used to prevent black people from voting, was introduced in August 1965.

But many states acted quickly to circumvent the law and most of the decade was marked by race riots and assassinations.

Further riots followed in Los Angeles in August 1965.

They lasted six days and left 34 dead and a further 1,000 people injured.

Dr King was assassinated in April 1968 and this led to riots in 100 US cities.

Black people continued to remain at a disadvantage when looking for work, and programmes of affirmative action were introduced during the 1970s under President Nixon.
French President Francois Hollande, on an official visit to Singapore, expressed a desire yesterday to strengthen Frances partnership with the Southeast Asian city-state.

France considers Singapore not only for an economic partner, but also as a friendly country, Hollande said at a state banquet, where he gave a toast in French.

In this geopolitical environment of isolation, nationalism and protectionism, we have to lead by example and make our bilateral partnership not only strong and dynamic, but to show the way for opening confidence in international trade, added Hollande, making the first official visit by a French president to Singapore.

The two countries signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership in 2012 to deepen cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, defense and space technology.

Singapores president, Tony Tan, said that France was a special friend, noting that it was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Singapore after its independence in 1965.

At a time when the global political and economic environment is uncertain, many governments are facing pressures to turn inwards, Tan said. Against this backdrop, being able to work with reliable friends is more important than ever. France is such a friend of Singapore. Some 15,000 French nationals and 1,800 French enterprises are based in the city-state.

Trade between the two countries is strong as well. Last year, their bilateral trade was valued at 16 billion Singapore dollars ($11.4 billion). France was Singapores second-biggest trading partner in the European Union.

In 2015, French foreign direct investment in Singapore was about 14.8 billion Singapore dollars ($10.6 billion).

Hollande is set to meet with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and deliver a lecture today. He leaves for Malaysia tomorrow. Annabelle Liang, Singapore, AP
An Australian company with only AUD6 million (MOP36.6 million) in net assets appears to be the favorite candidate of officials in the countrys Gold Coast area to build an AUD3 billion integrated resort.

The Queensland local government is consulting local communities over the possibility of a second casino on the Gold Coast, but appears to favor ASF Group, which is suspected of being financially backed by the Chinese government.

ASF says it has wealthy shareholders in China [but] the Australian Stock Exchange-listed company is a minnow, noted a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which broke the story on its nightly current affairs program, 7.30. Its half-yearly report records revenue of AUD430,000.

The report speculated that the Chinese government might be a source of funding for ASF, through state-owned company China State Construction Engineering Corporation.

It is unusual for such a skinny [undercapitalized] company to come forward for an investment like this, Ben Lee, managing partner at IGamiX Management & Consulting, told the Times.

They [ASF Group] must have put forward the idea [to authorities] that they are backed by the Chinese government.

The mysterious deal has other unaddressed issues, including a lack of clarity on how many poker machines will be installed and who will operate the casino.

In an interview with 7.30, ASF Group director Louis Chien was evasive when pressed for answers, responding that projects of this size and scale are very complex and therefore they have very complex commercial structures.

ASF Group claims on its website that it is a new driving force in strategic investment between China and Australia.

We facilitate two-way cross-

border investment between Australia and China. So in essence, we are an investment incubator, Chien said in the television report.

Were a tourist city: tourist-

built, tourist-driven. This is the next tourist infrastructure for the city. Why dont we just get on with it?

ASF is in talks with Queensland authorities to build a casino and residential project, called the Broadwater Marine Project, adjacent to the Sheraton Mirage.

The report said ASF has been negotiating with Crown Resorts for more than a year, but has yet to reach an agreement.

Chinese companies, especially those backed by the government, have embarked on an overseas investment program which includes mergers and acquisitions of non-Chinese corporations. In terms of worldwide investment, these companies have been targeting sectors such as technology, media and telecommunications, agriculture, energy and mineral resources.

The investment has sparked concerns over the strategic influence of the Chinese government in other countries, especially in transportation infrastructure and financial institutions.

However, Lee believes the concerns may be unfounded.

Typically, anything that is considered a national interest can be blocked, he said, referring in particular to two separate bids last year for stakes in an Australian electricity distribution network and a collection of cattle ranches comprising an area larger than South Korea.

All it takes is an act of [the Australian] parliament to nationalize these industries, he said, adding that while they [the investors] might be compensated, not necessarily at the price they want.

According to the Chinese government, direct investment in Australia from China grew by more than 50 percent year-

on-year in 2016 to AUD4.8 billion. Much of this came with the backing or indirect financing of the Chinese government, and targets key sectors such as real estate and transportation. However, aside from property and transportation, the Chinese have also expressed interest in ports and farms  and now casinos.

While gambling is officially illegal in China, the government operates two lotteries and has, in principle, approved the idea of Hainan Province as a testing ground for Chinas lottery and gambling industry, with the potential for casino development.
The Macau Live Poultry Dealer Association, an association to protect the interests of live poultry dealers, claims that they have not been contacted by the government in relation to promised subsidies.

The government had promised subsidies to affected traders after the ban on the live poultry trade was continued for public safety, due to an outbreak in avian influenza in mainland China.

Its been almost two months already and they still havent made up their mind in terms of any policy-making decisions, said association member Leong Meng Lap, according to a TDM report.

Why dont they first give us some subsidy? Its not too much to ask for, is it? At least for our families sake, for our childrens sake  a few hundred households, including mine, are affected.

The live poultry trade was suspended for three days earlier this year, beginning January 26. The suspension was renewed last week and will persist until authorities identify the cause of the influenza outbreak.

The association said that although they received subsidies during the initial suspension, they have since received zero subsidies.

The problem is compounded, its members say, as Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan has indicated the ban may become permanent.

The workers association also complained that the government was misleading the public by saying that residents now prefer to buy frozen poultry over live chicken.

All of us live poultry dealers strongly oppose this lie. We are furious and its ridiculous, said Leong.
Eleven endangered wild elephants were rescued in Cambodia on Saturday, four days after getting stuck in a 3-meter-deep mud hole, officials said.

The animals were rescued in northeastern Mondulkiri province, home to about 250 wild elephants, said Wildlife Alliance official Botumroat Lebun.

The chief of Mondulkiris environment department, Keo Sopheak, who headed the rescue team, said the elephants apparently got stuck in the mud when they went to drink water at a 3-meter-deep hole that was left over from U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War.

After being rescued, the elephants were sent back to the jungle where they normally live, Keo Sopheak said.

He said if local villagers had not reported the incident, the elephants would have died from thirst and starvation. AP
At least four people were killed and 23 others wounded in a grenade attack in the southern Philippines that appears to be unrelated to terrorism, officials said yesterday.

Army Col. Cirilito Sobejana said the attacker was arrested following the late Saturday grenade blast in Busbus village near the domestic airport in Sulu provinces Jolo town.

The motive for the attack wasnt immediately clear, but a military officer said the attacker, who was identified by police as Sedimar Rabbah, returned to the area to retaliate after being beaten by a group of men who accused him of stealing a cellphone. Police, however, were checking if he has links with Abu Sayyaf militants.

Aside from kidnappings for ransom, bombings and killings by Abu Sayyaf extremists, predominantly Muslim Sulu has long been troubled by a large number of illegal guns and other weapons, many in the hands of warlords and other armed groups.

Jungle-clad Sulu, about 950 kilometers south of Manila, is one of the countrys poorest provinces, although it has rich resources and pristine beaches and islands. AP
Chinas premier has arrived in New Zealand for high- level talks at a time that both countries are pushing to expand free trade.

Premier Li Keqiang arrived at Wellington Airport yesterday, where he was greeted at the military terminal by New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English.

The premier stepped off his plane, gave a quick wave toward media and then stepped into a waiting car. His motorcade left for Premier House where he was attending a dinner.

As the motorcade left the airport, the premier was greeted by Chinese well-wishers wearing red shirts and holding banners and the flags of both China and New Zealand. Unlike on some previous visits by Chinese leaders, there werent any visible protesters.

Li plans to be in the country until Wednesday. As well as a bilateral meeting with English, the premier is planning to visit a factory and view a photography exhibition.

The premier traveled to New Zealand after visiting Australia, where he warned against protectionism and said China wanted to expand its trading relationship.

New Zealand has also been pushing to expand free trade. Last week English announced a goal to have free trade agreements cover 90 percent of exports by 2030, up from just over 50 percent at the moment.

As part of that plan, New Zealand will spend tens of millions of dollars opening a new embassy in Ireland, a new high commission in Sri Lanka, and targeting barriers it considers are holding back trade.

The approach from China and New Zealand stands in contrast to that of the U.S., where President Donald Trump has pulled out of a planned Pacific free-trade agreement and has expressed skepticism about other such agreements.

China and Australia represent New Zealands largest export markets. China buys huge quantities of milk powder from New Zealand, which is used in high-

end infant formula.

China and New Zealand signed a free-trade agreement in 2008. English said recently the agreement is working well but needs some fine-tuning. AP
With the substantial depreciation of the Japanese yen, foreign investors have flocked to Japanese properties in droves.

As a result, Hong Kong based real estate company TY-Property is eyeing Macau investors to purchase units in the land of the rising sun.

During the weekend, the company held a two-day exhibition promoting property investments in Japan and Thailand.

Properties that were showcased during the exhibition were priced between HKD500,000 and HKD5 million.

During the sessions, speakers from the firm discussed both regions economic status and how these affects property markets.

TY-Property, which also has office in Tokyo, first expressed an interest in serving investors from Macau last year, after having received numerous phone calls and emails from potential buyers.

According to Mak, local property investors are interested in acquiring units in Japan for investment purposes, particularly for usage with AirBnb.

Areas such as Minato-Ku, Chuo Ku, Roppongi and Ginza are especially favored, with investors seizing the opportunity to acquire Japanese properties at a lower financial outlay before the yen bounces back.

TY-Property also observed that due to the rapid increase in tourism in the Kansai area, there is always a strong demand for short-term rental properties in the city. Investors have therefore spotted opportunities to provide guesthouses, which allow more frequent lettings as their rental is more competitive than hotels.

Yesterday, the company reportedly closed almost 20 deals from local investors, which according to Mak, indicates high demand.

Since property investment in Macau could be problematic due to the staggering price of residential and commercial units in the region, some locals prefer to invest abroad.

Macaus property market is crazy. People cannot invest here so they invest in Japan [] and most importantly, the property price in Japan is not high, Mak told the Times.

Investors could purchase a unit raging from 25 sqm to 30 sqm for HKD1 million in the heart of Tokyo, with a net yield of 4 to 5 percent.

When asked whether the company is also targeting investors from the mainland, Mak admitted that attracting mainland clients remains a challenge, as mainland clients still cannot transfer significant amounts of money out of China.

However, the company plans to someday hold a similar property exhibition in the mainland.

Meanwhile, around 10 percent of TY-Propertys sales are from Macau residents.

Although the property firm currently has no branches in Macau, they plan to establish one in the region due to high demand.

Mak remarked that locals need further encouragement to invest abroad, unlike in Hong Kong, where residents are keen on investing in both properties and stocks.

Macau has a big market here but we need to take more time because [] Macau people want to look, study and they take more time to know about the [investment], Mak observed.

TY-Property saw a slight increase in demand after Japan legalized gambling, as well as the announcement of the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, while property acquired in Japan is often used as an investment, investors in the Thai property market tend to designate units for personal use.

Many investors see the market price in Thailand as attractive. A 35 sqm condominium or residential unit costs around HKD1 million, with a yield of around 5 to 9 percent on average.

Despite the regions political crisis, property experts noted that housing prices are still rising, along with the demand for rental.

Mak foresees a higher number of local investors in the Japanese property market due to the low yen. According to her, it is a good time for interested investors to explore Japan as a market for investments.

TY-Property also provides services such as interior design and management arrangement for property selection.

The company plans to host a property exhibition every month in Macau.
Worldwide ride-hailing company Uber is launching Uber-

Assist in Macau today, a new function of its well-known mobile app.

Designed to provide additional assistance to seniors and people with disabilities, Uber-

Assist pairs passengers with specialized driver-partners. According to Uber Macau general manager Trasy Lou Walsh, these drivers have received special intensive training in meeting the needs of these passengers.

The program serves several kinds of people, like those facing difficulty in walking or the visually impaired, people with disabilities, listening difficulties, the elderly and pregnant ladies, Walsh said during a meeting with the media.

To create UberAssist, the company partnered with social service organization Caritas Macau, which is also the charity outreach arm of the Diocese of Macau. The institution helped Uber design its specialized training course.

Macau has joined the list of countries and territories that offer this kind of service, which was already available in the neighboring SAR of Hong Kong.

Walsh said the idea of bringing this program to Macau was based on a census report from 2011 that stated there were over 12,000 disabled people in Macau.

Through various associations, we [heard] that it is very hard to get them out of their homes and around Macau. We really hope to help them to achieve this, she continued.

Walsh explained that the service in Macau will operate differently from its Hong Kong counterpart, with a specific button to be added to the ride- sharing app instead of requiring a promotional code.

UberAssist will charge the same rates as Uber X, which is among the cheaper Uber services. 100 out of the regions 3,000 registered Uber drivers will participate in the program when it launches, but Uber Macau claims it will be able to increase the number of Uber- Assist drivers if needed.

We would like to see if 100 drivers would be sufficient to take care of the disabled people in Macau. Thats what we are trying to find out. If we realize that the demand is really high, we probably have to train more drivers, said Walsh, adding that the service will undergo a trial period of three to six months in order to collect passenger feedback and other data.

To improve data collection, the company will provide free rides to several associations representing people with different needs and disabilities.

We are also offering a number of free rides to several associations in order for them to try the service and provide us feedback and opinions on how to improve, Walsh said.

When questioned by the Times on how to match passengers needs with the appropriate driver, Walsh responded that all drivers are fully trained and possess the same skill set.

Furthermore, she said, the Uber service requires a return call to the passenger to confirm the ride and pick-up point, during which the passenger and driver can communicate those needs.

During training, Caritas helped a lot by providing us a map of locations that makes it easier for drivers to pick up passengers; for example, those with visual challenges or in wheelchairs, she said.

She added that the training course included instructions on how to fold different types of wheelchairs, how to help disabled people into the car [and] simple sign language to communicate with people with listening difficulties, as well as how to pick up people with visual disabilities.

Walsh said the training course has been ongoing since last June and that each driver must participate in a minimum of 10 training sessions to qualify as an UberAssist driver.

Business model is quite different from radio taxi

Commenting on the new Radio Taxi service, which has a number of vehicles designated for use by people with disabilities, Walsh said, They are already running, but the numbers are really not sufficient to meet the market and it is also quite difficult for them to hire the drivers. She added that Ubers business model is quite different, explaining that Uber does not have yet vehicles specially prepared for disabled people, but that they can offer a superior alternative thanks to Ubers many skilled drivers.

Uber hopes govt to get less inflexible with new service

Uber representatives hope their new UberAssist service will encourage the government to support Uber in the territory, said Uber Macau general manager Trasy Lou Walsh.

Walsh added that Uber Macau has not yet approached the government to explain the service as it is only in its trial period, but that it hopes the government will understand its importance.

We hope this will lead the government to think that with the help of technology, we can help the people in Macau; not just the residents and tourists, but also people with disabilities, Walsh said at the event, which was also attended by the representative of an association that supports visually impaired people and two UberAssist drivers.

Wong Sio Ieng, an Uber passenger with a visual impairment, shared that she had used Uber many times with the help of her son. She hopes that the new service will make it easier for her to secure rides when she needs them.

The drivers in attendance said that they were happy to be part of the program, as they both have elderly relatives or people with disabilities in their families. Both said they had experienced passengers gratitude firsthand, and agreed that the service can be a win-win situation for Uber as well as people that need easier ways to travel around Macau.
The U.N.-backed Human Rights Council on Friday approved a resolution by consensus to dispatch urgently an international fact-finding mission to Myanmar to probe alleged abuses by military and security forces, particularly against the minority Rohingya Muslim community.

In a move bound to put pressure on State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyis government, the 47-member body threw its weight behind existing efforts to investigate alleged rights abuses such as torture, rape, arbitrary killings and forced displacement of the Rohingya in western Rakhine state. Zaw Htay, a presidential spokesman, said Myanmar cannot accept the councils decision.

What the U.N. Human Rights Council did to us is totally not fair and not right under international practices, Htay said by phone, citing a domestic investigation. They should have waited and watched the correspondent countrys investigation, and the result coming out from that, and only then offer possible criticism of its work, he added.

This month, a commission chaired by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, created at the behest of Suu Kyi, presented interim recommendations to the government about long-term solutions to tensions between Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists in Rakhine state. The recommendations included allowing journalists free access to the western part of the country.

The Rohingya face severe discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar and were the targets of inter-communal violence in 2012 that killed hundreds and drove about 140,000 people  predominantly Rohingya  from their homes to camps for the internally displaced, where most remain.

The army launched counterinsurgency operations in Rohingya areas in northern Rakhine in October after the killing of nine border guards. U.N. human rights investigators and independent rights organizations charge that soldiers and police killed and raped civilians and burned down more than 1,000 homes during the operations.

The HRC resolution says the councils president will appoint the independent, international fact-finding mission, which is to provide an oral update on its work in the councils autumn session followed by a written report a year from now. Some countries including China, India and Cuba dissociated themselves from the resolution, brought by Malta on behalf of the European Union.

The U.N. human rights offices special rapporteur for Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, had urged the council to go further than a fact-finding mission by authorizing the creation of a full commission of inquiry to investigate the alleged crimes. A 25-page report from her office this month cited continued and escalating violence in parts of Myanmar. In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Lee said she had been told the situation is currently worse than at any point in the past few years.

Lee also said a domestic investigative panel focusing on Rakhine state was flawed and that Annans commission didnt have an all-encompassing mandate.

In a statement Friday, Lee said she was disappointed that the commission of inquiry was not established, and added, I trust the government of Myanmar will cooperate with this mission, including granting it full access as called for in the Human Rights Council resolution.

The resolution was one of 42 voted on over two days as the Geneva-based council neared the end of its latest session. Other resolutions decried alleged crimes as diverse as violence that could devolve into genocide in South Sudan; extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape and other violence in North Korean prisons; and alleged war crimes and terrorist acts in Syria. Jamey Keaten, Esther Htsuan, AP
US Gunfire erupted inside a crowded nightclub early yesterday, killing one person and wounding more than a dozen others. There was no indication the shooting at the Cameo club was terrorism related, police said. Authorities also didnt immediately have any suspects in the 1:30 a.m. shooting on a busy weekend night.

PHILIPPINES At least four people were killed and 23 others wounded in a grenade attack in the southern Philippines that appears to be unrelated to terrorism, officials said yesterday.

SINGAPORE Amos Yee, 18, a blogger from Singapore who was jailed for his online posts blasting his government, was granted asylum to remain in the United States, an immigration judge ruled.

BANGLADESH Two suspected militants were killed yesterday in an ongoing military raid on a building where armed militants were holed up in eastern Bangladesh, police and army officials said. Six people, including two policemen, were killed in explosions near that building a day earlier.

RUSSIA Thousands of people crowded into Moscows Pushkin Square yesterday for an unsanctioned protest against the Russian government, the biggest gathering in a wave of nationwide protests that were the most extensive show of defiance in years.

IRAN said yesterday it has imposed sanctions on 15 American companies over their alleged support for Israel, terrorism and repression in the region.

ARAB SUMMIT Arab leaders are expected to reaffirm a Saudi-led peace plan that offers Israel full relations with dozens of Arab and Muslim states in exchange for its withdrawal from lands captured in 1967, at a summit this week. Known as the Arab Peace Initiative, the plan was first proposed in 2002.

BELARUS Police in Belarus capital have arrested demonstrators who were demanding to know the whereabouts of friends and relatives detained in the breakup of a mass protest. The human rights organization Vesna said about 30 people were arrested yesterday. They were among about 100 people who tried to assemble on Minsks central square.

GERMANY Exit polls indicate that Chancellor Angela Merkels conservative party has emerged easily as the strongest party from an election in Germanys western Saarland state.
BURLEY | An app that gives teens a platform to post anonymous messages tied to their schools has singled out students, angered parents and raised suicide concerns in south-central Idaho.

Teens have always looked for ways to express their thoughts and feelings. But widespread use of the After School app has left a vicious mark of bullying in its wake  along with a lot of sex talk that includes the names of students and educators.

Jayleen Lovell, a senior at Canyon Ridge High School in Twin Falls, felt the sting of bullying comments posted on the app.

One post about me said all Jayleen has going for her is her looks, Lovell said. Another post said the teen needs to stop opening her legs.

Lovell shook off the comments and didnt let them bother her, she said. But other kids may not be able to do that.

Posts on After School message boards tied to other south-central Idaho schools have included nude photos of students, derogatory comments about appearance, name calling and comments about students body parts.

One post said a particular male student was big downstairs and showed a weatherman standing next to a map with wind patterns in the shape of male genitalia. A male student posted about how he secretly filmed his sister and worried that he was guilty of child pornography.

Others mention how the poster would like to perform specific sex acts on a classmate; the sexual comments sometimes refer to teachers and principals, too.

Many vulgar posts do not include actual photos of students but use provocative stock images of scantily clad males and females.

Lovell said one girl at Canyon Ridge became so upset by After School posts about her that she was crying and puking. To compound her pain, some boys at lunch handed her a rope and told her to go hang herself.

Other apps target teen and preteen users, too, but After School is a particularly dangerous one.

A Reason to Be Naughty

Whats different about this app?

Created by Cory Levy and Michael Callahan, the After School app is made for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and is available to download free on iTunes  but not for parents or any other adult.

Parents who try to download the app will find it requires student verification in the form of a student identification card or drivers license.

The app logs in the student through his or her Facebook account, which makes deleting it more difficult.

Students 17 and older can enter sections reserved for upperclassmen which allow profanity and talk about sex and drugs, but those kinds of comments are not limited to the restricted section.

In one case, a topless photo of a female student was posted on the apps Burley High School message board. Students regularly make slightly suggestive to pornographic posts in the section designed for younger students; the difference is that some banned words are substituted with easily recognized symbols.

The majority of it is bullying, said Braeden Hill, a senior at Minico High School in Rupert. Hill said he deleted the app after realizing most of the posts were inappropriate.

Contacted by the Times-News, the company failed to respond to a list of questions and instead emailed a blurb describing its app. The companys website says it takes measures to monitor each post and will remove posts if they are reported and block users who misuse the app. The website also says the company has responded to complaints by school districts and parents across the county by making modifications like the 17+ age restriction for sex and drug talk and by adding a button where users can report offensive content. The company also has added a help line for at-risk teens.

But its claims have done little to quell the daily bullying  and the sexually explicit posts that many parents would find shocking.

When kids hear the word anonymous they think its a reason to be naughty, said Rachel Jensen, school counselor at Raft River High School in Malta. And they think it cant be traced.

Although some students have downloaded the app at Raft River High, Jensen said it is not widely used right now.

Jacob Hall, a senior at Minico High, said most of the students at his school using the app now are younger.

A lot of the upperclassmen realized it was not good, he said. Its a stupid and pointless way to bash on other people.

Hill and Hall are both members of Minico Highs Source of Strength program, which trained about 60 students to reach out to others in a positive way. The program was available through a grant by Idaho Lives, which targets suicide prevention.

Students at junior high schools and even middle schools in south-central Idaho have school message boards available through the app.

Minico High counselor John Kontos advice to students: Dont download it or even look at it.

Weve had kids extremely upset about the derogatory things that are being said, Kontos said. In our experience, nothing positive has happened with this app.

Cyberbullying can be especially devastating to a student who may be at at risk for suicide, he said. Stuff like this can push kids over the edge.

We Cant Control It

Do you know what your kids are looking at?

Few parents seem to pay any attention to what their children have on their phones, Kontos said. If they were, all this sexting wouldnt be happening.

Sexting is sending sexually explicit messages or nude photos over a cellphone.

In the past couple of months, the Twin Falls School District has had complaints about bullying on the After School app at all three of its high schools, district spokeswoman Eva Craner said.

The district policy requires students to use the districts network during school hours, which has a filter that blocks the app. School districts in Cassia and Minidoka counties use filters to block the app, too.

The loophole is if they dont use the school network and switch to data, we cant control it, Craner said.

Craner said the district contacted the After School staff to complain and was told the company would keep a close eye on the district and add extra moderators to monitor posts.

Cyberbullying is a widespread phenomenon that the district would like to control, Craner said. Its easy to say something mean when its anonymous like that.

Cassia County School District has also received complaints.

Its horrifying, spokeswoman Debbie Critchfield said. She said the Cassia district also complained to the apps makers, but they are in denial.

The app was designed for students to make fun comments like I have a crush on Billy, Critchfield said, but thats not how its being used. She said some After School activity goes beyond inappropriate; it crosses the line into illegal.

Cassia County Sheriff Jay Heward has logged into the After School app at Burley High and concluded about half of the student body was using it.

If posts include nudity of a minor, even if the minor in the photo posts it, Heward said, it is a crime. Those posts can be traced.

Teens often think they are sending nude photos to a boyfriend or girlfriend but dont realize they may be forwarded to others or posted online. They dont understand that once nude photos are put on social medial they are on the Internet  and out there forever.

They can never get them back, Heward said.

In the case of the After School app, schools can do only so much because it is downloaded onto the students private property. The buck stops with parents, and they must monitor what their children are putting on their phones.

Love your kids, check their phones, he said.

Stay on Top of Things as Parents

Heidi Cranney, a Cassia County parent and a former high school teacher, is concerned about the apps widespread use.

Its hard for teens to filter through all the things that they are targeted by, said Cranney, who downloaded the app, tried to log in and managed to reach a point that she could see posts briefly before they faded away. I was really taken aback and upset by some of the posts.

Even parents who regularly monitor their childs cellphone may miss the app, which can be hidden under shell apps that look like objects such as calculators. There are also restriction settings on iPhones that allow the user to hide apps from a parents view.

Critchfield said the topless student photo was discovered by a parent who opened the app on a childs phone and recognized the girl.

Parents are morally and legally responsible for their children until they are 18, Critchfield said. Look at whats on your childs phone. You are paying for it, and they are minors.

Often a bullied child may be embarrassed and reluctant to talk with a parent.

Critchfields advice to parents: If you find the app, encourage the user to delete it. If a student had negative experiences with it, he or she should talk with a trusted adult or counselor.

Its not a bad rule to have all electronic devices on the countertops at night to make sure students are not staying up all night on them, Jensen said. Get those devices out of the kids rooms at night so they can sleep.

The After School app is advertised to teens as a fun way to talk about good things. But there could be sinister long-term consequences.

The app asks to scan students drivers license bar codes in order to admit them to the over-17 message board.

By doing that you give the app all of your information on your license, including how old you are, where you live, your height, Lovell said. That is unusual and inappropriate. Who is keeping track of all these students personal information?

Parents have to educate their teens about the risks that come with putting personal information on social media and letting apps have access to it. It may affect their lives down the road, Cranney said. No electronic messages are truly anonymous.

When kids get older and they apply for jobs, anything that they are putting on social media may be viewed by a potential employer, she said. A lot of employers pay good money to access that kind of information. It will follow you.

Parents should also put parental control filters on their childrens phones.

I get pretty angry that we as parents have to fight this battle, Cranney said. But we need to share what we know and pass it along to others so they can stay on top of things as parents.
DAYTON, Va. (AP)  William Martin was shown a lot of things about farm safety last week, but parts of the tractor safety presentation really stuck with him.

Not long after watching a dummy made of hay-stuffed overalls sent spinning by a tractors power takeoff shaft, the 13-year-old son of Kenneth and Audrey Martin said that example and the remote-controlled tractor that demonstrated how the machine can flip had made an impression.

The latter had a personal tie because of what once happened to his grandfather, Willard Martin.

My granddad got rolled over by a tractor before, said William, a Calvary Christian School student who lives just outside Harrisonburg and helps on the familys turkey farm. He had 12 broken ribs and other injuries.

Third- through sixth-graders spent part of Saturday, March 18 at Hickory Hollow Christian School outside Dayton as part of the only Progressive Agriculture Farm Safety Day scheduled in Virginia this year. The event was co-sponsored by the Progressive Agriculture Foundation and the Sentara RMH Foundation.

Those in attendance learned about everything from germ prevention and sun exposure to safety protocols for lawn equipment and skid loaders.

The children got more than demonstrations of the dangers of farm work. They saw the potential consequences of a momentary mistake.

Art Mitchell, a Keezletown resident who taught agriculture at four Rockingham County middle and high schools during his 47-year career in education, sat in his wheelchair, pulled up his pants legs and showed the children his prosthetics. A corn picker grabbed his foot and took parts of both his legs in 1958, leading to a 98-day hospital stay and 28 operations.

If you dont follow the safety rules, you can get in trouble, Mitchell told the children. You can get in serious trouble.

Extremely Dangerous

Elsewhere in the schools parking lot, David Seal told groups of children how to properly get into and out of a skid loader using the steps and handrail and emphasized the importance of using the safety bar or seat belt each time.

Getting into any piece of equipment, you dont just jump in, said Deal, a sales representative for Virginia Equipment Co.

Hed also placed adult- and child-sized mannequins behind the skid loader, close enough that if its bucket was swung around theyd be struck. He used them to demonstrate how easy it was to see the adult, but the children couldnt see the smaller mannequin while holding the control levers.

Seal also cautioned the children against using a skid loader with the cage removed.

At that point, it becomes an extremely dangerous machine, he said. Youve got no protection against stuff coming out of the bucket and falling on you.

Erica Rollins, who coordinated the event for Sentara RMH, said about 50 volunteers helped with the Farm Safety Day. Each child received reflective bands to wear on their arms while riding their bicycles or walking while helping on the farm after dark.

Eleven-year-old Donna Knicely, a Hickory Hollow student who lives outside Harrisonburg, was back at the event for the second year. She said she helps her grandparents feed calves every evening.

Donna said no one thing shed been shown that morning stood out over the others.

I learned a lot of stuff, the daughter of Eldon and Brenda Knicely said.

Volunteers performing the demonstrations encouraged the children to share the safety tips theyd learned with family members and friends.

If you can get somebody to stop and think, Galen Armentrout of James River Equipment said, you may save a life.
BOISE  In a little over 200 years, American agriculture has moved from using fingers to poke seeds in the ground to poking a screen to check a pivot or order feed.

Technology in agriculture is what makes Idaho agriculture go, said Robert Blair. He is a farmer from Kendrick who traveled the world studying technology in agriculture as an Eisenhower Fellow.

And yet, few farmers are fully harnessing the advances technology promises.

The modern technological revolution in agriculture took off after World War II with tractors. Tractor manufacturing reached its peak in 1951 when 564,000 tractors were produced in the U.S. alone. After the Great Depression and later restrictions imposed during World War II, there was a huge pent up demand for tractors. Once that demand was met, production dropped back to about half of that 1951 peak has remained roughly at that level.

Larger farms and longer equipment life also contributed to the decline in demand so manufacturers have turned to technology to drive demand for new equipment. Many safety features were added in the 1960s and 1970s. Starting in the 1990s manufacturers began adding technology to help farmers make management decisions. Precision agriculture has been seen as an answer to helping farmers save money by applying only the inputs needed to certain areas within a field while improving yields and protecting the environment.

Even though yield monitors have been available since 1992, only about 10 percent of U.S. farmers utilize the data from those monitors to make management decisions, Blair said.

As a farmer who began experimenting with precision agriculture in the early 2000s using the original Palm Pilot (a person digital assistant) and an ultralight plane, Blair recognizes some of the challenges that slow down technological adoption.

It was easy for a farmer in 1951 to see how owning a tractor would make the farm more efficient and improve profitability. But trying to sort through all the information that todays technology provides can be mind-numbing.

Take drones, for example. Everyone is excited about drone technology and using drones to fly over crop canopy to gather data about fertility, irrigation water management and pest problems.

A single day of flying can generate 50 to 60 gigabytes of data. How do you transfer that much data to a farmer when internet services are still limited in some rural areas.

Its like trying to put a fire hose worth of data through a straw, Blair told dairy producers during their annual convention.

And then theres the question of who actually owns the data. Is it the farmer whose field was flown over or the company who owns the drone or the co-op that spread fertilizer to a field using a variable rate applicator?

Even after those questions are answered, a third one looms: How to best use the data? For a farmer to get the benefit of the data generated by todays technology, they have to analyze it, put it to work and see a return on investment. Thats the sticking point, in Blairs opinion, to why precision agriculture has not taken off in the way that many analysts predicted.

Even though precision agriculture promises to reduce costs by only applying needed inputs to certain sectors in a field while improving yields and protecting the environment, its been hard for farmers to see a return on investment. Going forward, consumer demands for food production to be more sustainable coupled with tight profit margins may change that picture.

If we can save ten cents here or twenty cents there, pretty soon it adds up to make the technology pay, Blair said.

Robotic milking parlors are often touted as a way for dairymen to replace scarce workers. Yet, the technology does not adapt well to existing facilities. It is better to build a new facility to accommodate the robots. A price tag that is out of reach for many dairies given todays milk prices.

He recommends that farmers who are considering using drones or other technology on their operations start by developing a list of goals. What exactly do they want the technology to help them do. What kind of data are they interested in.

Pictures taken of a wheat field to look for signs of disease or nitrogen deficiency may show the extent that plants are trampled moving hand lines. If those pictures are coupled with yield data off the combine, a farmer may run an economic analysis and decide wheel lines or a pivot might be more profitable.

The technology exists today to do many of the things innovators imagined 25 years ago. When Blair first heard manufacturers were working on driverless tractors, he thought it was a crazy idea. But then auto steer systems came out and now the first driverless tractors are expected to be in fields this spring.

Its those kinds of advances that make Blair excited about the future of technology in agriculture. He imagines a day when drones can be used to identify pest problems on individual plants in a field and then use a laser to blast rust spores or insects off that infected plant. Perhaps lasers could be used to micro weed problem areas within a field.

How can we utilize technology to be more efficient? Blair said. We havent even scratched the surface yet.




BILLINGS, Mont.  A rotten meat scandal in Brazil has Montana ranchers cowed about U.S. beef sales taking a hit.

Brazil shuttered three meat processing plants last week and suspended three dozen government employees for allegedly looking the other way as rotten beef was moved for sale. Brazil is one of the largest beef producers in the world. One of the packing plant owners, JBS Sao Palo, also has packing plants in the United States. JBS is the second largest meatpacker in the U.S.

With the lack of country-of-origin labeling in supermarkets, its impossible for American consumers to know where their beef is coming from, said Neil Glennie, who raises Angus calves near Judith Gap, Mont. Glennie is nervous about a Brazil-related contaminated meat outbreak at an American supermarket hurting U.S. ranchers.

If we had one bad episode of Brazilian beef contamination, it would just kill our beef industry and the rancher would get blamed, Glennie said.

The rancher would like to turn back the clock to 2015 when the United States had country of origin labeling, or COOL, requirements. For four years, COOL required labels on meat, fruit and vegetables so that shoppers knew where their food was raised.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday that no contaminated Brazillian beef has entered the United States. None of the meatpacking plants implicated in shipping rotten meat and using a chemical wash to mask the spoilage have sent beef to the United States, USDA reported.

COOL was popular with American shoppers, farmers and ranchers, but not with Canada and Mexico, who argued the labels discouraged U.S. consumers from buying products from those countries. They filed an unfair trade practices claim with the World Trade Organization, insisting that COOL violated the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The WTO ruled that Canada and Mexico could impose tariffs on U.S. products, a move estimated to cost the United States $1 billion. Congress responded by repealing COOL in 2015.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., was a major COOL advocate. This week, Tester proposed banning Brazilian beef from the United States for 120 days so the USDA could identify any risk associated with Brazilian beef in the United States.

We must take decisive action to ensure no family in Montana or anywhere else in this country is exposed to the danger of deceptive Brazilian beef processors, said Tester. We cannot allow harmful food to come into our markets and endanger our families.

Testers proposed ban was welcomed by the United States Cattlemens Association, a COOL advocate that has been opposed to Brazilian beef.

USCA has long advocated that both Argentina and Brazil lack the necessary means to ensure safely exported beef, said Jess Peterson, spokesman for the group. This issue yet again confirms the fact that the U.S. should have strong reservations with importing products from South America. When it comes to producing beef, U.S. cattle and beef producers follow the most stringent safety standards in the world. We take that commitment very seriously. When a blemish like this comes up from a foreign country  increased oversight and investigation is warranted and the question is emphasized  why even import beef from South America in the first place?

Last August, the USDA greenlighted beef imports from Brazil after ironing out safety concerns, namely with foot and mouth disease. The USDA concluded that Brazilian beef shipped to the United States had to be boneless, an accepted method for preventing importation of diseases like FMD and mad cow disease.

Tester opposed the USDA decision last year.

Both Montana Sens. Tester and Republican Steve Daines penned letters to Acting Deputy Agriculture Secretary Michael Young on Wednesday with questions about beef imports from Brazil.

Daines request was slightly more nuanced. He asked that any meatpacking plant implicated in the scandal be banned from shipping beef to the United States, but left the door open for imports from facilities not implicated.
Fish need water, and Idahos mountains are full of water in the form of a giant snowpack. According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, mountain ranges throughout the state in early March had snowpacks ranging from 90 percent of average in the Couer dAlene and Priest drainages to 175 percent of average in the Big Wood drainage. Most areas were running between 120 and 160 percent of normal.

After about five years of mild to average winters, this snowpack will have rivers at high flows and some at flood stages, and nearly all the lakes, reservoirs and ponds should have ample water.

Overall, thats good news for fish and anglers, but theres some bad news as well. The bad is rivers will likely be difficult to fish until late spring and early summer, unless dam controlled, so prime fishing time will be delayed.

But big water years tend to boost natural fish production, so benefits from this year will be seen for several years, and in the case of sturgeon, possibly for decades.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game fish biologists Jim Fredericks, Jeff Dillon and Martin Koenig provide some details about what we can expect this year, and in the future.

Q: Were looking at the biggest snowpack weve seen in years thats now starting to melt off the mountains. Lets start with the obvious. Hows that going to affect river fishing?

A: River fishing will still be good, but it wont happen until later than normal. Generally speaking, rivers are going to be high and off color from April through at least mid-June. That of course varies depending on the particular drainage and whether flows are regulated by dams. In the short term, high water makes fishing tough, but big flows benefit fish populations in the long run by remodeling the habitat. The good news is that, unlike some recent summers, flows will likely be higher well into summer, and the good fishing will likely extend further into July or August than it normally does.

Q: Big snowpacks seem to fill every lake, reservoir and pond. How will having more waters available affect Fish and Games trout stocking? More specifically, will there be enough fish to go around?

A: Yes, there will be fish to go around. In some places, anglers will actually see more fish stocked. Thats because well be delaying stocking in some waters where high flows have put a damper on fishing. Once things settle down, well actually have more fish to work with. For example, high flows will keep us from stocking the Boise River for several weeks, so well either hold them for stocking later, or reallocate them to ponds or lakes where the runoff isnt affecting fishing.

Q: Warmwater fish can be trickier because there arent hatcheries devoted to them like trout. Will there be warmwater fish restocked in some waters that were drained in recent years?

A: We are looking at re-establishing bass, bluegill and crappie populations in some of the reservoirs where populations disappeared in the drier years. Because these species are fully capable of populating lakes on their own, we generally just stock enough fish to serve as parent stock. Building up a fishable population takes a few years, so anglers may not see the benefits immediately. In the next few months, Southwest Region fisheries staff will collect adult bass and bluegill from nearby waters and transfer them into Indian Creek, Blacks Creek and Paddock reservoirs.

Q: Overall, it seems big water years have paid a lot of dividends down the road. Natural production just seems to do better when theres lots of water. Can you give some examples of what species tend to flourish after a big snow year? Any that might surprise us?

A: One of the benefits of a good water year is high, flushing flows in rivers and streams. The high water helps flush away fine sediments and leaves clean gravel. The result is improved spawning habitat for wild trout and other species, which translates to better fishing in the years to come.

Small to medium size reservoirs often benefit when refilling floods shoreline vegetation. This usually creates a bloom of new food and creates good spawning conditions for bass, bluegill and crappie. Higher reservoir levels and wet spring weather can improve carryover of trout when reservoirs might otherwise get too low. And for Snake River white sturgeon, flows near flood stage are exactly what they require for successful spawning. Young sturgeon produced this year could contribute to fishing for the next 50 years or more.

High flows seem to benefit crappie production in both Brownlee and C.J. Strike reservoirs. For reasons not completely understood, theres a strong connection between high Snake River flows and numbers of crappie a few years later.

Q: Salmon and steelhead seem to do particularly well when we have a big runoff, but there are many other factors that affect salmon and steelhead runs. Do you expect a bump in returns in the next one to three years?

A. Certainly the high flows make for a faster trip to the ocean, which means higher survival for salmon and steelhead juveniles (smolts), and that will certainly help with returns in one to three years. As you note, there are lots of other factors that play into how much of bump in returns well see, such as the number of smolts going out, ocean conditions and predation on the return trip.

Another factor is the high total-dissolved gas levels in the Snake and Columbia rivers associated with water spilling over dams. While high flows are generally good, the volume of spill and associated dissolved gas levels can potentially be lethal to juvenile salmon and steelhead smolts on their way to the ocean. Smolts are able to avoid impacts by staying deep, and the faster trip to the ocean means less time exposed to high gas levels, so hopefully the benefits of the high flows outweigh the potential negative side effects.

Q: A lot of water is going through the dams, and in the past thats taken some reservoir fish downstream as well. Any concerns about that this spring?

A: Fish passing downstream over or through dams (what we call entrainment) is always a concern in really big water years, but impacts to fisheries are highly variable. Its not a concern for all species, and its also very reservoir-specific. Some fisheries can really be hurt, but in other instances, entrainment can actually be a good thing.

Species with an instinctive urge to migrate downstream like kokanee (which are actually landlocked sockeye salmon) tend to exit reservoirs during high water years more than species like smallmouth bass, which stay put. But even when we see high kokanee entrainment, its not always a bad thing. In some reservoirs, such as Anderson Ranch, fewer kokanee mean better growth and much larger fish. Another thing weve seen is that even though some reservoirs like Anderson Ranch or Arrowrock Reservoir may lose fish, downstream reservoirs like Lucky Peak may benefit.

Q: OK. Time to really peak into the playbook. Where are anglers likely to see some exceptionally good fishing this year thanks to the snowpack?

A: The big snowpack will help late-summer fishing the most in undammed trout rivers like the St. Joe, Lochsa, Middle/South Fork Boise (above Anderson Ranch), but that benefit wont happen until July through September.

Small and medium-sized reservoirs that suffered during the drought should benefit as well. Places like Little Camas Reservoir, Mountain Home Reservoir, Magic Reservoir or Roseworth Reservoir should see good fishing for newly stocked trout and hopefully better carryover for next year.

Roger Phillips is a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
ALMO  Don't try to access City of Rocks National Reserve from Oakley  that is, from the west side of the park  Superintendent Wallace Keck said in late March.

Instead, reach the east side of City of Rocks via the Idaho 77 spur through Almo.

What's wrong with west-side access?

Emery Pass along the City of Rocks Backcountry Byway is closed by a deep snowdrift, Keck said. Access to the reserve via Junction Valley Road and Twin Sisters Road is closed because of washouts.

"Both roads are within the jurisdiction of the Cassia County Road and Bridge Department," Keck said in a release. "City of Rocks National Reserve continues to work with the county to expedite the opening of these roads, which are likely to remain closed through the first week of April."

Information: 208-824-5901. Or watch the park's Facebook account for updates: Facebook.com/CityOfRocksNPS/
GOODING  Police detained 150 people and 80 roosters were euthanized when a cockfight was discovered March 25 north of Gooding.

It was the first cockfight discovered by Idaho law enforcement in 10 years, and will be the first test of a 2012 state law that made organizing a cockfight a felony crime when drugs or gambling are involved.

Cockfights are not uncovered very often, said Allison Maier, a spokeswoman for the Idaho Humane Society. Our head of animal control said theres been only three in the past 15 years. Its been awhile since anything like this.

Authorities last found a cockfighting ring in February 2007 in Kuna when Ada County deputies followed a suspected drunken driver to a fight, according to Associated Press reports from the time. When the deputies arrived, about 50 people fled, but authorities detained 15 people and discovered 19 roosters.

Gooding County sheriffs deputies discovered Saturdays fight after a noise complaint was called in about 9:30 p.m., Sheriff Shawn Gough said in a statement. When deputies arrived, they found about 100 cars parked outside a shop at the residence.

Deputies took the names and addresses of all the attendees before releasing them, and the organizer of the event is under investigation, Gough said. Deputies seized narcotics, firearms and equipment used in cockfighting.

Anyone who organizes, promotes or advertises a cockfight where drugs and gambling are present can be charged with a felony, according to the state statute passed in 2012. Anyone who participates can be charged with a misdemeanor.

The roosters seized Saturday were taken to the Gooding County Fairgrounds where the Idaho Humane Society euthanized them Sunday.

Though there were some injured roosters, most werent externally in bad condition, Maier said, but cockfighting roosters are often given various drugs such as strychnine, caffeine, amphetamines and epinephrine to make them more aggressive and increase their endurance.

This is one of the main reasons why they cant be adopted out or used for other purposes, Maier said. The most humane option is euthanasia.

Another reason cockfighting roosters cant be kept alive: Their natural spurs are often sawed off and replaced by razor sharp steel blades.

The roosters were euthanized by injections, Maier said, administered humanely by a Humane Society veterinarian.
TWIN FALLS  Law enforcement officials are searching for a man they say led them on a chase Saturday night that started in Twin Falls and ended with him fleeing his vehicle near Hollister.

According to the Twin Falls Police Department, officers were dispatched to locate a suspicious vehicle in the 600 block of Addison Avenue West. As officers arrived in the area, the driver of the vehicle began to drive away.

Officers said they recognized the driver as Romeo Trevino, who had an outstanding warrant for probation violation on an original charge of armed robbery. Trevino led officers on a pursuit out of Twin Falls City limits, officials say. Officers from the Filer Police Department intercepted the pursuit along with deputies from the Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office. Trevino continued to elude law enforcement officers and drove to the Hollister area where he abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot, police say.

A canine team was used unsuccessfully in an effort to track the suspect.

Trevino remained at large Sunday night, and the Twin Falls County Sheriffs Department has received reports from Hollister residents of an individual trying to steal vehicles.

Police are asking for assistance in locating Trevino. They ask that people do not approach him if he is spotted and instead call 911. If you see him If you It is t is unknown whether Trevino is carrying a firearm.
EDEN  A man who pointed a long-barreled gun at deputies Sunday evening before escaping into the desert north of Eden has turned himself in, the sheriffs office said.

Brian Marshall Pinell, 26, flagged down a Twin Falls County Sheriffs deputy about 10:45 a.m. Monday and gave himself up after about 17 hours on the run, Jerome County Sgt. Chad Kingsland said.

He is in custody at the Jerome County Jail, Kingsland said. What were looking at is two felony counts of aggravated assault and felony eluding.

Pinell was wanted since shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday when he led police on a chase through Eden, crashed his Dodge SUV, pointed a gun at deputies and fled into the desert on foot, Jerome County Sheriff Doug McFall said.

Deputies used a drone to search for him but did not follow him for fear of being ambushed.

We didnt go after him, we didnt want to take the chance of him picking our guys off or getting in a gun battle out there, McFall said.

Pinells passenger gave himself up without incident and is not being charged with any crimes.

The chase began shortly after 5 p.m. when Pinell came blasting through town, McFall said. During the chase, he crashed into a concrete wall but continued about a mile north of Eden before jumping out of the car.

We have reason to believe he was driving under the influence of alcohol, McFall said. After he stopped, he bails out and pulls a long gun out, points it at deputies.

Pinell fled northeast without any shots fired, and deputies used a drone to search for him but were unable to find him. The deputies were in the area until about 7:30 p.m. Sunday and were working Monday to secure a warrant.

About the same time the warrant was being finalized Monday morning, Pinell flagged down a Twin Falls deputy on routine duty and turned himself in. Hes expected to be formally charged Tuesday in Jerome County Magistrate Court.
Weight loss support

TOPS Club (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), a nonprofit weight-loss support group, will meet weekly at several locations.

The Twin Falls chapter will meet at 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Twin Falls Senior Center, 530 Shoshone St. W., 208-734-2641 or 208-734-5300.

Other local chapters will meet at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday at 2025 S. Highway 81 in Malta, 208-645-2438; 9:15 a.m. Thursday at the Jerome Public Library, 100 First Ave. E., 208-324-6693; 9:30 a.m. Thursday at 410 E. Third St. in Rupert, 208-436-6037 or 208-679-3518; and at 5:30 p.m. Friday at 1800 J St. in Heyburn, 208-678-8706 or 208-678-2622.

Yoga

Morning Bliss Yoga, 9 a.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays at the YMCA, 1751 Elizabeth Blvd.

The yoga class stretches and strengthens the muscles with a strong focus on breath and body alignment.

Free to the community. 208-733-4384.

Grief support

Visions of Hope meeting, 5 p.m. every Thursday at Hospice Visions, 1770 Park View Drive, Twin Falls.

This grief support group is open to everyone in the community.

Information: 208-735-0121.

Mental health support

Mental Health Support Group will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursdays at 826 Eastland Drive in Twin Falls. The free support group is open to Magic Valley residents.

Information: 208-539-7492.

Grief support

Griefshare meeting, 6:30 p.m. Thursdays at Lighthouse Church, 960 Eastland Drive, Twin Falls.

Anyone who has lost a loved one or friend is welcome to attend. A separate class for pre-teen and teens will meet at the same time. Participants can attend any session. Enter through the east doors at the rear of the building.

Information: 208-737-4667.

Senior living

Turning 65 Boot Camp, a community outreach program offered by the newly formed nonprofit Patient Financial Navigator Foundation, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the College of Southern Idaho Shields Building, rooms 117-118.

Topics will include healthcare buzz, Medicare, investment strategies, cost to retire, tax and insurance impacts, Social Security benefits, advance directive, palliative care, and seniors assistance programs.

Free and open to the public. Information: http://pfnfinc.com.

Happy babies

Happiest Baby on the Block class, 6:30 to 9 p.m. April 4 in Oak Room 2-4 on the lower level of St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center, 801 Pole Line Road W., Twin Falls.

Learn a step-by-step approach to soothing your baby, and receive a parenting kit to use at home.

Cost is $15; pre-registration is required: 208-814-0402.

Resources fair

Syringa Place, a senior living community by Enlivant Corporation, will host a Senior and Caregiver Resource Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 5 at 1880 Harrison St. N. in Twin Falls.

Vendors will provide information about resources, insurance, safety and investment ideas for senior and caregivers.

The event is free and open to the public.

CPR, infant safety

Infant safety and cardiopulmonary resuscitation class, 6:30 to 9 p.m. April 5 in Oak Rooms 2-4 on the lower level of St. Lukes Magic Valley, 801 Pole Line Road W., Twin Falls.

New parents, grandparents and caregivers learn CPR and what to do if an infant chokes. The class isnt a certification course.

Free; no registration required. 208-814-0402.

Dental sealants

Delta Dental of Idaho will offer free dental sealants and fluoride varnish through its Grins on the Go program.

A dental clinic will begin April 5 for students in first and second grades at Mountain View Elementary School in Burley.

Dental sealants fill the deep grooves of a childs back teeth, and fluoride varnish helps protect the smooth surfaces of teeth. Clinics are on-site at schools serving low-income families as part of Delta Dental of Idahos community outreach efforts.

A parent or guardian must sign a permission form and fill out a health history for a child to receive the free treatments. Permission forms are available at the school.

The Grins on the Go clinic doesnt bill Medicaid or private insurance. There is no cost associated with the program.

Information: Delta Dental community outreach, 208-489-3541.

Tobacco cessation

South Central Public Health District is offering adult tobacco cessation classes in Twin Falls and Hailey.

Cody Orchard, health education specialist, will lead the Freedom From Smoking classes designed to help those wanting to stop using tobacco.

In Twin Falls, the free classes will be held from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays, April 5 through May 3 and May 10 through June 7, at the Wellness Tree, 173 Martin St. The course will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursdays, April 6 through May 4 and May 11 through June 8, at the health district office, 1020 Washington St. N., on the College of Southern Idaho campus.

In Hailey, classes will be from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays, April 24 through May 22, at St. Lukes Wood River Clinics Carbonate Room, 1450 Aviation Drive.

To pre-register, contact Orchard at 208-737-5968. Information: phd5.idaho.gov.

Blood drive

The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 6 at the College of Southern Idahos Student Union Building in Twin Falls.

Schedule an appointment online at redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code CSIEagles or call Debi, 208-484-0138.

CPR, first aid

St. Lukes Magic Valley Education Department is offering a Heartsaver CPR, First Aid and AED class, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 8 at the Learning Center, 840 Meadows Suite 2, Twin Falls.

The course provides training for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid and using an automated external defibrillator.

Cost is $60 and pre-registration is required: 208-814-9050.

Childbirth

St. Lukes Magic Valley prepared childbirth bootcamp, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 8 in the Oak Room at St. Lukes, 801 Pole Line Road W., Twin Falls. This session is for those unable to attend the five-week prepared childbirth classes.

Topics: wellness during pregnancy; labor process with relaxation and breathing techniques; videos of deliveries and labor positions; and care of the postpartum mother and newborn. Bring a labor support person if possible.

Cost is $25 and pre-registration is required, 208-814-0402.
The pulling of the GOP health-care bill this week was a big loss, and perhaps significant beyond its own costs, as it may signal that the Area 51 sub-caucus within the Freedom Caucus is made up not so much of conservative Republicans as parties of one with no interest in an agenda shared beyond whatever exists in the space between their own ears. They appear to believe in legislative flying saucers that can appear out of a parallel universe where neither the rules of the Senate generally nor of budget reconciliation specifically apply. Such extraterrestrial lawmaking doesnt actually exist, but too many in the Freedom Caucus seem to think it does.

But it was still, the record must show, a very good week for the conservative cause generally and President Donald Trump specifically. He promised a worthy successor to Justice Antonin Scalia, and Judge Neil Gorsuch proved to be that in his hearings. Gorsuch also seems to have triggered the return of the now-Charles Schumer-led political madness of the Harry Reid era. Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has promised a filibuster of Gorsuch, which will oblige Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to invoke the Reid Rulewhich allows the Senates rules and precedents to be changed by a simple majority vote. The first application of the Reid Rule allowed Democrats to avoid supermajority confirmation of life-tenured federal appellate and district court judges and executive branch nominees. The second application would break the rule about supermajority confirmation of Supreme Court justices. Originalists have long wanted this result. Now we will get it, along with a great originalist justice in Neil Gorsuch.

So Trump had good reason to shake off the rebuff from the Freedom Caucus and the pulling of the health-care bill, and despite his Oval Office aside about being surprised by the lack of loyalty in the caucus, he was loyal to House Speaker Paul Ryan, as was Ryan to Trump. This bodes well for the party and for governing over the next 18 months.

What doesnt bode well is the shared decision of president and speaker to advance next on tax reform, with the twin political death traps of abolition of the home mortgage interest deduction and the state and local taxes deduction. I expect (and hope) for a loss on those Beltway Holy Grails not sought by many, if any, outside of it. A corporate tax cut, yes, and tax simplification, yes, but not two big intraparty squabbles and crackups in a row.

Better to go for infrastructure, including the border wall, and best of all, the fulfillment of the promise of a 350-ship Navy and the general defense buildup that needs to surround that Trump goal.

To that end, though, there needs to be a nomination rush, and soon, in both the Defense and State departments. And those nominees need to be Republicans.

This is the good week that could have been much better. Putting a 30-year-plus originalist on the court will be a history-maker. A legislative loss is an inevitability. The latter is disappointing, but the lessons learned along the way are invaluable to everyone, even the Republican members who will be punished in ways large and small in the weeks, months and years ahead.

I would have preferred the best of weeks. But Id take a likely SCOTUS confirmation over a one-house-of-Congress win any day. The real pain millions will continue to feel from the accelerating collapse of Obamacare could have been avoided, but as the president and others have noted, collapse and replace may have political advantages over repeal and replace. Id prefer real reform, but the political benefits are not bad consolation prizes.

The GOP leadership team needs to keep planning and keep pressing, and the 2018 cycle has to adjust for some casualties from among the inside-the-caucus wreckers who will draw primary challengers and thus be bled before the general. But on the Senate side, where Democrats facing the 2018 midterms were probably hoping for some health-care theatrics in their chamber to wipe away the memory of the Gorsuch hearings, the smiles are forced.

A good week for the GOP. It could have been a great one.

Now, though, with Aetnas president voicing what everyone blessed with behind-closed-doors objectivity understandsthat the Obamacare death cycle is realthe opportunity for health-care reform legislation shifts to the Senate, where the doors of Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Finance Committee, must be open to ranking Democrats Patty Murray (Wash.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) should the latter want to approach the former with reform proposals. Democrats face a potential disaster with 25 of their seats up in 2018 and only eight of the GOP incumbents campaigning. The urgency to find a fix to Obamacares collapse should be on Senate Democrats. If they can find a way to gracefully exit the nightmare of Obamacare without calling it a repudiation of the former president, the Senate GOP should listen and consult with Trump and Ryan about genuine bipartisan compromises. Those could include immigration regularization, targeted infrastructure, tax reform and, of course, the defense buildup via an end to the sequester. A big deal would have to come out of the Senate, and it would have to be mostlythough not exclusivelythe GOPs agenda, and it might keep Democratic losses down to a handful of seats in 2018.

That way, of course, votes the Area 51 sub-caucus of the Freedom Caucus off the island. But thats what they asked for. They prefer their late-night meetings and cold-pizza breakfasts to legislation that addresses the countrys many deep problems. If Alexander and Hatch start meeting with Murray and Wyden, goodnot great, but goodthings could happen.

What doesnt bode well is the shared decision of president and speaker to advance next on tax reform, with the twin political death traps of abolition of the home mortgage interest deduction and the state and local taxes deduction.
I stopped in for a check-up this week at my doctors office and, as I stood in the waiting area, I surveyed the patients and wondered which of themwhich of uswill be able to afford a visit a year from now. When I talked with the doctor later, he seemed to wonder too.

In the last few years the portion of uninsured Americans slid to record lows, another way of saying that health care has become available to more of usmany more than a decade ago. The system is not perfect or cheap, but insured care is more affordable. The new bill being wrangled over in the U.S. House, planned for a vote this last week, would put insurancehealth careout of reach for tens of millions of Americans, and weaken or make more expensive coverage for tens of millions more.

This has gotten lots of attention around the country, but less, it seems, in debates and discussions in Congress. How are Idahos two House membersparticipants in the battle underway (as this was written Thursday evening)framing the talk about it?

In different ways.

Raul Labrador released this (lightly edited here) as his position statement on March 8:

Six years ago, I promised the people of Idaho that I would do everything I could to fully repeal and replace Obamacare with a healthcare system that focused on people, not programs. One built around successful health outcomes, not the bottom line of insurance companies. ... I have spent the last two days studying the American Health Care Act, and unfortunately, it is not that bill. Upon its release, President Trump signaled his willingness to negotiate. Im eager to take him up on this offer. All good legislative solutions must go through rigorous debate, and Im willing to work with the leadership in the House, and the President, to find a solution to this critical problem. What I wont do is break the pledge I made to the people of Idaho who sent me here to fix this. I am hopeful we can have an open and honest debate on this issue. We owe it to the people of Idaho and the nation to get it right.

What does get it right mean? Right for who? What insurance would people have when they get sick? No specifics are on offer.

As of Thursday evening, Labrador said he remained opposed to the new bill, as well as the ACA. What he would rather have is unclear. Others in the Freedom Caucus (of which hes a member) seem to want a simple ACA repeal, or something close to it: a return to 2009 which would, like the current bill, throw tens of millions off insurance, end coverage guarantees and return to higher increases in premiums. Would Labrador go along with that?

Mike Simpson, by profession a dentist before joining Congress, is not clearer. He like Labrador has repeatedly voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but as to the specifics of what should follow ... Hes not released a general statement on the new proposal by House Speaker Paul Ryan as Labrador has, though a spokesman said, it is impossible to say yes or no because changes are currently being made and we havent seen the final bill. True; the terms of the bill seem continually up for grabs, and a House vote may happen before many of them even are analyzed. But as with Labrador, we havent heard much about specifics.

Simpson, who has been close to House leadership for some years, also was quoted by National Public Radio: One of the reasons I dont want this bill to fail is I dont want Paul to fail.

I doubt that the people in physician waiting rooms in Idaho Falls and Nampa next year will much care about Paul Ryans political stature. Theyre more likely to be concerned about whether, or not, they can afford the health care they need.

That may be the subject of a lot of questions, for both Labrador and Simpson, in months to come.
Fourteen of 29 inmates are still on the run after they escaped by tunneling underneath a Mexican prison wall, authorities said Sunday.

The inmates escaped Wednesday from a prison in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas state secretariat of security said Saturday

According to Mexican authorities, the inmates used a tunnel that was 5 meters (16.4 feet) deep and 40 meters (131 feet) long.

During the escape, one of the inmates shot a man during a carjacking.

The prison was built in the 1940s and Mexican authorities say it is outdated and lacks appropriate security measures.

The government of Tamaulipas has been looking at the possibility of building a new jail so it can close Cedes Victoria, the prison where the inmates escaped.

Following the escape, security officials destroyed unauthorized shelters constructed by inmates on prison grounds and searched cells.

In reaction to those efforts, a riot broke out in the prison Friday night. Three inmates were stabbed to death and one was injured, officials said. The injured inmate has been transferred to a different jail in the state.

The inmates set debris on fire during the riot, but the flames were put out within an hour.

The tunnel was sealed with concrete Saturday.

CNN's Marilia Brocchetto contributed to this report.
Copyright  2022 HT Digital Streams Ltd All Right Reserved
The Presidency Council (PC) established under the Libya Political Agreement has issued a decree watering down the influence of the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) over the countrys oil wealth.

The decree uplifted the PC to the level of manager of the countrys oil resources, making it responsible for the supervision and exploitation of the oil wealth and a signatory to all projects linked to it. The reason for the decision is yet to be known but henceforth, the UN-backed authority will have to approve Exploration-Production Sharing Agreements and NOC recommendations related to the abandonment of production franchises.

The decree coincided with a released statement from the NOC warning a group of individuals abusing the current status of political division in Libya by entering into illegal contracts with unknown or unqualified companies to sell Libyan crude oil at huge discounts below the official selling price. It called on these identified individuals and their associates to stop such practices.

It is unclear if the decree was taken in this vein as it limited NOCs actions to proposing operational plans, and controlling the production amount and export processes. The PC will henceforth control the pricing of oil and gas and derivatives and will oversee the security and protection of oil resources.

Meanwhile, the effectiveness of the decree is being questioned by analysts because the PC has limited authority in Libya due to the lack of military presence in some of the troubled areas especially around the oil crescent. Most of the oil ports are under the control of militias that are not directly under the control of the UN-backed government.

The illegal sale of oil could help fuel a war that seems to elude any tangible peace plan proposal for the moment.
Following the new sanctions announced by Washington, on Friday, against companies and individuals believed to have helped in the transfer of sensitive items in support of Irans ballistic missile program, Tehran reacted on Sunday by imposing sanctions on 15 US companies.

Iran accuses the 15 firms of blatant violation of human rights and international humanitarian rights. It also accuses them of supporting Tel Avivs terrorist activities and Israels development of Zionist settlements on Palestinian soil.

Iran rejected the latest US sanctions on the basis that the move was prompted by fabricated and illegitimate pretexts and in contradiction with the nuclear agreement reached in July 2015 with the so-called P5+1. It also argued that its missile defense program is aimed at safeguarding the countrys right to defend itself against any foreign aggression and build up its deterrence power against threats without going into details.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry stressed that it will not accept restrictions imposed against its efforts to protect its dignity, territorial integrity and security of the people.

Washington stated that the sanctions are in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution 2231, which prohibits the Middle Eastern country from associating itself from any activity linked to the development of a ballistic missile that could deliver a nuclear warhead. The US sanctions targeted 11 companies or individuals from China, North Korea or the United Arab Emirates.

The Iranian sanctions are symbolic because none of the 15 concerned companies operate in the country. However, officials working under the companies will not be allowed entry to Iran. The list, according to the Iranian authorities, is not exhaustive and could be increased if deemed necessary.
After more than five months of political impasse, the negotiations for the formation of a new governing coalition in Morocco made a breakthrough and a new cabinet lineup will be unveiled very soon.

Head of Government designate Saad Eddine El Othmani of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) has announced over the weekend that he reached an agreement with five other parties to set up a coalition government.

El Othmani was picked up for the task by Moroccos King Mohammed VI on March 17, after PJD leader Abdelilah Benkirane failed to form a new government.

The government, to be led by El Othmani, will be composed of ministers representing six parties: PJD (moderate Islamist party), the National Rally of Independents (RNI, Liberals), the Popular Movement (MP), the Constitutional Union (UC), the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) and the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS, communist). The RNI, the MP and the PPS were part of the outgoing PJD-led government.

Following the October elections, the PJD succeeded in convincing two other parties, the PPS and the Istiqlal Party to join a coalition, and needed only one other party to achieve a majority and form a government. But Aziz Akhanouch, the new head of RNI has put conditions on joining the coalition. He insisted on the inclusion of three parties: the UC, the MP and the USFP, which gained modest votes in latest parliamentary elections.

Benkirane utterly refused the USFP participation in the cabinet, saying he already made concessions when he relinquished the presidency of the Lower House to the USFP. He also accepted, as requested by the RNI, to exclude the Istiqlal Party. But this still did not break the deadlock. But El Othmani accepted the presence of the USFP in the future coalition, which seems a deal breaker.

According to some press reports, the new government team could be announced before King Mohammed VI heads to Amman (Jordan) to attend the Arab League summit by months end.
Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank.


via @learyreports

WASHINGTON  With President Trump scheduled to return to Florida next week, his sixth visit since taking office, Democrats are keeping up pressure on him to disclose any conflicts.

A newly-introduced bill called the Mar-a-Lago Act would force the White House to provide visitor logs for Trumps Palm Beach estate.

It's simple: the American people have a right to know who has access to the president and who has leverage over this administration," Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. said. "Many Americans are rightly worried about whether the wealthy and well-connected are being given special treatment and undue influence in the Trump White House. President Trump has assembled a cabinet filled with millionaires and billionaires, he's pursuing an agenda of massive tax cuts for the rich, and the initiation fees at Mar-A-Lago - where people are getting uncommon access to the president and his top advisers - have just doubled to $200,000.

By refusing to release the White House visitor logs, President Trump is only validating the rampant concerns about who may be pulling the levers in his administration. The president should end his administration's disturbing pattern of stonewalling information and immediately reinstate the previous administration's policy of publishing White House visitor logs. And given President Trump's unprecedented decision to regularly conduct official business at his private business properties, the Trump administration has an obligation to make public the visitor lists at places like Mar-A-Lago and Trump Tower."

The Mar-A-Lago Act  formally Making Access Records Available to Lead American Government Openness Act  has little chance of making it through Congress, but is another sign of the unique dynamics brought by President Trump.

Trump is expected to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago next week.

--ALEX LEARY, Tampa Bay Times

Photo credit: Associated Press
via @allisonbgraves

Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran told a story about Lockheed Martin as an example of how easy it is to walk back ambitious job goals prescribed in state incentive contracts.

Speaking recently at the Panhandle Tiger Bay Club, Corcoran said, "I say, I promise you 305 jobs, and then I come back to you and say, Hey, I'm not close on the jobs. Can you help me out?' You know what they do? No problem, we'll amend your contract. How many jobs can you deliver?' Six. Fine. Now, the contract says you will deliver six jobs.' And then we go out and tout it community to community as a success."

Corcoran continued: "That's a true story, Lockheed Martin."

Corcoran's tale has some truth but oversimplifies what happened. PolitiFact Florida has the Truth-O-Meter rating


via @DelgadoAntonioM

Sen. Marco Rubio sent a strong warning Monday to the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Haiti, saying that it would be difficult to protect them from possible cuts in U.S. aid if they fail to defend democracy when the Venezuelan government comes up for a possible sanctions vote at the Organization of American States (OAS).

The Florida Republican, one of the harshest critics of the Venezuelan government in Washington, told the Nuevo Herald that the OAS vote set for Tuesday is exceptionally important for the future of democracy in the region, and of the hemispheric organization itself.

The vote would even affect the assistance that Washington provides to El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, he added.

"This is not a threat, but it is the reality," said Rubio, one of the architects of U.S. laws that already sanction Venezuela's chavista government because of the corruption and human rights violations in the oil-producing country.

"We have a very difficult situation in Washington, where massive cuts in foreign aid are under consideration," the senator said. "And it will be very difficult for us to justify assistance to those countries if they, at the end of the day, are countries that do not cooperate in the defense of democracy in the region."

More here.

Photo credit: Steve Helber, Associated Press
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HELENA  A bill to allow certain Montana cities and towns to increase their resort tax has failed on a tie vote.

The bill died on a 25-25 vote Monday without debate in the final vote of the state Senate. It had passed an initial vote on Saturday 26-23.

The bill would have allowed designated resort communities that now collect a 3 percent sales tax to impose an additional 1 percent local option tax, if local voters approve.

The extra revenue would have to be used for workforce housing or for infrastructure such as water systems, roads and bridges.

There are four designated resort communities and six designated resort areas in Montana. All of them now collect the 3 percent sales tax.
STEVENSVILLE  An empty can of Fosters beer in a plastic bag hangs from a barb on Roy Capps fence.

If you want to boil down Capps years of frustration over the unregulated public use of his familys land next to the Bitterroot River, on this day there may not be a better example than that one single inanimate object.

Capp shakes his head slowly in disgust as he points to it.

That just shows the disrespect that people have for this place, he said. Theres no garbage can here. No one is taking care of this place. No one cares how it looks or whats left behind.

This place is the site that hundreds  maybe even thousands  of people use as a fishing access site, beachfront and trailhead every year.

Located immediately downstream from the bridge crossing the Bitterroot River west of Stevensville, the area is often packed full with vehicles and boat trailers during the peak fishing season.

Nearly every one of those is parked on the property that the Capp family has owned since the 1970s.

Over the past year, the family has been in negotiations with the city of Stevensville and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for a land exchange. The Capps have offered 3.6 acres of land they own just below the bridge and another 1.5 acres in town for 8 acres of park land owned by the town of Stevensville.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has agreed to build a new parking area and pit toilet on land currently owned by the Capps if the exchange goes through.

The land swap proposal has its detractors. Some dont want the city to give up any of the 24 acres it owns just downstream from the Capp property.

Recently, the two governmental entities opted to take a hard look at the potential of creating a new fishing access at other locations, including one directly across the river from the Capp property.

That property is owned by the Montana Department of Transportation and Ravalli County.

FWPs fishing access site program manager Rory Zarling said that site would require removing about a foot or so of soil to make a boat launch possible.

The group also looked at the potential of building a new boat launch on the park property already owned by town. The challenge there is the area is in the floodplain, which would create its own set of challenges.

We are somewhat cautious about bulldozing a road into that type of habitat, Zarling said. In order to get a loop, we have the road close to the waters edge. Any time you build a road next to the river, you dont know how stable it will be for the long term.

***

The challenge for everyone involved with the process is time. This years fishing season is going to start in earnest very soon.

When Capp drove through his property Friday morning, there were already a number of vehicles there and rafts filled with fishermen at the waters edge.

Capp said his family isnt willing to let the process continue on forever.

Weve been talking about this same proposal since at least 1995, Capp said. Weve been trying to address this issue since the town made that area into a park.

Capps wife, Laurie, said the family would be fine if the town opted to build the fishing access site on the other side of the river or on its own land.

That wouldnt hurt us at all, she said.

But the couple said the city has to make up its mind soon or they will be forced to close their land off to the public.

Ill shut if off, Capp said. Its time for them to make a decision. This has been going on long enough. Its become a community access site on private property.

That fact opens the Capp family to a variety of liability concerns beyond the frustration of the continued degradation of the site.

Capp said he can easily see down into the park from his ranch. When hes called to report trespass violations or other concerns, he said local and county law enforcement have been slow to respond. For a man with a combined 30 years of law enforcement experience as both a civilian and with the U.S. Armys special forces, that lack of security is discouraging.

If I call the police to come to the property, I get a text that says Ill look into it,  Capp said. And then I dont even get a call back. Thats what we have deal with here.

***

On Friday, Capp walked around the parking lot at the towns park to point out the obscene graffiti painted on signs and the building that once housed a bathroom. He watched a man head down the trail with his two unleashed dogs.

The sign right there says that all dogs are supposed to be a leash, he said. They are not taking care of what they already own.

Not long ago, Capp said he spotted a dog running in his field adjacent to the city park. When he confronted its owner about not having his dog under control, Capp said the man swore at him.

I was on my own land when that happened, he said. This isnt the good old days when people helped each other out. The people we are dealing with here are different.

In Capps mind, gaining that additional 8 acres at the far end of the town park will provide him with a little bit more of a buffer from the public. It will also cut down on the size of the land that needs to be patrolled.

Ive taken great pride in caring for this ranch, Capp said. You wont find any bailing twine or other trash on my property and then I see that Foster's can hanging from my fence. It just infuriates me. People dont respect the fact that this is private land.
This past month, wildlands philanthropist Kris Tompkins donated 1 million acres of privately owned wild parklands to the country of Chile. The largest single philanthropic donation of wildlands in the world, it was the culmination of an ambitious 25-year conservation effort by Tompkins and her late husband, Doug Tompkins, to create a string of parklands along the Patagonia landscapes.

In accepting the donation, Chiles President, Michelle Bachelet, agreed to merge another 10 million acres of Chilean national lands to the Tompkins donation to create 11 million acres of new parklands. To put this into perspective, Yellowstone, one of our larger national parks, is 2.2 million acres. So, the new parklands are equal to five Yellowstones.

When completed, the addition of these new parks will give Chile the distinction of having 29 percent of its land acres in protected landscapes, one of the highest percentage of protected wildlands of any country in the world.

While we can all celebrate the generosity of the Tompkins and the wisdom of the Chilean people who appreciate and recognize the ecosystem, biodiversity and economic value of parklands, it is ironic that Chile has vastly surpassed the United States in landscape protection.

The idea of protected parklands began in America with the 1872 creation of Yellowstone National Park which has become a global model for land preservation. While 29% of the Chilean landscape will soon be protected in national parks, the United States has just 3.4% of its land acreage protected as national parks.

Even if you add in other protected landscapes like federal wilderness areas, only 14 percent of the U.S. land area is highly protected from exploitation and development.

Even more worrisome for the future of wildlands protection is that some in the Republican-dominated Congress are opposed to creation of new parklands (witness the opposition of Utahs delegation to the recently designated Bears Ears National Monument), and even attempting to remove protections for our wildlands.

Sec. of Interior Ryan Zinke and the Trump administration have indicated that they want to ramp up development on public lands, and decrease environmental protections and defund watch-dog agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency.

Chile and other countries have recognized that protecting wildlands is part of preserving a countrys heritage and patrimony. At the same time, these wildlands provide a home for all the other life on Earth. If we truly wish to preserve biodiversity for its own worth, as well as its value to humanity, we need to recognize, as Chile has, that protecting parks and other wildlands is wise self-interest.

Once America was a leader in conservation, but if current trends continue, Americas authority and recognized supremacy in conservation will soon be diminished, along with a loss in our own natural heritage. President Trump declared that he wanted to make America great againhe could begin by supporting the creation of even more national parks and other protected landscapes.
Every so often the Montana VA schedules a town hall and health fair in Missoula, as well as in other communities throughout the state. Its a chance for local veterans, their families and members of the general public to learn about whats new, as well as to share stories and discuss the challenges theyve encountered.

Missoulas next veterans town hall will take place Tuesday at noon in the University Center on the University of Montana campus. It was originally scheduled for early February but that event was cancelled due to icy roads and adverse weather. Given recent reports and upcoming decisions that will significant impact veterans in Montana, its as good a time as any.

This month, the Department of Veterans Affairs released the latest in a long line of troubling reports; this one showed that Montanas military veterans faced delays obtaining referrals and scheduling appointments with specialists nearly half the time in 2015, and at least four veterans may have been harmed because of the delays in care they experienced.

Montanas U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and U.S. Sen. Steve Daines asked the Inspector Generals Office of the VA for the review of the states healthcare system at Fort Harrison in Helena. The ensuing report showed that, of 51,941 referrals ordered in 2015, almost 26,000 were delayed. The delays were found within the VA system, in referrals to outside specialists and to providers working with the Veterans Choice program.

New VA Secretary David Shulkin reportedly assured Tester that fixing these kinds of problems will be a priority under his watch. It certainly should be, as Shulkins agency may soon be in much stronger position to start resolving its longstanding problems.

Thats because President Trumps proposed budget includes a 6 percent increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The increase is a significant amount, adding $4.4 billion to the VAs budget, for a total of $78.9 billion.

That, of course, depends on congressional approval. But unlike certain other federal government functions, providing the best possible care for the nations veterans has strong bipartisan support. Still, it remains to be seen how much of this support is mere lip service.

The VA, after all, is the countrys second-largest agency, with more than 313,000 employes and the largest integrated health care system in the nation, counting more than 1,700 hospitals, clinics, community living centers and other facilities. It currently is struggling to fill between 40,000 and 45,000 vacancies for medical positions.

Ideally, if Trumps proposal for the VA receives the necessary support in Congress, the funding increase will go to fill these vacancies and provide better health care for the more than 9 million veterans in the system.

Hopefully, Montanas leaders wont sit on their hands waiting for changes at the federal level to trickle down. At the moment, state legislators have the opportunity to cast votes to help some of Montanas veterans right here, right now, by voting in favor of a bill to fund the construction of a new veterans home in Butte, among other important building projects such as the renovation of Romney Hall on the Montana State University campus in Bozeman, and revamping the outdated historical museum in Helena.

The Republican Senate leadership recognized the importance of these projects and their role in the states overall infrastructure planning, and included them in a draft proposal that has not yet been introduced. The House infrastructure bill, however, does not include them. Instead, a separate piece of legislature, House Bill 14, contains capital and infrastructure projects including about $16.8 million in general obligation bonds for a new state veterans home in southwest Montana.

In either case, the support of at least two-thirds of legislators in both the House and Senate will be critical to approving these projects, as bonding bills require a two-thirds majority to pass.

Of course, there are several other veteran-related bills in the Legislature that also warrant discussion, including legislation to appropriate money for veterans suicide prevention, provide tax credits for apprenticeships with an increase amount for veterans, and others.

Tuesdays town hall with the VA presents a good opportunity for Missoula-area veterans to talk about the challenges theyve run into and to make their most pressing needs known to our both state and federal lawmakers.
What is needed is a definition of terms. What is a real (native) Montanan?

Reading the opinions, it seems that a "real Montanan" must be completely honorable and trustworthy. No other person can be capable of these traits.

I have looked at several reference books with little success. If one is a Montanan, is it an imperative that they are honorable and upstanding? If one is not a real Montanan, I suppose that they cannot be trusted.

I have found that back when Montana became a state there was already a need for justice system and law enforcement. Obviously, people living here in 1889 were not Montanans, for if they were, law enforcement would have been unnecessary.

I know! A real Montanan must be a Native American. Wait a minute; I believe the Native Americans also had problems with people of less-than-honorable intent, so they could not be Montanans.

Non-Montanan Greg Gianforte might be a bum and Rob Quist a saint, or Rob Quist might be a bum and Gianforte a saint. Chances are they both are good people that simply want to get involved in public service.

Quit the name-calling and innuendos.

Ken Kronsperger,

Seeley Lake
BILLINGS  A report examining the submission process for Montana's ACT scores to the feds last year found that all scores were not actually submitted as proficient, as Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen claimed earlier this year, though education officials initially intended to do so.

The report, which Arntzen commissioned, also found issues with the reporting process internally at the Office of Public Instruction, and recommended clearer procedures for handling student test scores.

Previous Superintendent Denise Juneau announced that the state would use the ACT to report federally mandated test scores for high school juniors in late 2015. After raising concerns about Juneau's authority to make that call, Montana's Board of Public Education backed up her decision while being aware that the test did not line up with Montana's education standards.

Arntzen called a press conference in January where she accused Juneau's administration of "falsifying" test scores.

They did not meet state and federal reporting standards and misrepresented student proficiency, Arntzen said at the press conference. It was reported that all Montana (high school juniors) were proficient.

Juneau chalked up the score reporting to a federal form that forced the state to report scores, no matter whether the information was applicable, and that the reporting was intended to be revised later.

***

The report, written by Communication and Management Services, a Helena management and personnel consulting firm that doesn't have specific education expertise, backs up Juneau's claim that OPI intended to change the test scores.

It also found that despite widespread assumptions at OPI, the ACT scores did not require a label from one of four federal score categories, so they were never submitted as proficient. The process appeared to sow significant confusion among agency employees.

OPI officials reviewed a draft copy of the report on March 2, but an employee revised their statement to CMS on March 6, delaying the report's release. That stemmed from access to the reported scores, available since Feb. 20, which showed they weren't submitted as proficient.

The report also delved into why the office never developed cut scores, which would have translated the ACT's 36-point scale into the four federal categories, and never examined the test's alignment with state standards.

Its conclusions called the performance of Judy Snow, OPI's assessment director who retired last fall, into question. CMS did not interview Snow or any former OPI employees. The report does not name employees, but Snow's position is clear based on job titles.

The report says that "there was little or no work done" to address cut scores or standards alignment after Juneau's initial ACT announcement, despite assumptions among OPI employees interviewed for the report that Snow "was taking the necessary steps to implement Superintendent Juneau's directive to use the ACT" and meet federal requirements.

It also notes a lack of communication from Snow to OPI employees and said that despite overlapping employment for her and new assessment director Jessica Eilertson, there was little transfer of departmental knowledge. The report raises questions about accountability within OPI under Jueanu.

It recommends several changes to streamline communication and data handling.

Juneau, in an emailed statement Friday, took issue with the report's lack of contact with her staffers. Several OPI employees left the agency before Arntzen took over, including Chief of Staff Madalyn Quinlan.

"The report proves Elsie is more interested in political games than doing her job," the statement said. "The report takes shots at my former coworkers without consulting any member of my administration to get the facts."

Arntzen said the report's value "cannot be stressed enough."

"Having identified the failures of the past, it is now my job to take leadership and move forward," she said in an emailed statement. "The report indicates several areas of improvement that can be made immediately including proactive management and increased accountability, knowledge transfer and succession planning, and continuous quality improvement. OPI is developing a comprehensive master plan for data accountability."

Arntzen previously said Montana could lose federal funding because the ACT didn't meet federal requirements. However, most other states' testing processes don't meet all federal requirements either.

Twelve states use the ACT or SAT, another college readiness exam, for federal accountability, according to an "Education Week" database. At least seven states won permission from the feds to use those tests, but still must go through the peer-review process.

The Montana debate centers on No Child Left Behind, which will be replaced when the Every Student Succeeds Act goes into effect for the 2017-2018 school year. The new law appears to open the door to ACT use, allowing for "nationally recognized high school academic assessments," but it still requires a peer-review process.

Montanas peer review process has been pushed back a year, according to the federal spokeswoman, because of changes to its assessment program in the 2015-2016 school year  presumably the ACT switch.

In decision letters sent to Wyoming and Wisconsin, who use the ACT, the test was labeled as partially meeting federal requirements for NCLB, in part because the test does not align with state standards.

However, the letters make no mention of the potential loss of federal funding, nor do they declare states non-compliant. Such letters often point out flaws in submissions for any state and request that states resubmit information with corrections.

A review of the latest round of peer review assessment letters shows that of the 31 states that received decision letters, not one met every requirement under NCLB. And none of the letters threaten the loss of federal funding.

In California, state education officials are in the midst of a showdown with federal officials because its use of a test the feds didn't sign off on. State officials have held their ground despite a response from feds citing "many possible enforcement actions and remedies available to be applied by the department, including the withholding of funds, according to Edsource, a California education news outlet.

Unlike California's test, 12 states use the ACT or SAT, another college readiness exam, for federal accountability, according to a database of state tests by Education Week. At least seven states have won permission from the feds to use those tests but still must go through the peer-review process.
HELENA  Law enforcement officials searched a Turk Road property Friday as part of an ongoing investigation into the 2011 murder of a man who once lived along the same roadway, which has been at the heart of several access disputes.

Authorities were tight-lipped about the operations Friday. Several patrol cars blocked the road just outside the home of Katy Wessel and John Mehan. In 2012, officials conducted a search warrant on the same property.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said the activity on Turk Road is part of the ongoing investigation into the murder of John "Mike" Crites, who until his death lived up the dirt road from Friday's flurry of activity.

Authorities refused to answer any further questions regarding the developments, noting that any paperwork relating to the operation are sealed.

No charges have been filed in the killing.

Part of Crites' remains were found in 2011 on MacDonald Pass in a wooded area just off Highway 12 outside of Helena. Other parts of him were found about a year later on the other side of the Continental Divide near Elliston.

On Friday morning, Mehan and Wessel appeared in Helena district court as part of a lawsuit they filed against Crites' estate alleging he continually harassed and threatened the married couple and another neighbor, Dennis Shaw.

A trial in the case was supposed to happen this month, but court documents say the dates will likely be postponed.

The suit was filed in May 2011. Crites disappeared a month later. He was supposed to meet with a neighbor to discuss to ongoing consternation over land disputes the day he went missing.

Two trash bags containing some of 48-year-old Crites' bones were found in October 2011 on MacDonald Pass, which is roughly 25 miles from his Turk Road home.

His skull and other parts of him were located a year later in 2012.

***

In July of that same year, Mehan was arrested on a felony charge of tampering with evidence on allegations he trespassed onto a neighbor's land and removed a video camera that had been used in the murder investigation. In October 2013, Mehan pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of misdemeanor criminal mischief. He received a six-month suspended jail sentence and a $1,000 fine.

The documents filed in the tampering case against Mehan outlined much of the state of the murder investigation at the time, although no one has been charged for the slaying.

Just before his arrest for tampering, the documents allege, Mehan spoke with someone at an event in Helena and voiced knowledge about the case not reported to the public. He said officials had not recovered a specific body part, the paperwork noted.

"Detectives believe the body was dismembered as there were markings on the remaining bones indicating the body had been sawn apart," an investigator wrote in the documents.

At the time, officials had not recovered various body parts, a cellphone and a handgun belonging to Crites. Authorities have declined to say if these items have been found since then.

"Detectives believe these items may not have been disposed of with the bones discarded on MacDonald Pass because the items could contain clues both to Crites' identity, manner of death and his killer," the investigator continued.

When authorities conducted search warrants at the home of Wessel and Mehan in 2012, they collected saws, Hefty garbage bags, a handgun and bolt cutters, among other items, according to previous reports. Shaw's residence was searched at the same time.

Officials have repeatedly said they've never lost hope of solving the murder.

Last summer, a new detective took over the case. The previous two lead investigators have since retired.

Included in the information reviewed by Detective Andrew Blythe were the previous search warrants served in the Turk Road neighborhood, along with one conducted out of state.
DEER LODGE  Inmate visitation will be temporarily reduced from four to two days a week while the Montana State Prison addresses operational issues, warden Leroy Kirkegard said Monday in a news release.

To allow staff to be reassigned to higher priority security posts, Kirkegard said that prison is canceling inmate visitation on Thursdays and Fridays beginning April 6, and will continue until further notice.

Beginning the first week of April, the prison will be open for inmate visitation only on Saturdays and Sundays. Saturdays will be open for all visitors including children, while Sundays will be limited to adult visiting only.

Montana State Prison acknowledges the value and importance of maintaining family contact through inmate visitation, so normal visitation hours will be reinstated as soon as possible, Kirkegard said. We want to give notice to inmates families and friends so they can plan ahead and avoid traveling long distances only to find that visitation has been canceled on the day they come.

The prison toll-free phone message service will provide scheduling updates beginning April 6, at 1-888-739-9122.
Muslims complain they're frivolous bills meant to spread fears and sow suspicion of their religion in a nation divided.

But supporters of state proposals, including one in Montana, to prevent Islamic code from being used in American courts argue they aren't overtly anti-Muslim and are needed to safeguard constitutional rights for average Americans.

The bills, variations of which have been around for years, don't specifically seek to ban Islamic law, known as Sharia, even though some lawmakers concede that's their intent.

Instead, the proposals broadly call for banning the application of any foreign law, legal code or legal system that doesn't grant the same rights and privileges as the state or U.S. constitutions.

"I believe very strongly in the values of America to allow for religious freedom," said Connecticut state Rep. Robert Sampson, a Republican sponsor of a bill. "I just don't want our court system to start using what is religious law from other countries to make decisions. I'd like to preserve our way of life."

Muslim leaders say the bills are among a range of proposals and decisions at all levels of government that they're gearing up to fight this year, from President Donald Trump's travel ban to local planning and zoning rulings against mosque projects.

"These are thinly veiled attempts to alienate Muslims in America," said Hazem Bata, of The Islamic Society of North America, based in Indiana, where once such "anti-Sharia" bill has been introduced.

The bills have been introduced in at least 13 states, a number that will likely grow as the legislative year progresses, said Jonathan Griffin, of the National Conference of State Legislatures, who has been tracking the proposals. Anywhere from 15 to 30 states see the proposal introduced in a given year, he said. Ten states already have some version of them on the books since they started cropping up around 2010.

While many of this year's bills likely won't become law, they're gaining traction early in Montana and Arkansas, where the legislatures are poised to approve bills and send them to the governors this month.

Supporters point to a 2014 report by the Center for Security Policy, a conservative think tank whose critics deride as anti-Muslim, that cites nearly 150 cases in which it says Sharia played a role.

The cases, some of which date to the late 1970s, mostly involve divorce, child custody and other family law proceedings where either the plaintiff or defendants invoked Islamic laws and customs to make their case.

"Sharia should be very concerning to all of us," said state Rep. Heidi Sampson, a Maine Republican who has proposed legislation. "It is a way of life and a legal code which is designed to impinge on culture, family life, marriage, equality of the sexes  a whole host of areas."

Sampson and other lawmakers say a 2010 New Jersey case highlighted prominently in the report is particularly troubling.

A Muslim woman accused her husband of sexual abuse and sought a restraining order in 2009, but the judge denied the request after the husband argued, in part, that a wife must comply with her husband's sexual demands in Islamic custom. An appeals court ultimately overturned the ruling.

But Will Smiley, an editor at the Harvard Law School's SHARIAsource, an online collection of academic writings on Islamic law, is skeptical the bills proposed by lawmakers would have made a difference in the initial ruling.

"These new laws don't provide any new safeguards," Smiley said. "Courts can still make mistakes, like most observers agree that New Jersey court did."

Many of the other cases cited in the center's report don't appear to show evidence that U.S. courts based decisions on Sharia or other foreign codes, said Jay Wexler, a professor at Boston University's School of Law who specializes in separation of church and state issues.

"The facts of a case might require a court to consider in some way a foreign custom or law," he said. "But that does not mean that the court is applying foreign law."

Opponents maintain the bills as proposed don't serve any practical purpose.

"The U.S. legal code already states that American courts can only adhere to American laws," said John Robbins, executive director of the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "It's a stupid solution to a nonexistent problem."

Supporters stress the proposals would impact all religious codes and foreign laws equally.

If parts of Jewish, Christian or other laws ran counter to fundamental constitutional rights, they too would not be applicable in U.S. courts, said Montana state Sen. Keith Regier, a Republican.

"They're saying it's hateful, and I have no idea where they're getting that from," he said of opponents. "Read the bill and tell me what is hateful or distasteful in there."
SPOKANE  A white civil rights leader, fired because she led others to believe she was black, said she struggles to make a living these days because she was portrayed as a fraud.

Rachel Dolezal, who grew up in Troy, said she has been unable to find steady work in the nearly two years since her background became public in media reports, and she is uncertain about her future.

"I was presented as a con and a fraud and a liar," Dolezal told The Associated Press last week. "I think some of the treatment was pretty cruel."

Now 40, she still identifies as black, despite being "Caucasian biologically," she said. And she still has the darkened complexion and frizzy hair that allowed her for years to pass as a light-skinned black woman.

"People didn't seem able to consider that maybe both were true," she said. "OK, I was born to white parents, but maybe I had an authentic black identity."

Dolezal had blond hair and freckles while growing up near Troy with religious parents. She said she began to change her perspective as a teenager, after her parents adopted four black children. Dolezal decided to become publicly black years later, after a divorce.

The ruse worked for years until 2015, when her parents, with whom she has long feuded, told local reporters their daughter was born white but was presenting herself as a black activist in the Spokane region, an area with few minorities.

The story became an international sensation, and Dolezal lost the various jobs by which she pieced together a modest living.

Attacked by both blacks and whites, she was fired as head of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP and was kicked off a police ombudsman commission. She also lost her job teaching African studies at Eastern Washington University in nearby Cheney.

Despite failing to find a job, Dolezal said, she must stay in the area because of a custody agreement involving one of her sons.

She has sold some of her artwork and braids hair to earn money. But she said local colleges have refused to hire her, as have nonprofits, government agencies and even grocery stores.

She was worried she might become homeless in March, but friends bought some of her artwork, which provided enough money to pay the rent for a few months.

Dolezal has written a book about her ordeal titled "In Full Color." It's scheduled to be published this week.

***

Last year, Dolezal legally changed her name to Nkechi Amare Diallo, a West African moniker that means "gift from the gods." She made the change in part to give herself a better chance of landing work from employers who might not be interested in hiring Rachel Dolezal, a name she still intends to use as her public persona.

"Maybe if I applied with a new name, people would see me for the qualifications and expertise on my resume, and not toss my application in the trash based on my name," she said.

The local chapter of the NAACP declined to comment on Dolezal.

"We moved on long ago," the organization said in an email.

But James Wilburn, a black community leader and former head of the NAACP in Spokane, said Dolezal's presentation of herself as black was troubling.

"Just come out and tell the truth. She struggles with that," Wilburn said.

Dolezal is the biological mother of two sons, ages 15 and 1, and also gained legal custody of a stepbrother, who is now 21 and a college student.

One of the reasons she wrote a book was to "settle the score."

"People might as well know the whole truth of my life story,'" she said. "My life is not a sound bite."

Race, she said, is a "social construct" used to pigeonhole people.

"I unapologetically stand on the black side," she said. "Blackness better defines who I am philosophically and socially than whiteness does."

It is hard for her to look toward the future, she said, when she is struggling to survive the present.

"I want to provide for my kids," she said. "I want to get back to activism. I'm no less committed to that work."
Eight western Montana projects are among the recipients of a total of $117,000 in grants from the Montana History Foundation.

That total marked the largest amount given away by the foundation since 2012, when it began the grant program for projects and organizations that work to preserve and protect Montana's history.

Grants ranged from $750 to $5,000 and went to projects in 20 counties across the state. Lake County  where the maximum $5,000 grant went to the Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana for its Jocko Valley Cabin Project in Charlo  was among those receiving first-time grants, along with Big Horn, Carter, Golden Valley and Meagher counties.

Grants went to projects focusing on buildings and structures/cemeteries and sacred sites; on collections and artifacts; and on research, education, outreach and oral histories.

Other western Montana projects awarded grants are:

Helmville Community Club's Helmville grandstand restoration project, $5,000

Paradise Elementary School Preservation Committee's "When the Whistle Blew: Paradise, A Company Town," $5,000

Libby Heritage Museum's outdoor signs and interpretive displays, $5,000

Ravalli County Museum and Historical Society's collections care project, $4,000

Plains Woman's Club's Old Log Schoolhouse replacement and building stabilization project, $4,000.

Hockaday Museum of Art's trim and architrave restoration, Part 2, in Kalispell, $1,750

Sanders County Community Development Corp.'s Thompson Falls community trail interpretive sign for the Historic Lower Clark Fork Corridor, $750

The Montana History Foundation called the Plains project "a standout 2017 recipient."

"The Wild Horse Plains school was built between 1884-1886 with locally milled lumber and volunteer labor. The school still plays an active part in the history and life of the community. It is open to visitors who want to experience the atmosphere of education in a log school built in the late 1800s," the MHF said in a news release.

The grant will help preserve the building and add a new roof.

"It is our mission to support projects small and large," said MHF President and CEO Charlene Porsild. "And this year's winners really reflect the quality of preservation work being accomplished across the state."

The Helena-based Montana History Foundation is an independent, non-profit corporation established in 1985 to preserve the legacy of Montana's past "one story, one community and one project at a time." Private sources donate awards through gifts, grants and other contributions.
The Butte Rescue Mission will have its own cadre of supporters on hand Monday when the county Zoning Board considers the organization's request to turn a vacant school on the Flat into a homeless shelter.

Mission officials already have submitted information and written testimonials to the board about the work they do for people who for a variety of reasons find themselves without a home.

"The shelter gave me people to stay accountable to and a head start on sobriety," wrote Philip Devereaux in one of many letters presented to the board.

"I wanted to say 'thank you' for being supportive of my choices and allowing me time to regroup and clear my mind," wrote Elizabeth, who did not include her last name. "The Rescue Mission has been very generous and helped me become honest with my family and God."

Some additional backers plan to be at Monday's meeting.

"I believe we will have quite a few supporters there," said Rocky Lyons, the mission's executive director.

Numerous residents who live near the long-vacant Madison School at 45 W. Greenwood Ave. also are expected to attend and urge board members to reject a special-use permit that would allow the school to be used as a homeless shelter.

The board meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in council chambers on the third floor of the Butte-Silver Bow Courthouse, 155 W. Granite St.

Residents who live near the school, which is a few blocks southeast of the intersection of Rowe Road and Montana Street, say a shelter would bring loitering and crime to their peaceful neighborhood and drive down property values.

But the Christian-based mission is under orders from fire officials to stop using a house at 1204 E. Second St. as its homeless shelter by April 3 because of code violations and safety concerns, so it is scrambling to find another location.

It had offered $100,000 to Action Inc., a nonprofit social services agency, for a three-story vacant building it owns in Uptown Butte, but that group's board rejected the idea. Many Uptown business owners and residents strongly opposed having a homeless shelter in their area.

The mission has now offered $100,000 to a church that owns the vacant Madison School, but it needs a special-use permit from the Zoning Board to use it as a homeless shelter.

County planning staff recommends a permit be approved, but only if the mission meets numerous conditions first, including building a kitchen and getting floor plans and other requirements approved by various county departments.

The mission has submitted information to the Zoning Board ahead of Monday's meeting, including rules and procedures it has for people staying at its shelter and statistics from the past two years.

It says it provided beds for an average of 36 people per night in 2015 and that number increased to 42 per night last year. Beds provided for children increased from 798 in 2015 to 1,708 last year, the mission said, and meals served went from 37,316 to 41,130 over the past two years.

But the county's process for special-use permits also takes public input into account. The Montana Standard reported on opponents' objections last week but did not hear back from the mission that day.

The mission has numerous supporters, including many who wrote about help and hope they got at the shelter.

In one testimonial, Charles J. Madigan said he was 26 and had used drugs since he was 15. He stopped in 2015, he wrote, and could not have done it without help and motivation from the mission.

"What I can say is that today I am sober," he wrote. "I am working two jobs and today I love and respect myself more than ever before in my life."

Several letters noted that people who stay at the shelter are given drug tests and Breathalyzers before they can check in and rules are enforced to ensure safety and accountability.

"They have zero tolerance for drinking or drug use," wrote Tracy, who did not provide a last name but has volunteered at the shelter.

Another person said he received a warm bed, three meals a day, hygiene items, a warm shower, "plenty of spiritual and emotional support," and "a phenomenal amount of the best help available to help save your own life."

"In conclusion, I'd like to state for the record that the Butte Rescue Mission is worthy of and deserves all the help our community can muster to help it stay afloat and thrive," the man wrote. "We can't afford to lose its services."
A shoplifting arrest on Sunday resulted in a Butte women being charged with felony drug possession, police said Monday.

Butte-Silver Bow police arrested two women in separate locations after both were suspected of stealing popcorn chicken and jalapeno poppers from Walmart, 3901 Harrison Ave., on Sunday.

Leona Lombard, 47, who is homeless, and Ashley Delacruz, 25, of Oklahoma were arrested on misdemeanor theft charges after shoplifting the items together in the store.

Lombard was apprehended walking near the corner of Harrison and Meadowlark, he said. After police searched her purse, she was arrested on one felony count for possession of dangerous drugs (meth), a misdemeanor count for possession of dangerous drugs, a misdemeanor count for possession of drug paraphernalia, and one misdemeanor count for shoplifting.

Police apprehended Delacruz driving a Kia in the Mountain View Cemetery across the street from Walmart. When police stopped her, she admitted to taking the food, said Undersheriff George Skuletich. She was charged with misdemeanor theft for shoplifting.

As of Monday afternoon, both remained in jail.
Students answer the call when someone is in need.

Emerson Elementary and Butte Central Elementary students are in week three of giving up spending money and their snack budget to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Already Emerson students in kindergarten through sixth grades have collected $1,055 in two weeks  with one more week to go.

The kids have been awesome about bringing in pennies, change, and dollars, said Emerson third-grade teacher Becky Burke. Its just something we wanted to do.

Jessie Trudgeon, one of Burkes students, donated $10 because cancer affects so many people. Classmate Ava McCarty has a toddler nephew recovering from cancer of the eye, so she knows how the disease can affect families.

Burke is motivated to raise money for the Student Series campaign because her husband, Tom Burke, 43, died in 2015 from colon cancer. Survivors also include two daughters, Abby and Jaycee.

Students rewards for donating lie simply in helping someone, said Becky Burke.

We had a goal to reach 100 bucks, she added, amazed at the generosity of her students. The three-week campaign ends on March 31.

At Emerson, students collected money in a animal-crackers-type cookie box. Donors can go online to give, too, she said, at www.studentseries.org.

At Butte Central Elementary, teacher Colleen Tuttys seventh- and eighth-grade students are foregoing midday Friday snacks to donate.

Last year we raised $300, said Tutty, who has yet to count amounts in the collection jars. Were hoping to do the same this year.

Student Series is a set of tailored programs for schools and students at all grade levels to help fight blood cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
HELENA  A bill to raise the tax on cigarettes by $1.50 a pack and start taxing electronic cigarettes was heard in committee Monday with lengthy testimony from supporters and opponents.

In addition to increasing taxes on cigarettes by a dollar amount, all other forms of tobacco, including e-cigarettes for the first time, would see a tax increase of 24 percent. Senate Bill 354 intends to lower healthcare costs by encouraging people to stop using tobacco products and funnel a portion of the revenue to increase the salaries of direct care workers providing Medicaid services. Under SB 354, carried by Sen. Mary Caferro, D-Helena, direct care workers would be paid $10.80 an hour by October 2017. The rate would gradually increase to $13.80 by October 2018.

Tax policy with a purpose works, Caferro said. We know we have to do something about the community services. They are collapsing.

The existing tobacco tax is distributed to several different accounts, with 44 percent going to a health and Medicaid account, eight percent to an account for maintaining veterans facilities, 2.8 percent to long range buildings and the rest to the general fund. That formula is not altered by the bill. The additional revenue to direct care workers will come out of the health and Medicaid account, Caferro said.

Supporters touted the savings and health benefits of reducing tobacco use. The direct care industry said the bill would keep staff from leaving due to low wages and provide a continuity of care to clients. Opponents said e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking and they shouldnt be taxed like cigarettes. They also said they would have to lay off employees or close shop altogether if consumers quit or go elsewhere to purchase tobacco products.

Amanda Cahill, a representative of the American Heart Association, said the tax on cigarettes would have to be $19 to offset the cost of treating the harms of tobacco. In Montana, it costs $400 million each year to treat related illnesses, Cahill said.

Several clients from facilities with direct-care employees said a high turnover rate keeps compassionate and well-trained employees from staying in their jobs. As a result, facilities spend more time training and less time taking care of clients.

Larry Vanhoy, a client at Opportunity Resources Inc. in Missoula, an organization supporting people with disabilities, said he gets to know staff members right around the time theyre forced to leave due to low wages.

They told me when they left that they would like to stay but they werent making enough money, he said.

Gary Elliott has been a caregiver at Opportunity Resources Inc. for six years. He said the facility cant attract enough good staff members due to low pay, which ultimately jeopardizes care of people with intellectual and physical disabilities.

I am being paid $10.40 an hour, he said. If I were to leave ORI and draw early (Social Security) benefits, I would be getting $200 more a month than I am as a full-time employee.

Dr. Greg Holzman, the state medical office at the Department of Health and Human Services, said research shows a 10 percent increase on tobacco will lower the usage rate by three to five percent. For every one person who dies from tobacco related illnesses in the state, there are 30 more suffering, Holzman said.

E-cigarettes have been advertised as being a healthier alternative to cigarettes since people dont have to inhale smoke with carcinogens. Instead, e-cigarettes heat up liquid nicotine with the user inhaling vapor.

A study published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal reviewed 38 studies on whether e-cigarette use keeps people from smoking cigarettes. The authors found that people using e-cigarettes were 28 percent less likely to stop smoking than those who did not use e-cigarettes as a cessation aid.

A majority of testimony from opponents said they disagreed with the research on e-cigarettes.

Deanna Marshall, owner of Freedom Vapes in Belgrade, said she used to smoke three packs of cigarettes a day.

When I picked up an e-cigarette it took me a week before I took up another cigarette and when I did, I couldnt even stand it, she said. Thats why we started our store. It will help you quit.

Marshall and several other opponents said businesses will suffer when lower taxes in border states encourage Montanans to travel or buy tobacco products online.

Some said the revenue source wouldnt be sustainable if fewer people buy tobacco products, but an analysis from the Legislative Fiscal Division says otherwise.

The rate of increase is so great that it kind of overcomes that, Josh Poulette, a fiscal analyst, said. The total revenue increase from this bill over four years is in the low to mid $70 million range.

Caferro said the bill allows for a reduction in tobacco use while still funding the higher direct care worker salaries in the long term.

You could have diminishing returns which is exactly what we want and still support what this bill seeks to do, she said.
DEER LODGE  Inmate visitation will be temporarily reduced from four to two days a week while the Montana State Prison addresses operational issues, warden Leroy Kirkegard said Monday in a news release.

To allow staff to be reassigned to higher priority security posts, Kirkegard said the prison is canceling inmate visitation on Thursdays and Fridays beginning April 6 and will continue until further notice.

Beginning the first week of April, the prison will be open for inmate visitation only on Saturdays and Sundays. Saturdays will be open for all visitors including children while Sundays will be limited to adult visiting only.

Montana State Prison acknowledges the value and importance of maintaining family contact through inmate visitation, so normal visitation hours will be reinstated as soon as possible, Kirkegard said. We want to give notice to inmates families and friends so they can plan ahead and avoid traveling long distances only to find that visitation has been canceled on the day they come.

The prison toll-free phone message service will provide scheduling updates beginning April 6 at 1-888-739-9122.
On Monday, March 20, accountability finally arrived for Donald Trump. After 70 years spent largely skating free of consequences for his puerile misbehaviors and diarrheal mouth, he likely found it something of a shock. Seven decades is a long time, after all, and if the so-called president has learned nothing else in those years, he has learned this: Accountability is for other people.

Received a bill? Stiff the vendor.

Get caught in a lie? Tell another.

Say something stupid? Blame somebody else.

To watch him over the 21 months of his political career has been to suffer a kind of nauseous awe as he repeatedly brazened and bluffed his way through scandals, lies and acts of bungling incompetence that would have sunk  well, anybody normal. You had to wonder if the chickens had forgotten how to come home to roost. You had to wonder if gravity still works.

But accountability arrived this week in an extraordinary open session of the House Intelligence Committee. There, FBI Director James Comey laid waste to Trumps contention that he was wiretapped by then-President Barack Obama during last years campaign.

The bizarre claim has already been roundly shredded in the two and a half weeks since Trump first made it in a series of early morning tweets. But the so-called president has clung to it with a stubborn insistence. He discomfited German Chancellor Angela Merkel when he tried to joke about it during their joint press conference. And he outraged the British when they were forced to refute a  pardon the tautology  baseless Trump claim that they had participated in the alleged bugging.

So it was gratifying to hear the head of federal law enforcement say definitively that there is zero evidence to support Trumps contention. That, however, was just the hors doeuvre. The main course was Comeys confirmation of media reports about an FBI investigation. Yes, he said, the FBI is looking into whether Trumps people colluded with Russia as that country was meddling in last years election with the express aim of electing Trump. The probe could dog the White House for many months.

Cornered, Trump and his apologists tried familiar dodges. They cried, Fake news! They misrepresented Comeys words. They tried to change the subject. Surrogate Jeffrey Lord even insisted the problem is that Trump has been misinterpreted.

It all felt even more threadbare than usual. It was hard not to imagine Trump drenched in the flop sweat of a birthday party magician who just realized he left the rabbit in his other top hat.

Small wonder. The tactics that have always served him will not work here. You can fool some of the people all of the time and you can fool all of the people some of the time. But good luck fooling the feds any of the time.

Heaven only knows where this will end up. Maybe the campaign will be exonerated. Maybe well discover the Russian meddling was plotted by Trump and Vladimir Putin over drinks in a hot tub at Mar-a-Lago.

Either way, there is something to be said for the simple fact that the investigation is underway, that Trump and his team will finally be forced to answer serious questions from serious people who will not be impressed by alternative facts and brazen deflections. Its the kind of knowledge that renews your faith in the system. And in karma.

Turns out the chickens know their way after all, and gravity still works just fine. Accountability has arrived. Shes seven decades late, so she and Donald Trump have a lot of catching up to do.

-- Leonard Pitts Jr. is a columnist for the Miami Herald.
Forty years ago, the Montana Legislature enshrined renters rights in the state code by passing the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act of 1977.

Now, those rights are being threatened.

A group of bills have been introduced in the Montana Legislature that, if passed, would erode renters rights and swing the carefully erected balance of power between renters and landlords towards the landlords.

Taken separately, these bills have varying effects. Some are fairly innocuous (House Bill 350 allows for the use of electronic fund transfer for paying rent) while others, like Senate Bill 239, are more sinister.

But taken together, these bills represent something even worse -- a coordinated attack on renters rights, led by landlords and their lobbyists.

Seeking to ram piecemeal legislation through the Legislature, with little input from renters, is the wrong way to address the Landlord Tenant Act and will cause renters to face discrimination and unfair rental practices at nearly every turn. A look at what some of the measures would do shows the authors of these bills dont have any interests in mind but their own.

SB 239, for instance, would force courts to charge renters who abandon a rental during the terms of their lease with theft, potentially incurring felony criminal charges, even if the renter was current on their rent up until that point.

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Essentially, as one opponent said during the hearing, SB 239 subjects renters to debtors prisons, something the United States eliminated in 1833.

Senate Bill 175 forces our already overburdened court system to hear cases within five days, and charges the court to act as a collection agency on the behalf of landlords. Another bill would allow email to be used as official notification for evictions; yet another limits the time a renter has to make repairs themselves to just seven days before a landlord can do it. There are too many egregious examples to list in a single opinion piece.

With the number of renters growing nationwide, Montana should be focused on helping renters maintain their rights, not erecting a legal framework designed to work against them. Already vulnerable groups like students, young families, and senior citizens are more likely to rent their home, and would become even more vulnerable should these bills become law.

If these bills were to pass, the net result would be the creation of an environment that makes it harder for people to find and keep affordable, safe housing. We are calling on the Legislature to vote no on altering the fundamental balance between renters and landlords.

Instead, we would like to see an interim committee take a broader look at holistically and fairly addressing issues in the Landlord Tenant Act. There is room for more than just landlords at the table. Only by listening to all sides, and discussing all the issues, can a fair and equitable solution to these problems be found.

Dismantling the Landlord Tenant Act piece-by-piece will simply add to the advantageous position landlords enjoy while leaving renters out in the cold. There is room for improvement in our tenant-landlord laws, and fixing them will be a massive undertaking. Lets take our time and do it the right way.

-- Rep. Zach Brown, a Democrat, represents House District 63 in Bozeman. Andy Bixler is a graduate student at The University of Montana and represents Montana Associated Students.
RICHMOND, Va.  A group of 12 state attorneys general and one governor is backing President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting six predominantly Muslim countries, telling a federal appeals court Monday that the Republican acted lawfully in the interest of national security.

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is among those in support of the president's ban.

"The bottom line is he (President Trump) has the legal authority to do it," said Eric Sell, spokesman for the Montana attorney general's office. "The legal challenges to the president's travel ban threaten the process and threaten the legal authority granted to him by Congress."

The states are urging the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court judge's ruling that blocked part of the president's revised executive order. The states say the administration's action is not a "pretext for religious discrimination" and does not violate the U.S. Constitution.

"The Executive Order's temporary pause in entry by nationals from six countries and in the refugee program neither mentions any religion nor depends on whether affected aliens are Muslim," the states write in the brief with the Richmond, Virginia-based court. "Thus, the Executive Order is emphatically not a 'Muslim Ban.'"

The brief also said multiple federal officials had expressed concerns with the country's ability to vet aliens even before Trump took office: "And it is well-known that terror attacks tied to radical Islam have recently occurred around the world and within the United States."

The other states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia. Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi also joined.

Sell, with the Montana attorney general's office, said Fox was not commenting on whether he has concern for the safety of Montanans; rather, he would leave the policy itself to lawmakers.

"I want to emphasize the importance of preserving the process and preserving the laws that Congress passed," Sell said.

The appeal stems from a ruling from a federal judge in Maryland earlier this month. That ruling and a separate one in Hawaii were victories for civil liberties groups and advocates for immigrants and refugees, who argued that Trump's temporary ban on travel from six predominantly Muslim countries violated the Constitution.

The Trump administration argued that the revised executive order, which includes a temporary ban on refugees and a cap on the number of refugees who can enter the country, was intended to protect the United States from terrorism. Citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are temporarily barred from entering the country under the order, though there are exceptions.

"Like every state, amici (states in support) have a significant interest in protecting their residents' safety," said the brief. "But the States possess no authority to restrict or set the terms' of aliens' entry into the United States for public-safety and national-security reasons. Instead, the States and their elected officials rely on the federal Executive Branchyto carry out that function, pursuant to the laws of Congress."

The 4th Circuit has set oral arguments in the Maryland case for May 8.

The administration urged the court in a brief also filed Monday to put the lower court ruling on hold and let the executive order take effect while its appeal is pending. Lawyers for Trump said the people named in the case haven't shown they will suffer "substantial harm" and that the nationwide injunction blocking the ban is "fatally overbroad."
MUSCATINE  Muscatine Community College welcomes Katherine Farrier, the newest Advisor in the Student Services Department. Farrier comes from the Columbus Junction area, where she was involved in many activities, including 4H and FFA. She continues her love for agriculture by working on her family farm.

She graduated from Kirkwood Community College where she played softball and transferred to the University of Iowa. Her bachelors degree is in Elementary Education, which she used to teach the Talented and Gifted at Columbus Junction (K-12). She continued her education, worked with the Upward Bound Program and received a Master's in Counseling Education and Rehabilitation.

Farrier loves getting to know her students and following their progress.

For fun, she enjoys spending time with her family, being outdoors, going on motorcycle rides, and walking her lab, Lily (except when Lily gets sprayed by a skunk on the walk).

Farrier comes to MCC with an extensive range of experience in education and working with youth who are transitioning to college. These skills, plus her leisure interests, made her a great candidate for joining Muscatine Community College.

-Nancy Bird Luikart
NEW YORK  Mayor Bill de Blasio has decided that the globally popular statue of a young girl staring down Wall Street's famous "Charging Bull" will remain in place through February 2018.

The 4-foot ponytailed "Fearless Girl" in a windblown dress stands on Department of Transportation property and will now get the extended new permit through the department's art program.

On Monday morning, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney led a news conference in front of City Hall to honor the artist, Kristen Visbal, and State Street Global Advisors, the asset management firm that commissioned the work.

The statue was installed early this month to highlight the issue of gender disparity on corporate boards. It immediately became a tourist draw and internet sensation.
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 []
I bet you had no idea that Nairobi is a manufacturing hub of some of the worlds best known clothing brands.

We often claim that Kenyas textile industry has progressively been killed off by mitumba, which is true to some extent. However, government policy has led to the development of a whole new textile industry based at the Export Processing Zone (EPZ).

It so happens that probably Kenyas biggest employer is based out of EPZ Athi River. You may not have heard of United Aryan (EPZ) Ltd, but this company employs more than 10,000 Kenyans. It is the largest apparel manufacturer in the country.

United Aryan has been subcontracted by some of the worlds leading brands to produce clothes for the global market. Levis and Wrangler are its biggest clients.

Then there is Hela Intimates EPZ Ltd. It was opened 6 months ago and is already employing 3000 Kenyans. Hela has an even more impressive client list than Aryan.

Among the innerwear brands it is making right here in Nairobi are: Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger & Victorias Secret.

Industrialization Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed paid them a visit last week.

These clothing items cost next to nothing to manufacture, yet when they get to the American or European market, youll be lucky to buy any of them for less than $50.

EPZ companies like these are good for employment, but basically pay almost no tax.

Until now, its a mystery why the government has never allowed them to sell their products in the country. Perhaps we would have dealt with the mitumba problem once and for all.

The government has now announced that up to 20% of their products will be sold locally. We have taken a position that up to 20 per cent of goods and apparels manufactured by our EPZ companies can be accessed by Kenyans at affordable prices but for the same quality exported to other countries like the US, CS Adan Mohamed said.

To start it off, there will be a super sale this week, from Wednesday 29 to Friday 31 at the KICC.

Brand new wear will be sold for between Sh100 and Sh600. While this is definitely good for the consumer, Im sure therell be a lot of noise from other sellers who do not enjoy the same tax-free advantage.

Photos via @AdanMohamedCS
Finally! The highly anticipated project(or rather projects) by Afro-poetry Kenyan group H_art The Band and Tanzania songbird Lady Jaydee have finally dropped.

The new release is titled Rosella, and has been released in two versions: Acoustic and Club.

Lady Jaydee has released the acoustic version, with the boy band releasing the upbeat club version of the powerful love ballad.

Rosella is Lady Jaydees fourth official release from her upcoming album Woman through her worldwide exclusive partnerships with her management company ROCKSTAR4000, publishing partnership with Rockstar Publishing and Content Partnership with RockstarTV.

Both versions the audios are produced by Martin Gwandho, co-produced in Kenya by Gituamba and the music video was directed by Kevin Bosco JNr.

Watch the videos below:


Afro-pop boy band Sauti Sol has apologized to president Uhuru Kenyatta a week after band member Bien Aime sensationally claimed that Statehouse stole their Studio Mashinani idea.

In his social media rant, Bien Aime Baraza, accused the government of stealing the idea and implementing it a year later with Jamaican artistes Richie Spice, Luciana and Etana.

Bien claimed that the idea was presented to President Uhuru Kenyatta who instructed them to give the proposal to the then Youth Fund chairman Bruce Odhiambo.

On Saturday, however, the group issued an apology to the president after Biens statement was wrongly interpreted by the media.

We would like to issue a sincere apology to our President, Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, for a statement which led to his goodwill and intention being wrong interpreted by the media. Again, we would like to reiterate Biens statement that he (Uhuru) had no hand in this as deals with millions of national issues and it is something he probably delegated.

He was gracious enough to give us an audience, listen and support our proposal. It was not Biens intention to otherwise negate his kindness and are ready to issue this apology in person, said Sauti Sol in a statement.

A post shared by SAUTI SOL ?? (@sautisol) on Mar 24, 2017 at 10:57pm PDT



The Sh80 million Studio Mashinani project was launched by Ministry of Information and Technology CS Joe Mucheru over a week ago in Machakos County.

Mr Mucheru denied claims the concept was stolen from the music group, saying although Sauti Sol presented the proposal to former Youth Fund Enterprise Development Chair Bruce Odhiambo, it was never discussed in government circles.

It is therefore not absolutely right to lay claim to the idea because Mr Odhiambo did not bring the document to the table for government discussion and possible implementation, he said.

The CS said he was aware of complaints lodged by the group but said it was a coincidence that the band had a similar project.

We are in discussion with them to sort the matter, he said.
DENVER  Colorado is considering an unusual strategy to protect its nascent marijuana industry from a potential federal crackdown, even at the expense of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax collections.

A bill pending in the Legislature would allow pot growers and retailers to reclassify their recreational pot as medical pot if a change in federal law or enforcement occurs.

It's the boldest attempt yet by a U.S. marijuana state to avoid federal intervention in its weed market.

The bill would allow Colorado's 500 or so licensed recreational pot growers to instantly reclassify their weed. A switch would cost the state more than $100 million a year because Colorado taxes medical pot much more lightly than recreational weed  2.9 percent versus 17.9 percent.

The measure says licensed growers could immediately become medical licensees "based on a business need due to a change in local, state or federal law or enforcement policy." The change wouldn't take recreational marijuana off the books, but it wouldn't entirely safeguard it either. What it could do is help growers protect their inventory in case federal authorities start seizing recreational pot.

The provision is getting a lot of attention in the marijuana industry following recent comments from members of President Donald Trump's administration. White House spokesman Sean Spicer has said there's a "big difference" between medical and recreational pot.

Sponsors of the bill call it a possible exit strategy for the new pot industry. It's hard to say how many businesses would be affected, or if medical pot would flood the market, because some businesses hold licenses to both grow and sell marijuana in Colorado.

The state had about 827,000 marijuana plants growing in the retail system in June, the latest available data. More than half were for the recreational market.

"If there is a change in federal law, then I think all of our businesses want to stay in business somehow. They've made major investments," said Sen. Tim Neville, a suburban Denver Republican who sponsored the bill.

If federal authorities start seizing recreational pot, Colorado's recreational marijuana entrepreneurs "need to be able to convert that product into the medical side so they can sell it," Neville said.

His bill passed a committee in the Republican Senate 4-1 last week.

But it's unclear whether the measure could pass the full Colorado Senate or the Democratic House. Skeptics of the proposal doubt the classification change would do much more than cost Colorado tax money.

"It's a big deal for our taxation system because this money has been coming in and has been set aside for this, that and the other," said Sen. Lois Court, a Denver Democrat who voted against the bill.

Schools would be the first casualty of a tax change. Colorado sends $40 million a year to a school-construction fund from excise taxes on recreational pot. It's a tax that doesn't exist for medical pot.

Other items funded by recreational pot in Colorado include training for police in identifying stoned drivers, a public-education campaign aimed at reducing teen marijuana use, and an array of medical studies on marijuana's effectiveness treating ailments such as seizures or post-traumatic stress disorder.

The proposal comes amid mixed signals from the federal government on how the Trump administration plans to treat states that aren't enforcing federal drug law.

Spicer said the president understands the pain and suffering many people, especially those with terminal diseases, endure "and the comfort that some of these drugs, including medical marijuana, can bring to them."

But Attorney General Jeff Sessions has voiced doubts about pot's medical value.

"Medical marijuana has been hyped, maybe too much," Sessions said in a speech to law enforcement agencies in Richmond, Virginia.

Marijuana activists say giving the industry an option to keep their inventory legal is a valuable idea for recreational pot states. They point out that a change in federal policy wouldn't make the drug magically disappear from the eight states that allow recreational use, along with Washington, D.C.

"It would be very harmful to the state if it reverts back entirely to an underground market," said Mason Tvert, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization activist group.

If the bill becomes law, Colorado would be the first pot state to take action to protect producers from a federal drug crackdown, marijuana analysts said.

A bill pending in the Oregon Legislature aims to shield the names and other personal information of pot buyers by making it illegal for shops to keep an internal log of customers' personal data, a practice that is already banned or discouraged in Colorado, Alaska and Washington state.

Other states such as California are considering proposals that would bar local and state law enforcement from cooperating with federal authorities on investigations into cannabis operations that are legal in their jurisdictions.

Meanwhile, members of Congress from some pot states have talked about trying to block federal intervention in marijuana states. Congress could reclassify marijuana so medical use is allowed, or it could try to block federal enforcement of marijuana prohibition through the federal budget.

But the proposed Colorado change may be a longshot effort.

Medical and recreational pot are the same product. The only difference between them is how they are used, and the U.S. Controlled Substances Act says marijuana has no valid medical use. Federal health regulators have rejected repeated attempts to carve out a legal place for marijuana use by sick people.

Sponsors concede there are no promises that reclassifying all that pot as medicine would stop a federal crackdown.

But they say Colorado shouldn't sit idly by and wait to see if the Trump administration starts enforcing federal drug law by attacking businesses that are legal under state law.

"This bill allows the industry to know there is something after tomorrow, whatever tomorrow may bring," Neville said.
Despite gaps in data and being a work in progress, state education officials have launched a new online tool for parents and the public to gauge how public schools and school districts are performing.

The caschooldashboard.org/#/Home" href="https://www.caschooldashboard.org/#/Home" target="_blank">California School Dashboard (caschooldashboard.org) provides a color-coded way of judging schools that incorporates not only test scores, but other measurements as well.

The dashboard replaces the Academic Performance Index, which the California Department of Education stopped relying on several years ago because it provided only standardized test results to determine school performance.

With the new dashboard, parents can also see how their childs school is doing as far as absenteeism, suspensions, graduation rates, and more.

Some of these new metrics, however, lack data until state and local officials plug them in.

Nevertheless, County Superintendent of Schools Barbara Nemko was pleased to see the dashboard go live on March 15.

The California school accountability system has improved and now includes more than just academic measures, said Nemko. Its very important that we look at student and parent engagement, graduation and suspension rates and other indicators  all of which provide valuable information on the health of the school.

Nemko and state officials said the new dashboard will help educators zero in on areas that need improvement.

The system itself will need some work, due to the absence of information for such fields as chronic absenteeism, college/career readiness, and local indicators that will gauge implementation of academic standards, parent engagement, and more.

Some of this missing information may not be available until the fall.

This is a field test, Bill Ainsworth, California Department of Educations communications director, told reporters before the system went live. This is a start, he added. It will get better.

The new system uses blue, green, yellow, orange and red to provide a quick assessment of areas being measured, with blue being the highest achievement, red the lowest and everything else falling somewhere in between.

The Calistoga Joint Unified School District shows blue areas for suspension rates and graduation rates, with 98.3 percent of students graduating from high school.

The districts English Language Progress is coded green, just one level below blue. English Language Arts and Mathematics are coded yellow, meaning they were neither high nor low, just somewhere in the middle of achievement.

The dashboard allows the public to drill down and get more detailed information for some areas. While Calistogas English and math metrics are coded yellow overall, white students performance is coded blue (the highest rating) while performance in both subjects by Hispanic and socioeconomically disadvantaged students is coded yellow.

The dashboard is still a work in progress. For example, Calistogas dashboard provides no further details on the districts English Learner Progress other than the green rating.

Patrick Sweeney, superintendent of the Napa Valley Unified School District, expressed concerns over how well the public will grasp the dashboard and its color scheme. This will be hard for parents to understand, said Sweeney, and they may make the wrong assumptions about student progress.

Trustee Robb Felder echoed Sweeneys concerns, saying he saw a lot of room for error in interpretation of results on the dashboard.

Reporter Jesse Duarte contributed to this story.
Democratic voter registration in California has climbed in the past two years while Republican registration has decreased, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced Wednesday.

The percentage of voters registered as Democrats increased roughly 1.5 percentage points to nearly 45 percent. Republican registration declined more than two percentage points to just under 26 percent. Nearly one in four California voters are registered with no party preference.

Napa County has both a higher percentage of Democrat registrations and a lower percent of Republican registrations than the state average.

As of Friday, 46.9 percent of Napa voters were registered Democrat, while 24.2 percent were registered Republican. Registrations for no party preference totaled 23.5 percent. Another 5.4 percent of registrations were divided among five smaller parties.

Padillas report reflects registration data through Feb. 10. It reveals a record 19.4 million Californians are registered to vote. The percent of eligible Californians registered to vote increased more than five percentage points to nearly 78 percent.

Registration has continued to increase since the November election, Padilla said.

Typically voter registration declines after an election, Padilla said. It is clear that Californians are engaged and want to be active participants in our democracy.

This isnt the case in Napa County where the registration total, now 76,025, has dropped by 851 voters, or .01 percent since November.

Although the percentage of eligible voters who are registered has stayed relatively flat since the election, the total number of people registered has increased slightly since the registration deadline in October, said Mindy Romero, director of the California Civic Engagement Project at the University of California Davis. She pointed to recent expansions in electronic voter registration as one reason there hasnt been a significant decline following the election.

This year is also unusual because Californians are still feeling the effects of Donald Trumps victory in the presidential contest and are still reacting, both positively and negatively, to the results, she said.

The election really isnt over for a lot of people. The election really isnt over in our news cycle. It really isnt over in the political consciousness, Romero said. Were still seeing the importance of voting.
Lest people forget about those laid to rest outside the Veterans Home of California, a Napa teenager is leading an effort to make the Yountville cemetery more welcoming to visitors  especially those who decorate the graves.

Tomas Alas, a 16-year-old junior at Vintage High School, has regularly visited the burial ground with family members during the last decade, joining them in planting flags by gravestones for Memorial Day and Veterans Day. But the thought germinated over the past two years that the cemetery needed to be more welcoming to those coming by to pay their respects.

Id see that some veterans didnt have a place where they could relax, or kids would have trouble pushing flags into the ground with all the broken flag holders, he recalled Monday. So I wanted to make sure every veteran is honored properly, because to me its sacred up there.

That desire has crystallized into a project Alas, a member of Napas Boy Scout Troop 83, is leading on behalf of the Veterans Memorial Grove Cemetery as part of a campaign for Eagle Scout recognition.

With support from the Boy Scouts and the state Department of Veterans Affairs, Alas is overseeing a donation drive to pay for new flag holders at more than 500 headstones near the Veterans Home, which took in its first ex-soldiers in 1884, less than two decades after the Civil War ended. Other funds will be used to acquire four benches of powder-coated steel, which will be installed at locations with the best views on the burial grounds.

Hes been a shining example for what young adults can do in looking to the future and to the past, said Joshua Kiser, spokesman for the Veterans Home. I think hes brought together the community as well as veterans. Hes done this all on his own; weve helped where we can but hes a very driven young man.

Collections began in January and already have surpassed Alas original $5,000 goal, although the Boy Scout will accept donations through April 1 and reserve the surplus for sprinklers, maintenance and other cemetery needs.

Alas will then oversee a team of volunteers  which may include relatives, schoolmates, other Scouts and up to four adults  during installation work later this spring, according to Dave Gruening, scoutmaster of Troop 83 at St. Johns Lutheran School. Completion is planned before the Veterans Homes Memorial Day weekend observance during the final weekend of May, with much of the work possibly being done during a week-long school vacation in mid-April, said Kiser.

Afterward, a panel of Scouting leaders will review the project and decide whether to name Alas an Eagle Scout, a distinction Gruening said is given to only 4 percent of boys entering the movement.

Tomas is a little bit more mature than some of them, but after all the years Ive been working with youth, it still amazes me how they come up with ideas to benefit the community, he said. It gives me more faith in Scouting as a whole, and at his age, Tomas already epitomizes what an Eagle Scout is.

Alas, the nephew and great-grandson of service members, hopes to enlist in the Navy and become a SEAL after completing college. But the motivation for improving Napa Countys cemetery for veterans, he said, is already close at hand  as close as the Veterans Home resident who once approached him as he was planting another flag at another marker.

He made sure that I put a flag on one specific marker, he said, because (that man) was a friend and theyd been in combat together.
Napa County isnt known for having a lot of major crimes, but it still has its problems, including an increase in theft reports.

According to statistics from both Napa Police and the Napa County Sheriffs Office, reports of theft increased between 2015 and 2016. Thefts increased by more than 10 percent in Napa and more than 8 percent in unincorporated Napa County.

Weve been hammered with thefts, said Sheriffs Capt. Keith Behlmer on Friday. The increase, he said, is mostly due to Proposition 47, legislation passed by California voters in November 2014 that reduced the penalties for a variety of drug and theft crimes.

Many crimes that used to be felonies are now misdemeanors and, instead of being arrested, people committing these crimes usually only get a ticket, Behlmer said.

With everything being decriminalized theres no real reason not to commit crime, he said. Before Prop. 47 was passed, drug addicts would at least be picked up and put in jail a few days to detoxify and come down from the drug, he said.

Behlmer predicted that because of Proposition 47, thefts are going to continue to increase.

In American Canyon, although crime was down in most categories last year, auto thefts went up significantly. There were 56 reports of vehicles being stolen last year compared to 44 in 2015 and only 31 in 2014, according to the police departments annual report.

Police Chief Tracey Stuart recently told the City Council that her officers sometimes catch the same car thief two or three times because they keep getting off now that auto theft is a misdemeanor, not a felony, in California.

I think were seeing the same crooks over and over again who used to go to jail for their crimes but are now on a repeat probation cycle, said Stuart.

Reported motor vehicle thefts actually decreased in the city of Napa from 154 in 2015 to 134 in 2016. Motor vehicle thefts in unincorporated Napa County increased from one to two.

Napa Police Lt. Chase Haag said that the only substantial increase hes noticed is in robberies, which increased from 31 reports in 2015 to 47 in 2016.

Its a 50 percent-plus increase, he noted. Burglaries increased, too, but only by 22 percent from 359 reports to 439.

More than 90 percent of the burglaries were classified as unlawful entries without force. That means that someone entered a structure, home or storage shed that was unlocked, Haag said. Depending on the amount of valuables taken, he said, individuals going into unlocked vehicles may also fall under this category.

Between June and August last year, there was an average of at least one car break-in, burglary or other motor vehicle-related theft reported per day. Police said that most of those thefts and burglaries were from unlocked cars.

Other than burglaries and thefts, Haag said that he didnt see any significant deviations in crime rates.
Womens group to host Wren

The Federated Women of Upper Napa Valley will meet at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, at the First Presbyterian Church, 1428 Spring St.

The special guest speaker is Susan Wren, board chair of We Care Animal Rescue in St. Helena.

The Federated Women encourages anyone interested in learning about this no-kill, free-roaming cat and dog sanctuary, to please join them for the meeting.
Despite gaps in data and being a work in progress, state education officials have launched a new online tool for parents and the public to gauge how public schools and school districts are performing.

The California School Dashboard (caschooldashboard.org) provides a color-coded way of judging schools that incorporates not only test scores, but other measurements as well.

The dashboard replaces the Academic Performance Index, which the California Department of Education stopped relying on several years ago because it provided only standardized test results to determine school performance.

With the new dashboard, parents can also see how their childs school is doing as far as absenteeism, suspensions, graduation rates, and more.

Some of these new metrics, however, lack data until state and local officials plug them in.

Nevertheless, County Superintendent of Schools Barbara Nemko was pleased to see the dashboard go live on March 15.

The California school accountability system has improved and now includes more than just academic measures, said Nemko. Its very important that we look at student and parent engagement, graduation and suspension rates and other indicators  all of which provide valuable information on the health of the school.

Nemko and state officials said the new dashboard will help educators zero in on areas that need improvement.

The system itself will need some work, due to the absence of information for such fields as chronic absenteeism, college/career readiness, and local indicators that will gauge implementation of academic standards, parent engagement, and more.

Some of this missing information may not be available until the fall.

This is a field test, Bill Ainsworth, California Department of Educations communications director, told reporters before the system went live. This is a start, he added. It will get better.

The new system uses blue, green, yellow, orange and red to provide a quick assessment of areas being measured, with blue being the highest achievement, red the lowest and everything else falling somewhere in between.

The St. Helena Unified School District shows green areas for suspension rates and yellow for graduation rates, with 92.9 percent of students graduating from high school.

The district's English Language Progress is coded yellow, meaning they were neither high nor low, just somewhere in the middle of achievement. English Language Arts and Mathematics are coded green, meaning just one level below blue.

The dashboard allows the public to drill down and get more detailed information for some areas. While English and math metrics are coded green overall, white students' performance is coded blue (the highest rating) while performance in both subjects by Hispanic and socioeconomically disadvantaged students is coded yellow.

The dashboard is still a work in progress. For example, St. Helena's dashboard provides no further details on the districts English Learner Progress other than the yellow rating.

Patrick Sweeney, superintendent of the Napa Valley Unified School District, expressed concerns over how well the public will grasp the dashboard and its color scheme. This will be hard for parents to understand, said Sweeney, and they may make the wrong assumptions about student progress.

Trustee Robb Felder echoed Sweeneys concerns, saying he saw a lot of room for error in interpretation of results on the dashboard.

Reporter Jesse Duarte contributed to this story.
(Natural News) It appears that the pharmaceutical industry is trying to cram as many vaccines as humanly possible into one syringe and advertise these combination vaccines as safe and effective. In reality, however, a growing number of medical professionals are concerned that administering too many vaccinations to an infant at one time increases their chance of suffering an adverse reaction.

(Article by Christina England from healthimpactnews.com )

This is especially the case for combination vaccinations, and it appears that the fears of medical professionals are justified, because, over the years, history has painted a very disturbing picture.

History Proves that Combination Vaccines are Unsafe

In October 2000, the 6-in-1 vaccination Hexavac was first licensed for use in Europe. The vaccine manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur was formulated as a combination vaccination that combined the diphtheria vaccine, tetanus vaccine, acellular pertussis vaccine, recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen vaccine, inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine and Haemophilus influenza vaccine in one syringe.

Just five years later, however, the vaccination was withdrawn from use by the European Medicines Agency for commercial reasons. However, Dr. Klaus Hartmann believes that the vaccine was withdrawn for very different reasons. In a 2015 documentary, titled We Dont Vaccinate  Myth and Reality of the Vaccination Campaigns, he explained his reasons why.

To pay for a link to the full movie click here. Watch in HD/1080p.

Order DVD:

USA  GB  http://www.informedparent.co.uk/shop/we-dont-vaccinate-film-documentary

Dr. Hartmann worked for the licensing authority at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute and was in charge of vaccine safety. He was not opposed to vaccination; however, he was concerned about the aluminum adjuvants contained in vaccines and was especially concerned about the 6-in-1 vaccination Hexavac because he had noticed a massive increase in the number of children suffering adverse reactions. He stated that:

Here we had another problem with Hexavac. A pathologist had autopsied a child who had died two days previously, after getting the Hexavac vaccine. He found that the child had a massively swollen brain, something that he had never come across before in his career as a pathologist. Several other cases were mentioned; it was not just this one child.

This observation had raised Dr. Hartmanns concerns, because, at the time, the vaccine had been licensed as safe in Europe. He explained that experts had discussed the vaccine in depth during meetings and they had decided that it was not wise to connect the vaccine to the deaths of these babies because politically, it was not considered, a smart thing to do, to damage the publics trust in vaccinations.

Consequently, Dr. Hartmann resigned from his post, and a year later, the Focus magazine stated that the mortality rate among the vaccinated babies in the first 48 hours after a vaccination with Hexavac was 2.5 times higher than the average mortality in this age group.

A year later, Hexavac was taken off the market and disappeared forever. Within a few months, a study titled the Token study was published, which, according to Austrian investigative journalist Bert Ehgartner, was a scandal and in a class all of its own. He explained that:

Naturally people became very disquieted simply because the probability of death following a vaccination had been shown to triple, so there they sat in conference rooms, asking themselves how they could handle the situation. Fortunately, they had good advisors because these idiots at the Robert Koch Institute had their study financed completely by the vaccine manufacturers, which is why when all this happened they had to immediately notify their sponsors industry, for the more they wanted to have experts available for dealing with the public relations aspect of the vaccinations, they of course are employed by the vaccine manufacturers themselves.

He continued:

The publication of the study results was delayed for two years, as the pharma industry had to hold numerous meetings and lectures to address the issue. Finally, they announced that everything was OK, that absolutely nothing unethical had happened, they simply reshuffled data and redefined parameters, they simply used statistics to make the link between the vaccinations and the casualties disappear.

Confirming the information that had been relayed by Dr. Hartmann, Rolf Kron, M.D., explained that the more comprehensive English version of the Token study mentioned that hundreds of deaths had occurred after the vaccination. He stated that:

When looking through the data bank of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, you will find very few deaths and suspected cases, listed. At the same time constant mention of the fact that it is still unclear whether these cases are really vaccine related. If now for example, there is no increase in the number of deaths between the fourth and the seventh day after vaccination, then only this is mentioned in the medical papers. When however, we take a look at the days before and after this period to find out what the mortality rate is, we suddenly see an enormous increase. In the shorter German version, it is only stated that the vaccines are safe and that multiple vaccines pose no significant risk of an increase in the infant mortality rate.

For more information on this vaccine, read: European Medicines Agency  Hexavac, and European Medicines Agency  Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use European Public Assessment Report (EPAR)

Another Lethal 6-in-1 Vaccine is Unleashed

In 2011, news leaked about another dangerous 6-in-1 vaccination, which had also been licensed as safe and effective.

Reports revealed that a confidential GlaxoSmithKline document had been leaked to the press, which exposed the fact that within a two-year period, a total of 36 infants had died after they had received the 6-in-1 vaccination, Infanrix Hexa.

According to the Initiative Citoyenne website, a 1,271-page document had revealed that GlaxoSmithKline had received a total of 1,742 reports of adverse reactions between October 23, 2009, and October 22, 2011, including 503 serious adverse reactions and 36 deaths. Initiative Citoyenne stated:

Its not that 14 deaths were recorded by GSK between October 2009 and end in October 2011 as we had originally calculated but 36 (14 from 2010 to 2011 and 22 from 2009 to 2010). In addition to these 36 deaths at least 37 other deaths (sudden death mainly), bringing the total to at least 73 deaths since the launch of the vaccine in 2000, and again, this concerns only the death by sudden death, no further recovery of under-reporting.

Using the figure of 36 deaths over a two-year period, the figures averaged 1.5 deaths per month, which I am sure most will agree is extremely high. It should also be noted that only 1 to 10% of adverse reactions to vaccines are actually reported. Therefore, in reality, the problem could potentially be far more serious and the actual number of fatalities could have been much higher.

The Deadly Chemical Cocktail

The charts revealed that many of the infants who had passed away had died within the first few days of receiving the vaccine. A total of three infants were reported to have died within hours of receiving the vaccine.

This was hardly surprising, given the vaccinations ingredients, which were listed on the GSK Infanrix Hexa product information leaflet.

Sadly, it is not only the 6-in-1 vaccinations that are believed to be killing our children, because according to reports, multiple deaths are also occurring after the 5-in-1 vaccinations.

Reports from India

Towards the end of 2016, a flood of reports from India revealed that 237 children had died after being vaccinated with pentavalent (5-in-1) vaccinations.

In November 2016, the website SundayGuardianLive published an article titled 237 deaths by pentavalent vaccine and still counting. The author, pediatrician Jacob Puliyel, revealed that after submitting a Freedom of Information report, they were shocked to learn that:

Under Right to Information we know that up to August 2016 there have been 237 deaths reported to the government here within 72 hours of vaccination with pentavalent. We examined deaths in states which were giving DPT and pentavalent vaccine concurrently.

As expected, the true figures were never revealed to the public and any link to the vaccination went from being probable to unlikely extremely quickly. He wrote:

There were three deaths following the use of pentavalent vaccine in Sri Lanka. The Government of Sri Lanka suspended the use of the vaccine. WHO experts investigated the deaths. They found there was a clear temporal association of the deaths to the vaccine (WHO terminology, meaning the deaths followed soon after vaccination) and there was no alternate explanation for the deaths. According to the standard protocol in investigation of vaccine deaths these deaths would have to be declared as probably caused by Pentavalent vaccine. The experts balked at the prospect of giving such a report. No country would use this vaccine after that. Instead they wrote in their report that they were deleting probable and possible from the standard classification. The report maintained that although it was probably related to the vaccine, they were reporting it as unlikely to be related to vaccination. The full report was not published online, only the conclusion was made public.

Read more at: healthimpactnews.com
(Natural News) A new study by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, has examined the impact of toxic emissions from the 2.6 million vehicles produced by Volkswagen in Germany. Scientists looked at the risk of premature death directly linked to the pollutants released into the air by these vehicles. They found that over 11 million of Volkswagens cars worldwide are in violation of pollution safety standards, and that in Europe alone, the additional pollutants will be responsible for 1,200 people dying a decade sooner than they should have. These deaths will mainly be caused by respiratory illnesses.

The study concluded that about 500 of the premature deaths will take place in Germany itself, but that the population density in Europe means that around 60 percent of the deaths will take place in other European countries. The pollution impact was only studied for VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat vehicles actually purchased in Germany, which of course means that the problem could be far worse if all vehicles purchased in Europe were included in the assessment.

Science Daily explains that several different pollutants in vehicle emissions can have a negative impact on human health and on the environment, including hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxide, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The MIT study, however, focused on another damaging pollutant: nitrogen oxides or nitric oxides (NOx). NOx is generated when nitrogen in the air reacts with oxygen under high pressure and at high temperature  vehicle engines provide the perfect environment for this to take place. NOx is a precursor to both smog and acid rain, and is extremely reactive.

Since NOx inhalation destroys the bodys resistance to respiratory infection, prolonged exposure can result in trouble breathing, reduced lung function, ongoing headaches, eye irritations and a loss of appetite, among other problems. As illustrated by the study, these emissions can even result in premature death, and this is true of about 23,500 people annually in the U.K. alone. The researchers found that getting all the affected vehicles off the road would save the European community upwards of 4.1 billion euros in healthcare costs.

The fact that this study only looked at vehicles produced by Volkswagen and only in Germany, is a cause for immediate concern, as it seems obvious that if all vehicle manufacturers were looked at globally, the scale of the problem would likely be staggering.

There are several suggestions about how we can individually reduce our vehicle emissions to try to improve the situation. One simple and sensible suggestion is to shut your vehicles engine off when youre waiting in traffic. Another good idea is to try to use your air conditioner less when traveling, as this also slightly lowers vehicle emissions. Remote workers who manage their workload from home are also able to drastically reduce the time they spend traveling to and from work, thereby reducing their contribution to the problem. (RELATED: If you are concerned about other threats to the environment, be sure to visit Environ.news.)

While the damage caused by vehicle emissions is likely to be an ongoing problem  at least for the foreseeable future  one way to dramatically improve the quality of the air your family breathes is to install a high-quality air purification system like the Dreval D-850 seven-stage system in your home. It eliminates 99.97 percent of all particles in the air, even those as small as 0.01 micron. With a system like this, pollutants, harmful gases, damaging chemicals like ammonia and benzene, allergens like dust mites, mold spores and pollen, and causes of disease like bacteria, germs and viruses, can all be safely eliminated from your home.

Sources for this article include:

ScienceDaily.com

DailyMail.co.uk
(Natural News) Wright Electric, a new American start-up expressed plans of introducing commercial, electric flights from London to Paris in the next 10 years. The plane, they said, would be able to accommodate up to 150 people on flights of less than 300 miles. However the plane is yet to go into development. According to the start-up, the commercialization of electric flights may drastically cut travel costs because the need for jet fuel will be eliminated.

The companys ambitious project, dubbed the Wright One, aims for all its electric flights to use battery-powered components for short-haul flights within the next two decades. The company also plans to develop aircraft batteries that can be detached and charged separately. This would mean that flights will no longer have to wait on the runway to refuel. The plan would encompass around 30 percent of all flights around the world, according to a company presentation. The electric flights will have zero emissions, making it an ideal option to combat air pollution. Electric flights will also promote greener and cheaper air travel, and would make for quieter air travel than conventional airplanes.

Depending on how its designed, you can have an electric plane thats substantially less loud than a fuel plane. The way weve designed our plane is to have modular battery packs for quick swap using the same cargo container thats in a regular airplane. We want it to be as fast as possible, so airlines can keep their planes in the air as long as possible and cover their costs, said Jeff Engler, Wright Electrics co-founder.

Last year, Boom introduced a prototype for a new Concorde-like supersonic jet that aims to cover a flight from London to New York in just three hours and 15 minutes. Boom was backed by Sir Richard Branson. (RELATED: Follow more news about green living at GreenLivingNews.com.)

Start-up draws support, skepticism over electric flights

Easy Jet, a British airline company, has expressed interest in the start-ups proposition. Easyjet has had discussions with Wright Electric and is actively providing an airline operators perspective on the development of this exciting technology, the airline stated.

On the other hand, Wright Electric has admitted that breakthroughs in battery technology should continue at their current rate to be able to generate enough power to give the plane the range it requires. If innovations in battery technology fall short, the company plans to switch to an alternative hybrid system that uses both jet fuel and electricity. The company currently works with American inventor Chip Yates. Yates is credited for developing the Long-ESA, the worlds fastest electric plane in the world. The start-up has also received support from Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley-based program that invests in and helps establish start-up companies.

However, skeptics were quick to dismiss the idea, stating that developing a battery that could support a passenger jet over a long distance would be a different proposition. The lack of infrastructure to charge the batteries also proved to be a major set back. Graham Warwick of Washington-based Aviation Weekly expressed the same concern, saying that the technology is currently unavailable and that developing it would be a long way to go.

However, Dr Paul Robertson, senior technology lecturer in electrical engineering at Cambridge University said that the companys plan would be feasible.

Dr. Robinson said the project may possibly materialize if the company is able to develop an aircraft that is more aerodynamic than modern airlines. Ten years is not a long time if youre starting from a blank piece of paper and trying to make an aircraft of this size. At some point in the future all planes will be powered by electricity, Dr. Robinson added.

Explore more news about technology innovation and discoveries at Discoveries.news.

Sources:

DailyMail.co.uk

BBC.com

Standard.co.uk
Sunday, March 26, 2017 by: Ethan Huff Tags: CDC , monkey tissue , vaccines This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author

(Natural News) Now that its been proven that vaccine manufacturers harvest kidney cells from African Green Monkeys to produce vaccines that are injected into children, many are now wondering just how many of these monkey are captured, euthanized, and processed into vaccine ingredients each year to make these FDA-approved poison jabs?

As you may recall, Natural News was falsely accused of spreading fake news after breaking the story on African Green Monkey kidney cells, and other horrific ingredients, being used in the manufacture of vaccines. For merely publishing the ingredients listed on the vaccine package inserts that manufacturers are required to provide with their vaccines, Natural News faced an unrelenting barrage of fact-less criticism.

Not long after, though, it was realized that Natural News was telling the truth: these ingredients are, indeed, being used in childhood vaccines, and many parents arent aware of this fact because their doctors and pediatricians arent showing them the vaccine package inserts. Now the outrage is going in the other direction, as it should, because people are realizing that theyve been lied to by their government. (RELATED: You can stay informed on important vaccine issues by visiting Vaccines.news.)

As Natural News correctly reported, one of the many animal-derived ingredients used in vaccines and openly admitted by the CDC is African Green Monkey kidney cells, writes Mike Adams, the Health Ranger. Apparently, this realization was just too much for the scientifically illiterate media (and wholly dishonest vaccine pushers) who insisted it couldnt possibly be true.

You can see the list of ingredients yourself, published by the CDC, at this Natural News article link.

Parents: are you aware of all the horrible things being injected into your children?

Knowing that millions of vaccine are produced and administered every single year for injection into children, it boggles the mind to consider just how many of these African Green Monkeys are being subjected to death in order to manufacture them. The number has to be at least into the thousands, though no official number has been released by the CDC.

Many of these same vaccines also contain cells from aborted human fetal tissue, which sheds a whole new light on Planned Parenthoods illegal baby harvesting scheme that involved selling aborted baby body parts to biotechnology companies for use in manufacturing medicines. It is now abundantly obvious that Planned Parenthood was trafficking those baby body parts for potential use in vaccine manufacture.

This is in addition to all the viruses, heavy metals, chemical preservatives, food colorings, and other toxic ingredients used in making vaccines. Children today are being injected with some of the most disturbing and poisonous substances known to mankind, and very few people seem at all concerned with whats going on.

Its probably because so many people dont even know whats going on, thanks to the mainstream medias dereliction of duty in reporting on this important subject. Every parent should be required to peruse a vaccine package insert before injecting his or her child with a vaccine, and yet this is rarely the case.

Most doctors fail to inform parents about the presence of both human and animal tissue in their childrens medicine, for instance. They rarely mention the use of toxic mercury (thimerosal) in vaccines, or other noxious ingredients like aluminum, genetically-modified (GM) byproducts, cow blood, chemical solvents, and more. These additives are certifiably NOT safe, and they serve no beneficial purpose for those into whom theyre being injected.

Several vaccines currently available in the United States were developed using the Vero cell line, started from African green monkey kidney cells, explains The History of Vaccines.

These include:

 Rotavirus vaccines (Rotarix by GlaxoSmithKline and RotaTeq by Merck & Co.)

 Polio vaccine (IPOL by Sanofi Pasteur)

 Smallpox vaccine (ACAM2000 by Sanofi Pasteur)

 Japanese encephalitis vaccine (Ixiaro by Intercell)

Sources for this article include:

NaturalNews.com

HistoryOfVaccines.org
(Natural News) In an attempt to downplay the GOPs failure to advance an Obamacare repeal and replace measure on Friday, President Donald J. Trump used Twitter to instill in Americans that it will eventually get done.

Obamacare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry! he tweeted.

It was a reassuring note after House Speaker Paul Ryan canceled the scheduled vote on the American Health Care Act. It had become apparent that there would not be enough votes in the House to pass it.

Were going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future, Ryan said after pulling the legislation, indicating that for the time being, neither he nor the president would be reintroducing a new bill.

ObamaCare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 25, 2017

Earlier, reports noted that the president may now shift to tax reform  another major campaign pledge  while allowing Obamacare to implode, which he has long stated is an eventuality.

While Trumps tweet suggested a bipartisan approach to getting Obamacare repealed at some future point, he and others in his administration laid blame for the laws failure and the inability to get a reform measure through on Democrats. (RELATED: Read The One Element That Should Be In ANY Obamacare Repeal Is Freedom.)

Ive been saying for the last year and a half that the best thing we can do, politically speaking, is let Obamacare explode. It is exploding right now. Many states have big problems  almost all states have big problems, Trump said Friday after Ryan pulled the bill.

So Obamacare is exploding. With no Democrat support we couldnt quite get there, he said. So what would be really good, with no Democrat support, is if the Democrats, when it explodes  which it will soon  if they got together with us and got a real healthcare bill. I would be totally up to do it. And I think thats going to happen. I think the losers are Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, because now they own Obamacare. They own it  100 percent own it.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer echoed the presidents view that Democrats, once again, must shoulder the responsibility for Obamacares broken promises, including higher monthly premiums, higher deductibles, fewer insurer choices and collapsing Obamacare exchanges.

The message today that is sent is: Democrats own ObamaCare, Spicer said. Its a failing system  skyrocketing premiums and deductibles, and fewer choices. But its now squarely in the hands of Democrats. They own this, he told Fox News Martha McCallum.

Ultimately, I think his view on health care is that this is going to collapse on its own, Spicer said, noting that the president was a bit disappointed not to have gotten anything through. Democrats and some of these other members are going to come crawling back at some point.

Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, but whats clear is that Obamacare, in general, remains very unpopular as is.

But its Washington, and Trump is dealing with politicians, not businessmen and women. The deal he seeks is with people who are not thinking about profits and who are not worried about their own fates. He is dealing with folks who are far more concerned with polling data, media reports and special interest groups.

Still, given the fact that Trump and Republican leaders ran on (and in large part won on) a promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, its a near certainty that it gets done at some point, with or without Democratic help, though the latter is the most likely of scenarios. (RELATED: Read Now is not the time for conservatives and Trump supporters to panic over Obamacare repeal and replace.)

So, Americans have every right to expect the GOP and the president to go back to the drawing board, come up with something that most factions of Republican lawmakers and the White House can agree on, and start providing relief to the vast majority of Americans negatively affected by Obamacare.

Trump and his team are right though, in reminding the country that the imposition of Obamacare came compliments of the Democratic Party in the first place. They do indeed own the law, which means they also own the damage it has caused and will continue to cause to the health care industry.

One of the bitter ironies of all this is that Democrats claim to want to provide health care for all Americans, but a significant number of insured people still skip care because they cant afford their high deductibles. Keep up with the latest developments in the healthcare standoff at Conservative.news.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources:

NPR.org

TheNationalSentinelcom

RasmussenReports.com
In the frame of this agreement, the three partners will put together their complementary expertise to develop courses of excellence that will contribute to developing a high-level expertise in the Maritime domain in Malaysia.



The first year of the Master will take place within UPNM, in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), with the pedagogical support of Centrale Nantes, as an academic partner. For the second year of the Master, a selection of Master1-graduated students will be offered the opportunity to study in Nantes (France), within Centrale Nantes.



Within the next few months, Centrale Nantes will rely on its experience and work together with UPNM to set up the courses of the Master, in line with the specific Malaysian needs in the maritime industry. As an industrial expert in naval technology, DCNS will bring its expertise to design and develop the courses of the future Master. The specialized Master 2 will include courses specifically devoted to warship integration technology, with the support of some DCNS experts.



The training of Malaysian teachers will start in September 2017 under the management of Centrale Nantes, with a start of the Master in Malaysia planned from January 2018.



Commenting on this announcement, Nathalie Smirnov, DCNS Vice-President for Services, declared:

DCNS is a long-term naval and maritime partner of Malaysia and the agreement signed today with UPNM and Centrale Nantes is a step further in our cooperation. By providing academic courses of excellence in Maritime Technology, this Master will ensure the training of specialized engineers who will contribute to the success of Malaysias future naval programs.



General Tan Sri Dato Seri Panglima Hj. Zulkifli bin Hj. Zainal Abidin, UPNM vice-chancellor, declared:

This MoA paves the way for Malaysians, in particular UPNMs students, to gain access to the leading-edge technology and expertise that Centrale Nantes as well as DCNS have to offer. This collaboration is very much in line with the vision of UPNM and supports our aspiration of producing intellectual leaders of character who are committed towards selfless service to the nation in furtherance of national strategic interests.



Arnaud Poitou, director of Centrale Nantes, declared: We share with UPNM a common industrial partner in DCNS. This agreement has come about because of Centrale Nantes capacity for interdisciplinary research, our recognized expertise in the maritime area and our track record in setting-up partnerships with prestigious universities across the world. These strengths will be leveraged for the benefit of Malaysian maritime industry. 
COCOA BEACH, Florida  Around 9 a.m. on Monday, March 27, 2017, Cocoa Beach Police and Fire personnel responded to an area across from 20 South Orlando Avenue to assist a female jogger who had fallen on the sidewalk along the east side of the street.



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Initially, it was believed that the woman had been shot with a paintball, which caused her to fall to the ground and sustain minor injuries. Several broken paintballs were observed in the area along with paint on the ground.

It was later determined through evidence at the scene as well as victim/witness statements that the jogger just tripped and fell to the ground. Police have concluded that the paintballs had been previously discharged and are unrelated to this incident.

Anyone who may have information pertaining to this matter is asked to contact the Cocoa Beach Police Department at 321-868- 3251.

Image credit: Google


GoldSeek.com Radio: Dr. Paul Craig Roberts and Peter Spina, and your host Chris Waltzek





By: Chris Waltzek, GoldSeek.com Radio

-- Published: Monday, 27 March 2017 | Print | Disqus Featured Guests Dr. Paul Craig Roberts & Peter Spina Show Highlights Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy returns with perhaps the most dire news to date.

He questions the validity of the official 4.7% employment figure, preferring instead the Shadowstats.com 23% unemployment number.

The discrepancy arises because job seekers are no longer considered unemployed after only a few weeks of inactivity.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) inflates the monthly figure by 100,000-200,000 jobs by way of hedonic measures.

The true inflation rate is twice the current level via the U6 - the slight of hand allows unscrupulous officials to maintain unfairly low social security payments.

Billions of dollars of paper shorts dumped on the gold futures market via the Plunge Protection Team (PPT) aids and abets the manipulation scheme.

Ultimately, our guest anticipates a global nuclear cataclysm as internal forces foment conflict between the US and its major trading partners. Goldseek.com / Silverseek.com President and founder, Peter Spina returns to the show with his mining share analysis, from his home in the Czech Republic.

Similar to the PMs sector, Prague has emerged from the former communist regime, entering a new Golden Era.

Peter outlines the unique character / appeal of the central European culture, including the entrepreneurial spirit.

Peter outlines the remarkable 500% return on 5 of his gold mining candidates recently announced at a Vancouver conference.

While virtually every PMs stock performed spectacularly in 2016, Peter Spina emphasizes the importance of quality in 2017.

Companies like Silver Wheaton (SWC) and Royal Gold (RGLD) are covered.

The guest / host concur that at the core of every successful investment portfolio lies gold / silver bullion.

Northern Vertex Mining (NEE.v), a company in which he continues to accumulate shares (Figure 1.1) is opening a mine in Arizona.

NEE.v continues substantial exploration work and is located in a favorable location near Las Vegas.

The duo also agree that the silver sector represents a remarkable valuation opportunity. Guest Biographies President Peter Spina Goldseek.com / Silverseek.com Peter Spina is President, CEO of GoldSeek.com & SilverSeek.com. His experience with the precious metals markets started back in the mid-1990s, which led to the creation of GoldSeek.com in 1995. Today GoldSeek.com ranks within the top, most-visited gold investor websites in the world with a 300,000+ global monthly reader outreach. Its sister site, SilverSeek.com, is ranked as one of the most visited silver websites in the world recently reaching 100,000+ monthly silver investor readers. Peter also makes frequent appearances in the media, including Investors Business Daily, MarketWatch, Reuters, and theStreet.com. Dr. Paul Craig Roberts Institute for Political Economy

Paul Craig Roberts is the J ohn M. Olin Fellow at the Institute for Political Economy, Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and Research Fellow at the Independent Institute. A former editor and columnist for The Wall Street Journal and columnist for Business Week and the Scripps Howard News Service, he is a nationally syndicated columnist for Creators Syndicate in Los Angeles and a columnist for Investor's Business Daily. In 1992 he received the Warren Brookes Award for Excellence in Journalism. In 1993 the Forbes Media Guide ranked him as one of the top seven journalists.

Web page: click here.

| Digg This Article

-- Published: Monday, 27 March 2017 | E-Mail | Print | Source: GoldSeek.com Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus








10:26

Headed to Lucknow for a galaouti kabab break?



Chomp on paneer tikkas or harabhara kababs instead. Meat sellers across UP have shut their shops in protest against government's crackdown.



Meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh are on an indefinite strike from today against the crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses.



Fish vendors have also resolved to join the stir which has seen non-vegetarian delicacies go off the menu in several parts of the state.



"We have decided to intensify our strike from tomorrow. All shops will remain closed. Fish sellers too have joined us and are extending support to us," Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal office bearer Mubeen Qureshi said.



He said, in the wake of the crackdown, there was no question of the strike being called off anytime soon.



"It will go on indefinitely," he said.



Due to the strike, non-vegetarian food outlets, including the famous Tunday and Rahim's have shifted to mutton and chicken dishes after buffalo meat became scarce.



"The meat sellers are piqued over the crackdown on slaughter houses which has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people," Qureshi said.



After coming to power, the Aditya Nath Yogi government has ordered closure of illegal slaughterhouses and strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling to fulfil a key electoral promise.



As the mouth-watering kebabs went off the platter, the owner of another famous eatery said the situation might force the hoteliers to get mutton from Delhi.



"But there will be no compromise on the quality of the food," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



At the same time, he supported the closure of illegal and mechanised slaughter houses in the state, saying it was difficult for a common man to pass through a locality where the slaughter houses were operating almost openly.



He also alleged that the illegal abattoirs even indulged in slaughtering dogs.



Replying to a question, he said, "This is not a religious issue. In fact, it is directly linked to the health of people, who have the right to good quality of meat and fish."



Meanwhile, BJP national spokesman Sambit Patra said in Delhi that the government was only following a court order as illegal abattoirs were contributing to UP's ill health by getting ground water polluted.



He claimed those running meat outlets legally and in accordance with norms were not being victimised.



"There has been a court order about illegal abattoirs which was not implemented by the previous government. The state's Chief Secretary has constituted committees in each district headed by the Collector and comprising ten people each. The committee is visiting every slaughterhouse to see if they are being run legally and submitting a report every day," he said.



About loss of livelihood and lack of meat in the market, Patra said," If there is large-scale disruption, the state government will look at it and resolve the issue."



Senior UP Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh said only small meat vendors were being targeted during the drive.



"How is it that the small shops are getting closed and meat exports are going up. The government should have made people aware of the laws and rules before launching the drive," he said.



Chief Minister Aditya Nath Yogi had yesterday said abattoirs operating legally will not be touched but action will be taken against those run illegally.



"The government will not touch those (abattoirs) which are operating as per the provisions of law and have a valid licence. But those that are violating the orders of the NGT and playing with the health of the public would not be spared...," he had said.


School of Music hosts Outside the Box April 4-8

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill.  In order to score an invitation to perform at Outside the Box, the annual new music festival at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, you need to be more than a composer of New Music.

I want to invite composers, performers and multimedia artists who are innovative, engaging, and have a track record of world-class creative achievements, Christopher Walczak, assistant professor of music theory and composition and the coordinator for the multi-day music festival, said. But it doesnt end there. I only invite artists who I am certain will engage with our community and the university, who will let us in to their creative worlds, and leave us with something that makes us better.

Outside the Box 2017 runs April 4-8. All events are free and most are on campus. A full schedule and information about the guest musicians and composers is online.

New Music in this context doesnt refer to music that was released yesterday, that you might hear on the radio for the next few weeks. It is a particular kind of music. New Music in this sense is contemporary classical music  music written by contemporary composers (or, to put some dates on it, since about 1945) that shares the aesthetic tradition of classical composers, the ones who wrote the first symphonies and operas and chamber music.

New Music, like classical music, includes several distinguishable movements -- including modernist, post-modernist, neoromantic, minimalism, post-minimalism, and so on. Some consider art rock to be a part of New Music, and some forms of electronic music fall under the New Music heading too.

New Music can be very experimental and unlike youre bound to hear -- unless you come to these concerts, Walczak said. Yet the works are masterful, composed and performed by people who are at the top of their respective fields. We encourage the community to open their ears and embrace this music as an adventure.

The guest composers present master classes during the festival. These are also open to the public.

Here are some highlights on the festival schedule:

April 4

7:30 p.m.  Shryock Auditorium  Opening night concert featuring the SIU Concert Choir, Wind Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble performing works by guest composers Paul Carey and Karl Blench, and music from Arvo Part.

April 5

Back-to-back SIU performances. At 5:30 p.m. Eric Mandat, professor of clarinet and composition, and the SIUIU (SIU Improvisation Unit) present a performance of free improvisation in Altgeld Hall, Room 110. At 7:30 p.m., School of Music faculty members Diane Coloton, David Dillard and Yuko Kato present contemporary vocal music in the Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall.

April 6

7:30 p.m.  Carbondale Community Arts Corridor Gallery and Art Space 304 (304 W. Walnut St., Carbondale)  Change Course is a composition for tenor saxophone and computer paired with improvisatory music theater. Composer/ technologist Kurt Stallman and saxophonist Steve Duke are featured guests.

April 7

5:30 p.m.  Carbondale Community Arts Corridor Gallery and Art Space 304  a concert of New Music by guest composer Shih-Hui Chen, followed by the film Time Present, featuring music by Kurt Stallman.

8 p.m.  Shryock Auditorium  The Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra from Taipei, Taiwan, presents a New Music concert that blends western orchestral instruments with traditional Chinese and Taiwanese instruments. Compositions, including world premieres, by Shih-Hui Chen, Kurt Stallman, Christopher Walczak, Robert McClure and Shane Monds, with Chih-Sheng Chen, conductor.

April 8

Back-to-back SIU performances. Eric Mandat presents his electroacoustic interactive music and improvisation at Altgeld Hall, Room 110, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Altgeld Chamber Players take on a diverse and eclectic collection of contemporary music in Shryock Auditorium at 8 p.m.
44th annual boat regatta set for April 29

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- When you combine sheets of cardboard, a bonding agent, ingenuity and fun-loving adventurers who create boats they hope can actually carry them across the water, its obviously time for a favorite Southern Illinois University Carbondale tradition  the Great Cardboard Boat Regatta.

The 44th annual regatta is set for April 29 at Evergreen Parks Carbondale Reservoir boat launch. Boat registration and inspection starts at 10 a.m. and the racing begins at 1 p.m.

One and all are welcome  either as contestants or spectators. Organizers are inviting individuals and groups from the community to build boats and join in the fun.

This is a great activity for scouts, after-school programs, church youth groups, families and all kinds of organizations to participate in, Mary Kinsel, associate scientist, senior lecturer and adviser for Alpha Chi Sigma, the SIU professional chemistry fraternity that organizes the event, said. Were also challenging local businesses to build and race boats to promote themselves to the community, too. And, if you cant build a boat, come out to watch the boats race and sink.

There are trophies and awards for the top finishers in each race category as well as for the most creative floating vessels and the best team boat. If your watercraft proves to be less than seaworthy, you could still emerge from the waters with a prize. The Titanic Award goes to the boat that sinks in the most spectacular fashion.

The race categories include: boats powered by paddles; mechanical boats powered by paddle wheels, propellers or other forms of muscle-driven propulsion; and boats that are built the day of the regatta. Corrugated cardboard of any thickness must be used to create each boat. Builders can construct the boats using glue, caulk, tape or another such substance to hold the cardboard together and provide simple waterproofing.

The cost to enter a boat is just $15 if you register in advance. Those who enter on race day will pay $20. Instant boat kits will be available on a first-come, first-served basis that day and the late contestants will have approximately two hours to build their watercraft.

Find additional details and online registration on the Great Cardboard Boat Regatta Facebook Page.

Watching the fun unfold is always free. Its a family friendly event that has drawn crowds for decades. There will also be food and beverages available for purchase at the regatta from various community and student organizations.

The event originated nearly a half-century ago as a creative design class project for Richard Archers art and design students at SIU. Since that time, its been replicated around the globe but it remains a favorite tradition in Carbondale. Sponsors of this years event include Alpha Chi Sigma, SIU, the Carbondale Park District and the City of Carbondale.

Boat builders can purchase seven-by-eight foot cardboard sheets, perfect for boat building, on campus in the Chemistry Department of the Neckers Building at SIU. Sheets are $3 each and a standard boat requires about four sheets.

To make arrangements to purchase cardboard or for more information about the regatta, contact Kinsel at 618/453-6428.
Poll: Large majority of voters back marijuana legalization, decriminalization

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Large majorities of Illinois voters support marijuana decriminalization and legalization for recreational use, according to the results of the latest poll from Southern Illinois University Carbondales Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.

The Simon Poll was conducted March 4-11. The sample included 1,000 randomly selected registered voters and a margin for error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Sixty percent of the interviews were with respondents on cellphones.

Three-quarters, 74 percent, of voters support or strongly support decriminalizing marijuana where people in possession of small amounts for personal consumption would not be prosecuted but may be fined. One in five voters, 21 percent, oppose or strongly oppose decriminalization and 5 percent answered otherwise. In 2016, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a law decriminalizing up to 10 grams of marijuana. Under the new law people caught with up to 10 grams can face fines of $100 to $200 and potential municipal penalties instead of facing a class B misdemeanor and potentially six months in jail and $1,500 in fines.

Support is also strong for legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Two-thirds of voters, 66 percent, support or strongly support legalization of recreational marijuana if it is taxed and regulated like alcohol. A notable 45 percent of voters strongly support legalization strongly. Only 31 percent of voters oppose or strongly oppose and 3 percent answered otherwise.

Illinois voters are growing increasingly comfortable with the idea of decriminalizing marijuana and we now have evidence that most see it as a potential revenue source for the state, Jak Tichenor, institute interim director, said. A March 2016 Simon Poll showed 51 percent opposed recreational use of marijuana while 45 percent approved. When coupled with the idea of regulating and taxing it like alcohol, this years poll showed a 21 percent increase in the number of people who approve recreational use.

Decriminalization by region: In Chicago, 80 percent of voters support or strongly support decriminalization, statistically the same as their neighbors in suburban Cook and the collar counties who support or strongly support at 79 percent. In the rural regions outside Cook and the collar counties, 63 percent of voters supported or strongly supported decriminalization. Opposition or strong opposition by voters in Chicago is 16 percent, in suburban Cook and collar counties is 17 percent, and 31 percent outside Cook and the collar counties.

Decriminalization by political party: Among Democrats, Republicans and independents, Democrats support is strongest with 81 percent stating they support or strongly support decriminalization. Only 15 percent of Democrats oppose or strongly oppose decriminalization and 4 percent answered otherwise. Independent voters followed Democrats with 76 percent of independents supporting or strongly supporting decriminalization and 17 percent opposing or strongly opposing. Two-thirds, 66 percent, of Republicans support or strongly support decriminalization and 30 percent oppose or strongly oppose.

Decriminalization by age group: Illinois voters younger than 35 show the most approval with 83 percent supporting or strongly supporting decriminalization. Fifteen percent are opposed. Voters 35 to 50 years old support or strongly support at 81 percent, and oppose or strongly oppose at 15 percent. Three-quarters, 77 percent, of 51 to 65-year-old voters support or strongly support decriminalization. One in five, 19 percent, oppose or strongly oppose. Two-thirds, 67 percent, of baby boomers and the greatest generation 66 and older support or strongly support decriminalization while 28 oppose or strongly oppose.

These data show that virtually all Illinoisans have opinions on cannabis decriminalization and legalization. Few people seem indifferent on these issues, Delio Calzolari, associate institute director and one of the poll designers, said. A vast majority appears to philosophically agree with decriminalization like the steps taken last year, although the definition of decriminalization and amounts in question are debatable. There is also overwhelming support for new cannabis public policy for recreational use shown.

Recreational legalization by region: In Chicago, 74 percent of voters support or strongly support legalization of marijuana for recreational use if taxed and regulated like alcohol. In suburban Cook and the collar counties, support or strong support is 70 percent. In rural Illinois outside Cook and the collar counties, 54 percent of voters supported or strongly supported legalization. Opposition or strong opposition by voters in Chicago is 22 percent, suburban Cook and collar counties is 27 percent, and 43 percent outside Cook and the collar counties.

Recreational legalization by political party: Among Democrats, Republicans and independents, Democrats support is strongest among the three groups with 76 percent stating they support or strongly support recreational legalization if taxed and regulated like alcohol. Only 21 percent of Democrats oppose or strongly oppose recreational legalization and 3 percent answered otherwise. Independent voters followed Democrats with 68 percent of independents supporting or strongly supporting recreational use and 27 percent opposing or strongly opposing. A slight majority of Republicans, 52 percent, support or strongly support legalization while 46 percent oppose.

Recreational legalization by age group: Illinois voters younger than 35 show the most favorability to legalization of recreational marijuana if taxed and regulated like alcohol. Four in five, 83 percent, support or strongly support the proposition. This percentage is identical to the same support for decriminalization. Seventeen percent are opposed. Voters 35 to 50 years-old support or strongly support at 77 percent, and oppose or strongly oppose at 22 percent. Among 51 to 65 year-old voters 69 percent support or strongly support legalization and 28 percent oppose or strongly oppose. Baby boomers and the greatest generation 66 and older are split on the issue with 51 percent stating they support or strongly support legalization of recreational marijuana if taxed and regulated like alcohol and 45 percent stating they oppose or strongly oppose.

Poll results are available here.

For more information, contact Tichenor at 618/453-4009 or Calzolari at 312/927-3596.

The margin of error for the entire sample of 1,000 voters is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. This means that if we conducted the survey 100 times, in 95 of those instances, the population proportion would be within plus or minus the reported margin of error for each subsample. For subsamples, the margin of error increases as the sample size goes down. The margin of error was not adjusted for design effects.

Live telephone interviews were conducted by Customer Research International of San Marcos, Texas using the random digit dialing method. The telephone sample was provided to Customer Research International by Scientific Telephone Samples. Potential interviewees were screened based on whether they were registered voters and quotas based on area code and sex (<60% female). The sample obtained 51% male and 49% female respondents. Interviewers asked to speak to the youngest registered voter at home at the time of the call. Cell phone interviews accounted for 60 percent of the sample. A Spanish language version of the questionnaire and a Spanish-speaking interviewer were made available.

Field work was conducted from March 4 through March 11. No auto-dial or robo polling is included. Customer Research International reports no Illinois political clients. The survey was paid for with non-tax dollars from the Institutes endowment fund. The data were not weighted in any way. Crosstabs for the referenced questions will be on the institutes polling website, http://paulsimoninstitute.siu.edu/opinion-polls/index.php

The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Researchs (AAPOR) Transparency Initiative. AAPOR works to encourage objective survey standards for practice and disclosure. Membership in the Transparency Initiative reflects a pledge to practice transparency in reporting survey-based findings.

Simon Institute polling data are archived by four academic institutions for use by scholars and the public. The four open source data repositories are: the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research (http://ropercenter.cornell.edu/polls/), the University of Michigans Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (http://home.isr.umich.edu/centers/icpsr/), the University of North Carolinas Odum Institute Dataverse Network (https://dataverse.unc.edu/), and the Simon Institute Collection at OpenSIUC (http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ppi/).

Note: The Simon Poll and the Southern Illinois Poll are the copyrighted trademarks of the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University. Use and publication of these polls is encouraged- but only with credit to the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at SIU Carbondale.
The American University of Afghanistan in Kabul reopened on Monday, seven months after a terror attack at the centre killed 17 people. "Classes have been resumed completely," the head of the university, Sharif Faiz, told Efe news. Faiz said that despite the attack, the university has 76 new students although he did not reveal the exact number of students enrolled at the centre. Around 750 students and professors were present in the campus during the August 24 attack when a suicide attacker drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the university gate. He was followed by two other insurgents, who entered the campus and killed, among others, seven students and a Professor and wounded nine police officials and 36 students and staff members over the next 10 hours, until they were finally shot dead by the security forces. Faiz also appealed to the insurgents to keep in mind that those studying at the university were "Afghans and Muslims" and so "like their sons and daughters, and none would target their children". "This mindset is very dangerous, they should think at least once why they are killing students. They are not in a war with them, they are just students," he added. Faiz explained that during the seven months, "lots of work had been done in upgrading the security of the university" and added that "if any group dare to attack the university, they would be eliminated before reaching their target." The August 24 attack took place a few weeks after a group of armed men abducted two Professors -- an American and an Australian -- working in the university. In January, the Taliban released a video which showed the two teachers asking US President Donald Trump to agree to a swap for Taliban prisoners being held by US troops. --IANS ksk/dg ( 308 Words) 2017-03-27-15:20:08 (IANS)
The Goa Police on Monday said the Supreme Court ban on liquor vends on state and national highways will help cut down on drunken driving and consequently road accidents in the coastal state. The stand comes in the wake of Goa government's assurance to liquor vends located within 500 metres on either side of the highways in Goa of doing "something" to save them from shutdown. On December 15, 2016, the Supreme Court ordered the state governments to not renew the licences of liquor vends operating within 500 metres of the highways after April 1. Deputy Inspector General of Police Rupinder Kumar told media here that the Supreme Court order will act as a deterrent to drunken driving. "In Goa, where highways are not wide enough, if the liquor vends are taken back 500 metres from the roads as per the apex court guidelines, it may act as a deterrent for drivers to get down and walk some distance to buy liquor," Kumar said. According to an Excise Department survey, nearly one-third of the 11,000 licensed liquor stores in the state will have to close down in the wake of the Supreme Court order. --IANS maya/tsb/dg ( 207 Words) 2017-03-27-15:24:07 (IANS)
New Delhi [India], Mar 27 (ANI-NewsVoir): Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co. has been awarded the 'National Law Firm of the Year, 2017, India' by Chambers and Partners, the world's premium evaluator of Legal Services. The award is based on research for the 2017 edition of Chambers Asia-Pacific and reflect a law firm's pre-eminence in key practice areas. They also reflect notable achievements over the past 12 months including outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co. won the prestigious accolade at the annual Chambers and Partners Asia-Pacific Awards, held in Singapore on Friday 24 March 2017. "We are truly honored to receive this award from Chambers and Partners, which recognizes our position as a leading law firm in India. It is indeed heartening that we have received this recognition in our centenary year and within 22 months of our establishing the new SAM & Co. firm," said Executive Chairman Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co., Shardul Shroff. Managing Partners, Pallavi Shroff and Akshay Chudasama said, "This is indeed a wonderful award to receive and a recognition of all our efforts over the last two years. It has been possible only with the dedication, hard work and single minded focus that everyone at SAM and Co has shown. This is truly the result of a great team effort by everyone at the firm." Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co. has consistently excelled in Chambers and Partners rankings. In 2017, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co. achieved the maximum number of Band 1 lawyers as well as Band one Practices. The Firm also achieved the maximum number of ranked lawyers in Chambers and Partners. Some of the latest awards that Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas has received include: Ranked 'Band 1' for Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Competition/ Antitrust, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution, Private Equity, Projects, Infrastructure and Energy - Chambers and Partners, 2017. 'Outstanding' provider of legal services for Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Competition & Antitrust, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution & Litigation, Energy & Natural Resources, Private Equity, Projects & Infrastructure - Asialaw Profiles, 2017. Ranked 'Tier 1' for Banking & Finance, Antitrust and Competition, Capital Markets, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution, Investments Funds, Projects Infrastructure and Energy, Real Estate & Construction, TMT and White-collar crime - The Legal 500, 2017. Ranked 'Tier 1' for Corporate M&A, Banking & Finance, Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Private Equity, Project Finance, Capital Markets and Transport - IFLR1000's Financial and Corporate Rankings, 2017. (ANI-NewsVoir)
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) on Monday urged the UK to remain within the European single market and customs union after its exit from the European Union (EU) in order to safeguard the rights of both British and EU workers. As Wednesday's triggering of Article 50 gets closer and the launch of a two-year period of negotiations on the UK's exit from the bloc and future relationship with the EU, the ETUC called on the European Council to issue guidelines that "guarantee that workers will not be used as bargaining chips", Efe news reported. "To ensure all this is addressed properly, and that jobs and social rights are adequately protected, the ETUC's conviction is that the UK should keep membership of the EU single market and customs union, with the rules and freedoms linked to them," the ETUC said in a statement. "The workers and citizens -- in the UK and the rest of the EU -- must not pay the price for Brexit," the ETUC said, adding that the European Trade Unions' main priority was to defend "jobs, living standards and workers' rights" from Brexit's impact. Therefore, it was essential the guidelines issued by EU members, to be agreed at an extraordinary summit scheduled for April 29, would enable a well organised, clearly marked and fair process, it said. The UK must "fully transpose into UK legislation the social acquis to protect workers' rights, including a non-regression clause", the ETUC said. The ETUC also noted that "a period longer than two years may be needed to conclude the negotiations for an agreement". Spanish trade unions UGT, CCOO, ELA, and USO, who are members of the ETUC, have also demanded that specific issues related to Gibraltar and the Northern Ireland-Eire border be addressed to guarantee the continued rights of frontier workers. The ETUC is also calling for Article 50 negotiations to lead to a social and economic agreement that "protects jobs, living standards and workers' rights, and not a free trade deal built on a platform of lower pay, tax, and standards." --IANS ksk/vt ( 355 Words) 2017-03-27-18:14:08 (IANS)
Nexus, a newly established start-up hub at the American Center at New Delhi, would host the seminar.

"Leading subject matter experts, funders and entrepreneurs will join the Nexus seminar to discuss these challenges and potential solutions in the renewable energy sector, both domestically in India and internationally," a release from the US Embassy in Delhi said.

The seminar would include three panels, each addressing these challenges from a different perspective -- funding, start-ups and the international perspective.

Nexus is a collaboration between the American Center and the IC Institute of the University of Texas - Austin to showcase the best of American and Indian Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology Commercialisation.

--IANS rs/pgh/vt

( 147 Words)

2017-03-27-18:20:08 (IANS)
The 41-year-old-actress took to Instagram and shared an adorable photo, calling her talent agent hubby 'wonderful man' to mark their special day.

She wrote, "Six years ago I was lucky enough to marry this wonderful man. He makes me laugh everyday and supports me in everything I do. Happy anniversary, JT! Here's to many more!"

Recently, the couple stepped out to attend Vanity Fair's 2017 Oscars bash.

The two have kept most details of their relationship under wraps. But Witherspoon always credits the Hollywood insider with motivating her to get behind the camera.

Reese and Jim tied the knot in 2011 in a star-studded ceremony and welcomed their first child, Tennessee James, year and a half later. (ANI)
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Bhavya and Divya Bharat' concept when, in the World Happiness Index, the country has fallen by four places, and has become the 122nd nation out of a total of 155. "There is nothing new in what the Prime Minister is saying, because every Indian dreams of a better country, a brighter country, a more successful country, so, that he can have a share of his own (in the country). But, today, we found that out of 155 countries in the world, we are at 122nd number, according to World Happiness Index. We must rise. India can't be as low as a number - 122 out of 155," NCP leader Majid Memon told ANI. "We were 118 last year and have come down by four places. Where are the 'Achhe Din' everybody wanted?" he added. Meanwhile, Memon also claimed that the reason the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh was Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), emphasising that the latter was the brain behind the former's victory. "The BJP's landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh should be attributed to the ground work done by the RSS. The question now is whether newly-elected Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi also is a choice of approval of the RSS and if they are trying to promote Hindutva," he said. According to a report - World Happiness Report 2017 - released by the United Nations at an event on Monday celebrating International Day of Happiness, India ranked at 122 out of 155 countries, four notches below its previous rank of 118. (ANI)
The Border Security Force (BSF) troops of border outpost Paharipur shot dead a Pakistani intruder ahead of the B.S. Fence on Monday morning. The incident took place in Punjab's Gurdaspur sector. Further details are awaited. (ANI)
The cartons read 'For sale in Haryana'.

One person has been arrested in this regard.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Shahdara Nupur Prasad said the liquor was for use in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls to be held in the national capital.

The three municipal corporations are to go to polls on April 23, while votes will be counted on April 26. (ANI)
Extending support to Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, the Congress on Monday said that Air India staffer Sukumar was equally at fault. Congress leader Rajni Patil said that she has given a notice in Parliament over the VVIP culture issue. "Not all MPs are the same as shown. As the MP behaved, so did the airlines. If he misbehaved, the airlines also put him in the 'no-fly' list. The people should behave like a normal citizen," she told ANI. Resonating similar views, another Congress leader Husain Dalwai said that it was not just one-sided. "He is a famous leader in Osmanabad. We should keep in mind how the officer talked to Gaikwad. I am not going to support his act. What he did was wrong, but this is not just one-sided," he told ANI. The Shiv Sena has given a shutdown call in Maharashtra's Osmanabad in support of Gaikwad, who had assaulted an Air India staffer last week. The Shiv Sena is also likely to bring a privilege motion in the Parliament today over the issue of Gaikwad being put in 'no fly list' of all airlines. Air India and six private airlines banned the 56-year-old MP from flying as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage. The Osmanabad MP after being blacklisted by the top airlines boarded a train to Mumbai earlier on Friday evening. The MP refrained from commenting further on the row and said Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray would speak on the matter. Earlier, the MP, while showing no regret for his action had said, "What is there to repent? I will not apologise. He (Sukumar) should come and apologise.then we will see." (ANI)
Earlier, Finance Minister Etala Rajender moved the bill which will be put to vote after the closure of the debate on it, which is now in progress.

The ongoing winter session of the Assembly is scheduled to conclude today after completing the listed business.

Participating in the discussion on the bill, TPCC President Uttam kumar Reddy said that the state budget was a jugglery of figures and the state's debts were growing by leaps and bounds.

BJP leader Dr K Laxman said the farmers in the state were facing immense difficulties. He charged that the government was not taking steps for the welfare of BCs who formed 54 per cent of the state's population.MORE UNI SMS CS 1220

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The process of procuring potatoes directly from farmers at minimum support price started yesterday at areas including Tarakeswar, Balagarh, Polba and Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district, which is the highest producer of potatoes in the state, the official sources here today said. The state government has decided to buy a total of 28,000 metric tonnes of potatoes for midday meals. Potatoes will also be exported to Nepal and Bhutan. Some quantity of the staple food will also be sent to Assam and Odisha.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed concern over potato cultivators, who were reportedly incurring losses due to increase in production of the staple food this year.

Earlier, Ms Banerjee announced that 28,000 metric tonnes of potatoes will be procured by the state government at a rate of Rs 4.60 per kg for anganwadis.

In addition to this, the state government will be giving 0.50 paise for exporting one kilo potato through roadways and Re 1, if transported in vessels to other countries.

Potato cultivating areas will be divided into clusters.

From each of the clusters, the produce will be sent to a particular wholesale market.

This will not only make the task easier but also help the farmers to get the minimum support price, State Agriculture Marketing department minister Tapan Dasgupta said.

Potato cultivation in the state has gone up by around 14 lakh metric tonne this time compared to that of the previous season.

While it was around 97 lakh metric tonne last year, the production is around 1.10 crore metric tonne now.UNI BM AD1417

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With closure of illegal slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh becoming important politically, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Monday said it is not right to take a decision overnight as it is an economic issue. "It is not right to do like this over night. It is an economic issue. . It will be a big loss for people who deal with this. If it is illegal it should be made legal or the capacity of the legal slaughter houses should be increased so that there is no economic disruption," AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi told ANI. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Siddharth Nath Singh reiterated that the state government will only act against slaughterhouses that are illegal. "We have assembled here to give a clarification that it is an investigation only against the illegal slaughterhouses. Those who have licenses have nothing to fear. They should continue following regulations," Singh told media. The minister further said it was also a message to the officers not to overstep their jurisdiction and the mandate given by the state government. The cabinet minister further clarified that no orders have been issued by the government to close down shops selling chicken and eggs, urging people not to believe news of it going around on social media. After coming to power, the Yogi Adityanath-led government has ordered the closure of illegal slaughterhouses and strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling to fulfill a key electoral promise. Adityanath earlier on Saturday said abattoirs operating legally will not be touched but action will be taken against those being run illegally.(ANI)
The deceased identified as Ramchandra Bara of Baliapati under Basta block had borrowed about Rs 20,000 from local sources.

He had lost his crops in the recent thunder squall and hail storm.

Sources said Bara had consumed pesticide as he could not bear the failure of crop.

The farmer died while undergoing treatment at the Basta Community Health Centre.

The local tehsildar as well as the district agriculture and horticulture officer have been directed to visit the house of deceased farmer and submit report on his death.

Balasore District Collector Pramod Das said he would also visit the house of Bara soon.UNI XC DP AD1554

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today visited Gomti Riverfront, inspected the projects and directed officials concerned to keep it clean.Former CM Akhilesh Yadav had started adornment of banks of river Gomti on the pattern of Thames river in London. Gomti riverfront project was dream project of former CM Akhilesh Yadav.Following visit of UP CM, irrigation minister Dharampal said that CM Yogi was not happy with delay in developing Riverfront project. Irrigation minister also directed officials concerned to ensure that sewage water should not flow into river Gomti.UNI JDM MB SHK 1528 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1204949.Xml
Aiming to prevent boundry transgression by Tamil Nadu fishermen while fishing in Palk Bay, former High Commissioner of India to Pakistan G Parthasarathy today demanded deep sea fishing training for the state fishermen. Delivering a lecture on ' Indian foreign policy and security challenges: past and present,' at the Pondicherry University, here today, he said one of the options to avoid frequent dispute over fishing in Palk Bay was to encourage fishermen from Tamil Nadu for deep sea fishing. "I think New Delhi has started thinking on those lines," he added. Mr.Parthasarathy said all the stakeholders including government of Northern Province, Sri Lanka, should sit together to arrive at a consensus and if it works out, agencies such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency and Asian Development Bank would be ready to provide financial assistance. Mr Parthasarathy said during his visits to Jaffna, he had heard about stories of how Sri Lankan Tamils were deprived of their marine wealth by big industrialists' fishermen from Tamil Nadu. "That is their only livelihood means. They bitterly complaint about fishing activity using big trawlers deep inside their water," he said. He also suggested that a Buddhism tourism circuit connecting India with Southeast Asian countries would also help strengthen our relationship with Sri Lanka. The diplomat also delved on the growing irrelevance of South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC) due to strain in Indo-Pak relations and the problems in Afghanistan.In the context of relationship with Pakistan not making much progress, he said India should try to build its relationship with eastern neighbours by deepening economic activity. "Let SAARC be in the cold storage till we improve our relationship with Pakistan," he said.Mr Parthasarathy stressed the need for a strong economy to strengthen country's geo-political influence.UNI PAB JW SHK 1852 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0364-1205535.Xml
Accusing the NDA Government at the Centre of lack of transparency in the tendering and procurement process in purchase of LED bulbs, street lights, pumps and fans to promote energy efficiency , the Congress today alleged a scam of Rs 20000 cr in the purchase and demanded an impartial inquiry under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge into it.Addressing a press conference here, AICC spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said there was no transparency in the tendering and procurement process of these LED bulbs, street lights, pumps and fans.Mr Gohil said the power ministry had set up Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of NTPC Limited, PFC, REC and POWERGRID to facilitate implementation of energy efficiency projects.He said that the purchase of LED bulbs was aimed at reducing electricity bills.However, it was found that power bills of Navsari, Nagapalika of Gujarat increased after installation of the LED street lights .'' In September 2016, street lights were installed in Navsari, Nagapalika of Gujarat, the bill for August 2016, prior to the installation of LED street lights was Rs 5,03516 . After installation, instead of the 50 per cent "Deemed Saving" it went upto Rs 5,97,865. Thereafter, all in successive months, the bill never went below Rs 5,03,516,''Mr Gohil said while presenting documents in support of his claim.Alleging a scam of Rs 20000 score in the purchase oif LED bulbs, Mr Gohil said,'' the Prime Minister claims that 21 crore such LED bulbs were distributed throughout the country and various news reports reflect that more than 30 lakh street lights were installed in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Cost of one such LED street light is Rs 2000 (approx). If we take into account the irregularities and fraud in tendering process- This turns out to be a scam of atleast Rs 20000 Cr !''Posing several questions to Power Minister, Piyush Goyal and the Government in this regard, he demanded an impartial inquiry under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge into the scam.''Under whose direction was this entire fraudulent exercise being done? Is it being done with the knowledge of the Power Minister, Goyal? If the Minister did not know, will he order a time bound impartial enquiry in the same? The Congress party demands an impartial inquiry under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge for the same,''he said.UNI AR ADG 2018 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0092-1205748.Xml
With just 48 hours before British Prime Minister Theresa May formally triggers article 50 - the official process for exiting the European Union (EU), Labour's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer will set out six tests which any deal must pass, or face the opposition of Labour in the House of Commons. Starmer is expected to warn that the Brexit process is in danger of being hijacked by Tory hardliners who sense a "once in a generation chance" for Britain to extricate itself from employment rights, environmental protections and investment in public services. Starmer is expected to harden Labour's Brexit stance, warning that there is a "worrying and increasingly powerful move on the government benches to sever links with Europe," in a major speech at Chatham House, reports The Guardian. As done by other former leaders, Starmer is expected to insist on May's commitment to maintaining equal cross-border security and policing, calling for clarification on whether Britain will be a member of Europol and retain the European arrest warrant. "Freedom of movement is an EU rule, therefore when we leave, those rules fall away and we have to decide what immigration rules and policy go in its place," he spoke to the Guardian ahead of his speech, adding "What I'm arguing for in the speech is new rules that reflect both economic demands and those of the community." Starmer is also expected to argue that the vote for Brexit was a reflection of voters' belief that "politics and the economy no longer work for them or their communities", adding that they were offered "false hope" that leaving the EU would change that. (ANI)
US-backed Syrian rebels have taken control of a key airbase held by the Islamic State group near its stronghold Raqqa. According to BBC, spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Talal Sello, on Sunday said they had seized Tabqa airport from militants. It comes as the Kurdish-led fighters advance on Raqqa, IS's self-declared capital. Earlier the IS warned the nearby Tabqa dam could collapse, sparking panic. However, the dam appears intact. The US-led coalition fighting the jihadists denied targeting the facility with airstrikes, leaving it dangerously vulnerable to failure. "The dam has not been structurally damaged to our knowledge and the coalition seeks to preserve the integrity of the dam as a vital resource to the people of Syria," a spokesperson told the BBC. The Tabqa airbase was seized by IS militants in 2014 from the Syrian army and the jihadists then carried out a mass execution of captured soldiers. Its capture by rebels was part of an offensive aimed at taking control of the dam -- the largest in Syria -- as well as Tabqa town, on the way to Raqqa. Earlier on Sunday, there were conflicting reports about damage to the dam -- about 40km (25 miles) upstream of the Raqqa on the Euphrates river -- with civilians reportedly fleeing to higher ground. Although the IS warned the dam could burst, the militant group later reportedly sent cars around Raqqa with loudspeakers, telling people it was intact and they had no need to evacuate. Aside from being strategically important and providing electricity to the region, the dam complex is believed to be used as an IS headquarters where leaders plot attacks outside Syria, according to the Pentagon. The UN recently warned that damage to it could lead to massive-scale flooding. There were similar concerns last year for a dam outside Mosul, an IS stronghold in northern Iraq. If the Mosul dam burst, floodwaters could kill 1.47 million Iraqis living along the River Tigris, the US embassy said. However, the dam has so far remained in operation. US warplanes are supporting the Iraqi army's mission to retake Mosul from the IS. --IANS py/ ( 360 Words) 2017-03-27-10:04:08 (IANS)
Pakistan has begun building a fence on its disputed 2,500 km (1,500 mile) border with Afghanistan to prevent incursions by militants, Pakistan's army chief said, in a move likely to further strain relations between the two countries.Pakistan has blamed Pakistani Taliban militants it says are based on Afghan soil for a spate of attacks at home in recent months, urging Kabul to eradicate "sanctuaries" for militants.Citing the attacks, Islamabad earlier this month temporarily shut the main crossing points along the colonial-era Durand Line border, drawn up in 1893 and rejected by Afghanistan.General Qamar Javed Bajwa said initial fencing will focus on "high threat zones" of Bajaur and Mohmand agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which border eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar."Additional technical surveillance means are also being deployed along the border besides regular air surveillance," the military said in a statement over the weekend, citing Bajwa.There was no immediate comment from Afghan authorities.Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have been tense in recent years, with both countries accusing each other of not doing enough to tackle Pakistani and Afghan Taliban militants.Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye to Afghan Taliban commanders on its soil and even of supporting the militant group, something Islamabad denies.Bajwa said Pakistan was working on plans to "evolve a bilateral security mechanism" with Afghanistan."A better managed, secure and peaceful border is in mutual interest of both brotherly countries who have given phenomenal sacrifices in war against terrorism," Bajwa added.Pakistan has long harboured ambitions to seal its border, which is largely unpatrolled and mountainous for large chunks.In 2007, the military said it was fencing and mining a 35 km (22 miles) stretch of border in the North Waziristan region of FATA to prevent militants crisscrossing the rugged terrain.Efforts to establish a more permanent presence on the disputed frontier have angered Kabul. Last year, Pakistan's attempt to build a barrier on the main Torkham crossing ended in brief cross-border skirmishes.In recent weeks at least two US drone strikes have targeted Pakistani militants on the Afghan side of the frontier.REUTERS CJ PM1237 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1204790.Xml
China said today it has complained to Japan after a Japanese minister visited self-ruled Taiwan over the weekend, warning this could hurt relations between Beijing and Tokyo.Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Deputy Minister Jiro Akama went to Taiwan to attend a tourism promotion event in his official capacity, leaving Japan last Friday and returning the following day.Japanese media said Akama was the highest-level government official to officially visit Taiwan since Japan broke diplomatic ties with Taipei in 1972 and established them with Beijing.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the visit clearly ran contrary to Japan's promises to only have non-governmental and local level exchanges with Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province."China is resolutely opposed to this and has already made solemn representations to Japan," Hua told a daily news briefing.Japan has said it respects its promises on the Taiwan but actually it has been provocative, she added."This has caused serious disturbance to the improvement of Sino-Japanese ties."Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan in 1949 at the end of a civil war with the Communists. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.Taiwan is a core interest of China's that can't be challenged and Japan should recognise the seriousness of it, stop being "two-faced" and not go any further down the wrong path, Hua said.Japanese broadcaster NHK showed Akama arriving at Taipei airport, telling reporters there will be no change in Japan-China or Japan-Taiwan ties.China expressed dissatisfaction in December after Japan's de facto embassy in Taiwan said it would change its name to include the word Taiwan.Japan, like most countries in the world, maintains only informal relations with Taiwan while it has diplomatic, if uneasy, ties with Beijing.Beijing has repeatedly urged Japan to show greater repentance for World War Two atrocities and the two sides have a festering territorial dispute in the East China Sea.However, Japan's 1895-1945 rule in Taiwan is seen by some as having been good for the island's development, unlike perceptions of Japan in other parts of Asia, particularly in China and Korea, which are often deeply negative.REUTERS CJ PM1357 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1204896.Xml
Swiss prosecutors are investigating whether a protest sign calling for the killing of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan violated laws against inciting violence, police said on Monday.People demonstrating in Bern on Saturday against plans to extend Erdogan's powers held up a sign reading "Kill Erdogan with his own weapons" and pictured a pistol aimed at his head.Turkey's foreign ministry summoned Swiss diplomats in Ankara, demanding legal action against people at the rally, which drew thousands including Kurdish demonstrators.Erdogan himself, who has accused Germany and the Netherlands of Nazi-style tactics for preventing rallies supporting his proposed new powers - which are due to be put to a referendum next month - said Switzerland had gone even further."Their leftist parties and the terrorists ... have come together and carried out a march ... In the Swiss parliament, they hang my picture with a gun to my head," he said.Bern police spokesman Dominik Jaeggi said prosecutors would determine whether Swiss law was violated by the sign, which police had not confiscated at the event."Police did not actively intervene in the demonstration," Jaeggi said. "We confirmed the existence of the protest banner."The Turkish foreign ministry says the protest was organised by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States, but not by Switzerland.An email announcing Saturday's demonstration listed numerous groups supporting the event, including the Social Democratic Party, Switzerland's second-biggest political party, as well as the Kurdish-Turkish-Swiss Cultural Association - but not the PKK.A spokesman for the Social Democrats distanced the party from the sign, saying a splinter group not associated with the organisers had displayed it.Turkey has got caught up in a war of words with European powers who have blocked Ankara's efforts to hold rallies in their territories to persuade Turkish expatriates to vote for the new powers at the April referendum.The Swiss foreign minister told his Turkish counterpart last week that Bern would "rigorously investigate" any illegal spying by Ankara on expatriate Turks before the referendum.Germany and the Netherlands, both home to many expatriate Turks with the right to vote in the referendum, have said the decision to ban several planned rallies was taken on security grounds and was not politically motivated.REUTERS CJ PM1357 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1204901.Xml
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) is not in favour of the government's decision to allow former army chief General (Retd.) Raheel Sharif to assume the command of a yet-to-be-formed Saudi-led 39-nation military alliance of Muslim states and has decided to raise the issue in the Parliament. "We strongly oppose this decision and will soon raise the issue in the Parliament," Dawn quoted PTI spokesman Fawwad Chaudhry as saying. He said three PTI parliamentarians namely Mehmood Qureshi, Shireen Mazari and Shafqat Mehmood have been asked by party chairman Imran Khan to prepare a strategy under which a privilege motion and a calling attention notice would be moved in the National Assembly so that discussions on the issue takes place. The PTI's move comes after the Pakistan Government gave its approval to General (Retd.) Sharif to lead a 39-nation alliance of Muslim states led by Saudi Arabia by providing him with a No-Objection Certificate (NOC). The PTI spokesman said the decision to issue the NOC to General (Retd.) Sharif is contrary to the decision made by all parliamentary parties to remain neutral in the Middle East crisis. "Even if the government had decided to issue the NOC to the former army chief, it should have come again to the parliament to give reasons why it wanted to do so," he said. Chaudhry said the appointment of General (Retd.) Sharif would send a negative message that the Pakistan was against Iran as the 39-nation military alliance of Muslim states was apparently being formed against Tehran. He further said that the decision would intensify sense of insecurity prevailing amongst the Shia communities in Pakistan as they are already been targeted in the country. (ANI)
French far right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said today she had yet to secure all the funding she needs for her election campaign with less than four weeks to go before voting begins.The National Front leader, who is running in second place in the presidential race according to opinion polls, repeated her complaint that French banks were refusing to lend her money.Speaking on Europe 1 radio after a visit last week to Moscow where she met President Vladimir Putin, she said she did not have any financial backing from Russia, nor from any Russian financial institution, but that she was trying to get a loan from a foreign bank."I have to," she said. "I'm prevented from borrowing from French banks so now I am being told off for asking for a loan from a foreign bank. What am I supposed to do? ... The French banks have lent to all the presidential candidates except for me."One French bank, Societe Generale, has said it does not lend to any political parties. The other main banks have declined to comment on the subject.Le Pen last week declared two loans amounting to 6 million euros for the campaign, money which came from her father and party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen's Cotelec organisation.In 2014 it emerged that the National Front had received a 9 million euro loan from a Russian lender.Potential Russian involvement in western elections has become a more sensitive issue since US intelligence agencies accused their Russian counterparts of seeking to influence the U.S. election through hacking, something Moscow has denied.Candidates in French presidential elections are limited to a maximum spending of 16.851 million euros ($18.30 million) in the first round, a sum which rises to 22.509 million euros for the two candidates who reach the second round run-off.Candidates who secure over 5 percent of the first round vote on April 23 get a state refund amounting to 47.5 percent of the maximum limit, with the proviso that no candidate can be reimbursed more than they have spent.Opinion polls consistently show Le Pen reaching the second round on May 7 but losing there to independent centrist Emmanuel Macron.($1 = 0.9208 euros)REUTERS CJ NS1451 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1204978.Xml
South Sudan rebels said on Monday the government should be held responsible for the killing of six aid workers, the deadliest single assault on humanitarian staff in a three-year civil war.The government said it was too early to say who was behind Saturday's ambush, an attack condemned as a "heinous murder" by the United Nations.The six died as they drove from the capital Juba to the town of Pibor, the United Nations said, through remote territory largely under government control but fought over by both sides in the conflict and plagued by militias and other armed groups.The United Nations did not say which organisation the aid workers belonged to but called on "all those in positions of power" in South Sudan to stop the violence."It will be counterproductive at this stage for anybody to rush for judgment without first allowing the truth to be established," Akol Paul Kordit, the deputy Minister of Information, told Reuters in Juba.Rebel fighters loyal to former vice president Riek Machar said the government should be held accountable as the killings happened on its territory."We don't have forces in that area. Instead its the government forces and militias who control that area," said the spokesman for the rebel SPLM-IO forces, Lam Paul Gabriel.Pibor is the main town in Boma state, a vast underdeveloped territory bordering Ethiopia rocked by violence between competing clans earlier in March.At least 79 aid workers have been killed since President Salva Kiir's government forces clashed with Machar's men in December 2013 - the product of a long-running rivalry between the two men that has split the country along ethnic lines.U.N. monitors have found President Salva Kiir's government is mainly to blame for the catastrophe in his country which - in less than six years of independence - has collapsed into a chaotic ethnic war, with an epidemic of rape and a famine in parts of the country. REUTERS CJ AS1457 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1204980.Xml
There will still be opportunities for the Qatar Investment Authority, the Gulf Arab state's acquisitive sovereign wealth fund, to invest in Britain after it leaves the European Union, its chief executive said on Monday.Qatar is one of the most high-profile investors in London, owning landmarks such as the Shard skyscraper, Harrods department store and Olympic Village, as well as luxury hotels.It has also sought to diversify its UK investments beyond real estate, including buying stakes in retailer J Sainsbury Plc and London Heathrow airport."I am still looking, even after Brexit there will be opportunities QIA can really hunt for," Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud al-Thani told an investment conference in London.Asked what sectors in Britain he was particular looking at, he said: "Our aim now in the future is really to focus on infrastructure, and we will be focusing also on healthcare and IT." REUTERS SHS PR1533 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1205069.Xml
Runway repairs at Abuja's international airport will continue for an 18-week period once the aviation hub re-opens next month, the Nigerian government said, promising that the work would be done overnight with no further disruption to flights.The Nigerian capital's airport is currently closed for a first phase of repairs to its dilapidated runway, forcing airlines to reroute to Kaduna airport, which lies 160 km (100 miles) away in a region plagued by kidnappings in recent years."After the Abuja airport re-opens for operations on April 19, upgrade works on the runway will continue for another 18 weeks," a statement from the vice president's office said late yesterday. "This second phase of upgrade works ... will be carried out at night, with no disruption to flight schedules."The cutting of direct flights to Abuja, an important business hub as well as Nigeria's political nerve centre, has raised economic and security concerns.Airlines including British Airways, Lufthansa and South African Airways have refused to fly into Kaduna due to security concerns.REUTERS SDR PR1539 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1205078.Xml
A Singapore court jailed a couple today for starving their Filipino domestic helper, a case that highlighted what rights groups say is a common complaint in the wealthy city-state.Thelma Oyasan Gawidan, 40, weighed just 29.4 kg (65 lb) in April 2014 after being given too little to eat for about 15 months, prosecutors said.She was given two or three slices of plain white bread and one to two packets of instant noodles for breakfast, while for her second and last meal of the day she was given five or six slices of plain bread, prosecutors said.Lim Choon Hong was jailed for three weeks and fined S10,000 dollar (7,200 dollar), while his wife, Chong Sui Foon, got three months with no fine. They had both pleaded guilty.Prosecutors said they would appeal. The maximum penalty is 12 months imprisonment and a 10,000 dollar fine."I accept that... you are remorseful and that you did not intentionally seek to starve your maid," Judge Low Wee Ping said.Defence counsel Raymond Lye said his clients had no intention to cause harm. The more common cases of domestic helper abuse were of "physical assault, which are intentional offences", he said."Clients, they feel a sense of relief. They were hoping to commence their jail term but in light of the appeal by the prosecution, that will have to be delayed," Lye said.In her defence, Chong had said she suffered from an eating disorder when younger and had been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder as an adult, media reported. The judge said there was no link.The couple paid the domestic helper, who now works for another employer, S20,000 dollar to settle civil claims, prosecutors said.John Gee, head of the research team for rights group Transient Workers Count Too, said cases of domestic helpers being given inadequate food "happen with alarming regularity"."This is definitely a familiar practice, especially by employers who want to save money," Gee said, adding that although overall living and working conditions for domestic helpers in Singapore had improved, "a lot more needs to be done."Jolovan Wham, executive director of rights group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, said at least 30 per cent of the domestic helpers who approached his organisation in the past six months complained of "inadequate food"."Thelma's case made it to court because it was so egregious," Wham said, adding that HOME was approached by an average of 20 domestic helpers a week.Government rules state that employers are responsible for providing "adequate" food, "acceptable" accommodation and medical treatment for domestic helpers.The guidelines suggest three meals a day. An example of what adequate food means includes four slices of bread with spread for breakfast and one bowl of rice, with three-quarters of a cup of cooked vegetables, a palm-sized amount of meat and fruit for lunch and dinner.As of December 2016, there were 239,700 domestic helpers in Singapore, up from 231,500 in 2015, government data shows.REUTERS SDR BD1700 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1205227.Xml
A Vietnamese man held in a solitary cell at an immigration detention centre in Japan committed suicide, a Vietnamese community leader said, raising fresh questions over conditions in the country's detention facilities.Nguyen The Hung killed himself on Saturday at the East Japan Immigration Center in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of the capital, Tokyo, said Tam Tri Thich, a Buddhist nun who said she received the information from the Vietnamese embassy in Tokyo.The Vietnamese embassy could not immediately be reached for comment. Reuters was not able to independently verify the man's identity.Nguyen, born in 1969, arrived in Japan in 1998 to seek asylum, Tam Tri told Reuters today. He was one of more than 11,000 refugees Japan took in during the aftermath of the Vietnam War.Tam Tri, who heads a Vietnamese Buddhist group in Japan, said the embassy had asked her to arrange funeral services for Nguyen, which she aims to fund through donations raised from other members of the community.Nguyen's death takes to 13 the toll since 2006 in Japan's immigration detention system, a figure that has sparked criticism from activists that authorities have not done enough to improve conditions at the centres.Mental health problems are rife, with many detainees held for periods ranging from months to years and falling into depression.Suicide accounted for four of the cases before Nguyen's death, Justice Ministry data show. Two men, one of whom had also been held in a solitary cell, died in 2014 at the same facility where he was held.A spokesman for the East Japan Immigration Center confirmed that a Vietnamese man in his forties died on Saturday. Asked if it was suicide, he declined to comment.A guard who found the man unconscious in his cell at around 1 a.m. on Saturday called an ambulance and performed cardiac massage before the detainee was taken to hospital, where his death was confirmed 80 minutes later, the centre added.Authorities would hold an autopsy to determine the cause of death, the centre said, but declined to say why the man had been detained, or for how long.Nguyen did not have relatives in Japan but had many friends, said a Vietnamese woman who knew him, adding, "He was a bright, fun person...I can't believe he committed suicide."His family members are arranging to come to Japan to attend the funeral services, Tam Tri added.A Reuters investigation into the death of a Sri Lankan held in a solitary cell at a Tokyo detention centre revealed serious gaps in medical care and monitoring.Doctors visit some of Japan's centres as infrequently as twice a week, with no medical professionals on weekend duty at any facility. Four of the five most recent deaths took place when doctors were off duty.On weekdays, visiting doctors are available for just four hours a day at the East Japan facility.But the centre will hire a full-time doctor from April, the first move of its kind in Japan, an official from the Justice Ministry overseeing immigration detention told Reuters.REUTERS SDR PR1701 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1205230.Xml
US President Donald Trump today is set to announce his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will take on a White House role to oversee a broad effort to overhaul the federal government, The Washington Post reported, citing statements from both men.Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and currently serves as a senior adviser, will lead the newly formed White House Office of American Innovation with an eye on leveraging business ideas and potentially privatizing some government functions, the Post said."The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens," Kushner told the Post in an interview.Some of the areas he will focus on are veterans' care, opioid addiction, technology and data infrastructure, workforce training and infrastructure, according to the report.In a statement to the Post, Trump said: "I promised the American people I would produce results, and apply my 'ahead of schedule, under budget' mentality to the government."Representatives for the White House did not immediately reply to a request to confirm the report.The move comes just days after Trump suffered his first major political setback since taking office in January. Fellow Republicans pulled their healthcare plan after years of promising to undo former President Barack Obama's 2010 health law.It also comes one week after Ivanka Trump received her own office in the White House along with access to classified information and a government-issued phone after aides earlier said she would not take on a role in her father's White House.According to the Post, aides said she will collaborate with Kushner's innovation office but will not have an official role.Kushner has been a regular presence at his father-in-law's side and was earlier cleared by the Justice Department to serve as a White House senior adviser even as Democrats raised concerns about his potential conflicts of interest.He has already has been given a wide range of domestic and foreign policy responsibilities, including working toward a Middle East peace deal. He will continue to serve in his many roles even as he takes up the new duties, the Post reported.REUTERS SDR PR1731 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1205340.Xml
The northern Syrian city of Raqqa is expected to join a decentralised system of government being set up by Syrian Kurdish groups and their allies once it is freed from Islamic State, a leading Kurdish politician told Reuters today.Raqqa, Islamic State's main urban base of operations in Syria, is the focus of an ongoing campaign by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters that is closing in on the city.The main Syrian Kurdish militia, the YPG, already controls swathes of northern Syria, where Kurdish groups and their allies are working to establish a decentralised system of government in areas captured from Islamic State.The political project is causing deep alarm in Turkey, which sees the YPG and its political affiliate, the PYD, as an extension of Kurdish groups that are fighting an insurgency on Turkish soil.Saleh Muslim, the co-chair of the Syrian Kurdish PYD party, said it would be up to the people of Raqqa to decide their future once the city is freed from Islamic State, but he thinks the city will join the "democratic federal" system."We expect (this) because our project is for all Syria ... and Raqqa can be part of it," Muslim said in a telephone interview. "Our only concern is that the people of Raqqa are the ones who take the decision on everything."The "democratic federal" system aims to build on three autonomous areas set up by the main Kurdish groups in the north. The blueprint for the new system of government was approved by a constituent assembly in December.Muslim added that Raqqa needed to be in "friendly hands" otherwise it would form a "danger to all Syria, particularly northern Syria, the federal system of northern Syria, the areas of self administration".REUTERS SDR AS1802 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1205356.Xml
A court today sentenced Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to 15 days in prison, saying he had disobeyed a police officer during an anti-government protest in Moscow the previous day.The same court fined Navalny 20,000 roubles (352.20 dollar) earlier today for his role in organising the protest, which the authorities said was illegal.Police detained hundreds of protesters across Russia yesterday, including Navalny, after thousands took to the streets to demonstrate against corruption and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.Olga Mikhailova, Navalny's lawyer, told Reuters she had expected such a verdict and would appeal it.A Reuters reporter saw Navalny being loaded into a van, which was quickly surrounded by supporters holding placards reading" "We believe" and "Alexei, we are with you."The Kremlin today rejected calls by the United States and the European Union to release detained opposition protesters, accusing organisers of paying teenagers to attend.REUTERS SDR PR1809 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1205444.Xml
At least three people were removed from a park in the Japanese capital Tokyo today where homeless people have protested against construction projects for the 2020 Olympic Games.Reuters Television footage showed three people being escorted from Miyashita Park by people who appeared to be police officers and city officials.An activist named Ogawa said by phone from inside the park that authorities had begun clearing the park and three people were removed. It was not clear how many people were still inside the park.The park is in Shibuya, a major shopping hub in Tokyo where the underground train station is undergoing renovations to handle a growing number of tourists.Plans to build four new skyscrapers close to Shibuya station and Miyashita Park have also been approved.However, before construction can begin, authorities need to clear an area that has been occupied by homeless people for the past decade.Earlier today morning, construction workers and police erected fences in and around the park. By midday activists had gathered in the area to protest the action."The problem is that homeless people were still stranded inside," said Kiyoshi Hasegawa, a professor of Tokyo Metropolitan University who researches disputes involving homeless communities.A police officer on the scene declined to comment. The Shibuya ward office also did not comment when contacted by Reuters.Last month, Kazuhiro Okuno, the head of urban development for Shibuya, told Reuters public housing had been offered to those affected by the construction.There were an estimated 6,235 homeless people in Japan in 2016, according to a report by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Almost a quarter of those live in parks in metropolitan areas, the report said.However, some academics and NGOs contest those statistics, saying the report failed to properly count people living in the streets or suburbs away from major centres, on the move during the day, or hidden in low-cost 24-hour internet cafes. REUTERS SDR PR1837 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1205517.Xml
The United States wants to cut by a quarter the troop cap for the UN peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of Congo, said diplomats, despite warnings by France and others against drastic changes to the world body's largest and most expensive operation.The mandate for the 1.2 billion dollar mission in the central African state, known as MONUSCO, expires on Friday. The confidential Security Council negotiations on its renewal are taking place amid UN warnings that violence is spreading across Congo ahead of planned elections before the end of 2017.The United States wants the troop cap to be cut to 15,000, diplomats said, and despite a request by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to add two extra police units - 320 officers - Washington does not want to change the current total of 1050.Guterres told the council the extra police units were needed "in light of the increasing threat of violence related to the elections and the political situation."The United States mission to the United Nations declined to comment due to the ongoing negotiations."There's a reduction that can be made in MONUSCO," said a senior Security Council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, last week. "It would be premature to massively draw down MONUSCO or massively change it this year."It is the first peacekeeping mission to come up for renewal since US President Donald Trump proposed that Washington - the largest UN contributor - cut funding to the world body.US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, is reviewing each of the 16 UN peacekeeping missions around the world and plans to spotlight the issue with a special meeting in April when the United States is president of the Security Council.The Congo mission has a troop cap of 19,815, though there are only 16,893 UN soldiers on the ground after the previous UN chief Ban Ki-moon made reductions in 2015 and 2016.The Security Council endorsed the reductions but refused to reflect the changes in the mandated strength of the force until it saw progress, snubbing Congolese government calls for the mission to be more than halved.Resource-rich Congo, which gained independence from colonial power Belgium in 1960, has never had a peaceful transition of power and President Joseph Kabila's refusal to stand down when his final term expired in December raised fears the chronically unstable country could slide back into civil war.Opposition leaders signed a fragile deal with the ruling coalition and allies of Kabila on Dec. 31 that requires him to step down after elections that must happen by the end of 2017.France leads Security Council action on Congo and proposed a troop cap of 17,000, diplomats said. Following the US call for a deeper cut, France has asked the UN Department of Peacekeeping how few troops the mission could operate with."Stakes are very high," French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters. "We can't allow the political process to derail. MONUSCO needs the capacities to prevent and act if necessary in case of troubles."Washington provides the most money for the total 7.9 billion dollar UN peacekeeping budget, paying 28.5 per cent, but Trump and Haley want to enforce a 25 per cent cap.For the planned April council debate to review peacekeeping operations, Haley has asked her counterparts to consider "are current missions still 'fit for purpose?'" according to the two-page concept note, seen by Reuters.A second senior council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned: "We cannot sacrifice the effectiveness of the peacekeeping operations simply for the sake of saving resources."Outgoing UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said the peacekeeping budget represents "0.4 per cent of world military expenditure" and the cost of a UN operation was significantly less than a similar operation by a western country."We are in the process of closing down (Ivory Coast), we'll be closing down Liberia, we'll be closing down Haiti - that alone will save several hundreds of millions of dollars in the overall bill," Ladsous told reporters.REUTERS SDR BD1939 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1205676.Xml
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today he was committed to working with U.S. President Donald Trump to advance peace efforts with the Palestinians and with the broader Arab world.Netanyahu made the pledge in a speech to the largest US pro-Israel lobbying group at a time when the Trump administration is seeking agreement with his right-wing government on limiting settlement construction on land the Palestinians want for a state, part of a US bid to resume long-stalled peace negotiations.But Netanyahu, speaking via satellite link from Jerusalem, avoided any mention of the delicate discussions, and stopped short of reiterating a commitment to a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict."Israel's hand and my hand is extended to all of our neighbors in peace," Netanyahu told the annual convention of American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. "Israel is committed to working with President Trump to advance peace with the Palestinians and with all our neighbors."But he repeated his demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, something they have refused to do.Netanyahu heaped praise on Trump, who has set a more positive tone with Israel than his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, who often clashed with the Israeli leader.He thanked the new Republican president for a recent US budget request that "leaves military aid to Israel fully funded." He also expressed confidence in a US-Israeli partnership for preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon, following its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and for "confronting Iran's aggression in the region."On the settlements issue, a round of US-Israeli talks ended last Thursday without agreement. Gaps remain over how far the building restrictions could go, according to people close to the talks.Netanyahu's coalition is grappling with divisions that have sparked speculation that he could seek early elections.Many Israelis had expected Trump, because of his pro-Israel campaign rhetoric, to give a green light for settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. But Trump unexpectedly urged Netanyahu last month to "hold back on settlements for a little bit."There is skepticism in the United States and Middle East over the chances for restarting Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy. Peace talks have been frozen since 2014.Most countries consider Israeli settlements, built on land captured in a 1967 war, to be illegal. Israel disagrees, citing historical and political links to the land, as well as security interests.Trump has expressed ambivalence about a two-state solution, the mainstay of US policy for the past two decades, but he recently invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to visit. REUTERS PS AN2125 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-1205904.Xml
Sweden's centre-left government proposed legislation today that would grant compensation to transgender men and women who had to undergo mandatory sterilisation in order to have their sex legally reassigned.Transgender Swedes had to be sterilised before they could legally change their gender until 2013. The government's bill would allow an estimated 800 people to claim 225,000 crowns (26,000 dollars) each in compensation from the state."Sterilisation as a condition to obtain a change of gender was an expression of a view that society today distances itself from," Healthcare Minister Gabriel Wikstrom said in a statement.Maria Sundin, a transgender activist and former chairwoman of Transgender Europe, was forced to undergo sterilisation in 1999.She said of the bill: "It is a very positive outcome. It is vindication, and very positive that we didn't have to take it to court."The Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Rights had long threatened to sue the government over the sterilisations and wanted 300,000 crowns in compensation for each affected individual."It is very welcome that the government, the first in the world, is paying compensation in recognition of the crimes committed by the state against transgender people," it said in a statement.Sweden - often viewed as a bastion of tolerance - has a dark history of sterilisation that dates back to the 1930s when Roma were often targeted in drives for racial purity.Mental disability, institutionalisation, or simply having what authorities deemed to be too many children, could also result in sterilisation during those decades.An estimated 63,000 people - the vast majority of them women - were sterilised between 1935 and 1975, according to a government report published in 2000. Roughly half of these procedures, primarily during the first 20 years, were done by force or coercion.Many European countries, such as Finland, Switzerland and Greece, still require transgender people who want to legally change their gender to undergo sterilisation, according to Transgender Europe.The practice of involuntary sterilisation has been widely condemned as a human rights violation, including by the United Nations.In Europe, transgender people are twice as likely as gay people to be attacked, threatened or insulted, according to a European Union report published in December 2014. REUTERS PS AN2126 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-1205906.Xml
German Chancellor and leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Angela Merkel makes her keynote speech during the CDU party congress in Karlsruhe, Germany Dec. 14, 2015. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)

BERLIN, March 26 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party CDU was ahead with a clear lead over rival SPD in the Saarland state elections, exit polls showed on Sunday.

The vote was the first in a series leading up to German federal elections in September.

Some 800,000 eligible voters cast their ballots. Exit polls showed that CDU was ahead with 41 percent with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) trailing behind on 29.5 percent.

The Left party (Linke) was reported to have won 13 percent of the votes, Alternative for Germany (AfD) 6 percent and the Greens 4.5 percent.

The outcome of the vote in Germany's smallest non-city state is being widely watched as a sign of voter sentiment ahead of state elections in Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia in May, and federal elections in September, German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) reported.

Some local analysts saw the result as a boost to Merkel's ruling political union, and a major setback for SPD, whose leader Martin Schulz failed to transform his popularity into ballot tickets.

In the past several months, some opinion polls have constantly showed Schulz will have the edge over his major competitor Merkel in the coming federal election.

The CDU has ruled the southwestern state for the past 18 years.
OSLO, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Norway's telecomm company Telenor has recently tested new 5G mobile network that will be up to 100 times faster than today's network and is expected to be launched commercially in 2020, newspaper Aftenposten reported Sunday.

Berit Svendsen, head of Telenor Norway, believed that the company "must fight" to stay in the loop.

"Our customers are demanding more and more of the same services across the borders. They never get enough data, both in terms of speed and capacity," she told Aftenposten.

Svendsen tried to find opportunities for greater efficiency and savings across Norway, Sweden and Denmark -- the three countries that are turning more and more into one market for Telenor, Aftenposten wrote.

According to Svendsen, 5G technology will be very important when adopting new, revolutionary technology in the society.

"In the future there will be smart cities with self-driving cars and new welfare technology. The things need to talk together and then we need the new 5G network," she said.

Svendsen has many challenges in the future. Technology is changing the company and Telenor is challenged from various sides, both by small participants and Internet companies like Facebook and Google.

"For there are others that are coming and they are actually even more digitally born than us. U.S. companies like Facebook and Google are younger. They have access to fantastic expertise. They navigate faster," Svendsen said.
SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 27 (Xinhua) -- An Indian policeman was wounded Sunday after militants attacked ancestral house of a local government minister in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

The attack took place on Sunday night at Shestragam village of Dooru in Anantnag district, about 87 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Militants at around 10:15 p.m (local time) attacked police post guarding ancestral house of junior minister for Hajj and Auqaf, Farooq Ahmad Andrabi in Dooru village," a police official said. "A policeman was wounded in the attack."

According to police, Andrabi was not in the house at the time of attack and does not stay out there. However, his parents live in the house.

Andrabi is a legislator of ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and is close relative of region's Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

Following the attack contingents of police and paramilitary were rushed to the spot.

Unconfirmed reports said militants have looted some service rifles belonging to policemen from the guard post.

"We have dispatched police contingents to the village and would get complete details soon," the official said.

Earlier, during the day two militants belonging to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) outfit were killed in a gunfight with police at village Padgampora of adjacent Pulwama district.

Last night, suspected militants barged into a house of junior-level police officer and ransacked it. Militants also set ablaze his family car before fleeing away.

A guerrilla war and separatist movement demanding end of New Delhi's rule is going on in the region since 1989.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan is claimed by both in full. Since their Independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
NEW DELHI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- An Indian court in eastern state of Odisha has acquitted a British-Iranian woman aid worker accused of negligence causing death of a five-year-old tribal boy.

The court said charge against Narges Kalbasi Ashtari, who was convicted in 2014 and jailed for a year was "trumped up".

"The court yesterday said the charge against Asthari was fabricated and she can claim compensation from the State Government for the harassment that she went through for over two years," a court official said on Sunday.

In November 2014, a case against 28-year-old Ashtari was registered in Rayagada district over Asim Jilakara disappearance from a picnic that her foundation had organized. Jilakara was among the six children washed away while taking bath in the river Nagavalli. Though five children were rescued Jilakara was not found. It is believed Jilakara drowned in river and was swept away by a strong current. His body could not be fished out from the river.

Ashtari had been sentenced to a year in jail by a trial court for causing the death, a charge she strongly denied. She filed an appeal to the trial court's order and was on bail pending the outcome in appellate court. Ashtari was banned from leaving India during her legal battle.

Jilakara's parents were also working in the foundation that organized the picnic.

"The court observed that it was the responsibility of the boy's parents to look after his safety at the picnic site and Asthari cannot be accused of negligence," the official said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed the acquittal in a post on his Instagram account.

"I felt happy about the news of the acquittal of the benevolent Iranian lady Ms Kalbasi. Greatest congratulations to Ms Kalbasi and regards for her because of her patience and perseverance, and thanks to colleagues and (the Iranian) people's campaign in her support."

Ashtari was born in Iran but later moved to Britain. Her friends supported her fight by launching online campaigns seeking justice to Ashtari.

In 2011, she moved to India's Odisha and established a foundation to work for the welfare of orphaned children.
by Matt Walsh

CANBERRA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Prime Minister has ordered a comprehensive review of the nation's electricity prices, with its consumer watchdog to conduct a thorough investigation into competition within the National Energy Market (NEM).

Following recommendations from organizations including the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) and Energy Consumers Australia, as well as taking into account submissions to a government review into energy markets, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to undertake a review of electricity prices in the retail sector of the market.

The ACCC will oversee the behavior of the energy retailers over the next few months, analyzing contracts offered to both private consumers and businesses to ensure they are getting a fair deal as a result of competition in the energy market.

In a statement, Turnbull said electricity prices were not reflective of competition within the energy markets, saying that the review could lead to cheaper prices and therefore less strain on households and businesses across Australia.

"The Turnbull government is determined to ensure Australians get a better deal for their energy," he said in a statement.

"A better deal in electricity is vital to keeping the lights on, delivering cheaper prices to families and businesses and sustaining jobs, particularly the thousands of jobs in our energy-intensive industries.

The prime minister said competition in retail electricity markets should mean lower prices for residential and business consumers. However, retail electricity markets don't appear to be operating as effectively as they could.

"A better deal in electricity is vital to keeping the lights on, delivering cheaper prices to families and businesses and sustaining jobs, particularly the thousands of jobs in our energy intensive industries."

Speaking to Sky News on Thursday, the nation's Treasurer Scott Morrison said the review was a part of a wider inquiry into Australia's resources sector, following a similar review of the gas market in 2016.

"I think there are some serious questions that have been raised by recent reports," Morrison said.

"In this initiative in particular, we're looking at the infrastructure, the transmission and the retail market to make sure customers are getting the best deal.

"(The ACCC) did great work on the gas supply industry on the east coast which has led to actions by the government and this will provide the basis for actions by the government as well."

Meanwhile fellow government frontbencher, Senastor Simon Birmingham said there had been a "mounting level of evidence" that there were "issues" in the retail sector of the electricity market.

"This is a serious analysis into the retail energy market," Birmingham said.

"That's why this action is being taken. Importantly, this action is being taken by the ACCC, which has the powers to compel information and evidence (from the electricity providers)."

Morrison said the ACCC will provide the federal government with its preliminary review within the next six months, however a more complex review will also be handed down by June 30, 2018.
SYDNEY, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Protected Australian forests could be made available for logging in an attempt to save Victoria's Heyfield timber mill.

In a letter to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister (PM) Barnaby Joyce said Andrews had to work with the federal government to keep the mill open and save thousands of jobs.

The owners of Heyfield, Australian Sustainable Hardwoods (ASH), announced earlier in March that the mill would close due to a lack of wood being supplied to the mill.

In his letter, Joyce said that protected areas of Victoria's Central Highlands, which have been excluded from logging to protect the critically endangered Leadbeater's possum, Victoria's state emblem, could be made available as the status of the possum was reviewed.

He said that while the status of the possum was reviewed the state government should harvest timber from future supply areas to meet immediate needs.

"While I understand the conservation of the Leadbeater's possum is important, forestry is not the principal threat to the population," Joyce wrote to Andrews.

"I consider the livelihoods of 21,000 Victorian forest industry employees, and their families, deserving of greater consideration and thought by your government.

"I can see no way in which this decision is in the interest of Victorians and urge you to reconsider."

The mill directly employs 260 people in Heyfield, which has a total population of 2,000, but its closure is expected to have a significant impact on thousands, notably 1,300 Victorians employed by Australian Paper.

Lily D'Ambrosio, Victoria's Environment Minister, fired back at Joyce, labelling the suggestion that future timber be harvested as "reckless."

"VicForests, who manage our timber resources in Victoria, have made it absolutely clear. Offering timber volumes beyond that which they have said is available right now is reckless and would lead to job losses."
CANBERRA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Some of Australia's best selling cars have been found to be misleading customers after a study into fuel consumption claims found some cars used up to 60 percent more fuel than advertised.

Commissioned by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) in the wake of the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal, the report aimed to examine the accuracy of the government-mandated laboratory testing by driving the cars in "real-world" settings.

The study of 17 passenger vehicles found that Australia's most popular new car models were using, on average, 25 percent more fuel than advertised, with one car using 60 percent more fuel compared to its manufacturer claim.

CEO of the AAA Michael Bradley said the results of the independent, 10-month long test undermined the government's vehicle emissions standards and had the potential to cost Australian families hundreds of dollars in extra fuel each year.

"Our test results are a warning to Australians to take the government's promises of fuel and cost savings with a grain of salt, and expect those savings to be significantly less than what's promised," Bradley said in a statement on Monday.

According to the testing, just one car managed to do better than its manufacturer claims, but the AAA said it was not out to "name and shame" particular makes and models. It said the results should highlight to the government the need to update its vehicle emissions standards.
by Raul Menchaca

HAVANA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- It is difficult to imagine that the modern plant of the San Jose rum company was just 20 hectares of largely obsolete land twenty years ago, some 30 kilometers southeast of Havana.

In the Cuban province of Mayabeque stands the world's largest rum processing plant. It churns out rum commercialized under the Havana Club brand for sale in over 120 countries including China. It is one of Cuba's main sources of exports.

With an investment of 60 million U.S. dollars, the plant was built and opened in January 1997. It is now run by the joint venture Havana Club International S.A., founded four years ago as an association between the state-run Cuba Ron and France's Pernod Ricard.

The plant contains a distillery, areas for aging and mixing, as well as a bottling section, creating a fully equipped and modern plant capable of processing 30,000 liters a day of Cuba's most emblematic drink.

Eight types of rum are produced here, classified according to the type of mixing and length of aging. These decisions are made by master rum-makers, a dwindling group of experts with its number no more than 10 nationwide now, who hold their secrets close to their hearts.

Back in 1995, the Havana Club only produced around 500,000 nine-liter boxes of rum, but it has grown at a steady pace to 4.2 million boxes in 2016.

Currently, the plant is seeking to continue growing through another heavy investment, which will add two new aging areas, a third bottling assembly line, and the expansion of storage for raw materials and finished products.

"We are the cradle of light rum," the plant's communications expert Yaima Rodriguez told Xinhua. She has been in charge of promoting different types of rum to the world for seven years.

Thousands of barrels line the sides of the plant, placed with exquisite symmetry, for the drink to age and blend naturally, with no chemical additives to speed up the process, change the taste or alter its color.

All types of rum have a strong alcohol base, of between 74-76 degrees. They are then mixed successively with water and distilled sugarcane, before being aged in barrels of American white oak.

However, the final say rests with the master rum-makers, who are uniquely capable of coming up with new brands, although their recipes are kept sealed away.

According to the specialized Drinks International magazine, the Havana Club rum ranks 21st among the top 100 producers of spirits, while being unable to access the U.S. market, which accounts for 40 percent of international demand.

For a few years now, the company has developed its Habanista brand, with the intention of selling it to the U.S. market once the country lifts its economic embargo against Cuba.

Executives believe that the open-up of the U.S. market would represent a true explosion for the Cuban rum sector.
WELLINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand on Monday became the first Western developed country to sign a cooperation agreement with China on the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative.

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his New Zealand counterpart, Bill English, witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding, which adds to the long list of ground-breaking achievements the two countries have scored in bilateral cooperation.

China and New Zealand will explore the possibilities of bilateral cooperation in various fields to promote interconnectivity between the two countries, Li told a joint press conference with English.

New Zealand was the first Western developed country to conclude bilateral negotiations on China's accession to the World Trade Organization, to recognize China's full market-economy status, to sign and implement a bilateral free trade agreement with China, and to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member.

The B&R Initiative, which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and was proposed by China in 2013, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient land and maritime Silk Road trade routes.

Li arrived in Wellington on Sunday for a four-day visit to the Oceanian country, the first by a Chinese premier in 11 years.

Ahead of the press conference, Li held talks with English on bilateral ties and cooperation.

During his trip, Li will also meet Governor-General Patsy Reddy and opposition Labor Party leader Andrew Little, and attend a series of business and culture exchange events.
Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye leaves the prosecutors' office in Seoul, South Korea, March 22, 2017. South Korean prosecutors on March 27 sought to arrest Park Geun-hye in a corruption investigation. (Xinhua/Lee Sang-ho)

SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean prosecutors on Monday sought to arrest former President Park Geun-hye in a corruption investigation.

The special investigation headquarters of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, tasked with the probe into the corruption scandal embroiling Park, said in a statement that the warrant to arrest Park was sought for concerns about possible attempts to destroy evidence.

The statement said Park had denied most of criminal charges despite the collection of multiple evidences.

The Constitutional Court decided on March 10 to remove Park from office. The ousted president was grilled by prosecutors over the scandal on March 21.
WASHINGTON, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Multiple suspects are still at large after firing shots early Sunday morning in a packed nightclub in Cincinnati, a major city in the mid-east U.S. state of Ohio, leading to one death, one in "extremely critical condition" and another 14 injured, local police said.

Obryan Spikes, 27, died in the shooting, Cincinnati police Chief Eliot Isaac said, putting the number of the injured at 15, one more than initially reported.

So far no arrests have been made, he said.

The investigation is ongoing, City Mayor John Cranley said, adding that the probe and the community's healing will be a "long process."

"The conflict is believed to have begun between specific groups or individuals earlier in the day, escalating and ultimately leading to this tragedy occurring at the nightclub," Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black said.

Cincinnati Assistant Police Chief Paul Neudigate said that the police do not suspect this action as terrorism.

Hundreds of people were inside when the gunfire occurred in the Cameo nightclub after 1:00 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) on Sunday, Neudigate told the local WLWT TV station, calling it a "chaotic crime scene."

"Saturday night, it is a very young crowd. We have had incidents here in the past, but this is by far the worst," Capt. Kim Williams was quoted by a Fox News report as saying, noting the gunfire had prompted a lot of people to flee the scene.

"The biggest problem when you have a large crowd like this and the shots ring out, a lot of the witnesses disappear," Williams said.
UNITED NATIONS, March 26 (Xinhua) -- UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs Stephen O'Brien on Sunday called upon all the warring parties in Yemen to start a political dialogue to bring an early end to the ongoing conflict in order to avoid a famine.

O'Brien, who is also the UN emergency relief coordinator, issued the statement at a time when "this week sadly marks two years since the terrible escalation of the conflict in Yemen."

"Most of all, the Yemeni people need the parties to commit to political dialogue, or this man-made crisis will never end. In the meantime, together we can -- we must -- avert this famine, this human catastrophe," the statement said.

"The parties to the conflict must also facilitate immediate, timely, and unimpeded humanitarian access," the statement said. "They must also facilitate commercial access, which will be critical to reversing the massive food insecurity and ensuring that people's basic needs can be met."

"Man-made conflict has brought Yemen to the brink of famine," the statement said. "Today nearly 19 million Yemenis --over two-thirds of the population -- need humanitarian assistance. Seven million Yemenis are facing starvation."

According to the United Nations, a famine can be declared only when certain measures of mortality, malnutrition and hunger are met. They are: at least 20 percent of households in an area face extreme food shortages with a limited ability to cope; acute malnutrition rates exceed 30 percent; and the death rate exceeds two persons per day per 10,000 persons.

Despite international efforts to bring about a comprehensive negotiated political settlement, the sounds of airstrikes, bombs, bullets and artillery are now familiar to daily life, the statement said. "They are too often the sound of another death."

Many thousands of civilians have been killed, including well over 1,400 girls and boys, and tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians have been injured during the two-year civil war.

"But, casualty figures belie the magnitude of the tragedy unfolding in Yemen," said the statement.

"Conflict, insecurity, and the cynical tactics of the warring parties have wrecked Yemen's economy, made food increasingly scarce, displaced 3 million people from their homes, and impeded the work of humanitarians -- whose only aim is to alleviate suffering and save lives," the statement.

O'Brien said in the statement that during his third visit to Yemen only weeks ago, he saw terrifying evidence of looming famine.

"In the hospital ward, the complete stillness of the tiny malnourished child whose eyes focus on nothing," the statement said. "The grim realization that these patients were the fortunate ones who could access a hospital and might survive."

"What about all the others -- out of sight? Out of mind?" the statement said. "That is precisely what we cannot allow to happen. There is still time to avert a catastrophe in Yemen."

The UN and partners are already providing life-saving assistance in all of Yemen's 22 governorates, reaching almost 6 million people every month, the statement said.

"We can and must do more, but urgent funding is needed in coming weeks -- or it will be too late," the statement said.

Earlier this month, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned that families in some of the war-torn Yemen's most food insecure areas will die unless the international community provides additional resources and authorities in Yemen allow aid workers access to hungry people.

The two-year long conflict has worsened chronic food insecurity in the Middle East country, which was already considered one of the poorest in the world.

The civil conflict had started since the UN-backed government was ousted by the Houthi militants in late 2014. It triggered a Saudi Arabia-led military intervention in late March 2016, which has been deepening the country's suffering.
WELLINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand tourism industry leaders on Monday welcomed measures to support tourism from China.

The measures, including making 2019 the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism, recognized the importance of the China market and the need to keep evolving in order to get the best value from it, according to the Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) business group.

"Visitor numbers from China have grown quickly to the point where they are now our second biggest visitor market after Australia, with 409,000 arrivals a year, spending 1.7 billion NZ dollars (1.19 billion U.S. dollars)," TIA chief executive Chris Roberts said in a statement.

"There is every reason to believe this will continue, especially given the enhanced air service agreement with China, and changes to the visa and arrival processes also announced today," Roberts said.

"With two years to prepare for the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism, the tourism industry will be looking to develop further quality visitor experiences for this market, to encourage more high-value visitors."

The 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism initiative was announced by Prime Minister Bill English as part of the official visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Officials would be working with the China National Tourism Administration to establish a focus for the year that reflected the priorities and interests of both countries, Tourism Minister Paula Bennett said in a statement.
HANOI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam saved some 471,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, worth 764 million Vietnamese dong (33,616 U.S. dollars) when local people joined in the Earth Hour 2017 by switching off unnecessary electrical devices, according to the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN).

The EVN's National Load Dispatch Center was quoted by local Vietnam Economic Times as saying on Monday that during the Earth Hour 2017 held in Vietnam from 8:30 p.m to 9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, many people took the symbolic actions of turning off unnecessary electrical devices for an hour in response to the event.

This year's figures represented a slight increased against the 451,000 kWh of electricity from the previous year.

The Earth Hour campaign is among activities taken by the Vietnamese government and people towards reducing 8 percent of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

During the 2011-2015 period, Vietnam saved nearly 12 billion kWh of electricity worth 17.8 trillion Vietnamese dong (783,200 U.S. dollars) thanks to implementation of various programs on energy efficiency, according to EVN.

The EVN aims to implement at least 250 electricity saving solutions nationwide in the 2016-2020 period to save at least 24 million kWh per year.
HANOI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Vietnam Navy's sailing ship 286 Le Quy Don left for China, the Philippines and Brunei on Monday with final-year students of the Vietnam Naval Academy on a training trip.

The trip is aimed at realizing international integration and foreign defense, enhancing friendship, cooperation, mutual trust and understanding between navies between Vietnam and China, the Philippines and Brunei, reported local Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) newspaper.

The visit is made in return to respective visits by naval ships of the three countries to Vietnam over the past years.

It also provides a chance for the final year naval students to practice long-distance sea travel, improve ability of commanding and handling real situations at sea, reported the newspaper.
BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China's commercial crude oil inventory declined 1.4 percent month-on-month at the end of February due to lower imports and output.

Net imports of crude oil dropped 5.4 percent in February, reducing stocks, and the amount of oil refined also declined.

Despite a sharp rise in exports, diesel reserves rose significantly as a result of weak demand after the Spring Festival holiday.

Gasoline stocks also rose slightly due to flat demand.
HANOI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Atkins China Limited AREP Ville has been selected by Vietnam's capital Hanoi as one of six eligible advisers to join the contest in search for breakthrough traffic solutions, the Hanoi Department of Transportation said on Monday.

Five other contestants include the Singaporean ST Electronics, the local research Institute for Urban and Rural Planning, and three coalitions between Japanese and Vietnamese firms/research institutes, reported local Tien Phong (Pioneer) newspaper on Monday.

In January 2017, Hanoi's Department of Transportation launched a contest seeking for viable solutions to its chronic traffic congestion. As of Feb. 20, the organizer had collected more than 200 proposals from 25 organizations of whom only six proposals have been shortlisted.

The contest offers a total prize of 300,000 U.S. dollars for winning consulting companies and 25,000 U.S. dollars in credit support for any entry with a complete and qualified proposal, said the department.
PHNOM PENH, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Monday called for the country's eligible voters to cast their ballots for the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in the commune election on June 4.

"I'd like to thank the people for always voting for the CPP and hope that they will continue to vote for the CPP," he said during a high school inauguration ceremony in eastern Kratie province. "Voting for the CPP is to ensure continued peace and development."

Meanwhile, the prime minister appealed to the authorities to strengthen security and social order to ensure a free and fair election, and to the political parties to comply with rules set out by the National Election Committee (NEC).

He added that to avoid disputes, political parties should promote their respective political platforms only, not verbally attacking the others.

According to the NEC, 12 political parties have registered their candidates for the upcoming commune election.

Major parties are the ruling CPP, the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, and the royalist Funcinpec Party.

According to the NEC, some 7.87 million Cambodians have registered to cast their ballots in the forthcoming election to elect commune chiefs and councilors for the country's 1,646 communes.

The commune election, held once in every five years, is the kingdom's second largest election after the general election.

In the last commune election in June 2012, the ruling CPP swept 1,592 of the country' s 1,633 commune chief seats at that time, followed by the opposition party with 40 seats and the royalist Funcinpec Party with one seat.
HONG KONG, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Leung Chun-ying said on Monday that he and his team will give the winner of the chief executive election the best possible support to bring about a smooth transition.

Leung told the media after meeting Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor at the Chief Executive's Office that one of the most important tasks for the rest of his term is to ensure a smooth transition of the HKSAR government.

Lam won the election of the fifth-term chief executive of Hong Kong SAR on Sunday with 777 of 1,163 valid votes.

After the appointment by the central government, she will take oath of office on July 1 and become the fifth-term chief executive.

The chief executive election was conducted in accordance with the Basic Law, the relevant decisions of the National People's Congress Standing Committee and the election laws of Hong Kong, Leung said.

The election demonstrated once again the successful implementation of the principle of "one country, two systems," "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with a high degree of autonomy, he said.

Leung also said, according to the Basic Law, the chief executive is not only the head of the SAR government but also the head of the SAR, carrying great responsibilities.

He calls on the whole community to fully support the new chief executive and the new SAR government, and work together to realize the potential for a better Hong Kong.

Lam told the press that apart from her priority to unite the society, she will also try to improve the relationship between the executive and the legislature.

She also said this year marks the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, and the transition work includes holding the related celebration events successfully.
WELLINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he hopes his ongoing New Zealand visit will deepen bilateral friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation and both countries will work together to create a brighter future for their ties.

Li, who started Sunday a four-day official visit to New Zealand, made the remarks in a signed article published Monday in local newspaper The New Zealand Herald.

In the article, Li spoke highly of the "relentless" efforts China and New Zealand have made to develop bilateral relations and cooperation since the two countries forged diplomatic ties 45 years ago.

"Together, we kept on scaling new heights and setting new records in China's relations with Western developed countries," he said.

Li mentioned a long list of the "ground-breaking" cooperation between both countries, noting that New Zealand was the first Western developed country to conclude bilateral negotiations on China's accession to the World Trade Organization, the first to recognize China's full market-economy status, and the first to sign and implement a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with China.

New Zealand also is the first Western developed country to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member, and the first to hold a nationwide Chinese Language Week, he added.

For four years in a row, China has been New Zealand's largest trading partner, the largest source of foreign students and second largest source of tourists. Each week, about 50 direct flights travel across the Pacific between both countries, he said.

As relations and cooperation between China and New Zealand have reached unprecedented levels and their interests have become more intertwined than ever before, the Chinese leader urged the two countries to "do even better."

"We need to fully harness our comparative strengths, and unleash our potential for common development by synergizing our development strategies," he said.

Li suggested that both sides move beyond a "fairly stable trade relationship on farm products" and promote high-tech-driven, high-value-added, whole-industrial-chain cooperation.

He also urged the two countries to explore new areas such as e-commerce, biopharmaceuticals, energy conservation and environmental protection and infrastructure development to foster new growth areas in bilateral cooperation.

On bilateral trade, Li said it has increased nearly threefold over the past eight years since the China-New Zealand FTA came into force, delivering real benefits to the two peoples.

Despite its trade deficit with New Zealand, China remains committed to seizing the opportunity of FTA upgrading negotiations to facilitate greater mutual openness of both markets, he said.

"We are ready to import more goods from New Zealand that are competitive and high-quality, to provide more choices for Chinese consumers and push Chinese companies toward greater competitiveness," Li said.

He said the announcement in late 2016 to launch negotiations on upgrading the bilateral FTA "sends a positive signal of support for trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, especially in the context of weak global economic recovery, rising protectionism and bitter backlash against globalization."

"We have every reason to believe that globalization will continue to move forward despite its setbacks, just as one should not stop eating for fear of getting choked. And the door, once opened, should not be closed," the premier said.

Furthermore, Li said China and New Zealand have been able to transcend differences in national conditions, stage of development, culture and tradition to achieve win-win outcomes on the basis of mutual respect and equality.

"The Chinese civilization values openness and inclusiveness, and New Zealand is known for its multicultural dynamism," he said, urging the two countries to jointly call for diversity of world civilizations and add more color and splendor to the development of world cultures.

"We need to jointly uphold world peace and regional stability, promote economic globalization, build an open world economy, and make new contributions to the development and prosperity of our region and the world," he said.

"I am confident that our joint efforts to scale new heights will create an even brighter future for China-New Zealand relations and make our world a more splendid place," the premier concluded.
TIANJIN, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The number of national high-tech industrial zones in China has increased to 156, with operating revenue hitting 27.9 trillion yuan (4 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2016.

The high-tech zones accounted for 11.7 percent of China's GDP in 2016 and made up for 18 percent of China's total exports, according to Zhang Zhihong, director of Torch High Technology Industry Development Center, Ministry of Science & Technology.

"The high-tech zones have become a major engine to China's economic growth," Zhang said. "Nearly 4,300 spaces provided services for more than 120,000 enterprises in 2016, attracting investment of 5.5 billion yuan."

Zhang said that high-tech zones should pay more attention to strategic emerging industries as well as scientific and technical industries, adding that enterprises, research institutes, universities and innovators would also be encouraged to collaborate on independent innovation.
WELLINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The commander of New Zealand's armed forces on Monday refuted claims that special forces killed civilians in a botched raid in Afghanistan but questions remained about the accusations.

Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Tim Keating told a live broadcast press conference that the claims made by two investigative journalists in the book "Hit and Run" appeared to have confused a raid led by New Zealand's Special Air Service (SAS) with an unrelated action 2 km away.

Keating conceded that civilians might have been killed in the SAS-led raid, dubbed Operation Burnham, on the village of Tirgiran in August 2010.

However, he said, the premise of the book was incorrect, and New Zealand troops had never operated in the two villages named in the book - Khak Khuday Dad and Naik.

The book, released last week claimed the Special Air Service led U.S. and Afghan forces in a raid that killed six civilians including a 3-year-old girl in the two villages in Afghanistan's Baghlan province.

Another 15 civilians were wounded in the villages where the SAS mistakenly believed they would find insurgents who had attacked a New Zealand patrol 19 days earlier, killing a New Zealand officer, in neighboring Bamiyan, the book claimed.

An air force officer said at the press conference that the two locations were "significantly different" from each other.

Khak Khuday Dad and Naik were in a dry valley, while Tirgiran was a lush location at the confluence of two rivers.

Keating said it was "highly unlikely" that the New Zealand-led force had also raided nearby villages that could have been confused with Operation Burnham.

He was not asked, and did not offer any explanation, of who could have raided Khak Khuday Dad and Naik.

He said the conduct of the SAS throughout Operation Burnham has been "exemplary."

An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) report into the operation concluded there might have been some civilian deaths, after rounds fired by a U.S. Apache helicopter fell short, hitting a building where civilians could have been.

But civilian casualties had not been corroborated, he said.

In total, nine identified insurgents were killed, he said.

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) issued a statement of rebuttal on Sunday and "Hit and Run" authors Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson responded Monday, saying they stood by the facts in their book.

They said in a statement that the NZDF response to the book was "bizarre and a continuation of seven years of cover up."

"We are absolutely confident that an SAS raid took place on Aug. 22, 2010, where six civilians were killed and another 15 injured," they said.

"We have testimony about these events from members of the SAS, Afghan commandos and people living in the villages that were raided, Naik and Khak Khuday Dad. The SAS and villagers both talked about assaults on the same named people's houses. It is actually impossible that the story is wrong."

New Zealand lawmakers have called for an independent probe into the claims, but Prime Minister Bill English told Radio New Zealand Monday that allegations of war crimes appeared to be unfounded and there was unlikely to be an inquiry into that.
Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye leaves the prosecutors' office in Seoul, South Korea, March 22, 2017. South Korean prosecutors on March 27 sought to arrest Park Geun-hye in a corruption investigation. (Xinhua/Lee Sang-ho)

SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean prosecutors on Monday sought to arrest Park Geun-hye, the country's former president who was impeached in a historic ruling earlier this month, over a corruption scandal embroiling Park and her longtime confidante.

The special investigation headquarters of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, tasked with the probe into the scandal, said in a statement that concerns remained about an attempt to destroy evidence as Park denied most of criminal charges despite a number of collected evidences.

Park was removed from office on March 10 as the Constitutional Court upheld a motion to impeach Park. The first South Korean female leader became the first president ousted by impeachment.

State prosecutors, who took over the investigation from special prosecutors this month, summoned the disgraced leader last week for questioning, but she denied most of her wrongdoings.

The arrest warrant was formally delivered to a Seoul court, which would review evidences and decide whether the warrant can be justified. The decision would be made late Wednesday or early Thursday.

If issued, Park would become the third South Korean former leader to be taken into custody. Two former military strongmen were put behind bars in 1995 for charges of treason and corruption.

State and special prosecutors levied a total of 13 charges against Park, including bribery, abuse of power and the leakage of state secrets.

The statement said Park abused power by using her "powerful status and authority as president" to extort money and valuables from businesses and infringe on the liberty of corporate management, while leaking official secrets.

Park is accused of colluding with her decades-long friend Choi Soon-sil, who is now in custody, to solicit tens of millions of U.S. dollars in bribes from Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong who is also arrested.

The bribes were offered in return for getting assistance in the transfer of management control of Samsung Group to Vice Chairman Lee from his ailing father Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

The younger Lee, an heir apparent of the country's biggest family-controlled conglomerate, has effectively taken the helm of Samsung since his father was hospitalized after a heart attack three years ago.

Choi is charged with extorting tens of millions of dollars from scores of conglomerates to establish two non-profit foundations she used for personal gains. Prosecutors already branded Park and Choi as criminal accomplices.

Choi, at the center of the influence-peddling scandal, is also suspected of receiving secret government documents from one of Park's former secretaries on a regular basis to meddle in state affairs behind the scenes.

The prosecution office said it considered fairness in the decision to seek the arrest of Park given the detention of many of those implicated in the scandal including Choi, the Samsung heir and other government officials.

The decision is believed to have considered recent opinion polls, in which a majority of South Koreans demanded Park's arrest. According to a Realmeter survey released on Thursday, 72.3 percent of South Koreans favored restricted prosecution of the former president.

A candlelight rally was held on Saturday night, and over 100,000 participants marched to the streets, chanting the slogan "Imprison Park Geun-hye."

A presidential election is scheduled for May 9. The three-week campaign period is slated to kick off on April 17.

Concerns remain that if Park, dressed in prison uniform and handcuffed, appears on TV, it could cause backlashes from conservative politicians and voters and influence the election results.

Others claim Park's arrest would have no effect on the upcoming election, in which one of progressive candidates is widely forecast to succeed Park, as the majority of people still want Park detained.
WELLINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The weather is pleasant and cool in northern New Zealand at the end of March. The farms in Tauranga grow vast stretches of a nutrient-rich fruit with soft, green flesh and a unique taste. It is kiwifruit, a signature farm produce of New Zealand.

The fruits will later go to the table of thousands of families after being sent to Zespri for sorting and packing.

Despite the name, kiwifruit is not native to New Zealand, but originally comes from China. Seeds were brought across the Pacific to New Zealand in the early 20th century by Isabel Fraser, principal of Wanganui Girls' College, who had been visiting missionary schools in China. They were planted by a local nurseryman and the vines first fruited in 1910. People thought the fruit had a gooseberry flavor and began to call it the "Chinese gooseberry."

The gooseberry's rebranding didn't happen until New Zealand's importer began to promote the market demand of the fruit in the 1950s. It decided to name the fuzzy, brown fruit after the country's furry, brown, flightless national bird.

The erstwhile Chinese gooseberry finds its root a hemisphere away in China and the earliest record of the fruit can be traced back to 2,800 years ago.

The description of the fruit appeared in Shijing, or the Book of Odes, the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC. Its original name in Chinese, mihoutao -- "macaque fruit" -- refers to the monkey's love for it, according to the 16th century Chinese medicine encyclopedia, the Compendium of Materia Medica.

New Zealand's kiwi exports account for one third of the fruit's global supply. In 2017, China will exceed Japan as the biggest export destination of New Zealand's kiwifruit, said Holly Brown, head of Corporate Affairs for Zespri China.

OPPORTUNITIES IN CHINA

Zespri, the sole authorized exporter and marketer for New Zealand kiwifruit, has been gradually recognized by Chinese middle class families. Sales to China now hit 80,000 tons, accounting for 18 percent of Zespri's global sales. In 1999, its sales to China only accounted for 2 percent. The lowering of tariffs is one of the major reason why exports to China have increased remarkably in recent years.

In April 2008, China and New Zealand signed the Free Trade Agreement(FTA), the first FTA China signed with a developed country. According to the agreement, all goods exported from China to New Zealand became tariff free on Jan. 1, 2016, while tariff on most New Zealand exports to China will be eliminated before Jan. 1, 2019.

The FTA has created mutually beneficial concessions in the trade of goods, services and investment, including lowering tariffs for fruits.

For example, on kiwifruit, China started to gradually lower its 20 percent tariff since 2008 at a rate of about 2 percent each year, before it became tariff free in 2016.

Ultimately, it's the consumers, farmers and companies of the two countries that benefit from the FTA.

"Located in different hemispheres, New Zealand and China harvest kiwis at opposite seasons. The quality and supply of New Zealand kiwis are stable. They taste delicious, thus are quite popular with customers," a fresh product manager in Beijing Hualian supermarket told Xinhua.

DEEPENED COOPERATION

According to statistics from the fresh products department of Jingdong, a leading e-commerce operator in China, Zespri's kiwis are especially favored in China by middle class families in big cities, women and mothers.

At Jingdong's online shopping platform, grown-in-China kiwis, mostly from the northwest province of Shaanxi, are sold just as well as Zespri's.

However, instead of being rivals, Chinese and New Zealand's kiwis are complementary to each other, said Holly Brown, head of corporate affairs for Zespri China.

Zespri is currently in a three-year agreement with kiwi orchards in Shaanxi to develop better kiwi breeds; it's a long-term strategy to satisfy the expanding Chinese market, Brown told Xinhua.

"Though China ranks the first in kiwi production in the world and has an abundant variety of kiwi breeds, it still lags behind in cultivation, management, transportation and branding, which calls for strengthened cooperation between China and New Zealand," said Zhang Lusheng, an associate professor on plant protection at China Agricultural University.

"It is important to study wild kiwi together with Chinese researchers," said Mirco Montefiori, leader of a New Zealand-China joint laboratory on kiwis. "China has an inexhaustible diversity of kiwis."

Inaugurated by Chinese President Xi Jinping and then New Zealand Prime Minister John Key in November 2014, the kiwi laboratory has carried out important research on kiwi plant disease and pests, orchard management and new breed cultivation.

China has been New Zealand's largest export market and import source for years, with an upgrade of their FTA under way to further release bilateral economic and trade potential.

The sweet and juicy kiwis flourishing in China and New Zealand are a testament to more than a century of agricultural, technological and trade ties between the two countries.
JAKARTA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and hundreds of others displaced after floods hit Padang Sidempuan of North Sumatra province in western Indonesia, a spokesman of the national disaster agency said on Monday. Enditem
JAKARTA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and hundreds of others displaced after flash floods hit Padang Sidempuan of North Sumatra province in western Indonesia on Sunday night, an official of disaster agency said Monday.

Heavy downpours caused waters in Batang Ayuni river to overflow the river banks, sweeping away 17 houses along the river, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman from the national disaster agency told Xinhua via phone.

The waters, carrying mud, also severely damaged scores of school buildings, he said.

Evacuation and rescue for affected people have been underway in several parts of the province, said Sutopo.

Heavy rains incur floods each year in Indonesia.
MANILA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine military said Monday it has rescued three Malaysian men held captive by the Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Sulu province.

Gen. Eduardo Ano, chief of staff of the armed forces of the Philippines, told reporters that the military rescued three Malaysian hostages around 11:30 p.m. Sunday in a remote village in Sulu.

"They are all alive and well, and they are in a Sulu hospital," Ano said, adding they were brought to a local hospital for check-ups.

Ano said the Abu Sayyaf are still holding around 20 hostages of different nationalities, including Indonesians, Vietnamese and Dutch.

The three hostages were part of five Malaysian crewmen who were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf militants off Malaysia's Sabah state in July last year.

The two other hostages were rescued last week by Philippine marines and sailors after they were reportedly abandoned by their captors.

The three hostages who were rescued late Sunday were identified as Zulkipli Bin Ali, Mohammad Bin Ismail and Fandy Bin Bakran.

The two Malaysian hostages rescued on March 23 were identified as Tayudin Arjut and Abdurahim Bin Sumas.

Abu Sayyaf is one of the smallest and most violent jihadist groups operating in the southern Philippines.

It is notorious for kidnappings, bombings and attacking civilians and the army.

The group, numbering about 500, has been sowing terror in the southern Philippine region since the early 1990s.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the military to crush the Abu Sayyaf militants.
WELLINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand Customs Service is to help strengthen Fiji's border agency as part of a program targeting trans-national crime in the Pacific.

New Zealand Customs would provide support and training for the transformation of Fiji's Revenue and Customs Authority through an aid program costing almost 1 million New Zealand dollars (705,300 U.S. dollars), Customs Minister Nicky Wagner said Monday.

"The plan will improve border security by supporting organizational and staff development, regulatory and policy reform as well as stakeholder engagement," Wagner said in a statement.

"Pacific countries can be targets for trans-national crime, including drug smuggling, money laundering and being used as a transshipment point, so any effort to improve border controls makes the wider region safer."

The plan is to be built on other projects with Fiji in recent years, including the introduction of detector dogs and leadership training.

The New Zealand government aid will also fund border capacity building in Samoa and the Cook Islands. (1 New Zealand dollar = 0.71 U.S. dollar)
Afghan security force members take part in a military operation in Kunar province, north of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan, March 26, 2017. Some 33 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed after Afghan air force warplanes struck their positions in Koot district of eastern Nangarhar province, in the past 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said Monday. (Xinhua/Emran Waak)

KABUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Some 33 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed after Afghan air force warplanes struck their positions in Koot district of eastern Nangarhar province in the past 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said Monday.

In addition, three Taliban militants were killed after Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) conducted a joint security operation in Gadi village, Nangarhar province over the same period, the ministry said in a statement.

The mountainous province with Jalalabad city as its capital, 120 km east of Kabul, has been the scene of heavy clashes between security forces and IS militants since the emergence of IS there in early 2015.

Furthermore, two Taliban militants' weapons facilitators were captured by security forces in Mehtarlam city, capital of neighboring Laghman province, the provincial government said in a statement earlier on Monday.

The arrestees had been involved in a series of attacks in Mehtarlam and surrounding areas, the statement said, adding a sticky Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was also found in their possession.

The Afghan security forces have beefed up security operations against militants recently, as spring and summer known as the fighting seasons are drawing near in the Central Asian country.
KABUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Afghan Wolesi Jirga or Lower House of parliament on Monday summoned top security officials including Minister for Defense Abdullah Habibi, Minister for Interior Taj Mohammad Jahid and Mohammad Masoom Stanikzai the head of National Directorate of Security (NDS) or the country's national spy agency to seek clarification over increasing security incidents in the country.

Questioning the top security officials by the legislators is taking place in the wake of deteriorating security situation in parts of the country, increasing security incidents and above all the infiltration of armed insurgents into the main military hospital in Kabul on March 8 which claimed 50 lives and injured scores of others.

The deadly attack on the military hospital in Kabul for which Islamic State (IS) group has claimed of responsibility, has withdrawn wide condemnations at home and abroad, has also raised questions about the ability of security organs to tackle the increasing militancy in Afghanistan.

Afghan security forces have been fighting hardliner militant groups including Taliban and Islamic State outfits to ensure lasting peace in the militancy-plagued country but so far in vain as indiscriminate attacks mostly in the shape of suicide bombings of the hard die militants continue to claim the life of people including civilians in Afghanistan.
BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to Hungarian President Janos Ader on March 20 to congratulate him on his reelection as the head of state.

Hungary is one of the first nations to recognize the People's Republic of China and establish diplomatic relations with the country shortly after its founding in 1949, and that the two peoples have enjoyed a longstanding friendship, Xi said in the message.

In recent years, China-Hungary relations have undergone healthy and steady development, with bilateral pragmatic cooperation in various fields keeping deepening, he said.

Xi reiterated that he highly values the development of China-Hungary relations, and is willing to work with Ader to promote bilateral ties to a higher level in greater interests of the two countries and the two peoples.

Hungary's parliament re-elected Janos Ader as the country's president for a new five-year term on March 13. This will be Ader's second term as president. He took office in May 2012 following the resignation of his predecessor, Pal Schmitt, who became involved in a plagiarism scandal.
TOKYO, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Eight senior high school boys hit by an avalanche on a ski slope in Japan's Tochigi Prefecture were found displaying no vital signs on Monday morning, and more than 30 other people were injured in the avalanche, local authorities said.

They said the avalanche occurred on a ski slope during a spring mountaineering workshop involving school children and their teachers in the town of Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture.

Fire officials said that following the avalanche, more than 30 other people were found to have been injured in the disaster.

More than 60 students from 7 different high schools and a dozen teachers were believed to be on the slope at the time when the avalanche occurred, local media said.

The avalanche struck the Nasu onsen Family Ski Resort in the morning, while students were taking part in a springtime climbing event with the avalanche believed to have occurred on the upper side of one of the slopes at the ski resort that ended this season's operation last Monday.

Emergency calls were received following the avalanche at 9:20 a.m. local time by emergency dispatchers. The teachers and students began their mountaineering activities on the slope at around 7:30 a.m. local time on Monday, a representative of one of the participating schools said.

The weather agency here said that a 33-centimeter snowpack had been recorded in the town over an eight-hour period through 9 a.m.

Following this the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued an avalanche advisory in the area.

The springtime climbing event began on Saturday and was supposed to finish at noon on Monday, a representative of one of the schools involved said.

Local government authorities, given the scope of the disaster, asked for the assistance of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to help with relief and rescue operations.

Both students and teachers from seven different different schools were taking part in a springtime climbing event when the accident happened, local reports and authorities said.

The Tochigi Fire and Disaster Prevention Division said that rescue measures are currently ongoing.

The prefectural Board of Education in the area said that 66 people, including 11 faculty members, joined the climbing workshop from seven high schools in the prefecture and were all concurrently receiving workshops to do with mountaineering on three different slopes when the disaster happened.

The central government has set up a task force at the crisis management center of the prime minister's office.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said himself during a parliamentary session that his government "will make every effort to respond to the disaster, while making it a top priority to rescue victims of the avalanche."

Tochigi Prefecture is located in the Kanto region just 120 km north of Tokyo on the island of Honshu and its capital is the city of Utsunomiya.

In Japan a doctor has to examine the bodies that are showing no vital signs of life before an official death notice can be issued.
by Xinhua Writer Wang Jiangang

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Saturday evening dimmed the lights at its headquarters in New York and other facilities around the world to mark the 10th annual "Earth Hour," a global event to spotlight issues facing the planet and to inspire people to live a more sustainable life.

In a video message, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: "Climate change continues to imperil lives and livelihoods around the world...The landmark Paris Agreement gives us an unprecedented opportunity to limit global temperature rise, promote clean energy for all and create a sustainable future."

Guterres and his team members has put the Paris deal, a legacy from his predecessor Ban Ki-moon, high on agenda.

In his remarks at the High-Level Meeting on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Agenda on March 23, the UN chief said, "climate change is an unprecedented and growing threat to peace and prosperity and the same in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals."

"Addressing climate change is a massive opportunity that we cannot afford to miss," Guterres added.

He called for efforts to be made to invigorate political momentum and highlight its deep links with the 2030 Goals of the United Nations.

STUNNING CLIMATE SITUATION

Global temperatures set yet another record last year, hitting a remarkable 1.1 degree-Celsius above the pre-industrial period, the UN specialized agency World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said.

The agency reported in its Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2016 that global sea-level touched record highs and the planet's sea-ice coverage dropped more than 4 million sq km below average in November, an unprecedented anomaly for that month, warning that the extreme weather and climate conditions have continued into 2017.

"With levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere consistently breaking new records, the influence of human activities on the climate system has become more and more evident," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

Latest available WMO data show that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere reached the symbolic benchmark of 400 parts per millions in 2015, and will not fall below that for many generations to come.

The agency also reported the past decade as the hottest on record.

"This trend is indisputable," said Guterres at the March 23 high-level meeting on climate change, adding that human activity is undoubtedly causing dangerous global warming.

Peter Thomson, president of the General Assembly, cited WMO chief Taalas as confirming that the world is currently on track towards a 3 to 4 degrees Celsius increase in global temperatures.

Thomson said it is his understanding that once the global temperatures rise to that range, "humanity's survival on this planet will be put in jeopardy."

SCIENTIFIC FACTS, NOT POLITICS

"We are dealing with scientific facts, not politics," Guterres warned.

"The facts are clear. Climate change is a direct threat in itself, and a multiplier of many other threats," he added.

"We face serious risks across the whole of the 2030 Agenda. Food security is under threat around the world due to more droughts. With food insecurity, we must add economic insecurity as scarcities of staple crops cause price surges," he said.

According to the UN chief, water insecurity is too growing. One-third of the world's population already lives in countries experiencing water stress. As water gets more scarce, it threatens to become a catalyst for conflict.

Climate change is a menace to livelihood, to property and to business, he noted.

The UN chief also talked about rampant wildfires, floods, and threats to the existence of low-lying nations and cities due to sea-level rise, among others.

"All these risks mean poverty will worsen and people will be forced to move from degraded lands to cities and other nations," he said, while calling for actions in response.

COMMITMENT URGED TO PARIS DEAL, 2030 AGENDA

Guterres praised the December 2015 signing of the Paris deal in a global joint move against climate change as "unique in its universality."

"To date more than 130 parties have ratified it," and the numbers are growing monthly, he said, adding that UN is committed to helping implement both the agreement and the 2030 agenda that all the UN members have showed support.

"And the reason for this consensus is clear: all nations recognize that implementing the 2030 Agenda goes hand-in-glove with limiting global temperature rise and increasing climate resilience," said Guterres.

Countries are turning pledges into national climate action plans, he said, while some cities and businesses are also taking a lead.

Guterres said they know fighting climate change can also "unlock vast potential economic growth in all regions and for all people."

According to the UN chief, over half of new power generation capacity now comes from renewables. In Europe, the share is more than 90 percent.

In the United States and China, new renewable energy jobs now outstrip those created in the oil and gas industries. Globally, over 8 million people work in the renewables sector, he said, while noting a clear worldwide trend towards green economy.

"This challenge is immense. Inaction or insufficient action will destabilize the natural systems that underpin all social and economic development," said Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, who urged a concerted effort.

"We have truly entered the era of implementation. It is up to us, collectively as one community of nations, to accelerate action that builds a better future for all," she said.
URUMQI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Two universities in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will add Farsi and Urdu to their undergraduate curriculum, according to a government document released Saturday.

Shihezi University and Xinjiang Normal University are setting up Farsi, and Urdu majors, respectively, and start enrolling students nationwide this summer.

Farsi is the official language in Iran and Tajikistan, and a major language in Afghanistan.

Currently only six universities in China offer Farsi as a major, producing less than 500 people proficient in the language, according to a Shihezi University press release.

Xinjiang's increasing cooperation in trade and counter-terrorism with Farsi-speaking countries requires more advanced Farsi language learners, it said.

Urdu is the official language of Pakistan. In 2013, China and Pakistan started to build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a 3,000-km network of roads, railways and pipelines linking Xinjiang's Kashgar and southwest Pakistan's Gwadar Port.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) and his New Zealand's counterpart Bill English attend a joint press conference after talks in Wellington, New Zealand, March 27, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

WELLINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China and New Zealand agreed to start talks on upgrading a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in late April.

The consensus was reached during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's ongoing visit to New Zealand, which puts upgrading the FTA that took effect in 2008 high on agenda.

At a joint press conference after talks with New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English, Li said upgrading the FTA will promote the development of bilateral economic and trade ties and better benefit the two peoples.

Negotiations will touch on investment, service trade, quarantine of animals and plants, the Principle of Original Production Place, economy and technology, e-commerce, and competition policies, according to Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Lutong.

"The China-New Zealand FTA is one of the highest-standard signed between China and developed countries. Both countries have established long-term good trade relations, with bilateral trade growth outpacing our economic growth," Li said.

Li also called on the two countries to jointly protect open economy and free trade as well as regional stability and global peace.

As one third of New Zealand's dairy products are exported to China, English said the dairy products and any other products going to China will be of the quality Chinese consumers would expect to be.

Under the FTA, a wide range of products, typically health-related products are much sought after by Chinese consumers, English said, adding that New Zealand will work with the Chinese authorities in food safety to ensure all the New Zealand products exported to China meet the standards required.

China and New Zealand signed a series of cooperation documents on Monday, including an action plan for cooperation on climate change, granting new access for New Zealand chilled beef and meat to the Chinese market and deepening cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative.

Li arrived in Wellington on Sunday for an official visit to New Zealand after wrapping up his Australia tour.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd R) and his wife Peng Liyuan pose for a photo with Micronesian President Peter M. Christian (2nd L) and his wife in Beijing, capital of China, March 27, 2017. Xi held a welcome ceremony for Micronesian President Peter M. Christian before their talks here on Monday. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Micronesian President Peter M. Christian Monday that China welcomed the Pacific island country to participate in the Belt and Road construction.

Through cooperation on the Belt and Road, China and Micronesia can achieve win-win results, Xi said during talks with his Micronesian counterpart.

Proposed by Xi in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network along ancient trade routes.

The initiative has gained the support of over 100 countries and international organizations.

Christian said Micronesia highly appreciated the Belt and Road Initiative and was ready to actively participate in pragmatic cooperation on it.

Micronesia appreciates China's long-term assistance for the country's economic and social development, Christian said.

Xi called on both sides to continue exchanges, and respect each other's core interests and major concerns to consolidate bilateral relations.

The two countries can also push forward cooperation in tourism, agriculture, fisheries, infrastructure and other fields, Xi said, adding China is willing to expand exchanges with Micronesia in the fields of culture, education, youth and cooperation at local level.

Xi said China would further coordination with Micronesia on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, climate change and other major issues to better safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

China supports Micronesia to play an active role in regional affairs, he said.

The Micronesian government firmly adheres to the one-China policy and agrees with China's position on climate change, globalization and other major issues, Christian said, adding that the country was ready to enhance coordination with China to deal with global challenges.

Following their talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of bilateral agreement on economic and technological cooperation.

Prior to the talks, Xi held a red-carpet welcoming ceremony for Christian.
by Keren Setton

JERUSALEM, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A bilateral government meeting between German and the Israel scheduled for May this year has been canceled by the Germans.

While the official reason given was German preoccupation with being current president of the G20 and upcoming elections in the country, the cancellation could be an indicator of relations beginning to go sour.

A few days ago, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, she reiterated German support for the two-state solution.

For years, both Germany and Israel have defined their relations as close.

The countries enjoy widespread economic cooperation, share intelligence and in the past years there are intensified societal relations between the two with Berlin being a top destination for Israeli tourists.

Germany has also supplied Israel with submarines seen as critical to maintaining Israel's naval superiority in the Middle East.

Israel has found itself increasingly isolated in the international arena due to it's policies towards the Palestinians. This sentiment is shared by Merkel.

According to Emmanuel Nahshon, the spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, while there are disagreements, there is no cause for concern.

"The relations are very stable and are based on such strong foundations that criticism cannot undermine them," he says.

In Merkel's press conference with Abbas it was clear there was concern for the future of the two-state solution.

US President Donald Trump has said he is open to other solutions, a major worry for the Palestinian leadership who believe that the two-state solution is the only way to solve the conflict.

Standing next to Abbas Friday Merkel said she saw no other "reasonable alternative."

There have been speculations in Israeli media that the summit was canceled due to tensions between Israel and Germany.

As disagreements have been mounting in recent years, the election of US President Donald Trump has perhaps exacerbated the tension.

Trump is expected to be more lenient towards Israel, although not giving the country a free hand as Netanyahu may have expected.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Risse, an expert on German foreign policy from the Freie Universitat of Berlin, explains the connection.

"Trump has been rather silent recently, but he has indicated that his administration is no longer bound by the two-state solution. If this trend continues, we will face a most serious situation in the Middle East," said Dr. Risse.

The first meeting between Trump and Merkel in the White House held earlier this month was a tense one. The two differ on many issues, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict being only one of them.

At the beginning of the year, after the Israeli parliament approved a bill legalizing settlements in the West Bank, the German response was harsh.

"The confidence we had in the Israeli government's commitment to the two-state solution has been profoundly shaken," read a statement from the German Foreign Office.

In the past year, Merkel has been increasingly publicly critical of Israel's settlement policy led by Netanyahu. But according to Risse, the discord is not personal.

"This is a policy disagreement, nothing personal. The current Israeli government is moving away from the two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and continuing the settlement policy. Germany sticks to the two-state solution which is also the European consensus," Risse told Xinhua.

In the past, the Holocaust has been a major factor in the relations between the two countries. It served as a founding block of the alliance.

Germany has seen it as it's obligation to maintain a good relationship with the Jewish state as a result of it's past.

But as the years go by and new generations learn of the Holocaust from history books and not from personal experience, it is difficult to maintain that special obligation especially when policy differences between the two countries arise.

In order to conserve this relationship, Israel will have to tread carefully so as not to lose a strategic ally.
GUANGZHOU, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Police from China and Australia have captured five suspects in cross-border drug trafficking.

A total of 100 kilograms of methamphetamine was seized during raids in Shenzhen in January, police in south China's Guangdong Province said Monday.

The police were tipped off in November 2016 that a gang of drug dealers was trafficking drugs from China to Australia.

Three Chinese (including two from Hong Kong), one Australian and one Fijian were seized in raids in February and March.

Police from the two countries signed a joint anti-drug operation deal in November 2015. Since the agreement, 150 drug dealers, 4,140 kilograms of various drugs and 3,310 kilograms of raw materials for drugs have been seized.
TEHRAN, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry called for an immediate halt to bloodshed in Yemen and urged efforts to start a political process for formation of a national unity government in the Arab country, Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned what it called the "blatant aggression" on Yemen that has brought about deaths, famine and starvation on the Yemeni people.

Over the past two years, thousands of women and children have been killed in clashes, millions of Yemenis have become dependent on humanitarian aid, as most of them are suffering from malnutrition and hunger, it said in a statement.

Destruction of this impoverished country's infrastructure and the constant bombing of hospitals and education centers are among other outcomes of this unjust war, the statement added.

Also, the war has prepared the ground for the growth of terrorist groups' activities in different parts of Yemen, a fact that threatens international peace, stability and security, the statement added.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry urged the international community to step up efforts to alleviate the suffering of the people of Yemen, especially women and children.

The situation in Yemen deteriorated economically and politically as of March 2015, when a war broke out between the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi group, allies of former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and government forces backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

Houthis and Saleh's forces control most of Yemen's northern regions while government forces backed by the Saudi-led military coalition share control of the rest of the country, including seven southern provinces.

The civil war, ground battles and airstrikes have killed over 10,000 individuals, half of whom were civilians, injured over 35,000 others and displaced over two million people.
MACAO, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Macao's unemployment rate in a three-month period ending February rose by 0.1 percentage point from 1.9 percent of the same period last year, figures released by the statistics authority showed on Monday.

Latest labor force survey indicated that Macao's general unemployment rate for December 2016 to February 2017 stood at 2.0 percent, while the underemployment rate stood at 0.5 percent.

The total employment was 379,100 and the number of employed residents totaled 277,100, down by 2,800 and 800 respectively from the previous period, the report said.

Analyzed by industry, employment in recreational, cultural, gaming and retail trade registered a decrease, while that in hotels and similar activities saw an increase.

The number of the unemployed was 7,900, similar to that in the previous period, and fresh labor force entrants searching for their first job accounted for 8.4 percent of the total unemployed, up by 0.8 percentage points.
JERUSALEM, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military soldiers thwarted a knife-wielding Palestinian assailant in the West Bank on Monday morning, arresting the suspect without shooting him.

A military spokesperson said in a statement that the man attempted to stab a soldier who was guarding a crowdy bus stop south of the city Nablus.

"Forces subdued the attacker," the spokesperson said, adding that there were no injuries. The suspect was taken into custody.

Since September 2015, individual Palestinians have carried out or attempted to carry out hundreds of attacks. The Israeli forces usually respond with fire, frequently killing the suspects.

Palestinians and human rights organizations accuse Israel of using excessive violence to control the unrest.

They charge that some of the suspects were killed although they did not attempt to perpetrate an attack, but were mistaken to be attackers by the soldiers.

In the wave of violence, Palestinians have killed 41 Israelis and two U.S. nationals, while Israeli forces and civilians killed at least 238 Palestinians, most of them alleged attackers.

Israelis also killed a Jordanian tourist and asylum seekers, two asylum seekers, one Eritrean and one Sudanese, who were mistaken to be attackers.

Israel accuses the Palestinian National Authority of "inciting" the unrest. The Palestinians say it is the result of 50 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, home to more than 5 million Palestinians.
COLOMBO, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The hydrographic survey ship INS Darshak of the Indian Navy arrived in the Port of Colombo on Monday on a training visit, the navy media unit said here.

The ship was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy in compliance with naval traditions on her arrival.

The Commanding Officer of Darshak Captain Peush Pawsey met the Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Niraja Attygalle at the Western Naval Command Headquarters where both held cordial discussions.

During her stay in Sri Lanka, the ship's crew is scheduled to take part in a number of programs organized by the Sri Lanka Navy.

On completion of its stay in the country, INS Darshak will depart from the Colombo harbor on March 30.
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Eighteen members of Taliban renounced violence and surrendered to the government in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar, said the provincial government on Monday.

"Following efforts by National Directorate of Security, or national intelligence agency, to convince a group of Taliban to join peace process, the 18-member group renounced the violence and joined national reconciliation process," it said in a statement.

Among them, who handed over their weapons to security authorities during a ceremony hold in provincial capital Jalalabad city, was their commander named Bakhto Khan, according to the statement.

And among the weapons they brought with them were two rocket launchers, one gun and nine AK-47 rifles, the statement said, adding that the former insurgents were active in Bati Kot and Ghani Khel districts of the province, 120 km east of Afghan capital of Kabul.

The local government will spare no efforts to help the surrendered people to rejoin their families and provide them jobs, the statement noted.

More than 10,000 Taliban militants have laid down arms and joined the government-backed peace and reconciliation process since mid-2010 when the government launched the initiative, according to officials, but the claim has been rejected by the armed outfit as baseless.
BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese police confiscated 430.6 kg of cocaine in 64 smuggling cases in 2016, according to a report issued by the National Narcotics Control Commission Monday.

Cocaine mainly enters southern China's Guangdong Province and Hong Kong from South America, and by the end of 2016, China had 394 registered cocaine abusers, according to the report.

The Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia remains the main source for methamphetamine consumed in China, it said.

It also said that the Golden Crescent, which overlaps Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, remains the world's largest area for growing opium and producing heroin.

In 2016, China handled 22 cases involving heroin being smuggled from the Golden Crescent, seizing 24 kg of heroin.
Huawei Indonesia CEO Liu Haosheng (R, front) attends a signing ceremony with the delegate from Sepuluh November Institute of Technology (ITS) in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 27, 2017. China's technology firm Huawei launched on Monday its ICT training program for students in 7 of Indonesia's top notch state campuses, aimed at boosting up competitiveness of Indonesian ICT talents. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

JAKARTA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China's technology firm Huawei launched on Monday its ICT (Information, Telecommunication, Telecommunication) training program for students in 7 of Indonesia's top notch state campuses, aimed at boosting up competitiveness of Indonesian ICT talents.

The launching of the program, called SmartGen, was officiated in Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) documents between executive of Huawei Indonesian branch and senior representatives of the state-run colleges, witnessed by Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Xie Feng.

"Through the SmartGen program, young generation can have access to the latest ICT technology, be the strong force to develop Indonesian economy and increase the nation's competitiveness in the future," Huawei Indonesia CEO Liu Haosheng said in his remarks in the event.

Application of SmartGen program in these colleges would comprise of Tech Day, Huawei Experience Day, Smart Campus Consultancy, Seeds for the Future and Students Internship, according to Haosheng.

Part of the program applications would allow Indonesian students to undertake vocational trainings in Beijing and Huawei headquarters in Shenzhen.

The seven Indonesian state colleges constituted in Huawei's SmartGen program were University of Indonesia (UI), Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Telkom University (Tel U), Diponegoro University (UNDIP), Padjadjaran University (UNPAD) and Sepuluh November Institute of Technology (ITS).

Huawei has went through more than 16 years of operation in Indonesia, extensively taking part in Indonesia's ICT development by establishing a Joint Innovation Center and training laboratories in collaborations with the nation's Informatics and Information Ministry (Kominfo) and national campuses, Haosheng added.

Speaking in his turn to address the event, Xie Feng said that Chinese enterprises have now more integrated to local society and extensively promote mutual learning, win-win cooperation and common development.

"It's my hope and belief that more and more Chinese enterprises will follow the example of Huawei by bringing their best products and services to Indonesia, earnestly fulfilling their corporate social responsibility, striving to be a good corporate citizen and making greater contribution to Indonesia's economic and social progress," the ambassador said.

He added that China now is Indonesia's largest trading partner for 6 consecutive years and investment from Chinese mainland has increased by a staggering of 324 percent to reach 2.7 billion dollars, raising China from the 9th to the 3rd largest foreign investor in Indonesia.

Indonesian Informatics and Communications Minister Rudiantara said that ICT development is essential in Indonesia at present as the country is pursuing digital technology-supported economy in the future by developing e-commerce basis operation in most of daily life aspects with 180 billion dollar worth of transactions were expected by 2020.

"There will be 2,000 students tasked to hone up ICT skills in the country and in foreign countries as well, including in China. This is part of our efforts to catch up with digital technology," the minister said to address the event held in Indonesia technology and research bureau premises.

He added that his ministry is now tasked to assure ICT becomes the main driver and enabler of the nation's economy development and social culture transformer agent.

To pursue the aim in applying digital economy, Indonesia now faces several challenges that need to be addressed accordingly.

Those challenges were small number of talents, funding, taxation, customer education and logistics.
By H. L. Bentley

BOAO, Hainan, March 27 (Xinhua) -- I came to Boao Forum for Asia 2017 with one main task, to understand what was meant by the theme -- Globalization and free trade: The Asian perspectives.

By choosing "perspectives" over "perspective" the organizers were already sending a clear message that there is not just one answer, and so I set out to find out what these answers were.

SAME SAME, BUT DIFFERENT

It was not long until I found my first example. During the media leaders roundtable, the panel discussed "seeking common ground while preserving differences."

On the very first day of the forum, I found myself in a room full of people advocating cooperation over conformity, and it wouldn't be the last.

No matter the panel, the sentiment stood.

Patrick Low, former WTO economist, told a session on Hong Kong that rather than imposing binding agreements on nations, all partners should be in agreement. The systems that rule countries are as varied as the countries themselves, thus, we should use multilateral institutions for the very reason they were established -- to avoid conflict.

Many of the speakers here this weekend, as well as attendees I spoke to, see protectionism as a geopolitical issue. Development and politics were never meant to be happy bedfellows so we need constant reminding of the benefits of a more open world. Trade globalization is here to stay, whether you like it or not.

Is it better to flourish internationally or falter in isolation?

BETTER TO LIVE TOGETHER THAN DIE ALONE

The world is going through a transition characterized by uncertainty about globalization.

While some look inward, China continues to look outward, championing the view that "globalization is a positive force for the world and free trade is important," according to Leslie Maasdorp, vice president and CFO of the New Development Bank, who spoke to me after the opening ceremony.

Without globalization there would be no free trade and without free trade there would be no innovation. For thousands of years multilateral interactions have meant the exchange of ideas, products and services. Globalization is nothing new, just a new terminology. It is a tried and tested model, and one made all the more powerful by evolution. Evolve or perish, the saying goes, and globalization has stood the test of time. Protectionism, on the other hand, time and time again, has only led to only one thing -- failure.

E. Allan Gabor, Merck Biopharma regional president for the Asia Pacific,said, "The world, for me, is actually getting smaller. I represent America and Asia, 14 countries in total, and I see the benefits of free trade among all of those countries, and even beyond. It's connecting all of us."

Asia is the growth center of the world. If nations outside the region attempt to reject globalization they will not benefit from the opportunities afforded by growth in Asia.

HEALTHY, SMART, SAFE

It is important to acknowledge that the benefits of globalization are not yet universal. Who has been left behind and why?

Technology is both enabler and disrupter. It is fitting that new advances are referred to as "disruptive technology." While they offer new platforms and environments for interaction, they have resulted in winners and losers.

One such example is automation, which, in the manufacturing sector in particular, will lead to job losses.

During my discussion with Zhang Yaqin, president of Baidu, he acknowledged that new technology will make some jobs obsolete. He compared the situation with previous industrial revolutions. With every new technological innovation, from weaving looms to artificial intelligence, there is always a reactive period as people adjust to the shock of the new.

He suggests that rather than rejecting advances we should look forward to the ways they will change our lives.

Anthony Nightingale, Hong Kong representative to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council, suggested three ways to cope. One, economies need to be healthy. Two, people must be retrained. Three, there must be a social safety net. In fact, he said, developed nations are in the best position to offer this support, and Asia should look to them for guidance.

Asia can only adjust to the changing landscape by continuing structural change and by pursuing innovation across all sectors. The unifying Asian ideal is that we all must believe in the power of openness. All countries should be prepared to offer maximum support with minimum intervention. It is only through this approach that can we ensure a healthy environment for trade growth and innovation.

DELETING THE "S"

Asian countries will continue to oppose trade barriers. China will continue to defend globalization, and fight for a more open, connected world. It is China that will ensure that no one is left behind.

Is this attitude unique to China? It is not. This is the Asian perspective.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was written to complement a short film on the Boao Forum for Asia 2017. The film is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCV69lKLzUQ&spfreload=10
COLOMBO, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A high-level delegation from the European Investment Bank (EIB) will make a three-day official visit to Sri Lanka later this week as the start of a South Asia tour, the European Union (EU) office in Colombo said on Monday.

Andrew McDowell, the newly appointed vice president of the EIB responsible for South Asia, will discuss the recent engagement and future investment with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and senior government officials, business leaders, members of the diplomatic community and financial institutions.

McDowell will also inspect the ongoing construction work to upgrade wastewater infrastructure in Colombo which is financed by the EIB in conjunction with the Asian Development Bank.

The EIB, an European long-term lending institution and owned directly by the 28 European Union member states, has supported investments in Sri Lanka since 2002, including backing climate related investment, private companies and post-tsunami recovery.

"The European Investment Bank has a strong track record of supporting transformational investment that improves lives and economic opportunities across Asia and around the world. This week's visit to Sri Lanka builds on the fruitful discussions with Minister (of Finance) Karunanayake following the European Investment Bank's first ever support for water investment in Sri Lanka and the first loan for public sector investment agreed with this government," McDowell said before his arrival in Colombo.

McDowel will become the first vice president of the EIB to visit Sri Lanka in more than five years.
DHAKA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Operation Twilight to flash out a militant den by joint forces led by Bangladesh Army Para-Commando Battalion on Monday spilled into its fourth day since Friday, leaving so far eight people including police officers and two militants dead.

Commandos have been continuing the operation at a suspected militant den in the country's Sylhet city, some 240 km northeast of capital Dhaka

Bangladeshi Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told journalists Monday in Dhaka that commandos are taking time because of the high risk involved.

He said the militants have planted a huge stash of Improvised Explosive Devices in the building, mostly on the ground floor and the staircase.

Sporadic gunshots were heard since Monday morning around the militant hideout and was underway in regular intervals.

Against this backdrop, restriction net was even wider as the law enforcers formed a five-km secured area around the five-story building "Atia Mahal".

Hundreds of people reportedly left the area on Monday fearing more volatility. Eighty-six residents including six on Monday from adjacent houses have so far been evacuated to safe areas.

Utilities of the militant den surrounding entire area have already been disconnected.

A Bangladesh Army spokesman has said there were possibility of one or more militants remaining inside.

Brigadier Gen. Fakhrul Ahsan at press a briefing Sunday claimed to have killed two suspected militants during the raid at the militant hideout.

Ahsan, spokesperson of the operation, said, "two militants have so far been killed inside. Several more well trained militants still were active inside."

A senior Sylhet police official earlier said the militants rented the ground floor of a five-story building three months ago.

Authorities Sunday slapped a curfew in the area as six people, including two policemen, were killed and dozens of others injured in two explosions Saturday outside the militant hideout.

The Islamic State (IS) reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks which came after four suspected militants were killed as Bangladeshi law enforcers on Thursday stormed a militant hideout at Sitakunda on the outskirts of the country's seaport city Chittagong, some 240 km southeast of capital Dhaka.

Bangladeshi police have hunted down and killed scores of militants linked to the deadly July 1, 2016 cafe attack.

Neo-JMB (an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh) has been blamed for an attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter last July, in which 20 hostages, mostly foreigners, were killed.

Neo-JMB leaders Tamim Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-Canadian, and Sarwar Jahan have been blamed as the masterminds of the brutal attack on the Spanish cafe. Both Chowdhury and Jahan were killed in separate police raids last year.

In the wake of the Dhaka cafe attack, Bangladesh police have conducted series of large-scale operations against militants.
GUANGZHOU, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A dozen officials in southern China's Guangdong Province have been punished after a care center scandal.

An official investigation into the Lianxi care center in Xinfeng county, Shaoguan city, found embezzlement of public funds and abuse of the homeless, elderly and mentally ill in the facility.

Chen Jinghui, secretary of the the Xinfeng County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has been removed from his post. Three senior officials from Shaoguan city's civil affairs bureau have also been removed from their posts.

In addition, nine officials have been put under coercive measures or arrested over misfeasance or dereliction of duty, according to investigators.

Earlier, 10 people from the care center, including the director, investor and caregivers, had been detained for either embezzlement of public funds or physical abuse.
GAZA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Hamas opened Monday the way to the border crossing with Israel through Beit Hanoun (Erez crossing) partially, which was shut down after one of it's top militants Mazen Fuqaha'a was murdered in mysterious circumstance in Gaza.

Eyad Al-Bozom, spokesperson of the Interior Ministry, said in an emailed press release that the crossing will be "opened for the travel of families of prisoners in Israeli jails, and three ministers of the national unity government."

Al-Bozom added that there are no restrictions by Hamas on the entry to Gaza. However, foreigners in Gaza remain not allowed to leave Gaza, including employees of UN or international organizations.

Hamas has imposed "strict security measures" in the Gaza Strip since Sunday, including a full closure on the ways to the borders crossing with Israel from the Palestinian side, as part of it's investigations into the murder of Fuqaha'a.

On Friday night, unknown gunmen killed Fuqaha'a just at the entrance to his house in Gaza city. Fuqaha'a was a top Hamas militant, from the West Bank, who was released in an Egyptian-brokered prisoners swap deal with Israel in 2011.

Right after the murder, Hamas and other Palestinian factions held Israel responsible for the killing, adding that "the Israeli occupation and its collaborators are behind the assassination of Mazen Fuqaha'a."




Tourists view cherry blossoms at Yuyuantan Park in Beijing, capital of China, March 26, 2017. (Xinhua/Liu Xianguo)

LANZHOU, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Water has reappeared in a lake that had been dried up for more than 50 years in Dunhuang city, northwest China's Gansu Province, after the government spent billions of yuan on water conservation.

Once the largest fresh-water lake in Dunhuang, the Har Lake started to shrink as migrants moved inland to Dunhuang from as early as the 1720s. By the 1980s, the lake had completely dried up.

In 2011, the State Council approved a plan worth an estimated 4.72 billion yuan (about 686 million U.S. dollars) on water conservation and environmental protection in Dunhuang.

Under the plan, 10 to 20 percent of the water from two upper stream reservoirs will be released to supplement the lower stream. An ancient canal was also renovated to direct water into the lake.

Over 50 million cubic meters of water have been released from the reservoirs, according to local water conservancy bureau.

"The water in Har Lake can help prevent the desert from moving east to Dunhuang, and preserve local bio-diversity," said Sun Zhicheng, senior engineer in Dunhuang West Lake National Nature Reserve Administration.

Dunhuang is famous for its UNESCO-listed caves, boasting thousand-year-old Buddhists sculptures and paintings. Desertification poses a constant threat to cultural heritage in the city.
PHNOM PENH, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen will attend the launching ceremony of the Cambodia's Trade Center in Xi'an, capital of northwestern China's Shaanxi province, in May, a senior official said on Monday.

The prime minister confirmed his participation after Shaanxi Governor Hu Heping extended an invitation to him during a meeting at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, said Eang Sophalleth, an assistant to the prime minister.

Earlier in the day, Hu and Cambodian Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak presided over a business forum and witnessed the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Cambodia and China's Shaanxi, according to a Ministry of Commerce statement.

The MoU was aimed at strengthening and boosting the bilateral trade, economics and tourism cooperation between Cambodia and China, the statement said.

Pan Sorasak said Cambodia's Trade Center, which will be opened in Xi'an in May, is crucial to promote trade, tourism and culture, and to attract investment to Cambodia.
TOKYO, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Japan's parliament on Monday enacted a record-high 97.45 trillion yen (884 billion U.S. dollars) budget for fiscal 2017, with soaring social security costs and military spending weighing on the country's tattered fiscal health.

The enactment of the budget came amid heated discussions in parliament over a cut-price land deal scandal that implicates Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie.

Japan's House of Councilors, dominated by Abe's ruling coalition, cleared the budget late Monday afternoon, a month after the House of Representatives passed the budget.

According to the budget, the fiscal year starting from April 2017 will see a record-high 73.93 trillion yen earmarked for policy spending in the general account of the Japanese government.

Among the major outlays, spending on social security will rise to some 32.47 trillion yen, accounting for a third of the total budget as the Japanese society continues aging.

Defense spending will hit a record-high of 5.13 trillion yen, rising for the fifth straight year since Abe took office in 2012, causing concerns for Japan's neighboring countries.

Debt serving expenses, including payment for interests, are to reach 23.5 trillion yen, accounting for 24.1 percent of the total budget.

The spending is expected to be mainly covered by taxes and other revenues collected by the government, with tax revenue predicted to leap to 57.71 trillion yen, up 0.2 percent from the current year's initial budget.

The government also expects to reduce its dependence on debt, though very slightly, to 35.3 percent from the 35.6 percent in the fiscal 2016 initial budget, with issuance of new bonds expected to fall to 34.37 trillion yen in fiscal 2017.

The government, which uses debt for financing more than other developed economies, however, is still burdened with arrears that continue to stand as the highest in the industrialized world, amounting to more than twice the size of Japan's economy.
MANILA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine stock market extended its losses on Monday following the drop in the U.S. equities.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped by 0.33 percent or 23.65 points to 7,245.97, while the broader all-share index declined by 0.15 percent or 6.74 points to 4,370.

Trading volume reached 1.01 billion shares worth 7.76 billion Philippine pesos (155 million U.S. dollars) with 81 stocks advancing, 90 declining, and 51 were unchanged.

Three of the six counters bucked the trend. These were services, mining and oil, and the property sectors. Online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com said the local equities was expected to trade lower as concerns now arise on the possibility of delay in implementing the tax reform program in U.S..

"This was on the back of the U.S. government's failure to secure enough votes to repeal the healthcare bill," it said.

Analyst Justino Calaycay of A&A Securities, Inc. said investors should be conscious of the relative weakness on the upside as evidenced by the composite index's inability to sustainably break past the resistance mark and its resilience on the downside.

Stocks in the 30-company index ended mixed. Investors picked up shares of the Bank of Philippine Islands and index heavyweight PLDT, Inc. but sold down Ayala Land, Inc.
MOSCOW, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Russian and Tajik forces troops started on Monday a four-day counter-terrorist exercise in the southern part of Tajikistan, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"The servicemen will improve cooperation between the force groupings while countering conditional illegal armed formations," said the statement, adding that both ground troops and air forces will be mobilized in the exercise.

As a traditional partner to Russia, Tajikistan is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russia-led military alliance established in 1992.

Russia stations its 201st military base in Tajikistan, which now houses the largest ground troops of the Russian Armed Forces outside its territory.

Tajikistan shares a 1,300-km border with Afghanistan. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Tajikistan last month, agreeing to beef up efforts to protect the Tajik-Afghan border.
JERUSALEM, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Monday warned its citizens against visiting Egypt's Sinai, Turkey and Jordan, and urged Israelis in Sinai to leave "immediately," amidst increased activity of Islamic State (IS) militants.

The Counter-Terrorism Bureau, operating under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's office, raised the travel warning for Sinai to Level 1, the highest level of warning.

The advisory means "a very high and concrete threat" with a recommendation to avoid traveling to the destination or leave immediately.

The bureau also issued a Level 2 warning for Turkey, which signals "a high concrete threat with advice to avoid travels to the destination and leave as soon as possible."

The alert level for elsewhere in Egypt and for Jordan was raised to Level 3, meaning "a basic-level concrete threat" with advice to avoid travels to the destination.

Israel fears that IS-inspired terrorists will try to target Israeli tourists in these countries.

Eitan Ben David, head of the Counter-Terrorism Bureau, told a press conference on Monday that the warnings against traveling to Sinai "were issued in the wake of multiple terror attacks."

"Attacks on the Egyptian military, on Coptic Christians (...) IS militants fired rockets at Eilat, and video footages from IS against Israelis show the high motivation and power of terror groups there to attack Israelis," he said. "We don't expect them to respect red-lines," he added.

The Counter-Terrorism Bureau frequently releases travel warnings ahead of Jewish holiday of Passover in April and the beginning of the summer travel season, during which hundreds of thousands of Israelis travel abroad.
HANOI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's budget airline Jetstar Pacific on Monday launched a 180-seat Airbus A320 from the country's central Da Nang city to China's Hong Kong.

The new service was launched with the hope to meet rising travel demand between Hong Kong and central Vietnam, reported Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA, adding that this is the third international route by Jetstar Pacific from Da Nang to regional cities after those connect Da Nang with China's Taiwan and Singapore.

According to the low-cost carrier, it will operate three flights per week on Monday, Tuesday and Friday with tickets sold from 290,000 Vietnamese dong (12.7 U.S. dollars) per flight. Each flight takes about one hour and 45 minutes.

Flight from Da Nang is scheduled to take off at 10:10 local time while that from Hong Kong will return to the central city at 14:05.

The number of international tourist arrivals to Da Nang has been on the rise in recent years. In 2016, the city welcomed 1.7 million visitors, an increase of 31.6 percent from a year earlier.
ZHENGZHOU, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Lankao County in central China's Henan Province Monday announced its withdrawal from the country's list of impoverished counties.

It is the second to do so after Jinggangshan in eastern China's Jiangxi Province was removed from the list in late February.

A county can be removed from the list if less than 2 percent of its population is classified as "impoverished," according to a national mechanism to phase out impoverished regions established in April 2016.

In 2014, 11.8 percent of Lankao's population was in poverty, but the ratio has now dropped to 1.27 percent, according to an assessment by the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

After evaluation results were examined and approved by the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, Henan Provincial Government greenlit the county's withdrawal Monday.

"Today is a commemorable day," said Cai Songtao, secretary of the Lankao County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at a press conference. "Getting rid of poverty has been the ardent wish of Lankao residents for decades."

In 2014, as part of the efforts to improve Party-people relations, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, visited Lankao twice as part of a campaign pairing top Party officials with the country's poverty-stricken areas.

That year, Lankao County authorities made a commitment to cast off poverty in three years and achieve moderate prosperity in seven years.

To achieve success, Cai said that the county government made poverty alleviation its first and primary task.

"Over the process, we've realized that poverty alleviation is not the main goal, but that achieving moderate prosperity matters more," he said.

Figures show per capita disposable income in urban and rural areas in Lankao rose 7.5 percent and 9.6 percent year on year to 21,124 yuan (3,072 U.S. dollars) and 9,943 yuan in 2016, doubling the amounts in 2013.

The county's economy expanded by 9.4 percent to 25.76 billion yuan in 2016, boosted by upgrades to the agricultural and industrial sectors and ecological tourism in recent years.

Xuchang Village of Guyang Township is rich in paulownia trees, an ideal raw material for musical instrument manufacturing. The village has 54 musical instrument factories with sales revenue reaching more than 60 million yuan.

Villager Xu Erpai, who could not even pay his own medical bills in the past, has secured an annual income of 300,000 yuan for the past two years.

Funded by the local government, Xu learned to make instrument strings in Yangzhou City in the eastern province of Jiangsu and established a plant in Lankao two years ago.

"We can't blame god or the government for our poverty. Overcoming it is our own business," said Xu, who now owns a two-story building and a vehicle.

The county became known nationwide after model official Jiao Yulu, late Lankao Party head in the 1960s, devoted his life to improving quality of life while fighting sandstorms, bad soil and floods.

"CPC members have led Lankao's people to fight against poverty generation after generation, and the pressure of anti-poverty efforts has become a driver of economic growth," said current Lankao Party head Cai.
by Xinhua writers Li Laifang, Su Liang

WELLINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Arriving in Wellington on Sunday after a successful visit to Australia, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang began his official trip in New Zealand with a private dinner.

Li's plane touched down at Wellington Airport at about 6:30 p.m. local time (0530 GMT). He and his wife Cheng Hong were greeted by New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English and his wife Mary. Then they left the airport for Premier House, the official residence of the New Zealand Prime Minister, where the private dinner was served.

The dinner marked the start of Li's four-day visit to the country, which is known as "the land of the long white cloud." He held talks with English on Monday and both witnessed the signing of cooperation documents in various fields including the Belt and Road Initiative, an inclusive development project proposed by China in 2013.

During his stay, Li will visit a China-New Zealand cooperation project and attend a cultural activity in Auckland, the largest city of the country.

The Chinese premier wrapped up his five-day visit to Australia on Sunday. Both sides pledged to push forward free trade and enhance cooperation in innovation and other areas.

The visits to the two countries are the first by a Chinese premier in 11 years and the first for Li since he took office as premier in 2013.

China is the largest trading partners of Australia and New Zealand, and has free trade agreements in effect with both countries.

Besides official talks, private dinners were an important occasion for Li to talk about bilateral cooperation.

Such informal interactions are an extension of traditional diplomacy, and often work well for cementing personal friendship and discussing topics of common concern in a relaxed environment.

In Australia, Li was treated a private dinner by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Sydney.

The private dinner hosted by the prime minister and his wife was for the friendship of the two countries, Li told business leaders from both countries before attending the dinner at Turnbull's residence.

The Chinese premier also made use of formal dinners to discuss cooperation.

At a formal lunch on the second day of his Australian tour, Li impressed the audience very much with his humor.

"I just checked with the waiter whether we are having beef today. The answer is no. Only chicken will be served," said smiling Li, when addressing more than 400 lawmakers, businessmen and other people at the luncheon hosted by Turnbull at Parliament House in Canberra.

"Naturally I have come here not just for beef or chicken, but for many more areas of exchanges and cooperation we should pursue," Li said.

Participating figures highly appreciated his speech on boosting bilateral relations.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and New Zealand as well as between China and Australia.

The two developed Oceanian countries relying heavily on China in trade have showed their resolve to promote economic globalization and trade liberalization.

"The FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with China has been an enormous success," said English. "Trade openness and strong ties in the region are critical to New Zealand's economic growth, prosperity, and job creation."
LUSAKA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Zambia has managed to save about 5.52 million U.S. dollars by replacing incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient ones, its power utility said Monday.

Last year, the Zambian government banned the production and use of incandescent bulbs following a crippling power deficit.

Zesco Limited said it has saved about 135 megawatts of electricity at a cost of 5.52 million dollars after it distributed about 3 million energy-saving bulbs around the country.

The power utility added that its door-to-door countrywide installation of energy-saving bulbs was accompanied by programs to raise awareness of customers on the importance of using such bulbs, it said in a statement.

According to the firm, ordinary bulbs are inefficient as they waste 90 percent of energy as heat and only lasts between three to five months, while energy saving bulbs can last between three and five years.

"Energy-saving bulbs are a way to go for homes for a more efficient usage of energy, as this will help people save money and the environment as well," it added.
Supporters of Turkish President wave Turkish flag during a ceremony in Ankara on March 27, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

ISTANBUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish authorities on Monday launched a probe into a rally in the Swiss capital of Bern that called for the killing of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, local media said.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Office is looking into "suspicious people" who opened a banner at the rally organized by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Saturday in front of the Swiss federal parliament, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said.

The banner included a drawing featuring Erdogan with a gun being pointed at his head under the slogan, "Kill Erdogan with his own weapons."

The suspects are accused of being members of a terrorist organization, insulting the president and making propaganda for a terrorist group, Anadolu noted.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Swiss ambassador to Ankara on Sunday over the episode, while the Swiss authorities opened a probe the same day into the rally, according to press reports.

The PKK was listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.
by Chris Mgidu

NAIROBI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's army said Monday its soldiers killed 31 Al-Shabaab militants after raiding and destroying two Al-Shabaab command and logistics bases in southern Somalia.

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spokesman Joseph Owuoth said they also seized firearms, explosives and communication equipment during the operation in Badhade district in Jubbaland on Sunday.

Owuoth said the intelligence-led operation by KDF soldiers, operating under the Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was executed by air and ground forces.

"Ground troops were supported by attack helicopters and artillery fire to access the Al-Shabaab terrorists' base and the two command and logistics bases located 17 km from Sarira near Hola Wajeer," Owuoth said in a statement.

Kenya has more than 4,000 troops in the 22,000-strong AU force in Somalia, helping the Somali government battle Al-Shabaab, which is part of the al-Qaida allied terror network.
JERUSALEM, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Israel's President Reuven Rivlin rejected on Monday a request by former prime minister Ehud Olmert to be pardoned, who was in jail for corruption, a spokesperson for the president said.

Rivlin said in a statement that "despite Olmert's long-year contribution to the country," the president's power to pardon convicted offenders should not become a mean to overrule the court's verdict.

The request for early release was submitted by Olmert's lawyers on Jan. 31, after Olmert served almost 12 months of his 19-month sentence for bribery and obstruction of justice.

Olmert could still appeal for early release from the Prison Service's parole board.

Olmert, who served as prime minister between 2006 and 2009, started to serve his term on Feb. 15, 2016, after the Supreme Court had reduced his six-year sentence to 18 months.

The court canceled a previous conviction in the so-called "Holyland case," a corruption affair involving a giant construction project in Jerusalem, but found him guilty in another bribery case and sentenced him an additional month for obstruction of justice.

Olmert, 71, is the first Israeli prime minister to serve time in jail.

In December, former President Moshe Katsav was freed on parole, after serving five of his seven-year sentence for rape and other sexual offenses.
BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China will steadily liberalize the yuan's use on the capital account, which makes the currency convertible for investment purposes, as part of the country's strategy to make the yuan a global currency, the central bank said on Monday.

The yuan's globalization is a long-term strategy that demands consistent and steady efforts, Yi Gang, the deputy central bank governor, told participants at an insider meeting.

China's economy is still proceeding on a stable track, he said, adding the market forces that drive the yuan's global use remain.

Efforts should be made to enhance the yuan's role in investment, reserves and financial transactions. When pushing for the currency's use in cross-border transactions, steady efforts should be made to make it convertible on the capital account, he said.

The central bank also underlined the importance of enhancing risk prevention and vowed to step up market supervision.

China has been pushing for the yuan's global use, as the world's largest trading nation looks to lower transaction costs in international trade, which is mostly settled in U.S. dollars at present.

Making the yuan convertible on the capital account is essential to reaching this target. China currently make its currency fully convertible on the current account for trade purposes, but is yet to fully open its capital account for investment purposes.
Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar (L, front) and visiting Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven (C, front) take a walk in central Ljubljana, Slovenia, March 27, 2017. Visiting Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and his host Slovenian counterpart Miro Cerar called on Monday for unity of the EU following Brexit and the need to continue fostering common values and build a Europe of the future. (Xinhua/Matic Stojs)

LJUBLJANA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and his host Slovenian counterpart Miro Cerar called on Monday for unity of the EU following Brexit and the need to continue fostering common values and build a Europe of the future.

The two prime ministers said at a press conference after their meeting in Ljubljana that trade could be strengthened further, according to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).

Sweden is Slovenia's most important trading partner among Nordic countries, but 22nd among all countries Slovenia trades with, the STA report said, adding that trade between the countries increased by 13 percent to 442 million euros (481 million U.S. dollars) in 2016.

Cerar told press that both countries should strive for further increasing cooperation in environment.

He highlighted that food, forestry and wood industries, health and pharmaceuticals, tourism and digitalisation were areas with biggest potential for more cooperation.
HELSINKI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A large fire broke out early Monday morning at a waste terminal in Vantaa, southern Finland, burning down the warehouse completely and causing traffic problems, Finnish news agency STT reported.

The warehouse belongs to Lassila & Tikanoja, a major environmental management company in Finland.

There were no reported casualties, but the warehouse and materials inside were completely destroyed.

According to the local rescue department, the fire would last until Monday afternoon, as there were a lot of combustible materials, such as wood, paper, cardboard and energy waste, in the warehouse.

The clouds of smoke from the fire caused problems with visibility on nearby highways and led to the rerouting of some public transport buses. Police estimated that traffic backups would continue into the afternoon.

The company was not able to evaluate the extent of damage at the moment, said STT.
Hamas security forces stand guard at Erez border crossing into Israel, in Beit Hanun, in the northern Gaza Strip on March 26, 2017, after it was shut by the Islamist movement after blaming the Jewish state for the assassination of one of its officials in the Palestinian enclave. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

GAZA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Hamas opened Monday the way to the border crossing with Israel through Beit Hanoun (Erez crossing) partially, which was shut down after one of it's top militants Mazen Fuqaha'a was murdered in mysterious circumstance in Gaza.

Eyad Al-Bozom, spokesperson of the Interior Ministry, said in an emailed press release that the crossing will be "opened for the travel of families of prisoners in Israeli jails, and three ministers of the national unity government."

Al-Bozom added that there are no restrictions by Hamas on the entry to Gaza. However, foreigners in Gaza remain not allowed to leave Gaza, including employees of UN or international organizations.

Hamas has imposed "strict security measures" in the Gaza Strip since Sunday, including a full closure on the ways to the borders crossing with Israel from the Palestinian side, as part of it's investigations into the murder of Fuqaha'a.

On Friday night, unknown gunmen killed Fuqaha'a just at the entrance to his house in Gaza city. Fuqaha'a was a top Hamas militant, from the West Bank, who was released in an Egyptian-brokered prisoners swap deal with Israel in 2011.

Right after the murder, Hamas and other Palestinian factions held Israel responsible for the killing, adding that "the Israeli occupation and its collaborators are behind the assassination of Mazen Fuqaha'a."
KHARTOUM, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Sudan is seeking investment opportunities in mining sector in a bid to revive the economy which lost two thirds of its oil revenues following separation of South Sudan in 2011.

The Sudan International Mining Business Forum and Exhibition kicked off sessions on Monday in Khartoum with the participation of 29 foreign companies from all over the world and 36 local ones.

"The forum tends to inform with and promote for Sudan's mineral potentialities in addition to utilization of modern technologies in operations of minerals' research, exploration and extraction as well as advanced progress achieved in the developed countries in this field," Ahmed Mohammed Sadiq Al Karuri, Sudan's Minerals Minister, said when addressing the forum's opening session.

"We reiterate that we attach a great concern for this forum to exhibit Sudan's huge minerals potentialities and the available investment opportunities in this important sector, which has assumed an advanced position in the gross domestic product," he noted.

The minister further reiterated Sudan's concern with reactivating the mining sector in the wake of the huge mineral resources in all states of Sudan besides huge mineral reserves based on outcome of the exploration researches made by Sudan's geological research authority.

In its bid to attract foreign investors to the mining sector, Sudan has made strong commitments to improve the investment climate and make amendments on the national investment law.

To this end, Sudan's First Vice-President and Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Saleh, addressing the forum, reviewed many guidelines for the work in the mining field.

"The principle of better exploitation of resources must be the goal behind all the efforts to consolidate the concept of operation of the mining economies. Better exploitation of resources should be built on efficiency of the national capabilities which require complete awareness of training, supervision and assessment," said Saleh.

He reiterated the importance of utilizing the international developments to attract expertise and employ the modern technologies in the mining field, pointing to the importance of observing the mining safety to safeguard the environment.

Around 461 companies are operating in the mining field in Sudan, where the mining sector constitutes 40 percent of Sudan's exports.

Sudan's gold production jumped to 93.4 tons in 2016, making Sudan ranks second after South Africa in gold production in Africa, according to Sudan's minerals ministry.

Sudanese statistics indicate that around one million Sudanese employees work in the traditional mining industry in Sudan.
Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa (L) shakes hands with Kenya's Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich during a donation ceremony in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, March 27, 2017. The Chinese government on Monday announced donation of 21,366 tonnes of rice, worth 21.8 million U.S. dollars, to alleviate hunger and malnutrition among Kenya's drought victims. (Xinhua/Li Baishun)

by Christine Lagat

NAIROBI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government on Monday announced donation of 21,366 tonnes of rice, worth 21.8 million U.S. dollars, to alleviate hunger and malnutrition among Kenya's drought victims.

Speaking at a ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya's Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich lauded Beijing for responding to a presidential appeal for emergency food aid.

"The food donation is obviously a good gesture from a friendly country," said Rotich, adding that Kenya also appreciates China's assistance in infrastructure development, agriculture and health sectors.

Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa said the rice would be shipped to Kenya soon and would support 1.4 million drought-affected people for one month.

"China is always paying attention to the drought situation in Kenya," Liu said, noting the Chinese community in Kenya has also rallied behind efforts to support Kenya's drought victims through donation of food and clean water.

The East African nation has been grappling with drought that has affected an estimated 3 million people in 23 counties.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in February declared the drought a national disaster and made an emergency appeal for food aid from the international community.

Rotich said the government has set aside funds to support mitigation measures that include distribution of food rations, water and medicine to drought victims.
BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China has expressed firm opposition to a Japanese official's visit to Taiwan and made serious representations to Japan over the visit, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

According to a Kyodo News report, Japanese Senior Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Jiro Akama visited Taiwan on Saturday, becoming the highest-level Japanese government official to visit the island in an official capacity since 1972.

Jiro Akama's visit broke Japan's commitment to China of only maintaining civilian and regional exchanges with Taiwan and the principles of the four political documents agreed upon by China and Japan, spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing.

The Taiwan issue concerns China's core interests and cannot be challenged, Hua said.

According to the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, the Japanese government fully understands and respects the Chinese government's position on Taiwan as an inalienable part of the territory of China.

The Taiwan issue is an important issue that has bearings on the political foundations of China-Japan ties, Hua said, noting that China's position on the Taiwan issue is clear and consistent.

Since the beginning of this year, Japan has promised to honor its commitments on the Taiwan issue, but it has repeatedly provoked troubles. This has seriously affected the improvement of bilateral ties, the spokesperson said.

Hua urged the Japanese side to quit its double-faced behavior and to stop traveling any farther down the wrong path.

It was reported that new textbooks authorized for use in Japan's senior high schools from April next year contain more descriptions of foreign and defense policies undertaken by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, including claims that China's Diaoyu Islands are the "inherent" territory of Japan.

Hua said that Diaoyu Island and its adjacent islets are inherent Chinese territory and China has firm resolve and will to safeguard its territorial sovereignty.

"No matter what it does or says, the Japanese side cannot change the fact that the Diaoyu Islands belong to China," said Hua.

China urges the Japanese side to respect history and facts, teach the young generation correct historical views, and stop making trouble on relevant issues, Hua said.
PHNOM PENH, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian authorities have arrested 6,132 drug suspects in 2,677 cases in the first three months of a six-month anti-drug campaign that launched on January 1, said the Interior Ministry's latest report on Monday.

The report said 3,063 people including 403 females were arrested for trafficking illicit drugs, and 3,069 including 225 females were caught for using drugs.

It added that among the drug suspects were 23 foreigners and a total of 25.6 kg of illicit drugs had been confiscated.

In a public speech last month, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen vowed to intensify the government's efforts in combating illicit drugs and called on the people to help with the anti-drug campaign.

He also appealed to parents and legal guardians to advise their children to stay away from drugs.

The prime minister said that although some countries allowed police to kill drug criminals during their operations, Cambodia did not allow killings.
TOKYO, March 27 (Xinhua ) -- Seven senior high school students and a teacher were confirmed dead after being hit on Monday morning by an avalanche on a ski slope in Japan's Tochigi Prefecture, and some 40 others were injured, local authorities said.

More than 60 students and teachers from seven high schools were on the slope taking part in a springtime climbing event when the avalanche occurred, local media reported.

The springtime climbing event began on Saturday and was supposed to finish at noon on Monday. The students and teachers started climbing at around 7:30 a.m. local time on Monday.

The avalanche was believed to have occurred around 9:20 a.m. local time on the upper side of one of the slopes at the Nasu onsen Family Ski Resort.

Local government authorities, given the scope of the disaster, asked for the assistance of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to help with relief and rescue operations.

The central government set up a task force at the crisis management center of the prime minister's office, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying during a parliamentary session that his government "will make every effort to respond to the disaster."

Seven students and a teacher were found with no vital signs after the avalanche. They were sent to a hospital and were confirmed dead Monday evening.

Forty others were injured, including two students who were severely hurt.

Tochigi Prefecture is located in the Kanto region, 120 km north of Tokyo on the island of Honshu and its capital is the city of Utsunomiya.

The weather agency here said a 33-centimeter snowpack had been recorded in the town over an eight-hour period through 9 a.m. Monday and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) had issued an avalanche advisory in the area.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (L) flags off an Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) when he commissioned the APCs for the Kenya Police Service at General Service Unit Headquarters in Ruaraka, Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Feb. 1, 2016. The vehicles which were imported from China will be deployed along the volatile border of Kenya and Somalia, where the Kenyan military is fighting the terrorist group Al-Shabaab. (Xinhua/Simbi Kusimba)

NAIROBI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's army said Monday its soldiers killed 31 Al-Shabaab militants after raiding and destroying two Al-Shabaab command and logistics bases in southern Somalia.

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spokesman Joseph Owuoth said they also seized firearms, explosives and communication equipment during the operation in Badhade district in Jubbaland on Sunday.

Owuoth said the intelligence-led operation by KDF soldiers, operating under the Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was executed by air and ground forces.

"Ground troops were supported by attack helicopters and artillery fire to access the Al-Shabaab terrorists' base and the two command and logistics bases located 17 km from Sarira near Hola Wajeer," Owuoth said in a statement.

Kenya has more than 4,000 troops in the 22,000-strong AU force in Somalia, helping the Somali government battle Al-Shabaab, which is part of the al-Qaida allied terror network.
TEHRAN, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Monday that Iran is ready to further broaden cooperation with Russia as the boost of bilateral ties is in the interest of the region, semi-official Fars news agency reported.

"I think the expansion of Iran-Russia relations is beneficial to the two nations" as well as the Middle East region, Rouhani told reporters before leaving Tehran for Moscow on Monday.

He said that the two countries' relations have entered a new phase in recent years, and "These relations are not against the interests of any third country."

Russia as an important regional country and neighbor of Iran has played an important role in Iran's foreign diplomacy, he added.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) and his New Zealand's counterpart Bill English attend a joint press conference after talks in Wellington, New Zealand, March 27, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

WELLINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China and New Zealand, during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's ongoing visit to New Zealand, have agreed to start talks on upgrading a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in late April.

At a joint press conference after talks with New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English on Monday, Li said upgrading the FTA, which took effect in 2008, will promote the development of bilateral economic and trade ties and better benefit the two peoples.

Negotiations will touch on investment, service trade, quarantine of animals and plants, the Principle of Original Production Place, economy and technology, e-commerce, and competition policies, according to Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Lutong.

"The China-New Zealand FTA is one of the highest-standard signed between China and developed countries. The two countries have established long-term good trade relations, with bilateral trade growth outpacing our economic growth," Li said.

Li also called on the two countries to jointly protect open economy and free trade as well as regional stability and global peace.

As one third of New Zealand's dairy products are exported to China, English said the dairy products and any other products going to China will be of the quality Chinese consumers would expect to be.

Under the FTA, a wide range of products, typically health-related products, are much sought after by Chinese consumers, English said, adding that New Zealand will work with the Chinese authorities in food safety to ensure that all the New Zealand products exported to China meet the standards required.

China and New Zealand signed a series of cooperation documents on Monday, including an action plan for cooperation on climate change, granting new access for New Zealand chilled beef and meat to go on the Chinese market and deepening cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative.

In the press conference, the Chinese premier also dismissed the speculation that China is dumping steel products to New Zealand, saying that China consumes 90 percent of its steel products at home while exporting only 10 percent of the total and has scaled back outdated and excessive production capacity.

The steel imported from China accounts for a tiny share for New Zealand's total imports and China is in large trade deficit to the Oceanic country in some sectors, Li said. "But we never think either China or New Zealand dumps to the other."

Li said China and New Zealand should view the issue from the perspective of free trade, work to resolve differences through rational and prudent dialogue and keep a sound and stable development of bilateral economic ties.

Trade deficit can only be solved through opening up while closing doors will result in more trade imbalances, he added.

During talks with English, Li called on the two countries to enhance cooperation within the framework of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and accelerate the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership talks to contribute to the Asia-Pacific and world economic growth.

English said he supports the one-China policy and the Belt and Road Initiative and welcomes more Chinese investment in New Zealand. New Zealand hopes to further promote bilateral cooperation in trade, science, judicial affairs and other areas, he added.

While meeting with New Zealand opposition Labor Party leader Andrew Little later Monday, Li expressed the willingness to work with the ruling and opposition parties to advance the negotiation of upgrading the FTA, expand two-way opening-up in trade and investment and provide more business-friendly environment.

Little lauded China's important role in promoting free trade and enhancing international cooperation, saying that the negotiation to upgrade the FTA will create more opportunities and fruits of mutual benefits.

Li arrived in Wellington on Sunday for an official visit to New Zealand after wrapping up his Australia tour.

The Belt and Road Initiative, which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was brought up by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes.
DEAD SEA, Jordan, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Arab foreign ministers stressed Monday on the centrality of the Palestinian issue in the Middle East, noting a just solution is the key to address instability in the region.

Speaking at the opening of the Arab foreign ministers meeting as part of the Arab Summit, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said all Arab states agree on the centrality of the Palestinian issue and that ending the injustice against the Palestinians under the two-state solution is a basic requirement to achieve regional safety and stability.

On Syria, the minister said that Arab states agree on the need for a political solution for the Syrian crisis in light of Geneve 1 and the UN Security Council 2254 decision.

He said that Arabs need to reach consensus on all issues, stressing that will be a challenge facing the Arab world.

The Jordanian minister also referred to the situation in Iraq and stressed that Jordan supports reconciliation in Iraq.

In his remarks Monday, Arab League Secretary General Ahmad Abdoul Gheit said the Arab states need to support the 22-member league's "weak" budget.

"The Arab League budget has been going through very critical deficit in the past two years. The league, which reflects the status of Arab unity and solidarity, cannot continue to fulfill its duties without being able to fund its operations," he underlined.

Referring to the situation of refugees in the region, he called for more support to countries hosting refugees.

"Millions of Arab refugees have sought refuge in Arab countries, which in return received with utmost care," the Arab League official said.
File photo shows South Sudanese women carry water in a UN camp in Juba, capital of South Sudan, Dec. 22, 2013. (Xinhua/Lu Rui)

JUBA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) plans to step up collaboration with China to promote Beijing's contribution to relief assistance and to enable Chinese people to better understand the humanitarian challenges facing Africa, a senior ICRC official told Xinhua.

Patricia Danzi, ICRC's Regional Director for Africa, said her planned trip to Beijing later this month seeks to build stronger partnership to tackle Africa's humanitarian crisis.

"For us it is important to get the attention of the Chinese people on the humanitarian issues that the continent is facing because it is always more complex than just avert issues," Danzi said in an interview in Juba.

"There are nuances to this and we would like the Chinese people to be curious about the nuance and we would like the Chinese population to be aware of the different needs," she added.

During a five-day visit to South Sudan, Danzi held talks with the Chinese Ambassador to South Sudan to shed light about her planned visit to China.

She also visited ICRC teams that are helping thousands of South Sudanese with urgent food and medical assistance.

"What we like to promote more is to raise awareness among the Chinese leaders, Chinese audience, the average Chinese men and women in the street," Danzi told Xinhua.

Danzi appealed to donors to expedite mobilization of resources to avert looming humanitarian catastrophe in South Sudan, where the UN declared a famine in some parts of the country and where 100,000 people are said to be starving and another 1 million on the brink of starvation.

"We have seen the long, slow deterioration in people's health because of the extended fighting, the abandoning of homes and crops and the constant nutritional deficit that has weakened people. People in South Sudan and Somalia are tough people. But now they tell us a combination of drought and conflict has made them more vulnerable," Danzi noted.

"The crisis is serious; the international community should act and should look at it seriously because it's not only about providing food to hungry people that the problem will be solved over night. It is a responsibility of many," she said.

According to the UN, at least 12 million people in East Africa's Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in need of food assistance due to severe drought.

It said since the start of 2017, things have gotten worse due to increasing food insecurity, rise in diseases and continued displacement of people.

According to the UN refugee agency, sub-Saharan Africa hosts more than 26 percent (over 18 million) of the world's refugee population, with the numbers projected to soar amid ongoing conflicts and humanitarian crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR), Somalia, Nigeria and South Sudan.
Cering Yangzom, 71, lives at the Jinye nursing home for elders in Dagze County, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Feb. 14, 2017. A total of 11,400 elders in the region's rural areas have been arranged in nursing homes for better care in recent years. (Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi)

PARIS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has made significant efforts to promote the social development and preserve culture in Tibet, Sonia Bressler, French author of "Discovering Tibet" has said in an interview with Xinhua at the ongoing Paris Book Salon.

"Discovering Tibet," the third book on Tibet of Bressler, also met readers at the book fair, after the previous two "Crossing Tibet" and "Journey to the Heart of Tibet".

Bressler, a PhD in philosophy and epistemology, made three trips to Tibet in a period of 10 years since 2007, which allowed the female writer to have an in-depth look into the social development of the autonomous region in southwest China.

"What we notice, it's the place of education, I found the efforts that were made to be enormous, which allows the children to have bilingual education, in Mandarin and Tibetan, and then be able to follow their studies, not necessarily to work the earth," said Bressler.

The French author also shared with Xinhua her encounter with an old Tibetan man, who's living in a nursing home run by the government.

The 65-year-old told Bressler that he's happy to live in such a home with every necessities available and he's not worried anymore about ending his days in streets.

"This encounter symbolizes all the work of the central government to assure care, to help the population," Bressler told Xinhua.

According to Bressler, the encounter made her conscious of the importance of social evolution in Tibet.

"Before in Tibet, it wasn't rare to see old people wandering in the streets looking for something to feed themselves, and life ended in that way along the roadside. Now nursing homes have been built to receive old people whose families can no longer take care of them," she said.

The French also mentioned the progress made in other domains such as agriculture, which is especially difficult considering an average elevation of about 4,500 meters.

"To develop agriculture at high altitude, I find that to be extraordinary," Bressler said.

While seeking social development, the Chinese government has also worked hard to preserve Tibetan culture, found Bressler, saying "Without the help of the Chinese government, it would be very difficult to preserve the Tibetan culture."

Citing the the Tibetan research center of China in Beijing as an example, the French author said "I think it is extraordinary, the creation of museums, the cultural preservation, what has been done is colossal."

"Without this support, I don't think the Tibetan culture could survive by itself," she underlined.

But the French writer feels regret that many westerners overlooked the efforts and developments made by the government in Tibet.

"No one speaks of positive effects, and in France we still have a very erroneous vision of China and Tibet," she deplored, calling on western readers to read more reports on Tibetan history.

"It is to make readers want to go discover Tibet, to see the region with their own eyes," Bresseler said while talking about her own book on Tibet.

"What interests me, it's to go to the markets, to listen to the people, the stories, children's tales, to go to the schools, to see daily life," she said.

"When we learn to see daily life, we perceive that life is rich, that's what it means to see differently. It's also to avoid keeping things that are too imposed," she added.

Bressler's books based on her own encounters with the local offer an alternative choice for French readers who want to learn Tibet of today.

Tibet has always interested everyone, "the question is how to offer the true image of Tibet," she said, calling on readers to call into question "our habits, our mental landmarks" to learn the heart of Tibet.

To allow her discovery of Tibet with "an independent vision," Bressler had interviews with people from all walks of life, including artists, business persons, doctors and monks, who, according to Bressler, "make this region live and make the Tibet of today."
JUBA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) on Monday condemned the ambush and killing of six aid workers in South Sudan, urging the armed actors in the conflict-hit nation to respect international humanitarian laws and give unconditional protection to aid workers.

"We strongly condemn and denounce the killing of the six humanitarian actors who have come here to help the people and yet they have been killed," Chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat told reporters in Juba.

The UN said Sunday that six aid workers were ambushed and killed over the weekend on a road linking the capital Juba to Pibor town in Boma State.

Mahamat concluded a two-day visit to South Sudan on Monday, his first visit to South Sudan since his assumption of office earlier this month.

He said the August 2015 peace agreement remained the only hope ending violence in the East African nation, calling on the country's warring parties to end warfare and stick to the implementation of the pact.

Mahamat furthered urged the South Sudanese government to ensure inclusivity for a national dialogue initiative called for by President Salva Kiir last year.

"The first and primary responsibility for the implementation of the peace agreement is for the parties themselves. They have to get together and implement the agreement. But we have heard fighting between the parties," Mahamat said.

"Therefore, the AU's work and duty is to try to mend the fences, bring the parties together so that they can implement the agreement for wellbeing of the people of South Sudan. There can only be political solution to the problem," he added.

South Sudan's Minister of Cabinet Affairs Martin Elia Lomoro said the government would investigate the deaths of the aid workers.

"In South Sudan, we have multiple armed groups, some of them are gangs and thieves who are lingering around the country and they have the same uniform as the SPLA, they have the guns as SPLA, and they can cause havoc in order to discredit the government," Lomoro said.

"Our security agents are working to determine what actually happened before we can issue a statement on the matter," he said.

The UN said South Sudan has become one of the most hostile environments for aid workers to operate in the world after outbreak of civil war in December 2013.

Some 79 aid workers have been killed since civil war erupted in 2013, with at least 12 aid workers killed this year alone.

A peace deal signed in August 2015 led to the formation of a transitional unity government in South Sudan, but was again shattered by fresh violence in July, 2016.

Tens of thousands of South Sudanese have been killed, with millions of others displaced and another 4.6 million left severely food insecure, since December 2013.

Last month, the UN declared localized famine in parts of South Sudan, warning that some 100,000 people, nearly half of the population, is in dire need of food aid.
A picture taken on March 27, 2017 shows the delegations of Palestine (L), Oman (C), and Iraq (R) attending the preparatory meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers during the 28th Summit of the Arab League at the Dead Sea, south of the Jordanian capital Amman. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

DEAD SEA, Jordan, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Arab foreign ministers stressed Monday on the centrality of the Palestinian issue in the Middle East, noting a just solution is the key to address instability in the region.

Speaking at the opening of the Arab foreign ministers meeting as part of the Arab Summit, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said all Arab states agree on the centrality of the Palestinian issue and that ending the injustice against the Palestinians under the two-state solution is a basic requirement to achieve regional safety and stability.

On Syria, the minister said that Arab states agree on the need for a political solution for the Syrian crisis in light of Geneve 1 and the UN Security Council 2254 decision.

He said that Arabs need to reach consensus on all issues, stressing that will be a challenge facing the Arab world.

The Jordanian minister also referred to the situation in Iraq and stressed that Jordan supports reconciliation in Iraq.

In his remarks Monday, Arab League Secretary General Ahmad Abdoul Gheit said the Arab states need to support the 22-member league's "weak" budget.

"The Arab League budget has been going through very critical deficit in the past two years. The league, which reflects the status of Arab unity and solidarity, cannot continue to fulfill its duties without being able to fund its operations," he underlined.

Referring to the situation of refugees in the region, he called for more support to countries hosting refugees.

"Millions of Arab refugees have sought refuge in Arab countries, which in return received with utmost care," the Arab League official said.
by Chris Mgidu

NAIROBI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Monday formed a team to spearhead campaigns for preventing and countering violent extremism that has caused deaths in the East African nation.

Government spokesman Eric Kiraithe said the team would include all principal secretaries and office of the Inspector General of Police.

Kiraithe said Kenya had initiated a cross-cutting multi-agency national campaign to prevent and counter violent extremism.

He said the formation of the team is in recognition of the need to bring to bear preventive, mitigation, and rehabilitative measures to complement ongoing counter terrorism efforts.

"This is in order to protect our democracy, cohesion and development from the dangerous threats of ideologically-driven extremist radicalization, recruitment and attack," he added.

The campaign will take place under the National Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism, which was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in September 2016.

Kiraithe said the plan is to rally all sectors of Kenya's social, religious, and economic life to reject violent extremist ideologies with the aims of shrinking the pool of individuals that terrorist groups seek to radicalize and recruit.
Chinese PresidentXi Jinping(R) meets with Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Beijing, capital of China, March 27, 2017.(Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday afternoon, and they agreed to cooperate more in jointly building the Belt and Road.

Xi said friendly ties between China and Nepal are in the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples.

At present, China-Nepal ties are developing soundly and the two countries maintain close exchanges between governments, parties and other levels, Xi said.

The president called for joint efforts to keep the positive momentum of bilateral ties and to create new prospects.

Xi called on the two sides to strengthen political trust, have more close exchanges and support each other on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns.

Both sides are expected to promote cooperation in connectivity, free trade arrangements, agriculture, industrial capacity, energy and post-disaster reconstruction, taking advantage of the opportunity provided by jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi said.

He said China and Nepal need to expand two-way investment and trade and promote balanced and sustainable development of bilateral trade.

Xi also expressed his hope that China and Nepal will enrich people-to-people exchanges and enhance cooperation in tourism, culture, youth, media, as well as local cooperation.

China is willing to work with Nepal to cooperate more under the multilateral framework such as the United Nations, and coordinate more on issues like climate change and sustainable development.

Calling China a friendly neighbor, Dahal said Nepal appreciates China's long-time support, especially its valuable help after Nepal's earthquake in 2015.

Nepal adheres to the one-China policy and it will not allow any force to conduct anti-China activities in Nepal's territory, Dahal said.

Nepal supports China's Belt and Road Initiative, the prime minister said, noting that Nepal is willing to work with China to cooperate more in trade, investment, transportation, infrastructure, tourism, aviation and people-to-people exchanges to benefit the two peoples.

Dahal said Nepal appreciates China's important and positive role in international affairs and is ready to have close coordination and cooperation with China in international and regional affairs.

Related:

Trade, investment ties grow fast between China, Nepal

BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Trade and investment volumes between China and Nepal grew fast during the past few years as the two neighboring countries enhanced their economic ties, official data showed Monday.
NAIROBI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Kenya, European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union (EU) and France on Monday signed a 180-million-euro deal to boost electricity connectivity in the East African country.

Cabinet Secretary in the National Treasury Henry Rotich told a media briefing that under the agreement 300,000 households will be connected to the national grid.

"The funds will support Kenya's Last Mile Connectivity initiative that aims to connect all Kenyans to national grid by the 2020," Rotich said.

The financial package consists of a 90-million-euro loan from the French Government, 60-million-euro loan from the EIB and a grant of 30 million euros from the EU.

EIB Vice President Pim van Ballekom said that funds will enable more Kenyans to have access to more reliable electricity supplies.

Van Ballekom said that Kenya's government efforts and investments over the past ten years have enabled more citizens to access to electricity.

EIB noted that electricity is key to any economy as it helps to improve the overall economic situation by enabling businesses to expand operations.
BRUSSELS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Monday launched a new initiative to support learning and mobility of youth within Europe.

This one-off initiative, called "Move2Learn, Learn2Move," was launched on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Erasmus program, a European Union (EU) student exchange program established in 1987.

The initiative will be implemented through the eTwinning network, which has been enabling teachers and students across Europe to develop projects together through an online platform.

The Commission has identified 2.5 million euros (2.7 million U.S. dollars) from the Erasmus plus budget for this initiative. The initiative will be open to school classes of students aged 16 and above taking part in eTwinning. It will enable at least 5,000 young students to travel to another European Union (EU) country.

The initiative receives 13 million euros per year from the Erasmus plus program.

The platform has so far connected more than half of the schools in Europe and involved over 2 million students and more than 450,000 teachers.
DHAKA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- All four militants have been killed in an assault on a militant hideout in Sylhet city, some 240 km northeast of capital Dhaka, a Bangladesh Army spokesperson said Monday.

The operation was launched by joint forces led by Bangladesh Army Para-Commando Battalion, according to Brigadier General Fakhrul Ahsan.

Ahsan, at a press briefing, said they found all the four bodies inside the building with two wearing suicidal vests.

A huge cache of explosives including IEDs has been found scattered inside the building, the spokesperson said, adding that part of the building may collapse if they explode.

He also noted that the operation will continue.

The death toll stands at 10 as six people, including two policemen, were killed and dozens of others injured in two explosions Saturday outside the militant hideout.
CAPE TOWN, March 27 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Monday called on Parliament to fasttrack promulgation of an anti-hate crime bill

The ANC has been pushing for the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill to criminalize racism, which many fear is rearing its head in South Africa.

"The racist onslaught has become more direct; racists in our society are getting even more emboldened, entrenching anger amongst the people," the ANC said in a statement.

It came after the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC) held an ordinary meeting on March 24-26 in Gauteng Province to discuss issues including the recent incidents of racism.

South Africa has seen an outburst of racist remarks on social media. In the latest incident, a Limpopo man posted about crowded beaches in Amanzimtoti, south of Durban, calling black beachgoers "cockroaches" who stole money to go on holiday.

This came almost a year after a similar post by an estate agent calling black beachgoers "monkeys."

The re-emergence of racially based superiority and privilege, if left unchecked, will derail South Africa's advance to a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic society, the ANC said.

"For the past 22 years, we have been in dialogue with our erstwhile oppressors, however in many sectors of society the olive branch offered by our people has been met with disdain and disregard," the party said.

This has become even worse following the local elections on August 3 last year, the party said, arguing that its setback created a feeble hope among ardent racists that they will once again be in power in the 2019 general elections.

In the 2016 elections, the ANC lost control of three metropolitans -- Pretoria, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay.
TEHRAN, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday dismissed the allegations levelled by Bahrain concerning Iran's link with "terrorists" detained recently in the Arab state.

Bahrain had better stop suppressing freedom within its own border instead of throwing groundless accusations against the Islamic republic, the Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said according to Press TV.

The remarks by Qasemi followed recent Manama accusations that it had uncovered a "terrorist" group linked to Tehran.

The accusations are "baseless and fruitless lies," he said, adding that it was a source of wonder that Bahraini authorities still insisted on repeating such claims against Iran.

Qasemi urged Manama to observe the principles of good neighborliness with the Islamic republic.

In Jan. 2016, Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Iran after Saudi Arabia cut ties with Tehran amid outrage over the Saudi execution of a Shiite cleric.
ZHENGZHOU, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Lankao County in central China's Henan Province Monday announced its withdrawal from the country's list of impoverished counties.

A county can be removed from the list if less than 2 percent of its population is classified as "impoverished," according to a national mechanism, established in April 2016, to eliminate poverty in affected regions.

In 2014, 11.8 percent of Lankao's population lived in poverty, but the proportion has dropped to 1.27 percent, according to an assessment by the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

After evaluation results were examined and approved by the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, Henan Provincial Government greenlit the county's withdrawal Monday.8 "Today is a commemorable day," said Cai Songtao, secretary of the Lankao County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at a press conference. "Getting rid of poverty has been the ardent wish of Lankao residents for decades."

In 2014, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, visited Lankao twice as part of a campaign pairing top Party officials with the country's poor areas.

That year, Lankao County authorities made a commitment to casting off poverty in three years and achieving moderate prosperity in seven years.

To achieve success, Cai said that the county government made poverty alleviation its first and primary task.

"Over the course of the process, we've realized that poverty alleviation is not the main goal, but that achieving moderate prosperity matters more," he said.

NEW BUSINESS

Figures show that per capita disposable income in urban and rural areas in Lankao rose 7.5 percent and 9.6 percent year on year to 21,124 yuan (3,072 U.S. dollars) and 9,943 yuan in 2016, doubling the amounts in 2013.

The county's economy expanded by 9.4 percent to 25.76 billion yuan in 2016, boosted by upgrades to the agricultural and industrial sectors and ecological tourism in recent years.

Xuchang Village of Guyang Township is rich in paulownia trees, an ideal raw material for musical instrument manufacturing. The village has 54 musical instrument workshops with sales revenue reaching more than 60 million yuan.

Villager Xu Erpai, who could not even pay his own medical bills in the past, has secured an annual income of 300,000 yuan for the past two years.

Funded by the local government, Xu learned to make instrument strings in Yangzhou City in the eastern province of Jiangsu and established a plant in Lankao two years ago.

"We can't blame god or the government for our poverty. Overcoming it is our own business," said Xu, who now owns a two-story building and a vehicle.

After making his personal fortune through a gold accessory business in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, Dai Yujian was elected Party chief of his home village of Daizhuang in 2014.

"My fellow villagers hoped my business brain would help bring prosperity to the entire village," he said with a smile.

In half a year, he led the villagers in building vegetable greenhouses and concrete roads, and growing trees along the roadside. He also helped villagers sell their vegetables via his personal contacts.

Under Dai's leadership, per capita annual income of poor people surged from 1,400 yuan in 2014 to 3,500 yuan in the village by growing greenhouse vegetables, raising cattle and working in cities.

DECADES OF WORK

Lankao has been poor throughout history, as wars as well as frequent sandstorms and floods left the area with nothing much but poor soil.

According to the county's annals, floods hit Lankao more than 90 times between 1644 and 1949, and over 60 villages were buried by sandstorms from the 1850s to 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded.

Dai was reluctant to admit he was a Lankao native when he was out doing business several years ago.

"I often claimed to be from the neighboring Kaifeng, as people would have asked 'Are locals still going out to beg?' if they heard that I was from Lankao," Dai recalled.

Efforts to cast off poverty have persisted since the founding of New China.

In the 1960s, Lankao suffered another natural calamity, resulting in years of crop failures. It was then when Jiao Yulu, who was later known as a national model cadre for his painstaking efforts in poverty-alleviation, came to work as Party secretary in Lankao in 1962.

Astonished by the miserable life of locals, Jiao worked tirelessly and devoted all his life to fighting the poor natural conditions in the county, even when diagnosed with liver cancer.

He led locals to plant trees and dig water channels to reduce the impact of disasters until his death in 1964 at the age of 42. His story was later made into a film that touched the whole country in 1990.

"CPC members have led Lankao's people to fight against poverty generation after generation, and the pressure of anti-poverty efforts has become a driver of economic growth," said current Lankao Party chief Cai.

NATIONAL INSPIRATION

Lankao is the second county to be removed from the list after Jinggangshan in eastern China's Jiangxi Province, which was eliminated from the list in late February.

The Chinese government has vowed to eradicate poverty by 2020. As of late February, there were 831 impoverished county-level regions across China, which are expected to eliminate poverty in the next four years.

According to official figures, China still had 55.75 million people living under the poverty line at the end of 2015. The government has said 10 million people were lifted out of poverty in 2016 and another 10 million will be this year.

Li Heng, from the school of economics at Henan University, said Lankao's poverty reduction experience can inspire other economically backward areas to transition from outdated development modes to new, sustainable growth patterns.

Despite harsh natural conditions, locals have successfully boosted the economy by upgrading traditional farming and establishing higher value-added industries such as musical instrument manufacturing, which have reshaped local industry and fueled growth, said Li.

"A restructured regional economy with sustainable growth will help prevent local people from returning to poverty. The Lankao experience is a touchstone in China's battle against poverty," he said.
BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The ground-breaking cooperation agreement between China and New Zealand on the Belt and Road Initiative -- the first with a developed Western country -- came like a lovely breeze across the South-Pacific amid the global chill of rising protectionism.

During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's four-day official visit to the Oceanian country, the first visit by a Chinese premier in 11 years, Li and his New Zealand counterpart, Bill English, witnessed the signing of the agreement Monday in Wellington .

China and New Zealand will explore the possibilities of bilateral cooperation in various fields to promote interconnectivity between the two countries, Li said at a joint press conference with English at Premier House.

The move offers a win-win model of globalization and sets an example of bilateral cooperation for other Western countries, Liu Qing, head of the Asia-Pacific department at the China Institute of International Studies, told Xinhua.

It shows New Zealand's commitment to embracing the vast opportunities China offers, which are important to the development of globalization, Liu added.

The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013 consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. It aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along, and beyond, the ancient Silk Road trade routes.

The initiative has won support from over 100 countries and international organizations, with the signing of nearly 50 inter-governmental agreements of cooperation.

The value of infrastructure projects rose 47 percent to nearly 500 billion U.S. dollars in 66 countries and regions that fell under the initiative in 2016, according to accounting firm PwC.

New Zealand is a "natural extension" of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, so China welcomes New Zealand's participation in building the Belt and Road, Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Lutong said in a published article in Chinese.

China will invite New Zealand to attend a high-level meeting within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative in May to deepen dialogue and exchange, expand consensus and engage in win-win cooperation, Wang said.

New Zealand has always been a front-runner among developed countries in cooperating with China, Liu Qing said.

New Zealand was the first Western developed country to conclude bilateral negotiations on China's accession to the World Trade Organization, to recognize China's full market-economy status, to sign and implement a bilateral free trade agreement with China, and to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member.

New Zealand was also the first country to sign both film and TV cooperation deals in 2010 and 2014 respectively with China, and New Zealand was the first country to have two Chinese cultural centers.

Liu Qing believes that Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries will help upgrade bilateral economic and trade ties in sectors including infrastructure, agriculture, telecommunications and services.

Pan Gang, President of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, China's leading dairy producer, agreed.

At the opening ceremony of the second phase of its Oceania Production Base on the South Island of New Zealand on Saturday, Pan said that the Belt and Road Initiative has provided new opportunities for companies of both countries in dairy cooperation in broadening the consumer market and increasing production capacity.

Dairy cooperation is just one example of fruitful bilateral economic cooperation. Over the past three years, China has become New Zealand's largest export destination, trade partner and import source, with bilateral trade exceeding 20 billion New Zealand dollars (14 billion U.S. dollars) last year, up nearly 5 percent year on year.

Both sides are working steadily toward the goal of 30 billion New Zealand dollars (21 billion U.S. dollars) by 2020, set by the leaders of both sides.

In addition, Belt and Road cooperation between the two nations will also benefit countries of the South Pacific at large to share in regional connectivity, said Liu Qing.

Through the Belt and Road platform, countries of the South Pacific can strengthen infrastructure connectivity including shipping, aviation and the Internet, as well as construction of ports and roads, he added.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is very important to connecting countries and creating more opportunities for exchanges of goods and services," said Hans-Paul Burkner, chairman of the Boston Consulting Group.

Burkner said the initiative can push globalization to a new level, as it can connect more countries in Asia and beyond to the world economy.

Indeed, as China and New Zealand celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, they will continue to press ahead with more practical cooperation and strengthen global and regional confidence, Liu Qing said.
CAPE TOWN, March 27 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Information Centre Pretoria (UNIC Pretoria) on Monday issued an alert seeking public help in finding a UN official who went missing in Cape Town while on holiday.

Charlotte Nikoi, 50, a Ghanaian national, had gone missing on Table Mountain last Tuesday while on holiday in South Africa. She is an associate director for human resources at the headquarters of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in New York.

Nikoi was last seen walking down the lower slopes of Table Mountain at about 1 p.m. last Tuesday.

Her spouse reported her missing after they had gone hiking up Platteklip Gorge last Tuesday, according to Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana.

Police said the search for Nikoi has continued for almost a week but found no trace of her so far.
BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Trade and investment volumes between China and Nepal grew fast during the past few years as the two neighboring countries enhanced their economic ties, official data showed Monday.

Bilateral trade increased 24 percent year on year to hit 85.04 million U.S. dollars in January 2017, according to Jiang Zengwei, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

In the past decade, bilateral trade has surged from 108 million U.S. dollars to 888 million dollars, Jiang said at the "Roundtable on Investment Opportunities in Nepal" in Beijing.

Direct investment of Chinese enterprises in Nepal has reached 355 million dollars in total as of the end of January, covering fields such as hydroelectricity, aviation, minerals and medical treatment.

China is Nepal's biggest source of foreign direct investment and its second-largest trade partner, officials from Nepal said at the roundtable.

The Nepal government welcomes more investment from Chinese entrepreneurs in key areas including infrastructure, oil, modern agriculture and tourism, they said.

Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is paying an official visit to Beijing.
BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Six business apartment projects and 15 real estate agent offices in Beijing were punished Monday for violating a government ban aimed at cooling the red-hot housing market.

The six projects, including some belonging to China's top developers Vanke and Evergrande, were banned from sale, while the 15 real estate agent offices were ordered to close shop for overhauls, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Authorities in Beijing stepped up restrictions on house purchases on Sunday, banning the sale of business apartments to individuals for residence.

The rule says developers shall only sell business apartments to qualified enterprises, public institutions and social organizations. For new business apartment projects yet to be built, the smallest unit for sale should not be less than 500 square meters.

Inspection teams were promptly dispatched on Monday to enforce the ban.

Officials with the city commission warned that real estate agents that mislead individual home buyers by falsely advertising business apartments for residence will be severely punished and can lose their licenses due to the violation.

The punishment addressed a long-held criticism that the housing commission's warnings generally have no teeth.

China has witnessed a property boom for more than a decade, with home prices in many big cities soaring sky high, triggering a fear of an enormous asset bubble that could eventually destabilize the economy.

The country's policymakers announced in December that "houses are for living in, not for speculating with," following a string of cooling measures from buying restrictions to increased down payments.

Beijing scaled up curbing measures in March after second-home prices continued their growth rally in the first few months of this year.
ADEN, Yemen, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Suspected al-Qaida gunmen wearing military uniforms launched an armed attack against the local government building in the southern province of Lahj on Monday, killing 10 soldiers and injuring several others, a security official told Xinhua.

"A suicide bomber slammed his explosive-laden car into the the local government headquarters' main entrance and then suspected al-Qaida attackers tried to storm the building by hurling grenades at the guards," said the local security source on condition of anonymity.

The security source based in Lahj said the attackers disguised themselves as army soldiers and attacked the local authority building from various directions, triggering an hour-long gun battle in the area.

Civilians were injured during the armed confrontations which occurred in and around the local government building in Lahj's provincial capital of Houta city, according to witnesses.

Lahj's governor spokesman confirmed the armed attack in a text message to Xinhua, saying that "the terrorist attack was successfully foiled and the newly-trained security forces are now tracking the assailants."

Other sources said that "the attackers most likely were planning to target the Governor of Lahj Dr. Nasser Khobagi but he wasn't inside the building at the time of the attack."

The al-Qaida militant group which lost several of its commanders in recent American airstrikes has yet to comment about the attack on Lahj's local government headquarters.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional Al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.

The Yemen-based Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) group, also known locally as "Ansar al-Sharia," emerged in January 2009, claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks against Yemen's army and governmental institutions.

The AQAP and the Islamic State-linked terrorists took advantage of the security vacuum and ongoing civil war and expanded their influence by seizing more territories in southern Yemen.

Security in Yemen has deteriorated since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and government forces backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

Over 10,000 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, many of them civilians.
by Marian Draganov

SOFIA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- After Sunday's early parliamentary elections, it was highly probable that Boyko Borissov would become Prime Minister for the third time since 2009.

Based on nearly all of the processed protocols, five political formations will enter the National Assembly, including Borissov's center-right GERB party, which won 32.66 percent of the vote, Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) -- 27.19 percent, the United Patriots -- 9.07 percent, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) -- 8.99 percent, and Volya party -- 4.15 percent.

Later on Sunday, when the first exit polls were announced, Borissov said the results showed that his party was obliged to form a government.

He said GERB would make a huge effort to quickly form a government that would meet the expectations of the people.

The new government must be stable amid the Bulgarian presidency of the European Union (EU) Council in 2018, and the complicated international situation, Borissov said.

Analysts here believe that Borissov enjoys big chance to stay as the prime minister.

Dimitar Ganev is one of them, who predicted that a coalition government of GERB-United Patriots-Volya "looks realistic."

Another political analyst Boriana Dimitrova said on Sunday evening the instinct that Bulgaria should not deviate from its European path made the people reflect.

Dimitrova was echoed by Alexandar Marinov, who said that the international situation had begun to increasingly influence voters in terms of their expectations from the state.

Some political parties' leaders have also expressed their views towards the future government.

Valeri Simeonov, one of the leaders of the Patriots, said they would support a future government under certain conditions, while the leader of Volya, Veselin Mareshki, said his party would participate in negotiations with GERB in order to create a stable government.

MRF's leader Mustafa Karadayi also said it was important to have stability and security in Bulgaria.

Only Korneliya Ninova, leader of BSP, declared that her party would not participate in a coalition with GERB, but promised that if GERB failed to form a cabinet, BSP would try to do that "for the sake of country's stability and the forthcoming EU council presidency."

Just after voting on Sunday, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said he hoped the parties would show "common sense and national responsibility," and that the new government would be formed as quickly as possible "at the cost of compromises that are inevitable in this situation."

Speaking at the official closing of the election campaign on Friday, Borissov, who was prime minister from 2009 to early 2013 and from late 2014 to January 2017, said his government had coped with the worst economic crisis and severe refugee wave, and the achievements were visible throughout the country.

Antonio Lopez-Isturiz, secretary-general of the European People's Party, who came to the event to support GERB, confirmed that Borissov was tested by the economic crisis and a heavy migrant influx, "which he managed to control and emerge stronger."

The statistics showed that Bulgaria's gross domestic product expanded by 3.0 percent and 3.4 percent year-on-year in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Meanwhile, by electing Borissov, Bulgarian people expressed their wish to deepen integration with the EU. "Many see the elections in Bulgaria as a referendum for Europe. If so, say YES to Europe. This means YES to GERB," Lopez-Isturiz urged on Friday.
JERUSALEM, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Monday his commitment to work with U.S. President Donald Trump to achieve peace with the Palestinians.

"Israel is committed to working with President Trump to advance peace with the Palestinians and with all our neighbors," Netanyahu said in a video address to the annual policy conference in Washington of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest Israeli lobby group in the U.S.

Referring to the Islamic State, he said that the "common dangers faced by Israel and many of our Arab neighbors now offer a rare opportunity to build bridges towards a better future."

Netanyahu hailed Trump for his "strong support" for Israel, citing their "exceptionally warm meeting" last month in Washington and the continuing billion-dollar U.S. military support.

Last week, Israeli and U.S. teams, headed by President Donald Trump's special representative Jason Greenblatt, held a round of talks in the White House in an effort to reach an agreement over curbing the Israeli construction in the settlements in the West Bank.

The talks were concluded on Thursday without a deal. However, on Sunday Netanyahu said the talks continue and he hopes "they will conclude quickly."

Netanyahu has been under heavy pressures by his right-wing coalition partners to keep the expansion of the settlements.

The Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank are seen by most of the international community as an obstacle to peace as they are constructed on lands that Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state.

The last round of talks between Israel and the Palestinians reached an impasse in April 2014, mainly due to the expansion of the settlements.
DHAKA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- An assault by army commandos on a militant hideout in the Sylhet city, some 240 km northeast of capital Dhaka ended Monday, killing four militants holed up there.

Brigadier General Fakhrul Ahsan, a spokesperson of the operation, told journalists at a press briefing on Monday night that they found four bodies inside the building.

"We've recovered two bodies and contemplating options to recover the two other bodies with suicidal vests."

A huge cache of explosives has been found scattered inside the building, Ahsan said, adding that a portion of the building may collapse if they explode.

"So we need to move very carefully," he said.

"Three of the militants killed were men and one a woman."

The identity of the killed militants was not immediately known.

He said the "Operation Twilight" will continue.

With the recovery of bodies of the four militants from the hideout, the death toll in the operation stood at 10 as six people, including two policemen, were killed and dozens of others injured in two explosions Saturday in the outer cordon of the siege.

The Islamic State (IS) reportedly claimed responsibility for the blasts.

The militant hideout has been cordoned off since early Friday.

The operation to flash out the militant den Monday spilled into its fourth day since Friday.

Bangladesh Army Para-Commando Battalion on Saturday took over the operation from the police.

The same Bangladeshi commandos stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave Gulshan on July 2 last year.

In the wake of the Dhaka cafe attack, Bangladesh has conducted a series of large-scale operations against militants.

Bangladeshi police have hunted down and killed scores of militants linked to the deadly July 1, 2016 cafe attack.

Neo-JMB (an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh) has been blamed for an attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery, in which 20 hostages, mostly foreigners, were killed.
WINDHOEK, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Namibian Health Minister Bernard Haufiku said Monday that the country is not doing well to curb the maternal mortality in the country as over 3,500 mothers died during pregnancy or giving birth between 2012 and 2015.

Speaking at a press conference in Windhoek on Monday, Haufiku said that too many mothers are losing their lives thus the country is required to fast track measures to control the situation.

He said that the leading cause of death was bleeding after delivery, which is something that can be managed with better skilled staff, better drugs and availability of specialists.

The underlying causes of maternal and neonatal deaths are varied and include the lack of skilled personnel, as well as the long distances and delays in seeking care.
NEW DELHI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Indian parliament, the country's lawmaking body, Monday passed a mental healthcare bill, decriminalising suicide, officials said.

The bill states that a person who attempts suicide shall be presumed to be suffering from mental illness at that time and shall not be subjected to punishment.

"Notwithstanding anything contained in section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (rule book), any person who attempts to commit suicide shall be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to have severe stress and shall not be tried and punished under the said Code," the bill says.

The bill was approved in the lower house of parliament (locally called Lok Sabha). Upper house of parliament (Rajya Sabha) had passed the bill in August 2016.

"The bill seeks to provide mental healthcare and services for persons with mental illness and to protect, promote and fulfil their rights during delivery of healthcare services to them," an official said.

The bill also provides for a penalty and imprisonment in case of violation of its provisions.

India's federal Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda described the legislation as "progressive and patient centric."

A ruling party legislator Heena Gavit supported the bill, saying it covers all spheres of mental illness. She, however, expressed concern over shortage of psychiatrists in the field of mental healthcare.

According to Gavit, India has only 4,500 psychiatrists against the required number of over 12,000.

The Indian government spends 1.15 percent of its GDP on public healthcare. This month, the government introduced a new national health bill that promises to raise public health expenditure to 2.5 percent of the GDP in a time-bound manner.
VILNIUS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Lithuanian air force will upgrade its aged helicopter fleet to newer Western production as of 2022, the defense authorities announced on Monday.

According to an announcement from the country's Defense Ministry released on Monday, Lithuania's defense resource council, a top controlling body for defense purchases at the Defense Ministry, decided on Friday to approve the upgrade of the air force's helicopter fleet.

Currently, the Lithuanian air force operates three French manufactured helicopters AS365 Dauphin and six Russian production Mi-8T helicopters. The latter operated since 1992 are mostly used for rescue operations and transportation, according to the ministry.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis explains investments are needed since none of Russian manufactured helicopters owned by Lithuania would be safe to use by 2019.

"In longer term, it is optimal to think about introduction of Western and newer platform," Karoblis was quoted in the announcement from the ministry.

The ministry didn't disclose the possible options for upgrade and size of investment.

The country's air force mostly uses its helicopter fleet to conduct Lithuania's air space surveillance, rescue operations and transportation of transplants and patients.
LONDON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Bigger brains help social primates to make up after a fight, research at the University of Manchester revealed Monday.

Social primates with bigger brains are likely to use their added cerebral power to cope with conflict, the study showed.

The university said the surprise findings suggest that social skills, which are very sophisticated in primates, help individuals cope with aggression and competition caused by living in large groups.

The study, published in the journal Behavioral Ecology, was led in Manchester by Veronica Cowl, a PhD student based in the university's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Cowl looked at the associations between group size, brain size and behaviours that are recognised as "prosocial" and "cooperative", such as working together as a group on a collective action, and their relationship to aggressive behaviours that led to incidents of conflict, termed as agonism.

The three species with very high levels of agonism are chacma baboons, capuchins and a population of black and white ruffed lemurs.

The species with the lowest rates of agonism were brown lemurs and black howler monkeys.

Earlier studies examined how variation primate agonism related to ecological variables, such as risks from predators or food competition.

The Manchester team was interested in explaining why there is strong association between brain size and group size in primates.

Cowl said: "Our research indicates that the increase in brain size is likely to be a consequence of high levels of competition in large groups. It seems that large brained primates have had to develop strategies to cope with high rates of conflict."

"This is of particular importance as primates are noted for their social cognition -- for example, they are able to understand social relationships between individuals, track social relationships and can develop social strategies."

The Manchester researchers also saw different patterns between the overall level of agonism in a group and the amount of conflict between any two individuals within the group.

Cowl added that this suggests that either individuals in larger groups can buffer aggression better or that only species with low levels of dyadic conflict can maintain large groups and stable social relationships.

Dr Susanne Shultz, the senior author on the paper, said: "Now we have shown that big brains, big groups and conflict are related to each other, this helps to answer an enduring puzzle about why primates in larger groups have larger brains.

"It seems large-brained primates have evolved to cope with the challenges of conflict and coordination inherent in living in large groups."
A Russian serviceman releases a "Tachyon" reconnaissance drone during the joint Russian, Belarusian and Serbian military exercise "The Slavic Brotherhood 2016" at military airport Kovin, Serbia on Nov. 7, 2016. (Xinhua/Predrag Milosavljevic)

MOSCOW, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Russian and Tajik forces troops started on Monday a four-day counter-terrorist exercise in the southern part of Tajikistan, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"The servicemen will improve cooperation between the force groupings while countering conditional illegal armed formations," said the statement, adding that both ground troops and air forces will be mobilized in the exercise.

As a traditional partner to Russia, Tajikistan is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russia-led military alliance established in 1992.

Russia stations its 201st military base in Tajikistan, which now houses the largest ground troops of the Russian Armed Forces outside its territory.

Tajikistan shares a 1,300-km border with Afghanistan. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Tajikistan last month, agreeing to beef up efforts to protect the Tajik-Afghan border.
ISTANBUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- As a referendum on whether to turn to the presidential system looms, Turkey finds itself more and more isolated amid unending rows with European countries as well as discord with the U.S. and Russia over their support to Kurdish militia in Syria.

Ties with the EU have already been strained following last July's failed coup in Turkey, but things have gotten worse lately with the 28-nation bloc due to a ban on political campaigning by Turkish politicians.

Despite Turkish protests, Washington and Moscow are cooperating with Kurdish militia in Syria seen by Ankara as terrorists.

Meanwhile, Turkey's relations with its neighbors are not smooth either, although its ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), had boastingly talked, until not long ago, about pursuing a foreign policy of "zero problems with neighbors."

Turkey has strained ties with Iraq and Egypt, and does not recognize as legitimate the current Syrian regime and had contributed to the efforts to bring about its downfall until last summer.

Turkey's relations with Iran, a staunch supporter of the Syrian and Iraqi governments, are not smooth due to strong differences over regional issues.

The current Turkish foreign policy would result in "regional and global isolation," Huseyin Bagci, a professor of international relations with the Middle East Technical University (METU), told Xinhua.

Noting Turkey is showing resistance to the existing global system, he added, "Turkey is being dragged out of the system, because its policies are not in harmony with the system."

The Islamist AKP has long been criticized by Turkey's opposition parties for pursuing a sectarian foreign policy in the Middle East that does not serve the country's best interests.

"We are quarrelling with everybody and Turkey is getting more and more isolated," Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said last week.

Relations with Germany and the Netherlands, Turkey's NATO partners, have soured after they banned some Turkish cabinet ministers from addressing Turkish immigrants early this month.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was not allowed to fly into the Netherlands, while another Turkish minister who entered the country by land without permission to address a rally of Turkish diaspora was deported by the police.

A war of words followed, in which top Turkish officials accused the governments of both countries of adopting Nazi and fascist methods by trampling on free speech.

The Nazi accusations drew harsh criticism not only from Germany and the Netherlands, but also from EU officials as well as other EU member states.

Officials from both Turkey and the EU have started to talk about ending Turkey's negotiations on joining the bloc.

Turkey may organize another referendum on whether to stop the accession talks with the EU, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.

He also underlined he would continue to call Europe Nazi and fascist as long as he is portrayed as a dictator by the West. The president harshly criticized the EU for treating Turkey without due respect.

Turkey will hold a referendum on April 16 to decide whether to replace the country's parliamentarian system with an executive presidency.

For Faruk Logoglu, a former diplomat who held top posts in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the isolation facing Turkey is a self-inflicted one resulting from wrong policy moves.

"The ongoing confrontation with the EU and the resurging tensions in relations with Russia as well as with the U.S. are pushing Turkey out of its orbit," he told Xinhua.

Early last week, EU Commissioner for enlargement negotiations Johannes Hahn said the prospect of Turkey becoming an EU member looks more and more unrealistic.

He also noted he cannot rule out the possibility that the EU could soon stop negotiations unless Turkey moves to boost the rule of law at home.

EU criticism regarding perceived authoritarianism in Turkey has increased after the failed coup bid, while Turkey accused the bloc of protecting terrorists and taking too long to side with Turkey against the coup.

Shortly after the coup attempt, the Turkish government imposed an emergency rule which has been in effect ever since.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel adopted a more cautious discourse regarding Turkey's accession bid. In response to a question about whether the EU should end accession talks with Turkey, she said the union should wait until the vote in April to decide on the future of the relationship.

"The price is likely to be high for Turkey in terms of its weakening ties with the West, the end of Turkey's EU accession prospect, renewed tension with the U.S., increasing dependence on Russia, further deterioration in its ties with its neighbors," Logoglu said.

Turkey's ruling party and Erdogan, who headed the AKP, have been campaigning for "yes" in the referendum.

The constitutional amendments to be voted on in the plebiscite is blasted by most opposition parties for weakening the parliament, lacking proper checks and balances while creating an all-powerful president who would also have a strong control over the judiciary.

Yasar Yakis, who served as foreign minister when the AKP first came to power in 2002, warned that losing the friendship of many countries would be costly for Turkey as those countries may not extend support to Turkey in time of difficulty.

He told Xinhua that the isolation Turkey has been suffering is not anything new, but has been there for the past couple of years due to wrong policy choices.

Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan's current spokesman, described back in 2013 the isolation Turkey found itself in as "precious loneliness," indicating that was an isolation one would feel honored to suffer as it came as a result of an attitude based on values. Kalin was then a top foreign policy adviser to then Prime Minister Erdogan.

Germany's recently elected President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that Erdogan is jeopardizing everything that has been built over the years between the EU and Turkey.

Infuriated by the EU countries' attitude, Erdogan threatened that the union would be the biggest loser if it keeps up its discriminating ways toward Turkey and its citizens.

He said last week, "if you continue to act this way, no European, Westerner will be able to walk safely on the streets anywhere in the world."

Kilicdaroglu, the CHP leader, described Erdogan's discourse as dangerous, warning such remarks would mean that Turkey would carry out terrorist attacks in Europe if the European countries continue acting the way they do.

Kilicdaroglu demanded to know whether Erdogan was trying to say he is in charge of al-Qaida and the Islamic State.

The ruling AKP was accused both at home and abroad in the past of supporting radical Islamist groups in Syria to push for the downfall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

METU's Bagci described Turkey's situation as a "total mismanagement of foreign policy." Remaking the foreign policy is possible for Turkey, but not without changing attitude, he added.

Turkey is angry at some European countries for acting as a safe haven to militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and not returning, following the coup attempt, members of the Turkish military accused of being linked to Fethullah Gulen.

Gulen is a U.S.-based Turkish cleric who is accused by Ankara of masterminding the coup. Turkey says it's Gulen's sympathizers in the military who attempted the coup.

Many EU countries such as Germany, Greece and Sweden said they would not return the Turkish officers who sought political asylum. Turkey has also failed so far to convince the U.S. to extradite Gulen.

Germany's foreign intelligence chief Bruno Kahl said last week that they are not convinced that Gulen had a role in the coup, drawing sharp criticism from Turkey.

Turkey has also had problems lately with Bulgaria which accused Turkey, according to reports in local media, of meddling in its general elections held on Sunday.

Bulgaria withdrew its ambassador to Ankara about ten days ago. It also declared persona non grata several Turkish officials at the Turkish embassy in Sofia as well as Aziz Babuscu, an AKP deputy, the Hurriyet daily reported Saturday.

Around 10 percent of Bulgaria's population is estimated to be ethnically Turkish.

Amid rising tension with the EU, it came out that Germany is blocking the sale of some weapons systems to Turkey.

"The Turkish effort to compensate its problems with the West by getting closer to Russia is not paying off, given renewed hitches in bilateral trade ties and the sharp difference over Kurdish militia in Syria," said Logoglu. "Turkey has painted itself into a corner with its own mistakes."

Turkish immigrants, business people living in European countries would also get negatively affected by the rising tension, warned Yakis.

According to reports in local media, some European countries are considering to stop granting double citizenship to immigrants, a status enjoyed by many Turks in Europe.

In Germany, there are around 3.2 million people from Turkey, while the figure is approximately 400,000 in the Netherlands. France, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland and Britain are among the European countries where there is a significant Turkish diaspora.

Turkey should also expect to suffer all the consequences of this self-inflicted isolation, such as loss of trade, investments and tourism revenues, noted Logoglu.

Almost half of Turkey's exports go to Europe, while over 60 percent of the direct investments in Turkey are from European countries.

Turkey has failed to convince the U.S. and Russia against collaborating with the Syrian Kurdish militia which both countries treat as a legitimate partner in the fight against the Islamic State and other radical groups.

Turkey feels saddened by the interest the U.S. and Russia are showing in terrorist organizations such as the PKK and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), President Erdogan said last week.

"Turkey is now out of the equation in Syria and has no chance of playing a dominant role," remarked Bagci.

Turkey's military operation against the YPG was recently blocked by the U.S. and Russian forces.

Turkey has repeatedly said in recent months that its troops in Syria would move on to kick the Kurdish militia out of Manbij.

The idea of seizing the town, however, appears now to have been dropped due to the deployment of U.S. and Russian troops around the town in obvious support to the YPG.

Russia also established a military presence recently in the Afrin canton in Syria to monitor potential violations of cease-fire. The canton is one of the three cantons controlled by the Kurdish militia along the Turkish border.

A Turkish soldier on duty near the Syrian border was killed last week by gunfire from Afrin. Russia's charge d'affaires was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry following the incident to hear Turkey's protest.

In addition, some Russian generals were pictured wearing symbols of the Kurdish militia on their uniforms last week while they joined the YPG in spring festival.

Turkey sees the YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK that has been waging an insurgency against Turkey for over 30 years.

Turkey is particularly concerned that the emergence of an autonomous or independent Kurdish entity in northern Syria may set a precedent for its own nearly 20 million Kurds and encourage Kurdish separatism at home.

Turkey only managed to mend its ties with Russia last summer after downing in November 2015 a Russian fighter jet bombing rebels in Syria.

The bilateral ties are far from having been fully restored. Other than differences on the Syrian issue, both sides are blocking the import of some agricultural products from each other.

"Turkey's security will also be negatively affected by all this because it is no longer clear what Turkey's zip code is," commented Logoglu.
by Maria Vasileiou

THE HAGUE, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Just days before British Prime Minister Theresa May activates the Brexit process, Dutch experts warned the Netherlands face a difficult balancing act of negotiating within a united European Union (EU) front, while confronting thorny issues to safeguard its own interests.

UNITED EUROPEAN FRONT

"The Netherlands and Britain have shared many common interests as EU members, but the situation during the Brexit negotiations will be fundamentally different from business as usual with the UK being the departing state on the one side and Netherlands being part of the EU27 on the other," said Joris Larik, senior researcher at The Hague Institute for Global Justice.

The expert on EU law and foreign policy suggested the Netherlands should focus its strategy on being part of a united EU front in the upcoming negotiations and refrain from entertaining any British proposals, which could incite internal divisions among the EU27 even if short term gains for the Dutch economy and citizens are being promised.

"Important as the UK is as a trading partner for the Netherlands, even more important is the integrity and viability of the EU for Dutch prosperity and foreign policy," said the expert and author of the book Foreign Policy Objectives in European Constitutional Law.

His remarks echoed the Netherlands' Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV), which stressed in a Brexit report published last week that the EU member states should represent a united front in the negotiations for British withdrawal from the EU.

In particular it called on the Dutch government not to be receptive to any British proposals which clearly intend to turn EU member states against each other.

"Harsh fights about Brexit within the EU would be negative for the Netherlands especially now that the EU is going through difficult times for its unity," explained Adriaan Schout, senior research fellow at Clingendael, the Dutch institute of international relations and co-author of the AIV report.

For the Netherlands, being the third largest exporter to Britain at 6.3 percent of GDP) and fourth largest importer (3.7 percent of GDP) among EU states, consequences will be more significant.

According to Larik, the EU's cohesion is more important for the Netherlands even if the country stands to suffer negative consequences in terms of trade. "In that sense, no deal with the UK would indeed be better than a bad deal that erodes the cohesion within the EU," he told Xinhua.

BUDGET CONTRIBUTIONS

"European capitals have different priorities. For the Netherlands, trade with the UK is of outmost importance as well as the issue of contributions to the EU budget," commented Schout.

"Whatever hampers trade might be devastating for the Dutch economy, but the issue of contributions to the EU budget is a highly sensitive issue, directly visible and symbolic," said Schout.

The size of Britain's exit bill set around 60 billion euros (65.2 billion U.S. dollars) covering liabilities such as pensions for EU officials, infrastructure projects, and the bail-out of Ireland, will be among the first topics for discussion.

"The Netherlands, being a net contributor, would be under pressure due to Brexit and the country may suffer heavy losses if the exit bill cannot be worked out with the UK," Larik warned.

The Netherlands' annual contribution to the EU budget is slightly below 6 billion euros (4.9 percent of GDP) and is ranked sixth. Britain, with a contribution of 15.4 percent of GDP, is the third largest contributor.

According to Larik, there are little chances to prevent an increase of the Dutch net contribution to the EU budget post-Brexit in particular given the stated ambitions of the EU to cooperate more closely in defense, security, financial and other matters.

"That will create additional costs, not fewer, in the near term. However, the biggest catastrophe for the Netherlands would be a weakening or even disintegration of the EU rather than a deal leading to higher costs," he commented.

FUTURE RELATIONSHIP

Schout stressed the need for a transitional period after the Brexit negotiations begin so that both sides avoid entering into the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime, referring to WTO tariffs and regulations. "Trade tariffs and other restrictions would be painful for both sides," he told Xinhua.

The Dutch Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) has estimated that Brexit would cost the Dutch economy 10 billion euros annually by 2030, but a new British-EU agreement cutting trade tariffs in half would reduce this figure by 20 percent.

As for the future relationship, the Dutch advisory body AIV suggested that that the EU could engage in a comprehensive free trade agreement with Britain, modeled after the recent trade agreement with Canada, CETA, and going beyond that where possible through additional provisions.

The proposal seems impossible according to Larik. "It is important to recall that even a 'CETA plus' would mean less single market. Moreover, it took seven years to negotiate CETA, not least due to the arduous ratification process in the EU member states," he said. (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollars)
Ambulances are seen outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain on March 22, 2017. (Xinhua/Tim Ireland)

LONDON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- There was no evidence the Westminster assailant Khalid Masood had any links with the extremist group ISIL, the police in London said on Monday night.

In a briefing at New Scotland Yard, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, senior national coordinator for UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said there was also no evidence that Masood had been radicalized while serving a sentence in a British prison.

Basu said there has been much speculation about who Masood was in contact with prior to the attack last week which left four people, including a London police officer dead, and dozens more injured. Masood was shot dead by armed police at the Houses of Parliament.

The senior police chief added: "Masood's communications that day are a main line of enquiry. If you heard from him on March 22, please come forward now, the information you have may prove important to establishing his state of mind.

"His attack method appears to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of IS leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians, but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others.

"There is no evidence that Masood was radicalized in prison in 2003, as has been suggested; this is pure speculation at this time. Whilst I have found no evidence of an association with IS (the Islamic State) or AQ (Al-Qaida), there is clearly an interest in jihad."

Basu repeated the request to the public for their help, specifically to those who knew or talked to Masood in the months, weeks and days leading up to the attack.

"We are tracing these people, but I would ask you all to voluntarily come forward and help our investigation," said Basu.

Police said in 2005 the attacker changed his name to Khalid Masood.

"His last criminal offence was 2003 and he was not a current subject of interest or part of the current domestic or international threat picture for either the security service or Counter Terrorism Policing.

"I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why. Most importantly, so do the victims and families," added Basu.
Ambulances are seen outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain on March 22, 2017. (Xinhua/Tim Ireland)

LONDON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- There was no evidence the Westminster assailant Khalid Masood had any links with the extremist group Islamic State (IS), the police in London said on Monday night.

In a briefing at New Scotland Yard, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, senior national coordinator for UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said there was also no evidence that Masood had been radicalized while serving a sentence in a British prison.

Basu said there has been much speculation about who Masood was in contact with prior to the attack last week which left four people, including a London police officer dead, and dozens more injured.

Masood was shot dead by armed police at the Houses of Parliament.

The senior police chief said: "Masood's communications that day are a main line of enquiry. If you heard from him on March 22, please come forward now, the information you have may prove important to establishing his state of mind."

"His attack method appears to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of IS leaders in terms of methodology, but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others."

" Whilst I have found no evidence of an association with IS or AQ (Al-Qaida), there is clearly an interest in jihad," added Basu.

Basu repeated the request to the public for their help, specifically to those who knew or talked to Masood in the months, weeks and days leading up to the attack.

"We are tracing these people, but I would ask you all to voluntarily come forward and help our investigation," said Basu.

Police said in 2005 the attacker changed his name to Khalid Masood.

"His last criminal offence was 2003, and he was not a current subject of interest or part of the current domestic or international threat picture for either the security service or Counter Terrorism Policing," said Basu.
LONDON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire ruled out another snap election Monday for a devolved power-sharing government.

But Brokenshire said time was running out for political parties to find a way of restoring self governance to the region, after a deadline for an agreement passed.

The two major parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein, failed to resolve their differences before the expiration of the deadline.

Brokenshire will make a full statement Tuesday to the House of Commons at Westminster.

Speaking at Stormont, home in Belfast of the devolved government, shortly after the deadline passed, Brokenshire said he was extremely disappointed an executive had not been formed in Northern Ireland.

"There will be widespread dismay across the community," he said, adding: "Over the past three weeks, we have been engaged in intensive talks and progress has been made on a number of issues."

Brokenshire said the British government had been active in making positive proposals to try and bridge these gaps and help the parties to move things forward. "Despite these efforts, agreement at this stage has not proved possible," he added.

Brokenshire said he believed that there remains an overwhelming desire among the political parties and the public in Northern Ireland for strong and stable devolved government.

"We now have a short window of opportunity to resolve outstanding issues and for an executive to be formed. Everyone owes it to the people of Northern Ireland to grasp that and provide the political leadership and the stability they want," he said.

He said the short window would only last for a matter a few weeks. After that, Brokenshire said he will have to order a new snap election or restore rule over Northern Ireland from London.

Under the peace formula that brought three decades of violence to an end, a power sharing executive and parliamentary assembly was established. Under the rules, this has to be headed by the two major political parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein. So far, the two parties have failed to resolve their differences, leading to the ongoing impasse.
HARARE, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China will donate 1 million U.S. dollars to help flood victims who were left stranded following heavy rains that fell in February, Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Huang Ping said Monday.

"In order to provide relief for flood stricken areas in Zimbabwe, this year the Chinese government will donate 1 million U.S. dollars in cash transfer to Zimbabwe.

"The Chinese Red Cross Society will also donate 50,000 dollars. Besides, the Chinese embassy and Chinese community will join hands to donate 10,000 dollars," he told guests during the launch of the Grand Tiger motor vehicle by Beiqi Zimbabwe (Pvt) Limited, a joint venture between China's BAIC Group and two Zimbabwean companies.

Heavy rains that were worsened by Cyclone Dineo left 271 people dead, another 128 injured and nearly 2,000 homeless.

The deaths were caused by lightning strikes, drowning and landslides, according to the Civil Protection Unit, which added that nearly 2,600 homesteads were damaged in varying degrees.

The worst affected district was Tsholotsho (Matabeleland North Province) where a total of 859 people were left homeless and are currently in a transit camp and an additional 100 households remain at risk.

According to the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, over 100,000 people are without safe drinking water following the damage to water supply infrastructure.

President Robert Mugabe on March 2 declared a State of Flood Disaster, leading to the launch of a domestic and international appeal for nearly 189 million dollars to help victims and repair infrastructure such as homes, roads, bridges, dams, schools, water and sanitation.
MAPUTO, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Mozambique Aviation authorities confirmed on Monday in Maputo that a private aircraft with 6 members crashed, killing 5 occupants and the other member's situation is yet clear.

The airplane was flying from Beira, Mozambique's second largest city to Harare, capital of Zimbabwe. It crashed against Vumba mount near the border of Mozambique and Zimbabwe and fell in Zimbabwe.

The civil aviation institute suspects that bad weather could be behind the crash.

"There was low visibility and the aircraft was flying at 8,000 feet when it was starting to descend. That's why it crashed," said Joao de Abreu, chairman of civil aviation institute.

"The plane certificates expire on April 30, 2017 and could operate occasional flights, the pilots have a long experience of flying in Mozambique for long years," added the chairman.

A technical commission led by Zimbabwe has been set up to investigate the real reasons behind the crash, and the Mozambican aviation authorities said they have the responsibility to cooperate with the commission, as some of the information fundamental for the investigation are in possession of the national authorities.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meet the press after their talks in Beijing, capital of China, March 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

by Peter Mertz, Huang Heng

DENVER, the United States, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Beneath the gold-domed state capitol, Colorado Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper gave Republican President Donald Trump an American business salute, saying improved China-U.S. relations would benefit both countries.

"I suspect President Trump will work very hard building a positive relationship and I think he's going to look at China as an important ally and partner," Hickenlooper said.

"And if that's the case, I think good things can happen."

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, the two-term governor, who has a similar background to the U.S. president as a successful businessman, looked at Trump's potential success with China.

Hickenlooper was a successful businessman before suddenly turning his sights on politics, and was elected Denver mayor in 2003.

Just a few months ago, the Colorado politician of 14 years was considered a top pick to join Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's administration as vice-president or secretary of agriculture.

U.S.Governor John Hickenlooper (L) of Colorado State speaks in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on March 23, 2017. (Xinhua/Huang Heng)

In the interview, Hickenlooper was openly gracious toward Trump, and shared his optimism about Trump's international agenda, especially concerning China.

"President Trump wants to rethink our international strategies, and that's not necessarily a bad thing," the governor said, noting that early American pioneers were entrepreneurs, unafraid to take a chance, work hard, and saw into the future.

"President Trump keeps giving indications he wants to be more isolated and not be engaged in the world, and I'm not sure if that's really true," he said.

"I think he's first and foremost a businessman and deal maker, and I'm cautiously optimistic he will come to recognize that when countries trade with each other, it creates wealth. It's one of the basic principles of wealth creation," the governor told Xinhua.

"They (China and the United States) have a natural self-interest in maintaining a growing economy worldwide, recognizing each other's autonomy, and providing motivation and incentive for each side to do well," said Hickenlooper.

"I think if you look over the last 20 years, the two countries really have benefited - they've created a relationship where both sides have benefited," he said.

Hickenlooper recalled his experience in 2015 when he took a business delegation to China. He was stunned by the high-speed bullet trains and transportation systems in the biggest, newest cities on Earth.

"Cities like Shanghai match New York City, Paris, Melbourne, or any modern international city in terms of beauty and excitement," the governor said, adding that the two countries also have some places showing a very traditional way of life, "like old west ranching and farming."

"I think China and the United States have so much to share, and I would argue that Colorado has many of the same qualities that China has," Hickenlooper said.

In a direct reference to Trump's pledge to stop jobs from leaving the country, Hickenlooper said that the best way to deal with the problem is to train and retool American workers instead of trade wars with other countries.

"Obviously there've been winners and losers as there is in any changing and growing economy, and I think in the United States we have perhaps not retrained people who have lost their careers and professions to outsourcing or automation," said the governor.

"But we'll figure that out, and we'll be able to get people back into a growing economy," he said, saying more investment and tourists from China would be helpful toward that goal.
WASHINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday aimed at reversing his predecessor's efforts to address climate change, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday.

"Tomorrow, the president will sign an executive order to strengthen the nation's energy security by reducing unnecessary regulatory obstacles that restrict the responsible use of domestic energy resources," Spicer said at his White House press briefing.

"This order will help keep energy and electricity affordable, reliable and clean, in order to boot economic growth and job creation."

On Sunday, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said the executive order will undo the Clean Power Plan, a major initiative of the Obama administration to deal with climate change by reducing carbon pollution from power plants.

Trump has called climate change a "hoax" and has threatened to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement that took effect last year.

Trump's first federal budget, released a week ago, also reiterated his intention to end former President Barack Obama's climate change policies, including eliminating funding for the Clean Power Plan.
ASTANA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Defence and the Armed Forces of Tajikistan launched joint military exercises on Monday, according to local media,

About 150 American and 100 Tajik experts will take part in the exercises that will last till April 7.

The exercises aim at improving coordinated capacity in antiterrorist fight in the region and promoting long-term regional stability, said local media.

U.S. President Donald Trump wrote in his message to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon that his administration hopes to advance the common goals of regional security and stability.

In February, Tajikistan and the U.S. marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations.
LONDON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The London stock market listed company AstraZeneca Monday announced that the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has granted marketing authorization for its lung cancer pill Tagrisso in China.

Tagrisso (osimertinib) is designed for the treatment of adult patients with certain genetic mutations, which is the first AstraZeneca medicine approved under the CFDA's Priority Review pathway, using an accelerated timeline for an innovative medicine.

Sean Bohen, Executive Vice President, Global Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer at AstraZeneca, said: "This is an important step forward for Tagrisso and a significant opportunity to bring a breakthrough medicine to patients with NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer) in China, where EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) rates are some of the highest in the world."

According to the company, the rapid review and approval signal the urgent need for new, targeted treatments with the potential to address specific types of cancer with high incidence rate and significant unmet medical need in China.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bill signing event in the Roosevelt room of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 27, 2017. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday aimed at reversing his predecessor's efforts to address climate change, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday.

"Tomorrow, the president will sign an executive order to strengthen the nation's energy security by reducing unnecessary regulatory obstacles that restrict the responsible use of domestic energy resources," Spicer said at his White House press briefing.

"This order will help keep energy and electricity affordable, reliable and clean, in order to boost economic growth and job creation."

On Sunday, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said the executive order will undo the Clean Power Plan, a major initiative of the Obama administration to deal with climate change by reducing carbon pollution from power plants.

Trump has called climate change a "hoax" and has threatened to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement that took effect last year.

Trump's first federal budget, released a week ago, also reiterated his intention to end former President Barack Obama's climate change policies, including eliminating funding for the Clean Power Plan.
King Abdullah II (2nd L, front) of Jordan and King Salman (1st L, front) of Saudi Arabia attend a welcoming ceremony at an airport in Amman, capital of Jordan, on March 27, 2017. Jordan and Saudi Arabia on Monday signed several agreements to boost cooperation and bilateral ties, including an agreement for a three billion U.S. dollar company that will make investments inside Jordan. (Xinhua/Mohammad Abu Ghosh)

AMMAN, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Jordan and Saudi Arabia on Monday signed several agreements to boost cooperation and bilateral ties, including an agreement for a three billion U.S. dollar company that will make investments inside Jordan.

The two countries signed an agreement for the cooperation in the mining and extraction of uranium, and another to build small-scale nuclear reactors for power generation and water desalination, according to a press statement.

Several agreements were also signed for cooperation in fields of media, water and environment as well as energy.

The agreements were signed in the presence of King Abdullah II of Jordan and King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

The two leaders held a summit prior to the signing of the agreement, during which they discussed developments in the Middle East and bilateral ties.

Talks also focused on continued cooperation in various areas especially in fields of security, military, economy, investments and education, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

The two sides also shed light in the importance of the Arab Summit which Jordan is hosting amidst exceptional conditions, stressing the need to unify Arab stances and cooperation between Arab and Islamic states.

Discussions also included the Palestinian issue, as King Abdullah believed effective peace talks and the two-state solution are needy for the creation of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

The two leaders also underscored their support for efforts to attain Mideast peace and rejection of all types of violence and terrorism that threaten global peace and stability.
RABAT, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan authorities have arrested 14 people following violent demonstration in the northeastern city of Al Hoceima, the public prosecutor at the city appeal court said on Monday.

The accused were remanded in custody and under an investigation in the violent protests that were organized on Sunday in the localities of Imzouren and Beni Bouayach.

The demonstrations, motivated by economic demands, saw buildings torched and vehicles destroyed.

The situation in the city of Al Hoceima has been tense since the fish vendor Mouhcine Fikri died after climbing into a rubbish lorry to retrieve 500 kg of swordfish confiscated by police.
BANJUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Gambian police spokesperson Foday Conta confirmed to Xinhua on Monday the detention of seven police officers last Saturday following the death of a Mauritanian national arrested last Tuesday at his resident in EboTown.

"Investigation is ongoing as postmortem was conducted on the corpse of the Mauritanian at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul. The autopsy report indicated that the primary cause of his death is Cardiac failure and the secondary cause is chronic heart disease," said police spokesman.

The members of the police patrol team that were on duty are urgently detained at KM regional police HQ for the matter to be further investigated, Conta added.

A high powered delegation led by the Commissioner of Police KM on Friday visited the late El Hadrami's family in Ebo Town, to express their sorry and promised that the matter will be thoroughly investigated to bring to book anyone found wanting, local media reported Monday.
DAR ES SALAAM, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A task force formed last year by Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa to investigate the mysterious death of a male black rhino named John said on Monday the animal facing extinction died from negligence.

The task force recommended in its report submitted to the Prime Minister that disciplinary measures be taken against top wildlife officials after it was established that the animal died as a result of their negligence and misconduct.

The report said disciplinary measures should be taken against the Director of Wildlife in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism Alexander Songorwa and an official with the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) Morris Kileo for failing to protect the rhino.

The task force headed by the government chief chemist, Samuel Manyele, explained in detail how laxity by wildlife officials in the whole process of shifting the rhino -- from Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Grumeti Black Rhino Sanctuary on the Serengeti Plains led to the death of the animal.

"Songorwa in his capacity as Director of Wildlife failed to give an official permission for the shifting of the animal while Kileo also failed to follow up on the health of the rhino even after it was shifted," said Manyele.

The report said various weaknesses were noted in the whole process of shifting the animal including lack of an official document from the responsible ministry as well as personal interests by wildlife officials who wanted to enrich themselves out of the matter.

For his part, the Prime Minister said the government will soon announce measures that it has taken over the death of the rhino.

"We will let the public know the government's position on the matter after going through the report and after receiving advice from relevant authorities," said Majaliwa.

In December last year during his visit to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Majaliwa formed the task force of experts to investigate the death of the rhino following its reported mysterious death and ordered a DNA test on its remains.

The task force collected samples including bones, horns, blood and stool of the rhino for biological and the Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) tests locally and in South Africa where findings showed that the samples belonged to the dead male black rhino.

The task force was composed of experts from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, the government chief chemist, the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) and the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (TISS).

During his visit to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Majaliwa was told about the missing rhino, with some quarters suggesting that it was probably sold.

But it was later reported the rhino had died while being kept in the private Grumeti Black Rhino Sanctuary in the Serengeti Plains where it was relocated after reportedly causing chaos in the Ngorongoro crater, where it used to attack other mammals in its quest for territorial supremacy around the caldera.

To clear the air, the Prime Minister formed the task force that released its report on Monday.
Photo taken on March 18, 2017 shows a police station totally destructed when the Iraqi security forces won the battle in this neigborhood in western Mosul, Iraq. (Xinhua/Lefteris Partsalis)

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A total of 279,000 people are currently displaced as a result of the military operations in Mosul, a city in north Iraq, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, told reporters here Monday.

More than 220,000 of these are estimated to be displaced from western Mosul since military operations on the western neighborhoods began in late February, Haq said at a daily news briefing here. "Assistance continues to displaced people and to people in newly retaken areas wherever access allows."

Trauma care capacity for patients from western Mosul has been further strengthened with the establishment of two new field hospitals at Adhba and Hamam al Alil, south of Mosul, he said.

"Five trauma stabilisation points and four field hospitals to the south and east of Mosul are now receiving patients from Mosul," he added.

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.
UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said Monday that joint efforts and strengthened cooperation are crucial for improving the situation of asylum-seekers and refugees in Greece, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

"UNHCR has issued eight recommendations aimed at putting in place a sustainable refugee response in Greece, including improving reception conditions as a top priority," the deputy UN spokesman, Farhan Haq, said at a daily news briefing here.

"Steps need to be taken to provide more accommodation opportunities in urban areas and to address the specific needs of unaccompanied and separated children," Haq said.

The situation in Greece can be managed, said Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, but it would require moving from the current emergency response to a sustainable system.

Grandi called on European Union governments to provide strong support for Greece, saying that "More solidarity and responsibility sharing among across Europe is needed."

The UN high commissioner also renewed his call to the Greek government for clear coordination structures, with well-defined roles and responsibilities for all actors.

As of March 20, only 10,000 asylum-seekers had left Greece for other European countries.

The UN agency said that it has been working with the Greek government over the past months to find alternative sites for temporary housing, as well as to help some refugees who were to remain in Greece to more easily integrate to the country's social culture.

Progress in reception conditions will also help prevent and fight sexual and gender based violence, to which many vulnerable asylum-seekers, including women and children, are exposed in the sites.

More attention is needed to the length and quality of the asylum procedures and reception conditions on the islands, Grandi said.

"This will allow for more and faster transfers to the mainland and prevent sites on the islands from falling back into the dire conditions and the overcrowding we have witnessed in the past months," he added, noting that UNHCR supported some 7,000 of the more than 10,000 transfers organized since June 2016.
LONDON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May and Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon met Monday, just 24 hours before the Scottish Parliament's scheduled vote for a second independence referendum.

The meeting in a Glasgow hotel room also came just 48 hours before May finally triggers the unstoppable process to signal Britain's departure from the European Union.

Sturgeon wants a second independence referendum before Britain's Brexit deal is agreed by Brussels. May says she doesn't want an independence referendum until a deal with Brussels is resolved.

Despite the smiles and friendliness of Monday's meeting, both leaders demonstrated they were not for changing their minds.

The private meeting between the pair lasted for an hour during a day trip to Scotland by May.

Later Sturgeon described their talks as cordial, adding she was frustrated by "a process that appears not to be listening."

In a media interview later, Sturgeon said she had wished the prime minister well for the forthcoming Brexit negotiations with the EU.

But she said she had been frustrated that May had not made any concessions over the first minister's demands for a distinctive Brexit deal for Scotland.

The Scotsman newspaper in Scotland reported that when asked about what would happen if Sturgeon's call for another referendum was formally rejected, the SNP leader replied: "I will set that out in due course. I actually have views in my mind around that. If their (May's government) position remains as it is right now, I will set out to parliament what I think the next steps should be."

Earlier, May addressed civil servants at a government office in East Kilbride, talking about the importance of the United Kingdom sticking together.

Hailing her Plan for Britain, May said she believes when the country works together, there is no limit to what can be achieved.

"In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that means fully respecting, and indeed strengthening, the devolution settlements. But never allowing our union to become looser and weaker, or our people to drift apart," said May.

Political observers saw the event as May travelling to Scotland, virtually hours before Brexit to put her stamp on her call for unity across the United Kingdom.

May concluded her speech with the message: "As Britain leaves the European Union, and we forge a new role for ourselves in the world, the strength and stability of our union will become even more important."

Earlier Monday Sir Keir Starmer, the main opposition Labour Party's shadow secretary for Brexit, delivered a keynote speech at Chatham House in London.

Starmer said Chatham House had seen many debates over the years, but none as significant for Britain in recent history.

"On the eve of the triggering of Article 50, I and the Labour Party, will hold the government to account and provide an alternative vision of our place in Europe. June 23 last year (the day of the national EU referendum) answered one question but opened up many more -- particularly about the UK's future relationship with Europe," said Starmer.

Outlining a series of six "Brexit" tests the opposition party has set, Starmer described the stakes as high, and said the Prime Minister's approach so far does not bode well.

"Labour will not support a deal that fails to reflect core British values and the six tests I have set out today," said Starmer.
UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A new report showed that food security and nutrition levels in the Near East and North Africa have sharply deteriorated over the last five years, undermining the steady improvement achieved before 2010 when the prevalence of undernourishment, stunting, anemia and poverty were decreasing, a UN spokesman told reporters here Monday.

"This deterioration is largely driven by the spreading and intensity of conflicts and protracted crises," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here, citing a report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on food insecurity in the Near East and North Africa.

"Beyond conflicts and crises, the report argues that water scarcity and climate change are the most fundamental challenges to ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture by 2030," the deadline to realize the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Haq said.

The report, entitled "FAO 2016 Regional Overview of Food Insecurity in the Near East and North Africa," showed that the prevalence of severe food insecurity in the adult population of the Near East and North Africa was close to 9.5 percent in 2014-2015, representing approximately 30 million people.

The Syria crisis in particular has deepened during the period 2015-2016, leaving more than half of the population in need of food assistance and 4.8 million refugees, mostly in neighboring countries. The numbers of food insecure and the internally displaced are also rising in Iraq and Yemen.

Water scarcity is the binding factor to agricultural production in the Near East and North Africa region and the driver of the region's dependency on food imports.

Meanwhile, the report also explored other major options for the adaptation to climate change impacts on water and agriculture, including the need for designing and implementing social protection measures for building resilience of farmers to extreme events, cutting food losses and improving trade policies.
Yemeni school children looks at a school on March 16, 2017, that was damaged in an air strike in the southern Yemeni city of Taez. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- As the escalation of the conflict in Yemen enters its third year this week, the top UN humanitarian official has called on the parties to the conflict to commit to political dialogue and resolve the situation or risk an unending manmade crisis.

In a statement issued Monday, Stephen O'Brien, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs underscored that in addition to wrecking the country's economy, killing thousands and displacing millions, the fighting has brought Yemen to the brink of a famine.

"During my third visit to Yemen only weeks ago, I saw the terrible and terrifying evidence of looming famine," said O'Brien.

Underscoring that UN and its partners are already providing life-saving assistance in all of Yemen's 22 governorates, reaching almost 6 million people every month, O'Brien urged parties to the conflict to expedite immediate, timely, and unimpeded humanitarian access as well as facilitate commercial activities - critical to reversing prevailing massive food insecurity and ensuring that people's basic needs can be met.

Nearly 19 million Yemenis, over two-thirds of the population, need humanitarian assistance and, according to UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 7 million are facing starvation.

Internally displacedchildren stand outside their tent in Dharwan camp, in Dharwan district of Amran province, north of Yemen's capital of Sanaa, on March 17, 2017. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed)

According to UN verified data, in the past year alone, the number of children killed increased from 900 to more than 1,500; those injured nearly doubled from 1,300 to 2,450; children recruited in fighting neared 1,580 (compared to 850 last year); and 212 schools were attacked (up from 50 last year).

Also, Yemen's health system is on the verge of collapse, leaving close to 15 million men, women and children with no access to health care. This is all the more concerning given an outbreak of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea in October 2016 that continues to spread, with over 22,500 suspected cases and 106 deaths.

"The war in Yemen continues to claim children's lives and their future," said Meritxell Relano, UNICEF Representative in the war-torn country.
BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhuanet) -- As Chinese economy is rebalancing, Chinas contribution to global economy will be based relatively more on innovation and entrepreneurship, said experts during their recent interviews with Xinhuanet.

China has evolved a lot as an innovator from a heavy manufacturing-dominated economy, said Peter Adriaens, Professor of Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Finance at the University of Michigan.

Matias Aranguiz, who is a partner at a Chinese investment and consulting firm, said, Chinas supply-side structural reform will bring about more innovation from within China aside from the first-tier cities located next to the sea.

Zhang Zeen, a data management expert, held that in the next decade China will change its past pattern of development and maintain mid-and-high speed growth by taking a technology-driven, green and sustainable approach.

The experts gave credit to Chinas economic accomplishments, especially in the field of science and technology innovation, and forecast a bright future.

They expressed thoughts on broader issues, such as how China can play a more significant role in global governance.

According to Michele Geraci, Head of China Economic Policy Program at Nottingham University, Chinas economic development is much faster than the rest of the world and is an important contribution to global economy.

However, he was concerned that the benefit of global economic growth is not equally shared by all the countries.

Ultimately, there is only one way to truly strengthen cooperation in global governance," global economic and policy analyst Dan Steinbock said.

"It requires deep, broad and urgent reforms to ensure that global governance will reflect the peoples who actually make the world economy and drive global growth, Steinbock concluded.
Man held in Siparia for guns, drugs

According to a police report, police officers stopped a B-15 Nissan car at about 8.30 pm and questioned the driver.

The report said the driver told the police officers that he was from Maraval.

He also gave the policemen two addresses in Montrose and Chaguanas.

The policemen searched the car and they found two crocus bags, containing cocaine and 42 packets of marijuana in the back seat.

Three Baretta pistols were also found.

The police exercise was conducted by Sgt Gosine of the South-Western Driving Under the Influence Task Force and included WPC Toussaint, PCs Ramkissoon and Jaggessar.
MAS CAMP PUB BURNS

Residents in and people in and around Woodbrook and Ariapita Avenue stood in disbelief that the establishment which stood at the corner of French and Ariapita Avenue for more than 30 years was gutted by fire.

The Nu Pub (Mas Camp Pub), Ma Pau and Sweetlime Restuarant were all housed in the building owned by Ward Hotel Ltd. Although no lives were lost, the loss of the iconic and some might say legendary space left a damper for many in the area.

Part owner and family member, Roderick Ward, could not contain his tears as he looked on at the burning building.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Marlon Smith, responsible for the Northern Division, said they received a call just before noon. He said personnel responded and found Ma Pau and the adjoining buildings (De Nu Pub and Sweet Lime) were alight.

Although there was an issue of low water pressure, WASA supplied extra water for the firemen. When Newsday visited the scene, the fire was intensely burning at the door of De Nu Pub (Mas Camp Pub).

Fire officers were seen in full gear and with gas masks on, as there was thick heavy smoke, in the air fighting to put out the blaze. Fire officials from San Juan and Belmont assisted those from the Northern Division in outing the blaze. One elderly woman from Dees Nursing Home on nearby Cornelio Street had to be taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and the nursing home evacuated.

Part owner of the property, Mc- Donald Ward said he received a call after noon saying that Mas Camp was on fire.

Ward said he had no idea what started the fire. Ward said the Mas Camp does not open until 4 pm on Sunday and could not understand statements which said the fire had started in the kitchen. No one is in the kitchen on a Sunday, he said. He could not state exactly which kitchen started it. De Nu Pub he said closed at 4 am on Sunday morning with the intention of reopening at 4 pm.

We are not going to write this off as a loss as yet we are waiting to see what is happening, he said. Ward added that after an assessment was done the company would be looking to rebuild the long-standing establishment. The businesses would build back, he said.

Ma Pau employees who assisted with evacuating the elderly from Dees Nursing Home told media they got the smell of smoke in the building at around noon. They also saw smoke coming from the light in the building.

The employees then said there was a panic and personnel from the nearby nursing home were calling for help. The employees said they then went to the aid of the nurses and elderly, helping to move them to an adjacent building. One employee of Ma Pau also had to be taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

One of Ma Paus directors, Sherry Persad, said its more than one hundred employees at its Ariapita Avenue branch would be relocated elsewhere for the time being and assured that no ones job would be lost.

Persad said it was devastating to see what had happened. She added that the company when it received the report as to exactly what had happened, would issue a statement to the media as to the casinos operations at that location.

Port of Spains deputy mayor Hillan Morean said: From all observations, the fire services seems to have responded quickly. I am advised that Woodbrook is here as well as headquarters at Wrightson Road. I also see T&TEC Emergency is here is a case of any electrical issues and ambulance in case of any other needs. It is sad to see a monumental structure such as Mas Camp go down like this, though. I know that Ma Pau, as well as Sweet Lime, seem to have suffered heavy losses.

This is sad for the city in particular as these are landmark sites for the city. We are hoping that they can bounce back quickly, he said.

Residents stood on the pavement nearby looking on at the raging blaze. A husband and wife who wished not to be identified but who lived nearby said they live on the top of Woodbrook and heard the sirens of ambulances and fire trucks which made them come out. They said when they came out they saw Mas Camp ablaze. The duo starred on in what looked like disbelief and shock as the firemen worked in the background to out the fire. The wife said: This is a landmark. My son worked there as a DJ. It is hurtful. It really hits home. It is sad. Another resident said she went to the grocery about 45 minutes before the fire and was in shock when she returned and heard the news..

We heard the ambulance and then my brother said: It looking like Mas Camp on fire. As we came we just saw all the smoke. She said it was odd that the building was ablaze just like that.

Roderick Ward said he received a call from Pelham Goddard at around noon telling him that the building was on fire. When he came he saw the building burning.

The family, he said, was awaiting word on what exactly happened, although they had heard the fire began in the Mas Camp kitchen.

He said Sweet Limes kitchen was operating.

It is a loss for culture and plenty things. It has been around for 30 years. This was going to be our 31st anniversary and no Government has ever recognised us for culture, he said.
Pleasantville man shot dead

Dead is Christopher Wells, 32, of Hibiscus Drive, Pleasantville, San Fernando.

According to a police report, at about 11 pm Wells closed his shop at the Pleasantville Village Plaza and was sitting outside when two gunmen confronted him. Wells was ordered to hand over his cellphone, which he did.

Immediately after, one of the men fired several shots at Wells who slumped to the ground.

The injured man was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police said Wells was shot in the head. His killers escaped on foot. Wells was a married father of two children.

Yesterday, his wife Andrea told Newsday she last saw him at about 10 am when he left home to attend to his shop. I received a phone call in the night and someone told me that Christopher was shot. I went and I saw my husbands body on the ground. I began to scream. I just couldnt believe it, Andrea said. She said he was robbed of his cell phone and gold jewellery.

Homicide detectives (Region 111) visited the scene and further enquiries are being conducted. An autopsy on the body will be done today.
Army private dies in car crash

According to reports at around 5.45 am, Daniel Gill was driving north along the Diego Martin Highway when reaching Crystal Stream he reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle.

The car flipped and crashed into an embankment.

Gill died on the spot.

Fire officers had to use the jaws of life - a special piece of equipment - to remove Gills body from the mangled wreck of his vehicle.

Sources revealed that the body remained on the scene for several hours before it was ordered to be removed by a District Medical Officer.

Relatives of Gill, as well as his colleagues, were on the scene of the fatal accident yesterday.

They wept and looked on in grief.

The 31-year-old officer was described as friendly, outgoing and well-loved at Camp Ogden.

The TTDF yesterday extended condolences to relatives of private Gill.
WPC knocked down

According to reports, WPC Toppin went to assist her colleagues whose vehicle had been involved in an accident involving a drunk driver who allegedly broke the traffic light at OMeara Road, Arima.

The report stated that two male constables of the Northern Division were on mobile patrol along OMeara Road at around 5.45 pm when on reaching the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, a driver allegedly broke the traffic light and crashed into their police vehicle.

The two male officers suffered slight injuries.

Woman Police Constable (WPC) Toppin of the Arima Police Station, along with a male colleague, responded to report of the accident and went to the scene. It was while she was carrying out traffic duties that she was knocked down.

The injured officer was rushed to the Arima District Health Facility suffering from broken bones. She was treated at the hospital and is expected to be warded in stable condition. Investigations are continuing into the two accidents.

The drivers involved in the two accidents were detained.
TTs Economic Underachievement

Economist Dr Terrence Farrell expressed this sentiment on Friday as he launched his latest book, We Like It So? The Cultural Roots of Economic Underachievement.

at the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Westmoorings.

Addressing a small gathering.

Farrell said: As a Trinbagonian.

who returned from a university abroad to help develop the country in the 1970s, I have been sorely disappointed with our underachievement.

As a country, we have been given much - oil, natural gas, great location.

land for agriculture, beautiful beaches, exceptional flora and fauna - but we have not done as well with our endowments as we could and should have. Farrell quoted remarks from businessman Emile Elias, as well as a newspaper editorial, which.

he said, shared similar sentiments.

My life has been one of high expectation. I expected that by now our country would have been further ahead Change is vital as is growth. We are great talkers.

but there is something that makes us get stuck between the thought and the actual doing, Elias had said.

We Like It So? The Cultural Roots of Economic Underachievement is a follow-up to Farrells last publication, the Underachieving Society: Development Strategy and Policy in Trinidad and Tobago, 1958-2008.

But unlike that publication.

which delved into TTs economic history, Farrell, in his latest book.

addresses the countrys apparent penchant for mediocrity and showing disdain for things that are presumably fixable.

He cited the steelpan as an example.

We claim as our own the steelband celebrating it as the only musical instrument invented in the 20th century, yet steelbands are still evicted from pan yards, Farrell said.
Ex-St Lucia PM:Walcott was no elitist poet

He was speaking during an interview with Newsday on Friday night at a memorial tribute to Walcott held at the National Cultural Centre, Castries, St Lucia.

I think for the performance tonight Derek was brought alive and what was particularly touching was the selection by the various artistes and the various groups and once again it demonstrated how connected Derek really was to the St Lucian people, to the St Lucian landscape. Anthony continued: He understood the soul of this country, the spirit of this country. And a lot of people I think thought that this soul was expressed purely through his poetry but they never understood that he had a very real contact.

He was not a poet that was remote and disconnected. He was a poet that made contact with ordinary lives and he was anxious to tell the story of ordinary people. It is a little unfortunate that sometimes he is seen as an elitist poet. But he never was because he emerged from the crucible of the St Lucian experience and that has always been his legacy. And tonight I think the performance was extraordinary and the performance allowed us to review and share the poet that we have always known. Walcott, an acclaimed poet and playwright, died on March 17 at the age of 87. On Friday night his memorial tribute was attended by Governor-General of St Lucia Dame Pearlette Louisy, Cabinet ministers, members of academia, regional poets and artists as well as representatives of the arts community from St Lucia, the Caribbean and internationally. Those attending from Trinidad and Tobago included Culture Minister Dr Nyah Gadsby-Dolly, Trinidad Theatre Workshop artistic director Albert Laveau - Walcott founded the workshop during his time in Trinidad - and two members of rapso group 3canal Wendell Manwarren and Roger Roberts.

Tributes were paid to Walcott in the form of remarks, traditional dance, drumming, steelpan, singing, including songs in St Lucian creole, recitation of his poetry and theatre performances.

A representative from the St Lucia arts community, Mc Donald Dixon, said that great poets do not happen by accident and described Walcott as a living legend who had gone into immortality.

He loved St Lucia without reproach down to the last grain of dust. He added that Walcott lives on within his pages. Ghanaian poet and critic Kwame Dawes gave a literary performance and of Walcotts death recited oh world, oh world, oh world we have lost. A speech was also read on behalf of Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland and in it, she praised Walcotts ingenuity and drive to pursue greatness.

He felt like he belonged to all of us, she added.

St Lucian actor and cultural activist George Fish Alphonse performed a satirical piece about the auctioning off St Lucias natural assets. One woman in the audience said it was a piece that Walcott would have liked.

Other performance included a recitation of his poem Oddjob, A Bull Terrier, St Lucian calypsonian Aloysius Mighty Pep Bruet performing his tribute song to Walcott and a dramatic presentation of the poems Oddjob, Sea Grapes and Love After Love by students of his alma mater Saint Marys College.

Trinidadian-Bahamian poet Christian Campbell in a literary performance said that Walcott believed so very deeply for us and believed in the Caribbean. He more than anyone else shows us the infinite in the infinitesimal, he said.

Campbell added: Even in your stillness, you are moving still.
No human trafficking reports in TT

However, he said he is hoping to have indepth discussions on all these subjects at the Caribbean Fraud Conference 2017 to be held from June 5-6 at the Radisson Hotel, Wrightson Road.

Chambers was speaking at a news conference at the Normandie Hotel, St.

Anns to launch the conference which he said would focus on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA); Human Trafficking and Financial risks and personal safety issues.

Gillian Ash-Henry, a director of the company, said it was important for firms to establish whistleblower policies within their organisations.

She said that employees should feel safe informing management of improprieties and fraudulent activities within the firm. The launch included several of the speakers who will make presentations at the conference.

Ash-Henry said the conference was planned because the Global Forensic Institute has seen that there are risks that companies are not aware of and they see this frequently when the institute does fraud investigations, compliance matters and compliance audits.

She said the conference will provide education and ensure that compliance professionals will leave the two day meeting able to return to their companies and effect change.

She said there will be many international and regional experts who will be able to provide a level of training that is not usually accessible to professionals.

One speaker, Jennifer Koo Rogers, Chairman of the Interbank Anti-Fraud Committee of the Bankers Association of Trinidad and Tobago (BATT), said organisations lose more than five percent of their revenues through occupational fraud, a subject she said will be discussed in greater detail at the conference. She warned that businesses are at risk from employees who are familiar with the operation of the company and can take advantage of that familiarity to commit fraud.

Another speaker, Kathleen Charles Jackson, Ethics and Compliance Manager at BP Trinidad and Tobago, said the conference will sensitise participants about anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) and anti-money laundering (AML) risk and the consequences associated with those risks.

She said she will address the conference about the consequences of non-compliance with the requirements and raise awareness of the penalties associated with non-compliance.
Faris: PIs unjust for rape victims

He was replying to concerns raised recently by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, and Head of the Criminal Bar Association Pamela Elder, SC, about Governments legislation to abolish preliminary inquiries.

Gaspard feared of creating a bottleneck at the High Court while Elder said the move is bad law and lacked consultation.

Al-Rawi considered the case of a girl assaulted as a minor where a PI might drag on for ten years. Should that child be required to re-live that experience every time the matter is called? he mulled.

The manoeuvre to abolish the PI is very significant because it is an indignity for the judicial system to have a PI take 14 or 17 years, where people are incarcerated and where victims and witnesses must traipse up and down with many adjournments. While appreciating Gaspards concerns that cutting the PI process will create a logjam at the High Court, the AG vowed to avert such by a raft of measures.

He promised more judges, more courts and more prosecutors, plus a public defender system.

Al-Rawi said this will be a very coordinated and deliberate development, even as he respects the rights of all in this democracy.

He expressed his high regard for Elders commitment to finding legal solutions, but he begged to differ on the PI issue.

Saying TTs history is littered with unfulfilled recommendations on improving criminal justice, Al-Rawi said the PI issue has been on the agenda for many years, and he now has a job to do.

Noting Elders remark that the PI is a good training ground for young lawyers to cut their teeth, he said, Im not minded to support training grounds at the expense of the rights of victims or accused. Respectfully I beg to differ with Mrs Elder. Trinidad and Tobago hired the Government to do a job and find prescriptions for issues like crime. He lamented that the gap between allegation and conviction is as wide as 20 years. So the criminal justice system has resulted in runaway crime, as people feel no consequences. He also lamented the $40 million spent annually on witness protection while all these court cases are bogged down in PI.

He vowed to tackle analysis paralysis over the PI issue.

Al-Rawi espoused the abolition of PI by saying the fears of the legal professions regarding other initiatives had never come to pass.

He cited an initial outcry in the UK over the Police And Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act 1984, but said, Today everybody celebrates PACE. Likewise, he said in TT, initial concerns over new Civil Proceedings Rules proved unfounded, and civil cases are today concluded within one or two years. So we are quite comfortable taking proportionate steps, he concluded
Ramdial questions police procedure on missing persons

Ramdial sought answers on proper police procedures while at the funeral of murdered 23-yearold Sharlene Somai at the familys home yesterday.

Somais body was discovered on Thursday about three minutes away from her home at Petersville, Felicity, Chaguanas. She was reported missing on Monday.

Family members criticised police afterwards for not responding immediately to reports of her going missing. National Security Minister Edmund Dillion on Friday said police are supposed to respond immediately to missing persons reports, but Ramdial was not convinced that all police operate by this procedure.

We need clarification whether police are supposed to begin searching for missing persons immediately or whether they wait for 24hrs to elapse before they start a search party. We need clarification as citizens. Delivering the sermon at the funeral service was Pastor Lloyd Joseph, Somais uncle.

He encouraged family and friends to not hold animosity in their hearts towards her killers.

Somais cousin Crystal Ramroop described her as a fashionista who loved taking selfies.

Ramroop said Soomai also loved her husband Suraj Toolsie tremendously.

She could have 10 pillows to sleep on but would not sleep unless she had his shoulder to rest her head on. Scores of friends and relatives wore white tee-shirts which bore a printed photograph of the murdered woman.

At the end of the funeral service, the funeral procession to the Waterloo Cremation Site was accompanied by the sounds of Tassa drums and songs in Hindi.
TT is collapsing, says Opposition

He also charged that the present Peoples National Movement Government has not presented an economic plan for its recovery.

Standing and blaming the Peoples Partnership Government does not change the fact that this Government has failed to manage the economy in the interest of the people, he said.

He said this was evident in the March 17 report of the Central Bank.

Supporting the motion calling on the House of Representatives to condemn Government for rising levels of unemployment and increasing poverty in the country, Rambachan on Friday said, The gross incompetence we have seen in the PNM has been unparalleled. It was disturbing that as they speak of unemployment, he said, the Minister of Labour, over and over cannot tell the country how many people have lost their jobs.

The minister keeps hiding behind the formal requirements of companies have to report retrenchments, he said.

Did you become a minister to enjoy the ride as a minister? To get a fat salary? To dress up every day? To drive in a big car but you cannot tell the country how much people are losing their jobs? he asked.

The government cannot put an economic plan of action to deal with the level of unemployment when it does not know how many people have been displaced and in what areas of the economy.

If you dont have that information. How can you plan? he queried.

Declaring that Government cannot continue to borrow to stabilise the economy and that budgetary balancing was not an exercise independent an economic plan, he said, The danger we are facing in Trinidad and Tobago under this Government is that it continues to put all its eggs in the energy basket. Due to rising unemployment and poverty, Rambachan said, There is a very serious social upheaval in this country that has not found physical expression, but mentally and psychologically people are deeply affected.

He said, One wonders if the way people are psychologically and mentally affected is not leading to the frustration that is bearing out in violence to persons even in homes, and children against children in schools. Someone has to take charge of what is happening to the social fabric of this country, he said. Claiming that the First Citizens Bank (FCB) initial public offering (IPO) under the PP administration was a success, he said, Government has to explain why a public relations excuse was being used to extend the FCB additional public offerings (APO) has been extended for two weeks after it was due to close on Thursday.

Is it because people are losing confidence in the economy? When there is a loss of confidence by consumers and business people you are looking at a horrendous situation for the country, he said.
Bill in West Virginia would BAN homeschooling, treating it as child abuse

A new bill proposed in West Virginia could make the act of homeschooling equal to that of child abuse. Lawmakers feel that parents are denying their children an appropriate education. If passed into law, Bill SB 528 would prohibit homeschooling and order CPS investigations for children who had ten or more absences without an acceptable excuse.

The Bill is a bipartisan effort proposed by West Virginia Senate Education Chair Kenneth Mann (R-Monroe, 10) and Democratic senators Michael Romano and Ron Stollings. SB 528s summary says, The purpose of this bill is to establish a process for providing that a student is not eligible for either home instruction exemption once certain truancy related legal proceedings begin or after a conviction. The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is vehemently opposing this bill and is urging its members, as well as citizens in the homeschooling community, to contact their state senators, including Kenneth Mann, and tell them not to vote in favor of this legislation.

The HSLDA explains that the bill is unnecessary because there are already laws in place providing procedures for school authorities to step in if there are legitimate concerns for the welfare of the child. They also state that schools often make mistakes when it comes to recording so-called unexcused absences. The fact that a child has accumulated ten days of alleged unexcused absences is not a viable reason to interpret parental abuse or neglect. (RELATED: Get more new like this at LivingFree.news.)

An increasing number of parents have decided to homeschool their kids or place them in homeschool communities for various reasons, including health concerns for the child, bullying, religion, and objections to the common core curriculum taught in public schools. For the schools, the real concerns over the child boil down to dollar signs. As reported by One News Now, in 2014 it was estimated that West Virginia public schools were losing nearly $12,000 of funding per student. Not willing to take such a substantial loss, that same year Ritchie County Superintendent of Schools Ed Toman forced his staff to contact the residences and places of employment of homeschool parents in an attempt to bully them into putting their children back in public schools. During the calls, parents were questioned about their ability to teach their children and asked a series of questions including, What can we do to get your kids back in school? Some families were also guilt-tripped when they decided to meet with school counselors at the beginning of the school year and told that their choice to homeschool could result in teachers losing their jobs.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed a bill that went into effect May of 2016 that significantly reduced the rules imposed on homeschooled students and parents in West Virginia. As reported by the Charleston Gazette, the bill, HB 4175, no longer required annual assessment reporting for homeschool students and lowered the threshold that homeschoolers must pass on tests to achieve acceptable progress. Sen. Romano was opposed to that Bill and SB 528 feels a lot like a retaliation tactic against Tomblin and the homeschooling families.

The right to decide how to educate children best has been a hot button issue. The HSLDA further states that this bill would lead to laws that presume public education is what is best for children, and that parents are not reliable when deciding whether or not to homeschool. This is classic nanny-state behavior, and it would be an alarming overreach of the State government if passed.

Sources:

Hslda.org

Wvgazettemail.com

Legiscan.com

Onenewsnow.com

Submit a correction >>
European court of justice allows hijabs to be banned at the workplace

President Donald J. Trump and his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, as well as members of his staff have all been called bigots. A recent ruling by the European Unions highest court could certainly be considered bigoted.

As reported by The Guardian, the court just issued a ruling that will allow companies throughout the continent to prevent their workers from wearing any visible religious symbols, a judgment that is likely to have at least some impact on the upcoming elections in France and the Netherlands.

Conservative politicians have welcomed the ruling, which they say was necessary to jibe with laws in some countries like France that have enacted bans on hijabs  traditional headwear for Muslim women that largely obscures their faces and, hence, hides their identities. France, in particular, has been hit with a number of high-profile attacks by Islamic extremists loyal to the Islamic State. Germany has had trouble as well. (RELATED: Read about the deadly attack by suspected Islamist terrorists that killed 100+ in Paris, as unarmed citizens were held hostage.)

The European Court of Justices ruling in Luxembourg allows for bans of religious garments, but only as part of a larger, general policy that bans all religious and political symbols, The Guardian noted. It was the courts first ruling pertaining to Islamic headscarves at work. (RELATED: Marine La Pen Refuses Headscarf, Cancels Meeting With Top Cleric For Sunni Muslims.)

The ruling also noted that customers cannot demand that workers remove their headscarves if the particular company has not adopted a policy banning religious symbols and wear.

The Guardian noted further:

The long-awaited ruling came on the eve of Dutch elections, where Muslim immigration has been a contentious issue. In France, where the race to succeed President Francois Hollande remains wide open, politicians on the right seized on the issue.

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon, who opposes the rising presence of Islam throughout his country, spoke favorably of the ruling. In a statement, Fillon said the ruling was an immense relief, not just for thousands of companies but also for their workers. He added that the judgment would also become a factor in cohesion and social peace, especially in France, where 5 to 7 percent of the population is Muslim, the largest in Western Europe. Germany has the second-largest Muslim population, according to the Pew Research Center.

Rassemblement Bleu Marine MP Gilbert Collard, who supports Right-leaning French presidential contender Marine Le Pens Front National, said the ruling was an endorsement. Even the ECJ votes Marine, he tweeted.

The German conservative party Alternative fur Deutschland, also praised the decision. The ECJs ruling sends out the right signal, especially for Germany, said the political partys leader, Georg Pazderski. Of course companies have to be allowed to ban the wearing of headscarves.

The courts joint ruling in two separate cases of women  one from France and the other from Belgium  were dismissed from jobs after they refused to remove their headscarves when asked.

An internal rule of an undertaking which prohibits the visible wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign does not constitute direct discrimination, the ruling noted. The court also noted that a company had a right to adopt policies that make it appear neutral, and banning all religious and political symbols appears to be about as noncommittal as a firm could get. (Related: Keep up with with more conservative happenings around the globe at Conservative.news.)

The court of justice finds that G4Ss internal rule refers to the wearing of visible signs of political, philosophical or religious beliefs and therefore covers any manifestation of such beliefs without distinction, the court noted. The rule thus treats all employees to the undertaking in the same way, notably by requiring them, generally and without any differentiation, to dress neutrally.

In the U.S., the political Left supports any and all things Muslim, but has a major problem with public and personal displays of Christian religious paraphernalia and support for President Donald J. Trump. Thats the only way to explain its opposition to a Trump-ordered travel ban to the U.S. from countries rife with Islamic terrorism that also gave asylum preference to persecuted Christians in those countries.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources:

CNN.com

PewResearch.org

TheGuardian.com

NaturalNews.com

Submit a correction >>
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The stability and location of Morocco at the crossroads between Europe and Africa are luring Chinese businesses eager to diversify their economic partners in Africa, says an article published on the website of Global Risk Insights, a global publication for political risk news and analysis.

The article, signed by Jeremy Luedi, sheds light on the steady development of economic ties between Morocco and China, notably following the boost given by the visit of King Mohammed VI to Beijing in 2016.

Economic ties are also reflecting the excellent political ties between the two countries marked by a mutual non-interference in internal issues. Both Morocco and China have been refraining from commenting on each others thorny issues notably those relating to their respective territorial integrity.

Morocco is also becoming the default investment destination in North Africa, as the region continues to be unstable, with Morocco reaping the benefits of stability, says Luedi, adding that Alongside traditional exports to China such as phosphates, Morocco is seeing a tidal wave of Chinese investment in a host of sectors. Between 2011 and 2015 Chinese FDI in Morocco increased 195%, with a 93% increase between 2014 and 2015 alone. Since then things have only continued to accelerate.

In this respect, the author enumerates the growing interest of Chinese firms in Morocco citing the setting up of an office of the Bank of China in Casablanca in March 2016 as part of Moroccos Casablanca Finance City initiative. He also mentions the announcement by Yangtse Automobile of a $100 million investment (expected to create 2,000 jobs) in Tangier to produce electric cars and buses for export to Europe.

The article highlights as well the significance of the recently inaugurated joint venture between Chinese HAITE group and Morocco to build a $10 billion industry and technology hub in Tangier, which will create 100,000 jobs in the long run.

Morocco also sees new opportunities for its farm exports to China in its bid to diversify partners. The article points out that given Moroccos existing integration into EU food supply chains, Rabat is already beholden to high quality standards, a fact that appeals to many Chinese consumers. Indeed Chinese importers have cited Moroccos ability to pass the EU Proficiency Test for Pesticide Residues as a seal of confidence.

Moroccan tourism sector and culture are also attracting the Chinese, a trend witnessed even before Rabats decision to drop visa requirements for Chinese visitors in July 2016, as the 2016 National Day Travel Prediction Report had predicted a 3500% increase in visa applications to Morocco.

By November 2016, Morocco saw a six fold increase in Chinese arrivals  a fact all the more impressive given that no direct flights exist between the two countries. With 42,000 Chinese tourists in 2016  a 300% year-on-year increase from 2015  Morocco has announced a goal of 100,000 visitors from the Middle Kingdom in 2017, notes the author of the article.

As a result of this interest in the sector, Chinese investors from Guangzhou met with the Moroccan Society of Tourist Engineering in late February to discuss investments in hotels, resorts, spas and amusement parks, the article notes.
After unveiling the parties participating in the new government, a source close to the Head of Government designate Saad Eddine El Othmani told local media that the new cabinet would include 30 ministers.

El Othmani managed to end the deadlock left by his predecessor Abdelilah Benkirane whose negotiations to form a new government stalled in view of his position against the inclusion of the leftist USFP in the new government.

Almost ten days after he was appointed by King Mohammed VI as head of government and entrusted with forming the new government, El Othmani reached a breakthrough agreement with the leaders of six parties: Liberal RNI and UC, traditionalist MP and socialist USFP and PPS.

The outgoing government was made up of four parties and 37 ministers. A larger number of participating parties in this Government makes it a daunting task for El Othmani to distribute portfolios.

A governmental coalition between the PJD and the five parties will make up a majority of 240 seats out of 395. The PJD emerged victorious in the October 7 general elections by 125 seats followed by PAM (102), the conservative PI (46), the RNI (37), MP (27), USFP (20), UC (19) and the PPS (12).

The current governmental coalition shows once again that the ideological referential of political parties has been swept by narrow calculations. A coalition between the Islamists, liberals and socialists is showing to what extent political parties in Morocco are losing credential thus becoming copies of each other. Liberal PAM and conservative PI will be in the opposition. Neither the opposition nor the coalition show homogeneity in terms of ideology though they espouse more or less the same reforms.

The fragmentation of Moroccos political landscape makes no party able to win an outright majority. To secure the majority of seats, coalition between several parties is necessary, putting the distribution of ministerial portfolios on a rocky road, not to speak of compromises on the policies of the different partners in the future government.
Trump not as Teflon as some believe, and thats bad news for the GOP. Photo: Andrew Harrer - Pool/Getty Images

There was a lot of anecdotal chatter over the weekend about Donald Trumps most intense fans not blaming him for the health-care debacle in the House last week. That may or may not be true, but there are some initial signs the mess is depressing his already-weak job-approval ratings.

The two public pollsters with approval-rating numbers for last week both show downward movement. Rasmussen had Trump at 50/50 on March 21. Today hes at 45/54, which is actually a small improvement over Fridays 44/56. Meanwhile Gallups three-day rolling average of job-approval numbers has Trump dipping to 36/57, down from 41/54 last Thursday. The 36 percent job approval is the presidents lowest rating since his inauguration.

It is probably safe to say that anything less than 40 percent presidential job approval once midterms roll around is going to be a big problem for the presidents party; the three times it has happened (Truman 46 and 50 and Bush 06) the White House party lost an average of 38 House seats.

Trumps ratings can obviously bounce back before voters go to the polls in 2018. But the idea that real-life political setbacks dont affect him is likely an alternative fact.
Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, already tasked with, among other things, resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict, is taking on a few more responsibilities. The Washington Post reports that Kushner will lead the newly created White House Office of American Innovation, which is staffed by former business executives who have been given sweeping authority to overhaul the federal bureaucracy. Members of what the White House described as a SWAT team of strategic consultants include National Economic Council head and former Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn, former Goldman Sachs executive Dina Powell, former General Motors and Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell, and real-estate developer Reed Cordish. (Kushners wife, Ivanka Trump, who, despite her West Wing office, still has no formal role in the administration, also plans to collaborate with the team, because why not?) Unsurprisingly, the group is interested in harvesting ideas from the business world and, potentially, privatizing some government functions.

We should have excellence in government, Kushner told the Post. The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens. He said that his team plans to begin with reimagining Veterans Affairs; modernizing the technology and data infrastructure of every federal department and agency; remodeling workforce-training programs; and developing transformative projects under the banner of Trumps $1 trillion infrastructure plan. In addition to all of that, the office will focus on combating opioid abuse with the help of Chris Christie, with whom Kushner has a complicated relationship.

It is, to say the least, an ambitious agenda for a 36-year-old whose primary work experience has been running his fathers real-estate company. Lucky for him, the business community seems eager to help out: According to the Post, Apples Tim Cook, Microsofts Bill Gates, Teslas Elon Musk, Salesforces Marc Benioff, Blackstones Stephen Schwarzman, and dozens of other such leaders have already met with Kushners office.
All talk, no action. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

When the going gets tough, the Trump White House talks tough on the undocumented. Following the untimely death of Trumpcare last Friday, Steve Bannon promised Politico that the administration would reestablish its vitality through a week of action, action, action. On Monday afternoon, Attorney General Jeff Sessions appeared to deliver on that promise, when he threatened to deny Justice Department grants to so-called sanctuary cities.

The Department of Justice has a duty to enforce our nations laws, including our immigration laws, Sessions said. Unfortunately, some states and cities have adopted policies designed to frustrate the enforcement of our immigration laws. This includes refusing to detain known felons under federal detainer requests, or otherwise failing to comply with these laws.

The attorney general went on to note instances in which sanctuary cities had refused to detain undocumented immigrants who had then gone on to commit murder. After lamenting the gang crimes, rapes, and crimes against children that liberal cities are enabling out of a misguided aversion to deporting their undocumented residents, Sessions finally got down to policy.

Today I am urging all states and local jurisdictions to comply with all federal laws, the attorney general said. Moreover, the Department of Justice will require jurisdictions seeking or applying for Department grants to certify compliance with section 1373 as a condition for receiving these awards  The Department of Justice will also take all lawful steps to claw back any funds awarded to a jurisdiction that willfully violates section 1373.

Taken together, Sessionss remarks sounded like the announcement of a bold new action  one that would put teeth in President Trumps early executive order condemning sanctuary cities.

But theres reason to think it was all sound and fury, signifying not much.

Sanctuary city is a catch-all denoting any municipality that does not fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities. But most cities earn that designation due to a single policy: They refuse to spend local law-enforcement funds to detain criminal suspects who are in violation of immigration law. The Atlantics Priscilla Alvarez offers a concise summary of how this plays out in practice:

The process goes as follows: Police officers arrest immigrants for matters unrelated to their immigration status, and they are booked in local jails, where their fingerprints are taken and eventually shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as is required by law. ICE will ask officials to hold individuals if they are in violation of immigration laws while ICE obtains a warrant. County and municipal policies dictate whether officials will comply, or instead release the individuals in question.

Sanctuary cities argue that honoring such requests inhibits the ability of police departments to gain the trust of immigrant communities. This, in turn, makes it more difficult to stop violent crime  witnesses are unlikely to cooperate with police if doing so could get them deported. There is some empirical evidence to support this rationale: University of California, San Diego political scientist Tom Wong found that, on average, counties that dont comply with ICE requests have lower crime rates than those that do.

Anyhow, while Sessions spent the bulk of his statement imploring cities to honor detainer requests, his actual policy proposal appears to have nothing to do with them: The attorney general threatened to withhold grants from cities that violate U.S. Code 1373  but most sanctuary cities dont violate U.S. Code 1373.

Here's the 2016 DOJ report explaining that ICE detainer requests are NOT mandatory under fed law or 8 USC 1373. https://t.co/jRXOgNaahJ pic.twitter.com/RuThGAJ4Mc  Niko Bowie (@nikobowie) March 27, 2017

Whats more, Sessions maintained that his new policy is entirely consistent with the Obama-era DOJs past guidance on these matters; last July, the Obama administration issued a rule requiring any cities applying for Justice Department grants to be in compliance with federal immigration law.

So it seems that, for all his bluster, Sessions merely reiterated his intention to enforce a preexisting Obama-administration policy.

That being said, if the attorney general does intend to take aggressive action against sanctuary cities, he may find himself betrayed by two of his favorite things: states rights and Antonin Scalia.
Nunes. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Last Monday, James Comey confirmed that the FBI was investigating possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election.

A little over 24 hours later, the Republican tasked with leading the House investigation into Russian hacking disappeared: Devin Nunes was riding in an Uber with a staffer Tuesday night, when he received a communication on his phone. The House Intelligence Committee chair promptly exited the Uber without explanation.

Later that night, Nunes was seen on White House grounds.

The following day, Nunes announced that members of the Trump transition team had been legally, incidentally surveilled during the final months of the Obama administration. He did this without consulting his fellow Intelligence Committee members. He proceeded to personally brief the president  an ostensible subject of his House investigation  on the intelligence reports that he had just discovered.

There is nothing wrong or even odd about transition officials being incidentally surveilled. Americas intelligence agencies conduct routine surveillance on a wide variety of foreign agents. Transition officials often contact foreign agents. Thus, such officials can end up getting swept up in legal monitoring. Nunes does not question the legality of the intelligence monitoring he came across.

But he has suggested that all of the intercepted material was innocuous and of no intelligence value  and, therefore, that the identities of the American citizens intercepted should have been masked in intelligence reports. Nunes has implied that the Trump officials had their names unmasked, possibly for nefarious, deep state reasons that validate the presidents most paranoid tweets.

Even if Nuness allegation is true, it is difficult to see why he would evince more concern about an arguable misuse of the NSAs unmasking powers, than about his committees investigation into a foreign powers attempt to undermine our democracy.

But the GOP lawmaker later explained that he felt he had a duty and obligation to disclose his findings to Trump, because as you know hes been taking a lot of heat in the news media.

Shortly after Nunes created headlines that made Trump feel vindicated, CNN reported that the FBI has information that indicates associates of President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clintons campaign.

On Friday, one day after CNNs report, Nunes abruptly canceled an open hearing scheduled for tomorrow, at which former acting attorney general Sally Yates, former director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former CIA director John Brennan were all set to testify. The ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee was not pleased.

BREAKING: Chairman just cancelled open Intelligence Committee hearing with Clapper, Brennan and Yates in attempt to choke off public info.  Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) March 24, 2017

I think that there must have been a very strong pushback from the White House about the nature of Mondays hearing, Adam Schiff said. Its hard for me to come to any other conclusion about why an agreed-upon hearing would be suddenly canceled.

The New Yorkers Ryan Lizza said that his reporting supported Schiffs view.

Nunes essentially blew up the investigation because he realized the scope of what he negotiated with Schiff could actually threaten Trump.  Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) March 24, 2017

And now, the House Intelligence chair has provided one more reason for the public to think hes working to undermine his committees investigation: On Monday, Nunes admitted that he had been on White House grounds the night before his big disclosure.

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, the lawmakers spokesperson, Jack Langer, told NBC News. 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.

The House Intelligence Committee has its own secure room in the Capitol, where Nunes reviews classified material on a daily basis. There is no intuitive reason why Nunes would need to go to the White House to securely view his sources information  unless he wished to keep that information secure from his fellow committee members.

But why might Nunes want to do that?
Former NSA Michael Flynn and Jared Kushner. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

In the middle of overhauling the federal bureaucracy and negotiating Middle East peace, Trumps top aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner will reportedly have to squeeze in an appointment with the Senate Intelligence Committee to answer questions about meetings he set up with Russian officials. The New York Times reports Kushner organized sit-downs with the help of Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition, including at least one between Kushner and the head of Russias state-owned development bank, which had been on the U.S. sanctions list since Kremlin encroachment in Ukraine.

The Senate Intel Committee called Kushner in for a hearing as part of its broader investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, something the FBI confirmed last week that its also probing. According to the Times, Kushner and Michael Flynn  who resigned as NSA for allegedly misleading Vice-President Mike Pence about the subjects of Flynns own discussions with Russian officials  met with Kislyak in December in Trump Tower. They reportedly discussed how to better relations between the U.S. and Russia.

Kislyak apparently asked for another meeting, but Kushner sent a deputy in his stead. And, finally, at the request of Kislyak, Kushner met with Sergey Gorkov, head of the Vnesheconombank, which is on the Ukraine-related sanctions list. The White House confirmed those meetings, and said these gatherings were part of Kushners routine outreach to foreign leaders during the transition. But Kushner will tell that to the Senate directly. He isnt trying to hide anything and wants to be transparent, said administration spokeswoman Hope Hicks.
Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

In his inaugural address, President Trump vowed that the forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. He then suggested that the government has a responsibility to provide its righteous people with great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves.

The hedge-fund billionaire who bankrolled Trumps campaign takes a different view. Robert Mercer reportedly believes that human beings have no inherent value other than how much money they make, and that society is upside down because government helps the weak people get strong, and makes the strong people weak by taking their money away, through taxes.



Thus far, Trumps governing style has been more in keeping with his donors private views than with his own official ones. The president has backed a health-care plan that finances a tax cut for millionaires by throwing millions of forgotten Americans off of Medicaid  while proposing a budget that would slash spending on public housing, food assistance, after-school programs, and development funds for poor rural and urban areas.

These actions represent the normal part of the Trump presidency. The fact that the new Republican president is serving as a loyal general in the one percents class war would be wholly unremarkable, had Trump not campaigned as a populist outsider. But then, if Trump hadnt run as a populist outsider, its quite possible that there wouldnt be a new Republican president. The moguls success in the primary and general elections had many causes, but one was likely his avoidance of conservative platitudes about bootstraps and makers and takers.

Typically, Republicans attribute the despair of impoverished communities to the moral failings of individual poor people. But Trump never lamented the culture of poverty. Instead, he blamed the misery of the forgotten on rapacious elites who had failed to protect the righteous peoples economic interests.

This message  when liberally (or, perhaps illiberally) salted with appeals to white racial resentment  proved to be a winning one. In a country that saw its economic elite engineer a financial crisis  and then reap the lions share of the gains once growth resumed  the market for paeans to job creators has contracted sharply. This is true even within the Republican Party, which has grown increasingly reliant on the support of downwardly mobile white voters.

Trump wasnt the only Republican to recognize that his partys we built that shtick had fallen out of fashion. Paul Ryan took back his whole makers and takers spiel in March of 2016. And during their years-long assault on Obamacare, Republicans mostly attacked the law from the left: Instead of arguing against the morality of taxing the wealthy to expand Medicaid, many conservatives lamented that Obamacare had left too many Americans with insurance they cant afford to use.

Trump gave the GOP the rebrand it desperately needed. But, thus far, hes made few alterations to the actual product. And, judging by their failed attempt to pass a supply-side tax cut dressed as a health-care bill, Republicans believe that the only thing their agenda ever lacked was a racist reality star as its salesman.

But they are wrong about that: Movement conservatism is failing politically because its policies have never had less to offer the voters it relies on.

New research on the surging death rate among white, non-college-educated Americans offers a harrowing testament to this fact. In 2015, Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton discovered that an epidemic of suicides and substance abuse was driving up the mortality rate of middle-aged, working-class, white Americans  even as medical advances were pushing down that rate for college-educated whites and every other racial and ethnic group.

Last week, Case and Deaton published a new paper exploring the causes of this development. It identifies a number of accessories to the crime: Stalled progress on the prevention of heart disease and climbing rates of obesity and diabetes contributed to their morbid finding.

But the prime culprit in their story is the collapsing social mobility and living standards of working-class Americans.

Since the great recession, black and white non-college-educated workers have seen their mortality rates rise, across every age group. And working-class African-Americans still suffer higher death rates than white ones do.

However, only the non-college-educated white population has seen a nearly continuous rise in its mortality rate over the last two decades. And that jump has been driven by a uniquely high spike in deaths of despair.

Case and Deaton suggest that, even though African-American workers are more materially disadvantaged than their white peers  and have also suffered greatly from Americas industrial decline  the demographic has found some cause for optimism in their nations lurching progress toward racial equality (their data set ends the year before Trump launched his campaign).

By contrast, non-college-educated white workers have seen their economic prospects drop from a higher peak  and no countervailing narrative of cultural progress has arrested their sense of decline. This foreboding can pervade whole communities, and lead their most vulnerable members to seek relief in drinking, drugs, or death.

Case and Deaton argue that the erosion of traditional families and religious communities has contributed to the demographics despair, as movement conservatives always insisted. But just as Trump did on the campaign trail, the economists suggest that these breakdowns are rooted in the labor market. People dont struggle economically when they fail to get married and adopt middle-class social norms. They fail to do those things when they struggle economically  building strong familial and communal ties is simply much more difficult when no one with your skill set is earning a living wage.

Movement conservatisms other anti-poverty prescription  instilling self-reliance in the poor by kicking them out of their welfare hammocks  also withers under the papers scrutiny. The United States has the thinnest safety net of any major, western nation. And it is also the only such country in which non-college-educated white workers are dying much younger than they used to.

Of course, there are plenty of other factors that contribute to this discrepancy. American physicians began routinely prescribing opioids for chronic pain beginning in the mid-1990s, after a U.S.-based company aggressively marketed oxycodone for that purpose. And Americas singularly high rate of gun ownership likely boosts its suicide rate.

Nonetheless, the rationale behind House Republicans push to add work requirements to Medicaid  that providing a minimum standard of health care to the indigent unemployed breeds an unhealthy dependency  is hard to reconcile with the superior health outcomes of workers in European nanny states.

The tenets of movement conservatism have always been belied by the lived experience of working people. But this tension is a lot more conspicuous today than it was when Reagan brought morning to America. Since then, the GOP has grown more radically right wing; income has grown more concentrated at the top; and Republicans have grown ever more dependent on the nonaffluent for votes.

Now, even the GOP base supports more government spending on health care and opposes tax cuts for the rich.

Turns out Tea Party voters want more government healthcare spending, yet support Ryan's healthcare bill. Go figure. https://t.co/y77gXZHn6j pic.twitter.com/VT7W2FqDPC  Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki) March 23, 2017

Path to Trump's base?



Trump should NOT lower taxes on the wealthy 



College whites: 74%

Non-college whites: 69%https://t.co/wPGAFETKBM pic.twitter.com/FWbVGxldRt  Will Jordan (@williamjordann) March 8, 2017

Trumps rise has alerted some conservatives to the bankruptcy of their ideology. In March 2015, David Brooks attributed the plight of the white working class to a plague of nonjudgmentalism  explaining that what the downwardly mobile really needed was a stern lecture on its moral failings:

People born into the most chaotic situations can still be asked the same questions: Are you living for short-term pleasure or long-term good? Are you living for yourself or for your children? Do you have the freedom of self-control or are you in bondage to your desires?

Exactly two years later, Brooks decided that, actually, those people could probably use a stronger social safety net, too:

The central debate in the old era was big government versus small government, the market versus the state. But now youve got millions of people growing up in social and cultural chaos and not getting the skills they need to thrive in a technological society. This is not a problem you can solve with tax cuts.



 If you want to preserve the market, you have to have a strong state that enables people to thrive in it. If you are pro-market, you have to be pro-state. You can come up with innovative ways to deliver state services, like affordable health care, but you cant just leave people on their own. The social fabric, the safety net and the human capital sources just arent strong enough.

Republicans can continue putting the superstitions of misanthropic billionaires above the needs of their downscale voters. But in doing so, they will send more forgotten men and women to early graves. And, eventually, the righteous people may take the GOP down with them.
Pro-Obamacare protesters. Photo: Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The fallout from the collapse of Trumpcare has left most of the blame, or credit, on the House Freedom Caucus. President Trump has pointed his finger at the restive right-wingers, and news coverage has taken their central role (the ultraconservative GOP lawmakers who stymied Trump on health care ) as a given. It is true that the House Freedom Caucus made life difficult for Paul Ryan and the Trump administration. But it overlooks the main cause of Trumpcares failure, which is the revolt it generated from the left.

The left, not the right, was the source of public pressure, like large-scale rallies, inundating Congress with phone calls, and swarming town hall meetings. It was also the source of the opposition from doctors and hospitals, which stood to lose billions of dollars in business from customers who could no longer afford to pay for regular medical care.

Many Republicans in the House opposed to the bill heard this message explicitly because it threw their constituents off their insurance. A sample of quotes:

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA): The difficulties this bill would create for millions of children were left unanswered  I will not vote to let those kids fall through the cracks.

Congressman Charlie Dent (R-PA): will lead to loss of coverage and make insurance unafforable for too many Americans, particularly for low-to-moderate income and older individuals.

Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ): The bill would place significant new costs and barriers to care on my constituents in New Jersey.

Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ): Simply put, this bill does not meet the standards of what was promised; it is not as good as or better than what we currently have

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ): The overriding concern I have is the Medicaid expansion being significantly altered. It affects so many of our disabled individuals and families, and the working poor.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL): It would be practically impossible for the leadership to make the kind of changes that could accommodate the needs of my constituents. They will be severely hit.

Perhaps the most fatal barrier faced by the bill was the opposition of the Senate. Trumpcare was dead on arrival in the upper chamber, in part due to the opposition of a handful of arch-conservatives, but mostly because upwards of a dozen Republicans deemed its coverage inadequate. Some vulnerable House Republicans might have risked their seat to pass a bill slashing coverage to finance upper-bracket tax cuts. None of them were going to do it just to see their handiwork die in the Senate.

The most telling statement about the bills defeat came from Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and an unexpected source of opposition. Theres a widespread recognition that the federal government, Congress, has created the right for every American to have health care, Cassidy told the New York Times.

Conservatives wish to comfort themselves by attributing the failure of their repeal crusade to poor legislative tactics  by ultraconservatives, by Ryan, by Trump. Republican leaders certainly did a terrible job of designing and selling their law. But their greatest error was in fooling themselves into believing the country truly wanted to rip away coverage from the poor and sick.
This appears to be whats left of one of the buildings destroyed in the air strike. Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images

The U.S. is investigating reports that as many as 200 civilians may have been killed in a coalition air strike targeting ISIS militants in Mosul. The March 17 air strike, which the U.S. military acknowledged conducting on Saturday, struck a neighborhood in the suburb of Mosul al-Jadida, where ISIS fighters were engaged in a battle with Iraqi forces. Residents say a building with a large basement being used as a shelter for some 100 civilians  including many families  collapsed in the strike, and reports indicate that bodies are still being recovered from the rubble. In addition, it seems that two neighboring homes, where civilians were also taking shelter, were destroyed in the fighting. According to the Guardian, residents reported that the three buildings, including the one with the large basement shelter, were directly hit by an air strike and other surrounding buildings were damaged by shells and debris.

Though there were some survivors of the blast, victims who were buried alive in the rubble likely had little chance of survival, since it apparently took five days for Iraqi rescue teams to even reach the site.

Other witness accounts indicate that there have been multiple additional air strikes in the area since March 17.

It is not clear what the final death toll will be, but many of those killed were women and children. One local official said that 200 bodies have already been removed from the buildings, but that figure might have included casualties from other locations. Another report puts the death toll around 160, and Iraqi officials said on Saturday that they had recovered as many as 83 bodies, while some residents seem sure there are dozens left to be dug out. None of these numbers have been confirmed, and security forces have been restricting press access to the site. No matter what, if an air strike caused the carnage, it would be one of the worst losses of civilian life at the hands of U.S. coalition forces since the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003.

There is also some dispute over what caused the buildings to collapse. Residents and civil defense officials are confident that it was an air strike, but Al Jazeera reports that the Iraqi army claims that there was no evidence of an air strike. The army instead blamed the destruction on ISIS having booby-trapped the building, alleging that the group is intentionally targeting civilians with explosions that are meant to appear to be caused by Iraqi and coalition forces in order to sway public opinion. Its not clear how credible that conclusion is  particularly since the wrong Mosul neighborhood was cited in the Iraqi military statement  but U.S. Central Command is also investigating the possibility of ISIS booby traps playing a role in the tragedy. Another Iraqi military theory, according to CNN, is that the coalition had struck an ISIS truck filled with explosives, but that account could not be confirmed with U.S. military officials. So far, it seems clear that Iraqi commanders are trying to downplay the incident, while the U.S. has only acknowledged that coalition forces struck ISIS fighters and equipment at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties.

President Trump has long argued for loosening the rules of engagement in the fight against ISIS, and he has asked military commanders to review whether current restrictions can or should be lifted in order to more effectively target ISIS. During his presidential campaign, Trump insisted that he would quickly and decisively bomb the hell out of ISIS and criticized the then U.S. policy as being too gentle and too deliberative. Trump also said that he wanted to kill the families of ISIS militants, a tactic that would violate the Geneva Convention. Despite all that, American military officials insist that no changes have yet been made to the rules of engagement under Trump, though they acknowledge that there has been an increase in strikes on ISIS in Iraq and Syria, which they describe as part of a natural progression of the campaign against ISIS. However, an Iraqi special forces officer told the New York Times that the rules had indeed been relaxed under the Trump administration, as it was now much easier for coalition forces to call in air strikes.

An Iraqi rescue worker gestures toward bodies wrapped in plastic in the Mosul al-Jadida area. Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images

Iraqi and U.S. commanders have also said that ISIS militants have been using civilians as human shields in the buildings from which they are fighting in order to slow the offensive, and Al Jazeeras reporting would seem to partially support that assessment. They say that, according to residents, ISIS fighters roam around from house to house and rooftop to rooftop, and that when air strikes hit a building, the militants have often moved on, but the civilians sometimes remain. One witness, who says six family members died in the March 17 attack, told the Guardian that there were a little more than a dozen ISIS fighters in the area using light weapons, and as such should not have been targeted with such a destructive strike. The Times reports that, according to Iraqi military sources, Iraqi special forces had indeed called in the air strike to take out ISIS snipers on the roofs of the three buildings, but were unaware that those buildings contained civilians.

Either way, international outrage over the loss of civilian life in Mosul as a result of coalition air strikes is rising. On Saturday, the Mosul offensive was allegedly suspended for that reason, and many civilians reportedly tried to leave the city. The offensive resumed on Sunday. As many as 600,000 civilians are still believed to be trapped in western Mosul, where the battle for the densely populated city is now concentrated.

A recent air strike in Syria in which coalition forces struck a complex in Aleppo province in an effort to kill Al Qaeda operatives is also under U.S. investigation. U.S. Central Command said the mission was a success, but the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that the complex was actually part of a community mosque and that the strike resulted in 49 civilian deaths.



The Airwars organization, which tracks civilian deaths resulting from air strikes in Syria and Iraq, estimates that more than 1,000 people have been killed by coalition strikes in March  up from 465 in December.
Ivanka Trump sits next to Angela Merkel at a meeting in Washington last week. Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Ivanka Trump, who just got her very own West Wing office and is seeking security clearance, still doesnt have an official title in her dads administration. Nevertheless, shes become the go-to person for world leaders who want to discuss women who work. Last month, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau met with the First Daughter to discuss the advancement of women in the workplace, and on Sunday, news broke that Ivanka will attend a summit in Germany on the economic empowerment of women.

According to the Associated Press, Ivanka was invited by German chancellor Angela Merkel during Merkels recent White House visit. Shell reportedly join four additional delegates to represent the United States at the summit, which will mark her first time representing her dads administration abroad since he took office.

Linking back to the APs report, Ivanka tweeted that shes looking forward to promoting the role of women in the economy and the future of our workforce globally at the conference. And after the campaign, she reiterated that she wants to fight for things like wage equality, child care, and really promoting more opportunities for women.

Looking forward to promoting the role of women in the economy and the future of our workforce globally #W20 https://t.co/1OB9TK6poH  Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) March 27, 2017

But aside from allegedly pushing for a child-care tax credit that would disproportionately benefit the wealthy, Ivanka hasnt defined a platform or thrown her weight behind legislation on women who work, CNN points out. Maybe a trip to Berlin will prove inspiring.
The billboard in question. Photo: WLOS_13/Twitter

Its been a big year for controversial billboards in the state of North Carolina. A month after a mysterious billboard that read Real Men Provide, Real Women Appreciate It inspired protests, another piece of highway signage is in the news.

This time, its a Spicer Greene Jewelers ad near Asheville that features a variety of jewels with the words, Sometimes, its OK to throw rocks at girls. Critics have since said that its misogynistic and promotes violence against women.

Chelsea Clinton responded on Twitter, writing, Talking about hitting girls is never funny. Ever. And along with plenty of online outrage, about 15 people protested outside of the store on Sunday, holding signs that read, for instance, Violent words lead to violent action. Dont shop here.

According to the Washington Post, this isnt even the first time usage of that phrase has proved controversial for a jewelry store: A Calgary jewelry store found itself in hot water because of it back in 2015, yet the owner remained unapologetic. (The phrase itself was trademarked by Sawyer Jewelers, Inc., based in Michigan, in 2016.)

Spicer Jewelers changes its billboards every four weeks, and its still unclear if this one will come down early. However, they did post an apology to their Facebook page, and co-owner Eva Michelle Spicer said they would donate 10 percent of Sunday sales to a local shelter for domestic-violence victims.

Spicer also said, We certainly didnt mean harm by it, and that the idea came from her 60-year-old aunt and 87-year-old grandmother over Thanksgiving dinner.
Photo: Zurijeta/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Last Wednesday, the Globe and Mail* published a column by Leah McLaren titled: The joy (and politics) of breastfeeding someone elses baby. The post was quietly removed the same day, but did not escape the internets notice when an archived version circulated on Twitter Sunday evening.



1. This Leah McLaren column is....I'm speechless...you should read it & you shouldn't read it. https://t.co/SGEXg6PLeT  Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) March 27, 2017

The pieces setup is strange: McLaren says Canadas current political campaigns recall for her the time I tried to breastfeed Michael Chongs baby. (Chong, a conservative member of Canadas parliament, is in the running to lead his party.) McLaren claims she and the politician attended the same house party back when she was about 25 (according to her Wikipedia page, McLaren is now 41), single, and broody in the way that young women in their late 20s often are.

Having wandered upstairs, McLaren writes, she found herself in a bedroom containing the cutest baby. They exchange smiles, and McLaren thrills at the connection. Then, according to her post, she picks the baby up, and he proceeds to suck on her finger. And I of course, she writes, wanted to give him what he wanted.

Just as shes beginning to unbutton her shirt, a man walks in and politely asks McLaren to hand him his son. The man, of course, was Michael Chong, she claims. I never caught the babys name. McLaren then allows that attempting to experience the sensation of breastfeeding without consent was wrong and rude and frankly a bit weird. She continues: I think if I found a strange woman  one who was both childless and milkless  nursing my baby at a party Id be inclined to give her a swift smack upside the head and then call the police.

From there, she goes on to describe later breastfeeding her friends babies (doesnt actually feel odd at all), and to wonder why using wet nurses (lactating caretakers), a practice with a complex and controversial history, isnt more of a thing.

The internet was quick to judge McLarens alleged actions:



After reading the Leah McLaren story pic.twitter.com/UdHaVecYQe  Richard Lee-Sam (@RLeesam) March 27, 2017

I will never get over this batshit Leah McLaren story. LEAH. ARE YOU READING THIS? STOP TRYING TO PUT YOUR BOOB ON BABIES THAT ARENT YOURS.  Emma (@emmaschuetz) March 27, 2017

Twitter sleuths also did some math, as recapped by Huffington Post Canada: If McLaren was 25 at the time, it would have been the year 2000. That baby would now be around 16 years old, while Chongs eldest son is 12.



Other Twitter users couldnt resist calling back to another recent Chong incident:

But seriously, Michael Chong is a hero. He saved that random baby like he saved public sanitation in Guatemala. pic.twitter.com/pHGe3dAFjB  Kai Nagata  (@kainagata) March 27, 2017

So why is Michael Chong breast feeding Guatemalan children?  Charlie brown (@brenan_g) March 27, 2017

In which Chongs image was used on a poster about sanitation in public bathrooms in Guatemala:

My to do list today:

a) winning the CPC leadership

b) ensuring clean public washrooms in Guatemala #cpcldrhttps://t.co/GOf61MlbLQ pic.twitter.com/sl4NrWwwM6  Michael Chong  (@MichaelChongMP) March 17, 2017

The Globe and Mail has previously come under fire for publishing McLaren: In 2012, she attempted to sell her own house in a real-estate column.



We have reached out to the Globe and Mail for a comment and will update when we have a response.



*This post has been updated to include the Globe and Mails full name.
that hand is creeping me out

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It looks like he's been reanimated.

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He's so cute and tiny 

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their baby is going to be beautiful when it gets older. aww

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I'm sure people said the same thing when Bruce and Demi had their babies.

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people consider bruce willis attractive??

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Aw, he's a cutie but it's hard to tell which of them he looks like from that angle. I wonder if they'll ever reveal his name.

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Future split-finger fastball pitcher there.

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Awww, cute lil bb.

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All new borns are ugly tbh. I can't when people go on and on about these shriveled aliens being cute. And I feel like all babies look the same tbh.



Edited at 2017-03-27 12:57 am (UTC)

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mte

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haha. I know. They start looking cute at 6 months or so

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ia

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same. they need a month before the look decent.

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false. nick lachey and his wife's firstborn was gorgeous from the get go. i know it's oddly specific to remember that, lol, but i used to think all babies were born ugly too before i saw that one.

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Nope. My oldest niece was born beautiful. She had these perfect little eyebrows.

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Some don't look as wrinkled or smushed or red, but I swear to god, my former bosses just had their 5th kid and it is mother. fucking. ugly. in the picture they posted. Like, I recoiled and couldn't believe his daddy's weird ass genes could get any uglier. But here we are.

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lol yeah



i mean, no shade to the babies. no one is looking their best when being squeezed out of a narrow passage.



but newborns are generally not cute

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excuse you I was cute af when I was a bb

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they're ugly and cute! shriveled and very red but also small and kinda fuzzy :')

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infancy is the cutest stage of human development. i love wrinkly weird looking babies.

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this. give it like 2 months for them to get chunky and their faces to change from generic old man newborn and then talk to me

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Ikr babies are hideous when their first born but after a few months it gets better.



Well until puberty that is.

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lol this. Born ugly, followed by about 12 years of cute, 5 years of fucking award, and then you either peak or moderate-and-peak-later at 18

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yeah, I think that too lol. I don't want parents showing me their pics until they're a few months old. then they're really cute!

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shut up

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Right? My nephew was fucking hideous when he was born lmao. They get cute after a couple of months, and when they're cute THEY ARE CUTE.

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False. Get your hating ass outta here.





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awwww. look @ that head of hair 

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He's so adorable but the pic of the hand is creepy lol

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He is cute, but damn they picked horrible photos to show

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ikr. i feel like he is trolling us with these pics lol. i cant imagine when the kid grows up, he would be like wtf dad, these are the pics you chose to put up social media?

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yeah, in the last post I was hoping to see some pics, but not quite like... this. I'm sure the bb is actually cute, though!

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these are some creepy ass photos

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lol yea people keep mentioning the hand but both pics are creeping me out tbh

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i agree...

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the first one is giving me 'the grudge' vibes

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Wtf is creepy about a sleeping baby?

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Awww so cute. I swear every time I see a picture of a baby now I get baby fever. This is not good!

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girl me too

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good looking couple

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Cute!



His wife is so hot. He's so lucky.

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What a fucking creep.

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Having already known he's an asshole, I hate how much I enjoyed his "real" AHS character.

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ty bb! <3

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RYAN WOULD NEVER!!!



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What was the purpose for doing that though other than being a fucking douche?

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Because he thought he could.

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How did this scenario play out well in his head?! Like, what benefit could doing that possibly have for him?

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what a fucking dick. as a former private school student, the idea of being skirted still haunts me as a 29yo.

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Yup, I did the same thing.

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Day late, but same.

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I remember teachers telling the girls at my school they had to wear shorts under their skirts so guys wouldn't look under them

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god i'm still a bit traumatised from this one time a girl at my school lifted the back of my skirt in a full hallway and everybody laughing. i hate wearing skirts to this day :-(

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Same here! Chapel day was the only day I'd wear a skirt - I'd wear pants the other four days a week to prevent idiots from looking up my skirt or making comments.

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omg yeah...Even with the wind



Tho in my schools we were only girls except they start to allowd boys in a 2 years younger grade



Edited at 2017-03-27 09:55 pm (UTC)

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I didn't go to a private school and didn't have uniforms but I remember in sophomore year every damn girl in school started telling each other not to wear skirts anymore because this group of guys took it upon themselves to start lifting up girls dresses whenever they saw one.



It was disgusting and terrifying.



What's worse is the school never even did anything about it because every girl that reported them was just told to not dress like that anymore(as if it was their fault?) or the teacher would say something like "well, I have no proof..." and just ignore it.

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mte. most of the girls in my year wore boxer's under their dresses

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The second image I was like "Maybe he's getting something off her dress, but it's not like it couldn't wait and he couldn't simply let her know" and then the rest of the images......WTF.



Edited at 2017-03-27 09:17 pm (UTC)

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why

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That'z not okay

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Wait, why isn't he wearing underpants!?

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I love that he still threw that ball.

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Is that a butt tuft I see? Godddddd

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...what is this from

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it's fucking ridiculous.. i just lost one of my best friends because he couldn't understand that i didn't want him touching my back or stomach.

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I'd break his fucking fingers

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Likewise. Like once you get over the initial shock at the invasion I'd wanna beat some ass

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I'm surprised she didn't. Sarah is so no nonsense. Really hope she teared him a new one in private.

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I fucking hate men



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A lot of them are good but they don't make headlines like these kinds of creepy mother fuckers do.



Also, I love your icon.

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A lot of them are good





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nah. they all suck

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Imagine loving cocaine so much that you pay homage to a terrorist

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Right?



he's just another dumbass that jerks off to Tony Montana from Scarface, for some reason that's a goal for idiots.

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Mte

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that's basically what it boils down to

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Yep

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goddamn

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seriously, so incredibly stupid

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#AveMaria Praying to GagaLupe that the saints protect you from the cartel legacy with this comment...

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yup, exactly

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UGH.



FUCK ESCOBAR and FUCK HIS FANS.

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what the fuck

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how edgy and tasteful

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seriously what is it with americans glorifying that monster? is it because he was colombian and ooooo exotic~

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I think it's similar to someone looking up to a guy like Al Capone and John Gotti, they're romanticizing the whole like, gangster/boss lifestyle.



Edited at 2017-03-27 10:34 pm (UTC)

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And there's still people in Medellin who think he's a saint and works miracles.

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Narco culture is real af.



I know people who stan El Chapo Guzman.

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not just americans, in brazil i guess most people had never known or paid attention to him before narcos so he's stuck in their imaginary only as this fictionalized, slightly glamourised character, almost an anti-hero. so the actual atrocities he's comitted are still kind of distant to them

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American's love for anything narco related horrifies me

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mte. When did he become an anti-hero or something smh

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Less that he's exotic, and more that since very few in the US were directly affected by the violent/unsavory things he did, he's more of a stock gangster movie character to them than an actual person. He's as real to most people here as Michael Corleone or Tony Montana - both of who were, even if portrayed as anti-heroes, the protagonists of their movies.

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I am not understanding this trend of making anti-heroes into some kind of ideal. It's why I couldn't get into Breaking Bad and Dexter either. Evil is evil. I don't need a dissertation on it or an attempt to humanize it through media. Those who do evil do not deserve any empathy.

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Is his gravesite a tourist attraction or is this some out of the way fanboy shit? I mean, either way the flowers speak volumes imo

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well escobar helped a few people from medellin (they're the ones who go and put flowers and shit on his tomb) but like he also mass murdered and did terrorize colombians for years...

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Oh I meant specifically it's telling this guy would bring flowers, but it doesn't surprise me they'd be there in general.

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Lol what a dumbfuck, JC.

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Ah Weeds. So much potential and ended up being total shit.

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RIP

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I actually know someone who has scarface everything and lives with his mom.

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OFC he does

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This why I could never really get into Narcos. I just hated Pablo too much.

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mte, just, no. i'm surprised they made a whole series out of it/him

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Honestly what the fuck was the point of that.

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I will never understand idolizing people like this

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i'm from brazil and just today i passed by a ~streetwear~ clothing shop and there were t-shirts with escobar's face and "el patron" written in supreme/kruger font beneath.......... damn Narcos

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queen<3

is that from ladies of the chorus?

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Yep! One of her prettiest moments on film

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Oil prices are subdued to start the week, as the weekend's compliance meeting has done little to allay oversupply fears. As WTI continues to trek on in forty-dollardom, hark, here are five things to consider in oil markets today:

1) OPEC members appear to have pulled a u-turn in relation to discussing production cuts via exports. When the production deal was initially announced, it was suggested that exports would not fully reflect production cut implementation.

We have now had some back-pedaling from key members in recent days: Iraqi oil minister, Jabbar al-Luaibi, said that the OPEC deal is based on exports and not output. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is insisting that it is exports, not production, that is key to the market rebalancing.

The chart below of total Iraqi crude export loadings (both northern and southern exports) serves to illustrate how much Iraq is currently complying with the OPEC production deal. Not a lot.

(Click to enlarge)



2) The latest Chinese Customs data jibe with our ClipperData, showing that Saudi Arabia remained top supplier to China in February, as imports rose above 1.2 million barrels per day. The customs data also showed Angolan arrivals dropping to 850,000 bpd.

Our Brazilian data, differs, however. They see February imports at over 400,000 bpd. This is due to timing; we see Brazilian imports at 500,000 bpd so far this month - the highest on our records - as the discount of WTI to Dubai/Oman pulls Latin American cargoes to the Far East. Imports of Angolan crude so far this month have rebounded to above 1mn bpd, but still lag Saudi Arabian volumes.

(Click to enlarge)

3) The chart below is from Barclays (via @chris1reuters), illustrating that oil producers have already hedged a good share of their 2017 production, but not much for next year. This is affirmed by Bank of America, who see U.S. shale producers having already hedged 30 - 40 percent of production this year, but very little of 2018's volume. Related: Is The Private Equity Oil Rush Back On?

As the forward curve for WTI into 2019 drops below $50, producer hedging is likely to keep a lid on prices next year, as producers sell futures to take some risk off the table.

(Click to enlarge)



4) A piece out today discusses how Asian refiners are snapping up cargoes of light crude amid favorable price differentials (as medium and heavy is in greater demand). We can see in the chart below that South Korea continues to pull in more and more light crude. Related: Mexico Sees Its First International Offshore Drilling Success

The lighter the crude, the greater the yield for lighter end products such as gasoline and diesel. Hence, lower relative light crude prices and higher product yields is a double-win for Asian refiners.

(Click to enlarge)



5) Finally, the chart below is super, illustrating how offshore wind is set to boom - and predominantly in China and Europe. What is also super-interesting is the companies that are challenging utilities to build new wind farms: big oil.

Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil and Eni are all looking to push into the wind farm space - given their experience with building projects offshore, as well as to hedge its business versus its leading competitor: renewable energy.

(Click to enlarge)



By Matt Smith

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Private equity funds are back in the oil game with piles of cash to spend, emboldened by oil prices of around $50 a barrel, even though WTI has in the meantime slipped below this psychologically significant threshold.

The latest private equity news is about Argus  a group of three energy-focused firms, which are looking for acquisition opportunities among smaller E&P and oilfield service players. The funds  Intervale Capital, Bayou City Energy, and Cibolo Energy Partners  have so far raised more than $2 billion and plan to expand this to $4 billion over the next three years.

One of the founders of Argus told Bloomberg that for those who have cash now is the perfect time to buy  assets and companies are relatively cheap and the industry will inevitably recover by 2020. In fact, Charles Cherington expects a boom in U.S. oil by 2020.

Indeed, this year has seen a definite uptick in deals in the energy sector thanks to higher prices, with already established and new PE funds committing about $1.5 billion in funding for energy industry players.

Among these were several new private equity funds, which emerged on the oil scene in the first months of the year, committing some $650 million to investments in exploration and production.

Two established funds, Pine Brook and Riverstone Holdings, together committed $600 million to investments in the star of the shale patch  the Permian  via Texas-based Admiral Permian Resources. A third fund, Natural Gas Partners, made a commitment of $254 million to Luxe Minerals, which has a solid presence in the Permian.

IPOs are back, too.

Earlier this month, research from Simmons & Co revealed that there are 20 oil and gas listings in the pipeline for this year. This comes after two years with almost no IPOs in the industry and is widely seen as a sign of the energy industrys ongoing recovery. There are some analysts who doubt this, however. According to them, the IPOs signal that investors who kept some of these companies afloat with cash injections during the downturn are now seeking to get their money back, while prices are reasonably high. Related: Energy Market Deregulation: Be Careful What You Wish For

Yet, the new entrants in the energy-focused PE field are proof that optimism is rife--but at the same time acquisition opportunities are being carefully segmented.

In Argus, for example, Intervale Capital will focus on the oilfield service segment and the technological differentiation they could offer the fund. In an environment of growing automation, technological differentiation can be seen as the ultimate competitive edge, ensuring an investment becomes lucrative.

The second member of the trio, Bayou City Energy, will be looking for acquisition targets in exploration and production, like most PE funds in the U.S. oil patch, and the third member, Cibolo, will provide debt investment in P&Es.

So, whats next? It seems that a lot of smaller energy companies in the U.S. are now backed by private equity cash, and private equity investors are a pragmatic lot for the most part. Cherington, for example, expects prices to fall again this year. This will likely prompt a wave of consolidation deals that will bring down costs and improve returns. It will also bring in new PE players in, as companies for sale become even cheaper. In short, now is the time to buy.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
In a statement, the joint committee of seven oil ministers from the parties to the cut said that the deal could be extended for another six months, depending on how oils fundamentals look in June. An earlier version of the statement, however, had the committee recommending the extension, according to Reuters.

The committee, which was set up to monitor the progress of the cuts and compliance rates, met in Kuwait over the weekend to review the situation. Its members commended the participants for their high rate of compliance  94 percent as of February  and urged them to strive for 100 percent.

It seems that even a maximum compliance rate wont change prices much, as U.S. inventory builds and rising production from the shale patch continue to offset the cuts already made by OPEC and its partners. Moreover, not everyone is on board with the extension idea. Russia, for one, said it needed more data before it considered such a move.

The effect of an extension could achieve the opposite of what OPEC needs, which is consistently higher prices, preferably above $60 a barrel. Yet the moment the initial deal was struck and prices started to climb, U.S. shale boomers buckled down and worked to boost their output, offsetting the cuts.

A deal extension would probably lift prices from their sub-$50 level, and that would again motivate shale boomers to continue pumping more and more  U.S. total crude output is set to exceed 9.5 million barrels daily next year, hitting and average of 10 million bpd at the end of that year, according to the EIA. Related: Energy Market Deregulation: Be Careful What You Wish For

Still, the OPEC committee argued that the current dip in prices was caused by lower seasonal demand and refinery maintenance season. Prices should perk up after the end of this maintenance season, and crude inventories in floating storage should shrink, as well.

All OPEC ministers are meeting again on May 24, when the extension is likely to be discussed.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Libyas National Oil Corporation warned in a statement yesterday that it had detected attempts for illegal sales of crude oil from a group of individuals. NOC is the only one who is authorized to export oil from the country as per UN resolutions following the civil war, and it can only sell it to 16 companies with which it is in contractual relations.

NOC said that illegal sales are often made at huge discounts to the official selling price, causing losses of hundreds of millions of dollars. Reuters recalls that previously, factions in the east of the country had tried to sell oil independently of NOC.

The statement comes shortly after clashes between two eastern factions  the Libyan National Army and the Benghazi Defense Brigades  for control over tow of Libyas oil export terminals, Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, with a combined loading capacity of 600,000 bpd. The LNA, affiliated with the Tobruk-based parliament, temporarily lost control to the BNB but quickly regained it and now NOC expects to once more become the manager of the ports. This is what happened after the LNAs first taking of the four oil ports in the Oil Crescent last September.

However, there are doubts as an eastern representative of NOC recently walked out of negotiations for the unification of the company, which had split into two amid the civil warone western and one eastern. The officially recognized NOC is the western one, based in Tripoli, a fact that some eastern factions are not taking well.

Before the clashes between LNA and BDB, which caused the shutdown of several nearby fields, Libya was producing 700,000 barrels of oil daily, planning to boost this to 1.1 million bpd by the end of the year. The country was exempted from the OPEC production cut agreement as the war had crippled its oil industry.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Saudi Aramco has invited Chinas Sinopec to take part in the upcoming initial public offering (IPO) of the Saudi oil company planned for next year, the Chinese firms chairman Wang Yupu said on Monday.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, as Sinopec is officially named, has talked with the Saudis about the Aramco listing, which is expected to be the biggest IPO in history. While on a recent visit to China, Aramcos chief executive Amin Nasser told Chinese officials that he hoped that Sinopec could invest in the Saudi companys IPO, according to Sinopec chairman Wang.

We talked with them on the plan, and generally speaking we had a very good conversation, Wang said at a briefing in Hong Kong, as quoted by Bloomberg. Going forward, based on our own reality and needs, we will get into more detailed conversations with them, the Chinese manager noted.

Earlier this month Saudi King Salman started a month-long tour of Asia, during which the King has been signing with Asian counterparts billions of dollars worth of deals  including for oil and refining.



In China, King Salman has signed preliminary deals that could be worth as much as $65 billion if finalized  a total of 14 cooperation agreements, including a memorandum of understanding on 35 projects for production capacity and investment cooperation. Among the industries that the agreements cover are oil production, petrochemicals, and even space.

Related: The Upcoming Surge In U.S. Oil Demand Explained In One Chart

As Saudi Arabia is getting ready to list its oil giant next year, it is trying to secure future exports and lock in future demand with key buyers such as China, preferably under long-term contracts, which is the standard approach of the Kingdom toward crude oil exports.

China, on the other hand, is expected to further deepen its reliance on oil imports. Last year China met 64.4 percent of its crude oil demand with imports, due to high production costs at home and favorable international prices resulting from the global glut.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Norways Statoil plans to invest the equivalent of $2.34 billion on extending the lifetime of a field in the Norwegian Sea and starting production in a new field nearby, the Norwegian oil major said on Monday.

Statoil submitted with authorities today plans to invest $2.34 billion (19.8 billion Norwegian kroner) to keep the Njord field  whose production began in 1997 and was halted in 2016 -- in operation by 2040 through upgrading the existing platform, and in the new Bauge field. Statoil is committing $1.857 billion (15.7 billion Norwegian kroner) to the Njord field, and another $485 million (4.1 billion Norwegian kroner) to the Bauge field.

When we submitted the plan for development and operation for the Njord development 20 years ago we assumed that the field would be shut down in 2013. With new technology, project improvements and close cooperation with the partners and supply industry, we now see opportunities to create considerable value for another 20 years at Njord, Margareth vrum, Statoils executive vice president for Technology, Projects and Drilling, said in the company statement.

Statoil expects both projects to come on stream at the end of 2020, and has estimated the remaining resources on the Njord field at 175 million barrels of oil equivalent, and those at Bauge at 73 million barrels of oil equivalent.



Related: The Upcoming Surge In U.S. Oil Demand Explained In One Chart

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate acknowledged the receipt of the plans for development and operation, and its assistant director for Development and operation, Kalmar Ildstad, said:

We are interested in ensuring investments to extend field lifetimes. This will allow both recovery and value creation to increase, while also opening up opportunities for developing other discoveries in the area.

Last month, Statoil said that due to strict capital discipline, its organic capital expenditure was reduced to $10.1 billion last year, but organic investment was expected higher this year, at around $11 billion.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Major South American miner Milpo dealt a major blow to the copper sector this past Thursday. Announcing that it will pull out of the Michiquillay project in Peru  one of the countrys largest undeveloped copper deposits.

Milpo cited government investment terms as a major reason for the companys withdrawal. And elsewhere in South American copper, fiscal realities are looking ever more challenging for miners.

Like in world-leading producing nation Chile. Where BHP Billiton got some very tough news on labor terms at the worlds largest copper mine, Escondida.

The good news for BHP was the end of a 43-day strike at Escondida  with labor unions Friday officially announcing they will halt labor action here.

But there was also bad news for the mines owners: the method workers used to resolve the strike.

The Escondida labor action ended without workers and management coming to a new agreement on pay. Instead, workers used a loophole in Chilean law  which gives unions the option to continue under their previous contract terms for an additional 18 months.

That means workers get to push off wage negotiations until late 2018. And that may be a major problem for Escondidas owners.

The issue is changes coming in Chiles labor laws. As of April, it will become illegal to reduce previous benefits for workers  meaning that the current contract will become a floor for Escondidas workers in any future negotiations.

The new labor laws will also make it illegal to replace striking workers. Substantially weakening managements power when workers walk off the job from now on. Related: The Upcoming Surge In U.S. Oil Demand Explained In One Chart

Chilean labor experts thus called this weeks outcome a disaster for BHP. Saying that things are likely to stay tense between workers and management over the coming months and years.

The fallout appears to be starting already. With BHP saying late last week it is suspending two major capital projects in Chile  a desalination plant and an expansion of the Los Colorados concentrator plant.

All of which is a big blow for investor confidence in Chiles mining sector. Watch for more cuts in activity and planned projects from BHP and other miners in the country.

Heres to the bitter end.

By Dave Forest

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Little Estonia is giving a lesson to the world on how to fight propaganda. -- fake news coming from Russia. The country quickly checks Russian news stories then debunks them if they are untrue. Estonia's media will not interview Russian politicos because they know that a story is already written. The country maintains vigilance and acts fast. The same ought to be true with fake news in the US and Europe. The longer it survives in the marketplace unchallenged, the greater damage it can do. People start to believe stories if they see them coming from two or three sources or if they see support in the form of "likes", even though the "likes" are from robo software. Educational institutions are trying to combat propaganda by training students to be skeptical of news they read, but that only goes half-way. The rest of the lesson is vigorous exposure to facts -- transparency, as Estonia is doing.
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
We are a trading company that sells wood pellets to the EU. We have extensive experience in import-export. We have high demands on product quality. We conduct its own quality check. Our team of professionals, from your first call to the end of deal always ready to resolve all issues.
The Department of Philosophy in the Centre of Croatian Studies at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, is under threat of closure  apparently as retribution after members of the department have successfully brought a plagiarism case against the Croatian minister of science and education. For some more information, visit here.

The philosopher Kati Farkas will address the senate of the University of Zagreb on behalf of the embattled philosophy department, and she has composed a Letter of Support which she plans to bring to the senate meeting. The letter is to be signed by philosophy faculty affiliated with higher education institutions worldwide.

To sign Prof. Farkass letter, visit https://goo.gl/forms/b6MtV3OUK FmIFcXm1. Please note that this is NOT the same as the petition that was originally announced at Daily Nous.

(Thanks to Beri Marusic for sharing this information.)
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Apeiron Biologics receives green light for marketing approval of a neuroblastoma immuntherapy in the European Union

Details Category: Antibodies Published on Monday, 27 March 2017 13:40 Hits: 2430

VIENNA, Austria and HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, UK I March 27, 2017 I APEIRON Biologics AG ("Apeiron") today announced that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion recommending the approval of dinutuximab beta (ch14.18/CHO; APN311) for immunotherapy of high risk neuroblastoma.

Dinutuximab beta has been generated and profiled by European academic institutions originating at the Clinical Cancer Research Institute in Vienna (St. Anna Children's Hospital), initiated by Prof. Ladenstein. The development was extended to multiple clinical trials across Europe and abroad, performed by the SIOPEN neuroblastoma study group and the German group at the University Children's Hospital Greifswald led by Prof. Lode. In 2011, Apeiron and SIOPEN joined forces and Apeiron took over the lead for commercialization. More than 1,000 patients have been treated and the results served as basis for Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) in the EU in 2015.

In September 2016, EUSA Pharma acquired an exclusive license to the global commercial rights to dinutuximab beta.

Based on the CHMP's opinion published on March 24*), the European Commission within two months will issue a formal decision on the approval of dinutuximab beta, which is indicated for use in children aged 12 months and above with high risk neuroblastoma who have achieved a complete or partial response to prior therapy and those with a history of relapsed or refractory disease.

Dr. Hans Loibner, Apeiron's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are delighted with the CHMP positive opinion for approval of dinutuximab beta for immunotherapy of high risk neuroblastoma, an area of significant unmet medical need. We regard this as key step in the successful development of our company." Dr. Oliver Mutschlechner, Apeiron's VP Regulatory Affairs, added, "This was a complex but highly rewarding collaborative effort over several years between academic institutions and support companies**), coordinated and led by a dedicated group at Apeiron."

Lee Morley, EUSA Pharma's Chief Executive Officer, said, "This positive CHMP opinion is an important milestone for EUSA as we work to bring dinutuximab beta to children suffering from the high risk form of the devastating disease, neuroblastoma. Following this positive opinion in Europe, as next step we plan to submit dinutuximab beta for approval in the United States."

*) http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/index.jsp?curl=pages/news_and_events/news/2017/03/news_detail_002712.jsp&mid=WC0b01ac058004d5c1

**) Key external support provided by Granzer Regulatory Consulting & Services (www.granzer.biz/)

About dinutuximab beta and neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is an orphan oncology condition with significant unmet medical need. It accounts for up to 10% of childhood tumours and affects approximately 1,200 children in the EU5 and US each year. Dinutuximab beta is currently used across Europe and abroad under a managed access scheme and is included in a number of treatment protocols for high risk neuroblastoma.

Dinutuximab beta (ch14.18/CHO; APN311) is a mouse-human chimeric anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody produced in a state-of-the art process in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells that significantly improves event-free and overall survival in children with high risk neuroblastoma, with a favourable safety profile compared to other antibody-based neuroblastoma immunotherapies. Dinutuximab beta forms an important part of treatment regimens for high risk neuroblastoma. Its features offer the potential for further development in other malignancies to expand its current role. Dinutuximab beta has orphan drug designation for neuroblastoma treatment in the US and EU, and EUSA plans to file the product for approval in the United States in 2017.

About APEIRON Biologics AG

Apeiron is a private biotech company based in Vienna, Austria, engaged in innovative projects in immuno-oncology. Its most advanced project, APN311 (ch14.18/CHO, dinutuximab beta), a MAA has been submitted to the EMA in May 2015, the CHMP adopted a positive opinion on March 24, 2017. APN301 is a humanized anti-GD2 antibody-IL-2 fusion protein in clinical stage. Focus of clinical development presently is on melanoma by unique intratumoral application. A broad program is pursued to develop therapies aiming at stimulation of the immune system via novel checkpoint blockade mechanisms to fight cancer: APN411 is a preclinical project for orally available drugs, performed together with Sanofi and Evotec. APN401 is a novel individual cellular immunotherapy targeting the intracellular checkpoint cbl-b. A Phase I study in advanced cancer patients was successfully performed in the US (Wake Forest University, NC), Phase II is in planning stage.

For more information visit www.apeiron-biologics.com

About EUSA Pharma

Founded in March 2015, EUSA Pharma is a specialty pharmaceutical company with commercial operations in the US and Europe, and a wider distribution network in approximately 40 further countries. Currently, EUSA has a broad portfolio of approved and named-patient specialty hospital products, which the company has ambitious plans to expand through acquisition and in-licensing. EUSA is led by an experienced management team with a strong record of building successful specialty pharmaceutical companies, and is supported by significant funding raised from leading life science investor Essex Woodlands.

For more information visit www.eusapharma.com.

SOURCE: Apeiron Biologics
Most of the women who trust their children to Jamie Tabbs cottage childcare business in Turtle Creek are struggling to get by under circumstances she knows well. Shes a single woman raising children on her own, as they are. Shes been employed and poor at the same time. Shes had to allow limited public transit schedules to determine where she could go and when. And she knows what its like to long for the peace of mind that having stable, affordable housing offers.

When I was a teen mom and going to school and working, it was so much to handle, said Tabb, 25, the mother of two boys and a girl ranging in age from 4 to 9 years. Id take the bus. I went to school in Braddock Hills and worked Downtown. Id have to leave early because it took an hour to get Downtown. I worked at night and no day care stayed open late.

She never earned enough working part time or full time at a bank, a nonprofit and as a medical assistant that she didnt worry about minor expenses. Tabb quit her Downtown job last year after her 9-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. She opened a day care business in her home, where she could better manage her life and family. Id been living paycheck to paycheck. I had three kids and medical problems. I was going to work with that on my mind. I was going to Childrens Hospital a lot. Thats two buses $3.50, there and back. It just got to be too much. I know what these moms are going through.

No data point better illustrates what such hardship means to the region than this: In Allegheny County, single women with families account for 77 percent of the households living in poverty.

City and suburbs alike

Single mothers vulnerability to living a life of poverty was not lost on The Pittsburgh Foundation, which identified them as a target population when it launched 100 Percent Pittsburgh, its initiative to explore strategies for enhancing the opportunities of those left out of the regions economic resurgence. The idea is to conceive and support solutions that are informed by community conversations, including discussions with nonprofits and others who help women work through their challenges and single women with children themselves, who know better than anyone what they need to more fully participate in the Pittsburgh economy.

Foundation officials found plenty of evidence to confirm that these women should be among the populations on which the initiative will focus. There are stark national and local data on key quality-of-life issues from income to housing, and volumes of research into the roots of the poor outcomes they disproportionately experience. And there is anecdotal evidence, such as the emergence of the nonprofit Diaper Bank of Western Pennsylvania.

This is where we are, said Jeanne Pearlman, The Pittsburgh Foundation senior vice president for program and policy. We have to have a nonprofit to get diapers for moms who cant afford them for their babies.

And then there is the scope of the problem. High rates of single women who are raising children and living in poverty are found in cities and suburbs alike. And it is not a local phenomenon.

More than 28 percent of the U.S. households headed by women had poverty-level incomes in 2015, or about 4.4 million households, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Among married families, the poverty rate is less than 6 percent.

In the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, the poverty rate among women head of households rose 15 percent between 2000 and 2012, according to an Urban League study.

More than half of those households are found in Allegheny County, the regions urban core. But the largest increases are seen in the six surrounding counties. In Butler County, for example, the number of single women with children living in poverty increased 52 percent; in Westmoreland County, it rose 40 percent; in Beaver, 36 percent.

Some 500 families are enrolled in a regional group of family support centers, offering home nursing visits, education and employment support services. And about 95 percent of those families are single women raising children 5 years old or younger. Most have poverty-level incomes as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The centers are part of a network called Family Care Connection, a public-private initiative created nearly two decades ago to help stabilize low-income families and prevent young children from experiencing poor outcomes down the road.

Its not finding employment, but the quality of the job that is the issue for many of the women, said Charlotte Byrd, who manages Family Care Connection. These parents are working, but at such a low wage that most are still in poverty.

Women raising children on their own face an uphill climb for a number of reasons. Theirs is the only income. And theres no spouse to help raise the children and share the load of other household responsibilities. A poverty- level income typically exacerbates whatever other challenges they face, leaving them more susceptible to crisis and limiting opportunities for improvement.

Its not finding employment, but the quality of the job that is the issue These parents are working, but at such a low wage that most are still in poverty.

 Charlotte Byrd, Family Care Connection

Everything is a struggle

Mary Carey, a 47-year-old single mother, is an art and cultural facilitator at the Carnegie Library in Braddock. She considers the job to be the most fulfilling shes ever had and one the library offered her after years of volunteering there. Most recently, shes worked with the Braddock family support center to launch a grant-funded program that she conceived to prepare young, low-income men in the neighborhood to succeed in adulthood.

She also works side jobs as a notary and as a jitney driver to support herself and her 12-year-old son. And she relies on a public subsidy to cover a portion of her housing costs.

Her life became one of limited opportunity after the birth of her first son, who is now 31 and living on his own. He was 6 when Carey was convicted of assault at the age of 22, giving her a record that complicated everything from building a career to finding affordable housing and childcare. Shed been trained as a home health aide, for example, but those jobs dried up given her felony conviction. She turned to a temp agency, but the pay was light and her assignments were so sporadic that she couldnt log the necessary hours to be eligible for a state childcare subsidy.

Careys mother, who was battling cancer at the time, took them in, providing the home and childcare Carey couldnt afford. As long as she knew I was working or going to school, she never said nothing, Carey recalled. If I didnt have her to watch my son while I looked for work and went to work, I dont know how I would have been able to get along.

Childcare and transportation are the top barriers to economic security for single women with children, according to a Womens and Girls Foundation survey of families enrolled in Allegheny County family support centers. Finding employment ranks a distant third.

Affordable childcare is particularly problematic. The states childcare subsidies require women to be working steadily or going to school, and high demand often means waiting lists for the limited funds.

Working off-hours narrows childcare options. Childcare centers accommodating evening and early morning hours are scarce. But the demand is such that when Tabb talks of expanding her childcare business, she envisions a network of round-the-clock centers as her way of retiring by age 30. I know what its like to be a parent and not work 9 to 5. Its hard to find daylight-hour jobs unless you have a degree. A lot of people working in restaurants, nurses aides, teen momstheyre working night shift.

Off-hour work also complicates transportation when the only options are public transit systems that scale back routes and hours in the evening and on weekends. Its an issue for single women with children in Allegheny County, which operates the regions largest public transit system. Its more challenging in surrounding counties, where public transit is underdeveloped and single women in poverty are more likely to need to take on the additional expense of owning a car.

Affordable housing is another challenge common among low-income families. Its the chief reason why single women enrolled in Family Care Connection centers tend to be highly transient, Byrd said. Some women have subsidized housing. But others dont, and rent has gotten so high its ridiculous. They spend most of their wages or benefits on rent.

The average fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment has increased 29 percent since 2005 to stand at $827 a month in the Pittsburgh MSA, according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data. At that rate, someone with a minimum-wage job would need to work 26 hours every week just to cover rent.

Nearly 82 percent of renters in southwestern Pennsylvania who earn less than $20,000 a year spend at least 30 percent of their income on housing. HUD considers such households to be cost burdened and at risk of being unable to afford other basic necessities, such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care. Only 2.5 percent of renters earning $75,000 or more spend 30 percent of their income on housing.

Over the past 25 years, an increase in the number of U.S. homeless families has coincided with an increase in single-parent families, most of which are headed by women. About two-thirds of homeless women live with minor children and 80 percent of those children are younger than 11, a study by Princeton University and Columbia University researchers finds.

When you dont have resources, everything is a struggle, said Marc Cherna, director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services.

Easing that struggle has long proven to be difficult. Most families that Chernas department serves face multiple challenges, which requires a holistic approach to human service delivery.

No county does that better than Allegheny, for reasons that range from local political support and innovation to the willingness of local foundations to create a fund specifically for exploring better ways of integrating services. Still, barriers remain. The most difficult are the restrictions on how money allocated by scores of government agencies can be spent. The lack of flexibility discourages a holistic approach and often leads to treating symptoms rather than causes of family distress.

Far-reaching consequences

More than their well-being is at stake when women struggle in poverty. As fare mothers, so fare their children, said The Pittsburgh Foundations Pearlman.

Opportunities to start school ready to learn elude large numbers of low-income children. An estimated 64 percent of them lack access to quality pre-kindergarten programs, according to Pennsylvanias State Department of Education.

The outcomes of children whose families receive human services offer a glimpse of the impact poverty has on their lives and prospects. Poverty is the most common circumstance shared by families involved in services ranging from mental health and drug and alcohol treatment to housing assistance and child welfare protection. Evidence suggests children of these families face significant challenges and a greater risk of poor outcomes, particularly in school.

Public school students involved in human services are much less likely than those whove never been involved to carry a 2.5 grade point average or higher, Allegheny County Department of Human Services and school district data suggest. They are much less likely to be proficient in math and reading as measured by state standardized tests. They also have higher rates of chronic absenteeism, which increases the likelihood of underperforming in school.

In public schools countywide, for example, 62 percent of students receiving human services were absent at least 10 percent of the school year in 2014. In the Pittsburgh Public Schools, students involved in human services, such as the public welfare and child welfare systems, accounted for 58 percent of the students who missed at least 20 percent of the school year in 2012. Of those, only 14 percent had a 2.5 GPA or higher.

Such outcomes tear at one of the strongest desires shared by most of the single women with children Byrd said she encounters at the family support centers she manages. They want their children to do better than they are doing. They want their children to be ahead of where they are themselves.
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Students in grades three through eight will be taking the standardized tests in English language tests starting on Tuesday and continuing through Thursday.

What is not known at this point is whether the number of parents opting their children out of taking the test decreases from the 20 percent statewide last year.

The opt-out rate in 2016 remained fairly steady from the year before, despite the changes that state officials made to the tests including shortening them and giving students unlimited time to complete them. Last June, the New York State Education Department released 75 percent of the test questions online, which allowed teachers to review them and talk with their colleagues about what material was missed.

Also, the test scores are not being used to evaluate teachers. A moratorium put in place in December 2015 continues through the 2018-2019 school year.

The education advocacy group High Achievement New York is encouraging parents to have students take the test.

All across the State, the vast majority of parents have their children opt in to state assessments and are encouraging others to do the same, said Stephen Sigmund, executive director of High Achievement New York, in a news release. We see the facts after last years tests; the achievement gap is starting to narrow, while proficiency and graduation rates have increased. With the tests underway, parents again have the opportunity to provide a quality education not only for their children, but for kids all over New York  no matter where they come from.

The New York State PTA on Friday issued a statement reaffirming its support for parents rights to make educational decisions for their children.

NYS PTA believes that schools must establish a balanced use of assessments to inform instruction without over testing or emphasizing test performance, Executive Director Kyle Belokopitsky said in a news release. We do not support the use of a single test or assessment for placement, promotion, retention decisions or other high-stakes decisions affecting students. Over-emphasis on high-stakes testing, especially tests that can be linked to both educator and school accountability, is detrimental to students and the education process.

New York State United Teachers also issued a fact sheet, stating it supports the rights of parents to make educational decisions for their children.

School districts are required to have 95 percent participation in the tests students under the new Every Student Succeeds Act. However, the federal government left it to the states for regulate what to do if this 95-percent participation threshold is not met because of the opt-outs. An effort by former Education Secretary John B. King Jr. to put punitive measures in place for schools that did not meet the threshold has been stopped by Congress.
Glens Falls student is named to NSHSS

GLENS FALLS  Glens Falls High School senior Zain Ashfaq has been selected to become a member of the National Society of High School Scholars. The society recognizes top scholars who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, scholarship and community commitment.

The announcement was made by NSHSS founder and Chairman Claes Nobel, senior member of the family that established the Nobel Prizes. NSHSS members automatically become lifetime members at the time of their initial membership. At each step along the way  from high school to college to career  NSHSS connects outstanding young scholars with the resources they need to develop their strengths and pursue their passions.

For more information about NSHSS, visit www.nshss.org.

Fort Ann teacher is Teacher of the Week

FORT ANN  Fort Ann Elementary School first-grade teacher Lynn Andrejkovics was named Teacher of the Week on March 6 by TCT Federal Credit Union in Ballston Spa. Every week during the school year, the credit union salutes local educators and school employees for their outstanding efforts during the year.

The Teacher of the Week is nominated by a fellow school community member who wants to acknowledge dedication to students and enthusiasm for learning. All school employees, including teachers, aids, assistants, administration staff, janitors, nurses, bus drivers and more, are eligible to receive the award. To nominate a special school employee and view past Teachers of the Week, visit www.tctfcu.org or email teacher@ adirondackbroadcasting.com.

Nominations are kept on file throughout the school year and one recipient is selected each Monday morning and announced on-air. The award includes gift certificates to local businesses, a commemorative plaque, flowers and gift bag. Teacher of the Week is sponsored in part by TCT Federal Credit Union and Adirondack Broadcasting.

Fort Ann student makes Deans List

FREDONIA  Katelyn Jean White of Fort Ann has been named to the Deans List for the fall 2016 semester at the State University of New York at Fredonia.

Deans List students have earned a grade point average of at least 3.30 or higher for that semester out of a possible 4.0, while carrying a full-time minimum course load of at least 12 credit hours.

Student is inducted into honor society

PORTLAND, Maine  Ashley Ellis of Argyle was inducted into Pi Theta Epilson, a National Honor Society for Occupational Therapy students at the University of New England, on Feb. 6.
GRANVILLE  A Vermont woman was charged with a felony count of aggravated driving while intoxicated Saturday afternoon after a crash on Route 22A that injured her three children, police said.

None of the injuries were serious in the 1:37 p.m. crash near the intersection with county Route 21, according to State Police.

Police said Nicole J. Harper, 31, of Castleton, Vermont drove off the road and hit a utility pole, injuring children ages 3, 6 and 9 who were in the vehicle. All three and Harper were taken to Glens Falls Hospital for treatment of minor injuries and were treated and released.

Harper was found to be intoxicated, with a bottle of Jagermeister liquor in the vehicle, and was charged with felony aggravated driving while intoxicated for allegedly driving drunk with children in a vehicle, misdemeanor DWI and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, police records show.

Harper was arraigned and released, pending prosecution in Granville Town Court. The children were turned over to a relative.
QUEENSBURY  Warren County sheriffs officers and State Police locked up several more alleged drug dealers headed to and from Vermont over the weekend.

Officers seized prescription drugs and cocaine in arresting four people, three of them residents of Delaware and the fourth a Rutland, Vermont man, authorities said. In all, police have jailed at least eight people on drug charges over the last three weeks in the corridor between Queensbury and the Vermont state line.

The weekend arrests stemmed from two early morning traffic stops in Queensbury  one on Route 149 early Saturday and the other on the Northway early Sunday.

Sheriffs officers stopped a vehicle near the intersection of 149 and Bay Road at about 1:30 a.m. and smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle, police said.

A search yielded prescription opioid painkillers, amphetamines and cocaine and led to felony charges against two of three people in the vehicle, according to the Sheriffs Office.

Charged with felony counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance were Katie C. Scanlan, 20, of Wilmington, Delaware, who allegedly had the painkiller Vicodin and marijuana; and David B. Highberger, 24, who was accused of possessing cocaine, hydrocodone and marijuana, police said.

Charged with misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance was Robert M. Reuther III, 22, of Wilmington, Delaware, who allegedly had amphetamines and marijuana, police said. All three also face counts of unlawful possession of marijuana.

Shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday, state troopers stopped a vehicle heading north on the Northway near Exit 20 and charged Derrick R. Walton, 35, of Rutland, Vermont with two felony counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance for allegedly having cocaine with intent to distribute, police records show.

He also was charged with misdemeanor counts of driving while impaired by drugs, possessing a hypodermic instrument and possessing drug paraphernalia, records show.

Walton, Scanlan and Highberger were being held in Warren County Jail for lack of bail, while Reuther was released on cash bail.

Route 149s status as a main conduit for traffic to and from Vermont, where drug issues have worsened in recent years, has meant local officers have seen waves of traffickers traveling from the New York City area.

Collaborative efforts by state troopers and sheriffs officers have resulted in a large uptick in arrests in recent weeks. Local police agencies have networked with their counterparts in Vermont to share intelligence about suspected dealers.

Warren County Sheriff Bud York said his agency has added new personnel to its narcotics unit, and officers from the Sheriffs Office and State Police have been networking well.

They have been getting a lot of information and working well together, he said.
QUEENSBURY  The Warren County SPCA has a new tool to help address complaints about animals being left in hot vehicles, one of a number of changes for the agency as it looks to improve animal cruelty investigations and work under the auspices of the Warren County Sheriffs Office.

SPCA personnel have gotten equipment that can check the temperature of the interior of a vehicle and an animals skin from outside the vehicle, which allows animal control officers to determine whether an animal is in danger without having to break car windows.

Jim Fitzgerald, of the SPCA, said the devices use lasers to take temperature readings. It is similar to the technology electricians use to check panel boxes for activity, and can show pet owners how quickly vehicles and animals heat up when cars are left in the sun.

As people have become aware of the issue of animals being overcome by heat in vehicles, Fitzgerald said calls have gotten more frequent. The SPCA is training additional personnel to serve as peace officers who can issue tickets in these cases. The agencys peace officer roster will grow from three to seven, according to Fitzgerald.

The agency, revamped two years ago under new leadership, has operated for years under the oversight of the clerk of the county Board of Supervisors.

But since then, its funding was increased and the Glens Falls-based agency has become more active in dealing with cat issues. It has contracted with towns for animal control services and has a bigger budget.

Queensbury at-Large Supervisor Rachel Seeber questioned whether a county agency that could provide more support should oversee the agencys budget.

Since SPCA personnel work frequently with law enforcement, Seeber suggested the Sheriffs Office. Warren County Sheriff Bud York said Fitzgerald has long assisted his officers with animal control issues, and York said Fitzgerald has responded whenever asked. He said his office could oversee the SPCA if asked to do so.

We would essentially serve as the Sheriffs Offices animal control, Fitzgerald said.

County supervisors tabled the issue on Monday to review it further.

Supervisors are also weighing whether the SPCA can formally assist the county Health Department as it deals with possible rabies cases stemming from animal bites. SPCA staff had been helping in recent years with bite cases by checking on quarantined animals as required by law, but some have questioned whether public health nurses should be doing that at all.

There is a dangerous aspect to it, Queensbury at-Large Supervisor Matt Sokol said.

Fitzgerald said he has concerns about public health nurses going to homes where agitated pet owners may not be happy about the oversight. In one recent case, a quarantined dog was at the home of a convicted rapist, he said. There have also been questions about whether all of the required checks were being done.

What youre saying is, legally, it has to be done better? York asked.

It could come back to bite the county, Fitzgerald replied.

Washington County pays municipal animal control officers to perform the checks, according to Fitzgerald.
LAKE GEORGE  Trooper Steven Rothwein pulled a lever to activate the simulator and the Chevy truck cab flipped over and over and over.

Lake George Junior-Senior High School students watched two dummies get flung out of the window and then land on the ground. One of the dummies was very small, to represent a baby.

Luckily, they were only soft dummies and not really people who were being ejected from the vehicle because they were not wearing their seat belts.

Just because youre in the back doesnt mean youre safe, Rothwein said Monday during a demonstration for the students during their lunch periods.

This was part of the State Police Rollover Simulator, which is the cab of a Chevy S-10 pickup truck attached to a two-axle trailer with a braking and control system that can spin the cab.

Rothwein said seat belts are not required by law for people sitting in the back seat when they become 16. However, he believes all occupants of a vehicle should be buckled.

After seeing some of the crashes over 25 years, I can see what unbuckled people can do to the front passengers, he said, referring to unrestrained back-seat passengers hurting people in the front.

Rothwein cited the real-life example of a fatal crash involving teenagers in Berne about nine years ago. The only occupant of the car who died was the person riding in the back seat without wearing a seat belt.

Even if you just roll inside the car, youre going to get hurt, perhaps seriously, he said.

With the advent of prom season, Lake George school officials wanted students to be able to see the simulator.

Rothwein said students need to be prepared for an accident. Something could happen in front of them, which could cause them to swerve and go down a hill.

Students were receptive to the presentation.

I thought it was pretty scary because I wouldnt want to see that or experience that, said 15-year-old sophomore Jade Baker.

Eighth-grader Anthony Richichi, 13, said the simulator was very effective.

It shows the dangers of not having a seat belt on, he said.

Richichi added that seat belts often are not worn on buses and people could be hurt even more severely.

School counselor Steve Preuss said Mondays demonstration was one of three events lined up this week. On Tuesday, Rothwein will be back to show off the Convincer simulator. Students get strapped to a seat and travel down an inclined track before coming to a sudden stop, which is meant to simulate a 5 mph crash.

Students in physical education classes on Thursday are going to have the Battle of the Belts, where students compete in teams of four to see who can buckle themselves in the quickest time.

Preuss said he had thought about bringing this demonstration to school for a few years. It is more than just wearing a seat belt. He wants students to be aware of the dangers of texting while driving, playing with the radio or just not paying attention.

Its all considered distracted driving, he said.
LAKE GEORGE  Village trustees are holding an emergency meeting Tuesday morning to introduce a local law that would allow the hiring of peace officers who live outside the village.

The meeting will take place at 8:30 a.m. in Village Hall.

Mayor Robert Blais said the village recently learned that if they hire peace officers from outside of Warren County, they have to approve a local law.

The village has six people who are going to be peace officers during the tourist season. They mostly get students who are not from the village, according to Blais.

Blais said the issue was flagged when village officials submitted certification forms to the state of individuals they were going to hire. The local law would state that the village will accept people from Warren, Washington, Saratoga and Essex counties to be peace officers.

The village needs to hold a special meeting so it can set the public hearing for April 3 at 6 p.m. The issue is time-sensitive because peace officers needed to take a required course before they can begin serving, according to Blais.

If the law does not pass, Blais said the village would not be able to get peace officers to work in the village.
At the end of a more than two hour-long contentious discussion at a Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting in July 2007, then Chairman William Thomas attempted to add some levity.

Can we all agree its raining outside? Thomas asked his colleagues.

I want a roll call vote on that Mr. Chairman, chimed in longtime Glens Falls 4th Ward Supervisor Michael OConnor.

OConnor, who died Thursday at age 78, commonly seasoned his yays and nays with Irish wit during his 22 years on the county Board of Supervisors.

OConnor, a Democrat, won his first election in 1987 by 14 votes against Roy Thomas, who was a Republican at the time but later switched parties and served as Glens Falls Democratic chairman.

OConnor continued as president of Warren-Hamilton Counties Community Action Agency board after retiring from elected office at the end of 2009.

Because of his humor and concise manner, the Community Action board never lacked a quorom for its meetings, said Lynn Ackershoeck, the agencys executive director.

Mike has been my sounding board here for as long as I have been the executive director, she said. He was always very attentive, very listening, very nonjudgmental.

Back in downtown

Fourteen years later, Stephen Babson is back on the downtown Glens Falls business scene.

Babson recently opened a new Edward Jones financial services office at 55 Bay St. in the newly renovated historic Smith Flats building.

He will hold an open house reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Babson previously worked in banking for a number of years, and before that was a partner in The Java Shop, a short-lived coffee shop in 2002 and 2003 on Exchange Street, where Rock Hill Bakehouse Cafe is located now.

During that time he was active in organizing downtown events and community charitable projects, including dressing as a genie in 2003 to raise $2,310 for World Awareness Childrens Museum.

Babson is continuing that charitable spirit by collecting nonperishable food items at the open house on Tuesday to benefit the Open Door mission in Glens Falls.

I just feel very blessed and fortunate to be in the position that I am in now, he said.

C.R. Bard helps





C.R. Bard Foundation and a very generous senior contributed funding to buy and install a new wheelchair lift at Greater Glens Falls Senior Center, said Kimberly Bren, the centers executive director.

The lift replaces a previous lift that was 33 years old.

New LARAC show





Still Explorations, featuring work by local artists Lindsay Tripp, Sarah Stonefoot, Michael Hower, Zack Zoll, Chris Stach and Marty Hardin, opens Friday and runs through April 28 at the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council gallery on Lapham Place in downtown Glens Falls.

Musician Kirsti Blow will entertain at an opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday.

Time warp





On Saturday, I posted the following historical note on Facebook:

Fun fact  In February 1920, Mrs. Charles Evans Hughes donated $10 to the Glens Falls Italian Society campaign to buy an automobile for use by visiting nurses.

I chuckled when Facebook asked if I wanted to set up a button for online contributions.








US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told AIPAC on Monday evening that she would not allow a repeat of an anti-settlement passing at the UN Security Council, as it did in December when the US, under the leadership of the Obama administration, refused to yield its veto power. Resolution 2334 called on Israel to halt all settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, labeling them illegal.





The days of Israel bashing are over, at the UN, Haley vowed on Monday, to tumultuous applause.





She spoke of having prevented the appointment of a Palestinian official, former Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad, to a senior UN position, and noted that he may well have been a nice man.





But until the Palestinians come to the table to negotiate peace with Israel, there are no freebies for the Palestinian Authority any more.

Haley also referenced the recent withdrawal of a UN groups report that accused Israel of running an apartheid regime over the Palestinians. Her success in having that report withdrawn, she said, shows that for anyone who thinks you cannot get anything done in the UN, she continued, theres a new sheriff in town.





Haleys appearance was by far the most rapturously received of any speaker thus far at AIPACs annual policy conference, which began on Sunday morning.





On the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, Haley said that all she did was tell the truth, in reference to anti-BDS legislation she helped pass when she was governor of North Carolina. The fight against the BDS movement, she said, were going to continue that and take that to the UN; they need to understand that this is not what we need to be focused on.
















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Speaking with CNN, Nunes, a member of Trump's transition team, said he was on the White House grounds, which includes buildings such as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, but was not in the White House itself. He added that the Trump administration was not aware he was there.

The purpose of Nunes' trip to the White House grounds, he said, was to view the information he obtained in a secure setting.

When asked why Nunes couldn't have viewed the documents at the Capitol, his spokesman told Business Insider that because the information "comprised executive-branch documents that have not been provided to Congress," the White House grounds "was the best location to safeguard the proper chain of custody and classification of these documents."

"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," Nunes' spokesman, Jack Langer, said on Monday. "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."

Nunes reiterated that in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday. "We don't have networked access to these kinds of reports in Congress," Nunes said, referring to the executive-branch reports he says he obtained from an intelligence official.

Nunes' office said in an earlier statement that the California congressman was investigating "the possible improper unmasking of names of US citizens" before Trump made his unfounded Twitter claim in early March that Trump Tower had been wiretapped by President Barack Obama. Nunes has said no evidence supports the president's claim.

"No whistleblower I've ever heard of would set up a meeting on White House grounds with the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee," The Washington Post's national security correspondent, Greg Miller, told CNN.

"You know who generally doesn't leak classified info to congressional intelligence committees using a White House SCIF? Whistleblowers," said Ali Watkins, Buzzfeed News' national security correspondent, referring to a Secured Compartmented Information Facility.

Nunes caused a stir last week when he told the press and Trump that he had seen reports showing that the intelligence community "incidentally collected" information about Trump and his team during the transition period. He said the collection occurred on "numerous occasions" and was not related to the FBI's investigation into Russian meddling in last year's presidential election, making it OK for him to share it with the president.

Nunes was asked whether the information he shared came directly from the White House, which he would not confirm or deny, stressing that "we have to keep our sources and methods here very, very quiet." The House Intelligence chair said his decision to brief Trump was a "judgment call."

The episode stunned many, including members of the House Intelligence Committee, who were not briefed about the information before Nunes went to the press and to Trump.

The ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, blasted Nunes for the move, saying it compromised their committee's investigation.

"At this point, the only people who do know are the chairman and the president," Schiff told NPR. "And given that the president's associates are the subject in part of the investigation, that's wholly inappropriate, and, unfortunately, I think it really impugns the credibility of the chairman in terms of his ability to conduct an independent investigation."

Schiff told reporters on Friday that Nunes had canceled an open House Intelligence Committee hearing set for this week with former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former acting Attorney General Sally Yates.
In an interview on "Meet The Press," anchor Chuck Todd asked Dent to confirm a New York Times report that the president angrily said he would blame Dent for the failed Republican healthcare legislation  and if tax reform succumbed to a similar fate.

"I'm not going to deny that," Dent replied. "I listened very respectfully to what the president had to say. But my bottom line is this: This discussion has been far too much about artificial timelines, arbitrary deadlines, all to effect the baseline on tax reform. This conversation should be more about the people whose lives are going to be impacted by our decisions on their healthcare."

Republicans were forced to pull their healthcare plan on Friday after party leaders failed to successfully placate the most conservative members of the House while maintaining support from moderates like Dent.

During Sunday's interview, the congressman said Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan didn't adequately address concerns about the bill from GOP governors of states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

"They wanted to be part of this process," Dent said. "They were not brought in. I mean, those kinds of issues were very important to me, and to the people I represent and, frankly, to a lot of the members of Congress who are part of our center-right group, the Tuesday Group."

He added: "We're very concerned about the Medicaid changes. And so, yeah, I can hold my ground."

Since the bill's failure, the president has laid blame on a number of forces from the right and left that he claimed derailed the bill.

Trump blamed Democrats on Friday for refusing to support the bill, though Republicans made no serious attempt to court House Democrats.
But the failure has laid bare the warring factions within the Republican Party and signaled that fights to come may turn out similar to the one over the American Health Care Act.

During the debate on the AHCA, conservative Republican members of the House Freedom Caucus were able to hold out and block the bill because it did not meet their ideological muster in repealing Obamacare, the healthcare law known formally as the Affordable Care Act. At the same time, attempts by the Trump administration to appease these conservatives caused more moderate Republicans, such as the Tuesday Group caucus, to withdraw their support of the bill.

President Donald Trump has selected tax reform as his next target after the healthcare bill's defeat, and battles over government funding and raising the nation's debt ceiling loom. These issues will reveal the extent of the divide in the GOP  and how well Trump can lead a political party.

The debt ceiling and shutdown fight

Trump and his top advisers have hinted that his next agenda item will be tax reform. But another fight on the horizon would have immediate and deeper implications.

Government funding is set to run out late next month, setting up a potential government shutdown on April 29, the 100th day of Trump's presidency. Then, sometime over the summer  most likely in July, according to estimates  Congress will have to raise the nation's borrowing limit or face defaulting on some of the federal debt.

A default would be disastrous for the US and the global economy. But far-right members of the GOP pushed the country to that brink in 2011 and 2013, when the federal government shut down for more than two weeks and Congress hurled toward the edge of the debt ceiling.

Greg Valliere, a political analyst at Horizon Investments, said the possibility of another shutdown and a default would mirror the fight over healthcare.

"Despite all the glib predictions that tax reform can now move quickly, that overlooks the near-certainty of an epic spring battle over spending," Valliere wrote in a note to clients on Monday. "Talk about deja-vu: Once again the fight will be among Republicans, with the Freedom Caucus seeking deep spending cuts while moderate Republicans fight to soften Trump's spending reductions."

Moderate Republicans would want to avoid a shutdown, while conservatives, including the Freedom Caucus, would not want to raise the ceiling or pass a spending deadline without cuts. This could leave Trump with no real option but to get Democrats on board, meaning they could push for provisions for legislation that would keep the government funded or raise the debt ceiling.

Of course, there is always the outside-the-box option to mint a trillion-dollar coin to pay down some of the debt, which evidently was seriously considered by the Obama administration during previous debt-ceiling fights.

Tax reform

Tax reform in the vein of what Trump and Republican leaders have suggested would also be difficult to achieve.

Trump has said he wants to slash the federal corporate tax to between 15% and 20% from its current 35%, as well as lower personal taxes. On February 9, Trump said he would unveil "something phenomenal in terms of tax" over the next two or three weeks.

But Valliere said neither congressional GOP leaders nor the Trump team had a full plan ready to go.

"By summer, tax reform finally may be moving with a bill making it to the House floor, but don't expect much action anytime soon (the Ways and Means Committee will convene a meeting tomorrow but the panel's bill isn't ready)," Valliere said. "The Trump Administration doesn't have its tax plan finished, either; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and most congressional Republicans are not fully up to speed on the enormously complicated tax issues that have to be resolved."

As Business Insider's Pedro da Costa wrote, Trump and his team like to talk about the fact that the tax system hasn't been reformed since President Ronald Reagan did so in 1986. There are reasons for this: Taxes are complicated, congressional Republicans have to serve a variety of interests and businesses in their home districts, and there will be sharp rebukes from Democrats.

Gluskin Sheff's David Rosenberg touched on a similar theme in a note to clients on Monday. He noted that it took Reagan five years to craft his tax reform and get it through Congress  and right now, there is "no one firm GOP plan for the initiative," Rosenberg said. This is compounded by the fallout from the fight over healthcare.
The pair were discussing the state of American media on "CBS Sunday Morning" when Hannity, the conservative firebrand and staunch supporter of President Donald Trump who has been accused of blurring news and opinion, defended his style of journalism.

"We have to give some credit to the American people that they're somewhat intelligent and that they know the difference between an opinion show and a news show," Hannity said.

"You're cynical," he added to the straight-faced Koppel, to which the host agreed.

Hannity pressed further: "Do you think were bad for America? You think Im bad for America?"

"Yeah," Koppel replied flatly.

In the testy back-and-forth that followed, Koppel laid out his chief complaint.

"You have attracted people who are determined that ideology is more important than facts."

After the segment aired, Hannity slammed CBS as "fake edited news."
The farmers in the Wassa Amenfi East District of the region say it is unprofitable to go into cocoa farming because it no longer provides economic returns worth their time and energy.

A farmer, Kwesi Nyarko, told Radio Maxx that, after years of cocoa farming, he is still unable to cater for his wards educational needs.

"I have not been able to put up a single room all these years after farming," he said after he sold off a portion of his land for GHC30, 000.

Reports say, a land with higher prospect for gold can go for GHC40, 000 while lower prospects go for 10,000 cedis.

The farmers determine the prospect by examining the distance between the lands and the nearest gold mining site.

The capitulation in the face of Chinese cash has seen a disturbing destruction of cocoa farms to the more rewarding work of finding gold.

And gold is rewarding. In 2015, gold brought in $4.33 billion. Cocoa beans grossed $1.98b. And so it appears, a golden stone is better than a golden pod.

Another farmer Kwesi Narko also says although he can boast of 20 acres cocoa lands, he struggles for fertilizers for his farms.

READ ALSO:Bawumia expresses concern over galamsey

The fertilizer politicization in the cocoa sector is part of the reasons why he is gradually hanging his farming boots for a one-off buy-out of his cocoa lands.

He says he last got 18 bags of cocoa fertilizer but pointed to some others who got as much as 100 bags of fertilizers.

According to the Lands and Natural Resources Minister Ghana lost 2.3 billion dollars worth of gold through illegal mining popularly known as galamsey.

In Ghana, it appears economy is more important than ecology and so destruction of the environment appears not to be an alarming reason to halt illegal mining.

But the danger from ecological destruction has escalated to a sanitation crisis. Rivers are now too polluted to serve as sources of water for water treatment plants.

The rivers, hitherto colourless have now turned into a substance too harmful. Gold is a good colour for jewelry but a cancerous colour for drinking.

READ ALSO: Leading cocoa companies in the world pledge to help Ghana fight illegal mining

And so in the Eastern region where river Tano is found, water is fast becoming a scarce commodity in surrounding communities.

While the take-over of cocoa farms in the Wassa Amenfi East District is peaceful even if detrimental, the take-over of cocoa farms in Goaso in the Asunafo North Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region is nothing short of violence.

Galamsey operators there have destroyed three cocoa-growing communities - Manukrom, Atoom and Tipokrom.
At least three students were stabbed at the University of Cape Coast following a clash between some students of the University of Ghana and KNUST.

A student who was returning from night study is reportedly paralyzed as a result of several stabs he received from his attackers.

READ MORE: 3 students stabbed in clashes between rival Halls at UCC

An eyewitness account say some residents of Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana and Unity Hall of KNUST who had been invited for a programme at Ogua Hall at UCC ended up attacking one another after a misunderstanding.

The incident became intense after some residents of ATL Hall also joined the skirmishes.

READ ALSO: Students rusticated over clashes

Several properties belonging to Ogua Hall are reportedly destroyed. The hall bus and vehicles belonging to some lecturers were also vandalized.

Authorities of KNUST told the media that they would surcharge the students found culpable for the attack after police investigations.

Director of Public Relations of the University of Cape Coast, Major Rtd. Kofi Bentum said the recent incident happened on the blind side of the authorities.
I turned on my computer and looked in disbelief for about 10 seconds at what was happening, before I realized that it was a hacker attack, Zeman said in an interview.

IT specialists from the presidents office have traced the attack back to the US state of Alabama, the president said.

This is not the first cyber attack on Czech politicians.

Hackers broke into the email account of the Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka in early 2016.

Previously, unknown users sent fake messages from his Twitter account.

In October 2013, pornographic photographs appeared on the website of Zemans Party of Civic Rights (SPO).

Zeman is considered a critic of Islam and supports an end to EU sanctions against Russia.
A 17-member ministerial committee inaugurated by the Minister of Energy Boakye Agyarko on February 1, 2017 and was tasked to probe the controversial AMERI Power Agreement, questionably procured by the previous government through sole-sourcing, has concluded that the deal was not only grossly unfair to the interest of Ghana, but could also be considered as fraud.

READ MORE: Group disappointed in IMANI Ghana for describing Bawumia partisan

According to the committees report, AMERI Energy plant have no license to operate in Ghana.

The report added "The Committee recommends that Ameri Energy should be invited back to the negotiation table to address and remedy the issues enumerated in this report and for GoG to aim to claw back a substantial portion of the over $150 million commission. In the event that Ameri Energy refuses to come to the negotiation table, GoG should repudiate the Agreement on the grounds of fraud."

The chairman of the committee recommended that the "Government of Ghana should repudiate the Agreement on the grounds of fraud" since Ameri Energy refused to come to the negotiation table.

AMERI was tasked to build the power plants, own and operate it for 5years before finally transferring it to the government of Ghana at a total cost of $510m.

Information about the power deal government signed with AMERI group emerged that previous government has been on the defensive.

READ ALSO:

However, John Jinapor said the committees report is inaccurate and political.

In an interview on Accra-based Neat FM he said "The paper that even published the report is affiliated to the NPP so you shouldnt be surprised because its a bit political and jaundiced. I am not aware of any committee and none of the committee members called me or my boss [Dr Kwabena Donkor] then for interrogations. I dont know where this report is coming from. Its inaccurate."
The government is on the heels of Middle East Resources Investment Group LLC which had signed an agreement with Ghana to produce power during the erstwhile administration.

A committee was set up by the Minister of Energy Boakye Agyarko to restructure the $510 million Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) Agreement between Ghana and AMERI Energy.

AMERI was to build the power plants, own and operate it for 5years before finally transferring it to the government of Ghana at a total cost of $510m.

Information about the power deal government signed with AMERI group emerged that previous government has been on the defensive.

READ ALSO:

The BOOT Agreement was signed on February 10, 2015 with the Ministry of Power to review, restructure and recommend areas for amendment in the energy sector.

Earlier, officials of AMERI have indicated that the contract they signed with Ghana is clean and devoid of fraud.

However, the explanations have not gone down well with many Ghanaians.

A 17-member ministerial committee was inaugurated by the Minister of Energy Boakye Agyarko on February 1, 2017 and was tasked to probe the controversial AMERI Power Agreement, questionably procured by the previous government through sole-sourcing, has concluded that the deal was not only grossly unfair to the interest of Ghana, but could also be considered as fraud.

The committees report indicated that in the course of the investigations, the committee took notice of the fact that the whole of the project was executed and financed by a company called PPR, which was registered in Turkey at a charge that was considerably lower than that agreed between the Government of Ghana and Ameri Energy (under the BOOT Agreement).

According to the committees report, AMERI Energy plant have no license to operate in Ghana.

The report added "The Committee recommends that Ameri Energy should be invited back to the negotiation table to address and remedy the issues enumerated in this report and for GoG to aim to claw back a substantial portion of the over $150 million commission. In the event that Ameri Energy refuses to come to the negotiation table, GoG should repudiate the Agreement on the grounds of fraud."

READ MORE: Kwabena Dumsor wishes Ghanaians AMERI Christmas

"Even though the plant is operational, several omissions and concessions were made in the BOOT Agreement which require re-negotiation, amendments and restructuring of the Agreement. The Agreement simply is grossly unfair and is not as it presently stands, in the best interest of Ghana.
The avowed critic of Nkrumah's human rights record, also criticised the education curriculum which credits Nkrumah as the founder of Ghana.

He was speaking at the screening of a documentary on the political history of Ghana produced by Paul Adom Otchere at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).

Some Ghanaians subsequently took to social media to express their acceptance or otherwise of the statement by the Speaker.

A lawyer, Francis Ontonyin made a comment on Facebook which many have described as sarcastic.

He wrote: "Rt Hon Speaker Mike Oquaye is the Founder of Ghana. Clap for him."

But the son of the late Nkrumah, in his response to the post, minced no words as he described the Speaker of parliament as a big fool.

Below is the Facebook post by Lawyer Francis Ontonyin and the comment by Sekou Nkrumah:

Sekou Nkrumah further indicated that Kwame Nkrumah led Ghana to independence and therefore he is the founder of modern Ghana!

That is a fact. If some people want to shove "alternative facts" down the throats of Ghanaians they must be prepared for a serious political confrontation, and I can assure them a humiliating defeat in the court of public opinion!
This the chamber believes will provide fair competition in the industry.

According to the Chamber, the penetration of the market by the defaulters have led to a revenue loss of about 490 million cedis in 2016 alone.

The Chief Executive of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, Senyo Hosi says, the activities of these defaulters if not checked, could displace legal operators in the industry and in extreme cases, inoperable.

Illegal products have flooded the market; people claim to be exporting products but drop them here. Losing a minimum of 490 million cedis is a major problemI bring in products in a legitimate way and I have to pay taxes and that will affect my final pricing but those who import illegalproducts will sell at a lower price because there is no tax component factored into the pricing, he said.

Mr. Hosi explains that, If I am forced to reduce my prices, that will be unfair to meWe must clamp down on the illegality and make sure things are consistent; people cannot keep evading taxes unfairly while others are subjected to pay.

The CBOD boss was speaking at the annual general meeting of the Chamber in Accra.

Debt to BDCs estimated at 1.78 billion cedis

He further expressed that governments indebtedness is hampering the activities of the industry.

READ ALSO: NPA tells OMCs to reduce fuel prices

Reports show that,government is indebted to the Bulk Oil Distribution Companies (BDCs) to the tune of about 1.78 billion cedis.

This was after total receipts of about 1.024 billion cedis from the government in the last quarter of 2016 and 47 million cedis in January 2017.

The debt comprises Forex Loss Under-recoveries (FLUR), Real Value Factor (RVF) and FLUR interest.

Other concerns highlighted by the CBOD centered on regulations to guide the role of governments support to parastatal agencies.

In the Chambers view, the policies should among others create a level playing ground for all players to benefit from the market.

READ ALSO: GOIL reduces fuel prices

Outlook for 2017

Though the Chamber views 2016 as a challenging one, it is, however, hopeful that 2017 provides an opportunity to turn around its dwindling fortunes.
Deputy Majority Leader Sarah Adwoa Safo, Minister of State nominee for Procurement, and three others will be vetted today.

READ MORE: Nana Addo releases list of 50 deputy ministers

The other three are Professor Kwesi Yankah, Minister-designate for Tertiary Education; Dr Nura Gyiele, Minister-designate for Agriculture, and Brian Acheampong, Minister of State-designate at the Office of the President.

Article 78 (1) of the Constitution provides that nominees by the President for ministerial appointments have to be approved by Parliament before they can act or hold themselves out as ministers or deputy ministers of state.

READ ALSO: Nana Addo names deputy ministers

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been criticized for appointing 110 ministers, with 50 of them being deputy ministers in his government.
That's according to a study published in the August 2016 issue of Science, which found giving the near-homeless roughly $1,000 in "emergency cash" substantially reduced the chances they would end up on the street  over both the short and long term.

Researchers from the University of Notre Dame, who carried out the study, say the findings provide an important insight for helping millions of people remain dignified, independent members of society.

between 2010 and 2012.

However, there is plenty of evidence that giving the homeless a place to live improves their wellbeing and longer-term outcomes. In Utah, for instance, chronic homelessness has been nearly eradicated  mostly because the state decided to give people houses.
The gate agent on Flight 215 from Denver to Minneapolis initially refused to let three female passengers in leggings on the plane. One of them, a 10-year-old girl, was reportedly allowed to board after putting on a dress over the leggings.

Two other passengers weren't let on the plane. But a company representative said it was because they were using a United employee's flight benefits, and employees  and friends or family flying on their passes  have to adhere to a dress code because they are representing the airline when they fly.

Those women were asked to fix their dress-code violation and told they would be put on the next flight with space once they did, the person told Business Insider.

Paying passengers, the United representative added, are not subject to these restrictions and are allowed to wear leggings.

With spring break and the summer travel season just around the corner, United actually distributed an internal email to gate agents and other employees on Saturday reminding them of the airline's pass-travel dress code.

In the email obtained by Business Insider, United lists leggings as one of the garments prohibited when using employee travel privileges. United wrote:

"Before you and your pass riders head to the airport for your next trip, please take a few minutes to review our pass travel attire requirements when using your travel privileges. It's important you and your companions feel comfortable when you travel, so casual attire is allowed provided it looks neat and is in good taste for the local environment. Unacceptable pass travel attire includes beach-type rubber flip flops, slippers, anything with holes or tears, anything that reveals your midriff or undergarments and form-fitting Lycra or spandex pants, such as leggings. For the complete list of clothing restrictions, see the Pass Travel Attire Policy on the Travel tab."

The backlash began when Shannon Watts, a gun-control activist with more than 32,000 Twitter followers, tweeted that she witnessed the incident, tagging United.

The airline tweeted back, citing its contract passengers agree to when buying a ticket that gate agents "have the right to refuse transport for passengers who are barefoot or not properly clothed."

United also cited its "dress code for pass travelers" in its responses to Watts on Twitter.

But the outrage online was swift. A Twitter Moment sums up the conflict:

One Twitter user dug up a tweet United posted in June of a woman in leggings doing a yoga pose in the airport:

Delta Air Lines even threw some shade  though it was unclear whether it was intentional  to a passenger who thanked the airline within Watts' main thread with United:
Monzon is the son of Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno, the most reclusive member of the Sinaloa cartel's triumvirate of chieftains, alongside the jailed "El Chapo" Guzman and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who remains at large.

Monzon and the four men who accompanied him  several of them cartel enforcers  are all believed to be tied to the Sinaloa cartel.

Their escape is not the most recent embarrassing incident for the Mexican prison system, however.

Late on Wednesday night, 29 inmates tunneled their way out of a jail on the other side of the country in Ciudad Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas, the country's northeastern-most state.

The men, nine of them federal prisoners and four of them directly tied to drug trafficking, burrowed out through a passage 5 meters deep and 40 meters long. Luis Alberto Rodriguez, the state security spokesman, said the tunnel had been hidden under a hut built illegally in a part of the facility that the prisoners basically controlled.

Once they had emerged, one of them shot and killed a passing motorist in what appeared to be an attempted carjacking.

A manhunt was quickly activated, with federal, state, and military personnel securing the prison's perimeter. Twelve of the escapees have been recaptured, and, according to Rodriguez, at least 30 guards at the facility face investigations over the escape.

The prison in question, the Center for Execution of Sanctions (Cedes) of Ciudad Victoria, is more than 40 years old, and the local government admitted that it had been "neglected in recent years" and did not have "adequate security measures," according to El Pais.

In recent months, authorities have struggled to keep a grip on goings-on at the prison. According to Proceso, there have been riots and fights between inmates. The prison is over capacity by 160 inmates, and authorities have been looking to transfer prisoners elsewhere.

Two months ago, a leader in the Zetas cartel was killed inside the prison two days after being detained there. The Zetas have long been present in Tamaulipas and the surrounding area, and the group's fight with other cartels for control of trafficking and other criminal activities in the region is responsible for some of Mexico's most horrific drug-war violence.

The Tamaulipas escape is similar to, though not as sophisticated as, that of "El Chapo" Guzman, who slipped out out of a maximum-security prison in central Mexico through a ventilated, mile-long tunnel using a motorcycle on rails in July 2015.

Guzman was recaptured in January 2016 and initially put back in the same jail.

A few months later Mexican officials moved him north to one of the country's worst rated prisons, reportedly because they feared an impending escape attempt.

The complexity of Guzman's escape, and the jailbreaks Mexico has seen since, underscore the deeply rooted weaknesses inside Mexico's legal and prison systems.

It should be remembered, Mexican security analyst Alejandro Hope said after Guzman's recapture, some of the structural weaknesses of the Mexican prison system are still there  one of the persons that is being prosecuted for his escape was the head of the federal-prison system."

"This was not just El Altiplano," Hope added, referring to the jail Guzman broke out of. "This was systemic. And I think some of those weaknesses are still there."

In the case of Monzon, the Sinaloa cartel figure who escaped earlier this month, he and one of his fellow escapees were being held in a lower-security facility despite their high profiles because of stays issued by the same judge in Culiacan, a city in the heart of the Sinaloa cartel's home turf.
"In order to deliver on the conservative agenda we have promised the American people for eight years, we must come together to find solutions to move this country forward," Poe said, in a statement first reported by Fox News.

"Saying no is easy, leading is hard, but that is what we were elected to do," he said. "Leaving this caucus will allow me to be a more effective Member of Congress and advocate for the people of Texas. It is time to lead."

Poe was one of the few members of the Freedom Caucus who had said he intended to vote for the AHCA. According to Fox News, he had personally told President Donald Trump he would support the healthcare legislation.

However, the approximately 30-member Freedom Caucus's near-universal opposition to the legislation ensured that Republicans would not have sufficient votes to get the bill out of the House, prompting GOP leadership to pull the bill from consideration on Friday.
The FBI is now examining whether members of President Donald Trump's campaign team colluded with Russian officials to undermine Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.

Flynn, Page, and Kislyak were named in the dossier as being complicit in the alleged collusion. On Friday, Page, Paul Manafort, and Roger Stone volunteered to be interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Russia's election-related meddling.

Comparing Steele's reports, which were written between June and December of last year, with events that unfolded just before and after the election reveals a series of coincidences that adds to questions surrounding Russia's interference in the election  and who knew about it.

June-July

Carter Page, an early foreign policy adviser to Trump, visits Moscow, the GOP platform is changed, top Trump surrogate then-Sen. Jeff Sessions meets Russia's US ambassador Sergey Kislyak, WikiLeaks publishes hacked DNC emails, and the FBI opens its investigation into Russia's interference.

Dossier allegations

June 20, 2016: The dossier alleges that Trump had been cultivated by Russian officials "for at least five years," that the Kremlin had compromising material related to "sexually perverted acts" Trump performed at a Moscow Ritz Carlton, and that Trump's inner circle was accepting a regular flow of intelligence from the Kremlin on Hillary Clinton.

The flow of intelligence is being facilitated by

Actual events

July 7, 2016: Carter Page, who s" target="_blank"on key transactions"travels to Moscow to speak at the New Economic School. There, he gives a speech that is heavily critical of US foreign policy. He stays in Russia for approximately three days.

Dossier allegations

July 19, 2016: A Russian source close to Igor Sechin, the president of Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft, "confided the details of a recent secret meeting" between Sechin and Trump campaign adviser Carter Page while Page was in Moscow in early July.

Sechin "raised with Page the issues of future bilateral energy cooperation and prospects for an associated move to lift Ukraine-related western sanctions against Russia."

Actual events

July 11, 2016: GOP platform week kicks off, one week before the start of the Republican National Convention. An amendment to the Republican Party's draft policy on Ukraine proposing that the GOP commit to sending "lethal weapons" to the Ukrainian army to fend off Russian aggression is softened to "provide appropriate assistance."

Dossier allegations

The Trump campaign "agreed to sideline Russian intervention in Ukraine as a campaign issue" in return for

Actual events

July 27, 2016: Donald Trump holds a press conference in which he asks Russian hackers to "find the 30,000 [Hillary Clinton] emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.

July 31, 2016: Jeff Sessions, who said in 2015 that the west has to "unify against Russia," goes on CNN and characterizes US relationship with Russia as a "cycle of hostility" that needs to be resolved.

August

Paul Manafort resigns amid negative press about his work in Ukraine, and Roger Stone  a top Trump confidant and early campaign adviser  that Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, will "soon" be targeted.

Dossier allegations

July 31, 2016: Steele writes that the Kremlin has more intelligence on Clinton and her campaign but doesn't know when it will be released.

August 5, 2016: The

Actual events

August 5, 2016: Roger Stone writes in Breitbart that "a hacker who goes by the name of Guccifer 2.0," and not the Russians, hacked into the DNC and fed the documents to WikiLeaks.

August 12, 2016: "Guccifer 2.0" releases files purportedly stolen in a cyberattack on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Guccifer 2.0's Twitter account is briefly suspended. When it is reinstated, Roger Stone begins a private Twitter conversation with the alleged hacker. the product of a Russian disinformation campaign

August 15, 2016: Sergei Ivanov, tis unexpectedly fired by Putin.

Dossier allegations

August 10, 2016: Steele writes that a "Kremlin official involved in US relations" commented in early August that the Kremlin had been trying to build sympathy for Russia in the US by funding several political figures' trips to Moscow, including Michael Flynn and Carter Page. The trips were "successful in terms of perceived outcomes," the official said.

August 15, 2016: Ousted Ukrainian president Viktor

Actual events

August 19, 2016: Manafort resigns as Trump's campaign manager after denying that he ever collected any payments that had been earmarked for him in Ukraine.

August 21, 2016: Roger Stone tweets a prediction about Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta. Trust me, it will soon the [sic] Podesta's time in the barrel. #CrookedHillary

September

Trump says he'll "take" Putin's "compliments," Sessions meets privately with Kislyak, and Carter Page takes a "leave of absence."

Dossier allegations

September 14, 2016: A Kremlin official "confirms from direct knowledge" that Russia's US ambassador Sergey Kislyak had been aware of the Kremlin's interference in the US election, and had "urged caution and the potential negative impact on Russia from the operation/s."

The official says the Kremlin has further kompromat on Clinton that it plans to release via "plausibly deniable" channels  aka WikiLeaks  after Russia's mid-September legislative elections. But a growing train of thought inside the Kremlin is that Russia could still make Clinton look "weak" and "stupid" without needing to release more of her emails. It's decided that Putin himself will have final say over whether further Clinton kompromat is disseminated.

Steele writes another dispatch dated September 14, 2016 detailing the relationship between Putin and Russian oligarchs who control Russia's Alfa Bank.

Actual events

September 7, 2016: NBC's Matt Lauer confronts Trump about his praise of Putin. Trump replies, "

September 8, 2016: Jeff Sessions and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak meet privately in Sessions' office. An administration official tells NBC in early March  when news of the meeting breaks  that "election-related news" was likely discussed.

September 26, 2016: Carter Page takes a "leave of absence" from the Trump campaign after a Yahoo News report alleges that Igor Sechin offered him the brokerage of a 19% stake in Rosneft.

October

Roger Stone tweets foreshadow WikiLeaks' release of John Podesta emails, Obama publicly accuses Russia of hacking Democrats, and the FBI examines computer server activity between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank.

Dossier allegations

October 12, 2016:

"buyer's remorse set in" as Podesta's emails proved less damaging to the Clinton campaign than Russia had expected. Russians injected further anti-Clinton material into WikiLeaks pipeline "which will continue to surface, but best material already in the public domain."

Actual events

October 1, 2016: Roger Stone tweets that

October 5, 2016: Stone tweets

November-January

A Russian oligarch while Trump is there campaigning, Trump wins the election, Rosneft signs a massive deal, travels to Moscow again, Obama issues new sanctions over Russian hacking, and Trump's lawyer for Ukraine.

Actual events

November 3, 2016: R

November 8, 2016: Donald Trump wins a dramatic and unexpected victory in the presidential election.

December 29, 2016: Obama i

December 30, 2016: Putin announces, unexpectedly and out of character, that Russia will not retaliate against the US for the new sanctions. Says he will

Michael Flynn resigns as national security adviser over his conversations with Kislyak, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recuses himself from Russia-related investigations, and the FBI announces it's been investigating the Trump campaign's role in Russia's election interference.

Actual events

March 2, 2017: Attorney General Jeff Sessions recuses himself from the investigation into whether the Trump campaign communicated with Russia after The Washington Post reports that he spoke with Kislyak twice during the election. Sessions had said in his confirmation hearing that he did not have any contact with any Russian officials during the election.

March 4, 2017: Trump tweets, without presenting evidence, that
"Mr. Kushner has volunteered to be interviewed as part of the committee's investigation into the Russian activities surrounding the 2016 election," Sens. Richard Burr and Mark Warner, the committee's chairman and vice chairman, told The New York Times in a statement.

The questions will center on Kushner's meeting with Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, in December at Trump Tower with Gen. Michael Flynn, according to The Times. Kushner, a White House senior adviser, will also be asked about a previously undisclosed meeting he had in December with the head of Russia's state-owned Vnesheconombank, which was sanctioned by President Barack Obama after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

A White House official told Business Insider that Kushner took the meetings as part of his role as "the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials."

"Throughout the campaign and transition, Jared Kushner served as the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials," the official said. "Given this role, he has volunteered to speak with Chairman Burr's Committee but has not yet received confirmation."

Kushner's meeting with Vnesheconombank's chief, Sergey Gorkov, came at the request of Kislyak, White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks told The Times. Kislyak delivered the message to Kushner via Avrahm Berkowitz, an aide whom Kushner sent to meet with Kislyak in his place.

At the time, Kushner was trying to find investors for a Fifth Avenue office building in Manhattan that is set to be heavily financed by Anbang Insurance Group, a firm with ties to the Chinese government. Hicks told The Times that the "Kushner Tower" project wasn't discussed during his meeting with Gorkov.

Kushner is the closest person to Trump to be swept up in the Senate or House committees' investigations so far.

At least five other Trump associates  Flynn, the former national security adviser; Attorney General Jeff Sessions; Roger Stone, an early Trump campaign adviser; Carter Page, an early foreign-policy adviser; and JD Gordon, the campaign's national-security representative at the Republican National Convention  have been asked to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee and preserve any relevant documents about contact they may have made with Russians during the election.

All are now reported to have met with Kislyak in the latter half of 2016 as Russia was attempting to sway the outcome of the election in Trump's favor.

Flynn resigned as national security adviser after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Kislyak, and Sessions recused himself from the Department of Justice's Russia-related investigations after The Washington Post reported that he met with Kislyak twice last year and failed to disclose those meetings during his confirmation hearing.

On Friday, Stone, Page, and Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, sent letters to the House Intelligence Committee volunteering to be interviewed as part of that committee's investigation into Russia's election interference.

While Stone, Manafort, and Page all have connections to Russia, they have all denied that they helped facilitate any collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow during the election.
Now as president, Trump plans to embark on his own ambitious building project, a $1 trillion plan to improve America's existing infrastructure, while kickstarting select ambitious projects like Elon Musk's high speed rail project.

But some skeptics worry that like Moses, Trump's proposal may have serious unintended consequences for the environment and communities in cities and states the projects aim to serve.

"If we've learned anything from Trump's constant assaults on our air, water and climate it's that Americans can't count on him to prioritize infrastructure or transportation solutions that benefit the health of our communities and families," Sierra Club associate director of federal advocacy Andrew Lindhart told Business Insider when asked about the president's plans.

In recent weeks, environmental activists have expressed concern during meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill about the specifics of the Trump's infrastructure plan, which Republicans hope to unveil later this year after they attempt to pass a tax reform package

Earlier this month, Trump's team hosted a meeting at the White House reviewing the goals of his $1 trillion infrastructure package. As the Wall Street Journal noted, Trump emphasized that the bill should favor renovating existing infrastructure over new construction, and should prioritize "shovel-ready" projects that could begin construction within 90 days of the bill's passage.

Experts from both parties argue that an infrastructure package is badly needed in the near future  Hillary Clinton campaigned on a $275 billion infrastructure package, while former President Barack Obama unsuccessfully attempted to rally Republican votes to support his $300 billion infrastructure package.

Following Trump's election in November, Democratic lawmakers like Senator Chuck Schumer previously said they hoped to work with the president on infrastructure  a rare point of compromise for both parties. Democratic leaders proposed their own $1 trillion infrastructure package, which would repair energy grids and transportation infrastructure while focusing on green solutions, renewable energy, and clean energy investments.

But while Trump's plan comes with an enormous price-tag, some on the left fear the infrastructure projects may be rushed into action without considering their environmental and economic impact on local communities.

Environmental groups have urged lawmakers to vet any forthcoming bill to ensure the projects are using green materials and new technology, and warned of redundant building projects that may need altering as climate change causes rising sea levels.

Stephanie Gidigbi, a policy director at the National Resources Defense Council, told Business Insider that any project needed to consider the impact on its local community, understanding that poor infrastructure could damage, pollute, and segregate cities and towns.

"You can really tell the difference between communities based off the roads based off the highways that divide neighborhoods, and thats why you 'Live on the other side of the tracks,'" Gidigbi said. "We want to make sure that even as theyre building theyre thinking about the people who live there today. And you want to make sure that theyre the ones who are benefiting from it. Trumps proposal seems like its going to be about his corporate cronies being able to tax and toll us."

She also argued that officials should thoroughly examine the shovel-ready projects to ensure that they aren't implementing outdated plans that have been debated for years. For example, she pointed out that a five-year old proposed project in Washington, DC, may need revision, considering rapidly the city's demographics, income, and needs have changed in just a few years.

"If youre pulling those old blueprints off the shelf, saying thats what were going to build for today, I would push us to try and do more and do better," Gidigbi said. "Theres just so much innovation thats happening, there are so many better ways you can build."

Activists also warned that projects in the bill may attempt to creatively skirt an Environmental Protection Agency with a newly-appointed leader reviled by many climate activists.

Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth, said he is primarily wary that cities or states may try to circumvent the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires the EPA to report on the environmental impact of proposed building projects. The Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity have already charged the Trump administration of violating NEPA by approving the Keystone XL pipeline without studying the pipeline's environmental impact.

"We are concerned especially as the infrastructure package is used to override environmental laws such as NEPA and the other bedrock environmental laws," Pica said, adding, "We are also concerned about the fossil fuel infrastructure that could be incorporated in the package."

Despite the current political environment, many cities have taken longterm resilient infrastructure improvements into their own hands.

Mayors like Greg Fischer of Louisville, which last year became one of 100 Resilient Cities, an initiative founded by the Rockefeller Foundation, have forced ahead with the help of other cities to confront strains on older infrastructure, including increased flooding on 40-year-old flood-protection systems and pervasive heat islands in low-income areas.

"The mayors of the country think that innovation happens from the bottom up as well," said. "So yes, we'll continue to innovate in that area because you have to to make your city a place of economic dynamism, and an attractive place for people to be. that doesn't happen if you're not constantly improving."
Trump himself has referred to the immigration crackdown as "a military operation."

In a number of cases, those arrested form the backbone of the labor force for the US's agriculture industry.

This week, immigration officers arrested five apple pickers in far western New York. The men arrested had no criminal records and were not targeted by the officers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Crain's New York.

Rather, the men were carpooling to work on an apple farm when stopped and found to not have legal status. They were charged with immigration violations and held "pending removal proceedings."

In Vermont last week, three undocumented immigrant dairy workers were arrested in two incidents. The three men detained were advocates for immigrants and members of civil-society groups working on their behalf.

Immigrants, many unauthorized, make up the bulk of Vermont's dairy-sector labor force.

The detentions prompted Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders, a Democrat and an Independent, respectively, and Democratic Rep. Peter Welch to ask ICE for clarification about the arrests, saying in a statement that, "the Trump Administration is targeting all undocumented persons, including the people that help keep our dairy farms and rural economy afloat."

Earlier this month, on the other side of the country, ICE agents stopped two buses of Latino farm workers who were on their way to their job harvesting flowers. ICE, which called the stop "a targeted enforcement operation," said officers were looking for two men. They found one and arrested 10 others.

Three of the men detained in Oregon had criminal convictions, but four of them had no criminal past except for entering the country without authorization.

Most of the men arrested "come from regions in Guatemala where the violence is very high, Pedro Sosa, an advocate with the American Friends Service Committee, told Oregon Public Broadcasting. "Thats why they left their country."

Trump's promises to crackdown on immigrants in the country illegally and ICE's stepped-up enforcement efforts since his election have sent chills through the US agriculture industry. Industry-wide, 16% of workers are undocumented, while undocumented immigrants make up 70% of all fieldworkers  the vast majority of them Mexican.

In New York state, 1,080 farms are at risk of shrinking significantly or failing because of enhanced immigration enforcement in the state.

Intensified enforcement has also exacerbated a labor shortage already plaguing the industry in the state.

"If we don't have the ability to have workers on our farms, farms can't survive," Farm Bureau spokesman Steve Ammerman told Crain's.

Farmers are "having such a difficult time" finding workers, he said, "because people are scared, they're nervous to be out in the open seeking employment."

"If we were to engage in massive deportations, our agricultural system would collapse," said Bruce Goldstein, president of the nonprofit Farmworker Justice, which works to improve living and working conditions on farms.

Trump's aggressive stance on immigration is but one issue that has frayed US relations with Mexico.
Internal sources told The Journal that the company, called Neuralink, was developing "neural lace" technology that would allow people to communicate directly with machines without going through a physical interface. Neuralink was registered as a medical-research company in California in July.

Neural lace involves implanting electrodes in the brain so people could upload or download their thoughts to or from a computer, according to the report. The product could allow humans to achieve higher levels of cognitive function.

Tesla declined to comment on the veracity of The Journal's report.

Musk has expressed his interest in neural lace technology before. Musk first described the potential product at Vox Media's Code Conference in 2016, saying it would allow humans to achieve symbiosis with machines.

He said neural lace could prevent a person from becoming a "house cat" to artificial intelligence.

"The solution that seems maybe the best is to have an AI layer," Musk said at the Vox Code Conference. "A third, digital layer that could work symbiotically."

Musk said on Twitter in January that he was preparing for an announcement regarding neural lace.

Facebook is also exploring similar technology through Building 8, its secretive hardware division. The group is developing noninvasive brain-computer interface technology that would allow people to communicate with external hardware devices.

Musk is attempting to set up safety standards for artificial intelligence through his nonprofit, OpenAI, which he founded with Y Combinator's Sam Altman in 2015. OpenAI's mission is to "advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole."

But Neuralink's first products could involve using implants to treat disorders like epilepsy or major depression, according to The Journal.

Researchers at universities like the University of California and Duke are also developing brain-computer interface technology that would allow people with paraplegia to walk again.
Yup! Mavin boss Don Jazzy! It seems beneath all the machoism, there lies a touchy feely Don.

Read his sweet note below:

"Behold the sweetest mother in the world.

People ask me why do I carry people's problem on my head and try to make everyone happy.

Might be strange to a lot of people but not me cos growing up watching you be a mother to everybody around you was a beautiful sight.

You will sell Akara and sometimes not make profit cos you have fed the entire street for free.

You made me understand that a good name is definitely better than silver or gold.

You made me see the importance in sharing happiness.

How it's better for everyone to be happy around you than for you to be happy alone.

All of which has made me the man I am today. I LOVE YOU MUM. Happy Mother's Day."

Meanwhile, Eedris Abdulkareem recently lashed out at the music producer.

The rapper says that celebrities like Don Jazzy, amongst others, only made money because of their efforts.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
Thelma Oyasan Gawidan, 40, weighed just 29.4 kg (65 lb) in April 2014 after being given too little to eat for about 15 months, prosecutors said.

She was given two or three slices of plain white bread and one to two packets of instant noodles for breakfast, while for her second and last meal of the day she was given five or six slices of plain bread, prosecutors said.

Lim Choon Hong was jailed for three weeks and fined 7, 200 dollars, while his wife, Chong Sui Foon, got three months with no fine.

They had both pleaded guilty; but prosecutors said that they would appeal.

The maximum penalty is 12 months imprisonment and a fine of S$10,000.

I accept that you are remorseful and that you did not intentionally seek to starve your maid, Judge Low Wee Ping said.

Defence counsel Raymond Lye said his clients had no intention to cause harm.

The most common cases of domestic helper abuse were of physical assault, which are intentional offences, he said.

Clients, they feel a sense of relief, they were hoping to commence their jail term but in light of the appeal by the prosecution, that will have to be delayed, Lye said.

In her defense, Chong had said she suffered from an eating disorder when she was younger and had been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder as an adult, the media reported.

The judge said there was no link.

The couple paid the domestic helper, who now works for another employer, for S$20,000 to settle civil claims, the prosecutors said.

John Gee, head of the research team for rights group Transient Workers Count Too, said cases of domestic helpers being given inadequate food happen with alarming regularity.

This is definitely a familiar practice, especially by employers who want to save money however the overall living and working conditions for domestic helpers in Singapore had improved, a lot more needs to be done, Gee said.

Jolovan Wham, executive director of rights group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, (HOME) said that at least 30 per cent of the domestic helpers who approached his organisation in the past six months complained of inadequate food.

Thelmas case made it to court because it was so egregious, HOME was approached by an average of 20 domestic helpers a week, Wham said.

The Ministry of Manpower (MoM) said it had permanently barred the couple from employing overseas domestic workers.

The ministry has zero tolerance for abuse and mistreatment of workers.

The conduct of Lim and his wife is reprehensible and MoM will prosecute individuals who failed to safeguard the well-being of the worker, said Jeanette Har, Director of Well-Being Department at MoMs Foreign Manpower Management Division.

MoM said workers could use a helpline to seek support.

NGOs say domestic helpers rarely complained to authorities with the fear that their employers may sack them.

Ministry rules state that employers are responsible for providing adequate food, acceptable accommodation and medical treatment for domestic helpers.

The guidelines suggest three meals a day.

An example of what adequate food means includes four slices of bread with spread for breakfast and one bowl of rice, with three-quarters of a cup of cooked vegetables, a palm-sized amount of meat and fruit for lunch and dinner.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the nurses have stopped shift duties, since March 7, over the non-payment of three months arrears of shift duty allowances.

NAN further reports that all the nurses crowd into the hospital for the morning shift, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and come to work only on week days, leaving patients unattended to, between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m..

The nurses have resolved to maintain the one-shift working hours until their demands are met.

Mr Mustapha Kabir, JOHESU Chairman, who spoke on the situation, however told NAN that other workers would join the fray if management failed to settle the nurses in the next seven days.

We have given the management a 7-day ultimatum within which to resolve the issues with the nurses. If that is not done, other workers will shun the shift duties, Kabir told NAN on Monday in Jos.

According to him, JOHESU has resolved that other health workers, aside the nurses, would also shun shift duties at the expiration of the ultimatum.

Kabir attributed the non-payment of the arrears to payment migration to the IPPIS, in 2015.

From our findings, N63 million was released to the management in December 2015 for payment of the three months shift duty allowances, but the money was not withdrawn before it was mopped up."

We have consistently reminded management to seek the money and pay; if it fails, we shall join the nurses and we shall all be out of this hospital by 4 p.m. everyday, he said.

Reacting, Dr. Edmund Banwat, the Chief Medical Director of JUTH, told NAN that the management of the hospital had taken steps to resolve the lingering issue.
The letter with reference number ICPC/INV/NGB/T.E2/003, which was addressed to the petitioner, Chairman, Civil Society Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State, also had the Secretary to the State Government in copy.

The ICPC's letter stated that its investigations have not established an act contrary to the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act, 2000 as none of the allegations were substantiated.

The commission stated that having diligently investigated the allegations and finding nothing against Governor Aregbesola, the allegations have been dismissed.

The Government, through the Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, reminded Nigerians that the ICPCs final decision was a vindication of the repeated claims by the government that the group was one of individuals hired for the purpose of tarnishing its name.

ICPC, in the letter titled, Re: Petition against Osun State Governor- Mr. Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, for criminal and reckless mismanagement of Osun State funds since November 2010 to August 2015 held that all of the allegations brought forward have been looked into conclusively with no infraction substantiated.

According to ICPC, "The above case bordering on fraudulent diversion of N11.4 billion obtained through Osun SUKUK bond to private foreign account, money meant for building of schools regardless of the N13.9 billion intervention funds from the Federal Government through UBEC for the purpose of building classrooms has been investigated conclusively with no infraction substantiated.

"An investigation of the above allegations confirmed that Osun State government raised N11.344 billion from the issue of the SUKUK bond through Nigerian commercial banks. Investigation also revealed that after the issue of the bond, Osun State Government sought and got approvals from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Shariah Board of Lotus Capital Ltd. To amend the schedule of schools to be constructed from 27 mixed schools to 11 high schools and to furnish the schools. The approval of SUKUK holders is still pending.

"Also contrary to the allegation that the SUKUK proceed was diverted to private foreign account, it was disbursed from Osun SUKUK company accounts with 13 Collecting Nigerian Commercial banks and used for payments of contractors awarded the contracts of construction and furnishing of 11 senior Secondary Schools in various part of Osun State.

"Furthermore, contrary to the allegation that N13.9 billion was disbursed by UBEC to Osun State, the total of N7,192,585,041.64 has been disbursed to Osun SUBEB for the period 2011-2015. This amount consists of Universal Basic Education matching grants, Special Education Funds, Teachers Professional Development Fund and states counterpart funds lodgement in line with UBE Act 2004.

"In view of the above paragraphs, investigations have not established an act contrary to the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 as none of the allegations were substantiated. Therefore the matter is hereby laid to rest". The Commission said.

The Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, who read out the governments position concerning the outcome of the ICPC investigations, said the Aregbesola government was never in doubt that the group was an illegal one which was only being used by traducers of the administration to diminish its many achievements.

When the so-called group was everywhere making its highly irresponsible and frivolous allegations, we never minced words on the fact that it was an unregistered group of few disgruntled, hired individuals to tarnish the image of the government and seek to diminish the massive good governance initiatives that are the hallmarks of our interventions here.

The ICPCs dismissal of the frivolous allegations is a vindication of our earlier position on the group and other collaborators in their ignoble campaigns of calumny.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said Buhari has never been involved in any certificate scandal.

Shehu disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday, March 26.

The Presidential aide said Buhari's certificate issue was raised by those who wanted him disqualified from the 2015 presidential race, adding that the matter was successfully dealt with before the polls.

Shehu said: "We wish to emphatically state that President Muhammadu Buhari does not fit into categorisation of leaders with certificate scandals because he bears none that is on available records.

"In the course of the contest for the office of the President in 2015, a number of wild, untrue and malicious allegations were made against him in order to stop him from contesting for the office in the election.

"The issue of certificates was raised against him but the campaign successfully dealt with the allegations by providing evidence that not only was he qualified to run, he had a far higher academic qualification than is required by the constitution. As a result, he went on to run for the office and eventually win."

ALSO READ: Buhari's aide warns Nigerians to stop attacking him

Others listed in the Punch report include:
Soyinka also said that theres no doubt about the fact that Buhari is suffering from an illness.

The playwright made the comments while speaking with AFP at the Paris Book Fair weekend.

Hes ill, theres no question, and I wish for heavens sake that people in public positions would just be honest," Soyinka said.

Illness is part of our existence. Buhari owes it to the nation and I dont know why he and his advisors are being so coy about it, he added.

Buhari spent 49 days in London for what should have been a 10-day medical vacation.

The president left Nigeria on January 19 and was due to resume on February 6, but on February 5, he wrote the Senate to extend his vacation indefinitely.

Buhari returned to Nigeria on Friday, March 10, but said that he would need follow-up treatment soon.

ALSO READ: President Buhari expected back on Friday
A statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu stressed that Saraki had no business with the refund as alleged.

Reacting to a recent publication allegedly leaked by the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, Olaniyonu stressed that the allegations against Saraki were false.

He said that Saraki had no business with the payement of the fund to the Governors forum as alleged by the leaked report adding that Magu was just Mudslinging.

Let us first state that these allegations are not new.

The EFCC had from the onset of its investigation into the Paris Club refund made attempts to drag in the name of Dr. Saraki and we have promptly denied any such involvement of the Senate President.

In fact, the EFCC itself came out to deny the report as it then said it had nothing to indict the Senate President.

The anti-graft agency said the investigation was still on-going then. Yet, as at that time it had all these information it is now dishing out.

It is obvious that at this point when Mr. Magu believes the Senate President should be blamed for his failure to secure confirmation as Chairman of EFCC by the Senate, he would want to fight back by cooking up reports and masterminding its leakage.

We maintain our stand that Dr. Saraki has no direct or indirect link to the distribution of the NGF money. No money from the Paris Club refund was paid to Dr. Saraki, he said.

In addressing the specifics of the allegation in the reports as we gathered from the press, EFCC believes that since the Senate President has worked in the same organisation with Mr. Robert Mbonu before, whatever transaction he is involved in should be linked to the Senate President in this era of mud-slinging and much-raking.

"We would like to say that Mr. Mbonu is not representing Mr. Saraki in any transaction he does with the NGF and no money from his company, Melrose, in his dealing with Nigeria Governors Forum came to Dr. Saraki either directly or indirectly.

And if the EFCC has any information to the contrary, we challenge them to make it public.

We state categorically that no aide of the Senate President acted on Sarakis behalf in whatever they do with Mr. Mbonu, he stated.

Olaniyonu stressed that if Melrose paid any money to a jeweller or any shop, it had nothing to do with the Senate President.

He stressed that the company Melrose would have the necessary document to support their transaction adding that the anti-graft agency should be aware.

In the same vein, if Melrose chose to invest in another company, that decision has nothing to do with the Senate President and the act of drawing a link between Mbonu and Saraki can at best be only pure mischief.

At this point, it should be noted that Xtract Energy Services Limited is a well known foreign exchange dealer with almost 15 years of existence in the market and the company is widely known to do business with many organisations in the country.

The last time the Senate President patronised the company was on December 19, 2014 and we challenge Mr. Magu and the EFCC to prove that the Senate President transacted any form of business with the foreign exchange dealer in the period of the payment of the Paris Club refund.

We call on members of the public to view this concocted and leaked report as Mr. Magus form of fighting back. The report has no truth in it.

"It should be noted that the Senate President was not behind Magus failure to get confirmation from the Senate. That was democracy in action.
An online new medium, Sahara Reporters had last week reported that Melaye did not graduate from ABU, and the medium subsequently published more details alleging that the lawmaker only passed three courses in his school certificate results among other damning allegations.

The Senator, who is the chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Territory, has since denied the claims as he also filed a N5 billion suit against the publication.

According to Punch, the upper chamber will invite authorities of the Universities Melaye attended to throw light into the matter.

"The Senate is inviting the authorities of the Universities Dino Melaye said he attended. Specifically, the Senate is inviting Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) to clear the controversy. The truth will be cleared by ABU this week. All the allegations are rubbish, ABU will not offer anybody admission with three credits," a source told the newspaper.
Yes. From records, Dino formerly known as Daniel Jonah Melaye graduated from ABU. BA Geography, he said.

Both Melaye and Garba appeared before the committee on Monday to respond to allegations that the senator didnt graduate from the school.

The Senator who presented his certificates to the committee further stated that he had enjoyed the free publicity been granted him by the online platform, Sahara Reporters.

"Mr Chairman, I will like to say that I am enjoying the free publicity and I ask for more scandals," Melaye said.

According to the documents as seen by Pulse, Senator Melaye who was known at the time as "Jonah Daniel Melaye."

The Senate agreed to investigate the claims after a petition by Senator Ali Ndume.
Members of BSM last week led a peaceful protest to the Nigeria Petroleum Development Corporation office in Benin, demanding, among others, immediate employment for 1,000 Edo youths.

However, in a statement on Sunday in Benin, the group pleaded for forgiveness from the Obas palace.

The BSM Head, Media and Publicity, Kola Edokpayi, and Secretary, Hope Enogieru, said the groups agitation was informed by the members love for the development of Benin and to help many Edo youths gain employment.

We appeal to our royal father to please forgive us for our ignorance and to temper justice with mercy. We forever remain your subjects.

They added: our action is based on the love we have for our people towards seeking ways to help many of our unemployed youths to nip crime in the bud.

They restated their support and loyalty to Gov. Godwin Obasekis administration and pledged to work with all security agencies to achieve a crime-free Edo.

The cardinal objective of this group is to sensitise and make the Benin people know their rights.
According to reports, Sunday Punch published his name among prominent Nigerians who have been involved in certificate scandals.

Speaking on the issue, the former Presidents Media Adviser, Ikechukwu Eze debunked the report, saying facts of GEJs academic records can be verified.

Eze also said We really dont know where this is coming from, but we wish to remain unambiguous in our assertion that this is obvious falsehood, since the former President has never been linked to any doubt, scandal or controversy concerning his academic qualifications.

We are not aware of any probe, allegation or litigation relating to his very well known academic qualifications.

For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to restate that former President Jonathans educational records can easily be traced to St Michaels Primary School, Oloibiri and Mater Dei High School, lmiringi where he obtained his first school leaving certificate and General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level respectively, as well as the University of Port Harcourt, where he received his Bachelor of Science, Masters and Doctorate degrees.

Luckily, many of former President Jonathans classmates from primary school through the university are still alive and are traceable.

It is therefore obvious that there is no justification for this abstruse association, as there is nothing linking the former President to the story.

This is coming as Senator Dino Melaye is being accused by Sahara Reporters of lying that he graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
According to Punch, the acting EFCC boss also threatened to sue Sun Newspapers for publishing a false report about him.

The media house published that Magu was being investigated for owning two houses located on Danube Street, Maitama and Missouri Street, off Colorado Close, Ministers Hill, reports say.

The acting EFCC boss, through the agencys spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren said I dont have any mansion anywhere in Maitama. Would I have two mansions in Abuja yet choose to live in a rented apartment in the same community?

This is another calculated attempt to smear my reputation. They may have got away with such false reports in the past but I will not let this go unchallenged. I have already briefed my lawyers to institute legal action against the newspaper.

ALSO READ: DSS reportedly releases more implicating evidence against acting EFCC boss

Magu also called on Nigerians to disregard the story, describing it as a false report aimed at achieving a sinister motive.
Udo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Use Ikot Ebio that she now squats with her neighbours after the roof and walls of her house were blown off by the rainstorm.

She said the incident happened on Tuesday after hours of rain which significantly destroyed the building, their personal effects, food, childrens school items and other household items.

She appealed to Akwa Ibom Government, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and well spirited individuals to come to their rescue.

According to her, she lacks the resources to restore the the nine bedroom family residence to a state fit for human habitation without assistance.

She also told NAN that the rainstorm apart from removing the roof of the building destroyed the households plantain stands and subjected the entire family to hardship.

We went to farm that day, except little children who came from school, only to come back and met our house without roof and walls.

Since the rain removes our roof two weeks ago, we have been sleeping in the veranda and at the mercy of our good neighbours.

My children have also been subjected to the harsh weather and insects bite day and night, she said.

Collaborating the widows agony, Mr Emmanuel Udo, one of the surviving sons of late Chief Edward Udo Odok, said that the extent of damage done to the building was beyond his capacity .

He also told NAN that the children were badly affected as they were exposed to harsh weather condition since they were sleeping and squatting in the affected building without roof over them.

He said: I stayed in Odukpani, Cross River State managing myself only to be informed that my fathers house where the family is staying has been blown off by rainstorm.

I rushed home to meet my fathers house without roof. The rain also destroyed a lot of economic trees, like coconut and plantain that help to keep the family going, he said.

NAN recalls that the rainstorm also affected electricity poles belonging to Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) along Abak road axis.

A number of electricity poles were pulled down in the wake of the rainstorm.
The analysts spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos against the backdrop of some current happenings in the National Assembly.

The analyst said that the Senates plan to suspend Sen. Ali Ndume over unparliamentary utterances was not as important as the plight of Nigerians.

According to them, the Senates call for the resignation of the Controller-General of Nigeria Customs Service over the issue of uniform is also not important.

The analysts said that investigating the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, over N298 million SUV cars and Sen. Dino Malayes alleged certificate forgery should not be prioritised over more important issues like the passing of the 2017 budget.

Mr Onyekachi Ubani, a lawyer, said: The Senate has abandoned the 2017 Budget which can address the challenges we are facing in the country."

In the last two weeks, there has not been any session on the 2017 budget and issues that can address critical national issues."

There is need to know what is of national importance and concentrate on them, he said.

Another analyst, Mr Charles Ideho, said that the Senate was pursuing the politics of vendetta instead of focusing on issues affecting the country.

There are issues of importance such as the customs duty policy and confirmation of EFCC chairman to strengthen the fight against corruption."

Also, issues like how to recover and what to do with our recovered looted funds and even the passage of the 2017 budget that could get us out of recession have been pushed aside."

Issues that will benefit the people should not be trivialised because Nigerians are suffering; we voted these people there to protect our interest, they should not be insensitive to our plight.

He said: The only way for us to rescue this nation as a people is to put aside politics of regional sentiments and vote wisely."

We can do this by giving our mandate to leaders who will turn around our country for good, Ideho said.

Also, Mr Dotun Ojon, a youth development strategist, urged the Senate to make laws in line with the change vision of the incumbent administration.

The happenings in the Senate do not show the sensitivity of the senators to the plight of Nigerians."

Our economy is in recession, people are committing suicide, even Nigerians who are working, cannot feed their families."

We need to rise up as a nation to act the change we want and stop dreaming it."

Our Senators need to live up to their calling, he said.

For Mr Akeem Otubela, the current happenings in the nation show that democracy is not working for Nigeria.

Our democracy is no longer working for us; we should look at what obtains in other advanced countries."

Democracy did not build countries such as Dubai, Saudi Arabia and China; these countries are doing well."
However, he was granted bail of N100 million with two sureties by Justice Musa on Monday, March 27, after he appealed the conviction.

The bail application was supported by a medical report from Yola Prison, which showed that the Ngilari had been under intensive medical care for diabetes, hypertension and insomnia.

The report also said that Ngilari had been referred to Canada Specialist Hospital in Dubai for evaluation and management.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested the former governor in September 2016 after accusing him of processing a N167 million contract without due process.

He was charged, along with the former Secretary to the State Government and the Commissioner of Finance, on 17 counts of conspiracy and unlawful processing of contract.

Ngilari was governor of Adamawa from October 1, 2014 to May 29, 2015, after previously serving as deputy to former governor, Murtala Nyako.

Nyako was impeached in July 2014 and Ngilari was said to have voluntarily resigned to avoid impeachment.

The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri subsequently became governor following the departure of Nyako and Ngilari.

ALSO READ:Court grants N100m bail to Ngilari
The minister, who made the clarification at the Aviation Roundtable on Monday in Lagos, said the media report that government had extended the closure by 18 weeks was erroneous.

Let me use this opportunity to debunk the erroneous report making the rounds that the closure of the Abuja airport has been extended by 18 weeks.

This is not true. The six-week time line for the closure remains. After six weeks, the Abuja airport will be reopened.

The remaining work on the runway will not necessitate the closure of the airport, he said.

Mohammed said that the roundtable was in continuation of governments interaction with major stakeholders on the closure of the airport and the temporary diversion of flights to the Kaduna International Airport, Kaduna.

He said that the airport was closed on March 8 to pave way for the reconstruction of its sole runway, which had not been maintained as it should in its over 30 years of existence.

The minister disclosed that the reconstruction of the runway was nearing its halfway mark, adding that government was on course to re-open the airport for flight operations.

He also said that government had done everything possible to ensure the comfort, safety and security of the travelling public during the closure.

Transportation from Abuja to Kaduna and vice versa is free for air passengers and security along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway," he said.

He said that there were security agents at short intervals,

The expressway itself has been rehabilitated to ensure a smooth ride.I can tell you, having travelled on that road at least twice since the relocation that the ride is smooth.

The safety and security of passengers at the Kaduna airport are paramount and guaranteed, as have been attested to by many," he added.

He appealed to the travelling public to bear with the minimal discomfort they could be experiencing as a result of the relocation.

Speaking in the same vein, the Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said the entire procurement for the renovation was six months.

He said that the closure for the repair of the runway was six weeks.

With about three weeks into the project, I am satisfied with the progress of work and optimistic that it will be delivered on schedule, he said.

The minister added that the government recently released N150 million to the contractor to bring in some equipment needed for the prompt completion of the project.
Aliyu gave the advice while speaking as the Guest Speaker at the 2017 Annual Islamic Convention of the Jamaatu Izalatul Bidah Waikamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), on Sunday in Abuja.

He urged the government to formulate sustainable policy on mechanised and commercial agriculture.

When formulated, he said, such policy would reduce associated hardship and make agriculture more attractive to potential investors.

According to him, everywhere in the world, agriculture is subsidised and Nigeria should not be an exception.

He equally wanted the fiscal and monetary policies to enhance inflow of investments toward Nigerias agribusiness sector.

According to him, you have examples in nations like Portugal, Spain, France and the United Kingdom, which promoted agriculture, trade and commerce.

Nigeria must recommit itself to the early days of groundnut pyramids, cocoa and palm oil booms as well as re-creating wealth to pull our citizens out of poverty.

If we dont, we will continue to languish in the poverty, Aliyu said.

He advised the federal, state and local governments to continue with the good policies and programmes of their predecessors.

The former governor suggested that all research institutions should be properly situated and well-funded to promote trade and agriculture in the country.

He called on Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buhari in the fight against corruption, indiscipline and wastages.

Real fight against corruption should be encouraged at the grassroots.

We must not lose this fight as Allah is against corruption, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) did not support corruption and President Buhari detest it.

Also speaking at the convention, the National Chairman, Council of Ulamau (scholars), JIBWIS, Sheikh Sani Jingir, commended the federal government for revamping the agricultural sector.

Jingir also said creating employment through N-power initiative is another positive step taken by the government to address critical challenge of unemployment.

The cleric applauded President Buhari for the success recorded in the ongoing counter insurgency operation and fight against corruption among others.

Jingir, however, advised the federal government to resuscitate moribund industries spread across the country.

He urged the government to encourage entrepreneurship while imploring public office holders to discharge their duties with honesty and fear of God.

Tracing the history of JIBWIS, the chairman said it was founded in 1978 to preach peace in the society and obedience to the constituted authority.
LAVA/Republic RecordsLorde has spoken a lot about how her upcoming album Melodrama is a document of her life as a new "adult," but for her album cover, she specifically wanted to look like a teen.

According to the New Yorker, Lorde hired New York artist Sam McKinnis to paint the cover of Melodrama after meeting him through mutual friends and attending his exhibition "Egyptian Violet." That exhibit featured McKinnis' paintings based on photographs of pop culture people and things, including Prince, Laura Dern, Lil Kim, and Snoop Dogg.

McKinnis says he set up a photo shoot in a friend's New York apartment. When Lorde arrived, she changed into a vintage negligee. "She was just ready for it, McKinniss says. "She told me, I want to be a teenager in my bedroom after a long night, at daybreak. He then painted the album cover from the photos he took.

Because Lorde credited McKinnis as the artist when she Instagrammed the album cover, he is now being bombarded with messages from Lorde fans, who've created their own interpretations of the painting, or done their makeup to approximate the image.

Melodrama will be released June 16.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
THE GUARDIAN

Banks get dollar surplus as CBN offers $100 million

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ended the week with a fresh dollar intervention at the interbank market worth $100 million, while banks were unable to pick them all. The development showed a surplus dollar position in the banks, particularly for the retail segment- personal business travel allowance, medical tourism and school fees, among others.

Senate probes alleged N4tr revenue leakage in Customs

The Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff has begun an investigation into how over N4 trillion was lost at the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) between 2006 and 2016. It decried the inability of the Technical Committee on the Implementation of Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme to ensure compliance with its provisions .

PDP ceasefire collapses as Sheriff, Markarfi trade counter-accusations

National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff, yesterday warned and threatened legal action against those referring to Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee, as a faction of the party

THE NATION NEWSPAPER

EFCC probes Saraki, aides over N3.5bn Paris Club cash

National chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has threatened to arrest old staff of the party secretariat, if they failed to return property in their possession in seven days.

Bureaux de Change at risk as Naira gains more muscle

Business seems bad for Bureaux De Change (BDCs)  no thanks to the nairas new strength that has hit them with heavy losses.

Senate probes N4trn revenue leakage in Customs

Business seems bad for Bureaux De Change (BDCs)  no thanks to the nairas new strength that has hit them with heavy losses.

VANGUARD NEWSPAPER

Banks lose N1trn current account deposits in February

The Federal Government has said that it has so for released N1tn to its Ministries, Department and Agencies for the implementation of the capital component of the 2016 budget.

EFCC Chair: Osinbajo, Malami to decide Magus fate

President Muhammadu Buhari is weighing two options on the fate of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, presidency sources have confirmed to Vanguard.

Sheriff, Markarfi PDP at war again

National chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has threatened to arrest old staff of the party secretariat, if they failed to return property in their possession in seven days.

__________________________________________________

THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

Ile-Ife Riot: One-sided arrests wrong, says Bakare

The Serving Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, Pastor Tunde Bakare, on Sunday, condemned the mode of arrests in the aftermath of the clash between the indigenes and the Hausa community in the ancient town

N19b Paris Club scam: EFCC report indicts Saraki, aides, ex-bank MD

National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff, yesterday warned and threatened legal action against those referring to Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee, as a faction of the party.

2016 budget: Capital releases to MDAs hit 1tn
Ortom said this after the State Security meeting in Makurdi on Monday.

The governor also said the killings were not due to communal clashes, stressing that they were carried out by criminal elements bent on unleashing terror and mayhem on innocent citizens.

He, however, promised that the killings would soon be nipped in the bud; and the perpetrators arrested and prosecuted.

He further said that the criminals had been identified and that the security agencies would soon go after them.

We are not ready to surrender the state to criminals, the governor vowed.

He said all hands must be on deck to enable the government to succeed in addressing insecurity.

Security challenges cannot be tackled by a single individual or by the police alone but all must cooperate for the overall benefit of all and sundry, he said.

ALSO READ:Wike calls for state of emergency to be declared in Benue

Reacting to Rivers Gov. Nyesom Wikes recent comments on the issue, Ortom said he was ready for probe at any given time.

He said he had nothing to hide as he was keeping Benue people abreast of every financial transaction undertaken by the state and what he had received from the Federal Government.
Saraki was indicted for allegedly embezzling N19b from the Paris Club refund, reports say.

The Senate President allegedly colluded with his Relationship Manager at Access Bank, Kathleen Erhimu and some of his aides whose names were given as Obiora Amobi, Gbenga Makanjuola, Kolawole Shittu and Oladapo Idowu.

Also, reports say the deal was also aided by Robert Mbonu of Melrose General Services Limited.

Speaking on the issue, the Executive Chairman of CACOL, Debo Adeniran said Saraki has been mentioned in many corruption cases and has not yet cleared his name.

Adeniran also said From time to time, there had always been allegations against the Nigerian Senate President varying from one illegal deal to other fraudulent acts, he keeps moving from one case to the other. It is saddening and disgraceful that a man of such dented image is the number three citizen of this great country.

Sometime ago, there was also an allegation against Saraki about his involvement in the forgery of the senate rules. It was gathered that both him and his deputy Ekweremadu illegally amended the standing rules that ostensibly aided their emergences both as Senate President and deputy President.

Moreso, Sarakis name was mentioned in the discovered secret offshore asset scam released by a German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung. The Panama papers reported the biggest leak showing how World leaders, celebrities, criminal etal hid money using anonymous shell corporations across the World; it alleged that about four assets belonged to Saraki and his family in secret offshore territories. Girol Properties, the report stated ,was registered on behalf of Toyin Saraki by Fonsecca on August 25, 2004, in the British Virgin Island, a year after her husband, Bukola, became the governor of Kwara State.It added that the company documents showed that Mrs. Saraki owns 25,000 numbers of shares with a par value of US$ 1,000 each, and was appointed the first and only director of the company.

Despite all these allegations on false asset declaration, at no time did he ever defend himself clearly in any court, his song had been that he is being persecuted! But by who? When there are concrete evidences against him in that regard that he has not disproved. It is so shameful that the man who presides over the legislature has such a messy personality as it is expected that anyone occupying such a highly esteemed position should be a man almost without a blemish.

Bukola Saraki becoming the Senate President was a tragedy; and the consequence is what the country is currently facing, this needs to be stated unequivocally! While he was the governor of Kwara State he never maintained a clean record, how come people like him with questionable background get to such exalted position? We need to introspect and act to avoid people that are apparently incurably corrupt or that have baggage that smacks of corruption from occupying our public offices. Let the truth be told!

Considering the amount of embarrassment that he has continually caused the country as a whole, at this junction it is wise that we cast a vote of no confidence on the so called Senate President; he should either resign or the processes for his impeachment should be commenced by Nigerians who want a better social co-existence than this appalling misrepresentation. We say loud and clear that SARAKI IS NOT OUR SENATE PRESIDENT!

As we confront our reality and the need to act, we cannot continue to lower the bar in terms of intolerance for corruption. It is either Saraki proves his innocence or not, period! Enough of these distractions!! It is no longer about Magu, Ali, Dinos certificate or whatever contortion that has been thrown so far. We as Nigerians owe this country the duty to make or mar it, beyond the conscious frivolities of the political class that has kept the vast majority in abject penury with so much effrontery.

For Saraki, vacating the office would not enough; he must be duly prosecuted by the EFCC. It is not right that people evade justice at free will. Saraki is not untouchable though he has feigned otherwise; whatsoever the case maybe, he is not above the law.

We at CACOL decided this with and on behalf of millions of hapless Nigerians who have by a choice that is not theirs, fallen or are potential victims of corrupt leaders. This monster torments ordinary people of Nigeria in all areas of their endeavour. We have to confront it with a view to defeating it because it has to be done, not by ghosts or citizens of other nations but by Nigerians who have pride in themselves to be full-blooded Nigerians. Our promotion and pursuance of open leadership is hinged on our belief that it will facilitate transparency and accountability in governance while also plugging the holes of corruption.
Okereke said Oboli was careless.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the copyright infringement case slammed on Oboli by Jude Idada, a script writer would not have arisen if Oboli had taken steps to address the issue.

She did nothing, claimed Okereke only to be embarrassed by Idadas court order. Oboli was thinking more like an actress than a film producer or a business person, Okereke added.

Idada a Canadian-based Nigerian script writer accused Oboli, a film producer of copyright infringement to produce the movie titled: Okafors Law.

The drama began in September 2016 when Oboli stoutly defended her ownership of the script, stating that she owned and wrote it 100 per cent.

When the parties could not reach an agreement, Idadi sought the help of the court.

Oboli, Dioni Visions and Filmone Distribution are named the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants in the case filed by Idada.

He got an injunction to stop the release of the film, scheduled to hit the cinemas on 31 March.

Oboli was served the court injunction at the Filmhouse IMAX, Lekki, venue of the films premiere on March 25. Lekki. Guests were already seated, after the cocktail preceding the screening of the movie.

She was forced to obey the court injunction by cancelling the premiere as she stood the risk of being charged with contempt if she had gone ahead with the premiere.

Okereke said that, there were options she ought to have followed; options that would have been beneficial to both parties. Some people could have been called upon to intervene on the matter.

Every profession has its risks, especially a rapidly growing one like Nollywood. And this is one of them. It is a mark of Nollywood growth.

There will always be room for compromise, no matter how little, he said.

The Movie Director said that Nollywood has gone beyond me against you; it is about collective responsibility, which links each other in business concerns and connects everyone.

Those bringing sentiments must understand that intellectual property issues are not just something you wish away.

Idada must have provided evidence, a simple sign of breach of rights for an injunction to be given to him to protect him. This is protection of rights of every citizen.

Oboli ought to be in court to fight it. She has to counter the evidence provided by Idada.

It is going to be messy as it was when this issue was raised. Now they are going to spend money engaging lawyers but Oboli will be the worst hit, he said.

Okereke said it would have been a forgotten issue if the case was nipped in the bud through their association, but Oboli called Idadas bluff and went ahead to shoot the controversial film.

There are procedures in handling this kind of case and both sides, especially Oboli, missed the point. It is now fight to finish and that is not good for a producer, he said.

Nollywood is a big beneficiary of this case; writers now see what they can do when their intellectual property rights are breached.

Producers now understand the implication of minor mistakes; distributors will now be more circumspect of controversially produced films."
Another layer was added last weekend as Fashola--who is President Muhammadu Buharis minister of power, works and housing--visited his home State and the nations commercial capital.

The date was Saturday, March 25, 2017 and Fashola was in Lagos for a continuation of his project tour across Nigeria.

Last week belonged to the Southwest on the ministers itinerary and Fashola had been hosted by Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, hours prior.

If the former number one citizen of Lagos was expecting a red carpet reception like he had been accorded in Ekiti, he had another think coming.

Things got really cold as Fashola and his team drove to the government house in Alausa at about 4:30pm for a courtesy call on Ambode.

We were shocked by the type of reception we got from the Lagos Governor, an aide of Fashola told Pulse, moments later.

ALSO READ:

The aide pleaded that his name be left out of this story because he hadnt been granted permission to speak about the development.

Normally, the minister and his entourage are ushered into government house in every State we visit. Ambode practically gave us the cold shoulder. He kept us waiting outside his office. He wasnt warm. He looked like he was already sick of the sight of us even though we just barely arrived, the aide offered.

Another member of Fasholas party added that, the minister then made his way into Ambodes office for an audience with the Governor. It lasted barely five minutes. It wasnt what we were looking forward to. And then we were off, as abruptly as we had come.

Governor Ambodes media team handed out a completely different picture of what had transpired and portrayed a picture of cordiality and geniality between both men.

We welcome the Honourable Minister and appreciate him for his years of meritorious service to the Government and People of Lagos, Ambode tweeted moments later, complete with a picture of himself and the deputy Governor, Idiat Adebule, holding what looked like a civil conversation with Fashola.

Ambode added that the former Governor of Lagos State and the current Hon. Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) was our guest today.

The Lagos State government will collaborate with and support the federal government to execute projects for the benefit of Lagosians and Nigerians.

Behind the scenes, however, was a completely different picture, aides told Pulse.

It was photo-op and nothing more, one aide said of the pictures. You could feel the tension before the pictures were made public.

We were in Ekiti where an opposition Governor (Fayose is PDP) is lord of the manor and we were accorded better reception. Fayose was up at 1:30am to welcome us. He even offered Fashola the use of the presidential lodge for as long as he wanted. But in Fasholas home State, it just seemed like the Governor couldnt wait to see our backs.

ALSO READ:

Fashola and Ambode have endured a fractious relationship for as long as anyone can remember.

It has been rumoured that as Governor, Fashola handed Ambode the sack from the civil service.

Ambode has demurred, saying he left voluntarily.

In the run-up to the 2015 general elections, Fashola openly backed Supo Shasore to emerge his successor.

Lagos and Southwest godfather, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, stuck out his neck for Ambode and pulled out all the stops toward an Ambode governorship.

And it paid off nicely.

This turn of events only deepened the rift between Ambode and Fashola.

Once he had assumed the reins of Governor, Ambode wasted little time in firing most Fashola loyalists in the cabinet and civil service.

A few days ago, Fashola admitted that he hadnt spoken to Ambode since he moved out of Alausa and Marina in 2015.

Both men had fallen out over infrastructure projects in Lagos; with Ambode accusing Fashola of frustrating his take-over of certain federal government owned assets that were fast deteriorating.

Ambode accused Fashola of a lack of cooperation in delivering democracy dividends to the people of Lagos State.

It was an accusation that stung, considering that Ambode and Fashola belong in the same political party which now calls the shots at the center.

Fasholas response arrived like a fusillade.

If there is any lack of co-operation, it is on the part of the State Government that has refused to acknowledge not to talk of approving the Ministrys request for Land of the National Housing Programme in Lagos. This response is to ensure that members of the public are not misled by deliberate or inadvertent mis-statements, the minister flared.

The motive behind these public accusations must therefore be scrutinized The allegations of lack of cooperation from the Ministry and frustration of Lagos State Government development initiatives are simply not true and the facts do not bear them out, Fashola added.

It was yet another piece of evidence that Fashola and Ambode have grown to become sworn enemies.
The governor made the comments while speaking to journalists in Lokoja on the state of the nation.

Nigeria would have become a failed state if Buhari didnt emerge as the President of Nigeria, Bello said.

Before 2015, insurgents were already capturing the Northeast, hoisting their flags in many local government areas in Borno. They killed many of our compatriots and our gallant soldiers, burnt mosques and churches as well as kidnapped many of our students, children and women.

Boko Haram is a sad page in our history. We cant also forget too soon, how corruption was almost bringing our nation to her knees and our institutions were drained, abused and destroyed.

President Buhari has virtually won the war against insurgency. Sambisa Forest witnessed unprecedented military operations to free our nation from the enemies of humanity and we are beginning to breath an air of freedom. We are also witnessing dramatic recovery from the corruption-induced recession bedeviling our nation.

One of the benefits of having President Buhari at this time is the global respect he has. The international community helping Nigeria recover her stolen wealth because it is sure we are not collecting from a thief to give to another thief. The world believes in the integrity of the Nigerian leader.

Politicians could be very selfish. They campaign to win elections and keep campaigning in office. I am not interested in continuing with political campaign now. I am focused on fulfilling my promise to the people of Kogi State.

We need to pause politics and attend to the needs of our people. That is why we are improving infrastructure and agriculture in the state to reduce poverty. We are improving education and healthcare because they have direct bearing on the people. Kogi is witnessing tremendous turnaround under my watch, he added.

ALSO READ:Aisha Buhari takes photo with President Buhari in London
The faction also criticized El-Rufai over a leaked memo in which he accused the president of not meeting up to expectation.

Chairman of the Kaduna APC faction, Tom Mataimaki Maiyashi made the comments via a statement.

It reads:

In our view, knowing the role Mr. President played and his integrity, Nasir El-Rufai wouldnt have become the governor of Kaduna State.

El-Rufais Memo is a total disrespect, shocking and clueless. How will Nasir El-Rufai write such a Memo to Mr. President when he is doing nothing in Kaduna State?

Look at gutters all over the state, I wonder if that is a mark of progress in our state. Someone who claims to be holier than thou asked us to go and climb Kufena Mountain and jump if we are not satisfied with his appointments. He even said we are ants he can crush with his iron shoes.

El-Rufai muzzles and pounds us. Can such a person correct Mr. President? This is a height of disrespect, arrogance and deceit. Nasir El-Rufai should first change himself. It is the integrity of Mr. President that makes him to be a governor today. Malam Nasir el-Rufai can never be a role model of proper conduct.

So, for him to tell Mr. President what to do in his administration its unfortunates. He should have been the least if at most people should criticize Buhari.

Everything that Kaduna state government is entitle to is been given. From the Paris club funds refund to bail out for states. El-Rufai has shown nothing for these funds apart from the federal allocations.

Nothing to show that merited what Kaduna has been getting from the federal government. El-Rufai has failed woefully. It was in that psychology he wrote that Memo because he thinks he understands and knows all.

Kaduna State Senator, Shehu Sani had also criticized El-Rufai for the memo describing the governor as a dubious hypocrite.

El-Rufai said, on Thursday, April 7, 2016, that it was Buhari who forced him to contest for the governorship of the state.

ALSO READ: Kaduna Governor slams Buhari in leaked memo
The Deputy President made the call in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Mr Uche Anichukwu, in Abuja on Sunday.

He spoke when he received the Governing Council of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, which paid him a visit to him in Abuja.

He stressed that the senate would also support workable modalities from relevant stakeholders in ensuring that Nigerians lived in peace with one another to fast-track the nations development.

According to him, the nation is passing through a phase of rough relationships on many fronts and needed the services of trained professionals in Alternative Dispute Resolution, (ADR).

I am sure you are aware of the growing ethnic tensions all over the country.

Tension between herdsmen and farmers and tension between different communities in different parts of the country.

These we have to resolve, not through the right of might, but through some alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

We believe that these are not matters the courts can easily and effectively deal with. They require alternative means of dispute resolution, he said.

The lawmaker called on the Institute of Mediators and Conciliators to deploy its resources, intellect, and skills in ensuring that some of the tensions were resolved effectively.

He said that the Senate was ready to work with the institute and other relevant organisations in promoting ethnic, religious, economic, political harmony and justice.

According to him, the upper legislative chamber has a standing committee dealing with pubic petitions.

So, for us in the Senate, we receive and deal with petitions from our constituencies in a non-judicial manner.

It is a kind of mediation and conciliation aimed at ensuring that disputes are resolved and justice is done in a way that leaves parties involved satisfied.

So, we are on the same page with you and I believe we can work together in this regard, he said.

He assured them of the willingness of the Senate to pass legislations to strengthen ADR in the country.

Ekweremadu called for collaboration among various ADR practitioners and organisations in the country for a more effective and harmonised legislation.

I observed that there are also other organisations, such as the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators, which appear to be doing exactly what you do.

You need to find a way to liaise with one another so that there can be a harmonised legal architecture for alternative dispute resolution in the country rather than separate legislation for each separate organisation, he advised.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation and President, Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, Mr Emeka Obegolu, said the visit was aimed at canvassing support for the Bill for an Act for the Establishment of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators.

He said that though the Bill was passed by the 7th National Assembly, it was, unfortunately not assented to by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

He, therefore, pressed for a little push to help the bill become an Act to boost its work.

Obegolu said that the Institute had over 6,000 members, consisting of Fellows, Associates, and Members.

He also said that the institute was also working in the North East, where it had trained 56 community stakeholders on mediation and communal dispute resolution.

Obegolu said the institute was equally working with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in exploring electoral dispute mediation.
What has triggered the latest public spat began with Sheriffs threat to sue anyone, including media houses, who referred to Sen. Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee, as a faction of the party. Allied to this was Sheriffs declaration of job vacancies in the party secretariat.

In a statement by his deputy, Dr Cairo Ojoughoh, Sheriff said the job vacancies declared were preparatory to filling positions in the partys National Secretariat as the old staff decided to abandon their work even when he appealed to them.

But the Makarfi group smelled a rat and asked the old staff to ignore Sheriffs threat and his seven-day ultimatum to return party properties.

His threat against our hard working staff should therefore be ignored and treated with utmost contempt coming from a lawless impostor, said Dayo Adeyeye, the publicity secretary, who responded on behalf of the Makarfi group.

Both Sheriff and Makarfi had on Thursday signed an undertaking with the PDP National Reconciliation Committee,led by Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa to cease fire.

Sheriff, who described the Makarfi-led committee as illegal group, said that by the pronouncement of the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, on Feb. 17, such a group was not supposed to be in existence.

He cautioned media houses not to refer to the Makarfi group as faction, saying an appeal is not a stay of execution, insisting that the group was illegal.

Sheriff also warned Makarfi and his group to stop interfering in the affairs of the party.

Makarfi should behave himself. He should not interfere in our business, because we are not interested in his private business.

Any further careless statement from him will force us to reconsider our earlier peace agreement.

We have already employed staff who are running the bureaucracy efficiently. If Makarfi so desires, he should keep the old staff, just as he is doing now.

We have had enough and enough is enough of this, Sheriff said.

He added that his leadership was preparing to complete state congresses where necessary and working hard on planned national convention.

We will not be distracted by inconsequential issues from our set objective to return the party to the grassroots.

We must prevent anybody with the agenda of killing the party, especially those, who were brought to the party by those, who have already decamped to other parties.

Sheriff, warned the old PDP staff, who still have the partys property in their possession to return them immediately.

They should return them within the seven days grace or we will be left with no other option than to hand them over to the police, Sheriff said.

The Makarfi group fired back and urged the staff and party stakeholders to ignore Sheriff, saying that his threats were those of a lawless impostor.

We went out of our way few days ago to reach accommodation with them even when some of our top leaders had serious misgivings about any type of talk with them given their unreliability, Makarfi said.

He said that his committee showed its goodwill, while Sheriff-led National Working Committee (NWC) demonstrated their bad faith.

We have always known that Sheriff and his co-travellers especially, Cairo Ojuogbo, were never men of honour with whom one can reach any agreement.

But we tagged along to avoid being accused of unnecessary intransigence.

Since the leopard cannot change its spot, it is now very clear that no agreement or political solution can be reached with these bunch of people with huge integrity deficit.

He described Ojougboh as an impostor and a rabble rouser in a non existent NWC, saying Sheriff has no men to constitute an NWC with the required constitutional quorum.

His threat against our hard working staff should therefore be ignored and treated with utmost contempt coming from a lawless impostor.

For the education of Sheriff and his cohorts, our Appeal at the Supreme Court is already on.

To that extent, the position and status of the National Caretaker Committee remains completely unaltered.

Since they cannot comprehend even very simple matters, we will use a simple analogy.

If a Governor loses at the election petitions tribunal and at the Court of Appeal, does he cease to be a Governor even when his appeal is pending before the Supreme Court?

Would the civil servants then refuse to serve him? Makarfi asked.

He explained that the position of the law was that he would remain the governor.

He added that all government employees would continue to service his government until otherwise determined by the Supreme Court.
It was the panel's first meeting since Marie Collins, an Irish survivor of abuse, angrily quit after a similar request was turned down.

"The Commission discussed the importance of responding directly and compassionately to victims/survivors when they write to offices of the Holy See," the panel said in a statement issued on Monday.

"Members agreed that acknowledging correspondence and giving a timely and personal response is one part of furthering transparency and healing."

The statement added: "They acknowledged that this is a significant task due to the volume and nature of the correspondence and requires clear and specific resources and procedures."

The panel was set up by Francis two years ago to advise him on concrete measures for ensuring the safety of minors after the Church was hit by a string of paedophile scandals.

On March 1, Collins, a 70-year-old Irishwoman who was raped by a hospital chaplain at 13, resigned from the commission, accusing senior Vatican officials of throwing up roadblocks to reforms.

She singled out the dicastery, or Vatican ministry, which is in charge of the clerical abuse dossier, saying it was guilty of a "shameful" lack of cooperation.

The final straw, Collins said, was the refusal to guarantee that all letters from victims or survivors would receive a response, and to cooperate with the commission on developing guidelines to protect children.

Indirectly responding to Collins, Cardinal GerhardLudwig Mueller, in charge of the dicastery, said it was for local bishops, not the central authority of the Holy See, to reply to abuse victims.

"It's a misunderstanding to think that this dicastery in Rome could deal with all the dioceses and religious orders in the world," he said.

Separately, the commission on Monday said it would carry out further trips abroad to strengthen awareness of child protection procedures.

Collins' departure left the commission with no abuse survivors working for it.
He provided protection for Bulgaria's communist dictator Todor Zhivkov after he was pushed from power in 1989, and in the mid-1990s for former king Simeon Saxe Coburg after he returned from exile.

"I had the unique chance to interact, in an informal setting, with both the number one of communism and his antipode, the ex-monarch. What I heard from them taught me how to understand history and the mechanisms of power," Borisov told AFP in a 2009 interview.

Saxe Coburg, who later became prime minister, picked Borisov to be chief of staff in the interior ministry in 2001, and three years later promoted him to the highest rank in the police.

But Borisov had bigger ambitions.

He left the ministry to win election as mayor of Sofia as an independent candidate and in 2006 formed his own political party, Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB).

Rampant corruption

In 2009 he put his down-to-earth charm to good use to secure a victory for GERB in national elections, and became prime minister at the head of a minority government.

Once in power, he toured the country incessantly to inaugurate infrastructure projects but failed to enact structural reforms or to tackle the rampant corruption and organised crime that Brussels has long complained about.

Political analysts meanwhile highlighted his tendency to backtrack on important decisions if he found them unpopular.

The end came in the winter of 2012-13 when Bulgarians fed up with corruption and poverty -- one in five households live below the poverty line -- took to the streets across the country.

Resigning in February 2013, he still came first in elections three months later, but was unable to form a government. Instead the left and the Turkish minority party installed a technocrat administration.

But that government lasted just 14 months before throwing in the towel in July. Campaigning with an older-and-wiser image, GERB won the subsequent elections and this time managed to form a government.

Shot down

But again, reforms failed to get off the ground, in particular changes to the justice system and plans to help cash-strapped schools and the creaking health care system.

An anti-corruption law was rejected by parliament -- making for unfavourable comparisons with neighbouring Romania, which also joined the EU in 2007 but which has made progress tackling graft.

After much squabbling with his partners and several resignations, the end came in November last year when Rumen Radev, an air force commander backed by the Socialists, was elected president.

Borisov had expected his hand-picked candidate, the uninspiring Tsetska Tsacheva, to win hands down. As a result he quit as premier for the second time.

"If Bulgarians want a political crisis then they shall have one," Borisov said at the time.

National saviour

In the latest election, Borisov campaigned as a saviour of the nation in an uncertain world, with migrants in neighbouring Turkey wanting to enter the country and the Balkans facing renewed instability.

"Never has the situation in the Balkans been so warlike. GERB has to win the elections to ensure that Bulgaria remains an island of stability," he said on the campaign trail.

The strategy worked, with GERB coming first on Sunday again, fending off a strong challenge from the newly energised Socialists.

"Borisov had the wonderful idea of being reassuring, of adopting the role of unifier, of conciliator," said political analyst Haralan Alexandrov.
Born in the Riviera city to Moroccan parents, the 27-year-old was still trying to come to terms with her loss when she suffered the added ignominy of being told she was no longer welcome in France -- as she grieved at the site of the carnage.

The incident, one of several involving Muslims in Nice recorded in the days after the July 14 attack, highlighted a spike in anti-Muslim sentiment in France after the third major jihadist attack in a year and a half.

In an interview with AFP, Charrihi, who wears a headscarf, said the taunts she endured that day left her doubly scarred.

"I'm living in fear of Daesh (the Islamic State group) like everyone else, but also in fear of racists," said the young author, who has written an ode to her mother, country and religion titled "Ma Mere Patrie" (My Motherland).

"When I take the metro in Paris, I stay away from the edge. I'm terrified someone might give me a push."

France's presidential election has upped the ante, she said, accusing candidates on the right and far right of "hounding" Muslims in speeches that conflate Islam and terrorism.

"It's a turbo-charged race," she said. "If you put a bit of Islam in the tank, it goes faster, because everyone is afraid of Daesh."

'We don't want you here'

Charrihi said she first noticed a shift in attitudes toward Muslims, particularly those wearing headscarves, after the January 2015 attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a magazine that had printed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

On trips into Paris from the suburb where she lives with her husband and two boys, she drew stares -- even if most were "out of curiosity rather than unkindness".

It was in her native Nice that she came face-to-face with blatant racism.

As thousands of mourners gathered to pay tribute to the dead on July 18 on the seafront avenue where the massacre took place, a man on his way to the beach with a deckchair harangued Charrihi and her sisters who had come to lay flowers at the site.

"We don't want any more of that here. We don't want you here anymore," he told them.

As the women were leaving, another man taunted them.

"So you move in packs now?" he asked, adding heartlessly, when learning that their mother was among the victims: "Good! That's one less."

Charrihi accuses the news media of abetting the prejudice by focusing on a radicalised minority that "does not represent all French Muslims".

"They interview 16-year-old imbeciles who speak rubbish," said Charrihi, a trained pharmacy assistant who defends an Islam "of peace, respect and tolerance", including the right for Charlie Hebdo's cartoonists to savage Islam and other religions with their pencils.

Buoyed by hundreds of messages of support, she and her siblings have set up an association to deter young people from radical Islam and promote unity -- following the example of Latifa Ibn Ziaten, the mother of a soldier who was among seven people killed by Mohamed Merah in Toulouse in 2012, who has become a peace ambassador.

Charrihi said her book and association were her way of fighting back against the IS group, which claimed the Nice attack as the work of one of its "soldiers".
The vote sparked a bitter row when Germany and The Netherlands blocked campaign events by Turkish ministers earlier this month, leading a furious Erdogan to accuse both countries of using "Nazi" methods.

As in Turkey, the voters flocking to polling booths were divided on whether the proposal would help bring stable government or allow a strongman to impose one-man rule.

"I voted for democracy!" said one, Hussein Saregul, indicating that he had stamped the brown ballot paper for a "no" vote -- not the white version for "yes".

Saregul, who has lived for eight years in the eastern city of Dresden with his family, said he was sorry relations between Germany and Turkey had been so tense in recent weeks.

"We hope that the 'no' vote will prevail," he said, adding that the referendum is only "in the interest of one man. It is a step towards dictatorship."

Crackdown, arrests

Germany, the most populous EU country, is home to the world's largest overseas Turkish community, about three million strong, a legacy of the "guest worker" programme of the 1960s and 1970s.

Turkish voters in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France and Switzerland can also cast their ballots for the next two weeks, until April 9.

Other countries will start later, with a total of around three million allowed to vote in 120 Turkish missions in 57 countries.

Turkey itself will vote on April 16 on the proposal to create an executive presidency and abolish the post of prime minister.

Germany and other Western nations have voiced concern about the plan, and about a crackdown in Turkey in the aftermath of a failed coup last July that has seen thousands of people arrested or fired from their posts.

Germany's top-circulation newspaper Bild recommended opposing the constitutional change, in a bilingual German-Turkish article.

It argued that modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, "would have said no", describing him as "authoritarian but not dictatorial".

'Neighbours argue'

Turkish community leader Gokay Sofuoglu spoke of a "deep split" that ran through the diaspora and said the rift had intensified because Erdogan was labelling opponents of the referendum traitors and terrorists.

One voter in Berlin, Aslan Ismael, accused European countries of being biased against Erdogan.

"The German media and German politicians want a 'no' vote," he said, also complaining that Turkish ministers had been blocked from several rallies by local authorities citing logistical reasons.

"I don't understand this bashing, these anti-Erdogan measures," he said. "Those high-ranking officials wanted to come and explain what the reform is all about.

"In Germany, the principle of freedom of expression is very important and it has not been respected," he said, adding that he was not a member of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).

An opponent of the proposed change, Berlin-born Sirin Manolya Sak, said that in the debate tensions "have been fuelled by both sides".

She said she regretted that Turks and Germans "who have lived together for 60 years in Germany -- neighbours, friends, work colleagues -- are arguing today".
The owners of a recently opened small business in town is crediting its success on a newly created program.

The owners of a recently opened small business in town is crediting its success on a newly created program.

Gypsy Shack owners Linda Gardner and daughter Tabitha Armstrong said without the assistance of NCREDA, (Nye County Rural Economic Development Authority), their new business would not have gotten off of the ground.

Last year, NCREDA was granted $30,000 courtesy of USDA Rural Development Nevada to develop a revolving-loan fund for small and emerging private business in Nye County.

NCREDA matched the Rural Business Enterprise grant with $21,900 of in-kind contributions.

As a result, the business owners received a $5,000 revolving loan at low rates and favorable terms.

NCREDA Executive Director Cassandra Selbach said this week that she is excited that the program presents opportunities to would-be business owners and entrepreneurs.

I am personally excited about the program because I have seen what $5,000 can do. I am a local business owner and started my company five years ago with $5,000. I will gladly take the time to work with individuals and counsel them in ways that will give them the highest opportunity to be successful in their business ventures, she said.

Funds from the loan can be used for inventory, working or start-up capital and equipment and other necessary items.

Additionally, Selbach said with the local economy on the mend, Nye County is a wise choice to start up a new business compared to other Silver State regions.

The sales tax here is lower than some surrounding areas and is a good incentive for doing business here. Nevadas tax climate is among the least burdensome in the country. The complete absence of many taxes found in many jurisdictions can significantly increase the bottom line to your business. Our states tax structure offers a business environment few states can match.

Armstrong, meanwhile, said the service NCREDA offers is second to none for prospective business owners.

Cassandra is amazing and she was very helpful at any moment of the day. She was always there to help us with any questions that we had regarding the next step that we needed to take. It can sometimes be overwhelming because theres just so many steps you need to take and she was really on top of everything, she said.

Gyspy Shack opened its doors April 1.

The shop offers an eclectic mix of metaphysical items and one-of-a-kind re-purposed furniture and accessories.

Selbach noted NCREDA does take into account exactly what type of businesses the grant will help fund.

We take a careful look at what it is they are trying to do. Obviously, we want to support success and there is a series of initial meetings that we have with the client to help them with marketing strategies, business plans and licensing. Our main goal is to make sure that once they get the funds, they are going to succeed. If we find during those initial meetings, they are not set up for success, then we will counsel them to get them to a point where they are set up for success, she said.

Gypsy Shack is located across from Saddle West at 1200 S. Highway 160, Suite 5 of the Charlotta Business Center.

NCREDA is located on the second floor of the Nevada State Bank building at 1301 S. Highway 160.

For more information on services, Selbach can be contacted by phone at 775-453-6196, or email atcselbach@DoingBusinessinNye.net.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is seeking information from a political opposition research firm as he continues to dig into the origins of a dossier that made controversial but unsubstantiated allegations about President Donald Trump.

Grassley's office announced Monday that he had sent the letter to a company called Fusion GPS asking a series of questions.

Earlier this month, Grassley had contacted the FBI seeking information from the agency after The Washington Post reported that last fall the bureau had agreed to pay a former spy who had compiled the dossier to continue his work. The payments were never made, the Post reported, but Grassley said the agreement was still troubling. The former spy was hired by Fusion, at first at the behest of a Republican critic, according to reports. Later, Democratic allies of Hillary Clinton's paid for the work.

In the new letter, dated Friday, Grassley asked a series of questions about arrangements between Fusion and its clients  as well as about the company's contacts with the FBI. Among the questions: Whether any of Fusion's clients suggested that the dossier be supplied to the FBI.

"When political opposition research becomes the basis for law enforcement or intelligence efforts, it raises substantial questions about the independence of law enforcement and intelligence from politics. The Committee requires additional information to evaluate this situation," Grassley wrote in the letter. He asked for a reply by April 7.

The senator's letter comes amid an FBI investigation into Russia's influence on the U.S. presidential election.

In January, U.S. intelligence agencies concluded the Russians meddled in the election and had a preference for Trump. But the former director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said the dossier, which contained allegations regarding Trump campaign contacts with Russian operatives, did not contribute to its conclusion.

The intelligence agencies' report contained no evidence of collusion with the Trump campaign, and the president has dismissed the story of Russian influence as "fake news."
The White House may be moving on to tax reform the aftermath of last Friday's health care defeat, but Iowa Republicans say they aren't abandoning their effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Rep. Rod Blum, R-Iowa, who opposed the alternative proposed by the House GOP leadership, said Monday that finding a solution still is a priority.

"This is not dead. It's not going away. It continues to be our priority," said Blum, who represents Iowa's 1st Congressional District.

Blum was on a conference call Monday with Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, both Iowa Republicans, in which the three briefed reporters after a meeting with Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney about getting support for Iowa flood projects, particularly in Cedar Rapids.

The decision to pull the health care legislation without a vote was a defeat for House Speaker Paul Ryan, as well as President Donald Trump, who had pushed for the bill.

The president said during the campaign that repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, would be an early priority. But with the White House now moving to focus on reforming the nation's tax code, it appears repeal efforts will have to wait.

On the conference call, Blum said he has been told the president will come back to the issue when the House comes to an agreement. He also noted Democrats under President Barack Obama took a longer period of time to pass the Affordable Care Act.

"For us to try to do this in 18 days, I think, was too quick," he said.

For his part, Grassley said that "you don't really move beyond" health care because something needs to be done about the current law and rising premiums in the individual marketplace.

Ernst did not address the issue on the call, but in a statement later, she said "while the House did not advance a bill, we all must continue to work together to promote affordable, patient-centered health care solutions that work for Iowans." She said it should be done "thoughtfully and carefully."

The bill failed last week after House GOP leadership could not garner enough support within its caucus for its alternative to the Affordable Care Act, which it called the American Health Care Act.

In Iowa, Blum and Rep. David Young, R-Iowa, both said they opposed the legislation. In a statement last Friday after the bill was pulled, Young praised the president and House leaders.

"Great leaders know when to pause a journey down a path that isnt working and see the opportunity and optimism in starting over," he said.

Multiple news outlets reported last week that a Super PAC aligned with Ryan had yanked support for Young after he declared his opposition to the bill.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, had said that he would support the Republican bill. On Friday afternoon, he tweeted his support for legislation that would simply repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Illinois State Police have announced the results of alcohol countermeasure enforcement and roadside safety check patrols at different times in Rock Island County.

According to Illinois State Police District 7 Commander Capt. Victor Markowski, alcohol-countermeasure enforcement patrols in February resulted in:

 1 driving-under-the-influence citation

 3 alcohol/drug citations

 4 occupant restraint offenses

 7 registration offenses

 7 drivers license offenses

 2 insurance violations

 27 total citations/arrests

 25 written warnings,,

According to Markowski, roadside-safety checks from late night Saturday to early morning Sunday at Illinois 92 and 34th Street, Moline, resulted in:

 3 driving-under-the-influence citations

 12 other alcohol/drug citations

 3 registration offenses

 3 drivers license offenses

 5 insurance violations

 20 total citations/arrests

 6 total written warnings.

The project was funded through the Illinois Department of Transportation. Alcohol and drug impairment is a factor in more than 30 percent of all fatal motor-vehicle crashes in Illinois, according to Markowski.
From his two decades worth of work at WaterPark Car Wash in the Quad-Cities, Lee Calabria knows that many regular customers skip lunch to get their vehicles cleaned over the noon hour.

He also knows the average full-service car wash at WaterPark takes between 18 and 30 minutes. During their wait, customers can snack on complimentary coffee and popcorn, but Calabria said those offerings do not quite satisfy a hungry customer's appetite.

So, the manager began contacting mobile food vendors in the area to set up shop this spring in the parking lots at WaterPark's locations in Davenport and Moline.

Traveling cook Dennis Kraklio became the first vendor to test the waters on Tuesday at WaterPark in Moline.

Weather permitting, Kraklio and his hot dog cart planned to be on site from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday-Saturday this week. Beginning Sunday, he plans to sell food at WaterPark in Davenport through the rest of next week.

Calabria, who noted the car wash services 400-plus vehicles on a "good day," called it a win for everyone involved.

"It's all new to us," he said. "Were going to give it a whirl and see what it does."

Visiting food trucks, carts and trailers will not be charged to operate on WaterPark's properties. However, vendors will be asked to offer discounts to car wash employees.

Were a well-established business here in the Quad-Cities, so were not really looking to make more money, he said. Were trying to supplement what we already offer and satisfy our customers.
I've been going to Illinois Statehouse committee hearings longer than I care to remember - something like 27 years. Last week, however, was the first time I can ever recall having to fight back tears during a hearing.

The House Appropriations - General Services Committee heard testimony last week from Kenea Williams, a state employee who works at the Murray Developmental Center in Centralia. She has fifteen-month-old twins named Kobe and Kade. They were born premature and Kobe has something called broncho pulmonary displasia. His little lungs are scarred and he requires supplemental oxygen just to live.

Long story short, the company that supplied the oxygen tanks for Kobe dropped out of the state's group health insurance system because the state isn't paying its bills during our long governmental impasse and they wanted their equipment back. Ms. Williams testified last week that Reps. John Cavaletto (R-Salem) and Charles Meier (R-Okawville) helped convince the company to continue supplying oxygen equipment to Kobe until this July.

But for whatever reason, company execs changed their minds and they sent some employees to retrieve the equipment in January. When a frightened Williams refused to answer her door, the employees apparently called the local county sheriff. Two sheriff's deputies arrived, listened to the desperate mom tearfully plead her case and thankfully decided not to intervene. Ms. Williams has since found a new supplier for a home oxygen system.

So, think about this for a second. The state is deducting health insurance premiums out of Ms. Williams' paychecks twice a month without fail. But there is no state appropriation for group health insurance in this fiscal year's horribly inadequate stopgap budget, so lots of state vendors aren't getting paid. The bill payment cycle for some of these insurance plans is currently about two years, so providers, like the company which supplied the oxygen tanks for Kobe, are understandably dropping out.

I'm told that the Illinois Department of Central Management Services played a very big role in finding another oxygen tank supplier for that little baby, who was also at the hearing last week with an oxygen tank and a tube taped under his little nose. Many kudos to everyone who helped keep that child alive, including those sheriffs deputies.

But, people, c'mon. This story, while it currently has a happy ending, is just so beyond the pale.

If a private sector company withheld insurance payments from workers and didn't pay the money it owed to the insurance provider, the state would clamp down super hard on that employer. But Illinois doesn't even bother paying its end, and, in fact, the state hasn't fully funded that insurance program in years.

This is basically fraud.

Others testified at the committee last week that some dentists are demanding payment up front from state employees. So, the patients are paying for insurance, but they cant get treatment unless they pay in advance and then, presumably sometime down the road, the insurance company will reimburse them once the companies get paid by the state. A lobbyist for the Illinois State Dental Society recently told legislators that the state owes 9,000 dentists a total of $174 million.

Lets just hope heart and cancer surgeons dont start making patients pay in advance.

Legislators are basically doing the same thing to the worker health insurance fund that they used to do to the pension funds. They promise good benefits at a very reasonable cost to the employee, but then dont provide nearly enough state funding needed to make the payouts.

Only, with the healthcare fund, its worse. The pension funds have always had enough cushion in them to forestall an immediate meltdown. They could pay retirees without any money from the state for a while.

But the health insurance fund has a $3.5 billion negative balance. And that deficit will only continue to grow because the only money currently going into the fund is from state employee payroll deductions.

"I pay my premiums," Ms. Williams told the House committee last week. "I do my part. Now I feel like the state needs to do their part. They need to pay their bills."

So, how about the governor and the General Assembly get a real budget deal done before we, as a state, collectively kill a supposedly fully insured baby? Is that really all that much to ask?
Last November, voters in California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada legalized recreational marijuana. These states joined Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska in approving the psychotropic drug for non-medicinal use.

In Florida, North Dakota, Montana, and Arkansas, the voters opted to legalize marijuana for medical use only. Taken together, these new ballot measures mean that marijuana is now legal in some form in 28 states.

Opponents of legalization measures correctly observe that random legalizing is creating the popular notion that cannabis is good for your health. Latest polls indicate that 60 percent of Americans now approve legalization, despite hard evidence that the plant itself contains more than 400 known chemicals, many of which are toxic to the human body.

The amount of tar and carbon monoxide inhaled by those who smoke weed is three to five times greater respectively than among tobacco smokers, regardless of the tetrahydrocannabinol content.

And unlike alcohol, where the ethanol is eliminated within a few hours, marijuana residues can remain in the body for weeks. Usage can also cause serious damage to respiratory and cardiovascular health, causing chronic coughing, wheezing, and bronchitis.

Smoking a relatively small amount of marijuana has a similar impact to smoking five to seven times the amount of tobacco one right after another.

Conservative clergy have long opined that if the creator had intended for the human race to smoke, than all babies would be born with chimneys in their heads. Onward through the fog in the land of the deceived and the home of the depraved.

Wendell E. Carr

Ottumwa, Iowa
DES MOINES  Some opponents of traffic enforcement devices such as red-light and speed cameras have taken a if you cant ban em, regulate em attitude to a Sente-passed bill now in the House Transportation Committee.

After leading a successful effort four years ago to persuade the House to pass legislation banning the cameras, Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, now sees regulation as the best option.

Ive come to realize that curtailing them is better if I cant ban them, he said Monday.

Senate File 220 must win House Transportation Committee approval this week to remain eligible this year.

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, said the 59-member GOP caucus has not discussed the bill this year.

The House had discussions over the last many years about this issue, she said. There are many opinions. We havent caucused, so I dont know where  especially our new members  are on that topic.

Transportation Committee Chairman Gary Carlson, R-Muscatine, and Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Marion, a member of a subcommittee that will have a hearing on the bill, are among the new members who werent in the House when it voted to ban the cameras.

Neither of them has counted votes on the committee or in the full House, but they think there is support  perhaps grudgingly  for the bill.

Even if they want to see them go away, I think they want to see them regulated, Hinson said. Its a good step because if we do nothing, its the status quo.

Rep. Greg Heartsill, R-Melcher-Dallas, wants to see the devices go away and expects hell try to amend SF 220 back to the original ban. He had hoped the bill would have been assigned to the Judiciary Committee, as it was in the Senate, and he would be the subcommittee chairman.

I dont believe the Transportation Committee chairman is receptive to a ban, Heartsill said.

He isnt sure if a majority of House members support a ban, either. He thinks the House is divided into four factions  those who want a ban; those who oppose a ban; those who want to ban red-light but not speed cameras; and those who want to ban speed but not red-light cameras.

SF 220 would place stricter regulations on the devices to curb concerns associated with the 79 cameras statewide.

The Senate amended a bill that would have banned the cameras with what Sen. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan, called a common-sense, logical approach. That approach would keep in place systems that promote safety and protect law officers in dangerous enforcement situations.

It would subject fixed and mobile camera deployments to state approval in high-crash, high-risk highway locations and direct profits from tickets they issue to infrastructure improvements and public safety efforts within the jurisdictions. It also would require signs at approved camera locations, justification reports, weekly calibration of the monitoring equipment and police review of citations issued. It also caps civil penalties so they do not exceed the existing fine schedule for speeding violations under state law and would grandfather cameras at locations approved by the state Department of Transportation before Jan. 1 of this year.

Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, said the changes would not eliminate abuses by local communities using the cameras to generate revenue or address concerns from citizens about due process. He said cameras operating in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Muscatine, Sioux City, Windsor Heights and Polk County generated $13.6 million in revenue last year.
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If South Dakota's congressional delegation has strong feelings about President Donald Trump's proposed budget, they aren't making them known publicly.

All three members issued carefully crafted statements last week, saying the budget was only a recommendation and the real work would come when Congress introduces appropriations bills.

The president's budget raises military spending by 10 percent, or $54 billion. Veterans Affairs also gets a bump, with a 6 percent increase. Those raises are offset by deep cuts from other programs and the elimination of some federal programs altogether.

The Department of Agriculture sees a 21 percent decrease, the Department of Education gets a 13.5 percent reduction and the Environmental Protection Agency is slashed by 31.4 percent.

"Presidential budgets are not take-it-or-leave-it policy documents, but rather policy recommendations the administration would like Congress to enact," U.S. Sen. John Thune said in an email. "Ultimately, it is up to Congress to enact a budget, pass appropriations bills, and ensure effective programs are efficiently funded."

Thune, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds and Rep. Kristi Noem all failed to give examples of policies they disagreed with in Trump's proposed budget, despite being asked several times by the Journal. Thune and Noem also refused to give a example of a policy they agreed with in the budget.

An aide from Thune's office said it would "premature" to judge the budget because a bill hasn't been introduced in Congress. However, when former President Barack Obama was in office, Thune routinely criticized his proposed budget before it reached Congress, according to releases from his office.

In those releases, Thune points to specific projects as being underfunded or over regulated, and therefore harmful to the people of South Dakota.

Noem sent out a similar release the day after Obama released his budget last year, decrying a proposal to tax barrels of oil.

Rounds was the only member of the delegation to take a position on Trump's budget, saying that he liked the proposed increase in military spending.

"I appreciate that the president has prioritized increasing defense spending to improve our ability to fight ISIS and rebuild our military operations, which have been crippled in recent years under sequestration," Rounds said in an email.

Both Thune and Noem said they would pass a budget that would help South Dakota.
RICHMOND, Va. | A group of 12 state attorneys general and one governor, including South Dakota's attorney general, is backing President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting six predominantly Muslim countries. The states told a federal appeals court Monday that the president acted lawfully in the interest of national security.

They are urging the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court judge's ruling that blocked part of Trump's revised executive order. The states say the administration's action is not a "pretext for religious discrimination" and does not violate the constitution.

"The Executive Order's temporary pause in entry by nationals from six countries and in the refugee program neither mentions any religion nor depends on whether affected aliens are Muslim," the states write in the brief with the Richmond, Virginia-based court. "Thus, the Executive Order is emphatically not a 'Muslim Ban.'"

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said in a statement Monday: "Because the Executive Order expressly identified a heightened national security risk on six countries, the president exercised his broad but not unlimited authority to act to protect citizens with a temporary suspension."

The states include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia. Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi also joined.

The appeal stems from a ruling by a federal judge in Maryland earlier this month. That ruling and a separate one in Hawaii were victories for civil liberties groups and advocates for immigrants and refugees, who argued that Trump's temporary ban on travel from six predominantly Muslim countries violated the Constitution.

The Trump administration argued that the revised executive order, which includes a temporary ban on refugees and a cap on the number of refugees who can enter the country, was intended to protect the U.S. from terrorism. Citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are temporarily barred from entering the country under the order, though there are exceptions.

The 4th Circuit has set oral arguments in the Maryland case for May 8.

The administration urged the court in a brief also filed Monday to put the lower court ruling on hold and let the executive order take effect while its appeal is pending. Lawyers for Trump said the people named in the case haven't shown they will suffer "substantial harm" and that the nationwide injunction blocking the ban is "fatally overbroad."
The accreditation of Stevens High School was cast into doubt last week when Rapid City school district officials discovered a bookkeeping error related to how the state-required instructional hours were being logged at the school.

However, after receiving notification of the error, the South Dakota Department of Education said Stevens accreditation is not in danger.

The Rapid City School District contacted us recently to let us know that they had discovered some errors in what was being counted towards the instructional hours requirement, said Department of Education spokeswoman Mary Stadick Smith. We appreciate them being up front and are working with them to correct this process moving forward. At this time, there are no consequences being planned. It appears to be an honest mistake, and they are working to correct the situation.

Instructional hours refers to the amount of time students spend in the classroom. Under state law, high schools are required to have a minimum of 962.5 hours every year.

A recent investigation by district officials revealed that under its current schedule, Stevens High School students will finish the 2016-2017 academic year with 940.8 instructional hours.

Stevens High School is the only school that fell short of the 962.5 hour minimum.

(Superintendent Lori Simon) has been in contact with South Dakota Education Secretary Dr. Melody Schopp, said district spokeswoman Katy Urban. Dr. Schopp has indicated that the district will not be penalized and the students will not be required to make up the time.

Part of the 21.7 hour shortfall at Stevens comes from two snow days, but the remainder appears to have been the result of human error. According to Urban, professional development time from the recently eliminated early release Wednesdays ended up mistakenly logged as instructional time.

A lack of oversight made it possible for the mistake to slip through, something that Superintendent Lori Simon said she has already taken steps to correct.

From now on, when schools log instructional hours, they will be reviewed by a committee of district officials before they are sent on to the state.

We just didnt have the oversight in place at the district level to make sure that what we were reporting at the school levels was accurate, Simon said. It was certainly not intentional on anyones part. Were fixing the situation and being transparent and owning up to our mistake so we can move forward.

To assure that Stevens hours are in line with state requirements, the instructional day at the high school will last an extra 14 minutes in the 2017-2018 academic year. Under the new academic calendar  passed earlier this month as a replacement to early release Wednesdays  students at Stevens will be released at 3:24 p.m. instead of 3:10 p.m.

The new average for instructional time at Rapid City's three high schools will be 1,045 hours per year.
Appeal over withdrawal of Russian businessmans claim against Lithuania set for Apr.13

MOSCOW, March 27 (RAPSI)  The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals will hear on April 13 an appeal filed by Russian businessman and former co-owner of the Lithuanian nationalized bank Snoras, Vladimir Antonov, against a lower courts ruling to drop his claim to collect over 40 billion rubles ($630 million) from Lithuania, according to court records.

The case was dropped on October 28. Earlier, Lithuanias authorities petitioned for dismissal of Antonovs application without prejudice or termination of the case. The defendant insisted that Lithuania had legal immunity, in accordance with a bilateral treaty signed with Russia.

Antonov sought to collect more than 20.2 billion rubles ($324.5 million) in compensation from Lithuania for property damage and over 19.9 billion rubles ($320 million) in business reputation damage. Moreover, the plaintiff demanded to declare illegal information distributed by the countrys president Dalia Grybauskaite, who had criticized performance of Snoras managers before nationalization of the bank, and published in online media in 2011, according to court papers.

Snoras was part of Antonov's Convers Group. The Convers Group held 68.10 percent of the bank and another 25.3 percent was held by Baranauskas.

In addition, the government of Latvia also announced that the Krajbanka bank, currently on the verge of bankruptcy and 60% owned by Antonov, would be nationalized.

Antonov has been charged by Lithuanian authorities with embezzlement of EUR 565 million, forging documents and fraudulent accounting and put on the European wanted list. Antonov and his partner Raimondas Baranauskas, were arrested on November 24, 2011 in the United Kingdom and put in detention but later they were released on bail. Antonov left the United Kingdom trembling for his life. He could face up to 10 years in Lithuania's prison if convicted.
Russian anti-corruption official denies guilt in large-scale bribery case

MOSCOW, March 27 (RAPSI)  Russian anti-corruption official, Dmitry Zakharchenko, who is charged with receiving a large-scale bribe, has denied his guilt during the hearings at the Moscow City Court, RAPSI learnt in the court on Monday.

The court upheld the ruling of Moscows Basmanny District Court, finding Zakharchenkos stay in detention until June 8 legal. However, the court changed final detention date to June 5.

Zakharchenko stands charged with receiving a 7 million-ruble ($107,600) bribe from an unknown source. He has also been charged with abuse of office and hindering the conduct of preliminary investigation. On March 2, it was revealed that he is charged with two more instances of corruption crimes.

Ex-official was arrested on September 8 of the last year. During searches at apartment belonging to Zakharchenkos sister law enforcement officers found around nine billion rubles (about $155 million). The source of these assets remains unknown. Zakharchenko himself denies any relation to seized funds.
Guwahati: Security has been tightened along the Indo-Bangladesh border following terror attack in Bangladesh's Sylhet district.

A top official of Border Security Force (BSF) said that, security has been tightened in the bordering areas of Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and West Bengal with Bangladesh following Intelligence Bureau (IB) input about several terrorists of Neo-JMB, Huji and jihadis had taken shelter along the international bordering areas to enter India.

'IB warned that at least five groups of Bangladeshi terrorist are trying to enter India to cross the Indo-Bangladesh border,' the top BSF official said.

Following the IB warning, a high level meeting was held in Assam's Dhubri district in presence of top BSF officials.

Meanwhile, Union Home Ministry has also sounded high alert along the border with Bangladesh following the terror attack in the neighbouring country.

Earlier, the intelligence wing of BSF reported to Union Home Ministry that, over 3400 terrorists of JMB and Huji had entered India through Assam, Tripura and West Bengal in past three years.

A top official of the BSF intelligence wing said that, in 2014, around 800 JMB and Huji militants had entered India.

'Among them, 300 militants had set up bases in Assam, while others set up their bases in different locations of Tripura and West Bengal. In 2015, 359 militants going to Tripura and 300 others entered in Assam and West Bengal, ' the top official said.

The BSF intelligence wing also claimed that, the JMB and Huji infiltrators into India have been rising in 2016, with 2120 militants entered into India through the three bordering states.

'Among them, 600 militants entered in Assam, while 720 to West Bengal and 600 to Tripura,'A the BSF official said.

Recently, the Bangladesh government warned the Union Home Ministry that, over 2000 JMB and Huji militants infiltrated India through Assam, Tripura and West Bengal.

Following the warning input received from Dhaka, the Union Home Ministry has sent warning messages to the home department of these three states and other states of North East India to take adequate measures and ordered the security agencies to launch massive operations in all suspicious locations.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Sagarmatha Network Pvt. Ltd. is the organization dedicated in the field of printing, publishing service since 2001. As part of media, we've been publishing Review Nepal, an English medium weekly registered at District Administration Office (DAO) Kathmandu with registration number 130-162-163 and reviewnepal.com as an online digital newspaper, with registration number 849-075-076 at Department of Informational and Broadcasting (DIB) from Kathmandu, Nepal since 2003.
Hindustan Times, March 26, 2017

Education should be left to domain experts, not the RSS

Editorial

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh seems to be quietly broadening its remit these days. The RSS chiefas meeting with vice-chancellors and academics to discuss how social science research in the country should be guided and how to create a apositive national narrative in academicsa is indicative of this. For an organisation which claims to be purely cultural, the RSS seems to be exceeding its brief quite regularly. The main thrust of the RSS these days seems to be to areforma education and purge it of all Leftist influences. Among the issues that seem to get its goat are the Mahishasur Shahadat Diwas and the Kiss of Love campaign, both seen as alien and corrupting in its eyes.

Education has long been in the RSSas crosshairs as it realises its potential to influence the ideology of a younger generation. But to focus excessively on Indian culture and tradition would be to do a disservice to our students who will have to compete in a globalising world. They need the knowledge and skills for a highly competitive market where they will need the right education which will stand them in good stead. They donat need to be force fed knowledge of a past large parts of which do not stand up to academic scrutiny. Education should not be seen in terms of ideology, rather it should focus on what courses and curricula are best for the students. While the RSS has every right to put forward its suggestions, as does the public, the vice-chancellors and universities should not be coerced into adopting these if they are not suitable. The serious task of curriculum framing and introducing changes should be left to those with domain knowledge, not an ideological outfit. The RSS has become increasingly assertive it the field of education with many people with open affiliations to the organisation securing top academic jobs. In several schools, particularly in Rajasthan, school textbooks have been rewritten to showcase the glories of a mythical past. Indeed, several chapters introduced are not based on fact.

This sort of interference by those without expertise could lead to a whole generation of students coming out of educational institutions filled with knowledge which will in no way help them to secure jobs or enhance their intellect. We should be looking at incorporating the best in the world into our curricula and attracting the best faculty we can. But with this sort of intervention by organisations like the RSS neither will be possible. This is to fail our students and deprive them of what they deserve.
Hindustan Times, March 27, 2017

editorial

Jain girlas fast-unto-death: Closure of case will embolden religious groups

Aradhanaas family, it is reported, influenced the child to undertake this fast in the hope that this would better the familyas jewellery business, which had run into debt.

It should have been an open and shut case, but five months after 13-year-old Aradhana Samdariya died after a 68-day fast in Hyderabad, the police find they have to drop the case against those responsible for lack of evidence.

The police have either been extremely shoddy in their work or are acting under pressure from the powerful Jain clergy, which sanctioned the little girlas fast in the first place. After her death due to a cardiac arrest brought on by extreme nutritional deprivation, the police had registered a case of culpable homicide and one under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, for wilful neglect of a child.

It is inexplicable why this was not done during the highly publicised fast that the girl undertook ostensibly to improve her fatheras business fortunes. The explanation that there is no technical evidence or witnesses does not wash, the child was visited by several politicians during her fast, advertisements were taken out about it and her school knew of this. Above all, her parents knew, though they argue that she undertook this voluntarily.

But the question is, was a young girl in a position to make a life or death decision while in the custody of her parents? Did her family and others who witnessed this fast not have the duty to stop it and save her life? The clerics of the community argued that this was a tradition in their religion and could not be questioned. But the death of a child cannot be explained away as being part of tradition, the coercive element in this fast amounts to child abuse which led to fatal consequences.

Similarly, when children in Tamil Nadu undertook body piercing to appease the gods and save the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, it was explained away as being part of tradition. Nothing justifies any tradition or religious practice which harms children.

Aradhanaas death and the fact that people who were responsible for her well being have got of scot free sets a dreadful example to other young children that this is somehow a noble thing.

It will also encourage religious groups and sects who prescribe regressive and dangerous practices for children a an example is burying children for a few seconds in certain areas of Karnataka to cure them of physical disabilities, another is throwing babies off a 50-foot tower to be caught below in Maharashtra to negate bad luck. These are practices that must be resisted in the interest of child rights. The Aradhana case should have been a test case, instead it has fallen apart putting the lives and well being of more children in danger.
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Mar-27-2017 13:48 TweetFollow @OregonNews The Bipartisan Effort against Campaigns for Corporate Responsibility On March 8, the New York State Senate passed a bill that would prohibit any state university from funding any student organization which directly or indirectly promotes boycotts or divestment against companies operating in territories controlled by an allied nation.

Almost a million kids under 15 years old live under oppressive rule in Gaza.

Photo: Ken O'Keefe

(SAN FRANCISCO) - The Trump Administrations efforts to legitimize the Israeli occupation and illegal settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories has received surprising bipartisan support. A series of bills passed or under consideration in Washington and in state capitols seeks to punish companies, religious denominations, academic associations, and other entities which support the use of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) to challenge the occupation of Palestinian land. Some elements of the BDS movement have been criticized for not distinguishing between Israel, a recognized nation-state, and territories seized by Israeli forces in the June 1967 war, which remain under foreign belligerent occupation. For example, while most of the BDS efforts on college campuses and within religious denominations have focused primarily on U.S.-based companies which directly support Israels repressive occupation and colonization efforts in the West Bank, the formal BDS call by Palestinian civil society groups also supports academic, commercial and other forms of boycotts and sanctions of Israel itself. However, a number of the recent anti-BDS legislative initiatives in the United States, have also failed to distinguish between the two by legally defining Israel as including the occupied territories and illegal settlements. Claiming the BDS campaign is anti-Semitic in nature and seeks to destroy Israel, the 2016 Republican platform calls for the passage of effective legislation to thwart actions that are intended to limit commercial relations with Israel, or persons or entities doing business in Israel or in Israeli-controlled territories.[emphasis added] At the state level, bipartisan legislative majorities, with the support of their governors, have heeded that call. Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, Iowa, Georgia, Arizona, Florida, and Indiana have all enacted laws between 2015 and 2017 making it illegal for their respective states to contract with or invest state pension funds in any company which refuses to do business with illegal Israeli settlements or businesses based in these settlements, even if the company produces and sells products in Israel itself. Some of these laws also prohibit the state from contracting with any nongovernmental group, including churches and other nonprofits, which promote a boycott of companies involved in territories controlled by Israel. For example, a homeless shelter run by a Presbyterian or Congregationalist church would now be ineligible for state funding because these denominations have divested from four or five companies directly supporting the Israeli occupation. There are a number of states where such legislation is in progress, such as New York, where the State Senate recently passed a bill making it impossible for the state contract with or invest in any company or nongovernmental entity, organization or group which engages in or promotes a boycott of any company involved in territories controlled by any allied nation. (Governments not allied with the United States are exempt, therefore it does not impact U.S. boycotts and sanctions against Russia for its occupation of Crimea.) New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also issued the first-ever executive order forcing state agencies to divest from any organizations aligned with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. In Montana, a bill was recently pushed through the State House which would bar public agenciesincluding counties, cities and townsfrom doing businesses with companies that don't agree to certify in writing that they are not engaged in a boycott of Israel or its illegal settlements. As with a number of other cases, the bills chief sponsor has claimed that such legislation targeting those opposed to the Israeli occupation and settlements is a necessary response to the recent rise of bomb threats and other anti-Semitic activity by neo-Nazis. Some states have gone even further, seeking to suppress student advocacy against the occupation and settlements. On March 8, the New York State Senate, with broad bipartisan support, passed a bill that would prohibit any state university from funding any student organization which directly or indirectly promotes boycotts or divestment against companies operating in territories controlled by an allied nation. According to the legislation, any campaign to persuade university endowments to divest from stockholdings in companies supporting the Israeli occupation and settlements seeks to advance anti-Semitic, anti-freedom and anti-capitalist principles. Given the likelihood of lawsuits challenging such legislation on First Amendment grounds, the U.S. Senate is working on bipartisan legislation that would indemnify state and local governments seeking to punish any entities which attempt to limit commercial relations with those doing business in Israeli-controlled territories for the purposes of influencing Israeli government policy. The bill currently has 31 co-sponsors, including eleven Democrats. Similarly, as part of an effort to stifle student activism against the occupation, the Senate in December passed a bill by unanimous consent that would have required the Department of Education to pressure colleges and universities to suppress BDS activism under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by including such anti-Israel conduct as a form of anti-Semitism. Chief sponsor Bob Casey (D-PA) justified the bill, which never passed the House, as a response to growing anti-Semitic attacks. The purpose of such legislation is pretty clear. Given that the U.S. government no longer even pretends to oppose the Israeli occupation and colonization of Palestinian territories, a bipartisan effort has emerged to suppress student activists, churches, socially-conscious companies, and anyone else organizing against it. Such legislation would be problematic on free speech grounds even if it did only apply to BDS actions against Israel. However, the fact that many of these efforts also target those who simply oppose the occupationincluding many self-described Zionists and other supporters of Israelis indicative of a broader crackdown against civil society campaigns supporting corporate responsibility, international law, and human rights. In one sense, this suppression of civil liberties is not surprising under the Trump Administration. However, the fact that this has such broad Democratic support shows that the problem goes much deeper. Previously published: The Progressive _________________________________________

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Articles for March 27, 2017 |
Now what? The next steps for health care legislation
I know I may have said this before but I used to think that a school was only as good as the three-legged stool that it is - parents, teachers/staff and principal. I soon learned that without a good principal, you might not ever want to sit on that stool. I have also often wondered if Seattle Schools had just bad luck/poor judgment about principals or if other districts have the same kind of churn. And principals aren't the same category as teachers. They don't have a union per se but in SPS, they have their own org, PASS (Principals Association of Seattle Schools). They oversee hundreds of students, not a single class. They have to juggle multiple balls of budget, discipline, curriculum and governance of a staff. That plus make parents and students feel good about the school. It was also an interesting fact for Seattle Schools that only until recently, they had three principals who had all graduated from the school that they now oversaw. That was Martin Floe at Ingraham High
According to a German top official, Germany warded off two cyber attacks launched by the Russian state actor APT28 group in 2016.

On Friday, a top German official told Reuters that last year Germany warded off two cyber attacks launched by the Russian APT28 group (aka Fancy Bear, Pawn Storm, Sednit, Sofacy, and Strontium)

According to Arne Schoenbohm, president of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the first attack occurred in May 2016, the hackers attempted to create an Internet domain for Chancellor Angela Merkels Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in the Baltic region

The second attack was observed months later, the hackers launched a spear-phishing campaign against German parties in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. Experts said that attack used a NATO domain name to try to inject malicious software into the networks of politicians.

Experts said that attack used a NATO domain name to try to inject malicious software into the networks of politicians. reported the Reuters agency.

The U.S. intelligence agencies warned in early this year that Russia was likely to target other European states in the next months, especially France and Germany that are holding major elections.

Germany remains in danger in the cyber arena since we are highly digitized, Schoenbohm told Reuters in an interview. The more we digitize, the more dependent we become on networks, the greater the risk of attack.

Schoenbohm explained that the German Government has largely invested to improve the security of its networks against cyber attacks. It is conducting an awareness campaign to educate politicians and parties about how to protect their networks.

We give them advice and help them with certain measures. But in the end, what each party does is its own responsibility, Schoenbohm said.

The official also added that Germany is sharing information on cyber attacks with other governments targeted by the APT28 group, including United States and France.

In 2015, the APT28 group stole 16 gigabytes of data from the German parliament. In December the APT28 group also targeted the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in December, the organization is a security and human rights watchdog, the attack is part of a cyber espionage operation.

Schoenbohm said neither of the 2016 attacks targeting Germany  or a string of others he did not detail  was successful, but it was unclear to what extent political parties might have experienced security breaches. continues the Reuters.

Schoenbohm welcomed work by Merkels coalition on a law that would bolster the security posture of the Government. The law will enforce security for a growing number of household Internet-connected appliances that are exposed to cyber attacks.

The diffusion of IoT devices must be accomplished by a significant improvement of their security to keep the owner safe.

The worst thing that could happen would be that consumers withdrew from the so-called Internet of Things for fear of being hacked, he said. We want to have a successful digitization.

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs  cyber espionage, APT28)

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You may feel empowered and clever when the Waze app on your phone directs you around some heavy traffic and onto a series of side streets, but perhaps you've noticed that other people apparently have the same idea, and those side streets are getting a bit more clogged. KALW just did a story all about this phenomenon, and how these apps that are meant to make the driving experience a better one for each individual driver are actually making traffic worse for everyone.

The popularity of things like Waze, which is owned by Google/Alphabet, has only grown in the Bay Area as we've seen traffic across the region increase by 70 percent over the last six years.

Alex Bayen, who directs the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Berkeley, tells the station that he's now seeing smaller Bay Area roadways, like those in and around Fremont, California, for example, bearing more of a traffic burden than they were designed for as more and more people turn on Google Maps or Waze to guide them around clogged traffic arteries.

They point to a stretch of Mission Boulevard in Fremont where commuters can get stuck in traffic for 40 minutes at a time just trying to get on Highway 680  and some of the blame for the problem belongs to drivers who try to sidestep Mission Boulevard and come at the on-ramp via a side street, triggering a light that in turn slows down Mission Boulevard even further.

Looking at how these apps are rerouting people through their city, Fremont city planners are now making changes like a turn restriction at a particular intersection that is often used by the apps  though making sure the apps know that the route is no longer legal is another story.

Bayen suggests that the increasing use of the apps illustrates a problem discussed by the mathematician John Nash, of A Beautiful Mind fame: "that what's best for you might not be best for society."

The next step is imagining what traffic looks like when everyone's commuting in the backseat of a self-driving Uber, and roads are clogged with cars that have no drivers and are making all their own navigation choices. That should be fun.

Previously: Report: Bay Area Traffic Up 70 Percent In 6 Years
An ongoing BART service interruption between San Francisco and the East Bay has Monday morning commuters stranded and frustrated.

"BART service has stopped between West Oakland and Embarcadero due to downed power lines in the West Oakland area," explains a service advisory from the transit agency. "West Oakland Station is closed."

Tweets from the agency indicate service could be interrupted for up to two hours.

Update: Just after 9:30 a.m., Transbay BART service was restored according to the transit agency. Delays still pervade the system as it recovers from the interruption.

Regular service has been resumed. West Oakland Station is open. We are in recovery mode so there are delays.  SFBART (@SFBART) March 27, 2017

1st Monday for BART's new Warm Springs station & commuters find out trains are not going to SF due to downed power lines in West Oakland. pic.twitter.com/rD51hTdQMj  Matt Keller (@MattKellerABC7) March 27, 2017

According to the the Chronicle, a car that crashed into a power pole sent electrified wires crashing onto BART tracks.

Downed power lines are dangerous. We cant run trains through the area until clear. We are very sorry and working to resolve. pic.twitter.com/XODGREW6J8  SFBART (@SFBART) March 27, 2017

At around 9:20 a.m., the power lines were removed and tracks were being inspected.

we will restore @SFBART service across the bay soon - power line has been removed and we are inspecting tracks  SFBART (@SFBART) March 27, 2017

Track is clear, starting track inspection. pic.twitter.com/YlrdNoqXDB  SFBART (@SFBART) March 27, 2017

Line for BART going into SF is FOUR BLOCKS long pic.twitter.com/wgs48kNkud  Aggressive Asian (@JennLi123) March 27, 2017

The resulting electrical problems were the second issue of the morning, halting trains completely after they were delayed by a trespasser on tracks near San Leandro's Bay Fair Station.

The situation left travelers looking for other means of transit. AC Transit was honoring BART tickets, but Uber and Lyft prices were surging, and ferry lines were growing.

Oh and if you think you're taking #Lyft from Oakland at around this time, guess again. pic.twitter.com/ygDeOIAc7E  Eman (@Flipsican) March 27, 2017

The long lines in Oakland waiting to buy tickets to hop on ferries due to @SFBART power line disruption. pic.twitter.com/jnuN7GuleB  Terry Collins (@terryscollins) March 27, 2017

.@SFBART Holy moly. Line at Jack London literally a 1/4 mile long!! pic.twitter.com/65IOToRLTV  Calencioni (@CALencioni) March 27, 2017

About 1/3 of the people in line right now for @SFBayFerry due to @SFBART meltdown. How many fit on each boat again?  pic.twitter.com/AnRIMJ9QWl  Nate G (@DaRealNateG) March 27, 2017

BART is telling passengers stranded at Lake Merritt to take an AC Transit bus to SF. ACT is honoring BART tickets. @KQEDnews pic.twitter.com/4gXP8XXBY4  Eli Wirtschafter (@RadioEli) March 27, 2017

Even after the restoration of service was announced, some skeptical riders demanded proof.
Everyone is pretty much required to have a side-hustle these days, and V16, the latest sushi restaurant to occupy the northeast corner of 16th and Valencia, is no exception. With four stars on Yelp at a central intersection for which it's named, V16 replaced a previous sushi spot in the space last year, and now appears to be pivoting, opening a poke bar in what was recently the sushi bar area.







Caleb Pershan/SFist

Poke, which might still be San Francisco's hottest food trend, conveniently requires no heat whatsoever  okay, except for a rice cooker. These Hawaiian bowls of fish and fixings, served cold, are easy and quick to prepare, making them ideal for the fast-casual movement that's swept San Francisco. That trend, by turn, cuts down on wait times for customers and on costs for businesses, mostly by removing servers, at a moment when margins are particularly tight and workers are scarce.

Another plus: Not only are poke flavors already appealing to diners with a taste for sushi, but for sushi restaurants with existing ties to fish suppliers, expanding into the poke biz can't be too much of a departure. "I'm not surprised poke is becoming so popular in the continental US," Hawaii-based food writer Martha Cheng told Eater's national website. "[I'm] just surprised that it took so long.... "People already love sushi, raw fish, and ceviche; poke seems like a natural inclusion."

According to a sign, V16's poke offshoot, or POKI BOWL as its spelled on the door, will be open seven days a week in conjunction with the sushi lounge.



Caleb Pershan/SFist

Eater offhandedly called 2016 the year of poke, but the dish's popularity shows no signs of slowing into 2017. I, for one, welcome our new raw fish overlords, and to honor them I plan to dine exclusively on $200 omakase dinner menus and cheap, choose-your-own poke bowl lunches from now on.


Longtime San Francisco resident Meri Jaye, 96, has been squabbling with her neighbors over the fate of a 100-foot-tall redwood tree that she planted next her house along Lombard Street in 1962. These neighbors say they're concerned about the tree's branches falling and hurting their children, or the tree itself falling over, but Jaye has dismissed these claims, saying that the tree is healthy and is likely to live for another thousand years, or more. On Friday, Jaye won her fight to get the city's Urban Forestry Council to grant landmark status to the 55-year-old tree, and she dropped a zinger to ABC 7 on the way out of the meeting, regarding the neighbors who have been fighting against her, "They were newcomers. Probably from out of state and do not know the redwood forest."

Jaye planted the tree as a sapling in 1962 as a memorial for her husband and two children, who all died in a tragic airplane accident. As the Peninsula Press recounts, Jaye said during the initial hearing over the tree in October, "My husband proposed marriage to me in Muir Woods. When I lost my husband and my children, I wanted a memorial that would mean the strength that I needed to carry on."





Jaye has lived in her home at 4 Montclair Terrace, just off Lombard, all these years, and has watched the tree grow into the towering thing it is now. And when she went to apply for landmark status for it last fall  something that only 18 other trees in the city have  she was quickly opposed by two neighborhood groups, the Montclair Terrace Association and the Lombard Hill Improvement Association.

Neighbor Heidi Bioski reportedly gave tearful testimony at the October hearing, citing the case of the woman who was permanently paralyzed when a 100-pound tree branch fell on her in Washington Square Park last August. Bioski said, per the Peninsula Press, "The branches are huge and if the branches were to fall on my child is that worth it? Is that worth anything? I dont know why we would look to preserve a tree over a child."

Jaye dismisses all this saying that all the neighbors knew about the tree when they moved into the neighborhood, and mostly they're just fighting because they want their views to be less obstructed.

The Urban Forestry Council voted unanimously to landmark the tree, which, if approved by the Board of Supervisors, will make it illegal to alter or cut down the tree in the future.

Now Jaye and her neighbors can go back to fighting for a cause they can all agree on: getting rid of the tourists driving down Lombard's crooked section. It's something Jaye has been advocating for decades, as evidenced by this 1987 New York Times article in which she was quoted, saying, "This has become a carnival, a Coney Island, rather than a neighborhood where we can welcome all the visitors.''

Previously: It Took Nine People And $110K To Come Up With Toll Idea For Lombard Street
SIOUX CITY  Anna Powell could have seen the Lumineers perform live earlier this month when the folk-rock band stopped in her hometown of Indianapolis, but instead she drove 10 hours to catch the group in Sioux City Sunday.

I really wanted to come to the concert and I thought it was a really, really, great cause, said Powell, who arrived Saturday and stayed overnight.

Earlier this month, the Lumineers announced they were holding a special show in Sioux City at the Orpheum Theatre to support Native American resistance against the Dakota Access Pipeline, a massive $3.8 billion crude oil conduit buried underneath portions of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

Protests by the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation of North Dakota over construction of the 1,172-mile pipeline, which flows underneath a Missouri River reservoir that is the tribes main source of water, resulted in a months-long standoff between those opposed to the project and the federal government as well as Energy Transfer Partners, the Dallas-based conglomerate behind the pipeline.

Proceeds from the concert will benefit the water protectors at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in Fort Yates, North Dakota, who opposed the pipeline, as well as Unicorn Riot, an alternative news channel that extensively covered the large protests aimed at blocking construction across Lake Oahe.

After President Donald Trump took office, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reversed a decision in the final months of the Obama administration and granted Dakota Access a permit to cross the Missouri River reservoir.

Around Thanksgiving, Powell, a chef by trade, spent five days preparing meals for the protesters at the camp after raising $4,600 via a GoFundMe page and receiving in-kind food donations from farmers she knew.

Powell said she did it because she's "for people and for water," which are the same reasons that prompted her to drive more than 650 miles to attend Sunday's Lumineers show.

"We have better sources of renewable energy we can be investing in; not pipelines  especially pipelines that go through sacred land," she said.

Another Lumineers fan in attendance with direct ties to the Standing Rock protests was Lori Lawler of Okoboji, Iowa. Her daughter spent two months at the protesters' camp, which made the cause just as important to Lawler.

"In the really cold part when it was 40 below zero, she was out there working in the kitchen  managing the kitchen  and building structures for people," Lawler said. "She gave a big part of her life to that."

Lexi Ellison drove about seven hours with a group a friends from Spearfish, South Dakota, and wore a black T-shirt with "I Stand With Standing Rock" printed on it to see the show.

"The cause is really important to myself and the friends and also I love the Lumineers," she said.

Marisa Cummings of Sioux City, a member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, also was at Sunday's show. Her tribe has supported the movement at Standing Rock to protect their rights as sovereign nations.

"We've been involved in that whole movement and we are here tonight because they are supporting our movement, so we are here to support them," she said.

"We are right here on the Missouri (River), so it's really powerful that they came and chose Sioux City because we are right here on the Missouri and a lot of the movement at Standing Rock is protecting our land and water resources," she continued.
According to court documents, Wilson on Nov. 11 sped away from a Woodbury County Sheriff's deputy who tried to stop him for a traffic violation on Hamilton Boulevard. Wilson turned onto West Third Street, accelerated to 80 mph, bottomed out on a dip in the street, then skidded and flipped the car into a retaining wall at the corner of West Third and Ross streets.
SIOUX CITY | Sioux City is planning an estimated $3.4 million reconstruction of a five-block area of Pierce Street this summer, a project that includes realignment of a portion of the street passing through the UnityPoint Health -- St. Luke's campus.

Engineering staff will request the Sioux City Council approve plans and specifications Monday for the proposed project, which will reconstruct Pierce Street from 24th Street to 29th Street Monday.

The council on Monday will also take up a developmental services agreement with St. Luke's to cover a portion of the improvements along the hospital campus's corridor.

Senior civil engineer Brittany Anderson said the Pierce Street project has been programmed in the city's capital improvements program for several years, and that street reconstruction projects are typically based on infrastructure age.

The reconstruction project will bring new street paving, sidewalks, landscaping, lighting, storm sewers, sanitary sewers and water line improvements to Pierce Street between 24th and 29th streets, an area of the city with infrastructure dating back to the early 1900s.

Staff have worked with design consultant HR Green Inc. for designs of the project.

At St. Luke's request, the project will include a road realignment between 27th and 29th streets, which will allow some parking close to the hospital.

According to city documents, those improvements will increase pedestrian safety, reducing the need for mid-block crossings from the existing parking lot on the east side of Pierce Street to the hospital on the west side of Pierce Street.

St. Luke's vice president and chief financial officer Jim Gobell said in a statement that the hospital worked with the city for several months on the project to develop a way to improve the pedestrian and traffic safety on the campus.

"We are pleased with this partnership and look forward to the successful completion of the Pierce Street project," he said.

St. Luke's will be responsible for approximately $765,000 through a cost-sharing formula outlined in the developmental services agreement, according to current estimates.

City staff expect the project to begin in early summer 2017, with completion in December.

Military Road project

In other action Monday, city engineering staff will present a discussion-only item on a planned reconstruction and bridge rehabilitation project along Military Road, which includes the bridge that crosses into North Sioux City.

Staff are seeking City Council guidance on particulars of the project, including whether the project should include a roundabout at the convergence of Military Road, Riverside Boulevard and Highway 12, and whether to proceed with a full five-month closure of the bridge during reconstruction.

The roundabout met with mixed reviews during a public input meeting in January. During a public input meeting earlier this month and at last week's North Sioux City Council meeting, several North Sioux City business owners, many of them gaming businesses, said they fear a closure of the bridge for five months could put them out of business.

Current timetables set the beginning of the project for spring 2018.
SIOUX FALLS | A Sioux City man has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for attempting to have sex with an underage girl.

Nathanuel Downs, 29, was sentenced March 20 in U.S. District Court in Sioux Falls to 63 months in prison for attempted illicit sexual conduct with a minor. He pleaded guilty in October.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, on April 10, 2015, Downs responded to an ad placed on Backpage.com by an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old girl. Downs responded and agreed to go to Sioux Falls and pay to have sex with the girl. He was arrested after arriving at the agreed-upon meeting place and handing cash to an undercover officer.
IRETON, Iowa | Three people are in custody following a three-hour standoff early Monday morning in Ireton.

Authorities were called to 602 East St. after a complainant discovered two of their vehicles were being broken into. When the victim was looking around the vehicles, one of the occupants from the house confronted the victim.

During the confrontation, what looked to be a handgun was displayed and a threat was made to shoot the victim of the car burglary, according to a news release from the Hawarden Police Department.

Officers from Hawarden, the Sioux Center Police Department, Rock Valley Police Department and Orange City Police Department secured the perimeter of the residence and called for assistance from the Plymouth County/Sioux County Special Response Team.

The standoff ended peacefully when three residents from the house were taken into custody.

Vincent Gabriel Perez Martinez, 32, of Ireton, was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. David Anthony Burton, 25, of Sioux Falls, was charged with aggravated assault. Both are being held at the Sioux County Jail.

A 16-year-old male from Ireton was arrested and charged with two counts of third-degree burglary and one count of third-degree theft. The juvenile is being held at the Juvenile Detention Center in Cherokee.
Due May 19, Rammstein: Paris was shot in March 2012 at the 17,000-seat Palais Omnisports arena during the groups Made in Germany tour. The film was helmed by Swedish director Jonas Akerlund, known for his groundbreaking videos for Metallica, Prodigy, the Rolling Stones and others.

The 22-song concert features Rammsteins energetic and highly theatrical stage show, including the pyrotechnics the band is famous for. Akerlund adds various visual and sonic flourishes to the project.

Rammstein: Paris can be pre-ordered online now.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
SIOUX CITY | Dave Bernstein has some sound advice for out-of-towners coming to the 27th annual Saturday in the Park on July 1.

"Book your hotel rooms well in advance," he said. "Between (legendary rock group) Journey playing (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino) on June 30 and Saturday in the Park happening the very next day, I'm guessing hotel rooms will be hard to find.

"It's gonna be a crazy, crazy weekend," Bernstein, the co-founder of Saturday in the Park, predicted with a laugh. "Don't get me wrong. It will be great for the community, but it's gonna be crazy for us music fans."

Indeed, Bernstein has never really lost his passion for live music. Nor has he lost his affection for Grandview Park, the music festival's longtime home.

"Adam (Feiges) and I would come to Grandview Park, drink a few beers and meet up with friends," Bernstein recalled. "Even though the Sioux City Municipal Band always played its summer series here, I thought the (Grandview Park) Bandshell was being underutilized as a music venue."

Taking a vague notion of "doing something cool at the bandshell," Bernstein and Feiges have turned Saturday in the Park into one of the Midwest's premier summer music festivals.

Since it began in 1991, the free music festival has grown into an event that attracts big-names acts and upwards of 30,000 people to Sioux City every Fourth of July weekend.

The acts that have played Saturday in the Park read like a "Who's Who" in the world of music.

Everyone from the Neville Brothers to Carlos Santana to Aretha Franklin have taken to the Grandview Park Bandshell stages over the years.

Yet Bernstein said it's becoming tougher to land such A-List performers.

MORE FESTIVALS, MORE COMPETITION

When Saturday in the Park began, there were very few comparable music festivals in the Midwest. Today, more and more music events are springing up.

"I mean, that's been our biggest challenge," Bernstein said. "Competition is fierce."

In addition, choices are often limited to a practice called "routing." Simply put, that means a performer doing a tour in the Midwest may pick up an extra date at Saturday in the Park.

"Over the years, we've established a good relationship with Milwaukee's Summerfest," Bernstein said. "If an act plays in Milwaukee, they may play Saturday in the Park or vice versa."

As an alternative, Saturday in the Park often books acts on the cusp of greater popularity (Fitz and the Tantrums, Foster the People and 2016's headliner Kacey Musgraves) or hard-working vets (Bonnie Raitt, Wilco and Chuck Berry).

Also the ABE Stage (formerly known as the Second Stage) is devoted to hosting both up-and-comers as well as crowd pleasers like Sir Mix-A-Lot.

"You would think things would get easier the longer you do something," Bernstein said. "But, nah, it never does. We'll always be refining what we do and what we stand for."

THE ACTS THAT GOT AWAY

Always competitive, Bernstein said it still smarts when a desired artist turns down a Saturday in the Park invite.

"We were so close to booking Bruno Mars a few years ago," he said. "Then he blew up (in popularity) and is selling out arena shows. Bruno's one that got away."

In a way, so did The Lumineers, even though the Colorado-based trio was slated to play Sioux City's Orpheum Theatre on March 26.

"The Lumineers would have been perfect for us," Bernstein said. "At least, they're playing somewhere in Sioux City."

Other acts have gotten away due to death. Prince falls into that category and so does Stevie Ray Vaughan, who actually died a year before the festival began.

MAKING A MARK IN THE COMMUNITY

Despite the challenges, Bernstein enjoys the mechanics involved with Saturday in the Park.

"When Adam and I started Saturday in the Park, we thought it would last a year or two," he said. "Instead, the community has embraced the idea of a fun and free outdoor festival.

"We loved coming out to Grandview Park and, now, more people are using it as well," Bernstein added. "That's pretty cool."

As he prepares for the 27th Saturday in the Park, Bernstein reflects for a moment.

"Adam and I wanted to do something positive while making our mark in the community," he said. "It's that support that keeps us going year after year."
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. 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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. 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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. 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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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Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, a technology company, focuses in the areas of automation and digitalization in Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, Asia, and Australia. It operates through Digital Industries, Smart Infrastructure, Mobility, Siemens Healthineers, and Siemens Financial Services segments. The Digital Industries segment offers automation systems and software for factories, numerical control systems, motors, drives and inverters, and integrated automation systems for machine tools and production machines; process control systems, machine-to-machine communication products, sensors and radio frequency identification systems; software for production and product lifecycle management, and simulation and testing of mechatronic systems; and cloud-based industrial Internet of Things operating systems. The Smart Infrastructure segment offers products, systems, solutions, services, and software to support sustainable transition in energy generation from fossil and renewable sources; sustainable buildings and communities; and buildings, electrification, and electrical products. The Mobility segment provides passenger and freight transportation, such as vehicles, trams and light rail, and commuter trains, as well as trains and passenger coaches; locomotives for freight or passenger transport and solutions for automated transportation; products and solutions for rail automation; electrification products; and intermodal solutions. The Siemens Healthineers segment develops, manufactures, and sells various diagnostic and therapeutic products and services; and provides clinical consulting services. The Siemens Financial Services segment offers debt and equity investments; leasing, lending, and working capital financing solutions; and equipment, project, and structured financing solutions. Siemens Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany.
On the morning of Sunday, March 19, Israeli tax authorities barged into the home of Omar Barghouti, the prominent Palestinian human rights defender and co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for the freedom, justice and equality of the Palestinian people. They detained and interrogated Omar and his wife Safa for 16 hours that first day. Omar is currently enduring a fourth day of interrogation.

Below is the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committees (BNC) response to these developments and the Israeli governments systematic efforts to criminalize the BDS movement, intimidate activists and stop free speech:

A prominent Palestinian human rights defender and co-founder of the BDS movement, Omar Barghouti, has for years been subjected to intense threats, intimidation and repression by various arms of the far-right Israeli government, particularly after it considered the movement a strategic threat to its entire system of injustice against Palestinians.

At a March 2016 conference in occupied Jerusalem, several Israeli government ministers threatened Omar and key BDS human rights defenders with severe measures, including targeted civil elimination  a euphemism for civil assassination. The Ministry of Strategic Affairs last year established a tarnishing unit, as exposed in the Israeli daily Haaretz . This units job is to tarnish the reputation of BDS human rights defenders and networks.

It is in this context that the Israeli tax departments investigation of Omar and his wife, Safa, must be understood. After failing to intimidate them through the threat of revoking Omars permanent residence in Israel, and after the effective travel ban imposed on him proved futile in stopping his human rights work, the Israeli government has resorted to fabricating a case related to Omars alleged income outside of Israel to tarnish his image and intimidate him.

The fact that this investigation includes a travel ban and that it comes a few weeks before Omar Barghouti is scheduled to travel to the U.S. to receive the Gandhi Peace Award jointly with Ralph Nader in a ceremony at Yale University proves its true motive  repression.

The fact that the Israeli government publicized the inflammatory fabrications against Omar just 24 hours after he was taken in for investigation shows beyond doubt that the investigations real goal is to tarnish his reputation.

No matter what extreme measures of repression Israel wields against the BDS movement or its human rights defenders and vast network of supporters, it cannot stop this movement for human rights. Bullying and repression can hardly affect a grassroots movement that grows in peoples hearts and minds, empowering them to do the right thing  to stand on the right side of history, against Israels fanatic regime of apartheid, occupation and ethnic cleansing, and for freedom, justice and equality for the Palestinian people.

This latest desperate chapter of repression and intimidation by the Israeli government against Omar Barghouti is the strongest indicator yet of the failure of the Israeli regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid to slow down the impressive growth of the BDS movement for Palestinian rights. 
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.
LEONARDTOWN, Md.

Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at so.md/expungeme.

(March 27, 2017)The Leonardtown Barrack of the Maryland State Police (MSP) today released the following incident and arrest reports.SHOPLIFTING: On Wednesday March 1, 2017 at 7:06 pm, Senior Trooper Evans responded to the Kohls Department Store in Lexington Park for a reported shoplifting. Investigation revealed that, and, had placed items in a backpack and attempted to leave the store. Both subjects were placed under arrest for Theft under $1,000 and transported to the Maryland State Police Leonardtown Barrack for processing. Both suspects were issued a criminal citation and a "Notice Not to Trespass" and released. (17-MSP-008968)COUNTERFEIT CURRENCY: On Thursday, March 2, 2017 at 1:34 am, Tpr. Mulhearn initiated a traffic stop on a passenger car for a traffic violation. The driver,, was placed under arrest for driving on a suspended license. During a search incident to arrest, Tpr. Mulhearn recovered a counterfeit one hundred dollar bill in the suspect's pocket. Ms. King was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and charged with Possess/Issue Forged Currency and numerous traffic offenses. She was held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (17-MSP-009003)SHOPLIFTING: On Friday, March 3, 2017 at 2:59 pm, Senior Trooper Evans responded to the Wal-Mart in California for a reported shoplifting. Investigation revealed that, had placed numerous items in a bag and on herself. She attempted to leave the store and was stopped by the Loss Prevention Officer. Ms. McCoy was placed under arrest and issued a "Notice Not to Trespass". She was transported to the Maryland State Police Leoanrdtown Barrack for processing and released with a criminal citation for Theft Less than $100. (17-MSP-009230)DISORDERLY: On Friday, March 3, 2017 at 4:41 pm, TFC B. Ditoto observed an incoherent male subject who was stumbling into the roadway. The suspect,, appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. He began yelling and cursing loudly and his pants were partially falling down. TFC B. Ditoto attempted to place Mr. Morris under arrest, and a brief struggle ensued. He was quickly subdued and charged with Assault Second Degree, Intoxicated Public Disturb, Disorderly Conduct, and Resist/Interfere with Arrest. Mr. Morris was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (17-MSP-009246)ASSAULT ON POLICE: On Sunday, March 5, 2017 at 5:38 pm, TFC B. Ditoto and Tpr. Manning were conducting a stationary radar foot stopping team on St. John's Road at Narrow Way. They observed a vehicle traveling above the posted speed limit and flagged the vehicle over to the shoulder of the roadway. The driver,, was told to exit the vehicle to perform standardized field sobriety tests. During the Trooper's encounter with Mr. Gilliland, he aggressively pulled a knife out of his pants pocket and swung the knife towards the troopers. A brief struggle ensued, Mr. Gilliland was placed on the ground and arrested. Mr. Gilliland was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and charged with First Degree Assault, Second Degree Assault, Fail to Obey a Lawful Order, and Resisting Arrest. He was held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (17-MSP-009575)THEFT: On Thursday, March 9, 2017 at 2:34 pm, TFC C. Ditoto initiated a traffic stop on a black passenger car in the area of Route 235 and First Colony Blvd. A check of the registration plates on the vehicle revealed that they had been reported stolen on March 1, 2017. The driver,, was placed under arrest and transported to the Maryland State Police Leonardtown Barrack for processing. He was charged with Theft Less than $100 on a criminal citation and released. (17-MSP-010141)DRUG ARREST: On Thursday, March 9, 2017 at 8:05 pm, TFC C. Ditoto initiated a traffic stop on a passenger car in the 21000 block of Great Mills Road. A K9 scan was conducted, resulting in a positive alert. TFC C. Ditoto conducted a search of the vehicle and its occupants. The search revealed suspected crack cocaine in the vehicle. The driver,, and the passenger,, were placed under arrest and transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center. They were charged with CDS: Possess Not Marijuana and held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (17-MSP-010182)SHOPLIFTING: On Monday, March 13, 2017 at 5:31 pm, Tpr. Johnson responded to the Wal-Mart in California for a reported shoplifting. Investigation revealed that, had placed several items inside a bookbag and attempted to leave the store. Ms. Brice was placed under arrest and transported to the Maryland State Police Leonardtown Barrack. She was issued a Criminal Citation for Theft Less than $1,000 and a "Notice Not to Trespass". (17-MSP-010749)Danyelle Tameka Reed, 32, of La Plata, on 3/14/17Roy Christopher Adams, 50, of Lexington Park, on 3/16/17Angela Marie Hewett, 48, of Great Mills, on 3/16/17Lawrence Brian Jones, 33, of Park Hall, on 3/17/17Sheila Aleese Wagner, 23, of Great Mills, on 3/17/17Troy David Yates, 51, of Lexington Park, on 3/19/2017Kerri Hall, 35, of Piney Point, on 3/20/2017Keith Leonard Mackall, 53, of Valley Lee, on 3/21/2017Anthony Gregory Dickens Junior, 47, of Lexington Park, on 3/22/2017Nicholas Tyler Solt, 25, of Bristol, PA, on 3/1/2017Michael Francis Parlett, 31, of Mechanicsville, on 3/2/2017Jamar Joseph Nolan, 35, of Mechanicsville, on 3/4/2017Marika Shontel Driggers, 37, of Lexington Park, on 3/4/2017Carolyn Denise Moran-Hayden, 51, of Hollywood, on 3/4/2017Erin Jamila Battle, 26, of Hughesville, on 3/4/2017Justin Thomas Reid, 35, of Mechanicsville, on 3/6/2017Randolph Brent Fry, 21, of Lexington Park, on 3/7/2017Brian Elmon Peed, 47, of Leonardtown, on 3/10/2017Shileka Janella Smith, 28, of California, on 3/11/2017Juvenile Male, 16, of Mechanicsville, on 3/11/2017Daiquarius Jorge Gantt, 22, of California, on 3/12/2017Everett Raymond Gantt, Jr., 35, of Leonardtown, on 3/12/2017Dalonta Timothy Mackall, 22, of Lexington Park, on 3/13/2017Logan Charles Kiesel, 23, of Leonardtown, on 3/14/2017Dale Richard Jackson, Jr., 55, of Mechanicsville, on 3/14/2017Torie Lorrain Cunningham-Lapan, 29, of Lexington Park, on 3/16/2017Whitney Nicole Buckler, 24, of Prince Frederick, on 3/16/2017Morgan Kyle Duty, 21, of Lusby, on 3/18/2017Raymond Badia, 41, of Tall Timbers, on 3/18/2017Jorge Melendez, 53, of Lexington Park, on 3/18/2017Christina Lee Calero, 38, of Bowie, on 3/20/2017Timothy Shawn Ball, 48, of California, on 3/22/2017Stephen William Sonntag, 26, of Leonardtown, on 3/22/2017
Earlier this month it was reported that Russia placed a strict rating on Disney's new "Beauty and the Beast" because it includes a brief moment with a gay character. Now the country's government is seemingly doubling down on their controversial "homosexual propaganda" law, giving the new "Power Rangers" movie an 18+ rating after it was revealed one its stars is LGBTQ.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, WDSSPR, the Russian distributor of "Power Rangers," said last week the restriction for the film has changed from 16+ to 18+, which means viewers who are 18 years old or older can see the action movie.

Officials from the distributor did not give an explanation as to why the harsher rating was applied, but the move came after it was revealed actress Becky G would play a superhero who is LGBTQ. The decision also comes after lawmaker Vitaly Milonov, who wrote the "homosexual propaganda" law, took aim at "Power Rangers," urging it to be banned in Russia, THR notes.

Related: Power Rangers Proudly Reveals First Gay Superhero In Big-Budget Film

Milonov expressed his outrage of the film while on the conservative TV network Tsargrad.

"If fascist ideology is banned in our country, then [movies by] the likes of Dean Israelite should be banned first thing," he reportedly said.

Fellow lawmaker, Alexei Zhuravlev, also criticized the Culture Ministry for allowing "Power Rangers" to be screened in Russia.

"Some officials [at the Culture Ministry] don't want to observe laws adopted by the State Duma [lower chamber of Russian Parliament], specifically the law banning gay propaganda among minors," he told Tsargrad, according to THR.

Milonov was also behind the Culture Ministry to put a stricter rating on "Beauty and the Beast" this month.

THR called the opening night box-office performance for "Power Rangers" "lackluster" as it reportedly only grossed 7 million rubles ($121,000).
The Associated Press tweaked its style guide last week.

Two changes of note impact the LGBT community  make that the LGBTQ community.

We have updated our LGBT entry. It also lists LGBTQ as acceptable in all references. #ACES2017 tweeted @APStylebook on March 24.

The hashtag was a reference to the American Copy Editors Society convention held last weekend in St. Petersburg. In reviewing its style, the Associated Press decided they may be used as a singular pronoun in limited cases.

Non-binary advocates declared the change a victory for the gender fluid movement.

The fact that its being accepted by the Associated Press, thats super exciting, Tiffany Stevens, a reporter for the Roanoke (Va.) Times told Poynter. Non-binary people as an identity arent recognized in general in America.

Adding the Q to the LGBT entry recognizes people who identify as queer or questioning, the AP notes.

Meanwhile, Pink News is reporting that journalists have been instructed to ignore requests to refer to people using pronouns xe and ze.
(WB) Nearly 300 religious officials from the Caribbean and Guyana have urged the U.S. to no longer promote LGBT and intersex rights abroad.

The 289 ministers who are from the Bahamas, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana made the request in a letter they sent to President Trump on Jan. 31.

We write to you as concerned Christian ministers and churches from the Caribbean region (including the Bahamas) who hope and pray that the United States, under your leadership, will once again cast a light from The City upon a Hill of which your American forefathers and President Ronald Reagan so frequently spoke, reads the letter. Sadly, during recent years, that City has too often cast shadows instead of light.

We refer specifically to the policies of the U.S. State Department and other government agencies involved in foreign policy that have undertaken to coerce our countries into accepting a mistaken version of marriage, it continues.

The letter specifically notes the appointment of Randy Berry as the special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBT and intersex rights in 2015 was central to the promotion of same-sex marriage in American foreign policy. It also questions then-Secretary of State Hillary Clintons 2011 speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council in which she said gay rights are human rights.

We have our rights by virtue of being human beings and not by anything else  not our ethnicity, not our religion, not our race, not our tribe and certainly not our sexual orientation, reads the letter.

The letter also points out to Trump that several of your government agencies are using executive orders to foist transgender confusion through the bathroom issue on your public schools by threatening the loss of federal funds.

Please understand that this same kind of coercion is being used against our countries to force us to fall in line with the entire same-sex agenda, it reads.

The Obama administration last year advised public schools that Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972 requires them to allow trans students to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. Trump rescinded this guidance on Feb. 22.

Guyanese group receives grants through Global Equality Fund

The promotion of LGBT and intersex rights abroad was a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy during Obamas second term. The promotion of marriage rights for same-sex couples internationally was never a publicly articulated part of this strategy.

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, a Guyanese advocacy group known by the acronym SASOD, has received grants through the Global Equality Fund, a public-private partnership the State Department manages with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Officials at the U.S. Embassy in the Guyanese capital of Georgetown also meet with SASOD staffers and support their efforts.

Dennis and Judy Shepard met with LGBT rights advocates, parents and officials at the U.S. Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago in 2014. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has also supported HIV/AIDS programs in the country.

Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. St. Maarten recognizes same-sex marriages that are performed in the Netherlands.

Ministers letter is appalling

Steven Anderson, who was deported from Botswana last September, traveled to Guyana earlier this year. The anti-LGBT pastor from Arizona who has said gays and lesbians should be killed and described the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Fla., as disgusting homosexuals, claims a hotel in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, cancelled his reservation earlier this month.

Activists in the region with whom the Washington Blade spoke on Wednesday criticized the pastors who wrote to Trump.

Its appalling that they are pandering to President Trump  a head of state who has demonstrated nothing but prejudice and intolerance towards entire communities, immigrants and Muslims especially, said SASOD Managing Director Joel Simpson.

Erin Greene, an LGBT and intersex rights advocate in the Bahamas, agreed.

The statement and petition is a desperate move by a once powerful structure in Caribbean societies, she told the Blade. The Christian church was once the center of Caribbean societies, and now, these pastors are grasping to retain power and relevance as they are being stripped of their influence in policy making and national development.

In fact, they would be fulfilling their Christian mandate by denouncing the exportation of anti-LGBTI hate speech to the region, and asking President Trump to focus on foreign policy initiatives that prevent the spread the of U.S.-based religious terrorism in the Caribbean, Latin America and the Global South, added Greene.

Bahamas Transgender Intersex United President Alexus DMarco echoed Greenes criticism while defending Obama, Clinton and Berrys appointment.

It is inconceivable that these Christian reverend gentlemen and gentle ladies could not find the love of Christ in the hearts, DMarco told the Blade.

A State Department spokesperson on Friday said protecting universal human rights is at the core of U.S. foreign policy.

All people should be protected from discrimination and violence, and must be allowed to exercise their human rights, including their rights to the freedoms of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and religion or belief, the spokesperson told the Blade.

The White House did not respond to the Blades request for comment.

- Michael K. Lavers, Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association
Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme  La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza.



Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres.




Planet Nine NASA

The Australian National University (ANU) is launching a search for a new planet in our solar system, inviting anyone around the world with access to the Internet to help make the historic discovery.

Anyone who helps find the so-called Planet 9 will work with ANU astronomers to validate the discovery through the International Astronomical Union.

ANU astrophysicist Dr. Brad Tucker is leading the project, which is being launched by Professor Brian Cox during a BBC Stargazing Live broadcast from the ANU Siding Spring Observatory.

We have the potential to find a new planet in our solar system that no human has ever seen in our two-million-year history, said Dr. Tucker from the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Dr. Tucker said astronomers had long discussed the likelihood of a ninth planet on the outer edges of the solar system, but nothing had been found yet.

Planet 9 is predicted to be a super Earth, about 10 times the mass and up to four times the size of our planet. Its going to be cold and far away, and about 800 times the distance between Earth and the Sun. Its pretty mysterious, he said.

The ANU project will allow citizen scientists to use a website to search hundreds of thousands of images taken by the ANU SkyMapper telescope at Siding Spring.

SkyMapper will take 36 images of each part of the southern sky, which is relatively unexplored, and identify changes occurring within the universe.

Finding Planet 9 involves citizen volunteers scanning the SkyMapper images online to look for differences, Dr. Tucker said.

Its actually not that complicated to find Planet 9. It really is spot the difference. Then you just click on the image, mark what is different and well take care of the rest, Dr. Tucker said.

He said he expected people to also find and identify other mystery objects in space, including asteroids, comets and dwarf planets like Pluto.

If you find an asteroid or dwarf planet, you cant actually name it after yourself, Dr. Tucker said.

But you could name it after your wife, brother or sister. We need to follow all of the rules set by the International Astronomical Union.

Dr. Tucker said modern computers could not match the passion of millions of people.

It will be through all our dedication that we can find Planet 9 and other things that move in space, he said.

Co-researcher and head of SkyMapper Dr. Chris Wolf said SkyMapper was the only telescope in the world that maps the whole southern sky.

Whatever is hiding there that you cant see from the north, we will find it, Dr. Wolf said.

From 28 to 30 March at 8 pm London time, BBC Stargazing Live hosted by Professor Cox and comedian Dara O Briain is expected to be viewed by around five million people.

The ABC will broadcast an Australian Stargazing Live program from Siding Spring from 4 to 6 April, hosted by Professor Cox and Julia Zemiro.

SkyMapper is a 1.3-metre telescope that is creating a full record of the southern sky for Australian astronomers.

People can participate in the ANU citizen science project to search for Planet 9 via https://www.zooniverse.org/
Judicial Watch Sues EPA for Records about Controversial Obama Environmental Justice Grants

Contact: Jill Farrell, Judicial Watch, 202-646-5172

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2017 /Standard Newswire/ -- Judicial Watch today announced it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking copies of grant awards and associated proposals for "environmental justice" grants in 2014 and 2015 (Judicial Watch, Inc., v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (No. 1:17-cv-00542)).

The EPA's controversial "environmental justice" programs provide taxpayer funding for environmental and other left-wing interest groups. The EPA awards more than $4 billion annually in funding for grants and other assistance agreements. Shortly after President Trump assumed the presidency, the Trump administration instructed officials at the EPA to freeze its grants and contracts.

The lawsuit was filed after the EPA failed to respond to a simple November 25, 2015, FOIA request for:

 Copies of all grant awards and associated proposals for "environmental justice" grants awarded by the EPA in 2014 and 2015.

The EPA defines "environmental justice" as "fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies."

"The Obama EPA's 'environmental justice' slush fund for its leftwing allies needs to be exposed," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "This is a simple records request and the fact that the Obama EPA ignored it for years tells you the agency has something to hide."

MORE
By Daisy Handfield

TELECOMMUNICATIONS Company, FLOW has partnered with the National Insurance Board (NIB) to raise funds to give back to five of the most crucial charities in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI).





CEO of NIB, Mr Walter Gardiner and Marketing Communications Executive for FLOW TCI, Darron Hilaire, announced this partnership during a joint press conference earlier this month, in light of NIBs 25th anniversary.





The AIDS Foundation, the Kidney Foundation, the Cancer Foundation, the Diabetes Foundation and the Heart Foundation will all benefit from a text to win promotion.





Up until Thursday (March 23, 2017), all FLOW customers can now text HLTH to short code 6897 for a chance to win the BRAND NEW, iPhone 7, and to make their contribution in assisting to raise funds.





Each SMS is valued at $2.00 and 100 percent of the funds collected in the process will be shared between these five major charities.





During the press conference Mr Gardiner told media houses that he was enthused about this collaboration and was looking forward to support from the entire TCI.





"The Turks and Caicos National Insurance Board is pleased to inform the general public that we will be celebrating 25 years of dedicated service to the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands this coming April 6, 2017. A number of events will be held to commemorate this very special occasion and particularly I want to make mention of this event that we propose to have with our partner Flow who havve agreed to assist us, he said.





Mr Hilaire told media houses that he was also excited about the partnership and that FLOWs estimated goal was to raise at least US $2,000.





The winner of this promotion will be announced on Friday (March 24, 2017).




BY OLIVIA ROSE

ALL BRAZILIAN Corn beef and meat products will be removed from the supermarket shelves across the Turks and Caicos Islands.





In light of a major "bad meat scandal in Brazil local authorities on Wednesday March 22, in an effort to safeguard the health of the populace issued an immediate withdrawal of corned beef and other meat products from Brazil amidst reports of alleged corruption of government meat inspectors allowing card board, expired meat and carcinogenic products to be exported.





Some of the biggest consumers of Brazilian meat have suspended imports over allegations that companies have been selling unsafe produce for years.





China has banned red meat imports from Brazil, while the European Union said it would stop buying from companies implicated in the scandal, several Caribbean countries have also imposed a temporary ban on Brazilian meat products including Jamaica and Trinidad.





The crisis was triggered by a huge federal police operation on Friday March 17.





It found evidence that meat-packers had been selling rotten and substandard produce for several years.





Brazil is the world`s second largest exporter of meat, that industry plays an important part in the country`s economy, with exports worth more than $12bn (9.7bn) a year.





Brazil is the worlds biggest red meat and poultry exporter. On Friday, federal police raided meat-producing plants and arrested more than 30 people.





Th Government suspended more than 30 senior civil servants who should have spotted the unhygienic and illegal practices. They are currently being investigated for corruption.





During an exclusive interview with the Weekly News on Wednesday March 22, Director of the Department of Agriculture, Wilhelmina Kissonsingh, made it clear that her department is not taking any chances and has been working assiduously to ensure the proper recall process is executed.





The Agriculture Director stressed the importance of safeguarding the welfare of consumers.





She explained that supermarkets locally are cooperating with the department to ensure that all Brazilian meat products are removed from the shelves.





"They`ve been very cooperative, at least one of the largest ones in particular, they`ve been willing to work with us, because at the end of the day if the consumer gets sick from a product they bought they won`t go back and shop there, so the consumers safety is always paramount.





"The Environmental Health Department is responsible for going into the supermarkets and

looking for foods that are expired on the shelves and getting them out of there.





Kissonsingh further pointed out that corned beef and other meat products are not directly imported to the Turks and Caicos Islands from Brazil, it is however imported from Jamaica which imports from that market.





She emphasized that while many local grocery proprietors may find it burdensome to go through the departments strict import- application process, it is necessary to ensure that products are safe for human consumption.





Kissonsingh emphasized that this is the reason her department is strict on biosecurity measures in an effort to avoid importation of rotten and substandard produce that would pose harmful health

threats to consumers.





She also revealed that Jamaican health officials are planning to embark on a fact finding mission in Brazil to do its own investigation into the allegations, after which information will be shared with the relevant authorities in the Turks and Caicos Islands.





The Brazilian government has done all it could to avoid a total or partial ban on meat imports from other countries.





Brazilian President Michel Temer, held emergency meetings during the weekend and even invited foreign diplomats to a steak house on Sunday evening to try to reassure them according to Brazilian news reports.





"The Brazilian government reiterates its confidence in the quality of a national product that has won over consumers and obtained the approval of the most rigorous markets, said Mr Temer.





But the effort was in vain.





China, the EU, South Korea and Chile have now announced restrictions on Brazilian meat products.





Together they accounted for nearly one third of Brazilian meat exports in 2016, O Globo newspaper reported.





Three meat-packing plants have been closed and another 21 are being investigated. Mr Temer said the plants under scrutiny represented a tiny proportion of Brazils meat industry.





"Only 21 units out of 4,837 in Brazil subject to government inspection are facing allegations of irregularities. And only six of them have exported in the past 60 days, said Mr Temer at a meeting with foreign diplomats on Sunday.





Operation "Weak Flesh was launched in the early hours of Friday in six Brazilian states after a two-year investigation. Federal police carried out raids in 194 locations, deploying more than 1,000 officers.





The investigators allege that some managers bribed health inspectors and politicians to get government certificates for their products.





They accuse more than 30 companies of a number of unhygienic practices. Among them are JBS, the worlds largest beef exporter, and BRF, the worlds top poultry producer.





"They used acid and other chemicals to mask the aspect of the product.





"In some cases, the products used were carcinogenic, the police said.





Both JBS and BRF said they followed high quality standards and sanitary regulations.




IANS

A 17-year-old Brtish teenager pointed out a major error in a set of data that Nasa collects from the International Space Station (ISS), the media reported. A-level student Miles Soloman from Tapton School in Sheffield, was working on the TimPix project  which lets school students in the Britain access data recorded by radiation detectors. The project, held during British astronaut Tim Peake's six-month stay on the ISS, helps the school children look for anomalies and patterns that might lead to further discoveries.

Soloman found that radiation sensors on the ISS were recording false data and then emailed scientists at Nasa, which according him was "pretty cool", the BBC reported on Wednesday. The correction was said to be "appreciated" by Nasa, which invited him to help analyse the problem. "It's pretty cool. You can tell your friends, I just emailed Nasa and they're looking at the graphs that I've made," Soloman was quoted as saying to BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.

Soloman and his fellow students were given Timepix measurements in a giant pile of excel spreadsheets, where they analysed the radiation levels on the ISS. "I went straight to the bottom of the list and I went for the lowest bits of energy there were," Soloman explained. Soloman noticed that when nothing hit the detector, a negative reading was being recorded. But you cannot get negative energy. Thus, he contacted scientists at the US space agency.

It turned out that Soloman had noticed something no-one else had, including the Nasa experts. According to Nasa, it was aware of the error, but believed it was only happening once or twice a year. However, Soloman had found it was actually happening multiple times a day.
hidden

All existing subscribers of mobile services will have to go for Aadhaar-based re-verification soon, with the government instructing telecom operators to initiate the process. Cellular operators body COAI said its members may meet this week to discuss the modalities of rolling out the verification process for the existing one billion-plus mobile phone users. "...all licensees shall re-verify all existing mobile subscribers (prepaid and postpaid) through Aadhaar-based e-KYC process...," a notification issued by the telecom department said.

It further added that all licensees will have to inform existing subscribers - through advertisements in print and electronic media as well as SMS - about the order of the Supreme Court for re-verification activity. They have also been asked to upload the details of the exercise on their website.

The Supreme Court, in an order in February this year, had observed that, "an effective process has been evolved to ensure the identity verification, as well as, the addresses of all mobile phone subscribers for the new subscribers. In the near future, and more particularly within one year from today, a similar verification will be completed, in case of existing subscribers".

The telecom department has said the operators will use and share common device ecosystem through mutual agreements, and will work out mechanisms to avoid public inconvenience and long queues. When contacted, cellular operators association COAI said that the industry supported the move, but pointed out that the entire exercise will cost Rs 1,000 crore for infrastructure and training, which will have to be borne by the operators. A report by the Times of India points that the cost may be as high as Rs 2,500 crore.

"The issue of fake subscribers will go away. We will try our best to cover the entire base within the stipulated time frame of one year but in case we cannot, we may ask the DoT for an extension," COAI Director General Rajan Mathews said. For re-verification through Aadhaar-based e-KYC process, the operator will send a verification code to the mobile number of the subscriber. Prior to starting the e-KYC, the operator will verify this code from the subscriber so as to confirm the SIM card of the mobile connection is physically available with the subscriber.

"After the completion of the e-KYC process, before updating or overwriting the old subscriber detail in database with the data received through e-KYC process, the licencee will seek confirmation from the subscriber about the re-verification of his/her mobile number after 24 hours through SMS," the notification said. The operator can re-verify more than one mobile connection in one service area through a single e-KYC but not bulk connections.

For issuing additional mobile connections to re-verified subscriber, the operator would have to follow a separate e-KYC process. Verification of a subscriber would not be required in case of conversions - that is prepaid to postpaid connections or vice versa, it clarified.

With inputs from PTI
IANS

The Australian National University (ANU) has called on amateur astronomers to help its researchers find a new planet in the Solar System. The project to find "Planet 9" is led by ANU astrophysicist Dr Brad Tucker, and will require the help of passionate stargazers who could be the first to set eyes on something no human has seen before, Xinhua news agency reported. "We have the potential to find a new planet in our Solar System that no human has ever seen in our two-million-year history," Tucker said in a statement released on Monday.

"Planet 9 is predicted to be a super Earth, about 10 times the mass and up to four times the size of our planet. It's going to be cold and far away, and about 800 times the distance between Earth and the sun. It's pretty mysterious." The ANU project will allow "citizen scientists" to browse hundreds of thousands of images taken by the ANU SkyMapper telescope at Siding Spring. Volunteers are invited to cast an eye over the photos and note any differences, oddities or potential "Planet 9s".

"It's actually not that complicated to find Planet 9. It really is spot the difference. Then you just click on the image, mark what is different and we'll take care of the rest," Tucker said. "It will be through all our dedication that we can find Planet 9 and other things that move in space." Tucker added that he expects people to also find and identify other mystery objects in space, including asteroids, comets and dwarf planets such as Pluto. He said if anyone finds a unique mystery object, they will be able to name it -- however not after themselves.

"If you find an asteroid or dwarf planet, you can't actually name it after yourself," Tucker said. "But you could name it after your wife, brother or sister. We need to follow all of the rules set by the International Astronomical Union." The ANU said it would release further details about the search for Planet 9 in coming weeks.
IANS

The government is working on certain options to accommodate demands related to tax and duty concessions sought by iPhone maker Apple for setting up a manufacturing unit in India. Although the Finance Ministry has prima facie rejected the demands of the US-based technology major, senior executives of the company met an inter-ministerial group recently to deliberate upon the issue.

The group discussed at length the demands of the company, sources said, adding that the government is trying to find ways through which certain support measures could be extended to the American firm. Sources also said the company is asking for concessions as it wants to bring in its supply chain or component makers to the country as Apple cannot source inputs locally.

The company also wants duty exemptions on the products to be bought from special economic zones (SEZs). At present, goods exported from SEZs do not attract any duty but import duties are levied if items produced in special economic zones are sold in the domestic market.

There is a possibility that this demand could be met by the government as several domestic companies are also demanding for the same. On the other hand, certain duty concessions being sought by Apple are very difficult to meet as India is gradually becoming a manufacturing hub of smartphones. A strong supply chain is being established in the country despite any sop or concession offered to any player. Also, no domestic or foreign manufacturer has sought any concession from the government so far.

There is dilemma that if the government extends support to Apple, it may weaken this strong supply chain. "So the government has to make a balance," sources added. Apple has also sought relaxations for consumables for smartphone manufacturing and service or repair for 15 years. In January, Apple had indicated to the government that it is ready with a blueprint to begin manufacturing iPhones in India, but wants fiscal concessions, including customs duty waiver on import of components.

The company sells its products through Apple-owned retail stores in countries like China, Germany, the US, the UK and France, among others. It has no wholly-owned store in India and sells its products through distributors such as Redington and Ingram Micro.
Rehan Hooda

Jack Ma, the executive chairman and founder of Alibaba group is one of the most prominent Chinese figures in the global market. The billionaire is slowly but steadily working on expanding Alibaba's business to other countries as a next step after conquering the Chinese market. However, apart from the recent public appearances on the global stage, there is not much known about Ma and the way he runs the huge group. Considering the lack of information, we tried to answer some questions about Ma Yun.

Where does Ma Yun come into the mix, you may ask? Well, Jack Ma's real name is Ma Yun and he started off as an English teacher after learning it by watching movies and talking to tourists as reported by Fortune. Ma started the company 18 years ago back in 1998 with friends back in Hangzhou. The company was officially launched in 1999.

The interesting thing about Ma is not how he started off Alibaba Group as a huge corporate giant in China, but how he is as a person. As a leader of a global conglomerate, one has a certain assumption regarding how Ma should carry himself. He is considered as a charmer who can seduce and work the room according to Duncan Clark, an investment adviser based out of China. Jim Kim, the president of World Bank met Ma over a dinner four years ago and was taken aback by the mannerisms of the billionaire. The thing that stood out for him was the fact that Ma wore sandals while holding the Buddhist prayer bead, as he sat cross-legged on his chair.

The report points out that Ma has been meeting a lot of people right from powerful leaders, princes, or governments to businessmen while flying 800 hours last year alone. This is not out of the extraordinary as he serves as the global ambassador for Chinese business. However, he is not just working as the global ambassador but instead slowly cultivating ties with governments and businessmen all across the world for a gradual market expansion. The best thing about this is that he is aware that Alibaba has largely been unchallenged in the Chinese market.

The group needs to grow beyond the Chinese market because if that changes then it will make foreign markets important. The report points out that meeting the top brass of separate countries will make it easier for the company to expand in that country. However, the company has to fight problems like counterfeit wares for the sale on the platform. Ma has been actively trying to fight the war against counterfeit products but can't do much about the issue without any serious action by the Chinese government. What makes the problem aggravated is that it is hard for people to break the perception that they can depend on a Chinese platform for quality and originality.

Another important thing to note here is that the company is not claiming anything outrageous like competing against Amazon or beating Amazon so soon. Even though it has entered the United States market but it is not going head on against Amazon. Instead, the company is helping small manufacturers based out of United States sell their products to the Chinese market. Ma met President Donald Trump and promised to help create about 1 million jobs in the United States of America which for obvious reason was a good thing for the newly elected president.

When compared to Amazon, Alibaba is far more profitable because of its 'Asset-Light' strategy as detailed in the report. According to the strategy, the company itself does not have any inventory, trucks or warehouses. Instead, the company focuses on being a platform of other companies to come together and work in a harmony. Alibaba has a 47 percent stake in Cainiao, a logistics network in China which workes on the existing postal delivery system by improving its capabilities. Other companies like Alipay work in conjunction to Alibaba and Cainiao to work effeciently while being powered by a World e-Trade Platform.

Last but not the least bit that stood out for me was his willingness or rather eagerness to retire. According to the report, he started looking forward to retiring 7 years back. However, now with the global push we can be certain that the retirement is not coming anytime soon. Ma detailed that he does not want to die in a office and instead would prefer to die on a beach making him pretty laidback in general about life.
tech2 News Staff

Back in December 2016, HMD unveiled its first first new products, which were two basic feature phones without internet access called the Nokia 150 and the Nokia 150 Dual SIM. Both feature phones were bound to arrive in markets in the coming year and today there's news that they have finally arrived.

Gadgets360 was the first to spot them online at e-commerce websites Amazon and Flipkart. The Nokia 150 Dual SIM is priced at Rs 2,059 and is now up for sale in black and white finishes on Flipkart, while Amazon only has the black model on sale.

The smartphones are designed with a polycarbonate shell that retains its colour even when scratched. It features a 2.4-inch display with 25 days of standby using two SIMs. It also features FM radio, an MP3 Player along with Snake Xenzia or Nitro racing. The feature phone also packs in a VGA camera and an LED flash.



Nokia recently announced its Android based smartphones at MWC 2017 in Barcelona. While the handsets arent very exciting on paper, they are well Nokia. The new Nokia 3, 5 and 6 will officially be available globally and target the budget segment considering the price range.

According to the VP, HMD is planning to manufacture the new handsets in India right from the beginning in collaboration with Foxconn. The new range of Nokia Android smartphones are expected to start selling in the month of June.
hidden

Indian online retailer Snapdeal is seeking investment to shore up its finances after unsuccessful talks with Chinese funds and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd as it battles to remain competitive, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Faced with the prospect of falling cash reserves and little interest from existing investors such as Japan's Softbank and U.S. hedge funds, Snapdeal is now increasingly being seen as an acquisition target, they said.

"Snapdeal has been desperately looking to raise money in China for the last few months," said a source with direct knowledge of Snapdeal's plans. "It had multiple rounds of talks with some Chinese funds and was also hoping to get some fresh money from Alibaba. But those talks were not going anywhere and Alibaba made it clear to them they would not write a new check for them given the dim outlook for making money any time soon."

Both Alibaba, which already has a small stake in Snapdeal, and Softbank declined to comment. Its unsuccessful negotiations in China and sliding valuations may force loss-making Snapdeal to consider an outright sale, sources said. Founded in 2010, Snapdeal was valued at $6.5 billion after a fund-raising last year. But valuations of Indian e-commerce firms are believed to have softened since then.

"The industry is up for consolidation and Snapdeal maybe the first one to witness it," said another source who is aware of the discussions. "Till what time will Snapdeal continue to survive from savings? ... Snapdeal is not pushing for any consolidation but it's for the investors to take that call. They have an independent way of looking at this." Bruised by intensifying competition with bigger rivals Flipkart and Amazon, Snapdeal laid off 600 employees and its founders are foregoing salaries as it cuts costs to try to turn a profit.

Indian online retailer Snapdeal is seeking investment to shore up its finances after unsuccessful talks with Chinese funds and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd as it battles to remain competitive, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Faced with the prospect of falling cash reserves and little interest from existing investors such as Japan's Softbank and U.S. hedge funds, Snapdeal is now increasingly being seen as an acquisition target, they said.

"Snapdeal has been desperately looking to raise money in China for the last few months," said a source with direct knowledge of Snapdeal's plans. "It had multiple rounds of talks with some Chinese funds and was also hoping to get some fresh money from Alibaba. But those talks were not going anywhere and Alibaba made it clear to them they would not write a new check for them given the dim outlook for making money any time soon."

Both Alibaba, which already has a small stake in Snapdeal, and Softbank declined to comment. Its unsuccessful negotiations in China and sliding valuations may force loss-making Snapdeal to consider an outright sale, sources said. Founded in 2010, Snapdeal was valued at $6.5 billion after a fund-raising last year. But valuations of Indian e-commerce firms are believed to have softened since then. "The industry is up for consolidation and Snapdeal maybe the first one to witness it," said another source who is aware of the discussions.

"Till what time will Snapdeal continue to survive from savings? ... Snapdeal is not pushing for any consolidation but it's for the investors to take that call. They have an independent way of looking at this." Bruised by intensifying competition with bigger rivals Flipkart and Amazon, Snapdeal laid off 600 employees and its founders are foregoing salaries as it cuts costs to try to turn a profit.

Alibaba Issue

One of the sources who spoke to Reuters said Alibaba was already in early talks with Softbank, the biggest shareholder in Snapdeal, but was only interested in increasing its investment as long as management control goes to Paytm. Alibaba is the biggest shareholder in Paytm's parent One97. It picked up a 36.31 percent stake in Paytm's e-commerce unit for $177 million earlier this year. "Alibaba is very keen to invest more in Snapdeal as an entity if the management control goes to Paytm. The proposal has the backing of Softbank as well, which is also looking to consolidate its investments in one or two large e-commerce companies," the first person said.

A deal with Alibaba would make Snapdeal more competitive at a time when India's top e-commerce company Flipkart is seeking to raise up to $1 billion and as Amazon last year pledged to invest more than $5 billion. Thanks to rapid uptake of wireless high-speed internet, India's burgeoning middle class is increasingly shopping online, but steep competition among e-tailers has lead to losses across the sector.

Snapdeal has been seen as particularly vulnerable to increasing competition. The company reported a loss of 29.6 billion rupees in the financial year to March 31, 2016, according to regulatory filings.

Reuters
tech2 News Staff

Every two years, Caltech holds a competition for science students around the world, where two teams tackle problems that mankind is likely to face in the future.

In 2011, the students designed solutions for bringing back a sample from an asteroid. In 2013, the teams designed a campaign to land humans on the moons of Mars. In 2015, the students came up with a plan for establishing mining operations on an asteroid that had been placed into orbit around the moon.

This year, the students will be designing a base on the Moon for future deep space exploration by man.

The launch and supply station has been dubbed "Lunarport". The base is meant to act as a staging facility for heavy lift missions, where rockets from the Earth can be refueled before they move on to other targets deep within the solar system. Engineers from Orbital ATK, Blue Origin, and Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory facility, which is operated by Caltech, will all help the students design their proposals for the Lunarport.

Thirty two students from fourteen countries have been selected for the Challenge, from a total 806 applicants. There were more applicants for this year's challenge than all the three previous challenges put together.

The corporate sponsors for the 2017 Caltech Space Challenge include Airbus, Microsoft, Orbital ATK, Northrop Grumman, Blue Origin, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Schlumberger, and Honeybee Robotics.
About me I'm Avi Green

From Jerusalem, Israel

I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best. My profile

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Hey Luke Maye, you just sunk a buzzer-beating jumper to beat Kentucky in the NCAA Tournaments Elite 8. What are going to do next?

Thats right, hes going to an 8 a.m. Business 101 class. And hes sitting in the front row.

Tweets from a North Carolina student Monday morning showed UNCs dude-at-the-local-gym-looking sophomore forward showing up to class barely 12 hours after becoming a Tar Heels hero Sunday night.

Naturally, he received a standing ovation.

The life of Luke Maye: 7 pm: hits game winning shot against Kentucky to send UNC to final four. 8am next day: Busi 101 class standing O pic.twitter.com/b1aeFGKqRE  Jack Sewell (@JackSewell_) March 27, 2017

This is pretty impressive, since it takes a certain amount of will-power for a college student to make it to any class at 8 a.m. on a Monday, even when hes not hours removed from the biggest moment of his life.

Well forgive Maye for apparently arriving three minutes late to class, since his professor seems none too worried about it. You know youve done something cool when even your professors are offering you standings ovations.

Safe to say it might be a while before Maye buys another drink in the state of North Carolina.
Its almost been a year since the surprising announcement that Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander would take the role of Lara Croft in a rebooted Tomb Raider movie franchise. Some 11 months later, we now have proof that MGM and Warner Brothers really are making the film, which is shooting right now in South Africa, and Vikander is indeed suiting up as the adventuring archaeologist.

On Tuesday, Vanity Fair released the first look at Vikander as Lara Croft with two images, along with an explanation as to what the new movie will be about. Heres the synopsis, courtesy of VFs Katey Rich:

Seven years after the disappearance of her father, 21-year-old Lara has refused to take the reins of his global business empire, instead working as a bike courier in London while taking college classes. Eventually she becomes inspired to investigate her fathers disappearance and travels to his last-known location: a tomb on an island somewhere off the coast of Japan.

So what we have here is Lara Crofts origin story. Heres a look at Vikander in full Croft costume, ready to raid some tombs.

Perhaps signing on to play Lara Croft shouldnt have been a surprise, considering that this seems to be the successful formula for many actors in Hollywood these days. Everyone is looking to attach him or herself to a blockbuster series, typically a superhero franchise. For an actress, Croft might be the best of those roles out there. (Wonder Woman might put up an argument there.)

What made this a curious choice for someone like Vikander, coming off an Oscar win, is that attaching herself to a franchise often leads to signing on for multiple films. That sort of commitment scares off some actors. But Vikanders still young (28) with presumably a long career ahead of her. If shes going to play a big-budget action kind of role, this is the time to do it. Plus, there just arent many of these sorts of franchises available for women. Angelina Jolies career was ignited by playing Croft in 2001s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and 2003s Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. Vikander called Croft an iconic character and a role model for young women in an email to Vanity Fair.

Vikander is also striking while her career is hot. In addition to The Danish Girl (for which she won her Oscar), she also starred in Ex Machina and The Man from U.N.C.L.E, and had a cameo part in Burnt during what was a strong 2015. Last year wasnt exactly as hot, with a supporting role in the disappointing Jason Bourne and the tepid The Light Between Oceans, which did no favors for her or co-star Michael Fassbender.

Directed by Roar Uthaug (The Wave) and co-starring Dominic West and Walton Goggins, Tomb Raider is scheduled for a March 16, 2018 release.

[Vanity Fair]
Will any questions actually be answered this week on Homeland? Ill let you be the judge of that.

The episode begins with Quinn following a GPS to a random diner where he tracked apartment man (who still doesnt have a name, by the way) at the end of the last episode. He recognizes a waitress, and apparently Quinn used to be a regular at this establishment. He starts asking around about apartment man, gets no answers, and drives through a neighborhood where kids are playing, eventually finding a house that catches his eye.

Max tells Carrie about the sock puppet mill at OKeefes building. She seems inattentive while gathering some of Frannys things, and implores him not to go in today because of what she has planned for Dar Adal.

Saul walks through the streets of New York and ends up in a jewelry store, making his way to a second floor apartment for a meeting. Hes given a duffel bag with cash, guns, phones, passports, and some diamonds. It looks like some shits about to go down.

Carrie gets dropped off at DOJ, and her driver mysteriously tells her to call child services to confirm her appointment. A call to child services reveals that Franny is feeling ill and the visitation will have to be postponed. Chief of Staff Rob and a DOJ representative both confirm they didnt send a car for Carrie as shes about to begin her deposition about Saul and Darand she suddenly gets cold feet and leaves. She heads outside, calls the driver, and tells him to tell Dar that he wins.

President elect Keane gets the call from Rob about Carrie leaving the deposition, and she requests that DOJ approach Saul to get him to flip on Dar. Conveniently, Dar rolls into Keanes office at this point, half tells her the truth about the facial injuries inflicted onto him by Quinn, and gives her the list of people to consider for Cabinet positions.

She blows him off, and tears apart his attempts to influence her. Dar then not so obliquely threatens her, and Keane doesnt back down. Dar then calls OKeefe with the bad news, and proposing weaponizing some information.

Quinn has a neighborhood kid ring the doorbell at the mystery home. No one answers, Quinn pays the kid, and he rolls around out back and unlocks the back door with a hidden key. Quinn has a flashback of being in this home to prepare for a mission in the past, when suddenly, a few men show up. He hides in the garage, and finds a van from the company Sekou drove for.

Carrie gets a call from child services, informing her that Franny is fine and that their visit for later today is still on. Keane and the Secret Service show up, and the President elect talks to Carrie about why she pulled out of the deposition. Keane correctly deduces that Dar is using Carries daughter to control her, and Carrie essentially chooses Franny over going after Dar as she storms out.

Sauls ex-wife Mira is at a restaurant sipping coffee, when a waitress gives her a note with directions for her to follow. Shes eventually driven to an apartment building where Saul awaits in an empty apartment. He uses this as an opportunity to say goodbye to Mira and fill her in on where hell be going (a rectory in Athens, for what its worth) and why.

Carrie gets her visit with Franny, but before that, notices a secretary watching an attack video on Keanes son. Keane herself sees the video, blames Dar to her staff, and pushes for a response. Her staff doesnt seem to agree with her, but she demands a press conference anyway.

OKeefe and Dar discuss the video, and Max takes note of their conversation. OKeefe hands Dar some talking points, and Dar notices a picture of Quinn on a laptop in OKeefes office. Max attempts to capture some of the moment with his phone, and is eventually dragged out by security.

Clarice the hooker junkie meets Carrie outside of her townhouse with a video of her and Quinn, asking her to come see him. While shes away with the two of them, Saul shows up and breaks in. After leaving her a voicemail, he hears a dinging upstairs and finds a room with all of the stories pinned up to the walls, much like she did back in the day when dealing with Brody and Abu Nazir. The dinging is revealed to be the video from Max, with a clean frame of Dar and OKeefe in the office.

Keane tearfully watches the video again, and blames herself for bringing her son up after keeping his name out of the public spotlight for years.

Carrie arrives at a house in the suburbs under renovation, across the street from the house Quinn was staking out earlier. Through a rifle scope, Quinn points out the man in the apartment to Carrie.

It appears that some of our main characters have reversed direction. Saul, after seemingly wanting to get the hell out of the country, now looks to be staying with the intention of going after Dar. Carrie, after seemingly wanting to go full-bore into attacking Dar, wants to step back, get her daughter back, and end this chapter of her life for good. Max, after not playing a role in half of this season, is trying to do his best to get the necessary evidence to implicate Dar in the sock puppet scandal.

An then theres Keane, who is trying to stick by her principles but is realizing that shes going to need to get her hands dirty if she wants to truly wipe Dar and company out. She tried to freeze Dar out by using the expected, legal channels, but that wont be enough.

The Quinn situation is up in the air. Carrie has realized that hes not crazy. Dar realizes hes a threat, and OKeefe apparently does too and is planning something (with apartment man?!?) without Dars knowledge. When push comes to shove, Dar is probably going to end up siding with OKeefe over Quinn, but maybe this emotional attachment he has to Quinn is stronger than we realize and he has a face turn.

Im not sure what Keane ends up doing. The teaser for next week shows that she does indeed go through with her press conference, but theres really nothing she can say that will minimize the effects of the video. The only thing she can really do is dig her hole deeper amongst the people that hate her.

In a strange way, the person who this season seems like it will end best for isCarrie, actually. There seems to be a high chance of Quinn ending up dead, with Dar possibly joining him and Max looking like a near-lock to end up six feet under as well. Keanes presidency could end up in shambles before it even begins. Saul is either going to end up exiled, jailed, or dead  hes not going to keep existing and working in the intelligence community after everything thats gone down this year.

But if Carrie just throws her hands up and stops actively trying to influence policy? Shell get Franny back and everything will be back to normal in her home life. Sure, all of her friends will be in worse positions, but at least shell have Franny back, right? Right?
Coast Guard members arrest 13 pirates in Cox`s Bazar

Coast Guard members arrested 13 suspected pirates from Matarbari Channel of the Bay of Bengal in Kutubdia upazila on Sunday night.



Tipped off, the Coast Guard men launched the drive around 7:30pm and arrested the 13 along with two bullets, 10 machetes, 10 mobile phone sets and Tk 6,000 in cash, and rescued seven fishermen. --Cox's Bazar, Mar 27 (UNB)






Pakistan building border fence with Afghanistan

Pakistan has long harboured ambitions to seal its border, which is largely unpatrolled.

AFP, Islamabad :

Pakistan has begun building a fence along its border with Afghanistan to curtail the movement of militants, its army said, in a move criticised by its eastern neighbour for dividing communities.

The two nations are divided by the "Durand Line", a 2,400-kilometre (1,500-mile) frontier drawn by the British in 1896 and disputed by Kabul, which does not officially recognise it as an international border.

It also splits the Pashtun ethnic group between the states.

Both routinely accuse the other of harbouring militant proxies to carry out cross-border attacks, while their militaries have engaged in numerous skirmishes in recent years.

Last year, Pakistan completed an 1,100 kilometre (700 mile) trench along the southern half of the border. The current round of fencing began in the northern tribal regions of Mohmand and Bajaur over the weekend, according to the army.

"It is first time we've started the formal fencing with the political government onboard. Previous efforts...were local in nature," a security source said Monday.

A statement added "additional technical surveillance" would also be deployed but did not elaborate.

Najib Danish, a spokesman for Afghanistan's interior ministry, denounced the move but said his government had not yet seen any construction work.

"We have not seen any signs of building fences along the border. But it is not going to solve the terrorism problem. It is only going to divide the people and we will not allow it," he said.

Fencing threatens to disrupt the daily lives of communities who have traditionally paid the border little heed, with villages straddling the frontier that have mosques and houses with one door in Pakistan and another in Afghanistan.

They now face stricter controls and are obliged to use official crossing points, which are subject to delays and frequent closures including one that was lifted last week after a full month.

Tensions recently soared after Pakistan blamed Afghanistan for a wave of militant violence that killed 130 people in February.

Citing the attacks, Islamabad earlier this month temporarily shut the main crossing points along the colonial-era Durand Line border, drawn up in 1893 and rejected by Afghanistan.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa said initial fencing will focus on 'high threat zones' of Bajaur and Mohmand agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which border eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar.
Chinese drone factory in S Arabia first in ME

PTI, Beijing :

Saudi Arabia has permitted a Chinese firm to set up a factory to manufacture hunter-killer aerial drones for the first time in the Middle East, in a boost to China's drone manufacturing industry.

Saudi Arabia's key science and technology organisation has confirmed that one of the deals sealed during Saudi King Salman's visit to China this month was an agreement to set up the first factory for Chinese hunter-killer aerial drones in the Middle East.

IHS Jane's Defence Weekly reported on Thursday that the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) had signed a partnership agreement on March 16 with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), which makes China's CH-4 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a model with similar capabilities to the American Air Force's MQ-1 Predator.

China and Saudi Arabia signed USD 65 billion worth of deals in energy, culture, education and technology during the king's visit in the middle of this month.

A Chinese military website and military experts said Saudi Technology Development and Investment Company (TAQNIA) had signed a protocol with China's Aerospace Long-March International Trade (ALIT) for the drone production line at the biennial International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi in February, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported today.

TAQNIA is a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, while ALIT is a Chinese export-import company that specialises in aerospace technologies.

Earlier this month, China's Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute said its latest combat drone, which made its maiden test, is comparable to the United States MQ-9 Reaper and may turn out to be a "biggest export deal" for the country.
Free medical camp on Independence Day held



United Hospital has conducted free medical camp on Sunday in observance of the Independence Day in a befitting manner. More than fifty specialist doctors from United Hospital from Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, Urology, Nephrology, Neonatology, Medicine, Eye, ENT & Head Neck Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and other non clinical departments attended the free medical camp at Yunus Khan-Mahmuda Khanam Memorial Health Complex at Louhajong, Munshiganj.

The free medical camp was organized by Faridur Rahman Khan, Managing Director of United Hospital Limited. In addition pathology tests, X-ray, Ultrasound and Echocardiography were provided free for more than thousand people of the Munshiganj and adjacent area who attended the camp. Free medicines were also provided to the patients on the occasion.




Weeklong drama festival at JU

Vice Chancellor of Jahangirnagar University Prof Dr Farzana Islam presenting crest to Freedom Fighter Taramon Bibi for her heroic contribution in the Liberation war of 1971 in the inauguration ceremony of drama festival namely \'Muktishangram Nattoutshab-

JU Correspondent :

Promoting the theme "Muktir Aloy Alokito Kori Bhuban" on Saturday, a weeklong grand cultural drama festival titled "Muktishangram Nattoushab-2017" began at Jahangirangar University (JU) campus amid fanfare and festivity to be continued to March 31.

The Teachers-Student Centre (TSC) of the university organised this festival marking the Genocide day as well as 47th Independence Day of the country.

About at 7 pm, the Heroic freedom fighter Taramon Bibi, BirProtik inaugurated this festival by hoisting national flag at the university's central playground.

Later, a discussion programme held at Selim Al Deen Muktamanch while former Home Minister Dr Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir was in the chief guest.

Among others, former foreign minister former foreign minister Dr Dipu Moni, MP and member of Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) Dr Sharif Enamul Kabir were attended the programme as special guest while JU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Farzana Islam was in the chair.

In the programme, heroic freedom fighter Taramon Bibi was honored for her great intellectual contribution during liberation war period.

Besides, Dr Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Dr. Dipu Moni, Prof. Dr. Sharif Enamul Kabir, Dr. Farzana Islam, prominent theater activist Mamunur Rashaid and managing director of Beacon Pharmaceuticals Limited Ebadul Karim Bulbul were honored at the programme.

The weeklong festival will be included with drama, Art Camps of war liberation, tree plantation, photo and painting exhibitions, drama festival, and presentation on history, musical evenings, discussions and recitations. In the inaugural day, Padatik Nattya Sangsad production 'Kalratri' was staged at Selim Al Deen Muktamancha at night after ending the discussion session.


Airtel organizes YOLO Fest in university campuses

Economic Reporter :

The country's leading youth brand Airtel is organizing YOLO Fest in 15 public and private university campuses across Dhaka city. Being true to the spirit of YOLO (You Only Live Once), the university campus based fest aims to celebrate the unbridled spirit of youth with gaming, karaoke corner, augmented photo booth and musical concert.

While engaging the youth through YOLO campaign, Airtel is building digital communities such as music, gaming and video communities. The engagement activities are built around giving that experience to allow people to experience the fest as per their own interests.

A big part of the fest is the music community which is introduced through Airtel Yonder Music app- the country's biggest library of local and international music.


BNP questions AL`s late realisation of Genocide Day

UNB, Dhaka :

Hitting out at Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader for criticising BNP for not chalking out any programme to mark the Genocide Day, its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday raised a counter question about the late realisation of the ruling party about the day.

"It's surely a genocide day. It's long been recognised that genocide took place on March 25 (1971). We've a counter question whether Awami League realised it as a Genocide Day after so long time," he said.

Fakhrul came up with the remarks while talking to reporter after paying homage to BNP founder Ziaur Rahman by placing wreaths at his grave marking the Independence Day.

The nation on Saturday observed the 'Genocide Day' for the first time with elaborate programmes, commemorating the cowardly attack on Bangalees and the mass killing in Dhaka by the Pakistani occupation forces on March 25 in 1971. On March 11 last, Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution to observe March 25 as the Genocide Day. The Cabinet Division

issued a gazette notification on March 21 in this regard.

At a programme in the city on Saturday, Quader asked BNP to clear its position on the Liberation War as the party did not take out any programme to mark the Genocide Day.

As his attention was drawn to the AL leader's comment, Fakhrul said their party always remembers March 25 as a Genocide Day and unofficially observes it. Since Awami League has now officially announced it as a Genocide Day, he said, their party will think how to observe it in the days to come.

The BNP leader said though Awami League had been in power thrice earlier since 1972, it did not take any initiative to officially recognise the day and observe it. "Perhaps they for the first time felt that there is a Genocide Day." He also slammed Quader for accusing BNP of backing militancy, saying the government itself is patronising militancy. "They aren't carrying out proper investigation into the incidents relating to extremism to root out militancy."

Fakhrul said, the government is blaming BNP for growing militant incidents with a political motive.

He said, their party had offered to forge a national unity to eliminate militancy, but the government did not respond to it. "They want to keep the issue alive to make its political gain."

Voicing deep concern over the killing of six people, including two law enforcement agency members, in bomb attacks by militants in Sylhet, the BNP leader said the government should properly investigate all the incidents.

He called upon the government to forge a national unity with all parties to put up a strong resistance against militancy and terrorism.

Fakhrul said, democracy which was the main spirit of the Liberation War is now absent in the country. "The government has snatched people's all rights, including freedom of expression and voting."
Mufti Hannan, Bipul seek President`s mercy

UNB, Gazipur :

Harkat-ul-Jihad (Huji) chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and his associate Bipul, two condemned convicts in a case filed over the grenade attack on ex-British envoy to Bangladesh Anwar Choudhury in 2004, filed petitions for presidential clemency on Monday.

Jail Super Mizanur Rahman of Kashimpur Central Jail, said Mufti Hannan made the plea around 5:45 pm while Bipul, an associate of Mufti Hannan filed the petition on Monday evening.

Earlier, on March 21, the SC verdict's copy, upholding the death sentence of Mufti Hannan and two others in the case, was released. Later, the SC verdict was read out before Mufti Hannan and Bipul the following day.

The jail sources said the jail authorities are prepared for executing the verdict of the two Huji men in short time and the verdict will be executed after getting directive from the higher authorities concerned.

Earlier in the day, the death-row convict Delwar alias Ripon, who was kept at the Sylhet central jail here, in the case, filed a petition seeking presidential mercy. On March 19, the Appellate Division upheld the death sentence of Mufti Hannan, Ripon and Bipul the hearing of the review petition filed by the three death row convicts. It released the full text of its verdict on March 21. On December 7, 2016, a SC bench, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha, upheld the death penalty of the three in the case rejecting appeals filed by the Huji chief and Bipul challenging the High Court verdict that had upheld their death sentence awarded by the tribunal.

On February 11, 2016, a High Court bench comprising Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Amir Hossain delivered the verdict upholding the death sentence of the three. In 2004, the then British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury came under a grenade attack while coming out of Hazrat Shahjalal's shrine in his hometown Sylhet.

The envoy and 40 employees of the Sylhet district administration were injured in the attack.

Assistant sub-inspector Kamal Uddin died on the spot, while two constables-Rubel Ahmed and Habil Miah-succumbed to their injuries in a hospital.


Mastermind Rajib `confesses` to 3 murders

UNB, Gaibandha :

Jahangir Alam alias Rajib Gandhi, a top Neo JMB leader and the mastermind of the Gulshan terror attack, reportedly confessed to his part in the killing of three people before a court here on Monday.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Joynal Abedin recorded his statement when he told the court about his involvement in other criminal activities, including abduction, looting, polygamy, after joining the militant group.

Meanwhile, the court also placed him on a five-day remand when Saidur Rahman, inspector of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), sought five-day remand to get more information about militant attacks.

A Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) team in a drive arrested Rajib from Elenga bus stand area of Tangail on the night of January 13 last.

Twenty hostages, including 17 foreign nationals, were killed by militants at Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan area of the capital on July 1 last year. The following day, five attackers and one suspected associate of the attackers were killed during a commando operation inside the cafe; ending the hostage crisis.
18 killed in separate road accidents

Eighteen people were killed in three road accidents in Chuadanga, Khulna and Sirajganj districts on Sunday.

In Chuadanga, a fatal road accident at Joyrampur Battala on Chuadanga-Jessore road in Damurhuda upazila in the early hours left 13 day-labourers and 10 others injured.

The deceased are Billal, 45, Rafiqul, 50, Lal Mohammad, 45, Abdar Ali, 45, Billal Hossain, 39, Akubbar Mandal, 52, Ijjat Ali, 55, Nazir Uddin, 57, Shanto, 25, Hafizur Rahman, 35, Shafiqul Islam, 40, Jaj Miah, 34, and Shahin, 31, residents of Boro Baldia village in the upazila.

The accident took place when a human hauler carrying 23-24 day-labourers collided with a sand-laden truck around 6:30am, killing eight of them on the spot and the rest injured, said M Kalimullah, Assistant Superintendent of Police (Damurhuda Circle). On information, firefighters from Chuadanga Fire Service and Civil Defence rescued the injured and sent them to hospitals, said the ASP.

Two of the injured died at Sadar Hospital and another at Damurhuda upazila health complex while two others died on the way to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

Agitated people of the area seized the truck and vandalised it but the truck driver managed to flee. Saima Yunus, deputy commissioner of the district, said the district administration provided Tk 10,000 to the families of each deceased for burial and Tk 10,000 to each injured for treatment.

In Khulna, four Hindu pilgrims were killed and 20 others injured as a Satkhira-bound bus skidded off Khulna-Satkhira Highway and plunged into a ditch at Baliakandi in Dumuria upazila around 5:10pm.

The deceased are Laltu Sardar, 18, son of Biplab Sardar, Krishna Mandal, 20, son of Debdas Mandal, Rajesh Sardar, 21, son of Chitta Sardar, and Golak Mistri, 25, son of Tushar Mistri, residents of Munshiganj village in Shaymnagar upazila of Satkhira district.

The victims were returning home after attending a religious programme at Orakandi in Kashiani upazila of Gopalganj district, said officer-in-charge of Dumuria Police Station Subhash Biswas. The injured were taken to Dumuria Upazila Health Complex, he said. In Sirajganj, Rawshan Ali, 55, of Satbaria village in Ullapara upazila, was crushed under the wheels of a speeding bus while crossing Bogra-Nagarbari Highway around 12pm, said police.


ACC working to dev system to stop militancy financing

UNB, Dhaka :

Noting that militancy funding is taking place in the country through both banking channels and illegal channel(Hundi) Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Iqbal Mahmood on Sunday said they area working to develop a system to prevent financing in militancy.

"It is quite impossible to stop 'militant financing' by going to every individual and that's why the ACC is working to develop a system so that financing in militancy could be stopped," he told reporters after inaugurating the Corruption Prevention Week 2017.

The ACC chief formally inaugurated the week in front of the ACC's head office in the capital on Sunday morning. "In the past, police seized money from militants' dens during their operations.These money came through banking system. It didn't come from the air," he said.

"We always ask the authorities concerned to operate banks as per the banking rules and regulations," Mahmood said, adding that if banks are operated following the rules and regulations, terrorist financing will be stopped.

Noting that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Bangladesh Bank have already taken effective steps to stop hundi (illegal transaction of money), the ACC chief said there is no scope to come a huge amount money into the country through hundi.

He said, the ACC, the NBR and the Bangladesh Bank together will take an

integrated step so that hundi could be prevented.

The national anti-graft agency is observing the Corruption Prevention Week 2017 across the country aiming to create mass awareness and sensitise people to raise their united voice against graft.

With the slogan 'Stop Corruption - Save Person, Save Nation', the ACC has taken various programmes marking the week. In the morning, Mahmood also inaugurated an anti-graft cartoon exhibition at the commission's media centre which will be open for all during the week. ACC Commissioners Dr Nasiruddin Ahmed and AFM Aminul Islam were, among others, present on the occasion.


Independence Day celebrated

The nation celebrated the 47th Independence and National Day on Sunday with a fresh vow to root out militancy from the country and build a happy prosperous 'Sonar Bangla' free from poverty.

On March 26, 1971, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared Bangladesh's independence following the crackdown on unarmed Bangalees on the midnight of March 25 by the Pakistani occupation forces. After a nine-month bloody War of Liberation, the people of the country achieved its cherished independence on December 16, 1971. The day was a public holiday.

Different socio-political organisations across the country remembered the war martyrs through various programmes. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid tributes to the martyrs of the Liberation War by placing wreaths at the National Mausoleum in Savar in the morning.The President was the first to place a wreath at the altar of the National Mausoleum at 5:57 am. He was immediately followed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. After placing the wreaths, the President and the Prime Minister stood in solemn silence there for some time as a mark of respect to the memories of the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War. A smartly turned-out contingent drawn from Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force presented a state salute on the occasion while the bugles played the last post.

Later, flanked by senior leaders of the party, Sheikh Hasina, also the President of Bangladesh Awami League, laid another wreath at the National Memorial on behalf of her party. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also paid rich tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman marking the day. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia also paid her tributes to the Liberation War martyrs placing a wreath at the National Mausoleum in the morning.

Teachers, students and employees of Dhaka University (DU), led by its Vice-chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, placed a wreath at the National Mausoleum in the morning.

Besides, special munajats were offered after Johr prayers in all mosques of DU while its Music Department arranged a cultural programme at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) in the evening on the occasion.




4 militants killed

Woman's body also found: Death toll 12: Operation continues

The anti-militant assault operation led by para-commando battalion of Bangladesh Army continued for the fourth consecutive day on Monday at Atia Mahal of Shibbari in Sylhet [top]. A commando is seen taking a child to a safe place after rescuing the baby f

Staff Reporter :

Fresh bodies of four suspected neo-JMB members, including a woman, were recovered from the militant den at Atia Mahal during the fourth day of the ongoing 'Operation Twilight' on Monday evening.



The death toll reached 12 with the recovery of four more bodies, Army spokesman Brigadier General Fakhrul Ahsan disclosed this in a press briefing at Shibbari in Sylhet city at 7:30pm yesterday.



Two bodies have already been handed over to the local police while two other bodies found lying with huge grenades and explosive at the militant den could not be handed over to the police considering the security issue, he said.



The Army spokesman could not ascertain the identities of the deceased militants.



The operation likely to be ended today (Tuesday) by handing over the responsibility to the police after taking full control on the militant hideout, he said.



Earlier, two of the militants inside were shot dead by Army commandos on Sunday while six persons, including two police officials died and 43 were injured in two separate blasts in Shibbari on Saturday evening, nearly 400 yards away from Atia Mahal in the city.



The identities of the militants could not be ascertained yet and it is unclear which group they belong to. However, unconfirmed sources say, they are members of New JMB.



The bodies of Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) Special Branch's Inspector Moniruzzaman, SMP court Inspector Chowdhury Abu Kawsar, South Surma Chhatra League leader Jannatul Fahim and City Chhatra League leader Ohidul Islam Opu were handed over to their family members after postmortem at MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital.



The bodies of suspected bombers Shahidul Islam and Khadim Shah were kept at MAG Osmani Medical College morgue, said Hospital Director Brigadier General Abdus Sabur Miah.



The Rapid Action Battalion Intelligence Chief Lieutenant Colonel Abul Kalam Azad was taken to Singapore for better treatment, said RAB Media Wing Director Mufti Mahmud Khan.



Earlier on Sunday evening, Brigadier General Fakhrul Ahsan said in a press briefing that the Para Commandos were taking time because of the high risk involved as the militants have planted a huge stash of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the building, mostly on the ground floor and the staircase.



"We have seen that two militants were killed. We assume there might be one or more militants in there," said Brig Gen Fakhrul Ahsan.



"They [militants] are well-trained and equipped," Fakhrul said, adding that the terrorists knew well how to make a place inaccessible. "That's why it is taking time to complete the operation." Explaining how well-trained the terrorists are, he said when the commandos charged grenades at the militants, they lobbed those back at the troops. The terrorists also lit fire to protect themselves from teargas.



This means, the militants are trained to cope with such military operations, the Army official said.



"We will finish it off," he said, but could not spell out how long it would take to end the standoff, which began around 1:30am on Friday when police first cordoned off the building in the city's Shibbari area.



Before the briefing, one police source said that there might be four to five militants, including a woman, inside the apartment, which has about 150 rooms in some 30 flats.



The army spokesman said that the entrance, ground floor and stairway of Atia Mahal were laden with IEDs. No military person has been injured in the operation so far.



"When the commandos fired tear gas shells inside the militants lit fires to diffuse the impact," he pointed out as an example. He also claimed that militants were able to protect army grandees and tear shells.



Asked if the troops faced any resistance, Fakhrul said the militants fired shots with small arms and threw explosives and IEDs.



The operation inside 'Atia Mahal', the militant den under raid reached over 90 hours yesterday evening as para-military commandos continued their efforts to capture the unidentified militants stationed inside, according to him.



Law enforcers have cordoned off nearly one square kilometer area surrounding the Atia Mahal and the local administration also issued section 144 around four square kilometers considering the security issue of people, said our local correspondent quoting the police.



According to police sources, the detective members of the law enforcing agencies are hunting for more hiding grenades, bombs, and explosives as well as militant hideouts focusing government establishments in Sylhet city and its adjacent areas.



Sub-Inspector of Moglabazar Police Station Shiplu Chowdhury filed two cases around 11:00pm on Sunday accusing unknown persons, our local correspondent reports quoting Khairul Fazal, Officer-in-Charge of Mogholabazar Police Station. One of the two cases was filed over killing six people and another filed under explosives act. The number of the accused was not mentioned in the cases, the OC said.



Earlier, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and security forces say they suspect a senior militant leader could be hiding inside Atia Mahal. Unconfirmed sources said New JMB leader Mainul Islam Musa was staying there with several other senior militant leaders of the banned outfit.



Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Haque issued a statement yesterday mourning regarding the death of two police officials. "They have sacrificed their lives for the nation. Their sacrifices will stand forever as an ideal for the police force," he said.



Namaz-e-Janaza of Inspectors Kawser and Monirul was held at Sylhet Metropolitan Police grounds around 2:00pm yesterday. Later they were laid to rest in their villages in Noakhali and Sunamganj districts respectively.

The building's owner, Ustar Ali, earlier said that a couple, Kauser Ali and Morjina Begum, rented a lower-storey flat three months ago.






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.
Hurricane Update: Fears arise that Gov. Ron DeSantis may reroute Hurricane Ian from Florida coast to Martha's Vineyard

Study: People who define themselves by what they stand against, are usually afraid to tell people what they stand for

Liz Cheney: Voters need to ask themselves, why they are so out of touch with their politicians

White House: IRS toy guns for children are now politically correct, mandatory

BREAKING: Biden's economic sanctions on the U.S. to be partially lifted prior to November election

GOP's new slogan for midterms: Make Dissent Patriotic Again

PSA: Due to high gas prices police departments will now be responding and making arrests via Zoom.

NYT: Roe vs Wade to be renamed the "Don't Say Fetus" law

Democrats insist on carrying unwanted presidency to term

Elon Musk went to bed thinking he owns Twitter. Then the mail-in ballots arrived at 2am...

Obama: "If you like your information you can keep your information"

Fact checkers reveal Biden handler not a real Easter bunny

Biden 2021: you'll save $0.16 on 4th of July BBQ!

Biden 2022: you'll save a ton of $$ if you don't eat this 4th of July!

Disney to buy Epstein Island for new theme park

The Biology Underground is like the Weather Underground, except they are real biologists and they've had to go underground

"Psssst. Hey you, kid. Ya wanna watch a Disney movie with me?"

"I am not suicidal," says COVID-19 after being contracted by Hillary Clinton

Trans-swimmer Lia Thomas's trophy is smaller than for male swimmers, and only 73% gold

Sources: U.S. now considers majority of U.S. citizens a threat to U.S.

BREAKING: Russian General claims he was beaten up outside Ukrainian bio lab by two Nazis who poured vodka and caviar over him and yelled "This is NATO Country!"

Global warming news: 100,000 Russian migrants fleeing climate change about to march into Ukraine

Future headline: Donald Trump to buy CNN for one dollar

Georgia Governor Stacy Abrams feels honored to be the new Supreme Court justice

President Biden: 'Vote for me or I'll shoot this foot'

Fact checkers give Pinocchio's speech four Bidens

Fauci: The only thing we have to fear, is a lack of fear itself!

Study: Most people have had sex more violent than January 6th

Facebook permanently bans Facebook from Facebook for violating Facebook community standards

New remake of the 1950's horror movie Them to be titled Them/They

Teachers Union: Idea that CRT is being taught in K-12 just a conspiracy theory by white supremacists trying to maintain their systemically racist police state

Xze/She/He who controls the past controls the future; Xze/She/He who controls the present controls the past

S ocialists vow to fight against Critical Socialism Theory

A more perfect Soviet Union: the Party pretends it unites us, and we pretend we are united

Biden solves border crisis with free direct flights from Central America to major metropolitan areas

Critical race theory: destroy the world of systemic racism, build a world of systemic race-baiting

In the future everyone will get canceled for fifteen minutes

Biden proposes bill to spend two trillion dollars on more money printing factories

Social unity: They pretend to hold elections and we pretend we voted

Immigrants to Texas and Florida from New York and California break down and cry when they realize all their sacrifices for a better tomorrow were based on lies

China anal swabs detect new 'silent but deadly' transmission of covid-19 variant

Social science breakthrough: 'White' is the new way of saying 'Bourgeois'

Biden administration swat teams make sweeping arrests of underground female-only track meets

'Green energy' to be renamed 'blackout energy' for easier comprehension of climate complexities

New children's game: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Science







Texas: Biden administration sends emergency wind turbines to help fight the blackouts

BREAKING: Biden signs executive order canceling the number 45

ATTENTION: It is your duty to report anyone who says this is no longer a free country. Fact-checking commissars are monitoring all state-approved social media platforms for your convenience

OUT: If you don't vote, you can't complain!

IN: If you didn't vote Democrat, you can't complain!

Social media justice: followers removed from pro-Trump accounts will be added to Biden's Twitter account

Fact check: a democratic election is the one in which votes are counted until Democrats win

JUST IN: China bans Twitter for being too totalitarian

Pelosi introduces new House rule to replace 'gender' terms like mother, daughter, father, son with the word 'comrade'; the only acceptable pronoun will also be 'comrade'





Sources: Biden transition team demands access to White House basement to begin renovations

BREAKING: President Trump pardons America for its past

Prime Minister Modi: to avoid accusations of racism India will change its name to Cleveland

Biden creates Antifascist Librarian Justice Committee; the first book scheduled for burning is Fahrenheit 451

Media study: 148% of Americans believe voter fraud doesn't exist

2020 Election forecast: if Joe Biden emerges from the basement on Election Day and sees his shadow, expect four more years of Trump

BREAKING: President Trump pardons Corn Pop

Toobin, though on administrative leave, is still pulling for Biden

Chinese whistleblower: Biden-20 was genetically engineered in a Wuhan lab

Nancy Pelosi sponsors a bill to create the office of removal of the President

New college humanities major: Critical Trump Studies

Opinion: Joe Biden is just an idea

CNN: Biden took a solid second place in the debate, while Trump only came next to last

Having ordered that all Californians switch to electric cars by 2035, Gov. Gavin Newsom follows up by mandating them to have electricity by 2035

Election 2020: Joe Biden pledges to a peaceful post-election transfer of power to George Soros

Out: Flatten the curve. In: Flatten the country.

Breaking: the Democrat Party has finished transitioning from being the party of JFK to being the party of Lee Harvey Oswald

Paradigm shift in Chromatics: Study shows Indigo (#3F00FF) mixed with Jamaic (#C0FF01) yields Black (#000000)

Study: the trouble with wokeism is eventually you run out of victims

Stacey Abrams refuses to concede to Harris; declares herself Biden's VP

Election 2020: Spunky former presidential candidate wins VP slot by a head

Churches in many states to hold services in opened up pubs and bars

Election 2020: Xi Jinping still undecided on vice president for Joe Biden

Reports: Republicans pounce on 'Republicans pounce' reports

Minneapolis launches online looting app to combat Covid-19

DNC study finds lockdowns no longer necessary as the economy is now being destroyed more effectively by looters and rioters

With America in lockdown, China offers to host Democrat primary

Bernie Sanders tests negative for President

In related news, Joe Biden follows other candidates in withdrawing from race and endorsing Joe Biden

New York Governor Cuomo shuts down all 'non-essential' business, surprised to find himself out of a job

Biden commits to picking a woman as running mate as long as she passes his sniff test

Joe Biden's coronavirus prevention tips: always rub hand sanitizer on young girls before sniffing and fondling them

Russian lawmakers warned that the American Democrats are meddling to re-elect Putin

Joe Biden promises lucrative board member jobs as door prizes to get people to his rallies

Democrats now worried they might even lose the illegal alien vote

Soleimani's remains FedExed back to Iran and now no one knows what happened to the box

BREAKING: massive search underway in Iran after Soleimani's boxed FedEx'd remains stolen off front porch

Liz Warren harshly critical of Biden's suggestion to coal miners that they should learn to code, offers to have them trained as romance novelists instead

Pelosi: "First we have to impeach Donald Trump before we can find out why we impeached him."

Schiff calls his Amazon Alexa to testify: 'She knows absolutely everything'

Iran answers to new Reagan statue in Berlin by erecting Obama statue at Tehran airport where he delivered pallets of cash

California accepts award for most progressive environmental policies; further progressive developments to be announced as blackouts permit

BREAKING: Romney DNA test reveals he is 1/1024th Republican

California Governor Gavin Newsom blames electricity blackouts on Ukrainian kulaks, vows revenge

Rat falling from White House ceiling fears for his life, begs reporters for protection, offers a tell-all memoir

Latest UN climate report shows this month so far has seen the scariest climate pronouncements on record

Climate science: there's no need for climate protests in China because China is already communist

Islamic clerics split on whether Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib should be traveling around the world without an accompanying male relative

Dem candidates call for the Beatles' song 'Get Back' and the 'White Album' to be banned; surviving two white guys of the group must pay reparations

Bond's number is up: next 007 will be a black woman, played by Barack Obama

NYT: moon landing was one small step for Man, one giant leap for White Male Supremacy

HURRICANE WATCH: Tropical storm Barry has records sealed, once offshore expected to change name to Barack

Trump politicizes the 4th of July, declares it henceforth to be called the 45th of July, or July the Trumpth

Barack Obama critical of Trump for failing to insert 'I, me, my' into his 4th of July speech: "very unpresidential!"

Congressional Democrats: John Dean's testimony proves Trump is Nixon in disguise and must be impeached

Bernie Sanders admits to being a millionaire, promises to eat himself if nominated

International Women's Day observed, women only paid 73% of attention afforded to men

Democrats: anti-Semitism means never having to say you're sorry

AOC: aborting babies helps preserve the planet for the next generation

Bernie Sanders launches presidential campaign, promises to "build a great big beautiful Iron Curtain" around America if elected

West Virginia renames itself Eastern Kentucky to avoid further embarrassment from Virginia

BREAKING: Justice Ginsburg released from hospital after breaking 3 ribs at late night bar brawl in Adams Morgan

DNA news: Senator Warren tanking in latest totem polls

Orwell studies: 84% of academics believe problems raised in 1984 can be fixed with solutions from Animal Farm

Progress in gender justice: online dating industry issues recommendations for men to wear body cameras, bring attorneys as chaperones

Study: the only people who don't know what socialism is are the socialists

Poll: 1 in 3 #FightFor15 activists believe movement is related to lowering the age of consent across America

CNN expert: Kavanaugh confirmation will increase global warming by 3 degrees

Harry Reid comes forth to say Judge Kavanaugh didn't pay any taxes in high school

Hollywood to America: If you've got a flag on the Moon, you didn't plant that; some other country made that happen

Protest march in straight jackets against Trump ends in chaos as participants try but fail to free themselves

HEADLINES YOU WILL NEVER SEE: California Gov. Jerry Brown single-handedly stops wildfires in his state by issuing an immediate statewide ban on wildfires

San Francisco closes all Planned Parenthood clinics after sting operation catches employees using plastic straws

Vegan mother undergoes experimental surgery to force her breasts to produce almond milk

With none of his emails answered, frustrated Nigerian man commits suicide and leaves $100bn fortune to charity

California gives new meaning to strawman argument as caped Strawman battles supervillains in restaurants, bars, and fast food joints

Violence increases in Mexico as cartels switch from smuggling drugs to plastic straws to San Francisco

Obama proposes a Paris Economic Change agreement among nations to address how world will cope with future runaway economic warming

Stormy Daniels plans border visit to give migrant children freebies

San Francisco: man dumping off 20 lbs of human waste in plastic bag on street corner cited for using non-biodegradable plastic bag

BREAKING: ICE renamed Planned Citizenship, immediately absolving it of all criticism

Senate Democrats demand Supreme Court nominee not be unduly influenced by U.S. Constitution

BREAKING: In 2018, Obama and Biden can finally celebrate Recovery Summer

IG Report: the FBI broke the law, but since there was no criminal intent, no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case

Pelosi on Trump's MS-13 "animals" comments: "Four legs good, two legs bad"

Iran nuclear talks set to resume between the United States and John Kerry

Report: The Mueller investigation has finally determined that the lyrics to Louie Louie are not about Trump and Russian collusion

MARKETS: Demand for carbon credits spikes as Hamas seeks to undo damage to Earth's atmosphere caused by burning 10,000 tires on Gaza border

BREAKING: After state reassignment surgery Pennsylvania will henceforth be known as Transylvania

Experts: If we don't act now, unicorns will be extinct in just ten years. Children will ask, "Mommy, what's a unicorn?" Women and minorities will be forced to seek alternative hallucinations

Korean war must continue: Hawaiian federal judge declares Trump's peace effort unconstitutional

New York: feminists march on Broadway, demand the street be given new, non-misogynistic name

Experts: California's planned transition of all state jobs from citizens to illegal aliens by 2020 will help to avoid bankruptcy and save money for social programs for illegal aliens

Putin: If I didn't want Hillary to be president she would be dead

Doritos maker PepsiCo to introduce snack line for women; new Doritas chips will be 77% as big as Doritos and won't make any scary 'crunchy noises'

TMZ: Tooth Fairy accused of sexually assaulting millions of children, outs self as Transgendered Tooth Recovery Specialist

RUSSIA COLLUSION: Trump offers Putin to trade Rep. Maxine Waters for two unnamed members of the State Duma

Ikea founder dead at 91; his coffin arrived in a box with confusing instructions and took 3 hours to assemble

This Thanksgiving ex-president Obama continues with his tradition of apologizing to turkeys everywhere for the injustice they suffered since America's founding

Oslo, Norway: 2017 Nobel Peace Prize goes to advocacy group about which you'll forget immediately after reading this headline

Cambridge, MA, library to replace racist 'Cat in the Hat' with inclusive 'Che in a Beret'

Millions of men worldwide eagerly await broadcast of Hugh Hefner's funeral, solely for the articles

Bill Gates offers to pay for Trump's wall on condition he gets to install Windows

Bernie Sanders introduces single-payer public transportation bill to end America's unequal, unfair, and expensive private transportation system

DNC embroiled in controversy after official Twitter account accidentally 'likes' pictures of US Constitution and Bill of Rights

Hurricane Irma hits Cuba, causes millions of dollars worth of improvements to property and infrastructure

Climate study: extreme weather may be caused by unlicensed witches casting wrong spells in well-meaning effort to destroy Trump

Ex-president Obama declares Irma "Hurricane of Peace," urges not to jump to conclusions and succumb to stormophobia

CNN: Trump reverses Obama's executive order banning hurricanes

ISIS claims responsibility for a total solar eclipse over the lands of American crusaders and nonbelievers

When asked if they could point to North Korea on a map many college students didn't know what a map was

CNN: We must bring America into the 21st century by replacing the 18th century Constitution with 19th century poetry

Pelosi: 'We have to impeach the president in order to find out what we impeached him for'

BREAKING: As of Saturday July 8, 2017, all of Earth's ecosystems have shut down as per Prince Charles's super scientific pronouncement made 96 months ago. Everything is dead. All is lost. Life on Earth is no more.

DNC to pick new election slogan out of four finalists: 'Give us more government or everyone dies,' 'Vote for Democrats or everyone dies,' 'Impeach Trump or everyone dies,' 'Stop the fearmongering or everyone dies'

Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" is humanity's last chance to save the Earth before it ends five years ago

Experts: The more we embrace diversity the more everything is the same

BOMBSHELL: TMZ offers Kathy Griffin $5 mil to keep any future sex tape private

DEVELOPING: CNN, WaPo, NYT anonymous sources say Vladimir Putin may have ties to Russia

BREAKING: Manning and Snowden have come out with strong condemnation of Donald Trump leaking classified information to Russia

Gun store goes into lockdown over report an "active university professor" roving the grounds

Dozens injured at Ralph Lauren & Louis Vuitton headquarters after Ivanka calls in missile strikes on rival fashion houses

BOMBSHELL: Evidence proves Donald Trump conspired with his campaign to defeat Hillary Clinton

University ranked "very intolerant of free speech" fights the accusation by banning the study and all involved

Concerned that Russians don't consume enough alcohol in the month of March, Russia's Orthodox Church makes St. Patrick's Day official holiday

Grassroots group calls for "The Million Regulators March" on Washington, supported by all who fear the loss of their betters telling them what to do

Experts: Starbucks CEO Schultz's hiring of 10,000 Muslim refugees likely to blow up in his face

Will the groundprog be frightened by its own shadow and hide - or will there be another season of insane protests?

Trump signs executive order making California and New York national monuments; residents have two days to vacate

Women's March against fascism completed with 400,000 fewer deaths than anticipated

Feminist historians uncover ghastly concentration camps where so-called "housewives" were forced to live inauthentic lives slaving away in kitchens

Dictionary of the future: Global Warming was a popular computer simulation game, where the only way to win was not to play

"Anti-fascist" groups violently protest misspelling of their original name, "aren't-we-fascists"

Post-inauguration blues: millions of democrats distraught as the reality of having to find real jobs sets in

"Journalism is the continuation of war by other means" is exposed as a fake quote by mainstream media journalists

Congressional Democrats: "We cannot just simply replace Obamacare with freedom because then millions of Americans will suddenly become free"

Schoolchildren jailed for building only white snowmen

Obama's reckless attacks on Russia serve as recruitment tool to create more Russian hackers

Hillary: "I lost, so I'm going to follow our democratic traditions, poison the wells, and scorch the earth"

Children in Venezuela cook and eat their Christmas toys

Hillary: "I can hack Russia from my bathroom"

Hillary suggests to counter "fake news" with government newspaper called "Truth" ("Pravda" for Russian speakers)

BREAKING: Millions of uncounted votes found on Hillary's private voting machine in her Chappaqua bathroom

New York Times: Fidel Castro world's sexiest corpse

After years of trial and error, CIA finally succeeds with the "waiting it out" technique on Fidel Castro

Post-election shopping tip: look for the PoliticsFree label at your local grocer to make sure you don't buy from companies that don't want your business anymore

In Hillary's America, email server scrubs you

Obama transfers his Nobel Peace Prize to anti-Trump rioters

Democrats blame Hillary's criminal e-mail server for her loss, demand it face prison

Afraid of "dangerous" Trump presidency, protesters pre-emptively burn America down to the ground

Clinton Foundation in foreclosure as foreign donors demand refunds

Hillary Clinton blames YouTube video for unexpected and spontaneous voter uprising that prevented her inevitable move into the White House

Sudden rise in sea levels explained by disproportionately large tears shed by climate scientists in the aftermath of Trump's electoral victory

FBI director Comey delighted after receiving Nobel Prize for Speed Reading (650,000 emails in one week)

U.N. deploys troops to American college campuses in order to combat staggeringly low rape rates

Responding to Trump's surging poll numbers, Obama preemptively pardons himself for treason

Following hurricane Matthew's failure to devastate Florida, activists flock to the Sunshine State and destroy Trump signs manually

Tim Kaine takes credit for interrupting hurricane Matthew while debating weather in Florida

Study: Many non-voters still undecided on how they're not going to vote

The Evolution of Dissent: on November 8th the nation is to decide whether dissent will stop being racist and become sexist - or it will once again be patriotic as it was for 8 years under George W. Bush

Venezuela solves starvation problem by making it mandatory to buy food

Breaking: the Clinton Foundation set to investigate the FBI

Obama captures rare Pokemon while visiting Hiroshima

Movie news: 'The Big Friendly Giant Government' flops at box office; audiences say "It's creepy"

Barack Obama: "If I had a son, he'd look like Micah Johnson"

White House edits Orlando 911 transcript to say shooter pledged allegiance to NRA and Republican Party

President George Washington: 'Redcoats do not represent British Empire; King George promotes a distorted version of British colonialism'

Following Obama's 'Okie-Doke' speech, stock of Okie-Doke soars; NASDAQ: 'Obama best Okie-Doke salesman'

Weaponized baby formula threatens Planned Parenthood office; ACLU demands federal investigation of Gerber

Experts: melting Antarctic glacier could cause sale levels to rise up to 80% off select items by this weekend

Travel advisory: airlines now offering flights to front of TSA line

As Obama instructs his administration to get ready for presidential transition, Trump preemptively purchases 'T' keys for White House keyboards

John Kasich self-identifies as GOP primary winner, demands access to White House bathroom

Upcoming Trump/Kelly interview on FoxNews sponsored by 'Let's Make a Deal' and 'The Price is Right'

News from 2017: once the evacuation of Lena Dunham and 90% of other Hollywood celebrities to Canada is confirmed, Trump resigns from presidency: "My work here is done"

Non-presidential candidate Paul Ryan pledges not to run for president in new non-presidential non-ad campaign

Trump suggests creating 'Muslim database'; Obama symbolically protests by shredding White House guest logs beginning 2009

National Enquirer: John Kasich's real dad was the milkman, not mailman

National Enquirer: Bound delegates from Colorado, Wyoming found in Ted Cruzs basement

Iran breaks its pinky-swear promise not to support terrorism; US State Department vows rock-paper-scissors strategic response

Women across the country cheer as racist Democrat president on $20 bill is replaced by black pro-gun Republican

Federal Reserve solves budget crisis by writing itself a 20-trillion-dollar check

Widows, orphans claim responsibility for Brussels airport bombing

Che Guevara's son hopes Cuba's communism will rub off on US, proposes a long list of people the government should execute first

Susan Sarandon: "I don't vote with my vagina." Voters in line behind her still suspicious, use hand sanitizer

Campaign memo typo causes Hillary to court 'New Black Panties' vote

New Hampshire votes for socialist Sanders, changes state motto to "Live FOR Free or Die"

Martin O'Malley drops out of race after Iowa Caucus; nation shocked with revelation he has been running for president

Statisticians: one out of three Bernie Sanders supporters is just as dumb as the other two

Hillary campaign denies accusations of smoking-gun evidence in her emails, claims they contain only smoking-circumstantial-gun evidence

Obama stops short of firing US Congress upon realizing the difficulty of assembling another group of such tractable yes-men

In effort to contol wild passions for violent jihad, White House urges gun owners to keep their firearms covered in gun burkas

TV horror live: A Charlie Brown Christmas gets shot up on air by Mohammed cartoons

Democrats vow to burn the country down over Ted Cruz statement, 'The overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats'

Russia's trend to sign bombs dropped on ISIS with "This is for Paris" found response in Obama administration's trend to sign American bombs with "Return to sender"

University researchers of cultural appropriation quit upon discovery that their research is appropriation from a culture that created universities

Archeologists discover remains of what Barack Obama has described as unprecedented, un-American, and not-who-we-are immigration screening process in Ellis Island

Mizzou protests lead to declaring entire state a "safe space," changing Missouri motto to "The don't show me state"

Green energy fact: if we put all green energy subsidies together in one-dollar bills and burn them, we could generate more electricity than has been produced by subsidized green energy

State officials improve chances of healthcare payouts by replacing ObamaCare with state lottery

NASA's new mission to search for racism, sexism, and economic inequality in deep space suffers from race, gender, and class power struggles over multibillion-dollar budget

College progress enforcement squads issue schematic humor charts so students know if a joke may be spontaneously laughed at or if regulations require other action

ISIS opens suicide hotline for US teens depressed by climate change and other progressive doomsday scenarios

Virginia county to close schools after teacher asks students to write 'death to America' in Arabic

'Wear hijab to school day' ends with spontaneous female circumcision and stoning of a classmate during lunch break

ISIS releases new, even more barbaric video in an effort to regain mantle from Planned Parenthood

Impressed by Fox News stellar rating during GOP debates, CNN to use same formula on Democrat candidates asking tough, pointed questions about Republicans

Shocking new book explores pros and cons of socialism, discovers they are same people

Pope outraged by Planned Parenthood's "unfettered capitalism," demands equal redistribution of baby parts to each according to his need

John Kerry accepts Iran's "Golden Taquiyya" award, requests jalapenos on the side

Citizens of Pluto protest US government's surveillance of their planetoid and its moons with New Horizons space drone

John Kerry proposes 3-day waiting period for all terrorist nations trying to acquire nuclear weapons

Chicago Police trying to identify flag that caused nine murders and 53 injuries in the city this past weekend

Cuba opens to affordable medical tourism for Americans who can't afford Obamacare deductibles

State-funded research proves existence of Quantum Aggression Particles (Heterons) in Large Hadron Collider

Student job opportunities: make big bucks this summer as Hillarys Ordinary-American; all expenses paid, travel, free acting lessons

Experts debate whether Iranian negotiators broke John Kerry's leg or he did it himself to get out of negotiations

Junior Varsity takes Ramadi, advances to quarterfinals

US media to GOP pool of candidates: 'Knowing what we know now, would you have had anything to do with the founding of the United States?'

NY Mayor to hold peace talks with rats, apologize for previous Mayor's cowboy diplomacy

China launches cube-shaped space object with a message to aliens: "The inhabitants of Earth will steal your intellectual property, copy it, manufacture it in sweatshops with slave labor, and sell it back to you at ridiculously low prices"

Progressive scientists: Truth is a variable deduced by subtracting 'what is' from 'what ought to be'

Experts agree: Hillary Clinton best candidate to lessen percentage of Americans in top 1%

America's attempts at peace talks with the White House continue to be met with lies, stalling tactics, and bad faith

Starbucks new policy to talk race with customers prompts new hashtag #DontHoldUpTheLine

Hillary: DELETE is the new RESET

Charlie Hebdo receives Islamophobe 2015 award; the cartoonists could not be reached for comment due to their inexplicable, illogical deaths

Russia sends 'reset' button back to Hillary: 'You need it now more than we do'

Barack Obama finds out from CNN that Hillary Clinton spent four years being his Secretary of State

President Obama honors Leonard Nimoy by taking selfie in front of Starship Enterprise

Police: If Obama had a convenience store, it would look like Obama Express Food Market

Study finds stunning lack of racial, gender, and economic diversity among middle-class white males

NASA: We're 80% sure about being 20% sure about being 17% sure about being 38% sure about 2014 being the hottest year on record

People holding '$15 an Hour Now' posters sue Democratic party demanding raise to $15 an hour for rendered professional protesting services

Cuba-US normalization: US tourists flock to see Cuba before it looks like the US and Cubans flock to see the US before it looks like Cuba

White House describes attacks on Sony Pictures as 'spontaneous hacking in response to offensive video mocking Juche and its prophet'

CIA responds to Democrat calls for transparency by releasing the director's cut of The Making Of Obama's Birth Certificate

Obama: 'If I had a city, it would look like Ferguson'

Biden: 'If I had a Ferguson (hic), it would look like a city'

Obama signs executive order renaming 'looters' to 'undocumented shoppers'

Ethicists agree: two wrongs do make a right so long as Bush did it first

The aftermath of the 'War on Women 2014' finds a new 'Lost Generation' of disillusioned Democrat politicians, unable to cope with life out of office

White House: Republican takeover of the Senate is a clear mandate from the American people for President Obama to rule by executive orders

Nurse Kaci Hickox angrily tells reporters that she won't change her clocks for daylight savings time

Democratic Party leaders in panic after recent poll shows most Democratic voters think 'midterm' is when to end pregnancy

Desperate Democratic candidates plead with Obama to stop backing them and instead support their GOP opponents

Ebola Czar issues five-year plan with mandatory quotas of Ebola infections per each state based on voting preferences

Study: crony capitalism is to the free market what the Westboro Baptist Church is to Christianity

Fun facts about world languages: the Left has more words for statism than the Eskimos have for snow

African countries to ban all flights from the United States because "Obama is incompetent, it scares us"

Nobel Peace Prize controversy: Hillary not nominated despite having done even less than Obama to deserve it

Obama: 'Ebola is the JV of viruses'

BREAKING: Secret Service foils Secret Service plot to protect Obama

Revised 1st Amendment: buy one speech, get the second free

Sharpton calls on white NFL players to beat their women in the interests of racial fairness

President Obama appoints his weekly approval poll as new national security adviser

Obama wags pen and phone at Putin; Europe offers support with powerful pens and phones from NATO members

White House pledges to embarrass ISIS back to the Stone Age with a barrage of fearsome Twitter messages and fatally ironic Instagram photos

Obama to fight ISIS with new federal Terrorist Regulatory Agency

Obama vows ISIS will never raise their flag over the eighteenth hole

Harry Reid: "Sometimes I say the wong thing"

Elian Gonzalez wishes he had come to the U.S. on a bus from Central America like all the other kids

Obama visits US-Mexican border, calls for a two-state solution

Obama draws "blue line" in Iraq after Putin took away his red crayon

"Hard Choices," a porno flick loosely based on Hillary Clinton's memoir and starring Hillary Hellfire as a drinking, whoring Secretary of State, wildly outsells the flabby, sagging original

Accusations of siding with the enemy leave Sgt. Bergdahl with only two options: pursue a doctorate at Berkley or become a Senator from Massachusetts

Jay Carney stuck in line behind Eric Shinseki to leave the White House; estimated wait time from 15 min to 6 weeks

100% of scientists agree that if man-made global warming were real, "the last people we'd want to help us is the Obama administration"

Jay Carney says he found out that Obama found out that he found out that Obama found out that he found out about the latest Obama administration scandal on the news

"Anarchy Now!" meeting turns into riot over points of order, bylaws, and whether or not 'kicking the #^@&*! ass' of the person trying to speak is or is not violence

Obama retaliates against Putin by prohibiting unionized federal employees from dating hot Russian girls online during work hours

Russian separatists in Ukraine riot over an offensive YouTube video showing the toppling of Lenin statues

"Free Speech Zones" confuse Obamaphone owners who roam streets in search of additional air minutes

Obamacare bolsters employment for professionals with skills to convert meth back into sudafed

Gloves finally off: Obama uses pen and phone to cancel Putin's Netflix account

Joe Biden to Russia: "We will bury you by turning more of Eastern Europe over to your control!"

In last-ditch effort to help Ukraine, Obama deploys Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jackson's Rainbow Coalition to Crimea

Al Sharpton: "Not even Putin can withstand our signature chanting, 'racist, sexist, anti-gay, Russian army go away'!"

Mardi Gras in North Korea: "Throw me some food!"

Obama's foreign policy works: "War, invasion, and conquest are signs of weakness; we've got Putin right where we want him"

US offers military solution to Ukraine crisis: "We will only fight countries that have LGBT military"

Putin annexes Brighton Beach to protect ethnic Russians in Brooklyn, Obama appeals to UN and EU for help

The 1980s: "Mr. Obama, we're just calling to ask if you want our foreign policy back. The 1970s are right here with us, and they're wondering, too."

In a stunning act of defiance, Obama courageously unfriends Putin on Facebook

MSNBC: Obama secures alliance with Austro-Hungarian Empire against Russias aggression in Ukraine

Study: springbreak is to STDs what April 15th is to accountants

Efforts to achieve moisture justice for California thwarted by unfair redistribution of snow in America

North Korean voters unanimous: "We are the 100%"

Leader of authoritarian gulag-site, The People's Cube, unanimously 're-elected' with 100% voter turnout

Super Bowl: Obama blames Fox News for Broncos' loss

Feminist author slams gay marriage: "a man needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle"

Beverly Hills campaign heats up between Henry Waxman and Marianne Williamson over the widening income gap between millionaires and billionaires in their district

Biden to lower $10,000-a-plate Dinner For The Homeless to $5,000 so more homeless can attend

Kim becomes world leader, feeds uncle to dogs; Obama eats dogs, becomes world leader, America cries uncle

North Korean leader executes own uncle for talking about Obamacare at family Christmas party

White House hires part-time schizophrenic Mandela sign interpreter to help sell Obamacare

Kim Jong Un executes own "crazy uncle" to keep him from ruining another family Christmas

OFA admits its advice for area activists to give Obamacare Talk at shooting ranges was a bad idea

President resolves Obamacare debacle with executive order declaring all Americans equally healthy

Obama to Iran: "If you like your nuclear program, you can keep your nuclear program"

Bovine community outraged by flatulence coming from Washington DC

Obama: "I'm not particularly ideological; I believe in a good pragmatic five-year plan"

Shocker: Obama had no knowledge he'd been reelected until he read about it in the local newspaper last week

Server problems at HealthCare.gov so bad, it now flashes 'Error 808' message

NSA marks National Best Friend Day with official announcement: "Government is your best friend; we know you like no one else, we're always there, we're always willing to listen"

Al Qaeda cancels attack on USA citing launch of Obamacare as devastating enough

The President's latest talking point on Obamacare: "I didn't build that"

Dizzy with success, Obama renames his wildly popular healthcare mandate to HillaryCare

Carney: huge ObamaCare deductibles won't look as bad come hyperinflation

Washington Redskins drop 'Washington' from their name as offensive to most Americans

Poll: 83% of Americans favor cowboy diplomacy over rodeo clown diplomacy

GOVERNMENT WARNING: If you were able to complete ObamaCare form online, it wasn't a legitimate gov't website; you should report online fraud and change all your passwords

Obama administration gets serious, threatens Syria with ObamaCare

Obama authorizes the use of Vice President Joe Biden's double-barrel shotgun to fire a couple of blasts at Syria

Sharpton: "British royals should have named baby 'Trayvon.' By choosing 'George' they sided with white Hispanic racist Zimmerman"

DNC launches 'Carlos Danger' action figure; proceeds to fund a charity helping survivors of the Republican War on Women

Nancy Pelosi extends abortion rights to the birds and the bees

Hubble discovers planetary drift to the left

Obama: 'If I had a daughter-in-law, she would look like Rachael Jeantel'

FISA court rubberstamps statement denying its portrayal as government's rubber stamp

Every time ObamaCare gets delayed, a Julia somewhere dies

GOP to Schumer: 'Force full implementation of ObamaCare before 2014 or Dems will never win another election'

Obama: 'If I had a son... no, wait, my daughter can now marry a woman!'

Janet Napolitano: TSA findings reveal that since none of the hijackers were babies, elderly, or Tea Partiers, 9/11 was not an act of terrorism

News Flash: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) can see Canada from South Dakota

Susan Rice: IRS actions against tea parties caused by anti-tax YouTube video that was insulting to their faith

Drudge Report reduces font to fit all White House scandals onto one page

Obama: the IRS is a constitutional right, just like the Second Amendment

White House: top Obama officials using secret email accounts a result of bad IT advice to avoid spam mail from Nigeria

Jay Carney to critics: 'Pinocchio never said anything inconsistent'

Obama: If I had a gay son, he'd look like Jason Collins

Gosnell's office in Benghazi raided by the IRS: mainstream media's worst cover-up challenge to date

IRS targeting pro-gay-marriage LGBT groups leads to gayest tax revolt in U.S. history

After Arlington Cemetery rejects offer to bury Boston bomber, Westboro Babtist Church steps up with premium front lawn plot

Boston: Obama Administration to reclassify marathon bombing as 'sportsplace violence'

Study: Success has many fathers but failure becomes a government program

US Media: Can Pope Francis possibly clear up Vatican bureaucracy and banking without blaming the previous administration?

Michelle Obama praises weekend rampage by Chicago teens as good way to burn calories and stay healthy

This Passover, Obama urges his subjects to paint lamb's blood above doors in order to avoid the Sequester



White House to American children: Sequester causes layoffs among hens that lay Easter eggs; union-wage Easter Bunnies to be replaced by Mexican Chupacabras

Time Mag names Hugo Chavez world's sexiest corpse

Boy, 8, pretends banana is gun, makes daring escape from school

Study: Free lunches overpriced, lack nutrition

Oscars 2013: Michelle Obama announces long-awaited merger of Hollywood and the State

Joe Salazar defends the right of women to be raped in gun-free environment: 'rapists and rapees should work together to prevent gun violence for the common good'

Dept. of Health and Human Services eliminates rape by reclassifying assailants as 'undocumented sex partners'

Kremlin puts out warning not to photoshop Putin riding meteor unless bare-chested

Deeming football too violent, Obama moves to introduce Super Drone Sundays instead

Japan offers to extend nuclear umbrella to cover U.S. should America suffer devastating attack on its own defense spending

Feminists organize one billion women to protest male oppression with one billion lap dances

Urban community protests Mayor Bloomberg's ban on extra-large pop singers owning assault weapons

Concerned with mounting death toll, Taliban offers to send peacekeeping advisers to Chicago

Karl Rove puts an end to Tea Party with new 'Republicans For Democrats' strategy aimed at losing elections

Answering public skepticism, President Obama authorizes unlimited drone attacks on all skeet targets throughout the country

Skeet Ulrich denies claims he had been shot by President but considers changing his name to 'Traps'

White House releases new exciting photos of Obama standing, sitting, looking thoughtful, and even breathing in and out

New York Times hacked by Chinese government, Paul Krugman's economic policies stolen

White House: when President shoots skeet, he donates the meat to food banks that feed the middle class

To prove he is serious, Obama eliminates armed guard protection for President, Vice-President, and their families; establishes Gun-Free Zones around them instead

State Dept to send 100,000 American college students to China as security for US debt obligations

Jay Carney: Al Qaeda is on the run, they're just running forward

President issues executive orders banning cliffs, ceilings, obstructions, statistics, and other notions that prevent us from moving forwards and upward

Fearing the worst, Obama Administration outlaws the fan to prevent it from being hit by certain objects

World ends; S&P soars

Riddle of universe solved; answer not understood

Meek inherit Earth, can't afford estate taxes

Greece abandons Euro; accountants find Greece has no Euros anyway

Wheel finally reinvented; axles to be gradually reinvented in 3rd quarter of 2013

Bigfoot found in Ohio, mysteriously not voting for Obama

As Santa's workshop files for bankruptcy, Fed offers bailout in exchange for control of 'naughty and nice' list

Freak flying pig accident causes bacon to fly off shelves

Obama: green economy likely to transform America into a leading third world country of the new millennium

Report: President Obama to visit the United States in the near future

Obama promises to create thousands more economically neutral jobs

Modernizing Islam: New York imam proposes to canonize Saul Alinsky as religion's latter day prophet

Imam Rauf's peaceful solution: 'Move Ground Zero a few blocks away from the mosque and no one gets hurt'

Study: Obama's threat to burn tax money in Washington 'recruitment bonanza' for Tea Parties

Study: no Social Security reform will be needed if gov't raises retirement age to at least 814 years

Obama attends church service, worships self

Obama proposes national 'Win The Future' lottery; proceeds of new WTF Powerball to finance more gov't spending

Historical revisionists: "Hey, you never know"

Vice President Biden: criticizing Egypt is un-pharaoh

Israelis to Egyptian rioters: "don't damage the pyramids, we will not rebuild"

Lake Superior renamed Lake Inferior in spirit of tolerance and inclusiveness

Al Gore: It's a shame that a family can be torn apart by something as simple as a pack of polar bears

Michael Moore: As long as there is anyone with money to shake down, this country is not broke

Obama's teleprompters unionize, demand collective bargaining rights

Obama calls new taxes 'spending reductions in tax code.' Elsewhere rapists tout 'consent reductions in sexual intercourse'

Obama's teleprompter unhappy with White House Twitter: "Too few words"

Obama's Regulation Reduction committee finds US Constitution to be expensive outdated framework inefficiently regulating federal gov't

Taking a page from the Reagan years, Obama announces new era of Perestroika and Glasnost

Responding to Oslo shootings, Obama declares Christianity "Religion of Peace," praises "moderate Christians," promises to send one into space

Republicans block Obama's $420 billion program to give American families free charms that ward off economic bad luck

White House to impose Chimney tax on Santa Claus

Obama decrees the economy is not soaring as much as previously decreeed

Conservative think tank introduces children to capitalism with pop-up picture book "The Road to Smurfdom"

Al Gore proposes to combat Global Warming by extracting silver linings from clouds in Earth's atmosphere

Obama refutes charges of him being unresponsive to people's suffering: "When you pray to God, do you always hear a response?"

Obama regrets the US government didn't provide his mother with free contraceptives when she was in college

Fluke to Congress: drill, baby, drill!

Planned Parenthood introduces Frequent Flucker reward card: 'Come again soon!'

Obama to tornado victims: 'We inherited this weather from the previous administration'

Obama congratulates Putin on Chicago-style election outcome

People's Cube gives itself Hero of Socialist Labor medal in recognition of continued expert advice provided to the Obama Administration helping to shape its foreign and domestic policies

Hamas: Israeli air defense unfair to 99% of our missiles, "only 1% allowed to reach Israel"

Democrat strategist: without government supervision, women would have never evolved into humans

Voters Without Borders oppose Texas new voter ID law

Enraged by accusation that they are doing Obama's bidding, media leaders demand instructions from White House on how to respond

Obama blames previous Olympics for failure to win at this Olympics

Official: China plans to land on Moon or at least on cheap knockoff thereof

Koran-Contra: Obama secretly arms Syrian rebels

Poll: Progressive slogan 'We should be more like Europe' most popular with members of American Nazi Party

Obama to Evangelicals: Jesus saves, I just spend

May Day: Anarchists plan, schedule, synchronize, and execute a coordinated campaign against all of the above

Midwestern farmers hooked on new erotic novel "50 Shades of Hay"

Study: 99% of Liberals give the rest a bad name

Obama meets with Jewish leaders, proposes deeper circumcisions for the rich

Historians: Before HOPE & CHANGE there was HEMP & CHOOM at ten bucks a bag

Cancer once again fails to cure Venezuela of its "President for Life"

Tragic spelling error causes Muslim protesters to burn local boob-tube factory

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu: due to energy conservation, the light at the end of the tunnel will be switched off

Obama Administration running food stamps across the border with Mexico in an operation code-named "Fat And Furious"

Pakistan explodes in protest over new Adobe Acrobat update; 17 local acrobats killed

White House: "Let them eat statistics"

Special Ops: if Benedict Arnold had a son, he would look like Barack Obama







AD GOES HERE
CARBONDALE  One of the four men accused of being involved in the Easter 2016 shooting incident that resulted in the death of local musician Tim Beaty has pleaded guilty.

Dwayne John Dunn Jr., 21, of St. Louis, entered an open plea of guilty to reckless discharge of a firearm, a Class 4 felony, in Jackson County Circuit Court on Monday, a year to the day after the incident occurred.

Dunn was charged with firing a Smith & Wesson handgun into the air in a populated neighborhood in Carbondale on March 27, 2016, endangering the safety of those standing nearby.

The felony carries a maximum penalty of three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by one year of mandatory supervised release, or up to 30 months of probation or conditional discharge.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. May 24.

John Ingram and Travis Tyler, both 22 and of Cape Girardeau, are charged with first-degree murder in the same incident, and have pleaded not guilty to those charges. A jury trial for the two is set to begin in June.

The Jackson County State's Attorney's Office has said in previous news releases that Tyler and Ingram are accused of firing at Nehemiah Greenlee, who was injured in the incident, thereby causing the death of Beaty, who police said was an uninvolved bystander who was shot inside his residence next door to where the altercation took place. Dunn's lawyer said previously he shot his gun into the air to disperse the fight.

A fourth suspect in the incident, Daniel D. Holmes, 22, of Carbondale, remains at large.
DigitalVision/Thinkstock(HOUSTON)  An organization representing the Indian-American community of Houston honored the man who was shot last month while trying to protect two Indian men who were targeted in a suspected hate crime.



India House Houston, a non-profit organization based in Houston, Texas, called Ian Grillot a "genuine hero" and awarded him with $100,000 on Saturday for intervening in a deadly shooting at a bar in Kansas.



"It is not always that we get an opportunity to meet a genuine hero  a person who risks his life for another, a person who takes a bullet for a complete stranger, a man who reminds us of the promise of America and its greatness. Ian Grillot is such a man," the organization said in a video posted on its Facebook page on Monday.



The organization honored Grillot during its 14th Annual Gala on Saturday. India House Houston said the money would help him to buy a house.



Grillot, 24, was shot while trying to stop a gunman who witnesses said yelled "get out of my country" before shooting two Indian men at a bar in Olathe, Kansas, last month, killing one.



Adam Purinton, a 51-year-old Navy veteran and former air traffic controller, is being charged with murder and attempted murder in the shooting that killed Srinivas Kuchibhotla and wounded Alok Madasani, both 32-year-old employees of the technology company Garmin.



Authorities are investigating if the shooting was a hate crime.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
CARBONDALE  Large majorities of Illinois voters support marijuana decriminalization and legalization for recreational use, according to the results of the latest poll from Southern Illinois University Carbondales Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.

Seventy-four percent of voters support or strongly support decriminalizing marijuana where people in possession of small amounts for personal consumption would not be prosecuted but may be fined. Twenty-one percent oppose or strongly oppose decriminalization and 5 percent answered otherwise.

In 2016, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a law decriminalizing up to 10 grams of marijuana. Under the new law, people caught with up to 10 grams can face fines of $100 to $200 and potential municipal penalties, instead of facing a Class B misdemeanor and potentially six months in jail and $1,500 in fines under previous law.

Support is also strong for legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Sixty-six percent of voters support or strongly support legalization of recreational marijuana if it is taxed and regulated like alcohol. A notable 45 percent of voters strongly support legalization. Only 31 percent of voters oppose or strongly oppose and 3 percent answered otherwise.

Will Illinois be the next state to legalize recreational pot? SPRINGFIELD  Marijuana advocates are trying to lay the groundwork for Illinois to become th

Bills introduced in the Illinois House and Senate last week would allow residents 21 and older to possess, buy and grow up to an ounce of marijuana. The legislation would also regulate and allow businesses to sell marijuana products. There are no plans to move the legislation forward in the current session, according to The Associated Press.

Illinois voters are growing increasingly comfortable with the idea of decriminalizing marijuana and we now have evidence that most see it as a potential revenue source for the state, Jak Tichenor, institute interim director, said in a news release.

A March 2016 Simon Poll showed 51 percent opposed recreational use of marijuana while 45 percent approved. When coupled with the idea of regulating and taxing it like alcohol, this years poll showed a 21 percent increase in the number of people who approve recreational use.

Strong support for decriminalization across demographics

In Chicago, 80 percent of voters support or strongly support decriminalization, statistically the same as their neighbors in suburban Cook and the collar counties who support or strongly support at 79 percent. In the rural regions outside Cook and the collar counties, 63 percent of voters supported or strongly supported decriminalization. Opposition or strong opposition by voters in Chicago is 16 percent, in suburban Cook and collar counties is 17 percent, and 31 percent outside Cook and the collar counties.

Among Democrats, Republicans and independents, Democrats support is strongest with 81 percent stating they support or strongly support decriminalization. Only 15 percent of Democrats oppose or strongly oppose decriminalization and 4 percent answered otherwise. Independent voters followed Democrats with 76 percent of independents supporting or strongly supporting decriminalization and 17 percent opposing or strongly opposing. Sixty-six percent of Republicans support or strongly support decriminalization and 30 percent oppose or strongly oppose.

Illinois voters younger than 35 show the most approval with 83 percent supporting or strongly supporting decriminalization. Fifteen percent are opposed. Voters 35 to 50 years old support or strongly support at 81 percent, and oppose or strongly oppose at 15 percent. Seventy-seven percent of 51- to 65-year-old voters support or strongly support decriminalization. Nineteen percent oppose or strongly oppose. Sixty-seven percent of baby boomers and the greatest generation 66 and older support or strongly support decriminalization while 28 percent oppose or strongly oppose.

These data show that virtually all Illinoisans have opinions on cannabis decriminalization and legalization. Few people seem indifferent on these issues, Delio Calzolari, associate institute director and one of the poll designers, said in the release. A vast majority appears to philosophically agree with decriminalization like the steps taken last year, although the definition of decriminalization and amounts in question are debatable. There is also overwhelming support for new cannabis public policy for recreational use shown.

Support for legalization of recreational use varies among demographics

In Chicago, 74 percent of voters support or strongly support legalization of marijuana for recreational use if taxed and regulated like alcohol. In suburban Cook and the collar counties, support or strong support is 70 percent. In rural Illinois outside Cook and the collar counties, 54 percent of voters supported or strongly supported legalization. Opposition or strong opposition by voters in Chicago is 22 percent, suburban Cook and collar counties is 27 percent, and 43 percent outside Cook and the collar counties.

Among Democrats, Republicans and independents, Democrats support is strongest among the three groups with 76 percent stating they support or strongly support recreational legalization if taxed and regulated like alcohol. Only 21 percent of Democrats oppose or strongly oppose recreational legalization and 3 percent answered otherwise. Independent voters followed Democrats with 68 percent of independents supporting or strongly supporting recreational use and 27 percent opposing or strongly opposing. A slight majority of Republicans, 52 percent, support or strongly support legalization while 46 percent oppose.

Illinois voters younger than 35 show the most favorability to legalization of recreational marijuana if taxed and regulated like alcohol. Eighty-three percent support or strongly support the proposition. This percentage is identical to the same support for decriminalization. Seventeen percent are opposed. Voters 35 to 50 years old support or strongly support at 77 percent, and oppose or strongly oppose at 22 percent. Among 51- to 65-year-old voters, 69 percent support or strongly support legalization and 28 percent oppose or strongly oppose. Baby boomers and the greatest generation 66 and older are split on the issue with 51 percent stating they support or strongly support legalization of recreational marijuana if taxed and regulated like alcohol and 45 percent stating they oppose or strongly oppose.

The Simon Poll was conducted March 4-11. The sample included 1,000 randomly selected registered voters and a margin for error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Sixty percent of the interviews were with respondents on cellphones.

More information and complete poll results are available at SimonPoll.org.
Where does your tax money go? In most instances it supports direct government activities such as schools, police, housing, public health and the like.

But in many instances your tax money is transferred to nonprofit corporations that have convinced government leaders that they perform a service worthy of public support. Museums, festivals, parks, and tourism promoters are common nonprofit recipients of public funds.

There is a bill, H.3931, pending in the House of Representatives, that would exempt nonprofit organizations getting public funds from the Freedom of Information Act.

The bill is being promoted as a way to make nonprofits accountable to the governments that provide funding by requiring filing of general statements about how your money is being spent. If you believe that nonsense, I have some beachfront property in Walhalla for sale.

In too many instances, those doling out your money are benefiting from the use of those funds to hire their relatives or worse. If this bill passes, we will never know.

Some legislators have been told nonprofits are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and this bill will add "transparency." Nonprofits receiving or spending your money are already subject to the open government law, and you are entitled to see their records. All you have to do is ask.

In 1974 the General Assembly enacted the Freedom of Information Act based on a finding that it was vital in a democratic society that public business be conducted in an open and public manner. The Supreme Court of South Carolina has repeatedly ruled that this law exists to prevent secret government activity.

One mechanism used to hide government activity has been through the use of nonprofit corporations. The University of South Carolina for years hid a presidential slush fund behind a nonprofit foundation. When the public and press demanded an accounting of the foundation's activities through Freedom of Information Act requests, the foundation refused to provide access saying the law did not apply to it because it was a nonprofit corporation.

The S.C. Supreme Court said otherwise. The court looked to the definition in the law of those organizations to which the law applied. These organizations are identified in the law as "public bodies." If an entity is a public body it is required to disclose certain records and conduct its meetings in a prescribed manner.

A "public body" includes "any organization, corporation, or agency supported in whole or in part by public funds or expending public funds." The USC Foundation met this definition, and, as a consequence, was required to account for how it spent its money. When exposed to public scrutiny many of the expenditures, such as gifts to elected officials and lavish speaking fees, were questioned and protested.

Is there value in knowing how a nonprofit organization that gets tax money spends that money? Most of us think so. If you know where the money is going, you have grounds to tell your representatives in government that you approve or disapprove of the way your money is being spent. We should be past the point where we will accept an assurance such as, "Trust me. Great things are being done with your money."

There is too much evidence to the contrary that trust is not enough. In Richland County alone we've had a recreation commission paying inflated salaries to relatives who probably shouldn't have been on the payroll in the first place. We've had the records of a high school booster club requested by the attorney general who is investigating charges that much of the money is not accounted for. Two festival organizers are being questioned about what they have done with the public money they have received to conduct festivals that seem not to have happened.

I suspect certain nonprofit organizations across the state would be exposed to scorn or prosecution if their activities were subjected to public scrutiny. There are allegations in several parts of the state that tax money is being laundered by nonprofit corporations to fund political contributions.

The only thing transparent about H.3931 is the desire of organizations supported by or spending your money to do it in secret. This bill should be defeated.

If not, your tax dollars will go down a rabbit hole never to be heard from again. Tell your House member you want true accountability and defeat the bill.
An Orangeburg man is among three convicted on sex trafficking charges, according to U.S. Attorney Beth Drake.

Damon Jackson, 24, of Columbia; Bakari McMillan, 24, of Columbia, and Cory Miller, 44, of Orangeburg were convicted in federal court in Charleston for sex trafficking of minors.

U.S. District Judge David C. Norton of Charleston presided over the trial and will impose sentence at a later date.

Evidence presented at trial showed Jackson, McMillan and Miller participated in a conspiracy to commit sex trafficking in South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina, Drake said.

The defendants persuaded dozens of young women to work as prostitutes with fraudulent promises, and some of these victims were minors.

The evidence showed that the defendants routinely raped and beat the victims to cause them to engage in commercial sex acts, Drake said.

The evidence further showed that many of the victims were drug addicts, and the defendants used heroin and crack cocaine to coerce the victims to engage in commercial sex acts.

The defendants used the internet to advertise sexual services throughout the Southeast.

Seven of the defendants in the conspiracy pled guilty prior to the trial of Jackson, McMillan and Miller.

Drake gave credit for the convictions to both the victims and witnesses who testified, and to the investigation by the local police who worked with the federal agents at ICE-HSI.

"The facts of this case are repugnant, and the victims -- and the police officers who rescued them from the hell they were living -- are nothing less than heroes," Drake said.
A blog for students in my introductory classes in government, and any interested passersby. You'll find news items and random stories that illustrate any of the topics we cover in class. Special attention will be paid to the constitutional issues associated with contemporary issues and disputes. Feel free to send me stories you find important. Please note that due to spam, I'm limiting the ability of people to comment on these pages. My apologies.
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By Azernews





By Amina Nazarli

A delegation of the Turkish Eastern Black Sea Exporters Association will visit Azerbaijan and Georgia on May 2-6, said Ahmet Hamdi Gurdogan, the head of the association.

He noted that this visit, supported by Turkeys Economy Ministry, is aimed at strengthening of the trade ties between the countries, Trend reported.

Although, Turkeys trade ties with Azerbaijan and Georgia significantly increased in recent years, they have not achieved the desired level. In 2016, 13 percent of the total export of Turkeys East Black Sea Region accounted for Georgia, while only 1.7 percent accounted for Azerbaijan, which does not reflect the real potential of the region, Gurdogan said.

He noted that export from the East Black Sea Region could account for at least half of Turkeys total export to Azerbaijan and Georgia.

This visit to Azerbaijan and Georgia will contribute to the growth of export opportunities in the region, according to Gurdogan.

The delegation of the Association, which covers Trabzon, Rize and Artvin provinces of Turkey's Eastern Black Sea Region, is expected to hold business meetings and research the local markets.

Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey amounted to $2.3 billion in 2016, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee.

The trade turnover between the three countries currently amounts to $4.2 billion.

The countries plan to bolster trilateral economic cooperation and increase the volume of trade turnover to the level of $20 billion.
By Trend





Bulgaria may lose the gas contract with Azerbaijan if the construction of Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) is not completed by 2020, said Bulgarias Energy Minister Nikolay Pavlov in an interview with "24 chasa".



Bulgarias Bulgargaz has a long-term contract for 25 years with Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR for supply of 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from Shah Deniz 2, said the minister, adding that this is one third of Bulgarias domestic consumption.



We need to be able to receive this gas. If the interconnector is not ready, we may lose the contract. The gas interconnector is a continuation of the Southern Gas Corridor and is part of the Vertical Gas Corridor of the European Union, added Pavlov.



The minister talked about the shortcomings in the implementation of the IGB project.



There is a delay in the preparation of a cost-benefit analysis that will show what further grant funding we have to seek from the EU. ICGB has been aware of the necessity for such an analysis since March 2016. So far, this analysis hasnt been ready and its assignment is delayed, he said.



The utilization of the 45 million-euro grant provided by the European Commission in 2009 hasnt started yet and the deadline for its utilization is 2018, he said, adding that there is a real risk for these funds to be lost.



The technical design is another reason of concern. It was approved by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works on 15 January 2016 with one-year validity, which actually expired on 15 January 2017. The request for its extension was submitted on 20 January 2017. The deadline had been missed, added Pavlov.



IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to the Trans Adriatic pipeline via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets.



The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas.
By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

Conflicts in the GUAM area should be solved based on sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of states, says the final statement of the heads of governments of the GUAM member states.

The statement was adopted at the summit of the heads of governments of the member states of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development  GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) in Kiev on March 27

The GUAM format was created by post-Soviet states in 1997 during the summit of heads of the EU states in Strasbourg. In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the format and four years later withdrew.

Expressing deep concern over the conflicts, continuing in the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, undermining sovereignty and territorial integrity and impeding the sustainable development of GUAM member states, we reaffirm our commitment for their speedy settlement on the basis of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the internationally recognized borders of states, says the statement.

The government heads of the GUAM member states reaffirmed their commitment to the decisions, resolutions and documents adopted at the GUAM summits, as well as the norms and principles of international law enshrined in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.

The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, but they have not been enforced to this day.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.
By Azernews





By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijan will suppress any threat from Armenia immediately and decisively, the country's Defense Ministry stated.

The enemy [Armenia] should understand that all military facilities and other strategic objects located in Azerbaijans occupied territories, including Armenia are under constant target of the Azerbaijani army, said the ministry.

Earlier Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said that if needed, he will give an order to strike with Iskander missiles.

The Armenian presidents statement on a possible use of Iskander operational-tactical missiles is a primitive step, which is intended for the internal audience and aimed at strengthening the shaken authority of his criminal gang and increasing his pre-election rating, Azerbaijans Ministry of Defense told APA on March 27.

As a result of retaliatory actions to be taken by the Azerbaijani army, Armenia will not avoid large-scale casualties and destruction, which will lead to disastrous and irreversible consequences for it. Before making such irresponsible statements, the Armenian authorities should think about the fate of the population, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry warned.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.
Saudi Aramco today welcomed the introduction of the new tax regime for all hydrocarbon producers operating in the kingdom as another positive step in the diversification of the kingdoms economy.

Amin H Nasser, president and CEO, Saudi Aramco, said the company welcomed King Salman's Royal Order announcing the reduction of Saudi Aramco's tax rate to 50 percent from 85 percent.

The new tax rate will bring Saudi Aramco in line with international benchmarks, he said.

Nasser reiterated that Saudi Aramco would continue to make a critical contribution to the diversification and growth of the Saudi economy in line with Saudi Vision 2030.

The new tax rate comes in the wake of plans for the sale of a 5 per cent stake in the state-controlled company in 2018. The IPO is likely the largest of its kind in the world, with a potential value of $100 billion.- TradeArabia News Service
Ooredoo Oman has extend its support as Diamond Sponsor of the Smart City Summit  Oman, an event dedicated to exploring and examining the benefits and possibilities of cities built on technology in the sultanate.

The event will be held at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre on March 28 and 29.

The Smart City Summit will make a significant contribution to the success of new cities, developments and redevelopments planned and under construction, such as Madinat Al Irfan and the Mina Sultan Qaboos Waterfront, a statement said.

Ooredoos Monther Al Mamari, director - business product management, said: Thanks to the digital strategy of the Information Technology Authority (ITA), the sultanate now has a solid future-proof ICT infrastructure. The country is in a position to address the ambition of building smart cities and working towards, making Oman a smart nation. As plans for these smart cities progress, Ooredoo looks forward to providing an eco-system of innovative fixed and mobile assets, connectivity and communication, through which they operate and thrive. Ooredoo looks forward too, to supporting the residents and businesses of these digital communities, by providing inspiring products and services to take full advantage of the smart city lifestyle and all its possibilities.

Smart cities leverage technology to enrich the lives of their populations, improve public services, transport, traffic flows, power, water supply, waste management, security and more. They are well known not just for the quality of life of their inhabitants but also for their ability to attract businesses and investment, it said.

Striving to become data experience leaders, Ooredoo delivers a range of state-of-the-art mobile, fixed, fibre, broadband internet, and corporate services tailored to meet the needs of consumers, communities and businesses across the sultanate, as well as ministries and government organisations.  TradeArabia News Service
UAE-based total facilities management company Farnek said it has been signed up by by Abu-Dhabi-based International Emirates Business Group (IeBG) to provide full protection services across its entire range of real estate assets - such as commercial and residential buildings, shopping malls, hotels and industrial premises - in the UAE capital.



The move follows the formal signing of a business partnership agreement with Badria Almulla, the chairperson of the Abu-Dhabi-based International Emirates Business Group (IeBG), said a statement from Farnek.



With existing customers in the banking, residential real estate and industrial premises, initially Farnek will station 100 guards at the IeBG's Abu Dhabi offices and then increase resources in line with market demand.



The company plans to have over 500 security personnel permanently based in Abu Dhabi by 2020, it stated.



"We have signed a strategic partnership agreement with Farnek, not only because of their enviable reputation, solid experience and technical expertise, but also because I am confident that together, we can help to raise the bar in terms of TQM, HSE and CSR, while simultaneously achieving great business results," remarked Almulla.



On the partnership, Oberlin said: "Almulla is highly respected and is a multi-award-winning businesswoman. Her leadership and support will be invaluable to us."



"We already have a workforce of over 4,000 employees, with more than 200 vehicles, so naturally we will benefit from economies of scale. This will allow us to integrate the security services seamlessly into our existing operation," stated Oberlin.



"We will also be able to service contracts that require broader facility management (FM) services across multiple UAE locations, especially for banks, branded retail outlets, restaurants and hotels," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Abu Dhabi Ports, the master developer, operator and manager of the ports and the Khalifa Industrial Zone in the UAE emirate, will participate in the inaugural Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) which opens in Abu Dhabi, UAE, today (March 27).



The event will run until March 30, at the Paris-Sorbonne University.



Hosted by UAE Ministry of Economy and the United Nations in Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), GMIS is expected to welcome over 1,200 delegates, including heads of state, government leaders, ministers, policy makers and C-Suite executives from global 2000 companies.



Leading manufacturers from all over the world will be participating in the GCCs first ever showcase of manufacturing capabilities and investment opportunities.



Companies across the entire manufacturing sector will be represented including petrochemicals; metal and mining, aviation, steel, automotive, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and life sciences, healthcare equipment, food and beverages, marine industry and cabling, electronics and many others.



Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports, said: As KIZAD is the trade, manufacturing and logistics hub of Abu Dhabi, it is our pleasure to be part of the first industrial summit to ever happen in the world and hosted by Abu Dhabi.



We are confident that GMIS is the ideal platform for us to communicate our value preposition to an audience of local, regional and international companies and investors, he said.



We are also positive that the new projects we will be unveiling during the event will surely enrich GMIS visitors experience, he concluded.  TradeArabia News Service
Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec), a leading solar company, said that it has produced its first polysilicon at its 8,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) manufacturing facility in Qatar.



QSTec, the largest polysilicon producer in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, which plans to expand to over 50,000 MTPA, has successfully commenced operations at its Ras Laffan Industrial City site, said a statement from the company.



The activation of QSTecs plant represents a major step forward for the regions solar industry, it said.



Dr Khalid K Al Hajri, chairman and CEO, QSTec, said: The first polysilicon produced from our facility in Qatar represents a major milestone for our company and has paved the way for a solar manufacturing base to be established within the region.



This important achievement in the history of our company has been made possible by the continued support of all our shareholders, stakeholders, and the dedication and commitment to the success of the project from our team, he said.



We are now moving from the construction phase towards full scale production and its an incredibly exciting time for us and the regions solar industry, he added.



The new facility is state of the art including a wide range of environmentally friendly technologies, next generation reactors, energy efficient cooling systems and advanced waste treatment facilities that recycle excess gasses and water for reuse in a closed loop system that reduces costs, said a statement.



In addition to this, QSTecs new facility has a 1.1 megawatt solar installation that includes a ground mounted solar farm as well as rooftop and solar car parking shades and is a showcase of sustainability, it said.



Dr Al Hajri added: As a global solar company, we and our shareholders, have a strong commitment to sustainability, environmental protection and to reducing greenhouse gasses and we have incorporated this into our polysilicon plant.



We all need to play a role in protecting our environment and we want to lead by example, he said.



Today, polysilicon is the key raw material used in 90 per cent of the worlds solar modules. To this end, QSTec has made several strategic investments spanning the entire solar value chain, including the largest integrated solar module manufacturer in Europe and the US, SolarWorld, as well as the worlds leading solar and semi-conductor technology company, Centrotherm.



As a result, QSTec has emerged as a globally integrated solar company, and together, these companies have formed a solar consortium of excellence with an aim to achieve greater efficiencies right across the solar industry.



QSTec has strategic investments across the solar value chain and a network of global partners that we can leverage for further growth said Dr Al Hajri.



We have brought together high quality technologies, advanced R&D and expertise from polysilicon to manufacturing technologies, right through to integrated module production and the construction and development of large scale turn-key solar installations. The Mena regions solar industry is forecast for high growth and our company is well positioned to meet this demand, he concluded.  TradeArabia News Service
Dubai Industrial Park, the dedicated industrial hub within Dubai Wholesale City and member of Tecom Group, will participate in the inaugural Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) which opens in Abu Dhabi, UAE, today (March 27).



The event will run until March 30, at the Paris-Sorbonne University.



Dubai Industrial Park said that its attending senior representatives will shed light on the fundamental challenges in the regions manufacturing sector.



The event is hosted by the UAE Ministry of Economy and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and will offer a global platform for industry leaders and companies to shape the future of manufacturing.



The exhibition will showcase UAEs manufacturing capabilities with the goal of boosting regional and international partnerships.



The event will additionally feature key debates on challenges and opportunities in the manufacturing sector.



The visitors will get the opportunity to learn more about Dubai Industrial Parks unique and comprehensive services, currently offered to over 700 businesses across seven key industrial subsectors which include food and beverage, base metals, transport equipment and parts, machinery and mechanical equipment, logistics, chemicals, and mineral products.



Abdulla Belhoul, chief executive officer of Dubai Wholesale City, said: The main drive behind economic competitiveness is the capacity of a countrys industry to innovate and upgrade.



The summit aims to encourage economic sustainable growth and innovation across diversified industries. By facilitating international businesses, foreign direct investments (FDI) and global exchange of knowledge and technology, the UAE have been successful in creating an enabling ecosystem for the manufacturing sector, making it a major contributor to the sustainable development process, he said.



We believe this forum offers an excellent networking and knowledge-exchange platform, through which will be able to better serve our existing and potential customers, and extend our support to Dubai Industrial Strategy, specifically FMCG and machinery and equipment's (M&E) sectors that we are leading in the strategy, he concluded.



The summit aims to define a global vision for manufacturing by offering a platform for industry professionals as well as government leadership to discuss implementation of international best practices.



Over 1,200 delegates expected to attend, including heads of state, government leaders, ministers, policymakers and executives from 2000 companies across the GCC region, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Dubai Investments, a leading, diversified investment company, has achieved consistent growth in its manufacturing business with total assets in the sector increasing to Dh3.05 billion ($830.4 million) as on December 31, 2016.



The figure constituted 19 per cent of the companys total assets worth Dh16.11 billion ($4.38 billion), the group said.



The companys manufacturing business continues to play a major role in the growth of the manufacturing and industrial sector across the UAE, with strong contribution from its subsidiaries  particularly in the processing industries segment to the countrys non-oil gross domestic product (GDP).



The total income from Dubai Investments manufacturing activity grew to Dh1.57 billion ($427.4 million) in 2016, a 15 per cent increase compared to Dh1.36 billion ($3.702 million) in 2015.



The manufacturing companies of Dubai Investments are taking centre stage at the Manufacturing Expo 2017, being held in conjunction with the inaugural Global Manufacturing & Industrial Summit (GMIS) at the Paris Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and co-hosted by UAE Government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido).



Khalid Bin Kalban, managing director and CEO of Dubai Investments, said: The manufacturing business, one of the core focus areas, has witnessed a strong growth thrust  particularly in the building materials, aluminium and steel sectors.



As one of the pioneers in manufacturing sector in the UAE since the late-1990s, Dubai Investments has made significant contribution to the countrys non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he said.



The company has also prioritised some industries earmarked in the UAE Vision 2021 and Dubai Industrial Strategy, and these form the main pillars of its sustainable growth plans, he added.



Kalban said: Our organisation wants to reinforce its commitment to the manufacturing sector through a strong pipeline of projects in the future  which is endorsed in its strong participation at the event.



The summit is a testament to UAEs growing role in developing a global, knowledge-based economy, which invests in global value chains and enabling a sustainable future for generations to come, he concluded.



The event comes amidst a strong focus on manufacturing sector, with the UAE Ministry of Economy announcing that the country is targeting increasing the GDP share of the manufacturing sector from the current 11 per cent to 20 per cent by 2021 and 25 per cent by 2025.



Dubai Investments has 17 companies in the manufacturing domain, including Emirates Glass, Lumiglass Industries, Emirates Float Glass, Saudi American Glass, Emirates Insolaire, LABTEC, White Aluminium Extrusion, Emirates Extrusion Factory, Folcra Beach Industrial Company, Gulf Dynamic Switchgear, Gulf Metal Craft, Dubai Cranes, Edible Oil Company, Emirates Building Systems, Emirates Extruded Polystyrene, Globalpharma  A Sanofi Company and Lite-Tech Industries.



Dubai Investments has strong plans in the sector, with investments of 30 per cent in Emirates Aluminium Rolling (Emiroll), Dubai Investments joint venture with Dubal Holding and Singapore-based Mars.



The total project value of Emiroll, being set up in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) is approximately Dh370 million ($100.7 million). Once operational, the plant will manufacture 65,000 tonnes of aluminium coils per annum, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Alan Stocker has been appointed as general manager of Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah, a luxurious hotel in the UAE emirate.



Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah will be Stockers third Waldorf Astoria property since joining Hilton in 2011, having previously managed an island resort in the Maldives and a city hotel in Beijing. Stocker has also supported various projects for the regional offices in Singapore for Thailand, Bali and Malaysia hotels.



A British national, Stocker graduated with a degree in Hotel Catering and Institutional Management from South Devon College of Arts and Technology in 1989 and has successfully built his career by gaining significant experience working in luxury hotels across the world throughout his nearly three decades in hospitality.



Stocker, a highly visible and well-respected business leader, said: My leadership style is founded on ensuring high service levels and brand standards while maintaining a fun environment. I strongly believe that it is the team that makes the guest experience.



With a wealth of operational and managerial experience, business acumen and strong leadership skills, Stocker brings important assets to further enhance the hotel's already prestigious image. He added: My mission is not only to ensure Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah continues to be recognised as the leading luxury hotel in the Middle East but also to expand the brand awareness in this competitive market.



I am immensely looking forward to the challenge of further advancing Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimahs enviable reputation as the ultimate choice of leisure and business travellers from around the world by delivering its signature True Waldorf Service through exemplifying discreet personalised attention and bespoke service. - TradeArabia News Service
Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa, chief executive officer of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), yesterday launched the first edition of The Yard Food Festival.



The event, located at Seef District next to The Courtyard, is organised by Faalyat Management and will run for two weeks, until April 8.



Commenting on the launch, Shaikh Khaled said: We are delighted to launch such unique local festivals and initiatives that aims to energize the tourism sector in-line with the major events and activities that are being held in the kingdom and during the neighboring countries main holidays.



We trust that this festival will be a great success as it focuses on the hospitality sector and also aims to showcase the new and existing Bahraini concepts to a larger audience. he added.



The Yard is considered as a diverse platform that provides food lovers an opportunity to try a number of local Bahraini food projects and enjoy the fun-filled activities. The festival will be held on the weekdays from 11:00am to 3pm, and 5:00pm to 10:00pm, and from 5:00pm to 11:00pm on the weekends. - TradeArabia News Service
The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority is focussed on increasing visits from China as the emirate witnessed a 63 per cent jump in visitor numbers from the Asian country in 2016 compared to 2015.



As part of efforts to further drive Chinese visitor numbers, SCTDA is hosting 15 of the major outbound Chinese travel companies from the east coast of China on a familiarisation visit to Sharjah over the next week.



The travel operators will be fully immersed in the emirate and exposed to all its facets, from shopping, to heritage and destination activities, during their stay. As part of the programme, they will attend a workshop with key local industry stakeholders, with the objective of signing contracts for increased business over the coming years.



The new visa on arrival for Chinese visitors has really offered wider opportunities for further potential growth.



Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of SCTDA said: The year 2016 brought many achievements and successes to Sharjah. The emirate is reaping the benefits of the forward-thinking initiatives and bold projects and campaigns we have been working on all year. This year in the first two months we have already exceeded all expectations. The roadshows covering major cities in China and India are already showing net gains and we have just returned from successful events in Germany and Russia. These countries firmly retained their spots among the top ten source markets for Sharjah, with China and Russia registering double-digit growth rates in 2016 which we are anxious to develop further throughout 2017."



Additional familiarisation visits have been planned to align with sales visits and overseas exhibitions, covering key cities in China. Work will also begin with Malaysian markets this year. - TradeArabia News Service
Jumeira Rotana and Villa Rotana joined forces again and participated in the worldwide campaign of Earth Hour.



Both Rotana properties once again reconfirmed their commitment to protecting and saving the environment by demonstratively switching off non-essential lights. Instead, the properties were illuminated with candles for an hour to raise awareness of to the worlds largest global climate change initiative.



Commenting on the event, Ulrich Hoffmeister, general manager, Jumeira Rotana, said: We believe that change begins with our self and as for such our initiatives and activities are meant to demonstrate our support and commitment to our environment.



As the world stands at crossroads, it is a powerful yet humbling thought that our actions today will decide what tomorrows world for future generations will look like, Ulrich added.



Camille Saade, general manager, Villa Rotana, said: We believed that by taking little steps like turning off lights and increasing the chiller temperature by 2 degrees will have a huge positive result. Earth Hour also reflects a philosophy we try to practice year-round: The small steps each of us takes can make a big difference together.

We will remain devoted and committed in pursuing initiatives that alleviate the effects of climate change, not only through Earth Hour but also through other environmental CSR activities like: tree planting, green project implementation and use of recycled products.



Earth Hour is a worldwide grassroots movement uniting people to protect the planet, and is organised by WWF. Engaging a massive mainstream community on a broad range of environmental issues, Earth Hour was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Since then it has grown to engage more than 7,000 cities and towns worldwide, and the one-hour event continues to remain the key driver of the now larger movement. - TradeArabia News Service


HELENA, Mont.  A bill to allow certain Montana cities and towns to increase their resort tax has failed on a tie vote.

The bill died on a 25-25 vote Monday without debate in the final vote of the state Senate. It had passed an initial vote on Saturday 26-23.

The bill would have allowed designated resort communities that now collect a 3 percent sales tax to impose an additional 1 percent local option tax, if local voters approve.

The extra revenue would have to be used for workforce housing or for infrastructure such as water systems, roads and bridges.

There are four designated resort communities and six designated resort areas in Montana. All of them now collect the 3 percent sales tax.
SPEARFISH, S.D.  It has been located in four buildings in Spearfish over its more than 40 years in operation, and the Knothole continues to draw customers from around the area seeking its inventory of more than 30,000 products dedicated to various arts and crafts.

My grandkids have grown up in here, owner Lana Wenzel said, describing the businesss four decades of operation.

Wenzel explained that she participated in 4-H and enjoyed arts and crafts and was often ordering supplies for these pursuits, and ironically, shortly before her husband, Terry, began to look for a building to locate his business, T and W Electronics (now T and W Appliances), he told her not to order any more arts and crafts supplies until she had used up what she already had. However, soon after, he took her to look at a possible business to buy that would keep her regularly ordering such supplies.

The arts and crafts store first opened in 1976 on the south side of West Hudson Street in downtown Spearfish. It was started by Bert Anderson, and when the Wenzels leased the building that October, Anderson sold them the store. The Knothole remained at that location for about seven years before the Wenzels bought a building across the street, 126 W. Hudson St., where the Bay Leaf Cafe currently resides. After some years, the Wenzels then bought the building at 714 N. Main St., where the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store is now located, and the Knothole remained at that location for about 15 years.

Weve been in this building now 10 years this fall. Its hard to believe, Wenzel said of the current location at 947 E. Colorado Blvd. She said that her three children told her during each of the moves that it was the last time they would help move all of the inventory, and the final move took 15 people seven days to completely empty the Main Street building, since it required moving all of the merchandise, as well as all of the shelving and storage in the basement.

Wenzel, who was born and raised in Nebraska, went to business school to become an executive secretary and then took a job with Boeing. She said she moved with the missiles in this capacity, working out of Cheyenne, Wyoming, which is near the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base; Ellsworth Air Force Base; and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. She met her husband in Sturgis, and after they got married, they worked in Sturgis for a time before starting their own businesses.

Weve been self-employed ever since, Wenzel said.

She described that when she first started in the business, macrame, the art of knotting cord or string in patterns to make decorative articles, was the big thing, and she still sells items for the craft. Wenzel also remembers being able to walk around the store at its first location and be able to know, just by looking, what was missing and needed to be ordered. Back then, she wrote down all of the numbers for the items and called in her orders. But as the business grew, she would spend hours on the telephone calling in the order.

And thats why I have a computer system, she said of the current location, which has an inventory of more than 30,000 items. The system allows her to do all of the ordering online.

Her husband, sister, children, and grandchildren are familiar with helping in the store, and about a year and a half ago, her oldest son  whom Wenzel remembers working in the store when he was 6 years old  came onboard to learn the business, with the intent to keep it going another 40 years, Wenzel said.

Just as generations of the family have grown up in the business, generations of customers continue to frequent the Knothole, and Wenzel said that the stores variety, as well as friendly, helpful customer service, keeps people coming back.

Because we know how to do a lot of things, we can help them if they have problems, she said, describing that she crochets, quilts, and scrapbooks; her sister knits; they both know how to sew; and they have experience with the merchandise, allowing them to provide answers to questions customers bring in as they work on projects.

Between us, we figure out everything else, Wenzel added.

In more than 40 years in the business, Wenzel couldnt come up with just one favorite part of it. She enjoys keeping up with all of the new crafts, getting to travel to arts and crafts conventions around the country to see the newest items on the market and the current trends, and she and her son are headed to Las Vegas this week for such a convention.

The most popular items she sells these days include those for quilting, beading, and scrapbooking, and Wenzel creates the scrapbooking items showcasing local places, events, and more available in the Knothole.

In her free time, Wenzel enjoys crocheting and quilting.

Ive done pretty much any kind of craft, she said, adding that since she is generally in the store seven days a week, she doesnt have much free time.

Her hope for the Knothole is to keep it running.

I think its (an arts and crafts store is) needed around here, she said, describing that she often hears from customers that theyve searched for items in Rapid City but cant find what theyre looking for. They know I have it here. As you see, we have a lot of (merchandise).
Wyomings population contracted for the first time in nearly three decades, likely because people left the state for work elsewhere, according to estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau and state.

In July, 585,501 people called the Cowboy State home, a decrease of 0.2 percent from July 2015, or 1,054 fewer Wyomingites.

While some individual counties have recently experienced population decreases, this is the first time that the states overall population has fallen since 1990. But there is some research showing the economy is stabilizing and Wyomings population may not significantly decline in future years.

Between January 2015 and the summer of 2016, about a third of the states mineral extraction jobs, or nearly 9,000 positions, had been lost, said Wenlin Liu, chief economist for the Wyoming Division of Economic Analysis.

The recent decline in oil and natural gas prices, along with a drop in coal production, reverberated on the states overall economy.

In all, Wyoming lost 16,000 jobs, or more than 5 percent of its workforce, Liu said.

For Wyoming, any (population) change is always followed by an employment change, he said.

Census number crunchers arrived at the figure when considering births, deaths and the number of people moving in and out of the state.

There were 7,590 births in Wyoming between July 2015 and July 2016 and 3,838 deaths. That resulted in a 2,752 population increase.

But about 3,800 more people left the state than moved in, Liu said a statement explaining the Census figures.

The 3,800 is an estimate based on tax returns.

If someone filed taxes from Casper in 2015 and Denver in 2016, these two tax returns can be matched, he said. It is just assumed that person moved from Casper to Denver.

Counties

Goshen County suffered Wyomings steepest decline, losing 1.5 percent of its population.

Natrona County lost 1,152 residents, a 1.4 percent decrease. The county is home to many oil field service companies.

Hot Springs and Platte counties also each decreased 1.4 percent.

There were some areas of Wyoming that increased population, including Laramie, Lincoln, and Park counties, which each experienced at least 1 percent growth.
The students arrived in suits, skirts and slacks for a town hall on the benefits of higher education in Wyoming.

At least thats what they thought.

The 14 high school seniors were finalists for a Daniels Fund scholarship, which covers college costs left over after other aid, scholarships and any family contribution for four years. Daniels Fund leaders had asked them to gather Tuesday at the Casper Boys & Girls Club financial literacy center for the discussion.

They listened as radio personality Bob Price told jokes and Riata Little, vice president of economic and project development at CAEDA, offered them advice. Little is a Daniels scholar who attended Buffalo High School and the University of Wyoming.

The Daniels Fund is a charitable foundation based in Denver that awards scholarships and grants. The foundations beneficiaries include the local Boys & Girls Clubs and a host of other nonprofits through Wyoming.

The Daniels Fund scholarship program is much more than money, Little told the students. It is a never ending-relationship with a network of people who truly care about your individual success and who are there to help you through every phase of life. It is designed to push scholars to be more than just good students, to be active citizens and to make a difference every day.

Daniels Fund CEO Linda Childears took the microphone next.

We fibbed a little bit when we asked you to come here today, she confessed. She asked the finalists to stand and gave them the news.

The looks on the students faces is the best part, said Childears, who would share similar good news that day with students in Cheyenne. They are among 33 Wyoming awardees this year.
Tuesday support meetings

Alcoholics Anonymous: 6:30 a.m., 917 N. Beech; 8:30 a.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 10 a.m., 328 E. A; noon, 500 S. Wolcott; 2 p.m., 917 N. Beech; 5:30 p.m., 1124 Elma, Imitate the Image Church; 5:30 p.m., 328 E. A; 7 p.m., 520 CY; 8 p.m., 328-1/2 E. A; 8 p.m., 328 E. A; 8 p.m., 917 N. Beech. Douglas: 7:30 p.m., 628 E. Richards (upstairs in back). Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are open. Casper info: 266-9578; Douglas info: (307) 351-1688.

Narcotics Anonymous: Noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 7 p.m., 15th and Melrose, at the church. Web site: http://www.urmrna.org.

Skate all day during break

The Casper Ice Arena will be hosting Skate All Day sessions daily through April 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission and skate rental for Skate All Day is $6. Participants can come and go throughout the session. Skating tutors are available for $3 each. Children four years old and under are free with a paid admission.

The Casper Ice Arena offers Public Skate on Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. all through the spring season. Admission is $4.50 and skate rental is $2.50. Children 4 and under are free with a paid admission.

For additional information, please call 235-8484 or visit www.casperwy.gov.

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 served program; no appointments will be scheduled. Individuals must bring their Social Security card, photo identification and paperwork. For a list of paperwork, please visit www.wyomingfreetaxservice.org.

Hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Aspen Creek Building, 800 Werner Ct., Ste. 206. Closed Sunday and Monday.

For more information, call 307-333-5588 during hours of operation or look on Facebook. The initiative is supported by funding from the Wyoming Free Tax Service and local United Way.

NARFE meets

Casper Chapter #358 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association will have a business meeting at noon in the meeting room at the Casper Senior Center, 1831 E. Fourth St. The guest speaker will be Jesse Boulerice, non-game biologist, Wyoming Game and Fish Department. He will be giving a presentation on the recovery of the black-footed ferret in Wyoming.

Eclipse lecture

On Aug. 21, the moon will slip between the Earth and the sun, creating a solar eclipse. The full eclipse, which will be visible throughout much of the United States, will be the topic of a talk by Rod Kennedy, Casper Planetarium Educator. As part of the Natrona County Library and Casper Planetariums Eclipse Lecture Series, the talk, titled Geometry of Eclipses, will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the librarys Crawford Room. The lecture is open to the public and free of charge. Kennedy will discuss the types, mechanics and frequency of eclipses. Call 577.READ ext. 2 or email reference@natronacountylibrary.org for more information.
Meeteetse, Wyoming

November 13, 1945March 19, 2017

Jack Tracy Turnells wife, daughters, and grandchildren all gathered as he danced his way to Heaven from A Wonderful World on March 19, 2017. He was born in Riverton, WY, November 13, 1945 to Ralph and Emogene Turnell. After his fathers death, his mother married Marsh, who raised Jack as his own. Jack spent his younger years in Meeteetse and Grass Creek, graduating from Meeteetse High School in 1964. He met his lifelong dancing partner, Lili Abarr, and they were married in 1965. Jack attended NWC and the University of Wyoming School of Ag, graduating in 1970, and taught ag in Encampment for one year. In the summer of 1971, Lilis grandmother, Frances Phelps Belden, asked him to come home to manage the familys Pitchfork Ranch.

Jack and Lili were blessed with three daughters: Tracy, Cindy, and Tammy. They loved spending time at Jack Creek Cabin and Haymaker Cabin, putting cows on the mountain with friends and family, and working the cattle at branding and weaning time. He will be fondly remembered going out to gather cattle, atop his horse, Skipper, and with his dog, Dixie, following behind. In the manner that he taught his children and grandchildren to strive to do their best, he worked to do the same for the ranch and the ag industry. As a progressive cattleman, he was on the cutting edge; using DNA testing and carcass data. He enjoyed putting together a successful Quarter Horse breeding program.

Jack had a great passion for the land and worked with the UW range department to improve the range, watershed, and riparian areas for the benefit of cattle, wildlife, and multiple use. After the sale of the Pitchfork in 1999, he retained ownership of the lower ranches, forming Turnell Cattle Company and leasing back the Pitchfork for ten years.

Throughout his life, he served on numerous bank boards and was an agricultural representative to the Federal Reserve Advisory Board of Kansas City. Conservation was always at the forefront of his mind and he served on the Black Footed Ferret Advisory Board and was the first recipient of the National Cattlemens Beef Association Environmental Stewardship Award in 1991 for his work with the black footed ferrets. A few of his many accolades include: Chevron International Conservation Award, Riparian Stewardship Award (BLM), Guardian of the Grasslands Award (WY Stockgrowers), Take Pride in America Award, WY Game and Fish Landowner of the Year, Outstanding Man of the Range (Society of Range Management), US Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of the Interior Award. He was recognized by Senator Malcolm Wallop on the floor of the Senate in Washington D.C. for his conservation efforts. He was honored as a UW Outstanding Ag Alumni. Jack enjoyed politics and was a Wyoming Delegate to the Republican National convention in 1988.

Many lifelong friendships were made while serving on the following boards: American Salers Association (President), International Salers Association (VP), NCBA (National Cattlemens Beef Association) Board of Directors, WY Stockgrowers Association (President), UW Environmental and Natural Resources Board, WY 4-H Foundation, Northwest College Board and Foundation, and UW Cowboy Joe Club Director.

Having a great love for history, he co-authored Brand of a Legend, marking the 100th anniversary of the Pitchfork Ranch, and the following year again co-authored Lady of a Legend with Bob Edgar. They received the Wyoming State Historical Award for Brand of a Legend in 1979. In order to preserve the history of the Pitchfork Ranch and the photography of Charles Belden, he was instrumental in starting the Belden Museum in 1992. With others, he helped form the Meeteetse Museum District and combine the Meeteetse Museum and Belden Museum.

Jack always loved dancing, hosting and attending parties, traveling (along with planning where to have the next great meal), deep sea fishing, showing off his 57 Chevy, and Christmas lights. He took great pride in his family. He could be a man of few words, UNLESS given the opportunity to give a speech! He believed in giving back to the community. It was important to him to stay in touch with family and friends (near and far).

His family has very fond memories of him singing Louis Armstrongs, What a Wonderful World, his imitation of a chicken cackling, talking like Donald Duck, whistling Reveille, and cooking a mean fried egg or a GIGANTIC pot of ham and beans.

Jack was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Von; and sister, Sandy Roussan.

He is survived by his wife, Lili; daughters, Tracy (Joe) Thomas, Cindy (Jeremy) Cox, Tammy (Neil) Schlenker; and grandchildren, Stormi Thomas, Tanner Thomas, Austin Cox, Kaili Cox, and Darbi Schlenker; soon-to-be great-grandaughter, Zariaya; sister, Verna (Don) Deitchler; sister, Marsha (Craig) Skillicorn; and many nieces and nephews.

We would like to invite you to attend a celebration of life to be held on Saturday, June 3 at 2 PM at the Whit Ranch (75 RD 4EU, Meeteetse, WY).

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to: Wyoming Stockgrowers Endowment Trust (PO Box 206, Cheyenne, WY, 82003), The Meeteetse Museum Foundation Endowment Fund (PO Box 183, Meeteetse, WY 82433), or The Meeteetse Senior Center (PO Box 461, Meeteetse, WY 82433).
Councilman Todd Murphy just wants to gamble.

Murphy joked that if the Casper City Council approved the city planning commissions recommendation to slightly expand Washington Park to encompass an adjacent, unzoned right-of-way, he would lose the ability to shoot dice and play cards on the plot.

When it becomes park historic, we cant gamble on it, Murphy lamented. Is there any way we can amend that?

Park historic zoning allows for any reasonable use as approved by the planning commission with the exception of gaming/gambling uses.

For shame.

When councilwoman Amanda Huckabay reported that the Casper Chamber of Commerce was expecting to be $24,000 in the black this year, Murphy asked whether the group planned to raffle off the surplus.

No, you cant gamble there either, Todd, Huckabay said.

Im running out places, he replied. Tired of the basement.

***

Wyoming Public Radio made an appearance at the Casper City Council meeting last Tuesday, the first time Ive seen the broadcaster represented.

Maggie Mullen was there to report on the citys plans to hold a public forum addressing reports of sexual assault in the community.

Speaking just outside Council chambers with a group of women who attended the meeting to show support for addressing what they see as an inadequate police response to those reports, Huckabay said Mullen had attended at her invitation.

The Casper native gave a great talk last month at a Wyoming Humanities event at The Lyric.

The topic? How she developed a radio voice amid the competing pressure for female reporters to not sound too feminine  or too masculine  on the air.

So perhaps it was fitting that one of the women wanted to hear her radio voice after Council on Tuesday.

Can you say, Im Maggie Mullen?

Im Maggie Mullen, Mullen obliged.

***

Ive wondered for awhile now whether eclipse festival visitors have actually reserved any of the Casper homes listed on short-term rental websites like Airbnb and VRBO.

A news report a couple months ago touted the high prices  $5,000 per night in some cases  but thats no proof that anyone is actually paying those rates.

It remains anecdotal, but over drinks at Backwards Distillery last week someone told me he had successfully rented his home for $2,000 per night.

Not a bad haul.

***

The Council work session on Feb. 14 ran late, butting into members Valentines Day plans.

City staff handed out some extra Wyoming Symphony Orchestra tickets at the meeting as consolation, and councilman Jesse Morgan snapped them up.

He was ready with a review of their March 18 performance at Natrona County High School.

I used the Valentines Day symphony tickets this weekend, Morgan reported. Symphony went really well for me.

***

With absolutely no regard for my reliance on Council meetings to throw this column together every week, Mayor Kenyne Humphrey cancelled the work session scheduled for this Tuesday.

The cancellation is due to the prearranged absences of four of the Councilmembers, the city announced in a statement.

Im not bitter.
I can afford to study out-of-state? Youve got to be kidding!

Students  and parents who are bankrolling their kids education  are often amazed to learn that they can afford an undergraduate education outside of their home state, thanks to a program called WUE thats been around for almost 30 years. Some say its like winning the lottery.

In 1987, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), a nonprofit higher education interstate compact, forged an agreement with its member states called the Western Undergraduate Exchange, or WUE.

WUE is a multilateral regional agreement and tuition discounting program whereby a resident of one WICHE member state can go to college at a participating public institution in another WICHE state and pay 1.5 times the resident tuition of the enrolling institutionor less. WICHEs 16 members include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and the U.S. Pacific Territories and Freely Associated States (currently represented by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam).

WUE is the biggest program of its kind the nation; a total of 159 institutions community colleges and universities  participate in the network. In 2016-17 alone, more than 38,300 students saved an estimated $341.5 million by paying the reduced WUE rate, instead of full nonresident tuition. Annual individual savings ranges from about $225 up to $21,000 per student, but on average, a student this year is saving about $8,900. Since the first exchanges began in 1988, western residents have saved an estimated $3.2 billion on some 501,750 tuition bills. Depending on where youre from and where you want to enroll, earning your degree may cost about the same and sometimes less than what you would have paid if you had studied in your home state.

Community colleges and universities like WUE just as much as students and families do. It helps them achieve their enrollment goals on several levels. The savings can entice students to enroll in difficult-to-fill majors. They can also elect to offer the WUE discounted tuition to only the most academically qualified applicants, to attract the brightest students in the region, which also boosts their graduation and retention rates. WUE also helps them diversify their student body; the more regional and ethnically diverse their students are, the richer the learning experience for all. Some institutions also use WUE to attract academically qualified athletes in the region. Some graduates will probably remain in the state where they received their degree, and become part of the local workforce. For growing states, this is a plus.

WUE is a great option for Wyoming residents whose major is not offered in-state, or for students looking to experience a new environment during their college years. This year, 1,180 Wyoming students are studying in other WICHE states and are saving $5.7 million on their tuition bills for the academic year.

Interested in exploring your options? Here are some tips on how to proceed. And remember, prospective students must apply for the WUE discounted rate at the same time they apply for admission. The WUE rate is never guaranteed. Students must request it and meet the enrolling institutions requirements. Here are a few simple guidelines:

1. Make sure your major is eligible for the WUE discount at the WUE institution where youre applying. Some high demand majors are excluded. To find out, check your dream institutions WUE profile. Remember, if you change to a non-eligible major, the institution will charge you full nonresident tuition.

2. Read the participating institutions WUE eligibility requirements (GPA and ACT or SAT scores). About 20 percent of WUE institutions offer the reduced rate to only highly qualified applicants.

3. Apply directly to the institution where you want to enroll, and apply as early as possible. Check the institutions WUE application deadline. An early application will increase your chances if you meet all of the other qualifications where you want to enroll. Some institutions limit the number of WUE discounts that they will offer to new students each fall.

4. If youre awarded the WUE discounted tuition rate, be ready to study hard and finish your bachelors degree within four years. Most institutions limit the number of semesters that they will give you the discounted rate. Community colleges may also set a two-year limit for full-time students. WUE is for students who want to complete a full degree; it is not designed for a semester or one-year study experience.

For specific questions about admissions requirements, contact the enrolling institution directly. If you have general questions about the program after reading the FAQ, contact WICHE staff at info-sep@wiche.edu 303.541.0270.
College is expensive, and there are multiple ways to pay the hefty price. Because of this, myths abound about the best way to finance higher education.

Scholarships? The FAFSA? What about student loans? To find the best way to pay for college, students need to double-check what they hear.

Myth #1 Student loans are always a bad way to pay for higher education

Loans are debated as either a source of debt or a way to invest in yourself.

According to The Institute for College Access and Success, an independent nonprofit organizations website, 32 percent of 2015 public and nonprofit school students graduated without debt, whereas the other 68 percent graduated with an average debt of $30,100.

For the state of Wyoming, the average debt for 2015 was $22,683.

On the other hand, though, college can help you create the future you want  and that has to be paid for somehow. Loans can do the job, as long as students carefully consider the long-term consequences.

Laurie Johnstone, Casper Colleges scholarship and enrollment services systems coordinator, says student loans should be a last resort when paying for college.

Also, if you use loans, make sure to take out only what you need, Johnstone says.

Laramie County Community College Student Services Specialist Sarah Erickson, who is repaying student loans herself, says that she thinks student loans being perceived as bad is a common thought.

In many high school financial literacy classrooms, loans are covered in a unit on how to pay for college. In finance guru Dave Ramseys high school finance curriculum, Foundations in Personal Finance: High School Edition, loans are not advised.

Erickson says that what really needs to be taught in these classrooms is that there is responsibility of taking out a loan and that they can be an important financial resource.

Aaron Courtney, assistant manager of financial services at the University of Wyoming, says that before students borrow, they should know what theyre getting into.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says that with the average repayment schedule, it takes 10 years to pay back student loans. That is a decade living in a tight financial situation.

I think theres more education that needs to come about with loans, Erickson says.

Myth #2 The sticker price is definitely what you will pay Students can cut the large tuition amount they see during their research of potential schools through grants and scholarships. Potential college students also should not be afraid to haggle to get more out of school financial aid packages.

By applying for scholarships and grants, college costs can be eased little by little.

Students need to know that scholarships and grants are available to them, Erickson says.

For Wyoming, many students strive for the Hathaway scholarship, which at most pays at most $1,680 per semester. The scholarship can be used at UW or any state community colleges.

To bring down the sticker price, UWs Courtney says, students have to factor in the net price and put the effort into finding scholarships.

Johnstone says that when paying for college, if theres a will, theres a way. If you want to go, you need to explore ways to pay for college.

Myth #3 You will not get financial aid unless you have straight As While many scholarships reward merit, most are given based on financial situations.

According to CollegeBoard,a nonprofit organization that aims to expand access to higher education, two-thirds of full-time students in the 2014-2015 school year used grants and scholarships.

Johnstone says that despite what many people think, it isnt true that you must have a 4.0 GPA and a high ACT score to receive aid.

She also said students dont necessarily have to attend full time to receive aid. While most students do go to college full time, going part time leaves time for a job and other priorities.

Myth #4 Out-of-state colleges will break the bank Although colleges often have a higher sticker price for students who dont live in that state, it doesnt mean some schools arent generous with aid.

Going to college out of state is not any less of an experience than staying in state, says Johnstone.

Tuition reciprocity programs such as the Western Undergraduate Exchange decrease tuition costs for students in western states if they choose to go to another cooperating school in the west. For this cost decrease, an application is required.

Courtney says when students are looking at colleges, whether it be in state or out, they need to look at colleges for their best fit.
Wyoming could lose $3.47 million in federal funding for urban renewal, homeless shelters and food banks if Congress approves President Donald Trumps budget recommendations.

Trump has proposed eliminating the Community Development Block Grant program, which provides funds to state and local governments. Scrapping the program would save $3 billion annually, according to Trumps budget proposal.

The program is not well-targeted to the poorest populations and has not demonstrated results, according to the White House budget document.

But Joy Clark, who administers Caspers CDBG funds, said thats not accurate in Wyoming.

Clark said that 95 percent of the money Casper received from the program last year went to serve low-income residents in some form  higher than the 70 percent of funds required to be spent on that population.

We have clearly been addressing the highest-need population here for years, Clark said. Maybe some block grants are not meeting that requirement, but we have exceeded it regularly.

Casper received $287,000 from the CDBG program last year. The money went toward offering free bus tokens to low-income residents, assisting with urgent home repairs such as leaking roofs or windows and emergency repairs like fixing broken furnaces during the winter months.

The largest single project was $82,000 spent to replace the heating system at the Casper Housing Authoritys Life Steps campus.

Clark said the home repair funding was available only for those who qualified based on income. She said it has become more urgent recently as the economy forces people to make tough decisions.

The trend the last two years has been going toward paying utilities, buying groceries, doing a lot of necessity items rather than home repairs, Clark said.

But she said the repairs, which focus only on major needs rather than cosmetic upgrades, also help protect property values citywide.

Its to not let (disrepair) happen, basically  to prevent one home, or several if we address more than one in an area, from causing slum and blight in the whole area, Clark said.

Casper can also assist people who use a wheelchair full-time by paying for a ramp or doorway expansion.

Cheyennes program

Cheyenne received $397,000 in CDBG funds last year and has also offered bus tokens and assisted low-income homeowners with repairs.

But program manager Deanne Widauf said Cheyenne has directed much of the funding toward local nonprofits, including a homeless shelter and a food bank. It also helped Habitat for Humanity acquire property for its housing.

The city also used CDBG funds for need-based scholarships to Laramie County Community College and flood rehabilitation, purchasing land to create a reclamation pond to stop flooding in a low-income Cheyenne neighborhood.

If the CDBG disappears, then everything weve given would disappear, Widauf said. For the low-income people it would have a really bad impact.

The state, through the Wyoming Business Council, received $2.79 million last year.

Trumps budget proposal, called America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again, expands funding for the military, border security and veterans services by cutting other domestic programs.

Trump wants to cut the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the CDBG program, by 13.2 percent.

But Congress, not the president, is in charge of drafting and approving the actual budget. Trumps recommendations bear significant weight among Republican lawmakers, but it is unlikely that his budget blueprint will be adopted without any changes.

Its too early to predict what a final budget will look like, Gov. Matt Mead said in a statement responding to the proposed elimination of the CDBG program.

Casper officials are monitoring the process.

We are watching those federal announcements very closely, said Liz Becher, Caspers assistant city manager.

Becher said the city will draft its upcoming budget assuming that the CDBG funding will continue.

In addition to helping low-income residents, Casper has used the funds for improving the city core, including downtown and the Old Yellowstone District, through sidewalk improvements and matching funds for facade improvements.

Clark said the city has partnered with the owners of several historic buildings in Casper, including the Coca-Cola building, the historic Virginia Hotel and the old fruit warehouse that now houses Raccas pizzeria, Art 321 and Urban Bottle.

It has to be used for a commercial business with the owner involved and only for specific rehab like windows that are very aged and leaking and would prevent the public coming into the business from being safe, Clark said.

Widauf, in Cheyenne, said that while the CDBG funding went toward essential projects, many in the public are unaware of it.

I try to get the awareness out there, but it kind of flies under, Widauf said. Nonprofit agencies are familiar with it. But the average citizen really is not.
MOSCOW  Russias opposition, often written off by critics as a small and irrelevant coterie of privileged urbanites, put on an impressive nationwide show of strength Sunday with scores of protest rallies spanning the vast country.

Hundreds were arrested, including Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who is President Vladimir Putins most prominent critic.

It was the biggest show of defiance since the 2011-2012 wave of demonstrations that rattled the Kremlin and led to harsh new laws aimed at suppressing dissent. Almost all of Sundays rallies were unsanctioned, but thousands braved the prospect of arrests to gather in cities from the Far East port of Vladivostok to St. Petersburg in the west.

An organization that monitors Russian political repression, OVD-Info, said it counted more than 800 people arrested in the Moscow demonstrations alone. That number could not be confirmed, and the state news agency, Tass, cited Moscow police as saying there were about 500 arrests.

Navalny, who was arrested while walking from a nearby subway station to the demonstration at Moscows iconic Pushkin Square, was the driving force of the demonstrations. He called for them after his Foundation for Fighting Corruption released a report contending that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has amassed a collection of mansions, yachts and vineyards.

Navalny is a persistent thorn in the Kremlins side. He has served several short jail terms after arrests in previous protests and has twice been convicted in a fraud case but given a suspended sentence. He intends to run for president in 2018, an election in which Putin is widely expected to run for another term . Putin has dominated Russian political life, as president or prime minister, since 2000.

No overall figures on arrests or protest attendance were available. Some Russian state news media gave relatively cursory reports on the demonstrations; the state news TV channel Rossiya-24 ignored them altogether in evening broadcasts.

Police estimated the Moscow crowd at about 7,000, but it could have been larger. The 2.5-acre Pushkin Square was densely crowded, as were sidewalks on the adjacent Tverskaya Street.

In St. Petersburg, about 5,000 protesters assembled in the Mars Field park, shouting slogans including Putin resign! and Down with the thieves in the Kremlin!

Russias beleaguered opposition is often seen as primarily a phenomenon of a Westernized urban elite, but Sundays protests included gatherings in places far from cosmopolitan centers, such as Chita and Barnaul in Siberia.

Navalny has united people who think the same; that people dont agree with the authorities is obvious from what is going on in the country today, Anna Ivanova, 19, said at the Moscow demonstration. I am a bit scared.

People are unhappy with the fact that theres been no investigation of the corruption allegations, said Moscow protester Ivan Gronstein.
JERUSALEM  The number of Israeli settlers living in the West Bank has soared by nearly one-quarter over the past five years to over 420,000 people, a prominent settler leader said Sunday, presenting new population figures that he said put to rest the internationally backed idea of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Yaakov Katz issued his report as the Israeli government is locked in negotiations with the Trump administration over understandings that are expected to include some curbs on settlement construction.

We are talking about a situation that is unchangeable, he said Sunday. Its very important to know the numbers, and the numbers are growing.

According to Katz, the settler population hit 420,899 on Jan. 1, up 3.6 percent from 406,332 people a year earlier and a 23 percent increase from 342,414 at the beginning of 2012.

Katz said the numbers were based on data from the Interior Ministry that have not yet been made public. The ministry, which oversees the countrys population registry, had no comment. But Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group, said the numbers appeared reasonable.

The figures are being published on a new website sponsored by Bet El Institutions, a settler organization that counts members of President Trumps inner circle among its supporters.

Katzs figures did not include settlement construction in east Jerusalem, where more than 200,000 Israelis now live. Altogether, he said the population growth  which is nearly double the 2 percent nationwide rate of annual population growth  means the settlements are irreversible, he said.

Whatever Angela Merkel or Trump or anybody else is thinking about, it belongs to the past, not to the future, he said.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future independent state.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, leading to the takeover of the territory by the Islamic militant group Hamas two years later. Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade over Gaza since then. Israel says the policy is needed to prevent Hamas from building up its arsenal of weapons. Critics condemn it as collective punishment.

For the past two decades, the international community has overwhelmingly backed the idea of a two-state solution as the best way of reaching peace in the region and rejected Israeli settlements as obstacles to peace.

Without an independent Palestinian state, the thinking goes, Israel will remain in control over millions of Palestinians who do not have equal rights, forcing it to choose between its Jewish and democratic character.

Just weeks before Trump took office, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution declaring settlements illegal.

Ahmad Majdalani, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Palestinian independence is the only way to peace and remains a possibility, despite settler efforts to derail it.

The two-state solution was possible yesterday and today and at any time. The two-state solution is not the problem, he said. Settlements are.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government is dominated by hard-liners who oppose Palestinian statehood on either security or religious grounds.
WASHINGTON  The Secret Service says a woman who got tangled up by her shoelaces after trying to jump the White House fence last week has been arrested again after a similar stunt.

Thirty-eight-year-old Marci Anderson Wahl of Everett, Washington, was arrested after an alarm sounded about 2:15 a.m. Sunday. Officials say she scaled a fence at the Treasury Building, next to the White House. She was charged with unlawful entry and contempt of court.

Wahl was first arrested Tuesday after trying to jump the White House fence. She was charged with unlawful entry and released on her own recognizance after being ordered to stay away from the area.

She was rearrested Friday after officers saw her near Lafayette Park. She was released again on her own recognizance after a Saturday court appearance.
Seasonal slowdowns can be unnerving for the business owner. Potential cash flow issues may instill a sense of panic, but there is a bright side. Seasonal slowdowns provide much-needed time to invest in your business. Consider investing that time in the following ways:

The first step is to analyze your competition. Understanding your competition allows you to generate revenue, reduce expenses and improve profitability. It also keeps you in touch with important changes in your industry.

Identifying the right niche market for your business is important. Most businesses target too many different markets and their targets are too broad. By focusing on the right niche markets, you will see much better results.

Build your business to get more referrals. Referrals are a great source of business because they cost less to acquire, and the closing rate is higher. The right strategic partners can refer significant amounts of business on a consistent basis. Identify your best strategic partners, build a marketing plan to attract them and they will fill your pipeline for you. Read our article on strategic partners.

Many business owners work long hours and rarely take time off. They feel this commitment is key to being productive and profitable. In fact, the opposite is true. It is important it is to step away from your business occasionally. Consider taking a relaxing vacation during the slow season.

Finally, use the extra time to catch up on business basics. Look at your website and ensure the information is relevant and up to date. Visit your social-media sites and update them as well. This is a great time to reconnect with existing clients and your referring partners. Do your employees need additional training or professional development?
PHOENIX  Attorney General Mark Brnovich is asking a judge to rule that the word benefits in a voter-approved measure is not the same as fringe benefits.

And the goal of this judicial war of words is a bid by Brnovich to block local governments from telling private companies what benefits they have to offer their workers.

Assistant Attorney General Rusty Crandell, writing on behalf of Brnovich, is trying to preserve a 2016 measure adopted by Republican legislators to block local governments from telling private companies everything from how much time off they will offer workers to vacation mandates and even how far ahead of time workers need to be told of schedule changes.

Crandell specifically wants Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Oberbillig to throw out a challenge to that law by Democrat legislators who voted against it.

But attorney Jim Barton, representing the challengers, said the 2006 voter-approved initiative setting the states first-ever minimum wage specifically authorizes such local laws on fringe benefits. And Barton said that was reinforced this past November when voters adopted Proposition 206, which raised the wages again and mandated, for the first time ever, paid sick leave.

Businesses are powerless to block living wage legislation like what voters adopted in Flagstaff and what is being considered in other communities. Thats because Prop. 202, the 2006 initiative, specifically allows cities to set wages even higher than what the state requires.

But fearful of even broader local mandates, the restaurant industry last year got Rep. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, to craft a legal end-run of sorts around the initiative.

Specifically, Mesnard wrote a law that redefines wages  the thing the state cannot preempt because it was approved at the ballot  to include only the salaries being paid to workers.

Everything else was defined as nonwage compensation, ranging from sick pay, vacation pay and severance benefits to commissions and pension contributions. That also includes things like maternity leave.

In challenging Mesnards law last year, Barton pointed out the Arizona Constitution forbids lawmakers from altering voter-approved laws unless the measure furthers the purpose of the original law.

In this case, he said, the 2006 initiative specifically says a local government may by ordinance regulate minimum wages and benefits within its geographic boundaries. That, he said, makes the law illegal.

And Barton said even if a court were to conclude the Mesnard-crafted law could be interpreted as furthering the purpose of the 2006 initiative, the Arizona Constitution says changes to initiatives require a three-fourths vote of both the House and Senate. Mesnards legislation was approved by the House 34-26 margin; the Senate tally was 18-11.

It is that margin that gives Democrat lawmakers who opposed the law  and had enough votes to deny the measure that three-fourths margin  the standing to sue.

In his new court filings, Crandell told Oberbillig all that is irrelevant. And the key to that is the argument that benefits doesnt mean what challengers say it means.

Crandell concedes the wording in the 2006 law  language also picked up in last years Prop. 206 initiative  does specifically say local governments can regulate minimum wages and benefits.

But Crandell wants the judge to conclude the word benefits means not fringe benefits but instead only the minimum wage protections that Prop. 202 provides.

The term benefits is not defined, Crandell wrote. And while he acknowledges a dictionary says it could be considered shorthand for fringe benefits, theres also a definition that says the advantage or privilege something gives.

So if benefits does not necessarily mean fringe benefits, what does it mean?

Crandell told Oberbillig its up to him to discern what voters intended when they approved Prop. 202. But Crandell insisted it definitely does not mean fringe benefits.

He said the measure was titled the Raise the Minimum Wage for Working Arizonans Act. And then there was the intent language.

The declared purpose of Prop. 202 is that all working Arizonans deserve to be paid a minimum wage that is sufficient to give them a fighting chance to provide for their families, Crandell said. He said the initiative accomplishes that by setting the minimum wage and providing for enforcement rights and penalties.

Crandell said there was nothing in any of the arguments in publicity brochures mailed to voters ahead of the 2006 election, either for or against, that mentioned anything other than wages.

If the voters of Arizona intended to hand over control of all employee benefits to local governments enabling local governments to saddle businesses with a patchwork of regulations regarding nonwage benefits that vary from one city to the next  one would expect a clear explanation of such a feature in light of its significant impact on business, Crandell wrote.

Tellingly, nothing in the history of Prop. 202 alerted voters to this sea change in Arizona employment law.

Barton, however, wants Oberbillig to rule it doesnt take a legal parsing to conclude that benefits are what they seem to be, even without the word fringe in front of it.

Some of the issue already has been effectively decided.

Last years initiative did more than raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour and $12 by 2020.

It also requires employers to provide at least three days of paid leave for everything from sickness to court appearances. It clearly spells out that local governments are free to require paid sick leave greater than what is in the ballot measure.
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some March 27 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.
The ouch/oops idea proved irresistibly precious.

In a 20-page document called Diversity and Inclusiveness in the Classroom, the University of Arizonas vice provost for inclusive excellence, Jesus Trevino, suggested a way of dealing with offenses committed in the college classroom, a method that apparently exists at several campuses.

If a student feels hurt or offended by another students comment, the hurt student can say ouch. In acknowledgment, the student who made the hurtful comment says oops. If necessary, there can be further dialogue about this exchange.

Its the kind of touchy-feely idea on college campuses these days that drives some people insane  Im often among them, shaking my head at the absurdity. And so, on March 15, Tucson radio talker Garret Lewis lambasted the guidelines on his KNST 790-AM morning show. Then the usual set of right-leaning outlets picked up the story.

Washington Free Beacon: New Safe Space Guidelines at University of Arizona Treat Students Like Preschoolers.

Breitbart News: University of Arizona Instructs Students to Say Ouch! when Offended.

Fox News: Snowflake Watch: Safe words for safe spaces.

None of the publications bothered to contact the UA, spokesman Chris Sigurdson told me. Thats bad journalism.

Nevertheless, they werent wrong in their criticisms. The guidelines seem to fetishize the idea of marginalized groups and protecting their multiplying ranks from offense.

Introducing the guidelines, for example, Trevino wrote: In addition, many campus constituents have social identities that historically have been underrepresented (e.g. Black/African Americans, Latinx/Chicanx/Hispanic, Asian American/Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, LGBTQIA+ folks, international students and employees, people with diverse religious affiliations, veterans, non-traditional students, women, first-generation college students, and people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds).

For those who havent kept up, latinx was invented to replace the masculine-gendered adjective latino and also latin@, which originally replaced latino but was considered exclusionary because it only reflects masculine and feminine gender. LGBTQIA+ takes in intersex people, asexual people, and anybody who isnt actively heterosexual.

Beyond the elaborate lingo, some of the ideas seemed obvious, juvenile or just plain strange.

Collages and other forms of art tap into students creative and visual side, Trevino wrote. Here students might be asked to create a collage depicting intergroup relations or intergroup concepts and ideas.

Can you imagine spending your precious college years making a collage showing intergroup relations, concepts or ideas?! Better to save the tuition and go to truck-driving school.

  

But I may be a particularly prickly audience for this kind of thing. I first heard the phrase P.C. when I visited Oberlin College in Ohio as a high school senior. It was 1986, and I had to ask to find out it meant politically correct. Then I had to ask what that meant. By the time I graduated from college there, I practically had a degree in political correctness.

By now, the phrase has become so pervasive and overused, its practically lost all meaning.

But I got my deepest lesson in this uniform campus mindset when I was a college senior at Oberlin in April 1990. Larry Kramer, who founded the AIDS advocacy group Act Up, spoke at the auditorium one Friday night. After his inflaming speech, students gathered spontaneously outside the student union. After some speechifying by the usual campus activists, one of them proposed a march against bigotry to the college presidents house a couple of blocks away.

To this day I regret not having the courage to raise my hand in that crowd of perhaps 100 students and ask the question on my mind: Why? It was late at night. It seemed like an overly generic cause. And there was no particular reason to go to the college presidents house.

But the march happened, and I hesitantly joined. A student rang the presidents doorbell. Anticlimactically, nobody answered because they werent home. So the decision was made to sit in on the presidents lawn. The whole thing was farcical and would have ended quickly, except the town police unexpectedly showed up. What happened next would not be called a riot because there was little or no violence, but it certainly became a mass disturbance, with arrests, physical struggles, some baton swings, and police vehicles blocked in by gathering protesters.

Looking back, it was all pointless  the march, the police response, the disturbance, the arrests. And that, among other experiences, helped build my skepticism to initiatives like this new one at the UA.

  

If you talk to Trevino and read the guidelines carefully, though, you see some valuable material in their heart. Most of all, it tries to show UA faculty members how to run classroom discussions so everyone is heard and everyone learns.

Trevino, hired as the universitys diversity officer last year for a whopping $214,000 salary, told me he cobbled together the document from lessons hes learned, in rapid response to the 2016 general election. Some professors were having a hard time with polarizing classroom discussions and wanted suggestions, Trevino said. But the problems werent and arent pervasive.

Most of the teaching that takes place in higher education is free of conflict, he told me. Across higher education, you do have these incidents, but its not as if every day we cant talk to each other because people are offended.

Nobody outside the university took much notice of the document, sent to all faculty members. Im guessing few people inside the university took much notice either  till Lewis talked about it on the radio.

Trevino labeled the contents as merely suggestions for faculty who want to engender the broadest possible perspectives, opinions, and experiences and to maximize free speech in the classroom.

While the document works to ensure the aforementioned marginalized groups are heard and not subject to offenses, many of the suggestions would also protect politically conservative students or other minority viewpoints on campus.

If you are going to express your political opinions in the classroom, Trevino wrote to the notoriously liberal faculty, understand that there is a risk of silencing students who do not agree with your views. As a faculty member, when you express your views to students you are doing so out of a position of power.

In another section, he writes, It is important to constantly mix the students so that they can get to know everyone in class, not just those they are comfortable with.

One that really struck me, since Im a loudmouth, was, People who listen more than they speak often have more of value to share. Indeed.

So, yes, the phrase microaggression , used often in these guidelines, makes me squirm. It could be used to enforce ideological uniformity if opposing viewpoints are labeled microaggressions against marginalized groups, requiring an ouch and an oops of apology.

But if used honorably, many of the lessons could have the opposite effect: opening up discussions to broader, free-flowing speech rather than pinching it down.
A 19-year-old woman was killed early Sunday after she was struck by a vehicle while lying in the road on the south side, police said.

Selena Analicia Hernandez was lying in the southbound lane of travel in the 6900 block of South Alvernon Way, south of East Valencia Road, when she was struck by a 2007 Volkswagen Jetta, according to a news release from the Tucson Police Department.

The driver of the Jetta was traveling southbound on Alvernon and was looking at a second vehicle stopped in the northbound lane when he struck Hernandez, the release said.

The driver of the Jetta immediately stopped and called 911. The second vehicle left the scene before the police arrived at about 3:45 a.m.

Tucson Fire personnel provided medical treatment to Hernandez, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Speed does not appear to be a factor in the collision, the release said. The pedestrian was not in a crosswalk and no citations have been issued to the driver.

It is unclear whether the second vehicle was involved, or if its passengers knew the victim or were witnesses to the collision, according to the release.
WABC-TV(NEW YORK) -- A New York City woman said she felt "helpless" after losing her wedding ring and band in the trash, but thanks to the city's sanitation department, the items were returned to her.



"I had just cleaned them and I had them in a paper towel. I think I got distracted with the kids, it's hard to figure out, and I think I just crumpled it up, and I didn't feel the weight of them and I threw them out," Shannon Lombardo told ABC station WABC-TV about her missing rings.



The crisis was put to rest when New York City sanitation workers went above and beyond the call of duty to locate Lombardo's rings, sorting through the unimaginable horrors of a massive garbage heap to get it back to her.



New York City generates more than 14 million tons of trash per year, according to the city, putting it among the largest trash producers in the world.



Still, however, the workers are trained to locate small items in emergencies, and succeeded in getting Lombardo's rings back to her safe and sound.



"Seeing the happiness on their face, and I said that it's a great time for them to renew their vows and stuff. As long as they felt good, I felt good," said Sekou Callender, a Sanitation worker who helped find the ring, told WABC-TV.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Help India!

By Shafeeq Hudawi, Twocircles.net

The murder of an Imam in Kasargod and the subsequent arrests of three BJP activists has once again highlighted the growing attempts by the Sangh Parivar to disturb the communal harmony in the region.

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Riyas Moulavi, a 34-year-old Moulvi who had been teaching at Issathul Islam Madrasa in Choori for nine years, was found murdered with his throat slit in his room adjacent to Muhyudheen mosque at Choori on March 20. Three persons, S Ajesh (20), N Akhilesh (25) and S Nithin (19) were arrested on March 24. The police confirmed the link of the trio with BJP and said the Riyas was the victim of hate crime.

It is no coincidence that Choori, which falls under the Madhoor Panchayat, which is one of the few places that the BJP has seized power.

Riyas was a stranger to the accused, and the crime was apparently committed because of communal hate.I dont see any other reason, Kannur Crime Branch Superintendent of Police A Srinivas told local media. Srinivas is the head of the special team which investigated the murder.

Choori is swiftly turning into a communal cauldron, mainly due to the BJPs efforts to reap from the communal polarisation, laxity of police and flow of anti-social elements from outside the panchayat. The perception has been rekindled by the latest of the communal murder series. The Muslim-majority locality surrounded by areas with Hindu majority has been witnessing a surge of minor clashes after 2005. In 2009, a Muslim youth Rishad was murdered by RSS activists while another youth Sabith was stabbed to death in 2013 in the locality.

Choori saw an increase in Muslim population following the migration from Muslim strongholds like Thalangara, Nellikkunnu, and Thuruthi in Kasargod. Middle-class families cant afford the land price in these areas. So families started moving here during the 90s in search a more affordable place, says Abid Basha Muhammed, a Choori resident whose family shifted to the locality from Nellikkunnu.

According to residents here, all was well till the early 2000s, after which the Sangh Parivar deliberately created panic taking a cue from Karnatakas Mangalore, where BJP rose to power by practicing communal politics.

Other political parties also said that BJP resorts to the politics of hatred eyeing the consolidation of Hindu votes in the panchayat.

In Madhoor panchayat, BJP, the ruling party has a lions share of panchayat members. United Democratic Front (UDF) won only four seats while BJP bagged 16 seats. Hindu votes are being swiftly consolidated by BJP. Congress and CPI (M) have almost lost their hold among Hindus here, says IUML functionary Ashkar Choori.

No doubt Sangh Parivar is trying to reap political benefits by creating communal riots. They want retaliation from their rivals and take benefits of the bloodshed politics. But their expectation failed to take off as Muslim organisations raised to the occasion by calling for efforts to restore peace, says Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) Kasargod constituency secretary Kader Arafa.

Lack of Police action is encouraging the culprits

Activists say that the Police action has often been far from encouraging and that this makes it easier for culprits to get bail or acquittal. Take the Rashid case for example. The charge sheets filed by the police in Rishads case had so many loopholes that the accused found it easy to get an acquittal, said Kader Arafa.

Advocate C Shukoor of IUML says that the police ignored the complaint by local political leaders against suspects of Riyas murder case. A few days ago, two suspects of the case Ajesh and Nidhin had threatened the mob by raising a sword during a local badminton tournament. A complaint was issued by the local politicians. But police ignored it, he said.

Besides, according to Kader, assailants are treated like heroes in BJP strongholds. The suspects of former cases were accorded royal welcome and they have got new vehicles. BJP is promoting this culture. Unfortunately, the police have not initiated any probe into this kind of deeds, he said.

The reluctance of police to impose strong charges against the culprits also come under heavy criticism.

Complaints are pouring against police alleging laxity. No probe is initiated into the conspiracy behind these heinous crimes. IUML leaders have demanded the police impose UAPA on the suspects and look into the conspiracy, Shukoor said.
Help India!

By Misbahuddin Mirza for Twocircles.net

Padmavati, a Bollywood movie being produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, is the latest in a plethora of movies showing inter-religious marriages/ relationships between Hindus and Muslims. It is a senseless, immature, and juvenile fictional tale that romantically associates the mighty Sultan Alauddin Khilji  a highly accomplished Muslim ruler with a fictional elderly Sri Lankan woman who has a daughter old enough to be married. Incidentally, this is being remade into a movie  for the third time!

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The general theme of these movies is pretty much set in stone. A young woman playing the role of a Muslim falls in love with a Hindu man; abandons religious prohibitions and elopes with the young man. Or, a young Muslim man falls headlong in love with a young Hindu woman and defies religious injunctions by marrying her. In real life, though such marriages are forbidden by Islamic law.

Emperor Akbar had forsaken Islam to practice his own hodgepodge religion-Din-e-Ilahi, which included Sun worship  reciting the thousand names of the Sun. Akbar just had a Muslim name; his practices clearly place him outside the realm of Islam. Yet Bollywood continues to depict Akbar as a Muslim king, so his marriage to princess Jodha Bai could be used to sway ignorant Muslims away from Islam. The glut of Bollywood movies on this topic is evidently a deliberate and sustained campaign designed to slowly but surely mislead lay Muslim youth away from their religion.

Malik Muhammad Jayasi, the sixteenth century CE author of Padmavat, made it abundantly clear in the Padmavat itself, that the work was simply an allegory. Even in the fictional category, Jayasis work is incongruous. For instance, there is a talking parrot in the Padmavati tale who gives answers to your questions. Then there is a God in this story who laments that he could not be of help as he himself had been struck by lightning.

Eminent Indian historians like Irfan Habib, Prof K S Lal, and Prof Gauri Shankar Ojha  an expert on Rajasthan history, have categorically stated that Padmavati is a purely fictional character with absolutely no connection to history. Further, these historians explain that the legend of Padmini was started in 1540  almost two and a half centuries after the reign of Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316).

Professor Habib explaining the importance of calling out Bollywoods apparent tampering/linking of Indian history with fiction elucidated There are stories in every country, but they cannot be accepted as part of history. England has a story of Robinhood, but it was never treated as history. But in our country, myths and stories are given a status of history.

Amir Khusrau, the court historian, who had accompanied the Sultan during the conquest of Chittor fort makes no mention any Jauhar (satti). Neither does the famous historian Ziauddin Barani mention this in his history.

Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime Minister of India in his book the Discovery of India labeled Sultan Alauddin Khilji as Great. Alauddin Khilji was an exceptionally talented ruler who saved India and Indians from utter devastation at the hands of the brutal Mongols. When he ascended to the throne of Delhi, the entire civilised world from Asia to Europe was being decimated by the scourge of the ruthless Mongol armies, that had slaughtered millions of people, carving out an empire of death and destruction. The armies of scores of Asian and European kingdoms were simply mowed down by the unstoppable, fierce, highly trained and efficient Mongol armies. Kings, soldiers, and civilians in two continents trembled in fear as they awaited the arrival of Mongol armies, so that they may surrender to survive.

Sultan Alauddin Khilji was a military commander who had a unique record. He was one of a handful of military commanders who had never been defeated in any of the hundreds of battles that he fought. So, when the massive hordes of Mongol armies arrived suddenly at the gates of Hazrat Delhi, the Sultan took them on with his unbridled military energies and decimated the fearsome Mongols. Soon the Sultan went on the offensive, building forts along the border and then invading Mongol lands, cutting off all key routes thus depriving the Mongols access to all entry points. From the newly built forts the Sultan conducted sustained punitive raids into Mongol lands to the point that the hunters now became the hunted. When the Mongol horses did not drink water, the Mongols would ask their horses what happened? Did you just see Ulugh Khan or Zafar Khan? alluding to Sultan Alauddin Khiljis two decorated generals who were in charge of pursuing and wiping out Mongol armies.

On the civilian front, when the Sultan was crowned in Delhi, the existing law and order had deteriorated to such an extent that the capital citys gates had to be closed at early afternoon every day to prevent the bands of marauders who came in during open daylight to kidnap women and steal before retreating to the forests around the city. The Sultan immediately raised a dedicated army to pursue these marauders  forests around the city were cut down, and the criminals were hunted down. The Sultan lost 100,000 soldiers in the operations against these bandits  but, it resulted in complete peace and security to the capital city of Hazrat Delhi.

The Sultan built huge central warehouses for farmers to sell the grains and produce directly to the Government. This stopped the exorbitant profits made by middlemen and hoarding. It also fetched higher profits for the farmers. The weights and measures department kept a strict watch to ensure no one was cheated. Alcohol consumption was banned in public. Nepotism was not allowed. The mighty Sultan after valiantly protecting his people from the barbaric Mongols, brought them peace, security and prosperity to his nation.

Bollywoods selection of this strange tale to vilify one of the greatest Indian rulers is deplorable. It is hoped that Bollywood would stop projecting Muslims in a negative light.

The author is an engineer registered in the States of New York and New Jersey and has written for major US and Indian publications.
Help India!

By TCN News

With the purpose of spreading awareness about democracy, push aside concern of fear and promote secular atmosphere, the Social Democratic Party of India has scheduled a nationwide campaign entitled Unite Against the Politics of Terror, which would be launched in a public meeting on April 8 at Mysore, Karnataka and concluded with a Delhi Chalo program on April 29.

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Numerous programs would be conducted during the campaign, including public meetings, corner meetings, seminars, street dramas, etc. The programs will see participation from various organizations and prominent dignitaries.

SDPI General Secretary Muhammad Shafi in his address said the nation is in a state of ambiguity as the transparency of EVMs are in question with growing un-satisfaction and the people in the country are raising their voice to reinstate the ballot paper polling system and the same has become a national issue. There is a growing sense of insecurity among minority communities and Dalits and the BJP with its affiliates are patronising the crushing of the freedom of expression along with the attempts of imposing the uniform civil code are being exerted and the campaign of deceiving and misleading the people is operational. It seems an atmosphere full of challenges has spread in the country in which Dalits weaker sections have been made the primary target, he added.
Help India!

New Delhi, (IANS): The Supreme Court on Monday asked the central government to prepare a line of action that the states should take for dealing with the very serious issue of suicides by farmers.

Asking the government to come out with a policy that would deal with farmers committing suicide, the bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said that in coordination with the states, the Centre should prepare a line of action to deal with the issue.

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Agriculture is a state subject and the Centre will coordinate with states and come up with a line of action to address the root cause of farmers committing suicide, the bench said.

Addressing the concern expressed by the bench, Additional Solicitor General P.S. Narasimha told the court that the government was formulating a comprehensive policy to deal with the issue of farmers suicides.

Narasimha told the bench that government agencies were directly procuring foodgrains from the famers, and they were being given insurance cover, crop loss compensation and agriculture loans.

The court said this in the course of hearing of a plea by an NGO, Citizens Resource and Action and Initiative (CRANTI), seeking compensation to the families of the debt-ridden farmers.

Appearing for the NGO CRANTI, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves said that over 3,000 farmers had committed suicide and the government should do something to address the real issue.

The top court had on January 27, 2017, expanded the scope of the petition by the NGO, which had in 2014 approached the top court seeking compensation to the families of the debt-ridden farmers committing suicide in Gujarat.

While expanding the scope of the petition by the NGO, the top court had on January 27 sought response from the Centre, state governments, union territories and the Reserve Bank of India on the reasons for farmers suicides, as it described it as a sensitive matter.

Besides seeking interim financial assistance and compensation of Rs five lakh each to the families of 619 famers who had committed suicide since 2003, the petitioner NGO has sought direction to the Gujarat government to pay compulsory financial aid to the farmers who have suffered crop failure.

The NGO had challenged the July 10, 2013, order of the Gujarat High Court dismissing its plea, saying that courts could not interfere in policy matters.

The Gujarat government in an RTI reply had said that since 2003  when suicides by the farmers started in Gujarat  till August 20, 2012, 619 farmers have committed suicide in the state.
Help India!

Hyderabad, (IANS): Telangan Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao Monday clarified that the proposal to hike quota for Muslims is not based on religion but on their socio-economic backwardness.

He told the state assembly that the Backward Classes Commission was looking into socio-economic conditions of Muslims and after the receipt of its report, a bill will be tabled to enhance the quota by five to six percent.

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He said the assembly would be adjourned sine die but not prorogued. Another session will be convened in four to five days to discuss and pass the bills for increasing the quota for backward classes among minorities and the Scheduled Tribes, he said.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had promised in 2014 elections that the quota for Muslims in jobs and education will be increased from current 4 percent to 12 percent. It has also promised to hike the quota for tribals from 7.5 percent to 12 percent.

KCR, as the chief minister is popularly known, said the backwards among minorities were already classified as Backward Classes (E) and were availing the quota.

A committee headed by a former IAS officer last year conducted a survey of Muslims in the state and submitted a report to the government, recommending an increase in quota. The government asked the Backward Classes Commission to conduct another study.

However, the governments move is facing opposition from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which argued that there is no provision in the Constitution for providing quota on the basis of religion.

As the two bills will take the overall reservation in the state to beyond the upper limit of 50 percent, Chandrasekhar Rao said the government will approach both the Centre and the Supreme Court to allow the state to provide more than 50 percent reservation as was done for Tamil Nadu, where the overall quota was 69 percent.

The social composition of newly created Telangana state is such that 90 percent of the population is weaker sections. We cant have a reservation limit of 50 percent, he said.

KCR agreed that there was a need to increase quota for backward classes and said the commission would be asked to conduct a comprehensive survey of socio-economic conditions of various BC communities and submit a report.
In a monologue on the BBCs 'This Week' programme, which many have called Churchillian in its delivery and potency, Neil launched a brutally scathing attack on Adrian Ajao, the Kent-born radicalised 52-year-old who unleashed an onslaught aimed at the heart of British democracy on Wednesday. Neil mocked the emergence of Jihadi Johnnies and argued the threat pales in significance compared to the virtue of the British character, referencing the resolve displayed in fighting the Nazis during World War II which he called 'the greatest evil mankind has ever faced."

He also paid an emotional tribute to PC Keith Palmer who was standing guard at the gate when he was stabbed to death by the terrorist after mowing through dozens of innocent pedestrians, including tourists and schoolchildren, in an indiscriminate rampage across Westminster Bridge.

Keith Palmer had been a copper for 15 years, and a husband, a dad...

a public servant.... Yesterday he was murdered defending our democracy, defending the very heart of our democracy from a barbarian at the gate."

Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood was, unfortunately unsuccessful in his attempts to administer life-saving first aid to Palmer and was photographed at the scene looking visibly dazed, with the fallen PC's blood smeared across his forehead. Ellwood has since been appointed to the Privy Council in recognition of his heroic actions.

Powerful opening with a heartfelt speech from Andrew Neil to open tonight's This Week #WestminsterAttack pic.twitter.com/QUGLNhwaes  Bantam Pete (@BantamPete) March 24, 2017

Neil concluded, "But you cannot defeat us because for every brainwashed Islamist you send to harm us, we have thousands upon thousands of Keith Palmers...They are the British people and against them, you will never prevail.

Time for reflection

In the aftermath of Wednesday's attack, questions have been raised about the level of security around Parliament as details emerged that the individual who eventually shot Masood dead was only in the vicinity by pure coincidence, as he was assigned to the personal security detail of Defense Secretary Michael Fallon.

Speaking on the 'Daily Politics' yesterday, shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornbury pointed out that to her the Houses of Parliament feels like a 'safe space' for both politicians and visitors, due to the large amount of security checks in place at all entrances akin to those at an airport. However, the fact that a killer got within 100 feet of ministers in the inner chamber is a chilling reminder about the danger of complacency.

It is now understood that Masood (Ajaos chosen Islamic name) worked alone when he planned the solo attack in Westminster, in which he killed 4 and injured 50. This is the primary reason that his activities were not flagged by intelligence agencies earlier because the greater the complexity of an illegal operation. the more opportunities authorities have to gain access.

Since 2013, there have been 13 terrorist plots successfully thwarted in the UK. This statistic is an important reminder that the majority of threats are countered.

Parliament on Thursday

In Parliament on Thursday, Prime Minister Theressa May reiterated the government's continuing commitment to increasing spending on counter-terrorism. The importance and complexity of the intelligence services, will not be a mystery to May, having served as Home Secretary for many years under her predecessor David Cameron.

There is currently debate about the role of encrypted messaging applications such as WhatsApp in this case, after it was revealed that Masood had used the messenger in the final hours before the attack.

The contents of this message are still unknown. Unlike phone-tapping, it is currently impossible for investigators to effectively intercept them. The Home Secretary Amber Rudd called the situation "completely unacceptable" and claimed such internet firms are giving terrorists "a place to hide".

The reflection will continue in the coming weeks, as government, and the nation as a whole comes to terms with the changing face of extremist terrorism in Europe.
United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) were delivered a blow yesterday after their only representative in Westminster, Douglas Carswell, quit the party. Nigel Farage has had a long running feud with Carswell and has often claimed that the MP for Clacton has only sought to undermine the party.

Recently, the feud has grown with UKIPs largest donor, Arron Banks, stating that he would run against Carswell at the next general election.

UKIPs lack of direction

Since the referendum and a vote to leave the European Union (EU) the party has struggled to find its message to voters.

With new leader, Paul Nuttall, stoutly claiming that they would attack the Labour heartlands, who feel left behind by current government policies and Labour leadership. However, his attempts faltered after he lost the Stoke-on-Trent by-election, confirming that UKIPs reach beyond the anti-EU agenda is limited.

After several attempts by Farage and multiple UKIP members to become MPs, they all did not win seats in parliament. Their only MPs to date were both defectors from the Conservatives, with Douglas Carswell winning the subsequent by-election he called after defecting and regaining his seat in the 2015 general election. However, since he has joined UKIP, him and Farage have often been at odds with Carswell even getting the blame for Farage not getting a knighthood.

Carswells last laugh?

In an interview with Channel 4 Douglas Carswell stated that he bore no ill will towards UKIP and wished them well for the future. But he also addressed the allegations that he was a Conservative agent to undermine the party by saying well, some people say that I was never UKIP. Im not sure what they mean by that. He continued Do they mean that I had a habit of winning elections?

With many claiming that UKIP have no point anymore, was this the last dig at their inability to represent the people they claim to?

He further added Do they mean I had a habit of being upbeat and optimistic and focused on the hyper-local? continuing to plead guilty to being optimistic, winning elections, and focusing on local issues as a constituency.

UKIPs problem

Whilst Nigel Farage and Arron Banks can celebrate that they are finally rid of what they saw as the problem with UKIP, it is in no doubt that most commentators and analysts see Carswell as the winner.

He represented his constituency within parliament by doing and voting as he wanted, irrespective of whether you agree with his ideology, he has stuck to his word and still does.

After he said that it is the honourable to call a by-election when defecting from the Conservatives, he has previously stated that MPs should only do this when defecting to another party. Meaning that he will not trigger a by-election after leaving UKIP, either way Carswell stays consistent to his word. UKIP must regroup and find an issue to focus on to reignite themselves as a party, however, it is unlikely that they will be able to gather the same amount of support as before.
London has been shocked after an attack on Parliament with confirmed 20 injured and 4 dead. This stage though information is slowly seeping into public knowledge with Parliament Square and the bridge shut by police and security services. With the flow of information slow, society must remember to not jump to conclusions and allow the investigations to be completed.

This is also not the time for any politician to be using this to further their own agenda or point of view. London must unite and stand strong, which it will.

What we know

There is little information known as to what happened but what is known is that the assailant mowed down many pedestrians and drove into the railings before jumping the iron fence of parliament and attacking the police officer who tackled him.

Unfortunately, the officer in question was stabbed and after an attempt by Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood to resuscitate him, he was later confirmed to have passed away. But the former army officer has been rightly praised for his actions.

A group of French students were also caught up in the incident with several being injured in the process. One woman was recovered from the Thames after jumping from Westminster Bridge. The alleged assailant was shot and killed by armed police.

After speaking to several people at the scene, they all spoke of shock that it would happen in London. You hear about incidents from all over the world but London had yet to be effected by such a serious incident. But there is also a lot of talk of unity and the city will not be affected by such an incident.

Investigations will be carried out in the meantime and we must all sit and wait for those results.

Solidarity

The area is eerily quiet and the normal hustle and bustle around parliament has gone for the time being. But we cannot as a city let this scare us and we must continue to work together to stop incidents such as these from happening again.

We cannot allow these kinds of incidents to cause hatred to other groups for the minorities actions, we must stand in Solidarity with each other. Full story will be reported as soon as all the information is available.
Jo Coburn said scotland will have to join the queue to rejoin the European Union if it leaves the United Kingdom.

The Daily Politics presenter interviewed the Scottish National Party's Europe spokesman Stephen Gethins today and criticised his party's policy on the EU.

But the SNP MP said there is 'no such thing as a queue' in response to her questions.

He added: 'Scotland has been a member of the EU for the last 40 years. We are a net contributor to the EU Budget and we have met all of our obligations since joining.'

Prime Minister Theresa May is due to meet Scotland's First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh today for a meeting about the triggering of Article 50 on Wednesday to try and reach a compromise.

Conservative MP Mark Field accused SNP leader of 'playing politics.'

'Pretty last minute'

Gethias said the PM's attempt to appease Sturgeon is 'pretty last minute' and she is struggling to make a 'Scottish compromise work.'

He said: 'Michael Gove promised Scotland additional powers to deal with immigration when he led Vote Leave's campaign last year.

'However, the Home Secretary Amber Rudd has said Scotland will not receive them.

'We would put a separate Scottish deal aside if this compromise was met.'

'Called your bluff'

But Coburn said the Conservative leader has 'called her bluff' as the PM said outright there will be no second independence referendum.

The SNP MP said she has also called the Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson's, bluff as she once said the Government should not 'stand in the way of a second referendum.'

The BBC presenter said the SNP's manifesto stated there will only be a second referendum if there is overwhelming support for another vote.

She quoted the Scottish Daily Mail's poll, which says 46% of Scots are opposed to another vote.

'Manifesto commitments'

Despite this, the nationalist said the SNP leader was elected on a manifesto commitment to hold a fresh vote on independence.

He added: 'The Conservatives are clearly struggling to maintain their own manifesto commitments.

'Last year, we were elected on a 47% share of the vote, an increase since 2011. The Tories were elected on far less than that and are taking Scotland out of the EU against its will.'

However, Field said the First Minister is attempting to bully the Government into a second referendum.

He added: 'I think it is important to wait until the next Holyrood elections as the majority of Scots do not want another referendum before Brexit begins.'

Labour MP Alison McGowan said the SNP is reacting to May's Brexit rhetoric because she is too busy trying to appease UKIP.

She said the country is trapped between two different types of nationalism as a result of the Prime Minister's approach.

McGowan said: 'My position on another referendum is the same as the leader of Scottish Labour: it is not wanted.'

But the nationalist attacked the Tory MP for saying he has a 'problem' with manifesto commitments, in reference to the Chancellor's proposal to increase NI contributions from the self-employed when the Tory manifesto said otherwise.

The BBC journalist said the SNP were creating 'false assumptions' about an independent Scotland immediately joining the EU afterwards.

The Daily Politics is on every weekday from 12pm-1pm.
Actor, bodybuilder, former Celebrity Apprentice host, and living, breathing legend arnold schwarzenegger has taken a trolls mean and offensive comment about the Special Olympics on Facebook and spun it into a teachable moment, because hes awesome.

Comment in response Schwarzeneggers congratulation video to the Special Olympics winners

The troll posted the comment in response to a video that Schwarzenegger had posted this week on his Facebook page to congratulate the champions of the Special Olympics World Games that were held a few days ago in Austria, which coincidentally happens to be Schwarzeneggers home country.

Accompanying his video message, Schwarzenegger added a caption, saying of the Special Olympian athletes, These guys inspire me!

Schwarzeneggers video received more than 400,000 views and attracted hundreds of comments from fans, mostly in admiration, but not all. One in particular was so disgustingly ignorant and offensive that Schwarzenegger took the time out of his busy day to respond to it. The troll referred to Special Olympians as the R-word and implied that the Special Olympics arent even needed in the first place. The mean commenter said that the main Olympic Games are intended for "the best athletes in the entire world" to get into competition with each other in order to find out which of them is the very best.

He then added, in a move that denounces the Special Olympics as a whole, "Having r*****s competing is doing the opposite!

Schwarzenegger knows how to CRUSH trolls

A later commenter backed Schwarzenegger up, saying that he now has one more reason to love the "Predator" star: He knows how to CRUSH trolls. The Escape Plan stars response to the troll called his comment evil and stupid, but said that he would not delete it or ban (the troll) before adding (yet) in parentheticals, giving his reason that this is a teachable moment.

Schwarzenegger promised the troll that the Special Olympians have more courage, compassion, brains and skill - actually more of every positive human quality than him.

He told the troll that he can learn from them, and try to challenge yourself, to give back, to add something to the world, or alternatively, he can remain a sad pitiful jealous Internet troll who adds nothing to the world but mocks anyone who does," which he says is simply down to "small-minded jealousy. He added that all you really want is attention, and that if he continues to be a mere troll, no one will ever remember you.
Blasting News reported last week on the story of multiple homicides in a quiet suburb of Sacramento. In the incident, Salvador Vasquez-Oliva was taken into custody as a suspect, but at that stage, the victims had not been named. The Sacramento County Coroners office has on Sunday revealed the names of the victims. Three of them were a mother and her daughter and son, and the fourth was another woman.

Victims identified in California multiple homicides

According to ABC News, it was 45-year-old Angelique Vasquez and her 14-year-old daughter Mia and 11-year-old son Alvin that were found lying dead in the home, along with 21-year-old Ashley Coleman.

Sacramento Police Officer Matthew McPhail said at the time that detectives are unaware of what relationship Coleman had with the family. However, the Sacramento Bee reports that Ashley was Angeliques niece.

Salvador Vasquez-Oliva arrested Friday

56-year-old Salvador Vasquez-Oliva was detained by authorities in San Francisco on Friday, approximately 90 miles from where the family was killed. He was arrested on suspicion of homicide, although police have still not mentioned a possible motive or what relationship the man had to the deceased.

However, the Bee did report that Vasquez-Oliva had lived at the same property as the deceased at some stage, according to property records. Police have also not, as yet, said how the homicide victims were killed.

Vasquez-Oliva is currently being held in the Sacramento County Jail without bail.

Here are Angelique Vasquez, 45, and Ashley Coleman, 21, the mother and niece found dead Thursday in Sacramento https://t.co/9wmmJGbgs7 pic.twitter.com/RyuBZPCq53  Tom Miller (@KCRAMiller) March 26, 2017

Sacramento Police had discovered the four bodies after a family member told them they were concerned about the family.

Police have finally removed the yellow crime scene tape surrounding the Sacramento home and Matt McPhail, spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department says they hope other residents in the neighborhood can now return to their routine.

Man suspected of killing 2 children, 2 adults found dead inside Sacramento home has been arrested, police say https://t.co/Xqu90nN2y9 pic.twitter.com/3GGSc3ZGha  KTLA (@KTLA) March 24, 2017

He said they realized the crime and its aftermath had an impact on many of the neighbors and stated that they appreciate everyones patience as they investigated the crime. Now the crime scene tape has reportedly been replaced by a memorial of flowers, stuffed animals, and candles on the front lawn of the Sacramento home.
While much of the media is focused on the potential for lunar and asteroid mining, a number of companies are within a couple of years of starting to mine the seabed floor here on Earth, according to ZME Science. As it turns out, more resources necessary to keep a technological civilization prospering exists on the ocean floor than ever existed on land. Naturally, a number of environmental groups are gearing up to stop seabed mining before it starts.

A Canadian firm called Nautilus Mining seems set to be the first to unleash a trio of mining robots, each several hundred tons, by about 2019.

The mining robots would traverse the ocean floor off the coast of Papua New Guinea into the Bismark Sea to chew up the seafloor with rock crushing devices to get at rich stores of copper, nickel, cobalt, gold, and platinum among other minerals. Estimates suggest that enough minerals exist under the ocean to sustain civilization for thousands of years.

Naturally, a number of environmental groups are opposed to seabed mining, at least until further study is done. The main fear is that the plume of silt that the mining robots will create will harm the ecosystem, getting toxic materials into the food chain. Nautilus downplays this danger, pointing out that their mining robots are designed to minimize the effects of silt plumes.

An Australian environmental group called Deep Sea Mining Campaign is not claiming that environmental damage by deep sea mining operations is inevitable, just that the risks are too unknown for it to be allowed to proceed. Nevertheless, the group is calling for an indefinite ban on mining the ocean floor.

The controversy that has arisen has become one that has become all too familiar starting in the latter part of the 20th Century.

On one side, a company is proposing to make money by exploiting resources for the betterment of humankind. On the other side, environmentalists are arrayed to stop the company to save the planet from such exploitation and what it sees as its horrible effects. How far the environmentalists are prepared to go is a question that has yet to be answered.
In spite of being underage, Malia Obama turned up at a 21-and-over event at a SoHo nightclub on Saturday where she accosted Lucian Wintrich, a White House Correspondent for The Gateway Pundit.

According to The Gateway Pundit, Malia appeared to be having a good time, until she spotted Wintrich and decided to confront him. Witnesses, who described 18-year-old Malia Obama as being intoxicated, stated that she stormed over to the journalist and began yelling at him after he attempted to take her picture.

Malia Obama acted like a spoiled brat, witnesses claim

Wintrich states that Malia forced him to identify himself. After he did so, the former First Daughter allegedly told the journalist to sit down with her and have a discussion. Wintrich claims that after he accepted Malia's invitation, she grew indignant and yelled at him, "I think you're disgusting." This caused Malia's personal bodyguards to intervene and they whisked her away from the scene.

Wintrich described Malia Obama as being "unhinged" and "reckless."

"Privilege and entitlement grants you the opportunity to be at a club for 21-and-over individuals as well as the opportunity to make a fool of yourself in public," reported The Gateway Pundit of the Saturday night incident at The Parlor, an exclusive club in New York's trendy SoHo neighborhood.

Journalist live tweets Malia's meltdown

Wintrich documented the incident as it unfolded via Twitter. His tweets indicate that the altercation took place shortly before 1:25 AM. A few minutes later, Wintrich joked on Twitter that he had just been "scolded" by Malia Obama for having the audacity to show up at the same nightclub as her (Wintrich explained to The Gateway Pundit that he was an invited guest at the private affair).

Again, for the record, 18 year old Malia Obama literally scolded me for being in the same (21+) lounge in NYC as her  #BadParenting  Lucian B. Wintrich (@lucianwintrich) March 26, 2017

Shortly after 2:00 AM, Wintrich posted another tweet indicating that he had been threatened by The Parlor's management.

SO management of Parlor in NYC told me to delete the Malia Obama shoulder pic from all my of social media or I'd be banned; GUESS I'M BANNED pic.twitter.com/ns8T2oZP87  Lucian B. Wintrich (@lucianwintrich) March 26, 2017

"Delete the Malia Obama shoulder pic from all my social media or I'd be banned," he tweeted, referencing the picture he took of the former First Daughter, in which only part of her shoulder was visible.

@lucianwintrich and I at a club in NYC where underage Malia Obama flips out on Lucian and 5 employees lecture us and kick us out lol #maga  Martina Markota (@MartinaMarkota) March 26, 2017

A friend of the journalist, Martina Markota, claims that she and Wintrich were both tossed out of the club following the incident.
America stands on the verge of another nuclear conflict with North Korea. A missile failed to launch last Wednesday off the eastern coast of North Korea. In response, the U.S. sent its most powerful bombers to fly over the country. America has now declared a preemptive strike against North Korea. The cynical dynasty that is Kim Jong Un has been accumulating nuclear weapons since the Korean War. He continues to lead his father's regime into controversy. He reminds foreign countries that North Korea has plans for the nuclear destruction of them.

Over the past few years, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have broken ties with the political official.

Despite that fact, Kim Jong Un still continues to build missiles that can reach the U.S. The matter at hand is whether or not he can be stopped.

North Korean statements

The recent threats from the eastern peninsula are attempts to entice Pyongyang with the preemptive strike. The U.S. plans to impose the strike on the nation's foreign aid and sanctions relief. A statement, entitled "U.S. should not run wild, pondering over the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its attempt at a preemptive strike," was released by North Korea's KCNA following the matter at hand.

Within the past year, Kim has launched over 30 missiles and at least 2 nuclear bombs. The country is rumored to have built 20 nuclear bombs.

Kim's regime is known for being gluttonous when it comes to talks of attacking other nations, including the Unites States of America. Also last year, it launched a missile in South Korea to test preemptive strikes at airfields and ports. Just a few weeks ago, it launched 4 missiles at the same time off the coast of Japan. It was a test saturation attack they claimed was an attempt at overpowering any missile defenses there.

A North Korean diplomat announced this past Tuesday that its supreme leader could launch a missile "at any time and at any place" that he pleases. Immediately following this horrific detail was the failed missile launch that occurred off the nation's coast on Wednesday.

The American response

During last week's press conference in Seoul, State Secretary Rex Tillerson said, "Twenty years of talking has brought us to the point we are today." He also mentioned, "Talk is not going to change the situations." He added that the preemptive strike is the country's last resort if the U.S.

forces continue to be challenged by the nuclear weapons programs of North Korea. The secretary's comments serve as a strong force from the Trump administration. They are now calling for the halt of Kim's nuclear and ballistic-missile programs.

The Secretary of State is preparing a new approach toward this missile crisis as the U.S. warns North Korea that it won't be manipulated into intimidation.

Tillerson told reporters in South Korea on Friday, "If they evaluate the threat of their weapons programs to a level that we believe requires action, that option is on the table. Let me be very clear: this policy of strategic patience has ended. All options are on the table. North Korea must understand that the only path to secure, economically prosperous future is to abandon its development of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction."
To get to what may be the real news of what is going on in Russia, where there were protests in 99 areas over the weekend, you have to go past the headlines and look for signs. The signs point to a profound and crucial change in what activism is and how it can be expressed. It bodes well for what we might call a peaceful global democratic revolution. When opposition leader Aleksei Navalny was arrested Sunday, the New York Times reports, he urged his followers to continue in a peaceful manner. "Walk along Tverskaya." he urged.

Mass nonviolence?

The real news may be that this largest demonstration against Putin in five years signals a continuing idea that we can, around the world, walk our way to peace and justice.

This is not Pollyanna stuff. It is the hard-won insight that comes from the failure of violence and the need for nonviolence to become a basis for truly mass movements. There were beatings yesterday. But the Times and other media were at fault when they painted it as continuous with the past. It is a move to something very different.

Innocuous politics

There is nothing innocuous about corruption, but if you are making that the message of your protest, you are signaling that this is an inclusive cause and not some ideological agenda. There was no banner waving as the demonstrators walked along. In fact, there were expressions of patriotism, a favorite Putin ploy. This is part and parcel of a move toward silent revolution where the issue is decency and the watchword is fairness.

These are powerful when they are backed up by the willingness of people to take a stand -- or a walk as the case may be.

Aleksei Navalny, Top Putin Critic, Arrested as Protests Flare in Russia https://t.co/7Fo6gBlJgp  Stephen C. Rose (@stephencrose) March 27, 2017

Could Putin be brought down?

The current situation in Russia may be the most important bit of news on the planet.

It holds the very remote promise that the form of protest under discussion could become so emphatic that change would result. If so, it will owe its birth to two key factors that were present yesterday. There was first the peaceful approach that generally prevailed. Then there was the idea of an almost generic "cause" like corruption rather than a narrow bill of particulars. The purpose of a protest need not be spelled out when a peaceful walk lies at its center.
While it would be easy to be ironic about the events in Congress last week, the defeat of House Leader Paul Ryans proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act will continue to distract a White House that should be concentrating on its programme rather than on recrimination for a stinging defeat that negated the Republican joy for the November election victories.

Republican wars

The fact that the proposed bill was withdrawn twice on consecutive days was the official recognition of a defeat that would have been unthinkable on November 9th when the GOP dreamed of remaking America in its image.

The fractures within the #Republican party have now made it obvious to all that it does not know what it truly represents. Worse still, when a proposal finally makes it through the House the one seat Republican majority in the Senate will face more severe tests on the controversial issues that it will soon address.

At the moment of writing the conjecture is whether or not Paul Ryan will pay price for the failure after President Donald Trumps tweet to followers to watch a TV programme Saturday where the first item was a call for Ryan to be removed as Speaker of the House.

This tweet will only ensure that the Republican infighting this week will be even more bitter and acrimonious and that Party unity will be put under increasing strain.

Proposed budget and ?

With the failure of the ACA replacement on Friday the White House this week will need to concentrate at its relations with the Republicans in both Houses as it cannot afford to take another public stumble. And with this situation all the campaign doubts about Donald Trumps lack of political experience are coming back to the fore.

In the swathe of interviews and whispers that inevitably follow any defeat, many Republicans have told journalists that the President has two major personal difficulties that need to be overcome if he wants to achieve even a small part of his objectives.

The first of these is the lack of knowledge about the running of the legislative machine and the second his obvious lack of detailed knowledge of policy making and the requirements for any piece of legislation.

These will not be easy hurdles to overcome,

Amendments

Since the premise of the proposed budget presented last week was the assured victory of ACA replacement bill, it will now need to be amended and urgently to allow for the inevitable effects of the failure of Ryans bill.

If the oval office has not yet begun them, this will lead to a long series of meetings between Republicans to ensure that the factional splits will not prove disastrous to the Budget as well.

The obvious answer to that conundrum would be to approach the Democrats to start ensuring that their support for at least some of the less controversial items of the budget. Given his public complaint of the lack of cooperation from the opposition for the repeal of the ACA, which had never been approached by the Oval Office at any stage, this seems unlikely.

In all likelihood the next week will once again be subject to distractions that will make governing the country even more difficult.

Supreme Court

In addition, the Administration still has too many places to fill which will only continue to put pressure on a select few in the White House. Up till now the scarcity of results gives the public little hope of seeing definitive decisions reached for at least this week.

At the same time the Supreme Court will also attract attention. Firstly regarding the fate of the proposed new Justice Neil Gorsuch, the GOP will now want to rush through his confirmation as soon as possible in order to give supporters some belated good news.

But the second reason is even more important for the White House.

The Moslem Ban orders are inevitably moving towards the Supreme Court for final decisions on their constitutionality and eventual application. If the Oval Office loses this challenge President Donald Trump will find it difficult to recover.

Let the week begin.
Last week began with explosive testimony by FBI Director James Comey at the House Intelligence Committee public sitting where he confirmed the ongoing investigations into possible collusion between members of the Trump team and Russian agents during the presidential campaign and the transition period. As the later part of the week saw the Battle of the Republicans in the House for the repeal of the ACA the intelligence investigations continued on their course.

Ukraine

Subsequent revelations and documentation about former Trump campaign Chairman Paul Manafort and his activities involving Russia and the Ukraine have added further fuel to this fire.

As a result Manafort requested that he be heard by the House Committee.

These revelations coincided with the assassination in the Ukrainian capital Kiev of former Russian parliamentarian Denis Voronenkov who was considered a possible witness in the investigations of Russian collusion.

Also complicating this matter was the serious and suspicious fall last week of lawyer Nikolai Gorokhov near Moscow who was also involved in a court case in Cyprus regarding money laundering in which Manaforts name had been also been linked in the course of investigations in regards to payments received for his work for former Ukrainian President Viktor Janukovych who is now in exile in Russia..

Chairman

Further affecting the investigations by the House Intelligence Committee was the unusual behaviour by its Chairman Devin Nunes who angered the Committees senior Democrat Adam Schiff when he briefed President Donald Trump and then spoke to the Press about intelligence reports that members of the Trump transition team, including possibly President Donald Trump, may have been monitored accidentally during activities.

Making this behaviour even more worrying was the fact that Nunes had formally been a member of the Trump transition team and hence raise the possibility of bias in his investigations.

Nunes statements and behaviour have the potential to weaken the capacity of the House Committee to investigate the allegations of Russian collusion and interference in the presidential campaign in favour of Donald Trump.

Prosecutor

Should these developments threaten the House Committees investigations they may have the effect that the White House would not want to see.

Due to the serious nature of the allegations there had already been calls for a Special Prosecutor even before FBI Director Comey's revelations on Monday. This appointment may now be inevitable in the light of these developments.

There is little likelihood that this particular shadow hanging over the White House will disappear soon. In fact they even affect the Administrations negotiations with its allies for at least the foreseeable future.

As the new week begins the American public will be wondering what new revelations will come on the investigations and what effect they will have on the White House.

Unlike the fabled elephant the Russian bear hiding in the corners of Washington will not remain unmentioned and will be the subject of much speculation and many surprises well into the future.
After completing his first month in office, Donald Trump has come under fire on a daily basis from the media, including for his recent speech at Cpac and his actions on transgender rights. Backlash soon followed, which was highlighted by comedian Bill Maher on Friday night.

Maher on Trump

To kick off his day on Friday, Donald Trump traveled to CPAC and spent the first part of his speech bashing the media. The president accused the press of pushing "fake news" in an attempt to smear his administration, while once again referring to them as the "enemy of the people." An hour later, several news outlets, including the New York Times, BBC.

the Los Angeles Times, and CNN, were banned from attending a press briefing at the White House. Prior to his speech and media ban, Trump targeted the transgender community in a story that has since dominated the headlines. These issues, and more, were highlighted during the February 24 edition of HBO''s "Real Time with Bill Maher."

Starting off his show with his routine opening monologue was host Bill Maher, and he didn't hold back his thoughts about Donald Trump. "Trump believes men shouldn't' be in the same bathroom as other men peeing unless you are paying for it," Maher said.

Mocking the president, Maher joked, "Back when I was grabbing pu**y, I was only doing it to check who should be in the right bathroom." Maher then targeted Caitlyn Jenner for finally attacking Trump after supporting him in the election. "It looks like he (Trump) lost Caitlin Jenner on this one," he said, before noting, "Bruce Jenner was an idiot, and adding t**s didn't make him a genius."

"People are really getting hurt now.

and they are celebrating this at CPAC," Bill Maher went on to say, hitting Donald Trump for bragging about "fake news" and his crowd size during his speech. "I'll say this about Hitler, at least he put in a little effort," the host said. Maher closed his monologue by attacking back Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, while trolling White House Press Secretary as a "future stroke victim."

Moving forward

While he's only been the commander in chief for just over 30 days, Donald Trump has found a way to turn even more people against him.

In the latest poll released by Quinnipiac University Poll, Trump's approval rating has dropped to 38 percent, with 55 percent disapproving of the job he's done in office. Though it's only been a month, Trump's policies and executive orders have been received negatively by millions of Americans, and it doesn't look like either side is willing to back down anytime soon.
Over the last month that Donald Trump has been in office, protests have taken place on an almost daily basis in opposition to the administration. With yet another demonstration taking place prior to the Academy Awards over the weekend, Trump took to social media to give his thoughts.

Trump on Twitter

During the 2016 presidential campaign, protests were common, especially at rallies for Donald Trump. Often liberal demonstrators would be in attendance and clash with supporters of the former host of "The Apprentice," which would result, at times, in physical altercations.

On the day of his inauguration, Trump faced massive backlash, with protests breaking out in Washington D.C., leading to over 200 people being arrested for rioting. Since then, the opposition has only grown, with many Hollywood celebrities speaking out against the president. On Friday night, instead of the usual pre-Oscar party held prior to the Academy Awards, celebrities decided to take part in an anti-Trump event. In a February 25 Twitter post, the president was not happy.

Maybe the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN should have their own rally. It would be the biggest of them all!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017

"Maybe the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN should have their own rally," Donald Trump tweeted out on Saturday morning, before adding, "It would be the biggest of them all!" Trump's feud with Hollywood is well-documented, as recent award shows have been used as a platform for celebrities to voice their negative opinion.

Star-studded anti-Trump protest held in place of annual pre-Oscars party https://t.co/ny6dydy8C5 pic.twitter.com/8NVbpeEKjG  The Hill (@thehill) February 25, 2017

At the anti-Trump Oscars party on Friday night, known as the "United Voices Rally" Michael J. Fox, Jodie Foster, and Keegan-Michael Key were all in attendance. "We are the lucky ones," Fox said, speaking in reference to helping Syrian refugees.

"I believe that when so much good has been done unto you it's natural to feel a sense of civic or even global responsibility," the "Back to the Future" star continued.

Moving forward

Though it's only been a month, Donald Trump has caused major changes in the United States. In retaliation, the majority of the American people view the billionaire real estate mogul in a negative light, with the latest Quinnipiac Poll showing Trump with just a 38 percent approval rating.
China said on Monday that the recent visit of a high-level Japanese official to Taiwan has caused a "serious disturbance" to the improvement of China-Japan relations. Beijing strongly objected, lodging "solemn representations" with the Japanese.

Jiro Akama, deputy minister of Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, visited Taiwan on Saturday to attend a Japanese culture and tourism promotion event, according to Kyodo News Agency. The visit made him the most senior government official to visit the island since "diplomatic" ties were severed with Chinese Taipei in 1972.

"China is resolutely opposed to the visit and has lodged solemn representations with Japan," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news conference in Beijing.

Hua said the Taiwan question is a major matter of principle that concerns the political foundation of China-Japan relations.

"The visit of an incumbent Japanese deputy minister to Taiwan obviously went against Japan's promises to maintain only nongovernmental and local levels of exchange with Taiwan," she said.

She also noted that while Japan said it respects its promises on the Taiwan question, it has been provocative in its practical actions, and "this has caused serious disturbance to the improvement of bilateral relations".

"The Taiwan question concerns China's core interests and cannot be challenged," Hua said. "Japan should recognize its seriousness and stop being two-faced and not go further on the wrong path."

Hua also asked the Japanese to face up to history and stop making trouble on territorial issues.

According to recently updated Japanese high school textbooks, China's Diaoyu Islands are repeatedly labeled as Japanese territory.

"No matter what the Japanese say or do, it cannot change the fact that the Diaoyu Islands belong to China," she said, adding that the Diaoyu and its associated islands are China's inherent territory, and China's resolution to safeguard territorial sovereignty is unshakable.

"We ask the Japanese side to face up to history and reality, educate the younger generation with a right view on history, and stop making trouble," she added.
David Dollar has spent a lifetime studying China, including nearly a decade living and working in China as a professor, World Bank official and US Treasury emissary

David Dollar was about to graduate from high school when US President Richard Nixon made his historic trip to China in February 1972. He enrolled in Dartmouth College to study Chinese language and history.

Now a senior fellow at the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, Dollar recalled that Nixon's trip caught a lot of attention on television in the US "in the sense that China was starting to open up".

"It was the beginning of a new era. So I think that influenced me to study Chinese language and Chinese history," he told China Daily in his Brookings office.

Pictures on the wall show his close connection with China, such as ones with his family on the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall outside Beijing, playing mahjong during a break at a World Bank project site in Chongqing, and a 2006 group photo of him with then Premier Wen Jiabao and other recipients of the Friendship Award, the top prize for foreign experts working in China.

At Dartmouth, Dollar studied Chinese history and politics, everything from the communist revolution to the founding of the People's Republic.

He liked the small classes with specialized faculty at Dartmouth. Some classes had five or six students. The Chinese language was difficult, he admitted.

Finishing Dartmouth in just three years, Dollar received a fellowship to study Chinese at a university in Taiwan. He spent the academic year living with a local family and spoke Chinese every day. "Back then, my Chinese was mamahuhu (so so), not bad," he said.

Taiwan just had a new leader Chiang Ching-kuo, son of former leader Chiang Kai-shek who passed away in April 1975. The Taiwan economy was taking off and exports were booming, very much like what would happen on the Chinese mainland a decade later.

"That was when I got interested in economics, watching the export boom in Taiwan," Dollar said.

Returning to the US, he went in the PhD program at New York University, focusing on international trade and investment. He remembers the macroeconomics exam on balance of payment back then is still quite relevant today.

First trip to China

After graduating in 1984, Dollar went to teach economics at UCLA, a school that had quite a few collaborative programs with China. In 1986, he made his first trip to the Chinese mainland, teaching for six months at the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.

China was still relatively poor then. There were no elevated roads in Beijing and the Third Ring Road was just under construction, he recalled.

Dollar found that China's economic reform at the time had a major impact on the countryside, but not as much in big cities. China had not yet got rid of the rationing system and dual currency system. He had a little booklet to show the stores that as a foreign expert working in China, he could pay with renminbi (RMB) instead of FEC (foreign exchange certificates). But he found the stores were not always happy hearing that.

In his early 30s then, Dollar spent a month travelling around China, from Sichuan, Yunnan to Guangdong and the east coast. There were no airports at Dali and Lijiang in Yunnan province then, so he had to travel from Kunming by bus.

He travelled between Suzhou and Hangzhou in East China on an overnight barge on the Grand Canal. "That was unbelievable," he said.

Travelling around the country, Dollar found ordinary Chinese were very friendly. "I told them I was an American, they had very positive attitude. That was nice," he said.

He also saw a lot of enthusiasm in the countryside about economic reform. "That was visible. People's lives were getting better," he said.

He was impressed how open China was, recalling a lot of interesting discussions with his students on topics ranging from Taiwan and US-China relations to China's economic reform.

China years

Coming back to UCLA, Dollar continued to teach economics while doing some consulting work for the World Bank.

In 1989, he accepted a job offer from the World Bank and moved to Washington. He worked for six years as a country economist for Vietnam, which just launched its economic reform. He then moved to the research department for another seven plus years before becoming country director for China and Mongolia in 2004.

That assignment turned into a nine-year stay in Beijing for him and his family, including five years with the World Bank and four as US Treasury emissary in Beijing.

The relationship between the World Bank and the Chinese government was "very good" in general but "it changed over time," he said.

In the early days of Chinese economic reform and opening-up, the World Bank financed the earliest expressways in China and introduced new ideas, including advising China on its accession to the World Trade Organization.

When Dollar arrived in 2004, China was already a middle-income country and one of the biggest economies in the world. Its agenda had also shifted.

"So what I tried to do with the World Bank program was to shift and to focus more on environmental issues and social issues," he said, citing the cleanup of the West Lake in Hangzhou, the Li River in Guilin, the Pearl River in Guangzhou and Suzhou Creek in Shanghai.

"I think we played a helpful role," Dollar said.

In 2006, the Chinese government granted Dollar the "Friendship Award," the top prize for foreign experts who made outstanding contributions to China's social and economic progress.

"I am officially a friend of China," Dollar said with pride.

He had also travelled extensively during the nine years in China, including to remote places such as Xinjiang and Tibet. He pointed to a photo he took of the Qomolangma (Mount Everest), where he slept in a tent at the base of the mountain.

Besides business trips, he also went on many vacations with his family. "Frankly, my family was very happy in Beijing. They didn't want to move back," he said.

His daughter and son attended the Western Academy of Beijing, a private international school, and his wife, who had also studied Chinese in Taiwan, was the best Chinese language speaker at home. "Whenever we travelled around, she would be our spokesperson" Dollar said.

He felt especially privileged to have travelled extensively in China in 1986 because it has given him a perspective on what's been accomplished in China, achievements he calls "really remarkable."

During his trips in 1986, Shanghai's Pudong area was mostly farm fields and there was nothing in Shenzhen but officials saying what they were going to do. "You go around the world and local officials tell you to come back in 10 years and this is going to be a big city, most of the time that's nonsense," Dollar said.

He has since revisited Shenzhen several times. It now boasts a population of over 10 million. "It's unbelievable," he said.

When Dollar left the World Bank in 2009, US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner hired him as the Treasury emissary in Beijing. Dollar admitted that he was a bit nervous because the World Bank is a friend of China while the US Treasury's relationship with China was more complicated.

"I think in a lot of ways US and China are friends," he said. "But there is also some tension."

Trump policy

Despite tough campaign rhetoric on China, US President Donald Trump has softened his tone since taking office. "It does seem that he is approaching China cautiously, which is probably good," Dollar said.

In his view, the administration might still take some protectionist measures against China, but they will be relatively small and almost symbolic. He is sure that China will retaliate. "But if the measures are small on both sides, then it's a minor annoyance," he said.

"But I could be wrong. I do think if the Trump administration does any major protectionist measures against China, I am sure that China will retaliate in a major way. And that will be quite bad for our two economies," he said.

Dollar believes it's very hard for Trump to bring back the manufacturing jobs lost over the years. "I am pretty sure that protectionism is not going to bring jobs back," he said.

He warned that protectionism might bring some specific jobs back, but it's going to lead to the loss of other jobs - high productivity and high-paying jobs.

"So I think it's a losing strategy," he said.

Dollar finds Trump's economic officials, including internationalists and protectionists, quite inconsistent. "Usually that means within a year, some start winning, some start losing, some leave probably," he said.

In a January article, Dollar dismissed Trump's accusation of China being a currency manipulator by devaluing the RMB. He argued that China has been intervening to keep its currency high, not low.

He also called the big imbalance developed between the two countries in the 2000s as "unfortunate."

"I blame both countries because it takes mistakes on both sides to create that kind of problem," he said.

He believed the US needs more saving while the Chinese should save less but consume more. "So the irony here, the US saves too little, China saves too much. If you put US and China together, it makes a perfect economy, if we actually merge," he joked.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

David Dollar, then Beijing-based World Bank country director for China and Mongolia, plays mahjong during a break at a World Bank-financed project in Chongqing, in a file photo taken around 2007. Photos Provided To China Daily David Dollar and his family pose for a photo at the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall outside Beijing in 2011.

(China Daily USA 03/10/2017 page11)
From right: WorldFest President Hunter Todd, Panorama China Chair Ray Jiang and Director Dan Qi announce the lineup for the 50th WorldFest on March 24. [Photo/China Daily]

More than 100 people from China's film industry will bring 33 films to the 50th WorldFest  Houston International Independent Film Festival, organizers of the event announced on March 24.

The festival will begin on April 21 and end April 30, with the AMC 30 on Dunvale Road serving as the screening venue.

"We will screen more than 80 feature films from over 30 countries, about 800 international filmmakers are expected to attend this event," said Hunter Todd, founder and president of WorldFest. "Panorama China will premiere 33 new films from China, which are all North America Premieres, and at least eight World Premieres."

Todd said that other events include film/video production master classes on the use of drones in filmmaking, investing in feature films and how to obtain free stock footage from NASA.

In addition, festival clubs will be held every night for people to meet and network at the Marriott Westchase Hotel, headquarters of the festival.

Kathleen Haney, director of WorldFest, said this year's entries are less tragic and more humorous.

Of all the Chinese films, she was especially struck by three: A Paper Marriage  how a fake marriage to buy a house turned into a real marriage; Special Encounter  casual online role play games turn complicated; and Being a Cop  a son embarks on a path to become a chef against the wishes of his father, who is a police officer.

"WorldFest's focus on China is very exciting. I am delighted and fortunate to be part of it," said Haney.

Ray Jiang, chair of Panorama China, said that the US China Film and Cultural Forum and China's Film Project Promotion Summit will also be held during the festival.

"We want to make it into a platform for the world to know Chinese film, and provide opportunities for people with dreams of film to realize their potential. In the last two years, we have helped some Chinese films get aired in theatres in North America, enabled copyright sales and brought together film projects," Jiang said.

Confirmed VIPs in attendance include Yue-Sai Kan, Chinese-American Emmy-winning television host and producer; CCTV TV host Jiang Xiaohang; Zhang Hui, dean of the Beijing Film Academy; producer Ji Erwei; screenwriter Xu Bin; actor Wang Luoyong and Sun Chun. In addition, director Ang Lee and other popular Chinese stars are on the invitation list but yet to be confirmed.

Actress Lily Chen Foster, honorary chair of the festival, has worked with both actors Wang Luoyong and Sun Chun. "I was here when Ang Lee's Pushing Hands was first screened at the festival. Panorama China gives us an opportunity to connect Houston and China on a new level," said Foster.

China Consul for Cultural Affairs Xie Fei said he's glad to see Panorama China grow from 20 to 33 films this year.

"The increase means that Americans have a stronger desire to learn about China," Xie said. "As the second-largest economy, China has close ties with the US in politics, economy and culture. Each film tells a Chinese story and there are 33 stories to tell. It will help Americans to know China better."
US President Donald Trump talks to journalist at the Oval Office of the White House after the AHCA health care bill was pulled before a vote, accompanied by US Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price (2nd R) and Vice President Mike Pence (not pictured), in Washington, US, March 24, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - The day after the flaming out of US President Donald Trump's first major legislative initiative, his supporters across America were lashing out - at conservatives, at Democrats, at leaders of his Republican Party in Congress.

Only Trump himself was spared their wrath.

Many voters who elected him appeared largely willing to give him a pass on the collapse of his campaign promise to overhaul the US healthcare system, stressing his short time in office.

"Being a businessman, he'll not take 'no' for an answer," said Tony Nappi, a 71-year-old from Trinity, Florida, one of the many disappointed Republicans on his weekend softball team.

"He'll get the job done."

Support for Trump appeared unflagging, from the playing fields of a Republican stronghold in central Florida to the small town diners of North Carolina, the suburbs of Arkansas and the streets of working-class Staten Island in New York City.

Rebellion among members of his own party sealed the failure of Trump's effort to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act - known as Obamacare - the signature domestic policy achievement of Democratic former President Barack Obama.

Despite casting himself on the campaign trail as "the best dealmaker there is", Trump could not save the healthcare bill yanked by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives on Friday in an embarrassing turn of events for them and Trump. Objections among Republican moderates and the party's most conservative lawmakers left leaders short of the votes needed for passage, with Democrats unified in opposition.

"He can't wave a magic wand," said Ramona Bourdo, 70, a retired nurse, eating breakfast at a McDonald's in suburban Little Rock, Arkansas. "I've not lost confidence in him."

Still, the barista at the Grind Cafe in Morganton, North Carolina, who cannot afford his own insurance and remains on his parents' plan, felt Trump shared responsibility in the debacle.

"I think it's partially his fault," said Joel Martin, a 21-year-old Republican and Trump supporter. "I don't think he has enough personal knowledge to do what he needs to do to get a healthcare bill through Congress."

His hometown, population 17,000, sits within the heavily rural congressional district of Representative Mark Meadows, a North Carolina Republican whose opposition as the head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus helped sink the bill.

Sharing in the frustration of loyal Republicans was 82-year-old Jeanette Madison, a registered independent in the New York City borough of Staten Island, who voted for Trump.

"I blame the Democrats and Republicans in Congress. They area bunch of bastards. I'm just fed up," she said, apologizing for colorful language as she walked her dog down a city street.

LESSONS TO LEARN

In Florida's Pasco County, where Trump's stronger-than-expected showing helped to seal his victory in the largest US battleground state, some fans seized on the silver lining.

Neighbors Patti Niehaus, a Democrat, and Margie Hahne, a Republican, agreed that Trump may have needed last week's crashcourse in governing, having never before held elected office.

"You can't just go and tell people what to do like he's used to doing," said Hahne, 74. "Trump's got to learn a lot."

Bridging Tampa's booming suburbs and still rural parts of central Florida, Pasco County lies in a politically decisive swing region of the state along the Interstate 4 highway corridor linking Tampa and Orlando.

Trump won 58.4 percent of the vote in the mostly white, working- and middle-class county, surpassing the past two Republican presidential candidates by tens of thousands of votes.

His pledge to end Obamacare helped to sway Kelle DeGroat, a 37-year-old nurse, a Republican who is open to other parties.

"I thought there was a good plan the way he talked," said DeGroat, still confident in Trump's ability to make reform happen. "I was shocked that it didn't pass."

Other Republicans applauded their leaders for returning to the drawing board, with polls showing the derailed healthcare plan to be unpopular following predictions that it would jeopardize or increase the cost of insurance for millions.

Lisa Collins, a 53-year-old teacher with two adult children benefiting from Obamacare, for the first time started calling the region's elected representatives to voice her opposition.

"This is a success that the party listened," said Collins, a Republican who did not support Trump. "To me, that's amazing.

They represented the average normal guy, the small guy."

Reuters
Male giant panda Tian Tian at the National Zoo in Washington watches female giant panda Mei Xiang through a window in the yard on Sunday. The zoo said Tian Tian is ready for breeding season. CHEN WEIHUA / CHINA DAILY

Giant panda Bao Bao was a star at the Smithsonian's National Zoo before she left for China on Feb 21. And it turns out that she is also a star back in China.

On Friday, a ceremony was held to mark her first public appearance at the Dujiangyan base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province, after she finished her monthlong quarantine upon returning to China.

The news was carried not only on China Central Television (CCTV), but also major US news outlets The Associated Press, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Several US diplomats and dozens of reporters and guests were on hand at the ceremony to greet Bao Bao, according to the Times.

Bao Bao explored her spacious new enclosure at the panda breeding base, which features both indoor and outdoor play areas, the AP reported.

Keepers have been helping her adapt to local bamboo and Chinese steamed bread made from corn, soybeans, rice and eggs. And because she does not understand commands in Chinese, she is being looked after for a time by an English-speaking keeper, according to AP.

CCTV reported that Bao Bao will join the breeding program two years later. Bao Bao was born at the National Zoo on Aug 23, 2013.

At the National Zoo, the sentimental mood surrounding Bao Bao's departure a month ago has been replaced by busy programs for its three residing giant pandas, Bao Bao's parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and her younger brother Bei Bei.

Giant panda cub Bei Bei was napping in the indoor pavilion at the National Zoo in Washington on Sunday. CHEN WEIHUA / CHINA DAILY

Around 1 pm Sunday, Bei Bei was napping in a tiny bed mounted on the wall in the indoor pavilion. He turned around after a long while and continued to sleep.

The zoo announced on Thursday that Bei Bei has adjusted well to his new habitats and life on his own.

He seeks out his keepers for attention by vocalizing when they are nearby. He is learning how to get food out of the enrichment feeders filled with panda treats. He is not quite as skilled as Mei Xiang or Tian Tian at getting the treats yet, so keepers are giving him some less difficult options such as hanging feeders or PVC feeders with larger holes, according to the zoo.

On March 15, the zoo issued an FAQ for giant panda fans, who had observed the stressful weaning process of Bei Bei from his mother Mei Xiang.

That is no longer a concern, as the weaning process, however stressful in the first few days, turned out to be successful. Instead, the zoo is now keeping a close eye on the breeding opportunity for Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, who have given birth to three surviving giant pandas, all through artificial insemination.

While Bei Bei was napping Sunday at noon, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian were both strolling in their respective yards next to each other.

Several times, Tian Tian was looking through a window to peek at Mei Xiang and then walked away and came back and watched Mei Xiang again through the window.

The zoo said on Thursday that Tian Tian is ready for breeding season. He is in full rut, which means that he frequently scents marks and can be very restless, the zoo said in a press release.

Giant panda Mei Xiang plays near a plastic crate in her yard at the National Zoo in Washington on Sunday. CHEN WEIHUA / CHINA DAILY

It described Mei Xiang as exhibiting pre-estrus behaviors such as water play, scent marking, scent anointing and restlessness.

She often responds to Tian Tian's calls with a moan vocalization, which indicates she is not interested in him just yet. As she gets closer to estrus and becomes interested in Tian Tian, she will start to chirp at him, according to the zoo.

The zoo is also replacing the 24/7 panda cams in all of the yards with high-definition cams, so panda cam viewers can enjoy much improved quality of the pictures on the outdoor cams that have already been replaced.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
Warren Wang, chairman and CEO of JM Eagle, the world's leading pipe manufacturer, says he is proud of his company's participation in a project that installed more than 400 miles of plastic pipe to deliver potable water to 350,000 people in eight African countries. Photo by Paul Welitzkin/China Daily

In remarks aimed squarely at the students attending the 10th annual China Business Conference at Columbia University in New York, Walter Wang, chairman and CEO of JM Eagle, the world's leading pipe manufacturer, said "the purpose of business is to create more than just profit."

The conference, sponsored by the Greater China Society and Columbia University Business School on Saturday, was built around the theme of Stagnation or Transformation: Chasing China's Next Strategic Opportunities.

Despite a personal bout with cancer, Wang has taken a manufacturing business and successfully changed its culture by focusing on creating plastic piping to carry water. Both Wang and his company are now thriving.

JM Eagle partnered with Columbia's Millennium Project to provide more than 400 miles of plastic pipe that is being used to deliver potable water to 350,000 people in eight African countries.

"Something as mundane and ordinary as pipe can change lives," Wang said, adding that his company creates "a product designed to last a lifetime and deliver an essential resource  water."

On the current state of US-China relations, Wang said US President Donald Trump's decision to appoint Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as US ambassador to China will help defuse trade and political tensions between the two largest economies in the world.

"I think he (Branstad) will be able to become a bridge to help resolve any misunderstandings," said Wang, noting that Branstad has personal and professional ties with China's President Xi Jinping.

Wei "Daisy" Cai, who directs Chinese internet search giant Baidu's global technology investments, said the internet and the so-called sharing economy will serve as growth engines for China's economy in the future.

Cai said AI, or artificial intelligence, will become China's "new platform for opportunity". Baidu is laying a foundation in AI with its huge stockpile of data, she added.

Weidong "Richard" Ji, a co-founder and managing partner of All-Star Investment Ltd which controls $1 billion of assets, said China's 600-to-700 million internet users will become the backbone for the country's new economy.

"In China's venture capital market, half of the money is invested in the internet sector," Ji said.

Ji's firm invests in what are known as the category leaders in China: ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing, Tujia (China's version of Airbnb) and Meili Inc, a Chinese online fashion platform.

"Mobile and the internet will drive the future and China's economy," he said.

Chinese MBA students at Columbia worked for several months to organize the event. Ryan You, a 2017 MBA candidate, along with fellow students Angel Chuang and Nick Zhou, served as co-chairs of the gathering.

"This conference will showcase China's new economy to the US," said You. "Many do not realize that China is quickly adapting to the emerging technologies that are shaping the global economy."

You, who hails from Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, said his participation will help to build his leadership skills and enable him "to get to know the speakers and network with them".
Almost every week between December and March, Guilherme Almeida, who lives in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minhas Gerais, drives more than 125 miles into the mountainous area.

Once renowned for being rich in gold, gems and diamonds, the region in southeastern Brazil is where honey bees produce green propolis, which is gaining greater popularity among Chinese people as an effective healthcare product.

Guilherme oversees a large apiary where besides producing honey, the bees are basically chemists, producing the best grade of green propolis.

The bees are a hybrid of European bees and African killer bees, and are efficient producers of propolis and immune to diseases. The bees use propolis as a cement or sealant in the construction of their hives to keep them relatively sterile.

Though there are other types of propolis  dark brown, red and black and with white hues  the bees at this apiary produce green propolis because they have access to the resin of the rosemary tree, which can only be found in certain parts of Minhas Gerais.

The substance can only be harvested in the December-March time period, so Guilherme must seize the opportunity to increase his business with his Chinese clients.

Reporters accompanying him to the apiary have to put on protective suits and hats before entering the bee hives area. The guide leading the way carries a smoke sprayer to calm bees when their hives are opened.

According to Nivia Macedo, who manages the Apis Familia Corporation, the bees at the apiary are free of diseases, and antibiotics and other medicine have never been applied to them. This makes the propolis they produce quite pure.

Workers leave a relatively large space on the hives for the bees to seal it with more propolis. When the space has been filled, the workers cut out the propolis carefully with a knife. Within a week, the procedure is repeated as bees seal the space again.

"All the propolis will be sent to the factory as soon as cut from the bee hives," said Nivia.

After the propolis is harvested, the bees produce honey.

To meet Chinese customers' requirements, the propolis is put into small bottles with a liquid containing an active ingredient. "This way of packing our product is more enjoyed by our Chinese friends, it is delicate and easy to carry and use, Nivia said.

Her business with Chinese customers started several years ago, long before propolis became popular in China.

"Propolis was first used as a healthcare product in Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea and Malaysia,'' Nivia said. `"We decided immediately to step into the Chinese market as soon as the Chinese people discovered the effects of propolis."

Guilherme said that propolis is sold to Chinese customers by providing the green propolis substance directly or in the bottles, which they are doing mostly now. "Though we have as many as 5,000 beehives, the ingredient per year weighs only about 1.5 tons. So it is smarter for us to sell final products to Chinese markets," he said.

"We are able to design five kinds of our propolis products, with different concentrations and flavors. One is for the elderly people, one is for the children, and we even have one for people who are allergic to alcohol," he said.

"Green propolis is the national treasure of Brazil,'' Nivia said. "It is our sincere hope that more and more Chinese friends can taste our products."
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iStock/Thinkstock(MOSCOW)  Hundreds of people have been arrested in a crackdown in Russia after thousands gathered for massive anti-corruption protests Sunday in the nation's capital, and other demonstrations were held in dozens of cities across the country.



Between 7,000 and 30,000 people demonstrated in Moscow, and up to 10,000 in Saint Petersburg in Russia's largest anti-government gatherings since at least 2012.



Huge crowds gathered in Moscow's Pushkin Square for a protest against the Russian government, and about 500 people were arrested in the wake of the protests, according to Interfax, a privately-held, independent Russian news agency. Russian human rights group OVD-info reported that more than 700 people were detained in Moscow, 34 in St. Petersburg, and between 80 and 100 in other cities.

Independent radio station Ekho Moskvy estimated that unsanctioned rallies in 82 cities and towns assembled 60,000 opposition supporters, in what may be the biggest anti-Kremlin protest since 2008.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has challenged President Vladimir Putin's rule on an anti-corruption platform, appeared in a Moscow court Monday as the Kremlin spoke out for the first time on the mass anti-government protests Sunday that rocked the country, saying the demonstrations were based on "provocations and lies."



Navalny was fined 20,000 rubles (roughly $350) and given a 15-day jail sentence for violating public meeting rules and disobeying police.



Navalny was one of hundreds of people arrested in a crackdown after thousands protested in the nation's capital and in other cities across Russia.



The deputy director of Navalny's organization, the Fund for Combatting Corruption (FBK), which had called for the protests, said the organization's offices had also been raided by police.



The FBK conducts investigations into senior Russian officials and releases its findings in slick, irreverent videos. The protest Sunday was organized to demand that Russian authorities look into the fund's latest investigation, released this month, which alleged that Russian prime minister and ex-president Dmitry Medvdev had amassed a massive property empire using a corrupt scheme based on a network of charities.



The investigation alleged Medvedev had built himself vast mansions, bought vineyards and yachts worth as much as a $1 billion. The video laying out the investigation has been watched by at least 9 million people. Authorities have ignored the claims and refused to investigate.



The allegations around Medvedev appear to have struck a chord in Russia, as pressure on freedom of expression has reached a peak at the same time people's living standards have fallen.



The State Department criticized the arrests, and called on Russia to immediately release all the demonstrators who had been detained.



"The United States strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters throughout Russia on Sunday," acting spokesman Mark Toner said. "Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values. We were troubled to hear of the arrest of opposition figure Alexei Navalny upon arrival at the demonstration, as well as the police raids on the anti-corruption organization he heads."



The European Union has called on Russia to release without delay what it called peaceful protesters.



The demonstrations in Russia followed protests in neighboring Belarus on Saturday against that country's president, Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the small, landlocked country since 1994.



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Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue delivers speech at the AmCham Gala 2017 event organised by the US Chamber of Commerce in Ha Noi on Saturday.  Photo vietnamnet.vn

HA NOI  Viet Nam and the US have witnessed remarkable strides and historical milestones in bilateral relations over the past 20 years, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue said on Saturday.

Addressing the AmCham Gala 2017 event organised by the US Chamber of Commerce in Ha Noi, he said, the relationship has particularly flourished in economics as well as education and training.

The elevation of bilateral ties to that of a comprehensive partnership in 2013 has created a firm foundation for the two countries to develop their all-around rapport in the region and beyond, he said.

The two sides have reaped positive outcomes in economic, trade and investment ties, with the bilateral trade enjoying an annual growth of 20 per cent, making Viet Nam one of the biggest trade partners of the US in Southeast Asia, he added.

The US is the seventh largest investor in Viet Nam with a total investment of over US$11 billion.

More than 28,000 Vietnamese students are studying in US universities, the Deputy PM noted, adding that many US students consider Viet Nam a must-see destination to enrich their life experiences.

He also hailed the crucial role of AmCham and the US business community in fostering Viet Nam-US relations over the past two decades.

The operation of US firms in Viet Nam has helped the country integrate more intensively into the global economy and secure a foothold in the global supply chain, he added.

He hoped the US enterprises will continue joining hands with Viet Nam to boost the win-win cooperation in the coming time.

The strong reforms of the Vietnamese Party and State will create favourable business conditions for foreign companies, including those from the US, the Deputy PM said.

He noted that Viet Nam has recorded positive growth in 2016 with the establishment of over 110,000 businesses.

The country is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum this year, he said, adding that the active support and participation of US leaders in APEC Year 2017 is not only important for Viet Nam, but also for the region as a whole, contributing to peace, stability and mutual development.

Vietnamese leaders have invited US President Donald Trump to attend the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting and pay an official visit to Viet Nam, Hue said.

Speaking at the event, US Ambassador to Viet Nam, Ted Osius, acknowledged recent reforms undertaken by the Vietnamese Government.

While expressing his regret that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement was not supported by President Donald Trump, he affirmed there was no trade protectionism in the US.  VNS
HA NOI  The VN-Index tapered its gains to 0.2 per cent to close yesterdays trade at 723.5 points on investor fears of a downward correction after the benchmark index reached a fresh ten-year high.

Some big banks retreated from the mornings gains and restrained the market overall, such as Military Bank (MBB) dropping 1.3 per cent, BIDV (BID) down 0.8 per cent and Vietcombank (VCB) down 0.5 per cent.

Only Vietinbank (CTG) and Eximbank (EIB) retained growth of 0.5 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively.

Overall, the banking sector booked an average loss of 0.3 per cent yesterday.

Losers also included oil and gas stocks with the biggest listings like PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD) and PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) slumping on worries of a downward trend in global oil prices.

The market is incurring high risk in the short term as the index approached the upper boundary of the resistance zone, Tran Hai Yen, a stock analyst at Bao Viet Securities Co wrote in a note.

The VN-Index reached a fresh ten-year high of 722.14 points last Friday and has gained 8.8 per cent so far this year.

On the positive end, companies with positive earnings prospects in the first quarter or having received support information still advanced.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Agriculture Investment JSC (HNG) hit the daily maximum rise of 7 per cent yesterday, settling at VN12,500 (US$0.55) a share, after the Prime Minister approved a credit package worth VN100 trillion ($4.4 billion) to invest in the development of high-tech agriculture and new agricultural enterprises.

Healthcare service companies also posted strong gains yesterday, driven by optimistic earning prospects like DHG Pharmaceutical (DHG), Domesco Medical Import Export (DMC), Imexpharm (IMP) and OPC Pharmaceutical (OPC).

This stock group gained an average 2.63 per cent yesterday.

According to Vietcombank Securities Co, investors bet on stocks with good business forecasts in the first quarter which will likely be announced in the upcoming shareholders meeting next months.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index closed nearly unchanged compared to last Friday at 91.4 points.

Overall liquidity on the two exchanges remained high with a total of 292 million shares worth nearly VN4.9 trillion ($213 million), up 7.4 per cent in volume and 4 per cent in value compared to the daily average levels last week.  VNS
To your health

By Dr. Jonathan Halevy *

Many in Viet Nam, China (of course) and even western countries use TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) to treat almost any problem they have, from common cold to chronic arthritis, diabetes and even cancer.

Many believe that if it is "Traditional" "Chinese" or "Herbal" medication  its safe and has no side effects whatsoever. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth.

First, lets look at the differences between "Traditional" and "Modern" or "Western" medicine:

You will be surprised to know that many medications used in Modern medicine actually originate in "Traditional" Medicine, such as Indian and Chinese medicine: Ephedrine, Digoxin, Echinacea, Artemisinin, Quinine, and several anti-Cancer medications, to name a few. Vaccines were actually first invented by Chinese doctors over 5000 years ago.

So what makes the difference between "Traditional" and "Modern" medicine?

In Modern medicine  You have to prove 2 things:

1. The medicine is effective.

2. The medicine is safe to use.

To do that, every medication has to go through a long exhausting process of research and evaluation to confirm or disprove its effectiveness and safety.

In "Traditional" Medicine, people rely on other peoples anecdotal experience, assuming that "If it works for them it will work for me as well". That can be very misleading. If a 100-year-old man has been smoking for 80 years, does it mean the cigarettes helped him reach such a long life? Of course not! And we know this because reality and research show that smoking cigarettes is a major cause of disease and death.

The best way to prove a medication works is by a "Double blind Placebo study."

In this kind of research, patients are randomly divided into 2 equal groups. One group gets the real medicine and the other group a placebo. Both the patients and the doctors who conduct the study are "blinded"  they dont know which one is fake and which is true.

At the end of the research, the information is gathered and studied and a conclusion made based on objective data on whether a medicine is truly effective or not.

One of the biggest dangers in using TCM is the lack of supervision on production. Studies done by German and Australian authorities on imported TCM discovered that many of them where fake. They did not contain the ingredients they were supposed to. For example, a TCM claiming to contain antelope horn actually contained goat and sheep material.

Some TCM were found to contain steroids, antibiotics and even poisonous heavy metals like lead and arsenic. A few years ago, Washington University conducted a research at the childrens hospital here in HCM City. They investigated exposure to lead in little children. One of those children, a 3-month-old baby, had a lead over 10 times higher than the acceptable level. The baby was exclusively breastfed, so the source could only have been the mother. They have found out that the mother was taking TCM pills that contained high levels of lead, poisoning both mother and baby.

Tests done on herbal preparations also discovered that many contained over 68 different species of plants, most of them not mentioned as ingredients and some contained a chemical compound called "Aristolochic acid", a major cause of kidney cancer. Taiwan, where almost a third of the population uses TCM, has the highest rate of kidney cancer in the world.

Unfortunately, most of the TCM have never been tested properly and there is no objective data to know if they are truly effective and safe.

When you decide to use TCM, you should be aware of these problems. You need to remember that "Traditional" or "Herbal" doesnt mean the medicine has no side effects. You should get your TCM only from known reliable practitioners (Never buy medications online) and always inform your doctor if you take TCM. It can have a significant effect on your condition and on other medications you may be using.Family Medical Practice Vietnam.

*Dr. Jonathan Halevy is a senior pediatrician at the Family Medical Practice in HCM City. He specializes in pediatric emergency and neonatal intensive care. For more advice on any medical topics, visit Family Medical Practice Hanoi on 298 Kim Ma, Ba inh or on (04) 3843 0748 and hanoi@vietnammedicalpractice.com.

FMPs downtown Ho Chi Minh location is Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, District 1, 95 Thao ien Street, District 2. Tel: (08) 38227848. E:hcmc@vietnammedicalpractice.com

FMP Danang is located at 96-98 Nguyen Van Linh Street, Hai Chau District, a Nang. Tel: (0236) 3582 699. E: danang@vietnammedicalpractice.com.
HCM CITY  Temperatures in HCM City shot up to 33 degrees Celsius last week, triggering respiratory and digestive disease and hand, foot, and mouth disease among children, according to the citys Paediatrics Hospital 1.

Dr Pham Van Hoang of the city Paediatrics Hospital 1 said April and May are the peak heat periods in the city, with temperatures reaching as high as of 39 degrees Celsius, resulting in a growing number of sick children.

Last week, the hospitals doctors examined and treated 4,500 to 5,000 children every day, around 30 per cent contracted respiratory disorders, 10 per cent digestive problems and 5 per cent hand, foot, and mouth disease. Nearly 7,000 children visited the citys Paediatrics Hospital 2 for disease examination and treatment every day last week.

Although the efects of the heat are not yet fully felt, judging by previous years, these figures will grow in the coming weeks.

In March of last year, for example, 7,282 children in the southern city of Can Tho were diagnosed with pneumonia, an increase of 2,000 cases compared to February, Tuoi Tre News reported. On average, over 6,000 kids are treated at one of the city hospitals each day, but on April 11 the number surged to 7,656.

Colds, acute diarrhea

A five-year-old boy from Tan Phu District was coughing constantly for several day and visited a doctor. The doctor diagnosed a sore throat and gave him medicine. o Thi Doan, from the neighbouring province of Binh Duong, said that her daughter also had a sore throat causing fever for more than a week.

Doan was worried because the girl had recurrent fever and a runny nose. So Doan brought her to the citys Paediatrics Hospital 1.

Bui Hoang Anh Thu of Hoc Mon District said that his son vomited, has had fever and diarrhea for three days. He was hospitalised at the city Paediatrics Hospital 1 and diagnosed with acute diarrhea.

Dr Hoang said that hot weather of at least 33 degrees Celsius creates favourable conditions for the development of bacteria causing diarrhea, which can be contracted by persons of any age.

Acute diarrhea can be fatal if it is not treated in a timely fashion, he added.

When children have increased frequency of stools or watery stools, they should be brought to hospital as soon as possible, he said.

Salmonella

Many causes for diarrhea among children are food contaminated with salmonella, shigella, E.coli and vibrio cholerae.

Young children often suck fingers or hold toys in their mouth so it is easy for bacteria to get into their body causing diarrhea and other conditions.

Parents should the clean toys and hands of children frequently, Hoang advised.

The citys Preventive Health Centre said that three patients with salmonella in the city were reported in the first three months of the year.

Last year, 43 patients were infected with salmonella, which can exist in water for two to three weeks and ice water for two to three months, the centre said.

Everyone, including workers at canteens of companies and schools and meal suppliers, should obey regulations on food safety and hygiene, such as seperating cooked food with fresh food and covering food. VNS
Tonnes of poultry are illegally traded and slaughtered daily in Ha Nois markets raising public concern over the spread of avian influenza in the capital.  Photo vipa.org.vn

HA NOI  Tonnes of poultry are illegally traded and slaughtered daily in Ha Nois markets raising public concern over the spread of avian influenza in the capital.

The Animal Health Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said despite avian flu has not been so far recorded in the city, there was a risk of infection, especially when outbreaks were reported in neighbouring provinces of Nam inh and Bac Ninh.

Moreover, the department said that between 1 and 7 per cent of healthy poultry carry the A/H5N1 and A/H5N6 virus. Temporary markets were one of the places prone to spread of the virus.

Bui ac Hai, deputy head of the Station for Animal Health in Chuong My District, said the slaughtering in the markets certainly did not effectively prevent the spread of epidemic.

The station has regularly inspected poultry sellers and reminded them of the risk of disease outbreaks. However, he said, it was necessary to get help from the citys authorised agencies to make the supervision effective.

At Thach Bich temporary market on National Highway 21B in Thanh Oai District, some 10 households sell live poultry and some even slaughter the fowl on the spot to serve customer requests.

A poultry seller identified only as Thanh spoke to Kinh te va o thi (Economics and Urban) newspaper, saying that although the demand for ducks and chicken has dropped due to concern over avian flu, which has appeared in other parts of Viet Nam, she could sell about 50 chickens and ducks per day.

"I mainly buy and resell chickens, ducks sold in wholesale markets, so consumers need not worry about sick poultry," she said.

In Chuc Son market in Chuong My District a separate area has been allocated for poultry trading, but it has failed to meet safety and hygiene regulations. The area was dirty. Chickens and ducks were locked in a large cage. One pot of boiling water was used for slaughtering all the poultry, and slaughters did not wear gloves.

Hanh, a poultry seller, said she does not wear gloves when slaughtering poultry. She admitted that sometimes her poultry, as well as other sellers, were sick. Most were purchased in nearby markets, such as Got Market in ong Son Village and Gom Market in Huu Van Commune, she added.

Currently, there are more than 400 markets in the city, including two major markets for poultry - Ha Vy in Thuong Tin District and Bac Thang Long in ong Anh. In Ha Vy market alone, 15-17 tonnes of live poultry are transported from other provinces to the market every day.

Nguyen Ngoc Son, deputy director of the citys Sub-department of Animal Health, admitted that authorised agencies, local authorities and animal health forces are unable to curb all the slaughtering in local markets because many traders operate on a small scale and move continously to avoid inspectors.

In addition, the fines for violators of between VN2-3 million were light and the enforcement was lax.

Son said the sub-department has asked the districts veterinary stations to focus more closely on the prevention of bird flu. It has encouraged people to immediately notify the markets management boards of poultry without clear orgin transported into their localities.

The sub-department also organise disinfection of the markets.

He added that the Ministry of Industry and Trade is collecting opinions on its draft regulations on food markets. Trading in live cattle and poultry, and slaughtering activities in the markets, would be banned completely under the new regulations.  VNS
Viet Nam saved 471,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, equivalent to VN764 million (US$33,616) when people nationwide responded to Earth Hour by switching off unnecessary electrical devices, according to the National Load Dispatch Centre under national power utility Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN).  Photo VNEEP

HA NOI  Viet Nam saved 471,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, equivalent to VN764 million (US$33,616) when people nationwide responded to Earth Hour by switching off unnecessary electrical devices, according to the National Load Dispatch Centre under national power utility Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN).

The figure was revealed yesterday after the country joined many others for the 2017 Earth Hour late on Saturday from 8:30 to 9:30 pm, with many people taking the symbolic action of turning off unnecessary electrical devices for an hour.

This years figures represented a slight increase against the 451,000 kWh of electricity saved in the previous year.

The Earth Hour campaign is one of several activities taken by the Vietnamese Government and people towards reducing eight percent of the nations greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

The launching ceremony of Earth Hour 2017 was held at the Ha Noi University of Technology on Saturday, drawing students from other universities and colleges of the city. Many activities were held in localities across the country throughout March, especially in major cities like Ha Noi, a Nang, Can Tho and HCM City.

Viet Nam saved nearly 12 billion kWh of electricity in 2011-2015, equivalent to VN17.8 trillion ($783,200), following the implementation of various programmes on energy efficiency, according to EVN.

The EVN aim to implement at least 250 electricity saving solutions nationwide in the 2016-2020 period, setting the target of saving at least 24 million kWh per year. VNS


HA NOI  Japanese police have confirmed the death of a Vietnamese girl in Akibo, Chiba Prefecture, who was reported missing last Friday, according to Japanese media.

The nine-year-old girl was found dead in a grass field near a drainage ditch in Akio on Sunday, the local police said.

The naked body of Le Thi Nhat Linh was found at around 6.45am by a man who had come to fish in the Tone River nearby. The site where her body was found is some 10-12km from the school.

Police said they are yet to determine the cause of death.

Earlier, Japanese media reported that Linh, a third grade elementary school student in Chiba Prefecture, went missing last Friday morning.

The news was confirmed after Linhs teacher called her family to inform them the girl did not show up at school on Friday morning. The family then reported the matter to the local police.

The girl, who lived in the nearby city of Matsudo, was 130cm tall and wearing pink pants and a gray hooded jacket when she left home with a red school backpack, according to the local police.

Linh walked to school alone each day since it was located near her house.

The case is under investigation.  VNS
HA TINH  There is an outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in Ha Tinh City, in the central Ha Tinh Province, the agriculture and rural development ministrys animal health department announced on Sunday.

The department said that in Ha Tinh, 1,698 ducks and chickens in ai Nai Ward were infected, and that 50 ducked died on March 21. Tests confirmed that the poultry was infected with A/H5N1 virus.

The local veterinary agency and local authorities have culled the infected poultry and implemented measures to disinfect the area where the outbreak has been reported to prevent it from spreading further.

So far, the country has recorded three H5N1 outbreaks: in Can Tho City and in Hau Giang and Ha Tinh provinces. An H5N6 outbreak was reported in the central province of Quang Tri, according to the animal health department.

On Sunday, Truong Ngoc Trung, head of animal health department in Hau Giang Province, reported that his department prevented the spread of the H5N1 virus in Vi Thuy District by culling all 900 chickens belonging to a household in Vi Binh Commune.

This is the second H5N1 outbreak to have been detected in the province. In mid-January, H5N1 cases were reported in a household in Long My Towns Long Tri A Commune, and 800 chickens were culled.

The department has warned that the risk of bird flu outbreaks is very high in the near future. Viet Nam has so far not recorded other strains of bird flu such as A/H7N9, A/H5N2 and A/H5N8, but these viruses could enter the country through livestock being brought in illegally, especially in the northern border provinces, the department said.

All regions should actively implement preventive measures to control avian influenza, it said, urging locals to help by preventing illegal import of poultry.  VNS
HA NOI  The Government has told the Ministry of Transport (MoT) to put the Cat Linh-Ha ong urban railway into operation by the first quarter of 2018. The projects contractor has also pledged not to lag behind schedule any longer.

Originally slated to be finished two years ago, unresolved capital issues have hindered the progress of the capitals first metro line, threatening to derail the project.

An additional loan worth US$250 million, taken out four years ago due to cost overruns, has not received a greenlight for disbursement by the Export-Import Bank of China (Eximbank).

Le Kim Thanh, director of the Ha Noi urban railway management board (MBR) under the MoT, said that negotiations with Chinas Eximbank are underway to extend the preferential buyers credit loan agreements, as well as additional preferential agreements.

This will no doubt impede the progress of the project. We are instructing the contractor and sub-contractors to mobilise their own financial resources to continue the project. However, its not easy, Thanh said.

He said that the Vietnamese and Chinese partners expected to complete negotiations over extension of two preferential agreements by the end of this month, which will help accelerate the disbursement. There will be no more setbacks, Thanh stated.

Explaining the reason for the requirement of 658 staff for a 13km railway, including 58 drivers, the project management board said the trains will run 18 hours a day, an equivalent of 2.5 shifts, dispelling public concern over the bloated figure.

Out of over 600 staff members, 400 are being trained in Viet Nam, 200 members have been sent to China since 2015 as per the agreement signed between the Vietnamese and Chinese governments. The 37 drivers sent to China are all key drivers whose training lasted nearly a year. Training costs are included in the projects initial estimates, the board said.

The MBR also responded to media questions regarding some differences in the trains actual design compared to the models that were publicly polled. The trains main colour is still green, windows and windshields are made from dark glass. Instructions and signs, as well as the control panel on the trains, will be available in both Vietnamese and English.

The Cat Linh-Ha ong urban railway will have 12 stations and one depot area. Out of the initially projected investment of $552 million, $419 million (76 per cent) were loans from China and the rest matching funds by the Vietnamese Government.

Construction started in 2011 but since then costs rose 886 million, exceeding the original figure by $250 million, or a 160 per cent increase.

Trial runs are scheduled to begin later this year, around October  VNS
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev (right, front) attends the voting at a polling station in Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, on Sunday. The center-right GERB party is leading in the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria on Sunday, winning about one third of the votes, according to exit polls announced at the Bulgarian National TV channel.  XINHUA/VNA Photo

SOFIA  Bulgaria s veteran political bruiser Boyko Borisov is due on Monday to begin tough talks to form a lasting government and become prime minister for the third time.

On Sunday Borisovs pro-EU centre-right GERB party came first in a snap election in the European Unions poorest country with 33 per cent of the vote, according to projections from polling firms

Borisov, a former firefighter and bodyguard, saw off a stiff challenge from the Socialist Party (BSP), seen as closer to Moscow , which garnered 28 per cent.

"I hope we can ensure the rapid formation of a government that responds to the wishes of the people and to the grave international situation," Borisov said late on Sunday.

But whether the 57-year-old can form an administration - and one that stays the course and is effective, unlike his previous two attempts  remains to be seen.

Bulgaria , where the average monthly salary is just 500 euros (US$540) and corruption is rife even after 10 years in the EU, has now seen three elections in four years.

In the first half of next year, Bulgaria will hold the rotating presidency of the EU in the midst of Britain s negotiations with Brussels on the terms of its exit from the bloc.

Borisov has long dominated national politics, serving as premier from 2009 to 2013 and again from 2014 to 2017.

But both times Borisov quit early, first in 2013 after mass protests and then last November after his candidate for the presidency was beaten by an air force commander backed by the BSP.

And his reform efforts, in particular in meeting Brussels demands to tackle corruption and organised crime, failed to get off the ground both times.

In the campaign, Borisov ruled out a tie-up with the centrist Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MDL) party representing Bulgaria s Turkish minority which came third or fourth with around 9.5 per cent.

Potential partners include the United Patriots, also on some 9.5 per cent, and Veselin Mareshki, a charismatic businessman who likes being called the Bulgarian Donald Trump.

It is unclear however whether Mareshkis party, Volya ("Will") cleared the 4-per cent hurdle needed to gain seats in parliament. Official results is due from Monday.  AFP
The status of Britains land border with the EU will be key to negotiations after Prime Minister Theresa May triggers Brexit.  AFP/VNA Photo

LONDON  Britain is aiming for an 11th hour solution to political deadlock in Belfast on Monday, hoping to avoid further turmoil before London kickstarts Brexit proceedings that could change the status of the border between Northern and the Republic of Ireland.

The two main parties in Northern Ireland have declared talks to reach a power-sharing agreement are over, but London is doggedly trying to push for a deal.

"Even at this stage I urge political parties to agree to work to form an executive and provide people here with the strong and stable devolved government that they want," James Brokenshire, Britains Northern Ireland minister who has chaired the three weeks of talks, said on Sunday.

The political crisis was sparked in January when the deputy first minister, Sinn Feins Martin McGuinness, resigned over First Minister Arlene Fosters handling of a green energy scheme introduced while she was economy minister.

The collapse of the executive prompted a snap election which failed to end the stalemate between Sinn Fein, representing Catholic Irish nationalists, and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the pro-British and Protestant party led by Foster.

The parties were given until 4:00pm (1500 GMT) on Monday to agree on a new executive. But Sinn Fein on Sunday said they had reached "the end of the road".

"The talks process has run its course and Sinn Fein will not be nominating for the position of speaker or for the executive office tomorrow," said Michelle ONeill, the partys leader in Northern Ireland.

Foster gave a similar assessment, saying: "Regrettable the reality is that sufficient progress was not achieved in the time available to form a new Executive."

McGuinness, who died on Tuesday from a rare heart condition, had called for Foster to step down temporarily pending the conclusion of a public inquiry into the failed scheme which is expected to cost taxpayers up to half a billion pounds (US$625 million).

If his successor ONeill fails to agree on a power-sharing deal with Foster by the Monday deadline, it will fall to Brokenshire to intervene and governance of Northern Ireland could be transferred to London.

UK divided before Brexit

The British government is eager to end the deadlock ahead of starting proceedings to leave the European Union, which Prime Minister Theresa May has scheduled for Wednesday with the triggering of Article 50 of the blocs Lisbon Treaty.

But Mays aim to show a united front to Brussels risks being weakened by the two provinces which voted to remain in the EU -- Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Key to the negotiations will be the status of Britains land border with the bloc -- between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which remains an EU member.

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is battling for the province to hold a referendum on independence from Britain in light of the division over Brexit.

She is expected to win the backing of Scottish lawmakers in a vote on Tuesday to take the referendum request to London, as the British governments approval is needed to hold such a vote.

May will travel to Scotland on Monday where she will meet government staff and hold talks with Sturgeon. The prime minister will also emphasise the need for the four devolved nations -- including pro-Brexit England and Wales  to stick together.

"When this great union of nations -- England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland -- sets its mind on something and works together with determination, we are an unstoppable force," May will say in a speech, published in advance by her office.  AFP
The Clean Power Plan rule has been on hold while a US federal appeals court considers a challenge by coal-friendly Republican-governed states and more than 100 companies.  AFP/VNA Photo

WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday to undo his predecessor Barack Obamas plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fueled power plants, according to the new environmental chief.

Speaking on ABCs Sunday talk show "This Week", Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said rolling back Obamas 2015 Clean Power Plan would bring back coal jobs.

"The past administration had a very anti-fossil fuel strategy," he said.

"So this is a promise (Trump) is keeping to the American people to say that we can put people back to work."

Told by ABC host George Stephanopolous that most coal-job losses took place a decade ago under Obamas predecessor George W. Bush - as natural gas increasingly replaced coal - Pruitt dismissed concerns that Trump had made a promise he cant keep.

"It will bring back manufacturing jobs across the country, coal jobs across the country," he said of the presidents forthcoming order.

"For too long over the last several years, we have accepted a narrative that if youre pro-growth, pro-jobs, youre anti-environment," he added, accusing the Obama administration of making "efforts to kill jobs across this country through the clean power plan."

He said Trumps order would also lower electricity rates for Americans. Supporters of the Clean Power Plan say it would help create thousands of clean-energy jobs.

A known fossil-fuel ally, Pruitts appointment to head the EPA - an agency he repeatedly sued as a state attorney general - has been deeply contentious.

Earlier this month, the climate change sceptic said he believes carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming, as scientists have said for decades.

Trumps action comes as the Clean Power Plan rule has been on hold since last year while a federal appeals court considers a challenge by coal-friendly Republican-governed states and more than 100 companies.

Trumps proposed federal budget unveiled earlier this month already envisioned ending funding for the plan along with a number of other programmes aimed at combating climate change.

Trumps order - along with his promise to reverse rules about vehicle emissions - would make it impossible for the United States to reach its commitments under the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

But Pruitt criticised the accord as a "bad deal".

"This is an effort to undo the unlawful approach the previous administration engaged in," he said of Trumps executive order, "and to do it right going forward with the mindset of being pro-growth and pro-environment".

He called Obamas emissions rules "counter-helpful to the environment".

As attorney general for Oklahoma, the 48-year-old Republican filed or joined in more than a dozen law suits to block key EPA rules, siding with industry executives and activists seeking to roll back various regulations on pollution, clean air and clean water.  AFP
MOSCOW  Hundreds of people including top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were arrested on Sunday as thousands of Russians defied bans to stage protests across the country against corruption.

Navalny had called for the marches after publishing a detailed report this month accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of nonprofit organisations.

The report has been viewed over 11 million times on YouTube, but so far Medvedev has made no comment on the claims.

Sundays march in Moscow was one of the biggest unauthorised demonstrations in recent years, with police putting turnout at 7,000-8,000 people.

Police detained Navalny, who has announced plans to run for president in the 2018 election, as he was walking to the protest, putting him in a police minibus.

Police said about 500 people had been arrested in Moscow, while OVD-Info, a website that monitors the detention of activists, said at least 933 had been detained, as well as dozens in other cities.

The Interfax news agency said 130 people were arrested in Saint Petersburg, where about 4,000 people gathered in the city centre.

 AFP
Bob was born on August 13, 1927 to Henry and Nora Rink in Lime Springs, IA. Following country school in Elma, IA, he graduated from Elma High School. After high school he worked on the family farm before enlisting in the US Army. He was stationed in Germany during his enlistment. Following medical discharge, he returned to Cresco, IA, where he met JoAnn Eleanor Jordan. The two were married on July 19, 1955 in Cresco, IA at Assumption Catholic Church. Bob started working at Rath Packing Co. in Waterloo, IA where he was employed until it closed in 1982. At this point in his life, he decided to "make his move" and start doing what he loved: driving cars and traveling the country. He was proud to have visited almost all of the 50 states. One of the famous stories during this time involved Bob getting lost in New York City for over seven hours while delivering a Winnebago Camper. He passed the Statue of Liberty three times! Bob loved the harmonica, playing rummy with his family, and buying scratch-off lottery tickets from places he traveled.
WATERLOO -- Waterloo police arrested two men after they allegedly tried to enter parked vehicles early Monday.

Justin Huey, 20, and Andrew John Thompson, 20, both of Waterloo, were arrested for third-degree burglary and nine counts of attempted burglary. They were also arrested for interference.

The two allegedly entered an attached garage at 145 W. Park Lane and attempted to entered numerous vehicles parked in the 3200 block of Darlene Court.

Officers were called to suspicious activity in the area around 12:40 a.m. Monday, and the suspects were detained following a brief foot chase, said Capt. David Mohlis with the Waterloo Police Department.
WATERLOO  A Waterloo man was found guilty in a December shooting that injured a 9-year-old boy.

A Black Hawk County jury deliberated for about two and a half hours Monday before finding Maryo Doyuan Lindsey Jr., 21, guilty of intimidation with a weapon, willful injury causing bodily injury, felon in possession of a firearm going armed and carrying weapons.

He faces up to 25 years in prison with a mandatory five years before parole. Sentencing will be at a later date, and Lindsey remains in custody until then.

Prosecutors said the child, Anton Kincaid, was sitting on the couch of his home at 1241 W. Mullan Ave. on Dec. 15 watching TV with his family when bullets began ripping through a west window and wall. One of the rounds struck him in the buttocks.

During closing arguments Monday, Assistant County Attorney Brad Walz displayed a photo of the boys bloody injury to jurors.

Thats what the defendant is responsible for.  Thats what the defendant caused. Thats what the defendant did, Walz said.

Authorities said the intended target was likely a relative of Antons mother, who had been at the house earlier that day but wasnt present for the gunfire. Walz said the relative had been receiving threats before the shooting.

Walz said an accomplice, Aundrey Frequal Roberts Jr., who is being tried separately, drove Lindsey and an unidentified man in Lindseys Chevrolet Trailblazer to the area before the shooting and dropped them off about block away. The Trailblazer then picked them up at another location after the shooting.

Some 14 shots hit the house, and police found both 9 mm and .40-caliber shell casings outside.

No witnesses could place Lindsey at the scene, and the guns were never found. There was no DNA evidence or fingerprint linking him to the crime.

No one got on the stand and said, Thats Mr. Lindsey, said defense attorney John Bishop.

But video showed Lindseys vehicle stopping in a nearby alley and two people exiting and walking off. One of the people was wearing a striped hooded sweatshirt, different colored gloves and black pants, and police said they found a sweatshirt and gloves matching that description in Lindseys vehicle hours later. His vehicle was found in a ditch near his fathers home with his phone, keys and other belongings locked inside.

When police contacted Lindsey, he was wearing black pants and shoes that were consistent with footprints found in the snow near the shooting, according to testimony.

Thats what the chain of facts shows. Thats what the evidence shows. Thats what common sense tells us, Walz said.

Walz said while there were two shooters and he couldnt prove Lindsey had fired the bullet that struck the child, Lindsey and other gunman  who authorities never were able to identify  acted together in the attack.

Roberts was on probation at the time, and GPS information from his ankle bracelet showed he passed through the area and was the likely getaway driver, police said.

Bishop said Lindsey may have loaned the vehicle to Roberts, not knowing his intentions. He noted it wasnt unusual for people involved in criminal activity to use other peoples vehicles so they cant be tied to the crime.

He said there was plenty time for Roberts to drop off the attackers and return the vehicle to Lindsey following the shooting.
WAVERLY -- Authorities continue to investigate the death of a former Cresco man who died while in the Bremer County Jail weeks after a court ordered he be returned to federal prison.

Details werent immediately available, but 27-year-old Daniel Alan Wildman died March 20 in the jail, where he was being held awaiting placement in a prison following a supervised release violation hearing.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is assisting in the probe into Wildmans death, and the findings will be forwarded to the Bremer County Attorneys Office for review.

Wildman had been sentenced to almost four years in prison on weapons charges after he allegedly fired a shotgun three or four times during a dispute over money in Calmar in October 2012, triggering a manhunt.

By 2016, Wildman was out of jail on supervised release. That August, Wildman was accused of violating his release conditions, and the court added requirements he undergo inpatient drug treatment at Pathways Behavior Services and serve up to 180 days in a residential reentry program at the Hinzman Center in Cedar Rapids.

He later asked to be able to serve the 180 days at the Pathways halfway house, and his attorney said in court records Wildman thought the change would give him greater support for his addiction issues. A federal judge turned down the request, noting Wildmans probation officer could file for a change if the probation officer felt it was appropriate to modify his release conditions.

In February, Wildman was arrested for allegedly violating the rules of his supervised release. Details were sealed, but court records show he didnt challenge allegations he failed to comply with substance abuse testing and residential center rules and had used controlled substances.

He was ordered to be returned to the Federal Bureau of Prisons for 14 months. The order was filed March 7, and Wildmans attorney filed papers indicating he planned to appeal the matter while waiting to be assigned to a prison.
WATERLOO  Authorities are investigating an attempt to set fire to a Waterloo house overnight.

Firefighters were called to 155 Monroe St. at about 2:10 a.m. Monday after someone threw a lit beer bottle through a window at the single-family home, fire officials said.

A small fire started burning outside in leaves next to the house, and residents extinguished the blaze with water before firefighters arrived, said Battalion Chief Mike Jenn.

No injuries were reported, and the city fire marshal is investigating.
CEDAR FALLS  The city is discovering that its sizable yard waste compost operation off North Main Street is a labor-intensive operation.

Administrators are wondering if, instead of moving yard waste, those workers time would be better spent moving patching material into street potholes.

For that reason, city public works staff wants to determine whether it would be cost effective to outsource the entire operation to a private contractor, freeing up city staff for street repairs and other duties during the busy construction and pothole seasons

The biggest thing for us is it takes so much staff time to run that facility, said Brian Heath, the citys public works and parks manager. When were talking about support for the grinding, when were talking about turning the windrows, when were talking about screening the material in the fall, it take so much staff time.

Were using contracted services for the grinding and were doing all the rest ourselves, Heath said. The big thing is, if we can look at what a contractor can provide, not only would we be able to get our street guys back out on street-type activities, I think we could also save a little bit of money on the overall cost. Because we spend a lot of man hours out there.

Heath plans to send out requests for proposals from private firms to determine if there would be a cost savings. Many firms do such work for municipalities.

The work can tie up as many as four to six city employees at any one time, depending on the time of year and type of operation. That takes guys away from pothole patching, things like that, Heath said. A private firm grinds the yard waste, but we still provide support to get the material to the grinding and stockpiling the other material. Under his proposal, all the work we do would be done by a contractor if its cost effective.

Based on informal conversations hes had with contractors, I think we could do it for about the same amount that its costing us now, Heath said. Were looking at about $60,000 a year, which he emphasized was a very rough estimate. Even if its the same cost, were still gaining ground because weve got guys working out on the streets, and its much needed.

Look at the work were taking away from the streets now from having workers tied up at the yard waste site.

The gray area is, if we have a contractor managing that out there, how do we manage people going in and out? Heath said. Hes certain nonresidents of Cedar Falls and some contractors may be using the yard waste site, which is for Cedar Falls residents only. If we do find that we can handle nonresidents and contractors, how do we establish a fee? like an annual permit or a set fee per visit.

This is for Cedar Falls residents only, and its being taken advantage of by out-of-towners, Heath said, despite having signs posted warding them off. Weve run across several landscape contractors, too, that have been out there. We know its happening. We have to get a handle on that. If a contractor can handle nonresidents and contractors efficiently, then the city may want to consider a fee or permit system for them.

The city will closely monitor the incidence of attempted nonresident and contractor use over the coming summer. We certainly want to keep providing that service to our residents, but it requires careful management to make sure its capacity is maintained for residents. The city will be able to handle spring collections and into the summer, depending on weather.

Theres a ready market for the compost; residents use it around their homes. We dont have any problem getting rid of it. The residents just come and grab it, he said. Its the wood waste we have difficulty getting rid of, and that makes up about 30 to 40 percent of the waste coming in.

Realistically we should put an RFP (request for proposals from private firms) together soon and see whats out there, check the prices and then determine if a change is in order. I would say the earliest we would do this would be 2018.

Any contract with a private firm would require City Council approval, Heath noted.
WATERLOO -- A new type of aircraft will begin serving the Waterloo Regional Airport as it celebrates five years of service on American Airlines to Chicagos OHare International Airport.

On behalf of the City of Waterloo and the Airport staff, I would like to thank American Airlines for the excellent level of service provided to Cedar Valley passengers," said Keith Kaspari, airport director. "Since April 3, 2012, when American started service at Waterloo and through calendar year 2016, Americans passenger numbers from Waterloo have increased 40 percent."

American will serve Waterloo with the 50-seat Canadair regional jet operated by SkyWest Airlines beginning with the afternoon flight April 4. This replaces the 50-seat Embraer regional jet operated by Envoy Airlines that has served Waterloo for nearly five years.
University lights to be removed

CEDAR FALLS -- University Avenue will be closed to through traffic from Waterloo Road to Cedar Heights Drive from midnight to 6 a.m. Tuesday so overhead traffic signal structures can be removed as part of the University Avenue reconstruction project.

Temporary signals have been installed. Local traffic will be able to access homes and business during that time.

Unlike several other University intersections where signals have or are being replaced with roundabouts, Rownd Street will remain a signalized intersection.

Forum at WCA set for Tuesday

WATERLOO -- A We Are the Village 2 forum will be 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Waterloo Center for the Arts, 225 Commercial St.

Panelists will include family members who have been impacted by violence in the community.

Hearst to screen 'Hugo'

CEDAR FALLS -- The Hearst Center for the Arts' Martin Scorsese film series will conclude with "Hugo" on Tuesday.

The 2011 film is rated PG and will be shown at 7 p.m. in Mae Latta Hall. Admission is free and no tickets are required.
Their hands finally forced, we learned last past week where Iowas Congressional Republicans stood on their partys plan to dismantle the Democrats health care reforms.

Even if they never got to cast their vote.

Iowas three Republican U.S. House members never went officially on the record because GOP legislation to repeal much of the health care reform implemented by Democrats under former President Barack Obama was pulled by leaders Friday just minutes before a planned vote.

But members of the Iowa delegation had stated their intentions earlier in the week.

Rod Blum, from the eastern Iowa 1st District, and David Young, from the central Iowa 3rd District, said they planned to vote against the proposal, placing them among the roughly two dozen House Republicans to make such a pledge.

Steve King, from the western Iowa 4th District, said he planned to vote in support of the legislation on the promise of alterations to be made in the Senate.

Each vote is interesting in its own right, and worth exploring.

Blum had been noncommittal regarding his vote until Tuesday, just days before Fridays debate in the U.S. House. Blum said he opposed the GOP plan because it did not sufficiently drive down health care costs.

Blum is in his second term representing a district that has roughly 20,000 more Democratic voters than Republicans. Perhaps his vote was motivated by surviving re-election in such a district.

However, Blum also is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, which consists of some of the Houses most conservative members. Many members of that group had said they were opposed to the GOP health care bill.

Young also kept his vote close to the vest until revealing his feelings Wednesday.

Young represents a district that has roughly 10,000 more Republican voters than Democrats. In a statement, Young called the GOP bill a very good start but said the bill does not yet get it right.

Youngs statement seemed to indicate a willingness to support an updated bill when he added, This conversation is not over.

King announced in a live video posted on Facebook he would support the bill after receiving assurances that, eventually, mandated benefits for insurance coverage would be stripped from the measure.

King represents Iowas most conservative district. Iowas 4th Congressional has roughly 40,000 more Republican voters than Democrats.

It was an interesting week for congressional Republicans as they inched closer to taking significant action on health care reform but ultimately bailed. After spending much of the past eight years and two national elections promising to repeal Obamas health care law, Republicans in Washington have been dealing with the reality of the significant effort it will take to make that happen without upsetting constituents.

Republican leaders at the very top - President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan - spent the week encouraging Republicans to support the legislation. National media reports said Trump threatened to help promote primary election candidates against Republicans who declined to support the GOP health care bill.

But as Republican efforts to demolish Obamas health care law intensified, the law grew increasingly popular in public opinion polls. The law  properly known as the Affordable Care Act and more commonly known as Obamacare  started March with its best-ever average on Real Clear Politics at plus-5.3.

So Republicans are left to deal with their conservative base that still wants the law ripped off the books, but also growing support from others  including some Republicans  who want it preserved.

All of this helped to make this weeks House GOP vote-wrangling so interesting.

And it never even made it to the Senate.
When Iowans have complaints about doctors, therapists, teachers, barbers or numerous other professionals, they may contact the state board that oversees that worker. Anyone filing a grievance likely expects it to be taken seriously by the licensing board ostensibly created to protect the public from incompetent or unscrupulous workers. One would expect a clear process to objectively handle and investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

But that might be expecting too much.

The state boards that license thousands of Iowans in dozens of professions operate in secrecy and are unaccountable to the public, according to a recent report by the Iowa Office of Ombudsman. The lack of transparency fosters lackadaisical investigations, apathetic board members, poor documentation of deliberations and questionable outcomes, the independent agency concluded.

Sadly, this is not necessarily a surprise.

The Des Moines Register editorial board has repeatedly written about problems related to job licensing in this state. Among them is the structure of licensing boards, which encourages a greater focus on protecting workers than public health. Members are from the private sector and frequently employed in the profession theyre charged with regulating. Appointed by the governor, they are given broad responsibility and unchecked authority under Iowa law.

Boards can strip fellow workers of licenses and livelihood. Meanwhile, consumers and patients depend on boards to sanction bad actors in industries.

So the ombudsmans report raises significant concerns.

In response to Iowans who said their complaints about licensees had been closed with no explanation, the ombudsman investigated four boards. Unfortunately, the final report does not identify the boards, but it does provide a glimpse of the secrecy, shenanigans and conflicts of interest that plague them.

First, it took years and a change in state law for the ombudsman to even access minutes, audio recordings and information from closed-session board meetings. When the office finally obtained the spotty information that existed, it found unprofessional conduct and weak investigations into complaints about licensees.

In one case, the board did not interview the individual being investigated for possible sanctions. In another, a board member worked for the licensee who was the subject of a complaint. She stated under oath she had recused herself from proceedings, but records from the meeting reveal otherwise.

The ombudsman found one complaint of wrongdoing was directed at the chairman of a licensing board. That raised questions about whether the group could perform an objective investigation and evaluation.

Then there was the behavior of board members who made remarks in meetings the ombudsmans report characterizes as derogatory, inappropriate and quite frankly, appalling, leaving the impression board members had a bias that could influence their decisions in handling a complaint.

This legislative session, Iowa lawmakers seem to have finally taken an interest in this states overzealous licensing of workers. They should also address the structure and operations of the licensing boards charged with responding to complaints from consumers and patients.

And speaking of secrecy

The Iowa Office of Ombudsman investigated four of the 36 state licensing boards that oversee workers. Which boards? Good question. The office said it could not identify them or the workers interviewed due to state laws that consider boards investigative files and their closed-session meetings confidential.

It is hard to imagine the state auditor, for example, issuing a 17-page report about a few state agencies engaging in wrongdoing but leaving the public to guess which agencies it had examined.

Such lack of information not only leaves the public in the dark, it casts suspicion on all boards, including those which may be operating properly.
Q. Is St. Jude's Ranch still accepting used greeting cards? If so, what is the address?

A. Here's what St. Jude's says: "Year-round, we happily accept used all-occasion greeting cards. Please review the following tips before sending in your cards.

Only the card front can be used (please check to be sure the backside of the front of the card is clear of any handwriting, etc.)

We cannot accept Hallmark, Disney or American Greeting cards.

5-inch by 7-inch size or smaller is preferred.

Mail cards to 100 St. Jude's St. Boulder City, NV 89005."

Q. Why is Tamron Hall no longer on the "Today Show"?

A. She left the show at the beginning of February after being told former Fox News star Megyn Kelly would be taking over her slot in the fall.

Q. Do Waverly council members swear to uphold the Constitution?

A. Yes. Council members must say, "I ... do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Iowa," as part of their oath of office, according to the city of Waverly.

Q. Why does Charles Grassley say he has town meetings all over the state but refuses to come to Black Hawk County for an open public meeting? When he does they are private for Republicans only.

A. Senator Grassley holds a public meeting in all 99 counties in Iowa each year. He doesnt specify they are all town halls. He regularly holds public meetings at businesses and with organizations -- not just Republicans -- in Black Hawk County throughout the year.

Q. Have term limits for the Iowa Senate or House ever been proposed?

A. There were two bills proposed this year. One, Senate Joint Resolution 3, was to impose term limits for all state elected officials, and the other, Senate Joint Resolution 7, would have been for legislators only. Both would have amended the Iowa Constitution to impose term limits. Neither have advanced so far this year.

Q. I dont remember the Iowa legislative Republican candidates campaigning on doing away with collective bargaining for public employees. Did they actually campaign on that?

A. We cant speak for all candidates across the state. But in profiling 10 legislative district races surrounding Black Hawk County, none of the Republican candidates mentioned collective bargaining, and we dont recall any advertisements from area candidates about Chapter 20.

Questions are taken on a special Courier phone line at 234-3566. Questions are answered by Courier staff and staff at the Waterloo Public Library.
Calvert City to help get letters to Santa
Advertisement

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Mar. 24, 2017 | SMITHLAND, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Mar. 24, 2017 | 04:20 PM | SMITHLAND, KY

Kentucky State Police are asking for the public's help as they investigate a 33-year-old cold case related to the death of a Sheriff's Deputy.



On Sunday, September 9, 1984, at about 11:20 pm, Livingston County Deputy Sheriff Carnie Hopkins notified dispatch he would be checking on a hitchhiker at the intersection of US 60 and KY 137, just east of Smithland, at an intersection also known as The Monument. A short time later, Hopkins was found murdered at this spot. He had obviously been in a struggle with his assailant(s) and died as a result of a gunshot wound.



Kentucky State Police are actively investigating new leads received within the last week. No arrests have been made in this case, and police are seeking assistance from the public. Anyone with information related to this case, even if it may already be known, is urged to contact Detective Cory Hamby at 270-856-3721 or by email at cory.hamby@ky.gov.



Tips can also be emailed by using KSPs Cold Case online reporting form at http://kentuckystatepolice.ky.gov/cold_case/post1coldcase7.html.



Citizens may also report tips anonymously through the KSP app. The app is available for iPhone, iPad and Android applications and can be easily downloaded free of charge through Apple and Google Play stores.
A startup needs to test an idea quickly. For this, an MVP is created. MVP, Minimal Viable Product  a test version of a product or service with a minimum set of functions (up to one or two), which allows you to see the product's value for consumers and the market. MVP is created to test hypotheses and check the viability of the intended product: is it worth developing the project further, what changes should be made? The sooner a startup brings its MVP to market and tests the idea, the better. This article will look at how no-code technology can help founders achieve their business goals.

This article will try to cover everything that a founder needs to know about no-code at the initial stage of creating a startup.

What is no-code?

No-code, zero-code platform is a tool for creating websites, applications, chatbots, and other programs without the need for direct code writing by programmers. No-code is a valuable alternative to traditional development.

No-code is confused with low-code, but there is a difference in these terms. Low-code includes no-code and the ability to "finish code", add parts of code and the functionality.

A user of a no-code platform usually does not need to know layout, programming languages, or hire a team of programmers. The user of the no-code tool creates an application using a visual block constructor, which he fills with the necessary content and functions, and the no-code platform itself does the processing of requests, compiling the application and other "magic." It generates code using AI and/or contains blocks of code pre-written by programmers.

No-code allows the startup founder to create an MVP himself, entrust it to his employee with basic technical literacy and understanding of the project, or hire a no-code developer. Even in the case of hiring a no-code developer, the cost of creating an MVP will be significantly lower than with classical development with programmers. For example, you can read the interview of a startup and no-code developer on our website, who initially worked as a Product Manager and was able to master no-code for his project himself.

Benefits of no-code for a startup founder

There are the following key advantages for a startup founder in using no-code technology:

a large selection of no-code tools, platforms, and their integrations at the moment  already in 2022, there are many tools and platforms for creating an MVP, a larger project, or even a finished product on no-code, but few people still know about them, and others are far from all startups and founders use their potential;

cost  no-code development saves the money by speeding up the development process, not hiring professional programmers or no need to maintain a developer department, monitoring functions and quick bug fixes, avoiding or reducing the growth of technical debt;

speed is the main advantage over classical development  no-code allows you to build a simple application in a weekend, and a more complex one can be built in a month. In this way, you can test an MVP and even several versions of an MVP very quickly;

low entry threshold  to master a no-code platform, you often do not need technical education at all, but only an understanding of a company's business processes or product from the inside. In the case of pro-level no-code platforms, technical education is required, but you can get used to it hundreds of times faster than with any programming language. This makes no-code available to almost everyone who wants to work with technology;

ease of use  no need to write hundreds of code lines  just move the blocks and assign links between them. Work on a project can be entrusted to your employee without communicating with a team of third-party developers. You can speak "in your language" without the need to understand the "inner kitchen" of developers;

flexibility  with the help of no-code, it is easy for a startup founder to add new functionality and new features right during a project or a MVP testing without a significant increase in development costs.

Possible disadvantages of no-code for a startup founder

As often, any property can be, under certain conditions, both a disadvantage and an advantage. In no-code, many of the benefits with the wrong choice of tool can turn into disadvantages:

no-code is not always a budget solution for a project. Sometimes in a no-code development package, you get unnecessary functions and additions (on AppMaster.io you can separately connect the frontend and pay only for the backend or only for those functions that you are using); if you do not understand the needs of your project, then you can make a mistake with the choice of a no-code tool and not be able to implement the necessary functions on it, or it will be too difficult to implement them; often, no-code tools fail to ensure proper data security and contribute to data leakage (but AppMaster.io allows you to host a finished application on any server); no-code tools often do not provide the ability to upload source code or provide uploading in an inconvenient format, which makes it difficult to move to another tool or to your development. You have to choose a no-code tool "once and forever immediately" (AppMaster. io gives you the ability to download the source code. Also, we generate human-readable code and you will not have any difficulties with its transportation); most no-code tools on the market are not suitable for creating a finished product, and there are significant difficulties with scaling the project if the MVP is successful (AppMaster.io is a professional no-code platform and our capabilities allow us to implement and support the finished product and scale it in the future).

Forewarned is forearmed. Choose your no-code tool wisely and take full advantage of your choice.

Types of no-code platforms

Conventionally, all no-code tools can be divided into several types: no-code devices with a low entry threshold (you can create frontend and not very powerful backend on them), integrators that help connect applications and services, and professional no-code platforms (they strive to replace the code completely, provide the ability to create a robust backend and high bandwidth).

The basic principle of operation of your MVP and the choice of a no-code platform depend on such a conditional division into types. For example, if you make a simple application like a diary, you can limit yourself to a no-code tool with a low entry threshold and a beautiful design.

If your application has powerful potential, high bandwidth, multi-user interface, and works with large amounts of data or real-time data, it is better to choose a professional no-code platform like AppMaster.io or Direcual.

If you use several services at once, link them on integrators like Integromat and Zapier.

Adalo

An easy-to-learn designer with a relatively user-friendly interface. The free version is helpful for learning. The free version contains Adalo watermarks and does not allow you to upload your applications to GooglePlayMarket and AppStore. Beginners often choose this no-code platform to create their first applications with simple logic.

Bubble

It will take more time to learn Bubble , but the platform allows you to work with the backend, databases, business processes, and layout. There are many plugins. The free plan allows you to master the tool, and you can start developing at the middle rate. The price increase is due to the rise in the number of users.

Integromat

It is an integrator. Experts talk about it as a simple and affordable platform for linking applications and services. Scenarios can be created personally, or you can use templates. If you need to connect an application with a service not from the Integromat database, fill out the form and connect to its API via HTTP.

Zapier

This is an integrator for linking applications with each other or with other external services. You can transfer data between thousands of applications. There is a script constructor (one event starts a chain of necessary actions).

Directual

The no-code platform positions itself for creating MVP applications (Minimal Viable Product, minimum viable product) and full-fledged applications of finished products. Scenarios are the backbone of the platform. Using scripts, you can automate the backend logic of the application, create and combine workflows. The Directual catalog includes out-of-the-box connectors, HTTP requests, webhooks, database listeners, and integration with popular services.

AppMaster.io

No-code next-generation platform for creating native and web applications on a real backend. Visual drag-and-drop designer, user-friendly business process designer, one-click app publishing to AppMaster Cloud, or integration with any cloud platform. Push notifications, authorization using social networks. Networks, email, and more. Connect applications to hundreds of services or programmatically access them using APIs. The ability to upload source code and documentation in a human-readable format and transfer it to your servers. Documentation auto-generation. Modern and fast language GoLang at the core.

No-code perspectives for startups

No-code development is gradually gaining popularity around the world. There are already more than 500 no-code tools for creating websites and various types of applications.

According to the forecasts of IT world experts, no-code will develop more and more actively and capture parts of the market responsible for medicine, small online business, small business, and all niches where it is possibly necessary to optimize and automate development processes.

The mass shift of businesses and their customers online and to gadgets has increased the demand for the fast and inexpensive creation of mobile applications that would work according to a single quality standard and have a simple, understandable, user-friendly interface.

Conclusion

No-code is visual programming in the form of a constructor without directly writing code. Usually, basic knowledge in development is enough to build applications on no-code.

The logic of no-code constructors is intuitive: the application interface is assembled from blocks, icons, buttons, and text which are connected to the database. Usually, you can choose a suitable template or do everything from scratch. Speed and economy are the main advantages of no-code tools.

No-code is suitable for creating an MVP, testing an idea or new features in a product, saving time for solving standard tasks. PRO level no-code platforms can provide you with a finished product, an application.

If you don't have an account on AppMaster.io yet, join us. After registration, you will be given a free trial period for 14 days, in which all the basic functionality of the platform is available. It will allow you to learn the intricacies of working with a professional-level no-code platform and understand its potential.
Mar 27, 2017 | By Julia

US-based additive manufacturing heavyweight Emerson has launched a new 3D printing plant in Clementi, Singapore. The state-of-the-art facility is Emersons second worldwide development hub, and comes as part of Emersons ongoing investment in the Asia-Pacific region, which has totalled over $80 million in the past five years.

The Singapore centre aims to strengthen Emersons 3D printing program via the production of special, customized and application-specific parts and products.

The American companys additive manufacturing program began three years ago with the opening of the Additive Manufacturing Technology Center in Marshalltown, Iowa, the global headquarters for Fisher final control products.

Expanding on the programs initial focus of control valve components, the Marshalltown and Singapore centres will actively work on Research & Development (R&D) and production services for all Emerson businesses moving forward.

The new plant was opened earlier this week by Emerson Chairman and CEO David Farr, who was joined in part by Executive President of Emerson Automation Solutions Mike Train, President of Emerson Automation Solutions (Asia Pacific) Ron Martin, and Singapores Minister of State for Trade and Industry Dr. Koh Poh Koon.



At the plant launch, Farr noted that Singapore has been a manufacturing and technology hub for Emerson since 1965. Building on that relationship, Farr cited the countrys strong manufacturing industry, advantageous business climate, excellent transportation connections, powerful workforce and university system, and robust intellectual property protections as reasons for his companys increase in activities and investment in Singapore. Farr also welcomed the Singapore governments consistent support.

Currently Asia Pacific customers account for about 22 percent of Emerson sales.

AM [Additive Manufacturing] has come a long way from a technology that was originally used for prototyping, said Minister of Trade and Industry Dr. Koh, who echoed Farrs praise.

Citing a recent study by technology consultant group Wohlers Associates, Koh noted that the global AM industry is now worth over $5.1 billion USD, with a growth of 26 percent between 2014 and 2015.

The Committee on the Future Economy has identified advanced manufacturing as one of the key growth areas, he said.Singapore has to continue to invest in advanced manufacturing technologies, in line with the changing complexion of manufacturing.

Alongside the launch of Emersons new Singapore centre, the American company has also entered into a five-year research collaboration deal with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore). As part of the agreement, NTU postgraduate students will be able to get real-world 3D printing training at the new Emerson center, and carry out product research projects.

The firm has so far not disclosed the cost of the new facility or how many people it will employ. Emerson has confirmed, however, that the plant will focus on producing customized parts for power plants, refineries, and sectors such as precision engineering and the aerospace industry.

Posted in 3D Printer Company

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Mar 27, 2017 | By Tess

NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been behind some groundbreaking projects in the field of space exploration, and one of its most recent projects, though small in size, has us pretty excited. NASA is developing a Pop-Up Flat Folding Explorer Robot, PUFFER for short, a tiny 3D printed robot inspired by origami that is destined to accompany rovers in space.

(Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The PUFFER robot, which NASA has been testing in a variety of environments over the past year and half (including the Mojave Desert and Antarctic hills), is capable of climbing and crawling over many types of terrain, as it can flatten itself, tuck its wheels in, and even lift itself up with its tail. The idea behind the small 3D printed robot was to make a companion, a sort of assistive scout, for larger robots such as exploratory rovers.

As Jaakko Karras, the PUFFERs project manager at JPL, explains: [PUFFERs] can do parallel science with a rover, so you can increase the amount youre doing in a day. We can see these being used in hard-to-reach locationssqueezing under ledges, for example.

Specially designed to be able to climb up steep 45-degree slopes, scuttle under low overhangs, and even drop into craters, the PUFFER is certainly equipped for exploring. Additionally, because the robot is so small and can be compacted (like a deck of cards), the idea is to deploy a number of them alongside a larger robot, which could flick them out, and send them off to explore remote and even hazardous areas.

PUFFER robot maneuvers under rocky terrain

(Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Ultimately, the goal is to send the PUFFER project to another planet, such as Mars, though the scientists behind the 3D printed robot have also said it would offer unique advantages on planet Earth as well. For instance, JPL scientist Carolyn Parcheta, who specializes in volcanic exploration, has suggested that small robots like PUFFER could be invaluable in the field of geology. "Having something that's as portable as a compass or a rock hammer means you can do science on the fly," she said.

PUFFERs design, which resembles something between a childs motorized toy and a battle bot, was actually inspired by origami. That is, as a grad student at UC Berkeleys Biomimetic Millisystem Lab, Karras came up with the design while folding paper and experimenting with origami. Once the project got off the ground, however, origami was traded in for printed circuit boards and 3D printed parts.

As its design currently stands, PUFFER consists of two foldable wheels with prominent treads, a tail which provides stabilization, solar panels on its underside (which allow it to recharge in the sun), and complex electronics, which allow it to be wirelessly controlled. The robots movement, described as a skittering walk, was developed in partnership with the Biomimetic Millisystems Lab. Finally, Illinois-based company Distant Focus Corporation helped equip PUFFER with a high-res microimaging system that is capable of registering objects as small as 10 microns in size.

As mentioned, NASA has been testing its PUFFER robot for over a year now, taking it to various rough terrains such as Rainbow Basin in California, an environment that is often used as a simulation of Mars landscape. On a level dirt path, the scientists have stated that PUFFER can drive roughly 625 meters (2,050) feet on a single battery charge. The small robot has also been tested in snowy terrain, where its standard wheels have been substituted for larger wheels, and its tail has been updated to be flatter and wider.

Of course, there is still room for improvement for the PUFFER robot, as NASA is currently working on developing scientific instruments for the small bot that could help it perform certain tests, such as sampling water, or studying the chemical makeup of a given environment. And while part of the PUFFERs appeal is that it is tiny and could easily accompany a rover, NASAs JPL is also working on a larger PUFFER robot, which would offer increased robustness.

One of the most significant next steps is to make the PUFFER robot smarter, even giving it some autonomy. NASA reportedly envisages deploying a cluster of the small robots, which could communicate independently and conduct science as a team. "Small robotic explorers like PUFFER could change the way we do science on Mars," commented Karras. "Like Sojourner before it, we think it's an exciting advance in robotic design."

(Image: Dylan Taylor)

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Mar 27, 2017 | By Tess

Wax 3D printer manufacturer Solidscape, Inc. has announced the winners of the Baselworld Solidscape Design Competition, which highlights the best and most innovative 3D printed designs in the fields of jewelry and fine arts. The event, which marked the seventh annual Baselworld Design Competition, brought in a total of 43 submissions, a record number for the competition.

Baselworld, for those unfamiliar, is a global watch and jewelry show which every year brings together the creme de la creme of the luxury industries. As part of the event, Stratasys subsidiary Solidscape, known for its high-precision wax 3D printers specifically engineered for jewelry design, has highlighted some of the most remarkable 3D printed designs in the field.

Solidscape is proud to showcase the most creative and innovative jewelry designs that embrace cutting edge 3D printing technology, said Fabio Esposito, Solidscape President. This years winning designers have created complex geometries and organic shapes that are impossible to produce through traditional hand carving techniques. These designers are thrilled because Solidscapes precision 3D printing technology allows them to unleash their imagination and push the boundaries of creative design.

Anna Popovych's "Drop of Freedom" ring (left), Daniel Coffey's Elementum 17 ring (right)

Now, lets get to the good stuff: the winning projects.

In the jewelry category, two winners were chosen per sub-category (Platinum, Gold, and Silver) for a total of 6 winners. One of the Platinum Awards was given to Ukrainian designer Anna Popovych for her stunning Drop of Freedom ring. The elaborately designed ring (looking like something out of The Lord of the Rings), was inspired by organic natural forms and is part of a series of CAD designed jewelry. The second Platinum Award was given to American designer Daniel Coffey for his Elementum 17 ring, which features an elaborate structure made possible thanks to 3D design and high-precision 3D printing.

The Gold Awards were given to Stuart McGrath, an Irish designer from Armoura Designs, and Ananya Chuechanglek, from Thailand. McGraths winning piece, entitled Rainforest, is a chunky, highly embellished ring that draws inspiration from the flora and fauna of the worlds lush rainforests. Chuechangleks ring design was inspired by a traditional Chalom basket, and captures the fine details of interwoven bamboo on a tiny scale.

Stuart McGrath's "Rainforest" ring (left), Ananya Chuechanglek's "Chalom" inspired ring (right)

One of the Silver Awards in the jewelry category was awarded to Indian designer Meenakshi Rawa, for her beautiful Leaf hair pin. The 3D printed piece does a wonderful job of recreating the fine, natural details of a leaf, making for an intricate and stunning accessory. Canadian designer K. Abeney of CADLoft was the recipient of the second Silver Award, for their Resting Butterflies pendant. The pendants design combines geometric patterns and natural forms, namely those of butterfly wings.

Meenakshi Rawa's Leaf hair pin (left), and K. Abeney "Resting Butterflies" pendant (right)

In the Fine Art category, only one winner was selected based on their designs that fell outside of the jewelry category, but which were made using 3D design and printing techniques similar to those used in jewelry-making. As Solidscape summarized: They require mastery of CAD design and Solidscapes industry-leading high precision 3D printers to create flawlessly castable pieces.

The winner of the Platinum Award for Fine Art was Thailands Prachaya Viriyasuthee of Triratana Jewelry, who designed a breathtaking incense burner inspired by the lotus blossom. The iconic lotus blossom, which symbolizes peace and tranquility, was recreated beautifully using 3D design and printing.

Prachaya Viriyasuthee's lotus blossum incense burner

Being a Solidscape contest, all entries had to use and leverage the companys 3D printing equipment in their jewelry-making process, notably for the making of detailed wax models. All the winning pieces are currently on display at Solidscapes Baselworld exhibit, where they will be until March 30, or can be viewed online.

Posted in 3D Design

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Mar 27, 2017 | By David

The 3D printing industry rarely stands still for long, and it is now poised to undergo yet another minor revolution, thanks to a groundbreaking new 3D printing technique that has just been discovered by University of Sheffield researchers in the UK. Known as Diode Area Melting, the process is a faster and more energy efficient alternative to existing laser-based methods.

Existing laser-based 3D printing processes are frequently used in the manufacturing sector to produce prototypes as well as functional components and parts of all kinds. They work by selectively shining a laser beam on to specific areas of a photo-sensitive liquid or powder bed, gradually building up a solid 3D object layer-by-layer. The use of a single laser, usually reflected off a mirror, means that this process can be a time-consuming one, limited by the speed of the beam. Diode Area Melting is a technique that will cut down production time by using multiple lasers instead of just one.

Speeding the process up in this way has been generally regarded as an unreliable alternative, as the beams would be of a lower power and thus wouldnt be able to provide the required temperature to activate the material. This is an assumption that a team at the University of Sheffield, led by researchers from the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, set out to disprove. Our research challenges the long held belief in the industry that low power diode modules cannot achieve sufficient melting due to their low power and poor beam quality, says Dr Kristian Groom.

(source: solid concepts, youtube.com)

The key to their success was to make use of shorter wavelengths for the laser beams, thus greatly improving the efficiency of the process. Shorter wavelength laser arrays (808nm) increased absorption of the individually collimated and focussed beams, according to Groom, which allowed melting points in excess of 1400 to be reached within a few milliseconds, enabling production of fully dense stainless steel 17-4 parts. Not only does the use of an array of lasers melting large areas in parallel mean that an object can be manufactured much more quickly, the ability to turn individual beams on and off as required also means that energy consumption is handled much more effectively. Energy efficiency is one particular area where 3D technology will always need to improve, so this breakthrough could be at the forefront of a new generation of 3D printing processes.

(source: youtube.com)

Funding for this research came from an Impact Acceleration Grant (IIKE) allocated by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Drs Groom and Mumtaz are hoping to follow up on this success with continued research into laser interaction. As for DAM, there are plans to up-scale the technique to be more widely accessible, as well as extending it to polymer processing. The possibility of working with multiple materials in a single machine, using a combination of wavelength-targeting processes, is something that the team is currently looking into.

Posted in 3D Printing Technology

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After closing the chapter on a decade in New York City, interior designer Brad Krefman and real estate agent Eric McFarland headed west with their French bulldog, landing in Marin County.

They looked at nearly 40 houses before coming across a midcentury gem clad in clear heart redwood. It formed an L shape around a courtyard pool and sat far back on a flag lot, affording plenty of privacy. "It checked all the boxes for life in California that would be diametrically different than life in New York," Krefman says.

To update the home, they removed the "Golden Girls Florida-style shutters," Krefman says, that had previously covered all the large windows. This brought in natural light and views to the pool, now visible from nearly every room. They also built a new deck with a custom retractable shade feature to enjoy the sunny weather, replaced the interior floors, made minor but impactful updates to the kitchen, and filled the rooms with modern classics and vintage furniture pieces.





Houzz at a Glance

Who lives here: Brad Krefman, owner of BK Interior Design; Eric McFarland; and Hugo, their French bulldog

Location: Marin County, California

Size: 1,400 square feet (130 square meters); two bedrooms, two bathrooms; plus a 400-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom casita used as a home office





Previous Next McFarland spearheaded the landscaping overhaul. They kept a lot of mature bamboos, yuccas and camellias, and added drought-tolerant California native plants, succulents, agaves, leucadendrons, Mexican sages and more. "It's a little bit Southern California, Palm Springs meets Australian meets Bay Area native," Krefman says. (Photo courtesy of BK Interior Design) Previous Next (Photo courtesy of BK Interior Design) Previous Next The entry opens to the living room. The ceiling beams were already painted white when the couple moved in, but they chose to keep the original redwood ceiling intact. "There's no way we'd touch that ceiling, not in a million years," Krefman says. "It's clear heart redwood, mostly free and clear of knots. It has an amazing grain pattern. Redwood is now protected in California. To have that in its original state is something to cherish and appreciate." A painting of the Brooklyn Bridge by artist and friend Lisa Steiner hangs over the fireplace, which the couple converted from wood-burning to gas. A pyramid of concrete balls takes the place of fake logs. (Photo courtesy of BK Interior Design) Previous Next In the kitchen, the couple kept the original cabinets but added a new Caesarstone countertop to replace the original 4-by-4-inch black porcelain tiles with thick grout. The couple bought the red tile from Heath Ceramics' stock of seconds. They were intended for another job but deemed seconds because the glaze is inconsistent, showing a mix of dark and light tones, which the couple liked. The tile came in three sizes: 2-by-4, 2-by-6 and 2-by-8 inches. The couple had their installer dump them out, mix them up and put them up randomly. (Photo courtesy of BK Interior Design) Previous Next They converted their second bedroom into a TV room. Krefman hung kitchen cabinets from Ikea on the back wall and had them topped with walnut. Walnut shelves float above. The chair is covered in camel-colored corduroy. A vintage Polaroid camera, one of many that McFarland collects, acts as a bookend for novels and volumes on art history, photography, California landscapes and more. (Photo courtesy of BK Interior Design) Previous Next A 1970s Venini chandelier from McFarland's mother hangs over a vintage dining table and chairs, the latter of which are covered in outdoor fabric. "In case anybody spills or our French bulldog rests his drooly face against the chair," Krefman says. He designed the rug himself with Mark Nelson, a rug fabricator in New York. (Photo courtesy of BK Interior Design)





Krefman says one of the best things about the house is the original redwood exterior siding, which the couple chose to leave alone. This view looks across the pool at the L-shaped house. The master bedroom sits on the left, a TV room directly ahead, a living room in the far-right corner, and the kitchen and dining space just out of view to the right of the large tree.

The backyard originally didn't have any lawn, just 4-by-4-foot pavers, many of which were cracked and broken. "It was like a toe-stubbing minefield back there," Krefman says. He and McFarland removed the broken slabs, then repositioned the ones in good shape to create areas for dining and lounging. The rest they covered in lawn. "It's more parklike and usable than before," Krefman says.

The deck to the right is original. The couple added the raised deck in the background to create more of a fluid extended living space off the kitchen.

Removing large pine trees from the property meant a lot more exposure to sunshine, so Krefman designed a custom retractable shade structure that riffed on something he'd seen at the Parker hotel in Palm Springs, California, and on various awnings in Northern California's wine country. The shade fabric slides along steel cables. When Krefman or McFarland want to open one side or the whole thing, they use a kind of cane to reach up and slide the fabric across. Magnets on the end snap the fabric in place when it's fully opened. "I wanted to avoid a giant umbrella pole," Krefman says. "This really freed up floor space and allows us to manage what gets sun and what doesn't."

Krefman says that he and McFarland have an "open-door policy" on the weekends for friends wanting to get away from the San Francisco fog and into the sunshine. Friends stop by to hang out by the pool, and enjoy wine and cheese or cocktails. "We never know who's going to show up," Krefman says. "We stay busy entertaining, for sure."





// This article was originally published on Houzz.

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Phone lines to Brown County offices down, 911 still works

The telephone lines to Brown County offices are down. Emergencies can still be reported to 911.


Van Eck Corporation Increases Holding to 8.49%

Perth, Mar 27, 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 7.42% and has now increased its holding to 8.49% buying on market since Cardinal's "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.


Assays Confirm Thackaringa Significant Cobalt-Pyrite Project

Sydney, Mar 28, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Cobalt Blue Holdings Limited ( ASX:COB ) ("COB" or the "Company") is pleased to report significant and encouraging cobalt assays from the drilling program commenced in November 2016 at the Thackaringa project near Broken Hill, NSW. The results reinforce the substantial cobalt and pyrite development opportunity at Thackaringa. Drilling was commenced by Broken Hill Prospecting Limited ( ASX:BPL ) which retains a participating interest in the project.



- Assays from our 2016 Diamond Drilling program confirm continuity and tenor of cobalt-pyrite mineralisation at Railway, Pyrite Hill and Big Hill prospects.



- The Diamond Drilling program provides material for planned metallurgical testwork.



- A significant Reverse Circulation (RC) and Diamond Drilling program (commenced in February 2017) designed to expand and upgrade existing Thackaringa Mineral Resources is underway.



- A t Railway, assays confirm broad intersections of high-grade mineralisation with potential to add to the existing resource. Mineralised intercepts include:



o Drillhole 16DM05 - 48m @ 1,045ppm Co from 30m

o Drillhole 16DM06 - 42m @ 1,615ppm Co from 28m

o Drillhole 16DM07 - 25m @ 1,232 ppm Co from 35m

and 26m @ 1,456 ppm Co from 71m

o Drillhole 16DM08 - 4m @ 1,301ppm Co from 57m

and 19m @ 1,221ppm Co from 76m



- At Pyrite Hill mineralised intercepts include:



o Drillhole 16DM01 - 52m @ 840ppm Co from 95m

-- Including 7m @ 1,111ppm Co from 96m

o Drillhole 16DM02 - 23m @ 1,392ppm Co from 127m



2016 Drilling Program



The Thackaringa project is located within the Broken Hill Block of the Curnamona Province and is composed of Willyama Supergroup high grade regional metamorphic gneisses, schists and amphibolites. Within the project area the local geology is dominated by quartz-albite-biotite gneiss, quartz-albite gneiss, and amphibolite dykes. The extensive stratabound cobalt-pyrite mineralisation at each prospect (Pyrite Hill, Big Hill and Railway) is hosted by quartz-albite gneiss.



Mineralisation at the three prospects has a combined strike length of 4.5 kilometres with widths varying from 25 metres to 100 metres. The increased thickness is typically due to the extensive development of tight isoclinal folding within the pyritic horizon.



The 2016 drilling program comprised eight fully-cored diamond drill holes at three locations - Pyrite Hill, Big Hill and Railway (see Figure 1 in the link below).



The work was undertaken primarily to provide sufficient material to undertake meaningful metallurgical test work. By twinning previous RC holes the JV was able to confirm the tenor of mineralisation and compare the assays and sampling protocols for historical RC percussion drilling vs diamond drilling.



Two holes were drilled at each of Pyrite Hill and Big Hill prospects and four holes drilled along the much longer mineralised strike length at Railway Prospect, for a total of 1,484.8m. All 2016 holes were drilled at declinations between 50 and 60 degrees into the steeply-dipping host lithology.



A total Inferred Mineral Resource of 33.1Mt at 833ppm cobalt (at a 500ppm Co cut-off) has previously been estimated at the Thackaringa (released on 4 January 2017).



The current 2017 drilling program comprises approximately 5,500m of RC drilling plus a 1,500m of diamond drilling. The program is designed to extend the drilling coverage and improve drilling density in support of future Mineral Resource estimations, replace some of the historical drilling for QA/QC purposes and provide material for further metallurgical testwork.



2016 Railway Results



16DM05 mineralised intercepts included:



- 48m at 1,045ppm Co, 11.3% Fe and 10.9% S from 30m drill depth, including the intervals:

o 3m at 2,230ppm Co, 19.3% Fe and 23.2% S from 36m; and

o 2m at 2,180ppm Co, 23% Fe and 20.3% S from 66m

- 2m at 1,458ppm Co, 38.8% Fe and 46% S from 199m



16DM06 mineralised intercepts included:



- 42m at 1,615ppm Co, 19.2% Fe & 20.5% S from 28m including:

o 8m at 2,266ppm Co, 24.9% Fe & 27.7% S from 48m; and

o 2m at 2,435ppm Co, 26.3% Fe & 28.7% S from 59m

- 2m at 1,196ppm Co, 17% Fe & 11.7% S from 82m



16DM07 mineralised intercepts included:



- 25m at 1,232 ppm Co, 11.1% Fe, and 11.2% S from 35m

- 26m at 1,456ppm Co, 14.9% Fe & 16.2% S from 71m including:

o 4m at 2,276ppm Co, 19.6% Fe & 21.9% S from 76m; and

o 2m at 2,350ppm Co, 23% Fe & 26% S from 90m



16DM08 mineralised intercepts included:

- 4m at 1,301ppm Co, 14% Fe & 13% S from 57m;

- 19m at 1,221ppm Co, 13.8% Fe & 13% S from 76m; and

- 2m at 1,206ppm Co, 9.1% Fe & 3.2% S from 123m



These results confirm the previous tenor and elevated grade of cobalt-pyrite mineralisation along the defined strike length. Mineralisation at Railway remains open along strike and the new drilling has confirmed it down-dip; boosting the potential for an open pittable resource.



2016 Pyrite Hill Results



16DM01 mineralised intercepts included:



- 7m at 1,111ppm Co, 10.6% Fe and 11.8% S from 96m drill depth

- 24m at 816ppm Co, 8.2% Fe and 8.8% S from 106m drill depth; and

- 13m at 1,038ppm Co, 10.1% Fe and 10.3% S from 134m drill depth



16DM02 mineralised intercepts included:



- 23m at 1,392ppm Co, 15.6% Fe and 16.9% S from 127m drill depth including the intervals:

o 7m at 2,621ppm Co, 26.2% Fe and 30.7% S from 139m drill depth; and

o 18m at 957ppm Co, 12.3% Fe and 12% S from 154m drill depth



2016 Big Hill Results



The Big Hill deposit is an off-set southwestern extension of the high-grade metamorphic host at Railway. Two holes were drilled towards the south-western end to confirm the depth and strike extensions of known cobalt-pyrite mineralisation. The mineralisation appears to thin and become lower grade at the southern end of the Big Hill-Railway trend. Big Hill may be more distant to mineralising fluid pathways along faults or dilational structures, but this has yet to be determined. There remains a 1km strike length of undrilled and lightly drilled host lithology between Big Hill and Railway, much of which is close to interpreted faulting and needs to be investigated.



A recent (2017) diamond drill core sample is examined by Chair (Rob Biancardi), JV Manager (Trangie Johnston) and CEO (Joe Kaderavek) for the Thackaringa Cobalt Project. Photo taken 20 Mar 2017.



To view tables and figures, please visit:

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/DK25545P





About Cobalt Blue Holdings Limited





Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX:COB) (FRA:COH) (OTCMKTS:CBBHF) is an exploration and project development company. Work programs advancing the Broken Hill Cobalt Project in New South Wales continue. Our ambitious goals are subject to funding availability. Cobalt is a strategic metal in strong demand for new generation batteries, particularly lithium-ion batteries now being widely used in clean energy systems.


Cobalt Potential Highlighted at Nanadie Well Copper Deposit

Adelaide, Mar 28, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Mithril Resources Ltd ( ASX:MTH ) is pleased to advise that a review of previously completed drill hole sampling has highlighted the cobalt potential of the Nanadie Well Copper Deposit (2004 JORC Code Compliant Inferred Resource of 36.07Mt @ 0.42% copper, 0.064 g/t gold - 151,506 tonnes copper and 74,233 ounces gold estimated by Intermin Resources Limited ASX:IRC in 2013 ) which is located 80 kilometres southeast of Meekatharra, Western Australia (see Figure 1 in the link below).



- Selective resampling of drill spoils returns elevated cobalt including;



o 1m @ 2.97% copper, 1.27g/t gold, and 0.15% cobalt, and



o 1m @ 5.71% copper, 0.86g/t gold, and 0.07% cobalt



- Previous exploration activities focussed primarily on copper with vast majority of higher grade copper intervals not analysed for cobalt



- Nanadie Well hosts an existing 2004 JORC Inferred Resource of 36.07Mt @ 0.42% copper, 0.064 g/t gold - 151,506t copper and 74,233ozs gold (see note below)



- Diamond drilling to test for further high-grade copper and associated cobalt planned for the June 2017 Quarter



Previous drilling at Nanadie Well has focused on copper and gold, with the overwhelming majority of higher grade copper intervals (i.e. greater than 1% copper) never having been analysed for cobalt.



Mithril's selective resampling of historic RC drillholes within the deposit has returned elevated cobalt as well as nickel, platinum and palladium, the best results being (see Table 1 and Figure 2 in the link below);



- 1m @ 2.97% copper, 1.27g/t gold, 0.15% cobalt, 0.47% nickel and 478ppb platinum + palladium ("PGE's") from 128m hole NRC12015 (grab sample),



- 1m @ 5.71% copper, 0.86g/t gold, 0.07% cobalt, 0.49% nickel and 128ppb PGE's from 146m in NRC12013 (grab sample), and



- 1m @ 4.50% copper, 0.87g/t gold, 0.06% cobalt, 0.82% nickel and 168ppb PGE's from 128m in NRC12015 (grab sample),



While the resampling results highlight the deposit's cobalt potential, further work is required to better understand the grade and distribution of cobalt, nickel and PGE mineralisation at Nanadie Well and with this in mind, diamond drilling to test for further high-grade copper and associated cobalt is planned for the June 2017 Quarter.



About the Nanadie Well Copper Deposit



Intermin Resources Limited estimated a 2004 JORC Code Compliant Inferred Resource for the Nanadie Well Copper Deposit in September 2013 (see Intermin's ASX Announcement "Initial Resource Estimate for the Nanadie Well Cu-Au Project" dated 19 September 2013).



The information pertaining to the Nanadie Well Copper Deposit Inferred Resource was prepared and first disclosed by Intermin under the JORC Code 2004. It has not been updated since to comply with the JORC Code 2012 on the basis that the information has not materially changed since it was last reported.



The Inferred Resource is within a few meters of the surface and has been defined over 1 kilometre strike length, 50 - 150 metres (true width) and to a maximum depth of 220. The deposit remains open in all directions and lies within a broader 2 kilometres long mineralised zone (see Figures 2 and 3 in the link below) that has been identified by wide spaced reconnaissance drilling.



Nanadie Well's prospectivity is further enhanced by the presence a second parallel copper - mineralised trend 500 metres east called the Stark prospect.



Refer to Mithril's ASX Announcements "Drilling extends Cu-Ni-PGE massive sulphides at Stark" dated 21 December 2015, and "Priority copper-nickel-targets at Stark" dated 1 June 2015 for further information on the Stark Prospect.



About the Nanadie Well Project



The Nanadie Well deposit and Stark prospect lie on tenements subject to a Farmin and Joint Venture Agreement (Nanadie Well Joint Venture) with Intermin Resources Limited ( ASX:IRC ). Under the terms of the joint venture, Mithril can earn a 60% interest in the project tenements by completing expenditure of $2M by 14 April 2019, and an additional 15% by completing further expenditure of $2M over a further 2 years.



To view tables and figures, please visit:

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/5X9114E0





About Mithril Resources Limited





Mithril Resources Limited (ASX:MTH) is an Australian resources company whose objective is the creation of shareholder wealth through the discovery of mineral deposits.

The Company and its exploration partners are actively exploring throughout the Kalgoorlie, West Kimberley and Murchison Districts of Western Australia for economic nickel, copper, zinc, and vanadium deposits.

In the Kalgoorlie District, Mithril is exploring for nickel on the Kurnalpi, Lignum Dam and North Scotia Projects which lie along strike from, or adjacent to previously mined high-grade nickel at the Silver Swan and Scotia Nickel Deposits.

In the West Kimberley, Mithril is exploring for zinc on the Billy Hills Project which lies adjacent to the previously mined Pillara Zinc Deposit.

In the Murchison, Mithril is exploring for copper, nickel and zinc mineralisation on the Nanadie Well Project and for copper, silver, zinc and lead on the Bangemall Base Metal Project. Mithril's exploration partner  Monax Mining Ltd is also exploring for vanadium on the Limestone Well tenements.


Off-Take Agreement for the Supply of Copper Concentrate from Al Hadeetha Project

Perth, Mar 28, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Alara Resources Limited ( ASX:AUQ ) ( ALULF:OTCMKTS ) (Alara or Company) provides this update on activities in Oman.



The Company is pleased to announce Alara Oman Operations Pty Ltd has signed an off-take agreement for the supply of copper concentrate from the Al Hadeetha Project, Washihi Reserve.



After considering offtake proposals from several competing companies, the Company entered an agreement with Statdrome PTE Ltd, who have over 15 years' experience in non-ferrous concentrates trading, including copper sales in and out of Oman.



Under the agreement, annual concentrate production of approximately 35,000 wmt will be shipped at regular intervals from the Sohar port. There also exists the possibility of supplying the material to the Omani smelter in case it restarts. However, the project financial model allows for sea freight and other charges associated with the sale of concentrate from the port at Sohar.



The agreement also includes a pre-payment of US$6m to assist in funding project construction costs and mine start up, and will be drawn down in instalments during the project construction phase, starting once the mining licence is issued.



The agreement forms an important part in financing and development of the mine and processing plant at Washihi, and has been completed in discussion with bank representatives.



Further updates on project financing will be released as they are finalised.





About Alara Resources Limited





Alara Resources Limited (ASX:AUQ) (OTCMKTS:ALULF) is an Australian minerals exploration company with a portfolio of projects in Saudi Arabia and Oman. Alara has completed a Definitive Feasibility Study on the Khnaiguiyah Zinc-Copper Project in Saudi Arabia, an Advanced Scoping Study on the Daris and Washihi, Mullaq and Al Ajal exploration licences in Oman and a Feasibility Study for the Al Hadeetha Copper Gold Project, Washihi ore reserve. The Company is transitioning to establish itself as a base and precious metals mine development and production company. For more information, please visit: www.alararesources.com


Establishes MOU with Mining Development Oman

Perth, Mar 28, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Alara Resources Limited ( ASX:AUQ ) ( ALULF:OTCMKTS ) (Alara or Company) provides this update on activities in Oman.



Previous Company announcements and other public reports[1] have referred to the establishment of Mining Development Oman ('MDO') and its objectives, including the development of copper (and other minerals) mining in Oman. Alara and MDO have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Confidentiality Agreement in connection with these objectives (the 'MOU").



Alara's discussions with other interested parties (including potential project equity partners for Oman) are continuing, subject to the terms of the MOU.



While Alara remains open to receiving equity investment at the project level, this is not a requirement for the Al Hadeetha Copper Gold Project to proceed. Further updates on project financing will be released as they are finalised.



Further to the Activity Update released on 27 February 2017, the Company also confirms it has submitted a park enhancement plan to the Ministry of Tourism as agreed.



Notes:



[1] For example: Times of Oman, 20 September 2016 "Mining Development Oman...", Reuters, 5 January 2016 "Oman sovereign fund, others plan $260m mining venture" and http://www.abnnewswire.net/lnk/03V4GM9I



About Alara Resources Limited





Alara Resources Limited (ASX:AUQ) (OTCMKTS:ALULF) is an Australian minerals exploration company with a portfolio of projects in Saudi Arabia and Oman. Alara has completed a Definitive Feasibility Study on the Khnaiguiyah Zinc-Copper Project in Saudi Arabia, an Advanced Scoping Study on the Daris and Washihi, Mullaq and Al Ajal exploration licences in Oman and a Feasibility Study for the Al Hadeetha Copper Gold Project, Washihi ore reserve. The Company is transitioning to establish itself as a base and precious metals mine development and production company. For more information, please visit: www.alararesources.com
March 27, 2017



Today In America As In Nazi Germany: "Knowing" Versus "Being Acquainted" With What's Going On

When I'm getting ready to go out, I put on CNN. I heard them interview two Trump voters about their perception that health care would be much improved under Trump -- despite how his plan, as stated in his campaign, was basically a Tony The Tiger thing: It'll be "GREAT!" Details? Nope-ies. "GREAT!"

Of course, it isn't just for Trump or on the right that this sort of thing goes on, but he happens to be our Blusterer In Chief -- one whom so many people keep cheering on bluster rather than on substance.

I thought of this when I read a piece by Jessica Shattuck in The New York Times about grandmother who "was a Nazi."

Shattuck's grandma didn't shove anybody in the ovens in a camp; she got into the Nazi party, she said, to be part of a farming program in the countryside where she lived; and she professed ignorance to Shattuck about the horrors the Nazis were engaged in at the time.

Shattuck:

This insistence on her own ignorance was an excuse, and I didn't and still don't accept it. It is impossible that she wouldn't have known of Hitler's virulent anti-Semitism and the Nazis' objective of ousting Jews, whom Hitler had falsely (but successfully) linked to a Bolshevik terrorist threat. But did she follow what she knew of Hitler's plan to its horrific, unimaginable end? In the late 1930s there was talk of sending Jews to Madagascar and to "settlements" in the east. But even if she believed this, why wasn't she appalled at the injustice? At the dangerous stripping of rights? In German there are two words for knowing: "wissen," which is associated with wisdom and learning, and "kennen," which is like being acquainted. Acquaintance is, by definition, a surface understanding, susceptible to manipulation. When you are "acquainted with" something it's much easier to see only part of the whole. Especially if the other half of what you hear and see is appealing. Hitler brought back jobs and opportunity, restored national pride and told seductive, simplifying lies; in the beginning, my grandmother, like many Germans, believed, for instance, that Germany's war against Poland was begun in self-defense. (In 1939, Nazi operatives donned Polish Army uniforms and staged a takeover of a German radio station at Gleiwitz that Hitler then held up as an act of provocation by the Poles.) "But what did you think when you started hearing the rumors about concentration camps?" I would press her. "Didn't you ever listen to the foreign news reports?" "Allied propaganda" was my grandmother's answer. That's what Hitler said it was. And she, like many Germans, trusted him. Her trust, apparently, relieved her of the need to understand. How do I square the loving grandmother I knew until her death, in 2011, with this person? I have often worried that my attempt to understand the choices she made -- and didn't make -- might be confused with an attempt to justify or forgive. But for me it is the only way I know to confront the past and take responsibility. My grandmother heard what she wanted from a leader who promised simple answers to complicated questions. She chose not to hear and see the monstrous sum those answers added up to. And she lived the rest of her life with the knowledge of her indefensible complicity.

A comment at the NYT:

Eileen Gloster

Since I was a child, I've spent much time wondering what I would do if.... in all sorts of situations. Including if I were, say, a mother in Nazi Germany -- worried about "rumors" about Jews being hurt, but wanting to protect my family and having a tendency to trust my leaders. I'd like to think I'd recognize what was happening, and would heed the call for justice. But maybe I'd just play it safe. So many people just looked away -- do I really think I'd be any different? It's so much easier to watch movies about Nazi Germany, or American slavery, or Japanese Internment Camps, and yell at the characters who ignore the suffering, or worse contribute to it. But we don't have a musical score in real life. Our lives aren't edited so that we understand the significance of our actions in the moment, or so that we know, with complete certainty, what is true.

Another NYT comment:

Elizabeth Quinson Suffern

Thank you for your thoughtful essay. I loved my grandmother, too. She was French and had three sons to protect, feed, and educated alone, while her husband served six years in a German POW camp, from 1939-1945. She lived to be 100 years old and yet on her deathbed her great regret was not helping a young German soldier right at the end of the war. He had come to the gate and asked for some clothing to change into so he would not have to wear his uniform as he tried to get home. She refused him, and that refusal haunted her. She was certain that he had been shot and that she bore the responsibility. I loved my grandmother for many reasons, but I admire her most for her sympathy and ability to see across divisions, uniforms, armies, and nationalities to individuals and their humanity.

*
Chairman Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina), Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) and other members of Congress heard testimony during the House Armed Services Committees Readiness Subcommittee hearing.

Lt. Gen. Maryanne Miller, chief of Air Force Reserve and commander of Air Force Reserve Command, testified on the importance of the total force and the impact of associations  partnerships involving the active duty, Reserve and Air National Guard -- on readiness.

Associations are critical to our readiness and our ability to get the mission done every day, Miller said. We are the smallest Air Force that weve been, and it takes each one of the components to provide combat power and respond to emerging threats integration is key.

Miller said funding the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Appropriation is crucial to modernizing aircraft and equipment.

The Air Force Reserve leverages NGREA to increase capability and ensure interoperability in the joint fight, she said. Congress efforts to assist with our budget shortfalls have helped, but permanent relief from the Budget Control Act caps is crucial to a steady and enduring full readiness recovery.

Miller said the Air Force Reserve needs end-strength growth to bring in cyber, intelligence, space and remotely piloted aircraft operators.

We are short in certain critical skills where the demand is high, the general said. We are providing incentives to bring and keep them in.



The manning shortages are not due to recruiting challenges as much as retaining the critical skills that are needed to meet the emerging mission requirements.

Miller further explained the Air Force Reserves cyber community grows with the active component in mission defense teams and supporting the combatant commander in the joint environment.

The AFR is currently manned at 1,500 in the space career field.

We are looking for areas to leverage our capabilities and are currently working with Air Force Space Command to assist in the missions where needed, Miller said. Growth is a priority that I cant get out ahead of, but I can certainly be a wingman for that growth.

The senior leaders called on Congress to provide support to improve manning, critical mission areas and infrastructure.

As you know, our people are our greatest asset to ensuring global vigilance, global reach and global power, Miller said. Portions of our force are stressed, but our Airmen are resilient, engaged and honored to serve.




The 403rd Wings WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft may look like a giant sweeping across the Gulf Coast skies, but when it parked at Joint Base San Antonio yesterday it was dwarfed by the 433rd Airlift Wings C-5M Super Galaxy.

The C-130J was carrying a group of civic leaders from across the Gulf Coast for a two-day tour of JBSA.

We host civic leader tours to give local community leaders an opportunity to better understand what we do as a Total Force and it allows them to see whats happening behind the gate. It also allows us to thank them for their support, Col. Michael Manion, 403rd Wing commander said. Theyre then going to take that information back and share it with other leaders in the community, spreading awareness and benefiting Team Keesler in the long run.

When they stepped off the plane onto the flight line the 149th Fighter Wings F-16 Fighting Falcon looked even smaller in the lineup. But dwarfing other aircraft is easy to do for the C-5, being the largest aircraft in the Air Force and the second-largest in the world.

During the tour, participants had the opportunity to witness the Total Force first-hand. The 403rd and 433rd are both part of the Air Force Reserve while the 149th falls under the Texas Air National Guard.

The trip began with 403rd Wing and 81st Training Wing mission briefings that explained not only what the wings do, but how they work together. Later that afternoon, attendees toured the different aircraft and learned their capabilities and how each contributes to the overall Air Force mission to fly, flight and win. They then toured the C-5M technical school at the 733rd Training Squadron where they got an up-close look at the innovative technologies used to train new C-5M pilots including flight-training simulators.

The biggest thing Ill take back with me is the dedication and morale that we saw from all ranks and the advanced technology and training methods that are being deployed to help our war fighters, said Mark Schloegel, Harrison County Development Commission chairman.

Today, the civic leaders visited the 433rd Maintenance Squadron to see the work that happens behind the scenes to get their aircraft off the ground. Then, they traveled to Fort Sam Houston.

The first stop on the Army section of JBSA was the Center for the Intrepid. The Center for the Intrepid is where military members from all branches of service receive rehabilitation after severe combat injuries. Some of these injuries include amputations, burns and loss of vision.

I was also surprised by the advanced medical training and technology and the speed and ease at which they apply the critical healing needed at the Center for the Intrepid, Schloegel said.

The next stop was the Armys Department of Combat Medical Training Medical Education and Training Campus, which trains about 5,000 Army combat medics per year. Army Maj. Stephen Harper, department chair, said their training has led to the lowest killed in action rate in U.S. military history. The attendees also had an opportunity to walk through their training simulator and experience the flashing lights, smoke and loud noises a combat medic might experience in the field.

Rebecca Smith, Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino director of talent acquisition and management, said the biggest thing shell take away from the trip is realizing how many moving parts there are in the military and that the work businesses do out in the community affects military operations and the military operations affect the businesses out in the community.

Ive found some opportunities for us to better support operations, she said. We have a unique workforce that offers the flexibility they need to be able to leave and not worry about supporting their families.

The importance of engaging with cvic leaders is that we need them to better understand how critical they are to the success of the Air Force, Manion said. A majority of our Reserve Citizen Airmen are typically only here two days a month so they spend most of their time living and working with leaders like these. When employers and civic leaders understand how and what we do, they are immensely more supportive and it makes it easier for our Reserve Citizen Airmen and active component Airmen to focus on their mission.
History, heritage honored

History makes us smart and heritage makes us proud, said Dave Toliver, Archer-Ragsdale Arizona Chapter past president, Mar. 23 during a ceremony celebrating the fourth annual Commemoration Day for the Tuskegee Airmen in Arizona.



The ceremony took place at the Tuskegee Airman Memorial Park, where a static F-16 stands bearing the historic 302nd Fighter Squadron World War II Red Tail honoring the history and heritage of the warriors who endured and accomplished so much.



Over 150 people attended the event including (Ret.) Lt. Col. Robert Ashby, (Ret.) Lt. Col. Asa Herring, and (Ret.) Tech. Sgt. Rudolf Silas, three of the original Tuskegee Airmen. Members of the ARAC Tuskegee Airmen along with leadership from the 56th and 944th Fighter Wings were also present.



The Luke AFB Honor Guard rendered the proper military honors by presenting the colors to kick-off the event and performed Taps while a wreath was laid at the base of the red tail static by the original Tuskegee Airmen.



Here at Luke I see the Tuskegee heritage alive and well in our Airmen not only in the 944th but in our partners in the 56th FW as well, said Col. Kurt Gallegos, 944th Fighter Wing commander, during his comments to the group.



This was Gallegos fourth commemoration ceremony and his last, as he will retire later this summer.



I can assure you that our future aviators and maintainers will always remember the Red Tails who paved the way for us, continued Gallegos. It has been an honor and a privilege to know all the men and women in red blazers, thank you.



After the ceremony, everyone was invited to a luncheon at the Club Five-Six to interact and share fellowship time with the original Tuskegee Airmen and chapter members.



In July of 1987, the 944 FW re-activated the 302 FS and a few years later, in March of 2000, they re-activated the 301st Fighter Squadron. Both of these units belonged to the 332nd Fighter Group of Tuskegee fame during WWII. The units have since transitioned to the F-22 mission and are located at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska and Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico respectively. However, the 944 FW still embraces the proud tradition of the Tuskegee Airmen.



In April 2013, former Governor Jan Brewer signed into law Senate Bill 1128 that designates the fourth Thursday in March as Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day in the state of Arizona.


Dolphins deploy with Rainier Wing

Swimming with dolphins can be a rare, life changing experience, and its not every day that a Reserve wing gets to transport specially trained U.S. Navy bomb detecting dolphins.



Four dolphins from U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) were transported by the Rainier Wing from San Diego to Key West, Florida March 13.



The NMMP uses dolphins in operational programs for swimmer defense  to detect swimmers, divers and swimmer delivery vehicles, and if the handler determines the situation warrants, to mark them; and mine countermeasures  to detect bottom mines and moored mines.



Dolphins are used for these tasks because their extraordinary natural biological sonar capabilities enable them to find objects in waters where hardware sonars do not work well due to poor acoustic environmental conditions, according to NMMP.



The air movement of the Navy marine mammals is a unique occurrence and it is important for the dolphins health and safety to transfer them as carefully and quickly as possible from their home enclosure to their forward deployment pens.



This makes the C-17 Globemaster III the perfect conduit to serve their transportation needs because they were able to fly nonstop to their destination with enough space for all of their required equipment, making their transition as seamless as possible.



Three loadmasters from the 97th Airlift Squadron worked quickly to load their unique passengers. It took roughly an hour to load the four dolphin containers totaling 11,000 pounds, two 500-pound water filtration systems, one 9,000-pound truck, and two additional 2,500-pound pallets of required equipment.



The cargo is always different, but the mission is the same, which is to transport cargo all over the world as efficiently as possible, said Tech. Sgt. Jason Walsh, loadmaster from the 97th Airlift Squadron.



We train hard, and its a lot of fun to have the training to be able to do stuff like this, said Walsh. Im once again amazed by the opportunities the U.S. Air Force Reserve has afforded me.



On the flight deck of the C-17, pilots worked to make sure the aircrafts atmosphere kept the dolphins comfortable. The cargo bay had to be kept below 60 degrees Fahrenheit and aircraft pressurization had to be kept below 6,000 feet, said Maj. James Wilson, 97th Airlift Squadron instructor pilot.



From before takeoff to landing, were doing all we can to make their travel as comfortable as possible, said Wilson.



Reservists never miss an opportunity to train and during the dolphin transport flight members from the Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron trained for notional inflight patient care.



The U.S. Air Force Reserve performs 66 percent of all aeromedical evacuation missions worldwide. The Citizen Airmen of the 446th AW train to ensure they are prepared for any real-world medical mission at any time.



Were approaching our deployment phase, which is why this training comes at such an opportune time, said Major Beverly Davidson, 446th AES flight nurse. Were able to complete our required training and have the honor of flying with these extraordinary dolphins.



Its safe to say the dolphins were in safe hands throughout their transport to Key West, where they will continue their training exercise.


An outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) was declared in Ghana on 7 July 2022, after a test on an index case who died 24 hours after presenting to a health facility in the Ashanti region with symptoms of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (VHF) returned positive after his death.
Shiv Sena is walking on a tight rope after Airlines refused to fly its member of parliament Ravindra Gaikwad. In the past, the party members were damaging toll nakas, injuring doctors for the death of their relatives and ransacking the hospitals in the process. This time the MPs went on hitting spree sandals and showed that the might is the right. By assaulting a senior staff of Air India, the Sena MP had gone far ahead. By misusing his authority he fell into the tag of serial offender and now face criminal charges and two FIRs have been filed against him. There is no sort of defence of the Sena MP as he admitted all the charges in front of the camera and CCTV footage clearly revealed his arrogant attitude towards the staff and that trapped him for one final time. Now it is up to Shiv Sena chief to take a call on the erring member and a serial offender. By just issuing warning to Gaikwad will not serve the purpose and stringent action must be taken against him.

M.R. Jayanthi

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Alexander Miridonov/Kommersant via Getty Images(MOSCOW) -- Stirred by allegations of corruption, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in dozens of cities across Russia yesterday, in the largest anti-government demonstrations the country has seen in years.



Between 7,000 and 30,000 people demonstrated in Moscow, and up to 10,000 in St. Petersburg. Rallies were reported in 82 cities and towns in total.



Its unclear how many have been arrested. Independent Russian news agency Interfax reported about 500 people were arrested, while Russian human rights group OVD-info reported more than 700 people in Moscow, 34 in St. Petersburg and between 80 and 100 in other cities.



These appear to be the largest protests since fraud allegations in parliamentary elections sparked uprisings, which began in 2011 and continued in the following year, countering harsh laws restricting protests that were enacted after that time.



Yesterday's protests were precipitated by an anti-corruption groups investigation into Russian prime minister and former president Dmitry Medvedev, alleging that he used phony companies and charities to build a massive empire of real estate and luxury goods for his own profit.



The Fund for Combatting Corruption (FBK) and its leader, Putin-opposition activist Alexei Navalny, released a report earlier this month and called for the protests Sunday as a way to demand that Russian authorities investigate.



Navalny, who has said he will challenge Russian president Vladimir Putin for the presidency in 2018, was arrested yesterday, slapped with a $350 dollar fine for violating public meeting rules and sentenced to 15 days in jail for disobeying police. His organizations offices were raided by police, who arrested 20 staff members.



The Kremlin dismissed the allegations against Medvedev and has refused to investigate. After Sundays protests, the Kremlin also condemned the demonstrations while trying to downplay them.



"What we saw in several places, especially in Moscow -- it was provocation and lies," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday, accusing the organizers of tricking people into protesting and paying teenagers to participate.



"We regret that our active citizens, many probably out of ignorance, didnt want to use the alternative venues," he said, referencing the spaces far outside Moscows city center where authorities said the protests could have been held legally.



While saying the government respects peoples right to demonstrate, Peskov said this march was an "absolutely forbidden protest action."



State media has ignored the protests as well. Western journalists reporting in the country said Russian television made no mention of the protests, instead covering corruption in Ukraine and South Korea. Yandex, Russias largest search engine that aggregates news stories, did not include the protests in their roundup.



Critics in the U.S. were also quick to question the Trump administrations initial silence on the protests. The State Department released a statement after an American journalist was arrested, but for hours the administration said nothing about the protests themselves -- or Putins crackdown.



"The United States government cannot be silent about Russias crackdown on peaceful protesters," said Republican Senator Ben Sasse in a statement. "Free speech is what were all about and Americans expect our leaders to call out thugs who trample the basic human rights of speech, press, assembly, and protest."



Later, on Sunday night, the State Department issued a statement from acting spokesperson Mark Toner, "strongly" condemning the arrests of peaceful protesters and the targeting of Navalny and his anti-corruption organization.



"Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values ... We call on the government of Russia to immediately release all peaceful protesters. The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve a government that supports an open marketplace of ideas, transparent and accountable governance, equal treatment under the law, and the ability to exercise their rights without fear of retribution," it read in part.



The White House has not issued its own statement, but at Monday's briefing, press secretary Sean Spicer said the State Department's comment "reflects the view of the United States government."



Trump has called for cooperation with Russia, especially in the fight against ISIS, and previously refused to criticize Putins record on human rights. In an interview last month with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, he dismissed the interviewers comment that "Putins a killer," saying, "Weve got a lot of killers. What, do you think our countrys so innocent?"



That is a contrast from the U.S. reaction the last time there were major anti-government protests in Russia.



After reports that parliamentary elections in 2011 were rife with fraud, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for a "full investigation."



"We have serious concerns about the conduct of those elections ... The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve the right to have their voices heard and their votes counted, and that means they deserve fair, free, transparent elections and leaders who are accountable to them," she said two days after the election at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.



Those comments struck a nerve in Moscow as thousands began to protest. Putin then publicly blamed Clinton, saying she incited them.



According to a U.S. intelligence report released in January that blamed Russia for meddling in the 2016 presidential election, that episode, in part, led to Putins campaign "to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency."



"Putin most likely wanted to discredit Secretary Clinton because he has publicly blamed her since 2011 for inciting mass protests against his regime in late 2011 and early 2012," the report read, "and because he holds a grudge for comments he almost certainly saw as disparaging him."

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
It would be the same as if Monsanto tested RoundUp for safety and compared it not to water but to RoundUp sans Glyphosate (the reported active ingredient). Even without Glyphosate, RoundUp is very toxic... one of the ingredients is 10,000 times more toxic than Glyphosate itself. Would comparing those two substances RoundUp with Glyphosate vs RoundUp without Glyphosate be a fair comparison for safety purposes?

When these adults lose their immunity to the virus, it comes out of its hiding places (the bodys dorsal-root ganglia) and that adult develops herpes zoster (HZ). Before VZV vaccination there were about 4 million cases per year and 1 million cases of HZ. Fifty children would die each year from complications (90 people die each year from lightening sticks just as a point of reference).

Now, initially the vaccine was found to be very effective but that was because not everyone was vaccinated so those that were vaccinated kept getting their vaccine induced immunity boosted by the wild virus just like the adults were keeping the HZ at bay for the same reason. Ten years after its introduction the efficacy of the vaccine had dropped to less than 60%, because there were almost no unvaccinated kids circulating the wild virus. At the same time HZ cases among adults went up 90%.



Big Pharma's ever ready answer was to vaccinate the adults to replace the natural immune boosting presence of circulating wild virus.

The cost of vaccinating adults with a VZV vaccine to achieve protection close to that which occurs naturally when VZV incidence could cost as much as $40 billion dollars  that is a lot a chicken scratch to Big Pharma for a vaccine that wasnt really needed in the first place.



Essentially, the VZV vaccine shifted the disease from children to an older age group and the vaccine lost efficacy in the childhood age group as well for the same reason - vaccinated children benefited from exposure to their peers who caught wild chicken pox.



In other words, while it would not be in Big Pharma's interest to let kids opt out of the VZV vaccine it would benefit those who did get vaccinated if there were a lot of other kids who weren't vaccinated.



But to Big Pharma this isn't about disease control this is about money only. The cost-benefit of universal VZV vaccination needs to take into account the risk of off-setting the natural balance that results in continual disease and expensive remediations for illnesses that would never have taken place without the vaccination being given in the first place. With the meningitis vaccine is it worth killing three children and making 1000 more seriously ill to prevent one case of the disease?



This is a perfect example to demonstrate that vaccinology is far more nuanced than physicians and the public understand. It is not that vaccines are bad, it is you don't force them on everyone, because you end up working against public health interests. The goal should not be to vaccinate everyone, the goal should be to protect the public health and in this case we get better disease control if everyone isn't vaccinated. Additionally, most people think that most vaccines control the spread of disease, but they don't. Many control how sick any one person gets should they come down with the disease, but the vaccine does not control the spread of that disease.



This is just not information Big Pharma wants politicians and the public to know. They want to sell their vaccines to everyone and many times over and over... it is all about the money to them. The IPV vaccine for polio is not capable of stopping the spread of polio, so why force it on the population? I could keep listing examples, but I think I made my point.

I also contacted Robert Krakow for a response. He was one of the principal authors of "Unanswered Questions", the revelation in 2011 that our federal government had for years been compensating children for vaccine injuries that included autism, and he is a former NY City prosecutor who now specializes in vaccine injury cases.

This is what he had to say about Zostavax.

Given the obvious risk of serious injury from the Zostavax vaccine, any person over 50 should proceed with caution regarding the commercially promoted recommendation to get this vaccine. While shingles can be serious in rare cases, my personal view is that efforts to maintain good health and a strong immune system will serve us better in preventing shingles than obtaining this vaccine, which has the undeniable risk of serious injury. There are almost 5000 reports of adverse events after Zostavax. The vaccine contains substances that can provoke autoimmunity, including human DNA contamination, gelatin, neomycin and other problematic substances. As with many vaccines, I am not convinced that the vaccine or its components have been properly tested.

The promotion of Zostavax on television and other places is as irresponsible as it is inappropriate. The value of the vaccine is overstated, while the risk of adverse reactions is downplayed. This skews the benefit/cost analysis that all of us must employ when we individually decide to take any vaccine or drug.

The result of all this is that an individuals right to make informed decisions about his or her health is being overridden by bloated claims of efficacy and safety, coupled with risks that are hidden from view. Because of misinformation, our informed consent is, effectively, being overridden. This is not an acceptable situation for any American.

Our emerging experience with Zostavax mirrors our experience with childhood vaccines. Benefits are exaggerated while risk is minimized, all in the context of relentless promotion. The difference with Zostavax is that we can more easily see when injury occurs in adults as compared with developmental injuries in children that are difficult to recognize and diagnose, and are often confused with unrelated disorders. The sad result for both adults and children is the same: unnecessary injury and suffering, often lifelong.

It is the policy of our nation that vaccine injuries do occur and the victims of vaccines should be compensated. For the most part, it is unknown how such injuries occur and how often they occur. Despite this reality, there exists relentless commercial promotion of vaccines. For the sake of the health of our people, this must stop. Public education regarding vaccine risk should be increased, and more rigorous testing of all vaccines brought to market should be applied. Unless this happens, the disturbing trend of increasing vaccine injury will persist as new and exotic vaccines are introduced into the marketplace with dubious justification, except for the bountiful commercial windfall it confers on vaccine manufacturers.

Krakow also addressed the question posed by a friend: "Can you explain why someone is able to sue Merck over Zostavax? Is the NVICP only for childhood vaccines?"

This was his answer:

The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) created the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which provides a legal mechanism for determining whether vaccine injuries for covered vaccines should be compensated. The key phrase is "covered vaccine." To be a "covered vaccine" for which compensation is available under the VICP, a vaccine must be added to the vaccine Table, either by legislation or through administrative rule making by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This applies to all vaccines, whether for adults or children. While the NCVIA includes the term "Childhood" in its title, this is misleading as adult vaccines may be covered under the Vaccine Act. In fact, in recent years most cases that have been compensated have been filed by adults, primarily due to the increased number of doses of the influenza vaccine that have been administered, mostly to adults.



Zostavax, which is a shingles/herpes zoster vaccine manufactured by Merck, is approved for adults over 50 years of age. It is NOT a covered vaccine under the NCVIA and, therefore, cannot be subject to a claim for compensation for vaccine injury under the VICP. The vaccine could be covered under NCVIA, but at present is not. I do not believe there has been an effort by the Secretary of HHS to bring NCVIA/VICP coverage to Zostavax, but this could happen.



The herpes zoster vaccine that is covered under NCVIA/VICP is the varicella vaccine, known by its trade name, Varivax, also manufactured by Merck. Varivax is included in the ACIP/CDC recommended childhood vaccine schedule. (Usually, but not always, when ACIP recommends a vaccine, steps are taken to add the vaccine to the NCVIA/VICP Table of covered vaccines.)

Both Varivax and Zostavax are diploid human cell line manufactured vaccines, manufactured using the MRC-5 (Medical Research Council cell strain 5) cell line. The Varivax has been shown to contain human DNA contamination Zostavax also likely contains human DNA contamination. An experienced pharmaceutical researcher who has examined Zostavax has advised me that Zostavax for adults contains five time more human DNA contamination than the Varivax vaccine for children. It has been theorized that the DNA contamination can cause injury by either DNA insertion into the human genome or by provoking autoimmunity, although this theory is controversial and unaccepted to date in scientific or legal venues. I am cocounsel for the petitioners in a proceeding pending in the VICP, in which petitioners claim that the diploid human cell line vaccines cause autism.



The Law Office of Robert J. Krakow is accepting representation in Zostavax claims outside the VICP, in addition to VICP claims for other vaccines. Zostavax claims brought in the VICP have been dismissed as not covered by NCVIA.



I am available to answer any of your vaccine injury related questions.

Robert Krakow

The issue of vaccine safety is not just the claim that vaccines cause autism, something everyone quickly says has been debunked. We need to realize all vaccines carry real risks. This is true for any medical product or procedure, yet in the case of vaccines, few people are willing to acknowledge it.



Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Some clouds. Low 63F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 63F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.
Archeologists Plan Post-Islamic State Future in Iraq

The military campaign in Iraq against Islamic State, better known as Da'esh, is still in progress, but in the parts of the country reclaimed by the national government, archeologists have already begun work on assessing the damage the radical group caused to important ancient sites. Iraqi and international researchers are deciding an agenda for the future of archeological work in the parts of Iraq held by Da'esh, who deliberately demolished remains of the non-Islamic past. Earlier this month, a team from the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage began work on a comprehensive damage assessment report at the site of Nimrud, an ancient Assyrian city. The site is only 30 kilometers south of Mosul, where fighting against Da'esh is still raging. After capturing Nimrud in July 2014, Da'esh used bulldozers to destroy buildings and smashed figurative sculptures, notably carved stone reliefs and a lamassu, a monumental sculpture of a winged bull with a king's head that stood at the gates of a palace. In London, the British Museum in London began training a group of Iraqi archeologists in emergency heritage management in early March. With
Canadian carrier Cargojet has welcomed a number of initiatives announced in the governments latest federal budget.

These include investment to resolve critical transportation needs in the north of the country and to benefit its indigenous peoples, $152m in new funding to improve security screening at airports and an Innovation Canada platform to attract investment and encourage growth.

Cargojet president and chief executive Ajay Virmani said: "Cargojet is committed to working with the federal government on these and other initiatives that will strengthen the overall safety and security of Canadas airports, create new jobs for all Canadians and improve the reliability and cost-effectiveness of critical air cargo transportation to Canadas North."

Cargojet provides of time sensitive overnight air cargo services, carrying nearly 600 tonnes of cargo per night on its North American network with a fleet of 20 freighter aircraft.

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IATA presented a certificate of recognition for the airport communitys pharma efforts at the World Cargo Symposium in Abu Dhabi.

IATA senior vice president, airport, passenger, cargo and security, Nick Careen, handed over the certificate to Schiphol cargo director to Jonas van Stekelenburg in recognition of Schiphols support for its Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) programme.

IATAs global head of cargo Glyn Hughes commented: The European freight market is one of the largest in the world, accounting for close to a quarter of total global trade.

Having Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Europes third largest freight airport, and Air Cargo Netherlands, one of the regions largest operators, support the CEIV Pharma Program is a significant boost for meeting shippers expectations in terms of standardisation and transparency across the supply chain in the region.

We thank them for their support and for taking the industry one step closer to having a global standard for transporting pharmaceuticals in place.

Pharma Gateway Amsterdam (PGA) was formed a year ago to provide a transparent and qualified pharma air cargo supply chain. To become PGA members, organisations must gain CEIV certification, with support and guidance throughout the process.

All 13 members of PGA are now working to develop an early warning system for pharma shippers who are asking for clarity in the pharma supply chain.

Jonas van Stekelenburg said: It makes perfect sense that all PGA members become IATA CEIV -certified. IATA understands exactly what to look at when assessing the quality of the pharma supply chain, and receiving the accreditation assures our customers that at Schiphol, they are receiving the highest quality service.

The 13 members of PGA are Cyberfreight, GEFCO, VCK Logistics, Yusen Logistics, Swissport, Dnata, Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), Air France-KLM, De Jong Special Services, Jan de Rijk Logistics, Nouwens Breda, DJ Middelkoop, and SGS.

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A small gesture, perhaps, but Qatar Airways switched off the lights for an hour at its corporate HQ to mark Earth Hour on March 25. Its all part of a global campaign to highlight the importance of combatting climate change.

Earth Hour, launched nine years ago, is the worlds largest movement aimed at bringing people together to protect the planet and highlight environmental issues.

Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker described it as an excellent opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of energy conservation.

Qatar Airways has programmes to monitor and manage electricity consumption throughout its operations and is also seeking to reduce its environmental footprint by investing in new technologies, and raising awareness to change behaviour  including fitting automatic timers to exterior building lights to ensure they are not left on during daylight.

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March 24, 2017

MOSUL, Iraq  As the battle continues for the liberation of the remainder of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS), forces answering to the Interior Ministry have been playing more of a central role than those under the Defense Ministry.

Al-Monitor was told while visiting the front in western Mosul in mid-March that the army, under whose authority fighting wars would normally fall, has acted more as a holding force in many areas.

Given the extent to which gains have relied on intelligence and communication with local informants, and possibly due to lingering distrust in the ability of the army to deal with the threat after many personnel abandoned their positions and reportedly left behind thousands of Humvees in 2014 when the city was first taken by IS, this may not be as surprising as it might in other contexts.

Casualties are rising among the federal police, however, and several members were reportedly captured by IS after they ran out of ammunition March 20. A ministry official told Al-Monitor that the men had been killed, but denied that they had been captured prior to their death.

In March, IS-held areas in the old part of Mosul and the surrounding areas on the western banks of the Tigris River have been targeted mainly by the paramilitary federal police and the elite Rapid Response Division, both under the command of the Interior Ministry.

The forces have been launching attacks from multiple axes in the old part of Mosul, where the Great Mosque of al-Nuri is located. Here, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only known public appearance, announcing the creation of the "caliphate" in July 2014, days after a voice recording by IS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani had declared the same.

On March 11, Al-Monitor rode north from Baghdad to the battlefield with soldiers in their early 20s. The road runs through the flat agricultural lands of Salahuddin and the still burning oil fields of Qayyarah, set alight by IS, where women in black niqabs are seen waiting outside a medical center on the main road, past the vast destruction of Beiji with its oil refinery and its blast walls, barbed wire and lookout towers, still standing after several months of battles between IS and the Iraqi forces in 2015. All of the Sunni-dominant territory was under IS control at one point but has been retaken, though some parts continue to suffer sleeper cell attacks.

Sporting crew cuts and navy blue and black uniforms that have "Interior Ministry" printed across them, many of these young soldiers hail from the Shiite-dominant south or the capital; some chattered excitedly about how the various battles in the area had been won, while others stared pensively out the window.

Moving northward from a helicopter base not far from Hammam Alil, armed federal police were positioned every 20 meters (66 feet) or so on the winding road that stretched through the villages of Mosul, past a riverbed and the concrete chunks on the site that once was Mosul International Airport.

Though many of the areas in the southwestern part of the city have been retaken by Iraqi forces, the frequent sounds of IS sniper fire, mushroom plumes of car bombs and rockets continue to be present alongside damage caused by coalition airstrikes.

On March 14, as the Iraqi forces neared the Old Bridge, a number of hotels on a single block being used temporarily for shelter by some of the Interior Ministry forces on the front line were hit by two IS rockets while Al-Monitor was in one of the buildings, bringing down chunks of the ceiling even on the lower levels and filling the air with heavy white dust.

Streets near the retaken museum were rife with sniper fire and other streets leading to the former telecommunications building in the Nabi Sheet area, which Al-Monitor had visited the day before, had become off-limits due to the heavy IS sniper fire there as well.

Two days prior, during an interview in southwestern Mosul, federal police Brig. Gen. Salim Abd, the head of the Elite Forces in the 6th Division, told Al-Monitor that a Russian IS member was one of the few captured alive in recent battles.

He said that the Russian fighter had been taken at the sugar factory at the southwestern entrance to the city after they picked up on IS radio signals and overheard him calling for help. Abd added that the French had given them dozens of photos of French citizens they believed to be fighting on the side of IS and who are thought to still be in Mosul.

Many of the older members of the federal police, who previously were part of the Iraqi police force, have received training from both the American forces and the Italian Carabinieri paramilitary force.

Despite concerns that the counterterrorism forces might be the only Iraqi fighting force able to take on the challenges of the fight against IS, there has been been progress on the ground by forces answering to the Interior Ministry and others. However, some sources say this has come at a considerable cost.

One man whose brother in his late teens was killed in March said about 20 of his friends and acquaintances from his native area in the western Sunni stronghold of Anbar had been killed fighting with federal police in western Mosul. He said that many recruits were below the official minimum age of 18, but that "they are eager to fight IS" and that many would not give their real age because of this.

No casualty figures for Iraqi forces have been released since the uproar following the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq's publication of what it later admitted were "largely unverified" figures in December.

One source from the Interior Ministry who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity also expressed wariness about perceived biases held by the new interior minister, Qasim Mohammad Jalal al-Araji, who was appointed in late January. Araji reportedly moved to Iran a few years after the Iranian Revolution, where he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force and was trained to fight Iraqi forces during the Iraq-Iran War (1980-88). The source said that civilian lives and those of the fighters themselves were not being valued.

The forces' media teams are eager to show the level of care taken to preserve civilian lives during the offensive, and Al-Monitor witnessed some internally displaced persons fleeing their areas and seemingly being treated well by the federal police.

Meanwhile, Interior Ministry forces have been employing new methods such as the use of drones in a bid to reduce civilian casualties, while officials criticized the March 15 report by Human Rights Watch that accuses them of using weapons indiscriminately.

Concerns that the Shiite-dominated Popular Mobilization Units would have a significant role in the operation to retake Mosul, and that this would stir massive sectarian tensions, seem to have thus far been proven wrong.

The Interior Ministry forces have taken much of the lead in the current phase, but who will be predominant in the fight for the nearby city of Tal Afar  which is likely to follow the taking of Mosul  is not yet known.
March 26, 2017

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is on an official two-day visit to Moscow, meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues. The trip is taking place during one of the most important periods in Iran and Russia's relationship, with the Syrian crisis having become a showcase of the growing partnership between the two countries. The overall cordial relationship aside, the true significance of Rouhanis visit can best be understood by taking into account five key points.

First and foremost, it should be noted that it is Rouhani's first official visit to Moscow, and technically it is the first time the two leaders will meet within a purely bilateral framework. Although it is the ninth time Putin and Rouhani will have met face to face, their previous meetings were held either on the sidelines of international events, such as the UN General Assembly meeting, or in the context of multilateral initiatives. The last time they met was on Aug. 8, 2016, when they joined their Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev for a trilateral summit in Baku. Putins only visit to Tehran during the past 10 years took place on Nov. 23, 2015, for a summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.

Second, the visit takes place as the regional partnership between the two countries with a focus on Syria has entered a new phase after Iran was officially named alongside Russia and Turkey as one of the guarantors of the Syrian cease-fire. After the recent round of Syria talks in Kazakhstan on March 15, Russia's envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev said that Iran had signed a document to this effect. Four days later, Iran sent an official note to the UN Security Council requesting that its status as one of the three guarantors of the cease-fire be recognized. While there had been suspicions in Iran regarding Russias long-term plans for Syria, the move has ushered in a new and more solid phase of the Iran-Russia partnership, and in this vein, Rouhanis visit could help the two countries devise a road map for their future steps in Syria.

The third point is that Rouhanis trip could reinvigorate the trilateral Iranian-Russian-Turkish axis on Syria and increase its significance. Although some high-ranking Turkish officials' recently adopted anti-Iranian positions soured Iran-Turkey relations, Ankaras unprecedented and growing rift with some European Union member states has overshadowed the conflict with a more urgent challenge for Turkey than its regional competition with Iran. As Ankara is anticipated to once again look to the East to balance its deteriorating relations with the West, it is possible that Moscow will try to seize the opportunity to compel Iran and Turkey to come together, with Moscow as the centerpiece, leading to more coordinated efforts by the three countries to resolve the Syrian crisis.

Fourth, through his visit to Moscow, Rouhani could build on the evolving US factor in Russias foreign policy equations to influence Russian views of Iran. Since Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, there have been concerns in Iranian circles that in the shadow of Trumps stated desire to improve relations with Russia, Moscow might sell Iran out and start coordinating its Middle East plans with the Americans. However, it has becoming clear that even if Trump is serious about rapprochement with Russia, he will face severe pushback at home, as reflected in the Trump administrations harsh positions on Crimea and also the forced resignation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn over his alleged links with the Russians. Thus, the Moscow-Washington relationship is unlikely to thaw. Rather, Russia will likely continue its strategy of forging or empowering partnerships around the world geared toward counterbalancing the West. As such, in the Middle East, Iran will still remain a main pillar of Russias partnership plans.

Last, but certainly not least, Rouhanis visit takes place just a few months before Irans May 19 presidential elections. During past months and especially after the US presidential vote, in which Russia is accused of interference, speculation has been raised by some Iranian media outlets that Moscow will try to meddle in the Iranian polls, too. The argument is that Russia is dissatisfied with Rouhanis diplomatic opening to the West and prefers a conservative, more anti-Western Iranian president. The speculation has forced Russias ambassador to Iran, Levan Dzhagaryan, to formally deny the allegations against Moscow. With less than two months left before the Iranian presidential elections, Putins meeting with Rouhani could help Moscow put an end to  or at least decrease  the intensity of Iranian suspicions about Russias view of the Iranian elections.

All in all, though the close relationship between Iran and Russia is not dependent on specific administrations being in power in either country, and has been so far been on a rather stable path, the current state of affairs in both countries has assigned a greater degree of importance to Rouhanis visit to Moscow.
March 26, 2017

On the heels of the United States announcing new sanctions against companies and individuals transferring technology for Irans ballistic missile program, Iran responded with its own sanctions regime on US military companies involved in supporting Israeli settlements. In a March 26 statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced sanctions on companies directly or indirectly participating in brutal Israeli crimes in occupied Palestine or that have backed terrorism by [Israel] or have violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 regarding the expansion of illegal settlements in occupied Palestine.

The ministry's statement said that the new US sanctions on Iranian individuals and companies were against international law and contradictory to the text and spirit of the comprehensive nuclear agreement. On March 24, the US State Department had announced that the Iran-related sanctions included 11 companies in China, North Korea and the United Arab Emirates that were working with Irans ballistic missile program. The Iranian Foreign Ministry statement said that Iran has a legal right to defense in pursuing its missile program, particularly against any foreign intervention on its territory.

The Iranian sanctions apply to the following 15 US-based firms for either collaborating with the Israeli military or selling and providing the Israeli government arms or advanced weaponry:

Beni Tal Security

United Technologies

Raytheon

ITT Corporation

Re/Max

Oshkosh Corporation

Magnum Research

Kahr Arms

M7 Aerospace LP

Military Armament Corporation

Lewis Machine and Tool Company

Daniel Defense

Bushmaster Firearms

O.F. Mossberg & Sons

H-S Precision

Given that the United States already has a number of sanctions in place against Iran unrelated to the nuclear deal, Iran has very little, or nothing at all, to lose by imposing reciprocal sanctions. They are more of a political gesture designed to respond to the sanctions on Irans missile program that have been applied routinely from one US administration to the other. In tying the sanctions on the United States to firms that specifically work with the Israeli government and its settlements, which have been condemned by the United Nations, Iran is able to score political points by raising the Palestinian issue while simultaneously invoking the position of an international body.

The additional sanctions being put forward in the bipartisan US bill Countering Irans Destabilizing Activities of 2017 would designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite military unit that reports directly to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as a terrorist group. While some have argued that these sanctions would risk violating the comprehensive nuclear agreement, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who co-authored the bill, said the legislation was written to avoid such an occurrence.

Iranian officials seem poised to also reciprocate the measure by the United States to sanction the IRGC. On March 25, Alaeddin Borujerdi, head of the Iranian parliaments National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said that after the Iranian New Year holidays in early April, he will pursue sanctions against the US military and the CIA. Borujerdi noted that the US military is involved in a number of wars  in Iraq, Syria and Yemen  and accused it of becoming a big supporter of terrorists in the Middle East.
March 27, 2017

Mazen Faqha, a senior member of the armed wing of Hamas, was shot and killed on March 24. In Gaza, the prevailing view is that Faqha, who was freed from an Israeli jail in a 2011 prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, was assassinated by a unit of undercover Israeli soldiers. Israel had held him responsible for activating terrorist cells in the West Bank. A preliminary investigation suggested the killers used silencers, leading senior Hamas officials to suspect that he was not shot by enemies from within, but by Israelis.

Faqha was killed in the area of Tel al-Hawa, known as the Hill of Winds, a short distance from the Gaza coast. The location suggests the killers arrived from the sea, landed on the beach and with the help of local collaborators ambushed Faqha. Hamas decided to close off the Erez crossing from Gaza into Israel, preventing Palestinians from leaving the Gaza Strip until it could ensure that the collaborators had not fled.

In the past, when Hamas accused Israel of some mysterious explosion or other in Gaza, Israel was quick to issue an official denial of playing a role. This time, Israel neither confirmed nor denied involvement in Faqhas assassination. Its silence could be interpreted as a tacit admission of guilt.

If Israel did, in fact, wipe out Faqha, it undoubtedly used a different modus operandi from previous assassination operations. Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, for example, was killed in March 2004 by a missile fired from an aircraft at him while his security guards were rushing him around in his wheelchair. His successor, Abdul Aziz Rentisi, was killed three weeks later by a rocket fired from the air at him while he was in his car.

As far as we know, only one previous Israeli assassination in Gaza was not carried out from the air. Engineer Yahya Ayyash, a bomb maker thought to be responsible for the killings of dozens of Israelis, was killed in January 1996 after his phone was booby-trapped by Israeli agents. The daring and sophisticated operation resulted in a wave of terror attacks by Hamas suicide bombers, who blew themselves up on buses throughout Israel, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Israelis and the collapse of the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo peace accord. It also had repercussions for the elections held later that year in Israel. Acting Prime Minister Shimon Peres lost to Benjamin Netanyahu because most Israeli voters were unwilling to put up with a peace process tainted by the blood of terror victims.

In the wake of the Ayyash assassination, Hamas decided that each such action would trigger a violent reaction. Over the years, every time Israel killed one of its top people, the movements armed wing retaliated with a barrage of rockets fired toward Israeli communities in the south. Mahmoud al-Zahar, one of the movements top leaders in Gaza, has told Al-Monitor in the past that the organization had decided to conduct reprisals for every Israeli assassination to maintain mutual deterrence and make the Israelis think twice before harming its people.

The 2012 assassination of Ahmed Jabari, then-commander of Hamas' military wing, was the catalyst for the launch of Israels Pillar of Defense operation in Gaza later that year. Hamas was unwilling to abandon its policy of retaliation, despite knowing that such actions were dragging Israel into a full-scale military confrontation that would result in extensive loss of life.

The question now is how Hamas will respond to Faqhas killing. Will it ignore the shooting because its leaders fear another armed clash with Israel at this point? And if it does nothing, how will the movements new Gaza boss explain it? Yahya Sinwar could be perceived by the militant heads of the armed wing as a weak leader who doesnt keep his promises.

In an interview with Al-Monitor, one of the armed wings leaders said on condition of anonymity the organization has no doubt that Israel was behind Faqhas assassination and that its fingerprints were clear. He said Hamas had set up a panel to investigate the sequence of events and it would soon submit its conclusions. Hamas considers the team of inquiry important not just to find out how the killers reached Gaza without being detected by scouts, but even more so to expose the locals who abetted Israel.

From an operational standpoint, establishing an investigative team provides the heads of the political and military wings time to carefully weigh their actions. That Faqha was not killed by a projectile fired from an aircraft means that Israel is not immediately incriminated and Hamas need not take immediate action to prove to the Palestinian people that it has not abandoned its ideological power base  its jihad against Israel.

Since its founding, Hamas has taken care to preserve its image in the eyes of its Palestinian constituency as the leader of the jihad against Israel and especially as an organization that never gives up in the face of adversity and crises. No surrender was and is the Hamas slogan, which its leaders shout at the top of their lungs at every mass rally in Gaza.

A professional team of inquiry conveys to the Palestinian public that the movements leaders have sound judgment and will not drag the Gaza Strip into yet another deadly round of violence before the facts are clear and solid conclusions are drawn.

If Israel did, indeed, decide to assassinate Faqha from the ground rather than by using an airborne weapon without endangering the lives of its fighters, it would seem that consideration was given to maintaining the status quo with Hamas, leaving its leaders an out.

And still, the most pertinent question remains  what motivated Israel, if this was in fact its handiwork? A hint was provided last week by Nadav Argaman, the head of the domestic Shin Bet security service, who told the Knessets Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on March 20 that the calm with Hamas was illusory and not a day goes by that Hamas does not try to carry out a terror attack against Israel. Argaman assessed that during the upcoming Passover holiday in April, these efforts would intensify. Faqha was in charge of operating terror cells in the West Bank and that, in all likelihood, explains it all.
March 27, 2017

The relationship between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel has been heading downhill ever since the negotiations were halted in April 2014. The strained relationship reached a new level of tensions on March 16 when Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman labeled the Palestinian National Fund (PNF) as a terror group.

In a step deemed one of the most serious moves taken by Israel against Palestinian institutions since 1993, when the Oslo Accord was signed, Liberman banned the PNF, which he accused of providing millions of shekels to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and families of victims on a monthly basis, in addition to supporting attacks against Israel.

Although Liberman believes the PNF supports individuals responsible for executing terrorist attacks against Israel and pays money to Palestinian prisoners who have killed Israelis, the PNF works on providing legal defense to these prisoners before Israeli courts, offers support and social welfare to prisoners and their families, and mobilizes local, regional and international support for their release.

Israel's Channel 7 reported on March 16 that Israel will take the necessary legal measures against the PNF, inside and outside the Palestinian territories, to seize and forfeit all of its properties and assets.

Only a few hours after Libermans announcement, the Palestinian presidency issued a statement denouncing the decision, as it undermines the legal relationship with Israel. The statement noted that the PNF is acting in accordance with signed agreements and called on the world to reject the decision.

Al-Monitor contacted members of the PLOs Executive Committee, of which the PNF is a part, to find out more about the repercussions of the Israeli decision.

Ahmed Majdalani, the secretary-general of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front and member of the PLOs Executive Committee, told Al-Monitor, The ban on the PNF is an Israeli political decision; this is not Libermans personal stance. Israel aims to criminalize the PLO in order to eliminate the possibility of any political solution. This decision is a violation of the 1993 mutual recognition between the PLO and Israel. The PNF implements the PLOs policies and any Israeli violation will be met with withdrawal of recognition [of the State of Israel].

According to the PNFs bylaws, the fund was founded with the establishment of the PLO in 1964 as its Ministry of Finance. Headed by Ramzi Khouri, who was appointed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2005, the PNF oversees the PLOs financial activities, in terms of revenue and expenses. It also played a major role in supporting the first intifada in 1987 by sending money to the families of the victims who were killed by the Israeli army during this intifada, as well as to the wounded and the Palestinian prisoners. In addition, it has provided aid to Palestinian organizations in occupied territories, and it has provided medical services for the wounded and the families of victims.

Although there are no accurate figures about the amount of money the PNF holds, a prominent Palestinian official in Ramallah told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, The PNFs annual budget, which it gets from the PAs general budget, amounts to $250 million. It is distributed to the PLOs institutions, notably the political department, the Red Crescent, the bodies handling the affairs of refugees, Jerusalem, negotiations, churches, expatriates, prisoners and their families, and representative embassies abroad, as well as [salaries] for the PNFs 500 employees.

Khalil Shaheen, the director of the research department at the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies (Masarat), told Al-Monitor, The Israeli decisions political dimension is much more important than its economic one. It aims to impede the efforts made by US President Donald Trump, as well as impose a new approach on the peace process. The negotiation process will now become a debate on security issues and the pursuit of terrorism. However, it would be difficult for Israel to ban the PNF since it does not only operate in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, but also outside Palestinian territories, in countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere. This may also raise a problem for Israel's relationship with Palestinian banks in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, since these handle the PNFs transactions.

Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the PLOs Executive Committee and secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Front, told Al-Monitor, The Palestinian response to the Israeli decision should be canceling all security, political and economic agreements with Israel, which the latter uses to serve its own interests only. This Israeli decision reveals an occupational mentality that aims to wage a comprehensive war against Palestinians.

Israel's decision against the PNF coincides with its continuous attempts to convince donor countries to stop supporting Palestinians by claiming the money is used to support perpetrators of armed attacks and their families or used at schools to incite children against Israel, according to an article published on Yedioth Ahronoth on March 12.

The Israel Hayom paper close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Feb. 13 that the European Union covers the legal defense fees for perpetrators of attacks against Israelis before Israeli courts.

Also in February, Israeli right-wing Im Tirtzu organization issued a report revealing that between 2012 and 2016, HaMoked Center for the Defense of the Individual, an Israeli human rights organization, received $4 million from the EU and the United Nations to defend 48 Palestinians who carried out attacks killing a total of 500 Israelis between 2000 and 2016.

Taysir Khaled, a member of the PLOs Executive Committee and member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestines political bureau, told Al-Monitor, The PNF will continue to abide by its commitment toward the families of martyrs and prisoners as well as the wounded, regardless of Libermans decision, since the PNF was established long before the political agreements between the PLO and Israel even existed.

On March 18, PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said that Israel declaring the PNF a terrorist group negates Israels recognition of the PLO. This decision will soon be followed by the collapse of the PA or the reoccupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, he said, adding that the PLO had demanded an explanation from the United States and other countries.

For his part, Nasr Abdel Karim, an economics professor at Birzeit University, told Al-Monitor, The Israeli decision could affect the financial transactions of the PNF and the PA, which Israel could trace and monitor. In addition, Palestinian banks that handle PNF transactions could be investigated and subjected to Israeli pressure in order to stop such transactions.

The Israeli decision against the PNF coincided with the PA's intention to internationalize its conflict with Israel and resort to international institutions such as the UN, the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court, as demanded by Arab foreign ministers on March 7, while refraining from direct negotiations with Israel.
March 27, 2017

MOSUL, Iraq  The Ministry of Displacement and Migration announced March 20 that the number of residents displaced from Mosul has risen to 355,000 since the start of the liberation in October 2016, with the number set to increase. Meanwhile, only 81,000 displaced residents have returned to liberated areas.

People are increasingly flocking to the Directorate of the National Security Service in the Bartala area in eastern Mosul to obtain security permits to travel or flee to other Iraqi provinces. Such permits prove to a certain point that their holders are not members of the Islamic State (IS) and do not work with it.

Between 1,000 and 1,500 permits were being issued on a daily basis in January 2017 to citizens of the [eastern Mosul] areas, including large numbers of employees, a security source from the Mosul Security Directorate told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

During the years of IS control, most of the Mosul population opted to stay in their homes to show resistance against IS. Some residents even described those who left the city as weak. However, they now seek to escape as soon as the chance arises.

Ferial al-Mosuli, the director of a secondary school for girls, opted to stay in Mosul to prevent IS from seizing her house. Many more people left Mosul after the liberation than during IS occupation because of the lack of clean water and electricity.

Mosuli added, We do not have enough teachers; most of them are still in [Kurdistan], and only 65 students are left in our school out of 700."

Some of the Mosul residents who lived in areas that are now liberated have chosen not to return to these areas, especially those working in the health and education fields, as they settled with their families in Kurdistan, Baghdad or outside Iraq.

I do not think I'm ever returning to Mosul, especially since I established my clinic and medical center in Erbil, and my house in Mosul has been taken over and destroyed, Dr. Saadallah al-Ghanim, who has at least 25 years of experience working with cancerous tumors, told Al-Monitor.

In Erbil, one cannot help but notice the large number of doctors whose medical signs carry the Mosul Medical College logo. These are doctors who are well-known by Mosul residents and consult with patients from various Iraqi provinces. This comes amid a scarcity of medical personnel in the eastern areas of Mosul that have been under the control of the Iraqi security forces for almost three months. At least three huge hospitals, most notably Al Salam Teaching Hospital and Al Khansaa Hospital for pediatrics and maternity care, have been destroyed. These institutions have yet to receive financial support for their rehabilitation.

The Ministry of Health had issued an administrative order earlier to force its displaced personnel to return to their liberated areas, but it subsequently issued an order for the personnel to wait until the liberation of Mosul is complete.

I will be back if the ministry pays my 2 years' unpaid salaries, but I am not going to be asked to return without having a source of income for my family, Safaa, a nurse who has been displaced to the Kurdistan region, told Al-Monitor.

The Ministry of Health has not managed to pay the salaries of Mosul's 10,000 employees in the liberated areas, head of the parliamentary health committee Fares al-Breifkani said during a parliamentary session last week.

Najla Mohammed, a teacher at the University of Mosul in Sulaimaniyah in northern Iraq, said, My return to Mosul will mean starting from scratch in a city that is in constant conflict, and I would have to rebuild the house, buy furniture and take care of many details.

The colleges at the university are completely destroyed, so I asked for a long four-year leave. I wont be paid much, but I will be safe, she added.

During the formulation of the 2017 austerity budget at the end of 2016, the Iraqi Council of Representatives had voted on a decision to grant a four-year leave to all employees in return for a nominal salary.

As the liberation of the western side of Mosul is ongoing, security breaches continue in the eastern and northern parts as IS uses drones and mortar rockets to target civilians and Iraqi forces. Most recently, there were rocket attacks in the Rashidiyah area, and no less than 20 people were killed in March, according to a medical source at the Zahra Center in eastern Mosul.

Salman Mahmood, a local police officer, told Al-Monitor, The presence of sleeper cells is worrying. He added that recently "an unknown person threw an explosive device near my house, while I live in a liberated area.

He said, Extremists see me as an apostate, and this puts my life at stake  and my family is always threatened. I'm actually thinking of leaving the city.

Until this very day, the Iraqi parliament has not declared the city of Mosul a disaster zone, even though its eastern part is completely destroyed with houses that fell on their inhabitants, Intisar al-Jubouri, a parliament member in Ninevah province, told Al-Monitor.

He added, Emptying the city of its residents and advanced staff, such as doctors and teachers, is disturbing, and the failure to provide salaries and food for civilians is what is prompting residents to leave the city.

Jubouri pointed out that two funds have been formed. The first aims to restore stability in Ninevah province and implement about 60 projects with the support of the United Nations, and the second is a reconstruction fund in which funds have been secured from the budget, international loans and grants. The funds will begin operating following the end of military operations.

In light of growing administrative corruption, low oil prices, rising anti-IS war expenses and a large budget deficit amounting to more than $20 billion, how will the Iraqi government manage to reconstruct Ninevah province and convince its people to return?
March 26, 2017

As Russia has increased its presence in the Middle East, Chechnya has come to play an important role for Moscow in a number of ways. Not only did its leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, use his personal authority and contacts to convey Kremlin messages for several regional governments, but Chechnya has also helped channel Russian influence in various situations. Syria is no exception.

In December, the presence of Chechen fighters among Russian troops was the subject of numerous reports. Kadyrov initially denied any such presence, but suggested that if the Kremlin had to give the order, the troops stationed in Chechnya would be happy to go fight the scum in Syria. In January, the Chechen leader admitted that a military police battalion composed of ethnic Chechens was indeed in Syria as part of the Russian Defense Ministry forces. By that time, a video had been leaked of the forces  allegedly about 500 men  awaiting departure to Syria. But most importantly, two of Kadyrovs own messengers visited Syria and met with the servicemen.

Early this year, Adam Delimkhanov, Kadyrovs closest adviser, and Salah Haji Mezhiev, the mufti of Chechnya, traveled to Syria to meet with the Syrian presidents brother, Maher al-Assad, along with Aleppo Gov. Hussein Diab, some prominent Syrian religious leaders and the Russian military command.

The meetings and subsequent report to Kadyrov on the situation in Syria produced some interesting decisions.

The Regional Public Fund  which is named after Akhmat Hajji Kadyrov, Ramzan Kadyrovs father  decided to restore the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo, which was destroyed by the Islamic State (IS). The fund is a charitable foundation established in 2004 to assist Chechens, but has since extended its activities to aid people in different parts of Russia and abroad, particularly in Somalia and Syria. In February, the foundation organized the delivery of more than 10 tons of food and other relief aid to Syria.

In September, the fund had sent more than 2,500 sheep, 100 bulls and 10 camels to residents of Damascus, Latakia and Tartus on the occasion of the Kurban Bayrami (Feast of the Sacrifice, also known as Eid al-Adha), and also provided 7,000 Syrian children with school kits. Next, the foundation plans to fund construction of several orphanages in Aleppo for children who lost their parents in the war. The initiatives are set to reinforce the Chechen leaders image as a caregiver in remedying Middle Eastern grievances and as a principal defender of Islam.

Kadyrov claims IS was generated by Western intelligence forces [and] has nothing to do with Islam.

On the contrary, [it]  seeks to destroy Muslim countries [and] make Islam appear to be the main evil in the eyes of the rest of the world, Kadyrov wrote on his Instagram page.

The religious connection is particularly vibrant in Chechnyas outreach to Syria. As a follow-up to the Chechen muftis visit to Syria, Mohammed Abdul Sattar  the minister of religious endowments for religious affairs (Awqaf) of Syria and one of the Sunni leaders who have remained loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad  came to the Chechen capital of Grozny on a two-day visit in early March. Accompanied by the director of the Syrian youth movement and representatives of several Syrian waqfs, Sattar met with Chechen clergy and Kadyrov himself.

The men discussed further cooperation on religious affairs as well as academic exchanges between Chechen and Syrian students from Damascus University. They also discussed ways of combating the ideology of terrorism, including Chechnyas work to help war-traumatized youths adapt to postwar life.

So Chechnya has various avenues of influence in Syria that could be of value to Russia.

As for the deployment of the Chechen battalion in Syria, Alexander Sotnichenko, a retired Russian diplomat and a Middle East expert, told Al-Monitor there were at least three reasons for Moscow to station the force there. He said, First, it was necessary to provide security for the Sunni population, which occasionally experienced raids from Shiite militant groups who  were critical in capturing [Aleppo]. In this respect, Chechen forces were there to show that Russia isnt setting Sunni residents adrift. Second, since the Russian participation in storming Aleppo was less robust than that of pro-Iranian forces, deploying a special forces group is a way for Moscow to secure its own part of the town and maintain influence on the ground.

Last week, Daniel Martynov, Kadyrovs aide on security affairs, confirmed that before they were sent to Syria, the Chechen units received top-quality training from Russian military intelligence counterterrorism task forces. Also, all of the servicemen know Arabic, with some speaking the Syrian dialect. Martynov said that over the course of their presence in Syria they have been attacked several times but luckily didnt suffer any casualties.

The third reason Kadyroy has Chechen servicemen in Syria, Sotnichenko said, is to alter the negative image of Chechens, who are largely viewed in Syria as terrorists, since many of them have been fighting on the side of radical groups, including IS. Indeed, Chechens have a reputation for being ferocious, skillful and thus valuable fighters and many have made it to the top ranks in their organizations.

Akhmet Yarlykapov, Russias leading expert on the Caucasus and Islamic Studies, said that there were about 3,000 ethnic Chechens fighting for IS and other extremist groups, but that most are from Europe, with only about 500-600 from Chechnya itself. Of that 500-600, 200 people, according to Yarlykapov, have been killed in Syria and Iraq and about 50 managed to return to Russia.

In the West, news that Moscow deployed Chechens to Syria triggered a rather negative backlash. Journalists reporting on the story referred to international rights groups who feared extrajudicial killings and other unlawful activities from the forces. To change that perception, Russia makes sure Chechen military men are now frequently shown on camera distributing Russian humanitarian aid to war-torn cities, especially Aleppo.

In Russia, the news was well-received. In Moscow, Leonid Kalashnikov, the head of the Duma Committee on the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, praised the decision, saying there were several grounds for it, including the fact that Chechens know how to fight and their mentality is similar to that of Syrians.

In Chechnya itself, the response was a rather mixed bag, as fighters relatives were puzzled over the decision to prolong their stay in Syria and why their duties have been changed from securing the Russian military base in Khmeimim to safeguarding parts of Aleppo. The father of a Chechen soldier serving in Aleppo told a Russian media outlet in mid-February that he expected his son to be back home by the end of that month as was initially promised.

He said, Nevertheless, my son is happy with how everything is going so far. He says their main duty is to patrol the streets, guard different objects and convey cargos. He also says Aleppo is very much like Grozny in early 2000  everything is destroyed and people are surviving on humanitarian aid.

For now, the Chechen battalion is scheduled to stay in Syria until August. Both the date and the duties performed are subject to change depending on the situation there and the course of Russian foreign policy in the region. But clearly, military might is not the only channel of Chechen influence in Syria that Kadyrov can deliver to Moscow.
March 27, 2017

Following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans March 10 meeting in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin, it was reported that Turkey was engaged in negotiations to procure the Russian-made S-400 air defense system. Sergei Chemezov, the CEO of the Russian state-owned Rostec, said on March 14 that Turkey had asked for credit to buy the system, but that a deal had not yet been reached. As soon as an agreement is signed and a decision is made on the amount of the loan, then we will sign a contract for the supply, he said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed a day later that both sides were interested in a deal.

NATO member Turkey opting for a Russian defensive system has serious ramifications, no doubt affecting Turkeys strategic military and political relations. Since deciding that it should have its own defense system instead of relying solely on NATO, Turkey has been wavering between the various offerings of its Western allies and Chinese and Russian alternatives.

Turkey's desire for its own long-range air defense system did not begin with the Justice and Development Party. Ankara began toying with obtaining the US-made Patriot system since the 1991 Gulf War. Today, Turkey maintains its own US-made MIM-14B Nike Hercules and MIM-23B Hawk and British-made Rapier air defense systems. Defense experts say these medium-range systems, developed in the 1950s, are inadequate against the latest aerial weapons and advanced jets.

Given the surprising, and for Ankara somewhat worrying, progress of Irans national defense industry, Turkey has been questioning the wisdom of confining itself to NATO assets. Thus, in the last few years, Turkey has been thinking of acquiring a long-range air defense system in addition to developing its own national missile system. In 2013, it took bids for Raytheon-Lockheed Martin's Patriot system, Rosoboronexport's S-300-400, Eurosam's SAMP/T Aster 30 and the Chinese CPMIEC FD-2000 defense missile systems.

A tender was awarded to China in 2013 at slightly more than $3 billion. The highly controversial decision was, however, canceled in November 2015, just before the G-20 summit in Antalya as a gesture to Western allies. Following the July 15 coup attempt and with the Ankara-Moscow rapprochement, the possibility of making a deal with Russia for a system gained momentum. According to Erdogan, Turkey now prefers the S-400 because Russia reduced its initial 2013 price considerably.

Turkey is not the only country interested in the S-400. According to a 2015 agreement, Russia will be delivering 48 launch pads to China, and negotiations are ongoing to sell 80 launchers to India. After a long delay, Russia began delivering S-300PMU2 systems to Iran after Tehran agreed to a nuclear deal with the six world powers.

Turkeys situation is, however, different from these countries, because any system procured outside NATO could be incompatible with the alliances current defense structure. Turkey has a ready answer to objections that the S-400 cannot be integrated. Returning from Moscow March 10, Erdogan told journalists, There are some who cite the NATO concept as an objection. This is not an appropriate approach. Today [NATO partner] Greece is using Russian missiles. Everyone can formulate its own defensive concepts. If we cannot obtain the facilities we need from within NATO, then we have to look for different sources. Also there are other dimensions. Unfortunately in Syria, we saw the weapons of our NATO allies in the hands of terrorists.

Defense Minister Fikri Isik said the S-400 will not be integrated into the NATO system. For starters, NATO will not allow integration, plus Turkey cannot use NATO funds or facilities to integrate it into its national radar system. Of note, the Greek model has not been successful because of NATO integration-related problems, so the S-300s Greece has deployed on Crete are basically in case of dog fights with Turkish planes over the Aegean. In regard to Turkey, defense experts point to several other problems that could arise.

The S-400 deployed in Turkey will not be linked to the system's early warning radars, because they are in Russia, thus reducing the battery's potential effectiveness. An S-400 battery deployed near the Syrian border, where it is most needed, would be facing a Russian S-400 battery deployed at Syrias Khmeimim air base, raising the question of what happens when the two batteries identify corresponding radar from the same family. Turkey's S-400 would automatically identify NATO jets as enemy planes, potentially leading to problems involving the alliance's planes flying out of Incirlik Air Base.

The issue regarding which missile defense system to procure is not confined to debates on military-technical aspects, so what led Turkey to first approach China and then Russia? Is the rapprochement with Russia a tactical move to prod the West into making a better deal than Moscow or does it have strategic feasibility or significance?

The Russians are not yet convinced that Erdogan is genuinely interested in their S-400, and indeed skeptics believe he might be engaging in political blackmail of a sorts to procure Western systems at lower prices. After all, Turkey used the possibility of purchasing Patriots to get the Chinese to lower the cost of the FD-2000 before deciding against it. Many think that Erdogan brought the S-400 to the table to expedite normalization with Russia. Regardless of what is motivating Erdogan, the mere existence of the bargaining between Ankara and Moscow is nerve-wracking for the north Atlantic alliance.

Looking at the issue from Moscow's perspective, Putin obviously has more than money in mind with the S-400. In 2008, when Russia marched into Georgia to defend South Ossetia, there were doubts about its military prowess. Russia thereafter revamped its defense industry and in 2015 began displaying what it had achieved. Russian technology being used in Syria has raised interest, and selling the S-400 to Turkey would make it even more appealing. Turkey would be the first NATO country using modern Russian weapons. Greece has old Russian technology. The S-400 would inevitably lead to dependence on Russia and is likely to open the door to long-term military relations. Putin has been guardedly trying to exploit that Ankara has more mutual geopolitical and strategic priorities with Moscow than with the West.

None of this, however, means that Moscow will wrap up the bargaining and soon begin delivering S-400s to Turkey. Russia could well prolong negotiations and deliveries until it feels confident about Turkeys positions. Ankaras canceling its agreement with China gave birth to serious doubts about Turkey's reliability. Russia is not concerned about the foreign policies of China, India and Iran, but believes that Turkeys NATO membership and vacillating positions require careful monitoring.

How might NATO respond to Turkey's dual approach to its defense? Is Turkey prepared for whatever it might be? Turkey striking a deal with Russia is not something with which NATO can deal with comfortably. Today there are countries questioning Turkeys membership given the alliance's mission and the Soviets, now Russians, adversarial role. Ankaras decision to block NATO partnership projects in retaliation for European Union states prohibiting rallies concerning switching Turkey's government to a presidential system will only further this debate. Adding the S-400 to the prevailing tensions with Europe could well open Turkeys NATO membership to even more debate.
March 27, 2017

With less than a month to go before Turkeys April 16 referendum, the democratic and free climate this fateful vote requires is nowhere to be seen. The country is engulfed in a toxic campaign teeming with autocratic displays of populist nationalism aimed at boosting support for constitutional changes designed to hand sweeping executive powers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In the words of veteran Hurriyet columnist Taha Akyol, The governments propaganda machine is working full throttle in a formidable yes campaign, using also the powers of the state.  We see on a daily basis how the yes vote is promoted through state power and how the same state power is used to suppress the no vote.

The most striking example in this regard is perhaps the no campaign of former Interior Minister Meral Aksener, whose appeal to nationalist and conservative voters makes her a serious threat in government eyes. Akseners public events face regular disruptions through a variety of means, ranging from power cuts at campaign venues to rally bans and physical attacks.

Another example is the abolition of a provision in electoral laws that stipulated penalties for private TV networks and stations that fail to provide balanced and objective coverage of competing campaigns. The government scrapped the provision in February through a legislative decree, a tool made available by the state of emergency in effect since the July 15 coup attempt, flouting the constitution, which says that amendments to electoral laws can take effect only a year after adopted. The loss of this provision means that the voice of the opposition is now completely absent from the scores of pro-government channels.

Violations of law and the evisceration of rules have become a hallmark of the campaign. Chief among them is Erdogans breach of the presidents neutrality, a norm enshrined in both the constitution and the presidential oath. Erdogan says the provision is no longer relevant because he was elected directly by the people and asserts his right to take sides. He leads a bellicose yes campaign, vilifying the no camp and fanning artificial tensions, as in the recent crises with Germany and the Netherlands.

The narrative of the yes campaign is equally destructive for Turkish democracy. The substance of the constitutional changes is rarely addressed, eclipsed by a nationalist, security-centered and oppressive bluster. A slogan Erdogan shouts at rallies tells it in a nutshell: You cannot divide the nation! You cannot take down the flag! You cannot break up the homeland! You cannot destroy our state! You cannot silence our azans [calls to worship]! You cannot bring this country to its knees!

In this rhetoric, the yes vote represents national unity and power, while the no vote stands for partition and treason. Why the proposed presidential system represents unity and the existing parliamentarian one represents partition is of no importance in this narrative. The supposed righteousness of the yes vote rests not on the substance of the constitutional package but on the identities of the naysayers. This is so much so that the rhetoric often takes on a threatening tone against no voters, depicting them as adversaries of Islam or the nation. Erdogans assertion that the naysayers stand on the side of the July 15 coup speaks of itself.

The referendum campaign will go down in Turkish political history as a momentous chapter, teeming with omens of Erdogans march toward a nationalist populist order in which he seeks to transform his arbitrary and authoritarian tilt into an institutionalized, personalized grip on power.

In Erdogans eyes, only a certain segment of Turkish society  the one that rallies behind him  is the nation. Erdogan has increasingly identified himself with this nation since he was elected president in 2014. Accordingly, the leader represents the thinking of the nation, or rather, whatever the leader thinks at a given time on a given subject is regarded as the thought of the nation. The first critical aspect here, which reflects the spirit of the constitutional changes, is that the intermediaries, institutions and mechanisms between the leader and the nation are reduced to a minimum. The second aspect, which has emerged as a key element of the aspired populist order, is the rejection of those who object to this system as outcasts who do not belong to the nation.

So what will it mean for Turkey if the referendum ends in Erdogans favor? He will likely take this as a popular approval of his arbitrary practices after the coup attempt and even use it as a ground to normalize the emergency-rule regime. Thats what he seems to suggest when he says that a yes outcome will be an answer, an important rebuke to July 15.

A victory for Erdogan is likely to bring Turkeys already tense relations with the European Union to a freeze. He already declared his intentions last week, saying, We will review our ties with the EU after April 16. They will no longer be able to threaten us, neither with the membership process nor the [refugee] readmission deal. Thats over.

The EU is hardly in a friendlier mood. Besides the lasting effects that the Nazi rants against European countries will have, the EU is highly critical of the constitutional changes and the referendum process, as the March 13 statement of two top EU officials reflect.

So the most critical question now is this: Can Erdogans campaign strategy and political course lure the majority of Turks to his side, despite all the gloomy prospects? According to a pollster who has often worked for the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the president is on an uphill track.

The AKPs and Erdogans campaign rhetoric and the crises with Germany, the Netherlands and others have failed to bring over the conservative segment that has distanced itself from Erdogans policies, Ibrahim Uslu, the director of the ANAR research company, told Al-Monitor. Three months ago, the yes and no votes were neck and neck, and thats how they remain today. But if we take into account the silent and covert naysayers who refuse to disclose their opinion, the no vote seems to be leading with a small margin.

One thing is clear  the referendum will be more than just choosing a system of governance. The vote is looming as a historic test for the Turkish nation  government opponents and sympathizers alike  on whether or not it can stop the countrys slide to autocracy.
March 27, 2017

Could the "no" votes win Turkeys April 16 constitutional referendum on amendments expanding the country's presidential powers? Opinion polls by leading Turkish research firms suggest it's a possibility.

In a March 27 interview with Hurriyet Daily News Editor-in-Chief Barcin Yinanc, Konda polling company director Bekir Agirdir described the race as neck and neck. Agirdir said that while there are some undecided even among the core loyalist constituency of the [Justice and Development Party] AKP," "there is no hesitation in the no camp, where you have the voters of the [Republican Peoples Party] CHP and [the Peoples Democratic Party] HDP. Despite occasional setbacks, Konda remains one of Turkeys most reliable polling firms.

Agirdir added that half of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) voters plan on voting against the amendments. Another quarter of MHP voters remain undecided.

That outlook puts MHP Chairman Devlet Bahceli, who has formed an alliance of convenience with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AKP, in a difficult bind. Bahceli is currently facing a serious backlash from his own ranks for supporting Erdogan. If the no" votes have it, Bahceli could very well lose his chairmanship, and Erdogan a critical (if uneasy) partner.

Other opinion polls reveal similar trends: While the bases of opposition parties  the HDP and the secularist CHP  are vehemently against expanding presidential powers, the ruling AKP is fighting an uphill battle with soft support from its own base and uncooperative MHP voters.

But all is not lost for Erdogan and the AKP. Gezici Research, which like Konda has a good track record on predictions, had estimated in January that the no votes stood at 58% against 42% yes. Gezicis more recent surveys, however, show a narrowing of the gap, with the no votes dwindling to just 51%, partly because 45% of voters in the 18-27 age group do not plan on voting in the referendum.

In fact, Erdogan and the AKP face a situation that's much more positive than that of two months ago. A recent overview of 28 public opinion polls by the news website T24 shows that while 12 predict a win for the no camp, eight think the yes votes will win.

The AKP is running a two-pronged campaign to convince the undecided members of its base and turn the doubtful toward its side, appealing to the Turkish peoples hopes as well as frustrations. As Al-Monitors Pinar Tremblay pointed out on March 24, Erdogan is producing angry outbursts and using his acerbic style against the opposition and European countries to cast the vote as a life-and-death struggle for Turkey. Meanwhile, the pro-amendment campaign is buying massive TV, radio, newspaper and billboard ads that contain a calm, cool-headed message that the constitutional amendments will streamline Turkeys cumbersome bureaucracy, improve governance and increase national wealth and power.

The other side, however, is having a hard time getting its message past the AKPs pressure on media outlets.

Will Turkeys opposition keep its momentum and carry the day? Or will Erdogan reverse the tide and finally reach his long-held dream of establishing an executive presidency? The contest will probably go down to the wire.
LORMAN, Mississippi -- After winning the first two games by shutout at Alcorn State, Alabama A&M was hoping for a win Sunday to sweep the three-game SWAC Eastern Divison series.

Well, they got the win and it was nothing near a shutout as Alabama A&M held off the Braves 13-10.

It was A&M's first road conference sweep since April 3-4, 2015, when the Bulldogs won three straight at Mississippi Valley State.

While the Bulldog pitchers dominated the first two games of the Alcorn State series, the bats came alive in Sunday's finale.



Wilanier Betancourt had his second straight three-hit game with a double and two singles and Cornelious Woods had three hits, including a triple. along with five runs batted in.

The Bulldogs struck early, again, scoring three runs in the first inning.



Dalton Mitchell led off with a double down the left-field line. Betancourt followed with a single to center and Mitchell advanced to third.



Zeth Malcom's sacrifice fly to center scored Mitchell for a 1-0 lead. Carson McGregory then singled and Betancourt went to third.



Woods hit a single to left to bring home Betancourt. But the leftfielder misplayed the ball, allowing McGregory to score and Woods move to second. After Carlton Peppers singled, the inning ended on a double play with A&M up 3-0.

The Braves picked up an run in the second inning and tied the score with two runs in the third.

The Bulldogs were scoreless through the second to fourth innings before exploding for four runs in the fifth.



With one out, Brandon Whitaker singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Mitchell then singled and Whitaker went to third.



Betancourt doubled to left field to score Whitaker and moving Mitchell to third. After Zeth Malcom walked, McGregory singled to bring in Betancourt and Mitchell. Woods singled to left and Malcom scored for a 7-3 lead.

However, the Braves responded with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to cut A&M's lead to 7-6.

But, the Bulldogs weren't finished. They sent 11 batters to the plate and scored a season-high six runs in the top of the sixth inning.

Brewton led off with a single then reached secondon a wild pitch. After Whitaker walked, Mitchell dropped down a sacrifice bunt.

On the play, the pitcher overthrew first base allowing Brewton and Whitaker to score and Mitchell make it all the way to third.

Betancourt singled up the middle to bring home Mitchell for the 10-6 lead. Malcom and McGregory walked to load the bases.

Woods tripled to right-center field to clear the bases for a 13-6 lead.

Alcorn State scored twice in the seventh and eighth innings but weren't able to put the tying runs across.

Mitchell had two hits and scored three runs for A&M. McGregoy, Peppers, Redmond, Brewton and Whitaker each had two hits.

The Bulldogs wrap up their six games in eight days road swing Tuesday and Wednesday at Morehead State.

A&M is home next weekend for a three-game series with Jackson State.
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(Kelsey Freeman)

Few flavors evoke Jamaica like jerk. Food cooked in spicy, sweet, and gingery jerk sauce makes taste buds pulse to a reggae beat.

Yeh Man Caribbean Cuisine in Birmingham's 4th Avenue Historic

District has served Jamaican specialties like Brown Stew Chicken, Oxtail, and Curried Goat for 11 years.

But the restaurant is best known for its Jerk Chicken. "If you call yourself a

Caribbean restaurant, you must have jerk chicken," says Alvin Binns, who helped develop Yeh Man's recipes and is the restaurant's spokesman.

Yeh Man's jerk chicken is served with stewed cabbage, and Jamaican-style rice and peas (beans) slathered in jus.

Marinated in jerk sauce for 24 hours and then baked, the moist chicken balances heat and sweet. Ginger and cinnamon-clove notes of allspice add exotic flavors.

It is cooked and served on the bone, like it is in Jamaica. For more refined catering jobs, Yeh Man uses boneless chicken.

Jerk is traditionally made with Scotch Bonnet peppers, among the world's

hottest. Binns designed his basic jerk sauce recipe to temper that heat.

"I don't want it to be super-spicy," Binns says. "When you cater to a wide range of people, mild is the comfort zone. If customers want more heat, we have a special sauce."

The dish now known as jerk originated from escaped slaves eluding capture in Jamaica's rugged mountains. They used indigenous peppers and spices to preserve and flavor animals they hunted, and they cooked in covered pits to minimize smoke that would pinpoint their location.

By the 20th century, jerk evolved into meat cooked with a highly-seasoned sauce over a wood fire atop green logs of pimenta, the tree that produces allspice. Roadside stands specializing in jerk dot Jamaica's countryside.

Binns grew up in the Jamaican city of Spanish Town. But he did not start

making jerk until after he moved to the United States in 1994. It provided a taste of home at neighborhood grill-outs.

Like barbecue, jerk should be cooked over a fire. But that's impossible at the restaurant's current location. Yeh Man is able to grill jerk chicken, however, for special events including the Caribbean Festival and the Taste of 4th Jazz Festival.

"If we could acquire a building with a pit, we could do more," says Binns, who also is a board member of the Central Alabama Caribbean American Organization. "We could bring some of the ambience, like what you see on the island."

Details



Yeh Man Caribbean Cuisine | 1623 Fourth Ave. North (Birmingham historic district) | 205.323.3120 | yehmanrestaurant.com

Photos by Kelsey Freeman

This story appears in Birmingham magazine's March 2017 issue. Subscribe today!
Several movie theaters in Alabama are transitioning to the AMC brand following the successful acquisition of Carmike Cinemas in 2016.

AMC Theatres said it will convert nearly 20 theaters across north, central and south Alabama as part of its rebranding effort, which includes new AMC signage on the building's exterior. When the conversion is complete, every AMC location will operate under one of the following brands:

AMC Theatres - AMC Amazing. Approximately 400 theaters, which will offer amenities such as recliner seating, MacGuffins bars, and premium large format (PLF) auditoriums like IMAX at AMC, Dolby Cinema at AMC, and AMC's new proprietary PLF, named "Prime at AMC."

AMC Classic Theatres - America's Hometown Theatres. Approximately 200 theaters, which will offer Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, menu items like pretzel bites and movie nachos, refillable annual popcorn buckets and some may include MacGuffins bars and Prime at AMC. The brand logo for AMC Classic incorporates the folded "C" graphical element from the legacy Carmike brand logo and the brand is adopting Carmike's "America's Hometown Theatres" tagline.

AMC Dine-In Theatres - Movies with a Menu. Approximately 60 locations, equipped with full kitchens and MacGuffins full bars, will offer full-service dining, as well as delivery to seat and/or express-pick up of AMC's menu and beverage offerings. Guests can enjoy a variety of fresh, hand-crafted menu items and an array of drinks and desserts.

AMC acquired Carmike for $1.1 billion in December 2016. The purchase made AMC the largest theater exhibitor in the U.S., Europe and the world with 661 theaters and more than 8,200 screens domestically.

The brand conversion will be complete by June, company officials said.

The following movie theaters in Alabama will convert to the AMC brand:
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Beers. (File photo)

They'll each have around five weeks to make their beers. But before these Alabama breweries do so, Free the Hops and Downtown Huntsville Inc. are giving AL.com readers the chance to decide exactly what style of beer those brewers will make to compete in the Rocket City Brewfest's People's Choice Award.

Rocket City Brewfest is set for May 12-13 at the Huntsville Depot, address 320 Church St. N.W. The People's Choice beer competition is open to Madison County breweries. These include Straight to Ale, Yellowhammer, Salty Nut, Blue Pants, Rocket Republic, Green Bus, Old Black Bear, Mad Malts and Below the Radar.

In addition to bragging rights, the People's Choice winner receives a shiny platinum ceramic growler from Southern Growler. "We were originally calling it the 'Golden Growler' but Southern Growler told us that platinum glaze locked much better than gold," says Free the Hops board member Jim Trolinger Jr. "That's when we decided to call it People's Choice." Free the Hops is a nonprofit whose missions is "is to help bring the highest quality beers in the world to Alabama." The organization played a key role in getting craft-beer friendly state laws regarding ABV (alcohol by volume) and packaging passed a few years back.

Only a first-place People's Choice trophy will be awarded at Rocket City Brewfest, but all scores will be revealed so competitors can see how they fared. Trolinger expects the nine currently operational Madison County breweries will participate, although that has yet to be confirmed.

This will be the third year of the award, sponsored by development nonprofit organization Downtown Huntsville Inc. The first year the winner was determined entirely by an online poll. "Last year, I proposed to Chad (Emerson, DHI CEO) that we turn it into an actual blind tasting and try to make it a more credible result," Trolinger says. "I think we made some progress in that regard, but we started it late and pretty much had to use some of their standard offerings, so there was still a little element of some trying to generate extra votes. This year we hope to make it truly blind by encouraging small batch purpose brewed beer for the contest."

Recently, Free the Hops polled Madison County breweries, asking them to each name two beers styles they'd like to compete on. Free the Hops then paired that list down to five, choosing styles that seemed the most popular in the brewers' poll: Double IPA, Berliner Weisse, Maibock, Saison and Tripel. This is the set of beers AL.com readers can choose from. Descriptions of those style choices, via the website Beer Advocate, are as follows:

Double IPA: "Take an India Pale Ale and feed it steroids, ergo the term Double IPA. Although open to the same interpretation as its sister styles, you should expect something robust, malty, alcoholic and with a hop profile that might rip your tongue out."

Berliner Weisse: "A top-fermented, bottle conditioned wheat beer made with both traditional warm-fermenting yeasts and lactobacillus culture. They have a rapidly vanishing head and a clear, pale golden straw-colored appearance. The taste is refreshing, tart, sour and acidic, with a lemony-citric fruit sharpness and almost no hop bitterness."

Maibock: "Tends to be lighter in color than other Bock beers and often has a significant hop character with a noticeable alcohol around the same as a traditional Bock. Maibocks are customarily served in the spring and are oftentimes interrelated with spring festivals and celebrations more often in the month of May."

Saison: "This is a very complex style; many are very fruity in the aroma and flavor. Look for earthy yeast tones, mild to moderate tartness. Lots of spice and with a medium bitterness. They tend to be semi-dry with many only having touch of sweetness."

Tripel: "Traditionally, bright yellow to gold in color, which is a shade or two darker than the average Pilsener. Aroma and flavor runs along complex, spicy phenolic, powdery yeast, fruity/estery with a sweet finish. Tripels are actually notoriously alcoholic, yet the best crafted ones hide this character quite evil-like and deceivingly, making them sipping beers."

You can cast your vote for the 2017 Rocket City Brewfest People's Choice beer style in the below poll. The poll closes Sunday at midnight.
The Vatican today honored EWTN Founder Mother Angelica, who died a year ago on March 27.

She was remembered and honored on the anniversary of her death with memorial services at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and in Alabama at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the chapel she founded next to the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, where she died.

"It was one year ago on Easter Sunday; she died at the age 0f 92," said Bishop Robert J. Baker, head of the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, after celebrating the memorial Mass in Hanceville today. "It was an early Easter last year."

Easter this year falls on April 16.

The chapel at the Shrine, which holds several hundred people, was full for the Memorial Mass.

"We just celebrated that the teachings of Mother Angelica resonated with hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world," Baker said.

The Mass at St. Peter's Basilica honoring Mother Angelica was officiated by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization.

Mother Angelica founded EWTN in Irondale next to the first monastery that she built there. The international headquarters of EWTN Global Catholic Network remains in Irondale, although it now also has studios and bureaus in Rome, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

"It's the largest religious media network in the world," Baker said. "That goes on."

Mother Angelica was the perfect antidote for an increasingly secular and anti-religious world, Baker said.

"Mother Angelica had that spirit of 'God is everything for me,'" Baker said. "Faith is non-existent in some places and there's an obscuring of faith in some places in the world. But Mother Angelica reminded people that God is present in the world and active in our lives. They are still carrying that message. That is one of her legacies, letting people know, "God is here."
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The ABC Board on Wednesday will consider a proposal to raise the markup on a bottle of liquor from 30 percent of cost to 35 percent.

(Mike Cason/mcason@al.com)

The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on Wednesday will consider raising the markup on liquor from 30 percent to 35 percent of cost, a move that would add roughly $1 to the price of a $30 bottle in ABC stores.

The money raised by the increased markup would be designated for district attorneys and the court system under language included in the state budget, which is pending in the Legislature.

District attorneys would receive $6 million and the Unified Judicial System would receive $2.2 million for fiscal year 2018, which starts Oct. 1.

As it stands now, district attorneys and the court system receive significantly less money from the state General Fund than they did seven or eight years ago.

"We've got offices that can't function," District Attorneys Association Executive Director Barry Matson said. "Our numbers are such that we're not able to operate."

Acting Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Lyn Stuart said in a statement that the court system would face a deficit and potential layoffs next year without the additional $2.2 million.

Matson and Stuart said alcohol sales are an appropriate source of funds because of the huge proportion of crime and court cases that are alcohol-related.

The proposal for the increased markup emerged as an alternative to legislation to raise liquor taxes in some counties to fund district attorneys.

A bill affecting Marshall County was the first to pass years ago and survived a court challenge by the ABC Board. In 2015, a second bill passed, affecting Calhoun County.

Bills affecting Autauga, Chilton, Elmore, Lee and Montgomery counties have been proposed this year.

ABC Board Administrator Mac Gipson said there was a concern that an "avalanche" of similar local bills could be coming. He said the statewide proposal that the ABC Board will consider would help keep prices more uniform statewide.

The court system and district attorneys have lost funding over time for the same reason as state troopers, Mental Health, Forensic Sciences and other entities that depend on the General Fund, House Ways and Means Chairman Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, said.

The Alabama Medicaid Agency has seen its share of the General Fund double since 2007, to $805 million in next year's proposed budget (including a $105 million one-year boost from a BP settlement.)

"It's the big, 800-pound gorilla that's kicking everybody else out of the way," Clouse said.

Tax revenues that support the General Fund have not kept pace with the growth.

Clouse said he would like to see the increased liquor markup approved because he said a statewide approach would be preferable to lawmakers representing individual counties pursuing local bills, possibly resulting in uneven funding for district attorneys.

The House passed the budget two weeks ago. It awaits action in the Senate when lawmakers return from a two-week spring break on April 4.

Senate General Fund Chairman Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, said he expects his committee to consider the budget the second week of April.

Pittman said he supports the additional funding for the district attorneys and the courts but is neutral on the method.

Sonny Brasfield, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, said the association has not advocated for the local liquor tax bills.

But Brasfield said counties are under mounting pressure to fund services, like the district attorneys, that have been traditionally funded by the state.

"The counties looking for a revenue source is a natural outgrowth of stagnant state funding," Brasfield said.

District Attorneys Association Executive Director Matson said DAs won't pursue the local funding bills if the markup is approved and remains in the budget.

Matson noted that district attorneys General Fund appropriation has dropped from $40 million in 2008 to $26 million this year. He said it takes about $95 million to fund the 42 district attorneys offices.

One key alternate source of funding for district attorneys, helping businesses collect payments on bad checks, has largely dried up, Matson said.

"Nobody is writing checks anymore," Matson said.

Meanwhile, DAs are taking on an expanding variety of programs, such as pretrial diversion, drug courts, veterans courts and expungements.

But Matson said the additional funds are needed just to handle the basics of fairly prosecuting crimes.

The three-member ABC Board meets Wednesday at 10 a.m. at its headquarters in Montgomery.

"This is just going to help us survive and meet our constitutional obligations," Matson said.
Donald Trump

President Donald Trump speaks at a rally Wednesday, March 15, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn.

(Mark Humphrey/AP Photo)

The Alabama attorney general's office has joined a dozen states in supporting the Trump administration in its court battle over an executive order restricting admission of people from six Muslim-majority countries because of the potential security risk.

Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that Alabama has signed on to a brief supporting the administration's appeal of a federal court ruling blocking part of the president's executive order.

Trump issued the revised travel ban on March 6 after courts blocked his initial, broader executive order.

The revised order temporarily suspended the admission of nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and of refugees.

Federal judges in Hawaii and Maryland have issued rulings against the revised order.

Alabama joined Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia in supporting the Trump administration's appeal of the ruling of Maryland U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Chuang found that the revised ban discriminated against Muslims.

In their brief, the states said foreign nationals don't have constitutional rights regarding admission into the United States. The states also argue that the order classifies aliens by nationality, not by religion.

"As president of the United States, Donald Trump has the legal authority to restrict entry into this country of any foreign national who may pose a risk to our safety and security," Marshall said in a press release.

"It defies reason that the federal courts would seek to block the Commander in Chief from exercising his legal authority to preemptively safeguard Americans' security."
A Birmingham husband and father has died, days after he was shot in Birmingham.

The Jefferson County Coroner's Office today identified the victim as Dedrick Jordan. He was 38.

The shooting happened shortly after midnight on Wednesday. Jordan was at a gathering in the 3000 block of Avenue S in Ensley when a group of men got out of a car and opened fire, Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards has said.

Police said numerous shell casings were found at the scene. Jordan, struck in the head, was taken to UAB Hospital. He remained there until he was pronounced dead at 10:32 p.m. on Thursday. The coroner's office was notified of his death late Friday.

Jordan is Birmingham's 28th homicide victim this year. No arrests have been announced.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham police homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
A teenager was injured during a shootout Sunday afternoon at a gas station.

The incident happened just after 4 p.m., when Birmingham police said the occupants of two vehicles started shooting at each other.

A 17-year-old male was shot in the hand, officers on the scene said. His injuries were not considered life-threatening, and was taken to UAB Hospital for treatment.

The shooting happened at the Exxon gas station and Wings R King, located on Tallapoosa Street and East Lake Blvd.

This post will be updated if more information becomes available.
The inner workings of grand juries, who testifies and what they say, have long been considered secret.

One man, an elected prosecutor, however, is asking a judge to discard Alabama's grand jury secrecy law in his own case.

Suspended Jefferson County District Attorney Charles Todd Henderson has asked a judge to declare the Alabama Grand Jury Secrecy Act unconstitutional, order prosecutors to disclose grand jury transcripts in his perjury case, and allow grand jury witnesses to talk to his attorneys as they prepare for trial.

Henderson's attorneys have asked the judge for a hearing to be set on their request. Chilton County Circuit Judge Sibley G. Reynolds is presiding over Henderson's case after Jefferson County judges recused themselves.

A trial date has not been set in the case.

The issue regarding grand jury secrecy came up after the Alabama Attorney General's Office accidentally sent the grand jury testimony of a woman to Henderson's attorneys.

On Feb. 28, responding to requests from defense attorneys, the Attorney General's Office handed over a disc with evidence they had gathered in the case to Henderson's lawyers. Included on that disc was the grand jury transcript of Yareima Akl, according Henderson's motion. After the transcript had been reviewed by multiple members of the defense team it was determined it may have been inadvertently released, according to the motion.

"Members of the defense team immediately contacted the Alabama State Bar regarding this potential inadvertent disclosure," according to the motion.

The Jan. 13 perjury indictment by the special grand jury alleges that Henderson at a Sept. 26 hearing before Circuit Judge Patricia Stephens in the divorce case of Charbel Akl v. Yareima Carmen Valecillos Akl "did... swear falsely and such false statement was material to the proceeding in which they were made."

Court records show Henderson had been appointed guardian ad litem in the Akl's divorce case (at the request of Mrs. Akl) in January 2016 to represent the interests of the couple's child. But in May he was removed as GAL after allegations that he was biased against the father and the mother was working on Henderson's campaign.

The focus of the perjury charge is on a portion of Henderson's testimony at the Akl's September trial when he was asked: "since she has been campaigning for you, has there been a time where you have spent the night at her apartment?"

Henderson twice replied "no." But attorneys for Ms. Akl's husband have produced a private investigation report that states Henderson had stayed over at the apartment.

One of Henderson's attorneys, James Parkman, said that while Ms. Akl and Henderson did "hook up" in July 2016, Henderson had already been removed as guardian ad litem in the case. He said Henderson thought the question meant whether he had a relationship with Mrs. Akl during the time he was guardian for her daughter.

Henderson's attorneys also have said the perjury charge is politically motivated. Henderson, a Democrat with a small war chest, defeated long-time Republican District Attorney Brandon Falls. Henderson was charged and suspended four days before taking office.

The Attorney General's Office, in another recent court document, revealed they had information on the number of phone calls between Ms. Akl and Henderson in an effort to show their relationship.

"In a 32-day stretch from September to October 2015, Henderson and Akl spoke on 29 different days, with calls of 117, 108, 78, 78, 67, 61, 60, and 59 minutes," according to the court document. "After Henderson became GAL, there were 16 calls between Henderson and Mrs. Akl. In contrast, from the day Henderson became GAL to the day he was removed--114 days--Henderson called Mr. Akl just one time."

Henderson's lawyers advised the Attorney General's Office that the un-redacted transcript may have been inadvertently disclosed, the motion states. "The Attorney General's office responded that in fact the un-redacted transcript was inadvertently disclosed and requested all copies be destroyed or returned to their office."

Lawyers for Henderson asked the Attorney General's Office to provide a detail of the steps they took to prevent this allegedly inadvertent disclosure, the motion states. In response, the Attorney General's Office demanded the immediate return or destruction of the transcript as protected by Alabama's Grand Jury Secrecy Act, the document states.

Henderson's lawyers complied with the Attorney General's demand, the motion states.

Henderson's attorneys, however, ask that the judge review specific lines within the transcript of Akl's testimony,

After a review of those portions of the transcript, Henderson asks that the judge review the United States Supreme Court's 1990 decision in Butterworth v. Smith, which holds it unconstitutional for a witness to be prevented from sharing their grand jury testimony. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals also acknowledged that ruling in another case, Mitchell v. State, the motion states.

"The Attorney General's 'warnings' to the witnesses in this case are contrary to both Butterworth and Mitchell and improperly and negatively impact defendant's (Henderson's) rights to a fair trial. Specifically, these warnings have had a chilling effect on defense counsel's ability to interview a key witness," the motion states.
AnthonyDellonBush.jpg

Anthony Dellon Bush

(Tuscaloosa County Jail/LinkedIn)

The president and CEO of the West Alabama Boys and Girls Club is behind bars, accused of possessing child pornography.

Anthony Dellon "Tony" Bush, 42, was arrested Sunday night, said Northport police Assistant Chief Keith Carpenter. He is being held in the Tuscaloosa County Jail with bonds totaling $200,000.

Carpenter said the pornographic images were discovered in the course of another investigation. Court records show officers responded on March 17 to the area of Northbrook Apartments in reference to Bush stalking his ex-girlfriend. When they arrived on the scene, a witness told officers Bush had been stalking the woman for about two months and was under investigation for breaking into a car the week before.

The witness said he saw Bush drive by the ex-girlfriend's apartment twice that night and had learned he had done the same thing three to four times on March 15. The witness confronted Bush and asked him why he kept stalking the woman, according to court records, and Bush replied, "I don't know. I don't know." The male witness told him to get out of the vehicle to wait for police, and Bush then punched the man in the face.

The witness struck back in defense, according to a deposition, and hit Bush in the face. Once police arrived on the scene, Bush was taken into custody and then taken to the hospital for treatment of facial bruising and lacerations.

Authorities said they will present evidence to the grand jury to determine whether Bush will be charged with stalking, criminal mischief and unlawful breaking and entering of a vehicle. He is charged with misdemeanor assault of the witness.

In the meantime, Carpenter said, while investigating those possible crime, authorities found pornographic images of children on Bush's cell phone. Based on what they saw, they obtained a search warrant for Bush's office at the Boys and Girls Club, where they seized his computer as well as his cell phone. On Friday, they obtained the child porn warrant against Bush and he was arrested Sunday night.

Carpenter said the images they have found so far appear to have been downloaded from the internet, and there have been no images found of any of the children who participate in the West Alabama Boys and Girls Club.
A former Alabama A&M administrator told a judge he was indeed guilty to a forgery charge during a brief hearing on Monday morning.

Kevin Rolle agreed to a plea agreement with prosecutors from the attorney general's office last week. Part of that deal was for Rolle to resign his position as chief operating officer and executive vice president at Alabama A&M.

Appearing before Madison County Circuit Judge Dennis O'Dell on Monday, Rolle answered "Yes, sir" to a series of questions as the judge accepted the terms of the plea agreement.

"Do you plead guilty because you are guilty?" O'Dell asked Rolle stood before the bench accompanied by his attorney, Bruce Gardner.

"Yes, sir," Rolle answered quietly.

Rolle, who was indicted in 2015 for fabricating a moving expense receipt of almost $6,000 to the school when he relocated from South Carolina to take the job at Alabama A&M, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of possession of a forged instrument, a Class A misdemeanor.

The AGs office agreed to drop the first-degree theft charge.

The plea agreement also called for Rolle to serve 12 months in the Madison County Jail but prosecutors said it would leave suspension of the sentence to the discretion of the court.

O'Dell ordered a pre-sentencing investigation to take place ahead of a May 11 sentencing hearing.

"It's a very, very in-depth background check," Gardner said after the hearing of the pre-sentencing investigation. "They'll look into his criminal history. They'll look into his financial status, his education. It's basically your life boiled down to five pages for the judge to look at. He'll be allowed to submit character references and things like that.

"We're going to be making a real solid pitch for suspension of the sentence."

The plea deal was struck just days before Rolle was scheduled to go to trial Monday. Gardner said entering the guilty plea was a "mixed bag" for Rolle. Avoiding a trial and removing the risk of a felony conviction allows Rolle to continue his career in education, Gardner said.

In addition to his resignation from Alabama A&M, the plea deal also mandates that he can't work for the school in the future.

"From our perspective, it's very, very difficult to turn down a misdemeanor when you're charged with a felony," Gardner said. "Because when you get a felony, you can never work in your field again. Dr. Rolle is going to be able to teach. He's going to be able to be a university administrator. He's got other job offers to consider now."

Updated today, March 27, 2017, at 4:13 p.m. to reflect that Rolle pleaded guilty to a Class A misdemeanor.
The failed effort to repeal and replace Obamacare is taking its toll on President Donald Trump's already low poll numbers.

The latest Gallup poll - which shows a three-day rolling average of daily figures - shows President Trump's approval rating is 40 percent, a drop of 1 percentage point from the previous results. Fifty-four percent of those polled said they disapprove of the job the president is doing.

Gallup's poll comes just after Trump's failed efforts to move the American Healthcare Act through Congress. The bill was withdrawn from consideration on Friday in a move widely seen as a failure for Trump and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who supported the bill, and a victory for former President Obama's signature healthcare legislation.

The president commented via Twitter on the bill's failure.

"ObamaCare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for the people. Do not worry!" the president wrote.

Trump's numbers in Gallup polls have been hovering around the 40 percent mark since his inauguration in late January, historically low approval ratings as compared to other presidents during the initial months of their first terms. At the same point in his first term, former President Obama's approval rating hovered around 60 percent; former President George W. Bush's was in the high 50s.

Gallup's poll includes results from 1,500 adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The Gallup numbers are similar to those from the Rasmussen Reports, a Republican-leaning survey. Rasmussen's Monday tracking poll has Trump's approval rating at 45 percent and his disapproval rating at 54 percent.

The latest figures include 28 percent of likely voters who said they strongly approve of the way Trump is performing as compared to 44 percent who strongly disapprove. At the beginning of March, 34 percent strongly approved of the job the president was doing compared to 40 percent who strongly disapproved.

Last week, ahead of the failed healthcare vote, 35 percent of those included in the Rasmussen survey strongly approved of the job the president was doing; 42 percent strongly disapproved.

The Rasmussen poll includes results from 1,500 likely voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

.
A Holman Prison inmate has gone on hunger strike after prison officials banned a popular African-American newspaper because of its "racially motivated" content, according to a letter sent to the inmate from staff at the correctional facility.

"I'm going to fight with all my might in protest by going on a hunger strike until they lift this racist, ignorant and illegal ban prohibiting the SF (San Francisco) Bay View National Black Newspaper from coming into this prison and/or prison system as a whole," said inmate Michael D. Williams, who first received the letter in January but did not make it public until Sunday, to the Bay View paper. "The Bay View helps us as prisoners to stay focused and never to view nor accept being confined to a 'cage' as 'home.'"

Williams was sentenced to 20 years for first degree burglary in 2014, according to prison records.

Williams' received the latter, formally known as a 'Notification of Rejected Mail' on Jan. 18. It noted that the 'NEWSPAPER IS NOT ALLOWED/RACIALLY MOTIVATED.'

A letter from the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Prison officials are entitled to open inmates mail to ensure they don't contain "illegal items or weapons" and "may not censor portions of correspondence which they find merely inflammatory or rude," according to Civil Rights law,

The letter did not give specific reasons for the ban other than saying it was racially motivated. Bob Horton, ADOC's public information manager, did not respond to calls and emails from AL.com. It's not clear if the ban has been applied to the entire prison system or just Holman.

The San Francisco Bay View paper was established in 1976 to cover black issues in the Bay Area and is sent to prisoners all over the country, according to the paper's website. The weekly circulation of the paper is around 10,000 copies.

Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, an advocate of prisoner right's in Alabama and representative of the Free Alabama Movement, an state-wide organization that fights for better conditions inside prison, said that he was shocked about the banning of the newspaper at Holman.

"I take issue at the retaliation going on within the Alabama Department of Corrections, not only because it has censored the San Francisco Bay View newspaper, but also because it has put influential inmates of peaceful movement in solitary confinement or moved them to different prisons," said Glasgow. "The newspaper is not racially motivated, it's just written for African-Americans. This kind of censorship is unconstitutional."



The state's prison system has come under severe scrutiny in recent years because of rising violence and a prison population that has peaked at 190 percent of capacity. Such are the poor conditions inside the prisons, a federal investigation was opened in late 2016.



Prison reform legislation was passed in March that will see the state and local communities collaborate to build new prisons should Gov. Bentley pass the bill into law.
So-called "sanctuary cities" that refuse to comply with immigration law will have federal funding taken away if they don't reverse their policies, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions warned Monday.

The former Alabama senator made the announcement during the White House daily press briefing. Sessions said the Department of Justice will be enforcing a policy set last summer by the Obama administration on sanctuary cities.

Sessions cited a recent Department of Homeland Security report that he said showed there were 200 instances where jurisdictions refused to honor detainer requests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for illegal immigrants charged with serious crimes, including murder, sex offenses against children, rape, hit-and-run, and drug trafficking.

"Such policies cannot continue. They make our nation less safe by putting dangerous criminals back on the streets," Sessions told reporters. "Countless Americans would be alive today and countless loved ones would not be grieving today if these policies of sanctuary cities were ended."

There are no sanctuary cities in Alabama, although the Birmingham City Council passed a resolution last month symbolically declaring the Magic City a sanctuary city that is "a community free of prejudice."

A Justice Department office is estimated to award more than $4 billion in grants to states and localities. Sessions warned that sanctuary cities will lose out on the money - used for community policing and other programs - unless they reverse course.

"I strongly urge our nation's states and cities and counties to consider carefully the harm they are doing to their citizens by refusing to enforce our immigration laws, and to rethink such policies," the attorney general said. "The American people want and deserve a lawful system of immigration that keeps us safe and serves the national interest."

While Sessions said his agency would merely carry out a policy approved during the Obama White House, he didn't rule out the Trump administration taking further action on sanctuary cities.

"We believe that grants in the future can be issued that have additional requirements," he said.
Several North Alabama school systems have announced early closures in response to the threat of severe weather later today (March 27).

Athens City Schools will dismiss elementary school (K-4) at noon. All other schools will dismiss at 12:30 p.m.

Girls and Boys Club of North Alabama is closed today.

Grace Lutheran School is closing at 4 p.m.

Huntsville City Schools said there will be no after-school activities.

Lawrence County Schools are closing at 12:45 p.m.

Limestone County elementary schools will close at 11:40 a.m. High schools will close at 12 p.m.

Madison Academy has cancelled all after-school activities.

Madison County Schools have cancelled all after-school activities except daycare, which will operate on its normal schedule.

Valley Fellowship Christian Academy will have no after school activities, all children picked up by 3:30 p.m.

Westminster Christian Academy (both campuses) has cancelled all after-school activities and sports. All students must be off campus by 3:45 p.m.

Business closings

Marshall Space Flight Center on Redstone Arsenal will have liberal leave in place.

The closures are due to concerns over severe weather later this afternoon. NOAA's Storm Prediction Center said much of the state is under an enhanced risk for severe weather, with the northwest corner under a moderate risk. Some of the storms could be severe with damaging wind and hail.

An isolated tornado is possible but the threat is on the low side, the weather service said.

Shelters open

Some municipal shelters are also opening ahead of the severe weather.

Somerville in Morgan County has opened its shelter. The shelter is located behind the Somerville Public Library with parking at the Somerville Senior CEnter.

This list will be updated if more closings are announced.
Goodbye Ruby Tuesday? Not quite.

Restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday is up for sale.

The Maryville-Tennessee based company said a sale or merger are among the "strategic alternatives" designed to "maximize shareholder value and position the business for long-term success."

The announcement came just as Ruby Tuesday reported yearly sales declines of 4 percent, with a 17 percent drop in the last quarter alone.

"We believe now is the right time to explore strategic alternatives that have the potential to position the business for long-term success and to carry that legacy forward," Stephen Sadove, non-executive chair at Ruby Tuesday, said in a statement. "We are confident the process will identify the best strategic avenues to maximize the value of our business and achieve the best result for our shareholders, franchisees, and team members."

UBS has been hired to serve as financial adviser during the sales process.

Ruby Tuesdays has 613 restaurants in 42 states, including 67 franchised locations and 546 company-owned stores.

Last year, the chain announced it was closing 95 restaurants nationwide, including three Alabama locations. The closures - which Ruby Tuesday's said occurred at "underperforming" locations - accounted for about 13 percent of all its total properties. The chain had already closed 12 locations, as well as all 17 of its Lime Fresh Mexican Grills, in 2016.
matthew_tmo_2016278_lrg.jpg

Hurricane Matthew is shown on Oct. 4, 2016, hours after it made landfall on southwestern Haiti as a Category 4 storm. (NASA)

There won't be another Hurricane Matthew or Otto.

Those two storm names from the 2016 season were retired by the World Meteorological Association recently and won't be used again.

In their places will be Martin and Owen.

Hurricanes are named in each basin using lists that are recycled every six years.

When a hurricane or even tropical storm is especially deadly or destructive it can be removed from the list.

Matthew in September of 2016 became the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic since 2007. It made four landfalls -- in Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas and South Carolina.

It peaked with winds of 160 mph, but it was a Category 1 storm when it struck the U.S.

Matthew was blamed for 585 direct deaths, according to NOAA, with more of 500 of those in Haiti alone.

Hurricane Otto is shown just before it made landfall on Nov. 24, 2016, in southern Nicaragua. (NASA/National Hurricane Center)

Hurricane Otto was a late-season storm that made a rare strike in southern Central America and then crossed over into the Pacific.

In post-storm analysis it was reclassified as a Category 3 hurricane with top winds of 115 mph.

It made landfall in southern Nicaragua and was blamed for 18 deaths in Central America.

Before Matthew and Otto the last names retired were Erika and Joaquin in 2015.

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season will begin June 1.

The first name on the list will be Arlene.
Aerospace company Continental Motors has doubled down on Mobile, announcing Monday afternoon that it will spend more than $60 million dollars on a new facility at the Brookley Aeroplex.

Company officials said they don't expect the plan to mean a significant increase or decrease in the size of Continental's Mobile-area workforce, which currently consists of a little more than 400 employees in Mobile and around 30 at a separate facility in Fairhope. What it will mean, according to president and CEO Rhett Ross and others, is that a company that has done business out of Mobile for 50 years will stay in the Port City as it undergoes a major transformation intended to keep it competitive in the challenging global market for general aviation.

Ross said the company's "Blue Marlin Project" will be executed on an aggressive three-year timetable. Officials hope to break ground this summer on a 225,000-square foot facility at the intersection of Broad Street and Michigan Avenue. They'll finalize the building's design by fall, install new manufacturing equipment in 2018 and be fully operational by the end of 2019, Ross said.

"We will come out at the top of our industry," Ross said.

Mike Skolnik, Continental's executive vice president for global opportunities, said the company was going to work with the Mobile Airport Authority and local developers on the project. Skolnik said Continental and parent company AVIC International Holding Corp. will spend $20 million to $30 million developing the new site, most of which likely will go to local construction firms. They will then spend about $40 milllion on new manufacturing equipment for the building, which also will house their global business headquarters.

Michael Gifford, Continental's director of global strategy implementation, said Continental currently occupies eleven different buildings scattered over a 44-acre campus. Under Blue Marlin, he said, it'll keep one of the old buildings, which serves as an experimental test facility, and consolidate all its Mobile manufacturing and office facilities in the new building. The old property will revert to the Mobile Airport Authority, from which Continental leases it.

"We're grateful for what you've done," said Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, referring to the fact that Continental has occupied space at the former air base since the 1960s. "You were here first," Stimpson said. "The commitment that Continental is making right now ... you could be the last as well."

"This is a great, great deal for our city," the mayor said.

Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood praised the company for providing quality jobs and described Monday's announcement as "another milestone in our five-decade relationship."

Ross and Gifford said that Continental had looked at a number of possible sites scattered around the country before deciding to remain in Mobile.

Ross and Gifford said that the general aviation market - which means the part of the aircraft market not related to military programs and major commercial carriers - has taken a beating since 2008. Continental's new facility will operate more efficiently, they said, which means personnel will be freed up to focus on customer service and innovation. That, in turn, will mean Continental will be better able to maintain its place in the market, or even make gains thanks to growth in China and elsewhere.

Continental's forte is engine manufacturing: It makes a variety of piston and turbine engines for light aircraft, in addition to other products and services. Ross said that while its conventional products will continue to be a big part of its business, he expects powertrains to change just as they have in the automotive and marine industries.

"We could see a much more electrified aircraft" in a decade, he said.
Police say two people have been arrested on more than 100 animal cruelty charges in southeast Alabama.

The Dothan Eagle reported Sunday that 34-year-old Le Ngoc Pham and 47-year-old Hoan Cong Nguwen were arrested. Police say 60 dogs were seized during the investigation along with several exotic birds.

The Dothan Police Department says they received a tip on March 24 that led to the investigation. Police say the dogs have been placed in a facility for treatment.

Pham is charged with 23 counts of felony aggravated cruelty to animals and 27 charges of animal abuse. Nguwen is charged with 78 counts of cruelty to animals and cruelty to dogs/cats.

Dothan Police Chief Steve Parrish says it was reported to him that the conditions at the home were "very disturbing."
Britain Parliament Incident

Police secure the area close to the Houses of Parliament in London, Wednesday, March 22, 2017. The leader of Britain's House of Commons says a man has been shot by police at Parliament. David Liddington also said there were "reports of further violent incidents in the vicinity." London's police said officers had been called to a firearms incident on Westminster Bridge, near the parliament. Britain's MI5 says it is too early to say if the incident is terror-related. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

(Matt Dunham)

Warner Thompson

By Warner Thompson, a law school student at Loyola University New Orleans and a Homewood native

One year ago, I stepped out of the Vatican Museum and into a Roman taxi cab tasked with finding an uncrowded spot for my parents and me to eat lunch, a daunting task smack dab in the middle of Holy Week.

At the unequivocal recommendation of our cab driver, my parents and I decided on Roma Sparita, a restaurant nearly hidden behind plants in the corner of the Piazza di Santa Cecilia. We were seated by a typically playful and yet undeniably bossy Roman waiter. He gave us menus but only as a formality. The mustachioed cameriere warned us not to stray away from the house favorites and put us down for three bowls of cheese and pepper pasta and one fried artichoke for the table.

We did not regret relinquishing our dining suffrage. The waiter returned satisfied to see empty plates, and even good-naturedly tried to coax my flattered mother into trying some limoncello with him. There is a certain fullness after finishing an Italian meal as a foreigner, and I was glad to see my parents experience it. The fullness comes partly from the copious amounts of consumed food and wine, but also from a feeling of cultural accomplishment. The conquering of a natural anxiety that comes with ordering food one isn't familiar with in a language that is even less familiar.

That day we ingested not just food, but also the people and the sounds of the room around us, noting their simultaneous familiarity and incomprehensibility.

We walked back through unusually quiet Roman streets only to return to a barrage of texts and news alerts. We learned that the Brussels airport and one of its subway stations had been the targets of terrorist attacks that morning. After sifting through Italian television programs, we found international coverage of the violence in Belgium. We sat quietly together, all still slightly buzzed from our lavish lunch, but now completely devoid of the worldly euphoria we had recently been so swept up in.

I moved to Italy in January of 2016. By March of that year, I had begun to feel not only a part of Italy, but also a part of Europe. The Brussels' videos, including shots of mothers holding screaming children and motionless bodies under mausoleums of suitcases, hurt me in a way that felt personal. I felt as if ISIS (or whatever splinter group was responsible) was attacking my newly recognized sense of mobility. For those few months a woefully untraveled Alabama kid, with not even a hint of bilingualism, had been bouncing around the continent without ever feeling scared, unsafe, or alone.

During that time, I felt I had learned something about myself while also learning something about the accessibility of the world. That afternoon in Trastevere, I was again reminded, as I watched my parents interact with Italian locals as if Birmingham and Rome shared some kind of cultural cord that transcended the language and custom that supposedly divided us. I remember watching smoke rise from the Brussels airport and beginning to question every epiphany that my European experience had offered me, including that day's meal.

Last week, on the anniversary of the Brussels attacks, three people were killed and dozens more were injured in a terrorist attack outside of Parliament in London. After seeing bodies lying on the street in Westminster, it is easy to give in to fear. That is the point of terrorism. It's not designed not to evoke a rational fear of violence at the hands of others, but to create an epidemic of irrational fear.

In those moments, it feels as if these attacks prove us wrong. Maybe we aren't mobile. Maybe the divides between the world's societies are still too vast for us to bridge safely. Maybe an Alabama family having a delicious lunch in Rome and feeling decisively at home is an exception, not a revelation of some truth about a "global community." Maybe our moment was just a glimmering illusion of hope amid a world of darkness and mistrust.

No. We must not accept that. Plurality working is not the exception. It is the overwhelming precedent. The JFK quote, "what unites us is far greater than what divides us," is now over-used and cliche for a reason. People find it to be gratifyingly true. Terrorists do not teach us anything about ourselves. They attempt to make us forget what we already know. The globe is large but the world of people is small. Is knit. Is connected in ways that may never be revealed to us in one lifetime. For every act of pointless hate, there are a million loving moms. There were a few less after the murder in Belgium in 2016. And less still after the attack in London. And we should feel angry. We should feel hurt. However, we cannot let evil eradicate our social education. The knowledge you receive through travel and embrace.

A year ago my parents and I had lunch at Roma Sparita. We spoke in our southern accents in an effortless harmony with the bouncing chords of Italian around us. We existed seamlessly in a place that was not our own for no other reason than that we were human. We were connected on some level that awaited our coming. We are alike. We are human. We are. We are. We are.
Manaus, Brazil  It was early evening on January 1, 2017, when Maria heard that a riot was under way at Complexo Penitenciario Anisio Jobim (COMPAJ)  the prison where her two sons Antony, 27, and Antonio, 22, were being held.

Maria  an alias she requested for security reasons  spoke to Al Jazeera from her small red brick home in a poor Manaus neighbourhood.

Her son Antonio had been sent to the prison in September, his third sentence for stealing motorbikes. He entered as a marked man, having supposedly informed on someone when he was arrested.

Antonio asked to be put on the secure wing, the section of the prison which houses prisoners, such as those convicted of sexual crimes, former police officers and rivals of dominant prison gangs, who are deemed at risk from other inmates.

Antonio called his mother every day, using an illicit mobile phone. He said that guys kept promising to kill him, she said.

READ MORE: Dozens killed in prison riot in Brazil city of Manaus

Antony, Marias older son, convicted of drug trafficking and criminal association, ended up being transferred to COMPAJ from another prison a few days before Christmas. He asked to stay with his brother in the secure wing. It was the first time they had seen each other in about five years because they had both been in and out of jail at different times, said Maria.

Antonio shared the wing with Moacir Moa Jorge Pessoa da Costa, a former policeman convicted of homicide who became a local celebrity in 2009 when he claimed that he was contracted by a state legislator  Wallace Souza  to execute drug dealers to boost TV ratings for a popular TV crime show Souza presented.

Al Jazeera visited Moas wife at her home but she didnt want to speak on record.

Also in the secure wing was Jackson de Oliveira Avelino, 25, who was three years into a 15-year sentence for murder and disposal of a body.

He was a good boy, his mother Marlene said. But he took drugs  cocaine  and got involved with the wrong people. They forced him to take part in the crime. Jackson was transferred to the secure wing after he was savagely beaten by a group of inmates who accused him of being a snitch because he received a shorter sentence for his crime.

Marlene visited him each week. He told her that he was being threatened, that people were passing in front of his cell in the secure wing and saying Your time is coming as they made throat-cutting gestures.

He said Mum, there is going to be a rebellion, Marlene recalled. I asked him, Do you believe in God? He said I do mum, but here its not about God, its about survival.

The prisoners held a party on New Years Eve. Marlene said that she and her husband paid a prostitute to visit their son Jackson inside. They were having fun, drinking and taking photos, said Marlene.

The next day, at around 4pm, inmates from Manauss dominant drug trafficking group Family of the North (FDN)  which controls the prison  attacked the secure wing, where the inmates from a rival gang, the Sao Paulo-based First Command of the Capital (PCC), which has been encroaching on the formers territory, were held.

The FDN prisoners stormed the secure wing with guns and machetes, filming the slaughter on mobile phones.

We knew they were dead when we saw the videos, said Maria, referring to the images of beheaded and dismembered corpses that circulated that night on social media and local news sites.

READ MORE: Manaus residents live in fear after prison breaks

The violence lasted 17 hours. Marlenes son Jackson was decapitated. Marias son Antony had his throat cut and Antonio was beheaded.

Having served a third of his sentence, Antonio had received permission to be transferred to a different, semi-open part of the prison. The transfer would have saved his life, but the prison authorities didnt act in time.

When you are poor and you cant afford lawyers, these people [the authorities], they treat you like dirt, Maria said.

After the killings, Manaus street hawkers sold DVDs entitled FDN v PCC  the massacre, a compilation of the video footage shot during the slaughter.

Altogether 56 prisoners were killed in the riot. It was Brazils worst prison massacre since Carandiru in Sao Paulo in 1992, when the military police killed 111 prisoners.

The riot was part of a wider wave of prison violence: more than 130 Brazilian prisoners have been killed since the beginning of this year  many decapitated, dismembered or burned  in a series of uprisings that have shocked a country long accustomed to this kind of violence. In 2016, 379 inmates were killed.

Experts say that the prison killings reflect decades of failed policy; the prison population has soared beyond the control of a chronically underfunded system, enabling gangs to step in and take the place of the state.

The upsurge in violence is also attributed to growing tensions between gangs fighting for control of the cocaine trade.

Following the prison violence, hopes have been spurred for prison reform and a rethink on drug decriminalisation  outcomes considered essential by some experts to prevent further bloodshed.

READ MORE: Brazil to transfer gang leaders after prison massacre

Brazils prison problem

Each day, dozens of relatives line up outside COMPAJ prison to deliver fresh clothes, hygiene products and food to the inmates  all of which are supposed to be provided by the state.

Families complain of prisoners being served rotten, barely edible food.

It was me who took care of him, I did everything, the state did nothing, said Marlene.

Marlene and the other families of those killed in the riots will receive compensation of BRL 50,000 Brazilian real (roughly $16,000) for each victim, a move criticised by conservative Brazilian politicians.

That some kind of violence was imminent was seemingly known to the authorities. In 2015, federal police intercepted text messages that appeared to be planning an attack, shortly after three PCC leaders were killed.

A United Nations special task force visited prisons and sent a report to the government months before, warning that the prison was out of the states control and in the hands of the gangs.

Other prisoners sent letters to the authorities saying that they were being threatened.

READ MORE: Brazil: Dozens more killed as prison gang war escalates

Despite the constant warnings, the prison simply did not have the structure to prevent an eventual outbreak of violence, said Rafael Custodio, the justice programme coordinator at Conectas  an international human rights NGO.

The private prison contractor Umanizzare  Italian for humanise  that administers COMPAJ jail is currently being investigated for overbilling and the misuse of public money.





Al Jazeera was unable to access COMPAJ jail. At the time of the massacre, the prison was severely overcrowded with 1,224 prisoners. The prison is supposed to hold 454.

Marlene said that her son Jackson shared his cell with 20 others.

According to the Justice Department, Brazil houses about 650,000 prisoners in just 300,000 spaces, with the prison population having grown by 270 percent between 2000 and 2014.

Brazils prison population is now the worlds fourth-largest behind the US, China and Russia.

About 40 percent of prisoners are awaiting trial. The majority are poor young black men with little education and who cannot afford lawyers.

READ MORE: Dozens killed and wounded in Alcacuz prison riot

Nonetheless, mass incarceration policies are popular with Brazils electorate; tough measures on crime win votes in a country with more than 50,000 murders a year.

In general, public opinion supports mass incarceration and the politicians are just surfing this wave, said Ilona Szabo de Carvalho, cofounder and executive director of the Igarape Institute, which campaigns for prison and drug reform. There is also widespread tolerance for the poor conditions, Carvalho added.

But experts say that terrible conditions in prison reinforce the strength of the gangs, who control the majority of Brazilian jails.

In general, public opinion supports mass incarceration and the politicians are just surfing this wave by Ilona Szabo de Carvalho, cofounder and executive director Igarape Institute

Upon entry, young men from poor communities are courted by gangs who can provide protection and benefits such as better food, hygiene products, mobile phones and support to families on the outside.

People that enter are vulnerable to gangs because the state doesnt have any power inside, its the gangs that decide, said Manaus judge Luis Carlos Valois, who negotiated the end of the COMPAJ riot. You may have four guards and 1,000 prisoners. Its a question of survival.

Following the massacres, the government launched a National Security Plan, which will see more prisons built over the next few years, as well as special custodial task forces set up to deal with the huge number of pre-trial detainees, and measures to tackle overcrowding. Non-violent prisoners could be released or granted lesser penalties, such as wearing an electronic ankle tag.

Judge Valois expressed criticism of these measures. We have to deal with the sheer numbers of prisoners that we are arresting, we need to arrest fewer, he said. This has to start with a reform of the drug law.

Prominent figures, including an ex-president and a Supreme Court judge, have called for the decriminalisation of drugs.

A 2006 drug law that fails to discriminate between user and dealer is cited as one of the main factors behind the prison population increase. Today, just under a third of inmates are inside for drugs offences  a 340 percent increase since 2005.

But any kind of drug reform is likely to encounter resistance within Brazils conservative Congress, home to a powerful Evangelical Christian caucus, where there are currently 14 proposed projects to make drug laws even tougher.

For the Igapare Institutes Szabo de Carvalho, however, any discussion of drug decriminalisation is a step in the right direction, even if initially voted down in Congress.

We had a horror show in January, if we forget what happened; we are going to go back to that in a few months, she said.

A war with no end

A hard line on drug enforcement has done nothing to stem an explosion in gang violence in Manaus, which in turn fuels prison bloodshed.

On a Monday morning, Manaus reporters and photographers gathered at a crime scene waiting for an official line from chief homicide detective Torquato Mozer.

Earlier that morning, a motorcycle taxi driver had found two black sacks by the side of the road. One contained a young mans head, the other his limbs and torso.

Mozer said that an investigation would be launched as to whether the crime had any connection to the massacre at COMPAJ jail.

Given the barbarity of the crime, we cannot rule out this possibility, Mozer told Al Jazeera at the scene.

A war for control of drugs rages in Manaus, the capital of Brazils Amazonas state, which shares borders with cocaine producing countries Colombia and Peru, making it an important transit point as well as a place with its own lucrative market.

Every corner here, there are drugs, said Marlene.

In the past decade, Brazil has become the worlds second-largest consumer of cocaine.

READ MORE: 56 killed, many beheaded, in grisly Brazil prison riot

Al Jazeera spoke to Sergio Fontes, Amazonas state security chief, at his office located in the basement of a Manaus shopping centre.

He mentioned a range of ideas to counter the drug trade, such as sanctions against drug-producing countries that refuse to eliminate coca crops, as well as state drug provision programmes for addicts.

When I see cracolandias [open air crack cocaine markets], I think  why doesnt the state give drugs to them? They wouldnt need to rob, to prostitute, he said. Canada did this with heroin.

Ultimately, however, Fontes said that his only possible course of action for the meantime was to carry on with drug repression, even if it led to more violence.





Amazonas is Brazils fourth-poorest state, leaving it more vulnerable to the violence and corruption associated with drug trafficking than rich states such as Sao Paulo.

The FDN drug gang, which controls most of the local drug trade, formed about 10 years ago when Manaus criminals joined forces to resist the encroaching Sao Paulo PCC group.

A federal police investigation revealed the close links between state authorities and the FDN, with a meeting between then Under Secretary of Justice Major Carliomar Barros Brandao and FDN leader Jose Roberto Fernandes Barbosa at the COMPAJ jail.

Barbosa allegedly promised 100,000 votes for the re-election of Governor Jose Melo, for which Brandao promised that no one would mess with the gang. Melo and Brandao have denied this claim.

Security experts say that the recent prison violence relates to a rupture between Sao Paulos PCC and Rio de Janeiros Red Command gang  who held a truce for nearly 20 years  following the killing of a major Paraguayan drug wholesaler on the Brazil border, consolidating the PCCs power in the region.

Initially, the war began at the end of 2016 with killings inside prisons in the north of the country that were attributed to the PCC.

According to security experts, Manaus FDN  who are allied, but not subordinate to Rios Red Command  committed the New Years Day Manaus killings in revenge for the Rio group.





In a Brazilian funk track released days after the massacre, FDN pays homage to the killings and confirm their alliance with the Red Command.

These local factions have joined with the Red Command to resist the advance of the PCC because they know they cant do it alone, said Lincoln Gakiya, a Sao Paulo-based prosecutor who has been investigating the PCC for 10 years.

The PCC formed in Sao Paulos prison system during the 1990s and is today considered to be Brazils most powerful criminal organisation, with a membership of about 22,000 and a presence in almost all Brazilian states as well as neighbouring countries, according to Gakiya.

The groups most important leaders are imprisoned and today the group has a strong presence in 90 percent of the jails in Sao Paulo state. The PCC already dominates trafficking routes around Brazils southern borders with Bolivia and Paraguay, and they have greater ambitions.

The Amazonian drug trafficking routes are of particular interest to the group because the region is so open and undermanned by police, and cocaine from Colombia and Peru is of a superior quality to that of Bolivia.

But there is resistance from the local crime groups, said Gakiya. Therefore, its a war that has no end in sight.
Erbil, Iraq  As Iraqi forces continue their ground war to retake Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, the US-led anti-ISIL coalition air forces backing them appear to be killing significant numbers of Iraqi civilians in the process.

Many local residents are speaking out publicly about homes destroyed and family members killed by air strikes that have relied on outdated intelligence or poor targeting.

One morning last November, as Iraqi forces battled ISIL fighters on the edges of the eastern Mosul neighbourhood of Hay Zahraa, about three dozen people huddled for safety inside the home of Seif Zaidan Khalaf.





As Khalaf, 20, was on his way home, an air strike hit the house.

My brother and my cousin died, Khalaf told Al Jazeera in a recent interview, his face still blank with grief. Square blocks of concrete lay scattered around his feet, fragments of the walls that collapsed in the strike.

He picked up a cloak with a broad hole torn in the middle, which he said was wrapped around his cousin when he died.

The bombs that killed his cousin, 31-year-old Sirhan Sleiman Salih, and his brother, 37-year-old Faris Zaidan Khalaf, were aimed at a fighter with the ISIL group , who had taken up a position on the roof of their house, said Khalaf and his neighbours.

Whether the strike was conducted by the Iraqi forces, or from the US-led anti-ISIL coalition, they dont know. But the tactic of using air strikes to take out ISIL fighters on roofs is common, according to other air strike victims in Mosul Al Jazeera spoke to, as well as emerging reports.

While no government data is available, the United States had, before the recent Mosul strike in which hundreds may have died, admitted to killing 220 civilians since August 2014. Airwars, an NGO that has been monitoring air strikes against ISIL in Iraq, Syria and Libya, has tracked the numbers of as many as 64 civilians likely killed in February, down from as many as 227 killed in January and hundreds reported killed in just the first half of March.

READ MORE: Battle for Mosul upends false Iraq narrative

Khalaf recalled a terrifying scene on the morning of the strike on his home.

Everything crashed down upon us, he said. The neighbourhood came around and pulled us out [from the rubble]. We went in a car to the hospital and ISIL wouldnt let us in. They said, You go sit at home, and wait for the apostates to come to you. We even had a wounded ISIL fighter with us.

Walid Husain Ahmed, a 29-year-old volunteer with a local NGO that helps air strike survivors, said the victims of the strike each had seven children. In a house where some of the survivors have since sought shelter, many of the children, most younger than 10, milled around one of the rooms, occasionally squeezing through a half-open door to deliver cups of sugary tea to the adults.

Khalaf and his family, who left Mosul after ISILs takeover in the summer of 2014, took refuge in the northern al-Sheikhan district, a largely Yazidi and Assyrian area under Kurdish Peshmerga control. But when they heard that ISIL was planning to reappropriate empty houses in Mosul, they returned to reclaim theirs.

A day after the strike that levelled Khalafs home, Iraqi counterterrorism forces retook al-Zahraa neighbourhood from ISIL.

In another case, the Khodeida brothers, who are now living in the densely populated slum neighbourhood of Mamzawa on the outer edges of the Kurdish capital of Erbil, are also struggling to recover after coalition air strikes claimed their mother, father and three sisters. The remaining four brothers, aged between 11 and 18, say their home in eastern Mosul was hit in mid-December. They are now living with an uncle.

Today, just a corner of one wall of their home remains, along with the base of a concrete staircase that leads to the open sky. The explosion was so intense that it knocked down their neighbours home.

The airplane was circling above us. It was white, Marwan Khodeida, 18, told Al Jazeera. The roof of our house was open. I could see it. I could hear it.

Muthanna Khodeida, 17, said the whole family was sitting in the house at the time of the strike. I went out to get some toothpicks. When I got to the shop, I heard the strike. It was powerful. I ran back to the house and found it had been hit. I saw my [little] sister and realised her legs had been blown off.

Qahtan Khodeida, 11, said the family initially heard a plane striking a target that sounded far from their home. The second time, it struck us. Scars from shrapnel wounds are still etched across the young boys chest.

Chris Woods, head of the Airwars, said the Mosul operation has been far too chaotic, without sufficient regard for the civilians in the path of bombs.

Precision simply means your bomb or missile got where it needs to go. [The war] has gotten to a point where 500 to 1,000-pound, sometimes 2,000-pound, bombs are hitting densely populated neighbourhoods, Woods told Al Jazeera, noting that coalition claims of accuracy do not necessarily mean that strikes have avoided civilian casualties. Coalition leaders have repeatedly stressed the accuracy of their strikes and the extremely low loss of civilian life.

When I got to the shop, I heard the strike. It was powerful. I ran back to the house and found it had been hit. by Muthanna Khodeida, 17

And while many civilians in Mosul and elsewhere in Iraq have lost their homes and the lives of their family members through air strikes, obtaining compensation has been a struggle.

Some US officials have cited the American Foreign Claims Act, a World War II-era statute that bars the military from compensating for civilians lawfully killed on the battlefield, as a reason why not to compensate victims of strikes. Yet others, such as Sahr Muhammedally, from the Center for Civilians in Conflict, say that legislation passed in 2014 specifically ensures that compensation will continue to be paid to victims of US conflicts.

As far as we understand, not a cent has been paid by the allies after 30 months of war, Woods said.

The US has acknowledged the deaths of 220 civilians through its air strikes since August 2014, but the other 12 partners in the anti-ISIL coalition claim outrageously not to have killed any civilians, Woods said. Belgium, one of the leading partners, claims zero civilian casualties.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, deputy commander of the Iraqi Air Force, Lt General Faris Hassan Al Zireg Falah, was reluctant to acknowledge any cases of civilian deaths from Iraqi air strikes in Mosul. He noted the need to present indisputable evidence for admission of a civilian death, and stressed the high level of planning that goes into Iraqi air strikes.

We started [air strikes] before the Mosul operations began, in September, he said. If you go back to the design of our air force, we are in the JOC [Joint Operations Center]. We get a grid every day, lay down targets, and then decide as a cell.

Falah added that Iraqi air forces keep detailed recordings of their strikes through a round-the-clock drone presence above the warplanes over Mosul.

The purpose of these aircraft is to see when a target is engaged and what is the purpose of the strike, he said.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Hayder Hussein, the uncle of the Khodeida brothers, believes the air forces striking Mosul are not concerned as to whether civilians die. He feels that they are singularly focused on removing ISIL, regardless of the civilian cost.

A plane comes, fires its missile, hits three or four houses, no problem. The important thing for them is they hit a target, Hussein said. But [are these people] they hit the oppressors? No, they hit the oppressed.
Iraqs future stability will depend on how it manages its various militias.

This week Iraqi prime-minister Haider al-Abadi concluded his first meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, with Trump praising the unprecedented cooperation between the two countries in combating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Trump had promised to finish off ISIL thirty days into his presidency, but the battle for Mosul itself has dragged on longer than he anticipated. Trumps account of his meeting with Abadi indicates that he was focused on the military aspect of the conflict, however, little was revealed about what post-conflict strategies, if any, the leaders discussed, such as the humanitarian crises and reconstruction of formerly ISIL-held territories.

A pressing issue that looms on the horizon related to Iraqs post-ISIL recovery is the number of various Iraqi armed forces and the possibility of these forces turning on each other. What will happen to the myriad Iraqi Shia militias that emerged in response to the ISIL invasion of 2014?

Ironically, a call to demobilise all these militias has recently come from an unlikely source  Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who was the first to establish a Shia militia in Iraq in 2003. As of 2017, he is now trying to dismantle the numerous Shia militias that are active in the country. He is unlikely to succeed, but a need for reforming Iraqs security forces is pressing.

The need for security sector reform





It was the arbitrary behaviour of the Iraqi security forces that alienated elements of Arab Sunni society before ISILs 2014 expansion, and the implementation of security sector reform (SSR) will be ever more salient after the liberation of Mosul.

Since 2003, elements among the security forces have been a threat to certain members of Iraqs population. SSR refers to strategies that inculcate a professional ethos in these security institutions, where they would protect all of Iraqs communities.

SSR would seek to curb behaviour such as arbitrary arrests, the abuse of Iraqi citizens at checkpoints and reprisal attacks, as wellm as countering pervasive corruption within security institutions.

The problem is that Iraqs military forces are numerous, ranging from the regular army, the Ministry of Interior forces, the Kurdish Peshmerga, to the myriad of Shia militias and Arab Sunni tribal militias that have emerged since 2014, subsumed under the al-hashd al-shaabi or Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).

In terms of Iraqs long-term stability, SSR is crucial for dealing with the immediate problems of internally displaced people, creating security for the reconstruction of the country and integrating areas formerly held by ISIL.

Many of the refugees, mostly Arab Sunnis, are wary of returning to a post-conflict Iraq where the Shia militias are in control of their towns and cities.

Security sector reform can only work with a combination of local pressure from inside of Iraq, and by also bringing in regional players such as Iran, and Turkey, by

As of 2017, Iraqs Arab Sunnis, who have been traumatised by both the ISIL rule and the behaviour of Iraqs security forces towards them in the past, will need to reconcile with the forces representing the Iraqi state and nation. For this to happen, Iraqs security forces need to be reformed.

The Sadrist challenge to the Shia militias

The Iraqi Shia militias, or PMUs, mobilised in response to the fall of Mosul in 2014, and the question remains, as to whether they will stand downd once ISIL is expelled from this city.

Some Shia PMU leaders have said that their militias will continue fighting ISIL until they reach its capital in Raqqa.

Others will stay in Iraq and increase their power through the political process. However, militia commanders are precluded by Iraqi law from running for a parliamentary or cabinet position. A law passed in November 2016 established the PMU as an official security force, thus allowing these militia figures to take part in politics.

While it came as no surprise that Arab Sunni politicians opposed this law, so did Sadr. As of this month, his interpretation of SSR has been to call for the dismantlement of Iraqs militias entirely.

OPINION: Iraq  The reinvention of Muqtada al-Sadr

Sadr had been one of the most polarising figures in Iraq, and members of his militia, the Mahdi Army, have been implicated in some of the worst sectarian bloodletting during the 2006-2008 civil war. He has now evolved into one of the few nationalist voices in Iraq, uniting with Iraqi communists and leftists in street protests, demanding reform of a Shia-dominated government.

While Sadr was the first to establish a Shia militia in 2003, he eventually lost control of the force he created, which splintered in numerous factions. Without saying it explicitly, he is trying to rein-in the hydra he created.

Sadr has weighed in on SSR, which in his opinion would ideally demobilise all militias. Demobilisation does not seem to be a possibility. While the Shia militias are villains to some, they are heroes to many.

SSR might simply become another elusive goal in Iraq, like national reconciliation, but for Iraqs long-term stability it will be essential for restoring security and combating ISILs remnants.

The role of the US





There have been successes in regards to SSR in Iraq. The Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), otherwise known as the Golden Division, was derogatorily referred to as former prime-minister Malikis private army in the past. But since the ISIL invasion, the force has reformed itself, bearing the brunt of most of the urban fighting in cities such as Fallujah, Ramadi and Mosul, and emerging as one of the few professional, inclusive Iraqi military institutions.

The CTS owes its success to the US military training it received in Iraq. This training mission has become more robust after the ISIL invasion. Washington will need to use this leverage to pressure for continued SSR, even after a military victory against ISIL.

However, SSR can only work with a combination of local pressure from inside Iraq, and by also bringing in regional players such as Iran, and Turkey, which has trained its own militia in its base in Bashiqa. Each of these neighbours have contributed to Iraqs problem and will need to be part of the solution.

Ibrahim al-Marashi is an assistant professor at the Department of History, California State University, San Marcos. He is the co-author of Iraqs Armed Forces: An Analytical History.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Lauren Carasik is the Director of the International Human Rights Clinic at Western New England University School of Law.

The Trump administrations failure to appear at hearings at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on March 21 telegraphs its disregard for international institutions generally and human rights in particular.

Trump officials notified the Commission, which is the independent human rights organ of the Organization of American States, a day before the scheduled hearings that it would not attend. State Department official contended that it would be inappropriate to participate since several of the hearings addressed issues under judicial review: the administrations executive actions on immigration and its greenlighting of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which are winding their ways through the courts.

But that explanation failed to assuage critics, who argued that Washingtons absence erodes its legitimacy, emboldens authoritarian leaders in the hemisphere to shrug off their own accountability and dodge dialogue and presages broader disengagement with international human rights institutions.

International criticism

The move represented an abrupt departure from past practice. The United States has a long, bipartisan history of engaging with the Commission, even when the topic is being litigated. Further undermining the administrations stated excuse, among the hearings scheduled were the countrys failure to respect the rights of asylum seekers  grievances that predate the Trump administration but endure under his watch  and a case about Peruvian-Japanese detention during World War II that is not the subject of pending litigation.





A State Department official sought to offer reassuring words, claiming that the refusal to participate does not have any bearing on current or future US engagement with the Commission. But if ongoing litigation were really the driving force behind Washingtons absence, officials could have signalled their respect for the process and the participating parties by attending the meeting and rebuffing questions they deemed inadvisable to answer.

Human rights groups were outraged. Jamil Dakwar, director of the American Civil Liberties Union human rights programme, noted: This is another worrying sign that the Trump Administration is not only launching an assault on human rights at home, but is also trying to undermine international bodies charged with holding abusive governments accountable.

And according to Clara Long, US Programme researcher at Human Rights Watch: In pulling out of this hearing, the United States is offering a negative example for the rest of the countries in the Americas, who show up and engage in the Inter-American system. The refusal to participate puts the US in the company of other countries whose human rights records it disdains.

Some observers have suggested that the administrations decision may be more reflective of lax attention to protocols and its staffing of the State Department than outright hostility to the Commission and its mission. But whether the result of intentional snub, dysfunction or different priorities, the move damages US leadership.

This reduces a lot of the Trump administrations credibility and legitimacy on human rights issues, Jose Miguel Vivanco, head of the Americas division of Human Rights Watch, told the Miami Herald. In addition to it being a symbol of arrogance, [the US] risks not being taken seriously when they criticise other countries for not showing up at these hearings, Vivianco said.

OPINION: Human rights  from Obama to Trump

The administrations absence didnt thwart the proceedings, during which groups offered testimony amid the spectacle of empty chairs administration officials were expected to fill, while Commission officials expressed dismay at Washingtons intransigence. Commission Vice President Margarette May Macaulay called the administrations refusal to show up a pity, while Commissioner Paulo Vannuchi lamented the refusal to attend, which is what would have made it possible for there to be a democratic exchange of opposing views being aired.

Trump and human rights

The move occurred against the backdrop of other indications that the Trump administration has little interest in embracing a multilateral approach to human rights and institutions.

Earlier last week, UN ambassador Nikki Haley announced that the US was boycotting a UN Human Rights Council session because of perceived anti-Israel bias. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson previously threatened to withdraw from the Human Rights Council altogether, given what he says is unfair treatment of Israel, as well as the inclusion of countries with blemished human rights records among its ranks.





In a letter obtained by Foreign Policy, the top diplomat said that the human rights body required substantial reform if the US is to remain involved. Tillerson also provoked consternation when he skipped the release of the State Departments annual human rights report, which reviews the record of all other nations but abstains from assessing its own shortcomings.

Critics are wary of other administration efforts to undermine transnational accountability, such as its effective withdrawal from Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to cut billions from UN funding, which could usher in a breakdown of the international humanitarian system as we know it.

Under ordinary circumstances, Washington prefers not to be named and shamed for violating international norms. But Trumps contempt for multilateralism and accountability is hardly surprising. After all, this president previously expressed no qualms about promoting torture, filling up Guantanamo Bay prison and killing the families of terrorists.

To be sure, Washingtons human rights record has been far from perfect, both at home and abroad, but at least the Obama administration promoted the architecture of internationalism and the human rights principles and protections it sought to uphold. While the Trump administration has given occasional, anemic lip service to these ideals, its actions speak far louder than words.

Lauren Carasik is a clinical professor of law and the Director of the International Human Rights Clinic at Western New England University School of Law. She has provided legal support for the water protectors.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
SDF take military airport from ISIL in northern Syria, close to countrys largest dam that may be in danger of collapse.

A US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters has captured a strategic airbase from ISIL in northern Syria in the first major victory for the group since the US airlifted the forces behind enemy lines last week.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Sunday that they captured the Tabqa airbase, 45km west of Raqqa, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) groups de facto capital in Syria.





SDF forces were also battling for the nearby Tabqa dam, held by ISIL, which was forced out of service on Sunday after its power station was damaged.

Earlier this week, US forces airlifted SDF fighters behind ISIL lines to allow them to launch the Tabqa assault, and on Friday the alliance reached one of the dams entrances.

SDF forces were within 10km of Raqqa from the north, and aimed to effectively surround the city before launching an assault.

Tabqa airbase was captured by ISIL fighters from the Syrian government in August 2014.

Shortly afterwards, the group announced it had killed about 200 government soldiers at the base, in a mass killing recorded and distributed on video over social media.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group also reported the SDF advance.

Meanwhile there were conflicting reports over whether civilians had begun evacuating Raqqa due to concerns over the stability of the nearby Tabqa Dam.

OPINION: US expects allies to pick up the pieces after ISIL

ISIL fighters said US-led coalition air strikes had locked up the dams gates, causing the water level behind it to rise.

The activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently reported that ISIL had ordered Raqqa residents to evacuate the city.

Fear of collapse

The director of the Syrian governments General Authority of Euphrates Dam that formerly operated the huge project blamed US air raids for disrupting internal control systems and putting the dam out of service, and warned of growing risks that could lead to flooding and future collapses.

Before the latest strikes by the Americans, the dam was working. Two days ago, the dam was functioning normally, Nejm Saleh told Reuters news agency.

God forbid  there could be collapses or big failures that could lead to flooding, Saleh said.





An SDF spokesman denied that coalition strikes hit the dam structure and said the airdrop landing last week was conducted to prevent any damage to the main structure by engaging the rebels away from the dam.

The capture of the dam is being conducted slowly and carefully and this is why the liberation of the dam needs more time, Talal Silo said, adding that ISIL fighters had dug inside the dam knowing they would not be hit for fear of damaging the dam.

The Syrian Observatory said it had also learned from its own sources that the dam had stopped functioning, but that ISIL remained in control of its main operational buildings and turbines.

US-backed Kurdish forces were in control of a spillway north of the dam which can be used to alleviate pressure on the dam if need be, the coalition said in a letter to AP news agency.

The coalition said the dam had not been structurally damaged, to its knowledge, and that it has not targeted the dam.

The SDF announced that it would suspend its operations in the vicinity of the dam on Monday for four hours so that engineers could access it and carry out much needed repairs.

The UN warned this year of the risk of catastrophic flooding from the dam.

OPINION: The US must heed Turkish concerns in Syria

The Syrian Observatory and the activist-run Raqqa 24 media centre reported that as of Sunday there were no evacuations in Raqqa.

The reports from Raqqa came as a leading Syrian opposition group called on the US-led coalition to stop targeting residential areas in and around the city.

The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) said in a statement that it was increasingly concerned about civilian casualties in the campaign against the group. The exiled opposition coalition is taking part in UN-mediated talks in Geneva.

The SNC said it believed coalition forces were behind an air strike that killed at least 30 civilians sheltering in a school in the countryside outside Raqqa on March 21. The coalition has said it is investigating.

The Syrian Observatory said coalition air strikes had killed 89 civilians in Raqqa province in the past week.
US-backed Syrian fighters on Monday paused their offensive for a key dam held by ISIL to allow a technical team to enter the complex, a spokeswoman said.

There have been fears about the integrity of the dam after fighting in the area forced it out of service on Sunday, following earlier United Nations warnings that a collapse would be catastrophic.

With air support from the US-led coalition against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are fighting to seize the town of Tabqa and the adjacent dam on the Euphrates, as part of their battle to take the hardline groups self-declared capital of Raqqa.





To ensure the integrity of the Tabqa dam  we have decided to stop operations for four hours beginning at 1:00pm (1100 GMT), SDF spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement.

This is to allow a team of engineers to enter the dam and carry out their work, she added.

The decision followed a request by the Syrian governments water authority.

The director of the Syrian governments General Authority of Euphrates Dam, which formerly operated the huge project, blamed US strikes in the past two days for disrupting internal control systems and putting the dam out of service.

The dam, Syrias largest, stretches 4.5km across the Euphrates. ISIL captured the dam and a nearby airbase, lying about 40km upstream from Raqqa, at the height of its expansion in Syria and Iraq in 2014.

There was growing concern over the weekend [about the dams potential collapse]. In fact, ISIL was driving around nearby villages and towns warning them that there was a danger of flooding, said Al Jazeeras Alan Fisher, reporting from Beirut.

ISIL issued warnings through its propaganda agency Amaq on Sunday that the dam could collapse at any moment.

READ MORE: US-backed forces capture Tabqa airbase from ISIL

The dam was forced out of service on Sunday after its power station was damaged, a source at the dam told the AFP news agency.

The activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently reported that ISIL had ordered Raqqa residents to evacuate the city.

The UN has warned that damage to the dam could lead to massive scale flooding across Raqqa and as far away as Deir Az Zor province downstream to the southeast with catastrophic humanitarian implications.

The source at the dam told AFP on Monday that a technical team will assess the level of damage and repair what is needed so that the dam can resume its operations, after it was put out of service yesterday.

The US-led coalition said Monday it was taking every precaution to ensure the structures integrity.

The SDF has denied the dam was damaged, and said military operations around it were being conducted slowly and with precision.

Fighting is almost certain to resume after the four-hour window is up, unless engineers come out and say there is a real problem here and that they have to fix it because thousands of lives could be at risk, said Al Jazeeras Fisher.

Hundreds of families fled Tabqa to the relative safety of outlying areas as coalition air strikes intensified in the past few days, according to former residents in touch with relatives.

The SDF alliance announced on Sunday that it had seized a majority of the nearby Tabqa airbase from ISIL.

Earlier this week, US forces airlifted SDF fighters and US advisers behind ISIL lines to allow them to launch the Tabqa assault.

This is a part of the approach the [US-led coalitions] assault on Raqqa, and gaining key strategic points, including the nearby airfield and the dam, all become part of the operation, said Fisher.

The SDF launched its offensive for Raqqa city in November, seizing around two thirds of the surrounding province, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

At their closest point, they are just 8km from the city, to the northeast.
SDF says Taqba dam is not damaged and fighting will resume, but monitor casts doubt on whether engineers inspected site.

US-backed forces in Syria are resuming an offensive against ISIL fighters at a major hydroelectric dam, saying it is in no danger of collapsing amid conflicting claims over its integrity.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) offensive was briefly suspended on Monday, a day after a senior Syrian government official warned that the Tabqa dam had been damaged by US-led air raids and cited an increasing risk of catastrophic flooding.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) group had also issued warnings that the dam could collapse at any moment, releasing pictures showing what it said was the structures control room after it had been damaged by US air raids.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TABQA DAM: The Taqba dam, also known as the Euphrates dam, is seen as a prize to push ISIL out of Raqqa, the armed groups self-proclaimed capital in Syria. Lying about 40km from Raqqa, the dam is the biggest on the Euphrates. It stretches four kilometres across the river and is one of the few land crossings left as many bridges have been destroyed by fighting. But the dam has also been damaged. Last month, the UN warned that if it collapses there could be massive flooding across Raqqa and as far away as Deir Az-Zor, 150km downstream. The UN estimates about 90,000 people are trapped in Deir Az-Zor by ISIL.

The SDF, an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, paused operations for four hours on Monday to allow engineers to inspect the dam, a major target in their campaign to encircle and capture ISILs self-declared capital of Raqqa, located around 40km downstream on the Euphrates river to the east.

The SDF later said engineers had entered the dam and found no damage or malfunction.

But it remains unclear whether engineers accessed the site.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor tracking developments in Syrias conflict via a network of sources on the ground, denied the SDFs statement, according to news agencies reports.

It said technicians inside ISIL-held Tabqa did not reach the dam during the ceasefire to reactivate its main power controls. There was no explanation given.

If the dam had been breached, the United Nations was warning of a humanitarian disaster with thousands caught up in the flooding, Al Jazeeras Alan Fisher, reporting from Beirut, said.

The SDF says there is no problem  the makeshift ceasefire is over and the battle for Raqqa a step closer.

READ MORE: The battle for Raqqa explained

The dam, which stretches for about four kilometres across the Euphrates, was captured by ISIL at the height of the armed groups expansion in Syria and Iraq in 2014.

The SDFs decision to briefly stop operations followed a request by the Syrian governments water authority, with officials blaming US air raids in the past two days for disrupting internal control systems and putting the dam out of service.





There was growing concern over the weekend [about the dams potential collapse]. In fact, ISIL was driving around nearby villages and towns warning them that there was a danger of flooding, said Al Jazeeras Fisher.

Hakam Tawfik, a structural engineer who worked on the construction of the dam, said it looked like the facility had been critically damaged.

Ive seen the pictures on the internet and the control and operations room had been fully burned, which means there is no control of the water coming into the dam, he told Al Jazeera from Remscheid, in Germany.

This will lead to a real catastrophe, because there is no way from inside the dam to get rid of the water. The situation will escalate because as more cubic metres come in, the situation becomes more dangerous, Tawfik added, calling for an emergency operation.

We need someone to interfere to stop this catastrophe, because water will overcome the dam and we dont know what we could do and how many days it would take to collapse  people living along there along the Euphrates are in danger.

The US-led coalition said on Monday that it saw no imminent danger to the dam, unless ISIL fighters planned to blow it up.

We do not assess the dam to be in imminent danger unless ISIS plans to destroy it, said Colonel Joseph Scrocca, a spokesman for the coalition fighting ISIL, which is also known as ISIS.

The SDF are in control of a spillway north of the dam that provides water to an irrigation reclamation canal which can be used to alleviate pressure on the dam if need be. If the lake reaches dangerous levels the SDF can relieve the pressure through alternative means.

Strategic airbase

Separately, the SDF announced on Sunday that it had captured the nearby Tabqa airbase from ISIL, a former Syrian military outpost that had been in the armed groups hands since 2014.

The allience said it had met pockets of resistance from ISIL fighters but it had managed to capture the strategically important base with the help of US-led raids.

READ MORE: Battle for Raqqa  Difficult and complicated

Earlier this week, US forces airlifted SDF fighters and US advisers behind ISIL lines to allow them to launch the Tabqa assault.

This is a part of the approach  the [US-led coalitions] assault on Raqqa, and gaining key strategic points, including the nearby airfield and the dam, all become part of the operation, said Fisher.

The SDF launched its offensive for Raqqa city in November, seizing around two thirds of the surrounding province, according to the Observatory.
Ministers from the 22-member bloc are meeting in Jordan before its annual summit on Wednesday.

Foreign ministers of the 22-member Arab League are holding preparatory meetings in Jordan amid low expectations over the blocs annual heads of state summit on Wednesday.

This years conference comes as the region faces a series of pressing challenges, including violent conflicts, rising youth unemployment and millions of children deprived of the right to education.

Ayman Safadi, Jordans foreign minister, on Monday painted a grim picture as he called member states to come together and urgently confront the crises.

The Arab political system has failed to solve the crises and halt the collapse as the trust of Arab citizens in the joint Arab institutions has eroded, he said.

READ MORE: UN, Arab League reiterate support for Palestinian state

Safadi told his Arab counterparts that more than 12 million Arab children are being denied access to education, presumably in part because of conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Libya.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the Arab League, said economic and social issues should take priority at the summit, citing 29 percent youth unemployment as one of the regions biggest challenges.

A third of the Arab worlds population is below the age of 30 and Arab countries need to create 60 million jobs in a decade to absorb newcomers into the labour market, according to Aboul Gheit.

The Arab League chief urged Arab governments to do more to resolve the long-running conflict in Syria rather than leave it to other powers.

In my view its not right that Arab governments stay out of the biggest crisis in the regions modern history, Abul Gheit said on Monday, calling them to find an effective way of intervening to stop the shedding of blood in Syria and end the war.

Low expectations

Al Jazeeras Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from the Dead Sea, in Jordan, said there were low expectations about what could be accomplished at the meeting.

The indications of this summit to achieve any substantial results are very little because of the inability of the Arab leaders to actually accommodate some changes in terms of demographics and politics within the region, he said.

What we can expect them to achieve in this meeting is some sort of a unified statement  with regards to Syria because of the ongoing crisis there.

The Syrian government was not invited to the summit. The bloc suspended Syrias membership in late 2011 after anti-regime demonstrations were brutally repressed.

Leaders remain divided over Syrian President Bashar al-Assads role, if any, in a possible political transition. Some argue that in shutting Assad out early on in the war, the Arab League created a vacuum that allowed non-Arab Russia, Iran and Turkey a greater say over an eventual solution.

The trio now serves as guarantor of a shaky ceasefire between the Syrian government and the opposition, while United Nations-brokered talks in Geneva aim to coax them towards a political transition.

Jordans King Abdullah II plays host to the talks. Key participants include King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Staffan de Mistura, the UN and Arab League envoy for Syria, are attending, along with US and Russian envoys.

The summit could offer an opportunity for Egypt and Saudi Arabia to defuse months of tensions, mainly over Syria.

Saudi Arabia is a leading supporter of the Syrian opposition, while Egypt, fearful of armed groups among the rebels ranks, has pushed for a political solution that might keep Assad in power.
Protests over crime rates and cost of living have propelled overseas territory into spotlight of French elections.

Parts of French Guiana, including schools and shops, were shut down on Monday amid a general strike over high crime rates, the cost of living and lack of public services.

The French government appealed for calm in its South American territory, which has been gripped by protests that have halted flights, disrupted a rocket launch and prompted travel warnings since late last month.

The first priority is the fight against insecurity, French President Francois Hollande said.

More than 30 labour unions launched the strike, demanding a Marshall Plan to improve public services and security.

The territory, home to about 250,000 people, relies on large injections of public funds and residents say it is often overlooked by the French government.

This has gone on long enough! All we have is plundered, its time to recognise the people of Guiana, a woman at a barricade blocking access to the airport in the capital Cayenne told AFP news agency on Sunday.

Antoine Karma, Guianas representative to the French senate in Paris, said those in the territory are without basic social services and goods.

Today, 30 percent of the population still does not have access to drinking water or electricity, Karma told French media on Monday.

We are not treated the same way as the French on the French mainland, the socialist party politician said.

French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said a delegation of ministers would be sent to Guiana by the end of the week if certain conditions were met. He did not elaborate on what those conditions were.

The French government had previously sent a delegation to negotiate with protesters, but many refused to meet the officials, demanding that French ministers come instead.

Campaign issue

With less than four weeks until the first round of the French presidential election, the unrest in Guiana has been highlighted by several top candidates.

Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader, condemned what she called a cruel minimum service delivered by French governments to the territory. She also blamed mass immigration for insecurity, according to local media.

Independent centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, who has just completed a tour of Frances overseas territories, called for calm, saying the situation was serious. He was later mocked for calling the overseas territory an island, which it is not.

Conservative candidate Francois Fillon blamed the situation on the failed policies of Francois Hollande.

READ MORE: Marine Le Pen and post-colonial overseas departments

The unions taking part in the strike have called for a complete shutdown of activity on Tuesday, according to the France-Guyane newspaper.

Air France and Air Caraibes cancelled all flights into Guiana and schools and universities were closed.

The protests led to the postponement of an Arianespace rocket launch at Europes Guiana Space Centre in Kourou.

Barricades were briefly lifted on Sunday to allow some residents to stock up on food and other supplies before the strike began.

Similar unrest gripped French Guiana in 2008 over soaring fuel prices. Schools and the airport were shut down.

The strike ended after 11 days, when the government agreed to cut fuel prices.
Greek authorities are investigating the apparent suicide of a man, believed to be a refugee, at the port of Piraeus.

The man, who was carrying asylum application papers, was found hanged early on Monday close to a passenger ferry terminal at Greeces biggest port near the capital, Athens, the coastguard said.

A coastguard spokesperson told Al Jazeera that the man had not yet been identified and an autopsy was pending.

READ MORE: Spurned, hopeless and attacked, refugees drama goes on

Greek media, however, said that the man was a 25-year-old refugee from Syria, citing unnamed sources.





His identity could not be independently verified.

Vulnerable, in need of help

An estimated 62,000 refugees and migrants are currently stranded in mainland Greece and its islands owing to a wave of European border closures and a controversial deal between the European Union and Turkey in March 2016.

Since then, tensions across Greece have often boiled over as the relocation process moves slowly, is applied inconsistently and fraught with particular difficulties, including refugees having to navigate a complex legal asylum system in foreign languages.

Please #fortressEurope tell us again how successful the #EUTurkeyDeal is: Syrian #refugeesGR found hanged at Piraeus https://t.co/JlqHTjcXZZ  Marianna Karakoulaki (@Faloulah) March 27, 2017

Amid the delays and the despair, some attempt to kill themselves and many self-harm, according to rights groups.

READ MORE: Refugees attempt suicide by hanging from tree in Greece

Kuriakos Katsadoros, a psychiatrist with Klimaka, a suicide prevention NGO that runs a helpline in Greece, said that people who have risked everything to find a better future are often shouldering a considerable burden of mental health problems.

Under these conditions, tense situations could lead to such unfortunate incidents, said Katsadoros, the scientific director of Klimakas Greek Suicide Prevention Centre.

And amid such large numbers, there are people who are vulnerable and in need of help  which they often cant find, unfortunately, in Greece, he told Al Jazeera.

They need support, not only from the strained Greek authorities but also from Europe.
Gaza authorities ease travel restrictions after imposing a 24-hour closure after assassination of senior Hamas official.

Hamas authorities partially reopened the crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel on Monday, after a one-day closure following the assassination of one of the groups top commanders.

From Monday morning, travel through the Beit Hanoun [Erez] crossing will be permitted temporarily for some categories, a statement from Iyad al-Bozum, a spokesman for the interior ministry in the Palestinian enclave, said.

Anyone would be allowed to enter Gaza, the statement said, but those leaving would remain restricted to senior politicians, the sick, women of all ages, and families of prisoners.





Men and boys who have an Israeli permit to leave the Strip would be restricted to those under 15 and over 45.

Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, closed the crossing on Sunday after blaming Israel for the assassination of one of its senior officials.

Travel into and out of the Gaza Strip is heavily restricted by Israeli authorities  part of a crippling blockade in place since 2007  but the Hamas-implemented closure was seen as a rare measure.

Mazen Faqha, 38, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen on Friday outside his home in Gaza City. Hamas officials blamed his killing on the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and its collaborators.

He was killed by four bullets from a pistol equipped with a silencer, police in Gaza said.

Hamas did not give details as to the reason for closing the crossing, though there was speculation that authorities were seeking to prevent those responsible for the killing from leaving.

Israel has not commented on the shooting.

According to Hamas, Faqha formed cells for the groups military wing in the occupied West Bank cities of Tubas, where he was born, and Jenin.

In Pictures: Thousands attend Gaza funeral of slain Hamas official

Faqhas funeral on Saturday drew thousands of Hamas supporters into the streets with chants of revenge and death to Israel.

Ismail Haniya, until recently head of Hamas in Gaza, and Yahya Sinwar, who replaced him as leader, led the procession.

The Erez crossing is the only passageway between Gaza and Israel through which people may cross.

The Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing with Israel remained fully open over the weekend, as it only permits the passage of commericial goods.

A vast majority of the nearly two million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip remain sealed inside the coastal enclave due to Israels military blockade, in place for the last decade. Gazas sole crossing with Egypt has also remained largely closed in recent years.

Three large-scale Israeli offensives in the past eight years have left Gazas sanitation, energy and medical facilities severely damaged.

The United Nations has warned that due to lagging reconstruction efforts hampered by Israels blockade and heavy levels of destruction, Gaza may become uninhabitable by 2020.
Jared Kushner met Russian ambassador and executives of Russian state development bank during 2016 election campaign.

The White House has confirmed that President Donald Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, one his most senior advisers, will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The committee is investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, and looking into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that Kushner is willing to testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by Republican Senator Richard Burr.

Throughout the campaign and the transition, Jared served as the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials  and so, given this role, he volunteered to speak with Chairman Burrs committee, Spicer told reporters.

Kushner, who is married to Trumps daughter Ivanka Trump, has acknowledged meeting the Russian ambassador to Washington last December.

And on Monday, a Russian bank under Western economic sanctions over Russias incursion into Ukraine disclosed that its executives had met Kushner during the election campaign.

The Russian state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) said in a statement that as part of it preparing a new strategy, its executives met representatives of financial institutes in Europe, Asia and America.

OPINION: Why is Russia so happy with Trump?

It said meetings took place with a number of representatives of the largest banks and business establishments of the United States, including Jared Kushner, the head of Kushner Companies, the Kushner familys real-estate firm.

VEB declined to say where the meetings took place or the dates. There was no immediate comment from Kushner.

Simply meeting with representatives of a US-sanctioned entity is not a violation of sanctions or against the law.





Allegations by US intelligence agencies that Russian actors were behind hacking of senior Democratic Party operatives and spreading disinformation linger over Trumps presidency.

Democrats charge that the Russians wanted to tilt the election towards the Republican, a claim dismissed by Trump. Russia denies the allegations.

But it has been confirmed that the Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, developed contacts among the Trump team.

Trumps first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign on February 13 after revelations that he had discussed US sanctions on Russia with Kislyak and misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.

US officials said that after meeting with Kislyak at Trump Tower last December, a meeting also attended by Flynn, Kushner met later in December with Sergey Gorkov, chairman of Vnesheconombank.

White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed the meetings, saying nothing of consequence was discussed.

READ MORE: Russia\s booming Trumpomania

John Neffinger, the communications director of the Democratic National Committee, stressed the importance of thoroughly investigating the mounting allegations of collusion between Trumps team and Russia.

We have no proof yet, he told Al Jazeera. We do know that the Russians were talking to Trumps campaign team on a regular basis during the campaign. We dont know what they were talking about.

Is it possible they were talking about the weather? It is. But if they happened to be talking about the thing that they had in common, which was trying to have Donald Trump elected for president, then it is also possible that something very, very bad took place.

Besides the Senate Intelligence Committee, the FBI and the House Intelligence Committee are also looking into possible Russian interference.

The integrity of the House committees investigation has been put in doubt after Democrats complaints that the chairman, Republican Devin Nunes, is too close to Trump.

Last Wednesday, Nunes said spy agencies had engaged in an incidental collection of Trump associates communications.

The suggestion was interpreted by the president as support for his claim that his predecessor, Barack Obama, had Trump Tower wiretapped during last years presidential campaign  despite Nunes himself saying the revelation does not back up Trumps claim.

In the latest twist on Monday, it was revealed that Nunes visited the White House grounds to meet a secret source the day before he made his announcement  raising suspicion that the Trump administration had supplied Nunes with the information.

Instead of responding to top Democrats calls for Nunes to recuse himself from the House committees investigation, Trump took to Twitter on Monday evening to call on the panel to investigate his former Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton.
UN General Assembly begins negotiations on prohibiting weapons, but without any nuclear-capable states in attendance.

The United States, Britain and France are among almost 40 countries boycotting talks on a nuclear weapons ban treaty at the United Nations, according to Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the world body.

With none of the participants  more than 100 countries  at Mondays talks belonging to the group of states that possess nuclear weapons, the discussions were doomed to failure.

According to Haley, the countries skipping the talks would love to have a ban on nuclear weapons, but in this day and time we cant honestly say we can protect our people by allowing bad actors to have them and those of us that are good trying to keep peace and safety not to have them.





Speaking as the debate at the UN headquarters in New York got under way, Haley also mentioned North Korea, which has recently has carried out missile tests that violate UN resolutions.

We have to be realistic. Is there anyone who thinks that North Korea would ban nuclear weapons? Haley said. North Korea would be the one cheering and all of us, and the people we represent, would be the ones at risk.

Haley spoke in a group of about 20 ambassadors from US allies who did not join the negotiations, including Britain, France, South Korea, Turkey and a number of countries from eastern Europe.

The ambassadors of Russia and China were notably absent, but both major nuclear powers are also sitting out the talks.

Britains UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said: The UK is not attending the negotiations on a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons because we do not believe that those negotiations will lead to effective progress on global nuclear disarmament.

Deputy French UN Ambassador Alexis Lamek said the security conditions were not right for a nuclear weapons ban treaty.

In the current perilous context, considering in particular the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, our countries continue to rely on nuclear deterrence for security and stability, Lamek said.

The new US administration of President Donald Trump is reviewing whether it will reaffirm the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, a White House aide said last week, referring to an aim embraced by previous Republican and Democratic presidents and required by a key arms control treaty.

Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, said in a statement: It is disappointing to see some countries with strong humanitarian records standing with a government which threatens a new arms race.

Disappointment with Obama

The UN General Assembly in December adopted a resolution  113 in favour to 35 against, with 13 abstentions  that decided to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination and encouraged all member states to participate.





But Britain, France, Israel, Russia and the US all voted no, while China, India and Pakistan abstained.

Even Japan  the only country to have suffered atomic attacks, in 1945  voted against the talks, saying a lack of consensus over the negotiations could undermine progress on effective nuclear disarmament.

Al Jazeeras Rosilind Jordan, reporting from the UN headquarters, said that last year the administration of former US President Barack Obama opposed the resolution that authorised the UN conference on the nuclear weapons.

It encouraged the NATO members to not take part in this years negotiations to try to establish what would be a legally binding treaty, she said.

Leaders of the effort to ban the nuclear weapons include Austria, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and Sweden, supported by hundreds of NGOs.

They say the threat of nuclear disaster is growing thanks to tensions fanned by North Koreas nuclear weapons programme and an unpredictable new administration in Washington.

There was disappointment with the Obama administration, which made some pledges, but then ignored most of them, said Fihn. And now there are raised worries with the new US president.

Nevertheless, with experience from the campaigns against cluster munitions and landmines, Fihn believes there is a good chance a treaty will be adopted  if not necessarily after the first phase of negotiations, which will end in July.

And such a treaty would oblige major powers to revisit their policies sooner or later  even if, like Russia and the US, theyre currently modernising their nuclear weapons arsenal.

Even if major [nuclear weapon] producers dont sign it, they have a big impact, Fihn said of global treaties. Look at Russia denying using cluster bombs in Syria. Why? They did not sign [the cluster munition ban], but they know its bad.
Northern Ireland parties have short window of opportunity to avoid suspension of self-rule despite expired deadline.

The British government has given Northern Irelands largest political parties extra time to form a power-sharing regional government, after a deadline to resolve their differences expired.

The extension on Monday staved off the risk of a suspension of devolved power for the first time in a decade.

James Brokenshire, Northern Ireland secretary of the United Kingdom, said the failure of the talks was extremely disappointing, but he saw a short window of opportunity of several weeks for more talks.





I think there are a few short weeks in which to resolve matters, Brokenshire said shortly after the three-week deadline expired at 15:00 GMT. He did not explain on what basis more time would be given.

While the law obliges him to call new elections, which would be the third in 12 months, it also gives him some leeway on when exactly to hold them.

Brokenshire said there was no appetite for a return to direct rule from London, a move which would require the law to be changed, but which some feel could prove unavoidable if repeated elections fail to bring the parties together.

I believe there is an overwhelming desire among the political parties and the public here for strong and stable devolved government, he said.

Brokenshire said Belfast civil servants will assume essential government responsibilities this week, but the government limbo cannot continue indefinitely.

Theresa May: Northern Ireland crisis mustnt jeopardise peace

The crisis is an unwanted distraction for British Prime Minister Theresa May two days before she is due to trigger divorce proceedings to take Britain out of the European Union.

While Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has become one of the most vocal critics of Mays Brexit strategy, Northern Irelands leaders have been relatively muted. Both regions voted to remain in the EU in last years referendum.

As the only part of the UK with a land border with the EU, Northern Ireland faces severe disruption to its economy. Any sign of border controls could inflame opinion among Irish nationalists who want a united Ireland.

We desperately need local political representatives to speak on our behalf if we are to ensure that UK and EU negotiators have a proper understanding of Northern Irelands unique circumstance, the Northern Ireland branch of the Confederation of British Industry said after Brokenshires statement.

There has seldom been a more important time to have a strong well-functioning executive.

Multiple grievances

The main Irish nationalist party, Sinn Fein, triggered the collapse of the power-sharing executive in January and withdrew again from talks on Sunday citing a number of grievances with the British Protestants of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).





Under Northern Irelands power-sharing agreement, Sinn Fein, which would like to merge with Ireland, works with the DUP, which advocates remaining as part of Britain.

Sinn Fein presented a long list of demands as conditions to re-enter government, including funding services for Irish language speakers, gay rights and inquiries into deaths during the decades of sectarian violence.

The DUP balked, suggesting Sinn Fein was asking for too much because it wanted the talks to fail.

I wonder whether Sinn Fein were serious about reaching agreement at this time, DUP leader Arlene Foster said.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams posted a video to the partys website that suggested he was not likely to soften its demands.

Unionism is in my opinion at a crossroads. Whether it embraces everyone and upholds the rights of everyone  or it doesnt, Adams said.

There can be no equivocation, no conditionality.
EU calls for release of prominent Kremlin critic Navalny, a day after he was detained at opposition protest in Moscow.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appeared in court on Monday, a day after being detained at a major opposition protest that he had organised.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Russia on Sunday in the biggest show of defiance since the 2011-2012 anti-government protests.

The Kremlin has dismissed the opposition as a Westernised urban elite disconnected from the issues faced by the poor in Russias far-flung regions, but Sundays protests included demonstrations in the areas which typically produce a high vote for President Vladimir Putin, from Siberias Chita to Dagestans Makhachkala.

PROFILE: Alexei Navalny, thorn in Putins side

Russian police say that about 500 people were arrested, while human rights groups say 1,000 were taken into custody. On Monday, the European Union called on Russian authorities to release the demonstrators.

The protests were led by Navalny, a charismatic opposition leader who has recently announced his bid for presidency.

Navalny was grabbed by police while walking to the rally from a nearby subway station. He posted a selfie on Twitter from the courtroom on Monday morning, saying: A time will come when well put them on trial too  and that time it will be fair. If found guilty, he could be jailed for 15 days for staging an unauthorised rally.





The 40-year-old Navalny, arguably Russias most popular opposition leader, has been twice convicted on fraud and embezzlement charges that he has dismissed as politically motivated. Navalny is currently serving a suspended sentence, and Sundays arrest could be used as a pretext to convert it into jail time.

Separately, police arrested 17 associates of Navalnys who were at their office setting up and monitoring a webcast of the rally. All of them spent the night at the police station and the authorities reportedly confiscated all their equipment. It was not immediately clear what charges they may be facing.

Whether Navalny and his associates will be slapped with new charges could indicate which approach the Kremlin will take in dealing with a new wave of discontent: crack down on it even further or exercise restraint.

Russian state television completely ignored the protests in their broadcasts on Sunday.

OPINION: Under surveillance in Russia

The demonstrations on Sunday were organised by Navalny, who urged people to take to the streets to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Navalny called for the protests after publishing a detailed report this month accusing Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of non-profit organisations.

Medvedev, who has so far made no comments on the claims, is accused of amassing a private collection of mansions, yachts and vineyards. The alleged luxuries include a house for raising ducks, thus many placards in the protests showed mocking images of a yellow toy duck.

Al Jazeeras Rory Challands, reporting from Russia, said that the breadth and scale of Sundays protests had likely surprised both Navalny and the Kremlin; solidifying Navalnys position as the pre-eminent opposition voice.

Navalnys message of anti-corruption has really struck a chord with Russians, said Challands. And going after Dmitry Medvedev, the prime minister, is pretty canny because  although Putin at the top of the tree is fairly unassailable  Dmitry Medvedev is a different political animal. He is much more vulnerable, much less popular, and putting pressure on him puts pressure on Vladimir Putin.





Though criticised by some liberals for his anti-immigrant nationalist stance, Navalny has tapped into discontent among the young urban middle class with fiery speeches and Western-style campaigning.

Pavel Felgenhauer, a political analyst, told Al Jazeera that Navalnys focus on corruption particularly resonated with young people  a demographic that is struggling under Russias economic stagnation and high unemployment  and brought them into the streets in large numbers.

Now the authorities have to think what to do about that: most likely there will be a combination of kind of placating from one side and going and putting a lot of people behind bars, said Felgenhauer.

Felgenhauer said that the authorities would be able to easily commute Navalnys suspended sentence into an actual prison sentence.

Most likely Navalny understands that, and actually being prosecuted in Russia gives you points, said Felgenhauer. He is playing the long game.

But in an environment where the media and the political landscape are tightly controlled by the Kremlin, Navalny remains a fringe figure for most Russians, who are more likely to believe the official portrayal of him as a Western stooge and convicted criminal.

Navalny is a unique politician of the younger generation, Nikolai Petrov, a professor at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, told AFP agency, adding that he had managed to develop a high profile at a time when public politics has ceased to exist.
EU calls for release of prominent Kremlin critic Navalny, a day after he was arrested at opposition protest in Moscow.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to 15 days in prison after being arrested at a major opposition protest that he had organised.

A Moscow court issued the verdict on Monday against Navalny for resisting police orders on Sunday when he walked to the protest in the Russian capital.

Navalny, 40, posted a selfie on Twitter from the courtroom, saying: A time will come when well put them on trial too  and that time it will be fair.

Even the slightest illusion of fair justice is absent here, Navalny said on Monday at the defendants bench, complaining about the judge striking down one motion after another.

Yesterdays events have shown that quite a large number of voters in Russia support the programme of a candidate who stands for fighting corruption. These people demand political representation  and I strive to be their political representative.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Russia on Sunday in the biggest show of defiance since the 2011-2012 anti-government protests.

PROFILE: Alexei Navalny, thorn in Putins side

The Kremlin has dismissed the opposition as a westernised urban elite disconnected from the issues faced by the poor in Russias far-flung regions. But Sundays protests included demonstrations in the areas which typically produce a high vote for President Vladimir Putin, from Siberias Chita to Dagestans Makhachkala.

Putins spokesman on Monday criticised the organisers for allegedly inciting illegal acts.





The Kremlin respects peoples civic stance and their right to voice their position, said Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

We cant express the same respect to those who consciously misled people and who consciously did it yesterday and provoked illegal actions.

Peskov defended the Russian police in riot gear who were seen manhandling protesters, some of whom were minors, calling their response highly professional and lawful.

Asked about the Kremlins reaction to the wide geography of the protests, something that has not been seen at least since 2012, Peskov said the Kremlin is quite sober about the scale of yesterdays protests, and are not inclined to diminish them or push them out of proportion.

Putin constantly talks to people and is well-briefed on the sentiment in the country, Peskov insisted.

Peskov also claimed that underage protesters in Moscow were promised cash if they were arrested.

The Council of Europe said the detentions of the protesters raised concerns about freedom of expression and assembly.

Russian authorities should release all those detained, Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland said.

The European Union and the United States also condemned the detentions.

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said freedom of assembly, which is of great importance to democracy, was being tested in Russia.

OPINION: Under surveillance in Russia

The resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was the main demand of Sundays protests that were called for by Navalny after he published a detailed report this month accusing Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of non-profit organisations.

Medvedev, who has so far made no comments on the claims, is accused of amassing a private collection of mansions, yachts and vineyards. The alleged luxuries include a house for raising ducks, thus many placards in the protests showed mocking images of a yellow toy duck.

Al Jazeeras Rory Challands, reporting from Russia, said that the breadth and scale of Sundays protests had likely surprised both Navalny and the Kremlin; solidifying Navalnys position as the pre-eminent opposition voice.

Navalnys message of anti-corruption has really struck a chord with Russians, said Challands. And going after Dmitry Medvedev, the prime minister, is pretty canny because  although Putin at the top of the tree is fairly unassailable  Dmitry Medvedev is a different political animal. He is much more vulnerable, much less popular, and putting pressure on him puts pressure on Vladimir Putin.
Kremlin critic, detained in anti-corruption protests, has become Russias most visible face of opposition.

Dont try to fight for me, Alexei Navalny wrote on Twitter after police in Moscow arrested him during a protest , urging people to stay with the rally he had called. Our issue today is the fight against corruption.

Navalny, 40, a staunch Kremlin critic and anti-corruption campaigner, has long been the most visible opposition figure to the rule of President Vladimir Putin .

Navalny lives in Moscow with his wife and two children. He rose to prominence in Russian politics in 2008 when he started blogging about alleged corruption at some of Russias big state-controlled corporations.

READ MORE: Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny detained in Moscow rally

He used social media to reach out to predominantly young followers, mocking the establishment loyal to Putin. He became a minority shareholder in major oil companies, banks and ministries, and posed awkward questions about holes in state finances.

Before the 2011 parliamentary election, Navalny urged his blog readers to vote for any party except Putins United Russia, which he dubbed the party of crooks and thieves.

United Russia won the election amid widespread allegations of vote-rigging, albeit with a much-reduced majority.





Navalny rallied tens of thousands during widespread 2011-12 anti-Putin protests.

He came second in 2013s Moscow mayoral race after a grassroots campaign against the Kremlin-backed candidate. Navalny launched hundreds of lawsuits contesting the victory of his rival, Sergei Sobyanin.

Navalny served a 15-day prison sentence in 2015 for distributing leaflets for an opposition rally on the subway.

In February, a Russian court found Navalny guilty in a retrial of a 2013 fraud case, which barred him from running for president next year.

Judge Alexei Vtyurin handed down a five-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of about $8,500 to Navalny for embezzling timber worth about $500,000.

Navalny pledged to appeal against the politically motivated ruling and continue with his plans of challenging President Vladimir Putin in the forthcoming presidential elections, even though the Russian law bars anyone convicted of a crime from running for a public office for 10 years.

READ MORE: Russias Alexei Navalny found guilty of fraud

Navalny has faced criticism from the anti-Putin camp, reports the BBC. Some liberals have criticised what they see as Navalnys flirtation with Russian nationalism. He has spoken at ultra-nationalist events.

Russian nationalists, too, were wary of his links with the United States after he spent a semester at Yale University in 2010.

However, when the opposition elected its own leaders in a 2012 election, Navalny won the vote, beating veteran Putin critic and former chess champion Garry Kasparov.





The demonstrations on Sunday were organised by Navalny, who urged people to take to the streets to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

The protests, which attracted crowds of hundreds or thousands in most sizeable Russian cities, were the largest coordinated outpourings of dissatisfaction in Russia since mass protests in 2011-2012. Dozens were arrested.

Navalny called for the protests after publishing a detailed report this month accusing Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of non-profit organisations.

Medvedev, who has so far made no comments on the claims, is accused of amassing a private collection of mansions, yachts and vineyards. The alleged luxuries include a house for raising ducks, so many placards in the protests showed mocking images of yellow toy duck.
Twenty-five students learned Monday that their portraits will be joining UFs Hall of Fame in the Reitz Union.

New inductees for the Hall of Fame, which honors notable student leaders, include the current Black Student Union president, the Asian American Student Union president and the current Student Body vice president.

At least 12 inductees, about half, are members of Florida Blue Key, a UF honor society comprised of students with long careers in Student Government and other student organizations.

Kevin Doan, a 21-year-old UF real estate graduate student and former Student Body vice president, said he was shaking when he found out he received the award.

Its kind of like a thank you from the university, and it makes it seem worth it, Doan said.

A committee of nine UF faculty members and students chose the final recipients from a pool of 87 applicants, said Myra Morgan, the committee chairperson and director of external relations for student affairs.

Five of the nine members of the committee have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, including Will Atkins, the interim executive director of Multicultural & Diversity Affairs, and John Hooker, the development officer for the Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences.

Morgan said the committee looked at the differences applicants have made in the organizations they got involved with.

One of the things we ask is for people to put what they accomplished, not just a running list of organizations they belong to, she said.

Contact Romy Ellenbogen at rellenbogen@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @romyellenbogen

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When Noah Barnes blew out 11 candles on his birthday cake Sunday, he wished for a cure for diabetes.

Thats what he told a crowd of 150 friends, family members and strangers after the group walked in Noahs March For a Cure 5K, a 5,000-meter walk, early Sunday.

Noah, a resident of Jupiter, Florida, who has Type 1 diabetes, returned to Gainesville for the walk, taking a break from walking across the country to raise awareness for the disease.

Noah and his father, Robert, are three miles away from downtown Atlanta on their way to Blaine, Washington, said Noahs mother, Joann. The pair originally started in Key West on Jan. 1, but they drove back from Atlanta for the weekends 5K.

The purpose of the event was to raise awareness for the resources and research for diabetes at UF, said Carly Barnes, the assistant director of the UF Diabetes Institute, who has no relation to Noahs family.

The main goal is to bring people together and make a community around diabetes, she said.

The walk started in the Commuter Lot at 8:30 a.m. with the sound of a police siren. Families and individuals walked south on Gale Lemerand Drive, turned right onto Mowry Road and circled back around Lake Alice and Flavet Field.

Gina Aulisio, 21, a community health and engagement coordinator at the UF Diabetes Institute, greeted participants after their walk and directed them to the post-run party at the Clinical and Translational Research Building, where Noah celebrated his birthday a day early. She said her mother was diagnosed with diabetes as an adult and still struggles with balancing her blood sugar levels.

Its something you constantly have to be thinking about, the UF health education senior said.

Vendors at the post-run party offered participants fruits and other healthy snacks. Free screenings for diabetes, funded by the National Institute of Health, were offered to family members of anyone who has been diagnosed. The UF Diabetes Institute gave out prizes and birthday cake.

Dr. Desmond Schatz and Dr. Todd Brusko, who work with the UF Diabetes Institute, said the disease needs greater national attention.

For all of us who take care of diabetes patients, this is 24 hours, Schatz said. There is no vacation.

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Noah is meeting with Georgias governor and the American Diabetes Association this week. He said he is enjoying his hike.

I get to meet interesting people and see awesome stuff, Noah said. My life is awesome now.

Contact Meryl Kornfield at mkornfield@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @MerylKornfield

Noah Barnes, 10, carries his 8-year-old brother Jon at Active Streets Gainesville. Noah stopped in Gainesville on his yearlong march from Key West to Blaine, Washington, to promote diabetes awareness.
A new beer at First Magnitude Brewing Company is designed with butterflies in mind.

The local brewery debuted the Miami Blue Bock, a specialty golden lager, on Friday at a special launch party. The beer, which took about three months to develop, was designed to help support the conservation of the Miami blue butterfly.

Scientists at the Florida Museum of Natural History partnered with the brewery, located at 1220 SE Veitch St., to help launch the beer and raise awareness about the butterflys status. Five cents from every can will be donated to the museums conservation effort, said assistant brewer Simon McClung.

Our message has been spring conservation since we opened, McClung said, noting that the beer will also be sold at Disneys Animal Kingdom Theme Park.

The cans are equipped with augmented reality features  an industry first, McClung said. Participants can download the free Libraries of Life app, point it at the beer can, see a 3-D rendering of the butterfly and learn more about its biology.

Whats better than butterflies, beer and augmented reality? said Jaret Daniels, the program director of the Florida Museums McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity.

Daniels said the museum is doing a number of different research projects on the butterfly. Were looking at the survivorship on both plants, because that will dictate where we decide to reintroduce the butterfly, he said, adding that as of now, the butterfly is only found on a few small islands to the west of Key West.

The brewery said it hopes to start a series of butterfly-themed beers, with every can offering augmented reality. This is the second time First Magnitude brewed a beer to help conservation efforts of an endangered butterfly, Daniels said, after raising more than $2,500 for the Schaus swallowtail butter y in September 2016 with the Schaus Stout.

First Magnitude is a fantastic partner, Daniels said. Its a true collaboration.

Miami blue butterfly

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Last Thursday, standing among more than 100 fellow students and poster boards at UFs Undergraduate Research Symposium, I presented my research project, which aimed to understand and evaluate Common Core  the guidelines that have helped shape our current educational system. Across from me, one student explained her research on autism. Across the room, another expounded on her analysis of French literature. All throughout the vast ballroom we had populated with our projects, images of microscopic cell scans and medical illustrations bumped up against statistical analyses and comparative charts: A metaphorical handshake between the science, technology, engineering and mathematics field and the humanities came to life.

Looking around, I couldnt help but feel both a sense of pride and a surge of optimism, but not for or because of myself individually. Of course, I felt very thankful to be there with my peers, relaying our research to small audiences and learning from each other. But that wasnt quite where the pride came from. It all seemed to come together after our provost, Joe Glover, spoke about his experience with research and where research can take us. It boiled down to this: We are a generation of problem solvers.

Before any baby boomers think Im simply hoisting up millennials out of spite, please hear me out. I dont mean that other generations have dropped the ball by neglecting issues in the sciences and humanities and leaving it all up to us. Glover joked about this, saying how much work we had left to do across all fields of research. What I mean is that now, as society is at its greatest technological peak yet, we have the lens to spot more problems than ever before.

We can see new issues to address in how the environment and society have developed with time; we can more clearly understand past problems and potentially tackle them with renewed force. This generation is one of problem solvers because we can stand on the shoulders of giants and look to the future with a stronger telescope. As we get older, as technology continues advancing with our innovations, that telescope will strengthen. Once we refine our research problems, we can get closer to achieving solutions  some research avenues are simply waiting for a researcher to take up the call.

What I saw last Thursday was not just one student heeding that call, but hundreds  so many that Anne Donnelly, the director of UFs Center for Undergraduate Research, remarked proudly that this was the centers largest symposium yet. This was also the source of my pride and optimism: Not only was I proud of so many of us for taking on such a wide range of research questions and fields, but I also felt an overall feeling of hope. If one group of students from one university in one country in the world can start tackling national and global issues now, imagine the potential if we worked together with the best resources weve got.

Many people outside the millennial generation do amazing, productive and fascinating research, often with real-world applications and overall improvement to society in fields ranging from medicine to philosophy. Their work continues to make waves, devise inventions and improve current processes. They also motivate more young people each day with their passion for the truth and the quest one must embark on to get there.

My message is not to discard or discount anyone. Instead, I just want to emphasize the enthusiasm and work ethic of young researchers who might one day, and even now, discover life-changing results and better our world. Personally, I think seeing this generation work is inspiring. Lets vow to keep it up.

Mia Gettenberg is a UF criminology and law and philosophy junior. Her column appears on Mondays.
Obamacare escaped assisted suicide at the hands of the so-called "united Republican government" of House speaker Paul Ryan and will now die a lingering and painful death. The American Health Care Act (ACHA), which proves the adage of a camel being a horse designed by a committee, imploded on the launch pad, abandoned by purists left and right, making the perfect the enemy of the good.

Arguing over who now owns this continuing Obamacare train wreck ignores that the American people are still tied to the tracks. While the Democrats celebrate the survival of the health care equivalent of the Hindenburg disaster, the GOP debate whether trying to get what they could through reconciliation was the best strategy.

The Democrats still own it. The Republicans didn't fix or replace Obamacare, but they didn't break it, either. It might have been a better strategy to repeal and replace Obamacare in one bill that would pass the House, leaving the Democrat senators up for re-election in 2018 to either join the replacement effort or filibuster it at their electoral peril.

The bottom line is, there's still hope and still a viable option. Don't go back to the drawing board; rather, simply reintroduce and pass 2015's HR 3762, the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act. Introduced by then-Rep. Tom Price, now HHS secretary, the bill passed the House on October 23, 2015 by a vote of 240-189. The Senate, after making changes to make it more robust, passed their version on December 3 by a 52-47 vote. A vote to override President Obama's veto failed on February 2, but the onus was on him and the Democrats. Voters, knowing that a Republican president would have signed the bill, elected one, Donald J. Trump. So what's wrong with reintroducing a bill that passed both the House and the Senate?

Granted, it was not a full repeal and place, but it was a better starting point than the Rube Goldberg legislation that just died in childbirth, doing many of the things everyone, including the Freedom Caucus, said they wanted:

The House version of H.R. 3762 included repealing the individual mandate, the employer mandate, the medical device excise tax, and the "Cadillac tax" on expensive employee health insurance premiums. It also included a measure to eliminate federal Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood for one year. But it called for increasing funding for community health centers by $235 million/year for two years (a 6.5 percent increase over the currently scheduled funding).

The House bill also allowed people to use their Health Savings Accounts to buy over-the-counter drugs. Outspoken AHCA opponent Rand Paul voted for the Senate version. Freedom Caucus members Rep. Mark Meadows and Rep. David Brat voted for the House version. Ironically, one of the poison pills in the bill was refundable tax credits, called an "entitlement" by the likes of Meadows today but embraced by GOP AHCA opponents in 2015 as a great conservative idea.

Meadows's hypocrisy as a co-sponsor of Rep. Price's Empowering Patients First Act of 2015 (H.R. 2300) has been duly noted by Quin Hillyer in the Washington Examiner:

The leading double-talker is Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, chair of the House Freedom Caucus  a group even more hard-line than the longstanding conservative caucus called the Republican Study Committee. In multiple interviews, Meadows has repeatedly blasted the refundable credits for somehow amounting to "a new entitlement program." This is the same Meadows who just two years ago signed on as a co-sponsor of the Empowering Patients First Act of 2015, authored by then-Rep. Tom Price, who now is secretary of health and human services. The official summary for that bill starts with one sentence saying it would replace Obamacare; then the very next sentence  the first sentence explaining the actual substance of the act  reads as follows (my emphasis added): "The bill provides for refundable tax credits for health insurance coverage and health savings account (HSA) contributions." ... If the tax credits are such an obvious betrayal, why have solid conservatives supported them for so long? The House Freedom Caucus has yelled loudly against the leadership's replacement bill, but among the other caucus members who signed onto Price's tax credit bill two years ago were Reps. Jeff Duncan, Scott Perry, Trent Franks, Scott DesJarlais, Steve Pearce, Ted Yoho, Randy Weber, and Mark Amodei  along with noted budget hawk Mick Mulvaney, who now heads the new administration's Office of Management and Budget.

FreedomWorks' Jason Pye has recommended that the GOP in fact consider resurrecting the Restoring Americans' Health Care Freedom Reconciliation Act and sent a letter to Congress endorsing the idea:

FreedomWorks has long opposed ObamaCare and supported the effort to repeal the 2010 law, which is why we key voted in favor of the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act, H.R. 3762, in the 114th Congress. This bill repealed ObamaCare's tax and cost-sharing subsidies, most of the law's taxes, and Medicaid expansion within two years. It also zeroed out the individual and employer mandates. The Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act passed both chambers of Congress with overwhelming Republican support. In fact, only five membersthree in the House and two in the Senatevoted against it. All but three House Republicans voted to override President Barack Obama's veto of the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act in February 2016. After President Obama's veto of Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said, "We have shown now that there is a clear path to repealing ObamaCare without 60 votes in the Senate. So, next year, if we're sending this bill to a Republican president, it will get signed into law."

The Heritage Foundation, which had grave reservations about the AHCA, urged after Trump's election the re-passage of the 2015 legislation, suggesting that based on past support, it could have been on Trump's desk for him to sign on day one:

There are no more excuses to be had. The Republican-controlled Congress has every tool that it needs to overcome any and all obstacles that stand in the way of fully repealing Obamacare. Now that voters have given Republicans control of the House, Senate, and the White House, this campaign promise can and must quickly become reality and the American people should hold them, and President-elect Trump, accountable for delivering on that promise. In fact, it is entirely possible for the Republican Congress to have a bill fully repealing Obamacare on President-elect Trump's desk by the time he takes office on January 20. This memo outlines the path that Congress can take over the next two months to ensure a bill repealing Obamacare is the first thing President Trump signs  and that he signs it on Inauguration Day. ... In 2015 the House and Senate passed a reconciliation package (H.R. 3762) that repealed most, but not all, of Obamacare. During the process, Heritage Action argued that: "Using reconciliation this year is important because it should be a trial run for 2017, when we will hopefully have a President willing to sign a full repeal bill. If we are short of 60 votes in 2017, then we will need to use the reconciliation process to accomplish this. If we do it now and do it right, we can ensure full repeal is a fait accompli in 2017." While the initial, House-passed version of H.R. 3762 in 2015 fell far short of true repeal, the Senate amended the bill to make it a more robust repeal package.

Indeed , there are no more excuses to be had. I advise the GOP to learn from history and, in this case, try to repeat it. There is a Plan B waiting to be passed. Pass it.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investor's Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
Bleubeard and I welcome you

Art, including the journey, background techniques, sewing on both paper and fabric, new experiments, photos, failures, and successes will be shared on this site. I have removed my e-mail address until such time as I can get it to work again. Thank you for understanding. You can always leave a note on my blog and I will visit you.



Please check out my Previous Collaborations link above to see what projects I have been involved in over the past 12 years. Current and ongoing projects only are shown below.



Occasionally, Silent Sunday will showcase photos of my home, neighborhood, or community. A picture is often worth a thousand words.



Feel free to drop by every second Thursday of the month for my Second Thursday Tutorials. They are interspersed with my other Tutorials found at the link page above.


Everyone knows that a competent lawyer never asks a question in court to which he doesnt already know the answer. And likewise, a competent political leader never puts a piece of legislation up for a vote without having a good idea of what the vote will be. But when Paul Ryan released his American Health Care Act he evidently had no idea what its reception would be. Whole sections of his own party were angered, and it was obvious that his bill had no chance of passage without truly major changes.

Why didnt Ryan know all of that before he published the bill? A skilled leader sounds out the major opinion centers in his party to get a sense of what it will take to get them all on board, so that by the time the bill is published he knows where everyone stands and how they will vote. By going public with his bill before ascertaining the lay of the land, Ryan has created an ugly rift within his party, delayed and endangered the forward movement of the Trump administration, and further alienated a GOP base which has long been exasperated by the ineffectiveness of its congressional leaders. But Paul Ryans political incompetence is by now a very old story.

As the 2016 primary election season was about to begin, Ryan negotiated with the Obama administration an omnibus budget bill once more without bothering to find out what his party would and would not accept. And so he was surprised to find that his Republicans were more than disappointed: they were furious. His agreement funded almost every hot button issue that Obama was desperate to have funded and Republicans were just as determined not to fund: Obamas illegal executive amnesty was funded, his Muslim refugee program funded, sanctuary cities funded, yet there was no money for a border fence. House Democrats were so delighted that 90% of them voted in favor of the agreement while only 60% of Republicans voted affirmatively, and many of those voted as they did not because they liked the deal, but because they didnt want to humiliate a new leader. Simmering annoyance with a chronically passive and inept GOP congressional leadership became white hot anger. This may well have been the point at which Donald Trumps winning the party nomination became inevitable. Ryan could not have done more to promote his candidacy.

Ryans own explanation of what he had done made things worse: he was excited at having secured the extension of some relatively circumscribed tax breaksbreaks applicable to particular business situations, not to the general public. In exchange for these he had given away everything his partys voters cared deeply about. Ryan had demonstrated that he is a wonk and number-cruncher so focused on budgetary detail that he loses sight of political reality: he is politically tone-deaf.

The same wonkish narrow vision and consequent political blindness was already apparent in 2012 when in the middle of an election season in which he was a Vice-Presidential candidate, again without first getting his colleagues on board, Ryan suddenly proposed a radical reform of Medicare. His colleagues immediately found themselves having to deal with the fallout (in mid-election) from Ryans politically hazardous proposal. It was one more demonstration of Ryans lack of political judgment: he had had what he thought was a good idea, and so floated it, without the slightest regard for the political context.

Yet another instance of Ryans lack of political antennae came when in 2015 Kevin McCarthy blew up his candidacy for the Speakership with his major political gaffe concerning the Benghazi committee. Virtually everyone knew instantly that the party must look elsewhere for a Speaker: McCarthy was so obviously unable to speak carefully that he could never be the partys spokesman. But the political reality seen by everyone else was invisible to Ryan, who now wrote an op-ed enthusiastically promoting McCarthys candidacy for Speaker, just as everyone else was concluding that this would be a horrible mistake. There would have been open rebellion in the GOP had McCarthy been elected Speaker.

Ryans political tin ear has at least temporarily torpedoed of the effort to repeal and replace Obamacare. It has already begun to endanger the prospects for corporate tax reform. Nothing is more important for the Trump administration than getting corporate taxes down from their present absurdly high level, as well as getting corporate profits held abroad repatriated by reducing the punitive tax rates to which they would be subjected. Trump needs these reforms immediately so that the economy can get into high gear quickly enough to ensure that Republican House and Senate majorities survive the mid-term elections.

But once again Ryan the political klutz has delayed progress on tax reform by tying these desperately needed measures to his wildly unpopular border adjustment. That wonkish term will scarcely endear itself either to the many who dont know what to make of it because they have never heard it before, or to those who understand that it represents an attempt to avoid words like tariff or taxes that would never appeal to growthoriented Republicans. Yet again, Ryans border adjustment was floated without his having done a political leaders essential homework: he never bothered to find out how it would go down with his members before going public with it, and so has caused a nasty, time-consuming, and wholly unnecessary internecine fight among Republicans.

With control of House, Senate and the Presidency, and with so much that cries out to be done after eight years of Obama inaction and/or mismanagement, Republicans have a golden opportunity to advance their own electoral fortunes by doing well for their country. But all of this is endangered by the fact that their major congressional leader is a man without political instincts, skills, or judgment. Its unfair to say that he is a RINO, or to question his value to the party as the source of ideas that are sometimes very useful. But it is not unfair to say that he is a policy wonk who is in the wrong job. Wonks come up with ideas and hope that others will be persuaded by them. Political leaders have a quite different job to do: they must manage the political process by which those ideas may or may not come to fruition. Ryan is good in the first of these roles, and horribly unsuited to the second. He still behaves like a wonk and so regularly produces political chaos.

The failure of the AHCA was Ryans failure, not Trumps: all of Trumps negotiating skills and heroic efforts could not redeem the mess that Ryan had created. Much will now depend on whether congressional Republicans understand that they must find themselves a new Speaker if they and the President are not to suffer one embarrassing setback after another.

John M Ellis is a Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Chairman of the California Association of Scholars.
Baltimore's Democratic mayor, Catherine Pugh, has vetoed a bill that would have raised the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour.

The unprecedented veto of a "Fight for 15" wage bill by a Democrat points to the growing evidence from other cities that the economic damage caused by a $15-an-hour minimum isn't worth the job losses and economic slowdown that result from the increase.

Daily Caller:

The council meets April 3 and could overturn the Mayor's veto with support from 12 of the 15 members. It is unlikely that the council will veto the Mayor's decision, with the Baltimore Sun reporting that the coalition of supporter for the bill crumbled. In 2016, former Democratic City Council President Bernard Young warned that any initiative to raise the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour could cost new jobs. Young asserted that a $15 per hour wage would hurt the city of Baltimore. "Maybe now is not the time for us to be doing this," Young said at the time, warning that the business community was monitoring the situation closely. Such a wage increase should occur at a statewide level, Young argued, and not in the city by itself. Recently elected members of the Baltimore City council supported veteran council member Mary Pat Clarke's proposal to raise the city's minimum wage to five dollars higher than surrounding communities, ignoring some longtime Democrats who have warned that such an increase could discourage new business opportunities for the city. Clarke argued that a $15 wage provides "justice for the working people who have worked so hard to build this city and can't earn enough at their jobs to make ends meet." Former President Barack Obama proposed an increase to the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00 an hour in 2013. The former president continued to call for an increase in the federal minimum wage throughout his presidency, siding with liberal activists, but stopping short of calling for a $15 federal minimum wage. Left-leaning cities and states across the country have moved to increase its minimum wage, including Seattle, which raised its minimum wage to $15 in 2014, followed shortly thereafter by San Francisco and Los Angeles. Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law a new $15 minimum wage for his state in 2016, and the University of California proposed to pay its low-wage employees $15.

Forbes columnist Tim Worstall notes that in Seattle, the first city to pass $15-an-hour legislation, the rate of restaurants failing has increased and the corresponding economic growth compared to the suburbs has lagged. The latter figure probably had more influence on Pugh than warnings about job losses, largely because there are not that many workers who are affected by the increase.

The real cost of the higher wage is in a reduction of entry-level jobs available to young people. This will affect the long-term prospects for employment for a class of people already disadvantaged by poor economic growth in major cities. A wage policy that ignores the actual worth of an employee to a company in favor of setting an arbitrary wage uncoupled from market forces is bound to cause problems that the proponents of a $15 minimum wage ignore at their peril.
Donald Trump started the year without a nominee for the position of secretary of the Air Force. On January 13, the president-elect met the CEO of Lockheed Martin, Marillyn Hewson, at his Florida residence. On January 23, the White House announced that Heather Wilson was the nominee for secretary of the Air Force. This is a big unforced error for the Trump administration.

Wilson did attend the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1982. She then completed a Ph.D. in international relations at Oxford in 1985, followed by a position as a negotiator for the U.S. Air Force in the U.K. and as a planning officer for NATO in Belgium. In 1989, Wilson resigned as a captain in the USAF to join the staff of the National Security Council.

There is no evidence that Wilson took any interest in the vanquishing-of-enemies aspect of the USAF's mission while she served. In fact, she did receive a prize from the Red Cross for a treatise entitled "International Law and the Use of Force by National Liberation Movements."

Wilson represented New Mexico's 1st district in Congress from June 25, 1998 to January 3, 2009. She attempted to be elected to the U.S. Senate representing New Mexico in 2008 but lost in the Republican primary. In 2012, she tried again, winning in the primary but losing in the general election. In her 14 years of politics, Lockheed Martin and its employees had been Wilson's largest contributor, donating $109,000. But that is dwarfed by the consulting arrangement with Lockheed Martin that started in January 2009, straight after she left Congress.

Lockheed Martin managed a number of nuclear labs that gave Wilson $10,000-per-month retainers that earned her consulting company $464,203. A whistleblower brought these payments to the attention of the Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General. The upshot of the investigation was that Lockheed Martin repaid the department $442,887. Wilson got to keep the close to half a million dollars she had been paid for doing next to nothing.

This episode demonstrates a couple of things. First, Wilson has considerable moral and ethical flexibility. Second, Wilson owes Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin is the USAF's biggest contractor, including the biggest military contract of all time for the F-35.

Heather Wilson is a very bad choice for secretary of the Air Force. She is straight out of the D.C. swamp. If she is appointed, Lockheed Martin's circa $600,000 investment in her will have a payoff in the tens of billions. The Trump administration should be starting the search for someone to replace her as the nominee. Pray that she doesn't get appointed.

David Archibald is the author of American Gripen: The Solution to the F-35 Nightmare.
There are two types of humanitarian crisis.

The first one is a natural disaster, such as an earthquake or bad hurricane. Most countries generally survive these crises with decent leadership and some help from the outside.

The second type is what happens to a country that flirts with socialism, as we read recently in Forbes:

The economic horror in Venezuela continues to unfold  the Bolivarian socialists have achieved the entirely remarkable feat of making Cubans flee the country in search of a better life. Seriously, Cubans, from a poverty stricken socialist dictatorship are now leaving an oil rich nation in search of a better life. It takes a serious level of economic mismanagement to achieve that. That serious level being exactly the one thing that Venezuela has lots of, of course. So much so that Nicolas Maduro has just appealed to the United Nations to come and organise the supply of medicines for the country. This being something that normal places can manage on their own and usually rather well too. The cause of all of this is that Maduro, and his predecessor Chavez, decided that the way to run an economy was to do everything that the textbooks say you shouldn't do to an economy: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has asked for help from the United Nations to boost supplies of medicine. Mr Maduro said the UN had the expertise to normalise the supply and distribution of drugs in the country. Venezuela's Medical Federation said recently that hospitals had less than 5% of the medicines they needed. The president blames the problems on an economic war against his government and the sharp fall in oil prices. There is indeed an economic war going on here. And it's one being waged by the Bolivarian socialists against the Venezuelan population. The tactic is simply to destroy the price system and thus the market. Given that non-market economies do not work this ensures the destruction of Venezuela's economy.

What a mess. You can read about it or exchange Facebook messages with someone living in Venezuela. Of course, your friend in Venezuela will often go dark on you. This is because the lights go out and come back on at random.

What a sorry state of affairs down in Venezuela.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
With the anti-establishment mood in the country, we are going to see a lot of politicians the next few years claiming independence from the "politics as usual" crowd when they run for high office. Some will be genuine outsiders - insurgents who want to overturn not only politics in their state, but the corrupt way that government operates.

And then there will be politicians like Illinois state representative Daniel liss who adopt an independent personae but are actually creatures of the same machine that has run the state for 50 years.

Biss wants to be governor and has entered an already crowded Democratic field by proclaiming himself a "fresh face." But there is a disconnect between what he says about politics in the state and how he has risen through the ranks of the Democratic party.

The Hill:

Launching his campaign, Biss promised to move the state away from the "billionaires and machine politicians," adding that House Speaker Michael Madigan, the dean of Illinois Democratic politics, has "been there too long." We need to take our system back from the billionaires and the machine politicians whose voices are heard while the rest of us have been locked out, Biss said in a Facebook Live video kicking off his bid. But Biss, like most Illinois Democrats and his gubernatorial primary rivals, has benefitted from a lot of money from Madigan and those in his orbit. And Biss led the Illinois-based super PAC Leading Illinois for Tomorrow, or LIFT, last year, which filled its coffers with millions from Madigan and his top allies. The group started in September, two months before Election Day. In that short amount of time, it raised and ultimately spent $10 million hammering current Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner by tying him to then-Republican nominee Donald Trump, who lost the state by nearly 20 percentage points. Biss told The Hill on Friday that the PAC was a completely unified Democratic effort because the Democratic Party was under attack. He added that his work for the PAC is consistent with his values as a loyal Democrat who has been usually critical of the Speaker as a Democrat in this legislature. Im a lifelong progressive Democrat and I fight for Democratic values and candidates, but I also fight to reform the Democratic Party, Biss told The Hill in an interview Friday. I dont just think those things can coexist, they have to coexist. The super PACs contributors list doubles as a whos who of donors in Madigans circle, including the speaker himself. Madigan has been the state House speaker since 1983 and also serves as the state party chair, so he has his fingers on the pulse of all things Democratic in the Land of Lincoln. Madigans campaign committee gave the group $500,000, the largest donation from his campaign to a political organization aside from the state Democratic Party, according to data compiled by The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. The campaign committee for Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan, speakers daughter, gave another $150,000.

Biss is either a self-deluded fool or very clever. Does he really think those donations from Madigan and his cronies come without strings attached? I doubt it. He knows the score as well as any Democrat in the state. He knows you don't cross Madigan without preparing for a war - a war he cannot possibly win.

So one has to assume that Biss is paying lip service to the idea that he's a Democratic "independent" willing to take on a heavyweight like Madigan. In truth, Bliss's "reforms" will only go as far as Madigan allows them to go. And that won't be very darn far.

Biss no doubt knows the fate of all "reformers" in Illinois; you either play ball with the Machine by being absorbed, or disappear into political oblivion. Biss has chosen absorption but will keep up the pretense of being independent.

And the cynical voters of Illinois who keep electing these toads will get exactly what they deserve.
According to the Washington Post, President Trump will announce today that his son-in-law Jared Kushner will be the point man on reforming the federal bureaucracy, a huge and potentially strategic role.

Ashley Parker and Phillip Rucker write:

President Trump plans to unveil a new White House office on Monday with sweeping authority to overhaul the federal bureaucracy and fulfill key campaign promises  such as reforming care for veterans and fighting opioid addiction  by harvesting ideas from the business world and, potentially, privatizing some government functions. The White House Office of American Innovation, to be led by Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, will operate as its own nimble power center within the West Wing and will report directly to Trump. Viewed internally as a SWAT team of strategic consultants, the office will be staffed by former business executives and is designed to infuse fresh thinking into Washington, float above the daily political grind and create a lasting legacy for a president still searching for signature achievements. "All Americans, regardless of their political views, can recognize that government stagnation has hindered our ability to properly function, often creating widespread congestion and leading to cost overruns and delays," Trump said in a statement to The Washington Post. "I promised the American people I would produce results, and apply my 'ahead of schedule, under budget' mentality to the government."

The teams of outsiders to come in and make suggestions are all well and good. But federal bureaucracies are constrained by massive rulebooks that include employee rights unheard of in the private sector. The range of improvement possible within the existing bureaucratic strictures is limited. And those improvements may be resisted or sabotaged by interested parties, procedurally, judicially, and politically.

I am relatively certain that genuine reform would require legislation that would be fought every step of the way by the Democrats. In my dreams, such legislation would succeed in a timely way. But for that to happen, the enormous clout of the government employee unions in the Democratic Party has to be counterbalanced in at least some constituencies.

The only real way to make government operate more efficiently quickly is outsourcing. Bypass the sclerotic maze of the federal bureaucracy entirely and contract out work to private vendors. Trump and Kushner have identified where it can be done most effectively:

The innovation office has a particular focus on technology and data, and it is working with such titans as Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff and Tesla founder and chief executive Elon Musk. The group has already hosted sessions with more than 100 such leaders and government officials. "There is a need to figure out what policies are adding friction to the system without accompanying it with significant benefits," said Stephen A. Schwarzman, chief executive of the investment firm Blackstone Group. "It's easy for the private sector to at least see where the friction is, and to do that very quickly and succinctly."

The tech titans understand very well the possibilities and opportunities of restructuring federal data management along the lines already provided to private corporations. And they have enough clout that their support for federal legislation is probably necessary for true reform and could entice some bipartisan support.

And this is business, so the blue tinge to the tech community is not an obstacle:

Some of the executives involved have criticized some of Trump's policies, such as his travel ban, but said they are eager to help the administration address chronic problems.

An ongoing information technology crisis has screwed up the federal government for decades. The federal government's ineffective squandering of resources on information technology became visible to the public when Obamacare's website turned out to be a miserable, hyper-expensive disaster, as did many state-run exchanges. Government bureaucracies, hampered by inflexible procurement rules, do a terrible job of managing information technology and have been bungling it forever. The Federal Aviation Agency's botched I.T. update is the stuff of legend, with the GAO auditors declaring:

FAA did not recognize the technical complexity of the effort, realistically estimate the resources required, adequately oversee its contractors' activities, or effectively control system requirements.

The Post informs us:

Kushner takes projects and decisions directly to the president for sign-off, though Trump also directly suggests areas of personal interest.

I take this to mean that he would be the point man in putting together what the president might call a "big, beautiful deal" to dismantle one particularly ineffective part of the federal bureaucracy: its information technology operations.

It's an ambitious attempt to co-opt a Democrat constituency, and it could happen. Look at the industrial unions. It's certainly a deal that might require a lot of art, as well as a trusted, shrewd point man.

Stay tuned.
The New York Times had a long article describing how the town of Whiteclay, Nebraska (population 12) sells millions (yes, millions!) of alcoholic beverages every year because the town is just over the border from the local Indian reservation, where alcohol is banned. (Forgive me for calling them American Indians, but as nearly all the people reading this are "Native Americans," it's a much more descriptive and specific term.)

The situation is so bad that in Whiteclay, you can find dozens of American Indians lying comatose on the streets, drunk out of their minds, like a scene out of The Walking Dead.

Particularly in the warmer months, Native Americans can be seen openly drinking beer in town, often passed out on the ground, disheveled and ill. Many who come to Whiteclay from the reservation spend the night sleeping on mattresses in vacant lots or fields. Even under the chill of winter, people huddle outside the liquor stores, silver beer cans poking from coat pockets. The street, busy with traffic from customers, is littered with empty bottles and scraps of discarded clothing. Pine Ridge, one of the nations largest Indian reservations, is a catalog of social ills: Unemployment exceeds 80 percent, poverty affects more than 90 percent of those living on the reservation and alcoholism is rampant.

The story is similar on many American Indian reservations and has been caused by the federal government.

The government is the legal owner of all land and assets in Indian Country and is required to manage them for the benefit of Indians. But because Indians do not generally own their land or homes on reservations, they cannot mortgage their assets for loans like other Americans. This makes it incredibly difficult to start a business in Indian Country. All development projects on Indian land must be reviewed and authorized by the government, a process that is notoriously slow and burdensome. On Indian lands, companies must go through at least four federal agencies and 49 steps to acquire a permit for energy development. Off reservation, it takes only four steps. This bureaucracy prevents tribes from capitalizing on their resources. Its not uncommon for years to pass before the necessary approvals are acquired to begin energy development on Indian lands  a process that takes only a few months on private lands. At any time, an agency may demand more information or shut down development. Simply completing a title search can cause delays. Indians have waited six years to receive title search reports that other Americans can get in just a few days. Reservations contain valuable natural resources worth nearly $1.5 trillion, according to a recent estimate. But the vast majority of these resources remain undeveloped because the federal government gets in the way.

That's why I think Indians would benefit if their reservations were dissolved and they were governed like any other municipality. Removing a thick layer of government restrictions could unleash the free market, create jobs for American Indians, lift them out of poverty, and radically reduce the number who lie drunk in the middle of the street during the day.

The idea of "reservations" may have made sense 150 years ago, but by now we are all Americans, and the idea of separate "reservations" for different kinds of Americans smacks of paternalism and racism.

We should do away with reservations. And if liberals object, I would give the Indians back Manhattan as a form of reparation.

Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.
The Democrats have once again rolled the Republicans. They did it, as always, by controlling the terms of the discussion.

All throughout the Obama era, Republicans (quite rightly) complained about Obamacare. They passed a seemingly unending series of repeal bills, some of which made it through the Senate and one of which actually made it to President Obama's desk...for an ultimate veto.

How did the Democrats win this time? By constantly harping on the Republican Party: So what's your plan, Republicans? The Republicans, true to form, backed down and bought into the Democrat/Statist narrative of the necessity for federal involvement intervention in medicine and promised a replacement plan. Their campaign slogan changed from Repeal! to Repeal and Replace. Thus, no matter what, the least that would happen is that medical care in the United States would remain to the left of where it was in 2008, giving the Statists the win. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once referred to this as the "ratchet effect."

Speaker Ryan owns a large chunk of this, along with his long serving establishment posse. However, President Trump also has some ownership, and here is why. Donald J. Trump has two major attributes. On the upside, he is a doer. He knows and has demonstrated that he can get things done...on time and under budget. Not only was he a success in the business community, but as a political novice, he beat the well funded Clinton machine...a machine that spent almost twice what he did and employed over six times as many paid operatives. Any way you look at it, President Trump is a guy who gets stuff done, does it in a cost-effective way, and does so with his very own form of panache.

On the downside, there is Trump's attribute: he's a doer. When confronted with a problem, his first instinct is to jump right in and begin to solve it. And, as I mentioned above, he is usually, or should I say unusually, successful. However, as president of our constitutional republic, this might not always be the best method, as recently demonstrated by his active support of the failed Ryan plan to "repeal and replace" Obamacare. Ryan's plan, often referred to as "Obamacare Lite," failed to garner enough votes, forcing him to pull it from consideration on the floor of the House.

In his remarks after Speaker Ryan pulled the bill, President Trump spoke of the future, saying, "But I want to have a great health care bill and plan, and we will. It will happen. And it won't be in the very distant future."

Although Trump's remarks and earlier actions were those of a doer, conservatives have issue with this philosophy when applied to federal legislation in general and health care specifically. It's a big reason why Ryan's plan failed to garner support from the House Freedom Caucus. Conservatives don't want a (Trump's words in italics) "Big beautiful (federal) health care plan." Such a plan would, by necessity, be run from D.C., continuing the growth of the federal government and its pervasive influence in our daily lives. Conservatives want full repeal of Obamacare  and, after that, a series of standalone bills that remove the federal government from health care decision-making and funding, constraining it to its constitutional functions while allowing the free market to regulate innovation, quality, and costs.

In the future, Trump, the doer, might consider asking one question before jumping in to fix a problem, whether it be health care or anything else. The first thing he should ask is, "What part of this problem, if any, is a federal (per the U.S. Constitution) issue?" Had he done this with Obamacare, he might have found that the "federal issue" with Obamacare and the rest of health care environment in the United States is that the federal government is way too involved in the first place. Instead of a federal plan that does things, the plan might have been simply for the federal government to stop doing some things.

Mike Ford is a sometime contributor to American Thinker who has learned over multiple decades that the first step in the Problem Solving Process is to Identify the Problem. As Ronaldus Magnus opined, "Government is the problem."
The Myth of Watergate  the one that's repeated over and over in the media  tells us that two intrepid young reporters, Bob Woodward (R) and Carl Bernstein (CPUSA), discovered a Secret Source nicknamed Deep Throat.

Deep Throat turned on the WaPo scandal tap every time another drip of poison was needed to destroy a duly elected president of the United States named Richard M. Nixon.

From the 1970s on, there have been doubters about the Myth of Watergate, and today happens to be the perfect time to look back on history.

After all, the Fakestream yell, "WATERGATE!" every time somebody chooses to question their integrity. "How could you not believe us?" they keep shouting. "Remember Watergate!"

Well, the skeptics can point to some verifiable facts on Watergate.

Item 1.

Deep Throat was unmasked to the public when he died about ten years ago, and he turned out to be one Mark Felt, Jr., J. Edgar Hoover's associate director of the FBI.

Felt was passed over for promotion to director of the FBI by President Nixon.

By the exalted moral standards of Washington, D.C., Mark Felt had plenty of reason to want to destroy President Nixon.

It was Mark Felt who met with Woodward and Bernstein to administer one dose of deadly poison after another to President Nixon, until Nixon was abandoned by the Republican Party and resigned from the office of president of the United States.

Woodward and Bernstein received undying fame for their intrepid shoe-leather reporting, but it was Mark Felt who mixed every dose of poison they bylined.

Item 2.

The editor-in-chief at the Washington Post during Watergate was Ben Bradlee, former CIA spook, with his own long list of reasons to hate Richard Nixon.

Felt and Bradlee were both "old Washington hands," as they called themselves, both members of the D.C. Leftist Establishment from the Stalin years on. They had years of experience running black ops against America's friends and foes. They knew exactly how it's done.

Woodward and Bernstein fronted for former spooks Bradlee and Felt, old comrades-in-arms, you might say.

The media might try to tell you they eventually told the truth, after Felt and Bradlee were good and dead.

The media have no shame, and only Twitter can contradict them today.

So you can believe our self-hyping media about Watergate. Or you can choose to think Watergate turned the whole Fakestream into a raging lynch mob, because Nixon had publicly exposed Eastern Establishment Stalinists in D.C. during the Truman years.

Today, you can actually decide, based on publicly available information, who were the good guys in Watergate and who were the real traitors.

(Hint: They are the same gang.)

Real historians have finally gotten around to telling the truth about Soviet infiltration of the U.S. government, plus American and European universities and the Big Media  infiltration Senators Nixon and McCarthy fought to the bitter end.

Nixon and McCarthy were partly successful in discrediting Stalinist agents, but Watergate was the revenge of the Establishment against Nixon (along with such unjustly forgotten figures as Walter Krivitsky, Victor Kravchenko, Igor Gouzenko, Eugene Lyons, Ben Gitlow, and Jay Lovestone).

No wonder Senator Charles Schumer warned Donald Trump about Big Spooks a couple of weeks ago.

By now you can look it up in real history books  not Howard Zinn's pack of poison that's still being peddled to dopey college students these days.

Bottom line: Either you can believe those two old "Washington hands," Felt and Bradlee, who hated Richard Nixon and "ran" Woodward and Bernstein...

...or you can believe the media.

It's up to you.

See: William Shakespeare: "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones" (Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene ii).

PS. Nixon was not exactly innocent, but Democrat presidents always got a pass from the Fakestream for Nixon-type behavior or worse.

PPS. See LBJ and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the history of CIA black ops that triggered major U.S. combat in the Vietnam War.
On Tuesday, President Trump will announce new executive orders that target EPA regulations that hindered electricity production in the United States. The regulations were created by the Obama administration as part of an anti-fossil fuel strategy to combat global warming.

With the installation of a new EPA chief, Scott Priutt  a confirmed global warming skeptic  the electricity production sector of the economy is about to receive a much needed shot in the arm.

Pruitt says the White House plan is both "pro-jobs and pro-environment" and, unlike with the Obama plan, will not be "tethered" to the Paris Climate Agreement.

CNN:

The plan is also considered important to helping the United States meet the goals set out in a climate treaty signed in Paris in 2015. While the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the plan from going into effect to allow legal challenges to move forward, the new executive order could send a negative signal to other countries in the Paris accord about the United States' commitment to the deal. Pruitt, however, argues the order is not bound to the international agreement. "The Clean Power Plan is not tethered to ... the Paris Accords," he told Stephanopoulos. "And so this is an effort to undo the unlawful approach the previous administration engaged in, and to do it right going forward with the mindset of being pro-growth and pro-environment. And we can achieve both." When pressed on whether the new executive order would face court challenges, Pruitt said he isn't worried about potential legal ramifications. "This Clean Power Plan is something that the Supreme Court, as you know, has said is likely unlawful," he said. "And so there's been a stay against this Clean Power Plan. So our actions, starting on Tuesday, shortly after the executive order, will make sure that whatever steps we take in the future will be pro-growth, pro-environment, but within the framework of the Clean Air Act, and it will be legal." The plan is being challenged in the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Supporters of the regulations argue in briefs that they will "secure critically important reductions" in carbon dioxide emissions from what are by far "the largest emitters in the United States -- fossil-fuel-fired power plants." But challengers say the rule exceeds the EPA's statutory authority and goes beyond the bounds set by the Constitution.

The big question for many is how the Trump orders will impact the dying coal industry. Unfortunately, there are many other factors that have driven down the cost of coal, including the growing availability of cheap natural gas and a worldwide glut of coal supplies. Those are market forces that won't be overcome by presidential orders.

But without the burdensome, job-destroying Obama-era regulations, power plants should be able to put a lid on rising electricity costs. Anyone who pays an electric bill knows that during the eight years of the Obama administration, there were double-digit increases in the cost of electricity. The rollback of Obama's energy plan will allow plants to produce electricity more cheaply, hopefully passing on those savings to consumers.

There are other rules created by the EPA that need to be addressed, including action on carbon emissions limits for manufacturers. Unshackling the productive potential of America should be Trump's number-one priority going forward.
iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. military is sending an additional two companies of soldiers to Iraq to help Iraqi troops fighting to retake Mosul from ISIS, defense officials confirmed to ABC News.



Two companies of soldiers is equal to between 200 to 300 soldiers.



Additional members of the 82nd Airborne Division's second combat brigade are deploying to Iraq on a temporary mission to provide additional "advise and assist" support to Iraqi forces, Colonel Joseph Scrocca, a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve told ABC News.



"This is not a new capability," said Scrocca. "It provides more advise and assist assets to our Iraqi partners."



This unit of the 82nd Airborne already has 1,700 soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait helping with the advise and assist mission for Iraqi troops.



"The number of soldiers does not equate to the remainder of the brigade as had previously been surmised," said Scrocca. News reports in recent weeks had said the Pentagon was considering sending possibly as many as 1,000 additional members from the brigade for the advise and assist mission in Mosul.



The authorized troop cap for Iraq is 5,262 though the real number is probably 6,000 with the presence of additional troops on temporary assignment. These new troops wont count towards the cap because theyre on temporary assignment.



In mid-February the Iraqi military began a final push to retake western Mosul from ISIS after having seized the eastern half of the city in a fierce 100-day battle that began in October. Iraqi troops are now facing stiff resistance from ISIS fighters as they fight through the tight quarters of the older western half of the city.



In Syria there are currently about 900 U.S. forces advising and assisting the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting ISIS, even though the authorized troop level is 503.



The higher number is due to the recent addition of a Marine artillery unit helping with the SDF's offensive outside of Raqqa and a small complement of Army Rangers sent to the city of Manbij to ensure that Turkish-backed forces and SDF forces do not fight each other.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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That tiny orange figure levitating above this futuristic structure high on the Songshan mountain in rural Henan, China, is indeed a monk, although he is not flying by the sheer power of meditation. There is a giant fan beneath him, hidden in the interior of the structure. This is a vertical wind tunnel, the kind where skydiving is practiced.

Designed by Latvian architecture studio Mailitis Architects, the recently completed Shaolin Flying Monks Temple is actually a 230-seat amphitheater where Shaolin monks could host weekly shows. Im not sure where the wind tunnel fits in the scheme of things, but supposedly, in the words of the architects, the concept is to tell the history of Zen and Kung-Fu through artistic performances and the architectural image of the building itself."

The mountains are home to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Shaolin Monastery, which is also considered to be the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and Kung-Fu martial arts.

The good news is, the wind tunnel will be open not only for the monks but for the general public as well.

via Dezeen
The sanctions, pursuant to the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act, will remain in place for two years.



The United States imposed sanctions on 30 foreign entities and individuals in 10 countries on March 21 pursuant to the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA).

The sanctions, which will remain in effect for two years, do not apply to these individuals and entities respective countries and governments, the U.S. State Department said.

As part of the sanctions, a group of 11 entities and individuals were sanctioned for transferring sensitive items to Irans ballistic missile program.



The 11 entities and individuals sanctioned under the INKSNA on March 21, specifically for transfers to Irans missile program, include:

 Beijing Zhong Ke Electric Co. Ltd. (ZKEC) (China);

 Dalian Zenghua Maoyi Youxian Gongsi (China);

 Jack Qin (Chinese individual);

 Jack Wang (Chinese individual);

 Karl Lee [aka Li Fangwei] (Chinese individual);

 Ningbo New Century Import and Export Company Limited (China);

 Shenzhen Yataida High-Tech Company Ltd (China);

 Sinotech (Dalian) Carbon and Graphite Corporation (SCGC) (China);

 Sky Rise Technology [aka Reekay Technology Limited] (China);

 Saeng Pil Trading Corporation (SPTC) (North Korea);

 And Mabrooka Trading (United Arab Emirates).

An additional 19 foreign entities and individuals were sanctioned March 21 for other violations. These entities and individuals were sanctioned as a result of a determination that there was credible information indicating they had transferred to, or acquired from, Iran, North Korea, or Syria goods, services, or technology listed on multilateral export control lists; or on U.S. national control lists, or other items that could make a material contribution to the development of weapons of mass destruction or missile proliferation, the U.S. State Department said.



Effective March 21, the following restrictions took effect on the sanctioned entities and individuals:

 No U.S. Government department or agency may procure or contract for any goods, services, or technology from the designated entities, except to the extent the Secretary of State otherwise may determine;

 The designated entities are not eligible for any U.S. Government assistance programs, except to the extent the Secretary of State otherwise may determine;

 U.S. Government sales of any items on the U.S. Munitions List to these entities is prohibited, and the sale of any defense articles, defense services, or design and construction services controlled under the Arms Export Control Act has been terminated;

 And new licenses will be denied, and any existing licenses will be suspended, for transfers of export-controlled items.

Irans proliferation of missile technology significantly contributes to regional tensions. As an example, we have seen indications Iran is providing missile support to the Houthis in Yemen. This destabilizing activity only serves to escalate regional conflicts further and poses a significant threat to regional security, the U.S. State Department said. We will continue to take steps to address Irans missile development and production and sanction entities and individuals involved in supporting these programs under U.S. law.


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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, ...

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Government uses Westminster terror attack to limit hard-fought freedom

The reaction to Khalid Massods murderous attack in London was clear: we will not let the heinous actions of one man threaten our hard won freedoms. Theresa May assured us that Any attempt to defeat those values [liberty, democracy, freedom of speech, the spirit of freedom, the rule of law and human rights] through violence and terror is doomed to failure.

And then came news that two minutes before he attacked, Masood received an encrypted message via WhatsApp. Would knowing the contents of that message have helped the police stop Masoods depraved and sick crime? The police werent watching him, so maybe not.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd, like May, her eavesdropping predecessor in the Home Office who introduced the invasive Investigatory Powers Act, is no fan of privacy. Rudd says encryption represents a threat to national security. She wants apps like WattsAp to aid government investigations by letting them in to look around.

And so from not giving into terrorists by refusing to play the terrorists at their own game, the State soon begins to chip away at our liberties.

The Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesman, former deputy assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan police and onetime London mayoral hopeful Brian Paddick says allowing the authorities to view encrypted messages would be neither a proportionate nor an effective response to the Westminster attack. These terrorists want to destroy our freedoms and undermine our democratic society, he says. By implementing draconian laws that limit our civil liberties, we would be playing into their hands.

The Sun uses its editorial to argue that Rudd is right. Home Secretary Amber Rudd is right to read them [WhatsApp, Apple and Google] the riot act and tell them the terrorists should have no place to hide, the paper thunders. Because thats just what WhatsApp  owned by Facebook  lets them do. By encrypting messages, it stops the police being able to track terror plots.They cant even investigate in the aftermath of a terrorist atrocity.

But if you build a back door, its there for everybody to access, says Tony Anscombe in the same paper. And if you store that data you collect, even in encrypted form, how secure is it? All these data breaches we hear about show our privacy is regularly being breached by hackers, so the action suggested by the Home Secretary would only open us all up to further invasions of privacy.

In 2012 the murderous Syrian government banned WhatsApp in order to disrupt the rebel oppositions cellular privacy. In a dangerous place, privacy is paramount for many. Its matter of life and death. WhatsApp is very popular among Syrians, and particularly Syrian opposition activists, says Tuma, a Syrian journalist. Even Free Syrian Army soldiers are using the app. The Syrian government wants to police communications because it fears the people. The UK government wants to police communications to protect the people. But protecting citizens from criminals soon slips into monitoring us all. A rogue State begins to look like the Free West.

May should wonder how she can champion free expression and free speech through observation and mistrust? With no private lives, no space to look at non-conformist things and express ideas, however mentally negligible and far-fetched, privacy become public spectacle. Afraid of standing out and attracting police attention, we ape each others movements, keeping in step with what the authorities deem acceptable and unthreatening.

You can still believe things but you dare not say them aloud. People become isolated, hidden behind a bland facade. Is that what not giving into the terrorists looks like?

Paul Sorene

Posted: 27th, March 2017 | In: Key Posts, Politicians, Reviews, Technology Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Rome, March 27 - The first scorpion fish, a highly dangerous tropical invasive species that arrived in the eastern Mediterranean some years ago, has now been spotted off Italy, marine experts said Monday.

Writing in Bioinvasion Records, the team from Italian marine institute ISPRA, the National Research Council and the American University in Beirut said the first scorpion fish was seen in the Venicari Marine Reserve off Sicily.

Experts had been on the alert since one of the unwelcome guests was seen off Tunisia in October.

The scorpionfish are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As the name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venomous mucus. The family is a large one, with hundreds of members. They are widespread in tropical and temperate seas, but mostly found in the Indo-Pacific.


Austria to begin migrant relocation from Italy and Greece Out of obligation and not conviction, says minister

(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, MARCH 27 - Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka announced on Monday that Austria would begin relocation of asylum seekers from Italy and Greece, but out of obligation and not conviction.



''We are beginning the process,'' he said on entering an EU Council meeting, especially because there is no way to get an extension to the exception to the transfers granted to Vienna. ''Personally,'' Sobotka added, ''I do not agree with the asylum seekers redistribution system, since I believe that it constitutes an attraction'' for illegal migration. In recent days, Austrian defense minister Hans Peter Doskozil (SPO) said that he was against the sending of refugees from Italy to Austria. (ANSAmed).




ANSAmed - Tomorrow's events in the Mediterranean

(ANSAmed) - ROME, MARCH 27 - The following are some of the main events scheduled for tomorrow in the Euro-Mediterranean area.



AMMAN - Arab League summit with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini (also 29/3).



BARCELONA - UfM High Level Working Group on Employment and Labor meeting (also 29/3). ROME - III edition of the International Biagio Agnes Tourism and Culture Forum.



BEIRUT (LEBANON) - visit by EU Commissioner or European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.



(ANSAmed).




Syria, Middle East top agenda of Dead Sea Arab League summit 16 leaders expected to attend meeting on Wednesday

(ANSAmed) - AMMAN, MARCH 27 - The war in Syria and the Palestinian Israeli conflict will dominate the agenda of the Arab League summit to be held at the Dead Sea on Wednesday as Amman is expected to push for aid to help host growing number of refugees. A raft of Arab and international leaders are excepted to arrive, including Saudi king Salman bin Abdelazeez, official sources said.



The Saudi monarch will be the first to arrive in the kingdom before co-heading a wide meeting with king Abdullah on mutual relations. Meanwhile, the region of the Dead Sea has been shut down and tight security procedures have been imposed during the past days. Security forces including the army and special forces have been put on high alert in order to secure the summit and safety of visiting diplomats. Official sources said around 16 Arab leaders are expected to attend the summit. Government spokesman Mohammad Moumani brushed away calls for the arrest of Sudanese president Omar al Bashir and said Sudan will be taking part in the summit due to the charter of the Arab league. Human Rights Watch has recently issued a statement calling for the arrest of Bashir over war crime claims, but Sudan remains adamant the president will travel to the kingdom and participate in the summit.



Syria's seat will be the only vacant position at the summit after the Cairo-based league decided with withdraw Damascus as part of pressure by Saudi and gulf countries. But official sources told ANSA that the Dead Sea summit will discuss position of Damascus and whether it was feasible to reconsider the current status quo. Meanwhile, king Abdullah will travel to Washington one day after the summit to brief the American administration on the outcome of the meeting.(ANSAmed).




Turkish citizens abroad begin voting in referendum After clash with EU over rallies, open until 9/4

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, MARCH 27 - The polls opened on Monday for three million Turkish voters abroad for a constitutional referendum that would result in greater powers for the president, a move strongly wanted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After a harsh diplomatic clash between Ankara and several European countries after the latter did not authorize political rallies abroad, voting began in the morning in Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Denmark. Turkish citizens residing abroad will be able to use polls open in 120 diplomatic missions in 57 countries until April 9, a week before the referendum will be held in the country itself. Polling booths have also been opened in Turkey's international Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airports in Istanbul. Several polls say that the results seem uncertain and that the votes of Turks abroad - about 5% of those eligible to vote - could be decisive. (ANSAmed).




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In an interview with Russian news agency TASS, Russian Helicopters subsidiary Progress Arsenyev Aviation Company's CEO Andrei Boginsky said the first batch of the Ka-52 reconnaissance/attack helicopters (also known by the NATO reporting name Hokum-B), would be delivered before the end of 2017.

In a statement issued earlier, Russian State-owned arms exporter Rostec Corporation also confirmed that Egypt would soon receive some of the Ka-52 helicopters ordered for deployment on the Mistraal class helicopter dock vessels vessels acquired from France in 2014. Each vessel can carry up to 16 helicopters.

Russian Helicopters, a leading global designer and manufacturer of helicopters, confirms that the first of an eventual 46 Alligators will be handed over to Cairo this year, Rostec said. Russian Helicopters rotorcraft subsidiary Progress Arsenyev Aviation Company is working on the Egyptian Ka-52 contract.

The Mistraal class vessels were originally built for Russia but the sale was scrapped in line with European Union sanctions against Russia following its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014.

Egypt will be the first export destination and second operator of the Ka-52 after the Russian Aerospace Forces and its naval aviation unit, which have ordered close to 180 more 'Alligator' variants.

The Ka-52 helicopter has four under-wing hard-points designed to carry 80/120 mm air-to-surface rockets, 9A4172 Vikhr-M (AT-12) laser-guided air-to-surface missiles and Igla or R-73 (AA-11 'Archer') air-to-air missiles.

The aircraft also carries Kh-25MP (AS-12 'Kegler') anti-radiation missiles and FAB-500 bombs. Its fixed armament is a 30 mm 2A-42 gun that carries to 240 rounds of ammunition.


Switzerland will apply for observer status with the Arctic Council, Swiss Ambassador to Russia Yves Rossier said in an interview with TASS.

"Switzerland has made great strides in studying the polar ice. This is one reason we'll apply for observer status with the Arctic Council," Yves Rossier said.

The Swiss Ambassador will attend the international Arctic forum in Arkhangelsk for this purpose.

"Swiss experts have held successful studies of weather conditions and the behavior of polar ice. Their experience could be helpful for Artic research," Mr. Rossier said. "My country isn't close to the polar latitudes, but we know a lot about glaciers and snow that never melts, especially in the mountains."
Rio Tinto controversially handed its BCL shares to the Papua New Guinea and Bougainville governments and indicated it has no intention to clean up environmental damage caused by its mining.

Until last year when it relinquished its shares, Rio Tinto was the majority owner of Bougainville Copper Ltd which ran the mine for 20 years before it was abandoned during the civil war.

BOUGAINVILLE president John Momis has told Radio New Zealand International that his government is proceeding with legal action against mining giant Rio Tinto over environmental destruction caused by the Panguna mine.

We are going to pursue this matter as a moral issue because [Rio Tinto] caused so much damage and just think they can get away scot-free, Dr Momis told Don Wiseman of RNZI.

Explaining that Bougainville Copper is no longer the same company that was operating before last year when Rio Tinto handed back its shares.

Landowners in recent meetings have repeated their commitment to work with BCL, Dr Momis said.

Some members of one of the associations have expressed, under pressure from another company from Australia, that they don't want BCL to come back but they are totally outnumbered by eight [other] landowner associations.

The ABG is committed to work with [BCL] and try to come up with a new regime because we are now not only the regulators but we are also the shareholders in BCL.

We want to know what the prime minister [Peter ONeill] wants to do with the 17% given to them by Rio Tinto which the prime minister promised would go to the landowners.

The landowners have made their position pretty clear, and that is to give it to ABG, which is their government.

Asked by Don Wiseman if BCL would be producing gold and copper by 2025, Dr Momis said he believed this would be possible.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. A comprehensive program on biodiversity management of the gold mine in the vicinity of Amulsar mountain in the border on Vayots Dzor and Syunik provinces has been designed.

It was possible to implement as result of 7 years of research and detailed studies of both Armenian and international organizations and experts.

Armen Stepanyan, senior manager for sustainable development of Lydian Armenia, the company operating the mine, told ARMENPRESS the purpose of the program is to avoid significant losses during the operation of the mine.

Meaning the entire operation must be managed in a way that overall the losses in the given territory or outside the territory are minimized to zero. We have checked whether or not there are breeding birds or whether or not they are endangered. We even try to find solutions. There are also issues regarding management, for instance adjust business hours in order for the noise not to disturb the residents nearby, Stepanyan said, adding the management model can change depending on the species of plants, birds, animals.

Proceeding from this, it is possible to tell the contractor not to speak loudly during work, not to make demolition when it will disturb the residents and to minimize losses during works. The biodiversity management plan includes all points.

Restoration and significant adverse residual impact compensation programs are carried out. With this purpose the operator is obliged to carry out biodiversity compensation.

We have a clear action plan, which consists of two parts and is regarding the brown bear and the Potentilla porphyrantha plant species. We have separated both the habitat of the brown bear and the location of the plants. This action is grounded by documents and no actions are taken in these areas and it is under their supervision, he said.

Additional actions are taken in case of species included in the Red Book of Armenia.

A research program has been done for re-locating, preserving and returning the Potentilla porphyrantha to its natural bio-environment after the completion of the mining.

For the preservation of this species alone Lydian Armenia provided around half a million dollars.

Everything has been done for this species to remain and grow in Amulsar regardless of what happens, he said.

In terms of the concern of environmentalists that 150 endangered species of animals live on the Amulsar mountain, Lydian Armenia reassure that there arent that many species in that territory.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in the near future for organizing a meeting between the presidents of the two countries, OSCE Minsk Group acting US Co-Chair Richard Hoagland told reporters on March 27.

There are agreements on high level meetings. We and our political leaders try to find the environment where those meetings can take place. There is a process now, its not a secret. We think the two foreign ministers will meet in the near future to prepare a meeting of the presidents. Diplomatic processes are currently underway, Hoagland said.

According to him the conflicting sides must sit across the negotiations table and speak openly, understand how the peaceful settlement of the conflict can be achieved. Hoagland underscored that heads of states can make war and violence calls, however these must remain only words and never transform into actions.

This is our issue, to find such solutions, which will lead to peace. For this the sides must negotiate and speak openly to each other, he said.

He added that they are in contact will all sides of the conflict.

Tomorrow we are departing for Nagorno Karabakh, we will meet with the authorities of Stepanakert. We cannot view violence as a solution for this long lasting issue. Violence isnt a way out, we must try to find the most positive solutions. Our issue is to work together, stand together and encourage the negotiations process, in order for it to continue, Hoagland said.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan on March 27 held a meeting with the representatives of the Syrian-Armenian community living in Armenia, press service of the Government told Armenpress.

On February 27, 2017 the PM called on Diaspora Armenians to take part in building the future of Armenia.

Our ultimate goal is to have a modern, logical, developing country, understandable for the international community based on our national dignity, identity and traditions, the PM said. Commenting on his call addressed to the Diaspora Armenians, PM Karapetyan said Armenias greatest potential and the strongest capital is the man, and this idea lies on the basis of development programs. The aim of my call is that the potential, experience Diaspora Armenians have, the best examples are scientists, governors, doctors, cultural figures, to convey them to us since it is very important in todays rapidly changing and developing world, he said.

In their speeches the Syrian-Armenians welcomed the PMs call addressed to the Diaspora Armenians and expressed their support to and participation in Armenias development programs.

The PM discussed with Syrian-Armenians their issues of concern related to promoting small and medium entrepreneurship, business programs, agricultural sector, economic development and etc. Presenting the Government reforms on these directions, the PM attached importance to active engagement of Diaspora Armenians in the countrys development programs. Recently with the return of Diaspora Armenians to Yerevan, the quality of service business in Armenia has significantly changed. Moreover, a new hardworking culture has been formed. Your optimism towards tomorrow is very contagious. We must definitely send such signals so that every law-abiding citizen understands that he/she can make an investment, run a business and feel himself/herself safe in Armenia, Karen Karapetyan said.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. During the meetings with the Azerbaijani leadership the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs reaffirmed the necessity to implement the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements, acting American Co-Chair Richard Hoagland told reporters in Yerevan on March 27, reports Armenpress.

In Baku we met with President Aliyev, Foreign Minister Mammadyarov. I cannot say what we have discussed, it is not accepted in diplomacy. I can assure you that we have talked about the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg. We believe that such confidence-building measures maintain their relevance and they must be implemented, the American Co-Chair said.

He once again emphasized that the leaders of conflicting countries must meet and continue negotiations aimed at finding solutions for the peaceful settlement of the conflict.
It was a bumper day for John McCain when on Friday Donald Trump's Republican nemesis gloated as Trump's "art of the deal" collapsed in the last minute, after the President and Ryan-led effort to repeal Obamacare suffered what appears to be a terminal setback. In the wake of Trump's misfortune, McCain renewed his calls on Friday for a return to a legacy neocon status quo, when speaking at the Brussels forum, said that the world "cries out for American and European leadership" through the EU and Nato, and said that the EU and the US needed to develop "more cooperation, more connectivity".

"new world order under enormous strain" and in "the titanic struggle with forces of radicalism  we can't stand by and lament, we've got to be involved," said McCain who is now chairman of the armed services committee in the US Senate, defending an opposite view from that of US president Donald Trump, who said in January that the UK "was so smart in getting out" of the EU and that Nato was "obsolete". He said that the EU was "one of the most important alliances" for the US and that the EU and Nato were "the best two sums in history", which have maintained peace for the last 70 years. In aand in "," said McCain who is now chairman of the armed services committee in the US Senate, quoted by the EU Observer . "I trust the EU," he said,who said in January that the UK "was so smart in getting out" of the EU and that Nato was "obsolete". He said that the EU was "one of the most important alliances" for the US and that the EU and Nato were "the best two sums in history", which have maintained peace for the last 70 years.

Further attacking Trump's global worldview, McCan said that "we need to rely on Nato and have a Nato that adjusts to new challenges." He noted that "the EU has too many bureaucrats, not much bureaucracy," but added that "it's not the only place on earth with that problem." He said that he was "still wondering what the overall effect of Brexit will be" and that he did not know "if this is the beginning of a serious problem for the EU". McCain did not disagree, however, with Trump's demand that European countries increase their defense spending for Nato.

McCain also revealed he hasnt met the President Donald Trump in person since he took office, and he urged Trump to reach out to his opponentsDemocratic and otherwiseala Ronald Reagan if he wants to repeal Obamacare. Do some outreach. Get to know some of these Democratic leaders, he said. You can find common ground. McCain said hed met Trump some years ago when he was a businessman, but had not met him since. McCain said he did speak almost daily to National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, however.

He doesnt seem to be that upset that hes not talking to him, said German Marshall Funds Derek Chollet, a former Obama Pentagon official. Hes trying to run U.S. defense policy through Mattis and effectively ignore Trump.

That said, McCain also said it was "too early" to pass judgment on his presidency, although his series of critical comments in recent weeks have demonstrated his growing skepticism about the Trump administration.

Furthermore, while McCain said he was "very pleased" by Trump's picks for his national security team - despite suggesting that they were being bypassed by more ideological and less competent people - he took the opportunity to attack Trump's decisionmaking, saying "the question is: who does the president listen to, who drives the tweets at 6 in morning?, he said.Asked whether he thought that "Russia owns a significant part of the White House," he said: "I don't worry about that."

The unspoken suggestion: Russia.

What worries McCain, he said, was "the Russian role in our elections", even if he admitted that he has seen "no evidence they succeeded in affecting the outcome of last year's US vote. Noting that Russia was now trying to influence elections in France and in Germany, he said that if it succeeded it would be "a death warrant for democracy".

"It's an act of destruction that is certainly more lethal than dropping some bombs," he insisted. McCain, a Russia hawk, said that Putin wanted to restore the Russian empire: He wants the Baltics, he has taken Crimea, he's been in Ukraine."

"These are KBG thugs, my friends," he said, referring to the former Russian spy service for which Putin used to work. He added that the US needed to "respond accordingly". He said however that there was "nothing wrong" if Trump met Putin.

"I'm not against meeting," he said, reminding the Brussels forum that US presidents met Soviet leaders during the Cold War. But he added that "the best way to go to a meeting is with a strong hand" and that was not the case for the US right now.




By: Koushan Das

Singapore offers investors an attractive and stable macroeconomic environment. Rapid industrialization, coupled with pro-FDI policies, has transformed the city-state into a highly attractive location for foreign capital. According to 2016 UN World Investment Report, Singapore FDI inflows stood at US$65 billion in 2015, while FDI in 2016 dropped to US$50 billion. The manufacturing and services sectors are the major contributors to the economy and account for almost 80 to 85 percent of the GDP.

Recent statistics

According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore grew by 2 percent in 2016, up from 1.9 percent in 2015. The manufacturing sector grew 3.6 percent in 2016 and accounted for 19.6 percent of the GDP share, followed closely by business services industry, which grew at one percent and accounted for 15.8 percent of the GDP share. The manufacturing sector grew primarily due to the electronics and biomedical manufacturing clusters, while the transport engineering and general manufacturing clusters continued to decline.

Investment environment

For more than a decade, Singapore ranked amongst the top three countries in the ease of doing business indexes. According to the recent 2017 Doing Business Study by the World Bank (in which Singapore ranked 2nd among 190 countries), the country ranked the highest in four areas  starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property and paying taxes.

A robust and business-friendly Intellectual Property (IP) regime has helped Singapore to emerge as the IP hub in Asia. The country was ranked 4th in the recent World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 IP index. Singapore also uses a combination of low tax rates and fiscal incentives as a competitive strategy to attract FDI. The city-state corporate income tax of 17 percent is one of the lowest in the world.

Bureaucratic systems  such as TradeNet  provide a single window for trade firms to communicate with the government. Established in 1989, TradeNet now handles about 30,000 declarations per day and processes 99 percent of permits within 10 minutes. TradeNet contributes to almost 25 to 30 percent saving in document processing for trading firms.

Key industries

In the last few decades, Singapore has invested heavily in developing industries to scale for growth. Manufacturing is a key industry for Singapore, accounting for 20 to 25 percent of the GDP, while the services sector contributes around 60 percent of the GDP.

Industry clusters in manufacturing include electronics, chemicals, biomedical sciences, info-communications and media, logistics, and transport engineering. New emerging sectors include automotive, robotics, clean energy, environment and water, and natural resources.

Singapore is a leading aviation hub in Asia-Pacific, supported by over 100 aerospace companies. The aerospace industry has grown by 10 percent in the last two decades and Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) sector accounts for a quarter of the MRO output of the region.

Singapores strategic location has made it a crucial logistics hub for global trade. According to the World Banks 2014 Logistics Performance Index, Singapore ranked first among all the economies. Singapore is the worlds busiest transshipment hub, handling about one-seventh of the worlds container transshipments.

Singapore is the largest manufacturer of the jack-up rigs, used as drilling platforms, offshore and wind farm service platforms. They have 70 percent share of the global market. They also command 70 percent market share for Floating Production Storage Offloading units that are used by the offshore oil and gas companies.

Outlook 2017

Singapores Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) forecasts GDP to grow between 1 to 3 percent in 2017, while a recent Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) survey of economists forecasts a growth rate of 2.3 percent for 2017. OECDs Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India 2017 study also predicts a similar growth rate of two percent for Singapore in 2017.

Manufacturing, transportation, and storage sectors are likely to provide support to the Singapore economy in 2017. Manufacturing grew 11.5 per cent year-on-year in 2016 and is predicted to sustain the momentum in 2017. Similarly, the transportation & storage sector is poised to grow due to the growth of global trade. Education and healthcare are expected to remain strong as well in 2017.

The construction industry, on the other hand, will decline due to the reduction in private construction contracts. Other sectors like the marine and offshore, retail and food services are projected to grow in 2017.

According to the Economic Development Board (EDB), 2017 will attract foreign investments similar to 2016. To sustain the growth, the government is focusing on the manufacturing industry, especially in terms of using high technology in this sector and developing a technical workforce.



About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email asean@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. 

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 ASEAN 2016

An Introduction to Doing Business in ASEAN 2016 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 in our Important Updates section 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.
Cellular operator body wants market to settle down in the wake of recent mergers and acquisitions.

New Delhi: Cellular operators' body COAI hassaid the government should not rush to spectrum auction this year and instead, allow the market to settle down in the wake of recent mergers and acquisitions.

COAI emphasised that the next round of sale of airwaves should ideally be scheduled in 2018. "In the immediate context, we don't expect a whole lot of demand for the spectrum because mergers and harmonisation will lead to efficiencies in terms of use of existing spectrum.

Companies like Idea Cellular and Vodafone (which have announced decision to merge in India) will put their spectrum together for efficiencies," COAI DG Rajan S Mathews told PTI.

Companies will be keen to wait a little more to see how the market dynamics plays out, Mathews said, adding that other factors which need to be taken into consideration are demand for data and smartphones.

"The problem with having an annual spectrum auction (that is being talked about) is that it requires three months of preparation, hence a 12-month window is too small... Companies cannot spend three months every year in recalibrating their strategy on airwaves," he said.

After buying airwaves, telecom companies also need time to order equipment, get infrastructure ready and be tuned in to the existing network. Also, typically companies tend to buy spectrum keeping in mind their requirements for the next 2-3 years, he said.

"Other than the dynamics of licence requirement, a 2-3 year timeframe to conduct auction is more than adequate to allow for predictability and strategic planning by firms," he said.

Mathews' comments come at a time when the industry is going through a massive phase of consolidation, intensified by the disruptive entry of challenger Reliance Jio.

Idea Cellular and Vodafone have decided to merge in India to create the country's biggest telecom service provider with a customer base of over 394 million. Telecom operator Bharti Airtel, the current market leader, has said it will acquire Norwegian Telenor's India unit, and more recently announced the acquisition of Tikona Digital's 4G airwaves.

Last month, then telecom secretary J S Deepak had said the government is looking to make spectrum auction an annual event.

"We are not worried if there is no demand for spectrum. We are interested in giving the industry an opportunity to buy spectrum," Deepak had said on the sidelines of the Mobile

World Congress in Barcelona just a day before he was named India's next Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) from June this year.

Last week, however, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha had said the government had no immediate plan to provide telecom companies with an option to buy spectrum annually.
U.S. Rep. John Katko doesn't have a vote, but he's speaking out in support of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

Katko, R-Camillus, released a statement Monday urging the Senate to "act quickly" and confirm Gorsuch, who was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the Supreme Court seat that's been vacant since Justice Antonin Scalia died last year.

Gorsuch has served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit since 2006.

"In his testimony before the U.S. Senate last week, Judge Gorsuch demonstrated his ability to fairly and impartially apply the law, his dedication to upholding the rights set forth by the U.S. Constitution and his commitment to ensuring justice," Katko said. "He is well-qualified to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court."

Katko's comments come as Senate Democrats attempt to hold up Gorsuch's nomination. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee forced the panel to delay a vote on Gorsuch until next week.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, has said his conference will filibuster Gorsuch's nomination. If that happens, the Republicans could decide to use the so-called "nuclear option" and force Gorsuch's nomination through by requiring only a simple majority for confirmation.

Schumer has already announced that he opposes Gorsuch. He said last week that "I have concluded that I cannot support Judge Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court."

New York's other U.S. senator, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, has said she thinks Gorsuch will be confirmed. But she opposes Gorsuch, calling him an "ultra right-wing conservative."

The fight over Gorsuch is seen as the Democrats' counter to how President Barack Obama's nominee for the same seat was treated last year.

Obama tapped Merrick Garland to succeed Scalia, but Senate Republicans didn't consider the nomination. They cited the vacancy coming in a presidential election year as the main reason why they didn't hold a vote on Garland.

Katko noted Monday that he believed the Republican-led Senate should've held hearings on Garland's nomination. No hearings were held after Obama nominated Garland for the seat.

Now, Katko is urging Democratic and Republican senators to "put partisanship aside" and confirm Gorsuch.

"As a former federal prosecutor, I recognize the necessity of filling this vacancy," Katko said. "A full and operative Supreme Court is vital to the functionality of our nation's justice system."
FSRL would issue compulsorily convertible preference shares worth Rs 250 crore to FSRL CCPS Trust.

New Delhi: The Competition Commission has approved the Future Lifestyle Fashions' proposed transfer of part of its apparel marketing business to a group entity. Under the deal, Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd (FLFL) would transfer a section of its apparel marketing business, operated under the 'Lee Cooper' brand, to its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Future Speciality Retail Ltd (FSRL).

FSRL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Future Trendz Ltd (FTL), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of FLFL. As part of the deal, FSRL would issue compulsorily convertible preference shares worth Rs 250 crore to FSRL CCPS Trust.

Beacon Trusteeship Ltd is the trustee of the FSRL CCPS Trust. In a tweet last week, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it has approved "acquisition of shares in Future Speciality Retail by Beacon Trusteeship".

The compulsorily convertible preference shares would be converted into 26 per cent equity of FSRL on fully diluted basis on or before 48 months from the date of subscription, as per the notice submitted to the CCI. FLFL owns and manages a portfolio of fashion brands that covers various fashion categories including formal mens wear, and footwear.
Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha also likely to meet to decide on duration of discussion on model bills.

New Delhi: The government is likely to table supplementary goods and services tax legislations in Parliament today. Sources said C-GST, I-GST, UT-GST and the compensation law are likely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha and could be taken up for discussion as early as March 28.

Also, amendments to the excise and Customs Act to abolish various cess as well as furnishing Bills for exports and imports under the new GST regime will be placed before the House.

The Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha is likely to meet later today to decide on the duration of discussion on the Bills, the sources added. According to the sources, the government is looking at passage of the GST Bills in the Lower House by March 29 or latest by March 30.

Then, these will move to the Rajya Sabha and this gives the government enough time to bring back any amendment adopted by the Upper House to the Lok Sabha. The amendments can either be rejected or incorporated by the Lok Sabha.

The current session of Parliament ends on April 12. Although the legislations will be introduced as Money Bills, the government wants discussion in both the Houses, the sources said.

The government has set a target of July 1 for rollout of GST, which will subsume excise, service tax, VAT and and other local levies. Once these Bills are cleared by Parliament, the states will then take the state GST (S-GST) Bill to their respective assemblies. S-GST has been prepared as a model of the central GST (C-GST), with each state incorporating state-specific exemptions.

The integrated GST (I-GST) deals in taxation of inter-state movement of goods and services while the Union Territory GST (UT-GST) Bill covers taxation in UTs. The compensation law has been prepared to give a legislative backing to the Centre's promise to compensate the states for 5 years for any revenue loss arising out of GST implementation.
The filmmaker has received support from leaders of the Rajput community after opposition from Karni Sena.

Mumbai: There is still uncertainty if the much-anticipated 'Padmavati' will release, after two separate attacks on the sets of the film.

The film has been in the news for the controversy it has triggered over the central characters, Rani Padmavati (played by Deepika Padukone), depiction in the film. The director has now cleared the air that the Queen from medieval era has no dream sequence or romantic scene with the tyrant Alauddin Khilji who was obsessed with her.

In the light of the recent Kolhapur vandalism that happened on the sets of Padmavati, SLB told Bombay Times that the film will make the people of Mewar proud and also assured that he is sensitive towards the feelings of Rajputs and will not exercise his freedom of expression to tarnish the reputation of Padmavati.

As an artist, I too believe in the freedom of expression, but I'm also aware of the responsibility that comes along with this freedom. We do not intend to hurt the sentiments of any community and can confidently say that Mewar will be proud of the film. My team and I have met with some of the Rajput leaders, who, upon receipt of our clarification, have agreed to support us and have also signed our letter and promised cooperation in support of the making of the film. I hope this puts to rest all the misconceptions regarding the filmMy team and I have carefully researched every aspect of information available on Rani Padmavati for making the film. There was never any alleged romantic scene, dream sequence or imaginary song between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji in the script. I repeat, there NEVER was and NOR is there any such scene between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji, said the National award-winning director.

Earlier this month, the set of Padmavati in Kolhapur was burnt down. This incident happened two months after SLB was beaten up at Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur while shooting with the secondary cast of the film. A few activists from Karni Sena organisation had accused him of showcasing their Queen in poor light and vandalised the set.

The sets of Padmavati in Kolhapur in Maharashtra region witnessed an unfortunate incident, when certain miscreants attacked the films set and set it on fire in an attempt to damage the property. A complaint has been filed to investigate this matter further, but we are grateful that there has been no loss of life or harm to anybody on the set. While, thankfully the incident occurred after we had wrapped our shoot for the day and all the artists, cast and crew were safely away; unfortunately, around 70  80 percent of costumes and jewellery for the movie have been destroyed, he added.

This incident had created a huge furore, prompting the film industry to seek justice for the ace director. This is the second time SLB and team have clarified that there are no objectionable scenes between the Queen and tyrant.

The titular character will be played by Deepika Padukone, while Ranveer Singh portrays the role of tyrant Alauddin Khijli and Shahid Kapoor will be seen as Raja Rawal Ratan Singh, who was the husband of Rani Padmavati.
A model has filed an FIR against the actor for misbehaving with her and sharing her details on Whatsapp groups.

Mumbai: After Shilpa Shinde accused a Television producer of sexually harassing her, another sexual harassment allegation has rocked the Television industry.

A 20-year old model has accused Kaisi Yeh Yaariyan actor Parth Samthaan of molestation and has filed a FIR against him at the Bangur Nagar Police Station in Mumbai on Sunday.

The model claims that Parth, her friend of several years, misbehaved with her, following which she started getting insulting and shameful calls from men asking for 'favours.' She also stated that he and his friends shared her details on their Whatsapp group where they called her easy and said that her character was bad, also leaking her pictures and that they would target 16-year-old girls.

The model in her statement said, There was no dispute between me and Parth Samthaan on any financial matter. As a matter of fact, I have known him for more than 4 years. Parth has in many occasions tried to propose me- not for a relationship but having a good time. Which I have very politely turned down. It might be cool in his group for women to sleep around with him and I have no issues with other girls and the choices they make but I have a different value system. After returning from a party in an alcoholic state, Parth misbehaved with me. After which I stopped contact with him for sometime and he really apologised and as we have been friends for years, I decided to forgive him for the behaviour but soon after that, I started getting insulting and shameful calls from boys who would want favours from me.

Someone was sharing my number with people. Parth actually tried to show that he is helping me but in reality, he was the one out of vengeance doing it. His Whatsapp controversy where they made a group called whores and more whores where he shared details about women and his voice notes are available. The voice notes clearly mention me and him stating that I have a bad character and I am easy. Last week of January, the last time I met him, he again misbehaved with me and I informed my mother who then gave me the strength to file the FIR. Yes there was a lot of pressure from my family for this case might go public with him being an actor and we almost were discussing to take the case back with him giving a written apology but I realised that its not just me but the other women in the group targeted were as young as 16 years old. These actors target young girls and then share their details so that they can be exploited. Just because I didnt give in, I was targeted and my reputation was put at stake. I am not taking any case back and I will fight it till the end. They have leaked my pictures online and revealed my name. I will not be slut shamed into taking the FIR back. I come from an educated family and I know when someone is right no matter, what difficulties will come if I stand by the truth, I will get justice.

Parth Samthaan, in his defence, has called all allegations against him false and baseless. The actor had made news few years ago when had claimed that TV producer Vikas Gupta had molested him and this time again he has accused Gupta of trying to demean him by influencing the models decision to file the FIR.

He also said that he has given his statement to the police officials and that the model had called him and told him that she would be taking back her complaint.

Parths statement read, To start with , the case is completely false and baseless .. went to the police station today , gave my statement .. and I am out of it  and yes it was a dispute among friends .. and she complained after almost 1.5 years at the station we also got to know from the cops that the girl (victim name) had come with Vikas Gupta to the station and hence plotted all those false accusations without any proof and filed the case ..the very next day she called me and said she realized what she had done and wanted to take the case back .. but since she filed an FIR , cops could not take the case back  today ,I gave all my call recordings and Whatsapp conversations to the cops which I had with (victim name) where it is clearly mentioned that she wants to take the case back and did all this in the heat of the moment .. and then requesting me to sort it out as soon as possible.. time and again Vikas Gupta has been trying to demean me and that everyone is aware of .. dont need to say more as I know the audience is sensible enough of whats happening as they have already witnessed me getting into stupid controversies before .also given the fact that women are given special rights by law over men in such situations .. to which I completely respect .. but does not mean that they should take undue advantage of it and stoop so low in order to demean me or anyone .thank you."
For his violent demeanour, Gaikwad was barred from flying by seven airline companies, compelling him to travel by train.

New Delhi: Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who has been at the centre of attention for manhandling one of the staff members of Air India, remained 'missing' in action after he boarded a Mumbai-bound train from Delhi on Friday evening. He left the train at Vapi, Gujarat, possibly to dodge media attention.

Gaikwad is now in Pune, at his relatives house and is not expected to go to his house soon, sources said.

Speaking to NDTV over phone, he said, "I will attend Parliament on Wednesday."

He added that he has been asked by Sena officials to lie low until the Parliament session convenes. He also threatened legal action against airline companies for putting him on the 'no-fly' list and cancelling his confirmed ticket.

The party has, reportedly, been preparing a privilege motion to be presented in the Parliament against Gaikwad's ban from flights, even though the Sena party supremo Uddhav Thackeray has maintained media silence on the issue.

It was also reported that the Gaikwad was in fact let off with a warning from the party, and that Uddhav Thackeray was yet to meet him.

Hours after attacking the 60-year-old AI ground manager, Sukumar Raman, Gaikwar boasted, "I beat him 25 times." He allegedly tried to push Raman down the ladder as well.

The fight erupted when the MP wanted to see the "top management" to enquire on why he had to fly economy class, when he had a ticket for business class. He rejected the airline's explanation that it was an all-economy flight.

For his violent demeanour, he was barred from flying by seven airline companies, compelling him take a train from Delhi.
A large crane lifted the huge capstone at the excavation site in Narmeta village on March 21, department officials said.

Hyderabad: The archaeology department of Telangana has discovered the world's largest capstone after excavating an ancient human burial site in Siddipet district, department officials said.

"The ancient human burial site excavated by Telangana Archaeology in Narmeta village in Nangunuru mandal has led to a stunning discovery of the world's largest capstone," said D Ramulu Naik, Assistant Director, Archaeology Department.

The efforts to lift this massive capstone was coordinated by SS Rangacharyulu, Archaeology Consultant and K Padmanabha, Assistant Director (museums), as this mission requires great precision and caution, Department officials said.

A large crane lifted the huge capstone at the excavation site in Narmeta village on March 21, department officials said.

"The capstone of the menhir burial reportedly weighs about 40 tonnes," they added.

The archaeology department is all set to undertake DNA testing of various artefacts that have been discovered at this site which will help in tracing the lineage of pre-historic humans, their food habits, lifestyle, and how their population later became extinct, the officials said.

In 2016, team of experts from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered a signet made of clay with ornamental design was among the about 3,000 ancient artefacts at the Keezhadi Pallai Sandhaipudur village in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu during an excavation.

According to ASI officials, the ancient settlement at the village, which was on the highway travelled by traders all over the world once, had an underground drainage system which was on par with the Harappan system. The sewage drains had been laid with "baked clay pipe lines".
We have heard his name is being discussed for President. But the decision (to support his candidature) will be taken by Uddhavji, he said.

Mumbai: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat will be a good choice for President to make India a Hindu Rashtra, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Monday said.

It is the highest post in the country. Somebody with a clean image should occupy it. We have heard Mohan Bhagwats name is being discussed for President. If India has to be made a Hindu Rashtra, Bhagwat will be a good choice for President. But the decision (to support his candidature) will be taken by Uddhavji, he told reporters in Mumbai.

Asked if he will attend the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the strategy for the Presidential polls, Raut parried a direct reply, saying sumptuous food is cooked at Matoshree (Uddhav Thackerays residence in Mumbai) as well.

In the last two Presidential polls, Balasaheb (Thackeray) had gone against the flow and done what was in the interest of the nation. Even then, the Presidential candidates had come to Matoshree to discuss the elections, the Sena leader said.

Those who want votes can come to Matoshree. We are ready for a dialogue. Sumptuous food is cooked at Matoshree as well, Raut said.
Opposition parties lambasted the govt for not making enough provisions for creation of jobs through the rural employment guarantee scheme.

New Delhi: The Opposition on Monday charged the government with trying to promote crony capitalism, creating fear by giving "unbridled power" to taxmen, trying to snoop into people's lives through increased use of Aadhaar through the provisions of the Finance Bill.

Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha, including the Congress, SP, BSP and the Left, lambasted the government for not making enough provisions for creation of jobs through the rural employment guarantee scheme or to have farm loan waivers to check the growing number of farmers' suicide.

Initiating a discussion on the 2017 Finance Bill, Congress leader Kapil Sibal lashed out at the government claiming it had failed to generate jobs or provide support to farmers and its 'jumlas' and promises have remained hollow.

He also questioned the move to use Aadhaar for filing tax returns, saying it amounted to snooping into people's lives and the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister had earlier raised concern over the use of the unique identity number when the BJP was in Opposition.

Taking a dig at the BJP-led dispensation, he said some people in this government may have "the experience in snooping" and added that this also showed BJP's "double talk".

For the government, development only means the development of its "communal agenda", Sibal claimed, adding that he saw at least "six disturbing trends" which reflected the mindset of this government.

Referring to crony capitalism, the Congress leader said the government has done away with the cap on contributions that companies could make to political parties.

"Now these companies don't even need to disclose this amount or the identity of the beneficiary even to their shareholders," he said, claiming that these provisions were included to ensure that the party in power gets unabated funding for national, state or even civic elections.

Observing that there were several companies competing for contracts against which there are proceedings or which need restructuring, Sibal alleged that the government's motive was "merely to see that they contribute to the kitty of the ruling party."

"You are playing with the economic fabric of the country and you talk about transparency," he asserted.

Alleging that a provision to amend the Companies Act was "surreptiously brought in the garb of the Finance Bill", he said this was done by the government so that the Rajya Sabha, where it does not have a majority, will not be able to object to it. This amounts to "muffling the voice" of the Upper House, Sibal said.

Referring to the provision putting a maximum limit of Rs 2000 on cash contributions to political parties, Sibal said this issue fell in the domain of electoral reforms, but has been made part of a money bill, as the government does not want the Rajya Sabha to have a say.

Sibal also accused the government of giving "unbridled power" to tax authorities through the provisions of the Finance Bill, saying the tax authorities can now carry out search or seizure without divulging the "reason to believe" to the assessee.

He said the political opponents could be targeted through this provision and they may not get respite from any appellate body and possibly even from the higher courts. "And you will have a field day," the Congress leader said.

He claimed that the government had sought to create "an atmosphere of fear" in the minds of business people as Income Tax officers will now not need to disclose the reason to suspect. "Is this the transparency, accountabiliy or 'acche din' (good days) you had promised," Sibal asked.

The Finance Bill has also sought to merge several tribunals like the AERA with TDSAT which was a matter of policy. And the government, by including it in the Finance Bill, was evading Rajya Sabha, he said, adding it was brought in the Lok Sabha too at the last minute to avoid debate.

He also alleged that the government was trying to appropriate the powers of judiciary by keeping the rights of appointments to these tribunals.

Sibal, a senior lawyer, said another provision related to granting powers to IT officers to carry out raids and attach assets for six months as provisional attachment, alleging that these provisions were "only meant to exploit businesses and extort money."

Through yet another provision in the Finance Bill, the government has brought in a provision that surveys could be carried out on charitable institutions, which could also be used to harass political opponents.

He said the government was trying to foist all these changes through the Finance Bill in the Rajya Sabha so that there is no debate on them.

Questioning the linking of Aadhaar with tax filing, Sibal said even the Supreme Court had said that Aadhar was not mandatory, but the government does not seem to be bothered about it. "The only explanation for such things could be the arrogance of power," he claimed.

He said that while Aadhaar was aimed at ensuring that the targeted subsidies reach the beneficiaries. But now it appears that it could be used to access all information about an individual. "We are not living in a police state," he said.

Sibal warned Jaitley that the Bill he had presented would not stand scrutiny in court and get rejected as he questioned the procedures followed. He asked the Minister why he wanted to go down in history as a person who had "violated tradition and muffled the voice of the Upper House."

The Congress leader claimed that the government was not even maintaining constitutional proprieties. "What harm would have come been if there was a debate," he asked.

Sibal also attacked the Modi government saying it had not been able to take care of the farmers' interests and claimed that in UP, waiver of farmers' loans was promised before elections but now the Finance Minister was backing out.

Observing that instead of a promised 2 crore jobs, only 1.50 lakh have been generated, he asked "how is the Prime Minister able to sleep?"

He also hit out at Jaitley alleging he had said that out of 125 crore people in the country, only 3 crore paid taxes, implying that the people of the country were dishonest.

Citing census data, he said "if you remove the figures of urban and rural poor, of women and very young population who don't pay taxes, the figure one arrives at is around 3 crore. And you tell all the people that they are dishonest?"

The Congress leader referred to the recent assembly polls including in UP and said that the BJP may have become politically victorious, it was not a victory of its policies.

"Demonetisation has not won but demonisation has," he said.

He said the independence of the media was also being affected as media houses, which had other businesses under the provisions, were falling into the grip of the ruling dispensation.

Participating in the debate, Naresh Agarwal (SP) said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was in the House, had earlier said that GDP growth will slowdown by 2 percentage points due to the impact of demonetisation.

He alleged that the government's conduct was "whimsical" as it was bringing in several major changes like merging tribunals, amending Airport Authority law, Electricity Act and other legislations under "the garb of money bill without giving approval of the Rajya Sabha."

He said allocations have been made and new schemes were being implemented, "but there are problems with actual implementation of programmes on the ground."

"This is the first government which has brought the slogan 'Amiri Hatao' (Eradicate Prosperity). We are used to a slogans of 'Eradicate Poverty. ... Instead of blaming people for non-compliance of tax laws, we should find a remedy to problems. Goldsmiths went on strike for 42 days," Agarwal said, criticising the government for giving "unnecessary wide discretion and powers" to the tax officials.

He demanded that the 7th Pay Commission for the defence personnel should be implemented and criticised the government for not taking steps to implement 'one rank, one pension'.

Cautioning the government for not agreeing to farm loan waivers for all states, the SP member said if this happens, there would be protests in other big states also like

Maharashtra as there have been many instances of farmers' suicide in other provinces.

He also lamented that the government was doing enough for MGNREGA and should do something constructive to create employment in the country.

Countering the allegations of the Opposition, BJP's Bhupender Yadav said the government has brought Bankruptcy and Insolvency bill, which the other parties ruling for decades could not do.

He also spoke of the government's announcement for spending Rs 20,000 crore on irrigation, saying only 46 per cent of land is irrigated in the country.

He also commended the government decision on demonetisation and the steps to encourage digital payments for bringing in transparency in the system.

Sukhendu Shekhar Roy (TMC) said the government was doing a "bypass surgery of legislative process" by bringing in various non-finance matters in the garb of the Finance Bill.

Attacking the government over the proposed amendments listed under the Finance Bill, he said it reflected the "totalitarian attitude" of the ruling party.

Speaking on amendments, he said enormous power were being given to the IT department, while the appellate system was being curtailed. "Unflinching power is being given to the income tax authorities..this is the situation...shameful situation," Roy said.

For the last 70 years, no such provisions were allowed but now due to the "whims and fancies" of the ruling party, such powers is being given to the IT department, he said,adding "I condemn it. I oppose it."

"Earlier it used to be inspector Raj and now it will be raid-seize-attach raj," he said. He also termed the amendment to merge various tribunals as "unimaginable".

Terming the Finance Bill as "finance bully", Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said it has also been cleared by the Lok Sabha "in a hurry".

"By smuggling in non-financial matters in the Finance Bill, the government is undermining the entire Constitution," the CPI(M) leader said.

Yechury said there have been references to Goebbels and Himmler, but the current government had put "all of them to shame" in the way they were undermining the parliamentary system. "This bill should be rejected and sent back to Lok Sabha for a relook. All non tax matters should be deleted."

He said making Aadhaar card mandatory was a violation of fundamental right of privacy. "What are you reducing this Republic of India to," he asked, as he opposed the amendments to alter the Companies Act and merger of various tribunals.

Satish Chandra Misra (BSP) said various amendments proposed under the Finance Bill should have been brought separately so that the members could have discussed in issues in detail. He agreed with Yechury and said the Finance Bill should be sent back to the Lok Sabha for reconsideration.

Misra said changes in the political funding law have been proposed to favour the ruling party, while attacking the government for failure to provide jobs to the youth.

"You said in 2014 that employment will be provided to around 2 crore people. Leave aside the fresh employment, you have on the other hand taken away jobs," the BSP MP said.

He attacked the government on several other issues including the validity of Jan Dhan accounts and introduction of various cesses in the taxation system.

D Raja (CPI) charged the government with adopting unconstitutional means for passage of the Finance Bill and may laws were being amended through this Bill.

He said the government was not concerned about farmers' distress and was giving concessions to corporates. "This government is for 'Corporates ka Saath, Corporates Ka Vikas' that I a can make out from this proposal," Raja said while listing out various proposals benefitting corporates such as cut in corporate tax.

He demanded that the government should release the names of defaulters responsible for non-performing assets of state-run banks.

Raja expressed concern over farmers' distress and reports of their suicide and wanted to know the government's reponse to deal with the situation. "You do not have any concern for farmers. What are you doing for farmers," he asked.

The CPI leader also demanded that the reservation policy should be extended to private sector, saying this was the need of the hour as the government was privatising public sector companies.

"This Finance Bill cannot go this way. It should be challenged. The Upper House has a responsibility to tell the government that it cannot take this route," he added.

Raja also spoke about atrocities against dalits and minorities in the name of beef.

T Subirami Reddy (Cong) said the government was amending various laws through Finance Bill and this has never happened.

He expressed concern over decline in industrial growth and exports as well as unemploment and bank NPAs.

Reddy said the government must infuse capital into banks and support distressed sectors like steel.

V Vijaysai Reddy (YSRCP) said genuine shareholders could suffer losses if the companies adopt unfair means in providing political donations.

Talking about the provision regarding any cash receipts above the prescribed limit would be liable to tax, he asked the government to clarify in the Finance Bill that cash withdrawal from banks would not be liable to tax.
Will govt now tweak rules to enable Gaikwad to fly again?

New Delhi: The banning of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad from flying after he allegedly assaulted an Air India official at New Delhis IGI Airport last week rocked Parliament on Monday. The Congress, which apparently supported the Shiv Sena MP and attacked the airlines in the Rajya Sabha, took the opposite line in the Lok Sabha the same day. There are, meanwhile, some reports that indicate the government may be considering tweaking civil aviation rules to disallow airlines from blacklisting passengers to enable the Shiv Sena MP to fly again. His party also rallied behind the MP and targeted the airlines.

The Delhi police, on its part, said it had recorded the statements of all persons who were present at the spot during the incident.

The Shiv Sena MP got support from unlikely quarters in the Rajya Sabha, with Naresh Agrawal (Samajwadi Party) raising the issue, asking whether the airlines could take such action even before the MP was found guilty of misconduct. The SP Rajya Sabha member said Mr Gaikwad being put on the no-fly list was probably the first in Indian history as no one had so far been banned from flying for unruly behaviour in India. He was supported by Congress MPs Hussain Dalwai and Rajani Patil, who also questioned the ban on the MP.

Mr Agrawal was not allowed to raise the issue by deputy chairman P.J. Kurien on the ground that it pertained to a member of the other House.

In the Lok Sabha, members of the Shiv Sena, an ally of the ruling BJP, created an uproar demanding the lifting of the ban on flying on their MP. The Shiv Senas leader in the House, Anandrao Adsul, who raised the issue, said he was only seeking lifting of the ban on flying imposed on Mr Gaikwad by all major airlines after he assaulted a 60-year-old duty manager of Air India on March 23.

The Shiv Sena members also entered into an argument in the Lok Sabha with Congress MPs who were demanding an apology from the MP.

The government, however, justified the action by the airlines. Civil aviation minister P. Ashok Gajapati Raju admonished Mr Gaikwad for indulging in violence on the flight last week. I never in my wildest dreams thought an MP will get caught in such an incident, he said, adding: Violence of any kind (on board an aircraft) can be disastrous.

Mr Adsul said the ban was against the Constitution and the law and the government must intervene immediately. He also talked about the privileges of MPs, responding to which the minister said: An MP is also a passenger... We have to keep safety issues in mind.

With the minister giving no positive response, the Shiv Sena members expressed their unhappiness by trooping into the Well of the House.

Telling the MPs this was not right, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan told them: Message achha nahi jaa raha hai (The message going out is not good)... This is not the way.

Television news reports on Monday evening quoted sources saying the government was contemplating some changes in civil aviation regulations to bar airlines from being able to blacklist passengers, so that the bar on Mr Gaikwad could be lifted and he could be allowed to fly again. Six airlines, including Air India (on whose flight the unsavoury incident had occurred), had put the Shiv Sena MP on a no-fly list.

These reports claimed that this was decided after a 45-minute meeting between the civil aviation minister, the Lok Sabha Speaker and Shiv Sena MPs on Monday on the flying ban on Ravindra Gaikwad. Despite repeated attempts, the civil aviaition ministry refused to comment on the issue so far.

In Delhi, a senior police official said it has recorded the statement of all persons who were present at the spot when the incident took place.

We have also asked for details of the video and CCTV footage of the scuffle, he added.

A case has been registered under Sections 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour person) of the IPC.

On Monday, a team of the Delhi police crime branch under the supervision of DCP (crime branch) Ram Gopal Naik reached IGI Airport to record the statement of Air India staff members.

On Friday, the Delhi Police had registered an FIR against Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad for assaulting an Air India staffer, and the case was transferred to its crime branch for further investigation.

The police team recorded the statements of 15 people, including 60-year-old duty manager Sukumar, in the case.

Other Air India staff members who were present during the scuffle also gave their statements to the police.
The Upper House was adjourned four times on Monday.

New Delhi: The Upper House was adjourned four times on Monday with the Question Hour seeing a complete washout as the Opposition charged the government with not filling vacancies in four commissions. Congress MP Naresh Budhania raised the issue during the Zero Hour. When I went to the Minorities Commission, I was informed that there is no member in the commission also there is no chairman. This evoked a sharp response from other Opposition parties too.

Associating with the issue, the SP and BSP also demanded an explanation from the government. They added that it is not only the Minorities Commission, but also the SC Commission, ST Commission and Backward Commission which are headless.

Responding to the query, minister of minority affairs and minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the government is in the process of giving representations to Jains in the Minorities Commission. So the matter will go to the Cabinet and soon will be brought to Parliament.

Not satisfied with the response, Congress MP Ahmed Patel said, The government can appoint a chairman in these commissions and then the members can be appointed. While Congress leader Digvijay Singh asked whether the government is planning to shut these commissions, BSP supremo Mayawati also wanted the government to give a response on the issue and alleged that the government is not taking matters of SC/ST, backwards and minorities seriously.

Deputy chairman P.J. Kurien, who was in the chair, requested the members that since the minister has given an assurance, the appointments will be made soon.
WELLINGTON - China and New Zealand agreed to start talks on upgrading a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in late April.

The consensus was reached during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's ongoing visit to New Zealand, which puts upgrading the FTA that took effect in 2008 high on agenda.

At a joint press conference after talks with New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English, Li said upgrading the FTA will promote the development of bilateral economic and trade ties and better benefit the two peoples.

Negotiations will touch on investment, service trade, quarantine of animals and plants, economy and technology, e-commerce, and competition policies, according to Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Lutong.

"The China-New Zealand FTA is one of the highest-standard signed between China and developed countries. Both countries have established long-term good trade relations, with bilateral trade growth outpacing our economic growth," Li said.

Li also called on the two countries to jointly protect open economy and free trade as well as regional stability and global peace.

As one third of New Zealand's dairy products are exported to China, English said the dairy products and any other products going to China will be of the quality Chinese consumers would expect to be.

Under the FTA, a wide range of products, typically health-related products are much sought after by Chinese consumers, English said, adding that New Zealand will work with the Chinese authorities in food safety to ensure all the New Zealand products exported to China meet the standards required.

China and New Zealand signed a series of cooperation documents on Monday, including an action plan for cooperation on climate change, granting new access for New Zealand chilled beef and meat to the Chinese market and deepening cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative.

Li arrived in Wellington on Sunday for an official visit to New Zealand after wrapping up his Australia tour.
The Small Business Administration awarded $300,000 to support three organizations that provide entrepreneurial training for women veterans and military spouses, including the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University.

SBA Administrator Linda McMahon announced the grants Monday following a roundtable discussion with women small business leaders at the White House. President Donald Trump was at the meeting. McMahon also attended.

The Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University will receive the largest share of the funding  $135,000 to support the institute's Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship program.

V-WISE is a three-phase program that includes a 15-day online preparatory course, a two-day residency program and post-training technical support. The institute also offers "IGNITE," an accelerated version of the V-WISE course.

The programs are open to applicants across the country.

The other recipients of the SBA's grants are Bunker Labs, a national organization, and the Lift Fund based in San Antonio. Bunker Labs received a $90,000 grant. Funding for the Lift Fund totaled $75,000.

Bunker Labs will use the funding to support its Entrepreneurial Program for Innovation and Collaboration, a 14-week training course which requires participants to meet weekly and provides access to the "Bunker in a Box" online resource.

The Bunker Labs initiative supports military veterans start and grow their businesses.

The Lift Fund's grant will support the Women Veteran Entrepreneurship Program, a seven-week course featuring in-person and online training. The class covers capital requirements and provides technical assistance for small business owners.

The Small Business Administration provided the grants through its Women Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Program and the Office of Veterans Business Development.

The agency chose to fund the programs based on their history and dedicated training programs for women.

"Increasingly, women small business owners are contributing in a major way to the growth of the U.S. economy, and women veterans bring a unique and valued skill set to entrepreneurship," McMahon said in a statement. "Funding these organizations involved in helping women veterans and military spouses establish successful businesses will go a long way towards securing the future for these women and their families."

According to the Small Business Administration, there were 383,302 businesses owned by women veterans as of 2012. These businesses generated $17.9 billion in sales. The number of small businesses owned by women veterans increased by 294.7 percent from 2007 to 2012.
Rajasthan minister said father is now recanting his statement saying that he had wrongfully filed the FIR under the influence of substances.

Jaipur: The gruesome Bikaner rape case has taken a stunning turn, as it has emerged that the father had concocted charges of rape on his daughter by the teachers, as he wanted to take revenge on the school.

Speaking to ANI here, Rajasthan Child and Women Welfare Minister Anita Bhadel stated that facts have emerged revealing that the entire rape case stands false.

"In the matter in which a father had filed an FIR about his own daughter being raped by her school teachers, facts have emerged that it was not a rape case and that the girl quit school since the past four-five years," she said.

Bhadel further informed that the father is now recanting his statement saying that he had wrongfully filed the FIR under the influence of substances.

"Upon further investigation it was found that the school had filed an FIR against him in the past, and he concocted such charges to seek revenge and used his daughter to do so. The entire case stands baseless and the girl is not being allowed to give a statement and is being kept locked inside her house," she said.

Reiterating that the case is false on every level, Bhadel called for swift and strict action against the father for making up such a case.

Earlier on Sunday, reports emerged that the alleged victim of Bikaner rape case was diagnosed with cancer after sustaining bruises and injuries in her private parts due to sexual assault, where she was also forced to consume abortion pills by the perpetrators.

The victim's mother said that the girl sustained injuries on her private parts because of the sexual assault which led to cancer.

The matter came into light after the minor girl's father alleged that his daughter was raped by eight teachers of a private school who also made a video of the heinous act.

The alleged incident occurred in April 2015 and the FIR was registered last Friday after the girl's father file a complaint.
In the Bawana constituency, no work has been done by the AAP government in the last two years, he said.

New Delhi: AAP MLA Ved Prakash Satish resigned from the party to join the BJP on Monday, saying the Aam Aadmi Party has "failed" to deliver on the promises it had made in the run up to the 2015 Assembly elections.

The Bawana MLA said he would also resign from the Assembly and other government-run bodies. "I am going to give my resignation letter to the Assembly Speaker," he said.

The move is seen as a shot in the arm for the BJP ahead of the civic polls in the national capital in April.

Ved Prakash joined the BJP at its Delhi unit office in the presence of Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari.

"I was feeling suffocated in the AAP. They (AAP) have failed to deliver on the promises which they had made during assembly elections. There are around 35 MLAs in the AAP who are not happy with the party leadership," Ved Prakash told reporters here.

In the Bawana constituency, no work has been done by the AAP government in the last two years, he said.

He said there was discontent among the people over the AAP government's failure to address their grievances.

"The AAP has already a list of rebel MLAs which includes Devinder Sehrawat, Pankaj Pushkar and former minister Sandeep Kumar," he claimed.
Congress leader Rajni Patil said that she has given a notice in Parliament over the VVIP culture issue.

New Delhi: Extending support to Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, the Congress on Monday said that Air India staff Sukumar was equally at fault.

Congress leader Rajni Patil said that she has given a notice in Parliament over the VVIP culture issue.

"Not all MPs are the same as shown. As the MP behaved, so did the airlines. If he misbehaved, the airlines also put him in the 'no-fly' list. The people should behave like a normal citizen," she said.

Resonating similar views, another Congress leader Husain Dalwai said that it was not just one-sided.

"He is a famous leader in Osmanabad. We should keep in mind how the officer talked to Gaikwad. I am not going to support his act. What he did was wrong, but this is not just one-sided," he said.

The Shiv Sena has given a shutdown call in Maharashtra's Osmanabad in support of Gaikwad, who had assaulted an Air India staff last week.

The Shiv Sena is also likely to bring a privilege motion in the Parliament on Monday over the issue of Gaikwad being put in 'no-fly list' of all airlines.

Air India and six private airlines banned the 56-year-old MP from flying as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.

The Osmanabad MP after being blacklisted by the top airlines boarded a train to Mumbai earlier on Friday evening.

The MP refrained from commenting further on the row and said Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray would speak on the matter.

Earlier, the MP, while showing no regret for his action had said, "What is there to repent? I will not apologise. He (Sukumar) should come and apologise. Then we will see."
Fish vendors were also claimed to have resolved to join the stir which has seen non-vegetarian delicacies go off the menu in the state.

Lucknow/Delhi: Meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh would go on an indefinite strike from Monday against the crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses.

Fish vendors were also claimed to have resolved to join the stir which has seen non-vegetarian delicacies go off the menu in several parts of the state.

"All shops will remain closed. Fish sellers too have joined us and are extending support to us," Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal office bearer Mubeen Qureshi said.

He said, in the wake of the crackdown, there was no question of the strike being called off anytime soon.

"It will go on indefinitely," he said.

Due to the strike, non-vegetarian food outlets, including the famous Tunday and Rahim's have shifted to mutton and chicken dishes after buffalo meat became scarce.

"The meat sellers are piqued over the crackdown on slaughter houses which has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people," Qureshi said.

After coming to power, the Yogi Adityanath government has ordered closure of illegal slaughterhouses and strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling to fulfil a key electoral promise.

"Yogi Adityanath should fight for the nation, not for gosht. Many people are dying without food. It has created chaos. We will support Yogi ji in his fight against Pakistan. If he (Yogi Adityanath) fights for gosht, we will raise our voices," a meat seller said.

As the mouth-watering kebabs went off the platter, the owner of another famous eatery said the situation might force the hoteliers to get mutton from Delhi.

"But there will be no compromise on the quality of the food," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

At the same time, he supported the closure of illegal and mechanised slaughter houses in the state, saying it was difficult for a common man to pass through a locality where the slaughter houses were operating almost openly.

He also alleged that the illegal abattoirs even indulged in slaughtering dogs.

Replying to a question, he said, "This is not a religious issue. In fact, it is directly linked to the health of people, who have the right to good quality of meat and fish."

Meanwhile, BJP national spokesman Sambit Patra said in Delhi that the government was only following a court order as illegal abattoirs were contributing to UP's ill health by getting ground water polluted.

He claimed those running meat outlets legally and in accordance with norms were not being victimised.

"There has been a court order about illegal abattoirs which was not implemented by the previous government. The state's Chief Secretary has constituted committees in each district headed by the Collector and comprising of ten people each. The committee is visiting every slaughterhouse to see if they are being run legally and submitting a report every day," he said.

About loss of livelihood and lack of meat in the market, Patra said," If there is large-scale disruption, the state government will look at it and resolve the issue.

Senior UP Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh said only small meat vendors were being targeted during the drive.

"How is it that the small shops are getting closed and meat exports are going up. The government should have made people aware of the laws and rules before launching the drive," he said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Saturday said abattoirs operating legally will not be touched but action will be taken against those run illegally.

"The government will not touch those (abattoirs) which are operating as per the provisions of law and have a valid licence. But those that are violating the orders of the NGT and playing with the health of the public would not be spared...," he had said.
Gaikwad had insisted that he had done nothing wrong, bragged about his attack on the AI officer and said that the officer should apologise.

Mumbai: Slamming Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad for assaulting an Air India officer, Union Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said that violence of any kind can be a disaster for airlines.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that an MP would get caught in such an incident, Raju said referring to Gaikwad.

Gaikwad, an MP from Osmanabad, had on Saturday attacked an Air India manager with a sandal for not providing him a business class seat in a flight to Delhi.

Gaikwad was subsequently blacklisted and barred by Air India, and 6 private carriers, from boarding their flights. He left for Pune on a train, but never got back home to Osmanabad.

Gaikwad is said to be staying at a relatives house in Pune currently. The Sena leader is expected to go back to Delhi, and hence is not travelling to Osamanabad, and will take a train again. While the contact numbers of Gaikwad and his wife are not available, a certain Mr Joshi, who claims to be Gaikwads personal assistant, answered a call made to his house in Osmanabad.

Asked about the whereabouts of Gaikwad, he said, Gaikwad is not in Osmanabad. He has not come here and there is no confirmation on when he will reach Osmanabad. He has to go back to Delhi and will go back via Pune or Mumbai.

On Sunday, Gaikwad, unapologetic from the beginning, threatened legal action against Air India and IndiGo for banning him. He claimed he had not gone into hiding and would be present in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. He said a 'top Sena leader' had asked him not to speak to the media.

The Sena MP had earlier insisted that he had done nothing wrong, bragged about his attack on the Air India officer and said that the 60-year-old officer should apologise to him.
Congress, Left accuse govt of crony capitalism, arrogance of power.

New Delhi: The Opposition on Monday accused the Modi government of trying to push crony capitalism, weaken the federal structure, giving unflinching power to Income-Tax authority and impinging on the fundamental rights of its citizens by trying to make Aadhaar card mandatory. Opposition party members in the Rajya Sabha alleged it was arrogance of power that the government was trying to link Aadhaar with tax filing when even the Supreme Court had said that Aadhaar was not mandatory. Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha will discuss on Wednesday the issue of Aadhaar being made mandatory for various services and schemes.

Initiating a debate in the Upper House on the Financial Bill, Congresss Kapil Sibal attacked the government for failing to generate jobs or help farmers. For the government, development only means the development of its communal agenda, he claimed.

Questioning governments move to use Aadhaar for filing tax returns, he said it amounted to snooping into peoples lives and the Prime Minister and the finance minister had earlier raised concern over the use of the unique identity number when the BJP was in Opposition.

Taking a dig at the BJP-led dispensation, he said some people in this government may have the experience in snooping and added that this also showed BJPs double talk. He said the governments move to remove the cap on contributions that companies could make to political parties amounts to crony capitalism and it wants corporates to contribute to the kitty of the ruling party.

Mr Sibal alleged that a provision to amend the Companies Act was surreptitiously brought in the garb of the Finance bill and to muffle the voice of the Upper House. He said the unbridled power to tax authorities through the provisions of the Finance Bill would create an atmosphere of fear in the minds of business people as Income-Tax officers will now not need to disclose the reason to suspect.

CPI(M)s Sitaram Yechury said the bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha in a hurry and the government had tried to undermine the Constitution by smuggling in non-financial matters in the bill. He said there have been references to Goebbels and Himmler, but the current government had put all of them to shame in the way they were undermining the parliamentary system.

Mr Yechury said the Aadhar card is leading to a surveillance state in the country and is impinging on the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution and asked the government to bring a bill if it wants to make it compulsory.

BSPs Satish Chandra Misra said various amendments proposed under the Finance Bill should have been brought separately so that the members could have discussed in issues in detail.
Meat traders, however, alleged they were being targeted despite having licences and all permissions in order.

Lucknow: Meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh went on indefinite strike from Monday in protest against the state governments crackdown on unauthorised and mechanised slaughter houses. UP chief minister Adityanath Yogi has, however, reiterated that no action will be taken against the slaughter houses that were operating legally.

UP health minister Siddhartha Nath Singh also asked officials not to get over-excited in taking action and said vigilantism by the police was not acceptable. He also said closure of establishments for minor issues like non-functional CCTV cameras was unacceptable.

Meat traders, however, alleged they were being targeted despite having licences and all permissions in order. We have decided to intensify the stir from today. All meat shops have downed their shutters and fish sellers are also supporting us. The indiscriminate crackdown on slaughter houses has rendered thousands jobless, said Mubeen Qureshi, who heads the Bakra Gosht Vyapar Mandal.

Reports from several districts said goat meat was not easily available, while chicken was being sold in a few shops. In Lucknow, most shops selling mutton downed their shutters. Chicken, eggs and fish, however, started being sold after the UP health ministers clarification that action was being taken only against illegal abattoirs. We are acting only against illegal abattoirs. Licenced slaughter houses are requested to stick to the norms, he told reporters, making it clear no orders have been issued to take action against any shop selling chicken, fish or eggs. They need not fear, he added. The Akbari Gate locality of Old Lucknow area saw a few shops opening to sell their remaining stock, while many others decided not to open.

In eastern UP, shortage of meat, specially mutton, was reported from various places. In Ballia, people faced a shortage of chicken and fish as well. Licenced shops were allowed to sell meat in Allahabad and Bahraich, where the sale of fish and eggs was normal.

In Agra, the stock of raw non-vegetarian food items fell rapidly during the day. No sale of mutton was reported, while people were purchasing fish and eggs. Jhansi saw non-availability of mutton, and even fish and chicken could be found only at a few outlets.

Official sources said UP has 38 government-approved slaughter houses while the total number of such units in the country is 72. Most of the 38 slaughter houses are export-centric and local demands are fulfilled by unauthorised or standalone slaughter houses. Buffalo meat from India is in demand in Gulf nations due to the low cost and the assurance that the meat is halal  slaughter that is religiously appropriate.

The closure of unauthorised slaughter houses has directed affected the local meat market and a majority of restaurants have already put up notices that non-vegetarian fare will not be available.
The CICD is among the earliest cultural institutions established in Delhi by Dr Sonal Mansingh.

In a few weeks, India will witness an extraordinary three-day celebration of dance and theatre. From April 30 to May 2, the capital of our country will have dancers from all over the world come together to see charisma explode at the Kamani Auditorium. These three days will see one of Indias most sought after Indian classical dance institutes, the Centre for Indian Classical Dances (CICD), celebrate 40 glorious years.

The CICD is among the earliest cultural institutions established in Delhi by Dr Sonal Mansingh. At the centre, Indian traditions and values are being instilled since 1977 through teaching and training in Indian dance, particularly Bharatanatyam and Odissi. Students at CICD learn not just classical dances but also music, yoga, the Sanskrit language and more importantly, the intrinsic values of Indias cultural heritage. The calendar of events of 40 years illustrates the scope and variety of the centres activities including cultural festivals, seminars, workshops and a staggering range of choreographies. The teaching methodology is based on the time-honoured tradition of guru-shishya parampara, all of it spearheaded by Dr Mansingh, who I also call as my dancing mother.

I know you all already know a lot about Dr Mansingh but today I would like to say a few words about my dancing mother. She is an iconic cultural personality, an acknowledged master of cultural interpretations and an exemplary teacher. Having trained in classical dance styles of Bharatanatyam, Odissi and in classical music traditions of North India, South India and also in traditional music of Odisha, she has carried the message of Indian culture to 90 countries so far. She is the recipient of high civilian honours Padma Vibhushan in 2003, Padma Bhushan in 1992 and many others honours. She is also one of the Navratanas nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Swacch Bharat mission.

I can go on and on about her, about who Dr Mansingh is as a person and what all she teaches everyone, every human being she touches with her Midas touch. But now let me tell you about her Kala Yatra.

Kala Yatra is a three-day long celebration of Indian art traditions. The opening ceremony is planned in a grand manner with the blessing of Shri Kamakhya Kalapeeth on April 30, 2017. The day will see the release of the book Sonal Mansingh  A Life like None Other authored by Sujata Prasad. The book, like the name suggests, is about the life of one of the most precious dancers of our nation. After the book release there will be a unique presentation of ShivaMahatmay  a dance production on episodes from Shiva-Purana. I asked Dr Mansingh how she feels about CICD completing 40 splendid years. It has been, an emotionally charged Dr Mansingh said, completely fulfilling and glorious. It is fulfilling because the beat and the melody of disciplined yet creative energies have never ceased to reverberate in this noble space. I call it glorious because innumerable boys and girls, young and older men and women have imbibed the essential values, disciplines and beauty in their lives through the uncompromising training given here. They are now engaged in performing, teaching and spreading the message wherever they go.

Today, I am writing this article to congratulate all the students of CICD and to wish my dancing mother Dr Mansingh many more glorious years as a dancer, performer, guru, choreographer, social activist, researcher, mentor, guide, motivational speaker and more. So that she can spread her aura of knowledge even more and make us learn lessons of a lifetime.

Sandip Soparrkar is a well known Ballroom dancer and a Bollywood choreographer who has been honoured with National Achievement and National Excellence Award by the Govt of India. He can be contacted on sandipsoparrkar06@gmail.com.
The residents of a Turkish town Kastamonu were woken up at 1 am because of the surprising sounds

The clip has gone viral after a a shocked resident recorded it on his phone and posted it on social media. (Photo: Pixabay)

People usually watch porn in their houses where nobody knows about it because it is a private activity for sexual arousal. A Turkish town however was in a rude shock when live porn was played from their local community loudspeaker.

According to a report in the Daily Sun, locals in the Kuzeykent neighbourhood were woken up at 1 am when their local community speaker was blaring live porn and they didnt know how to deal with it. While the mayor Tahsin Babas has ordered an investigation, a shocked resident recorded it on his phone and posted it on social media.

The police talking about the disturbance said that anybody who can break into the frequency could have started the sound and it isnt hard for anybody to do so.
Dy CM says BJP, Cong should not worry about poll promise; common man is happy.

New Delhi: Ahead of the municipal elections in the national capital, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday that the inspector raj prevailing in the BJP-ruled civic bodies will end with the abolition of house tax.

Hailing the announcement made by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday abolishing house tax if the party is voted to power in the corporation elections, Mr Sisodia said that BJP and the Congress should not worry as common man is happy with the promise of abolition of house tax which, he alleged, has become a source of widespread corruption for councillors and officers. We have seen reactions of the BJP and the Congress.

Both parties should not worry about the promise made by the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party). Common man is happy with the announcement. Like we halved electricity bills and gave free water to 12.5 lakh people, we will also abolish house tax, he said in a press conference. Terming the BJP as Bhartiya Jumla Party, the deputy CM said it has turned into a party which turns away from its promises and alleged that the saffron party which ruled the MCDs for 10 years is worried because a racket of property tax and inspector raj will be finished.

They are worried because abolishing of house taxes wil l mean finishing of middlemen and corruption in the civic bodies. The house tax has given rise to inspector raj system in corporations which will be finished if AAP comes to power, he said. Giving an example, Mr Sisodia said at present if a property tax dues is Rs 10,000 of a person, then a broker in a racket will take Rs 2,000 and tries to settle the dues.

Both the BJP and the Congress gave similar reactions when we said that electricity bills will be halved and free water will be given. We successfully did it when we came to power and now we will abolish the house tax once we come to power in MCDs, he said.

He reacted sharply to the comment by Opposition leaders that for abolishing house tax, the Delhi Municipal Act has to be amended by Parliament. For abolishing house tax in Delhi, we do not need to go to Parliament. It was before 1993 that amendments were made to the Act by Parliament but after that the amendments in the act and even the last one in 2011 were made without going to the Parliament, he said, adding that rumours are being spread to mislead people.
The hapless situation the residents face due to the absence of basic facilities in their sector has turned their dream a nightmare.

The hapless situation the residents face due to the absence of basic facilities in their sector has turned their dream a nightmare. (Representational image)

New Delhi: Almost six years have passed but the lack of basic amenities haunts the allottees of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) housing scheme 2010. These flats are located in Rohini Sector-28.

The hapless situation the residents face due to the absence of basic facilities in their sector has turned their dream a nightmare. Majority of the residents have complained that the LIG (Lower Income Group) flats are yet to receive final touches. Lack of water supply and last mile connectivity has made their life miserable.

In a reality check visit by this newspaper, it has been found that the residents of Sainath Apartment do not have water supply and totally rely on Delhi Jal Boards tanker service for their day-to-day water affairs. The last mile connectivity is non-existent. While the nearest Metro station at Rithala is 6-7 km away, the DTC bus service is irregular. Around 350 families are living here and 760 flats are still vacant.

Senior officials of DDA admitted that this locality was not populated and it would take some time for infrastructure development in the area. The flat owners are not keen to move here because of lack of water and transportation that the concerned agencies were supposed to provide when the flats were allotted way back in April 2011.

My brother was eager to shift to his apartment but couldnt because of improper facilities. He has been paying the bulky EMI since the past six years for his LIG flat but all his elated moment vanished when he saw the actual condition of these flats. The situation has worsened after the downfall of the property market. We have been cheated by the DDA and the associated agencies, who have duped us by allotting these apartments to common people like us, said Ganesh Chandra, a resident of Kalyanpuri in East Delhi. After much effort, the society received electricity supply in the year 2014. Since then, few families have moved in here, said Rajender Bhandari, a local resident.

Although electricity has reached this locality, water supply is a far-fetched dream for the flat owners. To meet their daily basic needs, water booster and submersible are the only available options but boring for continuous supply of water is illegal. Moreover, private tankers charge exorbitant rates.
The incident took place on Saturday when the accused took the girl to a park on the pretext of buying her ice cream.

New Delhi: A Railway employee has been arrested for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl in Gandhi Nagar area of Shahdara, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place on Saturday when the accused took the girl to a park on the pretext of buying her ice cream, they said.

He allegedly forced himself on her but the incident was witnessed by a boy who raised an alarm, police said.

The accused was arrested from the spot, they added.
Finance dept issues notification in the wake of charges of medical negligence, inflated bills.

The decision was taken in the wake of allegations of medical negligence and inflated billing. (Representational image)

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government on Friday removed Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals from the panel of hospitals that provide treatment to government employees under the states health scheme. The decision was taken in the wake of allegations of medical negligence and inflated billing.

A notification regarding the decision was issued by the state finance department. Apollo was empanelled in the list of Class I Hospitals under the West Bengal Health Scheme, 2008.

A probe and scrutiny of medical reimbursement bills of the beneficiaries treated under the state health scheme revealed that the private hospital have not abided by the norms for providing cashless treatment under the government scheme on many occasions.

The hospital had charged the beneficiaries more than the approved rates, conducted unnecessary procedures and tests, prescribed costly antibiotics and consumable without any justification, did not provide original tax invoice of implants used.

On some occasion, the hospital had refused to offer cashless treatment without providing any valid reason.

The flaws revealed by the enquiry are contrary to the provisions of the Memorandum of Association that was signed between the government and the hospital. It has been found that the doctors of the OPD clinic are reluctant to accept government approved rates and they charge much higher and the difference amount between the approved rate for surgery and the surgeons claim is realised from the beneficiaries, read the notification.

Under the provisions of West Bengal Health Scheme, 2008 and West Bengal Health for All Employees and Pensioners Cashless Medical Treatment Scheme, 2014, state government employees, pensioners and their dependent family members are entitled to get cashless treatment of up to Rs 1 lakh in the empanelled private hospitals. The move to discontinue empanellment of Apollo comes amidst ongoing investigations by the police and the state health department against the hospital for inflated billing and medical negligence in treatment of victim Sanjay Roy, that had resulted in his death last month. a health department official said.
The market value of the seized MD is said to be Rs 42,000 while the seized cocaine is believed to be worth Rs 9,600.

The police received a tip-off that two people said to be middlemen had come to the venues that were raided to sell the drugs when they were arrested. (Representational image)

Mumbai: In two separate incidents, the Dongri police seized banned narcotics mephedrone and cocaine from two persons early on Sunday. The duo was arrested later. In the first instance, the police seized 20.84 gram of mephedrone, also known as MD and meow meow, and in the second raid, seized cocaine weighing 4.38 gram. The market value of the seized MD is said to be Rs 42,000 while the seized cocaine is believed to be worth Rs 9,600.

The police received a tip-off that two people said to be middlemen had come to the venues that were raided to sell the drugs when they were arrested.

In the first incident, the police raided a house on IM Merchant Road in Khadak area of Dongri and another on Shiv Das Chapsi Marg.

Nitin Bangale, senior police inspector, Dongri police station, said the raid was conducted late on Saturday night. We received a tip that some people were selling contraband in two houses in the area. So we formed separate teams and raided the place, he said. From the first house, the police seized 20.84 grams of MD, which is said to be worth Rs 42,000 in the market. The arrested accused in possession of MD has been identified as Jason Mohammed Siddique (34).

The second raid was conducted in Valpakhadi area of Dongri and we seized cocaine worth Rs 9,600, he said. The second arrested person is Mahendra Jaiswal (45). According to a police source both the arrested accused persons had come to the said house, which they had rented to sell drugs. They are from Mumbai but would come to the raided house for drug sale and the same was the case last night. We are trying to access their call data records to see who they were going to sell it to and also try to find out who they bought the drug from, said the source. He added that the police is also checking whether these people were part of a bigger cartel and is trying to trace the others.

The arrested accused have been booked under various sections of the NDPS Act.
ED brings his overseas assets in UAE, Saudi Arabia, UK in money-laundering probe.

Mumbai: Having attached properties worth Rs 20 crore of the controversial Islamic preacher and televangelist Zakir Naik in Mumbai, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has brought his overseas assets in three countries  United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom  in its money-laundering probe against him and his non-governmental organisation, Islamic Research Foundation (IRF). The investigators suspect that Naik allegedly invested heavily in real estate in the three countries under the scanner out of the donations given to him by his followers after his sermons and fiery speeches.

Once the ED gathers conclusive evidence on Naiks overseas assets being proceeds of donations received by him that are currently being investigated, the agency would approach foreign legal authorities for their attachment. Sources in the ED stated that Naik allegedly has more assets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and England than the agency found in Mumbai. The officials suspect that among all the places, Naik bought most of the properties in Dubai, a business hub in the UAE.

Naik had been receiving large amount of donations from Saudi Arabia since long and the money was routed to Dubai for sending it to India. The UK is another country where Naik is suspected to have assets as two of the six shell companies that were floated by Naik, are based in England, with there being several individual donors who fund Naik from all these countries, officials said.

Among the donations that were sent to India via Dubai, include donations to the tune of Rs 60 crore, part of the total donations worth around Rs 200 crore, received in the bank accounts of Naik and his entities, between 2013 and 2016. Based on the investigation it seems that large sum of these donations were utilised in foreign land, especially Dubai that seems to be more than his assets found here that amounted to Rs 20 crore. It is suspected that donation money was used there before sending the remaining to India. We are taking requisite steps to get the exact details, said an ED officer, requesting anonymity.

The money was deposited in the bank accounts of Naiks close confidant Amir Gazdar, sister Nailah Noorani and in the accounts of IRF and other entities.

The properties belong to Naik and his entities that were attached by the ED include his investment in Mutual Fund to the tune of Rs 9.41 crore of IRF, Islamic Education Trusts school in Chennai worth Rs 7.05 crore, a godown of Naiks media arm  M/s Harmony Media Pvt Ltd to the tune of Rs 68 lakh and bank accounts of IRF that had deposits worth Rs 1.23 crore.

Naik had floated six shell companies to launder the money received as donations from India and abroad. These companies are Universal Broadcasting Corporation Ltd and Lords Production Inc Ltd, (both based in England), Longlast Constructions Ptv Ltd, Majestic Perfumes Pvt Ltd, Alpha Lubricants Pvt Ltd and Harmony Media Pvt Ltd, which are all based in Mumbai. Naiks sister Nailah Noorani holds around 90 percent shares in four of these companies. ED has questioned Ms Nailah twice in connection with the case.
Bombay HC asked agency to finish probe into Kharghar toll scam in three months.

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Monday directed the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) to conduct an open inquiry into the Kharghar toll scam within three months. It also directed the Public Works Department (PWD) to take permission from court before paying Rs 390 crore to the contractor as compensation.

Though the ACB had sought a period of six months to complete the inquiry, the division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Anuja Prabhudesai refused to accept the plea and asked it to begin inquiry from March 27.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by social activist Pravin Wategaonkar alleging corruption and breach of rules in the tender process of Kharghar toll collection centre on SionPanvel highway and sought directions for the ACB to look into the issue. The petitioner alleged that the state had given the contract for toll collection in 2006 fraudulently causing losses to the state exchequer.

Mr. Wategaonkar has further alleged that the government is also considering paying the compensation amount for exempting lighter vehicles from paying toll. According to his claim, the PWD had denied tender forms of four contractors interested in bidding for collection of toll on the SionPanvel highway but without assigning any reasons.

The ACB sought time for inquiry into the allegations before registering an FIR, contending that the construction of the highway; the toll collection and so on are connected with the state PWD, MSRDC and other private and government agencies.

Also, the process of tendering, construction and so on involved highly technical issues hence they cited the necessity of an open inquiry before appropriate action is taken. The ACB is supposed to file open inquiry report on July 10.
There were reports that Modi wanted to resolve issues between the two parties.

Mumbai: Hinting that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray might not attend the dinner party expected to be convened next week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sena Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut said that Mr Thackeray is always ready for discussion at Matoshree. He was reacting to reports about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeking the Senas support for the Presidents election to be held in July this year.

Mr Raut also defended controversial MP Ravindra Gaikwad and said that an airlines ban on him cannot be tolerated.

Though much has been spoken about Mr Modi bringing together NDA partners in Delhi this week, the Sena said it has not received the invitation. If they need our votes then Uddhavji Thackeray is always ready for discussion at Matoshree. Good food is also served at Matoshree. We have not received any invitation for the dinner, Mr Raut said.

There were reports that Mr Modi wanted to speak to Mr Thackeray and resolve issues between the two parties before the Presidential polls.

Shiv Sena and BJPs relations are sore ever since the Assembly polls in 2014, which the two contested separately for the first time. The two parties then repeatedly broke alliance in various local body polls and also joined hands with each other while grabbing power.

Earlier, Sena had supported Congress candidate Pratibha Patil for President, taking a stand that she was a Marathi. Referring to that, Mr Raut said that Senas then chief Bal Thackeray had taken a stand on the President election in the interest of the country.

On expectations about the next President, Mr Raut said the person should be efficient.

The person should be efficient and possess knowledge of the Constitution and should also be a patriot. (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwats name has been in discussion for the Presidents post. He could be an option for the concept of Hindurashtra. But Uddhav Thackeray will take the final call, Mr Raut said.
The escalation of BJP support from two to 282 Lok Sabha seats recalls the Brotherhoods runaway success.

When he was released from confinement last week, 88-year-old Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt with an iron hand for 30 years, slipped out of history into luxurious obscurity. But Egyptians are still grappling with the consequences of the chaotic 12 months under his successor, Mohammed Morsi, Egypts only democratically elected President, whose short tenure demonstrated two political truths that are both disturbingly relevant to India. First, democracy is a double-edged weapon. Second, religion is a ruthless tiger that politicians mount at their own peril but cannot dismount at their own pleasure.

Those who welcomed Mr Mubaraks fall when the so-called Arab Spring gave short shrift to dictators were hoist with their own petard in the subsequent election: instead of voting for a safe and secular retired Air Force chief as President, Egyptians chose Mr Morsi, the burly, bearded chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party which the Muslim Brotherhood had launched to contest the election. A socio-religious organisation that marches to the slogan Islam is the solution, the Brotherhood and its political front, the FJP, invite comparison with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party. But while the RSS has been banned only four times (once during British rule and three times after Independence) and is assured of the pre-eminence it now enjoys for some years to come, the Brotherhood has again been outlawed by Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Egypts current President. Having suffered a succession of government crackdowns in 1948, 1954 and 1965, it can boast of a far more tumultuous past than anything the RSS has known.

Called al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun in Arabic, the Brotherhood was founded in 1928 (three years after the RSS) by an Egyptian schoolteacher and six Suez Canal Company workers to make Islamic law mandatory and promote what they saw as Islamic ethical concepts. Since Egypt was then virtually a British protectorate, the Brotherhood also aimed at loosening colonial control and purging Western influence. Branches were set up throughout Egypt to run mosques, schools and sporting clubs, and membership soared as revivalist ideas spread across the Muslim world. The escalation of BJP support from two to 282 Lok Sabha seats recalls the Brotherhoods runaway success. In 2000, it returned 17 parliamentarians.

Five years later, it captured 20 per cent of the seats, prompting a worried Mr Mubarak, who was then President, to rewrite the Constitution stipulating that: political activity or political parties shall not be based on any religious background or foundation. Independent candidates were banned from running for President, and new anti-terrorism laws gave the security forces sweeping powers to detain suspects and restrict public gatherings.

The fresh election after Mr Mubarak was overthrown enabled the Brotherhood to emerge as the only force in the land (apart from the military which had ruled Egypt in one guise or another since the Free Officers banished King Farouk in 1952) and the power behind the throne. Indians will recognise a familiar ring about Mr Morsis attempt to reassure critics by promising that as President he would build a democratic, civil and modern state that guaranteed freedom of religion and the right to peaceful protest. Even if the commitment was seriously meant, it did not inspire confidence among people who see nominees of religious lobbies as prisoners of their rigorous masters. Visiting Egypt last month, I was shown mile upon mile of ugly ramshackle mostly empty blocks of flats lining the road out of Cairo. They are blamed on Brotherhood favourites who were allowed to build illegally on prime agricultural land. Some condominiums sported a minaret and housed a mosque, thereby escaping taxes.

The massive demonstrations against Mr Morsi that erupted in 2013 reflected anger at perceived discrimination and disenfranchisement against religious minorities (Coptic Christians account for about 15 per cent of the population), economic instability and the alleged wholesale murder of protesters. The violence continued until the Army Chief, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, seized power, bringing to a bitter and bloody end Egypts only experiment with democracy. The prime and never-to-be-forgotten lesson of that conflagration is that those who uphold the lofty principle of Vox Populi, Vox Dei  the voice of the people is the voice of God  forget, as someone once pointed out, that the riotousness of the masses is always very close to madness. Its especially dangerous when Vox Dei is identified with a particular god so that the peoples mandate, as delivered through the ballot box, is seen to uphold the claims of one religion in a multi-religion society.

Hundreds of Brotherhood activists were killed when Mr Morsi was toppled; thousands more are languishing in jail. Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Russia have declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. Its assets were seized. The FJPs newspaper was closed and its equipment confiscated.

One recalls wistfully that Egypts second President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, was regarded as the apostle of revolution. He promised with Nehru, Tito and Sukarno to banish Cold War hostility and usher in global peace and harmony. Hurling defiance at the West, he nationalised the Suez Canal and vowed to build dams more magnificent and seventeen times grander than the Pyramids so that Egyptians prospered. Those heady times seem as remote now as the high noon of Greek Alexandria. Today, Egyptians are desperately courting Chinese tourists because the Russian boycott since the 2015 Metrojet bombing has deprived Egypt of one-third of its tourism revenue. One Egyptian opened his cellphone to reveal a picture of Farouks son, King Ahmed Fuad II, exiled in Switzerland, and claimed Egyptians were better off under the monarchy.

If the Brotherhood has paid a high price for political adventurism, Egypt is paying even more dearly for allowing religion to overwhelm politics.
The Humane Society International is responsible for saving the dogs that were fed barely enough to survive.

The animals have to taken abroad because they're generally not wanted in South Korea as pets or companion dogs. (Photo: Representational/AP)

New York: Forty-six dogs were flown to New York from South Korea after being rescued at a farm where they were to be slaughtered for human consumption, animal advocates said on Sunday.

The Humane Society International is responsible for saving the dogs that were fed barely enough to survive.

The animals arrived at Kennedy International Airport late on Saturday and were headed to emergency shelters in New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania on Sunday.

The farm in Goyang, a city just north of Seoul, "was more like a dungeon, where there's very little light, little to no ventilation, so the stench of ammonia would bring tears to your eyes when you walk through," said Kelly O'Meara, who oversees the society's companion animal-related international projects. "You'd see eyes peering at you, but it was hard to actually see the dogs themselves in the dark."

An estimated 17,000 other such farms still operate in South Korea, said O'Meara. However, she said, it's a diminishing industry in a society where demand for dog meat has been plummeting. However, meat from about 2 million dogs still is eaten there each year.

In the United States, the rescued dogs will be available for adoption after the shelters evaluate their behaviour and medical needs and make sure each one is ready for a new life in someone's home.

In South Korea, O'Meara said, the dogs receive no veterinary care of any kind.

"They either get through it or they die in their cage and they receive just enough food to get by," she said.

At the seven farms from which the Humane Society rescued more than 800 dogs since 2015, those to be slaughtered included both mixed breed dogs and purebred ones - from a Chihuahua and a Maltese to various spaniels and a Saint Bernard.

A German short-haired pointer and a miniature pinscher came from the latest farm.

The Washington-based Humane Society International, which relies on private donations, deals directly with farmers to close down and demolish dog meat businesses and help owners financially to transition to other work.

The animals must be taken abroad, O'Meara said, because they're generally not wanted in South Korea as pets or companion dogs. Some had been abandoned pets, and others were raised to be sold as pets but given to the meat industry if that failed.
President Trump made extending the walls that line parts of the nearly 2,000-mile border, a central campaign pledge.

Brown said during an interview that the president's promised border wall is 'ominous' and reminiscent of the Berlin Wall. (Photo: AP)

Washington: California Governor Jerry Brown likened President Donald Trump to a strongman whose goal of walling off the US-Mexico border conjures other infamous barriers from the past.

"The wall, to me, is ominous. It reminds me too much of the Berlin Wall," Brown said during an interview broadcast on Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

The pointed reference suggested that the president was, like the leaders of communist East Germany several decades ago, trying to restrict the movements of people on both sides, despite all they have in common.

"There's a lot of odour here of kind of a strongman," Brown told host Chuck Todd. "I think Americans ought to be very careful when we make radical changes like a 30-foot (9-meter) wall keeping some in and some out."

Trump made extending the walls that line parts of the nearly 2,000-mile (3,219-kilometer) border a central campaign pledge. Companies seeking to build the wall must soon submit concept papers for sloped barriers that are aesthetically pleasing on the US side. It's still not clear how the administration would pay for the wall.

Brown said that although California would fight "very hard" against the wall, people should not expect a series of knee-jerk lawsuits.

"We'll be strategic. And we'll do the right human, and I would even say Christian, thing from my point of view," Brown said. "You don't treat human beings like that."

The governor disputed Trump's suggestion that immigration was a threat, casting it instead as an asset.

"Look around at many of our industries," he said, citing the state's multibillion-dollar agricultural sector and the technological hotbed of Silicon Valley. "Twenty-five percent of the people in California were foreign-born. This is our dynamism."

Brown, who visited the nation's capital last week to meet with federal officials, said he's willing to work with Trump and other Republicans on issues including immigration, health care and, especially, infrastructure.

He called a proposed rail project aimed at relieving traffic congestion between San Francisco and Silicon Valley "a real test" for the president. The plan is opposed by Republicans in California, the governor said.

"Here's a chance for President Trump to be above the political game. This is about infrastructure," Brown said. "Does he believe in a shovel-ready construction project that will create American jobs ... (and) ... is ready to go within a couple of months, or not?"

Asked what Trump could learn from Brown's predecessor, former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, he said the president could be better at picking his battles.

"Don't fight everybody," Brown advised Trump. "And you have to make more allies than enemies. It's simple. Politics is about addition, not subtraction."

Brown, who is in his fourth non-consecutive gubernatorial term and will turn 79 next month, said the role of national Democratic Party leader was open for the taking. But it won't be him, the governor said, because "I've run for every office and there's no more left.
The state Department of Public Service will hold a series of public hearings in April on how two utility companies responded to a windstorm that left hundreds of thousands of western New Yorkers without power in early March.

Buffalo-area are scheduled for 2 and 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 12 at the Southside Commerce Center Auditorium, 300 Gleed Ave., East Aurora.

In the Rochester area, hearings are planned for 2 and 6 p.m. Thursday, April 13 at Monroe Community College, 1000 E. Henrietta Rd., Brighton. The meetings will be held at the Forum Room inside Building 3.

Members of the public may attend any of the sessions and share their comments. Each hearing will last at least one hour.

The hearings follow Gov. Andrew Cuomo's call for the state to investigate how New York State Electric and Gas and Rochester Gas and Electric responded to the windstorms that battered the Buffalo and Rochester areas.

Cuomo, who visited the Rochester area in the days following the windstorm, slammed RG&E for its response.

At the time, National Grid, which had roughly 170,000 customers lose power during the storm, had electricity restored for all but 7,000 customers.

RG&E, however, had 116,000 customers lose power. The company still had 50,000 customers without power when Cuomo visited the region.

"I am not pleased with the job that RG&E has done," Cuomo said March 11. "As a matter of fact, I am displeased with the job they have done."

Utility companies are required to have storm response plans in place. The state Public Service Commission will investigate to determine if NYSEG and RG&E followed the plans. The agency could assess penalties if the investigation finds the companies didn't adhere to the storm response strategies.

With the public hearings, state public service officials have several questions for those who may provide feedback at the meetings. The questions focus on how attendees were affected by the outages and if utility companies provided timely and accurate information during the outages.

If you can't attend any of the hearings, you may share feedback by calling 1-800-335-2120 or by going to www.dps.ny.gov, clicking on "search" and entering "Matter 17-00540." Click "post comments" at the top of the page to submit your feedback.

You can mail your comments to: Secretary Kathleen H. Burgess, New York State Department of Public Service, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany NY 12223-1350.

Comments submitted via mail, online or phone are requested by Tuesday, May 9.
Each day, the hospital looks after around 100 patients, both civilians and security personnel, often the victims of gunshot wounds.

The building is now used to treat people wounded in the ongoing battle for the western side of the city. (Photo: AP)

Mosul: Fifteen-year-old Mohammed enthusiastically helps the staff of a makeshift hospital set up in the bullet-scarred school in west Mosul where he himself studied before terrorists seized Iraq's second city.

The ISIS used the school as part of its programme of indoctrination until it lost control of the area during a major Iraqi offensive launched last month, and it is now used to treat people wounded in the ongoing battle for the western side of the city.

Like many buildings in Mosul, the school bears the signs of warfare. In addition to being pockmarked with bullets, most of the windows are broken, walls are cracked and the floor is littered with bullet casings.

The entrance hall has been transformed into an emergency room, which is stocked with only limited equipment but still allows for first aid to be administered to the wounded and sick.

One young man lies on a narrow bed, his face pale and tired. "A sniper (from ISIS) fired at him but missed, so he started to run, and the sniper shot again and hit him," says Fathi Waad, one of the victim's relatives.

"This is the third time that someone in the family has been hit by a sniper," he adds.

Each day, the hospital looks after around 100 patients, both civilians and security personnel, often the victims of gunshot wounds, says Aqil Karim, a medic from the elite Counter-Terrorism Service.

A dust-covered red pickup suddenly stops in front of the school to deliver a semi-conscious old man whose foot has been injured.

Unlike the previous patient, he is not the victim of violence, but rather of an accident, and he is also suffering from dehydration.

As soon as he arrives, he is carried to a bed, where his wound is washed, disinfected and dressed.

Treating him is just as important as tending to those wounded by war in a city where the fighting has destroyed many medical facilities.

More than 200,000 Iraqis have fled west Mosul since Iraqi forces began the assault to retake the area on February 19, the government says, but hundreds of thousands more are still in danger inside the city.

With school lessons unlikely to resume at any time soon, several former pupils have returned to the building to help the medical staff.

Indifferent to the sound of gunfire and explosions outside, one of them rushes around helping out where he can, dressed in a tracksuit with a blue hood.

Mohammed has barely finished unloading a delivery of equipment when he is already back inside handing out food rations.

"We cook, clean the equipment, and when wounded people arrive we help them," says the slender teenager, who is delighted no longer to be in class under the terrorists.

"Our teachers were hard on us. They'd beat us," he says. "And they'd ask us to pledge allegiance to ISIS."

But Mohammed does not see a future for himself in the ruins of a city disfigured by months of heavy fighting. Instead, he yearns to join his relatives in the United States.

His dream job once there? "Doctor", of course.
Mar Sako tells of west Mosul "difficult but necessary" liberation. Jihadis "use people" as human shields amid narrow streets and houses. Thousands have died and more than 10,000 homes have been destroyed. Controversy continues over an air strike by the US-led coalition that killed more than a hundred people. The Chaldean Church provides food aid to Muslim refugees.

Baghdad (AsiaNews)  Freeing Mosul from the presence of the Islamic state (aka Daesh) will be "difficult but necessary" because Jihadis "use people" as a shield in a city of narrow streets and houses, said Mar Louis Raphael Sako.

The Chaldean patriarch spoke to AsiaNews about the offensive against Daesh in west Mosul, Iraqs second largest city. "The military offensive underway in the west has killed at least 4,000 people and destroyed 10,000 houses. A real tragedy," he lamented.

Some of Iraqs oldest churches and some of the most important monasteries are in Old Mosul, in the western sector. There buildings date from the fifth, sixth, and seventh century and are part of the countrys religious, cultural and historical heritage.

For the Chaldean primate, this is why "the liberation of Mosul is necessity. At the same time, it is necessary to protect people and preserve lives."

Over the week-end, the Chaldean Patriarchate released an official statement, in which it expressed "solidarity" with Mosuls "innocent victims", hit by "obscurantist terrorism" with hundreds of civilians killed in the conflict.

The Chaldean Church expresses its "closeness" and pledges basic "assistance" such as food, with a particular attention for displaced families.

"On this occasion, the statement reads, we call on all concerned parties to respect the laws of war, as well as moral and religious traditions to preserve the lives of innocent people."

Finally, the Church urges the international community to tackle "seriously" the crisis of displaced persons, "Iraqs greatest tragedy".

Over the past month, hundreds of thousands of civilians have abandoned their homes and property in west Mosul to escape the battle between government forces and Kurdish militias against the Islamic State, which still controls the area.

Most of the displaced have found shelter in refugee camps and reception centres set up in recent weeks. Others have found refuge with family and relatives.

In February, after months of intense fighting, the government successfully drove Daesh from east Mosul, on the right bank of the Tigris River. The offensive began on 17 October and took nearly five months to overcome Jihadi resistance in the area.

Now the goal is to take complete control of the city, notwithstanding the need to protect civilians from the effects of the offensive.

On 17 March, an air strike by the US-led international coalition apparently killed more than a hundred people when the building in which they were sheltering collapsed.

Conflicting versions have emerged about the number of victims and responsibility. Iraqs military claim that the deaths were caused by explosive devices placed by jihadists.

Rescuers pulled out the bodies of more than a hundred people from the rubble of collapsed buildings; other sources claim that more than 240 people died. The US command has opened an investigation but so far has not released any statement.

Some local politicians are calling for greater care, noting that dropping half a tonne of bombs to kill a sniper on top of a building full of civilians is unacceptable.

"This is a carnage, Mar Sako told AsiaNews. Something must be done. The Islamic State uses people as human shields, and they must be stopped."

In addition to the civilians killed, there is also the tragedy of the refugees who continue to flee from west Mosul.

"Next week I am going in person to deliver aid to more than 4,000 Muslim families who fled recently, Mar Sako said. They are the new refugees, the latest victims of the offensive, who will now join the first displaced people."

Across the country, "We have about 3.5 million displaced people, and the number is expected to rise considering that there are still 400,000 people in west Mosul."

"We want to show them that the Church cares, that ethnic or religious differences do not matter in the distribution of aid.

As Christians, we do not seek revenge, the Chaldean patriarch explained, but reiterate our role as a bridge and agents of peace." (DS)
Promoted by the Houthis, who occupy the capital and large areas of the north of the country. Former President Saleh also present. He called crowd to resistance. One demonstrator: "In the streets against the Saudi aggression." A criminal court close to Shiite rebels issues death sentence for Hadi in absentia.

Sana'a (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets yesterday in Aden, Yemen's capital, to demand an end to a conflict which for over two years has bloodied the country. The event was promoted by the Houthis, who occupy the cities and large areas of the north of the country, as well as a number of strategically important ports on the coast. Yesterdays march also coincides with the second anniversary of the intervention of the Saudi led Arab coalition in the war against the Shiite rebel movement.

Meanwhile, one of the Houthi Criminal Courts in the capital sentenced President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to death in absentia for high treason. The court convicted Hadi of having "usurped the title of president at the end of his mandate", in February 2014 "instigating Saudi Arabia attacks " and of having "undermined the independence and integrity of the Republic of Yemen".

Six other members of the Hadi government were also found guilty and sentenced to death for treason.

Since January 2015, Yemen has been the scene of a bloody civil war opposing the countrys Sunni elites led by former President Hadi, backed by Riyadh, and Shia Houthi rebels, who are close to Iran.

In March 2015, a Saudi-led Arab coalition began attacking the rebels, sparking criticism from the United Nations over heavy casualties, including many children.

So far, some 10,000 people, including more than 3,700 civilians, have been killed, and at least 2.5 million have been displaced.

For Saudi Arabia, the Houthis, allied to forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, are supported militarily by Iran, a charge that Tehran rejects.

Extremist groups linked to al Qaeda and jihadist militias linked to Islamic State are active in the country, a fact that has helped escalate violence and terror.

During yesterday's street demonstration in Sana'a the Houthi backed former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, also spoke, in one of his rare public appearances. He addressed the crowd, gathered at Sabeen Square, urging them to "endure to the end." In response, protesters chanted slogans and songs. "As long as the Arab coalition continues to choose war - added the former leader - free Yemenis will choose resistance."

Ahmed Mohsen, one of the protesters, said he wanted to take to the streets to "protest against the aggression [of a Saudi-led coalition]. Maybe our voices can be heard around the world, to put an end to the war. "

In these two years the United Nations has intervened on several occasions to mediate in the conflict and seek a solution to end the violence. However, in spite of the many meetings so far there has been no significant progress on the path of peace.
The authorities conducted 199 investigations. The victims targeted for ethnic and religious reasons. Religious and conservative groups increasingly active as vigilantes. The case of the Christian governor is an example of this trend.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) Incitement to hatred was the most reported online crime to the police by Indonesian citizens throughout 2016, according to Himawan Bayu Aji, chief commander of the National Police Anti-Crime IT department.

Himawan said that last year the authorities investigated a total of 199 cases. From the Indonesian police reports it appears that, in most cases, individuals or groups of people have been victims of online defamation, harassment, insults, provocations and threats for reasons mainly related to ethnicity and religion.

Analysts reveal how religious and conservative groups are increasingly active vigilantes in spreading "moral panic" in Indonesian society, targeting activities considered immoral and having greater influence on the country's political life.

A clear example of this trend were the harsh attacks that several radical Islamic groups have turned to Tjahaj Basuki Purnama, known to all as Ahok, governor of Greater Jakarta and Christian Sino-Indonesian origin.

Scholars speculate how these incidents are the unexpected results of Indonesia's democratization. While freedom of expression in the country is now guaranteed, incitement to hatred, driven by Islamic fundamentalist groups, however, seems out of control.
by Shafique Khokhar-Ata-ur-Rehman Saman

Christians have begun to analyse in depth the institution of marriage. Abuse and violence among married people is the main spark. For decades, the only way of separating from a violent spouse was through conversion to Islam. Maria is one of the victims.

Lahore (AsiaNews)  Domestic violence is commonplace in Pakistan. Maria (not her real name) is one of its victims. Scratches and bruises on her face, neck and arms tell better than words the violence she has had to endure at home.

Sitting in a corner of her parents home, she is still under shock and terror from years of abuse at the hands of her husband. A clergyman, Fr Victor, follows her in her slow path to recovery.

"In the past three months alone, I had to leave my husbands home seven times, after a crescendo of serious physical and psychological violence."

Maria's story is just one of many examples of domestic violence that occur every day in Pakistan, among both majority Muslims as well as Christians. However, for Christian women, there is an additional problem, namely the inability to escape violent spouses through divorce, which the state denies them, except through conversions to Islam.

In Pakistan, Christian marriage is governed by certain special laws, many of which date back to the colonial era: the Christian Marriage Act of 1872, the Christian Divorce Act of 1869 and the Succession Act of 1925.

In 1981 then dictator Zia ul-Haq, who put in place the controversial blasphemy laws, changed the rules with a presidential decree without the consent of Parliament or Christians.

The changes he introduced have made it very difficult, if not impossible, to get a divorce because of the removal of Section 7 of the Christian Divorce Act, which provided for the annulment of Christian marriages.

Until recently, Christian women had but a single, practical and immediate way to escape domestic violence and abusive husbands, namely conversion to Islam.

In principle, the Catholic and Protestant Churches considers marriage an indissoluble sacrament and do not provide for divorce.

Under British rule, divorce was allowed under some cases outside of adultery, such as incurable mental illness, cruelty and desertion.

Since General ul-Haqs rule, modern Pakistan has excluded Christians because of Section 7. However, last year a petition filed by Amin Masih, a Christian, prompted the court to restore Section 7 for Christians, citing a violation of the constitutional principle of the equality of citizens.

This decision has helped revive the debate in Catholic and Protestant communities, among leaders as well as the faithful, about the indissolubility of the sacrament and the lawfulness of divorce.

Amid the various opinions and positions, some have called for the possibility of annulling marriages, whilst others stand as defenders of orthodoxy and reject exceptions in principle.

Since August last year, the National Commission of Justice and Peace of the Catholic Church of Pakistan (NCJP) has promoted meetings and discussions with priests and lay people over marriage and divorce.

The goal is to outline ways to review existing laws and ensure full respect for human rights and international standards, whilst looking at the steps taken by other Christian communities. The goal is to prevent conversions to Islam for the sole purpose of ending a violent and abusive marriages.

This is what happened to Maria, with whom we began our story. Today, thanks to the reintroduction of section 7, she was able to separate from her abusive husband. Currently, with the support of Fr Victor and her family, she is trying to rebuild a happy and peaceful life.
If the Seoul District Court agrees with the request and issues the arrest warrant, Park will be the first former South Korean president to be arrested since 1995. The charges against her include abuse of office, bribery and leaking government documents.

Seoul (AsiaNews)  Prosecutors announced plans to seek an arrest warrant for former President Park Geun-hye of South Korea on criminal charges including abuse of power, bribery and leaking government documents.

The prosecutors today formally asked the Seoul District Court for the warrant. It usually takes several days before the court studies evidence and decides whether an arrest warrant is justified. Prosecutors fear that the former president might tamper or destroy evidence against her.

Park is accused of conspiring with her long-time confidante, Choi Soon-sil, to collect tens of millions of dollars from big businesses, including more than US$ 38 million in bribes from Samsung.

Choi and Samsungs top executive Lee Jae-yong have been arrested and indicted on a number of charges, including bribery.

If the court agrees with the prosecution and issues the arrest warrant, Park Geun-hye will be the first former South Korean president to be arrested since 1995, when military dictators Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were arrested and later convicted on sedition and mutiny charges.

On 9 December, the South Korean National Assembly impeached and removed Park by an overwhelming majority. She left office the next day.

Currently, South Korean political parties are involved in primaries to choose candidates for the upcoming presidential election scheduled for 9 May.
Vietnams Catholic community is not growing. Young people and their testimony can help evangelise society. Youth need to interact with one another and share their experiences. Moving to the city comes with many difficulties.

Hanoi (AsiaNews)  Young Catholics in Vietnam are actively and enthusiastically taking part in pastoral work and social activities organised by parishes and dioceses. They represent a hope for the future of the Catholic Church and Vietnamese society. But more work is needed to make them steadfast in the faith.

"Missionary work is an urgent task in Vietnam, where tens of millions are denied spiritual values  in favour of consumerism, and millions more are living below the poverty level. Some of them earn just a couple of dollars a day," said Fr Anton Nguyen Ngoc Son, editor of the Directory of Vietnam Catholic Church, speaking to AsiaNews.

Vietnam has about 6.7 million Catholics, 7 per cent of a population of 95 million. The Church has 45 bishops, 5,386 priests, 4,854 seminarians and more than 500,000 members of Catholic associations. However, the Catholic community has not grown. In 2015, approximately 38,050 adults were baptised, as many of those who stopped practicing.

Its time for people educated in the Catholic faith to meet and love God, said F Son. At the same time we must show our faith in daily life. The faithful can announce and spread Christian values to others. If we do not love Jesus, we cannot proclaim his Gospel to people around us."

At the last Catholic Youth congress, whose theme was God! What should we do?, about 30,000 young people from the Archdiocese of Hanoi met in Vinh. The youth took part in the conference on confession and Eucharistic adoration in a moving and holy atmosphere. They interacted with one another and shared experiences of faith in small groups from various dioceses.

Some of the participants spoke to AsiaNews, expressing a need for psychological counselling and pastoral spirituality". Many of them are far from home to study.

"Before going to university we lived in rural areas, some said. Moving to a big city to study or work brings major changes. We feel weird even in everyday life. We need spiritual encouragement and support. For this reason, we meet in small groups to help each other and carry out apostolic work together."
March 27, 1937

At a meeting of the Senior Class of the Cato High School, held Thursday afternoon, Prof. C.A. Abbott, principal, announced the rank of the members of the Class of 1937. Marion Wood with an average of 89.39 percent was named valedictorian and Dorothy Howell with an average of 81.77 per cent as salutatorian.

Other members in the upper half of the class are Betty Streeter, Robert Weldon, Gertrude Havens and Howard Pittenger. The remainning members of the class are Ruth Wilkes, Martha Smith, Petrus DeBuck, Frances White, Margaret Leyburn, Richard Wood and Ruth Hertel.

March 27, 1962

Genoa Chapter of the Future Farmers of America placed first at a county chapter meeting and farm forum held March 17 at the Port Byron Central School.

Members of the winning Genoa team in the chapter meeting contest were Mark Mead, Ernest Sheils, Terry Stockton, Howard Dean, Bruce Karn, Francis Perkins, Raymond Starner, Robert Donalds, Ernest Lamphere, Dale Searls and Thomas Bathwell. Donald Wilbur was alternate. Representing the Genoa FFA chapter in the farm forum were members Starner, Mead, Stockton, Karn and Jack Baker.

March 27, 2007

It's been 10 long years, Peg Sweetman said as an excavating crew lowered a set of steel beams with a backhoe Monday. A few other excited members of the CIViC Heritage Historical Society joined her on a cool and soggy morning to witness a decade of work fall into place off Route 34 in the village. It will be some time before the 50-by-80-foot structure has Four Towns Under One Roof as a sign at the site near South Street promises, but the pile of framework resting on wooden slabs indicates the project is under way.

March 27, 2012

New tenants could soon move into the historic Case Mansion after the city Zoning Board of Appeals approved a request by Ministro Ministries to use the 81-year-old home as a veterans and homeless shelter, a youth center and a vocational culinary training center. The board members carefully stipulated the allowed uses before the 5-2 vote, so the city residents in the audience could fully understand the vote.
There is now a new option for substance abuse treatment in Cayuga County.

After receiving final approval from New York State's Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), Syracuse Recovery Services has opened a new outpatient rehab facility in Auburn.

Located at 2 Easterly Ave., the Auburn facility is the agency's third Central New York location, as the Syracuse-based organization also operates in Onondaga and Cortland counties.

Lisa Forshee, the director of Syracuse Recovery Services, said the for-profit agency applied for the Auburn office last year when she noticed a growing need for drug and alcohol treatment in the region.

"There was a lot of outreach from the community," Forshee said, noting that she had six patients from Auburn who took Medicaid cabs to Syracuse for services. "(Syracuse Recovery Services) was originally very small, but the need was great so we kept expanding."

The new facility  which opened March 20  offers several forms of outpatient treatment, including trauma informed and medication assisted therapy like Vivitrol and Suboxone. There is currently one physician, Dr. Sarah Stuart, who works at the office a few days a week.

"We are looking for an additional therapist, but we need more patients in order to bring in more providers," Forshee said. "I think we have about seven patients right now ... but we have more calls coming in."

Still, while many local professionals are not opposed to another outpatient provider, some wonder whether it's what the county really needs.

Raymond Bizzari, the director of Community Services at Cayuga County Mental Health, said he would have preferred a larger provider with more services as there is currently no wait list for outpatient services in the county.

"It would have been more helpful for us to have more access to detox facilities and housing," he said. "I think our needs are greater than outpatient. ... More outpatient treatment is not going to solve the problem."

But in the absence of inpatient treatment and detox programs, Lon Fricano the Heroin Epidemic Action League  said every resource is a blessing.

"We're a small community with a very big problem ... and our basic philosophy at HEAL is we can't have too much help," he said. "There are a lot of people that need recovery services here and it's nice to have options. So we'll take every resource that we can get our hands on to help people get healthy."
Pictured left to right are AFLA Executive Director Bill Elliott, AFLA President Michael Bieger, AfMA Executive Director Mace Hartley, and AFLA Global Committee Chair Mike Antich.

The trend toward the globalization of fleet management practices is accelerating. As more companies operate multinational fleets, fleet managers must adapt and grow their skillsets to meet a host of new challenges and opportunities. Fleet management and leasing companies, vehicle manufacturers, and service providers are responding with new solutions for harmonizing policies, finding efficiencies, and controlling costs.

These trends coalesced with the creation of the first-ever Global Fleet Networking Consortium.

The Need for a Partnership

There are a number of professional associations that represent the interests of fleet managers worldwide. One of them is the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA), of which Automotive Fleets editor, Mike Antich, is a member and past president.

The desire to launch a global fleet initiative was raised at AFLAs past strategic planning meetings. The associations board of directors agreed that, although AFLA was, and should remain a U.S.-centric organization, it was important to recognize the needs of its many members who manage fleets for multinational companies.

When AFLA embarked on this initiative, there was no organized mechanism for global fleet organizations to network between themselves to share best practices, and market knowledge, said Antich, who also serves as the North American chairman of the annual Global Fleet Conference, which is a joint venture between Bobit Business Media and Nexus Communication, the publisher of Fleet Europe magazine. The conference alternates between Europe and North America.

AFLAs board of directors decided to create a Global Committee tasked with seeking and establishing partnerships with fleet associations around the world and asked Antich to serve as committee chair. The other 26 committee members include global fleet managers from multinational companies, along with key managers from global auto manufacturers, fleet management companies, and fleet services providers.

Antich said their goal was to create a true partnership of equals to which individual associations could bring new ideas to benefit their counterparts around the world. They decided to initially call it the Global Fleet Networking Consortium.

AFLAs leadership sees that the globalization of the fleet market will be a continued trend in the years to come, and we are thrilled to be a part of the Global Fleet Networking Consortium, said Bill Elliott, AFLAs executive director. As global responsibilities are continuing to be added to the plates of fleet managers and fleet industry suppliers, this consortium gives us the opportunity to learn from and connect with our global peers.

Elliott

The committee agreed that AFLA should draft, in cooperation with other fleet associations, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would lay out the principles of the consortium.

The purpose of the MOU is to establish a partnership that promotes cooperation between fleet associations internationally to allow them to work together to build mutually beneficial relationships, said Antich.

According to Antich, the individual MOUs signed between the fleet associations are designed to create the framework for cooperation that will enable each of the associations to benefit from collaborative activities in fulfilling their strategic missions. With this, as a goal, the associations agreed to:

Mutually support each others conferences and educational events to their membership.

Exchange non-proprietary information and best practices concerning their respective fleet markets for the mutual benefit of the members of all participating associations. This would also include reciprocal links to each associations websites and exchange of newsletters and other non-proprietary communications.

Share local fleet market information with each association functioning as a resource center for one anothers members.

Establish regular communication between the leadership of the participating associations by providing quarterly updates on new developments for the potential benefit of each association.

Commit to continuing dialogue between the participating associations to identify mutually supportive initiatives.

The long-term vision is to cultivate a mutually beneficial relationship between the members of the Global Fleet Networking Consortium that embraces innovation, which is open to new ideas, and shares a vision of expanding this partnership to other major fleet associations around the world, said Antich.

Antich

The Snowball Effect

The first member of the Global Fleet Networking Consortium was the Australasian Fleet Management Association (AfMA), which has almost 550 members. Antich first reached out to AfMA Executive Director Mace Hartley in June 2016. In August, a contingent from AFLA met with Hartley in New York City and Hartley quickly became an enthusiastic supporter of the new idea. AFLA and AfMA drafted and signed a memorandum of understanding, and the Global Fleet Networking Consortium was officially established.

The Global Fleet Networking Consortium was a fantastic initiative by AFLA, and AfMA is proud to be the first member to join with AFLA following a face-to-face meeting in New York last year, said Hartley. Communications and technology facilitate global businesses; however, laws and operational frameworks for fleet management are vastly different and increasingly complex. This initiative seeks to embrace the strength of each partner and share the combined knowledge with our members.

AFLA President Michael Bieger said he was encouraged by AfMAs enthusiasm for the project.

Bieger

The Global Fleet Networking Consortium, proposed by AFLA and embraced by progressive fleet organizations across the globe, such as AfMA, the first partner to join this worldwide network, will set the standard for cooperation and knowledge sharing in the fast-paced and complex world that is our industry, said Bieger, who is also the senior director of global procurement for ADP. It brings an exponentially greater wealth of resources and people available to fleet managers across the globe than has previously been available; earlier efforts were characterized by single point of contact referrals. Now the power of the partner organizations and their memberships will be available to all. This is a truly exciting new step.

Next, AFLA and AfMA jointly reached out to the Asociacion Mexicana de Arrendadoras de Vehiculos (AMAV), which translates to the Mexican Vehicle Leasing Association.

The presidency of AMAV rotates annually and AFLA met with then-current AMAV President Peter Rodriguez, who is also the owner/president for Global Motors Leasing.

The current AMAV president is David Madrigal, who also serves as president of Fleet Management Mexico at Element Fleet Management.

Madrigal

We are excited to join and be part of the Global Fleet Networking Consortium. AMAV comprises the most relevant FMCs and rental companies in Mexico, and on a daily basis, our members face the challenges of managing large fleets in our country, said Madrigal. We are confident that our members will benefit from sharing the expertise, regional challenges, and technology trends within different regions.

Things snowballed quickly from there. AFLA, AfMA, and AMAV then jointly approached the China Road Transport Association (CRTA). Earlier, Antich had been invited to speak at the CRTA annual conference in Beijing, and he took the opportunity to meet with their leadership team. They were enthusiastic about the idea and were likewise focused on the opportunity to establish partnerships with the other international associations.

Ge

The principles of the AfMA, AMAV, and AFLA MOU were endorsed by Roger Ge, vice chairman of CRTA Car Rental-Leasing-Taxi Committee, and the 1,000-member strong association joined the Global Fleet Networking Consortium.

Now four associations strong, as a group, the members of the consortium identified the U.K.s largest fleet group, the 350 member Association of Car Fleet Operators (ACFO), as their European partner. ACFOs directors immediately saw value in the consortium and quickly agreed to join. In short order, the consortium had grown to include five associations representing four continents.

Technology is rapidly shrinking the world, and in the developing age of business mobility, connectivity, Big Data, and autonomous vehicles, global boundaries will increasingly disappear, said John Pryor, chairman of ACFO and fleet and travel manager for the London-based Arcadia Group. Many of the issues confronting fleet decision-makers in the U.K. will be the same as those being tackled in the United States, Australia, Mexico, and China, so it makes logical sense to pool our collective knowledge, experiences and advice and communicate best fleet management practice worldwide.

Pryor

The Global Fleet Networking Consortium will hold its first-ever in-person strategic planning meeting on June 9 at the conclusion of the Global Fleet Conference in Miami. There, all members of the Global Fleet Networking Consortium will meet to determine how best to work together to better serve the needs of each associations membership, said Antich.

Among the areas being discussed is the adoption of an online communication platform to facilitate the sharing of information between consortium members. One consideration is using the existing global online platform  www.globalfleet.com.

Also as of presstime there are two other MOU initiatives in progress. Stay tuned for forthcoming announcements and new initiatives, said Antich.

More information on the 5th annual Global Fleet Conference, which will be held June 6-8. 2017 in Miami, can be found on the conference web site: www.globalfleetconference.com
Photo of Ford Mustang courtesy of Ford.

Ford Motor Co. is recalling 5,470 2017-model year Ford Mustang cars because the return spring for the driver-side interior door handle may come loose, allowing the drivers door to unlatch in a side impact crash.

As a result of this problem, the vehicles fail to comply with all federal safety standards, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Ford dealers will inspect the driver-side interior door handle and repair the return spring, as needed. There will be no charge for this service. The recall is expected to begin April 24, NHTSA said.

Vehicle owners can reach Ford at (866) 436-7332. Fords number for the recall is 17C04.
Last Friday, the Trump administrations proposed health care legislation was pulled from a House of Representatives vote shortly before it was destined to be defeated. It was unpopular in Auburn, as it was in many places, because it would have resulted in laying waste to the local economy.

The Citizen recently reported that if Obamacare were repealed and the aborted law were passed, it would cost Auburn Community Hospital over $1.3 million, a devastating hit. Former city councilor Matt Smith astutely pointed out at a Valentines Day council meeting four years ago that if the hospital were to fail, Auburn would be spending money changing the signs from the City of Auburn to the Village of Auburn."

We sometimes feel like Auburn is an out-of-the-way place, far removed from Washington and the political situation at the federal level. At last Thursdays Auburn City Council meeting there was a full house attesting to the old adage that all politics is local. Administrators and staff from a number of community organizations were there to state their opposition to the Trump administrations plan to zero out the funding from the Community Block Development Grant (CBDG) program. The Rescue Mission, Meals on Wheels and the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program, among others, all took their turns on the podium imploring city council to do something to stop the funding cut, which would end crucial support for the citys most vulnerable citizens.

Eight months from the convention in which Trump vowed to give a voice to Americans who felt they had none, the administration is now dispensing with all pretense that this was ever going to happen.

It is the dark philosophy of hard conservatism that believes the elimination of all social welfare programs will burn away the ills of poverty. At best, they believe that there exists a critical point at which the poor will get sick of being poor and miraculously become small business owners, and it is simply up to the leaders to remove the obstacles from that path. At worst, it is simply an ethos of punishing the poor for being poor, or for that matter, the sick for being sick. It is medieval feudalism at its core.

By ending the CBDG funding, one of the most successful Republican-devised programs of the last 50 years, Trump will take local control away from small cities like Auburn. The CDBG program was proposed by Richard Nixon as part of his New Federalism philosophy, partially in response to the mistakes and excesses of the Urban Renewal efforts of the late 1960s. It was signed into law in 1974 by President Ford, and allows local municipalities to control where their tax dollars go, whether it be services for poor disabled children, or new sidewalks for North Street.

I give this background only to frame the curious times we live in. A president who vowed at his inauguration to wrest control from the top and return it to the people now proposes the opposite. Such is the nature of alt-right conservatism.
Of the 19 aircraft that set out from Crete, Greece, on Nov. 12, 14 survivors of the Crete2Cape Vintage Air Rally arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, after 8,000 miles and over a month of flying. The pre-WWII aircraft were the first to land at the Egyptian Pyramids at Giza in 80 years and the first to receive permission for level overflight of Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Those failing to complete included a Boeing Stearman, piloted by John Ordway and his daughter Isabella, which was destroyed in a forced landing 80 miles from Nairobi following a total engine failure. While parked overnight in Botswana, an R44 chase helicopter and a Tiger Moth were severely damaged in a windstorm that blew the improperly secured Moth into the R44.

Sam Rutherford, Rally Director and Organizer, coordinated the fickle logistics of getting aviation fuel shipped across Africa and a maze of bureaucratic approvals with only one major incident. Rally crews were detained for two days by Ethiopian authorities due to what the organizers told AVweb was a bureaucratic mix-up. Rutherford said, upon their arrival in South Africa, The Vintage Air Rally has been a lot of work, not just for my team but for the pilots. Its been months, if not years in the making  while weve been preparing the Rally, all the crews have been sorting out their aircraft, so its been a big deal for a long time, and now its a huge relief to be here.

Rutherford and the Vintage Air Rally crew are planning the next major international rally, scheduled to depart Ushuaia, Argentinathe southernmost city in the worldon March 3, 2018, and arrive in Lakeland, Florida, for Sun N Fun six weeks later.

Photo Credit: Beatrice de Smet / VintageAirRally
International mediators hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan will resume soon their high-level negotiations on a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Monday.

We hope that in the near future -- not months away but in the near future -- the two foreign ministers will be able to meet together in Moscow or perhaps elsewhere to prepare the ground for the [Armenian and Azerbaijani] presidents to meet, Richard Hoagland, the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, told reporters in Yerevan.

It is time to begin negotiating again, he said. We cannot allow violence to be the solution to this long-standing issue. Violence is not an answer.

Hoagland arrived in Armenia together with fellow mediators from Russia and France heading the Minsk Group. They held meetings with President Serzh Sarkisian and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on Monday and were due to travel to Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday.

Official Armenian sources said both sides agreed on the need to implement last years Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements aimed at bolstering the ceasefire regime in the conflict zone. Those call for the deployment of more OSCE observers and international investigations of armed incidents on the frontlines.

Azerbaijan formally notified the OSCE headquarters in Vienna earlier this month that it will not agree to such a deployment in the absence of withdrawal of the Armenian troops from the occupied territories. Baku has also been reluctant to allow OSCE investigations of truce violations along the Karabakh line of contact and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Armenian leaders have repeatedly said that implementation of these confidence-building measures is necessary for renewed negotiations on a peaceful settlement proposed by the U.S., Russian and French mediators. Their so-called Basic Principles of a Karabakh peace were first put forward in 2007 and have been repeatedly modified since then.

Asked to comment on reports that the existing, most recent version of that framework accord was drawn up by Russia, Hoagland said: Thats a hard question to answer  The plan on the table right now is in no way radically different from plans in the past.

Which specific individual or country sat at the table late at night and wrote this plan? Well, Im not going to comment on that. But I will say that this is a very good, internationally approved plan. The OSCE supports it and the co-chairs and their governments support it, added the diplomat.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on March 6 that the conflicting parties broadly agree on the proposed settlement envisaging Armenian withdrawal from districts around Karabakh and a future decision on Karabakhs status which would take into account the opinion of the people living there. But Lavrov also also admitted that they are still far apart on two or three elements of this peace formula. He did not to disclose the sticking points.

Hoagland also declined to give key details of the very comprehensive peace plan. In diplomacy, its like in a card game, he explained. When youre holding cards you dont put all the cards on the table for everyone to see.
27 March 2017 16:16 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijans State Committee on Property Issues will hold another auction on April 18, 2017 for privatization of 141 state objects.

These objects include 29 small businesses, 25 joint-stock companies and 87 non-residential areas, the agency announced on March 27.

The state objects to be put up for sale mainly operate in the fields of construction, industry, transport and others.

The small businesses are located in Baku, Sumgayit, Shamkir, Lankaran, Zagatala, Tartar, Balakan and other regions of Azerbaijan.

The third stage of privatization in Azerbaijan started in the framework of the presidential decree dated May 19, 2016. Under the decree, the acceleration of the state property privatization process has been defined as an important direction of the economic policy.

So far, over 700 state enterprises and objects have been put for sale. More than 300 new state-owned enterprises and facilities were declared open for privatization in Azerbaijan in 2016.

The portal for privatization  privatization.az, launched in July 2016, reflects all necessary information about the facilities, their addresses, location, and even initial cost and aims at facilitation of the process. The website is available in two languages - Azerbaijani and English. Why Azerbaijan is special section available on the website explains the reasons and advantages of investing in the country.

The privatization process is designed to attract both foreign and local investors, as well as improve the business environment of Azerbaijan.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
27 March 2017 16:52 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

A delegation of the Turkish Eastern Black Sea Exporters Association will visit Azerbaijan and Georgia on May 2-6, said Ahmet Hamdi Gurdogan, the head of the association.

He noted that this visit, supported by Turkeys Economy Ministry, is aimed at strengthening of the trade ties between the countries, Trend reported.

Although, Turkeys trade ties with Azerbaijan and Georgia significantly increased in recent years, they have not achieved the desired level. In 2016, 13 percent of the total export of Turkeys East Black Sea Region accounted for Georgia, while only 1.7 percent accounted for Azerbaijan, which does not reflect the real potential of the region, Gurdogan said.

He noted that export from the East Black Sea Region could account for at least half of Turkeys total export to Azerbaijan and Georgia.

This visit to Azerbaijan and Georgia will contribute to the growth of export opportunities in the region, according to Gurdogan.

The delegation of the Association, which covers Trabzon, Rize and Artvin provinces of Turkey's Eastern Black Sea Region, is expected to hold business meetings and research the local markets.

Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey amounted to $2.3 billion in 2016, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee.

The trade turnover between the three countries currently amounts to $4.2 billion.

The countries plan to bolster trilateral economic cooperation and increase the volume of trade turnover to the level of $20 billion.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
27 March 2017 18:04 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Baku Telephone Communications Production Association modernizes the transmission towers for optical cabling by air, the association reported on March 27.

For stability during the windy weather, air cables of communication are replaced with optical cables and communication lines, laid to end users from switchboard cabinets and transmission towers, are replaced with new symmetrical cables.

Baku Telephone Communications noted that preventive repair work is done at the expense of the associations internal funds.

The optimization of the infrastructure of cable and sewerage facilities in Baku is being carried since the beginning of 2016. Approximately 10,000 of the 20,788 facilities have been optimized to date.

The main goal is to create optimal infrastructure and suitable conditions for ensuring normal working conditions of emergency repair crews. Only unusable equipment and cables which may cause accidents are being decommissioned.

Azerbaijan attaches particular importance to the qualitative communication and Internet services for the population. The country ranks first among the countries of Post-Soviet region for the level of broadband internet penetration. Thus, Azerbaijan left behind Russia (where the level of penetration is 18.8 percent), Georgia (14.6 percent), Kazakhstan (13 percent) and other CIS countries.

The signal of the digital broadcasting covers approximately 99 percent of Azerbaijan, while over 75 percent of the countrys population have an access to the Internet.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
27 March 2017 17:11 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijan will suppress any threat from Armenia immediately and decisively, the country's Defense Ministry stated.

The enemy [Armenia] should understand that all military facilities and other strategic objects located in Azerbaijans occupied territories, including Armenia are under constant target of the Azerbaijani army, said the ministry.

Earlier Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said that if needed, he will give an order to strike with Iskander missiles.

The Armenian presidents statement on a possible use of Iskander operational-tactical missiles is a primitive step, which is intended for the internal audience and aimed at strengthening the shaken authority of his criminal gang and increasing his pre-election rating, Azerbaijans Ministry of Defense told APA on March 27.

As a result of retaliatory actions to be taken by the Azerbaijani army, Armenia will not avoid large-scale casualties and destruction, which will lead to disastrous and irreversible consequences for it. Before making such irresponsible statements, the Armenian authorities should think about the fate of the population, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry warned.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
27 March 2017 17:54 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Armenias Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian held a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, who are on a visit in Yerevan, the Armenian Foreign Ministry tweeted on March 27.

The two sides discussed the further steps aimed at the implementation of agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group visited Azerbaijan on March 10-11, where they had several meetings with the countrys leadership.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
27 March 2017 15:34 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

The Governor of the State of Nebraska, the U.S., Pete Ricketts has signed a proclamation on Azerbaijan National Day.

The proclamation reads: "On May 28, 1918, Azerbaijan declared its independence establishing the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which became the first secular parliamentary democracy in the Muslim world and was recognized by other democratic states, including the United States of America. During the short period of independence Azerbaijan granted all people the right to vote regardless of race, gender, ethnicity and religion, becoming the first Muslim nation to grant women equal political rights with men, an accomplishment preceding the United States."

"Azerbaijan's independence was interrupted in 1920, when it invaded by Bolshevists and forcefully incorporated into the USSR in 1922 to restore its independence only in 1991.

Over the last two decades the Republic of Azerbaijan has consolidated its sovereignty and independence and has become a staunch ally and strategic partner of the United States of America in the critically important Caspian region, the document reads.

Every year for the last 99 years, millions of Azerbaijanis around the globe, including tens of thousands in the United States of America observe May 28th as Azerbaijan National Day and remember the contribution of their forefathers to the spread of democracy to the regions of Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East," the proclamation says.

The proclamation was also signed by Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
27 March 2017 15:58 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Kazakhstan Rashad Mammadov met with Kazakh Minister of Defense and Aerospace Industry Beibut Atamkulov on March 27 to discuss issues of the mutual interest.

The parties highlighted the solid foundation laid between the two countries for cooperation in all fields, during the period of independence, adding that this cooperation will contribute to further development and strengthening of two countries.

They also stressed that both countries, which are resource-rich and located in an advantageous geographical location for international transport corridors, faced with similar challenges after gaining the independence and turned to each other's experiences in the period of state-building.

Atamkulov spoke about the high level of cooperation between two countries and shared his pleasant impressions about Azerbaijan, stressing that Azerbaijan has become one of the region's independent state, as a result of the economic achievements and powerful policy.

Building an independent army plays an important role in Azerbaijan's achievements, the minister added. Praising Azerbaijans achievements in the creation of the defense industry complex, the minister emphasized Kazakhstans interest in Azerbaijans experience in this field.

In turn, Mammadov raised the issue of the continuing occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia, talked about the historical aspects of the problem and consequences of the conflict.

The diplomat noted that the goal of creating a powerful military-industrial complex in Azerbaijan is an urgent need to ensure the territorial integrity of the state. Mammadov also spoke about the successful cooperation of Azerbaijan with a number of states in the sphere of military-industrial complex.

The ambassador also informed the Kazakh minister about ADEX exhibition held annually and products displayed here, stressing the importance of increasing the number of contracts signed during this event every year. Rashad Mammadov invited Kazakhstan to attend this exhibition.

The two also highlighted that Kazakhstan intends to get acquainted with products made in Azerbaijan's military industrial complex and pays special attention to cooperation in this field. For this purpose, Kazakhstan will actively participate in the ADEX exhibition to be held in Baku.

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are both Turkic countries and share close historical, religious and cultural ties. Today, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are more interested in intensification of cooperation in many areas, particularly logistics and infrastructure. Necessary measures are taken to better utilize the opportunity driven from the passage of shortest East-West transport corridor through the territories of the countries.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
PHOENIX -- Attorney General Mark Brnovich is asking a judge to rule that the word "benefits'' in a voter-approved measure is not the same as "fringe benefits.''

And the goal of this judicial war of words is a bid by Brnovich to block local governments from telling private companies what benefits they have to offer their workers.

Assistant Attorney General Rusty Crandell, writing on behalf of Brnovich, is trying to preserve a 2016 measure adopted by Republican legislators to block local governments from telling private companies everything from how much time off they will offer workers to vacation mandates and even how far ahead of time workers need to be told of schedule changes. Crandell specifically wants Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Oberbillig to throw out a challenge to that law by Democrat legislators who voted against it.

But attorney Jim Barton, representing the challengers, said the 2006 voter-approved initiative setting the state's first-ever minimum wage specifically authorizes such local laws on fringe benefits. And Barton said that was reinforced just this past November when voters adopted Proposition 206 which raised the wages again and mandated for the first time ever paid sick leave.

Businesses are powerless to block "living wage'' legislation like what voters adopted in Flagstaff and what is being considered in other communities. That's because Proposition 202, the 2006 initiative, specifically allows cities to set wages even higher than what the state requires.

But fearful of even broader local mandates, the restaurant industry last year got Rep. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, to craft a legal end-run of sorts around the initiative.

Specifically, Mesnard wrote a law that redefines "wages'' -- the thing that the state cannot preempt because it was approved at the ballot -- to include only the salaries being paid to workers.

Everything else was defined as "nonwage compensation,'' ranging from sick pay, vacation pay and severance benefits to commissions and pension contributions. That also includes things like maternity leave.

In challenging Mesnard's law last year, Barton points out the Arizona Constitution forbids lawmakers from altering voter-approved laws unless the measure "furthers the purpose'' of the original law.

In this case, he said, the 2006 initiative specifically says that a local government "may by ordinance regulate minimum wages and benefits within its geographic boundaries.'' That, he said, makes the law illegal.

And Barton said even if a court were to conclude the Mesnard-crafted law could be interpreted as furthering the purpose of the 2006 initiative, the Arizona Constitution says changes to initiatives require a three-fourths vote of both the House and Senate. Mesnard's legislation was approved by the House on a 34-26 margin; the Senate tally was 18-11.

It is that margin that gives Democrat lawmakers who opposed the law -- and had enough votes to deny the measure that three-fourths margin -- the standing to sue.

In his new court filings, Crandell told Oberbillig all that is irrelevant. And the key to all that is the argument that "benefits'' doesn't mean what challengers say it means.

Crandell concedes the wording in the 2006 law -- language also picked up in last year's Proposition 206 initiative -- does specifically say local governments can "regulate minimum wages and benefits.'' But Crandell wants the judge to conclude the word "benefits'' means not "fringe benefits'' but instead only "the minimum wage protections that Prop. 202 provides.''

"The term 'benefits' is not defined,'' Crandell wrote. And while he acknowledges a dictionary says it could be considered shorthand for "fringe benefits,'' there's also a definition that says "the advantage or privilege something gives.''

So if "benefits'' does not necessarily mean "fringe benefits,'' what does it mean?

Crandell told Oberbillig its up to him to discern what voters intended when they approved Proposition 202. But Crandell insisted it definitely does not mean fringe benefits.

He said the measure was titled the "Raise the Minimum Wage for Working Arizonans Act.'' And then there was the intent language.

"The declared purpose of Prop. 202 is that 'all working Arizonans deserve to be paid a minimum wage that is sufficient to give them a fighting chance to provide for their families,' '' Crandell said.

He said the initiative accomplishes that by setting the minimum wage and providing for enforcement rights and penalties.

Anyway, Crandell said, there was nothing in any of the arguments in a publicity brochure mailed to voters ahead of the 2006 election, either for or against, that mentioned anything other than wages.

"If the voters of Arizona intended to hand over control of all employee benefits to local governments -- enabling local governments to saddle businesses with a patchwork of regulations regarding nonwage benefits that vary from one city to the next -- one would expect a clear explanation of such a feature in light of its significant impact on business,'' Crandell wrote. "Tellingly, nothing in the history of Prop. 202 alerted voters to this sea change in Arizona employment law.''

Barton, however, wants Oberbillig to rule that it doesn't take a legal parsing to conclude that "benefits'' are what they seem to be, even without the word "fringe'' in front of it.

Some of the issue already has been effectively decided.

Last year's initiative did more than raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour and $12 by 2020. It also requires employers to provide at least three days of paid leave for everything from sickness to court appearances.

More to the point, it clearly spells out that local governments are free to require paid sick leave greater than what's in the ballot measure.

But there are still other issues that city councils might want to take up, like how much notice private employers must provide before changing a worker's schedule. And Proposition 206 does not specifically address things like vacation.

Brnovich already has succeeded in getting part of the challenge to Mesnard's law thrown out.

The original challenge included not just Democrat lawmakers but also members of city councils from Tucson, Flagstaff and Tempe. They argued the Mesnard legislation interfered with their plans to enact local ordinances on fringe benefits.

Oberbillig said, however, that's not enough to give them the right to sue. He said only after a city enacts an ordinance that runs afoul of the new law can he rule on whether it is preempted by the state law.

The judge also said a union whose members might be aided if cities enact fringe benefit requirements also could not sue.
27 March 2017 16:39 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Conflicts in the GUAM area should be solved based on sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of states, says the final statement of the heads of governments of the GUAM member states.

The statement was adopted at the summit of the heads of governments of the member states of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development  GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) in Kiev on March 27

The GUAM format was created by post-Soviet states in 1997 during the summit of heads of the EU states in Strasbourg. In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the format and four years later withdrew.

Expressing deep concern over the conflicts, continuing in the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, undermining sovereignty and territorial integrity and impeding the sustainable development of GUAM member states, we reaffirm our commitment for their speedy settlement on the basis of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the internationally recognized borders of states, says the statement.

The government heads of the GUAM member states reaffirmed their commitment to the decisions, resolutions and documents adopted at the GUAM summits, as well as the norms and principles of international law enshrined in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.

The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, but they have not been enforced to this day.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

---

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27 March 2017 16:12 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

A monument to Karabakh horses, one of the worlds oldest breeds, was unveiled in the city of Ham, Belgium.

The monument honoring graceful and majestic Karabakh horses, which are regarded as a heritage of Azerbaijani people, was erected with the support of Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation and presented to the municipality of Ham, Azertac reported.

Ham City Mayor Dirk De Vis, addressing the unveiling ceremony, hailed close cooperation between Azerbaijan and Belgium. He described the erection of the monument to Karabakh horses, which are famous all over the world due to exceptional qualities, as a symbol of friendship between the two nations.

Chair of Belgium-Azerbaijan Friendship Society Ayhan Demirchi hailed the Azerbaijani community's efforts to bring the two countries and nations closer to each other, saying the erection of the monument is a landmark event in this regard.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Belgium Fuad Isgandarov, in turn, described the successful cooperation between Azerbaijan and the city of Ham as the best example of cultural and inter-religious dialogue.

Breathing Karabakh horses, whose fine build and golden sheen make it a wonder to behold, are also valued for their resistance in mountainous terrain and mild temper.

Unfortunately, the number of Karabakh horses began to decline in the backdrop of the civil and ethnic wars in the Caucasus and Karabakh region. Although they are exiled from their homeland due to the Armenian aggression, Karabakh horses adapt very well to a variety of natural conditions. New strains are being developed in lowland Karabakh, as well as in other regions of Azerbaijan: villages near Baku, regions at the foot of the Northern and Southern Caucasus and the central lowlands, all with different climates.



They are mountain horses, so they are not very tall, 1.48-1.52metres (up to 15 hands). They are slim, with attractive faces and are kind and gentle by nature.



Despite their delicate appearance they are known for their stamina and they have been very successful racers. Their suppleness also made them the ideal mount for traditional games like Chovgan and Sur-papa.

Karabakh breed horses were repeatedly presented at the celebration of the anniversary of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II reign in 2012. Before, the English queen received a golden horse of Karabakh as a gift in 1956.

Last year 15 Azerbaijani Karabakh breed horses and a team of national dancers performed at the final night of the Royal Windsor Horse Show to celebrate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.

---

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27 March 2017 16:34 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

A protocol to the Agreement on the establishment of the GUAM Free Trade zone was signed by the prime ministers of the member states of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development  GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) at the meeting in Kiev on March 27.

Also, a protocol on mutual recognition of certain results of customs procedures in relation to goods and vehicles transported across the state borders of the GUAM member countries was inked.

"It is important that today we have signed a number of documents that will allow us in 2017 to fully implement the free trade zone within our states," Ukrainian PM Volodymyr Groysman said adding that this will have a positive effect on the development of the national economies and deepening of mutual cooperation.

Prime Minister of Georgia Georgy Kvirikashvili, Prime Minister of Moldova Pavel Filip and Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ismet Abbasov also attended the meeting.

Following the meeting, the member countries declared their willingness to strengthen the cooperation with international partners in carrying out regional projects and multilateral cooperation programs. They agreed to cooperate in all areas in order to ensure social-economic development, well-being, and reliability needed for security and stability in the GUAM area.

The summit's agenda also included a visit to a business forum organized by the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where up to 20 Georgian companies took part, as well as entrepreneurs from Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova. Representatives of the transport and construction sectors, as well as the pharmaceutical sector and light industry were among them.

The GUAM format was created by four post-Soviet states in 1997 during the summit of heads of states of the EU in Strasbourg. The member states of the organization are Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova. In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the format and four years later withdrew.

In 2006, Ukraine and Azerbaijan announced plans to further increase the GUAM member relations and established its headquarters in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

The GUAM plays an important role in ensuring regional security, as it contributes significantly to the development and strengthening of dialogue between the countries of the region.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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27 March 2017 12:52 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

It is probably reasonable to expect an extension of OPEC oil output deal to the end of 2017, but at the same level of production cuts, Charles Ellinas, oil market expert, executive president at Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Company (CNHC) told Trend March 27.



However, the expert said he doesnt believe that the deal will be suspended, adding that it will at least see through its course, i.e. 6 months.



US shale carries on with its rampant production growth, cancelling any benefits from the OPEC cuts. In such a situation, there is a risk that OPEC may not extend the deal, said Ellinas.



On the other hand, extending the current deal, but not increasing the level of production cuts is another possibility, according to the expert.



With shale production increasing unabated, this may keep prices below $50 but not down to $30. That way, OPEC countries are still better off but shale producers are not, he added.



In December 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices.



Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 bpd starting from Jan. 1, 2017 for six months, extendable for another six months, to take into account prevailing market conditions and prospects.



OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1, with top exporter Saudi Arabia cutting as much as 486,000 bpd.



According to OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report, worlds oil supply decreased in February by 0.21 million barrels per day compared to January to average 95.88 million barrels per day. In November 2016, worlds oil supply was at 96.84 million barrels per day.

---

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27 March 2017 15:20 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Camal

Russias Energy Minister Alexander Novak has announced that it is too early to talk about the expediency of extending the OPEC oil output cut deal.

Additional time and first of all, additional analysis of the market situation is needed for making a decision on more cuts, Novak told RT following the Joint OPEC/Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting in Kuwait.

The Joint OPEC/Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) convened in Kuwait City for its second meeting on March 26. It announced that, based on the Report of the Joint OPEC/Non-OPEC Technical Committee (JTC) for the month of February 2017, OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries have continued their progress towards full conformity with their voluntary adjustments in production.

As of February 2017, the OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries achieved a conformity level of 94 percent, an increase of 8 percentage points over the January 2017 performance.

It is only the end of March. The exchange of views held by ministers and the proposals which were put forward during the meeting mean that all the participating countries have an opportunity to consider this issue till the next ministerial meeting, give instructions to OPEC secretariat on providing additional market analysis for January-April, give forecasts on implementation in May, June and for the second half of 2017, he said.

Novak pointed out that during the meeting, it was agreed to hold Russia-OPEC dialogue in Moscow on May 31.

Regarding the oil price, the Russian minister said that it depends on the market situation, as well as the demand and supply balance.

Meanwhile, oil prices dipped on Monday as rising U.S. drilling activity outweighed talks that an OPEC-led production cut initially due to end in mid-2017 may be extended. Since mid-2016, U.S. oil production has risen by 700,000 bpd, or 8.3 percent, to 9.13 million bpd, government data shows C-OUT-T-EIA.

In late 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices.

OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1, with top exporter Saudi Arabia cutting as much as 486,000 bpd.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
27 March 2017 17:24 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Bulgaria may lose the gas contract with Azerbaijan if the construction of Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) is not completed by 2020, said Bulgarias Energy Minister Nikolay Pavlov in an interview with "24 chasa".



Bulgarias Bulgargaz has a long-term contract for 25 years with Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR for supply of 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from Shah Deniz 2, said the minister, adding that this is one third of Bulgarias domestic consumption.



We need to be able to receive this gas. If the interconnector is not ready, we may lose the contract. The gas interconnector is a continuation of the Southern Gas Corridor and is part of the Vertical Gas Corridor of the European Union, added Pavlov.



The minister talked about the shortcomings in the implementation of the IGB project.



There is a delay in the preparation of a cost-benefit analysis that will show what further grant funding we have to seek from the EU. ICGB has been aware of the necessity for such an analysis since March 2016. So far, this analysis hasnt been ready and its assignment is delayed, he said.



The utilization of the 45 million-euro grant provided by the European Commission in 2009 hasnt started yet and the deadline for its utilization is 2018, he said, adding that there is a real risk for these funds to be lost.



The technical design is another reason of concern. It was approved by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works on 15 January 2016 with one-year validity, which actually expired on 15 January 2017. The request for its extension was submitted on 20 January 2017. The deadline had been missed, added Pavlov.



IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to the Trans Adriatic pipeline via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets.

The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas.

---

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27 March 2017 10:50 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

A total of 41 PKK terrorists were killed in separate operations in Turkey and northern Iraq, according to official sources on Sunday, Anadolu reported.

At least 14 terrorists were killed in an air-backed operation by gendarmerie forces in Turkey's eastern Tunceli province early Sunday, the governor's office said in a statement.

The operation left one soldier injured, the statement said, adding that the operation was ongoing in the region.

On Saturday, 19 terrorists were killed in two air-backed operations in southeastern Hakkari province's Yuksekova district, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on its website.

The Turkish military also conducted on Friday several air operations in northern Iraq, killing eight terrorists, the statement added.

Since it resumed its armed campaign in July 2015, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of approximately 1,200 security personnel and civilians, including women and children.

---

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27 March 2017 10:10 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday slammed again the Swiss government over a mass meeting of the members and sympathizers of the PKK terrorist group in capital Bern, Anadolu reported.

Some 250 PKK members and supporters took part in a rally in front of the Federal Parliament building in the Swiss capital Bern on Saturday. In the meeting, a banner read "Kill Erdogan", picturing him with a gun pointed at his head.

"It is very interesting indeed that this terrorist organization is taking to the streets hand in hand with their leftist parties," Erdogan said during an opening ceremony in Istanbul's Gaziosmanpasa district.

The president was referring to the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP) and The Swiss Green Party which supported the meeting, which saw no police intervention despite the banner calling for Erdogan's death.

The rally was also attended by supporters of the far-left terrorist group DHKP-C, and YPG, the armed wing of PYD, which is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK.

"Where is this place? Switzerland. Where is this place? The Netherlands. Where is this place? Belgium. Where is this place? Germany," Erdogan said in reference to the EU countries allowing public demonstrations of the PKK.

"When we say this, they get upset. Don't. What goes around comes around," Erdogan added.

The president said Turkey did not harbor any hostile feelings for any country or society, and just wanted to establish "the best" relations with everyone.

"I have a message for our neighbors, and in particular the European countries, U.S. and Russia. We are not enemies with anyone. Quite the contrary, we would like to establish the best possible political, economic and social relations with each country and society," he said.

---

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27 March 2017 14:30 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has departed from Tehran for an official visit to Moscow at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, IRNA reported.

The sides are expected to ink about 10 documents for expansion of cooperation in various areas, particularly in economic, trade and industrial spheres during the two-day visit.

Trade turnover between the two countries saw a huge surge over the past year, rising by 80 percent to more than $2 billion, with energy, agriculture and defense sales forming the bulk of the transactions.

Iran and Russia have targeted to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $10 billion over the coming three years.

---

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27 March 2017 15:34 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Turkmenistan's president criticized the work of national airlines, who he entrusted to carry out quality and scaly services.

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov at a regular meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of the country recalled that he had previously given instructions concerning the development of local airlines, however, the pace of work is extremely slow.

Expressing his dissatisfaction with the administration of Turkmenhavayollary (Turkmen Airlines) over their work to meet the demand of the country's population, as well as ministries and departments for air transportation, the head of state stressed the slow work carried out in this direction, the Turkmen government said in a statement.

"For example, in the south of the Lebap velayat (province), industry is developing rapidly, bridges, railways, large enterprises and settlements are being built, but it takes quite much time to get to these places," the Turkmen leader said.

He mentioned a similar situation existing in the city of Garabogaz of the Balkan velayat.

In this regard, the president urged to build new airports on the ground, emphasizing the expediency of temporary use of helicopters for the transport of people and goods.

Currently, Turkmenistan Airlines, in addition to domestic flights, carries out regular flights to dozens of countries. The area of the flights is constantly expanding.

Construction of new and reconstruction of the existing airports, terminals, facilities of engineering purposes is underway in Ashgabat and the regions of Turkmenistan, within the National Program of Civil Aviation Development of the country for 2012-2030.

Formation of modern transport and communication system is one of the basic principles of the economic strategy of Turkmenistan consistently implemented by the Turkmen leader.

The new International Airport opened in September 2016. In accordance with the strategic priorities of the policy of President Berdimuhamedov, the new International Airport contributed to the development of the Turkmen aviation activation of mutually beneficial trade-economic and humanitarian ties, tourism, and full integration of Turkmenistan into the world economic system.

Turkmenistan, which has a favorable geographical location, aims to strengthen its position of an important transit and transportation hub of regional and continental importance.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP)  Four international students at a well-known flight school in Prescott, Arizona, did not return home over spring break because of concerns about the travel bans proposed by President Donald Trump.

Andy Fraher, director of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Center for International Programs and Services, told The Daily Courier (http://bit.ly/2o6K3t0 ) that visas don't guarantee entry and there is a possibility that the students' visas wouldn't be honored.

"The students' biggest fear is, 'What if I need to go home, if my parents are sick or for my sister's wedding?' We try to be compassionate and understanding. But we say, 'If you go, there's a chance of being denied entry back into the U.S.' The border patrol officer has total control of that decision," he said.

No Embry-Riddle student from any of the countries listed in the Trump administration's second travel ban has had to travel back into the U.S., Fraher said. The students will be able to remain in the country as long as they're enrolled and doing everything they need to do while on a student visa, he said.

"We've called the students from the affected countries and advised them of their options," Fraher said. "We try to support our students the best we can. We tell them, you're safer staying here than to visit your parents at home."

Fraher asked the four international students who stayed in Prescott over spring break to speak with the Courier, but they did not respond.

Embry-Riddle currently enrolls 189 international students from 36 countries, but that could be changing, said Fraher.

"We've lost a lot of Saudi students," Fraher said. "We just have to wait and see what happens."

He tells students to be cautious and to carry their passports and travel papers with them, even when travelling within the U.S., he said. "You never know when immigration officers will stop and ask for your papers," Fraher said.

___

Information from: The Daily Courier, http://www.dcourier.com
27 March 2017 17:33 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Turkey has officially sent the information on duties on Russian goods to the Russian Agriculture Ministry, Vesti.ru reported referring to local media.

Thus, Russia was removed from a duty-free import program for agricultural products.

Turkish importers and processors could carry out duty-free import of Russian products to Turkey on the basis of issued licenses for import of agricultural products in the "internal processing" mode.

Now, a 130-percent duty is in effect on such Russian exports as wheat and corn, rice  45 percent, sunflower oil  36 percent, sunflower meal - 13.5 percent, and more than 9.5 percent - for legumes.

The Federal Center for Evaluating the Quality and Security of Grain reported that, from the beginning of the previous season through March 20, Russia exported to Turkey 31.7 million tons of grain and products for grain processing, 2.1 million tons of wheat (46.6 percent of all Russian wheat exports) and 431,400 tons of corn (9.4 percent of all Russian corn exports). Of the total amount of Russian sunflower oil exports this season (1.1 million tons), 370,000 tons went to Turkey, reported the Institute of the Agrarian Market.

Perhaps, Russian sunflower and legumes will still be exported to Turkey, but obviously supplies will be much less profitable, said Dmitry Vostrikov, director of development of the association of manufacturers and suppliers of food products "Rusprodsoyuz" in an interview with Izvestia.

Now Russia exports wheat to more than 80 countries, according to the Russian Agriculture Ministry.

"To date, significant efforts by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Rosselkhoznadzor are aimed at increasing grain exports, expanding the list of exported grain crops to traditional importers of North Africa and the Middle East, as well as promoting domestic grain to new promising markets in Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and the countries of Caribbean, Africa," the ministry added.

The Turkish government didnt comment, but the countrys export associations say Ankara's actions are a response to Moscows failure to lift restrictions on Turkish agricultural products sold to Russia. For example, theres still a ban on tomato imports to Russia, 60 percent of which previously came from Turkey.

"We neither accept nor deny the attempts to pressure Russia in order to give Turkish agricultural products access to the Russian market in those sensitive areas where in the last years Russian production has been developing," said Russian Agricultural Minister Alexander Tkachev on March 22, rbth.com reported.

Previously, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that duties imposed on Russian wheat and corn by Turkey will not affect the normalization process of bilateral relations.

Food imports from Turkey were blocked in response to the downing of a Russian jet in Syria in late 2015. There were other restrictions, including the cancellation of charter flights to Turkey, the introduction of a visa regime, and a ban on hiring Turkish citizens. Russian travel agencies suspended sales of package tours to the country.



Moscow-Ankara relations began to improve after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized over the jet incident. Russia lifted the flight ban, but the food ban has remained.

Russia earlier announced that it will keep the ban on Turkish frozen meat and poultry as well as tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, apples, pears, strawberries and other fruit and vegetables.



In March, Rosselkhoznadzor lifted the restrictions against Turkish onions, cauliflower, broccoli and some other vegetables, explaining there is a lack of these food items in Russia.

--

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
27 March 2017 16:57 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

An Iranian wrestler has been killed in Syria, Iran Wrestling Federations website reported March 27.

Said Khajeh Salehani, from Tehran Province, was killed at a war zone in Syria, the federation reported, adding this was the fourth time he had been dispatched to Syria.

Tehran says it is not directly involved in war in Syria, but its forces act as military advisor to help President Bashar Assads army with training and tactics.

---

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Guangdong police detained two suspects  a Hong Kong resident and a mainlander surnamed Su  after busting a major cross-border drug smuggling ring earlier this month.

More than 100 kilograms of methamphetamine was also seized as part of the operation, code-named Blaze and jointly launched with Australian police in mid-March, according to Deng Jianwei, director of drug enforcement with the Guangdong provincial department of public security.

"Police had previously detained another three suspects as part of another operation in Australia, including a Hong Kong resident, an Australian and a Fijian resident," he told a news conference in Guangdong on Monday.

Deng said the operations had dealt a heavy blow to cross-border drug crimes in Guangzhou, but reiterated that the fight against drugs was not over.

He hinted at more special operations to be launched in cooperation with foreign counterparts in the coming months.
Drivers at a busy Seminole Heights intersection in Tampa say it is just too busy to pull out of their neighborhood onto a main street.

Growth and traffic causing issues in Seminole Heights neighborhood in Tampa

Drivers say one intersection in particular is difficult to pull out into traffic

Fence, business on corner of Florida Avenue and Flora Street blocking view

Bay News 9 Traffic resources

So just what are drivers to do while trying to get a better look at oncoming traffic on Florida Avenue without being struck by oncoming traffic?

Sarah Phillips and her family have lived in Seminole Heights for nearly a decade and said she loves the growth in the neighborhood. But with that growth comes more traffic.

"This whole neighborhood is blocked off by the (Hillsborough) River, so most of these streets dead end," said Phillips of her neighborhood near the Lowry Park area. "There aren't a lot of outlets, if you're wanting to head west from this area.

"So whenever there's an accident either here or down at Sligh and Florida, a lot of traffic gets rerouted through these small residential streets."

According to state records, the number of traffic crashes at Florida Avenue and Flora Street has increased every year for the past three years.

Phillips said it is extremely difficult to see oncoming traffic when leaving her street without edging dangerously out onto the road itself.

"I feel like I have to get my car well out on to Florida before I'm able to see oncoming traffic clearly enough to make a safe turn," she said.

The way a used car business fence is positioned in the lot on the corner, unless a driver noses out onto the street, there is little way of seeing if an oncoming car is approaching.

Despite the lot and fence being there for a long time, even the owner of the business said the way the fence is positioned can create a safety issue for drivers.

City of Tampa code officials are examining the sight lines, which at a minimum distance should be 25 feet.

"If his fence isn't in compliance with local codes, then I hope that he addresses that," Phillips said. "And if it is then he's done his part."
Nebraska has a lot to celebrate during National Ag Week. Thanks to the hard work and innovative practices of our farmers and ranchers, the Third District is the top-producing agriculture district in the country. We are grateful for their many contributions to our lives and economy, and committed to ensuring a strong future for the industry.

One in four Nebraska jobs is tied to agriculture. Our state ranks number one in beef exports and the production of red meat, popcorn, and Great Northern beans, and is among the top states for cattle, corn, and soybeans. Because of producers daily dedication, Nebraska is a leader in feeding the world.

As we celebrate agriculture, we must also recognize the hardships. Recent wildfires in multiple states, including our own, have led to widespread devastation. More than a million acres have burned, with staggering losses of livestock, homes, farm buildings, feed supplies, and even human life. The thoughts and prayers of the entire agriculture community are with those who have been impacted by these disasters.

For too long, the growing list of federal regulations has threatened agricultures future. These burdens come on top of low commodity prices. The Trump administration has taken action to get the government out of the way, including starting to roll back the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) dangerous Waters of the U.S. rule, or WOTUS. Nebraska producers are committed stewards of our natural resources and take many steps to keep our water sources clean. I was pleased to join President Trump at the White House last month as he ordered a reset on WOTUS, knowing farmers and ranchers do not need Washington bureaucrats controlling the water puddles and irrigation ditches on their land.

Nebraska ranks number two in the country for ethanol production capacity at more than two billion gallons. This fuel source is a sought-after alternative for consumers and retailers, but outdated EPA regulations inhibit the sale of E15 during the summer months when demand is highest. E10 received a waiver from these regulations decades ago, and I have reintroduced my legislation to extend the same relief to E15.

Sound agriculture policies are a crucial part of ensuring farmers and ranchers have the resources they need to succeed. As Congress prepares to draft a new Farm Bill, I will host listening sessions over the coming months to hear directly from Third District producers. Two sessions are scheduled for April: Monday, April 17, in Scottsbluff, and Thursday, April 20, in Aurora. For more information about these events, please visit my website at AdrianSmith.house.gov/FarmBillTour or call my Grand Island office at 308-384-3900.

Agricultures success also hinges on opening new markets to U.S. producers. The Trump administration has made clear its intention to pursue bilateral trade agreements, and as a member of the Ways and Means Committee, I will continue advocating for engagement in the global marketplace.

We are already seeing the results of U.S. inaction on trade. Australia, which recently negotiated a trade agreement with Japan, now enjoys reduced tariffs on many of its agriculture exports while U.S. exports still face costly barriers. Countries around the world will continue to move forward on agreements like this with or without us, so we must be part of the conversation.

Throughout the year, I get to visit with young Nebraskans involved in groups like 4-H and FFA. Our conversations make me even more excited about the future. I am grateful to work with producers of all ages from all parts of the Third District to keep opportunity growing for agriculture.
French energy company Total is launching a multi-billion-dollar petrochemical joint venture in Texas as it tries to profit from the "business-friendly environment" under the current U.S. administration.

The plan announced Monday in Paris is the company's largest-ever investment in petrochemicals, and part of its strategy to benefit from cheap shale gas in the U.S. and President Donald Trump's support for the energy industry.

Total will partner with chemical companies Borealis and Nova to build two new units on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

One is an ethane steam cracker in Port Arthur that would convert natural gas into chemicals used for plastics and other materials. Total would provide the initial $1.7 billion for that operation.

The other is a new polyethylene plant in Bayport, also for making plastics. The cost of that plant is still being worked out among Total, Borealis and Nova, said Bernard Pinatel, president of Total's refining and chemicals. Overall, he said, the project would be worth several billion dollars and Total would hold 50 percent of it.

Total says the venture, which depends on regulators' approval, would start in 2020 and create at least 1,500 local jobs.

"We want to take advantage of the business-friendly environment" to boost Total's 60-year presence in the U.S., CEO Patrick Pouyanne said in a statement.

Pinatel told The Associated Press that the French company is not scared away by Trump's "America first" policies, and instead was encouraged by an "American administration favorable to everything that touches the energy sector."

Total SA employs 6,000 people in the U.S. in the oil, gas and solar activities.
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SOUTHEAST TEXAS TALES

A man with a storm-tossed mind and a history of confrontations with law enforcement bought a .38-caliber revolver on May 14, 1986, and returned to his room at the Austin Motor Hotel, where he had lived for about two months.

By 2 p.m. that day, Beaumont police were called and a 15-hour standoff began.

Police hostage negotiators talked to William B. Germain, a 45-year-old heir of a well-to-do Port Arthur family with roots among the city's earliest settlers.

This was no ordinary man who had taken up residence in a cheap, run-down motel with better days long since past.

Police knew him, better than they wanted to.

Read more in today's print edition of The Enterprise.

Click here to have our eEdition delivered daily to your email.
With the Midterm Elections less than one week away: What do you consider the top issues that you will be voting on to be corrected by your better representation?

Education Crime Big Government getting Bigger Biden /Democrat controlled Spike in Energy Cost Inflation created by Legislation of Majority in Power Gender Reassignment Corrupted Bureaucratic /Service (DOJ, FBI, etc.) Institutions Abortion Discredited Legacy Media Ending the Corruption of Dishonest Politicians Corruptive Influence of Social Media Wide Open Southern Border
Baptist Health Madisonville (Ky.) named Harry Joseph Dempsey anesthesia medical director, The Messenger reports.

Here's what you should know.

1. Dr. Dempsey will director One Anesthesia at the medical center. One Anesthesia is the medical center's anesthesia services provider.

2. He joined the center in September 2016, and worked as an anesthesiologist at Hopkinsville, Ky.-based Christian County Anesthesia for more than 31 years.

3. Dr. Dempsey is honored to be the health system's medical director, he said in a release.

He added, "I've always believed that true success comes from setting high standards. The accomplishments I've experienced in the past 31 years at Jennie Stuart Medical Center reflect that philosophy and have readily pivoted into my newfound successes at Baptist Health Madisonville."
United to Protect Democracy, a Washington, D.C.-based, watchdog group, is seeking an investigation into the White House's possible role in the Justice Department's decision to block Indianapolis-based Anthem's and Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna's merger, the Hartford Courant reports.

Here's what you should know.

1. The group submitted a letter to the Justice Department's inspector general expressing concerns over a White House official engaging in "inappropriate conduct" regarding the court's decision.

2. The group has no evidence of improper actions but cited concerns over Anthem Chief Executive Joseph Swedish's contact with President Donald Trump and the administration's employment of ex-Anthem lobbyist Mark Delrahim.

Mr. Delrahim is reportedly President Trump's pick to head the Justice Department's antitrust division.

3. A White House spokesperson said the claims were baseless, adding the White House avoided discussing either the merger or any related litigation. The White House said Mr. Delrahim has separated himself from the antitrust case completely.

4. Anthem and Cigna declined comment to the Courant.
Salem (Ore.) Health and Medford, Ore.-based Asante Health System are fighting a bill that would expand recovery times at ASCs in Oregon, according to The Lund Report.

Here are four things to know:

1. The health systems worked with Rep. Cedric Hayden, R-Cottage Grove, on an amendment to House Bill 2664, which would permit overnight stays at ASCs.

2. In its present form, the House bill would pertain to 16 ASCs in the state and would allow patients to stay between 24 hours and 52 hours.

3. The health systems' amendment seeks to form another work group to analyze the bill as it relates to overnight stays at ASCs. Roy Vinyard, president and CEO of Asante, told the Lund Report the health system is opposing the bill as they believe "it has not been fully vetted" and "this extended-care center is in essence a mini-hospital."

4. Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, an advocate for the bill, said countless studies have confirmed ASCs' efficacy in lowering costs and maintaining quality.
Nurse leadership is a key aspect of any ASC's success; they oversee clinical quality and help establish the safety culture of a facility. They are also instrumental in ensuring high-quality patient experience.

Learn more leadership and practice management at the Becker's 15th Annual Spine, Orthopedic and Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference + The future of Spine on June 22-24 in Chicago  click here to learn more and register!

Finding the exceptional nurse leader:

1. Don't rush the process of finding a nurse leader that is right for your organization. List the most pressing challenges facing your facility and then set out to find candidates who have the skill-sets to solve those issues. For example, if your center is facing challenges in terms of gaining accreditation, look for a nurse leader who is an expert in survey standards, according to "Exceptional ASC nurse leaders: Key advice for finding & keeping them," a previous Becker's ASC Review article.

2. But don't look at just the clinical skill-set when hiring a nurse leader. Examine the business skills the candidate possesses and whether it fits the needs of your center, according to another Becker's piece, "ASC Nurse Leadership: 10 tips to get the right people in the right places."

3. Look for an individual who will be a cultural fit for your organization. The nurse leader must be both qualified as well as in tune with the center's values and mission.

4. For the interview process, include questions specific to behaviors and situations. For example, ask candidates to discuss situations in their past that they may not have handled well, and how they would change what they did.

5. Find and hire a nurse leader who is excited about new opportunities and challenges. No two days in an ASC are the same and the leader must be prepared learn new things and take on new projects that they are enthusiastic about.

Supporting your nurse leader:

6. Finding a great nurse leader is just one half of the whole process. The next step is nurturing their professional growth and development. Placing nurse leaders on committees and quality improvement projects is a good start. Also allow them to participate in leadership training classes and offer educational opportunities. Ensure that they are challenged and supported.

7. Involve nurse leaders in all aspects of the ASC's operations so the individual has a chance to wear all the hats, be it in the clinical, financial or administrative section of ASC management.

8. Mentor young nurse leaders and show them the ropes of leadership. In addition to growing their skill-set, it is important they learn how to take and give constructive criticism as well as flex their creative problem-solving puzzle.

9. Develop solid succession planning to easily and effective identify an emerging nurse leader. Succession planning programs also allow outgoing administrators identify potential replacements with enough time to train them.

10. The best person for a leadership position may not necessarily be the most experienced person, a previous Becker's ASC Review article, "8 steps for ASCs to identify & grow nurse leaders," notes. Don't take a hierarchical approach to new nurse leadership appointments  instead fast-track the most skilled candidate for the job.

11. Provide training that is generation-specific. Nurse leaders now entering the ASC space are millennials. Millennials tend to have different values with regard to work. For example, "The best strategies to engage millennial nurse leaders," a Becker's piece points out that millennials favor work-life balance.

12. Millennial nurse leaders do not like being micro-managed. Instead, mentors can focus on framing their role as one of providing knowledge and advice to up-and-coming nurse leaders and move to the next stage of their careers.

13. It is also important for mentors of young, millennial nurse leaders to develop exercises to teach them empathy. As training has changed, new nurse leaders may have only practiced certain procedures on simulators and not real people. Additionally, they will be treating patients of an older generation, who expect appropriate communication.

14. Nurse leaders are often tasked with achieving high-reaching strategic goals. Creative problem-solving helps leaders adapt quickly and effectively, steering their facility through troubled waters. Hone a culture where creative problem-solving is not only allowed, but rewarded, according to a Becker's piece called "5 ways positive ASC employee culture translates to profitability."

Advice for nurse leaders:

15. Build trust with your co-workers and employees. There are a number of ways to achieve this, including communication openly and often, being consistent and sharing in the team's successes and failures, a previous Becker's ASC Review report, "5 ways to build trust with your employees," notes.

16. It key for nurse leaders to establish a positive workplace culture in their facilities. A happy workplace increases efficiency and promotes long-term investment in the center from employees. Additionally, promoting team work reduces clinical failures and mistakes.

17. Apply transformational leadership practices, which entails motivating employees to work toward a collective goal. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, shows transformational leadership could have a positive impact on the quality of patient care.

18. Employ staff management techniques to control costs. These techniques include avoiding over-scheduling staff, benchmarking and automating processes, such as payroll and time-off requests, according to a previous Becker's piece, "Cut costs with better staff management: 5 best ideas."

Mitigating leadership-related burnout

19. Leaders tend to burnout if they do not take certain steps to manage their stress levels. The American Medical Association compiled a number of strategies to manage burnout when in a leadership role, such as considering one's emotions before reacting and acknowledging and managing conflict.

20. Additional stress-busting strategies include encouraging team work and actively listening to those you work with. Understanding where someone is coming from can help leaders manage more effectively and avoid stressful situations.
The following healthcare mergers, acquisitions and general partnerships took place or were announced in the past week.

1. Premier Health acquires Ohio physician practice

Dayton, Ohio-based Premier Health acquired Brookville, Ohio-based Studebaker Family Practice led by Jeffrey Studebaker, MD, and Matthew Studebaker, MD.

2. Wyoming County Community Health System teams up with New York healthcare provider

Warsaw, N.Y.-based Wyoming County Community Health System inked an administrative partnership with Buffalo, N.Y.-based Erie County Medical Center.

3. Idaho AG approves St. Joseph Regional Medical Center transition to RCCH HealthCare Partners

The Idaho attorney general approved the proposed transition of Lewiston, Idaho-based St. Joseph Regional Medical Center to Brentwood, Tenn.-based RCCH HealthCare Partners March 20 after a six-month review.

4. California physician group affiliates with Dignity Health

ScottsValley, Calif.-based Physicians Medical Group of Santa Cruz affiliated with Sacramento, Calif.-based Dignity Health Medical Foundation.

5. PinnacleHealth to pursue 5th transaction in 2 weeks

Harrisburg, Pa.-based PinnacleHealth officials said the health system signed a nonbinding letter of intent to pursue a strategic partnership with Hanover (Pa.) HealthCare Plus, the parent organization of Hanover (Pa.) Hospital.

6. Bankrupt North Philadelphia Health System gets approval to sell shuttered hospital

A bankruptcy judge signed off on a deal allowing North Philadelphia Health System, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dec. 30, to sell St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia, which closed last March.

7. Atlantic Health System collaborates with American Cancer Society to fight colorectal cancer

Morristown, N.J.-based Atlantic Health System will take part in the American Cancer Society's national initiative to fight colorectal cancer.

8. Mednax acquires Nevada ophthalmology practice

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Mednax acquired a Henderson, Nev.-based private ophthalmology practice.

9. Franciscan Alliance, Methodist Hospitals sign letter of intent to merge

Gary, Ind.-based Methodist Hospitals signed a nonbinding letter of intent to integrate with Mishawaka, Ind.-based Franciscan Alliance March 22.

10. Parrish Medical Center, Nemours Children's form collaborative agreement to advance pediatric care

Titusville, Fla.-based Parrish Medical Center and Wilmington, Del.-based Nemours Children's Health System formed a collaborative agreement to advance pediatric care for residents in the area.

11. Lifespan, Dana-Farber to team up on cancer care

Officials from Providence, R.I.-based Lifespan and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston signed a partnership agreement March 21 to expand access to Dana-Farber's clinical trials and treatment for complex cancer cases to patients in Rhode Island.
Gov. Rick Snyder, R, joined by a group of Michigan legislators, unveiled a bipartisan package of legislation March 23 designed to curb opioid abuse in the state.

The comprehensive legislative package is primarily geared toward preventative efforts and includes the launch of the Michigan Automated Prescription System. The prescription tracking system will require prescribers to check the database prior to issuing a prescription. MAPS is set to launch in April.

"Michigan has taken an active role to help save lives and provide second chances to Michiganders by working to prevent overdose deaths," said Gov. Snyder. "While we've made some progress, people are still becoming addicted and tragically dying from overdoses so our work is far from over. This new strategy focuses on primary prevention in hopes that we can reduce opioid misuse and prevent addiction from occurring in the first place."

Other provisions in the legislative package include requiring schools educate students about opioids and opioid addiction, requiring pain management facilities to be licensed by the state and the requirement of a parental signature before a minor may receive an opioid prescription, among other stipulations.

More articles on opioids:

Concurrent use of opioids and anti-anxiety medications significantly increases risk of overdose

Ohio launches $3.5M program to help children of opioid addicts

Deadly opioids stolen from Alaska clinic
Five people remain hospitalized at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center after a dispute at an Ohio nightclub escalated into a shooting early Sunday morning, according to Fox News.

Here are six things to know about the incident.

1. Gunfire broke out inside the Cameo nightclub in Cincinnati around 2:20 a.m. Sunday morning, according to a Time report.

2. Assistant Police Chief Paul Neudigate said on Twitter there were no signs indicating the shooting was a terror attack similar to the one that occurred at the Pulse nightclub in Florida June 12, 2016.

3. Twenty-seven-year-old O'Bryan Spikes was killed and 15 others were injured in the incident. According to Time, nine individuals were transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for treatment following the shooting.

4. UCMC spokesperson Kelly Martin said five people remain hospitalized at the medical center Monday morning. Two people are said to be in critical condition and three individuals are reportedly stable, according to the Fox News report.

5. Police are still searching for the suspects involved in the incident, according to Time.

6. Police said the nightclub has had several incidents of gun violence. The club's operator said the club will remain closed during the police investigation. An internal investigation will also occur, according to Fox News.
While high drug costs represent a common issue addressed by lawmakers, the media and general public, one former congressman thinks there's another issue that deserves more attention: hospital spending.

David Dreier, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, wrote a column for The Hill discussing why America should shift more attention to tackling high hospital expenses.

Here are four things to know.

1. Of the $3.4 trillion the U.S. spends annually on healthcare, Americans give the most money to hospitals ($1.1 trillion), followed by physicians and clinical services ($684 billion) and prescription drugs ($347 billion), according to a February study by the Altarum Institute. In 2016, hospital, physician and clinical spending increased by $87 billion. Drug spending rose by $13 billion.



2. Mr. Dreier believes the country focuses more on high drug costs rather than rising healthcare costs  in part because of the U.S. health insurance system. High deductibles and copays cause Americans to pay 15 percent of drug costs out of pocket, compared to just 3 percent of hospital costs out of pocket.

"This insurance system is counter-productive. It discourages the use of lower-cost medicines that can keep patients out of higher-cost hospitals," Mr. Dreier wrote in the column.

3. Mr. Dreier said policy makers need to look at the healthcare system through a supply and demand lens. "When supply rises or demand falls, prices decline," he said. To increase the supply side, the U.S. should use more trained clinicians to treat patients currently only cared for by physicians and accelerate drug approvals to release more generics onto the market, according to the report.

4. Kenneth Thorpe, PhD, chairman of the department of health policy and management at Atlanta-based Emory University, cites an unhealthy population with rising disease rates as the underlying issue of rising healthcare costs. To limit the demand for healthcare services, Mr. Dreier believes Americans need to live healthier lifestyles and take more responsibility for managing their own health. He also thinks improving Americans' medication compliance could help limit the demand for costly inpatient and outpatient services, according to the report.

More articles on supply chain:

4 latest FDA approvals

Sen. Sanders eager to partner with Trump on drug cost legislation

Mylan recalls 81k EpiPens globally: 3 things to know
Food Pantry Founded by 12-year-old-girl Helps Matthew Survivors

Tonight, we have a remarkable young lady with us who represents the very best of our state's resilient spirit. In 2015, before the storm, 12-year-old Mackenzie Hinson, from Grantham, founded "Make A Difference Food Pantry" to help people in her community. After the devastation of Hurricane Matthew, Mackenzie and her volunteers went into overdrive. Following the hurricane, her pantry's shelves were empty and friends and family members lost homes.

But Mackenzie and her team were not deterred. With the help of businesses and volunteers, they restocked and got to work.

Contact: Ford Porter

Ford Porter govpress@nc.gov

Goldsboro: Governor Roy Cooper today visited the Make a Difference Food Pantry, a nonprofit founded by 12-year-old Mackenzie Hinson which is helping Hurricane Matthew survivors.Gov. Cooper said.Mackenzie Hinson founded the Make a Difference Food Pantry after learning that many families in her community and across the state didn't have enough to eat every day. Since it opened in 2015, the pantry has served almost 40,000 people.After Hurricane Matthew devastated Wayne and surrounding counties in October of 2016, Mackenzie and her volunteers served 6,914 hot meals and distributed food and toiletry items to more than 8,000 people.Governor Cooper recognized Mackenzie earlier this month in his State of the State address:Joining Governor Cooper today at the Make a Difference Food Pantry were Goldsboro Mayor Chuck Allen, Goldsboro City Manager Scott Stevens, and Wayne County Commissioners Bill Pate and Joe Gurley.Counties served by Mackenzie's food pantry and other counties hit hard by Hurricane Matthew are making strides, but many families, businesses, schools and communities continue to need help recovering from the storm. Gov. Cooper is currently working on a second Disaster Relief package for North Carolina to take to Congress.Gov. Cooper said.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch gathered the states where people are least likely to see their physicians; in those states, 10 percent or more of the residents said they hadn't seen a physician in more than five years.

The report relies on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

1. Grand Island, Neb.: 10.16 percent

2. North Platte, Neb.: 10.26 percent

3. Salt Lake City: 10.28 percent

4. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah: 10.63 percent

5. Boise, Idaho: 10.97 percent

6. Logan, Utah-Idaho: 11.15 percent

7. Minot, N.D.: 11.2 percent

8. Provo-Orem, Utah: 11.44 percent

9. Anchorage, Alaska: 11.58 percent

10. Norfolk, Neb.: 11.63 percent

11. Scottsbluff, Neb.: 12.18 percent

12. Idaho Falls, Idaho: 13.5 percent
Zarina Ali, MD, was the first female neurosurgeon at Pennsylvania Hospital in Center City, and now she's encouraging other women to take the plunge, according to a report in The Philly Voice.

Women are noticeably absent among neurosurgeons, with just 219 board-certified female neurosurgeons certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, and 25 full time female academic neurosurgeons. Only one neurosurgery department in the country includes a female chair.

In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Ali is mother to three children with a fourth on the way and juggles motherhood with working 80-plus hours per week as a neurosurgeon. She told The Philly Voice she's able to balance motherhood with a high demand job because her husband takes an active role in child care and she has a full time nanny with the kids.

Here are five quick notes on Dr. Ali:

1. She has a special interest in intracranial brain tumors, degenerative spine surgery, peripheral nerve surgery and brain trauma patients.

2. She strategically planned her births to coincide with working on research projects so she didn't have to worry about clinical responsibilities or long hours in the OR as she introduced her new child into the family.

3. Her career as a neurosurgeon helped Dr. Ali prepare for motherhood; she was experienced with lack of sleep after her long training hours and time spent in the OR, so when her new child was born she felt prepared to function with fewer resting hours.

4. Dr. Ali credits mentors for helping her through training and teaching her to appreciate the emotional toll of working with patients and families. However, most of her mentors were male and she turned to the professional world to find female mentors.

5. Her advice to female neurosurgeons-in-training? "First focus on being a neurosurgeon. Then you need to work hard and be the best neurosurgeon you can be. Don't let those seeming limitations keep you from your goal. You just need to find the strategies to get you there," she told The Philly Voice.

Now, female residents connect with Dr. Ali for mentorship and advice.
A recent study covered in Claims Journal revealed over 62 percent of workers who underwent spinal fusion surgery had initially reported their conditions as strains or sprains.

The study authors gathered data from the California Workers' Compensation Institute, which included claims for more than 18,266 work injury claims that eventually resulted in spinal fusions.

Here are five things to know:

1. Males accounted for over 64 percent of the spinal fusion claims in the 15 years studied.

2. Males tend to pay 15.5 percent more for temporary disability than females, 27.1 percent more for permanent disability and 16 percent more for medical costs.

3. Claims resulting in spinal fusions were reported as:

Strains and sprains (62 percent)

Cumulative traumas such as mental stress (14 percent)

4. Lumbar fusions made up half of the workers' comp spinal fusions and additional vertebral segments accounted for one-third of all fusions.

5. Leading comorbidities were:

Mental health disorders were noted in 37 percent of spinal fusion cases

Circulatory problems were noted in 29.9 percent

Substance abuse was noted in 17.1 percent

More articles on spine:

Drs. Vladimir Sinkov, Nancy Abu-Bonsrah & more: 10 spine surgeons in this week's headlines



4 key points on how conflict of interest may influence cervical disc replacement study outcomes

5 things to know on urinary retention after lumbar spine surgery
Stornoway has been identified as one potential site for a spaceport

Risk averse aviation companies are standing in the way of Britain leading the world in the development of "revolutionary" space planes, an engineer pioneering the technology has told MPs.

David Ashford, managing director of the Bristol Spaceplanes company, said space planes were likely to have as big an impact as the steam locomotive, a British invention, did in the 19th century.

But his own experience had identified a major stumbling block to the dream of re-usable space vehicles that take off and land like aircraft, lack of industry support.

The unwillingness of big players in the aviation industry to back a "disruptive" technology was the factor most likely to derail Government plans for a UK space port, said Mr Ashford.

He told the Science and Technology Select Committee: "The main risk is just lack of investment capital.

"Space planes are going to revolutionise space flight eventually, and if the UK wants to develop the world's first space plane, which it could do, you need the money."

He added: "We're trying to team up with major players, and we're having great trouble engaging in dialogue with them.

"It's sort of, 'space planes aren't in our strategic plan, dear boy', and that's meant to close the conversation down.

"Then I say no, its not in your strategic plan because it's a disruptive technology, but the first one of you guys that puts it there hits the jackpot, and there's a very long pause."

He said that three years ago he wrote to former science minister David Willetts asking for his help with introductions to potential industry partners.

But despite a "very nice" letter back from Mr Willetts, and further representations made later to the current science minister Jo Johnson, there had not been "a single introduction".

"I don't think it's the fault of the UK Space Agency, it's the fault of the big companies that just don't want to know, because it's so new, said Mr Ashford.

The select committee was looking at the Draft Spaceflight Bill, which sets out the legislative framework paving the way to a UK space port.

The Government wants to see satellites being launched into space from the UK by 2020. Grants worth 10 million are being made available to help prospective commercial developers.

The aim is to give the UK a bigger slice of a space industry market expected to be worth more than 25 billion over the next 20 years.

Several coastal aerodromes that could be converted to space ports have been shortlisted, including Campbeltown, Glasgow Prestwick, and Stornoway in Scotland, Newquay in England, and Llanbedr in Wales.

It is envisaged space planes could fly from a British space port both to place satellites in orbit and to carry fee-paying passengers on sub-orbital flights.

Bristol Spaceplanes has a concept design that combines a "carrier" aircraft powered by air-breathing engines and a detachable rocket-powered "orbiter".

Mr Ashford, who showed MPs a model of the space plane, told the committee: "A proper space plane .. it can really slash the cost of launching satellites, by at least 100 times, possibly even 1,000.

"It's going to revolutionise space flight like the steam locomotive revolutionised land transport. Its that level of transformation."

Mr Ashford argued space planes had a history going right back to the early days of space flight in the 1960s.

Most big aircraft companies at the time had large teams looking at the technology, which was seen as the "obvious next step" after converting ballistic missiles into launch vehicles.

It was the race to the moon that put paid to the early space plane projects, Mr Ashford maintained.

"The aircraft company design teams were disbanded," he said.

Another witness from one of the world's biggest aerospace companies said he doubted a British space port would up and running as early as 2020.

Richard Peckham, business development director at Airbus Group, said: " I would certainly say it's close to impossible .. I think it could be not too far away from 2020, but 2020's going to be pretty nigh impossible."
Invest NI is hoping to take a chunk out of the rapidly growing Asian market as it appoints its third regional manager.

The new regional manager will be based in the Singapore High Commission and will cover 10 south east Asian countries.

Alastair Hamilton, Invest NI chief executive, said the market was quickly becoming one of the largest in the world: "The Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) is predicted to become the fourth largest single market by 2030.

"Northern Ireland exports to the region currently stand at nearly 260m, and we hope to build on that with a new regional manager to be based in Singapore."

The regional manager will be responsible for building a strong network of stakeholders and influencers to benefit trade development, as well as identifying potential investors.

The news comes as nine Northern Ireland businesses return from a trade mission to Singapore.

Mr Hamilton added: "The countries in the ASEAN region are diverse and offer different challenges and opportunities.

"Malaysia, for example, is one of the fastest growing economies in ASEAN, and in Thailand the rewards can be considerable but it can take time to develop the necessary business relationships. In the Philippines, where the middle class is expanding, there is a demand for foreign consumer goods.

"Singapore is seen as the gateway to the region, which is why we have chosen to base our new regional manager here. They will work closely with the Department for International Trade and be on hand to support NI businesses keen to explore these diverse markets."
Ministers have been urged to spell out how much it will cost Britain to replace European Union regulatory agencies after Brexit.

The Liberal Democrats called for clarity from the Government amid reports that the UK could still fall under the remit of certain EU agencies after leaving.

According to the Financial Times, officials are preparing for the UK to remain under the regulation of some agencies because the country does not have the time or expertise to get new ones ready in time for the UK's scheduled departure in 2019.

Prime Minister Theresa May is due to trigger the two-year exit process under Article 50 of the EU treaties on Wednesday.

Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman Tom Brake said: "Theresa May's claim the UK can leave the EU without a deal in place has been left in tatters.

"It's now obvious that crashing out without a deal would be a bureaucratic nightmare, inflicting huge damage to our economy and costing the taxpayer millions.

"The Government must clarify which EU agencies it plans to replace and at what cost to the public purse.

"At the end of this process, the British people must be given the final say on the Conservative Brexit deal."

A Department for Exiting the European Union spokesman said: "The UK is leaving the EU and will be ready for all outcomes of negotiations.

"There are a number of EU agencies which enforce particular regulatory regimes, or facilitate information sharing.

"As part of exit negotiations, the Government will discuss with the EU and member states the UK's future status and arrangements with regard to these agencies, and will consider all practical options."
Hurricane Energy said one billion barrels of oil could be contained within the Halifax well, 60 miles west of Shetland

An o il exploration firm has uncovered what it describes as the largest undeveloped discovery on the UK Continental Shelf.

Hurricane Energy said one billion barrels of oil could be contained within the Halifax well in the Greater Lancaster Area (GLA), 60 miles west of Shetland.

The company found oil in two wells about 19 miles apart and says the combined discoveries have proved the presence of a giant field.

It hopes to begin production in 2019.

Dr Robert Trice, Hurricane's chief executive, said: "This is a highly significant moment for Hurricane and I am delighted that the Halifax well results support the company's view that its substantial Lancaster discovery has been extended to include the Halifax licence.

"We believe that the GLA is a single hydrocarbon accumulation, making it the largest undeveloped discovery on the UK Continental Shelf.

"The discovery of a 1km (0.62-mile) column at Halifax validates the efforts the company undertook to acquire the licence and drill, test and log the Halifax well through the winter months.

"Given the positive well results, the Halifax well has been suspended to provide the company the option to return to undertake further testing as well as provide the option to deepen the well and thereby establish a definitive oil water contact.

"These are exciting times for Hurricane."

Shares rose 6% in early trading after the announcement.

Hurricane Energy has made no further developments there for budget, time and safety reasons but has the option to return.

The 2016/17 drilling campaign is now complete, with Hurricane having a 100% success rate with the drill bit.

Meanwhile, international energy services company Wood Group has been awarded a 40 million contract with Premier Oil to deliver topside operations and maintenance services to the Balmoral floating production vessel (FPV) in the central North Sea and the Solan installation, west of Shetland.

The two-year contract retains more than 150 jobs and extends Wood Group's support of Premier Oil in the UK Continental Shelf.

Dave Stewart, chief executive of Wood Group's Asset Life Cycle Solutions business in the eastern region, said: "This contract clearly demonstrates the strong partnership we have developed with Premier Oil in the North Sea, renewing our support of the Balmoral FPV and broadening our delivery to include the Solan field, which came on stream in April 2016.

"We have consistently and successfully assured the management of safety and integrity and applied our innovation and technical expertise to maximise uptime and production, whilst also reducing field lift costs.

"This will be our continued focus - leveraging both our late life asset management expertise and production enhancing technical solutions as we continue to collaborate with Premier Oil on the safe and effective delivery of this latest contract."
The final stage of a campaign against controversial fees to take a case to an employment tribunal goes to the Supreme Court on Monday.

Unison has been taking legal action since the introduction in 2013 of charges ranging from 390 to 1,200.

A two day hearing in the Supreme Court is the final stage of Unison's legal campaign.

A government review of the impact of fees showed a 70% drop in the number of cases since July 2013.

Low-paid women, especially those treated unfairly when they were pregnant or on maternity leave, have been the biggest losers, said Unison.

The union's case to the Supreme Court will assert that the fees have stopped many thousands of badly treated employees, especially those on low incomes, from getting justice.

General secretary Dave Prentis said: "If an employer breaks the law and treats one of their employees unfairly, they should be challenged. It cannot be right that unscrupulous bosses are escaping punishment because people simply don't have the money to pursue a case

"The introduction of fees was a terrible decision. It has denied many thousands of people the right to seek justice. Bad employers are having a field day, safe in the knowledge that few will be able to afford to challenge them at a tribunal.

"The G overnment originally said making people pay would weed out vexatious claims. All it's done is penalise lower-paid employees with genuine grievances. That's why it's so important our legal challenge succeeds."
Theresa May should not try and stay "half-in, half-out" of the European Union customs union and instead pursue a clean break, a think tank has said.

Open Europe said the Prime Minister should pull Britain out of the union entirely before striking a new "customs facilitation agreement" as part of a comprehensive free trade deal, similar to those enjoyed by Switzerland and Canada.

She should reject a "Turkish model" as it is built for a country on a path towards EU membership, the report said.

A "sectoral" model, with industries with complex supply chains like aerospace, automotive or chemicals, inside a customs union and others outside, would be "complex, legally difficult, and probably un-negotiable", the think tank said.

A comprehensive UK-EU free trade agreement would ensure tariff-free trade and minimise customs delays.

But the report acknowledged that leaving the customs union would cause one-off costs to adapt to a new regime and "ongoing frictional costs".

The think tank said these can be minimised and potentially offset by new trade deals with non-EU countries.

Mrs May should consider a transition period to extend customs union membership for one or two years after Brexit to increase chances of a favourable agreement for both sides and minimise disruption, Open Europe said.

To solve the problem of the Irish border, Britain should draw on the experience of the customs union border between Sweden and Norway, which is not a member of the EU.

"A customs border will be required but the border can be almost invisible", the think tank said, with technology being used to pre-clear goods, and free movement of citizens permitted under the common travel area, which predates the EU.

Open Europe's policy analyst, Aarti Shankar, said: "We have looked at the evidence and at international examples, and conclude that leaving the EU's customs union is the right decision for the UK.

"If the UK remained in the customs union after Brexit, it would not be able to meet the Government's ambition of conducting an independent trade policy and achieving a truly 'global Britain'.

"There is a trade-off between minimising disruption to UK-EU trade and ensuring the UK is able to shape its own trade policy post-Brexit.

"Any model that keeps the UK 'half-in' the EU's customs union would constrain its ability to strike trade deals across the world.

"The UK and the EU should aim for full customs cooperation as part of a comprehensive free trade agreement.

"This is perfectly achievable, and the EU already holds customs facilitation agreements with other trade partners, including Switzerland and Canada."
The North Carolina House on Thursday filed a companion bill to Senate Bill 155 The so-called "brunch bill" would allow restaurants to sell alcohol before noon Sunday.But, more important to the state's burgeoning distilling industry, the bill would increase purchase limits from one bottle to five bottles per customer.It would allow the creation of a special permit letting distilleries offer free tastings at events, such as trade shows, conventions, street festivals and state ABC stores, following the lead of other states. Distillers could pour no more than 1.5 ounces in total per customer.House Bill 460 is identical to the Senate version.Reps. John Bradford, R-Mecklenburg; Ted Davis Jr., R-New Hanover; John Hardister, R-Guilford; and Duane Hall, D-Wake; are the bill's primary sponsors.Distillers are excited about the possibilities of the measures, especially the chance to offer tastings outside the distillery and the chance to sell more than one bottle per person per year on site, the so called "one-bottle law."Sen. Rick Gunn, R-Alamance, who sponsored the Senate bill, told us.
Martin McGuinness is to feature next week in a place he boycotted during his life - the House of Commons.

A screening of The Journey, the film of the former Deputy First Minister's 'Chuckle Brother' relationship with Ian Paisley has been organised for MPs.

Plus, the first Press screening of the long-awaited movie, scripted by Ulster author Colin Bateman, is also planned in London next week.

The Journey is then further scheduled for its premiere in the province under the umbrella of the Belfast Film Festival in June.

Belfast-born director Nick Hamm said: "We have a Press screening of the film in London next week as well as a screening at the Houses of Parliament."

Colm Meaney, who plays McGuinness and who has been nominated in the best actor category for this month's Irish Film and Television Awards, referred to the senior Sinn Fein figure as an "extraordinary statesman".

"I supported him in his candidacy for President of Ireland at the last election because I thought he was the most qualified person to do it," he said in a statement last year.

"He's proved himself over the last 10 years to be a very astute politician and a remarkably competent statesman, which surprises a lot of people."

Meaney - best known for his roles in the movie Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and on television in Star Trek: The Next Generation - also brushed off controversy surrounding Mr McGuinness, and argued: "Anyone who is involved in politics in Ireland is controversial.

"I think what Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein have achieved in Ireland in the last 10 years is tremendous," he said.

"They're the only all-Ireland party. They're moving towards bringing the island of Ireland together, which I think is a laudable goal."

Mr Paisley, the former DUP leader who died in 2014, is portrayed in The Journey by Timothy Spall.

Director Hamm said: "We were looking to present a balanced argument where both sides would be equally comfortable and equally uncomfortable."
Tiesto will headline this year's Vital Festival when it returns to Belfast's Boucher Road Playing Fields on Saturday 26 August.

Tiesto, who headlined last year's Belsonic festival, remains one of the world's top dance music acts.

Revered for his live shows as well as for his production and remix work, he is a globally celebrated DJ that has been named The Greatest DJ of All Time by Mixmag and the #1 DJ by Rolling Stone.

His 2014 album, A Town Called Paradise, yielded Tiesto his first platinum single in the United States with Wasted [featuring Matthew Koma] and his first gold single Red Lights.

In 2015, Tiesto was awarded a Grammy in the Best Remixed Recording; Non Classical category for his remix of John Legends All Of Me. This was Tiestos first Grammy Award and second Grammy nomination.

Genre-defying Clean Bandit will join Tiesto as special guests. Robin Schulz, Sigala and Disciples are also on the bill.

Tickets go on sale this Friday at 9am.

About the other acts



Clean Bandit

Last year the band released Rockabye  feat. Anne-Marie & Sean Paul - their second Number 1 single in the UK which remained at Number 1 for a record breaking nine consecutive weeks, including the 2016 Christmas Number 1.

The song became an international chart topper including a Top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. Clean Bandit, who released their debut album New Eyes in 2014, has sold over 14 million singles and 1.6 million albums worldwide.

They have won a Grammy, been nominated for two BRIT/Billboard Music Awards and a BBC Music Award. They have performed alongside the Philharmonic Orchestra for BBC Radio 1, sold out Londons Alexandra Palace and additionally, the bands Jack Patterson is a two times Ivor Novello-Award winner. They are currently in the studio recording their second studio album, set for a 2017 release.



Robin Schulz

German musician, DJ and record producer, Robin Schulz has released two studio albums and thirteen singles. Schulz achieved his worldwide breakthrough with his remix of Mr Probz's Waves - which reached the top ten in over ten countries.

It was also certified platinum in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The latest single from Schulz titled Shed a Light with French DJ David Guetta and American DJ trio Cheat Codes on production went on to top the dance charts around the world.



Sigala

Within the last two years, 25-year-old Bruce Fielder has gone from nowhere to essentially dominating the UK dance scene. As Sigala, he's already scored one gargantuan Number 1 single in the shape of the Jackson 5-sampling, tropical house-inspired Easy Love then followed that up with two Top 5 singles - Sweet Lovin' featuring Bryn Christopher and Say You Do, featuring Imani and DJ Fresh.

His most recent collaboration with Digital Farm Animals, Only One, has cemented his place among the UKs biggest names. Over the last 12 months Sigala has enjoyed over 2.5 million sales in the UK alone.



Disciples

London producer trio Disciples released their Remedy EP back in 2013 and garnered credits from influential DJs including Pete Tong, Annie Mac and Zane Lowe  they are signed to DJ Pete Tongs FFRR Records. Disciples first major hit was They Dont Know, released in February 2015.

BBC Radio 1 picked it as its "Track of the Day" and Tong highlighted it in his BBC Radio 1 programme Essential Mix.

The trio gained international recognition through their collaboration with Scottish record producer Calvin Harris on How Deep Is Your Love - which peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.

Disciples have recently released a brand new single On My Mind.
Back in 2006, an eminent publisher stood at the door of his London premises with a colleague, watching Lorna Byrne walk away after their first ever meeting.

Lorna had given him the manuscript for her first book, Angels In My Hair, and told him a story about her encounters with God and his messengers, that stretched the bounds of credibility. As she took her leave, Lorna knew exactly what the publisher and his colleague were wondering: Is she for real?

More than a decade later, Mark Booth of Hodder Stoughton/Coronet has published seven books by the dyslexic Lorna and, in the process, has become a good friend.

Hes has been there for me always and he worked very hard editing my new book, with his belief and excitement in it, says Lorna. He understands me so well and he has such patience. I have to write by speaking into my computer  using a system called Dragon Dictation. It would take me a year to write a few lines. Mark has given me such encouragement and has become a wonderful friend.

Cynics will note that the millions of copies Lornas books have sold wouldnt hurt the writer/publisher relationship, but Im assured by a third party, who is in-the-know, that the bond is real and that Hodder has high hopes for Lornas latest autobiographical offering, Angels At My Fingertips, the sequel to Angels In My Hair.

The 342-page book covers stories of Lornas early life and the present, along with detailed descriptions of how, she says, angels interact with God, each other and us. For the first time, she says she reveals the role of the souls of our loved ones, who, she asserts, can return from heaven briefly to help and guide us.

In one of its most moving passages, she describes seeing the soul of her late husband Joe, who died at 46 after many years of illnesses. She was at his graveside with their grandchildren, when she saw him standing by the gravestone.

He looked youthful and healthy again; very handsome, she says.

He had one arm on the headstone and he was looking at my granddaughter Jessica, who was trying to pull up weeds from the grave. Then he smiled at us and said Hello. I spoke to him silently and he told me God had just decided to give me a surprise. His grave was surrounded by angels. They encircled us.

Shes on the phone from a book tour in the US and I can hear a catch in her voice. Lorna had been very much in love with Joe and was devastated when he died in March 2000, despite having been pre-warned by the angels of her future husbands fate, long before they met.

I was filled with so much love and emotion when I saw him, she says. Even now, talking to you about it, there are tears in my eyes. Yes, I wanted to keep him there, yet I knew he cant be here in flesh and blood.

Im happy hes in heaven and not in his human body, he was so sick and had so much pain. Im glad hes free of it.

A youthful-looking 63, with a stack of money in the bank, even after the huge percentage she ploughs into her three chosen charities, Lorna would make a good catch for a more mature man. Would she ever marry again?

The right man hasnt come along! she laughs. Sometimes, I think, yeah, it would be lovely to have a man in my life but I dont know how any man could stick my life and the pace of it now.

Im travelling so much, which is tiring, and after a long flight, all I want to do is drop my coat on the floor, put my slippers on and make myself a cup of tea any time I want.

The Angels At My Fingertips book signing tour hits Londonderry next month. The author has been following events there on the news in America, where she has been asking people to pray for President Donald Trump, amidst the awful lot of hate and anger engendered by the presidential election.

I know Trump is nervous and terrified, in one sense of doing the wrong thing, and yet hes so hell-bent on what hes doing, she says.

I do get into trouble when I ask people to pray for him but God wants the world leaders to find solutions to conflicts, and America is the nation that has been chosen to lead the world.

War and peace is one of Lornas preoccupations and she is particularly mindful of the victims of our troubled past in Northern Ireland. Her grandfather fought with the old IRA before joining the government in the Republic, and she sees parallels between him and the late Martin McGuinness.

Her views chime with those of the late Rev Ian Paisleys, that what you are at the end of your life over-rides where you start out.

You dont forget but you can forgive, she says of the former Deputy First Ministers IRA past.

I understand the hurt caused to the families of the victims of violence, as I understand that those who atone are forgiven by God. I know Martin McGuinness has gone to heaven and it is not for us to judge him. I know that God loves him.

He started off on the wrong path but he moved towards peace. We have to look for the good in people, not the bad. He was for peace.

I would love to have met him. Ireland needs more like him, no matter what side theyre from. He was a good man. Hopefully there will be more like Martin.

She adds: Almost all of us in Ireland have parents or grandparents who were caught up in fighting down through the generations. My grandfather was a big strong man and he was good and kind, even though he was part of the old IRA.

Initially wary of Lornas claims, the Catholic Church is at last beginning to show recognition, asking her to speak in front of congregations.

The leading American theologian Matthew Fox has even compared her to the medieval saint, Hildegard of Bingen.

As a lifelong devout Catholic, she is pleased at Romes changing attitude towards her.

It feels wonderful to be invited to speak in churches, she admits. Priests ask me to come and give talks; I do when I can. And they say they love to see the church filled up. I speak in churches all around the world. God has his own way of packing churches.

A realist, she supports the right of priests to marry, as well as gay rights.

Yes, I think it would give priests a better experience of life. How can they tell a married couple what to do, or talk about childrens issues when they have no experience of it?

Lorna has also come to the favourable attention of leading Islamic theologians in recent years, and Angels At My Fingertips includes her encounters with an Angel Arabic.

The attack on Westminster Bridge, claimed indirectly by the so-called Islamic State group, occurred just as Lorna was flying to the US.

There are always a few rotten apples, she remarks. Ive spoken to so many Muslims over the years; they are peaceful people. There are marvellous people of the Islamic faith in authority and in academia doing their best to keep the peace and keep people calm.

A whole religion cannot be condemned because of the actions of a few; the same for Northern Ireland. There has been so much war in Ireland, as a whole, and now there is peace.

People have to strive to hold onto it. Excuses must not be found to break the peace. The angels have told me that Northern Ireland is the cornerstone for peace in the world, and it must remain so.

In one of the more eyebrow-raising, but beautifully written sections of the new book, Lorna recalls her soul being taken by the angels to meet God, who proceeds to show her how he creates a new soul, plucked from his heart. Naturally, she gets asked all the time what God and souls look like.

That whole part so hard to describe in words, as it was when I wrote before about meeting Him in the library in heaven. God wanted me to share it. His face is so full of love. He has a male appearance but its hard to define. He just glows.

He gives a human appearance we can relate to, from whatever culture were from, she explains. Our souls are all part of Him; specks of his light. The soul becomes part of the human being at conception and your guardian angel join us at birth and stay with us until death.

When your time comes, you will see the souls of your loved ones in their human form so you can recognise them and your soul takes son your human form, only more beautiful, as in radiant. But we leave bodies behind on Earth when we die.

The inevitable scepticism that greets her doesnt affect this very modern mystic.

It doesnt bother me. It doesnt matter. In some ways, I think its good because it opens up debate, she concludes. What I do is not about me; its about the message Ive been given to spread, and I can take it in my stride now better. And Im never alone  I have three angels sitting with me now.

With that, her daughter and PA, Pearl, can be heard calling her to get ready for her next talk. Theyre demanding bosses, these angels.

Lorna Byrne Talks 2017 in association with Eason will take place at the Everglades Hotel, Londonderry on April 12, 7.30pm. Tickets are 32 (inc booking fee) from www.lornabyrne.com and the ticket price includes a signed copy of Lornas new book Angels At My Fingertips. A total of 50% of all proceeds from the Lorna Byrne Talks 2017 in association with Eason go to the Lorna Byrne Childrens Foundation
Martin McGuinnesss children Emmet, Fiachra, Fionnuala and Grainne, and wife Bernie, at the funeral

The widow of Martin McGuinness has said the family have been touched by people's kindness since his death last week.

The former IRA commander, who later became Deputy First Minister, died aged 66 after suffering a rare heart condition.

US President Bill Clinton led tributes at his funeral in Londonderry last Thursday.

Bernie McGuinness said the family dbeen left heartbroken by his death.

"I and our entire family have been touched by the efforts of so many to provide solace and comfort to us throughout this very difficult period," she said.

"Martin was my husband, a father and a grandfather.

"He was a republican activist for all of his adult life.

"He was passionate about his political beliefs but also about his many other interests.

"Despite the frequency with which his political activism took him away from our home and family, he was at heart a proud family man who took great delight in the accomplishments of our children and grandchildren.

"He loved his family. And we love him. Our hearts are broken."

Mrs McGuinness also thanked people who called to the family home in the last week, held vigils or attended the funeral.

And she thanked medical staff and others who provided support.

"Words cannot express our appreciation at the outpouring of love and solidarity, which embraced us throughout Thursday," she said.

Meanwhile, Mr McGuinness's grave in the City Cemetery in Derry has become a mecca for republicans and tourists, with hundreds of people visiting to take pictures and leave floral tributes in the days since his funeral.

Mr McGuinness is buried in the republican plot of the graveyard in the shadow of the Cu Chulainn stone monument and next to other former IRA men and friends.

His grave, which is adorned with hundreds of floral tributes in the green, white and orange shades of the Irish tricolour, sits directly beside that of former IRA man Paddy Mullan, who drowned in 2003.

It is also next to the grave of Pol Kinsella, who died 'of natural causes whilst on active service' in 1994.

Mr Kinsella died of leukaemia in the Maze Prison and was buried with full IRA honours.

Yesterday cars were parked back to back along the pathway leading up to the grave and dozens of people filed past the site every hour to pay their respects in the spring sunshine.

Others took photos of themselves and their families beside it.

Tourists from Spain and France wanted to capture the moment on camera for posterity and one American tourist left a dollar bill pinned to his grave.

Siobhan from Creggan said that Mr McGuinness's grave would attract a lot of visitors.

"I was at the funeral the other day and didn't get anywhere near the grave," she said.

"I just wanted have a look and get a couple of photographs. The flowers are beautiful.

"I would say his final resting place will be of interest to many people from all over the world."

Martin from Strabane brought flowers and said Mr McGuinness's grave will become an important place to visit for republicans.

"I wanted to come and pay my respects to Martin," he said.

"I think he was one of the best republicans ever.

"I think his grave will become a rallying point for republicans, particularly when they erect a headstone.

"Hopefully his will be one of the last republican graves and that there will be some good to come out of it.

"I thought the funeral was very dignified and they did everything the right way.

"There were no trappings, no trouble and there was no volley of shots. It was good to see the back of that."
Mr Justice Baker analysed the woman's appeal at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London

A little girl whose mother moved her from England to Northern Ireland without her father's consent must be returned, a High Court judge has ruled.

The youngster's parents had separated in 2014, the year after she was born.

Her mother had last year taken the youngster from her home in Kent to Northern Ireland.

She said the girl had complained of being sexually abused by her father.

But police and social workers investigated and the man was not charged with any offence.

A family court judge ordered to woman to return the youngster to Kent and a High Court judge has dismissed an appeal against that order.

Detail of the case has emerged in a ruling by Mr Justice Baker, who analysed the woman's appeal at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

The woman had complained that her former partner hated her and was "motivated" by a wish to control her.

She said her mental state, and her daughter's mental state, would be "severely affected" if she had to leave Northern Ireland.

Mr Justice Baker said the girl could not be identified.

He said she had been born in 2013, but did not give her exact age, and did not say where in Kent and Northern Ireland she had lived.
"Injecting partisan politics into our courts is wrong and harmful to our state. Once again, as with H.B. 2, legislative Republicans have created a solution in search of a problem to advance a divisive political agenda that won't create good jobs, improve our schools, or put more money in the pockets of middle class families. Governor Cooper will continue to fight for better priorities."

Another day, another veto override vote went against Gov. Roy Cooper.On Thursday, after minimal debate the state Senate voted 32-15 to override Cooper's veto of House Bill 100 , a measure restoring partisan designations on the ballot for Superior and District court elections. With Wednesday's 74-44 override from the House, the measure becomes law.Unlike the House floor discussions, which included impassioned debate about the nature of partisanship and a Democratic allegation that judges who won election under a partisan affiliations could not uphold their constitutional oath of office, the Senate took about two minutes to dispatch Cooper's veto.Senate Majority Whip Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph, briefly urged support of the override.Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake, citing statements made by federal Judge Neil Gorsuch, who's in the confirmation process for an open seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, said judges were not supposed to be Democrats or Republicans while serving on the bench.Two Republican senators sided with Cooper, John Alexander of Wake County and Danny Earl Britt of Robeson County. All Democrats voted to sustain the veto, but Republicans needed only 30 votes to override.Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said in a statement after the vote.Update: Cooper's press secretary Ford Porter issued the following statement after the Senate vote:
Sinn Fein's leader at Stormont Michelle O'Neill and the party's president Gerry Adams speak to the media at Stormont Castle in Belfast

Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Michelle O'Neill pictured at Stormont Castle after they announced that they will not nominate a speaker or deputy First Minister. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Powersharing talks in Northern Ireland have broken down after Sinn Fein withdrew.

The republican party will not be nominating a deputy first minister to restore devolved government on Monday, leader at Stormont Michelle O'Neill said, triggering another crisis at Stormont.

The current round of negotiations has run its course, she said.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said there was little to suggest her rivals actually wanted to reach an agreement.

Mrs O'Neill said: "Today we have come to the end of the road."

However the party's president Gerry Adams said he believed the conditions to go back into devolved government would be achieved in the future.

Monday is the deadline for nominating a first and deputy first minister at Stormont or else Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire is obliged to intervene.

Fresh elections or direct rule from Westminster could be imposed within a reasonable period.

Mrs O'Neill added: "The talks process has run its course and Sinn Fein will not be nominating for the position of speaker or for the executive office tomorrow."

Powersharing collapsed in January after a row over a botched green energy scheme predicted to cost the taxpayer up to half a billion pounds.

2/ Michelle O'Neill confirmed however that Sinn Fein would be back at Stormont castle tomorrow in the hope of reaching agreement. @BelTel  Allan Preston (@AllanPreston) March 26, 2017

Sinn Fein has said it will not share power with the Democratic Unionists' leader as first minister until a public inquiry into the renewable heat incentive (RHI) is concluded.

She was the minister in charge of establishing the massively overspent green energy scheme.

Mrs Foster said: "Negotiations will only ever be successful when parties are prepared to be flexible in order to secure outcomes.

"To date there was little to suggest that Sinn Fein want to secure agreement.

"At every opportunity they have resisted involving the other parties and consequently no round table discussions were possible during this round of discussions."

Republicans have been seeking movement on issues like an Irish language act giving the tongue official status in Northern Ireland, a hugely symbolic measure but deeply problematic for some unionists.

They also want to see progress on legacy funding for Northern Ireland conflict victims waiting up to 45 years for answers over how their loved ones died.

The DUP has said Sinn Fein cannot dictate who it will nominate as first minister and Mrs Foster has refused to forgo the key role.

The five main parties only had until 4pm on Monday to resolve their differences or face another snap election.

We cannot accept a long period of direct rule. The Secretary of State must act to create the space to make a deal happen. pic.twitter.com/LqvNAPkdEG  SDLP (@SDLPlive) March 26, 2017

Mr Adams said thinking unionism was at a crossroads and the DUP needed to represent everyone's interests.

"We don't have the basis for doing that, we are not going back to the status quo, but will we be back, will we get the institutions in place? Yes."

A voting surge by Sinn Fein in the last Assembly election earlier this month saw the party come within one seat of becoming the biggest party at Stormont behind the DUP.

Public funding for services like health and education is in the balance without a deal to restore the administration.

Mr Brokenshire spoke to Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday afternoon and said creating a functioning ministerial executive was a priority.

"This is the necessary first step to addressing the issues of greatest public concern, health, education and other public services in Northern Ireland."
The couple in their wedding limousine

Radio Ulsters Kim Lenaghan with groom Andrew Jones on the wedding day in London

Popular radio presenter Kim Lenaghan is staying tight-lipped on her recent marriage.

The Belfast-based BBC presenter tied the knot in a quiet, low-key ceremony in London on Saturday afternoon.

The 55-year-old, who presents The Foodie on BBC Radio Ulster, married Andrew Jones following a whirlwind romance.

The new Mrs Jones, however remained silent about the ceremony when contacted by the Belfast Telegraph.

Pictures shared online show the pair exchanging their vows in front of a select few family and friends at the Kensington and Chelsea Register Office.

It's understood the wedding party then celebrated at The Delaunay, a high-end restaurant in the heart of London's theatre land.

A radiant Kim, who lives in Belfast, wore an emerald green velvet coat with a black feather trim over a black dress while her new husband donned a matching green-patterned tie with a dark suit.

The couple were pictured beaming with happiness as they signed the register and posed for pictures after the ceremony.

Many well-wishers offered their congratulations on social media after Kim shared photographs of their big day on her Facebook page.

Kim presents the Sunday lunchtime radio food programme, The Foodie, as well as the holiday seasonal programmes, Festive Feast and Kim's Twinkly Christmas.
TUV Leader Jim Allister speaks to the media at Stormont this afternoon as Both the DUP and Sinn Fein are blaming each other for the stalemate at Stormont. The deadline for agreement is 4pm today. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood and party colleagues pictured during a press conference at Parliament Buildings Stormont. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long and party colleagues pictured during a press conference at Parliament Buildings Stormont. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Robin Swann (left) and Ulster Unionist Party Leader Mike Nesbitt (right) speak to the media at Stormont in Belfast, as the deadline for restoring powersharing in Northern Ireland runs out later. Niall Carson/PA Wire

DUP leader Arlene Foster, deputy leader Nigel Dodds and party colleagues pictured during a press conference at Parliament Buildings Stormont (Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye)

Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Michelle ONeill and party colleagues pictured during a press conference at Parliament Buildings Stormont. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Irish Language Protesters outside Storming on Monday afternoon , as they protest for a Irish Language act. Photo Pacemaker Press

Irish Language Protesters outside Storming on Monday afternoon , as they protest for a Irish Language act. Photo Pacemaker Press

Irish Language Protesters outside Storming on Monday afternoon , as they protest for a Irish Language act. Photo Pacemaker Press

Irish Language Protesters outside Storming on Monday afternoon , as they protest for a Irish Language act. Photo Pacemaker Press

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long and party colleagues pictured during a press conference at Parliament Buildings Stormont. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire MP pictured at a press conference at Stormont House, Stormont Estate, Belfast. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Northern Ireland secretary of State James Brokenshire speaks the media as the 4pm deadline passes at Stormont. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press

Northern Ireland secretary of State James Brokenshire speaks the media as the 4pm deadline passes at Stormont. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire MP pictured at a press conference at Stormont House, Stormont Estate, Belfast. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Northern Ireland Secretary of State James Brokenshire has said a "short window of opportunity" exists to restore a power-sharing Executive.

Mr Brokenshire made a statement after the Stormont deadline for an Executive to be formed expired at 4pm.

It came after Monday's scheduled Assembly sitting was suspended after Sinn Fein walked away from the talks to form a new Executive on Sunday.

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Mr Brokenshire ruled out a further snap election stating there was "no appetite" from the Northern Ireland public for this, having only recently gone to the polls and "delivered a very clear message wanting to see devolved government back on its feet again".

Mr Brokenshire said it was "extremely disappointing" that the Executive was not formed by the deadline and that there was an "overwhelming desire among the political parties and the public here for strong and stable devolved government".

He said: "We now have a short window of opportunity to resolve outstanding issues and for an Executive to be formed."

Outlining a time-frame for cross-party talks, he said: "On timing, there are a short few weeks in order to resolve matters.

"The reason I say that is because of the stark issue in relation to public services here in Northern Ireland and the lack of a budget having been set, and therefore it is the impact on public services on having an extended period that is very much at the forefront of my mind in terms of the responsibilities that we have as the UK Government to provide that assurance to the public here."

Mr Brokenshire said he would make a full statement in the House of Commons on Tuesday setting out the next steps.

Earlier a war of words erupted between the DUP and Sinn Fein over who is to blame for the deadlock.

DUP leader Arlene Foster questioned if Sinn Fein was ever serious about getting a deal in the first place and said the talks failed "because there wasn't a spirit of compromise to get back into Executive".

"We are just disappointed that Sinn Fein did not come to the talks in the same spirit as we came to the talks."

Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill claimed the DUP had failed to live up to previous agreements and were standing in the way of progressive policies.

"We are standing firm - previous agreements need to be implemented," she said.

"We came at the negotiations with the right attitude, wanting to make the institutions work, wanting to deliver for all citizens.

"Unfortunately, the DUP maintained their position in relation to blocking equality, delivery of equality for citizens - that was the problem."

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood called for an independent chair for the talks process.

Unionism cannot dominate nationalism. Nationalism cannot dominate unionism. We must cooperate, he said.

Outgoing UUP leader Mike Nesbitt questioned why the Secretary of State had not called roundtable talks with all the parties.

Alliance leader Naomi Long said the failure to restore devolution had significant consequences for those who rely on and deliver our frontline public services.

We should be under no illusion that this failure will have an impact in the community, she said.
The Gobbins cliff path has been plagued by problems since its reopening

The Northern Ireland Audit Office says it plans to look at Mid and East Antrim Borough Council's spending on The Gobbins cliff path in "more detail than normal" during this year's annual audit of the local authority's accounts.

To date the multi-million pound attraction has been accessible to the public for only six of the 19 months since it reopened in August 2015.

The 7.5 million coastal walk was forced to close after just five months when a landslip caused by heavy rainfall damaged parts of the access path.

The path briefly reopened over the 2016 May Day weekend, but closed again on June 20 for essential maintenance to prevent rock falls.

The visitor centre, viewing platform and access path leading to the cliff walk's entrance at Wise's Eye were the only parts of the attraction to remain open.

Earlier this year Mid and East Antrim Borough Council announced that it will reopen the attraction at the end of June.

It revealed that it had spent around 500,000 on maintenance up until February 2017, and had budgeted a total of around 2m for such work.

This means that the bill for the attraction could cost up to 9.5m.

The last audit of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council's accounts by the Audit Office took place in August/September 2016.

However, while the council spent 82,502.28 between August 2015 and October 2016 on repairs, the NIAO has revealed that "no amounts specifically related to The Gobbins repairs were selected" for audit testing through its random sample procedure during the 2016 audit.

Five other areas of expenditure related to The Gobbins were selected for "detailed testing", and the NIAO says that "no issues were identified".

However, the NIAO refused to disclose what these areas of expenditure were, stating that this was "not covered by the Freedom of Information Act".

It added: "As part of this year's audit we intend to look at the spending on The Gobbins in more detail than normal.

"We may report on this in the annual audit letter to the council if there are significant issues that we consider we need to raise." East Antrim DUP MLA Gordon Lyons said it was important that people had full confidence when public money was being spent.

"I look forward to the necessary work being done quickly so that The Gobbins can open and enhance the tourism potential of the wider East Antrim area," he added.

Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson said: "Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

"If they had known that amount of money would be spent, would they have embarked on this in the first place?

"There is a need to ensure that it is value for money and will deliver in terms of tourists on the ground and tourist pounds in Mid and East Antrim."

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said: "The Northern Ireland Audit Office examined all expenditure of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council in 2015-16 (the first year of operation of the new council).

"This review included spending on The Gobbins during that period.

"The council has received an unqualified audit opinion. The next audit will cover the period ended 31-03-17 (2016-17).

"All expenditure of council, including expenditure at The Gobbins, will be available for review by NIAO."
Flowers at the scene in Colin Glen Forest Park where she was struck by a scrambler motorbike

The scene of a collision at the Springbank pond in the Colin Glen Forest park in which a woman has been struck by a motorbike. July 19 2016 ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye )

Police at the scene in Colin Glen Forest Park on Tuesday night

The scene of a collision at the Springbank pond in the Colin Glen Forest park in which a woman has been struck by a motorbike. July 19 2016 ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye )

A teenager has been jailed for 18 months for causing the death of a mother-of-three hit by a scrambler motorcycle in west Belfast.

Gary Lewis, 18, crashed into Valerie Armstrong as she walked her dog in Colin Glen Forest Park last summer.

Belfast Youth Court heard he admitted drinking three beers before the collision on a bike later found to have defective brakes.

Witnesses said Lewis, aged 17 at the time, held 35-year-old Mrs Armstrong's hand and cried uncontrollably as she lay bleeding from fatal injuries.

He has written a personal letter to her family and believed anything other than imprisonment would be disrespectful to them, his lawyers stressed.

Accepting the defendant showed genuine remorse, District Judge George Conner insisted no jail term would ease their anguish.

He said: "Human life, the life of Valerie Armstrong, cannot be restored, nor can it's loss be measured by a custodial sentence."

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Lewis, of Colinvale in the Dunmurry area of Belfast, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and using a motor vehicle without insurance.

As well as being handed an 18-month term for those offences, he will also serve a further three months of a previously suspended sentence for unrelated matters.

Mrs Armstrong, with children aged between five and nine, died in hospital following the collision on July 19.

Lewis swerved into her on a friend's scrambler as he tried to avoid hitting her dog in a pedestrian area of the park, the court heard.

The prosecution contended that he had been travelled at between 35-40 mph, while defence lawyers argued that the bike was only doing 20mph.

One of those who ran to the scene of the accident claimed Lewis shouted: "F*** me lads, she's dead lads, she's dead. That's me away."

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Although he told police that he had drunk one tin and two bottles of beer that afternoon, a breath test showed no alcohol in his system.

Prosecution counsel Natalie Pinkerton insisted the bike should never have been ridden in an area frequently used by the public.

She also argued that the teenage defendant was in breach of a suspended sentence imposed on him just weeks before the collusion for an offence of riotous behaviour.

Dressed in a shirt and tie and flanked by relatives, Lewis sat head bowed throughout the hearing.

His barrister, John O'Connor, disputed prosecution claims that faulty brakes were a further aggravating feature. The defects could have been caused by the accident, he contended.

Emphasising his client's early guilty plea, Mr O'Connor said: "He quite clearly indicated that he didn't want to prolong the anguish for the family of the deceased."

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The court also heard details of Lewis' own difficult past, including receiving counselling after discovering his father dead in 2006.

The defendant, who has been training to become a barber while in Hydebank Young Offenders' Centre, has shown genuine remorse, counsel submitted.

He read out a pre-sentence report which stated Lewis did not want to be considered for community service.

"This is a tragic case, there are absolutely no winners in this case whatsoever," Mr O'Conner added.

Following deliberations, Judge Conner told Lewis: "We hope you have read the statement of (the victim's) husband, Seamus Armstrong, so you can have some understanding of the harm you have done to this family."

He continued: "You rode a motorcycle on a pedestrian pathway in an area of parkland, this was a place where pedestrians should be able to walk free from concerns about motor traffic."

But although Lewis' inexperience was held to be a major contributing factor, it was acknowledged that he remained at the scene of the collision and made immediate admissions.

Imposing an 18-month term for the offences and disqualifying him from driving for five years, Judge Conner added: "We have read your letter, we believe it's a reflection of your remorse and we take into account your youth."
Lawyers for a veteran loyalist facing prosecution over two murders are refusing to sign an undertaking about handling US documents in the case, a court heard on Monday.

Prosecutors claimed attempts to have Winston "Winkie" Rea returned for trial on counts connected to the killings in Belfast more than 25 years ago are being delayed by the stand-off.

But the 66-year-old's legal team rejected suggestions that it was responsible for any delay.

Rea, of Springwell Crescent in Groomsport, Co Down, currently stands charged with the paramilitary killings of Catholic workmen John Devine in 1989 and John O'Hara in 1991.

He is also accused of two other attempted murders, including an attack on Malachy McAllister in the city in October 1988, weapons offences and membership of the outlawed Red Hand Commando terror grouping.

Rea was charged in June last year by detectives from the PSNI's Legacy Investigation Branch investigating killings stretching back into the Troubles. He denies the allegations.

The renewed probe came after police won a legal battle to gain access to interviews he gave to Boston College researchers behind a project on the Northern Ireland conflict.

John Devine, 37, was shot dead at his home on Fallswater Street in west Belfast on July 23, 1989.

He was sitting in his living room with his 13-year-old son when gunmen forced their way in and killed him.

Taxi driver John O'Hara, 41, was murdered at Dunluce Avenue in the south of the city on April 17, 1991.

He was en route to pick up a passenger when two masked men approached and fired several shots at his car, fatally injuring him.

Other charges currently brought against Rea include another attempted murder of an unknown male in the city's Falls Road area sometime between January 1, 1971 and February 23, 1973.

He also faces counts of membership of a proscribed organisation on dates between 1973 and 1996, possession of an AK47 assault rifle, three revolvers, a 9mm Browning pistol and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

A further charge of possessing information useful to terrorists relates to claims that between 1984 and 1986 he had documents containing the identification and address details of suspected members of the IRA.

As the case was mentioned at Belfast Magistrates' Court today, Rea was once again excused from attending on health grounds.

Public Prosecution Service lawyer John O'Neill said documents for a preliminary enquiry hearing are ready at his offices.

"The defence are refusing to accept service of these papers," he said.

Mr O'Neill set out how the dossier contains material from the US covered by treaties that require formal assurances to ensure proper handling.

According to Mr O'Neill Rea's legal team are unwilling to sign the necessary undertakings.

He told District Judge Mark Hamill the case involved "multiple" counts, and claimed the situation was causing added distress to the victims' families.

Preliminary enquiry papers will have to be re-formulated to take out all the US material, Mr O'Neill added.

However, defence counsel Tom McCreanor disputed the prosecutor's depiction , describing claims of a refusal as "pejorative" .

Insisting Rea's team was ready to accept committal papers, he added: "Any agreement between the PPS and an outside body, the defence are not part of that."

Adjourning the case for a week, Mr Hamill ordered the defendant to attend the next hearing.
The future of the Assembly was plunged into doubt last night after Sinn Fein dramatically pulled out of talks.

The parties now look set to miss this afternoon's deadline for a deal, signalling a period of political limbo with neither devolution nor direct rule from Westminster in place, and civil servants left in charge.

Observers warned that such unprecedented uncertainty could be disastrous, with no budget agreed and Brexit due to be triggered on Wednesday.

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The parties have until 4pm today to reach an agreement and form an Executive but, in a surprise move yesterday afternoon, Sinn Fein declared the current phase of talks had "run its course" and it would not be nominating a Deputy First Minister.

Sinn Fein's Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill said the party had "come to the end of the road" regarding the current negotiations. "The talks process has run its course and Sinn Fein will not be nominating for the position of Speaker or for The Executive Office," she commented.

Mrs O'Neill accused the British Government and DUP of failing to "step up to the plate" on equality and human rights issues.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said: "The DUP's approach thus far has been to engage in a minimalist way on all the key issues including legacy, an Irish Language Act, a Bill of Rights and marriage equality.

"They have been reinforced in this by the British Government's stance. This is unacceptable and a matter of grave concern."

However, Mr Adams insisted his party remained committed to power-sharing. "Will we be back, will we get the institutions in place? Yes," he said.

DUP leader Arlene Foster accused Sinn Fein of being rigid and uncompromising. "Throughout the course of Saturday Sinn Fein behaved as if they were the only participants whose mandate mattered. This cannot and will not be the basis for a successful outcome," she said.

"Negotiations will only ever be successful when parties are prepared to be flexible in order to secure outcomes. To date, there was little to suggest that Sinn Fein want to secure agreement."

Mrs Foster said her party had been willing to form a new administration without preconditions. "The DUP stands ready to continue to discuss how we can secure new arrangements for Northern Ireland," she stated.

As Sinn Fein and the DUP engaged in a war of words over who was to blame for the political crisis, the focus shifted to Secretary of State James Brokenshire.

He must decide whether to call another snap election, reintroduce a form of direct rule, or opt for a fudge to give the parties more time to reach agreement.

With Parliament due to rise for the Easter recess on Thursday, political sources predicted that he wouldn't act for at least another three weeks when they expected he would introduce emergency legislation to allow for a limited return to 'soft' direct rule.

Mr Brokenshire and Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan last night appealed to the parties to reach an eleventh hour deal to keep power-sharing alive.

But talks sources held out no hope, and revealed that an Irish Language Act had been the main stumbling block to progress.

"The DUP wanted a wider, watered-down Act that made provision for Ulster-Scots. That wasn't acceptable to Sinn Fein or the SDLP," an insider said.

"The problem has been that while Sinn Fein has a series of demands, the DUP are quite content with the status quo and don't have any big asks. There couldn't be any horse-trading because there weren't any horses for trade with the DUP."

Sources said the two Governments were "deeply frustrated" at both parties' attitudes. "The DUP didn't turn up yesterday because it refused to negotiate on a Sunday and, while Sinn Fein did show, it went home in a huff early," said a Stormont insider.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood blamed the DUP for the talks' failure. "Rigid opposition to compromise on key issues, particularly from the DUP, has made a comprehensive resolution more difficult to reach," he said.

He claimed the DUP hadn't "got the message" that people were fed up with the lack of "equality and respect". He urged Mr Brokenshire "to create space immediately for a reconvened and refreshed process to allow for the restoration of power-sharing".

UUP chief negotiator Tom Elliott warned that unless there was "a massive U-turn" in attitude from the DUP and Sinn Fein, Northern Ireland faced "a period of prolonged drift".

He claimed that the current talks process had been the worst set of negotiations his party had ever been involved in.

"It was a clear indication that the bigger parties are even more dismissive of the smaller ones than ever, and demonstrates their inability to move away from their old ways," he added.

Alliance leader Naomi Long warned that the consequences of the talks' failure were grave and urged all parties to "step up and get real". She said: "For the first time in the 96-year history of Northern Ireland, we will be without any legal, political authority."

TUV leader Jim Allister said the talks' failure showed Sinn Fein wasn't committed to making Northern Ireland work.
The hearse carrying the coffin slowly made its way from Blacksod pier in Co Mayo as rescue workers escorted their late colleague on his final journey.

Irish Coast Guard, Naval Service and Civil Defence workers walked solemnly alongside the remains of Capt Mark Duffy (51), whose body was recovered by a Navy dive team from the wreckage of the Rescue 116 helicopter shortly before noon yesterday.

A lone piper from the Achill Coast Guard played The Dawning Of The Day as the cortege, including family members, accompanied the heroic father-of-two's coffin from the coastal town.

For the family, friends and colleagues of Capt Duffy, it was a bittersweet day; the relief of finally bringing their loved one home combined with the grief of losing his life in the most tragic of circumstances.

In a touching moment, the Shannon-based Rescue 115 helicopter shepherded the patrol vessel, the LE Samuel Beckett, as it conveyed Capt Duffy's remains to shore.

Michael O'Toole, of the Irish Coast Guard, described it as a "poignant and challenging" day for the organisation. "We've recovered our colleague Capt Mark Duffy. Our thoughts are with his family, his wife Hermione, daughter Esme (14), son Fionn (12) and his extended family.

"Equally, the Coast Guard family are very cognisant we're still missing our two other colleagues and we maintain a focus on that, and our thoughts are with them and Mark Duffy's family today," he said.

"It's difficult to prepare for these things but I think the Coast Guard community in Galway and Mayo, and those other volunteers that have attended today, have acquitted themselves quite well in the dignity which they showed our dearest colleague."

Capt Duffy's remains were brought to Mayo General Hospital where a post-mortem examination will be carried out today. Supt Tony Healy said the families, while upset, had good news in the recovery of their loved one.

"Obviously it's a very upsetting time for them," he said.

"The recovery of a loved one is good news from that point of view but obviously it's a tragic loss."

Efforts will now be made to lift the wreckage of the Irish Coast Guard Sikorsky S-92 helicopter in an attempt to locate the remaining two crewmen - winch operator Ciaran Smith (38) and winchman Paul Ormsby (53).

This will be done with the help of flotation devices which will briefly raise the aircraft and allow a Naval Service dive team to examine under the wreckage.

Naval Service personnel said visibility and sea conditions were expected to remain favourable today. Lieut Cdr Darragh Kirwan said: "We are into the end game of search and recovery and it is very much focused on Blackrock. The naval divers are playing a key part in that, along with the other agencies involved. The Samuel Beckett is still co-ordinating vessel searching on scene, and the Naval Service divers.

"The families are here and, at the end of the day, it is about the families," he added. The fourth crew member, Capt Dara Fitzpatrick (45), was recovered from the sea but was later pronounced dead. Senior investigators said that "the hope" is that the two missing Irish Coast Guard members are in or near the main section of wreckage, but added the search area would be expanded if this was not the case.
Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said prosecutors have to make objective charging decisions based on the evidence

England and Wales's most senior public prosecutor has accused a judge of propagating a "victim-blaming culture" around rape cases.

Judge Philip Shorrock, a barrister for almost 40 years, said in most trials the alleged rapist was "unsurprisingly" acquitted because both people involved had been drinking or taking drugs and there was no independent proof of what happened.

It came after Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson accused Justice Secretary Liz Truss and Crown Prosecution Service head Alison Saunders of creating a "militant sisterhood", part of a "man-hating agenda" over reforms that could see alleged rape victims no longer facing cross-examination live in court.

Writing in the newspaper, Judge Shorrock criticised Ms Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions, saying that in many cases the complainant and defendant know each other.

He wrote: "One or both has or have been drinking and or taking drugs before the events giving rise to the complaint taking place.

"If my experience is any guide, I fear that Allison Pearson's analysis is closer to the mark than that of Alison Saunders."

Ms Saunders hit back, saying: "It is always disappointing to hear views expressed that lean in favour of the 'victim-blaming' culture that allowed sexual predators to offend with assumed impunity in days gone by.

"It is our job, as prosecutors, to make objective charging decisions based on the evidence, rather than the discredited rape myths that skewed the system against victims."

The attack comes just weeks after judge Lindsey Kushner warned women they are at greater risk of being raped if they get drunk.

In her final case before retiring, the judge insisted that while women were entitled to "drink themselves into the ground", their "disinhibited behaviour" could put them in danger and they were "less likely to be believed" than a sober victim.

Judge Kushner said there was "absolutely no excuse" for sex attacks but warned that men gravitate towards vulnerable women

But she was accused of "victim-blaming" by Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Dame Vera Baird, who said her comments would deter victims from coming forward.
Contact: Ford Porter

Ford Porter govpress@nc.gov

RALEIGH: Governor Roy Cooper today named Sheriff Graham H. Atkinson of Surry County to serve on the North Carolina Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission.said Governor Cooper.Sheriff Atkinson has served as Surry County Sheriff since 2006 and previously served as a deputy, detective, narcotics investigator and chief of detectives. He plans to retire as Sheriff on April 28 and will assume his position on the Parole Commission afterwards.Atkinson currently serves as the president of the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association. He was elected to two terms on the Surry County Board of Education and served three years as chairman. Atkinson is a graduate of Surry Community College and Gardner Webb University.The North Carolina Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission sets the terms of post-release supervision for all inmates leaving the state prison system and determines responses to violations of parole and post-release supervision. The commission also makes decisions about parole for inmates who meet eligibility requirements established in North Carolina law.The four members of the Commission are appointed by the Governor. The majority of the Commission must agree to approve or deny parole for eligible offenders.
Violet Grace Youens died in her mother's arms days after she was mown down in a hit-and-run (Merseyside Police/PA)

A man seen running from the scene of a crash which killed a four-year-old girl is believed to have fled the country just hours later, police said.

Violet-Grace Youens died in her mother's arms on Saturday, after she was struck by a stolen black Ford Fiesta while walking through St Helens, Merseyside, on Friday.

Her grandmother, Angela French, 55, was also injured in the crash and is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

Merseyside Police released CCTV images of two men fleeing the scene after the crash, which happened on Prescot Road at about 3pm on Friday.

On Monday a 27-year-old man from St Helens was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Police said they were working with authorities abroad to locate a 23-year-old man who was believed to have left the country just hours after the collision.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Sephton said: "We believe that a second male, aged 23, who we would like to speak to, is abroad. He left approximately three hours after the incident.

"We have been in contact with the authorities of the country where we believe he is.

"We are not releasing that information at the present time but we are doing everything we can to try and identify where he is now and get him back over here."

A third man, aged 23 and from Prescot, was arrested on suspicion of being carried in a stolen vehicle but later released pending further inquiries.

Violet-Grace's mother, Rebecca Youens, paid tribute to her "brave baby girl" after she died in hospital.

"My beautiful baby girl passed away in my arms on 25/03/2017 at 23:38," she said in a Facebook post.

"Thank you for all your well wishes ... she was just too poorly.

"However, my brave baby girl saved two lives by donating her kidneys and pancreas.

"I am truly heartbroken but proud of my little fighter."

A fundraising website set up in memory of the youngster raised more than 10,000 in one day.

The GoFundMe page was set up to raise money to help Violet-Grace's family at "this truly traumatic time".

A message posted on the site said: " Money won't bring this beautiful girl back, but it will certainly take one worry away from her grieving parents. Please give what you can."

Anyone with information can call Merseyside Police on 0151 777 6041 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Glasgow University said the clinical examination medical students sat earlier this year has now been declared 'void'

Final year medical students at one of Britain's oldest universities have been told to resit an exam after bosses uncovered evidence of "collusion" among a small number of learners.

Around 270 undergraduate students at the University of Glasgow's medical school were given the news on Monday morning.

The university said the clinical examination they sat earlier this year has now been declared "void" after it emerged a handful of students had shared information about the test using social media.

The students responsible are now facing a disciplinary and fitness to practise process and the fresh exam has been timetabled for early May.

In a statement, a university spokesman said: "The undergraduate medical school at the University of Glasgow has detected evidence of collusion by a small number of final year medical students during their clinical examination.

"The collusion involved sharing of exam information using social media. The responsible students are now subject to disciplinary and fitness to practise procedures, and after consultation with the senate of the University of Glasgow the affected examination has been declared void and a new clinical examination will be set for all final year students.

"This decision has been made in an abundance of caution to ensure that the skills of our students are rigorously and fairly tested before they graduate in medicine."

The new exam will take place at the start of May, with any resits resulting from that paper to be taken later the same month.

The test involved is known as the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE).

It is a practical exam in which students are faced with a number of clinical challenges at different points on a ward.

Professor Matthew Walters, head of the university's school of medicine, dentistry and nursing, said it was "disappointing" to have discovered the data breach - an "unprecedented" experience for the department.

He told Press Association Scotland: "We discovered that there has been a breach of security and that, using social media, a very small number of students were sharing information about this examination.

"In an abundance of caution, and with the interests of the public as our primary concern, we didn't feel we could use that examination as the assessment to ensure that our students are fit and ready to graduate and work on the wards.

"Although we didn't have any evidence that the results of the exam have been compromised, we felt that... the safest course of action was to scrap the exam and put on a whole fresh assessment."

Prof Walters said the resit move has the support of external examiners and the university senate.

It is not expected to affect the overall timetable, which would see students graduate in summer and begin work on the wards in August.

He said there was a "shared sense of disappointment" among students and staff when they were told the news, but also a joint understanding of the importance of having a trusted assessment.

"The class essentially recognise and understand the need for a robust and thorough assessment prior to their graduation and are accepting of the decision to rerun the whole exam," he said.

Prof Walters said the resit plan will involve much administrative work to organise fresh venues, examiners, patients and exam material.

He described the threat posed by social media as a "big deal" for universities generally.

"All medical universities who run OSCE exams have this potential threat and have to take security very seriously," he said.
Killer Khalid Masood is said to have used the encrypted WhatsApp messaging service seconds before the Westminster attack

The mother of Westminster terrorist Khalid Masood has said she is "deeply shocked, saddened and numbed" by the actions of her son.

J anet Ajao said she had "shed many tears" for the victims and did not condone the attack or the beliefs which led Masood to commit the "atrocity".

Her statement, released through the Metropolitan Police, came as the force said there was "no evidence" that the Muslim convert was linked to Islamic State or al Qaida.

Mrs Ajao said: " I am so deeply shocked, saddened and numbed by the actions my son has taken that have killed and injured innocent people in Westminster.

"Since discovering that it was my son that was responsible I have shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident.

"I wish to make it absolutely clear, so there can be no doubt, I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity.

"I wish to thank my friends, family and community from the bottom of my heart for the love and support given to us."

Masood killed four people in an 82-second rampage in Westminster on Wednesday.

The 52-year-old was shot dead by armed police after fatally knifing Pc Keith Palmer in the Palace of Westminster's cobbled forecourt.

Islamic State called Masood "a soldier of the Islamic State" following the attack.

But the announcement was greeted with scepticism from commentators, with many noting IS has a record of opportunistically claiming attacks.

Scotland Yard said, while it had not found evidence linking Masood to the group, he "clearly" had an interest in jihad.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for UK counter-terrorism policing, said: "His attack method appears to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of IS (Islamic State) leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians, but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others.

"There is no evidence that Masood was radicalised in prison in 2003, as has been suggested; this is pure speculation at this time.

"Whilst I have found no evidence of an association with IS or AQ (al Qaida), there is clearly an interest in jihad."

Mr Basu said Masood's communications on March 22 were a "main line of inquiry" and appealed for people who were in contact with him to come forward.

He said: "There has been much speculation about who Masood was in contact with immediately prior to the attack.

"All I will say on this point is that Masood's communications that day are a main line of inquiry.

"If you heard from him on March 22, please come forward now, the information you have may prove important to establishing his state of mind."

He added: "I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why.

"Most importantly, so do the victims and families."

Reports have claimed Masood's phone connected with encrypted messaging app WhatsApp just before the atrocity, sparking debate over authorities' capacity to intercept suspects' communications.

WhatsApp has said it is "co-operating with law enforcement as they continue their investigations".

Earlier, the family of an American tourist who was killed in the attack said they bear no ill-will over the incident.

Kurt and Melissa Cochran, from Utah, were on the final day of a trip to London to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary when they were mown down on Westminster Bridge by a car driven by Masood.

Mr Cochran, 54, was killed and his 46-year-old wife was taken to hospital with a broken leg, rib and cut head.

The others who died after the attacker drove his car into pedestrians on the bridge were Aysha Frade, who is believed to have been a 43-year-old married mother-of-two, and retired window cleaner Leslie Rhodes.

Two men arrested in connection with the investigation remain in custody.

The inquest for the victims will open and adjourn at Westminster's Coroner Court on Wednesday at 2pm, Scotland Yard said.

Masood's inquest will open and adjourn at the same location on Thursday at 2pm.
An MP has called for the suspension of hunting

Badgers could be infected with "something like a herpes virus" to help stop them spreading bovine tuberculous to cattle, a minister has said.

Conservative frontbencher George Eustice said research is ongoing to establish if it is possible to insert a bovine TB vaccine into such a type of virus, thereby ensuring it can spread naturally among the badger population.

Mr Eustice said a "self-disseminating" vaccine for badgers would be a "major breakthrough" although cautioned it is "some way off".

His remarks came amid criticism of the UK Government's badger cull, with a petition warning that tens of thousands of healthy badgers could be killed in a bid to control bovine TB.

The petitioners, who number more than 108,000, say they acknowledge the disease is a "serious problem" but believe any solution needs to involve measures such as a vaccine and increased cattle movement control measures.

The Government argues it is pursuing a "comprehensive bovine TB eradication strategy", labelling the disease as the "greatest animal health threat to the UK" with 28,000 cattle slaughtered in England in 2016.

Tory Sir Roger Gale (North Thanet) called on ministers to stop going down a "blind alley" pursuing a "policy that doesn't work, hasn't worked, will not work" and instead put the same resources into finding a TB vaccination that works for cattle and badgers.

Labour former frontbencher Paul Flynn also labelled the Government's cull policy as being "evidence-free and prejudice rich", claiming ministers have a "long record" in trying to "appease farmers".

He added culling appears to be a simple solution by those who believe in "shooting first and thinking later", with the Government using a "very rusty tool out of a medieval box".

Replying to the debate, environment minister Mr Eustice defended the Government's approach and said he would not sanction culling "unless I believed it was necessary to combat this terrible disease".

He added he has an "open mind" to other approaches to tackle bovine TB, telling MPs in Westminster Hall: " There is also some very novel research going on, very much in the early stages, about whether we could develop a self-disseminating vaccine for badgers.

"That is using something like a herpes virus that you insert the vaccine into that spreads naturally through a badger population.

"If we could perfect something like that it would be a major breakthrough although we are some way off."

Mr Eustice also said the Government believes it is "close" to getting a skin test which can differentiate between the vaccine and the disease.

He said: "When we are able to get that in place we are going to work towards moving to trials on that."

Mr Flynn (Newport West) earlier said h unting should be suspended while the Government investigates the scale of bovine TB among fox hounds.

He warned there is a "very substantial" danger of hounds spreading bovine TB given the amount of land they cover when active on trail hunting or chasing a fox.

MPs heard the Kimblewick Hunt, which operates within the south east, had to put down 25 fox hounds after they contracted the disease while a further 120 were tested.

Mr Flynn said: "T he danger does seem to be a very substantial one.

"I believe there is evidence here for a new investigation into the prevalence of bovine TB among fox hounds, and a case for saying hunting should be suspended until that has been proved to be a risk or to not be a risk. Let's put that to the test."

Mr Eustice, in his reply, said: "The veterinary advice is very clear that dogs are not a major contributor to the spread of this disease. Incidences of TB in dogs is very rare."

He added: "I believe (Mr Flynn's) suggestion of stopping hunting, while I understand he has a got a wider objective to want to do that, would not be a proportionate step based on the risks that we have."

Conservative Richard Drax (South Dorset) was among the backbench MPs who backed the cull, saying those against the measure should not view the badger as a "friendly, loveable animal" but as a "danger" to other animals and parts of the natural environment.
The centre-right Gerb party of former prime minister Boiko Borisov took the lead in Bulgaria's parliamentary election on Sunday, a pair of exit polls showed, a result that if confirmed by official returns indicates support for the country keeping its European identity.

The Alpha Research exit poll said Gerb won 32.2% of the vote, with the Socialist Party coming in second with 28%, while a separate exit poll by Gallup International Balkan had Gerb with 32.8% and the Socialists with 28.4%.

The leader of the Socialists Party later conceded defeat and said the party would not take part in a coalition government with Gerb.

Official results are expected on Monday.

If they confirm the exit polls, Mr Borisov, a political maverick who combines man-in-the-street rhetoric with a pro-European Union disposition, will be handed a mandate to form his third cabinet.

Gerb did not win enough votes to govern alone, and will likely form a coalition government with the United Patriots, an alliance of three nationalist parties that the exit polls showed placing third.

Mr Borisov, 57, resigned as prime minister after his party lost the November 2016 presidential election.

Parliament was dissolved in January, and the president appointed a caretaker government that will stay until a new government is formed.

Mr Borisov said Gerb had the "duty to form a government because this is the will of the people and because we triggered these early elections". He declined to say what parties may be in a future coalition, pending final results.

Support for the nationalist alliance reflected widespread anger over an influx of migrants to this south eastern European nation that borders Greece, Turkey and Romania, and over Turkey's open support for a party representing Bulgaria's sizeable Muslim minority.

Along with immigration, the election campaign focused on the future of the European Union, which Bulgaria joined in 2007, and the influence of Russia and Turkey on domestic politics.

Socialist Party leader Kornelia Ninova, who campaigned on forging closer relations with Russia, conceded defeat Sunday evening. Ms Ninova congratulated Gerb as the election's winner, and ruled out any option of serving in a coalition government with the centre-right party.

The Socialists, a party made up mostly of ex-communists, want EU sanctions against Russia lifted and tried to woo voters with promises of higher salaries and pensions.

If "Gerb fails to form a government, we will try to do so", Ms Ninova said.

The Gerb party's popularity faded during Mr Borisov's previous term as prime minister because of the slow pace of reforms to eliminate corruption and poverty and to overhaul the judicial system. Bulgaria is the EU's poorest member.

It is now pledging to fight corruption and to raise minimum wages, and supports EU sanctions on Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis.

A populist party named Volya (Will) may end up entering Parliament. Exit polls showed it winning about 5% of the vote, exceeding the 4% minimum threshold.

The party is led by Veselin Mareshki, a wealthy businessman whose anti-establishment message combines patriotic rhetoric with promises of strict immigration controls and friendlier relations with Moscow.

The Central Election Commission said voter turnout for the election stood at nearly 43% at 5pm, a larger showing than in previous elections.

The election sparked protests at the Turkish border by Bulgarian nationalists who were determined to keep Bulgarian citizens living permanently in Turkey from coming in to vote.

The protesters claimed Turkish officials were forcing expatriate voters to support Dost, a pro-Ankara party running for the first time.

Some 10% of Bulgarians are of Turkish origin or Muslim.

AP
A senior US congressman who claimed communications involving Donald Trump's associates were caught up in "incidental" surveillance has said he met his source on the grounds of the White House.

The meeting came a day before US House intelligence committee chairman Devin Nunes disclosed that US spy agencies may have inadvertently carried out surveillance on the US president and his associates during a routine targeting of foreigners' communications, his spokesman said.

Mr Nunes has declined to name his source.

His spokesman, Jack Langer, said the congressman went to the White House to be near "a secure location" where he could examine the information.

Mr Nunes has been concerned that Trump associates were captured in "incidental" US surveillance of foreign targets even before Mr Trump made his baseless claims that former president Barack Obama had wiretapped him last year.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said he does not know anything about this secret meeting beyond what Mr Nunes has said publicly about it.

"I'm not going to get into who he met with or why he met with them," Mr Spicer said. He added later, "I don't know what he found."

Mr Nunes's connection to the White House has raised concerns that his committee's investigation is not a bipartisan, independent probe. He was a member of Mr Trump's presidential transition team, as well.

The top Democrat on the committee, Adam Schiff of California, said Mr Nunes's meeting with his source appeared to have been "a dead-of-night excursion".

On Sunday, Mr Schiff said on CBS' Face The Nation, ''I think the chairman has to make a decision whether to act as a surrogate of the White House - as he did during the campaign and the transition - or to lead an independent and credible investigation."

Mr Nunes's office did not immediately say what time the chairman met his source. Many White House staffers can sign off on someone coming to the grounds.

The disclosure about the intelligence reports brought criticism from Democrats, especially those who sit on Mr Nunes's committee and are working with him on an investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. That investigation is also looking into possible ties between Mr Trump associates and the Kremlin. Mr Nunes said the intelligence reports were not related to Russia.

The Senate intelligence committee, too, is conducting an investigation into Russia's interference in the election and any possible ties with the Trump campaign.

On Monday, the White House confirmed that Mr Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has volunteered to be interviewed by the Senate committee about arranging meetings with the Russian ambassador and other officials. Mr Kushner is the fourth Trump associate to offer to be interviewed by the congressional committees looking into the murky Russia ties. Mr Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, adviser Carter Page and associate Roger Stone last week volunteered to speak as well.

Mr Manafort, Mr Page and Mr Stone's announcements last week that they would be interviewed came amid Mr Nunes's disclosures about the new intelligence he had seen.

The White House was asked repeatedly last week about whether it was the source of Mr Nunes's information. On Thursday, spokesman Mr Spicer mocked the idea.

"I don't know why he was coming up to brief the president on something that we gave him," Mr Spicer told reporters, adding: "It doesn't really seem to make a ton of sense."

Mr Nunes's office said the information provided to the chairman came from "executive branch documents that have not been provided to Congress".

The House intelligence committee has a facility where classified information can be viewed and discussed, but Mr Nunes's spokesman said the circumstances required that Mr Nunes go to the White House grounds.

"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," Mr Langer said. "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."

"The chairman is extremely concerned by the possible improper unmasking of names of US citizens, and he began looking into this issue even before President Trump tweeted his assertion that Trump Tower had been wiretapped," Mr Langer said.

Mr Nunes, Mr Schiff and FBI director James Comey all have said there is no evidence that Trump Tower was wiretapped by President Barack Obama, as Trump has asserted.

AP
I first met Martin McGuinness in 1996. I lived in London and had come late to political journalism, having written my first article in 1994 because I was horrified at the mostly wimpish coverage of the IRA in the Republic.

I soon found out that there were some Irish journalists who were scared of physical attack, others who were toeing the establishment line that nothing should be said that might upset northern nationalists, and yet more who had fallen for Sinn Fein propaganda.

So I began writing for the Sunday Times and Sunday Independent, whose proprietors and editors were happy to have terrorists called terrorists.

To be unhelpful to the peace process had become establishment Irelands new taboo, and I had to adapt quickly to hostility, threats and  much worse  the loss of some friends.

I settled down at the Sunday Independent under the editorship of Aengus Fanning, a man of great physical and moral courage who let people like me, Eoghan Harris and Eilis OHanlon write what we liked.

Ill always be grateful to him and to the proprietor Tony OReilly, who told me many years later that hed been under incessant pressure from politicians and diplomats to fire me because I so much annoyed Sinn Fein.

When I was invited in autumn 1996 to go to Cork and appear on RTEs Questions And Answers along with some southern Irish politicians and McGuinness, I was still pretty new to broadcasting and all too aware that  like the rest of the republican leadership  McGuinness had received sophisticated media training, had no scruples about telling lies and made excellent use of Orwellian language and the peace-babble that had become fashionable.

I knew Id been asked because Id been covering the mayhem over Drumcree and Orange parades in general, and accusing Sinn Fein of

fomenting it to destabilise the province, undermine the SDLP and bring about David Trimbles political demise.

But someone had to do it, so I went.

I was not pleased when I was shepherded into a hospitality room containing just McGuinness and two silent heavies.

He strode across to me, smiled and said: Nice to meet you, Ruth. Mitchel (McLaughlin, then chairman of Sinn Fein) told me you were in Derry recently.

We shook hands and engaged in agonisingly boring small talk about how wed got to Cork until  to my relief  a Fine Gael and Fianna Fail politician turned up.

I shared with the three of them a story Id recently heard about Kitty Kiernan, who had been engaged to Michael Collins when he was assassinated in 1922.

Shed gone on to have an unhappy marriage to one of Collinss comrades, who apparently when drunk was given to wailing: Jaysus, Mick had the best of her.

Both southern politicians

collapsed in laughter (its the way that I tell them) and a stony-faced McGuinness showed no reaction whatsoever.

In his world there could be no laughter about anything to do with Irish republicanism.

I had hoped even a southern Irish audience might be receptive, since after the IRAs 18-month cessation theyd gone back to murder and destruction, had blown up Canary Wharf and gunned down Garda Jerry McCabe, but loathing of Orangemen had trumped all that.

It was quite clear that McGuinnesss brazen lies were working in the media.

When he finally demanded to know how I would deal with what was happening in Northern Ireland, I said Id start by interning him and Gerry Adams.

An old lady came up afterwards to tell me I should be ashamed of myself.

When she was out of earshot, the man hovering nearby said: Sorry about my mother. Im a garda and everything you said is true.

McGuinness and I shook hands again, this time without smiling.

But I have to hand it to him.

Next time we met he bounded over to the small group of journalists I was with and said: So youve brought my number one fan.

He was a serial mass murderer who destroyed many thousands of lives, but he had style.

Ill write soon about that meeting, and about my encounter with Gerry Adams... who didnt.
Question: When is a majority not a majority?



Answer: When the majority are Republicans.



They can't be herded together just for the sake of a win.



~~~Some~~~ of those guys actually have principals.

Republicans believe generally in individual achievement and responsibility not hampered by too much government regulation.

Democrats believe in winning elections first and secondly using government to correct inequities as a result of human choices or create desired outcomes.

Being part of a majority does not mean that everyone agrees on everything.. Nevertheless, when you get a majority of Republicans together, you do not really have a concensus. What you have is a group of people who think individually andagree enough to form a group opinion. I suggest that the philosophy of both parties are based on a simple philosophy.While that might sound a bit simplistic, I have tried for the last few years to look for a middle ground between the two philosophies of governing. I did not do this because I wanted to find a compromise of my beliefs. The effort was more of an exercise in trying to understand how having a strong opinion automatically makes everyone else's opinion wrong. I have come to the decision that there is little if any middle ground. Both parties have gravitated toward the extremes of their philosophy.Having said that, it is clear that it is easier for the Democratsto gather their crowd together than it is the Republicans.It would be a stretch to say that the Republicans will unite merely for the purpose of winning an election. Republicans have no problem throwing their own under the bus over some breach in protocol, moral mis-step or a deep mater of principal (whatever that is). Some would say that is not true since they hold a majority in the House, Senate and the Executive. However, if you look closely, you will see that there is a hard conservative group in the house that cannot be controlled by the leadership, and most of the Senate are nothing more than bureaucrats who are mainly interested in staying in office and appearing reagal.. Then there are many in congress whose district is not homogenous in in a single philosophy.. That leaves a whole bunch of moderates. I have always said that a moderate is just a person to damn lazy to make up their mind and that is where the danger to our society lies. It does not lie in the extremes of either side of the political spectrum. Our culture appears to be self centering; look at the ebb and flow of presidential elections over the years (FDR being the exception). It is my belief that a moderate just does not want to put in the effort required of a citizen in a self-governing society. They are too easily swayed by the currents of the political stream, emotional appeal or .Below is what I think illustrates the inability of the republican majority to agree. You cannot expect a party based on individual liberty and action to always be in lockstep. Hell, they can't even Dress Right . I consider that a positive rather than a negative. It indicates that someone is actually thinking in stead of just trying to pass a bill for the sake of passing a bill.When it comes to President Trump, he is not a Republican but a pragmatist. I doubt that he has a core philosophical belief in governing. His forte is deal making and that requires flexibility without the anchor of principal. He has no problem from walking away for a deal that does not suit his goals. People like that usually do not have any hardcore right and wrong beliefs; they merely know what is practical. That in and of itself can be dangerous but it is not catastrophic. (this conclusion could come back to haunt me later) That is not a criticism of him but what I consider to be a fact. At some point in the next eight years, he will veer off course and alienate some of his base. When I talk about his base, I am talking about the hard-core supporters who show up at his rallies. I doubt that they represent the majority of the population. Many of his voters, myself included, found themselves between an obviouschoice and the lesser of two evils. Hopefully, in the end we will get a more thoughtful solution without ramming things down each other's throat.I have always been suspect whenever any legislation is passed based on ideology. That path usually indicates a willingness of one party to impose their beliefs on the populace as a whole. I thought that was settled in 1776 & 1787 with amendment being the prescribed way to change the basic foundations of our government.We may be witnessing the disintegration of both the Democratic and Republican Parties into irrelevant factions unable to either change or convince the other side of their beliefs. Usually those factions disappear into the history books. Is it time to start over? Here is a primer on the various political parties since our countries founding. Timeline U.S. Political Parties
John Wilson Foster talks about the deep disconnect in Northern Ireland that exists between politics and the people, suggesting that it is the citizens ourselves who perpetuate this unhealthy separation (Opinion, March 21).

However, he is too eager to let our politicians off the hook, as it is only they who can change the systems and practices that encourages such a detachment.

If he is correct that a fault-line runs through our public societal collective, then these negative disincentives need to be reversed and what better place to look for a solution than to our financial and governance systems.

Now that Gordon Brown has reignited the interesting proposal for a more federal system within the UK, where the devolved administrations take control over the majority of their taxation, welfare and other powers, can we consider whether the provision of the Northern Ireland block grant reinforces the sense of inertia and division here?

Historically, neither side has had an interest in reforming the block grant, as one side sees it as a source of control and repression and the other as a buttress to the arguments against Irish unity. But Scotland shows that greater financial devolution can encourage legislation that boosts economic activity and creates common purpose.

If greater fiscal autonomy was to be implemented here, a tapering system is required, where the grant is only reduced on a year-by-year basis, based on actual tax receipts from the previous year, thus protecting NI from the worst financial risks and easing the discomfort of all sides and the groups or communities they currently represent.

The potential gains of greater fiscal autonomy are increased prosperity and productivity, but it would largely have a neutral impact on the question of Irish unity, as one side may see it as a means of bringing more powers back to this island, while the other a way of protecting against the inevitable instability, or reduction in the block grant following Brexit that could potentially weaken the financial argument for the Union.

But the real beneficiary would be our collective society - bringing people and policy closer together (for once).

BRIAN C

By email
As the death and life of Martin McGuinness have been debated ad nauseam, my own view of Mr McGuinness is that his path from terrorist to politician was an exercise in expedience.

While a proponent of the "cutting-edge of the IRA", he was content to oversee carnage in Northern Ireland. When it became clear that the IRA murder campaign would not succeed, it became expedient to ditch it and, through a back-channel to the UK Government, the IRA declared: the war is over, help us end it.

The Belfast Agreement was a necessary evil, setting back Irish unity by generations, but it got the prisoners freed and gave Sinn Fein a place in government.

In his role of Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness did whatever he had to do for his republicanism. While some, desperate for symbolism, read much into his handshake and meetings with the Queen, I believe it meant nothing to him.

If there had been a chance of the IRA succeeding in its violent campaign, Martin McGuinness would have stayed the course. His journey was not a Damascene conversion from violence, but a journey of necessity.

Of course, expedience works both ways. After decades of fuelling the fires of sectarianism, Ian Paisley realised, in 2006, St Andrews was the last roll of the dice for him. In his fervent desire to be First Minister, expediency became the enemy of principle to satiate his ego.

I believe Ian Paisley went to his grave fundamentally unchanged in his 'No Surrender' mindset. Despite the genuine friendship, there with no real meeting of minds to show for it. And so it remains today. It is expedient for the DUP and Sinn Fein to share power - not for the greater good, but for the greater political gain.

The last great act of expedience, it seems, is to quietly forget the suffering of the families of the Disappeared for the greater good of what we call a "peace process".

In doing so, there is no hope of a long-term reconciliation anytime soon.

LOST LIVES REMEMBERED

By email
Major General Jonathan Shaw said decrypting social media messages would see terrorists use other secure methods to communicate

The Ministry of Defences former cyber security chief has accused the Government of trying to use the devastating Westminster attack to grab unnecessary and intrusive surveillance powers.

Major General Jonathan Shaw said ministers were attempting to use the moment to push for security services having more control, despite there being only a weak case for it.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has turned up the heat on internet firms, saying it is completely unacceptable that authorities cannot look at encrypted social media messages of attacker Khalid Masood, but her words come as debate continues over allowing spy agencies further intrusive powers  only last year Parliament granted them sweeping new capabilities.

After Ms Rudd demanded access to encrypted messages on sites like WhatsApp, Major General Shaw said unlocking the data would also allow other parties  like criminals and foreign spies  to access it, and said legislating for such a move would not necessarily make it easier to stop future terror attacks.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme, he said: I think theres a lot of politics at play here.

Read more

Read More

Theres a debate in Parliament about the whole Snoopers Charter and the rights of the state and I think what they are trying to do is use this moment to nudge the debate more in their line.

Major General Shaw argued that if the Government does push through laws to decode messages on sites like WhatsApp, terrorists would quickly use other secure methods of communicating.

He added: The problem will mutate and move on. We are aiming at a very fluid environment here. We are in real trouble if we apply blunt weapons to this, absolutist solutions.

Ms Rudd said on Sunday that there must be no place for terrorists to hide, following reports that the Westminster attacker Masood was on chat platform WhatsApp before his deadly assault on the streets surrounding Parliament.

Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show, she said: We need to make sure organisations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, dont provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other.

In this situation we need to make sure our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted WhatsApp.

She hinted that the Government could be prepared to create new laws on the matter, and speaking to Sky News later said: Im calling time on terrorists using social media as their platformIm giving them more than a ticking off.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told ITVs Peston on Sunday he did not necessarily back Ms Rudds proposal for greater access for security services.

He said: There is a question of always balancing the right to know, the need to know with the right to privacy.

I think it probably is [broadly right at the moment]. Ive been concerned about giving too much unaccountable power to anybody in our society.

The Investigatory Powers Act gained Royal Assent last year, granting new surveillance powers to agencies including rules that force internet providers to keep complete records of every website that all of their customers visit.

Read more

Read More

Those are available to a wide range of agencies, which includes the Department for Work and Pensions as well as the Food Standards Agency.

Surveillance agencies can also force companies to help hack into phones and to collect more information than ever before on anyone in Britain.
The videos are on YouTube, which is run by Google

One of Ireland's biggest advertising agencies has confirmed that it has begun a boycott of YouTube advertising on behalf of some of Ireland's largest brands.

Core Media, which represents Heineken, AIB and the Irish National Lottery among others, is pulling all campaigns over concerns that ads are appearing within videos that include extremist content.

"Until we are confident that a solution to the brand safety challenge is in place, Core Media is pausing all ad campaigns on YouTube and GDN," said Alan Cox, chief executive of Core Media.

The move comes after another ad agency, Havas Media Ireland, said that it was consulting with clients such as Hyundai, Emirates and the FAI over whether or not to suspend ad campaigns on YouTube and Google.

Companies such as Marks & Spencer, McDonald's and Tesco have already withdrawn advertising in the UK because of their ads being placed within extremist YouTube videos.

Such videos include rape apologists, anti-Semitism and terrorist propaganda.
April 26 marks the anniversary of the end of the for Georgia, for it was on this day in 1865 that Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's surrender to General William T. Sherman at Durham Station, North Carolina became official. Johnston had been in charge of Georgia's defense, so this day marked the end of the war for Georgia.I am doing daily laptop research to see if erasing Confederate History and Symbols is reducing the crime rate and increasing racial harmony in the South. Someday, Slavery History will be erased if I can connect any effect or affect history has on current events. So far personal interviews with young folks reveals a total lack of interest in any history.The young man flying this flag on his truck is married to a Mexican lady and he knew almost nothing about Southern History. He flew the flag because South Carolina took down their flag-just a protest and nothing more. Perhaps Slave History and CSA history are best preserved in museums and not on the public streets. But what do I know?
Alleged IS sympathizer Aprimul stands trial in a Jakarta Court over terrorism-related charges including helping some Indonesians travel to Syria to join Islamic State, Feb. 9, 2016.

Turkey has deported 149 Indonesians since the start of the year on suspicion of trying to cross into Syria to join Islamic State, according to Indonesias Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The figure includes 12 citizens who were sent home by Turkish authorities last week. As many as 221 Indonesians were expelled from Turkey over similar allegations during 2015 and 2016.

This years expulsions have taken place as IS strongholds in Syria and Iraq have come under siege by military offensives mounted by the local governments and anti-IS coalition forces.

The total number of Indonesian citizens deported since 2015 until March 26, 2017 was 370 people, including 149 citizens who were deported since Jan. 1, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, who directs the ministrys Department for the Protection of Citizens and Legal Entities, told BenarNews.

Children still need their mothers

Last week, Indonesian police released 12 newly arrived deportees  four women and eight children aged between 2 and 6 years old  and handed them over to a shelter in East Jakarta run by the Social Ministry.

It is still under police investigation regarding their motives and the illegal route they tried to take to Syria. This case is handled by BNPT, Directorate General of Immigration spokesman Agung Sampurno told BenarNews on Friday, referring to Indonesias counter-terrorism agency.

Because BNPT does not have a facility for children, they were sent to the Social Ministry while the investigation is under way. The children still need their mothers and they cannot be separated, he said.

The women are to receive guidance on the countrys ideology of Pancasila, Indonesias state philosophy emphasizing national unity and pluralism, and how to integrate themselves back into their communities.

The social ministry will conduct a trauma healing and trauma counseling process, especially for the children, before they go back to their respective regions, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa said in a statement issued Friday. The rehabilitation process is scheduled to last a month.

According to records from the social ministry, the shelter received 75 deportees from Turkey in February, including one identified as the wife of Bahrumsyah (alias Bachrumsyah Mennor Usman) an Indonesian citizen believed to be a founder of an IS combat unit made up exclusively of fighters from Southeast Asia. On March 13, Amaq, the IS-affiliated news agency, reported that Bahrumsyah died in a suicide bombing in Syria, but the Indonesian government has not confirmed his death.

Some well-educated Indonesians are among those who have been deported from Turkey this year. Among those expelled in mid-January was a former economist from the Ministry of Finance, who received his college education in Australia and left for the Middle East with his wife and three children.

The ex-economist and Bahrumsyahs wife were also sent to the Social Ministrys Bambu Apus facility in East Jakarta to receive guidance and training on Pancasila, after they were released over a lack of evidence needed to press terror-related charges against them, officials said.

Under Indonesian current anti-terror laws, it is not a crime for citizens to travel abroad to join extremist groups such as IS.

Reasons for going

Several things inspire people to abandon their lives in Indonesia in their quest to travel to and build new lives in IS-controlled territories in Syria and Iraq, according to Al Chaidar, a terrorism expert at Malikussaleh University in Lhokseumawe, Aceh.

They are inspired by theology as well as political, economic and social reasons, even though IS appears to be cornered in the two neighboring Middle Eastern countries, he said.

Many of them are jobless in Indonesia. They want to try their luck by doing business while living under Islamic law. Dont be surprised, products of Indonesia are very salable there, Chaider told BenarNews.
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The session of "the 10th Anniversary of the Subprime Crisis: A Look Back" is held during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2017 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 26, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping's call for inclusive and sustainable globalization received international recognition and support at the Boao Forum for Asia, with participants agreeing that greater inclusiveness and fairness are needed to ensure shared benefits and common prosperity.

Political leaders, academics and entrepreneurs from home and abroad attending the forum in Hainan province acknowledged China's role in not only defending globalization but also mobilizing coordinated efforts to address the problems and fix the flaws in the global economic system, observers said. The forum ended on Sunday.

In a letter, Xi called on forum participants to pool their wisdom to solve the major problems facing the world and regional economies and to push a more dynamic, inclusive and sustainable globalization process.

Xi said that the theme of the forumGlobalization and Free Trade: The Asian Perspectivesreflected the keen attention on the issue from the international community, especially in Asia.

The president lauded the role of the forum in building an Asian consensus, promoting Asian cooperation and upgrading Asian influence since its establishment 16 years ago.

Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, in his keynote speech, stressed that Asian countries should collectively push for a more inclusive globalization, promote balanced and fair development and reform global economic governance.

Forum participants' statements showed their recognition that globalization is an inevitable trend and a natural outcome of scientific breakthroughs and technological progress that have enabled many countries to achieve substantial economic and social progress.

But they pointed out pressing issues such as widened inequality and fragmentation of global trade, which should not be neglected as trade and investment are liberalized.

In a joint declaration, members of the forum said that reversing globalization is unlikely to solve problems, and could even create new challenges for global growth. They agreed that the world must adapt to the globalization trend and reform global governance.

Former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said that multilateralism should increase the inclusiveness of globalization, warning that "ever-increasing" bilateral interactions could cause trade imbalances.

"We see the tendency of countries to go around multilateral systems such as the United Nations. If we want to ensure the inclusiveness of globalization, we need multilateral arrangements and all participants sitting at the table," he said.

Hans-Paul Burkner, chairman of the Boston Consulting Group, a US-based worldwide company, said globalization has benefited the majority of people in the world and countries should work together to promote fair trade and to address the challenges facing globalization.

"As we go forward, with tension and protectionist measures rising, we need to continue to open up and to encourage the fair exchange of goods and services as President Xi also mentioned ... and to make sure it is win-win," he said.

While recognizing the positive role of globalization, Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal noted that imbalances in its benefits are evidenced by the expressions in some countries of people feeling marginalized.

He said Asia is an ideal region to lead the next phase of globalization, and future efforts should focus on increasing inclusiveness to avoid dividing people into winners and losers.

Forum participants said they also agreed that stepping up domestic structural reforms, facilitating innovation to generate new businesses and jobs, and taking effective measures to deal with the cost of free trade will help solve problems in the globalized world.

Jin Liqun, president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, said that blaming globalization works in no one's interest and governments should improve their social and economic policies to address the downsides of globalization, such as the loss of jobs in some sectors.

Former US secretary of commerce Carlos Gutierrez pointed out that governments should focus on preparing for the rapid development of robotics and automation rather than blaming globalization as a cause of unemployment.

"The biggest threat in the future is not trade and globalization but robotics, as millions of jobs could be lost because of that. ... Governments should retrain people who lose their jobs so they can get new skills that will be relevant in the future," he said.
Rebecca Gail "Becky" Woolard Moore, age 61, a resident of Pinetown, NC died Friday March 24, 2017 at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville.A graveside service will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday March 27, 2017 at Yeatesville Cemetery and will be officiated by Rev. Raymond Lagcher.Mrs. Moore was born in Beaufort County on December 1, 1955 to the late James Edward Woolard and Cottie Mae Modlin Woolard. She was a 1973 graduate of Pantego High School and continued her education at Beaufort County Community College and received an Associate's Degree in communications. Mrs. Moore was a member of Free Union Free Will Baptist Church. On September 24, 1977, she married Dexter Dewain Moore. She loved to go hunting with her brother Wayne and her nephew Eric. Mrs. Moore enjoyed flowers in her yard and being around animals. She was a people person, loved her family and friends and likewise they loved her. Mrs. Moore had a wonderful sense of humor with a quick wit.Survivors include her husband Dexter Dewain Moore, a step son, Michael Romanek and wife Lynn of London, England, UK, two step grandchildren, Kai Romanek, Anders Romanek, three sisters, Phyllis Dickerson and husband Robert of Plymouth, Carolyn Boyd and husband George of Long Acre community Plymouth, Brenda Cooper of Pantego, a brother Wayne Woolard and wife Regina of Belhaven, and many nieces and nephews.She is preceded in death by a step son, C.J. Moore, and two sisters, Dorothy Waters and Betty Jean Cuthrell.The family will receive friends at the home 21218 US Hwy 264 E, Pinetown, NC 21865.Flowers are appreciated or memorial contributions may be made to the Children's Miracle Network, c/o Log-A-Load For Kids, P.O. Box 15030, New Bern, NC 28562.Condolences may be addressed to the family online by visiting www.paulfuenralhome.com Paul Funeral Home & Crematory of Washington is honored to serve the Moore family.
The sparkling freshwater lakes and streams of southern Sweden will be the new research sites for Dr. Paul Moore, biological sciences. Moore has been named a Fulbright Scholar for 2017-18, and will spend six months at Lund University, the highest-ranked university in Sweden. He will be there from this September through February 2018.

The director of BGSUs Laboratory for Sensory Ecology, Moore specializes in crustaceans sensory abilities and the role that chemical signals play in their ecological function. With his sabbatical approaching, he spent more than a year identifying the most advantageous place to work, planning and developing his Fulbright application. Lund rose to the top of the list for a variety of reasons.

Lund is one of the oldest universities in Europe and one of the most prestigious, Moore said. It has a group of world-class limnologists (who study the biology, chemistry and geology of inland waters) that Im looking forward to working with. Ill be collaborating with researchers there, expanding my research and learning new techniques and systems. They also have contacts all across Europe, so I expect that this will stimulate new research endeavors for me.

Sweden offers new opportunities to do field work, and Moore said he will be setting up numerous experiments.

But beyond that, I see this as a research cultural exchange, Moore said. The Europeans have a very different approach to research and even to the way they set up their lab environments. I hope to learn new things from them that I can bring back to our students here at BGSU, and in turn show their undergraduate and graduate students how I do research.

The U.S. State Department encourages Fulbright Scholars to engage widely with others in their region, Moore said, and being situated near the major cities of Malmo and Copenhagen will give him ample opportunity to visit and speak at other universities. He also hopes to travel to Stockholm and even Norway during his stay abroad.

I want to take full advantage of all the opportunities, he said.

Even more ambitiously, I plan to write another book while Im there, he said, about how animals sense the world differently from humans. I want to get inside the eyes, ears and noses of elephants, bats, dolphins and other animals.

The added benefit that being a Fulbright Scholar offers is the ability to get away from the daily demands of faculty and work life.

The solitude should give me time to think and do good writing, Moore said.

His most recent book The Hidden Power of Smell: How Chemicals Influence Our Lives and Behavior, written for popular audiences, revealed the complex and vital role that smell plays in our everyday lives.

Moore joined the BGSU faculty in 1994 charged with developing the Marine Biology Laboratory. He led the emergence of the marine specialization through the mid-1990s, and was instrumental in organizing and developing the J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience at BGSU, an undergraduate and graduate cross-disciplinary program. The neuroscience major now has about 75 majors. He has received previous NSF support and has published 91 research manuscripts and six book chapters. He has overseen 14 Ph.D. students and 31 masters students.

In addition, he has held numerous administrative positions at BGSU, including 10 years as director of the Honors Program. In 2016, Faculty Senate presented him its Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Fulbright Program implements the late Sen. William Fulbright's visionary concept of promoting mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries through academic and bicultural exchange. More than 150 countries currently participate in the program.
By Amber Stark

Andrew Kurtz, dean, BGSU Firelands, speaks to the Sandusky community and BGSU administration, faculty, staff and students during the launch of the Vital Communities Initiative in Sandusky.

Bowling Green State University and the city of Sandusky recently kicked off a pilot partnership, the Vital Communities Initiative (VCI), which aims to pair BGSU students and faculty members with Ohio communities to identify and address projects that serve the public good. VCI projects are also meant to engage students in high-impact learning, impact citizens of our region and catalyze community and University resources for sustainable, livable and vibrant communities.

BGSU faculty members and students from a variety of majors and disciplines are prepared to bring time, creativity and expertise to address community-defined needs, issues and dreams, said BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey. This is a great example of how our region benefits from a community-engaged, public university committed to working for the public good.

This model links existing community-based learning courses and projects with issues and needs identified by the partner community. Once linked, faculty members design their courses around the community-identified projects, focusing students academic experiences to provide solutions and new ideas to address these real-world problems.

VCI partnerships are based on the reciprocal and mutually beneficial exchange of ideas and expertise. Each partner commits human, intellectual and practical resources to coordinate and guide the projects, ensuring that appropriate resources are available to make them successful and to promote and celebrate the partnership, which lasts a year.

We are excited to celebrate our partnerships with the Firelands region and particularly the pilot partnership with the city of Sandusky, said V Jane Rosser, director of the BGSU Center for Community and Civic Engagement. Engaging BGSU students and faculty in high-impact learning projects to address community issues benefits both BGSU and the region.
For Immediate Release, March 27, 2017 Contact: Kristen Monsell, (914) 806-3467, kmonsell@biologicaldiversity.org Hilcorp Pumped $3.6 Million in Oil Using Broken Gas Pipeline Before Cutting Flow Cook Inlet Pipeline Leak Threatens Endangered Belugas, Violates Federal Law ANCHORAGE Hilcorp Alaska finally shut down its Cook Inlet oil platforms powered by a natural gas pipeline that has been leaking for months, the company announced today. The decision, made over the weekend after meeting with Alaska regulators and Gov. Bill Walker, raises questions about why Hilcorp didn't act earlier to reduce the flow of natural gas that has been threatening endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales and sending a potent greenhouse pollutant into the atmosphere. At a reported output of 1,600 barrels per day, Hilcorp has produced about 78,400 barrels of oil from its Middle Ground Shoal Platforms A and C since the gas pipeline leak was discovered Feb. 7, or more than $3.6 million worth of oil at today's prices. If Hilcorp had acted immediately to reduce the natural gas flow to no more than the current 115,000 cubic feet per day flow it says it needs to maintain minimum pressure in the line, it would have prevented up to 8.3 million cubic feet of natural gas from entering the water column and atmosphere. It's disturbing that Hilcorp pumped millions of dollars worth of oil from platforms powered by a leaking pipeline spewing pollution into Cook Inlet, said Kristen Monsell, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, which has threatened to sue over the leak. Hilcorp's long delay in shutting down its oil platforms further threatened beluga whales and worsened climate change. Hilcorp expects to repair the leak within 10 days now that sea ice has begun to clear. The underwater leak was discovered Feb. 7 but began in late December, Hilcorp has said. The company said the leak initially involved up to 325,000 cubic feet of natural gas, which was reduced to up to 215,000 cubic feet on March 13, and then down to no more than 115,000 cubic feet over the weekend. Composed mostly of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, the natural gas leak also threatens critically endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales and other wildlife by creating a low-oxygen dead zone. Natural gas is toxic to fish and shellfish, and even low levels can displace them from their habitat. The leak is in the heart of critical habitat designated to protect Cook Inlet's belugas, which now number only 340. It's reprehensible that Hilcorp allowed this huge leak to continue for so long, Monsell said. Its ill-gotten gains should all be used to study and remediate the impact to belugas and the environment. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.2 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
For Immediate Release, March 27, 2017 Contact: Aaron Klemz, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, (763) 788-0282, aklemz@mncenter.org

Marc Fink, Center for Biological Diversity, (218) 464-0539, mfink@biologicaldiversity.org PolyMet Land Exchange Illegally Undervalues Public Land Federal Lawsuit Filed to Protect Taxpayers, Public-land Owners ST. PAUL, Minn. Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, the Center for Biological Diversity and the W.J. McCabe Chapter of the Izaak Walton League filed suit in federal court today to overturn the U.S. Forest Service decision to approve the largest land exchange in its history, planned with PolyMet Mining. The land exchange would give PolyMet thousands of acres of critically important wetlands in Superior National Forest, where mining operations would forever destroy the wetlands that form the headwaters of the St. Louis River. The suit argues that the Forest Service instructed its appraiser to ignore the proposed use of 6,650 acres of Superior National Forest land for PolyMet's proposed copper-nickel mine when calculating its value. Failing to account for the fact that this public land is being acquired for PolyMet's mining proposal resulted in a bargain basement valuation of just $550 per acre. An independent analysis of real estate transactions found that PolyMet recently paid a private landowner a 70 percent higher price per acre for similar nearby land. The $550 price is also well below what other Minnesota mining companies have recently paid for surface land. The PolyMet land exchange is a bad deal for taxpayers, said Kathryn Hoffman, executive director of MCEA. $550 per acre is a fraction of the value this land has for PolyMet's mine proposal. Taxpayers deserve fair treatment, not this sweetheart deal for PolyMet. Federal law requires appraisals to reflect the highest and best use of public land when determining fair market value. The failure to do so has caused the public to receive less land in exchange and will result in taxpayers being forced to pay PolyMet $425,000 in cash unless the decision is overturned. The land that PolyMet seeks to acquire from the public contains thousands of acres of high biodiversity wetlands in the headwaters of the St. Louis River, the largest U.S. tributary of Lake Superior. Protecting clean water is the top conservation priority for the Izaak Walton League, said Rich Staffon, president of the W.J. McCabe Chapter. Since the lands in the Superior National Forest were purchased in large part for the express purpose of protecting our headwaters, the public should receive just compensation for their loss. This is needed because the PolyMet mine will damage a large area of high value wetlands and streams located right in the midst of the headwaters of the St. Louis River. These public lands contain critically important wetlands and wildlife habitat that should be protected by the Superior National Forest, not sold off at a bargain price to a foreign corporation for an open-pit copper mine, said Marc Fink, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) is a nonprofit organization using law, science, and research to protect Minnesota's natural resources, wildlife and the health of its people. (www.mncenter.org) The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.2 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. (www.biologicaldiversity.org) The W.J McCabe Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America is the Duluth chapter of one of America's oldest conservation organizations. Founded in 1922, the Izaak Walton League of America protects America's outdoors through education, community-based conservation, and promoting outdoor recreation. (www.duluthikes.org)
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
SAN FRANCISCO, US: Google's money-making foundation is strong enough to endure a current boycott by advertisers, but the movement could rattle the practice of software "programmed" ad placement, analysts said on Thursday.

The internet giant's core business of serving up advertising along with online search results appeared to be safe from the boycott, motivated by companies seeking assurances that their marketing messages won't be displayed along with hateful or outright terrorist content, in particular, videos on Google-operated YouTube.

The "backlash" could broaden into a rebellion against the market practice of software programming ad placements, slowing not only Google's revenue but also that of other internet firms, according to Jackdaw chief analyst, Jan Dawson.

"I would think Google (and parent company Alphabet) would be extremely lucky to emerge from all this with minimal financial impact," he said in a blog post.

"I think it's far more likely it sees both a short-term dent in its revenues and profits from the spreading boycotts and possibly a longer-term impact as brands reconsider their commitments to programmatic advertising in general."

Introducing new tools

California-based Google, which has seen a slew of companies withdraw ads fearing placement alongside extremist content, said it is introducing new tools to give firms greater control.

"We know advertisers don't want their ads next to content that doesn't align with their values," Google's chief business officer Philipp Schindler said in a blog post.

"We're taking a tougher stance on hateful, offensive and derogatory content."

The boycott began last week after the Times newspaper of London found BBC programs were promoted alongside videos posted by American white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan member David Duke as well as Wagdi Ghoneim, an Islamist preacher banned from Britain for inciting hatred.

The analysis found more than 200 anti-Semitic videos, and that Google had failed to remove six of them within the 24-hour period mandated by the European Union after it anonymously signalled their presence.

"Inappropriate internet content"

The British government subsequently put its YouTube advertising on hold, saying in a statement, "it is totally unacceptable that taxpayer-funded advertising has appeared next to inappropriate internet content."

Others to pull the plug, temporarily at least, include the BBC, The Guardian newspaper group, McDonalds UK and the British arm of the major advertising agency Havas.

The movement spread to the United States this week, with AT&T and Verizon pulling ads from Google.

Google's parent, Alphabet, has lost slightly more than $20 billion in value since the start of this week based on a slip in its share price, in a sign the boycott has made investors nervous.

Still, analysts believe the boycott's overall financial impact should be relatively small given the breadth of Google's advertising activities.

Even a "draconian" estimate of fiscal damage was limited to whittling perhaps a percent off Alphabet's revenue, Morgan Stanley said in a note to investors.

"It is a hit on their revenue, but it is an even bigger hit on their brand; on their reputation," Altimeter Group principal analyst Charlene Li said. "Google hasn't taken it seriously enough."

Direct and open engagement with advertisers

She recommended that Google engages advertisers directly and openly.

A solution may not be easy. Google needs to strike a balance between pleasing advertisers and those who upload videos to YouTube and are free to take their creations elsewhere if unsatisfied with their shares of ad revenue.

Google's setbacks could benefit traditional television networks as ad dollars return there from YouTube or stall a shift to online, Morgan Stanley said.

Google rivals such as Facebook could also benefit if they prove safer havens for digital advertising.

Limits of programmatic

Above all, the boycott highlights the limits of "programmatic" advertising, the practice of letting software algorithms decide pairing between marketing messages and content sought by online viewers.

The technology is broadly used by internet firms, which heavily rely on software and artificial intelligence to figure out what ads will interest people at any given moment.

Advertisers can choose "keywords" for targeting their ads or sometimes use demographic options such as age groups or where people live.

Google and Facebook stopped publishing ads on websites posting sensational and fabricated stories following controversy about the role "fake news" may have played in the US presidential election last year.

In February, YouTube ended an advertising partnership with its biggest star, PewDiePie, who had published videos containing anti-Semitic insults and Nazi references.

The boycott will push for programmatic ad software to become more precise and better understand the content offered for pairing in order to reduce risks for advertisers, Li said.

Source: AFP
The export numbers for Irish whiskey are predicted to double to 12 million cases by 2020, with Africa seen as a key growth market for the category. Preparing to steal a larger share of this market is Tullamore D.E.W, the only triple distilled, triple blended and triple matured Irish whiskey.

Helping the brand get there is Shaun Stemmett, brand manager for Tullamore D.E.W at the Really Great Brand Company (RGBC), and a new continent-wide campaign that aims to highlight why this Irish whiskey is #3XBetter.

The power of 3

Central to the #3XBetter campaign is the education of the consumer. Stemmett states that as more whiskey drinkers learn of the brands whiskey making process, they begin to realise why Tullamore D.E.W is one of the fastest growing Irish whiskeys globally.

The power of 3 is core to its legendary whiskey making process. Firstly, Tullamore D.E.W is triple distilled to produce a whiskey of exceptional smoothness. Secondly, triple blended of all three types of Irish whiskey  golden grain, full-flavoured malt and rich pot  yields a whiskey of greater character complexity, and thirdly it is triple cask matured in three distinct cask types  traditional refill, ex-bourbon, and ex-sherry  to create unrivalled depth and balance of flavour.

Multiplatform campaign

The multiplatform campaign, created by advertising agency Tribalfish, includes large format out-of-home media, digital, print as well as on- and off-trade promotions that demonstrate the unique triple message.

Shakera Kaloo, creative director of Tribalfish Johannesburg, explains, This single-minded, yet ballsy, message was then visually represented by the distinctive three finger hand gesture or salute that brought the #3xBetter message to life across all media. We wanted to give Tullamore D.E.W. a unique narrative and a strong visual that was ownable, aspirational, educational and got people curious about what makes it #3xBetter than any other Irish whiskey.

In the spirit of #BrandManagerMonth, Stemmett shares the thought-process behind the campaign and expands on the brand categorys potential in Africa.

Shaun Stemmett

In line with the #3XBetter campaign, describe the Tullamore D.E.W brand in three words

1. Challenger

2. Ambitious

3. Grounded

Educating the customer about Tullamore D.E.Ws whiskey-making process seems key to the campaign. Do you think this concept of education is especially important when marketing a product of this nature?

It all depends on where a brand is in its life stage within a particular market. For us, although we are globally the worlds second largest Irish whiskey, it's critical at this stage in SA to establish the brands unique offering and provide premium whiskey drinkers with a rational reason to choose us.

The campaign includes out-of-home media as well as on- and off-trade activations. Why this combination?

We believe that out-of-home is a powerful medium for building brand image in SA. Also, brand trial (both on- and off-trade) at this life stage is critical and we're really lucky that the liquid sells itself, so why not allow people to try the product before they buy it? We've also invested quite heavily in digital and social media as a support medium to the ATL campaign that allows even greater targeting and reach.

Why do you believe Africa to be a key growth market in Irish whiskey?

In general, the local and broader African whiskey market has been on a positive trajectory for some time now, and is therefore attractive to global brands looking for new growth opportunities. Irish whiskey also benefits from having a really smooth taste profile, which seems to resonate with the taste preferences of both new and existing African whiskey drinkers, so we believe we are perfectly poised for market success.

What do you love most about the South African consumer?

Undoubtedly the diversity, which can at times be challenging but also lead to great opportunities for us as marketers.

What do you see currently as the main opportunities for Tullamore D.E.Ws brand sector?

I believe we are entering an exciting space where the whiskey consumer is becoming more confident, and is increasingly looking for alternative options to the expected whiskies consumed by their friends.

Whats on your wish list of brand objectives for 2017?

Further building on Tullamore D.E.Ws brand awareness and having more SA whisky drinkers consider us. Perhaps also, unofficially, letting our competitors know that we are serious about taking a larger share of the market.

What inspires you, personally?

My background is advertising so this may sound a little esoteric, but I'm inspired most when I see creative thought really move the needle, be it people's emotions, thinking or behaviour.
Its only natural that your distillery is looking for ways to capture the attention of the media. One way to do this is by crafting a high-impact press release that makes your distillery or your spirits brand a very compelling story for that publications audience. Here are ten factors in your press release that will catch the medias attention.

Factor #1: Impact

The facts and events that have the greatest effect on the audience are the most newsworthy. While these facts and events can be specifically related to the spirits industry, they can also leverage existing political, economic, cultural or even technological trends.

One big trend, for example, is the emergence of young millennials as an important new class of buyers. So a story pitch that is packaged around how young millennials are using new apps like Distiller to discover your spirits might be a big enough story to attract the attention of the media.

Factor #2: Weight

The significance of a particular fact or event lies in its value with respect to other facts or events. In short, what happens in the alcoholic beverage industry is important  but its even more important if it can be related to broader economic trends. For example, during an economic recovery or an economic downturn, alcoholic beverage drinking consumption patterns might change.

Suddenly, a story about a relatively low-cost spirit that delivers beyond its price point might take on new significance as part of a broader economic trend of consumer belt-tightening. For example, a compelling story about the appearance of private label brands in supermarkets to appeal to budget-conscious consumers might work here.

Factor #3: Controversy

Arguments, debates, charges, countercharges and fights increase the value of news. In short, you want your spirit to be part of the conversations that consumers are already having. Thus, consider the current economic debate taking place within the United States about the role of international trade treaties such as NAFTA. That might be the necessary controversy to make a story about spirits from South America (especially Chile) especially compelling.

Factor #4: Emotion

Take into account human interests that touch reader emotions. Ultimately, media publications are in the business of telling stories, and the most effective stories are those that resonate with an audience because of emotion.

This type of press release is especially well-suited for telling the story of the distillers behind the brand. What adversity have them overcome? What makes their story so compelling from a personal perspective? If you can provide great quotes in the press release, this is also very effective.

Factor #5: The unusual

When a dog bites a man, it is not news. But when a man bites a dog, it is news. This is an old journalistic cliche, but it highlights the important point of what makes something newsworthy. For distilleries, one tactic might be playing up the unusual nature of a region where a certain spirit is produced. While a story about a Scotland whiskey would not be unusual (thats the dog biting the man!), a story about a new distillery in Spain or France might be unusual enough to catch the attention of an editor.

Factor #6: Prominence

More prominent individuals are given more attention. The most obvious case here is new U.S. President Donald Trump  any stories about Trump wines automatically took on new resonance during the recent 2016 presidential election. And the same is true for stories involving celebrities. A story about a Hollywood celebrity getting involved in a distillery brand might make for a good press release. Ciroc Vodka did just that with famed rapper Puff Daddy.

Factor #7: Proximity

Concentrate on news that is of local interest: the closer to home, the better. This is where new craft distilleries and micro-distilleries have been so successful  they have made their success part of the broader success of their home city or region. A story about a craft spirit distilled in Colorado is going to be much more successful when pitched to a news editor in Denver or Boulder than it is in a place like New York or Los Angeles.

Factor #8: Timeliness

Emphasize what is new. There are many different ways to use this tactic  right now, anything that is organic or craft-made or artisanal is still new and relevant. This is where many distillers are having so much success, by showing their vodka is craft-made or by highlighting how their bourbons are aged in a certain way.

Factor #9: Currency

Take into account what is on peoples minds. Again, the key is to be part of the broader conversations that people are having, especially on social media. Online trends can be fleeing at best, but a current trend with staying power can be pure gold for a press release.

Factor #10: Usefulness

Help people answer questions and solve problems in their daily lives. Think of your press release as helping people gain knowledge rather than merely informing them. How is your spirit brand helping to educate them?

Taking the big picture view, what you have to recognize is that every press release follows a basic architecture. For example, theres a headline, a lead paragraph, a quote and then some boilerplate information about your distillery or company. As a result, you need to understand how to maximize the headline and lead paragraph to greatest effect: most editors and writers are so inundated with press releases that they simply wont read the full document. If your headline doesnt grab their attention, youre already at a big disadvantage.

The same type of thinking applies to a pitch letter, which is really just a short business letter that spurs action. You need to grab attention in the first paragraph with something timely and newsy. This can be provocative or conversational. Moreover, to help writers and editors with their deadlines, you can also offer an interview with your client or comment on what topics or issues your client can discuss. Again, the goal should be to make writing the article as easy as possible for the writer.

So, putting all this together, there are a few takeaways to keep in mind when writing a press release:

Dont be afraid to use humor;

Cut to the chase;

Give solid information  don't pose questions;

Provide strong visuals;

Give links to web sites or sources where readers can receive more information.

By doing all of this, you will be able to create messages that differentiate your product in the marketplace. Best of all, getting your spirit mentioned by a single publication can often have a multiplier effect, since other media publications will begin to see your spirit or distillery as newsworthy, and also be interested in hearing more about you in the future.
Saatchi & Saatchi Interactive Solutions has launched the Baby Browser', in partnership with Poland's leading parenting website Rodzice.pl. This free Chrome extension widget allows parents to read content online, while simultaneously stimulating their child's brain.

The widget utilises extensive research around how infants perceive colours and shapes in their first two years, and was created in partnership with a child psychologist. The result is an interface, which displays images onto the browsing page based on red, black and white graphic shapes, scientifically proven as the most appealing to babies brains. The effects of this kind of stimulation can support the development of visual ability, 90% of which appears during the first six months of a babys life.

To use, parents simply need to install the free Baby Browser widget, which then sits on their toolbar. When clicking on the extension, it instantly imports any text content, regardless of language or country, from the selected website while the special animation of the Baby Browser is overlaid. This allows parents to search for important information without sacrificing valuable time during the early stages of parenthood. The pace of the animation is related to the length of the article being read and is controllable by the parent. It is intended to be used in moderation, providing precious minutes of helpful browsing in a busy day.

Piotr Osinski & Patrycja Lukjanow, the creative team behind the project, said, In the very cluttered baby care market, communicating through new channels has become crucial. Rodzice.pl have proven that it understands its readers  people for whom finding even five minutes to read useful information might be difficult  and the readers babies too.





The Baby Browser - read any article from the web with your baby from Saatchi & Saatchi IS on Vimeo.
The Competition Commission has extended its search and seizure operation involving fresh produce market agents to premises in Cape Town and Durban.

Elena Elisseeva via 123RF

This follows a search and seizure operation carried out at premises of nine fruit and veg agents in Pretoria and Johannesburg on Thursday. The agents, which serve as intermediaries between farmers and buyers of freshly produced fruits and vegetables in South Africa, are suspected of being involved in cartel conduct in contravention of the Competition Act. The search and seizure operations are part of an investigation into alleged cartel conduct which was reported by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.

In Cape Town, the commission is raiding the premises of Subtropico, RSA Group, and Fine Bros.

In Durban, the commission is also executing a search and seizure warrant at premises of RSA Group, Wenpro KZN, and Delta Market Agents.

The nine alleged colluders raided in Pretoria and Johannesburg are Botha Roodt Group, Subtropico, RSA Group, Dapper Market Agents, DW Fresh, Farmers Trust, Noordvaal Market Agents, Marco Fresh Produce Market Agency, and Wenpro Market Agents.

Price fixing and discrimination

"The commission has reasonable grounds to believe that the agents entered into an agreement and/or engaged in a concerted practice to fix the price and trading conditions for the supply of freshly produced fruits and vegetables in South Africa. "The alleged colluders also make decisions on the timing of price increases. They are further suspected of reserving certain fresh produce grades for particular buyers. It is alleged that they practice price discrimination based on the identity of the buyers, the commission said, adding that this conduct is alleged to be ongoing.

"The commission is concerned with the prevalence of collusion in the food sector, as higher prices of these commodities affect the most vulnerable households," said Commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele on Thursday.

"The poor spend a disproportionally high percentage of their income on food. Also, cartel activities in this sector serve to keep out (of the market) emerging black farmers and agents."

Source: Fin24

Read this report on News24Wire.com.
A recent Magnetic Agency Survey indicates that 45% of agencies cite lack of process as the most common reason for exceeding job budgets. Other reasons include over-servicing clients and having insufficient briefs in place. This means that almost half of the agencies surveyed feel they could have stayed within budget had there been better processes and project scope boundaries.

Daniel Marcus

Daniel Marcus, CEO of Magnetic Software warns local agencies against letting these bad budgeting habits trickle into their business operations and eat into profit margins. In the harsh economic climate in which South African businesses currently operate, agencies cannot afford to let their costs overrun their budget. While exceeding set budgets on projects used to be somewhat common practice for advertising and marketing agencies, shrinking profit margins no longer allow it. As agencies continue to find their margins being squeezed, they have less room for error when it comes to the expenditure on their projects.

While staying within budget can be a challenge for agencies, given the number of factors that contribute to cost, Marcus says that it ultimately comes down to the level of control an agency has over a project.

A major issue that stood out in the survey results was that 25% of agencies said they only get notified of going over budget once the project is completed, while another 28% said they only get notified once the budget has been exceeded. This means that more than half of the agencies surveyed only find out that theyve gone over budget when its too late to actually rectify the issue.

It is not uncommon for a client to request additional features for a project that may not have been specified in the original scope. This is known as scope creep and, if an agency does not accurately track and charge for these additional changes, it is eating into its profit, as it is more than likely to go over budget. In order to prevent this from happening, agencies need to receive job profitability warnings before the budget has been exceeded.

Marcus says that with the right project management software in place, budgets can be kept under control and overserving to a minimum. In the case of Magnetic Software, an agency is notified before a project runs over time or budget and will receive key metrics in order to stay up to date with project-critical information.

While the national budget and spending habits of fellow South Africans may be out of your control, the expenditure of a project undertaken by your agency shouldnt be, he concludes.
On the day of love, Tuesday, 14 February, BrandLove fittingly held the much-loved Cape Town version of its CX trends update for 2017 at 360 Business Parks in Paarden Eiland.

This is the third year in a row and they have changed the shape of the session. It's effectively a container for you to feel safe in, learn from others experiences, think about your own business, and challenge some of the thoughts at the back of your head that you're too busy to tackle. The workshop is effectively a chance to co-create and collaborate, and instead of your conventional PowerPoint presentation filled with theory, it is super practical and makes you think, feel and do. So while my event feedback wont do the live attendance justice, I hope the below is enlightening and gives you an idea of top customer experience or trends for the coming months

Imagine the iPhone of 2021

BrandLoves customer experience strategist Chantel Botha said while it can seem overwhelming if youre not sure where to start, just go back to basics: CX is all about the customer, so thats where you start. But dont focus on your current in-store or online shopper, rather lean into the future and imagine your client of five years from now. Go all out, focusing on potential technological change (imagine what the iPhone of 2021 will include as special features, for example), and how you can meet these new customer needs. While this can be a fun exercise in itself  we did ours in small groups with Lego, strategic consultants, tech-heads and business owners alike  Botha says in doing so you also learn to innovate so that you leapfrog from the present to those specific trends that make you most excited or most uncomfortable, and fully embrace them.

Hinting at some of these trends, Botha said augmented reality will be the new reality, as she spoke of changing ways of buying and how were influencing buying in ways tailored to personal needs. This means advertising in particular must be interactive and embedded, as the consumer of the future expects to double tap on everything for more information. If they like what they see, they will help spread it and even co-create with you. But be careful  don't overstep the mark by becoming too pushy or chummy as they'll quickly turn on you by blocking your future attempts. So if you work in marketing in particular, Botha says you'd better start upping your game as you haven't seen anything like the future consumer.

If you get stuck, it helps to brainstorm and bounce ideas off others. Botha says, At the end of the day, humans are humans, so we all have the same needs, despite brands offering different solutions. So the overall business intent is right, but it's overwhelming to consumers, as we all work in our bubbles and forget to put ourselves in our consumers shoes.

Be your customer, be Gen CX

Botha says it's so easy to just start ignoring you all. This ties in with the unfortunate disconnect between knowing what constitutes good service and actually delivering on it. Its even worse when you factor in the siloed office spaces of late, where interacting with different departments is like interacting with different planets, as all have such a different view of the overall customer experience. Botha says to put CX top of mind and design an experience that makes your customer feel good about themselves. Doing so is what will make you jump out of bed in the morning excited to start work. It's about managing specific fears in the most effective way.

I found the below Slideshare of the top CX trends Botha has identified most helpful:
A solar power system was considered the logical way in which to provide electricity to power the irrigation pumps on a new macadamia farm on the outskirts of Hazyview, Mpumalanga. An innovative solution has been devised to utilise the various advantages of solar energy and to reduce the risk of cable and solar panel theft.

The approximately 315 solar panels are fixed just above the water level onto specially treated wooden poles planted in a dam on aluminium rust-free frameworks, making it difficult to steal cables or panels.

Francois Badenhorst who developed the 140ha Perrys Bridge farm for Jack Brotherton, a businessman well-known in the aircraft and tourism industry, is himself a farmer in the area. The fact that the solar panels are not erected on valuable farmland where trees will be planted, makes the system even more appealing.

Control over power delivery

The system only provides power when the sun shines, and batteries are therefore necessary if power storage is required. Solar panels are, however, more cost-effective over the long run than if Eskom would be used. With this system, the producer has full control of power delivery, while with utility power he would be subject to load shedding and power outages that could result in great damage if these occur at critical times.

From 40 to 50% of a farmers utility bill is allocated to fixed costs, which he has no control over. He has to pay this regardless of how much electricity he consumes. According to calculations, the capital cost of a solar system can be paid off in seven years with money he would have spent on Eskom power to cover the same workload.

The system for this farm was provided by Telenetix Solar in Centurion. Mias Nieuwoudt, CEO of the company, confirms that solar power is indeed more cost-effective and says once the capital cost of the system has been settled, the power generated costs virtually nothing.

Benefits of solar panels

The panels are guaranteed for 25 years and are also not easily damaged by hail. He adds that since 2016, a government tax benefit has been granted to encourage the use of solar energy. According to this concession, 100% of the cost of the system can be retrieved within the first year, representing approximately 28% of the purchase price. This improves the return on investment (ROI) in a solar system by up to 38%.

The latest technology is used in the system at Perrys Bridge. The direct current (DC) electricity generated by the solar panels is converted through an alternating speed drive to single or three-phase alternating current (AC). No power is required from the Eskom network and the irrigation pumps are powered fully by solar.

An additional benefit of the system is that it can be used for power supply in remote areas far from the existing Eskom power grid, without the high costs involved in the construction of a power line. The system can be expanded systematically if more power is needed, simply by adding more modules. Moreover, it is a low-voltage system, which means the farmer himself can handle the maintenance and upkeep.

Setting up the system

The cost to install the system amounts to between R12,000 and R15,000/kW  all of which can be written off against tax. If necessary, a battery system can be connected for power storage, but this is expensive and the technology is not yet cost-efficient. Nieuwoudt says the technology is now rapidly being improved and he believes that within two years he will be able to recommend it with confidence.

Badenhorst says the farm consists of old tobacco fields, on which citrus and mango trees were planted later. It is a very humid environment, and fungal diseases have made it challenging to farm with these crops, but the climate is highly suitable for the cultivation of macadamia nuts. Macadamias require relatively little labour. Hail and wind do not cause significant damage. Stink bugs, which represents the main challenge, can be managed relatively well.

Another source of water was used in the past to the cultivate crops, but with the new development, it was necessary to build a soil reservoir which holds about nine million litres of water. Thereafter it was decided to install the panels above the water to reduce the risk of theft. The panels are fixed to the frame with special fasteners, and a special tool is required to loosen the fasteners if the panels have to be removed. The fasteners could, however, be broken by force, but since they are above water that is too deep to stand in, this option is virtually impossible.

Securing the system

After the soil reservoir was constructed, wooden poles  specially treated to withstand water  were planted at the bottom. Waterproofing at the bottom was done in such a way that the poles would fit through holes in the waterproofing. Three rows of poles were planted for every rust-free aluminium frame. The panels are fixed to the frame and the wiring is inserted before water is pumped into the dam, Badenhorst explains.

The total electricity generated comes to 30kW per pump. Imported A-grade panels were used and were mounted on the frame diagonally to optimally harness the suns rays. The 315 panels erected are sufficient for the first three phases of the development. Another 105 panels will be installed later to serve the last phase.

In the pump room, three pumps were installed, each pumping water through a purifier first and then through a drip irrigation pipe that can service 60ha. Initially, only one dripper pipe has been laid next to the young trees, which were planted on ridges so that water could be applied from three drippers close to the stem. As the trees grow taller, a second dripper pipe is laid on the ridge about 18 months later and a third dripper pipe another 12 months down the line. This is done so that each tree is eventually served by nine drippers that irrigate the entire root zone.

Water supply

The ridges on which the saplings are planted are 800mm high and 2m wide, and in the rows saplings are planted 3m apart. The rows are 7m apart and there are 45 trees per hectare. The entire system is also served by storage of 9,600Wh.

The pumps and irrigation system runs only when the sun shines. The application of water is controlled by a computer system to ensure that the trees get the correct quantity needed. Moisture meters determine the moisture content of the soil and sends the information into the computer programme. The computer switches the system on at about 8am, when the panels produce enough power to operate the pumps. Depending on the moisture content of the soil, water is administered for two to eight hours. The computer automatically turns the system off when the orchard is sufficiently irrigated.

Badenhorst says the idea is to apply the water slowly and continuously so that the tree can use all the water and nothing is wasted. As the water slowly penetrates the soil, it tends to seep to the sides rather than penetrating downward. The system is capable of applying 63 litres of water per tree per day. It has been found that it is not necessary to irrigate for more than eight hours.

Applying fertiliser

Fertiliser is applied on the basis of a soil and leaf analysis. Concentrated fertiliser is dissolved in water inside two tanks in the pump room, where it is led to a dilution tank, further diluted and then fed into the water pipe between the pump and filters.

To prevent clogging, clean water is pumped through the pipes at the end of the process. To avoid the formation of open spots of soil on the ridges, weeds and grass are allowed to grow there  but are kept short in the furrow. The cuttings are used as mulch placed around the saplings, the aim being to minimise evaporation, protect soil life and prevent wind damage to the small trees.

Badenhorst says the main aim is to only irrigate the trees if the sun shines. If the sun, however, does not shine, the trees use almost no water. The irrigation system, therefore, fits in well with the crop system. It is a low-pressure irrigation system administering the water slowly and evenly, making it possible to keep the moisture content of the root zone on veld capacity. As the tree uses water, water levels are merely topped up, thus avoiding over-irrigation and preventing oxygen from being driven out of the soil, which can cause roots to die.

If the water becomes cloudy and the system fails to generate enough electricity to propel the pumps, the trees can survive three to five days with the available moisture in the soil. Usually, however, it rains if it becomes cloudy and the evaporation rate is also lower. If it does not rain while cloudy conditions occur, trees should be given extra water once the pumps are running again  to get the soil in the root zone on veld capacity once again.

Badenhorst says the system is brand new and it is too soon to predict what additional benefits can be expected. Producers making use of similar systems, say their experience is that they can harvest their macadamias at an earlier stage than normal and that the yield is higher. - Andries Gouws, Farmbiz

For enquiries, contact Francois Badenhorst on 082 922 2089 or email fransdel@mweb.co.za, or Mias Nieuwoudt on 082 808 8877 or email mias@telenetix.co.za.
Given its very nature, the mining industry's aspiration of achieving zero harm is a pretty lofty goal, and the question is whether it will ever be sustainable over a prolonged period of time. On the plus side, there has been a slow and steady decrease in the number of deaths and serious injuries on South African mines over the past few years.

The mining sector employs approximately 470,000 people and our goal remains that of ensuring that each and every one of these employees is able to return home to their loved ones unharmed every day, Mosebenzi Zwane, minister of mineral resources said on the release of the industrys safety statistics earlier this year.

Downward swing

According to the department of mineral resources (DMR) data, there has been a downward trend in the number of fatalities and injuries reported  73 fatalities were recorded last year, compared to 77 in 2015.

And its at the countrys gold and platinum mines are where the highest number of accidents and fatalities occur. At least 3,138 workers were injured at work in 2015, this decreased by 13% to 2,743 last year. There is an increase of 5% in the number of annual medial reports submitted by mines, while statutory reporting on HIV and tuberculosis increased by 31%.

The status in terms of occupational diseases remains a concern. Exposure levels to dust and noise  among others  remain higher than the legislated levels and later manifest themselves as occupational diseases including TB, silicosis and noise-induced hearing loss, the minister said.

Despite this, the stats show that more companies are achieving 12 fatality-free months and statutory reporting compliance had improved, with mines submitting their occupational hygiene statutory returns and yearly medical reports on schedule.

Fatalities steadily decreased from 112 in 2012 to 93 in 2013, 84 in 2014 and 77 in 2015. There was an improvement of 5%, with 73 deaths recorded in 2016. However, there was some scepticism that even though last years fatality figures were down from the previous year, the low percentage improvement showed that more needs to be done.

The 2016 figure excludes the three miners at the Lily mine, in Barberton, following a fall-of-ground (FoG) incident. Their status is still officially missing, as their bodies havent been recovered yet.

Decline in injuries

The number of injuries recorded dropped from 3,138 in 2015 to 2,662 in 2016, which shows that the mining industry managed to reduce the incidents by 15%.

The platinum sector recorded the greatest decrease in injuries, having achieved a 16% reduction in incidents, or 219 fewer incidents, from 2015 to 2016.

However, the sector recorded six more fatalities last year, compared with 2015, when 27 fatalities were recorded. The gold sector also only managed a 3% improvement, reducing the number of deaths in 2016 to 30, having recorded 33 in 2015.

The major causes of fatalities were FoG incidents (33%), while general classification- type accidents (slip and fall, falls from heights and fires) accounted for 21%. Transport factors, including rail-bound equipment, accounted for 14% of fatalities.

Staff engagement and training are the key

Yet, there are companies with pretty impressive zero harm records. Rosond has two underground diamond drilling sites that have a five-year injury-free safety record.

Amandelbult Dishaba Underground Diamond Drilling, near Thabazimbi in the Limpopo province, achieved this milestone at the end of last year, while Evander Underground Diamond Drilling in Mpumalanga celebrated its accident-free record on 12 February.

Underground diamond drilling has many hazards and the possibility for a serious accident is high, says Ricardo Cravo Ribeiro, operations director for Rosond. Activities require a great deal of manual handling and working conditions are physically demanding.

We therefore scrutinise every possible hazard and do whatever is necessary to control and, if possible, eliminate the risks.

Ribeiro attributes the drilling teams success to several factors, including focusing on the top hazards and implementing various safety devices for the protection of employees.

The company has also gradually created a culture of safety through quarterly safety drives that remind employees of fundamentals and reinforce non-negotiables.

Training programmes, including annual and refresher training, play a major role. Training concentrates on the safe operating procedures through theoretical and practical sessions facilitated by qualified trainers and assessors.

Ribeiro adds that another driving force is objectives and targets. These are driven by a safety incentive scheme, which rewards the teams with a safety bonus. Our partnership with our clients plays a big role through their safety programmes and standards.
The Sommeliers Selection, an organisation which targets the everyday wine drinker through new and innovative ways - including a social and traditional media campaign, and neck tags and bold stickers on every winning bottle - has joined forces with the Black Cellar Club (BLACC), powered by Vula Afrika - an organisation that reaches out to emerging African wine enthusiasts.

Image supplied

Having listened to and participated in many passionate discussions about wine and the wine industry with their colleagues in the South African hospitality sector, directors at Vula Afrika, Ian Manley and Aubrey Ngcungama, identified the need for an organisation that could reach out to Africans who were interested in furthering their wine knowledge. And so BLACC came into being.

Gregory Mutambe, chairman of BLACC, explains that the club is a very personal initiative. Like my fellow board members, wine was not something I grew up with. My parents never drank wine at the dinner table. Yes, there was alcohol but certainly not wine. This is the case for most black Africans. With BLACC our aim is to change this scenario, to change perceptions around wine and to facilitate making wine and the knowledge thereof accessible to all South Africans by raising awareness about it.

Guiding the everyday consumer

Incidentally, The Sommeliers Selection is also the first South African wine competition judged solely by a panel of South Africas top sommeliers, in categories moulded around those of a "wine list.

Winning wines referred to as Listed Wines, are listed on the sought-after Sommeliers Selection wine list. This wine list is distributed countrywide to trade and restaurants. All listed wines carry The Sommeliers Selection seal of approval, which is identified with a gold sticker and neck tag. These eye-catching stickers and neck tags will stand out on retail shelves, thereby guiding the everyday consumer with their wine purchases.

Entries are judged for their food appropriateness and their gastronomical relevance. The judging panel, look at the stylistic approach to wines, regionality and price points. All wines are tasted blind by the sommeliers.

Associate wine judges

The South African Sommeliers on the judging panel, who are also members of BLACC, all have extensive local and international judging and work experience. Their in-depth knowledge of international and local markets and what the public is looking for in their drinking wines, or pairing with food wines is unparalleled. In addition, each judge will be joined on the panel by an associate judge to gain valuable experience in judging wines.

Combining their expertise and passion this collaboration of great wine minds will without a doubt take wine appreciation to the next level.

Entries open on Monday, 3 April 2017 and the judging will take place in early June. The awards ceremony is scheduled for 26 July whereafter the public will get an opportunity to taste the winning wines in Johannesburg (21 September) and Cape Town (5 October).
Application for Monsanto's year-long internship programme is now open for entry to recent graduates or final year students in the fields of Agriculture, Crop Protection, Horticulture, and related disciplines, based on their academic performance.

Current Monsanto interns, Bonolo Molewa and Lutholwethu Khumalo.

According to Madeleine du Plessis, human resource generalist at Monsanto SA, the internship is a great opportunity to gain practical experience because candidates do hands-on work while learning about the industry.

From the first day our interns become contributing members of the team with meaningful responsibilities. This allows them to have a realistic look at a career with Monsanto. They gain valuable professional experience and developmental input, said du Plessis.

Following a rigorous assessment, successful applicants will have the opportunity to be part of the company and will be based at the Johannesburg head office, where they will benefit from the mentorship of the Monsanto Leadership team.

All interested parties can apply for the internship online on the Monsanto LinkedIn page
At the National Skills Development Awards, held 23 March 2017, Novus Academy won a gold award in the Best Artisan Development Programme category.

From L-R: Owen America and Nelia Burger from the Novus Academy and Nico Grobbelaar (group executive of human resources, Novus Holdings)

In addition to recognising best skills development practices in various categories across all skills development implementers and National Skills Fund projects, the awards also provide exposure for best skills development practices through print and electronic media, as well as work placement opportunities created through various learning programmes such as artisan development, learnerships and internships to name a few.

We are excited and humbled to receive this recognition. For us this achievement is a result of team effort, including our apprentices, learners and employees, all of whom have contributed to our success, said Nico Grobbelaar, executive head of human resources at Novus Holdings, previously known as the Paarl Media Group.

Noting the shortage of specialised skills in the marketplace, the group established the Novus Academy in 2011, which has grown into a recognised facility, dedicated to providing advanced training programmes, aligned to international curricula. It launched its apprenticeship programmes in 2011, which offer successful applicants an opportunity to earn an income, whilst working towards an internationally certified trade qualification. The apprenticeship programmes utilise an integrated approach that recognises the importance of mathematics, environmental studies and end-user computer training. Apprenticeships are offered in 12 specialised areas. Of 164 apprentices indentured since 2011, 69 have already completed their studies with an average score of 92%.

Award entries were judged on 2014-2016 performance criteria, which included track record of placements and appointments, retention and throughput, number of learners employed and the profile of learners.

With sophisticated infrastructure that includes software and technology, the Academy works closely with the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations, NAMB (The National Artisan Moderation Body), SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority) and Printing SA. The Fibre Processing & Manufacturing Sector Education and Training Authority (FP&M SETA) endorses it and it is approved as a training centre for the City and Guilds of London Institute.

We understand that self-dependency and innovation in terms of skills development within our business and industry are critical. Winning this award is an indication that we are on the right path and we remain committed in investing in the development of skilled artisans by providing comprehensive training and trade learning opportunities, concluded Grobbelaar.

For more information, go to https://novus.holdings/academy.
Are you an aspiring author? Are you hungry for tips and advice on how to get published? Then join four local authors at Authors' Day, the Rand Show's new half-day literary event.

Deon Maas, author of Melk die Heilige Koeie, is one of the speakers at Authors Day, a new half-day literary conference that forms part of the inaugural Johannesburg Design Week being launched at the Rand Show. Register online at www.jhbdesignweek.co.za. (Photo by Alet Pretorius.) Melk die Heilige Koeie, by Deon Maas, one of the authors wholl be participating in Authors Day at the Rand Show on 20 April 2017. Register online at www.jhbdesignweek.co.za. Radio host and author Sam Cowen joins three other local authors to guide aspiring writers taking part in Authors Day, a new half-day literary conference that forms part of the inaugural Johannesburg Design Week being launched at the Rand Show. Register online at www.jhbdesignweek.co.za. From Whiskey to Water (Jacana, 2016), by Sam Cowen, one of the speakers at the Rand Shows Authors Day (20 April, 2017). Register online at www.jhbdesignweek.co.za. Maverick indie author Paula Gruben will take Authors Day delegates behind the scenes of a #writerslife. Join Paula and three other local authors at this new half-day literary conference that forms part of the inaugural Johannesburg Design Week being launched at the Rand Show. Register online at www.jhbdesignweek.co.za. Umbilicus: An autobiographical novel, by Paula Gruben, one of the speakers at the Rand Shows Authors Day (20 April, 2017). Register online at www.jhbdesignweek.co.za. Douglas Kruger, author of Theyre Your Rules  Break Them!, will take the mike alongside other local authors at Authors Day, a new half-day literary conference that forms part of the inaugural Johannesburg Design Week being launched at the Rand Show. Register online at www.jhbdesignweek.co.za.

Authors Day forms part of the lineup of the inaugural Johannesburg Design Week 2017, an exciting new first-for-Gauteng initiative that aims to make great design accessible to people from all walks of life.

Launching this year at the Rand Show, South Africas biggest consumer exhibition, Johannesburg Design Week 2017 consists of curated displays of intriguing design, public workshops and talks on design topics, and a series of conferences, workshops and master classes that will inspire those in the world of business. And of course, Authors Day...

Inspiration from top authors

Join Deon Maas, Sam Cowen, Paula Gruben and Douglas Kruger on Thursday, 20 April, for this half-day event, where theyll discuss their latest books, give advice on writing a book, and guide aspiring authors on the often daunting process of getting published. There will also be book signings after the event.
The Billings Youth Orchestra and Chorale presents its spring concert in the Skyview High auditorium Sunday, April 2, at 3 p.m.

This 11th season's performance will culminate with a combined orchestra and chorale arrangement by Ken Gilstrap of Beethoven's 9th Symphony finale.

After the combined group selection, a short dessert reception will be held in the cafeteria followed by a concert beginning at 5:30 p.m. by the Cantate Chorale and Choralaires.

The Repertory Orchestra and Choralaires just returned from a New York City trip where they performed at the 92nd Street Y under the direction of Erin Small and Miriam Burns, former cover conductor for the New York Philharmonic.

They also participated in a clinic with performers from the Broadway musical "The Lion King" as part of their trip activities.

The BYO&C features four orchestras of diverse ages and development to encompass all Billings string playing opportunity as well as the two chorales, whose voices range from middle school through high school.

Each of the conductors  Randy Tracy, Stefanie Zarycki, Lindsey Selman, Barbara Kirk, Amy Logan and Erin Small look forward to displaying their groups' most recent accomplishments for the 2016-17 season.
Contiki's global team has partnered with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to create an immersive 360 virtual reality and cinematic Thailand experience aimed towards the millennial traveller in celebration of the brand's new Northern Thai Highlights trip.

Image by Contiki

The digitally lead activation based around Contiki's new trip gives travellers the opportunity to see a more cultural, natural side of Thailand. Showcasing four diverse destinations (which form part of the Northern Thai Highlights trip), users experience the city life of Bangkok, the culture of Ayutthaya, the food of Chiang Mai and the natural beauty of Kanchanaburi, all brought to life through cinematic video and virtual reality.

Kelly Jackson, general manager for Contiki in South Africa, discusses the video activation's importance to challenge the misguided perceptions about Thailand: "The purpose of this campaign was to take our travellers deeper to show the cultural and natural side of Thailand. Contiki, on a global level, is delighted to be working in partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to drive awareness of this stunning region and our brand new Northern Thai Highlights trip using innovative, immersive content.

Challenges and tips from the VR content-creation journey

Contikis in-house video team have previously created VR content on Latin American and USA offerings from the brand, capturing everything from the excitement of Time Square to the beauty of Machu Picchu. Taking on Thailand as their newest VR destination, expert video editor, Rachel-Kate Lloyd, highlights some of the challenges and tips from the VR content-creation journey through Northern Thailand:

1. Crowding and confined spacing: There can be complications in post-production if people get too close to the rig. Subjects can end up being cut in half in the video. I avoided this thanks to learnings from previous VR experiences and ensured the rig was given plenty of space.

2. One take: Unlike normal video you want to avoid multiple cuts as it's jarring for headset viewers to see jumps within virtual reality. This can be avoided by running through practice takes and making sure the subjects are solid on their lines.

3. 360 captures everything: This means when Im filming, unless Im hidden, Ill be in the shot. Avoid ruining shots by making sure youre fully hidden, or even double up as a background actor if needed.

Visit Contiki to enjoy the VR and cinematic videos.

In honour of this activation, Contiki is giving away 100 branded virtual reality headsets to millennials around the world. The headsets will be delivered via a social competition running throughout the month of March, allowing users to experience the joys of Thailand before purchasing the product. Contiki representatives will also be aided with VR sets at tradeshows, consumer shows, and road shows around the world, enabling millennials to gain a richer experience of all Contiki and Thailand have to offer. Jackson will showcase the best of Contikis VR at the upcoming World Travel Market (WTM) Africa in Cape Town in April.
Motherland Brewers is serving up a selection of unique craft beers for the Cape Town crowd. Eugene Yiga spoke to owner Alistair Kernick to find out more.

Where did your love for craft beer begin?

In Cape Town. I was exploring the idea of opening a craft beer bar so I needed to do a lot of research trying every craft beer I could get my hands on. The more I drank it, the more I liked it.

What was the inspiration for the restaurant?

I opened the Cape Town Motherland Coffee store in early 2013. I had a large floor size  almost twice what we needed  so I was looking to do some other product offering to use our space more efficiently. I played around with other ideas but I liked the beer bar concept.

How do you select your beers?

Through a lot of testing. I give a lot of thought to having a well-balanced mix of high quality beers on the taps. Unlike coffee, where if you have a good coffee most people agree that its good, beer is a lot more polarising and what one person likes the next may not. So I try to have an option for most, though the emphasis is finding good beer thats not well-known. Our taps all rotate so what you have one week will change somewhat to the next.

Hows it been received so far?

We have great feedback on the beers, the interior design, and the food, especially the chargrilled fish taco, the cheeseburger, the Vietnamese hotdog, and our salted caramel beer float. We are still new so our business is steadily growing.

Why do you think Cape Town has gone crazy over craft beer?

Beer can be a convenient way to get drunk or it can be an amazing journey through taste. I think Cape Town decided to choose the latter. There are so many different types of amazing beer which are still to be discovered. I feel we are going to see many more microbreweries offering more options in the near future.

What are some of the current trends in craft beer?

Big in-your-face beers are becoming more popular. In the past, beer was mainly lager and one-sided. Now the trend is toward interesting, unusual, and flavourful ale options: things like coffee stouts using actual coffee beans, ales which taste like mangos or granadillas, or Indian Pale Ales that are 12% alcohol by volume.

What do you have planned for Motherland Brewers?

Were going to do evenings with brewers and winemakers where they will do tastings and talks. Well probably tie the tastings in with Tuning the Vine #InnerCityWineRoute and First Thursdays. Were also looking at evenings where well do unusual parings, e.g. beer and ice cream.

Motherland Brewers is at the Mandela Rhodes Building (corner of Wale Street and Georges Mall) in Cape Town. Hours of operation are Monday to Friday from 12pm to 10pm and Saturday from 12pm to 8pm. Call 021 422 0960 or www.facebook.com/motherlandbrewers.
The CTICC recently welcomed South Africa's national Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, and provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde, at the Joint Association Member Meeting (JAMMS) where members of Cape Town Tourism, the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (FEDHASA), the Southern African Association for Conference Industry (SAACI), and Southern Africa Tourism Service Association (SATSA), and government role players met to discuss issues such as operating licences, visas, disruption in the industry, new tourism trends and greater integration between authorities.

Delegates were welcomed by CTICC Chief Executive Officer, Julie-May Ellingson, who placed emphasis on the importance of the JAMMS gathering, and highlighted how government initiatives can assist in supporting the industry.

We acknowledge that tourism remains one of the biggest employment sectors in the Western Cape. It is for this reason that we are proud to host events such as this JAMMS discussion workshop. These sessions provide an important opportunity for government and industry to identify what we, as a collective, can do to increase the value tourism adds to our economy.

We are also heartened by the R110 million bidding fund that Minister Hanekom announced at Meetings Africa last month. Having access to funding and support will enable us to put forward stronger bids in the association market and expand the countrys market share in the international conference segment, said Ellingson.

The economic benefit of business tourism

Winde, who provided one of the keynote addresses, delved into the economic benefit business tourism has on the local economy. Tourism is one of our fastest growing sectors and employs 204,000 people in the Western Cape. Annual foreign direct spend is worth R17.2 billion. We know that business tourists have a higher spend than leisure tourists. Each conference delegate spends an estimated R3 210 per day, according to Wesgro. Since 2014, we have secured bids worth R645 million. This has delivered significant growth and job creation benefits, said Winde.

With the CTICCs expansion set to open later in the year, Winde noted the additional value the expansion will bring.

The expansion of the Cape Town International Convention Centre, which is jointly funded by a range of stakeholders including the Western Cape Government, is also set to double the centres existing exhibition capacity. We will see an increase in the number and size of conferences resulting in more business travellers to our region, Winde added.
Entry of the mobile technology ride-sharing service, Uber , into passenger transport markets across the world has brought disruptive competition with substantial benefits to consumers. Africa is no exception.

 Ying Feng Johansson via 123RF

Uber is currently the dominant ride-sharing app used in Africa. It has rapidly grown its African footprint and now has operations in eight countries; Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania.

Disruptive competition through technology can bring substantial benefits to consumers, but it also raises competition and socio-economic issues. These result mainly from the displacement of traditional service providers. These issues cannot be ignored in a developing country. Regulation needs to at least ensure that conditions for competition are consistent and not only free but fair across competing services where possible.

There are also concerns that Uber, with its first mover advantage within the ride-sharing market, is growing into a monopoly despite the benefits to consumers.

These concerns have been raised by incumbent taxi operators in Kenya and South Africa. As is the case across the globe traditional metered taxis are seeing red. In South Africa, traditional metered taxi operators have protested and also tried, so far unsuccessfully, to get the competition authority to prosecute Uber for what they see as anti-competitive behaviour. In Kenya, there have been attacks on Uber drivers by business rivals.

But there are also signs of a rising challenge to Uber by new rivals. The Kenyan and South African experiences are worth noting. The different trajectories developing in these two markets make for an interesting comparison.

Uber firmly in the driving seat in South Africa

In South Africa new entrants into the ride-sharing app market have made little progress in attracting substantial demand. These include:

Taxify which entered the market in 2015. It struggled and had to re-launch its brand with a new business model in 2016 to access a wider market, in which it now holds around a 10% share. Its strategy is based on 15% lower prices and higher proportional pay out to drivers.



Zebra Cabs, an incumbent metered taxi company, adopted the electronic taxi hailing technology to launch the Zebra Cabs app in 2016, a direct rival to Uber.



Jozibear entered the market late in 2016 and currently operates in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.

But Uber has built a strong brand among local customers since entry in 2013, in a market with important first mover advantages.

 Hongqi Zhang via 123RF.com

Even though competitors may offer better quality or cheaper services, customers will be attracted to Ubers because it has established a stronger brand and larger driver network. To compete, entrants have to develop rival platforms which are frictionless and able to attract both drivers and passengers.

Changes in regulation to encompass ride-sharing have formalised aspects of the industry in South Africa. These include licensing and permit conditions. But these changes have not necessarily led to a stronger competitive position for rivals, including metered taxis.

Why Little Cab in Kenya may be different

The picture is very different in Kenya. There Safaricom, the largest telecommunications operator, launched an app-based ride-sharing service called Little Cab in July 2016 in partnership with Craft Silicon, a local software firm.

Little Cab introduced free Wi-Fi to passengers in addition to the option to process payments using M-Pesa, the mobile-phone based financial service. M-Pesa is the most widely used mobile money service developed by Safaricom with 66% market share in Kenya.

Little Cab promises to be an effective competitor to Uber in Kenyas ride-sharing economy particularly due to its link to the mobile money platform.

Its still not clear whether Uber can integrate the M-Pesa payment solution to its service in Kenya. A failure to address this challenge may limit the companys ability to retain its position in the market. This is partly because most Kenyans dont have credit cards, a fact that led Uber to introduce cash payments three months after entering the Kenyan market in January 2015. This adjustment has been pivotal to its growth in the country.

Little Cab appears to be performing well given its plans to expand into Uganda and Nigeria in 2017, its first operations outside Kenya. These are not entirely new markets for Safaricom given that its largest regional operations are based in Nigeria under Craft Silicon.

Similarly, Safaricom has operations in Uganda, and plans to use its existing knowledge of these markets to gain entry and compete with other ride-sharing services.

Too early to call?

Theres a fascinating competitive clash emerging in Kenya which may play itself out throughout the east African region. M-Pesas attractiveness to both markets (ride-sharing and mobile money users) gives Safaricom and Little Cabs a competitive advantage.

Safaricom is able to leverage its large mobile money subscriber base and technology to compete with Uber in a market where mobile money payments are ubiquitous. On the other hand, the rival has first mover advantages in terms of branding and convenience in the ride-sharing sharing economy.

However, Safaricom appears to have overcome the seemingly insurmountable first mover position enjoyed by Uber, and brand-related entry barriers by simply leveraging its own strengths in Kenya.

Who will win the market in the region is now anyones guess.

Ubers position in South Africa looks more assured. But it does face challenges. Ongoing protests, the most recent of which led to gridlock near the countrys largest international airport, could lead to continued scrutiny of its operations.

And the company has had to adjust its model to suit local conditions. Uber grew rapidly when it first launched using its standard transacting mechanisms due in part to the fact that in 2015 54.9% of South Africans had credit cards. But it has had to reconsider its banking card only payment mechanism and now allows cash payments.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
For eight consecutive years Nedbank, winner of the 2015 Oliver Top Empowered Business of the Year award, has maintained a level 2 BBBEE status which is testament to the group's recognition that transformation is an enabler to a sustainable future for all South Africans. The group's transformation framework continues to support national strategic priorities as well as using financial expertise to further contribute meaningfully to the benefit of all South Africans.

Speaking at parliament in March, Nedbank's CE, Mike Brown, said that Nedbank has a specific transformation vision to be a Pan-African Bank with an inclusive culture, relevant in the societies in which we operate and admired as a business that significantly advances the development of historically disadvantaged people across all our stakeholder groups' he explained, and achieving this demands that we prioritise transformation to ensure it is a strategic enabler of both of our own business evolution and our nation's future.'

On the subject of ownership transformation, Brown pointed to the success of Nedbank's groundbreaking BBBEE Eyethu transaction as a key example of how a real commitment to transformation can change lives and futures. "When our share scheme matured at the end of 2015, it effectively delivered R8,2 bn in realised value to more than 500,000 black Nedbank shareholders across the country." The institution has a total measured black shareholding percentage of 37.55%, and black women shareholding of 17.39%. These figures are based on Nedbank's 2016 Financial Sector Charter verified score. The bank has a 54% black top management representation, 60% at middle management level and 88% in junior management.

Brown concluded his presentation by acknowledging that there is still much work to be done before South Africa could ever be considered truly transformed. But he assured those present of Nedbank's strong commitment to doing its share to overcome the challenges, addressing the shortcomings and work with both the public and private sector to make sure the country reaches a transformed state as quickly as possible.

Thulani Sibeko, group managing executive: group marketing, communications and corporate affairs at Nedbank will present a case study at the 2017 Oliver Top Empowerment Conference, taking place in Johannesburg from 29-30 March, unpacking how Nedbank is taking on this important journey. The Top Empowerment Conference enables past Oliver Top Empowerment Award winners, respected transformation experts and business/government leaders to share their insights on the challenges and opportunities tied into transformation.

Stakeholders will engage in various topics and case studies such as; how achieving gender equality boosts business success, steps to integrating transformation with sustainable business performance the state of transformation, empowering the youth through technology, exploring the new financial sector codes, attaining optimum productivity through economic diversification and more.

For media enquiries contact Asanda Munyu on 0860 00 9590 or email az.oc.ocpot@uynum.adnasa.




We very often tackle gender inequality in a serious way, but this is so fun, so funny that it works in a new way. That's how deputy creative director at Y&R Budapest and ADC advertising juror Karolina Galacz describes the entry that was a delight for her to watch.

The One Show and Art Directors Clubs judging has begun, on location on Bermuda. In order to keep the rest of the world intrigued and informed of the judging process, theyll be sharing selected judges Picks of the Day throughout the judging process.

Galacz explains why Girls do code speaks to her in the video embedded below:

You can view this and other Art Directors Club entries by browsing this years entries and dont miss the 96th Annual ADC Awards on 8 May 2017 and the One Show Creative Week Festival from 8 to 12 May 2017, in New York  visit our One Show special section for all the latest updates.
From today, Monday 27 March 2017, the public can participate in the second round of comments on the City of Cape Town's proposed outdoor advertising by-law. Comments close on 9 April 2017.

The City received a significant volume of comments from role players in the advertising industry and other interested parties in response to the first draft of the proposed outdoor advertising by-law last year. A task team worked through these comments and subsequently redrafted the by-law, taking into account the contributions that we received. The new draft is now available for a second round of public participation, given the extensive changes to the first draft by-law, said the Citys mayoral committee member for transport and urban development, Councillor Brett Herron.

Those who have commented on the first draft will notice that the second draft has been reduced from 88 pages to less than 40 pages, making it is easier to navigate. We have also created greater flexibility with respect to the adjudication of signs. The purpose of the by-law is to create a clear and simple framework to regulate outdoor advertising and signage. We have tried to make the new regulations easy to grasp and to streamline the processes to be followed when applying to the City for authorisation.

Comments implemented

Following the first round of public participation, the City has heeded the comments of residents and industry. For example, private security companies will be permitted to have additional displays of their presence within communities on request of homeowners associations.

Similarly, we have increased the revenue possibilities for schools and non-governmental organisations after they asked the City for assistance to ensure their financial sustainability. We have also sought to simplify the application process for industry following their concerns about uncertainty, said Councillor Herron.

An important aspect of the by-law is finding a balance between the need for economic growth, while at the same time ensuring that advertising and signage is not detrimental to Cape Towns unique heritage and tourism treasures.

As much as we want to protect Cape Towns visual, historical and cultural appeal, we have to be aware of the impact of red tape and unnecessary regulation on the citys economic growth, innovation potential, and job creation prospects.

Extracts from draft Bill

The draft outdoor advertising by-law stipulates the following:

The applicable regulations to install, use, or display a sign or signage structure (including aerial signs, banners, billboards, information boards, composite signs, construction site signs, custom-shaped signs, electronic signs, flat signs, freestanding signs, inflatable signs, illuminated signs, roof signs, security signs, sky signs, window signs, and headline posters)



The deemed approval of certain sign types which do not require an application



How to apply for authorisation and the information the City needs in order to assess the application speedily



Application fees



How to appeal a decision



How to request an extension of an approval



Exemptions for certain categories of user, for example non-profit organisations



The removal of unlawful signs



Offences and penalties

Furthermore, the by-law creates different areas of control:

Different regulations apply in urban areas, industrial areas, rural areas such as at parks and public gardens and along scenic routes, and in natural areas such as nature reserves, heritage sites, beaches, sea shores and rivers



The restrictions on signage in industrial areas have been relaxed in order to promote industry and entice business to invest in industry space in Cape Town, thereby making people aware of the viable industrial capacity



Signage in residential areas remains controlled



Signage in mixed-use areas will be considered by the City for its appropriateness, but this is not overly restrictive



The regulation of outdoor advertising in scenic, agricultural, and horticultural areas, as well as in nature reserves and protected areas, is very restrictive

The by-law seeks to open up advertising possibilities in industrialised areas and areas where you would normally find businesses. Thus, we want to support industrial business development, property marketing and property sales. But the by-law also seeks to protect those areas where outdoor advertising would be inappropriate, or should be allowed only under strict conditions, for a short period, and under special circumstances.

The by-law sets strict requirements for signage structures to ensure the publics safety as far as possible. It also regulates signs in windows, on roofs, against buildings, as well as freestanding signs and inflated signs.

The draft by-law conforms to the Citys draft Climate Change Policy as well as the draft Environmental Strategy. For example, illuminated signs must be energy-efficient and ideally self-generated by using solar- or wind-generated power, concludes Herron.

The public may view the draft at City libraries, sub-council offices or online at www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay.
Banking group Capitec announced on Friday that it is to acquire a 40% interest in international online lending group Creamfinance for 21m.

Source: Capitec

Creamfinance is registered in Cyprus and the group provides online consumer loan products in a number of countries, including Poland, Latvia, Georgia, the Czech Republic, Mexico and Denmark.

Capitec said its business model, sophisticated technology and advanced credit scoring methods aligned with its own business model, as well as supported its long-term digital strategy.

"We believe that Creamfinance will provide Capitec's management with the opportunity to gain experience in entering and operating in foreign countries, more specifically advancing credit in the international and online environment and to work with a foreign partner to manage an international business," Capitec said.
JUBA, South Sudan - At a time when humanitarian needs have reached unprecedented levels, it is entirely unacceptable that those who are trying to help are being attacked and killed, said the humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, Eugene Owusu. He strongly condemned the killing of another six aid workers in an ambush on 25 March 2017.

 skovoroda via 123RF

I am appalled and outraged by the heinous murder yesterday of six courageous humanitarians in South Sudan, said Owusu on Sunday. The aid workers were travelling from Juba to Pibor.

The ambush  which represents the highest number of aid workers killed in a single incident since the conflict began - comes after two other grave attacks on aid workers this month.

A humanitarian convoy was attacked in Yirol East on March 14, while responding to a cholera outbreak in the area. Tragically, one health worker and one patient were killed and at least one other health worker was injured. Separately, during fighting in Mayendit town on March 10, local staff of an international NGO were detained by non-state armed actors and released four days later. Already in March, there have been multiple instances of looting of aid supplies, including in two areas in Mayendit which are top priority locations for the famine response.

These attacks against aid workers and aid assets are utterly reprehensible, said Owusu. They not only put the lives of aid workers at risk, they also threaten the lives of thousands of South Sudanese who rely on our assistance for their survival. For us to continue to provide life-saving relief to the civilians suffering immensely across this country, the safety and security of aid workers must be upheld, the impunity that has prevailed to date must end, and perpetrators must be held to account.

At least 79 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan since the beginning of the December 2013 crisis, including at least 12 killed in 2017, and at least eight humanitarian convoys have been attacked already this year. Under International Humanitarian Law, intentional attacks against humanitarian relief personnel may constitute war crimes.

I send my deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those impacted by these abhorrent incidents, added Owusu. Every time an attack of this nature happens, we say that it must never happen again. And yet it does. I implore all those in positions of power to step up to their responsibilities and stop this, as they are ultimately accountable for what happens under their watch. There is no safety when attacks are met with silence and inaction.

More than three years of conflict have taken a devastating toll on the people of South Sudan. Around 7.5 million people across the country are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection and localised famine has been declared in parts of Unity.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Medical institutions from Morocco, Cameroon and South Africa have chosen SOPHiA artificial intelligence to advance clinical genomics across Africa, it was revealed last week.

Sophia Genetics, a global leader in data-driven medicine, unveiled the list of African hospitals that have started integrating SOPHiA, the companys artificial intelligence, into their clinical workflow to advance patients care across the continent.

The company made the announcement at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) in Phoenix.

Medical institutions at the forefront of innovation already using SOPHiA in Africa include:

PharmaProcess in Casablanca, Morocco.

ImmCell in Rabat, Morocco.

The Al Azhar Oncology Center in Rabat, Morocco.

The Riad Biology Center in Rabat, Morocco.

The Oudayas, Medical Analysis Laboratory, Morocco.

The Center for Proteomic & Genomic Research (CPGR) in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Bonassama District Hospital in Douala, Cameroon.

African hospitals are adopting SOPHiA - no matter their experience in genomic testing  to get up to speed and analyse genomic data to identify disease-causing mutations in patients genomic profiles, and decide on the most effective care.

As new users of SOPHiA, they become part of a larger network of 260 hospitals in 46 countries that share clinical insights across patient cases and patient populations, which feeds a knowledge base of biomedical findings to accelerate diagnostics and care.

Speaking about the adoption of SOPHiA in Africa, Jurgi Camblong, Sophia Genetics CEO and co-founder, declared: Since inception, our vision has been to develop innovative technological solutions that analyse patients genomic profiles to offer better diagnosis and care to the greatest number of patients, wherever they live. Today, I am very proud that SOPHiA is triggering a technological leapfrog movement in healthcare across Africa.

This is a story about accessibility, democratisation, empowerment, and hope.

Camblong added: By joining our community, African hospitals are breaking down the technological barriers that prevented African patients from benefiting from the same level of genomic testing as patients from the best medical centres worldwide. This is a story about accessibility, democratisation, empowerment, and hope.

Among other diseases, SOPHiA will be a key partner for African hospitals in oncology. Breast cancer, for instance, has been described as a serial killer on the continent as a lack of relevant diagnostics and personalised care, means that 60% of women with breast cancer in Africa die, versus 20% in the US and EU.

According to a 2012 global report from the International Prevention Research Institute, an earlier diagnostic of breast cancer could increase life expectancy by 30%. Globally, on the continent, the number of new cases of cancer every year should jump to 1.6 million by 2030. As oncology expertise might be based in different places across the globe, SOPHiA ensures that the knowledge of a specialist in Paris will for instance be accessible to save patients in Nairobi.

Speaking about the benefits of using SOPHiA for African patients, Dr Reinhard Hiller from the South African Centre for Proteomic and Genomic Research (CPGR) commented: In creating a first-of-its-kind Genomic Medicine offering in Africa, using SOPHiA has been beneficial because its analysis are used by a global community of genomic medicine practitioners, allowing us to offer a best-in-class service.

Camblong concluded: After Europe, Canada, Australia, Russia, and Latin America, the adoption of SOPHiA in Africa is perhaps the strongest evidence that the democratisation of data-driven medicine is changing scale to help the highest number of patients, wherever they live across the globe.
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Shayla Fox wants Montana State University Billings students to have the support they need in and out of the classroom.

If were encouraging student success, we need to look at the whole student picture  a holistic approach, said Fox, volunteer engagement coordinator in the Office for Community Involvement.

Its no mystery that college is expensive. What is less obvious is that some students struggle to pay for their education while trying to afford basic necessities, like food.

With the help of her colleagues, a lifetime of community involvement experience and collaboration with Billings non-profit organizations, Fox started the Yellowjacket Emergency Pantry to address the issue of hunger at MSUB.

The promise

The pantry targets students in crisis.

They can access the pantry as many as three times per semester, with additional options during holidays and breaks. A student can take 10 to 25 food items, depending on family size. Food near expiration and hygiene materials are free and not counted against the total.

Pantry users complete a short application and show a photo ID with their class schedule. They receive grocery bags and shop with a list explaining what food they can take.

People like that they can dig through the items and choose the things they like and want, said Fox.

The pantry is a confidential program, but Fox says using it is nothing to be ashamed of. She is working to abolish the stigma related to need-based food services and notes that students of all backgrounds come to the pantry for help.

An adult learner turned to Fox last fall to feed her family of five. Her husband is in the concrete business and consistent work depends on weather and permits.

Sometimes he gets really good paychecks, and sometimes we have to scrounge and do what we can, she said. You can still make too much (money) to qualify for food stamps, but it doesnt mean you actually have enough to feed your family.

When students dont qualify for outside benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the pantry is available.

When I found out about (the pantry), it was helpful to know there was a place we could go when we needed it.

The student said the environment was welcoming. She didnt feel judged for requesting food.

They just asked how they could help with a big smile on their face, she said.

It takes a village

Fox did not start the pantry alone. Along with the Student Union and Activities and Housing and Residential Life offices, she collaborated with a student representative from a MSUB course in hunger and food security.

She turned to existing programs in the Magic City for additional guidance and partnership.

The goal was not to recreate great services already offered, said Fox.

Though the pantry helps students in immediate need of a meal, she refers them elsewhere when they experience consistent food shortage or request other items, like clothing.

(The pantry) is not a long-term solution, said Fox. Referring students is probably one of my main (jobs).

Partnering with local resources, like Family Service, Inc. and Tumbleweed, makes the pantry a unique entity. Any items not needed at MSUB, like a recent surplus of canned corn, are sent to other programs.

The majority of donations come from MSUB faculty and staff. Students appreciate knowing that employees on campus support them.

Its really cool to see peoples generosity, said Fox. That someone cares and can acknowledge that (students) have more going on than just school.

Looking ahead

Fox has a vision for the future of the pantry, starting with an expansion to the City College campus on Billings West End.

She also wants to educate students on best practices in grocery shopping and food preparation. Budgeting classes related to those skills are coming soon.

Fox plans to work with MSUBs Student Health Services to learn more about nutrition. She already encourages donors to provide healthy options and students to be mindful of what they eat.

To continue thriving, the service needs steady donations and volunteers. Donated items can be sent directly to Foxs office in the MSUB Student Union building at 1500 University Dr. The pantry is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Muslims complain they are frivolous bills meant to spread fears and sow suspicion of their religion in a nation divided.

But supporters of state proposals to prevent Islamic code from being used in American courts argue they aren't overtly anti-Muslim and are needed to safeguard constitutional rights for average Americans.

The bills, variations of which have been around for years, don't specifically seek to ban Islamic law, known as Sharia, even though some lawmakers concede that's their intent.

Instead, the proposals broadly call for banning the application of any foreign law, legal code or legal system that doesn't grant the same rights and privileges as the state or U.S. constitutions.

"I believe very strongly in the values of America to allow for religious freedom," said Connecticut state Rep. Robert Sampson, a Republican sponsor of a bill. "I just don't want our court system to start using what is religious law from other countries to make decisions. I'd like to preserve our way of life."

Muslim leaders say the bills are among a range of proposals and decisions at all levels of government that they're gearing up to fight this year, from President Donald Trump's travel ban to local planning and zoning rulings against mosque projects.

"These are thinly veiled attempts to alienate Muslims in America," said Hazem Bata, of The Islamic Society of North America, based in Indiana, where once such "anti-Sharia" bill has been introduced.

The bills have been introduced in at least 13 states, a number that will likely grow as the legislative year progresses, said Jonathan Griffin, of the National Conference of State Legislatures, who has been tracking the proposals. Anywhere from 15 to 30 states see the proposal introduced in a given year, he said. Ten states already have some version of them on the books since they started cropping up around 2010.

While many of this year's bills likely won't become law, they're gaining traction early in Montana and Arkansas, where the legislatures are poised to approve bills and send them to the governors this month.

Supporters point to a 2014 report by the Center for Security Policy, a conservative think tank whose critics deride as anti-Muslim, that cites nearly 150 cases in which it says Sharia played a role.

The cases, some of which date to the late 1970s, mostly involve divorce, child custody and other family law proceedings where either the plaintiff or defendants invoked Islamic laws and customs to make their case.

"Sharia should be very concerning to all of us," said state Rep. Heidi Sampson, a Maine Republican who has proposed legislation. "It is a way of life and a legal code which is designed to impinge on culture, family life, marriage, equality of the sexes  a whole host of areas."

Sampson and other lawmakers say a 2010 New Jersey case highlighted prominently in the report is particularly troubling.

A Muslim woman accused her husband of sexual abuse and sought a restraining order in 2009, but the judge denied the request after the husband argued, in part, that a wife must comply with her husband's sexual demands in Islamic custom. An appeals court ultimately overturned the ruling.

But Will Smiley, an editor at the Harvard Law School's SHARIAsource, an online collection of academic writings on Islamic law, is skeptical the bills proposed by lawmakers would have made a difference in the initial ruling.

"These new laws don't provide any new safeguards," Smiley said. "Courts can still make mistakes, like most observers agree that New Jersey court did."

Many of the other cases cited in the center's report don't appear to show evidence that U.S. courts based decisions on Sharia or other foreign codes, said Jay Wexler, a professor at Boston University's School of Law who specializes in separation of church and state issues.

"The facts of a case might require a court to consider in some way a foreign custom or law," he said. "But that does not mean that the court is applying foreign law."

Supporters stress the proposals would affect all religious codes and foreign laws equally.

If parts of Jewish, Christian or other laws ran counter to fundamental constitutional rights, they too would not be applicable in U.S. courts, said Montana state Sen. Keith Regier, a Republican.

"They're saying it's hateful, and I have no idea where they're getting that from," he said of opponents. "Read the bill and tell me what is hateful or distasteful in there."

But opponents maintain the bills as proposed don't serve a practical purpose.

"The U.S. legal code already states that American courts can only adhere to American laws," said John Robbins, executive director of the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "It's a stupid solution to a nonexistent problem."
Discussions and criticism should be systematic. If they are made only for media coverage and seeking attention and popularity, we will be further away from our mission and vision of changing Myanmar. In this democratic era, we cannot say no lighting, no development and no work, he said.

The Chief Minister was speaking at a press conference held today at Yangon Region Government Office regarding the forthcoming Thingyan festival.

Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein responded to the criticism made about the performance of his government by saying, In some cases, the criticisms are nonsense and arbitrary.

Yangon Legislative Assembly legislator Kyaw Zeya from Dagon Township constituency (2) criticized the Yangon Government at assembly session convened on Thursday for allowing a light festival in a public square even though the government had called for the conserving of electricity.

CM Phyo Min Thein responded to this criticism by saying this light festival was powered by a private generator and they did not draw power from the governments distribution network, noting that economic development could be facilitated through the use of such fairs and festivals in a democratic country.

At this lighting festival being held in the Public Square in Dagon Township, 70 million LED lights in the shape of flowers, heart and so forth were on display. This festival will be held from March 19 to April 30 with an entry fee of 3,000 kyat per adult and 1,500 kyat per student, with children free of charge.


Police prepared for the 2015 general election in

Mon State (Photo: MNA) Police prepared for the 2015 general election inMon State (Photo: MNA)

Speaking before the Mon State Hluttaw (parliament), the minister said that those 1,612 officers currently serve the entire population of the state, which as of this month numbers some 2.1 million residents. They are spread between an office of the state police commander, two district police offices, 10 township police offices, 10 city police stations, 10 area police Stations and 28 police outpost.

The police to population ratio in Mon State is 1:1,333. That means that each officer is effectively responsible for maintaining security and rule of law for 1,333 people, Colonel Win Naing Oo said.

In addition to the 1,612 regular police in the state, there are also 65 traffic police spread between five townships. That number also represents a sharp discount from the 95 traffic officers the state should have.

Colonel Win Naing Oo testified in front of the Hluttaw on March 24 in response to questions from Daw Kyi Kyi Mya, the state representative for Chaungzone Townnship constituency-2. She asked the Minister whether additional traffic police would be deployed to her township after the bridge connecting it to the state capital Mawlamyine is completed.

The Myanmar Times reported in 2016 that the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs said that the country had 76,964 police officers in full service. Speaking before the Union Hluttaw in August of that year, the minister said that the ratio of police to civilians for the country is 1:1191, well below the 1:222 recommended by the United Nations.
The minister, who also holds the cabinet portfolio for Immigration and Population, said that 13 departments had returned funds to the government, which came from both state revenue and funds allocated by the Union Government. This included over 158 million kyats from four departments that selected bidders for projects that came out under budget.

We will use the surplus on 234 regional development projects throughout the state, including the 158 million kyats from tender surpluses, he said, referring to the under-budget projects. The funds will be allocated by March 31 which is the last day of the current fiscal year in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Even as the funds were being returned, an effort to account for the surplus was underway in the Mon State Parliament, known as the Hluttaw. During the bodys 5th regular session this week, U Zaw Zaw Htoo, the National League for Democracy (NLD) representative for Paung Township asked how the surplus was being allocated now that it has been recalled from the departments. He demanded that the government send representatives information about the development projects that will receive funds.

There were also questions, though, about why the departments ran such high surpluses to begin with.

I demanded that next years departmental budgets be submitted to the Hluttaw so that representatives can review them and ensure that departments do not end up with large surpluses again, U Zaw Zaw Htoo said.

There are almost 100 departments in the Mon State government, organized under seven cabinet ministries. The 13 departments that returned surplus money include the departments of General Administration, Special Investigation, Livestock Breeding and Veterinary, Small Industry, Urban Housing Development; the Electric Power Distribution project; the State Municipal/Development Organization; the State Cargo Business; and the Offices of the Advocate and Auditor-general.
The Grand Avenue street-widening project to help accommodate additional traffic with the opening of Ben Steele Middle School in August will be constructed for about $1.2 million less than estimated.

The Billings City Council is set to vote on approving bids for that project and other matters during its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday in council chambers at City Hall, 220 N. 27th St.

The engineers estimate for the Grand Avenue project, between 52nd Street West and 58th Street West, was $3.9 million. The total submitted by the apparent low bidder, Knife River of Billings, is nearly $2.7 million.

According to Public Works Director Dave Mumford, the project includes constructing a three-lane section along Grand Avenue, a traffic signal at 54th Street West and Grand Avenue, a pedestrian signal in front of the new school, and multi-use paths along the south side of Grand Avenue and the west side of 54th Street West.

The work is being funded through arterial fees, a contribution by School District 2, storm drain funds and developer contributions.

Also as part of the Grand Avenue project, the council is scheduled to consider a development agreement with Albertsons for water and sewer services for its proposed store location at 54th Street West and Grand Avenue. Under the proposed development agreement, the companys anticipated fee for extending those city services is about $212,000.

Public hearings

Those items are included in the city councils consent agenda. Two public hearings are scheduled as part of the regular agenda.

The first is over the 2018-22 Capital Improvement Plan, 2017-18 Equipment Replacement Plan and 2017-18 Technology Replacement Plan.

The council heard details for each of the three plans during its March 6 work session.

A memo from Mumford indicates that spending for the first year of the Capital Improvement Plan  2017-18  will total about $88 million. About $6.8 million worth of equipment replacement is planned, as well as about $829,000 in technology replacement.

The evenings final hearing is on repealing the citys ethics ordinances and replacing them with state ethics rules and enforcement procedures.

According to a memo prepared by City Attorney Brent Brooks, the council has had extensive discussion comparing city ethics ordinances with the states ethics statutes covering local elected and appointed officials.

During a December 2016 meeting, the citys Ethics Board voted 3-0 to recommend that the council approve an ordinance defining conflict of interest and eliminating the Ethics Board.

The definition of "conflict of interest" incorporates provisions in state law including but not limited to all laws governing conflict between public duty and private interest.

Mondays expected vote will be first reading of the ordinance. A second reading, followed by a 30-day period, is required before the new ethics ordinance goes into effect.

TIF reimbursement

As part of its consent agenda, the council is also scheduled to determine whether to approve $66,000 in qualified property improvements for Fisher Commercial Flooring, which at 804 Fourth Avenue North is in the East Billings Urban Renewal District.

The reimbursement, to be paid from tax increment finance district funds, is being applied to sidewalk, landscaping, architect and survey fees, storm water management and parking lot lighting.

According to a memo by Planning and Community Services Director Wyeth Friday, the company has agreed as part of the project to install a sign indicating the new parking lot will be open to the public during non-business hours. This is a benefit to the public in the area, Friday wrote, as the property is in close proximity to MetraPark.
An ancestor worship ceremony is held at Tianjing Palace to commemorate Laozi, one of China's most celebrated philosophers who lived during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), at his birthplace in Guoyang county of Bozhou city, East China's Anhui province, March 26, 2017. [Photo by Liu Qinli/Aasianewsphoto]

Dressed in traditional Han clothing, hundreds of Taoists pay respect to Laozi, the founder of Taoism.

The ceremony also marks the start of the Seminar on Laozi and Taoism Culture, which is attended by more than 1,000 scholars and Taoists from both China and abroad.
Fifty-four of Montana's 56 counties want the option of conducting the special May 25 U.S. House election by mailing ballots to all voters, Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls, told the House Judiciary Committee Thursday.

Fitzpatrick was a completely reasonable voice in a two-hour hearing in which tempers flared in other testimony and committee exchanges. The senator from Cascade County is carrying Senate Bill 305 at the request of county commissioners and election administrators from across Montana who want to conduct the special election so that the maximum number of voters participate and so the county doesn't spend more money than necessary.

County commissioners and election administrators traveled to Helena to support SB305, which has already passed the Senate. They drove from Liberty, Blaine, Rosebud, Sweet Grass, Gallatin, Park, Missoula, Cascade, Beaverhead, Roosevelt, Hill, Fallon, Glacier, Ravalli, Judith Basin, Toole, Madison and other counties. The Yellowstone County Commission passed a resolution in favor of SB305, and elections administrator Bret Rutherford has said that holding a special election with polls open across the county will cost taxpayers about $50,000 more than holding an election in which ballots are mailed to all active voters.

Big Horn County Commissioners testified against SB305, saying their constituents want to vote in person.

SB305 will allow Big Horn and every other county that chooses to conduct the special election by opening all regular polls on Election Day. The bill isn't a mandate, it's an option. Montana law requires traditional polling places in all federal elections. SB305 would make a one-time exception for the May 25 election to choose Ryan Zinke's successor.

Here's what the bill proposes.: "The 2017 special election to fill the vacancy in the office of United States representative for Montana may be conducted by mail."

Counties that decide to mail all ballots would have to make accommodations for voters with disabilities, as SB305 states: "The election administrator shall ensure that voting systems are available at accessible sites on election day for voters with disabilities based on the number of registered electors in the county, with at least: one site for 1 to 5,000 registered electors; two sites for 5,001 to 10,000 registered electors; three sites for 10,001 to 20,000 registered electors; and four sites for 20,001 or more registered electors."

Rutherford has said that Yellowstone County would have election judges at four or five ballot collection sites where any voters could cast and deposit their mailed ballots.

Fitzpatrick also addressed the allegation of partisan disadvantage lodged by state GOP Chairman Rep. Jeff Essmann, R-Billings, who complained last month that by-mail voters are less likely to vote Republican.

Comparing election results and voter turnout statistics in Cascade and Yellowstone counties, Fitzpatrick found no advantage for either party with ballots cast by mail. In November, more than 83 percent of the votes cast in Yellowstone County were on mail ballots. In Cascade, the percentage was 82.

We call on Yellowstone County members of the House Judiciary Committee -- Virginia Court, Kathy Keller, Dale Mortensen and Barry Usher -- to support SB305. The entire House should vote to approve this common-sense bill that simply gives counties the option to conduct this one special election with mail ballots -- just as they can mail all ballots in school, city and county elections.

Remember, legislators, you were elected with mail ballots.
Tlokweng Land Board has started the process of allocating 600 available plots in the area. The process started yesterday (Thursday) and is expected to end on Monday next week. Tlokweng Land Board Principal Public Relations Officer Keothaile Tau confirmed to this publication on Wednesday that the process would be starting. He said allocation would be made to people who were interviewed last year September.

Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Prince Maele has explained that the land board would be scrutinising those who are being allocated the plots. The minister stated that in the allocation of the 600 plots 60 percent (360) would be for Batlokwa while the remaining 40 percent (240) would be for any other person including Batlokwa. He said the 60/40 percent quota was set by cabinet for areas in the periphery of Gaborone.

Maele said there is no how he could change this in respect of Batlokwa who are seriously affected by land shortage. I know the ratio does not satisfactorily benefit Batlokwa but there is nothing I can do because that is the quota that cabinet has given me, said Maele when addressing Batlokwa in a Kgotla meeting. He said if it were by him he would avail all the plots to Batlokwa but said his hands are tight, as he has to abide by the Tribal Land Act, which allows any Motswana to apply for any piece of land in their area of interest.





Maele revealed that waiting list for application of land in Tlokweng stands at 464 331. He said the number is even more than the population of Tlokweng. The minister explained that they have discovered that most people in the list are land speculators. Land speculators are those people who after being allocated plots, sell them. He said under the new Land Policy his ministry will ensure that people with one plot are not allowed to sell. Maele expressed concern over people who sell their plots after allocation. He indicated that only in 2016, 387 residential plots were sold, 252 agricultural, five (5) commercial and one (1) industrial plot were sold.

Land allocation in Tlokweng has been marred by controversy as Batlokwa have complained bitterly that they are made to compete for land in the area with other people who can have plots in their area of origin.

Government came up with the quota system after Tlokweng land board squared up with some Batlokwa in court in a 2012 controversial case on plots allocation. Batlokwa challenged the allocation of 285 plots through a raffle. Batlokwa wanted the process to be reversed and Batlokwa be given first priority when the plots are allocated.
The Independent Electoral Commission(IEC) will make a presentation on Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) at Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) National Council which starts today (Friday). IEC has introduced EVMs to be used for the first time in the 2019 General Election.

BDP Secretary General said the purpose of inviting IEC is to enable democrats to gain greater appreciation of how the machines work. It has however been alleged that the party decided to invite IEC to address its members as some were allegedly planning to bring a motion requesting government to suspend the use of the EVM in the 2019 General Election.

This comes after some people expressed skepticism, about the machine in areas which the IEC team visited to consult on the introduction of the EVM. Ntuane however stated that just like any stakeholder, especially as a political party and key player in elections, they found it fitting to play a part in their members being educated on the EVM. Bontle Marumolo ,an official at IEC- EVM office confirmed that her office, has been invited to make a presentation tomorrow at the BDP National Council.





There have been accusations that consultation was not done with the electorate who are directly affected by the introduction of the EVM prior to its introduction. The fear within some quarters of the BDP has been that the opposition could use failure to consult prior to the amendment of the Electoral Act to sway votes. EVM has sparked controversy, as there are claims that the machine could be manipulated during elections. Opposition parties have threatened to sue government if the machines are used in the election.

The opposition has also indicated that should the machines be used without a paper trail during the 2019 election then there would be no elections.

The opposition is insisting on the introduction of a security measure that would preserve the integrity of the electoral system. They want a voter verifiable paper trail (VVPT), which is basically a record of how votes were cast. Without such a system, it would be very easy to manipulate the electoral outcome; something that the opposition fears the BDP plans to do in 2019. The opposition has since petitioned Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Eric Molale to ask for the introduction of the VVPT.

Some BDP members of Parliament have also expressed reservation about the machines especially the lack of consultation with all relevant stakeholders regarding the amendment of the Electoral Act to introduce the machines for voting. IEC is currently doing consultations across the country after Parliament approved the Bill, which has since been signed into law.

Umbrella for Democratic Change through its Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe wrote a paper titled Introduction of the Electronic Voting Machines in Botswana which was submitted to diplomatic missions, arguing that the EVM discussion caught the ruling party MPs unawares as it did all other MPs. He stated in the paper that this is not a surprise as it is consistent with the governance style of the current regime.
Botswana Democratic Partys (BDP) Secretary General Botsalo Ntuane faces the toughest test of his political life when the party decides on the reforms he presented to the party in 2015

Ntuane introduced the reforms during his campaign for the office in 2015 which he termed BDP Reform Agenda Conversation; 22 Discussion Points. Ntuane has been criticised within the party for failing to ensure that the reforms see the light of the day.

He has however indicated that the reforms are no longer his but belongs to democrats. The party is set to decide which reforms to adopt and which to dump during its National Council which starts today (Friday) in Gaborone.

Ntuane has indicated that it took long for a decision to be made on the reforms because they are a work in progress and there is engagement between the party leadership and experts who have been roped in to interrogate the reforms.In the reforms, the former Gaborone Bonnington South MP cautioned the party to understand that it will not rule forever but can still retain power for two more terms (10 years) either on its own or in a coalition.





Should our tenure in power come to an end without having introduced key electoral reforms such as Proportional Representation and party funding, we will go the way of the dodo because the new rulers will have no incentive to oblige us on, he said.

He called for the advocacy for a strong activist Central Committee and this means recalibrating their relations with government and reclaiming the party authority over government. Responding to a question about progress on the reforms, Ntuane stated that the engaged experts from various fields have concluded their work and presented the report to the party Central Committee. He revealed that the report would be presented tomorrow (Saturday) for deliberations by BDP members. After deliberating on the reforms, Ntuane said then the council would decide which reforms to adopt or discard.

We worked with experts in different fields to advise accordingly. There was a lot going on internally in this exercise. There has been an engagement between the experts and President Ian Khama and different party committees where robust debates were undertaken on the reforms, revealed Ntuane who added that it is now up to democrats to act on the reforms. In the reforms Ntuane reiterated the need for the enactment of the law on declaration of assets and liabilities. This he said would demonstrate the BDPs commitment to good governance and zero tolerance for corruption and abuse of public office.

Ntuane said the BDP had suffered a political backlash due to unfinished mega projects but no action was taken. He called for an activist Central Committee, which must demand accountability and for heads to roll when wasteful expenditure occurs.
Botswana Guardian has reliably learnt that there is disagreement between Botswana Government and an Independent Power Producer (IPP) Marubeni Corporation who has been awarded a tender to build the multimillion pula Morupule B Units 5 and 6 power plants for an additional 300MW into the national grid.

At the centre of the agreement which has since put progress on a temporary halt is the reluctance by the Japanese and their associates to start construction over concerns that BPC will not be able to purchase their power hence they want government to give a sovereign guarantee something which government is not prepared to do. Instead government is willing to provide support guarantee.

The$800 million tender to expand Morupule B power plant was awarded to a joint venture between Japan's Marubeni Corporation and South Korea's Posco Energy last March. The latter is doing the Operations and Maintenance (O&M). Marubeni and the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor, GS Construction of Korea, were allegedly in the process of mobilising to begin construction of the power plant, which according to experts, was supposed to have started before the end of 2016 but were forced to put their plans on hold pending approval of their request.





The Japanese are believed to have made it crystal clear that they cannot go ahead with the contract unless government provides the sovereign guarantee given that BPC is not bankable and like many of its sister parastatals, is operating at a great loss. Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security Advocate Sadique Kebonang, confirmed the disagreement and that the two parties are working on an amicable solution. We have signed the PPA in December. Initially the Japanese told us that they do not need any funding for the construction as they were to pay for everything with BPC just buying power from them. But the latest is that they are saying they need a sovereign guarantee from us because BPC does not have money.

We told them as government that we are prepared to give a government support agreement, but not a sovereign guarantee in favour of your bank. They are still insisting on a sovereign guarantee which we do not understand as none of us either BPC or government is borrowing their money. It appears that they do not trust that BPC will be able to pay them. But in my view, the support agreement will be enough to enable BPC to pay them. Asked when they will have reached an agreement, Kebonang said possibly by end of the month. If we do not agree, then we should find ways of mitigating to reach an amicable solution.

Marubeni Director, Sub Saharan Africa, responsible for investment to Power business in Sub-Saharan market Kazuaki Shibuya confirmed that they have signed the PPA as well as all permits and or licences needed. The permits include water use and generation, fuel supply agreement with Morupule.Asked when they were supposed to mobilise and be on site to start construction he responded, within a few months. His parting short was to confirm that Marubeni has obtained the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project and that We are searching for office space in Gaborone, said Shibuya.



The BPC annual financial report

BPC annual financial reports for the year 2014-15 and 2015-16 confirm the fears by Marubeni. The 2015 final report confirms the bad financial state that the countrys sole power supplier finds itself in. The 2015 annual financial report indicates that BPC has a long-term debt of P8.345 billion. Further, that the Corporations loss before tariffs subsidy is P1.986 billion, while total revenues is P2.53 billion which means their revenue equals their loss.

Further, BPC operating cost is P4.6 billion. Although there is a great improvement, even the 2016 financial report released months outside the statutory requirement indicates that BPC is still running at a loss. The report shows the 2014/15 total comprehensive loss of P274.9 million to P99.6 million in 2015/16 financial year which is a positive improvement of P175.3 million on losses from previous financial year



Assets

When it comes to assets, the financial report shows that in the same year BPCs total liability is P12.4 billion, and capital and reserves is P4.5 billion implying that the corporation is sitting on a huge liability. Government gave BPC a tariff subsidy of P2.3 billion in support of their operations in 2015 suggesting that under these circumstances, they are not a credit worthy customer for any power station developer who is going to sell power to them. The 2015 annual financial report indicates that BPC has a long-term debt of P8.345 billion.



Experts' view

Experts say that the closure of BCL has dented the confidence of investors on Botswanas parastatals. But at the same time the fact that government was able to settle its debt obligations to BCL creditors has emboldened other investors dealing with local parastatals to demand government guarantee. They argue that the continuing closure of mines including BCL has not helped BPC situation as the mine is one of the major power consumers.
Botswana and Ethiopia can learn a few economic lessons from each other, envoys representing the two countries have said.

Giving separate interviews to Botswana Guardian in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Botswanas Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mmamosadinyana Molefe and Ethiopias Ambassador to Botswana and other Southern African countries Ambassador Plenipotentiary, Mulugeta Kelil were of the view that the two countries, with a combined Growth Domestic Product (GDP) of US $75.93 billion have a lot to do together and learn from each other. Ethiopias economy has grown at a rate of 8 percent and 11 percent annually in the past decade and records show that the country is the fifth fastest growing economy among the 188 IMF member countries.

Botswana on the other side, an upper-middle income country, sustained economic growth averaging 5 percent per annum and has been the fastest in the world. Molefe said in Ethiopia most of the industries which are small scale are grouped together and coordinated so that they can move forward as small scale and not get overwhelmed by the market.





Small businessmen starting their business in Botswana can come and benchmark here because they will be looking at a business which is developing and how it moves to the next stage, whereas when you benchmark in developed countries you find fully-fledged industries operating and these industries are not experiencing the same challenges as industries that are still developing, said Molefe this week at her office in Addis Ababa.

She added that it will be very beneficial for Botswana to benchmark in Ethiopia. Currently there is no trade between the two nations; however, Molefe believes that once Trade Agreements are signed between Ethiopia and Botswana trade between the two will improve. Botswana and Ethiopia currently have a General Cooperation Agreement which allows both nations to benchmark on each other.

Ambassador Kelil who invited journalists from South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique to Ethiopia through his countrys Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says his country is interested in learning packaging and processing of meat from Botswana Meat Commission. Botswana specialises in packaging and processing of meat products, we want to get some lessons in this area, said Kelil. The Ambassador further noted that Botswana and Ethiopia are in the process of signing a Joint Ministerial Commission which once signed will allow the two countries to cooperate in several sectors.

Kelil said that a meeting between Botswanas Foreign Affairs Minister and her Ethiopian counterpart will be held either in April or May this year to finalise and sign the Joint Ministerial Commission.
Brewers across Montana face a unique and arcane obstacle that is holding back our industry - the 10,000 barrel production cap. This arbitrary cap stifles growth and punishes success. It is limiting the potential for our industry to create jobs, support Montana barley growers and expand the availability of Montana craft beer across the state and into the regional market.

Thankfully, a bipartisan effort is underway to fix this problem and allow Montana breweries to grow. House Bill 541, sponsored by Rep. Adam Hertz, R-Missoula, co-sponsored by Rep. Ellie Hill, D-Missoula, and Rep. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, raises the limit to 60,000 barrels, allowing breweries to grow without losing their taproom. The Montana House passed the bill on a vote of 85-14, but it is only halfway through the process and still needs to pass the Senate.

Bayern Brewing is a perfect example of the negative impact of the 10,000 barrel limit. At 30 years old, Bayern is Montana's oldest brewery. We started with an annual production of just 650 barrels and employed one-and-a-half people. We grew steadily for 27 years and now have 33 employees. In 2014, as we approached 10,000 barrels, our production plateaued and has stayed around 9,900 barrels for the last three years.

We would love to grow past 10,000 barrels. The demand for our product is certainly there. However, in doing so, the current law would penalize us with the loss of our taproom. Our taproom accounts for roughly 10 percent of our production volume, but it generates almost 25 percent of our revenue. We would need to produce around 15,000 barrels to make up for that lost revenue. We have the capacity to brew 13,000 barrels, but to be able to brew 15,000 barrels per year would require a capital investment of about $2 million.

No business owner would make a capital investment of $2 million only to end up with the same revenue. Under the current law, the choice is clear - do not grow past 10,000 barrels.

Montanas craft brewing industry is experiencing tremendous growth. Production increased from 87,000 barrels to 163,000 barrels annually between 2010 and 2015. The growth in our industry is a success story, but that growth also means several breweries are and will be bumping up against the cap in the coming years.

According to an August 2016 economic study by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Montanas brewing industry creates 1,044 jobs (including 702 direct jobs), $103.2 million in annual economic output and $1.6 million in annual purchases from Montana farmers. Montana breweries produce a high quality, value added product from Montana ingredients and create manufacturing jobs in 35 communities across our state. Raising the production cap means unleashing the economic development potential of our industry, yielding benefits across Montana.

Montanans have embraced Montana craft beer, and bars and restaurants are following suit. Visitors to Montana want to visit local breweries during their trip, and breweries are becoming an important draw for our tourism industry. Montana brewers are winning awards at national events like Great American Beer Fest and North American Beer Awards. We are blessed with clean water, local hops and some of the best malt barley in the world. We have all the ingredients for success, but the production cap is holding us back.

Passing HB 541 will tap the economic potential of our industry. It will create good paying jobs in our communities, increase demand for Montana-grown barley and clear the way for Montana breweries to compete in the regional market.

Jurgen Knoller is the owner of Bayern Brewing, located in Missoula. He moved to Missoula from Germany in 1987 and became Bayerns brewmaster before purchasing the brewery in 1991. Bayern, Montanas oldest brewery, is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
I recently had the good fortune of traveling to Washington D.C., as a citizen lobbyist in support of the Bureau of Land Managements Methane Waste Prevention Rule. In addition to learning a great deal about how government works at the federal level, I was pleasantly surprised to see that civil discussions can be held on potentially divisive political issues.

The particular issue I am concerned over is Congress use of the Congressional Review Act to get rid of an important new rule developed over a period of years by the BLM  the Methane Waste Prevention Rule. This rule is an important protection for Montanans and needs to stay in place. Before the rule was enacted, Montana was losing revenue because the lost natural gas that was being leaked or flared off by oil companies belongs to taxpayers. For a state currently facing a budget crisis, how can we even think about passing up funds that could be used for our schools, roads? Furthermore, jobs can be created from building the infrastructure needed to capture leaked or vented gas.
Hoisted from the Archives from 2003 : A Historical Document: "In the Long Run It Is the Majority Who Will Determine What the Constitutional Rights of the Minority Are" : The judicial philosophy of Chief Justice Rehnquist, taken from Rehnquist (1952), "A Random Thought on the Segregation Cases"[1]. This memo expressing Rehnquist's position[2] on a number of issues is usually cited for the flat declaration at the end that Plessy v. Ferguson (establishing the legality of the "separate and unequal" principle of segregation in governmental treatment of Blacks and whites) "was right and should be re-affirmed" even though Rehnquist is aware that it is an "unpopular and unhumanitarian position" for which he has been "excoriated by 'liberal' colleagues."

Jimmy Madison was an idiot for including individual rights in the Constitution: "The Constitution, of course, deals with individual rights, particularly in the first Ten and the fourteenth Amendments. But as I read the history of this Court, it has seldom been out of hot water when attempting to interpret these individual rights." No matter what the Constitution says, the Supreme Court cannot protect minority rights of any kind, and it should not try, for "in the long run it is the majority who will determine what the constitutional rights of the minority are." The Warren Court's attempt to use the law to help change the hearts and minds of Americans toward racial equality is doomed to failure: "One hundred and fifty years of attempts on the part of this Court to protect minority rights... have been sloughed off, and crept silently to rest.... [T]he present Court... must be prepared to see its work fade in time, too, as embodying only the sentiments of a transient majority of nine men." The FDR-era "Switch in Time That Saved Nine," in which the Supreme Court decided to cease blocking New Deal measures rather than continue to do so and trigger the passage of constitutional amendments explicitly increasing the government's power to regulate the economy, was a principled recognition by the Court of the general principle that "...where a legislature was dealing with its own citizens, it was not part of the judicial function to thwart public opinion." In an extraodinary misconstrual of U.S. history in the 1850s, Chief Justice Roger Taney's holding in Dred Scott v. Sanford that Congress could not prohibit slavery in any U.S. Territory was not an attempt to give slavery a chance to expand in U.S. Territories beyond its Missouri Compromise and Kansas-Nebraska Act boundaries, but was instead a defensive move: an "effort to protect the slaveholders from legislative interference." (Never mind that the legislative "interference" was at the time of Taney's decision more than seventy years old, dating back to Thomas Jefferson's Northwest Ordinance prohibiting slavery from the Northwest Territories between the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Great Lakes.)

Now the fifth of these--Roger Taney as a principled defender of minority rights against legislative encroachment--is a very strange belief for a modern American to have.

The fourth would be a strange belief for a non-lawyer to have, but lawyers spend a lot of their time asserting that a court in the past did X for reason Y even when it is plain that Y did not feature in the court's thinking at all.

And the third was clearly wrong.

But the first and second are by far the strangest and most bizarre.

It is indeed the case that a sufficiently large, determined, and durable majority could repeal the Thirteenth Amendment and reduce African-Americans to slavery, and repeal the First Amendment and establish a press completely controlled by the Ministry of Truth. But until those amendments are repealed, the prohibition against slavery and the freedom of the press are part of the supreme laws of the land that it is the business of the Supreme Court to enforce.

And Rhenquist's first? That the Court should not attempt to "interpret" any of the Constitution's provisions protecting individual rights? It seems to fundamentally miss the point of what the American Constitution is, nay, more, to miss the entire point of Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence since Magna Carta itself. Rehnquist seems to have simply never gotten the point that, as Jefferson put it, here in America we believe that people have rights and that governments are established to secure those rights--that the government is our servant, not our master.

It is a very, very odd thing indeed for William Rehnquist to be Chief Justice of the United States of America.

A Random Thought on the Segregation Cases:

One-hundred fifty years ago this Court held that it was the ultimate judge of the restrictions which the Constitution imposed on the various branches of the national state government. Marbury v. Madison. This was presumably on the basis that there are standards to be applied other than the personal predilections of the Justices. As applied to questions of inter-state or state-federal relations, as well as to inter-departmental disputes within the federal government, this doctrine has worked well. Where theoretically co-ordinate bodies of government are disputing, the Court is well suited to its role as arbiter. This is because these problems involve much less emotionally charged subject matter than do those discussed below. In effect, they determine the skeletal relations of the governments to each other without influencing the substantive business of those governments. As applied to relations between the individual and the state, the system has worked much less well. The Constitution, of course, deals with individual rights, particularly in the first Ten and the fourteenth Amendments. But as I read the history of this Court, it has seldom been out of hot water when attempting to interpret these individual rights. Fletcher v. Peck, in 1810, represented an attempt by Chief Justice Marshall to extend the protection of the contract clause to infant business. Scott v. Sanford was the result of Taney's effort to protect the slaveholders from legislative interference. After the Civil War, business interest came to dominate the court, and they in turn ventured into the deep water of protecting certain types of individuals against legislative interference. Championed first by Field, then by Peckham and Brewer, the high water mark of the trend in protecting the majority opinion in that case, Holmes replied that the fourteenth Amendment did not enact Herbert [S]pence[r]'s Social Statios [sic]. Other cases coming later in a similar vein were Advins v. Children's Hospital, Hammer v. Dagenhart, Tyson v. Banton, Ribnik v. McBride. But eventually the Court called a halt to this reading of its own economic views into the Constitution. Apparently it recognized that where a legislature was dealing with its own citizens, it was not part of the judicial function to thwart public opinion except in extreme cases. In these cases now before the Court, the Court is, as Davis suggested, being asked to read its own sociological views into the Constitution. urging a view palpably at variance with precedent and probably with legislative history, appellants seek to convince the Court of the moral wrongness of the treatment they are receiving. I would suggest that this is a question the Court need never reach; for regardless of the Justice's individual views on the merits of segregation, it quite clearly is not one of those extreme cases which command intervention from one of any conviction. If this Court, because its members individually are "liberal" and dislike segregation, now choose to strike it down, it differs from the McReynolds court only in the kinds of litigants it favors and the kinds of special claims it protects. To those who argue that "personal" rights are more sacrosanct than "property" rights, the short answer is that the Constitution makes no such distinction. To the argument made by Thurgood Marshall that a majority may not deprive a minority of its constitutional right, the answer must be made that while this is sound in theory, in the long run it is the majority who will determine what the constitutional rights of the minority are. One hundred and fifty years of attempts on the part of this Court to protect minority rights of any kind--whether those of business, slaveholders, or Jehovah's Witnesses--have been sloughed off, and crept silently to rest. If the present Court is unable to profit by this example it must be prepared to see its work fade in time, too, as embodying only the sentiments of a transient majority of nine men. I realize that it is an unpopular and unhumanitarian position, for which I have been excoriated by "liberal" colleag[u]es, but I think Plessy v. Ferguson was right and should be re-affirmed. If the fourteenth Amendment did not enact Spencer's Social Statios [sic], it just as surely did not enact Myrddahl's [sic] American Dilemma. WHR

[1] William H. Rehnquist (1952), "A Random Thought on the Segregation Cases," Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-Ninth Congress, Second Session, on the Nomination of Justice WIlliam Hubbs Rehnquist to be Chief Justice of the United States. July 29, 30, 31, and August 1, 1986. Serial No. J-99-118. S. Hrg. 99-1067. J 60 J9 99th no. 130 DOCS, pp. 324-5.

[2] From pp. 328-332 of Richard Kluger (1977), Simple Justice (New York: Random House: 0394722558):




NEW DELHI (PTI): The defence sector received only US$ 1 million in terms FDI equity inflow in the last three years, the Lok Sabha has been informed.



In a written response to a question, Subhash Bhamre, Minister of State in the Defence Ministry, said that during the last three years and the current financial year, 34 FDI proposals were received for consideration of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).



"Out of 34, 17 have been approved. The FDI equity inflow for April 2013-December 2016 in defence sector is US$ 1 million," Bhamre said.



The Minister said, 76 contracts involving Rs 1,30,664 crores have been signed with foreign vendors for capital procurement of various defence equipment including aircraft, rockets, tanks, helicopters, howitzers, missiles, simulators and ammunition.



The USA tops the list with 18 contracts, followed by 13 each by Russia and Israel, and seven by France.



Responding to another question, Bhamre said, the expenditure on purchase of defence equipment through imports for three services have been 34.30 per cent in 2015-16 and 41.60 per cent until December 2016.



He said, the share of domestic-public sector production to the total annual purchase during the said years is approximately 61.1 per cent.



The Minister added, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) accorded approval of 136 capital procurement cases estimated at Rs 4,00,714 crore during the last two financial years (2014-15 and 2015-16) and current year 2016-17 (up to January 2017), out of which 96 cases involving Rs 2,46,417 crore are under the Make in India category.


LAS VEGAS  A man sitting at the back of a public bus on the Las Vegas Strip opened fire "for no apparent reason" as passengers got off at a stop in the heart of the tourism corridor, police said.

Gary Breitling, 57, of Sidney, Montana, was shot and killed Saturday before the gunman barricaded himself in the vehicle, shutting down the Strip for hours, the Clark County coroner's office said. He died at a hospital.

Rolando Cardenas, 55, has been accused in the shooting. He surrendered peacefully after a standoff inside the double-decker bus that lasted more than four hours, police said Sunday.

Another victim was shot in the stomach and was hospitalized but is expected to live. Both victims were seated in the back with Cardenas, police said.

He was booked into jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, burglary and opening fire on the bus. An attorney for Cardenas could not immediately be found. Attempts to reach his relatives were unsuccessful.

The bus had stopped on the Strip near the Cosmopolitan hotel-casino and passengers were leaving when Cardenas stood up and fired several rounds from a handgun, police said.

The man did not fire all of his bullets, but he did shoot at police during the barricade. Police said they fired no shots. Assistant Sheriff Tom Roberts also said that authorities believe Cardenas may have had "mental issues."

It was not known how many people were on the bus at the time of the shooting, but the bystanders and the victims had fled. Police are seeking information from passengers who were witnesses, and created a hotline for them to call.

Crisis negotiators, robots and armored vehicles surrounded the bus during the standoff because police did not know if there were more victims inside it.

Officers went into casinos to warn tourists to hunker down until further notice, leaving the normally bustling pedestrian areas and a road known for its bumper to bumper taxi traffic completely empty.

Visitors hid inside prominent hotel-casinos, including the Bellagio, Paris, Planet Hollywood and Bally's, which also hold restaurants, shops and attractions.


LCA Tejas. An internet photo

NEW DELHI (PTI): State-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has finalised a major plan to manufacture nearly 1,000 military helicopters and over a hundred planes, in tune with government's focus on speeding up defence indigenisation.



HAL Chairman and Managing Director T Suvarna Raju said the company has also ramped up its infrastructure to deliver 123 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft to the India Air Force with an annual delivery of 16 jets from 2018-19 onwards.



In the next five years, the HAL will also carry out major upgrade of almost the entire fighter fleet of IAF including Su-30MKI, Jaguars and Mirage jets, making them more lethal, he said.



"Next five years will be really vibrant time for HAL. We are upgrading almost every major platform including Sukhois, Jaguars, Mirage and Hawks.



"We are going to build around 1,000 helicopters including Kamov 226, LCH (Light Combat Helicopter), ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter) in the next 10 years," Raju told PTI in an interview.



The HAL and Russian defence firms have finalised a Joint Venture agreement for production of light weight multi-role 'Kamov 226T' helicopters in India which will replace the aging fleet of Cheetah and Chetak choppers.



The inter-government agreement for the deal was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia in December, 2015.



On manufacture of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, the HAL chief said its production will be doubled from current eight aircraft per year to 16 from 2018-19. Tejas, the smallest and lightest of its class, was inducted into the IAF in July last year.



The HAL has an order from IAF to supply 40 Tejas. The government has also approved the procurement of 83 Tejas Mk-1A, taking the total number of the aircraft to be manufactured by HAL to 123.



Raju said besides enhancing infrastructure for redouble manufacturing of Tejas, HAL has also outsourced manufacture of some major components including wings and fuselage of the jet to private industry which will further speed up rate of production.



Calling Sukhoi upgrade a major programme, he said the fleet will be equipped with missiles, avionics and sensors.



Both India and Russia have been in negotiation for upgrade of the Su-30MKI to a near fifth-generation level.



Earlier this month, India and Russia signed two key agreements for long-term maintenance and technical support for the Su-30MKI fleet.



India is one of the largest importers of arms and military platforms globally. The government has been focusing significantly on promoting defence indigenisation by taking a slew of reform initiatives, including liberalising FDI in defence sector.



Reflecting government's focus in the area, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley earlier this month had said India was not happy with the label of world's largest importer of weapons system and had asked the industry to take advantage of government's policy to promote defence production.




Defence Minister Arun Jaitley handing over a replica of RLG based inertial navigation system for ship applications (INS-SA) to the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba, during the handing over ceremony of the DRDO developed products to the Indian Navy, in New Delhi on March 24, 2017. A PIB photo

NEW DELHI (PTI): Three naval systems, developed by premier defence research organisation DRDO, has been handed over to the Navy by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley.



The naval systems, given to Indian Navy, are USHUS-II submarine sonar, directing gear for hull-mounted sonar array, and inertial navigation system for ship applications.



Sonars detect objects on or under the water and the latest systems are expected to significantly enhance the Navy's navigation and communication network.



Speaking on the occasion, Jaitley hailed DRDO's sustained efforts in enhancing India's military capabilities through defence indigenisation.



The systems were handed over to Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba.



Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman S Christopher, in his address, said the Defence Acquisition Council cleared orders worth Rs 2.56 lakh crore to the DRDO out of which about Rs 1 lakh crore was in the last two years alone.



Jaitley also released two other products developed by DRDO, namely IP-based secure phone and the Gallium Nitride Technology.



The Gallium Nitride Technology will substantially help in the development of next generation radars, seekers and communication systems, for application in Light Combat Aircraft, said a scientist.



The Secure IP Phone incorporates an indigenous encryption algorithm on a "trustworthy hardware platform" to provide high level of secrecy to voice and data, for communication of strategic and tactical plans of the Armed Forces.



The Defence Minister said there was a need for convergence between India's economic might and evolution of the technology so that the world looks at the country for innovation and new technology.



The Defence Minister also said that great societies and nations are made through people working on important tasks in anonymity, like the DRDO scientists.



"In order to develop great societies and great countries, the role of those who remain faceless and keep working somewhere in some important field is an unmatched contribution," he said while complimenting silent contribution of DRDO scientists.



The Defence Minister also gave away the annual DRDO awards in various categories.



The Advanced Systems Laboratory, Hyderabad and the Microwave Tube Research and Development Centre, Bangalore won the coveted Silicon Trophy and Titanium Trophy, respectively.



The export potential of DRDO technologies was also mentioned at the event with the announcement of the bagging of export order for DRDO-developed torpedo to Myanmar.



Subhash Bhamre, Minister of State for Defence, said DRDO is playing an important role in self-reliance of defence forces and the export potential of products developed by it is finding a place in the global defence market.



Explaining about the systems handed over to the Navy, a DRDO scientist said submarine sonar suite, USHUS-II, is a highly evolved compendium of multiple sensors and the constituent sonars in the suite include passive sonar, active sonar, intercept sonar, obstacle avoidance sonar and underwater telephony.



The Inertial Navigation System, based on indigenous Ring Laser Gyroscopes, provides vital information on the ship's position coordinates.




Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya carries out successful maiden firing of Barak surface-to-air missile during Western Fleet Operational Readiness Exercise. An Indian Navy photo via Twitter

NEW DELHI (PTI): In a boost to India's maritime prowess, the Navy has successfully conducted maiden test firing of the newly installed surface-to-air Barak missile system from its aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.



During the firing carried out in the Arabian Sea on March 24, the missile was fired against a live low-flying high speed target.



The target was successfully engaged and destroyed, a Navy official said.



The firing was conducted as part of 'Operational Readiness Inspection' of the Western Fleet by Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Naval Command, from 21 to 23 March.



The missile marks a significant milestone in providing air interception and defence capabilities and enhanced operational capabilities of the Navy's aircraft carrier and the fleet, said the official.




The Tupolev-142M anti-submarine warfare aircraft of Indian Navy.

NEW DELHI (PTI): The Indian Navy's iconic Tupolev-142M anti-submarine warfare aircraft will be decommissioned on Wednesday after serving as a mainstay in guarding the Indian Ocean region for almost three decades.



The Soviet-era aircraft, known as one of the most formidable airborne reconnaissance platforms around the world, were part of all major naval exercises and operations of Indian Navy since its induction in 1988.



Tupolev-142M fleet is being replaced by 12 P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft of Boeing which are equipped with harpoon anti-ship missiles, lightweight torpedoes, rockets and new generation sensors and radars.



A Navy official said the Tupolev-142M aircraft would be decommissioned by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba on March 29 at a ceremony at INS Rajali, India's premier naval air station in Tamil Nadu's Arakkonam.



A total of eight Tupolev-142Ms were inducted into the Navy and currently only three of them are in operation.



"The aircraft has done the Indian Navy proud by participating in all major naval exercises and operations with distinction. The aircraft saw action during Operation Cactus in Maldives and participated in operational missions off Sri Lanka to provide airborne surveillance," said the official.



With its four powerful engines, slender fuselage and swept wings, Tupolev is the fastest turboprop aircraft in the world and reportedly is difficult to intercept by fighters.



The decommissioning of the reconnaissance aircraft comes weeks after the Navy bade farewell to aircraft carrier INS Viraat.



"TU-142M aircraft have had a distinguished service with over 30,000 hours of accident-free flying. During its service life, the aircraft has undergone several modifications and retro fitments to keep up with evolving technology and changing requirements of Indian Navy.



"As a result, the aircraft has throughout its service life been participating in and has been a major factor during all Naval operations. Despite being in its twilight years, the aircraft performed exceptionally well during the recently conducted Naval Exercise TROPEX in March 2017," the official said.



The role of TU-142M will now be taken on by the newly-inducted P-8l aircraft.



"The P-8I aircraft has proven all its systems and has been fully integrated into the operational grid of the Indian Navy.



Commander Yogender Mair, the last commanding officer of the squadron with TU142M aircraft will hand over the reins to Commander V Ranganathan, who will be the first Squadron Commanding Officer with the P-8l," said the official.



The Boeing P-8I aircraft was dedicated to the nation by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in November, 2015.



The Navy will also celebrate silver jubilee of INS Rajali, the naval air station which was synonymous with the Tupolev and its home for the last 29 years.



The 'heritage display' of TU-142M would also be inaugurated as part of the ceremony.


A Pryor man on Monday denied federal charges accusing him of sexually assaulting two minors.

Raymond Wallace Roubideaux, 66, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with abusive sexual contact with a child and with abusive sexual contact with a minor.

Prosecutor Lori Suek said in the indictment that the assaults happened in 2013 and 2014 in Pryor on the Crow Reservation. One of the victims was younger than age 12 and the other was between 12 and 16, the prosecutor said.

The maximum penalty for abusive sexual contact with a child is life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Cavan ordered Roubideaux to remain in custody. The case will be heard by U.S. District Judge Susan Watters.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/03/2017 (2053 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Not to sound too political, but the less welcoming posture of some other countries are spawning sentiments of brain drain towards countries and communities who have the welcome mat out. Well, Brandon for its modest size, is exceptionally well positioned to welcome a significant influx of new cultures, new investors, new workers, new professionals. Our welcome mat is out, our arms are open and we are experienced and buoyed up by the foundation of our new cultural leaders already well established in our community.

 Mayor Rick Chrest, State of the City Address, March 9

From my point of view, this was arguably the part of his annual State of the City address where Brandon Mayor Rick Chrest sounded the most mayoral. Chrest, not one to ruffle feathers with other levels of government, did attempt to paint a contrast of Brandons open arms to newcomers with that of the positioning of President Donald Trump south of the border.

Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun Brandon Mayor Rick Chrest delivers his State of the City address on March 9. Mark Frison applauds Chrest for highlighting the important economic and social benefits flowing to the city as a result of the influx of newcomers over the past decades, but says we need to take the next step  a plan for western Manitoba to continue its growth and diversity through immigration.

The mayor noted the important economic and social benefits flowing to Brandon as a result of the influx of newcomers over the past decade. Unfortunately, he also stopped short of a call to action. From my perspective, what we need is a process to galvanize stakeholders to develop a common plan.

There is little doubt that much of the story on immigration in Brandon over the last decade has been because of Maple Leaf. If we wish to continue the momentum in this area, a more diversified approach will likely be needed, barring an announcement that Maple Leaf will be adding a third shift.

If it werent for immigration, Manitoba would have a declining population. The combination of the natural growth rate (births and deaths) and net interprovincial migration (people coming from and moving to other provinces) would result in Manitoba losing population.

Manitoba has always had a strong track record among small provinces for immigration. Having been involved with immigration efforts in both Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, I know both provinces looked to Manitoba as a leader to emulate.

One of the reasons Manitobas immigration efforts have been successful over the years has been the strong ties to the labour market. Newcomers have been able to secure jobs and build better lives for themselves and their families here in Manitoba. Its also one of the reasons why Manitobas track record of retaining newcomers is also better than many other small provinces.

This is one of the reasons why the recent decision of the federal government to reduce funding for language training for newcomers has left so many dumbfounded. In fairness, it appears as if the government has maintained language training funding for Canadian Language Benchmarks 1 through 4. These are the most basic levels of language that allow a person to function in English or French in Canada. It also is required to apply for citizenship.

By contrast, funding for language training for benchmarks 5 to 8 is taking a beating. In Assiniboine Community Colleges case, its being reduced from $730,000 in 2016-17 to $190,000 in 2017-18.

These benchmark levels are really the ones that help folks get jobs and eventually take the training to pursue careers. The lower benchmarks allow one to survive; these higher benchmarks are necessary if you want a chance to thrive. To work in retail, one likely needs to achieve benchmark 5 or 6. To be a health-care aide, youll need level 7. If you want to pursue post-secondary studies, levels 7 or 8 are going to be required.

The March 11 edition of The Brandon Sun was filled with two pages of letters from current students who have dreams and aspirations that will be cut short as they will no longer be able to access language training. While registrations have grown from 309 to more than 500 over the past five years, next year only 100 people will be able to access training. Consequently, many people will be relegated to minimum wage jobs or being supported by the state if they are not able to improve their ability to communicate in the language of work.

Aside from this setback, there is a strong opportunity for western Manitoba to continue its growth and diversity through immigration. Manitoba has the most favourable environment in the country for international students who want to immigrate. Both Assiniboine Community College and Brandon University have had growing numbers of students over the past few years. In the case of the college, we have grown from less than 60 international students in 2013 to more than 270 this year. We expect that number to grow to more than 300 in 2017-18.

Fortunately, these students already have language skills to enter the labour force when they graduate, and college or university credential to boot. International students could be one prong of a multi-pronged strategy our region could adopt to support greater levels of immigration, enhance settlement and retain newcomers in our communities.

But there ought to be an explicit plan; one where a variety of organizations including government, cultural groups, settlement agencies, post-secondary institutions, employers and others deliberately establish a co-ordinated approach to planned growth. A welcome mat is a great starting point, but we need to take the next step.

 Mark Frison is the president of Assiniboine Community College.
A bill aimed at reaffirming North Dakota parents' rights to refuse certain tests that their children are required to take passed the state Senate on Monday.

Lawmakers voted unanimously to pass House Bill 1389 with a few modifications. Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, who sponsored the original legislation, said he hopes to work in a conference committee to "iron out" differences between the House and Senate versions.

Im glad it passed," Koppelman said. "I look forward to working with members of the conference committee to come up with some language we can both live with that is keeping the original intent of the bill, but has some of the elements that the Senate was concerned about.

Koppelman said the bill, which is a revival of a similar bill he offered last legislative session, has a few key differences this year, including allowing parents to opt their child out of any testing "not part of a curriculum, to which the parent has philosophical, moral or religious objection."

The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction allows parents to excuse their kids from any standardized test, but Koppelman said this bill would allow for consistency from district-to-district.

Many are parents are opting out of certain types of tests in their school districts, but we dont have consistent application of that from district-to-district across the state," Koppelman said.

The Senate's amended version of the bill that passed Monday lays out which tests parents cannot opt out of: the ACT, WorkKeys assessments or any other assessments required to graduate high school or a specific grade.

Sen. Donald Schaible, R-Mott, chairman of the Education Committee, said the amendments clarify tests from which parents cannot exempt their children.

We thought our version was clearer and cleaner and less subject to interpretation," Schaible said.

Included in both versions is the requirement that parents must resubmit documentation that they are are opting their children out each school year. The Senate's version includes a sunset clause of June 30, 2019. After that, the legislative assembly will revisit it, Schaible said.

Home-school opt out bill

A similar bill to allow home-school families to opt out of standardized tests is headed to Gov. Doug Burgum's desk.

Currently, home-schooling parents who have a bachelor's degree or teaching certificate can opt out of standardized tests if they have philosophical, moral or religious objections.

House Bill 1428 changes the wording under the home-schooling statute to allow any home-schooling parent to opt out if they have such objections or if they have a bachelor's degree or teaching certificate, rather than both.

A national nonprofit organization founded by home-school graduates has come out against the legislation.

Accountability is critical to ensuring that all home-schooled students receive a basic education, Rachel Coleman, executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, said in a press release. Accountability benefits both home-schooled students and home-schooling parents. HB1428 harms both groups.

The bill passed in the House on a 58-31 vote last month. Schaible said the Senate Education Committee gave a "do-not pass" recommendation to the legislation, but it lawmakers in the Senate voted 30-17 on Friday.
Chicago is the latest destination available at discount rates from Cork and Dublin thanks to the low-cost airline WOW air.

The flights, which are starting on July 13, will fly four times a week into O'Hare Airport, Chicago, all year round.

The flights will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and prices start at 139 one way, including taxes and charges.

Skuli Mogensen, CEO of WOW air, said: We are very pleased to be flying WOW air passengers from Dublin and Cork to the Windy City.

Chicago is one of the USAs most iconic and important cities, and is steeped in history and culture.

Commissioner at Chicago Department of Aviation, Ginger S. Evans said: This announcement is great news for the City of Chicago and OHare International Airport.

Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director at Cork Airport, said: I want to thank WOW air for choosing Chicago as its first central destination in North America.

The addition of Chicago to the choice of destinations by WOW air is further great news for people of Munster looking to fly to the US from Cork Airport, said Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director at Cork Airport.

There are now ten fantastic and very different cities to choose from in the US and Canada that are affordable and easily accessible with just a short stopover. Its also great news for tourism in the region as the new route also opens up Munster to American visitors looking to explore the best of what we have to offer, such as the Wild Atlantic Way and Irelands Ancient East.
A man shot in Dublin last night is reportedly the cousin of crime boss Gary Hutch.

25-year-old Eddie Staunton was knocked down with a car before being shot at around 10pm.

Gardai who are appealing for witnesses say the attack happened at Liberty House on Railway Street, near Connolly Station.

Mr Staunton was taken to the Mater Hospital where he is being treated for non life-threatening injuries.

Detectives are keeping an open mind as to the motive for the shooting.
Hundreds of people attended a march in Macroom to highlight the plight of seven-year-old Ava Barry who has Dravet syndrome and whose family are campaigning for her to be given access to medical cannabis, writes Rob McNamara.

Her mother Vera Twomey, from Aghabullogue in mid Cork, walked from Mallow to Dail Eireann earlier this month to highlight her daughter's barriers to accessing THC-based medication, where she met with Health Minister Simon Harris.
Canadians are expected to be able to smoke cannabis legally by July 1, 2018.

Prime minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government will introduce legislation to legalise recreational cannabis on the week of April 10, and officials expect it to be law by July next year, an official said.
A little girl whose mother moved her from England to Northern Ireland without her father's consent must be returned, a High Court judge in England has ruled.

The youngster's parents had separated in 2014, the year after she was born.

Her mother had last year taken the youngster from her home in Kent to Northern Ireland.

She said the girl had complained of being sexually abused by her father.

But police and social workers investigated and the man was not charged with any offence.

A family court judge ordered the woman to return the youngster to Kent and a High Court judge has dismissed an appeal against that order.

Detail of the case has emerged in a ruling by Mr Justice Baker, who analysed the woman's appeal at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

The woman had complained that her former partner hated her and was "motivated" by a wish to control her.

She said her mental state, and her daughter's mental state, would be "severely affected" if she had to leave Northern Ireland.

Mr Justice Baker said the girl could not be identified.

He said she had been born in 2013, but did not give her exact age, and did not say where in Kent and Northern Ireland she had lived.
Employees at the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre have been told not to speak to journalists after concerns for staff and detainee safety were made public.

Bosses at the Community Services Directorate recently wrote to staff, warning them that talking to media risked "reputational damage" to the facility.

Staff at the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre have been warned not to speak with journalists. Credit:Elesa Lee

"You may or may not be aware of the recent interest The Canberra Times has shown with the operation of the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre," director of people management Christine Murray wrote on Tuesday, March 21.

"Such stories can damage the reputation of the facility and of all staff that do great work here."
When Eileen Fahey realised a supposed sighting of her missing son on a busy Sydney street was false, she lost hope as fast as she had gained it.

It was one of many blows the family had suffered since the Murrumbateman man went missing 3.5 years ago.

Eileen and Neil Fahey, parents of missing Murrumbateman man Anthony Fahey, hope the new AFP Missing Persons Facebook Page helps families like theirs find their loved ones. Credit:Karleen Minney

"We really miss him terribly and there have been too many family events that he hasn't been here to share," Ms Fahey said.

"As long as I have breath in my body I will never stop searching. I will never let go."
Police are seeking witnesses to an assault outside Akiba Bar in Civic.

A man was hospitalised after being assaulted by another man outside the bar on Bunda Street on Sunday, March 12.

ACT Policing are look for this man in relation to an assault outside of Akiba in Civic on Sunday March 12 at about 2.10am.

The man was injured by the alleged offender, when he was pushed to the ground over a planter box about 2.10am.

ACT ambulance workers transported him to Canberra Hospital where he was treated for his injuries and released later that day.
When one project stops, another one starts.

That's the motto at the University of Mary as part of Vision 2030, a fundraising campaign that reflects what the university plans to do in the next 13 years.

The current focus is on the Lumen Vitae University Center, according to Jerome Richter, vice president for public affairs. The 80,000-square-foot campus center, expected to open this fall, will have a ballroom, conference center, dining hall, bookstore, coffee shop and a bank.

"It's exciting," Richter said of the new community spaces.

Vision 2030 encompasses three phases: The first phase includes the new Field House and Wellness Center, a 276-bed women's residence hall that opened in the fall and the Lumen Vitae University Center.

The University of Mary saw 11 percent growth in all-around student enrollment from fall 2015 to fall of 2016, an increase of about 300 students. Total enrollment sits at about 3,250 students, and more than 50 percent of its students are from out of state.

The university has doubled the number of beds on campus in recent years. Five years ago, the university had just over 600 beds. Now, it has more than 1,200.

"There will be approximately a third more square footage on our campus in fall 2018 than we had in fall 2017," said Michael McMahon, assistant vice president for enrollment services. That speaks to growth in a particular type of way  that theres just more places for people to be.

As soon as the Lumen Vitae University Center is completed, the old Dining Center, bookstore and wellness space will become the new School of Engineering. Currently, engineering students are in an older science building on campus.

When the university opened its engineering program in the fall in response to greater demand, there were 45 students, according to Richter, pointing out that the engineering school will soon grow out of space as the university anticipates enrollment to double and even triple each year.

Naturally, were going to need the space, but we also need the specific labs to educate them appropriately, Richter said.

Health sciences

The Vision 2030 capital campaign is set up to ensure no space on campus sits vacant and that projects are continuous, according to Richter.

Once the Field House and Wellness Center opened earlier this year, the university directed its attention to the engineering school. The science building, where engineering students are currently located, needs updating.

As soon as they go into the new School of Engineering, thats going to free up space there; we can now renovate and we can expand our health sciences, because were tight with space," Richter said.

Physical therapy and occupational therapy programs have waiting lists that are a mile long, and thats a space constraint for us," he said. The university offers doctorate programs in physical therapy, nurse practices and will create a doctorate program in occupational therapy next year.

A pioneering spirit

Much of the new projects the university has undertaken reflect the spirit of the Benedictine Sisters of Annunciation Monastery.

"The spirit of pioneering and finding a new way to meet the needs, thats what the sisters did from the outset and they continue to do it over the years, and its been progressively growing," said McMahon, pointing to Monsignor James Shea carrying efforts even further by establishing the Rome campus.

"This was a significant development, where farm kids from Beulah were landing in Rome and studying for a semester," he said.

In addition, Shea also took the spirit of the sisters and executed a paradigm shift in higher education: the year-round campus, which started in 2015. The program allows students to complete a bachelors degree in as little as 2.5 years, or eight consecutive semesters.

Its a hard concept for people to grasp, he said. But then once you grasp it, OK, theres some silly reasons why people use a fall-spring model to deliver higher education."

The program addresses the cost of higher education, return on investment, the value of higher education and rising student loan debts.

Customized learning

The University of Mary has taken the needs of the region and created programs to address it. A recent $10 million endowed scholarship for nursing from CHI St. Alexius Health was established to address nursing shortages across the state. Through the scholarships, nursing students get their senior year free.

Richter said the university's target goal in the next five years is 500 incoming freshmen, plus the graduate students and online program. That would result in a growth in enrollment of nearly 4,000 students, compared to the 3,250 the university is at right now.

"Were not looking for an infinite type of growth. Were always going to grow as we need to grow to serve the people of this region and beyond," Richter said.
One of the most striking things about the 85 per cent plunge in Huishan Dairy Holdings' stock on Friday was how little it surprised market observers in Hong Kong.

The mysterious crash, the indefinite trading halt, the hours without a company statement explaining the move  it was all too familiar for traders who have had to navigate at least three similar episodes in the past two years.

Huishan's slump took less than 90 minutes. Credit:Paul Harris

While the city is upfront about its buyer-beware approach to regulation, the frequent sight of multibillion-dollar stocks collapsing in minutes has deterred investors and raised questions about Hong Kong's role as one of Asia's premier trading hubs. It's one reason why the city's benchmark Hang Seng Index commands by far the lowest valuation among counterparts in the world's 10 largest markets.

"There are regulatory discounts to the price-earnings multiple," said Niklas Hageback, a Hong Kong-based money manager who helps oversee about $US180 million ($236 million) at Valkyria Kapital, "Valuation is lagging and this has become a market-wide problem."
Myer's shares have soared 18 per cent after a mystery buyer snapped up a $93 million stake in the department store chain sparking speculation one of Australia's oldest companies could be taken over.

Interests linked to billionaire rag trader Solomon Lew are understood to be behind the purchases of a 10 per cent stake in Myer.

Myer's $600 million five year turnaround plan is fraying at the edges. Credit:Wayne Taylor

Potential buyers from South Africa have also been rumoured to be interested, possibly as a result of Myer's rival David Jones being bought out by South African retailer Woolworths in 2014.

In that deal, Mr Lew - through intermediary Pershing Securities - snapped up a 10 per cent blocking stake in David Jones ahead of Woolworths' takeover offer for the department store owner. He later sold into the takeover offer after Woolworths agreed to buy out his minority stake in Country Road.
Volatility at the petrol pump has emerged as a major area of concern for shopping centre managers, due to the wild fluctuations in price over recent months.

With the fight for the retail dollar intensifying, any changes in fuel prices, mobile phone contracts and the April 1 health insurance levy rises, have put retailers on edge to come up with new ways of enticing consumers to spend.

Landlords are tackling the issue through a change in tenancy mix at their malls with more emphasis on services such as Medibank Private outlets, food, beauty salons and nail bars  all things that cannot be easily bought online but are seen as semi-non-discretionary spending.

The rise of online shopping, fuelled by the well-publicised arrival of Amazon, has added to concerns of weaker sales by managers of shopping centres, according to JLL's 16th Retail Centre Managers' Survey, done last month across 109 JLL-managed retail shopping centres nationally.
When the Internal Revenue Service lost its long-running transfer pricing case against the world's largest online retailer, Amazon, on Friday, it's a surprise it didn't get US President Donald Trump angrily tweeting.

"If @amazon ever had to pay fair taxes, its stock would crash and it would crumble like a paper bag," said an earlier tweet in December by Mr Trump, who has repeatedly criticised billionaire Jeff Bezos' Amazon for failing to pay enough taxes.

Judge Albert Lauber of the US Tax Court rejected a variety of arguments put forward by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in a $US1.5 billion ($1.97 billion) transfer pricing dispute over the tech giant's transactions more than a decade ago with a Luxembourg subsidiary.
Rushing to judgment is usually not a great idea. Sometimes it's forced upon you by circumstances. Usually, they are not the most attractive circumstances. It's a crisis of some sort that requires an immediate response.

It leads one to wonder why, when something terrible happens, some, who are not charged with any responsibility, rush to judgment. They are not pushed by any deadline, they're under no pressure and yet they rush out to be some small part of the action. They're a bit like the ambulance chasers of yesteryear. They're often the bottom feeders of the world.

Illustration: Andrew Dyson

The recent terrorist attack in London is an example. The twittersphere was alight with a photograph of an apparently Muslim woman walking past an injured person while checking her phone. No thought was given to the possibility that she was communicating to loved ones that she was OK. No mention of what we were taught as children, namely, if there's an accident or emergency and you're not involved or needed, keep your head down and get out of the way of those who are the specialists.

It took some time for a photo of an apparently non-Muslim man coming the other way behaving in the same fashion to reach the Twitter world. Things quietened down a bit then. Some people had simply rushed to judgment because they wanted to. Here was a chance to use, or rather misuse, an image, to verbal it into being what you wanted it to be and in the process promote your own opinion.
It is no surprise that the Turnbull Coalition is now 10 points behind Labour as the latest Fairfax-Ipsos poll revealed. How many sitting PMs facing two formidable "opposition" leaders have survived? Wonder what the odds are for Turnbull with the betting agencies? Tony Moo North Sydney The government is constantly talking about how hard working they are; he polls show the electorate would like to give them a rest. Leo Oostveen Tweed Heads With Malcolm Turnbull sinking in the polls it can't be long before the Libs plead with Tony Abbott to take the reins once again. What have they got to lose?

George Fishman Vaucluse Whenever I ate dinner in front of the 6 o'clock nightly news on television, my dog Monty would deliberately sit in my line of vision, wagging his tail, while trying every trick in the canine book to look loveable, all with the aim of persuading me to hand over my food. Sadly, the well-fed Monty has passed on, only to be replaced by images of a doey-eyed Malcolm Turnbull, who, with hands gesturing here, there and everywhere, is equally as persistent. But, according to the latest Fairfax-Ipsos Poll, he is far less loveable. Paul Miles Gorokan

The latest Fairfax-Ipsos poll is certainly bad news for the government. I dread to think what the result will be after the May budget. Bring back Tony Abbott! Carolyn Wills Cremorne The Prime Minister has been so keen to appease the hard-right wing of his party he has totally forgotten about those who did approve of him. Many Liberal voters were relieved to have a Prime Minister who would look forward, who would lift the energy debate out of the quagmire that Tony Abbott took it into. But with Malcolm Turnbull relentlessly slamming the states for introducing easily achievable renewable energy targets, taking lumps of coal into Parliament, and promoting totally uneconomic and still dirty "clean coal", though all this may have won cheers from those within his party (although it seems they will never actually support him), it has lost the support of those who held him in high esteem.

If a leader has to relinquish all his principles to remain leader of a party, then the party is probably not worth voting for. Peggy Fisher Killara With the latest opinion poll out, all eyes are again on Malcolm Turnbull. The voters think he has failed. The problem for Labor and Australia is that most also feel Bill Shorten will fail as prime minister in the future, but they'll still vote for him because they're so shot of the Liberals and are resigned to Turnbull's inability to change his own party. Let's be frank, if Shorten wins it won't be on merit or leadership attributes. The problems facing Australia are largely exacerbated by the damage done by Tony Abbott from 2009 and then Turnbull's inertia. They are way beyond Shorten. Labor has to act now to parachute in a 2017 version of Neville Wran or Bob Hawke. They have good experienced deputies and they have good policies  they just need a real leader. And so does Australia.

Howard Charles Glebe Road tunnel only offers temporary respite In the 40 years I have lived in the North Sydney and Mosman area its local population and traffic have also increased in sharp contrast to the capacity of its roads ("Visions of new roads that can lead to the past", March 27). Traffic congestion and loss of amenity are rampant. A road tunnel would therefore be simply catching up with the growth that has already taken place on the northern beaches. Induced growth could be controlled by new zoning restrictions and accommodated with a railway. Graham Short Cremorne

David Kirby is so spot on about his role, via the Kyeemagh-Chullora inquiry, in saving the Wolli Creek and Cooks River Valleys, and I thank him from the bottom of my heart. That inquiry was so unlike these Baird /Berejiklian times, where the community is told what destruction is coming its way, complete with contracts signed, sealed and already delivered. First NorthConnex, then WestConnex, and now it's the northern suburbs turn. And it's all happening without proper business cases, let alone any real listening or community engagement of the sort presided over by David Kirby. Like Elizabeth Farrelly, I despair about the Sydney I am seeing, and, like David Kirby, believe that trying to solve congestion is akin to a facelift  offering only temporary respite, and, I would add, at some cost, in so many senses. Deb Little Bexley North

Call a moratorium on year 9 NAPLAN plan Congratulations to the Herald for raising the issue of linking year 9 NAPLAN test results to HSC eligibility ("School heads decry literacy, numeracy tests for year nines", March 27). The idea of a boycott has been raised by parents, but better still would be an immediate moratorium on this ill-conceived and hastily introduced plan until parents, teachers, principals and all education interest groups have had a chance to debate its complexities. Many year 9 parents clearly do not realise that any child who does not, in May, get Band 8 or above in these tests (it's a high level and more than half do not), will not automatically qualify to sit the HSC. Although there will be further chances to qualify via online tests in later years, linking NAPLAN performance to the HSC at the start of term two (when some children are still only 14), is harsh and is causing anxiety and stress. While everyone knows that literacy and numeracy are vital, there are many late bloomers who will feel labelled as having failed to qualify.

Children from lower socio-economic backgrounds, who do not do as well as more affluent children (who can afford tutors, and whose schools often have other advantages), will become disheartened. It will be an exercise in humiliation also for children who are dyslexic or have other learning difficulties. Anne Susskind former Herald education editor and mother of a year 9 student, Tamarama NAPLAN literacy and numeracy requirements for the awarding of the Higher School Certificate are long overdue. They are not onerous or unfair. They will become a significant contributor to the value of that qualification. At last it will actually certify that someone can read or write at a reasonable standard. Of course, there will be collateral damage. A large cohort of students will not succeed in NAPLAN but then they should never have gone on to be awarded a HSC. Some other respectable pathway is needed for the less academic. At least the government is sensible enough to grant a reprieve and an alternate assessment for those who did not meet the NAPLAN standards at the first attempt.

James Athanasou Maroubra Staff shortchanged Let's call unpaid superannuation contributions for what they are; stolen wages. This issue seems to have been relegated to the too-hard basket by the government for too long. These contributions are mandatory and should be reported by employers each quarter via their business activity statement. Evidence of the total superannuation guarantee payments made to superannuation funds should also be provided to the ATO on a quarterly basis. This cannot be difficult. Bernadette Scadden Earlwood Making a difference

According to beyondblue's own statistics, gay people have a 14 per cent higher chance of committing suicide than the rest of the community. As the new chair of beyondblue, let's hope the distinguished Julia Gillard can educate our recalcitrant politicians of the need for marriage equality and consequently save some lives ("Why I've returned to public life", March 27). Peter Mahoney Oatley Tools lacking No, Rob Stokes, young teachers are not entering NSW classrooms with inadequate computer skills ("Reading, writing, arithmetic ... and coding", March 27). Any visitor to a typical public school in this state will see they are entering classrooms with unreliable ICT hardware to support the delivery of the curriculum. Time for the minister to provide reliable resources with appropriate technical support. James Laukka Epping

Indigenous architecture Simeon Glasson (Letters, March 27), and others, might amend their views about Indigenous architecture by reading Bruce Pascoe's enlightening book Dark Emu. Pascoe's sources were explorers' journals and those of the earliest settlers. At that time, Indigenous people lived in villages, often with stone houses. There is a photograph of a substantial pointed dome house from Arnhem Land. According to Pascoe, our First Australians were far from being simple hunter-gatherers. For example, they planted crops over substantial areas and stored excess grain. This work should be read by every Australian. Margaret Hargrave Barden Ridge Thank you Simeon Glasson for highlighting our multicultural way of life and reminding the Anglo-centric among us of the importance of acknowledging our original Indigenous inhabitants. I disagree, however, with the notion there is no "truly Australian" form of building. The now iconic Australian homestead, with wide, wrap-around verandah, bullnose roofing and French doors is surely the epitome of Australian rural architectural style. It was originally designed for our harsh climate and I don't believe there is an equivalent anywhere else in the world. Robert Hickey North Avoca

Cat dissembling Nick Galvin makes no mention of Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam's willingness to murder Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie ("Cat gets back on the peace train", March 27. Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the death fatwa against Rushdie in 1989. On Geoffrey Robertson's Hypothetical, two months later, Islam was unequivocal: Rushdie deserved to die; if in an Islamic state and ordered to do so he'd kill him; if an effigy of Rushdie was being burnt, Islam hoped it'd be the real thing. In the face of continuing criticism, Yusuf Islam mounts the "only joking" defence and denies he called for the death of Rushdie or backed the fatwa. This is dissembling nonsense. Peter Robinson Ainslie (ACT) Cyclone statement offers surreal relief

Cyclone Debbie is being described as at least a welcome relief to the drought in Queensland ("Whitsundays gearing up for cyclone", March 27). Could we - including Australia, as the nation with the world's highest per capita greenhouse emissions - ever have destroyed the world and its climate more completely than this surreal statement admits? Alex Mattea Kingston Helmet saved my life Kathe Hansen (Letters, March 27), you don't have to go to Copenhagen or Paris to go bike riding, come to Bowral, the cars are not a problem and you won't arrive jetlagged. As for Hugh Piper's problem wearing a helmet (Letters, March 27), if I wasn't wearing a helmet recently you would be reading my obituary rather than this letter. Hit by another cyclist, I now have some broken ribs. The helmet is cracked and has bitumen ground into it but, apart from hurting when I laugh, all is well.

Bill Carpenter Bowral Leaders' talking point Good to see Malcolm and Li Keqiang having a great time at the footy and walking by the harbour. I wonder what they discussed; bet it wasn't Chongyi Feng ("UTS professor held due to 'state security'", March 27). Brenton McGeachie Queanbeyan West Pollies fly off course
London: Antiques dealers have been accused of flouting laws to sell banned ivory, despite a campaign led by Prince William.

A study has shown that three-quarters of antiques dealers admit being aware of illegal trading, knowing colleagues or auctioneers who sell modern ivory by passing it off under the guise of still-legal pre-1947 artefacts.

Members of the Action For Elephants group in elephant outfits take part in a demonstration against the ivory trade in London last month. Credit:Getty Images

The evidence is described as "disturbing", with such traders condemned as perpetuating the slaughter of elephants for "purely mercenary motives".

It comes after months of campaigning by the likes of the prince, patron of the charity Tusk, and a British Conservative manifesto committing to a total ban on ivory sales.
Australian combat aircraft were not involved in an airstrike against Islamic State militants that allegedly killed at least dozens of civilians in the Iraqi city of Mosul, Defence Minister Marise Payne has said.

Senator Payne told Parliament on Monday afternoon that while such operations were complex, the best information the government had was that Australian Hornet or Superhornet planes did not take part in the strike.

According to international reports, at least two houses were destroyed around the time coalition forces struck Islamic State targets.

"Based on the information that is currently available to us, I'm advised that Australian strike aircraft were not involved in the airstrike in question," Senator Payne said. "As you will appreciate, it takes time to fully determine the details of a complex incident like this involving multiple aircraft from multiple nations.
About a dozen Coalition MPs attended the hour-long meeting late on Monday afternoon, with more than one participant describing it as "tense".

Ms Bishop and Mr Keenan called the snap meeting of MPs on Monday morning in a move designed to head off those rising concerns.

Fairfax Media has been told that several MPs have even discussed crossing the floor, if necessary, to sink the extradition treaty, which has been roundly criticised by the Law Council of Australia, human rights group Amnesty and by members of the Senate crossbench.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. Credit:Bloomberg

An MP in the room said the prospect of Liberal MPs crossing the floor to disallow the motion had not been discussed in the meeting. However, that dramatic move had been discussed before and after the meeting, because of serious concerns about the treaty, which will facilitate the two nations being able to return an accused criminal to the other country to face trial.

If Labor decided to disallow the treaty, which would effectively kill it off, it would not be necessary for Coalition MPs to have to cross the floor.

Australian Conservatives senator Cory Bernardi announced last week that he planned to disallow the treaty, citing concerns about the treaty's human rights safeguards, the 99.9 per cent conviction rate in Chinese courts in 2015 and the fact Australia would be the first of the "five eyes" nations - an intelligence alliance with the US, Britain, Canada and New Zealand - to sign a bilateral extradition treaty with China.

The ALP will discuss the matter at its shadow cabinet meeting on Monday night and formally adopt a position on Tuesday when the caucus meets.
A close North Dakota Senate vote is expected, possibly later this week, on a bill that would create a pilot program which would permit schools to allow trained staff to have concealed carry firearms.

I honest to God dont know which way itll go, committee chairman Kelly Armstrong, R-Dickinson, said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee gave a do pass recommendation to House Bill 1310 Monday morning. The vote was 5-1 along party lines with the Republican majority in favor.

Armstrong said the vote in the Senate is expected to be close. The House has passed similar legislation in past sessions only to be killed by the Senate.

During this session, HB1310 passed the House in February by a 73-19 vote.

If a school district wants to have a trained concealed-carry individual on school grounds, it will have a number of hoops to jump through, according to Armstrong.

North Dakota United President Nick Archuleta said a large majority of the groups membership is opposed to HB1310.

The whole issue of local control is what people will ultimately vote on, Archuleta said. We think were going to win, but we expect a close vote. There wasnt a hue and cry for this bill.

HB1310 would limit the number of schools that can apply to 10. Participating schools would report to the state Department of Public Instruction, which, in turn, would report to lawmakers.

Eighty hours of training would be required, and participating schools would be required to provide post-traumatic stress disorder programming for the aftermath of any potential incident.

Primary bill sponsor Rep. Dwight Kiefert, R-Valley City, said the bill is an option for rural schools without a school resource officer.

Its a beginning. Our schools are vulnerable, said Kiefert, referring to potentially lengthy response times from law enforcement in rural areas.

Instituting a pilot program with reporting requirements would allow for the state to see how well it works, according to Kiefert, who said North Dakota has been lucky to not have experienced a mass shooting incident.

Were trying to be proactive, Kiefert said.

The Senate, which has six new Republican members following last years election, could be more amenable to the bill compared to past attempts, he said.
The federal government could secure three crucial votes from the Nick Xenophon Team for its company tax cut plan, but only if it adopts a politically contentious emissions intensity scheme for the electricity sector.

Support for the $48 billion company tax cut plan from Pauline Hanson's four One Nation senators was on hold late on Monday because of a dispute in the sugar industry in Queensland.

Senator Xenophon has, to date, indicated his party would only back a cut in the company tax to 27.5 per cent for companies with a turnover of up to $10 million.

The federal government wants to cut company taxes from 30 per cent to 25 per cent over 10 years for all businesses. Labor will only back a cut for companies with a turnover of $2 million and the Greens do not support the policy, which effectively puts the fate of the plan in the hands of the Senate crossbench, where One Nation and the Xenophon Team both have the numbers to block it.
Immigration bosses have been lambasted over their plan to spend a quarter of a billion dollars fitting out a new office, with the politicians asked to approve the proposal accusing them of poor preparation and failing to provide vital information.

Even Turnbull government MPs say they are "deeply unimpressed" with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection's handling of the mega-proposal, going so far as to compare its top officials to "unco-operative witnesses".

In a heated hearing last week, members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works also castigated the department for providing it with incorrect figures, a blunder secretary Mike Pezzullo blamed on a consultant who used "the wrong spreadsheet".

The department is seeking approval to spend $255 million to fit out a new Canberra headquarters, in what is thought to be the most expensive plan of its type in federal government history. Under the proposal, the number of buildings the department inhabits in the national capital would shrink from 12 to five, with the main office located in a new state-of-the-art building next to Canberra Airport.
Malcolm Turnbull has refused to rule out further regulating electricity prices to get a better deal for consumers as energy retailers declared his new inquiry will "bust the myth" there is any price-gouging in the market.

The government said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investigation could ultimately save households hundreds of millions of dollars by empowering consumers with better transparency and choice.

Consumer groups welcomed the move but Labor, and crossbench kingmaker Nick Xenophon said it was too little too late.

The latest phase in the electricity debate came as new opinion polling on power generation finds nearly two-thirds of Australians want the country to move away from coal and embrace other energy sources.
The alleged deal would have allowed the conservative WA government to leapfrog the ATO and other creditors to recoup almost $1 billion from the companies.

A parliamentary inquiry, set up by Labor with the support of the crossbench, is examining whether Senator Brandis struck a secret political deal with the Western Australian government about the carve-up of the Bell Group's assets.

George Brandis said the terror threat is faced by all in the region. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Attorney-General George Brandis has been plunged into fresh controversy over his dealings in a High Court dispute involving the failed Bell Group of companies, after senior Tax Office officials revealed they sought legal advice because they were "concerned" he would shut them out of the case.

But the alleged arrangement was contrary to federal tax laws and was ultimately ruled invalid by the High Court.

At a parliamentary hearing on Monday night, Tax Office second commissioner Andrew Mills said the ATO had heard "bureaucratic whispers" that Senator Brandis might issue a legally binding direction stopping the ATO intervening in the High Court case.

Mr Mills said the ATO was "concerned" that "we really should be in a position to know how we should respond in that situation" if the rumours were accurate and "so we began to seek whether or not it was possible to obtain [legal] advice in relation to that".

Robert Puckridge, assistant commissioner of the tax counsel network, said the rumoured direction would have put the ATO in an "invidious position".

Mr Puckridge said "legal advice was sought" on March 4 last year but advice was "never given" as it "became apparent no advice was necessary". Senator Brandis told Mr Mills on March 7 no direction would be issued.
Greens MP Adam Bandt has linked the fatal Cyclone Debbie raging across northern Queensland to a proposed new coal-fired power plant and climate change, saying more people will suffer with the burning of more coal.

With the storm already having claimed one life, Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg condemned the Greens' comments as "unconscionable and hysterical."

In a statement released on Monday afternoon, Mr Bandt likened building new coal power stations to deliberate exposure to asbestos and cigarettes.

"Building a new coal fired power station now is like knowing cigarettes cause cancer but starting your kids on a pack a day, or knowing asbestos kills but building your family home with it anyway," Mr. Bandt said.
"The whole point is not to have politicians making rules," Senator Ryan says.

It's getting a bit tricky to work out whether, for example, taking a trip to a party fundraiser is okay.

Senator Ryan says he personally wouldn't do it but maybe there would be circumstances where that was okay.

The new authority can investigate someone after the fact, but an MP does not have to check if the purpose of their trip is legit.
Two girls were barred from flying on a United Airlines flight in the US from Denver to Minneapolis on Sunday because they were wearing leggings.

A third girl, aged 10, wearing grey leggings had to cover herself with a dress before she was allowed to board the flight by the gate agent.

Two teens barred from US flight for wearing leggings. Credit:Stocksy

Shannon Watts, founder of the anti-gun violence organisation Moms Demand Action, was boarding the flight and started to tweet about the incident.
The more I watch the debate around marriage equality, the more forcibly I am reminded of the fight for women to be allowed to vote. The more things change, the more they stay the same, it seems.

When women were fighting for the right to vote, more than 100 years ago, they were faced with dogged resistance from many of the same groups who are currently opposing the rights of those who wish to marry a member of the same sex. The suffragettes' most formidable opponent was the conservative religious establishment, just as it is for gay people now. I suppose it makes a certain kind of sense for the powerful and the privileged to tend to be more conservative than many other (although not all) groups in society. If society as it is now is currently serving you perfectly well (and how else could you have become powerful and privileged) then it is unsurprising any change is threatening, even if it doesn't directly affect you.

The women and men fighting for universal suffrage (the phrase even has echoes of marriage equality) also had to deal with many opposing arguments that sound frighteningly familiar and just as subtly insulting.
Former Army captain James Brown is the research director of the United States Studies Centre. Credit:United States Studies Centre The essay, published just prior to the federal election, reported that staff in former prime minister Tony Abbott's office had considered deploying a brigade comprising up to 3000 Australian and Dutch soldiers to Ukraine after the shooting down of MH17. Switzer, a one-time adviser to former Liberal leader Brendan Nelson, called the story "crap". James Brown and Tom Switzer appearing together on ABC's Lateline in 2014. Credit:ABC "For the record, the James brown [sic] scoop is no such thing," he wrote in emails to a group of former diplomats in January.

"The story is crap and is widely debunked by the people in the know, and not just Abbott and his former [chief of staff]. The reality is that Abbott never committed troops. Even if he harboured such ambitions, he never did it. That shows the system worked." Malcolm Turnbull with wife Lucy, daughter Daisy and son-in-law James Brown at Government House last year. Credit:Andrew Meares Switzer's most damaging claim, though, was the last: "The consensus was brown [sic] was doing his father in law's bidding," Switzer wrote. "James is not a historian or journalist; he's a former army captain who I believe is carrying a brief for the prime minister." Radio National presenter and Fairfax columnist Tom Switzer. Credit:Murray Harris

Switzer declined to discuss the claim made in the emails, other than to say he "disagreed profoundly" with Brown's thesis. According to others at the centre who declined to be named, Switzer has also complained he was told to tone down his regular critical comments about the Turnbull government in the Fairfax press. Brown declined to comment, and said the centre's management would respond on his behalf. Chief executive Simon Jackman did not comment on Switzer's email. In a written statement, he said the centre had no role in the commissioning and review process for Quarterly Essay. "I am aware that James Brown's [Quarterly Essay] did attract criticism and comment from scholars [and] practitioners, much of which appeared in the subsequent issue of QE, along with a response from [James Brown]."

In that subsequent issue, Brown wrote it was "a ticklish matter for me to assess the national security leadership of Tony Abbott, who was replaced as prime minister by my father-in-law. But I think the Abbott example is an important one and worth examining in detail". Malcolm Turnbull's office declined to comment. It's not the only controversy involving the centre. After its supposedly "one-off" funding from government, it was supposed to attract enough corporate sponsorship to keep it going. It has failed to do so, despite being given charitable status and winning tax-deductible donations from News Corp, building material company Boral and aerospace corporation Northrop Grumman. The global financial crisis is blamed for corporate parsimony. The centre has returned to government repeatedly with the begging bowl, securing first $4.2 million, then another grant of $7 million which helped set up a second operation in Perth, then $1.5 million, with a $2.5 million "funding boost" from the NSW state government. Now it is back in front of the federal government, asking for $15 million more in the current budget round to support the Sydney and Perth operations. The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Education Department are yet to commit and are believed to be wary about handing over the money.

The centre's operation was recently reviewed by former foreign affairs boss Peter Varghese and another senior former diplomat, David Ritchie, whose unreleased report, completed in January, is understood to have seen government funding as the only viable source of income to support the centre. Mark Baillie, the chairman of the centre's board, told Fairfax Media he would not comment on requests "we may or may not have" with government. But he provided conclusions of the Varghese report, which found the centre was involved in "well-argued advocacy", which was not to be confused with "cheerleading or barracking". Varghese found the centre "deserves to be supported", particularly since the election of Donald Trump, which meant "the need for a United States Studies Centre has never been greater". However, former Labor leader Mark Latham and conservative commentator Gerard Henderson have recently strongly criticised the centre for failing to anticipate the success of Mr Trump.

Sheryn Lee, an up-and-coming academic in the security studies field, has also criticised the centre for lacking independence. She was commissioned to examine the Taiwan Strait and the potential for a war involving China and the US, and what this might mean for the ANZUS alliance. Part of the report referred to the crucial role played by top-secret US intelligence collection bases Pine Gap and Nurrungar. But the report was not published by the centre, after Lee felt her conclusions were being unreasonably skewed by Brown so as not to ruffle feathers in the Foreign Affairs Department. "He wanted me to write something that was not my standard line. When I pushed back, he came across that he was vetting my work for someone at DFAT," Lee said. However, Jackman said "sponsors of our research do not have editorial control".
1. Cyclone Debbie appeal already up and running Cyclone Debbie is heading for Bowen. Here's how you can help this morning. Juliette Wright's GIVIT, which also happens to be managed by my wife Nikki, is partnering with the state government to manage all offers of donated goods and services. You can donate cash now or check the GIVIT website in coming days to see what is needed. The key message from Juliette yesterday was don't send unsolicited items. You might feel good about putting clothes and care packages on a truck but it's better to donate cash that can be spent locally. It supports the local economy and prevents the warehousing of unwanted donations.

2. Queensland mum dies after 27 vodkas

In other news this morning, a Queensland woman holidaying in Bali has died after consuming 27 glasses of vodka. The Courier-Mail quotes a family friend who says the 28-year-old mother of five was not a heavy drinker. It's believed she was on a "girls' holiday" with her sister and a friend.



3. Hanson backflips on penalty rates

Pauline Hanson has taken to Facebook to announce she's changed her mind on weekend penalty rates. She says One Nation will no longer support the Fair Work Commission's ruling to slash weekend rates for hospitality and retail workers. The Australian reports Senator Hanson reversed her position after experiencing a backlash from supporters.



4. MPs debating whether $180k per year makes you rich

Are you rich if you're on $180,000 a year? Back in 2014, the federal government applied a temporary 2 per cent tax on anyone earning over $180,000. It's meant to disappear on July 1 but Labor says removing the so-called "deficit levy" is green-lighting a tax cut for millionaires . To put it in perspective, the average income in Australia is $80,000 but the median (less skewed by a small number of very high earners) is $50,000.

5. Study finds we prefer the left side of our face

A study has found we prefer to show our left side in selfies. I'm a right-hand selfie-taker myself. As someone who's right-hand-dominant, I can't see why you would stretch out your weak arm just to take a photo on the left. But this article suggests it's quite deliberate and that there's a long history of putting the left cheek forward, going back to da Vinci's Mona Lisa . Go on, open the camera app. You know you want to.

Also catching my eye ...

How was your commute this morning? Not so flash if you were coming in on the Warrego Highway through Dinmore, where a crash caused significant delays. Generally speaking, do you think you'd be happier if you were able to move faster in the traffic? You would assume that to be the case, but a study in the United States has found it's the complete opposite. Apparently cities with slower traffic have happier drivers.



Back to Cyclone Debbie for a moment. John Birmingham has likened those coastal residents who refuse to evacuate, insisting on staring down the category 4 system, to climate-change deniers. He says "we love these idiots" and we "urge them on from the cheap seats". But, says Birmo, we are "even bigger morons" if we let every doomed gesture of defiance go viral.
"This movie could be defining VR to the broader public," Steiber said.

HTC Virtual Reality senior vice-president Rikard Steiber told Variety the partnership could be a break-through moment for his industry.

Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One is hailed by many in the VR industry as a seminal piece of writing about virtual worlds. Credit:Mike Blake

The tech company entered a partnership with Warner Bros to distribute virtual reality experiences for the studio's upcoming Ready Player One movie.

HTC is banking on Steven Spielberg's latest sci-fi film to lure the broader public towards virtual reality experiences.

Ready Player One is based on the Ernest Cline novel by the same title, hailed by many in the VR industry as a seminal piece of writing about virtual worlds.

"It is going to be an epic movie," said Steiber, who's had a chance to read the script.

Steiber argued that Ready Player One could help VR with what he called the "Matrix problem" - the medium is hard to describe to consumers who haven't used a headset yet.

"You have to take the pill to experience it," Steiber said.

As part of the partnership, HTC will distribute VR experiences through its Viveport platform for both the HTV Vive headset, as well as mobile devices.
More than 30,000 Queenslanders have been told to leave their homes as Cyclone Debbie bears down on the coast and threatens to bring a devastating tidal surge.

Debbie is expected to hit the coast as a Category 4 tropical cyclone just south of Bowen at 9am on Tuesday, ahead of high tide at 9.44am.

Forecasters are predicting a large storm surge could hit the central Queensland town of Mackay and affect 25,000 locals.

Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart urged 25,000 people to immediately evacuate on Monday afternoon.
When Andrew ran away from his Camberwell home on Monday, he left a long note on the kitchen table, grabbed his myki and backpack, and headed to the train station.

His parents were beside themselves. "He's very upset with himself, and that's why he's taken off. We just want him to know it's OK, he's not in any trouble, just to come home," his mother, Cindy, said at a press conference that afternoon.

Andrew talks to Protective Services Officers at Melbourne Central station. Credit:Rebecca Ainslie

The family said the 11-year-old was feeling ashamed after being caught handing his friends treats while he was on duty at his school canteen.

Andrew left home about 8.30am Monday, and was found by Protective Services Officers outside McDonald's at Melbourne Central train station less than 12 hours later, at 7.30pm.
A schoolboy devastated at the thought of disappointing his parents has been found nearly 12 hours after he ran away from his family home.

Andrew, 11, was found by himself at Melbourne Central train station by protective service officers about 7.30pm on Monday following a frantic hunt by police and his parents.

Missing schoolboy Andrew.

The boy left a five-page note on the kitchen table before taking his myki and a backpack and fleeing from his parents' home in Carramar Avenue, Camberwell, about 8.35 on Monday morning.

A police spokeswoman confirmed Camberwell station police had sent a car to collect Andrew from Melbourne Central and reunite him with his family.
Almost a third of GP referrals for depression are for teenagers and children as young as 10, a West Australian health and community organisation has found.

A report published by 360 Health + Community on Monday shows a further 31 per cent of referrals are for those in the 20 to 29 age category, with this age group accounting for 40 per cent of all suicide prevention referrals.

Depression among the young has increased dramatically.

Mental health executive manager Donna Lawrence said depression among the young had increased dramatically over the past decade.

Pressures mounting on children included cyber-bullying and presenting a socially desirable image of themselves on social media, she said, while the 20 to 29 age group was having to come to terms with the fact that living independently from their parents was very expensive.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was jailed for 15 days after the largest anti-government demonstrations for at least five years energised President Vladimir Putin's critics as presidential elections loom.

Mr Navalny was imprisoned by a Moscow court on Monday after being convicted of disobeying police and fined 20,000 rubles (around $460) for organising an unsanctioned protest.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with his lawyer Olga Mikhailova in court on Monday. Credit:AP

More than 1,000 people were detained in a wave of demonstrations in cities across Russia on Sunday. Despite draconian laws forbidding unsanctioned rallies, at least 60,000 took part in more than 80 protests, according to the independent Ekho Moskvy radio station.

"You can't detain tens of thousands of people - yesterday we saw the authorities can only go so far," Mr Navalny told reporters in the court, where he appeared after being held overnight. "As long as people see tens of billions of dollars being stolen by top officials," they'll be ready to protest, he said.
London: Vladimir Putin's government will face further demonstrations of public discontent after a wave of anti-corruption protests swept Russia at the weekend, the opposition leader arrested for leading the rallies has said.

Alexei Navalny, 40, was jailed for 15 days on Monday for disobeying a police officer at a protest against government corruption in central Moscow at the weekend.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of 20,000 rubles ($460) for organising an unsanctioned demonstration.

"You can't detain tens of thousands of people," Alexei Navalny told reporters in the court room. "Yesterday we saw the authorities can only go so far."
Latest News Why are property buyers taking so long to purchase? Here are five factors at play

Industrial property growing stronger New report reveals market trends

The number of cases of mortgage fraud has been on the rise, with brokers warned to look out for falsified documents supplied by clients seeking unsuitable loans.Unfortunately, fraud continues to increase year on year, said Paul Palmer, Connective s compliance support manager, at the aggregators professional development day in Sydney on Thursday (23 March).The technological advancements of digital applications enable people to create documents or change existing documents to be more and more authentic looking.The aggregator has seen statements that lenders could only identify as fraudulent because they had no record of issuing them, Palmer said.Obviously, you cant expect brokers to pick that up. Fortunately for us, most people trying to commit fraud arent that good. They always make spelling mistakes, a typo, or they get their mathematics wrong.As fraud investigations are inherently unpleasant for both broker and aggregator, Palmer urged a proactive rather than reactive approach.To do this, he suggested brokers undertake all due diligence, meet required responsible lending obligations, cross check & verify all documents provided by the customer, and look for inconsistencies.We see a lot of differences in fonts, in key financial data, and also, as I said, a lot of mathematical areas. Run their payslips through the pay calculator and youll be amazed at how often that finds something.One of the biggest ones I found over the past 12 months is where there were two payslips and they forgot to change the accrued annual leave entitled from payslip to payslip; which we would expect to change. Its a very common mistake.If it is impossible to meet the customer face-to-face, Palmer encouraged brokers to mitigate any risks by becoming familiar with conditions that lenders set up to accept remote broker-client meetups.From our perspective, a good thing is to get certified ID. Through Skype or Facetime conversations, get a snapshot of their ID. It fulfils an obligation to show you actually know who youre dealing with.Finally, Palmer warned brokers to put themselves in the right mindset when it comes to fraud.Dont think that you cant get caught, he said. Unfortunately, theres been a significant increase in the amount of referrals looking to give loans to mortgage brokers. In particular new-to-industry brokers have been targeted by people who have clients that can only service or get a loan through submitting fraudulent documentation.He urged brokers to do due diligence on their referrers as well.Make sure youre comfortable with them as people, make sure theyre people you do your own business with yourself, and dont trust anything they give you more than anything provided by your clients. In some ways, you need to be more skeptical.
This is Up and Down, where we give a brief thumbs up and thumbs down on the issues from the past week.

Up

Sometimes little touches can have a big impact.

Last week the Dakota West Arts Council presented a piano to the Bismarck Airport. It sits in the atrium and is available to anyone who has an urge to tickle the keys. The piano was donated by the Bismarck Art & Galleries Association and painted by spray paint artist Bryan J. Kroh. The Tribune expects a lot of weary travelers will find some comfort from the music provided at the piano by strangers. Its a reminder that the arts have a place in every part of society.

Down

It was disappointing to learn that an oil pipeline spill northwest of Belfield is three times larger than estimated. The spill contaminated a hillside and Ash Coulee Creek, which flows into the Little Missouri River. The spill was discovered by a landowner on Dec. 5, 2016, and likely occurred Dec. 1. The landowner has reported cattle deaths, but whether they are related to the spill hasnt been confirmed. With the concerns over pipeline safety its important the spill site is cleaned up and the cause of the spill determined. Hopefully, finding the cause may help prevent future accidents.

Up

Alice Musumba and Tomi Phillips are to be commended for being awarded Bush Fellowship grants. Musumba, who works for the state Department of Health, wants to create a network for immigrants in the Bismarck area to better integrate them into their communities. Phillips, a principal at Fort Yates, plans to train teachers to better understand cultural differences and learning styles of Native American students. Both women are poised to make a difference in their communities and everyone should encourage them.

Down

Keith Benning and his wife operate the Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue out of their house in Rolette County. Its a shoestring operation and its needed. They estimate about 300 dogs die in the Turtle Mountain area each winter. Thats way too many. The Bennings devotion to animals earns an Up, but the number of deaths merits a Down. The Turtle Mountain community, and people statewide, need to support the Bennings efforts. We cant allow that many animals to die.

Up

Linton High School students with the help of Jay Schmaltz have established an online radio station. KLHS began operating last month and broadcasts live online Monday through Friday morning. Four students  Hannah Schumacher, Raanne Schiermeister, Tiffany Smith and Kailee Horner  play music, give the weather and make school announcements. This isnt just a learning experience, but a service to the community. Not many small towns have the luxury of their own radio station.

Down

There are a lot of unregistered vehicles going down North Dakotas roads and highways. From Feb. 1, 2016, to Jan. 31, the North Dakota Highway Patrol issued 3,114 citations for failure to register a vehicle. Part of the problem is due to the number of workers coming to the state to work in the oil patch and other areas. They dont necessarily intend to stay for a long time, so they dont register their vehicles. Its important, however, that people follow the law. And the state can use the money that comes from registration fees.
Election Day 2022: What you need to know to vote in Bucks County
Young protesters march towards the Federal Building during a "Save the Affordable Care Act" rally in Los Angeles, California on March 23, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

WASHINGTON - US House Republican leaders on Thursday postponed a planned vote on a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, as the White House failed to secure support of a group of conservative lawmakers.

The decision was taken after talks between the White House and the Freedom Caucus, the main opposition group, yielded no results.

"No deals" had been reached, Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, who leads the conservative bloc in the House of Representatives, said after exiting talks with President Donald Trump.

Trump met the group at the White House in a bid to close a deal that would help secure passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the vote of which was originally planned for later Thursday.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee said she predicted further discussion regarding the bill on Thursday and a vote on Friday.

House Republicans can only afford 22 no-votes from its own ranks for the bill to pass, but the Freedom Caucus said it has nearly 30 no-votes under its belt.

The bill, which was devised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ratified by former President Barack Obama, was the centerpiece of Trump's campaign promises and was backed by most House Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Ryan has previously made concessions on the bill to appeal to the Freedom Caucus, but failed to meet the group's demand. It is unclear if further changes will be made for a more convincing bid.

Members of the Freedom Caucus said the draft came short of the goal of repealing the ACA, as many of the regulations in the Obamacare were inherited by the AHCA, and they wanted a clearer break.

Trump has also personally weighed in on the matter, threatening GOP Congress members that anyone who doesn't support the AHCA will risk losing their seats in 2018.

While the president can not fire any Congress members, reports show that his support was instrumental for many sitting members to secure their seats in the 2018 elections.
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October 31, 2022

Buddy TV

In November, there are hundreds of new and returning TV showsit can be overwhelming to try and choose what to watch. That's why we've selected some of the best options...
In the 15th episode of season 7 of The Walking Dead, titled Something They Need, Rick and company travel with Tara to Oceanside in the hopes of getting more guns and convincing the Oceanside group to join their upcoming war against Negan and the Saviors. Meanwhile, Maggie attempts to work with Gregory, Sasha is being held prisoner at the Sanctuary, and we learn the identity of the shadowy figure seen with Rosita at the end of the previous episode. The penultimate episode of season 7 is rather slow, but it does a good job of setting up things up for the finale.

Is Sasha Going to Die on The Walking Dead?>>>

Team Family Gets a Big Win

As the episode begins, Tara is telling her people, via voice-over, about the Oceanside community and how they have a lot of guns. Rick asks why she didnt mention this before and Tara explains that she made a promise. The group is on the move to Oceanside to get their guns, but also with the hope of convincing the Oceanside community to join in their war against the Saviors. While Tara is willing to lead Rick and company to Oceanside, she makes it clear that if things do not go well, she is going to feel bad. Rick says she doesnt have to.

Once they arrive at the Oceanside community, Michonne takes position in a tree on the perimeter. Tara then heads to the leaders home. She holds the groups leader, Natania, at gunpoint so the woman will hear her out. (We later learn that Taras gun was never loaded.) Just then, Natanias granddaughter Cyndie arrives. (Cyndie is the one who helped Tara before and to whom Tara made the promise not to tell her people about the Oceanside group.) Tara then explains that her people have come to take this place so they can get the groups guns, but it doesnt have to be that way. She asks Natania to talk to Rick about joining in the fight. If Natania is willing to talk to Rick, Rick and company wont have to take over the community. Though Cyndie wants to talk to Rick, Natania refuses to even discuss fighting the Saviors.

Just then, Rick and company set off some explosives outside of the community to lure the group into the open. They then gather the Oceanside women together so they can keep an eye on them while they retrieve the guns. Alas, Natania was able to get the drop on Tara so she is now holding Tara hostage. She threatens to kill Tara if Ricks people dont leave. Rick says theyll leave, but they are taking the guns with them. Cyndie tries talking to her people and some of them seem convinced to joining in the fight, but Natania wont have any of it.

While Natania is prepared to kill Tara, some walkers wander into the community from the sea and Michonne alerts the group to their arrival. Cyndie then knocks out Natania so the groups can work together to fight off the walkers. The Alexandrians work alongside the women of Oceanside to dispatch the walkers and it seems like they would work well together in the future. Unfortunately, since Natania is their leader, she insists that they will not be joining the fight.

As the Alexandrians load up Oceansides guns, Cyndie tells Tara that she and some of the others want to help them fight Negan but they cannot do it unless they are all in agreement. Tara thanks Cyndie for saving her life yet again and Cyndie thanks Tara for what her group is trying to do with the Saviors. As the Alexandrians are leaving with their new guns, Tara tells Rick that he was right and she doesnt have to feel bad.

Sasha Makes Her Choice

Early in the episode, we find out that while Sasha caused a lot of trouble at the Sanctuary, she did not manage to kill Negan. She did, however, get captured and is now being held by Negan in Daryls old cell. (Though, thankfully, she gets to keep her clothes and doesnt have to listen to a certain song on repeat.)

In an incredibly tense and disturbing scene, one of the Saviors comes to Sashas cell and tries to rape her. Like in the comics, Negan walks in on this attempted rape and kills the man responsible. After apologizing for killing said Savior in front of her, Negan recognizes Sasha from the line-up. He now understands why she would try to attack him. Negan tells Sasha that he was impressed by her beach-ball-size lady nuts and asks if Rick sent her. Sasha acts like Rick is still following Negans rules so no, he didnt send her. Negan says that this can be the beginning for her instead of the end.

Negan then decides to give Sasha a little test to see if she really has a death wish. He leaves the Saviors body in her cell and hands her a knife. She can either let the dead Savior turn and kill her, use the knife to kill herself, or use the knife on the Savior before he turns. (He also gives her the choice of trying to use the knife on him, but since he has a clear advantage over her, thats not really an option.) Negan hopes Sasha chooses to save herself because hes a man down and he thinks she could be a real asset to him one day.

While Sasha is left to make her choice, Eugene stops by her cell to offer her some creature comforts. He tells her that she should take Negans offer like he did. He claims the reason he joined Team Negan is because he was never more scared in his life than he was during the line-up and by siding with the Saviors, hell never have to face something like that again. Sasha tells him to leave.

When Negan checks on Sasha later that day, he sees that she chose to stab the would-be walker and save herself. Negan seems pleased by this development, but he tells her they still have a long way to go before he trusts that shes really on-board. Negan also tells her that he heard Rick is planning something and she is going to help him change that. He tells her to get some rest because the next day is going to be a big one.

Later, Sasha appears to have a change of heart when she tearfully asks Eugene to give her something she can use to end her life. However, it is made clear that what Sasha really wanted was a weapon, presumably so she can get another shot at killing Negan. Unfortunately, instead of giving her a weapon, Eugene gives her the suicide pills so she can end her life painlessly. Sasha is obviously upset by this turn of events. Could she find a way to use the pills on Negan? What will happen if she gets caught with the pills?

Quiz: Which TV Vigilante Are You? >>>

Gregory Almost Attacks Maggie!

At the Hilltop, Gregory watches Maggie put her leadership skills into action and he is not pleased at how his people listen to her. When Maggie goes outside the walls to dig up a blueberry bush, Gregory goes out to see her. He says they need to appear to present a united front to the Hilltop members and Maggie counters that it would be better if they actually were a united front. She tells him its never too late to change and gives him an opportunity to do so by asking him to keep watch while she finishes digging up the bush.

Alas, instead of keeping watch, Gregory debates using his knife to stab Maggie in the back. Before he can make the decision to do so or not, he spots a walker headed their way. Gregory insists he can take care of it, but he is unable to do so. As Maggie is dispatching the first walker, another one comes along and attacks Gregory. Maggie then has to save his life just as a group of Hilltop members show up. Maggie tells the group that Gregory never killed a walker before but hes learning. Apparently, he lied to his people just like he tried to lie to Maggie about his walker-killing skills and Gregory is not pleased that the truth is now out.

As the episode comes to an end, Gregory tells one of his men that he will need a ride somewhere and its clear that he is headed to the Sanctuary to talk to Simon about Maggie.

Can Dwight Be Trusted?

When Rick and company return from Oceanside, Rosita is there to let them in. Jesus wants to know where Sasha is, but Rosita ignores that question and tells the group that someone is

here. She then takes them to Morgans make-shift jail cell where shes been keeping none other than Daryls former tormentor, Dwight. (Yes, it turns out that Dwight was the shadowy figure seen in the last few moments of the previous episode.)

Daryl immediately goes after Dwight, but the others hold him back and Rosita says Dwight wants to help them. Rick asks if thats true and Dwight says it is. Rick then pulls his gun on Dwight and tells the Savior (or is that former Savior?) to get on his knees.

What did you think of this episode of The Walking Dead? Is Dwight telling the truth about wanting to help Ricks people? If so, can the Alexandrians ever trust Dwight enough to accept his help? What did you think of Eugenes supposed reason for joining Team Negan? Is it possible hes just playing along to try to dismantle things from the inside? If so, why wouldnt he just tell Sasha that? Do you think the Oceanside group will ultimately join in the fight against the Saviors?

Were you surprised that Eric went on the mission to the Oceanside community? Does his increased screen-time of late mean that his days are numbered? What did you think of Carl telling Enid that while he thinks about the people hes killed, he also thinks about the ones he didnt? Jesus is clearly feeling guilty for not doing more to stop Sasha and Rosita from leaving. How will he react if Sasha dies? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

The Walking Dead season 7 airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on AMC. Want more news? Follow our Walking Dead Facebook page.

(Image courtesy of AMC)


A new six-week induction programme launched by Champion Timber has been designed to give new employees a great entry into the industry.

The programme will teach new recruits about the milling, sourcing and sustainability of the Scandinavian timber supplied by Champion.

As part of the programme, new employees visit Champion Timbers Edenbridge branch where all timber is milled in-house, stored and distributed to all ten branches. During the visit the new team members will learn why Champion only supplies superior timber from Scandinavian forests, and how the wood is cut to ensure the best product is available to customers.

Champion Timber Edenbridge employee Terry Hart (pictured) is currently going through the induction programme. He said: Ive been with Champion Timber for four weeks and, as Ive not worked in the industry before, Ive had to learn so much.

The induction programme does not just give information about the different sizes and grades of the timber, but also explains where it has come from before its sold to customers, which has really helped me learn about all the different timbers we supply.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum vetoed legislation limiting bonuses paid to his staff and appointees, he said Monday.

The Republican governor used his veto pen for the first time on House Bill 1153, which passed the Legislature with only 11 dissenting votes between the two chambers. It says a recruitment or retention bonus paid to a governors staff member or a state officer appointed by the governor may not exceed 10 percent of the employees annual salary or $5,000, whichever is less.

The bill, introduced by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Jeff Delzer, R-Underwood, came after controversy over bonuses paid to some of former Gov. Jack Dalrymples staffers and Cabinet members.

In a letter to House Speaker Larry Bellew, R-Minot, Burgum argued the bill singles out the governor and violates the state Constitution.

HB1153 places unprecedented and intentional restrictions on the governors ability to fulfill the constitutional duty to recruit and retain cabinet agency directors and key support personnel, he said. These restrictions intrude upon the operations of the executive branch and violate the separation of governmental powers established by the North Dakota Constitution.

Burgum said Cabinet members and his staff are different than the vast majority of state positions in that theyre unclassified positions and serve at the pleasure of the governor. Classified positions hold more job protections, he said.

Burgum said the bill would impair the governors ability to attract and retain the leadership and staff necessary to effectively execute the duties of the office now and for future governors. He said the bills restrictions serve no constructive purpose.

The Legislature may overturn Burgums veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.

Delzer said he was disappointed but not surprised by Burgums veto. He disputed the governors arguments that the bill violates the Constitution, arguing the Legislature holds the states purse strings.

I feel we give them plenty of room to do a decent bonus if they want, Delzer said.

House Majority Leader Al Carlson, R-Fargo, a cosponsor of the bill, said it will come up Wednesday.
Election Day in New Jersey: Who's running for the House, how to vote

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As a homeless man froze to death under a Grand Forks bridge last week, lawmakers considered reducing funding for shelters around the state.

During the past two bienniums, the Legislature has given $2 million and $1.5 million, respectively, in one-time funding for the North Dakota Homeless Grant. This year, that grant is unlikely to exceed $300,000.

Donald Campbell, 31, was one of two men to die in the cold in that city this winter, according to Grand Forks Police Lt. Brett Johnson. Police had to pick his body out of the ice under the railroad bridge on March 22. The other was 61-year-old Richard Bumford, who police found dead on the Greenway on Dec. 22.

Both men had stayed at the Northlands Rescue Mission in Grand Forks.

The homeless grant funds outreach and shelters around the state, including the Northlands Rescue Mission, which received $47,300 last year, according to the state Department of Commerce. The grant also helps pay for a central information system that is required before federal funding can be received.

"The act of cutting funding does not make anything better. Its the absolute opposite of what we should be doing," said April Fairfield, executive director of the North Dakota Coalition for Homeless People. "In North Dakota, people will pay with their lives if funding is cut."

In keeping with former Gov. Jack Dalrymple's proposed budget, Gov. Doug Burgum did not allot any money for the homeless grant in his executive budget in January. That's despite a heart-wrenching story he told at his first "State of the State" address in January about a homeless, meth-addicted man named "Matt," whom he met in Fargo and referred to an advocate for services.

Asked about the spending reduction, Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki said in a statement, "When Gov. Burgum took office and began working on his executive budget, he looked for ways to reduce spending, not restore it, because revenues were continuing to fall short of projections."

Nowatzki said the governor's office is involved in discussions around funding for homeless shelters in the current budget.

When SB2018, the state Department of Commerce budget, was debated in the Senate Appropriations Committee, legislators decided to add $300,000 in yearly funding for the homeless grant.

Fairfield said that, despite the major reduction from past years, it would have been a relief to be "out of the world of one-time funding."

Now the homeless grant is in the hands of the House Appropriations Committee, which is considering placing the $300,000 in the discretionary account for the commerce department. That decision may further reduce the amount of money for the grant, because the commerce department will evaluate it with other funding applications.

The discretionary fund, used for unanticipated costs, also has traditionally paid for $75,301 for Continuum of Care and $244,669 for an Emergency Solutions Grant, which brings in matching federal funding, according to Justin Dever, co-deputy commissioner for the state Department of Commerce.

Dever said the Commerce Department would prioritize funding programs with federal matches.

Rep. David Monson, R-Osnabrock, chairman of the education and environment subcommittee that discussed the issue last week, indicated the idea to put the homeless grant in the discretionary fund was based on considerations about federal funding tied to the grant money.

"If there are federal funding cuts and the $300,000 is not needed to leverage federal funds, the pool of money in the discretionary funds can be diverted as commerce requests," Monson wrote in an email.

"It is generally the thought of our committee as well as the general thinking of the House that we in North Dakota cannot begin to try to replace federal funds," Monson wrote, adding that the Commerce Department could give homeless shelters a larger cut of the discretionary fund, if needed.

At the Northlands Rescue Mission, funding from the homeless grant has paid for essential services, including utility bills, heat and electricity. The shelter provides beds to 100 to 115 people nightly and feeds hundreds more each week. Most of the mission's $1.2 million budget comes from donations, but the grant money is still important, said Nancy Andrews, the mission's executive director.

"Any of those dollars that may go away will impact our operations immensely," Andrews said. "Were the only homeless shelter in Grand Forks. We cant be everything to everybody. We dont have the staffing or financial resources."

Ruth Meiers, YouthWorks and the Abused Adult Resource Center also received funding through the homeless grant in 2016.

Fairfield said the funding cut could be especially devastating to smaller programs, which rely on the homeless grant. If not enough funds are designated from the commerce discretionary fund, some federal matches could also be at risk.

In 2016, a one-night count found that 923 people were homeless, Fairfield said. Many more are "precariously housed," meaning they are couch-surfing or doubled up.

Fairfield said homelessness fell 50 percent from 2014 to 2016 and she expects further reductions this year.

"Were asking for $300,000, and they act like theyre taking it out of their own pockets," Fairfield said of the House Appropriations Education and Environment Subcommittee.

Fairfield said the cuts would affect vulnerable homeless people, including families, veterans and the mentally ill.

I thought we love our veterans? she said.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday delivered its verdict in the decade-old unlawful gains case involving the countrys second-biggest company, . The capital market regulator has directed the Mukesh Ambani-led company to disgorge (give up) Rs 447 crore, with interest of 12 per cent per annum since November 2007, it made illegally.
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For Vedanta, it seems that almost everything is falling in place. First, with base metal prices rebounding, its business prospects have improved. The companys operating profits in December quarter was the highest in last seven quarters. Not surprisingly then, its stock price has grown more than three-folds from lows of Rs 60 last February to highs of Rs 275.40 in March 2017; and closed at Rs 267 on Friday. Despite this rally, there are more triggers and as the outlook remains firm there could be more gains ahead.
Hyderabad-based clean energy major Energy Holdings has announced the signing of definitive agreements for a primary equity raising of $155 million (about Rs 1,007.5 crore at today's exchange rate) from an affiliate of Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund, GIC. and an affiliate of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

The GIC, which is the majority shareholder of Greenko, is investing $123.9 million while the ADIA subsidiary will be investing the remaining $31.1 million, according to the company.
Information technology services plan to engage with their women employees better when they go on six-month maternity leave, contrary to worries of some start-ups.
Cellular operators' body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has said the government should not rush to spectrum auction this year and instead, allow the market to settle down in the wake of recent mergers and acquisitions.

COAI emphasised that the next round of sale of airwaves should ideally be scheduled in 2018.

"In the immediate context, we don't expect a whole lot of demand for the spectrum because mergers and harmonisation will lead to efficiencies in terms of use of existing spectrum. like Idea Cellular and Vodafone (which have announced decision to merge in India) will put their spectrum together for efficiencies," COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews told PTI.

will be keen to wait a little more to see how the market dynamics plays out, Mathews said, adding that other factors which need to be taken into consideration are demand for data and smartphones.

"The problem with having an annual spectrum auction (that is being talked about) is that it requires three months of preparation, hence a 12-month window is too small... cannot spend three months every year in recalibrating their strategy on airwaves," he said.

After buying airwaves, telecom companies also need time to order equipment, get infrastructure ready and be tuned in to the existing network.

Also, companies typically tend to buy spectrum keeping in mind their requirements for the next 2-3 years, he said.

"Other than the dynamics of licence requirement, a 2-3 year timeframe to conduct auction is more than adequate to allow for predictability and strategic planning by firms," he said.

Mathews' comments come at a time when the is going through a massive phase of consolidation, intensified by the disruptive entry of challenger Reliance Jio.

Idea Cellular and Vodafone have decided to merge in India to create the country's biggest telecom service provider with a customer base of over 394 million. Telecom operator Bharti Airtel, the current market leader, has said it will acquire Norwegian Telenor's India unit, and more recently announced the acquisition of Tikona Digital's 4G airwaves.

Last month, then telecom secretary J S Deepak had said that the government is looking to make spectrum auction an annual event.

"We are not worried if there is no demand for spectrum. We are interested in giving the an opportunity to buy spectrum," Deepak had said on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona just a day before he was named India's next Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation from June this year.

Last week, however, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha had said the government had no immediate plan to provide telecom companies with an option to buy spectrum annually.
Amateur astronomers, take note! You can now help researchers discover 'Planet 9' - an elusive cosmic body believed to exist in our solar system, scientists say.

The project to find "Planet 9" will allow citizen scientists to use a website to search hundreds of thousands of images taken by the Australian National University (ANU) SkyMapper telescope at Siding Spring.

SkyMapper will take 36 images of each part of the southern sky, which is relatively unexplored, and identify changes occurring within the Universe, researchers said.

"We have the potential to find a new planet in our Solar System that no human has ever seen in our two-million-year history," said Brad Tucker from ANU.

"Planet 9 is predicted to be a super Earth, about 10 times the mass and up to four times the size of our planet. It's going to be cold and far away, and about 800 times the distance between Earth and the Sun. It's pretty mysterious," Tucker said.

Volunteers would be required to scan through the SkyMapper images online to look for difference and are expected to also find and identify other mystery objects in space, including asteroids, comets and dwarf planets like Pluto, researchers said.

"It's actually not that complicated to find Planet 9. It really is spot the difference. Then you just click on the image, mark what is different and we'll take care of the rest," Tucker said.

Volunteers will also get a chance to name the asteroid or object found although not after themselves.

"Modern computers could not match the passion of millions of people.It will be through all our dedication that we can find Planet 9 and other things that move in space," Tucker said.
Vigilance clearance for senior government officers has been relaxed by the central government. The change has been effected this month through an order by its Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
The Goa government granted six months extension to five offshore casinos to relocate from river Mandovi here.

"The State cabinet has granted an extension to five offshore casinos to relocate from river Mandovi from April 1 till September 30, 2017," a senior official told PTI.

The previous Laxmikant Parsekar government had ordered that the offshore casinos would be shifted out of the river by March 31, 2017 to alternate locations.

The cabinet has also granted permission to another offshore casino vessel run by Golden Globe Hotels Pvt Ltd for operating their leased vessel in river Mandovi for another six months.

The company has been asked to furnish all the relevant documents as sought by state Home ministry, he said.

The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court had recently ordered the state government to renew the licence of the offshore casino run by Golden Globe Hotels Private Limited.
Gov. Doug Burgum rejected a cap on bonuses for state employees in the governor's office or for those appointed by him.

House Bill 1153 was passed by the state Senate by a vote of 36-10 and in the House by a vote of 91-1.

"As the chief executive of the state, the governor is responsible for the administration of state business," said Burgum today in a letter issued to the Speaker of the House, Larry Bellew. "This responsibility includes the duty to fill vacant positions and supervise the conduct of executive and ministerial officers. The Legislature can neither add to nor diminish these constitutional duties."

The bill was in response to bonuses paid to several of former Gov. Jack Dalrymples staff from his budget last year for the purpose of retention during the final year-plus stretch of his administration. About $100,000 was split among five staffers. Language in HB1153 caps bonuses to governors office staff or gubernatorial appointees to 10 percent of their salary or $5,000, whichever is less.

"There are many steps we still need to take to improve the efficiency and performance of state government, but HB1153 is a step in the wrong direction," Burgum said."To explicitly remove a human resources tool for these specialized, hard-to-fill, and at-will employees will impair the Ggovernors ability to attract and retain the leadership and staff necessary to effectively execute the duties of the office now and for future governors."
Karnataka is planning to introduce a law to increase the of private sector employees to 60, prompting companies to react by saying that the step is detrimental to the employment prospects in the state.
In a major embarrassment to the 10-month-old CPI(M)-led LDF government, Transport Minister A K Saseendran resigned over an allegation of sexual misconduct after the leakage of his purported phone talks with a woman.

72-year-old Saseendran is the second minister of the government to quit after its Industries Minister E P Jayarajan, who resigned over charges of nepotism triggered by the appointment of his two close relatives to top posts in the state PSUs.

The resignation comes at a time when the ruling party and the opposition Congress-led UDF are busy campaigning for the April 12 Malappuram bypoll, necessitated following the death of IUML leader E Ahamed.

Mangalam channel, which launched its operations, dropped a bombshell this morning by releasing an audio clipping, purportedly a telephone conversation of Saseendran speaking in sexual undertones to a woman.

The minister, who was in Kozhikode, immediately cancelled all his public programmes, called a press meet at around 3 PM and announced his resignation.

Saseendran said his resignation should not be seen as an acceptance of guilt.

"I am sure that I have not done anything wrong. At the same time the pride of the party and the government has to be protected. My resignation is to uphold the political morality," he told reporters at Kozhikode.

Maintaining that he harboured no complaints against anyone, Saseendran said, "I do not thing I have wronged anyone. There is need to find out the rights and wrongs. Let the chief minister order a probe by any agency.. A proper probe will prove my innocence."

This is an unceremonious exit for the five-time MLA and a senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), who became a minister for the first time and held the portfolios of Road Transport, Motor Vehicles and Water Transport.

Elected from Elathur in the 2016assembly polls, he was also an MLA in 1980, 1982, 2006 and 2011.

Reacting to the development, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the allegations were 'serious' and a decision would be taken after examining all facts.

Opposition leader in the assembly Ramesh Chennithala said it is shameful that a minister had to resign on such grounds from the government, which rode to the power promising protection to women and children.

"The truth needs to come out. The report has shocked everyone," Chennithala told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

BJP state President Kummanam Rajasekharan hit out at the minister, saying all Keralites need to hang their heads in shame over the allegations.

Meanwhile, The chief minister's Office said the resignation letter of Saseendran had been received and it has been forwarded to the Governor Justice (Retd) P Sathasivam.

The transport portfolio will be held by the chief minister, it said.
In May 2014, four Muslim youths, in their early-20s, from Maharashtra left India to join Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS), the most lethal terror organisation in the world. The youth reached Syria, took up arms and allegedly fought in the war.

Six months later, one of them, identified as Areeb Majeed, decided to come back after he was shot twice and survived an air strike by the United States-led collation forces fighting the extremists in Syria.

Majeed, 23, approached the Indian consulate in Turkey and sought an emergency certificate, a travel document issued in case a passport is lost, stolen or damaged, to return to India. He was arrested from the Mumbai airport in November 2014.

Majeeds arrest was the first case where an operative was arrested in India. The Investigation Agency (NIA), Indias premier anti-terror probe agency, took over the case from Mumbai Police and tried to unravel ISISs nefarious plans in India through Majeed.

Investigators and intelligence sleuths learnt, to their surprise, many Indian youth, including engineers, had got attracted to the after the latter had begun taking control over territories in Syria and Iraq in 2013.

These youths started out by searching for ISIS videos related to the war, brutal killings of journalists and foreign nationals, scripts that goad believers to burn liquor and cigarette factories, and material related to destruction of cultural heritage sites.

The jihadi literature was freely and readily available on social media, networking sites and mobile applications.

Arms, ammunition and other items recovered from the house in Thakurganj in Lucknow

These aspiring extremists also downloaded speeches of radical Islamic preachers such as Anwar Awlaki, Abdu Sami Qasmi, Meraj Rabbani, Tausif ur Rehman, Jerjees Ansari and Zakir Naik, besides regularly getting updates from the so-called ISIS magazine, Dabiq, which ostensibly convinced them that ISIS was fighting for the rights of the Sunnis.

A senior officer in NIA says the misguided youth didnt have any direct links with the ISIS operatives in Syria. In fact, those running ISIS propaganda from overseas wouldnt easily trust anyone trying to connect with them on the social networking sites.

ISIS puts a possible recruit on watch for several months and it only communicates with him through various cryptic apps and websites, making it difficult for the intelligence agencies to keep an eye on such people, says the officer. The recruits are called to Syria only if they are strongly recommended by someone within ISIS.



The recruits, according to him, have to first sign a bayaa, which is an oath of allegiance to the caliphate, and then they are asked to send a scanned copy of the same through email to their online handlers. In this case, the bayaa was signed in the name of ISIS head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the officer says.

Many youths left India on the pretext of performing Umrah, the pilgrimage to Mecca in South Arabia which can be undertaken at any point of time. From there they jumped ship and tried to reach Turkey, Iraq, and Mosul in Syria.

The Indian government said it has arrested 75 suspected ISIS terrorists so far who belonged to Kerala (21), Telangana (16), Karnataka (9), Maharashtra (8), Madhya Pradesh (6), Tamil Nadu (4), Uttarakhand (4), Uttar Pradesh (3), Rajasthan (2), Jammu & Kashmir (1) and West Bengal (1).

This is a change from a few years ago, when the then prime minister, Manmohan Singh, claimed that not a single ISIS operative had been found in India, though the country has the worlds second largest population of Muslims.

The data suggests that people subscribing to the ISIS ideology are present across the length and breadth of the country and it is increasingly becoming difficult for the law enforcement agencies to keep track of them. This perhaps explains the failure of the intelligence agencies to prevent the low-intensity blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain train that injured 10 people earlier this month. The agencies, however, were quick to arrest eight accused and neutralise one in Lucknows Thakurganj area.

Officers in intelligence agencies say not every accused travels to Syria and Iraq. Some got attracted to ISIS ideology while they were employed in West Asia. They were indoctrinated and sent to India to recruit local people for the cause. A large number of Indian expatriates work in West Asia. Some have got radicalised and are suspected to be arranging funds for terrorist activities in India. They are channelling money through the hawala route, says an intelligence officer.

This has added a new dimension to the problem and made the work of the intelligence agencies all the more difficult.

Chart

Last year, the police arrested five men in Hyderabad for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to carry out a terror strike in the country. The suspects had held various meetings, made efforts to join ISIS in Syria, and tried to recruit more men. NIA seized several electronic gadgets, mobile phones, hard discs, semi-automatic pistols, air rifle, pellets, target boards, chemicals used for making Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP) which was suspected to be used during the Brussels attack, capacitors, gas stove, cylinder, weighing balance, nails, knives, quartz alarm and bundles of wires.

Their interrogation revealed another trend: the accused neither visited Syria nor were they influenced by those who had returned from West Asia  these men had got together and formed an organisation named Jhund ul Khilafa Fi Bilad al Hind (Army of the Caliph from the South India) on their own.

NIA says the accused used the deep web through the Tor browser, encryption applications such as Amn al Mujahid (an encryption program by Al-Fajr Media Centre, an exclusive distributor of Al Qaedas Propaganda) and encrypted email systems to communicate with their overseas handlers.

The accused recruited other members, contributed money, procured raw materials, mobile phones, SIM cards, firearms, ammunition and explosive in pursuance of the terror conspiracy, says NIA.

Officers in the Union home ministry and in the office of the Security Advisor (NSA, Ajit Doval) are worried on three accounts: one, they fear a lone wolf attack, similar to the attack outside the UK parliament this week; two, the presence of numerous and distinct modules which can be activated at short notice; and three, some radicalised youth approaching other terror outfits for logistical assistance  a network of ultras.

NIA arrested an ISIS suspect and lone wolf called Mohammed Musa last July from West Bengal before he could attack foreigners and the Missionaries of Charity headquarters in Kolkata. Investigation revealed that Musa was in touch with the Bangladesh-based Jamat Ul Mujahideen Bangladesh, or JMB, which is said to be responsible for the attack on Dhakas Holey Artisan cafe that killed 20 people.

Some investigators feel that ISIS is becoming a serious challenge to the country as its ideologues are not part of an organised syndicate like the Lashkar-e-Toiba or the homegrown terror outfit, Indian Mujahedeen (IM). We could crack the IM modules in the country, because one arrested member would spill beans on the other. With ISIS, every module is different and is possibly being handled by different operators abroad, says the NIA officer quoted above.

The officers feel that the only way to keep a check on ISIS activities in India is to mount a round-the-clock technical and human surveillance of suspects. The Indian authorities are in constant touch with their overseas counterparts for technical assistance.

It could be the toughest challenge they have ever faced.
Ten Indian youths in the UAE may escape the noose for murdering a Pakistani man in 2015 after the victim's family accepted blood money amounting to 200,000 dirhams and agreed to pardon the convicts, according to media reports.

Mohammad Riaz, the father of Mohammad Farhan, appeared in the Al Ain appeals court on March 22 and submitted a letter of consent to pardon the accused Indians, a senior Indian Embassy official told Gulf News on Sunday.

"It was unfortunate that I lost my son. I appeal the young generation not to indulge in such fights. I have forgiven these 10 individuals. In fact, Allah has saved their lives. Lives of at least 10 people, including a wife and children, hinge [financially] on one person [who comes to work in the UAE]," Riaz said.

On behalf of the accused, an Indian charity organisation deposited the blood money in the court and the case has been adjourned for further hearing on April 12, said Dinesh Kumar, Counsellor, Community Affairs at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

"It is expected that the court may commute the death sentence," Kumar said.

On December 8, 2016, the allegedly occurred during a brawl over bootlegging in Al Ain in December 2015. Eleven men from Punjab were convicted in the case but one was spared the death sentence.

S P S Oberoi, Chairman of Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust that donated blood money for the accused men, said it was a tough task to obtain pardon from the Pakistani family.

Oberoi, a Dubai-based businessman, said Riaz had been invited from Pakistan three days ago, with all arrangements, including a visa and accommodation being made by his trust.

"We somehow made him agree...And as per the Sharia law, have submitted Dhs 200,000 as blood money in the court," Oberoi said.

He said his Pakistani manager travelled to Peshawar and talked to the family and their relatives to secure the pardon.

All the convicted young Indian men are from poor families and worked in Al Ain as plumbers, electricians, carpenters and masons.

Most of them in their twenties had paid huge sums to recruitment agents in India to secure a visa to reach the UAE.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known to pull off surprises. Yet, except for a clique which looks up to Amit Shah, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, as its patron, the rest of the party was stumped when was declared the Uttar Pradesh chief minister on March 18.

Even Shahs inner circle received the news in bits and pieces, depending on how much each member needed to know at a certain point. From the accounts put together after speaking with members of the BJPs parliamentary board, the apex policy and decision making body, and Shahs associates, it appeared Modi and he took the call in unison. And, communicated it as a fait accompli to the other leaders and functionaries.

And, it is apparent that Adityanaths choice was premeditated. It featured among a quartet of names that were circulated till the end. These included home minister Rajnath Singh, the UP party president and Phulpur MP, Keshav Prasad Maurya, and the junior railways and communications minister, Manoj Sinha. These names might have been a feint to turn the spotlight away from Adityanath. For, as a leader put it, There were forces that actively worked against him since 2002, fearing he might destabilise the UP BJP establishment.



Why



Shah had his sights set on Adityanath after the Lok Sabha election of 2014, wondering if the current CM could helm the UP unit. He sounded out Modi on Adityanath shortly after but the duo kept quiet, anticipating that even a hint might push the ever watchful UP factions to plot counter-moves. Modi and Shah were also aware that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) could be unreceptive, as Adityanaths equation with it was patchy, despite their ideological beliefs.

What tipped the scales in the Adityanaths favour resonated in the post facto reasoning offered by party leaders and supporters. That the high priest of the Gorakhnath Math was not identified with a caste (although he is a Rajput and the community fervently celebrated his elevation), he was extremely popular (although it was left to Shah to discover the charisma ostensibly latent for 19 years); he was single and, therefore, free of the corrupt practices that politicians families allegedly get into; uncompromising on Hindutva; young and a tough administrator.

Most important, he marked a break from the old order that ruled over the UP BJP for decades. Sinha, Rajnath and, to an extent, Maurya are part of that order. If one of them had been at the helm, the government would have seemed like an extension of the previous one, with the familiar features of corruption and nepotism, said a party source.

Shah recognised Adityanaths leadership potential in 2013, when engaged in UP as a general secretary. He spent three days at the Gorakhnath monastery in Gorakhpur. And, was impressed by Adityanaths ability to preside over a massive institution such as that, beside the young cadre he had raised through the Hindu Yuva Vahini. Also noting that he merged administrative and organisational skills with political instincts. Adityanath has never lost an election since his debut in 1998. He speaks of peoples issues in a straight way, without mincing words. The idea of creating the Romeo squads to protect young college-going women was first articulated by him. Although he is portrayed as anti-Muslim, he alone has the ability to convert his popularity into votes, even in seats with few Muslim voters, a source said.

The manoeuvres



But, Shah had principally factored in Yogis sway over large sections of Hindus when hed thought of appointing him the UP party head in 2016. He was advised against it because Adityanath was a red rag to a few influential leaders. The UP CM himself refused the offer, after which Shah picked Maurya.

Not that the Yogi was Shahs perfect mascot all the time. In a slew of byelections held five months after the Lok Sabha poll in UP, the BJP lost eight of the 11 seats to the Samajwadi Party. Adityanath had been put in charge of the exercise and campaigned in all the constituencies, reinforcing the message of Hindu unity against the perceived threats from a religious community. It was around that time that Sultanpur MP Varun Gandhi, who for long fancied himself as a chief ministerial candidate, rekindled his ambition. Foregrounding Adityanath was Shahs way of asking Varun Gandhi to recede.

The loss in the bypolls did not undermine Shahs faith in Adityanath. Aware that the Yogis detractors could counter-strike, Shah tactically distanced himself and did not marshal his services in the campaign for the Maharashtra polls, when hed relocated the entire UP BJP to Mumbai, to work on the north Indian migrant voters.

Adityanath endeared himself to Modi for three reasons. Hed adopted his spiritual guru, the late Mahant Avaidyanath as his father in place of his biological parent; to the PM, that denoted a spirit of self-abnegation. Then, Adityanath organised the largest public meeting for Modi at Gorakhpur before the 2014 election. And, finally, he spoke bluntly. Modi was taken aback when Adityanath plainly asked him when he would revive a dead fertiliser plant and set up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (both in Gorakhpur). Nobody he knew had displayed this sort of commitment to his constituency, a source said. On July 22, 2016, the PM laid the foundation stones of both projects, Adityanath by his side.

If Modi and Shah did not project Adityanath as CM, it was out of expediency. First, the RSS was on the ground, working overtime for the BJP in the election. The leadership duo could not antagonise it by thrusting Adityanths name. Influenced by the UP leaders, the RSS viewed Adityanath as a disruptor. The Sangh never forgot that in December 2006, when the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) was to host a congregation of clergy in Delhi, Adityanath called a parallel meet in Gorakhpur and spirited away high-profile Shankaracharyas and Mahants from the formers jamboree. Fearing the rival shows might expose faultlines in the Hindu clergy, the VHP called off its meeting and its then president, Ashok Singhal, went to Gorakhpur to be with Adityanath.

Second, Rajnath Singhs persona continued to loom over the UP political landscape. Rajnath never hit it off with the Yogi, suspecting the latter was out to appropriate his hold over the Rajputs. Before the 2002 UP elections, when Adityanth figured that Rajnath, then the CM, had curtailed the latitude he had in distributing tickets, he floated his own party, the Hindu Yuva Vahini, and fielded rivals against the BJP. Adityanath ensured many official BJP candidates lost in his fiefs in eastern UP.

The Vahini was a perennial source of trouble for the BJP. In 2017, Shah checkmated the damage it could cause by giving Adityanath a free say in distributing tickets. He also enhanced Adityanaths standing in other ways. Shah let him address the largest number of rallies, 150 in all, from Ballia in the east to Noida in the northwest. And, sent a special aircraft to tow him to Lucknow when hed released the BJP manifesto. Shah also made him the BJPs star campaigner in the BrihanMumbai municipal polls.

The wrap-up



When the UP polls were in the fourth round, the BJPs internal surveys ranked Adityanath on top of the popularity charts, although the ranking was contested by those close to Rajnath. Rajnath was consulted only in the preliminary stages of the talks on the CM that were called after the verdict was out. Although Rajnath was reluctant to take on the assignment before the polls, the word was that after the victory, he was more than willing to. As was Maurya, who revealed his ambitions through cheerleaders like Vidya Sagar Sonkar, Vikramjit Maurya and Harish Chandra Shrivastava.

Sinhas candidacy was apparently disfavoured by many MLAs, who conveyed to the leaders that not only did he come from a politically marginal caste, the Bhumihar; he rarely, if ever, ensured the victories of the few Bhumihar MLAs put up in his region. Finally, after the parliamentary board empowered Shah to elect the CM, he, a source said, chose the one who was young, hardworking, honest and wore saffron robes. Shah individually phoned the board members and said Adityanath was the ordained one. Barring one or two, who sounded as though they had misgivings, the rest claimed they were elated, the source said.
The Shiv Sena has given a shutdown call in Maharashtra's Osmanabad in support of Member of Parliament (MP) Ravindra Gaikwad, who had assaulted an Air India employee on flight.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena is also likely to bring a privilege motion in Parliament on Monday over the issue of Gaikwad being put on a 'no fly list' of all airlines.

Air India and six private airlines banned the 56-year-old MP from flying as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.

The MP from Osmanabad in Maharashtra had earlier downplayed reports suggesting that Air India is considering banning him from boarding its flights.

"I have the tickets, they can't blacklist me. I will board the Delhi-Pune Air India flight this evening. How can they not allow me?" he said.

"I will not apologise. It was not my fault, it was his fault. He should apologise. First ask him to apologise then we will see," Gaikwad told the media.

Sukumar, who was assaulted by Gaikwad, asserted that the elected representatives needed to behave in a decent manner.

"I am not scared at all, either with Gaikwad or with the Shiv Sena. I have been serving public and have also faced many who get irritated on such issues. It's a common thing for me," he added.

Earlier, the Centre also took cognisance of the incident and assured a thorough probe into the matter.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to inform it about the line of action to be taken by states for dealing with the "serious issue" of farmers' suicide.

"It is a very serious issue and the Centre should file the proposed line of action to be taken by states with regard to the farmers' suicide with the apex court registry within four weeks," a Bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said.

During the hearing, the Bench also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul said the government should come out with a policy which deals with the root causes of farmers taking the extreme step.

Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha said that the government is taking all possible steps like procuring food grains directly from farmers, increasing insurance cover, granting loans and crop loss compensation.

He said the government is coming up with a comprehensive policy to deal with the issues of farmers committing suicide.

The Bench said, "Agriculture is a state subject and the Centre will cordinate with states and come up with a line of action to address root cause of farmers committing suicide."

Appearing for the petitioner NGO 'Citizens Resource and Action and Initiative', senior advocate Colin Gonsalves said over 3,000 farmers have committed suicide and the government should address all the real issues and implement a proper policy.

Expressing grave concern over farmer suicides, the apex court had earlier said that it felt the government was going in a "wrong direction" in tackling the real problem.

Asking the Centre to apprise it of the policy roadmap to address the burning issue, the court had said the issue of farmers' suicide was of "extreme importance" and paying compensation to the families of such victims "post-facto" was not the real solution.

The ASG had earlier told the court that the government has initiated many schemes for farmers and the 2015 crop insurance scheme would drastically reduce such fateful incidents.

He had said other schemes also needed to be strengthened to make farmers feel that the government would stand behind them in distress.

The plea was filed by the NGO on the plight of farmers in Gujarat and suicide committed by many of them there. The Bench had expanded the scope of the petition to the entire country.
Delhi is set to change in a big way. Members of Parliament (MPs) will be moving from their 60-year-old flats to brand new low-rise apartments in the zone, a process which will commence with the phased demolition of 428 existing MP flats which dot the prime piece of real estate.
On Friday, as one airline after other started making public announcement about not allowing Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad in their aircraft, the civil aviation ministry found itself in a peculiar situation.

Senior officials of the ministry led by minister Jayant Sinha were examining if the current laws allowed the airlines to take such a step. We were examining the legality if the airlines can blacklist a certain person and if they are allowed to refuse boarding to a bonafide ticket holder under the current laws, a senior civil aviation ministry official said.

Civil aviation secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey said that the ministry has received many suggestions from the airlines and was now studying examples of other countries where such a system exist. We are deciding the modus operandi of having such a list, it has to be full proof if it comes, there should be concrete laws deciding what situations can lead to a person to be blacklisted, how long the ban will last and what will be the redressal mechanism for a passenger if he feels that he has been wrongly indicted, Choubey told Business Standard in an interview. Among developed markets, UK doesnt maintain a no- fly list but each individual airline will have its own list and can ban a passenger. Following the 9/11 attacks USA government in coordination with airlines implemented a common no-fly list according to which people who have their name on the list are not permitted to board an aircraft in and out of the country.

Never before it happened that airlines in unision had decided to refuse boarding to a particular person and the person being a parliamentarian added to the urgency. Presently the CAR, Section 3, Series M Part VI which lays down the regulations of how an airline should deal with an unruly passenger allows the airlines to refuse embarkation or being off-loaded but doesnt have the provision of a permanent black list.

There are separate provisions of dealing with such passenger when the aircrafts on ground and it is on air, but not a composite common guideline, in the absence of such a system airlines form their own SOP to deal with a situation, the official said. For instance, IndiGo has trained its cabin crews to follow a four-level procedure to thwart such incidents on air. The four levels indicate what the crew response should be during incidents like verbal abuse following which a warning is given, to restraining the passengers using handcuffs when a serious incident like breaking into cockpit is attempted. We want a no fly list, IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh said.

Senior airline executives also say that maintaining a black list should be preceded by forming mechanism of identifying a passenger. How does an airline identify a blacklisted person when he doesnt need to furnish any documentation while booking a ticket, in US social security card is compulsory while booking a domestic ticket, here we have passport compulsory for international booking but nothing while domestic travel, the executive said.

The ministry has been considering bringing a no-fly list for a long time and the current incident allowed them the opportunity to expedite the process. Great leaders bring in revolution, perhaps this incident by a political leader will bring in revolution in Indian civil aviation", quipped an airline official.
HUNTER -- Four fourth-graders want their classmates, teachers and neighbors to save wildlife and the environment by saying bye-bye to plastic grocery bags.

Ella Heilman, Siena Newland and Brooklyn Anderson of Harwood Elementary School, and Samantha Fliginger of Northern Cass School are champions of sea turtles. As part of research for FIRST Lego League robotics competitions, they learned that the reptiles are dying because they eat plastic bags, which they mistake for jellyfish.

Fliginger, the groups Northern Cass member, said the plight of the turtles needs to be addressed.

We figured thats a big problem, she said. Plastic bags are like floating into the ocean and turtles are swallowing them and being hurt by them.

Plastic bags block sea turtles digestive tracts, and food caught in the bags will release gas as it decomposes, making the turtles buoyant and unable to hunt. Chemicals from the bags can also affect the reptiles health.

The Hurdles of Turtles team took second place in the regional Lego League competition, which had the theme Animal Allies. While the first-year team members had trouble with their robot at the state competition, they earned a first-place honor for their Core Values Project, said Fligingers mother, Melanie.

The girls then decided they wanted to make a difference locally, and contacted Fargo City Commissioner John Strand for his advice.

Strand once suggested banning plastic grocery bags in the city, but now favors handing out reusable bags and public education.

Im just really gratified when we see people, especially young people, commit themselves to a movement, Strand said. Its infectious to see their enthusiasm and their simple clarity about, This is not good, and we need to do better. Its that basic, and simple, and true.

Strand pointed the students to Gate City Bank for reusable bags.

Gate City has given out more than 50,000 reusable bags in the last year alone, and was happy to help the girls, said Barb Bertschi, a senior vice president.

We really feel strongly that the kids are the next voice in our community, she said. To support them is something important to Gate City Bank.

Hurdles of Turtles held plastic bag collections at each of their schools, gathering more than 5,000 bags in Harwood in February.

We had to take lots of trips to get the bags loaded to take to the recycler, Newland said.

More than 6,000 bags were collected at Northern Cass in a four-day drive that ended Thursday.

In the meantime, the team handed out Gate Citys reusable bags to their fellow students.

Harwood Elementary Principal Jerry Standifer said 61 pounds of plastic bags were collected at his school.

Thats a lot of bags and thats only one week with a school with 140 kids, he said. I think it opened a lot of eyes.  I didnt used to have a second thought about throwing one away. They should be proud of what they did.

Cory Steiner, superintendent for Northern Cass, is impressed by the girls passion for their project

Its a wonderful little project. And its great when its student-led, Steiner said.
Four Bills for the proposed goods and services tax (GST) regime, which were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, did not mention cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber, but experts say these may draw up to one per cent tax collected at source (TCS) under the definition of e-commerce marketplaces. The exact nature of taxing these cab aggregators is likely to be detailed in the rules.
This article is part of the Democracy Futures series, a joint global initiative between The Conversation and the Sydney Democracy Network. The project aims to stimulate fresh thinking about the many challenges facing democracies in the 21st century.
The Government of India signed a contract for the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) Bid 2016 with GEM Laboratories on Monday for extracting Hydrocarbons at Neduvasal, in Tamil Nadu, even as protests from local villagers against the proposed plan intensified, following the development.

The contract was one of the many signed for 31 areas under the DSF Bid Round 2016. The awardees were present at an event in New Delhi, presided by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan.
India has commenced work on developing Irans and will soon select a private player for the development of a multipurpose berth and a port terminal at an estimated investment of $85 million. Adani Enterprises and JSW Group are among those interested in the project, officials aware of the development said.
According to Skymet Weather, 2017 is likely to remain below normal at 95% (with an error margin of +/-5%) of the long period average (LPA) of 887 mm for the four-month period from June to September.
Tania Tauro, 27, has just started her new job at Tata Trusts. The young Vedica scholar who was clear that she wanted to remain in the development sector worked for two NGOs  both in Mumbai - in the past but left as she felt she needed to hone her business knowledge and understanding.
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday passed an order against Reliance Industries, the country's second most valuable firm, asking it to disgorge Rs 447 crore made illegally, along with interest of 12 per cent per annum since November 2007. We explain the various aspects of the case:



What is the alleged fraud by

In March 2007, the board of directors of decided to sell the company's five per cent stake in Reliance Petroleum. The sale was done in multiple tranches in the month of November through open market transaction - selling of shares on the cash segment of the stock exchange. (In 2009, Reliance Petroleum was merged with and it no longer exists as a standalone listed entity)



ALSO READ: Sebi's Reliance order: Key dates and numbers



Anticipating that the share sale would cause the stock price to fall, Reliance Industries built aggressive short positions in Reliance Petroleum through 12 front entities. The positions were taken in the derivatives segment of the National Stock Exchange by shorting Reliance Petroleum November 2007 Futures.
Government has said that due to fast adoption of digital technology, it is expected that number of internet users will increase in the country. Minister of Communications Shri Manoj Sinha in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha said that as per information received from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), there were 391.50 million Internet subscribers as on 31.12.2016. .

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The National Telecom Policy-2012 envisages 600 million broadband connections by the year 2020 at minimum 2 Mbps download speed. Further, as per National Association of Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM) Akamai report launched on 17.08.2016 regarding The Future of Internet in India", 730 million Internet users are anticipated in the country by 2020. .

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Government has allocated 965 Megahertz spectrum through auction in October 2016 to various telecom service providers for access services. This will enable the telecom service providers to roll-out 3G and 4G services which will facilitate proliferation of high speed internet facility. .

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Further, for provision of broadband facility in rural areas, BharatNet project is also being implemented to provide 100 Mbps broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (approx. 2.5 lakh) in the country by using an optimal mix of underground fibre, fibre over power lines, radio and satellite media. .

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SNC
The Central Government has developed student assessment system called the National Achievement Survey (NAS), which is independently conducted by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) across the country. The NAS is conducted for classes III, V, VIII & X. However, a non-governmental organization also conducts annual achievement surveys released in the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER). It is a household survey limited to rural areas of the country. As per their report of 2016, there has been improvement in terms of learning outcomes. The Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development was not associated with this ASER 2016 survey. .

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Some of the major findings of the ASER, 2016 are summarised as follows: .

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i. In almost all states there is some improvement in the arithmetic levels of children enrolled in government schools in Std III. .

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ii. From 2014 to 2016, for Std V children, the level of arithmetic as measured by children's ability to do simple division problems has remained almost the same at 26%. .

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iii. In comparison, in 2016, 24.5% of children enrolled in Std V could read simple English sentences. This number is virtually unchanged since 2009. .

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The Central Government through a centrally funded programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), financially supports State and UT Governments to address gaps and challenges in ensuring quality education to children in elementary classes through recruitment of additional teachers to improve the Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR), regular annual-in- service teacher training to all teachers to update their skills and knowledge, support for Computer Aided Learning at upper primary level and regular academic support through Block Resource Centres and Cluster Resource Centres. Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat, a sub-programme under SSA has been launched to enhance the quality of foundational learning in languages and early mathematics in classes I and II and a focused programme for Science and Maths at upper primary level under SSA is also being supported. In order to focus on quality education, the Central RTE Rules have been amended on 20th February, 2017 to include reference on class-wise, subject-wise Learning Outcomes. The Learning Outcomes for each class in Languages (Hindi, English and Urdu), Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Science and Social Science up to the elementary stage have, accordingly, been finalized and shared with all States and UTs. These would serve as a guideline for States and UTs to ensure that all children acquire appropriate learning level. .

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In order to provide quality education to students at the secondary level, various interventions are funded under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. These include provision for: (i) Appointment of 1 head teacher and 5 teachers (2 language teachers, 1 science teacher, 1 social science and 1 maths teacher) for every new/upgraded secondary school, (ii) additional teachers to improve Pupil Teacher Ratio, (iii) induction and in-service training for Principals, Teachers , Master Trainers and Key Resource Persons, (iv) Maths and Science kits, (v) Lab equipments, (vi) Special teaching for learning enhancement, (vii) ICT facilities in schools, (viii) introduction of vocational education component at the secondary level and (ix) activities under Unnati project for improvement in English language skills. .

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This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Shri Upendra Kushwaha today in a written reply to a Lok Sabha question. .

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A conference under the theme IR-One ICT (One Information and Communication Technology) Building Digital Railway for Digital India" was organized on 27.03.2017 at National Rail Museum Auditorium, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. .

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The conference was inaugurated by Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu. Shri Rajen Gohain, Minister of state for Railways, was specially present on the occasion. Shri A.K. Mital, Chairman, Railway Board, Shri Pradeep Kumar, Member Staff, Railway Board along with other Board Members, Officers of Indian Railways and delegates from NASSCOM and IT industry also attended the conference. .

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Speaking on the occasion, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Minister of Railways said, Its a very interesting program. Over a period of time, huge growth is observed in IT Sector. There are huge opportunities in IT sector. IT industry looks around for business all around; they dont look for business next door. IT industry has done well and there are lot of opportunities in India. .

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Indian Railways offers a mammoth opportunity. Indian Railways is not only about operation. Indian Railways does lot of activities in different spheres like medical, education, social, environmental. In the budget speech, it was announced that Indian Railways needs integrated and holistic approach for digitalization. It was explored how Indian Railways can partner with IT industry through NASSCOM. Through this enterprise, Vendor and Railway should benefit mutually. Itll be a turnaround situation. It will be a game changer if Railway can save 6 Billion dollar by investing 2 billion dollar. There are two models for Digital Platform. One is Capex Platform, another is Opex model. There can be the third model where Cris and vendor may partner together. The figure of 6 Billion dollar does not include Non Fare Revenue. Non Fare Revenue can be beneficial as soft assets of Railway can be monetized. Lot of Non Fare Revenue can result in significant improvement in revenue. This Digital Platform shall be the biggest Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Cyber Security should be kept in mind. Precautions should be taken. It should be explored how line functions can be achieved through ICT, how future goals may be realised through ICT. This roundtable can be immensely helpful to realise these goals in less time." .

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Leading speakers on various subjects from India and abroad spoke on spectrum of topics including Dr. Rainer Lukhaup from Deutsche Bahn and Ms. Salana McElory from G. E. During the conference the panel discussion on Special Purpose Vehicle for ICT deployment was chaired by Sh. Rentala Chandrashkher, President of NASSCOM.It also covered the achievements and present status of IT initiatives done by Indian Railways .There were stalls for showcasing Information technology. .

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IR-OneICT or Indian Railways One Information and Communication Technology Platform is an initiative to enable Indian Railways to deliver goods and services in tune with the demands of the fast growing economy by creation of logistics & transport capacity enabled by Digital platform. It shall involve use of digital technology to better connect the goods and services with the market and efficient internal management leading to higher customer satisfaction. The better capacity and asset utilization would mean helping Indian Railways in running more trains, carrying more freight, providing better and reliable services to the passenger, increased revenues, safe operations which would be ensured by IR-OneICT platform by using best in class technology, world class business analytics, state of the art software solutions available and use of automated data collection from single source with real time availability. .

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Senate lawmakers voted 31-14 Monday to raise the threshold for reporting oil spills, a proposal the oil industry supported but many landowners opposed.

Under House Bill 1151, the oil industry will no longer have to report spills of oil, produced water or natural gas liquids that are less than 10 barrels, or 420 gallons, if the spills stay on the well site or facility location.

The reporting exemption only applies to oil wells and facilities constructed after Sept. 1, 2000, under the version approved by the Senate. The bill does not eliminate the requirement to clean up all spills.

Sen. Jessica Unruh, R-Beulah, said well pads are designed to contain far more than 420 gallons, and the change would allow regulators to focus resources on spills that get off a location.

Unruh said North Dakota has more stringent spill reporting requirements than the federal government and most other oil-producing states, which can make it appear that North Dakota has more spills than other states.

Sen. Erin Oban, D-Bismarck, said she considers North Dakotas rules to be more transparent and she doesnt think its in the best interest of landowners to reduce the reporting.

Sen. Bill Bowman, R-Bowman, said he represents many landowners who are affected by oil development and he could not support the bill.

My concern is anytime you ease up on restrictions on something like this, the potential to make it worse can be greater, Bowman said.

The Northwest Landowners Association, which advocated for all spills to be reported, plans to write a letter to Gov. Doug Burgum urging him to veto the bill, said Chairman Troy Coons.

It really feels like its going the wrong way and setting the wrong tone for the legacy of the Bakken play, Coons said.

Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki said the governor generally doesnt comment on bills before they reach his desk.

Department of Mineral Resources rules that took effect on Sept. 1, 2000, require well sites to be constructed with dikes that are sufficiently impermeable to provide emergency containment in the event of a spill.

Patty Jensen, a landowner near Tioga, said shes not aware of any study that shows how impermeable those layer of protections are over the long term. Jensen, whose familys land is being cleaned up after a major 2013 oil pipeline spill, said she is also concerned about small, contained spills to protect her familys water supply for future generations.

We used to have the assurance that every spill over 1 barrel would be reported and the state would be watching what happens on a location to keep the oil companies in compliance on cleanups, Jensen said. We will no longer will have that assurance.

Alison Ritter, spokeswoman for the Department of Mineral Resources, said field inspectors will have to pay closer attention when they visit well sites to make sure all spills have been cleaned up. Inspectors also will likely have to do more work when the well site is reclaimed, Ritter said.

Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, noted that spills of all volumes that get off a well pad will continue to be reported, which is more stringent than federal requirements.

Rep. Todd Porter, R-Mandan, said House members plan to concur with the amendments to the bill made by the Senate.
The Government is committed to improve the quality of education and it is a continuous ongoing process. The Government is committed to provide equitable access to quality education to all sections of the society. Several initiatives are currently being undertaken in this direction such as in higher education, various schemes, namely, Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) which seeks to strengthen the state higher education sector, Global Initiative for Academics Network (GIAN), Impacting Research, Innovation & Technology (IMPRINT), Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP), Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT), Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM), National Digital Library, campus connect programme etc. are being implemented to improve the quality of higher education. To promote objective assessment of performance annually, Government has also launched the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). A number of initiatives are also undertaken by UGC and AICTE for quality improvement in higher and technical education. .

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SWAYAM is an indigenous IT platform for hosting the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) by providing best quality online education covering a wide range of subjects and courses being taught in the high schools, colleges and universities and which can be accessed by students even in the remotest corner of the country. The Government of India launched the Global Initiative for Academic Network (GIAN) with an objective to garner the best international experience into our system of education by bringing in foreign academicians to teach courses in higher education institutions in India. The National Digital Library (NDL) is a recent imitative aimed at providing access to online educational resources by providing online access to all Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) within the country, by linking all digital library resources in the country and abroad. It is likely to evolve into the largest repository in the country. Currently, NDL has over 64.23 lakh books/journals/audio-books in 70 languages including Indian and foreign, 18,000 e-journals and 3617 institutions are linked with around 5.75 lakh students registered. These initiatives are aimed at addressing the shortage of faculty and library resources integral to providing quality education. .

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This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey today in a written reply to a Lok Sabha question. .

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Shri Singh inaugurates Digidhan Fair organised in Motihari, Bihar Promotion of Digidhan and cashless transactions are part of New India Mission: Shri Radha Mohan Singh Objective of Digidhan Fair to create awareness about cashless transaction & promote the usage of new technology: Shri Singh

The Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh said that Honble Prime Minister Shri Narender Modi has dreamt of a New India, which will be free of black money and corruption. Promotion of Digidhan and cashless transactions are part of the mission. Shri Singh stated it while inaugurating Digidhan Fair in Motihari, Bihar. The fair continued throughout the day where banks, Common Service Centres (CSC), private digital payment service providers etc. informed the consumers as well as traders about the new technology.Shri Radha Mohan Singh said that the Government has taken several initiatives to promote cashless transactions. Keeping cashless transaction and increasing population of educated youth under consideration, the government has launched Bheem App, which is quite popular. So far 1.25 crore people have been linked to the App and a transaction of Rs. 361 crore has been made.Shri Singh said that there are more than 100 crore phones and out of them 30-40 crore is smartphones. There are about 50 crore internet users. And if these are utilised properly, credit cards wont be required. Banks have devised UPI cards under which if the mobile app is downloaded, people can do the transaction through any bank on the basis of their phone numbers.Shri Singh further stated that 2.15 crore railway tickets are booed out of which 1.30 crore tickets are booked online.

He informed that there is 144 crore bank accounts by and large, out of them 117 are the savings account. A total number of Jhandhan account is 28.02 crore. So far 40 crore bank accounts are linked to Aadhaar Cards. Agriculture Minister informed that the total number of Aadhaar cards is 113 crore and there is 20.13 crore POS machines in the country and by the end of this month 10 lakh new machines will be added. Apart from this, there is 5.7 crore e-wallet users and 110.6 crore credit/debit cards. So far 21.9 crore consumers have got Rupay cards and its usage has increased up to 40% in the recent time. He further opined that Minister of Agriculture is promoting the cashless system in every sort of transaction linked with the agriculture sector. Shri Singh said that to promote cashless transaction, the Ministry of Agriculture is providing all kind of facility. The Minister said that the government of India has waged a war against black money by initiating demonization. In 500 cities awareness programs are being run. Every year Rs. 10 lakh crore transactions take place in the country, only 32% transaction is made online. Agriculture Minister informed that in the last two years the government has taken following steps to combat black money: a) Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted. b) A law was made to tackle undeclared foreign assets and deposits. c) India revised the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius and Cyprus d) A treaty was signed with Switzerland to obtain information about the bank accounts of Indians in HSBC bank. e) Cashless and digital payments have to be promoted f) Benami Transaction act will be modified. g) Income declaration scheme 2016
De-siltation of reservoirs is prime responsibility of dam owners who are generally State Governments or Central Agencies like BBMB, NHPC etc. In order to supplement the efforts of the State Governments, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation provides technical and financial assistance to encourage sustainable development and efficient management of water resources through various schemes and programmes such as Extension, Renovation and Modernisation (ERM) and Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Programme (DRIP). .

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DRIP envisages the enhancement of safety and operational performance of existing 225 dams, in addition to building the institutional capacity of the Dam Safety Organisations of the participating states and Central Dam Safety Organisation in CWC. The project is being implemented with financial assistance from World Bank at an estimated cost of Rs. 2100 crore, in seven states of India, namely, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand (DVC) and Uttarakhand (UJVNL). This project commenced from 18th April, 2012 and will last a period of six-years. .

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The issue of sediment management in rivers and reservoirs including siltation and dredging has been engaging attention of the Central Government some time. The need for formulating a comprehensive policy on sediment management cannot be overstated on account of its serious implications on flooding, environment, river health and navigation, etc. The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation organised the National Conference on Sediment management in Indian rivers in New Delhi on 17.03.2017. The Conference was attended by Union Minister (WR, RD & GR), eminent experts of different organisations / institutions in the water resources sector and senior officials from the different central Ministries and State Governments. .

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The Conference had four different sessions on: Sedimentation in Indian Rivers-Status, Challenges and Opportunities; Soil Conservation and Catchment Area Treatment; Sand Mining and Dredging; and Framework for Sediment Management. .

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On the basis of the recommendations of the Conference, the Central Government has initiated the process of preparation a comprehensive Policy and Action Plan on Sediment Management in Indian rivers & reservoirs, .

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This information was given by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today. .

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Samir/jk
Interacting with the media, Shri Ajay Tamta appreciated CEPC for organizing the Expo twice every year, to promote Indian weavers worldwide. He noted that the Expo generates huge volume of business every year; he said that the handmade and hand-weaved products at the Expo are the major attractions to the foreign buyers.

The Expo, one of Asias largest handmade carpet fairs, is being organized to promote the cultural heritage of Indian handmade carpets and other floor coverings, and the weaving skills of their makers, amongst visiting overseas carpet buyers. The Expo is an ideal platform for international carpet buyers, buying houses, buying agents and architects to meet with and establish long-term business relationships with Indian carpet manufacturers and exporters. It is a unique platform for buyers to source the best handmade carpets, rugs and other floor coverings under one roof. The Expo has established itself as a popular sourcing platform for carpet buyers from all over the globe. Indias unique capability in adapting to any type of design, colour, quality and size, as per the specifications of carpet buyers has made it a household name in the international

market.
Dow Chemical and DuPont won the blessing of the European Union for their $130 billion merger on Monday by agreeing to sell substantial assets including key research and development activities.

The European Commission had been concerned that the merger of two of the biggest and oldest US chemical producers would leave few incentives to produce new herbicides and pesticides in the future. The deal is one of a trio of mega mergers that will reshape the industry and consolidate six into three.

Asset sales would ensure competition in the sector and benefit European farmers and consumers, the Commission said.

"We need effective competition in this sector so are pushed to develop products that are ever safer for people and better for the environment," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

"Our decision today ensures that the merger between Dow and DuPont does not reduce price competition for existing pesticides or innovation for safer and better products in the future."

The two other big deals in the industry are ChemChina's $43 billion bid for Syngenta and Bayer's acquisition of Monsanto .

Dow and DuPont said they were still on target for three billion dollar in cost synergies and one billion dollar in growth benefits.

The deal is still to be approved by regulators in the United States, Brazil, China, Australia and Canada, but the said they were confident of clearance in all remaining jurisdictions.

"This regulatory milestone is a significant step toward closing the merger transaction, with the intention to subsequently spin into three independent publicly traded companies," Dow spokeswoman Rachelle Schikorra said in an email.

The EU approval may be a sign that US regulators would follow suit because the agencies have traditionally coordinated on reviews and remedies for large multinational mergers, said Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute non-profit group.

However, any required asset sales would likely reflect antitrust concerns in the local marketplace.

"In the US, there are very high shares in corn and soybean seeds. We would expect those problems to be significant enough for enforcers in the US to remedy them," Moss said.

WEIGHTY DECISION

The 1,000-page decision underlined the significance of the merger. In return for the EU green light, DuPont will divest large parts of its global pesticides business, including its global research and development organisation.

The unit makes herbicides for cereals, oilseed rape, sunflower, rice and pasture and insecticides for insect control for fruits and vegetables.

Dow, in turn, will sell two acid co-polymer manufacturing facilities in Spain and the United States, as well as a contract with a third party through which it buys ionomers. The company has already found a buyer in South Korea's SK Innovation.

"The main surprises here are the inclusion of the pesticides and the exclusion of any kind of seed assets," Bernstein analysts wrote in a note. The analysts also said they had expected EU to be concerned about the concentration of seed sales, and that they would require Dow to divest its corn seeds business.

"We see the required divestments here as smaller than we originally expected, due to the exclusion of seed assets".

Antitrust experts said the regulator's demand to sell large swathes of R&D facilities could set the benchmark for future deals.

Lobbying group Friends of the Earth Europe criticised the EU decision, saying that the three deals would lead to three companies controlling about 70 percent of the world's agrichemicals and more than 60 percent of commercial seeds.

"This decision to allow Dow Chemicals and DuPont to form the world's biggest agribusiness company will give giant corporations an even tighter toxic grip on our food and countryside. For the public and nature such mergers are marriages made in hell," said Adrian Bebb from Friends of the Earth Europe.

The agriculture company it planned to create with DuPont will be able to serve farmers better, helped by leveraging strong pipeline in its seeds and chemistry business, and competitive prices, Dow's Schikorra said.

"We're concerned about the signal this sends for US approval. We're concerned about further consolidation in an already highly concentrated industry," said Barbara Patterson, director of government relations for the National Farmers Union, which represents 200,000 US farmers and ranchers.

Sources said last week that ChemChina's bid for Syngenta could be approved this week but the timing could slip. Bayer and Monsanto are set to ask for EU approval in the coming months.

Shares of both Dow Chemicals and DuPont were marginally up in afternoon trading.
A large number of Indian Americans turned up at the office in downtown Chicago to protest against a documentary they allege portrayed Hinduism in a negative light.

"The documentary aired by portrayed Hinduism in a negative light. This is now what Hinduism is all about," said Bharat Barai, an eminent Indian-American from Chicago area who attended the peaceful protest against in front of its Chicago office.

Braving light rain, several hundred Indian-Americans turned up for the protest rally.

Barai alleged that the CNN documentary on Hinduism produced by special reporter Reza Aslan showed practices of five Aghori Bawas.

"This was his picture of Hinduism projected to the world on CNN," said a protest letter distributed on the occasion.

"The grotesque practices of five individuals have nothing to do with Hinduism, they are not part of any Hindu scriptures or Hindu teachings," Barai said.

Hindu American groups from across the country have held several protests against the CNN after the airing of the documentary on March 5, including New York, Washington, Houston, Atlanta, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

This was the largest protest so far.

Vamsee Juluri, an Indian-American professor of Media studies at the University of San Francisco called the show "reckless, racist and dangerously anti-immigrant".

Pointing out several inaccuracies, mistranslations and mis-characterisations in the show he said, "It is one saddening reality that despite having had immigrants in America for so many decades now, a major news channel like CNN still cannot do better than the old Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom sort of story when it comes to India".

"Far from wanting to experience any spirituality within Hinduism, Reza Aslan seems to have gone to India only to confirm his Orientalist biases," said Chandrashekar Wagh from the Coalition Against Hinduphobia.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Aslan said his documentary is not about Hinduism, but about Aghori, a mystical Hindu sect known for extreme rituals.

Aslan said there are people who are offended by the episode, especially when it comes to its treatment of such issues as caste discrimination, which remains a touchy subject for many Hindus in America.
On 25 March 2017, the European Unions heads of state and government will meet in Rome to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the European project. The date marks the signing of the Treaties of Rome, which established the foundations of European Community that preceded the EU.
Pakistan's Sindh province on Monday decided to change the name of the Altaf Hussain University, indicating the growing animosity against the leader of the country's fourth largest political party.

The move to rename the as Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah University was taken by the Sindh Cabinet following the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's supremo's Altaf Hussain's "anti-Pakistan" remarks, The Express Tribune reported.

Interestingly, the move comes days after the 63-year-old Pakistani politician, who lives in exile in London, had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak out against the brutality of Pakistan Army against Muhajirs, who are Urdu- speaking people who migrated from India during partition.

The decision to change the name of the university was made during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, it said.

"There is no need to establish a university after Altaf Hussain who works in the hands of anti-Pakistan elements to destabilise the country," the chief minister said.

Addressing a news conference following the Cabinet meeting, Sindh Health Minister Sikander Mahendro said it was a joint suggestion by the cabinet members to change the name of the universities.

"After the statements given by Altaf Hussain, if we still establish a university under his name it will mean that we are not loyal to our jobs," he said.

"Our conscience forced us to think a person who speaks against the country "should not be given so much importance", he was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper.

Fatima Jinnah is the sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.

Following the Cabinet's approval, the amendment will be made in " Act 2014", the report said.

Sindh Assembly had earlier unanimously passed private bills to establish Altaf Hussain universities in Karachi and Hyderabad. The bill was moved by the MQM.

The groundbreaking ceremony of the in Hyderabad was performed in January 2015.

Last month, the Interior Ministry had said that it would soon issue a red warrant against Hussain who is wanted in several cases in the country, including those relating to terrorism.

The red warrant is an notice sent to the Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) seeking the arrest and extradition of an individual.

The approval for the red warrant was issued apparently in compliance with the orders of an anti-terrorism court, which is hearing three identical cases against Hussain pertaining to his August 22 anti-state speech.
Hundreds of people including top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were arrested today as thousands of Russians defied bans to stage protests across the country against corruption.

Navalny had called for the marches after publishing a detailed report this month accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of nonprofit organisations.

The report has been viewed over 11 million times on YouTube, but so far Medvedev has made no comment on the claims.

Today's march in was one of the biggest unauthorised demonstrations in recent years, with police putting turnout at 7,000-8,000 people.

Police detained Navalny, who has announced plans to run for president in the 2018 election, as he was walking to the protest, putting him in a police minibus.

The crowd briefly tried to block it from driving off, shouting "Shame!" and "Let him out!"



"Guys, I am all right, go on along Tverskaya," Navalny tweeted from the van.

Police said about 500 people had been arrested in Moscow, while OVD-Info, a website that monitors the detention of activists, said at least 700 had been detained, as well as dozens in other cities.

A spokeswoman for Navalny's Anti-corruption Foundation (FBK) said on Twitter than he would be held overnight before being brought before a judge tomorrow.

Thousands of people filled central Pushkin Square, some shouting "Russia without Putin", referring to President Vladimir Putin. Some climbed on to lamp posts and the monument to poet Alexander Pushkin, shouting "impeachment!"



Dozens of police vans and rows of riot officers were lined up as a police helicopter hovered overhead.

"We have all seen the movie, it gives specific examples of corruption, and there has been no reaction," Nikolai Moisey, a 26-year-old factory worker, said of the claims against Medvedev.

"They steal and they lie but still people will be patient to the end. The protest is a first push for people to start acting."



Police officers moved to detain protesters and clear the square, with some using truncheons and pepper spray to disperse the crowd, AFP correspondents said.

Police also searched FBK offices over alleged incitement to hatred, and "Everyone was detained and brought to the police," the organisation's spokeswoman Kira Iarmych said.

Despite the dramatic scenes in Moscow, state TV did not cover the protests, instead showing soap operas and nature films.
More than 100 countries are set to launch the first UN talks on a global ban today over objections from the major nuclear powers.

Some 123 UN members announced in October that they would launch the UN conference to negotiate a legally binding nuclear ban treaty, even as most of the world's declared and undeclared nuclear powers voted against the talks.

Britain, France, Israel, Russia and the United States voted no, while China, India and Pakistan abstained.

Even Japan  the only country to have suffered atomic attacks, in 1945 -- voted against the talks, saying the lack of consensus over the negotiations could undermine progress on effective nuclear disarmament.

The countries leading the effort include Austria, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and Sweden. Hundreds of NGOs back their efforts.

They say the threat of nuclear disaster is growing thanks to mounting tensions fanned by North Korea's program and an unpredictable new administration in Washington.

Supporters point to successful grassroots movements that led to the prohibition of landmines in 1997 and cluster munitions in 2008.

"I expect that this will take a long time, let's not be naive," Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said at the UN last week.

"But it's very important in these days when you see more of this rhetoric, and also sort of power demonstrations, including threatening to use ."

"Quite a high number of countries are actually interested in saying we have to break the deadlock that has been on this issue for so many years," she added. "So it's also the expression of frustration."

No progress has been made on nuclear disarmament in recent years despite commitments made by the major nuclear powers to work toward disarmament under the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), said Beatrice Fihn, director of the Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, an coalition of NGOs.

"There was disappointment with the Obama administration, which made some pledges, but then ignored most of them," she said. "And now there are raised worries with the new US president."

Then-president Barack Obama announced a drive in 2009 to reduce the role of nuclear weapons and eventually eliminate them.

But his administration strongly encouraged NATO allies to vote against this year's UN negotiations, saying a ban would obstruct cooperation to respond to nuclear threats from adversaries.
Last week, the Bismarck Tribune ran a story about the first high school radio station in the state that went online last month. It turns out it may not have been the first.

KLHS, a radio station run by four female students and an alternative education program supervisor, broadcasts online weekday mornings from the campus of Linton High School.

A reader contacted the Tribune to point out there was a radio station that operated from the back of a storage room, which had been converted into a studio, in a school in Mandaree, a town on the Fort Berthold Reservation, in the early 1970s.

I remember there was a radio station where I went to school," Pete Schumacher, of Hope, said.

His father, Robert Schumacher, was principal of the predominantly Native American school from 1970-72. Using federal funds, he bought about $10,000 worth of radio equipment to start a station called KRSS. It had a 4-foot-long console and two turntables.

The radio station was kind of unique back then," said Pete Schumacher, 57.

His father has long been retired. Reached by phone early last week, Robert Schumacher, 81, quickly remembers the high school radio station in Mandaree, which he said was dismantled three or four years after he left the school.

The 10-watt radio station at the school was limited, only reaching about a mile or two into the community. The hardest part was setting up the equipment and installing an antenna on top of the school, which took half a day.

Various students used the equipment, including English classes that took turns broadcasting news from the area, Pete Schumacher said. Most of the time, they played plastic records and had just started using cassettes.

The superintendent hired a speech teacher, who broadcasted from about 7 a.m. to midnight, Robert Schumacher said. To his dismay, the overzealous speech teacher had submitted several different call signals to the Federal Communications Commission, including his initials R.S.S.  Robert Sylvester Schumacher.

I asked him not to, but he submitted them anyhow and thats the one that got approved," he said. Its one of the reasons I probably got fired."

Different instructors would do parts here and there, and the speech teacher would bring in students from different grades to talk on the air.

It was quite popular with the people, because they could hear their children talking on the radio," he said.

The radio station was on the air for almost a year until the superintendent fired Robert Schumacher, the speech teacher and others for what he described as the "the politics of the place."

Its water under the bridge, said Robert Schumacher, who now lives in Little Falls, Minn., a small town that's easier to get around.

"I think about it at times about what we couldve done. The superintendent there really started something great," he said. We were just turning the school around, I think, he said, adding that graduation rates were climbing.

No high school records have been found on the radio station or any documentation of what happened to it. The Fort Berthold Reservation now has its own thriving radio station, called KMHA, that was established in the 1970s, according to the program director, Randall Jones.
The Government of India has allowed bulk export of select edible oils.



In a notification issued on Monday, the office of the Director General of Foreign Trade, said, Exports of groundnut oil, sesame oil, soybean oil and maize (corn) oil in bulk, irrespective of any pack size, has been exempted from the prohibition on export of .



This means a nine-year ban on their export has been lifted.



Until now, export of select edible oils were allowed only in consumer packs of up to five kg each.



This should mean better realisation for producers, improving their capability to pay more for oilseed. This could encourage more sowing by farmers.



India currently meets around 60 per cent of its demand of 24 million tonnes (mt) a year through import.



It is a welcome move, as importing countries would be able to procure non-genetically modified (non-GM) oil from India.



The world is a big market for non-GM food. Hence, India would have a good opportunity overseas, said Atul Chaturvedi, chief executive, Adani Wilmar, producer of the Fortune brand.



Export of was initially prohibited for a year with effect from March 17, 2008, and extended from time to time. In October 2012, the prohibition was extended till further orders.



India estimates bumper oilseed output this year. The groundnut season seems to have got over but other oils, including sesame and soybean, would offer an opportunity for exporters.



Before the ban, India was exporting up to 100,000 tonnes of groundnut oil. Opening the export opportunity would definitely help. We will start getting the benefit immediately, said Sanjiv Sawla, chairman, Indian Oilseeds and Produce Exporters Promotion Council.
With the indefinite strike by meat vendors affecting several establishments in the state, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has asserted that the call taken by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to shutdown illegal slaughterhouses, is severely affecting authorised shops as well.

"The order which was passed to shut down every illegal slaughterhouse is currently affecting the authorized establishments too. People's business is being badly being affected every day," SP leader Juhi Singh told ANI.

Singh also raised questioned on Adityanath for focusing on slaughterhouses and anti-romeo squad only, despite the mandate given to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on a score of other important issues.

"People of Uttar Pradesh have given a huge mandate to the BJP. The mandate was given on various issues like women security, farmers loan, then why is Adityanath only focusing on slaughter house and anti-romeo squad?" said Singh.

Supporting the BJP on cleaning the Ganga from Uttarakhand to Uttar Pradesh, Singh showed her concern and also her support to the issue.

"The cleaning of the Ganga from Uttarakhand to Uttar Pradesh is a good commitment that the BJP has taken up and we support them for that," said Singh.

After coming to power, the Adityanath-led government has ordered the closure of illegal slaughterhouses and strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling to fulfill a key electoral promise.

Adityanath earlier on Saturday said abattoirs operating legally will not be touched but action will be taken against those being run illegally.

Meat sellers across UP are on an indefinite strike from Monday against the crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses.

Fish vendors were also claimed to have resolved to join the stir which has seen non-vegetarian delicacies go off the menu in several parts of the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Refuting allegations of riding alone in an air bus from the Patna airport to a Jet Airways flight, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Hukumdev Narayan Yadav on Monday said it is a sheer lie.

"The report is absolutely incorrect. If Jet Airways says I didn't go by bus alone (to board flight) then why spread lies?" Yadav told ANI.

Expressing his ire over reports published in this regard, the Madhubani MP said that the media should have cross-checked the facts before circulating information.

The MP was alleged of riding alone in an air bus to board a flight at the Patna airport while making other co-passengers wait.

This comes within a week of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulting an Air India staffer.

Top airlines in the country have included the MP in the 'no-fly' list.

However, the MP from Osmanabad in Maharashtra was unrepentant and demanded that the staffer should apologise to him.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least one policeman was injured in an encounter when heavily armed terrorists attacked the ancestral home of Jammu and Kashmir Minister of State for Hajj and Auquaf Syed Farooq Andrabi in poll-bound South Kashmir's Anantnag on Sunday evening.

Andrabi, People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader who represents Dooru constituency in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, was not at his residence when the attack took place.

This is the third terrorist attack that took place in different parts of Central and South Kashmir on Sunday.

Investigation is on and further details are awaited.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Attacks by the Taliban and other militant groups are having a devastating impact on education in Pakistan, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released a day before the Second International Conference on Safe Schools in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Pakistan faces significant education challenges, with an estimated 25 million children out of school.

The report includes testimonies on how militant violence has disrupted the education of hundreds of thousands of children, particularly girls. The report also documents instances of military use of educational institutions.

"The Taliban and other militants have repeatedly committed horrific attacks on Pakistani schools, depriving students of their lives as well as their education," said Bede Sheppard, child rights deputy director at Human Rights Watch.

"These audacious attacks often occur because, too often, authorities have protected militants or failed to properly prosecute them, and this needs to change," he added.

HRW asked the Pakistani government to take urgent steps to make schools safer, and fairly prosecute those responsible for attacks against schools, students, and teachers.

The 71-page report, "Dreams Turned into Nightmares: Attacks on Students, Teachers, and Schools in Pakistan," is based on 48 interviews with teachers, students, parents, and school administrators in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

It documents attacks by militants from January 2007 to October 2016 that have destroyed school buildings, targeted teachers and students, and terrorized parents into keeping their children out of school.

These attacks have often been directed at female students and their teachers and schools, blocking girls' access to education. The report also examines occupation of educational institutions by security forces, political groups, and criminal gangs.

Pakistan's militant Islamist groups, including the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and their affiliates, use attacks on schools and universities to foster intolerance and exclusion, to target symbols of the government, and particularly to drive girls out of school.

A Taliban commander claiming the attack on Bacha Khan University in KP in January 2016 said, "We will continue to attack schools, colleges, and universities across Pakistan as these are the foundations that produce apostates."

After the Taliban took over large parts of the Swat Valley in KP in 2007, they began a violent campaign against education for girls. Over 900 girls schools were forced to close and over 120,000 girls stopped attending school. About 8,000 female teachers were driven out of work. For many girls, the loss was permanent and they did not return to school even after the Pakistan army had displaced the Taliban.

The Pakistani government does not collect specific data on the number of attacks on schools and universities, or the number of deaths and injuries from such attacks.

However, according to the Global Terrorism Database, there were 867 attacks on educational institutions in Pakistan from 2007 to 2015, resulting in 392 fatalities and 724 injuries.

The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack recorded at least 838 attacks on schools in Pakistan between 2009 and 2012, leaving hundreds of schools damaged. In December 2015, the Ministry for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) reported that in 2015, 360 schools were destroyed in three of the seven regions of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

The government's failure to keep consistent and transparent national data on such attacks raises serious concerns about its ability to track repairs of damaged schools, identify trends that could inform protective measures, or investigate and prosecute the responsible individuals, Human Rights Watch said.

Threats to education in Pakistan were spotlighted by the attacks on future Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai on October 9, 2012, and the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014.

After the Peshawar attack, which killed 135 children, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced a 20-point National Action Plan to comprehensively deal with terrorism - but none of the 20 points pertained to students or education.

In some areas, government forces have used educational institutions, including both schools and college hostels, as temporary or permanent barracks or military bases. When educational facilities are used for military purposes, it places them at increased risk of attack. The government should issue clear and public orders to Pakistan security forces to curtail the military use of schools.

Pakistan should develop a comprehensive policy for protecting students - especially girls - and teachers, schools, and universities from attack and military use, and engage all concerned ministry staff at the central and local level in implementing this strategy, Human Rights Watch said.

Securing schools has been largely left to the provincial governments, and these efforts have been sporadic and vary across provinces, with little attention to the specific need to protect girls' education. In most cases, responsibility for enhancing and maintaining security has been passed to school authorities. This has led to increased hardship and chaos.

Criminal cases have sometimes been filed against teachers and principals for not taking security measures.

The Pakistani government has not successfully prosecuted the perpetrators in most instances despite hundreds of attacks on teachers, students, and educational institutions.

This failure was highlighted in June 2015, when it was reported that eight out of the 10 individuals arrested and charged for the attack on Malala Yousafzai were acquitted, even after they all confessed to their role in court.

HRW said that Pakistan's national government should cooperate with provincial authorities to create an advance rapid response system whenever there are attacks on schools, so that these facilities are quickly repaired or rebuilt and destroyed educational material is replaced so that children can return to school as soon as possible.

Pakistan should endorse the Safe Schools Declaration, a non-binding political agreement opened for state support at an international conference in Oslo, Norway, in May 2015. Countries that endorse the Safe Schools Declaration pledge to restore access to education when schools are attacked, and undertake to make it less likely that students, teachers, and schools will be attacked in the first place.

"The Pakistani government should do all it can to deter future attacks on education, beginning with improving school security and providing the public reliable information on threats," Sheppard said.

"Attacks on education not only harm the students and families directly affected, but also have an incalculable long-term negative effect on Pakistani society," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment is the fourth largest sector in the Indian economy.

The market size of FMCG in India is estimated to grow to US$ 74 billion in

2018. The personal care industry makes up 22 percent of India's market for consumer package goods and experts agree that India is full of opportunities and is a potential gold mine for many beauty and personal care companies.

Considering the growth potential of the industry, the internationally renowned organizers of various B2B and B2C exhibitions, Sumansa Exhibitions have launched Beauty India; an exclusive B2B exhibition catering to the needs of the beauty, cosmetics and personal care industries.

Beauty India's debut edition opened in Mumbai at Bombay Exhibition Center, Goregaon on Monday, March 27th and is running until March 29th, 2017. The entry to the exhibition is free and show timings are from 10 am to 6 pm for all three days.

Popular Bollywood style icon and actor Malaika Arora and Lakme Lever India CEO, Pushkaraj Shenai jointly inaugurated the exhibition that hosts over 75 exhibitors representing skin care & hair care (both professional, wellness and personal product lines), colour cosmetics, personal care products, nail care and accessories, professional equipment and Spa, fragrance and machinery, packaging and raw material suppliers among others.

Appreciating the initiative, Malaika Arora said: "An exhibition to cater to the booming beauty and cosmetics industry is the need of the hour. I am delighted to see this wonderful showcase and happy to be part of its inaugural edition. Looking well-groomed is part of our lives, and Indians understand that very well. The Beauty India exhibition simply reflects our thriving beauty industry and the potential that it holds for the global brands.

With a population of over 1.3 billion, the opportunities for exhibitors to make inroads in this market are endless and extremely lucrative. This is a great platform to find partnerships and build on brand value."

Prominent exhibitors at the show include Lakme India, L'Oreal India, Ozone Ayurveda, AcronPlast, Berina, Essel Propack, Shilpa Cosmetics, Veera Fragrances, Wespro Corporation, SSCPL Herbals, Skin Secrets, Sanex Packaging Connection, Nyassa Spa Products, All India Cosmetic Manufacturers Association, All India Hair and Beauty Association, Cospack India, Headstart International, Strands Salon, N.V. Organics, Forever Beauty care amongst many others. The exhibitor list also includes companies from China, Germany, Indonesia, Korea, Poland and UAE.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Pushkaraj Shenai- Chairman, Advisory Committee - Beauty India & CEO-Lakme Lever Pvt. Ltd., said, "A platform like Beauty India has the potential to shape the future of the Indian beauty industry. The $3-billion beauty services industry offers huge opportunities across the value chain for talented beauty and styling professionals, managers and entrepreneurs. Apart from the opportunity in the domestic market there is significant interest in the global market for all things Indian. Lakme Salon and Lakme Academy have played an integral role in the beauty ecosystem across the country for the last 37 years. We aspire to scale this rapidly and invite talented individuals to join us as beauty entrepreneurs. I am confident that Beauty India will grow into an ideas and innovation marketplace that all Indian beauty professionals are proud of."

Himanshu Gupta, General Manager, Sales & Marketing B2B Events, Sumansa Exhibitions added , "The overall beauty and personal care market in India is estimated at Rs. 74,700 crore by retail sales value and the personal care industry in India has been expanding at 13 percent year-on-year, far surpassing the overall economic growth rate. India's incredibly large consumer base has a growing disposable income and places importance on personal care. Retail sales look to increase at an average of seven percent over the next decade and that presents a huge opportunity to global brands to tap exponential growth that we are going to witness. The beauty is booming and there's enough room for more players.

Through our exhibition, we aim to provide international and domestic brands a suitable platform for exploring opportunities, finding partnerships, exchange of ideas and networking."

The exhibition provides a unique platform for launch of products, networking opportunity with industry leaders, building new partnership, exchange of ideas, product display, franchise opportunities, live demonstrations, innovation and showcasing new technologies for all stakeholders such as manufacturers, suppliers, ancillaries, end-users, emerging entrepreneurs and government institutions. Moreover, being a driven platform, there would be value added events running concurrently to the exhibition like Buyer-Seller Meet, On-Site Beauty Sessions, Seminars & Workshops and Demo Areas.

Dr. Sangeeta Chauhan, President of All India Beauty and Hair Association and Founder of Salon Exclusive said, "We want more of such B2B exhibitions and would like to thank Sumansa Exhibitions for their cooperation towards the beauty industry. This will further help develop related skill set in India and I would also like to thank the exhibitors who have supported the Association. The platform is a great opportunity for all segments to enhance their education and upgrade their skill."

Naunihal Singh, CEO Strands Salon n Spa said, "The Indian Beauty Industry is growing at a very fast pace and it needs to evolve to the next level where all the leading salon chains should contribute towards its development. We need to focus on skills and create an environment where the profession and professionals, both get due respect. Shows like Beauty India are definitely contributing towards the goal."

"Beauty India exhibition will be one of the most premium B2B events in India coming up with the latest trends in beauty industry, connecting the businesses from around the globe, collaborating exhibitors exclusively on one common platform, portraying the strength of the manufacturers at large & bridging the gap between the buyers and sellers. We wish Beauty India all the very best for the coming years of their exhibitions in India", said Kajal Anand, President of All India Cosmetic Manufacturers' Association.

As per analysts, the Ayurvedic market is estimated to be at Rs. 4,500 crore at present. The herbal products forms 6-7 per cent of the overall personal care products market currently while the estimates are thatit could grow to about 10 per cent of the segment by FY20 as the trend accelerates. Thus, various players are rebooting their business strategies and investing in new products or making new acquisitions to reap in the benefit of the herbal age.

With a CAGR of 40 percent per year, the spa industry is the subsector with the most significant growth prospects among all personal care subsectors in India.

According to industry experts, the market size of India's beauty, cosmetics and grooming market will touch 20 billion dollars by 2025 from the current level of 6.5 billion dollars. The rising awareness of personal care products, growing disposable incomes, changes in consumption patterns and lifestyles and improved purchasing power of women, promises exciting times for the personal care industry. These trends are anticipated to boost the personal care market in India and raise the consumption of personal care products and services, thereby offering extensive opportunities for domestic and international players.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With Bawana MLA Ved Prakash joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the crucial MCD polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday alleged that the saffron party does not believe in democracy and is making desperate attempts to destabilize the government in Delhi for nefarious gains.

AAP's Sanjay Singh told the media here that the BJP wants to expel governments and rule in this country.

"We witnessed how they murdered democracy and formed the governments in Arunchal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. They have begun doing the same in Delhi ahead of the MCD polls. They have begun attempts' to destabilize our government, but the people through their votes in the MCD polls will give apt reply to the Bharatiya Janata Party," said Singh.

"The Bharatiya Janata Party will have to face defeat in the same manner as they did in 2015 when they could win only three seats," he added.

Ved Prakash, who earlier in the day joined the saffron party at its Delhi unit office in the presence of Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, said that he was feeling suffocated in the AAP.

He also alleged that Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has failed to deliver on the promises it had made in the run up to the 2015 assembly elections.

Stating that there was discontent among the people over the AAP Government's failure to address their grievances, Prakash further said there are around 35 MLAs who are not happy with the party leadership.

On April 22, Delhi will elect the 272 members of its municipal corporation. The municipal corporation, presently governed by the BJP, decides crucial matters such as health and sanitation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co. has been awarded the 'National Law Firm of the Year, 2017, India' by Chambers and Partners, the world's premium evaluator of Legal Services.

The award is based on research for the 2017 edition of Chambers Asia-Pacific and reflect a law firm's pre-eminence in key practice areas. They also reflect notable achievements over the past 12 months including outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co. won the prestigious accolade at the annual Chambers and Partners Asia-Pacific Awards, held in Singapore on Friday 24 March 2017.

"We are truly honored to receive this award from Chambers and Partners, which recognizes our position as a leading law firm in India. It is indeed heartening that we have received this recognition in our centenary year and within 22 months of our establishing the new SAM & Co. firm," said Executive Chairman Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co., Shardul Shroff.

Managing Partners, Pallavi Shroff and Akshay Chudasama said, "This is indeed a wonderful award to receive and a recognition of all our efforts over the last two years. It has been possible only with the dedication, hard work and single minded focus that everyone at SAM and Co has shown. This is truly the result of a great team effort by everyone at the firm."

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co. has consistently excelled in Chambers and Partners rankings. In 2017, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co. achieved the maximum number of Band 1 lawyers as well as Band one Practices. The Firm also achieved the maximum number of ranked lawyers in Chambers and Partners.

Some of the latest awards that Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas has received include:

Ranked 'Band 1' for Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Competition/ Antitrust, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution, Private Equity, Projects, Infrastructure and Energy - Chambers and Partners, 2017.

'Outstanding' provider of legal services for Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Competition & Antitrust, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution & Litigation, Energy & Natural Resources, Private Equity, Projects & Infrastructure - Asialaw Profiles, 2017.

Ranked 'Tier 1' for Banking & Finance, Antitrust and Competition, Capital Markets, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution, Investments Funds, Projects Infrastructure and Energy, Real Estate & Construction, TMT and White-collar crime - The Legal 500, 2017.

Ranked 'Tier 1' for Corporate M&A, Banking & Finance, Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Private Equity, Project Finance, Capital Markets and Transport - IFLR1000's Financial and Corporate Rankings, 2017.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Election Commission on Monday gave six more months' time to Congress to hold organisational polls, extending the June 30th deadline set for the organisational polls till 31st December.

However, it said there will be no further extension beyond December this year.

The poll body had earlier given an ultimatum to the Congress to complete the organisational polls by June 30th.

Congress had written to the poll body asking more time for completing the organisational polls by six more months as there was very little time left to do so.

AICC general Secretary Janardan Dwivedi in his letter, also contended that it was not possible to adhere to the Commission deadline as it went against the resolution of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), allowing Sonia Gandhi to continue till December as party President.

The Congress party had also cited practical problems of updating its membership list to have a proper and meaningful election both at the central and state levels.

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Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday tabled the Central Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill 2017 in the Lok Sabha.

Looking forward to a consensus on GST Bill, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar earlier in the day expressed hope that the above legislation is passed in the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament.

Kumar told the media here that all parties have been consulted on the GST.

"Hope everyone will support the government on it. The government is committed to ensure the passage of GST in the ongoing Budget Session," he added.

The GST Council and Union Cabinet have already given their nod to the Central GST, Integrated GST, Union Territory GST and Compensation Bill.

Along with these four bills, amendments to the Excise and Customs Act to abolish various cess as well as furnishing bills for exports and imports under the new GST regime will be placed before the Parliament.

The Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha is likely to meet on Monday to decide on the duration of discussion on the Bills. States cabinet too will need to approve the State GST and then need the same to be passed by respective state assemblies to roll out the new tax regime.

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Standing Rock Sioux Chairman David Archambault II is calling on other banks to follow the lead of Norways DNB bank and rid themselves of financial dealings with the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Archambaults statement comes after the Norwegian bank announced Sunday that it is selling its pipeline loans, reportedly worth $340 million, or nearly 10 percent of the project cost.

By selling our stake, we wish to signal how important it is that the affected indigenous population is involved and that their opinions are heard in these types of projects," Harald Serck-Hanssen, the banks senior executive, said in a widely reported statement. "Although there have been attempts at consultation by the project parties, the outcome of the process suggests that these have been inadequate."

Archambault said the Norway bank follows a similar move by Dutch ING, which sold its $120 million share in the project earlier this month.

Divestment and shareholder advocacy have been key to our fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, Archambault said. Hundreds of investors  ranging from institutional investors to cities to individuals  have cut ties with DAPL, but the recent announcements from banks are an especially encouraging sign that our voice is being heard.

The tribe says the pipeline could cause contamination of the Missouri River/Lake Oahe. The issue remains in federal court.

The chairman said Standing Rock calls on remaining banks  Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, BayernLB, BBVA, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Credit Agricole, ICBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mizuho Bank, Natixis, Societe Generale, SMBC, SunTrust, TD Securities and Wells Fargo  to address the "blatant violation of tribal sovereignty."
Kathmandu [Nepal], Mar. 27 (ANI): A geologist in Nepal, who has been studying the land structure of various heritage sites in the country, has warned that land creeping is threatening the famed Pashupatinath Temple.

Land creeping is the slow downward progression of rock and soil. It also refers to slow deformation of such materials due to prolonged pressure and stress.

Geologist Ranjan Kumar Dahal shared thses findings with ANI saying, "We are working for the stability of the Pashupati Kshetra, the Swayambhu Area and Changu Narayan Area for the last ten years and this is our regular process of the observations and collecting of data. When we look at the Pashupati area especially the Pashupati Temple and the river bank of the Temple below the staircase from where we can go to the Pashupati Temple, in that area, we found that basically the whole mass is now in continuous creep and this is the main thing we to explore in more detail in the future as they are creating lots of cracks on the slope."

The Pashupatinath Temple is a famous temple and pilgrimage site for Hindus, located on the banks of river Bagmati in Kathmandu.

The temple has a long history which appears in various manuscripts and religious texts, attracts pilgrims from around the .

Experts have witnessed few bulges and deformation on the walls, which clearly suggests that the mass is moving down.

The area below the Slesmantak Forest, the place where Lord Shiva and Parvati are believed to have spent lot of time, is home to numerous Shivalinga.

Experts have claimed that a replica of Shiva in the site is being pushed upward because of creeping beneath the surface.

"We can find the Shivalinga is going up and the base of the Shivalinga going down. As a result, we can see that the upper part of the Shivalinga. It means that the base of the whole Shivalinga is going down," Dr. Dahal said.

Geo- Scientists have termed the danger to be at the medium level and have also suggested mitigation measures to prevent further danger.

Dr. Dahal has suggested sealing of cracks on the surface as soon as possible and said that drainage system of temple should be managed properly.

Experts have held the age old "Bramhanal" of the temple (Bramhanal is the drainage system from which the water and the milk offered to lord Shiva ships out) as being responsible for the creeping of the land.

The age old drainage system paved with stones on the sides is blamed for the creeping.

Although, the drainage system was repaired, it has still increased.

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As many as 12 people were killed and 20 others injured when a vehicle overturned on Jabalpur-Chargawan road in Madhya Pradesh.

The injured have been rushed to a nearby hospital for immediate treatment.

Further details are awaited.

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The Delhi Police Crime Branch on Monday recorded statements of 15 people including the Air India staffer who was assaulted by Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad.

The Police has also sought details of the video and the CCTV footage of the assault case.

DCP (Crime Branch) Ram Gopal Naik recorded the statements at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.

Earlier, in a stunning revelation, an Air India air hostess told ANI that Gaikwad almost threw the airlines staff member Sukumar down the ladder even though he didn't want to.

Without revealing her identity, she told that Gaikwad was only trying to build pressure on senior officials. "I don't think he (Gaikwad) wanted to throw Mr Sukumar down the ladder, he was trying to build pressure on senior officials," she said.

Meanwhile, the Centre has defended the Airlines' ban on Gaikwad saying that "the rules are the same for everyone."

"We have good safety regulations but never in my dreams expected an MP to be caught (doing this). Violence of any kind can be a disaster for airlines," civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said in the Lok Sabha.

Meanwhile, coming out in support of party MP Ravindra Gaikwad by calling the airlines ban on him 'illogical', the Shiv Sena said that it looks like somebody is trying to defame party leaders.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande told ANI, "It seems that somebody is behind this and trying to defame Shiv Sena leaders, because if Shiv Sena opposes something, it is twisted and presented in a different way to the country."

"It is Illogical that the other four airlines have also put Gaikwad on a no-fly list. He is not a criminal. Gaikward is not some unruly passenger or doesn't have some track of such behaviour. The way he is being framed by the media, he is not a criminal. It seems that somebody is behind this and trying to defame Shiv Sena leaders," she added.

Calling for a thorough inquiry in to the whole matter, she said, "We have said this before also that Shiv Sena doesn't subscribe to such behaviour by an elected representative. But at the same time, we have said that there should be a thorough inquiry into this whole matter as to what actually instigated him.many things are surfacing."

The Shiv Sena has given a shutdown call in Maharashtra's Osmanabad in support of Gaikwad, who had assaulted an Air India staffer last week.

Air India and six private airlines banned the 56-year-old MP from flying as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.

The Osmanabad MP after being blacklisted by the top airlines boarded a train to Mumbai earlier on Friday evening.

Earlier, the MP, while showing no regret for his action had said, "What is there to repent? I will not apologise. He (Sukumar) should come and apologise.then we will see.

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Asserting that all MPs need to attend Parliament diligently and cannot always travel by train, Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan today called for resolving the issue of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaekwad's 'flying ban' by several airlines through amicable talks.

"MPs need to attend Parliament and they cannot travel by train always. At times, they need to travel by plane also. I feel that this issue (blanket ban) should be resolved amicably through talks," said Mahajan after a meeting attended by Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Sena MPs.

Mahajan further stated that she is no one to give judgement but is just trying to solve the issue.

"I am playing the role of 'tai' (elder sister). As of now, everybody is angry. It is time to calm down and resolve the issue. How the ban could be lifted needs to be discussed and resolved amicably," said Mahajan.

Resonating similar views Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant, slammed the airlines stating that it is one's fundamental right to travel by air.

"All airlines have come together banning him (Gaikwad), but it is our fundamental right (to travel by air). So far, they have not given notice of a privilege motion. Such a notice can be given by any member of either House of a state legislature or Parliament against anyone who is accused of breach of privilege," said Sawant a meeting attended by Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Sena MPs.

Sawant further said that this privilege provides certain rights and immunities to MPs, MLAs and MLCs.

Earlier in the day, the Shiv Sena had given a shutdown call in Maharashtra's Osmanabad in support of Gaikwad, who had assaulted an Air India staffer last week.

Air India and six private airlines banned the 56-year-old MP from flying as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.

The Osmanabad MP after being blacklisted by the top airlines boarded a train to Mumbai earlier on Friday evening.

The MP refrained from commenting further on the row and said Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray would speak on the matter.

Earlier, the MP, while showing no regret for his action had said, "What is there to repent? I will not apologise. He (Sukumar) should come and apologise.then we will see.

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The 33rd Edition of India Carpet Expo, Organized by Carpet Export Promotion Council at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi was inaugurated today with lamp lighting by Minister of Textile, Smriti Irani in the august presence of Ajay Tamta, Minister of State for Textiles and Virender Singh, Member of Parliament, Bhadohi.

The expo is organized under the aegis of Govt. of India with an aim to promote the Cultural Heritage and weaving skills of Indian hand-made Carpets and other floor coverings amongst the visiting overseas carpet buyers.

"We are very glad that CEPC organizes this Expo twice every year to promote Indian weavers worldwide. Every year Expo generates huge amount of . We have everything handmade and hand weaved here, which is the major attraction to the foreign buyers," said, Minister of State for Textiles, Ajay Tamta.

Virender Singh, M.P., Bhadohi said, "We are planning to provide special privileges to the shepherds for the first time, as they play a crucial role in the process of carpet manufacturing. Until now all the focus was only on the weavers and manufacturers, but now we hope for the upliftment of the shepherds as well."

Mahavir Pratap Sharma, Chairman, CEPC said "India carpet expo is an ideal platform for International Carpet Buyers, Buying houses, buying Agents, Architects and Indian Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters to meet and establish long term relationship. This exhibition is a crucial step towards taking Indian exports of Handmade carpet to much greater and newer heights. We have also set up a special theme pavilion wherein the experts of the industry are showcasing the process of carpet weaving through the concept of ergonomic and flexible tufting frame."

Sharma further added that orders worth over thousand crore are expected to be executed. New fall-winter colors and designs are being showcased at the Carpet Expo.

India Carpet Expo is one of the largest Handmade Carpet Fairs in Asia with a unique platform for the buyers to source the best handmade carpets, Rugs and other floor coverings under one roof. With the participation of over 305 exhibitors, it has become a popular destination worldwide on Handmade Carpets.

A record number of 410 overseas carpet buyers from around 60 countries mainly Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, UK, USA etc. shall be visiting the Expo to generate for this rural based cottage sector.

It is the endeavor of the Council to provide exclusive business environment to the both carpet importers as well as manufacturer-exporters, which ultimately will benefit about two million weavers and artisans employed in this highly labour intensive rural based MSME cottage industry.

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The Udaipur Police on Monday arrested one person on charges of allegedly molesting an Austrian woman.

Bianci, the Austrian woman, had gone to a massage parlour in Udaipur when the accused allegedly touched her private parts.

The victim said that when she questioned the man, he offered a justification stating that he works as a masseuse and, therefore, he has the right to touch her.

"He ignored my questions and he just took my hands to press some points like there are (unclear) points for stomach, for the throat, for the back and when he arrived at the point for the sacrum, he said 'oh! here is the sacrum' and he just touched me like this on my hip and I said him, you can't touch my hip like that and I ran out and told my friend," she added.

The police arrested the man after the victim registered a case against him.

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As the meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh went on an indefinite strike from today against the crackdown on illegal and mechanized slaughterhouses, they urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to fight for the nation and not for 'gosht'.

"Yogi Adityanath should fight for the nation, not for gosht. Many people are dying without food. It has created chaos. We will support Yogi ji in his fight against Pakistan. If he (Yogi Adityanath) fights for gosht, we will raise our voices," a meat seller told ANI.

Stating that all of them are facing trouble, another meat seller said all the labourers are disturbed with the present scenario.

"Someone commits mistake and others pay for it. We have to earn our living. So many families are dependent on this. We all have become jobless now. There should be a solution to this," said another meat seller.

After coming to power, the Yogi Adityanath government has ordered closure of illegal slaughterhouses and strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling to fulfil a key electoral promise.

Adityanath earlier on Saturday said abattoirs operating legally will not be touched but action will be taken against those run illegally.

Warning the licensed slaughterhouses to comply as per rules, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minster earlier on Wednesday said that strict action would be taken against the illegal ones, adding that the main agenda of the government is to restore law and order in the state.

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Kent-born terrorist Khalid Masood, who killed five people and injured more than 50 in an attack on Westminster here, was known as a potential extremist in 2010, it emerged as the police made a fresh arrest in connection with the investigation on Sunday night.

Masood first came to the attention of MI5 six years ago after returning to the U.K. from Saudi Arabia where he had been teaching English, the Guardian confirms.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has also confirmed that Masood had previously been investigated by the intelligence services but merely as a "peripheral" figure.

Meanwhile, counter terror squads arrested a 30-year-old man after the latest in a string of raids in Birmingham. The man, who was detained on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts, brings the total number of arrests to 12.

Speaking on Sunday, a spokesman for the Metropolitan police said, "A new arrest has been made as part of the investigation being carried out by the Met's counter terrorism command into the Westminster attack."

The Met also confirmed that a 58-year-old man was detained under terrorism legislation. Nine others were released without charge, while a woman from Manchester was released on police bail.

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Corporation Bank rose 1.35% to Rs 48.80 at 11:51 IST on BSE after the bank raised Rs 500 crore through issue of Basel III compliant Additional Tier-I Perpetual Bonds.

The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 24 March 2017.

Meanwhile, the S&P Sensex was down 152.73 points, or 0.52% at 29,268.67. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 16.70 points, or 0.12% at 13832.48.

On the BSE, 57,000 shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 1.06 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 49.35 and a low of Rs 48.15 so far during the day.

The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 57 on 7 February 2017 and a 52-week low of Rs 34 on 3 June 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 24 March 2017, advancing 2.77% compared with the Sensex's 1.83% rise. The scrip had also outperformed the market over the past one quarter advancing 17.30% as against the Sensex's 12.98% rise.

The mid-cap bank has equity capital of Rs 229.41 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Corporation Bank said that it has raised the full amount of Rs 500 crore of the Basel III Compliant Additional Tier-I Perpetual Bonds [Series II]. The Securities Allotment Committee of the board of the bank has allotted the bonds on 24 March 2017 to the respective Bond investors with a coupon rate of 10.28% per annum.

Corporation Bank reported net profit of Rs 159.02 crore in Q3 December 2016, as against net loss of Rs 388.38 crore in Q3 December 2015. Total income rose 13.2% to Rs 5839.56 crore in Q3 December 2016 over Q3 December 2015.

Government of India holds 70.77% stake in Corporation Bank (as on 31 December 2016).

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A draft National Policy for Domestic workers is under consideration of the Government. The salient features of the Policy are as under:

i. Inclusion of Domestic Workers in the existing legislations

ii. Domestic workers will have the right to register as workers with the State Labour Department. Such registration will facilitate their access to rights & benefits accruing to them as workers.

iii. Right to form their own associations , trade unions

iv. Right to have minimum wages, access to social security, protection from abuse, harassment, violence

v. Right to enhance their professional skills

vi. Protection of Domestic Workers from abuse and exploitation who are recruited to work abroad

vii. Domestic Workers to have access to courts, tribunals, etc.

viii. Establishment of a mechanism for regulation of placement agencies.

In order to provide social security benefits to the workers in the unorganised sector including domestic workers, the Government has enacted the Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008.

The 2008 Act stipulates formulation of suitable welfare schemes for unorganised workers on matters relating to: (i) life and disability cover, (ii) health and maternity benefits, (iii) old age protection and (iv) any other benefit as may be determined by the Central Government through the National Social Security Board. Various Schemes, formulated by the Government to provide social security cover to the unorganized workers, listed in the Schedule I of the above Act are as under:

i. Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (Ministry of Rural Development)

ii. National Family Benefit Scheme (Ministry of Rural Development)

iii. Janani Suraksha Yojana (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare)

iv. Handloom Weavers' Comprehensive Welfare Scheme (Ministry of Textiles)

v. Handicraft Artisans' Comprehensive Welfare Scheme (Ministry of Textiles)

vi. Pension to Master Craft Persons (Ministry of Textiles)

vii. National Scheme for Welfare of Fishermen and Training and Extension (Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries)

viii. Aam Admi Bima Yojana (Department of Financial Services)

ix. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare).

Central Government has also launched the Atal Pension Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana for all citizens especially targeting unorganised workers to provide them comprehensive social security.

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GVK Power & Infrastructure surged 4.47% to Rs 6.08 at 10:55 IST on BSE after the company said it has divested 33% stake in Bangalore International Airport to Fairfax India Holdings Corporation.

The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 24 March 2017.

Meanwhile, the S&P Sensex was down 145.51 points, or 0.49% at 29,275.89. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 13.19 points, or 0.09% at 14,090.80.

On the BSE, 5.55 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 10.14 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 6.16 and a low of Rs 5.89 so far during the day.

The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 7.70 on 14 February 2017 and a 52-week low of Rs 4.13 on 6 June 2016. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 24 March 2017, declining 10.05% compared with the Sensex's 1.83% rise. The scrip had also underperformed the market over the past one quarter advancing 5.63% as against the Sensex's 12.98% rise.

The small-cap company has equity capital of Rs 157.92 crore. Face value per share is Re 1.

GVK Power & Infrastructure said that it has divested 33% of its stake in Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) from its wholly owned subsidiary, Bangalore Airport & Infrastructure Developers (BAIDPL) to Fairfax India Holdings Corporation, through its wholly-owned subsidiary in Mauritius, for an aggregate investment of Rs 2202 crore.

Dr GVK Reddy, founder Chairman and Managing Director, GVK, said that the company's primary focus is to deleverage its balance sheet, and all proceeds from this stake sale shall be used to reduce debt. The company looks forward to partnering with Fairfax and working with all the stakeholders in developing the Kempegowda International Airport through its next stage of expansion.

GVK Power & Infrastructure reported net loss of Rs 0.71 crore in Q3 December 2016, as against with net loss of Rs 6.80 crore in Q3 December 2015. Net sales rose 4.2% to Rs 7.12 crore in Q3 December 2016 over Q3 December 2015.

GVK is a leading Indian conglomerate with diversified interests across various sectors including energy, resources, airports, transportation, hospitality and life sciences.

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HDFC said it has completed the issuance of masala bonds aggregating Rs 3300 crore (Rs 2000 crore issue plus green shoe option) on Friday, 24 March 2017. The bonds issue received a strong response from 29 investors across Asia and Europe.

The aggregate demand for the transaction was 2.16 times at Rs 4315 crore. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 24 March 2017.

The issue size is Rs 3300 crore with a yield of 7.35% per annum payable semi-annually. The maturity date of bonds is 30 April 2020.

Reliance Industries (RIL) said that the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (Sebi) has uploaded in its website its order in the matter relating to trading in RPL shares by RIL in November 2007. The trades in RPL shares which were examined by Sebi were genuine and bona fide transactions, RIL said. These were carried out keeping the best interest of the company and its shareholders, in view, it added.

RIL said that Sebi appears to have misconstrued the true nature of the transactions and imposed unjustifiable sanctions.

RIL said it is in the process of consulting its legal advisors. It proposes to prefer an appeal and challenge the order in Securities Appellate Tribunal. RIL said it remains confident of fully justifying the veracity of the transactions and vindicating its stand.

RIL said that it has full confidence in the judicial process and it proposes to vigorously exercise all options available to it to challenge the untenable findings in the order. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 24 March 2017.

Coal India will be in focus. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has found Coal India (CIL) and its subsidiaries to be in contravention of the provisions of Section 4(2)(a)(i) of the Competition Act, 2002 for imposing unfair/discriminatory conditions in Fuel Supply Agreements (FSAs) with the power producers for supply of non-coking coal.

The final order has been passed on a batch of informations filed by Maharashtra State Power Generation Company and Gujarat State Electricity Corporation against Coal India and its subsidiaries (Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd., Western Coalfields Ltd., South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.).

The order has been passed by CCI pursuant to the directions issued by Competition Appellate Tribunal remanding the matter back while setting aside the original order of CCI in which a penalty of Rs 1773.05 crore had been imposed upon CIL. After hearing the parties afresh in terms of the directions issued by Competition Appellate Tribunal, CCI held that CIL through its subsidiaries operates independently of market forces and enjoys dominance in the relevant market of production and supply of non-coking coal in India.

CCI noted in the order that CIL did not evolve/ draft/ finalize the terms and conditions of FSAs through a bilateral process and the same were imposed upon the buyers through a unilateral conduct. CCI found CIL and its subsidiaries to be in contravention of the provisions of Section 4(2)(a)(i) of the Competition Act, 2002 for imposing unfair/ discriminatory conditions in FSAs with the power producers for supply of non-coking coal.

Apart from issuing a cease and desist order against CIL and its subsidiaries, CCI has directed modification of FSAs in light of the findings and observations recorded in the order. The impugned clauses related to sampling and testing procedure, charging transportation and other expenses for supply of ungraded coal from the buyers, capping compensation for supply of stones etc.

For effecting the modifications in FSAs, CIL has been ordered to consult all the stakeholders. CIL has also been directed to ensure uniformity between old and new power producers as well as between private and PSU power producers.

Further, CCI has imposed a penalty of Rs 591.01 crore upon CIL for the abusive conduct. While reducing penalty, CCI noted the steps taken by CIL to improve the sampling procedure even post-passing of the original order by CCI.

However, while holding the extant sampling procedure as unfair, CIL has been directed to incorporate suitable modifications in fuel supply agreements to provide for a fair and equitable sampling and testing procedure besides considering the feasibility of sampling at the unloading-end in consultation with power producers and adopting international best practices. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 24 March 2017.

ITC will be in focus. Government through specified undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) has divested 2% shares of the total shares of ITC to LIC through block trade on 7 March, 2017. Government has received an amount of Rs 6682 crore from this transaction.

Disinvestment of Government of India equity is under taken as per the disinvestment policy of the GoI keeping in view the resource requirement of the Government and the prevailing market condition.

This was stated by Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Friday, 24 March 2017.

HCL Technologies said MillerCoors, LLC, a client of the company has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the company and HCL America Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

MillerCoors allegations under the complaint is that HCL did not deliver an enterprise software project as per the agreed timelines. The specific project started in December 2013 and ended in June 2016. The company continues to have a good business relationship with MillerCoors. The company has other ongoing projects with MillerCoors running smoothly.

The company is in discussions with MillerCoors to resolve this matter amicably. The project in consideration has already ended and the company is not expecting any adverse financial impact of the same for Q4 March 2017. The company issued the clarification on Saturday, 25 March 2017 with regards to news appearing in the media.

Bank of Maharashtra announced that its board of directors at a meeting held on 24 March 2017 approved the proposal of raising of equity capital upto Rs 300 crore by way of preferential allotment in favour of Government of India. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 24 March 2017.

Music Broadcast, subsidiary of Jagran Prakashan has commenced broadcast from its radio station at Patna (which was acquired under Phase III auctions held last financial year). The frequency for Patna location is 91.1 F.M. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 24 March 2017.

Reliance Capital announced completion of transfer of its commercial finance division - Reliance Commercial Finance (RCFL) - into a separate wholly owned subsidiary. The company had announced the transfer of its Commercial Finance division into a separate subsidiary on 25 February 2016, subject to requisite Regulatory, High Court and Reliance Capital shareholders' approvals, which have since been received.

RCFL is amongst the leading SME lenders in the Indian non-banking finance space with a focus on asset backed lending and productive asset creation. The Commercial Finance division has an aggregate asset under management (including securitized portfolio) portfolio of Rs 16191 crore ($2.4 billion) as of 31 December 2016.

Anmol Ambani, ED, Reliance Capital said Reliance Commercial Finance now stands as a fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Capital. This completes the restructuring process as Reliance Capital moves to become a Core Investment Company from next fiscal.

This transfer will align RCFL with the overall operating structure of Reliance Capital wherein all operating businesses are held either as wholly owned or majority owned subsidiaries. The proposal will enhance management focus and provide flexibility to the company to unlock value through stake sale.

Reliance Nippon Life Insurance and Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management, both subsidiaries of Reliance Capital, already have a strategic partner - Nippon Life Insurance - with 49% stake in each business.

The transfer will also enhance employee engagement and retention through ability to grant ESOPs in the business. The transfer, pursuant to the Scheme of Arrangement, will be effective from 1 April 2016. Reliance Capital would be applying to the RBI for registering itself as a Core Investment Company (CIC) and expects to become a CIC soon, subject to necessary approvals. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 24 March 2017.

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A financing agreement for IDA credit of US$ 100 (equivalent) for the "Uttarakhand Health Systems Development Project" was signed here with the World Bank .

The Financing Agreement was signed by Mr. Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of Government of India and Mr. Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director, World Bank (India) on behalf of the World Bank. A Project Agreement was also signed by Dr. Neeraj Kharwal, Additional Secretary (Health), Government of Uttarakhand and Mr.

Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director, World Bank.

The objective of the project is to improve access to quality health services, particularly in the hilly districts of the State, and to expand health financial risk protection for residents of the State. The project will benefit the residents of hilly districts in particular. The project has two main components, (i) Innovations of engaging the private sector; and (ii) Stewardship and system improvement. Out of the total project size of USD 125 million, USD 25 million will be the counterpart contribution of the State Government.

The planned design of the Project consists of multiple self-contained clusters of clinical services managed by operators on a PPP basis, providing services for free or at nominal charges, backed up by a robust oversight and monitoring mechanism fully integrated with the expanded health insurance program in the State. This will be concurrent with strengthening the state's capacity to implement the project.

The closing date of Uttarakhand Health Systems Development Project is 30th September, 2023.

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For Euro 571 million

Motherson Sumi Systems announced that it has acquired Finland based global auto component major PKC Group Plc for approximately Euro 571 million. The acquisition will help the Company expand its footprint significantly in American and European commercial vehicle market segment.

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Sintex Industries rose 3.15% to Rs 103 at 11:25 IST on BSE, with the stock extending recent gains on renewed buying interest.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 148.39 points or 0.5% at 29,273.01. The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 15.67 points or 0.11% at 13,833.51.

On the BSE, 10.20 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 9.64 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 103.30 so far during the day, which is a 52-week high for the counter. The stock hit a low of Rs 100.40 so far during the day.

The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 70 on 12 August 2016. It had outperformed the market over the past one month till 24 March 2017, surging 7.02% compared with the Sensex's 1.83% rise. The scrip had also outperformed the market over the past one quarter, gaining 37.16% as against the Sensex's 12.98% rise.

The mid-cap company has equity capital of Rs 52.71 crore. Face value per share is Rs 1.

Shares of Sintex Industries have risen 7.4% in three trading sessions from its close of Rs 95.90 on 22 March 2017.

Sintex Industries announced during market hours on Friday, 24 March 2017 that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) sanctioned the composite scheme of agreement between Sintex Industries, Sintex Plastic Technology, Sintex-BAPL and Sintex Infra Projects.

Meanwhile, Sintex Industries during market hours today, 27 March 2017 issued clarification with regard to media reports of sale of minority stake in Sintex Plastics. Sintex Industries said that as a corporate policy it does not normally comment on speculative news articles.

As part of corporate strategy, the company is always evaluating opportunities for enhancing the stakeholder's value. As and when such proposals are considered by the board of directors of the company and warrant disclosure, the company shall comply with the disclosure obligations, it added.

Currently there is no such proposal as reported by the media that is being considered by the board of directors of the company, Sintex Industries said.

On consolidated basis, net profit of Sintex Industries declined 38.9% to Rs 110.81 crore on 0.1% decline in net sales to Rs 2075.01 crore in Q3 December 2016 over Q3 December 2015.

Sintex is a diversified group with businesses across 2 principal business segments - plastics (including infrastructure) and textiles.

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The 3rd G-20 Framework Working Group (FWG) Meeting under the G-20 German Presidency is being co-hosted by Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in Varanasi on 28th and 29th of March, 2017. The first two G 20 FWG meetings under the G-20 German Presidency have already been held at Berlin in Dec 16 and at Riyadh in Feb 17.

Since the inception of the FWG in 2009, this is the fourth occasion that India is hosting this meeting. Previously, India had hosted the G-20 FWG Meetings in Neemrana, Rajasthan (2012 under Mexican Presidency), in Goa (in 2014 under G-20 Australian Presidency) and in Kerala (2015 under G-20 Turkish Presidency).

In the forthcoming meeting in Varanasi, the G-20 FWG will discuss the current global economic situation as well as deliberate on the policy options that countries can pursue to counter the important development challenges.

One important focus of this meeting will be to deliberate on the inclusive growth agenda of G-20 and to formulate a framework that will enable countries to help frame country specific inclusive growth policies.

The G-20 is the group of 19 countries and European Union (EU) deliberating on global economic issues and other important development challenges. G-20 Framework Working Group (FWG) is one of the core working groups of G-20. The mandate of FWG is to deliberate on the challenges facing the global economy and the policy options that countries can use to address these challenges. India along with Canada has been co-chairing this group.

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With effect from 28 March 2017

Umang Dairies announced that Gaurav Jain, consequent upon his resignation has been relieved from the post of Chief Financial Officer (KMP) of the Company on the close of working hours on 27 March 2017 and; Diwan Singh, General Manager (Finance and Accounts) is the Chief Financial Officer (KMP) of the Company w.e.f. 28 March 2017.

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Communications Minister Manoj Sinha on Monday said 26 banking and non-banking companies have shown interest to collaborate with India Post Payments Bank.

"The Department is in various stages of discussions with them. A decision on formal partnerships will be taken after carefully evaluating the entire value proposition they propose for the common man," Sinha said in a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

The India Post Payments Bank had launched its two branches in Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and Ranchi (Jharkhand) on January 30 with basic products and banking services in partnership with the Punjab National Bank.

Some of the banks and non-banking companies that have shown interest to partner with India Post Payments Bank are YES Bank, Union Bank, State Bank of India, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, HSBC and Royal Sundaram.

The payments banks are different from regular banks and are not allowed to undertake lending activities directly.

They can accept demand deposits only that is savings and current accounts and will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs 100,000 per individual customer.

Following the Reserve Bank of India guidelines for licensing of payments banks, it cannot accept Non Resident Indian deposits. Payment banks cannot set up subsidiaries to undertake non-banking financial services.

--IANS

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An exhibition focused on the work of eminent Indian theatre exponent Ebrahim Alkazi takes a retrospective view of his journey over 50 years.

Curated by Amal Allana and designed by Nissar Allana, the exhibition, a part of the celebrations of Rajasthan Divas and World Theatre Day, will be on display till May 6 at Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) here.

Alkazi is a legendary figure of Indian theatre whose remarkable achievements have earned him the India's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, among a vast number of Lifetime Achievement Awards.

The exhibition features multiple rooms of rare photographs, objects, archival documents, models of stage sets, using a multi media approach to exposing Alkazi's vision and ideas. The exhibition shows, for the first time, Alkazi's work from the 1940s and 1950s -- work that has rarely been seen anywhere in India, and brings a vast treasure of archival material into the public domain.

"A hushed silence enveloped our home. Beethoven, Stravinsky, Begum Akhtar, Ravi Shankar -- the gramophone playing 45's winds on. My father absorbed in the music, eyes shut, a notebook and a well-sharpened pencil are neatly placed in front of him, aligned at a perfect 90-degree angle to the corner of the table! His body, in the pose of Rodin's 'Thinker', is relaxed, but at the same time suffused with a contained energy. Daylight breaks with its soft, pink light, the sound of the sea and the sparrows melt away to be overtaken by the cacophony of BEST buses. He has been awake since at least 5 a.m., reading, and has already made himself a pot of tea. In a few moments he will offer a fresh cup to my mother, in bed, a small luxury that she appreciates without fail," said curator Amal Allana, Alkazi's daughter.

Alkazi's story runs parallel to the Independence Movement and the birth of Indian modernism in theatre. He introduced revolutionary ideas in theatre as early as the 1950's in scenic design, lighting, modern ideas of acting drawing from international traditions and linking these ideas to the performing folk traditions of India. He evolved new training methodologies for student actors, directors and stage designers and spoke of a new ethics and philosophy in theatre.

"We are honored to have an exhibition of works by E. Alkazi here at JKK. Alkazi is the doyen of theatre who pushed the boundaries of Indian theatre and brought it in line with its international counterparts," said Pooja Sood, Director General, JKK.

The exhibition will be on display at the refurbished Museum Galleries of Jawahar Kala Kendra. These Galleries are equipped with state of the art lighting systems matching international gallery standards.

--IANS

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The Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) on Monday urged the university's Vice-Chancellor to initiate the process of granting permanent status to hundreds of ad-hoc and temporary teachers.

"Despite being experienced, academically sound and possessing the required qualifications of an Assistant Professor, these teachers have been left to work on ad-hoc/temporary basis for several years, simply because Delhi University (DU) arbitrarily stopped holding interviews for regular appointments," DUTA President Nandita Narain said in a letter to Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi.

She underlined the plight of these teachers -- around 4,500 or almost 50 per cent across Delhi UNiversity colleges -- being deprived of benefits such as "increments, leave, career enhancement, medical reimbursement and above all, a life of dignity".

Also pointed out in the letter was the illegal status of these appointments which, according to Statutes under the Delhi University Act, cannot be extended beyond four months and constitute more than 10 per cent of the total faculty members.

Although the university advertised about 300 vacancies in February for faculty members, these are not going to ease the situation much for the ad-hoc and temporary teachers since the openings were for university departments, whereas the affected teachers are employed majorly in colleges.

"These teachers are suffering a lot and are being denied their legitimate rights. The VC doesn't meet us and when he meets, he doesn't talk about the issues," DUTA Vice President C.S. Rawat told IANS.

Sensing a bigger pattern behind the non-regularisation of these teachers, Rawat explained that it could be because of the government's intention to privatise the university gradually, after which teachers would be hired only on contractual basis.

"The process of absorption (of ad-hocs into permanent) started by previous VC (Dinesh Singh) was aborted by Tyagi soon after his appointment in 2016," Rawat said.

"There are teachers in the Executive Council who are card-carrying members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), never raise this issue and just toe the party line. Teachers are suffering badly because of all this," the DUTA Vice President added.

--IANS

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A coalition airstrike on an ISIS truck laden with explosives led to the deaths of dozens of civilians in Mosul, a senior Iraqi officer said Sunday.

The US-led coalition has acknowledged hitting an explosives-laden vehicle in a March 17 strike; the coalition said separately that a review of its airstrikes indicated one strike occurred that day in the area where the casualties were reported. US officials have not confirmed the Iraqi military's account.

Confusion has surrounded events during airstrikes on the city between March 17 and 23 after allegations emerged that as many as 200 civilians had been killed there.

Bashar al Kiki, chairman of the Nineveh Provincial Council and the source of the death toll, backed off the figure Sunday, saying that 200 was the death toll from multiple locations, citing his sources. He did not provide further details.

The US-led coalition confirmed Saturday that it had carried out an airstrike on March 17 "at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties."

Col. Muntathar Al-Shamari, the head of the Iraqi Counterterrorism Unit in Mosul, said that, prior to the airstrike, Iraqi counterterrorism forces had asked the US-led coalition to engage an ISIS vehicle that had been loaded with explosives.

"When the (vehicle) was struck, it exploded, destroying one or two of the houses next to where families were hiding," he said.

Al-Shamari characterized the report of 200 dead as an exaggeration.

Around 130 people were hiding in one of the homes, Iraqi Joint Military Command spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Rasool said.

82nd Airborne troops deploying

Earlier Sunday, the Iraqi military said 61 bodies had been pulled from the rubble at the site, adding that there was no sign the homes had been directly hit from the air. Of the 61 bodies recovered so far, it is unclear how many belong to civilians and how many might be ISIS fighters.

Abdullah Amr said he lives three or four houses down from the site of the explosion, which he said came in the early morning hours. One large dwelling housed 17 people from six different families, including the family of the homeowner who took them all in, he said.

Chaos erupted after the strike, he said, and as he and his family could hear people screaming, "I am alive! Save me!"

US and Iraqi forces have been making an all-out push to retake Mosul from ISIS since October. Iraq's second-largest city has been under the terrorist group's control since 2014. The city is ISIS' last major stronghold in the country.

Soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division are deploying to help Iraqi forces recapture Mosul. The troops are "deploying to Iraq on a non-enduring temporary mission to provide 'advise and assist' support to our Iraq partners," an Operation Inherent Resolve spokesperson said.

A US defense official said the troops will number in the "low hundreds" and are likely to operate out of east Mosul and Qayyarah West Air Base, according to the official.

Investigations launched

The defense departments from both Iraq and the United States launched investigations Saturday into airstrikes between March 17 and 23 and the civilian deaths.

A coalition review of airstrikes during that period found only one that corresponded to reports of civilian casualties in Mosul. That was the one on March 17.

The Iraqi military said in a statement Sunday that the home it examined had been reduced to rubble, but there was no sign of it being hit from the air. The team found a vehicle bomb and detonator in the debris. Those findings, along with witness accounts, led the team to believe that ISIS fighters had blown up the home.

Twenty-five women and children were rescued from the location alive, the military said.

'Body parts sticking out of the rubble'

In several parts of western Mosul, civilians say they are being caught up in coalition airstrikes, as well as crossfire between the Iraqi forces and ISIS fighters, Reuters reports.

Los Angeles Times reporter Molly Hennessy-Fiske, who visited the area in question with a civil defense group Friday, told CNN that she saw at least 50 dead bodies, as well as body parts, sticking out of the rubble.

"Hands, feet -- there were some remains that were wrapped in blankets. Most of them that they had retrieved they put in body bags. And (the civil defense group) unzipped some of those because they wanted to show us that some of the victims were women, including at least one pregnant woman and children. Some babies as well," she said.

The area was crowded as, according to the Iraqis there, ISIS militants had forced them into the area, Hennessy-Fiske said. Residents she spoke to said ISIS had brought a truck with explosives to the area days before the strike and that its fighters were shooting at aircraft above them when an "explosion happened," she said.

"Some people I talked to said the building started falling down on them. Some saw that truck that was parked on the street explode. It wasn't clear why that was -- if it was triggered by the strike or not -- and some managed to escape unharmed."

The US Central Command said Saturday that it has opened a probe "to determine the facts surrounding this strike and the validity of the allegation of civilian casualties."

"Our goal has always been for zero civilian casualties," the statement said, "but the coalition will not abandon our commitment to our Iraqi partners because of ISIS' inhuman tactics terrorizing civilians, using human shields, and fighting from protected sites such as schools, hospitals, religious sites and civilian neighborhoods."

The US military is also investigating allegations of civilian casualties during two recent airstrikes in Syria.

New tactics in western Mosul

Iraqi security forces said Saturday that new tactics would be needed in the battle to recapture western Mosul from ISIS in order to keep civilians out of harm's way.

Many of the roads in Mosul's old city are narrow, making targeted airstrikes challenging.

"We have reached the old city. It's more complicated warfare," according to Lt. Col. Abdul Amir Muhammadawi, spokesman for the rapid response teams. "The old city has old buildings and small alleyways, and to protect the civilians, we need new tactics."

Local and UN officials have said hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped in areas under ISIS control in western Mosul. The United Nations also said it is "profoundly concerned" over reports "of a high number of civilian casualties" in the city's al Jadidah area.

There are about 600,000 civilians feared trapped in western Mosul, according to the International Organization of Migration. Iraqi forces have regained control of the city's east.

This month, Iraqi forces seized Mosul's main government building and central bank from ISIS militants and are now closing in on the historic Al Nuri mosque where ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi first declared his envisioned Islamic caliphate.

Ghazi Balkiz reported from Irbil, and Angela Dewan reported and wrote from London. Jennifer Deaton, Larry Register, Tamara Qiblawi, Arwa Damon, Ryan Browne, Barbara Starr and Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.
Rabat, March 27 (IANS/MAP) Air France has launched a new direct flight from Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport to Morocco's Marrakech-Menara Airport.

Air France would operate Paris' Charles de Gaulle-Marrakech flight every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday on Airbus A320 with a capacity of 174 seats. It is equipped with the latest medium-haul travel cabins, the airline said.

A ceremony was organised on Sunday at the Marrakech-Menara Airport to inaugurate the first flight.

Speaking on this occasion, Air France's Managing Director for Africa, Franck Legre said that the new flight to Marrakech will contribute to promoting tourism in the city.

It will also allow local tourism operators to explore new markets, where the French flag carrier has a strong presence, such as Asian countries and Russia.

For the summer season, Legre added, Air France customers can fly to Morocco from Paris with up to 54 weekly flights.

In a statement to MAP, Chief Executive of the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT) Abderrafie Zouiten commended the initiative, which is part of the OMNT's aim to promote the tourism sector and explore new markets, including Asian countries and Russia.

He added that the new route will help attract more tourists to Marrakech.

--IANS

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Russia's main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was arrested at an anti-corruption protest he organised here on Sunday.

Thousands of people joined rallies nationwide, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev over corruption allegations, BBC reported.

At least 500 other protesters were detained in the capital and across the country.

In a tweet after his detention, Navalny urged fellow protesters to continue with the demonstration.

"Guys, I'm fine. No need to fight to get me out. Walk along Tverskaya (Moscow main street). Our topic of the day is the fight against corruption," he said (in Russian).

Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption blogger who heads Russia's Progress Party, called for the nationwide protests after he published reports claiming that Medvedev controlled mansions, yachts and vineyards -- a fortune that far outstripped his official salary.

Medvedev's spokeswoman called the allegations "propagandistic attacks", but the Prime Minister himself has not commented on the claims.

In Moscow, protesters filled Pushkin square and some climbed the monument to poet Alexander Pushkin shouting "impeachment". Turnout was estimated to be between 7,000 and 8,000, according to police.

The police said 500 protesters had been arrested in the capital alone, but a rights group, OVD Info, put that number at at least 700.

TV pictures showed demonstrators chanting "Down with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin!", "Russia without Putin!" and "Putin is a thief!".

The marches appeared to be the biggest since anti-government demonstrations in 2011/2012, BBC added.

Demonstrations were also held in Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and several other cities, where arrests had also been reported.

Navalny became known as one of the leading critics of Putin and the ruling United Russia party during protests in 2011 against Putin's return to the presidency.

He announced his intention to run for President in 2018 against Vladimir Putin. But he is barred from doing so after being found guilty in a case he said was politicised.
The Central government on Monday lifted the ban on the export of groundnut oil, soyabean oil, sesame oil and maize oil in bulk quantities, an official statement said.

Earlier, there was restriction on the bulk export of these edible oils and it was only permitted in branded consumer pack of 5 kgs.

"Export of groundnut oil, sesame oil, soyabean oil, and maize (corn) oil in bulk, irrespective of any pack size, has been exempted from the prohibition on export of edible oils," said a Commerce Ministry notification.

Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council welcomed the move saying it would help both farmers and exporters.

"Farmers failed to get fair deal for produce of oilseeds especially groundnut and sesame due to poor procurement by the government and cap on its export in bulk quantity. The move will surely help farmers and exporters as they will get fair price," said ist chairman Sanjiv Sawla.

He added that the move will provide Indian exporters level playing field in the global market since other competing countries like Sudan, Ethiopia, China, Myanmar, Bangladesh do not have any restriction of bulk packing.

According to the IOPEC data, India produces about 5 million tonnes of groundnut oil, out of which just 10 per cent is exported.

--IANS

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The Bangladesh Army on Monday continued for a fourth day a drive in Sylhet against militants holed up in an apartment building, the media reported. Eight persons have been killed so far.

After a lull after Sunday afternoon, sporadic gunfire and explosions were heard from the building at Shibbari on the outskirts of Sylhet since midnight, bdnews24.com reported.

Locals said they could hear bursts of automatic weapons and explosions again after 6 a.m. on Monday.

On Sunday, an Army spokesperson said at least two militants have been killed inside the building.

"There are several more well-trained operatives active inside the hideout," Brigadier General Fakhrul Ahsan told the media in Sylhet.

He said the assault was far from over and pointed to "considerable risks" involved in it.

On Friday, Sylhet police and personnel from police's counterterrorism unit cordoned off a housing complex at Shibbari neighbourhood.

Army commandos took charge of the operation from the police on Saturday and began the assault on the complex housing a five-storey and a four-storey building.

The two buildings have 30 flats with as many families living in them.

Seventy-eight persons trapped inside the building complex were evacuated amid much firing.

While that went on, two blasts within a kilometre of the buildings killed six persons, including two police officers and injured over 40 others.

The building owner earlier said a couple, Kauser Ali and Morjina Begum, rented a lower-storey flat, three months ago. It appears they made the place a militant hideout, the bdnews24.com reported.

--IANS

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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Coca-Cola joined hands on Monday to train over 50,000 small-time street food vendors in hygiene and health-related aspects of food selling, starting from April.

The Coca-Cola India (CCI) and the FSSAI will, under the latter's "Safe and Nutritious Food - A Shared Responsibility" theme, will provide training to the street food vendors, starting with Ludhiana in Punjab before moving on to other states.

The move was also touted as a step in the direction of the central government's flagship Skill India programme.

Speaking on the occasion, Venkatesh Kini, President, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, said: "Coca-Cola India is enthusiastic about partnering with FSSAI to make a significant contribution to improving the lives of the vendors and also enhancing the eating out experience for consumers. Coca-Cola India has already taken several steps towards skill enhancement, both in social as well as sporting arenas under Skill India."

This is not the first time that the American soft drink-maker would be launching such a training drive. "Parivartan", its flagship initiative, is in its 10th year and was launched well before the company came up with any Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme.

"Coca-Cola India has been training 'kirana' (provisions) retailers for the past ten years under their flagship retailer training initiative - Parivartan. This collaboration with FSSAI provides an opportunity and broadens the horizons of Coca-Cola's Parivartan initiative," Kini said.

The training would be completely bona fide and there would be no compulsion to stock or sell their products, he added.

The FSSAI, which has also been training street vendors for years, has run such initiatives in Delhi and other states with help of the National Association of Street Vendors of India. During its previous campaigns, it was able to train 20,000 such vendors.

"The idea this time is to touch the lives of every Indian, wherever he may be living, and help him get the cleanest possible food," FSSAI CEO Pawan Aggarwal said at the event.

The training will include screening of audio-visual material and acquainting vendors on managing inventory, stock, and how to keep the water from getting contaminated further, keeping in view the role of infected water as the cause of most diseases.

--IANS

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Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has met FARC's top leader Rodrigo Londono to follow up on the implementation of the peace agreement between the two sides.

The meeting on Sunday took place in the department of Bolivar.

Santos on Twitter said they discussed crucial topics such as the disarmament process and the reincorporation of FARC guerrilla members into society.

"We revised advances in the disarmament timeline, ZVTN (zones of transition and normalization), reincorporation and regulatory issues," Santos said.

The President also said that delegations from the government and the FARC had met in Cartagena city this weekend to mark 100 days since the implementation of the peace process began.

"In these two days, the government and FARC have met to mark the implementation of the Peace Agreement. They gave me a report: it is progress," continued Santos.

Santos on Saturday said the FARC laying down their arms was a historic fact for Colombia, after over 50 years of war.

--IANS

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Telling the Modi government to consider alternatives to pellet guns, the Supreme Court on Monday suggested technology-based solutions to control mobs in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pointing out that it appreciated the situation confronting the security forces in Kashmir, Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the alternatives to pellet guns should be "very very technology-based measures" that protect both sides.

The apex court reminded the government that India was a welfare state.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said he would get back to the court. The court then granted two weeks for consideration of the alternatives to the pellet guns.

The court was hearing a petition filed by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association for a ban on the use of pellet guns by security forces.

The lawyers' body had challenged a Jammu and Kashmir High Court order which said that it was entirely for security agencies to decide what kind of force was needed to be used in a given situation.

The top court had on December 14, 2016 sought the central government's response on the Bar Association plea.

The Bar Association counsel told the apex court that pellet guns had led to devastating injuries to even those living in nearby areas, including those watching the protests from their homes.

However, underlining the involvement of anti-national elements, Rohatgi told the court that pellet guns were used only after all other steps, including warnings and lathicharge, were exhausted.

Rohatgi said that in 252 attacks on Central Reserve Police Force camps from July 8 to August 11 last year, as many as 1,775 personnel were injured, 79 grievously.

Telling the bench that security forces were dealing with "anti-national people" and that national integrity and sovereignty were at stake, the Attorney General said: "How to use, what to use, and in what manner to be used is something that can only be decided on the ground by people dealing with the situation."

--IANS

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Legislator Ved Prakash of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) joined the BJP on Monday, dealing a blow to Delhi's ruling party ahead of the April 23 civic body polls.

The MLA from Bawana alleged that there was no democracy in the AAP and accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of not fulfilling poll promises he had made before sweeping the 2015 assembly elections.

Prakash announced his decision to join the Bharatiya Janata Party at a press conference here also attended by Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari.

The voting for 272 wards of north, east and south Delhi municipal corporations will be held on April 23 and the results will be declared on April 25.

--IANS

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AAP legislator Ved Prakash resigned from the party as well as assembly membership and joined the BJP on Monday, ahead of the April 23 elections to the three municipal corporations here.

Ved Prakash, the MLA from Bawana, claimed there was no democracy in the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of not fulfilling the promises he made before sweeping the 2015 assembly elections.

"I am resigning from the AAP as it has failed to deliver on its promises made during the 2015 assembly elections. People are feeling cheated," Prakash said.

Prakash announced his decision to join the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party at a press conference here, also attended by Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari.

Later in the day, Prakash resigned from the assembly membership.

The AAP said the BJP was conspiring to break the ruling party by "purchasing" AAP MLAs.

Voting for the 272 wards of north, east and south Delhi municipal corporations will be held on April 23 and the results declared on April 26.

Prakash said he was feeling "suffocated" in the AAP.

"The government has failed on corruption front. Several government departments are still loaded with corruption," he said.

Prakash claimed that 30-35 MLAs in the AAP were not happy with the party leadership.

"This party has no connect with the people on the ground. They do not know what is happening at the ground level," he claimed.

Reacting to the development, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the BJP was rattled by Kejriwal's decision to abolish house tax in Delhi if voted to power in the three municipal corporations.

"Positive reactions are coming after this announcement, which rattled the BJP and it then resorted to political machinations that are not going to work," Sanjay Singh said.

He alleged that the BJP was conspiring to break his party by purchasing MLAs because it feared losing the civic body polls.

"The BJP is going to lose the MCD elections; that is why they have resorted to such party-breaking ."

"You all know the results whenever efforts were made to purchase our MLAs. We got 67 of the 70 assembly seats when attempts to break our party were made by the BJP ahead of the 2015 assembly elections," he said.

Sanjay Singh also denied reports of a few more AAP MLAs leaving the party.

Welcoming Prakash into the BJP, the party's Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari said many Aam Aadmi Party MLAs and workers were not happy with its leadership.

"The AAP and its government is only working for Kejriwal's political ascendancy due to which developmental works in Delhi have come to a standstill; and there is frustration among public representatives," Tiwari said in a statement.

--IANS

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The European Union's diplomatic service on Monday demanded the release of demonstrators who were arrested during an anti-corruption protest in Russia.

In a statement, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said the detained citizens, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who were arrested during a series of anti-corruption protests, should be released as they had the right to gather peacefully and to free speech, Efe news reported.

"Police operations in the Russian Federation prevented the exercise of basic freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly - which are fundamental rights enshrined in the Russian constitution," read the statement.

The EEAS called on Russian authorities to respect the international commitments it had made to the European Council and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Meanwhile, the head of the Council of Europe on Monday also urged Russian authorities to release the opposition protesters who were arrested in the mass demonstrations in cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland said in a statement that those detained during the protests were exercising their freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

The arrests "raise issues under the European Convention on Human Rights," Jagland said.

"I am particularly concerned about the reported detention of minors. I call for the release of all those detained," he added.

On Sunday, thousands of people gathered across Russia to protest against corruption in the country in a series of rallies called up by Navalny.

As the demonstrations were unauthorized, hundreds of people were arrested, including the opposition leader, who once detained tweeted: "Guys, I'm fine. Our focus of the day is the fight against corruption," urging his followers to ignore his arrest and continue protesting.

Navalny is to face a hearing on Monday, and on Twitter posted a picture of himself in court with the caption: "The time will come when we judge them (but honestly)".

The national protest day was organised by Navalny under the slogan "Dimon (a derogatory diminutive of Dmitry) will pay," referring to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, whom the opposition leader accuses of being the most corrupt man in Russia.

The accusation was first made in early March, when Navalny published a video on YouTube that showed the results of a months-long investigation into the Prime Minister.

The video, which has been seen more than 10 million times, claimed Medvedev had illegally received at least $1.2 billion worth of property and funds through charitable foundations run by close friends and family.

Earlier this year, Navalny was found guilty of corruption in a case he said was fabricated for political motives, meaning he would no longer be able to run in national elections.

--IANS

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JINDO, SOUTH KOREA - When South Korea's Sewol ferry sank three years ago killing more than 300 people, it also devastated businesses close to the wreck site. Now owners hope its salvage will herald a change in their fortunes.

The ship went down in an archipelago off southwestern South Korea, whose 1,700 islands make up the Dadohaehaesang national park, the country's largest.

At a harbor on the southern side of Jindo, the closest large island to the wreck, motorboats used to be chartered for marine trips by fishermen and tourists.

Now they lie tied to the dock and their owners sit idle nearby. Business was down by half, said captain Park Tae-Il, as anglers - his main clients - avoided the area.

"Fishermen call it the devil's water," he said. "The atmosphere is cold because so many young lives were lost."

Now more visitors than ever before come to Jindo, said local official Choi Min-Woo - over 100 every weekend.

They pay their respects to the dead at a shrine in Paengmok, placing white chrysanthemums before a wall covered in pictures of dead children, and leave.

"They are on their way to another tourist location," said Choi. That has crippled tourist businesses.

Lim Jung-Sook opened a guesthouse on the island, just a year before the accident.

In her first 12 months in business, she charged $300 a night for a two-bedroom cabin in peak season, and all her rooms were full, she said.

But business plunged after the disaster, and even a 50 percent price cut failed to attract custom.

"Even my friends refuse to come, saying they are not comfortable vacationing wearing sunglasses and straw hats in such (a) subdued atmosphere," Lim told AFP.

On the way into Paengmok, a signboard stands in the middle of an empty gravel lot, describing an elaborate plan to turn the site into a cultural complex with accommodation, shopping centers and leisure facilities from December 2014 to December 2017.

The proposal is part of a multi-million-dollar tourism development project for Jindo County, but instead the families of missing ferry victims have been camped out at the spot, waiting to recover their dead children.

"The plan has been delayed," said local official Choi, who is in charge of the scheme, citing the accident as one of the factors.

Now completion is expected in three to four years, by when he hopes Jindo will have been able to recover from its image as the "devil's island".

Business owners hope that last week's successful raising of the wreck will herald a revival for their enterprises.

Freshly caught seafood was once one of the area's attractions, but demand was destroyed by the disaster.

Businesses ceased operations, said fried chicken vendor Lee Myung-Seok. "No one bought seafood from Jindo waters because of the belief that they fed on human flesh," he said. "My heart still aches when I pass by the harbour," Lee said, letting out a long sigh of grief.

Fishermen offload ice buckets from a boat at a small fishing port adjaecent to Paengmok harbour on South Korea's southern island of Jindo on Tuesday.Ed Jones / Agence Francepresse

(China Daily 03/27/2017 page10)
Farooq Abdullah has been an instant crowd-puller in the past. But the "Tiger is back" image he has been trying to generate has failed to ignite the magic he was once famous for.

Farooq Abdullah has always enthused Kashmiris -- be it through his playboy image or as an inheritor of the nearly century-old political legacy of his father, the legendary Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.

"Yes, for nostalgia sake, I may vote for him. He is the seniormost mainstream politician in (Jammu and) Kashmir and has been, well, not worse than others."

These words of a voter in north Kashmir's Ganderbal district may sum up the current victory chances of the 79-year-old former Chief Minister. But they are a testimony to the huge beating the "Tiger" has taken in Kashmir over the years.

A political heavyweight, Farooq Abdullah is the joint candidate of the National Conference and the Congress party against a comparatively lesser known Nazir Ahmad Khan of the state's ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Abdullah is out to avenge his defeat of 2014 from the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency by PDP's Tariq Hameed Karra. Luckily for Abdullah, Karra is now campaigning for him.

Karra joined the Congress after he resigned from Parliament and the PDP last year. His resignation forced the present by-poll in the Srinagar-Budgam parliamentary constituency.

Although the election campaign ends in less than two weeks, poll-related activities are highly subdued.

The odd campaign review meeting inside a highly fortified party headquarters or so-called "workers meetings" at party offices where iron gates guarded by the security forces forbid "public entry" is all that is so far seen in Srinagar, Ganderbal and Budgam districts.

But people do know that voting is scheduled for April 9.

"The very fact that people are talking of a 'fight' between PDP's Khan and Abdullah indicates the thin ice on which the National Conference leader is standing," said a voter from Beerwah, the area from where the PDP candidate hails.

Beerwah is represented in the 87-member state assembly by Abdullah's son and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

So far, the PDP candidate has not held a single public meeting in Srinagar or Ganderbal although press releases are issued almost daily "highlighting workers meetings" in these districts.

An intelligence officer told IANS that the Srinagar-Budgam election is not about who wins or loses.

"It is, from the security point of view, a question of how many voters exercise their democratic right," said the officer.

The government has requested 250 additional companies of paramilitary forces from the central government to secure these elections.

The militant threats apart, the average Kashmiri is not enthused by the poll campaign. This is the main reason for the highly muted campaign. The separatists have called for a boycott of the election.

The by-election is being held hardly four months since last year's summer unrest ended with 94 people dead and several thousand injured. Nearly 150 of the injured are facing prospects of permanent blindness due to pellet gun injuries.

The National Conference has pockets of influence in areas which might not be seriously impacted by the boycott calls.

The eight assembly segments in Srinagar district have witnessed the lowest voter turnout since the armed violence started in Kashmir in early 1990s.

But rural voting segments like Khansahib, Beerwah, Chrar-e-Sharief, Kangan and Ganderbal are likely to vote although the overall percentage of voter turnout would be known only in the evening of April 9.

Over 1,327,000 people are eligible to vote in the districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal and Budgam. The result will be known on April 15.

(Sheikh Qayoom can be contacted at sheikh.abdul@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.)
An Indian man, who was assaulted by a group of teenagers at a restaurant in Australia's Hobart city, has said the racial mood is changing in the country and assaults, ethinc slurs are becoming more common.

Li Max Joy, who hails from Kerala and works as a part-time taxi driver, was attacked by a group of five youngsters at McDonald's restaurant in north Hobart on Saturday. They hurled racial abuses like "you bloody black Indians" at him and assaulted him, reported The Mercury newspaper.

The 33-year-old victim said that the teenagers had been arguing with the McDonald's manager when he reached the restaurant to have coffee, but turned their anger on him when they noticed him.

"They were angry at the McDonald's staff but turned their anger on me in the car park and then inside the store," he said. Joy said he was punched 30 to 40 times.

"Three of those boys punched me in the face and said, 'You bloody black Indian ****, why are you here?'," Li told Australia's SBS television network.

Joy was admitted to a hospital with serious wounds. He was later discharged and he reported the incident to the police.

He said the increasing racial hostility could stem from "the Donald Trump effect".

"The racial mood is definitely changing. It is continuous now. Many other drivers have been abused but not everyone reports it to the police."

Joy said that he has been living in Hobart for eight years with his family and also narrated another such incident that happened with him a week ago.

"Last week in Glenorchy, I was waiting for a fare when a primary-school aged boy put water in his mouth and then came over to the car window and spat it out on me," Joy said.

Joy also sent a detailed email to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj about the incident.

Another taxi driver was assaulted by four men in a racial attack in Hobart in June last year.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A group of friends, family and fans paid tribute to mother-daughter actresses Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds at a memorial service here.

The service took place on Saturday at Forest Lawn cemetery, reports variety.com.

The tribute spanned decades of Hollywood history, with a hip-hop version of "Singin' in the rain", collage of candid family photographs, and an appearance by fictional robot character R2D2.

"My mother didn't like funerals and memorials. She liked shows," said Todd Fisher, who organised the tribute to his mother and sister.

Fans started lining up outside the Hall of Liberty at 7 a.m. on Saturday, seeking to pay their respects one last time.

Carrie Fisher, best known for her role of Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" franchise, died on December 27, 2016, after suffering a heart attack at the age of 60.

Reynolds died a day later at the age of 84.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Some of the main leaders of Hong Kong's 2014 pro-democracy protest were informed on Monday that they will be prosecuted for participating in the historic protests against the Chinese government.

The development comes a day after Beijing-backed candidate Carrie Lam was elected Chief Executive of Hong Kong in an election process that has been widely criticised by pro-democracy groups, Efe news reported.

"We expect the political persecution against student-activists to continue," said activist Joshua Wong, who was one of the principal figures of the protests.

According to local media, at least eight pro-democracy activists and lawmakers will be prosecuted.

Other activists summoned by the police include Tommy Cheung Sau-yin and Chung Yiu-wa, former members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, one of the groups that mobilised people into action during the pro-democracy protests.

The vice-chairman of League of Social Democrats Raphael Wong Ho-ming wrote on his Facebook page that he too has been accused.

The activists and legislators stand accused of having disrupted public order.

The "Umbrella Revolution" emerged as a criticism of the restrictive electoral system that appoints Hong Kong's leader but ended without any progress for the democracy movements in the autonomous territory.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Officials from New Delhi and Seoul will meet in New Delhi on Thursday to discuss ways to expand economic and financial cooperation, South Korean Finance Ministry said on Monday.

The working-level talks will be lead by Jin Seung-ho, Finance Ministry Director, Yonhap news agency reported.

Among the top agendas to be discussed is the $10 billion Seoul-New Delhi financial programme aimed at developing the subcontinent's infrastructure, which was agreed at the bilateral summit meeting in 2015, said the ministry.

India is South Korea's eighth-largest trading partner with its exports to New Delhi hitting $11.6 billion last year.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A large contingent of Indian-Americans gathered outside the CNN office in Chicago after the channel aired a documentary that "tarnished" Hinduism, the reported.

The protest held on Sunday was attended by over 600 Indian-Americans, the American Bazaar reported.

"We are here to protest against the show aired on CNN called 'Believer', directed by Reza Aslan. The community is outraged by the way he presented Hinduism. We are 2.5 million Hindus living in the country peacefully and projecting Hindus in a bad light was an evil work done by Aslan," said Shamkant Sheth, President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), Chicago.

"It is a gross mistake by CNN to broadcast this show. We had requested CNN not to broadcast this show, but they aired it."

"Raza Aslan, even though he claims to be religious, which he is not, just met a few people in Varanasi who are called 'Aghoris' (Hindu sadhus devoted to Lord Shiva). I just do not understand why he chose to show this when Hinduism has offered this world so many good things like yoga and spirituality," Sheth added.

A letter distributed during the protest said: "This was his (Aslan's) picture of Hinduism projected to the world on CNN."

The protest was organised to condemn and send a message to CNN to stop such programmes and to send positive messages about Hindus and Indians, the American Bazaar said.

According to the organisers, it was to highlight the beliefs and identity of the community, and also, its strengths to the mainstream media, and America, in general.

In one of his Facebook posts, Aslan said that his show is not about Hinduism but the Aghoris who follow extreme rituals.

He also said that the portrayal of sensitive issues such as caste discrimination in the documentary could have offended some people, including many Hindus in America.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on Monday signed an agreement to supply over 1 million tonnes (MT) of petroleum products annually to Nepal for the next five years, Chairman B. Ashok said.

"The supply agreement signed today is for the period April 2017 to March 2022 and will meet the full requirements, demand and quantities of all the major oil products, including petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation turbine fuel and LPG," Ashok told reporters here.

IOC will supply Euro-IV grade petrol and diesel to Nepal from next month.

While presently the fuel is sent by trucks, a pipeline will be laid from Patna-Motihari-Amlekganj for supply of fuel in future. According to IOC officials, the pipeline will get fuel from IOC's Barauni refinery in Bihar as well as Haldia refinery in West Bengal.

"Every 5 years, we renew fuel supply agreement with Nepal. Today (Monday), IOC and Nepal Oil Corporation signed agreement for supplying fuels for the next 5 years," Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said at the MoU signing event.

The new MoU, he said, is "much better" than the previous ones as "it keeps the interests of both the nations".

He however did not elaborate.

"We feel it is the responsibility of India to help Nepal meet its energy requirements, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nepal in 2014 where in his address to Nepal parliament took responsibility of the Raxaul-Amlekhganj petroleum product pipeline," he said.

Pradhan said work on the pipeline should begin in 2017-18.

"Nepal wants to take that pipeline little forward to near Kathmandu which is about 70 kms more and has sought technical help from IOC, though the expenses will be incurred by Nepal," he said.

Pradhan said a high level official committee has been formed to look into preparing feasibility of the pipeline as well as another LPG pipeline from Motihari to Nepal's Amlekhganj.

India has been a traditional supplier of fuel to Nepal, which receives its entire demand of about 200,000 kilolitres of fuel every month by road from IOC.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Acclaimed actor Irrfan Khan is shooting in Georgia for his upcoming film "Hindi Medium".

"Hello from Georgia...'Hindi Medium' song shoot," Irrfan tweeted.

Also starring Pakistani star Saba Qamar, "Hindi Medium" narrates the love story of a young couple from Delhi's Chandni Chowk.

The film is is directed by Saket Chaudhary, and has been described as a light-hearted romantic film about a young couple in Chandni Chowk, who aspire to move into society's upper crust.

Presented by T-Series and Maddock films, the movie has been produced by Dinesh Vijan and Bhushan Kumar.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Monday partially opened the only passageway between the Gaza Strip and Israel following a shut down over the assassination of one of the group's senior commanders.

Hamas spokesperson Eyad Al-Bozom said that the crossing will be "opened for the travel of families of prisoners in Israeli jails, and three ministers of the national unity government", Xinhua news agency reported.

Al-Bozom added that there were no restrictions by Hamas on the entry to Gaza.

However, foreigners in Gaza are not allowed to leave Gaza, including employees of the UN or other international organisations.

Hamas has imposed "strict security measures" in the Gaza Strip since Sunday, including a full closure on the ways to the borders crossing with Israel from the Palestinian side, as part of it's investigations into the murder of Mazen Fuqaha.

Last week, unidentified gunmen in Gaza opened fire at Mazen Fuqaha, a Hamas leader who had been released from an Israeli jail under the prisoner exchange agreement between the Islamist movement and Israel in 2011

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israel's President Reuven Rivlin on Monday rejected a request for pardon by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is in jail for corruption.

Rivlin said in a statement that "despite Olmert's long years of contribution to the country", the President's power to pardon convicted offenders should not become a meand to overrule the court's verdict, Xinhua news agency reported.

The request for early release was submitted by Olmert's lawyers on January 31, after Olmert served almost 12 months of his 19-month sentence for bribery and obstruction of justice.

Olmert, 71, could still appeal for an early release.

Olmert, who was in office between 2006 and 2009, started serving his term on February 15, 2016, after the Supreme Court reduced his six-year sentence to 18 months.

The court cancelled a previous conviction in the so-called "Holyland case", a corruption scandal involving a massive construction project in Jerusalem, but found him guilty in another bribery case and sentenced him an additional month for obstruction of justice.

Olmert is the first Israeli Prime Minister to serve jail time.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Is protectionism patriotic? The recent discussions about free trade and protectionism seems to suggest it is. If you love your country, youll protect its economy. In a new article from The Stream, Samuel Gregg, Actons director of research, examines the growing hostility of American conservatism towards free trade and explains why supporting free trade is actually patriotic. He says:

Over the past four years, Americans have turned against free trade. A majority now see free trade as bad for America. The biggest growth in anti-free trade feeling has occurred among Republicans and conservatives. There are many reasons for this shift. For one thing, not all Americans immediately win from the opening of markets. Another problem is free trades politically-poisonous association with the Davos internationalista set.

Gregg recognizes the shift in ideology among conservatives regarding trade and calls for free traders to take action:

Thats why its so vital for those who believe in free trade to ground this belief in love of country. American protectionists have always wrapped themselves in the Stars and Stripes. To support tariffs and subsidies, they say, means youre a patriot. To favor free trade, the argument goes, implies that you care more about Japan than West Virginian coal miners. President John Quincy Adams Secretary of State, Henry Clay was an arch-protectionist. He portrayed free trade as a way for the British to re-colonize the United States! But American protectionists havent played the patriotism card for petty reasons. They know that Americans dont view love of country as crude and outdated. Americans are still patriotic compared to, say, most West Europeans. Over half of Americans own a flag. Thats why free traders need to explain that free trade is the true patriotic choice.

Additionally, Gregg lays out some of the pitfalls of protectionism, and offers solutions to these problems that free trade is well-adept to solve:

The protectionist racket never seems to help American consumers  all 325,816,150 of them as of March 2017. Even die-hard protectionists concede that free trade reduces prices. As Adam Smith observed long ago, open markets boost competition and help nations discover what they do well compared to everyone else. This lowers the prices of goods and services for every American, regardless of race, sex, religion, or economic status. But theres another aspect of free trade that helps America overall. Free trade boosts competition. Competition helps Americans find their own weaknesses and strengths. It inspires us to innovate and create. It keeps U.S. firms on their toes. And it encourages them to focus on what customers need and want. Thats good for all Americans. Protectionism, however, gives American businesses an incentive to do the opposite: to grow sluggish and spend money on lobbyists. Rather than focus on customers, they focus on politics. Politicians always notice noisy interest groups, especially if they get something in return.

In conclusion, Gregg articulates that the losers under protectionist policies are the common American people and that isolation and limitation of the American economy is something hardly American.

And who are the biggest losers from these deals? Again, its the 325 million American consumers who, unlike businesses, are spread out around the country and dont have lobbyists. American patriots should be concerned for the well-being of all Americans. How is it patriotic to favor groups with political connections at the expense of weaker Americans? This means more privileges for the few, and less liberty and justice for all. And that, to say the least, is hardly American.

To read Greggs article, visit The Stream here.

Image: Public Domain
Jharkhand legislators may get a hike in salary and other facilities if the recommendation of an assembly committee is accepted by the government.

The assembly committee, headed by ruling BJP legislator Radha Krishna Kishore, has submitted a detailed report to the state assembly regarding hike in the salaries of the legislators, Ministers and the Chief Minister.

Sources in the state assembly revealed that if the recommendation of the committee is accepted, then there will be quantum jump in the salary of legislators.

The assembly committee was formed by Speaker Dinesh Oraon at the demand of legislators during the budget session.

"We can't reveal the recommendation. Several suggestions and information came to us. In Jharkhand, the Chief Minister salary is less than the Chief Secretary's. Legislators are above many officials in protocol.

"The responsibility of legislature is much more than that of the executive. All such considerations have been taken into account in the recommendation" told Radha Krishna Kishore, who headed the committee, to IANS.

Last time the salaries of Jharkhand legislators, ministers and Chief Minister saw a significant hike was in 2015.

Following the 2015 hike, under the revised pay structure, the Chief Minister is now getting Rs 24.60 lakh per annum. And while Cabinet ministers get Rs 21.60 lakh per annum, the legislators get a higher sum of Rs 21.64 lakh per annum.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Monday wrote to the Election Commission opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jharkhand just before the Littipara assembly by-poll on April 9.

Modi is scheduled to arrive in Sahebganj district and the lay foundation stone of a bridge over the Ganga river.

"PM Modi will lay foundation stone of the bridge on Ganga river, distribute one lakh mobile phones among women, distribute appointment letters to Pahadia tribe battalion and other things. Such activities are to lure the voters of Littipara assembly," JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya, who has also written to the EC, told reporters.

"We demand the EC should look into the issue to conduct free and fair poll. The Prime Minister's visit would make an impact and it should be rescheduled after the assembly by-poll," the JMM leader said.

Littipara assembly seat is the bastion of the JMM and the party has been winning the seat for the last 30 years.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jharkhand is making efforts to make inroads into the JMM bastion in the by-poll.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Kerala government has decided to probe the circumstances leading to the resignation of a second minister from the government.

Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran on Sunday resigned after an audio emerged in which he was heard having a lewd conversation with a woman on phone.

On Monday morning, Saseendran met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and reiterated that he did nothing wrong.

"I have told the Chief Minister that there are loose ends in the case made out against me and welcomed a probe into it. The Chief Minister will decide on the nature of the probe," Saseendran told the media.

The next to meet Vijayan were Police chief Loknath Behra and Home Secretary Nalini Netto.

Meanwhile, the state unit of the minister's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is meeting here on Tuesday to discuss the turn of events according to party President Uzhavoor Vijayan.

"We will decide on what needs to be done as we have one more legislator, Thomas Chandy. We are an ally of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and hence we have a natural claim of getting a cabinet post," he said.

Saseendran is the second minister to resign since the LDF.

In 2016, CPI-M strongman and Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan quit on charges of nepotism.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lawyers all over India will abstain from work on March 31 to protest against a proposed bill that bars advocates from going on strike, it was announced on Tuesday.

Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said the proposed amendments by the Law Commission in the Advocates Act were "draconian, anti-lawyer, unconstitutional, undemocratic and anti-people".

"The recommendations of the Law Commission are against the legal profession and legal education of the country is in danger because of this proposed bill," Mishra said.

"The regulation and control of legal profession and legal education is proposed to be handed over to non-lawyers and the advocates will have to face disciplinary proceedings before people not connected with the legal profession."

According to the BCI website, there were some 12 lakh lawyers all over the country as of 2013.

However, the Supreme Court lawyers will not participate in the strike but they will extend their support to other lawyers.

"The strike will be observed by all the lawyers across high courts and district courts. However, Supreme Court lawyers will not participate in the strike, though will put a white ribbon on their coat as a mark of protest," said chairman of the Bar Council's Executive Committee and senior advocate Apurba Kumar Sharma.

The Council said there were chances that chartered accountants, architects, politicians, doctors and others would dominate the Bar Council due to the proposed legislation.

The Council also urged the government to reject the recommendations of the Law Commission.

It said the Commission appeared to have acted hurriedly without considering the recommendations of the BCI and instead considered the suggestions of only non-lawyers.

"It (proposed bill) has defined the misconduct in such a provocative manner that any judge, judicial official or a client can easily say that the behaviour of the lawyer was unlawful, disgraceful or dishonourable," the Council said.

"In a nutshell, the Council is of the unanimous opinion that the autonomy, democracy and the mandate of the Constitution of the country are proposed to be throttled by the said bill."

Judicial work in Delhi was paralysed on March 23 when some 6,000 lawyers went on strike to protest against suggestions that lawyers should be banned from going on strike and slapped with penalties if they do.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The scrip of MRF, the country's largest tyre manufacturer, on Monday touched a fresh high of Rs 60,140 per share during the mid-afternoon trade session.

The company's stock, which is the most expensive in terms of share price on the BSE, surged past the mark of Rs 60,000 per share for the first time, to touch a new 52-week high during the day's trade.

The scrip, which opened at Rs 59,250 per share, closed at Rs 59,904.90 -- up Rs 720.75 or 1.22 per cent from its previous close of Rs 59,184.15 per share.

Headquartered in Chennai, MRF exports tyres to over 90 markets abroad. It manufactures rubber products, including tyres, treads, tubes and conveyor belts, paints and toys.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As a teenager when Fakhrul Islam, now Frank F. Islam, crossed the Atlantic in 1970 to realise his American dream, the "shining city upon a hill" opened all its doors for him, helping him become one of the most-celebrated Indian-American businessmen in the US.

But today Islam, 53, fears that the country may be heading to its "darkest" era with President Donald Trump's alleged discriminatory ban on immigrants and travellers from six Muslim-majority countries to protect the US from terrorist attacks.

The man from Azamgarh  the Uttar Pradesh district with a large Muslim population that had once earned the the disreputable moniker of "Aatankgarh", the hub of terror in India  still feels that America continues to be an inclusive society despite President Trump's efforts to stop immigrants from entering the US.

"Muslim ban was a wrong, shameful and unconstitutional move. This is not who we are. These are not the values of America. And this kind of ban represents (the) darkest and ugliest past of America. We don't want to go back to that past. We have entered into a dark chapter of America," Islam told IANS in a wide-ranging interview during a recent visit to India.

He said Trump has to realise that "35 per cent of the business in America, especially in the Silicon Valley, is from immigrants" who not only create wealth and also generate jobs for others.

"I still look at the brighter horizon. I have the sense of optimism and hope. We have to make sure that we can still create hopes, inspirations, and dreams in people, not anxiety, anger, and fear," the businessman-turned-philanthropist said, quoting English Puritan lawyer John Winthrop, who described the America he imagined as a "shining city upon a hill" when he founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in New England.

Notwithstanding the efforts of Trump, "who doesn't represent what America stands for", Islam said India needed to learn from the US how to give "opportunity to all to succeed".

"There are lots of tools and mechanisms available in America for entrepreneurs to succeed, realise their dreams. That is something India needs to (do) and incubate the new generation of entrepreneurs," he said, speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Start Up India, Stand Up India" scheme to boost entrepreneurship and encourage start-ups with jobs creation.

Islam's is an inspiring rags-to-riches story. A son of a peasant family, he got his education at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) before he moved to the US where he built a multi-million dollar IT empire. But he has not forgotten his "humble roots".

"I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, a business owner. Entrepreneurs are made not born. Look at me, my own personal journey of humble beginning, from humble roots in Azamgarh, I became one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the US.

"I started my own business, the QSS Group, in 1994. I was able to build the group from one employee to 3,000 employees with revenue of $300 million in 12 years," said Islam, who serves on a number boards and advisory councils, including the John F. Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, the US Institute of Peace, the Woodrow Wilson Center, and the Brookings Institution.

He also serves on various boards at more than half a dozen universities including Johns Hopkins, University, American University, and George Mason University.

Islam sold his business in 2007 for $700 million to start with his American wife The Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman Foundation that provides targeted financial assistance to civic, educational and artistic causes and groups.

The foundation built a $2 million management school at Islam's alma mater AMU that he inaugurated in February. The school, he hopes, "will create more Frank Islams, more entrepreneurs who can make differences to people's lives".

He said being a philanthropic and sharing what he got from the society "is the part of my life that is much more enjoyable than making any money that I have made all my life".

Sharing wealth is multiplying joy, he said about the culture that is still not in vogue in India.

"Americans have been very generous in helping humanity. I am guided by the words of President John F. Kennedy that 'to whom much is given, much is expected'. It is a part of American DNA. People like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have given billions of dollars to serve humanity.

"In India, it is a work in progress. It is good to build mosques, temples, and churches, but I should also say it is also important to invest in people. It is not (happening) in India as yet. You should build the same culture in India," said the author of "Working the Pivot Points: To Make America Work Again" (2013) and "Renewing the American Dream" (2010).
A group of Muslim women stood on Westminster Bridge in a show of solidarity with victims of last week's terror attack outside the British Parliament that killed four people.

The group, who said they were wearing blue as a symbol of hope, stood holding hands for five minutes on the Westminster Bridge as the Big Ben struck 4 p.m. on Sunday, The Telegraph reported.

People from a range of backgrounds joined the event, organised by Women's March On London.

Three civilians were killed and many more were injured after a lone attacker, Khalid Masood, sped along the bridge before storming the parliamentary estate and stabbing to death a police officer on March 22.

Masood was shot dead by police.

"The feeling of what happened here on Wednesday was really strong," Fariha Khan from Surbiton said.

"We thought of the ordinary people who were here and were mowed down, standing here like this, it was very overwhelming."

She said the women wanted to add to the condemnation of the violent attack and stand defiant in the face of terrorism.

"When an attack happens in London, it is an attack on me," The Telegraph quoted Sarah Waseem from Surrey as saying.

So far, 12 people have been arrested in relation to the attack, CNN reported.

The latest was a 30-year-old man who was detained on Sunday in Birmingham "on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts" , the Metropolitan Police said.

Nine people arrested earlier have been released.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NASA has partnered with real-time visualisation platform Epic Games' Unreal Engine to create a mixed reality International Space Station (ISS) that can provide an 'out of this world' environment for its astronauts and engineers, a media report said on Monday.

Unreal Engine's applications are designed to allow people to work in environments that are practically impossible to access for training and development.

The mixed reality ISS app sweeps astronauts-in-training off their feet with an "active response gravity offload system" techcruch.com reported.

It works in conjunction with a robotic crane that makes the trainee feel like he or she would in micro-, lunar- or Martian gravity.

Besides using the mixed reality system to train astronauts and engineers for life and work in orbit, NASA will use it to design new habitats, the techcruch.com report said.

Previously, astronaut training meant dives in a "neutral buoyancy lab," a giant pool that holds 6.2 million gallons of water and spending time at NASA's "space vehicle mock-up facility," a life-sized model of the space shuttle orbiter and parts of the ISS.

These physical facilities have limited capacity, thus adding a mixed reality mock-up, alongside the physical facility, could allow astronauts-in-training a lot more time to hone their skills in a convincing simulator, the report said.

--IANS

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A Pakistani intruder was shot dead on Monday by security forces while trying to enter Indian Punjab through the Gurdaspur sector, an official said.

The troops at the border outpost Paharipur shot the intruder around 6.20 a.m., Border Security Force spokesperson Shubhendu Bhardwaj told IANS.

"The intruder was challenged repeatedly, but he did not pay any heed. The area has been cordoned off and a search is on," he added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', who is on a six-day visit to China, held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday.

Prachanda later called the meeting with Xi "fruitful" and said "this kind of high-level meeting has added a new dimension to Nepal-China ties", according to a statement published on the Prime Minister's website.

Describing his discussions with Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing as "exciting, open and clear", Prachanda said he received a positive response from the Chinese President on all the issues he raised, reported the Kathmandu Post.

"Apart from the positive response, the Chinese President talked about Nepal's political stability, development, prosperity and infrastructure development," said the Prime Minister on the website.

Prachanda also asked Xi to reopen the Tatopani border point, a major trading point between Nepal and China, which was closed following the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.

In response, the Chinese President told the Nepal Prime Minister that China was serious about opening Tatopani and other border points, The Himalayan Times reported.

Both the leaders also discussed the construction of a railway line in Nepal with Chinese investment.

Xi also pledged 9 million yuan ($1,308,800) aid to Nepal for the local level elections scheduled for May 14.

Besides, both the sides agreed to cooperate more in jointly building the Belt and Road project.

Both sides are expected to promote cooperation in connectivity, free trade arrangements, agriculture, industrial capacity, energy and post-disaster reconstruction, taking advantage of the opportunity provided by jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Prachanda, who embarked on the China visit on March 24, is scheduled to return home on March 29.

--IANS

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(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.)
Preparations are underway on a war footing for Namami Brahmaputra, the biggest ever river festival in India to be held in Assam, officials here said on Monday.

The festival is set to be held across 21 districts of Assam from March 31 to April 4.

President Pranab Mukherjee is likely to inaugurate the five-day river festival at a mega function to be held on the banks of the Brahmaputra river on March 31. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is expected to be present on April 2.

Other prominent guests who have confirmed their participation during the festival include Union Ministers Uma Bharati, Nitin Gadkari and Mahesh Sharma.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev is likely to arrive on April 4 for the concluding function, the officials said.

"The basic objective of the five-day long festival is to showcase trade and commerce, culture, skill, industry and tourism of Assam to the world, while the festival is to exhibit the music, arts, craft, sports, livelihood and overall way of life of the people of Assam," said Commissioner of Guwahati Police Hiren Nath.

"Over 40 VVIPs are likely to arrive here for the five-day long festival. Security is an issue and we are taking utmost care to ensure proper security at the festival," he said.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has already released the theme song of Namami Brahmaputra.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
South Indian stars Rana Daggubati, Nani and Raai Laxmi, among others, on Monday flagged off the second edition of IIFA Utsavam on Monday here.

The two-day event, backed by Fortune Sunflower Oil, celebrates and honours talent across the four southern film industries -- Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

"It's a great platform for all the four industries to come together," actor Pragya Jaiswal told reporters.

"Baahubali" fame Rana Daggubati, who will be hosting the Tamil and Telugu section of the award ceremonies, said he is excited to take up emceeing.

Veteran Tamil actor said award ceremonies are special moments in every artiste's life.

"No matter how much we earn, awards always make us feel special. They make some moments very special," he said.

Other popular stars who were present at the event included Shanvi Shrivastav, Rachita Ram, Kunchacko Boban, Ritika Singh and Akshara Haasan.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
South Korean prosecutors on Monday sought the arrest of former President Park Geun-hye in a corruption investigation.

The special investigation headquarters of prosecutors' office here, tasked with the probe into the corruption scandal embroiling Park, said the warrant to arrest the former President was sought for concerns about possible attempts to destroy evidence.

Park had denied most of the criminal charges despite the collection of multiple evidences, Xinhua news agency quoted a statement as saying.

The Constitutional Court decided on March 10 to remove Park from office.

The ousted President was grilled by prosecutors over the scandal on March 21.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the central government to prepare a "line of action" that the states should take for dealing with the "very serious issue" of suicides by farmers.

Asking the government to come out with a policy that would deal with farmers committing suicide, the bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said that in coordination with the states, the Centre should prepare a line of action to deal with the issue.

"Agriculture is a state subject and the Centre will coordinate with states and come up with a line of action to address the root cause of farmers committing suicide," the bench said.

Addressing the concern expressed by the bench, Additional Solicitor General P.S. Narasimha told the court that the government was formulating a comprehensive policy to deal with the issue of farmers' suicides.

Narasimha told the bench that government agencies were directly procuring foodgrains from the famers, and they were being given insurance cover, crop loss compensation and agriculture loans.

The court said this in the course of hearing of a plea by an NGO, Citizens Resource and Action and Initiative (CRANTI), seeking compensation to the families of the debt-ridden farmers.

Appearing for the NGO CRANTI, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves said that over 3,000 farmers had committed suicide and the government should do something to address the real issue.

The top court had on January 27, 2017, expanded the scope of the petition by the NGO, which had in 2014 approached the top court seeking compensation to the families of the debt-ridden farmers committing suicide in Gujarat.

While expanding the scope of the petition by the NGO, the top court had on January 27 sought response from the Centre, state governments, union territories and the Reserve Bank of India on the reasons for farmers' suicides, as it described it as a "sensitive matter".

Besides seeking interim financial assistance and compensation of Rs five lakh each to the families of 619 famers who had committed suicide since 2003, the petitioner NGO has sought direction to the Gujarat government to pay compulsory financial aid to the farmers who have suffered crop failure.

The NGO had challenged the July 10, 2013, order of the Gujarat High Court dismissing its plea, saying that courts could not interfere in policy matters.

The Gujarat government in an RTI reply had said that since 2003 -- when suicides by the farmers started in Gujarat -- till August 20, 2012, 619 farmers have committed suicide in the state.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Shiv Sena on Monday urged the Modi government to consider RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the post of Indian President.

In a surprise statement, Sena MP and Saamana Executive Editor Sanjay Raut said the National Democratic Alliance - of which Sena is a member - and the BJP in particular should think of the RSS Sarsanghchalak if it wanted to fulfil its dream of achieving a "Hindu Rashtra".

"This has been discussed in our party. Even Sena President Uddhav Thackeray is of the opinion that for making India a 'Hindu Rashtra', Bhagwat should be made the President," Raut told mediapersons.

He said a staunch Hindu nationalist like Modi was the Prime Minister and another Hindutva proponent, Yogi Adityanath, had become Chief Minister of India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh.

"He (Bhagwat) is a strong leader, staunch nationalist, has a deep knowledge of the Constituition. So if the BJP wants to make India a 'Hindu Rashtra', his name must be considered. He is the most suitable candidate," Raut said.

Born in Chandrapur in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, Bhagwat, 66, has headed the RSS since March 2009.

The presidential election is due in July.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After making a debut with "Hero", actor Sooraj Pancholi is now set to start shooting for a new film, which is a love story.

"I am starting a film now. In 20 to 25 days probably, I will start shooting for the film. It is a love story... An action love story. That is all I am allowed to say right now," Sooraj said on the sidelines of Society Leadership Awards 2017 here on Sunday.

The film will be helmed by "ABCD 2" director-choreographer Remo D'Souza. The project has been termed as a dance-action film about two brothers. The movie features Ajay Devgn too.

Remo had earlier confirmed that the actors would train in Germany for the action sequences, and would also train for dance. However, the leading lady of the film hasn't been confirmed.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Monday called for an amicable solution to the Shiv Sena's demand for removal of the blanket ban imposed by airlines on its MP after he allegedly assaulted an Air India Duty Manager last week.

Mahajan told reporters after a meeting with Shiv Sena MPs that the issue should be resolved through talks.

"MPs need to attend Parliament and they can't travel always by train. At times, they need to travel by plane also. I feel this issue should be resolved amicably through talks," she said.

Mahajan said she would not pass a judgment and was just trying to help resolve the issue.

"As of now, everybody is angry. It is time to calm down. How the ban could be lifted needs to be discussed and resolved amicably," she said.

She also noted that no one should misbehave with another person.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju also joined the meeting later.

Gaikwad, who represents Osmanabad in Maharashtra, on Thursday repeatedly beat up the Air India official with a slipper after he was made to travel in Economy Class from Pune to Delhi despite holding a Business Class ticket.

There was no Business Class in the flight. The incident happened when flight AI852 from Pune reached Delhi around 10.30 a.m.

Air India later refused to fly him and other airlines followed suit. An FIR was also registered against the Sena MP.
The Australian government has intervened in the case of a Sydney professor who has been prevented from boarding a flight home from China, a media report said.

Chongyi Feng, an associate professor in Chinese studies at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), was visiting China, but his friends said that he was stopped from taking a flight back to Australia at the Guangzhou airport on Saturday night, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said in the report late Sunday.

The university said it had been in contact with Feng and was supporting him and his family, but did not know why he was barred from leaving the country.

"UTS has been in regular contact with Feng, who has assured the university that he is fine, and that although he is currently unable to leave China, for reasons we do not yet understand, he nonetheless has freedom of movement in China and freedom of communications," it said in a statement.

"The university is also in contact with the relevant government agencies in the hope that the matter can be resolved as soon as possible."

Justice Minister Michael Keenan said he has raised the case with the Chinese Government.

"He is an Australian permanent resident, not an Australian citizen and the Chinese government doesn't recognise if someone holds Chinese nationality, they don't recognise dual citizenship," the Australian Broadcasting Corporation quoted Keenan as saying.

The incident comes as China's Premier Li Keqiang wrapped up an unprecedented five-day visit to Australia on Sunday, during which he promoted closer economic ties between the two countries.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Border Security Force (BSF) has sounded a high alert all along the India-Bangladesh border in view of a terror attack in the neighbouring country, an officer said here on Monday.

"Strict alert has been sounded all along the 4,096 km India-Bangladesh border. BSF troopers have been asked to maintain a close vigil along the international boundaries," BSF Deputy Inspector General Hardeep Singh told IANS in Agartala.

"BSF troopers have been asked to keep maximum vigil along those border territories where fencing is yet to be erected. Along with the BSF, dog and bomb squads were also deployed on the frontier," he added

The India-Bangladesh border lies along five states - West Bengal (2,216 km), Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km). Some portions of the borders are reverine.

Over 90 per cent of Tripura's 856 km border has been fenced and work is on in the remaining portion.

"With some women personnel, over 18 BSF battalions have been deployed along the Tripura borders," Singh added.

Bangladesh media reported that two police officials, two terrorists are among the eight dead in the two blasts at a militant hideout in Bangladesh's Sylhet city.

Bangladesh Army and commandos cordoned off the five-storey building where the terrorists were holed up inside.

The elite Rapid Action Battalion is also involved in the operation 'Twilight' which continued for the fourth day on Monday. Seventy-eight people trapped inside the building complex were evacuated amid cover firing.

A Tripura police official said that the Mobile Task Force (MTF) personnel and other state security forces were also asked to keep a close watch in the border villages.

The police official said that Bangladesh's Sylhet district shares borders with Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya.

--IANS

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Thomas Chandy,69, is all set to become a minister in Kerala, following the resignation of his party colleague A.K. Saseendran.

Saseendran on Sunday resigned after an audio emerged in which he was heard having a lewd conversation with a woman on the phone.

Both Chandy and Saseendran belong to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the ally of the ruling CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the state. Chandy is a three time legislator.

The name of Chandy has been cleared after CPI-M state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told reporters in Kochi on Monday that the NCP was free to decide on a ministerial candidate, as they were an ally of the LDF.

NCP state president Uzhavoor Vijayan earlier in the day told reporters that being an ally of the LDF, they have a rightful claim to a cabinet berth.

"Tomorrow our party's state committee is meeting and we will decide on what needs to be done as we have one more legislator, Chandy. We are an ally of the LDF and hence we have a natural claim of getting a cabinet post," he said.

Chandy, who has business interests in Kuwait, and also owns a plush lake-view resort in Alappuzha, came into the political spectrum of Kerala by joining hands with K.Karunakaran in 2005.

This was after the latter broke away from the Congress party and formed his own outfit DIC-KA in 2005.

Chandy was handpicked by Karunakaran. Just before the 2006 assembly polls the DIC-KA struck an electoral tie-up with the Congress-led UDF and he contested from the Kuttanad assembly seat in Alappuzha district.

Chandy was the only DIC-K candidate to win in the polls.

In 2006, Karunakaran merged his party with the NCP which was an ally of the Left Democratic Front.

Soon after the merger, the NCP was booted out of the LDF.

It was only in 2010 after Karunakaran and his son K.Muraleedharan ended their association with the NCP and returned to the Congress party, that the NCP was back in the LDF fold.

Chandy decided to go with the NCP, which fielded him in 2011 and 2016 from the Kuttanad assembly seat, which he won.

When Pinarayi Vijayan formed his cabinet, trouble broke out in the NCP with both Saseendran and Chandy staking claim to the lone cabinet berth given to their party.

Finally it was decided to split the five year term equally between the two, with Saseendran getting the first term.

With the green signal coming from the CPI-M and the NCP keen to be part of the governing regime, it's now only a matter of time that Chandy's name is cleared by the LDF.

The only question that remains is will Chandy be sworn in before the Malappuram Lok Sabha by-election on April 12.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Senate investigators plan to question US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner as part of their broad inquiry into ties between Trump associates and Russian officials or others linked to the Kremlin, officials here said.

The White House Counsel's Office was informed that the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, wanted to question Kushner about meetings he arranged with Russian Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak, according to the government officials.

The meetings included a previously unreported sit-down with the head of Russia's state-owned development bank, reported the New York Times on Monday.

Till now, the White House had acknowledged only an early December meeting between Kislyak and Kushner, which occurred at Trump Tower and was also attended by former National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn.

Later that month, though, Kislyak requested a second meeting, which Kushner asked a deputy to attend in his stead, officials said.

At Kislyak's request, Kushner later met Sergey N. Gorkov, the chief of Vnesheconombank, which drew sanctions from the Obama administration after Russia under President Vladimir V. Putin annexed Crimea and began meddling in Ukraine.

White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks said that part of Kushner's role, as Trump's close adviser during the campaign and the transition, was to serve as a chief conduit to foreign governments and officials, and he met dozens of officials from a wide range of countries.

Kushner is the person closest to President Trump to be caught up in the Senate Intelligence Committee's probe so far, according to the New York Times report.

The news that he will be interviewed comes three days after Trump associates Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, and Carter Page sent letters to the House Intelligence Committee volunteering to be interviewed as part of the panel's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, the daily reported.

Stone, Manafort, and Page -- Trump's former campaign adviser, former campaign chairman, and foreign policy adviser, respectively -- have all denied that they helped facilitate any collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow during the election.

The inquiry into Kushner's dealings with Ambassador Kislyak may further complicate Trump's efforts to move past the Russia situation.

Last week, FBI Director James Comey confirmed in testimony to the Congress that his agency had begun a counter-intelligence investigation into Russian interference and whether any associates of Trump might have colluded with the Russian government.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US State Department has "strongly condemned" the detention of hundreds of protesters throughout Russia including the country's opposition leader, the media reported.

Thousands took part to anti-corruption protests cross 80 Russian towns and cities on Sunday, with the largest held in Moscow and St. Petersburg, The Telegraph reported.

Moscow police told the TASS news agency that the number of people detained was "more than 500".

Police said those detained will face "administrative prosecution", or fines and arrests.

But the final tally of those detained in Moscow was 700, according to the human rights monitoring group OVD-Info.

Alexei Navalny, a campaigner who hopes to stand against President Vladimir Putin in next year's elections, was bundled into a police van on Sunday morning as he approached a group of protesters in Moscow's Pushkin Square.

In response, the State Department said it was "troubled" to learn of his arrest and called the detention of peaceful protesters "an affront to democratic values", spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement on Sunday evening.

"Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values," Toner said.

"The US will monitor this situation, and we call on the government of Russia to immediately release all peaceful protesters."

"The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve a government that supports an open marketplace of ideas, transparent and accountable governance, equal treatment under the law, and the ability to exercise their rights without fear of retribution," The Telegraph quoted Toner as saying.

The protests were triggered by a film produced by Navalny which claims that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has seized a collection of yachts, several mansions and a vineyard through questionable means.

Medvedev is also alleged to have used a network of charity websites run by business associates to conceal his links to the deals.

It came after hundreds of demonstrators were also arrested in Belarus over the weekend during a protest in Minsk against a tax on the unemployed.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chinese technology major Xiaomi's founder Lei Jun on Monday said India was one of the important markets for the company and it aims to create 20,000 jobs in the next three years.

In his address at the Economic Times Global Business Summit 2017, Lei said that the company has made major strides in a very short time.

He also spoke about China's "Internet Plus" policy which "the Chinese premier started in 2015".

"Internet plus action plan is a new form of economic plan where internet is integrated with traditional industries encouraging to the spirit of excellence in these industries and drive economic growth," he said, adding the policy elevates internet to become the most important engine of growth for China's economy and Xiaomi is one of the companies to adopt it.

Earlier on Monday, Lei said after its success in the online market in India, the company wants to take its offline presence much higher by increasing its market share to 50 per cent of Xiaomi's total sales.

Xiaomi's current portfolio in India reveals that about 90 per cent of its sales are from online channels, while less than 10 per cent is offline.

As of today, Xiaomi ships its products to around 14,000 pin codes -- close to 40 per cent of the country's total -- every single week.

"This clearly highlights our presence in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. As we increase our focus on offline sales, we will further increase our penetration in these markets," Xiaomi Vice President and Xiaomi India Managing Director Manu Jain told IANS.

"We are now present in more than 8,500 stores via our innovative offline distribution network. Last year was indeed a great year and we achieved several milestones while building our India story," he added.

According to analyst firm IDC, Xiaomi India has become the number one selling smartphone brand in the online market, with about 29.3 per cent share.

Xiaomi entered India in July 2014 and last year, logged $1 billion in revenue in the country.

After entering India, the company opened its first plant in August 2015 and by March 2016, over 75 per cent of its phones were being manufactured in India.

However, on Monday, Lei announced that more than 95 per cent of Xiaomi smartphones sold in India are made in India.

Riding on its success, last week Xiaomi announced its second manufacturing unit in partnership with Taiwanese electronics major Foxconn in Andhra Pradesh.

Xiaomi will now have a combined production capacity of one phone per second during operational hours.

The plant has also helped create employment for more than 5,000 people from over 100 surrounding villages. More than 90 per cent of the workforce employed are women.

Earlier this year, Xiaomi slipped to fourth spot in China as the demand for its smartphones declined 22 per cent annually -- eventually taking it to seventh spot in the global smartphone ranking with a 16 per cent drop in sales.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Within a fortnight of the previous Samajwadi Party (SP) government losing power in Uttar Pradesh, a flagship project of ex-chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has come under the spectre of incumbent Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi for delay and massive cost overrun.
Twelve labourers were killed while 30 others injured when a mini truck overturned and fell into a roadside ditch while negotiating a curve, a police official said.

Eight persons died on the spot, Jabalpur SP Mahendra Singh Sikarwar told PTI.

"Twelve labourers including eight women were killed when the mini truck overturned while heading towards a village in the district and fell into a ditch," Sikarwar said.

The injured persons have been rushed to a hospital.

Further details are awaited.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
World's biggest beer brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev is training Indian farmers to boost barley output as part of its endeavour to increase local procurement and reduce imports.

Presently, the company's Indian subsidiary requires about 50,000 tonnes of barely annually, of which 35,000 tonnes is procured locally and the rest imported.

Under its 'Smart barley global program', the company with France's biggest grain cooperative Axereal is undertaking joint research on high yielding variety of barley for the last five years at Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

The company has conducted field trial of high yield imported varieties and was showcased to farmers at 'Kisan Kaushal Sangoshti' held today at Farukh Nagar, Haryana.

"India is a very important market for us. We will continue to reach out to them through the Sangoshti and our SmartBarley program to help create sustainable livelihood and the best possible barley for our business," AB InBev India President Pedro Aidar said in a statement.

The purpose of the 'Smart barley program' is to ensure farmers are able to increase productivity "resulting in local sourcing, reducing our reliance on imports," the company's Corporate Affairs Director Devashish Dasgupta said.

Farmers are also trained on efficient use of machinery for land preparation, sowing, fertilising, and harvesting the crop, he told PTI separately.

Asked how the company would supply imported seeds to farmers, he said, "For interested farmers, we will import the breeders seed and multiply it in India and make the certified seeds available here."



According to Jagdish Yadav, volunteer farmer who's part of SmartBarley program, said, "Given the lack of right information and high costs of modern machinery, we were using outdated methods to plant and harvest barley and hence losing productivity. Now, through the program we have the right guidance and there has been a considerable increase in our productivity and profitability."



AB InBev has over 500 brands including Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois. It has 11 own breweries and seven contract breweries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Adam Sandler will be releasing four movies on Netflix after the actor signed a deal with the online streaming giant earlier.

The streaming service will finance and produce these features with the 50-year-old actor, reported Variety.

"(I) love working with Netflix and collaborating with them. I love how passionate they are about making movies and getting them out there for the whole world to see.

"They've made me feel like family and I can't thank them enough for their support," Sandler said in a statement.

In 2014, Netflix signed a deal with the "Big Daddy" star's Happy Madison Productions to a four-movie deal, wherein "The Ridiculous 6" and "The Do-Over" are said to have become the most-watched original films which were launched on the service.

Sandler's next movie, "Sandy Wexler" will debut April 14 on Netflix.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Gomti riverfront project of the previous Akhilesh Yadav government today came under the scanner of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who expressed dissatisfaction over its progress.

He also warned that corruption will not be allowed in any of the projects in the state.

The chief minister conveyed this after undertaking an inspection of the project on the banks of the Gomti.

The 'dream' project of Akhilesh was launched by the previous Samajwadi Party government for channelisation of the river by constructing a diaphragm wall and by landscaping and constructing intercepting drains on both the banks.

Adityanath expressed unhappiness that despite the lapse of two years and an expenditure of over Rs 1,427 crore, the work was only 60 per cent complete, an official release said.

Interacting with the officials and staff involved in the project, the chief minister said a demand of an additional amount of Rs 1,500 crore was being made for the project, which was initially scheduled to be completed by May, 2017.

"The aim of the project should have been cleaning the water and blocking the drains discharging sewage into the river, but that was not done," the chief minister said.

He asked the officials to link the project with the Centre's 'Namami Gange' project and initiate the work to plug the drains discharging sewage into the river.

He rued that the work was being carried out without keeping this in mind and instead, funds were being used on "unproductive" things such as erecting fountains and other decorative structures.

Warning that his government would be firm in dealing with corruption and would not allow "loot" of government funds at any cost, the chief minister ordered a review of the project within a week by the principal secretary of the department concerned to ascertain its actual cost.

Besides, he directed the principal secretaries of all the departments to review project works and check unnecessary expenditure, besides ensuring the completion of works in a "qualitative" manner.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 21-year-old Austrian tourist was allegedly molested by the owner of a massage parlour in Udaipur district of Rajasthan today.

Acting swiftly on the woman's complaint, police arrested the 45-year-old owner on the charge of outraging her modesty.

"The woman's statement has been recorded. The accused has been arrested. The embassy will be apprised of the matter," Superintendent of Police of Udaipur Rajendra Prasad told PTI.

The incident happened when the tourist had visited the massage parlour near Hanuman Ghat of the city.

The woman, in her complaint, alleged that the accused on the pretext of massage touched her with ill intentions, investigating officer in the case Ram Singh Chundawat told PTI.

He said that the woman is a research scholar and has been staying in the city for the past three months.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The HSUS, along with its affiliate the Fund for Animals, has filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its removal of federal protections for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Photo by iStockphoto

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As readers of this blog will know and lament, bears and wolves are the latest victims of the anti-regulatory fervor infecting Congress. Last week, in a party-line vote, every Senate Republican voted in favor of a Congressional Review Act resolution rescinding a 2016 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule that banned a host of inhumane and unsporting killing practices on our national wildlife refuges  activities in which no self-respecting sportsman would engage. Its a sad chapter in our nations history of wildlife management, but its also a hollow victory for self-styled enthusiasts of rolling back bureaucratic red tape.

Passing regulations aimed at tamping down animal cruelty are not in any way about putting a damper on commerce or profit to businesses. They dont cost anything; in fact, when businesses align their conduct with humane values, they typically become more profitable. The only parties put at a disadvantage are the stubborn perpetrators of cruelty. Thats a major principle of my book The Humane Economy.

Its a logical failure to cast all regulatory actions as inimical to business. Some regulations are needed to help business, to codify our nations values, and to protect us all. Very few of us, for example, would embrace a rollback of Federal Aviation Administration oversight, even if were more than a little irritated by flight delays or pat-downs by airport security officers.

By contrast, killing wolf pups and mothers in dens isnt some critical component of a thriving industry in Alaska or anywhere else. Scouting bears from airplanes, landing, and then shooting them isnt a business and its not scalable, any more than killing blue whales or fin whales is good business and scalable today. These are barbaric and appalling practices, and they dont meet the threshold moral tests we should apply in a civil society. In this case, it was a case of Congress usurping long-established federal authority and handing over power to a state hell-bent on turning our national wildlife refuges into game farms.

This is part of a broader anti-regulatory zeal that is sweeping up beneficial regulatory policies. The current administration and the Republican-controlled Congress seem to be acting on the assumption that government is the enemy. In a party-line vote, the House of Representatives passed the Midnight Rules Act, which would allow for a bundling of dozens of recently enacted agency rules for repeal by a simple majority in each chamber. By bundling dozens of rules in a single package, lawmakers would necessarily sidestep any close examination of the individual rules, voting instead on the principle of regulatory reform. Such an effort would wash away the good with the bad. Lets hope the Senate doesnt take up this fringe idea.

Theres also the matter of enforcing the rules on the books, and its plain that some of Donald Trumps nominees bring an anti-regulatory zeal with them to federal agencies. This is most notably true for Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt, who filed a series of lawsuits to unwind the agencys pollution and clean water standards as Oklahoma attorney general. If his past pronouncements are to be taken seriously, he intends to run environmental protection into the ground.

Sure, there are plenty of times the government goes too far. Bureaucracy has earned its reputation, and it can slow down private business and bungle government services. But its important that we dont mistake inefficiency or overreach with categorical problems.

If President Trump wants to cut government spending, there is a target-rich environment. For decades now, the federal government has stacked the deck by doling out money or favors to private business, disrupting markets in the process. The agribusiness industry gets all manner of government assistance  through price supports, crop subsidies, predator control services, reduced grazing fees, government buy-up programs for surplus products, government-financed staff support through commodity check-off programs, and more. You cannot profess undying loyalty to the free market, claiming that government has custom-fit manacles on your wrists and ankles, but then select all of the above when it comes to federal support programs. Thats not a coherent ideology; its unconcealed opportunism and crony capitalism.

Lets also remember that regulations often provide both safety and security, and sometimes theyre needed to protect the most vulnerable among us. When the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that show trainers shouldnt torture horses by intentionally injuring their feet  thats a regulation built on a federal law (the Horse Protection Act) duly enacted by Congress. When the USDA says that the term organic should mean that animals are not confined in small cages or mutilated as a routine husbandry practice, thats a common-sense regulation, also grounded in the law and benefiting family farmers who invest in animal care and husbandry. What decent person wouldnt agree with these rules, or begrudge the horsemen or farmers doing things the right way and not cutting corners?

So, by all means, stop government waste and overreach  particularly where it favors special interests at the expense of the public good. But dont fall into the trap of backing an across-the-board policy of repealing regulations as an ideological tenet of Republican thinking. The better path is trust but verify. Examine the merits of each regulation.

In the workings of government, and through the pressure applied to government, we seek to find that sweet spot where private industry flourishes and where private citizens and their interests are safeguarded. Thats the essence of a regulated capitalism and the preservation of a civil society.
Supporters of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who assaulted an Air India staffer in Delhi last week, today staged a bandh in Osmanabad district to protest his "humiliation" over the incident.

"We have called for the Osmanabad bandh to protest the humiliation of our leader by the airlines who have denied him flying rights," Sena district vice president Kamlakar Chavan told PTI over phone.

"Is he a terrorist that he has been barred from flying by all airlines," Chavan said.

"The testimony of an air hostess on board that flight shows he (Gaikwad) was not at fault," he added.

"Considering its Gudi Padwa tomorrow, we have asked traders to observe the bandh (shut shops) only till 4 pm today to enable people to do festival shopping," Chavan said.

Meanwhile, Gaikwad has refused to reveal his whereabouts. "I can't tell you where I am right now. I am with my family members and I will celebrate Gudi Padwa with them before returning to Parliament on Wednesday morning," he said.

The Osmanabad MP said he is lying low on his party's instructions. "I have been asked to stay quiet," he added.

On Friday, Gaikwad had boarded the August Kranti Express, which left for Mumbai from Hazrat Nizamuddin station at 4.50 PM but did not get down at the Mumbai Central station here as expected.

He is understood to have got down at Vapi station in Gujarat, Sena sources had said on Saturday.

The 57-year-old MP had on Thursday allegedly abused and assaulted a 60-year-old duty manager of Air India R Sukumar with slippers for not being able to fly business class despite having boarded an all-economy Pune-New Delhi flight.

The official was repeatedly hit with sandals when he persuaded the MP to disembark after the plane landed at the IGI airport from Pune following which two FIRs were registered against him by the Delhi police on the basis of the complaint lodged by Air India.

Also, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has sought an explanation from him over the incident.

Gaikwad had refused to alight, holding up the aircraft for over 40 minutes. The MP has been barred from flying all major domestic airlines as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bangladesh army today said it has neutralised all four Islamist militants, including a woman, who were holed up in a building after four days of siege in the northeastern Sylhet city, even as the 'Operation Twilight' continued to secure the site.

"We've found four bodies inside the building. All are with suicide vests," Brig General Mohammad Fakhrul Ahsan told reporters at a briefing at the end of the fourth day of the security siege of the five-storey building 'Atia Mahal'.

"Our intelligence earlier suggested four militants, one being a woman, were inside the building...So we assume that no militant was alive anymore," Ahsan said.

He, however, said the 'Operation Twilight' has not ended.

The army is planning how to recover the bodies of the militants from the building, he said.

Ten persons, including four militants, have been killed in the operation that lasted for four days in this city, about 236 km from the capital Dhaka.

The identity of the slain militants were not established. However, officials had earlier indicated that Jamaat-ul- Mujahideen Bangladesh chief Musa could be inside the building.

The neo-JMB, said to be inclined to the Islamic State, was behind the July 1 terror attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed.

The building is very risky as a huge cache of explosives including improvised explosive devices have been found scattered inside its premises, he said, adding that "the building will collapse if all these were to explode."



Of the four militants, two including a woman were killed today, he said.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal had said earlier in the day that commandos could wrap up their assault any time.

"We expect the operation to end anytime, defeating the militants there," he said, adding that the para-commandos "proceeded slowly to minimise casualties" at the scene.

Earlier, fire broke out at the building occupied by the Islamist militants. Large gusts of smoke were seen coming out of the ground floor around 3:40 PM (local time). Fire fighters rushed to the scene and controlled the flames.

Army quickly moved in from the rear preparing for what it seemed like another assault, it said.

Around noon, the army used megaphones to ask the militants, who were holed up in the building, to surrender. However, there was no response from the other side.

After a relative lull since last night, sporadic gunfire and explosions were heard this morning from the building. Locals said they could hear burst of automatic weapons and explosions once again after 6 AM (local time).

Security was beefed up in the area and police restricted public movement in two square kilometres of the hideout.

Army commandos shot dead two militants at the building yesterday, a day after six people were killed and 50 injured on Friday in blasts claimed by the ISIS outside the hideout.

The commandos located the militants wearing suicide vests on the ground floor of the building and shot them dead.

The militants were equipped with small arms, explosives and grenades and laid out booby traps at different corners of the building, slowing down the military operation.

The operation was launched after a suicide bomber on Friday night blew himself up at the international airport in Dhaka in an attack claimed by the ISIS. It came a week after an identical attack on a RAB camp in Dhaka.

On Saturday, two powerful bombs ripped through a crowd near the hideout, killing six people, two being police officers and injuring about 50, including two army officers currently serving the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion.

The attacks were carried out by the extremists from outside, visibly being mixed up with onlookers, police said.

Hours later the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its propaganda agency 'Amaq'.

Home Minister Khan, however, rejected the ISIS claim, saying that there was no presence of any foreign terrorist group in the country.

Meanwhile, residents who lived in the building said they were virtually taken hostage by militants who warned them of bombs implanted on their way out. The commandos brought them out from the top of the building making their way there from the rooftop of an adjacent structure.

Bangladesh has been witnessing a spate of attacks on secular activists, foreigners and religious minorities since 2013. The country launched a massive crackdown on militants specially after the Dhaka cafe attack.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lt Governor Kiran Bedi today greeted a four-member women team here who are currently on a road trip from Coimbatore to London to promote literacy.

The four women, who are on the 70-day long trip, are MeenakshiArvind (the team leader), her 20-year-old daughter Vrinda,Priya Rajpal from Mumbai and Mookambika Rathinam from Pollachi in Tamil Nadu.

Assistant Governor of Rotary District 2981 Vanaja said the team had embarked upon the trip from Coimbatore yesterday under the Rotary India Literacy Mission to spread literacy.

This was also to commemorate the 70 years of Independence of India.

The team would travel through Imphal, Myanmar, China, Uzbekistan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Austria, France and would reach London on June 5.

Vanaja said the Rotary organisation was keen about achieving cent per cent literacy in the country by 2020.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mystery shrouded the alleged gang rape of a 13-year-old cancer-affected girl here with the Rajasthan Commission for Women today stating that the girl's father was in an "unstable state of mind" while filing the complaint in the incident.

"The father of the girl said that his mental condition was not good, therefore, he lodged the case," Sushma Kumawat, member of the state commission for women, told PTI.

However, she said, it could not be concluded whether the case was fake or genuine until the girl's statement was recorded.

The Commission also visited the victim's village and spoke to the locals and her family members.

Rajastha Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said in Jaipur that the medical report of the girl was not clear as the alleged incident had happened two years back.

Women and Child Development minister Anita Bhadel also questioned the delay in reporting the matter to the police.

"Facts have emerged contrary to the allegations of the father, which in turn raise doubts," she told reporters, adding that the final report would make things clear.

Circle Officer Banwari Lal said the girl's statement will be recorded tomorrow.

The matter of the gang rape came to light on Friday last after the minor girl's father alleged that his daughter was raped by eight teachers of a private school. He also alleged that the accused made a video of the heinous act.

The alleged incident occurred in April 2015 and the FIR was registered against the teachers after the girl's father gave a complaint to the SP.

Before the rape FIR, one of the accused teachers had filed a case against four persons including two brothers of the girl on March 20 for allegedly thrashing him.

The state government has maintained that the case has many chinks.

Kataria had said that the case was lodged by the father of the girl as a counter to another case and the examination by the medical board will only verify the allegations.

"I cannot understand if eight people rape a girl and she does not inform the (family) the same day. However, the allegations are serious and we have formed the medical board and only after the medical examination, it will become clear," he had said.

Manan Chaturvedi, the chairperson of the state commission for protection of child rights, also said the matter should be thoroughly and impartially investigated as to why the father did not approach the police to file a case earlier.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi High Court today said that if the central government does not want to retain the 'Hall of Nations' at Pragati Maidan here, how can it be forced to do so.

"If the government does not want it, can it be forced to retain it?" Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said to the lawyer for the building's architect Raj Rewal who has also moved court to protect the structure from demolition.

The court refused to pass any interim orders staying demolition of the building as sought by the architect nor did it clarify that there was no stay on demolition as sought by ITPO.

The India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) said it has decided to demolish Pragati Maidan, including the Hall of Nations, to set up a world-class exhibition centre there and wanted an order clarifying there was no stay.

The court said it will not pass any such order, but observed that it has not issued any interim direction in the matter.

On the architect's plea to stay the demolition of the Hall of Nations, the court said it can only ask the government to look into whether the structure ought to be protected, but such an exercise has already been carried out by the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC), a statutory body, which has decided not to protect the building.

The court's observation came during brief hearing of the plea by the architect and one by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) which has sought protection of 62 buildings, including Hall of Nations, in the national capital.

The court could not take up both the matters post-lunch as the judge was not available and therefore, INTACH's plea was listed for hearing on April 17 and the architect's matter would be taken up on March 30.

ITPO had earlier urged the court not to intervene in the



proposed demolition, saying the Rs 2,500-crore project would be a good development for the city.

Batting for demolition of the buildings in Pragati Maidan, it had submitted that the project was approved at the highest levels, including the PMO.

It had said under the project, an international exhibition and convention centre with a seating capacity of 7,000 and parking for 4,800-5,000 cars would be built in the 123 acres where Pragati Maidan exists and once it comes up the G20 Summit would be held there.
Canadian minister Bardish Chagger is visiting India with a view to increasing cooperation in the small and medium enterprises sector and promoting tourism.

Canada's Minister of Small Business and Tourism Bardish Chagger during her four-day official visit beginning tomorrow will meet Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra, the High Commission of Canada said in statement.

She will also meet Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Mahesh Sharma here.

"Throughout her visit, Minister Chagger will meet with representatives of the tourism industry, as well as representatives of Indian and Canadian startups and small businesses, women entrepreneurs, and Indian business leaders," the High Commission of Canada said.

During her visit, she will also promote Canada as a destination of choice to women entrepreneurs.

High Commissioner for Canada to India Nadir Patel said: "Minister Chagger's visit builds on the momentum underway in the rapidly growing Canada-India relationship by promoting tourism, supporting Canadian SMEs as they expand their presence in the Indian market, and highlight Canada as a leading investment and tourism destination."



Minister Chagger said SMEs are the backbone of the two economies and "I am looking forward to encourage greater interaction between them".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bihar Urban Development and Housing Minister Maheshwar Hazari today charged the Centre of meting out step-motherly treatment to the state by not giving its in principle approval of DPR for Patna Metro.

"It has been more than a year since the Patna Metro project's Detailed Project Report (DPR) is pending for clearance with the Central government. The Centre has not given its in-principle approval to the project for metro in Patna. The Government of India should give its approval to the metro project at the earliest," Hazari said in the state Legislative Council.

"The Central government is meting out step-motherly treatment to the state and is not giving approval due to political rivalry...It is okay if the Centre does not give a penny to the project but it should just give the clearance to the DPR at the earliest. We will complete the project on our own resources," Hazari said.

The minister was replying to debate on his department's budgetary allocation of Rs 4335.01 crore for 2017-18 which was subsequently passed by the ruling benches amid walk out by BJP led NDA members due to government's unsatisfactory reply.

Referring to his meeting with the Union Urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu vis-a-vis metro project, the minister said the Union minister had asked him (Hazari) to send the state government's DPR.

"We have sent it one year ago but it is still lying with the Centre. The Centre gave its clearance to the metro project of Nagpur within 15 days," he said while accusing the Centre of meting out step-motherly treatment.

He charged the Narendra Modi-led Central government of effecting a heavy slash in its share in almost every scheme which has adversely affected poor states.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China will provide USD 1 million to Nepal for the May 14 local elections, President Xi Jinping announced today as he discussed ways to step up ties with Prime Minister Prachanda, who is here on a fence-mending visit.

President Xi committed to provide the 9 million yuan at a meeting with Prachanda, who is visiting China for high-level talks, Nepal's official Rastriya Samachar Samiti reported from Beijing.

During the meeting held at the Great Hall of the People, Prachanda urged Beijing to reopen the Tatopani border point, the only major trade route with China which was closed after the April 2015 earthquake that rattled the Himalayan nation.

Xi assured Prachanda that China was serious about opening the Tatopani and other border points, the report said.

The leaders also discussed the construction of a railway line in Nepal with Chinese investment during the meeting that lasted for 35 minutes.

Xi said friendly ties between China and Nepal were in the fundamental interest of the two countries and the two peoples.

"We've steadily pushed forward connectivity, post-disaster reconstruction as well as advancing infrastructure and people-to-people exchanges. I'm glad to see this progress. We should work together to create new momentum in friendly cooperation," Xi was quoted as saying by China's official CGTN network.

Recalling his meeting with Prachanda in Goa on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit last year, Xi said he was pleased that both the countries had moved forward with plans made there.

The two countries should particularly make the most of the opportunities presented by the infrastructure building under the ambitious Belt and Road (Silk Road) Initiative, Xi said.

Ahead of Prachanda's visit state-run Chinese media had vented its ire against him saying Beijing-Nepalties have fallen to a "low ebb" with most of the Chinese projects stuck due to his "pro-India" policies.

"For quite some time, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known as Prachanda, prime minister ofNepaland chairman of the Communist Party ofNepal(Maoist-Centre), had been friendly towards China," an article in the state-run Global Times had said pointing to his past association with Beijing and his anti-India rhetoric.

"However, since assuming office for the second time as prime minister in August last year he has visited India twice and warmly welcomed Indian President Shri Pranab Mukherjee in Kathmandu last November," it had said.

Prachanda said Nepal has appreciated China's support in reconstruction since the earthquake in 2015, adding that his country will continue to stick to the 'One China' policy on Tibet and Taiwan.

He said Nepal supports the Belt and Road Initiative and will pursue cooperation with China in trade and investment, transportation, tourism and aviation.

Prachanda said his meeting with Xi was fruitful, and added that this kind of high-level discussion has added a new dimension to Nepal-China ties, according to a statement published on the Nepalese premier's website.

He described the meeting as "exciting, open and clear" and said the Chinese president was positive to all the issues discussed by him.

"Apart from the positive response, the Chinese president talked about Nepal's political stability, development, prosperity, infrastructure development, railway and resumption of Tatopani border crossings," Prachanda said after the meeting.

Issues of Nepal-China bilateral relations and other mutual interests figured in the meeting. Xi expressed his happiness over the announcement of date for local election in Nepal and pledged to extend an assistance of RMB 9 million for the same.

The May 14 local elections is being opposed by Madhesis, who say the polls should be conducted only after their demands regarding the re-demarcation of provincial boundaries and other issues are addressed by an amendment to the new Constitution.

Prachanda, who succeeded the pro-China K P Sharma Oli as Nepal's premier, is on a five-day visit to China since March 23. He attended the China-led Boao Forum for Asia.

For China, the fall of the Oli government was a big disappointment and a setback to its planned push into Nepal through Tibet with rail and highway linkages to expand its influence in the landlocked country dependent on India for most of its supplies.

During his visit here in August, Oli had signed a transit treaty with China to reduce dependence on India and sought a rail link through Tibet.

(Reopens FGN 18)



Trade and investment volumes between China and Nepal have fast grown in the past few years as the two countries enhanced their economic ties.

Bilateral trade have increased 24 per cent year-on-year to hit USD 85 million in January 2017, Jiang Zengwei, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade said today.

During the past decade, bilateral trade surged from USD 108 million to USD 888, Jiang said at a roundtable on investment opportunities in Nepal in Beijing, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

Direct investment of Chinese enterprises in Nepal reached USD 355 million as of the end of January, covering fields such as hydroelectricity, aviation, minerals and medical treatment.

China is Nepal's biggest source of foreign direct investment and its second-largest trade partner, Nepalese officials said at the roundtable.
A 17-year-old student of a private school allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in his hostel room in Alwar district.

A suicide note was found in the room of Class XII Karanveer Saini (17), in which he said he was "aimless" in the life.

"When he did not open the doors this morning, the hostel administration informed the police," Tijara police station SHO Hemraj Singh said.

His family members have been informed, he said, adding the matter was under investigation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader and former Union Minister M V Rajasekharan has showered praise on Prime Minister and congratulated him for the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) success in the recent Assembly polls.

The Karnataka leader's remarks came days after veteran Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister S M Krishna joined the BJP. Krishna, a former Karnataka Chief Minister, had also hailed the Prime Minister for his leadership.

Karnataka Assembly elections are due in the first half of 2018.

In a letter to Modi, Rajasekharan eulogised him for establishing a "direct rapport" with the electorate and for getting support from the poor and women cutting across religion and caste.

The son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister S Nijalingappa also drew parallels between the 'Garibi Hatao' (abolish poverty) slogan of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Modi's assertion of making middle-class people equal partners in the development process.

In 1971, Gandhi had given the call for removing poverty when the opposition parties called for 'Indira Hatao' (remove Indira).

Rajashekaran in the letter said, "I would like to take this opportunity to convey my heartiest congratulations on the tremendous success of the BJP in the recent Assembly elections in the five northern states, especially on getting the two-thirds majority in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand."



"Your kindself has been able to establish a direct rapport with the electorate, especially the younger generation, who constitute nearly 82 per cent of our electorate. Your kindness has been able to get support from the poor people and from women cutting across caste, region, religion and ethnic groups," he said.

Rajashekaran said Modi has been able to focus on poverty alleviation and empowerment of women to ensure their equal participation in all the development activities of the country.

"As you would kindly remember, Late Smt Indiraji, while she was the Prime Minister of this great country, for the first time gave the slogan 'Garibi Hatao' and got unbelievable support from the electorate. Your kindness has also rightly pointed out the role of middle class in finding solutions to their problems and making them equal partners in the development process. As your kindness is aware, wherever revolutions have taken place for change in the political system, it is the middle class who have played a major role in such change in the governments," he said.

The former Union Minister of State for Planning also wrote a letter to Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, congratulating him for the BJP's absolute majority in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

"You have contributed so much to the success of the Indian democracy and its functioning," he wrote.
The Congress on Monday alleged a Rs 20,000 crore nationwide scam in the procurement of for government use by a state-owned company and demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into it.

Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of Public Sector Units (PSUs) of Power Ministry, is making purchases of in violation of Supreme Court and Vigilance Commission guidelines.

He said ever since the NDA government came to power there is no transparency in procurements made by the company that does not manufacture any and alleged that it is making procurements of "substandard" LED bulbs from China and Taiwan in violation of laid norms.

"There should be an independent inquiry and it should be monitored by the Supreme Court, as according to our estimates there is a corruption to the tune of Rs 20,000 crores, the way the quality is compromised," Gohil told reporters.

He said he has earlier raised the issue in Gujarat Assembly but the minister there was unable to answer the allegations raised.

The Congress leader said he procured through RTI power bills of Nausari municipality which revealed that there was no reduction in them ever since LED bulbs replaced old bulbs. In fact, there was an increase over a period of few months that indicated substandard quality of bulbs procured, he said.

"This is a national issue and we would like an independent probe into it," he said.

"I would like Mr Piyush Goyal under whose ministry this company belongs to tweet and say why the guidelines have not been followed and certification not done. Why was importance not given to 'Make in India' and why were bulbs procured from China and Taiwan and why no audit was done on procurements," he said.

Another Congress spokesperson Rajeev Gowda said "we will go to the people and we will raise the issue in Parliament also".

Gowda said the scale of this fraud is enormous and "it is incumbent upon us to raise the issue in Parliament".

"We will raise this as an issue of national importance in Parliament," he said.

Gohil said, "the BJP government at the Centre yet again finds itself indulging in massive irregularities and corruption at a lightning speed. Even before the nation blinks its eye to see through the reality, the Central Government is using dubious and highly questionable practices for procurement and distribution of the 'Ujala' LED bulbs."

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who claims that his government has distributed more than 21 crore LED bulbs, does not tell the people of India that this process itself "is making a joke of their much-publicised claims of 'Make in India'. Crores of these LED bulbs, LED streetlights, LED pumps and LED fans are infact 'Made in China' or 'Made in Taiwan'".

"In this context we would like to ask Power Minister Piyush Goyal and the government that under whose direction this entire fraudulent exercise was being done? Is it being done with the knowledge of the Power Minister? If the minister did not know, will he order a time-bound impartial inquiry in the same?" he said.

"The Congress party demands an impartial inquiry under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge for the same," Gohil said.
The main opposition Congress today said in the assembly model schools set up in tribal areas of Chhattisgarh have been privatised, a claim contested by the BJP government.

The party legislators, who staged a walk-out from the House over the issue, said these government-run schools were suppose to provide free education, but they are now charging "hefty" fees from students.

Raising the issue through a call attention motion, Deepak Baiz and Santram Netam (both Congress) said model schools being run in tribal areas have been privatised.

These schools had been established with an objective to provide free education to students in tribal-dominated areas. However, the state government silently carried out their privatisation, defeating the main aim, they said.

Due to their privatisation, these schools are charging "hefty" fees ranging from Rs 30,000 to 35,000 per annum, which the poor people in tribal areas can't afford, they added.

These institutes lack basic amenities like drinking water and teaching staff, the Congress MLAs said.

Rejecting the claim, School Education Minister Kedar Kashyap said these institutes are being run under PPP (public private partnership) mode as Mukhyamantri DAV Public Schools.

For operating these schools, an agreement had been signed with the DAV Management Committee,New Delhi in a fully transparent manner, he said.

The minister said it is incorrect to say that due to their fee structure, common people are unable to get their children admitted in these schools.

In fact, all the 17,752 students studying in these schools prior to the agreement are being provided free education as was the case earlier. Only the new students are being charged a fee, he said.

Besides, for the new admissions, 25 per cent of the seats have been reserved for candidates falling under the RTE (Right to Education) category. Also, 8 per cent of the seats have been earmarked for SC/ST students, he said.

Students from both these categories will receive free education. This way, 33 per cent of the children taking admissions will not have to pay any fee, Kashyap said.

Apart from these centres of learning, hundreds of schools are being run by the government in tribal districts like Bastar, Kondagaon, Kanker, Bijapur, Dantewada, Sukma and Narayanpur, where education is completely free, Kashyap said.

He said an additional Rs 15 crore will be provided by the government to improve infrastructure in the model schools.

Bhupesh Baghel and TS Singhdeo (both Congress) said the DAV committee has been given control of both the school buildings and financial matters.

Unsatisfied with the ministry's reply, Congress MLAs staged a walk-out from the House.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court today expressed concern over the pellet gun injuries suffered by minors who indulged in stone pelting in Jammu and Kashmir and asked the Centre to consider other effective means to quell the protests as it concerns "life and death".

It conceded that though the use of pellet guns by the security forces was not a judicial issue, it can intervene in the matter to find a solution acceptable to the parties concerned.

"We are trying to understand our indulgence in the matter which cannot be considered as an interference but we are putting in the points where both parties can be protected as far as possible," a bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said.

The court expressed concern on the issue and gave two weeks time sought by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to ponder over the suggestions to look into the effective alternatives to the pellet guns, saying it is the issue of "life and death".

When the bench also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul made the life and death remark, Rohatgi retorted, saying, "What life and death, it has happened to us (security forces) also."



The attorney general, who was countering the contention of the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association counsel over the death and injuries of protestors besides spectators watching incidents from window of their house, said total of 1775 CRPF personnel were injured out of which 79 were grievously injured in the protests held between July 8 and August 11, 2016.

He said that during the period, 252 attacks were carried out on CRPF camps and ambulances, hospitals and police vehicles were trageted with cocktails of petrol bombs, kerosene bombs, sharp-edged weapons, besides stone pelting by the protestors who usually muffled their face.

The attorney general also countered the submission of the state lawyers' body that the security forces should identify the people in the mob and follow the traditional security drill and use of pellet guns should be the last resort.

He said that it is an impossible task as there are people who join the protests "in enthusiasm" and also there are those who are anti-national and trained across the border.

Rohatgi said, "Pellet guns are used sparingly as the last resort. There are very serious and delicate situations. The protests there are not like a procession of lawyers marching from the Delhi High Court to the Supreme Court.

"Here is the question of the nation's integrity and security. You don't know who is in the crowd. They are having weapons. There are stone pelters who comes from various directions. People carry sharp-edged weapons. There are a cocktails of weapons."



To this, the court asked the attorney general whether there was any instance when people from across the border were also injured.

"We can't find out. They indulge in violence and run away. We cannot find out who is innocent or who is an instigator or who is their leader," Rohatgi said, adding that every day people from across the border are coming and attacking the security forces and the civilians.

The court said that it is not the subject that has to be decided by the courts nor can there be a judicial redressal as it is a delicate situation.

"It is not a question of courts saying what to do. But the situation concerns a welfare state. You need to protect the country. You need to protect the citizens. You need to protect the security forces. You need to protect the property.

"Every state is specific to the needs of a situation. The situation is different and we are aware of the consequences but what concerns us is that children have suffered," the bench observed during an hour-long hearing.

It suggested that the records before the court point out that there are four to five spots of such agitation and what is required is that a constructive study to have a infrastructural set up to stop such crowds from proceedings ahead of a point.

"If you can do that at four or five points then you will deal with 90 per cent of the job. You don't have to take such measures using pellet guns," the bench said.

The court also said, "We will also not accept damage caused to the property by the people. But today we understand that there are means that can be brought into effective use to control such situations."



It suggested to the attorney general to consider other technology-based measures like microwave to disperse the protestors and water which tastes and smell aweful that will make people go away.

(Reopens LGD29)



Rohatgi said he will speak to the committee of experts which has prepared an interim report on the use of effective measures in October 2016 and get back to the court after two weeks.

During the hearing, the bench expressed its concern over minors indulging in stone pelting and suffering injuries during protests.

"We understand that minor children are used as shields but what about their parents. Has the government taken any action against the parents who allow their minor children in the violent protests," the court said, adding that counselling the parents and children is not an answer to pellet guns.

It asked the Centre to find some alternative measures to deal with such situations so that children do not suffer injuries.

When the AG said that he will file the report in a sealed cover, the court asked him to give the copy of the report on alternative measures to the petitioner lawyers.

"We cannot give the details. These are confidential security details. If we make it public then the report can be read across the border and they may get better prepared. The report may be used against India before international courts and human right fora," Rohatgi said.

The bench then handed over to him a report filed before the start of hearing.

On December 14 last year, the apex court had said pellet guns should not be used "indiscriminately" for controlling street protests in Jammu and Kashmir and be resorted to only after "proper application of mind" by the authorities.

It had also sought assistance of the attorney general on the issue and asked him to submit a copy of the report submitted by the expert committee constituted for exploring other alternatives to pellet guns.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association against the high court order seeking stay on the use of pellet guns as a large number of people had been killed or injured due to their use.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court had on September 22 rejected the plea seeking a ban on use of pellet guns on the ground that the Centre had already constituted a Committee of Experts through its memorandum of July 26, 2016 for exploring alternatives to pellet guns.

Taking note of the statement, the high court had disposed of the petition, saying that no further direction was required since the matter was being looked at by the Centre.
The district court here today issued non-bailable warrants against the alleged international drug-lord Vicky Goswami and his partner and yesteryear's Bollywood actor Mamta Kulkarni in an ephedrine haul case.

Both are believed to be outside India.

District Judge H M Patwardhan issued the warrants today.

Thane police raided Avon Lifesciences in Solapur last year and seized around 18.5 tonne of ephedrine worth Rs 2,000 crore.

As per the police, ephedrine was being diverted from Avon Lifesciences to a Kenya-based drug cartel headed by Goswami where it was used to make party-drug Methamphetamine.

The police have arrested more than 10 persons in the case.

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A cyclonic storm accompanied by heavy rain lashed Deomali in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh causing massive damages to several dwellings and uprooting many trees.

The cyclone yesterday also snapped power supply lines and it may take some time to restore electricity, official reports said today.

Several roads in and around Deomali have been blocked by the uprooted trees and the local administration and police have swung into action to clear the roads.

Many trees have been uprooted along the the road between Naharkatia in Assam and Khonsa, the report said adding the Ramakrishna Mission School at Narottam Nagar has badly damaged by the storm.

Agriculture Minister Wangki Lowang, who is the local MLA, while assuring help has instructed the additional deputy commissioner to assess the damage caused by the storm.

He has also asked the power department, forest department, panchayati raj leaders and all stake holders to join hands to restore normalcy.

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The European Union today urged Russia "to release without delay" what it said in a statement were "peaceful demonstrators" detained a day earlier during nationwide protests against corruption.

Top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who has announced plans to run for president in a 2018 election, was among hundreds arrested in Moscow during a march that was one of the country's biggest unauthorised demonstrations in recent years.

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The film exhibition industry would in all likelihood oppose Karnataka government's move to cap movie ticket prices at Rs 200 as it is against free market concept, Mukta Arts Managing Director Rahul Puri today said.

"If the bill is passed, the industry in all likelihood will fight any such move and would approach the government to find a way out. Price capping as a concept is against free market, and therefore the industry would be extremely cautious," Puri told PTI in an email.

Recently, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had, in his 2016-17 budget speech, proposed a maximum ceiling of Rs 200 in admission fee at cinema theatres, including multiplexes. It also proposed to make it mandatory for multiplexes to screen Kannada and regional cinema during prime time.

There were demands from various stakeholders of the film industry to the government, urging it to cap multiplex entry fee at Rs 120 on the lines of neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Asked whether the capping in Tamil Nadu has affected the industry and Mukta Arts, Puri said, "We don't have any theatres in Tamil Nadu at the moment so we are unaffected at this point."



Asked whether Mukta Arts have recovered losses that they had incurred during demonetisation and its impact on exhibition business, Puri said the business was affected in initial weeks, especially in smaller centres where the shift to online payment was not so easy. In bigger cities, the switch came swiftly and hence losses were kept to a minimum.

"It did affect the business to a degree in the initial weeks. Certainly in smaller centres where the shift to online payment was not so easy. In bigger cities though the switch came swiftly, so losses were kept to a minimum," he said.

Puri also said demonetization didn't hurt the industry as badly as poor content did in that period, and hence it was a bit of a double whammy.

"Demonetisation remember didn't hurt 'Dangal' at all as it went on to be the highest grosser ever. So the issue was more content related," he said.

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Fire broke out today at a five-storey building occupied by the Islamist militants in Bangladesh's northeastern Sylhet city, as the 'Operation Twilight' by army to flush them out of the apartment continued.

Large gusts of smoke were seen coming out of the ground floor - where the militants were holded up - around 3:40 PM (local time). Fire fighters rushed to the scene and controlled the flames within 20 minutes, the Daily Star reported.

Army quickly moved in from the rear preparing for what it seemed like another assault, it said.

Around noon, the army used megaphones to ask the militants, who were holed up in the building, to surrender. However, there was no response from the other side.

After a relative lull since last night, sporadic gunfire and explosions were heard this morning from the building. Locals said they could hear burst of automatic weapons and explosions once again after 6 AM (local time).

"We heard sporadic gunshots and explosions," a resident in the northeastern city told PTI.

Security has been beefed up in the area and police have restricted public movement in two square kilometres of the militant hideout.

The army said completion of the operation is being delayed as the building has turned into a death trap due to a lot of improvised explosive devices set by the militants inside the house, Prothom-Alo reported.

Army commandos shot dead two militants at the building yesterday, a day after six people were killed and 50 injured on Friday in blasts claimed by the ISIS outside the hideout.

The commandos located the militants wearing suicide vests on the ground floor of the five-storey building and shot them dead, Army spokesman Brigadier General Fakhrul Ahsan said.

Eight persons have been killed so far in the operation. The military operation entered its fourth day today in this northwestern city, about 236 km from the capital Dhaka.

"There are several more well-trained operatives active inside the hideout," Ahsan said.

He said that the assault was far from over and pointed to "considerable risks" involved in it.

Ahsan added that the militants were equipped with small arms, explosives and grenades and laid out booby traps at different corners of the building creating a situation which slowed down the operations progress at the building.

"The entire area has become risky. Considering the overall situation, it will take more time for the operation to complete," he said.

The operation was launched after a suicide bomber on Friday night blew himself up at the international airport in Dhaka in an attack claimed by the ISIS. It came a week after an identical attack on a RAB camp in Dhaka.

On Saturday, two powerful bombs ripped through a crowd near the hideout, killing six people, two being police officers and injuring about 50, including two army officers currently serving the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion.

Hours later the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its propaganda agency 'Amaq'.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, however, rejected the ISIS claim, saying that there was no presence of any foreign terrorist group in the country.

The officials said they were not sure about the number of militants inside the building but hinted that a top militant leader was inside the complex.

Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime chief Monirul Islam yesterday said they got information that JMB chief Musa along with some other JMB militants were in Sylhet.

The neo-JMB, said to be inclined to the Islamic State, was behind the July 1 terror attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed.

Meanwhile, residents who lived in the building said they were virtually taken hostage by militants who warned them of bombs implanted on their way out. The commandos brought them out from the top of the building making their way there from the rooftop of an adjacent structure.

Bangladesh has been witnessing a spate of attacks on secular activists, foreigners and religious minorities since 2013. The country launched a massive crackdown on militants specially after the Dhaka cafe attack.

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Former Australia captain Ian Chappell today heaped praise on Umesh Yadav and said his fiery pace bowling did the trick for India in the fourth and final Test here.

Set a target of 106 to win the match and with it the series, India were 19 for no loss at stumps on day three, needing another 87.

"Umesh Yadav has been a real hero for India, and it's not just in this Test match, he has done well in the whole series and throughout the whole summer," Chappell told 'ESPNcricinfo'.

He added, "To perform in so many Test matches and to have that sort of fire that he had at the start of Australian second innings, it was almost like he was determined that Australia were going to loose quite a few wickets before they got rid of the arrears.

"I thought he did a terrific job. Really the fire of Umesh Yadav that did the trick for India."



The defiant partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and Wriddhiman Saha in the first session today, Chappell felt, hit the Australians hard.

He also gave credit to skipper Ajinkya Rahane for backing his bowlers and giving them attacking field. The Australian batting great seemed impressed with Jadeja's improvement.

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An Uttar Pradesh government official here was arrested for allegedly shooting dead a dog which had barked at him, police said.

59-year-old Vimal Dheer, an office superintendent in the SC/ST Welfare Department, was, however, released on interim bail by Station Officer Majhola police station yesterday.

A resident of Kanshiram Nagar here, Dheer was out for an evening walk on Saturday when the dog, belonging to Ashok Kumar, barked at him and he allegedly shoot the canine dead using his pistol, police said.

Kumar, who lives in the same neighbourhood, alleged that Dheer was a drunkard and "killed my innocent Great Dane for no reason".

A case was registered against him under IPC section 429 (mischief by killing or maiming cattle) at Majhola police station.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Yashveer Singh said the police has right to grant interim bail for a cognizable offense and so the accused was released.

However, his licenced pistol has been seized, the ASP added.

Dheer, who is set to retire on March 31, was currently posted in Bijnor district.

District Magistrate, Bijnor, Jagat Raj said, "This is not under my jurisdiction to terminate or suspend him (Dheer). But action will be taken by the appointing secretary in Lucknow. They will take cognizane of the matter.

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Clean energy player Greenko today announced raising USD 155 million in equity funding from an affiliate of GIC and an entity wholly-owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

GIC is investing USD 123.9 million and the ADIA subsidiary the remaining USD 31.1 million, a company release said here.

Definitive agreements have been signed with them in this regard, it added.

With this transaction, GIC continues to be the majority shareholder of the city-based renewable energy company.

The funds will contribute to the continued growth of Greenko's platform through the development of new renewable energy projects, including recently acquired Solar Projects and low-risk expansions of existing wind farms, it said.

The transaction demonstrates Greenko's continued ability to attract long-term infrastructure capital and commitment from the existing shareholders on business, the release said.

Greenko is a owner and operator of renewable energy assets in India. The company has a utility scale portfolio of over 2,000 MW of wind, solar and small hydro assets.

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Hamas authorities partially reopened the crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel today, after a one-day closure following the assassination of one of the group's leaders.

"From Monday morning, travel through the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing will be permitted temporarily for some categories," said a statement from Iyad al-Bozum, a spokesman for the interior ministry in the Palestinian enclave.

Anyone would be allowed to enter Gaza, the statement said, but those leaving would remain restricted to senior politicians, the sick and families of prisoners.

The latter two groups would be age-limited -- only those under 15 and over 45.

Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, closed the crossing totally yesterday after blaming the Jewish state for the assassination of one of its senior officials.

Mazen Faqha, 38, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen Friday, with Hamas officials blaming the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and its "collaborators".

He was killed by four bullets from a pistol equipped with a silencer.

Islamists Hamas did not give details on the reason for closing the crossing, though there was speculation authorities may be seeking to prevent those responsible for the killing from leaving.

Hamas officials have said the killing bears the hallmarks of Israel's intelligence service Mossad, but Israel has not commented on the shooting.

Today, Gaza's attorney general Ismail Jaber placed a gag order on information relating to the "assassination".

According to Hamas, Faqha formed cells for the Islamist group's military wing in the West Bank cities of Tubas, where he was born, and Jenin.

Faqha's funeral on Saturday drew thousands of Hamas supporters into the streets with chants of "revenge" and "death to Israel".

Ismail Haniya, until recently head of Hamas in Gaza, and Yahya Sinwar, who replaced him as leader, headed the procession.

The Erez crossing is the only one between Gaza and Israel for people. Another crossing with Israel, Kerem Shalom, is used for goods and remained open yesterday, Palestinian officials said.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade. Palestinian militants in Gaza and Israel have fought three wars since 2008.

Gaza's sole crossing with Egypt has also remained largely closed in recent years.

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India's Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna had to dig deep into his defensive skills to pull off a draw against Yangyi Yu of China in the Shenzhen Longgang Chess Grandmaster Tournament here today.

Playing white, the World No. 14 found himself in a fragile rook versus rook-bishop endgame. But he played out every move precisely to not allow Yu to convert his advantage into a victory.

"I must thank my friend who forced me to work on the rook versus rook-bishop game," Harikrishna said, shortly after the draw.

The encounter lasted a mammoth 102 moves as Yu desperately tried to force an error out of Harikrishna.

Harikrishna has 2 and a half points after five rounds and is fourth on the table. Yu, who has drawn all his five games, is also on the same number of points but is one place above the Indian.

Top seeded Anish Giri of The Netherlands and Liren Ding of China occupy the first two places, although they have just half a point more.

Tuesday is a rest day. The tournament will resume on Wednesday, with Harikrishna taking on Peter Svidler of Russia to begin the entire sequence of first round matches.

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The Delhi High Court today rejected the pleas of two students who wanted to be admitted in LLB course of Delhi University for 2016-17 session after lapse of the last date of admission.

The two were initially unable to get admitted as they did not have their graduation degrees at the time of counselling and a single judge of the high court had denied any relief.

Their appeal against the single judge was rejected by a division bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal which said that they cannot be admitted at this stage since they would not fulfil the attendance requirements for the 2016-17 session.

"We are also of the view that the plea of the appellants (students) that even after the last date fixed for admissions, they could have been allowed admission since the original documents are now ready cannot be accepted since it is mandatory for all the students to satisfy the minimum attendance prescribed by the University to qualify to appear for the examinations," the court said.

The bench also upheld the single judge's October, 2016 decision denying relief to the two students, saying the appeals were devoid of merits.

"We entirely agree with the interpretation given by the single judge. Mere absence of a specific clause in the information bulletin that a successful candidate would forfeit his claim for admission if he fails to produce the original certificates, in our considered opinion, does not make any difference," it said.

The bench noted that even by the time the two petitions were filed, the admissions for the academic year 2016-17 were closed as per the University's notice of September 22, 2016.

The single judge, in his October, 2016 verdict, had held that students who secure a rank in an entrance exam but fail to produce the required documents at the time of counselling, cannot fault the university for denying admission.

The division bench's order came while deciding the appeals of students, Bhim Shankar Thakur and Anuj Jaiswal, who claimed that in a case where the candidate fails to appear in person on time for counselling, his claim for admission is liable to be forfeited, however, non-production of original certificate cannot be a ground for cancelling the admission.

They both were denied admission into LLB course for the academic session 2016-17 on the ground that they failed to submit the original degree of the qualifying examination as was required by DU.

Thakur had said that though he had passed the qualifying examination in 2012, he had not collected the degree from the University and it could not be produced at the time of counselling on August 22, 2016.

He had claimed that he had applied and received the degree from the university at Meerut on September 8, last year.

Jaiswal had claimed that the result of the qualifying graduation examination was declared on July 26, 2016 and he could receive the provisional certificate only on September 26, 2016 and therefore, he could not produce it on the date of counselling on August 26 last year.
William Shatner, Patricia Arquette, Chrissy Teigen, Andy Richter and Sarah Silverman have slammed United Airlines after it barred two girls from boarding a flight wearing leggings.

Activist Shannon Watts of Denver, who claimed to have witnessed the incident, tweeted the young passengers boarding a flight from Denver to Minneapolis were told they could not board the plane unless they changed their outfits.

Watts also said one of the the girls' father was allowed to board while wearing shorts.

The airline's spokesman Jonathan Guerin said, "The girls were not allowed to board the plane from Denver to Minneapolis as they were travelling under an employee travel pass that includes a specific dress code."



Taking to Twitter, stars spoke out against the airline's confusing policy.

Arquette wrote in a series of tweets, "Why aren't you allowing girls to wear leggings on flights? Who is your gate agent policing girls clothing? Was there something strange about all these girls leggings?"



"Leggings are business attire for 10 year olds. Their business is being children. Why did dad board wearing shorts? Shorts are only business attire for Angus Young," she added.

Silverman tweeted, "Hey @united I fly a LOT. About to go on tour all April and changing all my @united flights to other airlines."



"@PattyArquette @Shananigans @united @shannonrwatts See. I've done it before," Shatner posted alongside a picture of him standing shirtless.

Richter slammed the airline by writing, "I have flown numerous times while displaying an egregious moose knuckle. What's a male over 10 have to do to get noticed?"



Teigen posted, "I have flown united before with literally no pants on. Just a top as a dress. Next time I will wear only jeans and a scarf."



United, however, responded to Watts, writing they "have the right to refuse transport for passengers who are barefoot or not properly clothed."



They later clarified that the girls in question were "pass travelers or travelers flying on comped or discounted tickets," typically reserved for employees and their family members.

United explained that they have a stricter dress code for pass travelers as they are representing the United brand.

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Police cracked down on Hong Kong democracy activists today saying they would be charged over the Umbrella Movement mass protests, a day after a pro-Beijing candidate was chosen as the city's new leader.

Carrie Lam was selected as the new chief executive yesterday by a committee dominated by pro-China voters, but promised to try to unify the deeply divided city.

The vote was dismissed as a sham by democracy campaigners who fear Beijing is tightening its grip on semi-autonomous Hong Kong and say Lam will be no different from its unpopular current leader, Leung Chun-ying.

Those concerns were heightened today when police informed several leading campaigners who took part in the Umbrella Movement of 2014 that they would be charged in connection with the rallies.

The protests saw tens of thousands take to the streets calling for fully free leadership elections, but failed to win concessions from Beijing.

Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan told AFP she had received a call from police Friday morning telling her she would be charged with causing a public nuisance, with a maximum sentence of seven years.

"They said it was related to the 'illegal occupation' of 2014," she said, describing it as a "death kiss" from Leung, who will step down in July.

Chan said she had been arrested immediately after the protests, but had never been charged.

She will report to a police station today evening and will go to court Thursday.

Chan added she would take responsibility for participation in "civil disobedience activity", but said the timing undermined Lam's unity pledge.

Activist Raphael Wong of the League of Social Democrats told AFP he would also be charged with public nuisance and blamed Leung.

"As Carrie Lam talks about unity, they are saying you don't need it," he told AFP.

Professor Chan Kin-man, a founding member of Hong Kong's Occupy Central, one of the groups behind the protests, also received a call from police informing him of an impending charge and called the move "ridiculous".

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Police have cracked the murder case of a 12-year-old boy whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase near LTT station here in January, with the arrest of six persons, including his employer.

According to a senior police officer, the deceased, identified as Randhir, was working as a zari worker in an imitation jewellery store of the main accused Shivnath Sahani, in suburban Kurla.

Randhir was a resident of Bihar.

A police team had gone to Bihar to gather more information about the deceased.

His body was found stuffed in an abandoned suitcase near the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) on January 8.

According to the police, Sahani allegedly stabbed the boy in a fit of rage, following an argument related to work.

It was Sahani, who with the help of his accomplices, packed Randhir's body in the suitcase and dumped it near LTT, police said.

While Sahani was arrested from Rewa in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, his wife Renu, son Ranvijay and his brothers-in-law Krishna Sahani, Vinay Shani and Ramanand, were arrested from various places in Mumbai last night.

They have been booked under sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), the official said.

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An Indian-origin woman has pleaded guilty in a UK court to running a fake designer clothes factory in the city of Leicester.

Tarsem Kaur pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court last week to 15 counts of counterfeiting under the UK Trade Marks Act.

The 46-year-old had been arrested following a raid in 2015 and officers found 6,143 counterfeit labels and tags for clothing, as well as 894 completed garments.

The factory in Spinney Hills area of Leicester had counterfeit goods with labelling of famous brands like Adidas and Nike and an estimated street value of 150,000 pounds, 'Leicester Mercury' reports.

Kaur, along with a 60-year-old accomplice Altaf Sattar, was spared jail time when a judge handed them 12-month suspended sentences which would be activated if they broke strict rules.

"We would have liked to see a stronger sentence imposed in this case, to send the message out to other counterfeiters that this sort of crime will not be tolerated. Our Trading Standards team will continue to work closely with the police to crackdown on such illegal operations and protect the interests of consumers and legitimate businesses across the city," Councillor Sue Waddington, Leicester's assistant city mayor for jobs and skills, told the newspaper.

The court was told that the counterfeit clothing was being sold at markets elsewhere in the UK.

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State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) today signed an agreement to supply about 1 million tonnes of fuel annually to Nepal for the next five years.

IOC Chairman B Ashok said IOC will supply 1.3 million tonnes of petroleum products to Nepal every year under the pact.

India started supply of fuel and LPG to Nepal Oil Corp in 1974 when the first supply Agreement was signed. Thereafter, the agreement was renewed periodically.

The current pact is valid up to this month end.

"The supply agreement signed today is for the period April 2017 to March 2022 and will meet the full requirements/ demand and quantities of all the major oil products (petrol, diesel, kerosene, ATF and LPG)," Ashok said.

IOC will supply Euro-IV grade petrol and diesel to Nepal from next month. While presently the fuel is sent by trucks, a pipeline will be laid from Patna-Motihari-Amlekganj for supply of fuel in future.

This pipeline will get fuel from IOC's Barauni refinery in Bihar as well as Haldia refinery in West Bengal.

"Every 5 years, we renew fuel supply agreement with Nepal. Today, IOC and Nepal Oil Corporation signed agreement for supplying fuels for the next 5 years," Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said at the MoU signing.

The new Memorandum of Understanding, he said, is "much better" than the previous ones as "it keeps the interests of both the nations".

He however did not elaborate.

"We feel it is the responsibility of India to help Nepal meet its energy requirements, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nepal in 2014 where in his address to Nepal parliament took responsibility of the Raxaul-Amlekhganj petroleum product pipeline," he said.

Stating that formalities for laying th pipeline is almost complete, he said work on the pipeline should begin in 2017- 18.

"Nepal wants to take that pipeline little forward to near Kathmandu which is about 70 kms more and has sought technical help from IOC, though the expenses will be incurred by Nepal," he said.

Pradhan said a high level official committee has been formed to look into preparing feasibility of the pipeline as well as another LPG pipeline from Motihari to Nepal's Amlekhganj.

It would also study feasibility of extending the natural gas pipeline that will reach Gorakhpour to Nepal to provide the Himalyan nation clean fuel for producing electricity and industrial use.

The panel would also explore possibilities of forming a joint venture between Nepal Oil and IOC for creating marketing infrastructure in Nepal. "It will create retail infrastructure in Nepal and create storage for petrol, diesel, LPG, ATF in remote areas," he added.

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Ivanka Trump is planning a trip to Germany to attend a summit on the economic empowerment of women.

A senior administration official says the first daughter was invited by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during Merkel's recent White House visit.

Ivanka Trump plans to attend the women-focused effort within the Group of 20 countries, called the W20 summit. It meets in Berlin in late April.

The official wasn't authorized to discuss details of the trip by name and requested anonymity.

Merkel and Ivanka Trump spent time together when Merkel visited the White House to meet with President Donald Trump.

At the request of German officials, the first daughter helped arrange a meeting between American and German business leaders to discuss vocational training.

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We have lost a true lesbian pioneer in the passing of Leslie Cohen. Whether opening the first upscale lesbian club Sahara in NYC in 1976 ...
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was fined today after he and more than 1,000 other demonstrators were detained at an anti-corruption protest in Moscow that was branded a "provocation" by the .

The United States and the European Union have voiced deep concern about the detentions during the biggest protests seen in Russia in recent years, with the State Department describing them as an "affront to democracy".

A Moscow district court ordered Navalny, who said he plans to run for president next year, to pay a 20,000-rouble ($350) fine for having organised an unsanctioned protest.

It was also set to rule on his alleged insubordination to police.

Navalny had called for Sunday's protests after publishing a report accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a murky network of non-profit organisations.

"The authorities are being accused of multi-million theft, but they remain silent," a haggard-looking Navalny said in court, insisting the protests were legal.

"More than 1,000 people were arrested yesterday but it is impossible to arrest millions," the 40-year-old lawyer said.

About 7,000 to 8,000 people demonstrated in the heart of the Russian capital on Sunday, according to police, making it one of the biggest unauthorised rallies in recent years.

The branded the protest a "provocation", claiming children had been promised "financial rewards" to demonstrate.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the respects the population's "civic stance" when expressed in accordance with the law.

Without mentioning Navalny by name, Peskov said the Kremlin was worried that "some people will continue using (politically) active people... To their own ends, calling them to illegal and unauthorised actions".

Demonstrations were held not just in Moscow and Russia's second city Saint Petersburg but also in a number of provincial cities where protests are rarely seen.

They attracted a significant number of minors born during President Vladimir Putin's 17 years in power.

"I am very happy that a generation that wants to be citizens, that isn't afraid, was born in the country," Navalny said.

Navalny was arrested as he was walking to the Moscow protest and another 1,030 people were detained, according OVD-Info, a website that monitors detentions of activists.

The vast majority were released overnight after being fined, while about 120 remained in custody on Monday, OVD-Info said.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to 15 days behind bars and fined Monday after staging the biggest anti-corruption protests in years, an act branded a "provocation" by the Kremlin.

The United States and the European Union have voiced deep concern after Navalny and more than 1,000 others were detained in the Moscow protest yesterday, with the State Department describing the arrests as as an "affront to democracy".

A Moscow district court ordered Navalny to serve 15 days in jail after having found him guilty of disobeying police orders. He was fined 20,000 rubles (USD 350) for having organised an unsanctioned protest.

The lawyer turned activist, 40, who has announced plans to run for president next year, called yesterday's protests after publishing a report accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of non-profit organisations.

"The authorities are being accused of multi-million theft, but they remain silent," a haggard-looking Navalny said in court, insisting the protests were legal.

"More than 1,000 people were arrested yesterday but it is impossible to arrest millions," the 40-year-old lawyer said.

About 7,000 to 8,000 people demonstrated in Moscow yesterday, according to police figures, making it one of the biggest unauthorised rallies in President Vladimir Putin's 17 years in power.

The Kremlin called the protest "a provocation and a lie", and claimed minors had been promised "financial rewards" to participate.

Demonstrations were held not just in Moscow and Russia's second city Saint Petersburg but also in a number of provincial cities where protests are rarely seen.

They attracted a significant number of minors born since Putin came to power.

"I am very happy that a generation that wants to be citizens, that isn't afraid, was born in the country," Navalny said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russians' "civic stance" would be respected if expressed legally but, without mentioning Navalny by name, suggested "some people will continue using (politically) active people... To their own ends, calling them to illegal and unauthorised actions".

Navalny was arrested as he was walking to the Moscow protest and another 1,030 people were detained, according OVD-Info, a website that monitors detentions of activists.

The vast majority were fined and released overnight, while about 120 remained in custody today, OVD-Info said.

One policeman was hospitalised after suffering a head injury, the interior ministry said.

The European Union urged Russia to release the demonstrators "without delay" and expressed concern that police action had "prevented the exercise of basic freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly".

"We call on the Russian authorities to abide fully by the international commitments it has made, including in the Council of Europe... To uphold these rights and to release without delay the peaceful demonstrators that have been detained."



US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the detention of "peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values".

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The new BJP government in Uttarakhand today tabled two major bills, including one on Lokayukta, in the state Assembly.

Tabling the bills, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant said the state government is committed to eliminate corruption.

The Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill-2017 is drafted on the lines of the Lokayukta bill introduced during former BJP chief minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri's tenure which was repealed after Congress government took over in 2012.

A strong Lokayukta was part of BJP'S vision document for this year's assembly polls in the state.

Another important bill passed by the House today was Uttarakhand Transfers Bill which will bring about transparency in the transfer of government officials.

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A person has been arrested in connection with the murder of a fish vendor whose body was found in a drain near Nilothi village of outer Delhi earlier this month.

The accused, Manoj, was arrested from Nilothi Extension yesterday. He used to work in a factory near which the victim, Sunil Mahto, used to sell fish, Additional DCP (Outer) Pankaj Singh said.

Mahto was found dead in the drain on March 16 and the body was sent to the SGM Hospital, he said, adding his motorcycle was also found from the spot.

Investigation revealed that a missing report had been lodged at the Ranhola Police Station, the DCP said.

Police contacted Mahto's family members but they provided no clue that could have helped solve the case, the officer said.

Local vendors after closing their shops used to keep their articles at the factory for the night. They were interrogated at length along with the factory's labourers. It was learnt that the Mahto was seen consuming liquor with some persons on March 11, after which he went missing, he said.

The victim's family members were asked about Mahto's motorcycle and it was learnt that it was missing from the same day, Singh said.

Further questioning of factory workers revealed that the accused had left Delhi for his native village in Nalanda, Bihar, after the incident, he said.

A police team, in the guise of bank officials, reached Manoj's native village and enquired about him. They were told he had returned to the national capital just a few days ago.

The team returned and the accused was arrested from Nilothi Extension area on Sunday, the officer said.

During interrogation, the accused claimed that Mahto owed him Rs 2,000, which he was not returning, he said.

They had an altercation after having liquor on March 11, during which the accused allegedly strangulated Mahto, and threw his body and his motorcycle in the drain, the officer said.

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The JD(U) will release tomorrow the fourth list of candidates for the high-stakes MCD elections, and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will address two rallies during campaigning for the polls next month.

Party sources today confirmed that Kumar will stump for the party at public gatherings in Burari and Khanpur.

The Janata Dal (United) chief is lined up to address two "big rallies" on April 9, and Kumar is expected to leverage the prohibition model during the campaign trail.

"The first rally would be at Burari in north Delhi and the next would be at Khanpur in south Delhi. The Bihar model of prohibition and good governance piloted by Nitishji as the chief minister will add weight to the campaign," a source told PTI.

The party had yesterday released its third list, according to which 23 candidates have been given tickets to fight the civic polls.

About 40 candidates have already been fielded as per the first two lists. Women and youth hailing from the Purvanchal region dominate all the four lists.

The party's national general secretary and Delhi unit in-charge Sanjay Jha took a veiled dig at AAP, saying the people of Delhi have a great opportunity to "reassert their verdict" and throw out "merchants of propaganda and false promises".

He asserted that the people of Delhi will support JD(U) based on what the party has done in Bihar and what it plans to do in Delhi.

Jha said the campaign has picked up pace with every candidate doing door-to-door canvassing.

He asserted that people's loyalty has now shifted to Nitish Kumar because of his "good governance model", which should be a benchmark not just for Delhi but the entire country.

Banking on its prohibition model, the party through Kumar is trying to reach out to the people from the Purvanchal region.

All major parties including BJP, Congress and AAP are fronting their big guns in the run up to the polls.

Purvanchalis, or people hailing from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh settled in Delhi, are considered a major vote bank by all the parties. A sizeable chunk of this community is settled in 'jhuggi-jhopri' and unauthorised colonies.

"The 153 sitting councillors of BJP will not be fielded



but what about their report cards of last five years. The party has decided to go with fresh faces because its councillors have failed and it does not want to risk its fortunes," Jha had earlier said.

The JD(U) also seeks to reach out to the Sikh community based on the goodwill earned for organising 'Prakash Parv' -- Guru Gobind Singh's 350th anniversary in Patna in January.

The Nitish Kumar-led party said it has targeted to field candidates on about 150 of the 276 seats and "prohibition impact in Bihar would give us a major shot in the arm in the MCD polls too".

Incidentally, JD(U) had supported AAP in the 2015 Assembly elections. The same year JD(U) had cobbled 'Grand Alliance' with RJD and Congress for the Bihar Assembly polls, which it swept comprehensively.

The BJP has been ruling the MCD since 2007. The last polls were held in 2012.

The much-awaited polls will decide the fate of 272 councillors. While NDMC and SMDC have 104 seats each, EDMC has 64 seats.

The total number of electorate for the civic polls stands at 1,32,10,206, which include 73,15,915 men, 58,93,418 women and 793 voters in the other category, according to the state election commission.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today said the forces of "militant Islam" must be defeated to ensure safety and security of the US and Israel.

"For the security of both Israel and the US, we must ensure that the forces of militant Islam are defeated," he said in his teleconference address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference.

"We won't let them drag humanity away from the promise of a bright future, to the misery of a dark past," he added.

Addressing several thousand participants to the annual conference, he exuded confidence that the US and Israel will stand together shoulder to shoulder to ensure that light triumphs over darkness and hope triumphs over despair.

"That means preventing Iran from ever developing nuclear weapons. That is our policy. It will always be our policy. Our partnership means also confronting Iran's aggression in the region and its terrorism around the world. It means utterly vanquishing ISIS," he said.

This means building alliances with moderates in the region, those moderates who seek to build a better future and embrace modernity and peace, he said.

Netanyahu said Israel is committed to working with US President Donald Trump to advance peace with the Palestinians and with all its neighbors.

"I believe that the common dangers faced by Israel and many of our Arab neighbors now offer a rare opportunity to build bridges towards a better future, a future more prosperous, more secure, more peaceful," he said.

"To achieve that future, Israel will stand ever vigilant, never compromising on our security, always ready to defend ourselves. We'll defend ourselves not only on the physical battlefield, but also on the moral battlefield. We'll defend ourselves against slander and boycotts," he said.

"We will speak clearly against anti-Semitism from any quarter. We will call on our friends in America and around the world to demand that Hamas free Israeli hostages and enable the Goldin and Shaul families to bury their fallen sons," Netanyahu added.

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Auto component major Motherson Sumi Systems (MSSL) today said it has completed acquisition of Finland's PKC Group Plc for around euro 571 million (over Rs 4,150 crore).

The takeover will help the company expand its footprint significantly in American and European commercial vehicle segment.

"We are very happy to announce that we have successfully acquired 93.75 per cent shareholding in the PKC Group, which has significant market presence in the American and European markets with major growth plans in China," MSSL Chairman Vivek Chaand Sehgal said in a statement.

This is in sync with the company's declared policy of focusing on these overseas markets to create enhanced value for all stakeholders, including investors, he added.

MSSL and PKC had sealed an agreement pursuant to which MSSL launched a voluntary public offer for the acquisition of all the issued and outstanding share capital and voting rights of PKC Group Plc (PKC).

The tender offer was launched on February 6.

Shareholders of PKC, which had a topline of euro 846 million in 2016, were offered euro 23.55 per share.

Total consideration paid for the acquisition is around euro 571 million, MSSL said. The company has also obtained all pre-closing regulatory approvals for the transaction prior to completion of the offer.

"MSSL has always believed in both organic and inorganic growth and has seen an average annualised growth of 40 per cent over the last 10 years," Sehgal said.

Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, PKC is a global tier 1 supplier of wiring harness and associated components to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the heavy and medium duty commercial vehicles and locomotive segments across North America, Europe, Brazil and China.

The acquisition of PKC supports MSSL in expanding its presence in the niche market of global wiring harness business for commercial vehicles.

This is the 16th acquisition by MSSL since 2002. The company has set a target of achieving turnover of USD 18 billion by 2020 through global expansion.

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A motion has been tabled in the UK parliament condemning Pakistan's "arbitrary" move to declare the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region, bordering disputed PoK, as its fifth province.

Bob Blackman, a Conservative Party MP, who regularly speaks out in support of the rights of Kashmiri Hindus in the House of Commons, tabled the Early Day Motion (EDM) titled 'Annexation of Gilgit-Baltistan as by Pakistan as its fifth frontier' on March 23.

EDMs are formal motions tabled in the House of Commons as a means of drawing attention to a particular issue or cause.

The motion said that Gilgit-Baltistan has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947 and the country is attempting to annex the already disputed area.

The EDM reads: "That this House condemns the arbitrary announcement by Pakistan declaring Gilgit-Baltistan as its Fifth Frontier, implying its attempt to annex the already disputed area."



It noted that "Gilgit-Baltistan is a legal and constitutional part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India, which is illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947, and where people are denied their fundamental rights including the right of freedom of expression."



It further said that the attempts to change the demography of the region in violation of State Subject Ordinance and forcibly and illegally to build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which further aggravates and interferes with the disputed territory."



Other British MPs are expected to sign the EDM during the course of this week as a show of support to the motion.

A spokesperson for Blackman's office indicated that a formal debate on the issue is also likely to be proposed in coming weeks.

Pakistan's minister for inter-provincial coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada on Marach 14 told Pakistani media that a committee headed by Advisor of Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had proposed giving the status of a province to Gilgit-Baltistan.

He also said that a constitutional amendment would be made to change the status of the region, through which the USD 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes.

India has termed as "entirely unacceptable" any possible attempt by Pakistan to declare the Gilgit-Baltistan region, bordering disputed PoK, as the fifth province.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson said any such step would not be able to hide the illegality of Pakistan's occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir which it must vacate, forthwith.

Gilgit-Baltistan is treated as a separate geographical entity by Pakistan. It has a regional assembly and an elected Chief Minister.

Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh are the four provinces of Pakistan.

It is believed that China's concerns about the unsettled status of Gilgit-Baltistan prompted Pakistan to change its status.

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Majestic Research Services and Solution Ltd (MRSS India) today said it has inked pacts with three global development agencies in social research practice.

Within four months of its foray into social research practice, MRSS India has created a mark in this arena by collaborating for project works with America India Foundation, Aga Khan Foundation and Population Council, the BSE-SME listed firm said in a statement here.

Social research practice is an emerging segment in India that measures parameters like education, gender, health and nutrition, poverty, water and sanitation, rural development, livelihood, climate change, natural resource management, citizen survey and report cards with sustainable development.

"We have taken baby steps into this segment and have already made a positive impact with a slew of new clientele. We hope to maintain this momentum going forward," MRSS India chairman Raj Sharma said.

The Aga Khan Foundation project pertains to improving the quality of education in three Bihar districts - Patna, Muzaffarpur and Samastipur. Under this project, MRSS India will provide technical support in analysing the data and prepare the report, the release added.

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The functioning of government offices, including the Nagaland State Civil Secretariat was affected today as government employees resorted to pen down strike demanding implementation of 7th Revision of Pay.

Irked over the 'failure' of the state government to fulfil their demand for implementation of the 7th Revision of Pay from March 1, 2017, the Confederation of All Nagaland State Service Employees Association (CANSSEA) had decided to go on pen down strike.

CANSSEA president S Takatuba Aier said the State Services Associations had represented for implementation of the 7th ROP from January 1, 2016, but finally agreed to accept the implementation from March 1 this year.

He also stated that although the State Government constituted Cabinet Sub-Committee to resolve the issue the matter could not be settled and therefore the employees are left with no option but to resort to agitation.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet has expressed concern over the ongoing pen down strike by the State Government employees on the issue of implementation of 7th ROP.

A government release stated that the Cabinet Sub Committee today briefed the Cabinet of the discussions held yesterday by it on the issue with representatives of CANSSEA and the various State Services Associations.

After thorough deliberation, the Cabinet decided to make an appeal to the striking Government employees to withdraw their strike as the Cabinet Sub Committee has been constituted to look into their demands and the dialogue needs to be continued.

The Cabinet also directed the Cabinet Sub-Committee to meet the CANSSEA representatives immediately after the Budget Session for an amicable resolution of the issue.

The Cabinet also requested all the State Government employees to call off their pen down strike and allow the smooth functioning of the offices.

Further, it also appealed the CANSSEA and the various State Services Associations to carry on the process of dialogue with the Cabinet Sub Committee for resolving their issues.

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The collaboration between India and Vietnam in films, broadcasting and information dissemination will strengthen the bilateral relations between the countries, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said today.

"Cooperation in the field of institutional capacity building in social media and student exchange programs between premier institutes (dealing with journalism and films) of both the countries would bring the nations close," he said.

The Information and Broadcasting Minister was speaking at a meeting with the delegation led by Vietnam Minister of Information and Communications, Truong Minh Tuan here.

The year 2017 marks the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic relation and 10 years of strategic partnership between the two countries.

Naidu also extended the support of his Ministry to promote exchange programs between public broadcasters of the two countries, besides content creation, screening and distribution of films.

Meanwhile, Truong Minh Tuan gave an overview of the media scenario in his country at the meeting and expressed hope that the national broadcasters of both the nations would work closely in the field of real-time information gathering and dissemination.

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A Nepalese national, who possess demonetised Indian banknotes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations can exchange up to Rs 4,500, the RBI has told Nepal's central bank, official sources said here today.

The offer was made by officials of the Reserve Bank of India during a discussion with Nepalese officials, who pressed for an exchange facility of up to Rs 25,000 per individual in the banned denominations, according to sources at Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of Nepal.

During a meeting held yesterday with the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) officials, the Indian team offered exchange facility via formal banking channel for up to Rs 4,500 per person in demonetised banknotes.

As per the Indian team proposal, individuals possessing banned Indian bank bill will have to open account at banks and financial institutions and deposit the Indian currency before the NRB sends it to the RBI for verification.

After verification, the RBI would send back the equivalent currency in other denominations, the sources said.

Although, the NRB officials agreed over the modality presented by the RBI, they did not agree over the amount up to which exchange facility is given.

"We asked them to provide exchange facility for up to IRs 25,000 in the banned denominations," said Bhisma Raj Dhungana, head of foreign exchange department at NRB who was present during the meeting.

"We told them it was the Indian government's decision to allow Nepalis to hold up to IRs 25,000 and they should provide exchange facility up to that limit."



The actual stock of banned Indian notes is expected to be much higher because Nepalis were previously allowed to carry Indian bank notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations amounting to Indian Rs 25,000.

Nepal's central bank has been claiming that its financial system has accumulated Indian Rs 33.6 million at various banks and financial institutions.

Soon after the November 8 decision by the Indian government, Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda had a telephonic talk with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek exchange facility for demonitised Indian currencies in circulation in Nepal.

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Amid a debate on the need to scrutinise the content of textbooks being prescribed in schools, the HRD Ministry has expressed its inability to evaluate the quality of textbooks of private publishers.

"There is no mechanism to evaluate the quality of textbooks of private publishers. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has no mandate to prescribe or recommend the textbooks of private publishers in its affiliated schools," Minister of State for HRD, Upendra Kushwaha, said in response to a written question in Lok Sabha.

"The government is very firm on promoting NCERT textbooks in CBSE schools," he added.

The comments by the minister come at a time when education experts are raising the issue of lack of scrutiny of the curriculum taught to children.

Excerpts from a Class IV environmental science textbook that suggested students to "kill a kitten" as part of an experiment had gone viral on social media, forcing the publisher to withdraw it from the market last month.

In another recent incident, a Class 12 Sociology book cited "ugliness" and physical disability of a girl as reasons behind the dowry issue prevalent in the country.

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Normal life was affected in this western Odisha town in a dawn-to-dusk strike by BJP today against transfer of faculty members of Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR), Burla to other medical colleges.

Shops, business establishments, banks, educational institutions, financial institutions and government offices remained closed during the 12-hour bandh.

Public transport was also hit during the bandh with auto-rickshaws and other vehicles keeping off the road in Burla town, which wore a deserted look.

The protesters also picketed in front of government offices in their effort to enforce the bandh, police said.

Sambalpur BJP unit President Ramachandra Meher said VIMSAR is reeling under acute staff shortage but the state government has issued order of transfer of around 11 doctors from it.

The government should cancel the transfer order immediately in the interest of the people in the region and steps should be taken immediately to fill up all the vacant posts of doctors at the institute, he demanded.

Several social organisations also staged protests at Burla against the transfer order of doctors on Monday.

The Junior Doctors Association (JDA), PG Students Association, Undergraduate students association of VIMSAR also extended their support the bandh.

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Opposition Congress and NCP in Maharashtra will embark on a week-long 'Sangharsh Yatra' from Nagpur on Wednesday to express solidarity with farmers over the demand of loan waiver.

All the opposition MLAs, including those belonging to the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will participate in the 'Sangharsh Yatra'.

The leaders and MLAs of the opposition in the state legislative assembly will travel from Nagpur to Chandrapur, Yavatmal, Wardha, Butibori (near Nagpur), Amravati, Hingoli, Parbhani, Jalna, Aurangabad, Beed, Latur, Osmanabad, Solapur, Pandharpur and Pune. The yatra will conclude with a public meeting at Panvel on April 4.

The schedule includes interactions with farmers' groups, meeting kin of farmers who have committed suicide and public meetings.

Congress spokesman Ratnakar Mahajan said the motive behind the Yatra was to explain the rationale behind the demand for loan waiver.

"We will highlight how the Rs 72,000 crore loan waiver by the Manmohan Singh Government had helped farmers to tide over the crisis of drought. This year, there have been good rains resulting in good harvest. But, the farmers have not become financially stable due to the previous two years of drought," he said.

"Loan waiver as a short-term measure to help them mitigate the crisis is the need of the hour. Devendra Fadnavis government says it will announce a loan waiver at an appropriate time. When will the appropriate time come? Few months before the 2019 assembly polls?," he asked.

Mahajan accused the BJP-led state government of pointing fingers at the Centre for financial assistance, while the latter says farm loan waiver has to be decided by the state. "This is deception of farmers," he said.

Nineteen Opposition MLAs from the Congress and the NCP



were suspended last week from the Assembly for nine months for creating ruckus during the Budget presentation in the House.

The Congress leader lashed out at the government for saying that burning of budget papers was unconstitutional. "This is the first time that a new interpretation of the Constitution has come up," he said.

"This was not for the first time that a budget presentation has been disrupted. There are precedents where BJP has done so. Of course that does not mean Congress should also act in the same manner," he said.

"Suspension is a revengeful attitude borne out of majority in the lower house. You suspend 19 MLAs at one time and why should revoking be done in instalments?" he asked referring to the government's proposal to revoke suspension of MLAs, who were shouting slogans on Wednesday, while those whose had burnt budget papers and showed placards and banners, at the end of the session.

Reacting to BJP's charge that the opposition had resorted to disrupting the proceedings because of their defeat in the recent civic polls, Mahajan said the strength of Congress and NCP, together in the Zilla Parishad and panchayat samitis, was more than BJP and Shiv Sena.

He admitted that for the ZP president's post, non-ideological alliances did take place which was borne out of local factors and compulsions.

Meanwhile, the deadlock over opposition members' participation in the budget session proceedings from Wednesday is likely to continue since all opposition members will be travelling with the Sangharsh Yatra till April 4. The session ends on April 7.
Hundreds of people including top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were arrested as thousands of Russians defied bans to stage protests across the country against corruption.

Navalny had called for the marches after publishing a detailed report this month accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of nonprofit organisations.

The report has been viewed over 11 million times on YouTube, but so far Medvedev has made no comment on the claims.

Yesterday's march in Moscow was one of the biggest unauthorised demonstrations in recent years, with police putting turnout at 7,000-8,000 people.

Police detained Navalny, who has announced plans to run for president in the 2018 election, as he was walking to the protest, putting him in a police minibus.

The crowd briefly tried to block it from driving off, shouting "Shame!" and "Let him out!"



"Guys, I am all right, go on along Tverskaya," Navalny tweeted from the van, referring to Moscow's main radial street.

Police said about 500 people had been arrested in Moscow, while OVD-Info, a website that monitors the detention of activists, said at least 933 had been detained, as well as dozens in other cities.

The Interfax agency said 130 people were arrested in Saint Petersburg, where about 4,000 people gathered in the city centre.

"We're tired of the lies, we have to do something," Sergei Timofeyev, a 23-year-old protester in Saint Petersburg, told AFP.

A spokeswoman for Navalny's Anti-corruption Foundation (FBK) said on Twitter than he would be held overnight before being brought before a judge on Monday.

He will face charges of calling a rally that disrupted public order, and could be held for up to 15 days.

From his cell, Navalny posted on Twitter that he was "proud" of the protesters and said the mass detentions were "understandable".

"The thieves defend themselves this way. But you cannot arrest everyone who is against corruption. There are millions of us," he wrote.

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Pakistan and South Africa today signed the first MoU to strengthen defence ties, especially defence industrial production and exchange of military information and training of armed forces.

The Memorandum of Understanding on 'Defence and Defence Industrial Cooperation' was signed in Islamabad during the visit of South African Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Naqkula.

Under the MoU, a Joint Defence Committee will be set up to pave the way for strengthening and diversifying bilateral defence cooperation through collaborative programmes, exchange of information and training of the armed forces.

The MoU has paved the way for military technical agreement between Pakistan and South Africa, she said after signing the agreement with Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

"We appreciate Pakistan's defence efforts," she said.

Mapisa-Nqakula said South Africa would also pursue its interest in purchasing Pakistan's Super Mushtaq jet.

"The importance of continuous cementing of relations in an effort to share knowledge and ideas can never be overemphasised," Mapisa-Nqakula said.

"As the South African National Defence Force, we believe in empowering ourselves and others through collaborative partnerships and agreements," the minister said.

The MoU seeks to promote collaboration and exchange between the two countries in line with the latest defence review.

Mapisa-Nqakula's visit was the first official visit to Pakistan by a South African defence minister since the democratic government was established in 1994 under Nelson Mandela.

Due to sanctions and embargoes imposed against South Africa's apartheid government initiated by India in 1948, South Africa and India had no bilateral relations until then, but have had increasing relations since then.

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Opposition National Conference today attacked the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accusing it of betrayal, vitiating the atmosphere and pushing Jammu and Kashmir into development inertia.

"There are numerous instances of betrayal perpetrated by the PDP leadership in different avatars. It came to power in 2015 with those (BJP) it vehemently opposed during 2014 electioneering," senior NC leader Abdul Rahim Rather said addressing election meetings in Chrar-e-Sharief assembly segment in central Kashmir's Budgam district.

"The PDP will have to explain to people why it became instrumental in bringing BJP and RSS into Kashmir," he said.

The former minister blamed the PDP-BJP coalition for pushing Jammu and Kashmir into developmental inertia with utility services in disarray as a result of which the people are suffering on account of power and drinking water.

"The mis-governance has taken toll on every sector and the people are suffering on account of basic minimum needs," he said.

Rather alleged that vote to PDP in upcoming by-polls will amount to action that innocent boys and girls had to face in the Valley and also approval to extension of fascist ideology" in Jammu and Kashmir.

Senior NC leader and former Minister Mian Altaf Ahmad also slammed PDP for creating an "environment of fear and uncertainty" across Kashmir, saying "the people are yet to come out of the trauma of 2016 gruesome incidents".

He said the "insensitive" PDP leaders, instead of feeling "remorse over making young boys and girls fodder for pellet guns, mocked at their helplessness rather than making the security forces accountable".

NC General Secretary Ali Mohammed Sagar castigated the PDP-BJP dispensation for creating "deep wedge" between the regions and people belonging to various religions as per their "political exigencies".

"While the BJP is pursuing its larger Hindutva agenda, the PDP is becoming a willing facilitator in terms of targeting innocent Kashmiris to appease New Delhi," Sagar said addressing workers at various places here.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today asked the newly-constituted STF to go all out to wipe out the drugs scourge within the stipulated time of four weeks and not spare anyone found complicit in the trade.

The Special Task Force (STF) is headed by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Harpreet Sidhu.

The Chief Minister gave a free hand to Sidhu to take all measures he deemed fit to rid the state of the menace which has destroyed a whole generation of Punjab's youth under the erstwhile Badal regime, according to an official statement.

"The Chief Minister will, however, personally monitor the progress of the STF on a day-to-day basis to ensure that his government fulfils the drugs eradication promise within the four-week time-frame," it said.

Sidhu formally took charge of the STF on Monday with a vow to deliver on the government's promise. A 1992 batch IPS officer, he was engaged in anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh, where he was on CRPF deputation, before being called in to head the anti-drugs STF in Punjab.

He was the recipient of the President's Medal for Gallantry Services in 2003.

The STF has been mandated with the task of day-to-day monitoring of the steps taken or to be taken to check the trading and consumption of drugs, particularly 'chitta' (synthetic drugs), in the state.

"Directing the STF to deal with the menace of drugs with an iron fist, the Chief Minister told a meeting of the top police brass, led by Sidhu, that his government was committed to fulfilling its poll promise of wiping out the problem within four weeks and would not tolerate any laxity in the matter," the statement released by the Chief Minister's Office added.

The STF has also been asked to take public help in identifying and arresting the traders and suppliers of drugs in the state.

"A 24x7 helpline service is in place and anyone can call on '181' to report any drugs related incident with total protection of his identity," it said.

"Stringent punishment should be initiated against those found engaged in the drugs business without any leniency, the Chief Minister has directed the STF, warning of strict action against anyone found guilty of shielding the drug mafia or protecting the drugs dealers/traders in any manner," the release said.

The decision to constitute the STF was taken by the Amarinder Singh government during the meeting of his cabinet, two days after taking over the reins of the state.

The cabinet had also directed the State Home Department to submit a proposal, at its next meeting, for issuing an ordinance for Confiscation of Drug Dealers' Property, as promised in the Congress election manifesto.

The Cabinet had further decided on stringent and exemplary action for peddlers and traders, while treating drugs users with compassion and ensuring their rehabilitation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
What Is a Full Ride Scholarship?

Getting a scholarship that would fully cover tuition costs is most students dream. Its hard to believe that theres something even better out therethe full ride scholarship. These scholarships are special because they cover not only tuition, but also other basic costs, like room, board, books, travel, and supplies.

For most private schools, that means that you are getting over $200,000 of expenses covered by these scholarships.

Unlike financial aid, which many schools offer to students based on what they and their families can afford to pay towards their educations, these scholarships are based on merit.

The idea is that these schools think certain students are specialso special that they want it to be a no-brainer that youll choose to attend their school. So they're going to try their hardest to make you want to partner with them for the next four years.

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What Kinds Of Schools Offer Full Tuition Scholarships?

As youre looking through the list below, you may notice that you recognize some of the names. A lot of the schools on this list are very good schools, but apart from a few notable exceptions, you are not likely to see the top schools in the country giving out full ride scholarships.

Why is this?

Full ride scholarships are meant to lure in top, super-attractive students who have a lot of choices. Its the schools way of telling you that among the student population, you really stand out. These full ride scholarships are merit-based, meaning that in your grades, extra-curricular activities, and leaderships skills, you worked harder or achieved more than the average student.

At schools that have the highest levels of competition, full rides are extremely rare. Pretty much all the applicants to these schools are going to be high achievers across the board. Therefore, it gets a lot harder to pick out who the real stars are.

Where Should You Look for a Full Ride Scholarship?

If youre hoping for a full ride, you may want to look at schools that are safe for your grades, test scores, and achievements outside of school. If you're scoring much higher than the average admitted student, you have a much better chance of having some scholarship money coming your way.

You may also want to consider colleges you have not heard of before. A lot of these schools offer top academic experiences, but dont have the name recognition of other schools. They are trying to attract student superstars that will help raise their profiles.

Of course, even if you apply to the schools on this list, expect the competition to be fierce. Dont bank everything on getting one of these scholarshipsthey are very tough to come by. Also consider going after other forms of college money, such as traditional need-based financial aid, as well as other independent merit-based scholarships.

Top 50 Schools That Offer Full Ride Scholarships

The following schools are ranked in the top 50 universities in the USA by US News. Consider this list the exception to the rule: these are the rare nationally top-ranked universities that offer merit-based scholarships in addition to the more standard financial need scholarships.

#3: University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)

Stamps Leadership Scholarship

This scholarship covers tuition and fees, room and board, and a $10,000 enrichment fund for students who demonstrate leadership, perseverance, scholarship, service, and innovation.

#8: Duke University (Durham, North Carolina)

Robertson Scholars

This scholarship pays full tuition plus fees, room and board, and also gives funding for up to three domestic summer experiences. The award is given to students who show purposeful leadership, intellectual curiosity, strength of character, and collaborative spirit.

#13: California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, California)

Stamps Leadership Scholarship

This scholarship pays four years of tuition and fees, room and board, and an additional stipend for enrichment experiences.

#15: University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Indiana)

Stamps Leadership Scholarship

This scholarship gives full tuition and fees plus $12,000 in enrichment funds. Winners are also given faculty and professional mentors. Students must be nominated by the admissions office. Selection is based on leadership, perseverance, scholarship, service, and innovation. A maximum of five are awarded each year.

University of Notre Dame

#15: Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee)

Ingram Scholarship

This scholarship gives full tuition and stipends for summer projects. Students are selected based on commitment to community service, strength of personal character, and leadership potential. The application deadline is January 1st.

Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship

This scholarship gives full tuition plus a one-time stipend to be used towards a summer study abroad or research experience. Selection is based on academic achievement, intellectual promise, leadership, and contributions outside the classroom.

#19: Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, Missouri)

John B. Ervins Scholar Program

This scholarship gives full tuition plus a $2,500 annual stipend. Applicants should excel academically, challenge themselves, demonstrate initiative and leadership in their communities, bring diverse groups together, commit to community service, serve historically underprivileged populations, and/or persevere through challenging circumstances.

Anika Rodriguez Scholars Program

This scholarship gives full tuition and a $2,500 annual stipend. Awards are based on academic achievement (strong grades and SAT or ACT scores), a commitment to serving historically underprivileged populations, the ability to bring diverse people together, application answers and essay, and recommendations received as part of the admission application.

Danforth Scholars Program

This scholarship covers full tuition. Applicants must be nominated by someone with extensive knowledge of the student. Calls for nominations go out to high school guidance counselors every summer.

Stamps Leadership Scholarship

This scholarship covers full tuition, fees, room and board, and supplies, and also gives a $10,000 enrichment fund. Selection is based upon the applicants academic achievement, leadership, perseverance, scholarship, service and innovation.

#20: Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia)

Emory Scholars

This scholarship gives full tuition and enrichment stipends. It's only awarded to the top students at Emory. The application deadline is November 15th.

#23: University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California)

Mork Family Scholarship

This scholarship gives full tuition, plus a $5,000 stipend. Finalists are selected by USC faculty for interviews. The average SAT and ACT scores of recipients are in the top 1 to 2 percent of all students nationwide in addition to such things as academic achievement, talent, perseverance, innovation, involvement, and leadership. A maximum of ten scholarships are awarded each year. Finalists will be notified of scholarship award status by April 1st.

Stamps Leadership Scholarship

This scholarship gives full tuition, plus a $5,000 annual enrichment fund ($20,000 total). Candidates are selected by USC faculty for interviews. The average SAT and ACT scores of recipients are in the top 1 to 2 percent of all students nationwide in addition to such things as academic achievement, talent, perseverance, innovation, involvement, and leadership. A maximum of ten scholarships are awarded each year. Finalists will be notified of scholarship award status by April 1st.

Trustee Scholarship

This scholarship gives full tuition. The average SAT and ACT scores of recipients are in the top 1 to 2 percent of all students nationwide in addition to such things as academic achievement, talent, perseverance, innovation, involvement, and leadership. A maximum of 100 scholarships are awarded each year. Candidates are selected for interviews by February. Finalists will be notified of scholarship award status by April 1st.

#24: University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)

Stamps Leadership Scholarship

This scholarship gives full tuition, plus an enrichment fund up to $12,000. You have to be nominated by the University for this scholarship based upon such qualities as leadership, scholarship, community service, innovation. A maximum of ten are awarded every year: five nationally, and five for California residents. Invitations to apply are e-mailed on February 1st; applications are due mid-February.

#24: University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia)

Jefferson Scholarship

This scholarship covers full tuition, fees, room and board, books, enrichment program and personal expenses. Students must be in the top 1-2% of their high school senior classes and must be nominated by an eligible school. A maximum of thirty-four scholarships are awarded each year.

#27: Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)

Nancy Susan Reynolds Scholarship

This scholarship gives full tuition and a stipend. Selection is based on scholarship, achievement and personal interviews. The application deadline is December 1st.

Stamps Leadership Scholarship

This scholarship gives full tuition and an enrichment stipend. Selection is based on educational achievements, academic motivation, maturity and character. A maximum of five scholarships are awarded each year.

#27: University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

Stamps Leadership Scholarship

This scholarship covers the full cost of attendance plus up to $10,000 in enrichment funds for about 18 students admitted through early action annually. Selection is based on academic achievement, exceptional talent, leadership, and service and community involvement.

#30: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)

Morehead-Cain Scholars

This scholarship covers full tuition, room and board, books, a laptop, and funding for research and summer opportunities. It is open to students from a designated nominating school. Current nominating schools are located all across the globe and can be found here.

Robertson Scholars

This scholarship gives full tuition plus fees, room and board, and funding for up to three domestic summer experiences. It is awarded to students who show purposeful leadership, intellectual curiosity, strength of character, and collaborative spirit.

#31: Boston College (Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts)

Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program

This scholarship pays full tuition and provides summer opportunities at Boston College to selected early action applicants. A maximum of 15 awards are given every year. Students must be invited in for interviews by a selection committee. The early action application deadline is November 1st, and students will be invited in for interviews in late January or early February.

#32: College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, VA)

College of William and Mary Stamps 1693 Scholarship

Stamps 1693 scholars receive full in-state tuition, fees, room and board, and $5,000 for independent projects. (Out-of-state students are eligible, but must pay the difference between in-state and out-of-state costs). All applicants are considered for scholarships and will be contacted by the selection committee to submit additional materials if they are chosen as semifinalists.

William and Mary Scholars

William and Mary Scholars receive the full in-state tuition and fees. Scholarships are offered to academically strong applicants who have overcome adversity and/or would increase campus diversity. All applicants to the college are considered.

#32: University of Rochester (Rochester, New York)

Renaissance & Global Scholarships

This scholarship guarantees full tuition and individual mentoring. Selection is based upon academic curiosity and excellence, social awareness and involvement. A maximum of 20 are awarded each year.

#34: Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia)

Stamps Presidents Scholars Program

This scholarship gives full tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, a laptop, and $15,000 enrichment funding. It is awarded to the top 1% of students at Georgia Tech who also have shown a dedication to leadership and service. To be considered, students must apply by the early application deadline of October 15th.

#39: Boston University (Boston, Massachusetts)

Trustee Scholarship

This scholarship awards full tuition plus fees. Students must have exceptional academic credentials and display intellectual and creative adventurousness. The application deadline is December 1st. Students will complete the regular common application but submit an answer to one of the Trustee Scholarship prompts as their essay, as well as completing a small supplemental essay.

#39: Tulane University (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Deans Honor Scholarship

This scholarship gives full tuition. Selection is based on general achievements and a creative project. A maximum of 75 are awarded each year. The submission deadline is December 5th.

Paul Tulane Scholarship

This scholarship gives full tuition. Selection is based on general achievement and additional writing components. A maximum of 50 scholarships are awarded every year. The application deadline is December 5th.

Stamps Leadership Scholarship

This scholarship awards full cost of attendance and additional enrichment funding. Students must apply for the Deans Honor Scholarship or the Paul Tulane award and will be nominated from that pool of applicants. Selection is based on academics, leadership, perseverance, and innovation. A maximum of five scholarships are awarded every year.

#44: University of Illinois (Champaign, Illinois)

Stamps Leadership Foundation

This scholarship covers the total cost of attendance as well as an additional fund for enrichment activities. A maximum of five are awarded each year.

#44 University of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin)

Chancellor's Scholarship Program

Chancellor's Scholars receive a full-tuition scholarship and a $400 book stipend every semester. They need to maintain a 3.0 GPA and full-time student status to remain eligible for the award through their college careers. Supplemental applications for this scholarship open in November and are due in February.
The Punjab cabinet today decided to take up on a priority basis the matter of settlement of legacy accounts regarding the pending cash credit limit (CCL) with the Centre, RBI and SBI.

A decision to this effect was taken here at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

The meeting decided to take up the CCL issue with the central government, the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of India "in larger public interest and in view of the state's financial situation".

After the meeting, an official spokesperson said the Punjab government, which has "inherited a huge debt legacy" from the previous Akali government, will actively pursue the issue with the Centre.

The Chief Minister had last week met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely and demanded that the Centre immediately authorise and release Rs. 20,683 crore cash credit limit for smooth and timely wheat procurement in the state.

The procurement of wheat in the state is slated to commence on April 1.

The state cabinet also approved supplementary grants for the year 2016-17 to be presented before the state assembly during the ongoing session.

It also cleared the proposal for seeking Vote-on-Account for 2017-18 in the Vidhan Sabha.

The supplementary grants and Vote-on-Account are scheduled to be presented in the House on March 29.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The BJP-led Rajasthan government today sought to square up the previous Congress regime in the Assembly over a question about information on the number of beneficiaries under Right to Food Security Guarantee Act.

When Congress deputy chief whip Govind Singh Dotasara asked this question, cabinet minister for food and civil supplies Babulal Verma, taking a jibe, said the total population of Dungarpur was 12.40 lakh but more than 14 lakh were selected under the scheme by the Congress government.

While Verma was replying to the house, Dotasara intervened and shot back, saying the government could have rectified the list in three years time and claimed that several eligible needy people were not getting the benefit under the scheme.

Verma said currently over 4.44 crore people were getting benefit under Right to Food scheme, assuring the poor will be provided the benefit.

He also requested Dotasara to provide list of eligible people and he will get their issues resolved.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vicky Kaushal says he wants to be a part of every film made by the "Masaan" director Neeraj Ghaywan, who gave him his first break in films, even if that means appearing in the role of a ghost.

The 28-year-old actor, who will be seen in Sanjay Dutt's biopic, says he wants to work with Ghaywan every time he gets a chance, irrespective of the main lead or subject.

"I want to work in every Neeraj Ghaywan film. I have told him that I am ready to play a ghost so that I can say I was there in at least one frame of his film. I don't care if my face is visible on the screen or not," Vicky told PTI.

"I want to work with him every time I get a chance. Neeraj is my man. I will make sure he casts me, I can even go on to emotionally blackmail him."



In the biopic, being directed by Rajkumar Hirani, Vicky plays one of Dutt's closest friends. He, however, is not ready to dish out more details about the role.

"My character is one of Sanjay Dutt's closest friends and that's all I can say at this point. (He is) someone who has really seen him through thick and thin of his life and stood by him."



Vicky says he came to know he had landed the role in Hirani's film after the "PK" director was through with the narration.

"I got a call by casting director Mukesh Chhabra and he asked me to test for a part in Raju Sir's film. So, I went to his office and gave an audition. I was called again in a couple of days when he narrated the script to me.

"I asked him what was next. That's when Raju sir told me I had the role, I was stumped. It was really hard for me to believe that I will be working with him. It was one of the best narrations I have ever been through."



Apart from Dutt's biopic, Vicky will be seen in a rom-com for the first time. Titled, "Love Per Square Foot", the movie will release later this year.

"This is a romantic comedy based in Mumbai. It is the first time that I am doing comedy. It is a break from all the serious roles that I have done till now," he says.

Directed by Anand Tiwari, director of Y-Films web-series called "Bang Baaja Baaraat", Vicky says the project is an out-an-out commercial film with songs, dance and humour.

Angira Dhar, who played Shahana in "BBB", is debuting in Bollywood with the Ronnie Screwvala production.

The actor, who was last seen in Anurag Kashyap's "Raman Raghav 2.0", says everything he knows about cinema is because of the filmmaker.

"Anurag sir is my window to cinema. Whatever I know about the art and craft of filmmaking, is through him. In fact, he was the first person whom I told I wanted to pursue acting.

"He was sweet enough to give me a job as an assistant director on 'Gangs of Wasseypur'. I still feel like one of the ADs of 'GOW' when he is around me. He is that one person in the industry who is a phone call away. He knew I was doing the Dutt biopic even before I had any idea about it.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Central Information Commission has directed department to refund Rs 2,222 along with interest to an RTI applicant who was not provided information despite depositing the fee for photocopy of records.

The settlement commission of the department had taken 10 months after the fee was deposited to provide 1111 pages of information to activist R K Jain.

Taking stern view of the case, Information Commissioner Bimal Julka directed refund of the fee collected from Jain along with interest, in accordance with the extant guidelines issued by the Finance Ministry, from the day fee was deposited.

"The CPIO is also cautioned to be extremely careful and vigilant in handling RTI petitions in future, failing which the Commission would initiate penal action under...The RTI Act, 2005," Julka said.

Jain had sought several records from the settlement commission which he was told totalled 1111 pages. He was asked to deposit Rs 2,222 as photocopying charges for the same. But even after depositing the fee, the information was not provided to him for 10 months.
Renowned playwright and and Sahitya Akademi Award winner Arun Sarma died today at a private hospital in the National Capital after a brief illness.

According to family members, Sarma died early this morning. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Born in 1931 in Dibrugarh district, Sarma has written more than 50 plays and books in his career.

He also won a number of awards, including Padma Shri, Sahitya Academi and Assam Valley Literary.

Condoling his death, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said people of the state will always remember him for his contribution towards the literary world.

Asking the administration to perform his last rites with state honour, Sonowal said: "Sarma's death is irreparable loss to the Assamese society."



Former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said demise of Sarma meant that Assam has lost one true guardian.

Famous theatre group Samahar Natya Gosthee expressed its condolence at the demise Sarma and termed him as "a towering personality in the arena of Assamese theatre".

"It is a big loss to Assamese theatre, and creative field in general. He will be deeply missed by all," the group said in a statement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The row over MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulting an Air India employee on Monday raged both within and outside Parliament, prompting Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to suggest an amicable resolution of the issue.

MPs denounced the blanket ban imposed on Gaikwad by domestic airlines which, they claimed, violated the Constitution and the law. They demanded that the ban be lifted, but did not get any assurance from the government, with Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapati Raju saying violence of any kind on an aircraft could prove disastrous.

Osmanabad, Gaikwad's parliamentary constituency, meanwhile, observed a bandh to protest against his "humiliation" as the MP stayed put at some undisclosed location. He said he has been asked by the Sena leadership to "keep quiet".

The assault on Air India duty officer R Sukumar on Thursday resonated in the Lok Sabha with MPs demanding revocation of the ban.

Members of the Shiv Sena, a partner in the ruling NDA dispensation, created uproar in the House and engaged in a verbal duel with Congress MPs who criticised Gaikwad for his action.

The party's leader in the house Anandrao Adsul claimed the ban violated the Constitution and the law.

Raju, however, condemned Gaikwad's conduct, saying "I never in my wildest dreams thought that an MP will get caught in such an incident."

He said aviation regulator DGCA had framed safety guidelines after an earlier incident of violence by an MP against an airline staffer last year and those were invoked in the case of Gaikwad, who has been barred from flying all major airlines.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan later called a meeting of Sena MPs with Raju after which she pitched for an "amicable resolution" to the issue, while steering clear of taking any sides.

"MPs need to attend Parliament and they cannot travel by train always. At times, they need to travel by plane also. I feel that this issue (blanket ban) should be resolved amicably through talks," she said.

Mahajan, however, said that she was not passing a judgement but only trying to help resolve the matter as "an elder sister".

"I am playing the role of 'tai' (elder sister). As of now, everybody is angry. It is time to calm down and resolve the issue. How the ban could be lifted needs to be discussed and resolved amicably," she told reporters after the meeting.

Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said, "All airlines have come together to ban him (Gaikwad), but it is our fundamental right (to travel by air)."

Mahajan said the MPs have so far not given any notice of breach of privilege motion against the airlines.

The matter was also raised in the Rajya Sabha where Samajwadi Party's Naresh Agrawal wondered whether airlines can ban an MP from travelling for discharge of his official duty. He was, however, cut short by Deputy Chairman P J Kurien on the ground that the matter related to a member of the other House.

Gaikwad being put on the 'no-fly' list is probably the first such instance in the Indian civil aviation history.

After Air India put him on the no-fly list, the Federation of Indian Airlines, which has Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir as its members, also imposed a ban on Gaikwad from flying their aircraft. After the ban, Gaikwad had to travel to Maharashtra by train.

Meanwhile, Gaikwad's constituency observed a bandh to protest his "humiliation".

"We have called the Osmanabad bandh to protest the humiliation of our leader by the airlines which have denied him flying rights," Osmanabad district vice president of the Sena Kamlakar Chavan told PTI.

"Is he a terrorist that he has been barred from flying by all airlines," Chavan asked.

Gaikwad, himself lay low and refused to reveal his whereabouts.

"I can't tell you where I am right now. I am with my family members and I will celebrate Gudi Padwa with them before returning to Parliament on Wednesday morning," he said over phone, adding, "I have been asked to stay quiet."

The 57-year-old first-term MP had repeatedly hit the Air India staffer on March 23 after the Pune-Delhi flight landed in the capital. He was furious at having to fly economy on an all-economy flight despite having a business class coupon.
Torn pages of a Sikh religious book were today found scattered near a heap of garbage at the Anandpuri locality here, police said.

During preliminary investigations, Harpreet Singh confessed that his children, who are toddlers, had torn the pages from the religious book inadvertently, they said.

Singh had moved into a nearby house in the locality as a tenant two days back, police said.

Police have arrested Singh on the charges of outraging religious feelings.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court today reserved its verdict on appeals of four convicts against the conviction and award of death penalty in the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder case that had shaken the entire nation's conscience.

Besides dealing with the challenge to the conviction, the court is also deliberating on the issue of the quantum of sentence to the convicts as it has been alleged that the trial court did not separately consider "mitigating" circumstances of each convicts while sending them to the gallows.

While Delhi Police sought capital punishment for the convicts, the defence counsel said they deserve leniency considering their poor family background and young age.

The police told a three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra that the horrific crime committed by these men warranted death penalty and the test of being a "rarest of rare" case was satisfied in this matter.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, representing the police, argued that the court should also consider the effect of the crime committed by them on the victim and the society at large.

"The way they (convicts) brutalised the young lady warrants death penalty," he told the bench, also comprising Justices R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan.

"The right of a girl to come out on the street at night cannot be taken away by such persons who say they want to have some fun," he said.

"What could be a more horrific crime than this? What is the answer to the victim's parents who have suffered mental trauma and agony throughout this period? The loss of a young daughter cannot be quantified," Luthra said.

However, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae, said there was no doubt that the crime committed was of "immense proportion" but "does the response to that tragedy requires taking away four lives".

He said that the offence and crime committed was "brutal" but as the evidence was not concrete, it does not warrant death penalty.

Senior counsel Raju Ramachandran, who is also assisting the court as amicus curiae, told the bench that the option of awarding jail term for the whole life to these convicts may also be considered.

The bench, while reserving the verdict, asked the parties concerned to file their written submissions within a week.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Supporters of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who assaulted an Air India staffer in Delhi last week, today called for a bandh in Osmanabad's district to protest his "humiliation" over the incident.

"We have called for the Osmanabad bandh to protest the humiliation of our leader by the airlines who have denied him flying rights," Sena district vice president Kamlakar Chavan told PTI over phone.

"Is he a terrorist that he has been barred from flying by all airlines," Chavan said.

"The testimony of an air hostess on board that flight shows he (Gaikwad) was not at fault," he added.

"Considering its Gudi Padwa tomorrow, we have asked traders to observe the bandh (shut shops) only till 4 pm today to enable people to do festival shopping," Chavan said.

Meanwhile, Gaikwad has refused to reveal his whereabouts. "I can't tell you where I am right now. I am with my family members and I will celebrate Gudi Padwa with them before returning to Parliament on Wednesday morning," he said.

The Osmanabad MP said he is lying low on his party's instructions. "I have been asked to stay quiet," he added.

On Friday, Gaikwad had boarded the August Kranti Express, which left for Mumbai from Hazrat Nizamuddin station at 4.50 PM but did not get down at the Mumbai Central station here as expected.

He is understood to have got down at Vapi station in Gujarat, Sena sources had said on Saturday.

The 57-year-old MP had on Thursday allegedly abused and assaulted a 60-year-old duty manager of Air India R Sukumar with slippers for not being able to fly business class despite having boarded an all-economy Pune-New Delhi flight.

The official was repeatedly hit with sandals when he persuaded the MP to disembark after the plane landed at the IGI airport from Pune following which two FIRs were registered against him by the Delhi police on the basis of the complaint lodged by Air India.

Also, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has sought an explanation from him over the incident.

Gaikwad had refused to alight, holding up the aircraft for over 40 minutes. The MP has been barred from flying all major domestic airlines as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The opposition BJP today accused the Siddaramaiah government of pushing the state and its people into debt and charged that it was in a "confrontation mode" with the Centre.

Alleging that the government was adopting a 'two-faced' approach on farm loan waiver, it said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his teamwere always in a 'confrontation mode' with the Centre by pointing a finger towards it on every issue.

"Revenue surplus of the state in 2012-'13 was at Rs 1,880 crore and now it is at Rs 137 crore. We have come to theverge of becoming revenue deficit, despite being surplus fornow, this shows how prudent the financial management of theState is," BJP member Basavaraj Bommai said in the Assembly.

Speaking during the debate on the budget, he said the state's growth once used to be higher than the national growth.

Industry sector and services sector growth had come down to a single digit for the first time in recent times and also industrial and mega projects clearances haddeclined, impacting Karnataka's growth, he added.

Stating that the credibility of the budget is at stake, Bommai, who had served as Water Resources Minister during BJP rule, said implementation of programmes that were announced was not happening effectively on the ground.

Pointing out that the government was not following financial discipline, Bommai said it had pushed thestate into debt.

"About six crore people in the state have about Rs 40,000 debt per head," he added.

The BJP leader said, "budget size hasincreased, but its credibility has decreased.

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Emannuel Nnadozie, the executive secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), says China-Africa collaboration is needed to build the continent's skills capacity.

Chinese construction companies establishing training schools alongside large infrastructure projects is going a long way to building Africa's skills capacity, said the executive secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF).

Speaking during the African Development Week in Senegal, Dakar, Emannuel Nnadozie said, "Chinese companies are strongly building a talent pool of young Africans specializing in sharp decline due to underinvestment by governments. Currently, we see these training facilities as platforms for skill transfer that will go a long way in maintaining the large-scale infrastructure African governments are putting up."

There is an increase in the number of African students graduating from higher institutions under scholarship programs provided by China, he said. However, he added that it has been difficult to match their skills to market needs, leading to many of thes graduates leaving the continent for better opportunities abroad.

"We are yet to develop a monitoring and evaluation system to match the needs of individual countries to the scholarship programs. I think this should be the next program of collaboration between China and Africa," he said at the sidelines of a meeting of experts on managing and coordinating large scale infrastructure in Africa.

Nnadozie said that with the presence of training schools complementing Chinese-led infrastructure programs, it would be easy to turn the schools into vocational institutions with the help of Chinese universities.

"These institutions will easily and quickly build talent pools that are urgently needed for Africa to meet its continental goals," he said.

Last year, the foundation released a report on the critical technical skills required by Africa. It showed that the continent needs 1.9 million researchers, 3.6 million water and sanitation engineers and 854,000 more engineers by 2023

The meeting of experts was held on the second day of the 10th Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration and the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

The meeting was told that Africa still lagged in infrastructure development. Last year, the continent netted projects valued at $59 million out of $2 trillion worth of projects undertaken globally.

Stephen Karingi, director of the Economic Commission for Africas Capacity Development Division, said Africa still faces serious infrastructure shortcomings in access and quality, despite the important contribution it has to leverage industrial potential.

Albeit with some regional and national disparities, the continent is broadly characterized by poor transportation network, said Karingi. Also, the power that is needed to scale industrial plants remains grossly inadequate and access to ICTs still has a long way to go in most countries although progress has been made over the past few years.

The deficit is due to lack of skills to develop proposals for bankable projects, inability to manage large scale projects, failure for projects to launch because of heavy reliance on external finances and technical support, he said.

The president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, Fredrick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, said that it is imperative for Africa to develop infrastructure, industrialization and innovation.

This was the first of two meetings ahead of a special ECOSOC high-level meeting that will be held in New York in May on innovations for infrastructure development and promoting sustainable industrialization. The second meeting will be held in Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe in April.

Lucymorangi@chinadaily.com.cn
Image

Imperial Valley Unified School District Associate Superintendent Roger Ruvalcaba with Dennis and Daniel Gibbs in the Maker Space at Imperial High School.

Daniel and Dennis Gibbs are twins. They teach together, and sometimes they finish one anothers sentences. Their kinship created the Imperial Valley Discovery Zone , which excites second graders with the scientific method and opens doors in STEM colleges for high school students.

The concept is pretty straightforward: get high school students to present highly engaging, interactive standards-based science lessons to elementary school students beginning with 7 and 8 year olds. To see the end result, step over to the stream table.

Fake Stream; Real STEM

Ten second graders are gathered around what looks like a sand box, but which is actually an analogue model of a stream bed. Erosion is an important word. The 2nd graders just learned it in their preparation for watching what is called the How Can We Save Our House From the Flood experiment.

In their classrooms, the students got some conceptual grounding. They looked at maps, located themselves, and found a couple of places where examples were located. They saw a short video of stream flooding in Wisconsin carrying away a house, and they looked at a photo of the Grand Canyon and asked themselves, did water do all that?

Outside, they gather around the stream tables, ingenious devices that other teachers helped the Gibbs brothers build rather than order the more expensive versions from a science equipment supply company. The table is filled with sand. A water tap at one end initiates the cascade. A pump recirculates the water.





A specially trained high school studentthe High School Explainertells the students that they are going to see a model of a stream and observe how the force of the water can move the soil. Student recorders write down predictions about what will happen when the water is turned on slowly, and initial measurements are taken in (new word here) centimeters. The more we can get them to measure, the better, says Dan Gibbs.

Scientific Method Taught Here

Five minutes later, the second graders voice their observations about the effects of normal stream erosion. Some students notice the water has formed a delta at the mouth of the stream, depositing sand where the water is flowing slowly. Some students notice that the bits of sand in the delta seem different than those left upstream. Students at another table exclaim about how the water has created a side channel. The new, wider channel is measured.

Then, the students prepare for the flood that they know is coming. Model houses are placed along the banks, and students are given obstructions that might divert the flow of water from pushing against the house. Little trees are planted, and bits of wood make dams. The water is turned on full force, andto the shreiks of second-grade delighthavoc follows. The stream quickly overflows its banks. Water keeps flowing until houses fall into the stream, and students explain their hypotheses about why the house fell or survived.

Imperial Valley Wealth and Poverty

Stream bed words like deposition, are important for Imperial County residents, for the land they live on resulted from Colorado River silt deposited when the river overflowed its banks and flooded the valley, much of which is below sea level. Silt became rich farmland. Half our nations winter vegetables are grown in this countys soil.

It is a land of great contrasts: verdant agriculture in a desert that gets about 2.5 inches of rain a year (thats 6.35 centimeters if youre a second grader), great wealth production amid widespread poverty. Official unemployment in March was 19.6%. In the Imperial Unified School District, about 80% of its 3,900 students are Latino, and 43% of all students fall below the federal poverty standard, qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

The location makes the science all the more important. About four years ago, the brothers Gibbs set out to erase the elementary school science deficit. They saw that elementary school teachers didnt have the money, time, or expertise to create compelling science experiments. Along with about 10 other science teachers , they decoded the national Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), creating a series of experiments. In the second grade, their lessons cover about 15 NGSS standards. The Gibbs and other teachers are developing lessons for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, too.

Borrowing nomenclature from the Exploratorium in San Francisco, they created a system using High School Explainers as lesson presenters. There are about 150 Explainers, nearly a third of the junior and senior classes at Imperial High. Mostly, they volunteer just for the experience, says Dan Gibbs. Were lucky that we have kids who are willing to put themselves out there.

Maker Space Attracts High School Students

Then they created a maker space where Master Explainers could build the needed apparatus, tinker to their hearts content, and get a little high school credit. Master Explainers build demonstration apparatus, and take experiments to schools and other venues, such as shopping malls, farmers markets and the Imperial County Fair.

The fair is a big event. Recently, about 6,000 people visited the Imperial Valley Discovery Zone booth, experiencing demonstrations such as the one created by Kyle Lindbergh, an Imperial High School graduate now studying mechanical engineering at U.C. Merced. Nearly all the Master Explainers study STEM at U.C. campuses.

The maker space, which would have delighted Edison, is a converted classroom at Imperial High School. Its equipped with worktables, saws, drills, a 3D printer, laser cutter, and lots of stuff in various states of construction. Dennis Gibbs (left) is tweaking a pendulum wave demonstration in which balls released at the same time produce fascinating patterns as they oscillate. At one side of the room is a student-built geological history slice of the area showing buried trash and treasure and much more deeply buried fossils.

In classrooms dedicated to the Discovery Zone at Ben Hulse Elementary School , the High School Explainers demonstrate their developing teaching craft. Studentsall the 2nd graders in the district rotate through science demonstrations three times a yearare experimenting with what plants need to survive. Explainers showed them sick plants and healthy ones, and students guessed (the word hypothesis will be introduced later) about what causes the difference and brainstormed about what plants need. The Explainers help them isolate water and light, and then they go through the steps to create a real experiment.

Because it takes time for plants to grow or wither, the experiment will have to be taken back to the students home classrooms, but before they do they learn how an experiment is constructed with only one variable holding other resources constant. Students put young bean plants in pots. Four of these will be a control group (another concept). Others will get no light, no water, or a reduced amount. They also learn how to measure water in milliliters. Results of the experiment will be communicated among classes using EdModo.

Teachings Not So Easy

The Explainers find that teachings hard. At the end of the day, they are seen flaked out on the school lawn, exhausted. When the [Explainers] put on lab coats, it changes their demeanor; there are no goof-offs, and the younger kids pay attention, said Dennis Gibbs.

The Gibbs are tired too; theyve just finished a 10-day county fair run, and they are prepping for a field trip to the Salton Sea. Theyve already supervised a trip to Split Mountain, in Anza-Borrego State Park , where this winters rains have turned the desert into a wild flower extravaganza.

The elementary school students are doing more than looking at blooms as they visit six learning stations in a four-mile hike up the canyon. Among other experiments, they scratch rocks to determine their hardness. There are gypsum outcroppings that yield to a fingernail, others that can be marked with a penny: field geology in small hands.

Why do they do this? Obviously, teaching has become a vocation rather than a job for Dan and Dennis Gibbs, who started in the classroom under emergency credentials when the family business they inherited became more a liability than an asset. The most direct answer is that they are driven; the longer answer is that they are also entrepreneurial. They have constructed an expanding science-teaching world out of perpetual soft money, about $500,000 so far. And people like what they are dong. I think that the public admires people who take chances, Dan said.

They want to take the idea county-wide, and I suspect it wont stop there.

Photos: CTK
Former Union Home Secretary and BJP MP R K Singh has said if somebody raises anti-India slogans will be thrashed.

"We are not like people who remain silent even seeing somebody raising slogans like 'Bharat tere tukde hoge'...We are nationalists and if we see somebody raising anti-India slogans we will thrash him," Singh told reporters here yesterday.

Though he did not refer to the JNU event last year when some protestors had raised slogans like "Bharat tere tukde hoge" (India will disintegrate), but his reaction was apparently in that context.

Asked about the choice of Aditya Nath Yogi as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Singh said "he is a good person and a nationalist."



Singh came here for inspecting construction of a railway overbridge.

After retiring from service, Singh joined the BJP and was elected as Member of Parliament in 2014 from Ara constituency.

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The main accused in the alleged ransacking of AASU office at Silapathar was today remanded in police custody for nine days by a Dhemaji court.

The order by the Dhemaji chief judicial magistrate was given a day before the expiry of the transit remand granted by a court in West Bengal, from where the prime accused Subodh Biswas was arrested last week.

The prosecution had sought his police remand and the court granted it.

Biswas is the all-India president of the fringe group Nikhil Bharat Bangali Udbastu Samanway Samitee which led the alleged attack. He was absconding since the incident and Assam police had announced a reward of Rs one lakh for information about him.

He was arrested from the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on March 22 along with his brother Subhas by a joint team of Assam and the local police.

On March 6, the Samitee had organised a public meeting, followed by a march, at Silapathar in Dhemaji district demanding citizenship to all Hindu migrants from Bangladesh.

The other demands made at the meeting, which was attended by an estimated 4,000-5,000 people, included cancellation of 'D' voter system, immediate release of Hindu Bengalis from detention camps and an end to atrocities on them.

According to a report of an all-party delegation of Assam Assembly, around 2,500 people marched through the town after the meeting and ransacked the office of the AASU, damaged the Swahid Bedi (martyrs memorial), furniture, electrical items, signboard and photographs of Bhupen Hazarika, one of the foremost cultural icons of Assam and Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, a famed writer of the state.

More than 40 accused named in the FIR and subsequently found involved in the incident were arrested from various parts of Assam.

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Chennai-based Micro Therapeutic Research Labs today said it is taking remedial measures by working with pharma firms affected by European drug regulator EMA's recommendation to suspend over 300 medicines.

Last week, EMA had recommended suspension of all the medicines on which bioequivalence studies were conducted by Micro Therapeutic Research Labs at its two sites in India, citing unreliability of data.

"We are working closely with the MA (marketing authorisation) holders whose studies have been affected by the decision, including performing of a new study and submission, as directed by EMA in its decision," a Micro Therapeutic Research Labs said in an e-mailed response to PTI.

The contract research organisation (CRO) said while it was yet to receive an official communication from EMA, "the agency in its decision has not condemned it of any data manipulation".

"The context in which the agency claims 'unreliable' tests conducted at our sites is not very clear," Micro Therapeutic Research Labs said.

Aurobindo Pharma, Zydus, Sandoz, Sanofi and Mylan are among the major pharmaceutical firms that will be affected by the suspension.

The company considers this decision "as a set back to our values for which we have been striving for. Nevertheless, it would abide by the final decision and recommendations of the agency...," it added.

While recommending suspension of the medicines evaluated by Micro Therapeutic Research Labs, EMA had said a review by its Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), concluded that data from studies conducted at the (two) sites between June 2012 and June 2016 were "unreliable".

Therefore they cannot be accepted as a basis for marketing authorisation in the EU, it added.

EMA, however, said there is no evidence of harm or lack of effectiveness of medicines authorised and being evaluated in the EU on the basis of studies at the sites.

The regulator also recommended that medicines not yet authorised but which are being evaluated on the basis of studies from the two sites should not be authorised until bioequivalence is demonstrated using alternative data.

In 2015, the EU had banned the marketing of around 700 generic medicines for alleged manipulation of clinical trials conducted by GVK Biosciences.

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Thirteen persons have been arrested in connection with the communal violence at Vadavali village in Patan district which left one dead, police said today.

"We arrested 13 persons yesterday after a combing operation in villages neighbouring Vadavali from where the crowd came and attacked residents," said Inspector of Chanasma police station, C P Sadiya.

"Those arrested so far belong to Sunsar and Dharpuri villages. More arrests are likely today," the officer said.

One person had died and six others sustained severe injuries after violence broke out following a minor fight between two students of different communities on Saturday over a petty issue.

Some vehicles and a few houses were also set on fire by the clashing crowd.

Cross FIRs were filed at Chanasma police station against a total of 45 accused and a crowd comprising over 3,000 people under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including 302 (murder), 147, 148, 149 (rioting armed with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly), 395, 397 (robbery), 435 and 436 (mischief by fire).

Sadiya said over 100 police personnel and two companies of State Reserve Police were posted at the village.

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Suspected Boko Haram fighters stormed a village in northeast Nigeria and killed three people on suspicion of collaborating with the military, security sources said today.

A group of jihadists stormed Kalari Abdiye village, in the Konduga area of Borno state, between 2:00 am and 3:00 am on Saturday.

Three locals had their throats cuts while the fourth was left severely wounded, according to a member of the civilian militia assisting troops and a military officer.

The gunmen identified themselves as being from the Boko Haram faction headed by Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, which has vowed to hit military and government targets, the militia member told AFP.

"They singled out the four men whom they accused of collaboration with the military. They accused the men of passing information to the military," he added, asking not to be identified.

"The gunmen took the men outside the village where they slaughtered three of the men."



Long-time Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq in March 2015, at a time when it was losing captured territory to government forces.

But last year IS announced that it recognised Barnawi -- the son of Boko Haram's founder Mohammed Yusuf -- as being in charge of its "West Africa province".

Barnawi has criticised Shekau's indiscriminate attacks on civilians.

The security sources said the gunmen seized livestock from the nearby village of Dekete but "told the villagers not to panic, that they were not going to touch anyone".

Fighters from the Barnawi camp employed a similar tactic on Friday, when they raided a village for food and medical supplies southwest of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

Analysts suggest that in doing so, he may be trying to bolster public support for the group, which if successful would make the government and military fightback harder.

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Describing US President Donald Trump as "a man of action", Vice President Mike Pence today said that for the first time "in a long time" the White House has been occupied by a person who will stand by its allies.

"He's a man of action," Pence said in his address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference.

"For the first time in a long time, America has a president who will stand with our allies and stand up to our enemies. Under President Donald Trump, if the world knows nothing else, the world will know this; America stands with Israel," Pence said amidst applause from the audience.

Trump stand with Israel "because its cause is America's cause", he said, adding that the US was considering moving its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. The move will signal America's recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

"After decades of simply talking about it, the president of the United States is giving serious consideration to moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem," he said.

Pence said Trump is "invested" in finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A few weeks ago he had sent Jason Greenblatt, his special representative for international negotiations, to Israel and the Palestinian territories "to bring a message that President Trump is committed to forging a lasting peace in the Middle East."



However, he said, Trump will "never compromise the safety and security of the Jewish State of Israel." "And together, we will confront those enemies who threaten our people and all that we hold dear," he added.

Pence also said that the US will hunt down and destroy the Islamic State "at its source".

"Just last week in London, in the shadow of Parliament, radical Islamic terrorism reared its ugly head, claiming the lives of innocent civilians, including an American. At this very moment, our administration is crafting plans to defeat radical Islamic terrorism so it can no longer bring violence to our enemies or inspire violence here at home," Pence said.

"And let me be clear. President Trump is working with our military, we will hunt down and destroy ISIS at its source so it can no longer threaten our people, our allies or our most cherished ally, Israel," he said.

Pence said this administration has put Iran on notice.

America, he said, will no longer tolerate Iran's efforts to destabilise the region and jeopardise Israel's security.

"The Ayatollahs in Tehran openly admit their desire to wipe Israel off the map and drive its people into the sea. For decades, Iran has funnelled weapons and cash to terrorists in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip," he said.

"They've gone to great lengths to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Due to the disastrous end of nuclear-related sanctions under the Iran deal, they now have additional resources to devote to sowing chaos and imperilling Israel," Pence said.

"So let me be clear. Under President Donald Trump, the United States of America will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. This is our solemn promise to you, to Israel and to the world," he told the predominately Jewish audience.

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An Indian-origin man who was assaulted by a group of teenagers in Australia in an alleged hate attack has said that the racial mood is changing in the country and it could stem from the "Trump effect".

Li Max Joy, who is pursuing a nursing course and working as a part time taxi driver in North Hobart in Tasmania, alleged that five people including a girl hurled racial abuses like "you bloody black Indians" at him and assaulted him up at the McDonald's restaurant.

The 33-year-old who hails from Kerala said the increasing racial hostility could stem from "the Donald Trump effect", the Advertiser newspaper reported.

"The racial mood is definitely changing. It is continuous now. Many other drivers have been abused but not everyone reports it to the police," he said.

Joy said that he has been living in Hobart for eight years with his family and also narrated another such incident that happened with him a week ago.

"Last week in Glenorchy, I was waiting for a fare when a primary-school aged boy put water in his mouth and then came over to the car window and spat it out on me," Joy said.

On March 20, an Indian-origin Catholic priest was stabbed in the neck at a church in Melbourne by a man who called him unqualified to say mass as he was an Indian.

Since Donald Trump won the Presidential election, there has been a dramatic uptick in hate crimes and racist incidents in the US.

Last month, a 32-year-old Indian engineer was killed and another Indian man was injured after a Navy veteran yelling "get out of my country" and "terrorist" opened fire on them at a bar in Kansas City in an apparent racially motivated hate crime.

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Meat sellers, especially mutton vendors, today kept their shops closed on the first day of their indefinite strike against the statewide crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughter houses.

Reports from several districts said goat meat was not easily available, even as chicken was being sold in few shops.

In Lucknow, most of the shops selling mutton downed their shutters. They, however, sold chicken, eggs and fish after UP Health Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh clarified that action was being taken only against the illegal abattoirs.

"We are acting only against illegal abattoirs. Licenced slaughter houses are requested to stick to the norms," he told reporters here, while making it clear that no orders have been issued to take any action against any shop selling chicken, fish or eggs.

"The licenced slaughter houses should comply with the norms mentioned in the licence. No orders have been issued to take any action against any shop selling chicken, fish or eggs. They need not to fear," he clarified.

He directed the officials that they should not act in over-enthusiasm nor should they overstep their jurisdiction.

When contacted, Lucknow Municipal Corporation Chief Veterinary Officer A K Rao said, "Within the municipal limits, there are 330 meat shops."



A rough estimate suggests that there could be around 5,000 meat shops in the capital operating from shanties and huts.

The China Gate area near Lucknow Press Club, which houses a dozen shops selling non-vegetarian items, wore a deserted look as they were not able to serve food as per their menu.

The Akbari Gate locality of Old Lucknow area saw a few shops opening to sell their remaining stock, while many others decided not to open.

The Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal intensified its strike, threatening that there was no question of calling it off.

"We are on strike and all the meat shops (mutton) were closed today. There is no question of the strike being called off anytime soon. It will go on indefinitely," Mubin Qureshi, an office bearer of the Mandal, said.

"The meat sellers are worried over the crackdown on slaughter houses, which has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people," he said.

In eastern UP, shortage of meat, especially mutton, was reported from various places.

In Ballia, people experienced shortage of chicken and fish as well. However, licenced shops were allowed to sell meat in Allahabad and Bahraich. Sale of fish and eggs was normal.

Jhansi witnessed non-availability of mutton. Even chicken and fish connoisseurs could get these items only at a few outlets. A number of shops selling mutton remained closed throughout the day.

In Agra, the stock of the non-veg raw food items declined rapidly during the day. No sale of mutton has been reported, while people were purchasing fish and eggs.

After taking over, the Adityanath government has ordered



closure of illegal slaughter houses and strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling to fulfil a key electoral promise.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar has set up committees in each district headed by the district magistrate and comprising 10 officials each. The committee is visiting every slaughter house to see if they are being run legally and submitting a report every day.

The Chief Minister had on Saturday said that abattoirs operating legally will not be touched, but action will be taken against those running illegally.

"The government will not touch those (abattoirs) which are operating as per the law and have a valid licence. But those violating the orders of the NGT and compromising health of the public will not be spared," he had said.

As the mutton traders were up in arms against the government order, UP Health Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh sought to clear the confusion, saying the government was acting only against the illegal abattoirs.

"We are acting only against illegal abattoirs. Licenced slaughter houses are requested to stick to the norms," he told reporters here.

"The licenced slaughter houses should comply with the norms mentioned in the licence. No orders have been issued to take any action against any shop selling chicken, fish or eggs. They need not to fear," Singh clarified.

Though sale of fish and poultry items eased a bit after his clarification, mutton sellers kept their shutters down throughout the day.

Singh said, "One of the norms mentioned in the licence is installation of CCTV cameras on the premises of the slaughter house. If this norm is not complied with, then instead of ordering the closure of the slaughter house, a notice may be issued to its owner, and he be instructed to take necessary remedial steps within a specific time frame."



He also directed the officials that they should not act in over-enthusiasm nor they should overstep their jurisdiction.

Noting that the National Green Tribunal had insisted on closure of illegal slaughter houses, he said, "The NGT had in 2015 observed that illegal slaughter houses are a concern for the environment, while insisting on their closure. However, the previous government did not do anything to ensure the closure of these illegal abattoirs."



Singh said a propaganda has been launched through various social media platforms, "especially by those who do not agree to our ideology. Please do not fall prey to the propaganda".

On whether the state government is open to holding talks with the meat sellers, the minister said, "So far, no delegation of meat sellers has approached us.

"They are most welcome to meet us and convey their point of view. We would meet them with an open mind, but will not allow illegal things," he added.
US-backed forces battled the Islamic State group around a key Syrian town today, after the capture of an airbase brought them closer to besieging the jihadists in their stronghold Raqa.

Backed by air power from the US-led coalition that has been bombing IS since 2014, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are laying the groundwork for an assault on the heart of the jihadists' so-called "caliphate".

Operations are currently focused on the strategically important town of Tabqa on the Euphrates River, and the adjacent dam and military airport.

Late yesterday, Arab and Kurdish fighters from the SDF seized Tabqa airbase and pressed north towards the town itself.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, said the SDF was fighting north of the airport to reinforce its positions.

"The SDF could bring supplies to the airport in the coming days and use it as a launching point for additional military operations," he added, reporting "heavy strikes" in the area.

SDF spokesman Talal Sello told AFP that the alliance would "begin rehabilitating the airport after clearing out explosive devices" left behind by IS and said the base's main landing strip was seriously damaged.

Bolstered by air strikes and military advisers from the US-led coalition, SDF units are approaching Tabqa from the south via the airport and via the north near the dam.

Today, the SDF announced it would pause fighting near the IS-held structure to allow a technical team to work on it, after it was forced out of service the previous day.

"To ensure the integrity of the Tabqa dam... We have decided to stop operations for four hours beginning at 1:00 pm (local time)... To allow a team of engineers to enter the dam and carry out their work," said SDF spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed.

A source inside the dam told AFP the teams would carry out repairs so the dam could resume operations.

The UN has warned that damage to the dam "could lead to massive scale flooding across Raqa and as far away as Deir Ezzor" province downstream to the southeast.

IS issued warnings through its propaganda agency Amaq that the dam "is threatened with collapse at any moment because of American strikes and a large rise in water levels".

The US-led coalition denied the dam had been "structurally damaged" and said it was "taking every precaution" to ensure its integrity.

The SDF launched its offensive for Raqa city in November, seizing around two thirds of the surrounding province, according to the Britain-based Observatory.

At their closest point, they are just eight kilometres from the city, to the northeast.

But they are mostly further away, between 18 and 29 kilometres from Raqa.

Syria's conflict began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 but has since morphed into a brutal war pitting government forces, jihadists, rebels, and Kurds against each other.

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A 27-year-old woman was allegedly set ablaze by a group of villagers led by the sarpanch after she objected to the widening of a road adjoining her agricultural field in Borunda near here.

Police said the incident took place Saturday evening and the woman died at a hospital yesterday, after which her brother filed a complaint with police against the sarpanch of the village and nine others.

Additional Superintendent of Police (Jodhpur Rural) Narpat Singh Rathore said the villagers told police that when the road widening work was going on, the woman appeared with a can of kerosene, spread it on herself and set herself ablaze.

"We are investigating the matter," he said.

On Saturday, the work on widening of the road in her area was taking place in the presence of officials and villagers.

The woman objected to felling of trees and widening of the road.

Her brother was also present at the spot.

She was rushed to a hospital from where she was referred to the government hospital in Jodhpur.

She succumbed to her burn injuries in Jodhpur yesterday.

"Considering the sensitivity of the matter, we have registered the complaint and have initiated an investigation," Rathore said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Over at Collectors Weekly, Lisa Hix has just written an incredibly in-depth history of the hula, from its roots as a sacred dance to its kitschy personification as a dashboard doll. For her piece, Hix spoke with Constance Hale, a hula dancer herself, whose new book, The Natives Are Restless, focuses on authentic, 21st-century expressions of the hula.

Snip:

In his journal, Captain Cook described the Hawaiians' hula: "Their dances are prefaced with a slow, solemn song, in which all the party join, moving their legs, and gently striking their breasts in a manner and with attitudes that are perfectly easy and graceful."

In The Natives Are Restless, Hale explains, "To be sexually adept and sensually aliveand to have the ability to experience unrestrained desirewas as important to ancient Hawaiians as having sex to produce offspring. The vital energy caused by desire and passion was itself worshiped and idolized."

Cook and his menand the merchants, whalers, artists, and writers who followedmistook the hula's sexually charged fertility rituals as a signal the Hawaiians' youngest and loveliest women were both promiscuous and sexually available to anyone who set foot on their beaches. In her 2012 book Aloha America: Hula Circuits Through the U.S. Empire, historian Adria L. Imada explains how natural hospitality of "aloha" culturethe word used as a greeting that also means "love"made Hawaiians vulnerable to outside exploitation. To Westerners, the fantasy of a hula girl willingly submitting to the sexual desires of a white man represented the convenient narrative of a people so generous they'd willing give up their land without a fight.

Contrary to this fantasy, the people populating the eight islands of the Hawaiian archipelago weren't so submissive. In fact, the chiefs reigning the islands of Mau'i and Hawai'i had been attacking and raiding each other since the 1650s. But contact with the Western world was something they were unprepared for, and the introduction of Western diseases like smallpox and measles began to weaken and decimate the islands' native populations.
Hollywood star Christina Ricci says she read everything she could find on F Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald to prepare for her role in "Z: The Beginning of Everything", which revolves around the tumultuous romance of the Jazz Age icons.

The ten-part series will see Ricci and David Hoffin in lead roles. Both Fitzgerald and Zelda epitomised the rebellion and the glamour of the decadent era of the 1920s but their marriage ended in bitterness and tragedy.

Ricci says to understand Zelda, she started reading everything that she could find on the couple, including their own writings.

"I read all of her biographies and then I read a biography of Fitzgerald. I read all of her and Fitzgerald's writings that I could get my hands on. I did as much research as I could. I will do all this again for the second season," Ricci told PTI over phone from New York.

Zelda, who was later institutionalised, nurtured writing dreams herself and accused her husband of using entries from her diaries. In one of the essays, she famously wrote that Fitzgerald "seems to believe that plagiarism begins at home".

Fitzgerald, who based many of his characters on Zelda, was dismissive of his wife's literary ambition and criticised her for using personal details in her only published work "Save Me The Waltz".

Ricci believes that later interpretations of Zelda as a feminist notwithstanding, she never identified herself as one.

"Zelda always said that she was not a feminist. She did not consider herself a feminist and that was one of the reasons, I think, that she had so many problems.

"She wanted to have all the benefits of feminism but without actually doing any of the hard work. She wanted to get where she wanted to be, through her marriage. She relied on her good looks and feminine vile," says Ricci.

"Z: The Beginning of Everything", which is available in India on Amazon Prime Video, digs deep into the life of this fascinating woman who wanted to establish her own identity as a writer while living under the shadow of a famous author.

"Zelda got to a place where she thought she would be appreciated for her artistic merit and that was setting herself up for failure and she made certain choices early on, that I believe, were out of laziness. She had to fight against its repercussions for the rest of her life and that led to a huge conflict," says Ricci.

The 37-year-old actress, best known for her Hollywood ventures like "Sleepy Hollow", "Monster", "Penelope", "Bel Ami" and "Mothers and Daughters", is equally famous for her television outings such as "Pan Am" and "The Lizzie Borden Chronicles".

Ricci, who was applauded for her turn as Lizzie Borden in the series, believes television and new media are the future as talented writers and directors are moving there.

"It is always great to get good content and right now most of the really wonderful material is available on cable or new media platforms like this (Amazon). Everyone who is not getting to make a movie is switching to TV, which is reaping its benefits.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Alex Lawler

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell further towards $50 a barrel on Monday, pressured by uncertainty over whether an OPEC-led production cut will be extended beyond June in an effort to counter a glut of crude.

A committee of ministers from OPEC and outside producers agreed on Sunday to look at prolonging the deal, stopping short of an earlier draft statement that said the committee recommended keeping the measure in place.

International benchmark Brent crude was down 19 cents at $50.61 by 0857 GMT, after falling as low as $50.26. U.S. crude was down 31 cents at $47.66.

"These are troubling times for oil bulls," said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM. "Against a backdrop of rising U.S. crude output and underwhelming OPEC-led efforts to normalise bulging global oil inventories, positives are in short supply."

A number of ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers met in Kuwait to review the progress of their supply cut, which initially runs until the end of June.

OPEC and 11 other producers including Russia agreed in December to reduce their combined output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of this year.

While many in OPEC have called for prolonging the curbs, Russia has been less definitive. Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday it was too early to say whether there would be an extension.

"We would see the relative lack of reaction in the price perhaps as a reflection of some disappointment that nothing more concrete was forthcoming," analysts at JBC Energy said in a report, referring to the conclusion of Sunday's talks.

There is "increasing scepticism" in the market as to whether a rollover of the cuts can be agreed, JBC added.

Oil also came under pressure from further evidence that higher prices as a result of the OPEC-led supply cut are helping boost supplies in the United States.

U.S. drillers added oil rigs for a 10th week in a row, data from energy services firm Baker Hughes showed on Friday, as energy companies boost spending on new production.

Because of higher U.S. output and the cuts by OPEC, the discount of U.S. crude to Brent has grown to around $2.90 per barrel, heading for its widest close since late 2015.

Despite ample inventories and rising U.S. output, Goldman Sachs said the market was rebalancing and it may not be necessary to keep output curbed.

(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Commercial Feature is a Business Standard Digital Marketing Initiative.

The Editorial/Content team at Business Standard has not contributed to writing or editing these articles.

For further information, please write to assist@bsmail.in
A 17-year-old orphan boy who has been living in a child care home in Rajasthan's Kota wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he found out Rs 96,000 in banned currency notes in a locked room of his old home.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the boy travelled to Sarawada village near Kota to visit his mother's home. But after reaching there, he was shocked to found Rs 96,000 stuffed in his mother's pillow.

The cash he found was saved by his mother who was allegedly murdered by a man she was in a relationship with. His father, however, had abandoned the family long ago.

The boy then rushed to the Reserve Bank of India to exchange the notes but as the deadline for depositing the old currency has been passed already, he was not able to do the same.

He then wrote a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he had explained his plight.

Asking for the help from the PM, he wrote, "Please listen to our Mann ki Baat, Modiji. Our father left us when we were young and our mother was murdered. We want to deposit the money back with the government. please help us at the earliest."

Meanwhile, a man in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu has also deposited Rs 246 crore in Indian Overseas Bank under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY), days before the window to disclose illegal assets under the scheme closes on March 31.

ALSO READ: Man in Tamil Nadu makes a deposit of Rs 246 cr in Indian Overseas Bank

The whole amount has been deposited in the old currency notes which were banned on November 8, last year after the government's demonetisation announcement. This could be the largest deposit under the scheme in the state of Tamil Nadu.

PMGKY is an amnesty scheme under which one can disclose unaccounted cash and deposits, and avoid punishment by paying 50 per cent of the disclosed amount as tax, and depositing 25 per cent in an interest-free scheme for four years.

The department has warned that those black money holders who do not declare their illegal assets under the PMGKY scheme will " regret later".






A man in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu has deposited Rs 246 crore in Indian Overseas Bank under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY),days before the window to disclose illegal assets under the scheme closes on March 31.



The whole amount has been deposited in the old currency notes which were banned on November 8, last year after the government's demonetisation announcement. This could be the largest deposit under the scheme in the state of Tamil Nadu.

A senior Income tax official told TOI, "We were following him for more than 15 days after finding that he had deposited cash in a rural branch of the IOB. First, he tried to hide, but after a few days he agreed to join the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) and pay 45% of the total money as tax. As per PMGKY, 25% of the money will be retained with the government without any interest".

"In Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, we found 28,000 accounts to be suspicious and some of the accounts had deposits in cash to the tune of Rs 85 lakh or move. In the first instance, we send a mail to the account holder asking for details. Most of them have replied and some of the cases have been closed or they have joined the PMGKY scheme accepting that the cash was black money," he said.

PMGKY is an amnesty scheme under which one can disclose unaccounted cash and deposits, and avoid punishment by paying 50 per cent of the disclosed amount as tax, and depositing 25 per cent in an interest-free scheme for four years.

The department has warned that those black money holders who do not declare their illegal assets under the PMGKY scheme will " regret later".

However, the department has promised "confidentiality" for those who come forward to disclose their illegal wealth. The I-T department has warned that they have "information" about those who have stashed black money.

The tax and penalty against those who hide their black money and fail to avail the PMGKY could go as high as 137 per cent of the cash deposits made.

A person or entity that opts for PMGKY will have to pay 49.9 per cent tax on the income, whereas a person who does not opt for the scheme but offers his black income in his Income Tax Returns will face a tax and penalty rate of 77.25 per cent.

The one who does not offer his stash funds under the scheme but is caught with undisclosed income in scrutiny assessment will face 83.25 per cent tax rate.




The Aadhaar card can't be made mandatory by the government for extending the benefits of its welfare schemes to the people, the apex court said on Monday.

Chief Justice of India JS Khehar today said that Aadhaar can't be mandatory for social welfare schemes but can be used for non-benefit schemes.



The Supreme Court, however, said that the government cannot be stopped from using Aadhaar in other schemes like the opening of bank accounts.

The Supreme Court said that a seven-judge bench needs to be set up to hear the pleas challenging Aadhaar, but right now it is not possible.

The apex court refused to give an early date to hear a petition on making the Aadhaar card mandatory, saying it would hear the case in due course of time.

Last week, the government had said the Aadhaar card may become the only identity card in future, and will be mandatory for filing of Income Tax returns to curb tax evasion and frauds. Aadhaar was also made compulsory for scholarships and other schemes for backward castes and the disabled.

Replying to the debate on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley said that Aadhaar may become the only card in future replacing all other types of identity cards such as Voter ID and PAN cards.

A number of Opposition parties walked out of Lok Sabha last week, accusing the government of forcing Indians to get Aadhaar cards.
To protest CM Yogi Adityanath's crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, meat sellers in some part of Uttar Pradesh have gone on an indefinite strike from today.

However, since the beginning CM Yogi made it clear that only the illegal slaughterhouses will be targeted but meat sellers complaint they are being raided by the police despite having licences. Another reason for shutting down is that meat shops are also in short of supply due to the latest order.

Fish traders in the state had also extended their support to the meat sellers' strike.

"We have decided to intensify our strike from today. All shops will remain closed. Fish sellers too have joined us and are extending support to us. The crackdown on slaughterhouses has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people," Mubeen Qureshi, an official of the Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal, said.

Soon after taking over as UP Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath directed police officials to prepare an action plan for closure of all slaughter houses in the state. He also ordered a blanket ban on smuggling of cows.

Yogi Adityanath's decision was in line with the BJP's vision document 'Sankalp Patra' released ahead of the Assembly elections. In its document, the Party had promised a complete shutdown of illegal slaughter houses in UP. It is India's largest meat processing state.

Yogi Adityanath had asked the officials to ensure all points in the vision document were implemented with full seriousness and sensitivity.




When Pink Floyd took the stage on their mid-1970s "Dark Side of the Moon" tour, they performed in front of a stunning video cut-up created by British animator Ian Emes. Above are screen projections from the 1974 French tour. Below, a reel from the 1975 North American tour. (The album audio was added by someone else later.) From Wikipedia:





Emes' first major work, 'French Windows', was started while he was subsequently a student at Birmingham College of Art and finished while he was unemployed. It was set to the Pink Floyd recording "One of These Days". After it was shown at Birmingham's Ikon Gallery, it was screened on the television programme The Old Grey Whistle Test, and thereby came to the attention of Pink Floyd. The band invited Emes to give them a private screening, and afterwards to make films to be projected during performances of The Dark Side of the Moon. His animation for their song "Time" is on Pink Floyd's Pulse DVD. He subsequently worked with Roger Waters, making live action film for his performance of The Wall  Live in Berlin.





As a result of his work for Pink Floyd, Linda McCartney asked Emes to animate Wings' "Oriental Nightfish". He has also made animations for concerts by Mike Oldfield, and directed The Chauffeur for Duran Duran.
A local lawmaker is pleased that Utah Governor Gary Herbert has signed legislation giving the state the strictest DUI threshold in the country. Governor Herbert has approved a measure that lowers the blood alcohol limit from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent.

Republican State Senator Lyle Hillyard of Logan agrees with the governor that the action will save lives once it takes effect in 2018. He said the bill came partially as a result of discussions with the National Safety Transportation Board, which would like to have a 0.05 limit in all 50 states.

The real problem with a drunk driver is that when you drink alcohol, you dont know really how it impacts you until 15, 20 to 35 minutes later, Hillyard said. Its not like something you take and, bingo, you know youre there, and so Ive seen that as a real danger. People are socially drinking and actually arent counting, and they drink more than they should. As they gradually get more and more impacted by it, they sense less and less the danger they create.

Hillyard said he sees alcohol as especially dangerous because of how it negatively influences the ability of people to drive. Groups representing the restaurant and ski /snowboarding industries urged the governor to veto the measure, saying it would hurt tourism. However, Hillyard said he has seen the limit decrease from 0.15 to 0.10 and now 0.08, and he doesnt remember any organizations complaining about being hurt by the limit change.
Gazprom has officially declared its willingness to use the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) as a route to deliver gas to Europe. TAP is an integral part of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) which is one of the priority energy projects for the EU to ensure the continents security of supply from a non-Russian source. Although technical and legal possibilities exist for Gazproms use of TAPs expanded capacity, the long-term contracts securing the pipelines initial capacity for Azerbaijani gas together with EU legislation makes this option less likely. Nevertheless, the possibility of a Russian bid for TAP could hamper the EUs diversification plans and block future gas supplies from other non-Shah-Deniz sources.

BACKGROUND: On January 24, during the European Gas Conference in Vienna, the Deputy CEO of Russias Gazprom Alexander Medvedev said the company plans to use the capacity of TAP in order to deliver more than 100 billion cubic meters (bcm) of extra gas annually to Europe. The reason is, according to Medvedev, that the planned capacity of Turkish Stream will not be sufficient to carry all this gas.

Turkish Stream is planned to terminate near the Greek border in the Ipsala district of Turkey, the same planned endpoint as the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the access point for TAP. TAP initially envisaged the transportation of 10 bcm/y of Azerbaijani gas from the Shah-Deniz fields stage-II (SD-II) by hooking up with TANAP at the Turkish-Greek border, and then into Southern Europe across Greece, Albania and via the Adriatic Sea to Italys south. Gazprom signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Italian Edison and Greeces DEPA in 2016 on natural gas deliveries across the Black Sea from Russia to Greece and from Greece to Italy via the Interconnector-Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI)/Poseidon pipeline as an extension of Turkish Stream. The Poseidon is an undersea extension of ITGI across the Ionian Sea to Italy, and is almost a mirror image of TAP. Since ITGI/Poseidon is still under question, for technical, financial, feasibility and cost efficiency reasons, Russia decided to benefit from TAP in order to overcome these challenges.

Commenting on Medvedevs statement, the TAP consortiums Head of Communications Lisa Givert said that TAPs commitment to transporting 10 bcm/y of SD-II gas was underpinned by a 25-year agreement. The pipeline has been designed with an option to expand up to 20 bcm/y when extra gas volumes come on stream with the construction of additional compressor stations along the route, TAP confirmed. Ulrike Andres, commercial and external affairs director of TAP, said Azerbaijan is the most likely gas source for TAPs phase-II, however, there is a minor capacity available on the secondary market for short-term transportation [...] should there be demand from shippers. The TAP Consortium can offer its expanded capacity, in line with EU legislation, to any shipper through open seasons auctions as long as they comply with the participation requirements, Andres noted. According to Spains Enagas (a TAP shareholder), TAP can provide capacity to any third gas-shipper requesting transportation capacity in the pipeline on the secondary market during open season in compliance with the regulatory framework. Italys Snam (also a TAP shareholder) said that Gazproms joining TAP will double its capacity. TAPs capacity can be increased up to 20 bcm with a small investment, which will be cheaper than Poseidons expansion.

IMPLICATIONS: Theoretically, Russia can export gas via pipeline from the endpoint of Turkish Stream to Europe, without breaching the EU's Third Energy Package (TEP) rules and without Gazprom's presence in the TAP Consortium. The European Commission's regulation have left 50 percent of TAP's final/expansion capacity open to third party access (TPA). When TAP's capacity is expanded from the initial 10 bcm/y up to 20 bcm/y, Russia can in accordance with this regulation request the Consortium to construct additional entry/exit points for compressors in Greece and can reserve space in the pipeline by requesting TPA to transport its gas at the second stage of gas delivery. Moreover, BP in 2016 signed a MoU with Rosneft to purchase 7-20 bcm/y of Russian gas. The volume is largely equal to potential Azerbaijani gas supplies (10-20 bcm/y) to Europe in 2020, from the Shah-Deniz project in which BP is development operator. Therefore, if Russia does not own the infrastructure but simply sells its gas from the Turkey-Greece border, its actions will not contravene TEP rules. Russia's Gazprom, with its current gas potential, will be in a position to supply additional gas for TAP's enlarged capacity, earlier than any other potential gas supplier given regional instability in the Middle East and a blurred perspective of Mediterranean, Turkmen and Iranian gas for Europe.

However, the Shah-Deniz Consortium has already secured 100 percent of TAP's initial capacity of 10 bcm/y for Azerbaijani gas with a 25-year-contract and with the assurance of the EU's TPA exemption for the first stage of gas delivery. Thus, Russian gas cannot be transported via TAP for at least the next 25 years due to long-term contracts together with relevant EU legislation, unless significant market or geopolitical changes take place during this period or extra gas demand and shortage emerge in the market to motivate TAP's expansion. Moreover, TAP's expansion would enable Gazprom to deliver a maximum of 10 bcm/y, whereas Turkish Stream's second string was supposed to pump 15.75 bcm/y. Therefore, TAP's potential expanded capacity would not be sufficient to deliver Gazprom's planned volume of gas to Europe. Although SOCAR did not consider Gazprom a rival in the TAP project, the injection of Russian gas into TAP could nevertheless create a rivalry between Russian and Azerbaijani gas in terms of volume and market share. Russian gas could block the prospects for additional volumes of Azerbaijani gas expected to come from new gas fields in TAP's stage II.

Furthermore, Russia's participation will be a strong blow to the political investments of the EU and U.S. throughout the implementation process of the project, envisaging to reduce Europe's gas dependence on Gazprom. According to Amos Hochstein, the U.S. special envoy for energy affairs, the SGC is important for Europe when the continent's economic and political security is threatened by energy monopolies. In support of the SCG, the new U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey Pyatt, stressed the necessity of protecting those "projects against other proposed schemes which threaten the future of Europe's energy security" and "would exacerbate European dependency on Russian gas".

TEP rules have previously prevented Gazprom's energy expansion and monopoly on gas transportation in Europe. They also foiled the construction of South Stream under anti-trust rules banning suppliers from owning pipelines without offering other third suppliers access. Yet, after Russia mended its ties with Turkey for the implementation of Turkish Stream, Russia now seeks to use TEP rules in its favour to pre-empt TAP's future deliveries beyond 10 bcm. Therefore, the EU's energy legislation, which once played against Gazprom, now might leave the union with no option to prevent the company's access the TAP's future capacity. This indeed threatens to derail Brussels' plans to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian gas. However, there is currently little the EU can do to block Gazprom's potential bid for using TAP's expanded capacity, as this might violate the EU's position on open market rules.

CONCLUSIONS: Given the uncertainty of Turkish Stream's second string, as well as the ITGI/Poseidon pipeline, Gazprom also plans to use the additional capacity of TAP, since the planned capacity of Turkish Stream will not be sufficient to bring extra amounts of Russian gas to Europe. However, the injection of Russian gas into TAP could fuel rivalry between Russian and Azerbaijani gas in terms of future market shares. Russian gas could block additional volumes from new gas fields in Azerbaijan (as well as alternative sources from Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, and the Mediterranean). This can downgrade the importance of the SGC in the context of the EU's diversification plans, undermine the security pillar of European energy policy and enlarge Gazprom's existing market share. However, the contractual commitments to SGC, the EU's legislative instruments and technical ambiguities make Gazprom's access to TAP less likely for near future. The EU can at most, along with the endeavours of the energy companies involved in TAP, extend the initial exemption from TPA for the consortium in order to keep Gazprom out.

AUTHORS BIO: Ilgar Gurbanov is a Research Fellow in the Centre for Strategic Studies (Azerbaijan).

Image source: wikimedia.org, accessed on March 27, 2017
Teachers demand answers W. Musa

Over 60 Teachers exercising their duties in respective Secondary Schools in Cameroon representing about 20,000 have taken hostage the Ministry of Finance in Yaounde demanding payment of their salary arrears in which they claim has gotten to over 25 months now.

The teachers stormed the premises brandishing placards denouncing nonpayment of their dues for over two years. Most of the teachers wore their graduation robes signifying that since they graduated and posted, the government has not paid a dime in their accounts.

Some teachers claim that their salaries are long overdue because some unscrupulous officials have been asking for 10 -20% as motivation to push their documents forward for payment, this has not however been confirmed by this reporter.

Security forces blocked the entrance to the ministry threatening to use tear gas on the protesters if they go violent. As the protest continued few of their leaders were called in an in camera meeting with officials of the ministry.

The striking teachers say if nothing concrete is done or said, they will stay in Yaounde for three days before taking another step.

By Wilson MUSA
| BY Ricki Green |

Data collected from CommBank customers is being broadcast across oOh!medias national portfolio in an Australian first for Out Of Home (OOH) advertising.

Answers to a series of questions about real challenges facing Australians are being collected via CommBank ATMs and online as part of its CAN brand campaign, which announced earlier this year via M&C Saatchi, Sydney. They are appearing on over 1100 of oOh!s digital screens in CBD office towers, cafes, airports, retail centres and on large format roadside billboards.

Results from the survey will be broadcast across Australia via oOh!s digital OOH portfolio showing results at both national and local levels.

Nationally, 47% of Australians answered yes to the question Is the Australian property dream still a reality? with the highest property price markets of NSW and Victoria and younger Australians the least optimistic.

Says Brendon Cook, CEO, oOh!media: We are striving to show that Out Of Home innovation is endless by taking real client data and using it to deliver an audience led campaign with engaging and relevant content at national and geo-targeted levels.

Its the first time data has been captured, regularly updated and broadcast in this way across so many of oOh!s digital roadside billboards.

We talked about the possibilities of running a campaign like this with CommBank and their media agency Ikon and we are proud of what this collaboration was able to deliver.

CommBanks engagement with its customers through ATMs and OOH is as exciting as it is unmissable. Its a great demonstration for advertisers about where OOH is heading.

Says Stuart Tucker, general manager of brand, sponsorships and marketing services, CommBank: We live in changing and uncertain times and our campaign is all about helping us find new solutions for the challenges Australians are facing.

How better to engage an audience than through the combination of our national network of ATMs and oOh!s national digital portfolio.

This campaign opens up a new world for connecting with our customers and CommBank is pleased to be at the forefront of such innovation.

Says Pat Crowley, managing partner of Ikon Communications: Applying relevant and near time messages into digital OOH nationally is making best use of the OOH channels to ensure all Australians know that CommBank is listening to them.

Other questions asked at CommBanks ATMs, which are part of the brand campaign, include Are our businesses ready to face the future? Do our kids have the skills they need for tomorrow? and Does our society truly embrace everyone?

The CAN brand campaign was also supported nationally across oOh!s large format classic billboards.

Creative Agency: M&C Saatchi, Sydney

Media Agency: Ikon Communications
| BY Ricki Green |

Neonormal delivered multiple brand experiences at and around the 2017 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix for Bentley Motors and Renault.

The Bentley Grand Prix experience kicked off on Thursday 23 March with the launch of the Bentley Continental Supersports, the worlds fastest four-seater car. Following the reveal of the Supersports, retailers, customers and media had the chance to take the first Bentley Bentayga Diesel in the country for a spin at the Australian Automotive Research Centre (AARC) in Wensleydale, Victoria.

The Bentley Motors experience continued across the Grand Prix weekend with the Supersports acting as the pace car for the GT races each day. Elsewhere at the track, Neonormal designed, built and produced the Bentley vehicle display to showcase the Bentayga, Supersports and other cars from the Bentley range.

The Bentley Corporate Hospitality space, located within the VIP Paddock Club, was also the work of Neonormal. An extension of the Bentley BeExtraordinary Road Show which has been touring around the country since November 2016, the exhibition is full of curious and little-known stories about the craftsmanship, characters and racing heritage that have made the Bentley marque so distinctive.

3AW presenter Darren James labelled the Bentley Corporate Hospitality space the best in show during his Saturday morning program. He was most taken by the Roadshow elements including the display which demonstrated Bentleys customisation options. He told listeners: Its just unbelievable. I felt as though I was in a Bond movie. Well done Bentley. Three votes. Best on ground.

Says Paul Edwards, creative director, Neonormal: When developing the various creative solutions for Bentley, we were acutely aware of delivering experiences that sell cars as well as stories. Although a 100-year-old brand, Bentley has a powerful and contemporary offering that many people arent aware of.

Says David Simpson, retailer sales manager  Asia Pacific for Bentley Motors: Neonormal has helped us bring to life our Extraordinary Bentley story at the 2017 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. We wanted to bring customers into our story and for them to leave knowing something new about Bentley; to feel more connected with the brand. Neonormal has found new and creative ways to do this and were thrilled to begin the next chapter in our rich history by revealing the Supersports as part of this experience.

The Renault experience

As part of Neonormals ongoing relationship with French car brand Renault, the team conceived and delivered three distinct experiences supported by social content.

In the general admission area, Renault shared the experience of how drivers get into the zone on race day. In a bespoke area created by Neonormal, racegoers had the opportunity to feel the rush of a virtual reality pit stop challenge, created by Renaults global agency, We Are Social. Neonormal amplified this story across social with a series of short videos that show how drivers Jolyon Palmer and Nico Hulkenberg get into the zone as the brand looked to own the moment on Twitter.

Neonormal also produced Renaults Corporate Hospitality facility where the brand hosted invited guests. Calling on the colour scheme of the Renault brand, the space was fitted out in grey and yellow with hero imagery and floral accents.

Elsewhere at the track, Renault welcomed ticketed visitors in the Renault Torque Bar, a premium facility run by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation sponsored by Renault.

These hero elements were accompanied on-site by Renault brand ambassadors as the business looked to generate qualified leads across Renaults passenger range.

Renault Australias managing director, Justin Hocevar, was pleased to partner with Neonormal to deliver brand experiences at the Grand Prix for the fourth year in a row.

Says Hocevar: This year, Renault is celebrating 40 years of Formula 1. What better way to mark this achievement than by sharing the Renault brand experience with racegoers.
| BY Ricki Green |

Following a competitive pitch, integrated marketing agency Magnum & Co has been named the successful partner for VOSS Water in both Australia and the UK.

The brief for VOSS was an integrated one, with a heavy focus on social media and digital as a means to amplifying the brand personality, while driving through-the-line impact for retail and distribution. It means Magnum & Co will now deliver the creative and digital strategies in two of the brands most important markets.

Says Aaron Crowther, managing director, Magnum & Co: Were massively excited about working with VOSS because they are really progressive in their thinking. With them were confident of delivering not only creative work, but really innovative programs that deliver true impact.

Crowther said working with a super-premium water brand is an amazing way to prove your creative and strategic chops, because its hotly contested and a largely undifferentiated category.

Says Crowther: VOSS Water is synonymous with style due to its Norwegian origins, but also because of its distinctive bottle. Its the only water people actually talk about but were just at the beginning of tapping its potential.

Says Ken Gilbert, chief marketing officer, VOSS Water Group: We came to Australia with a clear idea on what we were looking for in a partner  an agency with strong strategic, creative, digital and social skills and Magnum & Co exceeded our expectations. It also helped that Magnum could serve VOSS in the UKanother focus market for us. This will facilitate a consistent look and voice while recognising a need for country-centric communications.

Magnum & Co will exclusively partner with VOSS Water in delivering marketing  social media, influencer, content, PR, experiential and paid strategies.
| BY Lynchy |

Hakuhodo has appointed James Keng Lim as Creative Director of its Singapore office.

Lim (pictured) has 18 years of network  including Dentsu, Publicis, and McCann  as well as independent advertising, digital, and PR agency experience. His career has taken him from Malaysia, to Shanghai, Dubai and Amsterdam, but he has spent the last 3 years back here in Singapore and offers clients strategic counsel and thought leadership across advertising, branding, marketing, digital, social and PR.

Regional Chief Creative Officer, Woon Siew Hoh, said, I am extremely delighted to have James Keng Lim join the Hakuhodo kinsfolk. A creative maverick not straight jacketed by conventional thinking, James Keng Lim is a natural storyteller with the ability to create transformative narratives that connect brands with their target audiences. He brings on board an entrepreneurial, holistic and commercially-savvy approach to our new modus operandi. He represents what we are building at Hakuhodo  talented, humble, inspirational leaders who embrace our Sei-katsu-sha philosophy that values consumers not as economic entities, but as people.
| BY Kim Shaw |

New York Festivals International Advertising Awards has announced the formation of the inaugural Film Craft executive jury. For the first time in the history of NYFs elite executive jury, a new executive jury panel exclusively devoted to judging Film Craft will assemble in New York City on April 8th during the week of the executive jury judging sessions.

The newly unveiled panel, comprised of 10 of the most respected film industry experts, will be chaired by the award-winning innovative creative and technical special effects influencer, Angus Kneale (left), chief creative officer of The Mill.

Says Michael Demetriades, executive director, New York Festivals: The announcement of NYFs Film Craft executive jury, and the appointment of a jury chairman the caliber of Angus Kneale, insures that entries into the Film Craft competition will be evaluated according to the quality of the execution and based on the discerning standards of some of the most creative, technically advanced, and award-winning filmmakers that the industry has to offer.

NYFs juries have been attracting the best creative minds worldwide, we are proud to announce the Film Craft Jury will offer the same for the Production Community. This esteemed jury will come together to curate a body of film work that is representative of unparalleled creativity and worthy of being called the Worlds Best Advertising.

Says Kneale: The celebration of craft, creativity and innovation within our industry is so important. New York is a real hub of creativity within the advertising industry, and as a New Yorker for over 15 years now, Im excited to be partnering with the team of judges at the New York Festivals International Advertising Awards to champion award winning film-makers across the globe.

Kneale brings both creativity and leadership skills to his role as jury chairman, with over three decades of extraordinary effects-intense experience, working on high-end projects for international brands. Angus is particularly active in pushing the boundaries of emerging technology, innovation and creativity. He is one of the chief architects of the revolutionary Mill Blackbird, the worlds first virtual car. He is also one of the pioneering forces in the development of Mill Cyclops, The Mills next generation proprietary virtual production toolkit.

Kneale helped launch The Mill New York in 2002, and is part of The Mills group executive board helping set creative strategy for the entire business He has been awarded a wide range of accolades, including VES awards, gold Cannes Lions for both creativity and innovation and multiple D&AD awards. Having overseen many of The Mills most highly acclaimed projects, Anguss leadership has helped propel the Mill to be one of the most awarded and admired studios in the world.

Kneale will convene the Film Craft executive jury this April during the 7th annual executive jury judging sessions taking place in New York City. This jury of creative global minds dedicated to the quality and aesthetics of the film making process will review all shortlisted Film Craft entries selected by NYFs online Grand Jury.

The 2017 New York Show creative panel sessions and networking events will take place on Thursday May 18th at the NYIT Auditorium, 1871 Broadway, between 61st & 62nd Street. The annual New York Show awards ceremony and gala will be held that evening at the world-class performance space, Jazz at Lincoln Centers Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street, New York City.
Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 9:41PM

Samsung is making it extra hard for those still holding onto their Galaxy Note7 devices. The South Korean company plans to disable charging on the phablet to push those who still have the devices with them to return the product to the brand. Samsung initially limited the charging capability of the Note7 below capacity and even cut off mobile network access. If youre still holding on to the device already deemed a fire hazard, we highly recommend you give up the device for your own safety.

Source: XDA Developers
The program responds to concerns people with disability, even if they have the best qualifications, were struggling to get employment because of misconceptions about their needs and capacity to contribute.
Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. Access unlimited news content and The Canberra Times app. Premium subscribers also enjoy interactive puzzles and access to the digital version of our print edition - Today's Paper.
"More than six years ago, the Canberra Liberals tabled a motion asking for the Human Rights Commissioner to do an audit into the conditions at Bimberi because of reports of violence and security breaches, staff shortages, staff dissatisfaction, and poor outcomes for children and young people.
In August 2016, the Zimbabwean government stepped up its pressure on operators to work together to build a national backbone network, after negotiating a $98 million loan to expand and deploy fibre infrastructure.

According to Xinhua reports, Supa Mandiwanzira, Zimbabwes ICT, postal and courier services Minister, hailed the launch of the data centre, stating it was a key project for the government in its efforts to expand internet connectivity to underserved and rural areas. TelOne Data Centres launch is a sub-project of the national broadband project (NBB).

"The launch of the data centre is an important development worth celebrating as it is in sync with the big data era that the country has entered into making such facilities indispensable," the Minister said when launching the centre at an event in Harare.

Zimbabwe has signed and agreed to see to it that the country has no less than 80% of the population connected to broadband by the year 2020.

Chipo Mutasa, MD of TelOne, said businesses using the data centre could cut connectivity costs by up to 35%. "We are pleased to confirm that the facilities we have built are world-class, Tier 3 meaning we guarantee reliability at 99.982% uptime. I therefore implore on all of you to seriously consider us to host you instead of constructing your own centres, she was reported to have said by Techzim.

TelOne is in the process of transforming its business model from a fixed landline provider to a broadband-based business. The transformation will see TelOne becoming a fixed mobile converged company with emphasis on broadband, cloud and digital services, the operator said in an online statement.

Government institutions, parastatals and Industry players like banks and other big data corporations are some of the entities who can enjoy the services offered at the TelOne Data Centre that include colocation, disaster recovery, backup and storage, bandwidth rental and a diversity of cloud services.

Huawei is implementing the national broadband project under the China Exim Bank loan facility, which is one of cooperation agreements signed in 2015 by Zimbabwe and China in Beijing.

One Zimbabwe-based operator  Econet Wireless, which owns international fibre operator Liquid Telecom  refused in 2015 to take part in nationally-owned shared infrastructure and at the start of 2017, the operator has found itself in a fierce war with the countrys telecoms minister over mobile data charges.
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ...
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
An easy paper with a grace mark of 1 was all that in Karnataka II PU English paper was all about.

1164 students were present in the exam center at the NMKRV college Jayanagar. Though the Karnataka II PUC students were happy that the exams concluded for today, some were disappointed as they have CET and JEE exams around the corner.

How did the Karnataka II PU English paper go?

"The paper was overall easy," said a student Maheshwari from Jain College and was happy that the exams concluded today and also a grace mark of 1 is provided for the last question.

English Paper Analysis:

Part A

This part comprises twelve one mark questions that included from the prose and poems. And it was mandatory to attend all the questions.

Part B

This part had ten questions with a choice to answer any eight. And at least two questions has to be answered from the poetry. As the Part B was a four mark questions.

Part C

This part had three questions and had to answer anyone with 200 words limit.

Part D

This part was to read the following passage and answer the question set on it which is ten one mark questions.

Part E

This part includes three questions and had to read the lines and answer the questions.

Part F

This was a grammar part where the right form of the verbs has to be filled in the given brackets. And it is one mark to fill in three blanks.

The next part comprises of the report the following conversation with one mark five questions.

The next segment included about one mark four questions to complete the following dialogue.

To choose the appropriate expression given in the bracket which is a two marker.

The next question was to fill the blanks with the right linkers which are a four mark.

Part G

This part was to read the following passage and to make notes by drawing and filling in the boxes given which are of four marks in total.

Letter writing which is of five marks.

The next included a grammar part which was five marker.

Was this portion to pick the underlined words in the following words refer to? And this comprises of four questions with a total of four marks.

Last but not the least was to rewrite the jumbled segment a one mark question which is a grace.

Also read Karnataka II PUC Mathematics Exam Paper Analysis
AfricaRice is a CGIAR Research Center  part of a global research partnership for a food-secure future. It is also an intergovernmental association of African member countries. For more information visit: www.AfricaRice.org

A propos dAfricaRice

AfricaRice est un Centre de recherche du CGIAR  un partenariat mondial de la recherche agricole pour un futur sans faim. AfricaRice est aussi une association intergouvernementale composee de pays membres africains. Pour plus dinformations, visiter : www.AfricaRice.org
230317Resealed road better connects Arawa to Kieta Port

By Aloysius Laukai



A formal ceremony was held this week (March 21, 2017) to celebrate the completion of a project to reseal the road from Arawa town to Kieta Port, laying the foundation for greater economic activity in the region.

The K8.6 million project was delivered as part of Australias long-running partnership with the Autonomous Bougainville Government to help maintain Bougainvilles road network. It complements the recent K4.7 million project to seal a number of town roads in Arawa.

The new surface and upgraded drainage has made the road safer and more reliable whilst improving connections between people and essential services. The resealed road has reduced travel times, better connecting local businesses to and from Arawa town and the local port and airport.

Secretary of Bougainvilles Department of Technical Services, Bernard Tzilu, was very pleased with the improvements to the road delivered through the project.


You know those digital billboards along major highways? An insurance industry group is using ones along Albuquerque freeways as part of a public awareness campaign designed to reduce local automobile thefts.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau is financing the effort, working with the New Mexico Insurance Fraud Bureau and the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office. Drivers passing the digital billboards at major locations along I-25 and I-40 will see messages urging them to report vehicle thefts and suspects, with a goal of putting a dent in the local crime rate. Plans call for running the ads through April.

According to the NICB, metropolitan Albuquerque had the second-highest vehicle theft rate nationally in 2015. The NICB said that Albuquerque had improved from having the eighth-highest vehicle theft rate in 2008 to having the 20th-highest rate in 2012 and 2013, thanks in part to the use of bait cars provided by NICB and member companies to law enforcement. But reduced auto theft prevention and other issues led to an upswing.

While the advertising effort is taking place in New Mexico, the effort has broader implications for the entire property/casualty insurance industry, said Loretta Worters, vice president, media relations for the Insurance Information Institute.

According to the FBI, a car is stolen in the U.S. every 42 seconds. Anything that helps to reduce vehicle theft is something the industry is all for, Worters told Carrier Management via email. Insurers in many states offer discounts for anti-theft devices. Theft is a factor in how insurers set rates, along with other factors such as the type of vehicle you drive, your driving record, where your car is located, credit-based insurance scores, driver, geographic information and more.

Concerning the NICB advertising effort in New Mexico, Worters said that if there were a significant reduction in vehicle theft in the state over time, then it might have an impact on an insurers bottom line in that state.

The NICB is backed by more than 1,000 property/casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. A nonprofit, the NICB focuses on preventing, spotting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics, investigations, training, legislative advocacy and public awareness.

Source: NICB
240317MEMBER COMMENDED

By Aloysius Laukai



The member for South Bougainville, TIMOTHY MASIU has been praised for supporting the work of HEALTH SERVICES throughout South Bougainville.

Former senior Health Administrator with Provincial Health SIMON MUTONO DISING thanked member MASIU for the delivery of a vehicle to facilitate coordination of Maternal and Child Health Services in South Bougainville.

MR. DISIN said that the purchase of Cold Chain equipment such as the solar systems to our major distribution points was very important.

He said that in a short time member MASIU has delivered that will significantly improve the delivery of health services in South Bougainville.

MR. DISIN said that the declining trends in many services was the lack of proper coordination and management of resources available at hand.



Ends


It has been a long time coming but finally, select members of the automotive press were recently given the exclusive opportunity to test the brand-new Bugatti Chiron.



As this latest review from Autocar magazine below shows, the new French hypercar retains many of the Veyrons familiar characteristics but simply amplifies and improves them in every imaginable way.

For starters, it is faster than the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport owing to its beefed-up quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 powertrain that now delivers 1,500 hp. As with the Veyron it replaces, the Chiron achieves its speed in a remarkably progressive manner thanks to its class-leading refinement and smooth power and torque curves.

As impressive as the Chiron is, were still not entirely won over by it. It doesnt appear to push the boundaries and the industry forward quite like the Veyron did over a decade ago. However, that may all change when Bugatti tests out its top speed next year. Fingers crossed.

VIDEO
Germanys lower house of parliament has agreed to introduce a road toll for cars registered outside the country, including on the Autobahn.



The draft law will see foreign drivers hit with tolls to use certain German roads but be lenient to those foreigners on short journeys and those with more environmentally friendly cars. The maximum annual cost for a foreign vehicle would be 130 euros ($140), reports Reuters.

However, the law will face a number of stumbling blocks before being implemented. For example, the western states of Saarland and Rhineland-Palantinate have said a mediation committee will be used to liaise between the Bundestag and Bundesrat chambers of parliament meaning the law may not be implemented until after the September 24 federal election.

Whats more, Members of the European Parliament oppose the law, alleging that it breaches a violation of the non-discriminatory principle of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

PHOTO GALLERY
Buicks have a reputation for being built like tanks. This one especially  because, as you can see, its an actual tank.



Like most other manufacturers, Buick was tasked during World War II to assist with the war effort, building (among other machinery) tanks like this. A tank destroyer, technically, because it was built not to take on fixed targets, but to destroy other tanks.

Tank destroyers were lighter in weight and had more power to enable them to move faster. So the air-cooled Continental R-975 nine-cylinder produced 350 horsepower (at a time when Jeeps made all of 60 hp), and with only 20 tons to move, it could reach 55 miles per hour  faster than most tanks.

It was fitted with a 76-millimeter cannon and a Browning M2 .50-caliber machine gun, but only 12-mm-thick armor in most places that could barely protect its crew of five. Rounds fired from that turret gun, though, could penetrate armor up to 100 mm thick.

Buick made over 2,500 of these M18 Hellcats in 1943 and 44 for deployment in the European theater. This one was deployed with the US Armys 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion, and is coming up for sale to the highest bidder in Auburn Spring the weekend of May 11, when its estimated to sell for between $275,000 and $350,000. Check it out in the gallery of images below captured by Teddy Pieper for Auctions America.

Photo Gallery
270317KONGKORI WANTS NO HOMEBREW

By Aloysius Laukai

The Chairman of the South Bougainville Ex-Combatants Association,

DAVID KONGKORI wants the people of MALABITA to stop brewing homebrew and work on products like cocoa and copra.

He made these comments during questions time at the Referendum Awareness last Friday.

MR. KONGKORI said as Bougainville is preparing for the Referendum all illegal activities must be stopped.

MR. KONGKORI said that the former combatants will support the ABG and Police to make sure villagers are not entertaining illegal activities.

He called on the Chiefs of MALABITA to allow the Police to patrol into the communities.



Ends


Uber has suspended testing of its autonomous fleet in Arizona after one Volvo XC90 tester was involved in a collision in the city of Tempe.



At approximately 6:25 pm on Friday, local police were called to the crash where one of Ubers XC90 prototypes was hit by another vehicle that failed to yield.

Uber has confirmed that the vehicle was in self-driving mode at the time and that a driver was behind the wheel but the Tempe Police Department confirmed that the other vehicle as at fault for the crash.

The impact was strong enough to flip the Uber on its side but neither driver was harmed in the crash. There were also no backseat passengers in the Uber, Azcentral reports.

While the Uber wasnt at fault, this incident is just the latest in a spate of setbacks for the self-driving program. In December, the companys fleet was famously kicked off the streets of California after the ride-hailing service failed to get a permit to test the vehicles on public roads. Not dissuaded, the company soon moved its fleet to Arizona and received immediate support from Governor Doug Ducey.
Conrad Vernon is reuniting with Megan Ellisons Annapurna, producer of last years hit Sausage Party, for another adult-oriented animation project, Amberville.

The project is an adaptation of Tim Davys Mollisan Town novel series set in a gritty world of stuffed animals.

Amberville is being developed as a cgi series for Amazon Studios by Vernon and Chris McCoy, who wrote and directed last years Good Kids. McCoy wrote the pilot and Vernon will direct it. If the project makes it to series, it would be available on Amazon Prime Video.
Photo: The Canadian Press

It's official, the Keystone XL Pipeline can finally move ahead.

Last week in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump granted Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. a permit that will allow the pipeline to cross the border into the United States.

While more hurdles still need to be cleared, GasBuddy spokesman Dan McTeague says Friday's news is good news for consumers, oil companies and governments in Canada.

McTeague says it should mean less volatility for consumers in prices at the pumps.

"Volatility comes in a couple of way, but most important in geo-politics. We've often seen oil used as a stick or a carrot by producers, most importantly OPEC, in the past to drive prices up or, in some cases, drive prices down," said McTeague.

In North America, he says more oil should mean less volatility.

"That doesn't necessarily mean lower prices, but it's likely if an emergency does take place down the road, the impact would be less than we've seen in the past. We'll have a lot more oil for the U.S. markets."

McTeague says American refineries have spent billions to reconfigure their refineries in the mid-west and Gulf coast to accept the heavier Canadian oil.

The Keystone announcement, along with the twinning of Kinder Morgan's pipeline through B.C., should represent about 1.5 million barrels of Canadian oil that will need to be produced to meet that demand.

And, he says, that may mean prices for Alberta oil will increase.

"Canadian oil is being discounted by as much as $15 a barrel. We might actually get world prices. Instead of $32 a barrel today, we might get $47," he says.

"That means more investments, which lead to higher revenues for governments to pay for our social safety nets, health care and pensions."

None of this will happen overnight.

McTeague says it could be four years before the Keystone pipeline actually gets started.

"It may be a ways off, but it does point to some positive signs."
Photo: Contributed

A crucial hearing in a manslaughter case that has dragged on for years is set to begin in B.C. Supreme Court in Vernon on Monday.

The accused, Logan Scott, has been charged with the manslaughter of Jillian McKinty.

The 27-year-old mother of two was found dead in her home at Wolfenden Terrace in Armstrong on Nov. 27, 2013.

A voir dire hearing before Mr. Justice Arne Silverman will give both Crown and defence lawyers a chance to argue the admissibility of certain statements, likely from witnesses, in the trial which has yet to commence.

Scott, from Salmon Arm, was arrested nine months after McKinty's death following what police described as an exhaustive investigation.

He is also charged with theft.

The trial is scheduled to begin to Apr. 24.
Photo: Contributed

Our government wants to hear what you have to say about our transportation needs in the Central Okanagan.

Thats why weve initiated a public engagement process as a part of the planning study  to get community thoughts on the Highway 97 corridor and the ways that it serves our communities.

This next round of consultations will build upon what weve already heard from residents throughout the Okanagan. We are applying what we have heard so far, including feedback from a second round of public open houses in Kelowna and West Kelowna last winter.

The Ministry of Transportation will be holding another round of open houses to gather input and feedback from the public on the development of future transportation improvement options for the Central Okanagan and Highway 97 corridor.

Public engagement is planned for today and Tuesday and Thursday in Lake Country, Kelowna and West Kelowna. The preliminary options will be presented at the open houses and posted starting today on the project website.

I would certainly like to encourage all my constituents, as well as residents throughout the region and media to attend to view and comment on these preliminary designs.

Here are a few facts that provide the context as to why these improvements and upgrades are necessary for us to consider now.

By 2040, the William R. Bennett Bridge will reach capacity in its current configuration, and the approaches on the Kelowna side will reach capacity before then.

Also by 2040, a trip along the full length of the corridor (between Peachland and Lake Country) will take almost 15 minutes longer in the morning-peak hour and up to 24 minutes longer in the afternoon-peak hour.

Almost all signalized intersections within developed areas will have significant congestion and delay.

Its important for us to plan now, so we can meet the needs of our community in the future.

Our government is taking the steps to ensure that goods, services, tourists and commuters can all travel safely and smoothly across our region for years to come.

The open houses wii be held:

Monday, March 27, 3:30-7 p.m.

Winfield Memorial Hall

10130 Bottom Wood Lake Rd., Lake Country

Tuesday, March 28, 3:30-7 p.m.

Ramada Kelowna Hotel and Conference Centre

2170 Harvey Ave., Kelowna



Thursday, March 30, 3:30-7 p.m.

Westbank Lions Community Centre

2466 Main St., West Kelowna

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: Contributed

Using a computer can be frustrating. This week, Ill show you three annoying things you can fix for yourself and your friends.

Make the text in Outlook a readable size.

Kill off those wrong email addresses in Outlook.

And stop those chat-like Facebook posts.

Fix: Text in Outlook messages is too small (or GIAGANTIC)

Weird problem. A customer showed me that her Outlook 2016 messages that she was trying to write had text so small it was impossible to see. You could just barely see a tiny cursor flashing in the New Email box.

But when we tried typing something and sending it, although it looked tiny to us, the recipient of the message saw the text normal size.

What happened?

A Windows feature had been unintentionally activated! If you are in a text box in any number of programs, not just Outlook, and you press the CTRL key at the same time you scroll with your mouse, it changes the text size. Scroll up/forward to enlarge the text and down/backwards to shrink it.

But  all youre doing is changing how it looks to you. No matter how small or large it looks, your font size stays the same, and thats why everything looks normal to the recipient of your email.

So, if your text looks too small or large in the messages youre composing, hold CTRL and use the mouse scroll button to change the size.

If you receive a message with text thats too small, in Outlook 2016 and 2013, use the slider bar at the bottom right of the program to change the display. 100 per cent is normal. Slide to the right to make things seem larger.



Fix: The wrong email address keeps popping up in Outlook

While were talking about Outlook, have you even misspelled an email address? Did you ever have a friend change his or her email address?

You change the information in you Outlook Address Book, and its fine there, but every time you start to type a new email to this person, the old information pops up in the To: field.

I hate it when that happens.

We can easily fix that, but first we need to understand that what Outlook remembers when you start typing in that field has nothing at all to do with your Contacts. This is the Autocomplete list, which is simply Outlook remembering what youve typed in before.

Your Contact list/Address Book is something completely different.

So, while its good to update the information in your Address Book/Contacts, its a separate procedure to clear the bad info from the Autocomplete List.

Heres how:

Open Outlook

Click on New Email

Start typing the name or email address you want to remove

Look at the suggestions below the To: field. Keep typing until you see the one you want to remove

BEFORE the address gets into the To: field, hover over the name and click on the X to the right of it. (Alternately, use the arrow keys to select it and the DEL key to delete it)

Thats it. The misspelled or out-of-date address is gone for good from Autocomplete.

Heres a video that shows you how.

Fix: Some Facebook posts look like chat windows

Facebook is either testing or maybe just plain rolling out a new feature that causes some but, confusingly not all your friends regular posts to open in a new window as if youre using Facebook Chat.

Some people want this, but the rest of us just want to know how to make this stop. Even more confusingly, the toggle for this is in the Chat settings, even though this is not Chat.

If you want to turn that not-Chat Chat-like thing off:

Move your cursor to the bottom right corner of the Facebook window

Click on the gear icon to open Chat settings

Click on Turn Off Post Tabs

Thats it. If you want to turn that back on again, repeat the first two steps, and then select Turn On Post Tabs.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Sixteen months after he declared a state of emergency on homelessness, Seattle's mayor is asking voters in this liberal, affluent city for $55 million a year in new taxes to fight the problem.

But some are pushing back, saying the city already spends millions to combat homelessness, and things appear to have gotten worse, not better.

In making his case, Mayor Ed Murray says the problem has grown exponentially and federal and state help is unlikely. He wants voters to support a proposed ballot initiative that would increase property taxes to raise $275 million over five years for homeless services  almost doubling what Seattle spends each year.

Supporters say current resources haven't been enough to stem the rising tide of people on the streets, and the proposed levy will provide more housing for those who need it most.

"This is a city that's not going to wait for a dysfunctional federal government to show up and do something - because lives are being lost," Murray said at a recent news conference. The mayor, who is up for re-election, would be on the same ballot as the tax initiative if backers gather enough signatures to qualify it for the August election.

City voters have approved three property tax increases in as many years to pay for affordable housing, preschools and buses, on top of other taxes, and some say the higher bills are pricing out working- and middle-class families. Others are demanding accountability.

The mayor "needs to make these reforms first and then come to the taxpayers," said Harley Lever, founder of a group called Safe Seattle, who helped form one of two campaigns opposing Initiative 126. The city should spend current money more efficiently and adopt the data-driven, performance-based approach that places like Houston and Boston have used to successfully reduce homelessness, Lever said.

"Seattle citizens are very generous. They've done their part," he added.

In 2016, a one-night homeless count found nearly 3,000 people living outside in this city of about 650,000.
Photo: The Canadian Press

President Donald Trump is set to announce a new White House office run by his son-in-law that will seek to overhaul government functions using ideas from the business sector.

A senior administration official said Trump on Monday will announce the White House Office of American Innovation. The official sought anonymity to discuss the office in advance of the formal rollout.

The plans for the office were first reported by The Washington Post.

The innovation office will be led by Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to Trump, and will report directly to the president.

Among those working on the effort are National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, Dina Powell, senior counsellor to the president for economic initiatives and deputy national security adviser, Chris Liddell, assistant to the president for strategic initiatives and Reed Cordish, assistant to the president for intragovernmental and technology initiatives. All have extensive business experience.

Trump is readying to announce the new office at a low point in his young administration, days after the Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare." imploded in the House of Representatives, revealing deep divides within GOP and fraying tensions at the White House.

This effort has been developing since shortly after the inauguration, the official said. The group has been meeting since then and started talking to CEOs from various sectors about ways to make changes to federal programs. Areas they hope to tackle include overhauling Veterans' Affairs, improving workforce development and targeting opioid addiction.

Trump's daughter Ivanka, who is married to Kushner and has a West Wing office but no official job, will get involved on issues she is focused on, such as workforce development.
Photo: NASA

Thousands of people began evacuating low-lying areas of Australia's tropical northeast on Monday as a powerful cyclone bore down on the coast.

Cyclone Debbie was expected to cross the Queensland state coast along a sparsely populated 100-kilometre stretch between the towns of Ayr and Bowen early Tuesday, Australian Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Michael Paech said.

The cyclone was churning over the Pacific Ocean as a Category 3 storm on Monday, with wind gusts up to 165 km/h. It was expected to intensify to a Category 4 storm with wind gusts up to 260 km/h when it crosses on to land, Paech said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urged people in the most vulnerable areas to evacuate on Monday before conditions deteriorate.

She said the farming region had never experienced a storm stronger than Category 2, which packs wind gusts of between 125 and 164 km/h. Older homes would not withstand a Category 4 storm, Palaszczuk said.

"This window of opportunity to leave is drastically closing," Palaszczuk told reporters. "I am just pleading to everyone, please, listen to authorities. I do, you must as well. This is about your safety, it is about the safety of your family and the safety of your children."

People were being bused out of low-lying areas ahead of a tidal surge that could be as high as four metres.
Photo: Twitter

United Airlines found itself in a tight spot over the weekend.

Two teenage girls who were wearing leggings were not allowed to board a plane on Sunday due to not following dress code policy for company benefit travel.

A traveller who witnessed the incident took to Twitter. The ordeal started when a gate agent wouldnt let the girls on the flight from Denver to Minneapolis.

This behaviour is sexist and sexualizes young girls. Not to mention that the families were mortified and inconvenienced, said Shannon Watts.

Three girls were wearing leggings but two of them were told not to board, according to Watts.

United Airlines responded on Twitter saying, We appreciate you being our eyes and ears. The customers this morning were Unity pass travellers.

I don't care what kind of passengers they were, said Watts.

A flurry of messages followed on social media about the incident.

The company issued a statement saying that pass riders were not in compliance with their dress code and said to our regular customers, your leggings are welcome.

According to their dress code, form-fitting lycra/spandex tops, pants and dresses are unacceptable in any cabin.
270317POLICE ARRESTS 17

By Aloysius Laukai



Buin Police arrested 17 law breakers for different offences last Saturday.

Acting Buin Police Station Commander, JOHN POPUI told New Dawn FM that Police patrol was able to arrest offenders as follows, 3 for in possession of offensive weapons( Knives and Grass knives)1 for unlicensed driving, 1 for permitting unlicensed person to drive,3 for drink and disorderly and 9 for in possession of Homebrew.

Commander POPUI said that all arrested will be charged tomorrow by the Buin District Court.

Meanwhile, BUIN Police Station Commander has warned the public to respect the law and order for the good of all the Citizens of Bougainville.



Ends


The discovery of a body on Silver Star Mountain last week has gang connections.

The body of Dustin Rogers, 26, was found March 23 near the intersection of Wilson Jackson Road and Jordashe Road, above the Silver Star foothills area, off Keddleston Road. He was reportedly shot.

Photos on Facebook show Rogers with a large Independent Soldiers tattoo on his torso.

The Independent Soldiers are a B.C.-based criminal gang with mainly Indo-Canadian leadership and alleged links to the Hells Angels.

The gang has a foothold in Vancouver, as well as Kamloops, Kelowna, Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Surrey, according to information on Wikipedia. It is allegedly involved in drug distribution, money laundering and other criminal activities.

An unrelated 2015 bust at a home in Lake Country that was linked to the gang recovered weapons, cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy and boxes of clothing bearing the Independent Soldiers logo.

RCMP are saying little about last week's death other than they consider it suspicious.

The Southeast District Major Crimes Unit and BC Coroners Service are investigating the case.
A four-year-old boy saved his mothers life by using her thumb to unlock her iPhone and use Siri to call an ambulance.

The boy, named Roman, used his unconscious mothers phone and when the dispatcher asked him where his mom was he said, Shes at home.

And where are you? asked the dispatch.

At home as well, he said.

The dispatcher asked him to do her a favour and said can you go and get mummy?

We cant, shes dead, said the boy. It means that shes closing her eyes and shes not breathing.

The boy was able to tell the dispatcher that he lived in Kenley, London.

Metropolitan Police and paramedics were able to get his house within 13 minutes. Once there, they were able to provide first-aid to his mother who was unconscious.

She was then taken to hospital but is now back at home with her children.
Photo: The Canadian Press John Lydon, also known by his stage name, Johnny Rotten

Count punk pioneer Johnny Rotten among President Donald Trump's supporters.

The former Sex Pistols front man, whose real name is John Lydon, tells ITV's "Good Morning Britain" that "there's many, many problems" with Trump as a person, but he's not racist. Lydon says Trump "terrifies politicians and this is joy to behold." He says he looks at Trump as "a possible friend."

Lydon is a U.S. citizen, but also weighed in on the politics of his native Britain, saying he's in favour of the UK's vote to leave the European Union last year. He says, "the working class have spoke and I'm one of them and I'm with them."
Photo: File photo

A tiny British Columbia community that lost four residents in a landslide almost five years ago has been put on alert for another possible slide.

An evacuation alert has been issued for residents of Johnsons Landing on Kootenay Lake in southeastern B.C. after reports that Gar Creek was running muddy and materials on a slope appear to be shifting.

A slide from Gar Creek in July 2012 released a torrent of mud and debris, killing a man, his two daughters, along with a female resident in a separate home.

It also destroyed or damaged several homes in the community.

The regional district says its emergency management team is assessing the situation and a helicopter is bringing representatives from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to the area.

The district says it has taken the precaution of issuing an evacuation alert to ensure residents' safety.

The district is alerting households in the area to the dangers and a reception centre is being organized.
Photo: transmountain.com

A legal battle between the City of Burnaby and the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has ended with the British Columbia Court of Appeal ruling the National Energy Board can override municipal bylaws.

The fight began in 2014 when Trans Mountain was set to begin field studies on Burnaby Mountain, which required it to cut down trees, drill boreholes and operate heavy machinery  activities that violate the city's bylaws.

Before beginning the field work, the company obtained a ruling from the energy board that confirmed it was allowed to conduct surveys and examinations on land in Burnaby without the city's consent.

Burnaby didn't appeal the energy board's ruling, but when Trans Mountain began engineering studies on Burnaby Mountain in September 2014, the company was served with notices of bylaw violations.

The dispute ultimately wound up in B.C. Supreme Court, where Justice George Macintosh ruled in 2015 that the energy board has the constitutional power to direct or limit the enforcement of Burnaby's bylaws.

A three-member panel of appeal court judges agreed in a decision on Monday, with Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon writing that the energy board had jurisdiction to resolve the conflict between Burnaby's bylaws and the powers granted under the National Energy Board Act.

The city continues to oppose the $7.4-billion project, which would triple the capacity of the pipeline running from Alberta to Burnaby. In December, it filed an application with the Federal Court of Appeal for leave to appeal the federal government's approval of the expansion.

Mounties arrested more than 100 people during protests in 2014 on Burnaby Mountain, but a judge later tossed out civil contempt charges against many of the activists who were arrested for violating a court injunction ordering them to stay away.

The company said it had provided the wrong GPS co-ordinates when it asked for the original court order and the measurements were so inaccurate that the site was outside the area covered by the injunction.
Photo: CTV

The family of a Regina woman found dead at the bottom of a hotel laundry chute is questioning how she fit through the chute door.

An inquest into the death of Nadine Machiskinic started Monday with police photos and testimony describing the chute opening as 53 centimetres wide.

Machiskinic was found at the bottom of the chute in January 2015.

An autopsy found she died of blunt force trauma after falling 10 storeys and the death was ruled accidental, with the coroner noting that the mother of four had drugs in her system.

Machiskinic's aunt, Delores Stevenson, wants to know how her niece fell through such a small opening.

Stevenson says she hopes the inquest will give her family the answers they need.

"The dimensions of the laundry chute  I'm not an expert but that looked like a pretty small laundry chute to start with. I'm just wondering how somebody could fit in that small, little laundry chute, manoeuvre their way ... how does somebody get into that little small space?" she said outside court Monday.

"I hope that we'll get some truth, I hope that we'll get some answers."

Machiskinic's family has raised concerns that police were not taking her death seriously.
Photo: CTV

Friends and family members of three men killed after an impaired driver hit a group of cyclists on a British Columbia highway say their lives have been forever changed by the loss of their loved ones.

A sentencing hearing has begun for Samuel Alec, who pleaded guilty to three counts of impaired driving causing death.

B.C. Supreme Court has heard in an agreed statement of facts that Alec was driving home from a friend's funeral in May 2015 when he crossed the centre line north of Whistler and collided head on with two road bikers.

Cyclists Ross Chafe and Kelly Blunden were killed, as was Paul Pierre Jr., a passenger in the vehicle.

Stewart Blaser, the lone surviving cyclist, says the horror of seeing his two friends killed has left him scarred for life.

The sentencing proceedings are scheduled to last three days.
Photo: Jon Manchester

UPDATED: 4 p.m.

Kelowna RCMP are investigating if a driver involved in a head-on collision was suffering a medical emergency or was under the influence of a substance at the time of the incident.

Emergency crews responded to the collision at Springfield Road near Barlee Road around 12:30 p.m.

According to police, a red Honda CRV crossed the centre line at Springfield Road and collided head on with a black Dodge Ram pickup truck heading in the opposite direction.

A man, in his 20s, was driving the Honda and was found unresponsive and paramedics tried to resuscitate the man on scene.

He was taken to hospital but it is believed his injuries are non-life threatening.

The driver of the pickup truck was released from the scene without injuries.

ORIGINAL: 1:45 p.m.

Traffic was snarled Monday afternoon along Springfield after a crash.

One person was taken to hospital after the collision on Springfield Road, near Ambrosi Road.

The crash, which happened at about 1 p.m., was pretty much cleared by 2 p.m.

Send photos, video and news tips to [email protected]
Photo: GoFundMe

The suspected cause of death to a family found inside a home is carbon monoxide.

Four bodies were found in the home located in a remote community called Saranagati Village, near Ashcroft, on Friday.

"Foul play has been ruled out and the focus of the investigation is on a suspected occurrence of carbon monoxide gas in the residence," said BC Coroners Service.

Relatives spoke to CTV News, saying the family died of carbon monoxide poisoning and that a faulty water heater is thought to be the cause.

A funeral service is being prepared for Harvey Volaine, Melissa Penner and two boys along with a GoFundMe campaign for the family. The two boys have been identified as Kaylex, 10, and Ay, 7.

The community they lived in has about 25 families and is a religious community located in Venables Valley, four hours from Vancouver.

This tragedy has deeply impacted family and community members, both adults and children beyond what words can convey, said a statement from the Venables Valley community following the incident.

We send our most sincere condolences to family members of the deceased in this time of loss.

The investigation has been taken over by the BC Coroners Service and toxicological examinations are underway with results expected later this week.

 with files from CTV Vancouver.
Photo: Avalanche Canada

Experts say the growing number of skiers and snowboarders enticed by pristine powder in the backcountry shouldn't assume help will arrive quickly if something goes wrong.

Snowboard star Mark McMorris, a medal favourite at next year's Winter Olympics, was hurt badly while attempting a jump in British Columbia's backcountry on the weekend.

It's not known how long it took to get the 23-year-old native of Regina off the mountain.

Luke Penner of Mountain Equipment Co-op in North Vancouver, says sales of backcountry gear have been increasing and the activity's appeal is growing.

Penner says it's crucial to have the right gear and knowledge to look after yourself because it could take a long time to be rescued.

Karl Klassen, warning service manager at Avalanche Canada, recommends taking a weekend-long avalanche training course before heading into the wilderness.

Klassen, who is also a professional mountain guide and backcountry enthusiast, says a transceiver, probe and shovel are essential, but avoiding an avalanche in the first place is the best defence.

"The bottom line really is if you're caught in an avalanche and you're buried, you really only have 15 or 20 minutes before the chance of survival is very, very low," he said Monday.

"So whatever technique you use to call for help, it doesn't negate the fact that immediate companion rescue by the other people in your group is probably what's going to save your life.

"By the time a rescue team gets there in most cases in Canada, it's generally speaking too late."
MASIU MAKES MORE COMMITMENT

By Aloysius Laukai

The member for South Bougainville, TIMOTHY MASIU today made another financial commitment to the LAITARO Primary School and elementary.

The member made the commitment at the Opening of a Dicigel sponsored Double Classroom at Laitaro Primary School this morning.

MR. MASIU pledged TWENTY THOUSAND KINA to the Primary School and another TEN THOUSAND KINA to the Laitaro Elementary School.

He said as a leader he must contribute funds to support parents who were working hard to support the school.

MR. MASIU later attended the Reconciliation ceremony at Pahgui village.



Ends


Photo: Contributed - Patrick Cardinal/Wikimedia Air Transat Airbus A310 arriving from Barcelona at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) in September 2009.

An Air Transat flight from Vancouver to the United Kingdom had to make an overnight emergency landing in Nunavut because of a drunken and unruly passenger.

RCMP say the plane was diverted to the territorial capital of Iqaluit after a 39-year-old man had to be restrained by flight attendants and other passengers.

Police say he was being belligerent and acting aggressively.

The man was arrested and held by Mounties when the plane landed, and the flight continued to the UK shortly after.

The passenger's name has not been released, but police say he faces charges of uttering threats, causing a disturbance and mischief, along with one count of unruly behaviour under the Aeronautics Act.

Punishment for the Aeronautics Act charge involves fines up to $100,000, or imprisonment up to five years.
Russia wants to remain a major player in Syria

But does that spell the end of the Russian-Iranian post-Cold War understanding? Several factors tend to suggest otherwise.

According to Middle East experts I met in Moscow last February, Russia has no interest in being a junior partner to the US in the war against Islamic State. And its keen to maintain a partnership with Tehran in which it appears as the dominant power.

Since the Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s, Tehran and Moscow have a shared distrust of Western powers and their possible links with rebel Sunni Islamist groups.

And Russia is sceptical of a Trump administration that is already proving unpredictable. The consequence is likely to be a continuation of the Russian diplomatic strategy of entente with all countries in the region  Iran, Israel, and the Gulfs oil-rich kingdoms.

Russia will no doubt continue to leverage its relationship with Iran in its dealings with Washington to obtain concessions, such as the easing of economic sanctions targeting Moscow since the annexation of Crimea.

To be able to do so, it must reinforce and develop its cooperation with Iran, both in the region (fighting against terrorism) and in crucial strategic areas, such as civil nuclear activities. Russia is currently helping Iran build two new reactors for the Bushehr nuclear power plant on the Iranian gulf coast. And it has provided its S-300 anti-aircraft system to the country.

Faced with a Trump administration that appears anxious to drive a wedge between its Iranian and Russian rivals, Russia is more likely to take up the position of mediator it held during tensions between Iran and the West during George W. Bushs presidency (2000-2008).

Russia had then opposed both American threats to use force against Tehran in order to solve the nuclear question and Washingtons policy of unilateral sanctions against Iran. What has changed since Russia decided on military intervention in the Syrian civil war in 2015, is a bilateral effort between Russia and Iran to fight terrorism  Sunni jihadist groups, especially those Tehran labels takfiri (apostate).

A new Middle East driven by Russia?

Above and beyond a circumstantial deepening of ties arising from the emergence of a new Middle East, Russian military presence in Syria has led these two countries into a new military alliance against Sunni jihadists. But the Russian military intervention in Syria also represents a challenge to Iranian military doctrine on regional security.

Since Irans 1979 Islamic revolution, which created a government centred around a religious power, Tehran has insisted on the need for Western Asian countries (the Iranian name for the Middle East) to reject all military interference from powers outside the region.

Iranian diplomats often make a distinction between so-called independent states, such as Iran, Russia and China, and those subservient to the United States, such as the oil-rich kingdoms of the Persian Gulf. Russian military intervention in Syria then constitutes a challenge to Iran, which opposes the international system dominated by major powers.

When Russia revealed in August 2016 that its armed forces had used the Noje airbase, just outside Hamadan in Iran, it provoked a controversy in the Islamic Republic as the countrys constitution prohibits the establishment of military bases on Iranian soil by foreign powers.

The chairman of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani, specified that the Russian air force only used the base temporarily, in order to bomb terrorists in Syria.

Despite the inherent limits of an asymmetrical partnership between a world power and a regional one, the Iranian political elite must be given their due for transforming the old Russian enemy into a partner, a feat which the Iranian communists from the Tudeh party failed to achieve in the time between the end of the second world war and their exit from the Iranian political stage in 1983.

Translated from the French by Alice Heathwood for Fast for Word.

Clement Therme, Research fellow, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en sciences sociales (EHESS)

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
The island nation of Maldives saw chaos in Parliament on 27 March as a united opposition front sought to unseat the Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed. This is the first consolidated attack on the government of President Abdulla Yameen. New Delhi must be keenly watching the developments unfold in the strategically important neighbour, where China and the Saudi Arabia have been lately vying for influence through big investments.

The motion

A day after exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed said he would cooperate with ex-strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and two other leaders - Qasim Ibrahim and Sheikh Imran Abdulla - for restoring Maldivian democracy, ensuring free and fair elections, and protecting Maldivians Constitutional rights, the newly-formed group moved a vote of no confidence against Maseeh Mohamed.

This newly minted Opposition has agreed to use their representation in parliament and in the political sphere to achieve the common objectives.

But as the Parliament met for the voting, there were reports of disturbances inside.

There were also reports of how the electronic voting system was not working properly. Amidst chaos several members had to be taken out, as the security personnel took control - of which there are several photographs on social media platforms like Twitter.

Govt tampered with the Majlis voting system & are pushing for a roll call vote. Majlis SG must fix system; ensure vote proceeds as per rules, Nasheed, who heads the Maldives Democratic Party, tweeted as he watched the proceedings unfold from Colombo. He is living in exile and recently moved to Sri Lanka, after he was allegedly forced to resign at gunpoint in 2012 and later convicted under anti-terror laws in 2015.

A rigged system?

There are allegations that the roll call procedure was rigged as some MPs claimed that law makers who were not even present in the 84 member house, were shown to have voted in favour of the roll call.

Total and utter disregard to Majlis Rules and Procedures today! A very sad and shameful day in Majlis history again!, former speaker Abdulla Shahid, also a member of Nasheeds MDP, tweeted.

Nasheed and other members of the united opposition are against the roll call and are likely to announce the next steps soon.

Gayoom, too, pointed out there had to be evident defects in the electronic voting system for a manual roll call. Majlis rules require electronic voting unless there is an EVIDENT defect in the system. Therefore no roll call vote can be taken today, he tweeted. The no confidence motion was moved by his son Faris Maumoon.

A bitter history

Interestingly, when Nasheed won the elections in 2008, he had unseated Gayoom, his bitter rival, who had been ruling the island nation with an iron fist, defying all democratic norms, for the preceding three decades.

Gayoom also happens to be the half brother of president Abdulla Yameen, and continues to be the nominal head of Progressive Party of Maldives.

Nasheed had earlier announced that he would return to Maldives to run for the 2018 presidential elections.

International support

As the united Opposition vies for support from the international community, expectedly, Nasheed has demanded that India support its demands.

We would like India to pressure the Yameen regime to desist from arresting members of the opposition. And Yameen must also be forced to permit free, fair and inclusive elections, he told an Indian newspaper in an interview. I am sure India understands that with the four parties that make up our alliance, we have the vast majority of the people on our side. I think it is in India's interests to side with the majority of the Maldivian people, and not an increasingly isolated and corrupt autocrat.

India has been concerned not just about the rising extremism in the Island nation - with the agencies particularly worried how terror groups could take control of one of the many deserted islands to launch sea borne attacks - there are also worried about the rising influence of China and Saudi Arabia.

Nasheed has been attacking the policies of the current government. We are still very worried that both Saudi Arabia and China have territorial interests in the Maldives, he said in another interview to a Indian newspaper.

For the last 30 years, KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) has propagated a very narrow version of Islam in the Maldives, and now with this new venture, we know they have territorial interests. Our people want development, but not to sell an atoll [group of islands], he said on the Saudi plans to invest billions of dollars in Faafu atoll, which comprises 26 Islands.

There is a standard tender process, which should be transparent. Why has the government not followed these processes? We dont know what the Saudi king wants to invest in?, he said in the interview.

Saudi King had cancelled his trip to Male earlier this month after opposition protests. Earlier, in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too, was forced to cancel his trip.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Tathgata Satpathy has claimed that BJP is trying to split his party and accused one MP of trying to swing the deal. In a series of tweets Satpathy alleged that the saffron party is trying to take away BJD's name and symbol, and working hard to create a divide in Parliament and even in the Assembly. BJP hard at work to divide @bjd_odisha in Parliament, maybe even in Assembly. They want AIADMK type split, Sathpathy tweeted. Thereafter, without naming any individual he tweeted, They want to take away party name and and symbol. Rumors are afloat that only one MP will swing this deal for them. He went on to add that the central government will try for an early election in Orissa with Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, and it remains to be seen whether the EC would oblige. If split happens, no matter how small, BJP will try for early elections in Orissa with Raj, Guj, MP. Will EC play along? he said.

BJP hard at work to divide @bjd_odisha in Parliament, maybe even in assembly. They want AIADMK type split.

- TS

1/1  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) March 27, 2017

They want to take away @bjd_odisha's party name & symbol. Rumors afloat that only one MP will swing this deal for them. Ha!

- TS

2/1  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) March 27, 2017

If split happens, no matter how small, BJP will try for early elections in Orissa with Raj, Guj, MP.

Will EC play along?

- TS

3/1  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) March 27, 2017

BJP National Convention scheduled on 15-16 April in Orissa. PM to attend. Intention to put pressure to make state govt defunct.

- TS

4/1  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) March 27, 2017

Orissa assembly election scheduled in 2019 along with Lok Sabha. Orissa may not be considered cowbelt.

-TS

5/1  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) March 27, 2017

Questioning the BJP's decision to hold party's national convention,in Orissa which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he tweeted that the intention is to put pressure on the state government and make it defunct. Taking pot shots at the prime minister, Sathpathy tweeted, I promise to pay the bearer... Modi broke nations promise. BJP says I promise to pay defector with new cash and ticket.

'I promise to pay the bearer...'

Modi broke nation's promise.



BJP sez 'I promise to pay defector with new cash & ticket.'

Wonder!

-TS  Office of T Satpathy (@SatpathyLive) March 27, 2017

When someone on Twitter sought comments of BJD MP Baijayant Panda on the issue, he replied, He speaks w/ expertise, having once been suspended from BJD & joined another party. I don't have such experience, so will defer to his.

 He speaks w/ expertise, having once been suspended from BJD & joined another party. I don't have such experience, so will defer to his  https://t.co/rb0TWckViZ  Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) March 27, 2017

BJP's stellar performance in the recently held panchayat elections was a clear indicator of the party expanding base in the coastal state. The party registered an improvement of 850% winning 270 more seats than its previous outing in 2012 civic polls.

Sensing an opportunity to take over the reigns of the state from Naveen Patnaik, who has been the chief minister for the last 17 years, BJP is hoping that a split could further weaken the BJD before the 2019 Assembly polls. In fact, the idea of advancing the elections could be part of that strategy. Orissa goes to polls in 2019 and experts believe that BJP President Amit Shah and his team would not be able to dedicate their full attention to Orissa if Assembly polls are held along with the Lok Sabha polls and it would be better to hold them with other states.

How turncoats helped BJP

Ever since BJP won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, its strategists have been working overtime to woo leaders from other political parties to further its political ambitions. The recent Assembly election victories in Uttarakhand and Manipur are a case in point after BJP poached top Congress leaders who helped the party in forming the government in the two states. In fact, Manipur CM Nongthombam Biren Singh was earlier with Congress and considered to be the right-hand man of the former Congress CM Okram Ibobi Singh.

In Uttarakhand, five of the nine ministers sworn in with the chief ministers were previously with Congress. Moreover, BJP won 12 of the 14 seats where it fielded Congress rebels in Uttarakhand. Even in Goa, the Congress backed independents took no time to switch to the BJP which helped the latter in forming the government despite being second to the Congress on the number of seats won.

Even in Arunachal Pradesh, BJP succeeded in destabilising the Congress government after 43 of its legislators went on to join the saffron party's coalition partner Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA). Within a month, 34 of these legislators joined the BJP leaving PPA with only 10 MLAs.

Moreover, in February 2017, BJP continued with its efforts to rope in local level leaders and Congress suffered yet another setback after 549 elected panchayat members from East Kameng district, mostly from the grand old party, joined the BJP.

In 2015, BJP succeeded in wooing one of Congress' brightest mind in the north-east  Himanta Biswa Sarma  who has been instrumental in helping the saffron party become a dominant political force in the region. Ever since Sarma joined BJP, he has been able to give three states to the saffron party in a region where it had very little support. Recently, veteran Congress leader from Karnataka SM Krishna resigned from the party to join BJP just months before the state goes to polls.

These are clear indications of how BJP wants to conquer one state after another, especially where it has minimum or no stakes. And only time will tell whether BJD will suffer a similar fate as the Congress.


Ten Indians may escape the noose in UAE as the Pakistani man has pardoned them for killing his son in Abu Dhabi in 2015.

The victims family has accepted blood money amounting to 200,000 dirhams and agreed to pardon the convicts, according to media reports.

A senior Indian Embassy official told Gulf News on 26 March that Mohammad Riaz, the father of Mohammad Farhan, appeared in the Al Ain appeals court on March 22 and submitted a letter of consent to pardon the accused Indians.

"It was unfortunate that I lost my son. I appeal the young generation not to indulge in such fights. I have forgiven these 10 individuals. In fact, Allah has saved their lives. Lives of at least 10 people, including a wife and children, hinge [financially] on one person [who comes to work in the UAE]," Riaz said.

An Indian charity organisation has deposited the blood money in the court on behalf of the accused and the case has been adjourned for further hearing on April 12, said Dinesh Kumar, Counsellor, Community Affairs at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

"It is expected that the court may commute the death sentence," Kumar said.

On December 8, 2016, the murder allegedly occurred during a brawl over bootlegging in Al Ain in December 2015. Eleven men from Punjab were convicted in the case but one was spared the death sentence.

S P S Oberoi is the chairman of Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust which provided the blood money for the accused men.

According to media reports, blood money is paid to the victim's family as compensation in Islamic law.

--With PTI inputs
News / National

by Alfred Towo

Alfred Towo is a Zimbabwean freelance Journalist, an independent analyst, and opinion writer. Feedback on aliphytowo@gmail.com or on twitter @TowoAlfred

As the nation braces for the 2018 polls, Sanyati residents in the Midlands province said they are living in constant fear of state sponsored politically motivated violence. They fear being victimised for supporting the opposition in what is reminiscent of the 2008 reign of terror where hundreds of opposition supporters were murdered. The ugly beast is again in season as Zanu-PF has allegedly already unleashed its weapon of choice, as evidenced by the setting up of terror bases by the Zanu-PF militias who are already toyi-toying wielding dangerous weapons in the area.Visibly panicking villagers gave horrifying tales of how they are already being cowed into submission by the Zanu-PF terror squads and added that these threats evoke the 2008 memories. One after the other, they narrated the trauma they have gone through since the 2002 election and the succeeding elections. One villager who chose to remain anonymous for fear of further victimisation had this to say, "Tiri kugara tichityisidzirwa kunzi tichakuitayi zvatakaita 2008." She further went on to narrate her 2008 ordeal of how she lost all her property to Zanu-PF arsonists in 2008. "Ndakapisirwa musha ndaenda kugraduation yemwana kuGweru ndikazoita zvekufonerwa nacouncillor kuti musha wakapiswa." Apparently the councillor was Zanu-PF.She further went on to bemoan the partisan food distribution saying "We are being denied inputs because of our known affiliation to MDC-T. I am a political activist for the opposition and my name has been removed from the food distribution list. Without an iota of shame, our village head openly told us to go and get inputs from 'Tsvangirai baba venyu' inferring that the current distribution was from their political father President Mugabe.Tinoda kuti zvinhu zvakaita sechikafu, mbeu nefertiliser zvinobva kuhurumende zvisvike zvisina mutupo kana zita reparty." She said as women, they are always the victims and are also the most affected by political violence or other human rights violations. "As women we bear the brunt of these violations, because of joblessness and the economic meltdown we face and endure the wrath of these violations." She lamented.Another victim of this Zanu-PF tyranny from ARDA ward 18 intimated that the neighbourhood watch committee members (vana ndinindamubata) and youth officers drawn from the famed Boarder Gezi national youth service recently underwent training by the "maguta" soldiers to weed out the opposition in the area in preparation for the forthcoming 2018 election. He further went on to say that "We don't know the duties and responsibility of these youth officers in our community save that they terrorise us. We are living in fear because 'takamborohwa, kupisirwa misha uye vamwe vakauraiwa asi takashaya protection zvikangorova zvakadero saka tave kutya kuti tinodzokororwa futi." She referred to Samson Abedinico Matore who was brutally murdered in 2002 at Neuso Growthpoint in Sanyati. He pointed out that well known notorious Zanu-PF assailants "Tsanga, Chucknorris, Pembedza, Zebra Kubvoruno and Dyodyo" in 2008 terrorised villagers but up to this day they are still moving scot free. They are back to their wanton ways of intimidating villagers because they are the law unto themselves. Our pleas are not being heard because the law enforcement agents in Zimbabwe have chosen to act unconstitutionally and side with Zanu-PF hooligans and this has allowed Zanu-PF activists to operate above the law and commit a series of atrocities.Several other victims interviewed bemoaned the invisibility of international observers on the ground in remote areas such as Sanyati during election time. One victim had this to say "Tinoda maInternational observers vauye vaone zvinoitika kuno kumaruwa vagonosvitsawo mberi zvavanenge vaona." He said the 'sabhuku nevanhu vake' tactic was being used to criminally frog-march subjects to Zanu-PF meetings, and ultimately to the polls so as to absolutely make sure that they vote for Zanu-PF. He said it is a deliberate tactic by the Zanu-PF government to ignore the poor state of rural roads in remote parts of the country so that international observers would not access these places where the party perceives to garner much of its grassroots support and coerces voters to vote against their will.One war veteran and village head, bemoaned the disbanding of JOMIC and gave a nostalgic tale of how he used to support Zanu-PF since the war of liberation but has now since jumped ship to join the opposition MDC-T because the regime has long since abandoned the ideals of the war of liberation that brought independence. He intimated that he held several Zanu-PF party posts and had worked as a civil servant for forty (40) years but said 'ndakatorerwa plot ndichinzi uri munhu weMDC, uri mutengesi.' We operate under very strict orders and we are forced to commandeer people to Zanu-PF meetings but as a headman I feel and I know it is wrong.These threats alone really show that "leopards do not change their spots." This leaves the electorate with a lot of questions and extremely worried because Zanu-pf is sending a clear message that they do not want the 2018 election to be free and fair. Zanu-PF uses security forces, traditional leaders and party youths to violate civic human rights. Violence has been woven through the intricate fabric of Zimbabwe's political history. Cases of political violence in Zimbabwe have largely been as a result of the resolve by the regime to ensure President Robert Mugabe stays in office at all costs. History is clear how President Robert Mugabe has thrived on unleashing war and terror on his opponents and innocent unarmed civilians as evidenced by the Gukurahundi atrocities that massacred 20 000 lives and the 2008 political violence that resulted in the deaths of 200 opposition activists. It is indeed a shame that Zimbabwe for long has suffered from state sponsored violence at its sadistic height towards every election and as 2018 approaches. The ugly beast is again already in season.
Guinee Industries Ciments selects KHDs COMFLEX technology

27 March 2017

Guinee Industries Ciments (GIC) awarded KHD Humboldt Wedag a new contract to upgrade its cement grinding plant located in the capital city Conakry, Guinea. GIC will integrate a COMFLEX system into their existing ball mills. The system will mark the third COMFLEX system with roller press technology in West Africa.



With the latest COMFLEX system, GIC will increase the capacity of its cement grinding line by more than 100 per cent and save over 20 per cent in operational energy costs per tonne, KHD said in a statement.



KHDs scope includes the engineering and delivery of mechanical and electrical equipment, as well as the supervision of erection and commissioning for the new COMFLEX SC16-3500. The core equipment includes:

 roller press RPS 16-170/180 with ROLCOX system for control and monitoring

 cascade separator, type VS 620 as a static classifier

 high efficiency separator SEPMASTER, type SKS-VC 3500 as a dynamic classifier

 system fan HKSK 212-275.



The commissioning of the new COMFLEX system is planned for the end of 2017.

Published under
Philippine cement makers require permit less

ICR Newsroom By 27 March 2017

The Philippine Mines and Geoscienes Bureau (MGB) has removed the need for cement producers and holders of quarry and industrial sand and gravel permits to secure a mineral processing permit (MPP) with immediate effect.



The bureau defined "mineral processing" as covering milling, beneficiation, leaching, smelting, cyanidation, calcination or upgrading of ores, minerals, rocks, mill tailings, mine waste and/or other metallurgical by-products or by similar means to convert the same into marketable products.



It said the permit is a duplication of requirements and should be removed in line with the Presidents earlier pronouncement to lessen red tape and redundant requirement, President Rodrigo R Duterte's standing order for all regulators and providers of front-line public services. Moreover, the MGB said that cement production is classified under manufacturing and as a result, does not need an MPP.



The MPPs currently held by cement producers will remain valid until expire but will no longer require renewal. However, such companies will have to submit a new work programme at least 30 days before the MPP expiry date.

Published under
Iraqi forces liberate Badush works

27 March 2017

The Iraqi Ministry of Defenses War Media Cell announced on Sunday that security forces have managed to liberate the Badush cement plant in western Mosul, according to Iraqi News.



The news service reported that Commander of Operations, Lieutenant General Abdel Amir Yarallah, said in a press statement that troops of the armys ninth armoured brigade fully liberated the plant. Security forces also raised the Iraqi flag over the building of the plant, the report added.



Earlier this month Counter-Terrorism Service Officer, Major Ali Mohsin, said the Islamic State group set the Badush Cement factory ablaze after looting its contents.

Published under
News / Press Release

by MISA-Zimbabwe

MISA-Zimbabwe's position on attacks against The Herald by ZANU PF political commissar

MISA-Zimbabwe notes with very grave concern the recent attack and threats against the state owned newspaper, The Herald, by Zanu PF political commissar and Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Saviour Kasukuwere.The threats, made on 24 March 2017 on the sidelines of an agriculture field day held in Mount Darwin in Mashonaland Central Province, pose serious risk to the safety and security of journalists.In a video clip that has gone viral on social media, Minister Kasukuwere is seen charging at and using abusive language against a reporter from The Herald as he accuses the newspaper of pursuing a factional agenda. He goes further in the same foul language, to attack the editor of the publication.While the media is not immune to criticism, MISAZimbabwe would like to categorically put it on record that the language which Minister Kasukuwere used is unbefitting of a public official. Furthermore, his abusive statements, particularly against the journalists working for The Herald, exceeds the acceptable measure of fair criticism and can be interpreted as bordering on threats against the lawful duties of the media.While there might be grounds to question the ethical and professional conduct of The Herald of late, this does not give politicians the right to threaten the media. Zimbabwe has professional avenues that can be used to register displeasure on the conduct of the media as a means of upholding, promoting and enforcing good practice and ethics in the Zimbabwean media.MISA-Zimbabwe urges politicians and other public officials to exercise emotional restraint when they are addressing or interacting with the public mindful of the fact that journalists have the constitutional right to cover events as they unfold without hindrance.Journalist, like any other citizen, have constitutional rights to personal security. Public officials, on the other hand, are mandated with ensuring the safety of journalists and upholding the provisions and values of the constitution, the rule of law and fundamental human rights and freedoms. In this context, Sections 61 and 62 of the Constitution which provide for freedom of expression, media freedom and the rights to access to information also apply. The media should thus be protected in its quest to ensure a well-informed citizenry.This, however, does not give the media absolute freedom to publish untruths. Journalists should rigorously subject information gathered to ethical fact-checks and balances as required by their profession. The media should also take necessary steps to retract any untruths within a fair and reasonable time whenever they err.MISA-Zimbabwe therefore urges the Zanu PF political commissar or any other person for that matter who feels aggrieved by the media, to approach the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe for redress, without resorting to inciting violence and hatred against the media.
Opinion / Columnist

Aid festers corruption, laziness and makes our governments unaccountable



Aid has failed to foster Economic growth

There are important lessons to learn from China

Building strong institutions

Re-aligning our development strategies towards agriculture



Experimentation and learning by doing

We must gradually wean ourselves off aid

With more than 40 million African citizens facing food insecurity and some outright starvation, Donald Trump's proposal to cut the American aid budget by 38% couldn't have come at a worse time. It is unfortunate that as Africans we find ourselves thrust in this precarious position, sitting and passing judgement on America over its own budget plans.When instead we are supposed to focus our attention on our governments that subcontract their responsibilities to foreign governments, leaving African citizens to rely on western benevolence. Such an approach is unsustainable and very irresponsible, more so now when the anti-aid sentiments are on the rise in many western capitals.If ever we are going to be able to respond to future human and natural disasters on our own, we need to revisit the aid-development debate, which once gained international prominence in 2009 when Dr. Dambisa Moyo published her book Dead Aid.In her book, she asserts that aid festers corruption, makes our governments lazy and less accountable to their citizenry. Rimmer and Hope in their journal article titled Aid and Corruption notes that there is widespread systematic corruption in Africa when it comes to aid. Even more worrying they note that western governments have at times used aid as a tool for patronage, festering corruption in order to further their foreign policy objectives. Mobuto's Zaire provides a classic example in that regard.Robert Mugabe, the 'expatriate' president as he is commonly known in some circles illustrates how African governments can be very lazy and irresponsible. In 2016, Mugabe spent over US$50 million in travelling expenses at a time when Zimbabwe's government hospitals did not have medicines and had to rely on foreign donations for their basic medical supplies. Just a month ago, Zanu PF spent close to a million US$ on a lavish party, celebrating Mugabe's 93rd birthday whilst over a million Zimbabweans facing starvation were being fed by the international community.This irresponsibility is not unique to Zimbabwe alone but to many places were donors play a major role in the economy. According to a 2010 article on the Economist, Kenyan Members of Parliament were the highest paid in the world in relation to their country's gross domestic product. Yet in the very same year Kenya received over US$ 400 million in foreign aid.Consistent with earlier findings by other economists Burnside and Dollar found that aid had little impact on economic growth. Thus, reaffirming the doubts over the ability of using aid to fight poverty. Some economists even argue further that aid can create a dependency in the recipient countries which is detrimental to their long term economic development as it induces them to create structures and institutions that are more sensitive to aid than to their long-term goals.How then can we disagree with Dr. Dambisa Moyo when she says that aid is doing no good in Africa? If we disagree how then do we explain the paradox that Africa has received over a trillion dollars in foreign aid since 1960 and yet poverty has substantially increased from 280 million in 1990 to 330 million in 2012 (World Bank, 2016)?Least I be misunderstood, let me categorically state here and now that I am not against humanitarian aid but against foreign aid or development aid. My conscience could never allow me to sit here arguing against humanitarian aid. For I know too well that humanitarian aid will be the difference between life and death for those facing starvation and food insecurity.Chinese wisdom tells us that when you give man a fish you feed him for a day, but when you teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. It's time to look up to China for inspiration, for they have managed to debunk the aid-development model which we have adopted and used with little success. They have managed to move hundreds of millions out of poverty in the past four decades and yet they receive very little foreign aid.China's success story has confounded many, politicians and academics alike. Instead of just praising China to spite the west, our African academics and policy makers must conduct an in-depth study and provide us with adaptable lessons that we can use to grow our economy. In my narrow, rushed and limited research, these are the lessons I found most interesting and I believe they can help spur our economic growth.Quantitative studies done on the Chinese economy (Lin, 1992; Fan, Zhang, Zhang, 2004) inform us that institutional reform contributed immensely to the Chinese economic growth. As former president Barak Obama once remarked, Africa does not need strong men, it needs strong institutions.Even though China currently lacks multi-party democracy, it has strong institutions which have provided stability and an impetus for their economic growth. We too need strong institutions, institutions that do not bend to the whims of an individual but more importantly institutions that provide stability and in turn an environment conducive for business.As part of the Chinese reform agenda, they realigned their development strategies towards cheap labour where they enjoyed a massive comparative advantage. Initially towards agriculture, and then increasingly towards export-oriented rural industries.We too must realign our development strategies around agriculture where we have a comparative advantage. Food demand is expected to increase substantially by the middle of this century if the world's population forecasts are anything to go by. Having an abundance of arable land and a favourable climate, at least most of the times presents us with a unique opportunity to play an important role in meeting that challenge. Even if we fail to feed the world, we should be able to least feed ourselves without fail.During Mao Zedong's era, drastic policy measures such as the agricultural and the cultural revolutions resulted in starvation and the death of millions. As a result, the Chinese under Deng Xiaoping learned pragmatism, adopting evidence-based policies, where they experimented with small scale policy reforms and scaled them up if they were successful or times with slight modifications. As with any reform agenda, there are potentially many routes that we can take to spur our continent towards development but we too must learn by experimentation.In as much as I agree with Dr. Dambisa Moyo that foreign has done our continent little good, I personally think that a complete closure of the foreign aid tapes would be too drastic a measure. Many African countries are dependent on aid, without which they will not be able to finance their recurrent expenditure.I therefore suggest that we must gradually begin the weaning process. Instead of focusing on foreign aid we must concentrate on finding policies that spur economic growth and improve inter-Africa trade. Policies that create a conducive environment for business and entrepreneurs to thrive.For how long shall our people rely on western benevolence for their survival?
I am a Cat Woman. My self-appointed mission in life is to save the feline world! To accomplish this mission, I get cats fixed. Perhaps my mission might be slightly delusional. This blog is a mishmash of wishful thinking, rants, experiences as I remember them and of course, cat stories and cat photos. I have a nonprofit now, to help keep the cats here cared for and to fix community cats. Happy Cat Club formed in 2015. Currently, we are on a mission to fix 10,000 cats.
March 23, 2017

Drivers were racing solar-powered cars this week in Egypt's resort town of Hurghada, opening new horizons for future engineers in the country and enhancing their interest in science, technology and the use of renewable energy sources.

The United Solar Challenge (USC)  held March 19-22 for the first time in Egypt and for the second time in the Middle East  saw 12 teams from all across the world experience the ultimate challenge of an exciting experience using the sun as the only fuel.

The solar cars  with panels that absorb only sunlight to power their engines  crossed the streets of Hurghada's Soma Bay, giving the city a new taste of environmental sustainability.

Organizers and contestants said they aspired to convey the message that environmentally friendly technology is the future of a green planet. Organizers included the International Solarcar Foundation, the Global Education Energy Environment (EEE), and some nonprofit organizations supporting renewable energy projects like the Sharaf Foundation for Sustainable Development and Hadath for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Teams from Egypt, Japan, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Italy, Germany, France, India, Morocco, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates participated in the competition.

The USC is a cross-country solar car competition held every two years in the Middle East and North Africa. The first USC was held in the United Arab Emirates in January 2015, and the first-place winner was the University of Michigan Solar Car Team in partnership with Abu Dhabi University.

The USC coincided this year with the 2017 Global Hybrid-Electric Challenge in Egypt. Prequalifying was held March 14-16 through a number of static and dynamic scrutineering and qualifying sessions, with the cars competing head-to-head for pole position on the final day of qualifications.

"Continuing to rely on oil and gas to operate various means of transportation is environmentally unsustainable," said Essam Sharaf, the head of the Sharaf Foundation for Sustainable Development, one of the organizers and a nonprofit organization aiming to support renewable energy projects in Egypt.

"It is necessary to start depending on innovative solutions and begin utilizing renewable energy in the transport system," he noted.

Sharaf also said that solar car racing can be a step in the way of replacing oil and gas with new and renewable energy in Egypt's transportation system.

He added that the event was a "good opportunity" for participating Egyptian teams to exchange expertise on manufacturing solar-powered cars with other teams from other countries around the world.

Ahmed Nasr, a student at the Zuweil City of Science and Technology  which took part in the competition  said that he and his team learned from the Japanese team participating in the event how to manufacture, repair and operate solar cars.

"The event was a very fruitful experience for us, because getting acquainted with international models in manufacturing solar-powered cars helps us in our project [currently underway]," Nasr told Al-Monitor.

Nasr said that he and his team are working on building a solar-powered car and expect to finish the project by June. The Egyptian team is due to take part in this year's World Solar Challenge to be held in Australia in October.

The 21-year-old student said the idea of replacing oil and gas in transportation with renewable energy sources can be turned into reality in Egypt because the country has one of the main factors: the sun.

"The government just needs to study the idea very well before putting it into effect," he added.

The organization of the competition in Cairo came under fire from observers as the race was postponed for two days. The competition was scheduled to take place on March 17-21. Cars were supposed to start and finish at the beautiful Soma Bay Red Sea resort on the first four days and end in Cairo on the fifth and final day. On their finish in Cairo, the cars were also supposed to parade in finishing order to the ancient Pyramids at the Giza Plateau. But the organizers failed to provide necessary papers and required documents for Egyptian authorities.

Despite poor organization, Sharaf said that just holding such a competition in Egypt delivers a message that the country is interested in switching to renewable energy.

He said that events like this can attract foreign investments to the country, especially in the field of renewable energy.

Egypts appetite for new energy appeared during a 2015 major economic conference held in Sharm el-Sheikh. During the conference, Egypt offered local and foreign investors dozens of renewable energy projects that it plans to carry out in the coming years.

The government also announced its plans to cut reliance on natural gas and fuel oil from 90% to 62% by 2020.

The country has also launched a feed-in tariff scheme to reward the generation of solar power. According to the scheme, large-scale projects with a capacity of between 500 kilowatts and 20 megawatts are eligible for a tariff of $0.13 for each kilowatt-hour, while those with a capacity of between 20 megawatts and 50 megawatts get $0.14 per kilowatt-hour.

The initial call attracted bids for more than double the capacity sought, suggesting wide interest from the private sector. The government's moves have also gained approval from international observers.
Transition metal oxides (TMO) are extensively studied, technologically important materials, due to their complex electronic interactions, resulting in a large variety of collective phenomena. Memory effects in TMO's have garnered a huge amount of interest, being both of fundamental scientific interest and technological significance.

Dr. Amos Sharoni of Bar-Ilan University's Department of Physics, and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA), has now uncovered a new kind of memory effect, unrelated to memory effects previously reported.

Dr. Sharoni, together with his student Naor Vardi, and supported by theoretical modelling by Yonatan Dubi of Ben-Gurion University in the Negev, utilized a simple experimental design to study changes in the properties of two TMOs, VO 2 and NdNiO 3 , which undergo a metal-insulator phase-transition. Their results not only demonstrate a new phenomenon but, importantly, also provide an explanation of its origin.

Ramp reversal memory

Metal-insulator transitions are transitions from a metal (material with good electrical conductivity of electric charges) to an insulator (material where conductivity of charges is quickly suppressed). These transitions can be achieved by a small variation of external parameters such as pressure or temperature.

In Sharoni's experiment, when heated the studied TMOs transit from one state to another, and their properties undergo a change, beginning in a small area where "islands" develop and then grow, and vice-versa during cooling, similar to the coexistence of ice and water during melting. Sharoni cooled his samples while transition was in process, and then examined what happened when they were reheated. He found that when the reheated metal-oxide reached the temperature point at which re-cooling had occurred, that is, in the phase coexistence state - an increase in resistance was measured. And this increase in resistance was observed at each different point at which cooling was initiated. This previously unknown and surprising phenomenon demonstrates the creation of a "memory".

Sharoni explains: "When the temperature ramp is reversed, and the sample is cooled rather than heated, the direction change creates a "scar" wherever there is a phase-boundary between the conducting and insulating islands. The ramp reversal sequence "encrypts" in the TMO a "memory" of the reversal temperature, which is manifested as increased resistance". Moreover, it is possible to create and store more than one "memory" in the same physical space.

Sharoni likens the creation of a "scar" to the motion of waves on the seashore. A wave rushes up the beach and as it recedes it leaves a small sandy mound at the furthest point that it reached. When the wave returns it slows and brakes as it reaches the mound obstacle in its path. However, if a strong wave follows, it rushes over the mound and destroys it. Similarly, Sharoni found that further heating the TMO enables it to complete transition and to cross the scarred boundaries, "healing" the scars and immediately erasing the memory. In contrast cooling does not erase them.

Technology and Security

The results of Sharoni's work will have important impact on additional research, both experimental and theoretical, and the simplicity of the experimental design will enable other groups studying relevant systems to perform similar measurements with ease.

The multi-state nature of the memory effect, whereby more than one piece of information can coexist in the same space, could be harnessed for memory technology. And while deleted computer data is not secure and can be recovered, at least partially, by talented hackers, the "erase-upon-reading" property of this system could make an invaluable contribution to security technologies.
As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles.

Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services.

These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience  the local community.

It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times.

Close
Carissa Phillips, right, holds a firearm in the gun library room during the opening of a new Cabela's store on March 9, 2017 in Gainesville, Virginia. (Matt McClain / The Washington Post)

GAINESVILLE, Va.  The camouflage ribbon was in place. Fifteen yards away and 21 feet off the ground, archer Jeff Ware pumped his fist into the air, cocked his bow and released. The arrow pierced the ribbon in one go, and the crowd went wild.

"Y'all ready to go shopping?" Ware shouted. "Whoo!"

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And with that, the doors of the region's first Cabela's  the chain of hunting, fishing and camping gear stores  swung open and 2,000 people streamed in, clapping and cheering.

This opening, many shoppers said, was proof that Donald Trump's America is thriving, even near the nation's capital. The megastore  about 35 miles up the road from the White House is the company's 86th location and its closest to Washington. Among its offerings: an indoor archery range, a gun library with antiques that cost as much as $6,500, and a display of special firearms donated by the National Rifle Association. Opening weekend festivities included an all-ages BB gun shooting range in the parking lot.

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Employees are seen through a window before the opening of the new Cabela's store on March 9, 2017 in Gainesville, Virginia. (Matt McClain / The Washington Post)

In short, shoppers heralded the new store as a victory for Virginia gun owners. Many said they feel underrepresented in a state that would have put Hillary Clinton in office (she skimmed past Donald Trump here with 50 percent of the vote). Meanwhile, back in Sidney, Neb., where Cabela's is headquartered, 79 percent of residents had voted for Trump.

"It's a constant battle, keeping our gun rights," said William Fisher, 71, of Haymarket, Va., who got his first gun at age 16. "The fact that Cabela's is here now, and that they carry firearms, is another step in the right direction."

Among the first in the door was Dustin Heinssen from Culpeper, Va., who had been waiting outside for 13 hours in a sleeping bag. He held his 6-month-old daughter, McKenzie, who had joined him in the morning wearing a pink camouflage cap that said, "I hunt for hugs."

"Cabela's is awesome," he said. "I was hoping to possibly get some more guns."

It's a constant battle, keeping our gun rights. The fact that Cabela's is here now, and that they carry firearms, is another step in the right direction.  William Fisher, 71

In a region full of them, Cabela's stands as its own monument to gun rights. Among the first things customers see when they walk in is the Second Amendment, etched floor-to-ceiling in stone at the store's entrance: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

There are other patriotic displays throughout the 79,999-square-foot space, too: A Bill of Rights mural at the front of the store flanked by buffalo and bald eagle mounts, and an homage to President Teddy Roosevelt in the gun library.

"We wanted to do a patriotic theme for this store, since this is the nation's capital," said Nathan Borowski, a spokesman for the company. "There's a lot of outdoor heritage here  and seeing how the NRA's headquarters are just down the street, it just made a lot of sense."

Jeff Ware reacts after using a bow and arrow to cut the ribbon for the opening of a new Cabela's store on March 9, 2017 in Gainesville, Virginia. (Matt McClain / The Washington Post)

The U.S. Constitution matters a lot to shoppers like Guy Arndt, 63. He had driven more than two hours from Augusta, W.Va., to see the store.

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Arndt was buying two chairs, rifle primers and a dog collar for his German coonhound mix.

No guns today, though. "You name it and I already have it," he said. But he couldn't remember how many.

"Hey, Bradley," he shouted to his son, "how many guns do we have altogether?"

Bradley shrugged. "60?"

Like many others here, Arndt says he is breathing a sigh of relief after President Trump's victory. For weeks before the election, he had worried that Clinton would win the presidency and threaten his gun rights. To prepare, he bought a rifle and stocked up on ammunition.

"I really don't know what would've happened had she gotten in there and done what she said she was going to do to," Arndt said. "It would've killed the Second Amendment."

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Clinton had called for closing loopholes that allow people to buy guns online or at gun shows without undergoing criminal background checks. She also vowed to "keep military-style weapons off our streets." (It's quite complicated to kill a constitutional amendment, requiring action by both houses of Congress and state lawmakers.)

People wait in line during the opening of a new Cabela's store on March 9, 2017 in Gainesville, Virginia. (Matt McClain / The Washington Post)

It is well-documented that gun sales ebb and flow depending on who is in the White House. A Democratic president  or the expectation of one  can send gun sales soaring to record highs. A Republican president generally has the opposite effect, and Trump is no exception.

In the two months since Trump took office, gun-sale background checks have fallen 18 percent compared with a year earlier, according to FBI data.

Gunmakers' stocks also have tumbled: Share prices of American Outdoor Brands, formerly Smith & Wesson Holding, have fallen as much as 34 percent since election night. Sturm, Ruger & Co.'s stock, meanwhile, is down about 20 percent.

"You've never had a better administration for the gun industry than Obama," Bob Evans, an analyst for Pennington Capital said on a recent call with Sturm, Ruger executives. "And now, never a worse one for the gun industry than Trump."

Fisher, the 71-year-old from Haymarket, doesn't see it that way. Right after the election, he went out and bought another handgun. (He declined to say how many he owns but said he also has two hunting rifles and a shotgun.) He takes the 9 mm with him most everywhere he goes.

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You've never had a better administration for the gun industry than Obama. And now, never a worse one for the gun industry than Trump.  Bob Evans, an analyst for Pennington Capital

He worries. People seem on edge these days. It's more important than ever, he said, to be armed.

"I hate to say this, but I won't be surprised if we start to see some major attacks in this country," Fisher said. "I've never seen people as divided as they are now."

The retired machine maintenance worker says he's glad Trump is in the White House  he donated $200 to his campaign, and most days he wears a camouflage "Make America Great Again" cap.

Trump, he said, is the first president who talks like he does and seems to understand the issues important to him, like clamping down on illegal immigration and loosening gun laws. His biggest hope, Fisher said, is that Trump will deliver on his promise to make concealed-carry permits valid in all 50 states. Right now, Fisher said, it is difficult to take road trips across the country with his gun in tow.

"If I want to drive up to Niagara Falls, I've got to check every state to make sure I'm compliant," he said. "It's a big hassle, and completely unnecessary."

Rob Freyer, left, instructs Connor Duffus on using a bow and arrow in the archery range during the opening of a new Cabela's store on March 9, 2017 in Gainesville, Virginia. Freyer works for a company that helps represent Bear Archery. (Matt McClain / The Washington Post)

Cabela's executives said they homed in on Gainesville because they knew the demand was there. Thousands of locals were already customers of the company's website and catalogues, and many others had visited its other stores. And it didn't hurt that Virginia has more than 2 million acres of public hunting land. This is the third Cabela's in the state to open in as many years. The others are in Bristol and Short Pump.

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"We knew we had a lot of customers here," said Borowski, the spokesman. "This crowd  5,000 people in two hours  definitely shows we made the right choice."

The first customers had arrived, he said, by Tuesday at 4 p.m. Now it was Thursday morning at 10, and the crowd had swelled to thousands. The night before, more than 200 people had slept outside, scattering tents, cots and sleeping bags along the perimeter of the store, waiting for it to open.

"It's almost like they were tailgating," Borowski said. "They love this store."

Chris S., who is 41 and declined to give his last name, had driven nearly five hours from Lebanon, N.J., to be at the opening. He wore a red "Make America Great Again" cap and was looking to add an air rifle to his collection of a dozen pistols.

Jeff Ware, left, stands for the singing of the "Star Spangled Banner" before he used a bow and arrow to cut the ribbon for the opening of a new Cabela's store on March 9, 2017 in Gainesville, Virginia. (Matt McClain / The Washington Post)

"This is like Toys R Us for me," he said, standing under an antler chandelier in the store's gun library. "Since I'm here, maybe I'll buy some ammo and scopes, some other gear too."

Over by the store's archery range, Michael Thompson, 22, and two friends were eyeing a display of crossbows. Between the three of them, they had 14 guns and were considering buying more.

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"Coming here when you're a gun enthusiast is kind of like going to a grocery store while you're hungry," said Thompson, from Bristow, Va. "You just want to buy everything."

Since its founding in 1961 as a mail-order fishing bait service, Cabela's has built a loyal following at its 86 stores, which have become a one-stop shop for all types of outdoors gear. Last year, the company had sales of $3.56 billion, a 73 percent increase from a decade earlier.

In October, rival Bass Pro Shops announced plans to take over the company for about $5.5 billion. Antitrust regulators have since raised concerns about the merger. The deal has yet to be finalized.

But business at Cabela's has slipped in recent years because of competition from smaller outfitters and online retailers. In the first half of 2016, the number of purchases at the company's stores fell by more than 8 percent. New megastores like the one in Gainesville are part of Cabela's plans to attract large swaths of customers from new parts of the country.

A couple of hours in, it seemed to be working. More than 5,000 people had been through the store's front doors. Another hundred or so waited outside.

"This is unreal, just unreal," said Gary Lawrence, 70, who has about 25 guns. "The lines were so long we could see them from the interstate."

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By the time Jennifer McClure made it to the checkout counter, she had been at Cabela's for nearly four hours. She and her 2-year-old daughter had arrived at 7:50 a.m. "My husband got called into work; otherwise, he'd have been there too," she said.

A few yards away, a man pushed a boy in a shopping cart through a display of 3-D shooting targets.

"Deer, deer, duckie, gobble gobble," said the child, wearing a camouflage pullover. "Deer, deer, deer. So many deer."

Back in the gun library, 25-year-old Carissa Phillips picked up a rifle. Her Smith & Wesson pistol was tucked into her denim skirt. Her 12-gauge shotgun was at home.

"This is one of my favorite guns," she said, moving her fingers down the barrel of the lever-action 30-30. "It's got that Old Western-y feel that I love."

The rifle  which costs between $500 and $700  is the next big purchase on her list. Sometimes, she said, she borrows her friend's to hunt deer in her family's back yard in Warrenton, Va. But really, she'd like to buy her own.

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Today, though, is not the day. She leaves Cabela's with just one item: a coffee mug printed with the Bill of Rights, for $6.99.

"But I'll definitely be back," she said. "I'm going to buy that rifle."
Wow Air will offer flights starting at $99 from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to Iceland starting July 13, marking the Icelandic carrier's entry into the Midwest market.

For $149 travelers can fly to Iceland and continue on to one of Wow's other European markets, which include London, Paris and Berlin.

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The leg of the return flight is more expensive.

The cheapest round-trip flights are $269 from Chicago to Iceland and $339 from Chicago to Paris, including a connection at the airline's Icelandic hub in Reykjavik, a spokeswoman said.

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The least expensive flights allow passengers to take one personal item on the plane. One carry-on bag costs extra. On flights longer than four hours, for example, the fee for a carry-on bag starts at $40. There are additional fees for checking luggage or reserving an assigned seat.

Tickets went on sale Monday.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 14 Waterfalls come in all sizes in Iceland. (Phil Marty, For Tribune Newspapers)

Service from O'Hare to Keflavik International Airport will be available Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The flights will use Airbus A321 aircraft.

Other U.S. operations of Wow Air, which was founded in 2011 and has a purplish-pink fleet, are in Miami, Pittsburgh, New York, Washington, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Chicago Tribune's Lauren Zumbach contributed.

byerak@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @beckyyerak
The 2017 Chevy Colorado midsize pickup short box with four-wheel drive in WT trim is pictured March 14, 2017, in spring storms on East Wacker Drive in Chicago. (Robert Duffer / Chicago Tribune)

My friend wanted a pickup truck. He travels during the week for his white-collar job, and on weekends helps out with house projects in the neighborhood.

A married father of three, he'd take out the seats to load up the minivan with tools, materials and sawhorses. A married father of three, he couldn't convince the more pragmatic part of the family that a pickup truck made the most sense.

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He ended up getting a Honda Pilot.

He still wants a truck.

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Most guys do. So do most kids.

The return of the midsize pickup segment, led by the 2015 return of the GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado, followed by the Pilot-based Honda Ridgeline, are making a lot of consumers consider swapping that crossover for a pickup.

With modern pickups offering all the creature comforts and technological sophistication of their car-based counterparts, the line of family utility has become blurred. A week with the 2017 Chevy Colorado shows as many arguments could be made for it as against it.

Impractical

For a family of five, like my friend's, you'd need a second vehicle with a third row. There's no wedging three kids in the rear seats like on family road trips of years gone by. Even with my family of three, I'd want a second vehicle. On a typical errand-driven weekend, we had to move the sport bags and the groceries from the bed to the rear seat to run another errand. That inconvenience is easily resolved with a locking bed cover, but the crossover is more practical for most family weekends. For people without kids, those flip-up rear seats do just fine to securely store everything.

Yet pickups are social creatures, good for tailgating, monkeying around in the bed, and helping people out. There's nothing better for the weekend handyman/lifetime family man than a midsize pickup.

Illogical

Pickup trucks are more fun to drive, not in the sense of hitting the corner with a hot hatch, more in the sense of hunting for the next snow bank. There's a can-do attitude in a pickup that makes crossovers seem delicate by comparison. Taking that $45,000 Pilot or Ford Explorer off-road down a well-trodden and rutted path can be done, but not nearly with the same conquering verve. A crossover can take a path, a pickup can take the woods.

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How often would you be doing such things? More often than if you were in a crossover.

Pickups are more fun to push around town too. Aside from dedicated performance crossovers, a subsegment that has proliferated in the last few years, a pickup has more pick up.

The new V-6 engine paired to the eight-speed in the Colorado is plenty peppy, and the responsiveness fits with the feel of a truck. It makes a bit more horsepower (308 over 305), but also has cylinder deactivation to shut down unnecessary cylinders at cruising speed to reserve fuel. We averaged just under 20 mpg at just under 39 mph, comparable to the fuel economy of many midsize crossovers.

Convenience, simplified

Pickups have convenient and functional technology without the sophisticated  often times confusing  packaging that comes in most crossovers. Certainly, a shopper can trim up and get all the beeps, dings and shakes, but there's some comfort in low-level models like the WT trim on the Colorado, a vehicle that costs less than the average transaction price of new cars.

A midsize also can fit into most garages and parallel parking spots.

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There's a small touch screen, but the climate and radio functions still use buttons and dials. The radio could use a dial tuner instead of a tedious arrow button, but the inconvenience is overcome by setting presets. The only steering wheel control was for cruise control.

The vehicle information display is accessed from the indicator stalk, so aside from the weak touch screen, most everything can be controlled with calloused and/or gloved hands. The Colorado gives you what you need, plus some convenient standard equipment like Wi-Fi access, Apple Car Play, Android Auto and a rear seat reminder of the precious living cargo in the rear seats. Offered on more than 20 models, GM's rear seat reminder monitors rear door usage within 10 minutes of starting the car or any time the engine is in motion and, once shut off, alerts the driver with a message in the information display and a series of quick dings, not unlike cars that ding when the headlights are left on. It's a proactive step forward in helping harried drivers remember pets and babies in back.

It's another blurring of the line between crossover and midsize pickup, which, from the right side of the argument, can double as a family vehicle.

rduffer@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @DufferRobert

2017 Chevy Colorado 4WD WT short box at a glance

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Vehicle type: Midsize pickup

Base price: $30,820

As tested: $32,775

Mpg: 17 city, 24 highway

Engine: 3.6L V-6

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

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Parting shot: I want one, but I won't buy one
The Georgia General Assembly reconvened under the Gold Dome on Monday, March 20 for day 36 of the 2017 legislative session. Sine die is less than a week away, and the House had another busy week of reviewing legislation in committee hearings, voting on bills and resolutions on the House floor and giving final passage to several bills that will now be considered by Governor Deal. In these remaining days and weeks of the session, one might assume that our Capitol business is winding down, but on the contrary, we have especially ramped up our House efforts to perfect legislation before the 2017 session comes to an end.

Each legislative session, the General Assembly is constitutionally required to pass a balanced state budget, and this week both the House and Senate gave final approval to House Bill 44, the Fiscal Year 2018 state budget. The FY 2018 budget guides all state spending from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, and the final version of HB 44 resulted from the collaborative efforts of a conference committee made up of House and Senate members. HB 44 was set by a revenue estimate of $24.9 billion, a $1.25 billion increase from the original 2017 state budget, and addresses some of our states critical needs and moves our state forward for our citizens. HB 44 focuses on our states most vulnerable citizens and includes funding for many of the Houses top priorities, such as child welfare, military communities and services members and rural communities. For example, the FY 2018 budget allocates funds to support those who care for our states vulnerable children, including a per diem rate for foster parents, additional Division of Family and Children Services positions to provide foster parent support services, additional Court Appointed Special Advocates to advocate on behalf of our children and an hourly rate increase for Special Assistant Attorneys General who support child welfare cases. Additionally, HB 44 supports our military population by providing funds for additional school counselors in school systems with large military student populations, additional scholarships for Georgia National Guard members and additional veterans support positions. Furthermore, to assist with health care in Georgias rural communities, the 2018 budget expands the loan repayment programs for rural medical providers and creates four Federally Qualified Health Centers in rural counties. Other highlights of the final version of HB 44 include: $162 million for a 2 percent adjustment to the state teacher salary schedule to provide raises to more than 126,000 teachers in Georgia, as well as a 2 percent salary increase for bus drivers and school nutrition personnel; $1,000,000 for the implementation of HB 338 to improve the academic achievement of the lowest performing schools in the state to ensure those students have an opportunity for success; $1.5 million for the Public School Employees Retirement System; $38.9 million in lottery funds for the Georgia Student Finance Commission to increase the HOPE Scholarship award amount by 3 percent to meet demands; $4.1 million for Georgia Alzheimers Project to promote early detection and treatment; $358,996 for the Department of Veterans Service for four veteran benefits training officers and $137,650 for one coordinator position to work with female veterans; $55.5 million to annualize the 20 percent pay raise for state-level law enforcement officers and salary adjustment for criminal investigators and canine officers; $1.2 million to increase funds for cyber insurance premiums for the Department of Administrative services to purchase private market insurance; and $2.6 million to support forensic pathologists and scientists at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to hire new DNA scientists to address and test backlogged rape kits per SB 304 from the 2016 session. While there are many, many more budget items that reflect the diverse and wide-ranging needs of our states population, these are just a few of the highlights. HB 44 is a win for each one of Georgias 10 million plus citizens and is sure to have long term, positive impacts on our state. The FY 2018 budget now heads to Governor Deals desk for his final approval.

This week, the House overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 206, also known as the Hearing Aid Coverage for Children Act, a bipartisan measure that would provide hearing aids to children in Georgia. This bill would require that health insurance plans in Georgia cover the cost of hearing aids for children 18-years-old and under who have been diagnosed with hearing loss. Hearing aid coverage would be limited to $3,000 per hearing aid, and insurers would be required to repair or replace one hearing aid per hearing impaired ear every 48 months for those who are covered. Additionally, insurance plans would cover all medically necessary services and supplies, including the initial hearing aid evaluation and all follow up appointments. The bill clarifies that these requirements would not prohibit a health benefit plan from providing more generous coverage to an insured individual, nor can a health benefit policy deny coverage to an individual because he or she was previously diagnosed with hearing loss. Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent defects in children from birth to age three, and early intervention is critical for these children, as oftentimes hearing loss can result in speech and literacy deficiencies. Providing hearing aids to children suffering from hearing loss would not only reduce state costs associated with hearing loss, as the state currently covers the cost of special education, alternative treatments and other necessities for children with hearing loss, but would more importantly provide deserving children in Georgia with hearing aids and allow children with hearing loss to lead an unaffected life.



HR 462 was adopted unanimously and further confirms the Houses commitment to strengthening Georgias military installations and supporting our troops, their families and our veterans. HR 462 reiterates the Houses sincere desire that the State of Georgia remains integral to our national defense. Georgia has the fifth largest military population in the country, and with an annual impact of $20 billion, our military is one of our states biggest economic drivers. The Department of Defense directly employs almost 150,000 Georgians and is indirectly responsible for an estimated 330,000 additional jobs in the state. Furthermore, our state is home to approximately 750,000 veterans, making Georgia state the eighth largest state in terms of veteran population in the nation.

Over the past several years, we have seen significant advances in the technology behind self-driving vehicles, and many states have passed legislation allowing these futuristic cars to operate on state roadways. This week, the House passed similar legislation in Senate Bill 219 that would amend Georgias motor vehicle laws and allow fully autonomous vehicles to operate on Georgias roadways. SB 219 would let Georgians operate fully autonomous vehicles without the presence of a human driver. In order to operate, the vehicles would be required to have an engaged automated driving system that would obey all traffic laws and would have to be certified by the manufacture that the vehicle complies with federal motor vehicle safety standards, covered by motor vehicle liability coverage and registered as a fully autonomous vehicle. Without a doubt, autonomous vehicles could have great impacts on our state by increasing mobility, reducing congestion, improving land use and positioning Georgia for future growth. As this technology quickly develops and changes, our laws and regulations must also evolve, and the passage of this legislation is an exciting and innovative step that will bring this new technology to Georgia.

Throughout his time in office, Governor Deal has made it his mission to transform Georgias criminal justice system, giving offenders a second chance, saving taxpayers money and enhancing public safety in Georgia. This would ensure continuity across accountability courts in the state, which have proved to be viable alternatives to adult incarceration for criminal offenders. SB 174 would also allow the Board of Community Supervision to offer educational, skills-based programs for probationers to encourage employment and successful reentry into society. Additionally, SB 174 would give judges the ability to require fines, fees or restitution payments as a probation condition with the option to waive the payment if the court finds a significant hardship. SB 175 would allow juvenile court judges to issue parental compliance orders in cases involving a delinquent child in order to promote the childs rehabilitation and welfare and encourage parental involvement. Finally, SB 176 would offer a lower cost alternative to arrest and incarceration when an individual fails to appear in court for a non-serious traffic violation. Under SB 176, an individual who commits a minor traffic violation would be issued a traffic citation, and the officer would then release the individual for further appearance before the proper judicial officer. If the individual fails to appear for court, the court would notify the accused a second time by mail before issuing a bench warrant, giving the individual 30 days to dispose of the charge or waive arraign and plead not guilty. These landmark criminal justice reforms have been nationally recognized and emulated in other states across the country, and these measures will continue to build upon Governor Deals efforts in promoting rehabilitation and productive citizenry and enhance Georgias already remarkable criminal justice reform legacy.

During this last week of the 2017 legislative session, it is especially important to me that I consider your opinions and understand your concerns, so please do not hesitate to contact me to express your thoughts on any pending House or Senate legislation. My Capitol phone number is (404) 656-0202 and my email address is john.deffenbaugh@house.ga.gov . As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.

Rep. John Deffenbaugh
Paulina Torres was among those who participated in the Celtic Corner St. Baldrick's Foundation fundraiser. (Kristen Del Medico / HANDOUT)

For father and son Bob and Nick Schmidt of Elmwood Park, Celtic Corner's St. Baldrick's Foundation fundraiser on March 25 meant a lot more than in previous years.

"About a year ago, a member of our family was diagnosed with leukemia," Bob Schmidt said. "She's only 3 years old."

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Bob and Nick Schmidt, and 23 other participants, shaved their heads at Celtic Corner in an event to benefit those suffering from childhood cancer. Event coordinator Mike Bullistron said there were around 80 attendees in all.

"This is our sixth annual event," Bullistron said. "From just our first five years, we've raised $60,000. Today, we've raised around $8,000 and counting."

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Bullistron said that the fundraiser also consisted of food donated from several local eateries, such as Lolo's Sub Shop in Elmwood Park and many area pizzerias. Raffles included gift cards and other prizes. Proceeds of the fundraiser will benefit St. Baldrick's Foundation, which works to find cures for childhood cancer.

Bob and Nick Schmidt said that they've been shaving their heads for the past six years and have raised around $11,000 collectively. Bob Schmidt said each year more and more people have been sponsoring him and his son.

"This year, it's very important to us because we have seen firsthand how much these families [who have a child with cancer] have suffered," Bob Schmidt said. "Our whole family came together."

Nick Schmidt, who is a freshman at Robert Morris University Illinois, said his instructors were eager to sponsor him.

"I asked a lot of my professors to donate, and they were excited to help out with this important cause," Nick Schmidt noted.

Celtic Corner's annual event also resonated with Carrie Snead of Chicago, who has been participating in the fundraiser since 2012. Snead recently lost her friend Barbara, who had brain and lung cancer.

"If we could help somebody else in need to fight his or her battle, then it's fantastic," she said. "We want to do whatever we can do to help."

There are several other area St. Baldrick's Foundation fundraisers throughout the month of March. Bullistron said that Celtic Corner's fundraiser stands out because of the amount of money a small bar has raised. He is amazed at the dedication of the volunteers year after year.

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"We're a little bar in a little community, and we raise more than we expect to raise," he said. "It makes me very proud."

Maryann Pisano is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Seated, from right to left, Lisa Arnold and Dave Leech, both of Park Ridge and both former students of St. Monica School, say hello to host Rhonda Bollinger, a volunteer from Westchester on March 24 in Beyenka Hall at St. Monica Roman Catholic Parish in Chicago. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)

Approximately 175 people dined on March 24 at one of six Friday fish fry events over Lent in Beyenka Hall at St. Monica Roman Catholic Parish on Nottingham Avenue in Chicago.

The fish fry, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, Karol Wojtyla/Pope John Paul II Council 14008, is an annual tradition in its seventh year.

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"What the Knights like to do, as part of Lent, is holding these Lenten fish fries," said John S. Lough of Chicago, fish fry chair. "It brings our community together. People like to eat, and that's one thing we have in common, so by having a fish fry and a meal, we bring the whole community together."

Approximately 25 volunteers of adult and youth ages assisted on March 24.

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"It's an opportunity to share in God's presence," said Mario P. Stefanowski of St. Monica Roman Catholic Parish. He offered a prayer with volunteers, conducting a blessing as a group immediately before dinner was served starting at 4:30 p.m. "So as part of this very special time as Lent, it brings us together because ultimately, all together, we are marching toward heaven. That's what this is really all about."

Stefanowski said the fish fry sharing of a meal welcomes all people, regardless of faith.

"In a way, we are responsible for one another," Stefanowski said. "We help one another, even with a smile and a good word."

To cook for the event on March 24, volunteers made three gallons of minestrone soup and used 20 loaves of French bread. Five sheet cakes featured flavors such as chocolate and vanilla.

Volunteers prepared eight pounds of pasta with two gallons of marinara sauce. They fried 18 to 20 pounds of shrimp, 50 pounds of cod and 50 pounds of tater tots. An estimated 35 to 40 pounds of potatoes were boiled, and 20 pounds of tilapia were baked with light seasonings.

Ed Capua of Franklin Park, who staffed the fryer area, agreed he had the coolest and hottest volunteer gig.

"I enjoy every minute of it," Capua said, with a smile as he lifted a fry basket from hot oil.

Rich Gonsiorek of the northwest side of Chicago, a St. Monica parishioner and a Knights of Columbus member, explained why he volunteers at the fish fry.

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"We raise some funds for the church and for our programs," Gonsiorek said, adding the Knights of Columbus council runs about 15 programs.

Fish fry proceeds benefit parish uses, organizers confirmed.

Bob Gols of Chicago is a St. Monica parishioner and volunteer.

"I've been here since we started it," Gols said. "We have a good crowd every week and good company as well. We all bond together, help each other out."

Among the first diners to arrive were Lisa Arnold and Dave Leech, both of Park Ridge and both former students of St. Monica School. Dining together, Arnold tried the tilapia and Leech chose the cod.

Arnold, a 1976 St. Monica School graduate, and Leech, who was graduated at St. Monica School in 1972, remember when Beyenka Hall was the church.

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"I am so happy to be back in Beyenka Hall," Arnold said, wanting to tour the grounds for posterity.

"We could be sitting in the pews right now," Leech said with a smile.

The fish fry events at Beyenka Hall will continue on March 31 and April 7. There is no fish fry on Good Friday. Times are 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Beyenka Hall is in Chicago at the corner of North Mont Clare Avenue and West Carmen Avenue.

Karie Angell Luc is a freelance photographer and reporter for Pioneer Press.
A miracle is a coincidence you know can't be a coincidence. How else could Carlos Gaytan explain what happened 17 months ago  with his West Town restaurant Mexique spiraling into debt, he and his wife, Iliamar, decided it could no longer go on. They owed $17,000 in back taxes, and business was drying up. It was a Monday. They would let their business and liquor license lapse after it expired Friday.

In their living room above the restaurant, the two dropped to their knees. "If it was meant to be, we'll close our doors," he prayed. "If not, give us a sign." The next morning, Gaytan says, he received a phone call from Michelin, which publishes its annual dining guidebook in major cities. Mexique was one of 16 restaurants to be awarded a one-star rating in Chicago, on par with Blackbird, Spiaggia and Tru, restaurants considered the finest in the city.

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None of the prognosticators expected Mexique to be in the mix. Neither did Gaytan. The day of the phone call, his restaurant drew 11 customers. Then word spread, and every day for the next week the house was packed. Pages of red ink in the restaurant ledger soon turned black. The timing of events was too neat to be random. It wasn't the first time, either, that they were rescued from some seemingly inescapable predicament.

Since then, these last 17 months have been strange, joyful days for Gaytan. Every day he gets stopped on the street by strangers, their phones already toggled to the camera function. He gets recognized not because of his restaurant but because he appeared on a reality cooking competition.

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The 43-year-old Gaytan competed on the most recent season of Bravo TV's "Top Chef," a show responsible for bold-faced Chicago names like Stephanie Izard and Dale Levitski. Exposure on that show doesn't translate to guaranteed success. Most of the chef-contestants quickly recede back into anonymity. Gaytan, however, has had blessed timing: The year before appearing on "Top Chef" was his restaurant's best year, much of that owed to Michelin's validation.

Then came the show, in which he placed fourth out of 17, and more important, his portrayal as the even-keeled, faithful, photogenic Latino. On television, where people are presented as black-and-white caricatures, Gaytan's mostly favorable image might be his best take-away. Before, he was only a semi-recognizable name among Chicago's fooderati. Now it's been exposed tenfold to an audience of Bravo viewers who aren't necessarily dining obsessives but will visit Chicago and have Girl & The Goat and Mexique on their itinerary before Alinea. A fan from Canada recently drove 11 hours, she told Gaytan, just to eat at Mexique.

Gaytan is under no illusion that success will last forever. Considering the difficult birth of his restaurant, he's happy just to stay financially afloat. But since November 2012, the wild, sudden swing from near foreclosure to overflowing reservation books, he believes, is more than just good fortune.

"I don't believe in coincidences. Not anymore," Gaytan said. "When your faith is so strong, there's not a chance to believe in that. That word disappears for you."

After this latest "miracle," Gaytan acknowledged the time has arrived to show his gratitude.

'El sueno Americano'

In the tight confines of La Casa de Dios in the Irving Park neighborhood, Sunday service was held simultaneously in three languages. In one corner of the converted living room, Gaytan's wife, Iliamar, preached in English; 10 feet away a teenage girl translated into Swahili. At the pulpit was Pastor Efrain Isaac delivering his message loudest of all in Spanish. It was less about the jumbled words than the spirited cacophony created. Standing in the back row, Gaytan bowed his head and raised his arms in praise.

Then percussion instruments were passed out to worshippers, and the music began. African rhythms and chants gave way to an up-tempo Latin beat. Gaytan's 11-year-old son, Liam, sat at the drum kit, settling into a syncopated groove; his 16-year-old daughter, Caliani, led the chorus and played guitar.

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La Casa de Dios  The House of God  is a family affair. Pastor Isaac is Gaytan's father-in-law. Iliamar is director of its youth music ministry. Her brother Hiram, a medical student, offers wellness checks to families. The nondemoninational Christian church and youth center is housed in a converted home on North Troy Street that was donated by Iliamar's mother, Iris. Gaytan helped build the church, pouring concrete and performing electrical work.

Running a restaurant requires a devotion most outside the industry can't comprehend. Holidays, weekends and nights are spent serving customers, so it's not an ideal business while raising a family. Mexique, however, isn't Gaytan's singular focus; the restaurant is the means to an end, the end being his church. The two are separate operations, but Mexique supports several church members by hiring them on staff. Many who attend La Casa de Dios are refugees from Africa and immigrant families from Mexico and Central America, and like Gaytan came to the country speaking little English and overwhelmed by the culture.

Gaytan grew up poor in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero. Pork and beef from the market were for the privileged. So Gaytan and his father hunted deer, wild turkeys and iguanas while his mother foraged from nearby fields. The dishes his mother cooked resembled no one else's, and when Gaytan's friends visited they'd complain her food lacked authenticity. And yet the next day, he says, those same friends returned for more.

The cooking gene was passed down from mother to son. She would own a taqueria, where every Saturday a 14-year-old Gaytan was in charge of slaughtering and cooking a whole goat. That was Gaytan's life for his foreseeable future. The prospects for a young, working-class Mexican man were dim, so like many friends, Gaytan says, he allowed that seductive phrase to enter his mind: el sueno Americano. The American Dream.

Gaytan borrowed the passport of a friend who bore a resemblance and entered the country at age 21. He headed for Wheeling, where a cousin lived, who helped him land a job many undocumented immigrants take: dishwasher.

Jeff Miller, then the hotel chef at the Sheraton Chicago Northbrook, remembered plucking Gaytan to his kitchen crew when one of the cooks fell ill. That was the last time Gaytan was paid to wash a dish. Miller took Gaytan under his tutelage. He taught Gaytan to carve fruits and vegetables into extravagant centerpieces.

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"He was my apprentice, and he took that ball and ran with it further than I was able to go," Miller said. "It was obvious he was passing me in terms of talent."

Gaytan learned to cook, too, and that position led him to an 8-year-stint at the Union League Club in the Loop, then as chef de cuisine at Bistrot Margot in 2004. Gaytan studied under chefs who trained in the classic French school of gastronomy, and that philosophy of precision became muscle memory. But he longed for the food of his youth. He saw few other chefs in town, besides Rick Bayless (Topolobampo) or Priscila Satkoff (Salpicon), who attempted to serve destination Mexican. The seed for Mexique was planted.

Once they closed on purchasing the Chicago Avenue property, the Gaytans planned to construct and open Mexique within four months. With Iliamar's background as an architect in restaurant design, they expected a smooth going. But the Gaytans were unprepared for the process.

They poured their savings into building Mexique. Construction dragged, and unforeseen expenses popped up. Soon they burned through the bank loan, and Iliamar's mother began supporting the Gaytans via her home day care. For a while, he says, they ate mostly spaghetti and bottled sauce for dinner.

At the same time, La Casa de Dios was taking root. Carlos and Iliamar say they were raised as nominal Catholics but grew into their religion when their faith was tested when Mexique was under construction. Then came what Gaytan called miracles, a series of unexpected occurrences he could attribute only to divine intervention.

He maxed out his credit cards several months into Mexique's construction and considered halting the project altogether. He asked his father-in-law for advice. Pastor Isaac said: "Pray." Two days later, Gaytan says, he received two American Express cards with a credit limit of exactly the amount they needed to continue. He doesn't remember applying for those credit cards.

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Another time, Gaytan overfilled his garbage container outside the restaurant. A city inspector wrote him a $700 ticket. On his drive over to City Hall, Gaytan prayed for leniency, hoping he could negotiate an installment plan. When he handed the ticket to the clerk, she said there was no record of the citation in the system. He was free to go. Gaytan says he ran back to his car and cried.

Then, already a year late opening, Mexique failed its final inspections. Iliamar worked on restaurant projects before and knew rescheduling a city inspection can take weeks. She says she prayed before walking in the Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Department at City Hall: "We are not asking for money. We are asking God to open the door." Iliamar then explained their situation to a city official. She needed the restaurant permit because it was her family's only source of income.

"This man picked up the phone and called every inspector and had them reschedule their inspection for our restaurant the following day," she said. "I sat back in awe and knew whose hand was on this."

Mexique opened in May 2008. The initial burst of goodwill faded as newer restaurants garnered buzz. When Michelin gave Mexique its "Bib Gourmand" designation two years in a row  a seal of approval for a good restaurant deal  it bumped business in the right direction but not enough for the restaurant to get in the black. Church members chipped in to help the restaurant repay its $17,000 in back taxes. That kept their doors open, but business was still fading.

In November 2012, Michelin released its list of "Bib Gourmands" for the 2013 guidebook. Mexique was taken off the list. Gaytan thought: "We're done for." About a week later, on the morning after he and Iliamar got on their knees in the living room and prayed, Michelin called to inform them of the upgrade to one-star status. The restaurant was packed the next night.

Paying back

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On a show like "Top Chef," which selectively edits its footage in service of a storyline, Gaytan's fellow contestants said his portrayal was fairly spot on.

"They definitely portrayed his passion, his love for family, country and fellow contestants," said Travis Masar, a "Top Chef" Season 11 competitor who roomed with Gaytan. "He was that father figure. He'd be up in the morning before we'd wake up and make us coffee and breakfast."

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Said Louis Maldonado, another "Top Chef" colleague: "His beliefs, morals, family and church  that really shined through. He has that balance part figured out pretty well."

While most fan mail have been positive, Gaytan received a handful of emails from viewers condemning him for entering the country illegally. Someone sent Gaytan a photoshopped picture of himself under the caption: "ARREST THIS ILLEGAL ALIEN."

"This is a country I came to do good," he said. "What they don't see is I'm supporting 20-plus families at my restaurant. I'm trying to be a role model for their kids. I didn't come here to do damage, I came here to serve." (Gaytan became a U.S. citizen in 1998 after his marriage.)

"Top Chef" hired psychologists to consult with contestants on how to deal with their newfound celebrity. They told Gaytan: Engaging the nasty viewers will make them feel important. Don't give them the chance. He has decided to utilize his fame toward one cause.

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Several weeks ago, Gaytan flew six contestants from the show to Chicago. Seven chefs from his season reunited  minus the television cameras and countdown clocks  to contribute a dish each for a $200-a-head benefit reception at the Union League Club. The cause? La Casa de Dios. The 40-plus members of the congregation had outgrown the converted living room, and now they're raising the $150,000 needed to build an extension.

At the event, children from Sunday service performed on stage as Liam and Caliani Gaytan led the band. Fans snapped endless photos with Gaytan and his fellow Top Chefs. By night's end, they had raised $21,000 for the church Mexique built.

kpang@tribune.com

Twitter @pang
Deep dish pizza. Shrimp de Jonghe. Chicken Vesuvio. All Chicago culinary classics with enduring spots on restaurant menus. Yet another, arguably as important to the history of the city's eats, isn't seen as much: the Palmer House brownie.

An iconic symbol of the city and its role hosting the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, the brownie was created in Chicago, the story goes. Bertha Palmer, president of the fair's Board of Lady Managers, is said to have asked the hotel chef for a dessert to serve at the exposition  and thus the Palmer House chocolate fudge brownie was born. Nearly 125 years later, we decided it was time for an update, as we celebrate our month of "Craving: Chicago food."

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We asked Alison Cates, the 2017 Jean Banchet Award-winning pastry chef formerly at Honey's, to put a new spin on the recipe, last published in the Tribune in 2004. Her approach was to keep much of the base the same, making a few tweaks, and update the topping of walnuts and an apricot glaze.

"I liked the original brownie recipe," Cates. "The base is really solid. It just needed some salt. And I wanted to keep it a little bit more exciting but still approachable enough, so people won't be scared making it."

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Cates used bittersweet chocolate rather than the semisweet called for in the original recipe. And she avoided "super-expensive" chocolate because of the high percentage of sugar in the recipe.

"I think that's kind of a waste," she said, referring to using high-end chocolate here, "but staying in the bittersweet realm is smart because usually brownie recipes have a high amount of sugar in them and you don't want to add extra sugar (with a sweeter chocolate)."

Cooks trying the recipe should be careful melting the chocolate because scorched chocolate would have to be replaced. Cates brings the water up to a simmer, turns the heat off and then puts the bowl with the chocolate over the water for melting.

For the topping, Cates went with a homemade fig chutney and toasted macadamia nuts, a combo she used in a chocolate dessert at Honey's.

"I love macadamia nuts, and I think they are completely underutilized. You don't see them a lot in pastries, so I thought they'd be fun," she said. You could, if you wish, substitute lightly salted and toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds).

Cates thought a fig chutney would have an acidity and a brightness to counter the brownie's chocolate richness and offer more interest than a glaze made with apricot preserves.

What to pair with these brownies? Cates suggests a glass of port.

wdaley@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @billdaley

To update the Palmer House brownie, Pastry chef Alison Cates used bittersweet chocolate in the base and added salt to enhance that flavor. She changed the topping completely, going with a fig chutney glaze over toasted macadamia nuts. You can keep them whole or lightly crush them. Foodstyling by Mark Graham. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

Macadamia nut brownies with fig chutney glaze

Prep: 45 minutes

Cook: 52 minutes

Cool: 3 hours

Makes: 12 brownies

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Adapted by Mark Graham in the Tribune test kitchen from a recipe by pastry chef Alison Cates, who herself was updating the Palmer House brownie.

Brownies:

1 bag (12 ounces) bittersweet chocolate chips, 63 percent cacao

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter, cut in tablespoon-size pieces

1 cup sugar

1 cup cake flour

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2 teaspoons, each: baking powder, salt

2 eggs, slightly beaten

3/4 cup (4 ounces) macadamia nuts, lightly toasted, whole or roughly chopped

Fig chutney:

2 cups dried figs, stemmed, quartered

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

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3/4 cup water

1 vanilla bean, split

2 cinnamon sticks

Glaze:

1 teaspoon gelatin

1 cup water

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1. For the brownies, lightly grease the bottom of a 9-by-12-inch straight-sided baking pan; line with parchment paper. Heat oven to 325 degrees.

2 Melt chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth and very shiny. (The water level should be low enough so that it does not touch the bottom of the bowl.)

3 Stir together in a separate bowl the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt until thoroughly blended. Add the chocolate mixture; mix on low speed with an electric mixer or a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl during mixing as needed, about 4 minutes. Add eggs; mix on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Batter will be thick.

4 Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan, using an offset spatula; top with macadamia nuts, pressing them lightly into the batter. Bake until just set, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.

5 Meanwhile, make the chutney. Heat figs, vinegar, water, vanilla bean and cinnamon sticks in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed and figs have softened, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat; discard vanilla bean and cinnamon sticks. Pulse fig mixture in a food processor to make a chunky chutney, about 5 pulses.

6 For the glaze, bloom the gelatin in the water, 5 minutes. Stir together fig chutney and gelatin mixture in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, over medium-low heat; simmer, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. While hot, spread glaze with a pastry brush in a thin layer over the chilled brownies. Chill until set, about 2 hours. Cut into 12 pieces to serve.

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Nutrition information per brownie: 508 calories, 31 g fat, 15 g saturated fat, 62 mg cholesterol, 61 g carbohydrates, 44 g sugar, 6 g protein, 486 mg sodium, 6 g fiber






A rendering of the proposed Chicago Blues Experience at 25 E. Washington St. The interactive museum is scheduled to open in 2019. (Bruce Van Inwegen)

The Chicago Blues Experience, a proposed 50,000-square-foot museum that had been hoping for a sweet home on Navy Pier, will instead be setting up shop in the Loop.

Aiming for a spring 2019 opening at 25 E. Washington St., a block west of the Cultural Center and two blocks west of Millennium Park, the private, for-profit institution aims to satisfy "the unfulfilled promise, culturally, of Chicago," said Terry Stewart, the former Rock and Roll Hall of Fame leader who will run the museum. "Anybody you talk to already assumes there is a blues museum."

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In addition to an "immersive" museum that includes the story of how Chicago became the home of the blues and presents live music throughout the day, Chicago Blues Experience will have a 150-seat lounge offering performances nightly. Plans call for a street-level entrance on Washington, across from the southeast entrance of Macy's State Street store, and three floors underground built out in what used to be a health club and, before that, the Marshall Field's men's store.

"Think about Chicago, that great shaper of the music of the world," said Mark Kelly, the city's cultural commissioner. "And yet we've never been centered in the city with a location that celebrates that. Now, with the Blues Experience, with the professional team they're bringing in, I'm confident we're going to have this incredible, living experience."

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"We're pretty confident that things are just the way they're supposed to be," said Lincoln "Chicago Beau" Beauchamp, the blues musician and Chicago Blues Experience co-founder credited with getting the idea off the ground. "I thought, 'This has to be recognized as more than just something that happens in bars. It has to be recognized as something that has deep political and social roots and cultural roots.'"

Although city funds are not involved, "the city's been helpful, and I'm going to continue to be helpful," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "The blues is a distinct, unique, American musical form, the foundational piece of rock and roll. No city can claim it like Chicago."

And the museum will be part of a blues tapestry here, he added: "I want this to be a destination. It's one thing to go to the clubs. It's one thing to have the blues festival -- even better. Now to have the museum that can be an intellectual hub"

Getting the museum to this point has been a journey. In late 2015, the museum announced plans to locate on Navy Pier and said it had $40 million in investor funding committed to the project. Last April, however, Pier officials pulled the plug on negotiations, saying that instead a hotel project would occupy the space planned for the museum, according to Sona Wang, the local venture capitalist who is managing director and co-founder of the blues museum.

"Obviously that was hugely disappointing," she said. "We picked ourselves back up" and found the new location.

She said the museum expects to execute a lease on the Washington Street space Monday or Tuesday. And with that in hand, she said, "we are beginning the process of refreshing old (financial) commitments and talking to new investors."

She is confident she will be able to raise the $30 million the project needs. What her backers have in common, she said, is financial sophistication and "a deep caring for the city."

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Wang is a blues fan whose first date with her husband was at a Lincoln Park blues club, she said, but "I came to this with financial investor discipline and seeing a gaping hole in the marketplace. Here we have an internationally recognized brand": Chicago blues. "People come here with the expectation of having some memorable, impactful experience with the blues. Today, there are limited options of how you get that. It just kind of strikes you in the face."

There are multiple blues clubs, yes, but those don't serve the family audience, and they are episodic rather than encyclopedic. They let you experience blues music, but not necessarily the story of the music.

While Cleveland had to convince the rest of the nation that it was the right place for the rock hall of fame, Chicago will have no such problem, said Stewart, who ran the Cleveland facility for 14 years.

"I first want it to be the must-see cultural attraction of Chicago, which is a very bold statement," he said. St. Louis has the National Blues Museum, but Chicago Blues Experience officials are confident music tourism isn't an either/or proposition.

The team here includes some of the founders of the rock hall, including, as an adviser, Bob Santelli, who was blues adviser to the Cleveland museum and has since helped start the Experience Music Project in Seattle and the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

"We're actually bringing the old band back together," said Wang.

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BRC Imagination Arts, of Los Angeles, will handle design of a museum that will include artifacts and a way for visitors to put themselves in, for instance, the Chess Records studio where Muddy Waters recorded, officials said. BRC's credits include Springfield's Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum & Library, the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam.

Indeed, said Wang, it was the Heineken concept of giving visitors a taste of beer at the end that led to the proposal to include tastings of live music at Chicago Blues Experience, something unique among American music museums.

A rough outline of the museum plan includes, said Stewart, "the passage from Africa, the migration north, the electrification of the music in Chicago and the impact and influence it has on modern music and today's culture."

Said Beauchamp: "You're going to have not just a high-tech experience, buttons to push, but you're going to be able to immerse yourself in the blues experience and in all the offshoots of the blues. It's going to be a journey."

While some may contend that the more fitting location for such a museum would be in the city's African-American neighborhoods, Beauchamp said having it downtown is proper.

"The South Side or the West Side are definitely the rootland," he said. "That's where it happened. But you want the place to be centrally located, absolutely. The blues is so central to Chicago culture."

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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)
Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino founded a dance company together in 1956. In the beginning, Arpino caravaned around the country with a small group of dancers while Joffrey stayed back, managing the studio in New York to generate revenue for the professional company.

From its humble beginnings, the Joffrey Ballet found its footing in NYC to become a highly successful company in a city already saturated with classical ballet. American Ballet Theatre had hold of the 19th century classics, while George Balanchine's prolific career was just beginning to take off at his New York City Ballet. It was critical the Joffrey distinguish itself as something more than "the other New York ballet company."

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And it did. The attributes we associate with Joffrey today  risk, innovation, and pushing the boundaries of classical ballet to promote a truly American art form  are what kept the Joffrey Ballet thriving despite the stiff competition, but there were serious challenges. The usual ups and downs of running a dance company, compounded with Robert Joffrey's death in 1988 and slashes to federal arts funding toward the end of the 20th century put Joffrey in dire straits. By 1995, ballet in general was experiencing a decline from its heyday in the 1970s and '80s. Arpino was struggling to pay his dancers, and nearly out of options.

Moving the company to Chicago was an act of desperation  a last-ditch effort to keep the Joffrey Ballet from a total collapse  and the transition wasn't seamless. Arpino was already in his 70s, the national arts funding landscape was still on the fritz, and although Chicago was thirsty for a big, bold ballet company of its own, the Joffrey arrived in a fragile state. The troupe basically ran away from New York and hasn't been back.

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So the Joffrey's upcoming tour to Lincoln Center, its first trip to New York in 22 years, is a story in and of itself. Leading the charge is Ashley Wheater, appointed artistic director in 2007 prior to Arpino's death in 2008. Ten years into his tenure as artistic director, Wheater gets the pleasure of showing off a robust and rejuvenated ballet company (of which he was a member in the 1980s) that now calls Chicago its home.

"I don't think the Joffrey would be alive today if they had stayed in New York," said Wheater in an interview with the Tribune. "It says a lot about the tenacity and staying power of a city like Chicago." (Perhaps, too the tenacity of its three artistic leaders over the past 60 years.) Wheater spent the last decade rebuilding a ballet company from the one that arrived in Chicago in tatters. "We really want the company to tour, but we needed to get our house in order first," he said. Part of the cleanup was about reestablishing the company's identity  figuring out who they are, and what they have to offer, while remaining true to Robert Joffrey's specific vision. "I believe that New York has the capacity in its public to embrace many ideas of dance. ... The Joffrey is bold, daring, and has never had to conform to a singular legacy. Robert Joffrey gave us a legacy to explore dance in many, many ways," said Wheater.

Members of New York's Joyce Theater Foundation took note, bringing the Joffrey (and the entire Chicago Philharmonic) to Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater for six performances of Krzysztof Pastor's "Romeo & Juliet," plus a mixed-rep program for the Foundation's annual gala. The contemporary version of "Romeo & Juliet" is set to Sergey Prokofiev's gorgeous, schmaltzy score in a perfect blend of past and present. Pastor plucks the classic tale of two lovers from Verona, portraying the timelessness of Shakespeare's play by time traveling from post-World War II Italy through three distinct eras of political strife in the country. Now slated for its New York premiere, the work was created for the Scottish Ballet in 2008 and until now Chicago was the only U.S. audience to see it.

All things considered, it's the best representation of this company right now, and while Joffrey needn't go to New York to prove itself, a bit of vindication certainly doesn't hurt. And assuming they nail it (please do), it won't be another 20 years until they're back again. Indeed, much of the company's archives are headed there to stay permanently. The New York Public Library will begin collecting Joffrey's archives in Chicago on April 24, including video and photo documentation, traveling crates and personal papers belonging to Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino, set and costume renderings, and more. While the collection may be available to the public as early as 2018, most of it will have to be viewed on site in New York and unavailable online.

According to Joffrey spokeswoman Caitlin Jagodzinski, the company's archives will be joining Robert Joffrey's personal archive currently held at the library, which boasts one of the largest dance collections in the world. In a written statement to the Tribune, Jagodzinski wrote, "New York Public Library remains a destination for national and international visitors to learn about performing arts history in America and beyond. As Joffrey is one of America's premiere ballet companies, its place within the library's vast collection will be in good company and help archive American dance history as a whole for researchers and the general public."

THIS WEEKEND IN CHICAGO

Giordano Dance Chicago: Gio's spring series features works by Liz Imperio and former River North artistic director Frank Chaves, plus last season's "Divided Against" by Peter Chu's (2016) and Sherry Zunker's sassy 1990 "The Man That Got Away." 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Dr. $15-$75 at 312-334-7777 or harristheaterchicago.org

J. Lindsay Brown Dance: Typically known for improvisational humor, J. Lindsay Brown reaches outside her comfort zone in "Out of the Echo Chamber," a concert featuring women choreographers responding to the ideological echo chambers propagated by social media algorithms. 7:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Dovetail Studios, 2853 W. Montrose Ave. $13-$30 at jlindsaybrowndance.com

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Lauren Warnecke is a freelance critic.

ctc-arts@chicagotribune.com

The Joffrey Ballet with 'Romeo and Juliet'

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday

Where: David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York

Tickets: $25-$175 at 212-496-0600 or davidhkochtheater.com
Housing secretary Ben Carson got himself in hot water last month when he described African slaves brought to America as "involuntary immigrants." It was, to say the least, an infelicitous turn of phrase. Yet Griffin Theatre's "In to America," created by artistic director Bill Massolia, also includes slave narratives among the many other original texts on immigration and its role in the growth of the republic.

It's potentially tricky to juxtapose the experiences of, say, German farmers happily leaving for America to make more money with those of enslaved and brutalized Africans. (To say nothing of slaughtered Native Americans, who the show rightly notes were the "original immigrants" to the North American land mass.) But it's also arguable that African-Americans are too often erased from the national narrative of those whose labor literally built the foundation on which we stand today  however shaky it may feel. Dark skin alone is often enough to make one's citizenship in America questionable  even if you're the president of the United States.

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Massolia and director Dorothy Milne  along with a vibrant and diverse ensemble cast of 13  take a mostly earnest and respectful tone toward the material (inspired, says Massolia in a program note, by Ronald Takaki's "A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America"), which is presented in a series of interlocking monologues.

These run in chronological order from a Paiute folk tale to contemporary stories from Afghan refugees and a "Lost Boy" of Sudan. Joe Schermoly's set  a deconstructed sailing ship with screens in the "sails"  serves as the backdrop for Brock Alter's projections, which include archival photos and biographical snippets about many of the people whose lives we hear about, from colonial indentured servants to Japanese-Americans interned during World War II.

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For a play about immigration, there is a decidedly static quality to the narrative from time to time, even as the actors move about toting black boxes representing luggage. One wishes that Milne and Massolia had worked in a few more moments where characters from different times and places connect over common elements in their fraught-but-defiant lives in the New World. One can also argue that there could be more attention paid to those recurring chapters in our history where a group of recently arrived immigrants takes out their frustrations on those even lower on the ladder (as with the Civil War draft riots in New York, for instance).

But there is also undeniable value  especially these days  to giving center stage to the voices of the dispossessed and the displaced, who refuse to surrender their dignity even in the face of the ugliest xenophobia dished out. An excerpt from Maxine Hong Kingston's "China Men," performed by Jennifer Cheung, recounts the dangers faced by Chinese men who worked blasting out tunnels for the transcontinental railroad and who were shunted to the side as white industrialists praised themselves for what "Americans" built. Juanita Andersen, a Mexican landowner in the Southwest pushed out by new arrivals in the wake of Manifest Destiny proclaims: "We never crossed the border. The border crossed us."

It's not all tales of woe. Omer Abbas Salem plays a Syrian peddler in rural Oklahoma (shades of Ali Hakim from "Oklahoma!") who ingratiates himself into the home of a farmer and his wife on a cold winter's night  and ends up with new friends for life. John H. Johnson (Christopher W. Jones), grandson of slaves and the founder of Ebony magazine, marvels at his migration from rural Arkansas to Chicago, where he spends his first night in a house not far from where he eventually established his influential publishing empire.

In one of the more evocative sections, India-born novelist and teacher Anita Desai (Rasika Ranganathan) describes the immigrant psyche as "driftwood"  cast between two worlds where one never quite touches land and takes root. "In to America," at its best, reminds us of how much our national foundation rests on that driftwood, and how much we all owe people who, despite sometimes horrific discrimination, refused to allow themselves to be pushed aside or erased from history.

Kerry Reid is a freelance critic.

ctc-arts@chicagotribune.com

Review: 'In to America' (3 stars)

When: Through April 23

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Where: The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Tickets: $36 at 866-811-4111 or www.griffintheatre.com
Too often, we only show people our shiny, happy selves. And when people show us their darker, hurting selves, too often we look away. (Thn Winch Sangsuwan / EyeEm)

I want to tell you about my weekend.

It was a string of ordinary days, made extraordinary by people living their lives  and not just the Instagrammable parts  out loud.

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On Friday night, I watched a former colleague, a poet, stand in front of a room of people and read to us his pain.

Hands shaking at times, Patrick Reardon towered above those of us gathered at City Lit Books and read from "Requiem for David," a collection of poems about his younger brother's suicide.

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He showed us family photos. He answered our questions  about grief, about God, about his parents.

Why is he doing this? I wondered. (Maybe he wondered too.)

I'm so grateful he did.

I saw brutal honesty. I saw courage. I saw love.

In the crowd, I saw loyalty.

Reardon worked as a Tribune reporter for more than 30 years. The bookstore was filled with his old colleagues, some arriving from far-flung suburbs, others from the Blue Line. We packed the store, shoulder-to-shoulder between bookshelves, to hear our old friend's words woven together for such a different effect than we'd known.

His wife and children were there too. His son raised his hand toward the end and asked his dad if he ever felt he'd repeated his parents' mistakes when he raised them.

Reardon said sure. Of course. And he explained a bit.

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I don't know about your family, but the one I was raised in doesn't have those discussions. Certainly not in front of friends, and if I'm honest, not in private either. I wish we could. I wish we would.

Maybe my old colleague was teaching me how.

On Sunday, my husband and kids and I attended a memorial service at a pub. Our dear friend's dad, Stuart, passed away at age 88, and he wanted a celebration in place of a funeral.

So we gathered at an Irish bar on Belmont Avenue, not far from where he lived the last years of his life, after raising his family in Philadelphia and Detroit.

His daughter, our friend, read letters from her kids, both of whom are away at school. He never missed a single gymnastics meet, his granddaughter wrote. He suffered through countless school concerts, his grandson wrote. He was the best-dressed man in any room, and he argued endlessly with the talking heads on TV.

Stuart's siblings spoke next. He was the oldest of nine, and he helped raise his younger brothers and sisters, traveling from the Upper Peninsula to Detroit, making money during the summers and sending it home to cushion their go of it.

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His youngest sister, the baby, spoke last. She told us a story of setting out on a long walk home  probably from church  dressed in her favorite patent-leather shoes. It was raining, and she worried about ruining her shoes in the mud.

Stuart picked her up and carried her the whole way home. "That's just the kind of thing he did," she said.

I'm so glad my kids are hearing this, I thought. Look out for each other, I thought, squeezing them close, kissing their heads, in case that helped them read my mind.

Stuart was one of a kind, and his absence will be felt in every moment.

Our friend, his daughter, hosts epic dinner parties, and Stuart was always front and center. He read the newspaper religiously. After I wrote a column about the hate mail I get about my hair, he pulled me aside and said, grinning gloriously, "The next time someone writes you about your hair, you tell them to go to hell."

He was unforgettable. He deserved to be celebrated as he lived  out loud.

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His family gave him (and us) that final gift, sharing their memories and teaching us what sorrow looks like when joy is allowed to sit next to it.

It moved me. And taught me.

Too often, we only show people our shiny, happy selves. And when people show us their darker, hurting selves, too often we look away.

This weekend I was reminded of the fallacy of both.

Life is richer and truer when you let all of it in. That's a difficult thing to do, but I'm eternally grateful for people who bravely, beautifully show how it's done.

hstevens@chicagotribune.com

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Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump's daughter, is getting an office in the White House and will serve as her fathers eyes and ears in Washington. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP)

So, Ivanka Trump is getting an office in the White House. On the second floor of the West Wing, no less  home to some of President Donald Trump's top advisers.

We're told that she'll be her father's "eyes and ears" in Washington. That's what I thought her husband, Jared Kushner, would be doing when he was named a senior adviser in January. Apparently, the job is too difficult for one person. It takes a team.

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Because she won't actually be a government employee, the White House isn't required to post a job description. But it isn't hard to imagine what it might say if they did.

Help Wanted: White House Babysitter

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Must be able to calm the 70-year-old president down when he has a temper tantrum. No government experience necessary, but expertise in seven key areas is mandatory.

1. Make the bad news bearable

This position requires someone who can predict the president's reaction to bad news long before he receives the bad news. Ideally, this person, because of his or her high-level security clearance, can intercept bad news before it gets to the president and figure out a way to soften it so he won't go ballistic.

Such intervention is necessary to prevent another incident like the one earlier this month when the president went off on his staff in the Oval Office and later kicked his two top aides off Air Force One. This occurred after the president learned that Attorney General Jeff Sessions planned to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign.

Your first task will be breaking the news to the president that he's not "the closer" he thinks he is. He's already failed to deliver on two of his biggest campaign promises  to repeal and replace Obamacare and to institute a Muslim travel ban.

2. President vs. dictator  knowing the difference

Candidates must have the guts to explain to the commander in chief the difference between a president and a dictator. That would require breaking the news to the president that his instincts don't always turn out to be right as he claimed in a recent Time magazine interview. It also means telling him that making something up doesn't make it a fact. It makes it a lie. On the other hand, if you believe what you conjure up in your head, it makes you delusional.

It means sitting him down and saying straight to his face, "Mr. President, President Obama did not wiretap your Trump Tower offices and you have to stop saying that." In fact, it was a Russian gambling ring operating out of your hotel that was under FBI surveillance. So you might want to let it go before someone starts asking questions about what you knew about that.

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3. If it was on Fox News, it must be true

The candidate must be able to help the president decipher fake news from real news. Most important, this person must constantly remind the president that U.S. intelligence is his friend, and he could hear firsthand what's happening anywhere in the world if he bothered to attend the daily White House briefings. The toughest part of the job, though, might be getting the president to stop watching so much cable TV news. Limit him to one hour of TV per night but only after he has done his homework to familiarize himself with major issues facing America. Better yet, ban cable TV and force him to read a book instead, beginning with anything he can find on Abraham Lincoln, including a fourth-grade textbook. That's around the time many children learn that Lincoln was a Republican, something Trump apparently just found out.

4. Handshake protocol

The position requires someone who can educate the president about White House protocol. However, knowledge of basic hospitality would be sufficient. When the visiting German chancellor leans over in her chair and asks if you want to do a handshake for the media, it's rude to sit there stone-faced. There's something called protocol, and presidents have observed it since George Washington. You have to fall in line like everyone else because people want their president to act presidential.

5. All things Twitter

The candidate must be skilled at intervention. This person must have the ability to exhibit tough love when the president's apparent Twitter addiction threatens to destroy the country. This is the only way to stop the president from attacking a federal judge who rules against his travel ban as he did in February. "The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!" Trump tweeted.

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And from sending out sympathetic tweets about his daughter's misfortunes. "My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person  always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!" he tweeted when Nordstrom dropped her clothing line.

6. 'Always pushing me to do the right thing!' Part II

This job requires someone with more compassion for the American people than the president has. We're looking for a person who is bold enough to stand on stage at a Republican convention and sound like a liberal Democrat. We are looking for someone willing to look Americans in the eye and tell them that the president will fight for affordable and quality child care for all and equal pay for equal work for women. Never mind that the GOP-led Congress has no intention of ever allowing such things to happen.

7. Unconditional love

The ideal candidate is someone who loves the president unconditionally, someone willing to pick up her family and move them to Washington just to be close to him. We need a person who says from her heart that she has "loved and respected him, my entire life." We need someone the president procreated in his own image  like his beloved daughter Ivanka.

dglanton@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @dahleeng
20 Of Our Favorite Events In Chicago This Week



Dan Harmon, photo courtesy Chicago Improv Festival

Laughs and good times ahead with Improv Fest, a rocking ACLU benefit concert, Jay and Silent Bob, Baconfest and more.



MONDAY MARCH 27

IMPROV FEST: Dan Harmon (Community) and Scott Adsit (30 Rock) will co-headline this years Chicago Improv Festival that starts Monday and runs through Sunday. Its the festivals 20th anniversary, and more than 145 improv groups make up the bill spanning venues across the city including Stage 773, the Athenaeum Theatre, The Annoyance Theatre, and Second Citys e.t.c. Theater. Some of the other notable names making the marquis this year are TJ Jagodowski, Kevin Dorff, Rob Belushi, Empires Antoine McKay and Superstores Jon Barinholtz. Check out the full schedule here. Tickets range from $5 to $35.

Dialectic of Ignorance by Pontiak

OUTER DIMENSIONAL ROCK: Pontiak tends to subtly change their sound from album to album, but their songs are all based on a solid foundation of old school, groove-oriented psychedelia. On this year's Dialectic of Ignorance the band gets a little woozier, often sounding like they're playing through a thin, shimmering sheet separating the listener on one side and the band on the other. The band is going to be on tour opening for Sword in a few months, so consider this intimate Monday night headlining free show at The Empty Bottle a special treat. Get there early.

THROWBACK DINNER: Go old school steakhouse at RPM Steaks American Throwback dinner from 6 to 9 p.m. The menu will feature Prime Rib, Caesar Salad, Creamed Spinach and Bananas Foster for dessert. Tickets are $85. For a reservation, call call 312-955-1431.



Jennifer Higdon. Photo by Candace di Carlo courtesy of Chicago Sinfonietta.

LGBTQ COMPOSERS: The Chicago Sinfonietta honors LGBTQ composers and musicians with More than a Letter at 7:30 p.m. The special concert at the Symphony Center features a performance from pianist/activist Sara Davis Buechner and a Chicago Premiere by Pulitzer Prize/Grammy Award-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, plus David Contes "Elegy for Matthew," a tribute to Matthew Shepard, the victim of one of the most notorious anti-gay hate crimes in American history. Tickets start at $18.

RED FUNDRAISER: Support Red Theaters free theater at Red Revolution from 7 to 10 p.m. The fundraiser at Revolution Brewings Brewers Lounge includes unlimited pints of Revolution Brewings five core house beers, appetizers and raffle tickets for prizes. Tickets are $45 with the code COMRADE.

TUESDAY MARCH 28



Image via The Girl Talk's Facebook page.

GIRL TALK: Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx is the special guest at this edition of The Girl Talk, a female-empowered talk show, at Hideout at 6:30 p.m. Entry is $5.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 29

WINE DINNER: Emas hosts their first ever wine dinner with winemaker Rajat Parr at 6:30 p.m. Wines from Santa Barbaras Sandhi Winery will accompany a mezze feast from Chef CJ Jacobson. Tickets are $75. Call 312-485-5778 or email emaparties@leye.com to reserve a spot.

ACLU BENEFIT CONCERT: Team up with the Empty Bottle and Twin Peaks for a special ACLU benefit concert at 9 p.m. The local rockers will grace the Bottle stage for only the second time, joined on the bill by Redgrave and Deeper. Tickets are $25.

LADIES OF LIVE LIT: The ladies of the live lit show Miss Spoken take on the hot button issue of Sibling Rivalry at the Gallery Cabaret at 7 p.m. Rosamund Lannin and Carly Oishi host with readings from Leah Jones, Kenzie Siebert and more. Entry is a $5 suggested donation.

REMEMBERING DOUBLE DOOR: We don't think this is quite a wake since the recently shuttered Double Door is looking for another space to hold shows, but until that happens this is a chance to mingle with the venue's staff and "talk future plans for the music community." The event starts at 9 p.m. at Liar's Club.



THURSDAY MARCH 30



Image via Toast to Harry Caray's Facebook page.

TOAST TO HARRY CARAY: The 19th annual Toast to Harry Caray is here, and this year Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg lead the toast with a rousing rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." The worldwide toast will commence at 6:30 p.m. CST with ground zero being the Harry Carays steakhouse in River North. Identical twins are invited to pre-register for this years theme of Lets Win Two honoring the late Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks.

JAY + SILENT BOB GET OLD: Film legends Jay & Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) find fun in never forgetting about the good ol days of Mallrats and the View Askewniverse. Theyre bringing their hit podcast, Jay & Silent Bob Get Old, live on tour, with a stop at the Vic Theatre at 8 p.m. Tickets are $39.50. Prepare for a lot of entertaining conversation.



Image via Chop Top Challenge's Facebook page.

CHOP TOP KICKOFF: Its time once again for the Chop Top Challenge, where some wild guys race to Las Vegas in chopped vehicles with no top or windshield. The kickoff party is this Thursday at arts space Silent Funny where you can see some of the crazy cars in person. Theyll also have live music, live painting and a raffle. Free.

COCKTAIL CLASS: Taste the flavors of Latin America at Saint Lous Assemblys multicourse dinner and cocktail making class. Learn to create themed cocktails with the MONEYGUN masters while enjoying paired dishes from Executive Chef Carlos Cruz. 7 p.m. Tickets are $75.

DOC10 FILM FEST: Ten documentaries. Ten Chicago premieres. Ten inspiring filmmakers. The DOC10 Film Festival takes over the Davis Theatre this weekend. Jon Benet, John Coltrane, obituary writers and more are among the topics covered. Check out the schedule and ticket options on the festival website.



FRIDAY MARCH 31

AMERICA WOKESHOPS: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago presents a free three-day event to get citizens more engaged in their own democracy. United, States, America: Three Problematic Concepts is a series of Wokeshops for Informed Participation with experts in civil rights, policy, race, immigration, and the media. Check out the full agenda and rsvp here.





Image via Baconfest's Facebook page.

BACONFEST: The name says it all. Baconfest is an entire festival dedicated to bacon. Food Network stars, Michelin honored chefs and local chefs will all be on the roster this weekend, preparing bacon-loaded dishes for you, bacon-lover, to enjoy. There are three sessions to choose from at the UIC Pavilion: Friday dinner and Saturday lunch and dinner. Tickets are $100 and include tastings, drink tickets, a Baconfest tote bag and a souvenir program guide.

GIORDANO DANCE: Giordano Dance Chicago presents their Spring Engagement at Harris Theater Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The program features a new work by Liz Imperio and Frank Chaves' restaging of "Grusin Suite." Tickets start at $15.

'60s SWINGING GROOVES: Foxygen has been a band with a pretty uneven past. When they are onboth on album and livethey are on and a thrill to see. But part of what makes it such a thrill is the knowledge going in that the volatile group cold be about to trigger absolute collapse. On this year's Hang, we think the band has finally hit their stride and gained the ability to deliver something uniformly terrific. The album features a full on orchestra driving each song, with the music being based in the sound of '60s London sophisticated pop. The result is a lush and lovely listen. It's a complete, and very welcome, departure from their train wreck of a last album, 2014's ...And Star Power. If you've never heard of Foxygen this is an excellent introduction and if you've been turned off by them in the past, now is the time to give them another chance. Foxygen plays Friday night at The Vice and tickets are $22.

MEET YOUR CONGRESSMEN

It's called First Tuesdays, but local journalists Mick Dumke and Ben Joravsky are holding their celebrated monthly live political talk show on a Friday this month so that you can spend Friday night with Illinois Congressmen Danny Davis and Luis Gutierrez. They'll talk about how the Democrats are trying to fight back in the era of Trump. Topics of discussion include budgets, healthcare, immigration, and the intelligence committee hearings. First Tuesdays with Mick & Ben - Special Congressional Edition is happening at The Hideout,1354 W. Wabansia Ave., at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 31. Tickets are $5.




Steven Randy Rueckert, left, and Daniel Herbert, attorneys for Jason Van Dyke, confer with Van Dyke during court Aug. 11, 2017. Van Dyke was at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building in Chicago for a hearing on the shooting of Laquan McDonald. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune)

The wife of indicted Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke says she was set to begin training last week as a Cook County sheriff's deputy but that the job offer was abruptly yanked because of her husband's infamous case.

After undergoing a year of tests and interviews, Tiffany Van Dyke said, she was scheduled to begin four months of training at the academy when, just four days before her March 20 start date, she was told without explanation not to show up.

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Van Dyke said she had already quit jobs as a full-time fitness instructor and part-time bartender, and bought expensive uniforms and equipment required for the $53,000-a-year position as a correctional officer at the county jail.

A top aide to Sheriff Tom Dart denied Van Dyke had been fired, saying her certification to enter the training academy remains valid for two years. Her tentative start date was delayed, said Cara Smith, the sheriff's chief policy officer, over safety concerns she'd face working in the jail given the notoriety of her husband's case.

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Smith encouraged Van Dyke to seek a civilian post with the sheriff rather than to work in the jail.

"We're not hiring to work at Macy's," Smith said. "It's a totally different environment. We certainly are sympathetic to her situation, but our concern first and foremost has to be ensuring her safety."

In an exclusive interview Friday with the Chicago Tribune, Tiffany Van Dyke said that from the beginning of the lengthy employment process, she was upfront about the identity of her husband, including applying for the job under her married name.

A front-page story in the Tribune last May told of the family's turmoil since Jason Van Dyke became, in the words of his lawyer, Public Enemy No. 1 for the on-duty shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald in October 2014. More than a year later, the officer was charged with first-degree murder on the same day a graphic police dashboard camera video was released, rocking the Police Department and leading to a damning U.S. Justice Department report that found that officers are prone to using excessive force, often against minorities, and rarely disciplined.

Just last week, a new indictment was unsealed, adding 16 counts of aggravated battery, one for each time McDonald was shot.

As the mother of two daughters and the wife of an officer suspended without pay or medical benefits, Tiffany Van Dyke, 36, said the fallout for her family continues to be daunting. Her oldest daughter was reduced to tears Friday, she said, after someone wrote "16 shots" on her desk in art class due to news of the recent indictment.

"I need to be able to take care of my family. I need to be able to take care of my children," Tiffany Van Dyke said. "It would have been a huge financial ease off our shoulders. It was something I was interested in doing.

"I do like helping others. I know it wasn't going to be easy by any means. It's a hard job for anyone to have to go into the jail and be a correctional officer. But I believe I'm a strong enough human being to be able to handle it, both physically and emotionally, but unfortunately they didn't want to give me a chance."

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Van Dyke said the hiring process was thorough. She said she passed each step along the way, including physical agility, lie detector and drug tests. She also underwent a formal interview with an investigator, met with the sheriff's Merit Board and even had a photo ID issued. She was also told to give notice to her employers, she said.

Attorney Daniel Herbert, who is representing Jason Van Dyke in the murder case, said he has reached out to Dart's office to try to resolve Tiffany Van Dyke's employment issue without "involving the courts."

Herbert said he believes it was a political decision  an allegation denied by the sheriff's office.

"I think his decision (to hire the officer's wife) would be questioned, and it would hurt him politically," Herbert said of Dart. "You cannot fire someone for an illegal reason. People are free to associate with whomever they want under the First Amendment, and if someone is being terminated because of who they are married to, that's a violation of their constitutional rights."

The Rev. Marvin Hunter, McDonald's great uncle and the family spokesman, declined comment about the sheriff's deputy job without more information but expressed compassion for the officer's family. Hunter agreed the bombshell case has left victims on both sides and said his family, too, has experienced threats and backlash. He said Van Dyke should be tried in a court of law, not by "vigilantes on the street."

"He was the one who did the shooting and acted as judge, jury and executioner," Hunter said. "His wife and their children were not there, and people shouldn't be on a witch hunt for anyone's family.

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"I feel sorry for his children, I feel sorry for his wife," he said. "They're feeling what we feel. We've all been dragged into something  a terrible tragedy that happened  that had nothing to do with us."

Tiffany Van Dyke said she has had to change jobs at least once before, after getting a death threat.

The family has been struggling financially. Suspended without pay by the Police Department shortly after he was criminally charged in November 2015, Jason Van Dyke has worked part-time since last March as a $12-an-hour janitor for the Fraternal Order of Police, the union which represents rank-and-file officers, as he awaits trial.

That drew protests as well from those who called it another example of police protecting their own.

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FOP President Dean Angelo Sr. said he continues to get death threats himself over the decision but defended the move as the right thing to do. He also chastised the sheriff's office for its treatment of Van Dyke's wife.

"It's completely unfair," Angelo said. "This is a mother who is trying to maintain some type of consistency within a home for her daughters who have had nothing but inconsistency."

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Tiffany Van Dyke said she understands possible safety concerns with the job at the jail. Besides applying for the position with her married name and disclosing her husband's name and profession, Van Dyke said she had a one-on-one discussion with the sheriff's human resources director earlier this month in which she offered to do "whatever it takes to keep myself safe and not cause any conflicts."

Van Dyke said she was assured there was at least one other sheriff's deputy with the last name of Van Dyke and that as long as she didn't divulge her connection to the murder case, there would not be a problem.

"It's harder, and harder and harder to care for my family," she said. "It's an emotional drain, it's a physical drain. But my husband and I are very strong together, and we keep our shoulders back and our heads held high, and we take care of our family the best way we can. And if it means I have to work three jobs, then I have to work three jobs."

cmgutowski@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @christygutowsk1
Clinton out of the limelight

To all the people who are upset because Hillary Clinton didn't win, where is she now? I know where she's at. She's hiding because the government is finding out all the things that she and her husband did. The Clinton Foundation doesn't exist anymore. She can no longer sell her power. You haven't heard a peep from Clinton since the election. Isn't that strange considering how outspoken she is? The only people still carrying on are her supporters. President Trump was the lesser of two evils in the last election.

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Flights to Florida

Tell me how many trips President Trump has made to Florida. Do you realize how much tax money is being spent? The costs are astronomical. Remember when former President Obama took a trip once every four or five months? Trump goes every weekend. Come on Republicans, speak up about this. Trump governs with executive orders.

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Trump taxes

This is about a comment about President Trump not turning over his taxes. Just this past week, someone found his 2006 tax form. He paid $38 million in taxes. When I read the comment, I was thinking about Batman and Robin. Smack! Pow! He walked right into it.

Stop the drama

Regarding the person who called in about Chance the Rapper, if he's so naive, let Gov. Rauner give this naive child his check back. Rauner hasn't done anything since he's been in office. Also, stop comparing President Trump to former President Obama. Obama is gone. You got Trump, plus you have a target on your back now from China and Korea. Stop complaining about Obama. You got who you wanted, so live with it.

Cut foreign assistance

I read that somebody was complaining about President Trump's plan to cut foreign assistance by 30 percent. When has the United States ever given anyone a guarantee that we would support their lifestyles? We can't take care of everyone in the world. They talked about a woman who has seven kids and is living in poverty. Whose fault is that? Don't have a bunch of kids you can't take care of. Liberals say it's a person's right to have as many children as they want. It's my right not to support them all.

Twitter @NewsSun

Editor's Note

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Talk of the County is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you see something you disagree with or think is incorrect, please tell us. Call us at 312-222-4554 or email talkofthecounty@tribpub.com. For a continuously updating blog of Talk of the County comments, go to newssunonline.com/talk.
Long-awaited justice

This is about a man guilty of an assault getting a sentencing date. He was caught red-handed in 2013. There was a videotape of him doing unspeakable things to a little child and then bringing the child back to where he abducted her. Why has it taken over three years? He was in custody almost immediately. Why did it take over three years to prosecute this case? It's cut and dried. What took so long? Criminals in this country have more rights than taxpayers. They should lock him in jail and throw away the key.

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Political beliefs

I'm calling about the Talk of the County comment, "obey the laws." I couldn't agree more. Any police chief or sheriff who refuses to obey the laws because of their political beliefs should be voted out. The problem is that it could take years. They should be fired on the spot instead of getting voted out.

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Riled about the rich

I read that Jesse Jackson Jr. is crying the blues because he is $1.8 million in debt between him and his wife. They own two houses, one in Chicago and one in Washington, D.C. Guess what? He will have to sell one of his mansions. He says they are in debt because of the mortgages on those two places, and he's only getting $130,000 a year because he's "disabled." He's lucky that all he has are bills. He's lucky on the short amount of time they spent in prison for stealing $750,000. I'm so fed up with the rich, entitled ones complaining about how much money they owe.

Healthcare and government do not mix

For the callers who are upset about Republicans, the proposed repeal of Obamacare and 14 million people losing their insurance, nowhere in the Constitution does it say the government should or will provide insurance for its citizens. Obamacare should never have been enacted. I'm aggravated with President Trump for wanting to replace it. There is no place in government for providing health care.

Stay off my lawn

To the Waukegan mayoral candidate worker who put a campaign sign in my yard: Ask first.

Twitter @NewsSun

Editor's Note

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Talk of the County is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you see something you disagree with or think is incorrect, please tell us. Call us at 312-222-4554 or email talkofthecounty@tribpub.com. For a continuously updating blog of Talk of the County comments, go to newssunonline.com/talk.
Activists meet March 3, 2017, outside the Islamic Community Center of Des Plaines to greet Muslim worshippers arriving for weekly prayers as part of a demonstration of interfaith support. In the wake of bomb threats on Jewish community centers and mosques across the country, the Muslim and Jewish faithful have become driven by a common vulnerability. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune) (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago-area Muslim and Jewish leaders are trying to transcend tensions and forge new alliances as synagogues, mosques, community centers and individuals face similar threats here and across the U.S.

Alarmed by a rise in hateful rhetoric and threats since the election of President Donald Trump, members of both religious communities who have clashed in the past over Israel and Middle East politics now are sharing meals, discussing books and visiting each other's houses of worship to offer comfort and support. New interfaith coalitions have emerged and others that already existed now boast waiting lists.

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Illustrating how entrenched the historic divisions over Israel have been, many conversations among leaders are taking place behind the scenes, outside the framework of organizations, to remove institutional roadblocks. Some individuals who have publicized their diplomatic efforts have faced rebuke from their own communities.

Eman Aly, a trained social worker and Muslim activist, said Trump's election taught her that no one can afford to live in a bubble and demonize others.

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"I don't think anybody (in the Muslim community) thought Trump would win," she said. "We also didn't realize the rhetoric was going to get so hateful so quickly. It's always been spread under the surface and just needed a little bit of itching to get it out. It just makes sense to ally with groups that are in the same predicament that we are, and the closest allied group are the Jewish community."

Eman H. Aly and Maxine Frankel speak at a gathering of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, a coalition of Muslim and Jewish women, on March 26, 2017, at Ian Sherwin Art Gallery in Lakeview. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

The Anti-Defamation League says that since Jan. 9, there have been more than 150 bomb threats against Jewish community centers and day schools in 37 states and two Canadian provinces. And annual data published by the FBI tallied 5,850 hate crime incidents nationally in 2015, up 6 percent from 2014, with the sharpest rise in attacks against Muslims and transgender people. Earlier this month, Gov. Bruce Rauner unveiled an initiative to boost the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes through stronger laws and better education. Though the effort was intended for the Jewish community, both Jews and Muslims say they feel a sense of unease.

Just weeks after the election, librarians at Evanston Public Library discovered defaced copies of the Quran. In February, a vandal broke a window and put several swastika stickers on the front door of the Chicago Loop Synagogue and a man entered the Islamic Community Center of Des Plaines making gestures that unnerved those inside. Bomb threats made in the past have forced evacuations at the Hyde Park Jewish Community Center and Chicago Jewish Day School.

"An attack on a school or an attack on a mosque is actually an attack on all of us," said Aaron Cohen, vice president of communications for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

That shared vulnerability has led to initiatives such as the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, a national organization of Jewish and Muslim women whose Chicago membership numbers about 60. Women meet regularly in groups of between 12 and 20 in art galleries, libraries or one another's homes. Since launching in Chicago last year, the group now has waiting lists of women hoping to be assigned to a chapter.

"It's easy to hate someone you don't know," said Barbara Kantrow, Jewish co-leader of a Chicago chapter, who said the group allows members "to see what's real and not true and get out of the rhetoric."

When the Loop Synagogue was vandalized, Kantrow took two Muslim women from her sisterhood chapter to observe morning prayers and deliver a card. Rabia Aman, 26, who also is part of an interfaith book club called Daughters of Abraham, said it was the first time she'd ever set foot inside a Jewish house of worship. Though she doesn't agree with her own religious tradition's custom of separating men and women inside a mosque during prayer, she found it comforting to see that familiar seating arrangement inside the traditional synagogue.

"It was a sense of relief to see that there's some unity there  a custom that connects it to Islam, even though it's not the most progressive," she said. "It made me realize how much of a struggle there is in all faiths to move in the right direction. There isn't one faith that's more modern than the other."

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Loop Synagogue President Lee Zoldan said she was stunned by the show of support from other religious communities. There were so many cards that Zoldan and others taped them to the windows of the synagogue so passers-by could stop, read them and snap pictures, creating an ad hoc art installation on the first block of South Clark Street, she said.

"It was amazing, especially the Muslim community came out in force," she said. "It's been an awakening for all of us to see how much they are brothers and sisters and how much we stand together. In a way, this helped me expand my horizons."

But solidarity between mainstream Muslims and Jews has been an exception more than the rule, leaders say, and institutions often define themselves by their adversaries. With that in mind, a series of conversations has bubbled up behind the scenes to remove institutional barriers to productive dialogue.

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"It hasn't been easy for Muslims and Jews to sit down at the table," said Ahmed Murad, an imam on Chicago's Southwest Side. "For now, to develop a relationship that is long-term and sustained, where there is a trust, to get to that level, requires coming together."

Meanwhile, Aly, the activist, is one of eight Chicago-area Muslims who have been part of the Muslim Leadership Initiative, a yearlong fellowship at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, to study Zionism from a Jewish perspective. Not everyone in the program has publicized his or her participation for fear of rebuke. Aly quietly added it to her LinkedIn profile to avoid a spectacle but still drew ire from a few Muslim acquaintances.

"To be able to see the conflict, to be able to see the world through a different lens  through a Jewish lens  was really incredibly transformative," Aly said. "It gives me a language to talk to Jewish counterparts and an incredible amount of goodwill that just comes out of people knowing I did the program."

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She said the positive energy it has conjured from the mainstream Jewish community outweighs any criticism from Muslims who worry she is conspiring with the enemy and allowing herself to be brainwashed by a Zionist agenda. The bottom line is the Muslim community in the U.S. has become too insular, she said, and it's time to break out of that in order to thrive.

"9/11 should've been a wake-up call, and it wasn't," she said. "This current situation is a bigger wake-up call. If we don't learn from this situation and really change, and engage and get involved in our local community and not get out of our comfort zone, I don't know if we'll get another chance."

mbrachear@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @TribSeeker
Aleksandra Dimo, 28, is seen March 14, 2017, outside the Howard Area Community Center in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. Dimo was a psychologist in Albania but came to the U.S. in 2015 knowing no English. She now works in a deli and volunteers at the community center. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

The first time he applied for a medical residency in the U.S., Rafel AlHiali felt buoyant.

With nine years of experience as a physician, the Iraq native and recent immigrant to Chicago felt confident he'd be treating patients again soon.

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He sent off the applications and waited. And waited. "First week, first month, second month. There was nothing," AlHiali said. "I was really shocked."

Five years later, after several failed attempts to land a residency, AlHiali, 40, works part-time as a medical interpreter while he tries to reclaim his derailed career.

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Highly skilled immigrants like AlHiali often encounter a labyrinth of obstacles when they try to find jobs in the U.S., frustrating not only their ambitions but also their earning potential as they settle for lower-skill positions.

President Donald Trump 's support for merit-based immigration systems, like those used in Canada and Australia, could make it easier for immigrants with advanced educations and skill sets to enter the U.S. Trump praised those systems for adhering to "a basic principle that those seeking to enter a country ought to be able to support themselves financially."

But those already here say the expertise they brought with them to the U.S. often goes to waste. Lengthy recertification processes, language barriers and employers' unfamiliarity with foreign credentials hobble immigrants' efforts to find work in their fields. They take jobs as janitors, babysitters and valets to get by.

The Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, calls it brain waste. Nearly 2 million college-educated immigrants and refugees in the U.S. are unemployed or working in low-skill jobs despite years of education and work experience.

Meanwhile, a growing share of immigrants are highly educated. Almost half of adults who entered the U.S. between 2011 and 2015 were college graduates, up from a third who came from 2007 to 2009, according to the institute.

The Trump administration has not made any policy announcements about what a merit-based immigration system might entail. A White House spokesman said only that the president has tweeted about the concept generally. Trump sent a tweet March 3 that said: "The merit-based system is the way to go."

Tamar Frolichstein-Appel, of Upwardly Global, talks about merit-based immigration visas and the challenges immigrants, often white-collar professionals in their home countries, face in the U.S. (Alison Bowen / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

The current U.S. immigration system prioritizes family unification. Nearly two-thirds of the 1 million legal permanent residents accepted into the country in 2015 were either immediate relatives of American citizens or sponsored by family, while 14 percent were employment-based admissions, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Fifteen percent were refugees or asylum seekers, and 5 percent came through a diversity lottery for people from countries with low immigration rates to the U.S.

Some experts have reservations about a merit-based system.

One concern is that focusing on highly skilled immigrants ignores the demand for lower-skilled labor, such as in agriculture, where employers say they struggle to draw a workforce. Yet even for highly skilled immigrants, the system might not be as promising as it sounds.

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Canada pioneered the merit-based concept in the 1960s, but even there, more than 40 percent of highly educated immigrants are overqualified for the jobs in which they work, said Jeanne Batalova, a senior policy analyst at Migration Policy Institute.

In Canada, applicants receive points for education, occupation, the ability to speak one or both of the country's official languages, an existing job offer and graduation from a Canadian university.

Part of the mismatch  in Canada as well as in the U.S.  has to do with the strength of the local labor market, but it also reflects a need for community organizations to help both immigrants and employers navigate unfamiliar territory, Batalova said.

"Employers are frankly lost in terms of how to evaluate credentials, legal status, languages," she said.

Some advocates for stricter immigration applaud Trump's support of a merit-based system. Highly skilled immigrants wouldn't compete with U.S. workers for low-skill jobs, and they could have a positive impact if they pay more taxes and use fewer services, said Steven Camarota, research director at the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonprofit group that favors reducing immigration.

Still, Camarota is skeptical that the U.S. needs such immigrants to plug talent shortages.

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Wages haven't increased for many jobs employers say they have trouble filling, and many educated Americans have trouble finding work in their fields, he said.

Even if Trump emphasizes an immigration system based on skills and education, officials will need to address how easily that experience can be put to use.

Facing licensing tests that require hundreds of dollars, or having to repeat an entire course of study, many immigrants with advanced skills take lower-paying "survival jobs" to pay rent and buy groceries.

In Illinois, where there are 334,000 college-educated immigrants older than 25 in the civilian labor force, a quarter of them are in low-skilled jobs or unemployed, compared with 17 percent of their U.S.-born peers, the Migration Policy Institute says. The disparity is more pronounced among immigrants who earned their bachelor's degree abroad.

The situation is not only demoralizing for immigrants but robs communities of scarce skills, Batalova said. Ethnic communities are in particular need of professionals who can speak the language and understand cultural nuances in key fields like health care.

Julio Godoy, 54, earns minimum wage cleaning the inside of airplanes at O'Hare International Airport. The job is a stark departure from his life before he immigrated from his native Guatemala, where for 25 years he held managerial positions in banking institutions, earning about $3,200 a month.

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Godoy, who has his green card, left Guatemala City with his son in 2013. His priority was to learn English so he could land a good job, but when his savings ran out he took the airplane cleaning job and now works 60-hour weeks at O'Hare. That leaves little time for him to improve his English, which is barely better now than when he arrived.

"It's a vicious cycle that I'm stuck in," Godoy said in Spanish through a translator.

The brain waste is costly. Nationally, those working in low-skill jobs missed out on $39.4 billion in earnings they might have seen had they worked in middle- or high-skill jobs, according to a Migration Policy Institute analysis. That's about $10.2 billion in lost tax revenue.

Most college-educated immigrants are legal permanent residents or refugees, but those who don't have legal status face additional hurdles, with 40 percent working low-skill jobs.

At Upwardly Global, a group that helps find job placements for immigrants here legally with at least a bachelor's degree, clients include engineers, doctors and nurses who work as babysitters, cabdrivers and in factories.

"These are people who the United States has welcomed into our country," said Tamar Frolichstein-Appel, a career counselor at Upwardly Global. "The people we work with are not in any way looking for handouts. But they have these skills, and they're in areas where our country needs these skills."

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Julio Godoy, 54, worked in managerial positions at banks in Guatemala before leaving the country in 2013 to escape the violence. Now he earns minimum wage, working 60-hour weeks cleaning airplanes at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

The group helps with job application basics that change from culture to culture. Refugees arrive with pages-long resumes that need slimming. Selling yourself, rude in other cultures, is vital here. Corporate volunteers help immigrants practice eye contact or tout their skills, which also builds their professional networks.

In an immigration system based on merit, even those who arrive with skills might find they can't easily use them. Many who want to be self-sufficient find that reaching their earning potential is a slow process.

Aleksandra Dimo, 28, was a psychologist in Albania. She came to the U.S. in 2015. Here, she slices meat in a deli and her husband, a trained engineer, works as a valet. Upwardly Global helped connect her with English classes.

Someday, she hopes to work in something closer to her field. In the meantime, she volunteers every day at the Howard Area Community Center in the Rogers Park neighborhood, where her therapeutic skills are used to comfort homeless people and pregnant women.

"That makes my day," she said. "Working three hours there, then I don't care if I work at a deli."

She is grateful that the deli provides a place to practice English  despite speaking Albanian, Spanish and Italian, she arrived knowing no English  and a paycheck. Still, she said, her friends ask, "You have a master's degree and you're working at a deli?"

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Doctors face particular challenges.

Health care is an industry heavily affected by immigration legislation. In the Midwest, 25 percent of physicians and surgeons were born outside the U.S., according to a 2016 report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Residency is often the roadblock. Many programs prefer U.S. clinical experience and applicants who have graduated within five years. So despite years of experience, a foreign-born doctor like AlHiali might be quickly disqualified.

Even in nursing, where certification is more straightforward, challenges exist.

The Chicago Bilingual Nurse Consortium started in 2002 to help nurses pass the National Council Licensure Examination. Some didn't speak English or had difficulty getting school transcripts.

The consortium's test prep has helped 725 internationally educated nurses from 60 countries. Still, the process usually takes 12 to 46 months.

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Several states have formed task forces to knock down the barriers. Minnesota's Department of Health released a report in February suggesting relaxed requirements for doctors, and a new program allows some foreign-born physicians to be eligible for state-funded residencies in rural or underserved areas.

At the federal level, the White House Task Force on New Americans under President Barack Obama explored a system to streamline professional certification and licensure.

AlHiali, the Iraqi physician, has spent years applying for medical residency and waiting to treat patients instead of translate for them.

He hoped his time with Upwardly Global, which helped him revise his resume and practice interviews, would help him.

"I applied even to Alaska," said AlHiali, who said he came on a K-1 visa, or a visa for fiances traveling to marry a U.S. citizen, and is now a citizen. "I'm ready to take anything."

Two weeks ago, for the fifth year in a row, he braced himself for the email that would reveal if he was accepted into a medical residency program.

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This time, it read, "Congratulations."

An earlier version of this story indicated that the Chicago Bilingual Nurse Consortium helped 725 internationally educated nurses obtain licenses. Though the consortium assisted 725 nurses, not all became licensed.

abowen@chicagotribune.com

aelejalderuiz@chicagotribune.com
A male was arrested early Monday after he ran from a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 90/94 near 18th Street in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, Illinois State Police said.

The crash happened about 2:50 a.m. on the Dan Ryan Expressway. One person was taken to Stroger Hospital with minor injuries.

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A male, whose age was not yet known, ran away, and he was later arrested on 18th near Halsted Street, troopers said.

Police did not yet know what charges or citations the male could face. The incident remains under investigation.
Chicago State University trustees on Monday announced plans for sweeping leadership changes at the Far South Side school, but questions remain over who will fill key roles.

After nearly six hours of closed discussions, trustees said they will immediately begin a search for a new interim president and for someone to fill a newly created position of interim chief administrative officer. No details were given on the responsibilities of the new position or how it will fit with the interim president's job.

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Trustees said they hoped to have names for those positions at their April 7 meeting. They also said they could announce the launch of a national search for a new permanent president for the university next month.

The current interim president, Cecil B. Lucy, will return to his previous post as interim finance and administration chief. He has been interim president since September, when Thomas Calhoun Jr. resigned.

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The lack of details coming out the closed-door session came as a surprise to many in the crowd, who, after a week of political maneuvering, had expected ex-Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas to be named to a top administration job.

Gov. Bruce Rauner, who appointed Vallas and three other new board members in January, has pushed for Vallas to assume a more direct leadership role and help engineer a turnaround at a school beset with falling enrollment, poor academic achievement and financial mismanagement.

But Trustee Nicholas Gowen, also a Rauner appointee, said hiring Vallas directly from the board could create a conflict of interest. Gowen also said the board is considering several people for the two positions.

Vallas, Gowen said, made a presentation during the closed session to promote his qualificationsnot specifically making a pitch for one job over the otherthen recused himself from the group's discussions.

Gowen said Vallas will be a candidate for both jobs, but only after he resigns as a trustee. Gowen also said the board was concerned about Vallas having access to board information before potentially being hired as an administrator, although that would not take him out of contention.

"The Chicago State board of trustees, at the suggestion of Gov. Rauner, considered Paul Vallas to be the interim president," Gowen said. "We certainly considered the governor's concerns, as well as concerns raised by the faculty, staff and community. This body acted independently, deliberately and professionally to come to a decision. The decision is ours and ours alone."

Vallas declined comment after the meeting.

"It's kind of confusing to figure out what they just did," said Robert Bionaz, leader of the faculty union, which had backed Vallas. "We can't wait very long to take this university in a different direction. There needs to be a resolution. We can't kick the can down the road anymore."

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A vocal and divided crowd turned out in anticipation of the leadership shake-up. Many criticized current leaders and highlighted failures under their watch, while others said they felt Rauner was interfering in trying to install a white man as head of a predominantly black school. Vallas is white; Lucy is black.

During public comments, community organizer Michael Muhammad criticized Chicago State's current leaders and listed the university's many struggles and controversies in recent years.

"Incompetence, evil and negativity leave a residue," Muhammad said. "Change is necessary. The old model must die."

Local activist Eddie Reed was among those who urged the board to consider the racial dynamics at play.

"Race does matter," Reed said. "This institution is noted across the country as a black university. Therefore, we must do everything we can to put a responsible person who is black in charge of this university."

The plan to put Vallas in charge began unfolding earlier this month.

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Rauner appointed Vallas, Gowen, attorney Tiffany Harper and business owner Kam Buckner to Chicago State's board in January. He also created an eight-member advisory panel, putting the group on notice he expected aggressive moves to resolve financial, academic and administrative bungles at the university.

Rauner was clear he wanted Vallas to lead the board, but trustees already had elected the Rev. Marshall Hatch Sr. as their chairman. As weeks went by with no major reforms underway, state Secretary of Education Beth Purvis this month summoned Vallas, Hatch and advisory member Tony Anderson and brainstormed a plan to put Vallas in a crisis management role, leveraging Rauner's political capital on the board to effect that change.

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"Chicago State University is in crisis and requires transformational change in order to improve student success," Purvis said in a statement Friday. "While this is a board decision, we believe that Paul Vallas has the skills to implement a strategic plan that will lay a strong foundation for a new president. It is our expectation, the board would launch a comprehensive, nationwide search within six months to recruit and hire the right long-term candidate."

Politicians from Springfield to Chicago also jumped into the debate during the past week. A group of Chicago aldermen and county commissioners  who said they supported Lucy to continue  accused the governor of overstepping his authority.

"We are not going to stand idly by and let someone just pick or appoint who they want to be the president of Chicago State," Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore said at a news conference Friday.

Gowen said the search for a new permanent president could take at least a year. Both he and Harper will lead that search committee.

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Chicago Tribune's Grace Wong contributed.

drhodes@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @rhodes_dawn
Dean Angelo, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, speaks at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Nov. 30, 2015. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

The president of the union representing thousands of rank-and-file Chicago police officers said he is planning to meet with top officials of the Trump administration but doesn't know yet if he'll see the president too.

Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo said he will be flying to Washington "early this week."

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"I know it's with the upper echelon at the Trump administration,'' he said. "I'm very excited to see who's going to be there.''

Angelo said he was not given a guarantee that Trump would be at the meeting, but he knows what he plans to say.

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"Chicago police are amazing at what they do,'' Angelo said he hopes to tell Trump. "I would invite him on a ride-along and tell him that we need his help. We can't fix this by ourselves.

"It's time to put a lid on this," Angelo said of gun violence in Chicago. "It's got to stop. But someone has to give a green light for police officers to get back to real policing. I love this job, and I'm glad it was me they wanted to talk to."

It was not known when the talks will take place, and a White House representative could not immediately be reached for comment.

Trump has repeatedly singled out Chicago for its rise in shootings and murders. In late January he tweeted, "If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible 'carnage' going on, I will send in the Feds!"

Trump, who got the national FOP's endorsement in the 2016 presidential election, may express sympathy for a Chicago Police Department accused of engaging in a pattern of civil rights abuses in a scathing report issued in January by the U.S. Justice Department.

The investigation, under former President Barack Obama's administration, was touched off by the 2015 court-ordered release of video footage showing Officer Jason Van Dyke killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, shooting him 16 times.

Trump's handpicked attorney general, Jeff Sessions, has made it clear that he's no fan of federal civil rights probes, and it remains to be seen whether he would commit to a consent decree with Chicago that could codify reforms within its police department.

Sessions has pushed the idea that officers' hesitance to police aggressively, due to increased public scrutiny of local law enforcement across the country, is driving rising violence in major U.S. cities, including Chicago.

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The city finished a disastrous 2016 with more than 4,300 people shot and over 760 slain, the most killings the city has seen in 20 years.

Angelo faces a runoff in his bid for re-election as Chicago's FOP president after failing to garner more than 50 percent of the vote in a race with five challengers earlier this month. The runoff is scheduled for April 12.

Angelo finished first with 34.8 percent of the vote but will go head to head with runner-up Kevin Graham, a former FOP trustee who received 24.8 percent. Both active and retired Chicago police officers are eligible to vote.

Earlier this month, Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and other big city police chiefs were in Washington to meet with Sessions to discuss gun violence and how the federal government can help local police departments combat it.

Johnson called for, among other things, more assistant U.S. attorneys to come to Chicago and help prosecute cases of felons in possession of illegal handguns.

Earlier this month, Trump released his 2018 budget blueprint that calls for U.S. Justice Department funding to drop to $27.7 billion for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, down 3.8 percent, or $1.1 billion, from the current fiscal year.

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But the blueprint also calls for federal dollars to "target the worst of the worst criminal organizations and drug traffickers in order to address violent crime, gun-related deaths, and the opioid epidemic."
A judge Sunday set bail at $200,000 for a Des Plaines man who prosecutors said sexually assaulted a female relative.

Luis L. Lucero, 59, of the 7500 block of South Elmhurst Road, was charged with three counts of criminal sexual assault during a bond court hearing before Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil.



Prosecutors said Lucero attacked his relative in the basement of a Streamwood home on Thursday. He was arrested after he admitted to having sex with the victim and told police he thought it was consensual.

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Lucero is scheduled to appear in court again on Tuesday.
Manuel Repasi was chargedwith 12 counts of criminal activity, including attempted murder, assault, speeding and driving on a suspended license. (Cook County sheriff's office)

A 22-year-old Indiana man who allegedly struck a man with his car as he fled the scene of a crash on the city's Far South Side appeared in court Sunday on charges of attempted murder.

Manuel Repasi, of Hammond, was held in lieu of $800,000 bail during a hearing Sunday before Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.

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Prosecutors said Repasi crashed into a vehicle near the 3400 block of East 106th Street, sped away from the scene and hid inside a nearby business.

He then allegedly punched a man with a set of keys before driving away and threatening two more people.



As he fled down an alley, Repasi repeatedly hit a man with his car, fracturing his legs and feet, according to prosecutors.



He struck several vehicles before crashing into a tree near 11115 South Avenue O.

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Repasi was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center and arrested on 12 counts of criminal activity, including attempted murder, assault, speeding and driving on a suspended license, prosecutors said.

Repasi is scheduled to appear in court again Friday.
This is the blog of China defense, where professional analysts and serious defense enthusiasts share findings on a rising military power.
Illinois State troopers block traffic coming into Chicago about 2 p.m. after a report of gunfire March 27, 2017, on the Eisenhower Expressway near Sacramento Avenue. (Tony Briscoe / Chicago Tribune)

No victims have been found but Illinois State Police continue to investigate a shootout on the inbound Eisenhower Expressway Monday afternoon.

About 1:20 p.m. a witness saw people inside two eastbound vehicles shooting at each other near Kedzie Avenue, according to an emailed statement from ISP.

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They responded to the area of the eastbound Eisenhower and Kedzie Avenue and found a shell casing, officials said.

But they didn't find a victim. The statement said there were "no reported victims.''

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One inbound motorist said traffic started slowing about a quarter of a mile from the Sacramento exit and then came to a halt. Curious motorists got out of their cars to see what was happening and then many left in clusters making U-turns and exiting the highway using the on-ramp.

At least three Illinois State Police squad cars were on the scene, as some troopers canvassed the highway and others diverted traffic. One Chicago Police squad car was parked on a street above the highway.

All inbound lanes remain closed as of about 3 p.m. while ISP officers search for evidence.

Motorists were able to get back on the highway at California Avenue.

Outbound traffic was not affected.

Anyone who witnessed the shooting or has any knowledge of the shooting should called state police, 847-294-4400. Callers can remain anonymous.

Chicago Tribune reporter Tony Briscoe contributed to this report.
Carnell King, of Chicago'sSouth Shoreneighborhood, is suspected of multiple carjackings and is arrested in Atlanta. (Chicago Police Department)

A 19-year-old Chicago man who carjacked several people on a single day in January was taken into custody in Georgia and is facing charges, Chicago police said.

Carnell King, of the 6900 block of South Merrill Avenue, was charged with four counts of aggravated vehicular high jacking, police said. He is expected to appear for a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Monday afternoon.

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The four attacks occurred Jan. 10.

Brandishing a gun, King carjacked someone in the 13500 block of South Brandon Avenue in Hegewisch about 6:55 a.m., police said.

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King then made his way to the 3700 block of West 16th Street in Lawndale where about 1:25 p.m., he carjacked another person.

Minutes later, he drove to the South Loop where he attacked another victim in the 1100 block of South Clark Street but failed because the driver disabled the keys. Then King immediately carjacked someone else at the same South Loop address about 1:35 p.m., police said.

U.S. marshals located him in Atlanta, and he was taken into custody without incident and extradited to Chicago.
Chicago police officers investigate a double shooting in the 4100 block of West 25th Street, where two men were shot March 26, 2017, in the Little Village neighborhood. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune)

A 14-year-old boy killed in the South Austin neighborhood was among 29 people shot over the weekend in Chicago, according to police.

The city continues to see fewer homicides and shooting victims than it did this time last year, according to data collected by the Tribune.

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As of Monday, 130 people have been killed compared with 143 people by this time in 2016. At least 698 people had been shot as of Monday compared with 759 people last year.

In the most recent fatal shooting, a 30-year-old woman was shot and two others were wounded during a family party in a Gresham apartment building.

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A group of people began arguing with another group in the entryway to an apartment building in the 900 block of West 76th Street. At some point, two people pulled out guns and began shooting at the group, police said.

Tanisha Jackson, 30, of the 6200 block of South Talman Avenue, was shot several times. She was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where she was pronounced dead.

A 29-year-old man was shot in the back, and a 28-year-old woman was grazed in the chest during the same shooting. The man was taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center, and the 28-year-old woman declined medical attention.

About 3 p.m. Saturday, 14-year-old Laquan Allen was shot while he was on a sidewalk near a playground in the 4900 block of West Hubbard Street, police said. He was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Laquan was at least the fourth person fatally shot on that block since November 2011, and at least the 15th person shot on the block in that time, according to Tribune data.

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It was the second time Laquan had been shot. His mother, Luciana Sanders, and his grandmother, Dieanna Ward, had thought about moving to a different part of the country to escape the violence.

"Whoever it is that killed my son, they need to come forward," Sanders said. "Even if it was an accident, just please come forward and say that you done it. ... My son did not deserve this."

Just before 5 p.m. Friday, Tomorry Hill, 20, was gunned down as he was walking in the 6600 block of South Laflin Street in the Englewood neighborhood, police said. Someone in a passing vehicle shot him in the head, shoulder, hand and leg. He was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

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In non-fatal shootings, a 25-year-old man and a 29-year-old man were shot about 12:50 p.m. Sunday in the 4100 block of West 25th Street in the city's Little Village neighborhood, police said.

A 24-year-old woman was shot Saturday afternoon in the right leg during an incident described by police as road rage on the Far South Side. She was in good condition at Advocate Trinity Hospital.

Just as the weekend was about to begin Friday afternoon, three teenage boys and three men were shot within an hour in five separate attacks on the South Side.

Chicago Tribune's Grace Wong and Liam Ford contributed.
Gov. Bruce Raunertried to jump start his plan to allow private companies to build toll lanes along portions of the Stevenson Expressway. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner Monday tried to jump-start his plan to allow private companies to build toll lanes along portions of the Stevenson Expressway, saying Democratic leaders in the General Assembly are blocking the project.

Just before the governor began speaking, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan pushed back against the proposed project, accusing Rauner of being out to help his "wealthy friends."

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More than a year after Rauner first proposed the lanes, the governor returned to the same Illinois Department of Transportation yard in McCook where'd he first announced the plan, and Monday he railed against Madigan for holding it up. The public-private partnership requires an OK from the General Assembly. State lawmakers have held hearings on the idea, but they haven't voted on it.

Rauner and his team tried to ratchet up pressure for a vote by floating an April 1 deadline ahead of the news conference in an op-ed by IDOT Secretary Randy Blankenhorn in the Tribune. In it, Blankenhorn warned that "investors will walk away" if lawmakers haven't approved the plan by that date.

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"Today we are requesting your help, the help of all the media and the people across the state of Illinois, to advocate strongly to move forward now on one of the most important job-creating projects that we can pursue as a state," Rauner said.

The governor later called on reporters to "ask the speaker what happened, if you all would ask the members of the General Assembly what happened, that would be great."

Madigan, too, tried to get ahead of the issue by firing off a statement before the news conference had started. He said the Rauner administration had failed to explain how the idea would benefit taxpayers.

"Our concern with private investors being involved in a toll lane is that, once again, it seems as though Gov. Rauner is more interested in helping his wealthy friends," the Madigan statement said. "Despite multiple requests for information over several months, IDOT hasn't prepared a plan that would lay out the costs, results and anticipated tolls. IDOT hasn't provided any evidence demonstrating that this project will save taxpayer dollars or result in better maintained roads. We continue to await this information."

Rauner was dismissive of the Madigan statement. "Have you ever read baloney before?" he said.

Blankenhorn said Madigan's assertion that the administration hadn't provided information was "absolutely not true," noting that there had been five hearings on the idea. But he conceded that some unanswered questions did remain.

"To a certain extent, until we go out for a (request for proposal), you don't know what the bids are going to look like. There are certain things we can't answer about how much money it's going to bring in and what that looks like until that happens," Blankenhorn said. "They know that. This isn't new to them."

The proposal would allow private companies to build toll lanes along congested portions of the Stevenson Expressway and then collect a portion of the revenue from the drivers that use them. Those lanes could be ready by 2020 if the General Assembly approved the project by the end of this month, Blankenhorn said. Tolls would be charged using a dynamic pricing system where drivers would pay more to use the lanes during times of greater congestion.

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A 2010 study by the Illinois Tollway, the Metropolitan Planning Council and the consulting firm Wilbur Smith Associates found that the project would make commutes faster in both the toll lanes and the free lanes. The study projected that the toll lanes would generate about $24 million in tolls each year.

The toll lane project is one of a series of privatization proposals that Rauner has floated during his time in office, only to have the ideas blocked or slowed down by Democrats. Rauner also wants to sell the James R. Thompson Center, the massive, worn Loop office building that's owned by the state. And he wanted to create a private foundation that would raise money on behalf of the Illinois State Fair. Rauner formed the foundation on his own last year after legislation approving the idea stalled in the General Assembly.

Last week, Rauner's administration moved to lay off 124 prison nurses, with plans to replace them with contract nurses. Privatization of state jobs has also been a key stumbling block in Rauner's contract standoff with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, with the governor insisting on provisions that would make it easier to outsource work to the private sector.

Rauner's privatization push could become a theme of the 2018 campaign as Democrats try to cast the wealthy businessman Rauner as out of touch with the needs of average voters. Democrat Chris Kennedy didn't miss a chance to seize on it Monday as he appeared at a gubernatorial candidate forum hosted by the Cook County Democratic Party.

"I think privatization is really risky," Kennedy said. "He's trying to do it with the nurses in the prisons. He's trying to do it with the State of Illinois building. I think it's a way for pinstripe patronage to flourish and for him to make his wealthy friends in hedge funds and private equity wealthier than they are."

Rauner has argued that involving the private sector in government projects will protect taxpayers and help create jobs.

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"This is not rocket science, ladies and gentlemen," Rauner said of the I-55 idea. "This is a commonsense way to grow an economy, create jobs and protect taxpayers."

Chicago Tribune's Rick Pearson contributed.

kgeiger@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimgeiger
One by one, six men who are running for Illinois governor or considering it addressed Cook County Democratic committeemen Monday, seeking early support and offering a unified message aimed at removing Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner from office next year. March 27, 2017. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune) (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

One by one, six men who are running for Illinois governor or thinking about it addressed Cook County Democratic committeemen Monday, seeking early support and offering a unified message aimed at removing Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner from office next year.

But beneath their individual Rauner-centric attacks, support for a graduated income tax to fix Illinois' budget woes and agreement on the need to harness the activism against President Donald Trump were clear signs of separation between some of the contenders long before county Democratic leaders consider an endorsement in August.

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Northwest Side Alderman Ameya Pawar and state Sen. Daniel Biss of Evanston urged party leaders to help spark a campaign built off activism for social change rather than turning to more wealthy contenders. Neither candidate is deep-pocketed and both face the prospect of raising millions of dollars to be competitive next March in the Democratic primary.

There were also divisions among the wealthier contenders. Businessman Chris Kennedy, an heir to the wealthy and iconic political family who last week put $250,100 into his own campaign and as a result lifted contributions limits in the race, implored Democrats not to back billionaire investor and entrepreneur J.B. Pritzker. Kennedy did not mention Pritzker's name but likened him to Rauner, a former private equity investor he called a "billionaire bully."

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"It's criminal what (Rauner) has done to the Republican Party. He has silenced it. There is no dissent. Don't let that happen to our party. Don't put somebody in charge of our state who does not need all of you, who is not dependent upon all of you for re-election. Because if you do that, you will turn the Democratic Party in this state into what the Republican Party has become," said Kennedy, who afterward told reporters he was referring to Pritzker.

"Don't kid yourself that we can outsource that task (of taking on Rauner), that we can simply go to somebody and say  go to another billionaire and say  if you will be our protector, if you will fight our fight for us, we will make you our king," he said.

Pritzker had spoken and left the meeting before Kennedy made his remarks. During his speech, Pritzker touched on an issue of crucial concern to Democratic ward and township committeemen  the availability of local resources for next year's campaign.

Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune, acknowledged he had "landed in the lucky tub," with the resources to "pursue my dreams." He has placed $200,000 of his personal funds into his exploratory committee.

"If I run, I would intend to begin right away building up our party's resources. And remember, we have a real challenge," Pritzker said, citing well-funded Rauner-allied groups that are expected to assist the governor's re-election as well as other Republican candidates.

"What's fundamental to the Democratic Party, what I've been doing since I was 11 years old, is field (operations). We've got to build that up," Pritzker said. "I believe we've got to build up the infrastructure in your wards, in this county, in counties all over the state of Illinois."

Pritzker, a longtime Democratic fundraiser, called himself "someone who has a record of proven results, solving big hairy problems ... who has the vision to set the course for the state toward economic prosperity for all." In contrast, he said Rauner didn't live up to his commitment to "shake up Springfield. Instead, he tore it down."

Pritzker said "it won't be very long" before he makes a decision on whether to run and joked that since he formally began exploring the race, he found out "at least according to Bruce Rauner and the Illinois GOP, Mike Madigan is actually my biological father." Republicans have sought to link Democratic candidates to the longtime, unpopular House speaker who also chairs the state Democratic Party.

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Pawar, the first candidate to get in the race and first to speak Monday, contended Rauner's governorship operated on a theme of "divide and rule," using "chaos" to separate "natural allies" and "destroy institutions."

The two-term 47th Ward alderman acknowledged he is an "underdog" and said his name was "not very ballot-ready." But he said he was working to build support across the state. Pawar denied his effort was to keep himself in front of the public in case Mayor Rahm Emanuel opted not to seek a third term in 2019. "This is not a game to me," Pawar said.

Biss, who dropped a bid for state comptroller in last year's special election, got into the race last week criticizing the wealthy as well as the "political machine." Speaking to top local Democrats Monday, Biss didn't mention the "machine."

Instead, Biss contended Rauner was leading "an assault at our party in a political way and at the core values we stand for and our allies across the state of Illinois that our state relies on." He said he was working to leverage Democratic discontent with Trump "as a crucial resource."

Biss agreed with comments by state Sen. Don Harmon, a committeeman from Oak Park, that "it was entirely possible now that we'll go another year without a budget."

"Most people seem to think that that's likely the case and, unfortunately I can't argue with that," said Biss, who added that if Rauner is defeated, the next governor will "have a honeymoon" but must move quickly to keep the state from going insolvent.

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The lone Downstate announced candidate, Bob Daiber, the Madison County regional superintendent of schools, said he could win the statewide primary election vote outside Cook County but needed help from county Democrats. Daiber said he did not expect to get the county Democrats' endorsement this summer, given it was the home base for his rivals.

Also appearing before the group was Chicago City Treasurer Kurt Summers, who is considering a bid for governor. Summers urged a unification of Democratic voters split between last year's presidential candidacies of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Summers also said voters are looking for a Rauner challenger who has "credibility" and a narrative of "authenticity" to inspire them. Summers said the person who can demonstrate those factors in pledging to resolve the state's budget crisis "is who they'll vote for."

Asked about the governor's race Monday at a separate event, Rauner labeled the Democratic candidates as "a continuation of the status quo."

"They're not proposing any new ideas to grow jobs. They're not proposing any new ideas to protect taxpayers. But they're proposing tax hikes, income tax hikes. And they're proposing to continue to work for the political machine that's dominated Illinois for decades," he said. "That's not going to make things better."

With the Cook County Democratic organization scheduled to meet in August to consider an endorsement, Kennedy told reporters afterward that he didn't think slate-making was as "meaningful as it was 50 or 60 years ago when people in the backroom could control the outcome of an election."

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Still, he stopped short of saying whether he would seek their endorsement.

rap30@aol.com

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This file frame grab from a video provided on March 6, 2017 by the Syria Democratic Forces shows fighters from the SDF running during fighting with Islamic State group militant near Raqqa, Syria. SDF forces recently recaptured an air base west of the city. (Uncredited / AP)

Beirut  U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces captured a strategically important air base from Islamic State militants in north Syria on Sunday in the first major victory for the group since the U.S. airlifted the forces behind enemy lines four days ago.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced they had captured the Tabqa air base, 28 miles west of Raqqa, the Islamic State group's de facto capital in Syria.

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The U.S., which has provided substantial air and ground support to the SDF, ferried hundreds of SDF forces, as well as U.S. military advisers and U.S. artillery, behind IS lines earlier this week.

The airlift was a major development to the SDF's multi-front campaign to bear down on Raqqa, as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces simultaneously press their assault to seize Mosul from the militants, in neighboring Iraq. SDF forces are within 6 miles of Raqqa from the north.

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Tabqa air base was captured by IS militants from the Syrian government in August 2014. Shortly afterward, the group announced it had killed about 200 government soldiers at the base, in a mass killing recorded and distributed on video over social media.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group also reported the SDF advance.

Meanwhile there were conflicting reports over whether civilians had begun evacuating Raqqa due to concerns over the stability of the nearby Tabqa Dam.

The militants said U.S.-led coalition airstrikes had locked up the dam's gates, causing the water level behind it to rise. The activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently reported that IS had ordered Raqqa residents to evacuate, though without their furniture. Tabqa Dam is 25 miles upstream of Raqqa on the Euphrates River.

U.S.-led coalition forces said the dam was structurally sound.

U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces were in control of a spillway north of the dam "which can be used to alleviate pressure on the dam if need be," the coalition said in a letter to The Associated Press.

The coalition says the dam has not been structurally damaged, to its knowledge, and says it has not targeted the dam.

The Observatory said there were no evacuations happening from Raqqa, as did the activist-run Raqqa 24 media center.

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Raqqa 24 said engineers employed by the militants had restored power to the dam's gates and the structure was functioning normally.

The reports from Raqqa came as a leading Syrian opposition group called on the U.S.-led coalition to stop targeting residential areas in and around the city.

The Syrian National Coalition said in a statement that it was "increasingly concerned" about civilian casualties in the campaign against the extremist group. The exiled opposition coalition is taking part in U.N.-mediated talks in Geneva.

The SNC said it believed coalition forces were behind an airstrike that killed at least 30 civilians sheltering in a school in the countryside outside Raqqa on March 21. The coalition has said it is investigating.

The U.S. has provided substantial air and ground support to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who are closing in on Raqqa as well as the Tabqa Dam.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said coalition airstrikes have killed 89 civilians in Raqqa province in the past week, including 35 in a school in the village of Mansoura.
President Donald Trump signed bills Monday overturning two Obama-era education regulations, continuing the Republican majority's effort to undo key pieces of the previous administration's legacy.

Trump's move scraps new requirements for programs that train new K-12 teachers and rolls back a set of rules outlining how states must carry out the Every Student Succeeds Act, a bipartisan federal law meant to hold schools accountable for student performance. In a signing ceremony at the White House on Monday, the president hailed the measures for "removing an additional layer of bureaucracy to encourage freedom in our schools."

Leaders of the Republican majority claimed that the accountability rules represented an executive overreach by former President Barack Obama. Democrats argued that rescinding the rules opens loopholes that states can use to shield poorly performing schools from scrutiny, especially when they fail to serve poor children, minorities, English-language learners and students with disabilities.

Civil rights and business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also opposed doing away with the rules. The measure to repeal the regulations passed easily in the GOP-dominated House, but barely made it out of the Senate on a 50-49 vote, mostly along party lines.

The teacher-preparation regulation, which stemmed from the Higher Education Act, required states to issue annual ratings for training programs within their borders. It was meant to ensure that novice teachers enter classrooms more prepared, but it was broadly unpopular from the start. Teachers unions said the regulations wrongly tied ratings of teacher-training programs to the performance of teachers' students on standardized tests; colleges and states argued that the rules were onerous and expensive; and many Republicans argued that Obama's Education Department had overstepped the bounds of executive authority.

Both sets of rules were overturned using the Congressional Review Act, a rarely used law that empowers a new president and Congress to overturn regulations promulgated during the last 60 days of the previous administration.
In a memo this month to national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Mattis said that "limited support" for Yemen operations being conducted by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - including a planned Emirati offensive to retake a key Red Sea port - would help combat a "common threat."

Approval of the request would mark a significant policy shift. U.S. military activity in Yemen until now has been confined mainly to counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida's affiliate there, with limited indirect backing for Gulf state efforts in a two-year-old war that has yielded significant civilian casualties.

It would also be a clear signal of the administration's intention to move more aggressively against Iran. The Trump White House, in far stronger terms than its predecessor, has echoed Saudi and Emirati charges that Iran is training, arming and directing the Shiite Houthis in a proxy war to increase its regional clout against the Gulf's Sunni monarchies.

The administration is in the midst of a larger review of overall Yemen policy that is not expected to be completed until next month.

But the immediate question, addressed by Mattis' memo and tentatively slated to come before the principal's committee of senior national security aides this week, is whether to provide support for a proposed UAE-led operation to push the Houthis from the port of Hodeida, through which humanitarian aid and rebel supplies pass.

The Pentagon memo does not recommend agreeing to every element of the Emirati request. A proposal to provide American Special Operations forces on the ground on the Red Sea coast "was not part of the request [Mattis] is making," said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss planning and the review.

This official and several others said that Mattis and his advisers have asked for removal of President Barack Obama's prohibitions, which would enable the military to support Emirati operations against the Houthis with surveillance and intelligence, refueling, and operational planning assistance, without asking for case-by-case White House approval.

A similar Emirati proposal for help in attacking Hodeida was rejected late last year by the Obama administration, on the grounds that Emirati ships and warplanes, U.S. Special Operations forces and Yemeni government troops were unlikely to succeed in dislodging the entrenched, well-armed rebels and could worsen the humanitarian situation. The effort was seen as sure to escalate a war that the United States and the United Nations have been trying to stop.

Some advisers to President Donald Trump share those same concerns, the senior official said. "There has been no decision yet as to whether [the restrictions] will be lifted. There is certainly broad disagreement across our government."

While acknowledging that some might see ending the limits as "a green light for direct involvement in a major war . . . we can't judge yet what the [review] results will be," the official said, adding that the limits could be modified, removed or left in place.

Advisers are considering whether direct support for the anti-Houthi coalition would take too many resources away from the counterterrorism fight against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and a nascent Islamic State organization in Yemen, the U.S. priority there.

At the same time, what is described as a bare-bones UAE plan has given rise to worry that the Emiratis may not be capable of such a large operation, including holding and stabilizing any reclaimed area, without sucking in U.S. forces.

Without knowing whether the Houthis will give in or fight back - including with Iranian-supplied missiles - there is also concern among U.S. officials that the offensive would further undermine stalemated efforts to negotiate an end to the war and make an already dire humanitarian situation worse.

Yemen's population centers have been decimated by the conflict, in which indiscriminate Saudi airstrikes and fighting on the ground have killed an estimated 10,000 civilians. Both the Houthis, who hold the capital, Sanaa, Hodeida and other cities, and Saudi Arabia, which controls the sea perimeter around Hodeida, have restricted delivery of aid and other goods flowing through the port to other population centers.

On Wednesday, U.N. humanitarian officials said that millions of Yemenis were on the verge of starvation. Yves Daccord, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, warned that an extended battle for the port city would "put even more pressure on the population" and could tip the country into greater humanitarian crisis.

While the warring parties have taken part in U.N.-brokered peace talks, negotiations are stalled and all parties remain in practice most interested in battlefield victory, Daccord said in an interview. "That's the problem in Yemen," he said. "They all still think they can win militarily."

Gulf nations see Hodeida as a vital asset for the Houthis and a lifeline to their backers in Iran.

A plan developed by the U.S. Central Command to assist the operation includes other elements that are not part of Mattis's request, officials said. While Marine Corps ships have been off the coast of Yemen for about a year, it was not clear what support role they might play.

The Obama administration's reluctance to take part in the Yemen war was part of Trump's campaign indictment of his predecessor as "weak" on dealing with Iran, and it led to tensions between the United States and Persian Gulf states.

Obama provided limited support for the Saudi and Emirati operations, selling them weapons and refueling their aircraft. But dismay over reports of Saudi pilots' repeated strikes on hospitals, schools and other soft targets prompted his administration to distance itself from the Houthi campaign and impose restrictions. Administration lawyers also raised concerns about U.S. legal responsibility for acts committed by the Saudi-led Gulf coalition.

Late last year, in response to a particularly gruesome strike, the Obama administration further scaled back support to the air campaign and froze the sale of certain munitions to Riyadh.

For their part, Gulf leaders complained that Obama was pushing them to wrap up the war quickly while withholding support they saw as crucial to pushing the Houthis to the negotiating table.

Trump shares the Sunni Gulf States' antipathy for Obama's Iran nuclear deal, along with their belief that Tehran is the principal driver in the Yemen war, and he has signaled a new approach. In a statement last month condemning Iranian ballistic missile tests, Michael Flynn, then Trump's national security adviser, spoke at length about the Iran-Houthi threat and said the administration was "putting Iran on notice."

A senior administration official said at the time that "we assess Iran seeks to leverage this relationship with the Houthis to build a long-term presence in Yemen" and that "we are going to take appropriate action. We are considering a whole range of options."

Early this month, the State Department approved a resumption of sales of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia. A White House spokesman would not comment on whether Trump had signed off on the sales, saying only that the requisite congressional notification had not yet been made.

For the administration, the response to the Emirati proposal is partly rooted in a desire to act against a troubling threat off Yemen's western coast, where officials say Houthi missile attacks have threatened freedom of navigation in a key commercial waterway. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait provides a narrow entry into the Red Sea between the Arabian Peninsula and the African continent.

In a rare direct attack on Houthi interests, the United States in October struck Houthi-controlled coastal radar sites with Tomahawk cruise missiles, in retaliation for an assault on U.S. and allied ships. One of the Houthi missiles launched at the USS Mason, a guided-missile destroyer, was fired from Hodeida, officials said at the time.

Restrictions on some intelligence-sharing have already been lifted, allowing the United States to reveal more detailed information on the location of Houthi missile sites. The United States is expected to take other steps to counter that threat, including positioning additional ships in the area.

Some former officials believe stepped-up action is overdue. "One of our bedrock interests in the Middle East is freedom of navigation in and around the Arabian Peninsula, and while I understand why no one wanted to get further enmeshed in the Houthi conflict, we came dangerously close to dropping the ball on protecting our interests toward the end of the administration," said Andrew Exum, who was a senior Pentagon official under Obama. "We were too hesitant to respond forcefully."

With Trump's selection of Mattis to lead the Pentagon and other Iran hawks at the White House, Gulf officials see an opportunity to act jointly against their regional rival.

Saudi Maj. Gen. Ahmed Asiri, a spokesman for the Gulf coalition, said in a phone interview that "at least now we understand that the government of the United States sees the reality on the ground . . . and that there is a country in the area that wants to use militias and spoil the situation."

"Now the U.S., Saudis and the UAE are back on the same page," Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to Washington, said. "We're getting the support we need."

Full consideration of Mattis's proposal, and the overall Yemen review, have been delayed by other national security issues, including a major meeting last week in Washington of the 68-member U.S. coalition against the Islamic State.

But if decisions are not made soon, the senior administration official said, "we're afraid the situation" in Yemen may escalate, "and our partners may take action regardless. And we won't have visibility, and we won't be in a position to understand what it does to our counterterrorism operations."

Regional experts expressed varying opinions about U.S. support for the Hodeida operation,

"My own view is that we should be encouraging the government and the coalition not to undertake offensive actions with the single exception if they can get Hodeida" to relieve the humanitarian crisis, said Gerald Feierstein, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen.

But April Longley Alley, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, warned that the offensive could intensify Yemenis' suffering and prolong the negotiations stalemate.

"It's a tragic situation for Yemen, and one that could backfire on the coalition," Alley said.

The Washington Post's Thomas Gibbons-Neff contributed to this report.
If President Donald Trump is going to put the blame for Republicans' inability to pass health care legislation on the House Freedom Caucus, at least one member of the conservative coalition thinks it deserves it.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, resigned Sunday from the coalition of 35 to 40 conservative House lawmakers in protest over the group's opposition to the Republican health care bill that tanked in Congress on Friday.

"I have resigned from the House Freedom Caucus," Poe said in a statement. "In order to deliver on the conservative agenda we have promised the American people for eight years, we must come together to find solutions to move this country forward. Saying no is easy, leading is hard, but that is what we were elected to do. Leaving this caucus will allow me to be a more effective Member of Congress and advocate for the people of Texas. It is time to lead."

Poe's resignation comes hours after Trump tweeted that the Freedom Caucus, along with cash-flush conservative groups that share its hard-line ideological views, "have saved Planned Parenthood" and Obamacare by opposing the bill.

It's not clear whether Trump's statement had a direct effect on Poe's decision to leave the caucus. He was leaning toward voting for the bill, and he was openly critical of his conservative colleagues as the bill was being pulled from a vote.

As the fallout from Republicans' inability to make good on a major campaign promise continues, the White House and GOP leaders are increasingly vocal about their frustrations with the House Freedom Caucus.

"We can't be chasing the perfect all the time," Trump's chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said Sunday on Fox News, raising the possibility that the White House will put less emphasis on negotiating with the caucus going forward and try to work with Democrats instead.

Despite half a dozen concessions the White House and GOP House leaders offered to the caucus on health care, its leaders held out support  enough that, when combined with opposition from moderate Republicans, it killed the bill before it could even come to a vote.

The establishment GOP's frustration was channeled in a single tweet over the weekend, not from Trump but from Rep. Austin Scott, Ga., whose biting accusation raised eyebrows in GOP circles because Scott is not known to be a flamethrower:

Scott tweeted, "Mark Meadows betrayed Trump and America and supported Pelosi and Dems to protect Obamacare."

Poe is not the first lawmaker to resign from the Freedom Caucus.

In September 2015, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., became the first to step away from the group as it threatened to shut down the government over federal funding for Planned Parenthood. In a comment that channels what Trump said Sunday, McClintock protested the group's tactics as playing right into the hands of the Democrats.

"It has thwarted vital conservative policy objectives," he wrote, "and wittingly become Nancy Pelosi's tactical ally."

In October 2015, Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Wis., resigned after the Freedom Caucus played a role in forcing then-Rep. John Boehner, R-Wis., to resign as House speaker.

"I was a member of the Freedom Caucus in the very beginning because we were focused on making process reforms to get every Member's voice heard and advance conservative policy," Ribble said in a statement. "When the Speaker resigned and they pivoted to focusing on the leadership race, I withdrew."
In this Jan. 24, 2017, file photo, White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner arrives for a meeting between President Donald Trump and automobile leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP)

WASHINGTON  The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to interview President Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner as part of a sweeping investigation into potential links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

Kushner volunteered to be interviewed by the committee, according to a White House official, making him the fourth member of Trump's campaign operation to come forward in the past week offering to speak with congressional investigators.

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A Senate source confirmed that the interview had been offered, but said that it would not be scheduled until the committee "has received any documents or information necessary to ensure that the meeting is productive for all sides."

According to a senior congressional official, committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., spoke with the White House counsel "some weeks ago" to warn that the committee would be seeking to speak with administration officials, including Kushner. The White House indicated to the committee over the weekend that Kushner would be willing to participate.

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According to The New York Times, Kushner met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during both the election and transition period, and later, at Kislyak's request, met with Sergey Gorkov, chief of Russian government-owned Vnesheconombank.

The congressional official was not aware that Kushner had met with the Russian banker.

A White House official said that Kushner was the "official primary point of contact" with foreign governments and officials during the campaign and transition period.

A spokesman for the House intelligence committee said that the committee has not decided whether it will interview Kushner.
Beautiful scenes during the perfomance of the cross-over drama "Du Liniang and Juliet," staged in Beijing on March 25, 2017. [China.org.cn]

A cross-over drama "Du Liniang and Juliet" was staged in Beijing for the first time last Saturday night before a packed auditorium, winning much praise for the adaptation.

The drama, directed by Peking Opera master Sun Ping, also dean of the School of Arts of Beijing Foreign Studies University, was sponsored by the 2016 China National Arts Fund to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of Tang Xianzu, Chinese playwright of the Ming Dynasty, and his English counterpart William Shakespeare.

Peng Long, president of Beijing Foreign Studies University, said the bilingual drama was the latest exploration on ways to introduce China to the world and vice versa, hoping to promote international dialogue through the arts.

In July 2015, at the Forum on National Theater Arts Sun Ping proposed that, since 2016 was the 400th anniversary of death of two world-renowned dramatists, commemorative activities should be held all over the world. In October, President Xi Jinping, during his visit to the United Kingdom, stressed that the Chinese and British people should commemorate together the two literary giants and thus promote intercultural communication.

Subsequently, Sun received support from the China National Arts Fund to produce the cross-cultural drama. The hybrid play, adapted from the classics of "The Peony Pavilion" and "Romeo and Juliet," is an integration of Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, ballet, traditional Chinese and modern Western dance and music, as well as other art elements, never before seen in China.

"From my personal experience, the basis for the success of 'crossover' theater, first, is to extract common 'form factors' from the Eastern and the Western theater, which I call the 'maximum common divisor.' Only then can we do a good job in the 'greatest common divisor', for we can mix different types of theaters into a whole. On this basis, audiences can gain new ideas of the ideological collision and see the fun of cultural communication."

She added, "As two classic characters of drama master Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare, Du Liniang and Juliet show the same affectionate, but different ways, of action to pursue eternal love. Behind their vigorous love story are the two writers' own understandings of the highest level of human feelings.

"Because of this, the encounter of Du Liniang and Juliet in fact is a dialogue between Tang and Shakespeare, and also a collision of Oriental and Western ideas and cultures."

The play, created by the School of Arts of Beijing Foreign Studies University and co-produced by the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts, will now go on tour with more than 40 performances around China.
AU.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent passes along a section of border wall in Hidalgo, Texas. President Donald Trump will face many obstacles in building his "big, beautiful wall" on the U.S.-Mexico border, including how to pay for it and how to contend with unfavorable geography and the legal battles ahead. (Eric Gay / AP 2016)

WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump has now laid out exactly what he wants in the "big, beautiful wall" that he's promised to build on the U.S.-Mexico border. But his effort to build a huge hurdle to those entering the U.S. illegally faces impediments of its own.

It's still not clear how Trump will pay for the wall that, as described in contracting notices, would be 30 feet high and easy on the eye for those looking at it from the north. The Trump administration will also have to contend with unfavorable geography and many legal battles.

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A look at some of those obstacles:

MONEY

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Trump promised that Mexico would pay for his wall, a demand Mexico has repeatedly rejected. Trump's first budget proposal to Congress, a preliminary draft that was light on details, asked lawmakers for a $2.6 billion down payment for the wall. An internal report prepared for Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly estimated that a wall along the entire border would cost about $21 billion. Congressional Republicans have estimated a more moderate price tag of $12 billion to $15 billion. Trump himself has suggested a cost of about $12 billion.

It's unclear how much money Congress will approve. Lawmakers have been balking at his plans to sharply cut other federal spending to pay for the wall and other boosts to border security, while increasing military spending. White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters this past week that the administration was still looking at how the wall would be funded, adding that it hasn't given up on Mexico footing the bill.

___

GEOGRAPHY

Roughly half of the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border is in Texas and marked by the winding and twisting Rio Grande. A 1970 treaty with Mexico requires that anything built near that river not obstruct its flow. The same treaty applies to a stretch of border in Arizona, where the Colorado River marks the international boundary.

Some fencing that is already in place along the frontier is built well off the river, in some places nearly a mile away from the border.

Trump will have to navigate not only the treaty maintained by the International Boundary and Water Commission but also various environmental regulations that protect some stretches of border and restrict what kind of structures can be built and where. The contracting notices of March 17 say the Trump administration wants the wall dug at least 6 feet into the ground. Along parts of the border in California, environmentally sensitive sand dunes required that a "floating fence" was built to allow the natural movement of the sand.

___

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LEGAL CHALLENGES

Nearly all of the land along the Texas border is privately held  much of it by people whose families have been in the region for generations  and buying their land won't be easy, as Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama discovered. Lawyers for both administrations fought in court with private landowners. Obama's efforts to buy privately held land in the Rio Grande Valley have carried over into Trump's term.

The Trump administration appears to be preparing for the legal fight and included a request for more lawyers to handle such cases in its budget proposal. Spicer said this past week the administration would "take the steps necessary" to fulfill Trump's promise to secure the southern border.
President Donald Trump's failure to push through the GOP-led overhaul of the Affordable Care Act could deeply wound his relationship with Congress. (Evan Vucci / AP)

Reporting from Washington  Driven by an obsession for a quick win and failing to grasp the complexities of an issue that has bedeviled politicians for generations, President Trump learned last week that the negotiating tricks and power plays he honed in business don't translate into the messy world of Congress.

"Political experience is a hard teacher," said Rick Tyler, a former advisor to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich. "It gives the test first and the lesson later."

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Trump's failure to push through the GOP-led overhaul of the Affordable Care Act could deeply wound his relationship with Congress and undermine his ability to pursue other items on his agenda, including rewriting the tax code, constructing a border wall and launching a $1-trillion program to rebuild the nation's bridges and other infrastructure.

A vote on the measure was abruptly halted Friday when it became apparent it did not have the support needed for passage.

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People around Trump have said he is motivated by a desire to fulfill campaign promises as quickly as possible.

But haste and the failure to build consensus, particularly among Republicans, helped sink Trump's first major legislative initiative, much as it derailed his travel ban for nationals of several Muslim majority countries and for all refugees, which federal judges have temporarily blocked.

No promise was as big for Republican lawmakers as repealing Obamacare, an issue on which they had campaigned for seven years and a vow Trump repeated throughout last year's campaign. Trump hoped that by fulfilling it quickly he could unlock a storehouse of items that were higher on his agenda.

But excessive speed was not the only problem.

Trump, uninterested in details and eager to close a deal, left the impression with some members of Congress that he could make big changes as the vote was closing in, only to find out the politics made them untenable.

Members of the holdout group of conservatives known as the House Freedom Caucus attended one pivotal meeting before the vote with Vice President Mike Pence and other top Trump aides, believing they were headed into a negotiating session. They left upset, complaining that all they got was a "rah-rah" session.

Michael Needham, chief executive of Heritage Action for America, a leading political force on the right, described the initial bill unveiled in early March as "an incoherent set of policies that didn't have a constituency" in any faction of the GOP. When he described his concerns to the president directly in the Oval Office, he said, he found Trump "extremely open to suggestions."

"The president was ill-served by a process that was not nearly as open to improvement as he was," Needham said.

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The new president also met a new reality that he had not encountered in the business world: a multitude of politicians, each with separate constituencies, power bases and political requirements. In business and in government, he has shown a strong preference for dealing with one person at a time.

Many lawmakers said they appreciated Trump's efforts to make the sale. But others were clearly frustrated.

"We know this wasn't the No. 1 item on the president's agenda, and it's not an issue where the White House led," said Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a Florida Republican who holds one of the most vulnerable seats in Congress and supported the bill in committee. "The bill was born in the House with very little input from the administration because they just weren't ready."

Moreover, Trump was trying to retrofit a complex system with a set of tweaks that had little ideological consistency.

"Nobody knew health care could be so complicated," he told the nation's governors a week before the GOP legislation was released  a remark that startled virtually everyone who had ever touched the subject and encapsulated many of the problems he encountered.

Forty minutes after the health care bill was yanked amid chaos on Friday, Trump framed the loss in educational terms, and issued a veiled threat to those members of his party who let him down. "We learned a lot about loyalty, and we learned a lot about the vote-getting process," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "And we learned about very arcane rules in both the Senate and the House."

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Even before the fight ended, Trump's allies were pushing blame to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), who led the drafting of the bill and the effort to corral support, as the president insisted publicly that he still had full confidence in Ryan.

Breitbart News, which has close ties to the administration, ran a banner headline Friday afternoon asserting that lawmakers and White House officials were "openly discussing finding a GOP replacement" for Ryan.

"He presented the president with a damaged bill of goods," Christopher Ruddy, a Trump friend who publishes the conservative website Newsmax, said in an interview. Trump "deferred to the House. They've been handling this issue a lot longer than he has."

Ruddy, a sharp critic of the bill, called its failure a blessing for the new president, believing the long-term political consequences of passage were worse than the short-term damage of defeat. Trump made the same argument in the aftermath, insisting Democrats would pay the price.

But that wasn't the case Trump made earlier to recalcitrant lawmakers in his own party. He had pleaded with archconservatives to pass the bill, promising changes to appease them even after Ryan had suggested that such changes would undermine the legislation's difficult political balance. Trump issued ultimatums that he failed to back up and told lawmakers that anything short of passage would endanger their reelection hopes.

He made something else clear that everyone in his party already knew: Failure would imperil the rest of the GOP agenda, dimming the party's confidence that it could come together to govern after eight years working as the opposition party to President Obama.

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"It just got harder," said Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.).

Trump's lack of a deeply held ideology and his low poll numbers made his sales job with lawmakers tougher, said Tyler, the Republican advisor. He had not fought prior political battles with these lawmakers, raised money with them or campaigned on their behalf.

"You can't get this kind of thing done on the weight of your personality," he said.

Trump is more familiar with the negotiating style of the real estate business in which he was raised, where the dynamics may have appeared more clear-cut than in Washington. Trump believed he could win the best deal by seeking out the most powerful person in the room and dominating him in a one-on-one, said Gwenda Blair, a Trump biographer. That formula translated well in the presidential campaign, when Trump successfully picked off his chief Republican rivals, and then Democrat Hillary Clinton, one at a time.

As a candidate and president, Trump has made the same case for international trade, dismissing multilateral pacts as bad for the country while insisting he could win more concessions from adversaries in isolation. But that approach is impossible in Congress, especially in a Republican Party that is balkanized into factions that have been unable to coalesce around a single set of principles.

"Congress, there's 535 people with their own power bases," Blair said. "That's a lot of moving parts. And it has seemed like the aphrodisiac of power  with Trump in charge of all three branches  people would go along. But there's that versus 535 individual constituencies that these guys and gals need."

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Some Republicans insisted that anything short of a complete repeal of Obamacare would signal surrender to the liberal agenda they were brought to Washington to battle. Others worried that constituents who have grown accustomed to subsidies and Medicaid under the current system would foist their own political rebellion if that were taken away. And all of those factions had to live under Trump's own ambitious promise that he could create a system that was at once cheaper, more accessible and higher in quality  all without busting the federal budget.

Trump tried to remain philosophical Friday as he told reporters that he would move on to his other priorities. It seemed as if he was taking a lesson from the bestselling book "The Art of the Deal" that launched his international reputation as a savvy deal-maker.

"I never get too attached to one deal or one approach," he wrote. "I keep a lot of balls in the air, because most deals fall out, no matter how promising they seem at first."

But the book offered a note of caution that may serve Trump as he makes his next pitch to Congress.

"If you can't deliver the goods, people will eventually catch on."

Los Angeles Times staff writers Lisa Mascaro, Brian Bennett and Michael A. Memoli contributed to this report.

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noah.bierman@latimes.com

Twitter: @noahbierman
Melvin Waskin became interested in speculative science, or scientific thinking off the beaten path, through his work creating educational films for elementary and secondary schools.

On the job, he learned about "catastrophism"  sudden and violent changes in the universe that result in scientific mysteries and often go unexplained  and started doing some digging.

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One thing led to another, and in 1985 Waskin published "Mrs. O'Leary's Comet!," a book based on the theory that the great Chicago Fire of 1871 wasn't caused by Mrs. O'Leary's cow knocking over a lantern but by pieces of a little-known comet, Biela II, that fell on the city.

"He spent months and months gathering information and doing interviews, but it took him only about a week to finish the book," said his wife of 61 years, Tamara. "He was a fast writer."

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Waskin, 90, of Skokie, a former head writer and producer for Chicago area-based Coronet Educational Films, died of natural causes on March 10 at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

"From the get-go, I found him fascinating," said former colleague Jay Robinson, a retired associate director at Coronet. "He was smart, funny and had great stories to tell.

"It can be rare finding people at work that you actually look forward to spending time with after 5 o'clock, but Mel was one of those guys."

In researching his book, Waskin studied old newspaper accounts and official documents, and brought to light the little-known fact that on that very same autumn night that fires ravaged the city of Chicago, two other fires of similar scale broke out in Peshtigo, Wis., and Manistee, Mich.

He cited eyewitness reports from all three communities that described "balls of fire from the sky," "a terrible roar" and a sky "illuminated with glare."

"I'm convinced of the possibility that there are enough strange, documented events and coincidences that happened that night to make it a very convincing possibility," Waskin told the Tribune in a 1985 story when asked if he believed it was a comet that ignited the fires in Chicago, Peshtigo and Manistee.

"My goal," he added, "is to have the comet dislodge Mrs. O'Leary's cow and take its rightful place in our folklore."

Born and raised on Chicago's North Side, Waskin was a graduate of Senn High School. At 17, he enlisted in a special program through the Army, completed basic training and then attended the University of West Virginia to study civil engineering.

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After the war, he transferred to the University of Illinois and earned a degree in journalism. He wanted to be a writer, but wanted his writing to have shelf life, so he joined the writing staff at Coronet, then based in Glenview, in 1950.

"Newspaper writing is birdcage toilet paper," he told the Academic Film Archive of North America in a 2012 interview. "Radio writing is evanescent; it flies away in the air. But movies last."

Over the years, Waskin wrote scripts on a variety of topics for students, from science to history to social guidance, with titles such as "Exploring Space: The Solar System" and "Dating Dos and Don'ts." In 1981, he wrote a script for the film "Christmas Express" that later aired on HBO.

During his tenure at Coronet, he was promoted to producer, but he continued writing and created more than 1,000 scripts prior to retiring in 1994.

"As a writer, he understood what's needed to keep a person's attention," Robinson said. "And he had a lot of fun doing it."

In addition to his wife, Waskin is survived by two sons, Alan and David; a daughter, Laurie; a sister, Myrna; and three grandchildren.

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Services were held.

Joan Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcome French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron as they arrive for a State Dinner at the North Portico of the White House in Washington, D.C., April 24, 2018. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

While the president's approval ratings hit a new low this month, his wife's are on the rise. A recent CNN/ORC poll found that 52 percent of Americans like Melania Trump  an increase of 16 percent since her husband took office. That far exceeds the favorability ratings of first ladies such as Michelle Obama and Laura Bush in their first years.

But it's unlikely that Melania Trump will be able to stay popular without help. So far, she hasn't hired a press secretary. That's really odd. Every first lady since Jackie Kennedy had one by this point in her husband's administration, according to Kate Andersen Brower, author of "First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies."

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As any public-relations professional will tell you, prominent people have two options: to try to shape the narrative about themselves or to let others do it for them. But Brower says that currently, reporters for major media outlets can't even get their requests to interview the first lady answered.

"There are so many requests coming into Melania right now and there's no one there to decide what's worth doing and what's worth skipping," she said. "It just leaves this big hole which people fill with their own interpretations of her. They're judging whether she's smiling enough and what she's wearing. But if she had a press secretary, she could do very coordinated interviews with media outlets to shape her image the way she wants to be seen."

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For example, Brower said, former first lady Michelle Obama's team did a particularly great job of making her relatable to the American people. "The 'mom dancing' on ("The Tonight Show Starring) Jimmy Fallon" was a way to really endear her to the public," she said. "People want to feel like they could be in the carpool line with the first lady. They want to feel that connection."

Brower says Melania Trump's challenge is especially difficult because "her great wealth and really unattainable beauty" make it hard for everyday Americans to relate to her. But a press secretary could help Trump talk about aspects of her life that ordinary citizens understand, like raising her son.

A spokesperson could also help her figure out how to effectively harness the powerful platform she commands. Brower says every first lady since Lady Bird Johnson has used her position to promote social causes. "Lady Bird Johnson said that, as first lady, you can pick up the phone and change someone's life," she said.

U.S. first lady Melania Trump listens to a toast by her husband President Donald Trump while hosting the annual Governors' Dinner in the East Room of the White House Feb. 6, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Americans are unlikely to love a first lady who seems indifferent to the tremendous opportunity she has to do good. Melania Trump, who hasn't moved to the White House yet because her son is finishing school in New York, has been largely invisible since her husband took office. She did, however, read to kids in a hospital and host a White House lunch about women's empowerment in honor of International Women's Day this month.

A good press secretary would help Trump research and think through the issues she chooses to champion  and be sure she follows through. In particular, it's important to consider how promoting particular causes could invite negative attention. For example, in early November, Trump promised that if her husband were elected, she would use her platform as first lady to combat cyber-bulling. Any good communication professional would have advised her against this.

To start with, her husband is widely considered the cyber-bully-in-chief. For example, after an 18-year-old college student criticized him at a rally, the then-candidate took to Twitter to call her an "arrogant young woman." The young woman received threats of violent assault for more than a year. Any cyber-bullying initiative the first lady undertakes will only draw attention to this irony.

Second, a professional communicator watching out for her husband's interests would likely advise against getting involved in the anti-bullying community because, as reporter Stephanie Mencimer explained in Mother Jones, the community is largely run by advocates for LGBT youth. That would alienate conservative evangelicals, an important group of voters for the president, who view such initiatives as a veiled attempt to promote LGBT rights.

Beyond that, Melania Trump seems to not be following through on her pledge. Last month, Mencimer contacted key figures in the anti-cyber-bullying community and found that no one has heard from her or her staff. Perhaps the only thing worse for the first lady's reputation than viewing her platform insouciantly is making promises and then breaking them.

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A professional communicator would also help Trump avoid other mistakes, such as her plagiarism of Michelle Obama in her July speech at the Republican National Convention.

As of late last month, there were still nearly 2,000 open positions in her husband's administration. Part of the problem is that even Republican professional operatives hesitate to be involved in a scandal-plagued and truth-challenged administration.

But an effective East Wing press secretary could be one of the most helpful people to the West Wing. Lauren Wright, author of "On Behalf of the President: Presidential Spouses and White House Communications Strategy Today," found that first ladies can not only improve their husbands' images but also help build support for their policy agendas. In fact, sometimes their ability to command attention exceeds that of their husbands themselves.

Melania Trump holds a staggering amount of potential power to improve both her own reputation and the world. Here's hoping she finds someone to help her wield it.

Bloomberg View

Kara Alaimo is an assistant professor of public relations at Hofstra University and author of "Pitch, Tweet, or Engage on the Street: How to Practice Global Public Relations and Strategic Communication." She previously served in the Obama administration.

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Melania, Ivanka and the Trump family's definition of public service

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When it comes to political malpractice, failing on repeal-and-replace is not Exhibit A. For weeks there has been a more obvious question for Steve Bannon and President Donald Trump: Why are they driving Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer into the arms of the implacable opposition?

Wouldn't the smart play be to coerce, or induce, or at least leave a tiny bit of room for Schumer, D-N.Y., to cooperate? Wouldn't the natural first move for Trump have been to assemble, from both parties, a populist majority in Congress?

Last week two of my Post colleagues, conservative commentators Marc Thiessen and Ed Rogers, argued that Schumer is sinking his party's 2018 prospects by joining the irreconcilable resistance instead of working with the president where possible. By leading a filibuster against Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch, voting even against Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao (wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.) and generally refusing to play ball, Schumer is showing that he didn't get the 2016 message from middle America, they opined.

Thiessen and Rogers may be right that uncompromising resistance will not help Democrats win independent voters in 2018.

But their analysis overlooks two points: Trump's behavior from Inauguration Day on left Schumer no choice. More important, what's bad for Democrats isn't necessarily optimal for Trump  especially if his and Bannon's goal was to blow up both parties and forge a new working-class, nationalist majority that can carry Trump to triumphant reelection in 2020.

To be clear: I think that's the wrong goal for our country. But if Trump had begun his administration by seeking a bipartisan infrastructure bill, Schumer would have had no choice but to cooperate, and might well have welcomed the chance. Half the unions that normally support Democrats would have been on Trump's side and pressing both parties to get on board.

Instead, Trump opened his presidency with a dark and one-sided address that gave no credit to his predecessor and opened no doors to cooperation. He followed that address with bizarre misstatements about crowd size and tweets mocking the protesters who marched in vast numbers the next day. "Why didn't these people vote?" Trump taunted.

"These people" were Schumer's base. Only days into the administration, thousands of liberals were demonstrating outside the Brooklyn apartment building where the senator lives. "Grow a spine, Chuck!" they demanded. "Filibuster everything!"

Even then, you might have made a case that for the good of his party, and the country, Schumer should stand up to his left wing. But he would have had to make common cause with a president who was belittling him as "head clown" and "Fake Tears Chuck Schumer."

Even more difficult, he would have had to make cause with a president who selected as his first objective the erasure of President Barack Obama's principal accomplishment. No Democratic leader could be in any way accomplice to that goal and expect to survive. No Democratic leader would want to.

Imagine if Trump instead had told House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., that repeal-and-replace, and even tax cuts, had to wait. Imagine if Bannon had insisted that Congress first take up his trillion-dollar infrastructure plan.

There would have been some grousing from deficit hawks. But we've seen often enough that the one place Democrats and Republicans can find common ground is on measures that worsen the deficit.

There would have been disagreements, too, on the structure of the plan  how to pay for at least some of it, how to balance spending on roads with spending on mass transit, how radically to gut environmental protections on behalf of speed of execution.

But the pressure on Democrats to cut a deal would have been enormous. Would it have split the party? All the better, from Trump's point of view. And if it split the Republicans, too, wouldn't that have advanced the grand Bannon plan for world domination?

Which leads to an interesting question: Why didn't Trump start with infrastructure and cooperation?

One possibility is that he didn't because he couldn't, temperamentally. He couldn't control his jeers and insults, and Bannon couldn't control them either, so before the administration could even choose its first priority, the decision was essentially made for it: Democrats had been alienated and Trump had to start with initiatives that he thought could pass with only Republican support. The simultaneously gathering cloud regarding Russia only made it more certain that no Democrats could be seen advancing a Trump initiative.

Another possibility is that the more conventional Republicans inside the administration  Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Pence  argued for more conventional Republican goals and won.

Whatever the case, Trump missed an opportunity to reshape politics that may not present itself again.
We agree that it is "legitimate, even obligatory, for Congress to periodically scrutinize long-lived programs and agencies to confirm that they are achieving a sound purpose at an appropriate cost," as you wrote in your editorial "What Trump's budget blueprint gets right."

But we strongly believe that the Corporation for National and Community Service, the little-known federal agency that funds AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, should be fully funded. CNCS is a model public-private partnership with strong bipartisan support and has delivered measurable results across the country for over two decades.

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Rather than costing taxpayers money, national service saves federal dollars.

Studies have shown national service programs generate a 2-to-1 return for the taxpayer and nearly a 4-to-1 return for society in terms of higher earnings and increased output. For every $10 spent on AmeriCorps, another $15 is raised from private sources to match the funds the government invests.

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This year, 2,600 individuals across Illinois are providing intensive, results-driven service to meet education, environmental, health, veteran support and other pressing needs because of AmeriCorps.

Without it, lifesaving and life-changing programs Illinois residents count on would be eliminated.

The American Red Cross would lose its capacity to mobilize AmeriCorps members to support residents after natural disasters such as tornadoes, fires and floods, and 60,000 at-risk youth and adults would no longer be trained in lifesaving CPR, first aid and disaster prevention techniques.

More than 13,000 students in 26 Chicago schools might lose the full-time support of City Year AmeriCorps members, who help students stay in school and on track to graduation.

The young people who serve with Public Allies and then find viable employment or continue their education would have fewer paths to realize their potential.

College Possible could no longer serve its high school and college students, who have a 98 percent college acceptance rate and are four times more likely to earn a degree.

Proposing to eradicate programs with an excellent return on investment and proven results in some of our most resource-deprived communities is counterproductive.

As Congress weighs the purpose and cost of the programs it saves from the proposed cuts, we hope its members recognize that AmeriCorps is not a program Illinois, or our nation, can afford to lose.

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 Rebeca Nieves Huffman, executive director, City Year Chicago

 Michael Alter, president, Alter, and founding board member, City Year Chicago

 John Gilligan, managing director, BDT Capital Partner

 Scott McFarland, executive director, Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service

 Christine Poorman, executive director, College Possible Chicago

 Celena Roldan, CEO, The American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois

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 Patrice Dziire, executive director, Public Allies Chicago
The decision to pull the vote in the House of Representatives to repeal/replace Obamacare is not a win. Democrats don't get to gloat or exchange high-fives. Instead, they should treat this as an opportunity to fix the problems inherent in the program. Republicans had seven years to work on the replacement, yet decided to push through a bill without guaranteed support.

Democrats, might I suggest: First, stop allowing it to be referred to it as Obamacare. That doomed it from the start. When people were presented with the basic points of the Affordable Care Act, many supported it. When given the exact same benefits renamed Obamacare, some then rejected it. We can draw our own conclusions about that, but either way, rename it and move on. Then admit that the program, as it is now, is unsustainable and unaffordable. Agree to work out the details and make it better.

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Republicans, admit that a health care program is now part of our society. By some estimates, you attempted to repeal/replace Obamacare more than 60 times and failed. Instead of voting endlessly to repeal and replace it, decide how to make it work. You agreed that there were parts of the ACA that were worth salvaging; find a way to make that happen.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, do the right thing. I don't live in Wisconsin, so you are not my representative. But as the speaker of the House, you are a leader. Figure out why so few Republican women supported the bill you put forward. Drop the "repeal" and work on the "replace." You can step up and make this happen.

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President Donald Trump, members of your own party didn't support this, so don't blame the Democrats. You campaigned to repeal and replace; you also promised coverage for everyone at an affordable price. You promised a "beautiful" replacement. Your threat to let it fail or let it collapse is not what a leader should do. This is the time to use your much-touted skills at negotiation to bring both sides together to provide the coverage you promised.

As a retired teacher with over 32 years in the classroom, I will volunteer to grab my red pen and wooden ruler and force these recalcitrant elected representatives to work this out. If I can't, I will see if Sister Mary Mona can. She wielded a mean ruler; she would make them get this done.

 Arlene R. Jarzab, Hinsdale
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The session "The Belt and Road: Dialogue with Leaders" is held during the Boao Forum For Asia Annual Conference 2017 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

An initiative on economic globalization was announced at the end of the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) on Sunday in Hainan Province.

The aim of the forum was to promote and deepen the economic exchange, coordination, and cooperation within Asia and between Asia and other parts of the world, according to the initiative.

Addressing pressure on global growth and the increase in de-globalization and protectionism, the initiative asked Asian countries to stay committed to open markets, inclusive growth and economic cooperation.

Rhetoric of de-globalization and protectionism are feared to disrupt global growth, which is under downward pressure, BFA Vice Chairman Zeng Peiyan said.

De-globalization could create challenges for global growth instead of solving the underlying structural problems wrongly attributed to economic globalization, he added.

The initiative called upon the world to actively adapt to the forces of economic globalization and reform global governance to solve problems arising amid globalization.

Specific measures were proposed by BFA members through the initiative.

Governments should make more efforts to reform and work together to strengthen international economic order and global governance systems, with policies to ensure benefits more widely shared.

Protectionism has to be rejected. Trade and investment should be promoted to drive sustainable global development, with continued reform of multilateral mechanisms and governance.

International and regional organizations such as the WTO and APEC should work towards a more open, inclusive, fair and equitable bilateral and multilateral trade system.

Multilateral lenders, including the IMF and World Bank, were urged to improve supervision of global finance, support cross-border capital flows and work to lessen impacts on the real economy.

Innovation was highlighted in the initiative. Governments should use cross-border public private partnerships, a financing mode, to facilitate technological innovation and cross-border movement of knowledge and information.

BFA members proposed an open mechanism for multilateral cooperation to ensure balance in globalization, calling for efforts from the G20, the APEC, governments and the private sector. Infrastructure and institutional and people-to-people connectivity should also be promoted.

Zeng stressed Asia has always been a participant, beneficiary, and constructor of globalization.

He hoped that proposals such as Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the Belt and Road Initiative and Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific will further promote economic globalization.
A 20-year-old Naperville woman was shot Sunday night outside a home on Aurora's East Side, according to police.

About 11:20 p.m. Sunday, the woman and another woman her age from Lisle were walking up the driveway to a home in the 900 block of Fenton Street when someone fired shots, apparently from a dark-colored sedan, and one struck her, according to a statement the police department shared on its Facebook page.

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The woman suffered a single gunshot wound that was not life-threatening and was taken to an Aurora hospital by an undisclosed third party, according to police.

In the statement, police said they have not ruled out gang motivation.

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Police further described the car the shooter was in as possibly a Honda Accord, with tinted windows. More than one person was inside the car, police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said in an email.

The house and two vehicles parked in the driveway, including one belonging to the woman who was shot, were also struck by gunfire, Ferrelli said. No damage estimate was available, he said.

Police ask anyone with information to call Aurora police investigators at 630-256-5500 or Aurora Area Crime Stoppers at 630-892-1000.

Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and qualify for a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to any arrests.

People also can submit tips through the Aurora Police Department's free My PD mobile app.

hleone@tribpub.com

Twitter @hannahmleone
The Indian American Community Outreach Advisory Board has announced a new scholarship program. (The Indian American Community Outreach / Handout)

Sharon Garcia, one of the founding board members of the city of Aurora's Indian American Community Outreach Advisory Board, remembers first hearing about the organization's formation back in 2014.

Garcia, who is a first-generation Indian American and the assistant dean of communications, humanities and fine arts at Waubonsee Community College, said she joined because she wanted to be involved in the growth of the Aurora community.

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The city of Aurora's Indian American Community Outreach Advisory Board is one of 30 boards or committees made up of volunteer residents including the Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board and the African American Heritage Advisory Board.

Garcia said these groups are "really reflective of how diverse Aurora is."

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Guatam Bhatia, the chairman of the 13-member Indian American Community Outreach Advisory Board, said "the focus of our group is to bridge the gap between Asian Indians and Americans through community service and outreach."

For the past three years, the organization has sponsored a Diwali Festival of Lights event. Last October the event showcased Indian culture, food, clothing and fireworks, and drew more than 5,000 people to Waubonsie Valley High School.

In addition to bringing the community together for social events, "We also want to educate the community about the Asian Indian culture and also help people," Bhatia said.

Bhatia, who moved here eight years ago, said one of the things that brought him to Aurora was its diversity.

"It is a great place to raise a family, and the schools are really good," he said.

With a mission to embrace, preserve and promote the heritage and contributions of Indian Americans while promoting civic engagement and encouraging Indian Americans to increase their involvement in Aurora's growth, the board last week announced the formation of a new scholarship  the Swami Vivekananda Scholarship Fund.

"Just like any other ethnic group, we span the spectrum of the very rich to people who are on government assistance," he said.

The scholarship was created to help kids who live in Aurora who are in need of financial assistance for college.

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This year, the board has pledged to award $1,000 each to five students.

"Our goal is to increase the scholarship amount in years to come through additional donations from members of the community," he said.

.

Administered by the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, the fund is named for Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu monk who played a key role in the introduction of Indian yoga and Vedanta philosophy to the West, board officials said.

The board meets monthly at 3770 McCoy Drive in Aurora.

For more information about the Swami Vivekananda Scholarship Fund, go to www.communityfoundationfrv.org/profile/vivekananda-scholarship/.

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Cathy Janek is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
Event to benefit Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois

Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois will host Cookies & Comedy at 7 p.m. April 6 at Zanies Comedy Club at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 East Main St., in St. Charles.

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Tickets are available at www.girlscoutsni.org/cookiesandcomedy. Tickets are $20 per person with a two-menu item purchase required. Guests must be 21 years or older to attend.

Comedian Jason Dudey is scheduled to perform. Dudey recently toured with Kathleen Madigan and has appeared on NBC's "Last Comic Standing," "One Night Stand Up," "Comedy Time" and National Lampoon Television. There will be Girl Scout cookies and a silent auction.

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Proceeds from the event benefit Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois.

Star 105.5, John Sutton State Farm, and Hurley and Volk Orthodontics are event sponsors.

Earth Day at Kenyon Farm Forest Preserve

Celebrate Earth Day by planting trees with the Forest Preserve District of Kane County.

Volunteers are needed to help plant trees at Kenyon Farm Forest Preserve in South Elgin at 10 a.m. April 22. Hundreds of oak trees will be planted in a few hours, according to a news release. Holes will be dug ahead of time. Volunteers will plant the tree, tamp down dirt, add water and mulch.

Planting begins at 10 a.m. and will continue until all trees are in the ground or 1 p.m., whichever comes first.

Each year, the Forest Preserve District of Kane County plants trees as part of an Earth Day celebration.

Kenyon Farm Forest Preserve is at 8N700 Barry Road, South Elgin. Public parking is available at South Elgin High School, in the southeast corner of the lot. Accessible-only parking is available at the preserve, off North Barry Road.

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For information, go to www.kaneforest.com.
Experience the heartbreaking story of Canio, the clown who weeps through his white powder makeup over his wifes unforgivable betrayal.

 the original ripped-from-the-headlines true-crime thriller opera.

Even if you think youre just not into opera, Pagliacci will change your mind. Set in the deep south of Italy, this is a tale of passion, jealousy and deceit among a troupe of traveling performers that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

You can count on dazzling stage production and a visual feast of costumes with familiar arias and musical highlights that will have you saying, Oh yeah! I know that one! And with English translation supertitles above the stage, youll never miss a word.

And thats not all. This performance of Pagliacci will be extra special with acclaimed Greek guest conductor Zoe Zeniodi wielding the baton. Maestro Zeniodi is one of only a handful of female orchestra conductors in the world, and shes the first woman to ever conduct for Opera Southwest.

CAST

Canio / Raul Melo

Nedda / Cammy Cook

Tonio / Carlos Archuleta

Silvio / Paul Bower

Beppe / Michael David Gray

Conductor / Zoe Zeniodi

Stage Director / Pat Diamond
Authorities in Beijing tightened regulations on commercial real estate projects, aiming to strip them of housing functions and cool down the city's overheated housing market.

According to an official statement released late Sunday night by the city's housing, urban planning, industry and commerce, and banking authorities, new commercial projects shall only be sold to qualified enterprises, public institutions and social organizations, and the smallest unit for sale should not be less than 500 square meters.

Second-hand commercial housing can be sold to individuals who have paid income tax or social insurance for five consecutive years and have no houses under their names in Beijing, the statement said.

In the meantime, personal loans for purchasing commercial real estate have also been suspended.

Real estate agencies that mislead individual home buyers by falsely advertising housing function of commercial projects will be severely punished.

Due to Beijing's high prices of residential buildings and strict housing purchase rules, home buyers turned their eyes to small-unit commercial projects for transitional housing and investment.

Beijing has introduced a slew of policies over the past two weeks to rein in the surging housing price, including raising the down payment for second homes, imposing stricter tax regulations on residents without a local hukou (household registration), and shutting down real estate agencies for illegal operations.
Amanda Guarnerientered a blind plea of guilty to one count of drug-induced homicide in DuPage County court. (DuPage sheriff \ Handout)

A New York woman could face prison time after pleading guilty Monday to mailing heroin to a friend who took the drug and died of an overdose at a DuPage County residential hotel.

Amanda Guarneri, 25, of Farmingville, entered a blind plea of guilty to one count of drug-induced homicide in DuPage County court. Under the partially negotiated plea, prosecutors agreed to drop two other felony counts in exchange for her guilty plea.

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Guarneri will be sentenced May 3 by Judge Liam Brennan and faces a minimum six-year sentence, according to court records.

The Long Island resident was extradited to Illinois after she was charged in the death of Dane Carver, a 26-year-old New Jersey man.

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Carver's body was discovered Aug. 8, 2016, in a room at the extended-stay hotel in Darien where he was residing. Authorities say he had come to Illinois for work.

Authorities said Guarneri mailed Carver heroin that was laced with fentanyl, and the substance caused Carver's overdose.

Guarneri was charged in November and taken into custody in Suffolk County, N.Y. Guarneri was extradited to DuPage County, where she has remained in the jail, held in lieu of $750,000 bail.

Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
Omar Montoya-Medina, of West Chicago, who was driving drunk in 2014 when he struck and killed another motorist, was sentenced March 27, 2017, to five years in prison. (DuPage County sheriff's office)

A West Chicago man who was driving drunk at almost 100 mph when he struck and killed another motorist was sentenced Monday to five years in prison.

Before he was sentenced, Omar Montoya-Medina, 31, apologized to the family of Antonio Alvarez, of Warrenville, who died in the fiery collision at Illinois Highway 59 and Garys Mill Road in West Chicago on Dec. 5, 2014.

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"If I could exchange my life for his, I would do it," Montoya-Medina said, as members of the Alvarez family, including his parents, who made the journey from Mexico, sat in the front row of the DuPage County courtroom of Judge Brian Telander.

Telander, who found Montoya-Medina guilty of aggravated driving under the influence and reckless homicide in February, said he believed the defendant's remorse was genuine.

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But, Telander told him, "your conduct that night was outrageous."

"You were at twice the legal limit, and you were driving about 100 miles an hour," the judge noted.

Alvarez, a father of two, was pronounced dead at the scene, and Montoya-Medina and a passenger in his car suffered burns and other injuries. He was attempting to make a left turn onto Highway 59, when his vehicle was struck by Montoya-Medina's vehicle, which was northbound on the highway.

Assistant State's Attorney Demetri Demopoulos asked for a 10-year prison term for Montoya-Medina and said the crash was wholly preventable.

"Once again, drinking and driving has destroyed a family," the prosecutor said. A blood test taken after the crash showed Montoya-Medina's blood-alcohol was 0.16 percent, which is double the legal limit, Demopoulos said

Attorney Rick Kayne, who represented Montoya-Medina, said his client's remorse and lack of any criminal history merited a sentence at the lower end of the range.

Montoya-Medina faced a sentence of three to 14 years on the aggravated DUI charge, though the law allows probation in extraordinary circumstances. He will be required to serve 85 percent of the five-year term, minus credit for the approximately 28 months he has spent in the County Jail since his arrest.

The judge sentenced Montoya-Medina to a concurrent five-year sentence for the reckless homicide conviction.

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Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
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Chinese airlines on Sunday revved up flights to Tibet Autonomous Region ahead of the annual tourist high season of summer and autumn.

Tibet is linked to 30 domestic and foreign destinations including Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Kathmandu by regular passenger air routes. Flights are suspended or reduced in winter as demand drops with the plateau temperature.

Sources with Tibet's civil aviation authorities said for Sunday, Chongqing-Lhasa, Hangzhou-Dazhou-Lhasa, Chengdu-Kangding-Lhasa flights will resume while the frequency of Beijing-Lhasa, Chengdu-Lhasa flights will be increased. A new route to Lhasa will be added, with another soon, from the cities of Zhengzhou and Hefei.

The airlines will follow the summer/autumn schedule through to October 28.

More than 23 million tourists visited Tibet in 2016, up 15 percent year on year. Festivals in particular were a big draw.

The regional government aims to receive over 30 million tourists a year by 2020, contributing 55 billion yuan (8 billion U.S. dollars) to its revenue.
A Bartlett man, who has a 30-year felony history, will return to prison for twice burglarizing a St. Charles business, according to a news release from the Kane County State's Attorney's office.

Circuit Judge Donald M. Tegeler on Friday sentenced 49-year-old David A. Neal to 13 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

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Judge Tegeler convicted Neal on Jan. 4, of two class 2 felony counts of burglary and two class 3 felony counts of retail theft.

According to prosecutors, at about 1:20 a.m. Dec. 10, 2015, Neal entered a large retail establishment in the 800 block of South Randall Road in St. Charles, placed 40 bottles of men's and women's fragrances into a cart. He then placed the items into white plastic shopping bags and left the store without paying. The total value of the items was more than $1,900. Neal was wearing a cap and sunglasses at the time. The incident was recorded on video surveillance.

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Six weeks later, at about 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 24, 2016, Neal entered the same St. Charles store and placed 14 bottles of women's cologne into a cart. He then placed the items into white plastic shopping bags and left the store without paying. The total value of the items was more than $1,100. Neal was wearing a cap and sunglasses at the time and the incident was recorded on video surveillance, prosecutors said.

On Feb. 4, 2016, Neal committed a retail theft at a large retail establishment in Bloomingdale, where he was caught and charged, prosecutors said. St. Charles police identified Neal as the suspect in the Dec. 10 and Jan. 24 incidents.

Neal has been charged with a variety of felony offenses in the Chicago area, including multiple residential burglaries, at least 25 times since the late 1980s. He has been sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections at least 10 times previously, the release said.

According to Illinois law, Neal is eligible for day-for-day credit. He was given credit for 255 days served in the Kane County jail.
Italian Americans and Catholics came together in a common cause on March 19: Good food in honor of St. Joseph. The Italian Catholic Federation No. 220 held its annual St. Joseph's Day table at St. Celestine Catholic Church from noon to 2 p.m., and it was as popular as ever.

"We have this event at St. Celestine since this is my parish," said event organizer Josephine Sangermano Townsend. She added that that about 200 St. Celestine parishioners, friends and family attended this St. Joseph's Day table, and that $1,400 was raised in donations.

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"The money will go towards a needy family within the parish," Townsend said. "The principal (of the parish school) decides who is in need of the money."

Besides helping a family in need, Townsend noted that the Italian Catholic Federation also donates to the St. Celestine Food Pantry with the money raised.

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Guests at the St. Joseph Table are not charged for their food. They give donations based on their means.

So, said Townsend, "If someone cannot donate, they can still eat."

The table was laden with pasta, pizza, fish, fruits, vegetables, peppers stuffed with rice and eggplant parmesan. There was also a sweet table, featuring Italian specialties.

"Since St. Joseph's Day always lands during Lent, the food served is always meatless," Townsend explained.

St. Joseph's Day, which honors the husband of the Virgin Mary, was established during the Middle Ages. In Italy, it is especially popular in Sicily. Tradition has it that a severe drought struck the island, and the people, whose lives were already hard, feared famine. They prayed to St. Joseph (San Giuseppe) to bring them the rain they needed. If St. Joseph answered their prayers, they vowed to celebrate his honor with a large table filled with food.

St. Joseph's Day traditions include wearing red, eating zeppole, a kind of cream puff, and lupini beans. Lupini is a hardy bean that grows in the Mediterranean and helped the Sicilians survive difficult times, and today, receiving one on St. Joseph's Day is said to bring good fortune.

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An 18-year-old Chicago man and a 22-year-old Itasca man have been charged in recent robberies, including those police said took place at businesses in Elmwood Park, Franklin Park and Northlake.

Police said William Flowers, 18, of Chicago, and Brandon Pence, 22, of Itasca, are accused of allegedly using pellet guns to rob businesses on March 23. Police said no one was hurt in the robberies.

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Flowers was charged with armed robbery. He appeared in court on March 25 and was ordered held on $250,000 blond. Pence was charged with robbery. He appeared in court on March 26 and was ordered held on $200,000 bond.

Police said the first reported robbery allegedly happened at 2:15 a.m. March 23 at a gas station at 2144 N. Harlem Ave. in Elmwood Park.

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"Two guys entered the store and used a weapon to rob it," Elmwood Park Police Chief Frank Fagiano said. "A white vehicle was also involved, based on the video from the surveillance equipment we had examined."

Police described the vehicle as a white, "older model mini SUV" missing its rear spare tire and with a horizontal stripe across the passenger doors.

Police said after the vehicle fled the gas station in Elmwood Park, it was next seen at 3:13 a.m. that day at a store at 162 W. North Ave. in Northlake.

Northlake Police Sgt. Juan Duarte said one man entered the store and used what looked like two black semi-automatic handguns to demand cash from the register and a cellphone and wallet from a store employee. Police said once the gunman had what he wanted, security footage from the business reportedly showed him returning to the white SUV and the vehicle fleeing north on Roy Avenue.

A third armed robbery that day happened in Franklin Park around 9:45 p.m. at a gas station at 9001 Belmont Ave. Franklin Park Director of Police Michael Witz said three people were involved  men matching Pence and Flower's descriptions, as well as a juvenile.

Fagiano said the next night, an Elmwood Park officer saw the white vehicle and followed it to First Avenue and Lake Street "to perform a felony stop on it." Officers reportedly identified the driver of the vehicle as Pence, police said. Once Pence was in custody, officers were able to track down Flowers at a motel off of Mannheim Road and arrest him, too, Fagiano said.

Elmwood Park and Franklin Park police allege that the guns recovered from Pence and Flowers were replica-style pellet guns. A juvenile taken into custody last week was awaiting charges because the investigation into the armed robberies is still ongoing.

Alex V. Hernandez is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
East Leyden students in Jeanette Gagliardi's English II honors class are learning about more than writing and literature.

East Leyden sophomore Ewelina Prostko said the students will be participating in a service project, Project Vet, which will be held May 12 in the East Leyden Annex at 6:30 p.m.

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"Our third unit for this school year was to create and help people with a service project," Prostko explained. "We each created our own service project."

Prostko said that students had to present their service projects to the class. Project Vet was the project with the most votes.

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"We're planning on having tents set up and tables with games where we can talk one on one with the veterans," Prostko said. "The vets will also be able to talk about their experiences on the stage."

Prostko noted that there will be donation boxes at the event to collect money that will benefit American Legion Post 974, Franklin Park.

Prostko said that this type of fundraiser is important because it gives East Leyden students the opportunity to celebrate veterans.

"This event will show our veterans that we appreciate them and how they fight for us and our freedoms," she said.

Maryann Pisano is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.

Editor's note: This story was updated. The event is only for East Leyden students and their families.
Tyne Daly will perform songs and poems about favorite things on April 25, 2017, in Highland Park. (Submitted photo)

HPHS Focus on the Arts is holding its ticket giveaway April 8 for Opening Night headlined by Tony- and Emmy-winner Tyne Daly and Dance Night featuring five Chicago dance companies.

Community members will have a chance to experience Highland Park High School's 26th Focus on the Arts celebration in late April when award-winning actress Tyne Daly takes the stage on April 25 and five Chicago dance companies perform on April 27.

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Tickets for both Opening Night and Dance Night will be available in person on a first come, first served basis during a ticket giveaway event Saturday, April 8.

On Opening Night, the versatile Daly will perform songs and poems about favorite things. She'll be joined by pianist Dan K. Kurland, a Highland Park alumnus serving as artistic advisor, and Highland Park High School musicians.

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"I'm hoping it will be as surprising as the tasting menu at the old Charlie Trotter's," Daly is quoted as saying in the Focus on the Arts program book.

A second free community event April 27 will showcase five Chicago dance companies as well as the school's Collage dance troupe. Professional companies performing during Dance Night are Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater, Chicago Repertory Ballet, Giordano Dance Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Visceral Dance Chicago.

Tickets for the performances will be given out at 1 p.m. April 8. The doors will open at 12:30 p.m. at Entrance H on the north side of the high school. There is a limit of two tickets per person for each event. No phone or mail-in requests will be honored.

Daly won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for her Broadway performance as Madame Rose in "Gypsy" and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2011. She holds six Emmy awards for her work on "Judging Amy, "Christy" and "Cagney and Lacy."

Her recent film work included a role in "Hello, My Name is Doris" and "Looking: The Movie." She also will appear in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" to be released this year.

Community members also are invited to attend Art Night on April 26, which does not require tickets. Professional artists and Highland Park High School students will be exhibiting and demonstrating various art forms including wood turning, printmaking, jewelry and body painting in the student cafeteria and surrounding hallways. The event will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Focus on the Arts, an every-other-year festival that started in 1964, will feature more than 250 workshops, performances and lectures over three days and three nights this year. More than five dozen HPHS alumni are among the professionals who will be sharing their talents and insights with current students.
Zoe Kharasch works with shelters to find foster and permanent homes for animals that are old and/or disabled. Her nonprofit pays for medical care for the animals before they are placed in a new home. (Sheryl Devore/Chicago Tribune)

The six-pound dog looked pathetic. He had vomit all over him. He hobbled rather than walked. He could barely hear and he was at least 13 years old.

Zoe Kharasch wanted him.

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She discovered him at a Lake County animal shelter when she was visiting the cats there with her mother, Chris Kharasch.

The shelter worker told them the dog was too old and not adoptable.

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But today, a few years later, the dog is alive and living with the Kharasch family in Libertyville. He's also the namesake of a nonprofit Zoe Kharasch started in December called Newman Nation.

Kharasch works with shelters to find foster and permanent homes for animals that are old and/or disabled. Her nonprofit pays for medical care for the animals before they are placed in a new home. Kharasch created an Instagram account for Newman, which has 8,300 followers worldwide, she said.

"I've been on a mission ever since we got Newman to advocate for the senior cats and dogs in need and encourage others to see the beauty in these old souls," Kharasch said. "I love the pets who have deformities or are missing limbs. No one else will love them. So I do."

Kharasch will receive a bachelor's degree in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May. Then she'll devote more time to Newman Nation  and also find a job that involves animals, she said.

"My dream is to have a senior animal sanctuary," she said. She wants Newman Nation to be a national organization that includes education as part of its mission.

Another local nonprofit, Young at Heart in Lake Zurich, finds homes for elderly animals and is working on creating a similar sanctuary. Kharasch said there's a great need to provide care to old and disabled pets not only in the Chicago area, but also in other parts of the country.

Along with 15-year-old Newman and her parents, Chris and Dean Kharasch, Zoe lives with her brother, Sam, 18, a Libertyville High School senior; their dogs Fofie, 6, and Francie Mae, 2; and cats Sanibel, 9, Cosmo, 5, and Sassy, 6.

They may soon add Pebbles to their menagerie. Pebbles was left at a western Lake County police department in March, Kharasch said. She's fostering the dog, who doesn't bark and only weighs four pounds. Pebbles is 12-14 years old.

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"Her whole mouth is rotted and her teeth all need to be removed," Kharasch said. She's got other issues besides  and Newman Nation will be paying for her medical expenses before finding a home for her.

Or, said Kharasch, stroking Pebbles' soft dark fur while she sat on her lap, "she might stay here."

Dad sighed. Mom laughed.

But Dad admitted, "I love it. It's nice to see the passion Zoe has. Not all college students have that."

Then he looked at Pebbles. "How could somebody dump a dog like this?"

Finding forever homes

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Since she started her nonprofit, Kharasch has placed about six senior or disabled cats and dogs in foster homes, including in Lake Villa, Grayslake, New Lenox and even as far away as Texas. She said she is learning that there's an even greater need to find homes for senior and disabled pets in parts of Florida and California.

Kharasch grew up loving animals, especially cats. "My cat raised me," said Kharasch, who still has on her cell phone a picture of her and her cat, Zora, who died at age 19.

In addition to her work with Newman Nation, which is focused solely on senior and disabled pets, Kharasch also is co-director at Hospice Hearts in Champaign, where she goes to school. While working there, she said, she has placed more than 130 animals.

She'll relinquish her Hospice Hearts job when she graduates, Kharasch said, and then she'll have even more time to spend with Newman Nation.

Chris said Zoe brought her first pet home under the Newman Nation umbrella from a "terrible shelter" in the area at the end of 2016.

"She fell in love with the dog," Chris said. "Zoe busted the dog out of there and brought him on Thanksgiving Day. He smelled so bad. He barked all day long."

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They called him Grandpa. He had only one tooth, which had to be pulled.

But now, he's adopted and happy living in his new home, Zoe said.

"Unless it's a necessity (to put them down), I want to give them a chance to live the life they have left," she added.

Elder care

Newman Nation pays for an animal's health needs before finding a foster or adoptive home for them  that's why donations are important, Kharasch said, adding that Newman Nation recently paid for a dog to have his eye removed, which was about $600. That dog, named Pepe, is now happy and adopted, she said.

Recently, a senior Chihuahua mix was found in North Chicago chained to a patio with no access to food or water. An officer took the dog and charged the owner with animal cruelty, Kharasch said. She added that the dog, who has knee problems, now has a home.

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Through Newman Nation, Kharasch has also placed a 20-year-old cat in New Lenox and a 16-year-old cat in Urbana. She said the previous owner relinquished them because "she wanted a puppy."

Kharasch said she tries not to think about people who abandon their pets, but instead on caring for and helping the animals. She also understands that older pets need homes when their owners pass away.

She works with Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge, one of the largest shelters in the Midwest, housing 800 to 1,200 animals at a time, according to coordinator and adoption supervisor Crystal Broccardo.

"Zoe is amazing, because senior dogs don't always get a fair chance when they get into a shelter," Broccardo said. "Everybody wants a puppy, a young dog. They don't want to take on a senior.

"Zoe has the kindness in her and the medical background that she knows how to take care of them, and she finds people who are willing to foster or hospice care them. Without her, a lot of these senior animals wouldn't get a chance."

Kharasch has so far rescued three seniors from Animal Welfare League and found them homes, Broccardo added.

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"Zoe is our senior person. If there's a senior dog we're trying to help, she's who we reach out to,"" Broccardo said. "If we can't (find a) place for them, sometimes seniors don't always make it out the door.

"Senior pets are the best pets. What you see is what you get. They still have all the love in the world to give. They're cuddly. They'll take naps with you. They'll sleep late with you. I would take home every senior dog if I could."

And regarding Zoe Kharasch, Broccardo said, "There are not many people like her in the world."

To learn more about Newman Nation, visit www.facebook.com/seniorpetsunited/ or www.seniorpetsunited.org.

Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
Panelists discuss the topic of "sharing economy" at a session during the Boao Forum for Asia on March 26. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

The explosive development of China's sharing economy now penetrating various sectors is built on mutual trust among strangers, and this will continue, according to panelists attending the Boao Forum for Asia on Sunday.

From sharing cars and bikes, to houses, meals and spare possessions, China's startups are offering a wider variety of services to consumers in a more prevalent way than at any time and any place in the world, they agreed.

However, the booming business model of bringing under-utilized assets into collaborative consumption is also meeting new challenges, including frequent reports of vandalism and a trust crisis in many cases.

Photos of sharing bikes in chaotic piles, or covered with thick dust, or lying on the ground with broken chains have been widely publicized on social media websites.

According to various media reports, some criminals steal, or even dismantle the GPS component fitted to the bikes, and sell them on the internet.

Complaints also abound in accommodation-sharing sites with both lodging hosts moaning about disruptive behavior in their properties and lodgers complaining about default or broken promises.

"Trust is the lifeline for the sharing economy," said Huang Wei, CEO of Zhuanzhuan, a pre-owned products trading platform. "If all the companies in the emerging sector can incorporate a credit system to which we can relate, it will possibly ward off some violations of market rules."

In face of the new challenges, more peer-to-peer vendors are introducing an identity verification system to their platforms, thus adding more transparency and reducing the fear and friction that can occur when strangers do business.

A third-party credit-scoring system, like Sesame Credit (Zhima Xinyong in Chinese) to rate credit worthiness based on personal spending habits, is also incorporated in various platforms of the emerging sector.

Bike-sharing startup Ofo is running a trial in Shanghai to allow its users, who have a credit score of 650 or more, to get the ride service without paying the 99 yuan (US$14.4) deposit.

"Home Cooking," or Huijia Chifan in Chinese, that allows its users to share food with neighbors, only permits meal providers passing strict health checks and with real-name verification to enter the platform, "in order to build trust," said Tang Wanli, founder of the startup.

Dai Wei, founder and CEO of Ofo, said: "If everyone is aware of the fact that we are all part of this sharing economy and are using collaborative assets, we could build a more sustainable ecosystem for the sector."

Last year, 600 million people were involved in China's sharing economy, surging by 100 million from 2015. The number of service providers reached 60 million, 10 million more than the previous year, according to a report released by the State Information Center earlier this month.

The new mode of operation brought about by the sharing economy will penetrate various fields, including products, services, capital, knowledge and skills, as well as production capacity, and is expected to maintain a 40 percent annual growth rate in the coming years, the report says.
The owners of Copper Fiddle Distillery in Lake Zurich are working with state Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, on a bill to strengthen distribution rights of craft distilleries. (Pioneer Press file / Pioneer Press)

The effort by the owners of Copper Fiddle Distillery in Lake Zurich to try and figure out ways to have their bourbon, gin and rum products reach the hands of customers faster recently received a big boost.

Thanks to a three-tier alcohol production, distribution and retail system that has been in place in Illinois since shortly after Prohibition was lifted in 1933, Copper Fiddle and other craft distilleries must still go through distributors before their products can reach stores, said state Sen. Dan McConchie.

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With that in mind, the Republican from Hawthorn Woods recently introduced Senate Bill 1288, which, if approved, would allow such distilleries to self-distribute up to 25,000 gallons a year directly to licensed retailers and bypass the traditional route of working with distributors.

"We have manufacturers, distributors and retailers that are all separate from each other," he said. "That was done because under prohibition, the mafia had control over the process. But we have not had that problem in over 80 years."

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Fred Robinson, co-owner of Copper Fiddle, said the bill would create parity with other businesses in craft specialties, including smaller wineries and breweries that currently are permitted to distribute their own products.

It also could help the local distillery expand sales.

Copper Fiddle currently provides spirits to 140 retail accounts in the Lake Zurich area, Robinson said. If the bill becomes law, the distillery will grow "really fast in a short period," he said.

"Craft distilleries do not (have distribution rights)," Robinson said. "It would be a win-win-win situation. Retailers would get products faster. The customer, of course, would get products faster. It would be good for distributors. I'm not sure they see it as we do, but if we can establish accounts faster, there will be more accounts for wholesalers to serve."

Since Copper Fiddle opened in 2012, the number of craft distilleries in the U.S. has grown from about 275 to more than 1,400, he said.

Copper Fiddle Distillery owners Jose Hernandez (left) and Fred Robinson (right) finish up bottling a batch of bourbon. The owners are working with state Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, on a bill to strengthen distribution rights of craft distilleries. (Chicago Tribune file / Chicago Tribune)

The bill introduced by McConchie is important if Illinois hopes to attract businesses in the fast-growing industry, Robinson said.

"When guys or girls are ready to start a distillery, they first will look at where to set up shop," he said. "There are now 14 states that allow some sort of distribution. Illinois is not one."

Last week, the Lake Zurich Village Board unanimously passed a resolution voicing support for McConchie's bill, which, he said, he introduced after hearing from Copper Fiddle Distillery while on the campaign trail last year.

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Lake Zurich Village President Tom Poynton said the bill would allow Copper Fiddle to refill orders immediately after retailers sell all of the business' products rather than wait a week or so for a distributor to make a delivery.

McConchie said such deliveries are sometimes made only every two or three weeks.

Distributors also may require a retailer to buy at least a case of Copper Fiddle's products at a time, while the retailer may only want a few bottles, he said.

"That is what interests a distillery has. It's different from a distributor," he said. "I filed the legislation to give a bridge for distilleries to get products to retailers until it is worth the distributors' while to pick up the account and service it on an ongoing basis."

The bill would put craft distilleries on a "level playing field" with other manufacturers of craft alcohol products, McConchie said.

"What's being sought is already available to craft breweries and wineries," he said. "They have limited distribution rights where they're able to interact directly with retailers."

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Phil Rockrohr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
The Morton Grove and Niles village boards each this month unanimously signed off on an intergovernmental agreement paving the way for a new joint water commission based on the two municipalities transferring their source for receiving water from Chicago to Evanston.

"This is the next step in our process to change our water supply from the city of Chicago to the city of Evanston and also to enhance the cooperation that we have with the village of Niles," Morton Grove Village Administrator Ralph Czerwinski said at that town's March 13 village board meeting.

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Both Czerwinski and Niles Village Manager Steve Vinezeano told their respective boards the joint commission provides the opportunity to apply for state and federal grants and low-interest loans for infrastructure work to enable delivery of Evanston's Lake Michigan water.

The Morton Grove trustees approved March 13 the intergovernmental agreement forming the Morton Grove-Niles Water Commission and waived a second reading while the Niles village board held a special meeting to approve it March 14.

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"I'm very pleased at the cooperation between the village of Morton Grove and the village of Niles," said Niles Trustee George Alpogianis in introducing the ordinance to the Niles board. "I think it shows a real strong sense of intergovernmental cooperation...I think it's going to be a win-win not only for both of our villages but for all of our citizens as well."

Czerwinski said the villages will be able to study and analyze finances for the project and negotiate engineering and construction contracts jointly.

In January, the Evanston City Council unanimously approved providing Lake Michigan water to Niles and Morton Grove, which officials said could begin happening as soon as late 2018.

The deal calls for increasing the number of suburban customers using Evanston water from 400,000 now to about 450,000, according to Evanston figures. Morton Grove and Niles users are expected to make up about 13 percent of those using Evanston-supplied water, city officials said.

The change is expected to generate an additional $735,000 in revenue for Evanston next year, rising to $1.2 million in 2022, according to city reports. No water treatment plant improvements should be needed to accommodate the demand to Evanston, Evanston officials said.

Morton Grove and Niles officials have estimated they will pay about $90 million for a new water transmission main at McCormick Boulevard and Emerson Street in Evanston and other infrastructure upgrades. But they also said that their villages could save as much as $100 million over the life of the 40-year contract.

Czerwinski and Vinezeano said that based on state statute, the commission will be made up of three members  a mayoral appointee from each village and one from Cook County. The process follows the same path as some other intergovernmental agreements among municipalities forming joint commissions around water delivery, they said.

The Northwest Water Commission includes communities to the west and the Joint Action Water Agency is comprised of communities in central Lake County, they noted.

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Evanston City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said that reaching an agreement with Morton Grove and Niles was initially challenging because the communities have had the same water source for some 100 years.

What helped, officials said, is that costs for Chicago-supplied water delivery continued to rise. Morton Grove and Niles officials said each of their villages had recently received notice of another 1.83 percent increase in water rates from the city.

"Leadership takes a great vision, but just as important as that vision is courage," said Niles Village Trustee Joe LoVerde. "As we look at this project, many times you see the numbers are tremendously large, and it takes courage to move forward."

Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo agreed, acknowledging that the project has some significant upfront costs.

"If you look at this, it's a very good idea but the fact is it's a very expensive project," he said. "Although we are 99.9 percent certain that there will be a terrific payback, there's always a little bit of doubt. You have to be careful because it's the taxpayers' money."

misaacs@pioneerlocal.com

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@SKReview_Mike
Director Paul Lindblad has discovered some hidden gems for Oak Park Concert Chorale's April 2 concert, Renaissance Jewels, at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest.

"There are unbelievable masterworks available in the Renaissance period and they're not often performed because they have lots of difficulties," Lindblad said. "You have this vast treasure trove that is basically uncharted. A lot of the scales that are employed are far away from the scales that we're used to hearing with our modern ears. So, you don't have choirs performing those pieces, and it's great music."

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Lindblad spoke of verse anthems which employ small groups and the chorus with continual accompaniment. "When you go from country to country, there are differences in the sound," he noted. "We're going to do some verse anthems from English composers and then a piece by a German composer, Heinrich Schutz."

The Schutz piece will be preceded by an unaccompanied setting of the first stanza of the hymn by composer Paul Bouman, the 98-year-old former director of Grace Lutheran Church, who will attend the concert.

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The concert will also feature an unaccompanied Easter piece, "Haec Dies" by William Byrd, one of the more significant English composers of the Renaissance period. "He was appointed to be the official composer for the court," Lindblad noted, adding that unlike other composers of the time, he composed in Latin instead of English. "Nobody else could get away with that."

The program will also include a selection by German composer Johann Staden, "Magnificat," a setting in German of the "Song of Mary," as well as a piece by a Dutch composer, Sweelinck. "It's actually a Christmas piece but that's not going to stop me," Lindblad joked.

A piece by English composer John Taverner, about the morning of Easter when it is discovered that Jesus's tomb is empty, is also featured. "The sounds are very legato, very connected," Lindblad said. "It has a lot of low voices and then one voice that soars." He observed that the low voices "are sort of like the death and the high voice that soars above it is like a picture of what the Resurrection might have meant to that composer."

The final selection will be the world premiere of "Four Mother Goose Rhymes," a commissioned piece by the Oak Park Concert Chorale's composer-in-residence Michael Wolniakowski.

The four poems that Wolniakowski chose were, "Ladybird, Ladybird," "Higgledy, Piggledy, My Black Hen," "Rock-a-Bye Baby" and "Simple Simon Met a Pieman."

The composer noted that everyone is familiar with the sweet tune associated with "Rock-a-Bye Baby," "But when you really think about the words  to leave a baby on the top of a tree  someone would call the DCFS in modern times. So, my take on that poem is very dark."

Wolniakowski realizes that the other two poems, "Ladybird, Ladybird," "Higgledy, Piggledy, My Black Hen," are less familiar. "With anything that I do, I like for people who come to a concert to have something that they can connect to and then to learn something new," he said.

Oak Park Concert Chorale presents Renaissance Jewels

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When: 4 p.m. April 2

Where: Grace Lutheran Church, 7300 Division St., River Forest

Tickets: $18 in advance; $20 at the door; $10 and $12 for seniors and students; free for children ages 12 and younger

Information: (708) 848-2130; www.oakparkconcertchorale.org
Dozens of congregants, alumni, students and friends celebrated the dedication of Kyte Hall at St. Vincent Ferrer Church and School in River Forest. (Rachel K. Hindery / Pioneer Press)

Parishioners, students, alumni and friends of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church and School gathered on March 26 to continue the legacy of the late Rev. Michael G. Kyte with the groundbreaking for a new $2 million social hall named in his honor.

Despite intermittent rain, dozens met outside the parish, following an 11 a.m. Mass, to dedicate the grounds. Prominent members of the church and school community stood alongside representatives from Nevin Hedlund Architects Inc. and Northern Builders Inc. for a brief ceremony. Fellowship continued with cake, punch and conversation in the Cabrini room.

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The Very Rev. Louis Morrone, vicar provincial of the Dominicans of the Province of St. Albert the Great, officiated at Mass and at the groundbreaking. St. Vincent Ferrer's pastor, Rev. Thomas McDermott, described the new hall as "the 'living room' for our parish-family" in his church bulletin message to parishioners. The Rev. Matthew Strabala and Rev. Michael De Temple also attended.

Nevin Hedlund and Will Gamble of Nevin Hedlund Architects were representatives of the new "living room's" designers. Cory Grusecki, director of real estate; Mark Fordon, vice president of construction services; and Andy Coletta, site superintendent; represented its builders.

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Kris Zadlo, Chuck and Minhae Doherty and Walter Kosch, as members of the parish building committee, have worked for about two years to plan for the day. Charles Terry is the principal of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic School; his students will use the hall as their new lunchroom.

According to McDermott, construction should be complete within about six months.

The school is already celebrating.

"Two years ago we had a hot dog picnic. We raised about $1,000, and the kids were excited about the idea of having it [the picnic] where the new lunchroom will be," Terry said.

Bella Daley, a sixth-grade student at St. Vincent Ferrer, eagerly anticipates her new lunchroom.

"When we'd stay in for recess, sometimes we'd play slapjack and it would be fun," Daley said. "I think we'll have bigger tables and more seats, and we won't be squished together all the time."

Daley appreciates that she can use the new facilities for two more years.

"The students are really lucky to have a new lunchroom. I'm happy I have the chance to use it when I'm here," Daley said.

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Anthony Saldana has attended St. Vincent Ferrer School since kindergarten. Saldana is now in seventh grade. Like Daley, Saldana focused on the social aspects of his soon-to-be lunchroom.

"It's going to add a new aspect of friendship," Saldana said.

The focus on friendships honors Kyte, McDermott said..

"He was a people person. He made everyone feel good about themselves.  He was tremendously loved in the parish," McDermott said.

With a new hall, both parish and school have room to grow. Ray Kalwajtys, the chair of the St. Vincent Ferrer school board and a school alumnus, recognizes this.

"It's about serving the parish as it is today and also about serving the parish in where we are going," Kalwajtys said.

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McDermott agrees.

"It's very exciting that it's all coming together at this point. I know the new building will play an important role in the mission of our parish in the future," McDermott said, citing the accessibility and the increased space for "social and educational programs."

To Strabala, the new hall, which will serve so many in the community, represents the essence of Kyte.

"Father Michael loved community and loved people," Strabala said. "I'm sure having a place where people will gather, socialize and enjoy themselves will be something he'd approve of."

Rachel K. Hindery is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
A Cook County judge set bond at $50,000 for a Des Plaines woman accused of attacking a nurse and demanding the keys to her car on the campus of Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge .

Amanda Marie Bermudez, 24, cried openly as officers escorted her into a Skokie courtroom Tuesday afternoon for a bond hearing before Judge Michael Hood.

"This is a crime of violence where somebody was hurt," Hood said before setting Bermudez's bond. "And for the life of me, I don't understand it."

Bermudez, of the 200 block of east Bradley Street, was charged with robbery and aggravated assault in connection with the alleged attack reported in Lutheran General's west side parking garage around 4 p.m. Sunday.

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A 30-year-old employee of the hospital, identified in court as a nurse, told police she was approaching her car, which was parked in the west parking garage on the hospital's campus at 1775 W. Dempster St., when a woman suddenly grabbed her arm and demanded the keys to her Nissan, Park Ridge police said.

The victim was able to break free and ran toward the garage's exit, but she was tackled by the woman, later identified as Bermudez, who began hitting her and again demanding her car keys, police said.

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"The victim refused to let go [of her keys], at which point the defendant threatened to kill the victim if she didn't let go," Assistant State's Attorney Christopher Cromydas said in court.

Bermudez was able to take victim's keys from her, but witnesses who saw the alleged attack intervened, and one of them managed to get the keys back from Bermudez before she ran from the area, Cromydas said.

Working with hospital security, Park Ridge police identified Bermudez as a suspect, learned she resided in Des Plaines and contacted Des Plaines police, who took Bermudez into custody near her home the same day as the attack, said Park Ridge Deputy Police Chief Lou Jogmen.

The victim reported she did not know Bermudez, Jogmen and Cromydas said. She sustained cuts and abrasions to her hands and arms, Jogmen said, and Cromydas noted that her clothing was torn.

Cromydas said Bermudez told investigators she just wanted to drive the victim's car home, but admitted she should have taken a taxi instead.

Cromydas told the judge that Bermudez has no prior criminal convictions.

When Hood commented on the allegations made against her, Bermudez acknowledged that she had been "under the influence." Hood later ordered that she enter a drug treatment program while in Cook County Jail custody.

Public defender Robert Mucci said Bermudez is the single mother of a young child and had been living with the child and her parents in Des Plaines. She is not currently working outside the home, he told the judge.

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Her next court date was scheduled for April 13.

In a statement released Tuesday , Advocate Lutheran General Hospital said, "The safety of patients, visitors and workforce is our top priority. Public Safety continues to collaborate with the Park Ridge Police Department on this matter."

jjohnson@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter: @Jen_Tribune
Lankao County in central China's Henan Province Monday announced its withdrawal from the country's list of impoverished counties.

It is the second of its kind, after Jinggangshan in eastern China's Jiangxi Province was removed from the list in late February.

A county can be removed from the list if less than 2 percent of population is classified as "impoverished."

In 2014, 11.8 percent of Lankao's population was in poverty, but the ratio has now dropped to 1.27 percent, according to an assessment by the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

After evaluation results were examined and approved by the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, Henan Provincial Government greenlit the county's withdrawal Monday.

"Today is a commemorable day," said Cai Songtao, secretary of the Lankao County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at a press conference. "Getting rid of poverty has been the ardent wish of Lankao residents for decades."

In 2014, as part of the efforts to close Party-people relations, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, paired himself with Lankao and visited it twice.

That year, Lankao County authorities made a commitment to cast off poverty in three years and achieve moderate prosperity in seven years.

To achieve success, Cai said that the county government made poverty alleviation its first and primary task.

"Over the process, we've realized that poverty alleviation is not the main goal, but that achieving moderate prosperity matters more," he said.
Hawthorn School District 73 in Vernon Hills is working to expand its School of Dual Language into the two middle schools.

The Hawthorn 73 Board of Education voted March 13 to approve phasing in the needed additions to the bilingual program, according to a statement issued by the school district. The new classes will be at the middle schools, not in the current School of Dual Language.

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Administrators will spend the rest of this year recruiting teachers and planning curriculum before sixth grade programming goes live in the 2018-19 school year, followed by seventh grade in the 2019-20 and then eighth grade classes in 2020-21, the statement reads.

Arturo Abrego, Hawthorn 73's director of bilingual education and language acquisition, said the School of Dual Language has been in place for more than 15 years, with parents and teachers alike eyeing an expansion in recent years.

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"It's a popular program," Abrego said. "We just completed an audit, we're getting some new professional development opportunities, and we have a lot of parent and community support. I think all of those were factors in the recent decision."

The effort started as a single classroom in each building until eventually being merged into its own cohesive building, according to Abrego. He said about 450 students are currently enrolled.

Students in kindergarten at the School of Dual Language spend 80 percent of the day speaking Spanish, as content in later years is progressively transitioned into 50 percent English and 50 percent Spanish by fifth grade, Abrego said.

The program contains students from both English and Spanish speaking backgrounds, Abrego said.

Expansion efforts include offering social studies, science and Spanish literacy in each of the two middle schools, Abrego said. Students would spend 140 minutes in Spanish-based instruction or activities per day, he said.

The middle school expansion is expected to accommodate about 37 students for each grade level at each of the two schools, Abrego said. He said those seats will be for students who already made it through the School of Dual Language.

So far, Abrego said plans include hiring four new teachers with salary and benefits totaling $60,000 each, with ongoing annual supplies and professional development expenses that have not yet been calculated.

"Identifying individuals who are fluent in Spanish and endorsed in bilingual education is something that is a commodity to have in a school district," Abrego said. "Hiring the right person will always be a main challenge, and that's part of why we're giving ourselves a year to put this together."

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North Shore School District 112 and Woodstock Community School District 200 are nearby districts that offer dual language programs in both elementary and middle school settings.

rkambic@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @Rick_Kambic
Two people are in custody, accused of committing an armed robbery early Monday at a Dunkin' Donuts in Glen Ellyn where they previously had worked, police said.

Lauren M. Petty, 31, and Otis L. Ramsey, 46, were arrested near the restaurant in the parking lot of a motel where they had been long-term residents, police said. Each was charged with armed robbery.

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According to police reports, about 1 a.m. Monday two individuals demanded money from an employee on duty at the restaurant in the 600 block of Roosevelt Road.

One of the suspects brandished what the employee believed to be a knife, but what was later determined by police to be a pair of long scissors, police said. The employee fled through the drive-thru window and the two suspects broke into the cash register and fled with an undisclosed amount of money, according to police.

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After the employee called 911, police discovered two people matching the descriptions in the parking lot of the Budgetel motel. Both Petty and Ramsey are former employees at the Dunkin Donuts, police said.

Bill Holmer, Glen Ellyn's assistant chief of police, said both suspects attempted to obscure their faces in an effort to hide their identities, but the employee recognized them, Holmer said.

Wheaton police assisted the Glen Ellyn police in apprehending the suspects, Holmer said.
2022 election guide: Here are Pueblo County's top races, ballot issues

Here's what you need to know about the local candidates and ballot questions in the 2022 election, as well as how to vote in Pueblo, Colorado.
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The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fully captured the Tabqa airport west of the northern city of Raqqa on Sunday, following battles with the Islamic State (IS) group, the SDF spokesman told Xinhua.

A Syrian soldier flashes the victory sign at the Abbasyieen area in the east of Damascus, capital of Syria, on March 20, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Tabqa airport in a city bearing the same name in the western countryside of Raqqa, is the first airport to be controlled by the Kurdish-led groups, Talal Silo, the SDF military spokesman, told Xinhua. He added that the airport will be used to bring in humanitarian aid to the area, and also passengers.

He noted that the airfield had been used for military and civilian aviation.

Silo said the airport needs repairing, without elaborating whether the United States will use the airfield as a base for its forces, who have been either airdropped or crossed from Iraq to aid the Kurds in their push against the IS strongholds on the basis of a new Pentagon plan against the terror group.

The SDF entered the airport earlier in the day and got engaged in intense battles with the IS in and around the facility.

Silo said the achievement comes with the help of only the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition, the main backer to the Kurdish groups in northern Syria.

The Syrian army did not join in the attack on Tabqa, he added.

The push by the U.S.-backed SDF toward the city of Tabqa and the nearby areas is part of a major offensive against Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS.

The first stage of the attack is aimed at isolating Raqqa from Tabqa and other IS positions in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour.

Earlier in the day, Kurdish officials said the battle against Raqqa city will start early next month.

The Tabqa Air Base has a strategic value for the SDF, as it will enable the Kurdish-led group to tighten the noose on IS militants in the city of Tabqa from three directions.

There are also reports that the U.S.-led coalition may plan to use the base to provide supplies for SDF units in the upcoming battle of Raqqa.

The Syrian army withdrew from the airbase in August 2014, the year IS declared its caliphate in Raqqa and took the city as its capital.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the over 90 civilians have been killed over the past week as a result of the airstrikes by the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition on Tabqa city.

The UK-based watchdog group also said that 66 civilians have been killed in Raqqa city of the past five days.
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Iran's Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that it has sanctioned 15 U.S. companies over what it called their support for "Israeli crimes and terrorism," state TV reported.

These companies have directly or indirectly collaborated with Israel in "committing its savage crimes in occupied Palestinian territories, thrown their weight behind Israel's terrorist acts or contributed to the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories in flagrant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The move comes two days after Washington imposed bans on dozens of foreign companies or individuals for aiding the Islamic republic, according to Press TV.

On Friday, the U.S. State Department said Washington had sanctioned 30 foreign companies or individuals for transferring sensitive technology to Iran for its missile program or violating export controls on Iran, North Korea and Syria.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry did not specify the names of the companies but said that any transactions with these companies and businesses shall be prohibited, their assets shall be subject to freezing, and no visas shall be issued for individuals holding positions in or associated with these corporations.
The headquarters of Healthpost in Collingwood in Golden Bay on New Zealand's South Island.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Healthpost is a typical Kiwi family business, with mom and/or dad starting up and running the business and kids lending a helping hand.

The company packs and delivers health products ordered via mails or phone calls to customers living in New Zealand.

This has been the situation since the company was established in 1988 in the small village of Collingwood, Golden Bay on New Zealand's South Island.

This is still part of the story, but not all.

Changes began when Abel Butler, son of HealthPost founder Linley Butler, decided to set up a website for all the products in their mail-order catalogue in 2002.

"Linley did not like the idea of e-commerce as she even hated emails," Abel Butler said.

Healthpost chairman Peter Butler said it took several months for them to persuade Linley, promising her that if this new business model worked, they could employ more people and she might not need to work as late as one o' clock in the morning to handle orders herself.

Just as Abel Butler had imagined, their natural health products appealed to customers all over the world, with orders coming in from India, Turkey, South Africa and the United States.

"We did not search for them, they searched for us," Abel Butler said.

"I guess that was because the need for natural products was growing worldwide and they searched online and they found us," he added.

Abel Butler, the web manager at first and now the CEO of Healthpost, attributed this progress to grasping the right opportunities at the right time.

"Back in 2002, there were few online retailers in the health products sector and we were the earliest and we are still the largest," he said.

"Our upstream manufacturers also grow as our markets expand and we need more," said the chairman.

"Without globalization, New Zealand could still be an isolated island country down under, but due to globalization, we could now make products manufactured in a geographically remote area accessible to almost everyone in the globe," said the CEO.

Peter Butler said as their customers are located almost everywhere, there was no data pointing to which sub-market might be more important than others.

In 2008, the Butlers thought Korean consumers might be more interested in their products and they put more efforts into the market.

" We could see no big difference in sales related to Korean consumers after all these efforts, " Peter Butler said.

Two years later they turned their attention to the Japanese market by building a Japanese sub-site and hiring two Japanese employees.

But likewise, their efforts did not result in a significant difference in sales.

However, in 2014, Abel Butler recalled that they had noticed there was a significant increase in Chinese-related orders.

"The Chinese prefer to order a variety of products once while consumers in other countries might order one piece each time," Peter Butler said.

" You know we, of course, like these type of consumers and by the way, parcels to China seldom go missing, which might happen quite often in other developing countries such as in India," he added.

Although, the family attributes the increase to the common ground between traditional Chinese medicine, which is sourced from herbs and their belief in products made from natural ingredients and not tested on animals, they are still not exactly sure why the Chinese like their products.

"I guess the surge in inbound tourists and students from China might have helped them get to know us and brought in orders," Abel Butler said.
Rice from Thailand, blueberries from Chile, Australian seafood, French wine ... Zheng Meiqin is one among many new connoisseurs of imported goods that her local supermarket sells these days. In the store in east China's Fuzhou city, Zheng, 50, implements a prudent but proactive shopping policy.

"I love the wide variety of fruit, but the best value is in German beer and Australian milk which are even cheaper than some domestic brands," she said.

A large proportion of Zheng's household goods are also importedfrom a Sanyo electric cooker to a Siemens washing machine.

Back in the 1980s, when imported goods were rare in China, the cost of a Japanese TV set represented about 15 times a person's monthly income.

It is middle-class consumers like Zheng who stand to benefit most from the more open Chinese market promised by Premier Li Keqiang when he addressed the opening meeting of the national legislature on March 5.

According to the premier, China is heading for both "deeper and higher level" opening up.

This means big improvements to the environment for foreign investors. There will be more opportunities to invest across the board in primary, secondary and tertiary industries.

Foreign companies will have the right to be listed on China's stock exchanges and to issue bonds. They will be welcomed into national science and technology projects.

Li promised that foreign firms would find equality in terms of license applications, standards and government procurements.

"At a time when isolationism and protectionism are on the rise in the West, China's openness will be the benchmark for continued globalization," said lawmaker Ou Chengzhong.

The open market is sweetening life in China in every conceivable way.

In the northeast, the first freight train from Europe rolled over the border in 2015, laden with vodka, tiramisu and wild Siberian honey. Since then, Russian products have been all the rage.

Chinese supermarket chain Yonghui is just one business to profit from the Changchun-Manzhouli-Europe International Rail Freight Line, a Belt and Road project.

Deng Nanqi, owner of a Fuzhou branch of the store, said there were no imported products at all in any Yonghui store when it opened in 1998. Now half of the goods on the shelves are imported.

Prices of these imports have even fallen since a free trade zone was set up in Fuzhou in 2014.

Deng has seen the price of one liter of milk from Australia drop from 20 yuan ($2.9) to 9 yuan, out-competing many domestic brands.

Snow White and Mickey Mouse are now even closer to the hearts and minds of China's children since Disneyland, with 7 million visitors so far, opened in June last year in Shanghai.

China attracted $130 billion in foreign investment in 2016, up 4 percent.

Fonterra holds high hopes for China's opening-up, foreign investment and structural reform, a win-win situation.
Delegates attend the Plenary Session of "Globalization & Free Trade: the Asian Perspectives" during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2017 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhao Yingquan)

For the final examination of my university class in "International Relations" not long ago, I asked the more than 200 students to cite two examples of anti-globalization. Almost all of them chose Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election and Brexit, the British bid to leave the European Union. Some concluded that these events, along with the rise of populism, nationalism and protectionism, would reverse the globalization trend.

As a matter of fact, these worrisome observations echo the opinions of many scholars, journalists and commentators, all tending to suggest globalization is doomed.

Indeed, there's much evidence that globalization faces many obstacles, given that America is a global superpower and Britain is one of the major players in the EU. However, exaggeration of the impact of the Trump victory and Brexit is far worse than understatement. That is to say, while these two "Black Swans" are likely to hinder the process of globalization, we cannot ignore other positive elements.

First of all, China has lost none of its determination to promote globalization. As the second largest economy, its confidence in globalization is important. Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the World Economic Forum in Davos at the beginning of this year, "Blaming economic globalization for the world's problems is inconsistent with reality, and it will not help solve the problems."

He also pointed out: "In the face of both opportunities and challenges, the right thing to do is to seize every opportunity, jointly meet challenges and chart a correct course for economic globalization. We should follow the general trend, proceed from our respective national conditions and embark on the right path of integrating into economic globalization at a suitable pace." These words were well received by the international community.

Second, China has made contributions to the development of globalization in words and deeds. In 2013, it announced the Belt and Road Initiative that comprises five ambitions: policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, financial cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between countries involved. This has been widely welcomed, as its inherent connectivity can greatly promote globalization.

Third, the G20, APEC and BRICS, among others, are strong supporters of globalization. Leaders from developed and emerging economies have met frequently to discuss globalization, global challenges and other important issues, and have expressed confidence in the future.

The Communique of the Hangzhou Summit in Sept. 2016, for instance, pledged to work to ensure that the benefits from economic growth, globalization and technological innovation are widely shared, creating more and better jobs, reducing inequalities and promoting inclusive labor force participation.

The 2016 APEC summit in Lima in Nov. 2016 acknowledged that globalization and its associated integration processes are increasingly being called into question as protectionist tendencies emerge. However, APEC is committed to maintaining its global leadership, tackle the most pressing problems, and continue to be an incubator of ideas for the future.

Although the Goa Declaration of the BRICS summit in India in Oct. 2016 did not mention globalization; however, reading between the lines, it can be inferred that the five emerging economies are keen to encourage development of globalization. "We reiterate our support for the multilateral trading system and the centrality of the WTO as the cornerstone of a rule-based, open, transparent, non-discriminatory and inclusive multilateral trading system with development at its core," said the Declaration .

Fourth, the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has achieved some progress. For instance, on Dec. 7, 2013, the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Indonesia reached a trade agreement known as the Bali Package. It is expected to inject US$1 trillion into the world economy, giving developing countries more options in food security, and support trade and development.

Fifth, the Paris Agreement on climate change went into force on November 4, 2016. The agreement was negotiated by representatives of 195 countries at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Paris and adopted by consensus on Dec. 12, 2015. This represented the fruit of more than two decades of often tortuous international negotiations on combating climate change. On Oct. 5, 2016, the threshold for the agreement to go into force was achieved.

Finally, we cannot ignore the following positive facts: international investment by the multinational companies and banks in developed and emerging economies is still on the rise; the global trade in goods and services continues to grow despite some protectionism; global value chains have become stronger, linking all economies into a flat world; global travel has become freer and information transmission has flourished despite cyber-insecurity and some controls.

Hence, we cannot cherry-pick the Trump victory and Brexit as the proof of de-globalization. It is true that anti-globalization forces are on the rise, but the overall trend seems irreversible. We should see opportunities in the challenges, not the other way round.

The writer is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/jiangshixue.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party CDU was ahead with a clear lead over rival SPD in the Saarland state elections, exit polls showed on Sunday.

The vote was the first in a series leading up to German federal elections in September.

Some 800,000 eligible voters cast their ballots. Exit polls showed that CDU was ahead with 41 percent with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) trailing behind on 29.5 percent.

The Left party (Linke) was reported to have won 13 percent of the votes, Alternative for Germany (AfD) 6 percent and the Greens 4.5 percent.

The outcome of the vote in Germany's smallest non-city state is being widely watched as a sign of voter sentiment ahead of state elections in Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia in May, and federal elections in September, German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) reported.

Some local analysts saw the result as a boost to Merkel's ruling political union, and a major setback for SPD, whose leader Martin Schulz failed to transform his popularity into ballot tickets.

In the past several months, some opinion polls have constantly showed Schulz will have the edge over his major competitor Merkel in the coming federal election.

The CDU has ruled the southwestern state for the past 18 years.
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New Zealand on Monday became the first Western developed country to sign a cooperation agreement with China on the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative.

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his New Zealand counterpart, Bill English, witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding, which adds to the long list of ground-breaking achievements the two countries have scored in bilateral cooperation.

China and New Zealand will explore the possibilities of bilateral cooperation in various fields to promote interconnectivity between the two countries, Li told a joint press conference with English.

New Zealand was the first Western developed country to conclude bilateral negotiations on China's accession to the World Trade Organization, to recognize China's full market-economy status, to sign and implement a bilateral free trade agreement with China, and to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member.

The B&R Initiative, which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and was proposed by China in 2013, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient land and maritime Silk Road trade routes.

Li arrived in Wellington on Sunday for a four-day visit to the Oceanian country, the first by a Chinese premier in 11 years.

Ahead of the press conference, Li held talks with English on bilateral ties and cooperation.

During his trip, Li will also meet Governor-General Patsy Reddy and opposition Labor Party leader Andrew Little, and attend a series of business and culture exchange events.
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Iraqi forces gained ground in the western side of Mosul on Sunday, as the troops faced strong resistance from IS militants and heavy casualties among civilians at the battleground neighborhoods, the Iraqi military said.

The commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) liberated the neighborhoods of Wadi al-Ayn and Rajm al-Hadid in the western edges of Mosul after days of heavy clashes against IS militants, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah, from the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.

Elite troops continued their heavy clashes against IS militants in several nearby neighborhoods, as they advanced closer to Mosul's western edge and densely populated old city center, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are believed to be still trapped under IS rule.

Meanwhile, the federal police and elite interior ministry's Rapid Response Brigades continued slow progress in Mosul's old city center by the strong resistance of the extremist militants and the presence of civilians.

Also in the day, the army's 9th armored division freed Badoush cement factory in northwest of Mosul after defeating IS militants, leaving many extremist militants killed, Yarallah said in a separate statement.

The fierce battles in western Mosul caused heavy casualties among civilians.

The latest report by the Iraqi Migration and Displaced Ministry said that some 415,000 civilians left their homes in Mosul's both eastern and western sides since the beginning of the military offensive in October to reclaim the IS' largest stronghold in Iraq.

Earlier, media reports said hundreds of civilians were buried under the debris of their houses by heavy bombardments of U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi aircraft during the past few days.

On Friday, the United Nations expressed concerns about reports of civilian casualties in Mosul, and urged the parties of the conflict to avoid such casualties.

"We are stunned by this terrible loss of life and wish to express our deepest condolences to the many families that have reportedly been impacted by this tragedy," a UN statement quoted Lise Grande, the humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, as saying.

"Nothing in this conflict is more important than protecting civilians. All parties of the conflict are obliged to do everything possible to protect civilians. This means that combatants cannot use people as human shields and cannot imperil lives through indiscriminate use of fire power," Grande said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also 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, locally known as the right bank of the Tigris River which bisects the city.

Late in January, Abadi declared the liberation of Mosul's eastern side, or the left bank of Tigris, after over 100 days of fighting 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 Iraqi capital Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their posts and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
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The Iraqi military on Sunday blamed the Islamic State (IS) militant group for the killing of dozens of civilians at a house in the western side of Mosul.

A picture taken on March 25, 2017, shows the damaged streets of the Old City of Mosul, during the government forces' ongoing offensive to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. [Photo/Xinhua]

A statement by the Joint Operations Command also denied that the house was bombed by airstrikes conducted by the coalition aircraft.

A team of experts dispatched to the scene of a destroyed house at a neighborhood in the western side of Mosul and discovered that all the walls of the house, which was completely destroyed, had been booby-trapped by IS militants.

The experts also found remains of a destroyed large booby-trapped truck beside the house, which could be the reason behind the house collapse, according to the statement.

It said that there was no evidence that the house was hit by an airstrike.

Earlier, media reports said hundreds of civilians were buried under the debris of their houses by heavy bombardments of U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi aircraft during the past few days.

On Friday, the United Nations expressed concerns about reports of civilian casualties in Mosul, and urged parties of the conflict to avoid such casualties.

"We are stunned by this terrible loss of life and wish to express our deepest condolences to many families who have reportedly been impacted by this tragedy," a UN statement quoted Lise Grande, the humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, as saying.

"Nothing in this conflict is more important than protecting civilians. All parties of the conflict are obliged to do everything possible to protect civilians. This means that combatants cannot use people as human shields and cannot imperil lives through indiscriminate use of fire power," Grande said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also 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, locally known as the right bank of the Tigris River which bisects the city.

Late in January, Abadi declared the liberation of Mosul's eastern side, or the left bank of Tigris, after over 100 days of fighting IS militants.

However, Mosul's heavily-populated western part with its narrow streets appears to be a bigger challenge to Iraqi forces.

Mosul, 400 km north of Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their posts and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
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Westminster Bridge attacker Khalid Masood sent a WhatsApp message that cannot be accessed because it was encrypted by the popular messaging service, a top British security official said yesterday.

British press reports suggest Masood used the easily available messaging service just minutes before starting a rampage on Wednesday that left three pedestrians and one police officer dead and dozens more wounded, including some with catastrophic injuries.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd used appearances on BBC and Sky News to urge WhatsApp and other encrypted services to make their platforms accessible to intelligence services and police trying to carry out lawful eavesdropping.

We need to make sure that organizations like WhatsApp  and there are plenty of others like that  dont provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other, she said.

Rudd did not provide any details about Masoods use of WhatsApp, saying only this terrorist sent a WhatsApp message and it cant be accessed.

But her call for a back door system to allow authorities to access information is likely to be met with resistance throughout the industry. In the United States, Apple fought the FBIs request for the passcodes needed to unlock an iPhone that had been used by one of the perpetrators in the 2015 extremist attack on San Bernardino, California.

Masood drove a rented SUV into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before smashing it into Parliaments gates and rushing onto the grounds, where he stabbed a policeman to death before he was shot dead. A detailed police reconstruction has found the entire attack lasted 82 seconds.

Police say he acted alone but they are trying to pinpoint his motive and identify any possible accomplices, making the WhatsApp message a potential clue to his state of mind and his social media contacts.

Rudd said attacks like Masoods would be easier to prevent if authorities could penetrate encrypted services after obtaining a warrant similar to the ones used to listen in on telephone calls or  in snail mail days  steam open letters and read their contents.

Without a change in the system, she said terrorists would be able to communicate with each other without fear of being overheard even in cases where a legal warrant has been obtained.

Rudd also urged technology companies to do a better job at preventing the publication of material that promotes extremism. She plans to meet with firms on Thursday in a bid to set up an industry board that would take steps to make the web less useful to extremists.

British police investigating the attack say they still believe Masood, a 52-year-old Briton, acted alone and say they have no indications that further attacks are planned.
Boyceville high school senior Abigail Erickson loves cows. She is raising one and his name is Gomer. As Abby tells it, Gomer is an 800-pound steer who follows me around like a puppy.

Gomer suffered a broken leg when he was a calf and needed a lot of extra attention, so Abby fed him a bottle every day and watched for signs of pneumonia. The odds were against Gomer but because of Abbys efforts to help him heal, Gomer made it.

And it is because of Gomer that Abigail Erickson is going to become a large animal veterinary technician. Along the way, she might want to consider writing a childrens book about Gomer because that is one charming little story.

Competitive artistry

Abby is the recipient of the Chippewa Valley Newspapers' Extra Effort Award this year. Her big heart and talent for tending an animal most would back away from is not the end of her story, however; she is also an artist.

She is a member of the Art Club and has been active in the Visual Arts Classic -- a competition that takes place on the regional and state level -- for the past few years.

This year, seven teams went to the competition and Abby was selected as captain of the Boyceville High School team, comprised of 12 students. Preparation and training is done outside of the classroom, and students prepare from October through March.

This years theme was Art in Wisconsin. The team selected 10 famous Wisconsin artists and were challenged to use many different mediums  ceramics, sculpture, clothing, drawing and painting  to represent a specific artist. Abby chose a ceramics project based on artist Susan Frackelton, an artist famous for painting china using only the colors of blue and gray.

Abby created a vase in the style of Frackelton with blue Morning Glory flowers on it, representing love and honoring the memory of her grandmother, Ruth Ann Bradford, with the piece, according to Karlene Berry, Boyceville High School counselor.

Abby and her team also competed in the Art Quiz Bowl, a collection of trivia based on Wisconsin artists and their work. They had to study materials and art collections to prepare for the regional competition, which they won. They are now preparing for the state competition.

The team also competed in another competitive event called the Critical Thinking Skit, which gives them one hour to prepare and create a small-scale set and write about the piece. This year, the artists chosen for the competition were Susan Frackelton and Frank Lloyd Wright, with the Boyceville team winning first place.

Increased confidence

Abby said she has challenged herself in art, having once been self-conscious about her work to now being confident in her abilities. She said her latest art piece is a five-foot by three-foot self portrait  something she would never have thought about doing in middle school.

Since second grade, Abby has had a hearing loss. Over the years and with the support of her friends, she has learned to accommodate for that, wearing just one hearing aid and using eye contact.

Abby has also signed up for the Vet Science Explore program in October. The program is voluntary and focuses on the pet industry as well as agriculture from a veterinarian side. After high school graduation she plans to attend the Rochester, Minn. Technical College and complete the veterinary technician program.

Abby is the daughter of Kathy Bradford and Brad Erickson. She has lived in Boyceville her entire life and will graduate in May.
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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he hopes his ongoing New Zealand visit will deepen bilateral friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation and both countries will work together to create a brighter future for their ties.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives with his wife Cheng Hong in Wellington, New Zealand, March 26, 2017, for an official visit to New Zealand at the invitation of his New Zealand's counterpart Bill English. [Photo/Xinhua]

Li, who started Sunday a four-day official visit to New Zealand, made the remarks in a signed article published Monday in local newspaper The New Zealand Herald.

In the article, Li spoke highly of the "relentless" efforts China and New Zealand have made to develop bilateral relations and cooperation since the two countries forged diplomatic ties 45 years ago.

"Together, we kept on scaling new heights and setting new records in China's relations with Western developed countries," he said.

Li mentioned a long list of the "ground-breaking" cooperation between both countries, noting that New Zealand was the first Western developed country to conclude bilateral negotiations on China's accession to the World Trade Organization, the first to recognize China's full market-economy status, and the first to sign and implement a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with China.

New Zealand also is the first Western developed country to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member, and the first to hold a nationwide Chinese Language Week, he added.

For four years in a row, China has been New Zealand's largest trading partner, the largest source of foreign students and second largest source of tourists. Each week, about 50 direct flights travel across the Pacific between both countries, he said.

As relations and cooperation between China and New Zealand have reached unprecedented levels and their interests have become more intertwined than ever before, the Chinese leader urged the two countries to "do even better."

"We need to fully harness our comparative strengths, and unleash our potential for common development by synergizing our development strategies," he said.

Li suggested that both sides move beyond a "fairly stable trade relationship on farm products" and promote high-tech-driven, high-value-added, whole-industrial-chain cooperation.

He also urged the two countries to explore new areas such as e-commerce, biopharmaceuticals, energy conservation and environmental protection and infrastructure development to foster new growth areas in bilateral cooperation.

On bilateral trade, Li said it has increased nearly threefold over the past eight years since the China-New Zealand FTA came into force, delivering real benefits to the two peoples.

Despite its trade deficit with New Zealand, China remains committed to seizing the opportunity of FTA upgrading negotiations to facilitate greater mutual openness of both markets, he said.

"We are ready to import more goods from New Zealand that are competitive and high-quality, to provide more choices for Chinese consumers and push Chinese companies toward greater competitiveness," Li said.

He said the announcement in late 2016 to launch negotiations on upgrading the bilateral FTA "sends a positive signal of support for trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, especially in the context of weak global economic recovery, rising protectionism and bitter backlash against globalization."

"We have every reason to believe that globalization will continue to move forward despite its setbacks, just as one should not stop eating for fear of getting choked. And the door, once opened, should not be closed," the premier said.

Furthermore, Li said China and New Zealand have been able to transcend differences in national conditions, stage of development, culture and tradition to achieve win-win outcomes on the basis of mutual respect and equality.

"The Chinese civilization values openness and inclusiveness, and New Zealand is known for its multicultural dynamism," he said, urging the two countries to jointly call for diversity of world civilizations and add more color and splendor to the development of world cultures.

"We need to jointly uphold world peace and regional stability, promote economic globalization, build an open world economy, and make new contributions to the development and prosperity of our region and the world," he said.

"I am confident that our joint efforts to scale new heights will create an even brighter future for China-New Zealand relations and make our world a more splendid place," the premier concluded.
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Some 33 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed after Afghan air force warplanes struck their positions in Koot district of eastern Nangarhar province in the past 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said Monday.

In addition, three Taliban militants were killed after Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) conducted a joint security operation in Gadi village, Nangarhar province over the same period, the ministry said in a statement.

The mountainous province with Jalalabad city as its capital, 120 km east of Kabul, has been the scene of heavy clashes between security forces and IS militants since the emergence of IS there in early 2015.

Furthermore, two Taliban militants' weapons facilitators were captured by security forces in Mehtarlam city, capital of neighboring Laghman province, the provincial government said in a statement earlier on Monday.

The arrestees had been involved in a series of attacks in Mehtarlam and surrounding areas, the statement said, adding a sticky Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was also found in their possession.

The Afghan security forces have beefed up security operations against militants recently, as spring and summer known as the fighting seasons are drawing near in the Central Asian country.
The headquarters of HealthPost in Collingwood in Golden Bay on New Zealand's South Island.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

HealthPost is a typical Kiwi family business, with mom and/or dad starting up and running the business and kids lending a helping hand.

The company packs and delivers health products ordered via mails or phone calls to customers living in New Zealand.

This has been the situation since the company was established in 1988 in the small village of Collingwood, Golden Bay on New Zealand's South Island.

This is still part of the story, but not all.

Changes began when Abel Butler, son of HealthPost founder Linley Butler, decided to set up a website for all the products in their mail-order catalogue in 2002.

"Linley did not like the idea of e-commerce as she even hated emails," Abel Butler said.

HealthPost chairman Peter Butler said it took several months for them to persuade Linley, promising her that if this new business model worked, they could employ more people and she might not need to work as late as one o' clock in the morning to handle orders herself.

Just as Abel Butler had imagined, their natural health products appealed to customers all over the world, with orders coming in from India, Turkey, South Africa and the United States.

"We did not search for them, they searched for us," Abel Butler said.

"I guess that was because the need for natural products was growing worldwide and they searched online and they found us," he added.

Abel Butler, the web manager at first and now the CEO of HealthPost, attributed this progress to grasping the right opportunities at the right time.

"Back in 2002, there were few online retailers in the health products sector and we were the earliest and we are still the largest," he said.

"Our upstream manufacturers also grow as our markets expand and we need more," said the chairman.

"Without globalization, New Zealand could still be an isolated island country down under, but due to globalization, we could now make products manufactured in a geographically remote area accessible to almost everyone in the globe," said the CEO.

A HealthPost employee sorts products at the company's warehouse in Collingwood in Golden Bay on New Zealand's South Island.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Peter Butler said as their customers are located almost everywhere, there was no data pointing to which sub-market might be more important than others.

In 2008, the Butlers thought Korean consumers might be more interested in their products and they put more efforts into the market.

" We could see no big difference in sales related to Korean consumers after all these efforts, " Peter Butler said.

Two years later they turned their attention to the Japanese market by building a Japanese sub-site and hiring two Japanese employees.

But likewise, their efforts did not result in a significant difference in sales.

However, in 2014, Abel Butler recalled that they had noticed there was a significant increase in Chinese-related orders.

"The Chinese prefer to order a variety of products once while consumers in other countries might order one piece each time," Peter Butler said.

" You know we, of course, like these type of consumers and by the way, parcels to China seldom go missing, which might happen quite often in other developing countries such as in India," he added.

Although, the family attributes the increase to the common ground between traditional Chinese medicine, which is sourced from herbs and their belief in products made from natural ingredients and not tested on animals, they are still not exactly sure why the Chinese like their products.

"I guess the surge in inbound tourists and students from China might have helped them get to know us and brought in orders," Abel Butler said.

Healthpost's CEO Abel Butler (left), China country manager Harriet Zhou (center), and chairman Peter Butler speak with China Daily in Beijing on March 17, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

While the Butlers were still searching for the reasons behind their increased Chinese-related sales, a Chinese lady knocked on their doors and said she could help to expand the China market.

Harrriet Zhou, or Zhou Xinpei, who studied for her bachelors' degree at the Auckland University between 2008 and 2012, later became Healthpost's China country manager.

Abel Butler said he believed that hiring Zhou marked a great turning point for their business.

That same year, Able Butler, accompanied by Zhou, visited China for the first time. They visited Alipay, Baidu and showed up at health products expositions and shops selling imported products.

He said he was awed, not only by Chinese food which tasted so good, but also by the sound economy of the country and its people's purchasing power.

Back in his home country, they decided to hire four more employees of Chinese origin to set up and maintain a Chinese sub-site, the company's Sina Weibo and WeChat accounts and to serve Chinese customers.

In 2016, the company earned millions of New Zealand dollars from approximately 25,000 Chinese consumers, who accounted for 20 percent of all consumers. Two years earlier, the percentage was only two percent.

On Dec 12, 2016, HealthPost, a cross-border B2C e-commerce platform itself, joined Tmall International. Abel Butler said the company has seen robust growth in sales over the past three months.

Although HealthPost went online on Tmall in the second week of December, the company recorded 30,000 yuan ($4,355) in revenue on China's e-commerce website in that month alone, said Harriet Zhou.

She added that in January and February transactions reached 63,000 yuan and 81,000 yuan respectively and predicted that in March sales would hit 160,000 yuan as the company saw revenue reach 30,000 yuan in just one day after it held a promotion on Wednesday.

A herbal liquid for chest care manufactured by the Butlers' another firm BioBalance, a milk tablet, and manuka honey were the top three best sellers, said Zhou.

Abel Butler said he did not rule out the possibility that the company would open a bricks-and-mortar store in China even though more custom procedures might be needed.

"We are where our customers are so that they could buy at any channel convenient for them," said the CEO.

Abel Butler came to China in the middle of March for a second time, this time with his father Peter, to visit Alibaba in Hangzhou, to form more sales channel partnerships and to seek advice from advertising firms.

They also chatted with four Chinese customers face-to-face in Beijing to get answers on "why they like us".

He said he might come to China more often than before. "Perhaps every several months."

He also revealed that the company is going to hire more people of Chinese origin to fully meet demands from this vast country.

Peter Butler said that even though the Chinese government has lowered its expectations for economic growth in 2017, he still viewed China as the best market for his company as 6.5 percent growth is still much higher than economic growth in other countries including New Zealand.

When asked whether the company is open to capital from China, he said that although many big brands in New Zealand's health product sector have been bought by Chinese investors, he still prefers the company to be family-owned.

"But we are open to joint ventures or cross ownership. "
Gino Andreetta helps Club Med to ride China's consumption boom, expand faster than elsewhere

Gino Andreetta, appointed CEO of Club Med Greater China in 2015, finds his latest role no different from a job in his home country Italy.

"China is the Italy of Asia. It's the Mediterranean-like part of Asia," Andreetta said at his Shanghai office, the China headquarters of the French resort major.

"There are many similarities in culture between Chinese and the Mediterranean where Club Med is from. They include placing importance on family, food, and the carpe diem attitude. We don't have to specially cater our offerings to Chinayou can say this concept was made for the Chinese," said Andreetta.

Founded in 1950 in France, Club Med is best known for its all-inclusive holiday packages, a business that enables guests to eat, drink and play to their heart's content without ever having to leave the self-sufficient resorts.

Club Med has more than 70 such resorts in over 25 countries. The resort operator has more than 12,000 GOs or gentils organisateurs (or gracious organizers) from 25 countries. Ten percent of its GOs are from China.

Unlike regular hotel staff, GOs wine and dine with guests throughout the day and are an integral part of the holiday experience.

The first Club Med resort in China opened in December 2010. The number of Chinese guests has been growing by up to 30 percent year-on-year. In November 2016, Club Med opened its fifth resort in Northeast China's Jilin province.

Located at Beidahu, a rather obscure ski destination known for its rime ice crystals, the resort has been an instant hit since the opening, with all of its 176 rooms fully booked till the third week of February. The resort has also been ranked the No.1 hotel in Jilin province on travel website Tripadvisor.

"The ski resort concept is something very new in China. But the success we have achieved means there is huge demand here and proves that our unique resort concept is very welcomed," said Andreetta, who has worked at Club Med resorts across more than 20 countries over the past two decades.

The customer return rate at Club Med resorts in China is evidence of its popularity. Andreetta said 20 percent of its guests have stayed at the resort before.

Club Med is looking to open between 10 and 15 new resorts in China over the next four to five years. On an average, three to five new Club Med resorts open annually across the globe. Andreetta said the brand's rapid growth in China has enabled it to embark on such an ambitious expansion.

"The velocity of the Chinese market is astonishing. It took 20 to 30 years for French people to understand and have the culture of holiday making. It started in the 1950s after World War II and only became sophisticated in the 1970s. But in China, it may take less than five years," said Andreetta.

Statistics from China Union Pay, one of the biggest electronic payment service providers in the country, showed that expenditure for domestic travel, including flights, transportation, accommodation and shopping, during the first six days of the Spring Festival this year soared by 52 percent compared with last year. China Union Pay also found that high-end travel was the key growth-driver.

This, coupled with the fact that experiential travel has become increasingly popular in recent years, bodes well for the French resort brand, he said.

"A few years ago, people here in China were looking for the cheapest travel options. Today, it's really about value for money. Club Med is all about experience. It's not something special in the chandelier or carpet or bathtub that customers are paying for," said Andreetta.

Club Med China's main clientele is described as those aged between 25 and 40. Many of them have at least one child in the family and prefer spending more time in the common areas of the resort trying out new things.

In 2015, Shanghai conglomerate Fosun International finalized a takeover of Club Med for $1.07 billion. Asked about the implications of the deal, Andreetta reiterated what Fosun's chairman Guo Guangchang once said: the deal was merely a "friendly takeover" that will not alter the essence of Club Med.

"If you buy something and become its owner, you may change it. But Fosun is investing in it. A sound investment is backed by the confidence that the product is good," said Andreetta.

The takeover has been classified as a "business of happiness", one of the three sectors that Fosun aims to invest in for the long term, besides health and wealth management.

"When Club Med was born in 1950 after World War II, the goal was to get people to rediscover the freedom and joy of doing things together. If I am to leave a legacy behind in China, I hope it has to do with gaining an understanding of not our products but the importance of being happy," said Andreetta.
Workers at a production line of Mobike in Hengyang, Hunan province, inspect bicycles one last time before releasing them for shared use in cities. [Peng Bin/For China Daily]

Bike-sharing service provider Mobike has rolled out a series of tweaks to make its bicycles lighter and more comfortable to ride.

"The bike is constantly getting cooler and lighter, to meet the growing needs of our users, of whom 80 percent are the post-'80s and '90s generation," said Xu Hongjun, general manager of Mobike's manufacturing base in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.

The company has chosen Beijing and Shanghai to introduce new machines in tens of thousands. Notable improvements include lighter bikes (weight down by 3 kg to 23 kg), an adjustable seat as well as a basket, and disc brakes at the rear for greater control.

According to Xu, each fleet of bikes is custom-produced to suit the city and climate where it will be introduced. In Beijing, for example, the bikes use cold-resistant batteries, and tires with deeper tread to give better grip on icy roads in winter.

Bikes in Wuxi, a rain-prone eastern Chinese city, have extended mud guards on both front and rear tires to protect riders from splash back.

These tweaks have not come at the expense of classic features that have attracted many of Mobike's customers, such as its easy-to-use V-shape frame, dust-proof paint, airless tires, and magnesium alloy wheels. The GPS-equipped smart lock also remains, which is key to Mobike's online-to-offline business model.

Charged with constant development and innovation, Mobike's Wuxi production line is in high demand. Not only does it have to be able to produce enough bikes to match the ever-growing demand of the market, but it has to maintain the high quality of end-products that made the company a success so far.

Such demands on the production line are not a problem for the moment, according to Mobike founder Hu Weiwei, who revealed in a meeting with Premier Li Keqiang earlier this year that the Wuxi manufacturing base is capable of producing 14,000 units per day.

The manufacturing base was just a two-story factory in Wuxi's Hongshan town a year ago, but today it consists of two buildings taking up nearly 30,000 square meters. It also serves as Mobike's R& D center, applying for and receiving 30 technology and design patents such as the smart lock and magnesium alloy wheels.

Without the base, much of Mobike's core ambitions would never have been realized and its future not as bright. This integral part of the business is what Mobike CEO Wang Xiaofeng calls the company's "core competence".

"Many people may misunderstand the manufacturing sector in modern ways; they assume it is a place where workers assemble things with a straight face," Wang said. "They couldn't be more wrong, there are a lot of technical details in it. If an internet company underestimates the importance of manufacturing and the supply chain, it will lose everything."

Mobike is also in negotiations with Wuxi authorities to further expand its base as it expects demand to continue to grow.

In just two short years since the new public bike-sharing system was introduced, the market has been flooded with millions of bicycles. There are an estimated 3 million public bikes operated by 29 different brands and service platforms across dozens of cities, according to statistics from the association of the bike industry in Tianjin, the country's largest bicycle manufacturing base.

Mobike, however, has managed to stand above the rest and become a clear market leader with 3.1 million active monthly users and a 72.5 percent market share as of December, according to a report by Trustdata. It leaves ofo in a distant second position with a 21.8 percent market share, and all other brands combined with less than 10 percent share.
A lawyer (right) offers legal advice to a citizen in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

To brace for rising uncertainties and an increasingly complex regulatory environment abroad, IT specialists are telling Chinese legal services to upgrade their data and litigation management systems.

China is essentially still in the middle of its first round of global expansion. More than ever before, Chinese companies operating abroad will seek legal support from law firms with rich international experience.

On the part of lawyers and law firms, according to Zhao Lixing, professor of law in Fudan University, there will be "a fresh round of learning" to adapt to the digital work environment, such as to understand the difference between physical evidence and digital evidence.

Firms with more international experience are learning faster, noted Steven Wang, Partner of the Shanghai-based Smart Team Global, a solution provider and implementer targeting the Chinese legal service industry.

He said: "Some companies have been shopping for the right solutions and services for the past few years."

Mickey Liao, an IT specialist from Taiwan, said in 2016 he and his partners were "busier in the second half of the year" because they "signed up more users" on the Chinese mainland for legal software upgrading.

Changes in Shanghai's law firms are setting a clear example for the rest of the country, he said.

In the particular field of legal solutions, the challenge comes from two directions, IT professionals noted.

On the one hand, for the past few years, Chinese companies have been in a race to branch out their business overseas and have inevitably run into various local legal problems.

The longer the investment commitment is, the more disputes they are likely to face. So, to properly protect and store every document and evidence of internal communications becomes imperative - an area where Chinese companies are "usually messy" when they operate at home, Wang said.

Beijing's Belt and Road initiative is likely bring Chinese companies into contact with economies with a less familiar regulatory environment.

Chinese law firms will have to help them improve ability to control the legal risk, he said.

On the other hand, new technologies are being more widely used in the domestic market, e-commerce in particular. They are leading to changes in the traditional ways of litigation and dispute settlement.

According to Wu Jun, a partner from King & Wood Mallesons, one of the largest China-based law firms, there are already online courts and dispute settlements in small cases in consumer commerce. But in contrast, many other areas are still dominated by legacy practices, a fact that makes the use of new technologies still difficult, such as in digital evidence.

To facilitate buying and selling globally, Chinese e-commerce companies will need to rely on an extensive support system from in-house and outside legal expertise, he pointed out.

Expanding in faster and multi-language environments, all law firms are stepping up IT. Executives from Baker & McKenzie (Asia Pacific), an international legal service with rich emerging-market experience, have already reported pilot programs with the use of artificial intelligence in document processing.

As for China, "larger firms are raising their level of capability. In language proficiency, and in managerial details, they will make progress as quickly as they did before. In that I have no doubt," said David Fleming, a Baker & McKenzie partner.

The solutions that Wang's team are implementing include eDiscovery, a system developed from the US by Capax LLC for enterprise-level data management and evidence discovery, and the matching Chinese system for mobile office that the Wang's team developed by itself.
NEW YORK - Multinational giants - including FedEx, KKR and WPP - are eyeing enormous new business opportunities in China as the middle income population of the world's second biggest economy surpasses 600 million, 700 million in the foreseeable future.

"Our focus in China has been 100 percent on the consumer. We don't focus on export businesses, we focus on local consumption as the consumers have gone up in their purchasing power," said Henry R. Kravis, co-chairman and co-CEO of leading American global investment group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

Kravis was recently sharing KKR's success stories with about 100 multinational giants present at the Fortune leadership dinner in New York, entitled "Multinationals in China: Maximizing the Opportunity."

For example, Kravis said, a syndicated farm group KKR built a few years ago now has 290,000 cows in 29 farms in China.

"The opportunity just goes to what is needed in China. Whether it's environment, whether it's food safety, whether it focuses on the consumer," he added.

The event, moderated by Alan Murray, chief content officer of Time Inc. and editor-in-chief of Fortune, was held in honor of China's fast-growing megacity of Guangzhou which will host the 2017 Fortune Global Forum on Dec. 6-8 this year.

"I'm happy to announce that we are launching liaison offices in Boston and Silicon Valle," said Cai Chaolin, Guangzhou's vice mayor in his speech.

There is no better choice than Guangzhou for hosting the world's economic forum, Cai said.

In 1784, a merchant vessel named the Empress of China set off from New York Harbor, loaded with American ginseng, leather and cotton and arrived in Guangzhou after six months' journey. It took home tea, chinaware and silk, opening a brand new chapter in China-US bilateral trade.

The floor was quickly given to multinational giants following the mayor's introduction of his 2,231-year-old city, which is economically ranked the third in the Chinese mainland after Beijing and Shanghai, and which is on a par with Hong Kong and Singapore.

Frederick W. Smith, CEO of the world's biggest express transportation company FedEx, said his group had established an Asia-Pacific transshipment center in Guangzhou, through which many of its clients had gained access to China.

He said that there were great opportunities in the gradual liberalization of the logistics and transport sector in China, as the country's economy was transforming from the export-oriented to consumer-driven.

Xinhua
A worker assembles a robotic arm at a factory in Foshan, Guangdong province. [Provided to China Daily]

BEIJING - China's major industrial companies registered robust profit growth in the first two months of the year, fresh evidence of a stabilizing economy.

In January and February, industrial enterprises reported a 31.5 percent profit increase year on year, to the value of 1.02 trillion yuan ($148.5 billion), according to a National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) statement Monday.

The growth outpaced that in December 2016 by 29.2 percentage points, and that in 2016 by 23 percentage points.

China's major industrial firms ended their profit losses in 2015, reaping good returns in 2016 on the back of a construction boom.

NBS statistician He Ping attributed the recovery of industrial company profit in January and February to increased industrial production, raw material price increases and an uptick in profitability.

The earnings recovery was uneven across sectors, with coal mines, oil refineries and chemicals witnessing increased profits, boosted by soaring raw material prices, according to He.

The profitability of the main business of industrial companies edged up 0.8 percentage points year on year to 5.92 percent in January and February.

China's economy grew 6.7 percent year on year in 2016, slowing from 6.9 percent in 2015.
How to handle growth is on the minds of the four candidates seeking two places on the Lake Hallie Village Board in the April 4 election.

Incumbents Pete Lehmann and Gary Spilde face challenges from Allyson Gommer and Keith Velie.

All four participated in a election questionnaire sent by the Herald. The top two candidates in the election will earn two-year terms.

Allyson Gommer

Gommer served two years on the Eau Claire Waterways and Parks Commission before moving to Lake Hallie. She is former tourism director for the Chippewa Falls Chamber of Commerce.

She said the village needs a balanced approach to growth and economic development. To be successful, we need to cultivate strong and diverse community leadership that is inclusive, collaborative and connected, she said. We need to focus on the villages comprehensive plan and establish strategic partnerships among community stakeholders and other jurisdictions to realize goals, Gommer said.

Future growth in the village will spring from the expansion of existing companies and new small businesses.

The completion of the Business 53 project last fall was a significant investment to improve the road condition and traffic flow in the growth area of Lake Hallie. With the location of the village near several main arterial roads (Highways 29, 53 and Interstate 94), its important to provide safe roadways for residents and to remain an attractive location for residents and businesses, she said.

Pete Lehmann

Lehmann, who is also running for re-election to the Chippewa Falls School Board, said Lake Hallies niche is in light commercial and retail businesses.

Lake Hallies retail area is an existing destination for shoppers. And the light industrial area has good access to the existing highway system. The village needs to be patient to recognize steady growth, Lehmann said.

He said future water extensions in the village will be driven by requests of businesses and residences in existing subdivisions.

About what the village needs to do to maintain or improve its roads, Lehmann said: Road maintenance costs are currently budgeted from the general property tax levy, so the village board has to allocate these monies based on the needs of each department. The village board has to be careful to not overspend in just one department which will then leave the other departments short on funds. Decisions between new construction or maintenance on existing streets becomes critical.

He said building streets is a significant investment for the village, while street maintenance is less expensive and allows for more miles of roads to be done.

Gary Spilde

Spilde, who is seeking a second term on the board, said the villages future growth while providing services are two of Lake Hallies pressing needs.

There is residential development in all areas of the village, and we work with those developers to ensure the best outcome for them and the village. Future commercial development will most likely be in the Commercial Boulevard area, Spilde said.

We as a board need to work with developers to attract new business and do what we can to help these businesses to grow and thrive.

Spilde said the villages water main system is fragmented in some of the systems older portions. We are currently working on a comprehensive study of the water system and what we have to do to correct these issues and plan for future expansions based on need and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources input, he said.

The villages roads are some of the best of the area, Spilde said. Our road crew has done an excellent job of planning for upgrades to the roads and equipment needs with the funds available. In the last several years we have been able to update our equipment to the point I believe we have an up-to-date and reliable fleet, he added.

Keith Velie

Velie said maintaining a low tax rate is one of the villages pressing needs and would be one of the main drivers of the villages growth.

My vision for Lake Hallie is to be a predominantly residential community with a good balance of retail business to serve the residents, he said. Both Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire provide manufacturing and medical care jobs, allowing Lake Hallie to focus on residential housing and generate tax revenue from residential and also retail business, he said.

Leadership needs to provide a well thought out vision statement providing a safe and secure community and a fiscally sound mission statement outlining short- and long-term goals for implementing it. This needs to be communicated to the taxpaying residents in various ways (and) in an ongoing fashion that allows for a buy in from the taxpayers, he said.

He said he has heard from residents about what they see is a need for better snow removal from village roads. This impacts greatly the safety of travel and commuting on our streets and vehicle damage caused by potholes and ice ruts during both summer and winter months, he said.

Here are the other contested races for village positions in the April 4 election, with incumbents noted by (i):

Cadott Village Board (vote for 3): Terrance L. Licht (i), Randy Kuehni (i); Russ Falkenberg (write-in); Randy Rykal (write-in)

New Auburn Village President: Gary D. Pitts, Donna M. Bischel (i)

New Auburn Village Trustee (vote for 2): Shannon Berg; RW Lemmons IV; John Knight (i)
Chinese insurance companies are speeding up going global, but the level of international business is still not high, with overseas assets only accounting for about 2 percent of total assets, a report says.

However, they are diversifying the countries and regions they invest in and the products they offer overseas.

The report, released recently by the International Monetary Institute of Renmin University of China, said that before the 2012 global economic recession, Chinese insurance companies mainly invested in Asian regions, such as Singapore, but after the slump they expanded into other countries and regions, such as Europe, the United States and Japan.

Moreover, before 2012, they mainly invested in famous hotels and office buildings overseas, but afterwards, they began to acquire or buy shares in overseas insurance organizations.

Ben Shenglin, director of the Zhejiang University Academy of Internet Finance and executive director of the International Monetary Institute of Renmin University of China said that China's Belt and Road Initiative could offer great opportunities for the country's insurance companies to increase their international presence and expand overseas.

"They could consider opening subsidiaries in countries and regions along the Belt and Road, as more Chinese companies will be going to these areas," he said. "They could also directly invest in big infrastructure projects that need financing in these countries and regions."

Ben said it was also important for Chinese insurance companies to learn about the advanced operational experiences of overseas insurance companies. When going global, they needed to understand thoroughly the legal systems, economic environment, markets and culture of destination countries.

He said that the Chinese insurance industry has developed quickly over the past few years, but the penetration rate of insurance products - and the average amount spent on them - still lags behind global standards.

The annual consumption per person of insurance products globally was about $662 in 2015, but in China it was only $271.

"Moreover, the percentage of people buying insurance products in China was only 3.59 percent, while the global average is 6.2 percent, and in the US about 7.3 percent," said he said.

China's insurance market was also dominated by several big companies. For example, in 2015, about 70 percent of the property insurance market was held by the biggest four insurance companies, he added.
By Wu Xiaobo in Beijing and Shi Xiaofeng in Hangzhou | China Daily | Updated: 2017-03-28 07:04

A woman holds her pet while choosing goods at a show in Zhengzhou, Henan province. [Photo/China Daily]

The domestic pet food market is expected to grow at an annual rate of more than 30 percent to reach 150 billion yuan ($21.84 billion) by 2020, making it the world's third-largest.

The expectations follow a market transaction surge to 53.5 billion yuan in 2016 from 19.32 billion yuan in 2013.

Riding this boom, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, inaugurated the country's first cross-border pet industry experimental zone in the city's Jianggan district on Monday.

The experimental zone will pilot reforms on the approval and regulation of cross-border pet food imports, explore the introduction of national standards for the industry and promote the exportation of domestically made products.

To date, nearly 30 enterprisesincluding cross-border e-commerce sites such as Tmall, Kaola and Beibei, and related logistics and warehousing companieshave established their presence in the experimental zone, said Li Yuan, deputy head of the district.

The zone enables one-stop services and aims to put in place open, transparent and smart pet food import channels and regulatory policies, he added.

Huisen Pet Food Trading Co provides agency services for foreign pet food producers applying for import certificates. It also plans to engage in pet food imports in the future. The company has received many inquiries and helped several foreign companies prepare application materials since settling in the zone in December.

"The cost of all the procedures stands at about 50,000 yuan. The time for handling applications for import certificates has shortened from one year to 180 days, and even three months in some cases," said Ni Guoping, general manager of the company.

Currently, pet food imports mainly come from two channels, the traditional channel of general trade and overseas purchase agents, or WeChat store owners who are in a gray regulatory area, according to Xing Yue, deputy general manager of cross-border e-commerce site Tmall Global.

The channels available to meet buoyant demand are limited and there is a need to bring the gray channels of cross-border pet food shopping into the sunlight, she said.

At the inauguration ceremony, Tmall Global signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Jianggan district's Qiantang Smart City.
Potential homebuyers visit a housing project developed by China Vanke Co in Jilin, a city in northeastern Jilin province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Company states asset provision is prudent strategy

Leading residential property developer China Vanke Co has lowered its outlook on the real estate market in 12 cities, due to concerns regarding the booming market.

Financial results released on Sunday showed Vanke's asset impairment provision for projects last year amounted to 1.38 billion yuan ($200.9 million), a year-on-year increase of 82.3 percent, in response to constant fluctuations in housing and land prices in some cities.

On the heels of the annual report, Vanke's stock prices declined by 1.35 percent and 4.63 percent on the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges, respectively, on Monday.

In 2016, housing sales across the country reached a record high. But, there are worries behind all this prosperity, Zhu Xu, Vanke's board secretary, told a media conference on Monday. Her comments followed the company's 2016 results release the day before.

The move to expand its asset impairment provision covers 13 projects in 12 cities, including two second-tier cities and the remaining in third- and fourth-tier cities.

Sun Jia, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Vanke, noted the projected loss of some risk items is based on the company's prudent financial strategy. The new impairment provision this year totaled about 840 million yuan.

The company announced on Sunday that its 2016 revenue amounted to 240.4 billion yuan, up by 23 percent over the previous year. Its profit attributable to equity shareholders rose by 16 percent to 21 billion yuan.

Vanke remains one of the largest companies in its sector, as it realized a total sales area of 27.65 million square meters, amounting to 364.77 billion yuan, last year.

The growth in impairment provisions is a prudent financial measure and in itself does not imply that the company is adopting a pessimistic attitude over the market, said Yan Yuejin, research director with E-house China R&D Institute.

But, Yan admitted home purchase restrictions will require property companies to adjust related projects. In other words, the pressure to achieve their sales targets has intensified.

Since the end of February, approximately a dozen citiesincluding Beijing and Shanghai as well as several second- and third-tier citiesunveiled tighter measures to restrict housing purchases and cool the property market, in response to escalating housing prices in those areas.

In addition to the turbulent environment, Vanke remains troubled by a shareholding issue that began in 2015.

Zhu Xu said the company is finalizing a plan to reelect its board of directors. The current board will continue to fulfill its duties in the meantime, even after its term expires on March 28.
The annual net profit of Hong Kong-listed COFCO Meat Holdings Ltd jumped by 530.8 percent year-on-year to 950 million yuan ($138.18 million) in 2016, thanks to the decline in China's population of sows and the rising price of hogs, the company announced on Monday.

COFCO Meat, a subsidiary of China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corpthe country's biggest food trader by sales revenuesaid an improvement in hog production efficiency helped lower costs and production volumes rose by 540,000 heads year-on-year.

Ma Jianping, chairman of COFCO Meat, said the company planned to raise annual hog production capacity from 3.5 million at the end of 2016 to 5.5 million in 2020.

"In late 2016, China's sow stocks remained at its lowest level in the past eight years while hog stocks were also at a low level, which should provide strong support for hog prices in 2017," Ma said.

Food consumption is usually a main indicator of an economy and the size of its population.

In China, meat consumption is rising and people are eating a broader variety of meat. Meat products have become more sophisticated and consumers now look more for healthy and convenient food.

COFCO Meat's businesses include feed production, hog production, abattoirs, and the production, distribution and sale of fresh pork and processed meat products.

It also includes the import and sale of frozen meat products, comprising pork, beef, poultry, mutton and lamb.

The company currently operates 47 pig farms, two slaughterhouses and two meat processing facilities in six provinces throughout the country.

Sales volumes of the company's meat import business performed strongly in 2016, with the unit's profit coming at 79.2 million yuan.

"As for the upstream business, we have expanded procurement channels in different countries to satisfy market demand and balanced procurement costs in 2016," said Xu Jianong, managing director of COFCO Meat.

"As Chinese consumers' incomes continue to rise, this sectormeat or animal proteinwill be perform strongly," said Ding Lixin, an analyst at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing.

"This is one of the reasons we see a lot of investment by both Chinese and international companies in all of these areas."
An employee assembles medium voltage switchgear at a Schneider Electric Infrastructure Ltd plant in Vadodara, India. [Photo/Agencies]

French electric equipment and automation company Schneider Electric SA has committed to stepping up efforts to boost the digital and intelligent transformation of China's manufacturing industry.

The company plans to introduce innovative technologies, including those related to the internet of things, big data analytics and artificial intelligence.

Jean-Pascal Tricoire, CEO of Schneider. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"China is Schneider's second-biggest market. We have a strong presence here, boasting the largest research and development center around the world," said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, its chairman and CEO.

The company is devoted to pushing the digital transformation of energy management and automation in industry, buildings, information technology and cities.

Schneider is working together with Chinese companies under the Made in China 2025 strategy, to promote the digital transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry by improving energy efficiency and reducing costs, according to Tricoire.

He said the Chinese market plays a vital role in its global business, adding that the company will continue to increase its investment in the country, with a focus on innovation.

"The Chinese government's support for innovation, high-end manufacturing, energy efficiency and digitalization coincides with Schneider's efforts in these aspects," he said.

The company now operates 26 plants, eight logistics centers, three R&D centers and 40 branches, and has 26,000 employees in China.

It also cooperates with Chinese companies to tap the opportunities created by the Belt and Road Initiative, especially infrastructure construction projects.

"We have many employees in those economies. When Chinese companies go and develop their businesses, such as infrastructure construction in those economies, we can help them go faster and establish their presence easier," Tricoire said.

Yin Zheng, the company's global executive vice-president and president of its China operations, said Schneider has strengthened its cooperation with Chinese machine manufacturers.

"When they export equipment, we could provide them with the latest technology and help them realize digital transformation through offering solution plans and various types of processing equipment," Yin said.
Supermodels celebrate at the opening ceremony of the first outlet of Victoria's Secret on the Chinese mainland in Shanghai on March 8, 2017. [Photo/China Daily]

Caution marks US lingerie major's full-fledged China foray as local factors present challenge

Iconic pink glass facade. Dimly-lit den of mirrors and marble. A crystal-encrusted staircase. Enough to attract hordes of fashion-conscious, modern-minded women consumers into shopping for intimate bralettes.

US lingerie giant Victoria's Secret has finally made a full landing in China. Right under the corporate logo on its website, "Shanghai" sits beside "New York, London", indicating the global brand's three biggest centers on the planet now.

Shanghai women can buy the signature VS pushup bras and frilly panties from the four-story flagship store. The brand has also forayed into Chengdu, Sichuan province, in Southwest China.

News of the China operations of the mid-to-upper tier brand, a long-standing fashion barometer for intimate apparel, went viral over the country's digital space, thanks to its live-streamed annual catwalk show.

But cautious steps have marked VS' progress in the physical realm in the world's largest consumer market. The brand had reached China three years ago, selling only its accessories, fragrances and beauty products through concept stores.

After getting a hang of the market, the Columbus, Ohio-based retailer announced last year it will acquire all of the 26 shops from its franchise partner in China to build a wholly-owned model.

Market observers said that might be part of a turnaround plan of L Brands' Inc, the parent of VS, to prevent the lingerie chain from a continued downward trajectory.

With VS generating 70 percent of L Brand's total revenue, the company singled out "continued investment in China" as a key factor in its earnings forecast.

Sales were hit hard since late 2015 as the brand faced dramatic customer behavior changes, from the emergence of athleisure selections to better bra offerings. To this end, an overhaul plan was rolled out, ditching swimwear and dropping its iconic catalog.

But the efforts don't appear to have paid rich dividends yet. After recording a 2-percent sales drop in the third quarter of 2016, the company said in its annual report that comparable sales are predicted to slump by 20 percent in February. The worrisome figures are creating fear that the brand's turnaround attempt is unraveling.

As VS struggled to steady itself in North America, the opening of China stores could put a silver lining on its cloud, according to Neil Wang, Frost & Sullivan Greater China president. Frost & Sullivan is a marketing firm.

"Now is a good time for VS to march into China. Compared with five years ago, consumers now have demonstrated increasing brand awareness due to the rising average education level, living standards and income level," he said.

At the Shanghai store, each piece of brassiere costs between 300 yuan ($45) and 600 yuan, at a premium to price tags in the United States or Canada.

"The higher-end segment of lingerie is enjoying rapid growth in China. If VS can win certain market share in that niche, it will be a notable remedy to its global revenue," Wang said.

China's market for women's inner wear is expected to hit $25 billion by the end of this yeardouble that of the USand will grow to $33 billion by 2020, according to market research firm Euromonitor International.

Market observers say there's certainly room for more competition, given that lingerie is the least saturated segment of the Chinese retail landscape. But according to Shanghai-based business consultancy Daxue, the country's lingerie brands are highly fragmented.

For example, one can buy a bra at Cosmo Lady, a mass lingerie brand, from around 50 yuan, or spend 100 times that amount to purchase a bra set at Italian luxury brand La Perla.

Euromonitor International's research found that the country's top ten lingerie producers commanded just around 13 percent share of the market. The sector comprises thousands of little known players that sell low-priced items.

So, apart from a strong branding push, VS is less prepared than people would imagine to navigate through what is perhaps the world's most complicated consumer market, where shopping preferences differ from, and change faster than, their Western peers, said Benny Lam, chief executive officer of Emperor Textile Co Ltd, an industry veteran and a supplier of VS.

"One pain point is the lack of local designs. Buying a bra isn't all to do with size, given that the shapes of breasts are incredibly varied between women in the East and the West. So you can't just bring in whatever you sell in the USit won't work in the long run," he said.

Meanwhile, Chinese consumers tend to have a much more functional orientation toward lingerie and underwear, eclipsing blinged-out bras and lace undergarments that are popular in the US.

A bigger challenge, however, lies in redefining the traditional notion of beauty and sexiness, putting the brand in real danger of losing relevance among young Chinese women.

The millennials, already the big disruptors of other retail trends, lead the demand for athleisure, a casual comfort trend that has penetrated the underwear industry and appeals to all age groups, according to research group NPD.

The dazzling, over-the-top fantasy featured by VS might not be a perfect fit for sophisticated young women here in China, Lam said.

"They can be freer-spenders, but they can also pick up really cheap panties for fun. The right thing for VS is to choose the right raw materials for Chinese women and react fast to the market," he said.
Drivers from Shenzhou Zhuanche wait to offer services to customers. [Zhao Hui/For China Daily]

China's online ride-hailing business has entered a more regulated phase in which platforms, vehicles and drivers are registered with local governments for better public security and passenger safety, despite the companies' past troubles.

A total of 73 cities had released administrative implementation details for the internet ride-hailing sector by March 17, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Each of the cities asked the service providers for registration of their local operation, vehicles and drivers, and the majority of city governments now require both the vehicles and drivers to be locals.

About 40 cities have announced a wheelbase requirement for vehicles and gave suggested prices for service. The city governments usually give months for the companies to adjust their operations to meet new requirements.

Major platform operators, including Shouqi Limousine and Chauffeur, Shenzhou Zhuanche and Didi Chuxing, have made their registrations accordingly and received permits in some cities.

"The government regulations are focusing on the consumers' rights and safety, because local vehicles are well managed and local drivers are well supervised," Wei Dong, CEO of Shouqi Limousine and Chauffeur, said.

"For example, a Beijing driver in a Beijing-plated car could be easily identified for the sake of public security. But it'll be much harder to identify those from adjacent provinces, and vice versa."

While some drivers and cars are still in the process of registration, or have already failed to meet the requirements, Didi Chuxing saw a decline in the number of the online drivers ready to take orders.

Didi Chuxing's senior product director Luo Wen told local media that about 25 percent of available drivers on the platform were gone as of February.

Industrial insiders familiar with the business said those drivers who have stopped serving are mostly those from other cities or provinces. For example, Hebei residents frequently drove Hebei-plated cars to Beijing and took online hailing orders.

By contrast, Shenzhou Zhuanche ran business as usual without encountering such issues, as the company has long insisted on local vehicles and local drivers from the very beginning, according to the person in charge of public relations at Ucar Inc, operator of Shenzhou Zhuanche.

Wei at Shouqi said: "Beijing residents are making their own contributions to the environment by driving less and buying fewer cars, and the vehicles and fuels sold in Beijing are in line with the National V standard to reduce air pollution.

"That would be unfair if residents from other provinces were allowed to use their cars to pick up guests in Beijing. Because they are not participating in the car plate lottery, and are driving National IV or III standard cars, emitting more waste."

Some online ride-hailing service users found the mobile apps frequently showed messages requesting increased charges to motivate drivers to take orders, especially for short trips.
A woman explores Victoria's Secret's flagship store in Shanghai, Feb 22, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

On the night before International Women's Day, two events were staged on Shanghai's shopping street, Huaihai Road. I was amazed by the enthusiasm and number of people cramming the two stores.

Although only several hundred VIP customers were invited to the pre-sale of US lingerie brand Victoria's Secret's first flagship store in China, the hustle and bustle there attracted a big crowd of passers-by.

Just two blocks away, British retailer Marks and Spencer was offering final sale discounts to shoppers, drawing a big throng of people to selected goods, who queued eagerly to pay.

I believe both brands deserve equal respect, just like any of the other international brands that have made their way to China. No matter whether they stay or leave, peak or become marginalized, they've all played an important role in educating customers and enlightening local entrepreneurs over the years.

The location for the glamorous four-storey Victoria's Secret flagship building has seen the ups and downs of foreign brands in Shanghai.

Back in 2000, Shanghai's first Starbucks opened where the lingerie brand stands today. Opening the store was a significant step for the coffeehouse chain, which later ended the dominance of Nestle's instant coffee in China.

For some reason, the coffeehouse exited the building and its next tenant was luxury brand LV, whose flagship store started to operate there April 2010. The brand was looking to ride the growing spending power of China's affluent.

Now comes the newly launched Victoria's Secret, which represents a stylish trend. Along with the evolution of foreign brands, Chinese consumers are getting to a new level in shopping for delicate personal wear, which points to their increasingly sophisticated tastes and attitudes to foreign brands.

I still remember the 1980s, when there was such limited choice for Chinese people, ranging from food, drinks, clothing, to everyday commodities and the like.

Take sportswear, for example. Whenever there was a PE class in the playground, everyone would invariably wear those sapphire blue clothes, featuring two parallel white bars, as well as white sneakers.

When the country was opening up, some pioneering multinational brands such as Jeanswest, KFC, Coca-Cola, and Buick soon became uber popular among Chinese.

People no longer had to eat, drink, wear, or use the same brands any more. Thanks to the foreign brands, Chinese people caught up with the latest global trends and lifestyles.

Back to M&S's departure, then, and it's supposed to be the company's strategy to exit loss-making outlets across 10 international markets, rather than spelling doom for its retail operations.

As a matter of fact, it did win some loyal customers throughout its near one decade venture in the Chinese mainland. One of my friends said lingerie from M&S is the most comfortable among all the brands she's wornand it offers the snuggest sizes.

During one of my recent visits to an M&S store, a senior local couple stood in front of me at the cash desk, asking the cashier: "So your shop is going to close? What a pity. You've got good stuff."
The Big Data Industry Summit 2016 was held in Guiyang, Guizhou province, on May 25, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Statistics experts in hot demand as research into AI gathers pace in China, elsewhere

A special statistical modeling competition was going on in a well-decorated office in northwestern Beijing. The participants were a line of secretaries, human resource officers and marketing and public relations staff who knew nothing about the basics of coding and computer programming.

They were all employees of 4Paradigm, a three-year-old startup founded by Baidu Inc's former principal IT architect and backed by global venture capital powerhouse Sequoia Capital.

The company has been dubbed by investors the Chinese answer to the US big data firm Palantir. It built 4ParadigmProphet, an artificial intelligence-powered platform, to help people and organizations comfortably analyze an explosive amount of data which is of increasing importance.

"With machine-assisted analysis, we aim to turn ordinary people into data scientists within a month, so that companies can benefit from artificial intelligence even though they can't afford to build its own AI teams," said Dai Wenyuan, CEO of 4Paradigm.

While working in Baidu from 2009 to 2013, Dai built the company's first commercialized deep-learning search ad platform.

The result of the November statistical modeling competition was impressive with 70 percent of participant groupswith no computer and data backgroundmanaging to build models that scored over 0.8 in the AUC test, a well-recognized model evaluation metric. Usually, models with 0.8 are good enough for industrial application.

"But that is not good enough because 30 percent of them failed. There is still a long way to go," Dai added.

Currently, the company has over 100 employees and Yang Qiang, the only Chinese councilor at the Association of the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, is its principal scientist.

Zhao Ziming, an analyst at Beijing-based internet consultancy Analysys, said the ability to analyze data becomes increasingly important as companies realize that within the voluminous quantity of data lie insights that could give them a competitive edge.

"Without AI-enabled data science, there would be no personalized shopping recommendations on websites like eBay and Amazon and tailored content and advertising on Facebook," he added. "But it is pretty difficult for companies to cash in onto such demand."

In a KPMG survey of senior executives, 99 percent said that analysis of big data was important to their strategy for next year.

Data scientists have become highly sought-after in the marketplace, but there are still relatively few of them. That's exactly where 4Paradigm tries to offer a solution.

In November, it teamed up with China Everbright Bank to set up an AI research lab. It has been offering data analysis to improve precision marketing for the bank's credit card business.

"Compared with rivals, we have the wide-reaching data mining program that enables enterprises to capture what typical users do on the internet." Dai said.

"AI is no longer just capable of profiling groups. We are trying to picture each consumer as precisely as possible."

While other targeted marketing service providers divide 50 million customers into 10 or so categories, the company said it can group them into 500 billion categories based on millions of dimensions.

"Empowered by machine learning, Prophet lowered the demand for computing power and accelerated the analysis process," Dai said, adding that its client's sales performance went up by 60 percent after using the company's service.
Asian economies are looking forward to promoting a more dynamic and sustainable course of globalization, President Xi Jinping said in a letter to the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) on Saturday.

President Xi said this year's conference, themed "Globalization & Free Trade: The Asian Perspectives," shows a collective focus on the issue.

Sixteen years since its founding, Xi applauded efforts made by the Boao forum in terms of building consensus, advancing cooperation and bolstering Asian influence.

Zeng Peiyan, vice-chairman of BFA, read the letter during the opening ceremony of the annual event on Saturday.

Yasuo Fukuda, chairman of BFA, said globalization is important to both developing countries and developed countries.

"We look forward to exchanging views among attendants of the forum," Fukuda said.

Boao, Hainan province, is the permanent location of the event. President Xi said China is pleased to see the forum's achievements as the host country.

The four-day conference kicked off on Thursday and is dedicated to championing a more inclusive globalization process through cooperation and dialogue.
Cash is going on trial in Chippewa County Court. The exact amount of $11,301 is listed as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the county.

Suing money to win a forfeiture is a tactic, seldom used, by the county in drug-related cases.

The county in the suit filed Thursday by Assistant District Attorney Roy La Barton Gay says the cash was seized and is thought to be the property of Heather Benson and Christopher Gehler. The lawsuit said all interested parties need to show cause why the money shouldnt be forfeited to the county.

The money was seized Feb. 22 after the West Central Drug Task Force used a search warrant for Bensons residence on West Front Street in Cadott.

The task force believed the residence was being used as a drug trafficking place where methamphetamine and other controlled substances were being sold.

The county is maintaining the cash seized is drug related contraband thats subject to being forfeited.

La Barton Gay said that he is considering charging Gehler in the incident.

Benson, 33, is charged with seven counts, including: possession with intent to deliver meth-party to a crime; possession with intent to deliver narcotics-party to a crime; possession with intent to deliver Schedule IV drugs-party to a crime; possess with intent to deliver a prescription drug; possession of a controlled substance second offense; possession of a controlled substance-party to a crime; and possession of drug paraphernalia-party to a crime.

According to the criminal complaint against Benson:

A confidential informant told an investigator that he had bought three ounces of meth from Gehler.

Benson and a man were inside the Cadott residence when authorities used a search warrant. Benson said Gehler was in a Minnesota jail.

The man inside the residence said he was friends with Gehler and that Gehler and Benson were distributing a significant amount of meth.

He said Gehler would travel to the Minneapolis area every three days and was usually purchasing 20 pounds of methamphetamine to be brought back to the residence in Cadott.

The man said Gehler and Benson would distribute the meth between themselves. Gehler would distribute the drug around the Cadott and Eau Claire areas, while Benson focused on Dunn County, with some of the meth being distributed to northern Wisconsin as well as La Crosse.

The man said he had witnessed Benson selling meth to one person on three to four occasions, with the transactions usually being one to two ounces.

Besides the money, 636.3 grams (1.4 pounds) of meth was found at the residence.

A large assortment of drug paraphernalia was found in the residence, along with items with the presence of marijuana and 25 OxyContin pills. Other pills were found, along with 3.6 grams of psilocybin mushroom.
A combo picture shows Shanghai before (top) and during Earth Hour, March 25, 2017. [Photo/VCG] MORE PHOTOS

Many landmark buildings in Shanghai, including the 632-meter Shanghai TowerChina's tallest buildingas well as the World Financial Center and Oriental Pearl Tower, turned off their lights for an hour on Saturday as part of a global effort to draw attention to climate change.

The Empire State Building and United Nations headquarters in New York joined other iconic buildings and monuments around the world by plunging into darkness for 60 minutes.

The Eiffel Tower, the Kremlin, the Acropolis in Athens and Sydney's Opera House also dimmed their lights as millions of people from some 170 countries and territories were expected to take part in Earth Hour, the annual bid to highlight global warming caused by the burning of coal, oil and gas to drive cars and power plants.

The event, which originated in Sydney, has grown to become a worldwide environmental campaign, celebrated across all continents.

Earth Hour moved from Australia westward through Asia, with many of the skyscrapers ringing Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor going dark in solidarity, while at Myanmar's most sacred pagoda, the Shwedagon, 10,000 oil lamps were lit to shine a light on climate action.

The lights of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France's best-known symbol, were switched off for five minutes at 7:30 pm and the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, the world's tallest building, went dark for an hour.

London's Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and London Eye giant wheel followed suit, among 270 British landmarks that switched off.

In Singapore, around 200 organizations, including buildings along the city-state's iconic skyline, went dark to mark the occasion. Organizers said around 35,000 people watched performances and participated in a "carbon-neutral run" that saw some runners in panda and tiger costumes to raise awareness of wildlife protection.

And in Japan, Tokyo's famed Sony Building in Ginza extinguished its bright lights to honor the occasion.

AFP
Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor appears with her husband and son after she is elected on Sunday as the next chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor vows to unite city so it can advance in solidarity

HONG KONGLam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who will become the first woman to serve as chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, vowed after her election victory on Sunday to lead Hong Kong forward in solidarity.

After being approved by the central government, Lam, 59, will be the fifth-term chief executive since Hong Kong's reunification with the nation.

"The work of uniting our society to move forward begins now," she said, adding that during the election process, she heard the heartfelt expression of the people and learned and experienced many new things.

Lam said she will meet with people from different sectors to discuss issues like the development of Hong Kong, including applying new resources to education, tackling housing problems and introducing new financial and tax measures.

She also stressed that she will do her utmost to uphold "one country, two systems" and to guard Hong Kong's core values.

Lam has proposed to increase recurring expenditures for education by HK$5 billion ($644 million). She said she will reach out to various stakeholders and legislators on how to apply new resources.

"I am confident that we can put aside any differences and achieve a win-win situation," she said.

Lam proposed to apply financial and tax measures strategically through a two-tier tax rate system on profits and tax deductions to incentivize research and development.

She said she would invite employers and employees in all sectors as well as experts and academics to come up with ideas.

On the housing issue, she said, "I have pledged to help Hong Kong people attain homeownership and to improve living conditions. To do this, we need more usable land."

Lam also said large parts of her campaign platform were inspired by young people. "In this campaign, I have felt deeply our younger people's strong desires and their passion for Hong Kong," she said.

In the chief executive's race, decided by a 1,194-member election committee, Lam garnered 777 votes to 365 for former financial secretary John Tsang Chun-Wah and 21 votes for retired judge Woo Kwok-Hing.

Lam used to be the chief secretary of administration. She now awaits appointment by the central government and will succeed incumbent Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying on July 1.

Xinhua
Wang Guoqing (left), CPPCC National Committee spokesman, and Wang Yanwen (right), head of the publicity department of the Jiangsu provincial Party committee, present awards. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

A 20-year-old Beijing college student and a 17-year-old from Zhejiang province won the 21st Century National English Speaking competitions on Sunday.

The contests, co-sponsored by China Daily, honor the elite young English public speakers from across the country. The event included the 22nd Coca-Cola Cup and the 15th New Oriental Cup competitions.

The competition attracted over 100,000 college students and 700,000 high school and primary students.

Chen Qiyu from Tsinghua University in Beijing emerged from 34 finalists to claim the title in the college category, while Chen Yixian from Hangzhou No 2 High School of Zhejiang province clinched the champion of the senior high category.

Gu Yunxiang, also 17, from Nanjing University and Chen Yixian won the China Daily 21st Century Most Promising Speaker awards. This May, they will travel to London and represent China at the annual International Public Speaking Competition run by the English-Speaking Union.

At Sunday's competition at Nanjing University, the speakers showcased English proficiency and presented thoughts on the world and China's presence on the global stage.

Wang Guoqing, spokesman for the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, said he was impressed.

"Their words are passionate yet calm, observant while insightful," Wang said.

Zhou Shuchun, editor-in-chief of China Daily, said the students reflect the current condition of China.

"Chinese youth bear a striking resemblance to China today - that is, vigorously growing, actively demonstrating themselves and confidently facing the world," he said at the awards ceremony.

Students also earned opportunities for education resources.

In China, many key universities are authorized to run their own admissions programs. About 30, including Beijing Normal University and Tongji University, recognize the winners at the 21st Century Cup competition when evaluating applicants.

In response to the high demand in early childhood English education, the organizer also launched the China Daily 21 Century VIPKid Cup National Kids English Competition this year, co-hosted by VIPKid, an online education startup.

VIPKid co-founder Chen Yuan said it boosts children's confidence and enthusiasm in English learning.

Zhou Chenggang, chief executive of New Oriental Education & Technology Group, emphasized the English language's role as "a gateway to civilizations of the whole world."

Such events, he said, help youngsters "deliver 'China's voice' to the rest of the world."
hinese Premier Li Keqiang shakes hands with John McKinnon, New Zealand's ambassador to China, at Wellington International Airport on Sunday. Li began an official visit to New Zealand at the invitation of his counterpart, Prime Minister Bill English. [Photo/Xinhua]

Free trade upgrade talks get underway in 2nd quarter

Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Wellington on Sunday to start a four-day visit to New Zealand after his trip to Australia last week, the first such trip by a Chinese premier in 11 years.

Li and his New Zealand counterpart, Prime Minister Bill English, will hold talks to discuss a range of issues and be on hand as cooperative documents are signed. Li also will fly to Auckland to meet with business leaders on Monday before heading back to Beijing.

"Premier Li's visit marks the 45th year of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand. ... I look forward to discussing with him opportunities for our two countries and the region," English said on his official website.

In 2009, Li visited New Zealand as vice-premier at the invitation of English, then New Zealand's deputy prime minister. The two countries have maintained frequent high-level exchanges as former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key was received by Li in Beijing last year.

China is New Zealand's largest trading partner. In addition, more than 400,000 Chinese tourists visited New Zealand last year and nearly 35,000 Chinese students are now studying in the island country.

John McKinnon, New Zealand's ambassador to China, said in an exclusive interview with China Daily that his country is pleased to welcome Li during a very significant time, as China has just concluded the National People's Congress, one of the nation's most important political events.

"Premier Li has been a strong supporter of globalization and international trade. Those are all elements which are very important for New Zealand, so New Zealand is welcoming him as the premier of China but also very interested to talk to him about the progress and our trade and economic relationship, particularly the upgrade of the free trade agreement," McKinnon said.

The ambassador said New Zealand expects the first detailed discussions of the upgrade, which are very important in the bilateral relationship, will take place in the second quarter of the year. More broadly, he said New Zealand welcomes those voices from China, because New Zealand is an open economy and China is now its largest trading partner.

"They will lay out a pathway ahead for the upgrade of our free trade agreement, but also in the whole of other areas where we have seen expansion of China-New Zealand relations in recent years," McKinnon said.

The ambassador said both countries are expected to further promote cooperation in education and tourism as the number of Chinese students and tourists has seen a huge growth over the past few years.

"We will continue to welcome Chinese tourists and encourage them to travel to other parts of New Zealand beyond our most popular destinations such as Auckland. We want Chinese tourists to come to parts of our country with plenty of interesting things to see, including places where the film (Lord of the Rings) was filmed," he said.
Mergers proposed as way to balance educational resources across Beijing

More high-quality schools will be built in Beijing to ensure that more children have access to a high standard of education, authorities said on Saturday.

According to a statement by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, at least three mediocre or low-quality schools in six densely populated districts - Xicheng, Dongcheng, Haidian, Chaoyang, Shijingshan and Fengtai - will be merged with high-quality counterparts.

Within two or three years, 25 new high-quality schools will be established and the weakest schools in each district will be merged with strong ones or become part of a high-quality school alliance, the commission said.

It also said schools in the six districts would start to aid the development of at least 15 low-quality schools in Beijing's outskirts or suburban areas.

Meanwhile, primary and junior middle schools are not allowed to cooperate with real estate companies to run branches, the authority stated.

Schools are also banned from having campuses outside the capital without permits from the commission. However, programs that are in line with the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province are an exception.

The commission said the steps have been taken to boost the balanced development of educational resources and educational equity.

Real estate companies have previously worked with schools with high-quality educational resources and opened campuses near residential developments invested in by these companies, with people who bought the houses able to send their children to the schools.

The practice is popular in many big cities, including Beijing, which has a population of almost 22 million and where demand for high-quality educational resources greatly exceeds supply.

Another practice for parents to secure a place at a high-quality school for a child, which is even more popular in Beijing, is to purchase "school district houses", a term used to describe houses that are adjacent to prominent primary and junior middle schools.

About 70 percent of the city's key primary and junior middle schools are located in Xicheng, Haidian and Dongcheng districts, according to research by Lu Ming, a professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Antai College of Economics and Management. Currently the price for such "school district houses" has soared to more than 100,000 yuan ($15,000) per square meter.

These practices are believed to have been a driving force behind rising property prices in the capital and are believed to be unfair on children whose parents cannot afford expensive school district houses.

Chu Zhaohui, a researcher with the National Institute of Educational Sciences, said high property prices are an external reflection of unbalanced educational resources among different districts.

"More efforts are needed from the municipal government to foster a more balanced distribution of high-quality educational resources," Chu said.
For Shanghai retiree Li Feng, who has coronary heart disease, finding a doctor to renew his prescription is no longer a headache thanks to the city's family doctor system.

"Hospitals and resources in suburban areas are sparse, which means we used to have to travel to large hospitals downtown," said the 71-year-old, who lives in Longbai community in Minhang district.

In 1995, Li and his wife, Shen Liuliu, who is now 68, relocated to the suburbs. The couple used to travel to hospitals in downtown areas twice a month to renew prescriptions.

"It's so crowded in large hospitals. It often exhausted me," Li added.

However, things changed in 2011 when the city implemented a new medical service model based on community health centers.

That same year, the city took a national lead in piloting a family doctor system in communities. The system aims to make life more convenient for residents who need medical services.

Under the system, residents can sign a contract with a family doctor working at a community health center. When they have health problems, they can contact their contracted family doctor for diagnosis and treatment, with patients transferred to higher-level hospitals if necessary.

The family doctor system mainly benefits people aged 60 or above and those with chronic diseases, according to the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission.

Li and his wife were among the first residents to sign up with the family doctor system. The health information, such as medical history and details of allergies, of residents who sign up is recorded.

Over the years, Shanghai health authorities have worked to improve the family doctor system. For example, residents with chronic conditions can obtain prescriptions at local community health centers instead of having to visit large hospitals. Family doctors work as residents' health management experts, reminding them of how to control chronic conditions and providing free health checks.

The family doctor system has expanded to all communities across the city, with more than 10 million residents signing up.

Data from Shanghai Social Investigation Research Center showed that more than 92 percent of residents said they don't have difficulty finding a family doctor when they are ill, with the number of residents who are satisfied with family doctors' attitude reaching nearly 96 percent.

In addition to signing a contract with a community-based family doctor, residents can also sign a contract with a district-level and city-level hospital.

"This is an upgrade to the family doctor system, which aims to better meet the needs of residents," said Wu Jinglei, director of the commission, which said that about 1 million residents have also signed contract with hospitals.

"The family doctor system allows us to receive high-quality medical services in a more convenient way. It helps us better manage our health," said Shen.

In addition to people aged 60 or above, the system is expected to greatly benefit children, addressing illness prevention, vaccinations and treatment of common diseases, Wu said.
A guest sits in a restored Douglas C-47 aircraft in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Saturday. The airplane honors the American Volunteer Group, which operated between India and China during World War II.[Photo / Xinhua]

A restored Douglas C-47 air-craft that flew missions during World War II has landed in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region's Guilin city to assume its role as a permanent tribute to the Flying Tigers.

The Flying Tigers is the nickname of the American Volunteer Group, whose members risked death to support China during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).

Nicknamed the Buzz-Buggy, the airplane was purchased from Australia last year by the Flying Tiger Historical Organization and was donated to the Guilin Flying Tiger Heritage Park for permanent display on Saturday.

The heritage park was built on the site of Yangtang Air-field, the command base of the Flying Tigers led by United States General Claire Lee Chennault.

To honor the squadron, the 72-year-old airplane started its modern "hump" journey in August from Australia and arrived in Guilin on Nov 19.

Jointly operated by China and the US to transport military supplies from India to China between 1942 and 1945, the so-called hump was a deadly route in which severe weather, Japanese fighters and high mountain peaks claimed more than 600 aircraft and 1,600 airmen.

Larry Jobe, president of the historical organization, said, "When people see the old, unglamorous airplane, I hope they realize the beauty and grace she bestowed on the Chinese people."

Nell Calloway, the grand-daughter of Chennault, said at no time in history has this story been more important. While old enemies have been defeated, challenges still remain, she said, adding that China and the US must be partners again.

"We were victorious in war; now let us all work to be victorious in peace," she said.

Charles Bennett, the US consul general in Guangzhou, said at the handover ceremony that the historic airplane would help preserve the memory of cooperation for future generations.

"Today, the US and China face great challenges on many fronts - from nuclear proliferation to violent extremism; from pandemic diseases to environmental protection. These are just a few of the many issues where our futures are intertwined, where, working together, we can accomplish great things," he said.

James Whitehead, chairman of the Flying Tiger Historical Organization, said the group will continue to donate more relics to the heritage park and restore the command center, a cave where Chennault planned missions.
A researcher collects data at the China Global Atmosphere Watch Baseline Observatory on Mount Waliguan in Qinghai province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Wang Jianqiong likes to fry his food, but while at work in the China Global Atmosphere Watch Baseline Observatory, he must refrain from his favorite cooking method.

The observatory, on Mount Waliguan in Northwest China's Qinghai province, is one of 31 global baseline observatories established by the World Meteorological Organization.

Located 3,816 meters above sea level on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, the observatory was built 23 years ago to monitor levels of ozone and greenhouse gases.

In the station's kitchen, there is a special smoke vent that empties out three kilometers downhill.

"Most of the food is precooked, and we simply heat it," Wang said.

Frying is banned because it produces too much smoke, which may affect data collection at the station. "We mainly eat jiaozi (dumplings), rice and noodles," he said.

Twenty people work at the observatory, which requires a staff of at least 10 to function properly.

"They keep an eye on data collection and maintain the equipment. We take turns and change shifts every 10 days," said Ji Jun, a meteorological monitor.

Five of the staff members have been on expeditions to Antarctica.

"From November to April, the wind at Waliguan is very similar to that of Antarctica. It is extremely difficult to walk outside," Ji said.

Every week, the staff collect about 1,800 milliliters of air in eight bottles, two of which are sent to the United States. The rest are sent to be studied by the China Meteorological Administration.

"This data marks China's contribution to the development of atmospheric science. It forms the factual basis for the study of how greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, affect global warming," said Zhang Guoqing, head of the observatory.

In order to take air samples, Wang takes a bottle, places it on the ground, hits a switch and runs away.

"I have to hold my breath. It cannot be drawn into the bottle," he said.

Besides carbon dioxide, the station monitors levels of ozone, precipitation, and radioactive substances. Every day, more than 60,000 pieces of data are collected.

"We have the best equipment and some of it is quite similar to that used in Antarctic exploration tours," said Zhang, adding that every year they use the data they have collected to map carbon dioxide changes.

"Our graphs are almost identical to those made at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hawaii Mauna Loa in the US," he said.

The Chinese observatory's location was chosen because of its pristine environment that is free from industrial pollution, but not too far from Xining, the provincial capital, said Zhang.

However, a smoke tower built by ethnic Tibetans for religious purposes has the observatory's staff concerned.

"The smoke tower is only 200 meters away and I worry it may affect our data," Zhang said.

"We need to ensure that the monitoring work remains unaffected and we obtain reliable data, but we also need to consider the religious activities. We have asked the local government for help."




Image from Xinhua

KUNMING -- A 5.1-magnitude earthquake jolted Yangbi county in Southwest China's Yunnan province at 7:55 am Monday, with no casualties reported so far.

The epicenter, with a depth of about 12 km, was monitored at 25.89 degrees north latitude and 99.8 degrees east longitude, according to the measurement of the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

Four tremors measuring 3 to 4.7 on the Richter scale hit the same region before and after the 5.1-magnitude quake, the center said.

Wang Caixun, a publicity official of Yangbi, said the epicenter was the county's Ajia and Puping villages, where some houses were reportedly damaged.

Fire fighters and medical teams are heading to the villages, Wang said.
Patients who take opioids or other controlled substances will be under greater scrutiny beginning Saturday, when doctors in Wisconsin will have to start checking a database of drugs previously given to patients before they write certain prescriptions.

Doctors mandatory use of the states Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, meant to prevent patients from doctor shopping for narcotics and ensure they are using potentially dangerous drugs appropriately, comes after the state Medical Examining Board issued opioid prescribing guidelines last year.

The guidelines have led doctors to require more patients to undergo urine tests to get some medications and prescribe naloxone, the overdose-reversing drug, to patients on high doses of opioids in case problems arise at home.

The moves are part of Wisconsins HOPE (Heroin, Opioid Prevention Education) agenda  bills passed by the Legislature in recent years to combat drug overdose deaths. The state had 872 such deaths in 2015, more than two-thirds of which were from opioids, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, fentanyl and heroin. The rate of drug overdose deaths increased 48 percent over the past decade, though opioid deaths dipped slightly in 2015.

Amid the new regulations and guidelines, medicine is undergoing a cultural shift. Pain was recognized as a vital sign two decades ago, leading doctors to prescribe more painkillers. Now, in response to overdose deaths and opioid abuse, theyre holding back, sometimes recommending exercise, yoga or over-the-counter pain relief instead.

Were trying to convince doctors to prescribe less because patients dont need that much. Why have it in the medicine cabinet for a year? said Dr. Gregory Love, chief of pain medicine at SSM Health Dean Medical Group.

Weve been a little cavalier about the safety of opioids for a long time nationwide, Love said.

Dr. Alaa Abd-Elsayed, director of UW Healths pain management clinic, plans to use a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to educate primary care doctors about appropriate use of opioids and alternatives such as other medications, steroid injections, nerve blocks and surgeries.

A lot of providers dont have the full knowledge of what is going on with opioids, Abd-Elsayed said. They keep prescribing them because they dont know about the alternatives.

The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program has required pharmacies and other drug dispensers to report controlled substances given to patients since the program started in 2013. But doctors havent been required to check the database when prescribing narcotics and other monitored drugs, though many have done so voluntarily.

That changes Saturday, when Wisconsin will join 30 states with mandatory programs. Exceptions to doctors required use of the database in Wisconsin include prescriptions lasting three days or less, hospice care and certain emergencies.

Its a tool to help health professionals make informed decisions in light of the opioid abuse problems in the state and around the country, said Chad Zadrazil, who oversees the program at the state Department of Safety and Professional Services.

Even voluntary use of the system appears to have contributed to a decline in opioids dispensed, Zadrazil said. About 147 million doses were given out during the second half of last year, down from 166 million doses in the second half of 2015, state reports say.

A few states, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New York, recently started prohibiting doctors from prescribing opioids for more than seven days for many patients, said Sherry Green, president of the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws.

Wisconsins medical board guidelines, based on guidelines issued last year by the CDC, say doctors should avoid opioids as the first option to treat pain, use the lowest dose of opioids possible, avoid opioids for patients taking benzodiazepines and explain to patients that opioids can be addictive and deadly.

The guidelines also call for periodic urine testing and prescribing of a nasal spray version of naloxone to patients on high doses of opiods and those on lower doses who have depression, a history of overdose or other risk factors.

Some patients balk at urine testing, which doctors at clinics and hospitals in Madison have started doing more routinely, but its not done only to check for other drugs they might be using, said Love, of SSM Health.

You need to be sure the patient has metabolized the medication OK, he said. It really is a patient safety issue.

Test results remain part of the patients confidential medical record and are not shared with law enforcement or government agencies, he said.

Abd-Elsayed plans to conduct education sessions with doctors about opioids, but for now he is encouraging them to provide naloxone to the appropriate patients. Its not a common practice, but it should be, he said. Its an urgent public health problem.

Love said the cultural shift away from prolific prescriptions for painkillers seems to be sinking in with patients.

Rather than having patients say, Why am I only getting 60 pills? many patients are now saying, Why are you giving me so many?  he said.
HONG KONG -- Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Leung Chun-ying said on Monday that he and his team will give the winner of the chief executive election the best possible support to bring about a smooth transition.

Leung told the media after meeting Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor at the Chief Executive's Office that one of the most important tasks for the rest of his term is to ensure a smooth transition of the HKSAR government.

Lam won the election of the fifth-term chief executive of Hong Kong SAR on Sunday with 777 of 1,163 valid votes.

After the appointment by the central government, she will take oath of office on July 1 and become the fifth-term chief executive.

The chief executive election was conducted in accordance with the Basic Law, the relevant decisions of the National People's Congress Standing Committee and the election laws of Hong Kong, Leung said.

The election demonstrated once again the successful implementation of the principle of "one country, two systems," "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with a high degree of autonomy, he said.

Leung also said, according to the Basic Law, the chief executive is not only the head of the SAR government but also the head of the SAR, carrying great responsibilities.

He calls on the whole community to fully support the new chief executive and the new SAR government, and work together to realize the potential for a better Hong Kong.

Lam told the press that apart from her priority to unite the society, she will also try to improve the relationship between the executive and the legislature.

She also said this year marks the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, and the transition work includes holding the related celebration events successfully.
More than 1,800 immigrants living in the country without legal permission have been detained in Guangdong province so far this year, a 40 percent increase on the same period last year.

Jiang Mingxiang, deputy chief of the province's border control police, said most of the migrants had come from Southeast Asian countries and were bound for Guangdong and Hong Kong to find work.

They could have impacted local security and border management if they had become involved in theft, robbery or drug trafficking, he said.

Police have also detained a number of factory owners who are accused of employing migrants, as well as several suspected people smugglers.

On March 5, Guangdong police jointly launched with their Hong Kong and Macao counterparts a half-year campaign aimed at cracking down on cross-border organized crime.
China welcomes the participation by Micronesia in the building of the Belt and Road Initiative to achieve a win-win situation and common development, President Xi Jinping said in a meeting with visiting Micronesian President Peter Christian on Monday.

The two countries should fully tap into their potential and press ahead with two-way cooperation in fields including tourism, agriculture, fisheries and infrastructure, Xi said.

Xi said the two countries enjoy common or similar views on many international and regional issues, and China is ready to strengthen coordination with Micronesia on key issues such as climate change.

China supports Micronesia to further play a proactive role in regional affairs and is ready to step up dialogue and communication on affairs involving Pacific island countries, Xi added.

Christian said his country staunchly upholds the one-China policy, and it supports the positions of China regarding major issues such as climate change and globalization.

Xi noted that, after the two countries established a strategic partnership of mutual respect and common development in 2014, they have deepened political mutual trust and strengthened mutually beneficial cooperation, and ties have achieved important progress.

China views Micronesia as a good friend and a good partner among Pacific island countries, and is willing to maintain exchanges at various levels, including high-level ones, Xi said.

Christian said Micronesia's relationship with China has achieved robust development since the diplomatic ties was established 28 years ago, and this is benefited by the consistent mutual respect of the two countries over each other's independence and integrity of sovereignty.
GUANGZHOU -- Police from China and Australia have captured five suspects in cross-border drug trafficking.

A total of 100 kilograms of methamphetamine was seized during raids in Shenzhen in January, police in South China's Guangdong province said Monday.

The police were tipped off in November 2016 that a gang of drug dealers was trafficking drugs from China to Australia.

Three Chinese (including two from Hong Kong), one Australian and one Fijian were seized in raids in February and March.

Police from the two countries signed a joint anti-drug operation deal in November 2015. Since the agreement, 150 drug dealers, 4,140 kilograms of various drugs and 3,310 kilograms of raw materials for drugs have been seized.
BEIJING -- After government probes, seven more container shipping lines have offered to cut terminal handling charges in China, saving traders millions of dollars, authorities said Monday.

Shipping firms, including the Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line and Israel's ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, have written to the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport, promising to lower the charges, the commission said in a statement.

The reductions in the firms' average terminal handling charges ranged between 76 yuan ($11.1) and 127 yuan per TEU (20-foot equivalent unit), according to the commission, the country's top economic planner.

After the cuts, the firms will charge 633-731 yuan per TEU.

The commission said authorities had investigated the collection of surcharges by shipping lines since last year, following trading companies reporting the practice. Terminal handling charges are a major form of such surcharges.

Earlier this month, the commission said 11 container shipping lines had pledged to cut average terminal handling charges by 13-22 percent. They included the state-owned China COSCO Shipping and global giants Maersk Line and the Mediterranean Shipping Company.

"With their moves, the 18 shipping lines can reduce the burden on importers and exporters by a total of 4.6 billion yuan each year," the commission said.
An elementary school student practices tai chi during a break in 2015 in Wenxian county, Henan province, where tai chi classes have been offered since 2001. XU HONGXING/CHINA DAILY

For residents of Chenjiagou village, the birthplace of tai chi, a more than 10-year wait to see the martial art recognized globally as intangible Chinese heritage could soon be over.

China has nominated tai chi for inclusion in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, with a final decision to come late this year.

The application, made by Wenxian county in Henan province, has been in the making since 2006, when the country drew up its first national intangible heritage list and included tai chi, said Zheng Aizhen, chairman of the Wenxian committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top policy advisory body.

"For the past decade, we have collected materials, gathered a lot of masters and experts together to discuss tai chi culture and tried to restore the centuries-old history of tai chi," Zheng said. "As a precious traditional Chinese legacy, we all have a responsibility to protect it."

China attempted to get UNESCO status for the martial art in 2008, but the application-one of 35 from China that yearwas withdrawn after an evaluation deemed it "too vague", according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The next year, the rules were changed to limit nations to only two nominations, which for China were Peking Opera and acupuncture. Both went onto make the list.

The latest attempt to include tai chi comes amid speculation that South Korea and Japan could make similar nominations.

Zhang Liyong, a deputy to the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, and president of the Henan High People's Court, said that the situation is urgent: "Both South Korea and Japan were trying to get tai chi registered. South Korea has already registered the Dragon Boat Festival as theirs, so we should be alarmed."

He was referring to the decision by UNESCO to grant intangible heritage status to the Gangneung Danoje Festival in 2008, which caused anger among some Chinese, who argued that the event is derived from the Dragon Boat Festival and accused the United Nations of endorsing South Korea's appropriation of Chinese culture. UNESCO added the Chinese festival to the list in 2009.

Chen Xiaowang, a tai chi master, said claims that tai chi was invented in Korea are based on a fictional character from a kung fu novel by Hong Kong writer Louis Cha. He said the martial art's history can be traced to creator Chen Wangting in the mid-17th century.

"If we fail again in our application, or if it is registered by South Korea, it will be a great pity," Chen said.

Zhu Xianghua, 40, the son of tai chi master Zhu Tiancai, said he feels a growing duty to protect tai chi culture. "It is not just a traditional activity; it is deeply rooted in many areas of Chinese culture, such as medicine, aesthetics and mechanics," Zhu said.
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President Donald Trumps craven lies that President Barack Obama had his wires tapped are viscerally repugnant and maddening for anyone but the most rabid, delusional Obama-haters.

First, it is destabilizing to realize that a sitting president of the United States has the moral capacity to slander his predecessor egregiously, without regret, guilt or apology after his lies are shown to be just that  lies. And lets remember, such a man has his finger on the button.

Second, Trump is getting away with his sins. He seems immune from karma. He has defamed his way to fortunes  and now power. Imagine if in his first month in office, Barack Obama tweeted, Just learned W. bugged me! Worse than Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy! The House would have voted on articles of impeachment within a week. But Trump just skips along in Mar-a-Lago as his party whistles a happy tune.

It has taken a while, however, to realize that there are even more worrisome truths revealed by the lies of Trump as president.

Our president puts about as much study, honesty, knowledge and sobriety into his policies as he does his tweets about Obamas wire tapp (sic).

Trump relentlessly uses facts, statistics and stories well after they have been authoritatively disproven. It doesnt bother his followers one bit. He repeats the kookiest of conspiracy theories even as president. Trump even brags that he really doesnt need to do homework or use tutors. I like bullets or I like as little as possible, he said in an interview. I dont need, you know, 200-page reports on something that can be handled on a page. That I can tell you.

During transition, Trump said he wouldnt need daily intelligence briefings. Trust me, Im like a smart person, he said in a speech to the CIA after the election. Is there anyone who would take a bet that the president could make five factually accurate and logical statements to support his assertion that Obamacare is a disaster?

This recklessness is beginning  barely  to trouble some of his supporters. The editorial page of The Wall Street Journal has outdone the contortions of Harry Houdini to defend Donald Trump. Their muscles are shredded now as the president clings to his assertion like a drunk to an empty gin bottle, as an editorial put it this week. Two months into his Presidency, Gallup has Mr. Trumps approval rating at 39 percent, according to the editorial. No doubt Mr. Trump considers that fake news, but if he doesnt show more respect for the truth most Americans may conclude hes a fake President.

A scarier thought: What if the leaders of the rest of the world, allies and enemies alike, conclude Trump is a fake president or an alternative head of state  or just a raging liar?

It is this question that led Tom Friedman to write a column calling on the few good men in Trumps Cabinet to stand up and reverse the moral rot that has infected the Trump administration from the top. Friedman says the few good men are all on the national security side: Secretary of Defense James Mattis, National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, C.I.A. Director Mike Pompeo and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

This probably is the right list of seriously tested public leaders in the administration, and it would surely be a good thing if they staged a foreign policy intervention for the president who needs no briefings.

But what about the rest of the government  domestic policy, economics, health and law enforcement? Who are the adult public servants, the wise and sober people who can stand up to Trump?

Perhaps his daughter, Ivanka, who has not one entry for public service on her resume, no training, no experience and no day in her entire life outside the billionaires bubble.

Or maybe her husband, Jared Kushner, born to a real estate mogul and a felon, who married well and dabbled in buying buildings and media properties.

Maybe it is Trumps latest crush, Steve Bannon, the zealous proponent of 1930s America First Nationalism with a big, sophomoric vocabulary and a life story and face that would send chills down the spine of any potential mother-in-law.

The last time our country faced such a cancer on the presidency, the Republican Partys leadership stood up and put country before party to get to the truth, Freidman wrote, referring to the Watergate scandal. But todays G.O.P. is a pale imitation of that party. With a few exceptions, it has declared moral bankruptcy and abdicated its responsibility to draw any red lines for President Trump.

The problem this time is not a cancer on the presidency. It is that the president is malignant.
Nobel Prize winner gets green card at Zhongguancun

( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2017-03-27

Albert Fert has become the first Nobel Prize winner to obtain permanent residence in China through a pilot project of Beijing's Zhongguancun Science Park.

China began issuing permanent residence permits in 2004, however, the green card is among the most difficult in the world to obtain due to stringent requirements. Between 2004 and 2015, Beijing issued only 1,700 permanent residence permits.

To attract more foreign talent and facilitate Zhongguancun's development, Beijing started a pilot project in March 2016 that enables foreign startups or skilled professionals in the science park to apply for permanent residence.

Foreign workers at startups, or who have been hired by companies in Zhongguancun Science Park, can receive a recommendation letter for a green card if they met the standards of a merit-based point system.

The pilot program's first group of 45 foreigners each gained more than 70 of 100 possible points under the merit system and received recommendation letters in January. Points are based on factors such as education, experience and the demand for certain technological know-how.

Zhang Wenqiong, deputy director of the Zhongguancun Talent Center, says the policy focuses mainly on the development potential of startups, along with other factors.

Zheng Jinlian, deputy secretary-general of the Center for China and Globalization, says foreigners now have two windows of opportunity a year to apply for permanent residence.

"The whole process, from collecting application materials to completing the assessment, takes four months," she says. "We have a group of more than 100 experts review the application materials."

Albert Fert shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2007 with his German counterpart Peter Grunberg for researching giant magnetoresistance. Joining hands with the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, he established the Fert Beijing Research Institute in 2014.

Getting the so-called green card will be bound to provide more convenience for Albert to cooperate with Chinese scientists.
Students of Confucius Institute learn Chinese calligraphy in Russia on October 22, 2013. [Photo/VCG]

The debate on purity of language is not new to China. Words from other languages are being more frequently used by Chinese people and many of them have been almost accepted as part of the Chinese language, much to the chagrin of some people.

Some cultural and language experts in China have always led the criticism against the use of loanwords, because they believe the "official" Chinese language should use as few words as possible from other languages to maintain its "purity".

Such concerns are not unique to China. Other countries have also witnessed "pure language" campaigns. For instance, in 1994 France approved a law forbidding the use of foreign language in public announcements, advertisements and broadcasting.

But a language is not an inflexible and insulated system. Languages have evolved through multilingual, multinational communications. Many languages have seen large-scale "loanword absorption" periods, mainly because of cross-border trade and communications. And at a time when globalization has pushed cross-border trade and communications to historic highs, it is very difficult to maintain the purity of a widely spoken language.

Besides, the "borrowed word" phenomenon is not a unidirectional thing. If Chinese people use such loanwords as "sofa", English and many other foreign languages also use Chinese words such as kung fu and dim sum.

Nevertheless, we cannot just laugh away people's concerns over a "foreign language invasion", because the outflow of loanwords is almost always determined by the social and cultural power behind the source language. In other words, "dominant" languages generally "export" more words to other languages, while "weaker" languages "import" more foreign words.

There are more Chinese speakers than English speakers in the world. Still, the Chinese language is no match for the English language in terms of global influence. And the English language, despite being the de facto lingua franca of the world today, is still "absorbing" words from other languages.

The influence and popularity of a language are determined not by the number of people speaking it but by the soft power it exercises. But the situation is gradually changing thanks to China's increasing economic and cultural prowess and expanded global communications networks.

The outside world today knows a lot more about and has a much closer relationship and interaction with China than it did even a couple of decades ago. That China is a unique social, economic and cultural milieu has been frequently reported by the foreign media, which has helped "export" more Chinese words to other languages.

An interesting example is China's "Single's Day". Instead of being a holiday, "Single's Day", or Nov 11 every year, is actually a shopping day "created" especially for single men and women by online retailerswhich is similar to Black Friday in the West.

Foreign media have introduced this typical term and phenomenon with Chinese characteristics to other countries. The big push behind this Chinese "export" is the increasingly strong Chinese e-commerce and domestic consumption power.

As far as being alert to any so-called cultural invasion is concerned, we should keep an open mind, because absorbing loanwords can also be seen as a process of learning from the outside world. And new concepts could also benefit the Chinese language in unexpected ways.

Admittedly, the integrity of culture and language is of great significance. But perhaps it is better to enhance the cultural advantages of a language than to shield it from the influence of other languages, as a robust culture is always more attractive than a feeble one to outsiders.

And robustness was on full display when many foreign journalists asked questions in fluent Chinese at the news conferences during the recently concluded annual sessions of China's top legislature and top political advisory body.

Such developments suggest the international community is developing a better understanding of Chinese language and culture.

The author is a writer with China Daily. wangyiqing@chinadaily.com.cn
Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada (right) meets Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (second right) while Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (left) shake hands with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday.[Photo/Agencies]

Japan released its annual report on foreign aid on Tuesday, which shows the country is shifting further away from its traditional official development assistance policy.

The white paper says Japan will help developing countries fight terrorism, as part of its intensified counterterrorism efforts following a spate of deadly incidents last year. Seven Japanese nationals were among those killed in the terrorist attack on a restaurant in Bangladesh in July.

It also says that Japan will continue to help bolster Southeast Asian nations' surveillance capabilities amid China's "rising assertiveness" in the South and East China seas. To this end, it will offer them patrol vessels to maintain maritime security in vital sea lanes.

Japan's foreign aid policy has changed since the country replaced its Official Development Assistance Charter with the Development Cooperation Charter in 2015.

The Official Development Assistance Charter kept military or defense-related activities clearly outside the domain of foreign aid. The Development Cooperation Charter includes new and controversial revisions such as the use of the aid budget for non-combat military purposes.

The shift is part of what Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calls a "proactive contribution to peace", a concept he first raised in 2014.

The main objectives of Japan's foreign aid have now been extended from pushing economic development and improving people's welfare to "building peace" and "spreading democracy".

Asia is the main focus of Japan's renewed commitment to development cooperation, particularly Southeast Asia, given its "close relationship with Japan and high relevance to its security and prosperity".

Abe, with a 1 trillion yen ($8.7 billion) aid package, went to Manila in January, becoming the first foreign leader to visit the Philippines since Rodrigo Duterte became president last year.

Japan has agreed to build 10 brand-new 44-meter multi-role response vessels for Philippine Coast Guard. The third vessel of the 12.7 billion yen ($107.4 million) project was delivered to the Philippines in early March.

During his visit to Vietnam in January, Abe pledged to provide six patrol vessels to the Southeast nation as a part of a fresh yen loan offer totaling 120 billion yen ($1.05 billion) to help its maritime safety efforts.

When announcing the Development Cooperation Charter in 2015, Abe declared that this new "non-combat" aid would assist in protecting the "rule of law".

Japan's foreign aid policy shift has been under the banner of a clause allowing the country to use its assistance to fund foreign military troops but only for "nonmilitary" activities.

Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has justified this by saying that militaries now play an important role in non-military activities such as post-conflict rebuilding and reconstruction.

But even Japanese experts suggest the policy shift is not without problems.

In an interview with the Reuters in 2015, Yoichi Ishii, professor emeritus at Kanagawa University, said: "The government says its aid is only for such purposes as post-disaster rescue. Let's say trucks or helicopters were bought under such programs. The problem is it is impossible to make sure they are used only for such purposes."

As he said, "When it comes to how they are used, it is very difficult to draw a clear line between military and non-military."

The reform of Japan's overseas assistance charter betrays that it is being strategically used as a security policy tool.

The author is China Daily Tokyo bureau chief.

caihong@chinadaily.com.cn
Premier Li Keqiang (L) addresses the 2nd Australia-China State/Provincial Leaders Forum in Sydney, Australia.[Photo/Xinhua]

During his official visits to Australia and New Zealand, Premier Li Keqiang is expected to seek new cooperation spaces to enable common growth and push forward their comprehensive strategic partnerships. Xinhua News Agency comments:

Analysts attribute the economic performances of Australia and New Zealand, which remain quite outstanding for developed economies, partly to their increasingly close economic and trade relations with China. Particularly, their free trade deals with the country, which have brought more opportunities to businesses and tangible benefits to their peoples.

Their experiences illustrate that countries around the world stand to benefit from China's continuing growth, and its efforts to push for free trade, regional integration and globalization.

By joining China's message of free trade, Australia and New Zealand are sending positive signals to the world.

In the face of a sluggish global recovery and a surge in protectionism in some Western countries, China's steady growth remains a bright spot for the global economy. With its GDP expanding by 6.7 percent last year, China contributed 33.2 percent to global economic growth. And with its GDP growth target set at around 6.5 percent this year, China is expected to remain a stabilizing source of confidence for the fragile global economy.

The Chinese Government Work Report this year reaffirmed a continued commitment to boosting free trade and investment, and the Chinese premier has recently reiterated China's support for globalization and free trade.

Li's visits will send a positive signal to the Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world that China, along with Australia and New Zealand, remains committed to promoting the liberalization and the facilitation of trade and investment, and it is seeking to safeguard regional peace, stability and prosperity.
Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor meets the press after winning the election in Hong Kong, south China, March 26, 2017. Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Sunday won the election of the fifth-term chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR). [Xinhua/Qin Qing]

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was elected fifth-term chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Sunday.

From the election of the election committee to Sunday's ballot, the procedure followed the HKSAR Basic Law, relevant decisions by the National People's Congress Standing Committee, and the electoral law of the HKSAR.

The process embodied the principles of openness, fair play and justice, demonstrating the seriousness of the election.

Chief Executive-elect Lam meets all the central government's standards for the role. She loves the country and loves Hong Kong, has the trust of the central government, proven governance capabilities and the support of the people of Hong Kong.

With nearly 40 years' experiences as a civil servant, Lam's diligence and devotion to her work has been widely applauded.

The election marks the beginning of a new journey for the region. How will people's consensus be pooled, and the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law be implemented fully and accurately? Can Hong Kong ensure its prosperity and stability and achieve better development for the next five years?

These are not only the questions of Hong Kong's people, but define the mission of Lam and the new SAR government.

July 1 will be the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the "one country, two systems" undertaking will enter a new phase.

Hong Kong faces many challenges including slow economic upgrading and a lack of competitiveness as economic rivals appear around the globe.

In addition, filibustering by some opposition lawmakers in the SAR legislature has disrupted policy implementation. Pursuit of "Hong Kong independence" has had an even worse effect on social stability and severely handicaps Hong Kong.

The new chief executive has an in-tray filled difficulties which must be addressed if Hong Kong's development is to be assured for the next five years.

She must unite society and create harmony. She must work to develop the economy, find new sources of growth, speed up diversification and improve competitiveness. She must find ways to improve the lives, and she must resolve the problems that Hong Kong citizens care most about.

The new administration takes office just as the SAR celebrates its 20th birthday, and must accept responsibility for implementing the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law steadfastly, without bending or distortion.

Running for election, Lam said that the "one country, two systems" principle had ensured Hong Kong's prosperity and stability for almost twenty years and she promised to strive for "a new peak."

At this historical point, the new chief executive should work with Hong Kong's citizens to make the most of opportunities as they present themselves. She must weather current difficulties and ensure that Hong Kong has a bright future of harmony, stability and prosperity.
South Korean advocacy group activists gathered signatures of people on Saturday to prevent the "illegitimate" push to deploy a U.S. missile shield - Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) on their territory.

At the Gwanghwamun square in central Seoul where candlelit rallies had been held to force former President Park Geun-hye out of office, the signature-collecting campaign was conducted to urge lawmakers to stop the hurried push for THAAD deployment.

On March 6, two mobile launchers and other elements of the THAAD were flown to a U.S. military base south of Seoul. One THAAD battery is composed of six mobile launchers, 48 interceptors, one X-band radar and the fire and control unit.

Local state-run broadcaster KBS reported that the AN/TPY-2 radar was supposed to be delivered to South Korea on March 16, but it was not confirmed as the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) declined to reveal the arrival of other THAAD elements.

The hasty deployment "is illegitimate and violates the constitution," said a civic group activist who declined to be identified. She said the collected signatures would be presented next week to the parliamentary speaker and floor leaders of major political parties.

The campaign started online a week ago, and it had already collected around 5,000 signatures. They are targeting 10,000 signatures to be gathered.

The advocacy groups would call on the parliament to file for an injunction to halt all deployment procedures. The Seoul-Washington agreement to install one THAAD battery was abruptly announced in July last year without any parliamentary approval and public consensus.

"Lawmakers must stop telling. They must act," said the activist.

Separately, the activists collected signatures to ask people to join the constitutional petition, which will be filed by Lawyers for Democratic Society, an advocacy group composed of liberal lawyers, and residents of the THAAD site in southeast South Korea.

They claimed the THAAD installation lacked the residents' agreement and violated people's rights to peaceful, healthy life and environmental protection, which are guaranteed by the constitution. The petition will be filed with the constitutional court in early April after completing the signature-seeking campaign by the end of this month.

The Gwanghwamun square was packed with people holding placards that read "Opposition to THAAD." Residents thronged to the capital city and chanted the famous slogan "THAAD Out, Peace In."

Some draped a flag with anti-THAAD slogan over their shoulders, while children held a blue, rubber balloon that was stamped with anti-THAAD slogan.

In addition to opposition at home, China and Russia have strongly opposed THAAD in South Korea as it can peer deep into their territories, thus damaging security interests of the two countries and breaking regional strategic balance.

Under the Seoul-Washington agreement, THAAD in South Korea will be operated by the USFK. Seoul has claimed the X-band radar is solely aimed at the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) missile threats, but South Korea's military has no right to intervene in the operation.

The AN/TPY-2 radar has the terminal and the forward-based modes, which have a detecting range of around 600 km and 2,000 km respectively. Lockheed Martin, THAAD's manufacturer, is allegedly developing radar that can be changed at any time into both modes.
A Cincinnati police car blocks access to the scene of a mass shooting at the Cameo Nightlife club in Cincinnati, Ohio, US March 26, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

CINCINNATI  A gunfight broke out inside a crowded Cincinnati nightclub early Sunday, leaving one man dead and 15 others wounded after a dispute among several patrons escalated into a shootout, authorities said.

No suspects were in custody by late afternoon in the shooting at the Cameo club, which has a history of gun violence, and police said there was no indication of any terrorism link.

Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said one of the wounded was in "extremely critical condition," while a hospital spokeswoman said two victims were listed in critical condition.

Police began receiving calls at 1:30 a.m. about gunshots at the club near the Ohio River east of downtown Cincinnati. Isaac said some 200 people were inside the club, one of the few hip-hop venues in the city, for music and dancing.

Isaac identified the dead man as 27-year-old O'Bryan Spikes, but provided no other details. He said 15 others were injured, with some already treated and released from hospitals.

"What we know at this point in the investigation is that several local men got into some type of dispute inside the bar, and it escalated into shots being fired from several individuals," Isaac said. It wasn't clear how many people fired shots.

Club patron Mauricio Thompson described a chaotic scene in which as many as 20 shots were fired as people scrambled to get away. He said there was a fight and people were yelling for security to intervene before the gunfire began.

"Once I got outside, people coming out bloody, gunshot wounds on them, some of their friends carrying them to the car, rushing them to the hospital," Thompson told WCPO-TV.

"It was just crazy."Police Sgt. Daniel Hils said the large crowd at the club was a factor in the number of people who suffered gunshot wounds.

"When you're talking about something tightly packed like that, I think intended targets aren't going to be the only thing that's hit," said Hils, who is president of the Fraternal Order of Police local. "When you starting throwing lead around, and there's a lot of other people standing around, then the other people are going to get hit."Isaac said the club has its own security operation that uses detection wands and pat-downs, but that police believe several firearms got inside. Four officers were working security in the club's parking lot and some tried unsuccessfully to revive the man who died.

Cameo's Facebook profile says it caters to college students on Friday nights, when anyone over 18 is allowed in, while Saturdays are "grown and sexy night" for ages 21 and older.

The club has a history of gun violence, including a shooting inside the club on New Year's Day in 2015 and one in the parking lot in September of that year, City Manager Harry Black said.

Police Capt. Kim Williams said there was "just a lot of chaos, obviously, when shots were fired.""Saturday night, it is a very young crowd. We have had incidents here in the past, but this is by far the worst," she said.

Referring to initial speculation about possible terrorism, Mayor John Cranley said: "What difference does that make to the victims? Innocent people were shot."He called the shootings "unacceptable" and said authorities would work to find ways to prevent such violence.

A single body was removed by the coroner shortly after 6 a.m. A federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives team was also at the scene.

Among the injured, five were treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and released, hospital spokeswoman Kelly Martin said. She said two people were in critical condition and another three were listed in stable condition by late afternoon. She had no details on the types of injuries or the ages of the victims. Other injured people were taken to or drove themselves to other hospitals.

Authorities asked anyone with information to come forward. Investigators were checking to see if surveillance cameras were working, Williams said.

An Associated Press phone call to the club Sunday morning went unanswered.

The area is mostly industrial but also home to several nightclubs with a smattering of homes. A regional airport is nearby. The neighborhood is fairly desolate at night, with the exception of the nightlife scene and 24-hour gas stations. The road where the club is located was easily cordoned off by a single police cruiser and officer at either end.

First responders had problems reaching the shooting victims because the parking lots were full, Sgt. Eric Franz told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich said on Twitter that he was "saddened to learn about last night's shooting" and that he was offering the state's assistance.

Associated Press
BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party CDU was ahead with a clear lead over rival SPD in the Saarland state elections, exit polls showed on Sunday.

The vote was the first in a series leading up to German federal elections in September.

Some 800,000 eligible voters cast their ballots. Exit polls showed that CDU was ahead with 41 percent with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) trailing behind on 29.5 percent.

The Left party (Linke) was reported to have won 13 percent of the votes, Alternative for Germany (AfD) 6 percent and the Greens 4.5 percent.

The outcome of the vote in Germany's smallest non-city state is being widely watched as a sign of voter sentiment ahead of state elections in Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia in May, and federal elections in September, German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) reported.

Some local analysts saw the result as a boost to Merkel's ruling political union, and a major setback for SPD, whose leader Martin Schulz failed to transform his popularity into ballot tickets.

In the past several months, some opinion polls have constantly showed Schulz will have the edge over his major competitor Merkel in the coming federal election.

The CDU has ruled the southwestern state for the past 18 years.
LONDON - A man has been arrested on Sunday as part of the investigation being carried out into the terror attack near the British parliament, according to London's Metropolitan Police.

Police said they detained a 30-year-old man at an address in Birmingham on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts. The suspect currently remains in police custody.

By far, police officers have carried out a total of 15 searches at various addresses, and 12 people have been arrested as part of the investigation. Nine have been released with no further action, according to the Metropolitan Police.

During last Wednesday's attack, Khalid Masood, 52, drove a car into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge, killing three people. A police officer was also fatally stabbed by Masood, who was later shot dead by police.
A Syrian soldier flashes the victory sign at the Abbasyieen area in the east of Damascus, capital of Syria, on March 20, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

DAMASCUS - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fully captured the Tabqa airport west of the northern city of Raqqa on Sunday, following battles with the Islamic State (IS) group, the SDF spokesman told Xinhua.

Tabqa airport in a city bearing the same name in the western countryside of Raqqa, is the first airport to be controlled by the Kurdish-led groups, Talal Silo, the SDF military spokesman, told Xinhua. He added that the airport will be used to bring in humanitarian aid to the area, and also passengers.

He noted that the airfield had been used for military and civilian aviation.

Silo said the airport needs repairing, without elaborating whether the United States will use the airfield as a base for its forces, who have been either airdropped or crossed from Iraq to aid the Kurds in their push against the IS strongholds on the basis of a new Pentagon plan against the terror group.

The SDF entered the airport earlier in the day and got engaged in intense battles with the IS in and around the facility.

Silo said the achievement comes with the help of only the US-led anti-terror coalition, the main backer to the Kurdish groups in northern Syria.

The Syrian army did not join in the attack on Tabqa, he added.

The push by the US-backed SDF toward the city of Tabqa and the nearby areas is part of a major offensive against Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS.

The first stage of the attack is aimed at isolating Raqqa from Tabqa and other IS positions in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour.

Earlier in the day, Kurdish officials said the battle against Raqqa city will start early next month.

The Tabqa Air Base has a strategic value for the SDF, as it will enable the Kurdish-led group to tighten the noose on IS militants in the city of Tabqa from three directions.

There are also reports that the US-led coalition may plan to use the base to provide supplies for SDF units in the upcoming battle of Raqqa.

The Syrian army withdrew from the airbase in August 2014, the year IS declared its caliphate in Raqqa and took the city as its capital.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the over 90 civilians have been killed over the past week as a result of the airstrikes by the US-led anti-terror coalition on Tabqa city.

The UK-based watchdog group also said that 66 civilians have been killed in Raqqa city of the past five days.
MOSCOW - Russia is ready to discuss the possibility of reducing nuclear arsenals, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a Russian Armed Forces General Staff Military Academy lecture Thursday.

"We are ready to discuss the possibility of further reducing nuclear capabilities, but only taking into account all the factors and not just the number of strategic offensive weapons," Lavrov said.

Meanwhile, he added that Russia is ready for dialogue with the United States on the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons and believes that more countries need to be involved in the process.

"We are ready, but the conversation must be conducted taking into account all factors that affect strategic stability," Lavrov said at a Russian Armed Forces General Staff Military Academy lecture.

He underscored the need to wait for Washington to finalize its priorities in the area, and stressed the need for more countries' involvement in the reduction of nuclear arms.

Both Russia and the United States agreed in 2010, under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) treaty, to decrease the number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 and the number of deployed missiles and bombers to 700. The agreement will expire in 2021, and could be prolonged for no more than five years.

US President Donald Trump has been critical of the deal that he regards as "bad" and "one-sided," raising concerns.

On February 24, Alexey Pushkov, a senior member of the Russian parliament's upper house, said Trump's pledge to boost US nuclear capacities could send the world back into the 20th century by challenging all treaties on strategic arms reduction. On February 28, Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Alexander Fomin said Moscow and Washington should work together under the existing treaty.

On March 8, head of US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) Gen. John Hyten said a potential cancellation of the New START could lead to an arms race.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday that the European Union favored deeper cooperation between the United States and Russia on nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
HAVANA - It is difficult to imagine that the modern plant of the San Jose rum company was just 20 hectares of largely obsolete land twenty years ago, some 30 kilometers southeast of Havana.

In the Cuban province of Mayabeque stands the world's largest rum processing plant. It churns out rum commercialized under the Havana Club brand for sale in over 120 countries including China. It is one of Cuba's main sources of exports.

With an investment of 60 million US dollars, the plant was built and opened in January 1997. It is now run by the joint venture Havana Club International SA, founded four years ago as an association between the state-run Cuba Ron and France's Pernod Ricard.

The plant contains a distillery, areas for aging and mixing, as well as a bottling section, creating a fully equipped and modern plant capable of processing 30,000 liters a day of Cuba's most emblematic drink.

Eight types of rum are produced here, classified according to the type of mixing and length of aging. These decisions are made by master rum-makers, a dwindling group of experts with its number no more than 10 nationwide now, who hold their secrets close to their hearts.

Back in 1995, the Havana Club only produced around 500,000 nine-liter boxes of rum, but it has grown at a steady pace to 4.2 million boxes in 2016.

Currently, the plant is seeking to continue growing through another heavy investment, which will add two new aging areas, a third bottling assembly line, and the expansion of storage for raw materials and finished products.

"We are the cradle of light rum," the plant's communications expert Yaima Rodriguez told Xinhua. She has been in charge of promoting different types of rum to the world for seven years.

Thousands of barrels line the sides of the plant, placed with exquisite symmetry, for the drink to age and blend naturally, with no chemical additives to speed up the process, change the taste or alter its color.

All types of rum have a strong alcohol base, of between 74-76 degrees. They are then mixed successively with water and distilled sugarcane, before being aged in barrels of American white oak.

However, the final say rests with the master rum-makers, who are uniquely capable of coming up with new brands, although their recipes are kept sealed away.

According to the specialized Drinks International magazine, the Havana Club rum ranks 21st among the top 100 producers of spirits, while being unable to access the US market, which accounts for 40 percent of international demand.

For a few years now, the company has developed its Habanista brand, with the intention of selling it to the US market once the country lifts its economic embargo against Cuba.

Executives believe that the open-up of the US market would represent a true explosion for the Cuban rum sector.
The Russian economy is completing a steady recovery from recession and its government bonds are attracting investors reluctant to invest in an increasingly unstable Eurozone.

Russian government debt is becoming a safe haven for investors amid economic and political uncertainty in Europe.

The increasing popularity of the bonds has seen yields fall in recent months. According to data from Trading Economics, the yield on ten-year Russian government bonds dipped below eight percent on Thursday, their lowest yield since February 2014.

In May of last year, the Russian Finance Ministry placed $1.75 billion of 10-year Eurobonds at an annual yield of 4.75 percent. Investors snapped up the bonds despite doubts about whether major clearing centers would admit the bonds for settlement due to confusion over sanctions.

Euroclear Bank eventually started to accept the Eurobonds in August and since then their yield has declined to 4.26 percent, according to CBonds.

Russia's relatively low sovereign debt to GDP ratio, at around 15 percent, and large gold and foreign currency reserves, have enabled Moscow to retain the interest of investors despite attempts to isolate Russia from the financial markets with sanctions.

Russian debt is seen as a relatively safe haven for investors in comparison with that of other Eurozone members like Portugal and Greece. According to German newspaper Die Welt, analysts believe there is a 19 percent likelihood of Portugal defaulting on its debt and a 50 percent chance that Greece will do so.

Credit rating agencies have upgraded their outlook on Russian sovereign debt in recent months. In November, Fitch Ratings raised Russia's credit outlook rating to "stable" from "negative" and reaffirmed its foreign currency credit rating at BBB-, the lowest investment grade level.

On Friday, Standard and Poor's upgraded Russia's credit outlook rating to "positive" from "stable" and reaffirmed its foreign currency credit rating at an investment-grade BB+/B.

"We expect GDP growth in Russia will pick up, averaging about 1.7% in 2017-2020, and we see a lower risk of large capital outflows, therefore moderating external pressures," Standard and Poor's stated.
NEW YORK  Forty-six dogs were flown to New York from South Korea after being rescued at a farm where they were to be slaughtered for human consumption, animal advocates said Sunday.

The Humane Society International is responsible for saving the dogs that were fed barely enough to survive.

The animals arrived at Kennedy International Airport late Saturday and were headed to emergency shelters in New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania on Sunday.

The farm in Goyang, a city just north of Seoul, "was more like a dungeon, where there's very little light, little to no ventilation, so the stench of ammonia would bring tears to your eyes when you walk through," said Kelly O'Meara, who oversees the society's companion animal-related international projects. "You'd see eyes peering at you, but it was hard to actually see the dogs themselves in the dark."

An estimated 17,000 other such farms still operate in South Korea, said O'Meara. However, she said, it's a diminishing industry in a society where demand for dog meat has been plummeting. Meat from about 2 million dogs still is eaten there each year.

In the United States, the rescued dogs will be available for adoption after the shelters evaluate their behavior and medical needs and make sure each one is ready for a new life in someone's home.

In South Korea, O'Meara said, the dogs receive no veterinary care of any kind.

"They either get through it or they die in their cage and they receive just enough food to get by," she said.

At the seven farms from which the Humane Society rescued more than 800 dogs since 2015, those to be slaughtered included both mixed breed dogs and purebred ones  from a Chihuahua and a Maltese to various spaniels and a Saint Bernard.

A German shorthaired pointer and a miniature pinscher came from the latest farm.

The Washington-based Humane Society International, which relies on private donations, deals directly with farmers to close down and demolish dog meat businesses and help owners financially to transition to other work.

The animals must be taken abroad, O'Meara said, because they're generally not wanted in South Korea as pets or companion dogs. Some had been abandoned pets, and others were raised to be sold as pets but given to the meat industry if that failed.

AP
Sino-Australian investment group ASF will build 15,000 affordable homes in Barking, East London, in collaboration with major Chinese construction companies.

The development will cost 3.2 billion pounds ($4.4 billion), cover 100 hectares, and create 8,000 jobs.

The new Castle Green development will be created on top of the A13 highway, with the road buried inside a 2-kilometer tunnel. The road links East London to the M25 orbital motorway. The developers believe the tunnel will ease congestion and reduce noise and pollution, while also cutting down journey times.

Yang Min, chairman of ASF group, said: "ASF has three strategic partners for this project, China State Construction, China Harbour Engineering Company, and China International Marine Containers. These are all big Chinese construction companies. A lot of Chinese companies coming into the UK face challenges in getting projects started, so we have provided a platform to enable us all to work together."

In addition, a new overground train station will be built at a cost of 15 million pounds. Darren Rodwell, the leader of Barking and Dagenham borough council, said the development is an exciting opportunity for the region.

"The project is going to be aspirational for local people, they are going to have better linkage, better housing, so it is really important that everyone sees that they can get something from this. It will be a boost to the economy, not only from the jobs it will create, but the legacy it will leave."

He said work on the development, which is located between Central London and the Thames Estuary, should start in October. Barking was the final destination of the first direct freight train from China when it arrived in January.

Jin Xu, minister counselor of the Economic and Commercial Office at the Chinese embassy, said: "This new development will make Barking more popular and famous in China, following the arrival of the freight train. One of the largest companies in China is also involved with ASF, which shows that Chinese companies have strong confidence in the UK and London.
President invites Nepal, Madagascar and Micronesia to join trade initiative

Chinese PresidentXi Jinping(R) meets with Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Beijing, capital of China, March 27, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Nepal, Micronesia and Madagascar are welcome to take part in the Belt and Road Initiative, President Xi Jinping separately told leaders of the three countries on Monday.

While meeting with Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Xi said that the two countries should seize the opportunities to work together on the Belt and Road Initiative to push forward cooperation in such areas as interconnection, free trade, agriculture, production capacity, energy and earthquake reconstruction.

The Belt and Road Initiative, put forward by Xi in 2013, aims to revive the ancient land and sea trade routes of the Silk Road with a focus on infrastructure.

Mentioning that China and Nepal have maintained close contacts in all levels of government and political parties, Xi called for ongoing efforts to further develop friendly ties between the two countries.

China and Nepal should continue to build upon political trust and support each other on major issues related to shared interests, Xi said. The two countries should expand two-way investment and promote fair bilateral trade, he added.

The Nepalese prime minister expressed gratitude for China's long-term support, especially the assistance with reconstruction following Nepal's deadly 2015 earthquake.

Dahal also affirmed his nation's commitment to the one-China policy and said the country will never allow any force to engage in anti-China activities in Nepalese territory.

Nepal supports the Belt and Road Initiative, and it is willing to cooperate with China in areas including trade, investment, transportation, infrastructure, tourism and aviation, he said.

Also on Monday, President Xi told Madagascan President Hery Rajaonarimampianina that China supports Madagascar's participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and the nation can help bridge a link to Africa.

China is willing to establish a comprehensive cooperative partnership with Madagascar, Xi said.

In the past 45 years, the two countries have respected each other and supported each other on issues of key interests and concerns, Xi said.

China will support Madagascar in infrastructure construction, human resources and investment and trade efforts, he said, adding the two countries should cooperate in fields such as agriculture, fisheries and security and legal affairs.

The Madagascan president said his country expects to promote economic and social development through deepening cooperation with China.

After the meeting, the two presidents were on hand as cooperative documents were signed, including a memorandum of understanding on jointly working on the Belt and Road Initiative and others related to trade and infrastructure.

Xi also said on Monday that China and Micronesia should fully tap into their potential and press ahead with two-way cooperation in fields including tourism, agriculture, fisheries and infrastructure.

He told Micronesian President Peter M. Christian the two countries enjoy common or similar views on international and regional issues and explained China is ready to strengthen coordination on key issues such as climate change.

China supports Micronesia to further play a role in regional affairs and is ready to step up dialogue and communication on issues involving Pacific island countries, Xi added.

Christian said his country staunchly upholds the one-China policy and stands with China regarding major issues such as climate change and globalization.

Xi noted that, after the two countries established a strategic partnership of mutual respect and common development in 2014, they have deepened political trust and strengthened cooperation and have made important progress.

China views Micronesia as a good friend and a good partner among Pacific island countries, Xi said. He said China is willing to continue with high-level communication.

Christian said Micronesia's relationship with China has achieved robust development since the diplomatic ties were established 28 years ago.

Following their talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of bilateral agreements on economic and technological cooperation.
China will start importing frozen-fresh beef and lamb from New Zealand in a stable and orderly way and exporting onions to the island country, according to two memorandums of understanding signed on Monday during Premier Li Keqiang's visit.

Premier Li Keqiang and New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English witnessed the signing of nine of 13 documents the two countries signed on Monday in Wellington. [Photo/Xinhua]

The documents, among 13 agreements made during Li's visit, was signed by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries.

Premier Li and New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English witnessed the signing of nine documents, including these two, before a joint news conference.

"We are willing to expand import of iced-fresh beef to endow Chinese consumers more choices for higher-quality goods. New Zealand is also welcome to import Chinese onions,"Li said during his meeting with English.

This demonstrates the two economies can highly complement each other, even in agricultural goods, he said.

"As protectionism and the sentiment against trade liberalization are rising around the world, we want to promote our bilateral trade in the spirit of mutual openness and take real actions to safeguard free trade and economic globalization. The upgrade of China-New Zealand free-trade agreement is crucial for both countries, the region and the international community,"Li said.
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(Photo : Getty Images) China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGNPC) vowed to finish world's first ERP nuclear reactor within deadline.

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China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGNPC) is "very confident" that it will meet its timetable to build the first nuclear reactor in the world using an advanced French technology, the company's spokesperson said.



"We are very confident of making the year-end target [for the first reactor in Taishan, Guangdong]," Huang Xiaofei, the CGNPC spokesman, said.



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The so-called "third generation" European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) design will be incorporated on the Taishan project. The EPR system is described by French tech supplier Areva as the most cost-efficient and safer than the current second-generation designs.



According to the South China Morning Post, meeting the revised schedule's requirements is key to cementing CGNPC's global leadership in developing nuclear power projects. Moreover, it will also attract potential overseas clients to buy into the China-made Hualong reactors.



Last month, CGNPC said that its timetable has been delayed by a further half year to the second half of 2017, saying the company needs "more experimental verifications in respect of its design and equipment." The time frame for the second unit's commercial generation has also been pushed back to the first half of 2018.



Originally, the project was expected to finish in 2015. And such delays have resulted to increase of project and depreciation costs.



Huang, on the other hand, defended that it is in line with engineering "norms" that first-of-its-kind projects and products are prone to "some schedule slippages."



"It is similar to the automobile industry, where time is needed between the first sample and mass production, to conduct trials and tests to assure quality."



State-owned CGNPC, the parent of listed CGN Power, is the biggest nuclear power projects developer in the world in terms of projects under construction, and the fifth largest by operating capacity.



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TagsChina General Nuclear Power Corp, CGNPC, European Pressurized Reactor, Areva, nuclear reactor
(Photo : Roscosmos) Russia's Federatsiya spacecraft bound for the Moon.

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Russia is recruiting more cosmonauts for its first manned landing Moon mission scheduled for 2030 and has launched a second open contest to select these people.



The first open contest to enlist new cosmonauts was held in 2012. Seven Russians passed the state exams and were qualified as cosmonaut researchers.



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The second open contest launched last week by Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (Roscosmos) will select anywhere from six to eight cosmonaut trainees. Roscosmos is the governmental body responsible for Russia's space science program and general aerospace research.



In its announcement, Roscosmos also said the aspirants in this second open contest will take part in the first space missions on board the Federatsiya (Federation) spacecraft that will fly to the Moon.



"The selection begins today (March 14) and it will last till the end of the year. The results will be summarized at the end of December. A group of six to eight trainees is to be selected," said Roscosmos First Deputy CEO Aleksandr Ivanov.



The selected cosmonauts will be the first to fly Federatsiya, a new-generation, partially reusable piloted spacecraft. They will be the first Russians to land on the Moon.



Roscosmos said the purpose of the contest is to select the best specialists who already have certain knack in operating space or air technologies. All will be trained under the International Space Program.



Applicants will have to undergo several selection stages. They will be tested for education and professional aptitude; will undergo a medical examination, psychological tests and physical fitness tests.



Applications will be accepted from Russians no older than 35 years who have higher education in engineering, research or other flight specialties, and a previous work record. Those with experience in Russia's aircraft-building and space rocket industry will enjoy priority.



Candidates are expected to have a knack for studying space technologies, computer skills and must speak fluent English. Applications will be accepted for just four months. Testing of candidates will begin afterwards.



Russia plans to launch a lunar probe in 2024 to scout colony locations, before landing the first Russians on the Moon in 2030.



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TagsRussia, moon, Moon landing, cosmonauts, Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, roscosmos, Aleksandr Ivanov.
(Photo : Getty Images. ) Saudi Arabia is all set to get first Chinese drone factory, after an agreement was signed to this effect during Saudi monarchs visit to China earlier this month.

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Saudi Arabia will get the first Chinese drone factory, after two countries signed an agreement to this effect during Saudi monarch's visit to China earlier this month. This is one of the several military agreements between the two countries in recent times, signalling China's growing engagement with the Middle Eastern region.



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King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) has confirmed that it has signed a deal with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), which produces China's CH-4 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), whose capabilities are comparable to the American Air Force's MQ-1 Predator.



The CH-4 drone is said to have reconnaissance and combat functions that are considered to be handy for counter terrorism purposes. In fact, CASC has been focused on prompting drone's counter-terrorism features in the Middle East and North Africa market. The drone is already being used by host of Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia.



CH-4 drone's cost effective pricing is considered to be one of its main USP's, since it is way cheaper than America's MQ-1 Predator. According to a report published in the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Iraq had decided to opt for the CH-4 over the US Predator because it was costing them way less. In terms of price, a CH-4 costs roughly US$4 million, which is four times less than MQ-1 Predators' final pricing of US$20 million.



There is no information about the nitty-gritty of the deal, including the time line about the work on factory will begin and the actual production of CH-4 drone will start.



A Macau-based military expert Antony Wong Dong claims that the CH-4 drone deal is probably being offered as a substitute deal, after China's deal to sell DF-21D "carrier killer" ballistic missile to Saudi Arabia could not materialize.



"The DF-21 deal was turned down as a result of strong opposition in the international community amid the Iran nuclear crisis in the region ... Beijing may want to use the CH-4 drone as a substitute project in a bid to please an old friend," Wong said.



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Tagsdrone, Military Drone, Saudi Arabia, China and Saudi Arabia
(Photo : Getty Images. ) China and New Zealand have agreed to start talks over upgrading of the nine year old Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in next month of April.

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China and New Zealand will start negotiation over upgrading the existing free trade agreement (FTA) in next month, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his counterpart Bill English announced in a joint press conference on Monday. The highly anticipated decision came amid Li's ongoing two day trade tour to New Zealand.



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The setting of a fix time schedule to start talks over FTA was high on New Zealand's agenda as it wants more access to Chinese market for its products.



Apart from FTA talks, Li and bill signed several important trade agreements, including the one that will allow New Zealand's more meat processors to export chilled meats to China. However, initially only 6 out of the agreed 10 meat processors will be allowed to export on trail basis and others will soon follow the suit if the trail is successful.



Both leaders also signed an agreement to increase the number of direct flights between China and New Zealand from existing 49 to 59.



Later in the conference, Bill hoped that the upgraded FTA will allow New Zealand to export more diary and health related products to the Asian country. The New Zealand leader termed the nine year old deal as a huge success that helped to triple the trade between the two countries. He said that upgraded agreement will help to boost the two way trade to $30 billion by 2020.



Some sensitive trade issues also emerged during the talks, including the critical issue of steel dumping that drew the ire from New Zealand's several steel manufacturers last year. But the Chinese leader during the conference flatly denied any steel dumping done by his country.



In defence, he compared China's over-export of steel products with New Zealand's huge export of dairy products.



"China is not dumping steel products in New Zealand. Likewise, 50 percent of China's dairy product imports are from New Zealand but we haven't said New Zealand is dumping dairy products in China," Li concluded.



China and New Zealand trade issues overshadowed by political issues



While China and New Zealand's trade ties boomed since the signing of FTA in 2008, but conflict over political issues have become a major irritant in their trade ties. The conflicting views especially over South China Sea dispute, over which New Zealand has sided with the U.S., has been the main bone of contention between the two countries.



According to reports, Bill did brought the South China Sea issue with Li during the meeting, stating that his country's view on the disputed maritime territory remains unchanged.



Last year, Chinese state media had to warn New Zealand's Former Prime Minister John Key not to discuss the South China Sea issue during the China visit.



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TagsChina and New Zealand, new zealand, china, Li Keqiang
(Photo : YouTube Screenshot) The Teclast X3 Plus will go on sale starting March 28 on Aliexpress for the price of $279.99.

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Online retailing website Aliexpress has announced that the Chinese brand 2-in-1 tablet PC Teclast X3 Plus is now available on its official website. The Teclast X3 Plus will go on sale starting March 28 on Aliexpress for the price of $279.99. This discounted price tag will only last until March 30 this month.



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As for the specification of the 2-in-1 tablet personal computer, the Teclast X3 Plus tablet features an 11.6-inch Full HD IPS G+G capacitive 10-point display screen with 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels resolution. Under the hood, the device is powered by an Intel Apollo Lake N3450 processor clocked at a speed of 1.1 Ghz, which is paired with a massive 6GB of RAM and Gen 9 HD GPU for the graphics.



The Teclast X3 Plus tablet is equipped with a built-in 64GB LPDDR3 of internal memory storage, which can be further expandable up to a huge128GB via a dedicated microSD card slot. On the photography department, the X3 Plus flaunts a 5-megapixel rear-facing sensor and 2-megapixel front camera. The 2-in-1 tablet runs on the latest Windows 10 operating system out of the box, which is coupled with Microsoft's latest customized user interface laid on top of it.



Other features the Teclast X3 Plus tablet offers include 2G, 3G network supports, USB 3.0, Bluetooth 4.1, and Wi-Fi. Fueling the device is a Polymer Lithium-ion 6,800 mAh capacity battery. Sensors on the phone are G-sensor and Hall sensor. The device measures body dimensions of 30.03 cm x 7.80 cm x 1.01 cm and weighs around 0.90 kg.



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TagsTeclast, 2-in-in pc, teclast x3 plus, AliExpress, teclast x3 plus on aliexpress
Alabama is considering a law that would abolish marriage licenses in the state.



The proposed bill, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Greg Albritton, amends Alabama law to remove any requirement that couples obtain marriage licenses or have marriage ceremonies.



Albritton said the law would protect the religious liberty of probate judges and clergy who have moral objections to signing same-sex marriage licenses while also avoiding likely litigation.



It keeps the state from making the decision of who can and cannot get married, Albritton said. It prevents the state from that gatekeeper position.



Instead, under the proposed bill, couples would file signed affidavits with a probate judge, who would be required to record, but not authorize or condone, marriages. The notarized affidavit would ask each party to declare they were old enough to marry, not currently married, not related, and voluntarily desired to marry. The bill also would remove any requirement that a ceremony take place.



Some conservative opponents argue the bill threatens the sanctity of marriage. Two Republican state senators spoke against the bill during the Senate hearing, arguing the state should have a role in authorizing marriage and that removing marriage licenses and ceremony requirements would reduce marriage to a contract between two parties.



To take it and reduce it to a contractual arrangement like a mortgage or a deed feels a little concerning, Republican Sen. Phil Williams said during debate.



But Albritton maintained the state does not make things sacred.



He said his goal with the bill was simply to resolve a judicial controversy. Eight Alabama counties still refuse to issue marriage licenses since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage.



I am not changing marriage. I am not changing the definition of marriage, Albritton said. The courts have already decided, both local state courts and federal courts.  I am just changing the procedure.



The bill cleared the Alabama Senate by a vote of 22-6 earlier this month and is awaiting a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee.



This is the fourth time Albritton has introduced the bill since a federal judge struck down an Alabama law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman in early 2015. Albrittons bills have always cleared the Senate but failed in the House.



During a special session in September 2015, the bill came up for a vote before the whole House of Representatives. A majority of representatives voted for it, but it failed because it did not get the two-thirds majority required to pass in the special session.



Albritton said he anticipated the bill would pass out of the House Judiciary Committee and hoped it would get a vote before the whole House this session.



Alabama will be the first state with such a law if the bill passes. Oklahoma tried and failed to pass a similar measure in 2015.



But Albritton says this is not a new idea: I am only going back to the way we were doing things about 100 years ago, he said, noting that until Alabama initiated marriage licenses in the early 20th century, marriages were conducted and then recorded in the probate office, exactly as his bill would require.

Courtesy: WORLD News Service

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: March 27, 2017
An appeals court in the Libyan capital on March 22 ruled against an agreement with Italy to try to curb the surge of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The ruling marks a blow to Italys response to the crisis even as Libyas political instability continues to exacerbate it.



Libyan Prime Minister Faiez al-Serraj signed the Memorandum of Understanding last month with Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni. The agreement stated Libyas UN-backed Government of National Accord would establish temporary hosting camps for refugees sent back from Italy. Italy would, in turn, strengthen border controls to combat illegal migration and human trafficking and also provide medical supplies to the hosting camps.



Former Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani and five other people who brought the case argued al-Serraj had no power to sign the deal and said the plan to return the migrants to Libya was too controversial.



The migrant flow into Italy from Libya through the Central Mediterranean route has exploded this year with more than 15,000 arrivals and 481 deaths, according to the International Organization for Migration. Last year, the Central Mediterranean route accounted for the highest number of migrant arrivals at 181,436.



Libya descended into crisis in 2011 after NATO-backed rebels overthrew and killed longtime authoritative leader Muammar Qaddafi. Italy in January reopened its embassy in the capital city of Tripoli after it closed two years ago due to the countrys unrest. The memorandum also included the promise of developmental programs in renewable energy and infrastructure, among other sectors.



Issandr El Amrani, the North Africa Project Director with the International Crisis Group, said the deal might politically work for Italy since it shows the government making an effort to tackle the migrant flow. But Libyas political instability means the deal would not have much impact in the country, he said.



The Government of National Accord has virtually no capacity to actually do much, El Amrani said. Since its legitimacy is contested, its opponents say it has no right to sign such an agreement and is only doing so to get Italian support.



Libya in 2016 created the Government of National Accord as an interim government in a bid to end the civil war. But several political officials have failed to accept its authority, and the lack of legitimacy has allowed the countrys migrant crisis to thrive amid lawlessness.



The chaos has allowed people-smuggling networks to operate with impunity, and countering these is not a priority for any of the belligerents, El Amrani said.



The head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, Martin Kobler, expressed concern Wednesday over persistent reports of human rights violations in the country. The International Organization for Migration earlier this month reported 22 migrants died in a clash between rival people-smuggling groups. Kobler called on Libyas political and security leaders to muster the political will to enforce the human rights and security provisions stipulated in Libyas Political Agreement.

Courtesy: WORLD News Service

Publication date: March 27, 2017
If you saw people dying all around you from a plague you didnt understand and couldnt control, what would you do?

For Samaritans Purse staff members faced with the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia, this wasnt a hypothetical question. Their answer, because of Gods love and the courage that love gave them, was to join Christians throughout history who ran toward the plague, not away from it.

But to fully understand the power of that decision, we need to take a step back.

Ebola is a terrifying disease. It causes extreme pain, fever, terrible bouts of diarrhea and vomiting and, until effective treatments were developed, was almost always fatal. And because its transferred by body fluids, even wiping the brow or holding the hand of someone infected with Ebola means youre susceptible to getting it, too.

When this horrifying disease broke out in Liberia in 2014, Samaritans Purse and the mission agency SIM stayed to fight it. More than 28,000 people came down with the disease in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The death toll reached more than 11,000. Cemeteries in Liberia are filled with gravestones of whole families who died within days of each other.

At first, and despite the diseases near-genocidal wrath, the world largely ignored this killer plague. But then missionaries Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol contracted the disease. It was a terrible blow to the ministry and its work in Liberia, but it also became a turning point in the fight against Ebola.

Now, Im sad to the world didnt seem to care until the Americans got sick. But once the world started paying attention, it turned the tide in the fight against Ebola.

Writebol and Brantly, after close brushes with death, responded to an experimental drug that may not have been rushed into use had they not gotten sick as Americans. Money, drugs, and other resources soon poured into West Africa. And just a year later, by late 2015, Liberia was officially declared Ebola free. Donations flooding in to Samaritans Purse in response to the groups work there helped fund a new hospital in Liberia, the most modern one in the country, and research dollars poured into the race for an Ebola vaccine, which progressed to clinical trials last year.

This gripping, tragic, but ultimately redemptive story is coming to a theater near you. Facing Darkness is a powerful movie produced by Samaritans Purse itself. But dont think this is a fluffy PR film. Its not. Its an emotionally raw, artfully constructed story of life and death that recently won a top prize at the Heartland Film Festival and has received standing ovations at advance screenings, including the recent gathering of the National Religious Broadcasters. For one-night-only, March 30, it will be in more than 900 theaters. Thats this Thursday night.

In Rodney Starks ground-breaking work The Rise of Christianity, a book we quote often here on BreakPoint, Stark tells the story of the Plague of Cyprian, a 3rd century plague that wiped out whole cities, but one in which Christians ministered sacrificially. In the 3rd century Christians ran TOWARD the plague. The result, which Stark describes in detail, was a witness to the pagan world that contributed to the spectacular growth of the church in the century that followed.

And today, in the 21st century, brave Christians are STILL running TOWARD the plague, not away from it. The witness of amazing servants of Jesus like Dr. Kent Brantly, Nancy Writebol, and their colleagues on the Samaritans Purse team in Liberia, is being seen and marveled at all around the world. And ultimately its pointing people to Christ.

Come to BreakPoint.org and click on this commentarywell link you to more information on the upcoming showing of Facing Darkness.

BreakPoint is a Christian worldview ministry that seeks to build and resource a movement of Christians committed to living and defending Christian worldview in all areas of life. Begun by Chuck Colson in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on todays news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print. Today BreakPoint commentaries, co-hosted by Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet, air daily on more than 1,200 outlets with an estimated weekly listening audience of eight million people. Feel free to contact us at BreakPoint.org where you can read and search answers to common questions.

John Stonestreet, the host of The Point, a daily national radio program, provides thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.

Publication date: March 27, 2017
Aid groups and government officials in famine-hit parts of Africa and the Middle East are calling for more global attention to a crisis that has left more than 20 million people at risk of starvation.



The United Nations earlier this month said the world is facing its worst humanitarian crisis since the end of World War II. More than 20 million people across conflict-hit regions in South Sudan, Somalia, northeastern Nigeria, and Yemen are at risk of famine and starvation. The rising needs and worsening conditions have left several aid groups and government officials scrambling for resources.



Benoit Munsch, a regional humanitarian coordinator at U.S.-based Care International, said the nonprofit provides aid to about 600,000 people in Somalia and South Sudan. Munsch said Cares center in the South Sudanese town of Bantiu has seen an increase in recent weeks in families seeking aid and mothers so malnourished they cannot breastfeed their babies. Some regions of the Unity State in South Sudan have already declared famine, and many people are fleeing for neighboring Bantiu.



The South Sudanese conflict began in 2013 when a civil war broke out between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar. The crisis left tens of thousands dead and displaced more than 2 million people. Resurging clashes in July 2016 resulted in even more people fleeing the country and blocked aid groups from access to people remaining in the war-torn region. Those areas have now declared famine, Munsch said. The United Nations said some 100,000 South Sudanese are already enduring hunger and another million people are on the verge of famine.



The Ugandan government on March 23 said the country is at a breaking point, with some 3,000 refugees coming in daily from neighboring South Sudan. More than 570,000 refugees have arrived in the country since July, and the number will likely climb to more than 1 million this year, the Ugandan government said in a joint statement with the UN.



We continue to welcome our neighbors in their time of need, but we urgently need the international community to assist as the situation is becoming increasingly critical, said Ugandan Prime Minister Ruhakhana Rugunda.



World Concern, a U.S.-based Christian global relief agency, said it is responding to the drought in Somalia by giving cash to the most vulnerable families to buy food and is also providing nutritional supplements to children. Somalia faced a drought in 2011, and warmer El Nino weather conditions last year resulted in another drought that left some 6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN.



Chris Sheach, World Concerns disaster response director, said the agency also is trucking water into the driest regions. But even the national reserves are starting to get low, he said. Sheach, who just returned a week ago from a trip to northern Somalia, said families fleeing drought are putting pressure on the communities most prepared for the drought.



Weve seen communities grow by five to ten times their population in the past year, he said.



Gerald Anderson, an associate vice president with Save the Children, said the nonprofits employees in the Puntland region of Somalia have seen a significant increase in severe malnutrition cases among children. The agency received reports of children and families going days without food and some people feeding their livestock with cardboard just to keep them alive, Anderson said.



In Nigeria, Boko Harams insurgency has displaced more than 2 million people and left about 7 million people severely food insecure. The UN said some 450,000 Nigerian children are at risk of severe malnutrition this year, 90,000 of whom could die.



In Yemen, some 18 million peopletwo-thirds of the countrys populationare in need of aid.



There is a closing window of opportunity to avert full-blown catastrophe and raise the money needed to save millions of lives, Anderson said. With no action, people may run out of food as early as next month and the crisis will escalate relentlessly.

Courtesy: WORLD News Service

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: March 27, 2017
Transgender Advocates Target Most Vulnerable in California

Contact: Karen England, Privacy for All Students, 916-212-5607

SACRAMENTO, March 27, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Transgender advocates in the California Legislature have introduced legislation that would require elderly residents in skilled nursing facilities to share rooms and bathrooms with biologically opposite individuals.

SB 219, sponsored by Senator Wiener, would allow a transgender individual to occupy a room and use restroom facilities based on gender identity as opposed to biological reality.

It is difficult if not impossible for elderly residents in care facilities to maintain bodily privacy in shared rooms. SB 219 proposes that a transgender individual could demand to be placed in a room with a biologically opposite person, or could alternatively request to be placed in a room with somebody of the same biological sex.

"This legislation strips privacy rights from vulnerable, elderly individuals while giving new rights to transgender individuals," said privacy advocate Karen England. "The proposed legislation specifically prohibits a non-transgender resident from objecting to a transgender person becoming their roommate, but allows the transgender person to select whether to room with a male or a female."

In 2013, California passed the first in the country transgender law that would allow kindergarten through 12th grade public school students to choose their bathroom, shower or locker room based on gender identity. As with this newly proposed legislation for the elderly, the 2013 legislation gave special rights to transgender individuals to use whichever facility they felt most comfortable in without concern for exposure to or from others.

"No female should have to expose herself to or view the exposure of a biological male against her will," said England. "This is the case whether the female is a 14-year-old in a junior high locker room or a grandmother in an elderly care facility."

Privacy advocates are pointing to the fact that the proposed legislation regarding the elderly and the previous legislation applying to students as young as kindergarten age, seem to target the most vulnerable of California residents.

"Those who are trying to eliminate sex separated facilities did not start with the bathrooms used by the Governor or members of the Legislature," said England. "They started with facilities used by little kids and the elderly. We should not tolerate such bullying."

Paid for by Privacy for All Students FPPC# 1359959
Sewing Machine Distribution Helps the Forsaken Stitch Together a New Life

GFA-supported workers distribute income-generating resources as part of extensive International Women's Day ministry effort

WILLS POINT, Texas, March 27, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Outcast and overlooked women once reduced to holding their hands out to beg are now using them to generate their own income in Asia, after being given sewing machines through a major ministry effort by GFA (Gospel for Asia)-supported workers.

Photo: GFA's International Women's Day gift of sewing machines is helping women who would otherwise have limited means of providing for themselves and their families become self-sufficient. High resolution version of photo available.

Scores of machines were distributed as part of an extensive GFA-supported program to mark International Women's Day (IWD). Food, clothing and other supplies were also given away as teams visited hospitals, villages and slum communities to share the love of Jesus through acts of kindness and compassion.

The empowering distribution was organized to coincide with the global event celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and calling for gender parity. The IWD focus provided an opportunity to demonstrate God's love for women in countries where many, especially the elderly and widows, are left destitute because of their lack of opportunities and resources.

"Just as Jesus made a point of affirming women and meeting them at their point of need, we wanted them to know that they have not been forgotten," said K.P. Yohannan, GFA founder and director. "Our hope is that they will recognize their unique value and worth in God's sight."

More than 100 sewing machines were presented to recipients in one community, where local women receive tailoring training from GFA-supported workers to help make them self-sufficient. A community official praised the economic support and other programs "that help to uplift the women in society."

One of the women who was given a sewing machine at another event told how grateful she was: "My husband was unable to purchase one for me," she said. "Now I will stitch clothes for others and support my husband financially to meet our needs. This gift will help us earn our livelihood."

Other income-generating resources given out included mason and carpentry tools and bicycle repair equipment.

The IWD program helped alleviate immediate needs, as well as providing for the future. More than 500 people were given mosquito nets at another event to keep them from getting malaria or dengue fever.

"I could not afford to buy nets for my children," said one mother. "I am so thankful for and excited by this gift."

At other events, people received blankets, food packages, personal hygiene supplies, saris and water filters.

One team taking part in the IWD ministry effort visited a leprosy colony, providing food for families there and also giving some to those living in nearby slum areas.

The ministry efforts also gave participants the opportunity to tell people about ongoing services to and for women that are supported by GFA. Among them are literacy classes, health care education programs and support services for widows.

"No one is forsaken in God's sight," said Yohannan. "We hope that by offering help and support -- especially to some of the most marginalized, who are often women -- we can demonstrate God's great love for each and every person. He sees and longs to make himself known to everyone -- man, woman and child."

GFA (Gospel for Asia) has -- for more than 30 years -- provided humanitarian assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially among those who have yet to hear the Good News. Last year, this included more than 75,000 sponsored children, free medical services for more than 180,000 people, 6,000 wells drilled, 11,000 water filters installed, Christmas presents for more than 400,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry.
A family in the United States is battling for the right to name their daughter 'Allah'

A family in the United States is battling for the legal right to name their daughter 'Allah'.

Elizabeth Handy and Bilal Walk, who live in Georgia, have been denied a birth certificate for their daughter, now aged 22 month, because of the last name the couple have chosen for her, according to The Atlanta Journal.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia is taking legal action on behalf of the couple who say they can't get a Social Security number and they are worried about access to health care, schools and travel.

State officials say the girl's full name, ZalyKha Graceful Lorraina Allah, breaches the laws around naming and that her last name should either be Handy, Walk or a combination of the both.

Michael Baumrind, the family's attorney, told the Journal: 'There are numbers of parents who have selected a name for their children. The state has no business determining if a name is satisfactory. The parents get to decide the name of the child. Not the state. It is an easy case.'

ZalyKha was born May 25, 2015. Her parents named her Allah because the name is 'noble' and not for any religious reason.

Allah is the Arabic name for God.

Walk said: 'Simply put, we have a personal understanding that we exercise in regards to the names. It is nothing that we want to go into detail about, because it is not important. What is important is the language of the statute and our rights as parents.'

Handy, who is six months pregnant, said: 'We don't want to go through that process again. We are still in the process of coming up with a name, and we don't even know if it will be a girl or a boy. But the child will definitely have a noble title. Something to live up to.'
Devotees flock to church in Argentina to witness Virgin Mary statue 'weeping blood'

Devotees have started to flock to a church in Los Naranjos, Argentina to witness a statue of the Virgin Mary allegedly weeping blood.

The statue, which belonged to a family chapel, purportedly began shedding red "tears" at the start of Lent, according to The Sun. Its owner even said that Mary appeared to him in a dream before her figure "cried blood." At first, he was scared of the tears because he thought it might be a bad omen.

"It was the first time something like this has happened and I was very scared. I thought it was some kind of punishment," he said.

However, he changed his mind after people began seeing it as a miraculous act. The statue has since then been moved to a local Catholic church so that more people can pay homage and pray to it.

"A lot of people come here to pray and light several candles devoted to the Virgin. The first impression is that it is blood on the face of the Virgin, from the left eye," local priest Ricardo Quiroga explained. "Also the dress she is wearing is also totally stained this same red color."

Quiroga added that they are waiting for the statue to weep blood again. "If she cries again, we need to do something at a high level in the church," he said. "Maybe we would need to send her to be evaluated."

For now, Quiroga believes that the Virgin Mary is telling the faithful to change their way of living during this Lenten season. "The Virgin is asking us to change the way we live now for Lent," he said.

This is not the first time a religious figure has displayed lifelike actions. When a painting of the Virgin Mary began shedding tears at the Church of the Holy Archangel Michael near Skopje, Macedonia, people also called it a miracle.

Onlookers even said the Virgin Mary's tear smelled like myrrh, one of the gifts the Three Wise Men were said to have given baby Jesus in the barn.
Displaced Christians in Iraq just months from running out of aid

Christians in Iraq are faced with running out of the supplies that are keeping them alive, the aid co-ordinator for the Catholic archdiocese of Erbil told World Watch Monitor.

As recently as 2003 there were as many as 1.5 million Christians in Iraq. But now there are around 200,000 and even they could be forced to leave with fears supplies of food, clothing and other aid could run out within six months.

Spokesman Stephen Rasche said could disappear entirely from Iraq within 12 months.

It is vital that the international community view them as 'a threatened people on the verge of extinction, the victims of horrific genocide,' he told World Watch Monitor. 'If we can't hold this community together over the next six to 12 months, it will all be for nought.'

A few Christians might remain, but in a custodian capacity alone, caring for ancient churches.

He cited one clinic run by his archdiocese that is looking after 100,000 non-Muslim displaced Iraqis, mainly Christian, and has just 45 days medicine left.

A clinic run by the archdiocese, which lies in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan and is caring for almost 100,000 Iraqi non-Muslims who fled Islamic State jihadists in 2014, has only 45 days' medicine left, he said.

Aid has been given by charities such as Aid to the Church in Need, Open Doors, the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, the Knights of Columbus and Caritas organisations.

Rasche, from the United States, was talking to journalists in London after last Wednesday's terror attack.
Former jihadi used to believe killing non-Muslims pleased God  until Jesus appeared in his dream

God is capable of transforming even people with the hardest of hearts, and this is exactly what He did to Bashir Mohammad, a former jihadist who once believed that killing Christians was the right thing to do.

Mohammad, 25, used to fight on the front lines of the Syrian civil war for the Nusra Front, according to The New York Times. Having been born and raised in a Muslim family, it's hard to imagine Mohammad converting to Christianity. When he became a teenager, Mohammad even dabbled in the most extreme interpretations of Islam  "even the ones you haven't heard of."

He said he and his colleagues used to crush their Christian captives with a bulldozer. "They used to tell us these people were the enemies of God," he explained, "and so I looked on these executions positively."

But after experiencing the horrors of war and witnessing "Muslims killing Muslims," Mohammad decided something was not right. "I went to Nusra in search of my God," he said. "But after I saw Muslims killing Muslims, I realized there was something wrong."

The following year, Mohammad and his wife fled from the war. They left for Istanbul with 2.5 million other Syrians. When his wife fell seriously ill, they got in contact with Mohammad's cousin who had converted to Christianity.

His cousin prayed for his wife, and when she got better, Mohammad became curious about Christianity. He asked his cousin to recommend to him a Christian preacher, and he was introduced to Eimand Brim from the evangelical group called the Good Shepherd.

It was a life-changing meeting. Mohammad learned to read the Bible. He said reading it gave him a sense of peace that the Quran never gave him. He felt more welcome in churches compared to mosques, and Christian prayers were far more generous compared to Muslim ones.

But it was only when Mohammad dreamed of Jesus giving him chickpeas that he decided to convert for good. Even his own wife dreamed of Jesus parting the waters from the sea. Mohammad viewed it as a sign of encouragement from Jesus.

"There's a big gap between the god I used to worship and the one I worship now," Mohammad said. "We used to worship in fear. Now everything has changed."

Earlier, a former ISIS member who goes by the name Abu Ibrahim told CBS News that their actions were all rooted in the Sharia law, so they didn't see their brutal actions as wrong. Even their public executions all had purpose.

"There were many hundreds of people there who observed. While seeing someone die is not something anyone would probably want to see, having the actual Sharia established is what many Muslims look forward to," he said.

However, ISIS imposed strict "restrictions," and it is almost impossible for anyone to leave the group. Personally, Ibrahim said being an ISIS member wasn't all it was cracked up to be, so he decided to leave.

"My main reason for leaving was that I felt that I wasn't doing what I had initially come for and that's to help in a humanitarian sense the people of Syria," he shared. "It had become something else."
ISIS burns 3 women alive for refusing order to execute civilians caught fleeing Mosul

As it continues to lose ground to Iraqi-led coalition forces, the Islamic State (ISIS) is lashing back at the remaining civilians in the areas it still controls, using even more brutal measures to intimidate and coerce them.

In the latest report of ISIS atrocities, three women who refused an order by the militants to "slaughter" fellow civilians were burned alive in Mosul, Iraqi News reported, citing eyewitness accounts.

The civilians had been caught trying to flee from the Wadi Akab area west of Mosul.

In previous similar incidents, the ISIS punished the escapees by ordering its own militants to execute them. This time though, the witnesses said, the ISIS asked the three civilian women to execute the escapees themselves.

When they refused the direct command, the ISIS militants ordered them executed instead by burning them alive. The sources did not say what happened to the escapees who were supposed to be executed.

In January this year, the ISIS reportedly burned alive a mother and her four children who were caught fleeing the caliphate.

The four children comprised of three girls and a nine-month-old boy. They were caught by ISIS militants in Hawija on their way to Kirkuk, a source told Iraqi News.

Upon capture, the mother and her children were bound, doused with petrol, and set ablaze, the source said, adding that this was done in front of a group of civilians.

News of the latest ISIS atrocity came as Iraqi-led coalition forces continue to gain more ground in their assault on the ISIS stronghold of Mosul.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has warned that "the worst is yet to come" as the coalition prepares for its final push to completely liberate the city, the second biggest in Iraq after Baghdad, from the jihadists.

The U.N. refugee agency estimates that about 400,000 residents remain trapped in Mosul's Old City, while as many as 600,000 remain trapped in Western Mosul, Reuters reported.

Bruno Geddo, a UNHCR representative in Iraq, told a news briefing that the people of Mosul are panicking and "desperate for food."

"The more you go without food, the more you become panicked and the more you want to run away," he said.

He said the trapped residents are resorting to various ways to escape Mosul without being spotted by ISIS fighters.

"We also heard stories of people running away under the cover of early morning fog, running away at night, of trying to run away at prayer time when the vigilance at ISIS checkpoints is lower," Geddo said.
'It's night and day': Churches in atheist Cuba see evangelical resurgence after decades of restriction

Churches in Cuba are seeing a resurgence; the country that previously repressed religious freedom is seeing tens of thousands gathering for evangelical worship every week.

The government of Fidel Castro oversaw tight restrictions on church organisation and activity, and Cuba has been a target of President Trump's administration and its efforts to protect religious freedom in the region. Nonetheless, the country is already seeing a sea change on the issue, according to Associated Press.

Cuba has been a predominantly atheist state during the Castro era  in the 1960s the Rev Juan Francisco Naranjo was sent to two years of labour camp for his evangelical preaching. Naranjo's church was subsequently stifled, and only a few attended.

Now, Naranjo's church is full of life. Naranjo died in 2000 but a recent Sunday saw his church gathering 200 worshippers for a Sunday service, proving clinical care for disabled children and hosting a Bible study group.

'In the 1960s, the few brothers and sisters who came here had to hide their Bibles in brown-paper covers,' said Esther Zulueta, a 57-year-old doctor. 'It's night and day.'

Cuba's government now recognises the freedom of religion, but doesn't allow religious groups to construct their own houses of worship, and has recently demolished various church buildings. Churches have been expanding their use of social services such as medical care and aid resources - previously exclusively operated by the Cuban government.

'There's a revival of these churches, of the most diverse denominations in the country, and all of them are growing, not just in the number of members, but in their capacity to lead and act in society,' said Joel Ortega Dopica, a Presbyterian pastor. Dopica is the president of Council of Churches of Cuba, an official association of 32 Protestant denominations. He says: 'There is religious freedom in Cuba.'

Cuba's 11 million population is 60 per cent baptized Catholic, and includes 40,000 Methodists and 100,000 Baptists. The Assemblies of God denomination has 120,000 members, when in the early 1990s it only has 10,000. Tensions have thawed somewhat over the years following activism from religious groups, and pastor's like Naranjo, advocating for better relationships between churches and the communist government.

The visit of Pope John Paul II in 1998 marked some new freedoms for Protestants and Catholics in Cuba.

In 2016 the advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide alleged in a report that the Cuban government has committed 2,380 violations of religious freedom, having declared 2,000 Assemblies of God church to be illegal and confiscating 1,400 of them.

The Assemblies of God treasurer in Cuba, Juan Whitaker, denied the allegation and said that none of its churches had been declared illegal. CSW maintain their statement, and said that refutations of their allegation could be explained by pressure from the government. They cite the stories of men like Juan Carlos Nunez and Bernardo de Quesada who had their homes demolished since they hadn't been constructed with official permits.

The homes had hosted hundreds of worshippers for weekly church gatherings.

Though tensions persist, the situation has clearly progressed since Castro's restrictions in the 1960s. The Rev Dorilin Tito, a pastor at William Carey Baptist Church, said: 'The Cuban authorities have understood the necessity of our presence and dialogue with the government, which still continues, even if we don't always agree.'
'NCIS' season 14 spoilers: Marine murdered during a war memorial tour; NCIS team seeks veteran's help on the case in episode 19

The team will be asking for the help of a cranky veteran to solve a murder case in episode 19 of "NCIS" season 14.

Titled "The Wall," the official synopsis for the upcoming episode reveals that an event called Honor Flight Network will be held. The non-profit occasion arranges trips for veterans to visit the World War II Memorial, the Korea Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., for free. However, disturbance occurs when a marine is murdered at the said event.

With this, the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) investigators look into the case. They learn that in order to solve it, they have no choice but to seek for the help of a crabby veteran named Henry Rogers (Bruce McGill), who fought in Vietnam several years ago. Rogers seems to know the details and whereabouts of the victim on the day he was murdered and the NCIS investigators have to ensure that they get information in order to catch the suspect.

On a lighter side, the summary also reveals that Senior Special Agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) and Special Agent Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham) look into a rumor pertaining to Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) and Alex Quinn (Jennifer Esposito). Having worked smoothly in past cases, their colleagues may start to think that the two are dating.

Of course, this is not the first time that Quinn is linked to a co-worker. Earlier this year, there were rumors that she may have a relationship with Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) since she was the only one who can speak to Gibbs as a peer and not just a co-worker.

However, Esposito clarified in an interview with Parade.com that Quinn and Gibbs are just friends.

She said, "I think they have a nice friendship, I really do. I think that's sometimes better than if you have a thing and things go sour. They have a nice friendship, and I'd like to see that stay that way."

Episode 19 of season 14 airs on Tuesday, March 28, at 8 p.m. EDT on CBS.
Prince George to attend Christian private school

Prince George will attend a Christian school in September, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have announced.

George, currently three-years-old, will turn four in July shortly before he starts at Thomas's Battersea in September. The 6,100 per term private school is a few miles from where the family will be living at Kensington Palace.

The preparatory school is Christian, its website states, and is 'open to children of all faiths'.

Pupils are discouraged from having best friends because it may lead to others feeling ostracised, the school adds, and the first rule is 'be kind'.

A statement from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, George's parents, read: 'Their Royal Highnesses are delighted to have found a school where they are confident George will have a happy and successful start to his education.'

The school's headmaster, Ben Thomas, said: 'We are honoured and delighted that their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen Thomas's Battersea for Prince George.

'We greatly look forward to welcoming him and all of our new pupils to the school in September.'

Currently based in Norfolk where Prince George goes to nursery at Westacre Montessori School, the family have announced they will move back to London as Prince William prepares to step up his royal duties.

Princess Charlotte, who will be two in May, is expected to start nursery in the summer.
Protest planned for 12-year-old Christian girl found murdered, possibly raped

Hundreds of people are expected to protest in Pakistan to demand justice for a 12-year-old Christian girl found dead in a canal in a case of suspected rape.

Tania Mariyam Gill was found dead in the Upper Chenab Canal in January. Police opened a murder investigation after pressure from her family and the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) and an autopsy was approved earlier this month.

'We hope Christians from across the nation will join us in support of justice for Tania Mariyam,' said Wilson Chowdry of the BPCA. 'Moreover this girl was a daughter of Pakistan so any people from other faiths shocked by the police insouciance and ongoing court delays are welcome to join in solidarity."

The BPCA is calling for a judicial review of the case and for CCTV footage from Tania Mariyam's last moments alive at her school to be released. The association has also launched a petition.

Nadeem Gill, Tania Mariyam's father, said: 'The police and courts of Pakistan have failed my beautiful daughter. Their delay may have destroyed any chance of proving she was poisoned.

'Despite several attempts to obtain the last video footage of Mariyam alive from the Convent of Jesus and Mary School, I still have not seen it.'

He added: 'I pray many of you will join us as my heart is full of sorrow and I cannot rest until the man who murdered my daughter is brought to justice. Please help me capture her killer if not he may kill and rape many other girls and other fathers will be in the same position as me.'

The protest will be at the Sailkot press club in Sialkot, Pakistan on April 1.

Chowdhry said: 'Christians have to show more unity if we are to defeat the ongoing attempts to supress our community. When an injustice occurs we cave in and just accept persecution and discrimination as if it is something we deserve  but that is not true.

'By coming together behind the cause of Tania Mariyam we speak out for an innocent Christian girl, killed before she could reach her prime. A girl who was murdered for her beauty and her vulnerability as a Christian.

'Tania Mariyam is the same age as my eldest daughter and as a father I have great empathy with Nadeem Gill  a father who feels alone and isolated in his campaign. I implore you all to help this struggling father to achieve justice for his daughter .'
'Traitors to the motherland': Church slams Mexico companies bidding for Trump wall contracts

Mexican companies interested in working on a border wall in the United States are betraying their country, according to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico.

An article in the archdiocese's weekly magazine, Desde la fe, is fiercely critical of Donald Trump's 'erratic' government and particularly his immigration and border control policies. It also slams the Mexican government and companies that collaborate with Trump, saying 'What is regrettable is that, on this side of the border, Mexicans are ready to collaborate with a fanatical project' that 'annihilates the good relationship' between the two countries.

It claims around 500 companies have expressed an interest in tendering for work on the border wall on the grounds that it is good for employment: 'For them, the end justifies the means.'

It says the wall is 'a monument of intimidation and silence, xenophobic hatred to silence the voices of poorly paid and ill-treated workers, unprotected families and abused persons'. It is 'a retreat from the noblest longings of mankind' and 'a prelude to the destruction of the values of democracy and social rights'.

The editorial concludes: 'Any company intent on investing in the wall of the Trump fanatic would be immoral, but above all, its shareholders and owners should be considered as traitors to the motherland.'

According to AP, economy secretary Ildefonso Guajardo says the government does not plan restrictions on companies, but warns that Mexicans will judge firms on whether they are 'loyal to the national identity'.

President Trump's failure to get his flagship repeal of Obamacare through Congress last week, with his attempt to ban immigration from various Muslim countries also stalled, has cast doubt on his ability to pass other contentious measures including the Mexico wall. The wall project faces unanswered questions over finance, geographical challenges and legal hurdles over land ownership.
WATCH: Former Islamic extremist who went from celebrating 9/11 to fighting radical Islam

A former Islamic extremist has shared his experiences on the inside of a jihadist cell, how he went from celebrating 9/11 to leaving the extremist group behind.

Adam Deen spent eight years as a leading member inside the Islamist extremist group Al-Muhajiroun. He described his experiences in an interview with UNILAD.

Deen was part of the group during al Qaeda's 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre. He described his feelings at the time: 'When the second tower was hit and it was confirmed that it was a terrorist attack. I felt a sense of elation, joy, happiness and it was payback.

'And we drove out on the streets of London honking the horn, and saying have you heard the news? America has been hit. It was almost like the chickens had come home to roost.'

Deen said his time with the Islamist group, which has been branded as 'ISIS-UK', began with a 'curiosity in the Islamic faith', with his questions not answered by his Islamic community. He was compelled by the preaching of Al-Muhajiroun when they came to his University.

Deen said: 'I felt they had a true understanding of the faith and that was my motive, what does it look like to be a good Muslim and live a good Islamic life.'

Al-Muhajiroun, who are now banned in the UK, were involved with about 70 terrorist plots. Deen described a typical insider's understanding of terrorism.

'The rationale behind such an attack would be to attack the British government, to punish them for what was perceived to be a war on Islam and a war on Muslims.

'For their invasion of Iraq, their aggressive foreign policy against Muslims and their cooperation with the United States of America. We wanted to make an impact, for them to realise they shouldn't meddle with Muslim affairs and that there is a consequence in targeting Muslims.'

However, in 2003 Deen was challenged and convicted about the celebration of mass-slaughter. He said: 'this woman approached me and she looked very distressed and she had tears in her eyes. And I looked at her and then she said: "My brother was in one of those towers and he died that day."

'Suddenly at that point everything froze for me. It was almost like someone stopped the music playing, the record suddenly jerks, everything just stopped. And I was actually faced with the human consequences of extremism and terrorism.'

The video interview has already sparked controversy online, with many in the UNILAD comments section expressing their anger or disbelief at Deen's story, and insisting that he be punished.

Either it's fake or I should be killed Shocking Level of hate that clouds reason: the comments for my @UNILAD video https://t.co/5l0lR2eF2z https://t.co/8svALn9OpK  Adam Deen (@adamdeen) March 27, 2017

Deen left the group in 2003. He now works to combat the extremist attitudes he once espoused, as the managing director of the Quilliam Foundation, a counter-extremism organisation. He also founded the Deen Institute, a Muslim debating forum encouraging critical engagement about Islam with British Muslims.

Deen said: 'This isn't a challenge for the next two, three or four years but for the next 20 years. Ultimately, we need to stand together, to stop young people becoming radicalised and attracted to extremism.'
'We used to worship in fear': The Islamic extremist who converted to Christ

A former acolyte of radical Islam is now a committed Christian, describing himself as a 'jihadi who turned to Jesus'.

Bashir Mohammad, 25 shared his story in a profile this weekend by the New York Times.

Less than four years ago, Mohammad was fighting in the Syrian civil war for the Nusra Front, a radical Islamist group born of Al Qaeda. Now he is a fervent convert to Christianity, leading weekly Bible reading groups.

Mohammad is clear that his journey was not expected: 'Frankly I would have slaughtered anyone who suggested it,' Mohammad says of his radicalised former self.

Mohammad grew up in a Muslim family in the Kurdish region of Afrin, northern Syria. As a teenager he listened to extreme jihadist preachers and followed radical interpretations of Islam with interest, after encouragement from his cousin.

He later joined the secular Kurdish forces fighting in Syria's civil war, but was disillusioned by the deaths he witnessed, which turned him back to the teachings of radical Islam.

'When I saw all these dead bodies,' he said, 'it made me believe all these things they said in the lectures. It made me seek the greatness of religion.' A friend invited him to join the extremist group the Nusra Front.

He witnessed intense brutality and torture, including seeing captives crushed by his colleagues with a bulldozer. 'They used to tell us these people were the enemies of God,' Mohammad said, 'and so I looked on these executions positively'.

For a time Mohammad was deeply indoctrinated in the group's philosophy. Eventually, having seen genocide on both sides of the war, he had had enough. 'I went to Nusra in search of my God. But after I saw Muslims killing Muslims, I realized there was something wrong.'

The cousin who had once inspired Mohammad with Jihadist teachings later became a Christian convert, and in time Mohammad would follow his lead once again. When Mohammad's wife Hevin Rashid became seriously ill in 2015, his cousin's intervention though his Christian prayer group moved an initially skeptical Mohammad.

An intrigued Mohammad sought an evangelical missionary called Eimad Brim, through whom he converted. He felt welcomed at churches, and was calmed by reading the Bible. Both he and his wife reported experiences of God in their dreams.

His defection from the jihadist group has made Mohammad a target from fundamentalist former-colleagues. He said he fears he may not be safe, but insisted that he trusts God.

'There's a big gap between the god I used to worship and the one I worship now,' Mohammad said. 'We used to worship in fear. Now everything has changed.'
What is behind the Russell Moore showdown with Southern Baptists?

The Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission has come under fire because its president, Russell Moore, frequently criticised Donald Trump while a Republican candidate and nominee for president  criticisms that often extended to his supporters. However, as the debate reached a boiling point and congregations began withholding funds from the SBC, the executive board of the ERLC met with Moore and released a statement affirming Moore and calling for unity.

This recent showdown within the Southern Baptist Convention over Russell Moore's opposition to Donald Trump and criticism of his supporters demands a broader context about the largest Protestant denomination in America and a critical examination of what is actually dividing the SBC. While Moore has been criticised for his tone about Trump supporters and his unwillingness to engage with the broader Republican field of nominees in the lead up to the 2016 election in America, he also represents a broadened SBC political agenda that is no longer firmly in the grip of the Republican party. Attempts to force Moore to resign must be seen within this wider struggle to determine the political future of the SBC.

Former ERLC chairman Richard Land capitalized on a movement of the Southern Baptist Convention's policies toward the right, both theologically and politically. As moderate politics and theological stances lost their hold in the SBC, the Republican agenda gradually became linked with the SBC's relatively narrow political priorities, especially for the ERLC.

While Land had taken steps toward racial reconciliation within the SBC, he dramatically undermined his progress by politicizing the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. During his radio program, Land commented that black political leaders were using Martin's death to 'gin up the black vote'. Land's remarks isolated him from SBC leaders who were focusing on racial reconciliation that had become a high priority in the midst of the election of Fred Luter, the first ever black president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Shortly after this debacle, Land resigned.

Russell Moore took over in 2013 and made racial reconciliation a top priority as SBC president. For instance, after a police officer used a banned choke hold to kill Eric Garner while he was being handcuffed, Moore remarked, "It's high time we start listening to our African American brothers and sisters in this country when they tell us they are experiencing a problem."

Beyond making racial justice and reconciliation a top priority in the ERLC, Moore also broadened the agenda to include immigration reform. In particular, Moore broke from the hardline Republican opposition to a path to citizenship and, most recently, signed the Evangelical Immigration TableSyrian Refugee Letter in opposition to the policies of Donald Trump. When a mosque in northern New Jersey filed a lawsuit against its township over zoning opposition to its new building, Moore signed on the ERLC in support of the brief. While Moore saw the mosque as a broader religious freedom issue, many in the SBC viewed the case as outside the concerns of their denomination.

Moore is surely controversial, but he is hardly alone in his attempts to broader the agenda of the ERLC and the SBC in general beyond the increasingly extreme policies of the Republican party that appear to be hardly recognisable when compared to those of Ronald Reagan in the 1980's who, for instance, took a softer stance on undocumented immigrants and supported commonsense gun laws. A 2015 SBC pastors conference received significant pushback from a group of young Reformed pastors opposed to inviting Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson. The group believed that the inclusion of Republican nominees at such events only added to the perception that the SBC was one and the same with the Republican party, thus harming the group's witness.

Most telling about the future of the SBC and politics is a letter from Byron J. Day, President of the National African American Fellowship of the SBC, a group with over 4,000 member churches. Day encouraged the aggrieved SBC pastors to privately move toward reconciliation, adding his own endorsement of Moore:

'Russell Moore has done nothing worthy of discipline or firing. He has not violated The Baptist Faith and Message and, in fact, has been outstanding as president of the ERLC. He has represented all Southern Baptists, contending for the highly visible ethical issues of abortion and biblical marriage; but he has also addressed social injustices such as racism which have been long overlooked.'

While the board of the ERLC appears to support Moore and welcome his vision for the future, fractures remain that will most likely appear again in the midst of the Trump administration's extreme agenda that has selectively focused on a narrow group of policies aimed at appeasing his evangelical Christian supporters. As concerns over immigration, freedom of religion, and racial justice loom large over Trump's presidency, we shouldn't be surprised to see opposition to Moore rise again.

There may be legitimate critiques of Moore's tone and casual thumbnail sketches of Christian groups throughout the election. Moore himself has admitted his failures and apologized for them. It's possible that these fractures could be of his own making in some cases, but it's far more likely that any opposition to Trump would be met with the same resistance in light of existing divisions in the SBC.

Protestants outside of the SBC, such as myself, surely welcome the attempts of Moore to steer a less partisan course, critically engaging in immigration reform and racial justice outside of a partisan script. The greater concern is whether the SBC will hold onto Moore's moderate agenda while the Trump administration shoves the Republican party, and many SBC members along with him, further to the right.

Ed Cyzewski is the author of 'A Christian Survival Guide' and 'Pray, Write, Grow'. He writes at www.edcyzewski.com and is on Twitter as @edcyzewski.
What is the battle for Mosul about and why does it matter?

With all the headlines Islamic State is still capable of generating, it is nevertheless in the end-game of its dream of an Islamic caliphate. Coalition forces are attacking its Iraq base in Mosul, and the streams of refugees and slow recapture of its territory and telling a story of defeat. But the human cost is horrifying  and rising.

Why does Mosul matter?

The city has huge symbolic and strategic value. Mosul is the headquarters of Islamic State in Iraq and its fall to no more than 1,500 IS fighters in June 2014 heralded the growth of the organisation to control vast swathes of terrority. It was in the city's Great Mosque that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the so-called 'caliphate', an Islamically-governed region spanning Iraq and Syria. It was previously a diverse city of 2.5 million people; its large Christian population was all driven out by IS. Recapturing it would represent a decisive blow against IS, whose last major stronghold in the country it is, though terrorist activity is expected to continue.

Why did it fall so easily?

Iraq's armed forces were corrupt and incompetent, but a key factor was the deep division between the country's Shia governing class and its largely Sunni population. IS represented the Sunnis, though in the most extreme form, and had a good deal of local support.

What was life like there?

IS imposed its fundamentalist ideology on the city and its inhabitants. In a church liberated by Iraqi government forces a list of 14 rules of behaviour has been found scrawled on the walls: these include penalties for drinking and smoking, a prohibition on women leaving the house if it is not necessary and the death penalty for blasphemy. In recent weeks the danger and privation has been extreme.

What's happening now?

After a long period of preparation, a retrained and revitalised Iraqi army supported by US-led air power and around 1,000 US troops is retaking the city. It has already taken the eastern half, but the battle for the western half is much harder. It's the older part of Mosul, with narrow streets and alleys unsuitable for armoured vehicles, and IS has had a long time to prepare the ground. Furthermore, IS continues to use civilians as hostages; the coalition forces are extremely reluctant to press attacks home if it means substantial civilian casualties.

Are civilians being injured?

Yes, all the time. Monitoring group Airwars suggests there may have been up to 1,000 deaths from airstrikes in March alone. But a blast on March 17 has been particularly controversial, with some eyewitnesses claimed a US-led airstrike hit buildings that collapsed, killing up to 200 people. However, the Iraqi military says there was no sign of an airstrike and that it was an IS bomb. IS is also accused of using chemical weapons.

Why aren't the civilians leaving?

Many are, though IS fighters shoot them if they see them going. There has been a huge exodus of refugees, now amounting to 433,000. The UN says that a total of 1.5 million could leave their homes in the face of the advancing battle. There is already cholera in IS-controlled Western Mosul and reports of widespread hunger. Among the Christian organisations working in the region are Tearfund, World Vision and Samaritans' Purse.

Another is IHP, a medical aid charity that provides donated medicines to refugees and displaced people, including in Erbil where many refugees from Mosul are living.

What will happen next?

IS will be defeated in Mosul, but the fear is that the cost to civilians will be tragically high. Furthermore, there are questions about how the city  and Iraq in general  will recover. Billions of dollars worth of damage has been caused, but also the region's ancient communities  including the Christian community  have been shattered, with some predicting many of the exiles will never return. There are continuing fears about security, with many heavily-armed militia groups reluctant to give up their weapons. And regional players like Turkey and Iran are making it even more difficult for the Iraqi government to restore anything like stability. There are still questions about whether Iraq can even survive as a unified state, with many in Kurdistan expecting independence. The divisions within the country, not least between Shias and Sunnis, mean that even after Mosul's recapture, Iraq may still be a long way from peace.
Will and Kate attend church without Prince George - because he's too noisy!

Prince George was not present during the royal family's traditional Christmas Day church service.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who is five months pregnant with her second child, apologised to crowds for leaving their 17-month-old son at home.

The Duchess of Cambridge told an eight-year-old Maddison Neal, who gave Kate a Milky Bar selection box for George, that the toddler was with his nanny.

"I'm sorry we didn't bring George but you would have heard him in the church," Kate said.

William also told the crowd of about 2,000 well-wishers that their child was well but had been left in the nursery due to the cold weather.

"But they were looking forward to going back to see what destruction he's created. George was having a lovely day," Kim Dawson, who had a chance to chat with Prince William with her mother, told the Mail.

The royal couple, who walked to church hand in hand, joined the Queen and other members of the family, including Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, and Prince Harry for the service at St Mary Magdalene Church near the private Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

Kate's parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, and her siblings, James and Pippa, were also spotted among the guests to the church that day.

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, was also not present among the congregation due to a bad back.

After the service, the Queen did not stop to take flowers from waiting children and instead went straight to her car, while the rest of the royals stayed and spoke with the crowds.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, together with baby George and the Middletons, were spending the Christmas holiday at Anmer Hall, the couple's new country house located on the Sandringham estate.

Norfolk locals said they have seen the Duchess out and about shopping and at local parks with George. According to the Mail, the young prince even toured Santa's Magical Journey at Thursford the other week.
Texas native Selena Gomez and her boyfriend since January, The Weeknd, traveled to Brazil as a part of his world tour last weekend. As they left the airport, video shared on Twitter shows the pair being swarmed by dozens of fans in Brazil trying to get a glimpse of the pop stars.

COME AND GET IT: Selena Gomez is selling her $2.9 million Fort Worth mansion
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THE CONCEPT

A casual neighborhood restaurant serving Gulf Coast-influenced American fare in the former home of Zelko Bistro in the Heights. It's the first venture from popular local chef Travis Lenig, who previously helped launch the Liberty Kitchen brand, in partnership with Christopher "Chico" Ramirez, who also owns Cajun joint The Boot nearby.

THE SPACE

Overseen by Ramirez's wife, Wyndy Ramirez, of Wynne Design Works, the 54-seat dining room is at once airy and intimate. Shabby-chic oak tables and whitewashed chairs mingle with padded banquettes beneath a lighting fixture made of fused antlers and hanging bulbs. Other details in the built-out bungalow: wine-crate paneling and a bar fronted by decorative wood disks and topped in gleaming copper.

THE FOOD

Lenig's style mirrors the way Houston eats with Asian, Italian, Mexican and Gulf Coast influences coloring his American bistro fare. The menu begins with starters such as smoked fish dip; pimento cheese fritters with pepper jelly; crudo; crispy fried oysters and Brussels sprouts with a chile honey glaze; and chicken wings with a sticky sambal glaze. Entrees might include pan-seared scallops on shrimp and crab risotto; pan-seared Gulf snapper on lemon herb risotto; roasted rack of venison with poblano chile mash; pecan-crusted flounder with crab tasso butter; duck confit leg on corn pudding; and hanger steak au poivre with bourbon demi glaze and french fries.

THE DRINKS

Beverage director Monique Hernandez's cocktail list entices with drinks such as the Rip Tide (gin, maraschino liqueur, creme de violette and lemon juice) and Plunge Point (pineapple-infused vodka, blood orange liqueur and sparkling wine). The approachable wine list features fairly priced bottles that marry well with Lenig's food.

ONE MORE THING

The restaurant's patio offers 24 additional seats, and eventually the adjacent former gas station will open as a separate lounge/bar with a smaller food menu should Field & Tides diners prefer to eat there.

THE DETAILS

705 E. 11th, 713-861-6143; fieldandtides.com. Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturdays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays
Dear Abby:

My 21-year-old daughter has a 6-month-old child. The father is a 36-year-old man who was recently deported to Mexico. He continues to contact her and wants her to travel to Mexico to visit him. I am terrified of all the things that could happen to her if she goes.

I don't trust him. I keep thinking, will he try to keep the baby? Will he try to keep them both or entice her to do something illegal? (He had an earlier felony conviction.) Am I overreacting? How can I get her to recognize that these types of things happen all the time?

Mother in Illinois

Dear Mother:

The most important thing you can do right now is calm down. Your daughter is an adult, and you need to treat her like one. You are within your rights to express your concern, but if she wants to go, you cannot stop her.

If I were her mother, I'd approach it this way: Offer to take care of your grandchild while she visits the baby's daddy. That way she can get a look at how he's living and what he is doing. Suggest she take lots of photos with her. But unless she is absolutely sure that the environment is safe for her child, the little one should stay north of the border.

Dear Abby:

My boyfriend's friend "Keira" moved back here to help take care of his mom. He has known her for more than 10 years. They didn't have an intimate relationship. He's very loving toward me and treats me like gold. The problem I have is, he doesn't understand how some things bother me.

For instance, when the three of us went to dinner, they were sharing food by feeding each other. When I asked him why he didn't put some food on a plate and give it to her, he didn't have an answer. Also, they watch TV in bed together. He thinks these are normal "friend things" to do.

I'm not a jealous person, but I have my limits. We don't live close, so we see each other only a few times a week. Keira doesn't pay anything to live there. He said she has nowhere to go, and it was his agreement with her that if she came home with him she would always have a place to stay.

I like her, but sometimes feel like I'm dating both of them. She fixes things around the house, and he lets her borrow his car for work. Am I just being petty?

Third Wheel in the East

Dear Third Wheel:

Forgive me if this seems negative, but your boyfriend's primary relationship seems to be with the girl who is living with him 24/7 and watching television in his bed rather than with you.

Step back and look at it rationally: Keira's living with him, taking care of the house and his mother, spending time in his bed, hand-feeding him, and the few times a week you see him, she's coming along. He may treat you like gold, but it looks more like fool's gold to me.

DearAbby.comDear AbbyP.O. Box 69440Los Angeles, CA 90069Universal Press Syndicate
Jimmy "Louisiana" Dotson's nickname connected him to Texas' neighbor to the east, but the blues player estimated he'd lived in at least 20 places during his career, eventually settling in Houston in the 1990s where he started the band Antique Funk.

Dotson, who played with soul legend Aretha Franklin and blues greats like Slim Harpo and Albert King, died over the weekend after several years of ill health that included a heart attack, a stroke and complications from diabetes. He was 82.

Local blues player Sonny Boy Terry called him "a very inventive guy," describing his music as "a hybrid, it's part Ray Brown and part Ray Charles."

Dotson was born near Baton Rouge. After a failed attempt to get a career going in New York he returned to Louisiana and played drums with the Rhythm Ramblers. In the 1950s he played alongside Harpo, Ivory Joe Hunter and Lightning Slim, among others. He migrated up to Memphis for a while, and then crossed the river into Arkansas, where he hooked up with King, who he referred to as "a mean character."

RECORD ART: The iconic album covers of Don Hunstein

After playing with King, Dotson moved away from the drums when Son Seals taught him how to play guitar. Dotson also played bass and piano, making him a valuable asset for recording sessions in Memphis in the '60s.

He cut a 45, but didn't really make a name for himself as a solo artist, so Dotson made his living as a traveling salesman, which he made his job for more than 30 years. He was a fixture on Houston's blues scene starting in the 1990s, though in the early 2000s his health curbed his performance schedule. The Houston Blues Society had a benefit in his honor in 2014 to help offset his medical bills.

"I miss playing. I miss it very much," he told the Chronicle at the time. "That's a good feeling when you're playing, and you see happy faces. Feeling good about what you're doing."
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Would it be too easy to label Theatre Under the Stars' "Dreamgirls"-inspired gala as dreamy? Regardless, the descriptor fits the bill.

Saturday's watercolor sunset painted an ideal backdrop for TUTS' "One Night Only" soiree at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Light poured in through the Grand Lobby's floor-to-ceiling windows as bulbs flashed indoors, too. Dueling photo booths and an eight-foot graffiti-wall ode to TUTS in the Heights does equal Instagram story gold, after all.

And then there were the outfits. While dozens of guests dressed in shimmering gowns and 1970s frocks, as the Motown-theme would suggest, a handful of sartorially-inclined attendees aimed for the stars. Jerry Ann Costa dazzled in Gucci sequins, local designer Andrew Drayton escorted living model Han Jiang around the cocktail reception, and event co-chair Paul-David Van Atta was impossible to miss in his brocade suit jacket. Richard Brown (whose eponymous Richard Brown Orchestra would later rock the fete's Grand Finale After-Party) wowed in an electric blue tuxedo and paisley dress shirt that hinted at the lively program to come, and in case there was any question, honoree Margaret Alkek Williams' earlobe-to-toe purple ensemble (her favorite hue) confirmed the color-washed scene inside the Sarofim Grand Hall.

IN PICTURES: The best 100 photos from the Houston Rodeo

Lilac, lavender, and violet blanketed the stage set for dinner under the Joe and Lee Jamail Celestial Dome Ceiling. There, some 400 patrons were seated at tables marked by periwinkle hydrangea and edible chocolate compact discs.

"The thing you should know about Paul-David, is that sometimes at the end of a meeting, a bottle of scotch appears," Bart McAndrews, a fellow co-chair alongside with his wife, Becky McAndrews, said of Van Atta's planning tactics. "Working with TUTS, if you have an idea, it gets done; unless, you have an idea and they say, 'we already did that two days ago.'"

Indeed, the soiree was an explosion of activity from start to finish. Board chairwoman Amy Pierce surprised Williams with pre-recorded well-wishes from Sheryl Lee Ralph, the Tony Award-winning actress known for her role in the original "Dreamgirls" Broadway musical.

Later, after Culinaire's filet mignon "Diane," cast members from Sheldon Epps' upcoming rendition of the play dazzled gala-goers with a teaser performance.

BRONZE PEACOCK: Legendary Houston music landmark torn down

Bidding wars over an "In the Heights" New York City trip  which includes a meet-and-greet with "Hamilton" actor Anthony Lee Medina  and "An American in Paris" jaunt presented by Van Cleef & Arpels followed next; both hot ticket items contributed to the nearly $700,000 raised toward TUTS educational programs: Humphreys School of Musical Theatre, the River Performing and Visual Arts Center, and musicals for young audiences and community engagement.

Afterwards, Grand Finale After-Party co-chairs David Peck and Hector Villarreal directed guests back to the Grand Lobby for dessert and dancing. A fresh batch of supporters including Laura Max and Ben Rose, Liz and Stephen Jones, Tammy Greene Dowe, and Anika Jackson joined the late-night festivities.

If the word of the evening was "dreamy," then #dontwakemeup proved the only suitable (albeit highly unofficial) hashtag.
Loyal customers of two River Oaks restaurants were alarmed when they learned in late February that property owners, Weingarten Realty Investors, are planning a 30-story, high-rise development that will displace three existing businesses in the River Oaks Shopping Center that sits on West Gray and Shepherd, a block from the high-end homes of River Oaks. The shops are at the epicenter of Houston's affluence.

Managers of Cafe Ginger and Local Pour, two popular spots in the center, and are adjacent to each other and say that one TV news channel made a mistake when they reported demolition will begin this year to make way for the mixed-use high-rise, and that has caused some confusion.

"Customers are confused," said John Tang, manager at Cafe Ginger. "We are getting a lot of phone calls, they think we are moving this year."

General Manager at Local Pour, John Maxwell said his team has been fielding the same calls all week.

But the cafe and bar both said they have leases that are in effect until the early part of 2018, and will remain in business at their current locations until demolition begins in April of 2018. Work is scheduled to be completed in 2021.

Tang, of Cafe Ginger, said the owners of the restaurant already have another location in the works, just a few blocks away on West Gray.

Maxwell from Local Pour said they haven't found a new location yet, but they do want to stay in River Oaks.

More luxury, residential high-rises coming to Houston isn't surprising as they've been popping up all over inner-loop neighborhoods in the past 10 years, but for the street that sits on the edge of Montrose, it's not an entirely welcomed development.

The Montrose neighborhood has long been known as the "anti-downtown" downtown neighborhood. In the 1970s and 80s it attracted more gay and lesbian residents than any other part of town, as well as artists and boutique businesses like Magick Cauldron - which calls itself "Houston's Premier Pagan Religious Supplier" - and more recently the slew of modern, award-winning restaurants and bars at Montrose Blvd. and Westheimer Ave.

It doesn't take long as you travel east down West Gray, toward Montrose and away from the ritzy homes of River Oaks, to feel the street transform from the new and monied developments to the older, eclectic small businesses.

On the way is River Oaks Chakra Center, owned by a Ashley Evans. She offers tarot card and psychic readings in a row of older homes that also house Thai Massage and art supply shops. She's been in Houston for six years and said the luxury apartments could change the neighborhood even more.

"I think it will take away the uniqueness of the area that's already here," she said.

Her shop is only a few blocks away from AMLI River Oaks, a luxury condominium building that showed up in 2013. Less than a mile from AMLI, on Montrose and Hyde Park Boulevard, a sign has gone up on an empty lot for another residential development called City Place.
Boys and Girls Country will hold its 39th Spring Festival on Saturday, May 6, at 18806 Roberts Road, Hockley.

Spring Festival is a family event featuring games, activities and food for all ages. New this year is the addition of Christian music and headlining the event is KB. Other acts include Tedashii, Hollyn and the Robbie Seay Band.

Activities and games are planned between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. when food booths will be open. Food trucks will arrive at 4 p.m. The music festival is scheduled for 2-8 p.m.

Spring Festival began 38 years ago as a picnic hosted by the Boys and Girls Country Women's Auxiliary and has grown to an event that brings more than 3,500 people to the campus in Hockley.

Event Chairs Bill and Celia Aimone are helping raise funds for Boys and Girls Country.

"We are excited to chair what has become a family tradition on the Boys and Girls Country campus. Not only is it fun for everyone, but it raises vital funds to care for more than 100 children and young adults that call Boys and Girls Country home. This year's addition of Christian music is an exciting change, and we hope to see everyone out there! There is truly something for everyone at this year's Spring Festival."

Trenegy, a Houston-based management consulting firm, is a premier-level event sponsor.

Boys and Girls Country has provided a safe and nurturing place for 1,435 youth who are now responsible contributing adults. The agency does not rely on federal or state grants for ongoing support and is not a United Way member agency. Contributions come from individuals, businesses, civic groups, churches, and foundations.

Visit www.boysangirlscountry.org to learn more about Boys and Girls Country and to purchase festival tickets.

The pre-event cost is $20 plus fees for ages 13 and up; at the gate it becomes $25 plus fees.

For ages 6-12, pre-event cost is $10 plus fees. The cost increases by $5 at the gate. Admission is free for children ages 5 and younger. Parking is free.
Mattress Mack wins record $75M on Astros World Series bets The Houston superfan just cashed the largest legal sports bet payout in U.S. history.

Astros Space City gear is a fashion grand slam Whats a bigger hit than an Alvarez home run? It could be you.
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Carolyn Randall is enthralled by words. She's been so as long as her 90-year-old memory can recall.

Decades before she'd create the Texas State Library's audiobook recording studio, a project that has helped thousands of blind and impaired people, Randall was a bookworm growing up in Champaign, Illinois. She read historical fiction and scripts by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

"I was a slow reader," said Randall, now a Houston resident. "I paid attention to each word."

She majored in speech at the University of Illinois, but she was unsure how she would apply her skills. She worked as a radio DJ for some time. The wife of an Army lieutenant, Randall and her husband, Howard, moved several times before settling in Houston in the 1950s.

Shortly after, Randall heard that the University of Houston needed help to record audiobooks. She began volunteering weekly.

In the late 1960s, Robert Levy founded what was then Taping for the Blind, a Houston audiobook and radio program now called Sight into Sound. The news made its way to Randall, who, upon hearing it, remembered an uncle who had once said he needed audiobooks while recovering from cataract surgery. She had an idea.

"I thought, 'I can do this in an even better way than at the University of Houston,'" Randall said. "That's how I really got started."

She stayed with the program for about 10 years before moving with Howard to Austin.

Living in the capitol meant an opportunity to volunteer at the state library.

Randall couldn't pass it up. She began with small tasks, "filing whatever they needed," she said. But she quickly cultivated relationships. She also noticed there was no state-sponsored studio to record audiobooks. The library's Talking Book Program had for decades used an audiobooks archive provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. But no state resource existed for audiobooks and authors specific to Texas.

Randall lobbied for funding to outfit a room with recording booths. Volunteers were recruited, and the studio was born in 1978, with Randall as its director.

"We all knew long ago that Carolyn was a woman of words," said Barbara Hornbeck, a longtime friend. "She was just so interested in words and books and readings much more so than the regular person. That program was natural for her."

Almost 40 years later, more than 5,000 titles (books, magazines, etc.) have been recorded at the studio, which in total has a collection of more than 10,000 titles in multiple languages. The studio has about 100 volunteers, and it services roughly 18,000 blind and impaired people statewide. It also offers some books in braille.

It's a program that runs off little funding and is barely known to the public. But to those who have needed its service - the many whose physical abilities have failed them - it's changed everything. Inside the small operation that is the Talking Book Program, Randall is a legend.

"The most common thing we hear from our patrons is the phrase, 'lifeline,'" said S. Miles Lewis, a successor of Randall's studio. "This program provides materials that makes their lives so much better. If she hadn't founded it, I don't know who would've."

Randall left the program in the late 1990s. She and Howard moved back to the Houston area about six years ago.

Howard developed macular degeneration in his eyes, so he, too, began using the program Randall spent about 20 years refining. Howard died in 2012, and Randall has been living at the Parkway Place, a senior living residence in west Houston.

Words continue to captivate her days. Randall is the residence's librarian and leader of its book club.

There's irony in all she's accomplished. While she's aided many, she's most grateful about the help they've given her: The chance to keep words alive  even when barriers exist.

"The program," Randall said, "was one of the most rewarding things in my life."
Learn about SS and Medicare March 29

Andrew Hardwick, a Metropolitan Public Affairs Specialist for the Social Security Administration, will present "Understanding Social Security" on Wednesday, March 29, beginning at 6:30 p.m., at the First Colony Branch Library, 2121 Austin Parkway in Sugar Land. Hardwick will provide an overview of the Social Security program. Learn how and when to apply for retirement benefits and Medicare, and the differences between Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D. He will also discuss survivor and disability benefits and retirement planning. The presentation is free. For more information, call 281-238-2800 or 281-633-4734.

Lunch series highlights Rosenberg Crime Prevention Unit

Meet with Lt. Chad Pino of the Rosenberg Police Department Crime Prevention Unit at the Central Fort Bend Chamber's Working Lunch Series on Business Safety & Crime Prevention and learn how to better protect yourself, your employees and your business against criminal activity. The luncheon will be at the Fort Bend Country Club, 2627 FM 762 Road, Richmond, on March 31 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The department is scheduled to introduce its newest program "Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS)". The Working Lunch Series is $25  the cost of lunch. To register go to www.cfbca.org/events or contact Debbie Kilen at 281-342-5464.

TSTC Open House set

Texas State Technical College will hold an open house at its Fort Bend campus, 26706 Southwest Freeway, Rosenberg, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. March 31. Tour industry-standard instructional facilities, learn about admissions and financial aid and visit with faculty and staff. Visit tstc.edu/campuses/openhouse to serve a spot.

Reading between the Wines March 31

Reading between the Wines, a fundraiser to benefit the Literacy Council of Fort Bend County, will be 6:30-11 p.m. p.m. March 31 at Safari Texas Ranch, 11627 FM 1464 in Richmond. Keynote speaker is Candace Bushnell, author of "Sex and the City" and "Lipstick Jungle." Contact Emily Stuart for tickets at estuart@ftbendliteracy.org or 281-240-8181. Visit www.ftbendliteracy.org for information.

Jewelry Treasure Hunt kicks off Spring Arts Festival

Historic Downtown Rosenberg is being invaded. On April 1, a band of marauding buccaneers will descend upon downtown to introduce the Dostal's Jewelry Treasure Hunt game, kicking off the Second Annual Spring Arts Festival, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Join the seafaring cut-throats, the "Brazos River-Pirates" to pursue the Grand Prize-a half carat diamond ring donated by Dostal's Jewelry Store and estimated to be worth more than $1,500. Treasure-seekers can enter the contest by stopping by the Pirate Tent on Avenue G, downtown, during the Spring Arts Festival, which will feature Al Sulak and the Country Sounds. There, they will obtain a "Pirate Passport" and treasure map to kick off the fun and adventure. Winners will be announced and prizes distributed at 4 p.m. on April 1.

Sapphires host spring show

Needville Sapphires Dance Team's second annual spring show will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 1, in the high school cafeteria and the auditorium, 100 Fritzella St., Needville. Cost is $10 for spaghetti lunch and a show by the Sapphires, and the event includes a silent auction. A mini dance clinic will be held for children in grades kindergarten through 11, with various age groups learning routines and performing them during the show. Cost for the mini camp is $35, and includes a T-shirt and the meal. Tickets are available from any Sapphires Dance Team member or Booster Club member, at Amegy Bank in Needville, or by calling 713-870-9710.

Jordan Ranch hosts Crawfish Boil

Platters of mudbugs are on the menu during the Crawfish Boil in Jordan Ranch Saturday, April 1, at 30722 Sonora Ridge Drive.

Enjoy Cajun-style crawfish and all the fixings noon to 4 p.m. plus beer, live music by party band Bayou Roux and model home tours. A Kid Zone with face painters, bounce houses and other activities will keep children entertained. Food trucks will be on hand with food and beverages for purchase. Admission is free and donations are being accepted for the March of Dimes. Visit www.jordanranchtexas.com for information.

Teen Academy deadline extended

The Sugar Land Police Department is extending the application deadline for its first ever Teen Academy to April 3 at 5 p.m. The two-week academy will be at the Sugar Land Police Department from June 12-23. Those interested must commit to attend all sessions, which will be held Mondays through Fridays, from 8 a.m. to noon. Students between the age of 14 to 18 who are enrolled in public or private schools within the city of Sugar Land and its extra-territorial jurisdiction will be considered. For more information, visit www.sugarlandtx.gov/PDteenAcademy or contact Officer Lauren Stockholm at 281-275-2956.

OakBend's 'Power of the Pur$e' setfor April 6

Volunteers of OakBend Medical Center are holding their second Power of the Pur$e fundraiser to raise money that will be donated to the renovation of the hospital's Skilled Nursing Unit. Each year, the volunteers donate money that has been raised through various events such as craft and bake sales and through the sales of popcorn, pickles and items in the gift shop. Last year, the volunteers raised $17,000 at the Power of the Purse to help with renovations in the Skilled Nursing Unit, the only part of the original hospital. This year's event will take place on Thursday, April 6, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Safari Texas and include a lunch and a silent auction of a variety of purses ranging from everday purses to designer bags. Melissa Wilson of Fox 26 will be emcee. Keynote speaker will be LaDonna Gatlin, sister of County Music's Gatlin Bros., a performer, professional speaker and author. Tickets may be purchased at www.oakbendmedcenter.org under the events section or call 281-341-2864. Email ldrummond@obmc.org for information.

Missouri City hosts MCTX Fest April 8

Join the Show Me City's first MCTX Fest on Saturday, April 8, from noon  9 p.m. at 5855 Sienna Springs Way. The new parks program will feature a day full of live music, an art market and food from local restaurants such as Brandani's and Soto's Kitchen. Festival headliner will be Blue Water Highway and artists such as Griffin House. Entry is free, though food and beverages will be available for purchase. Food and art/goods vendor applications are now available; deadline for submission is Friday, March 17. Email recreation specialist Julia Montgomery at julia.montgomery@missouricitytx.gov for more information.

Pet Health and Wellness Day planned

Katy Communitiy ' Chip Clinic will offer $5 microchips with free, lifetime registration at the Simonton Pet Health & Wellness Day 10 a.m.-1 p.m. April 8 in front of Simonton City Hall, 50011 FM 1093, Simonton. The clinic is cash only. Pet owners must bring paperwork showing current rabies vaccinations and must have valid email address.

Visit : https://www.facebook.com/KatyCommunityChipClinic/ for information.
The Houston Fire Department HFD) responded to a group home fire on the 12000 block of Corona Lane at 4:23 a.m. Thursday, March 23, 2017.

The HFD was reportedly on location within six minutes of notification. According to the incident commander, all 29 occupants and owner had self-evacuated from the structure prior to HFD units arriving on location.
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A teenager battling stage 4 cancer died Sunday, just four days after meeting her idol, Beyonce Knowles, over FaceTime.

Ebony Banks was being treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center. The news of her death was released Sunday and a vigil gathered to celebrate her life that night. At the vigil, classmates, family and friends gathered at LeRoy Crump Stadium to sing a few of Beyonce's songs to honor the teen.

Banks' battle against stage 4 cancer kept her out of the classroom for most of the year, and in an effort to make her dreams come true, her friends started the hashtag #EBOBMEETSBEYONCE on social media.

LIKE BEYONCE: Woman is flooded with haters online because she looks like Beyonce

The Beyhive got the word to Queen Bey herself and she dialed up the high school senior's iPhone for a FaceTime call.

A slew of "I love yous" were shared as well as best wishes from Beyonce to Banks.

Earlier in March, the high school senior was able to graduate early during her stay in the hospital.

Click through the gallery above to see photos of Banks and Beyonce's FaceTime and continue clicking to see the top photos of Beyonce through the years.

PREGANACY ANNOUNCEMENT: People everywhere are trying the #BeyonceChallenge
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Needville meeting to boost public education

Needville Independent School District will host a grassroots meeting for school board members throughout District 18 at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, at the high school, 100 Fritzella St. in Needville. The meeting will take place in the Large Group Instruction room, but may be moved to the auditorium depending on the size of the crowd.

Needville school board trustee Chris Janicek said the purpose of the meeting is to promote public education in Texas.

He said a representative from the office of state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, will be on hand, and the offices of State Rep. Phil Stephenson, R-Wharton, State Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, and State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, may send representatives as well.

"This is a promotional effort by the school board members and school districts of District 18 to get information out about Texas public education and just how much goes on that most folks don't realize," Janicek said. "We want to let everyone know just how important Texas public schools are. And we need finance from state government."

Legislators are currently in session, and Janicek said there's no way to know, at this point, how much funding will be available for public schools for the upcoming school year.

In addition, said Janicek, charter schools and private schools are seeking funding from the state for their operations.

"If that is approved and the funding comes from the state budget," he said, "it would cut into public education funding."

Janicek is urging all current and retired teachers to call their legislators and voice their support for the Teacher Retirement System, and urges all District 18 residents to call their legislators to voice support of public education.

FBISD plans April 1 job fair

Fort Bend Independent School District is seeking applicants to fill positions as teachers, campus administrators, paraprofessionals, auxiliary support and central office staff. Individuals interested in attending this event are asked to bring multiple copies of their resumes and dress in business casual attire. Interviews and offers of employment will take place onsite.

The event will be from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. April 1 at Constellation Stadium, 1 Stadium Drive in Sugar Land.

Registration will be available onsite on the day of the event.

Email Talent.Acquisition@fortbendisd.com for information.

Needville promotes assistant band director

Assistant Band Director Lance Finley will replace David Stubbs as Needville Independent School District's new band director when Stubbs retires at the end of the school year.

Finley is a 2000 graduate of B.F. Terry High School in Rosenberg and a 2005 graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University. He taught one year at La Marque ISD before coming to Needville in 2006.

"We're looking forward to a seamless transition," Rhodes said, adding both men "have done a tremendous job."

Stubbs has spent his entire 39-year career at Needville ISD, and said he is looking forward to spending time with his grandchildren, traveling, and serving as a judge at various band contests.

Global Academy hosted in Fort Bend

The Fort Bend ISD Global Studies Academy equips students to effectively solve the challenges society will face in the future while developing as multi-faceted global citizens.

The four-year academic program culminates in the senior year Capstone course, which allows students to blend their personal educational interests and skills to study a topic of their own selection under the guidance of a campus and a community mentor. Several senior students will present highlights of their Capstone experience, and the Academy Coordinator, Anne Beckman, will discuss the academic program and community mentor opportunities. This event will be at the Fort Bend Annex Building, 3119 Sweetwater Blvd., Sugar Land, from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. April 7. Individual reservations are $10.

Missouri Students help in Stafford

University of Missouri college students will spend spring break in Stafford as volunteers working with the Creative Dreams Outreach Center.

The 10 to 12 students will be in Stafford through April 2 at the Creative Dreams Outreach Center, 2610 Ruth Ave., Stafford.

This trip is part of the Mizzou Alternative Breaks program, based at the University of Missouri. Founded in 1991, MAB is led completely by students. From the board of directors to the site leaders, every participant is a Mizzou student. Spring break service trips provide Mizzou students the opportunity to gain a wider perspective of the world while immersed in a life-changing week of service to people and communities around the world.

Creative Dreams Outreach Center is a non-profit after school arts and tutoring program for middle and high school students. The organization offers free art, dance and music lessons as well as academic tutoring.

DI Teams head to state competition

Fort Bend ISD will send students from seven FBISD Destination Imagination teams to the 2017 Destination Imagination State Tournament as they advance from the from the Gulf Coast regional competition after performing well to meet challenges. 65 FBISD teams competed at regionals. On April 8, the FBISD teams will join more than 475 other teams at the state tournament in Lubbock.

"The Gulf Coast regional competition was highly competitive and our teams represented well across all levels and challenges," said Kamilah Holmes, district gifted and talented coordinator. "We had several new teams participating this year and their scores were strong and quite promising. We are proud of every team that presented solutions at regionals and of those who are advancing to state."

FBISD DI teams advancing to state include:

Elkins High School's Ya Like Jazz, 2nd place, Extreme DI Challenge  Team members include: Juliana Garza (Elkins), Camryn Matthews (Elkins), Kopeland Jones (Quail Valley MS), Jake Thomas (Quail Valley MS), and Managers Kathryn Garza and Alan Thomas

Colony Bend Elementary's Flaming Brains, 1st place, Improv Challenge  Team members include: Joey Dunning, Andrew Yun, Kennedy Smith, Audrey Hanan, Nicole Haas, Andrew Johnson and Manager Angie Hanan

Commonwealth Elementary's Ze Fire Team, 2nd place, Top Secret Scientific Challenge  Team members include: Shealyn McClurkin, Logan McClurkin, Vedika Patani, Devika Karayil, Nathan Amemiya (Sullivan Elementary), and Managers Jennifer McClurkin and Joel McClurkin

Cornerstone Elementary's #Colorful Ideas, 1st place, Ready, Willing and Fable Project Outreach Challenge  Team members are: Simran Carl, Videet Mehta, Nicholas Huynh, Ethan Lee, Anushka Thota, Shruti Ezhilarasan, Isabella Tinnin and Manager Shirisha Reddy

Cornerstone Elementary's The Maximatics, 1st place, Show and Tech  Team members are: Shikhar Joshi, Sharvesh Suresh, Sanjana Mittal, Saachi Jain, Suhani Shah, Sarvesh Agarwal, Harekas Bindra (Commowealth Elementary), and Managers Beena Hemkar and Sachin Jain

Cornerstone Elementary's Unbeatables, 1st place, Top Secret Scientific Challenge  Team members include: Anshul Jhaveri, Rithik Agarwal, Rishabh Agarwal, Shivani Sundarmoorthi, Emily Chan, Anjali Carl, Vivaan Joshi and Manager Jigisha Doshi

Sienna Crossing Elementary's Spectacular Creators, 2nd place, In It Together Engineering Challenge  Team Members are: Chase Kalmus, Katelyn Le, Gracie Zhang, Conlan Smith and Manager Susan Bradley
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A former "America's Next Top Model" contestant was among the four wounded in a Sunday night shooting that left two dead in northern Harris County, a family member confirmed Monday.

Brandy Rusher, 32, was rushed to the hospital after an unidentified suspect fired off 15 to 18 shots at the Haverstock Hill apartments on Aldine Bender.

SHOCKING: Sources: Montrose Veteinarian in murder-for-hire

Christopher Beatty was slain in the gunfire and a 31-year-old man - whose name was not immediately released - died at the scene, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

The chaos kicked off around 6:30 p.m., after a call for a neighbor disturbance. Witnesses later told sheriff's deputies that three people had pulled up to the complex in a white four-door car. Two men got out and started arguing with the victims and eventually one suspect grabbed a semi-automatic rifle from the trunk and opened fire, deputies said.

All three men hopped in the car and fled the scene in an unknown direction, leaving fear and chaos in their wake.

"People were running everywhere," said Deputy Thomas Gilliland. A sheriff's office official later added that is an ongoing investigation and authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the violence could be gang-related.

The Haverstock Hills complex has long been a source of problems in the community.

In 2010, the county filed for its first ever gang injunction after law enforcement responded to more than 3,000 calls at the property in a single year.

"It's too dangerous, even, to go in and buy drugs," HCSO Lt. Jesse Incencio said at the time.

The legal move banned dozens of gang members from a 57-acre zone including the 700-unit complex. The so-called "safety zone" was later expanded to 217 acres and in 2014 a judge made the injunction permanent.

MURDER: Teen accused in fatal stabbing may have suffered battered woman syndrome

Long before the most recent outburst of of violence at Haverstock, Rusher nabbed her 15 minutes in the spotlight when she competed on "Top Model" in 2005. She was ultimately booted from the contest after host Tyra Banks doled out a stern warning about her "negative attitude."

Rusher said at the time that she'd just been portrayed badly through editing.

"I don't believe I have anger-management issues," she told the Chronicle in 2005. "I believe my biggest problem was being defensive. When I felt someone was coming at me wrong, I would defend myself. It's all a part of how I grew up."

Since ending her run on the show, Rusher has lived an apparently quiet life in the Houston area, outside the limelight. She designs and makes her own clothes and works braiding hair, according to long-time friend Lessie Williams.

"If you meet Brandy and her family, they are so polite and they are so respectful and that's kind of hard to find nowadays," she said.

"That's why it was so hard for me to see this happen."

Peter Dutton, who went to Booker T. Washington High School with Rusher, described her as a "fun-loving person.

"Her smile was always infectious," he said. "She always looked for a good time."

GUNFIRE: Retired HPD officer shoots machete-wielding neighbor

The 29-year-old said it was a victory for the whole school when one of their former students made it on the show.

"It's almost like a 'We made it' type thing,'" he said.

Dutton described Rusher's family as close and said the news surprised him.

"The first thing I did was just stop and just pray for the family, because I know that they are a big and close-knit family," he said.

Local court records show that Rusher was collared in 2010 for a resisting arrest charge after she was accused of "swinging her arms" at a police officer, but the case was dismissed a few months later.

ESCAPE: 29 inmates tunneled out of a Mexican prison

Representatives for VH1, which now airs the modeling show, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A rep for former "Top Model" judge Nole Marin offered condolences in a statement released Monday.

"Nole's heart goes out to Brandy and her family during this tragic time," the statement said. "While on the show Nole says he remembers her shining personality and glowing smile. She is in his thoughts and [he] is sending well wishes."

As Rusher's friends offered well-wishing posts online, Beatty's took to Facebook to mourn.

"I don't want to believe it but you in a better place RIP," wrote one friend.

"Another honestly good man gone too soon," wrote another.

On Monday, a GoFundMe campaign sprang up to cover funeral costs.

"As you know a beautiful soul was taken from us so suddenly," the page notes.

"Please help us raise money for his final farewell during this painful time as we grieve."
Two men are dead and four additional people are injured after a shooting outside of northeast Harris County apartments on Sunday night.

An unknown suspect fired 15 to 18 shots into a group of people near the Haverstock Hill apartments on Aldine Bender Road, said Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Thomas Gilliland. One man died at the scene and one man was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Area residents will have the opportunity to satisfy their crawfish cravings thanks to a Cajun-style crawfish boil at Jordan Ranch from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at 30722 Sonora Ridge Drive.

The event is open to the public and will offer fun with spicy crawfish and all the fixings as well as craft beer (available for purchase) to wash it all down.

"This is our first-ever crawfish boil and we are really looking forward to it," said Steve Sams, general manager of Jordan Ranch. "In addition to a ton of crawfish, there will be music, dancing and an opportunity for participants to donate to a worthy cause."

Admission to the boil is free, but attendees are asked to make a donation to the March of Dimes, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing premature births.

In addition to the food, party band Bayou Roux will add their Cajun Commotion sound to the event, encouraging people to dance to a high-energy blend of Zydeco, classic rock and jazz.

A Kids Zone with face painters, bounce houses and other activities will keep children entertained. Food trucks - including Truck on the Bayou, Taras Table and Yummies Catering - will be on hand with even more food and beverage choices.

The crawfish boil is one of two public events being held this month. On April 15, the community is holding a Fun Glow Run & Flashlight Egg Hunt.

Both events are being held in conjunction with Houston's Largest Home Tour. The tour, sponsored by Jordan Ranch developer Johnson Development Corp., encourages the public to visit hundreds of homes, including 150 models in 14 Johnson communities throughout the month.

Learn more about Jordan Ranch at www.jordanranchtexas.com.
Sometimes it takes an eccentric on a political warpath to ignite anti-establishment sentiment and discard government waste onto the ash heap.

Bill Finck Sr. was one of those political characters. Part of an established cigar manufacturing family in the San Antonio area, Finck served in the Texas Legislature in the 1960s and 1970s. As a businessman, Finck understood the necessity to eliminate waste; and in the 1980s, he ran for Bexar County treasurer on the platform of abolishing the County Treasurer's Office.

Treasurer's offices in Texas counties have the responsibilities of receiving and disbursing funds and accounting for money in the county's possession. It was a much bigger task back in the day of gold bricks and big vaults to store the county's treasures. But not so much in today's age of debit cards and wire transfers  which even outdate the checks Finck was dealing with in the Material Girl era.

After being elected, Finck was successful in getting legislation passed to place a constitutional amendment on the 1983 ballot, inspiring voters to pass it and eliminating the Bexar County Treasurer's Office in 1984. More than a handful of counties  and the State of Texas (1996)  followed Finck's lead over the next several years in abolishing an elected office that many believe has outlived its usefulness.

Nine counties  Andrews, Bee, Bexar, Collin, El Paso, Fayette, Gregg, Nueces and Tarrant  have done away with it. Those counties vary greatly in population size (ranging from 25,000 to almost 2 million residents) and in annual budgets ($15 million to $1.7 billion). However, they are similar in their mind-set of eliminating waste.

Every time the state Legislature put one of those constitutional amendments on the ballot  in years such as 1983, 1985, 1987 as well as 1996 for the state office in 1996  voters abolished the treasurer's office in those counties. It's not just the treasurer; many counties in years past voted to eliminate the obsolete county surveyor elected position.

The County Treasurer's Association of Texas, whose membership consists of county treasurers, and the group's lobbyists have opposed constitutional amendment items to abolish such positions.

In counties that eliminated the treasurer's office, duties were absorbed by the county clerk, auditor or tax assessor-collector.

We are confident those offices here in Montgomery County could do the same. It was proven by the County Clerk's Office in 2011 when it took over the duties of the Collections Department.

A couple of years ago, County Judge Craig Doyal eliminated what he believed to be an unnecessary Infrastructure Department  and the salaries that went with those positions. He told The Courier he would be willing to consider eliminating other wasteful positions and departments.

As Montgomery County commissioners grapple with measures to reduce taxpayers' burden on government spending and place the responsibility of cutting expenses on department heads, it will take more than nickel-and-diming to reach the goal of multimillion-dollar reductions.

Some county department heads are very concerned about cutting staff and salaries of essential employees to meet a potential 5 percent across-the-board spending cut heading into the next budget cycle. A decent chunk of change could be eliminated by dumping most of the Montgomery County Treasurer's Office $700,000-plus budget.

Judge Doyal and commissioners should consider passing a resolution in support of a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that would give voters a chance to determine the fate of the Treasurer's Office, which some believe is an obsolete office. Just as commissioners pass resolutions on "meaningful tax reform," they must push for county spending reductions that count.

Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack has come out in support of abolishing the Treasurer's Office as a means to create more government efficiency. He place an item addressing it on Tuesday's Commissioners Court agenda.

Our state legislators, who all claim to be fiscally conservative and support current legislation to curb local property tax increases, then could push through the constitutional amendment that would put the decision in voters' hands.

If it doesn't occur this legislative session, voters could consider a candidate next election cycle who files to run for county treasurer on the platform of eliminating the position. Like Finck, it also happened in Harris County back in 2007, but the candidate lost  even with four Harris County commissioners supporting the elimination of that county's treasurer position. Houston-area legislators, however, did not support putting such an amendment on the ballot that year.

While the County Treasurer's Office has been mired in recent controversy over midyear reorganization and raises, potential nepotism issues involving the county judge's daughter and unprofessional public attacks against another department during Commissioners Court, this is about our "conservative" elected state and local officials giving voters a chance to consider a measure that can reduce taxes and government waste by eliminating a potentially bygone elected position.

If not, the Montgomery County treasurer always could do what Finck did to save tax dollars  light a stogey and burn his government paycheck.

Visit us online at

YourConroeNews.com
Wichita Falls Sheriff's Office

A Texas woman faces charges of abandoning or endangering a child after her daughter was found wandering Wichita Falls, Texas streets alone.

The child was found "dirty, hungry and had her shirt on backwards with her shoes untied" on Jan. 30, and told the stranger who found her that she'd dressed herself and left her home to "get her nails done," the Times Record News reported.
Hundreds of bats take flight into a coral dusk, emerging from their colony's host, the Waugh Bridge, as local joggers stop to gaze at the sky.

"It's incredible to watch them take flight, especially when the sun is setting," said Houston native Erica Vaughn. "I bring my kids here on the weekends, and their faces light up when they see the bats. It's magical."

To think of a deadly disease ravaging bats makes Vaughn shake her head. Yet, White-Nose Syndrome, a fatal fungal disease, has rapidly killed millions of hibernating bats since 2007 when it was first discovered near Albany, N.Y. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department confirmed late last week that the fungus has now reached Texas.

"It's awful to think about them being gone one day."

Bat Conservation International and Texas A&M University biologists detected the fungus, "Pseudogymnoascus destructans," on three bat species in six Texas counties early this year.

Katie Gillies, the director of U.S./Canada imperiled species at Bat Conservation International, said it was difficult for the community when news broke of the fungus' detection.

"This is a really big deal, having it here in Texas," Gillies said. "We were shocked to see it in Washington, but seeing these results - it was like a gut punch."

After taking skin swabs from bats, researchers found molecular traces of the fungus, determining the full-blown disease has not yet arrived in Texas. Its eventual arrival is anticipated.

Since its discovery, White-Nose Syndrome has killed millions of bats in over 30 states and six Canadian provinces. In some places, the fungus has resulted in a 90 percent decline in winter bat numbers, Texas parks officials said.

"The fungus thrives in colder climates, and it remains to be seen if it will have the same serious impacts in Texas as it has in northern states," said Jonah Evans with Texas Parks and Wildlife.

The fungus infects hibernating bats' skin on their muzzle, ears and wings, according to the National Wildlife Health Center. It is typically spread bat-to-bat, considering they congregate in large numbers. As the fungus becomes more prolific in the environment, bats become carriers of it to other sites.

Gillies said humans have also played a role in spreading the fungus.

"People can pick it up on their shoes and their clothes and inadvertently carry it to another place," Gillies said. "That's how we think it got to the U.S. in the first place."

In hopes of combatting the disease, BCI is working with state wildlife agencies and the national WNS Disease Surveillance Working Group on strategies to adapt response efforts to the disease. With bat surveys, they are aiming to expand the national surveillance effort for the deadly fungus.

Texas hosts 32 of the 47 bat species found in the U.S. Bracken Cave on the outskirts of San Antonio hosts the world's largest bat colony with more than 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats. In downtown Austin, the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge hosts the largest urban bat colony in the world, estimated at 1.5 million.

There are 11 bat species found in the Houston area, the Mexican free-tailed being the most common. Research conducted in 2006 concluded Mexican free-tailed save cotton farmers in south-central Texas more than $740,000 annually by reducing crop damage and pesticide use in the U.S., according to Bat Conservation International.

For years, Houston area locals and curious out-of-towners have visited the Waugh Drive Bridge to watch the bats' emergence from their cave around sunset every night.

May through August is "baby bat season" at the bridge, according to the Houston Parks and Recreation Department. In flight, the younger bats are described as looking like "large butterflies" because of their rapid wing beats.

Gillies urges bat-watchers to keep a safe distance from the caves, not only to preserve bat habitat, but to lessen the chances the fungus will spread.

Vaughn and her family keep a safe distance from the colony when watching their emergence but intend to be even more careful in the future.

"I would hate to think that we had a part in spreading this," she said.
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An 18-year-old accused of luring a 56-year-old man to a home for sex where he was fatally stabbed and his body burned in a east Houston dumpster was being manipulated by an abusive boyfriend, her lawyer said Monday.

Courtney Burks and boyfriend Shaquan Bennett appeared in orange jail uniforms before state District Judge Randy Roll Monday on charges of capital murder, accused of robbing then killing David Standley on March 17.

"It's hard to call it a dating relationship," said attorney Windi Pastorini, who represents the young woman. "She was more like a hostage or victim. She was scared to death of him. I think she was a desperate woman who needed someone who could provide for her."

POLICE SHOOTING: Deputy fires on man who allegedly tried to run him over

Pastorini said her client may have suffered battered woman syndrome. She also raised the possibility that Bennett was a pimp for Burks.

It's a story that prosecutors said they will likely challenge, since blaming a co-defendant is a common defense strategy.

"I certainly think that will be a point of contention between the two defendants," said prosecutor Kathy Kahle. She said both teens gave statements to police, but she had not seen them before the hearing.

Police said that during the apparent robbery, the teens allegedly stabbed Standley with a knife and bludgeoned him with a blunt object.

PEDESTRIAN KILLED: Woman found dead in north Harris County

Standley's body was found around 5:45 a.m. on March 17, in a burning dumpster in the 4600 block of Market Street. The dumpster is in the same block as Bennett's home, court records show.

Standley was found with a welt over his right eye and a large bump on his forehead. His body was covered with a blanket and buried under a pile of trash.

James Stafford, the lawyer representing Bennett said he is still investigating the allegations.

"I don't know what their respective roles are," Stafford said after the brief hearing. "They're very remorseful, very sad and very frightened. Neither one of them have any criminal history, so this is the first time they've been processed in and it's a very intimidating event for them."

If convicted of capital murder, both teens could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek death. That decision is typically made months after an arrest.

Both are being held in the Harris County jail without bail.
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Continuing an alarming statewide trend, teachers in the Grand Prairie and Northwest school districts have been accused of having improper relationships with students.

Grand Prairie is about 15 miles west of Dallas, and the Northwest Independent School District district is based in Justin, about 25 miles north of Fort Worth.

In a post on Twitter, the Grand Prairie Independent School District said Rebecca Goerdel, 28, a teacher at the Young Men's Leadership Academy at Kennedy Middle School, was arrested Friday in connection with an alleged improper relationship with a student. District administrators had received a tip about possible impropriety on March 10.

ON THE RUN: Tennessee man accused of abducting teen may have been seen in Corpus Christi

"She was relieved of all duties immediately and has not been in the classroom since," the district said of Goerdel in the Twitter post. Police were notified, resulting in an investigation and arrest, the post stated.

"This kind of conduct is outrageous and will not be tolerated," Superintendent Susan Hull said in the post.

On Monday, the district website no longer listed Goerdel as a teacher at the leadership academy.

SMILING MUGSHOT: Lockhart teacher arrested for alleged improper relationship with student

According to WFAA, Goerdel had previously been listed as a "special education inclusion teacher" at the all-male academy, but it was unclear if the student involved was in one of her classes.

On March 21, a teacher at Tidwell Middle School in Roanoke, in the Northwest Independent School District, was also arrested and accused of having an improper relationship with a student, according to the Trophy Club Police Department.

Katherine Ruth Harper, 27, a seventh grade English teacher, is accused of having a relationship with a 15-year-old boy last June and July, said Lt. Tracey Shields of the Trophy Club Police Department.

Harper was released from the Denton County Jail after posting $15,000 bail, the Star Telegram reported.
The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p.
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Fundatia de Binefacere Caritas Moldova solicita oferte de pret de la companii cu privire la productia de materiale de vizibilitate
Donald Trump was four years old when the word McCarthyism first appeared in print as shorthand to describe Senator Joe McCarthys penchant for lying, bullying, and trying to stifle dissent.

A review of McCarthy, McCarthyism, and the ways in which the senator battled important media of his day shows how closely Trump has hewed to the McCarthy playbook in matters of style and substance, using similar tactics to polarize the country, pitting Americans against each other. That may help explain but not excuse the irony of President Trump accusing his predecessor, Barack Obama, of McCarthyism when he tweeted, without evidence, that Obama had wiretapped his phones at Trump Tower just before the 2016 election.

Much the way Americans fear Muslim extremism today, McCarthy and many other politicians and public figures fueled Americas obsession with Communism following World War II.

McCarthy, a Republican, was elected to the Senate from Wisconsin in 1946 at age 38 and he was largely ignored until early 1950 when, speaking in Wheeling, West Virginia, he declared: I have here in my hand a list of 205, a list of names made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department. The next day, speaking in Salt Lake City, he said: I hold in my hand the names of 57 card-carrying Communists working in the State Department. Ten days later, speaking on the Senate floor, he cited 81 cases, including three big Communists whose exposure would break the back of the espionage ring within the State Department.

While details about McCarthys dark comedy have faded, the apprentices sequel is just being written.

McCarthys most sensational charge was that he knew the name of the top Soviet espionage agent in the US. It turned out to be Owen Lattimore, a Johns Hopkins professor. (Subsequent Congressional hearings revealed Lattimore was sympathetic to the Soviet Union but never substantiated McCarthys extravagant charges against him.)

Among the first to push back was Herblock (Herbert Block), The Washington Posts political cartoonist who, in March 1950, published a drawing of four Republican politicians trying to get a reluctant elephant to climb atop a stack of tar buckets, topped by a barrel slugged McCarthyism.

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Meanwhile, Maryland Senator Millard Tydings, a conservative Democrat, led a committee set up to investigate the charges. Aside from Lattimore, McCarthy refused to provide the committee any of the names he said he possessed.

RELATED: For journalists covering Trump, a Murrow moment

The Tydings report was released in July 1950. It denounced McCarthys charges as a fraud and a hoax on the American people. McCarthy attacked the report and Tydings, accusing him of being soft on communism. McCarthys campaign against Tydings worked, helping to defeat his bid for re-election.

Besides Herblock, the editors at Life and Time were among the first and most passionate McCarthy critics.

Although they were not alone, the importance of what appeared in those publications cannot be overstated. In the days before television, the two publications often set the agenda for debate and discussion. Henry R. Luce, the magazines publisher, was himself a ferocious anti-communist, who first identified the 20th century as The American Century.

In an April 1950 editorial, Life, speaking of McCarthy, said, It is wrong, wicked, to smear people indiscriminately, most of whom are good AmericansIt is wrong when millions of Americans lose their decent sense of judgment and are ready to believe any charge leveled against anybody regardless of proof. It is wrong when all officials of a vital arm of governmentthe State Department at the momentare subjected to virulent and indiscriminate suspicion.

Eighteen months later, Time published its first McCarthy cover, bearing the senators image and the caption, Demagogue McCarthy, followed by the question, Does he deserve well of the republic? The four-page, 4500-word profile made clear that Time thought not.



Time acknowledged that thousands turn out to hear his speeches and millions regard him as a splendid American. But commenting on the devastating Tydings report, Time wrote it might have been expected to end the rocketing flight of Joe McCarthy. That it was a beginning, not an end, is partly explained by McCarthys personality. Another man, humiliated by failure to produce evidence he said he held, would have retreated and wiped a bloody nose.

Instead, the magazine said, He bored in, hitting low blow after low blow. He set up a barrage of new accusations which caught the headlines, drawing attention away from the fact that he had not made good on his original charge.

Continuing its attack, Time said, Joe, like all effective demagogues, found an area of emotion and exploited it. No regard for fair play, no scruple for exact truth hampers Joes political course. If his accusations destroy reputations, if they subvert the principle that a man is innocent until proved guilty, he is oblivious. Joe, immersed in the joy of battle, does not even seem to realize the gravity of his own charges.

Time said McCarthy never answers criticisms, just savagely attacks the critic.

Sound familiar?

President Trump justifies lying with impunitywhat he called truthful hyperbole in his first autobiography, The Art of the Deal. His White House staffers say they and the President rely on alternate factswhen fighting the enemy of the people, aka the media.

The similarities between McCarthy and Trump extend beyond substance to style. As Time wrote, McCarthy is always in a hurry. He rushes through a newspaper in five minutes, looking just for items of special interest or use to him; he has little general curiosity.

The similarities between McCarthy and Trump extend beyond substance to style. Burly, ham-handed, McCarthy has a furious energy, Time wrote. He is always in a hurry. He rushes through a newspaper in five minutes, looking just for items of special interest or use to him; he has little general curiosity.

McCarthy, like Trump, ate a well-cooked steak at every opportunity. Like Trump, he didnt smoke, but unlike Trump, he was a heavy drinker. Both men had close ties to New York lawyer Roy Cohn. McCarthy pursued business interests and unpopular foreign causes while in the Senate. According to Robert T. Elson, who devoted a chapter to Time and McCarthy in his three-volume history, The World of Time Inc., the senator defended Nazis charged with massacre during World War II.

The Time cover story also reported that from 1946 to 1949, McCarthy paid no state income tax, and his listed losses and deductions for interest payments exceeded his taxable income. When asked how he lived, McCarthy said: Who I borrow from is none of your damned business.

Time said, Some have argued that McCarthys end justifies his methods. Sounding like many of Trumps critics today, the publication added, This argument seems to assume that lies are required to fight Communist lies. Experience proves, however, that what the anti-Communist fight needs is truth, carefully arrived at and presented with all the scrupulous regard for decency and the rights of man of which the democratic world is capable. This is the Western worlds greatest asset in the struggle against Communism, and those who condone McCarthy are throwing that asset away.

Soon after publication of Times McCarthy cover story, the senator wrote Luce to complain about deliberate falsifications in a very lengthy smear attack which Time Magazine made upon me. McCarthy accused Time of endangering the health of the country by attacking him, a dedicated anti-Communist. He also made good on a threat to take his complaints to Times advertisers so that they may be fully aware of the type of publication they are supporting.

Although Luce allowed publication of the Life editorial and the Time cover, he worried that his editors didnt appreciate the popularity McCarthy enjoyed with voters across the country. He had previously warned the editors of Time, Life, and Fortune that in their enthusiasm for telling people they ought not to approve McCarthy, they forget to tell the people the shocking fact that they [i.e., the people] do approve McCarthy.

Replying to McCarthys letter, Luce wrote, You conclude your letter by a reference to those principles of fairness which must be the basis of a free America. You feel Time hasnt lived up to those principles in its treatment of you. Time feels you havent lived up to those principles in your campaign against Communism. Surely we must both try harder than ever before to put these principles of fairness into practice both in the field of politics and in the field of journalism.

Despite the medias attacks on McCarthy and McCarthyism, the senator began 1954 with a Gallup poll showing half the country approved of him while only 29 percent disapproved. Public opinion didnt begin to change until a couple of months later when CBS newscaster Edward R. Murrow delivered a lengthy report on See It Now that used footage of McCarthy to undermine his credibility. A month after that, ABC provided live coverage the Army-McCarthy hearings in which the Armys lawyer, Joseph Welch, responded to one of McCarthys charges by asking, Have you no sense of decency, sir?

McCarthy never recovered from the public humiliation. Three years later, he was dead. The cause was liver disease exacerbated by alcoholism. He was 48, demonized as a pariah, and stripped of much of his power.

While details about McCarthys dark comedy have faded, the apprentices sequel is just being written. The only thing certain is that like all things Trump, it will be far bigger than the original.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Norman Pearlstine is vice chairman of Time Inc. Previously, he served as its chief content officer from 2013 to 2016, and as editor in chief from 1995 to 2005. The opinions expressed in this piece are his own and not those of Time magazine or Time Inc.
The U.S. Senate (50-48) joined the House (231-191) in passing a resolution blocking a federal workplace injury and accident reporting rule put in place by the Obama Administration last December.

The Department of Labor rule issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) extended the period of time from six months to five years that employers could face fines for not keeping records on workplace incidents.

Employers have for years been required to maintain records on workplace injuries and illnesses for a five-year span. OSHA uses the information to help it gauge health and safety conditions at worksites.

Republican opponents of the Obama reporting rule said it violated a six month statute of limitations in the law regarding record keeping violations. For its part, OSHA said the rule reflected its actual longstanding position that employers have an ongoing obligation to keep records.

Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Workforce Protections Subcommittee, sponsored the resolution to nullify what he called an unlawful power grab by OSHA.

According to Byrne, employers should only be cited for violations of this record keeping law within a six month window. The Obama Administrations rule, known as the Volks rule, meant OSHA could penalize an employer for a violation anytime during the five years.

In 2012, the D.C. Circuit in AKM LLC v. Secretary of Labor (Volks) rejected OSHAs position on the continuing nature of its prior record keeping regulations. OSHA revised the rule before its final issuance last December, maintaining that the final rule added no new compliance obligations and did not require employers to make records of any injuries or illnesses for which records were not already required.

Byrne and his Republican colleagues maintained the rule was an attempt to rewrite the law and that it imposed a burden on employers that would do little to improve workplace safety.

I applaud the Senate for their swift passage of my bill to stop this unlawful power grab. We should be focused on proactive policies that help improve workplace safety instead of punitive rules that do nothing to make American workers safer, Byrne said in a statement.

The White House has indicated President Donald Trump will sign the measure.

Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress may pass a resolution of disapproval to prevent a federal agency from implementing a rule. Byrnes resolution (H. J. Res 83) blocks OSHAs Volks rule from taking effect and prevents future administrations from promulgating a similar rule.
Montana lawmakers on Friday put off further discussion on dismantling and privatizing the states massive workers compensation system, saying the task was too daunting to take up in the waning days of the legislative session.

Instead, the matter will be studied more thoroughly in the months after the Legislature adjourns.

Getting rid of the $1.6 billion State Fund would be a major undertaking  not only in practical terms because of the thousands of businesses that would be affected but also politically.

While Montana Republicans, who control both chambers of the Legislature, have generally favored privatizing some aspects of big government, they appear split on what to do about the State Fund.

Republican Sen. Fred Moore of Miles City is sponsoring the bill on behalf of a small group of insurance companies that say doing away with the State Fund would increase competition and reduce workers compensation premiums.

But Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas, a Republican from Stevensville, and Republican Rep. Greg Hertz of Polson scheduled a news conference after Fridays committee hearing to express their opposition.

While opponents acknowledge that Montana has some of the countrys highest premiums, they worry that premiums would further rise for high-risk trades such as logging and trucking.

Republican Sen. Ed Buttrey of Great Falls, who chairs the committee tasked with studying the privatizing of the fund, said he and other committee members needed more time to see how doing so would affect Montana businesses.

The fund serves about 26,000 policy holders. Its largest client is the state of Montana. It also serves many small businesses that might not be able to find a new insurance carrier because they would carry too high a risk or would be too small to be of economic value to underwriters.

Several insurance companies currently compete with the State Fund to provide workers compensation insurance in Montana.

One of the companies, Victory Insurance, argued that privatization would lower overall premiums in the state.

But critics of the plan said there was no guarantee that smaller companies would see lower premiums. And companies involved in high-risk businesses could find themselves in pools that generally pay higher premiums.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
SouthwestDispatch.jpg

The city of Strongsville dispatch center. Now Summit County and several Summit cities have received a $500,000 grant from the state to buy computer-aided dispatch software.

(City of Strongsville)

AKRON, Ohio -- The State of Ohio Development Services Agency has awarded a $500,000 grant to Summit County, Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Tallmadge and Mogadore to buy a computer-aided dispatch software system.

Computer-aided dispatch processes traditional 911 calls and Next Generation 911 services, such as cell phone texts.

As these Northeast Ohio communities look at consolidating dispatch centers, using the same dispatch system improves efficiency, officials say.

"A Computer Aided Dispatch upgrade will ensure NextGen 911 compatibility and compliance and is an essential piece of the technology infrastructure we need as our current systems age and reach their end of life," Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro said in a news release.

The communities submitted a grant application for the Local Government Safety Capital Grant Program to help offset costs for a new joint system. While negotiations and adjustments are ongoing, the system is anticipated to cost $4 million and $5 million to accommodate the partner communities, plus the Akron.

If the partner communities consolidate, the system will serve as the technology backbone of the consolidation. However, if they don't, the system would still be able to be shared by the regions, as well as other communities in the county.

"As local government resources have been reduced over the last decade, we have worked to become innovative in finding ways to pay for necessary upgrades and capital needs, like emergency 911," Shapiro said in a news release. "The grant from the State of Ohio will pay a significant portion of the costs to upgrade and consolidate our CAD system."

The partners on the grant application currently perform dispatch operations for a large portion of Summit County and a small portion of Portage County. Cuyahoga Falls dispatches for itself, Munroe Falls, Boston Heights (police only) and Silver Lake.

Stow dispatches for itself, Tallmadge, Mogadore and Randolph Township in Portage County (fire only).

The Summit County Sheriff's Office currently dispatches for itself, Green (police only), Lakemore (police only), Northfield Center Township (police only), Springfield Township (police only), Twinsburg Township and the Akron-Canton Airport.
John Kuntz, cleveland.com file

Poll tells more about Donald Trump's support in Ohio

BEREA, Ohio -- A Baldwin Wallace University poll released Monday of more than 1,000 Ohioans offers insight into the strong division between people who support, and don't support, President Donald Trump.

Trump supporters are optimistic about what he will do for the economy, trust him more than the mass media and largely believe his use of Twitter is just fine.

Opponents, for the most part, say the opposite, according to the poll, which reflects responses from people who identified themselves as registered voters.

Scroll through the illustrations below for a snapshot of some of the findings, including how much support Trump received from union members, women and the highly educated, and where his voters turn for reliable information.

-- Rich Exner, cleveland.com

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Now with what you know, would you change for vote?

Ninety-four percent of Ohio's voters who took part in the November election say they would not change how they voted if given another chance, according to a Baldwin Wallace University poll conducted from Feb. 24 through March 8.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Confidence in the economy, among Trump backers

An overwhelming number of Ohio Republicans - 85.7 percent - say they believe Trump's policies will help the economy. This stands in stark contrast to the feelings of Democrats, of whom 14.5 percent believe Trump will help the economy.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Will Trump hurt or help your personal finances?

Fifty-eight percent of Ohio Republicans say they believe Trump's policies will help their personal finances, while just 7.9 percent of Democrats hold that view.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Who did you think would win the election?

The results of the election came as a surprise for most Ohioans. Fifty-nine percent said they expected Hillary Clinton to win, while 29 percent expected a Trump victory.

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Associated Press

Donald Trump assumes the presidency

President-elect Donald Trump looks over at President Barack Obama before being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on Jan. 20.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Clinton won the college vote; Trump won others by a wider margin

Among Ohio voters holding at least a bachelor's degree, Clinton won, according to findings of the BW poll. However, Trump won by a wider margin among other voters.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Trump won union and non-union members

Trump won both the union and non-union vote among those polled, striking a blow to what was once reliable Democratic support from labor.

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Associated Press file photo

Trump and the union workers

Brook Park Mayor Tom Coyne, left, and Vice President Mike Pence, right, look on as Donald Trump speaks during the campaign with labor leaders and union members at American Legion Post 610 in Brook Park.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

How the male/female vote differed

Trump won the male vote by nearly 24 percentage points, among those polled. Clinton won the female by a narrower margin of under seven points.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Thoughts on working women

Among those who believe it is better if women stay at home and men work, 63 percent were Trump voters and 28 percent were Clinton voters.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Young Ohioans far more likely not to favor Trump or Clinton

Trump ran strongest among Ohioans age 45 to 64, winning that age group, 57.7 percent to 33.5 percent, among those polled.

Clinton ran strongest among the 18-to-29 age group, defeating Trump 48.1 percent to 33.3 percent. But a high number of young adults - 18.6 percent - voted for other candidates.

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Associated Press file photo

Trump supporters and detractors

Supporters and opponents of President Trump confront one another in front of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus on March 4.



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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Are people too easily offended?

Among people who agree with the statement that people are too easily offended, nearly two-thirds said they voted for Trump.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Is there a need for someone new to politics?

Businessman Trump, as would be expected, won the vote among those respondents who said there was a need for a non-career politician.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Who do you trust? Trump or the media?

Most Ohio Republicans surveyed (61.5 percent) said they trust Trump more than the media. Among Democrats, 66.1 percent said they trusted the media more than Trump.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Independents fall in the middle on who to believe

On the question of whether Trust or the media is more trustworthy, people who identified themselves as independents were almost evenly divided - 25.5 percent saying Trump and 29.6 percent saying the media.

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Twitter

@realDonaldTrump

Trump's frequent use of Twitter has gained plenty of attention, pro and con.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Opinions on Tweeting Trump

Forty-two percent of those who identified themselves as Republicans say Trump's use of Twitter is appropriate, compared to just 7 percent of Democrats holding that view.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Social media and politics

More than one-third of the registered voters polled (34.8 percent) said they never use social media for political information. Yet, nearly a quarter said they use social media for that purpose once or more a day.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Sources for election news

The top three sources of presidential election news for Ohio registered voters, according to the BW poll, were TV (47.2 percent), news websites (20.9 percent) and social networking sites (20.6 percent).

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Thomas Ondrey, Plain Dealer file

The news media

The media is at the center of political debate, as usual. This sign was displayed during a pro-Trump "Spirit of America" rally in Cleveland on March 4.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Media trust

Overall, opinions among Ohio registered voters are split on whether the mass media reports news fully, accurately and fairly.

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Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Republican/Democratic divide on media trust

There is a divide in media trust among Ohio's registered voters, the poll found.

Seventy-five percent of Democrats said they trust the mass media a fair amount or a great amount.

Yet, 70 percent of the Republicans said they do not trust the media very much, or not at all.

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Associated Press file

More on the poll findings

Cleveland.com is publishing several stories on the poll findings by Baldwin Wallace University. Find all the stories at this link.

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WrestleMania's greatest moments include Daniel Bryan's triumph, Hulk Hogan's slam and Ric Flair's final masterpiece. (Photo: WWE.com)

Troy L. Smith, cleveland.com

33 best matches in the history of WrestleMania

CLEVELAND, Ohio  WWE has gone to exhaustive lengths to deliver the kind of card that wrestling fans have been begging for at WrestleMania 33.

In truth, WrestleMania hasnt quite delivered the goods in recent years. Perhaps a card featuring Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, John Cena, Roman Reigns, The Undertaker, Triple H and, maybe, a few surprises can do the trick.

Of course, what fans would die for is a match or two that could measure up to these classic showdowns  Presenting the 33 greatest matches in WrestleMania history.

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33. Money in the Bank (WrestleMania 21)

There have been several memorable Money in the Bank matches at WrestleMania. But the best came at WrestleMania 21, mostly because it was the first Money in the Bank ever. Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Edge (the winner), Kane, Christian and Shelton Benjamin competed in a match that was unlike anything the WWE Universe had scene. We would only want more.

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32. Roddy Piper vs. Goldust (WrestleMania 12)

The WrestleMania 12 showdown between Roddy Piper and Goldust was pure chaos. The Hollywood Backlot Brawl was a street fight for the ages and even managed to mock the O.J. Simpson police chase. In many ways it was ahead of its time, as the Attitude Era wouldnt fully take shape for a few more years.

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31. Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus (WrestleMania 22)

Trish Stratus and Mickie James feud played the long game, really establishing a story about friends turned foes that paid off at the WrestleMania 22 with James scoring the upset. Hopefully, WWE can add a few more womens matches to this list in the years to come.

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30. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (WrestleMania 17)

WrestleMania 17 represents the greatest WrestleMania card of all time (Youll see why as you work your way down this list). It featured one the best technical matches in WWE history. Sadly, several of Benoits matches have been forgotten given his tragic demise. But this one with Angle is a wrestling clinic.

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29. Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper (WrestleMania 8)

Bret Hart was known as a technical master. But at WrestleMania 8, Piper brought out the brawler in the Hitman. It marked one of the more compelling feuds during the first 10 years of WrestleMania.

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28. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. Edge and Christian (WrestleMania 16)

The first triple-threat tag team ladder-match between these three iconic teams took the format to a new level. This is one of the greatest tag matches in wrestling history, even though it would be topped a year later.

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27. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock (WrestleMania 15)

WrestleMania 15 marked the first big match between The Rock and Austin, two stars who were taking over the wrestling landscape. This was the first of several epic battles that would push WWE into its most lucrative period.

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26. The Undertaker vs. Edge (WrestleMania 24)

The Undertakers WrestleMania performances are well documented, while Edge knew how to turn things up a notch on the biggest stage. The two of them came together for a title match that challenged Takers streak in punishing fashion and saw him winning the WWE Championship.

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25. Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (WrestleMania 20)

Both Guerrero and Angle were something to marvel at inside the ring. But WrestleMania 20 was special because it finally put Guerrero where he belonged, at the top of the WWE. They hit just about every move perfectly and painted a wrestling masterpiece that reminded you of the classic days.

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24. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 23)

Cena has had several good matches at WrestleMania. But only one of them was truly great. Not surprisingly, it came against Shawn Michaels. This is the match that proved Cena was more than a gimmick and was a legit in-ring performer.

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23. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WrestleMania 30)

This really has two parts to it. Bryan would have to defeat Triple H in order to get a title show later in the night. He was up to the task by winning in an instant classic with The Game. WrestleMania 30 was all about Bryan and the WWE finally giving in and accepting him as the hero fans wanted.

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22. Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WrestleMania 6)

From a pure technical standpoint, this match was pure garbage. But the face vs. face showdown between WWEs two iconic stars wasnt about that. The first few minutes alone, which featured fans losing their minds, produce chills. This was an important passing of the torch moment, as Warrior got the win.

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21. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit (WrestleMania 20)

The greatest moment in Chris Benoits career comes with a grain of salt for obvious reasons. WrestleMania 20 was the moment where he and Eddie Guerrero, two of the greatest performers of their time, ascended to the top of the wrestling world. Sadly, both wouldnt be with us for much longer.

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20. The Undertaker vs. Triple H (WrestleMania 28)

Triple H had a whopping THREE WrestleMania matches against the Undertaker. To be fair, they were all pretty good. The WrestleMania 28 match put the final nail in the coffin with an all out brawl in a Hell in a Cell.

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19. Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair (WrestleMania 8)

WWE made a few mistakes with Ric Flair when he arrived from WCW. Everyone wanted a dream match between Flair and Hulk Hogan. But WWE didnt think Flair as a big enough drawn (Huh?). Fortunately, it gave us Macho Man and Flair going against each other in their prime, a true treat of a match at WrestleMania 8.

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18. Macho Man Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WrestleMania 7)

Youd be hard pressed to find better examples of storytelling in wrestling history, let alone WrestleMania. Savages career was on the line when he took on the Warrior at WrestleMania 29. It looked like Macho Man might finally get the win after multiple elbow drops. But it wasnt enough and he lost. The end of the match saw a reunion between Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth, which had many in attendance in tears.

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17. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 21)

There was really no chance of this match being anything but great, considering you have two of the best wrestlers in history going at it. Even without a championship belt on the line, the two competed as if their legacies were on the line.

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16. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 19)

A feud with Triple H is what brought Shawn Michaels out of retirement. But his WrestleMania 19 match against Chris Jericho proved HBK was still the greatest. Props for Jericho, another all-time great, for convincing Michaels they could pull off a brilliant match, which elevated both even more in the eyes of fans.

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15. Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar (WrestleMania 19)

Angle-Lesnar at WrestleMania 19 was an interesting affair. First, it was supposed to be a passing of the torch, as Angle was going to have surgery. The match itself was great. But things turn a weird turn when Lesnar horribly missed a shooting star press. He managed to recover and get the win, but would leave WWE not too long after to try and play in the NFL.

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14. The Undertaker vs. Triple H (WrestleMania 27)

Of the three WrestleMania matches between Undertaker and Triple H, the no holds barred fight was the best. Triple H always seemed more like a brawler than a technical wiz. Thus, competing in such a match brought out the best in him. As did the Undertaker whose streak was one of the most watched aspects of the big event.

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13. Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair (WrestleMania 24)

One of the most emotional matches in WWE history came when Ric Flair put his career on the line against Shawn Michaels. You could truly sense the sadness in Michaels eyes when he put down his hero for the final time. This marked Flairs last masterpiece in a career that is considered by many to be the greatest ever.

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12. CM Punk vs. The Undertaker (WrestleMania 29)

WWE would like for you to forget about this match, given its current relationship with CM Punk. But fans wont forget one of The Undertakers finest WrestleMania matches. Punk was in full heel mode, mocking the late Paul Bearer in the lead up. The showdown delivered on so many levels and remains the standout match of WrestleManias last five years.

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11. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 26)

Well get to the first WrestleMania match between Taker and Michaels in a little bit. But the second one had the added element of Michaels career being on the line. At a time when it was hard to believe Taker would ever lose at WrestleMania, the story added a bit of doubt in fans minds, which made it all the more compelling.

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10. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 12)

For old-school fans of wrestling, seeing two stars wrestle for an hour wasnt anything new. But WWE played it up with the iron man match between its two best performers. Hart and Michaels feud was one of the greatest in WWE history and their match didnt disappoint. It marked another passing of the torch moment that would lead to even more controversy months later when Hart would depart from WWE.

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9. Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant (WrestleMania 3)

This is really the first iconic moment in WrestleMania history and cemented the event as a must-see pay-per-view. Hogan and Andre the Giant were as big as it got back in the day and the moment where Hogan picked up the Giant and slammed him remains one of the most iconic in wrestling history.

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8. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (WrestleMania 10)

Emotions were high when brother took on brother in the first match to air at WrestleMania 10. Owen Hart proved to be every bit as good as his brother and earned a win in a technically flawless match. Hart would pull double-duty by defeating Yokozuna to win the championship later in the night.

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7. The Rock vs. Hollywood Hogan (WrestleMania 18)

John Cena once said if you put the WrestleMania 18 match between The Rock and Hollywood Hogan on mute, it would make you throw up. But the match proves just how much the crowd means to a WWE pay-per-view. Shockingly, fans backed Hogan in one of the most thrilling dream matches in wrestling history. Had he gotten the win that night, the roof would have truly came off the place.

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6. Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 10)

This is where the ladder match began and it may still be the pinnacle moment. Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon were making things up as they went along, while telling one heck of a story. While Razor got the win, this was the moment where everyone realized what a once in a lifetime talent Michaels truly was.

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5. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WrestleMania 17)

The main event at the greatest WrestleMania card ever was quite shocking. The Rock and Austin were at their peak power. The match featured Austin turning heel by having Vince McMahon help him screw The Rock over. But the heel turn didnt take an fans continued to cheer for Austin.

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4. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. Edge and Christian (WrestleMania 17)

Wrestling would never been the same after the tag team TLC match. The Dudleys, Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian put their careers on the line to showcase a level of carnage the organization had never scene. It rightfully earned a standing ovation and stole the night at the greatest WrestleMania of all time.

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3. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13)

The I Quit match between Austin and Hart at WrestleMania 13 may be the most important match in WWE history. WCW was kicking Vince McMahons butt in the ratings and WWE needed a new star. Enter Austin, a heel who would turn into the greatest face WWE had ever scene when he refused to submit to Hart.

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2. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 25)

Talk about breathtaking. The two greatest WrestleMania performers in history had the crowd on the edge of their seats as they kicked out of finisher after finisher. Watching Taker vs. Michaels at WrestleMania 25 is what wrestling is all about. They may be the two best in-ring performers of all time and this proves it.

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1. Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat (WrestleMania 3)

Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant headlined WrestleMania 3. But Macho Man and Ricky The Dragon Steamboat stole the show. In doing so, they established the blueprint for what a great WrestleMania match was. As the story goes, an obsessive Macho Man wrote down every single move and exchange the two were going to do, which overwhelmed Steamboat. But The Dragon went along with it, producing a match that would forever change the two men and the wrestling industry.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The decor might be spectacular, the vibe stylish. But luring a crowd is never as simple as it appears.

When The Vault opened in 2014, it promised a Las Vegas nightclub experience amid the flash and big beats - akin to some episode of "Entourage," where the gang parties with the beautiful people.

One problem: The vibe didn't mesh with the building.

The Vault, you see is located in the basement of The 9 - a mixed-use complex that features the Metropolitan Hotel, 104 high-end apartments, Heinen's Market and venues such as the Adega restaurant and Azure Rooftop Lounge.

Yes, mixed-use, but with a common theme - that, as it turns out, didn't work well with the Vault.

Enter Vault 2.0.

"No more nightclub and bottle service and private parties - it just didn't fit with the image of the rest of the building," says Kenny Didier, general manager of the Metropolitan. "This should be the place you go to for craft cocktails, and it should be open to the public continually."

So it will be done.

The new Vault will boast 30 signature cocktails, along with a deep list of spirits that focuses on brown liquors such as bourbon, brandy, rye and Scotch.

"We tried to create drinks that reflected what this space is all about," says David Binion, who oversaw the drink list.

Of course, this space is a maze of vaults and corridors that once kept the wealth of the Cleveland Trust Co., the iconic financial institution founded in 1894. So it's no surprise to see a drink called the Millionaire's Row here - a complex elixir consisting of Green Spot Irish whiskey, chartreuse French liqueur, ginger beer, lemon, lime, egg white, apple cider, chili powder and rosemary.

"We spent a lot of time creating postmodern takes on classics," says Binion, pointing to rows of tiny bottles and a mixology tool set at the bar. "Just check out all these tools and herbs we have back here."

Drinks will contain a variety of house-made syrups and juices, not to mention ginger beer -- one of the ingredients in the Miller's Strawberry Mule, which also boasts vodka and a strawberry mint shrub.

"We also redid the back of the bar and took out this ugly purple thing that was here to make room for all this alcohol behind the bar," he says. "The focus is on the drinks."

Yes, but the pitch is to a clientele that appreciates them -- and a complementary food list designed by Chef Nelly Buleje, executive chef for The 9. The menu features small plates, from charcuterie to flatbread to oysters.

"We're looking at attracting the 30-60 demo," says Aubree Schilder, marketing coordinator for the Geis Hospitality Group, which operates the complex. "Ideally, it's high-end, like a businessman that would come here after work for a cocktail."

That might run counter to the pitch about appealing to well-to-do millennials you often hear about when bars and restaurants open up with wide-eyed hopes. It's a pitch that is often modified over time by reality.

"The bottom line is millennials don't have as much money as people might want to believe," says Schilder. "Most of our drinks are going to be affordable - in the $12-$14 range - but we want a broader audience that appreciates a fine drink."

The new Vault, which will host a grand opening on April 4, has also seen some changes in the decor, with rooms designed for sipping and seating and conversation.

"The 9 is such an iconic place, and we have this amazing history that was getting overlooked down here because we tried to make it into a nightclub," says Schilder. "That was a mistake, but now it all makes sense."

THE VAULT is located at The 9, 2017 East Ninth St., Cleveland.

The cocktail lounge will have its grand opening on April 4. It will be open Tuesday through Saturday, opening at 4 p.m. each day.

Applications for employment are now being accepted at the9cleveland.com.

For more info, go to vault9cle.com or call 216-331-6314.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Designed in 1971 by modernist master Marcel Breuer, the Ameritrust Tower was the last gasp of Cleveland to hold on to its sense of old grandeur. It was also controversial when it opened up in 1971 -- a Brutalist behemoth that many saw as cold, distant and dehumanizing, especially when paired with the ornate, lovely rotunda.

After closing in 1996, it sat empty for years - seemingly destined for a death sentence, courtesy of a wrecking ball. It was a fine example of American ruin porn.

Next to it, the circa-1908 Cleveland Trust rotunda sat shuttered -- a neoclassical temple to the city's once-great financial status and an embarrassing reminder of how far the city had fallen.

Both were revived with a new purpose in 2014 when The 9 opened.
Ohio Statehouse in Columbus

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority on Monday approved development aid to 10 projects expected to create $40 million in new payroll across the state.

(Rich Exner, cleveland.com)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio approved tax credits Monday for 10 business projects expected to create 886 new jobs, including 455 in Northeast Ohio.

The projects are expected to result in $38 million in new investment and add $40 million in new payroll statewide.

JobsOhio, the state's private economic development arm, and regional economic organizations recommended the projects to the Ohio Tax Credit Authority, which approved the projects at its Monday meeting.

The job creation tax credits are performance-based and can be used only as the jobs are created.

Here's a breakdown of the projects by region.

Northeast Ohio

Piping Rock Health Products LLC, Aurora: The company expects to create 346 full-time jobs, generating $12 million in new annual payroll. Piping Rock manufactures and distributes natural products including nutritional supplements, vitamins, essential oils and cosmetics. The company received a 1.451-percent, nine-year tax credit.

Gorbett Enterprises of Solon Inc., Solon: The company plans to create 68 full-time jobs, generating $2 million in new annual payroll and retaining $5.3 million in existing payroll. The company, which provides cold food storage and distribution for grocery chains and restaurants through Great Lakes Storage, was granted a 0.959-percent, six-year tax credit.

Dwellworks LLC, Cleveland: The company expects to create 41 full-time jobs, generating $1.6 million in new annual payroll and retaining $7.6 million in existing payroll. Dwellworks, which assists companies relocating their employees, received a 1.588-percent, six-year tax credit.



Central Ohio

GB Food Inc., Heath: The company expects to create 29 full-time jobs, generating $1.2 million in new annual payroll. The company supplies protein ingredients for cereal and protein bar manufacturers. GB Food was granted a 1.107-percent, six-year tax credit.



Infoverity LLC, Dublin: The company expects to create 40 full-time jobs, generating $3.2 million in new annual payroll and retaining $2.6 million in existing payroll. The data management company received a 1.614-percent, seven-year tax credit.



Medical Staffing Options, Columbus: The company expects to create 60 full-time jobs, generating $2.1 million in new annual payroll and retaining $3.1 million in existing payroll. The company, which provides job placement services for nurses and other healthcare professionals, was granted a 1.356-percent, six-year tax credit.



Southwest Ohio

Federal Equipment Company, Cincinnati: The company expects to create 60 full-time jobs, generating $3 million in new annual payroll and retaining $5.6 million in existing payroll. The engineering firm, which supplies specialized military replacement parts, received a 1.398-percent, seven-year tax credit.



Northwest Ohio

Tronair, Inc., Swanton: The company expects to create 110 full-time jobs, generating $7.2 million in new annual payroll and retaining $6.8 million in existing payroll. The company, which designs and manufactures ground support equipment for aircraft, received a 1.715-percent, eight-year tax credit.

West Ohio

NDC Technologies, Inc., Huber Heights: The company expects to create 42 full-time jobs, generating $3.1 million in new annual payroll and retaining $5.6 million in existing payroll. The company, which designs and manufactures process measurement and control instrumentation for various manufacturing industries. The TCA approved a 1.667-percent, seven-year Job Creation Tax Credit for this project.



Location to be determined

ProLink Staffing Services, LLC: The company expects to create 90 full-time jobs, generating $4.8 million in new annual payroll and retaining $5.4 million in existing payroll. The staffing and recruiting service company was granted a 1.486-percent, six-year tax credit.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State University adjunct professor killed in the crossfire of weekend shootout was a passionate artist who taught at three colleges, his nephew said.

David Wilder, 61, died Saturday after he was shot on East 89th Street at Woodland Avenue. Wilder was caught in a "running vehicular gun battle" -- one of several shootings this weekend in Cleveland, police said Monday at a press conference.

Three men have been arrested and charged in his death.

Wilder was a part-time art history teacher at CSU, Cuyahoga Community College and John Carroll University. He also produced contemporary art, which he displayed on his personal website, his nephew Nathan Wilder said in a phone interview with cleveland.com.

"He was an avid artist," Nathan Wilder said. "He was also working on another master's degree."

David Wilder grew up in Painesville and spent most of his life in Northeast Ohio. He earned a bachelor's degree in sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design, and earned master's degrees from the University of Cincinnati and Kent State University.

He began his teaching career in 1993. Over the years he earned many positive reviews from his students, his nephew said.

"He was very kind and humble and had a nice sense of humor and wit about him," Nathan Wilder said. "He was a very caring individual who really cared about other people."

David Wilder was one of two people profiled by cleveland.com in 2015 for a story that illustrated how part-time professors make ends meet. He was a passionate advocate for unions, and was a founding member of the Ohio Part-Time Faculty Association, which was formed in 2013 to help adjunct faculty organize to transform their working conditions.

"We, his friends and colleagues, are devastated by his loss and resolute in our determination to continue our work in his honor, as we know he would want us to do," the organization said Monday in a memorial posted on its website. "We share the grief of his family and friends in this immeasurable loss."

Since David Wilder did not hold a full-time teaching position, he did not earn benefits to cover the cost of his funeral, his nephew said.

"He was very well-educated and very well-respected in his field, but he never really had a full-time gig," Nathan Wilder said. "He did everything he could to make ends meet. He worked really hard."

David Wilder never married or had children, and had few relatives in the area. Nathan Wilder -- who is 42 years old and lives in Baltimore with his family -- is planning his uncle's funeral.

The family started a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral expenses. The page raised nearly $5,000 toward its $7,500 goal by 4 p.m. Monday.

If the page raises more than $7,500 or if there is any money left over, Nathan Wilder is considering starting a scholarship fund in his uncle's name.

"People have been very generous," Nathan Wilder said. "It's nice to know that when tragedy happens, people are goodhearted and come out to support others."

Three Cleveland men, Charles Walker, Terrell Gray and Kassius Williams, are charged with aggravated murder in connection with Wilder's death, court records show.

Tywan Cortez Johnson, 15, was also killed and two others were wounded in the shooting.

The three suspects rode in a Volkswagen while Johnson and two others rode in a Saturn Vue. The two cars were westbound on Woodland Avenue when the groups started firing shots at one another, police said.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Monday's crime and courts comments section
David Wilder, right

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland State University adjunct professor was one of several victims of a series of weekend shootings on the city's East Side, a university spokesman confirmed Monday.

David Wilder, 61, died Saturday after he was shot about 1:35 p.m. at East 89th Street and Woodland Avenue on the border of Cleveland's Kinsman and Fairfax neighborhoods.

Wilder was a part-time adjunct professor in the arts department at CSU, university spokesman Will Dube told cleveland.com.

Wilder suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

A second adult also suffered a gunshot wound in the incident, but no other deaths were reported.

Tywan Cortez Johnson, 15, of Cleveland was also killed in the shootout, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office. Johnson was shot nearby at the intersection of East 79th Street and Woodland Avenue.

Police have not disclosed the circumstances around the shootings and the case remains under investigation. Detectives cordoned off two crime scenes after the shootings that a police spokesman said are being investigated as possibly related incidents.

Wilder was one of two people profiled by cleveland.com in February 2015 for a story that illustrated how part-time professors make ends meet.

To comment on this story, please visit cleveland.com's crime and courts comments section
Europe's medicines regulator has recommended the suspension of more than 300 generic drug approvals and drug applications due to "unreliable" tests conducted by Indian contract research firm Micro Therapeutic Research Labs.



The decision, announced by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on its website, is the latest blow for India's drug-testing industry, which has run into a series of problems with international regulators in recent years.



Nobody at the Chennai-based company was immediately available to comment.



The EMA said European officials had been investigating Micro Therapeutic's compliance with good clinical practice after Austrian and Dutch authorities raised concerns in February 2016.



"The inspections identified several concerns at the company's sites regarding misrepresentation of study data and deficiencies in documentation and data handling," the agency said.


The current attempt to limit the supply of oil may have boosted prices, building up a case for such effort to be extended, but a pick-up in demand is what needed to support a bull case for oil, an analyst told CNBC Monday.

That viewpoint came after a joint committee of ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC nations agreed over the weekend to review whether they should extend a pact to limit oil supply by another six months, according to a Sunday statement.

That news lifted both Brent and WTI in early Asia trade.

Alan Bannister, regional director of oil content at S&P Global Platts, said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that the positive impact on prices from the current pact means it will likely be extended.

"Admittedly, (the current agreement came) at the cost of some member countries to reduce the amount of crude oil they can sell, but I think they will be broadly satisfied that the agreement they came to and the steps they're taking are leading to a higher price than would have been the case otherwise," he said.

However, rising domestic production in the United States and increased shale production could continue to hamper such effort to support oil prices. For prices to climb further, demand has to pick up, Bannister said.

"We're seeing that to a point. The case for an increase in demand in emerging markets is strong, particularly with rising sales of new vehicles and two-wheelers," he said.

OPEC and 11 other leading producers including Russia agreed to cut output by a combined 1.8 million barrels per day for six months from January this year. The joint committee said in its Sunday statement that it is satisfied with the level of conformity so far.
CNBC

Katie Jacobs Stanton knows how to create her own options.



Stanton, a veteran of Twitter , Google , Yahoo and a presidential administration, now serves as chief marketing officer of genetic testing startup Color Genomics. Her professional journey from East Coast to West, and back and forth again, has given her rare insight into the workplace cultures that shape us today.

For its podcast, Fortt Knox sat down with Stanton to talk about the environment for women in tech, and her journey to the executive ranks in Silicon Valley. Here are some key lessons from our conversation:

Outsmart the Culture

Stanton's timing was great, joining Google in 2003 after a stint at Yahoo and a maternity leave. But she encountered some obstacles right out of the gate.



"When I was at Yahoo, I was hired as a product manager for Yahoo Finance, and helped build the site and build it internationally. And so when I came to Google, naturally I thought, 'I can be a product manager here,'" she said. "And Google said, 'No, I'm sorry, you don't have a computer science background.' And I was like, but I just helped build this great product on the web, and I've been there for three years, and I was promoted."



The leadership structure at Google was unmoved. No computer science background, no product management.



But that didn't stop Stanton. She found engineers who would work with her, and brought Google Finance to market. Along the way, she gained a reputation as a person who could ship new ideas.

The #Angels investment group. Pictured are: Left to right, top row: Chloe Sladden, Jana Messershcmidt Jessica Verrilli and Vijaya Gadde, Katie Stanton, April Underwood, left to right bottom row. Source: #Angels

Move Around

Stanton is from New York, went to college in Tennessee, ditched the East Coast for Silicon Valley in her 20s, and did a stint as director of citizen participation in the Obama administration and as a technology advisor in the State Department before heading back to California. International travel has helped broaden her horizons; she was serving as vice president of Twitter's international business when the company went public. That now influences what Stanton looks for when she's hiring.



"I look for people with international experience, something I believe strongly in. People who speak foreign languages, I think, have always stood out to me," Stanton said, adding that she looks for those qualities even in roles that don't require it. "I think it just brings a different lens and a different empathy, a different perspective to things."



As someone who hadn't traveled internationally when I started my career, I couldn't help but notice that in some ways, Stanton's preference for well-traveled people could be as limiting as Google's preference for coders as product managers. The key, it seems, is to show you can deliver what the job requires even if your resume isn't the obvious fit.

Find Role Models
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive-elect, speaks as her husband Lam Siu-por, left, and son Lam Jit-si, right, look on during a news conference following the chief executive election in Hong Kong, China, on Sunday, March 26, 2017. Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor won with 777 votes, exceeding the 689 her predecessor, Leung Chun-ying, secured at the last election in 2012. As the opposition likes to vilify and dehumanise, it's out with Mr 689 and in with Mrs 777. But Lam is nothing like Leung. I for one am happy to see a smart and decent woman for a leader. She will face tremendous obstacles and great odds, though. She not only has to contend with an opposition that only knows how to say no, but her administration also risks being hijacked by vested interests that were more than willing to follow Beijing's call, yet will seek to make her beholden to them. While it would be an exaggeration to say a state of war exists in Hong Kong, the level of mutual hostility and distrust is tearing our city apart. All the opposition lawmakers have jointly declared they won't work with Lam.

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South Korean prosecutors said on Monday they will seek a detention warrant for ousted President Park Geun-hye, who has been accused of taking bribes from big businesses.

In this handout photo released by the South Korean Presidential Blue House, South Korea's President Park Geun-Hye attends the emergency cabinet meeting at the presidential office on December 9, 2016 in Seoul, South Korea.

Park, 65, became South Korea's first democratically elected president to be removed from office when a constitutional court upheld her parliamentary impeachment this month. Park denies any wrong doing.



for the latest on markets.
Despite what it might have looked like, President Donald Trump wasn't throwing shade at House Speaker Paul Ryan in a conspicuous tweet promoting a Fox News show, representatives for both Trump and Ryan said Sunday.

On Saturday, the commander-in-chief urged his 27 million Twitter followers to "Watch @JudgeJeanine on @FoxNews tonight at 9:00 P.M."

Tweet 1

The tweet seemed fairly innocuous  if a bit commercial  at first, but it took on deeper meaning when host Jeanine Pirro used the top of her show, "Justice With Judge Jeanine," to slam Ryan, R-Wisconsin, over his handling of the failed health care overhaul last week, going as far as calling on Ryan to step down.

More from NBC News:

Russia Probe Is 'Most Important Thing I've Ever Done,' Senate Intel Committee Vice Chair Warner Says

Gov. Jerry Brown to Trump: 'You Don't Want to Mess with California'

Health Care Debacle: Trump Attacks Conservatives Over Bill Failure

"Paul Ryan needs to step down as speaker of the House," Pirro declared. "He failed to deliver the votes on his health care bill."

Pirro also said Trump wasn't to blame for the bill's failure to come to a vote.
Thinking like a child means being open, excited and optimistic. It also means dreaming big. These four savvy, successful entrepreneurs are teens and tweens, but they set big goals for themselves and keep achieving. Here are five of the most important lessons they feel like they've learned along the way. Lesson 1: Keep on top of your finances with automated technology

Mikaila Ulmer is 12 and the CEO of the Austin-based Me & the Bees Lemonade, which is sold in 20 states and carried in Whole Foods markets. In 2016, Ulmer's company sold 300,000 bottles of lemonade. "I am a Generation-Z kid and I love technology. I would say, track your numbers through a piece of technology, whether it's a laptop or a phone that you can pull out whenever you need to," Ulmer tells CNBC. Lesson 2: Turn lemons into, well, lemonade

When Ulmer was four years old, she was stung by two bees within a week. She was upset but, at her parents' urging, she learned about bees and why they are important. That research inspired her to start her drink business, Me & the Bees Lemonade. Ten percent of profits go to charities including Heifer International, the National Park Services and the Sustainable Food Center of Austin. "Dream big, and not only dream big, but also dream like a kid," says Ulmer. "When a kid has a dream and they want it to come true, they will do whatever it takes to do so. They don't see the obstacles in the way, they will just fight hard to make it come true. "Sometimes you have to get into that mindset and dream like a kid," she says. It will "put you into a better goal setting stage for your business." Lesson 3: Know your worth

Taylor Rosenthal and the RecMed machine Source: RecMed First Aid Kits

Taylor Rosenthal, a high-schooler grader from Opelika, Alabama, launched RecMed, whose vending machines dispense first-aid products. He got an offer to sell his company for $30 million from an undisclosed bidder but the young entrepreneur didn't think it was enough money. "At the time, I felt the deal wasn't right  I felt like I wanted to grow and develop the company from what it was, which drove me to turn it down," he says. As of last year, Rosenthal was "hopeful" he could close a deal to sell his company for $50 million. Lesson 4: Start preparing early to accomplish big goals

Sixth-grader Micah Amezquita started a trash-can toting business in his neighborhood to raise money for college so he can become an aeronautical engineer. When his father posted about his son's business on LinkedIn, the post went viral. I "have a lot of things I'd like to do when I'm bigger, so I definitely have to go to college to do those things," says Amezquita. And he keeps a positive attitude through the grunt work. "I like the job!" he says. "There's nothing I don't like about it." Lesson 5: Don't let doubters slow you down

Kapelushnik with music producer and rapper DJ Khaled. Source: Kapelushnik
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SEATTLE  Last Sunday in Palm Springs, Calif., Jeffrey P. Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon , climbed into the cockpit of a 13-foot robot and began flailing his arms as though warming up for a workout, causing the robot's enormous appendages to mimic his movements.

"Why do I feel so much like Sigourney Weaver?" Mr. Bezos said, referring to the actress who wore a mechanical suit in a climactic battle in the 1986 movie "Aliens." More from The New York Times:

Uber Suspends Tests of Self-Driving Vehicles After Arizona Crash

North Korea's Rising Ambition Seen in Bid to Breach Global Banks

Smartphones That Get Too Darn Hot The intimate audience of entrepreneurs and academics, attending an Amazon conference on robotics and artificial intelligence, chuckled. Later, Mr. Bezos posted a photo on Twitter of himself in the suit with a more menacing air, the robot's arms raised as if about to deliver a bone-crushing bear hug. Jeff Bezos tweet For years, retailers have been haunted by the thought of Amazon using its technological prowess to squeeze them into powder. That battle has mostly played out on Amazon's home turf, the world of online shopping. Now the fight is coming directly to retailers on actual streets around the globe, where Amazon is slowly building a fleet of physical stores. And while most of the attention has been focused on Amazon's grocery store dreams, the company has a more ambitious collection of experiments underway. If those experiments work  and there is no guarantee of that  they could have a profound influence on how other stores operate. Over time, they could also introduce new forms of automation, putting traditional retail jobs in jeopardy. At the same time, locating those stores close to customers' homes could also help Amazon further its ambitions of delivering internet orders within hours. The company is exploring the idea of creating stores to sell furniture and home appliances, like refrigerators  the kinds of products that shoppers are reluctant to buy over the internet sight unseen, said one of several people with knowledge of the discussions who, in conversations with The New York Times, spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans were confidential. The stores would serve as showcases where people could view the items in person, with orders being delivered to their homes. These would not be your average Home Depots : Amazon has considered using forms of augmented or virtual reality to allow people to see how couches, stoves and credenzas will look in their homes, the person briefed on the discussions said. Amazon is also kicking around an electronics-store concept similar to Apple's retail emporiums, according to two of the people familiar with the discussions. These shops would have a heavy emphasis on Amazon devices and services such as the company's Echo smart home speaker and Prime Video streaming service. And in groceries  a giant category in which Amazon has struggled  the company has opened a convenience store that does not need cashiers, and it is close to opening two stores where drivers can quickly pick up groceries without leaving their cars, all in Seattle. It has explored another grocery store concept that could serve walk-in customers and act as a hub for home deliveries.

An Amazon-branded Boeing 767 freighter, nicknamed Amazon One, flies over Lake Washington during the Seattle Seafair Air Show on August 5, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. Stephen Brashear | Getty Images

Overseas, Amazon is quietly targeting India for new brick-and-mortar grocery stores. It is a vast market, and one still largely dominated by traditional street bazaars where shoppers must wander from stall to stall haggling over prices and deliberating over unrefrigerated meat sitting in the dusty open air. Amazon's internal code name for its India grocery ambitions: Project Everest. Last week, Amazon opened its fifth physical book store in Chicago, and it has five more announced locations under construction. It is possible that some of the store ideas will never see the light of day. Groups within Amazon are often encouraged to come up with zany initiatives (this is the company that popularized the idea of drone deliveries). Many ideas are chucked after deeper scrutiny by executives. Amazon declined to talk about any stores it has not announced publicly. "We are always thinking about new ways to serve customers, but thinking is different than planning," said Drew Herdener, an Amazon spokesman. Since the late '90s, pundits have asked when Amazon  the company Mr. Bezos founded on the premise that people would rather shop from the comfort of their screens  would finally start building stores. But Amazon executives saw plenty of opportunities in online retail and new ways to reach people, from creating digital book-selling devices like Kindle to building up the Prime membership service for getting faster deliveries and other benefits. In 2012, Mr. Bezos told the television interviewer Charlie Rose that shoppers were already well served by existing retailers and that Amazon had no interest in a me-too effort. "We want to do something uniquely Amazon," he said. "If we can find that idea, and we haven't found it yet, but if we can find that idea, we would love to open physical stores." Despite Amazon's internet retailing success, over time it has become clear that there is a lot of shopping that people prefer to do in person. The most glaring example is groceries  the mother of all shopping categories, with about $770 billion for the supermarkets represented by the Food Marketing Institute, a nonprofit group that includes the majority of such stores in the United States. After pouring resources into an online grocery service, AmazonFresh, for almost a decade, the company has made only modest progress. According to people familiar with the workings of the company's grocery business, it has struggled to operate it profitably, leading to a slow rollout of the service in new locations. One big desire many customers have is that they want to see fresh fruits, vegetables and meat in person before buying them. The relatively high cost of home delivery  Amazon charges $15 a month for its Fresh service, on top of a $99 annual Prime membership  is another barrier. Online grocery delivery accounts for only about 3 percent of the market in the United States, though it is closer to 10 percent in Britain, said Randy Burt, a partner in the food and beverage practice of A. T. Kearney, a strategy and management consulting firm. Mr. Burt said Amazon's growing interest in stores mirrored the conclusion that other online merchants with physical stores  the apparel seller Bonobos and the eyewear seller Warby Parker  had come to. "I think they are recognizing, for certain things you can't digitize and replicate online all the experience one has in a store," Mr. Burt said. "The ability to create experiences is going to be critical for them to continue to get share." Joe Thompson, a former general manager in Amazon's retail business, sees physical retail as key to Mr. Bezos's outsize ambitions for the company. "I can't help but feel that, in Bezos's mind, he wants to be the first trillion-dollar valuation company," said Mr. Thompson, who is now an executive at BuildDirect, an online home improvement store. To do that, he said, Amazon would have to "crack" a couple of "completely underpenetrated markets online." Amazon's current market value is bobbing around $400 billion. In the coming weeks, Amazon is expected to open its first two grocery pickup stores, in Seattle's Ballard and SoDo neighborhoods, which will allow customers to order food online and schedule brief windows for picking them up in person. Recently, as cars ripped by, workers hung a sign on the exterior of one of the stores  to be called AmazonFresh Pickup, according to city permit documents obtained by GeekWire  before quickly covering it up. A growing number of established grocery retailers are experimenting with this "click and collect" approach to shopping, including Walmart , Kroger and others. According to one person briefed on Amazon's plans, the company has been developing technology for automatically detecting when a customer pulls into the parking lot so orders can be brought to them more quickly.

An Amazon Go grocery store in Seattle, Washington. David Ryder | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Over the course of a few evenings in 2013, the heads of trading from major investment banks got together for some poker nights. It was a bit of relaxation from their hectic schedules. But what their seemingly-innocent hands of Texas Hold'em revealed was a story of traders gone rogue. After every poker night, there would be a big spike in the profit and loss (P&L) statement for the traders involved because they would be colluding and tipping each other off about trades. But it wasn't until 2015 that this was discovered when the companies were under investigation by authorities. A law firm brought in to look into the suspicious activity was handed piles of communications documents, but it was artificial intelligence (AI) software that managed to find the link between poker nights and the collusion that had taken place. It can be hard for investigators to draw conclusions from the mass of documents they have to wade through. How can you connect a private poker night to illegal trading? Behavox is a U.K. start-up that uncovered the wrongdoing. Its software can link seemingly unrelated things to help compliance staff within financial organizations find rogue traders, by recognizing behavior that strays from the norm. "A poker night would have never got flagged as you didn't know you should be looking at it as something suspicious," Erkin Adylov, chief executive of Behavox, told CNBC in an interview. "The relationship between the people involved is the reason we flagged it. The three people who kept playing poker were very close and seem important, i.e. there seemed like there was a business relation. The fact that these guys spent a ton of time playing poker when they were clearly busy was the first thing we highlighted. When you analyzed P&L and overlaid one data set with another, there was a big spike in P&L after the poker night. When we highlighted, the compliance guys were able to connect the dots and found it was a case of collusion."

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Behavox uses machine learning  where its algorithm continues to improve with more data  to analyze employees within an organization. It allows the software to build up a picture of workers and then flag anything that appears out of character. It could be something as granular as using an obscene word in a message to a colleague, to the way you speak to people on the trading floor. The current problem is that compliance officers and investigators could have to sift through millions of documents of message logs or financial statements and not necessarily draw a link between them. The start-up is trying to build up a database of past misconduct in order to help financial institutions deal with bad behavior, something that can be challenging because companies don't want to give others an insight into wrongdoings within. "One of our biggest problems when we were starting out was the fact that you can't build software unless somebody gives you the data set. And nobody is going to give you the data set until you actually have the software, so it's a chicken and egg situation," Adylov said. However, law firms brought in to investigate are "playing defense" and are happy to give data to Behavox to help, the entrepreneur said. It's a solution that should be welcome to many large businesses given that the banking sector has been hit with billions of dollars of fines over the last few years with the whole industry in the crosshairs of regulators. In the U.K., senior managers could face jail time if their employees make bad decisions which leads to the failure of a bank. Behavox is hoping it can win clients by explaining the need to know what's going on within a business. So far, hedge fund Marshall Wace and interdealer broker TP ICAP are using the software. Adylov said Behavox has 15 clients in total and is hoping that number will "escalate dramatically" this year. Last year, Behavox raised $3 million from a round of funding from London-based venture capital firm Hoxton Ventures and Chicago's Promus Ventures. Adylov would not reveal the company's valuation but said it is already getting takeover offers "north of $100 million", after being in business for just two-and-a-half years.

Erkin Adylov, chief executive officer of Behavox Ltd., poses for a photograph in London, U.K., on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty Images Restrictions
Piper Jaffray raised its rating for Best Buy shares to overweight from neutral, saying the company's earnings results will come in above expectations in the coming year. Best Buy's "competition fading will be a benefit to [sales] comps. We believe hhgregg (near-term) and Sears (long-term) issues present sales opportunities for BBY," analyst Peter Keith wrote in a note to clients Sunday. "For Sears, full shut down of all stores (not announced at this point) would equate to a 2 percent comp benefit, based on our math, primarily in the margin-accretive appliance category." Sears Holdings shares are down by nearly 40 percent in the past year as investors grow concerned over the future of the embattled retailer. Electronics retailer Hhgregg filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month. The analyst raised his Best Buy price target to $55 from $45, representing 23 percent upside from Friday's close. Keith predicts Hhgregg's announced closure of 88 stores will benefit Best Buy's annual comparable sales by 1.8 percentage points. As a result, he raised his Best Buy fiscal 2017 earnings per share forecast to $3.76 from $3.68 versus the Wall Street consensus of $3.68. The analyst also cited how product launches in the mobile category, which represents 10 percent to 12 percent of Best Buy's sales, will help Best Buy. "2017 has potential to be an abnormally strong year for smartphone upgrades due to differing dynamics with both Apple and Samsung," he wrote. Keith said the April launch of the Samsung Galaxy 8, the fall releases of the next Apple iPhone and Galaxy Note could be a "nice driver" for the retailer's results this year.

A salesman carries a Best Buy shopping basket in San Francisco, California. Getty Images
Bill Gross, who was fired from Pimco four decades after he co-founded the investment firm, has settled his lawsuit against the company for just over $81 million, sources told CNBC on Monday. He also gets a "Founders Room" named after him at the company's Newport Beach headquarters, along with the launch of a "Bill Gross Award," according to a Pimco press release.

A lawyer representing the Pimco co-founder filed a request in California state court to dismiss the fund manager's suit over his 2014 departure from the company. All proceeds from the settlement will go to charity  to the Sue and Bill Gross foundation.



Gross sued Pimco in 2015, claiming his dismissal from the company was a breach of contract, and a breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Gross said at the time that he suffered damages in excess of $200 million.



"I knew I didn't have much to gain except for my self respect," Gross said on leaving Pimco. "I thought I was treated unfairly on the way out from Pimco. ... They fired me without really giving a reason for it. There was a small coup of individuals that threatened to resign if I didn't."


Carlos Slim's Giant Motors will begin manufacturing cars in Mexico to sell to Latin America in a joint venture with China's JAC Motors as some carmakers step up production in the low-cost nation despite Donald Trump's "America first" policies.



Two Chinese-designed and largely Chinese-manufactured sport utility vehicles will be launched on Tuesday as the new venture aims to cash in on Mexico's booming domestic car market.

Giant Motors, the Mexican vehicle assembler backed by the billionaire investor, will focus on domestic sales and exports to the south with the new venture, instead of looking north to the US as it aims to navigate round the policies of the US president.

"We don't depend on Nafta at all, not for exports or for supplies," said Elias Massri, Giant Motors chief executive. "For us, this is where the opportunity lies."

The 4.4bn peso ($230m) investment comes as uncertainty over the North American Free Trade Agreement, or Nafta, puts pressure on Mexico to diversify its imports and exports away from its current dependence on the US.

It also shows China making a bet on Mexico as an assembly hub for exports to the rest of Latin America.

Already Mexico has trade deals with 44 nations through a dozen free-trade agreements, and the country is used by companies such as Audi, and soon BMW, as a base for global exports.

"They have a clear intention to go global, in contrast to what we're seeing in globalised countries that want to go backwards," said Mr Massri.Brazil, Russia and the Middle East, which have been good markets for Chinese cars, have all suffered in recent months, making Mexico attractive as a stepping stone to the rest of the continent, he added.

Mr Trump has lobbied hard for carmakers to shift plants and jobs home, prompting Ford to scrap a $1.6bn factory in Mexico.Carmakers are also worried about a possible Trump tax on imports while the upcoming renegotiation of Nafta has caused deep nervousness in Mexico's most emblematic manufacturing success story.

Giant, JAC and Chori , a Japanese company also involved in the project, began hatching plans two years ago  "well before the storm"  encouraged by runaway growth in the Mexican car market, said Mr Massri.The industry had a record 2016 and domestic sales rose 6.5 per cent in February compared with February 2015.

Giant, which is half owned by an investment vehicle belonging to Mr Slim's Inbursa finance house, produces trucks and vans with another Chinese company, FAW, under a joint venture dating back 10 years.It will assemble the JAC cars at the same plant in the central state of Hidalgo."

We're not big enough to export to the US and that would require a different level of investment. But we want to be a hub for exports to Latin America . . . within four years," said Mr Massri.

Giant is also working on separate plans for electric taxis and expects two more JAC models this year. Mr Massri hopes as many as 6,000 cars and as many trucks will be rolling off assembly lines by 2021.

Additional reporting by Peter Campbell
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Given the stock market turmoil, it's fair to be concerned about your retirement portfolio and the possible end of the Trump rally. Corrections are a normal part of the market. Since the end of the 2008-2009 bear market, the S&P 500 has experienced four corrections, defined as declines of 10 percent or more, according to Yardeni Research. (See chart below.) "The market has been a series of panic attacks followed by relief rallies," said Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research.

Investors seem to be troubled by the lack of progress of Trump's agenda, financial advisors say.

"We need to keep in mind that the weakness seen in the market due to the failure of Republicans to pass their health care bill may have more to do with the new doubt it casts as to whether they can pass tax reform, which is really what investors are waiting for," said Gustavo Vega, a certified financial planner and private wealth advisor at Ameriprise Financial Services in Miami. Whatever the cause, here's how to prepare for the next correction:

Stick to your plan

The recent market turmoil shouldn't change your investment strategy if you have a good one.

"The optimal investment strategy is one that you can stick to," said Charles Rotblut, vice president of the American Association of Individual Investors and editor of the AAII Journal. The real test of your risk tolerance is not when the markets are doing well, but when they are in the red. Rotblut recommends investors keep a journal to document their feelings about their portfolio over the market's ups and downs to see if they need to modify their plan. "Investors should have a strategy they can sleep with," he said.

Investment portfolio Rafe Swan | Getty Images

Rebalance if needed

If you are worried about more volatility ahead or that your portfolio has drifted too far off its target allocations, it may be time to rebalance. Rebalancing is the sometimes painful process of selling assets that have appreciated and buying ones that have fallen in value. It forces investors to sell high and buy low. You don't have to rebalance after every market gyration. Vanguard found that investors who wait to rebalance until their portfolios were 10 percentage points off target produced better long-term results than shifting the investment mix more often. Most retirement investors are comfortable letting it ride. From 2011 to 2015, 70 percent of participants in Vanguard's workplace retirement plans made no change to their allocations, not even to rebalance.

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Control what you can control
"The Russians interfered in the U.S. election via cyber means, because if they'd done it by sending agents into our polling places, we would've responded," he continued. "And our adversaries know that we aren't organized to respond yet digitally."

"If we're going to talk about a policy point, there's a real deterrence failure in cybersecurity," Fick told " Mad Money " host Jim Cramer on Monday.

Fick, a former Marine Corps officer, said Endgame's automated hunting service helped facilitate a recent partnership with consulting giant Accenture , and enables one of its top clients, the U.S. Air Force, to implement cutting-edge hunting tactics in its networks.

"There's a misconception out there that the government is somehow behind in cybersecurity," Fick said. "In fact, there are parts of the government that are really out there on the vanguard, and the Air Force is one of them."

Yet what many know as the "election hack," or the Russian-led hack and release of information from the Democratic National Committee's servers in the months leading up to the 2016 election, rattled the notion that the U.S. government is fully prepared to handle cyber threats.

Fick said that all of Endgame's testing suggested its platform could have prevented the hack, but there is no way to know for certain.

Following that, knowing where an attack is coming from is especially difficult in cyber, where assailants can bounce their attack through obscure servers on different continents to conceal where it originated.

"Attribution is hard in this space," he said. "And what we find is most of our commercial customers don't really care where the attack came from, they just want to stop it."

Despite the risks associated with cyber, the CEO's advice for businesses seeking to up their cybersecurity barriers was to become more value-based, rather than risk-averse.

"Cyber risk is an enterprise risk," Fick said. "Incorporate it into an overall enterprise risk management framework, and make a value-based decision on where you should spend."

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The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 0.4 percent lower with almost all sectors and major bourses in negative territory. Basic resources were the biggest losers on Monday, falling 3.2 percent. The sector was dragged to a two-week low by a slip in copper prices after Trump's health-care setback. Mining giant ArcelorMittal was among the bottom of the benchmark, down more than 4.8 percent.



In contrast, precious metal miners appeared to benefit as investors rushed to safe haven assets with Randgold and Fresnillo both trading in positive territory.



Banking stocks moved 0.56 percent lower on Monday as traders doubted whether Trump would be able to enact his economic agenda given the new administration's failure to repeal and replace Obamacare. Unicredit shares slipped 1.11 percent.



Britain's major telecoms firm, BT , has been fined a record 42 million ($53 million) by the regulator for failing to install high-speed lines for businesses fast enough, in an error that is likely to cost the company around 300 million in compensation, Reuters reported. Its shares were 0.2 percent lower.



Sterling hit its highest level in almost two months on Monday as it climbed to $1.2590 as investors appeared to back the U.K. currency amid U.S. healthcare concerns. However, sterling's appreciation seemed likely to be short-lived given the forthcoming triggering of Article 50 on Wednesday.



In the U.S. markets opened in the red as investors digested the President's failure to repeal Obamacare.





German economy extends 'golden cycle'



On the data front, Germany's Ifo business climate index climbed to its highest level in almost six years in March as sentiment increased to 112.3 points, up from 111.1 points the month previous.



"Even though the German economy could still use some new structural reforms, today's Ifo index illustrates that low-interest rates, a relatively weak euro and continued government consumption should once again extend the current golden cycle," Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING, said in a note.



Elsewhere, members of the European Central Bank said at various conferences that the current monetary stance is necessary based on the low core inflation figures. Speaking to CNBC on Monday, Sabine Lautenschlager, member of the ECB's executive board, said the bank "should prepare for a change in the policy and as soon as the data is stable and we have a sustainable path towards our objective of price stability, then we are well prepared to do (it)."



The Bank of England released details of its 2017 stress tests on Monday and stated it would evaluate the risk of sterling slipping by a further 32 percent from today's level to 85 cents by year-end.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel received a boost on Sunday as her conservative party won a regional election in the western state of Saarland. Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) bolstered their position as the state's largest party in spite of recent pressure and the rise in prominence of the Social Democrats (SPD) leader Martin Schulz.

Meanwhile, in Russia police detained hundreds of protesters, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny, on Sunday as thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate against corruption and urged Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to resign.



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Britain's exit from the European Union means that one of the bloc's biggest economies will stop making contributions to its budget. This raises questions as to how long the U.K. will continue to pay its share of the budget and how can the EU fill the gap once Britain has officially left. The U.K. has already said it will not pay a 60 billion euro ($64.73 billion) bill to leave the bloc  money that according to the EU would be used for the U.K.'s share of commitments to the pensions of its workers and U.K.-based projects that have already received funding approval. At the same time, some member states have already told Brussels they are not willing to pay more into the EU budget to compensate for the U.K.'s departure. CNBC takes a look at the importance of the U.K. to the EU budget and what other countries are willing to do about it.



The UK is one of the main contributors to the EU budget

In 2014, the U.K. was the fourth largest national contributor to the EU budget, after Germany, France and Italy. It paid a total of 11.34 billion euros ($12.24 billion) to a budget of 116.53 billion euros. In 2015, that contribution rose to 18.20 billion euros of a total of 118.60 billion euros.

"In 2015, the U.K. was the 3rd largest net contributor to the EU budget after Germany and France. The U.K. was the 6th largest recipient of EU expenditure in total in 2015, but its EU expenditure share measured in percentage of the GNI was the lowest at 0.30 percent," a document prepared for European lawmakers and obtained by CNBC said.

Where does the EU money go?

The U.K. spends most of its EU money on agriculture and regional development. But EU funds are also used to combat terrorism, boost job creation and contribute to projects in non-EU countries. It also covers the administrative expenditure of all the European institutions, pensions and EU-run schools for the children of EU employees.

How many UK employees work in European institutions?

"Under assumption that the average share of U.K. nationals in the EU institutions is around 4 percent out of the total of 45,845, the number of permanent and temporary EU staff of U.K. nationality could be estimated to be some 1,800, not including contract agents, freelancers, service providers, MEP assistants, seconded national experts," the parliamentary document said. The controversial "exit bill" that has been mentioned by EU officials includes the costs to relocate EU institutions based in the U.K. Apart from 52 European Commission staff based in the U.K. and 17 members working for the European Parliament spread across London and Edinburgh, there are two EU agencies that will need to be moved: The European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority.

When will the UK stop contributing to the budget?

This is one of the big doubts surrounding the Brexit talks. The EU budget is organized in a seven-year timeframe that regulates its annual spending  called the Multiannual Financial Framework. The last one was arranged for the years between 2014 and 2020. The U.K. is poised to leave the European Union in March of 2019. This means that the EU will have to decide how it will organize its budget between that time and the end of 2020.

'I will not pay more'
"I want to deliver a message of lucidity, because the world is threatened, but also a message of truth and will," the 62-year-old leader said in Singapore  in the first state visit to the Southeast Asian nation by a sitting French president.

In a wide-ranging lecture on Monday, French President Francois Hollande defended multilateralism as he warned against a global tendency toward inward-looking policies.

French President Francois Hollande (C) with Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugam (L) and Wang Gungwu (R), chairman of the ISEAS Board of Trustees in Singapore on March 27, 2017

Speaking at an event organised by local research center ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, formerly the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Hollande stressed that compliance with international order was the best solution to protectionism.

"Instead of closing down borders or building walls, we need a regulated globalization based on the sovereignty of nations and the strength of international organizations, especially the United Nations," he said. "This temptation to look inwards is not only dangerous, but it leads to a dead end."

While he was careful not to name names, politicians such as President Donald Trump and French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen likely came to mind for audience members. Trump has laid out plans for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, while Le Pen has predicted the European Union's demise as she calls for France to exit the regional bloc.

Hollande did not discuss his country's presidential election at the Monday event.

Economics aside, prioritizing the international order is important for the global fight on terrorism, he said.

"Terrorists can use people's fears to impose solutions that are contrary to our interests. This is the temptation of looking inward and it can have heavy consequences for big democracies."

Over the past two years, more than 230 people have died in France due to attacks linked to the militant group Islamic State, also known as ISIS, and the country has been in a state of emergency since November.
A photograph of a British nuclear weapons test over Christmas Island in the 1950s at the Imperial War Museum in London.

The United Nations (UN) kicks off a five-day conference in New York on Monday to discuss such a ban in what many political commentators have called a milestone event. But visibly absent will be Security Council members U.S., U.K., France, Russia, and China, who don't believe in the prohibition of weapons. Australia, Germany, Japan, Norway, and South Korea also don't support the measure. North Korea, which recently defended its right to nuclear arms following a series of recent ballistic missile launches, will also be absconding from this week's discussions.

Excluding Pyongyang, the decision to shun talks drew international criticism as it clashed with each government's obligations to a non-proliferation treaty that's been in force since 1970. Known as the NPT, the agreement is focused on curbing the spread of nukes with complete disarmament as its end goal.

"Given the dangers arising from a lack of cooperation on nuclear security issues and the potential emergence of a new arms race between the nuclear powers, principled and engaged leadership from nuclear-weapon states is sorely needed," said UNA-UK, a London based nonprofit that conducts independent analysis on the UN, in a recent statement.

Washington believes an outright weapons ban would be "fundamentally at odds with NATO's basic policies on nuclear deterrence," as it outlined in an October letter to NATO members. Deterrence, or the threat of nuclear retaliation to avert enemy attack, has been a staple of international security policy since the Cold War.

Instead, a gradual reduction of nuclear forces remains the only path to eventual disarmament, the U.S. stipulates.
Goldman Sachs told clients the market will fall the rest of the year because of uncertainty over how President Donald Trump's economic agenda will fare in the Republican-led Congress, but there is still an investment strategy that can outperform. "The boost to S & P 500 earnings from a lower corporate tax rate is likely to be smaller and to occur later than investors originally expected," strategist David Kostin wrote in a note to clients Friday. "The S & P 500 fell ... this week as investors came to terms with greater policy uncertainty. Debate over the Republican health care plan, the American Health Care Act, sparked investor concern about the probability and timing of anticipated policy tailwinds to earnings." The strategist forecasts the S & P 500 will trade at 2,300 at the end of 2017, representing a 2 percent decline from Friday's close. Kostin noted how the current House Republican tax reform plan proposes a corporate tax rate reduction to 20 percent from 35 percent. He estimates every 5 percentage point reduction of the effective tax rate will lift S & P 500 earnings by 6 points. However, the firm's economists predict the corporate tax rate will be cut to only 25 percent. "Our Washington, D.C. economist expects legislation that lowers the corporate tax rate and makes incremental tax reforms to be enacted by late 2017 or early 2018, meaning corporate earnings will likely not be affected any earlier than next year," he wrote. Fortunately, the financial sector deregulation doesn't depend on congressional approval, according to Goldman Sachs. The firm predicts $200 billion of excess capital will be deployed by banks next year as a result of changes in capital requirements. "The Trump Administration has called for broad deregulation and investors are focused on financials as the firms with the most to gain," he wrote. "Our banks analysts expect that reform will likely come through changes to existing rules as well as the interpretation and application of outstanding regulations." To take advantage of the upcoming deregulation, here are four financial stocks Goldman recommends in its return on equity (ROE) growth basket. Return on equity is a measure of a company's profitability relative to the amount of shareholders' capital invested. Goldman's ROE growth basket consists of stocks with the "strongest ROE growth" forecasts next year from the firm's analysts.

Getty Images
"Volumes in hospital land have been coming down," Mizuho's Sheryl Skolnick said on CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Monday.

And even with the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, remaining intact, hospital stocks such as Tenet Healthcare and its peers could start to drop, she said.

However, hospital stocks are certainly breathing a sigh of relief Monday, Skolnick added. There's no doubt about that.

Shares of mental health treatment facilities' operator Acadia Healthcare , hospital owner Tenet Healthcare and Community Health Systems were all trading in green territory Monday morning, following news that the GOP's proposal to repeal and replace America's current health-care bill fell through. HCA Holdings , one of the nation's largest hospital operators, also reached a new multiyear high on Monday.

These stocks are rallying because the industry was uncertain it would face more costs as a result of the Republicans' health-care proposal becoming law  a move that could have increased the number of Americans without insurance.

"It's back to business as usual, but there are still some issues out there that are [important] to pay attention to," analyst Skolnick told CNBC. Particularly, investors need to monitor hospitals' patient margins, she said, using Tenet as an example.

"We're concerned about that structure," she said, referring to Tenet's latest acquisitions of companies such as United Surgical Partners, which are moving the company away from its bread and butter.

Because of innovation, physicians are now making decisions based on data, analytics and new technology, in a matter of minutes, Skolnick said. "More often than not, it's not the hospital" that's doing all the work anymore. Many people are beginning to think: "Who needs the hospital, anyway?"

This innovation-based shift is resulting in slowing growth rates through the front doors of many hospitals, and even fewer emergency rooms visits, Skolnick told CNBC.

"That could spell a problem for the part of [hospital's] business, where you've deployed the most capital, and that's the outpatient hospital bed."






Hospital stocks rose Monday following the withdrawal of the GOP's bill that would have replaced significant parts of Obamacare.

While the broader stock market traded lower on concerns that the Trump administration faces more challenges in achieving tax reform, hospital and Medicaid-related stocks moved higher.

Shares of mental health treatment facilities' operator Acadia Healthcare closed Monday up around 5 percent. Hospital owner Tenet Healthcare gained more than 1 percent, and Community Health Systems also closed up a little more than 1 percent, shedding some bigger gains made earlier in the day.



, one of the nation's largest hospital operators, reached a new multiyear high on Monday morning and came about 5 percent from all-time high hit in 2015.

The hospital industry had opposed the Republican proposal because it was anticipated to increase the number of Americans without health insurance, which could have raised hospital losses.
Chinese women look at their mobile phone as they walk in a shopping area in Beijing. Getty Images

Lucifer does not follow Chinese politics. The 28-year-old musician in Beijing  who chose his English name "to be different"  doesn't read state media. He cannot name any of the standing committees of the Politburo, the seven men who steer the Chinese Communist Party, save for "Xi Dada," a common nickname for Chinese President Xi Jinping. And he doesn't know the difference between the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the two annual state meetings that brought Beijing to a halt over the past two weeks as the next year of policies and priorities were rubber-stamped. Collectively called the "two sessions," these parades of bureaucratic power have dominated foreign news coverage of China. To read the tea leaves of China's future, governments and journalists around the world are watching the top. But maybe they shouldn't be. More from Vox:

Ivanka Trump once organized a campaign encouraging women to share their job titles

On health reform, Donald Trump followed Republican leaders into a ditch

Donald Trump and the rise of tribal epistemology

There are deeply worrying trends in top-level Chinese politics. Since becoming president four years ago, President Xi has consolidated power, cracked down on civil society, and stifled dissent in an alarming reversal of what observers both inside and out of China had hoped was a trend of gradual reform since the Beijing Olympics in 2008. His government has tortured human rights lawyers, brought foreign NGOs under state supervision, and called for stricter socialist ideological education in colleges. This year's state congress confirmed that autocratic trend, with fewer dissenting votes (just 14 out of 2,838) and more references to Xi as the "core" of the party. By these measures, China seems to be going not forward but backward to the Mao era. But there is another, contrasting trend that is much more promising: While the Chinese leadership is repressive, Chinese society is becoming increasingly liberal. That is especially true of the younger and urban generation, which I have been following, befriending, and writing about since I first arrived to live in Beijing in 2008, fresh out of college. Their lives sketch a different picture: one of a population more receptive to new ideas, while firm in the conviction that China's interests are paramount; of a society that is steadily more progressive, as the countryside gives way to the cities; and of a generation with radically different aspirations and attitudes than those of their elders  including those who happen to be running the country. It's far more a desire for reform than for revolution, whether the goal is free speech or greater equality. And it has never been clearer that the system does not want to be reformed in a more liberal mold. But generational shifts, while slow, are inevitable. Which means that while the repressive bureaucracy of China that we know today won't be going away anytime soon, the longer-term future may look very different.

The generational shift is playing out across Chinese society

Women's and LGBTQ rights are always a good litmus tests for social progress, and young feminist voices are growing just as the state's efforts to suppress them are, with more activism both on and offline. Despite a ruling against same-sex marriage, the fact that it even made it to the courts is telling, and there is greater youth acceptance of LGBTQ individuals, whether they are fighting for their rights or just asking for a hug. Young Chinese are having sex earlier and marrying later, resisting their parents' urges to find a spouse in their early 20s. The 2015 China Love and Marriage Survey, conducted by Peking University and baihe.com, a leading Chinese dating website, found that for people born after 1995, the average age at which they had sex for the first time is 17.7. That's compared with those born in the 1980s, who had their first sexual experiences on average at over 22 years old. And according to China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, in 2015 nearly 14 percent of Chinese lived by themselves  more than twice as many as in 1990. More graduates are opting to start their own business, as part of a boom of entrepreneurship, rather than work in a state-owned company or bank. And more divergent views than ever are being shared on social media platforms such as Weibo (often referred to as the "Chinese Twitter") and the messaging app WeChat, which has more than 650 million monthly active users  even if many of those divergent views are taken down by the Chinese government. Censorship can slow the trend, but it cannot stop it. Liberal attitudes have also been borne out in recent surveys: 60 percent of young Chinese have a favorable view of the US, compared with 35 percent of those over 50, according to Pew. A study published in February found a surprising decrease in nationalistic sentiment among young people in Beijing compared with previous years, and compared with their elders. Another survey of Chinese students reported that 73 percent agreed that "Western political systems are very appropriate for our country." That is in part a result of globalization and China's more international outlook, influencing a generation that grew up during the era of World Trade Organization membership and the Olympic Games. It is also helped by the number of Chinese students studying abroad  roughly 330,000 in the US. Above all, change is apparent at the individual level. Lucifer's life trajectory would not have been possible 20 years ago. He was born Li Yan, in the rural outskirts of a town in Hebei province, neighboring Beijing. His father sells tractor parts, and his mother teaches primary school math. Instead of following in their footsteps, Lucifer  whose story I write about in my book Wish Lanterns  came to Beijing and formed a rock band, which toured overseas and won a competition. He went on reality TV dating and talent shows. Now he runs his own cafe-bar in the hutongs near the Drum Tower, an area of central Beijing popular with young people, and is about to open a second one. "I want to tell international friends an opinion that young Chinese have faith, energy, want to be respected, and hope to progress," said Lucifer. "I hope foreigners can discover young Chinese are thinking progressively and looking upward." Xi Jinping's vision for China is not likely to thaw for the next six years of his term, but more meaningful change is happening far away from the two sessions, which some young Chinese netizens have dubbed the "stupid sessions"  a pun in Mandarin where another word for "two" has a slang meaning of "dumb." That's why Lucifer doesn't follow China's top-level politics  not because he doesn't care about the future of China, but because in the long term it is being shaped from the bottom up, not from the top down.

What does that bode for the "Chinese century"?
CNBC: iPhone-clean Todd Haselton | CNBC

Did you know the smartphone in your pocket might be the dirtiest thing on you at any given moment? An oft-cited report from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that 92 percent of the smartphones it tested were covered with bacteria. Worse, 16 percent of the phones it examined had E. coli present. Another study says smartphone displays can be dirtier than a toilet seat. Yuck! Here's how to keep your phone clean.

Wash your hands

Ute Grabowsky|Photothek|Getty Images

It might silly but this is the best way to make sure germs don't end up on your smartphone. The aforementioned study found that most germs ended up on smartphones because folks weren't properly washing their hands after using the bathroom. If you properly wash your hands after using the facilities, your phone has a better chance of staying clean.

Clean the display with a soft cloth

Toddy Cloth

Apple suggest that iPhone and iPad owners use a "Soft-lint-free cloth," to wipe down devices. Don't use anything abrasive, since doing so could potentially add tiny scratches do your display. I've always preferred "Toddy" cloths but you can find plenty of alternatives on Amazon. Wipe down your device daily, especially if it's starting to look grimy. These cloths are great for cleaning other things, too, like computer displays and camera lenses.

Use a light disinfectant wipe

Clorox Wipes

Apple advises against using liquids or disinfectants on its devices, so keep that in mind, but the fact is you're not going to get rid of bacteria without something more powerful than a soft cloth. Lysol or Clorox disinfectant wipes work well  I've been using them on my gadgets for years without issue  and will kill 99.9 percent of viruses and bacteria. Lysol even advertises that the wipes are "Safe to use on electronics including Smartphones, Tablets and Remote Controls." Keep a tube at your desk!



Consider a UV gadget cleaner

PhoneSoap
watch now

Monday's market action amounted to a fairly benign volley in a series of shots Wall Street is sending to Washington: Get your act together, or else. Republicans failed last week to push a much-vaunted health-care plan through Congress, sending a signal that President Donald Trump's ambitious economic agenda could be in peril. The thinking went that Trump failed his first test despite having a solid majority in both chambers on Capitol Hill. Until the past two weeks or so, investors brimming with optimism about the new administration have been fairly patient about the pace of change. They pushed the up as much as 10 percent after the November election, but the rally has cooled lately and major averages edged mostly lower Monday. The index has fallen 2.4 percent since the early-March top and faces a sharper pullback on further hiccups in the legislative process.

watch now

"The failure to pass the American Health Care Act calls into question those optimistic assumptions about the capacity of Trump and the Republican-led Congress' ability to pass complex, impactful legislation," Mark Doms, senior economist at Nomura, said in a note. Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic advisor at Allianz, recently wrote an opinion piece for Project Syndicate positing that the U.S. is in a "confidence economy," or one that is operating strongly on sentiment. Confidence surveys that generate "soft" economic data have been strong; "hard" readings of actual activity been middling. If the new president doesn't produce some specific policy proposals that make the two mesh, trouble may not be far away. "Unless the Trump administration can work well with a cooperative Congress to translate market-motivating intentions into well-calibrated actions soon, the lagging hard data risks dragging down confidence, creating headwinds that extend well beyond financial volatility," El-Erian wrote.

Donald Trump Getty Images

Volatility low, and that could be bad

The market's new skepticism about the Trump program comes at a sensitive time. Stock market volatility is at its lowest level since 1972, with only two daily moves of more than 1 percent in 2017, according to Convergex. Such quiet historically has been followed by periods of heightened volatility. The political risks in the current climate only add to the feeling of some stormy times ahead. "From a political perspective, we think the key issue is whether the president will encounter similar problems with his tax reform agenda, which is likely to be as complicated as health care reform, if not more so," Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management, said in a note Monday to clients. "If political turmoil is ongoing, higher risk, cyclical areas of the equity market would likely remain under pressure." Still, by midafternoon the major averages had shaved away much of the day's losses, as investors reversed what at one point looked like the sharpest downturn of the nascent Trump era.

watch now

The prevailing narrative that better growth is ahead perhaps may not have carried the day, but at least it mitigated the damage from the worst political loss yet for the White House. "The drumbeat of America is alive and well," said Rob Lutts, chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management. Companies "are willing to invest in the U.S. and our president is encouraging it in a new way that I've never seen a president do before. That's extremely positive. I do believe we'll get past this." Lutts, like many in the market these days, does worry about valuations. The market is trading around 18.3 times forward 12-month earnings, about 2 percentage points above the historical norm. That's a level that reflects high enthusiasm for what's ahead, and could easily deflate should reality not reflect hope. "This obviously is uncharted territory," Lutts said. "We have never had this kind of leader in the White House and these kinds of initiatives with this kind of leadership that doesn't have a political background. There is a real risk that things get delayed in respect to what people are expecting." Watch: Best picks as Trump trade fades
Kushner  a real estate and media magnate and Trump's son-in-law  will lead The White House Office of American Innovation, The Washington Post reported on Sunday. Kushner and other former business executives will try to run the government more like a business, and will focus on technology and data, with input from Apple 's Tim Cook , founder Bill Gates , CEO Marc Benioff and boss Elon Musk , the Post reported.

"They did put Jared Kushner there because I think Jared Kushner is someone that a lot of people in tech feel they can deal with. He's reasonable, he has some business background. So I think he was probably the right person to put there," Swisher told CNBC's " Squawk Alley " on Monday.

Jared Kushner may be family to President Donald Trump, but he's also probably the right person to lead the government's new innovation project, said Recode executive editor Kara Swisher.

President Donald Trump and his senior advisor Jared Kushner arrive for a meeting with manufacturing CEOs at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S. February 23, 2017.

Kushner comes from a business dynasty and bought the New York Observer at the age of 25. His brother, Josh, is the founder of health insurance start-up Oscar Health.

But the involvement of Trump's family members in the new administration has stoked concerns about conflicts with his eponymous business empire.

"It does come down to Trump and his family to some extent. I think it's really important .... to have somebody like Jared Kushner, who is very smart, working on these things," said Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. "But you kind of want more of a distancing and devolution from the all of the family businesses."

Many of the executives at Kushner's ear will be ones that have been most critical of Trump's policies. Immigration issues, in particular, have sparked protests and legal battles from technology companies.

"If they're going to cooperate they're going to be part of the solution and part of the problem, if there are problems," Swisher said.

Nonetheless, a Silicon-Valley style shake-up is overdue within the federal government, much of which runs on a Web 1.0-style operating system, Isaacson told "Squawk Alley." Last year, for example, a report revealed that the U.S. Department of Defense still uses floppy disks.

Regardless of what tech executives think of some of Trump's policies, they should be "appalled" at its technology, Isaacson said. While other administrations have tried to reboot Capitol Hill, Trump may have a shot at succeeding, he said.

"The Trump administration probably has more of an opportunity because they are willing to kind of blow up the bureaucracy. That's what they really want to do," Isaacson said.

Swisher said the administration does need more staff working on science and technology.

"I think it will be interesting to see which [executives] cooperate  if it's more than just window dressing," Swisher said. "We'll see if they actually do anything or if they're just one of these committees that talks about changing the way that government and never does  which always seems to happen."
Is President Donald Trump's approval of the hotly disputed Keystone XL pipeline good or bad for oil and gasoline prices?

The simple answer is we don't know yet.

At least some analysts and U.S. oil producers worry the project could further depress prices by adding more crude to an already oversupplied global market.

Opposed by the Obama administration over environmental concerns, TransCanada 's Keystone XL would bring heavy crude from Canadian tar sands to Steele City, Nebraska. From there, it would link up with an existing pipeline and send the oil to refineries on the Gulf Coast.

A big question is what happens to the fuel after that.

The United States will probably end up shipping much of the refined oil to Asia or Europe in the form of gasoline and other fuels. But forecasts for oil demand are not currently increasing enough to absorb rising U.S. fuel exports, so there is a risk that refined Canadian crude gets stuck in already brimming U.S. storage tanks.

Canadian tar sands oil is already moving by rail, so completion of the 800,000-barrels-a-day Keystone XL pipeline would not necessarily cause a huge surge in output. But it would support planned production increases from Canadian fields and make transportation more efficient.
President Donald Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill need to "regroup" quickly and figure out how to pass an Obamacare replacement sooner rather than later, Tommy Thompson told CNBC on Monday.

Thompson, secretary of Health and Human Services during the George W. Bush presidency, said the health law is "spiraling downward," but waiting for it to implode would be a "catastrophe for people who have Obamacare" as premiums continue to rise and more insurers pull out "because they can't make any money."

In the wake of the failure of the House GOP's American Health Care Act, White House Budget director Mick Mulvaney on Sunday reiterated President Donald Trump's desire to move on to other legislative priorities, such as delivering on promises of tax cuts.

But Thompson, formerly governor of Wisconsin, warned on "Squawk Box" against that strategy due to "big issues" coming up for lawmakers sometime in May.

"They're going to have to vote on whether to continue the [Obamacare] subsidies or not," he said. "Health care is not something they're going to be [able] to put to the side and watch it die a slow death."

Facing resistance from the House Freedom Caucus, which Mulvaney helped found when he was in Congress, House Speaker Paul Ryan dropped the plan on Friday afternoon. Mulvaney, on NBC's "Meet the Press," chalked up the health-care failure to Washington's being "more rotten" than Trump thought.

Thompson said Trump and Republican leaders need to "regroup" and educate rank-and-file lawmakers and the American public on the merits of fixing Obamacare now. "It was the right bill  [but] not the total bill," he said, adding that Ryan was "very upfront and said 'this is a three-legged stool,' and the AHCA was just the first step.

"All of it together would have worked," Thompson said. "The problem was the first one [AHCA] had a lot of consequences because it was dealing with the budget reconciliation. And not too many people understood there was a second and a third act to follow that would have fixed some of those problems."
Armed officers attend to the scene outside the Houses of Parliament on March 22, 2017 in London, England.

Minutes before the terrorist rampage in London on Wednesday, attacker Khalid Masood sent a WhatsApp message to an unknown person, authorities said Sunday. The message's contents  and its intended recipient  can't be accessed by police because the popular messaging service encrypted them, a top British security official said.

Masood used WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, just minutes before the attack that left three pedestrians and one police officer dead and dozens more wounded, The Associated Press reported.

Police have arrested 12 people in the investigation, including a 30-year-old man who was detained in Birmingham on Sunday on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts, the BBC reported. Masood lived in Birmingham.

Nine people arrested after the attack have been freed without charges, while one person was released on bail, AP reported.

Appearing on BBC and Sky News on Sunday, Britain's Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, urged WhatsApp and other encrypted services to make their platforms accessible to intelligence services and police as they try to find out more about the attacks.

More from USA Today:

London attack: More arrests as detectives probe how killer was radicalized

Hotel manager: London attacker was 'friendly and chatty'

Queen Elizabeth II issues steadying message after terror attack

"We need to make sure that organizations like WhatsApp  and there are plenty of others like that  don't provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other," she said.

A WhatsApp spokeswoman said the company was "horrified at the attack" and was co-operating with the investigation, the BBC reported.

Masood drove a rented SUV into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before smashing it into Parliament's gates and rushing onto the grounds, where he fatally stabbed a policeman and was shot by other officers. A detailed police reconstruction found that the entire attack lasted 82 seconds. Scotland Yard has said it believes Masood, 52, acted alone.
LaRonda Hunter, owner of a small chain of hair salons, at one of them in Lake Worth, Texas.

LaRonda Hunter, a business owner in Fort Worth, Tex., views the Affordable Care Act as a literal job killer. Fearful of triggering the law's employer mandate, which requires businesses with 50 or more workers to offer health insurance or pay penalties, Ms. Hunter has held off on expanding her small chain of hair salons.

She voted for President Trump with the hope that he would quickly make good on his promise to strike down the health care law. On Friday, she watched in despair as the Republicans' replacement plan unraveled  leaving the law, commonly known as Obamacare, in place "for the foreseeable future," according to Paul D. Ryan, the House speaker.

"I'm disappointed," Ms. Hunter, 57, said. "I'm mostly mad at my party for being so disorganized. I'm hoping Trump has learned something about how the government works."

More from New York Times:

Consumer Confidence Readings Due; Britain Prepares to Exit the E.U.

Senate Committee to Question Jared Kushner Over Meetings With Russians

Republicans Land a Punch on Health Care, to Their Own Face



In Brooklyn, however, another business owner, Leisah Swenson, was ecstatic about the news that Obamacare would be sticking around. Ms. Swenson, 48, and her wife, Monica Byrne, run a restaurant and a catering company. Before the health care law took effect, they struggled to find affordable insurance, and often went without. Now, they have a policy they bought through New York's state exchange, which recently paid for a critical  and expensive  operation for Ms. Byrne.



"We thought, 'Thank God,'" Ms. Swenson said of the Affordable Care Act's continuation. "We're not young. The car is starting to break down a bit. If we lost this policy, we might not be able to get another."

As a bloc, small-business owners have been among the health care law's most vocal opponents. The most powerful trade group for small businesses, the National Federation of Independent Business, is a fierce critic of the law and challenged its constitutionality before the Supreme Court. Some 60 percent of small-business owners want the law repealed, according to two recent surveys by Manta and BizBuySell, which regularly poll owners about their political and economic views.

But every business is uniquely affected by the complex law, and simply demolishing it without putting new guardrails in place is not, for most, the ideal outcome. Small-business owners overwhelmingly say they want Republican and Democratic leaders to quit their partisan bickering, acknowledge that the country's health care economics are fundamentally broken, and work together on fixing the problem.

"The cost of health care had a significant impact on our profitability last year," said Tom McManus, 46, the chief executive of KegWorks, a bar supplies retailer in Buffalo. "Obamacare made it worse, but I didn't see anything in the new bill that would have made it any better. They need to focus on the real health care problem: cost."

For Thomas E. Secor, who runs the small manufacturing business Durable Corporation in Norwalk, Ohio, every annual renewal of his company's health insurance plan since the Affordable Care Act took effect has felt like spinning a roulette wheel.

Durable Corporation's plan, which Mr. Secor said had worked well for the company's 37 employees, omits some benefits that are required to meet the health law's minimum coverage standards. So far, the plan has been grandfathered in, allowing Durable to keep it  but if that protection ends, Mr. Secor does not know if his company can afford to continue offering insurance, he said.

"Rural areas like ours are seeing insurance companies just flee," Mr. Secor, 59, said. "Until somebody comes up with something that addresses cost, you're going to see a continual erosion of coverage. I don't care which party it is. Let's all get together and work on a better product because what we have now isn't working."

Bipartisan cooperation on anything has become vanishingly rare in Washington, but one recent effort offered a glimmer of hope: In December, the parties aligned to overwhelmingly support the 21st Century Cures Act. The law increased funding for disease research and included an array of other health care adjustments and changes.

One of them was a fix long sought by small-business owners to an obscure  but, for some, devastating  Affordable Care Act clause that prohibited companies from using pretax money to reimburse employees for insurance that they bought on their own. The Cures Act revived that arrangement, giving it a legal green light for companies with fewer than 50 employees.

The change came as a huge relief for Warren Hudak, 53, who immediately took advantage of it to provide the eight full-time employees at his accounting firm in Lemoyne, Pa., with a monthly allowance toward their health care costs. He would like to see a similar across-party-lines effort to curb health care costs.

"I can't believe anybody today would look at the Affordable Care Act and say, 'It's working fine,'" Mr. Hudak said.

He now pays $2,400 a month  enough, he said with frustration, to hire another worker for his business  for a family insurance policy with a glaring omission: It does not cover the $6,000-a-month prescription drugs his wife needs to combat her multiple sclerosis. Mr. Hudak said he had to contact the drug manufacturer himself and negotiate a discounted rate that his family could afford to pay.

"We have an insurance policy that would cover maternity and substance abuse treatment for my 11-year-old daughter but doesn't cover my wife's M.S. drugs," Mr. Hudak said. "That's insane."

Tav Gauss, 61, the founder of a staffing agency in Wilson, N.C., hopes that having Republicans in control of the federal government's executive and legislative branches will at least reduce the regulatory complexity of complying with health care mandates. He estimated that his company, which has 20 internal employees and 1,500 field workers, had spent around $80,000 on the paperwork and compliance systems that the Affordable Care Act requires.

"The rising costs have taken a toll on all of my investments in people and equipment," Mr. Gauss said.

Mr. Ryan and Mr. Trump have suggested that they are done with health care for the time being  no new bill or repeal vote is forthcoming, Mr. Ryan said  but Ms. Hunter, the Texas salon owner, thinks they will be forced back into the fray.

"I'm going to urge all of my senators and representatives to continue to work on this," she said. "Waiting for it all to explode is a terrible solution."

Mr. Secor, the Ohio manufacturer, also thinks the status quo is not sustainable. A growing number of his employees have dropped their coverage because they cannot afford the premiums and high deductibles, he said.

"People can't afford the health care they need, and that's becoming a crisis," he said. "We need both parties to sit down at the table together and work it out."
"Last year, Ryan was seen as a savior of the Republican Party. But now his policies and longstanding beliefs are viewed as incidental and even counterproductive. His value to the party-faithful is to help Trump push forward his agenda and to take the blame when it fails."

But the real damage to the power of speakers  and arguably the power of Congress as a whole  were presidents who were interested in taking a leadership position in drafting legislation and using both the bully pulpit and the president's own growing team of draftsmen to push Congress to adopt specific laws.

These presidents, starting at least with Teddy Roosevelt and growing rapidly since Franklin Roosevelt created the Executive Office of the President, overawed Congress. The new, more modern presidents were keen to grab credit for legislative accomplishments that their predecessors left to individual Representatives and Senators.

Presidents have since treated speakers and senate majority leaders more as people who could be dangers to gum up the works. The last time Congress really set the agenda when their president was in power was probably the first years of the Eisenhower Administration. Ike's presidential style, which was a more passive throw back at least in domestic legislative affairs, allowed the Republicans in Congress to play the major role in deciding which laws to prioritize and what to pass.

Speakers may be in the background when their own party controls the presidency, but the opposite occurs when they president is from the other party. Tip O'Neill and Nancy Pelosi are perfect examples of this phenomenon. Both of them stepped to the forefront when the Republicans under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush respectively controlled the White House and both receded when the party spotlight shone on their own presidents, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.

Ryan is paying the same price for his own party's success. Last year, Ryan was seen as a savior of the Republican Party. But now his policies and longstanding beliefs are viewed as incidental and even counterproductive.

Ryan seems secure  his position is decided by his fellow Republicans in the House and they certainly have no obvious candidate to replace him. Moreover, if Trump pushed for Ryan's ouster, he would simply set the Republican House caucus against itself, further delay any legislative agenda and be seen as responsible for any missteps from the new speaker.

But it is an uncomfortable position for Ryan. His value to the party-faithful is to help Trump push forward his agenda and to take the blame when it fails. If Ryan succeeded in squaring the Republican circle and managed to repeal Obamacare, it would not have been viewed in the wider world as his success  rather Trump would have been the triumphant figure.

Now that it failed, Ryan is the one facing calls for his ouster. While Trump may seem to be a particular spotlight-seeker, this is true regardless of the party. After all, nobody thinks of the Affordable Care Act as Charles Rangel's (the official sponsor of the bill) or as Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid's accomplishments. It is seen as Obamacare.

Commentary by Joshua Spivak, a senior fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College in New York. He blogs at The Recall Elections Blog. Follow him on Twitter @recallelections.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
A photo of the spinach leaf stripped of its plant cells and injected with red dye to simulate the flow of blood.

A team of scientists grew beating human heart cells on a spinach leaf.

Their experiment may solve a serious limitation facing researchers attempting to grow human organs in laboratories: making functioning blood vessels.

It is another example of "bio-inspired" engineering, where scientists look to designs in nature for insight on solving problems in the lab.

Researchers have turned to lab-growing human tissue as one way of meeting the high demand for tissue and organ transplants.

But current techniques, including 3-D printing, have great difficulty getting functioning blood vessels into lab-made tissue, and it remains one of the main factors that makes lab-grown tissue tough to use in the operating room.

Plants already have systems for delivering nutrients that are somewhat similar to the vascular systems found in humans, despite the deep biological differences between plant and animal tissue.

"Plants and animals exploit fundamentally different approaches to transporting fluids, chemicals, and macromolecules, yet there are surprising similarities in their vascular network structures," the authors wrote in a study published last week in the journal Biomaterials.

The team first used detergents to flush the plant cell material out of a spinach leaf, leaving only a clear scaffold made up of cellulose. Cellulose is already used in some tissue engineering methods, the study noted.

They then seeded the cellulose with human tissue and blood cells, producing a lab-grown specimen that looks and functions like normal human heart tissue, as study co-author Joshua Gershlak said in the video below.
Snap shares soared Monday, hovering around the $24 level it began trading at earlier this month, after several Wall Street analysts initiated coverage on the stock, including a "buy" rating from Goldman Sachs .



The parent company behind the popular disappearing messaging app Snapchat closed the day up nearly 5 percent. The stock is up 19.6 percent over the past week, according to FactSet.

Goldman said Monday that while Snap carries a higher risk profile, the firm believes it also comes with higher reward potential.

"With Snap's large, valuable, and highly engaged user base generating ad inventory and the monetization path in mobile now well worn, we believe the potential for outperformance as the company continues to innovate against the growing mobile opportunity outweighs those early stage risks," Goldman analyst Heath Terry said in a note to investors, giving the company a price target of $27.

On Monday, several other analysts including JPMorgan, Stifel, and Bank of America initiated coverage on the stock.

Snap: 6 'buy', 6 'sells', 4 'holds'



Goldman Sachs - (Buy)

JPMorgan - Neutral

Morgan Stanley - Overweight

Oppenheimer - Perform

Stifel - (Hold)

BofA - Neutral

Credit Suisse - Outperform

Deutsche Bank - (Buy)

RBC Capital Markets - Outperform

Cowen - Outperform

Jefferies - (Buy)

Citi - (Buy)

UBS - Neutral

JMP - Market Outperform

Monness Crespi Hardt - (Buy)

Needham - Underperform (Sell)

Atlantic Equities - Underweight (Sell)

Morningstar - (Sell)

Aegis - (Hold)

Susquehanna - (Hold)

Nomura Instinet - Reduce (Sell)

Pivotal Research - (Sell)

CFRA Research - (Hold)

FBN Securities - Sector Perform

Cantor - Underweight

MoffettNathanson - (Sell)

Mizuho - Neutral

Drexel Hamilton - (Buy)

PiperJaffray - Neutral

The latest ratings came after Snap had a rough start on Wall Street shortly after its March 2 debut, with analysts flagging the company's slowing user growth, widening losses, and lack of voting rights for outside investors. Last week, Snap stock moved higher after it snagged its first two "buy" ratings.

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told the Los Angeles Times earlier this month that investors had been asking if Snapchat is the "next Facebook ." Spiegel told the Los Angeles Times that Snap could become just as valuable as Facebook, though with fewer users than Facebook's massive 1.9 billion user base.
Patrick Soon-Shiong Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The emotional video tells of a patient with blood cancer who tries an experimental therapy involving "natural killer" cells. "NEW BREAKTHROUGH HELPS PATIENTS KILL CANCER" the banner headline declares as the patient, wiping away tears, covers her face with her hands and murmurs, "It's really good news." Billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong retweeted the video several times in recent days, amid a flurry of social media posts in which he vowed to "solve" cancer. But where the ordinary viewer might see an inspirational story, drug industry experts saw a likely violation of federal regulations. That's because Soon-Shiong is the CEO of the company, NantKwest, that's working on the therapy in question, which still has to go through much testing to see if it works. And federal regulations bar the promotion of drugs that have yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. More from STAT News:

Senator Joe Manchin: Time for a new 'war on drugs' to tackle opioids

O Canada: What our neighbors to the north can teach us about health care reform

Two newborn deaths in the same family set off a race to solve a medical mystery

After STAT asked Soon-Shiong's public relations director about this issue last Friday, the video was taken down from Twitter and Facebook, where it had been posted by another of Soon-Shiong's companies, NantHealth. Over the weekend, it was replaced with an edited version that cut out two of the most powerful  and, experts said, most troubling  lines in the script: The patient's emphatic declaration that she believes she has been cured by the experimental therapy, and her musing that her doctors also believe it's working (see Facebook post). That edit also removed the NantHealth logo, which had been superimposed on nearly every frame. And it cut out specific references to NantKwest's therapy, which is known as NK-92. A second edit later in the weekend replaced the "new breakthrough" banner headline with more modest language: "The promise of immunotherapy." Soon-Shiong's spokeswoman, Jen Hodson, said the video was not intended to be promotional; she called it an educational tool for patients. She said it was edited to remove lines that might have been confusing because Soon-Shiong's company did not sponsor the clinical trial that the patient participated in. The trial did, however, test a NantKwest drug. The video posts come as Soon-Shiong and NantHealth have mounted a PR offensive to challenge two investigative reports published by STAT in recent weeks. In the first, STAT found that Soon-Shiong's much-touted cancer moonshot initiative, which aims to develop a cure for cancer by 2020, has made little scientific progress and instead has functioned mostly as a marketing vehicle for one of his new products, a cancer diagnostic tool. The second story described how Soon-Shiong made a $12 million donation to the University of Utah for research  but reaped significant commercial benefits from that gift, as the contract was written in a way that led the university to conclude it had no choice but to send $10 million back to NantHealth to pay for genetic sequencing. NantHealth's stock has sunk more than 33 percent, to $4.75 a share, since the publication of STAT's second report three weeks ago. NantKwest's stock is down to $3.39 a share; it's been falling steadily since the company first went public in the summer of 2015. In the wake of the STAT reports, at least three investors have also filed suit against Soon-Shiong and NantHealth, alleging violations of federal securities law.

Crossing a line drawn by the FDA

Soon-Shiong, who has a reputation in the industry as a brash showman, has used skillfully produced videos in the past to promote patient success stories and convey his unshakable optimism that he is on track to vanquish cancer. But the several-minute-long video about natural killer cells appears to have crossed a line. The FDA prohibits any sponsor moving a drug through clinical trials, or anyone acting as an agent of the sponsor, from making promotional claims about a drug's safety or efficacy before it's been approved. The video was originally posted by Soon-Shiong's diagnostics company, NantHealth. That in itself may not have been a violation of FDA rules, because NantHealth is not the sponsor developing the natural killer cell therapy; the company doesn't develop drugs at all. Soon-Shiong, however, is most definitely involved in the development of the drug, since he runs the company working on it. So as soon as he retweeted the video, he likely ran afoul of the FDA rule, experts said. "There's no way you could possibly claim that he's not an agent of the company that sponsors [the drug's development] if he's the CEO," said Dale Cooke, a consultant who counsels drug companies on FDA promotion. "FDA has made very clear that they consider statements by the CEO to be potentially promotion of products." Soon-Shiong's retweet of the video was "totally inappropriate" and "a conflict of interest," said Dr. Michael Wilkes, an internist at the University of California, Davis, who has studied drug promotion. "It certainly is not in the spirit of what we expect in saying that you can't promote until it gets FDA approval  to have your left hand promote it when your right hand [is developing] it," Wilkes said. Cooke said it was possible that NantHealth's original posting of the video also violated FDA rules, depending on its relationship to the natural killer cell therapy being touted as a breakthrough. NantHealth is slated to provide genomic analysis for NantKwest's clinical trials, Hodson said, but the precise nature of the relationship between the two companies is unclear.

A bold statement that far outstrips the evidence

Beyond the regulatory issues, experts questioned the ethics of promoting a treatment that's in such a preliminary stage of experimentation as a "breakthrough" that can "kill cancer." Indeed, early results of therapies using natural killer cells  which are engineered to recognize and attack cancer cells while sparing healthy ones  have been far less encouraging than the bold promotional language would suggest. The video showcases the experience of the professional actress Lisa Ray, letting her tell her real-life story in her own words. (She told STAT that no part of the video, filmed several months ago, was staged, and that she was not paid to do it.) Diagnosed with the blood cancer known as multiple myeloma, Ray tried chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant  but relapsed in 2012, right after getting married. Then she joined a clinical trial in Toronto to try a natural killer cell therapy called NK-92. In the video, Ray goes in for a routine blood test with her doctor, who tells her that the development of natural killer cells is "going to revolutionize" cancer treatment. Speaking with great emotion, Ray repeatedly says that her optimism has been vindicated. "This clinical trial that I did, I feel that I have been cured after that," she says at one point in the original video. The original video closes by saying that Ray's blood work confirms that she continues to be in complete remission. That has been removed from the edited version. Ray confirmed to STAT that the clinical trial she had participated in was a small, early-stage study of NantKwest's natural killer drug in 12 patients. During that trial, she continued on a regimen of approved chemotherapy and a steroid, which she's still taking today, she told STAT. It is possible that it was the chemotherapy that put her cancer into remission, rather than the NK-92; the study was designed to test the safety of NK-92, not to measure its effectiveness. Researchers announced the result of the NK-92 study at a conference in late 2015, and it was not a blockbuster. They did conclude the therapy was safe, because just one patient out of the 12 reported fever and chills related to the infusion of the drug. But the efficacy data fell short of what you might expect from a "breakthrough." While four of the patients saw some sort of response, it was short-lived in three of them. And 10 of the 12 patients dropped out of the trial because their disease had progressed. Asked about the claim that the experimental therapy is a "breakthrough," Wilkes didn't mince words. "The data is blatantly not supporting that statement, and the video blatantly uses emotion, not science, to make the case that this drug deserves a try," he said. Indeed, the entire field of natural killer cells is in its infancy. NantKwest has advanced to Phase 2 trials with one combination of natural killer cells used to treat patients with the rare cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma; the company last year presented results from three patients. The FDA recently granted the therapy "orphan drug designation," which confers certain benefits, such as tax credits for clinical trials, but NantKwest still has to test the drug in more patients before submitting it for approval. Other companies, such as Florida startup Cyto-Sen Therapeutics, are trying natural killer cells, too, but the studies are early-stage. In the original video, Ray alludes to the fact that the therapy she tried is still being evaluated: "Most doctors, they can't definitively say, 'Hey, I think that this NK-92 trial thing is working for you.' They can't say that, obviously." Then she adds: "But they infer that, I'm pretty sure." Cooke said he had "a very strong visceral reaction" to hearing NantHealth promote that remark. "There's a reason that [physicians are] not willing to say that, and that's probably because there's no evidence for saying it," he said. Asked whether she's concerned the video could be giving false hope to patients, Ray told STAT she saw the video as a chance to bring immunotherapy into "the public discourse" and present her own experience. "I firmly believe this video is about sharing my own personal journey," she said.

Second video raises still more questions

In recent days, Soon-Shiong and NantHealth have also circulated another video, shot in a similar, glossy documentary style  and then, after questions from STAT, deleted it and re-posted it in edited form. @Nanthealth: Watch Ron's Inspirational Story Below! #SolveCancer The video follows a Michigan patient, Ron Diehl, who has Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of cancer associated with the bone. He was running out of options when, nearly a decade ago, he tried the drug ganitumab as part of a clinical trial. He's been getting monthly infusions ever since. Surrounded by his beaming children, Diehl says he's gotten his life back thanks to the drug. NantHealth's Twitter account urged viewers to watch the video to learn about "the incredible work our team is accomplishing." What the video doesn't mention: The drug in question came out of the labs of Amgen, a separate and far bigger biopharma company. NantWorks, the umbrella organization over Soon-Shiong's web of companies, licensed the drug from Amgen in 2015  after Amgen gave up on it because it had failed in a late-stage trial against metastatic pancreatic cancer. Amgen halted that trial before it was completed, after concluding that the drug was not helping patients. The drug, a monoclonal antibody, could still be shown to work against other types of cancer, of course, or perhaps it might work in combination with other therapies. That's why Soon-Shiong's team licensed it. One of his companies, NantCell, is collaborating with Novartis on a 47-patient clinical trial testing ganitumab in combination with a small molecule. That trial is expected to wrap up this summer. Plans are also in the works for a late-stage study, to be sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, testing the drug in patients newly diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma whose disease has spread to other parts of their body. Over the weekend, the video featuring Diehl, too, was taken down. The version re-posted soon afterward cut out reference to the fact that he was taking ganitumab specifically. Gone, too, was the mention of Soon-Shiong's team's "incredible work." Instead, the Twitter post urges viewers to "Watch Ron's Inspirational Story Below!" The banner headline on the video was changed, too, from "New solutions to solving cancer" to "The promise of immunotherapy." The edited version fails to mention that the drug is still experimental, and has not been approved by the FDA.

'Naysayers, skeptics, and doubters'
South African President Jacob Zuma has instructed Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to return immediately from an investor roadshow to Britain and the United States, the presidency said on

Monday, without giving a reason for the decision.

The rand fell by as much as 1.7 percent against the U.S. dollar, bonds tumbled and banking shares slid more than 2 percent on the news.

Investors see Gordhan as a symbol of stability, given weak economic growth and ruling party tensions that have put South Africa's investment grade at risk.

Last year, fraud charges brought against Gordhan badly rattled financial markets and spurred accusations of a political "witch-hunt". They were dropped in October.

Financial markets were also shaken before Gordhan's budget speech last month by rumours that he might be moved from the Treasury in a cabinet reshuffle. Gordhan has said it is Zuma's prerogative to fire him if he sees fit.

"Zuma has instructed the Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan, and Deputy Minister Mcebisi Jonas to cancel the international investment promotion roadshow to the United Kingdom and the United States and return to South Africa immediately," the president's office said in a statement.

Earlier a government source said: "The presidency did not give permission for the trip."

Uncertainy

Gordhan is in London on the first leg of a week-long non-deal investor roadshow. South African business executives and union leaders were also part of Gordhan's delegation.

Analysts said Zuma's move could spell another bout of political uncertainty and possibly a cabinet reshuffle.

"Any suggestion Zuma is interfering with Gordhan's business dealings will be a concern for investors and could signal political instability on the horizon," political analyst Daniel Silke said.

London-based Nomura emerging markets analyst Peter Attard Montalto concurred: "I believe today could be a test of the water to undertake a reshuffle."

South African media reports say Zuma has an uneasy relationship with Gordhan, though the president has denied suggestions that he is "at war" with the minister.

S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings both rank the sovereign debt of Africa's most industrialised economy one level above junk, while Moody's puts it two notches higher.

Moody's, which put South Africa on negative watch in its latest review, is due to review that rating on April 7, followed by S&P at the beginning of June.

Gordhan first served as finance minister from 2009 to 2014. Zuma reappointed Gordhan in December 2015 after his decision to replace the respected Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister with a little-known politician triggered a steep selloff in South African assets.


President Donald Trump is to appoint son-in-law Jared Kushner to head a new White House team to revamp the federal bureaucracy by employing strategies used in business, according to The Washington Post.



The White House Office of American Innovation, to be announced Monday, will operate as a "SWAT team of strategic consultants" expected to "float above the daily political grind," the report says.

Led by Kushner, a former real estate and media executive and a senior advisor to Trump, the innovation office is working with major business executives, including Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff and Tesla founder Elon Musk.

"We should have excellence in government. The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens," Kushner told the Post on Sunday.
They blame the establishment. They blame the Democrats. They blame the media.

But it seems that few voters in Trump country blame President Trump for the stunning collapse of the Republican-led effort to repeal and replace Obamacare.

"He did all he could, I think," said Edward Reede, 73, who was pacing the sidewalk as he waited for a relative in the rural town of Front Royal in northwest Virginia. "You can only do so much as president. You can only twist so many arms."

More from STAT News:

Senator Joe Manchin: Time for a new 'war on drugs' to tackle opioids

O Canada: What our neighbors to the north can teach us about health care reform

Two newborn deaths in the same family set off a race to solve a medical mystery



STAT staffers fanned out across the country on Saturday, talking to voters in conservative pockets of Virginia, Colorado, Ohio, Nebraska, Georgia, and Tennessee. Again and again, they voiced their continuing support for the president  and their faith that he would fix the health care system eventually, even though this first effort went up in flames.

"We just need to give President Trump time," said Joleen Dudley, a real estate agent in Canton, Ga. "He isn't one to give up, or he wouldn't be a billionaire."

House Speaker Paul Ryan made it clear on Friday that he and his colleagues have no plans to return to health care, at least not anytime soon. "Obamacare is the law of the land," he said. "We're going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future."

But in the small towns and tidy suburbs that went decisively for Trump, voters said they just didn't believe their president would let that happen.

"I'm confident they'll get something done," said Mike Tomes, 56, who grows corn and soybeans in Utica, Neb.

"I'm a man of faith, and I believe that things are going to change," said Brian Bailey, 42, a landscape foreman in Murfreesboro, Tenn., a college town smack in the middle of the state. He blamed the Republican leadership in Congress for pushing too quickly to pass a bill that still needed some work.

"I don't know how long it's going to take, but I believe the right main course is set forth," Bailey said. "It's getting the details worked out."

Yet a day of talking to Trump voters across the country underscored just how tough it will be to ever work out details that appeal to all the fractious elements of his coalition.

In Seward, Neb., drugstore owner Michael J. Mueri is angry that he has to pay so much for insurance  $24,000 a year, he said. He's angry about high deductibles, too; his customers constantly complain about them. Yet he wasn't at all fond of conservatives' bid to try to drive down premiums by revoking the Obamacare mandate that all plans cover a bundle of "essential benefits," such as mental health care and maternity care.

If pregnancy checkups, childbirth, and newborn care aren't covered, Meuri said, "I'm not sure my kids can afford to have a baby."

Ditto for preventive screenings: He wants those covered, too. Otherwise, he said, "People won't get a colonoscopy. Too expensive. People will weigh the odds and roll the dice."

But in Kennesaw, Ga., a suburb on the northern fringe of Atlanta, landscaper Michael Davis has quite a different prescription for health care reform: He wants all the mandates laid out in Obama's Affordable Care Act gone. He wants the government role as limited as possible. He wants "true, conservative, free-market principles" to rule the day  and he suggests Senator Rand Paul's stripped-down health care bill is the place to start.

Davis, who's a vice chair of his county Republican party, said he thought the GOP failed this time around because the establishment tried to box out the true grassroots conservatives. "I think Trump kind of fell on board with it and was convinced," he said.

But he's not giving up on the president: "My expectations are that they would repeal it. That's what he said. That's what he ran on. That's what I believe his intentions are."

Trump himself seemed to promise as much in a tweet on Saturday:

Trump tweet 1

One of the few voters to express even mild disappointment with Trump was J.D. Kennedy, 77, a Vietnam veteran, retired auctioneer  and a regular at the City Cafe in Murfreesboro. He arrives there at 5 a.m. sharp, six days a week, and reads his local paper over coffee.

"I think he may have just ridden the wrong horse first. And that's ego that caused him to do that," Kennedy said. "If he had gone for tax breaks or infrastructure or any of the other things, it would have been easier, but he's not one to go for easy things."

And Kennedy made clear his faith in the president remains rock-solid: "He knows better," he said, "and he'll do better on the tax cuts."

The key is overcoming a biased media and rallying the country, said Melinda James, 54, a health care worker from Broadview Heights, Ohio. "No matter what happens, the media tries to side it one way," she said. "They don't give a clear picture of what's going on." James said she was disappointed the health care bill had failed.

"I really don't think people are trying to help Trump. We need to unify," she said. "We need to give him a chance."

Out west in the suburb of Castle Rock, Colo., a well-heeled city in one of the wealthiest counties in the nation, voters had plenty of ideas on how to parcel out blame for the collapse of an effort that the GOP has been pushing for seven years  and that Trump elevated to a central plank in his campaign.

In his feed store, which dates to 1902, owner Wayne Bennington diagnosed the problem as a failure of communication: Someone, somewhere dropped the ball on explaining to the American people just what the Republican bill did  and why they should support it, he said.

"Somebody needed to go on air and go through this explaining exactly what it is," said Bennington, 60, whose store is packed with livestock feed, leashes, cowboy boots, and carved wooden animals (some of them painted in Denver Broncos orange and blue). "Nobody knows what the bill is about, so if you push it through like that, shame on you."

Down the street, in a warehouse full of vendors, Bill Moye figured it was the Democrats who should take the fall, even though the GOP controls both houses of Congress and the White House. The Democrats, he said, are obstructionist. They don't want Republicans to get anything done.

A Vietnam vet, Moye sells taxidermy busts of animals he's hunted, as well as elk antler chandeliers he makes himself. He's happy with his health care, which he gets through Medicare and Veterans Affairs. And he thinks his fellow Americans shouldn't have to be afraid of losing insurance when they're struggling financially.

At the same time, Moye sounds wary of entitlements: "We're given too much in America."

That's a tough circle to square. But Moye has confidence in Trump.

"It's going to be rough," he said, "but I think eventually the new president will be the best we've ever had."

Reporters Keith Cartwright, Lev Facher, Max Blau, and Casey Ross contributed to this report.
The protectionist agenda of U.S. President Donald Trump is unlikely to hamper the growth prospects of Russian agrichemicals giant PhosAgro , the group's chief executive told CNBC on Monday.

Trump's "America First" pledge prompted concerns regarding the trade relationships between the world's largest economy and other nations. However, when CNBC asked PhosAgro's CEO whether he was fearful about the implementation of U.S. imposed border tariffs, he rejected the notion altogether.

"We know how to live with (such tax duties) we know how to appraise the markets and so I don't really think that it will damage our supply," Andrey Guryev, chief executive at PhosAgro, told CNBC on Monday.

"For us, the U.S. market is not the major market, we like Europe, we like Russia, we like Latin America, that's where PhosAgro is concentrated and this is a premium market for us," Guryev added.
President Donald Trump's approval rating slid to a fresh low this weekend after Republicans' attempt to replace the Affordable Care Act failed in dramatic fashion, according to Gallup.

Trump's approval dipped to 36 percent during the three-day period of Friday to Sunday, one point lower than his worst previous reading, Gallup said. It fell below President Barack Obama's lowest approval of 38 percent and President Bill Clinton's worst reading of 37 percent.

Former presidents George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon all had approval ratings lower than 36 percent at least once, according to Gallup.

Approval ratings are often volatile, and Trump's could rise in the near future. Still, voters widely disliked him during the 2016 election and he entered office as one of the most unpopular presidents in recent memory.

It is unclear how the sagging approval will affect Trump moving forward. While he won last year's electoral vote as a widely disliked candidate, he competed against another unpopular choice in Hillary Clinton.
Several employees at Uber, including CEO Travis Kalanick, visited a karaoke bar known for offering escort services on a trip to Seoul, South Korea, three years ago, according a report in The Information.



A female Uber employee who was with the group expressed her discomfort with the situation, and later complained to the company's human resources chief about the outing, according to the report. The incident was told to The Information by Gabi Holzwarth, Kalanick's former girlfriend, who was also at the bar.

At the bar, women employed as escorts wore numbers and the employees would call the number of the woman they wanted to sit with, according to The Information. Holzwarth says she left with Kalanick after about an hour, according to The Information report. No allegations of any illegal behavior have been made.

A spokeswoman for Uber told The Information: "This all happened nearly three years ago. It was previously reported to human resources and in early March was referred to Tammy Albarran and Eric Holder," who are leading an investigation into Uber's workplace culture.
In every social group, people fit into a status hierarchy. The workplace is no exception. Many try to climb the status ladder by logging long hours, volunteering for additional assignments and dressing for success. But there might be an easier way: being funny. More from USA TODAY:

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Taxes 101: Breaking down the most important tax forms

A recent study titled "Risky Business: When Humor Increases and Decreases Status" found that a good sense of humor improves professional status at the workplace. People perceive funny colleagues as more competent and confident than serious or boring colleagues  if humor is done the right way. Other findings include: Humor attempts, both successful and unsuccessful ones, increase perception of confidence.

Only the successful humor attempt that elicits laughter increases perception of competence.

Telling an inappropriate joke makes a joke teller appear more confident, but less competent and decreases status.

An effective joke teller is more likely to be chosen as a group leader. "Humor is often viewed as a frivolous or ancillary behavior. As we show, it is not. It is quite serious," said Maurice Schweitzer, one of the study's researchers and a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Humor leads to higher status, but it can work the other way, too. Greater status gives license to joking. Higher-status individuals within organizations have the luxury of making jokes comfortably and face lower risks. "The higher you are, the harder it is to get fired," said Peter McGraw, an associate professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Sean Joyce, a D.C. comedy promoter, warms up a packed house during a recent show at the Big Hunt The Washington Post | Getty Images

A failed joke greeted with cold reaction is not only embarrassing but can also hurt a career. At the workplace, "even short of getting fired, making inappropriate jokes or being seen as unserious can certainly prevent you from advancing," said Sean Joyce, a comedian and producer at Underground Comedy based in Washington D.C. Properly used humor serves many good purposes. It builds relationship among employees or with bosses, helps workers maximize their innovative thinking, defuses tension and stress, increases productivity and makes people happier, according to Rue Dooley, a human resources knowledge adviser at the Society for Human Resource Management and a stand-up comedian in Washington D.C. Having colleagues with a good sense of humor is a recipe for a positive working atmosphere, McGraw said. "People want to have fun; they want to smile and laugh. Would you rather go to a meeting with some laughter or nothing?"

Dave Chappelle American Broadcasting Companies | Fred Watkins | Getty Images

Although a talent in making others laugh is a valuable social and professional tool, it is not relevant to everyone. Jobs that involve people-to-people interactions, such as customer service and human resources, need employees with strong interpersonal skill and humor, but not so much for other positions, such as computer programming, McGraw said. And being funny doesn't mean you'll succeed at work. Some people in executive positions are not the funniest people, but they are charismatic and good at their job, Joyce said. The study's author suggests that employers take into consideration job applicants' sense of humor. "Companies hire, train and promote people based upon a set of criteria. Sense of humor should be in that set," Schweitzer said. Not everyone agrees. "Everyone has a different sense of humor, so hiring managers could run the risk of letting their personal biases and humor preferences impact their judgment of the candidate," said Ketti Salemme, a senior communications manager at TINYpulse, a human resources software company.

Kathleen Carroll, director of talent acquisition for North American Operations at Amazon. NurPhoto | Getty Images
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media as Vice President Mike Pence looks on, in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., on March 27, 2017.

At first glance, the two politicians seem worlds apart: firebrand businessman turned political upstart U.S. President Donald Trump, and left wing Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, elected in 2015 to turn his country's troubled, debt-ridden economy around.

But for one strategist CNBC spoke to, the trajectories of both politicians are more similar than one might think.

This "goes back to this issue of populism," Vasileios Gkionakis, head of global FX strategy at UniCreditBank, told CNBC's Squawk Box Monday.

"For populism to be able to gain acceptance, spread and potentially govern, you actually need a lot of hearsay," he reasoned. Certain politicians rely on pulling "claims out of thin air, without really having the numbers to back them up," a process which he related to Tsipras' election amid the Greek debt crisis.
watch now

Hundreds of Russians, including President Vladimir Putin's main political opponent Alexei Navalny, were arrested Sunday after nationwide anti-corruption protests saw thousands take to the streets to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

The demonstrations, thought to be the biggest show of defiance against the Kremlin since 2011-12, come a year before Navalny is expected to run against Putin in Russia's 2018 election. CNBC takes a look at what this means for the country's future.

Who is Alexei Navalny? Leader of Russia's opposition Progress Party, Navalny is generally considered one of President Putin's harshest critics and has faced a series of arrests and short jail terms for his protesting against government corruption. He is currently trying to unseat former-President Medvedev over allegations that he has amassed a collection of mansions, yachts and vineyards during his time in government. While fairly popular in certain urban communities, Navalny's Westernized opposition party has struggled to field the levels of support enjoyed by Putin. However, its aims of channeling public discontent over government corruption garnered wider-reaching support on Sunday, including in more provincial communities such as Siberia's Chita and Barnaul.

Russian riot policemen detain an opposition activist during a protest rally at Pushkinskaya Square Mikhail Svetlov | Getty Images

What happened at the protests? Navalny's anti-establishment calls prompted as many as 99 rallies across the country Sunday, however, all but 17 were declared illegal by authorities, resulting in hundreds of arrests.

Navalny was among those arrested and placed in a police truck as he walked with protestors near Moscow's Pushkin Square. 17 of Navalny's associates were also arrested in their office, according to the Associated Press. Sunday's arrests, which range in estimates from 500 to over 1,000 people, have been condemned by international authorities, including the EU and the U.S., who have called for the release of detainees. "We call on the Russian authorities to abide fully by the international commitments it has made, including in the Council of Europe  To uphold these rights and to release without delay the peaceful demonstrators that have been detained," the European Union said Monday. However, Russia rejected these calls Monday, describing the demonstrations as illegal and accusing the organizers of paying teenagers to attend. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the protests a "provocation", speaking to reporters via a conference call, and said authorities were concerned that opposition activities would try to encourage further illegal activity.

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is seen during the trial of his detention on an unauthorized rally Nikita Shvetsov | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
A Connecticut line note being offered by George LaBarre Galleries is one of only several dozen issued to African-American soldiers that have ever been on the market. Red arrow on the back of the note points to the soldiers faint signature, which was written perpendicularly to the darker ink.

A Connecticut line note being offered by George H. LaBarre Galleries of Hollis, N.H., the firm says, is both a new discovery and an unusual piece of Revolutionary War history. It is one of only several dozen issued to African-American soldiers that have ever been on the market, according to the seller.

Line notes are essentially promissory notes issued in payment for service in the Continental Army from 1780 to 1782 because the state lacked the funds to fully pay its soldiers. They are called line notes because they were given to soldiers, as it says on the face of the note, in the Connecticut Line of the Continental Army. The text also stipulates that the note was payable in gold, silver or bills of credit with lawful interest payable annually over a period of six to eight years. Soldiers usually kept the notes folded in their pockets. Upon redemption, they were signed on the back and hole-canceled.

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Tuis Sharper was a private in the Sixth Connecticut Regiment and one of about 5,000 African Americans who served in the Revolutionary War after George Washington lifted the ban on black enlistment in January 1776.

How to spot a counterfeit 1928 China Auto dollar: Inside Coin World: We at Coin World report often on fake U.S. coin rarities coming from China, but not so often about fake Chinese coin rarities.

All-black units were also started in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Adding to the singularity of this particular note is that these are seldom signed by the soldier since many of them could not read or write. Most come signed as his X mark or not signed at all. That this was hand-signed by Sharper, LaBarre says, makes it an extraordinary piece of African American Revolutionary history.

A biography of Sharpers combat history provided by LaBarre Galleries says Sharper was under Capt. Martin Kirtlands company in the Connecticut Battalion, formerly of Col. William Douglass, who died. Later, the battalion was commanded by Lt. Col. David Dimon. Sharper was also in a foot regiment commanded by Col. Return Jonathan Meigs. He also served under Capt. David Humphreys 6th Regiment Connecticut Forces, later commanded by Lt. Col. Ebenezer Gray. Sharpers records show that he enlisted on May 30, 1777, for a term of three years and first appeared on a muster roll on Aug. 31. He was captured as prisoner on Oct. 31, 1777, and returned from captivity on July 24, 1778. He was listed as discharged May 1, 1780. Sharper reenlisted on April 3, 1781, for another three-year term in the 2nd Regiment under Col. Heman Swift. He last appears on a payroll as of May 1, 1783, in the 3rd Connecticut Regiment of Officers Non Commissioned and Privates.
The obverse of the 2007 gold 100-kilogram $1 million coin shows the Susanna Blunt effigy of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Royal Canadian Mint in 2007 sold six examples of the 100-kilogram gold coin, one of which was just stolen from a museum in Germany.

Thieves reportedly only stole one coin overnight from the Bode Museum in Germanys capital, but it was a whopper. The $1 million gold coin from Canada contains 100 kilograms of .99999 fine gold.

In a story straight out of Hollywood, criminals have stolen one of the largest gold coins in the world from a museum in Germany.

Thieves reportedly only stole one coin overnight from the Bode Museum in Germanys capital, but it is a whopper.

The gold coin from Canada, with a $1 million denomination, contains 100 kilograms of .99999 fine gold and is one of six made in 2007 by the Royal Canadian Mint.

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A Coin World correspondent from Germany, who is a numismatic journalist there, has confirmed with museum officials that the theft has occurred. News reports suggest that multiple criminals were involved, and that they likely used a wheelbarrow to cart the coin off, spiriting it away on the citys public transportation.

The theft appears to have occurred around 3:30 a.m. local time. The coin had been secured behind bullet-proof glass inside the building, according to media reports.

Multiple credible news reports suggest that German police located a ladder on train tracks nearby, and that a window was smashed open to allow the thief or thieves entry to the museum.

The $1 million coin measures 53 centimeters across and 3 centimeters thick and contains 220 pounds  3,215 troy ounces  of gold. The gold has a current market value of about $4 million U.S., nearly double the value it had when it was released (about $2.2 million U.S.).

The $1 million coin depicts the Susanna Blunt effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and a Stan Witten design of three maple leaves on the reverse.

The RCM said in 2007 that producing the coins was an extremely labor-intensive production, taking about six weeks, making each one an individual work of art.

How to spot a counterfeit 1928 China Auto dollar: Inside Coin World: We at Coin World report often on fake U.S. coin rarities coming from China, but not so often about fake Chinese coin rarities.

The Canadian coin was the worlds largest gold coin until the Perth Mint in 2011 created one example of a 1-ton gold coin, with an estimated metal value at the time of release of around $50 million. That coin was not for sale, so the RCM maintains the record for the most expensive world bullion coin to trade in the marketplace.

The Bode Museum houses more than 500,000 numismatic items, with approximately 4,000 items on display at any given time.

The Bode Museum had released press images of the stolen coin, but has not released a statement through its website, in either German or English.
The holidays are creeping up on us
If Microsoft orchestrates next month's Microsoft Windows 10 upgrade as it did 2016's mid-year Anniversary Update refresh, it will take about three months for the latest version to reach most eligible devices.

According to advertising network AdDuplex, 60 days after the Aug. 2, 2016, introduction of Windows 10 1607 -- aka Anniversary Update -- just 35% of measured Windows 10 PCs were running the upgrade. By the 90-day mark, however, that number had soared to 80%, showing that Microsoft, after a purposefully slow start, had stomped on the update accelerator.

There has been no sign from Microsoft that Creators Update, the company's label for April's feature upgrade, will be deployed any differently.

Microsoft has made clear over the first two Windows 10 upgrades -- the first, pegged 1511 to mark its November 2015 release, the second, marked 1607, both in the year/month format -- that it has been in no rush to get them out to customers. AdDuplex's data, which the Lithuanian firm issued last week, backed up Microsoft's assertions of a measured pace.

Although there are multiple reasons for Microsoft gradually opening the update spigot, including insuring that the content delivery network isn't overloaded, the most important to the Redmond, Wash. company has been the desire to break as few PCs as possible.

In past cases, Microsoft has used its extensive -- some have called it invasive -- Windows 10 telemetry to identify the machines most likely to install the upgrade without problem, then started with those PCs. As the upgrade rolls out, Microsoft examines incoming data and, if necessary, modifies the installation process before expanding the pool of eligible devices. That telemetry lets Microsoft spot potentially-problematic PCs and sequester them until it understands why such machines balk at the upgrade.

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The piecemeal upgrade process is not unique to Microsoft. Mozilla, for example, has used it for years to deploy new versions of Firefox.

It's impossible to know whether Microsoft's approach works as intended. Users encountered a long list of problems installing last year's Anniversary Update for at least the first month, for instance. But if AdDuplex's data is accurate, it signals that Microsoft eventually got the upgrade on a majority of PCs.

AdDuplex established Windows 10's upgrade tempo by mining data from third-party Windows Store apps -- also called UWP, for "Universal Windows Platform," apps -- that are installed on PCs. The data was collected March 21, AdDuplex said. But because UWP apps that include AdDuplex's SDK are unlikely to be on every Windows 10 PC, its numbers are unlikely to encompass the entire Windows 10 ecosystem, especially the part maintained by enterprises.
A plot allegedly involving an iPad bomb was one of the factors which sparked US and UK restrictions on bringing electronic devices larger than a smartphone into the passenger cabin of flights traveling from the Middle East.

Its unclear if the alleged bomb was inside an iPad knockoff or used an iPad shell, but the tablet filled with explosives was not in itself enough to trigger the electronic device ban. An unnamed source told The Guardian that the US and UK bans were not the result of a single specific incident but a combination of factors.

One of those, according to the source, was the discovery of a plot to bring down a plane with explosives hidden in a fake iPad that appeared as good as the real thing. Other details of the plot, such as the date, the country involved and the group behind it, remain secret.

Last week when DHS announced the restrictions of laptops, tablets, cameras, portable DVD players, e-readers and handheld gaming devices larger than a smartphone inside cabins on flights to the US from 10 airports in eight Middle Eastern countries, the agency said, Evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation and are aggressively pursuing innovative methods to undertake their attacks, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items.

The UK quickly followed suit, placing a similar ban on devices larger than a normal-sized smartphone on flights to the UK from six countries. We understand the frustration that these measures may cause and we are working with the aviation industry to minimize any impact, the UK government said.

[ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page. ]

If the plot involving a fake iPad loaded with explosives is true, it doesnt explain the differences in the US and UKs electronics ban; some people find that troubling. Shashank Joshi, an intelligence specialist at Londons Royal United Services Institute, told The Guardian, One problem is that the British and American restrictions differ, despite the exceptionally high level of intelligence-sharing between the two on AQAP and on counter-terrorism generally. Other western and western-allied countries have not undertaken the ban at all. This raises questions about why they have arrived at different conclusions, and specifically suspicions as to whether unstated political factors may be influencing the Trump administration.

United Airlines: Dont wear leggings if you fly for free

It wasnt a case of people trying to sneak electronic devices larger than a smartphone which caused an airline to refuse to let them board a plane; it was a case of females wearing spandex.

United Airlines refused to allow two teenage girls to board their flight from Denver to Minneapolis because they were wearing leggings. The incident quickly went viral and incited outrage after it was live-tweeted by Shannon Watts on Sunday.

United Airlines responded by tweeting, To our customersyour leggings are welcome! In other words, if you pay for a ticket, then leggings are OK.

The airline claimed it only honed in on the girls because the teenagers were pass riders and not in compliance with our dress code for company benefit travel. We regularly remind our employees that when they place a family member or friend on a flight for free as a standby passenger, they need to follow our dress code.

Some people were not appeased and added angry replies to Uniteds June 2016 tweet which promoted yoga pants.

United Airlines, presumably hoping to avoid another incident with huge backlash, sent an email to employees reminding them of the dress code for pass riders. According to Business Insider, the email said, Unacceptable pass travel attire includes beach-type rubber flip flops, slippers, anything with holes or tears, anything that reveals your midriff or undergarments and form-fitting Lycra or spandex pants, such as leggings.
SOUTH GLENGARRY, Ontario  On March 3, 2017, as part of their ongoing efforts to investigate and combat smuggling in the area, members of the Cornwall Regional Task Force (CRTF) conducting patrols along the St-Lawrence River shorelines located 33 bags of contraband fine cut tobacco on a Hamilton Island seasonal property. The tobacco weighing approximately 595 kilograms was seized by police.

CRTFs investigation into this matter continues.

With the warming weather approaching, police will likely see an increase in illicit activities occurring on our waterways, stated Staff Sergeant Sylvain Leroux, acting Officer in charge of the CRTF, If you witness or hear of suspicious activity occurring, we would ask that you contact the police. Together, we can reduce crime in our neighbourhoods.

If you have any information regarding this crime or other criminal activity in your area, you can contact the CRTF at 1-613-937-2800 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477

The CRTF is a joint forces partnership led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and includes the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Ministry of Finance.
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New Jersey and Ohio have started their program to curb infant deaths. Baby boxes will be given to families with newborns in the two states, and Alabama will be next.

New Jersey intends to hand out 105,000 boxes while 140, 000 mothers will receive them in Ohio. Alabama will soon be giving away 60,000 of these.

The baby box idea was taken from Finland's success in its own effort to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). It is an effort to discourage co-sleeping with babies as this habit poses a risk for SIDS.

Finland used to have high infant mortality rates but since launching the program 80 years ago, the rates have declined and they now have the one of the lowest in the world. Finn mothers in their fourth month of pregnancy would have to have a health check before the end of their pregnancy period in order to get a free baby box under this program.

Baby boxes will be given to families in the three states to send the message of safe sleep practices for babies. Parents receive education about SIDS and safe sleep by watching a video, and they take a quiz afterward. There have been 17,000 boxes released in New Jersey since January.

A firm mattress, tight-fitting sheet, diapers, wipes, breastfeeding accessories and a onesie will be given with the boxes. The state is working with Baby Box Co. for raising awareness.

The boxes can be used until the babies are 6 months old, which is within the period when many SIDS occur. There have been some 16,000 mothers who availed of the program in Ohio, NPR reported.

Several factors could increase the risk of SIDS. It is still unclear why black, American Indian or Alaska Native infants have a higher risk of developing the syndrome and between the two sexes, boys are more likely to die of it. A history of SIDS in the family, living with a smoker and being born prematurely are associated with SIDS, according to the Mayo Clinic.

See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
"Paid rioting" would have been more lucrative, but you take whatever job you can get.

His career started when a friend of his asked for a small favor, "Can you bring some food to our Occupy Wall Street Meeting?" Matt agreed and decided to hang out. While everyone was brainstorming protests, he had the bright idea to stage a "corporate wedding." Everyone loved it so much that they asked him to organize it. He did, and it flopped.

"We stood in the rain and pretended to marry a bunch of people in wedding attire with corporate logos. I don't think anyone even realized we were there."

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"What, is this a porno? No? OK, never mind then."

Still, Matt was hooked. And three months later he had made some connections at a union that offered him $20 a day to participate at the Take Back the Capitol protest in DC. They knew he was dedicated and supported the cause, but since he lived in Boston, he couldn't afford to go 400 miles out of his way and not even have a place to stay (he ended up sleeping on a church floor and spending his $20 on food). A few months after that, Matt took a job organizing non-unionized workers into unions for the SEIU.

Turns out most of the biggest and most important protests in American history were subject to some behind-the-scenes handling. As we've covered before, Rosa Parks wasn't the first black woman to refuse to give up her seat to a white person -- 15-year-old Claudette Colvin did the exact same thing nine months earlier, but the NAACP didn't think she was media friendly enough. Partly because "they didn't think teenagers would be reliable," so they asked Rosa Parks to do the same thing. Parks wasn't a paid protester, but someone on a salary decided she should be the face of the bus boycotts. And we're comfortable saying that the Civil Rights Movement ended up turning out OK.
LINCOLN  State Sen. John Murante of Gretna is urging "corrective action" to ensure noncitizens don't register to vote using forms Nebraska Democrats included in refugee welcome baskets this month.

His comments came after state Democratic Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb shared video on social media showing envelopes with voter registration forms tucked into a pile of welcome baskets the party collected March 16 during a leadership meeting in Lincoln.

"We need to be absolutely certain that these forms are not submitted," Murante said Monday during a news conference at the Capitol.

Murante is chairman of the Legislature's Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. The Republican is considered a potential candidate for Nebraska secretary of state in 2018.

Kleeb said last week the goal wasn't to encourage voter fraud, but to "make sure that folks are embraced by the Nebraska Democratic Party."

The baskets were donated to two refugee resettlement agencies, Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska and the Refugee Empowerment Center.

Both organizations have said they removed the registration forms and other political materials before sharing other items from the baskets.

Still, Murante asked Kleeb to quickly compile a list of any noncitizens who might have received registration forms.

A letter he sent to Kleeb asks that the list be delivered to county election officials by Wednesday, given that Omaha and Lincoln have local primary elections scheduled for April 4.

Only citizens may vote in most U.S. elections, and refugees generally must wait five years after their arrival to obtain citizenship.

Submitting a fraudulent voter registration form is a felony in Nebraska, but the state has no screening system to ensure those who register are citizens.

A voter-identification law passed in Kansas in 2011 requires people to present proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in that state.

Murante, who has led recent efforts to require voter ID in Nebraska, said he's unaware of any legislation here that would have required proof of citizenship at time of registration.

"It's something I'm looking into," he said.

"Any ballot that is cast illegally cancels out the ballot of a person who is legally entitled to vote," Murante said. "There is no such thing as an insignificant amount of voter fraud."
Arista's New cEOS

Arista Networks has unveiled a new containerized version of its flagship EOS operating system that can run on white-box hardware while also enabling customers like Facebook and Google "to make a switch look just like a server," said Jeff Raymond, vice president of EOS products and services.

"This idea of containerization is not a new concept, but it really hasn't been exercised in the networking stack or networking world. When we're able to apply it to networking, we get a lot of benefits that have to do with how we package our software," said Raymond in an interview with CRN.

Raymond spoke with CRN about the differentiation Arista's new containerized operating system (cEOS) brings to the market, channel partner opportunities and the Santa Clara, Calif.-based vendor's biggest software advantage over networking rival Cisco.
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The state Board of Examiners for Nursing last week disciplined eight nurses, including those with ties to Bridgeport, Monroe and Shelton.

Among those punished was Lisa Fabrizio, formerly from Monroe, who had her registered nurse license revoked after the board found that she took jewelry from patients and computers from her work at Lighthouse Home Healthcare in Old Saybrook and was trading the goods for heroin, state records show.

In June, she was charged by Stratford police with third-degree larceny after a detective determined she was pawning stolen jewelry, tools and electronics in local shops, state records show.

She is also facing multiple criminal charges in connection with a hit-and-run accident in August, when she told police she had recently used heroin, records show. The board found that her abuse of heroin was affecting her practice as a nurse and that her thefts constituted a failure to conform to the standards of the nursing profession, records show.

Others disciplined included, Dorsey Saunders, a licensed practical nurse from Bridgeport, whose licese was revoked for failing to comply with the terms of a four-year probation imposed in March 2016.

The probation was ordered after she was found stealing drugs, including oxycodone and fentanyl, while on duty at Fairview of Fairfield, a nursing home in the Southport section of Fairfield, records show.

The board also placed the RN license of Amanda Alarcon of Shelton on probation for four years after finding that she abused heroin from 2011 to 2014. Records show she is receiving substance abuse treatment.

Those who faced reprecussions also included nurses from Middletown, West Hartford, Cromwell, Killingworth, and New Britain.

Also, the board dismissed all charges against Dawn Noyce, a registered nurse from Canterbury, because she voluntarily surrendered her nursing license. Records show she has struggled with drug and alcohol abuse and pleaded guilty in April 2015 to driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team ( www.c-hit.org )
BRIDGEPORT - A man with a lengthy criminal record was arrested again after police said they found two loaded guns in his apartment.

Tyeshon King, 30, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia in a drug factory, carrying a pistol without a permit, theft of a firearm and criminal possession of a firearm.
Contributed / Contributed

Griffin Hospital, 130 Division St., Derby, and Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley invite the community to come to the hospital Monday, April 10 from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. for National Safe Kids Day.

Safe Kids Day is a day to celebrate kids and take action to keep kids safe, said Cathi Kellett, Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley Coalition Coordinator in a news release.
Connecticut is the seventh-worst state for doctors, according a new study from the personal-finance website WalletHub., WalletHubs analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 14 key metrics, including the average annual wage of physicians to hospitals per capita to quality of public hospital system.

Connecticut placed 45th overall, and also ranked poorly in many other key areas. For instance, Connecticut scored 50th in the average monthly starting salary of physician, and in the number of hospitals per capita, and ranked 47th in the projected number of physicians per capita by 2024.
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WASHINGTON  Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the Trump administration would attempt to ``claw-back federal law enforcement aid if jurisdictions such as Connecticut insist on keeping their ``sanctuary status to protect illegal immigrants.

``I urge our nations states and cities to consider carefully the harm they are doing to their citizens by refusing to enforce our immigration laws, and to re-think these policies, said Sessions, appearing before reporters Monday at the daily White House press briefing. ``Such policies make their cities and states less safe, and put them at risk of losing valuable federal dollars.

Connecticut received $44.3 million in awards from the Department of Justices Office of Justice Programs in 2016, up from $26.3 million in 2014, according to the OJP web site.

Virtually all major jurisdictions in Fairfield County  including Bridgeport, Danbury, Norwalk and Stamford  have benefited from OJP dollars aimed at bolstering police.

Bridgeport alone has gotten $4.6 million since 2009.

Sessions said those amounts may be in jeopardy.

DOJ ``will also take all lawful steps to claw back any funds awarded to a jurisdiction that willfully violates (relevant federal law), he said. OJP and COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) anticipate awarding $4.1 billion in grants nationwide.

As part of his pledge to deport illegal immigrants and build a Southwest border wall, President Donald Trump campaigned to end ``sanctuary cities, which he said fostered violent crime by giving protection to felons who would otherwise be deported under federal law.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has made a distinction between cooperating with federal law enforcement on violent immigrant felons and helping Department Homeland Security agents track down law-abiding immigrant family members.

``The fact is that Connecticut is compliant with the very federal law referenced by U.S. Attorney General Sessions, said Malloy spokeswoman Kelly Donnelly. ``Furthermore, we are not a sanctuary state.

Legislation to declare Connecticut a sanctuary state was introduced in January but has not yet won approval.

Even so, a 2013 state law, the Trust Act, says authorities in the state should avoid cooperating with ICE agents in enforcing a final order of removal unless there is a judicial warrant or conviction for a violent felony.

Sessions insisted the Trump administration policy, outlined in an executive order a few days after Trump took office, dovetails with Obama administration policy, certifying compliance in order to qualify for DOJ grants.

But experts who follow the immigration issue said Obama never took away any jurisdictions funding or said they no longer qualified because of non-compliance.

``People in Connecticut tell me they want safe communities, but also a government that upholds American values like hard work and respect for families, said Sen. Chris Murphy. ``Taking money away from police departments because they want to use already stretched resources on arresting criminals instead of demanding papers from immigrant families will make our state less safe.
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DERBY-Tears flowed, anguish creased faces and pleas for help filled the room.

They came from people like Amanda Diaz. who works a 40-hour week while taking care of two young children and a sick mother; Crisann Keeney, a former nurse left disabled; Ebony Gattison, who recently graduated from a Griffin Hospital training program and Roger Martin, who said he lost a six figure job and is at the end stages of glaucoma.

And they were directed to Washington, D.C. where President Donald Trumps proposed budget eliminates such low income assistance programs as the heating subsidy, home weatherization and Meals on Wheels.

These programs are vital, Amanda Diaz, a city resident told U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Mayor Anita Dugatto during the congresswomans visit to TEAM on Elizabeth Street Monday morning. People like me dont just stay home...I work. I have a five-year daughter with asthma and my mom has lupus.

Diaz said the minimal heating assistance she received probably kept her daughter and mother from getting sick last winter.

How does this government think they can just cast people aside, added Keeney, a disabled former nurse as she wiped tears from her eyes. They are putting numbers down but were talking about humans.

Youre voices are going to be critical, DeLauro told the gathering. We are only at the beginning of the budget debate. There are programs that ought to be cut. These ought to get 100 percent.

Trump carried 8 of the 10 municipalities TEAM services including all of the Valley towns.

But for now the President has recommended cutting $3.8 billion from the heating assistance program. Connecticut received $80 million last year which helped nearly 110,000 households.

Closer to home David Morgan, TEAMs chief executive officer, said 3,312 households in the Valley, Milford, Orange, Bethany and Woodbridge received about $450 which went directly to one of its 103 heating oil vendors.

Some people think its a blank check, its not, Morgan explained. The payment goes directly to one of vendors.

Morgan said TEAMs heating oil assistance program is often a gateway to help people deal with other problems like job search, employment training and even housing. In Roger Martins case, TEAM was able to help him with housing while he was facing eviction.

DeLauro said the Office of Management and Budget determined the Meals on Wheels program which provides food to the elderly, disabled and shut-ins was not producing effective results.

Look at the budget (President Trump proposed), DeLauro said. It cuts $54 billion from non-defense programs.

She said the heating program was created by then-President Ronald Reagan and the weatherization program by then-President Gerald Ford, both Republicans.

That is the difference between then and now, she said.
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MILFORD - A festival celebrating peace, love and music for Maren Sanchez lives on.

The festival celebrates the life of Sanchez, a Jonathan Law High School student, who was fatally stabbed the day of her junior prom on April 25,2014. She was 16 years old.

Starting in 2015, a festival has been held each year to raise funds for Milford high school graduating seniors, public and private. Year after year, it has been able to donate thousands to scholarships.

This year, the festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, April 29 at Jonathan Law High School. It will include live music, art, food trucks, inflatables, all-day kickball tournament, rafflesall the things Maren Sanchez loved. an all-day kickball tournament, raffles. The field will be filled with representatives from Milford schools, organizations, businesses, and craft vendors. Applications will be available on the PLM Facebook page.

Maren touched so many of us and her message of peace and love continues through PLM, Fran Thompson, Jonathan Law High School principal said in a release. The joy and honor of working with this remarkable committee and dedicated community partners is greater than ever. This year, by recognizing The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement and The Anna Grace Project at PLM, Maren's love of life and celebration of everything good will continue to set an example for all of us.

The day will kick off at 8:30 a.m. with statements from local dignitaries followed by a 5K Run at 9 a.m. Colony Grill/PLM All You Need Is Love 5K. The new route will take registered participants down on the Silver Sands Park boardwalk. Serious runners will be timed; all ages are welcome! The official time for the festival is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Music headliners are the Rumrunners for the third year in a row.

Organizers said as the festival continues to grow, it expanded its community partnerships with the mission of also donating to important, like-minded causes. Last year it gave to The Maren Sanchez Home Foundation and this year it announced a joint partnership with The Ana Grace Project and The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, two organizations named for children who were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012.

More Information The PLM Committee is looking for business and corporate sponsors to sponsor themed raffle baskets, food truck and craft vendors, and volunteers to help out during the event. Just visit the official Facebook page www.facebook.com/plmfrommaren. If you have any questions, please contact the committee at peaceloveandmusicfrommaren@gmail.com. Partnerships (present and past): For more information on The Ana Grace Project, go to www.anagraceproject.org. For more information on The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, go to www.jesselewischooselove.org. For more information on The Maren Sanchez Home Foundation, please go to www.marensanchezhomefoundation.org. See More Collapse

"I continue to be amazed at Milford's leadership in courageously promoting the heartfelt gathering of compassionate individuals to recognize and celebrate Marens beautiful life that touched the community and beyond, said Scarlett Lewis, Jesses mother, and whose presence continues to reverberate kindness and love."

We are honored to have been chosen to partner with all of those who love Maren in order to remember her life and be a blessing to the community, said Ana Graces mother, Nelba Marquez-Greene. There are no words for the tragic loss of a child. There can only be peace, love, and music.

Colony Grill of Milford is the presenting sponsor of the festival. Ken Martin, co-owner of Colony Grill Development, LLC, which operates four Colony Grill locations in Connecticut. It is so important to continue to celebrate Marens beautiful attributes, and to use this festival as an ongoing beacon of hopefulness.

Meanwhile, Christopher Plaskon, Sanchezs killer, is serving 25-year sentence in prison. Prosecutors said Sanchez had declined Plaskons invitation that ultimately led to the attack.

Plaskon pleaded no contest in March 2016 to killing the victim with a steak knife.
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TRUMBULL  Matthew Kuroghlian, a Trumbull High School junior, was presented Sunday with the Kevin J. Sutherland Inspiration in Democracy Award, named after the intern of Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., who died in a knife attack on a subway in Washington nearly two years ago.

The 16-year-old Trumbull High student was singled out for dedicating himself to public service and engaging young people in local and state elections while still in high school, according to the Trumbull Democratic Town Committee which bestowed the honor. He is vice president of his class and a leader in the Model United Nations THS club.

When I was in high school, I began a Young Democrats organization, too, and its still active, said Sen. Chris Murphy. I know many of you have a sense of anxiety over whats happening in Washington, but its not something that cant be cured by political action.

Rep. Jim Himes recalled Sutherland as a young man who could bring about change though thoughtful expression, rather than bombast and insults.

To me he was a little brother, Himes said. We should all be in awe of the strength of his character. I didnt always agree with him, but I always wanted to hear his thoughts.

He said turning back efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act was a major victory for Americans.

This was a week in which we pushed back to protect a whole bunch of people, he said of Congress decision not to repeal the law commonly known as Obamacare.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal told the gathering Democracy was in peril and the nation is careening toward a Constitutional crisis because of Russian meddling in the fall elections.

I will block any nominee for deputy attorney general until and unless he commits to a special prosecutor , he said, someone who can perform an aggressive, impartial inquiry, and bring charges and prosecute whoever is responsible  up to and including the president.

Matthew was a volunteer for Himes in his 2016 campaign and held a leadership role in the unsuccessful 2016 campaign of Lino Costantini for Trumbulls 126th District seat in the Legislature. Matthew also created a group, the Eastern Fairfield County Young Democrats.

Doug Sutherland, Kevins father, was choked with tears when he approached the lectern. He thanked Kuroghlian for starting a Young Democrats group in Trumbull.

This was something that Kevin tried to to when he was at Trumbull High  but of course there was no Donald Trump back then, he said. So I guess there is a silver lining in this after all.

Also honored by the TDTC Sunday night were Timothy A. Cantafio, vice president of engineering for Northeast Electronics, Corp., Milford, for his four decades of involvement in local political and social issues, and Beryl Kaufman for furthering the participation of citizens in our government and protecting the rights and education of people with special needs.

Cantafio ran unsuccessfully for a Town Council seat when he was 18. He is a lifelong Trumbull resident and with his wife, Dawn, reared two children here.

Kaufman, as a young mother, became executive director of the Connecticut Association for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficits, or CACLD, which was active from the early 1970s until recently. She also organized the first conference in Connecticut on issues faced by high school graduates with special needs.

More than 250 turned out for the dinner event at the Tashua Knolls clubhouse, and those in attendance included former first selectmen Paul Timpanelli and Ray Baldwin, former Bridgeport Mayor Tom Bucci and Tom McCarthy of the Bridgeport City Council.

The attack on Kevin Sutherland occurred on July 4, 2015, in a Washington Metro train. Police said Sutherland, 24, died of numerous stab wounds.

Jasper Spires, then 18, has been charged with the crime, and the case is continuing. Police said the attack began when Spires tried to steal Sutherlands cel phone and that the suspect may have been high on synthetic drugs at the time.
Brian A. Pounds / Brian A. Pounds

FAIRFIELD  A Bridgeport man said he was reaching for his wallet to pay his restaurant bill when he shot himself in the buttocks March 24.

Police said Michael Southmayd, 56, may face charges of unlawful discharge of a firearm in connection with the incident, which unfolded around 8:30 p.m. at Tazza, 116 Post Road. Southmayd was there dining with his family, police said, when he said he reached for his wallet and somehow pulled his firearm from the holster and shot himself. They bullet was lodged in the floor, and the casing stuck in the gun.
Ervil LeBaron as a missionary.

John Hollenhorst

KSL

March 24, 2017



DALLAS  The daughter of a polygamy cult leader  whose orders led to about three dozen murders in the 1970s and 1980s  has emerged from the shadows decades later to tell her story.



Those killings  including at least three in Utah  were the secretive backdrop to Anna LeBaron's early life.



"We were raised in an atmosphere of fear, chaos and insecurity," she said recently while standing in the driveway of a Dallas home. She lived in the home  briefly, at age 7  with many children and adult followers of her father, Ervil LeBaron.



"The authorities were after them, and so we moved constantly in an attempt to stay ahead of the law," she said of those days in the mid-1970s when Ervil LeBaron and his followers waged a violent campaign against rivals and turncoats.



Anna LeBaron is now telling her personal story in a new book, "The Polygamist's Daughter." It's a story of abuse, child slavery and fear. But it's also a hopeful tale of a teenager's escape from her father's murderous grip and Anna LeBaron's long struggle to heal her own psychological wounds.

House of fear



The children in Ervil LeBaron's Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God were rarely allowed outside, according to Anna LeBaron. The grown-ups lived in constant fear.



"Even though we didn't know why they were afraid, we could feel it," she said. "We could sense it, and it affected us."



Her family tree is complex, to say the least.



"My dad had 50 children, plus, depending on who you ask and who's counting," she said, seated in her own living room in the Dallas suburbs with dozens of family photos spread out on a coffee table. Her mother, Anna Mae Marston, was one of at least 13 wives joined in "spiritual" marriage to the cult leader. Ervil LeBaron was a father figure for Anna, even though he was absent nearly all the time.



"I can count on one hand the times that I was actually in the same room with him," she said, recalling her first 13 years of life in Mexico, Texas and Colorado.



While LeBaron was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, her father ordered a series of killings that left a trail of bullet holes, bodies and blood across two countries and several states, from Mexico to Utah. Ervil LeBaron was convicted of murder in Utah and died of natural causes in the Utah State Prison in 1981.



But from his prison cell, he ordered killings that continued years after his death.



Retired investigator Dick Forbes tracked LeBaron's crimes for many years for the Salt Lake County Attorney's Office. He has long been considered the leading law enforcement expert on the cult. Years ago he calculated a seemingly definitive number: 28 homicides ordered by Ervil LeBaron, some committed before and some after his death.



"Twenty-eight murders," Forbes said in a recent interview, in which "I know who died, and who did it." But he said other law enforcement agencies recently showed him new information that indicates there were "two to 10 additional murders."



That would make the overall body count at least 30 and possibly as high as 38.



At least two suicides are also attributed to fallout from murders ordered by Ervil LeBaron.



"I was not aware that people had died until I was in my mid-teens," Anna LeBaron said, because the children were kept in the dark by older members of the cult.



She believes those older members lived in constant fear of their own leader.

'Hot lead, cold steel'



Ervil LeBaron did order a few murders outside the cult. In Utah in 1977, two of his wives assassinated rival cult leader Dr. Rulon Allred, gunning him down in front of his patients.



But mainly his killers went after members of LeBaron's own cult. If LeBaron suspected disloyalty, his followers and former followers got what the leader famously called "hot lead, cold steel, and a one-way ticket to hell."



Several of Anna LeBaron's closest relatives plotted murders for her father, including her brother Eddie Marston. Investigators believe Marston was involved in the Utah murder of Robert Simons, who was shot and buried near Wellington, Carbon County, in the mid-1970s.



Marston himself was killed in the 1980s when a second round of murders targeted former cult members.



"He was kind and caring, and I had good memories of him," Anna LeBaron said of her brother. She believes those who killed for her father were good people, victimized by her father's madness.



"Brainwashing," she said. "You think you're doing the right thing and you believe you're doing the right thing. And so you do the things that you're told to do."



In her growing up years, she said the younger kids learned basic scripture. They were even taught the commandments, all 10 of them.



"Thou shalt not kill. Hah!" she said, emphasizing the irony. "That's surprising. But the killing was justified, based on the doctrine of blood atonement. If you had turned your back on the truth, you were blood-atoned because, they were taught, there are some sins that the blood of Christ can't cover.



"I was able to escape before those things became entrenched in my mind."

'Walk away'



In 1982, Anna LeBaron and her immediate family were living in Houston with her mother who was still fervently loyal to Ervil LeBaron. Anna LeBaron was 13 and was just beginning to taste life in the real world outside the cult. She'd grown close to her older sister Lillian and Lillian's husband, Mark Chynoweth. They were quietly drifting away from the cult, losing faith in the teachings of Ervil LeBaron.



A major stress point triggered Anna's decision to escape.



It had started with a good thing; her father was sent to prison in Utah. "My father being put in prison is the best thing that could have happened to any of us," she said.



But when LeBaron died in prison, right-hand-man Dan Jordan moved to consolidate his own authority over the group. Jordan ordered Anna LeBaron's mother to bring her kids from Houston to his home and appliance store business in the Denver area.



Anna LeBaron had previously lived and worked under Jordan and considered him a mean and domineering slave driver. She consulted with her sister Lillian, who advised her to just "walk away."



Anna did just that; she walked away from her mother. Lillian hid Anna in a Houston motel for three nights until her mother left for Denver. At age 13, Anna had walked away from everything she knew.



"When I escaped, I went to go live with my sister," she said of her new life with Lillian and Mark Chynoweth. "They enrolled me in a Christian school. I didn't feel I was rejecting my family as much as I was reaching for something else."



"It definitely took courage, it was such a frightening time," she recalled. "I thought that somebody would follow me and forcibly take me back."



Those fears were not groundless. Even after Ervil LeBaron's 1981 death, he reached out from beyond the grave. His most shocking crime was yet to come, striking at the heart of Anna LeBaron's new life as terrible tragedy caught up with her new family.

Killer becomes victim



Mark Chynoweth had allegedly killed for Ervil LeBaron in the 1970s. Investigators believe he was the triggerman in the Utah killing of Robert Simons. But by 1982, he and wife Lillian were pulling away from the cult, trying to make new lives.



"He was a loving, caring, compassionate, gentle man," Anna LeBaron said.



Mark and Lillian Chynoweth became surrogate parents for Anna and enrolled her in a Christian school. For several years, as she grew into a woman, her life seemed to be getting on an even keel



But then, the murders started up again.



In 1987, the cult's apparent leader, Jordan, was mysteriously gunned down at a family deer-hunting camp in central Utah.



After Jordan's funeral, Mark Chynoweth explained to Anna LeBaron that he and several others were still in the crosshairs of their dead prophet. Ervil LeBaron had wanted them killed because they refused to follow orders he issued from his Utah prison cell several years before.



"When my father was in prison, he had ordered all his followers to come and bust him out of jail, guns a blazing," Anna said. "Obviously that was a suicide mission, so nobody would do it."



Following that refusal, LeBaron issued what amounted to a hit list, written as scripture in the Utah State Prison.



"The Book of the New Covenant," Anna LeBaron said. "And in there was a list of names of people that had turned their back on the truth and would not follow my dad."



When Jordan was murdered five years after LeBaron's death in prison, former cult members realized that some of LeBaron's fanatical sons and daughters were bent on carrying out their late father's hit list.



"It was a very frightening time," Anna LeBaron recalled.



Then, in 1988, the most horrible of the man's crimes was carried out by seven of his sons and daughters. Three teams of assassins struck simultaneously, killing four people in Dallas and Houston. Among the victims of the so-called "4 o'clock murders" were Anna's beloved brother Eddie Marston, as well as her surrogate father, Chynoweth. The killers also targeted Mark Chynoweth's brother Duane and Duane's 8 year-old daughter who happened to witness her father's death.



"This is where Mark was killed," Anna LeBaron said as she looked at a photo of the used appliance store that he ran in Houston. Anna worked there, too, but was home sick on the day of the 4 o'clock murders.



"I would have absolutely been killed had I been with Mark that day," she said.



The murders devastated Mark Chynoweth's widow. Months later, Lillian Chynoweth  Anna's surrogate mother  committed suicide.

Road to healing



In the years since the brutal events of the 1980s, Anna LeBaron somehow had to forgive not only her late father who ordered the murders, but also one of her brothers, Heber LeBaron. He pulled the trigger on Mark Chynoweth. Four of Anna's siblings, half-siblings and stepsiblings are in prison today serving life sentences without parole.



"I have grieved a lot," she said. "I'm not sure that this kind of trauma is ever fully grieved."



Anna LeBaron's escape from the cult started her on a long quest for healing and wholeness through decades of therapy and counseling. She also credits the help she received in recent years from the nondenominational Gateway Church in the Dallas suburbs. She said it finally allowed her to heal some of the deepest psychological wounds.



Pastor-counselor Bob Hamp helped her navigate a life that couldn't have started off much worse. He says it took courage to walk away from family and 13 years of indoctrination.



"Those things are so ingrained from the early, early stages, there's likely to be even a sense of loss of identity," Pastor Hamp said. "So for her to leave that group wasn't just against every message that she'd received, but that was also against a sense of self that had been deeply implanted in her."



To be fully healed, he said Anna had to come to grips with a father who was almost always absent but still projected all sorts of confusing messages. "Like distance, and uncaring, and even abusive and cruel, and yet somehow portraying those things as benevolent," Pastor Hamp said. "That experience of a father somehow had to be replaced by someone, or something."



"That left a hole, you know, in your heart," Anna LeBaron said about her relationship with her father. "It leaves you longing for something that you've never experienced."



Part of the healing was her commitment to a new Christian faith. She said she found a new father figure in God, and it finally healed the wounds.



"I feel like I have overcome that," she said. "I am now proud to be a LeBaron. I am proud of my family because of everything we have overcome."



Anna LeBaron's life is on track, she said. Her marital arrangements have had some ups and downs, but she's had a successful career in the business world, she has a nice home in the Dallas suburbs, and she has five lively kids of her own, mostly grown up.



"Oh, it's absolutely a happy ending," she concluded. "My story is one of redemption, restoration and dreams coming true."



She has even reconciled with her own mother from whom she ran away at age 13. She said Anna Mae Marston lives to this day at age 85  still a believer  in a polygamist community in Utah. Anna LeBaron shared the manuscript of her book with her mother before it was published.



She'll be in Salt Lake City on March 29 for a book-signing event at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Sugar House.





http://www.ksl.com/?sid=43614598&nid=148
BEN WINSLOWfox13now.comMARCH 24, 2017SALT LAKE CITY -- One of the last members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church facing food stamp fraud charges has struck a plea deal.Preston Barlow pleaded guilty on Friday to a misdemeanor charge of aiding and abetting Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits fraud. He got no jail time, no probation and no fines, except a $25 assessment and he must attend a class on the proper use of food stamp benefits.Barlow declined to comment on the plea deal to FOX 13 on Friday. When asked if he believed the government was persecuting him because of is faith, he paused before replying: "I think I better hold off on answering any questions right now."Barlow the last defendant to strike a plea bargain or have charges dismissed -- with the notable exception of FLDS leader Lyle Jeffs, who remains a fugitive. His brother, imprisoned polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, was an unindicted co-conspirator, who is serving life in a Texas prison for child sex assault but remains in charge of the FLDS Church.The case ended quietly, a stark contrast to last year's FBI raid on the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. A federal grand jury indicted 11 FLDS members and leaders on food stamp fraud and money laundering charges. They were accused of ordering faithful members to hand over SNAP benefits to church leaders to do with as they wished. The U.S. Attorney's Office claimed in court filings the scheme exceeded $12 million in taxpayer dollars."There were some interesting issues in this case that are not common with a standard fraud case," said Barlow's defense attorney, Scott Williams.The case was impacted by a federal judge's ruling allowing FLDS members at trial to claim a religious right to consecrate food stamp benefits to the church."For the legal rulings that came down in the case, for some of the evidentiary challenges, we're satisfied putting criminal convictions on these defendants, sending the most culpable defendants to jail for a significant period of time with felony convictions," assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Lund told reporters outside of court.Ex-FLDS members have criticized the plea deals, saying the feds were allowing them to "walk." Prosecutors defended the convictions."There are people that hoped this prosecution would vindicate every wrong that had ever been committed at any time by either members or former members of the FLDS Church," Lund said. "That could not be the case and it was never the intention of the government that it would be the case."Now that there are convictions, the Utah Department of Workforce Services could launch its own investigation and prosecution into SNAP benefit abuse. The agency, which administers the benefits for the feds, told FOX 13 on Friday it was waiting for additional information from the Office of Inspector General.Any individuals found to have misused their food stamp benefits could lose their benefits or face other sanctions, an agency spokeswoman said.
Aghoris

If the remaining episodes of Aslans mini-series Believer are as provocative as the first one, they should not be missed.Vikram ZutshiScroll.inMarch 18, 2017.Several years ago, wandering through Varanasi late at night, I came across a group of ash-smeared sadhus sitting around a bonfire near the banks of the River Ganga which runs through the ancient city. I had gone there after spending several months in a Buddhist monastery in Pokhara, Nepal.One of the sadhus beckoned me to join them, patting the spot beside him. They were passing around a chillum, a clay pipe, packed with a potent mixture of charas (hand rubbed hashish) and tobacco. They sang a folk tune, accompanied by percussive tapping on a tabla. The smoking, singing and drumming under the stars made for a heady brew. I pulled out a bottle of whiskey from my backpack and offered it to my companions. Each took a swig and passed it on  it was out after one round of the circle. Soon I was singing and jumping animatedly around the fire along with a couple of clapping sadhus.Over the next few weeks I attended a number of similar gatherings at locations around Varanasi. It was a radical and refreshing departure from the austere and sedate environs of the Buddhist monastery and most of the ashrams I had stayed at over the course of my extended pilgrimage.One evening, a group of tourists from Delhi passing by, stopped and walked toward us. On seeing the intoxicated revelry, one of them, in a fit of moral outrage, ordered us to put our chillums away or he would call the police. The threat did not go down well with the holy men. Tolaram, a tall sadhu clad in black with red-rimmed eyes and a mop of wild dreadlocks, rose up and let loose a stream of invectives in Hindi which effectively meant this: Get lost or Ill stuff a chillum up a very painful place. The other sadhus scooped handfuls of red-hot coal and flung them at the tourists. The bunch scurried away  never to be seen again. All of us laughed uproariously at the spectacle.My friends were members of Aghor, a sect of renegades who proudly reject the trappings of social propriety, sectarian labels and the world of appearances. Their secretive lifestyle, which includes ritual consecration and consumption of human flesh, and even sexual rites amidst burning pyres, is designed to shock the perceptual framework so as to break the barriers between what is considered sacred and profane, the holy and unholy  all rigid dichotomies that dominate the bourgeois middle class.In Tolarams view, most Hindus worshipped Shiva and Kali as a cultivated social requirement, but what the deities actually demand from their followers is not acceptable to the vast majority. Aghors are the only ones willing to please Kali, by ripping the veil off reality and jumping straight into the abyss, with no thought to self-preservation or the laws that govern polite society.The Aghors I fell in with emphatically rejected Vedic notions of ritual purity, scriptural dogma and priestly mediation between the world of the mundane, the so-called impure and the divine. They seek to cultivate a state of consciousness, known as Aghor, in which one transmutes and ultimately transcends base sensations like fear, hatred, disgust or discrimination. On attaining this state one does not view the world in dualistic terms of good and evil, sacred and profane, pure and impure  instead relating to all of manifested reality as attributes of the Great Mother, MA.Given all this, I was not surprised at the outrage from sections of the Hindu-American community (and their self-appointed representatives) following the debut of Believer, a CNN mini-series on the fringe and fascinating religious sects around the world. The shows inaugural episode was filmed in Varanasi, and half of it is devoted to Iranian-American religious scholar Reza Aslan being immersed with a group of Aghors engaging in various shocking acts, including eating cooked human brains and ingesting faeces.Since the first snatches of the episode came out, Aslan has been accused of everything from Hinduphobia and bigotry to being an agent of Abrahamic crusaders attempting to undermine Hinduism. His critics feel that by depicting the Aghors, Aslan has somehow emasculated Hinduism.The Hindus most offended by the CNN segment are exemplars of the class who like to portray a homogenous, sanitised and sparkly version of their faith. They either forget or paper over the fact that the Aghors, Naths and other heterodox Tantric sects pay scant regard to the institutionalised hierarchies and lifestyles propagated by bourgeois Hindus, the ones most offended by unconventional approaches to the divine.When I asked Tolaram about his opinion on Hindu canonical texts, he related the story of a priest from the hallowed Kashi Vishwanath temple who had once gifted him a copy of the Bhagwad Gita. Not knowing Sanskrit, and not being remotely interested, he used the dry pages to kindle his bonfire. When I remarked that he may have been incarcerated as a blasphemer for his actions in some Islamic states (and possibly in the prevailing climate in India), he turned his eyes skywards saying, 1-2-3-All-India-Free and guffawed loudly, presumably at the rank idiocy of the world of men.As Professor Debashish Banerji, a scholar of Religion at the California Institute of Integral Studies, observes, With the expansion of the middle class in India and its mass mobilization, along with the upper classes by the right-wing ruling party, modern Hinduism has developed into an identity construct, a national orthodoxy of social and religious norms. This threatens to erase the unauthorized culture of spiritual seeking, with innumerable variant and hybrid methods, customs, practices and social attitudes, that forms the millennia old history of religion in India.Aslan is no stranger to controversy. His last book, the bestseller Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus, miffed a whole bunch of conservative Christians who took to attacking him on Fox News.The NRI Hindus I spoke to were especially offended by Aslans stated revulsion at the thought of taking a ritual dip in the Ganga. This is one of the most polluted water bodies in the world, he said. There are millions of litres of untreated human waste. Yesterday I saw a guy take a shit directly into the water. Its basically a giant toilet. This may sound harsh and politically incorrect, but it is also the unvarnished and sad truth. Similar thoughts had crossed my mind during my maiden visit to Varanasi.Admittedly, the inaugural episode of Believer is a mediocre example of documentary filmmaking and Aslan makes serious blunders, like calling Varanasi the City of the Dead (It is in fact the City of Light). Also, a television promo screaming Cannibalism was a cringe-worthy editorial decision by CNN.Still, to this writer, reactions to the show were far more illuminating than the show itself. The rumpus revealed a lot about the diaspora and nationalist insecurities. Aslans observations on the caste system are fairly accurate and clearly too close to the bone for some people. Theres no denying that tasks like cremating the dead and manual scavenging are reserved for members of the Dalit community, those at the very lowest rung of the entrenched hierarchy, and have been so for millennia.Indeed, caste is a social construct, but one which cannot be separated from religious or political beliefs of a billion-plus Hindus. In Aslans own words, I define religion as an identity, not a set of beliefs and practices. Thats probably postulate number one for me. People tend to think that, Oh religion is just something you believe in, right? Well, not for most people, actually. The vast majority of people who raise their hand and say, Im Jewish, Im Christian, or Im Muslim are making identity statements much more so than belief statements. He added, So, if religion is a matter of identity, then it encompasses every aspect of your life. It cant be divorced from your politics or your social views or your economic views. Its all wrapped up together as one.Reform and resistance against the rigidities of caste and gender are as old as Hinduism itself. Basava (11061167), a progenitor of the Lingayat or Virashaiva sect, was a prominent member of the Bhakti movement along with iconic social and spiritual reformers like Akka Mahadevi and Allama Prabhu. The Bhakti Movement called for a profound shift in the socio-cultural ethos of Karnataka with its vociferous opposition to the caste system, rejection of Brahminical supremacy, abhorrence to ritual sacrifice, and unmediated access to the divine through devotional worship to the One God Shiva. Social reform has continued into the 19th and 20th centuries with giants like Jyotirao Phule and Bhimrao Ambedkar leading the way.Aslan seems to acknowledge this: In almost every interview I did about the show I talked at length about the issue underlying the episode, including the fluidity of the caste system, the problems inherent amongst the untouchable class, and how devout Hindus of all stripes are working tirelessly to overcome both.Discussions on politically explosive issues, be it caste or nationalism, can turn violent quickly. In late February, a seminar on nationalism at Delhi University was set upon by a mob  members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, to which Prime Minister Narendra Modi belongs. Scores of professors and students were trapped as the mob rained bricks and stones and as the police stood by as mute spectators.The NRIs with their knickers in a twist about Aslans show somehow never speak out as vociferously against the egregious violations of free speech and human rights in their home country.The allegation that Aslans Varanasi episode perpetuated negative stereotypes, potentially leading to hate crimes in the xenophobic climate in the US, has an ironic twist. The assailant who shot at two Indians recently, killing one, was under the impression that they were Muslims  he was emboldened by the Muslim travel ban enacted by Donald Trump, a ban endorsed by a number of Right-wing Hindus, including Shalabh Kumar and the Republican Hindu Coalition, who berated CNN for airing the show.As Sigal Samuel writes in the Atlantic:Reza Aslans new show has come at the best possible time and the worst possible time. Some say the show makes various religions seem less foreign, a corrective that Americans desperately need under Donald Trump. Others say the show exoticizes religious minorities, a danger we can ill afford under, well, Donald Trump Both views are right, to some degree. Oddly, the two contradictory effects spring from Aslans single stated goal: to show that all religions are, at their core, expressions of the same faith and the same existential questions. That makes Believer an interesting object lesson in the risks of trying to make religion relatable.In the second half of the segment, we see followers of Aghoreshwar Bhagwan Ramji tending to the vulnerable and disenfranchised, including lepers and orphans. In the Aghor tradition, a sadhaka who has gone through all the stages of Aghor and then returned to society for the benefit of others is called an Aghoreshwar  a concept similar to that of the Bodhisattva in Buddhism. Even though an Aghoreshwar remains above and beyond all social and material illusions, distinctions and categories, they can still bring social reforms into effect. They work for the benefit of all sentient beings, especially those on the margins like underprivileged women and Dalits.The outrage over Aslans was basically a tempest in a teapot which shed light on the chasm between the anodyne Hinduism propagated by sections of the Indian diaspora and the infinitely more complex and gritty reality on the ground. Its time for myopic NRIs and votaries of Hindutva to embrace the teeming cauldron of contradictions that is India and engage with it on a visceral level, or risk being frozen in permanent stasis. I for one look forward to seeing the mini-series in its entirety. If the remaining episodes are as provocative as the first one, they should not be missed.
NewsDayMarch 25, 2017JEHOVAHS Witnesses are mobilising a global response to Russias systematic attack on religious freedoms, which could have dire consequences for 175 000 congregants, the organisation has said.This followed that countrys decision to criminalise religious literature, places of worship known as Kingdom Halls and criminalising the preaching work of Witnesses in over 2 300 congregations under the guise of fighting extremism.Witnesses spokesperson John Hunguka yesterday said the global letter-writing campaign was a direct appeal to Kremlin and Supreme Court officials for relief. The letters should be sent no later than April 1.Hunguka said the Witnesses global campaign was not without precedent. Nearly 20 years ago, Witnesses wrote to defend their fellow worshippers in Russia in response to a smear campaign by some members of the government in power at the time. Additionally, Witnesses have initiated past letter-writing campaigns to motivate government officials to end persecution of Witnesses in other countries, including Jordan, Korea, and Malawi, Hunguka said.He said if the ban was confirmed on April 5 Russia could liquidate some 400 registered Kingdom Halls known in Russia as Local Religious Organisations.The Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses is inviting the over eight million Witnesses worldwide, including Zimbabwe to participate. We respectfully request the Russian Federation to among other things  stop the repression of Jehovahs Witnesses in its territory; to cease misapplying legislation on extremism to the peaceful worship of Jehovahs Witnesses and to ensure that the Witnesses can peacefully enjoy freedom of religion and assembly without interference as guaranteed by the Constitution of that country, Hunguka said.He added: we welcome the opportunity to engage in constructive dialogue with representative of the Russian government in Zimbabwe, Mr Sergey V Bakharev.Some of the publications outlawed by Russia include My Book of Bible Stories  which teaches basic truths to people willing to know more about the Truth and have denied the importation of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, a Bible translation published by the Witnesses.On March 15, 2017, Russias Ministry of Justice represented by its first deputy minister SA Gerasimov filed a claim with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to label the Administrative Centre of Jehovahs Witnesses in Russia as extremist and liquidate it. The claim also seeks to ban the activities of the Administrative Centre. If the Supreme Court upholds this claim, the Witnesses national headquarters near St Petersburg will be shut down, the organisation also said in a statement.The branch property, as well as places of worship used by Witnesses throughout the country, could be seized by the State. Additionally, individual Jehovahs Witnesses would become subject to criminal prosecution for merely carrying out their worship activities. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the claim on April 5.The Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses wants to heighten attention to this critical situation, stated David A. Semonian, a spokesman at the Witnesses world headquarters.Prosecuting non-violent, law-abiding citizens as if they were terrorists is clearly a misapplication of anti-extremist laws. Such prosecution is based on completely false grounds.Reading the Bible, singing, and praying with fellow worshippers is clearly not criminal, Semonian added. We hope that our global letter-writing campaign will motivate Russian officials to stop this unjustifiable action against our fellow worshippers.
STORY LINK GBP NZD Exchange Rate Trended Higher as Market Confidence Faded

GBP Trends Higher Despite Impending Brexit Trigger

The market should hope for the best but plan for the worst. Time constraints, the scale and complexity of talks and the threat that a soft deal represents to EU means the UK faces an uphill battle to avoid a hard outcome. The political difficulties only look resolvable with an early UK general election.

Rising Doubts over Prospect of US Fiscal Reforms Weigh on NZD

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The British Pound to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate fell back from its 2017 highs on Tuesday afternoon as Brexit jitters increased ahead of Wednesdays key session.Investors also bought risk-correlated currencies like the New Zealand Dollar up from their recent lows, following the risk-off rush on Monday. GBP/NZD is likely to be highly volatile on Wednesday as the Brexit will finally begin.[Previously 28/03/2017]Even with the Scottish parliament looking set to support Nicola Sturgeons call for a second independence referendum the Pound New Zealand Dollar exchange rate maintained a bullish trend.However, political uncertainty is likely to put increased downside pressure on the Pound this week, particularly once Article 50 is formally triggered.[Previously updated 27/03/2017]As risk appetite weakened substantially at the start of the week the Pound Sterling to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate was prompted to trend sharply higher.Although Theresa May is due to activate Article 50 on Wednesday the Pound (GBP) has remained on a stronger footing, with much of the Brexit risk already thought to be priced in.Sterling also benefitted from the political worries mounting in the US, with investors favouring it over both the US Dollar (USD) and more risk-sensitive assets.However, some jitters are likely for the GBP NZD exchange rate once the process of exiting the EU begins in earnest.Uncertainty continues to dominate the outlook as the UK will have only two years to negotiate the terms of its new relationship with the EU, with the risk of a cliff edge exit likely to limit the appeal of the Pound.As researchers at Deutsche Bank noted:The Kiwi (NZD) fared more positively than its antipodean cousin in the face of weakening confidence in the US administration.Even so, the increasing doubts over Trumps ability to deliver on promised fiscal stimulus and tax cuts saw the appeal of the commodity-correlated New Zealand Dollar soften markedly.With fresh domestic data limited in the coming week investors have seen little reason to buy into the vulnerable Kiwi at this juncture.While the Federal Reserve still seems on track to tighten monetary policy at a slower pace the prospects for global growth appeared diminished, particularly as US protectionist rhetoric continues to deepen.If markets remain bearish and optimism over the Trump presidency continues to diminish this could keep the GBP NZD exchange rate on a stronger footing.A positive showing from Fridays NBNZ business confidence index may offer the New Zealand Dollar a rallying point, however, if domestic sentiment continues to demonstrate resilience.Any further signs of weakening consumer confidence in the UK, meanwhile, could weigh on the Pound.With the Bank of England (BoE) looking set to maintain a neutral outlook for the foreseeable future support for Sterling could be limited, particularly as the final outcome of the Brexit process remains uncertain.

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The state Supreme Court recently ruled that undated or incorrectly dated mail ballots cannot be counted. Here's what voters can do about an error.
Collier greets readers and signs their books at a book signing in June 2016. He published Breaking the Family Curse: Testimony Still Loading... and plans to write more books in the future.

With the recurring presence of funerals and prison in Deangelo Colliers life, he realized it was time to make a decision  he had to stop his familys cursed cycle.

Collier, who was born in Gallaway, Tennessee, moved to Memphis when he was 6 years old, and his mother raised him alone. Being raised in a single-parent household created obstacles during his childhood.

My mom was on government assistance, Section 8 and food stamps, Collier said. I also had to face a lot of family generation curses.

Most of his familys decisions resulted in death or prison sentences. Collier naturally followed in his familys footsteps because this atmosphere surrounded him during his childhood.

Collier became a gang member and went to jail for some of the choices he made, but certain factors caused him to turn his life around. After losing five of his close friends, he realized he had to change before he ended up in a body bag or prison cell.

Also, if Collier continued living this way, the family curse would continue for another generation.

I didnt want my younger family (members) to follow in my footsteps, Colier said. I had to sacrifice my lifestyle for the sake of my familys future.

Collier decided to write a book, Breaking the Family Curse: Testimony Still Loading..., which focuses on the obstacles he faced in his life and how his faith allowed him to overcome them.

The book is about how adversaries have been having a stronghold over my family for generations, the 22-year-old said. It is also about my testimony, because God saw the good in me and has given me the strength to help break some of my family generational curses.

Collier published the book in June 2016, and many people have praised it on social media and supported it by wearing shirts with the books title. Collier said he plans to write more books and hopes his readers gain the knowledge of God and the strength to overcome lifes challenges and break their own familys curses.

Aside from being an author, Collier recently became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and will graduate with a degree in criminal justice later this spring.

I never pictured me this way, and I still dont believe the things that I have accomplishedIm coming for everything the enemy said my family cant have, Collier said.

Collier hopes people who are living the lifestyle he once did view him as an example and will then change their life for the better before it is too late.

I hope that they stay away from people who would have a negative impact on their life and find God, Collier said. Nothing is impossible. One can overcome obstacles and be victorious.

Collier greets readers and signs their books at a book signing in June 2016. He published Breaking the Family Curse: Testimony Still Loading... and plans to write more books in the future.
How inconvenient it was for the anti-Brexit march on Parliament that a policeman guarding the home of British democracy should have been murdered there only days before their planned mass demonstration.

The Metropolitan Police had indicated to the organisers that it would place further strain on the forces stretched resources as they dealt with the aftermath of the terrorist attack there last Wednesday.

But Unite for Europe pressed ahead with its march, which finished just yards from where Khalid Masood butchered PC Keith Palmer. Among the posters brandished near the improvised shrine of flowers marking where the policeman fell was one portraying Theresa May stark naked, with the blond-thatched head of Boris Johnson as her genitalia.

Unite for Europe pressed ahead with its march on Saturday despite police saying it would place further strain on resources following Wednesday's terrorist attack

Admittedly, very few of the banners carried by the Unite for Europe marchers were as odious. Most carried variations on the same theme: No to Brexit, Dont Quit the EU and May, May, let us stay.

But these slogans give the lie to the claim by the politicians who spoke at the rally: the lie being that they accept the verdict of the British people in the plebiscite of June 23. It is all about not accepting that verdict.

Tasteless

Some last-ditchers at Westminster are honest about it. The Labour MP and former minister David Lammy, who attended the march, had earlier called on Parliament to stop this madness and reject the referendum result.

Lammy is the twit who, on the BBC during the run-up to the referendum, claimed that in World War II, the one million Indians who gave their lives had been fighting for the European Project.

An ignorant reference to the war against the Nazis is now standard among those most unreconciled to the fact that on Wednesday the Prime Minister is to send a letter to Brussels invoking Article 50, triggering the formal negotiations of our departure from the EU.

Sheer tastelessness: Michael Heseltine cited the Nazis in his fury at the PMs decision to honour the result of the referendum during an interview last week

Yesterdays Observer newspaper, in a leading article as hysterical as it was tendentious, described these negotiations as the peacetime equivalent of the ignominious retreat from Dunkirk... Theresa May, figuratively waving the cross of St George atop the white cliffs of Dover like a tone-deaf parody of Vera Lynn. In fact, the Prime Minister has been anything but warlike in her dealings with the EU, and has studiously eschewed the sort of bellicose rhetoric which the Observer gratuitously invokes.

But even those editorialists, intoxicated by the exuberance of their own verbosity, do not approach Michael Heseltine for sheer tastelessness. In an interview last week, the former deputy prime minister also cited the Nazis in his fury at the PMs decision to honour the result of the referendum:

For someone like myself, it was 1933, the year of my birth, that Hitler was democratically elected in Germany. He unleashed the most horrendous war. This country played a unique role in securing his defeat. So Germany lost the war. Weve just handed them the opportunity to win the peace. I find that quite unacceptable.

Lord Heseltines carefully worded reference to the democratic election of Hitler is simultaneously offensive and insidious.

It is offensive in linking the democratic vote for Brexit with the German peoples vote for Hitler in the March 1933 federal election. It is insidious in implying that our 2016 vote was tainted: a disgusting attempt to discredit a free choice of the British people.

In fact, that election in March 1933 (in which Hitlers NSDAP gained 43.91 per cent of the votes cast) took place just days after the Reichstag fire, when Nazi stormtroopers unleashed violent intimidation against all their opponents from other political parties. Voting at polling stations was monitored by Nazi organisations including the fearsome SS.

To link last years British referendum campaign with this brutal travesty of democracy demeans Lord Heseltine much more than it does those he aims to discredit.

He must be sore after Theresa May sacked him from his government advisory role, following his vote against the Governments Brexit Bill in the House of Lords, but this outburst only proves she was right to do so.

Banners

David Lammy (whose own grasp of history was immortalised on Celebrity Mastermind in 2009, when he volunteered that the king who succeeded Henry VIII was Henry VII) also used the anti-Brexit rally to declare: We are living in a dictatorship. Actually, Mr Lammy, in real dictatorships people such as you would not be able to march on the seat of government amid banners portraying indecent images of the leader of the ruling party.

David Lammy used the anti-Brexit rally to say 'we are living in a dictatorship' while Tim Farron said marchers were there to show solidarity with Leave voters

And, when it comes to fiddling with the most basic facts, why did Unite for Europe put out a press release at 21.17 on the day of the demonstration, saying its march attracted 100,000 people  then issue a second release a minute later, claiming it was 150,000?

For the record, the police estimate that about 25,000 were on the march. Given that more than 16 million voted for Remain, this suggests the overwhelming majority of those people are not so unreconciled to the outcome as the likes of Heseltine and Lammy.

Perhaps one reason is that those Remain voters  let alone the 17.4 million Leave voters  do not buy the argument, advanced by speakers at the rally, that it was never made clear Brexit would involve leaving the EUs single market.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, told the marchers, with breathtaking cheek: We are here to show solidarity and respect for those who voted Leave. We do not believe they wanted this. Theresa May does not speak for the 52 per cent, she barely speaks for 5 per cent.

This 5 per cent figure demonstrates that Farrons only source of knowledge is his own imagination. There has been no statistically significant loss of support for Brexit since Mrs May outlined her plans to leave both the EUs single market and its customs union.

Retort

Yesterday, interviewed by Skys Sophy Ridge, Farrons predecessor Nick Clegg repeated (once again) the canard that no one realised Brexit would mean leaving the single market. He brushed aside Ms Ridges accurate retort that this was exactly what David Cameron and George Osborne had said would happen if Vote Leave won. They were on the other side, he sniffed.

Nick Clegg told Sky's Sophy Ridge that 'no one' realised that Brexit would mean leaving the single market

Yet the pre-eminent member of Vote Leave in the Cabinet, Michael Gove, made this clear during the campaign so clear that last May the Financial Times splashed on its front page with Michael Gove says leaving EU would mean quitting single market. Almost all other leading members of the Leave campaign followed this line.

The reason for this was obvious. At the heart of the Vote Leave campaign was a pledge to end free movement from the EU into the UK. Yet the rules of the single market are that all members must allow such free movement. It is one of the founding principles, theological in its force. So if we were to remain members of the single market, we would have to continue with unchecked migration from the other 27 members.

There was never a chance that the EU would allow us the one without the other. Such a negotiation would end as soon as it began. That is why May is instead seeking a bilateral free trade agreement with Brussels, akin to that negotiated between the EU and Canada.

Even a majority of those who voted Remain seem to sympathise with this approach. A poll published last week by the National Centre for Social Research found that not only did 86 per cent of Leave voters think that prospective EU migrants should have to go through the same hoops as non-EU migrants, but 54 per cent of Remain voters agreed with this proposition, too.

No wonder the turnout at last weekends anti-Brexit rally was a fraction of what its organisers had hoped or claimed.
A brave mother has saved the life of her cancer-stricken son after donating bone marrow to help him beat leukaemia.

Chelsey Gregory, 22, from Nottingham, has celebrated her first Mother's Day with her son Alfie, four, since he beat the disease he was diagnosed with at just one.

Doctors said Alfie was in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), but warned the chances of finding a match were slim.

But despite the dismal odds tests revealed his mum Chelsey was a match, and the 22-year-old immediately stepped in to save her son by undergoing a stem cell transplant.

Chelsey with her son Alfie, whose life was saved when she put herself forward as a bone marrow donor. The youngster was first diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of one

Chelsey said discovering she was a match was 'scary' but 'a good feeling', and that there was 'no doubt' she would go ahead with the donation.

Seven months on from the transplant, Chelsey says Alfie is 'full of energy', and reveals the family's devastating battle with the disease now feels 'like a dream'.

Alfie was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in March 2014, just before his second birthday, and underwent an initial six months of chemotherapy.

But in April 2016, tests showed the devastating strain of cancer had returned. The youngster had a more intensive bout of chemotherapy to fix his 'poorly blood' and didn't return home until four months later, in August.

According to blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan, it is 'highly unlikely' that relatives other than a patient's siblings would make a suitable donor.

'At first, Alfie constantly had colds and infections,' Chelsey, who is also mother to Harlow, 10 months, Graice, five and Brandon, six, told FEMAIL.

'I took him to the doctor who said it was a virus. He had a stomach problem and had some loose stools. I was worried one day and took him to A&E and they said it was a virus too. Then one night he had a temperature of 42 and his lymph nodes were swollen.

Alfie, pictured in hospital, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in March 2014, just before his second birthday, and had an initial six months of chemotherapy

Chelsey in hospital in 2016. She and Alfie both went into surgery in Sheffield last August, and 28 days later Alfie was finally able to return home

'He had some blood tests and his white blood cells were up. They said it could be leukaemia, and then this was confirmed and we went to the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) to start treatment.

'During that time, I did think it was a virus, or coeliac or lactose-intolerant. I never thought it would be cancer  it was such a shock. He was snotty and tired but I did not think it was as serious as cancer.

'We had six months of chemo to start with  he only came home once or twice for a day or two during that whole time.

'After his treatment finished, he had his line out and we went home.'

Alfie with his sister Graice. Doctors said that Alfie desperately needed a bone marrow transplant, but they struggled to find a match until mother Chelsey came forward

Alfie in hospital. Speaking of her decision to become a donor, mum Chelsey said: 'It was a good feeling and I always knew I was going to do it  there was no doubt'

Alfie eating dinner in hospital in 2016. The youngster had an intensive bout of chemotherapy to fix his 'poorly blood' and didn't return home until four months later, in August

Chelsey recalled: 'We had checks for a year and a half and he was at his best since he had been a baby. He was more energetic and more and more himself. He was slightly off his food, but not much.

'We went for a check in April 2016 and they rang me that night to say that we needed to see the doctor. It had come back and we were back in the QMC on the same wards, with the same staff. We didn't come home from April to August.

'It was a more intensive chemo than the first time, and they were looking for bone marrow donors but couldn't get a match. It was upsetting when we couldn't find anyone and then the tests showed that I could be a match.

After extensive tests, results showed that Chelsey was a match and the brave mum immediately stepped in to save her infant, undergoing a stem cell transplant

Alfie recovering in hospital with Graice. He is now healthy and has 'so much energy', Chelsey says - adding: 'Its like the last three years were never there. It feels like it was all a dream'

'I had to have more checks to confirm and it was scary in case they couldn't use mine. I was so anxious, just waiting to find out.

'Then when they found it that I could, it was scary too. But it was a good feeling and I always knew I was going to do it  there was no doubt.'

The pair both went into surgery in Sheffield last August, and 28 days later Alfie was finally able to return home. However they faced an agonising wait before being told the transplant had been a success.

Seven months on, the youngster is currently fit and healthy and has 'so much energy', Chelsey says.

She added: 'Now its like the last three years were never there. It feels like it was all a dream.

What is AML? . Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a type of blood cancer that starts from young white blood cells called granulocytes or monocytes in the bone marrow . In the UK, around 2,900 people are diagnosed each year with acute myeloid leukaemia . It is most often diagnosed in older people, and is most common in people over 65 years old Source: Cancer Research UK Advertisement

Beating the odds Martin Ledwick, head nurse at Cancer Research UK said: 'Although there is about a 1 in 4 chance that a brother or sister might be a good enough match to donate bone marrow, it is unlikely that other family members like a parent will be one. 'So, after not being able to find a suitable match elsewhere it must have been a huge to relief and a wonderful surprise for Alfie's mum to find out she could help Alfie get the treatment he needed.' Advertisement

The pair both went into surgery last August, and 28 days later Alfie was finally able to return home. But they faced an agonising wait before being told the transplant had been a success

Alfie in hospital during his treatment. He is finally looking forward to spending Mother's Day at home with siblings Harlow, 10 months, Graice, five and Brandon, six

'Last week, he had his central line [central venous catheter] taken out last week and is having regular checks. He is still on medication  he will be on penicillin for life.

'At times, it was hard to think we would ever get to this point and talk about the future. It was hard to think a day ahead.

'Now its like theres nothing he cant do. It has all made him so open and he wants to do everything. He should start school in September and he is really happy about that  he feels like he is living life now.

Chelsey said this Mother's Day had been her most special yet.

Chelsey is supporting the Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens Star Awards, in partnership with TK Maxx. For more information visit cruk.org/kidsandteens
She's been in the business for over 30 years, but Naomi Campbell still leaves younger models trailing in her wake.

The south London born super, 46, looks incredible in a new cover shoot in which she's seen reclining on a leather couch in little more than a Burberry jacket and boots.

In other images Naomi wears a bandana as a headscarf - a nod to rock icons including Patti Smith and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.

Naomi was shot by the feted Spanish photographer Nico Bustos - a close friend and collaborator - in Burberry's latest collection for the latest issue of the fashion magazine Sorbet, which celebrates 'dynamic duos'.

Naomi wore Burberry for the cover shoot, which was inspired by rock legends including Patti Smith and Steven Tyler

The supermodel, 46, was shot by close friend and collaborator Nico Bustos for the spread in Sorbet Magazine, which is published out of the UAE

The Spanish photographer first shot Naomi for the cover of Spanish Vogue 13 years ago

Bustos first shot the supermodel 13 years ago for the cover of Spanish Vogue, and the pair have gone on to develop a close working relationship.

He reveals in an interview with the magazine how he dreamed of taking Naomi's picture as an aspiring photographer.

'I was really impressed by her beauty and charisma,' he says of that first shoot back in 2004.

And more than a decade on, his admiration has only intensified.

'What stands out for me the most is that she is such a caring and intelligent person,' he said.

'That mixed with her stunning beauty is amazing.'

Walk this way: Bustos says he took inspiration from the work of African portrait photographers Malick Sidibe and Seydou Keita, but also Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler

A black and white image from the shoot for Sorbet's spring issue, which celebrates dynamic duos like Naomi and photographer Nico

The supermodel poses in an embroidered white dress, black jacket and a pair of sculptural black boots, all by Burberry

Eclectic: The shoot drew inspiration from legends of rock and roll like Patti Smith and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler

Bustos revealed how he took inspiration from Malian portrait photographers Malick Sidibe and Seydou Keita ahead of the shoot - but also rock stars like punk icon Patti Smith.

The supermodel and the acclaimed Spanish photographer are among a number of powerful partnerships documented in the pages of Sorbet's new Dynamic Duos issue.
Sydney-based model and personal trainer, Camilla Akerberg, is known for her enviable body and popular fitness and nutritional programs.

But for years, the 27-year-old fitness guru felt self conscious about her breast size and regularly wore push up bras or stuffed her bikinis with layers of padding.

In December, after considering her options, Ms Akerberg decided to fly to Thailand on a 'CosMediTour', a medical travel holiday, to finally get the breast augmentation she had always wanted.

'I had thought about it for five years and I needed to do it for myself as a confidence thing, I didn't want to have to put on a bikini and put two layers of padding in it,' Ms Akerberg told Daily Mail Australia.

Scroll down for video

Stunning: Personal trainer Camilla Akerberg, is known for her enviable body and popular fitness and nutritional programs - and now she's opened up about her breast augmentation

Before and after: Ms Akerberg is pictured left before the procedure and right four days afterwards and says the subtle procedure has changed her life

Paradise: In December, after considering her options, Ms Akerberg decided to fly to Thailand on a 'CosMediTour' to finally get the breast augmentation she had always wanted

'I had a few girlfriends who had done it and all of them had good experiences so I decided to give it a go.'

Ms Akerberg flew to Phuket with the company and was put up in the five star Amari Resort before having a consultation with surgeon Dr Witoon, a 73-year-old Thai man who has been doing breast augmentations for more than 40 years.

'I could tell he was passionate and I felt so safe there but there were times when it all sunk in and I got really nervous,' Ms Akerberg explained.

Ready to go: Ms Akerberg flew to Phuket with the company and was put up in the five star Amari Resort before having a consultation with surgeon Dr Witoon, a 73-year-old doctor (left)

Nerves: 'I hate needles so much and a few hours before the consultation I was being measured and everything hit me all at once,' she said

'I hate needles so much and a few hours before the consultation I was being measured and everything hit me all at once.

'I was going to have this huge surgery where they were going to cut me open and put these foreign objects in my body and I fainted.'

Despite 'freaking out' about the procedure, Ms Akerberg felt confident about her decision and the size she had chosen.

'I didn't want to go for anything crazy I was just looking for that little more cleavage, and some natural looking side boob - something a little bit more feminine,' she said on her blog.

Ready for surgery: Despite 'freaking out' about the procedure, Ms Akerberg felt confident about her decision and the size she had chosen

Natural look: 'I didn't want to go for anything crazy I was just looking for that little more cleavage, and some natural looking side boob - something a little bit more feminine,' she said

CosMediTour team: Ms Akerberg decided to get 280 CC tear drop implants which are shaped in a way that creates more cleavage - the shape recommended for people with 'lean' shapes

Ms Akerberg decided to get 280 CC tear drop implants which are shaped in a way that creates more cleavage - the shape recommended for people with 'lean' shapes like Ms Akerberg.

The implants were then inserted via Ms Akerberg's armpit under the muscle.

'When I woke up I was tightly bandaged up around the chest area. I had drain tubes coming out of my armpits with little balls attached to them where excess red fluid came into (totally freaky I know), a drip in my hand and I was attached to the drip machine,' she wrote on her blog.

'The first time using the bathroom I had nurses to help me. But after that I was on my feet walking around in my room. There was a bit of pain but nothing has been unbearable.

Easy recovery: 'There was a bit of pain but nothing has been unbearable,' she said

Back to the gym: Ms Akerberg started working out again just two weeks after the surgery

How does a CosMediTour work? A breast augmentation in Thailand sees the client have a one to two hour surgery, a minimum of seven nights in Phuket and up to six months of recovery. For teardrop implants under 400CC it costs AUD $5,556. Some women also get packages that include VIP transfers, five star accommodation, meals and their own client manager. Source: CosMediTour Advertisement

After the surgery, Ms Akerberg stayed in hospital for one night before heading back to her resort where staff and members of the company cared for her.

She had bandages on for four days and stopped taking pain medication just days later. For the rest of the time she enjoyed her time at the luxury resort.

'I had a very good recovery... I was expecting it to be a whole lot worse.I think it helped that my body is used to recovering quickly because of all my training,' she said.

'The only difficulty was travelling back to Sydney by myself and pushing the bags but I was back in the gym two weeks later - not doing upper body training though.'

Ms Akerberg was thrilled with her natural results and while initially nervous about sharing her experience on her YouTube channel, was glad she did.

New body: 'I had a very good recovery... I was expecting it to be a whole lot worse.I think it helped that my body is used to recovering quickly because of all my training,' she said

Sharing her story: 'I was all kinds of scared about how people would take it but I wanted to put it out there,' she said

'I was all kinds of scared about how people would take it but I wanted to put it out there. Beforehand some girls were like "don't do it you're perfect as you are" but after having it done I had so much support,' she said.

'It's very controversial to share this personal kind of experience but I'm glad I did it. I loved blogging about my breast augmentation experience and I had a lot of interested girls contacting me around the time of the surgery with questions, so it's definitely a hot topic for so many girls.'

And her advice for women wishing to get a similar surgery?

Confident: 'It's very controversial to share this personal kind of experience but I'm glad I did it. I loved blogging about my breast augmentation experience,' she said

Radiant: 'If you want to do it and you have the chance, do it. It changed my life and I have so much confidence now. I definitely recommend it,' she said

'Definitely know what you want going in there get something that suits your body stick with that. So many people were telling me to go bigger and I'm so happy I went for a size I wanted that suited me,' Ms Akerberg said.

'If you want to do it and you have the chance, do it. It changed my life and I have so much confidence now. I definitely recommend it.

For the first few weeks it feels like they're not yours but while it's a shock at first it's definitely worth it.'

Ms Akerberg shares her fitness and nutrition tips on her Instagram page, Camilla_Akerberg.
Bondi-based television presenter Sommer Shiels recently spent 90 days travelling through India.

And though she is quick to spruik the country as 'incredible' and 'safe', the Daily Telegraph reported she had 'two near-death experiences'.

During her trip, where she filmed a documentary entitled Backpack which will air next month, the presenter says her driver fell asleep at the wheel.

Sommer Shiels spent 90 days travelling through India filming a documentary called Backpack

Ms Shiels explained the man 'literally swerved off the road, and we nearly fell down a cliff'.

On another occasion, she was left stranded with her crew in an 'ancient place' for six hours, before a child found them and guided them to safety.

As well as filming her adventures, Ms Sheils shared her experiences in diary form with followers of her website, Eat Stay Live.

The Bondi-based presenter says at one point her driver fell asleep at the wheel and 'swerved off the road' which caused them to 'nearly fall down a cliff'

Ms Shiels also claimed she had been lost, with others, for 'six hours' in an 'ancient place' before a 12-year-old showed them the way out

In a post about 'solo' female travel in India, the woman praised the country and disputed media reports of dangerous areas and encouraged people to travel alone, telling them they would be safe.

'I will start by stating that the media has some unfortunate perceptions of a wonderful country,' she began her post.

'I have many friends who are very well traveled (one with Indian heritage) who were against me going to travel India as a woman alone for 3 months.

'India is an incredible country and EVERY traveler should experience travel to India, at least once, solo or with a group you will be fine- it is a safe country.'

Despite having travelled with others to film the documentary, she spruiked the idea of travelling 'solo' on her personal website

Though she struggled at times during her trip, she referred to the country as 'incredible' and 'safe', despite the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trading advising would-be tourists to 'exercise a high degree of caution'

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trading warns travellers to exercise a 'high degree of caution' at minimum when visiting the area.

Smart Traveller warns potential tourists there is a high threat of terrorist activity, especially in tourist areas, as well as civil unrest.

The service also points out there is a specific risk to women, noting: 'Foreign women can be subjected to unwanted attention and more serious harassment and assault'.
Single mum Amy-Lee , 26, shared a candid Facebook post about the struggle of raising her son alone that quickly went viral

A single mum from the Gold Coast has written a candid Facebook message about the struggles of raising her 19-month-old son alone.

Amy-Lee, 26, had a revelation as she was talking on the phone with her sister about their children's trouble falling asleep that night.

As the sleep-deprived women comforted each other, Amy-Lee had a revelation that she decided to share with her social media followers.

'It's okay to not be okay,' her post begins.

'Being a single mum is tough. Bring a single mum to a 19-month-old that doesn't want to sleep is even tougher.'

'I have next to no support around me. I have my son full time, his dad has nothing to do with us.'

Amy-Lee revealed in the frank note that she had to go into her room and cry that day after settling down her son Theo from another one of his tantrums.

'Oh, I cried so much,' she wrote. 'This isn't the mum I want to be. I want to be full of smiles and happy all the time, but life has got on top of me.'

Amy-Lee, the mother to 19-month-old Theo (pictured together), revealed in the note that she had to go into her room and cry that day after settling her son down from one of his tantrums

'Normally I don't tell anyone when I'm struggling this much. But today I did and it made a difference to express how I felt.'

'Remember to not bottle up how you feel. Talk to someone. Anyone. Message me if you need to.'

'Just remember it is OK to not be OK, being a mummy is tough work.'

Amy-Lee revealed to Daily Mail Australia that she had a breakdown just before writing the post as her son's sleep was the worst 'it had ever been'.

But the single mum's sister made her feel 'allowed to cry'.

'My sister has a newborn baby girl who sleeps just as bad as my son, so on that day we were both having a rough, very sleep-deprived day,' Amy-Lee said.

Amy-Lee said she had a breakthrough after talking to her sister, who has a newborn of her own, and realised how much better she felt after discussing her own hardships

The Gold Coast mum encouraged fellow parents not to bottle up their feelings and reach out and talk to someone on the hard days

'She made me realise I don't always have to be this great mum I always try to be.'

It was a feeling that Amy-Lee wanted to share with other mums and make sure that they felt less alone in the world.

'It clicked that we don't ever let anyone know that our days aren't all sunshine and smiles because we are afraid of being judged,' she said.

'Though why are we afraid of being judged for being a normal human?'

'So I wanted to reach out to other mums and show them that there is people out there going through exactly what they are!'

Amy-Lee has since received more than 60 messages from fellow mums thanking her for the post and revealing that they have had similar days and feelings.

Amy-Lee has since received more than 60 messages from fellow mums thanking her for the post and revealing that they have had similar days and feelings

Amy-Lee (pictured with Theo) said the Facebook post has already changed her life, and she is hoping it will inspire mums, dads, and everyone in between to talk about their feelings

'Most mums have shared how they can't tell anyone if they are doing it tough,' she said.

'They either have next to no support or the people don't want to listen - or they judge them.'

Amy-Lee tried to respond to as many of the mums as possible, and has since created a Facebook page where they can reach out and vent their frustrations.

'I wish to support and be there for anyone doing it tough and not feeling like they are able to open up to their friends and family about their bad day/s,' she said.

Amy-Lee said the Facebook post has already changed her life, and she is hoping it will inspire mums, dads, and everyone in between.

'I'm hoping that it teaches anyone, even if you aren't a parent, to reach out and open up if you are having a bad day,' she said.

'Talk to someone, anyone. Sometimes even a complete stranger can help you, especially if you know they may be going through it too.'

If you are experiencing mental health issues or suicidal feelings, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.
It's something we do nearly every day but you could well be washing your hair wrong.

Indeed, haircare giants and hairdressers are waxing lyrical about a quirky new hair washing trend - and say it will give you the best locks of your life.

Micellar washing is the latest buzzword sweeping the beauty industry and involves using a special micellar water shampoo to clean your hair.

Micellar washing is the latest buzzword sweeping the beauty industry and experts say it will leave hair glossy and with more movement

Inspired by micellar cleansing waters, which French women have long used to cleanse their skin, a plethora of new shampoos are being created using the same technology.

Experts are singing the praises of micellar shampoos, which are a gentle and mild cleanser for hair.

THE TECHNOLOGY Micellar water takes its name from tiny particles of oil called micelles and its these micelles that attract the dirt to gently remove residue without stripping moisture. Advertisement

Micellar water takes its name from tiny particles of oil called micelles and its these micelles that attract the dirt to gently remove residue without stripping moisture.

They are sulphate, silicone and paraben-free and work like a tiny magnet, which effectively picks up impurities, pollution and grease from hair without stripping or weighing it down.

The mild cleansing technology promises to keep your scalp healthy, causing less chance for irritation and flaking.

It also apparently helps to keep coloured hair vibrant and protected and leave hair soft, lightweight and with natural movement.

Brands are starting to roll out micellar shampoos. Left: Charles Worthington Everyday Gentle Micellar Shampoo, 5.99. Right: Kerastase Aura Botanica Bain Micellaire, 21.20

As Ken ORourke, Charles Worthington brand ambassador, explains: 'Certain hair types and lifestyles will require more regular or daily washing and there is a debate on whether this is actually good for your hair.

'Ive found when working with my clients that finer hair types often feel greasy quickly with those living in cities, or the regular gym-goers, feeling the need to wash their hair daily. I always advise my clients with these hair types to wash their hair with a gentle yet effective cleansing shampoo that doesnt over-deposit onto the hair which could in turn lead to build-up.

'The results will leave hair soft, prolong the life of your hair, lightweight and with natural movement that you can achieve day after day.'
She's known for her bold outfits, colour co-ordination and much-loved wide-brimmed hats.

But while Queen Maxima is always certain to make an effort, she often veers on the side of looking a bit too mumsy and fussy rather than chic.

However, the Dutch Queen, 45, was clearly determined to go all out in the style stakes as she welcomed the glamorous first lady of Argentina to Amsterdam with her husband for a state visit.

And her efforts paid off as she managed to outshine effortlessly chic Juliana Awada, 42, in a stunning off the shoulder gown in dusky pink, offset by glittering diamonds.

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri, second left, his wife Juliana Awada, left, Dutch King Willem-Alexander, second right, and Dutch Queen Maxima pose for the official photo prior to a state banquet at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam

Maxima managed to put the first lady of Argentina (left) in the shade as she stunned in an embellished dusky pink gown

Maxima looked fit for the red carpet in the heavily embellished gown and looked glowing with her hair swept back off her face.

Juliana, meanwhile was more understated in a navy long sleeved gown, covered in a sparkling leaf pattern.

It was something of a departure from her appearance earlier today, when she wore an all-white ensemble that dazzled in the spring sunshine.

The Argentinean dignitaries were welcomed to the Netherlands by Queen Maxima and King Willem Alexander at the start of a two-day state visit to the country.

Firm friends! Dutch King Willem Alexander looked delighted during a speech by Argentine president Mauricio Macri at the glittering state dinner

The Argentinean dignitaries are enjoying a state visit tonight as part of their two-day state visit to The Netherlands

Mauricio Macri delivered a speech during the evening which seemed to keep the guests highly amused

The Dutch royal enjoyed a small glass of wine served in elegant crystal wear on Monday

Maxima appeared to be in especially high spirits on Monday evening

Stylish visitor: Queen Maxima, right, welcomed first lady Juliana Awada, left, to Amsterdam

Remembered: Maxima later accompanied her guests on a visit to the Anne Frank House, left

Visit: The queen, President Marci and First Lady Juliana Awada outside the Anne Frank House

Both women's outfits featured pearls - Queen Maxima wore a pearl necklace and earrings, while the Argentinian first lady's classic suit was edged with pearls

Queen Maxima waves to wellwishers gathered outside the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam

The monarch is hosting the President of Argentina and the First Lady, Juliana Awada

The Anne Frank House is one of the best known tourist stops in Amsterdam

Juliana Awada and Mauricio Macri stand beside Queen Maxima during their state visit

Reflection: They were given a guided tour of the house by executive director Ronald Leopold

Moved: President Macri, above with his wife and Maxima, signed the guest book at the house

Ms Awada wrapped up against the light breeze in a tweed coat, worn over a simple shift dress and paired with nude court shoes and matching clutch bag.

The mother-of-two swept her hair back in a low chignon with flyaway strands adding to the laid-back look.

Meanwhile Queen Maxima tried out spring's new trend for dark-coloured florals, pairing a printed knee-length skirt with a fitted black top and peplum jacket.

The Argentine president and his wife are being hosted by Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander for two days

Spring sunshine: The dignitaries squinted against the sun as they stood outside the palace

Royal welcome: The first lady and president of Argentina, King Wilhem Alexander, and Maxima

State visit: The president and first lady, pictured left, will spend two days in the Netherlands

She wore a string of pearls around her neck and matching drop earrings. The monarch finished the look with one of her signature hats.

Mr Macri and Ms Awada posed for photos with their royal hosts on the steps of the royal palace. All four stood in respectful silence as they listened to the national anthems.

The group later visited the Anne Frank House, where they looked sombre as they were given a tour by a guide.

Queen Maxima delights a young royal fan with a warm hug during a hockey clinic

The royals and the Argentinian president and his wife joined youngsters for a photo after attending a hockey clinic with young players in the Beurs van Berlage

Despite attending a hockey clinic, both women opted for glamour over the sporty look

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima smile broadly after being presented with a hockey jersey at the event

Round of applause! Mazima shows her appreciation for the young players as she claps during a hockey game

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands with the Argentina president Mauricio Macri and his wife, Juliana Awada attend a hockey clinic with young Argentine and Dutch hockey players in the Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam during their two-day state visit to the Netherlands

The Dutch royals are hosting the Argentinian president and his wife for a two-day official visit

The Argentine president and his wife have been making quite the impression on Europe's royals of late.

Last month, the pair were welcomed to Spain by King Felipe and Queen Letizia, who appeared to strike up quite a friendship with the first lady.

And she's certain to have had lots in common with Queen Maxima who hails from Argentina herself.

Elegant: Queen Maxima accessorised her outfit with pearl jewellery and a signature hat
A beauty editor who struggled to find the right foundation shade for her skin has created an app matching women with their perfect makeup.

Jamila Robertson, 30, from London, devised Slapp after becoming frustrated with the lack of choice on offer for darker skin tones.

The entrepreneur, who also runs online beauty magazine Blush London, first encountered problems when she began wearing makeup at 17 and couldn't find a foundation or concealer that matched her skin tone.

'From the moment I started wearing foundation, it was clear my complexion wasn't catered for at a mass market level,' she told FEMAIL.

Jamila, from London, decided to create an app to help match women with their perfect foundation, concealers and tints after struggling to find the right shade for her skin tone

'It was quite frustrating as a teenager on a budget, because I could only buy luxury or high-end products.

'The only other alternatives were more niche brands such as Fashion Fair, or Iman. But their formulas were quite grown up at the time - and I didn't like the idea of not being able to buy the same brands as everyone else.'

Jamila, who has blasted mainstream beauty brands for not catering for a wider range of skin tones, recalled: 'For a while, Jourdan Dunn was the face of [YSL's best-selling concealer pen] Touche Eclat alongside Cara Delevingne, so I naively assumed they would have my shade.

'I tried their darkest shade about a year ago and it was a dark medium at best. The lady at the counter kept trying to rub it in, but it was clearly making my skin grey.

'She suggested I wear it as a highlighter or mix it with something else. But I just thought, firstly highlighters aren't grey! And secondly, why should I have to buy another product to mix it with?'

YSL Beauty declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.

Users take a selfie are instantly matched to the best products: 'It's kind of like a personalised face shop, as we also stock primers, highlighters and setting sprays,' Jamila explains

Jamila added: 'A lot of brands do create full ranges, but sometimes the stores won't carry them. They say this is down to stock space but that is a poor excuse. You should want all of your customers to feel valued.'

The London-born blogger credits brands like MAC, Estee Lauder, Charlotte Tilbury and Bobbi Brown for being 'trailblazers' in 'catering for everyone'.

But she maintains that while the industry is getting better, there is still room for improvement.

'Young women shouldn't be made to feel alienated, especially not in 2017,' she said, recalling a recent shopping trip where she visited three different chains of the same store - a luxury beauty retailer - only to find that none of them stocked her concealer they claimed to offer.

The entrepreneur, who has blasted mainstream beauty brands for not catering for a diverse range of skin tones, has picked out the best shops including MAC and Charlotte Tilbury

After spending months drawing up designs, Jamila worked with a team to devise colour-matching technology to identify the best foundations, concealers and tints

Slapp also features reviews and videos related to beauty and diversity as well as interviews with artists, creatives and entrepreneurs talking about their daily lives and beauty routines

Four years ago, Jamila dreamed up the idea of a beauty app that would match women of all skin tones with their perfect shade - by analysing their selfie.

After spending months drawing up designs, she worked with a team to devise a colour-matching technology that identifies the best foundations, concealers and tints - and Slapp finally launched this year.

'You take a selfie and you will be instantly matched to all of the products that are right for you,' Jamila explained. 'It's kind of like a personalised face shop, as we also stock primers, highlighters and setting sprays.'

'We're most definitely on a mission to democratise the industry, and open it up to everyone, regardless of the age, location or ethnicity. This is just the beginning!'

Slapp is free from the iTunes App Store and for Android, in the Google Play Store
She may have been surrounded by mannequins in creations by one of Britain's top designers, but Sophie Wessex was definitely winning in the style stakes this afternoon.

The royal, 52, looked stunning in a royal blue midi dress as she attended the Mencap annual fashion lunch at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London.

Mother-of-two Sophie looked glowing in the ensemble, which showed off her trim waist and toned arms.

Sophie Wessex, 52, looked glowing in a royal blue midi dress as she attended the annual Mencap fashion lunch at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London

The mother-of-two showed off her trim waist and toned arms in an elegant blue dress

She accessorised with a pair of mink suede heels and carried a matching clutch.

Sophie was looking more tanned than normal, perhaps after catching the sun on her trip to Malwi earlier this month.

Sophie spent four days visiting the southeast African country in her role as Vice Patron of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust to see the work being done to end avoidable blindness and champion youth leadership.

This year's event showcased work by Suzannah who collaborated with footwear designers and milliners to create a range of head-to-toe looks.

Fashion fan Sophie admired mannequins wearing creations by British designer Suzannah, one of her go-to brands

Sophie, 52, looked as is she had caught some sun on her recent four-day trip to Malawi

The royal poses alongside a design by Suzannah, whose creations are also work by Kate and Pippa Middleton

Sophie is a firm fan of British designer Suzannah Crabb, who has a boutique in West London, and counts Pippa Middleton and Katherine Jenkins among her clientele.

She makes clothes that are almost couture, and they are all produced in Britain.

Only a few of each design are made, so you wont bump into a doppelganger. They have the look of a vintage dress, but are better: Suzannah feels the real McCoy doesnt always work on modern women.

The mother-of-two poses with fellow guests at the Mencap fashion lunch, which raises money for the charity that supports people with learning difficulties and their families

Youthful Sophie shows off her radiant complexion

The cheerful countess smiles as she shakes hands with a fellow guest ahead of lunch

The royal poses alongside mannequins wearing outfits by the British designer Suzannah

After drinks and canapes on arrival at today's event, guests were able to browse a selection of stalls selling jewellery, clothing and gifts.

Following a fashion show, guests were served a two-course lunch with wine and coffee before taking part in a live auction to raise money for the charity.

Sophie has been the royal patron of Mencap, which supports people with learning difficulties and their families, since 2004.
The CFDA Fashion Award nominations were announced last week, and Laura Vassar and Kris Brock for Brock Collection, Gabriela Hearst, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia for Monse, Virgil Abloh for Off-White, and Sander Lak for Sies Marjan have all been nominated for the coveted Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent.

The category is meant to celebrate up-and-coming designers in the fashion industry, but this year's nominees are already firm favorites with Hollywood's elite including Beyonce, Emily Ratajkowski, Kendall Jenner, and Rihanna just to name a few!

While we have to wait until June 5th to find out who will win the prestigious award, meet the designers behind the celeb-favored lines and shop their killer collections.

LAURA VASSAR BROCK & KRISTOPHER BROCK

Clockwise from top left: Jeans, $475, modaoperandi.com, Ruffled top, $1,890, modaoperandi.com, Printed coat, $3,490, modaoperandi.com, Pleated dress, $2,890, matchesfashion.com, Floral skirt, $595, farfetch.com, Knit top, $590, farfetch.com, Off-the-shoulder top, $1,690, matchesfashion.com, Chainmail skirt, $4,590, modaoperandi.com

New York-based luxury womenswear label Brock Collection was founded in 2013 by design partners, Laura Vassar and Kristopher Brock - who also happen to be husband and wife!

After meeting while studying fashion design at Parsons School of Design, the duo decided to create the line together after being inspired to 'reinterpret wearable clothing and create luxury pieces that you can live in.'

The brand uses unique construction techniques and luxe materials to create the sleek designs that have been worn by the likes of Kate Bosworth, Emma Stone and Lily Aldridge.

Style star: Kate Bosworth, 34, loved this coat so much she wore it hours after it walked the runway during NYFW in February

Trendsetters: Emma Stone, 28, (left) and Lily Aldridge, 31, (right) are both fans of Brock Collection

GABRIELA HEARST

Clockwise from top left: Oversized sweater, $2,695, net-a-porter.com, Pleated skirt, $1,395, net-a-porter.com, Cashmere cape, $1565, matchesfashion.com, Fluted skirt, $1,467, matchesfashion.com, High-waited trousers, $660, matchesfashion.com, Button up, $982, matchesfashion.com, Sleeveless top, $995, farfetch.com, Silk dress, $1,595, net-a-porter.com

After growing up on a farm in Uruguay and working in the fashion industry for over a decade, Gabriela Hearst launched her eponymous line in the fall of 2015.

'I wanted to create a brand that reflects a slower pace and process: where things are made with care and detail, where tradition is more important than trend, where there is a purpose to every piece,' she said.

Her perfectly tailored suiting, dresses and separates in timeless silhouettes and chic accessories have caught the eye of stylish stars like Selena Gomez and Naomie Harris.

Sleek and chic: Selena Gomez, 24, (left) rocked a pea coat by Gabriela Hearst recently, while Naomie Harris, 40, (right) opted for a tailored suit by the brand

LAURA KIM AND FERNANDO GARCIA

Clockwise from top left: Striped top, $1,290, net-a-porter.com, Mini skirt, $790, net-a-porter.com, Lace up sweater, $1,390, net-a-porter.com, Wide-leg trouser, $1,451, farfetch.com, Asymmetric dress, $1,490, farfetch.com, Polka dot top, $750, net-a-porter.com, Button up, $1,090, farfetch.com, Off-the-shoulder dress, $1,690, net-a-porter.com

Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia worked together for years on Oscar de la Renta's design team before starting their own brand Monse, which launched in spring 2016.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Amal Clooney helped create a buzz for the new brand by wearing pieces from the collection before they even hosted their first fashion show.

Since then their signature deconstructed tailored look has helped them amass a huge celebrity following which includes trendsetters Emily Ratajkowski, Lottie Moss and Rihanna.

The duo recently returned to where it all began, and became the new creative directors of Oscar de la Renta, which they will design in addition to Monse.

'It' girls: Emily Ratajkowski, 25, (left) Rihanna, 29, (center) and Lottie Moss, 19, (right) have all been spotted in Monse recently

VIRGIL ABLOH

Clockwise from top left: Satin coat, $2,735, net-a-porter.com, Cropped top, $390, net-a-porter.com, Sweatshirt, $405, farfetch.com, Embroidered denim jacket, $1,035, farfetch.com, Biker jacket, $2,475, net-a-porter.com, Distressed sweater, $924, farfetch.com, Off-the-shoulder top, $425, matchesfashion.com, Wide-leg jeans, $645, net-a-porter.com

Arguably the most well known of nominees, Virgil Abloh first came to prominence as the Creative Director to Kanye West.

After working with the 'The Life of Pablo' hitmaker for over a decade, Virgil launched his Milan-based fashion line Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh in late 2013. The brand is 'rooted in current culture at a taste-level particular to now.'

The collection of elevated streetwear sells both menswear and womenswear, and has become a hit with fashionable celebs like Kourtney Kardashian, Hailey Baldwin, and Kendall Jenner among many others.

Hot Momma: Kourtney Kardashian, 37, rocked a sleek silver Off-White bomber jacket recently

Model behavior: Kendall Jenner, 21, (left) and pal Hailey Baldwin, 20, (right) are often seen in Off-White's cool designs

SANDER LAK

Clockwise from top left: Midi skirt, $597, matchesfashion.com, V-neck top, $666, matchesfashion.com, Layered sweater, $1,092, matchesfashion.com, Asymmetric skirt, $2,075, mytheresa.com, Satin dress, $948, matchesfashion.com, Tank top, $1,245, mytheresa.com, Shearling jacket, $1,047, mytheresa.com, Crepe dress, $594, matchesfashion.com

Born in Brunei and raised in Holland, Sander Lak launched his womenswear collection Sies Marjan during the fall 2016 season of New York Fashion Week.

It was only after years of working for top designers like Marc Jacobs, Phillip Lim, Balmain and Dries Van Noten, that Sander decided to start his own line (which is named after his father and mother's names respectively).

After a buzzy debut collection, his sophisticated separates and dresses have become go-to's for chic celebs like Bella Hadid and Beyonce.
There are not individual promposals at one Illinois Catholic school  nor are there any dateless seniors or juniors going stag to the big dance.

At Aquin High School in Freeport, a suburb 120 miles northwest of Chicago, students have their prom dates randomly assigned in a nearly century-old tradition.

And, perhaps surprisingly, they don't hate it. In fact, when the 'Prom Draw', as they call it, goes up for a vote every year, the students unanimously vote to keep up the practice, according to the school's website.

Scroll down for video

Bright idea: Aquin High School in Freeport, Illinois holds a Prom Draw for dates every year

At random: Boys go to the library, where they each pick names of their dates from a barrel

Surprise! After all the names are picked, they head into the gymnasium, where they 'ask' the girls to the big dance

Every spring, the girls and boys in the junior and senior classes are divided up for the event. Boys go to the library, where their names are selected from a barrel. When each name is called, the boy dips his own hand into a barrel, pulling out a slip of paper with his date's name.

The boys them prepare skits to perform in front of the female students before asking them to prom. The ceremony is held in the gym, and parents are invited in to watch.

Traditionally, the girls prepare gift bags in advance, which they give to their dates when they're asked to the dance.

A little fun: The boys also traditionally perform skits to entertain the girls, while the girls present the boys with gift bags

The tradition dates back to 1926, when the school started it as an inclusiveness measure for orphans, many of whom might not have otherwise attended the dance.

Almost a hundred years later, the lottery system is no longer mandatory, though students unanimously vote every year to keep it going.

'I think most people are in disbelief, and a lot of people say they would hate it,' junior class adviser Michelle Gallagher told WREX. 'I've had a lot say "Oh I would hate that." But I think after they kind of hear the rest of the story and hear what goes into it... a lot of people are actually intrigued by it. It's less of a date and more like something fun to do with your classmates.'

'New dates, new skits, it's always fun,' senior Dennis Neery added. 'The new themes for the prom, it's always a great experience.'

Coming back to it: The tradition at the Catholic school has been going on for 91 years

Opting in: The students vote to keep up the tradition every year, and they always unanimously agree (stock photo)

A student named Maura added on Twitter: 'No one realizes the history behind the prom draw/the fact that it's a choice. if we didn't want it, we wouldn't have it every year.'

The tradition has now been ongoing for 91 years, and there are other elements included throughout the dance.

The boys typically fill out 'dance cards', listing the names of five friends who will dance with their dates during the night. Everyone also knows each other  this year, 24 couples will be going to the dance, according to Fun107.

'As a student, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love having the prom draw and look forward to it!' Maggie Bald wrote on Twitter.
If you find it embarrassing turning up at a party in the same frock as another guest, spare a thought for Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon.

As if their Brexit meeting wasnt awkward enough, the most powerful women in British politics were wearing remarkably similar outfits.

Both were in boxy navy blazers, skirts that stopped just above the knee, shiny nude tights and pointy shoes  a look replicated by career women of a certain age worldwide.

Scroll down for video

Nicola Sturgeon today ditched her favourite crimson power suit in favour of a nautical inspired ensemble as she prepared for a tense face-off with Theresa May in Glasgow

The Prime Minister added accents of gold chain and leopard print to lift her otherwise demure look

And the resemblance didnt stop with their wardrobes. The cropped hair, red lips and grimaces just added to the mirror image.

But as similar as the outfits looked, they were staggeringly different in cost. Mrs May was head-to-toe in luxury labels: a 595 navy jacket and a marbled jersey dress, around 495, from her favourite brand, Amanda Wakeley, and trademark leopard print kitten heels, 215, by Russell & Bromley  a total cost of 1,305.

Her printed dress meant she just had the edge over rival Nicola in the style stakes, as its clashing print adds interest to the look. Its almost exactly the same outfit we saw for her meeting with the Israeli prime minister in February, suggesting that like many career women she has pre-styled looks she simply throws on.

Miss Sturgeon is famed for a love of a vividly coloured suit, but today she matched her outfit to her mood as she met Theresa May for the first time since calling for a second independence referendum ahead of Brexit

Prime Minister Theresa May loves her bright colours and prints but knows exactly when to keep things more understated

Miss Sturgeon, on the other hand, had been to High Street favourite Hobbs to snap up her navy jacket with white contrast trim, 169, and matching skirt, 89. Her silver court shoes are 185 from LK Bennett. Unfortunately, the two-piece style she picked, totalling 443, is dated and the tweed swamps her frame.

So, is this proof the fashion world fails to cater for career women and there really are so few options for a high-powered female that everyone ends up dressing the same? Perhaps.

Or maybe these two have more in common than we thought after all...

Nicola Sturgeon wore a navy suit with silver shoes for her tense meeting with the Prime Minister in Glasgow today, a departure from her usual colourful look

The pair did their best to put on a show of unity for the cameras ahead of talks
A man was recently saved from a world of marital trouble after social media was able to hunt down his wife's wedding dress that he mistakenly donated to Goodwill.

North Carolina resident Natalie Gelbert recently cleared out some things from her wardrobe, putting together a bag of clothes to donate to charity. In a different bag, she threw a number of items to take to the cleaners, including her wedding dress.

Her husband Chad, in charge of running the charity bag off to Goodwill, got the two mixed up.

Shocking loss: A North Carolina woman was recently reunited with her lost wedding dress thanks to a social media post

Close save: Chad Gelbert mistook a bag containing his wife Natalie's wedding dress as a bag of clothes meant to be donated to charity

When Natalie realized what happened, she got in touch with the charity shop and was horrified to learn that her precious wedding dress had been sold.

In an act of desperation, she took to Facebook, pleading for help and asking friends and family to share it on.

'My husband accidentally gave my wedding dress to Goodwill and it was sold last Saturday,' she wrote, naming the specific location of the store.

'It was a total mistake and we are actually still paying on it. I'm so so so upset and posting this in hopes whomever bought it might see this,' she added.

Bad news: When she got in touch with the charity shop, Natalie was shocked to learn that the dress had been sold

Putting it out there: After realizing what had happened, Natalie took to Facebook to plead for help in finding the dress

'I would really like to buy it back. I know to whoever bought it, it was a great deal and sold dirt cheap but to me it is priceless. Very sentimental and something that can't be replaced.'

Along with the post, she shared an image of herself in the stunning dress on her own wedding day.

The post has been shared more than 37,000 times and was even picked up by local news stations who helped to spread the word.

Strangers touched by the story offered to donate dresses to the person who bought Natalie's and one even offered to shell out the market price of $1,000 for the same dress brand new.

Happy days: The post was shared more than 37,000 times, and covered by local news stations, eventually leading to the buyer getting in touch

Miraculously, Natalie later revealed on Facebook, the buyer of the dress got in touch and returned it to her.

'Thank you to everyone who offered up reward money, their own dresses, to pay for a new one, all the news stations that shared, the radio shows I got to go on, and all the sharing and caring. I really do appreciate it,' she said.

'Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Glad I got it back and I get to continue to pass it down in my family.'
A kindhearted teacher has shared an image of her cabinet filled with emergency food for her underfed students, shedding light on just one of the many ways educators help their pupils.

Katherine Gibson Howton, a teacher at Reynolds Learning Academy in Fairview, Oregon, took to Facebook to post a photo of a cabinet filled with everything from oatmeal to popcorn, explaining that she shares the stash of food with one of her colleagues.

Along with the snapshot, Katherine penned a powerful post about why she and other teachers like her keep food in their classrooms.

Real life: Katherine Gibson Howton, a teacher at Reynolds Learning Academy in Fairview, Oregon, took to Facebook to post a photo of her classroom cabinet filled with food

'We are your children's teachers. We know that we may have more time with your child than you do,' she wrote.

'We don't want them to be hungry, and not just because a hungry child can't learn but because we care about them. Hungry feels scary.

'Almost every teacher I know has a cabinet in their classroom with emergency food for their hungry students.'

Katherine noted that children come into their classroom every day telling them that they are hungry, but they aren't the only ones.

Powerful post: The teacher explained that she shares the cabinet with another teacher, and every day children come into their classroom saying that they are hungry

'Many more never say a word because they are embarrassed and it is up to us to notice that they are distracted, tired, grumpy,' she explained. 'Skilled and compassionate teachers learn to ask if there is food in the house and when was the last time you ate?

'And the really skilled teachers just know when to make an extra sandwich, grab an orange, make a bag of popcorn or bowl of oatmeal, and set it in front of a student and tell them to eat.

'And YES, that is a jar of peanut butter. It has not been a problem,' she wrote, presumably heading off any criticism she might receive for stocking Jif when some students could be deathly allergic to it.

Katherine shared the eye-opening post with the Facebook group Pantsuit Nation, as well as the page Love Matters, and the image has been liked more than 23,000 times combined.

Going above and beyond: Katherine said almost every teacher she knows has a cabinet like that in their classrooms

Doing her part: Katherine said she works at a Title I school where 84 per cent of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch

The teacher told the Huffington Post that she works at a Title I school where 84 per cent of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch, while adding that more than 20 percent of the students experience housing instability.

She was inspired to write the post after she heard that Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said there is 'no demonstrable evidence' after-school programs that feed kids are helping them do better in school.

'I would never want my students to feel embarrassed that they eat the food we provide,' she said.

'Unfortunately, we have tied poverty to shame. I really dont want my students to feel shame. The really great thing we have is that our students come in and take what they need freely.'
Nut allergies are being over diagnosed because many skin and blood tests cannot be relied on, a study found.

Having a strong allergic reaction to one type of nut, may not mean it is necessary to give up all nuts, researchers found.

Among people allergic to one nut who have a positive test to other tree nuts, more than 50 per cent passed an oral food challenge to other tree nuts without a reaction.

Having a strong allergic reaction to one type of nut, may not mean it is necessary to give up all nuts

An oral food challenge involves safely eating a tiny piece of nut in a controlled, medical setting.

The study looked at allergies to tree nuts - almonds, cashews, walnuts and hazelnuts.

Study author Dr Christopher Couch of the University of Michigan Medical School said: Too often, people are told theyre allergic to tree nuts based on a blood or skin prick test.

They take the results at face value and stop eating all tree nuts when they might not actually be allergic.

We examined records of 109 people with a known tree nut allergy to an individual nut.

They were tested for other tree nuts they had never eaten before using blood or skin prick tests. Despite showing a sensitivity to the additional tree nuts, more than 50 percent of those tested had no reaction in an oral food challenge.

During an oral food challenge, the patient eats tiny amounts of the food in increasing doses over a period of time, followed by a few hours of observation to see if they have a reaction. An oral food challenge should only be conducted under the care of a medical professional, and is not something to be tried at home on your own as it could lead to a severe, life-threatening reaction, the authors warned.

Co-author Dr Matthew Greenhawt said: Previous studies suggested people with a tree nut allergy, as well as those with a peanut allergy, were at risk of being allergic to multiple tree nuts.

We found even a large-sized skin test or elevated blood allergy test is not enough by itself to accurately diagnose a tree nut allergy if the person has never eaten that nut.

Tree nut allergy should only be diagnosed if there is both a positive test and a history of developing symptoms after eating that tree nut.

Dr Greenhawt added: The practice of avoiding all peanut and tree nuts because of a single-nut allergy may not be necessary.

Amena Warner, head of Clinical Services at Allergy UK said oral food challenges were the gold standard of allergy testing, but not always available.

She said: As highlighted in this study, in many cases allergy testing alone does not provide a clear answer on allergic status and the need for an oral food challenge is required.

Dr Tariq El-Shanawany, British Society for Immunology spokesperson said: A good general piece of advice is that if you are eating and tolerating particular nuts, then dont start avoiding them. Avoiding nuts which you can tolerate might actually increase the risk of subsequently becoming allergic to these nuts too.

However, if you have been avoiding multiple types of nut, then it is important NOT to reintroduce them yourself. Doing so risks having a severe reaction at home. You should see an Allergist or Immunologist who can assess the reactions that you have had, perform diagnostic tests such as skin prick and blood tests, and discuss with you the risks of continuing to avoid all nuts versus reintroducing some nuts.

Formal food challenge testing using established protocols in a hospital environment may be offered. However, even a hospital food challenge test carries a risk, and is only performed if it is felt that there is a reasonable expectation that the food challenge will be passed.
Thousands of people who take a common bladder drug are at risk of developing dementia, experts warned last night.

Use of oxybutynin, recommended by the NHS as a primary medication for urinary incontinence, has risen by 31 per cent in five years.

The pills help stop the muscle spasms that cause overactive bladder syndrome, a problem experienced by six million in Britain.

Evidence suggests that the drug oxybutynin comes with sever side effects including cognitive decline and dementia

But evidence now suggests the drug comes with severe side effects, including cognitive decline and dementia.

Doctors last night warned the drug should no longer be used at all because of the risks.

People who take the pills for more than three years were 54 per cent more likely to develop dementia within a decade, research suggests. Some 1.7million prescriptions for oxybutynin were issued in England in 2015, making up more than a quarter (26 per cent) of drugs prescribed for urinary incontinence.

The prescriptions have steadily increased since 2010, when 1.3million were issued.

Professor Marcus Drake, a urologist at Bristol University, said: Frankly my view is that this drug should not be prescribed at all. It is not well tolerated, it is not as effective and it carries these risks. He said other, safer drugs are available, but doctors often turn to oxybutynin because it is so cheap.

The drug costs just 4p per pill, taken between two and four times a day. Alternative bladder medicines cost up to 1 per tablet.

Professor Drake said: Oxybutynin is the one of the class that we should avoid when it comes to dementia and memory risk. But its very cheap, so instead of focusing on the safety there is a balance that has arisen where doctors try it and if there are no immediate problems they keep using it.

Professor Drake was speaking last night ahead of new data being presented today at the European Association of Urology conference in London, which warns oxybutynin now makes up 27 per cent of prescriptions for overactive bladders in the US.

The drug, which costs just 4p per pill, is taken between two and four times a day. Its use has risen 31 per cent in the last five years

Dr Daniel Pucheril of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, who led the research, said: Doctors need to look closely at the levels of prescribing. Despite evidence of side effects, physicians are not commonly checking for cognitive effects in those using these medications.

Figures from the online information centre NHS Digital show that prescribing patterns in the UK are almost identical to those in the US. The drug is one of the most-used of a class of drugs called anticholinergics, a broad group of medications which include antidepressants, antihistamines, sleeping pills and antipsychotics.

Anticholinergics are well known to have an impact on cognition, increasing the risk of falls and memory problems.

But Professor Drake said oxybutynin is more dangerous than similar drugs, because it has a small molecule size, meaning it more easily penetrates the brain.

When it is inside the brain, it binds to a receptor that plays a key role in the higher central nervous system, which can reduce cognition and bring about long-term effects. A study of 3,400 over-65s by the University of Washington, published in the JAMA medical journal in January 2015, found that people who took anticholinergics for three years were 54 per cent more likely to later develop dementia.

A fifth of the participants in the Washington study took anticholinergics for bladder problems, and the authors picked out oxybutynin as one of two drugs of particular concern.

They concluded: Given the devastating consequences of dementia, informing older adults about this potentially modifiable risk would allow them to choose alternative products.
A desperate Chinese man has revealed how he has spent the past 13 years living with an enormous tumour in his neck.

After injuring himself at work, Wang Zhixiang resorted to a traditional practice to cure his pain - but it caused an unusual reaction.

His neck more than doubled in size, making it almost impossible for him to lead a normal life.

The 55-year-old is now begging for help from strangers as he is unable to afford treatment to remove the growth of fat.

Doctors have said that he needs to raise more than 100,000 Chinese yuan (11,600) to undergo surgery - or the mass will continue to expand.

The 55-year-old, known only as Wang, is now begging for help from strangers as he is unable to afford treatment to remove the growth of fat

After cricking his neck while working as a labourer in 2004, he visited his local doctor in Jilin City, China.

They tried hormonotherapy - a practice used to pump the body full of hormones, sometimes used in some parts of the world to treat cancer.

Doctors have said that he needs to raise more than 100,000 Chinese yuan (11,600) to undergo surgery - or the mass will continue to expand

WHAT IS A LIPOMA? A lipoma is slow-growing, benign growth of fat cells. It is found right under the skin. A lipoma moves around easily with slight pressure. It is not cancerous and treatment generally is not necessary. If the lipoma is on a pressure-bearing area, it may create discomfort and this is when people seek removal. People also request removal because they dont like the appearance of these bumps. Often a small incision can be made over the lipoma and they can be 'popped' out easily. Source: Dr Sandra Lee Advertisement

But instead of it helping, it caused a bad reaction and his neck swelled to more than double its original size, it is claimed.

At first, it was mistaken for thyromegaly - an enlarged thyroid that swells when the metabolism in the body is out of sync.

He went back to the doctors who after numerous tests at the hospital in Changchun Hospital in Jilin Province diagnosed him with lipoma.

A lipoma is a soft, fatty lump that grows under the skin, normally on the shoulders, neck, chest, arms or back.

The non-cancerous tumours which affect one in a hundred people are harmless and can often be left alone.

Last month, the story of another Chinese man who suffered from a lipoma came to light on the MailOnline.

Liu Zhihe, 56, chose to sacrifice his health in order to save money for his family by not having medical treatment on the growing mass around his neck.

The man, from a village near Rizhao City, Shandong province, asked for members of the public to donate cash for his treatment costs.
Standing proudly as she clutched a microphone and belted out a tune, 12-year-old Mia Blesky dreamed of being a pop star.

However, just days after being videoed she found herself unable to move and just weeks later she was left paralysed from the neck down and in hospital.

Mia's family claim she has suffered an alleged reaction to the controversial HPV vaccine.

However, doctors claim that her problem is psychological - and the only help they've offered the family is to section her.

A harrowing video shows how her health deteriorated rapidly - as she shuffles before lying still in her adapted bed at home and croons softly, unable to move.

It comes after reports in December told of another teenage girl who was left in hospital after having the vaccine to protect her against cervical cancer.

Just weeks after having the jab, Ruby Shallom began to suffer from stomach spasms. Her muscles eventually became weaker, and two years after being given the jab she woke up with no feelings in her legs whatsoever.

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Mia Blesky, 12, has been left paralysed from the neck down after being given the controversial HPV vaccine, her parents have alleged

Mia's mother, Gini, 37, of Reading, said that she is desperate for someone to tell her daughter that 'it's not all in her head'.

She added: 'She has gone from being someone who sings and acts and dances - a normal 12-year-old girl - and now she can only blink, speak and sing.

'It's horrendous. Everyone thinks she's been in a horrific car accident. People stop and say, "Oh my God, what on earth happened?"

'When Mia was admitted to hospital, the doctors said it was a form of self-harm and she was doing it to herself.

'They discharged her after a few days. They gave her no treatment. We had to buy her a wheelchair. I had to carry her to the car.

'It has been absolutely awful, but the doctors say it's psychological and down to bullying or sexuality issues, which is rubbish. The only thing they have offered to do is section her.'

Mia was given the routine jab - which protects against the human papilloma virus, at her school in September.

The next day her legs felt heavy, she had a burning sensation in her spine and her feet were shaky.

Becoming worried, her mother immediately rushed her to A&E at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

She has gone from being someone who sings and acts and dances - a normal 12-year-old girl - and now she can only blink, speak and sing. Her mother, Gini Blesky, 37

The straight A student went on to lose all sensation in her legs, core body and arms.

Unable to do anything except blink and talk, she is now being home-schooled and having singing lessons from her bed.

Mia lives at the family home with her twin brother, three other siblings and step-father, haulage company director Lee Choulef, 39.

She's bedbound apart from when she is carried or placed in a fully-supported wheelchair and is currently undergoing physio.

In addition to the paralysis she is incontinent, cannot keep food down and suffers involuntary spasms.

The effects of the vaccine struck in just a matter of days after being videoed belting out one of her favourite songs

The talented youngster - whose idol is Adele - said: 'It's hard. I just want to be a normal girl.

'Singing makes me feel a bit more normal but it doesn't feel the same as it did before, when I was walking or standing. I run out of breath all the time.

'I would love to sing on the West End or have a career in music. That is my dream. I just want to find someone who can help me.'

The HPV vaccine, Gardasil, is routinely offered to 12-13 year-old girls as part of the NHS' cervical cancer programme.

Originally many were concerned over young girls being given the vaccine as they believed it may increase sexual promiscuity.

But it is known to protect against two common types of HPV, which are responsible for more than 70 per cent of the cases in the UK.

The disease is believed to currently kill 1,000 people yearly in the UK, but doctors estimate that around 400 lives are saved each year as a result of vaccinating girls before they become infected.

However, many women instead report that they have developed chronic fatigue syndrome after having it.

But health authorities around the world, including the World Health Organization, have recently extensively reviewed the vaccine and have concluded it is safe.

The MHRA and Public Health England said the HPV jab is the most effective way to protect against cervical cancer, which kills 900 UK women each year.

THE 16-YEAR-OLD GIRL LEFT PARALYSED BY THE HPV VACCINE A 16-year-old girl was left paralysed in three limbs and in hospital on a drip after having the controversial HPV jab, her parents claimed in December. Ruby Shallom was vaccinated at school to protect her against cervical cancer as part of the routine NHS programme. But just weeks later, the keen horse-rider and runner started to suffer from stomach spasms, dizziness, pain, headaches and fatigue. Her muscles became weaker and in May - two years after she was given the jab - she woke up with no feelings in her legs whatsoever. She has since lost all sensation in both her legs and one of her arms and is virtually bed-bound - unable to eat, lift or dress herself, incontinent and often too weak to lift her head. Doctors have been unable to diagnose her with anything and have dismissed it as being psychological, refusing to acknowledge any link to the jab. Her parents spoke out after former glamour model Melinda Messenger said on This Morning that she stopped her 12-year-old daughter, Evie, having the jab over fears of chronic illnesses. Advertisement

However, doctors claim that her problem is psychological and nothing to do with the Gardasil vaccine - and the only help that has been offered to the family is to section her

GARDASIL: THE CONTROVERSY The alleged reaction suffered by Mia to the HPV vaccine is rare. But like any vaccine, it can cause a range of side effects. European Medicines Agency statistics show that up to February 2017, 11,867 reactions to Gardasil have been recorded. Many report symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, and cases of girls being left paralysed are rare. Fatalities have been reported, reports show. But many argue that some side effects are completely psychological - with a range of studies finding there to be no physical issues. Health authorities around the world, including the World Health Organization, have reviewed the vaccine and concluded it is safe. Since 2008, it has routinely been offered to 12-13 year-old girls as part of the NHS' cervical cancer programme. Originally many were concerned over young girls being given the vaccine as they believed it may increase sexual promiscuity. But it is known to protect against two common types of HPV, which are responsible for more than 70 per cent of the cases in the UK. The disease is believed to currently kill 1,000 people yearly in the UK, but doctors estimate that around 400 lives are saved each year as a result of vaccinating girls. Advertisement

A spokeswoman said: 'As with all vaccines, the safety of the HPV vaccine is under constant review. Every report of a suspected side effect is taken seriously.'

They said the its safety has been extensively reviewed and there is 'no credible evidence of a link between the HPV vaccine and a range of chronic illnesses'.

European Medicines Agency statistics show that up to February 2017, 11,867 reactions to Gardasil have been recorded.

More than 400 families, represented by the UK Association for Vaccine Injured Daughters, have called for more research into the jab.

Its chair, Freda Birrell, said: 'If it's not the vaccine causing these serious health issues then it's about time the Department of Health took responsibility.

'It should start trying to find out why this is happening instead of saying it is normal for teenagers to develop illnesses of this kind or that they have mental health issues.'

But Ms Blesky, a hair and makeup artist, claims doctors and professionals will not listen to her concerns - or those of other families - about the HPV jab.

They instead diagnosed Mia with a non-organic functional disorder, which means they think her symptoms are due to psychological dysfunction.

Her family claim medics have offered her no care or treatment - so they're having to look after Mia at home, which costs around 4,000 a month.

They're searching for a cure and fundraising for a visit to the US to see a specialist. To donate, visit:https://www.gofundme.com/mias-recovery-fund
A dream holiday turned into a living nightmare when a mother-of-two's scalp was left ravaged by a flesh-eating parasite.

Christi Barber, 41, was left with open wounds on the top of her head after going on a Caribbean cruise for her 35th birthday in 2011.

On her return home, she found several cysts under her hair which she had removed - but her condition worsened.

However, the affected area continued to grow and she found herself unable to continue working or even leave the house.

Doctors diagnosed her with Pyoderma Gangrenosum and she began undergoing chemotherapy - but they later admitted this was not responsible for her cysts.

Over the next two years Mrs Barber has been placed on an IV drip, had a blood transfusion and was even put on organ transplant medication.

Mrs Barber also found herself on life support as doctors desperately battled to keep her alive while they searched for the cause of her infection.

At one point Mrs Barber also underwent a skin graft on her scalp.

After seeing 11 different doctors, she has since been diagnosed with osteomyelitis, has been living with a pi-cue line and has been self-injecting antibiotics.

Christi Barber, 41, was left with open wounds on the top of her head after going on a Caribbean cruise for her 35th birthday in 2011

Mrs Barber, from Pittsburgh, hopes to raise enough money to buy herself a wig so she can finally leave the house.

The former marketing director said: 'I believe it was a parasite I picked up. No one can give me an answer. It was the biggest nightmare.

'It kept getting larger and more areas started to get infected and ulcerated. I cant even leave my house.

'I was feeling horrible. I started taking antibiotics. I looked like a car-accident victim. I couldn't leave the house.

'My kids can't understand what has happened. I was always very happy, outgoing, fit and healthy. My husband has had to look after me.'

After returning home from the trip to the Turks and Caicos islands, Mrs Barber began to feel sick.

On her return home, she found several cysts under her hair which she had removed - but her condition worsened (pictured days after returning home)

Despite initially believing she had motion sickness or even caught a bug, her state continued to worsen.

She noticed strange lumps on her skin, mainly her face and back, that were red, raised and aggravated.

I was feeling horrible. I started taking antibiotics. I looked like a car-accident victim. I couldn't leave the house. Christi Barber, 41

Mrs Barber even bumped her head on her closet, allowing her to become aware of a 'squishy' lump.

Sitting on the right side of her head, it was white and around the size of a pea, she claims.

Becoming concerned about what it was, she sought medical advice from a dermatologist.

A few months passed before they removed it in what was meant to be a routine ten-minute procedure.

However, the affected area continued to grow, meaning she was unable to continue working or even leave the house (pictured before her holiday)

After returning home from the trip to the Turks and Caicos islands, Mrs Barber began to feel sick (pictured on holiday with her friends)

However, it turned into a four hour surgery as they removed three hard spots from underneath the skin, which she described as 'the most horrible thing'.

Mrs Barber then claims she 'smelt an infection' and told her doctor.

CHRISTI BARBER'S TIMELINE OF EVENTS The day she was flying home from the cruise to Turks and Caicos: She began to feel nauseous and was throwing up Days after returning to Pittsburgh in 2011: Mrs Barber kept getting sicker and began to notice strange red lumps on her face and back. A few months later: Surgeons removed the cyst in a four-hour procedure Over the next two years: Mrs Barber was placed on IV drip, started chemotherapy, was put on organ transplant medication, was put on life support and also underwent a skin graft Advertisement

After seeing 11 different doctors, she had to medically resign from her job as she was unable to work.

For the next two years, she was placed on IV drip, had blood transfusion, began Chemotherapy and was put on organ transplant medication.

However, none of the treatments proved to work. In fact, she claims that it caused her finger nails to fall off alongside her hair removal.

Mrs Barber, who also suffers from Crohn's disease, then underwent a skin graft in an attempt to rid her of her infection.

She said: 'I had a pieces of my scalp falling off. It was awful, the worst pain in my life. They took skin from my leg and put it on my head.'

Osteomyelitis most commonly affects the long bones in the legs, but other bones can also be affected, the NHS says.

She is currently raising money to get to a specialist hospital next month for reconstruction of her head, while also hoping to raise funds for a wig.

Desperate for answers as to what caused the infection, she has started a GoFundMe page to help her raise money while she remains unemployed.

However, the affected area continued to grow, meaning she was unable to continue working or even leave the house
Children who are breastfed are less hyperactive by the time they turn three, new research suggests.

However, no such link could be found for boosting intelligence - despite a host of research having previously found the opposite.

It comes amid mounting pressure on mothers to resort to the natural way of nourishing their infants, with rates decreasing in many Western countries.

Children who are breastfed are less hyperactive by the time they turn three, research suggests

Researchers from University College Dublin measured the cognitive abilities of nearly 8,000 children who were breastfed.

They were tested at age three for their vocabulary and problem-solving abilities for the study published in the journal Pediatrics.

When they turned five, their teachers were also quizzed in terms of how they felt the infants were developing.

The benefits of breastfeeding could only be found at age three, with no such proven links existing at the later follow-up period.

But study author Dr Lisa-Christine Girard told NPR that the difference 'wasn't big enough to show statistical significance'.

She added: 'In other words, the differences in scores were so small that researchers consider it a statistical wash.

However, no such link could be found for intelligence - despite a host of research having found the opposite, scientists claim

'We weren't able to find a direct causal link between breastfeeding and children's cognitive outcomes.'

This comes just days after a survey found that mothers are giving up breastfeeding because they are too embarrassed.

In other words, the differences in scores were so small that researchers consider it a statistical wash. Dr Lisa-Christine Girard, from University College Dublin

Figures from more than 152,000 British women showed that just 45 per cent still give their infants breast milk after two months.

The NHS recommends that babies are breastfed exclusively for the first six months and after that a combination of breastmilk and food for about a year.

Breast milk contains antibodies passed on from the mother that boost the babies immune systems and help them fight of infections and viruses.

There is also evidence that babies who were breastfed have higher IQs and are less at risk of obesity  as formula milk is higher in fat.

Breastfeeding is beneficial for the mother and enables her to strike up a bond with the newborn.

It also enables her to lose weight as breastfeeding mothers burn up to 500 calories a day, experts claim.

A study in 2015 revealed the same findings - that breastfeeding has no benefit over bottle feeding in terms of a child's IQ.

Scientists at Goldsmith's University in London argued there is no substantial link between breastfeeding and early life intelligence.

They monitored children who were breastfed alongside a group who were bottle fed, from 18 months old to the age of 16, and assessed their IQs throughout.
Formerly conjoined twins were able to leave the hospital for the first time to a chorus of applause after they endured one of the riskiest separation surgeries ever.

After spending months in a hospital following a successful surgery, separated conjoined twins Ballenie and Bellanie Camacho left Maria Fareri Children's Hospital to go home on Friday.

The girls were showered with applause from the Valhalla, New York, medical staff, as they were carried out of the hospital by their grinning parents.

The day marked a series of milestones for the sisters, as they underwent one of the riskiest separation surgeries ever in January and they celebrated their first birthday in February.

Parents Abel Camacho and Laurilin Celadilla were proudly beaming during the walkout, as they were previously told their daughters weren't expected to live.

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After spending months at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla, New York, formerly conjoined twins Ballenie and Bellanie Camacho were cheered on as their parents walked them out (pictured)

Ballenie (left) and Bellanie, from the Dominican Republic, were born joined at the hip, known as pygopagus. Surgeons were able to separate them in a complex 22-hour procedure in January

The girls' father said to the New York Daily News: 'Today were experiencing much happiness.

'Were very anxious to start this next chapter and were also very satisfied with the work that the hospital has done for us.'

Laurilin said to ABC 7: 'I can't believe seeing one in her bed, the other in another. Every day is like seeing them for the first time.'

Although the family is from the Dominican Republic, they won't be returning to their native country just yet.

For the next few months the twins will be in physical and occupational therapy, and will stay at the Ronald McDonald House of the Greater Hudson Valley in Valhalla.

Ballenie and Bellanie (with their parents Laurilin and Abel) celebrated their first birthday at the hospital in February. The parents were told they wouldn't live to see one years old

Abel said that they hope to return home by September but unsure what they will return to because the family had abandoned their home and jobs to ensure the girls could get the treatment they needed.

In one of the riskiest separation surgeries ever, doctors successfully detached Ballenie and Bellanie, who were joined at the lower back, after a grueling 22-hour procedure that ended on January 18.

Doctors had to separate the girls' gastrointestinal tracts, bladders, reproductive areas and lower portion of the spinal cord, with a 23 percent chance of death.

Conjoined twins occur in approximately one in 200,000 births, but twins joined at the hip  called pygopagus  are extremely rare.

After learning that doctor's had separated the Ballenie and Bellanie, their mother said in a press conference: 'We are eternally grateful to Maria Fareri Children's Hospital.

'Thank you for accepting the challenge which has changed our lives.

In one of the riskiest separation surgeries ever, doctors successfully detached Ballenie and Bellanie after a grueling 22-hour procedure that ended on January 18 (pictured)

The six steps surgeons took to separate Ballenie and Bellanie are shown in this X-ray image of pygopagus conjoined twins

In an emotional video, Abel said: 'After the procedure, the outlook for Ballenie and Bellanie is now bright. The party was as much a celebration of their first birthday as it was about the wonderful possibilities that now lie ahead of them'

'Our family does not know how we can pay for what we've been given but we ask that God bless every one of you.'

Two weeks after the surgery, the family had another reason to celebrate - the twins turned one years old on February 4.

Staff decorated the girls' room with pink and blue posters, bought them a birthday cake each, dressed them up in tutus and brandished birthday crowns.

Over the summer, Laurilin and Abel had brought the girls to Maria Fareri where the family began preparing for a procedure to separate the twins.
'The baby's alive!' the midwife gasped, calling for urgent help. Sandra Notman was stunned  this wasn't what she'd expected.

At seven months pregnant, Sandra had been told her baby girl was so sick she'd be stillborn, or die shortly after birth.

Her consultant had advised a termination, injecting the baby in the womb; she'd then be delivered by caesarean.

Sandra had refused. She didn't think her child would survive  the medical evidence was stacked against it  but following her heart, she'd elected for a natural birth in the hope of spending a few precious moments with her baby before she died.

At seven months pregnant, Sandra Notman (right) had been told her baby girl Rachel (left) was so sick she'd be stillborn, or die shortly after birth

Understandably, she didn't want the pregnancy to go to full term, so asked if she could be induced two months early. Her consultant agreed.

Sandra's husband Andrew was by her side, and a priest waited to carry out a bedside baptism  naming the child Rachel.

Sandra and Andrew had also booked a funeral, ordered a tiny coffin and chosen a pretty dress in which to bury their daughter.

Yet tiny Rachel, weighing little over 2lb, was unexpectedly born alive, and was rushed into special care.

Her survival  against the odds and the predictions of well-intentioned doctors  is a 'sober warning bell', as one expert put it, reminding medics to consider carefully their advice in such cases.

Sandra, a former secretary, became pregnant with Rachel in 1991. She was 31, and Andrew, a company treasurer, was 30.

They already had two-year-old, Rebecca, and were keen for a second child.

But at her ten-week scan, doctors at her local hospital in Maidstone, Kent, spotted abnormalities, and she was referred to King's College Hospital, London.

There, scans confirmed that Sandra's unborn child had polycystic kidney disease (PKD), an inherited condition that causes numerous cysts in the kidneys and can lead to renal failure.

Although PKD is not always fatal in babies, Sandra's consultant believed in her case it would be.

'I'll never forget the moment I was told my baby would die at birth,' Sandra says. 'I burst into tears. Andrew was devastated.

'I'm Catholic, and I wanted to have my baby naturally and to have her baptised, even if she lived for just a few minutes.'

Tiny Rachel, weighing little over 2lb, was unexpectedly born alive and rushed into special care. Her mother Sandra (right) was advised to abort the pregnancy while she was still in the womb

Sandra gave birth at Maidstone Hospital on October 25, 1991.

'Me and Andrew were crying, my mum was crying, too, and all the staff were dreadfully upset.

'The baby was breech and they needed to use forceps. The consultant said I should take any pain relief available, given the baby was not expected to survive.

'So I was given morphine, which is not normally administered during labour. I wanted the labour to end but also didn't, as this would mean the death of our baby.

'After the delivery, when the midwife said our daughter wasn't dying, it was surreal. I was so thankful I'd not agreed to have the injection that would have ended my baby's life.'

Rachel was quickly transferred to Guy's Hospital in London, a specialist kidney centre.

Sandra, now 56, recalls: 'Rachel was tiny. She looked like a fragile doll. It was very stressful, but it felt like a miracle.'

Sandra (left) gave birth at Maidstone Hospital on October 25, 1991. 'Me and Andrew were crying, my mum was crying, too, and all the staff were dreadfully upset,' she says

Rachel lapsed into a coma, with scans showing a black cloud on her brain. Doctors said this pointed to potential brain damage due to a lack of oxygen at birth.

Sandra spent weeks watching over Rachel as she lay in an incubator. Brain scans repeatedly showed no activity.

After six weeks, doctors agreed to perform one last scan before switching off the life support.

'Andrew and I went to the hospital prepared to say a final goodbye to Rachel,' says Sandra.

'I was sobbing uncontrollably. But on arrival, a female doctor was crying, saying the 'black cloud' on Rachel's brain had gone. She'd shown signs of life  making tiny movements.

'That day was when life began again. For all of us.'

Every time Rachel (pictured) came into hospital for her first five yers, the doctors said that she would be lucky to get another year

Rachel started feeding via a drip, and slowly gained weight. After a few weeks, her parents were allowed to take her home.

At three months, Rachel still weighed only 7lb. 'Her face was so small, her blue eyes looked really big,' says Sandra. 'One doctor said: 'You'll be lucky to get another year.'

'He said that every year for the first five years of Rachel's life.'

There are two types of PKD, both caused by a faulty gene. Rachel had the rarer, more life-threatening form, called Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD), with only 120 identified patients in the UK.

One in three babies with ARPKD dies soon after birth, and renal failure occurs in more than 50 per cent of children within ten years.

Remarkably, two decades later, Rachel is fit and well. Now 25, with a degree in fashion textiles, she lives in West Malling, Kent, with her parents and is engaged to electrician Lee Lockyer, 26.

Her story highlights the difficult decisions parents-to-be can face about whether to abort longed-for babies because of concerns that they will be born with life-threatening disorders.

Remarkably, two decades later, Rachel (pictured) is fit and well. Now 25, with a degree in fashion textiles, she lives in West Malling, Kent

Of the 185,824 abortions carried out in England and Wales in 2015, 3,218  two per cent  were performed under 'ground E', due to a risk the child would be born 'seriously handicapped'.

'Doctors have a duty to explain all the facts and options,' says Genevieve Edwards, director of policy at Marie Stopes UK, Britain's biggest abortion provider.

'This story shows you can never be 100 per cent certain how a pregnancy will turn out.'

Guidelines from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists state that those caring for a woman facing possible termination due to foetal abnormality must adopt a 'non-directive, non-judgmental and supportive approach'.

Dr Trevor Stammers, a senior lecturer in bioethics at St Mary's University in London, explains: 'The options should be spelled out clearly, including palliative care for a live birth.'

But he adds: 'I think the assumption abortion is the best, or even the only sensible option, has increased.

'There's a lot of pressure on doctors dealing with difficult decisions, not least because of anxiety about litigation if they give the 'wrong' guidance.

'Every consultant is influenced by their own view on an acceptable quality of life.'

Despite her survival, things have been far from easy for Rachel. The cysts caused her kidneys and liver to become increasingly scarred (and would eventually cause her kidneys to fail).

Her spleen became enlarged, making her stomach swell so much she looked pregnant for much of her childhood.

'My stomach was permanently swollen, and it was hard for other kids to understand what was wrong with me, or to remember to be careful around me,' she says.

At 15, Rachel's kidneys began to fail and she started dialysis (home system shown above) three times a week. She was also put on the donor organ waiting list

Her blood didn't clot normally, and she suffered from hypertension, which dilated the veins in her organs so they needed cauterising in hospital once or twice a year to stop internal bleeding.

Feeling unwell was the norm. Yet, in many ways, life continued. Rachel learned to dance, and took part in shows. And as medicine and research into PKD improved, so did Rachel's prognosis.

At 15, her kidneys began to fail and she started dialysis three times a week. She was also put on the donor organ waiting list for a rare liver and kidney transplant.

'I hated it,' she says. 'I wanted to be normal. At my lowest ebb I told Mum I wanted to die because my life was so terrible. I would have gone under without my family there to support me.'

In December 2009, after more than two years on the transplant list, Rachel got the call. 'Mum and Dad were convinced it would work but I was terrified,' she says.

A week after the operation, Rachel's body started to reject the new liver and Sandra and Andrew were told  again  to say goodbye to their daughter.

But Rachel pulled through. Then her body started to reject the kidneys  but once again she pulled through. Two months later, she left hospital.

'I hope by telling my story we give others hope,' she says. 'I'm living proof that where there is life, there is hope. Always.'

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register, visit organdonation.nhs.uk
More than one million patients are needlessly taking sedatives and anti-depressants, a damning report reveals.

They are left on the drugs for months or years at a time, fuelling a growing epidemic of addiction to prescription medicines.

Research by the University of Roehampton suggests a quarter of a million in Britain have been left on tranquillisers such as Valium for more than six months, well over the recommended one-month limit.

More than one million patients are needlessly taking sedatives and anti-depressants

Another 800,000 have been taking anti-depressants for more than two years, having wrongly been prescribed them in the first place, the report says.

Coming off these drugs can cause crippling withdrawal effects, such as hallucinations and depression.

The Mail today backs calls led by charities and MPs for a 24-hour helpline for people innocently hooked on prescription drugs.

Study leader Dr James Davies told the Mails Good Health section: This is a scandal for which there can be no excuse. The UK has the fourth-most medicated population in Europe when it comes to anti-depressants. One in 11 people  five million across England alone  take anti-depressants every year.

Dr Davies estimates half of patients have been on the drugs for more than two years.

Of these, he calculates, a third have no clear clinical reason for doing so.

He said: In other words, about 800,000 people shouldnt be on this medication. The longer you are on them the worse and more protracted the withdrawal will be. The dangers of benzodiazepine sedatives  a class of drugs including Valium  is even starker. Benzodiazepines are prescribed for anxiety or sleeplessness, but people who take them for more than six weeks face a 50 per cent chance of becoming addicted.

And the only help they can receive is from addiction services frequented by Class A drug addicts.

According to the latest Office for National Statistics report on drug poisoning, prescription drugs were linked with 1,313 deaths in 2015, more than the 1,201 deaths linked with abuse of heroin and morphine.

Debbie Abrahams MP, a member of the all-party Parliamentary group for prescribed drug dependence, said: There is a real and urgent need for more help to be made available.

MP Debbie Abrahams has called for more help to be made available for patients suffering persistent withdrawal effects

Many patients report devastating persistent withdrawal and other negative effects.

Professor Jim McManus, director of public health for Hertfordshire County Council, said family doctors must take responsibility. GPs prescribing behaviour has to change, including not over-treating people or giving them treatments that will actually do them harm, he said.

But Stephen Buckley, of the mental health charity Mind, stressed that helping people stop taking drugs has to be a priority.

He said: We hear from lots of people who have been on anti-depressants for a long time and want to come off them.

Wed like to think GPs can help but that doesnt always seem to be the case.

Professor Colin Drummond, chairman of the addictions faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: Prescription drug dependence is the Cinderella of addiction.

Treatment services have been directed by government to prioritise treatment for illegal drugs. People with prescription drug dependence are often turned away.

A Department of Health spokesman said: We recognise that this is an emerging risk, which is why we are taking steps to better understand and tackle the harms caused by addiction to prescription drugs.
Two women who were thought to be infertile became pregnant through a technique said to rejuvenate the reproductive organs.

The women  one aged 40 and one 39  had blood plasma injected into their ovaries and womb.

It is thought to be the first time a treatment has enabled menopausal women to become pregnant using their own eggs.

New hope: The women had IVF after the plasma treatment

If the success is confirmed the technique could allow women to remain fertile for longer  and give hope to those who go through early menopause.

One of the women is now six months pregnant. The other miscarried in the first trimester.

The procedure was carried out at the Genesis Athens Clinic in the Greek capital. Dr Kostantinos Sfakianoudis, the clinics director, said around 180 women had had the treatment  some with the hope of getting pregnant and others to help control symptoms of the menopause, including hot flushes and thinning hair.

Dr Sfakianoudis said yesterday: Weve had two pregnancies, one is ongoing, the other reached the first trimester. For the moment, these are the first two that have been achieved.

Many of the women having treatment had stopped having periods  but the technique helped them recover this and also helped their hormone levels to improve, Dr Sfakianoudis said.

The results so far are very promising, he added. Dr Sfakianoudis said he is preparing a scientific paper on the results, and also to carry out further controlled trials.

Exactly how the plasma rejuvenates the reproductive organs is unclear. A possible explanation is that it revives stem cells in the ovary, causing it to release more eggs.

A further possibility is that the injection reconfigures the blood supply in the ovary, reviving an egg producing area.

One of the two woman, a 40-year-old from Germany, had wanted a second child for more than six years, and had endured six unsuccessful IVF attempts.

She told the New Scientist magazine: I had given up on trying to get pregnant. To me, its a miracle.

Following the treatment in Athens, she had returned home where she had standard IVF treatment. After stimulation with hormones, she released three eggs, two of which could be fertilised. One egg was successfully implanted.

She added: Everything is going well. Its a girl.

If the success is confirmed the technique could allow women to remain fertile for longer

The other woman, a 39-year-old from the Netherlands, was treated as she had not had a period for four years, and had shown other signs of the menopause.

She had hoped to start a family, and received treatment in December 2016. She began menstruating again after her treatment.

In the Netherlands, she received IVF treatment and also became pregnant. Unfortunately she miscarried last week.

Dr Sfakianoudis said despite the miscarriage, the result was extremely encouraging.

Dr John Randolph at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who was not involved in the study, said it was too early to draw firm conclusions before rigorous trials had been conducted.

He told New Scientist: Anything that might help ovaries regain function would be fabulous. A lot of people have high hopes of doing something like this.

The oldest woman treated by Dr Sfakianoudis with the technique was 52.

He said it was not for him to judge how old is too old to start a family. He added: Some people might not meet their partners until later in life. If there is a treatment that will help them, then why not use it?

Dr Sfakianoudis plans to carry out trials of his treatment in Greece and the US.

Platelet-rich plasma  the blood product injected into the ovaries  has been used to stimulate the growth of tissue and blood vessels in damaged bones and muscles. But it has not been shown to work in ovaries before.
Prime Minister Modi will be visiting Russia from June 1 to 3 as guest of honour at the St Petersburg Economic Forum, at which India will be the guest country.

Contrary to criticism in certain quarters, our relations with Russia have not been neglected since he took over. Defence ties have been carefully nurtured.

Our economic relations remain feeble, though lately a welcome upswing in energy ties has occurred.

Prime Minister Modi, pictured here with Putin during a meeting in 2016, will be visiting Russia from June 1 to 3 as guest of honour at the St Petersburg Economic Forum

Modi's visit to St Petersburg for an economic event indicates a shared desire to strengthen the trade and investment pillar of our strategic ties.

Resurgence

The timing of the visit is also politically opportune as Russia has re-emerged forcefully on the international scene with its boldly conceived intervention in Syria.

This has changed perceptions about Putin, now seen as a geo-strategic genius.

Whereas former US president Obama denigrated Russia by calling it a mere regional power, now Moscow is viewed as holding the key to conflict-resolution in West Asia.

Having established a crucial role for itself in this crisis-ridden region, Russia is now extending the geopolitical space it has gained by taking the lead in promoting a settlement in Afghanistan without US participation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (second from left), Brazil's President Michel Temer (L) ,Russian President Vladimir Putin (second from right) and South Africa's President Jacob Zuma (R) in China ahead of the 2016 G20 summit

Russia explains this initiative as part of countering the threat of the Islamic State to its security through Afghanistan and Central Asia.

One can surmise that this diplomatic resurgence of Russia, despite the economic, political and security pressures being exerted on it by the trans-Atlantic alliance, will arrest the process of reducing Russia to a junior partnership with a rising and geo-politically expansionist China, not only in Asia but wider afield as Chinese power grows.

Our relations with Russia have retained their fundamental stability, though of late some misgivings have surfaced in both countries.

Russia sees us as becoming too close strategically to the US, while its own relations with America have sharply deteriorated.

Our growing purchases of defence equipment from the US are seen by Russia as cutting into an area that it has dominated historically.

The China factor in our growing strategic ties with the US, even as Russia's own strategic coordination with China has deepened because of the US factor, has resulted in gaps in our respective understanding of the strategic challenges that each country faces.

'Trump's election has created a great deal of uncertainty at the international level, with America's allies, friends and adversaries unsure about the direction of US policies under him'

From India's point of view, greater China-Russia strategic coordination has opened up more diplomatic space for China to harden its postures on our membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the designation of the Jaish-e-Mohamed chief Masood Azhar as an international terrorist by the relevant UN Security Council committee, as it puts constraints on the strength of Russian support to us in the concerned forums on both issues.

Reality

Besides Russia's stepped up sales of advanced weaponry to China, we cannot ignore its political and military overtures to Pakistan that include sale of offensive weapons, military exercises and according political legitimacy to the Taliban despite Pakistan's manipulation of this force for its geo-strategic aims in Afghanistan that include limiting India's role in that country.

Wisdom demands that the concerns that have surfaced in both countries should not be accorded exaggerated importance.

'Modi's visit to St Petersburg for an economic event indicates a shared desire to strengthen the trade and investment pillar of strategic ties'

Russia has its own concerns about China despite the two coming together on issues of shared interest. We too have concerns about some aspects of US polices towards Pakistan, and these will not change to our satisfaction.

We are also aware that US-China ties are deeper than US-India ties and that Washington's priority would be to manage China with economic pressure and avoid a military conflict with it.

India has therefore to calibrate its relationship with the US in the light of these realities.

Because Russia is viewed as a 'tried and trusted' friend of India by the public, any wrinkles in the relationship gets greater than warranted attention in the media.

Autonomy

It is not as if difficulties in our relations with Russia have not existed in the past, only that a lid was kept on them officially.

On the Russian side, India's emergence as a power in its own right has probably not been sufficiently internalised in policy making in Moscow, and therefore the imperatives on the Indian side to broaden the range of its strategic ties are not adequately appreciated.

We need to discuss many issues with Russia beyond the economic.

To the extent needed, we need to clear the air on some troubling Russian initiatives in our region.

Trump's election has created a great deal of uncertainty at the international level, with America's allies, friends and adversaries unsure about the direction of US policies under him.

His inclination to mend ties with Russia and, at the very least, work with it to destroy the Islamic State is being vociferously resisted domestically.

Putin's perspective on Trump's America would be of great interest.

The Trump-Xi summit, slated for April, will indicate where US-China ties are headed, which has implications for both India and Russia.

How the Trump administration deals with Iran would also have implications for both.

Putin's views on Russia's relationship with a troubled Europe and Turkey would interest us.

A strong relationship with Russia is essential for maintaining a balance in our foreign policy and preserving our strategic autonomy.

Our aspiration to be a leading power requires both.

The writer is a former Foreign Secretary.
Providing a major boost to the capabilities of the Navy and Coast Guard, Narendra Modi has cleared a proposal worth about Rs 8,000 crore for acquiring 32 made in India ALH Dhruv helicopters to be built by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The plans for coastal and maritime security were cleared in a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by the Prime Minister, Defence Ministry sources told Mail Today.

Of the 32 choppers to be built by the HAL, 16 each would be shared by the two services, they said.

Narendra Modi has cleared a proposal worth about Rs 8,000 crore for acquiring 32 made in India ALH Dhruv helicopters

'The project will be under the make in India programme being spearheaded by the Prime Minister himself and state-owned HAL would not only provide the helicopters but also develop the infrastructure for operations of these helicopters in both the services,' the sources said.

Incidentally, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) clearance for the project had also come in 2014 when Arun Jaitley was given the charge of Defence Ministry for the first time and the final approval has also come at a time when he is holding the office after Manohar Parrikar's departure to Goa.

At the moment, the Indian Navy has deployed its fleet of the ALH Dhruv helicopters in Kochi at its base INS Garuda but has now plans HAL to develop base for operations of 32 choppers of deploying the fresh fleet at different bases across the coast line.

The choppers will provide a boost to India's maritime security, helping it to meet some operational gaps

The Coast Guard has these twin-engine helicopters at its different bases for carrying out search and rescue and coastal surveillance missions.

'The Navy is also planning to equip the choppers with some low frequency SONARs which would be developed by the force with the help of an advanced DRDO laboratory,' the sources said.

After the signing of the contract, the forces are scheduled to get their first machine in the year 2020 and the last helicopter is scheduled to be provided to them by 2022, the sources said.

The ALH is being employed for a variety of missions including advanced search and rescue, special heli-borne, armed patrol, VVIP ferrying and transport operations by the Navy.

The 16 helicopters being provided to the Navy would help it in meeting some of the operational gaps created due to the lack of new helicopters as projects have either been retracted or are stuck at different levels.

The Navy requires over 145 multirole helicopters (MRHs) with antisubmarine warfare capabilities, without which its warships are virtually defenceless against enemy submarines, and 110 twin-engine naval light utility helicopters (NUHs) to replace obsolete single engine Chetaks.

India is one of the largest importers of arms and military platforms globally.

The government has been focusing significantly on promoting defence indigenisation by taking a slew of reform initiatives including liberalising FDI in defence sector
The knife wounds on her neck were leaking blood and had started to rot when 27-year-old Hitesh Devi was brought to the emergency room at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital.

But the Aligarh resident could not narrate the trauma she had endured, as she had lost her voice and was struggling to breathe.

Hitesh was stabbed multiple times on her neck with a sharp object - allegedly by a jilted lover - and had suffered severe cuts in the thyroid cartilage while the vocal chords had been damaged, which could have been fatal or left her mute for life.

Dr Abhay Kumar Singh with Hitesh Devi, 27, who didn't think she would survive - let alone speak - after the ordeal

Time was running out fast and it took 12 hours for her to get to Delhi, diminishing chances of survival. She had earlier been taken to a hospital in Uttar Pradesh.

'Without delaying it any further a thorough assessment reperfusion (reoxygenation) and resuscitation was done. We anticipated huge blood loss; therefore blood was arranged for transfusion and the patient was taken to operation theatre,' Dr Abhay Kumar Singh, senior ENT surgeon at Safdarjung Hospital, told Mail Today.

Doctors claimed the government tertiary care hospital in Aligarh put an airway tube in the patient's windpipe without identifying the damaged neck vessels and, because of lack of expertise and severity of condition, the woman was referred to Safdarjung Hospital.

The victim was able to speak again after a grueling five-hour-long operation (photo for representation only)

'Somebody had stabbed me multiple times over the neck from behind,' Hitesh told Mail Today. 'I was unconscious when I reached Safdarjung Hospital. I thought I was dead, but today I can even speak.'

A five-hour-long challenging surgical intervention by ENT experts finally bore fruit.

'The main crux was to repair the cut thyroid cartilage without further damaging the vocal cords,' said Dr Singh, terming it a penetrating zone II neck trauma.

'It took at least five hours where a thorough step by step, layer by layer repair of identified structure was done, all the bleeding vessels were successfully ligated (tied up) and further blood loss prevented, base of tongue mucosa carefully stitched up.'

The patient was kept under close observation following the surgery.

'Her stitches were removed after a week and a video visualistaion of vocal cords and downward windpipe revealed absolutely moving cords and a patent lumen (channel),' said Dr Namrata, another ENT surgeon at Safadarjung Hospital.

'The patient's tracheostomy (a procedure used to create an opening in the neck to bypass an obstructed airway to more easily deliver oxygen to the lungs) was removed and she restored the normal breathing mechanism. Now she is able to eat, breathe and speak without difficulty,' he added.
Road tax is being ramped up by hundreds of pounds for new car purchases from next month. The Mail on Sunday looks at the hike and explores ways to fight back by lowering other motoring costs.

The Government is raising vehicle excise duty that motorists must pay on new cars from April 1

UNDERSTAND COMPLEX NEW ROAD TAX

When the tax disc was scrapped three years ago, the amount of money pocketed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency fell by 93million as drivers began to dodge the tax.

To help make up the shortfall, the Government is raising vehicle excise duty  known as road tax  that motorists must pay on new cars from April 1. For all new vehicles there is a one-off, first-year vehicle excise duty based on the carbon dioxide the exhaust pumps out  calculated on the number of grams of carbon dioxide produced per kilometre of travel.

Those with a pure electric car emit no carbon dioxide so have no first-year emission tax to pay. But owners of Britains best-selling Ford Fiesta car, which emits 104 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre, are liable to a 140 first-year bill. Those that cough out 255 or more grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre, such as an Aston Martin DB9, get a one-off first year bill of 2,000.

But on top of this, if you buy a brand new petrol or diesel car that costs less than 40,000 from this April, you then also pay a flat rate of 140 a year from the second year. Hybrid vehicles that also run on alternative fuel such as electricity, liquid petroleum gas or hydrogen, will be charged a flat rate of 130 a year from year two.

Motors that emit no carbon dioxide, like electrics, pay nothing.

Buy an expensive vehicle and you are hit with a further premium tax bill. A car with a list price of 40,000 or more  regardless of whether it billows out lots of smoke or not  will be liable to a further 310-a-year surcharge as a premium for five years following the first 12 months of ownership.

It means that even owners of an expensive new all-electric car will be hit with a bill. Drive a top-priced gas-guzzler and you will get a double whammy of the standard 140 a year plus a further 310 from year two until year six  so be forced to pay a total of 450 a year.

Saving: Holly Wedgwood pays no road tax after converting her car to LPG

Older cars are still liable for the same rate of road tax based on emissions as before  at rates that are usually cheaper than the new flat rates introduced. For example, owners of older green vehicles releasing up to 100 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre into the atmosphere will continue to pay nothing.

Among them is actress Holly Wedgwood, 21. She pays no road tax on her Kia Rio car as it kicks out less than 100 grams per kilogram of carbon dioxide  having been converted to also run on liquid petroleum gas.

The conversion cost her 1,500 two years ago, but it saves 100 a month on her fuel bill, so has already paid for itself. Holly says: It cuts the cost of driving in half as gas is cheaper than petrol. I use petrol for turning on the engine and flick a switch for gas power to take over. The gas has a separate tank and I refuel when I see an autogas logo.

The cost for a Ford Fiesta emitting 104 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre bought before April is 20 a year  120 less than the new rate.

Owners of old planet polluters that emit more than 255 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre continue to pay 515 a year. Cars built before 1976 avoid road tax as historic vehicles.

I pay 140 a year to insure my MGB thanks to being in the owners club SAVE MONEY ON YOUR CAR INSURANCE Car insurance rose by an average of 95 last year to a typical 750 for fully comprehensive cover, according to comparison website Confused.com. Worst hit are new 17-year-old drivers, who can pay more than 2,000 for full cover, but even older drivers in their 60s are now paying an average of 450. Value: Linda Turner with her MGB GT A telematics box  a high-tech satellite device that monitors your driving  can slash premiums by 20 per cent. It sits unseen under the dashboard and is often provided and fitted for free. But although it will not inform the police if you break the national speed limit, it can ramp up your premiums if it does not like the way that you drive. Insurers offering black box cover include insurethebox, More Than, Hastings Direct SmartMiles, Sheilas Wheels, WiseDriving and the AA. Specialist motor club memberships can drive down the cost of insurance by about 15 per cent  as they have the bargaining power of a group. Linda Turner, 60, from Royston in Hertfordshire, pays 140 a year for fully comprehensive cover with Lancaster Insurance for her 1979 MGB GT worth 16,000. She says: I get 10 per cent off as a member of The MG Owners Club. Being a club member I also get a professional valuation. This is essential as otherwise the insurer might not give its true worth if the motor was involved in an accident. I have spent thousands on modern conversions, such as electric windows. Proving you are a good driver can also beat down premiums. You can knock more than 100 a year off cover by taking an advanced driving course. Motorists can take a six-hour practical course to improve skills from an approved driving instructor within 12 months of passing a driving exam, paying a total of 150 for a Pass Plus test. The Institute of Advanced Motorists also offers an advanced driving course for 149 recognised by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency for anyone who has passed their test. It is also worth scouring the market to see if you can get a cheaper deal. Comparison websites such as Comparethemarket can do much of the legwork. Fully comprehensive insurance usually works out best value  offering cover against damage to both your vehicle and any other involved in a crash.

HAGGLE BEFORE BUYING A NEW CAR

It is not only road tax that will hit buyers of new cars  the cost of Brexit has raised the price of vehicles by an average of 5 per cent in the last year.

This is because the value of the pound fell following the decision to quit Europe. This has led to a higher cost for importing cars and of raw materials used for manufacture  even when made in Britain. But by mastering the art of haggling, you might be able to knock 10 per cent or more off the list price.

You can check out the cheapest prices on offer using websites such as What Car? This service not only offers vehicle reviews but also a so-called target price to pay. You should be able to beat the advertised list price that is the full cost of a car.

Already discounted cars are worth targeting  and at this time of year there may be a glut of vehicles that sales staff are struggling to shift after an initial rush for March registration plates. But on top of this, look for extras to be thrown in to seal the deal, such as trim, upgraded stereos or sat-navs.

If you are intimidated by the prospect of being talked into a sale, take along a charming but tough negotiating friend or family member for the haggle. After initial sales talks, walk away without shaking hands and visit a competitor. It forces the seller to do the chasing. Playing one dealership off against another can also strengthen your hand.

The face-to-face appeal of a local trader is not to be underestimated, but online brokers such as Carfile, DriveTheDeal and Broadspeed are also worth looking at as they might undercut prices.

If you are getting rid of your old car at the same time, you usually get more money by selling it privately  using websites such as Autotrader and PistonHeads  than in a part-exchange at the garage.

PAY FOR A SECOND-HAND INSPECTION

When you consider that a brand new motor costing 20,000 depreciates the moment it is driven off the forecourt  and might be worth just 12,000 after only one year  buying second-hand can make sense.

As buying an older vehicle is fraught with danger for those who are not a car expert, it is worth paying a professional to check a prospective purchase.

Local garages will often offer their assistance for a private sale and charge between 100 and 250 for a full check of a motor.

You can also pay motoring organisations such as the RAC or AA for an inspection, which will charge a similar fee. Checks to be made include a thorough look at the bodywork, including signs of any crash damage repair, oil and engine leaks, electrics and that the mileage is genuine using tell-tale signs of wear.

Take it for a spin to make sure the gearbox, brakes, steering and handling all feel good. Listen out for knocking noises from the engine as this could mean a repair bill of hundreds of pounds.

It is also important to check the paperwork. This includes reading the V5C registration certificate. Ask for details of previous owners and any work done on the car. Ensure the person selling is the one named. You can contact the DVLA on 0300 790 6802 to check that the colour of the car, engine size and registration all match up if you are concerned.

Ideally, you will also have a service history with copies of receipts for maintenance work. Make sure to check the current MOT certificate and any advisory note, such as if the tyres are getting worn.

If you have a specific model of car in mind, then websites such as Parkers can provide a guide on prices. It even has a free car valuation by number plate facility to give you a rough idea if you have a specific car in mind. Buying blind off an auction website such as eBay is a gamble. You expect to pay more with a dealership but if it includes a guarantee against faults for the first few months it is excellent value.

Purchasing through a dealership should also give you protection under The Consumer Rights Act 2015 that what you purchased was as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose.

You have 30 days after purchase to make a claim for a refund and after this period you can ask for a repair if it can be proved the fault was there when it was bought  and you should make the claim of fault within six months.
Priceless antiquities in war-torn Syria will be protected from being looted to fund ISIS atrocities thanks to a special invisible liquid invented by two British brothers.

Millions of pounds worth of coins, pottery, statues and other objects have been plundered from sites in Syria in recent years, including from the world-famous Roman ruins at Palmyra.

A large chunk of the proceeds has gone to ISIS, which has been heavily involved in dealings in blood antiques as a way of financing its monstrous campaign of terror.

SmartWater is applied to part of a hoard of objects recovered from the archaeological site of Apamea

Now that tainted trade is being thwarted as items are being painted with SmartWater, an anti-theft solution developed by Liverpudlians Phil Cleary, 63, and his brother Mike, 69.

It is a clear, odourless liquid, primed with special chemicals, that can be painted on to an object, or sprayed onto a person. Invisible to the naked eye, it shows up vividly under UV light.

This means that antique dealers in the west will no longer be able to claim ignorance about the provenance of objects from Syria, as the invisible ink will clearly reveal their origins.

The special secret ingredients are designed to give each bottle of SmartWater a signature that reveals when and where items were marked with it.

Two brothers: Phil Cleary, (left) 63, and Mike, (right) 69

Phil and Mikes firm, which like their product is called SmartWater, already protects valuables in the UK, including in 440,000 homes in London through a contract with the Metropolitan Police signed in 2015.

The pair have now adapted the recipe of their water so it does not damage potentially priceless artefacts and are supplying it to a team of Syrians determined to protect their countrys cultural heritage.

The Syrian team is made up mainly of archeologists and is led by Dr Amr Al-Azm, a Syrian-born academic who was educated in Britain at University College London.

He is currently professor of Middle East history at the University of Shawnee State, Ohio, in the US and in 2014 set up an organization to protect Syrias cultural heritage called The Day After  Heritage Protection Initiative.

Dr Al-Azms team, some of whom are his former colleagues and students, take small vials of liquid and daub it on to artefacts such as Roman coins, mosaics, cuneiform tablets and glassware with a brush or a spray.

A historic mosaic from the UNESCO World Heritage designated site of the Dead Cities is now protected by SmartWater

The first shipments of SmartWater started going into Syria earlier this year and are currently being used in opposition-held territory controlled by opponents of President Assad, though the plan is to start using it also in ISIS-held areas. That will be much more difficult and dangerous, says Dr Al Azm.

He believes that some of the artefacts being tagged with SmartWater in museums in Syria now were looted from ISIS-held areas.

Many objects stolen from Syria have already found their way into Western markets, including in London. As many antiquities could in theory have come from anywhere across the vast former Roman empire, dealers have been able to claim they did not know where the artefacts came from.

If they have been marked with SmartWater, however, simply shining a UV light will reveal whether the object came from Syria and how recently it left the country.

Part of a Burial Tomb recovered from the UNESCO World Heritage designated of the Dead Cities, now protected by SmartWater

Once they are marked, if they ever show up on the market I can prove that this piece of stone or pottery came from Syria and when it was taken, says Dr Al Azm.

His team are working openly in museums in opposition-held territory. They also meet looters and attend auctions of stolen goods where they surreptitiously mark objects with the potion.

ISIS was at one point the worlds richest terror group but experts believe its finances are dwindling as it cannot raise so much in taxes from conquered regions because it is losing ground.

It is clear that the Islamic States business model is failing, said Peter Neumann of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at London University.

In a recent report with accountancy firm EY, the ICSR found that ISISs revenues have fallen by about 50 per cent over the past two years to just under 700m in 2016. Looting was 52 per cent of revenue in 2014 but had fallen to 20 per cent a year later.

Archeological sites were being ransacked before ISIS, mainly by locals desperate to feed their families.

However, ISIS built a bureaucracy around the ad-hoc thievery. Jihadis set up a department of antiquities that issued licences to looters, punishing people who went rifling for antiques without a permit. The warlords also imposed a 20 percent tax on any item sold.

One prominent antiquarian scholar, Khalid Al-Asaad, 82, was publicly beheaded for refusing to disclose the location of the hidden treasures of Palmyra, and at one stage, the revenues from the antiquities trade certainly appeared significant.

Investigations suggested it was generating millions of pounds, with some artefacts even allegedly being sold on eBay.

It is not clear how much money from the illicit trade went into ISIS coffers, and experts believe selling antiquities has diminished as a source of revenue.

Nobody knows how much ISIS were making out of antiquities, says Dr Al-Azm. What I can tell you is that there are a lot of goods and some are extremely valuable, in the tens of thousands of dollars.

For ISIS, our priceless cultural heritage is an exploitable resource. Their view is: loot what you can sell and destroy for propaganda what you cannot.

Until the Syrian project, SmartWater Technologies has concentrated on more conventional crime-busting. The firm was set up in 1993 by Phil, a former police officer.

He says the genius behind the firm is his brother Mike, who is now retired. He is a chartered chemist and he did the development of the water in his garage at home. I was just a police officer, a bog standard detective, frustrated at the number of burglaries and the fences who handle stolen goods.

A hoard of objects recovered from the archaeological site of Apamea and other historic sites at risk from theft

In this country, SmartWater is being used in police stings, such as the case of a green-handed thief in 2015, who tried to break into a vehicle in North London that had been booby-trapped by the police.

The car had been fitted with a device that sprayed him with a mist of the invisible ink, turning his face a vivid green under UV light.

The liquid is also being used to try to track the spread of malaria. Mosquitos are fed a mix of sugar and SmartWater, then, says Phil: Scientists follow trails of mosquito poo with UV light to see where they are going.

Back in Syria, saving antiquities might not seem the highest priority set against the brutality of ISIS and the loss of life in the war-ravaged country.

But, as Dr Al-Azm says: Syria is a country that is ruptured in every possible way. One day this war will end and when it does, people will have to look for the common links that hold them together.

I hope Syrians will be able to rally round their rich history and heritage. It could be all that remains of the glue that once bound a society together. This is not just about the saving the past but about saving the future too.
A leader of a hardline Islamist group which campaigns for sharia law says Muslims who leave the religion should be put to death.

Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar was frank when asked about the group's policy at a forum in Bankstown, in Sydney's south-west, on Saturday night.

'The ruling for apostates as such in Islam is clear, that apostates attract capital punishment and we don't shy away from that,' Badar said in the presence of children. An apostate is someone who decides to leave Islam.

His extraordinary admission was exclusively captured on camera by Daily Mail Australia and the matter has now been referred to the Australian Federal Police by Justice Minister Michael Keenan.

Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar confirmed his group supports killing apostates

Freelance journalist Alison Bevege holds up section 7c of Hizb ut-Tahrir's constitution

Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia removed references to that apostasy policy from its website as Alison Bevege, a freelance journalist, sued the group for making her to sit in a women's-only section at a separate talk in October 2014.

On Saturday night, Ms Bevege held up a printed copy of Hizb ut-Tahrir's draft constitution of the khilafah state published on the UK site, which was on the group's Australian website until 2015.

This outlines their vision for a global Islamic caliphate, which has Muslims and non-Muslims living under sharia law.

She asked about their policy of killing people born as Muslims who leave the faith.

WHO ARE HIZB UT-TAHRIR? Hizb-ut Tahrir is a hardline Islamist group which seeks the establishment of a global caliphate, or empire. The extremist group is said to reject democracy, secularism and all Western models of state. Former prime minister Tony Abbott called for the group to be shut down in 2014, but the ban was never put in place. A spokeswoman for Justice Michael Keenan told Daily Mail Australia the 'execution' matter had been referred to the Federal Police. The organisation is banned in a number of Muslim-majority countries. Advertisement

Article 7c of the document said: 'Those who are guilty of apostasy (murtadd) from Islam are to be executed according to the rule of apostasy, provided they have by themselves renounced Islam.'

Badar initially responded by saying the policy wasn't on its website before explaining how the group's apostasy policy was compatible with Islam.

'The whole thing covers different aspects of Islamic sharia law,' he said.

'The role of apostasy in Islam is very clear. Again, this is one of the things the West doesnt like and seeks to change the role of apostasy.'

A spokeswoman for Justice Minister Michael Keenan condemned language that incites or advocates violence.

'Language that incites or advocates violence is not freedom of speech,' the spokeswoman said.

'This matter has been referred to the AFP.'

Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar's remarks came as he delivered the keynote lecture for the forum - 'Sharia and the modern age'

Alison Bevege (pictured) confronted Uthman Badar at the forum, which was advertised by Hizb ut-Tahrir

Badar's remarks came after he delivered the keynote lecture for the forum, which was called 'Sharia and the modern age'.

He said Islam was incompatible with a secular separation of religion and state, democracy, individual rights and even the process of science, which he called 'scientism'.

He compared calls to fit Islam within a secular society to domesticating a wild animal, putting Hizb ut-Tahrir at odds with secular Muslims who reject sharia law.

'The West seeks to domesticate Islam, to control, to bring within, the way you domesticate animals,' he said.

Badar described calls to reform Islam from secular Muslims as 'pernicious', 'insidious' and 'dangerous' and called for radical change.

'Always when you hear these sorts of calls, alarm bells should ring,' he said.

'The Islam people are calling for fits very well within modernity. Theyre giving in to the pressure to conform.'

Uthman Badar addressing a rally at Lakemba in Sydney's southwest in December last year

Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesmen Wassim Doureihi (left) and Uthman Badar (right) in February 2015

About 100 people were at the publicly-advertised lecture with men making up about two-thirds of the audience.

Women were segregated from the men on the left-hand side of the room, apart from Ms Bevege who stood at the back.

Following the lecture, a group of men followed Daily Mail Australia to a parked car.

One older man bizarrely demanded to know if men and women had equality in Australia.

Shakil Ahmed, pictured, attended the talk and said it was depressing to hear Hizb ut-Tahrir voice their support for killing ex-Muslims in Australia

An ex-Muslim from Bangladesh, Shakil Ahmed, attended the talk and later described his disgust with Hizb ut-Tahrir and Islamists, which orchestrated marches in his home country in 2013.

Islamists staged marches in the capital Dhaka after the murder of gay rights activists and atheist bloggers.

'Their primary demand was the death of apostates and blasphemers,' Mr Ahmed, 20, told Daily Mail Australia.

He said it was depressing to hear Hizb ut-Tahrir voice their support for the killing of ex-Muslims in Australia.

'What I felt instinctively is that the reason I left my country was so that I could escape from the exact same people that I found in that room,' he said.

As an ex-Muslim atheist in Bangladesh, he was discreet about his beliefs.

'Apart from a close circle of family and friends, we don't integrate with others as we don't know how they would react to our views,' he said.

Another Bangladeshi student Shubhajit Bhowmik also attended the lecture.

The Hindu blogger was on the same death list as atheist blogger Avajit Roy when he got hacked to death in 2015 in Dhaka for promoting secularism.

Farabi Shafiur Rahman, an extremist blogger and member of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh was arrested in connection with Roy's murder.

'Once you escape from death, then you will hardly find things that will scare you,' Mr Bhowmik told Daily Mail Australia about seeing Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia leaders in the flesh.

Hizb ut-Tahrir supporters in Bangladesh have been known to target ex-Muslims and atheists

Hizb ut-Tahrir has been banned in Bangladesh since 2009 but this didn't stop them demonstrating in the capital Dhaka in late 2013

Another Islamist group of religious madrassah teachers, Hefazat e Islam, circulated hit lists of Bangladesh and emerged after Hizb ut-Tahrir was banned in 2009.

Like Hizb ut-Tahrir, they have campaigned in Bangladesh to dismantle parliamentary democracy, scrap aspects of the constitution that contradict sharia law and wind back women's rights.

The latest revelation about Hizb ut-Tahrir in Australia comes as Islamists in Pakistan take to social media to demand the killing of atheist blogger Ayaz Nizami.

He and two others were charged with blasphemy this week by a court in Islamabad and face the death penalty.

Hizb ut-Tahrir operates in 40 nations, including Australia and the United Kingdom, but is banned in Bangladesh along with other Muslim and Muslim-majority nations including Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.
Belarus authorities detained hundreds of people during an attempt to hold a street protest in the capital Minsk over a 'social parasites' tax.

It comes amid rising public anger over falling living standards and an unpopular tax on the unemployed.

Protesters shouting slogans and waving signs were taken away, many of them beaten, along with a passersby and at least 10 journalists.

Hundreds of police were deployed to block off access points to the square where the protests were due to take place. Nearby metro stations were closed and three water cannons kept on standby.

The trigger for the unrest was a tax on citizens working fewer than 183 days a year, locally known as a law against 'social parasites'. Belarussians said the tax unfairly punished those unable to find work.

Belarus authorities detained hundreds of people during an attempt to hold a street protest in the capital Minsk over a 'social parasites' tax

Police earlier also raided the offices of Vesna-96, an opposition group, and detained about 60 activists, although they were later released, Vesna-96 said.

Saturday's demonstration is the latest in a wave of protests since February that pose the biggest challenge in years to President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state with an iron fist for nearly a quarter of a century.

Belarus has been in recession for the past two years, suffering the knock-on effects of an economic downturn in Russia and a sharp fall in oil prices. The hardship has brought even former Lukashenko supporters onto the streets.

'I voted for him (Lukashenko) but now I tell Lukashenko -- leave,' said protester Lubov Sankevich, 66.

The unrest comes amid rising public anger over falling living standards and an unpopular tax on the unemployed

'I'm afraid but how long we can be afraid? Why should I be afraid of prison if I'm already in prison?'

Lukashenko has suspended the tax in light of the backlash but the protests have continued.

Saturday's crackdown was the culmination of the Belarussian authorities hardening their position on the protests.

Lukashenko earlier this week accused a 'fifth column' of plotting to overthrow him with the help of foreign-backed fighters. On Friday he built on this theme, saying 'someone wants to blow up the situation, and they use our scumbags'.

It is unclear as yet how the crackdown on the protests will affect relations with Belarus's neighbours. Lukashenko has sought to improve ties with the West against the backdrop of cooling relations with ex-Soviet master Russia.

He has pardoned several political prisoners, spurring the European Union to lift sanctions against a country once described by the United States as 'Europe's last dictatorship'
A 72-year-old man jailed for incest after raping his daughter in the 1970s has had his bid to slash his 18-year prison sentence rejected.

The British man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, repeatedly sexually abused his daughter from the age of 10 and put her on the contraceptive pill at 13 so she would not become pregnant.

The girl, who is now aged in her 50s, was first raped by her father when they went on a family holiday in the early 1970s.

The abuse took place when the family was living south of Sydney. The father was in his 30s at the time of the offences.

He told his daughter she would never see her brother again if she told anyone about the abuse.

The British man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, repeatedly sexually abused his daughter from the tender age of 10 (stock image)

After undertaking sex education classes at school, the girl, then 12, asked her father why he was having sex with her when he was only supposed to sleep with her mother.

The father responded: 'The school has taught you wrong. I love you and that's the reason that I do it.'

The girl was 14 years old when she told her friend about the abuse in the 1970s. Her mother filed for divorce after she was told about the rapes.

But the abuse was not reported to police until 2010. The man was extradited from England in June 2013.

He was sentenced to 18 years behind bars in October 2014 after pleading guilty to five counts of rape and one count of buggery.

Wollongong District Court Judge Paul Conlon, who set a non-parole period of nine years, said it was 'possible' the offender could die in jail given his age and significant health problems, including dementia, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The man's lawyers appealed the sentence in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal last year, arguing Judge Conlon did not take the man's health conditions into consideration.

However, Court of Criminal Appeal justices Margaret Beazley, Robert Allan Hulme and Geoffrey Bellew rejected the appeal last week after finding Judge Conlon made no error.

He was sentenced to 18 years behind bars in October 2014 after he pleaded guilty to five counts of rape and one count of buggery

The father put her on the contraceptive pill at 13 so she wouldn't fall pregnant (stock image)

They rejected his claim that the sentence was 'manifestly excessive,' saying the offending was 'ongoing and extremely serious'.

'In this case there was regular child sexual abuse of an extremely serious kind by a father towards his natural daughter when she was aged from 10 until 13,' the judges said.

'[He] appears to have had a sense of entitlement to the serious criminal mistreatment of his daughter.

'Most of the offending occurred in the family home where the child was subject to the power and authority of her tormentor.

'She had no effective choice but to submit to the sexual deprivations of a person who should have been her protector.'

Clinical psychologist Laura Durkin, who interviewed the man, said he had tried to shift blame for the abuse to his daughter for what he alleged was her 'promiscuity'.

He reportedly told Ms Durkin: 'it's not rape, it's incest and most of the time she consented'.

The man will be eligible for parole on February 22, 2022.
Michael Bloomberg criticized Republicans and Democrats for the health care bill failure

Michael Bloomberg has some harsh words for President Trump and the GOP after the failure to repeal Obamacare last week.

The former New York City mayor scolded Democrats for 'gloating' and Republicans for 'sulking.'

In his op ed for Bloomberg on Sunday, the businessman criticized the blame passed around on both sides of the aisle.

Bloomberg didn't hold back, saying: 'After the bill collapsed on Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump accused the Democrats of obstruction, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer accused the president of incompetence, Speaker Paul Ryan said health care was done, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi bragged that it was a great day. No one had the courage to pick up the pieces and point the way forward.'

Bloomberg encouraged Republicans to not move on from this issue.

On Saturday President Trump tweeted, alleging that Obamacare would collapse and then healthcare would be addressed again saying: 'Obamacare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry!'

Next step - blame them: Trump turned his fire on the Democrats as his own flagship plan ended in humiliating defeat

Mocking and triumphant: Senate Minority Leader chuck Schumer said Trump's 'incompetence and broken promises' were to blame

In his scathing opinion piece, Bloomberg questioned why the Republicans didn't address issues such as high-risk insurance pools and capping the tax exclusion that companies get when they providing health insurance to employees.

Bloomberg did not let Paul Ryan off the hook, saying: 'The sooner Ryan accepts the fact that Democrats can be a cudgel to use against the Freedom Caucus, the more successful he and Congress will be.'

The businessman denounced the Democrats for mocking the failure for the majority GOP house to secure enough votes to pass the bill.

Chuck Schumer openly lampooned Trump for failing to make the entire House Republican Conference fall in line.

Reince Priebus said the Republicans needed to 'tart governing' on Fox News Sunday

'The TrumpCare bill failed because of two traits that have plagued the Trump presidency since he took office: incompetence and broken promises. In my life, I have never seen an administration as incompetent as the one occupying the White House today,' he said.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus criticized the GOP and Democrats in similar words after Bloomberg's editorial was published.

Priebus told Fox News Sunday: 'At the end of the day, its time for the party to start governing.'

'I also think though, that Democrats can come to the table as well.'

Priebus pointed out that the president was interested into working with moderate Democrats to craft a bi-partisan plan.
Theresa May will today pledge to use Brexit to strengthen the United Kingdom and create a 'more united nation'.

On a visit to Scotland, Mrs May will hold face to face talks with Nicola Sturgeon in which she will reject the Scottish First Minister's demand for a second independence referendum before Britain leaves the EU.

Ahead of triggering Article 50 on Wednesday and the start of Brexit negotiations, Mrs May will pledge to 'never allow our Union to become looser and weaker, or our people to drift apart.'

The Prime Minister has pledged to use Brexit to strengthen the United Kingdom and cultivate 'a more united nation' despite Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wanting a second independence referendum before Britain is allowed to leave the European Union

In a speech to civil servants at the Department for International Development in East Kilbride Mrs May will say: 'We stand on the threshold of a significant moment for Britain as we begin the negotiations that will lead us towards a new partnership with Europe.

'And I want to make it absolutely clear as we move through this process that this is not  in any sense  the moment that Britain steps back from the world.

'Indeed, we are going to take this opportunity to forge a more Global Britain. The closest friend and ally with Europe, but also a country that looks beyond Europe to build relationships with old friends and new allies alike.

'That is why the Plan for Britain I have set-out  a plan to get the right deal for Britain abroad as well as a better deal for ordinary, working people at home  has as its heart one over-arching goal: to build a more united nation. Because I believe when we work together, there is no limit to what we can do.'

Ahead of triggering Article 50 on Wednesday and the start of Brexit negotiations, Mrs May will pledge to 'never allow our Union to become looser and weaker, or our people to drift apart.'

Mrs May will also hint that Brexit could mean more powers being passed to devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

'A more united nation means working actively to bring people and communities together by promoting policies which support integration and social cohesion.

'In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that means fully respecting, and indeed strengthening, the devolution settlements. But never allowing our Union to become looser and weaker, or our people to drift apart.

'So in those policy areas where the UK Government holds responsibility, I am determined that we will put the interests of the Union  both the parts and the whole  at the heart of our decision-making.

'So as Britain leaves the European Union, and we forge a new role for ourselves in the world, the strength and stability of our Union will become even more important.'

On Wednesday Mrs May will formally write to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Commission, triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. That means that on or before March 29 2019 Britain will formally leave the EU.

On Thursday ministers will publish the Great Repeal Bill, which will formally repeal the 1972 European Communities Act and transfer reams of existing EU law onto the domestic statute book.

Last night the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned there was a 'distinct possibility' that Britain would leave the EU without a deal, an outcome which would 'undoubtedly' leave the country worse off.

Writing in the Financial Times, he said: 'It goes without saying that a no-deal scenario, while a distinct possibility, would have severe consequences for our people and our economies. It would undoubtedly leave the UK worse off.

'Severe disruption to air transport and long queues at the Channel port of Dover are just some of the many examples of the negative consequences of failing to reach a deal. Others include the disruption of supply chains, including the suspension of the delivery of nuclear material to the UK.

Two weeks ago Miss Sturgeon demanded the power to hold a referendum between Autumn 2018 and Spring 2019  but Mrs May said 'now is not the time' for another 'divisive' poll. The PM will repeat her stance in talks if Miss Sturgeon raises the issue again, sources said.

Yesterday the government announced it would use so-called 'Henry VIII' powers  which bypass Parliament  to change European Union laws as they are repatriated and allowing them to be altered or removed after Brexit.

On Wednesday Mrs May will formally write to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Commission, triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. That means that on or before March 29 2019 Britain will formally leave the EU

In a report today a think tank argues Mrs May shouldn't try and stay 'half-in, half-out' of the EU customs union and instead pursue a clean break  allowing it to negotiate trade deals around the world after Brexit.

Open Europe's policy analyst, Aarti Shankar, said: 'We have looked at the evidence and at international examples, and conclude that leaving the EU's customs union is the right decision for the UK.

'If the UK remained in the customs union after Brexit, it would not be able to meet the Government's ambition of conducting an independent trade policy and achieving a truly 'global Britain'.

EU migrants in Britain 'will keep child benefit rights after we quit'

EU migrants living in Britain will continue to receive child benefit even after Britain leaves the Brussels bloc, leaked proposal indicated yesterday

EU migrants living in Britain will continue to receive child benefit even after Britain leaves the Brussels bloc, it was claimed yesterday.

Leaked proposals drawn up by the Brexit department would allow all of the estimated three million EU migrants currently living here to keep their benefit rights.

Cabinet ministers have been warned the move may be required to ensure British pensioners living in Spain and other countries keep their health and pension rights.

But the plan risks stoking another row about commitments made in the 2015 Conservative manifesto. That document said the Government would insist that all EU migrants contributed to UK coffers for four years before they could receive benefits.

The issue has been controversial because many EU migrants have claimed child benefit here for children living abroad. Ministers asked EU leaders to settle the issue ahead of negotiations but were rebuffed.

A senior Government source told the Sunday Times: The recommendation ... is that as a priority we need to secure rights for UK citizens in the EU. The recommendation is that the EU migrants who are already here should continue to have their rights, which includes being able to export child benefit.

Last night officials refused to comment on the leaked papers. The vast majority of EU nationals living in the UK currently have been here for four years or more so would still qualify for benefits.

The Conservative manifesto said: We will insist that EU migrants who want to claim tax credits and child benefit must live here and contribute to our country for a minimum of four years. This will reduce the financial incentive for lower-paid, lower-skilled workers to come to Britain.
Reince Priebus, Donald Trump's embattled Chief of Staff, was pressed by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace on Sunday over his boss's claim that Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign.

Wallace asked Priebus if Trump was ready to apologize for his accusations against the former president.

'No. And I don't accept it,' Priebus said.

President Donald Trumps Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was interviewed on Fox News Sunday

Anchor Chris Wallace (pictured) grilled Priebus over Trump's wiretap claims

It has been two weeks since Trump tweeted that Obama wiretapped his namesake tower - and the president stands by his claims, despite intelligence officials reporting otherwise.

In a dramatic flurry, Preibus held up an enlarged New York Times headline from January 19 as proof that intelligence officials may have collected information on members of President Trump's transition team.

'The fact is reports have come out for many, many months now that people on the Trump campaign transition team were surveillanced by, potentially, some intelligence group,' Priebus said.

'Whether they were intentionally swept up, whether their names were unmasked - Chris, you don't know the answer to that question, and I don't either,' he added.

Priebus held up an enlarged New York Times headline as proof that intelligence officials may have collected information on members of President Trump's transition team

Priebus was emphatic that the Obama administration leaked intelligence information that has damaged President Trump's reputation.

'There are leaks out there that are injuring the president,' said Priebus. 'It's wrong and people should be prosecuted.'

When Wallace confronted Priebus about Republican intelligence committee chair Devin Nunes' decision to brief Trump officials on evidence they may have been surveilled, the chief of staff refused to give his opinion on the matter.

'I think we let the House committee do its job and see what they come up with,' said Priebus. 'And by the way: They're not going to come up with anything.'

President Trump made the accusation that the Obama administration had wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign earlier this month when he tweeted: 'Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!'

He continued the allegation against the former commander-in-chief in other tweets but offered no evidence.

FBI Director James Comey (pictured) testified Monday before Congress, where he said that he has 'no information' to back up President Trump's wiretap claims

House Intelligence Committee chair Devin Nunes (pictured) said Wednesday that the US government conducted surveillance that produced 'incidental' intelligence on the transition team of President Donald Trump and maybe Trump himself

So far, the FBI has not produced evidence that Trump was spied on in any way.

FBI Director James Comey testified on Monday before Congress, where he said that he has 'no information' to back up President Trump's claims.

The public hearing was the first of several that the intelligence committees are expected to hold on Russia's interference in the election.

Trump's administration has been repeatedly trying to clean up his allegations, arguing that the quotes around the words "wires tapped in the presidents tweet suggested he didnt mean for the charge to be taken literally.

'There's a whole host of tactics that can be used to monitor somebody, either wiretap or other ways that you can surveil somebody,' said Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer.

Trump made the announcement on Twitter (pictured) on Saturday, March 4. Obama's director of national intelligence has denied the claim

He claimed that Obama had personally requested a tap on Trump Tower but was "turned down by court"

Trump called his claim a "fact", even though he has not yet produced any evidence of a wiretap having been ordered

The president had previously said that he enjoyed Obama's company, but in these tweets he refers to the former commander-in-chief as "low", "bad" and "sick"

The FBI has not produced evidence that Obama (pictured) spied on Trump in any way

Trump's allegations have left him increasingly isolated, with fellow Republican as well as Democratic lawmakers saying they've seen nothing from intelligence agencies to support his claim.

But Trump, who rarely admits he's wrong, has been unmoved, leaving his advisers in the untenable position of defending the president without any credible evidence.

On Tuesday, Nunes, House Intelligence Committee chairman, briefed the White House about potential surveillance of Trump officials.

His claims are unsupported publicly by the intelligence and law enforcement communities.

Nunes said 'it's possible' that Trump's personal communications were among those which were part of the 'incidental' collection - but did not say definitively if that was the case.

Watch the latest video at <a href="http://video.foxnews.com">video.foxnews.com</a>

A day later, Nunes said that he still had not seen any evidence to support Trump's claim.

Nevertheless, the president told White House reporters that he feels 'somewhat' vindicated after hearing what Nunes had to say.

'I very much appreciated the fact that they found what they found. I somewhat do,' Trump said.

The surveillance would have occurred while Obama was still president. Nunes said he could not rule out the involvement of senior Obama administration officials.
The most fascinating relationship in the new FX series 'Feud' has not been that of longtime rivals turned costars Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, but rather the unlikely bond between Crawford and her maid, Mamacita.

Anna Marie Brinke came into Crawford's life in the summer of 1960 when the actress hired her to clean the Hamptons summer home that she had rented for herself and her 13-year-old twin daughters Cindy and Cathy.

That temporary two-month job eventually stretched into 14 years, with Mamacita making the move from Westhampton to Los Angeles to work for Crawford.

It was while in California that the two women grew closer, with Mamacita often the only employee working for Crawford in her household.

She returned home to Germany in 1974 however after she and Crawford got in their own feud according to Mamacita's grandson Mark, who told the moderator of a fan site dedicated to the actress that his grandmother was 'tired of things being thrown at her.'

That account is disputed in 'Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography' though, where it is written that Mamacita left for Germany over a family crisis prior to Crawford's death.

Scroll down for video

Frowning Fraulein: The close relationship between Joan Crawford and her longtime maid Mamacita is featured in the new FX series 'Feud' (Actress Jackie Hoffman above as Mamacita)

Kissing the ring: Crawford hired Mamacita in the summer of 1960 (Mamacita and Crawford above in undated photo) to work for two months cleaning her summer house in the Hamptons while she was on vacation

Crawford wrote about how she came to hire Mamacita in her 1971 lifestyle book, 'My Way of Life.'

'I think its time to explain that Mamacita isnt a Spanish girl. Shes a German lady who has raised nine children and has many grandchildren,' explained Crawford.

'I took a house in Westhampton nine or ten years ago a place to take the children for the summer. I had no one to help me and I didnt want to spend two months making beds and scrubbing bathrooms.'

Crawford said she got her neighbor on the phone, and spoke to her maid who said: I know someone for you, but I dont know whether you can put up with her. Shes never heard of a bucket and mop.

Crawford responded by asking: Handsies, kneesies?

When the maid confirmed that Crawford's description of the woman's cleaning style was accurate, the actress said: Bring her over tomorrow morning. Thats just my cup of tea. I never did think you could get into corners with any mop. Who is it?

The maid responded: My mother. Ill bring her.

Crawford went on to detail the first meeting between the two in her book, and how the nickname Mamacita came to be.

Paying tribute: Crawford wrote about Mamacita in her first book 'My Way of Life'

'The next morning I was on the phone when they arrived. I turned for a moment and said, "Start in my bedroom and have her work her way through the other bedrooms and then down here," and then I went back to the phone.

'When I hung up I wanted to call her to come quickly to take the dogs out but I realized that I hadnt asked her name. I had just returned from Rio de Janeiro, where all I had heard was mamacita, papacita, cousincita, everythingcita, so without thinking I called out, "Mamacita!"

'Back she cried, "Ya! Ich coming!" 'The name has stuck ever since. In all the countries we have traveled to together, in all languages, everyone calls her Mamacita.'

It is worth noting that the language spoken in Rio de Janeiro is Portuguese and not Spanish, meaning Crawford was incorrect to refer to her maid as a 'Spanish girl' based on her nickname.

Crawford was close to broke at the time she met and hire Mamacita due to the debts she incurred one year prior after the death of her fourth husband, Pepsi executive Alfred Steele.

To make matters worse, she had few job prospects in Hollywood, despite receiving an Oscar nomination for her work in 'Sudden Fear' eight years prior and rave reviews for her performance in the 1959 film 'The Best of Everything.'

Packing it in: The actress eventually took Mamacita (above in undated photo) with her to Los Angeles, where she worked for Crawford for the next 14 years before returning to Germany

Ladies who lace: Mamacita was a German immigrant who was born Anna Marie Brinke and had nine children plus 'many grandchildren' when she was hired by Crawford (Mamacita in background with Crawford in Venice in 1970)

Confidantes: Mamacita's grandson Mark told a Crawford fan site that Mamacita quit because she was 'tired of things being thrown at her' (Hoffman and Jessica Lange as Crawford above in 'Feud')

Crawford also wrote in her 1971 book that she and Mamacita had 'language problems' when they first began working together but it gave her 'the best lesson' in 'pantomime.'

'I had to act out everything I wanted her to do speaking slowly and distinctly about each action, each idea,' wrote Crawford.

She went on to state that Mamacita did not mind this writing: 'She'd watch my mouth carefully then watch my elaborate little scene. Finally a beautiful smile of comprehension would spread over her face and she'd say: "Oh, ya. Ya! Ich do!"'

And as the two grew closer, Mamacita would also be mistaken for Crawford's mother when they traveled together said the actress.

'I don't know what I'd do without Mamacita. No new situation ever flusters her. And new situations turn up every day.'

Meanwhile, some of the claims that have been made about Mamacita in the first few episodes of the series appear to be fiction.

There is no evidence to support the claim that the idea for 'Baby Jane' came from Crawford after she ordered Mamacita to go out and bring her books featuring older female characters.

The fourth episode of the series also closes with a questionable moment that details how Mamacita responded to Crawford's snub on the morning the Academy announced the Oscar nominations.
Australia's biggest dog Baron is the size of a baby elephant and measures in at a staggering 6'6' - but behind the rough exterior he's really just a gentle giant.

The 113 kilogram English mastiff is now a therapy dog and spends his time visiting young school children with behavioural difficulties to help them build confidence.

As ambassador for the Nepean Therapy Dogs charity, Baron visits a school in western Sydney and sits with the kids to provide them much-needed affection and comfort.

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Australia's biggest dog Baron, weighing a staggering 113 kilograms and measuring 6'6', has just qualified as a therapy dog

Baron spends his time visiting young schoolkids with behavioural difficulties to help them build confidence

Nicole Celeban, president of Nepean Therapy Dogs, told Daily Mail Australia that Baron was just 'a big hulking ball of marshmallow.'

'He's there Interacting with the children, helping them with their reading programs ... just being lovable and being there to be hugged,' she said.

'This particular school is a school for children from disadvantaged backgrounds ... Its a reward system for the children for good behaviour.'

She said the children loved Baron's gentle and friendly nature.

Baron will continue growing until he is four, making him a contender for the world's heaviest dog - a title currently claimed by a 127.5kg US mastiff.

Down boy, down! Australia's largest dog, Baron, lacks a great deal of spatial awareness

Man's best friend: The 6'6' Sydney pooch sits beside children and comforts them as they read books aloud

Gifted: Baron snared the best junior dog award at the Royal Melbourne and first place at the Sydney Royal Easter Show

Baron's owner Mark York said he forks out an eye-watering $200 a week feeding the insatiable beast a mountain of food.

'Baron eats a lot, he has meat and biscuits for brekkie, chicken necks for a midday snack and meat and biscuits for dinner with extra vitamins and oils, some pilchard or sardines, egg, pumpkin and veggies,' he told the Daily Telegraph.

Baron snared the best junior dog award at the Royal Melbourne and first place at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

In spite of his size he has the playful nature of a pup, with social media images showing Baron frolicking with dogs of all shapes and sizes.

Adopted from Queensland, Baron will continue growing until he is four, making him a contender for the world's heaviest dog

York forks out an eye-watering $200 a week feeding the insatiable beast a feast of food
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 has rattled parts of Darwin after if struck the Banda Sea on Monday morning.

Striking 600 kilometres north of Darwin at a depth of 96 kilometres, the quake is reported to have been felt at around 4.44am ACST.

Most were asleep at the time of the tremor, but some residents have reported to have felt it, according to ABC News.

A 5.3 magnitude earthquake has struck the Banda Sea, rattling Darwin on Monday

The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) have also reported that there is no tsunami threat.

Surrounded by the Maluku Islands of Indonesia and connected to the Pacific Ocean, the Banda Sea is known for its frequent earthquakes.

However given the proximity of Darwin from the location of the impact, any damage expected from the quake is unlikely.

Geoscience Australia seismologist Eddie Leask said that deep earthquakes in the Banda Sea will often be felt in Darwin.

'We had about 50 in that area over the last year and about 15 of those were felt in Darwin,' Mr Leask told ABC Radio Darwin.
Multnomah County Judge Amy Holmes Hehn (pictured) granted a petition allowing Patrick Abbatiello to go from male to 'agender' and switch to the single name Patch

A Portland student has become the first person in the US to be designated 'genderless'.

Multnomah County Judge Amy Holmes Hehn granted a petition on March 10 allowing Patrick Abbatiello to go from male to 'agender' and switch to the single name Patch.

The Oregon judge, who last year ruled that a transgender person can legally change their sex to 'non-binary' gave the OK for Patch to be genderless.

People who are agender see themselves as neither a man nor a woman and have no gender identity.

The 27-year-old Patch writes and designs video games and had been using the name Patch since well before the decision to legally change.

An acquaintance applied it more than a decade ago and it stuck.

'It's not that I decided I was genderless  that's just how it is,' Patch said. 'I never felt like I fell within any part of the gender spectrum. None of the binary options, nothing in-between.

'I don't consider myself non-binary because that's an umbrella term for anything that isn't binary, which is gender identity.'

Patch first heard the term agender six or seven years ago: 'Prior to that I would just do my best to avoid the question of gender, and the discussion of my gender.'

The same judge allowed Jamie Shupe to legally change to non-binary in June 2016.

Experts believe it was the first ruling of its kind in the US, and it led others in Oregon and elsewhere to seek the same designation.

Patch, who doesn't use pronouns, sought the name and gender change on January 23, and it was granted in a typical timeframe. Patch attends Portland Community College (pictured) and works as a co-coordinator at the college's Queer Resource Center

The case made Patch think there was more of a possibility of legally becoming agender.

Patch, who doesn't use pronouns, sought the name and gender change on January 23, and it was granted in a typical timeframe.

Patch said the court clerk was handling those who had name-or-gender change forms. Patch; however, had to wait for the judge because the male-to-agender language was unique.

'The judge took the form and signed it through,' Patch said. 'Took a look at it and that was it. Didn't speak to me or anything.'

In an email, the judge told NBC News, which first reported about the case, that her decisions were supported by facts and law.

Patch attends Portland Community College and works as a co-coordinator at the college's Queer Resource Center.
Islamic State is using the Westminster terror attack to help recruit terrorists in a wave of YouTube videos glorifying the massacre.

Khalid Masood, who killed four people on Wednesday in a rampage in London, is being hailed a hero by twisted extremists in videos that Google has failed to block.

Several videos are still live, including one entitled 'Westminster attack documentary (must watch)' posted by a user called Luke Taylor, in which radicalised Muslims preach at the camera in a 10-minute clip which features a prisoner being burned to death.

A screenshot of ISIS' Westminster Attack Documentary (MUST WATCH) which is being used to recruit terrorists

MailOnline has contacted Google for a comment amid growing pressure on the internet giants to take more responsibility over its content.

A YouTube spokeswoman said: 'We have clear policies against inciting violence and we remove content that is illegal or that breaks our rules when were made aware of it.'

A number of videos by the terror group are still being circulated online mentioning Wednesday's atrocities.

Amber Rudd and Boris Johnson have stepped up the heat on firms over their 'disgusting' failure to block extremist content.

The Cabinet ministers warned that companies such as Google and Facebook are acting as a 'conduit' for murderous terrorists, and demanded they be more 'proactive' in tackling the problem.

The government is also calling for security services to be given access to encrypted WhatsApp messages, warning it is 'completely unacceptable' that terrorists can plot in secret.

Islamic terrorist Khalid Masood, who was born in Kent as Adrian Elms

Focus on the issue has intensified in the wake of the deadly attack on Westminster last week, when Khalid Masood used a hired car to mow down dozens of pedestrians before stabbing a policeman to death at the gates of parliament.

Concerns have been raised that information on how to mount a terror attack is still easily accessible online.

Before the atrocity Google had already been forced to promise it would take a 'tougher stance' on hateful content after an outcry and boycotts from advertisers over its content appearing alongside extreme material.

Home Secretary Ms Rudd named and shamed lesser known websites like Telegram, Wordpress and Justpaste.it today as she widened the Government's criticism.

The Home Secretary left the door open to changing the law if necessary.

But she said she would rather see an industry-wide board doing it independently, as the best people to take action are those who understand the technology and the 'necessary hashtags'.

On encrypted messaging services, she told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: 'It is completely unacceptable, there should be no place for terrorists to hide.

'We need to make sure that organisations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, don't provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other.

'It used to be that people would steam-open envelopes or just listen in on phones when they wanted to find out what people were doing, legally, through warrantry.

'But on this situation we need to make sure that our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted WhatsApp.'

Ms Rudd said she was calling in a 'fairly long list' of relevant organisations for a meeting on the issue this week, including social media platforms.

Ms Rudd said she was calling in a 'fairly long list' of relevant internet organisations for a meeting on the issue of extremism this week

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he found it 'disgusting' that net firms were not taking tougher action against extreme literature

'What these companies have to realise is that they are now publishing companies, they are not technology companies, they are platforms and we need to make sure that that (hosting extremist material) stops,' she said.

'You are right, we will not resile from taking action if we need to do so.'

But she went on: 'I would rather get a situation where we get all these people around the table agreeing to do it.

'I know it sounds a bit like we're stepping away from legislation but we're not.

'What I'm saying is the best people who understand the technology, who understand the necessary hashtags to stop this stuff even being put up, not just taking it down, but stopping it being put up in the first place, are going to be them.'

Mr Johnson called on internet providers and social media companies to develop new technology to detect and remove jihadist and other extreme material.

He accused them of 'not acting when they are tipped off', adding in an interview with the Sunday Times: 'I'm furious about it.

'It's disgusting.

'They need to stop just making money out of prurient violent material.'

Mr Johnson added: 'They are not acting when they are tipped off.

Khalid Masood used a hired car to mow down dozens of pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before entering the grounds of Parliament and stabbing Pc Keith Palmer to death

Theresa May vowed to show terrorists that 'we are not afraid' as she addressed the House of Commons in the wake of the attack

'Evil flourishes when good men do nothing - and that's what's happening here.

'They are putting up adverts next to it.'

The interventions come after Prime Minister Theresa May urged internet companies to do more to prevent terror and hate being spread in cyberspace.

An investigation by the Sunday Mirror uncovered a host of messages encouraging extremist violence exchanged on the encrypted Telegram messaging site.

They included an image of a sword-bearing jihadi fighter standing in front of a burning Big Ben, sent weeks before Wednesday's terror attack on Parliament.

Another reportedly shared details of how to carry out an atrocity, saying: 'Methods can include entering the stadium and detonating an explosive(s).

'Attacking fans/security at full time in the vicinity of the car park area or exits of the stadium.

'Devices can be left in around the stadium, bars, cars, busses, trains, transportation etc.

'Attacks can compromise of explosives, gun attacks, knife, martyrdom vests, CHEMICAL and any other.'
Lord Carey yesterday said he was praying for the release of the Royal Marine whose battlefield murder conviction has been overturned.

The former archbishop of Canterbury said the country needed the help of men like Sergeant Alexander Blackman.

He joined MPs, peers and retired military chiefs in calling for the courts to show the 42-year-old serviceman clemency tomorrow.

In a public statement, Lord Carey, 81, said: This man was a magnificent soldier with a long and distinguished record of service to the Queen. I have served myself in the armed forces and know that in the heat and dust of battle, split second decisions must be made and expediency can sometimes overcome strict morality even for the best of men.

Lord Carey said Sergeant Alexander Blackman was a 'magnificent soldier with a long and distinguished record of service to the Queen'

Lord Carey, who saw action in Iraq when he was doing national service, added: Unless you have walked a mile in their shoes it is hard to understand the pressures.

The long prison sentence he has already served seems long enough both for him and his dignified wife, and I pray for his release. We need men like this at this time.

Sgt Blackmans new prison sentence for shooting a wounded Taliban fighter is being decided by the Appeal Court. It quashed his murder conviction, replacing it with manslaughter owing to combat stress.

Sgt Blackmans wife Claire has spearheaded a campaign for justice that saw Daily Mail readers give 810,000 for a new legal challenge. Other supporters have been tweeting and blogging in support of the man known at his court martial as Marine A.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury said it was 'hard to understand the pressures' soldiers face on the frontline

Richard Drax, an MP and ex-Army officer, wrote on his blog: What on earth would it achieve by keeping Mr Blackman in jail? This former Royal Marine has spent nearly three and half years in prison already.

He has paid a terrible price for serving his country, to the point where something inside him just snapped.

We owe him a debt of gratitude and I sincerely hope and pray this will be sensibly reflected by our top judges on Tuesday morning.

Sergeant Blackmans wife Claire has spearheaded a campaign for justice. The former Royal Marine has been called 'truly the last casualty of a failed war'

Colonel Bob Stewart MP wrote: Sergeant Blackman has now served longer in prison than many Provisional Irish Republican Army members and Loyalist paramilitaries who were clearly terrorists, deliberately trying to kill people and who were rightly sent to prison for murder.

Most have been released from prison very early. Sgt Blackman has suffered enough and I hope he can be released from prison this week.

At his 2013 court martial, Sgt Blackman was sentenced to life, with a minimum eight years. Last week, at his new sentencing hearing, his lawyers said he had made one mistake in an otherwise exemplary military career.

They called him truly the last casualty of a failed war. Any new sentence under seven years would probably result in his release.

Sgt Blackmans remote outpost in Afghanistans Helmand province was perceived to be the most dangerous square mile on earth.

He and the 15 men under his command were sleep-deprived, overworked and under-resourced during 2011.
A man with cerebral palsy who stabbed a five-year-old girl 25 times with a pocket knife has been jailed for at least six year and three months.

Ty Ranger, 25, who coaxed the child into his apartment in November 2015, was sentenced in the Victorian County Court on Monday after he was convicted of intentionally causing serious injury and one charge of possessing child pornography.

The court heard the little girl was able to escape the attack in Ballarat, regional Victoria, by biting Ranger on the lip and fleeing to her mother covered in blood.

Matthew Fitzgibbon, 25, has been jailed for at least six years for stabbing a five-year-old girl 25 times with a pocket knife. He has cerebral palsy

The court heard the little girl was able to escape the attack by biting Ranger on the lip and fleeing to her mother covered in blood

The court heard that after he stabbed the child, Ranger removed her T-shirt and touched her chest and groin.

He also attempted to remove her shorts but was unable to do so because her legs were crossed.

Judge Roy Punshon said although Ranger had pleaded guilty to the charges at the earliest stage, he denied he had attacked the girl as claimed.

'You said she picked up a knife on a coffee table and she was injured as you tried to get it off her,' he said.

'That's inconsistent with your plea of guilty.'

He said Ranger had suffered suicidal thoughts since he'd been in custody and had attempted to strangle himself with a towel and cut his arm.

Defence lawyer Ellen Murphy said Ranger had a 'serious problem with excessive drinking' in the days leading up to the attack, drinking up to 12 beers each day.

Ranger was sentenced to a maximum nine years and one month with a minimum non-parole period of six years and three months.

He has already served 492 days in custody.

In handing down the sentence on Monday morning, Judge Punshon said Ranger had still failed to provide a motive for the horrific crime.

'The protection of the community remains relevant,' he said.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.
The father of a top business student found dead in his apartment after overdosing on the drug fantasy believes police could have saved his son's life.

Charlie Robertson, 19, died on June 13, 2015, inside his apartment in Miami on the Gold Coast, which he shared with other students.

Just hours earlier, police had raided the flat searching for one of his flatmates, and found Mr Robertson. Unable to wake him, they believed he was sleeping and left the apartment, according to the Gold Coast Bulletin.

However the officers were later called back to the apartment by his room mates who had found him dead.

Charlie Robertson was a promising student at Bond University, before he tragically overdosed on the drug 'fantasy'

The promising student's father believes his son's death could have been prevented if the police hadn't acted in a 'cavalier fashion'.

'We don't believe the police deserve to remain in the service because of the cavalier fashion in which they went about their search warrant,' Mr Robertson told the publication.

Following the raid, an ambulance was called for a man who had jumped off the balcony escaping the police and injuring his ankles.

This has led Mr Robertson's father to question why an ambulance was not called for his son when police failed to wake him.

Father of Charlie, Graham, has questioned why the police did not call an ambulance for his son when they failed to wake him

This month has seen the seven police officers who raided the apartment questioned in the ongoing coronial inquest at Southport Court.

Following a previous investigation by the Ethical Standards Committee, the officers involved were all demoted.

The tragic loss comes after the Bond University student picked up a first-in-class award the very same day as the overdose.

Graham (right) insists taking drugs didn't fit in with Charlie's lifestyle

As well as being a hit in the classroom, Mr Robertson highlights his sons love for surfing and going to the gym, pointing out that taking drugs contradicted his usual lifestyle.

In an attempt to clear his name, the doting father did confirm that Charlie had experimented with recreational drugs, however wanted to stamp out any allegations that he was a 'habitual user.'

He also insists that he was 'given his overdose not of his own choosing.'
They've been an Australian institution since 1969 but the iconic Kmart could be sold in order to save the struggling Target.

Wesfarmers, the owners of the discount giant, have been told by retail analysts Credit Suisse that selling thriving Kmart could 'fix' the problems facing Target.

Analyst Grant Saligari argues that Kmart's tremendous success makes it ripe to sell, meaning Wesfarmers would be able to offload the store at 'peak valuation'.

Despite its profitability and popularity, Kmart could be sold by Wesfarmers

In a report by retail analysts Credit Suisse, by selling Kmart at it's 'peak valuation', Wesfarmers would have the resources to save the struggling Target

Credit Suisse warns that Wesfarmers are playing a 'zero-sum game' by playing the two family department stores in competition with each other.

Mr Saligari contends that the billions earned in a sale would give Target the resources to dramatically improve its fortunes, adding that the success of Kmart was likely to end.

'The approach has a reasonable chance of capturing the upside value of both businesses,' he said.

However Dr Gary Mortimer, an Associate Professor in Marketing and International Business at the QUT Business School, argues that Credit Suisse have made a short-sighted recommendation.

Managing Director of Marketing Focus, Barry Urquhart says that Wesfarmer's philosophy of generating wealth for its shareholders, could prompt them to sell Kmart

'They have looked at just the market, and not the consumer,' Dr Mortimer told Daily Mail Australia.

'They haven't thought of the impact it would have long term, as Target has really lost its power in the marketplace because it doesn't know what it wants to be.'

Dr Mortimer contends that by selling a really good business in Kmart, you would be getting rid off your 'cash-cow', and pouring 'good money into bad'.

Dr Gary Mortimer, an Associate Professor at the QUT Business School however states Target has 'lost its power in the marketplace'

Though Wesfarmers have yet to comment, Managing Director of Marketing Focus, Barry Urquhart, believes that it would strongly be considered by the conglomerate.

Mr Urquhart says department stores worldwide are 'under attack' and selling Kmart would align with Wesfarmer's philosophy of creating wealth for its shareholders.

'Formed in a rural community, Wesfarmers got rid of its rural division when it wasn't generating the income,' Mr Urquhart explained.

'Driven by their culture, it would be very much in play, if Kmart or Target don't meet their key performance indicators.'

Financial results for Kmart however have gone strength to strength in recent years, with the discount store delivering $5.2billion in revenue in 2016 - an increase of 28 percent since 2012.

In the same period, Target has suffered mightily, posting a decrease of 7.5 percent, with $3.5billion in revenue last year.
The truth is that Cherie has always enjoyed the company of the rich and famous

Some of the biggest names in the Tory Party were gathered last week at the exclusive Marks Club in Londons Mayfair.

There was Lord Ashcroft the billionaire ex-deputy chairman of the Tories, while Dan Hannan, the partys best known MEP, was locked in conversation with MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, a fellow Brexiteer.

They were at a party to celebrate the launch of PR company Sans Frontieres Associates, chaired by Lord Bell, the doyen of the industry, who masterminded Mrs Thatchers three election victories.

But what on earth was Cherie Blair, the wife of the former Labour Prime Minister, doing there? Dressed in a tweedy suit, she swept in to be warmly embraced by Ashcroft  even though it was the Blair government which plotted to try to destroy him when he was Tory treasurer in 2000.

The truth is that Cherie, like her husband who has earned a reputed 70 million since he left Downing Street, has always enjoyed the company of the rich and famous.

Cherie was warmly embraced by Lord Ashcroft  even though it was the Blair government which plotted to try to destroy him when he was Tory treasurer in 2000

Lord Bell, in a punchy speech, praised the PM, whom he said showed flashes of the Iron Lady. He said: Theresa May makes Jeremy Corbyn look weak and ineffectual. Cue a loud interjection from Cherie who said: Well, thats not difficult.#

Another sign the Blairites are happier in the company of the Tories than with the current ragbag Labour leadership.

Quote of the Week: Former deputy Labour leader Lord Hattersley, interviewed in Catholic magazine The Tablet, says: Labour is in a neo-terminal condition . . . Its not just Jeremy Corbyn, though hes an incompetent and unsuitable leader. Labour is in desperate trouble and I see no one about to fight their way out of it.

Can Carswell still cut it in Clacton?

So will Douglas Carswell, who defected from the Tories to become Ukips only MP until he switched to being Independent at the weekend, do the honourable thing and fight a by-election?

Arron Banks, Ukips biggest donor, thinks he should, pointing out that when Carswell quit the Tories to join Ukip in 2014, he said he must seek permission from my boss: the people of Clacton.

Arron Banks, Ukips biggest donor, thinks Douglas Carswell should now fight a by-election

So if he let his voters decide then, why shouldnt he do so now? Because Carswell knows he wouldnt win.

The SNP has taken the moral high ground, with leading MPs declaring that, unlike George Osborne, their MPs will not be taking lucrative second or third jobs. Someone should tell Ian Blackford, the SNP MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, who is chairman of the Golden Charter Trust, which pays him 3,000 a month for eight hours work a quarter, or 1,125 an hour. Hes also chair of Commsworld, paying 1,000 a month, or 375 an hour.

Gaffe of the week: West Midlands mayoral candidate Beverley Nielsen had printed and delivered thousands of leaflets declaring: Three reasons to back Beverley Nielsen for West Midlands Labour Mayor. But shes the Lib Dem candidate!

Labours election coordinator, Andrew Gwynne, said on the BBC that he is gearing up for a snap election. A General Election or another leadership election?

Bercow's 30K Commons artist

More politically correct meddling by the pompous pipsqueak John Bercow. The Speakers Advisory Committee on Works of Art is seeking a House of Commons Artist-in-Residence, who will be tasked with exploring and celebrating the legacy of the 1965, 1968 and 1976 Race Relations Acts. The artist is being appointed following complaints that the historic artwork adorning the Commons is too white and too male. The post carries a salary of up to 30,000. You might hope Bercow would pay the artist out of his own pocket, but no  hes lumbered the taxpayer again.
From this week, you can expect to see a lot more shopping trolleys dumped in canals.

Tesco has admitted that 200 of its supermarkets havent adapted their trolleys to the new, 12-sided 1 coin, which is released tomorrow.

Already, 1.5 billion worth of the new coins have been distributed to secret points around the country. Each coin will have an expected lifespan of 25 years.

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Already, 1.5 billion worth of the new 12-sided 1 coins have been distributed to secret points around the country

The Tesco disaster is just one consequence of the ham-fisted issue of the new coins.

Youll have less than seven months to use your old, round coins before theyre phased out on October 15, so start scouring the back of the sofa for your old coins.

(The old 5 notes will cease to be legal tender from May 5; after this date, they can be exchanged with the Bank of England in London by post or in person.)

Of the 2.2 billion old pound coins that have been struck, only 1.5 billion are still in circulation: the rest are lost in furniture, crammed into moneyboxes and oversized whisky bottles or are collecting dust under the drivers seat of your car.

Tesco has unlocked 100,000 trolleys to prevent chaos in its stores  you will not have to insert a coin to use them until theyve been converted to take the new 1.

This could mean thousands of shoppers will no longer bother to return their trolleys after theyve unloaded their shopping or wheeled it home.

But it isnt just Tesco that has been caught unawares: 15 per cent of Britains 500,000 vending machines havent been converted.

Watch out if youre desperate for a quick sugar rush before catching the 21.32 to Leamington Spa and youve only got one of the new coins on you. That Mars bar could remain locked in place.

Be careful, too, with parking meters  one in ten are yet to be converted. They will still accept the old coins until October 15 (as will the converted machines).

But that wont help you much if youve only got the new 1 coins on you. In fact, some parking meters are so old they cant be converted. Councils will have to replace them or make them cashless.

As a result, drivers could be left in the ludicrous position of having to keep a combination of old and new 1 coins if they want to ensure they can use any parking meter.

Its true that the round coins were in trouble, almost 34 years after the first one was struck by Prince Charles on April 21, 1983. Handsome as they are, they are also extremely easy to forge.

Tesco has admitted that 200 of its supermarkets havent adapted their trolleys for the new coin

Around 3 per cent of the pound coins in circulation  amounting to 47 million  are thought to be counterfeit. And thats after two million fakes are taken out of circulation every year.

You can easily spot those dodgy-looking fakes  theyre a little darker than usual, chipped around the edges and are liable to pass through the innards of a parking meter without touching the edges.

The dozier parking meters are fooled: one in 25 of all pound coins in parking meters are fake.

Thus the new coin has been designed by the monetary wizards at the Royal Mint, in Llantrisant, South Wales, to beat the forgers.

One in 25 of all 1 coins in parking meters are fake

The 12-sided 1 coin was announced in March 2014. With a striking design, they are emblazoned with the words ELIZABETH II D.G. REG. F.D.  short for Elizabeth II Dei Gratia Regina Fidei Defensor, meaning, Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith.

But though the Royal Mint has had three years to prepare the country for the change, lots of us are barely aware of the new coin, not least the supermarket chains.

Youd have thought such a huge change would require a lot of pre-planning and setting aside of funds. It has cost 50 million just to change all the parking meters in the country to fit the new coins.

How incompetent of the Royal Mint, Tesco and all those owners of vending machines and parking meters not to get all their golden ducks in a row.
An 18-year-old Queenslander who jumped into the mouth of a crocodile to impress a girl has been mocked on the Daily Show, the US satire program hosted by Trevor Noah.

Lee De Paauw's ill-conceived plan to awe a British backpacker by swimming with crocodiles was used as proof that Australia is not a safe place - 'if you're a 'dumb***.'

'We spend a lot of time here discussing American stupidity, but we sometimes forget that stupidity knows no borders,' Mr Noah said.

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The 18-year-old Queenslander who jumped into the mouth of a crocodile to impress a girl was mocked on the Daily Show , the US satire program hosted by Trevor Noah, pictured

Lee De Paauw, 18, was injured in his arm after jumping into croc-infested water to impress a young British backpacker

Sophie Paterson was moderately impressed by the stunt - but did agree to a movie date, claimed De Paauw. Rewarding the risk, the Daily Show said, is 'disproving natural selection'

He brought in his 'senior international correspondent,' comedian Ronnie Chieng, to unpack the romantic stunt that led Mr De Paauw to nearly lose his left arm.

Mr Chieng, who went to university in Melbourne and considers himself 'kind of from Australia,' said: 'Everyone thinks Australians are just a bunch of crazy crocodile wrestlers, and let me just say this: you don't know the half of it.'

'What pisses me off is, ideas like this is why people think Australia is dangerous. I lived there for 10 years, and nothing happened,' Mr Chieng continued.

'Australia is perfectly safe as long as you stay out of the rivers, because of the jellyfish; and the oceans, because of the sharks; and the bush, because of redback spiders...'

'Basically just stay in the Sydney Opera House, that's where it's totally safe... Well except for the opera snakes, obviously,' Mr Chieng joked, as an image of a tuxedoed snake in a theatre seat flashed on the screen.

The four-metre crocodile, pictured, that mauled a teenager in far north Queensland was recently caught

Mr Chieng, who went to university in Melbourne and considers himself 'kind of from Australia,' said: 'Everyone thinks Australians are just a bunch of crazy crocodile wrestlers, and let me just say this: you don't know the half of it.'

'Basically just stay in the Sydney Opera House, that's where it's totally safe... Well except for the opera snakes, obviously,' Mr Chieng joked, as an image of a tuxedoed snake in a theatre seat flashed on the screen.

'She said she would go out with me to the movies,' De Paauw, left, said of Ms Paterson, right

The Daily Show's American audience was treated to Mr De Paauw's interview with Nine News, in which he admitted he had jumped into the water after drinking '10 cups of goon.'

'I was telling her about how backpackers are more likely to get eaten by a crocodile than Australians, so we decided to go down to the river and test the theory,' he said from his hospital bed, his badly damaged left arm still in bandages.

He also revealed in the interview that the his love interest, Sophie Paterson, had agreed to go on a movie date with him after watching his near-fatal tussle with the croc.

This annoyed Mr Chieng, who said it amounts to 'disproving natural selection.'

'You can not reward this behaviour! Because now every horny 18-year-old is going to try to slap an apex predator because apparently that's what the girls like.'
Ohio Gov. John Kasich criticized the Republicans' hasty attempt to repeal Obamacare without consulting Democrats from the start.

The former presidential candidate said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday: 'You cannot have major changes in major programs affecting things like health care without including Democrats from the very beginning.'

Kasich said the Republican excuse that Democrats are not willing to work across the aisle was 'pathetic'.

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John Kasich said Republicans need to work with Democrats to reform health care

He said many Democrats are willing to work with Republicans to reform healthcare.

'Look, the exchanges in Obamacare are disengrating. This is not a situation that is going to do anything besides leave people who are vulnerable in a very bad position.'

Kasich said this was likely a learning experience for President Trump. He said: Look, he's going to learn from this, but you can't expect the executive to know everything.'

Kasich portrayed Friday's failure for the bill as a fresh start, tweeting: 'Now we have a chance to do it right.'

Michael Bloomberg and Reince Priebus also criticized the Republicans in the wake of the health care bill collapse, both saying the party needs to 'start governing.'

House Republicans decided to cancel a vote on a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare Friday - one of Trump's major campaign promises

President Trump taunted the members of the Freedom Caucus Sunday on Twitter, writing: 'Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!'

Ohio Gov. John Kasich and three other Republican governors - Arkansas' Asa Hutchinson, Nevada's Brian Sandoval and Michigan's Rick Snyder - wrote a letter to congressional leaders last week saying they wanted to undo Obama's Affordable Care Act but faulted the Republican replacement plan. They said it did not give states enough flexibility or provide the 'resources necessary to make sure no one is left out.'

All four states expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Kasich wrote in John McCain's name on his ballot for president after refusing to support Trump in the general election.
A Georgia couple is bringing the state to court for refusing to legally grant their daughter the last name 'Allah'.

Couple Elizabeth Handy and Bilal Walk have been trying to name their 22-month-old daughter ZalyKha Graceful Lorraina Allah, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The Georgia Department of Public Health has refused to give the toddler the last name of Allah because state law dictates that a child's last name must be that of the mother, the father or a combination of the two - all depending on whether the couple is married. Handy and Walk were not.

Georgia couple Elizabeth Handy and Bilal Walk want to name their daughter, who is 22 months old, ZalyKha Graceful Lorraina Allah. The government is saying the last name is illegal. The girl does not yet have a birth certificate as a result of the predicament

The ACLU has filed suit on behalf of the couple, who successfully named their three-year-old son Masterful Mosirah Aly Allah. The couple is alleging government overreach. Pictured: ACLU of Georgia Executive Director Andrea Young

The law also states: 'The parents may designate a surname that is not the legal surname of the mother or father, if that surname is chosen in accordance with a bona fide cultural naming convention practiced in the nation of origin of one or both of them.'

A state lawyer previously said the cultural tradition must meet the state's definition of 'bona fide' so as 'to distinguish between names according to the cultural traditions of the parents' nation of origin and names chosen on the basis of whimsy,' the Washington Post reported.

Despite the predicament, ZalyKha's three-year-old brother, Masterful Mosirah Aly Allah, was able to keep his surname.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia has filed suit on behalf of Handy and Walk, and has alleged that the family has experienced and anticipates experiencing problems due to their daughter's lack of a birth certificate.

ZalyKha will not be able to receive a Social Security number and may encounter problems with going to school, the ACLU suit alleges.

Walk told the Journal-Constitution: 'It is just plainly unfair and a violation of our rights.'

The Department of Public Health, meanwhile, is saying that while ZalyKha's 'initial birth record' must meet Georgia's requirements, afterwards the couple might petition to change the girl's surname to Allah.

But the ACLU and other attorneys for the family say such protocols illustrate government overreach.

Attorney Michael Baumrind told the paper: 'The state has no business determining if a name is satisfactory.'

Her father said the couple wants ZalyKha's last name to be Allah because it is 'noble.'

Allah means God in Arabic.

He told the Journal-Constitution: 'Simply put, we have a personal understanding that we exercise in regards to the names.'

He added that he did not 'want to to into detail about' it.

Legal expert Carlton Larson told the Washington Post that he thinks Handy and Walk will win their case.

He said: 'It's a First Amendment issue, an expressive act of naming your child. And it's a fundamental right under the 14th Amendment, due process.'

Each state has its own laws governing child surnames, but first names can generally be whatever a parent wants.

Followers of the Muslim faith are forbidden from naming their children Allah, the New York Times reported.

Handy is pregnant with a third child and the couple did not reveal plans for the name.
A woman who killed two people and seriously injured another while driving high on stolen drugs is due to be sentenced on Monday.

New Zealand woman Nicole Reynolds, 40, will face the District Court at Tauranga after pleading guilty to drug-driving which caused the deaths of Kenny McCrae and Leigh Rhodes.

The incident which occurred on State Highway 29A between Baypark and Maungatapu on July 29 last year also left Lance Carter fighting for his life, according to The New Zealand Herald.

New Zealand woman Nicole Reynolds, 40, who killed two people and seriously injured another while driving high on stolen drugs will be sentenced on Monday

Ms Reynolds hopped behind the wheel of the car after stealing two sleeping pill bottles from the draw of a man's house where she was working as a home-helper.

She was then seen swerving in her lane before hitting the trio who were changing the tyre of their SUV on the left hand side of the road.

Ms Rhodes was hit first as she was waving a white spare wheel cover in the air to alert approaching motorists to the men changing the tyre.

Lance Carter (right) was left fighting for his life after the horrible incident

Leigh Rhodes was hit first as she was waving a white spare wheel cover in the air to alert approaching motorists to the men changing the tyre

The incident occurred on State Highway 29A between Baypark and Maungatapu on July 29

She was thrown 30 metres in the air as Ms Reynolds ploughed into the men.

Mr McCrae died instantly and Ms Rhodes died in Tauranga Hospital later that day while Mr Carter was hospitalised with extensive leg injuries and nearly died on the operating table.

Ms Reynolds was found to have methadone and two other Class B controlled drugs in her system.
Telecoms giant BT has been fined a record 42 million for a serious breach of rules by industry regulator Ofcom.

An investigation into BTs controversial Openreach business, which maintains the countrys telecoms network, found it was breaking rules about fair market competition.

Most telecoms companies, such as Talk Talk, Vodafone and Sky, rely on BTs Openreach to give their customers access to broadband.

BT fined 42 million by Ofcom for 'serious breach' of rules in largest penalty ever imposed by the regulator. It comes just two weeks after BT agreed to a legal separation of its Openreach branch

The investigation found BT was deliberately giving other telecoms providers less compensation than they were owed for severe delays in setting up internet connections.

It is the largest fine ever given out by the regulator to a telecoms company, more than 10 times bigger than the 3.7 million fine given to Vodafone in 2016.

It comes just two weeks after BT agreed to a legal separation of its Openreach branch, which experts believe will make the market fairer.

The investigation covered Openreach activity between January 2013 and December 2014.

It found BT was not giving proper compensation for late Ethernet installations, which is a type of leased-line internet connection that allows large businesses, as well as hospitals and libraries, to get high-capacity internet access.

Under Ofcom rules, BT has to set-up Ethernet services to its wholesale customers - providers such as Vodafone and TalkTalk - and make compensation payments for late delivery.

BTs contracts require it to deliver Ethernet services within 30 working days, or pay compensation to the company affected.

But it did not properly compensate companies, which Ofcom said not only harmed other telecoms companies, but it also harmed the UK businesses and consumers who rely on high quality, high-speed, broadband services every day.

Gaucho Rasmussen, Ofcoms Investigations Director, said: These high-speed lines are a vital part of this countrys digital backbone. Millions of people rely on BTs network for the phone and broadband services they use every day.

We found BT broke our rules by failing to pay other telecoms companies proper compensation when these services were not provided on time. The size of our fine reflects how important these rules are to protect competition and, ultimately, consumers and businesses. Our message is clear  we will not tolerate this sort of behaviour.

It is the largest fine ever given out by the regulator to a telecoms company, more than 10 times bigger than the 3.7 million fine given to Vodafone in 2016

A spokesman said the hefty size of the fine was to reflect BTs deliberate activity over a sustained period of time, and because it had breached important rules about dominating market power.

Ofcom has taken enforcement action because BT breached rules that address the companys significant market power.

Clive Selley, Openreach CEO, said: We apologise wholeheartedly for the mistakes Openreach made in the past when processing orders for a number of high-speed business connections.

This shouldnt have happened and we fully accept Ofcoms findings.

This issue is unrepresentative of the vast majority of work conducted by Openreach and we are committed to delivering outstanding service for our customers.

Earlier this month, BT reached an agreement with Ofcom to legally separate Openreach.

The company had faced growing calls from rivals to hive off Openreach, and now it is set to become a distinct, legally separate company with its own board.

It will remain in the BT Group.

Openreach builds and maintains the tens of millions of copper and fibre lines that run from telephone exchanges to homes and businesses across the UK.
A Turner Prize-winning artist said the Nineties set of Young British Artists ruined it for future generations of creatives, who now expect fame.

Rachel Whiteread, who won the coveted prize in 1993, said the YBAs made success in the art world look too easy.

The artist, along with contemporaries Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas, shocked the establishment with off-the-wall ideas and concepts.

Turner Prize-winning artist Rachel Whiteread said the Nineties set of Young British Artists ruined it for future generations, who expect to achieve fame easily

She told the Observer: 'Artists now live a very different life to the ones we lived.

'We had no expectations, we played hard and worked hard.

'Now they expect a career, they expect fame.'

Whiteread claimed the set never aimed towards success and established careers when they were starting out.

Who are the YBAs? The Young British Artists first started exhibiting together in 1988 and became famous in the Nineties. The most prominent members of the set were artists like Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. They liked to shock the art establishment and made pieces from everyday objects. They were first labelled as YBAs in 1992. Advertisement

But unlike Damien Hirst, who loves to court the media with eye popping concepts, the artist claims she prefers to stay out of the spotlight.

Whiteread launched her first solo exhibition in 1988 and came to prominence in 1993, when she made a cast of a Victorian terraced house, named House.

Controversially, the house which she modelled her piece on was condemned by Tower Hamlets council on the day she won the prize.

With her installation piece, she became the first woman to win the Turner Prize, paving the way for her fellow YBAs.

Two years later, Damien Hirst won the prize for his piece Mother and Child, Divided.

The piece featured a cow and her calf, cut in half and submerged in formaldehyde.

Tracey Emin attracted controversy in 1999 when she exhibited her work, My Bed, at the Tate Gallery. The artwork went on to be nominated for a Turner Prize

In 1999, Tracey Emin was shortlisted for her controversial piece, My Bed, which was exhibited at the Tate Gallery.

The group were first called 'Young British Artists' in 1992 and went on to dominate the art scene throughout the Nineties.

The set are still some of the most prominent British artists.

Fellow YBA Damien Hirst won a Turner Prize in 1995 for his work Mother and Child, Divided. The piece featured a cow and her calf, cut in half and submerged in formaldehyde

Tracey Emin made a series of prints to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics and was renowned in the Noughties for her work with neon signs.

Damien Hirst hit the headlines in 2007 when he exhibited a skull encrusted in diamonds, which cost 14 million to make.

Rachel Whiteread's series of dollhouses has been moved to the permanent collection of the V&A Museum of Childhood.
The largest group of unvaccinated Australians are adults, with almost four million failing to receive all their immunisations - causing the spread of preventable disease.

Adults make up 92 per cent of 4.1 million Australians who are unvaccinated, The Medical Journal of Australia said.

Only half of Australian seniors receive government-funded vaccinations each year for influenza, shingles and pneumococcal.

Almost four million Australian adults are unvaccinated, causing epidemics of preventable diseases (stock image)

Study by University of New South Wales lecturers and professors said focusing on vaccinating adults instead of children of conscientious objectors is key to preventing disease.

'There is a need for governments, the media, providers and individuals to direct more attention towards the large numbers of adults who are unnecessarily susceptible to vaccine-preventable disease each year,' the study said.

'Achieving high vaccination coverage in adults is challenging, given their greater mobility and diversity of settings.

'However, this is likely to be more successful in preventing disease than policies that sanction vaccine-hesitant parents.'

Influenza is responsible for an estimated 300,000 general practitioner visits, 18,000 hospital admissions and 3,000 deaths each year in Australia.

There are approximately 360 cases of pneumococcal disease annually, including at least 45 deaths.

Australian immunisation rates for children under the age of five are high by international standards, study authors said.

An estimated 8.1 per cent of children fail to receive all vaccines - a quarter of which is through conscientious objection.

Only half of Australian seniors receive government-funded vaccinations each year for influenza, shingles and pneumococcal (stock image)

'Children of parents with ideological objections to vaccination are a small subset [of those unvaccinated]; the vast majority are adults.

'Immunisation is just as important for adolescents, older people, those with medical risk factors, pregnant women and other high risk groups as it is for children.'

President of the Australian Medical Association Dr Michael Gannon said the study shows how far behind the nation is with adult vaccination.

'There's always two elements to any vaccination program: There's the individual benefit, and then there's the benefit to the wider community - and we're just not getting to the right mark,' he said.

Dr Gannon said regular GP visits are important, as it's their job to tell patients what vaccines are required.

'I think people can be forgiven for the bewildering array of vaccines that are available on the schedule at the moment, but it's your GP's job to be the expert in that.'
A Kentucky police officer came face-to-face with a pregnant cow down a rural road.

The encounter between the large longhorn and officer Elvin Hendrix was caught on video Monday night and posted to the Hazard County Police Department's Facebook page.

'There's never a dull moment around here,' the department wrote on its Facebook page. 'Yes, that's a cow. Yes, it was chasing one of our officers.'

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A Hazard County Police officer was charged at by a pregnant longhorn on a Kentucky road

The encounter between the longhorn and officer Elvin Hendrix was caught on video Monday

Police received several reports Monday of a 'bull' on Town Mountain Road in Hazard, Kentucky

When officer Hendrix arrived at the scene, Daisy spotted him, galloped a bit, then charged

Police received several reports Monday of a 'bull' on Town Mountain Road in Hazard, Kentucky.

When officer Hendrix arrived there, he was charged at by the longhorn.

'At first whenever it noticed me standing up there, it was galloping a little bit,' Hendrix explained to WKYT. 'Then it kind of stopped and lowered its head and charged at me.'

Neither Hendrix nor the longhorn were injured.

The longhorn's owner, Scott Williams, contacted officers after seeing the video and informed them that the cow's name is Daisy and that she is pregnant.

Neither Hendrix (left) nor Daisy the longhorn (right) were injured

Daisy's owner, Scott Williams (pictured), contacted officers after seeing the video

'She only acts like that when she feel cornered,' said Williams. 'Under that big set of horns she's just a big pregnant baby. Thank you guys for sending her back my way though.'

This isn't the first time Daisy has escaped, but Williams has his fingers crossed that this will be the last.

He told police that he hoped to have Daisy captured and brought back to the farm in the next few days, but as of Tuesday she is still on the loose.

'Shes a fugitive on the run,' he said, warning people not to approach Daisy. 'She doesnt want to be captured. She runs like a damn deer!'
The White House says a report that President Donald Trump gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel a bill for about $374billion earlier this month is 'false'.

The invoice was for money Germany 'owed' NATO for defending it, a report published by The Times said, which cited 'German government sources'.

A German minister told the paper that the bill was 'outrageous'.

The minister was quoted as saying: 'The concept behind putting out such demands is to intimidate the other side, but the chancellor took it calmly and will not respond to such provocations.'

The White House says a report that President Donald Trump gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel a bill for about $374billion earlier this month is 'false'. Trump and Merkel are pictured together in Washington on March 17

Merkel allegedly received the bill for the United States's services to NATO while she was in Washington, DC, according to CNBC.

NATO member countries are supposed to spend two per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) in defense each year.

Just five members - Britain, Estonia, Greece, Poland, and the United States - do so.

The Times said that Trump officials, beginning with 2002, calculated how much Germany fell short on the two per cent NATO goal for each year and added it together, before they proceeded to include interest.

Merkel allegedly received the bill for the United States's services to NATO while she was in Washington, DC. She is pictured with Trump in a March 17 photo

A source described as being close to the German chancellor told the paper: 'The president has a very unorthodox view on NATO defense spending.

'The alliance is not a club with a membership fee. The commitments relate to countries' investment in their defense budgets.'

The report is 'false,' White House spokesman Michael Short told CNBC.

Trump met with Merkel on Friday, March 17, in Washington, DC.

He said in two March 18 tweets: 'Despite what you have heard from the FAKE NEWS, I had a GREAT meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nevertheless, Germany owes...

'...vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!'
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Following mid-March's bitter cold snap which killed about half of Washington DC's cherry blossoms, the US capital's National Cherry Blossom Festival celebrated the survivors' peak bloom.

The festival which lasts until April 16, saw thousands of nature lovers descend on DC's Tidal Basin to see the famous flowers beginning on Saturday.

Attendee Kadia Pandu told WJLA: 'It brings you that Spring feeling like newness and freshness.'

The National Cherry Blossom Festival began in Washington DC on Saturday and will last until April 16

Thousands of people, including the pair pictured taking a selfie with the Washington Monument in the background, came to the US capital's Tidal Basin to observe the flowers

While about half the blossoms died a couple weeks ago following abruptly cold weather, the survivors were in peak bloom this weekend

A woman looks for the perfect shot of the blossoms. Festival goers could enjoy the warm weather in DC on Saturday - 78 degrees Fahrenheit

The weather in Washington reached a balmy 78 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday, while the long-term forecast suggests no snowstorms such as Winter Storm Stella.

That bitter cold snap, which affected much of the Northeast on March 14, killed many of Washington's cherry blossoms.

The National Parks Service had said that this past weekend would be when the survivors would peak.

Freezing temperatures that had abruptly followed unseasonably warm weather had the nation's capital fearful for its more than 3,000 prized Japanese cherry trees, a major tourist draw.

One attendee said the festival 'brings you that Spring feeling like newness and freshness'

Some of the cherry blossoms bloomed prematurely following unseasonably warm weather in February and early March, only to die following Winter Storm Stella which hit much of the Northeast on March 14

People walk some of the nation's capital's more-than 3,000 cherry trees on March 26

People stroll among the trees, which were a gift from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912

The mercury dip to about 23 degrees Fahrenheit 'killed virtually all of the blossoms that had reached "puffy white"' - the late stages of the bloom cycle - NPS spokesman Mike Litterst said in a statement.

Litterst said the other half of the cherry blossoms were at earlier stages in the bloom process, and just five percent of those appeared to be damaged.

Peak bloom - the time when 70 percent of the Yoshino trees are in full flower - around Washington's Tidal Basin was particularly difficult to predict this year because the death of so many blossoms distorted NPS models.

The trees, pictured out of focus in front of the Jefferson Memorial, were given as a symbol of US-Japanese friendship

The Washington Monument is pictured behind a sea of pink and white on March 26

Two people enjoy a spot of paddle-boating on Washington DC's Tidal Basin, around which the cherry blossoms are planted. In the background is the Jefferson Memorial

The NPS had formerly expected peak bloom to fall between March 19 and March 22, so it appears the peak occurred just a little bit later..

Hundreds of thousands of people come to the US capital to see the clouds of pink flowers each year. The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a top tourist draw, bringing in tens of millions of dollars.

The festival commemorates the 1912 gift of roughly 3,000 cherry trees to Washington by the mayor of Tokyo, as a symbol of US-Japanese friendship.

Ice-covered cherry blossoms are seen near the Potomac River on March 14, 2017 in Washington DC

People skirt the edge of a puddle as they walk around the Tidal Basin under the cherry trees on March 18
A wine-stained vest worn by Captain Cook on his voyage to Australia failed to sell at auction, with the top bid only half what was expected.

The cream silk twilled waistcoat was expected to fetch up to $1.1 million but bidding only reached $575,000 at an auction house in Sydney on Sunday.

The 250-year-old garment is embroidered with flowers and fastened with brown leather buttons, and includes several prominent wine stains on the front.

A wine-stained vest worn by Captain Cook on his voyage to Australia failed to sell at auction, with the top bid only half what was expected

The 250-year-old garment is embroidered with flowers and fastened with brown leather buttons, and includes several prominent wine stains (pictured) on the front

But the alcoholic misadventures were not those of the famous explorer, who sailed to Australia on the HMS Endeavour in 1770, but a more recent owner.

After James Cook died in 1779 his family kept the waistcoat, which was then bought by antique dealers Helen and Isabel Woollan.

It was bought by British industrialist Viscount Leverhulme, who give it as a gift to to prominent pianist Ruby Rich in 1912.

Ms Rich had the vest altered to fit her figure and wore it to fancy parties in the Sydney social scene, where the wine was spilled.

The cream silk twilled waistcoat was expected to fetch up to $1.1 million but bidding only reached $575,000 at an auction house in Sydney on Sunday

The sale gathered strong interest in both Australian and overseas. Bidders pictured inspecting the vest before the auction

The wine stains were not those of the famous explorer, who sailed to Australia on the HMS Endeavour in 1770, but more recent owner Ruby Rich who wore it to Sydney parties

The flowers stitched into the design include hibiscus, banksia seeds, and boronia as it was inspired by Cook's travels around Australia.

According to auctioneers Aalders, the colour of the waistcoat was also inspired by his Oceanic explorations.

The sale, the first since Ms Rich's nephew Charles Rich sold it in in 1981, gathered strong interest in both Australian and overseas.

Though the final offer was nowhere near the reserve, the Australian top bidder was negotiating with the owners to strike a deal that would keep it in the country.

The intricate waistcoat features exotic flowers Cook encountered on his voyages, including the hibiscus, banksia seed, and boronia. It is fastened by unusual brown leather buttons

Banskia seeds are thought to be named after botanist Joseph Banks, who travelled to Australia with Captain Cook. Experts say the colour of the waistcoat is inspired by Oceania

James Cook landed in Australia with botanist Joseph Banks (pictured left) in May 1770. They were sent to explore the unknown seas and took an interest in Australia's flora and fauna

Captain Cook landed in Australia with botanist Joseph Banks and artist Sydney Parkinson in May 1770.

The group were especially interested in detailing the flora and fauna of the unknown island, and the banksia seed on Cook's waistcoat was said to be named after Banks.

Their ship landed in Cape York, far North Queensland, where they stayed for eight weeks, before sailing to Botany Bay staying six days.

When Banks returned, he spoke so favourably about the area that the first colonists decided to make camp at Botany Bay.

But the first governor of Australia, Arthur Philip, found that it did not live up to Banks's description and started the Sydney colony in Port Jackson instead.

Captain Cook returned to Britain in 1771 and was hailed a hero, but the explorer was killed in Hawaii eight years later.

Though the final offer was nowhere near the reserve, the Australian top bidder was negotiating with the owners to strike a deal that would keep it in the country

Their ship, the HMS Endeavour, landed in Cape York, far North Queensland, where they stayed for eight weeks. Pictured, a painting of Captain Cook taking possession of New South Wales
Queensland residents have shared footage of torrential rain and gale-force winds smashing their properties as Cyclone Debbie heads toward the coast.

On Monday afternoon, the cyclone was upgraded to a category 3 and is expected to only intensify over the next 24 hours.

Residents in Mackay, on Queensland's east coast, shared video of 'wild' weather event, with water pouring off the roof and trees buckling in the wind.

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Queensland residents have shared footage of torrential rain and gale-force winds smashing their properties in Mackay as Cyclone Debbie heads toward the coast

Mackay has been classed as a 'watch zone,' with residents told to secure their property and remain indoors.

The Whitsundays had also been hit with massive winds of up to 125km/h and the weather is expected to move north overnight.

Just after midday on Monday, Cyclone Debbie was upgraded to a category 3 with peak gusts of 165km/h and was sitting east of Bowen.

The winds, rain and tides are expected to intensify within the next 24 hours.

Residents in Mackay, on Queensland's east coast, shared video of 'wild' weather event, with water pouring off the roof and trees buckling in the wind

This man came filmed the rain pouring down in sheets as the wind thrashed his backyard

Mackay has been classed as a 'watch zone,' with residents told to secure their property and remain indoors

In Bowen (pictured), the waves started to build throughout the day and four-metre tidal surge is expected on Tuesday

Cyclone Debbie is expected to reach category 4 in Ayr and Cape Hillsborough, near Mackay, before 10am on Tuesday.

On Monday, a tourist died in a car accident in Proserpine and Police Commissioner Ian Stewart confirmed the death was 'associated with this weather event'.

Ms Palaszczuk said more than 3,500 people had already been evacuated from the areas between Home Hill and Proserpine and taken to Cairns on buses.

A further 2,000 people will be asked to leave Bowen on Monday as the cyclone, expected to have a wind core of 100 kilometres wide, tracks further south.

In Hamilton Island, residents used cables to secure the tree trunks lining the street to try and prevent them toppling in the wind
A Chinese-born academic who has criticised that country's government was stopped from returning to Australia and questioned by China's secret police, one of his friends claims.

John Hugh says Chongyi Feng, an associate professor in China studies at the University of Technology in Sydney, refused a request for a lie detector test by China's National Safety Bureau after they began questioning him last week.

Dr Feng was stopped from returning to Australia for the second time in two days on Saturday while trying to board a flight in Guangzhou.

Chongyi Feng, a China studies professor at UTS, refused a request for a lie detector test by China's National Safety Bureau after they began questioning him last week

Dr Feng was stopped from returning to Australia for the second time in two days on Saturday while trying to board a flight in Guangzhou. He teaches China studies at UTS in Sydney

Mr Hugh, who along with Dr Feng is a member of the Australian Values Alliance, says the UTS academic was initially questioned in Kunming, the capital of the province of Yunnan in China's southwest, last Monday.

'They asked him very detailed questions and requested him to undergo a lie detector test,' Mr Hugh told AAP on Monday.

'Dr Feng refused it.'

'There's no talk of arrest but he does expect to be questioned again.'

Mr Hugh has been in telephone contact with Dr Feng's wife, who is staying with her husband in a hotel in Guangzhou, where the couple travelled to after Kunming.

Mr Hugh said he unsure about why the police wanted Dr Feng to undergo a polygraph test.

'What I believe is they are questioning him about who he was meeting in China because he went there on a field trip,' Mr Hugh said.

'He's only told us it's related to his research project but we don't know much of the detail.'

Dr Feng's lawyer Chen Jinxue said he was researching Chinese human rights lawyers and was suspected of being involved in a threat to national security.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull share a joke before kick-off during the round one AFL match between the Sydney Swans and the Port Adelaide Power at Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday

Malcolm Turnbull talks as he sits next to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang as they attended the Sixth Australia-China CEO Roundtable Meeting in Sydney on Friday

'His movements inside China aren't officially restricted, but national security authorities have questioned him a number of times about who he's met and that kind of thing,' Mr Chen told the New York Times.

The Times reported that Dr Feng has written critically of Xi Jinping's government, including a text in which he claimed that the Chinese president has 'failed to lead China forward.'

Malcolm Turnbull and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pictured at the Sydney Harbour

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed Dr Feng, an Australian permanent resident, had been prevented from leaving China but did not disclose any reasons.

DFAT is unable to provide Dr Feng with assistance as he did not enter China on an Australian passport.

Dr Feng has previously spoken publicly about the Chinese government's influence in Australia, and in January told Associated Press that China's ruling Communist Party was 'shutting down speech'.

Another friend, Professor John Fitzgerald, a Swinburne University academic, said Dr Feng was one of many Chinese scholars in Australia who speak openly and frankly about problems in the relationship.

He denied his friend was a dissident.

'He's a loyal China patriot who sees himself as contributing to a debate within China about reform and development of China's current system,' Prof Fitzgerald told ABC radio.

A UTS spokesman said the university has been in regular contact with Dr Feng and with government agencies in the hope that the matter can be resolved quickly.
An avalanche Monday killed seven Japanese high school students and a teacher on a mountain-climbing outing, and injured 40 more.

More than 100 troops were deployed in a major rescue mission after the avalanche hit ski slopes in Tochigi prefecture north of Tokyo.

Television footage showed rescuers climbing the mountainside as ambulances stood by.

A total of 52 students and 11 teachers from seven high schools were on a three-day mountaineering expedition when disaster struck.

About 70 Japanese schoolchildren and teachers were said to be at Nasu Onsen Family Ski Resort (pictured) near Tokyo when an avalanche struck, injuring 40 and killing seven. Picutred above, firefighters carry a survivor they rescued from the site of an avalanche in Nasu town

More than 100 troops were deployed in a major rescue mission after the avalanche hit ski slopes in Tochigi prefecture north of Tokyo. Pictured are firefighters rescuing a survivor after an avalanche struck a Japanese ski resort

Students were participating in a climbing event at the resort (pictured) that began Saturday and was supposed to conclude around noon Monday

A warning had been issued for heavy snow and possible avalanches from Sunday until Monday in the area, with the local weather agency forecasting snowfall of some 30 centimetres (about 12 inches).

In the latest update seven students and one teacher, mostly from Otawara High School in Tochigi, were found with no vital signs, an official with a prefectural disaster task force told AFP.

In Japan, deaths in such circumstances are not announced officially until doctors can confirm them.

Officials earlier said eight students had no vital signs.

A total of 52 students and 11 teachers from seven high schools were on a three-day mountaineering expedition when disaster struck. In the latest update seven students and one teacher, mostly from Otawara High School in Tochigi, were found dead

A warning had been issued for heavy snow and possible avalanches from Sunday until Monday in the area

The Nasu Onsen Family Ski Resort in on Mount Nasu in the Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo

Some 40 people have been injured, including two students in serious condition, the prefectural official said.

'All the people have been carried down from the mountain and they are now being transported to hospital,' he said.

The avalanche struck in the town of Nasu 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Tokyo on the final day of the excursion, Tochigi authorities said, adding that soldiers were brought in at the request of the prefecture's governor.

The group was staying at Nasu Onsen Family Ski Resort, a small ski hill on the slopes of Mount Nasu.

The group was staying at Nasu Onsen Family Ski Resort, a small ski hill on the slopes of Mount Nasu. Fire officials received the emergency call around 9.20am UTC Monday

The avalanche struck in the town of Nasu 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Tokyo on the final day of the excursion

Local media cited experts as saying it was likely a surface avalanche, caused by a heavy snowfall accumulating on a previous deposit of slippery snow.

'This (outing) is an annual event and we never had a major accident before,' one of the teachers told Jiji Press. 'I am really shocked.'

The ski resort had been closed for the season, according to the operator's website, with the lift stopped and no skiers at the site.

But some of its facilities were made available for the high school mountaineering trip organised by local physical education authorities.

Local media cited experts as saying it was likely a surface avalanche, caused by a heavy snowfall accumulating on a previous deposit of slippery snow

The ski resort had been closed for the season, according to the operator's website, with the lift stopped and no skiers at the site

There was an unusually heavy snowfall in the region over the past two days and avalanche warnings had been in effect, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The snow combined with rising spring temperatures increased the avalanche risk, said Robert Speta, a meteorologist for Japan's broadcasting corporation NHK World.

Poor weather conditions continue to hamper rescue efforts, with helicopters unable to reach the scene.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said during a parliamentary session that his government 'will make every effort to respond to the disaster, while making it a top priority to rescue victims' of the avalanche.
A British couple's wedding plans in north Queensland have been ruined by tropical Cyclone Debbie.

Stacey Wright and Simon Robinson, who both live in London, flew to Australia and arranged flights for 25 close friends and family to join them on their wedding day.

The pair were meant to get married on Tuesday on Hamilton Island's idyllic Catseye Beach, but with less than 48 hours to go they received the worst possible news.

On Sunday morning their airline told them all flights in and out of the holiday island had been cancelled as the Category 3 storm closed in on the coastline.

British couple Stacey Wright and Simon Robinson (pictured) have had their wedding plans in north Queensland ruined by tropical Cyclone Debbie

The pair were meant to get married on Tuesday on Hamilton Island's idyllic Catseye Beach

Less than 48 hours before they were due to get married their flights were cancelled. Hamilton Island is in the zone forecasters predict will be first hit by the cyclone

'There were a few tears to say the least. The best man is having a bit of a giggle about it now He was there to witness Cyclone Stacey when she found out,' Ms Wright told 9 News.

'It's been a couple of stressful days. We came over and have been sitting tight on the Gold Coast. We had it all booked and have about 25 people coming up from various cities around Australia, and then we got the text message about cancelled flights on Sunday.'

Determined to get married in Australia on the day they had planned, the couple are now desperately searching for a replacement venue before flying home on Friday.

'We'd love to have it somewhere nice but with everything tied up we just wouldn't be able to afford it ... we'll probably just end up having a dinner at the surf club or something,' Ms Wright told 9 News.

Mr Robinson and Ms Wright had booked their wedding and arranged for about 25 people to fly from different parts of Australia to Hamilton Island

Hamilton Island is a popular holiday destination thanks to its picturesque views and blue water

Residents in far North Queensland are refusing to evacuate their homes despite the threat of the worst cyclone in six years, with winds of 280 km/h and floods.

On Sunday, emergency service doorknocked homes between Proserpine and Home Hill urging them to relocate further north to Cairns, with the 'window of opportunity drastically closing' before the roads start flooding.

Ms Wright is originally from Port Macquarie, four hours north of Sydney on the NSW coastline.
Former bikie Thaksin 'Sin' Monthonthaksin has called on Australian Hells Angels imports to be deported after he was allegedly bashed earlier this month (pictured: his injuries)

A former Thai Hells Angels bikie who claims he was bashed by Australian members of the gang has called for his alleged attackers to be deported.

Thaksin 'Sin' Monthonthaksin, who helped launch the Pattaya Hells Angels chapter in 2016, said 'violent' Australian imports have made life a nightmare for local members of the world's largest outlaw bikie gang.

Mr Thaksin claims he was left with seven stitches after being set upon by three Australians in the gang's Pattaya clubhouse this month, reports ABC.

He claims he is living in fear since being lured to the club's Pattaya clubhouse, a bar called Angels Place, where he was bashed by former Gold Coast man Glen Norris and the other two men.

Mr Thaksin said the wave of Australians have sent the club on a collision course with police as they take on 'dark business.'

'It's changed so much because there are many Australians, whose roles and power has been increasing,' Mr Thaksin said.

The brawl, on March 7, is believed to have unfolded after disagreements about Mr Thaksin - the former sergeant-at-arms - being able to introducing new members.

Now he wants his alleged attackers - Glen Norris and two other Australian men  to be sent packing.

'I would like to ask the Australian Consulate to push these people out, please,' he told the ABC.

Mr Thaksin claims he is living in fear since allegedly being bashed by former Gold Coast man Glen Norris (pictured: his mugshot)

The alleged brawl unfolded in the Pattaya clubhouse, a bar called Angels Place (pictured)

However, the club gave a different version of events in a statement to the public broadcaster, claiming Mr Thaksin was voted out of the club after breaching their code.

They say he had a one-on-one fist fight with Glen Norris, and they considered the matter closed.

Mr Thaksin claims he has received threats after refusing to give up his patched Hells Angels jacket.

'If anyone wants to take it from me they have to take my life as well.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Thaksin for comment.

Mr Thaksin claimed Australian members knew information about the murder of Wayne Schneider, (right). Antonio Bagnato, 28, (left) was last month sentenced to death for the 2015 murder, but other suspects remain at large.

Mr Thaksin claims he has received threats after refusing to give up his patched Hells Angels jacket

Mr Thaksin has also claimed there were Australians in Thailand that knew information about the murder of his friend Wayne Schneider, a former Australian Hells Angel who was found buried in a shallow grave in Pattaya in 2015.

Antonio Bagnato, 28, was last month sentenced to death in Thailand after being found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Mr Schneider.

Bagnato, Mr Schneider's former body guard and business associate, was arrested in Cambodia's capital city Pnomh Penh.

Tyler Gerard, a 22-year-old American, was arrested as he tried to cross the border into Cambodia.

But other suspects remain at large, according to local media reports.
A new Sydney cocktail bar has been accused of racism, sexism and cultural appropriation for its 'sexy Shanghai call girls' theme.

Suey Sins opened in Surry Hills last month but has received backlash on social media from users claiming the bar 'glamorises' a traumatic period of Chinese history.

Staff members wear traditional qipao dresses and the bar is named after a 'famous Shanghai call girl' according to the bar's owner, Eli West.

Sydney bar Suey Sins has been accused of racism, sexism and cultural appropriation for its 'sexy Shanghai call girls' theme

Staff members wear traditional qipao dresses and the bar is named after a 'famous Shangai call girl' according to the bar's owner, Eli West

'I love the idea of this seductive, alluring woman who had old world charm and poise but also knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it,' Ms West said.

'I see a bit of that in myself and the young women who will drink here.'

A mural of a naked woman features in the bar, as well as a collage of Anna May Wong - a Chinese-American actress who endured ongoing racism during her Hollywood acting career.

'How about you empower Asian females as well instead of just fetishising us?' one woman wrote on Facebook.

'The gross cultural appropriation is abhorrent and [the bar] also refers to "geisha chicks" in at least one of their posts while dressing their white staff in qipao as though Asian cultures are all the same,' a social media user said.

'This bar is foul, glamourising a traumatic time in Chinese history, widespread opium addiction, Chinese women forced into prostitution, or 'iconic call girls' as this bar refers to it,' another person said.

Suey Sins opened in Surry Hills last month but has received backlash on social media from users saying the bar glamourises a traumatic period of Chinese history

A mural of a naked woman features in the bar, as well as a collage of Anna May Wong; a Chinese-American actress who endured racism during her Hollywood acting career

But some Facebook users have jumped to defend the swanky cocktail bar.

'I love Suey Sins. The young girl Ellie is working hard to make a living, employs hard working young men and women and is doing a great job. Maybe take your trolling to someone else. Or get a job,' one person wrote.

'What Sydney obviously wants is a nice place to eat and drink and to stare at the hot waitresses in sexy Asian clothes. This place is going to make a bucket load. Congrats to the owners,' another said.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Suey Sins for comment.

Venue management has addressed the criticism with a statement, according to News Corp.

'We acknowledge and understand that there has been some criticism surround Suey Sins,' the statement said.

'It has never been our intention to offend. We simply sought to create a venue that focuses on delicious Asian fusion inspired street style food and creative beverages for all to enjoy.'
Chinese investors are buying 25 per cent of new housing in Sydney because buying them is 'cheaper' than buying property back home.

Buying sprees by overseas investors have helped double Sydney's house prices since 2009 and make it the second most unaffordable in the world.

Credit Suisse analysts believed demand would only get bigger and protect the market from a crash, according to a note given to state revenue offices and obtained by the Australian Financial Review.

Chinese investors are buying 25 per cent of new housing in Sydney because it is 'cheap' compared to property back home

'We forecast Chinese demand for Aussie housing will continue to grow. It will be supported by Chinese wealth creation, attractive valuations and closer economic integration,' Hasan Tevfik wrote.

Despite new taxes on foreign buyers and Chinese government restrictions, double the amount of overseas cash poured into the city's market late last year.

About $225 million worth of NSW housing was snapped up by foreign investors in October, but jumped to $450 million in both November and December.

Victoria is in the crosshairs too as overseas spending rose 50 per cent between November and December, and 16 per cent of new housing is bought by the Chinese.

'There has been a pick-up in both Sydney and Melbourne settlements around the end the year, despite the numerous impediments for foreign buyers,' Mr Tevfik wrote.

Buying sprees by overseas investors have helped to double the city's house prices since 2009 and make it the second most unaffordable in the world

Despite new taxes on foreign buyers and Chinese government restrictions, double the amount of overseas cash poured into the city's market late last year

He said property prices in China's biggest cities were far higher, with a two-bedroom Shanghai flat costing about $900,000 compared with Sydney's $700,000.

Rental yields were also stuck at about 1.5 per cent while Sydney was at four per cent and Melbourne and Brisbane up to five per cent.

Chinese buyers were not put off by Sydney's $1.1 million median house price that rose 18.4 per cent in the past year - second most in the world.

'Yes, our property is expensive when we compare it to our own history, but it is cheap when compared to Chinese property,' Mr Tevfik wrote.

The rate of increase meant average house prices were rising at $222 a day and more than $1,000 in the most desirable suburbs.

About 77 per cent of foreign property buyers in NSW are from China.
Troubled AFL premiership player Ben Cousins still wants to go to rehab, but does not want to be monitored by Perth's drug court, his lawyer says.

Cousins looked calm, had a full beard and was wearing a T-shirt when he appeared in the drug court on Monday, having previously pleaded guilty to 11 offences, including aggravated stalking, breaching a violence restraining order and drug possession.

Lawyer Michael Tudori said the former West Coast captain was still 'happy and willing' to go to rehab, but did not want the matter dealt with in the drug court, which monitors addicts.

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Troubled AFL premiership player Ben Cousins still wants to go to rehab, but says he does not want to be monitored by Perth's drug court (pictured a previous court appearance)

People usually volunteer to have their case heard in the drug court, but Cousins was ordered last week to attend by an Armadale magistrate, who said it would be better handled in the specialist court.

Cousins' application to the drug court was formally withdrawn and the 38-year-old was remanded in custody to appear in the regular list at Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

His parents were in court, and he smiled at them a few times during proceedings, but they declined to comment to reporters as they left.

Mr Tudori previously said Cousins' time behind bars had been sobering and a rare opportunity had come up for a spot in a residential rehab program.

If the Brownlow medallist enters that program, it will last at least six months.

Cousins appeared in the drug court on Monday, having previously pleaded guilty to 11 offences (pictured a previous court appearance)

The former West Coast Eagle and Richmond Tiger (above) was remanded in custody to appear in the regular list at Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday

But Mr Tudori expressed concern that the court process could cause Cousins to miss out on the opportunity.

The court also heard last week that Cousins' phone calls were tapped in prison, and in one conversation he told his father he could quit whenever he wanted.

'I'm not going to stop. I don't want to stop,' he said.

Mr Tudori said those calls were made earlier in his prison stint and he no longer felt that way.

When Cousins was arrested, he allegedly had eight grams of meth and told officers he had a high tolerance.

The VRO was taken out by his former partner Maylea Tinecheff, with whom he has two young children.
President Donald Trump is set to announce a new 'innovation' office run by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, that will seek to overhaul government functions using ideas from the business sector.

Trump will unveil the White House Office of American Innovation, which is being described as a 'SWAT team' on Monday.

His senior adviser, Kushner, will head up this office and the office will report directly to the president, according to The Washington Post.

President Donald Trump is set to announce a new 'innovation' office run by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, that will seek to overhaul government functions using ideas from the business sector. Trump will unveil the White House Office of American Innovation on Monday

The idea is to help meet some of the goals Trump pledged to accomplish during his campaign, such as working to help with Veterans Affairs, remodeling workforce training programs and fighting opioid addiction.

The new 'SWAT team' is projected to fix the federal bureaucracy.

Trump is looking to work with tech giants such as Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk, according to the Post.

The office is expected to pull ideas from the business world and may consider privatizing some government functions.

'We should have excellence in government,' Kushner told the Post. 'The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens.'

The innovation group has been meeting twice a week in Kushner's office.

The new office is set in place to help meet some of the goals Trump pledged to accomplish during his campaign. Kushner (pictured) said most of his team have little-to-no political experience, and instead have business experience

All is forgiven: The announcement comes after the President was seen having dinner with Ivanka and Jared at his flagship Washington hotel on Saturday night

Kushner added that most of the individuals on his team have little-to-no political experience.

They include Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council; Chris Liddell, assistant to the president for strategic initiatives and Reed Cordish, assistant to the president for intergovernmental and technology initiatives, to name a few.

Officials told the Post that Ivanka Trump, who now does her advocacy work from a West Wing office, will collaborate with the innovation office on issues such as workforce development.

Ivanka is not expected to have an official role in the innovation office. The White House has stressed that Ivanka will voluntarily follow a series of government ethics rules when she takes up residence in her new office.

The announcement of the new office comes at a time Trump is attempting to seize back the initiative after a Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare imploded before it could even be voted on in the House of Representatives.

It also comes after reports that President Trump was reportedly upset that Kushner was not around during the crucial healthcare week, instead choosing to head to Aspen for a skiing holiday with his family.
This video will make you weak at the knees.

A horrible video of a man snapping his knee on a leg press machine in an Indian gym has made millions cringe.

The painful footage shows the man attempting to press what appears to be hundreds of kilos, before his left leg bends the wrong way and snaps.

The accident happened on Saturday at the Pehalvaan gym in the city of Vadodara, in western India.

A horrible video of a man snapping his knee on a leg press machine in an Indian gym has made millions cringe

The painful footage shows the man attempting to press what appears to be hundreds of kilos, before his left leg bends the wrong way and snaps

In a second clip, he is seen lying on the floor while others rush to attend to him

The injured man, identified as Ambrish Patel, is a regular at the gym, a Pehalvaan employee told Daily Mail Australia.

'He is alright now, he's fine,' the woman said. 'But he will be in recovery for the next six months.'

'We have visited him in the hospital and he is good. He is not upset.'

The video of the accident has been viewed an impressive 90 million times since it was uploaded to Facebook on Saturday.

After his leg snaps, the video shows Mr Patel appearing to panic, putting his other foot on the floor and struggling to get out from under the heavy weights.

In a second clip, he is seen lying on the floor while others rush to attend to him.
The new boyfriend of Married At First Sight star Cheryl Maitland is a disgraced former policeman who was convicted of trafficking drugs.

Dean Gibbs, 30, was unveiled as the busty brunette's new beau over the weekend, with the reality TV star and heavily tattooed tradie sharing a loved-up snap online.

And now it has been revealed just three years ago Gibbs was handed a one-year suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to trafficking and using cocaine, as well as possessing steroids and ecstasy.

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Loved up: Dean Gibbs (right), the new boyfriend of Married at First Sight star Cheryl Maitland (left), is a former policeman who was convicted of trafficking drugs in 2014

Convicted: Gibbs faced more than 15 years in jail but pleaded guilty to trafficking and possession charges, and also failing to store ammunition appropriately

Gibbs, now a plumber from Melbourne, pleaded guilty to five drug-related charges in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in 2014.

Gibbs' mother Karen told Daily Mail Australia her son had worked hard to build a new life for himself ever since he narrowly avoided jail.

'That is all in the past he's moved on from all of that,' Mrs Gibbs said of his criminal conviction.

'He has worked very hard to build a new life, he's got a successful plumbing business and he's very proud of that,' she said.

Troubled: Just three years ago Gibbs (pictured) was handed a one-year suspended jail term after pleading guilty to trafficking and using cocaine, as well as possessing steroids and ecstasy

All smiles! The brunette beauty first debuted the hunky plumber on her Instagram account over the weekend, sharing this loved-up snap of the pair kissing while out on a picnic

According to reports, the former constable, from the North West Metro Region, started dealing drugs after his salary was unable to cover the cost of his cocaine habit.

Gibbs is also believed to have bikie links, having reportedly first been charged with drugs offences after he was caught up in a Victoria Police sting on the Comanchero gang in 2012.

After reportedly tapping his phones and tracking his vehicle, police had a warrant to search his house and discovered half-an-ounce of cocaine and two ecstasy tablets.

Ammunition, dealing bags and scales were also found in his home.

Gibbs faced more than 15 years in jail but pleaded guilty to trafficking and possession charges, and also failing to store ammunition appropriately.

He resigned from the police force in disgrace and took up a position as a plumbing apprentice.

Troubled times: Gibbs (pictured leaving the Melbourne Magistrates Court in 2014) pleaded guilty to five charges

Hiding something? Gibbs, now a tradie in Melbourne, has made his Instagram account private since his relationship with the MAFS star went public

After his relationship went public over the weekend, Gibbs turned his Instagram account to private.

Prior to that, Gibbs regularly took to social media to show off his muscle-bound physique, posting a number of mirror selfies and shirtless shots.

In one image he can be seen lifting up his shirt to show off his six-pack, while in another he poses without a top with a gold chain around his neck.

Moving on: Gibbs now owns and operates a plumbing business in Melbourne

'Phone. Wallet. Keys. Abs. Ready for gym,' he captioned the revealing picture.

The boss of his own plumbing business, Gibbs Plumbing, he also regularly shares pictures from his days at work.

Just four weeks ago it appeared Dean and Cheryl caught up for the first time since she left the MAFS scene, with a photo of the pair at dinners posted on his Instagram.

While Cheryl's new relationship is her first since leaving the hit Channel Nine show, it seems Dean has previously had other love interests.

Controversy: The revelations come just weeks after Cheryl found herself in controversy when pictures came to light appearing to show her snorting a white substance off of her own breast

Raid: Police found drugs including cocaine, ecstasy and steroids during a search of his house

Just like the snap of him and the busty beauty kissing that was shared on Sunday, the tradie has a number of images of himself getting intimate with other girls on social media.

Just weeks ago Cheryl found herself embroiled in controversy after pictures came to light appearing to show her snorting a white substance off of her own breast.

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.

'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.
An Australian woman has died at a Bali resort during a drunken night after she allegedly drank 27 glasses of vodka.

The 38-year-old woman - believed to be mother-of-five Summa Simmonds - was staying at a luxury villa in Peppers Seminyak when she ingested the fatal amount of alcohol.

Bali police said the North Queensland woman started vomiting and passed out at her villa before her face and lips turned blue, according to News Corp.

The woman was staying in a luxury villa at Peppers Seminyak (pictured) when she drank the fatal amount of alcohol

The 38-year-old drank 27 glasses of vodka - according to her two friends and Bali police

Two other women, aged 46 and 20, from Mossman, were travelling with the victim and tried to revive their friend.

A doctor was called to the resort about 12am but was unable to save the Ms Simmonds, and she was declared dead in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Empty vodka bottles were discovered in her room but no locally produced alcohol was found.

North Kuta police chief Ika Prabawa told News Corp police were still investigating the cause of death.

Peppers Seminyak is described as 'luxurious, chic and elegantly decorated' on its website

The expensive resort lies km from Seminyak's high-end shopping and 6km from Legian Beach

'We are still investigating. Based on witnesses she drank vodka and when she came back to her villa she fainted and died,' Mr Prabawa said.

The villas at Peppers Seminyak are described by the resort as 'luxurious, chic and elegantly decorated, making them the perfect tropical retreat for Bali holidays'.

The cheapest room at Peppers costs $181 per night and the more expensive two bedroom villas are advertised at $501 per night.

An autopsy to confirm the exact cause of the woman's death is yet to be conducted.
A stowaway snake has been caught on an airport tarmac after making the journey from Brisbane to Auckland aboard a private jet.

The remarkable discovery was made by airport staff with officials contacting a Ministry for Primary Industries snake handler to capture the slithery creature.

It has not been confirmed what breed the serpent was but it is believed to be a brown tree snake.

A snake has boarded a flight to Auckland from Brisbane on a private jet

Although not a high-risk to humans the species could harm New Zealand's native bird population.

It is thought the snake entered the aircraft at some point during a six-week stint spent at a remote bay in Brisbane and slithered into the wheel housing.

The plane had been situated for six weeks in a remote spot in Brisbane before heading to New Zealand.

MPI staff conducted a search of the plane and surrounding areas but did not find any signs other sneaky snakes.

MPI staff tweeted out that the snake had been discovered

The snake was in poor condition when it was found but is still alive.

The snake was in poor condition when it was found but is still alive. It is likely the snake will be euthanised after speaking with the Department of Conservation, the New Zealand Herald reported.

MPI Manager North Passenger Craig Hughes said: 'This is clearly a one-off hitchhiker.

'We don't have a snake population in New Zealand. Bio-security officials are doing their best to make sure it stays that way.'
An 11-year-old boy who ran away from home because he was upset he may have disappointed his parents has been found safe in Melbourne.

Andrew Ong, 11, left a note at his parents' home in Camberwell in the city's east before fleeing at about 8.30am on Monday, according to The Age.

'Great news! Missing 11-year-old boy Andrew Ong has been located safe and well!' Victoria Police wrote on Twitter on Monday afternoon.

Earlier, Cindy and David Ong made a desperate plea their son to come home, saying he was upset about a minor incident which happened at school.

Andrew Ong (pictured), 11, left a note at his parents' home in Camberwell in Melbourne's east before fleeing at about 8.30am on Monday

His parents, Cindy and David Ong, made a desperate plea their son to come home, saying he was upset about something that happened at school

'He's a very sweet boy, but very sensitive,' Mrs Ong said, according to the Herald Sun.

'He wouldn't hurt a fly. Something happened at school that he's upset about, but we want him to know he's not in any trouble.'

The 11-year-old had been last seen at on Carramar Avenue in Camberwell about 8.35am.

Police thanked the public for their assistance.
An incredible video has been released showing the moment a thief tried to make off with stolen construction equipment.

Little did he realize, he had picked on the wrong crew after one angry laborer jumped on the hood of his speeding vehicle.

In the home surveillance footage, filmed in the exclusive Park Cities neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, the thief can be seen trying to drive off after taking a saw worth around $1,200 (955).

The thief carries the expensive tool back into his car but is quickly followed by one of the construction crew workers who leaps onto the front of the vehicle.

The other labourers also chase after the thief as they try to retrieve their missing equipment.

After a struggle that takes place off camera, the car speeds back down the road with the construction worker still on the hood.

The truck chasing after them appears to knock the back of the thief's vehicle.

An incredible video has been released showing the moment a thief tried to make off with stolen construction equipment

University Park police say they are still looking for the suspect and the investigation remains open.

'Well I was astounded the guy jumped on the hood of the car, but I can understand, [it's] like moral outrage,' neighbor Rick Bauchman told CBS11.

He added: 'And at that point the red car stopped, backed up, turned around, and came flying back past me with the person still attached to the hood.'

Little did he realize, he had picked on the wrong crew after one angry laborer jumped on the hood of his speeding vehicle

The driver of the red car faces a theft of property charge.

The shocking footage has now been viewed nearly one million times since being posted to YouTube.

One commenter wrote: 'I am a construction worker. If we catch you robbing us or robbing our customers houses, you'll get the same exact response. We don't play around like that.'
A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a two-year-old boy was left in a serious condition.

The toddler was taken to hospital after he suffered severe injuries at a property in Gosport, near Portsmouth in Hampshire.

He is now being treated at Queen Alexandra Hospital, in Cosham.

The toddler was taken to hospital after he suffered severe injuries at a property on this street in Gosport, near Portsmouth in Hampshire

A man and a woman, both in their 20s, have been arrested and bailed, Hampshire Police has said.

A police spokeswoman told Portsmouth News: Specialist officers are conducting enquiries after a two-week-old baby was taken to QA hospital on Tuesday afternoon.

The infant remains in hospital, his condition is described as serious. Officers are trying to establish how the child was injured.

More to follow.
A toddler who saw the beach for the first time in his life couldn't stop squealing with surprize.

Dressed in a fetching pair of red dungarees, little Garrison looks wide-eyed as he takes his first steps on to the sand in Destin, Florida, USA, on March 11.

The 15-month-old reaches down to put his hands into the grains but overwhelmed by the texture quickly stands up shouting.

Cute Garrison, 15-months-old, couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the sand

Unable to maintain his balance on the uneven surface, Garrison continues to make feel his way with hands and feet making hilarious involuntary sounds each time.

Garrison's auntie Sarah Poland said: 'Garrison has never reacted that way to anything before, so we thought it was hilarious.

'He seemed to be overwhelmed by the vastness of the beach and just couldn't contain himself.

He screeched as he took his first steps on the beach in Destin, Florida, USA, and knelt to feel the sand with his hands

'It was a joy to be there and experience the beauty of the beach through a baby's eyes.

'He had already been standing on the beach and screeching for about 30 seconds before I started filming.

'After he figured out how to walk on sand, he ran all over the rest of the beach and loved it.

'He wasn't even bothered by the cold water splashing his feet, which surprised us.'
Theresa May flatly dismissed Nicola Sturgeon's incendiary demands for a fresh independence referendum today as the leaders held talks.

After the tense talks broke up, Miss Sturgeon said the meeting was 'business like' but 'cordial'. She claimed the PM had failed to offer any assurances about powers being transferred to Scotland after Brexit.

The SNP leader said the meeting with Mrs May confirmed her view the terms of Brexit would be clear within 18 to 24 months and repeated her demand for a re-run of the 2014 referendum.

While a beaming Miss Sturgeon left by the front exit of the hotel afterwards, Mrs May slipped out by the back door for an immediate return to London.

Just days before Brexit is formally triggered, the PM and the First Minister held a crucial showdown in Glasgow's Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Despite slightly awkward smiles for the sole photographer allowed in for the start of the hour-long meeting, the sparks are thought to have flown in private after a bitter slanging match over recent weeks.

Unusually there was no on-camera handshake - a routine pleasantry at most encounters between dignitaries.

Despite the awkward smiles for the cameras, the sparks are expected to fly in private after a bitter slanging match over recent weeks

Theresa May has said a united Britain is an 'unstoppable force' as she prepares for head-to-head talks with Nicola Sturgeon

At one point, Mrs May gazed out of the window of the cramped hotel room meeting in Glasgow

Miss Sturgeon is furious that her Brexit demands - including staying in the single market - have been ignored in Westminster.

Speaking after the meeting, she said: 'It was a business like meeting. I wished the Prime Minister well for the negotiations that will kick off when she triggers Article 50 on Wednesday.

'I indicated the Scottish Government's desire to be constructive and play a part in getting what is in everybody's interests - the best possible deal for the UK.

'I had been under the impression we may be about to get some kind of offer from UK government around powers for the Scottish Government but nothing of that nature emerged.

'What was interesting though... was she is very clear the terms of Brexit, both the exit terms and the details of the future relationship on the trading between the UK and the EU will be clear before the UK exits.

'I put to her that will be in 18 months to two years, she said yes that was her expectation - of course that is the timescale I think the people of Scotland should have their ability make an informed choice.'

But immediately before the talks Mrs May made clear she is still determined that a referendum will not be held before our divorce from Brussels is complete.

In a speech to civil servants in East Kilbride, the premier said the UK was an 'unstoppable force' in the world and Brexit would make it 'stronger'.

Miss Sturgeon triggered a huge constitutional row a fortnight ago by demanding a fresh referendum on breaking away from the UK as early as Autumn next year.

Mrs May has insisted 'now is not the time' for an independence vote, and made clear the Westminster government will ignore any requests for one at least until Brexit is completed in March 2019.

She has accused Miss Sturgeon of 'playing politics' with the country's future and today insisted her position has not changed.

Miss Sturgeon was still smiling as she left the Crowne Plaza by the front exit after the meeting in Glasgow. Mrs May is thought to have been slipped out by the back door

The Prime Minister and First Minister both arrived at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Glasgow for their talks this afternoon as Mrs May completed as the final stop on her pre-Article 50 tour.

But the SNP chief has accused the PM of 'untenable' behaviour and 'running scared' of the electorate.

In a speech to civil servants at the Department for International Development in East Kilbride, Mrs May pledged that she will 'never allow our Union to become looser and weaker, or our people to drift apart'.

'We stand on the threshold of a significant moment for Britain as we begin the negotiations that will lead us towards a new partnership with Europe,' she said.

'And I want to make it absolutely clear as we move through this process that this is not  in any sense  the moment that Britain steps back from the world.

'Indeed, we are going to take this opportunity to forge a more Global Britain. The closest friend and ally with Europe, but also a country that looks beyond Europe to build relationships with old friends and new allies alike.

The talks between the leaders today are being held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Glasgow

Theresa May, pictured today speaking in Scotland, said Britain would be 'stronger after this period of national change'

'That is why the Plan for Britain I have set-out  a plan to get the right deal for Britain abroad as well as a better deal for ordinary, working people at home  has as its heart one over-arching goal: to build a more united nation. Because I believe when we work together, there is no limit to what we can do.'

STURGEON MUST ASK SCOTS PARLIAMENT BEFORE GOING TO UK GOVERNMENT There is a strict process that needs to be followed to hold a binding referendum: The First Minister must first get the consent of the Scottish Parliament. While she does not have an overall majority, this will be straightforward. In 2014, this was followed by a written agreement between London and Edinburgh known as the 'Edinburgh Agreement', setting the terms for the referendum taking place. Westminster must then give permission as constitutional reform is not devolved to Scotland. This means a 'section 30' order must be agreed in Parliament under the Scotland Act. If powers are passed to Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament will pass a law setting out the rules of the referendum - including the date, question and franchise. Advertisement

The Premier continued: 'Because, as you prove every day through the work you do and as some of the most vulnerable people in some of the most desperate conditions around the world can attest, this United Kingdom and the values at its heart is one of the greatest forces for good in the world today.

'When we work together and set our sights on a task, we really are an unstoppable force.'

Mrs May hinted that Brexit could mean more powers being passed to devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

'A more united nation means working actively to bring people and communities together by promoting policies which support integration and social cohesion.

'In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that means fully respecting, and indeed strengthening, the devolution settlements. But never allowing our Union to become looser and weaker, or our people to drift apart.

'So in those policy areas where the UK Government holds responsibility, I am determined that we will put the interests of the Union  both the parts and the whole  at the heart of our decision-making.

'So as Britain leaves the European Union, and we forge a new role for ourselves in the world, the strength and stability of our Union will become even more important.'

The Prime Minister has pledged to use Brexit to strengthen the United Kingdom and cultivate 'a more united nation' despite Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wanting a second independence referendum before Britain is allowed to leave the European Union

Theresa May, pictured at Govan Police Station in Glasgow, is set to hold talks with Nicola Sturgeon later this afternoon

On Wednesday Mrs May (pictured in Scotland today) will formally write to European Commission president Donald Tusk triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. That means Britain will formally leave on or before March 29 2019

Mrs May repeated her rejection of Miss Sturgeon's call for a referendum to be held between Autumn 2018 and Spring 2019.

'My position isnt going to change, which is that now is not the time to be talking about a second independence referendum,' she told reporters.

The talks between Mrs May and Miss Sturgeon this afternoon will be their last before Britain passes the point of no return in its EU divorce.

COUNTER TERROR EXERCISE LED BY POLICE SCOTLAND Theresa May has announced a counter terrorism exercise will be led by Police Scotland in October. The Prime Minister said the operation, which will take place on both sides of the border, would be 'significant' in ensuring readiness for a future attack. It is part of the UK government's National Counter Terrorism Exercise Programme. Mrs May said: 'The UK Government considers national security across the whole of the UK as a top priority. Training operations such as this one play a significant part in making sure police forces and other response agencies are able to fully draw on the latest intelligence and resources from the UK's security forces to protect against terrorism anywhere on our soil.' Advertisement

On Wednesday the PM will formally write to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Commission, triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

That means Britain will leave the Brussels club on or before March 29 2019.

On Thursday ministers will publish the Great Repeal Bill, which will formally repeal the 1972 European Communities Act and transfer reams of existing EU law onto the domestic statute book.

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned today there is a 'distinct possibility' Britain will leave without a trade deal.

He admitted the outcome would 'undoubtedly' leave the UK and the EU worse off.

Writing in the Financial Times, he said: 'It goes without saying that a no-deal scenario, while a distinct possibility, would have severe consequences for our people and our economies. It would undoubtedly leave the UK worse off.

'Severe disruption to air transport and long queues at the Channel port of Dover are just some of the many examples of the negative consequences of failing to reach a deal.

'Others include the disruption of supply chains, including the suspension of the delivery of nuclear material to the UK.

Most polls show opposition to independence ahead with the most recent survey, in the Sunday Times, putting the Union on 53 per cent

Yesterday the government announced it would use so-called 'Henry VIII' powers  which bypass Parliament  to change European Union laws as they are repatriated and allowing them to be altered or removed after Brexit.

In a report today a think tank argues Mrs May shouldn't try and stay 'half-in, half-out' of the EU customs union and instead pursue a clean break  allowing it to negotiate trade deals around the world after Brexit.

Open Europe's policy analyst, Aarti Shankar, said: 'We have looked at the evidence and at international examples, and conclude that leaving the EU's customs union is the right decision for the UK.

'If the UK remained in the customs union after Brexit, it would not be able to meet the Government's ambition of conducting an independent trade policy and achieving a truly 'global Britain'.

PM picks neutral ground for showdown with Sturgeon as the leaders fix grins for the camera before getting to business

Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon fixed awkward smiles for the cameras before holding their crunch talks in a hotel room today.

The leaders have previously met at in the more auspicious surroundings of the First Minister's Bute House residence in Edinburgh.

But Mrs May was clearly keen to be on neutral ground as she braced for a combustible encounter.

Both women appeared ill at ease as they settled in to their chairs in a normal room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow.

However, the body language was hard to gauge as the only media allowed in was a single stills photographer .

There was not even a public handshake - which is routine when senior figures meet.

Mrs May was clearly keen to be on neutral ground as she braced for a combustible encounter

EU migrants in Britain 'will keep child benefit rights after we quit'

EU migrants living in Britain will continue to receive child benefit even after Britain leaves the Brussels bloc, leaked proposal indicated yesterday

EU migrants living in Britain will continue to receive child benefit even after Britain leaves the Brussels bloc, it was claimed yesterday.

Leaked proposals drawn up by the Brexit department would allow all of the estimated three million EU migrants currently living here to keep their benefit rights.

Cabinet ministers have been warned the move may be required to ensure British pensioners living in Spain and other countries keep their health and pension rights.

But the plan risks stoking another row about commitments made in the 2015 Conservative manifesto. That document said the Government would insist that all EU migrants contributed to UK coffers for four years before they could receive benefits.

The issue has been controversial because many EU migrants have claimed child benefit here for children living abroad. Ministers asked EU leaders to settle the issue ahead of negotiations but were rebuffed.

A senior Government source told the Sunday Times: 'The recommendation ... is that as a priority we need to secure rights for UK citizens in the EU. The recommendation is that the EU migrants who are already here should continue to have their rights, which includes being able to export child benefit.'

Last night officials refused to comment on the leaked papers. The vast majority of EU nationals living in the UK currently have been here for four years or more so would still qualify for benefits.

The Conservative manifesto said: 'We will insist that EU migrants who want to claim tax credits and child benefit must live here and contribute to our country for a minimum of four years. This will reduce the financial incentive for lower-paid, lower-skilled workers to come to Britain.'
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Incredible photographs documenting the devastating rise of the German war machine at the chilling peak of the Third Reich during the Second World War have been unearthed in two albums compiled by high-ranking Nazi Field Marsh Wolfram von Richtofen.

Field Marshal Wolfram von Richthofen, who was the cousin of the infamous First World War fighter pilot the Red Baron, was a commanding officer in the German invasion of Russia in July 1941.

He documented the devastating Operation Barbarossa in haunting pictures that have never been seen before.

They include images of the wiped-out Soviet cities of Minsk, Grodnow and Smolensk, burnt out enemy tanks, thousands of captured troops, female Bolshevik soldiers and rounded-up Jewish citizens.

One of the captured soldiers featured is Yakov Jugashvili, the eldest son of Russian communist leader Joseph Stalin, who went on to die in the notorious Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

There are also images showing Nazis in more light hearted moments of the campaign - including a kitten nestled inside a German jack boot and officers catching fish by hurling stick bombs into a lake.

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Field Marshal Wolfram von Richthofen is pictured here marching benind General Franco during the Spanish civil War

Operation Barbarossa - before the Russian winter set in. During the campaign the German army captured five million Soviet prisoners of war. The majority of them never returned alive

Operation Barbarossa: This haunting image shows the destruction caused to the outclassed Russian tanks

'Stalin's son a prisoner': Richthofen's previously unseen snap of Stalin's son Yakov after his capture near Smolensk in July 1941

The devastated town of Merkin in Operation Barbarossa - homes and buildings across the town have been completely destroyed as the enemy launched their rampage

FIELD MARSHAL WOLFRAM VON RICHTHOFEN Field Marshal Wolfram von Richthofen is pictured here in high spirits during the Spanish Civil War Field Marshal Wolfram von Richthofen served in the First World War in the German Air Force and was in the same squadron as his cousin, Manfred von Richthofen, who was credited with 80 aerial victories. Wolfram was inadvertently responsible for the Red Baron's death as Manfred was shot down while trying to defend the novice pilot during his first flight in 1918. He was the youngest field marshal in the German army and he would have gone further in his career, had he not had disagreements with his superior. He trained as an aeronautical engineer between the wars before rejoining the Luftwaffe under Hermann Goering. He designed the so-called Jericho trumpet, the propeller-driven high-pitched sirens on Stuka dive bombers which sent a shudder down any British pilot's spine. In November 1936, he took command of the Condor Legion which carried out bombings in support of Franco's nationalists in Spain. Von Richthofen survived the war but died of a brain tumour in July 1945 and was never put on trial at Nuremberg. Advertisement

Ricthofen can be seen here with Hitler at the huge Nazi victory parade for the Condor Legion in the heart of Berlin in June 1939

The huge Nazi victory parade for von Richthofen's Condor Legion in the heart of Berlin in June 1939

Ricthofen with Hitler: The unseen personal photo album of Field Marshal Wolfram von Richthofen, cousin to the legendary Red Baron, gives an unprecedented insight into his military career in the Third Reich

Ricthofen (right) with Hitler at the Nazi victory parade - Wolfram served in the Red Baron's squadron in the WW1, went on to design the 'Jericho trumpet' of the infamous Stuka Bomber between the wars

Russian prisoners from a burned village are marched away from the burnt out shells of their homes by Nazi guards

OPERATION BARBAROSSA Operation Barbarossa was the name given to Nazi Germanys invasion of Russia on June 22nd 1941. Barbarossa the largest military attack of World War Two and was to have appalling consequences for the Russian people. During Operation Barbarossa the German army captured five million Soviet prisoners of war. The majority of them never returned alive. Hitler, appealing to history, called his campaign Operation Barbarossa, after a daring and expansionist medieval German emperor. For the campaign against the Soviet Union, the Germans allotted almost 150 divisions containing a total of about three million men. Among those units were 19 panzer divisions, and in total the Barbarossa force had about 3,000 tanks, 7,000 artillery pieces, and 2,500 aircraft. It was in effect the largest and most powerful invasion force in human history. The Germans strength was further increased by more than 30 divisions of Finnish and Romanian troops. Operation Barbarossa had begun to miscarry in August 1941, and its failure was patent when the Soviet counteroffensive started. Although the Red Army experienced greater losses than the Germans during the campaign, the inability of German forces to defeat the Soviet Union marked a significant setback for the German military effort. Source: Britannica.com Advertisement

Richthofen in the heady early days of the Operation Barbarossa campaign before the brutal Russian winter set in

German General Hermann Hoth (left), a German army commander and war criminal during the Second World War

Ricthofen with Hitler: One of the two personalised albums was compiled just before the war and is of a huge victory parade in Berlin for Germany's Condor Legion, a military unit which supported General Franco in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and March 1939

There are some images showing Nazis in more light-hearted moments of the campaign - including a cute kitten sat in a German jack boot

The album even contains a bizarre set of pictures of Richthofen and his cronies fishing with hand grenades during the campaign

This aerial photograph shows the pockmarked lunar landscape around the Russian city of Smolensk

Richthofen (right) with General Kesselring: The albums document the 'honeymoon' period of the Third Reich, before the onset of the Russian winter of 1941 which proved a significant turning point of the war

A pilot in the foreground can be seen in a flight of Henschel Hs 123 biplanes during the lethal Operation Barbarossa

Russian prisoners can be seen huddled together in the haunting images, awaiting their fate at the hands of the Nazis

Richthofen (left) with Field Marshal Ernst Busch, a German field marshal during World War II and one of Third Reich's most powerful men

The photograph, entitled 'Jews are led to work', shows the Nazi guards forcing Jewish prisoners to march through the streets before being made to work

'Capture of Bolshevik women': Officers told their soldiers to target people who were described as "Jewish Bolshevik subhumans

Russian prisoners are forced to march along the road with their hands above their heads - but the onset of the Russian winter of 1941 which proved a significant turning point of the war

Richthofen and his fellow officers killed time and amused themselves by using hand grenades to go fishing

The Russian prisoners were forced to live in squalid, cramped conditions. More than a million Soviet Jews were murdered by death squads and gassing as part of the Holocaust
Nigel Farage and Alastair Campbell were embroiled in a shouting match on live TV today.

The former Ukip leader and the ex-Downing Street spin chief clashed ferociously over Brexit - accusing each other of 'loathing democracy' and turning the country into a 'laughing stock'.

The brutal exchanges came during an appearance on ITV's Good Morning Britain today.

Nigel Farage and Alastair Campbell were embroiled in a furious row as they appeared together on ITV's GMB programme this morning

GMB hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid looked on bemused as their guests brutally laid into each other

As hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid looked on, Mr Farage stoked his long-running feud with arch-Remainer Mr Campbell.

The MEP jibed that Mr Campbell should come of of his 'fox hole' because he had already lost the fight over Brexit.

'The war is over,' he said.

But Mr Campbell retorted that Mr Farage had helped push Britain towards an 'an act of economic and political suicide' in the historic referendum last year.

The Brexiteer replied: 'How is it political suicide to make your own laws in your own country? Do you loathe democracy so much?

'What is wrong with running your own country?'

Mr Campbell dismissed the prospect of Brexit being a success, telling the MEP: 'Sorry, we're going to be a laughing stock.'

The discussion between the pair, who were sitting next to each other on the sofa in the studio, became so heated that they were jabbing fingers at each other.

At one point Mr Farage bet the arch-Remainer lunch that Brexit would be a success, but the offer was declined

At one point Mr Farage offered to buy his opponent lunch if Brexit was not a positive thing for the country.

An infuriated Mr Campbell shot back: 'I don't want lunch. Lunch to me would be a waste of time when I could spend my time trying to stop this madness.'

Mr Farage taunted him by saying: 'You are not going to stop it. It's done.'

Reid tweeted afterwards that she feared bouncers were going to be needed to separate the two men.

The row comes with just two days to go until Theresa May triggers Article 50 - the formal divorce process from the EU.
A mother was murdered alongside her two children and her niece in California last weekend, Sacramento County Coroner has confirmed.

Angelique Vasquez, 45; her daughter, Mia Vasquez, 14; her son, Alvin Vasquez, 11; and Ashley Coleman, 21, were found at the home in California after friends became concerned about their welfare.

Detectives have arrested Vasquez's husband and the father of her two children, Salvador Vasquez-Oliva, in connection with the quadruple homicide.

Angelique Vasquez, left, is believed to have been murdered with her daughter Mia, son Alvin, 11 and niece Ashley Coleman, 21, by her husband Salvador Vasquez-Oliva, 56, right

Vasquez and her family were found dead at this home in Sacramento, California on Sunday

Police found the victims on Thursday when they broke into a single-story home in Sacramento after a relative reported that something might be wrong.

According to Sacramento Police spokesman Matthew McPhail, investigators treated the entire house as evidence.

Authorities arrested Salvador Vasquez-Oliva, 56, on suspicion of homicide after finding him in San Francisco, about 90 miles away from the killings.

A former co-worker described Angelique Vasquez as a devoted mother.

Ashley Coleman, 21, was among those murdered at the home in Sacramento last weekend

Ashley Coleman, pictured, was among the four people murdered at the family home

Shelia Stewart, who worked with Vasquez in the California Employment Development Department said: 'I loved her free spirit and the way she spoke about her children. She loved them so much.

Vasquez had split with her husband 'in the past', Stewart said.

She continued: 'She didn't really talk about him, at least not to me. I know they had problems like any relationship but never heard any stories of physical abuse.'

Vasquez-Oliva also worked for the Employment Development Department, which administers the state's unemployment checks.

Agency officials said Vasquez-Oliva had worked as an office technician since 2014.

Police confirmed they are treating the entire home in Sacramento as a crime scene

Sergeant Bryce Heinlein said Thursday that the killings did not appear to be random.

Police said Vasquez-Oliva is from Sacramento, but records show he also is associated with an apartment near the University of San Francisco, six blocks from where police found him.

Officers completed their examination of the crime scene on Sunday, according to KCRA.com.

Vasquez's co-worker Kanah-Kila Marquez told the station her friend was 'always smiling and always there to kind of help everybody else out'.

Friends placed floral tributes to the slain family outside the home over the weekend.
The Northern Ireland Secretary today warned the province's politicians their fighting was not 'sustainable' as a deadline for forming an executive came and went.

James Brokenshire said Northern Ireland would soon reach the point of having no agreed budget as he handed spending controls to civil servants.

The unionist DUP and republican Sinn Fein parties failed to form a new power sharing executive by today's 4pm deadline.

Mr Brokenshire played for time after the deadline passed, warning there was little appetite for yet more elections but insisting nobody wanted to restore direct rule from London.

He said there remained a 'short window' to try and bridge the gap between the battling parties, highlighting issues 'surrounding culture and identity'.

MPs are set to begin a three week recess for Easter from Thursday and direct rule will require the passing of legislation - meaning weeks more limbo in Stormont.

James Brokenshire said Northern Ireland would soon reach the point of having no agreed budget as he handed administrative control to civil servants.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams and Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill, pictured at Stormont today, last night quit the talks

DUP leader Arlene Foster has refused to step aside for an inquiry into a botched green energy deal, leaving the talks in a stalemate

Mr Brokenshire said there remains 'an overwhelming desire' for strong and stable devolved government.

'We now have a short window of opportunity to resolve outstanding issues and for an executive to be formed,' he said at a press conference outside Stormont House.

'Everyone owes it to the people of Northern Ireland to grasp that and provide the political leadership and stability that they want.'

Mr Brokenshire said he would make a full statement in the House of Commons on Tuesday setting out a way forward for the region.

No deal will also mean no Budget is agreed and the Northern Ireland Assembly will have no representatives in Brexit discussions.

The talks were overshadowed by the death of former Sinn Fein deputy first minister Martin McGuinness, whose resignation in January provoked the power sharing collapse in January after a row over a botched green energy scheme predicted to cost the taxpayer up to half a billion pounds.

Sinn Fein has said it will not share power with the DUP leader Arlene Foster as first minister until a public inquiry into the renewable heat incentive (RHI) is concluded.

Failure to strike an agreement by 4pm means Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire faces the choice between ordering yet more elections or restoring direct rule from Westminster

Mrs Foster said today: 'We wonder whether Sinn Fein were serious about reaching agreement at this time.

'We are just disappointed that Sinn Fein did not come to the talks in the same spirit as we came to the talks.

'We respect everybody's mandates, let me make that very clear, but if we wanted to form an executive, then there had to be a spirit of compromise and unfortunately that didn't exist.'

Mrs Foster claimed while her party entered talks in 'good faith', Sinn Fein were not in 'agreement-finding mode'.

Mrs O'Neill gave a very different assessment of the breakdown. She claimed the DUP had failed to live up to previous agreements and were standing in the way of progressive policies.

'We are standing firm - previous agreements need to be implemented,' she said.

'We came at the negotiations with the right attitude, wanting to make the institutions work, wanting to deliver for all citizens.

'Unfortunately, the DUP maintained their position in relation to blocking equality, delivery of equality for citizens - that was the problem.'

She said she was open to the suggestion that an independent chair be appointed to mediate new negotiations.

Mrs O'Neill and Mrs Foster appeared together to pay tribute to Mr McGuinness, raising hopes last week of the prospects of a deal

Republicans have also been seeking movement on issues like an Irish language act giving the tongue official status in Northern Ireland, a hugely symbolic measure but deeply problematic for some unionists.

They want to see progress on legacy funding for Northern Ireland conflict victims waiting up to 45 years for answers over how their loved ones died.

Mr Brokenshire chaired the talks in Belfast and said they had a duty to victims to address past violence which left 3,637 dead and countless more injured.

Sinn Fein have now called time on the current round of negotiations.

Its president Gerry Adams said thinking unionism was at a crossroads.

'The DUP cannot be in there representing the DUP voters.

'They have to work with us and any other party in there representing everyone.

As the leading parties in the recent election, the Good Friday Agreement peace deal requires the DUP and Sinn Fein share power

'We don't have the basis for doing that, we are not going back to the status quo, but will we be back, will we get the institutions in place? Yes.'

He said the terms did not exist now to nominate for a deputy first minister.

'That is today...we do believe that we will have the conditions in the time ahead because we want to be in the institutions.'

He said unionists needed to help build a society that respected the rights of everyone.

'That is the big change that has come about and it is amplified in many ways by Martin McGuinness's term in office - you do it for everybody.'

A voting surge by Sinn Fein in the last Assembly election earlier this month saw the party come within one seat of becoming the biggest party at Stormont behind the DUP.
A couple have demanded an apology from the Royal Mail after their arthritic dog was allegedly kicked in the head by a postman.

John and Michelle Pollard claim the postie 'assaulted' their rescue bulldog Jacko after he went to 'greet' him on the driveway of their home in Consett, Co Durham.

A letter sent from the Royal Mail to the couple claimed the postman was 'acting in self-defence' after Jacko 'ran at him in an aggressive manner'.

They also confirmed an investigation was ongoing.

But the pair say 10-year-old Jacko has advanced arthritis in both hips and knees and is unable to run.

Michelle and John Pollard claim the postie 'assaulted' their rescue bulldog Jacko after he went to 'greet' him on the driveway of their Co Durham home.

Mr Pollard, 46, said: 'We are always hearing about attacks on Royal Mail staff by dogs.

'But when their staff do not follow their protocol for dealing with dogs and just kick out at them, nothing is said.'

The alleged incident occurred earlier this month as Mrs Pollard accidentally dropped Jacko's lead while she was leaving the house to take their three rescue bulldogs for a walk.

'Jacko spotted the postman walking down the path and took off down, barking,to greet him.

'When he got to the end of the drive, the postman took two steps and kicked him in the head. Jacko turned on his heel and ran back to Michelle for comfort.

'When she asked the postman if kicking an animal was part of Royal Mail training when dealing with dogs, he apologised and said the procedure was to place his mail bag between him and the dog,' Mr Pollard said.

The couple have since written to the Royal Mail demanding an apology for the incident.

Jacko the arthritic rescue bulldog who was 'kicked in the head' by a postman after he 'ran at him to say hello.'

A response from the company said the postman was acting in self-defence after Jacko 'went to attack' him.

The letter read: 'He said the dog pulled from its lead and escaped your grasp and ran at him in an aggressive manner. He had no doubt the dog intended to bite him.

'I think the root cause of this is the dogs escaping your attention.

'If the dog had been kept under control the attack and kick would not have happened. I understand that you're likely to regard your dog as a harmless pet but I hope you also appreciate that animals often behave differently around strangers.

'The vast majority of dogs cause us no problems at all but the reality is that 4,000 dog-related injuries are sustained by our people each year.'

Mr Pollard believes the response was 'one-sided', adding: 'Jacko has advanced arthritis in both hips and knees - he can't even walk on hard surfaces, let alone run.

'We rescued him two years ago when he was found on the streets - he's had a massively hard life and we've finally got him to a place where he loves people.

'I just want an apology from them and assurance that they'll properly investigate this case.'

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: 'Royal Mail has investigated this incident and is responding directly to the customer to answer here concerns.

'We do not condone attacks on any animal by our delivery postmen and women but dog attacks or the threat of attack are a serious issue, with seven postmen and women on average being attacked every day across the UK.

'In this case, the postman was frightened by the dog's behaviour and he will receive further training on how to deal with aggressive animals.

'We will also be delivering to the external post box fitted by the customer.'
The victim of a suspected domestic violence attack after she was struck with an axe multiple times by a man allegedly believed to be her husband is recovering in hospital.

The mother-of-two is in hospital after she sustained injuries to her upper body at Westfield Fountain Gate in Narre Warren, south-east of Melbourne, on Monday morning.

A 45-year-old Clyde North man was charged with attempted murder and will appear in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

The beautician was working alone at a nail salon inside a Westfield shopping centre when a man, believed to be her husband, allegedly attacked her with an axe.

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The woman was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition following the axe attack

The 45-year-old suspect was apprehended by two security guards and arrested by police.

The victim, aged in her late 30s to early 40s, had separated from her husband in the past year and was living with her two high-school-aged children.

One witness, Brodie Rooker, watched the bloody scene unfold.

'She was just covered in blood, her face was absolutely covered in blood,' he told 9News.

One witness, Brodie Rooker, watched the bloody scene unfold

Police officers at the crime scene of an axe attack in a Melbourne shopping centre on Monday (pictured of a woman believed to be the victim's co-worker)

The Beauty and Brow owner Parlour Hasan Zaman said his employees called security and police for help as their colleague was attacked.

'She couldn't talk, she was badly beaten,' he said.

Her boss said the incident could have been even worse had she not been at work.

'It was lucky it was in the shopping centre, we could take immediate action.'

A blood stain at the scene after a beautician was savagely attacked by an axe-wielding man

The suspect was restrained after being tackled to the ground by two security guards, 9 News reported.

A woman wearing a black top, believed to be the victim's co-worker, broke down in tears at the scene as she was comforted by another woman.

Tamar Klein, a store assistant at Ted's, saw two girls run out screaming from where the attack occurred.

'One of them was screaming 'had an axe! Had an axe!' So we didn't know what was going on,' she said.

'These days you imagine if it is a terror attack. You don't know if it is between two people or if they will hurt more people.'

A woman wearing a black top, believed to be the victim's co-worker, broke down in tears at the scene as she was comforted by another woman

Police officers at the scene after a beautician was savagely attacked by an axe-wielding man

Naomi, a cafe worker, said she saw the woman lying on the floor with blood on her head.

'It makes me feel sick. Everyone feels sick,' she said.

A witness, known as Trevor, told radio station 3AW he saw a man chase the woman into the beauty salon - as five stores were placed into lockdown.

'I had just come down the escalators a moment after it, so there was a bit of pandemonium there until security and the other police got on site,' he said.

'I only saw the lady, she was lying on the floor of the nail salon... and there was a bit of blood.'

Police cordoned off shops around beauty parlour after a woman was attacked

The area has been condoned off by police following reports of an alleged axe attack

Police have closed off the area for investigations, following reports of an alleged axe attack

Just moments after the attack, Trevor said he was taken into the storeroom of the Apple store, along with other shoppers.

'I was locked in the Apple store, just up from where the attack happened,' he said.

'Everyone closed their doors, everyone was told to lock down and we were moved into the storeroom of the Apple store until they were given the go ahead.

'All the Apple managers came out, closed the glass doors and moved everyone straight to the back, into the storeroom.'

An assistant manager at a nearby Jewellery store, Tracey Wilson, said staff were shocked.

'All we heard was yelling and screaming,' she said.

'I ran out and heard somebody say 'call security'.

'Then we heard there had been an axing of a staff member from one of the stores.

'(It has made me feel) a bit on edge.'

She was reportedly inside a nail salon at Westfield Fountain Gate on Princes Highway in Narre Warren, south-east of Melbourne, on Monday morning

Police were called to the shopping centre in Narre Warren on Monday morning

A woman has been allegedly attacked by a man armed with an axe at a shopping centre

A Westfield spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia police condoned off an area around five stores following the incident.

'An incident did occur at Westfield Fountain Gate... impacting 5 stores which are not currently trading as a crime scene has been established in the area,' she said.

'The remainder of the centre did not go into lockdown and is continuing to trade as usual.'

She referred the matter to police for further information regarding the incident.

The woman has been taken to The Alfred hospital in a serious but stable condition.

The cause of the incident is being investigated but it's believed the pair are known to each other, police say.

Anyone who witnessed the attack is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.
The family of the US tourist killed in the Westminster terror attack said he would not have borne any ill feelings towards the attacker.

Kurt and Melissa Cochran, from Utah, were on the final day of a trip to London to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary when they were caught up in the carnage on Wednesday.

Clint Payne, Mr Cochran's brother-in-law, said: 'We know that Kurt wouldn't bear ill feelings towards anyone and we can draw strength as a family from that.

'His whole life was an example of focusing on the positive. Not pretending that negative things don't exist but not living our life in the negative - that's what we choose to do.'

Kurt and Melissa Cochran from Utah were among those run over by terrorist Khalid Masood. Kurt died while his wife was rushed to hospital with broken bones and a cut head

The family refused to be angry or bitter about the horrific circumstances of Mr Cochran's death, saying they were determined to concentrate on the positives of his life. Pictured, left to right, family member Jason McFarland, Melissa Cochran's sister Sara Payne-McFarland, relatives Jennifer Burton, Angela Stoll and Melissa's parents Sandra Payne and Dimmon Payne

Payne, the father of Melissa Cochran, told how he found out she was hurt after reading about the attack online

Jennifer Burton, Kurt's sister, fought back the tears as the family spoke about his death

Michael Payne and his wife Shantell, brother and sister in law of Melissa, said they were not concentrating on the horror of the accident, but of the loving response

The couple were mowed down on Westminster Bridge by a car driven by Khalid Masood, who killed four people in his rampage before being shot dead in the grounds of the Parliament.

Mr Cochran died, while his wife was left with a broken leg and rib and a cut head. At a press conference in London today, her family said she was recovering well.

Melissa was seen being looked after by a stranger on a blood-stained pavement in one of the most harrowing images of the aftermath of the attack.

Her father Dimmon said the family found out about the attack from pictures which appeared online shortly afterwards.

He said: 'We did know there was a terrorist attack but at first we did not know out loved ones were involved.

'It was was after the pictures were recognised. Our daughter-in law recognised the pictures and called us immediately and we got online and looked and we realised it was out loved ones. I think that's how we found out.'

Shantell Payne, sister-in-law of Melissa, said: 'Its awful, horrible and gut wrenching but like Clint said we are here to support her and were not going to concern ourselves with any of that at the moment.'

The family insisted Mr Cochrane would not have wanted them to concentrate on any negative reaction to his death.

The family of the couple gave an emotional press conference in London this morning at which they said Mr Cochran would not have borne any ill-will towards his attacker

Dimmon Payne and his wife Sandra, parents of Melissa, today. Reporters were told she is recovering well and will return to the US where she can be cared for by her family

Showing remarkable strength, the family held hands as they spoke to reporters and TV crews

Mr Cochran's sister, Ms Burton, was comforted by Melissa's mother during the conference

Melissa's sister, Sara McFarland, said: 'Last night we were speaking all about this and it was deeply unanimous that none of us harbour any ill will or harsh feelings towards this.

'We love our brother and we love what he brought to the world and we feel like that this situation is going to bring many good things to the world. A lot of inspiration.'

Mr Payne added: 'This has been a humbling and difficult experience but we have felt the love of so many people during these past several days.

'It's been a tender experience for our family to be together with Melissa here.

'Her health is steadily improving and she has been strengthened by the presence of her family.

'She is so grateful for the outpouring of love and generosity.'

Two members of the couple's family clasp hands today as they spoke about Mr Cochran

More than 13 members of the family came together today to tell of their love for Mr Cochran

Mr Cochran, 54, was one of four victims of London's terror attack last Wednesday. He had been in Europe with his wife Melissa celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary

The picture of Melissa Cochran lying on the pavement next to an overturned postcard stand was one of the most harrowing taken in the horrific aftermath of the London terrorist attack

Strangers consoled her after her husband was knocked from the parapet to the embankment

Flanked by 12 members of the couple's family, Mr Payne thanked the paramedics, medical personnel and those who had helped them since the attack.

He said: 'So many people have been so kind and we are deeply touched by their goodness and generosity.

'Your notes, prayers, donations and love have helped us so much.

'The most difficult part of all of this is that Kurt is no longer with us and we miss him terribly.

'He was an amazing individual who loved everyone and tried to make the world a better place.'

The couple had been visiting Mrs Cochran's parents, who were serving as missionaries in the London Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when they were caught up in the attack.

Their first time out of the US, they had arrived in the UK on March 3, travelling through Scotland and Ireland before visiting Belgium, Holland and Germany.

Khalid Masood stabbed PC Keith Palmer (right) in the attack on Wednesday afternoon

Mother-of-two Aysha Frade also died on the bridge after the terrorist drove into her

Flowers have filled Parliament Square as the public pays tributes to those who were killed

The day of the attack was the last of their trip and they had wanted to spend it sightseeing in London, their family said.

Mr Cochran was one of three people killed when Muslim convert Khalid Masood drove a hired 4x4 along the pavement of Westminster Bridge.

Aysha Frade, believed to be a 43-year-old married mother of two, also died, along with retired window cleaner Leslie Rhodes.

Masood was shot dead by armed police after fatally knifing PC Keith Palmer in the Palace of Westminster's cobbled forecourt.
A global Islamist group campaigning for sharia law is being investigated by the Australian Federal Police after declaring former Muslims should be killed.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan has condemned Hizb ut-Tahrir after Daily Mail Australia caught on camera group leader Uthman Badar declaring followers who had left the faith deserved the death penalty.

A spokeswoman for the minister condemned his language at a public forum in Sydney's south-west on Saturday night.

'Language that incites or advocates violence is not freedom of speech,' she said.

'This matter has been referred to the AFP.'

Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar says Islam requires apostates to be killed

Mr Badar confirmed his support for killing people born Muslim who had left the faith.

'The ruling for apostates as such in Islam is clear, that apostates attract capital punishment and we don't shy away from that,' Mr Badar said at Bankstown library in the presence of children.

Freelance journalist Alison Bevege had asked Mr Badar about Hizb ut-Tahrir's draft constitution of the khalifar state, which calls for people born Muslim to be killed if they leave the religion.

On Saturday night, Ms Bevege held up a printed copy of the constitution published on the UK site, which was on the group's Australian website until 2015.

Freelance journalist Alison Bevege asked if they supported killing former Muslims

Freelance journalist Alison Bevege holding up Hizb ut-Tahrir's draft constitution of the khilafah state

This outlines their vision for a global Islamic caliphate, which has Muslims and non-Muslims living under sharia law.

Article 7c of the document said: 'Those who are guilty of apostasy (murtadd) from Islam are to be executed according to the rule of apostasy, provided they have by themselves renounced Islam.'

Mr Badar initially responded by saying the policy wasn't on its website before explaining how the group's apostasy policy was compatible with Islam.

'The whole thing covers different aspects of Islamic sharia law,' he said.

'The role of apostasy in Islam is very clear. Again, this is one of the things the West doesnt like and seeks to change the role of apostasy.'

Former prime minister Tony Abbott had pushed to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir in 2014

Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia removed references to its apostasy policy from its website as Ms Bevege sued the group for making her to sit in a women's-only section at a separate talk in October 2014.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott tried to ban the group in 2014 but he was unsuccessful because they had not yet incited violence or committed violent acts.

'I am sorry we haven't red-carded these hate preachers before but it will happen and it will happen quickly,' he said in October that year.

The Islamist group is legal in Australia and the United Kingdom but is banned in Germany, China, Russia and a range of Muslim-majority nations including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.

It operates in 40 countries and has a goal of establishing a global Islamic caliphate under sharia law.

Article 7f of their draft constitution says Muslims and non-Muslims should be governed under sharia law with the establishment of an Islamic caliphate.
Iraqi forces have reportedly killed 10 ISIS chiefs in renewed air strikes, days after 'tragic' US-led bombing raids killed 200 civilians in a single district.

Rescuers were still pulling the bodies of women and children from rubble in the Jadideh neighbourhood on Saturday, more than a week after the US-led coalition bombs reportedly landed on March 17.

But on Monday, Iraqi forces renewed their offensive against ISIS in Mosul's Old City.

As well as the death of 10 ISIS chiefs, Major Ammar Qassem, from the Iraqi army, said clashes between Iraqi forces and terrorists near the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, had also left a further 17 ISIS members dead.

In retaliation for the US-led coalition airstrikes, ISIS militants set fire to 12 medical storehouses and a blood bank near the Nineveh health department, according to Col Khodeir Saleh, Basnews reported.

The Iraqi government offensive to drive ISIS from west Mosul continued after US-led airstrikes killed 200 civilians

Speaking about the renewed assault on Monday, Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat, the commander of the federal police, said in a statement: 'Federal Police and Rapid Response Division units began to advance today on the southwestern axis of the Old City.'

Jawdat said that one of their targets is Faruq Street, which runs near the Al-Nuri mosque where ISIS declared its caliphate nearly three years ago.

ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only known public appearance at the mosque after ISIS seized Mosul in 2014, calling on Muslims to obey him.

Reports suggested the disputed air strike, or strikes, killed civilians in the Jadideh neighbourhood.

British planes were among those operating in western Mosul at the time.

A displaced Iraqi sleeps while waiting to get food supplies as Iraqi forces battle with ISIS militants, in western Mosul

Residents have been driven out by heavy shelling and street-to-street combat between the Iraqi Army and ISIS

However, in a statement today, the Ministry of Defence indicated there was nothing to suggest the RAF were involved in the raid that led to the civilian deaths.

'As operations to liberate western Mosul and Raqqa intensify, the RAF continues to provide precision close air support to ground forces engaged in difficult urban combat,' a spokesman said.

'We conduct detailed assessments after each strike and review information from organisations such as Airwars and we have not seen evidence that we have been responsible for civilian casualties so far.

'Through our rigorous targeting processes, we will continue to seek to minimise the risk of civilian casualties, but that risk can never be removed entirely.'

Some officials from Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, have put the death toll from the strikes in the hundreds, but the precise number of victims is still unclear.

Mortar shells sparked a major fire in the Nabi Yunus market in east Mosul on Sunday

An Iraqi runs through a destroyed building as Iraqi forces battle with ISIS militants, in western Mosul

The fall of Mosul, Iraq's second city, would be a major setback for ISIS following months of losses in Iraq and neighbouring Syria

MASS GRAVE FOUND A giant sinkhole where ISIS killed thousands has been discovered in Khafsa. A report released last week by Human Rights Watch noted the Khafsa site, five miles southwest of Mosul, was probably the largest mass grave of Isis victims. Advertisement

However, the Iraqi military, on its Facebook page, issued a detailed rebuttal of claims that an air strike was behind the civilian deaths.

Instead it blamed explosive booby-traps set by so-called Islamic State (IS).

Iraqi military experts checked a house 'reportedly targeted by an air strike and they found out that the house was completely destroyed and there was no sign that it was destroyed by a strike'.

It added: 'A huge detonated booby-trapped vehicle was found near the house. Some 61 dead bodies were pulled from under the rubble.'

The statement also named al-Resala neighbourhood rather than Jadideh.

In a separate incident, mortar shells sparked a major fire in the Nabi Yunus market in east Mosul on Sunday, reportedly killing at least two people and injuring many others.

Iraqi forces launched the operation to retake Mosul, the country's second city, in October, retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely-populated west

Iraqi forces have been operating in the area of the Old City for several weeks, but they have faced tough resistance and progress in the area has been slow.

Iraqi forces launched the operation to retake Mosul, the country's second city, in October, retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely-populated west.

Since launching their assault on the western sector, Iraqi forces have taken several districts and key buildings including the headquarters of Nineveh province's regional government and a railway station.

The fall of Mosul, Iraq's second city, would be a major setback for ISIS following months of losses in Iraq and neighbouring Syria. The city also holds huge symbolic significance for the terror group.

In neighbouring Syria, three separate forces are advancing on the city of Raqqa, the main Syrian city under ISIS control.

An Iraqi counter terrorism forces member in Mosul's al-Jadida area on March 26, 2017, following air strikes which reportedly killed civilians

The United Nations has warned around 400,000 people are 'trapped' in the central Mosul area under siege-like conditions as Iraqi forces battle the ISIS for the city's west.

Food is running short and security is fragile even in liberated areas.

Lise Grande, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said: 'International humanitarian law is clear. Parties to the conflict - all parties - are obliged to do everything possible to protect civilians. This means that combatants cannot use people as human shields and cannot imperil lives through indiscriminate use of fire-power.'

The Reach Initiative, a group that helps aid groups collect data on humanitarian crises, said the situation in west Mosul was 'severe to extremely severe'.

'In areas still under (ISIS control), there is no access to markets and people are surviving on depleting food and water stocks, without access to electricity, fuel and healthcare,' it said.
She has worked behind the counter at McDonald's for almost half a century -but even at 94 years old, Loraine Maurer has no intention of retiring.

Mrs Maurer is something of an institution at the restaurant in Evansville, Indiana but she has revealed that she did not plant to stay so long when she began working there in 1973.

Her husband had just retired, due to a disability, and she told him she felt she was too young to stay at home and applied for a job.

Loraine Maurer (pictured, right) has worked at the McDonald's in Evansville, Indiana, for 44 years and her boss Katie Kenworthy (left) says she has 'quite a following'

But she told ABC News: 'When I started, I didn't start to stay.'

Chip and Katie Kenworthy, who own the Evansville franchise of the Golden Arches, are glad she did decide to stay on after normal retirement age.

'Loraine has quite a following. She has lots of very loyal costumers who come especially to our restaurant to see her,' said Mrs Kenworthy.

Chip and Katie Kenworthy organized a special cake to mark her 44 years of service

Her husband died in 1980 and her life from then on revolved around the restaurant, her four children and the nearby Good Shepherd Catholic Church.

She said: 'They were my life savers when I lost my husband. The customers helped.'

The Kenworthys arranged a special party to celebrate Loraine's 44 years of service and invited her friends from the church.

Home from home: Mrs Maurer has worked at McDonald's in Evansville (pictured) for 44 years

Mrs Maurer appreciated the gesture and said: 'It was wonderful. 'There were so many people there that I couldn't talk to them all.'

Nowadays she only works two days a week but she dismisses the idea of retiring altogether: 'I would miss it too much. I don't want to get depressed and it's not that I don't look forward to going to work. It's not a job. I really and truly enjoy it.'

And as long as she is able to keep up with the frantic pace of serving fast food, the Kenworthys are happy to keep her on.
Sandie Bowen, 53, was last seen alive in 1997

A husband tied his wife's body to a heavy kitchen sink before throwing her into a reservoir where she lay for nearly 20 years, an inquest heard today.

Sandie Bowen, 54, was murdered by her husband who refused to reveal where he hid her body.

An inquest heard how her remains were discovered when the reservoir was drained for the first time in nearly 100 years - and passers-by saw her still tied to the ceramic sink.

Mrs Bowen, who was last seen alive in August 1997, was identified from dental records and DNA analysis after her body was discovered in the reservoir in February.

A coroner today ruled Mrs Bowen was unlawfully killed.

Her husband Mike, now 61, has been freed from prison after being convicted of her murder in 1998.

Prosecutors ruled out any further action against killer Michael Bowen who was released from jail on licence after serving 15 years of a life sentence.

Mrs Bowen's body had been tied to a block and thrown into Wentwood reservoir near Newport, South Wales.

Bowen killed his wife in a jealous rage after discovering her affair with her boss George Morgan - which was reportedly the talk of the village of Llandogo, in the Wye Valley.

Bowen only discovered she was sleeping with her boss when he overheard people talking about it in his local pub.

The forestry worker returned home after downing six pints of Guinness - and confronted Mrs Bowen in their bedroom.

Sandie's body was found tied to a wooden block in Wentwood reservoir near Newport, South Wales

Michael Bowen (right) was released from jail on licence after serving 15 years of a life sentence. When Sandie's corpse was found, daughter Anita (left) said: 'We finally have got closure and I can lay her to rest'

He killed her during a furious argument before driving to Wentwood forest to dispose of her body.

Gwent Police said after consulting with the Crown Prosecution Service no further action would be taken against her killer.

After the death, Bowen initially told detectives his wife vanished after going to visit her family 200 miles away.

He claimed he had driven his wife in their Land Rover to Newport railway station to visit her daughter in Folkestone, Kent.

But she never arrived and was not seen since.

When Bowen found out Sandie was having an affair with hotel boss George Morgan he confronted her in their bedroom and killed her in a blazing row

After the death, Bowen initially told detectives his wife vanished after going to visit her family 200 miles away. He was sentenced to an 18-year minimum life sentence

Traces of her blood were found on one of his shirts and her partly-burned purse was found in a fire.

Police also found her dentures, passport, driving licence and reading glasses at the house.

The murder of Sandie Bowen 1994: Sandie and Michael Bowen wed 1997: Bowen discovered Sandie was having an affair with hotel boss George Morgan and killed her in a fit of rage. He disposed of the body in Wentwood reservoir. 1998: He was found guilty of the murder and sentenced to a minimum 18-year life sentence 2002: Bowen admitted killing Sandie 2015: He was released from prison after serving less than 18 years Advertisement

At the time the body was found, Mrs Bowen's daughter Anita Giles said: 'They've contacted me because there is a possibility it may be my mother, but they won't know until the autopsy has been done - which could take up to two months.'

Later she said she finally had 'closure' after the confirmation it was her mother's body.

Ms Giles, of Folkestone, Kent, said: 'I'm pleased to have confirmation that it is my mum, 20 years is a long time to grieve.

'We finally have got closure and I can lay her to rest.'

The inquest in Newport, South Wales, heard a post mortem examination on her remains concluded that the cause of death was not ascertained.

Coroner David Bown said: 'Bearing in mind that no conclusion shall be inconsistent with the findings of a superior court, the conclusion us that Sandra Bowen was unlawfully killed.'

He released Mrs Bowen's remains to her family for her funeral.
A British-Iranian aid worker who was jailed over the disappearance of a young boy during a picnic she organised has been cleared.

Narges Kalbasi Ashtari, 28, was convicted in 2014 of causing death by negligence after five-year-old Asim Jilakara went missing in Rayagada, in India's east.

Despite the boy's body never being found, authorities ruled that the boy had been swept away by a river and drowned, and Ms Ashtari was jailed for a year.

Narges Kalbasi Ashtari, 28, a British-Iranian aid worker who was convicted of causing the death of five-year-old Asim Jilakara (not pictured) in 2014 has been acquitted

Ms Ashtari was convicted of causing death by negligence after authorities ruled that Asim had been swept away by a river, despite his body never being found

She was subsequently released on bail pending the outcome of an appeal, and was acquitted of the crime on Monday, the BBC reported.

Ms Ashtari argued that she was the victim of bullying and harassment by local authorities, and had been jailed after refusing to pay bribes and ransoms.

At one point police accused Ms Ashtari of throwing the boy into a river, while the child's parents also accused her of murder.

The aid worker was barred from leaving India while her appeal was processed, drawing condemnation from international rights groups and charities.

Petitions started online six months ago and calling for her acquittal attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures from sympathisers around the world.

It is unclear whether Ms Ashtari will now remain in India, where her orphan charity the Prishan Foundation is based, or whether she will leave for one of her home countries.

Ms Ashtari, who lives and works at her charity for orphaned and blind children in Rayagada, in India's east, had argued she was the victim of local politics and corruption

The aid worker, who was born in Iran but raised in Devon, was barred from leaving India until her appeal was complete - a process that took three years

Ms Ashtari was born in Iran but raised and schooled in Exeter, Devon, before leaving for Canada after both her parents died while she was still young.

She later traveled to India where she met an orphaned boy named Prishan who convinced her to dedicate her life to helping others.

Celebrating her acquittal, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said: 'I felt happy about the news of the acquittal of the benevolent Iranian lady Ms Kalbasi.

'Greatest congratulations to Ms Kalbasi and regards for her because of her patience and perseverance, and thanks to colleagues and [the Iranian] people's campaign in her support.'

While Ms Ashtari has not spoken publicly since her release, a post on her Telegram messaging channel reveals she will be allowed to seek compensation for the hardships she has suffered, the Tehran Times reports.
Carlos the Jackal, already serving two life sentences for murder, should be given a third life term for a deadly 1974 bombing in Paris, a French prosecutor said on Monday.

The Venezuelan self-styled revolutionary, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, denies the grenade attack on the drugstore Publicis that claimed two lives and injured 34 on September 15, 1974.

Prosecutor Remi Crosson du Cormier said Monday that 'all evidence gathered in this investigation points to him.'

During the two-week trial, in which a verdict is expected Tuesday, 67-year-old Carlos argued that he should not be required to testify against himself.

Carlos the Jackal should be given a third life term for a grenade attack on the Paris Drugstore Publicis (pictured above), a French prosecutor said on Monday

Carlos the Jackal, a Venezuelan self-styled revolutionary whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, is already serving two life sentences for murder. He's pictured above in a sketch from court in Paris on Tuesday

He also said that as an 'officer of the Palestinian resistance' - on whose behalf he staged a spectacular hostage-taking at OPEC in Vienna in 1975 - he faced death if he divulged operational information.

Pressed by presiding judge Francois Sottet, the defendant said at one point: 'Maybe it's me, but there's no proof of it.'

At the time of the Publicis attack, Carlos was a 24-year-old member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), but said none of the survivors could describe him.

When police arrived at the scene of the attack, they found a devastated shopping centre with all the windows shattered, multiple bloodstains and a hole in the marble slab of the ground floor where the grenade fell.

The two men who died were hit by metal chips that perforated vital organs and caused internal bleeding, according to court documents.

The bombing at Publicis in Paris (pictured left) claimed two lives and injured 34 on September 15, 1974. Carlos denies responsibility for the bombing

During the two-week trial over the bombing (a scene from it pictured above) 67-year-old Carlos argued that he should not be required to testify against himself

The US-made hand grenade used in the Publicis attack (pictured above) came from the same batch as three grenades used in The Hague attack and another grenade found in a Paris apartment used by Carlos, prosecutors say

Carlos was said to have carried the mission out in the name of Palestinian liberation at a time when the Arab-Israeli war was being fought on the streets of Paris.

The case took so long to go to trial because it was first dismissed for lack of evidence before being reopened when Carlos was arrested and imprisoned in France.

His lawyers repeatedly argued against holding a trial, arguing the attack was too long ago and that it won't make a difference for Carlos, already in prison for life.

The world's most wanted fugitive in the 1970s and early 1980s has been in prison in France since his arrest in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in 1994 by French elite police.

He was convicted in 1997 of murdering two French police officers and an informant in 1975 in Paris and in 2011 of masterminding attacks on two trains, a train station and a Paris street that killed 11 people and wounded about 150 more.

His first ever gun attack was in 1973, when he shot Englishman Edward Sieff, then the director of Marks and Spencer.

Seiff, who was also honorary vice-president of the British Zionist Federation, survived a bullet wound to the head. He died in 1982.

He sealed his notoriety in 1975 with the hostage-taking of OPEC oil ministers in Vienna in the name of the Palestinian struggle, and went on to become an international gun-for-hire with Soviet bloc protectors.

The world's most wanted fugitive in the 1970s and early 1980s (pictured above in 1996) has been in prison in France since his arrest in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in 1994 by French elite police

Ramirez, 67, is serving a life sentence for the murders of two policemen in Paris in 1975 as well as that of a former comrade who betrayed him

In the 1970s and '80s, the Marxist militant and self-dubbed 'elite gunman' became a symbol of Cold War anti-imperialism and public enemy number one for Western governments.

Carlos was finally arrested in Sudan by the French intelligence services in 1994, 20 years after his first mission on French soil.

The press gave him his nickname after a reporter saw a copy of Frederick Forsyth's 'The Day of the Jackal' at Carlos's London flat and mistakenly assumed it belonged to him.

Investigators say they have established links between the Publicis case, Carlos, and a hostage-taking at the French Embassy in The Hague two days previously by the Japanese Red Army militant group.

The US-made hand grenade used in the Publicis attack came from the same batch as three grenades used in The Hague attack and another grenade found in a Paris apartment used by Carlos, investigators say.

Some years later, in a newspaper interview which Carlos now denies having given, he was quoted as claiming responsibility for the drugstore attack, saying its aim was to put pressure on French authorities to wrap up negotiations with the hostage-takers in The Hague.
A mother, who was jailed for sending money to her ISIS jihadi nephew in Syria, has been freed so she can go home to looks after her children.

Nazimabee Golamaully, 46, from Streatham in London, was jailed for 22 months in November for funding her husband's nephew, ISIS fighter Zaffir Golamaully.

But after a 'plea for mercy' on behalf of her four kids, the mother has now been released by Court of Appeal judges.

'Our decision is founded on compassion,' said Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb.

Mohammed Golamaully, 48, and his wife, Nazimabee Golamaully, 45, provided the money to Zafirr Golamaully on or before August 13, 2014

But after a 'plea for mercy' on behalf of her four kids, the mother has now been released by Court of Appeal judges

The court heard Golamaully, of Mitcham, had been jailed at the Old Bailey alongside her hospital director husband, Mohammed, who got 27 months.

At the time she wired the cash in 2014, the IT specialist had developed an 'interest in radical Islam', said the judge.

She had downloaded eight issues of the glossy Isis propaganda magazine 'Dabiq'.

However, she claimed she was egged on by her husband to send 219 to jihadi Zaffir and later renounced her support of terrorism.

The nephew - who is in his 20s - had trained with Isis and fought for the terrorists against the Kurdish PKK.

The judge noted the plight of the couple's four children - aged between nine and 15 - with both parents in jail.

On the instruction of Mohammed Golamaully, his wife wired 219 for Zaffir

Her oldest daughter is struggling with her GCSEs, said the judge, who added: 'Her children are suffering'.

She has been moved even further away from her kids so that visiting has become far harder, she said.

And social workers and witnesses spoke of the wife as a 'dedicated and brilliant mother', who was heavily involved in her children's schooling.

'We have heard the plea for mercy on behalf of her children,' the judge continued.

'As an exception, we find it appropriate to conclude that the general need for deterrence does not drown out the requirement for compassion.'

The 22-month sentence was cut to eight months, meaning that she was released, given time already served.

The judge, who was sitting with Lady Justice Rafferty and Judge Jeffrey Pegden QC, allowed the appeal.
North Korea has threatened to attack US and South Korea troops taking part in an annual joint military exercise - saying it will 'not remain a passive onlooker'.

South Korean and U.S. troops began the large-scale joint drills on March 1 that the North calls an invasion rehearsal.

North Korean news agency KCNA said on Sunday, citing a statement from the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA): 'They should be mindful that the [North Korean Army] will deal deadly blows without prior warning any time as long as the... troops of the US and South Korean puppet forces involved in the 'special operation' and 'preemptive attack' targeting the DPRK remain deployed in and around South Korea.

North Korea has threatened to attack US and South Korea troops taking part in an annual joint military exercise

'The KPA will not remain a passive onlooker to hordes of robbers trying to hurt our people with daggers.'

It added: 'The General Staff declares the KPA's stand to mercilessly smash the enemy's moves with its own style of special operation and preemptive attack, now that the sinister aim of the US imperialists and the south Korean war maniacs' 'special operation' to hurt the dignity of the DPRK's supreme leadership has become clear and they disclosed even the dangerous attempt at 'preemptive attack.'

This week, American forces took part in a drill designed to take-out Pyongyang's stockpile of chemical weapons alongside troops from South Korea.

Pyongyang insists that it needs nuclear weapons for self-defence against 'hostile enemies' including the South and its ally the US

North Korea is pushing hard to upgrade its weapons systems to cope with what it says is US hostility.

It said the arrival of the US strike group was part of a 'reckless scheme' to attack it.

Pyongyang insists that it needs nuclear weapons for self-defence against 'hostile enemies' including the South and its ally the US.

Earlier this month North Korea fired four ballistic missiles that landed in waters off Japan, triggering strong protests from Seoul and Tokyo.

North Korea said last year it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile amid fears Pyongyang wants to build rockets capable of reaching the US. Pictures show tests being carried out on rockets in North Korea earlier this month
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The smallest detached house in Britain is set to become the home of the world's largest collection of thimbles and a boutique hotel.

Thimble Hall, located in the Derbyshire town of Youlgreave, measures just 11ft 10in by 10ft 3in, meaning people can touch either side of the rooms by stretching out their arms.

The 12ft 2in tall building dates back to 1756 and was named the smallest detached property in Britain by the Guinness Book of World Records in August 2000.

The house attracted bids from all over the world, including a rumoured offer from illusionist Uri Geller, when it went under the hammer in 1999.

It was bought by ice-cream maker Bruno Frederick for 39,500 and has been used as a butchers, cobblers and antique shop since then.

Mark Bramell from estate agents Bagshaws is seen standing outside of the property after it was put up for auction in 1990

What is the history of Thimble Hall? The tiny property dates back to 1756. It is said to have been built very small because the original owners did not have very much land. A fountain located outside of the property was built in 1823 and supplied water filtered through lime rock from the River Bradford. It was then used as a congregation place for families who didn't have their own taps at home. They would collect water and wash their clothes. In 1999, it was auctioned off by Bagshaws estate agents and received bids from all over the world, and illusionist Uri Geller was said to have placed a bid. But current owner, Bruno Frederick, won the house after bidding 39,500 - significantly more than its valuation of 5,000 to 15,000. A year later, Guinness Book of World Records named it the smallest detached house in Britain. Advertisement

Bruno's son Jonathan, 58, say the family are now planning to redecorate the interior and launch it as an exhibition space for the world's largest collection of thimbles.

The family are also hoping to get planning permission to transform it into Britain's tiniest boutique hotel with hand-made furniture built to scale.

Jonathan said: 'It'll be one of those unique experiences you can treasure for life.

'Thimble Hall is a gem within the Peak District and it's also very dear to my father's heart because it reminds him of the Italian village he came from.

'He's now 84 so it's really important we finish the project so he gets to see it.'

Bruno said the family plan to place the thimbles on glass and illuminate the collection with changing colours of LED lighting.

They also want to fit solar glass panels into specially designed window frames to connect the property's historic past with an eco-friendly technological future.

He added: 'We've got some ingenious designs in mind.

'But it's an intricate project, small and beautiful but complex like a watch.

'So right now it's about finding the right people to work with.'

Thimble Hall gained worldwide recognition when it was auctioned in 1999 with bids from Hong Kong, Athens and New York.

Current owner Bruno Frederick is seen stretching his arms out in front of the property (left) while estate agent Mark Bramell ventures inside

But it was bought by Frederick, who lives in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, for 39,500 - way above its auction valuation of 5,000 to 15,000.

According to his son, the 18th century house is so tiny because whoever built it didn't have much land at the time.

There is a historic fountain outside the property which was built in 1823 and supplied pure water filtered through lime rock from the River Bradford.

Jonathan added: 'This fountain water was accessed by everyone in the village because back then they didn't have taps in their homes.

'Children would play here and the adults would congregate to wash their clothes and fill up containers of drinking water which really was something at the time.'

A spokesperson for Guinness World Records said they no longer had a 'Smallest detached house in GB' record as they no longer monitor by territories.

A spokesperson said: 'The record you are referring to 'Smallest detached house in GB' is a consultant record, meaning it was approved retrospectively.

'There is not currently a holder for this Guinness World Records title at the moment.

'The reason that we do not have this record in our system anymore is because it was territory specific and was not international and here at GWR, we no longer monitor records by territory.'
Ministers have been accused of 'asking the impossible' after demanding WhatsApp gives security services 'back door' access to messages sent by terrorists.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has declared she wants to 'call time' on the ability of extremists to plot in secret in the wake of the deadly Westminster attack.

MailOnline has revealed that the terrorist was on WhatsApp just minutes before he launched his deadly assault. But end-to-end encryption meant it would have been impossible for the authorities to monitor any discussion he had.

Amber Rudd, pictured in Brussels today for talks with EU counterparts, has branded it 'completely unacceptable' that terrorists can plot in secret using encrypted apps

Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood, who tried to save Pc Keith Palmer after he was stabbed in the terror attack last Wednesday, stopped to view floral tributes on his way into the Commons today

Khalid Masood used a hired car to mow down dozens of pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before entering the grounds of Parliament and stabbing Pc Keith Palmer to death. MailOnline has revealed he was on WhatsApp minutes before the attack started

Ms Rudd voiced fury at the situation, branding it 'completely unacceptable' and saying the the Facebook-owned company and other tech giants needed to come up with a solution.

She has called a summit of major firms on Thursday to consider the issue, and is discussing it in .

But Downing Street was struggling to explain today exactly what options were available.

Asked whether the government was looking at banning end-to-end encryption, the PM's spokesman said: 'I'll point you to the Home Secretary's words yesterday  what she is saying is if there is circumstances where law enforcement agencies need to be able to access the contents, they should be able to do so.

'How that is achieved, I think is a matter for talks later in the week.'

WHAT IS END-TO-END ENCRYPTION? With 'end-to-end' encryption, messages are visible only to the person who has sent them and the individuals that were meant to receive. The system works by using a 'lock' to secure messages between individuals or in a group chat. This lock is paired with a distinct encryption 'key,' which only the sender and the recipients will have. This will lock out cybercriminals, hackers, 'oppressive regimes,' and even WhatsApp officials to keep your data private. WhatsApp first introduced end-to-end encryption as a default security option after FBI officials asked Apple to unlock the iPhone used by San Bernardino gunman Syed Farook, who killed 14 people and injured 22 others in December 2015. The Facebook-owned company has said previously that protecting private communication is one of its 'core beliefs' and that 'privacy and security is in our DNA'. Even if government officials were to seize WhatsApp's servers they would not be able to access any messages. However if officials were to confiscate someone's phone and have access to their encryption key they could decrypt the data. Advertisement

'Let's wait for the talks later in the week but I think the broad Government position would be these are companies which have fabulous technical expertise, they are world leading, and where they can do more to assist we would like them to do so.'

But Microsoft has already signalled it is unwilling to shift on measures that would dramatically increase surveillance.

In an interview with ITV News, chief executive Brad Smith said: 'We will not help any government, including our own, hack or attack any customer anywhere.

'We will turn over data only when we are legally compelled to.'

Technology expert Graham Cluley told MailOnline it was impossible to ask firms to compromise their own security.

He said end-to-end encryption meant WhatsApp could not provide records of messages even if they wanted to - as they are only visible to the individuals exchanging them. The technique is used in every aspect of life from online shopping to banking, he said.

'The only people who would suffer from this would be regular members of the public,' he said.

'It is not going to help in the fight against terrorism.'

Mr Cluley pointed out that even if there were a mechanism for apps to open 'back doors' into encryption, there was open source code that would allow people to secure their own messages.

Sam Dumitriu, from think tank the Adam Smith Institute, said Ms Rudd's call for access was 'deeply misguided'.

'It is mathematically impossible to build a back door for just the good guys,' he said.

'It means building a back door to your private messages for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's favourite hacker Guccifer. It means opening up your private photos to perverts like the iCloud hacker. End-to-end encryption keeps us safe.

'Khalid Masood wasn't even on MI5's 3000 strong list of suspected jihadis. Ending end-to-end encryption would not have stopped the Westminster attack, but it would mean a free-for-all for cyber criminals and Putin's hackers.'

It is unclear whether police have been able to retrieve the records from Masood's phone. The killer is believed to have used an iPhone, and even if the authorities retrieved the handset they may not be able to crack the security.

Pictured: Jihadist Khalid Masood, who left four dead and 29 injured after a rampage in Westminster

However, the end-to-end encryption on the application means it is extremely difficult for security services to trace.

Asked about the ability of terrorists to communicate secretly using the technology, Ms Rudd told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show yesterday: 'It is completely unacceptable, there should be no place for terrorists to hide.

'We need to make sure that organisations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, don't provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other.

'It used to be that people would steam-open envelopes or just listen in on phones when they wanted to find out what people were doing, legally, through warrantry.

'But on this situation we need to make sure that our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted WhatsApp.'

Mrs May raised questions about whether police had been able to see Masood's last messages, telling Sky News Sophy Ridge programme that 'this terrorist sent a WhatsApp message and it can't be accessed'.

Asked if she opposed end-to-end encryption, Ms Rudd said: 'End-to-end encryption has a place, cyber security is really important and getting it wrong costs the economy and costs people money.

Mr Ellwood struggled in vain to save Pc Palmer as he lay stricken in the Commons grounds

Passers-by were stopping to look at the array of tributes that have been left to the victims outside parliament today

'So I support end-to-end encryption, it has its place to play.

'But we also need to have a system whereby when the police have an investigation, where the security services have put forward a warrant signed off by the Home Secretary, we can get that information when a terrorist is involved.'

She denied what she was describing was incompatible with end-to-end encryption, adding: 'I support end-to-end encryption as part of cybersecurity, for families, for banking, for businesses. It's important.

'But we can't have a situation where terrorists can talk to each other, where this terrorist sent a Whatsapp message and it can't be accessed.'

The Home Office claimed Ms Rudd had been making a general point rather than referring to Masood's case specifically.

A WhatsApp spokesman said: 'We are horrified at the attack carried out in London earlier this week and are cooperating with law enforcement as they continue their investigations.'

Ms Rudd also insisted the likes of Google - which runs YouTube - and other smaller sites such as WordPress and Telgram must take more responsibility for blocking extremist material.

Ms Rudd demanded more cooperation from internet and tech firms as she appeared on the BBC's Andrew Marr show yesterday
ISIS have ordered residents of Raqqa to evacuate amid reports a nearby dam could collapse and flood the city.

US-backed Syrian fighters on Monday paused their offensive to allow a technical team to assess the damage.

There have been fears about the dam after fighting in the area forced it out of service on Sunday, following earlier UN warnings a collapse would be 'catastrophic.'

Fears that a nearby dam might collapse are reportedly causing panic and confusion in the Syrian city of Raqqa, a stronghold of ISIS

ISIS claimed air attacks had weakened the Tabqa dam on the Euphrates river, 25 miles (40km) west of Raqqa, and the water level behind it was rising

A source at the dam - which provides power to the region - said a technical team 'will assess the level of damage and repair what is needed so that the dam can resume its operations

With air support from the US-led coalition against IS, the Syrian Democratic Forces are fighting to seize the town of Tabqa and the adjacent dam on the Euphrates River, as part of their battle for the jihadist's stronghold in nearby Raqqa.

SDF spokeswoman Jihad Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement: 'To ensure the integrity of the Tabqa dam...we have decided to stop operations for four hours beginning at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT).

'This is to allow a team of engineers to enter the dam and carry out their work.'

Civilians began to leave at midday on Sunday, according to activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently.

ALLIES WIN BACK AIRPORT FROM ISIS Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance, on Sunday seized a military airport from ISIS in northern Syria, a spokesman said. The capture of Tabqa airbase comes as the alliance prepares an attack on IS's de facto Syrian capital Raqa, seeking to effectively surround the city before launching its assault. SDF forces entered the airport on Sunday, backed by heavy artillery fire and air strikes by the US-led coalition, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. IS seized the base from government troops in August 2014 and carried out one of its worst massacres there, killing up to 200 government soldiers. Advertisement

The IS-held structure was forced out of service on Sunday after its power station was damaged, a source told AFP.

The UN has warned that damage to the dam 'could lead to massive scale flooding across Raqqa and as far away as Deir Ezzor' province downstream to the southeast with 'catastrophic humanitarian implications.'

The source at the dam - which provides power to the region - said a technical team 'will assess the level of damage and repair what is needed so that the dam can resume its operations, after it was put out of service yesterday.'

A technical source added: 'Shelling on the area... that supplies that dam with electricity has put it out of service.

'The work needed to fix the problem is not possible because there is not sufficient staff available as a result of the intensive shelling in the area of the dam.

'If the problem is not fixed, it will begin to pose a danger to the dam.'

The US-led coalition said it was 'taking every precaution' to ensure the structure's integrity.

ISIS issued warnings through its propaganda arm Amaq on Sunday that the dam 'is threatened with collapse at any moment because of American strikes and a large rise in water levels'.

But the SDF denied that, saying the dam had not been hit in any air strikes.

US-backed Syrian fighters on Monday paused their offensive to allow a technical team to assess the damage

The alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters launched its offensive on Raqqa in November, seizing around two thirds of the surrounding province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

At their closest point, they are just eight kilometres (five miles) from the city, to the northeast.

But they are mostly further away, 18-29 kilometres from Raqa.

Raqqa is the capital of ISIS's self-styled caliphate.
Britain faces a punishing Brexit settlement or even no deal at all if it refuses to settle a 50billion 'bill', the EU's chief negotiator has warned.

Michel Barnier said Britain falling out of the EU without a deal was a 'distinct possibility' if it rejected the figure.

The Government has said Britain will pay any costs that are genuinely due but ministers have privately said the bill is a maximum of 3billion.

Mr Barnier today reiterated his warnings of dire consequences for the UK if it leaves with no agreement, which he first made in a little-noticed speech on the day of the Westminster terror attack.

Michel Barnier said Britain falling out of the EU without a deal was a 'distinct possibility' if it rejected a 50billion settlement

He went further in highlighting the potential of Britain and the EU concluding the two-year withdrawal process under Article 50 of the EU treaties, which Theresa May will trigger on Wednesday, with no agreement.

Writing in the Financial Times, the Frenchman said: 'It goes without saying that a no-deal scenario, while a distinct possibility, would have severe consequences for our people and our economies.

'It would undoubtedly leave the UK worse off.

'Severe disruption to air transport and long queues at the Channel port of Dover are just some of the many examples of the negative consequences of failing to reach a deal.

'Others include the disruption of supply chains, including the suspension of the delivery of nuclear material to the UK.

'While the 27 member states will find it easier to adjust, as they will still benefit from the single market, the customs union and more than 60 trade deals with their international partners, we believe it is in the best interests of both sides to reach a deal on the UK's orderly withdrawal from the EU.

'It is the only way to properly protect the rights of EU citizens.'

No 10 played down the remarks today, insisting the negotiations were just 'beginning' and Britain entered the talks with 'good will'.

Prime Minister Theresa May is set to embark on her Brexit talks this week with the triggering of Article 50 on Wednesday

It comes amid a domestic row over Government plans to give ministers controversial 'Henry VIII' powers to change EU laws as they are repatriated to Britain without full parliamentary scrutiny.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has made clear Labour will oppose the 'essentially dictatorial powers'.

Commons Leader David Lidington defended the plans, to be outlined on Thursday in a white paper on the Great Repeal Bill, which will convert EU regulations into domestic law, crucially allowing them to be altered or removed after Brexit.

Time-limited Henry VIII clauses will allow ministers to use delegated powers to make changes to EU laws as they become UK laws in the Bill using secondary legislation, meaning the changes will not be subject to full debates and votes by MPs.

The Government argues it needs the power as a significant proportion of existing EU law will not work properly without changes being made, so ministers must be given the ability to make 'technical' adjustments quickly.

The Article 50 letter will be handed to European Council president Donald Tusk on Wednesday, formally starting the two year exit process

But Mr Corbyn told ITV's Peston On Sunday programme: 'I don't think the record of Henry VIII on promoting democracy, inclusion and participation was a very good one.'

The Labour leader added: 'We are not going to sit there and hand over powers to this Government to override Parliament, override democracy and just set down a series of diktats of what's going to happen in the future.

'We would be failing in our duty as democratically elected parliamentarians if we did that.'

On BBC Sunday Politics, Mr Lidington explained: 'Because a lot of those EU regulations will, for example, refer to the Commission or another European body, a regulator, you need to substitute a UK authority in place.

'So we need to have a power under secondary legislation to tweak the acquis, the European regulations so that it's actually coherent.

'It will be a limited and defined power, not to act like a dictator, but by secondary legislation.'

Major policy changes, such as new immigration or customs controls, will be brought forward under normal parliamentary Bills and subject to full scrutiny.

The Henry VIII powers will end at a time spelled out in the legislation by a 'sunset clause' and will also be handed to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland so they can correct laws that that will come under the remit of the devolved administrations.
A seven-year-old boy whose dying wish was to be buried with his mother so she could look after him in Heaven has died peacefully in hospital.

Filip Kwansy lost his mother Agnieszka to cancer in 2011 but was himself diagnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML) in September last year.

After treatment failed, his dying wish was to be buried alongside his mother in her coffin, and his family launched an appeal to make it come true.

Filip died on Friday morning at London's Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, but the campaign raised 41,000, enough to fund the burial he had requested.

Final moments: Filip Kwasny, from Colchester, Essex is in London's Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital

Now his father, Piotr Kwasny, 40, of Colchester, Essex has thanked the generous public for granting his boy his dying wish.

He said: 'My little boy has now gone, there will forever be an emptiness beside me and in my heart; but he will never be forgotten and he will always be loved.

'I really appreciate all the support from the public and from JustGiving which is going to enable me to fulfil Filip's wish of being put to rest next to his mother.'

Filip was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1 - an accumulation of abnormal blood cells in the bone marrow - when he was two, from which he initially recovered.

But the treatment to cure the adorable boy of his most recent illness, including a stem cell transplant and chemotherapy, failed and the cancer spread to his intestines.

Filip, a former pupil at Friar Grove Primary School in Colchester, had been receiving only palliative care, to make him comfortable.

The family initially set out to raise 6,500 to fund Filip's burial wish of lying next to his mum, through a special Just Giving fundraising page, but they were overwhelmed when the amount hit the 40,000 mark.

As Piotr is ill with spina bifida (a gap in his spine), one kidney, diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure), he was unable to work, so was desperate to find the funds for his son.

Missing mummy: Filip beside his mother Agnieska's grave in Poland where he wants to be buried

'Filip wanted to be buried with his mother, so we are now organising that locally and will re-bury them together,' Piotr said.

'I did not imagine that I would have to bury my child...you shouldn't go before your child.'

Piotr said his son knew he was dying and heartbreakingly told him he wanted to be buried in the same coffin as his beloved mum, Agnieszka, who died aged 33 from cancer, on November 12, 2011, in her home village of Wadowice, southern Poland  where she married Piotr in 2009.

Piotr, who has now remarried and has a two-year-old daughter and two step-children, told how his late wife died shortly after developing sarcoma, a cancer of the connecting tissue.

Heartbreak: Filip's father Piotr and mother Agnieska who he lost to cancer when he was two

'My wife had a large growth on her neck,' he explained. 'She collapsed in the street one day and was taken to hospital, where they did an emergency operation to remove it which lasted for six hours.

'She was diagnosed with sarcoma. The cancer spread throughout her body. She only weighed 20kg when we lost her.'

It was a devastating blow for Piotr when, just a year later, Filip, then two, was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1, a condition causing tumours to grow on the nerves.

Remembering how his son's health deteriorated before the diagnosis, Piotr said: 'Filip had spots on his face and body in Poland before we came to the UK and the doctors gave him cream for the rash.

'When we came to the UK the rash did not improve, so I took him to the doctor's here.'

Happy chap: Filip with his father Piotr before he underwent further treatment for juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia

Dying wish: Filip receives only palliative care to make him comfortable as his short life comes to an end

Eventually, after a barrage of tests, in 2013, doctors told Piotr his son had neurofibromatosis type 1.

'The doctors said that they needed to do more tests, but that Filip was okay for now.'

Filip recovered well, but his health took a downward turn in September last year.

'He started having nose bleeds and his legs were hurting,' said his dad.

'I took him to the doctor here and they said that there's nothing wrong with him and that perhaps he is tired.

'I insisted that they need to do some more tests, because he was already diagnosed with type 1 and I knew there was something wrong. I think all parents know when there's something wrong with their child. They ordered more blood tests and discovered that he was suffering from severe anaemia and juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML).'

Smiling: Filip on a day out before his chemotherapy in hospital in Cambridge last year

Fighting: After extensive tests doctors discovered that Filip had neurofibromatosis type 1 in 2013

Filip had chemotherapy in hospital in Cambridge in September and November last year, but it did not work.

Then, in January he received stem cell transplants, which again proved unsuccessful.

But all hope he would recover was dashed earlier this month.

'We lost all hope at the beginning of March this year when the doctors said that there was nothing that they can do apart from mange his pain,' said his devastated dad.

A spokeswoman for Just Giving, Rhys Goode, which has now closed the donation page for Filip, said: 'Knowing that you are losing a child is devastating, but knowing that you are financially unable to fulfil their last wish must be shattering.

'We are so pleased that the JustGiving community came together to enable Filip to fulfil his last wish. Our thoughts are with the family at this time.'
A custom-made wedding proposal banner used by a man to propose to his fiancee has been stolen from the couple's front yard.

The 10-metre long romantic souvenir was zip-tied to the front fence of Luke Nicolle and Rhiana Kilpatrick's Hackham home, south of Adelaide.

Mr Nicolle, 28, had used the banner to propose to Ms Kilpatrick, 31, in March last year and the couple had planned on keeping it as a permanent token of their love.

The elaborate 10-metre banner was used by Mr Nicolle to propose to Ms Kilpatrick in March last year

Engaged couple Luke Nicolle and Rhiana Kilpatrick had an engagement party and found the banner had been stolen the next morning

But on Sunday morning brazen thieves allegedly took the banner after Ms Kilpatrick noticed it was missing at 3am.

It was stolen after the South Australian couple celebrated their engagement with family and friends with a party on Saturday night.

The sign was the heart of Mr Nicolle's elaborate sky-high proposal where he laid the banner down on a beach and asked his bride-to-be to marry him from a helicopter.

Mr Nicolle then posted a desperate plea to Facebook after realising his bespoke banner was missing.

The couple wrote a message to the thieves who took the banner and plastered it to the fence where the proposal sign was tied to

In a message to the thieves, the couple placed a sign on the fence which held the proposal banner.

'To the low life who decided to steal our engagement banner from our fence last night. I hope you are happy with yourself,' the sign read.

'Thanks for dampening our special day. You are a special kind of scum and I hope you get what's coming to you.'

The theft had been reported to police and the couple alleged the offender had been caught on camera.
This is the heartening moment a group of injured seal pups were returned to the sea after being nursed back to health.

A total of 16 of the young mammals were treated at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary for a variety of conditions ranging from malnutrition to injuries.

And when they were all ready to return to the wild staff organised a mass release at two different locations on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall.

This footage shows pups Merlin, Polar Bear, Penguin, Panda, and Arctic Fox being returned to the water at Porthtowan Beach on Friday afternoon.

The other 11 youngsters were set free off from other nearby beaches over the weekend.

Fran Davey, of Carbis Bay, Cornwall, who first spotted a stricken Panda was invited to see his return to the wild.

She said: 'I was out for a walk down to Porthkidney sands. When I got onto the beach, I noticed something there on the sand and it moved.

'He was a fiesty little chap, but he was less than three months old and only weighed about 20 kilos - so he was quite underweight.'

This footage shows pups Merlin, Polar Bear, Penguin, Panda, and Arctic Fox being returned to the water at Porthtowan Beach on Friday afternoon

Sixteen young pups were released back into the wild on the Lizard peninsula

The Cornish Seal Sanctuary has released 16 seal pups at the Porthtowan Beach in Cornwall

The sanctuary at Gweek told Pirate FM it has taken in 50 rescued pups across the winter

Fran rang British Divers Marine Life Rescue and waited with Panda to make sure no one else went near him.

She regularly visited him at the Seal Sanctuary at Gweek nr Helston during the weeks he recovered.

She added: 'It's just so lovely to be able to see the whole thing from beginning to end.

Pups are usually released back into the wild after reaching 40kg and being given a clean bill of health

Tamara Cooper, Curator at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary said: 'We are all so pleased to have been able to release the pups.'

'I found him and then to see him recovering and getting better - and now finally here's the end of the story.'

Pups are usually released back into the wild after reaching 40kg and being given a clean bill of health.

They need to be rescued through malnutrition or being separated from their mum at just a few days old.

Tamara Cooper, Curator at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary said: 'We are all so pleased to have been able to release the pups.

'We'll miss them because we've got to know them all so well but at the same time it will be great to see them back in the wild where they belong.'
Conman James Condliffe (pictured) claimed to be an international showjumper so he could fleece 280,000 from horse lovers

A lonely hearts conman who claimed to be an international showjumper so he could fleece 280,000 from horse lovers in flawed investments has been jailed for more than four years.

James Condliffe pretended he owned a seven-acre country estate and told his victims he was destined for the Rio Olympics in a ploy to get them to invest in bogus or unwell horses.

He even pressured his own partner into paying an inflated price for a horse, while one 85-year-old retired farmer was left in so much debt that he was forced to live off pasta with HP sauce.

Then, while he was being investigated over the horse scams, the fraudster used high society magazine The Lady to advertise sham 'care packages' for pensioners in need.

The 34-year-old, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, has now been jailed for four years and three months after admitting 21 charges of fraud by false representation.

Passing sentence, Judge Charles Macdonald QC described the fraudster as 'predatory and remarkably cruel'.

'This is an appalling narrative of diverse and persistent frauds committed over two years against all manner of victims - the very elderly, intimate partners, virtual strangers, chance acquaintances and businesses,' she said.

During the hearing, the court was told how Condliffe made several claims in a bid to get his hands of victims' money.

The claims included boasts that he owned a Grade II detached country estate in Ashford, Kent, with seven acres of land and stables.

He also said he had competed at high level horsing events and owned a horse destined for the Rio Olympics.

He even lied that his parents were either seriously ill or dead as he carried out his two-year deception.

Prosecutor Edward Connell told Maidstone Crown Court: 'Much of the deception was perpetrated on victims that were vulnerable for one reason or another.

'He took advantage for his own personal gain and successfully convinced investors he was a successful horse rider and businessman.

'When the people he defrauded tried to chase him to get their money back, he would say anything to get himself out of trouble, including stories about his parents being seriously ill or dead when they were both alive.

'In reality, rather than being a successful businessman he was a man in serious financial difficulties who repeatedly preyed on others to fund his lifestyle.'

The court heard Condliffe persuaded people to buy or part-own horses at over-inflated prices, which were not of the calibre he claimed or were later found to be riddled with disease.

While he was being investigated over the horse scams, the fraudster (pictured) used high society magazine The Lady to advertise sham 'care packages' for pensioners in need

He even swindled his own partner, Sarah Barker, after meeting her at a British Derby Meeting at the all-England jumping course Hickstead in 2012.

The court heard she was pressured into paying 35,000 for a horse called Fan, which he had himself bought for just 16,000.

Condliffe also logged in to her online bank account without her permission to transfer some of the purchase price to his account.

Among those he tricked was elderly farmer Warren Alcock, who he met after turning up unannounced at his farm in Ashford, Kent, in September 2012.

He told Mr Alcock that he wanted to rent his stables, presenting the 85-year-old with 'grand' plans for expansion.

Mr Alcock then invested 50,000 in Gotti, which he claimed was worth 100,000, but which he had actually bought for 12,000.

The farmer also invested in 'bargain basement' bankrupt horse stock that was never purchased.

He also took out a 25,000 loan on Condliffe's behalf, also giving him permission to write out blank cheques. One which he wrote for 51,000 was used in an attempt to pay-off another victim.

The fraudster later tried to 'steal' Gotti by forging a letter to the British Showjumping Association requesting change of ownership to that of his deceased grandfather.

The court heard Mr Alcock was conned out of 100,000 and is still in debt to the bank. His insistence at the time that Condliffe was genuine when his children voiced their concerns also led to a family rift, the court heard.

In a victim impact statement, he described himself as feeling like a fool.

The court heard how, while he was on bail for the horse frauds, Condliffe continued to fleece victims out of money.

He placed adverts in high society magazine The Lady offering a 'care package' for pensioners in need. Having gained their friendship and trust, Condliffe then took their money, including the life savings of a wheelchair-bound 78-year-old.

In another fraud, he posed as a bonafide buyer of Thimble Hall in Charing in Ashford, Kent, when it was put on the market for 650,000 in 2014.

When the sale stalled, he claimed to be awaiting probate following his father's death but wanted to move in to 'impress' clients.

Another of his victims was 65-year-old Christopher Ingram, who he tricked into investing 20,000 in a horse that did not exist.

Condliffe even took his to Thimble Hall in a bid to continue the ruse.

'He claimed to own the property and said it was worth 1.5million - all lies designed to trick Mr Ingram he was a successful businessman,' the prosecutor said.

Condliffe, who did have a stableyard in Wye, Kent, also tricked clients into lending him money or investing in other equine business ventures, including the purchase of a horsebox from champion showjumper Nick Skelton.

Stella Hayden, defending, said Condliffe, of Upper Berwick, had lost grip on reality.

'This is evident in the chaotic nature of his offending,' she added, stating he may have an 'underlying personality disorder'.

Miss Hayden also told the court that Condliffe had been subjected to several assaults in prison, including one in which he suffered a fractured eye socket and lost five teeth.

Condliffe also admitted stealing another girlfriend's BMW X1 and selling it to a car dealer in June 2015.

He has another conviction for fraud in Belgium for which he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment in his absence and is yet to serve.

The judge also imposed a serious crime prevention order for five years, starting on his release from prison, banning him from engaging in any business related to the horse industry, financial advice and investment opportunities.

A confiscation hearing will be held at a later date.
Video has captured the terrifying moment fuel began pouring from the wing of a plane mid-flight.

Boston resident Josh Jacobs was aboard the Shanghai-bound flight when it was forced to make an emergency landing in Montreal on Saturday.

'Already a few moments after take off, we knew something wasn't working right,' Jacobs told CBC.

Video has captured the terrifying moment smoke began pouring from the wing of a plane mid-flight

His fellow passengers aboard flight AC017 reported hearing strange sounds as the plane took off.

Airline officials said a warning light came on in the cockpit of the Boeing 787, so they followed procedure by shutting down the engine and dumping the fuel. They also contacted the teams on the ground to let them know they were in trouble.

Video captured by Jacobs' cellphone shows the moment the plane dumped the fuel, as smoke is seen billowing out of the jet's wing.

'Glad 2b back @aeroportsMTL @AirCanada #YUL-PVG engine fail on takeoff. Engine shutdown, fuel dump: professional response,' he tweeted after landing.

Airline officials said a warning light came on in the cockpit of the Boeing 787, so they followed procedure by shutting down the engine and dumping the fuel (left and right)

The Air Canada jet made an emergency landing in Montreal without incident (file picture)

However, he said the captain was quick to make an announcement to let passengers know the move was standard emergency protocol.

The Air Canada jet made an emergency landing in Montreal without incident. The 213 passengers were able to board another Shanghai-bound flight later that day.

'Our technical team will proceed with an inspection of the engine to determine the cause of the incident,' said Isabelle Arthur, a spokesperson for Air Canada.
Police in California have arrested a 35-year-old man in connection with a drive-by shooting which claimed the life of an eight-year-old boy.

Jonah Hwang, 8, died after he was shot as he was sitting down to eat dinner at his a family friend's home in Pomona, southern California last month.

Pomona Police said it arrested 35-year-old Sengchan Houl in connection with the murder which took place on February 20.

Eight-year-old Jonah Hwang, pictured, was shot in the head during a drive-by shooting at a house in Pomona, southern California in February while his family were visiting friends

A police report said the youngster died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Police said three rounds struck the house and no one else was injured in the shooting.

The youngster was born in Taiwan and was adopted by his family from an orphanage on the island less than three years ago.

Police have not yet determined a motive for the shooting.

Los Angeles County Jail records show that Houl is being held on bail of $2million.

Police said they arrested Sengchan Houl, 35, in connection with the shooting on this street

A spokesman for Pomona Police department said detectives are still actively investigating the case.

Further information was due to be released later today during a press conference outside Pomona Police Station at 1pm PDT.

According to NBC Los Angeles, the house on the 1100 block of West 11th Street has been shot at a further two times since the fatal attack.

Neighbors claimed the family living at the home moved out immediately after the murder.

Pastor Adam Donner of Pomona Presbyterian Church said: 'It doesn't answer a lot of questions. I think they're grateful for the work police have done and grateful that this ends this part of it, but they still don't have a child.'
President Donald Trump changed the subject Sunday night after a bruising day of health care postmortems, praising Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly for keeping a tight lid on the U.S.-Mexico border.

'General Kelly is doing a great job at the border. Numbers are way down. Many are not even trying to come in anymore,' Trump wrote on Twitter.

The latest official statistics showing numbers of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States from Mexico were released nearly three weeks ago; they showed a 40 per cent decline from January to February.

Trump vowed during his campaign to build a wall on America's southern border and deport many of the estimated 11 million illegals in the United States.

It's possible Trump has seen preliminary numbers reflecting March border jumpers.

President Donald Trump changed the subject Sunday night after a bruising day of health care postmortems, praising his Homeland Security secretary for tightening the U.S.-Mexico border

'Many are not even trying to come in anymore,' the president tweeted, hinting that his plan to build a border wall is already discouraging potential border-jumpers

The flow of illegal border crossings  measured by apprehensions and the prevention of 'inadmissible persons' apprehended at the southern border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection  dropped to 18,762 in February from 31,578 in January, DHS Secretary John Kelly said in a statement.

He said CBP, which compiled the data, historically sees a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in apprehensions of illegal immigrants from January to February.

Trump's praise for Kelly came hours after as Mexico's Roman Catholic archdiocese said companies expressing interest in working on his border wall are betraying their country.

The archdiocese said in an editorial that Mexican companies have expressed willingness to supply materials or work on the wall.

The editorial was titled 'Treason against the Homeland' and said that 'what is most surprising is the timidity of the Mexican government's economic authorities, who have not moved firmly against these companies.'

'Any company that intends to invest in the fanatic Trump wall would be immoral, but above all, their owners and shareholders will be considered traitors to the homeland,' the editorial said.



Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement this monrh that the number of people crossing illegally from Mexico to the U.S. dropped sharply last month

This chart from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency shows the 40 per cent drop (light blue line, left) that followed Trump's inauguration

On Jan. 25, Trump ordered the construction of a wall along the roughly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, moved to strip federal funding from 'sanctuary' states and cities that harbor illegal immigrants, and expanded the force of U.S. immigration agents.

'Since the administration's 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,' Kelly said.

'The drop in apprehensions shows a marked change in trends,' said Kelly. Trump took office January 20.

He stressed that the sharp decline means fewer people are taking the huge risk of putting their fate in the hands of human traffickers.

'Early results show that enforcement matters, deterrence matters, and that comprehensive immigration enforcement can make an impact,' said Kelly, one of Trumps' closest allies on tightening border security and on the president's controversial pledge to build a wall there.

Border Patrol agents had fewer people to arrest in the southwestern U.S. last month
Bradley Moore, 43, was attacked by a 16-year-old in Ashton-under-Lyme in Greater Manchester in July last year

A teenage yob who punched and knocked unconscious a father-of-four who was then run over and killed has been jailed for five years as the driver walked free.

Bradley Moore, 43, was targeted in McDonald's in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, by a gang of youths who then left him in the road after he was floored by the teenage assailant.

Jonathan Carter, an off-duty community mobile first responder, then drove out of the restaurant and twice ran over Mr Moore after he was distracted following a text row with his girlfriend.

Carter, 45, drove off without even realising he had struck Mr Moore on the evening of July 27 last year, and he died in hospital in the early hours of the following day. He later could give no explanation as to why he did not see Mr Moore lying prone in the road.

In January, a jury at Manchester Crown Court found Carter guilty of causing death by careless driving and the youth guilty of manslaughter after he had left the deceased at serious risk of harm.

Sentencing the pair on Monday, Mr Justice Turner detained the youth - who cannot be named for legal reasons - for five years but said there was no public interest in jailing his older co-defendant.

He told the youth: 'You did not murder Bradley Moore but you did kill him as a result of your violent and criminal act.

'You punched him so hard that he fell into the road where he remained long enough to be run over by by your co-defendant.'

The punch was the culmination of 'a long period of bullying behaviour' in McDonald's by the boy and his friends to 'a solitary alcoholic' who posed no threat to them, the court heard.

Mr Justice Turner added: 'Your intention I find, and I am sure, was to mark out your territory and you throughout were intimidating him because you thought he was intruding on that territory and you were hoping to frighten him away.

'The force of your blow was sufficient to knock Bradley Moore off his feet. He fell into the road ... you made no attempt to help him after you floored him. You simply left him where he had fallen.'

The thug had targeted Mr Moore with a gang of friends - some believed to be as young as 12 years old - who aimed kicks and punches as he walked past them.

The teen's decisive blow knocked the father off his feet and as he regained his balance, he was crushed by a Vauxhall Corsa leaving a nearby McDonald's.

Driver Jonathan Carter was having a row with his girlfriend by text and drove off not realising he had run Mr Moore over.

The victim described as a 'harmless man who was loved by all' suffered multiple injuries and died in hospital the following day.

The court heard how Mr Moore was picked out at random by the gang of youths as he passed the McDonalds, in July last year.

Mr Moore was targeted by the teenager and a gang of friends - some believed to be as young as 12 years old - who aimed kicks and punches as he walked past them near this street Ashton-under-Lyme town centre

The group aimed 'punches and roundhouse kicks' at Mr Moore but as he tried to walk away, but the 16-year-old followed him down the street and punched him outside a charity shop before walking off.

Mr Moore fell into the road as a result of the blow and was left lying in a daze for around three minutes. He was starting to get to his feet when Carter drove over him.

Carter - a community mobile warden who had an NHS job giving first aid to the elderly - had been having an argument by text with his partner at the time, the court was told.

He was said to be so 'distracted' he ran over Mr Moore as he carried out a three point turn and drove off on wrong side of a one way street.

Mr Moore was found by a McDonald's worker who at first mistakenly assumed his body was a black bin liner left lying in the road.

She then ordered a passing taxi to stop as the victim was about to be run over again.

Asked if he was OK, Mr Moore said, 'I've been attacked' but then lapsed into unconsciousness and suffered a cardiac arrest.

Moore was punched to the ground by the teen and then run over by driver Jonathan Carter who had been distracted by texts from his girlfriend while leaving a McDonald's

The unnamed boy who denied manslaughter later said Mr Moore had been aggressive and he jabbed him in the chest to scare him away. He claimed the victim stumbled - but didn't fall.

Carter, from Dukinfield in Greater Manchester, denied texting at the wheel and told the hearing: 'I certainly wouldn't have left him in the road. It's part of my job, it's what I do, I feel like I have a duty of care to people.

'I was devastated that I was even involved in anything like that - it's just not me. I've never done anything wrong in my life.'

He said his phone had been in his pocket and he was concentrating on a tree in front of him as he performed a three point turn and accidentally ran over Mr Moore.

Carter said at one point his steering felt 'very tight' and he assumed he gone on the kerb.

But Nick Johnson QC prosecuting said: 'My Moore was lying in the middle of the road and open to traffic. Any reasonable person would have foreseen that Mr Moore would be hit by a car if left lying in the road. A reasonable driver would have avoided an object the size of a person in the road.'

In a tribute, Bradley Moore's daughter Alex said: 'My dad was a harmless man and was loved by all those who knew him. I will make him proud and I know he will be watching over me, my brothers, Reece and Jack, and my little sister Emma.

Mr Moore's sister, Melanie, said: 'Bradley was a tough character who led a difficult life at times. For it to be cut short so tragically is truly heartbreaking. At least he can now rest at ease with our mother. May he rest in peace.'

The 16-year-old had seven previous convictions, including offences of robbery and burglary.

Mr Moore suffered serious injuries from the incident (pictured, the scene) and died in hospital the following day

In contrast, the judge said, Carter had no previous convictions and was someone who had made 'a positive contribution to society'.

Gary Woodhall, defending Carter, said his client had spent the vast majority of his working life helping people in need.

The barrister said: 'His instruction were always that Mr Moore is the first person he thinks about in the morning and the last person he thinks about when he goes to bed.'

Carter was receiving counselling for depression and had lost his job, he added.

Mr Justice Turner said there should be a strong distinction drawn between those drivers who see a risk and take it, and the sort of carelessness which is a result of of a serious lapse of attention.

He said: 'The public interest would not be served in sending you to prison, bearing in mind this was not a deliberate risk.'

Carter, of Dukinfield, was sentenced to nine months in custody, suspended for two years, and was banned from driving for two years.
A giant gold coin worth an estimated $4.5million (3.5m) has been stolen from a German museum.

Police in Berlin say thieves broke into the city's Bode Museum through a window at around 3.30am on Monday.

By the time officers arrived the 221lbs coin, known as the Big Maple Leaf, was gone along with the criminals.

Police in Berlin say a gang broke into the city's Bode Museum at around 3.30am on Monday before making off with this 221lbs coin known as the Big Maple Leaf

The coin has a nominal face value of 800,000 but with a purity of 99.99 per cent gold, it would be worth 3.5million if melted down

A bust of Queen Elizabeth II is on one side of the coin, with maple leaves on the other, from where it derives its nickname

A ladder believed to have been used in the raid was located next to nearby railway tracks, but officers found no trace of the thieves.

The inch-thick coin, which features a bust of Queen Elizabeth II on the front and maple leaves on the rear, measures more than 20 inches across.

Museum owners say the coin is in the Guinness Book of Records because of its purity of 99.99 per cent gold.

It has a nominal face value of 800,00, but measured by weight alone the gold contained in the coin would be worth almost 3.5million.

Officers say a ladder, believed to have been used in the raid, was found next to nearby railway tracks - though they found no sign of the thieves

The coin is a commemorative piece and was issued by the Canadian mint in 2007
Marvel Comics has brought a lesbian Latina superhero named America Chavez to the forefront with her first solo title.

With just the first title in the series out, fans have already seen the powerhouse punch Adolf Hitler in the face, save another planet and enroll in college.

'Miss America' was created in 2011 by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta, but this will be the first time her story is written by a person of color who shares a non-traditional sexual identity.

Marvel Comics released the first issue of America on March 1, marking the first time a lesbian Latina superhero has had a solo title project under the franchise; Gabby Rivera is the author and Joe Quinones is the illustrator

Author Gabby Rivera never expected to be taking the reigns of a franchise foray of such magnitude, but has not shied away from the challenge.

'Superhero comics seemed so out of my league that I never even imagined it as something I could do. But the second the opportunity came my way, it felt so right,' Rivera told the Washington Post's David Betancourt.

'I've always dreamt up wild, powerful and carefree superheroes that look like me and my family: thick, brown, goofy, beautiful. And now I get to see them come to life. "America" is going to be all those things, and it's [going to] be wild.'

The series is written by queer Latina young adult author Gabby Rivera, best known for her latest coming-of-age book about a queer Puerto Rican from the Bronx, Juliet Takes a Breath

In issue number one of the series, America Chavez saves another planet, enrolls in college and manages to punch Adolf Hitler in the face

Prior to this endeavor, Rivera was probably most well-known for her young adult novel Juliet Takes a Breath, which follows a queer Puerto Rican teen who leaves the world she's always known in the Bronx for a summer internship in Oregon, and a lot of life lessons.

Rivera told Latina that the first draft of that book contained a lot of personal narrative from the writer, and readers can expect similar infusion of the author's Puerto Rican culture in America.

But exactly from where America Chavez hails is still yet to be revealed.

With only the first installment out, the series promises to pack quite a punch as the title character saves the day in different dimensions and grapples with cultural identity

The series 'is definitely going to tackle Americas ancestry and ethnicity. But it wont be as neat as some folks might want it to be. For me, being Latina is really damn complicated, especially when it comes to tracing my roots,' Rivera said.

'Americas going to wonder where she really came from and who her people are. Shes going to explore what it means to be brown across the dimensions. And like many people whove had to leave home at a young age, shes dealing with that feeling of disconnect, the youre a foreigner here and out of place when you go "home" type of feeling.'

While the title character grapples with all of that, she's also dealing with the responsibility that comes along with super-human speed, strength, the ability to leap from dimension to dimension... and homework assignments that include a front-lines field trip to World War II.

Enlistment of queer Latina young adult author Gabby Rivera to write the series was part of Marvel's effort to bring authenticity and diversity to its ranks; previous writers have been mostly white males, like Roy Thomas who created Captain Marvel aka Carol Danvers in 1968

The first three covers for America, and much of the inside art, have been illustrated by Joe Quinones who also drew Marvel's Howard The Duck.

Ming Doyle also lends her pen to the series, beginning in the second installment.

Marvel released issue one of America on March 1. It's available for purchase and issues two and three are available for pre-order now on the Marvel Comics store website.
President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has 'volunteered' to speak to a Senate committee about a meeting he had with the Russian ambassador to the United States in the transition and the head of a bank with ties to Vladimir Putin's government.

'Based on on the media frenzy that existed around this, he volunteered,' White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Monday. 'He said, "Hey, we made some contacts, I'd be glad to explain them, let me know if you'd like to talk." '

A date for the interview has not yet been set, senators who run the committee have said.

President Donald Trump 's son-in-law Jared Kushner has 'volunteered' to speak to a Senate committee about a meeting he had with the Russian ambassador to the United States in the transition and the head of a bank with ties to Vladimir Putin's government

Kushner and ex-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn met with Sergey Kislyak at Trump Tower in December, the New York Times previously reported.

Despite the parade of politicians, business people and foreign visitors meeting Trump and his transition team being made in public through the tower's lobby, the Russian was smuggled in through another entrance and his presence never announced.

The news outlet revealed today that Kushner later met with a Russian banker whose institution remains on the US sanctions list because of its links to the country's government.

Kushner is a senior advisor to President Trump and a major player in the administration's security policy.

In the transition, the White House says he met with many officials from foreign governments on behalf of the president, and his talks with Kislyak and Sergey Gorkov, head of Russia's Vnesheconombank, were non-consequential.

'That was part of his job that was part of his role, and he executed this completely as he was supposed to,' Spicer said Monday.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has said it would like Kushner answer questions about the meetings as part of its review of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

'Mr. Kushner will certainly not be the last person the committee calls to give testimony, but we expect him to be able to provide answers to key questions that have arisen in our inquiry,' the senators, Richard Burr and Mark Warner, said in a statement.

Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for the White House, told the Times that Kushner would comply.

'He isnt trying to hide anything and wants to be transparent,' Hicks said.

Spicer told reporters Monday afternoon that Kushner was 'glad to talk about the role' he played in the transition 'and the individuals I met with.'

Asked by CBS' Major Garret if Kushner, who's new to politics, felt he owed them an explanation, Spicer rebuffed the network correspondent. 'For what? Doing his job?'

Kushner and ex-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn met with Sergey Kislyak at Trump Tower in December. Kislyak is pictured at the US Capitol in February attending Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress.

Kushner met with Kislyak in December to talk about improving relations between the two countries and the possibility of collaborating in the Middle East, Hicks told the New York Times.

Kislyak requested a second meeting to 'deliver a message,' Hicks said. Kushner sent a deputy, Avrahm Berkowitz, to that session.

At Kislyak's request, Kushner then met with Gorkov, whose bank had been sanctioned by the US after Russian dissidents invaded Crimea.

Vnesheconombank's board is controlled by Putin's government. Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev is a member.

Kushner was still the chief of his family real estate business, Kushner Companies, at the time of the talks.

Senators want to know if he and Gorkov discussed funding for a Fifth Avenue building Kushner was planning to redevelop with Chinese company Anbang Insurance Group, which has links to its country's government, the Times says.

Hicks said the subject did not come up in the half-hour session, and neither did sanctions.

'It really wasnt much of a conversation,' she told the news publication.

Kushner is one of a handful of Trump associates legislators are looking to speak to as they conduct their investigation.

Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, will go before the House Intelligence Committee to answer questions about his business dealings in Ukraine.

The Republican political strategist has been accused of accepting an illegal cash payment of $12 million to advise the pro-Russian president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, before he was driven out of power.

Trump friend Roger Stone has volunteered to go before House and Senate investigators, too, as he tries to wipe away allegations of Russian collusion in the election.

Stone was in contact with the hacker Guccifer 2.0 before Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta's emails were leaked, and he foreshadowed the theft and release of Democratic National Committee emails.

Both Manafort and Stone say they did nothing illegal. Stone says he wants to testify so he can clear his name.

FBI Director James Comey confirmed last week that the bureau was investigating Trump contacts and had a probe in election tampering. He did not go into greater specificity about who was under scrutiny.

Senators want to know if Kushner and Russian banker Sergey Gorkov discussed funding for a Fifth Avenue building Kushner was planning to redevelop with Chinese company Anbang Insurance Group. He was still head of his family business at the time of the meeting

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said afterward that he was 'not aware' that anyone who currently worked for Trump was part of an FBI investigation.

Hicks told The New York Times that the FBI had not questioned Kushner. The paper noted that there is nothing to suggest that he's under law enforcement scrutiny.

The Trump son-in-law is the most high profile administration official to be summoned to Capitol Hill. He's one of three who is known to have spoken with Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, before Trump took office.

Flynn's calls with Kislyak turned into a full blown scandal in February when he was accused of discussing sanctions with the Russian emissary just as the Obama administration brought down the hammer.

First Flynn said it didn't happen, then he admitted that the topic may have come up.

Trump dismissed him after the White House determined that the retired general mislead the vice president about the substance of his Kislyak's talks.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a senator at the time of Trump's election, also met with Kislyak - once in his office and another time in passing at a convention event for diplomats.

He caused trouble for himself at his confirmation hearing by saying he'd had no contact with the Russians in the lead up to the election.

Sessions quelled calls for his resignation after the information came out by rescuing himself from any Justice Department investigations into the presidential election.
Days after suing her two stepsons, Real Housewives of Miami star Alexia Echevarria is facing a foreclosure lawsuit over a Miami condo - and the co-defendants in the case are the very same stepsons she recently took legal action against.

BankUnited filed suit against Alexia, Nelson and Herman Echevarria, stating that her late husband Herman (and the boys' father) took out a loan when he first purchased the condo in the luxury complex Crystal House in Miami Beach.

After mortgage payments started to go unpaid in late 2016, the savings and loan association is demanding $70,000 on the original loan and asking that a judge allow them to formally foreclose on the property, according to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com.

BankUnited filed a lawsuit against Alexia Echevarria, stating that her late husband Herman took out a loan when he first purchased a condo in the luxury building Crystal House in Miami Beach

After mortgage payments started to go unpaid in late 2016, the savings and loan association is demanding $70,000 on the original loan, according to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com

Herman Jr. (left) and Nelson (at right in picture at right) were both named as co-defendants in the foreclosure case, just days after Echevarria asked for a temporary injunction against them

This past month, Alexia separately asked for a temporary injunction against Nelson and Herman Echevarria, accusing them of attempting to seize her other Miami Beach mansion and Maserati just months after her husband's unexpected death.

Last September, Herman Echevarria, 61, was found dead in a Miami hotel. His business partner believed he passed away in his sleep from a heart attack, while detectives said he died of natural causes.

Alexia later released a statement, saying: 'The Echevarria family is heartbroken over the sudden passing of our patriarch Herman Echevarria this morning.

'He was a family man, a hardworking businessman, dedicated to helping others and a pillar of his community that was loved by everyone whose lives he touched.'

Since Hermans death, the relationship between Alexia and her late husband's sons appears to be fairly rocky.

Though Alexia maintains that she has always loved the two boys as if they were her own, she says they have been actively trying to take immediate possession of her $3 million Miami home, seize the contents of the property and even threatened to sue if she didnt hand over the keys to the Maserati.

Nelson and Herman are both heirs to Hermans estate and co-personal representatives of his probate estate, but court documents stated that they are ignoring 'their father's clearly expressed wishes and contractual obligations to his own wife.'

Alexia and Herman began dating in 2001, got engaged by 2003 and married in 2004. Prior to their marriage, they signed an Antenuptial Agreement, or prenup.

Per their deal, Herman gave instructions that upon his death the deed to the Miami Beach home would be transferred solely to Alexia.

Alexia captioned this photo of her prized Maserati, which she received as a birthday present: 'My favorite gift by far from my amazing husband'

Nelson and Herman are both heirs to Hermans estate and co-personal representatives of his probate estate, but court documents state that they are ignoring 'their father's clearly expressed wishes and contractual obligations to his own wife'

In 2003, Herman had asked his soon-to-be wife to find a house for them to live in, which he then purchased under his name alone. He relied on Alexia to plan and coordinate the extensive renovations done to the property.

Now, Alexia is taking legal action to 'preserve the status quo pending a final hearing,' which would allow her to continue living in the house.

The couple announced their separation in 2015 after 15 years of marriage, but Alexia says they still predominantly resided at the Miami property and never divorced.

'Turning age 60 triggered a form of "midlife crisis" for Decedent, which led to self-destructive behaviors and to him spending nights on a temporary basis in a Collins Avenue apartment owned by a friend and/or in a Brickell Avenue apartment owned by another friend,' the documents read.

'However, Decedent and plaintiff never divorced, they never formally separated as husband and wife, they continued to work together through to the date of his death, and they continued to co-parent plaintiff's two sons from a previous marriage (whom Decedent always made a point of referring to as "our" sons) through to the date of Decedent's death.

'Decedent never abandoned the family he had with plaintiff, he never abandoned their marriage, and he never abandoned their marital home, which at the time of his death he intended to return to.'

Alexia, Herman and Nelson Echevarria have yet to comment on the foreclosure suit.
The family of a 15-year-old Tennessee high school student who was last seen on March 13 shared shocking new claims about the girl's relationship with her teacher in an emotional interview with Good Morning America.

The sister of Elizabeth Thomas fought back tears as she revealed that Tad Cummins, 50, had begun showing up unannounced at her sister's work shortly before the pair disappeared together, and that his last visit had come just two days before the girl's abduction.

'She would go and tell people to tell him she wasn't there and she would go and hide until he left,' explained Sarah Thomas.

'She thought it was the only way. She felt uncomfortable.'

This latest news about the relationship between the pair comes shortly after investigators learned that the two had been sending love letters to one another which were at times sexually charged by writing draft emails on a shared classroom computer at Culleoka School.

Meanwhile, Cummins' wife Jill spoke with NBC News on Monday and urged her husband to turn himself in, saying: 'You know you can't hide forever. For your sake and for Beth's sake, please go to the police or please just drop Beth off somewhere safe.'

She also said 'nobody understands the pain and shock I am in now.'

Scroll down for video

Shocking revelation: The sister (Sarah above) of missing Tennessee teenager Elizabeth Thomas, 15, said that her teacher Tad Cummins, 50, had been showing up at her work unannounced

Bereaved: She would go and tell people to tell him she wasn't there and she would go and hide until he left,' said Sarah Thomas (Thomas family above)

Shut it down: 'For your sake and for Beth's sake, please go to the police or please just drop Beth off somewhere safe,' said Cummins' wife Jill in a separaate interview

Elizabeth's family is still holding out hope that they will see the girl again, and are begging any person who might have information to reach out and contact authorities.

'It feels like she just vanished, and I know that's impossible, someone had to see her,' said the victim's sister Sarah.

Her father meanwhile was optimistic about the teenager's eventual return home to be with her family.

'We just live for that day where we are gonna get a phone call that says we're alright and waiting for someone to get me,' said Anthony Thomas.

Investigators spent the weekend pouring over email drafts that the two would send one another while in school for any clues into where the pair may be, with Cummins now facing charges of aggravated kidnapping and sexual contact with a minor.

'They would write the message and let it save as a draft. The other person would log in, read the message and then delete it and then write another message that was saved as a draft,' said Maury County District Attorney Brent Cooper.

'If you read them you would immediately recognize you are reading messages between two people who have a romantic interest in each other.'

One of the emails uncovered by authorities was written by Cummins and began: 'I saw you standing next to your backpack this morning.'

The teacher then told the student how nice one of her body parts looked to him in the note.

Hope: 'We just live for that day where we are gonna get a phone call that says we're alright and waiting for someone to get me,' said Anthony Thomas, the victim's father (above)

Any help: The family has also released a recent video of Elizabeth (above with her brother) hoping that someone might recognize her lisp

New development: It was discovered that the pair, who went missing March 13, shared love notes by writing email drafts on a school computer they saved for the other to see (Elizabeth left, Cummins right)

Elizabeth's family also released a recent video of the teenager with her brother in hopes that someone might recognize the young girl's lisp.

A student came forward earlier this year to tell school officials that they saw the student and her married teacher kissing in a classroom this past January.

The school eventually made the decision to remove Elizabeth from the teacher's classroom, but allow Cummins to keep teaching at the school.

Cummins was last seen one day before the two disappeared buying hair dye at a Walmart.

Elizabeth, who is one of ten children, made frequent posts on social media about romance and love in the weeks before she was abducted by Cummins.

She also started calling herself 'wife' on Instagram and made several references to a 'mission' that was 'almost complete'.

On March 13, she told family she was going to spend the day with a friend. One of her siblings has since revealed that the teenager told them to call police if she did not return home that night.

An image of Cummins and Elizabeth together in his classroom that was taken after a student caught them kissing and reported them to school officials (above)

Authorities believe she may have gone willingly with Cummins, who they say has been grooming her for sex for some time.

Elizabeth was seen on surveillance footage the day she disappeared carrying a bndle of clothes.

The grandfather is believed to be armed and possible dangerous, with two guns.

Elizabeth's mother spoke to DailyMail.com last week in an exclusive interview to share her fears.

She labeled her daughter's captor 'disturbed' and said she worried Elizabeth would either end up pregnant or dead.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which is leading the hunt for the pair, has received hundreds of tips but none have come to fruition.

One reported sighting of the pair was made in Corpus Christi, a coastal city in south east Texas, last week.

They were reported to have been seen in the tiny town of North Beach which sits just 160 miles from the Mexican border.

Nothing ever came of the tip-off and police have not clarified whether they believe it was credible or a case of mistaken identity.
Julie Higgins pretended to be a medic and gave a terminally-ill woman false hope by telling her she could help her survive. It was all lies but Higgins avoided jail for fraud

A compulsive liar who posed as a transplant surgeon to trick a terminally-ill patient into believing she could be saved was today spared jail.

Julie Higgins, 54, told Angela Murray she was an oncology specialist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, having been introduced to her via a hairdresser they both knew.

For a year, she gave Mrs Murray false hope by giving her invented advise and claiming she could get her a lung transplant, her only chance of surviving an incurable condition.

Mrs Murray, a sales manager, died on October 31 last year, a month after she realised she had been lied to. Her family believe the impact hastened her death.

She spun lie after lie, even claiming she would go around the world searching for a suitable donor, including to Nice following the terrorist atrocity of last July.

She also claimed she knew the Royal Family through her work and had shaved her head to make children she operated on feel comfortable.

She invented fictitious characters such as a nurse she called 'Squiby' who texted Mrs Murray, 59, to proclaim Higgins' work.

Angela Murray died after Higgins' lies were exposed. Her husband Gregory said the incident hastened his wife's death

On one occasion she texted that she may have found a 100 per cent match and she should go nil-by-mouth in preparation for life-saving surgery.

Higgins, from Poole, Dorset, also claimed she had been injured while carrying out aid work in Syria and that Mrs Murray could have her lungs if she died.

Her lies unravelled after Mrs Murray's husband Gregory, 59, checked out her background after becoming suspicious.

It emerged that, for 11 years, Higgins had pretended to hairdresser Jacqueline Elvin to be a surgeon, leading her to give medical advice and assistance to other customers.

Despite her cruel lies, Higgins could only be charged with fraud in relation to some free haircuts she received by way of thanks for helping Mrs Murray.

A judge today spoke of his frustration at not being able to send her to jail because the charge was so minor. Instead she was issued with a 12-month community order and 200 hours community service.

Shaven-headed Higgins leaves court after a judge spoke of his anger he could not jail her

Judge Donald Tait told her at Bournemouth Crown Court: 'The misery and anguish you inflicted on the Murray family was quite appalling.

'You created false hope in somebody who was seriously unwell. This was quite deliberate, you gained pleasure from pretending to be medically qualified.'

He said he would send her to prison 'without batting an eyelid' but that would be a dishonest way of approaching this sentencing.'

Afterwards Mr Murray, a 59-year-old railway worker from Swanage, said he was devastated with the outcome and fears Higgins will do it again.

Mr Murray, who was married to his late wife for 40 years, said: 'To put my wife through what she put her through, I've never met someone so evil.

'After my wife found out, her health deteriorated rapidly. Before then she said she was going to fight it but after that she lost hope.

'She has got away with it scot free. I'm devastated and I worry she can just do it to someone else now.'
An elderly woman has expressed her concerns about Islam taking over Australia and threatening the nation's freedoms on the ABC's Q&A.

Marianne O'Connell, a supporter of Pauline Hanson's One Nation party, asked the panel how Western nations should respond to the threat of a worldwide Islamic caliphate.

'There is a threat behind the ideology of Islam against the Western nations and there's a threat to dominate and take away our freedoms,' she said.

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Marianne O'Connell asked the Q&A panel how Australia should respond to an Islamic threat to impose a worldwide caliphate

But Ms O'Connell was keen to point out she was not against all Muslims as she expressed concerns about Australia's largest mosque in south-west Sydney.

'I would like to say I have Muslim friends. I'm not scapegoating all of the Muslims but I have heard statements coming out of the Lakemba mosque saying that they're going to destroy Australia,' Mrs O'Connell said.

'Australia will have to submit to Islam. That's coming out of the Lakemba mosque.

'I'm watching what's happening in Europe, the same sort of thing.

'So we have to be very vigilant here because we do have Muslims in this country who are out here to destroy us and they make no secret of it.'

Asked by host Tony Jones why she supported Senator Hanson, Ms O'Connell said the One Nation leader identified there was a clear problem with Islam 'that must be addressed'.

Q&A host Tony Jones asked Marianne O'Connell why she supported Pauline Hanson

Victorian Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie ridiculed Pauline Hanson's vaccination remarks

Counter-terrorism expert Lydia Khalil said Islam and its ideology was linked to terrorism

'That's what Australians are responding to because they can also see the threat and that doesn't mean they hate Muslims,' she said.

Victorian Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie ridiculed Senator Hanson's call last week for Australia to vaccinate itself against the 'disease' of Islam.

'Look, I won't be vaccinating against a safer, stable, liberal democracy,' she said, which saw Mrs O'Connell put up her hand and shake her head.

'It's freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of association.'

Lydia Khalil, an international security adviser who has been working on counter-terrorism since 2001, said Islam was linked to terrorism.

'We can't say it has nothing to do with it,' she said.

'These people who are committing these acts are saying that they are committing it in the name of an ideology, they say they're committing it in the name of Islam.'

Ms Khalil also pointed about how Khalid Masood, who last week killed four people in London near Parliament, had been to Saudi Arabia.

Khalid Masood, who killed four people in London last week, had been to Saudi Arabia

Social media reaction on the Q&A program's Facebook page was critical of Mrs O'Connell

Georgia Hunt questioned Marianne O'Connell's level of education adding she felt pity for her

This Facebook user suggested the elderly woman was perhaps racist against Muslims

Despite the expert taking the elderly woman's concerns seriously, the reactions on the Q&A program's Facebook page were mainly against Mrs O'Connell.

Fady Elloun accused her of lying and spreading fear.

'This woman infuriated me so much. Pauline Hanson will be very proud of her performance tonight,' she said.

Georgia Hunt questioned Ms O'Connell's level of education.

'I feel pity for this woman because this is a woman who has a lot of questions that want to be answered and is fearful of the 'threat of Muslims',' she said.

Lin Van Oevelen suggested Mrs O'Connell was racists in a tongue-in-cheek way.

'But she has 'friends who are Muslim' so she can't be racist, right?' she said.
A gravedigger has been accused of taking photos of dead bodies and showing them off to his friends.

The employee at Cheltenham Cemetery, in Adelaide's north, has quit after the allegations came to light.

He is accused of taking pictures of human remains, including decomposing bodies, skulls and bones - and parading them in social situations, The Advertiser reported.

A gravedigger at Adelaide's Cheltenham Cemetery (pictured) is accused of taking photos of dead bodies and showing them off to his friends

The employee at cemetery (pictured) in the Adelaide's north has quit after the morbid allegations came to light

'These allegations must be difficult for any family members involved,' Planning Minister John Rau told the newspaper.

'I have sought an urgent and detailed report from the [Adelaide Cemeteries] Authority including full details of what has occurred to date.

'I have asked whether the family members of any deceased persons have been contacted. I have also asked if the images have been recovered and/or destroyed.'

It is understood the allegations surfaced after an anonymous tip off to Crimestoppers, according to Seven News.

The minister reportedly ordered a 'detailed and urgent' report.

He is accused of taking photos of human remains, including decomposing bodies, bones and skulls - and parading them in social situations (stock image)
A drunk woman was six times over the legal limit and using her mobile phone when she pinned a five-year-old girl between two parked cars last October.

Barbara Farlow, 50, pleaded guilty to the charges when she appeared at Burwood Local Court on Monday afternoon.

Ms Farlow was attempting to reverse park in Eastwood when she accelerated severely, crushing the young girl who was helping her father pack groceries into a car.

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Barbara Farlow, 50, fronted Burwood Local Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to her charges

The woman then tried to drive her crumpled Subaru away from the scene, but when her car did not start she attempted to flee on foot.

Bystanders then detained the woman until police arrived on the scene.

Ms Farlow walked away from the crash site because she 'felt intimidated by all the bystanders that were filming her on their mobile phones', a police fact sheet found.

She had been drinking at a nearby RSL in Sydney's north-west before getting behind the wheel, police said.

But it was not the first time the mother had been charged with drink driving.

In 2007, Ms Farlow was caught drunk behind the wheel and was given a 15-month good behaviour bond.

The young girl was helping her father put groceries into a car at the Eastwood shopping centre when she was injured

The mother was six times over the legal limit when she pinned a five-year-old between two cars while reverse parking

Ms Farlow allegedly attempted to flee the crash site after injuring the young girl - captured on CCTV

She was then caught again in 2012 and was disqualified from driving for 18 months.

The five-year-old girl was treated in hospital for pelvic injuries - and police said it was 'only by luck that no serious injuries were suffered to any other person.'

Ms Farlow faces up to 12 months in prison but her mental health condition could mean zero jail time and no conviction, her solicitor said.

She is expected to front court next week for sentencing submissions.
It's now officially illegal in Ohio for people to have sex with animals.

The state did not have anti-bestiality laws on the books until the change took effect last week, making sexual conduct or related acts with animals punishable by jail time and fines.

The measure gained enough votes to pass in December when it was rolled into a bill that bars local jurisdictions from raising the minimum wage or regulating pet stores.

Animal 'lovers' beware: Ohio lawmakers have enacted a ban on bestiality, making sexual conduct or related acts with animals punishable by jail time and a $750 fine (stock photo)

Offenders caught engaging in zoophilia could face up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine, and have the animal seized and impounded. They also could be ordered to undergo psychological evaluation or counseling.

'It's a crime that defies explanation to the rational person,' Mark Kumpf, director of the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center, tells Dayton Daily News. 'We're dealing with a different species.'

Most states have laws prohibiting sexual conduct with animals. Bestiality is still not illegal in Hawaii, Kentucky, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming and Washington, DC.

Rep. Jim Hughes, from Upper Arlington, who sponsored the anti-zoophilia law with fellow Republican Sen. Jay Hottinger, has described bestiality as 'sickening and perverse.'

'We don't want Ohio to be the place you can come and have sex with an animal,' he said.

Bestiality is still not illegal in Hawaii, Kentucky, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming (shown on the map in red) and Washington, DC

There's also some concern among law enforcement about links between such acts and other crimes.

A Virginia police detective who has spent years focused on internet crimes against children said he's seen links between bestiality and child sex abuse.

'I found that people who were engaged in crimes against children were also engaged in sexual crimes against animals,' Fairfax County Detective Jeremy Hoffman said. 'It was people from everyday walks of life. There was no stereotype that you could pin to any of them.'
The Senate Judiciary Committee delayed the vote until next week to consider the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the delay was requested by the Democrats.

At least 15 Democrats and independents, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have announced their opposition to the Denver-based appeals court judge, arguing that Gorsuch has ruled too often against workers and in favor of corporations.

Schumer said Thursday he would be comfortable filibustering the nomination.

This puts Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in a position where he could exert the 'nuclear option,' and change the Senate rules so that only a majority would be needed to hold a procedural vote to move the nomination forward.

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Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch (left) shares a laugh with Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., (right) last week on Capitol Hill

Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch smiles on Capitol Hill in Washington, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee

Republicans have a 52-48 majority, so at least eight Democrats and independents will have to vote with Republicans.

Monday at the White House, Press Secretary Sean Spicer smacked around Schumer for his filibuster threat.

'The fact is, an attempted filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee is rare and to do so in this context with such an imminently qualified and brilliant judge is nothing short of obstructionism,' Spicer said.

The press secretary also brought up Sen. Patrick Leahy's decision to not join in on a Democratic filibuster, saying it showed that Schumer's move was merely 'obstructionism that undermines decades of Senate tradition.

Talking to a local media outlet, Leahy said, 'I am not inclined to filibuster, even though I'm not inclined to vote for him,' the Democratic senator said of Gorsuch.

Leahy's move would help Republicans get the judge over the 60 vote procedural hurdle, thus keeping the Senate rules intact. He would then vote against the nominee.

The final Senate vote needs only to be a majority, which the Republicans have.

Democrats who have spoken out against Gorsuch say they don't believe he'll be an independent voice from President Donald Trump, who nominated him in January.

Democrats said during and after the hearing that Gorsuch didn't give clear enough answers when questioned.

'I had looked forward to Judge Neil Gorsuch sharing his views on the Supreme Court's critical role on some of the most important issues in America,' said Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., a former presidential contender. 'Instead, he refused to answer legitimate questions and brought the confirmation process to a new low in a think fog of evasion.'

Gorsuch refused to give his personal views on most any issue, including abortion, campaign finance and others that Democrats highlighted.

'I don't have a problem with a conservative judge, I've voted for a lot of conservative judges,' Leahy said in the same interview. 'But when you have somebody who won't answer basic questions on everything from freedom of religion to presidential litmus tests, that's very troublesome.'

Republicans praised his testimony, saying he showed humility and a deep understanding of legal precedent and separation of powers.

McConnell says he hopes Gorsuch would get Democratic votes in the end, but he seems ready to change Senate rules, if necessary, to confirm him with a simple majority.

He'll be following in the footsteps of his former across-the-aisle counterpart, ex-Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who in 2013, as Senate Majority Leader, scrapped the 60 vote threshold needed for executive branch and judicial nominees.

Reid, however, left the rules as is for nominees of the Supreme Court.

The committee will meet again April 3 to recommend Gorsuch to the full Senate favorably or unfavorably.

McConnell has said he hopes to confirm Gorsuch on the Senate floor by the end of that week, before the Senate leaves for a two-week recess and in time for the Court's April arguments.
Josh Earnest has joined the NBC News team as a political analyst it was revealed Monday morning during his first appearance on Today.

The former press secretary had a smug look on his face as he went after President Donald Trump, Congressional republicans and issued a scathing indictment of the current administration for their failure to replace Obamacare after months spent speaking about how they were going to repeal the act.

'Governing is more complicated and more difficult than campaigning. The challenge of this starts at the top. If you want to be president of the United States and solve problems for the American people, you have to figure out a way to get it done,' said a smirking Earnest, who then took President Trump to task for not even reaching out to Democrats.

'If you're not willing to call the other side and build bipartisan legislation, you're going to have trouble as long as your party remains so divided.'

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He's back: Josh Earnest has joined the NBC News team as a political analyst (above on Monday)

Content chap: The former press secretary for President Barack Obama looked smug in his first appearance while trashing President Trump for failed health care overhaul

Hugging it out: 'If you want to be president of the United States and solve problems for the American people, you have to figure out a way to get it done,' said Earnest (Earnest and Obama above on January 17 at his last press briefing)

Earnest was then questioned about who specifically was to blame in the administration, with Matt Lauer asking: 'Is this a problem with the chief of staff, Reince Priebus? Was this a problem with Steve Bannon? The vice president, who knows Congress? Who missed the stop sign?'

He answered the question, while still smirking, by stating: 'They all did. There's fissures in the Republican party that cannot be divided.

'There wasn't anybody to improve Obamacare and the problems that everybody know can be solved and improved.'

Earnest then went after President Trump again by saying: 'We can be in a situation where the president of the united States is not tenable to be in a position where the president of the United States is saying Obamacare is going to explode. They don't want you to stand by. '

Next, Earnest criticized Congressional Republicans while addressing the issues facing the party at this time.

'What's clear for Republicans in Congress, they haven't been safe for quite some time as long as the party is divided,' explained Earnest.

'The one unifying principle has been instinctive, reflective opposition to everything related to president Obama. That's why it was easy for them to repeal Obamacare.

'But when it came to replacing it, when it came to building a coalition to actually do something proactive and positive for the country, there's no consensus in the Republican party.'

He then added: 'As long as you're unwilling to work with Democrats to try to find some common ground, we're going to be stuck in the mud here.'

Earnest also said that in the wake of recent events, Democrats in Congress are in a much better place than they were when President Trump first took office.

'The question is, how are they going to play that hand? They have leverage now and they should use it,' he enplaned.

'If there's opportunities to make progress on their terms, in support of values and priorities that Democrats have identified, they can look for those opportunities. They don't have to fold right now. They're playing a strong hand.'

So happy together: Both Savannah Guthrie and Matt Lauer seemed to enjoy the addition of Earnest to the team (above laughing on Monday)

Strong words: Earnest also said that every person in President Trump's administration is to blame for the failing bill (President Trump above on Friday)

Right before the segment ended, Lauer asked Earnest to quickly speak about whether or not his former boss was in contact with President Trump.

'I'm not aware they had any conversations since trump took office,' responded Earnest.

He then began to giggle as he said: 'The telephone still works. I'm thinking that President Obama would be happy to share his experience with President Trump.'

Earlier this month, Earnest said he believed more would come to light regarding ties between Russia and aides to President Trump.

'It's undeniable that there's a lot of really good unanswered questions about why senior Trump officials are, at best, not being forthcoming about their interactions with Russians,' said Earnest.

'These are questions that need answered and it's not particularly surprising to me that President Trump is looking for some colorful ways to distract from that line of questioning.'

He was also asked during that interview about President Trump's claim on Twitter that Earnest's former boss had wiretapped his phones at Trump Tower.

'The bigger the scandal, the more outrageous the tweet,' said Earnest.

The Kansas City, Missouri native joined the Obama presidential campaign in March 2007 as the Iowa communications director, and later went on to serve as deputy communications director during the 2008 general election.

Then, in 2014, President Obama appointed him as press secretary.
A mother-of-two and her daughter died in a house fire days before Christmas after the 11-year-old ran back upstairs to save her cat and gerbils, an inquest has heard.

Alina Kordoszewska, 41, and her youngest daughter Emilia died at their home in Braintree, Essex, on December 22 after a scented candle caught fire on the sofa.

As tall, orange flames ripped through the property, Emilia and 18-year-old sister Milena fled the home with their aunt Isabela Czaplinda, who was staying with the family for Christmas.

But, unbeknown to her sister, Emilia suddenly went back upstairs, possibly to save her pets. Her mother then went after her daughter, but was caught in the blaze.

Alina Kordoszewska, 41, (far right) and her 11-year-old daughter Emilia (middle) died in a house fire when the little girl tried to save her pets. Ms Kordoszewska's older daughter Milena and her husband Rafal are also shown

Emilia (left) was on her way out of the property when she went back upstairs. Her mother (right, with her other sister and her father) then went to find her

Today, at an inquest into their death, the hearing was told how Milena was seen screaming and sobbing uncontrollably outside the house when she realised her little sister was not by her side.

Ms Kordoszewska's husband, Rafal, 41, also returned from work during the rescue operation and had to be restrained by emergency service workers as he tried to get back inside the property.

In harrowing pictures taken at the scene, a Father Christmas decoration was seen hanging on the outside of the red-brick home as firefighters tried to clear up the aftermath of the devastating blaze.

A coroner has now ruled that the fire was an accident, adding that the mother and her daughter had died in the 'most tragic of circumstances'.

The inquest heard that flames ripped through the house, shattering windows on both floors, and was so ferocious that firefighters were only able to tackle the flames from the outside of the property.

Senior coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray said: 'It was the most tragic of accidents.

'A pathologist said... that she (the mother) went upstairs to her daughter's bedroom in order to try to save her. She clearly was a much loved mother and wife.'

Mrs Beasley-Murray added Emilia's death was 'another tragic accident'.

During the hearing, Detective Inspector Mark Cadd told the inquest how Melina had been woken up by her sister screaming just before 10.45pm on December 22.

He said: 'Milena woke up and ran down the stairs and has seen the coffee table and sofa were alight at that stage. The flames were orange and were as tall as her.'

The hearing was told how Milena was seen screaming and sobbing uncontrollably outside the house when she realised her little sister was not by her side. The family are pictured above

Milena told investigators she then tried to battle the flames but was overcome by thick black smoke and had to leave the house. She believes her sister was alongside her.

But, when they got outside, she and her aunt realised she was not there. The inquest heard how the pair desperately tried to get back inside, with help from brave members of the public.

Det Insp. Cadd added: 'They were outside and realised the other two were still inside. Emilia had returned to her bedroom, perhaps to get some pets which she wanted to get out of the fire.

'A dog managed to get out but there was a family cat and a number of gerbils or guinea pigs.'

'She returned to her bedroom to save her pets or get something. I believe her mother was looking for her daughter and has gone to get her out.'

The hearing was told how the battle against the fire was so difficult that firefighters could not initially enter the building.

Today, at an inquest into their deaths, the coroner said the fire had been an accident and said they had died in the 'most tragic of circumstances'. The scene is pictured above

A post mortem examination confirmed that the Polish-born mother and daughter's cause of death was smoke inhalation. Firefighters are pictured at the scene (left and right)

The hearing was told how the battle against the fire was so difficult that firefighters could not initially enter the building. They are pictured gathering evidence at the scene

The rescue operation was made even trickier because the electricity supply to the home was still live, making it highly dangerous.

Once fire crews managed to get into the building they found the mother and daughter in an upstairs bedroom at the back of the house.

A post mortem examination confirmed Mr Kordoszewska, who was born in Poland, died of inhalation of fumes while her daughter died from burns and smoke inhalation.

Milena, who is studying economics at Plymouth University, and her aunt were both treated for smoke inhalation but were not seriously injured.

At the hearing, fire investigator Mark Earwick said the 'particularly severe' fire was caused by candles which were left in the detached home's downstairs lounge.

Christmas decorations were also considered as a possible cause but there was no evidence to support the theory they had triggered the blaze.

Mr Earwick said the blaze had spread up a stairwell and breached every window except one, before causing part of the roof to collapse.

A man is pictured leaving floral tributes at the scene of the fire. It took place three days before Christmas

Candles and flowers are left at the scene at the time of the fire. A fundraising page was set up to by Milena's friend, Sophie King, to support the family with nearly 25,000 donated

'We have concluded that the most likely cause off the fire is accidental due to the use of candles in the lounge area of the property,' he said.

The coroner read from forensic consultant pathologist Dr Brian Swift's report and ruled the deaths of the 'much-loved' mother and daughter were accidents.

Mr Kordaszewski, 41, paid tribute to his wife of nearly 20 years and his youngest daughter Emila.

He said: 'Alina and I were married for nearly 20 years. We grew up together as children and married when we were 21. We had our first daughter, Milena, 18, then our youngest daughter, Emila.

'We came to England ten years ago and moved to Braintree. Alina was a very quiet person but had lots of friends at her workplace, Tyco Electronics, where she worked for nine years.

'Emila went to John Ray Junior School and started at Notley High School in September. She had lots of friends and she was always trying to help people.

'Alina and Emila were very much loved and we will miss them greatly. We would like to thank everyone for their support and everything they have done for us.

'We have had so much support from our friends and the community; we are overwhelmed by their generosity. Friends have also brought us clothes and food and have helped us with housing.'

Neighbour Yasmin Leigh, 24, spoke of her horror the following day and how she tried to calm Milena as she wailed for her mother.

The graphic designer said: 'This young girl was covered in soot and crying for her mum and dad. She just kept saying "they're going to be alright aren't they, tell me my mum and dad are going to be alright".

'She was just stood shaking in her pyjamas, covered in soot and ash. The neighbours tried to do what they could, but I was just hugging this girl trying to calm her down.

'As well as the girl screaming for her mum and sister, there was an elderly woman crying too. It was just horrific, especially so close to Christmas.'

A fundraising page was set up to by Milena's friend, Sophie King, to support the family with nearly 25,000 donated.

Mr Kordoszewska, a shop fitter, chose not to attend this morning but was aware the inquest was being held.
President Trump's failure to persuade a group of conservative House Republicans to fall behind Trumpcare is bringing predictions of another government shutdown.

The president will mark his 100th day in office on April 29, the day that could also be when the government partially shuts down, if lawmakers can't agree on a budget.

Trump tried to cajole, lobby, and threaten Republicans into backing a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare last week, only to have the effort collapse Friday.

His inability to corral of the House GOP is raising doubts about his ability to enact sweeping tax reform  or even keep the government running after the latest funding resolution expires at the end of April.

A shutdown now is 'more likely than not' a top Republican with close ties to the White House told Axios.

The federal government is facing the prospect of another potential government shutdown, now that a failure to pass a healthcare bill exposed remaining fissures within the Republican Party

'Wall Street is not expecting a shutdown and the markets are unprepared,' said the Republican.

Added Chris Krueger of Cowen Washington Research Group: 'Hello April 29 government shutdown.' The current continuing resolution to fund the government runs out at midnight April 28.

The issue confronting Trump is similar to the one that President Obama and then-House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio faced in 2013: a block of conservative Republicans who are willing to vote 'No' instead of bowing to pressure from the White House, Wall Street, and even powerful establishment interest groups.

But unlike then, a single party holds all three major levers of power in government.

The government shut down for more than two weeks in 2013 after Tea Party members refused to backdown and tried to use the leverage of a shutdown to defund Obamcare.

I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL: President Obama had to navigate a government shutdown in 2013 after House Republicans tried to force him to defund Obamacare. The tactic failed

'I think the president is disappointed in the number of people he thought were loyal to him that weren't,' White House chief of staff Reince Prieubs told Fox News Sunday

The shutdown led to furloughs and a pause in all but those government services deemed essential.

Trump took a shot at the conservative Freedom Caucus on Sunday, after earlier blaming Democrats for the defeat of the health care bill.'Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!' he tweeted.

He complained in his remarks Friday after the stunning defeat that, the White House 'learned a lot about loyalty and the vote-getting process.'

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus indicated Sunday Trump may try to bypass the most conservative Republicans in the future if needed, speaking on 'Fox News Sunday.'

'I think the president is disappointed in the number of people he thought were loyal to him that weren't.'

WHY DON'T YOU TRY: Former House Speaker John Boehner leaves after a meeting with House Republicans on the Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 16, 2013 at the end of a government shutdown

Ryan made blunt statements Friday afternoon about his party's ability to govern, despite holding a healthy majority in the House, while also controlling the Senate and the White House.

'Moving from an opposition party to a governing party comes with some growing pains,' Ryan said. 'Well, we're feeling those growing pains today. We came really close today. But we came up short,' Ryan said hours after pulling the health bill from the floor schedule.

'I will not sugar-coat this. This is a disappointing day for us. Doing big things is hard,' Ryan added.

'There are some folks in the Republican House caucus who have yet to make the pivot from complaining to governing,' said Republican pollster Whit Ayres. 'And this is a White House controlled by a politician who is not really trying to lead a party.'

'There are some folks in the Republican House caucus who have yet to make the pivot from complaining to governing,' GOP pollster Whit Ayres told the Associated Press. 'And this is a White House controlled by a politician who is not really trying to lead a party.'

'I think we have to do some soul-searching internally to determine whether or not we are even capable as a governing body,' said Rep. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota.

Senate minority leader Charles Schumer of New York warned earlier this month about the prospect of a shutdown.

'If Republicans insist on inserting poison pill riders such as defunding Planned Parenthood, building a border wall, or starting a deportation force, they will be shutting down the government and delivering a severe blow to our economy,' Schumer said.
Colombians were outraged by rapper Wiz Khalifa, who posted photos of himself visiting Pablo Escobar's grave after a concert in the drug lord's home city of Medellin.

Wiz Khalifa shared photographs of himself smoking at the Cemetario Jardins Montesacro, where fresh flowers - and a joint- were left beside the drug lord's grave .

Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez called the rapper a 'scoundrel' and commenters tore him apart for his 'disrespect' while equating Escobar to a dictator and terrorist.

Escobar, the ruthless kingpin of the Medellin Cartel who killed thousands of people, was responsible for importing 80per cent of the cocaine in America during the 1980s.

Wiz Khalifa shared photographs of himself smoking at the Cemetario Jardins Montesacro, where flowers - and a joint- were left beside Pablo Escobar's grave in Colombia

The rapper gave a concert in Medellin on Friday, and shared the photographs on his Instagram account this weekend

Wiz Khalifa, who is known for being an avid marijuana user, posted several images of himself smoking at the cemetery in Itagui, where Escobar is buried alongside his family.

Another photograph showed a close up of Escobar's gravestone, with a joint prominently positioned next to the fresh flowers laid at his burial site.

The rapper gave a concert in Medellin on Friday, and shared the photographs on his Instagram account this weekend.

Gutierrez criticized the rapper for 'advocating crime' and said he should have paid his respects to Escobar's victims instead, according to the BBC.

'It shows that this guy has never had to suffer from the violence inflicted by these drug traffickers,' Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez criticized the rapper for 'advocating crime' and said he should have paid his respects to Escobar's victims instead

Commenters tore into Wiz Khalifa for paying his respects to a man they considered a dangerous murderer

One commenter wrote: 'Escobar was a killer. Do[ing] that is stupid Khalifa. I'm Colombian and know the true story of that b******.'

Another Instagram user, @lauragonzg, wrote: 'You f***ing people don't understand that worshiping Escobar for us Colombians is like worshiping Bin Laden for you idiots. He bleeded [sic] our country. Show respect and stop watching Narco shows and thinking [it's] real.'

Marcie Gonzalez wrote: 'You need to learn to respect....please eliminate this photo, and apologize to this country and to all the families that suffered because of him...'

While some still hail Escobar as a hero, others remember him as a ruthless killer

She added: 'This man killed tons of people...he was the devil...too bad that you give merit to this type of person...thank God he is dead.'

Escobar, whose cartel brought in an estimated $22 billion a year, was named the seventh richest man in the world by Forbes in 1989.

While some still hail Escobar as a hero for donating money to charity and expanding social programs like housing for the poor, others still see him as a ruthless killer who terrorized his country.

Escobar killed thousands of people, including politicians, judges, cops and civilians, during his reign.

He is also said to have bombed an airplane in 1989, killing all 107 people aboard.

Escobar's rise was chronicled in the ongoing Netflix show Narcos, prompting his family members to dispute the inaccuracies portrayed in the series.
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A Polish tree that two Jewish brothers used as a shelter for hiding from the Nazis during World War Two has been voted European Tree of the Year 2017.

Oak Jozef, in the village of Wisniowa, south-eastern Poland, was also printed on Polish 100 zoty bills. Today it is admired by many visitors and is captured in many photos and paintings.

The Brimmon Oak, in Newtown, in Wales, came runner-up in the competition.

The competition started in 2011 as a way to highlight the significance of ancient trees. This year featured candidates from 16 countries and the participation of hundreds of thousands of people.

Two Jewish brothers used Oak Jozef (pictured) as a shelter for hiding from the Nazis during World War Two

The Polish tree with its extraordinary history was voted European Tree of the Year for 2017

The Mycielski family was so charmed by the beauty of the area that they bought a mansion there that became a cultural and intellectual centre of the region

Today, oak Jozef is admired by many visitors and is captured in photos and paintings

Oak Jozef, in the village of Wisniowa, south-eastern Poland, was also printed on Polish 100 zoty bills

According to historians, the tree acted as a refuge for two Jewish brothers, whose family name was Hymi, hiding from the Nazis. They had escaped from a forced labour camp or the Frysztak ghetto.

Jakub Pawowski of the Ulma Family Museum in Markowa, said: 'The hideout was shown to the brothers by Rozalia Proszak.

'The hollow in which they hid was huge. People say it had two levels, the lower was used as a hideout and the upper  as a lookout. Both brothers survived the occupation but their fate after the war is unknown.'

Robert Godek, head of the Strzyzow District Council, in Poland, received the award.

He said: 'A warm thank you to all the people of Wisniowa and all the European supporters for believing in Oak Jozef's candidacy. We will celebrate this honour back home as it deserves.'

The Brimmon Oak (pictured) received 16,203 votes, the Oak Josef had 17,597 and the third place Lime Tree at Lipka, in the Czech Republic, had 14,813

The Brimmon Oak in Newtown - around which a new bypass will be built after a petition attracted 5,000 signatures - finished runner up to an even older oak from Poland

The 500-year-old oak in Powys finished second in the European Tree of the Year award for 2017

Oak Jozef won in a narrow vote, edging out the 500-year-old Welsh Brimmon Oak.

It has been cared for by one family for generations  they even have wedding photographs from 1901 that were taken under its canopy.

But in 2015 it was threatened by a new bypass.

Mervyn Jones, who farms the land, campaigned hard to save the tree with 'tree campaigner' Rob McBride and following a 5,000-signature petition to the Welsh Assembly, the bypass route was adjusted.It was named the UK's Tree of the Year in December.

Mr McBride, who attended the award ceremony in Brussels, said it was 'amazing news'.

The Brimmon Oak received about 16,200 votes, some 1,400 fewer than Poland's Josef Oak, in the results announced on Tuesday. The Lime Tree at Lipka, Czech Republic, came third with about 14,800 votes.

The Lime Tree at Lipka, Czech Republic, came third in the competition with about 14,800 votes
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Parliament Square has been covered in a sea of flowers for terror victims PC Keith Palmer, Aysha Frade, Kurt Cochran and Leslie Rhodes.

School children, pensioners and police officers have been among the hundreds who have brought tributes to the square in memory of those killed in last Wednesday's attack.

The Prime Minister Theresa May and MP Tobias Ellwood, one of those who tried to save PC Palmer's life, are among the politicians who have left tributes at the scene.

Thousands of donations have meanwhile been made to funds set up to help the families of those killed by ISIS-inspired extremist Khalid Masood.

People from around the world have added to the ever growing carpet of floral tributes following last week's terror attack

A policeman inspects the sea of floral tributes which have been placed in Parliament Square in memory to those killed

Flags, flowers and messages have been attached to Westminster Bridge, where Khalid Masood drove in more than 50 people

Mr Tobias Ellwood, who tried to save the life of PC Palmer after Masood's knife attack, inspected the floral tributes today

Former soldier Mr Ellwood has said he is 'heartbroken' that his efforts to save the life of PC Palmer were unsuccessful

A JustGiving page set up for the family of PC Palmer has been closed after it raised more than 730,000, far more than the target set by those who set it up.

The Metropolitan Police Federation, which set up the official JustGiving site, said it felt a 'suitable amount' had been collected in memory of PC Palmer.

Chairman Ken Marsh denied the closure was linked to criticism over the 5% administration fee which JustGiving takes from each donation and said focus would now turn to raising money for other injured officers.

Two similar funds for mother-of-two Aysha Frade has raised nearly 70,000. The website states: 'This page will raise money to help Aysha's children and family in their hour of need.'

A Go Fund Me page set up in US for the family of Mr Cochran has raised $70,000 (55,000).

In Parliament Square, a floral tribute left by Mrs May included a message stating: 'With the deepest condolences for those who lost their lives as a result of this evil and cowardly attack. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.'

London Mayor Sadiq Khan's note outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters read: 'You will always be in our hearts. Londoners will never forget the innocent people who lost their lives.'

A note left by British Transport Police officers from Lambeth, south London, simply read: 'For Pc Keith Palmer. HERO. Never forgotten.'

Prime Minister Theresa May is among the politicians who have left messages in the square following the attack

A police officer reads messages on the flowers attached to the gates of Parliament, where PC Palmer was stabbed to death

A photo of PC Keith Palmer has been left in the square where he tragically lost his life. Police officers from around the country have sent their condolences to his family

Tributes have been attached the railings next to the gate which the terrorist ran through to get into the grounds of Parliament

A member of the public lays flowers near Westminster Bridge as the police suggest terrorist Masood acted alone

A tribute left by a British Transport Police officer against the walls of Parliament said: 'From one PC Palmer to another, may you rest in peace now.'

There were also bunches of flowers left by officers from Hertfordshire Police as well as Met officers from across the capital, paying tribute to their 'brother in blue'.

One note read: 'When others run away, heroes step forward.'

On Westminster Bridge, a note in Spanish paid tribute to Aysha Frade, whose family come from the Galician municipality of Betanzos.

The family of Kurt Cochran, the US tourist killed in the attack as he walked with his wife Melissa, today spoke of their determination to stay positive following the horrific events.

Speaking at Scotland Yard, just a few hundred yards from the devastating attack, Mrs Cochran's sister-in-law, Shantell Payne, said this morning it was 'awful, horrible, (and) gut-wrenching' that the attack was carried out in the name of religion.

'But we're going to support Melissa and we're going to try not to concern ourselves with any of that for the moment,' she added.

Police officers and members of the public look at messages on the thousands of bouquets left in the central London square

The shocking attack unfolded in the shadow of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament last Wednesday afternoon

Flowers attached to a lamp post on the famous bridge over the Thames where three people lost their lives last week

Metropolitan policeman Keith Palmer (left), mother-of-two Aysha Frade (centre) and US tourist Kurt Cochran (right) were victims of the attack on Westminster

Sara McFarland, Mrs Cochran's sister, said: 'Last night we were speaking as a family about this and it was deeply unanimous that none of us harbour any ill will or harsh feelings towards this.

'We love our brother, we love what he brought to the world and we feel like this situation is going to bring many good things to the world, a lot of inspiration.'

The flowers were laid as Mr Cochran's family, who have come to the UK from the US to care for his wife, who remains in hospital, told how they were overwhelmed by the support they have received.

Mr and Mrs Cochran had been visiting her parents, who were serving as missionaries in the London Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and were sightseeing on the last day before going home when they were caught up in the attack.

Flanked by 12 members of the couple's family, Dimmon Payne, Mrs Cochran's father, said the family had heard about the attack happening but did not know their loved ones were caught up in it until they saw photos online.

He said: 'That came to us shortly after pictures were recognised; our daughter-in-law recognised the pictures and called us immediately. We got online and realised it was our loved ones, and that's how we found out.'
A former competitor on America's Next Top Model is among four people who were injured in a shooting at a Houston apartment complex Sunday night.

TMZ reports that 32-year-old Brandy Rusher, a contestant from season four of the modeling reality show, is in critical condition after the shooting which also resulted in the deaths of two men.

Police continue to search for the suspects. They say the gunmen drove up to the apartment complex and then opened fire using a high-powered rifle.

Brandy Rusher, a former contestant on America's Next Top Model, was injured Sunday in a shooting in Houston, Texas

Police continue to search for the gunman and his two accomplices

Law enforcement officials say the shooting happened after the victims got into an argument with a resident at the Haverstock Hill apartments around 6:30pm.

Three men arrived in a four-door white car and two of them got out and started arguing with the victims.

Then one of the men went and got a semi-automatic rifle from the trunk of the car and started firing 15 to 18 shots at the victims, before fleeing the scene.

One man was pronounced dead at the scene, while another died later at the hospital.

Rusher competed on the fourth season of the modeling reality show in 2005

In addition to Rusher, another woman and two men were injured. Officials said the four injured were in critical but stable condition and that one of the women had been shot in the lower leg.

Three of the victims are reportedly from the same family.

So far, just one of the victims, 33-year-old Christopher Beatty, has been officially identified.

Community leaders and police say the apartment complex has been plagued by violence.

'I'm just frustrated at the fact that here it is again at Haverstock Apartments,' Edward Buford, senior pastor at Sunrise Community Church, told KHOU. 'There needs to be more focus on places like this. There needs to be more money for ministries that are willing to be here Monday through Saturday and not just on Sunday.'

'Haverstock Hills has been a project the Sheriff's office had for several years now,' Harris County Deputy Thomas Gilliand told KTRK. 'We do have an office here, we do have deputies that work here overtime.'
Russia has warned the Israel government on behalf of Assad regime that any more air strikes in Syria will be met with Scud missiles.

Syria had sent Israel a message via Russia that Scud missiles would be fired towards Israeli targets if Israel carried out any further airstrikes in the war-torn region, Lebanon's Al-Diyar newspaper reported.

According to the report, any strikes against Syrian military targets will be met with Scuds launched at IDF bases while any strikes against civilian infrastructure will be met with missiles fired at Haifa's port and petrochemical plant.

Israel denied a claim by Syria last week that it shot down an Israeli plane carrying out pre-dawn raids on a military target near Palmyra

Phillip Smyth, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told The Jerusalem Post: 'This new situation was conveyed to Israel by the Russian leadership from the leadership of President Assad that the patience of Syria is running out.

'Despite a six-year war Syria is not weak and knows how to defend itself.'

It came as Israeli warplanes struck several targets in Syria last week, prompting retaliatory missile launches, in the most serious incident between the two countries since the Syrian civil war began six years ago.

Syria's military said it had downed an Israeli plane and hit another as they were carrying out pre-dawn strikes near the city of Palmyra that it recaptured from jihadists this month.

The Israeli military denied that any planes had been struck. The Syrian government has made similar unfounded claims in the past.

A few days later, after the Assad regime made it clear that any IAF jets that make forays into Syrian airspace will be engaged, the head of the Israel's Ministry of Defense made it clear that the IAF would 'destroy Syria's air defenses without thinking twice' if their jets were fired upon.

A fighter jet of Assad regime force airstrikes in Jobar district of Damascus, Syria

In April 2016, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted for the first time that Israel had attacked dozens of convoys transporting weapons in Syria destined for Lebanon's Hezbollah, which fought a devastating 2006 war with Israel and is now fighting alongside the Damascus regime.

Israel and Syria are still technically at war, though the border had remained largely quiet for decades until 2011 when the Syrian conflict broke out.

Israel pays close attention to developments in the Syrian conflict for fear that it could be exploited by its arch-rival Iran to install allies close to the armistice line on the Golan and Israel's borders.
An Islamic center in Colorado was vandalized near the Colorado State University campus during the early morning hours on Sunday in Fort Collins.

An individual was seen on surveillance footage throwing rocks through a glass door at the Islamic Center Fort Collins, followed by a Bible, according to CNN.

'The responding officer confirmed there was damage to the building and it had been vandalized around 4.00am MT (6.00am ET),' Fort Collins police spokesman Dustin Weir said.

An Islamic center in Colorado was vandalized near the Colorado State University campus during the early morning hours on Sunday in Fort Collins

The incident has not been ruled a hate crime at this time, but the use of a Bible in the destruction has prompted the recommendation of that designation by the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group.

'Because of the use of a Bible in the vandalism, we would urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate the possibility of a bias motive for this attack on a house of worship,' said the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.

'We will let the facts determine the course of the investigation,' Weir said.

Three of the rear doors were damaged in the incident at Islamic Center Fort Collins

Interior images of one of the large rocks that was thrown through a glass door into the prayer area were published by ICFC to their Facebook page on Sunday

An image shared by the IFCF on Facebook shows shattered glass in a rear door of the mosque

Social media user Maddie McDanel shared this image from a community rally at the site of the vandalism on Sunday

A press release on the CAIR website described the suspect of the crime as appearing to be a man in his 20s, according to officials from the Islamic center.

This latest act against a house of Muslim worship comes after the organization reported 33 threats, vandalizations or acts of arson targeting a mosque having occurred between January 1 and March 20, 2017.

Over the same time period in 2016, CAIR reported 19 similar incidents.

In a forthcoming report conducted by the organization, figures are expected to show a 40 percent increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes from 2015 to 2016, and a more than 50 percent increase in more general acts of anti-Muslim bias.

The Fort Collins Police share an an image of community members rallying at the Islamic Center Fort Collins to social media on Sunday

People gathered to show their support for the Muslim community in Fort Collins on Sunday, shown here in images shared on the ICFC Facebook page

Fort Collins Chief of Police John Hutto expressed his displeasure at the vandalism on Twitter, calling for anyone with details to share to contact authorities

Fort Collins Chief of Police John Hutto expressed his displeasure at the vandalism on Twitter, calling for anyone with details to share to contact authorities.

'Unacceptable! I urge anyone who has information about this incident to come forward and help us solve this crime. @FCPolice @FCCrimeStopper,' he wrote.

'The vandalism that occurred at the Islamic Center in Fort Collins is unacceptable. It's time for us to stand in unity. These acts must end,' US Representative for the 2nd District of Colorado Jared Polis tweeted a few hours later.

US Representative for the 2nd District of Colorado Jared Polis tweeted his own show of support a few hours later, calling for unity

In swift response to the damage, the ICFC set up a GoFundMe page to cover the cost of repairing the doors of the virtually brand new building; nearly 500 people pledged over $20,000 in less than 24 hours

In swift response to the damage, the ICFC set up a gofundme page to cover the cost of repairing the doors of the virtually brand new building.

The community's original mosque was established in 1980 and construction of the ICFC was completed in 2013. Three of the rear glass doors were broken as a result of the crime, according to the page.

The campaign has been fully funded, exceeding its goal of $20,000 raised by nearly 500 people in less than 24 hours. Donations continue to be accepted.
An Australian woman who died at a Bali resort during a drunken night out after allegedly drinking 27 glasses of vodka has been remembered by friends as an 'angel'.

Mother-of-five Summa Simmonds, 38, was staying at the Indonesian luxury villa in Peppers Seminyak when she consumed a toxic level of alcohol.

Bali police said the Cairns woman vomited and passed out beside her villa before her face and lips turned blue, according to News Corp.

Summa Simmonds, 38, died at the Bali resort after a vodka binge

The Cairns mother was holidaying with two friends when she consumed 27 glasses of vodka and collapsed

The woman was staying in a luxury villa at Peppers Seminyak (pictured) when she drank the fatal amount of alcohol

Two women, aged 46 and 20, from Mossman, Queensland, who were travelling with Ms Simmonds, tried to revive their friend, who had gone to get ready to go out that night.

A doctor was called to the resort at 12.13am but was unable to revive the Ms Simmonds, and she was declared dead in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Empty vodka bottles were discovered in her room but no locally-produced alcohol was found.

Her friend have shared their grief online, saying they are 'numb with shock' and have paid tribute to the 'angel'.

Friends of Ms Simmonds have paid tribute after her death at the luxury Bali resort

'Such a beautiful soul, sending my heart felt condolences to the Mannings God speed to get this angel home,' friend Christina Munce wrote.

'I'm so numb, can't believe that a beautiful soul has been taken away so soon,' another woman Sue Dixon said.

'Love to the whole family, we are thinking of you all in this time of shock and grief.'

North Kuta police chief Ika Prabawa told News Corp police they were still investigating the cause of death.

Peppers Seminyak is described as 'luxurious, chic and elegantly decorated' on its website

The expensive resort lies km from Seminyak's high-end shopping and 6km from Legian Beach

The villas at Peppers Seminyak are described by the resort as 'luxurious, chic and elegantly decorated, making them the perfect tropical retreat for Bali holidays'.

The cheapest room at Peppers costs $181 per night and the more expensive two bedroom villas are advertised at $501 per night.

An autopsy to confirm the exact cause of the woman's death is yet to be conducted.
Tobias Ellwood today paid a quiet tribute to the victims of the London terror attack as he read floral messages left outside Westminster.

Mr Ellwood has been called a hero after he ran towards gunfire to help PC Keith Palmer, who was stabbed by terrorist Khalid Masood outside the Houses of Parliament, on Wednesday.

The Foreign Office minister was pictured with blood on his face and clothes as he tried to give PC Palmer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and stem the blood amid the carnage in New Palace Yard, but the officer died from his injuries.

Mr Tobias Ellwood, who tried to save the life of PC Palmer after Masood's knife attack, inspected the floral tributes today

Mr Ellwood has been called a hero after he ran towards gunfire to help PC Keith Palmer, who was stabbed by terrorist Khalid Masood outside the Houses of Parliament, on Wednesday

The former soldier said he was just doing what he was trained to do as he praised the 'humbling' and 'overwhelming' messages of support from the policing fraternity

The Conservative MP helps emergency services as they battle to save PC Palmer's life on Wednesday

The former soldier said he was just doing what he was trained to do as he praised the 'humbling' and 'overwhelming' messages of support from the policing fraternity.

Today he was spotted at the scene of the tragedy as he paid tribute to the victims where floral tributes have been laid.

School children, pensioners and police officers have been among the hundreds who have brought tributes to those killed in last Wednesday's attack.

In Parliament Square, a floral tribute left by Mrs May included a message stating: 'With the deepest condolences for those who lost their lives as a result of this evil and cowardly attack. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.'

London Mayor Sadiq Khan's note outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters read: 'You will always be in our hearts. Londoners will never forget the innocent people who lost their lives.'

A note left by British Transport Police officers from Lambeth, south London, simply read: 'For Pc Keith Palmer. HERO. Never forgotten.'

Mr Ellwood intends to write to PC Palmer's family to offer his condolences and said he was 'honoured' to be appointed to the Privy Council, alongside security minister Ben Wallace, in recognition of their roles in responding to the atrocity.

Today he was spotted at the scene of the tragedy as he paid tribute to the victims where floral tributes have been laid

People have come from around the country to add to the ever growing carpet of floral tributes at Westminster following last week's terror attack

A policeman inspects the sea of floral tributes which have been placed in the square in memory to the four people killed

Flags, flowers and messages, have been attached to Westminster Bridge, where Khalid Masood drove in more than 50 people

Mr Ellwood, who has been branded a hero for his actions, said in a statement: 'I am heartbroken that I could not do more for PC Keith Palmer who gave his life in holding the line against terrorism and defending democracy.

'I shall be writing to the family of PC Palmer to offer my sincere condolences.

'It is right that despite the terrible events on Wednesday, Parliamentary business continued the next day as usual, the democratic machine was not interrupted and our way of life did not stop.

Mr Ellwood said he intends to write to the family of PC Palmer

The Foreign Office minister shakes hands with an armed officer as he enters the Houses of Parliament on Friday

'I'm deeply humbled and overwhelmed by the messages of support, especially from the policing fraternity, which I now realise is as close knit as the military's in supporting its own.

'I played only a small part that day, doing what I was taught to do, and am honoured to have been invited to join the Privy Council afterwards.

'It is right that we concentrate our thoughts on the victims as we stand side by side to protect all that we hold dear, including our precious values and way of life which will always prevail.'
Judge Andrew Napolitano, the Fox News analyst who led charges of British spying against the president, says he was told by Donald Trump that he was under consideration to sit on the high court.

According to Politico, Napolitano told friends that the president mentioned the coveted position on the bench to him in December and again in January.

Trump ended tapping Colorado judge Neil Gorsuch for the seat.

Judge Andrew Napolitano, the Fox News analyst who led charges of British spying against the president, says he was told by Donald Trump that he was under consideration to sit on the high court

Gorsuch had been on a list of 21 names Trump developed and released during the 2016 campaign. Once at the White House, the president's aides said he was committed to picking someone named in the document, and he did.

The White House never hinted at Napolitano as possible choice before or after Gorsuch was announced. He was not among the candidates for the job that press secretary Sean Spicer said received in-person interviews.

Napolitano was seen meeting with Trump at his New York City residence in December. He said afterward that they talked about the Supreme Court.

He did not say publicly that Trump gauged his interest in the seat vacated by the late Antonin Scalia.

'He was interested in a broad range of ideas and attitudes about the type of person who would best fill Justice Scalias seat,' Napolitano, 66, said at the time.

He told friends, however, that Trump said he was interested in appointing him.

'He said, "Trump said Im on the list," ' a friend told Politico. 'Hes been saying that since the transition.'

Napolitano is a former New Jersey Superior Court judge. He left the court in 1995 and joined Fox in 1998.

He reportedly said that Trump's told him since the Gorsuch nomination that he's still on his mind and will be in the mix 'if I get another one.'

Napolitano was seen meeting with Trump at his New York City residence in December. He said afterward that they talked about the Supreme Court. He did not say Trump mentioned his as a candidate

As reported in Politico, Napolitano's confidante was wary of Trump's overtures and told the judge not to get his hopes up.

'He'll take your call and invite you to the Oval Office, but he just wants you to say nice things about him on TV,' the friend told Napolitano.

Napolitano went on to claim in mid-March broadcast of Fox & Friends that he had high-placed sources saying that Trump had been wiretapped.

The British did the spying through GCHQ, he claimed.

His allegation earned a stern rebuke from the British government. GCHQ issued a rare public statement decrying it as 'nonsense.'

Fox said after it could not source the claim. Napolitano was benched as the report created a ripple that made its way to the White House, where Spicer suggested the assertion was possible when he read it off at a press briefing.

Trump offered no opinion on it at a news conference.

'That was a statement made by a very talented lawyer on Fox. And so you shouldnt be talking to me, you should be talking to Fox,' he told a reporter.

Napolitano has made claims before that fall under the banner of conspiracy theories.

He told Infowars' Alex Jones in 2010, 'I think 20 years from now, people will look at 9/11 the way we look at the assassination of JFK today.

'It couldnt possibly have been done the way the government told us,' he said.
A New Jersey family that wants to demolish their home after they claim they were stalked by an anonymous creepy-letter writer known as 'The Watcher' has filed a lawsuit against their town.

Derek and Maria Broaddus filed the suit against the town of Westfield after its planning board rejected their plan to raze the house and subdivide the land so they could build two houses. They said they can't live in the house because of the letters.

'My clients are good people. They're caught in a situation they didn't ask for,' said James Foerst, a Millburn attorney representing the owners.

The family who own this Westfield, New Jersey home are suing the town for blocking them from demolishing it and replacing it with two smaller properties

Derek and Maria Broaddus bought the home in 2014, but haven't been able to live in it due to threatening letters they received from someone who called himself 'The Watcher'

A lawyer for the town told NJ.com she cannot comment on the lawsuit.

The couple said that after buying the six-bedroom house for nearly $1.4million in 2014, they received three threatening letters from a stalker calling himself 'The Watcher.'

In one correspondence the stalker asks whether the new family brought him the 'young blood' that he requested.

'I have be [sic] put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming; my grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s,' one letter read.

'It is now my time; Why are you here? I will find out; Now that they have it to flaunt it, they pay the price'

It went on: 'I asked the Woods to bring me young blood.'

The Broaddus' (Derek Broaddus pictured right) sued the prior owners, John Woods (left) and his wife Andrea, in 2015 claiming they also received a letter from 'The Watcher' but never disclosed it

One of the other three letters said: 'Who am I? I am the Watcher and have been in control of [the home] for the better part of two decades now.

'The Woods family turned it over to you it was their time to move on and kindly sold it when I asked them to.'

The Broadduses, who have young children, refused to move into the home and have been unsuccessful in their attempts to sell the property.

The family sued the prior owners of the house in June 2015, claiming that they also received a letter from 'The Watcher' but never disclosed it.

That family has since counter-sued, stating that the letter they received was not threatening and alleging that they were defamed through the amount of attention given to the lawsuit.

Residents of the neighborhood have joined together in protest of the Broadduses' lawsuit against the town, arguing that the smaller lots would be out of character for the community.

Westfield police investigated the letters but have been so far unable to identify their author.
Three American women who converted to Islam, moved to Saudi Arabia and founded a publishing company have inadvertently created the most popular translation of the Koran for ISIS terrorists.

Emily Assami from California and her friends Mary Kennedy and Amatullah Bantley were all raised as an atheist, in Assami's case, or Roman Catholics.

Assami married an Arab man and began studying the language in Damascus, Syria during the 1970s before eventually becoming a Muslim herself.

Emily Assami, pictured, from California, is one of a group of three woman who translated the Koran into English, right, while living in Saudi Arabia having converted to Islam in the 1970s

The three women founded Saheeh International which publishes Islamic books including a popular translation of the Koran.

The edition has been used by English-speaking ISIS fighters, although the three women themselves are not involved in extremism.

Bantley became a Muslim aged 20 and moved to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 1987. She was born in Rochester, Minnesota and has a degree in Business Management.

Assami - also known as Umm Muhammad - moved to Saudi in 1981 and has published more than 80 Islamic books in English.

Kennedy, from Orlando, Florida, became a Muslim in 1985 and moved to Jeddah in 1987.

The translation of the Koran contains notes in English to explain various verses which cannot be directly translated from the Arabic.

Mary Kennedy from Rochester, Minnesota and Amatullah Bantley from Orlando, Florida, pictured, also participated in the major work which received the backing of the Saudi regime

Bantley told The Daily Beast she studied under Assami after first moving to Saudi.

She said: 'As her student, I recognized her ability to clarify the Arabic expressions into English was unlike any teacher I'd had before. This was especially true in her translation of verses from the Koran.'

Discussing Koran translation, she admitted dealing with the text presented its own difficulties.

She said: 'It differed from other projects because of the amount of research it took to accurately reflect accepted meanings of the Koran while being limited to the confines of English grammar. Some Koranic passages hold more than one meaning, while in translation, you can usually only reflect one of the intended meanings.'

The translation worked on by the three woman is now available online.

According to the Daily Beast, the online translation is the text cited in the ISIS's English-language propaganda magazine Dabiq.

Various editions of the Saheeh International translation are available to purchase on Amazon, while the three woman also run their own bookshop in Saudi Arabia, primarily offering religious texts in English.
Italian women may soon become the first in Europe to be offered three days of 'menstrual leave' if they are suffering painful periods.

The lower house of Italy's Parliament has been debating a law which, if approved, would entitle all women to three extra days leave a month.

The Italian edition of women's magazine Marie Claire welcomed it as 'a standard-bearer of progress and social sustainability.'

Italy has one of the lowest rates of female participation in the workforce in Europe and some fear the new legislation will make employers even less keen to hire women

But Italy has one of the lowest rates of female workers in Europe - only 61 percent, well below the European average of 72 percent - and some women's rights campaigners fear the law could backfire, by discouraging bosses from hiring women.

Lorenza Pleuteri, writing in the magazine Donna Moderna (Modern Woman), wrote: 'Employers could become even more inclined to hire men rather than women.'

Italian labour laws are already quite generous to women - they are entitled to five months' paid maternity leave, on which they receive 80 percent of their salary.

Mothers can then take an extra six months' leave, receiving 30 percent of their salaries.

A study in 2012 suggested there is no evidence of higher absenteeism rates among women FILE PHOTO

Daniela Piazzalunga, an economist, told the Washington Post: 'Women are already taking days off because of menstrual pains, but the new law would allow them to do so without using sick leaves or other permits.'

But she said if it was passed there could be 'negative repercussions'.

'The demand for female employees among companies might decrease, or women could be further penalized both in terms of salary and career advancement,' she added.

Miriam Goi, a feminist writer at Vice Italy, also said it could 'end up reinforcing stereotypes about women being more emotional during their periods.'

The bill is being put forward by four women MPs from the centre-Left Democratic Party.

It is not clear whether women would have to prove they were suffering from severe menstrual pain but in practice that would be virtually impossible anyway.

Japanese and South Korean women already benefit from a similar law and some companies, including Nike, have also introduced the idea of 'menstrual leave'.
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Britain heralded the start of summertime with glorious sunshine over the weekend - and sunseekers can look forward to more balmy weather this week.

Met Office forecasters say parts of the UK will continue to enjoy a fine spell of weather thanks to high pressure this week - with temperatures set to soar as high as 20C in the south on Wednesday and Thursday.

According to the Met Office, this Easter could be warmer than average, with fine and settled conditions expected from mid April.

This comes as bookmakers are giving odds of 8-1 that April's Easter weekend will beat 2011's record of 27.8C.

Sunseekers took advantage of the sunshine and warm weather to spend time on the beach in Brighton over lunchtime today

There were blue skies and sunshine in London today, as temperatures rise to 16 degrees on what was predicted to be the warmest day of the year so far

The clocks went forward yesterday to mark the beginning of British summertime - and conditions have been appropriately warm and sunny already

This interactive module, which is continuously updated, represents the picture across the UK. It shows high pressure sweeping across the country creating the warm and pleasant conditions seen over the weekend and into this week.

The clocks went forward yesterday to mark the beginning of British summertime  and Scotland enjoyed temperatures of 20C (68F), the highest in the UK.

The warm weather sparked a stampede to beauty spots, and in Glasgow, crowds flocked to the city's parks.

Aviemore registered the UK's top temperature of 20C (68F)  the hottest spot England and Wales could muster was 14C (57F) at Builth Wells, Powys.

Stuart Brooks, of the Met office in Aberdeen, said: 'Clear blue skies have extended across almost all of the country. The exceptions were Shetland, which was under cloud, and parts of South-East Scotland.'

Similar conditions were seen across the UK today, with highs of 16C in London, 14C in Manchester and 13C in Cardiff.

However the Met Office says rain is expected tomorrow and Wednesday before fine conditions return on Thursday. Temperatures will be around 13C (55F) to 15C (59F) in most places.

A Met Office forecaster said: 'It's looking like a fine weekend ahead of us with plenty of dry and sunny weather.

'It could be wall-to-wall sunshine for much of the country but with some cloudier weather in the North.

People enjoyed a sunny afternoon strolling through the grounds of Greys Court in Oxfordshire this afternoon

Cherry Blossom in the sunshine at Oxfordshire: The warm weather sparked a stampede to beauty spots across the UK

Greenwich, London: Met Office forecasters say parts of the UK will continue to enjoy a fine spell of weather thanks to high pressure this week - with temperatures set to soar as high as 20C in the south on Wednesday and Thursday

This graphic shows the temperature across the country as well as the wind speed, precipitation and air pressure. It also shows how the UK compares to other countries on the continent.

After a warm and settled weekend dominated by high pressure, the week will start dry with heavy showers pushing up from the south during Tuesday, according to the Met Office.

This will be followed by wind and rain towards the end of the week, although temperatures will remain in the mid to high teens, say forecasters.

By the weekend, high pressure will return with sunny conditions likely on Sunday.

William Hill is offering odds of 6/1 (from 8/1 on Sunday) for a record heatwave for Easter, beating the 27.8C recorded in 2011.

It is offering odds of 3/1 that April 2017 will be the hottest April on record.

'The odds of the record Easter weekend temperature being recorded have tumbled from 8/1 to 6/1 over the course of Monday after another glorious day and there are many people backing this current heatwave to continue,' said William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly.

Mothers and their children out for a walk in the sun in Oxfordshire: After a warm and settled weekend dominated by high pressure, the week will start dry and warm again

A magnificent Snakes Head Fritillary at Greys Court in Oxfordshire - and there are similarly lovely pictures across the UK, as daffodils emerge across beauty spots

Oxfordshire: Temperatures will remain warmer than average this week, with a few spots across eastern England reaching the high teens

Oxfordshire: The sunny weather comes as bookmakers are giving odds of 8-1 that April's Easter weekend will beat 2011's record of 27.8C

Families out enjoying the sun in Oxfordshire: The Met Office says rain is expected tomorrow and Wednesday before fine conditions return on Thursday. Temperatures will be around 13C (55F) to 15C (59F) in most places

Cherry blossom is out in bloom in Oxfordshire, where there were highs of around 14C throughout the afternoon

Pictured, (left to right) the predicted weather for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday - fine weather is expected for most of the country

And the mercury is odds-on to soar at the end of March, according to Ladbrokes.

The bookies have slashed the odds of temperatures surging higher than 20'C this week to just 4/6 (from 3/1), while it's now 10/1 (from 50/1) that a new record for March is set in 2017, breaking the long-standing 25.6C set in Cambridgeshire in 1968.

It also looks like Britain's peak temperatures will compare favourably to other usually sunnier locations this week, with 5/6 offered the UK will register a higher peak than Athens, while it's evens we beat Barcelona and 6/4 it will outstrip Algiers.

Tuesday March 28 is also now long odds-on at 1/2 to be the balmiest day of the year to date.

Alex Donohue of Ladbrokes said: 'Our weather watchers have slashed the odds of this March coming to an end with soaring temperatures. While a new record peak may just be out of reach, it looks highly likely the mercury will surge past an unseasonably-warm 20'C at the very least this week.'
A masked thug who attacked two men after his female friend had used Facebook to lure them to a party has been jailed for more than three years.

Jordan Richardson, 20, wore a hoodie and a surgical mask to slash Decklin Law and Connor Mather on their faces with a knife.

His friend Nicole Cairns, 19, had messaged unsuspecting Law, 20, and asked if he would like to come to her flat in Hamilton, Scotland.

He travelled from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, with Mather, 20, to the nearby town where Cairns lived.

Jordan Richardson, 20, (left) wore a hoodie and a surgical mask when he slashed two men across their faces using a knife after they were invited to a party by Nicole Cairns (right)

Nicole Cairns, 19, (pictured) had messaged unsuspecting Decklin Law, 20, and asked if he would like to come to her flat in Hamilton

But they were confronted by thug Richardson, who was brandishing a blade and demanded they gave him their money, drink and 'all of their stuff' while waving the knife in their faces.

Law was cut on the lip as the tip of the blade sliced the skin but he managed to fight Richardson off.

Cairns and three other girls ran out of the flat armed with wooden table legs and began battering Mather.

Eventually the pair managed to escape but not before both had been slashed by a crazed Richardson.

Law was struck in the abdomen while Mather was hit on the left side of his chest and ear during the surprise attack.

Richardson and mother-of-one Cairns denied the assaults in November 2015 and went on trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

But it took a jury less than an hour to convict them of attacking Law and Mather to their injury.

Sheriff Douglas Brown has now jailed Richardson for 37 months. His previous convictions included assault by threats to robbery, and assault to injury and danger of life.

Last month Cairns was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and must remain in her home between the hours of 7pm and 7am for three months.

Giving evidence at the trial, Law said he had travelled to Hamilton for a party and had no idea he was going to be set upon.

He said: 'I'd met Nicole before and we had spoken over Facebook to arrange this, we were both mailing back and forward.

'She sent the message first asking what I was up to and if I was getting on it.

Decklin Law (left) and Connor Mather (right) attended the party but ended up getting attacked

'We were talking away and then I said I would come down with my pal and she said to come down.'

Law told the jury how Richardson had appeared waving a knife and demanding valuables.

He added: 'This person then came flying out from behind the wall with a doctor's mask covering his face and he had a knife in his hand.

'He said "gie us your money, gie us your drink, gie us all your stuff" and was waving the knife in front of us and said I was getting wide on Facebook.

'I didn't know what he meant by that because I had no issue with him on Facebook but he went towards me and cut me on the face.

'I saw an opportunity and grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him back and was trying to get out.

'I turned round and saw three or four girls standing with wooden table legs and Connor was bent down trying to cover his head because they were hitting him with the legs.

'They had come down from the flat upstairs and I didn't know who they were.'
ISIS have reportedly kidnapped almost 200 children to use as human shields in the battle for Mosul.

The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights said 197 children had been taken hostage by the terror group near the Al-Nuri mosque where ISIS declared its caliphate nearly three years ago.

Elsewhere today Iraq's prime minister Haider al-Abadi boldly claimed the terror group will be defeated 'within weeks' in the country.

ISIS have reportedly kidnapped almost 200 children to use as human shields in Mosul

The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights said 197 children had been taken hostage by the terror group near the Al-Nuri mosque

He told Fox News: 'At the moment we are at a very important juncture where Daesh is on the retreat. We in Iraq have been killing Daesh, removing them from our land. We are killing their aim so that recruits are minimal at the moment.

'In Iraq the defeat is sure, it's definite. We'll finish the job in a very short time  it's within reachwithin the next few weeks. We are defeating them militarilywe need the efforts of others to flush them out in Syria and other places.'

He also said last week's Westminster terror attack was a result of ISIS trying to maintain its reputation as it faces defeat in Iraq.

He told the broadcaster: 'They are trying to attract more recruits by doing these criminal acts'.

'It's like somebody who is dying and is just trying to flex his muscle at the last moment. The only way forward is to kill their home - just to finish them. Then they will not have any hope to commit such criminal acts.'

He was speaking after Iraqi forces reportedly killed 10 ISIS chiefs in a fresh round of air strikes in Mosul.

The Iraqi government offensive to drive ISIS from west Mosul continued after US-led airstrikes killed 200 civilians

The renewed offensive came days after 'tragic' US-led bombing raids killed 200 civilians in a single district.

Rescuers were still pulling the bodies of women and children from rubble in the Jadideh neighbourhood on Saturday, more than a week after the US-led coalition bombs reportedly landed on March 17.

However on Monday, Iraqi forces renewed their offensive against ISIS in Mosul's Old City.

As well as the death of 10 ISIS chiefs, Major Ammar Qassem, from the Iraqi army, said clashes between Iraqi forces and terrorists near the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, had also left a further 17 ISIS members dead.

In retaliation for the US-led coalition airstrikes, ISIS militants set fire to 12 medical storehouses and a blood bank near the Nineveh health department, according to Col Khodeir Saleh, Basnews reported.

Speaking about the new assault on Monday, Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat, the commander of the federal police, said in a statement: 'Federal Police and Rapid Response Division units began to advance today on the southwestern axis of the Old City.'

Jawdat said that one of their targets is Faruq Street, which runs near the Al-Nuri mosque where ISIS declared its caliphate nearly three years ago.

ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only known public appearance at the mosque after ISIS seized Mosul in 2014, calling on Muslims to obey him.

Reports suggested the disputed air strike, or strikes, killed civilians in the Jadideh neighbourhood.

British planes were among those operating in western Mosul at the time.

A displaced Iraqi sleeps while waiting to get food supplies as Iraqi forces battle with ISIS militants, in western Mosul

Residents have been driven out by heavy shelling and street-to-street combat between the Iraqi Army and ISIS

CHILDREN CUTTING HEADS OFF DOLLS A camp official told Sky News he saw some children, aged six or seven, cutting the head off a doll at Chamakor camp. 'One of them had a knife and started beheading it, shouting 'Allahu Akhbar', he said. 'There is manhood, they told me, in cutting the head off.' Global head of UNICEF, Anthony Lake, added: 'If we are not educating the heads and healing the hearts of children who are cutting off the heads of mud dolls, then in the next generation we're going to replicate the same conflicts. 'It breaks my heart. What we have to do is provide the quiet miracle of a normal life.' Advertisement

However, in a statement today, the Ministry of Defence indicated there was nothing to suggest the RAF were involved in the raid that led to the civilian deaths.

'As operations to liberate western Mosul and Raqqa intensify, the RAF continues to provide precision close air support to ground forces engaged in difficult urban combat,' a spokesman said.

'We conduct detailed assessments after each strike and review information from organisations such as Airwars and we have not seen evidence that we have been responsible for civilian casualties so far.

'Through our rigorous targeting processes, we will continue to seek to minimise the risk of civilian casualties, but that risk can never be removed entirely.'

Some officials from Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, have put the death toll from the strikes in the hundreds, but the precise number of victims is still unclear.

Mortar shells sparked a major fire in the Nabi Yunus market in east Mosul on Sunday

An Iraqi runs through a destroyed building as Iraqi forces battle with ISIS militants, in western Mosul

The fall of Mosul, Iraq's second city, would be a major setback for ISIS following months of losses in Iraq and neighbouring Syria

MASS GRAVE FOUND A giant sinkhole where ISIS killed thousands has been discovered in Khafsa. A report released last week by Human Rights Watch noted the Khafsa site, five miles southwest of Mosul, was probably the largest mass grave of Isis victims. Advertisement

However, the Iraqi military, on its Facebook page, issued a detailed rebuttal of claims that an air strike was behind the civilian deaths.

Instead it blamed explosive booby-traps set by so-called Islamic State (IS).

Iraqi military experts checked a house 'reportedly targeted by an air strike and they found out that the house was completely destroyed and there was no sign that it was destroyed by a strike'.

It added: 'A huge detonated booby-trapped vehicle was found near the house. Some 61 dead bodies were pulled from under the rubble.'

The statement also named al-Resala neighbourhood rather than Jadideh.

In a separate incident, mortar shells sparked a major fire in the Nabi Yunus market in east Mosul on Sunday, reportedly killing at least two people and injuring many others.

Iraqi forces launched the operation to retake Mosul, the country's second city, in October, retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely-populated west

Iraqi forces have been operating in the area of the Old City for several weeks, but they have faced tough resistance and progress in the area has been slow.

Iraqi forces launched the operation to retake Mosul, the country's second city, in October, retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely-populated west.

Since launching their assault on the western sector, Iraqi forces have taken several districts and key buildings including the headquarters of Nineveh province's regional government and a railway station.

The fall of Mosul, Iraq's second city, would be a major setback for ISIS following months of losses in Iraq and neighbouring Syria. The city also holds huge symbolic significance for the terror group.

In neighbouring Syria, three separate forces are advancing on the city of Raqqa, the main Syrian city under ISIS control.

An Iraqi counter terrorism forces member in Mosul's al-Jadida area on March 26, 2017, following air strikes which reportedly killed civilians

The United Nations has warned around 400,000 people are 'trapped' in the central Mosul area under siege-like conditions as Iraqi forces battle the ISIS for the city's west.

Food is running short and security is fragile even in liberated areas.

Lise Grande, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said: 'International humanitarian law is clear. Parties to the conflict - all parties - are obliged to do everything possible to protect civilians. This means that combatants cannot use people as human shields and cannot imperil lives through indiscriminate use of fire-power.'

The Reach Initiative, a group that helps aid groups collect data on humanitarian crises, said the situation in west Mosul was 'severe to extremely severe'.

'In areas still under (ISIS control), there is no access to markets and people are surviving on depleting food and water stocks, without access to electricity, fuel and healthcare,' it said.
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The 7million sale of a stately home believed to be the largest house in Britain is 'a triumph against all the odds', a preservation group has said.

Grade I-listed Wentworth Woodhouse near Rotherham, South Yorkshire is said to have been the inspiration for Pemberley in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

It has now been bought by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust which faces a 42million restoration bill to return it to its former glory over the next two decades.

The 7million sale of a stately home believed to be the largest house in Britain is 'a triumph against all the odds', a preservation group has said

Grade I-listed Wentworth Woodhouse, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, is said to have been the inspiration for Pemberley in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Pictured is the west end of the Long Gallery

It has now been bought by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust and faces a 42million restoration bill to return it to its former glory over the next two decades. Pictured is the Van Dyke State Room

The mansion, which has 365 rooms, five miles of corridors and the longest facade of a country house in Europe, went up for sale in 2015 following the death of owner Clifford Newbold.

Mr Newbold's family agreed to sell to an investment company but the deal fell through and the trust agreed the sale last year.

The 7million cost has been partly funded by a 3.5million grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, with the rest of the cash coming from a range of institutional and private donors.

In the Autumn budget, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced a 7.6million grant for urgent repairs to the house, which has been ravaged by problems relating to subsidence from coal mines which went right up to the edge of the house in the 1940s.

Marcus Binney, executive president of Save Britain's Heritage, which has supported the trust, said: 'This is a triumph against all the odds.

'It is a deal which the lawyers advised was so complicated it could never normally be done.

The mansion, which has 365 rooms, five miles of corridors and the longest facade of a country house in Europe, went up for sale in 2015 following the death of owner Clifford Newbold. Pictured is the front of the house

Mr Newbold's family agreed to sell to an investment company but the deal fell through and the trust agreed the sale last year. Pictured is the Marble Saloon

The 7million cost has been partly funded by a 3.5million grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, with the rest of the cash coming from a range of institutional and private donors. Pictured is a reception room room

'It has taken five years of sustained hard work to secure support but we have learnt over 40 years that, however hopeless or impossible the battle for a great historic building may seem, we should never give up.'

Henrietta Billings, director of SAVE, added: 'We are delighted that the sale of Wentworth Woodhouse is now complete - and that the next chapter of this magnificent house as a unique visitor attraction and cultural and employment hub can begin.'

The Newbold family ran small pre-booked tours around Wentworth Woodhouse but the trust is hoping to open large parts of the property up to the public, with the help of the National Trust, and convert other sections for residential and business development and an events venue.

Wentworth Woodhouse was the northern seat of the Fitzwilliam family - one of the richest and most powerful aristocratic dynasties in England at its height.

In the Autumn budget, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced a 7.6million grant for urgent repairs to the house, which has been ravaged by problems relating to subsidence from coal mines. Pictured is the Pillard Hall

Marcus Binney, executive president of Save Britain's Heritage, which has supported the trust, said: 'This is a triumph against all the odds'. Pictured is the Whistle Jacket State Room

He added: 'It has taken five years to secure support but we have learnt over 40 years that, however hopeless or impossible the battle for a great historic building may seem, we should never give up.' Pictured is the east end of the Long Gallery

After the family moved out 40 years ago, the building was used as a teacher training college for a time before it moved into private ownership.

Open-cast mining close to the house led to structural damage, and the estate's decline and eventual sale, and the Newbold family has been locked in a multimillion-pound legal battle with the Coal Authority over compensation for the subsidence.

Government heritage agency Historic England added the house to its heritage at risk register last year due to the growing need for restoration work.

Many of its opulent rooms are now empty and most of its treasures - including the famous 18th Stubbs painting Whistlejacket - have been moved to new homes.
The mother of London terror attacker Khalid Masood has condemned his actions, saying she is 'deeply shocked, saddened and numbed' by what her son has done

The mother of the London terror attacker who killed four people and injured more than 50 last week has condemned his actions.

Janet Ajao released a statement saying: 'I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity.'

Mrs Ajao, 69, is being protected by police at her country home in Wales after it was searched following the attacks last week.

The mother-of-three said today: 'I am so deeply shocked, saddened and numbed by the actions my son has taken that have killed and injured innocent people in Westminster.

'Since discovering that it was my son that was responsible I have shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident.

'I wish to make it absolutely clear, so there can be no doubt, I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity.

'I wish to thank my friends, family and community from the bottom of my heart for the love and support given to us.'

Metropolitan policeman Keith Palmer (left), mother-of-two Aysha Frade (centre), US tourist Kurt Cochran (right) and Londoner Leslie Rhodes were victims of the attack in Westminster

Police have remained at Mrs Ajao's rural home since her son carried out the terror attack

The elderly couple have been protected by police since the shocking attack in London

Police officers and members of the public inspect flowers and tributes left at Parliament

Mrs Ajao lives in the quiet country village of Trelech, Carmarthenshire, more than 200 miles away from the scene of her son's atrocity.

Police have ruled out that the grandmother has any link to the crimes of her estranged son - but are worried that she could be targeted in her isolated home.

Mrs Ajao is known by villagers as a 'respectable lady', running her own business selling hand-made cushions and bags from her farmhouse in a Carmarthenshire village.

She lives in a 200-year-old detached house in the remote village with her Nigerian husband Phillip, 77, and their border collie.

Neighbours said the couple moved to Wales in 1999 after selling their semi-detached home in Tunbridge Wells to fulfil their dream of living in peaceful rural isolation.

British Mrs Ajao lived the good life keeping a dozen chickens and rearing pedigree Clun Forest sheep which she sold at a local market as organic meat.

She took up jobs at Boots and M&S in nearby Carmarthen and worked at a Little Chef restaurant in the small town of St Clears. Classmates of Masood said she was a Christian.

The mother-of-three retired to run her own business called Folksy, specialising in hand-crafted cushions, handbags, blankets and other textile goodies which she makes at home.

Mr Ajao, a former cheese factory worker and Masoods father, is a keen photographer and astronomer who enjoys listening to classical music. He is currently being treated in hospital with a serious illness

A neighbour in Trelech said: 'She must be going through hell after finding out her son was responsible for such devastation and heartache.

'I think she disowned her son 20 years ago because of his criminal lifestyle.

'I have known the Ajaos ever since they came here and they are nice people, law-abiding and very ordinary.

'It must be terrible for them to have to live with this for the rest of their lives.'

His mother now lives with her husband in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, where she runs an online business selling hand-made bags and cushions (pictured)

Masood's mother makes 'original hand-crafted bags and other textile goodies' in rural Wales

JANET AJAO'S STATEMENT IN FULL In a statement released through the Metropolitan Police, Janet Ajao said: 'I am so deeply shocked, saddened and numbed by the actions my son has taken that have killed and injured innocent people in Westminster. 'Since discovering that it was my son that was responsible I have shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident. 'I wish to make it absolutely clear, so there can be no doubt, I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity. 'I wish to thank my friends, family and community from the bottom of my heart for the love and support given to us.' Advertisement

She was just 17 when she was put down as the only parent on Masood's birth certificate, which gave his name as Adrian Elms. She married Philip, the man he described as his father, two years later.

The family lived in Tunbridge Wells, Kent before Masood, then Elms, moved to Sussex and became a violent criminal.

She has become estranged from him since he was twice jailed in 2000 and 2003 and she and her husband moved to rural Wales to build a new life away.

Mr and Mrs Ajao now live in a 200-year-old detached house in a remote area of Carmarthenshire where they rear chickens and pedigree sheep and Mrs Ajao sells hand-crafted cushions, handbags and blankets through her textile business, Folksy.

Their home was searched by police after the Westminster attack although police said the couple were not suspects and had not been arrested.

Masood used this hire car to kill pedestrians then smashed into Parliament's railings

A sea of floral tributes has since been place in Parliament Square by visitors and officials

Neighbours said the pair were visited by their two sons Paul, 50, and Alexander, 40, but said they appeared to be estranged from Masood.

Paul reportedly runs a florist's business in Banbury, Oxfordshire, and Alex is an account director at the Berlin office of an international marketing agency

Mr Ajao is said to be seriously ill, and Masood told a hotel receptionist in Brighton he was dying from cancer, just hours before carrying out the Westminster attack.

Her comments came as Scotland Yard said it had found 'no evidence' Masood was directly linked to ISIS or al Qaida but said he 'clearly' had an interest in jihad.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack and called Masood 'a soldier of the Islamic State'.

But the announcement was greeted with scepticism by commentators who noted the terror group has a record of opportunistically claiming attacks.

Dimmon Payne, the father-in-law of victim Kurt Cochran and father of Melissa Cochran, who was seriously injured, today told of his family's grief

Melissa Cochran's sister Angela wept as the family told of their determination to stay positive

Flowers and Union flags are left outside the Houses of Parliament in memory of those who died

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for UK counter-terrorism policing, said: 'His attack method appears to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of IS (Islamic State) leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians, but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others.

'There is no evidence that Masood was radicalised in prison in 2003, as has been suggested; this is pure speculation at this time.

'Whilst I have found no evidence of an association with IS or AQ (al Qaida), there is clearly an interest in jihad.'
Sandi Haywood became embroiled in a six-year pension dispute with the Newcastle Hospitals Trust over the timing of her dismissal from her associate director role

An NHS worker whose bosses tried to make her redundant while she was on holiday has been awarded 400,000 after a long-running legal battle.

Sandi Haywood became embroiled in a six-year pension dispute with the Newcastle Hospitals Trust over the timing of her dismissal from her associate director role.

The case centred on whether her official redundancy date fell before or after her 50th birthday, which determined whether she would receive an enhanced pension.

The Trust now faces a 400,000 legal bill - at the tax payers' expense - after the Court of Appeal ruled in Mrs Haywood's favour in the long-running dispute.

Mrs Haywood, from Gateshead, had worked for the NHS for more than 30 years, starting as a nurse and midwife.

She then went on to become associate director of business development for Newcastle and North Tyneside Primary Care Trusts.

In April 2011 the mother-of-two was told that her job was at risk of redundancy following a merger of the two NHS bodies.

She said: 'It was totally out of the blue. I'd done exemplary work for more than 30 years and I absolutely loved the job.

'After a meeting to discuss the redundancy letter I collapsed and had to be carried by two men to my car.'

During the meeting on April 13 Mrs Haywood requested a final decision about this should not be made in her absence and explained she would be on holiday in Egypt from April 19.

But while she was away her employers told her April 20 that she would be made redundant.

Although a letter was sent via recorded delivery to her home address and to her husband Mark's email account, neither were seen by Mrs Haywood until she returned from holiday on April 27.

The Trust said the employees' contract should have terminated 12 weeks after the letter was sent but Mrs Haywood claimed it should be 12 weeks from when it was read.

If she had opened the letter on or before April 26, the contract would have been terminated just before her 50th birthday on July 20, meaning her pension would be reduced significantly.

She added: 'I was totally devastated to come back to that letter - my world just stopped and everything I had worked for was taken away.

'I started as a student nurse and ended up working on a children's intensive care unit for 12 years, before going on to hold a number of NHS director posts.

'I had a really positive career I thought things like that just don't happen to people like me, when I'd worked so hard.'

After a mammoth legal battle, a judge at Leeds District Registry came down on Mrs Haywood's side, ruling she had been employed by the trust up to and including her 50th birthday.

The ruling has now been upheld by the Court of Appeal. Mrs Haywood has as a result received just under 400,000 in past and future losses.

She said: 'This has been an extremely distressing six year battle which has caused significant stress to me and my family and I am relieved that finally the Court of Appeal has rejected Newcastle Hospital's case.

'The very sad thing about this case is that the trust now have to pay significant legal costs for both parties and this should have been money spent on patient care.'

The Trust now faces a 400,000 legal bill - at the tax payers' expense - after the Court of Appeal (pictured) ruled in Mrs Haywood's favour in the long-running dispute

Jane Anderson, a senior associate in the commercial litigation department at Irwin Mitchell, represented Sandi Haywood in the case against Newcastle Upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust.

She said: 'The dispute is not to do with whether Sandi was made redundant unfairly, but about the timing of the communication in relation to her 12 weeks' notice period and whether that fell before or after her 50th birthday.

'Sandi had not had the opportunity to read the letter informing her that her contract had been terminated until she returned from holiday and her husband didn't read his email either until he was back in the UK.

'We are pleased the Court of Appeal has upheld the earlier judgment and ruled that the 12 weeks' notice period should not start until she was informed and became fully aware of the situation.

'Sandi has been a loyal servant for the NHS for over 32 years and we are delighted with this outcome as it means that she will receive the pension that she deserves.'

A spokesperson for the Trust said: 'The trust is disappointed by the decision of the High Court - with two judges ruling in favour of Mrs Haywood and one in favour of the Trust.

'The Trust strongly believes that this judgement is a matter of public interest and for this reason it plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.'
A cowardly assassin crept into a family home and executed an innocent mother-of-nine and her nephew as part of a 'vendetta of violence', a court heard today.

Obina Ezeoke, 24, allegedly sneaked through the unlocked door of a flat on a north London estate and shot 21-year-old psychology student Bervil Kalikaka-Ekofo in the back of the head.

He then blasted Annie Besala Ekofo, 53, in the chest when she came out of her bedroom dressed only in her underwear as he fled the scene.

Neither Bervil nor Annie - a mother-of-nine - were the intended targets, jurors were told.

Happier days: Murdered student Obina Ezeoke with his late aunt Annie Besala Ekofo. The two were 'executed' at their family home in North London, a court heard today

The court heard that a young granddaughter found Mrs Ekofo lying half-naked on the floor with blood on her chest.

She cried out: 'There's something wrong with Grandma.'

Other members of the family alerted emergency services and tried to help Mrs Ekofo, who appeared to have a pulse and was trying to breathe.

It was only later that Mr Ekofo was found lying face down on the floor with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.

Both were pronounced dead within minutes just after 7am.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Mark Heywood QC said: 'Soon after dawn in early autumn last, an assassin crept noiselessly into a second-floor family home.

'At first, none of the six people sleeping inside heard anything. Almost all were still asleep.

Psychology student Bervil Kalikaka-Ekofo was shot in the back of his head while he slept at his aunt's house in London which he was visiting for one night only

A cowardly assassin crept into Annie Besala Ekofo's family home and executed the innocent mother-of-nine and her nephew as part of a 'vendetta of violence', a court heard today

'The killer moved to his left and into a bedroom. There ahead of him was a young man, sleeping on a thin mattress on the floor under a duvet.

'For the killer, this was as good a target as he could expect, a young man of the house of just the right age.

'He crept forward, gun in hand. He raised the muzzle and placed it almost against the back of the sleeping dreadlocked head.

'And then, with a deliberation and purpose that was as much cowardly as it was murderous, he pulled the trigger.'

After he had unleashed 'hell' on the household, the mother of the family came into the hall dressed only in her underwear, jurors were told.

Bervil Kalikaka-Ekofo (pictured left) was murdered while he slept in a North London flat. Obina Ezeoke, 24, allegedly sneaked through the unlocked door of the flat and shot 21-year-old

Instead of waving his revolver to scare her off, the killer raised the barrel and pulled the trigger for a second time, the court heard.

Mr Heywood said: 'The Crown's case is that the cowardly killer is this defendant, Obina Ezeoke.

'He went there quite deliberately with a gun to attack and kill one of the young men of the family, one of those in their teens, as part of a vendetta of violence.

'His hate was such that he did not falter when confronted by a second person - he simply took her life as well.

'In fact, both lives were innocent. The young man he killed was a cousin staying at short notice for one night only and not one of those who could have been expected to be in the house usually.

The prosecutor told jurors there was no doubt the execution-style killings amounted to murder but the 'core question' would be whether Ezeoke was involved.

Ezeoke, previously of Cambridge Heath, east London, denies two counts of murder.

Mrs Ekofo, who came to the UK with her husband from the Congo in 1991, lived with her family at a flat in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley.

Four other people were also in the house but were unharmed in the attack last year.

The trial continues.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes was 'cleared' to get classified information  as the top Democrat on the panel called on Nunes to recuse himself from the panel's Russian election interference probe.

Spicer pushed back Monday on the idea that Nunes was essentially the recipient of a White House 'leak' last week.

Senior Democrats however have called for him to recuse himself from the panel's Russia probe including Rep Adam Schiff of California and House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi.

'After much consideration, and in light of the Chairman's admission that he met with his source of information at the White House, I believe that the Chairman should recuse himself from any further involvement in the Russia investigation, as well as any involvement in oversight of matters pertaining to any incidental collection of the Trump transition, as he was also a key member of the transition team,' Schiff said.

'This is not a recommendation I make lightly, as the Chairman and I have worked together well for several years,' he added in a statement.

Pelosi added: 'Chairman Nunes' discredited behavior has tarnished that office. Speaker Ryan must insist that Chairman Nunes at least recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation immediately. That leadership is long overdue.'

ALL CLEAR: White House press secretary Sean Spicer said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is 'cleared' to get classified information, and that the White House did not leak anything to him

NO PLUG NEEDED: 'There's a difference between a leak, someone leaking out to reporters for nefarious, to take classified information and share it with people who aren't cleared,' Spicer said Monday

Nunes secretly went to the White House last Tuesday  a day before he issued pronouncements about the 'unmasking' of Americans through surveillance  to review classified information that he and fellow committee members didn't have access to.

'I had to go to the White House to meet with a source. Can no one go to the White House anymore?' Nunes complained in an interview with the Washington Post.

Spicer said on Monday: 'I think there's a difference between a leak and someone pursuing a review of the situation that they have determined ... there's a difference between a leak, someone leaking out to reporters for nefarious, to take classified information and share it with people who aren't cleared.'

Reporters pressed the spokesman on whether the White House orchestrated the release of information to Nunes, as well as who cleared him to enter the White House complex last Tuesday to view classified information in a secure area.

'Chairman Nunes is cleared. He is the chairman of the intelligence committee. Someone who is cleared to share classified information with somebody else [who is] cleared is not a leak,' Spicer said.

Asked who at the White House got him into the compound, Spicer responded: 'I don't know that members of Congress need to be cleared.'

Spicer indicated he doesn't know whether the White House had knowledge of what information Nunes got during his clandestine visit.

'I'm not aware of where he got it from. I know in his public statement, he has talked about having multiple sources,' Spicer said. 'And so I don't know how he derived the conclusion that he did. I think that at this point, the goal would be to wait until the review that he is undertaking is completed.'

He then got asked why Nunes would need to brief President Trump, as Nunes did last Wednesday, on documents that were available on White House grounds.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) was at the White House the day before he cited new information about 'unmasking' of Americans at Trump Tower

'That's a big assumption that you're making, that that's the only thing. As I said a second ago, he had multiple sources on multiple topics. We don't know what he briefed him on in its totality. And so to jump to that conclusion is frankly irresponsible,' Spicer responded.

On multiple occasions, Spicer tried to keep his distance from the situation, saying reporters should direct their questions to the Intelligence chairman.

'I know that Chairman Nunes has confirmed that he was on White House grounds Tuesday. And frankly any questions regarding who he met with or why he was here should be referred to him,' Spicer said.

'I'm not going to get into who he met with or why he met with them. I think that's something that he has been very clear [on], and I'll let him answer. 'He is the one who has discussed what he is reviewing, and so I will leave it up to him and not try to get in the middle of that.'

Nunes claimed on Wednesday that President Trump and his transition aides were 'unmasked' in spy intercepts at a press conference that infuriated his Democratic counterpart on the panel.

IT TAKES TWO: Intelligence panel vice chair Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) wait for the start of a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing concerning Russian meddling in the 2016 United States election

Nunes said the conversations got picked up inadvertently through 'incidental' collection, but his comments nevertheless were taken to bolster President Trump's claim that his phones had been 'tapped' at Trump Tower. President Trump later that he felt somewhat 'vindicated.'

A Nunes spokesman on the Intelligence panel confirmed Monday that Nunes was on the White House grounds the day before he made his explosive comments on Wednesday.

HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE POSTPONES CLOSED SESSION WITH FBI The House Intelligence Committee will not hold on Tuesday a closed briefing with the directors of the FBI and National Security Agency, a spokesman for the committee's Republican chairman said on Monday. Devin Nunes, last week said he cancelled a public hearing on the committee's investigation of Russian influence on the 2016 election because it was necessary to hold the closed session with Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey and NSA Director Mike Rogers. 'Director Comey and Adm. Rogers could not come in tomorrow as wed hoped, so the Committee will continue to try to schedule a time when they can meet with us in closed session,' Jack Langer, a spokesman for Nunes, said in a statement. Advertisement

'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,' said Jack Langer, communications director for the committee.

'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,' he said.

His presence on the White House grounds raises the possibility that the information Nunes cited came from someone at the White House.

As chairman of the Intelligence panel, Nunes already has a top clearance and the ability to review classified information inside a secure facility inside the Capitol, raising questions about why he would need to go to the White House to get information.

CNN reported on Monday that Nunes was spotted on the grounds the day before his announcement, something the lawmakers subsequently confirmed in a phone call. Nunes said he didn't believe President Trump or his staff knew he was there.

An official told CNN that Nunes was seen at the National Security Council offices inside the Old Executive Office Building, which is on White House grounds.

Last week, Nunes declined to characterize where he got his information  which panel vice chair Schiff of California blasted him for sharing with the president before he shared it with fellow committee members.

Nunes briefed President Trump on the information last Wednesday.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said last week: 'I'm not aware of where he got the document from. I don't know. I don't know where he got them from. He didn't state it.'

Spicer added: 'So I don't  I don't have anything for you on that and so I cannot say anything more than I don't know, at this point.'

PLEASE COME AGAIN: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) walks out of the West Wing after a meeting at the White House March 22, 2017

Nunes also pushed back in a Daily Beast report on an unexplained Uber ride.

"I was in a cab with staff and we dropped them off before I went to my meeting," he said. "Anything other than that is just false,' he told CNN.

The Daily Beast reported that Nunes was in an Uber Tuesday evening with a senior committee staffer when he got a communication on his phone, before leaving abruptly without telling his aide where he was going.

At a Wednesday morning press conference, Nunes said: 'The intelligence community incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition.'

Nunes explained the reason for his visit to White House grounds to Bloomberg News, saying that he needed access to a computer system that had the classified information.

'We don't have networked access to these kinds of reports in Congress,' he said. He said his source wasn't a White House staffer, and said he made sure to copy down identifying information about the documents so he could request access to them for the rest of his committee.

Nunes apologized last week after Schiff blasted him for not immediately sharing the information with the panel and meeting with the president about it first.
Professor James Strohman asked his students to write an account of 9/11 from the perspective of Al-Qaeda

A professor at the Iowa State University asked his students to write an account of the September 11 attacks from the perspective of Al-Qaeda in an assignment that has angered many online.

Professor James Strohman, who has taught at the school in Ames, Iowa, for more than a decade, acknowledged the attack was 'heinous'.

But he advised his International Relations students to consider how the terrorist network 'or a non-Western historian' may have interpreted the events, the College Fix reported.

He told them: 'Dont worry about the fact you dont agree with the terrorists, the point of the exercise is to consider completely different perspectives.'

A spokesperson at the school defended Strohman, saying the assignment is similar to work conducted by the CIA.

He wrote in the prompt: 'Dont worry about the fact you dont agree with the terrorists, the point of the exercise is to consider completely different perspectives'

Strohman assigned the 500-word paper to his International Relations students at Iowa State University (file picture)

He asked his students to give a historical account of 911 from the perspective of the terrorist network (pictured, World Trade Center)

Strohman assigned the 500-word paper to his students at the start of the semester, according to the College Fix.

He wrote: 'Lets focus on the 911 terrorist attack and how it might be interpreted differently by different people around the world.

'For this exercise, you have to "get out of the box" of our thinking about what happened on 911 and view it from a completely different perspective...

'Write a paper that gives a historical account of 911 from the perspective of the terrorist network.

'In other words, how might Al-Qaeda or a non-Western historian describe what happened.'

Many expressed their outrage online, but a spokesperson at the school said the exercise was 'in no way an attempt to diminish the tragic events of September 11, 2001'

Many expressed their outrage online, with one Twitter user DeplorableChad writing someone should 'smack the s*** out of Strohman'.

Frank Obrad denounced the idea of understanding different viewpoints, writing: 'Let's get Hitler's point of view on the Holocaust!'

A spokesperson at the school defended Strohman's exercise, saying it was 'in no way an attempt to diminish the tragic events of September 11, 2001.'

The spokesperson also said the assignment was similar to the work of the CIA and the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
A New York Police Department officer has begun the process of filing suit against her superior for sexual harassment, according to court documents obtained by the New York Post.

NYPD's Maribel Sarante, 42, alleged that Sergeant Freddy Lopez, 47, demanded she have a threesome with him and his wife and reacted by accusing her of falsifying time sheets when she refused.

'A lot of females are afraid to say anything,' Sarante said. 'I am hoping no other female should have to go through what I went through in the Police Department.'

NYPD's Maribel Sarante, 42, alleged that Sergeant Freddy Lopez, 47, demanded she have a threesome with him and his wife and reacted by accusing her of falsifying time sheets when she refused

The officer has filed notice of a claim, beginning the process of what will be a $15 million lawsuit against her boss at the Seventh Precinct station in the Lower East Side.

Anotice of claim is the first step in the process to sue the government, after which the NYPD will have a chance to respond before a formal lawsuit may begin.

Sarante said Lopez's lewd behavior towards her began in 2015 and required her to switch to the graveyard shift in the summer of 2016 to avoid his harassment.

She filed official complains with the NYPD, but said that the behavior was not deemed to rise to the level of employment discrimination.

Officer Maribel Sarante said she chose to file notice of a claim, beginning the process of what will be a $15 million lawsuit against her boss at the Seventh Precinct station, to prevent future behavior targeted at women; she is seen here in a photo from her social media account

'When he became my squad sergeant, he started making comments and asked me if I would do a threesome with his wife,' Sarante said to The Post.

'He knew I was married and had kids, and I wouldnt answer him.'

Sarante, who is a 15-year veteran on the force, also included descriptions of instances of inappropriate behavior she claims Lopez directed at others in her filing.

The document quotes Sgt. Lopez as having told one female cop to 'stop playing with her p***y and report to the desk.'

Another instance included in the filing described gestures the sergeant is claimed to have made with fruit around the station house.

'Lopez placed a plastic glove over his hand and stated, "Im here to do a cavity search, who wants one?" He then picked up two apples and one banana to form the shape of a penis, while laughing,' the document stated.

Sarante said she chose to file the notice of claim and plans to move forward with a lawsuit to prevent Sgt. Lopez from continuing this behavior against other women.

'Sexual harassment is a huge problem within the Police Department, and they dont take it seriously, and thats why it keeps on happening,' Sarantes lawyer, Eric Sanders, told The Post.

The NYPD has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Ukip is set to rebrand itself in changes which could scrap its pound-sign logo and garish purple colour scheme.

Leader Paul Nuttall said the party needed to modernise its image to prepare for the post-Brexit era as he rejected claims Ukip has lost its reason to exist.

The party has been left reeling after continued civil war prompted its only MP Douglas Carswell to quit in a storm of recriminations.

Mr Carswell confirmed for the first time today he only ever joined Ukip to moderate its influence on the EU referendum - fearing Nigel Farage's aggressive style would doom Brexit.

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall said the party is set to rebrand itself in changes which could scrap its pound-sign logo and garish purple colour scheme

Mr Nuttall attempted to draw a line under the latest round of bizarre squabbling.

He told the Telegraph: 'We are going to rebrand the post-Brexit Ukip and it will all be launched at the annual conference in Torquay in September.'

The Ukip name will survive but 'Everything is up for debate', Mr Nuttall said.

Mr Carswell's surprise resignation from Ukip over the weekend was welcomed by both Mr Nuttall and his predecessor Mr Farage.

The Clacton MP, whose bombshell defection to Ukip from the Tories fuelled the Eurosceptic fight for Brexit, today admitted his only interest had been to moderate Mr Farage.

Mr Carswell's surprise resignation from Ukip over the weekend was welcomed by both Mr Nuttall and his predecessor Mr Farage

He told the Standard: 'I wanted Britain to leave the European Union. I correctly understood that in order to force David Cameron into giving us a referendum, it was necessary to join Ukip  to make sure the right people ran the right sort of campaign.

'It was essential to make sure that Ukip didn't run the referendum campaign and there are obviously going to be people in Ukip who are going to be cross about that.

'But I'm not  we won the referendum.'

Mr Carswell has previously refused to confirm the story, which first emerged in The Brexit Club book last year.

At his policy launch today, Mr Nuttall said Ukip 'isn't going away' despite Douglas Carswell going independent on Saturday after declaring it was 'job done' when the UK voted to quit in the referendum.

Nuttall said the party needed to modernise its image to prepare for the post-Brexit era as he rejected claims Ukip has lost its reason to exist

Setting out the party's six tests for Britain's divorce from Brussels, Mr Nuttall warned Theresa May the Eurosceptics would be the 'guard dogs' of Brexit.

If the Prime Minister backslides during the negotiations, Ukip will 'prosper electorally' and is on course to increase its vote share in upcoming local elections, he claimed.

At a press conference in central London, Mr Nuttall said: 'We will be the guard dogs of Brexit and woe betide Mrs May, woe betide the Conservative Party if they begin to backslide.'

Douglas Carswell , whose bombshell defection to Ukip from the Tories fuelled the Eurosceptic fight for Brexit, today admitted his only interest had been to moderate Mr Farage.

It comes as Labour set out its own six rules for assessing the negotiations, with calls for the deal to deliver the 'exact same benefits' as the country currently has as a member of the single market and customs union.

But while the Opposition has vowed to reject any deal that does not meet its demands, Ukip is no longer able to register its objections in the Commons after losing Mr Carswell.

Mr Nuttall said: 'I've read the obituary of Ukip over the years more times than I've had hot dinners and they have always been wrong.

'Let's be clear, Ukip doesn't need representation in the House of Commons to be able to influence the political landscape.

'Let's not forget when we forced David Cameron into offering that referendum back in 2013 we did not have anyone in the House of Commons.'
An eighteen-year-old girl will face charges for having a stockpile of weapons and explosive materials that she intended to use for a school shooting.

Nichole Cevario was allegedly planning a deadly attack on her high school and had acquired a shotgun and bomb-making materials, before the 18-year-old was pulled out of class by Frederick County police on Thursday.

The honor student is currently being held for emergency mental evaluation after the teenager's parent tipped off authorities about her plot on Catoctin High School, in Thurmont, Maryland.

Officials found a journal filled with an in-depth plan about the April attack, containing information on the school officer and emergency school procedures, according to police on Monday.

Upon her release from Frederick Memorial Hospital, Cevario will be charged with possession of explosive materials with the intent to create a destructive device, among other charges.

Nichole Cevario, 18, was allegedly planning a deadly school shooting event at Catoctin High School, in Thurmont, Maryland. She was pulled out of class by Frederick County police on Thursday. Officials found explosive materials in her home (pictured)

The honor student also had a shotgun and ammunition, which she was reportedly intending to use in the attack. Cevario had kept an in-depth journal of her plot on a specific day in April, according to police

At her home, police found a shotgun with ammunition, bomb-making materials to include pipes with end caps, shrapnel, fireworks, magnesium tape and fuse material, reported The Fredrick News-Post.

The teenager intended to die on the day of her planned attack and police determined that she had the means and tools to have 'caused a significant life safety event'.

Cevario's journal was filled with an analysis of what would happen the day of the school shooting, which was planned for a specific date in April.

In the pages, she had written about her 'detailed shooting event' and was in the process of actively gathering all the materials needed for that day.

She was an honor student and had been observing and recording the school's procedures in emergency events and kept an eye on the school deputy officer, reported NBC Washington.

The bomb-making materials included pipes with end caps, shrapnel, fireworks, magnesium tape and fuse material (pictured)

Upon her release from Frederick Memorial Hospital, Cevario will be charged with possession of explosive materials with the intent to create a destructive device, among other charges. Pictured: Catoctin High School

The police report said: 'Investigators are confident of the intent, but are still trying to evaluate if Ms. Cevario would have had the will to execute the event.

'It was also clear that Ms. Cevario was struggling with mental health issues which prompted the emergency evaluation at Frederick Memorial Hospital.'

Police determined Cevario was working alone in her plot to threaten the student body.

They added that there was never any weapon or explosive brought into the school by Cevario before she was detained.
An 87-year-old Kansas man who has donated 32 gallons of blood over more than six decades received a lifetime achievement award for his selfless acts.

Harold Facklam Jr. of Topeka recently was recognized with the Kansas Assisted Living Lifetime Achievement Award for the 259 pints he has donated through the American Red Cross.

Facklam, who donated until health reasons caused him to stop in April 2015, said he doesn't think about how his donations have affected others or even saved lives - he just wanted to do his part to give back.

Harold Facklam Jr. of Topeka recently was recognized with the Kansas Assisted Living Lifetime Achievement Award for the 259 pints he has donated through the American Red Cros

Facklam Jr credits his father for his award-winning generosity, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

He gave a nod to his late father, Harold Facklam Sr., who he said encouraged him to donate when the younger Facklam was almost 21 in 1951. Facklam's father gave blood for about 11 years, stopping at age 60.

'My father was giving; he certainly had a great influence on me. He was very, so pleased to give and that's why I started, of course,' Facklam Jr. said.

For years, the younger Facklam sprung to action every time a newspaper or radio announcement said the Red Cross would be in his area accepting blood donations. After each visit to the donor center, Facklam made his next appointment to do it again.

He donated a pint of whole blood four times a year, ultimately winning Kansas American Red Cross recognition after a care home staffer spotted his 38 pins as he reached specific gallon markers.

'I just did it because it was something that I could do. I never served in the military at all, and I probably could have or should have maybe, but World War II was over before I was old enough,' he said.

'The Korean War would have been about right, but then we got married and a year later we had a child, so I was deferred.

'I think I always maybe felt a little bit guilty about that, that I didn't serve in the military because there was a lot of my high school classmates that did. I thought, maybe this is some way I can help,' he continued.

He donated a pint of whole blood four times a year, ultimately winning Kansas American Red Cross recognition with 38 pins as he reached specific gallon markers

The generosity is running in the family; Facklam says that his son-in-law John Jameson is the second most frequent blood donor in Junction City, Kansas, second of course to Facklam himself.

Facklam also has been honored for his volunteer work with the United Church of Christ in Kansas' Geary County, where he spearheaded the committee that rebuilt the church after lightning destroyed it in 2001.

'Church was a very important part of our life, always,' said Facklam, who has been married for 66 years.

He and his wife Vicki have two daughters, Linda Smith of Jackson County and Karen Jameson of Junction City, and four grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Robert will be remembered for his daily routine of quietly walking from the shelter where he laid his head to the soup kitchen where he ate his meals. Dressed in a button-down shirt and permanent press slacks Robert blended in with the sleepy little town of Carlisle. His habits varied minimally, and for that Robert will be missed by the countless people who interacted with him daily.
Qatar has vowed to invest 5billion in Britain within five years in a boost for the post-Brexit economy.

Speaking in London, Qatari PM Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani announced his country would continue ploughing cash into Britain.

Prime Minister Theresa May is hosting her Qatari counterpart in No 10 for talks this evening.

Therda May tonight welcomed Qatari PM Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani to No 10 after he announced his country would continue ploughing cash into Britain

Sheikh Abdullah, speaking at the Qatar-UK Business and Investment Forum, said: 'Over the next three to five years Qatar will invest 5 billion in the UK economy through various investment funds and relevant parties in Qatar - which will constitute another addition to its already successful investments in the UK.'

The investments will focus on energy, infrastructure, real estate and services, Sheikh Abdullah announced shortly after appearing at the investment forum, which brings together over 400 British and Qatari business leaders and senior politicians.

Qatar's investments will focus on energy, infrastructure, real estate and services, Sheikh Abdullah announced shortly before meeting May at No 10

Qatar has already invested more than 40billion across Britain, including in iconic real estate such as London's Shard and Canary Wharf buildings, the Harrod's department store, while the country also bought the Olympic Village following the London 2012 Olympics.

It also plans to turn the current US embassy in London into an exclusive hotel after the US moves to a new base.

'If you look at what we have done here, it has always been a win-win situation,' Sheikh Abdullah added.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox was also present at this week's event, which moves to Birmingham tomorrow.

Dr Fox was keen to show the world that Britain is open for business despite leaving the EU, and said that Qatar made an ideal post-Brexit trading partner.

'We have to stop viewing things through the prism of Brexit,' he told the forum.

'Qatar and UK are natural allies and I believe that private sector growth in both countries can enhance ties and promote foreign direct investment.'

The relationship between Britain and Qatar has been the subject of intense diplomatic effort

The minister insisted that Brexit would 'accelerate the changes the UK has to undergo in a globalised world,' and that other European Union members would also have to adapt to the shifting landscape of international trade.

Mrs May is set to officially trigger Brexit on Wednesday.

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund chief meanwhile said that the vote to leave the European Union would not prevent its future investment in Britain.

'There is pressure from my board to diversify in terms of geography and asset class, but we are still looking, even after Brexit, for opportunities,' Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani, chief executive officer of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), told the forum.

He also announced plans to open an office in Silicon Valley as part of a drive to move the Qatari economy away from oil and into more sustainable sectors, such as the knowledge economy.

The QIA boss said the fund would open a San Francisco office by the beginning of next year.
Financial advisor, Jonathan Hunt, 41, who groomed who he thought was a 15-year-old girl with the promise of clothes and a new phone was snared by online paedophile hunters - but managed to avoid jail

A financial advisor snared trying to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex by a group of vigilantes known as the 'Internet Interceptors' has been spared jail.

Jonathan Hunt, 41, of Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, set up a profile on the internet site Badoo with the profile 'looking for a pretty girls to date. Will treat you on dates and make you feel very special xx*'

He began messaging a girl called 'Holly', believing her to be 15 years old.

He told her she was attractive and asked if if she was looking for a date.

Hunt was actually messaging to Sarah Doherty, a 36-year-old member of the 'Internet Interceptors'.

Hunt,was convicted of count of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming at the Old Bailey today.

The financial advisor was sentenced to 22 months jail, suspended for 18 months.

He was spared jail today because he has spent the last six months in custody following his arrest.

The court heard Hunt offered to take the teen shopping, boasting that he earned 'loads of money' and that he could buy her expensive gifts.

Between September 8 and 14 last year his messages to her became more sexually explicit, and he repeatedly tried to arrange to meet her.

In their first conversation, he wrote: 'Hi Holly x what are you looking for? Your photos are beautiful.Are you looking for a date?'

She replied 'Hi'

'Yes, I'm from London I am 15 years old, just on hear talking to a friend I bet you don't want to chat now.'

He replied 'HaHa I'd think my age would put you off not the other way round' and commented that she looked 18 rather than 15.

Hunt had stated that he was 46 on the site, rather than his real age of 41.

During his trial, the court heard how Hunt offered to take the teen for lunch and take her shopping, promising her he earned 'loads of money' and that he could buy her gifts

'Holly' repeatedly confirmed that she was just 15 years old, and that she couldn't stay up too late because she had school the following day.

He replied: 'Haha of course. Would you date me though? I'd love to.'

Hunt - who runs his firms Cedars IFA from his home coaxed the girl into exchanging details about where she lived.

He told her 'Still don't believe you are 15 but gorgeous either way' and 'Would love to date you some time. Just in case I forgot to say* you look really lovely xx.'

Hunt asked her about her school and where it was, although she refused to tell him, and asked for a selfie in her school uniform.

The financial advisor repeatedly asked her to send him selfies, and when she told him the camera on her phone was broken he offered to buy her a new one.

He offered to take her shopping because he earned loads of money, saying she could 'check out some clothes' and model them for him.

'Best of all if I could sneak into the dressing room with you* then I could see you try on some clothes * and see you take them off,' he wrote.

'I bet you look gorgeous without clothes on xx.'

In messages, Hunt told 'Holly': 'Still don't believe you are 15 but gorgeous either way' and 'Would love to date you some time. Just in case I forgot to say you look really lovely xx.'

Hunt also sent her a picture of his car 'What's a good car without a beautiful girl to sit beside you whilst you drive?'

Hunt was apparently aware that he could be being trapped by police or vigilantes, asking her once: 'I do have one little worry* are you really real?'

He added: 'You know, older guy talking to 15-year-old girl can be jailbait lol, sorry, true though. Even if I did start off thinking you are 18.'

As the messages became more sexually explicit, he wrote: 'Would turn me on to see you lying in your bed I bet you look so sexy* you're very attractive. Wish I was lying next to you right now looking into your eyes. Would be so intimate.'

He followed up with lots of graphic messages about what exactly he wanted to do to her.

Apparently realising how far he had gone, the following he said he still wanted to meet her but they shouldn't have sex, saying: 'You're only 15. It would be a crime'.

Hunt eventually arranged to meet the teen at Plumstead Station at 1pm on Wednesday September 14 2016 - the middle of a school day.

As the messages became more sexually explicit, Hunt wrote: 'Would turn me on to see you lying in your bed I bet you look so sexy you're very attractive. Wish I was lying next to you right now looking into your eyes. Would be so intimate.'

He was confronted by Ms Doherty - who filmed their exchange until police arrived.

Hunt denied one count of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, claiming he only wanted to 'date' the girl and not have sex with her.

But he was convicted after trial at the Old Bailey on a majority verdict.

Judge Anne Molyneux said: 'Many of your messages were sexual in tone - you wanted a photo of her in her school uniform, you wanted to watch her undress in a changing room, you offered to buy her clothes.

'You wanted to buy her a mobile phone so she could send you photographs.'

'You engaged in a graphic series of messages - you knew you were sending sexually graphic messages to a person you believed was 15 years old.

'There's no excuse and no justification.

'Penetrative sexual activity was intended. You offered gifts if the form of clothes and a mobile phone.'

Hunt,was convicted of count of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. He was spared jail today because he has spent the last six months in custody following his arrest. Childline founder Esther Rantzen was in court to observe proceedings, as a guest of the judge

'You have shown some remorse about the content of the messages but no remorse over your intention to meet a 15-year-old girl.

'The damage of such a relationship even if non-sexual would have been incalculable.'

Hunt was also ordered to complete a 60 hour sexual offences prevention or programme.

He had been on police bail over communications he'd been having with a 16-year-old girl at the time of the arrest.

When asked about comments he'd made about the girl looking 'sexy' in her school uniform, he said: 'At the end of the day I'm flirting with her - to suggest that I would find her more attractive rather than any other sort of dress is taking it one step further than necessary.

'I shouldn't have done it. And when I look back on it I regret that but at the time I just wanted a date and in my approach to that date I was just trying to make it happen.'

TV presenter Esther Rantzen, the founder of charity Childline, was in court to watch proceedings as a guest of the judge.
Barrie Hill has been told he will go to prison if he mentions sex to another woman within seven years

A decorator faces jail if he mentions 'sex' to any woman within the next seven years after a court branded him a 'sex nuisance'.

Barrie Hill, 50, was told he would be sent to prison if he even speaks about sex after repeated 'crude and inappropriate behaviour'.

Kim Halsall, prosecuting, said Hill had touched a woman's backside, asked women for sex and offered them massages.

Ms Halsall said: 'His behaviour was unacceptable and wholly unwarranted.'

Cardiff Crown Court heard Hill was already subject to a five-year court order banning him from contact with women following a string of assaults.

Hill approached a woman in a lingerie shop and said he could tell her bra size - then reached out to stroke her neck.

He also offered to wash a woman's car but when she declined he said: 'Can we have sex?'

He was previously ordered not to approach lone women, offer women lifts in his car, or give or offer any woman a massage.

The orders were given after police received several reports Hill was offering rides to lone females - and was also handing out business cards - with the words 'in safe hands' written on them - to university students advertising his services as a masseur.

There were also incidents involving approaching a 14-year-old girl, and being in the possession of a knife.

Mr Recorder Paul Hopkins QC, appearing at Mold Crown via video link from Cardiff, told Hill: 'You are potentially a predatory individual, unable to stop yourself behaving inappropriately towards young females.

A judge said Hill, pictured outside court, was 'a potentially predatory individual'

'You have shown no remorse for your appalling behaviour, and shown no insight to the deviancy that led to your appearance in court.

'You are no more than a pest.'

Simon Mintz, defending, said: 'At its highest he is a sexual nuisance, flirting and pestering these young women.

'He has to adjust his behaviour towards women.'

Hill, of Rhyl, North Wales, was given a three-year community order with requirements to attend a sex offenders group programme.

He was also given a three-month curfew, and a fresh sexual harm prevention order.
Cop busted: Detective Robert Francis, 46, of Queens, has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of public lewdness, trespassing and child endangerment for allegedly exposing himself to minors

A veteran New York City police detective has been arrested on charges that he exposed and pleasured himself outside the Long Island homes of four teenage girls.

Detective Robert Francis, 46, is charged with multiple counts of public lewdness, trespassing and child endangerment.

After the first three incidents in February, police questioned a registered sex offender.

Rockville Centre Police Commissioner Charles Gennario says that man moved out of the village and the incidents stopped. Then it happened again on Friday night.

Gennario tells Newsday Francis, who has been with the NYPD for 17 years, has expressed remorse and said he was 'going through tough times.'

The veteran detective lives in Queens with his wife and children and works in the 71st Precinct in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Scroll down for video

Familiar script: All the incidents took place in Rockville Centre, NY. In each instance, investigators say Francis would enter someone backyard in the dark, point a flashlight at a window to draw the inhabitants' attention and then point the light at his exposed genitals

The misdemeanor charges against Francis are related to four separate incidents that took place on February 5, February 25 and 27, and March 24.

In each instance, investigators say Francis followed the same script: he would enter someone backyard in the dark, point a flashlight at a window to draw the inhabitants' attention and then point the light at his exposed genitals to show the victim he is masturbating.

In three of the incidents, the victims were girls younger than 16 and the fourth girl was 17 years old.

Francis was apprehended after a suspicious man was reported loitering around a home on Sherman Avenue in Rockville Center on Saturday. Police believe the detective was preparing to strike again when he was detained.

The officer who took the call tracked down Francis and questioned him. The man identified himself as a cop and allegedly confessed to the lewd acts, saying that he had exposed himself in other locations as well, including in Brooklyn, Queens and Suffolk County, reported ABC 7 NY.

He was arrested at 2.30am on Sunday and issued desks appearance tickets.

The NYPD says Francis had his service weapon taken away at the time of his arrest and was suspended without pay, reported WCBS.

Francis was released from custody on Monday pending his next court appearance on April 17.
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The Hollywood mansion owned by Bela Lugosi, the actor who played Count Dracula in the original 1931 film, is on the market for $3million.

Lugosi resided at the stately Tudor home in Beachwood Canyon in the early 1930s - but many of the the features he installed remain in the three-bedroom property.

Though notable celebrities have lived in the home since the actor, it is still known as simply the 'Lugosi House'.

Bela Lugosi, who played Dracula in the classic film, resided at his stately mansion in the early 1930s - which is now on the market for $3 million

Though many notable celebrities have lived in the home since the actor, it is still known as simply the 'Lugosi House'

The spooky reputation of the actor best known for his performance in Count Dracula may be haunting his stately Hollywood manor

Also referred to as the Westshire Manor or Castle La Paloma, the Tudor home is nestled neatly beneath the famous 'Hollywood' sign in Los Angeles

Best estimates put Lugosi at the home between the years of 1934 and 1937, where he lived there with his fourth wife and their enormous dogs - Great Danes and white German shepherd

Also referred to as the Westshire Manor or Castle La Paloma, the Tudor home is nestled neatly beneath the famous 'Hollywood' sign in Los Angeles.

Best estimates put Lugosi at the home between the years of 1934 and 1937, where he lived there with his fourth wife and their enormous dogs - Great Danes and white German shepherd.

Though the sign spelled out 'Hollywoodland' at the time, the couple were known to e enjoy hikes in the sunny Los Angeles weather around the landmark.

Lugosi was best known for his role as Dracula, but he also acted in White Zombie and Plan Nine from Outer Space.

Another resident of the mansion was Kathy Bates, who continued its reputation as a home for spooky actors, as she appeared in 'Misery' and 'American Horror Story'.

Though the sign spelled out 'Hollywoodland' at the time, the couple were known to e enjoy hikes in the sunny Los Angeles weather around the landmark

Wide windows overlooking the Hollywood hills are seen in the spacious home

Although it has been updated with modern features, it does still resemble its vintage roots

Another resident of the mansion was Kathy Bates, who continued its reputation as a home for spooky actors, as she appeared in 'Misery' and 'American Horror Story'

Lugosi was best known for his role as Dracula, but he also acted in White Zombie and Plan Nine from Outer Space

Lugosi appears here in the 1953 docudrama 'Glen or Glenda'

Bates sold the home for less than a million dollars to funny-guy actor Jon Cryer, who appears in 'Two and a Half Men'

The manor was built by architect Frank W Green in 1932, and has been updated with a number of modern furnishings since then

It is complete with a 'ballroom-size living room with stone fireplace, a formal dining room with iron-paned windows, and a library'

In addition to those impressive features it also has a renovated kitchen with Gaggenau appliances

The home also has a heated in-ground spa, outdoor stone shower, a gym, and a wine cellar

However, Bates sold the home for less than a million dollars to funny-guy actor Jon Cryer, who appears in 'Two and a Half Men'.

The manor was built by architect Frank W Green in 1932, and has been updated with a number of modern furnishings since then.

According to Realtor.com, however, the home has maintained many of its vintage features as well.

It is complete with a 'ballroom-size living room with stone fireplace, a formal dining room with iron-paneled windows, and a library.'

In addition to those impressive features it also has a renovated kitchen with Gaggenau appliances, heated in-ground spa, outdoor stone shower, a gym, and a wine cellar.

Not to mention the master suite with marble fireplace, original tile work, mahogany peg-and-groove flooring, and hand-wrought ironwork.

All-in-all, the home has three-bedrooms, two bathrooms, and is 3,484 square feet.

In the 1980s, New York Times bestseller and psychic Sylvia Browne was invited into Lugosi's home with paranormal investigators.

She claims in her 2011 book, Afterlives of the Rich and Famous, she came upon the room where Bela Lugosi's 'earthbound spirit remained'.

He rested in a wooden casket, wrapped in his signature Dracula cape. He looked into Browne's eyes and said: 'You weren't invited.'

Not to mention the master suite with marble fireplace, original tile work, mahogany peg-and-groove flooring, and hand-wrought ironwork

All-in-all, the home has three-bedrooms, two bathrooms, and is 3,484 square feet
An exasperated Sean Spicer insisted on Monday that President Donald Trump doesn't need to apologize to Paul Ryan following a tweet that drove countless eyeballs to a Fox news host as she called on the House speaker to resign

'Judge Jeanine' Pirro started her Saturday evening show by saying Ryan should step down from his leadership post in Congress. The president had tweeted hours earlier telling tens of millions of people to tune in.

'He is a fan of the show. He tweeted out support of it. That's it, plain and simple,' Spicer, the White House press secretary, told reporters during his daily press briefing.

Asked bluntly if Ryan was owed an I'm-sorry, he shot back through an apparently spinach-flecked growl: 'For what? For supporting a show on Fox? No!'

Sean Spicer insisted on Monday that President Donald Trump doesn't need to apologize to Paul Ryan following a tweet that drove countless eyeballs to a Fox news host as she called on the House speaker to resign

Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News commentator known for her avowedly pro-Trump views, called on House Speaker Paul Ryan to step down on Saturday for the Republican health care debacle

President Donald Trump, reeling from his failure to convince Republicans in the House to pass a repeal of Obamacare, plugged Pirro's show

Spicer said Trump and Ryan kept close counsel in the 48 hours following the implosion of the American Health Care Act, the Republicans' legislation that would have repealed and replaced the 2010 Obamacare medical insurance overhaul.

'He and Speaker Ryan talked extensively over the weekend,' he said. 'I don't know if they talked today. I think they talked both Saturday and Sunday at length.'

In her 10-minute opening monologue Saturday night, Pirro blasted Ryan for 'complete and total failure' in getting Republican House members to support the bill.

Pirro said Ryan, not President Donald Trump, must shoulder the blame because the Wisconsin congressman has more experience in politics than the 'outsider' in the Oval Office.

'How could you possibly misjudge this?' an angry Pirro asked of Ryan.

'I certainly have not spoken to the president about any of this, but I can only imagine that he and his aides took on healthcare because they believed you had his back, and you didn't! They didn't even test the waters.'

Pirro said Ryan must shoulder the blame, not President Donald Trump, because the Wisconsin congressman has more experience in politics than 'the outsider' Trump

An embarrassed Ryan confirmed on Friday that his health care bill was pulled from the floor of the House; Pirro said on her Fox News show on Saturday that Ryan 'didn't have President Donald Trump's back'

Pirro said that Ryan 'has got to go' because 'the American people won't forget this and neither should the president.'

Earlier on Saturday, Trump tweeted a teaser, urging his Twitter followers to watch Pirro's show. It had been suggested the show may air information about the Obama administration's alleged spying on his campaign.

That did not happen.

Pirro denied on the air that she spoke with the president before the show.

Nonetheless, her anti-Ryan rant could fuel speculation that Trump is asking his close associates who appear on the Fox News Channel to make statements that reflect the president's thinking.

Publicly, Trump refused to blame Ryan for the failure of the American Health Care Act.

Trump was likely plugging an earlier plug of Pirro's show by Fox & Friends, which promised 'stunning new details' on Trump's wiretapping claims, according to Business Insider reported Oliver Darcy

The president praised the House speaker for 'working very, very hard.'

But privately aides to the president did blame Ryan, according to Bloomberg.

Trump's tweet plugging Pirro's show on Saturday was unusual given that Trump on Saturday tweeted about what he believes is the imminent 'explosion' of Obamacare.

Trump has often cited Fox News and its commentators as his preferred sources of information  most famously when Spicer repeated Judge Andrew Napolitano's claim that British intelligence helped Obama spy on Trump.

That claim has been denied, and Fox News acknowledged it had no information to support Napolitano's claim. Napolitano was pulled off the air by the network.

Pirro is a former judge and district attorney of Westchester County, New York.

Spicer growled at a reporter  through apparently spinach-flecked teeth  when he was asked if the president should apologize to the House speaker

She made unsuccessful bids to run for the U.S. Senate and New York state attorney general as a Republican.

Pirro is an avid supporter of Trump and was rumored to be in line for a cabinet position during the transition.

Trump may have been hoping that Pirro would unearth new revelations to support claims that he was spied on by the Obama administration.

The president initially made the allegation on March 4, when he tweeted: 'Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!'

Thus far, the president has provided no evidence to substantiate the allegation, which is explosive given that it is illegal for a sitting president to order a wiretap on a US citizen.

Thus far, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers say there is no evidence to support the claim.

The FBI and both current and former heads of US intelligence also say the allegation has no merit.

But Trump and his supporters seized on a revelation by House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes, a California Republican, who said last week that the Obama administration may have 'incidentally' collected communications by Trump team members as part of a legal investigation.
Former stripper Ganna Ziuzina, complained she was not given an opportunity to testify at the first inquest into the death of husband Barry Pring. Mr Pring was killed in a hit and run in Kiev

The internet bride linked to the horrific murder of a wealthy British businessman in the Ukraine has won a rare legal bid to overturn the findings of an inquest which implicated her in his death.

A new inquest is to be held into the hit and run killing of Barry Pring after his widow, former stripper Ganna Ziuzina, protested about how the first one was handled.

She complained that she was not given an opportunity to testify at the hearing and about how a key witness was allowed to give hearsay evidence.

The so-called Black Widow added that other new evidence relating to her husbands murder should be considered. Devon coroner Dr Elizabeth Earland has agreed it is in the interests of justice that the findings of the inquest in Exeter are quashed.

She told Mr Prings brother Shaughan in a letter: I understand this must be distressing news for you but I must take this course to ensure justice has been fairly administered.

The dramatic twist comes after Miss Ziuzina, 38, now in a relationship with another rich British businessman, instructed lawyers to seek a judicial review of Januarys inquest.

Her move came after Dr Earland ruled Mr Pring was unlawfully killed after being tricked into waiting in a road for a taxi on the outskirts of Kiev.

Mr Pring (pictured) is believed to have been besotted with Miss Ziuzana, who flew to the UK and tried to move into his London flat after his death. Mr Pring's family were furious when they found out the first inquest had been quashed

The inquest heard that within days Miss Ziuzina  who had been by her husbands side moments before he was run over  flew to the UK and tried to move into his London flat and claim his assets.

Dr Earlands verdict was greeted with relief by Mr Prings family, who spent more than 100,000 trying to find out what happened. But last night they reacted furiously after learning it is to be quashed  and a fresh hearing, overseen by a different coroner, set to take place.

They accused Miss Ziuzina, who has changed her name to Julianna Moore, of snubbing Januarys inquest and making a mockery of the legal system by challenging its findings.

Shaughan Pring, 54, said: It is extremely disappointing that there is going to be a new inquest. We are devastated.

We have been let down by the authorities yet again. For nine years we have campaigned for justice for Barry and this is another kick in the teeth.

Police have previously said they made strenuous efforts to locate Miss Ziuzina before the inquest in January in a bid to make her give evidence.

According to legal papers seen by the Daily Mail, she only became aware of the hearing about five days before it took place.

Last month the Mail revealed how Miss Ziuzina had been awarded 21,000 in legal aid in her battle to receive a major share of IT consultant Mr Prings 1.5million estate  and that the Legal Aid Agency was considering court action to force her to pay the cash back.

Devon-born Mr Pring, 47, is said to have been besotted with Miss Ziuzina, then 29, despite his friends fears that she was a gold-digger'. His death was upgraded to a murder inquiry after the case was exposed by the Mail in 2011

Details of the payout emerged a few weeks after an inquest heard the cold Ukrainian internet bride murdered Mr Pring for his money in 2008.

The coroner was told Miss Ziuzina led her husband to the edge of a dual carriageway on the outskirts of Kiev after their first wedding anniversary dinner to hail a taxi. She then went back inside the restaurant to collect a pair of gloves.

Moments later Mr Pring, from Battersea, south-west London, was killed instantly by a speeding vehicle with no headlights on and stolen number plates.

Devon-born Mr Pring, 47, is said to have been besotted with Miss Ziuzina, then 29, despite his friends fears that she was a gold-digger.

His death was treated by Ukrainian police as a traffic accident before being upgraded to a murder inquiry after the case and its bungled investigation were exposed by the Mail in 2011.

The Ukrainian police investigation has been dogged by allegations of corruption, incompetence and a cover-up. UK detectives are unable to travel to Ukraine to investigate without the agreement of their counterparts there.

Legal sources believe several people, including a relative and close friend of the Black Widow, may have been involved in the murder plot and subsequent cover up.

Miss Ziuzina has denied any involvement in Mr Prings death but did not give evidence at the inquest. She has not commented publicly since the hearing.
Fruit and vegetables could be an unlikely casualty of Cyclone Debbie, with almost all of Australia's tomato and capsicum supply forecast to be hit by the 'monster' storm.

As the Category 4 storm barrels towards the Queensland coast, farmers are rushing to protect their crops - which lie directly in the firing line.

Agricultural experts have warned that 95 per cent of the nation's winter supply of tomatoes and capsicums are made in Bowen, where Debbie is expected to make landfall on Tuesday with wind speeds of up to 275km/h.

If the crops are wiped out, shoppers will likely take a huge hit as the price of fruit and vegetables skyrocket.

Fruit and vegetables could be an unlikely casualty of Cyclone Debbie. Satellite image shows the storm off the Queensland coast

Almost all of Australia's tomato and capsicum (file picture) supply is forecast to be hit by the 'monster' storm

If the crops are wiped out, shoppers will likely take a huge hit as the price of fruit and vegetables skyrocket (file picture)

Bowen Gumlu Growers Association Industry Development Officer Cherry Emeric said prices would undoubtedly rise if the farms are hit by the cyclone.

'I suspect that the prices probably would go up. [The growers have] been planting up to February so they've probably got 15 to 20 per cent of the crop planted,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

She added that prices of capsicums and tomatoes would likely go up at the end of May or the beginning of June if crops are destroyed.

'If we can't pick it's a roll-on effect. We have a lot of backpackers, a lot of locals. It's tourism, it's our local community. It would be pretty catastrophic,' she said.

'Roughly between 15 and 20 per cent of planting is in the ground. That crop will be picked at the end of May. If we get a lot of rain after this that's going to provide a lot of problems.'

Ms Emeric added: 'I know a lot of people are very, very anxious and they have taken this cyclone very seriously.'

It is not just tomatoes and capsicum crops that could be destroyed. Mangoes, melons, macadamia nuts, chillies, coffee and sugar cane are also grown near Bowen.

Thousands of people - including scores of backpackers - work on the farms and agriculture is said to be worth $450million to the local economy.

Thousands of people have been urged to evacuate as the storm approaches. Cyclone Debbie is seen from above from the International Space Station

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that Cyclone Debbie (pictured off the coast) will be the most severe storm to hit the state in years

The cyclone has slowed and is now forecast to hit the coast at about midday local time

Burdekin, Proserpine and Mackay - which are all forecast to be hit by the storm as it barrels down the coast - produce half of the nation's sugar cane.

The 17.5million tonnes of cane it produced last year was worth $850million, according to industry body Canegrowers.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that Cyclone Debbie will be the most severe storm to hit the state since 2011's Cyclone Yasi.

That storm wiped out 75 per cent of the country's banana crop and caused the price of the fruit to surge to $15/kg in supermarkets.

Cyclone Larry, in 2006, wiped out up to 90 per cent of bananas and led to their price increasing by nearly 500 per cent.

More than 25,000 people in northern Queensland have been urged to evacuate as the storm rolls in.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warned that wind speeds could hit 275km/h as the cyclone makes landfall.

The storm was initially predicted to reach the coast early on Tuesday morning but it has slowed somewhat and is now due to hit at about 12pm local time.

Two Townsville residents are seen walking along a wooden walkway at sunset at Kissing Point, Townsville as Cyclone Debbie approaches the North Queensland coast

Storm clouds gather in the town of Ayr in far north Queensland as Cyclone Debbie approaches

The impact of rough surf in the North Queensland coastal city of Mackay, which is bracing for the impact of Cyclone Debbie

The 'very destructive core' of the cyclone hit the Whitsunday Islands on Tuesday morning with 260km/h gusts, BOM said.

Wind speeds have already reached 125km/h between Ayr and Midge Point, where the storm is forecast to make landfall.

In the early hours of Tuesday, 'destructive winds' had ripped through Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island, with Bowen and Proserpine experiencing 'strong gale force winds'.

Residents in the low-lying areas of Mackay were told on Monday afternoon 'the time for people to move is now' amid warnings of a 'monster' cyclone.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urged Queenslanders to stay calm and predicted the state's encounter with the huge tropical storm would be 'tough'.

'It's going to be a long night,' she warned.

'It could take up to 18 hours for this core to pass. This is a destructive cyclone. Make no mistake.'

Ms Palaszczuk has also said authorities were 'very concerned' about the potential surge in Mackay, which forecasters warn could be as high as 2.5 metres above the highest astronomical tide.

'This is probably the largest evacuation we've ever had to do,' she told Ten News.

'This is going to be a monster of a cyclone.'
He has played a mutant with superhuman abilities, the captain of the Starship Enterprise and Macbeth, but fans of Patrick Stewart are now hoping the classically trained actor will take on his most difficult role to date.

After seeing a photo of Stewart in drag from last year, many on social media are urging Saturday Night Live to cast the British thespian as President Trump's White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.

That would make for the third member of President Trump's team to be played by a member of the opposite sex, with Melissa McCarthy doing guest appearances as Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Kate McKinnon playing Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

McKinnon also currently plays Conway.

He's got the look: Many on social media are urging Saturday Night Live to have Sir Patrick Stewart (left in April 2016) play Kellyanne Conway (right in November)

Leading lady: Conway is currently played by Kate McKinnon on SNL (above McKinnon with Alec Baldwin as president Trump)

Stewart was photographed in drag last April during an event for his Starz comedy 'Blunt Talk.'

He appeared in drag on an episode of the show's second season, and said at the time: 'I think I looked rather glamorous.'

Stewart also admitted that his wife had to lend him a helping hand to walk around in his heels.

Soon after the episode aired last year people began to comment on the likeness between the two, with calls for Stewart to stop by Saturday Night Live.

Stewart dressed in drag for his show 'Blunt Talk'

Then, on Monday, a Reddit user posted a screen grab that showed the photo of Stewart in drag appearing in a Google Image search for Conway.

There has been no word from Saturday Night Live or Stewart about a possible appearance, and Conway has not commented on the social media comments comparing the two.

She did however speak with TMZ over the weekend about her favorite Saturday Night Live skit this season, revealing it was the 'Day Off' sketch.

In that sketch, Conway (played by McKinnon) admits to CNN anchor Jake Tapper that President Trump is crazy.

'It's charming, Conway said of McKinnon's impression of her on the show.
Theresa May flatly dismissed Nicola Sturgeon's incendiary demands for a fresh independence referendum today as the leaders held frost Brexit talks.

After the tense talks broke up, Miss Sturgeon said the meeting was 'business like' but 'cordial'.

While a beaming Miss Sturgeon left by the front exit of the hotel afterwards, Mrs May slipped out by the back door for an immediate return to London.

Just days before Brexit is formally triggered, the PM and the First Minister held a crucial showdown in Glasgow's Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Despite slightly awkward smiles for the sole photographer allowed in for the start of the hour-long meeting, the sparks are thought to have flown in private after a bitter slanging match over recent weeks.

Unusually there was no on-camera handshake - a routine pleasantry at most encounters between dignitaries - and body language analyst Judi James cast an eye over the proceedings for MailOnline.

The PM was all about the power-posing, sitting squarely in her seat and splaying to suggest status, with her legs uncrossed and both elbows on the arms of her chair. Nicola Sturgeon crossing her leg away from May suggested a desire to make an escape and although she placed one elbow on the arm of the chair closest to the Prime Minister, which is an act of appeasement that suggests she is still keen to listen to the Tory leader.

The Prime Minister and First Minister both arrived at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Glasgow for their talks this afternoon as Mrs May completed as the final stop on her pre-Article 50 tour.

At one point both women used a hand clasp that involved meshed fingers but whereas May's fingers were held almost straight, showing a lack of tension, Sturgeon's were bent tight, showing the amount of effort she was putting into the 'smile and wave' poses

Unlike May's quasi-submissive rituals the first time they met, when she allowed Sturgeon to look very much the host and the person in charge, this time the PM was all about the power-posing, sitting squarely in her seat and splaying to suggest status, with her legs uncrossed and both elbows on the arms of her chair. While Sturgeon was pursed and crossed May's pose was all about confidence and power. Her smiles held a hint of genuine, relaxed humour that gave her a sense of parental authority

After Trump's sulky teenager put-down of Angela Merkel in The Oval Office, this polite, smiling and even - at times - heavily mirrored body language performance between May and Sturgeon should have been signaling that these two alpha females had a grudging soft-spot for one another despite their political animosity.

However, frosty best describes it, as - although not quite Bette Davis and Joan Crawford at loggerheads - these tight smiles and vacant stares were certainly reminiscent of Mapp and Lucia at their warring best.

Miss Sturgeon was still smiling as she left the Crowne Plaza by the front exit after the meeting in Glasgow. Mrs May is thought to have been slipped out by the back door

Last time May and Sturgeon met it was all about the handshake.

May performed a lowering ritual to suggest a desire to bond and although Sturgeon appeared to have her in a vice-like grip both women's smiles suggested they were prepared to put any power-play nonsense to one side and get down to some even-handed debate and discussion.

A few weeks down the line though and they look well past the stage of pretending to be chums.

With their chairs turned in towards one another and down the window end of a rather narrow room they were forced into adopting similar poses on their chairs, although intrinsically their subtler signals couldn't have been more different.

A smiling Sturgeon looked tense and rather anxious.

Crossing her leg away from May suggested a desire to make an escape and although she placed one elbow on the arm of the chair closest to the Prime Minister, which is an act of appeasement that suggests she is still keen to listen to the Tory leader.

Her smile ranged from a tiny, tense mouth-pucker with an oddly raised chin that suggested indignation or frustration to a wider but very rigid performed smile that looked frosty and lacking in genuine warmth.

Unlike May's quasi-submissive rituals the first time they met, when she allowed Sturgeon to look very much the host and the person in charge, this time the PM was all about the power-posing, sitting squarely in her seat and splaying to suggest status, with her legs uncrossed and both elbows on the arms of her chair.

While Sturgeon was pursed and crossed May's pose was all about confidence and power.

Her smiles held a hint of genuine, relaxed humour that gave her a sense of parental authority.

At one point, Mrs May gazed out of the window of the cramped hotel room meeting in Glasgow

The talks between the leaders today are being held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Glasgow

While both women looked superficially mirrored which can suggest like-mindedness the underlying signals suggest the opposite.

At one point both women used a hand clasp that involved meshed fingers but whereas May's fingers were held almost straight, showing a lack of tension, Sturgeon's were bent tight, showing the amount of effort she was putting into the 'smile and wave' poses.

The lack of a handshake said it all, really.

The shake is the classic sign of rapport and a desire for co-operation but it seems neither woman was keen to perform the ritual if their heart wasn't in it.

Fortunately there was none of the nonsense poor Angela had to go through with Trump where she found herself asking for a shake while he ignored and rejected her.

May and Sturgeon did no dithering about or sideways glances to suggest a shake might have been on the cards at all, hinting they'd already agreed off-stage to scrap that particular ritual.

Once the cameras pulled back both women dropped the rigid smiles and May's hands appeared to droop.

And then came the frostiest moment of all.

While Sturgeon sat with her pursed smile, and during the kind of moment when you could expect to see the women chatting, May appeared to turn behind Sturgeon and stare out the window almost as though Sturgeon wasn't there, smiling all the time just in case she looked anything other than polite.

The act of ignoring her must have felt even more chilly in their confined space.
Carlisle Police are warning residents after it said there was no validity to a Facebook post's allegation against a man in the borough.

Police said they received a report from a woman about 7 p.m. Sunday that she was approached by a black Mitsubishi Galant on March 18 while walking. She said the driver attempted to pull her into the vehicle, saying they were going to have sex.

On Sunday, she said she again saw the same vehicle following her in the area of North Pitt Street and West Penn Street, and she took a photo of the vehicle and the license plate, which she provided to police.

However, after reporting the incident to police, they said she posted her experience on Facebook, attaching the photo of the vehicle and a photo of a man listed on the Megan's Law registry, whom she believed was the man involved.

Police said they are still investigating the incident, but noted they do not believe the man the Facebook post accuses is involved in the incident. Police said they do not believe he has any involvement, nor any association with the vehicle or person involved.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer appeared to have bitten off more than he could chew with his latest press conference, which he apparently hosted with food between his teeth.

Eagle-eyed web users spotted what appeared to be a fragment of a green leaf between the embattled press secretary's bottom teeth.

As Spicer addressed the press about Trump's battles with sanctuary cities, social media exploded with hilarious tweets and pictures.

Distracted: Viewers were distracted during Sean Spicer's Monday press conference - which discussed sanctuary cities - when they noticed he had food between his teeth

Lettuce? There was speculation online as to exactly what item of food Spicer had failed to pick out of his teeth before making the press conference before potentially millions of viewers

Cartoon: Perhaps it was spinach that Spicer had been chewing, some suggested - although it wasn't his eyes that were popping at the sight of the ugly dark mass

Gummed up: Spicer was mocked in January for admitting that he chews and swallows 35 pieces of gum every day - and came in for another round of gags Monday

Parody: Several Twitter users that Melissa McCarthy's next appearance as Spicer on Saturday Night Live would feature her with a leaf hanging out of her mouth

Actor Jim Carrey joined in the mockery in a now-deleted tweet, the NY Post reported.

He is said to have written: 'The rotting food in @PressSec Sean Spicers teeth is distracting and makes it hard to absorb todays WH misinformation.'

Carrey should know - his character Ace Ventura joked about having 'something in my teeth' while hanging a salad's worth of green beans from his mouth in the movie Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.

In the conference, Spicer addressed - among other things - the resistance by some sanctuary cities to Trump's campaign to deport illegal immigrants.

He claimed that 'countless' Americans had died due to criminal immigrants who had not been deported, but did not give any concrete statistics to back up that claim.

Press leak? This user had harsh words for Spicer, who spoke about healthcare and sanctuary cities at the conferece

Tongue tied: This user recalled Spicer's unfortunate and much-mocked decision to wear a bright green tie on St Patrick's Day

Mouthful: Spicer's worth as a press secretary was called into question by many viewers, who suggested that he dodged questions rather than engage with them

Sucker for pun-ishment: This user deployed a pun and an emoji to point out some unfortunate phrasing given Spicer's half-chewed food
A grieving husband has criticised hospital bosses after he had to wait more than four years to hear the truth about his wife's death at the hands of blundering medics.

Schoolteacher Frances Cappuccini, 30, died after giving birth to her second son when doctors botched her caesarean and anaesthetic.

Tonight her husband Tom, 37, said: 'It was inevitable that somebody was going to die at that hospital.'

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Schoolteacher Frances Cappuccini, 30, died after giving birth to her second son when doctors botched her caesarean and anaesthetic

Tonight her husband Tom, 37, said: 'It was inevitable that somebody was going to die at that hospital.'

An inquest this year finally revealed doctors had ignored procedures and made devastating errors before Mrs Cappuccini died at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in 2012.

In a damning verdict, the coroner ruled an anaesthetist had removed her breathing tube too early and medics had failed to spot she was suffering from the deadly blood condition sepsis.

Speaking for the first time about his family's ordeal, father-of-two Mr Cappuccini today said the trust had held back information about why his young wife had died.

He said: 'The trust made it very, very difficult to get any documentation of any kind, from witness statements to the serious investigation report, to just anything - anything even you know things that weren't significant they were reluctant to give us, let alone things that were significant that went missing.

'Several instances of that and you know it was infuriating because at the time all I wanted to know was what the hell am I going to tell my children, what am I going to tell my family.'

The widower also dismissed the hospital trust's admission that his wife's death was 'avoidable', adding; 'I think it's the wrong word to use. It wasn't avoidable - it was inevitable.

'Someone was going to die. It's just unfortunate it happened to us.' Mr Cappuccini told Channel 4 News he thought his wife had died because doctors had not spotted she was suffering from sepsis.

An inquest this year finally revealed doctors had ignored procedures and made devastating errors before Mrs Cappuccini (pictured) died at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in 2012

He said: 'I think I'm 99.9 per cent certain it started with the sepsis and then every event after that where things should have been picked up and should have been dealt with unfortunately mistakes were made all the way along.'

The Daily Mail launched its 'End the Sepsis Scandal' campaign a year ago to raise awareness about the 'silent killer' which hits an estimated 200,000 people a year.

Mrs Cappuccini - whose primary school pupils affectionately called Mrs Coffee - had been 'anxious and frightened' after the traumatic birth of her first son and had been expecting a C-section when her waters broke.

However she was persuaded by midwives to try for a natural birth, before having to have an emergency c-section following a torturous 12-hour labour.

Surgeons then botched the operation - leaving a chunk of placenta inside her which triggered a huge bleed as she started to breastfeed her new born son Giacomo.

As she was rushed away to surgery, she told her husband: 'If anything happens, look after the boys'.

Heartbroken: Frances' family leaving the inquest in January after saying in a statement: 'At least today, after over four years, the truth is acknowledged

But she did not wake up from the general anaesthetic and suffered a cardiac arrest after an anaesthetist removed her breathing tube too early.

Mr Cappuccini said: 'I placed a lot of blame on myself - I still do - a lot of blame on myself for not being more forceful, more aggressive with the midwives when I first got there and insisting more that we had the C-section.

'So to then imagine her waking up and being unable to breathe by herself and being conscious at the time for me - oh my God - for me I can't even put into words how that made me feel.

'I loved her to bits. I don't know how else to put it. I would have done anything for her. I would do anything to change what has happened, absolutely anything.' When he was told his wife had died, he said he collapsed to the floor, adding: 'It was devastating. Completely ripped me apart.'

He said he did not sleep for weeks, but had to keep going, adding: 'This was about Frankie. It was about getting justice for her.'

Mr Cappuccini said: 'I don't understand how out of all the doctors and all of the nurses there that day, how no one was able to pick up on the sepsis. To me, that's basic stuff.' He said he was still getting messages of congratulations about the arrival of their second son after his wife died.

Mrs Cappuccini, 30, died at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Pembury, Kent, pictured

He said: 'It's taken a lot longer for me to start grieving than in any other situation. And it's the impact, you're not prepared for it at all.'

The inquest came a year after a criminal trial collapsed and gross negligence manslaughter charges were dropped against Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and two doctors.

One of those doctors  anaesthetist Dr Nadeem Azeez  should have been under supervision after nearly killing another mother months before.

He is now thought to be living in his native Pakistan after fleeing the UK before he was charged.

The Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust yesterday said: 'We have acknowledged that Frances' death was avoidable and we have made significant changes as a direct result of the aspects of her care which did not meet the standards we would expect.'

A spokesman said the circumstances of Mrs Cappuccini's' death had been extensively explored and said time it took to determine what happened was outside their control due to legal proceedings.
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The rows of pens and hutches could not be more removed from the storybook idea of farm life.

This site, effectively a battery farm for calves, is used to rear cows that will go on to supply milk to leading supermarkets including Marks & Spencer.

Welfare law states that cows should only be reared in these solitary hutches for up to eight weeks of age. But the calves captured in these images are significantly older  making this practice potentially illegal.

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Oversized: Row upon row of cramped hutches fill this Dorset field, and these cows look far too big to easily fit through the entrances to their shelters

No room to roam: Calves kept in solitary pens a Grange Dairy in Dorset, which is now being investigated for potentially breaking welfare law

Cramped: The Holstein calves, raised at Grange Dairy in Winfrith Newburgh will be sent to other farms to join a dairy herd

What is clear from the pictures is the calves are too large for the hutches.

They struggle to bend to get inside the cramped shelters when they need protection from the cold and rain. This has left some of them with grazes on their backs.

The Holstein calves, raised at Grange Dairy in Winfrith Newburgh, near Dorchester, Dorset, will be sent to other farms to join a dairy herd.

Once they are old enough to calve, their milk will be supplied to supermarkets across the country.

The farm belongs to J F Cobb & Sons, which has been run by the Cobb family in Dorset since 1928. It is part of a group of farms that supplies 240,000 pints of milk to the high street every day.

Trading standards officers confirmed the calves are older than eight weeks, based on information on their ear tags, and have begun an investigation.

Bosses at M&S have also carried out an audit of the disappointing revelations.

Revealed: Cows reared by this farm supply milk to Marks & Spencer

Isolated: A calf can barely move inside the restrictive shelter

The welfare group Animal Equality UK, which captured these pictures, claim some of the calves are up to six months old. This is denied by M&S and the farm, but both refused to give the age.

Animal Equality director, Dr Toni Shephard, said: Seeing row after row of baby calves alone in tiny pens, when they should naturally still be with their mothers, is truly heartbreaking. But realising that some of these young female cows have been confined like this for months on end without exercise or companionship is shocking.

UK law recognises how important social interaction is for calves and restricts solitary housing to just eight weeks. Yet on this farm we found calves that were several months old in pens on their own.

Some of the calves have scratches on their backs from scraping against the roof of their hutches

We are calling on retailers, including M&S, to break ties with this supplier immediately.

Marks & Spencer said: We are very disappointed to see these images; any breach of our standards is completely unacceptable.

Our experts are on site and working with the farm to take immediate action and all necessary steps to address the situation. We work hard to uphold the highest welfare standards.

Once they are old enough to calve, their milk will be supplied to supermarkets across the country

The JF Cobb & Sons website, which has an RSPCA endorsement, reads: All our energy is focused on keeping our cows comfortable and healthy.

Partner Nick Cobb said: We work closely with vets and industry welfare experts to establish the best approach to looking after our animals and our health and welfare performance is industry-leading.

There is no suggestion that the health and welfare of our animals has been compromised.
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What was once the most luxurious and coveted way to travel across the United States has been deemed unnecessary by President Trump, and are set to become a fatality of his transportation budget cuts.

The Amtrak trains which shuttle passengers across the country for the mere price of $213 will be discontinued - and passengers won't have much longer to see the breathtaking sights the journey offers.

Beautiful images have surfaced documenting the California Zephyr cross-country route, which in of themselves, tell the story of this once-revered method of transportation.

Once the most luxurious way to travel across the United States - the California Zephyr train has been deemed frivolous by President Trump under his new budget proposals

Marking 34 years of service this year, the Amtrak train leaves Emeryville, California every morning. The Zephyr's ultimate destination, 51 hours later, is Chicago.

Service with a smile: Between Sacramento and Reno, a five-hour trip, it follows the same course as the historic Transcontinental Railroad, according to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento

The rail path through the mountains was a 19th century engineering feat that bolstered the nation's western expansion.

Despite many of the gorgeous vistas, the route along the tracks showcases the all facets of American life

A hundred and forty-four years after the Transcontinental Railroad's completion, train-loving children and picture-happy tourists pack the train's observation car to take in the Sierra Nevada and the mountain passage known as Donner Pass

Prior to federally subsidized Amtrak taking over the route in 1983, the California Zephyr was privately run by three train corporations

Every day, the California Zephyr runs the 2,438-mile trip to Emeryville/San Francisco from Chicago that takes roughly 52 hours.

The route can also be taken cross-country to New York City if passengers transfer at the Chicago station.

When originating in San Francisco, the train's first stop travels the three hours to Salt Lake City, Utah.

En route in that direction, passengers can enjoy the beautiful mountain views and lush forests.

From 1949 to 1970, the so-called 'Silver Lady' boasted five sightseeing cars topped by semi-circular glass domes, with fine china and real silver in the dining cars.

It also featured young hostesses in uniform, known as Zephyrettes, tasked with making the trip between Chicago and California more pleasant

The route can also be taken cross-country to New York City if passengers transfer at the Chicago station

The original train traveled a different eastward route through California and Nevada on its way to Salt Lake City called the Feather River Route, which did not offer views of the bays north of San Francisco

From Salt Lake City to Chicago, the routes of the original Zephyr and the modern Amtrak trains remain the same

One passenger who took the route all the way across the country said in a blog post that when the train reached Sacramento, an expert from the California State Railroad museum came aboard to give passengers live information about the scenery they were viewing.

The train passes by Donner Lake, which is the scene of the historic Donner party, where a group of new American pioneers became stranded in the winter of 1846.

Having set off in the popular method of travel at the time, a wagon train, they became off-route and got lost.

The construction of the Transcontinental Railroad over Donner Pass got under way after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act of 1862

The train passes by Donner Lake, which is the scene of the historic Donner party, where a group of new American pioneers became stranded in the winter of 1846

Of the group of 87 people, many resorted to cannibalism to make it through the winter, and only 48 survived

As the train chugs along across the country, it offers a unique experience to witness a broad range of environments

It took six years and the labor of more than 12,000 Chinese workers who laid track eastward from Sacramento, according to the Harvard University Library

Of the group of 87 people, many resorted to cannibalism to make it through the winter, and only 48 survived.

As the train chugs along throughout the Midwest, it offers a unique experience to witness a broad range of environments.

Lakes turn to forests and become plains, which give way to mountains - and passengers aboard the Zephyr get to see them all up close and personal.

The Transportation Department budget Trump is proposing would shave $2.4 billion from existing, successfully cutting the funding for the beloved Zephyr route, which weaves its way from Chicago to California

The steep cuts come as a Trump-created task force is identifying projects and looking for ways to fund $1 trillion in new infrastructure spending

Trump's new budget 'limits funding for the Federal Transit Administration's Capital Investment Program' to projects with 'existing full funding grant agreements only'

Open Collections Program. The Central Pacific Railroad blasted 15 tunnels through the Sierra Nevada, and the Union Pacific Railroad laid rails heading west from Omaha

The Transportation Department budget Trump is proposing would shave $2.4 billion from existing, successfully cutting the funding for the beloved Zephyr route, which weaves its way from Chicago to California.

The steep cuts come as a Trump-created task force is identifying projects and looking for was to fund $1 trillion in new infrastructure spending. The White House has said it wants to rely on 'public-private partnerships' to provide funds.

Trump's new budget 'limits funding for the Federal Transit Administration's Capital Investment Program' to projects with 'existing full funding grant agreements only.'

Finally in 1869, the 1,776 miles (2,858 kilometers) of track, one from the east and the other from the west, joined together in Promontory Summit, Utah, and the Transcontinental Railroad was born

The budget 'restructures and reduces Federal subsidies to Amtrak to focus resources on the parts of the passenger rail system that provide meaningful transportation options within regions'

Another section states that the budget kills funding for the 'Essential Air Service' program, which subsidizes commercial air service to rural airports

Though many of the views are breathtaking, the journey is deemed too long by many who opt simply to get the plane

Some of the cuts are to focus on national programs rather than those with regional benefits, Yahoo News reported.

Amtrak funds would be directed toward the more profitable Northeast Corridor.

The budget 'restructures and reduces Federal subsidies to Amtrak to focus resources on the parts of the passenger rail system that provide meaningful transportation options within regions,' it says.

Close quarters are a staple in the overnight trains, which provide cots for passengers aboard

The trains also employ communal lunch, as there are not enough seats for all passengers to have their own table

Elk are seen as Amtrak's California Zephyr passes by on its daily 2,438-mile trip to Emeryville/San Francisco from Chicago that takes roughly 52 hours on March 24, 2017 in Denver, United States

The Zephyr is seen aerially here on its route as it passes through Truckee, California

Amtrak's California Zephyr rolls along the rails during its daily 2,438-mile trip to Emeryville/San Francisco from Chicago that takes roughly 52 hours on March 24, 2017 in Glenwood Springs, United States

'The Budget terminates Federal support for Amtrak's long distance train services, which have long been inefficient and incur the vast majority of Amtrak's operating losses.

'This would allow Amtrak to focus on better managing its State-supported and Northeast Corridor train services,' it says.

Another section states that the budget kills funding for the 'Essential Air Service' program, which subsidizes commercial air service to rural airports.

Captions taken from 2013 Associated Press story: 'Scenic historic route for California Zephyr train'
A Philadelphia Eagles player made an off season move one fan will never forget.

Brandon Brooks, the Eagles offensive lineman, surprised diehard Birds fan Geoffrey Lane on Saturday when he attended his wedding in Oxford, Ohio - even though they had never met before.

'I thought that there was about a 1 per cent chance he would acknowledge receipt of the invitation,' Lane told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Eagles offensive lineman Brandon Brooks (left) and a guest appear next to Marni and Geoffrey Lane after attending their wedding in Oxford, Ohio, on Saturday

Marni and Geoffrey Lane (pictured) invited Brooks to their wedding on a whim in January

But Brooks couldn't pass on the opportunity because of Lane's passion for the team and their shared alma mater, Miami University.

Lane his now-wife Marni Goldberg invited Brooks to their wedding on a whim back in January.

Last week, Brooks announced he'd be attending the wedding by sharing the invitation on Twitter.

Lane received a reply from Brooks shortly thereafter to say that he would be in attendance, but he was still surprised to see the 6-foot-5 lineman walking toward the church.

Brooks announced he'd be attending the wedding by sharing the invitation on Twitter

Lane was still surprised to see the 6-foot-5 lineman walking toward the church on Saturday

Brooks couldn't pass on the opportunity because of Lane's passion for the team

Lane and Brooks (center) attended Miami University in Ohio

Matthew Lane (right), Geoffrey's cousin, said Brooks stayed for more than two hours

Mark Hayden (right), Geoffrey's cousin, and his mother (left) pose with Brooks (center)

'I was pretty shocked,' admitted Lane to CBS Philly. 'Everyone kind of hopes this happens and then you also prepare yourself for the realities that its a tough trip to make from Philadelphia, and then you kind of pinch yourself when hes there and you say to yourself, "Wow, he actually made it".'

Matthew Lane, Geoffreys cousin, said Brooks attended the ceremony and reception to talk with other attendees for more than two hours.

'He shook everyone's hand that came up, talked to anyone and took pictures,' said Lane. 'He was like one of the guys - he fit right in.'

Geoffrey Lane said he spoke with Brooks and hopes this encounter will lead to a friendship.

'Id like to think that when you attend someones wedding your friends for life, right? So maybe down the road we'll connect again,' he said.
There are some clashes which capture the public's imagination, like Muhammad Ali against George Foreman or England against Germany.

But on Monday night a new type of battle sent social media into a frenzy, when Eric Monkman guided his team to a place in this year's University Challenge final.

Monkman captained his team from Wolfson College, Cambridge to a 170 to 140 victory over Emmanuel College, led by Bobby Seagull.

The 29-year-old has become the stand-out-star of University Challenge 2017 for his iconic frown and bellowing voice.

Fans on Twitter have described him as the 'most intense contestant ever'.

Eric Monkman (pictured left) has gathered a cult following for his passionate answers and bellowing voice, but faced a stiff challenge from Bobby Seagull (pictured right)

Despite a late rally by Emmanuel Wolfson was able to hold out to win 170 to 140

Monkman led from the front throughout the half-an-hour programme, hosted by Jeremy Paxman.

He quickly helped Wolfson to become the dominant team, despite a late rally by Emmanuel - and Bobby Seagull's dapper suit.

Even Jeremy Paxman looked disappointed to have to bring the general knowledge bonanza to an end.

He said to both teams: 'I will say only that you guys - all of you, of whatever gender - are very, very clever.'

Paxman was clearly impressed by both teams, saying that they were all 'very, very clever'

The battle of the boffins was widely celebrated on social media.

Karl Cunliffe posted on Twitter: 'If the government steps in and makes Monkman and Seagull pay per view they might be able to clear the national debt.'

Mark Emyln Evans posted: 'SEAGULL vs MONKMAN tonight on University Challenge is bigger than Alien vs Predator and Batman vs Superman COMBINED'

Twitter delighted in the eccentricity on display with all the University Challenge contestants

Some wondered if the pair couldn't team up to help run the country

Hyperbole abounded as Twitter users made #UniversityChallenge trend

There were some particularly inspired memes to go along with the brain-draining semi-final

Despite the brain-draining semi-final, which was the closest in twelve years, Bobby Seagull and Eric Monkman were on good terms after it was over.

Bobby Seagull tweeted: 'Well done my friends @WolfsonCam on getting through to the grand final of #UniversityChallenge!'

Despite the loss Bobby Seagull was full of congratulations for Wolfson on their victory
A Sydney schoolgirl has called on the government to allow her refugee father to come to Australia to be with his family.

Zaharah (not her real name) who is a Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, has not seen her father Nayser in almost four years.

Her father has spent the last three and half years in limbo at the Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea.

The family was split up when they were forced to board separate asylum-seeker boats from Indonesia bound for Australia in 2013.

A Sydney schoolgirl (pictured of the Year 12 student) has called on the government to allow her refugee father to come to Australia to be with his family

The Year 12 student has not seen her refugee father Nayser (pictured) in almost four years

Only 11 people could fit in the van which took them to the boat and her father was the 12th person, so the driver said he couldn't get in, Zaharah said.

The year 12 student has been in Canberra on Monday and Tuesday to urge federal MPs to lobby Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to use his ministerial discretion to allow her father, who has refugee status, to come to Australia.

Both Labor and the coalition governments have maintained no refugees will be settled in Australia if they arrived by boat after July 19, 2013.

Her father arrived after this deadline, unlike the rest of the family.

Zaharah loves life in Australia, enjoys studying maths at school and wants to study pharmacy at university.

But her heart aches for her dad, who used to help her with her homework - and dinner has been the hardest part of the day for the girl.

'I miss his smile, I miss his voice, I miss his walk,' she said.

'We would always eat dinner together as a family - we rarely missed one for as long as I can remember. Now, dinner time is hard.'

Zaharah loves Australia, enjoys maths at school and wants to study pharmacy at university

Her toddler niece was born in Australia and has never met her grandfather.

'He talks to her on the phone and tells her he wants to hug her,' Zaharah said.

While her father might be eligible to resettle in America under the upcoming US resettlement deal, Zaharah says it's unclear whether her family would be able to go too.

They are already rebuilding their lives in Australia and don't want to start all over again.

The 1.3 million Rohingya population is effectively stateless because they have no citizenship status in Myanmar.

Violence against Rohingyas at the hands of extremist Buddhists and the military has led to greater unrest in the past five years.
A furious mom has blasted the TSA officers who she says gave her disabled son an 'unnecessary' and 'horrifying' pat-down in a Dallas airport on Sunday.

Jennifer Williamson says that her son Aaron, who has sensory processing disorder, was detained for more than an hour at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport despite not setting off the metal detector.

And although she asked the TSA agent not to perform a pat-down, saying it would upset the boy, the agent went through with it anyway.

Williamson then recorded the 'traumatizing' incident in a video that has now been seen more than 1.5 million times.

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'Horrifying': Mom Jennifer Williamson filmed her son Aaron being patted down at DFW Airport in Dallas on Sunday. Aaron's disability mean he can't properly process the sensation of touch

'Traumatized': Williamson (left) says Aaron (right) was 'traumatized' and that the TSA agents were punishing them because she asked for other methods, not pat-downs

The video shows Aaron, red-faced, being patted down slowly over the course of two minutes by a TSA officer.

Sometimes the agent appears to pat the boy on areas that he has already checked.

In a Facebook post, Williamson said that she and Aaron were punished and made to wait 'well over an hour' because she asked the TSA agents to respect Aaron's condition.

Denied: The TSA said that the family were only held for 35 minutes on Sunday, not the 'more than an hour' Williamson claimed, and that the TSA agent was observed by his boss

'We were treated like dogs because I requested they attempt to screen him in other ways per TSA rules,' she said,

'He has SPD and I didn't want my child given a pat down like this.'

In sensory processing disorder, sensations are improperly registered or processed by the nervous system, which can result in discomfort or inappropriate responses to being touched.

'Let me make something else crystal clear,' Williamson added, 'He set off NO alarms. He physically did not alarm at all during screening, he passed through the detector just fine.

'He is still several hours later saying "I don't know what I did. What did I do?" I am livid.'

She also said that the exchange continued beyond the video, when two DFW [Dallas/Fort Worth] officers were called in and 'flanked' Aaron on each side.

'Somehow these power tripping TSA agents who are traumatizing children and doing whatever they feel like without any cause, need to be reined in,' she concluded.

The TSA told the Dallas News that the two officers had been called in to help reassure Williamson.

'The video shows a male TSA officer explaining the procedure to the passenger, who fully cooperates,' the agency said.

'Afterward, the TSA officer was instructed by his supervisor, who was observing, to complete the final step of the screening process.'

'Livid': Williamson said she was 'livid' after the event, and asked people to share the video. It had received more than 1.5 million views by Monday afternoon

It also said that the family were kept at the gate for 35 minutes, not the 'well over an hour' that Williamson claimed.

TSA provides a 'TSA Cares' line to assist travelers with disabilities, medical conditions, and other special circumstances who need additional assistance during security screening.

The organization encourages travelers to contact the hotline 72 hours before traveling with questions about screening policies and what to expect at security checkpoints. It can also provide extra assistance for travelers at airports.

TSA's website states that there are special measures in place for security screening children under the age of 12, like letting them go through security more than once, and letting them leave on their jacket and shoes.

It is unknown how old Williamson's son was at the time she filmed her video of him being patted down.

Adults with disabilities go through the same screening as others when going through security, but they can request special assistance or private screening rooms during the process.

TSA's website says: 'Travelers requiring special accommodations or concerned about the security screening process at the airport may ask a TSA officer or supervisor for a passenger support specialist who can provide on-the-spot assistance.'
While tax reform is next on President Trump's to-do list, Press Secretary Sean Spicer hedged when asked if the package had a target date.

'I think it depends,' Spicer told reporters at the White House today.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had pointed to August as the month he'd like to see tax reform passed, but speeding another big bill through Congress looked less likely after Friday's defeat of healthcare reform.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer didn't give a target date for tax reform today, even though Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin initially said August

Sean Spicer said tax reform legislation is a 'huge priority' for President Trump (center) - though it may be more difficult now with the healthcare bill defeat

While still reeling from the Obamacare repeal bill's defeat, House Speaker Paul Ryan vowed Friday to press on with tax reform.

'Yes, this does make tax reform more difficult. But it does not, in any way, make it impossible. We will proceed with tax reform,' Ryan told reporters on Capitol Hill.

According to the White House, they'll be taking the lead on writing the legislation this time around.

'I mean, obviously we're driving the train on this,' Spicer said during today's briefing.

'We're going to work with Congress on this,' Spicer said, adding that tax cut legislation is a 'huge priority' for the Republican president and 'something that he feels very passionately about.'

Spicer said the deadline for getting tax reform done was more squishy now because it depends on how quickly a consensus could come about.

Getting a broad tax bill passed by Congress and on Trump's desk for signature into law looks to be no easy feat, especially after intra-party differences last week torpedoed the healthcare legislation he had backed.

Republicans for seven years had promised to dismantle Democratic former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, and the Trump administration had made it its top priority when he took office in January.

But the effort collapsed on Friday when members of the Freedom Caucus, including the most conservative lawmakers of the House of Representatives, refused to support the bill, which was also backed by House Speaker Paul Ryan.

The healthcare failure in Trump's first major legislative initiative showed that keeping Republicans united is a tricky business.

'Trump is stuck, he can't cajole the arch conservatives in the Republican Party and at the same time, my sense is the Democrats don't want to throw him a bone either, so it is going to be difficult,' said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago.

'It's going to be very, very difficult,' Republican lawmaker Ted Poe of Texas told CNN's 'New Day' program.

Poe, who resigned from the Freedom Caucus after the healthcare debacle, said Trump's hope of getting a major infrastructure spending through Congress was no 'slam dunk' because of likely opposition from conservatives. Infrastructure spending is another leg of the 'pro-growth' Trump strategy.

'It is so easy to sit back, cross your arms, say 'No, not going to support that.' And then what do we have?' Poe said. '... We have to lead. We're the party in power.'

Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a research note that a tax bill, 'if passed at all, could be a very watered-down version of current proposals.'

The White House over the weekend dangled the idea of a compromise tax restructuring that could win support from moderate Democrats.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus on Sunday said such a package could include middle-class tax cuts.

Spicer on Monday remained vague on how much Trump would allow the federal deficit to grow as a result of the tax cuts.

'It's a really early question to be asking at this point,' Spicer said.

The U.S. tax code has not undergone a major overhaul since 1986, during Republican former President Ronald Reagan's administration.

Trump has said he would like his to be even better.

'It will be the biggest tax cut since Reagan and probably bigger than Reagan,' Trump told Fox News in a taped interview earlier this month.

Democratic Sen. Christopher Coons signaled his party would be open to discussing tax legislation if it was not merely a giveaway to the rich.

Democrats fought former President George W. Bush's tax policies for that reason.

'If we have a move toward tax reform that could strengthen manufacturing, strengthen our exports and provide tax relief to the middle-class - not overwhelmingly to the wealthiest - there's a menu for us to start talking about it,' the Delaware senator told MSNBC's Morning Joe.

Although winning over Democrats may be tough, the alternative - getting Republicans to vote as a bloc - it could be a hard road in light of the healthcare rebellion by Republican lawmakers.

Despite aggressive lobbying by Trump, Ryan and Vice President Mike Pence, Freedom Caucus members saw too may similarities to Obamacare. Moderates were concerned over the prospect of millions of Americans losing health insurance.

One Republican lawmaker, Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, suggested Congress focus first on such things as getting a 'realistic budget' done and passing legislation to raise the national debt ceiling.

'And then start on tax reform,' Cole told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' program, adding, 'But start with real hearings and start in a way that everybody at least at the outset is a potential player.'
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Tourists on Hamilton and Hayman Islands are weathering the worst of Cyclone Debbie as the Category 4 storm passes over the normally idyllic tropical paradises.

The eye of the storm hit the Whitsundays on Tuesday morning, tearing roofs off buildings, branches off palm trees and cutting power to Airlie Beach.

'I have never heard gusts of wind howl this loud and this intense before,' tourist Helena Mo said from Hamilton Island. 'You can't help but worry about what's going to happen next.'

The monster storm was tracking across the Whitsundays with 190 km/h winds before it hit the mainland at Bowen after midday.

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Tourists on Hamilton Island (pictured) and Airlie Beach are weathering the worst of Cyclone Debbie as the Category 4 storm passes over the normally idyllic tropical paradises

The eye of the storm has hit the Whitsundays with reports of roofs off buildings in some parts and power has been cut to tourist hub Airlie Beach (pictured)

'I have to admit it's been difficult to get some sleep, even with the knowledge that we are staying in a very secure hotel,' Ms Mo told AAP.

She said she and her boyfriend moved a mattress into the bathroom around midnight, but so far they had been able to stay in the main part of their room at the Reef View Hotel.

'The doors and windows in this hotel have been pretty sturdy and cyclone proof,' she said.

Shocking photos show the damage done to exclusive resort Hamilton Island with branches smashing into golf carts and yachts breaking free of moorings in the marina.

Residents in Hayman Island reported feeling wind gusts of up to 232 km/h.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned the vast size of the cyclone - the worst to hit Queensland since Yasi six years ago - means the devastating core could take three hours to pass, and people should expect to be holed up for the entire day.

'It is incredible. Honestly, it is huge,' she told the Nine network on Tuesday.

As the wind tore through Hamilton Island on Tuesday (pictured), trees were stripped of branches and smashed into golf carts

A yacht broke free of its moorings on Tuesday and was seen floating out to sea at Airlie Beach (pictured)

Hamilton Island (pictured) was thrashed on Tuesday, with the tidal surge flooding the beach

Tourists on Hamilton Island, Airlie Beach and Hayman Island (pictured) are weathering the worst of Cyclone Debbie as the Category 4 storm passes over the normally idyllic tropical paradises

On Tuesday morning, the monster storm was tracking across the Whitsundays with 190 km/h winds and is forecast to hit the mainland at Ayr by 2pm with 275km/h winds

As the monster storm ripped through Airlie Beach, a car was seen powering through the winds near the beach

Hamilton Island (pictured) is usually a tourist hub, but was empty on Tuesday, with the ocean surges flooding the beach

Footage captured the moment the Category 4 storm tore through tourist hub Hamilton Island

'The broad stretch of the Queensland coast that it is going to impact - it is going to be felt in a lot of communities from Townsville all the way down south to Mackay. And of course there will be the flooding events that happen afterwards.'

The premier said serious concerns were held for Bowen, which is expected to take an almost direct hit, Airlie Beach and the islands being battered so savagely as Debbie heads slowly towards the coastline.

Whitsunday Councillor Jan Clifford is sheltering at her Airlie Beach home, and offered some choice words to describe Debbie, calling the cyclone 'one mean, big b****'.

'You've got to keep your sense of humour about it, because if you don't laugh you will cry,' she told AAP as she described watching trees topple in her yard under the force of 180km/h wind gusts.

But she says she feels safe.

One man uploaded pictures to social media of tourist hub Hamilton Island before the monster storm hit (bottom) and after (top)

On Tuesday morning, the monster storm was tracking across the Whitsundays with 190 km/h winds and is forecast to hit the mainland at Ayr by 2pm. Hamilton Island is pictured

Hayman Island, in the Whitsundays, was also thrashed by Cyclone Debbie on Tuesday, with palm trees buckling in the 230km/h wind

Ominous storm clouds were seen rolling in over the Airlie Beach marina on Tuesday

Whitsunday Councillor Jan Clifford is sheltering at her Airlie Beach home, and offered some choice words to describe Debbie, calling the cyclone 'one mean, big b****'. Hamilton Island is pictured

Hotels on the beachfront at Hayman Island (pictured) were inundated with water on Tuesday morning as Debbie rolled in

In Proserpine, west of Hamilton Island, one woman captured the moment a roof went flying down the street as the winds pummeled the town on Tuesday

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said Debbie's slow pace is having 'a battering ram effect'

At the Whitsundays, trees collapsed onto the road, blocking drivers from escaping the usually picturesque island

'The houses are built for this up here.'

The storm surge - which could inundate low-lying homes - is still expected to be significant. At Laguna Keys, south of Airlie Beach, a storm surge of 1.5 metres has already been recorded, as the tide builds toward its peak.

'This will not pass during the day. For the next 12 hours, I need families to remain safe, and remain where they are,' Ms Palaszczuk told ABC.

Power has been cut to some communities as Debbie encroaches, trees are down across the region, and some structural damage is starting to become apparent.

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said Debbie's slow pace is having 'a battering ram effect'.

'These winds are going to keep pounding, pounding, pounding,' he said.

'I suspect before the day is out, we will see a lot of structural damage in the cyclone's path.'

The destructive core of the storm cell is battering the Whitsunday Islands, while residents in Airlie Beach (pictured) are already bearing the brunt of the cyclone with fallen trees and flying debris
HARRISBURG  Then-gubernatorial candidate Rob McCord was leaving a meeting in 2013 with a potential campaign donor when an aide told him he felt like he needed to "take a shower."

Now a cooperating witness in the FBI's wide-ranging, pay-to-play investigation of Pennsylvania state government, McCord described the exchange during his four days of testimony in a bribery trial of a wealthy investment adviser.

McCord's testimony, along with recordings of conversations made by the FBI while McCord was Pennsylvania's elected treasurer, painted a stark portrait of how political, and official, business gets done in a state without campaign finance limits and with a Legislature that has no intention of stemming the flow of money into politics.

In short, it suggested how much revolves around people who are able to make big campaign donations.

"I remember thinking, 'This is a weird business because you say you lie down with dogs and get up with fleas,'" McCord said under questioning by a lawyer for defendant Richard Ireland.

The FBI's investigation dates back to at least 2009, when it set up a fake company in Harrisburg and began engaging lobbyists. Eventually it ensnared a man who had been one of the most prominent behind-the-scenes players, John H. Estey, the onetime chief of staff to former Gov. Ed Rendell. Estey began cooperating with the FBI and, according to revelations during Ireland's trial, offered up McCord as a target.

Estey secretly taped McCord for the FBI, and the FBI also listened on McCord's phone calls three years ago when he was running for governor in a four-way Democratic primary. McCord lost badly. And, in a case that became public in early 2015, McCord was recorded attempting to use his position as state treasurer to strong-arm donations to his failing gubernatorial campaign.

McCord pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted extortion and is awaiting sentencing.

But, during McCord's testimony against Ireland, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Consiglio effectively forced McCord to admit that he had abused his office's powers in more ways than previously revealed by prosecutors.

That included awarding a $50 million investment contract to a $100,000 campaign donor who hid a connection to the contribution by giving through a joint acquaintance. It included promising to help a donor's son land an investment contract, and offering to slow down a state payment to the competitor of a donor.

McCord's testimony portrayed a broken campaign finance system in Pennsylvania, one of 12 states that allows unlimited campaign contributions to candidates.

Donations are routinely given in someone else's name, or filtered through other fundraisers to veil the giver, McCord suggested.

It was routine to hear "governors and others" swap fundraising favors, McCord said.

The cashing of a check can also be timed to ensure the money isn't reported publicly for more than a year  long after it was spent.

Pennsylvania bars donations from corporations. But it allows contributions from partnerships, which help donors hide their identity because those business entities do not have to identify their owners.

Ireland is accused of trying to bribe McCord with more than $500,000 in secret campaign contributions in what prosecutors call part of a yearslong scheme to land lucrative contracts to invest taxpayer dollars.

Allegations against Ireland include making contributions to a charity as a swap for a campaign contribution to McCord, or reimbursing employees who made a campaign contribution to McCord.

Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, who has fruitlessly pushed legislation to limit campaign contributions for eight years, said the system is getting out of hand.

As more and more money pours into campaigns, average people are "priced out" of the ability to run for office, Costa said in an interview.

"Then we're going to be stuck with the millionaires club," Costa said. "That's not what we want to be."

In the 2013 meeting, the potential donor, who had interests in waste disposal firms, demanded that he get to pick McCord's environmental protection secretary, should McCord become governor, in exchange for a campaign contribution, McCord testified.

McCord said he deflected the conversation to a person he thought both of them could support  Sen. John Yudichak, D-Luzerne. But McCord also was frank about the need to negotiate with big donors, even those seeking an illegal exchange of a campaign contribution for an official act.

"You have to lie down, in a sense, with anybody in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania to get stuff done," McCord said.
House Speaker Paul Ryan used a speech at the annual AIPAC conference in Washington to condemn 'vile and disgusting' threats on Jewish Community Centers and other facilities.

Speaking before the powerful U.S. Israel lobby, Ryan mentioned threats against a JCC in Wisconsin that has been threatened four times this year, employing personal and emotional language about the incidents.

'It makes your stomach turn,' Ryan said, speaking days after the arrest of a U.S.-Israeli teen believed to have carried out a number of threats.

'In recent months, we have seen an uptick in vandalism, acts of desecration, and bomb threats against Jewish communities nationwide. Ive seen it in my own backyard,' Ryan said at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

'These threats and attacks on Jewish Americans are vile and disgusting,' House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a speech at AIPAC on Monday

'In Whitefish Bay, Wisconsinright outside the district I serve, a community right on the north side of Milwaukeethere have been several threats on the local JCC. I was just there in February. To think about parents getting those calls in the middle of the day, it makes your stomach turn,' he said.

Ryan continued: 'These threats and attacks on Jewish Americans are vile and disgusting. They are rooted in a poisonous ideology of hate, and they must be wholeheartedly rejected.'

He told the audience: 'So I just want to say this: You are not alone. I stand with you. My colleagues in Congress stand with you. And the American people stand with you. Together, we will root out this evil wherever it may surface.'

President Trump condemned the threats on February 28th, but not until weeks after Jewish groups had been pushing him to do more.

The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible, and are painful, and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil,' Trump said.

'It makes your stomach turn,' Speaker Ryan said of the threats against Jewish organizations

The White House was criticized for issuing a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day that did not specifically mention Jews.

The story of the threats took an unexpected turn with the arrest of a US-Israeli teenager has been arrested for making a string of hoax bomb threats against Jewish Community Centers in the US.

Pressure from President Trump may have brought a resolution to the case, after Trump said he would call on the FBI to do everything it could solve it. The FBI subsequently dispatched a dozen agents from a cyber crimes unit to Israel, Haaretz reported.

The home-schooled 19-year-old was arrested in Israel on Thursday where he has been living for 'many years', according to police.

He holds both US and Israeli citizenship, police sources told Reuters, and he is wanted for threatening Jewish community centers over the last three months.

His lawyer said a medical problem prevented him from knowing right from wrong and that he had earlier been deemed unfit for the country's military.

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A 19-year-old US-Israeli teenage covered his face in court in Rishon Lezion, Israel, on Thursday where he was accused of making hoax bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers across the US over the last three months

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) speaks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, U.S., March 27

Police say he also made threats against Jewish institutions in New Zealand and Australia and that he used 'advanced' technology to hide the origins of his calls.

They also say he is responsible for a threat against a Delta Airlines flight 468 in 2015.

Israeli Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said it was not yet clear what the teenager's motive for the calls was.

He was arrested after a joint operation by the FBI and Israeli forces.

At a court near Tel Aviv on Thursday, the teenager's attorney said he had behavioral problems which prevent him from knowing the difference between right and wrong.

'My client suffers from a very serious medical problem, a problem that may affect his behavior, his ability to understand right and wrong,' said attorney Galit Bash.

Local media reported that she had told them he had a benign growth in his head.

Dozens of Jewish community centers, synagogues and schools have received bomb threats over the last three months. On February 27, worried communities in 12 different states received threats.

The teenager made 'advanced' efforts to mask his identity by concealing where he was calling from when he made the threats, police said. He is pictured above on Thursday being marched in to court in Israel

The threats, all of which appeared to be hoaxes, were received in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

For some centers, it was the second or third time this year that they had been targeted.

The teenager is also accused of phoning in a hoax bomb threat against a Delta Airlines flight in 2015.

The plane was evacuated at JFK airport in New York after officials received a call that there was a bomb on board. It was bound for Tel Aviv.
This is the shocking moment when a heavy truck crashed into a group of young pupils at a road crossing in southern China.

Three pupils were killed and two were injured during the incident on Friday, according to a report on People's Daily Online.

Local police have arrested the driver and are currently investigating the cause of the incident.

As soon as the teachers set up the traffic cones on the road, pupils ran across the road

The fatal incident occurred at Mulezhen town, Guiping city of Guangxi at 3:55pm on March 24, according to People's Daily Online citing a news report from China Central Television station.

Surveillance footage shows two teachers setting traffic cones at the crossing. Right after, a group of over 40 students started to cross the road. They were thought to be leaving school for home.

As one teacher turned back to watch the road, a truck with green cover can be seen crashing into the school children.

The students are believed to be studying at GuangRenCun Primary School.

The truck was likely to be overloaded, according to some Chinese media, such as The Paper.

The truck did not apply brakes in time and ploughs into the crowd of school children in China

There were over 40 students crossing the road, and the incident left three of them dead

According to a statement released by Guiping Police Bureau, one pupil was killed at the scene and four others were sent to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.

On the same night, two students, who had been severely injured, died at the hospital.

Doctors managed to save the other two children and they are now in a stable condition.

The police stated that they had arrested the truck driver, surnamed Liang, on suspicion of committing a criminal offence.

The incident happened in the afternoon when the pupils finished their classes at school

The driver, surnamed Liang, was arrested by the local policemen for criminal offence

Authorities of the Mulezhen town said they had set up traffic lights and safety signs around the school following the incident. They have also toughened the enforcement of traffic regulations in the area.

Web users on Weibo, a Chinese equivalent to Twitter, claimed that the teachers should be blamed for the incident.

They claimed that the teachers 'should not put the traffic cones so close to the crossing'.

One user, 'BellaMa', who claimed to be a mother of two, said the teachers had not taught the pupils to cross the road properly.

The user wrote on Weibo: 'My daughter's teacher taught them to look to the left and right before crossing.

'It is clear that the teacher did not teach the children about this. See how they run across the road!'

Further investigation is carried out by the police.
The roof of a seaside Roman palace destroyed by a volcanic eruption more than 2,000 years ago has been restored by scientists.

Broken timber from the brightly-coloured three-story building was unearthed by archaeologists working on a beach near the ruined city of Herculaneum in Italy.

Scientists were able to restore the palace's red, blue, yellow and green roof tiles by analysing paint traces from the recovered timber.

Scientists were able to restore the red, blue, yellow and green roof tiles of a seaside palace destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79. Pictured is a reconstruction

HOUSE OF TELEPHUS The House of the Telephus Relief is a three-storey palace that was preserved in a layer of sand after Mount Vesuvius destroyed the Roman town of Herculaneum in AD79. It was discovered eight years ago by an Italian archaeologist from the Herculaneum Conservation Project (HCP). Archaeologists discovered long beams  each up to seven metres long - which they pieced together to reconstruct the roof. They were able to recreate the pattern of the panels from delicate traces of reds, blues, yellows and greens that were still on the wood. Experts believe it is the only preserved Roman timber roof and described the find as unique. Advertisement

The palace, known as the House of Telephus, was destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79 and engulfed the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The House of the Telephus Relief, a grand mansion, is believed to have been home to Marcus Nonius Balbus, the Roman governor of Crete.

Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, the director of the Herculaneum Conservation Project (HCP), told the MailOnline: 'The excavation of the roof and ceiling started in 2008 and took place over several years.

'It's a very complex process. You've got to excavate it, work on it and then understand it why it is the way it is.

'The restoration of the colours of the roof took two or three years.'

The elaborate palace featured a 30ft (nine-metre) high grand dining room with marble floors and a gilded multi-coloured ceiling.

The timbers of the roof, which were built into an inverted V-shape, were cut so precisely that no nails were required to hold them in place

MOUNT VESUVIUS Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano in continental Europe and is thought to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. The palace was engulfed when pyroclastic flows sparked by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius hit the seaside town of Herculaneum. Pyroclastic flows are a dense collection of hot gas and volcanic materials that flow down the side of an erupting volcano at high speed. Pyroclastic flows are more dangerous than lava because they travel faster, at speeds of around 450mph (700 km/h), and at temperatures of 1,000C (1,830F). Advertisement

The seaside dining room would have had stunning views of the Bay of Naples, the researchers said.

To reconstruct the room's roof, scientists uploaded the intricate pieces of timber to a computer using a 3D scanner.

'The originals were too delicate to handle and play around with,' Professor Wallace-Hadrill said.

'So a 3D scanner was used to help us slot all the pieces together.'

This process allowed researchers to discover that the timbers of the dining room's roof were built into an inverted V-shape and were cut so precisely that no nails were required to hold them in place.

To understand how what colours the gilded roof tiles would have been painted, researchers started by analysing traces of paint found on the excavated timber.

'They took all the evidence of all the flakes of paint, extracted from the painted panels,' Professor Wallace-Hadrill said, explaining how his Italian colleagues reconstructed the roof.

To reconstruct the room's roof, scientists uploaded the intricate pieces of timber to a computer using a 3D scanner

'Then they said: "How do you put all the pieces together?"

'At first, they thought maybe the pattern of the ceiling matched that of the highly-coloured marble floor. But that didn't work.

'Then they said: "What if the pattern matches the marble panels of the walls?"

'And this time they were right.'

The palace was engulfed when pyroclastic flows sparked by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius hit the seaside town of Herculaneum.

Pyroclastic flows are a dense collection of hot gas and volcanic materials that flow down the side of an erupting volcano at high speed.

Broken timber (pictured) from the brightly-coloured three-story building was unearthed by archaeologists working on a beach near the ruined city of Herculaneum in Italy

Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano in continental Europe. When it erupted in AD 79, the Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii were destroyed

Pyroclastic flows are more dangerous than lava because they travel faster, at speeds of around 450mph (700 km/h), and at temperatures of 1,000C (1,830F).

Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano in continental Europe and is thought to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.

When it erupted in AD79, tides of burning-hot debris engulfed the seaside mansion.

But by a fluke of geology, the timber of the building was protected for thousands of years between layers of sand.

'We've only got one third of the roof reconstructed,' Professor Wallace-Hadrill said.

'Half of the house is under 13 metres [43ft] of volcanic rock and we can't excavate that.'
Female cockroaches can reproduce for years and have several generations of all-female young - without needing a single male, according to a new study.

Japanese scientists used 15 virgin females to produce an all-female colony that stuck together for more than three years.

Unlike male roaches who fight if they are housed together, females huddle together and harmonise their reproductive cycles, producing more young than they would if they were alone.

Experts believe this behaviour is a primitive example of female cooperation.

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Researchers from Hokkaido University in Japan found female cockroaches can reproduce for years and have several generations of young by asexual reproduction. Experts believe this behaviour is a primitive example of female cooperation

ALL-FEMALE REPRODUCTION Female American cockroaches can produce eggs by parthenogenesis, which is a type of asexual reproduction. Researchers found that if kept alone, virgin roaches would lay eggs asexually after 13.4 days on average. However, virgin roaches that were kept in groups of females did parthenogenesis significantly faster - laying eggs within just ten days on average. This suggest that although female cockroaches don't need males to produce offspring, they do like company. Experts believe this behaviour is a primitive example of female cooperation. Advertisement

Female American cockroaches can produce eggs by parthenogenesis, which is a type of asexual reproduction, according to research by Hokkaido University in Japan.

Their offspring develop from the maternal egg alone so are always female but they survive and can produce offspring themselves.

Like other arthropods that reproduce in this way they only do so when males are unavailable as they have a lower rate of survival than ones created by normal reproduction.

Female cockroaches are able to weigh up the likelihood of finding a mate in a certain population by working out the overall number of males, but also how many are related to them, according to the paper published in Zoological Letters.

Researchers found that if kept alone, virgin roaches would lay eggs asexually after 13.4 days on average.

However, virgin roaches that were kept in groups of females did parthenogenesis significantly faster - laying eggs within just ten days on average.

This suggest that although female cockroaches don't need males to produce offspring, they do like company, according to LiveScience.

Researchers did an experiment where they put female cockroaches in different situations - housing them with males, castrated males, kept alone, or housed with other females.

They counted the number of eggs laid in each of the controls and how long it took the female roach to lay those eggs.

Research suggest that although female cockroaches don't need males to produce offspring, they do like company and reproduce faster in all-female colonies (stock)

WHAT IS PARTHENOGENESIS? Parthenogenesis is common in invertebrates but rare in vertebrate animals, the researchers explained. It is a form of asexual reproduction in which the offspring develops from unfertilised eggs. In particular, vertebrate parthenogenesis is thought to occur when an unfertilised egg absorbs a genetically identical sister cell. It is particularly common among arthropods but can also be found in some species of fish, amphibians, birds, and reptiles. The resulting offspring have about half of the genetic diversity of their mothers and often die. Advertisement

Being housed with castrated males delayed the process than if they were housed by females, according to the paper.

Researchers believe that females sync parthenogenesis in order to maximise the number of offspring that survive.

'Another line of study showed that grouped females make parthenogenesis more sustainable than previously known; a founder colony of 15 virgin females was sufficient to produce female progeny for a period of more than three years', researchers wrote.

They said: 'in the short term, especially in the presence of abundant resources, parthenogenesis can be a useful strategy for rapidly generating large numbers of female progeny and colonize new habitats'.

Researchers say this fits with overall roach ecology - males tend to leave colonies in order to avoid inbreeding while females stick together.
After months of anticipation, Samsung will finally unveil its Galaxy S8 smartphone this week.

Several details on the device have already been leaked, including a lack of home button and an infinity screen.

But a Vodafone worker appears to have revealed further details about the device to a customer, claiming that the S8 will also feature a 3D camera.

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Several details on the device have already been leaked, including a lack of home button and an infinity screen. But a Vodafone worker appears to have revealed further details about the device to a customer, claiming that the S8 will also feature a 3D camera

An anonymous woman called Vodafone last week to ask about a new phone, and was told by a worker that she could expect something exciting on April 1.

Speaking to The Sun, the customer said: 'He said that my new phone would have a longer screen, no button and a 3D camera, although I'm not sure what that means.'

If this is true, this could explain why several leaked images show two cameras on the front of the device.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 RUMORS Rumours suggest that the Samsung Galaxy S8 will incorporate a dual-lens camera design and remove the home button for an edge-to-edge screen. It's speculated that Samsung could design a fingerprint-sensing display or place the feature behind the tempered glass. Because levels of concentration will be increased with a 'full screen', pictures and videos should be much clearer and even go so far as to produce a 3D effect. Rumours suggest that pixels of the dual-cameras will support 16 megapixels and 8 megapixels. Another new addition to the Galaxy S8 could also be an upgraded Application process (AP) that corresponds to handset's brain. Sources say Samsung is going to start mas-producing 10-nano Snapdragon 830s, which will be used for Galaxy S8, at the end of this year at the earliest. Advertisement

A 3D camera is an imaging device that enables the perception of depth in images to replicate three dimensions as experienced through human vision.

Some 3D cameras use two or more lenses to record multiple points of view, while others use a single lens that shifts its position.

The combination of the two perspectives, as with the slightly different perspective of two human eyes, is what enables depth perception.

Last week, a 15-second ad for the Galaxy S8 aired in South Korea and although it still leaves room for mystery, the clip does give some clues about its design and functionality.

The trailer shows what appears to be the outline of the S8 that has been shared in numerous leaks and there is also a reference to it having VR capabilities.

In the video, a man walks over to the front door, which appears to be in the shape of a phone seen in many leaked images of the Samsung Galaxy S8  the edges are much more curved and it has minimal boarders on the top and bottom.

A poster was also shared by The Korea Herald with the same theme as the video ad - a man standing in front of an open door shaped like a smartphone looking out into space

The door also has two matching square panes on the outside, which suggests the phone could have an 18:9 (or 2:1) aspect ratio, reports CNET.

After the man opens the door, it blasts open showing an '8' floating in outer space.

There is a planet and an astronaut floating around in the background, which has some believing this points to virtual reality capabilities.

And there is also the the slogan 'Completion and a New Start' below the floating '8'.

A poster was also shared by The Korea Herald with the same theme as the video advert - a man standing in front of an open door shaped like a smartphone looking out into space.

SOURCE OF EXPLODING THE NOTE 7 SMARTPHONES Sources told The Wall Street Journal that Samsung discovered it was 'irregular-sized' batteries that were causing some Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to catch on fire. The first issue was that the battery components in the Galaxy Note 7 did not fit in the battery's casing. This caused the battery cell's upper right corner to be crimped by the casing. The second round affected the devices sent to replace the original faulty phones. These were caused by manufacturing issues, including poor welding at the battery manufacturer. Advertisement

It is not clear what Samsung means by 'a New Start', but some may think it has something to do with the exploding Samsung Note 7 handsets.

When Samsung took the stage in New York on August 2, 2016 to unveil the 5.7 inch handset, the Galaxy Note 7, the firm also used it as an opportunity to take a stab at Apple's upcoming iPhone 7.

'Want to know what else it comes with?' teased Samsung's vice-president of marketing, Justin Denison.

'An audio jack. I'm just saying.'

But due to faulty batteries Denison ended up eating his words.

Just days after the smartphone's launch, reports began surfacing that Note 7 devices were bursting into flames.

And a month after the launch, mobile chief D.J. Koh held a press conference in Seoul, South Korea where he announced the recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 devices that would eventually be replaced with a new and safe Note 7.

In the end, the fiasco cost the firm at least 4 billion ($5 billion).

Well-known smartphone leaker Evan Blass recently shared a collage of images on Twitter that shows a sleek smartphone with an edge-to-edge screen  a popular rumour that has been floating around for months

The major blunder has somewhat tarnished the Samsung brand and has sparked many concerns among government and regulatory officials.

But including 'a New Start' in its upcoming flagship handset's slogan could be the firm's way of saying let bygones be bygones.

The Galaxy S8 is Samsung's opportunity to regain its users' trust and it seems they know they have to pull out all of the stops.

If rumours are correct, users could expect to get the handset in either Orchid Gray or Black Sky

Well-known smartphone leaker Evan Blass recently shared a collage of images on Twitter that shows a sleek smartphone with an edge-to-edge screen  a popular rumor that has been floating around for months.

If correct, users could expect to get the handset in either Orchid Gray or Black Sky.

The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus are set to be unveiled during a press conference on March 30th.
The idea of a computer chip that can read your thoughts may sound like the plot from the latest science fiction blockbuster.

But a man in Ohio is the first person to have such a futuristic device implanted.

The ground-breaking technology allows Ian Burkhart, who lost the use of his arms and legs after hitting his head, to use his arms once again.

Now, for the first time, he has provided an in-depth account of the technology which could provide hope for millions of paralysed people the world over.

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Ian Burkhart has become the first person to have a brain chip implanted that allows him to control his movements just using his thoughts

HOW DOES THE TECHNOLOGY WORK? NeuroLife works by bypassing damaged areas of an individual's nervous system and communicating directly with the muscles in the paralysed limb. A team of surgeons implanted a tiny chip (4x4mm) in the motor cortex area of the brain - the area responsible for voluntary movement. The chip picks up electrical signals from the brain and transmits the data to a computer. The information is then passed on to an arm cuff which contains electrodes that stimulate the muscles and cause specific movements. Advertisement

Mr Burkhart, 25, who lives in Dublin, Ohio, was in an accident in 2010 in which he hit his head on a sandbank, rendering him a quadriplegic.

Despite being told 'this is what it's going to be like for the rest of your life', Mr Burkhart remained optimistic about regaining use of his limbs.

In an article forVice, he said: 'I took it as a challenge.

'I wanted to prove them wrong.

'I wanted to get as strong as I could and make my life the best that it could be in spite of my injury.'

Mr Burkhart looked at studies that involved some of the most advanced technological advances in the world today, and came across NeuroLife, a technology to bypass a spinal injury.

At first, Battelle Memorial Institute, which developed the technology, told Mr Burkhart that the study was simply focused on using electronic stimulators on the muscles in his forearms.

NeuroLife works by bypassing damaged areas of an individual's nervous system and communicating directly with the muscles in the paralysed limb

But the system created was much more advanced than he expected, and allowed the doctors to pick smaller muscle segments, allowing him to move subtle things like an individual finger.

Once the researchers established that Mr Burkhart's muscles could respond to stimulation, they started to develop a system that was connected to a brain implant, which would be surgically implanted into his brain.

Mr Burkhart said: 'The doctors basically cut open my scalp, drilled a hole through my skull, and then placed the electrode on the surface of my brain.

A team of surgeons implanted a tiny chip (4x4mm) in the motor cortex area of the brain - the area responsible for voluntary movement

'After the surgery, they didn't know if I would actually be able to control the system.

'We had to wait for everything to heal before we could actually plug my brain into the computer.'

Once Mr Burkhart had recovered from surgery, the researchers were able to plug the system in.

At first, he learned to control a virtual hand on a computer screen, allowing him to train and prepare for the real thing.

At first, he learned to control a virtual hand on a computer screen, allowing him to train and prepare for the real thing

The chip picks up electrical signals from the brain and transmits the data to a computer. The information is then passed on to an arm cuff which contains electrodes that stimulate the muscles and cause specific movements

Then, the NeuroLife system was connected to the stimulator.

Mr Burkhart said: 'The first time I controlled my hand with my own brain through the system was mind-blowing.

'It reassured me that all the risk of the brain surgery was worth it and that the technology we were working on was headed in the right direction.

The system has allowed Mr Burkhart to do a range of tasks he never dreamed possible, such as playing Guitar Hero, and cooking

The electrodes send tiny electrical pulses into the muscles in Mr Burkhart's forearm, allowing him to move and clench his fingers enough to grip objects and even pour them into a glass (pictured)

'It also motivated me to continue to work harder and harder at learning how to control my body with the system.'

The system has allowed Mr Burkhart to do a range of tasks he never dreamed possible, such as playing Guitar Hero, and cooking.

But the technology is still very much in the experimental phase, and he can only use the system while in the researchers' lab.

Mr Burkhart, who lives in Dublin, Ohio, was in an accident in 2010 in which he hit his head on a sandbank, rendering him a quadriplegic

Mr Burkhart said: 'Right now, some of the biggest hurdles this technology faces before being ready for the masses are size, reliability, and convenience.

'One thing that could shift all of these would be to make the entire system wireless, so you could have a sensor in your brain talking to stimulators placed all over your body - not just your hands, but also your legs and feet.'

Mr Burkhart hopes that the technology will allow him to lead a more independent life.

He added: 'It's incredible to think that by being part of these studies, I've been on the cutting edge of all of these futuristic possibilities, and I can't wait to see what is yet to come.'
A unique, full-length mummy shroud, which is over 2,000 years old, has been discovered in a museum collection.

The shroud, which dates to approximately 9 BC, was discovered in a brown paper parcel by curators looking through the National Museum of Scotland's ancient Egyptian collections.

The incredible artefact will finally go on display for the public at 'The Tomb: Ancient Egyptian Burial' exhibition in Edinburgh opening on 31 March.

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The 2,000-year-old shroud was found in the National Museum of Scotland's ancient Egyptian collections. It will go on display for the first time at 'The Tomb: Ancient Egyptian Burial' exhibition, which opens on 31 March

THE SHROUD The shroud belonged to the previously unknown son of the Roman-era high-official Montsuef and his wife Tanuat. In ancient Egypt, following mummification, a shroud was commonly wrapped around the body before it was placed in a coffin. This full-length, painted linen shroud is unique, with very few parallels from its period. It depicts the deceased as the god Osiris. It was made in approximately 9 BC and had been sitting in storage since the 1940s. It will go on display at 'The Tomb: Ancient Egyptian Burial' exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, opening on 31 March. Advertisement

The shroud was discovered in brown paper, along with an 80-year-old note from a previous curator.

A hieroglyphic inscription on the shroud revealed the identity of the owner to be the previously unknown son of the Roman-era high-official Montsuef and his wife Tanuat.

Due to the fragility of the ancient textile, conservators gently humidified it so that the fibres would become less dry and brittle as they removed it from its brown parcel.

This allowed them to carefully unfold the shroud - a process which took almost 24 hours.

Dr Margaret Maitland, Senior Curator of Ancient Mediterranean collections who found the package said: 'To discover an object of this importance in our collections, and in such good condition, is a curators dream.

'Before we were able to unfold the textile, tantalising glimpses of colourful painted details suggested that it might be a mummy shroud, but none of us could have imagined the remarkable figure that would greet us when we were finally able to unroll it.

A hieroglyphic inscription on the shroud revealed the identity of the owner to be the previously unknown son of the Roman-era high-official Montsuef and his wife Tanuat

The full-length, painted linen shroud is unique, with very few parallels from its period. It was made in approximately 9 BC and had been sitting in storage since the 1940s

'The shroud is a very rare object in superb condition and is executed in a highly unusual artistic style, suggestive of Roman period Egyptian art, yet still very distinctive.'

In ancient Egypt, following mummification, a shroud was commonly wrapped around the body before it was placed in a coffin.

In Roman-era Egypt, shrouds became increasingly important as the use of coffins became rarer.

Due to the fragility of the ancient textile, conservators gently humidified it so that the fibres would become less dry and brittle as they removed it from its brown parcel

The shroud comes from a Roman-era burial in a tomb originally built around 1290 BC opposite the great city of Thebes (modern-day Luxor). It depicts the deceased as the god Osiris

This full-length, painted linen shroud is unique, with very few parallels from its period.

It depicts the deceased as the god Osiris.

Because of its owners direct relationship to Montsuef and Tanuat, whose deaths were recorded to have occurred in 9 BC, it is possible to date the shroud relatively precisely, which is extraordinary for such an ancient artefact.

The shroud comes from a Roman-era burial in a tomb originally built around 1290 BC opposite the great city of Thebes (modern-day Luxor).

In Roman-era Egypt, shrouds became increasingly important as the use of coffins became rarer. The package had been stored since the mid-1940s

Because of its owners direct relationship to Montsuef and Tanuat, whose deaths were recorded to have occurred in 9 BC, it is possible to date the shroud relatively precisely, which is extraordinary for such an ancient artefact

First built for a chief of police and his wife, it was looted and reused several times, before being sealed in the early 1st century AD.

It was undisturbed until its excavation in the 19th century when a collection of beautiful objects from various eras was discovered.

The shroud is one of a number of objects from this tomb which are in the National Museums Scotland's collections.

The exhibition will tell the story of this tomb across 1,000 years of use.




Despite what many believe, extroverts are not the only office rockstars.

While extroverts may be social butterflies and action-oriented, it is the quiet and nurturing introverts that are the most productive and are just as valuable to an organization.

A psychologist has revealed to DailyMail.com why this personality group comes out on top and how individuals can use their traits to climb the career ladder.

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While extroverts may be social butterflies and action-oriented, it is the quiet and nurturing introverts that are the most productive and are just as valuable to an organization. A psychologist has revealed to DailyMail.com why this personality group comes out on top and how individuals can use their traits to climb the career ladder

INTROVERTS AT WORK Laurie Helgoe, from the West Virginia University School of Medicine, Charleston Division, shared why introverts make better employees than extroverts. Introverts are less distracted and can easily tackle projects that require long stretches of solitude. They are good listeners, which helps them gather the information needed to tackle an issue. Being a good listener helps them to plan budgets, manage human resources departments and positions them as good leaders. Because introverts feel they can express themselves in writing, they shine when it comes to putting documents together. 'Written communication carries authority and power, and people appreciate being apprised of what you're doing,' said Helgoe. If your boss gives you criteria for advancement, and you keep records on how you've met those criteria, promotion is the logical next step. Even when a sit-down is more important than a memo, having your notes will help you effectively prepare. Advertisement

Compared to extroverts, introverts are less distracted by immediate rewards, Laurie Helgoe, author of 'INTROVERT POWER: Why Your Inner Life if Your Hidden Strength' and clinical psychologist and professor at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, told DailyMail.com in an interview.

They are also content to work on projects that require long stretches of solitude.

For these reasons, introverts seem better able to resist distractions and carry out long-range plans- the ones that reap rewards farther down the line.

In addition, recent evidence reveals that introverts are better than extroverts at leading proactive employees.

It seems that introverts are better at supporting and channeling the initiative and creativity of employees, while extroverts lead better when employees are more passive.

One in every two or three people in the world have an introverted personality  about half of the population.

And while extroverts are considered the go-getters, introverts are the idea people that tend to be more focused because of their need for solitude.

Although this trait may seem like a downfall, it has been found to contribute to their productivity at work.

The need for solitude is only a disadvantage when solitude is denied, Helgoe explained.

Introverts need to secure quiet spaces in the workplace in order to do their best work.

Whether our success depends on planning, calculating, writing or strategizing, at some point we all have to sit down, by ourselves and do that crucial work.

The one who enjoys solitude will have the easiest time with these tasks.

The reason introverts need to be in a quiet space, is because they can become overstimulated and overwhelmed when exposed to a noisy environment  as it feels chaotic to them.

LONGING FOR A QUIET LIFE? HOW TO BE A HAPPY INTROVERT 1. At work: Choose your job in accordance with your temperament. Some careers, such as those in technology, art and research science, tend to be introvert-friendly, but its more important to pay attention to the culture of a given workplace. Sometimes you have to be prepared to act out of character for the sake of the right work, but it shouldnt have to be all the time. Many introverts are starting their own small businesses; entrepreneurship affords maximum autonomy and personal freedom. 2. In love: Understand that in relationships with extroverts, you are going to have differences as a result of your different temperaments. If one person wants to stay at home every Friday night, and the other always wants to go to a dinner party, figure out a system that works for you both  such as going out once every weekend, or two nights per month. It will save fighting it out every time. 3. Public Speaking: If you are afraid of it, desensitize yourself to the fear by practicing in small, supportive spaces. Dont use work as practice. Join a public speaking group where it doesnt matter if you mess up. 4. Students: This is the hardest part of life, the time when the only currency around is how gregarious you are. The rest of life is not like that. Your time at college can help to find the thing you are really passionate about, because all kinds of social worlds will open up. Advertisement

If you notice one of your colleagues is never in the kitchen during lunchtime or by the water cooler, there is a high probability that they are an introvert.

Another trait that introverts possess that helps them excel in the workplace is their ability to listen to others.

This allows them to hear to all the issues at hand when it comes to tackling a project before they form a final decision.

Being a good listener helps them to easily plan budgets, manage human resources departments and even positions them as good leaders.

Helgoe has suggested that it is possible for an introvert to lead a team of extroverts, all they have to do is listen, identify the strengths among team members, listen to their ideas and channel their initiative into quality outcomes.

A good introverted leader capitalizes on the talent and momentum that's already there, she said.

It's very good energy conservation.

Although this nurturing group can excel in most job settings, there are some that they should try to avoid.

Being a good listen helps them to easily plan budgets, manage human resources departments and even positions them as good leaders. Because introverts feel they can express themselves in writing, they shine when it comes to putting documents together

Helgoe explained that it is best for introverts to pass up positions that favor a more aggressive, openly-competitive style.

Constant meetings are a bad sign, she explained.

Work settings that require frequent attendance at social events - to attract or entertain clients, for example - are a good description of hell for an introvert.

Open office layouts and noisy low-partition cubicles are poor work environments for introverts.

Because introverts tend to down play or hide their strengths in the office, it is important for them find a way to shine in front of others if they want to move up the ladder.

ARE YOU AN INTROVERT? Answer true or false for each of the following: 1. I prefer one-on-one conversations to group activities. 2. I often prefer to express myself in writing. 3. I enjoy solitude. 4. I seem to care less than my peers about wealth, fame and status. 5. I dislike small talk but I enjoy talking in depth about topics that matter to me. 6. People tell me that Im a good listener. 7. Im not a big risk taker. 8. I enjoy work that allows me to dive in with few interruptions. 9. People describe me as soft-spoken or mellow. 10. I prefer not to show my work or discuss it with others until it is finished. 11. I like to celebrate birthdays on a small scale with only one or two close friends or family members. 12. I dislike conflict. 13. I do my best work alone. 14. I tend to think before I speak. 15. I feel drained after being out and about, even if Ive enjoyed myself. 16. I often let calls go to voicemail. 17. Id prefer a weekend with nothing to do to one with too many things scheduled. 18. I dont enjoy multi-tasking. 19. I concentrate easily. 20. In classrooms, I prefer lectures to seminars. The more true answers you have, the more introverted you probably are. Advertisement

And because introverts tend to be more expressive, they may want to use documents as a way to shine in front of their coworkers.

Introverts are generally more comfortable expressing their thoughts in writing, and writing is a great vehicle for showcasing accomplishments, said Helgoe.

Send short weekly reports via email, draft more extensive progress reports on projects, and keep notes for your own reference when you contribute.

Written communication carries authority and power, and people appreciate being apprised of what you're doing.'

This also interferes with the assumption that quiet equals inactivity.

If your boss gives you criteria for advancement, and you keep records on how you've met those criteria, promotion is the logical next step.

Even when a sit-down is more important than a memo, having your notes will help you effectively prepare.
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Elon Musk's SpaceX is putting the finishing touches to its first attempt at relaunching a rocket.

The firm today fired the nine first-stage engines of a previously flown Falcon 9 in the final pre-flight test to clear the way for launch of an SES communications satellite on Thursday.

The historic launch will see the Dragon, which was first launched on April 8, 2016 and was the first the firm managed to land on a droneship, take to the skies again.

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The historic launch will see the Dragon first launched on April 8, 2016, and the first the firm managed to land on a droneship, take to the skies again.

THE REUSABLE ROCKET RACE Reusable rockets would cut costs and waste in the space industry, which currently loses millions of dollars in jettisoned machinery after each launch. Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency are also developing similar technology and are in testing stages. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com and owner of The Washington Post newspaper, said last month that Blue Origin expects to begin crewed test flights of the New Shepard, the company's flagship rocket, next year and begin flying paying passengers as early as 2018. The Indian space agency also hopes to develop its own frugal shuttle, as it seeks to cash in on a huge and lucrative demand from other countries to send up their satellites, after a successful test launch last month. Advertisement

Courtesy of SpaceFlightNow.com

'Static fire test complete. Targeting Thursday, March 30 for Falcon 9 launch of SES-10,' the firm tweeted following the tests.

On its first flight, the rocket took a SpaceX cargo ship into orbit to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.

After recovery, the stage was taken back to Port Canaveral and subjected to a detailed post flight inspection.

It was then refurbished, tested again and prepared for its second launch.

In the test, the rocket's nine Merlin 1D engines roared to life at 2 p.m. EDT (GMT-5) for three seconds at pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

Known as a 'hot-fire' test, it is a routine pre-flight procedure for SpaceX to help engineers verify the rocket is ready for launch.

The firm hopes to launch during a 2.5 hour window that begins at 6 p.m on Thursday.

The SES-10 satellite, built by Airbus Defence and Space, will be used to provide direct-to-home television and high-speed data services across Latin America and the Caribbean.

SES was an early supporter of SpaceX, the rocket builder's first commercial customer and the first to sign up for a ride on a 'flight proven' booster.

'Having been the first commercial satellite operator to launch with SpaceX back in 2013, we are excited to once again be the first customer to launch on SpaceX's first ever mission using a flight-proven rocket,' Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer at SES, said.

'We believe reusable rockets will open up a new era of spaceflight, and make access to space more efficient in terms of cost and manifest management.'

SpaceX has made 13 attempts to recover first stages after launch, successfully bringing back eight boosters to date.

Five of those landed on off-shore drone ships while three returned to landings at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Last month amazing video shows the historic moment the first stage of the Falcon 9 touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on the launch pad.

The SpaceX rocket descended through the clouds before landing right in the middle of the pad, a perfect landing after a rocky start.

The rocket was supposed to launch Saturday but took off 9:38am Sunday instead because of a technical error.

In June this year Elon Musk announced the same Falcon 9 rocket, which launched the Thaicom 8 communications satellite, was back in the hangar with the three other first stages that had also made it safely back on the ground. All four pictured in the hangar

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk captioned the video on Instagram: 'Baby came back'

The rocket has landed five other times successfully on sea platforms but this is the first time on land.

This is the first SpaceX mission to take off from the pad, and the first in Florida since last September, when one of the company's rockets exploded on another Cape Canaveral pad, severely damaging it. It is also the third SpaceX rocket to land on solid ground.

The moment indicates that NASA's moonshot pad is back in business.

Falcon 9 touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on Sunday on the launch pad that was was used to send Neil Armstrong to the moon

Lift off: SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A - the same spot from which astronauts flew to the moon 48 years ago - on Sunday, carrying 5,000 pounds of supplies to astronauts on the ISS. It landed again after the mission

SpaceX has only landed a rocket safely on solid ground two times before, although it has made other landings on sea platforms. The pad it launched from has been leased from NASA for the next six years

The rocket, which was sent up from the same spot from which astronauts flew to the moon 48 years ago, carried a Dragon supply ship containing food and other goods for the six astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The pad - at Launch Complex 39A - has been leased by SpaceX for the next six years. It was last used for NASA's final shuttle mission nearly six years ago.

After it had launched from Launch Complex 39A and made the payload, the booster rocket was returned safely to earth at a different part of Cape Canaveral.

That made it the third SpaceX rocket to be successfully landed on solid ground, and the first to do so in daylight. Five other successful landings have been made on sea-based platforms.
Elon Musk has set up a new firm to develop Matrix-style 'neural computers'.

Called Neuralink, it will work on what Musk calls the 'neural lace' technology, implanting tiny brain electrodes that may one day upload and download thoughts, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Musk has not made an official announcement, but Neuralink was registered in California as a 'medical research' company last July, and he plans on funding the company mostly by himself, a person briefed on the plans told the Journal.

In a recent interview with Y Combinator, Musk explained that the 'best outcome' between humankind and machines would be a collective lifestyle where 'we are the AI.'

It is unclear what sorts of products Neuralink might create, but people who have had discussions with the company describe a strategy similar to space launch company SpaceX and Tesla, the Journal report said.

In recent weeks, Neuralink has also hired leading academics in the field, the Journal reported

Musk previously hinted at the plans online.

The astonishing revelation came in response to a tweet, asking Musk if he was working on 'neural lace'  a way of installing computers into the human brain.

It is not known what the brain chip could be used for, but Musk has previously said that it will be the 'thing that really matters for humanity to achieve symbiosis with machines.'

Neuralink will work on what Musk calls the 'neural lace' technology, implanting tiny brain electrodes that may one day upload and download thoughts. Pictured, Keanu Reeves plugging into 'The Matrix'

'If you assume any rate of advancement in [artificial intelligence], we will be left behind by a lot,' he said at a conference last June.

The solution he proposed was a 'direct cortical interface'essentially a layer of artificial intelligence inside the brainthat could enable humans to reach higher levels of function.

'Making progress [on neural lace],' he tweeted last August, 'maybe something to announce in a few months.'

In January he tweeted that an announcement might be coming shortly.

Elon Musk hinted that Tesla may be working on computers that can be implanted into the brain (stock image), although he has not expanded on what the chips could be used for

Revol Devoleb, a self-proclaimed technology enthusiast from Finland, tweeted to Musk, asking: 'What about neural lace? Announcement soon?'

Musk remained elusive in response, saying: 'Maybe next month.'

This isn't the first time that Musk has hinted that Tesla may be working on artificial intelligence.

In a recent interview with Y Combinator, Musk explained that the 'best outcome' between humankind and machines would be a collective lifestyle where 'we are the AI.'

Such a scenario would stamp out the possibility of an 'evil dictator AI,' Musk said, allowing anyone who wants to take part to become an 'AI-human symbiote.'

Musk likened the situation to the cooperation of the limbic system and the cortex in the human brain.

Revol Devoleb tweeted to Musk last week, asking: 'What about neural lace? Announcement soon?' Musk remained elusive in response, saying: 'Maybe next month'

DO WE LIVE IN A SIMULATION? Last summer, when asked at the Code Conference in southern California if the answer to the question of whether we are in a simulated computer game was 'yes', Elon Musk said the answer is 'probably'. Musk believes that computer game technology, particularly virtual reality, is already approaching a point that it is indistinguishable from reality. 'If you assume any rate of improvement at all, then the games will become indistinguishable from reality, just indistinguishable,' he said. 'Even if the speed of those advancements dropped by 1000, 'We are clearly on a trajectory to have games indistinguishable from reality, and there would be billions of there. 'It would seem to follow that the odds that we're in 'base reality' is one in billions', Mr Musk said. Advertisement

In the interview, he explained that these two systems  the primitive brain that controls your instincts, and the 'thinking part,' respectively  work well together, and it would extremely unusual to find someone who wished to get rid of one of them.

Building off of this, he told Y Combinator, 'I think if we can effectively merge with AI, like improving the neural link between the cortex and your digital extension of yourself, which already exists but just has a bandwidth issue, then effectively, you become an AI-human symbiote.'

This would also solve the 'control problem,' he went on to explain, as it could become so widespread that 'anyone who wants it can have it.'

'We don't have to worry about some evil dictator AI,' Musk told Y Combinator, 'because we are the AI collectively.

'That seems like the best outcome I can think of.'

In November, Elon Musk predicted that the rise of machines in the workplace could soon mean job displacement and a 'universal basic income' for humans.

The billionaire explained that our options may be limited in the future as automation becomes the norm, and this could even leave people with more time to enjoy their lives.

Musk said humans will eventually need to achieve symbiosis with 'digital super-intelligence' in order to cope with the advancing world  but, he warns doing this might be the toughest challenge of all.

In an interview with CNBC, the CEO of Tesla, SolarCity, and SpaceX said certain jobs, like truck driving, may soon be lost to automated technologies.

And with machines taking over the workforce, human income would shift as well, potentially necessitating universal payments from the government.

'There is a pretty good chance we end up with a universal basic income, or something like that, due to automation,' Musk told CNBC.

'I'm not sure what else one would do with this.

'I think that's what would happen.'

Musk went on to explain that some people may have plans to do more 'complex' and 'more interesting' things with these capabilities in the future.

This will open the door for more leisure time, he said.

Machines equipped with artificial intelligence are ever creeping into the workforce, and for humans, this could soon mean job displacement and a 'universal basic income,' according to Elon Musk (pictured)

'And then we have to figure out how we integrate with a world in the future with advanced AI,' Musk told CNBC, noting that this will likely be the 'toughest' part.

'Ultimately,' he said, 'it would need to be some kind of improved symbiosis with digital super-intelligence.'

The Tesla CEO pointed to the example of the potential future capabilities of semi-trailer trucks.

One day, these trucks may not require drivers, and could instead operate autonomously while a human oversees an entire fleet.
Dear Editor:

The Sentinels examination of the effects of the American Health Care Act on the citizens of Cumberland County (The Sentinel, March 23) is a warning to everyone. The included chart indicated where much of the pain and suffering will be felt.

A 60-year-old voter in this county, whether making $75,000 per year or $20,000 per year, will face a new out-of-pocket cost of $16,050 per year. For the person making $20,000, this is an increase from less than five-percent to over eighty-percent. No one can pay that. The Sentinels rough estimate for coverage loses in Cumberland County alone is a staggering 13,631 people.

The Republican plan is a tax-cut masquerading as health care. There is no reason a health-care plan must include massive tax cuts to the wealthy. However, if one wants to give the wealthy a massive tax cut  and Republicans repeatedly do, then to avoid blowing up the federal budget, that huge tax cut must be paid for. Ryancare does just that, creating a huge tax cut for the wealthy, paid for with dangerous cuts in health care for everyone else.

U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta was a no vote on the AHCA. He worried that some small fraction of tax credits might aid an undocumented immigrant. Never mind that that spending would go directly to doctors, pharmacies and hospitals in our area, helping to keep them open for everyones use.

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan and President Trump assured Barletta that he could propose legislation to block benefits for a sick immigrant child, allowing that child to infect his playmates  undocumented, legal, or otherwise. Barletta became a yes vote.

The first rule in health care is do no harm. We need an actual health-care plan from Republicans, not more harm for our communities.

Alan Howe

Carlisle
Holland looks small on the map yet its nearly twice the size of Wales and, with 16 million people, has more than five times Waless population.

Most tourists rarely see more of the country than Amsterdam, its biggest city.

It is a great weekend destination with lots of good museums, art galleries, shops and excellent bars and restaurants. But when youve done Amsterdam, what about seeing another side to the Netherlands?

Maestro: Andre Rieu on stage

Delft and Haarlem are perfectly fine, but my favourite place is less well-known as a tourist spot  although it is a place that has become more famous in recent years.

With the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, governments created the more integrated European Union  its worth reflecting now that this was something that Margaret Thatcher supported.

It is not, however, Mrs Thatchers name that has become linked with Maastricht: it is the King of the Waltz Andre Rieu, creator and director of the Johann Strauss Orchestra which attracts wild, enthusiastic crowds of adoring fans from all over the world.

Rieu is a native of Maastricht and lives in a castle there; and nowhere is more adoring of the violinist than his home town where each summer for the past 13 years he has staged a series of concerts.

This year the Rieu Maastricht concerts take place on July 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15 and 16.

If Maastricht seems more bohemian than other Dutch cities, its because it has a history where for extended periods it was governed by the Spanish and later the French. (The city has a statue of the real dArtagnan  fictionalised by Alexandre Dumas  who died during the Siege of Maastricht in the 17th Century.)

If you love browsing for bargains, Maastricht has a flea market every Saturday along Stationstraat

Situated in the south-eastern extremity of the Netherlands, Maastricht lies closes to Liege in Belgium and Aachen in Germany (Aachen was once the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, in French it is known as Aix-la-Chapelle).

Liege was the home of Maigret creator Georges Simenon, someone to add to the list of famous Belgians.

So Maastricht acts as an excellent base for exploring two other countries.

Its worth bringing your car via the Sealink service from Harwich to Hook of Holland (the drive from the Hook to Maastricht takes two-and-a-half hours).

One of the most famous local landmarks, the Drielandenput, is about 40 minutes from Maastricht. This is the place where three countries meet  the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium  and you can hop from country to country in a few seconds.

This is the part of the Netherlands jokingly referred to as the Dutch Alps  the tallest mountain here rises to a modest 1,000ft.

True musketeer: The statue of the real d'Artagnan in Maastricht (left) and a bookshop in a former church (right)

In Maastricht, must-see attractions include the wonderful Boekhandel Dominicanen, a 700-year-old Gothic church just north of Grote Staat, which has been turned into a huge bookshop.

If you want proof that the book is mightier than the Kindle, worship at this extraordinary Dutch literary shrine where shelf after shelf of books seem to occupy every nook, cranny and alcove.

If you love browsing for bargains, Maastricht has a flea market every Saturday along Stationstraat.

In nearby Wyck, Rechstraat is also a happy hunting ground for shoppers with lots of fashionable boutiques.

Maastricht is a city with a reputation for the quality of its restaurants and atmospheric bars: try a smoky Dutch ale in a dark, wood-panelled, ancient bar on a cobbled back street.

While youre there, why not raise a glass to celebrate the 25th birthday of the Maastricht Treaty?
Flying around thunderstorms at 41,000 feet in a packed Airbus A330 on the way to South Africa is all in a days work for India Allix.

The 26-year-old from Westerham in Kent is a senior first officer for Thomas Cook Airlines and here she reveals, in pictures, a fascinating day in her working life.

It begins with a horse ride and a goodbye to her pet dog  then its off to London Gatwick for pre-flight checks with her dad.

Yes, on this occasion shes flying the airline's new route to Cape Town with her captain father, Charles.

India then captures all the key stages of the flight, including take-off, addressing the passengers, steering around a huge storm and then bringing the aircraft safely down after 11 hours and 30 minutes in the air.

Read on for a tantalising glimpse into a day at the office for one of Britains high-flyers.

If India, pictured, is scheduled on an afternoon or evening flight then she will spend the morning relaxing by going horse riding on Freddie

About three hours before the flight at 4.30pm India says a quick goodbye to Tina the dog, who India rescued when she was working out in Poland and brought home about a year and a half ago. While Indias away with work, her grandparents or dad usually look after Tina

Pilots are required to get to the airport approximately an hour and a half before departure. On arrival at the airport - in this case London Gatwick - the team go straight to the crew room to meet each other and begin the briefing

The pilots print off the flight plan, which is provided by Thomas Cook flight operations, and go through it together, as well as check the weather for the duration of the flight. Pictured is senior first officer India, her father Captain Charles Allix, left, and another Thomas Cook Captain

While the pilots have their briefing the cabin crew also go through theirs, pictured. Led by the cabin crew manager, the team go through the different phases of the flight and are assigned roles and tasks. Every cabin crew is also required to answer a number of safety questions. Cabin crew report to the crew room approximately one hour and 45 minutes before departure

The pilots and cabin crew board the plane, in this instance an Airbus A330, about 50 minutes before departure to begin their checks. This includes security searches, checking the equipment is serviceable and that there are no technical problems that would prevent the aircraft flying. There are also a number of checklists for the pilots to complete to set up the flight deck. Pilots will spend five to ten minutes checking the outside of the plane, too. Here they are looking at the general condition of the aircraft - checking that there are no dents or scratches, no oil leaks and no tubes are blocked. During this check they will also set the required amount of fuel on the fuel panel. For this Cape Town flight they took 80 tonnes

Calculating the take-off speeds  this is done by inputting the weather (wind, temperature, pressure), runway conditions and weight of passengers, bags and fuel. Much of this information is provided to India and the crew by the airport ground handlers

Take-off: India took control of take-off from London Gatwick. The Captain always controls the thrust in the unlikely event that the take-off needs to be aborted for safety reasons. Flights take off at different speeds depending on the weight of the aircraft and the weather conditions on the day such as the wind speed and direction, and whether the runway is wet or dry. However, a typical speed is around 150 knots, which is about 170mph

PA to passengers: On a night flight this is usually made around 40 minutes after take-off once the aircraft has levelled off and is at the cruise height so that passengers can sleep without being disturbed. During this PA, India explains the route they will be taking to Cape Town, the expected arrival time, expected weather on arrival and if any turbulence is likely on route

On the long-haul Cape Town flight all pilots have a three-hour rest break in the designated crew seats in the premium economy cabin at the front of the aircraft

Liaising with Air Traffic Control via the hand held microphone. The pilots are informed throughout the flight about which frequencies to change to, waypoints to fly to as well as changes of heading to avoid bad weather

Changing the heading to avoid a thunderstorm: This was about an hour and a half before arriving in Cape Town

The view while changing heading to avoid bad weather. This took place during the cruise at 41,000 feet. Pilots have a weather radar in order to detect areas of bad weather and they will also recognise it visually. In addition, during the pre-flight checks in the crew room they will check weather charts and therefore often have an idea of where to expect the bad weather

Reducing the speed in preparation for landing. India said: 'During the cruise we fly at 0.81 Mach (this means 81 per cent of the speed of sound). During the descent we fly around 300 knots (350mph), reducing to 250 knots (290 mph) by 10,000 feet. We then reduce the speed further to around 210 knots (240mph) about 15 miles from touchdown in order to be able to start selecting different flap settings for landing and reducing the speed further. A normal landing speed is about 135 knots (155 mph)'

The descent into Cape Town - not a bad view from the office

The view of Table Mountain, from about 3,000ft up, before and during turning onto the final approach

The approach into Cape Town: 'On an Airbus you dont touch the thrust except at take-off and until you reduce the thrust at landing because the aircrafts auto-thrust system controls it during the other phases,' India explained. 'But you always have your hand touching the thrust levers during the approach in the unlikely event of needing to abort that attempt and fly around for another approach'

This is at about 800ft and autopilot has been disconnected by now  it is disconnected at 1,000ft. Despite what the name suggests, pilots still have to tell autopilot what to do and when. Most landings are manual but the autopilot can perform the landing in foggy conditions

This is the final approach into Cape Town at a speed of about 135 knots (155mph)

'The taxi from landing to arriving on stand takes around three minutes, which is quite a short taxi,' India said. 'If it is a long taxi then we often shut down one engine in order to save fuel and comply with the "green operating procedures".'

Once on the ground the pilots begin the shutdown checks  this includes turning the seatbelt signs off for customers once the aircraft has come to complete stop, which is what India is doing in this photo. The outbound flight time was 11 hours 30 minutes

Outside the aircraft, which has two Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines

India said: 'When I first qualified as a pilot I was flying an A320 aircraft. When I joined Thomas Cook Airlines I was flying an A321 for short-haul trips before training on the A330 aircraft for long-haul flights. I will now fly a mixture of short and long-haul flights, which suits me perfectly, especially with animals at home so Im not leaving them for too long at a time'

India with her dad, Captain Charles Allix. She said: 'I have done seven short-haul flights with my Dad on the A321, but Cape Town is my first long haul trip with him on the A330. We really enjoy flying together and always remain professional and stick to the "SOP's" (Standard Operating Procedures) as if flying with any other pilot. However, unlike other pilots I fly alongside, he does comment on how often I re-apply my lipstick during the flight!'

India and the other two pilots had a four-day stopover in Cape Town so had lots of time to explore. One of Indias friends also joined her on the trip. While there they went horse riding, climbed table mountain, visited a leopard sanctuary and a local vineyard
While most travellers would agree its important to be aware of the cultural sensitivities of a destination before visiting it, for the majority of holidaymakers not everything needs spelling out.

From reminding citizens not to use the N-word when travelling, to warning them of Canadas obsession with gender equality and the minefield of LGBT issues in France, an etiquette guide has been published online by Russias Foreign Ministry, for its nationals.

The lengthy conduct guide, designed to eliminate any confusion and to prevent undesirable incidents, offers general advice such as showing friendliness and not abusing alcohol alongside 64 country-specific recommendations.

From reminding citizens not to use the N-word when travelling, to warning them of Canadas obsession with gender equality and the minefield of LGBT issues in France, an etiquette guide has been published online by Russias Foreign Ministry, for its nationals

In general, the Common Elements of Conduct guide advises Russians to be patient, to not be rude and to avoid humiliating the dignity of the local populations.

High on the list is the explanation that in countries with different shares of the black population to refrain from using the word "n*****" or "n****" and their derivatives.

Russians are reminded that arrogance and disregard for local customs can land them in legal trouble and to avoid using offensive hand gestures that are common in Hollywood films.

Advice on how to interact with different genders in Islamic countries is offered as well as dress code rules.

Read on for some of the most shocking country-specific advice.

Kenya

Russians visiting Kenya have been advised that they'll get a severe reaction if they compare locals to monkeys

Tourists are warned theyll get a severe reaction if they compare any Kenyan with a monkey.

Also, tapping a finger on the head during a conversation to indicate below-par mental faculties is deem an insult.

Additionally poking a finger at a Kenyan may trigger aggression.

Canada

Russians visiting Canada are told to avoid telling sexist jokes.

[In] Canada, which has long legalised same-sex marriage, there is a serious "fixation" on gender equality,' the guide says.

Visitors are warned that not only could they face public censure but in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, they are at risk of being fined if accused of a hate crime.

The guide states: Refrain from showing emotions when dealing with the opposite sex in order to avoid accusations of attempts of sexual harassment.'

And dont compare Canadians to Americans, it adds.

United Kingdom

Russians have been told to avoid flicking the V sign and raising the middle finger in the UK

Its important to understand non-verbal communication in the UK, visitors are advised.

Theyre told to avoid the flicking the V sign and raising their middle finger.

There is also a note that raising the eyebrows is seen as a gesture of scepticism.

France

The advice states: Avoid behaviour against women which can be seen as a manifestation of "sexism".

It is advisable not to respond to members of the LGBT community [with] insulting words or gestures.

Furthermore tourists are strongly recommended to ask for a menu in Russian or English as their attempts to pronounce French dish names can lead to conflict situations.

Norway

If Russian families visit Norway they shouldnt strike their children in public as there is strict legal prohibition of all forms of violence against children, including spanking, cuffs, increasing voice.

They are advised that such actions may provoke the complaints of citizens to the guardianship and the police with all the consequences'.

Netherlands

Tardiness is considered offensive in the Netherlands, the guide warns. Also its rude to interrupt a conversation to take a phone call.

Further handy tips include avoiding conversations about the Dutch royal family, and anything nationalist and anti-Semitic in nature.

Also its best not to compare the Netherlands and Germany, or their languages.

Mexico

Mexicans display restrained gestures, according to the advice, as such active hand movements are perceived as aggression.

Politeness is advised in the country and please, thank you should be used as often as possible.

Interestingly, the guide observes that in Mexico gloom is not welcome. Smile and courtesy  [is a] normal and common phenomenon'.

Thailand

Do not touch the head of a Thai, point, or poke him, visitors are advised.

They are told to be respectful of the Thai Royal family and the guide also claims: Do not raise your voice to the Thais. It is considered an insult.

MailOnline Travel has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment.
Advertisement

Fliers longing to experience the opulence of 1920s and 30s silver screen America can now step back in time on board an Art Deco-inspired private jet.

Two decadent designs  the Manhattan and the Hollywood - have been unveiled by Embraer and are steeped in sumptuous details such as mahogany tables, gold trimmed bars and leather sofas.

Up to 19 guests can travel on each jet, which feature a master bedroom and two-person shower, but the bespoke time warp aircraft don't come cheap. Each aircraft, Lineage 1000Es, costs $80million (63.5million).

Two decadent designs  the Manhattan and the Hollywood - have been unveiled by Embraer. The Hollywood is inspired by black-and-white films, specifically the MGM look. It is meant to be simplistic, open and streamlined

Its designer said: 'These 3D sculpted leather reliefs celebrate the history of Hollywood by paying homage to the Sunset Tower, Howard Hughes aircraft and some of the famous automobiles marking the streets of Hollywood in the 1930s'

Mr Beever added: 'Simulated crystal, developed for aircraft, created special lighting opportunities. The 3D sculpted sidewall and headliner trim of the Hollywood take advantage of space rarely considered a canvas for art'

Embraers vice president of interior design, Jay Beever, used a French ocean liner, the SS Normandie, vintage cars, glitzy jewellery and Art Deco architecture from the 1920s and 1930s as sources of aesthetic inspiration.

He worked with former Disney imagineer Eddie Sotto to craft the lavish, golden-age experiences.

Embraer's Lineage 1000E is 84ft-long with a 6ft 7in high cabin. It has five cabin zones, which include a master suite with an optional walk-in shower and a large bed.

Designed in shades of grey, with red leather accents and chrome trims, The Hollywood is based on MGM black-and-white movies of the 1930s, according to the luxury private jet company.

Inside, a 3D leather relief illustrates the history of Hollywood with images of retro cars, Howard Hughes and the Sunset Tower.

The bar features gold stools and back-lit crystal sculptures in the walls, while the dining area - the Crystal room - has space for six to be formally seated.

Mr Beever outlined: 'Hollywood is inspired by black-and-white film, specifically the MGM look. It is meant to be more simplistic, open and streamlined.'

Up to 19 guests can travel on each bespoke jet, which feature a master bedroom and two person shower

Embraers vice president of interior design, Jay Beever, worked with former Disney imagineer Eddie Sotto to craft the lavish, golden age experiences

The bespoke time warp aircraft don't come cheap - without interiors they are listed at $53million (42million), but once the bespoke fits are added, the price soars to an eye-watering $80million (63.5million)

Embraer's Lineage 1000E is 84ft-long with a 6ft 7in high cabin - and five cabin zones

In contrast, with its dark wood, lambskin leather sofas and mohair soft furnishings, the Manhattan exudes the imposing grandeur of a gentlemens club.

According to the team, its brass and mahogany lounge and bar were modelled after the Chrysler building while its entry area took design points from the Empire State Buildings lobby.

Mr Beever explained: The metallic entry mural and the use of intarsia are reminiscent of the stunning mural in the lobby of the iconic skyscraper [the Empire State Building], and the Cloud Club Bar was inspired by the Chrysler Building.

The Manhattan exudes the imposing grandeur of a gentlemens club. The metallic entry mural and the use of intarsia are reminiscent of the lobby of the Empire State Building

With its mahogany walls and gold trims, The Cloud Club bar, above, was inspired by the Chrysler Building

Dinner with sky-high views: The dining area - the Crystal room - has space for six to be formally seated

The large bar lounge window was inspired by the Jean Michel Frank furniture and interior designs found throughout Manhattan.

He also said the panelled spaces and wall reliefs found in ocean liners of the time including SS Normandie are referenced in the design.

Without interiors each aircraft is listed at $53million (42million) but once the bespoke fit is added, the price soars to an eye-watering $80million (63.5million).

For jet-setters with smaller pockets, there will also be a chance to charter them privately.

Mr Beaver added: 'The use of aircraft mohair and lamb skin leathers make for luxurious seating applications. The exotic veneers and marquetry utilise methods from the period'

The large bar lounge window was inspired by the Jean Michel Frank furniture and interior designs found throughout Manhattan

Mr Beever said: 'Manhattan is inspired by the great panelled spaces found in the ocean liners of the time, like the French-built Normandie or the furniture styles of Ruhlmann'

The two aircraft have distinctly different exterior designs. They offer passengers a flight range of 4,600 miles
They thrilled fans when they recently decided to stay in their 'marriage' on Married at First Sight.

But according to a report in Woman's Day this week, there might already be trouble in paradise for stunning blonde Sharon Marsh and her TV 'husband' Nick Furphy.

According to the publication, insiders believe Sharon, who has often talked about her trust issues, 'might have a reason to be fearful' of Nick's close friendship with longtime pal, Cassie Wainwright.

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Trouble in paradise? MAFS star Sharon Marsh (pictured) is reportedly 'fearful' of 'husband' Nick Furphy's close friendship with his longtime pal Cassie Wainwright

The publication says the pair have been seen getting 'very cosy' together and that they regularly go out partying.

Woman's Day also claim sources say Nick only went on Married at First Sight for fame and has the same publicist as former MAFS star Jono Pitman.

Indeed, Nick's Instagram account features plenty shots of him out with friends and Cassie.

Rumours: Woman's Day also claim sources say Nick only went on Married at First Sight for fame and has the same publicist as former MAFS star Jono Pitman

Close: The publication says Nick and Cassie (pictured centre and L) have been seen getting 'very cosy' together and that they regularly go out partying

It seems Cassie is determined to set the record straight on their relationship, saying it's just platonic.

Underneath one snap of the pair, fans asked Nick: 'Wheres your wife mate?', with Cassie replying: 'He can actually have friends too,' in part of her comment.

Cassie recently shared a shot of herself to Instagram with Nick and some friends, calling them 'three of the best humans.'

She also recently said she was 'proud' of Nick for taking the chance to find love on the show.

Supportive: It seems Cassie is determined to set the record straight on their relationship, saying it's just platonic

Happy for him: She also recently said she was 'proud' of Nick for taking the chance to find love on the show

'So proud of my best mate @nick_furphy86 for taking the chance for love on @marriedatfirstsightaustralia ! Everyone will get to see what a legend of a human he is #marriedatfirstsight #nickfurphy #ocrew #mafs.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted all parties for comment in relation to this article.

The new claims are a far cry from recent reports.

The couple made headlines recently, after pictures surfaced showing the stunning twin looking at baby bibs while out shopping.

Expecting? The couple made headlines recently, after pictures surfaced showing the stunning twin looking at baby bibs while out shopping

They told OK! Magazine last week that they have plans to start a family.

'I can't give too much away,' Nick, 29 told the publication.

Sharon added: 'I'm definitely at that stage in my life [where] I would like to start a family and have a legal marriage soon,' Sharon, 32, told the publication.

Nick added that he is 'head over heels' in love and that he is 'proud to say she is mine.'

Although Sharon did not elaborate further on the pregnancy she added that she couldn't wait to have kids and she hopes to have twins, while Nick is hoping to have two or three kids down the line and maybe a boy and a girl.

Going strong: They told OK! Magazine last week that they have plans to start a family
When the cast of Scandal turned up to the show's presentation at Paleyfest on Sunday, leading lady Kerry Washington was a showstopper.

The 40-year-old, who stars as crisis management firm chief Olivia Pope, had slid into an eye-popping scarlet Roksanda jumpsuit that gave a generous glimpse of cleavage.

Having given birth to her second child in October, she showed off her enviably trim post-baby body in the figure-hugging ensemble, which cinched about her waistline.

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Scene-stealer: When the cast of Scandal turned up to the show's presentation at Paleyfest on Sunday, leading lady Kerry Washington was a showstopper in Roksanda

Gleaming fabric bordered her sloping neckline, as well as her waist, and bows at her elbows separated the tight upper part of her sleeves from the flowing cuffs.

The Bronx-born Django Unchained actress had slicked her hair back and wound it into a high updo, completing her look with a pair of gold-colored stilettos.

At one point, she was seen lifting her phone, leaning backward and smiling up toward the screen, seemingly in order to take a selfie.

When you got it: The 40-year-old, who stars as crisis management firm chief Olivia Pope, had slid into an eye-popping scarlet jumpsuit that gave a generous glimpse of cleavage

Five months on: Having given birth to her second child in October, she showed off her enviably trim post-baby body in the figure-hugging ensemble, which cinched about her waistline

Ear to ear: At one point, she was seen lifting her phone, leaning backward and smiling up toward the screen, seemingly in order to take a selfie

Meanwhile, Katie Lowes, who features as Olivia's employee Quinn Perkins, wore a gently pleated skirt that fell past the knee and had dark checks on a white field.

Her sleeveless black top matched black ankle-strap kitten flats, as well as complementing the fossil grey clutch she'd brought.

Tony Goldwyn, who plays the dashing United States President Fitzgerald 'Fitz' Thomas Grant III, had flung on what looked like a velour midnight blue blazer.

Stunner: Kerry finished off her elegant ensemble with Christian Louboutin heels

High spirits: Bellamy Young, a.k.a. the First Lady on the ABC drama, had slid into a nude backless dress heavily pleated below the waist, as well as nude stilettos

Relaxed: Scott Foley, who plays the NSA director, wore the most casual look, showcasing his toned arms in a greenish black T-shirt he'd thrown on over black trousers and shoes

Enigmatic smile: Darby Stanfield, who plays an Olivia Pope-employee-turned-White-House-Press-Secretary, bared a bit of her impressively flat midriff while posing

A couple of buttons of his white dress shirt were undone, offering a hint of chest hair, and he'd tucked the top into faded jeans that fell onto walnut brown shoes.

Cornelius Smith, Jr., who plays White House Press Secretary Marcus Walker, donned an elegant brown suit over a powder blue dress shirt.

Bellamy Young, a.k.a. the First Lady on the ABC drama, had slid into a nude backless dress heavily pleated below the waist, as well as nude stilettos.

She further accessorized her ensemble with a variety of glittering jewels, including rings from Ileana Makri and Randall Scott, and Sylva & Cie earrings.

Dapper Dan: Cornelius Smith, Jr., who plays White House Press Secretary Marcus Walker, donned an elegant brown suit over a powder blue dress shirt

Pop of contrast: Joshua Malina, whose character is the United States Attorney General, jazzed up his muted blue checked shirt and midnight blue suit with a light green pocket square

Darby Stanfield, who plays an Olivia Pope-employee-turned-White-House-Press-Secretary, bared a bit of her impressively flat midriff while posing.

Her glinting chrome top matched her clutch and featured a slanting hem, clashing artfully against high-waisted flowing black slacks.

Stanfield's red hair, which went elegantly with her top, had been pulled back severely and tied up into a low ponytail that spilled over her shoulders.

Cheery: Guillermo Diaz, whose character used to be an assassin and since began working in tech at Olivia's company, had popped on a busily patterned blue and grey shirt

The Pope family: Joe Morton, who features as Olivia's father, had popped on a navy dress shirt below a pale grey suit, chucking in a third color by way of camel-colored shoes

Joe Morton, who features as Olivia's father, had popped on a navy dress shirt below a pale grey suit, chucking in a third color by way of camel-colored shoes.

Jeff Perry portrays a former White House Chief Of Staff who then becomes a vice presidential candidate, and turned up to the event with his daughter Leah.

Perry The Elder had got on a pale blue suit over a white dress shirt that he'd buttoned all the way to the top despite wearing it without a tie.

Simply elegant: Meanwhile, Katie Lowes, who features as Olivia's employee Quinn Perkins, wore a gently pleated skirt that fell past the knee and had dark checks on a white field

Top brass: Tony Goldwyn, who plays the dashing United States President Fitzgerald 'Fitz' Thomas Grant III, had flung on what looked like a velour midnight blue blazer

Scott Foley, who plays the NSA director, wore the most casual look, showcasing his toned arms in a greenish black T-shirt he'd thrown on over black trousers and shoes.

Joshua Malina, whose character is the United States Attorney General, jazzed up his muted blue checked shirt and midnight blue suit with a light green pocket square.

Guillermo Diaz, whose character used to be an assassin and since began working in tech at Olivia's company, had popped on a busily patterned blue and grey shirt.

Family day: Jeff Perry portrays a former White House Chief Of Staff who then becomes a vice presidential candidate, and turned up to the event with his daughter Leah

A navy suit, complete with a matching pocket square, added a dapper feel to the ensemble, though he still kept the casual element in via sneakers.

While inside the event, Kerry found herself sat in between Bellamy and Tony as the assembled cast members addressed an audience from the stage.

In a particularly sweet moment, Tony leaned over and gave Kerry a kiss on the forehead, while placing one hand on her knee and another on her shoulder.

En route to the seat: While inside the event, Kerry found herself sat in between Bellamy and Tony as the assembled cast members addressed an audience from the stage
He's the shock jock who first revealed he had sex with a transsexual woman in 2015.

And KIIS FM host Kyle Sandilands recalled the memory in an interview with Dannii Minogue and Waleed Aly on Monday, during a discussion on the Logie Awards.

After re-telling his experience, the 45-year-old turned his attention to The Project host Waleed and questioned if he had ever had the same encounter.

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Memories: Kyle Sandilands recalled having sex with a transsexual woman in an interview with Dannii Minogue and Waleed Aly on Monday

Once Dannii had finished talking about her role as the TV WEEK Logie Awards ambassador, Gold Logie nominee and previous winner Waleed jumped on the line.

Kyle grilled his guests about rumours surrounding The Voice hosts Delta Goodrem and Seal having sex, then asked Waleed if he'd slept with any women in the industry.

'I was married well before I got into TV,' he calmly answered. 'I think I was married before I got a job.'

Chit chat: Once Dannii had finished talking about her role as the TV WEEK Logie Awards ambassador, Gold Logie nominee and previous winner Waleed jumped on the line

He asked Waleed what year he married his wife, Dr. Susan Carland, and the media personality recalled the special occasion took place in 2002.

'2002? Great year,' Kyle said. 'That was the year I was having sex with a transsexual, remember that Jackie? That was a big year.'

'I feel like you have some very, very weird markers for things that help you remember years,' Waleed offered.

'That's something you don't forget Waleed!' Kyle responded. 'I don't know if you've ever done that?'

'I feel like you have some very, very weird markers for things that help you remember years,' Waleed offered to Kyle during their interview

'No, I can confirm that I haven't,' Waleed answered.

'Let me tell you, man to man. By the time you're halfway through it and realise hang on, this is a bloke, you don't want to hurt her feelings, you just go for it,' Kyle said.

'I'll keep that in the back of my mind,' Waleed replied.

'I feel there's a little bit of oversharing here today,' Dannii added to the conversation.

'Let me tell you, man to man. By the time you're halfway through it and realise hang on, this is a bloke, you don't want to hurt her feelings, you just go for it,' Kyle said

Kyle first divulged his story during a show two years ago.

He was mid-conversation with a ring-in guest named Amanda and abruptly announced, 'I've gone the full deal with a transsexual, bet you didn't know that?'

'I'm not attracted to blokes, just the one trannie,' he continued. 'I wasn't even attracted to it, I just wanted it.'
Every day the top morning TV programs go to war over ratings, doing everything possible to gain the biggest audience.

And every year, the battle of the breakfast ratings heat up between Sunrise and the Today show when they both go on a trip away to broadcast from different locations.

This year is no exception, with Sunrise heading to the US while the Today show have settled with a simple week travelling around Australia for the second year in a row.

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Does this mean war? Sunrise try to undermine The Today Show by going to the US again

Sunrise went to America for their week away last year, leaving The Today Show in Australia

The two shows have been battling for ratings for years and as the two most successful breakfast programs in Australia, it's now more important than ever to come out on top.

Sunrise have decided to take it that extra step further for their week away by planning a jam-packed week travelling frantically around America.

Sam Armytage, David Koch, Edwina Bartholomew and the team did the same thing in 2016 in an attempt to further boost their audience.

This time the Sunrise team have left it up to viewers to vote where the hosts go each day and the audience will have the chance to go into the running to join the cast when they vote.

They will be going to Hawaii, California, Nevada, Texas and one other southern state.

Race you to the top! The hosts of both shows are fighting to be the top breakfast TV show

Keeping it more simple, the Today show has opted for a humble trip around Australia.

Karl Stefanovic, Sylvia Jeffreys, Lisa Wilkinson and the gangs will be going to Bowral (NSW), Gold Coast (QLD), Strahan (TAS), Inverloch (VIC) and end their trip at the Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast.

Left in the dark? The Today Show have been overpowered again by Sunrise's exciting US trip

Sunrise and Today show's rating battle last year resulted in a very public legal case.

Channel Seven launched a statement in the Federal Court in 2016 to stop Channel Nine running promo spots on air claiming that is the highest rating breakfast show after official yearly ratings were unclear.

The court case was eventually dropped with no result, however the Today show no longer claims in their promos that they are the number one breakfast show.

This feud resulted in the female hosts from both shows passive-aggressively tweet each other about both of their shows being number one, with Samantha Armytage saying: 'Thanks for saving our court costs'.
Dan Aykroyd paid tribute to his former fiancee Carrie Fisher during a public memorial service for the late Star Wars star and her mother Debbie Reynolds.

The 64-year-old Ghostbusters star at the Los Angeles memorial described once using the Heimlich maneuver when Fisher was choking on food, according to an article by People.

'Firstly, I feel responsible in part myself for why Carrie is not with us today because I once saved her life applying the Heimlich to dislodge a Brussels sprout,' Aykroyd revealed.

Memorial service: Dan Aykroyd talked about once saving his former fiancee Carrie Fisher with during a public memorial service Saturday for the actress and her mother Debbie Reynolds

He joked that if he had been on the plane when 'our beloved showboat' fell ill in December that he 'might have been able to save her again.'

He echoed a sentiment expressed by many early in his remarks.

'We really shouldn't be here this soon,' he said.

Aykroyd also talked about their romantic relationship and how she sought advice from musician Paul Simon whom she also dated.

Formerly engaged: The former Saturday Night Live star and Fisher were briefly engaged

'She had long conversations on the phone in my presence with Paul Simon, with whom she was attempting to reconcile at the time of my relationship with her,' the comedian said.

'Here I found myself in love with a woman who was returning to a former intimate, and might I say a much better choice. But a woman who confided deeply in me and who valued my counsel,' he added.

Aykroyd also shared that he and Fisher considered having children together.

Live show: Aykrod is shown as Tom Snyder and Fisher as Linda Blair during a 'Tomorrow' skit on Saturday Night Live on November 18, 1978

Famous couple: Paul Simon is shown with ex-wife Fisher in February 1982 in London

'Although Carrie and I did not get married, we had taken blood tests in anticipation of maybe having a child and a doctor in Chicago took them for us. Because babies and Christmas were great joys for Carrie,' he said.

Aykroyd and Fisher starred in the hit 1980 comedy The Blues Brothers alongside the late John Belushi.

'So what would the offspring of Princess Leia and Elwood Blues have turned out like?' Aykroyd asked.

Comedy classic: Fisher is shown in a still from the 1980 comedy The Blues Brothers starring Aykroyd and John Belushi

'Funny, quick, spiritual, haunted, pursued, talented, acerbic, deviant, genius, tech motor device engine and music savvy. In other words, we would have had Todd Fisher,' Aykroyd said.

He also talked fondly of Reynolds who he said welcomed him when he first came to Los Angeles.

Aykroyd later acted with her in the 2013 HBO Liberace biopic Behind The Candelabra.

Hollywood icon: Debbie Reynolds is shown in a still from the 2013 HBO biopic Behind The Candelabra about Liberace

'She looked insanely appealing coming and going from her work. Even with the horn, the glasses and the padding, Debbie was a star. A comment which she disapproved of me saying at the time,' he said.

The two-hour ceremony was led by Carrie's brother and Debbie's son Todd Fisher, 59, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles.

He called it a 'show' saying his mother hated to attend memorials.

Show time: Todd Fisher led the two-hour memorial for his sister and mother

Hundreds of fans - some wearing "Star Wars" attire - attended the public ceremony that featured numerous family photos and Reynolds' final interview reflecting on her life and philanthropy.

Fisher, 60, an actress and writer who starred as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, died December 27 after suffering a medical emergency days earlier aboard a flight from London to Los Angeles

Reynolds, an Oscar-nominated actress for her role in The Unsinkable Molly Brown, died the following day at age 84.

Public memorial: The Gay Mens Chorus of Los Angeles performed during the public memorial

After the service, fans were invited to see the actresses' final resting place at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills, a storied cemetery where numerous celebrities, including Bette Davis and Liberace, are buried or interred.

Many also paused to snap photos with some of the actresses' memorabilia that was displayed outside the theater, including two dresses Fisher wore while filming Star Wars and When Harry Met Sally.

Fans also took snaps with two of Reynolds' costumes from Singin' In The Rain" and Unsinkable Molly Brown.

On display: Costumes that Fisher wore in Star Wars were on display at the memorial




She only just gave birth five months ago, but Olivia Wilde was back with a baby belly on Sunday.

The 33-year-old was seen shooting scenes for her upcoming movie, Life Itself, alongside co-star Oscar Isaac in New York City.

No doubt things got a little interesting on set as Olivia ended up belly up while laying on the ground while filming a scene.

It seemed like she was in good hands, however, as her dashing co-star could be seen tending to her.

And baby bump makes three... Olivia Wilde was seen filming scenes for her new movie, Life Itself, alongside co-star Oscar Isaac

What a team: Oscar tended to Olivia as they filmed a scene with her belly up on the ground

Dressed in skinny dark blue jeans, cream sneakers, a white printed T-shirt and navy blue bomber jacket, the Vinyl star appeared heavily pregnant as she took to the streets of Manhattan.

Meanwhile, Oscar looked handsome in rolled up blue jeans, light brown lace up shoes, a black T-shirt and black blazer as they filmed scenes for the new movie.

Just days earlier, the blonde bombshell had poked fun at her fake belly on Instagram, sharing a photo of her sizable bump.

'Breakfast burrito hit the spot,' she captioned it. '#newgig #oldfeeling #realburrito #fakebaby #ididntknowiwaspregnantwithabreakfastburrito #LifeItselfmovie'

Sharing a moment: The two actors were seen filming an intimate scene on the streets of New York City on Sunday

Jump to it: The lively actress was seen bouncing around in between takes on set, much to her co-star's amusement

That's gotta hurt: No doubt it was a serious scene as Olivia laid there motionless

Relaxed: In between takes Olivia laid up against a bus

Faking it: 'Breakfast burrito hit the spot,' she captioned this photo of herself sporting a prosthetic belly

Olivia is already mom to son Otis, four, and daughter Daisy, five months, with partner Jason Sudeikis, 41, who she's been with since 2011.

Speaking of her first pregnancy, the actress said it made her feel like a 'goddess'.

'I just thought, "Oh, I'm going to hide this forever,"' she told Lucky magazine in 2014. 'But I ended up getting kind of excited to show the bump, as a badge of pride, like, "I'm a woman! Look at me making a human! I am a goddess!"'

Surprise pregnancy? The 33-year-old appeared animated while filming scenes for her new movie, Life Itself

All eyes on the bump: Olivia's co-star couldn't seem to stop staring at her protruding baby belly while on set

Waiting game: The two actors were seen waiting for their cue inside a CVS pharmacy in New York City

She also learnt to embrace the changes happening to her body.

'I'm like, double D, hello!' she added. 'I've never been in this section of the bra store! I've been flat-chested my whole life, so it's a wonderful new world.'

But more than anything, Olivia said falling pregnant made her feel more connected to other women, as well as her own children.

'Pregnancy brings you into this sort of commune - you feel connected to women in a way that you never have,' she revealed. '[The baby's] moving around in there and no one else can tell - it's a little secret friendship.'
Australian-born Hollywood star Melissa George has revealed shocking text messages she received from her ex-partner telling her to stop breastfeeding their young son.

The mother-of-two is currently locked in a much publicised battle with Jean David Blanc over the custody of their two children Raphael, three, and Solal, one.

And during a radio interview with KIIS FM's Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson on Monday morning, the former Home And Away star detailed the abuse she claims she's been subjected to at the hands of Blanc.

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Shocking: Australian-born Hollywood star Melissa George has revealed text messages she received from her ex-partner Jean David Blanc telling her to stop breastfeeding their son

'You know I just received a text message (from her ex-partner) because I'm still breastfeeding my son,' Melissa told the radio stars.

'It said: "As I told you and as I tried to explain to you, you must stop breastfeeding my son Solal, otherwise you'll destroy him."

"He wakes up in the middle of the night and asks for breast, not for milk, what do you want me to do? Unless you put your boobs in a bag I don't see any other solution."

'You must stop breastfeeding my son Solal': During a radio interview with KIIS FM's Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson on Monday morning, the former Home And Away star detailed the abuse she claims she's been subjected to at the hands of Blanc

An emotional Melissa spoke with the controversial radio duo about what she alleges was an abusive five-year relationship with Blanc.

Just weeks after a tearful tell-all interview with Channel Seven current affairs show Sunday Night about her relationship and custody battle, it was clear the incident has taken a toll on the actress.

'I don't care, you can take my country, you take my career, take whatever you want, but if you take a breastfeeding child from its mother and you make fun of the mother and you send a message like that knowing that I have to pump my milk when I don't have my baby for the week because I want him to be the one who decides if he wants to give up or not. This is cruelty,' Melissa said.

'You can say whatever you want... (but) it's about a baby, it's about family, I'm not crying for a job... it's the basics of nature and caring and maternal instinct.'

Emotional: 'You can say whatever you want... (but) it's about a baby, it's about family, I'm not crying for a job,' the Australian-born actress told the controversial radio duo

Opening up: Melissa read out the text messages on Sydney radio with stars Kyle Sandliands (left) and Jackie 'O' Henderson (right)

Saying she just wanted a 'fair' resolution to the situation with her ex-partner, Melissa told how her children had been forced to spend the majority of last year overseas.

Stuck in France with her children after Blanc took out a court order preventing them from leaving the country, the actress is currently in limbo.

During her interview with Sunday Night, Melissa also detailed allegations of abuse at the hands of her ex-partner.

Shattered: Melissa recently opened up about her traumatic relationship and attempts to flee France with her two children during an interview with Channel Seven's Sunday Night

Revealing: During the interview, Melissa showed marks around her wrists, bruising on her back (right) and hip (left), a broken inner lip and a huge lump above her eye as a result of the alleged attack

Horrific photographs that showed her bruised face after she was allegedly slammed head-first into a metal coat rack by Blanc were revealed.

Blanc firmly denies the allegations of violence. Last month, both he and Melissa were convicted of assault over the incident - a judgement both parties are appealing.

Melissa claimed Jean - the millionaire father of her boys Raphael, three, and Solal, one - was emotionally and physically abusive during their five-year romance, claims he denies.
The news that Top Gear would be returning had left fans shocked last month, in light of the highly unsuccessful series last year.

However it seems the 2017 edition of the show has won viewers over once again, as supporters were quick to praise the most recent episode as one of the 'best ever'.

Loyal fans flocked to Twitter on Sunday night to compliment the third reboot of the show, hosted Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris and Rory Reid - admitting the BBC may have finally 'cracked' the show's original winning formula.

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Success: The new series of Top Gear, hosted by Chris Harris, Matt LeBlanc and Rory Reid (L-R), appears to have won over viewers as they praised Sunday's episode as one of 'the best ever'

The most recent episode of the series saw former Friends star Matt ride an impressive Ducati 1299 Superleggera motorcycle, while Chris cruised around in a 2million Bugatti Chiron.

After endless poor reviews last year with Matt and Chris Evans as hosts, it seems the beloved motoring show is back to its best, after viewers flocked to social media to praise the new hosting line-up and top-of-the-range selection of vehicles.

One fan wrote: '#topgear keeps getting better! That was excellent. All more relaxed and friendly, better chemistry. Great films.'

It's back: Fans flocked to Twitter to compliment the third reboot, hosted Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris and Rory Reid - stating it has finally 'cracked' the show's original winning formula

While another added in a bold statement: 'OK, so I'm gonna put this out there, as a huge fan of the show I think tonight's #TopGear was possibly the best episode in years........'

More viewers added to the fray, writing: '#topgear has been brilliant this season since they changed it up and kept it simple!' and '#TopGear this series has been awesome so far and loving the new presenters.'

A further viewer noted the series may have finally found success again after the original popular line-up of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, writing: 'Another good episode of #TopGear. Might have cracked it this year.'

Better than ever: Other viewers penned it better than the original Clarkson-Hammond-May line-up, while others acknowledged its success without Chris Evans

While others acknowledged it was coming across more natural, adding: 'Great to see the love for #TopGear here. It's really hitting its stride now, the team is working well, and there's a real joy about it.'

Clearly impressed with the new American host, another wrote: 'Never seen @JeremyClarkson ride a super bike. Matt LeBlanc is the new #TopGear god.'

While another added of Chris Evans' unsuccessful stint on the show: 'It sort of feels like its back, much better without Evans.'

Hollywood actor and car enthusiast Matt made his return to 2017 series earlier this month, alongside motoring journalists Chris Harris and Rory Reid.

Dream team: Hollywood actor and car enthusiast Matt (R) made his return to 2017 series earlier this month, alongside motoring journalists Chris Harris (centre) and Rory Reid (L)

The show was first given a revamp in May last year, when host Jeremy Clarkson's contract was not renewed - causing his popular co-stars Richard Hammond and James May to quit.

Matt and Chris Evans were then drafted in as the new front men, but the show suffered a huge drop in ratings - causing Evans, 50, to quit after one series.

Radio presenter Chris made his departure following poor reviews, saying he gave it his best shot but it was 'not enough'.

Not good enough: Matt and Chris Evans were then drafted in as the new front men, but the show suffered a huge drop in ratings - causing Evans, 50, to quit after one series

Following his resignation, Chris said Matt was the 'captain' that the programme needed going forward and should remain on the show, dismissing reports that the pair's relationship had broken down amid flagging audience figures.

The third revamp of the show has been met with more positive reviews - with LeBlanc receiving a rave reaction last week when he tested out an Aston Martin DB11 in a James Bond-style suit.

While the episodes have been receiving a positive response on Twitter, the new series debut brought in 2.8million viewers - when Chris' 2016 debut was watched by 4.4million viewers.

Kicking off: The show was first given a revamp in May, when host Jeremy Clarkson's contract was not renewed - causing his co-stars Richard Hammond (L) and James May (R) to quit

Adding up? While the episodes have received a positive response, the new series debut brought in 2.8million viewers - when Chris' 2016 debut (above) garnered 4.4million viewers

However new host Chris Harris recently told The Sun that the team have been working hard to get fans back on board, by ensuring the vehicles are the show's main priority.

He said: 'Its a bit more car-orientated so the petrolheads are enjoying it.'

'I want to still be the guy who drives the cars and demonstrates what they do. But equally I now have to make television.

'Im working alongside one of the best comedy actors of my generation and that can be pretty daunting. But he is super, super giving and very helpful.'
Dannii Minogue will begin mentoring up-and-coming artists after becoming the first ever ambassador for the Logies.

The 45-year-old TV personality has joined the judging panel of the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding Newcomer and will also serve as mentor to the nominees in that category in addition to the Best Newcomer award.

She told The Today Show Extra on Monday: 'The Logies are going somewhere different and I like what's happening with it.'

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Dannii Minogue us set to take on the role of the first ever Logies ambassador and mentor

When asked who she thought would take the Gold Logie, she wasn't sure who to pick for the winning spot.

She said: 'Well there's been a lot of chat about there only being one girl in there who is Jessica Marais who has been stealing all the limelight between the guys.'

'But also Pete Helliar has been campaigning for a long time, so I don't know.'

'The Logies are going somewhere different and I like what's happening with it': Dannii will spend time with Logie nominees and give them advice before the award ceremony

She previously told The Daily Telegraph that she's keen to continue giving music advice, after having previously taken on a similar mentoring role during her time on X Factor in the UK and Australia.

'I won't spend the same length of time with them [as with X Factor contestants] but we'll be able to chat, and maybe I can try and help fast track some things for them or give them some ideas of stuff they might want to go away and do,' she said.

While talking with The Today Show, Dannii revealed that she will be featuring on Tina Arena's new cover album.

'I've done a cover version of Sorrento Moon and my dad will hate it!' Dannii will feature on Tina Arena's new album

Dannii said: 'It's such an honour because I used to watch Tina on Young Talent Time before I joined and even when I'm in a room with her today, I'm still in awe.'

Tina Arena's new album will feature a range of different artists covering her most well known songs.

Dannii said: 'I was asked which song I would like to do and I said Sorrento Moon!'

'So I've done a cover version and my dad will hate it because he loves the original, but Tina is singing on it with me.'

She added: 'In the studio I was literally shaking like a leaf thinking 'I don't want to be singing in the same room as Tina Arena!' but she's so adorable and she's always looked after me and this song is something I've got forever now.'
Kenya Moore reunited with her mercurial toy boy Matt Jordan on Sunday's episode of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta.

Kenya, 46, convened with Matt, 29, to celebrate the birthday of their dog King.

The meeting quickly descended into another argument.

Dog's birthday: Matt Jordan met up with Kenya Moore for their dog's birthday during Sunday's episode of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta

'Let me point out some of your flaws,' he yelled.

'You ruin everything that's good,' she told him.

'I'll be in jail and you'll be single and miserable,' shouted back Matt, a fitness instructor.

Kenya implied that she could be with someone else, but Matt questioned it.

Toxic relationship: Kenya declared they had a toxic relationship

Strong start: Matt brought Kenya flowers as the get together started strong

Cute pup: Kenya and Matt were celebrating their dog's one-year birthday

'We didn't have sex in my truck the other night because you wanted to?' he asked, cradling his head in his hands.

'Go get whoever you need to get to make you whole, because I'm not that guy,' he told her.

Kenya pronounced the relationship 'toxic'.

Nasty argument: The celebration soon turned ugly as Kenya and Matt started arguing

'I'm doneI have to let Matt go,' she declared as she walked out.

The show opened with Cynthia Bailey planning a fashion show for her line of bags under the Cargo brand.

Sheree Whitfield's son Kairo was struggling to perfect his runway walk, while Sheree hustled for 'compensation' for him.

Both ways: Matt was ready to tell Kenya her shortcomings

Getting emotional: Kenya consoled Matt as their relationship came to a dramatic end

Walked away: The former beauty queen carried her roses and walked away from Matt

'He might get a free bag,' frowned Cynthia as she watched Kairo's abysmal catwalk attempts.

Much to Cynthia's disgust Kairo was late for the fashion show.

But come showtime Sheree was pleased with Kairo's performance.

Running late: Cynthia Bailey tried to contact Sheree Whitfield's son Kairo who was running late

Runway debut: Kairo made his runway debut modeling Cynthia's bags

'My baby shut down the runway tonight,' said the self-proclaimed 'momager' proudly.

Cynthia, 49, later met with Phaedra Parks, 46, to discuss the recent troubles in Maui.

Phaedra was annoyed that Porsha Williams had told the women that her divorce was already finalized.

The momager: Sheree Whitfield was proud of her son

'Porsha mentions a lot doesn't she?' she huffed.

Phaedra called the divorce party, organised by Kenya: 'Shortsighted, insensitive and possibly evil'.

'I don't think there was any ill intent,' disagreed Cynthia.

Not mean: Cynthia argued that Kenya's divorce party for Phaedra was not ill intended

Kenya lamented never receiving an apology from Phaedra for accusing her of 'ending her marriage'.

'Phaedra lives this life for the public where she wants everybody to think she cares about everybody and then you got the ratchet side, she's going to continue to do her dirty work behind closed doors, knees open,' she raged.

Phaedra was also plotting against Kandi Burruss. She met with her lawyer to discuss Johnnie Winston, a former assistant at the Kandi Factory.

Legal issue: Phaedra Parks brought Johnnie Winston who used to work for Kandi to see a lawyer

Johnnie was complaining of not being adequately compensated by Kandi's firm.

He claimed that Kandi had also reneged on a deal to invest in his restaurant and stole his idea for their own eatery.

Johnnie also alleged they'd stolen the idea for their play A Mother's Love.

Multiple grievances: Johnnie claimed that he was underpaid and that Kandi stole his restaurant idea and play idea

'They took the idea and ran with it,' he grumbled.

Phaedra passed the case to an employment attorney, but relished the prospect of Kandi's downfall, comparing the Kandi factory to 'a plantation'.

'I'm not interested in having any part in this drama with Johnnie and Kandi and the Factoryor the plantation,' she smirked.

Not interested: Phaedra insisted that she wanted no part in the Kandi drama

Porsha meanwhile was planning a 'baby nup' with Todd Stewart so they could 'argue now instead of later'.

'You need a baby like I need a whole in my head,' advised Phaedra.

'I do not want you to have a baby daddy, that is so yesterday,' she added.

Baby planning: Porsha Williams talked to Phaedra about her plans to have a baby

The loved-up couple later met to talk about the 'baby nup'.

'He just can't keep his hands off all of this chocolate, and I understand that, but let's see if you want to hold me this much after you see this baby nup,' she giggled.

Todd laughed at the prospective agreement, then grew furious.

The agreement: A baby-nup agreement was secured by Porsha for her boyfriend Todd

'This is extortion,' he balked.

'I'm not signing that,' he told her before leaving.

Earlier in the show Kenya had met with her cousin Che.

No way: Todd called the baby-nup 'extortion' and refused to sign it

Kenya said the other women blame her 'for everything' and called Phaedra 'phony Phae Phae'.

'She is never willing to forgive,' she exclaimed.

On her ex boyfriend Matt she said: 'They don't control me, I control the d*** ok?'

The Real Housewives Of Atlanta continues next week on Bravo.
Kendall Jenner described being confronted by a man breaking into her home on Sunday's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

The 21-year-old supermodel described the incident, which had made her terrified to stay home alone, and her fears about testifying against him.

'He was standing therein the gate right behind my car,' she recalled.

Freaked out: Kendall Jenner described how a man tried breaking into her home during Sunday's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians

'I'm freaking outI'm crying, he's banging on the window screaming at me,' he sobbed.

'Until we go to trial he's in jail,' she said, wiping her eyes.

Kendall later grew scared at the prospect of having to testify.

'I just can't believe I have to see him,' she said while admitting she felt sympathy for him.

On the stand: The supermodel was shown in a courtroom drawing testifying against the man

Sympathetic star: Kendall said she felt bad after learning the man had mental health issues

'When I found out that he had mental health issues, I felt bad,' she said.

'I don't think I want to testify,' she told sister Kim Kardashian later.

'I feel really bad, he's like mentally challenged,' she said.

Security situations: Kim Kardashian urged Kendall to testify against the intruder

'That's not your responsibility, after Paris our lives are so different, I can't sleep at night unless I have four security guards outside my house,' replied Kim.

'Unless you set the tone now you are not going to be able to sleep at night,' she urged her.

'Can't we just send him to a hospital where he can get the help that he needs?' cried Kendall.

Court hearing: Kris Jenner also urged Kendall to testify against the man

Getting advice: The supermodel listened as Kris advised her to 'act on every single predator'

After testifying Kendall received a five-year extension on the restraining order.

'I was shaking the whole time, I had anxiety the whole time,' she told Kim and Kourtney.

Kendall then met with her father Caitlyn to talk about it.

Anxious experience: Kendall told Kourtney and Kim how she was shaking while testifying

'It's really sad, I was on the verge of tears the whole time because I felt bad for him,' she said.

'All these crazies are coming out of the woodwork, but nobody's coming after me,' joked Caitlyn, 67.

Kylie Jenner, 19, also had a security scare at her home and was worried that criminals would harm her dog Norman but it turned out to be a false alarm.

First appearance: Caitlyn Jenner made her first appearance on the show this season and talked to Kendall after she testified

Kris Jenner, 61, fretted about her family's security throughout the episode and finally allowed boyfriend Corey Gamble to help her find solutions.

Kim also contended with allegations that the Paris robbery was 'fake' or an 'inside job'.

She complained to her family about feeling judged 'by the whole world' and later revealed she was having trouble sleeping.

Canine concern: Kyle was worried about her dog Norman after alarms went off at her house

Khloe went to visit Kim and found her older sister crying in her bedroom after being reminded of the robbery.

Kim stated that she was going to see a therapist to help her overcome the trauma so she could be there for her family.

The mother of two was surprised by her family and friends with a party for her birthday.

Crying hard: Khloe came to visit Kim and found her sister crying in the bedroom after being reminded again of the robbery

The group surprised her from the driveway instead of hiding inside in light of the robbery.

'If anyone wants to know what to get me for a present, just security,' said Kim.

As a gift Kylie replaced Kim's diamond choker necklace saying 'Saint,' which had been taken from her in Paris.

'I can't stop thinking about how that night could have left my kids without a mom, now I just want to dedicate my life to my kids,' said Kim.

Keeping Up With The Kardashians continues next week on the E! channel.

Driveway surprise: Family and friends surprised Kim from the driveway instead of inside
They began dating mid-January.

And just two months into their courtship, Selena Gomez and The Weeknd have already jetted to Italy together and visited his home country of Canada.

And now on Sunday, the duo are in Brazil, where Selena stood on the sidelines as her rumored love took the stage.

Supportive! On Sunday, Selena Gomez, 24, and The Weeknd, 27, were in Brazil, where Selena stood on the sidelines as her rumored love took the stage.

The Kill Em with Kindness songstress looked gorgeous in a sleeveless, white top with a U-shaped neckline.

The 24-year-old beauty accessorized with a simple watch and a necklace.

Selena wore her dark brunette locks up and away from her face.

Laser focus: The most followed person on Instagram only had eyes for one that night

Happy: Selena was The Weekend's biggest fan as she smiled sweetly from the side-lines

Putting on his best show! No doubt the Can't Feel My Face crooner had a little extra pep in his step for his concert, with the beauty being just a few feet away

The most followed person on Instagram only had eyes for one that night.

Selena was The Weekend's biggest fan as she smiled sweetly from the sidelines.

No doubt the Can't Feel My Face crooner, 27, had a little extra pep in his step for his concert, with the beauty being just a few feet away.

Stage look: The Weekend, real name Abel Tesfaye, was clad in his usualdark-coloured bomber jacket and trousers

Caught on tape! At one point, Selena pulled out her phone to film the Canadian crooner

Concert look: The Kill Em with Kindness songstress looked gorgeous in a sleeveless, white top with a U-shaped neckline

Calling it a night: The couple made a quick dash from the gig to Guarulhos International Airport to fly out of the city

Since having been spotted kissing on January 10, the duo have taken their romance abroad on multiple occasions.

Despite having first gone public just two months ago, Selena and The Weeknd have already been to Italy, France, Colombia, Canada and now Brazil together.

Selena most famously dated another Canadian, Justin Bieber on-and-off for years.

Prior to dating Selena, The Weekend was together with model Bella Hadid for a year and-a-half, from April 2015 until November of last year.

keeping busy: The Texas-born star was preoccupied with her phone at one point

His past: Prior to dating Selena, The Weekend was together with model Bella Hadid for a year and-a-half, from April 2015 until November of last year
Hailey Baldwin was channeling French chic when she stepped out in Paris on Sunday.

Dressed in a revealing black corset top, which showed off her cleavage, and long nude colored pants, the 20-year-old looked every inch the sex kitten.

She also wore a black leather biker jacket and accessorized her look with giant silver hoop earrings and strappy silver stilettos.

Stylish: Hailey Baldwin looked sexy in a black corset top as she returned to her hotel in Paris on Sunday

Her long blonde hair was parted in the middle and pulled back into a low bun, as she was seen arriving back at the George V Hotel.

It's been less than a month since the model was last in Paris, joining friends Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid, both 21, at Paris Fashion week in earlier March.

And in an interview with The Times earlier this month, the daughter of Stephen Baldwin, 50, confessed politics had driven a wedge between her and her famous dad.

'We didnt see eye to eye,' she said. 'It was a very big issue for me, but my dads still my dad. I would never let politics get in the way of family.'

Biker babe: The 20-year-old model accessorized her look with a black leather jacket and giant hoop earrings

Second home: It's the second time this month the blonde beauty has been in the French capital, after attending Paris Fashion Week in early March

Stephen - a self-confessed Trump supporter - appears to have since changed his mind about the current president.

'Its over now, and his opinions have changed with how everythings now unfolding,' added Hailey. 'Every day, the news freaks me out. Its terrifying.'

Ironically, Stephen's brother, Alec Baldwin, 58, has won praise for his biting portrayal of the president on Saturday Night Live.

Daddy issues: Hailey confessed differing political stances had driven a temporary wedge between her and her famous dad, Stephen Baldwin

And while Hailey wasn't able to attend January's Women's March due to illness, she fully supports the movement.

'I woke up really sick [on the morning of the Womens March], but I supported everybody on it,' she said.

'I dont believe in taking away choice - what I do with my body should be up to me, not the president. I dont believe in taking our country backwards. The Muslim ban was disgusting.'
Temperatures are starting to rise in Los Angeles.

So it comes as no wonder Kim Kardashian is trying to get some use out of her fashionable winterwear.

The 36-year-old reality star looked chic as she arrived for dinner in Brentwood, California rocking a long black velvet coat.

Keeping cool: Kim Kardashian looked chic as she arrived for dinner in Brentwood, California rocking a long black velvet coat

Dynamic duo: The 36-year-old reality star was not alone for the occasion as she was joined by husband Kanye West for the intimate date night

She was not alone for the occasion as she was joined by husband Kanye West for the intimate date night.

Kim took a vampy approach to her look as she rocked all black including sheer top, trousers, and lace-up booties.

She wore her raven-colored tresses pulled back in a middle-part and in a bun as she accessorised with a pair of large, black designer shades.

Back in black: Kim took a vampy approach to her look as she rocked all black including sheer top, trousers, and lace-up booties

Cool customer: She wore her raven-colored tresses pulled back in a middle-part and in a bun as she accessorised with a pair of large, black designer shades

On-the-go: The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star let her natural looks show with minimal make-up on her face topped off with shiny lip

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star let her natural looks show with minimal make-up on her face topped off with shiny lip.

Kanye, 39, was dressed comfortably as usual as he sported a baggy black crewneck sweater along with camouflage-patterned trousers.

He also sported black socks along with his soon-to-be released white Adidas Calabasas Powerphase sneakers.

Just the two of us: The two looked excited to be on an intimate date together

Relaxed: Kanye, 39, was dressed comfortably as usual as he sported a baggy black crewneck sweater along with camouflage-patterned trousers

The not-yet-released sneakers by Kanye, nicknamed the Calabasas Powerphase, could retail for $120, according to Yeezy Mafia.

The limited edition trainers, which resemble Reebok Classics, are set to be the cheapest shoes in the Adidas X Kanye collection.

The white hued footwear features the Adidas three stripes with the word 'Calabasas' written across it in gold.

Making moves: The power couple also arrived in style as they drove up in a silver Maybach sedan which sells for about $200,000

Back-up: Security followed closely behind

The power couple also arrived in style as they drove up in a silver Maybach sedan which sells for about $200,000.

The two were also joined by plenty of bodyguards. As Kim was robbed at gunpoint nearly half a year ago, the couple are not taking any chances as they surround themselves with security 24/7.

A source close to the family told People magazine the whole family have guards every time they leave the house.

Taking no chances: Kim now has security guards '24/7' in wake of Paris heist (pictured Feb 15 in New York)

Before: Kim pictured with mom Kris in Paris the night before the robbery

Security and privacy issues have changed not only for her but for the whole family,' the insider said. 'They have security guards most of the time when they go out.'

Shortly after the incident, Kim fired her longtime bodyguard Pascal Duvier, although never blamed him as he was out watching over her sisters on the night.

'They parted on good terms  but they just needed a fresh team with fresh eyes,' the source added. 'This team is a lot larger and with them 24/7.'

'The robbery changed their lifestyle going forward,' the source added, saying the safety of their two children is a number one priority for the couple.
She recently revealed that she wants to have another baby.

And Tammin Sursok, 33, is still basking in the joys of motherhood as the Australian actress was pictured doting on her three-year-old daughter Phoenix Emmanuel on Sunday.

The Pretty Little Liars star stepped out makeup-free for a family outing at a Los Angeles farmer's market.

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Fresh-faced beauty: Tammin Sursok, 33, stepped out makeup-free for a family outing at a Los Angeles farmer's market on Sunday

Healthy eating: The Pretty Little Liars star was seen browsing through fresh produce

Sporting blue jeans and a white and red striped T-shirt, the fresh-faced beauty showed off her slender frame as she browsed through fresh produce.

She paired the look with comfortable white sneakers and mysterious dark shades as she bonded with little Phoenix and her director husband Sean McEwan.

Tammin's husband of five years wore matching jeans and sneakers with the former Home and Away star, showcasing their close bond.

Fit and fab: Sporting blue jeans and a white and red striped T-shirt, the fresh-faced beauty showed off her slender frame

Casual wear: She paired the look with comfortable white sneakers and mysterious dark shades as she bonded with little Phoenix and her director husband Sean McEwan

Like mummy, like daughter: Little Phoenix, who bares a striking resemblance to her famous mum, appeared to be enjoying some fresh fruit

He completed the casual look with a grey hoodie and at times playfully carried their only child on his shoulders.

Last month, the brunette beauty admitted that while motherhood is rewarding, it can be challenging which is why is yet to have another baby.

Writing on her blog Bottles and Heels, the mother-of-one admitted she feels 'guilty' for delaying falling pregnant with a sibling for her daughter.

Matching: Tammin's husband of five years wore matching jeans and sneakers with the former Home and Away star, showcasing their close bond

Sunday fun day! He completed the casual look with a grey hoodie and at times playfully carried their only child on his shoulders

Daddy look! Little Phoenix appeared distracted by an orange she was eating

Low-key: The family appeared to be in high spirits as they mad their way through the market

'I get this pang in my gut,' she writes. 'We moved so we could have more room to accommodate the patter of more tiny feet. Oh crap. We are finally here. We have finally moved and that then begs the question when is baby number two?'

Tammin moved to the leafy, spacious new home around two weeks ago, and it appears to be located in California where the now-Hollywood based Aussie lives.

The star then goes on to explain how tough motherhood is, writing it's something others cannot understand unless they've 'walked the path.'

Big kiss! The toddler was seen embracing her father as mum Tammin shopped nearby

Jumping castle! Phoenix spent time playing with other children at the market

Tasty! The trio picked up a series of delicious treats

Home time: After a long day, they eventually they made their way home

She also writes that she 'fears' again suffering the 'zombie' state and sleep deprivation she experienced raising Phoenix as a baby, saying it was so intense that she left her phone in the fridge twice.

Despite these trials Tammin wrote that she so badly wanted a new child that she could already picture the bub in her mind.

'I so want another child. I want one so badly that I can feel him/her with me. I close my eyes and I can smell their smell,' she wrote on her mummy blog.

Growing family: Tammin recently moved her hubby and daughter into a bigger, airy 'tree house' in the hills in order to have enough room for a second child

Ready for more: 'I so want another child. I want one so badly that I can feel him/her with me. I close my eyes and I can smell their smell,' she wrote on her mummy blog

So ready! 'My body is so ready that its frustrated. I hear their name as I drift off to slumber and I know it won't be too long until we meet each other' Tammin wrote

She added, 'My body is so ready that its frustrated. I hear their name as I drift off to slumber and I know it won't be too long until we meet each other'.

Tammin then goes on to say that she and her husband Sean would start trying for a baby soon but it could be within a month or a year.

The South African born star celebrated her fifth anniversary with her producer husband in January.

The pair were married in 2011, in an epic ceremony and reception that lasted over three days and was held in the Italian city of Florence.
It was reported on Monday that Karl Stefanovic, 42, and his new girlfriend Jasmine Yarbrough, 33, may be on the rocks.

And now pictures have emerged of model and shoe designer Jasmine looking strained during a business trip to Hong Kong, last week.

The blonde was seen waiting at the baggage carousel after touching down in the city with her Mara and Mine business partner on Monday afternoon.

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Strained: Karl Stefanovic's girlfriend Jasmine Yarbrough looked strained as she arrived at Hong Kong airport last week ahead of reports that the couple are 'on the rocks'

Jasmine was spotted looking in deep thought after disembarking, opting to wear a black tank top and skinny jeans for her travel attire.

Judging by the amount of luggage the beauty wheeled, and the fact she hasn't been pictured in Australia since, it would seem likely the beauty may be preparing to spend a bit of time away from her new beau Karl.

A Louis Vuitton handbag was bundled on top of two large hard shell luggage cases as the model managed to shift the load by herself.

Pulling her blonde locks into a tight bun, she looked confused with the immensity of her surroundings, standing off to the side for an extended period of time to try and get her bearings.

Deep thought: Travelling solo, Jasmine was spotted looking in deep thought after disembarking, opting for an under-the-radar black tank top and skinny jeans

Confused? Pulling her blonde locks into a tight bun, she looked confused with the immensity of her surroundings, stopping at one point to get her bearings

Some time apart? Judging by the amount of luggage the beauty wheeled, it seems likely she's preparing to spend an extended period apart from new beau Karl

Jasmine stuck her tongue out in apparent concentration as she stared in the direction of large blue signage.

The beauty grappled with her handbag near an ATM at one point, apparently in need of cash.

Minutes later, she finally managed to exit the airport, forcing her collection of bags to a nearby taxi rink.

Bad signs? Jasmine stuck her tongue out in apparent concentration as she stared in the direction of large blue signage emblazoned with Chinese language characters

Cashing in: The beauty strained with her handbag near an ATM at one point, apparently in need of cash

Finally! Minutes later, she finally managed to exit the airport, forcing her collection of bags to a nearby taxi rink

The new snaps come after Jasmine and Karl went to extreme measures to avoid being photographed together upon arriving at Sydney airport last week.

Then, just days after the Today host reportedly whisked his girlfriend away on a romantic trip to Brisbane, the couple are said to be on the rocks.

Last week, reports claimed the father-of-three met the Los Angeles-based model's family during their brief jaunt to Queensland, however insiders say the trip quickly turned sour and they are now taking time apart.

Over already? just days after Karl Stefanovic reportedly whisked girlfriend Jasmine away on a romantic trip to Brisbane, the couple are said to be on the rocks

The beauty might not need to fly back to Australia in a hurry, with reports emerging she may not be attending the wedding of Karl's brother Peter and his Today co-star Sylvia Jeffreys.

According to Woman's Day, Sylvia has banned the model and shoe designer from attending the upcoming nuptials.

The magazine claims Sylvia doesn't want to attract a 'media circus' on her big day, and has decided to avoid it by not inviting her.

And while Karl is reportedly 'disappointed', Jasmine 'understands' Sylvia's concerns, according to the publication.

No rush: The beauty might not need to fly back to Australia in a hurry, with reports emerging she may not be attending the wedding of Karl's brother Peter and his Today co-star Sylvia Jeffreys

Banned? According to Woman's Day, Sylvia has BANNED the model and shoe designer from attending the upcoming nuptials

Timeout: Last week, reports claimed the father-of-three met the Los Angeles-based model's family during their brief jaunt to Queensland however insiders say the trip quickly turned sour and they are now taking time apart

Not so happy ending? 'Meeting the parents is a lot of pressure to put on any new relationship, and Karl just buckled - it was totally weird,' a source told New Idea this week

Split? 'Karl and Jasmine have very little in common ... of course there's the age difference and the fact that they live in different countries

Doubts: The source added: 'They were serious at first and have even discussed babies and the future - but not she's not so sure'

Heading back home: Jasmine is currently in China on business and will soon make her way back home to Los Angeles while Karl remains in Australia

Meanwhile, a New Idea report claims that the Today show host's 21-year marriage to Cassandra Thorburn, 44, has raised doubts for Jasmine, who fears he could be 'rebounding.'

Last week, Karl and Jasmine, who have been pictured together on several occasions in a series of loved-up snaps, were noticeably apart after landing at Sydney airport.

Karl's Channel Nine colleague Richard Wilkins and his son Christian were photographed escorting shoe designer Jasmine to a waiting car while Karl made a dash in the opposite direction.

The pair are believed to have met at a boat party in December and have been dating since.

Drama: The report also claims that the Today show host's 21-year marriage to Cassandra Thorburn, 44, has raised doubts for Jasmine, who fears he could be 'rebounding'

The blonde beauty is currently part owner of fashion brand Mara & Mine, who create luxury slip on shoes for celebrities such as Kendall Jenner and Margot Robbie.

She set up the brand in 2013 with Tamie Ingham, who accompanied her in Hong Kong last week.

The Brisbane-born designer is also a model with Chic Management and has appeared in campaigns such as Midori.

Jasmine has previously been linked to Australian Wallabies player and Delta Goodrem's ex Drew Mitchell who she dated on and off for years.

Karl split from Cassandra, with whom he shares three children, in October last year.
Indian Navy gets three naval systems from DRDO

Published: March 27, 2017

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has handed over three naval systems to the Indian Navy. These latest systems will significantly enhance the navys navigation and communication network.

The systems were handed over to Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba by Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi.

The naval systems given to Indian Navy are

USHUS-II submarine sonar

Directing gear for hull-mounted sonar array,

Inertial navigation system for ship applications.

Defence Minister also released two other products developed by DRDO, namely

IP-based secure phone : It incorporates an indigenous encryption algorithm on a trustworthy hardware platform. It will provide high level of secrecy to voice and data, for communication of strategic and tactical plans of the Armed Forces.

: It incorporates an indigenous encryption algorithm on a trustworthy hardware platform. It will provide high level of secrecy to voice and data, for communication of strategic and tactical plans of the Armed Forces. Gallium Nitride Technology: It will substantially help in the development of next generation radars, seekers and communication systems, for application in Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2017

Topics: Defence  DRDO  Indian Navy  National  radar  Sonar

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He's never one to back down in an argument, and it was no different for seafood king Josh on Monday's My Kitchen Rules.

The Broome native and former model vowed to take out his rivals Tim and Kyle, after the pair laughed as they said he and Amy are the weakest in the competition.

After the insult was thrown in front of the other teams and judges Pete Evans and Manu Feildel, Josh said he and Amy could beat the pair in sudden-death.

Watch out! MKR's Josh (seen with wife Amy) vowed to take down Tim and Kyle after they labelled him and Amy the weakest competitors on the show

'I'm glad if they feel like we are weak competition and we do get to face them in sudden death one day,' Josh confidently began.

'Bring it on and we'll give it everything we can to make sure we knock you out!'

Tim and Kyle - who won a people's choice award during the last challenge - got to chose the order of the teams for round one of Monday's ultimate instant restaurant finals decider.

In control: Tim and Kyle (seen) - who won a people's choice award during the last challenge - got to chose the order of the teams for round one of Monday's ultimate instant restaurant finals decider

The first round was a plating challenge, where the teams had three minutes to plate up food and were judged on their presentation.

The winner of Monday's rounds would win a ticket to the finals of the show, and would avoid the upcoming instant restaurant round.

There were three rounds in the challenge.

Tim and Kyle's dig came as they got to choose the order of the teams competing in the plating challenge.

Tim and Kyle got to skip round one and to choose the order.

Ouch: They chose Josh and Amy as the first team because they thought they were the weakest

The pair said they wanted to make their decision 'strategic,' and verse the weakest teams in round two.

They chose Josh and Amy as the first team because they thought they were the weakest.

They thought that by giving Josh and Amy the first place, they would have the best plate as they have all the ingredients to chose from.

The teams had to all take food from the same counter that was stocked with goods, meaning the last teams had less and less to chose from.

Josh said in front of the pair in kitchen HQ: 'I'm not going to worry about that, if someone sees us as the underdogs then if we get to take their position and get through the finals, that'll be fantastic,' which made Tim and Kyle snigger.

If only: They thought that by giving Josh and Amy the first place, they would have the best plate as they have all the ingredients to chose from

Coming in second in the order, was Karen and Ros, then Della and Tully.

The final two teams were Valerie and Courtney and David and Betty, with the idea to make the strongest teams struggle to plate up with limited choices.

David said Tim and Kyle were 'threatened' by him and Betty.

'There's $250,000 on the line, so I guess there's no time for friends,' David said afterwards.

Amy and Josh struggled to plate up, and were too slow in plating.

Afterwards, Josh said their plate was a 'joke.'

Going into round two, were Della and Tully, Court and Duncan and Josh and Amy, who had to battle Tim and Kyle.
Cuba Gooding Jr. provoked outrage by lifting his co-star Sarah Paulson's dress up for seemingly no reason while on stage for a promotional event for American Horror Story: Roanoke.

The 49-year-old actor has been branded a 'creep' after he reached down and raised Paulson's dress in a bizarre stunt.

Paulson stood to greet Kathy Bates on stage at the Los Angeles PaleyFest on Sunday, when Gooding raised the hem of her dress from behind and nearly exposed her underwear.

Paulson, who shrieked and pulled down her dress just in time, appeared to laugh it off as a joke while Twitter users unleashed their fury at Gooding, who was called a d***.

What's he doing? On Sunday evening, Cuba Gooding Jr. lifted up Sarah Paulson's dress onstage in front of hundreds of shocked fans at the Dolby Theatre in LA

Paulson was busy greeting Kathy Bates when Gooding Jr. lifted the star's dress up from behind

Sarah Paulson introducing Kathy Bates..... name a better friendship pic.twitter.com/B8Q15b09tX  p.c  (@90sIover) March 27, 2017

The cast of 'American Horror Story: Roanoke' gathered at the Dolby Theater on Sunday to discuss the sixth season of the hit FX show.

Paulson was busy greeting her 'favorite person' onstage when Gooding lifted the back of her dress in a bizarre and unexplained stunt.

When the Emmy-award winning actress finally noticed something was amiss, she shrieked and grabbed her dress away from Gooding, pulling it down just in time.

While Paulson appeared to laugh off the bizarre move, fans took to Twitter to express their outrage.

Sarah was greeting her good friend and castmate during Los Angeles PaleyFest on Sunday, where the cast of American Horror Story: Roanoke discussed the sixth season

Cuba then leaned down and pulled the hem of her dress in a bizarre and unexplained stunt

At first, Paulson was too busy greeting Kathy Bates onstage to notice what Gooding was up to

When she finally realized, she shrieked and pulled her dress down before her underwear was exposed

One fan tweeted: 'FYI the reason @MsSarahPaulson is smiling is bc @MsKathyBates, then screams out of shock at the disrespectful actions of @cubagoodingjr'

Another user @spfeed1974 wrote: 'This man @Cubagoodingjr is a d**k who shouldn't be allowed around the perfection that Sarah Paulson clearly is'

Twitter user @choirgirl tweeted: '@cubagoodingjr hi, dude. Did you apologize to Sarah? You should if you didn't bc what you did was gross and disrespectful.'

More tweets poured after the event and outraged viewers called Gooding Jr a 'pervert' and 'creep' while slamming his actions as disrespectful and 'out of hand'.

Angry tweets poured in after the event, with fans calling Gooding Jr a 'pervert' while others slammed him for being disrespectful

Despite the reaction online, it seemed as if no love was lost as Sarah and Cuba joked around with each other for the rest of the discussion.

The two actors play husband and wife on Season 6 of the show, and co-starred together in The People vs. OJ Simpson, which earned Paulson an Emmy for her portrayal of the attorney Marcia Clark.

Neither has commented on the incident on Sunday and the ensuing controversy.

Gooding was accused of harassing several women in a New Mexico bar in 2012, allegedly grabbing one woman's breasts and pinching her nipple, Jezebel reported. He denied the claims.

That same year, he allegedly shoved a female bartender in New Orleans, Louisiana.

It was reported that a misdemeanor battery warrant was issued against Gooding, but his representative said that was not the case. She added that the actor's lawyers resolved the 'misunderstanding'.

It was also reported by Page Six in March 2016 that Gooding posed for a selfie with a fan before asking: 'Do you like having a thumb in your ass?'

After Gooding separated from his high school sweetheart Sara Kapfer in 2014 several women came forward with claims they had affairs with him.

Pictured, Tim Minear, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Cheyenne Jackson, and Adina Porter at the event

Producer Brad Falchuk said about Paulson's characters: 'If Sarah wasn't playing them you'd really not like them'

It seemed as if no love was lost as Sarah and Cuba joked around with each other for the rest of the discussion

Paulson and the rest of the cast closed out PaleyFest Los Angeles, where Denis O'Hare, Cheyenne Jackson, Adina Porter, were also in attendance.

When asked which of her characters she would most like to reprise, Sarah said she would like to revisit Cordelia from AHS Coven, the third season.

'We only got to see her just getting her powers,' Paulson explained.

'I just would like to know...if the power might have been something that kind of changed her.'

Paulson wore a gorgeous purple Prada sequined dress with a high slit that would have been invisible...had Cuba not put it on display for the star

Producer Brad Falchuk said Sarah brought a touch of humanity to her characters, saying: 'If Sarah wasn't playing them you'd really not like them.'

The second shock of the evening came when an audience member asked whether there will be 'any more famous people' in the upcoming season.

In reply, Cuba, Sarah, Kathy and Denis - ever loyal to their writer Ryan Murphy, who likes to keep things hush, hush - got up and walked off stage.

While the cast did not reveal the theme or any hints of the upcoming season, however, there is quite a bit of information already out there.

According to Deadline, the story will be based on the recent presidential election, and President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will both be played by actors on the show - however, Ryan has clarified that Paulson will not play Clinton.

Sarah, Cuba, and Kathy posed together ahead of the panel
There's definitely no sibling rivalry between Paris and Prince Jackson.

The children of late pop icon Michael Jackson got matching yin and yang tattoos on Sunday to mark their close relationship.

Positioned on the back of Paris' right ankle and the back of Prince's left ankle, their individual tattoos form one whole yin and yang symbol when placed together.

Yin and yang: Paris and Prince Jackson got matching tattoos on Sunday to celebrate their close relationship

The pair both posted matching images of their new ink on Instagram, with their feet pressed up against each other.

After detailing the meaning behind the ancient Chinese symbol, Paris then explained why she opted to get the tattoo with her brother and 'bestie'.

'Sometimes i feel like my big brother and i always think the same thoughts, he just doesn't have a filter and always vocalizes them,' she wrote.

'Though total opposites, like my gooko and i, the inseparable yin and yang work together finding and causing balance within each other. matchies with my bestie @princejackson! '

No sibling rivalry here: Michael Jackson's children are incredibly close, with Paris calling her big brother 'my bestie'

The way they were... The aspiring model shared this photo of herself with Prince back when they were babies

Prince, 20, also gave his younger sister a shout out.

'You are with me and I am with you ,' he captioned his photo.

It comes just hours after outraged fans slammed Paris on Snapchat after the 18-year-old shared a photo of herself showing off her underarm hair.

Hairy situation: Many fans were left stunned when the 18-year-old shared this photo of her hairy armpit on Snapchat

'Hot yet?' she captioned it, circling the hair under her raised arm, and showing off another one of her tattoos.

'I didnt realize that people were going to get so upset over my armpit hair,' she said on Instagram. 'I didnt realize that was such an issue. It is so funny.'

'People are really mad... You can just tell how angry and infuriated these people are... I love hair, and sweat, and BO. I f***ing love it, I think its great. Some people think that its like super disgusting, especially on girls, but every human body does it. Its natural. Get over it.'
They are on a show that's all about food.

And on My Kitchen Rules on Monday, contestants Tim and Kyle and Amy and Tyson experimented with some very fancy ingredients as part of creating a luxury fine dining meal.

The two teams went head-to-head in a cook off, with Tim and Kyle cooking bone marrow in pasta, while Amy and Tyson prepared the 'tongues' of sea urchins.

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Tasty? MKR's Tim and Kyle (seen) cooked pasta with BONE MARROW in the cook off on Monday

Amy and Tyson made sea urchin with sushi rice and pickled salad, while Tim and Kyle decided to cook rabbit ragu fettuccine with bone marrow.

'Sea urchin is a delicacy in a lot of Asian countries,' Amy said, confident in their choice of dish.

Kyle was also confident, saying to camera: 'Rabbits used to be a pest but now they've really become very popular and sort after.'

Different: Amy and Tyson prepared the 'tongues' of sea urchins

Thinking outside of the box: 'Sea urchin is a delicacy in a lot of Asian countries,' Amy said, confident in their choice of dish

They had one hour to whip up a 'luxury dish' of fine dining quality, with both teams having scored over 100 points in their instant restaurants weeks ago.

The cook off was round three of Monday's three-part challenge, with the victor winning a place in the finals and getting to skip the upcoming ultimate instant restaurants.

They had one hour to whip up a 'luxury dish' of fine dining quality, with both teams having scored over 100 points in their instant restaurants weeks ago.

Both teams were praised for their dishes, but Tim and Kyle won the cook off, and their place in the upcoming finals.

Pasta with a twist: Seen is the fettuccine cooked by the boys and the winning dish

After tasting the dishes, judge Manu Feildel commended Tim and Kyle for getting flavour into their dish in the limited time they had.

'You've done well. The amount of flavour in that sauce was full on. And I think the addition of the bone marrow was a stroke of genius.'

He added about the perfect pasta: 'Any Italian that would of eaten with us tonight would of said "mamma mia!"

Impressed: Pete Evans loved Amy and Tyson's dish (seen are the pair), saying it was a 'beautifully stunning dish when it came to the table'

Pete Evans loved Amy and Tyson's dish, saying it was a 'beautifully stunning dish when it came to the table.'

'You definitely respected the sea urchin, it was the star of the dish...I think it was the best rice we've seen cooked in this competition.'

Manu added about Amy struggling to get 'tongues' out of the urchins that Tyson 'would of become the angry angry man I tell you that! That wasn't an easy job.'

After hearing they had won, Tim said: 'We got that golden ticket baby!'

Pete said the dishes were 'near perfect,' while Manu said both dishes would be grand final dishes.

It comes after Amy and Tyson served lamb brains during their instant restaurant, becoming the highest scoring team for an instant restaurant, in MKR history.
On Friday night, she was seen getting red-faced as she was questioned by Graham Norton about having had sex on a plane as her dad sat in the studio audience.

But Cara Delevingne was back on her best behaviour on Sunday, when she was spotted touching down in Los Angeles after jetting over from London.

The 24-year-old supermodel stepped out in comfortable style for her long-haul flight, wearing a black leather hoodie up over her platinum blonde-dyed hair.

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Back in California: Cara Delevingne was solo as she arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday

Cara teamed the hoodie with black satin jogging bottoms, polka dot socks and a pair of Puma trainers.

She added a pair of round sunglasses and carried a purse on a gold chain over one shoulder.

She also had some bling around her neck, with a collection of silver necklaces.

According to sources, the British beauty almost missed her flight out of London's Heathrow Airport, as she arrived for check-in at the last minute.

Flew in from Europe: The 24-year-old model wore a black leather hoodie up over her platinum blonde-dyed hair as she walked through the terminal at LAX

Stylish traveler: Cara teamed the hoodie with black satin jogging bottoms, polka dot socks and a pair of Puma trainers

On Friday, she had an embarrassing moment with Graham Norton on Red Nose Day.

The British chat show host quizzed the model-turned-actress on the time she had sex on a plane despite the fact her father was in the studio audience.

Pressing her for details, the popular TV personality said: 'So you were having sex on a plane and someone was watching you.'

Solo: She added a pair of round sunglasses and carried a purse on a gold chain over one shoulder. She also had some bling around her neck

Trans-Atlantic trip: The model-turned-actress has been spending time in Paris and London over the past week

Practically cringing into her seat, Cara stumbled over her words and said: 'I don't even know how to start this story.'

Noticing she was uncomfortable, Martine McCutcheon and Jessica Haynes jumped in to joke that it was with them.

She then proceeded to distract from the awkwardness by performing a party trick with a bottle of water balanced on her forehead.

Start of the journey: Several hours earlier that day, she was seen arriving for London's Heathrow Airport ahead of her long-haul flight
She's the busty Bachelor reject who is not shy of showing off her ample assets.

And Kirralee 'Kiki' Morris has set fans hearts racing in a sultry snap on Monday.

The 28-year-old shared a snap of herself at Balmoral beach, north of Sydney, lying on a towel and spruiking tanning lotion.

Sun goddess: Kirralee 'Kiki' Morris has set fans hearts racing in a sultry snap in her skimpy orange bikini

Lying on a leopard print beach towel, Kiki showed off her bronzed glow in a skimpy, bright orange two piece with her top almost spilling put of her bra.

She cheekily hooked her thumb through the side of her bikini bottom, teasing fans and showing off her toned torso.

Although she kept most of her face out of the frame, her trademark plump pout and her bold eyelashes.

Sister-sister: She also flaunted her flawless visage in a selfie with her older sister

Kiki, who has been in a relationship since October last year with Jeremy Banks, captioned her post: 'So just wanna give a shout out to today's weather! You do you boo!' - before promoting the lotion.

Fans of the glamour model loved the most, with a few commenting the bikini snap.

One wrote: 'You're more than just perfect Kiki.'

Hitting it hard: Fans of the glamour model loved the most, with a few commenting the bikini snap, with one writing: 'You're more than just perfect Kiki'

Another admirer said: 'So beautiful Kiki.'

Meanwhile, earlier she took a selfie with her stunning older sister Michelle Wells and simply captioned their photo: 'My beautiful older sister! '

The Romp Magazine cover girl appeared had a flawless sheen to her visage as she flaunted her youthful looks.

New flame! In October last year Kiki admitted she was in a relationship with Jeremy Banks

Earlier in the year, Kiki admitted to getting breast enhancement surgery as a result of school yard bullying, in a report by OK! Magazine.

'I used to get teased for being so flat-chested,' she said, adding that she only opted for a C cup.

She said having the implants: 'definitely made me feel less self-conscious.'
She runs her own fitness empire.

And Lucy Mecklenburgh proved to be her own best advert as she shared a sizzling throwback snap on Monday from her recent holiday to Marbella.

Clad in a tiny black bikini, the former TOWIE star, 25, looked sensational as she snapped a sultry selfie.

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Tanned and toned: Lucy Mecklenburgh, 25, proved to be her own best advert as she shared a sizzling throwback snap on Monday from her recent holiday to Marbella

Flaunting her tanned and toned figure, the reality starlet showed off her impeccably toned abs and perky bust in a black bikini top with gold detailing.

Proving that less is more, she teamed the garment with a pair of scanty matching briefs with tie side detailing.

Going make-up free for the outing, she showed off her natural beauty as she smiled down the lens.

Sizzling: Flaunting her tanned and toned figure, the reality starlet showed off her impeccably toned abs in a black bikini top with gold detailing - which she had shown earlier in her holiday

Whilst Lucy works hard to maintain her phenomenal figure, she recently revealed that she doesn't stress herself with the pursuit of a 'perfect' body.

She told the Daily Star: 'Body confidence to me is accepting what you view as your imperfections and loving your attributes even more.

'When you look in the mirror in the morning, focus on the positives and not the negatives.

'What makes me feel confident is having a workout, putting on some sexy lingerie and doing my hair and make-up nice then going out.'

Tanned and toned: Whilst Lucy works hard to maintain her phenomenal figure, she recently revealed that she doesn't stress herself with the pursuit of a 'perfect' body

Lucy soared to fame with her stint on The Only Way Is Essex, but departed the ITVBe show in 2013 to launch her online fitness and nutrition guide, Results with Lucy.

The star has built up her empire by encouraging her fans with a series of workout videos and showing off her own results in a series of scantily-clad selfies.

Ever the hard worker, Lucy has recently returned from Spain, where she embarked on a week-long fitness bootcamp.
They're known as a funny double act.

But Ant McPartlin- one half of presenting duo Ant & Dec, unwittingly made a few eagle-eyed viewers giggle as he suffered an embarrassing slip-up on live TV.

The presenter, 41, attempted to cover up the awkward mishap on Saturday Night Takeaway.

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Help! Ant McPartlin- one half of presenting duo Ant & Dec, unwittingly made a few eagle-eyed viewers giggle as he suffered an embarrassing slip-up on live TV

Scarlett Moffatt featured on the show, accepting phone calls from relatives and friends of audience members.

Meanwhile it was Ant's job to run over to the corresponding participants, but as he scuttled over to one waiting woman he slipped on his way up the stairs and took a tumble.

Attempting to save the mishap, he carried on running, helped on the surrounding audience.

Awks! The presenter, 41, attempted to cover up the awkward mishap on Saturday Night Takeaway

Meanwhile Ant and Dec were evacuated from the ITV studios amid a security alert on Saturday night.

The presenting double act were seen leaving the London-based filming location as a police van swooped in after a reported break-in.

Dec, 41, appeared in good spirits despite the drama as he was pictured leaving the studios.

Playing operator! Scarlett Moffatt featured on the show, accepting phone calls from relatives and friends of audience members

Oops! Meanwhile it was Ant's job to run over to the corresponding participants, but as he scuttled over to one waiting woman he slipped on his way up the stairs and took a tumble

Three police officers were seen attending the scene, as a security officer stood guard outside.

And Scarlett Moffatt, who appeared on the show earlier, was seen being escorted out by a security guard.

An ITV spokesman said: 'A youth who attempted to gain access to the London Television Centre, as a prank, at 11pm last night was quickly apprehended by our security team when he triggered an alarm as he climbed an external wall.

Made it in once piece! Attempting to save the mishap, he carried on running, helped on the surrounding audience

Unruffled: Ant and Dec were evacuated from the ITV studios amid a security alert on Saturday night

Cautious: The presenting double act were seen leaving the London-based filming location as a police van swooped in after a reported break-in

After the show, which came off air at 8:30pm, Mark Owen was seen chatting happily following his performance.

Howard Donald was also seen in high spirits, following their Take That performance- which also included Gary Barlow, earlier in the evening.

And their appearance certainly sent Twitter users into a frenzy, with fans criticizing the reunited band's fashion sense.

Drama: Three police officers were seen attending the scene, as a security officer stood guard outside

'Love Take That, but why's Gary wearing a suit made out of Mary Poppins handbag?' one person quipped on Twitter.

'I mean, it looked like he was wearing his undies on the outside of his carpet suit...' came a second hilarious remark.

A third typed 'Presumably Gary Barlow is wearing his mums curtains as an outfit in aid of Mother's Day?' nodding to the upcoming annual Mothering Sunday holiday.

A fourth posted: 'WTF are #TakeThat wearing? They have millions but can't employ descent wardrobe people. Absolutely AWFUL guys!'
He's famed for his portray of gang leader Tommy Shelby on the hit BBC show, Peaky Blinders.

And proving he is dedicated to his art, Cillian Murphy revealed he ditched 15 years of dedicated vegetarianism so he didn't look like a 'skinny Irish fella' when he assumed the role of his on-screen alter ego.

The actor, 40, explained his personal trainer recommended eating meat to help him bulk up for the first series of the crime drama back in 2013.

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Dedicated: Cillian Murphy has revealed he ditched 15 years of vegetarianism so he didn't look like a 'skinny Irish fella' when he assumed the lead role in Peaky Blinders in 2013

Talking to Mr Porter magazine, the star admitted: 'I was vegetarian for about 15 years. But it was never a moral decision. It was more that I was worried about getting mad cow disease.

'For the first series of Peaky Blinders, they were anxious that I shouldnt look like a skinny Irish fella, and my trainer recommended meat.'

The actor is usually seen decked out in his dapper 1920s attire on the hit show, but he admitted his own style is very different.

He explained: 'You cant go wrong with navy. My taste is very much: a good pair of jeans, a good jacket, a good pair of shoes. Well-made things that fit. Im not adventurous.'

Dapper dude:The actor, 40, explained his personal trainer recommended eating meat to help him bulk up for the first series of the crime drama back in 2013

Although Cillian starred as the creepy Dr. Jonathan Crane in The Dark Knight Rises, he ruled out any chance of taking over the lead role as Batman.

'I dont think Im the right physical specimen for Batman... playing the square-jawed hero or the nefarious villain doesnt really interest me. Humanity falls somewhere in the middle,' he explained.

Cillian is currently in the midst of filming the hotly-anticipated fourth series of Peaky Blinders.

Taking to the streets of Liverpool last week, the actor was seen making an explosive return to set as he sprinted around with a gun in hand.

Fan favourite: Cillian is currently in the midst of filming the hotly-anticipated fourth series of Peaky Blinders (pictured in Liverpool last week)

Filming is expected to take four months, followed by three months of editing - meaning the show could return to BBC Two as early as October this year.

The gangster drama follows the antics of the Romani Peaky Blinders gang and their cunning ring leader Tom Shelby in post-war Birmingham.

The most recent series, which aired in the UK in May last year, was set two years after the second season in 1924 - and followed the gang's attempts to expand internationally.

The fourth series however has been much-anticipated by fans over the last few months, as the final episode of series three saw the family be taken away by police in handcuffs - with their fate unknown.
She sadly lost her mother to lung and ovarian cancer at the age of 22.

And Terri Dwyer, 44, has recalled the 'awful' time in her life as she admits Mother's Day is one of the hardest days of the year.

Talking on the Lorraine show, the former Hollyoaks actress opened up about being the same age as her mum when she passed away and the procedures she will undergo to prevent the killer cancer gene.

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Brave: Talking on Lorraine, Terri Dwyer, 44, has recalled the 'awful' time in her life as she admits Mother's Day is one of the hardest days of the year

Opening up about the difficult subject, she explained: 'She was 44, so this year I'm at the same age. I was 22 when she died and you never really think about losing a parent at that age. It was awful.'

And with Mother's Day on Sunday, the actress revealed the family occasion was 'hard' to get through, explaining: 'You put it in a box and then it's little things like when I got married, none of my parents were there.

'And when I had my children, birthdays, anniversary. I'm busy with my own kids, but it is hard to not have her there.'

Terri - who also lost her father to cancer - admitted that her mother kept 'dismissing' the symptoms and thought her consistent cough was down to her smoking habit.

Speaking out: The former Hollyoaks actress opened up about being the same age as her mum when she passed away and the procedures she will undergo to prevent the killer cancer gene

Strong: Opening up about the difficult subject, she explained: 'She was 44, so this year I'm at the same age. I was 22 when she died and you never really think about losing a parent.'

She explained: 'My mum kept dismissing things thinking it was nothing - she was living in Spain with a persistent cough but as she was a smoker she wasn't that worried about it - but she came home and she was diagnosed there.'

The former Hollyoaks star has revealed that she plans to test for the breast and ovarian cancer genes.

Speaking to the Sunday People, the 43-year-old addressed that losing her chest and womb would be 'horrendous' - but the risk that her children may lose her before they have grown up, is too devastating to bear.

The actress has already endured a battle with skin cancer in the past, following a love of tanning in her youth.

Staying informed: Terri - who also lost her father to cancer - admitted that her mother kept 'dismissing' the symptoms and thought her consistent cough was down to her smoking habit

Next step: The former Hollyoaks star has revealed that she plans to test for the breast and ovarian cancer genes

Terri confessed that she had been spurred on to check her health after reaching the age her mother Doreen was when she died.

The presenter's mother had passed away from lung and ovarian cancer at age 44, when Terri was just 22 years old, before she lost her father Tony to stomach cancer in 2003.

Explaining that she did not want her two sons Caiden, 11, and Kylan, seven, to be without a mother, she said: 'I dont want my boys to go through the same loss. I want to be there to see them and my grandkids grow up.'

Precaution: The 43-year-old addressed that losing her chest and womb would be 'horrendous' - but the risk her children may lose her before they have grown up, is too devastating to bear

Terri has now decided to undergo a BRCA1 and BRCA2 test, to determine whether she has the cancer gene - and if she will need drastic surgery.

However, the former Loose Women star admitted that the prospect of facing another cancer battle and invasive surgery is truly terrifying.

She continued: 'I have already thought about what would happen if the test was positive  if it was I would have a hysterectomy and mastectomy,

Doting mother: Explaining her decision to undergo the BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests, she said: 'I want to be there to see them and my grandkids grow up'

'Nobody wants to have their womb and boobs removed. Its horrendous. But my boys never met my parents and I dont want to disappear from their lives.'

Yet, Terri is now preparing to launch a campaign for cheaper and more widely available BRCA testing - after being rejected for an assessment on the NHS as she had not been at a high enough risk for the illness, despite her family history.

It would not be the first time Terri had faced the terrible disease - having suffered at the hands of skin cancer in 2014.

Talking on Lorraine in August last year, the presenter revealed that a lifelong obsession with tanning has left her with huge regrets.

Tough time: It would not be the first time Terri had faced the terrible disease - having suffered at the hands of skin cancer in 2014

She said: 'In 2014, I went for a routine check-up and I'd already had some moles taken off, there was another that was causing concern.

'I was going to Italy and I asked if it could be done when I got back but the doctor said no, it needed to be done now.

'I didn't think it was cancer, but it turned out to be stage two. I found out when I got back but luckily, it hadn't spread.'

After having check-ups on what turned out to be several melanomas, the actress confessed the difficulty of her illness was heightened by the fact she had young children.

She explained: 'I always thought I would be much tougher, but I defy anyone who is a mother to not be a nervous wreck.

'My children are aged 10 and six and they need their mother. I needed mine at 22. I want to see them get married and have kids and that is my driving force.'

Terri welcomed her children with husband Sean Marley, who she married in Edinburgh back in 2004.
She pulled out all the stops for husband Kieran Hayler's 30th birthday party this month.

And pictures from inside the venue show the full lengths Katie Price went to to ensure her husband had a night to remember - including hiring a python for the festivities.

A tad worse-for-wear on the evening, the former glamour model, 38, put on a very amorous display with the snake, puckering up and attempting to kiss it.

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On a whole other scale: Pictures from inside Kieran Hayler's birthday bash show the lengths Katie Price went to to ensure her husband had a good night - including hiring a python

She then turned her affections to her husband, draping herself over Kieran as they enjoyed the party.

The pair were joined by celebrity pals Jo Wood and Big Brother's Nikki Grahame at the bash - both of whom also wanted to get near the snake - who was handled by a woman covered in python body paint.

The painted performers then treated the guests to more outrageous performances, eating fire and dancing with the crowds.

Cute couple: Katie ensured she pulled out all the stops for husband Kieran Hayler's 30th birthday party this month

Fancy a ssssnog? A tad worse-for-wear on the evening, the former glamour model, 38, put on a very amorous display with the snake, puckering up and attempting to kiss it

Loving life: Katie looked in great spirits as she shared a smooch with the python

Whilst it may have been Kieran's big night, it was Katie who stole the show in her glamorous leather ensemble.

Flaunting her tanned and toned pins, the mother-of-five donned a tiny fringed skirt which grazed her thighs and moved with her as she walked.

She teamed the garment with a satin batwing top featuring a plunging neckline which cinched in at her remarkably tiny waist, exposing a subtle flash of flesh.

Watching on: Katie was enjoying herself with the snake as husband Kieran watched on

Ssssaucy: Whilst it may have been Kieran's big night, it was Katie who stole the show in her glamorous leather ensemble

Her golden locks were styled in their typically big and bouncy style, cascading down her shoulders and framing her face which bore a heavy application of bronzer.

Whilst she may have been clad in a show-stopping outfit, it was her antics on the evening that raised eyebrows.

Despite vowing to go alcohol-free for the duration of 2017, Katie indulged in several cocktails on the evening.

Blonde bombshell: Her golden locks were styled in their typically big and bouncy style, cascading down her shoulders and framing her face which bore a heavy application of bronzer

Twice as niccce: Kieran posed with the python draped around his neck on the evening

Loving it: Katie seemed cheerful as she cuddled up to the giant snake at the party

Whilst she may have gone back on her vow, she was quick to defend herself after being confronted by her colleagues on Loose Women.

She reasoned: 'Katie wasn't there, Jordan was there! You know what, I actually did have a drink. I was arranging Kieran's surprise 30th.

'Before we went there we tried out the food [at the venue] and tried the cocktails. I tried them because how am I not going to drink them on the night when everyone else is. I did break it, but it was for a good occasion.'

Two's company: Kieran posed with one of the performers on the evening

All together now: The group celebrated with a cake complete with exploding candles

All together now: The group all seemed in great spirits at the party

Fellow panellist Ruth Langsford then playfully teased the former glamour model, saying: 'Sorry, I did dry January and I didn't break it.'

Katie sassily replied: 'Well, you're little Miss Perfect then!'

Gloria Hunniford then asked if Katie was 'off it again', to which the busty beauty said: 'Do you know what? I had a hangover so bad, I'm such a light-weight.

'So I won't be rushing back to it. I'm not drinking now... until the next time! It is hard though to stay dry.'

Not a fan: Big Brother's Nikki Grahame didn't seem best pleased about being close to the snake

Scared: She looked terrified as the python was draped around her shoulders

Three of a kind: Nikki appeared to cheer up as the snake was removed from her neck and she joined Kieran to pose for snaps

All-smiles: The group collapsed in fits of giggles as they posed together

Not amused: Jo Wood also didn't seem to appreciate having the snake draped around her

All together now: Despite her initial reservations, Jo seemed to be enjoying grabbing hold of the snake as she posed for pictures

Pulling faces: She looked very confused as the snake wrapped herself around her

Katie made the decision to go teetotal for 12 months last December, following reports of her wild antics at EnergySave's Christmas party, which included her stripping to just a thong and thigh-high leather boots in the toilets.

At the time, Katie said on Loose Women: 'When I drink I am a nightmare, though I don't mean to be.

'Lately, there have been stories that I'm a rowdy drunk, but I'm actually quite normal. I've thought, "You know what? It just doesn't agree with me."

Two of a kind: Katie cuddled up to her pal Jo as they posed for snaps inside the event

Pucker up: Jo leant in to plant a kiss on her friend's cheek at the glitzy bash

Kisses! The duo put on a very cosy display as they enjoyed each other's company

Snap happy: Jo was also keen to pose for pictures with Kieran at the star-studded party

Fire starter: The performer held the flame aloft as she ran it along her body

Let's twist again: Katie posed up a storm in front of a contortionist at the party

'Because I'm small it affects me and I never know that one more is too much, it took me 38 years to realise. Anyway, next year you know I said I'd do a dry January but I'm actually not going to drink for the whole year.

'This is for you out there to challenge me on. When I was pregnant I did it, so what difference does it make?

'It's one year out of my life to be healthy and just try and see what it's like... Sometimes I drink, not just cause it's there, but because it's [a social lubricant], I don't drink at home.'

Leggy lady! Flaunting her tanned and toned pins, the mother-of-five donned a tiny fringed skirt which grazed her thighs as she cuddled up between two pals
She's the proud parent of two teenage kids; Jaden, 18, and Willow Smith, 16.

But Jada Pinkett Smith passed for a woman half her age as she flaunted her youthful good looks as she joined her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, for a shopping spree in Malibu, California, on Sunday morning.

The actress, 45, radiated an age-defying vibe as she paraded her killer abs in a black crop top and distressed 'mom jeans'.

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Off-duty beauty: Jada Pinkett Smith flaunted her youthful good looks in a crop top and distressed jeans on a shopping spree in Malibu, California, on Sunday morning

The Gotham star ensured all eyes were firmly on her as she flashed her incredibly taut tummy and tiny waist.

Jada opted for low-slung distressed jeans, which teased a slight glimpse of her underwear, while she she kept the cool breeze at bay with a chic overcoat.

Completing her stylish look, the Matrix Reloaded actress teetered in sky-high strappy stilettos as she toted her belongings in an oversized YSL handbag.

Jada wore her long raven tresses in two French braids, while shielding her eyes from the blistering sunrays with gold-rimmed sunglasses.

Mum's the word: The actress, 45, radiated an age-defying vibe as she joined her equally youthful mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, for a spot of retail therapy

The star's mother proved that age-defying good looks run in the family as she showed off her flawless complexion while walking side-by-side with her daughter.

The blonde kept warm in an oversized knit jumper, which she layered over a simple white t-shirt and form-fitting denim jeans.

Jada recently wrapped up filming for her upcoming new movie, Girls' Trip, which also stars actresses Queen Latifah and Kate Walsh.

The feel-good movie will follow the story of four lifelong friends, who travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival, but drama quickly ensues.

Like mother, like daughter: Jada shares her two children, Jaden and Willow, with her husband of 20 years Will Smith

Jada has been married to Will Smith since 1997, and the couple share two children: 18-year-old son Jaden and 16-year-old daughter Willow.

Appearing on The Howard Stern Show in 2015, the actress gave her husband credit for the fact their marriage has lasted as long as it has.

'Thank God I have a husband whos just a gangster partner,' she said. 'Because can you just imagine taking that road together from 25 to 44?'

She expanded: 'Heres what I trust: The man that Will is, is a man of integrity. Hes got all the freedom in the world.

'As long as Will can look in the mirror and be okay, Im good.'
They announced their engagement last summer after a whirlwind 10-month romance.

And Elliott Wright and his fiancee Sadie Stuart looked to be the picture of happiness as they enjoyed a stroll along some rocks during a romantic getaway in Tenerife.

Sadie, 24, put on a busty display in a plunging lilac bikini as she soaked up the sun with her former TOWIE star beau on Friday.

Romantic getaway: Elliott Wright and his fiancee Sadie Stuart looked to be the picture of happiness as they enjoyed a stroll along some rocks while on holiday in Tenerife

The unusual jewel-encrusted two-piece showed off the model's enviably toned physique while she frolicked around on the island.

Wearing her brunette locks down over her shoulders, Sadie accentuated her pretty features with a light coating of mascara and a dash of blusher.

Elliott, 36, meanwhile displayed his abs in a pair of white swimming shorts as he held tightly onto his fiancee's hands while they navigated their way around the rocks.

Stunning: Sadie, 24, put on a busty display in a plunging lilac bikini as she soaked up the sun

Brunette beauty: The unusual jewel-encrusted two-piece showed off the model's enviably toned physique while she frolicked around on the island

With the pair clearly in a playful mood, the reality star was seen belly-flopping into a pool after Sadie appeared to push him into the water.

The stunner was seen laughing as he fell in, before making a quick getaway up a set of rocky steps.

The couple have been sharing snaps of their sun-filled break on Instagram, including the stunning views across the island.

Elliott captioned one of the snaps: 'Paradise views #Chilled #tenerife #ginandtonic'

Loved up: Elliott, 36, displayed his abs in a pair of white swimming shorts as he held tightly onto his fiancee's hands while they navigated their way around the rocks

Playful mood: The reality star was seen belly-flopping into a rock pool after Sadie appeared to push in him

Making a splash: Sadie clearly found it hilarious after fiance Elliott fell into the pool

Having a whirl: The brunette beauty was seemingly in a mischievous mood on Friday

The genetically gifted pair announced their engagement last summer after dating for 10 months.

The public were briefly introduced to Sadie during an episode of Elliott's reality show Playa In Marbella last year, following his exit from The Only Way Is Essex.

Speaking in July, Elliott told MailOnline: 'I knew she was "the one" because my kids love her!'

Soaked: The couple, who announced their engagement last year, are clearly enjoying their romantic getaway on the island

High spirits: The pair have been sharing snaps of their sun-filled break on Instagram over the past week

Beaming: Sadie was seen laughing as she watched Elliott disappear beneath the water

Cooling off: The hunk didn't seem to mind taking an unexpected dip in the rock pool

Elliott, who quit TOWIE last year to move back to Spain, has two children - Elliott, 10, and Olivia, seven - from his marriage to Joanne McGuinness.

Gushing about his fiancee, he said: 'Sadie is stunning, she's incredible. My children love her.

'That's important for any parent. If it was the case my children didn't like her, or she wasn't interested, then it would be a no go area.'

Running off: Model Sadie was seen making a quick getaway up a set of rocky steps after pushing her beau into the water

Cheeky: The brunette beauty let Elliott make his own way out of the rock pool as she waited for him at the top of the steps

Stunning: After announcing their engagement, Elliott gushed about Sadie being 'the one'
He's the Queensland cowboy who parted ways with his TV wife Susan on Sunday night's episode of Married At First Sight.

And on Monday Sean Hollands tried to put his heartbreak behind him, instead opening up about his famous online 'performer' profile.

Talking to the boys on Nova's Fitzy & Wippa Show, the 34-year-old revealed that the StarNow profile was created as a requirement for taking part on Family Feud.

Not a paid performer: On Monday Sean Hollands tried to put his heartbreak behind him, instead opening up about his famous online 'performer' profile.

The farmer began his interview with the duo in good spirits despite his split, talking about how big a decision it would have been for Susan to move from WA to Queensland to be with him.

'You had to take in family, friends, work. And she just had to pick up everything and completely move,' Sean said.

When talk turned to the 'performer' profile, he was equally jovial, laughing off suggestions he was a paid actor.

He said: 'I was actually on Family Feud last year, so you had to have a profile to go on Family Feud. So that's where it has all come from.'

Family Feud star: Talking to the boys on Nova's Fitzy & Wippa Show, the 34-year-old revealed that the StarNow profile was created as a requirement for his gig on Family Feud.

'I got dumped on Family Feud too': Asked by host Wippa if he had been successful on the quiz show, Sean responded he hadn't been that lucky there either

And it seems Sean performed just as well on the quiz show as he did in finding love.

Asked by Host Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli if he had walked away victorious on 'The Feud,' the farmer responded he wasn't very lucky.

He said: 'I got dumped on Family Feud too.'

The profile: The StarNow profile listed the farmer as a single father and adrenaline junkie, but was nothing more than a requirement for his appearance on Family Feud

'I'm not an actor': Sean slammed claims he was a paid actor earlier this month when the profile first surfaced and threw his authenticity into question

Sean slammed claims he was a paid actor earlier this month when the profile first surfaced and threw his authenticity into question.

'I'm not an actor and I never have been,' he told Who Magazine.

The Queensland farmer explained: 'I went on Married At First Sight for the right reasons, to find love. Some others [on the show] might not be as genuine but I think the audience can spot the difference.'

Parting ways: Sean and Susan parted ways in Sunday night's episode of Married At First Sight, with the distance too much to handle

Despite his genuine nature and charm, fans were left heartbroken over his split, with many taking to social media to post their feelings Monday as they held out hope they would rekindle their romance.

One user wrote: 'She is crazy to let a good man go. She already knows they are hard to come by.'

'Pleeeeeease get back together,' another begged.

Sean revealed on the radio show that he was still in contact with Susan, saying they had tried 'every possible thing that we could do to make things work'.
Her wardrobe is host to a plethora of designer garments.

And proving even her footwear boasts the name of an established fashion house, Coleen Rooney stepped out in a pair of Givenchy Paris sliders on Monday.

The mum-of-three had grabbed a coffee on the go, while slipping into her stylish shoes that come with a hefty 195 price tag.

Putting her best foot forward! Coleen Rooney treated her feet to a 195 pair of Givenchy Paris sliders while on a coffee run on Monday morning

While they may be more suited to the beach, Coleen made sure to get the most wear out of her sporty flip flops as she made a quick trip into town.

She cut a casual figure while running errands and teamed together a pair of form-fitting marble effect leggings with a white top that featured a mesh neckline.

Covering up in an over-sized grey hoodie, the WAG made sure to keep the chill at bay as she clutched onto her early morning pick me up in one hand and juggled her phone and keys in the other.

A fresh-faced Coleen swept her caramel locks into a high ponytail and decided to leave the house without her war paint as she appeared make-up free while heading back to her car.

Fresh-faced! The mum-of-three ditched the make-up and teamed her stylish shoes with a casual ensemble as she ran errands

Her coffee run comes after the beauty - who is married to Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney - celebrated Mother's Day on Sunday.

She gave fans a glimpse into how she spent the heartwarming holiday by sharing a photo of herself with her three sons - Kai, seven, Klay, three, and Kit, one - and her mother Colette McLoughlin to Instagram.

Praising her mum, Coleen added the caption: 'Happy Mothers Day. Love my mum so much, be lost without her!'

Her post came after she recently revealed it would be 'nice' to have a daughter of her own.

'Be lost without her': Coleen recently celebrated Mother's Day by praising her own mum Colette McLoughlin in a sweet Instagram post

Her brood! The WAG is mum to three boys - Kai, seven, Klay, three, and Kit, one - who she shares with her footballing husband Wayne Rooney

Currently a busy mum to a trio of boys, the fashion designer admitted she would like a girl if she was to have another child but insisted she has no plans to fall pregnant again just yet.

The star quipped she already has 'enough on her plate', without adding one more to her brood.

Speaking to MailOnline earlier this month, Coleen revealed: 'I'm happy with the boys and I'm doing great. If i was to have another child, which I wouldn't at the moment because I've got enough on my plate.

'A girl would be nice to have around, but it's not important to me.

'Boy or girl it's another child and no matter what you'd love it... It would be nice for the boys to have a sister but I'd be happy with anything.'

'It would be nice to have a girl': While she is in no rush to expand her brood, Coleen has admitted she'd like a daughter of her own




She's not released any new music since 2014.

But it looked like that's all about to change for Pixie Lott as she was snapped filming her new music video in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Looking sensational as she joined a handsome male model on set, the songstress, 26, flaunted her figure in a patterned co-ord.

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Back in action: She's not released any new music since 2014. But it looked like that's about to change for Pixie Lott as she was snapped filming a music video in Los Angeles on Sunday

Showing off her enviably taut stomach, Pixie donned a cream crop top embroidered with colourful pattern detailing.

She teamed the garment with a matching mini skirt that grazed her thighs and showed off her tanned and toned pins.

Adding to the glamour, she teetered along in a pair of wedges that gave her petite frame an extra boost.

Two's company: Looking sensational as she joined a handsome male model on set, the songstress, 26, flaunted her figure in a patterned co-ord

Abs-olutely fabulous: Showing off her enviably taut stomach, Pixie donned a cream crop top embroidered with colourful pattern detailing

Blonde bombshell: Her golden locks were worn in tight ringlets, and Pixie ran her hands through her hair as she posed on set

Leggy lady! Pixie teamed her crop top with a matching mini skirt that grazed her thighs and showed off her tanned and toned pins

Layering up: Between filming, Pixie donned a black bomber jacket that concealed her lithe frame and kept her warm in her skimpy co-ord

Well-heeled: Adding to the glamour, Pixie teetered along in a pair of wedges that gave her petite frame an extra boost

Layering up for another shot in the video, the Mama Do hitmaker donned a long-sleeved shift dress with a plunging neckline that flattered her lithe frame.

Her golden locks were worn in tight ringlets, and Pixie ran her hands through her hair as she posed against the bonnet of a car on-set.

She finished off the look by donning a pair of orange suede heels with lace-up detailing and a chunky heel.

Chic and cheerful: Layering up for another shot in the video, the Mama Do hitmaker donned a long-sleeved shift dress with a plunging neckline that flattered her lithe frame

Moving on: Pixie was filmed getting out of her car and slamming the door behind her

Boho babe: Pixie finished off the colourful look by donning a pair of orange suede heels with lace-up detailing and a chunky heel

Pixie - real name Victoria Louise Lott - has been quite the jet-setter over the past fortnight, arriving in Los Angeles on Thursday morning just days after returning to London following her trip to Singapore.

Prior to her Singapore jaunt to perform at the Make The Future festival, Pixie enjoyed a few days in Paris.

Pixie is no doubt making the most of her free time before the wedding planning takes over.

Looking incredible: Pixie looked phenomenal as she posed next to a car

Gorgeous: Pixie was a vision of beauty as she strutted past in her colourful mini dress

Behind the scenes: Pixie helped out by offering her thoughts on the shoot

Loving life: She looked in good spirits as she cuddled up to a model at the shoot

The blonde beauty got engaged to her boyfriend of six years Oliver Cheshire, 28, late last year when he got down on one knee in front of St Paul's Cathedral.

The pop princess revealed she was speechless the night he popped the question in November.

She told MailOnline: 'I just burst into tears [when it happened]. I was so tired and jet lagged as I'd just got back from LA and we'd been at a wedding party the night before.

'I'd had no sleep, so I just burst into tears, for once I was speechless!'
She made the controversial decision to stay with her 'husband' Anthony Manton on Sunday night's episode Married At First Sight.

But it seems Nadia Stamp has put a price tag on getting information about a new man she has been spotted with.

The 36-year-old part time model was getting off a plane flying from Fiji and NZ last Friday, according to a report by The Herald Sun.

New man already? Nadia Stamp has puts a $4000 price tag on getting information about a new man she has been spotted with

Nadia, who is also a flight attendant, told the publication getting information about her mystery man would come at a cost.

'It is my personal life, so you need to think about what that might be worth. I've heard it could be around up to $4000. My personal life is my personal life so it's not just me I have to consider,' she told the publication.

She was pressed about his identity, but remained tight lipped.

Tight lipped: 'It is my personal life, so you need to think about what that might be worth. I've heard it could be around up to $4000'

This comes after she was accused of setting up a paparazzi shoot which captured her appearing to get a pregnancy test.

She cryptically said: 'That wasn't my aim going into this... I've got to think about them as well, whether it is Anthony or someone else.'

Nadia remained cagey about her situation, adding that if she said anything else it would be a spoiler.

'Very disappointed': Social media erupted after she made the decision to stay with Anthony, who many viewers dubbed as the villain

Meanwhile social media erupted after she made the decision to stay with Anthony, who many viewers dubbed as the villain.

A Twitter follower wrote: 'Did anyone else just feel that? The rage of the australian female population rain down on Anthony #MAFS'

While another tweeted: '#MAFS I could see Anthony's rotten soul from the day one and very disappointed that Nadia being smart couldn't figure it out earlier!'
Jesse Konstantinoff is trying his luck at modelling.

The Married At First Sight star has created a professional modelling page with Adelaide agency RMT.

Usually found selling fruit and veg at his dad's store, the 31-year-old is hoping to gain paid modelling work.

What a poser! Jesse Konstantinoff is trying his luck at modelling after his stint on reality TV

The reality star lists himself as 5'8" with hazel eyes on his page as he's seen posing outside his Adelaide home.

News of Jesse's new venture comes a week after he was dumped by 'wife' Michelle at the pair's final vow renewal ceremony.

The retail worker was left 'heartbroken' when the blonde twin from Perth told him she wanted a 'forever friendship' but not a relationship.

Snap happy: The Married At First Sight star has created a professional modelling page with Adelaide agency RMT

Career change: Usually found selling fruit and veg at his dad's store, New Idea report that the 31-year-old is hoping to gain paid modelling work

Credentials: The reality star lists himself as 5'8" with hazel eyes on his page as he's seen posing outside his Adelaide home

Since the couple's finale aired, Jesse revealed to OK! magazine that he hasn't given up on love, and is already back in the dating game.

'[I] may have had a couple of dates,' he admitted.

'I'd do The Bachelor if I could, but I've heard I'm not tall enough. You'd have to be six foot apparently, so I don't see that happening,' he continued.

While Jesse is still single, his ex Michelle has struck up a romance with a fellow Married At First Sight alumni.

All over: News of Jesse's new venture comes a week after he was dumped by 'wife' Michelle at the pair's final vow renewal ceremony

Moving on: The 31-year-old has been dating Jono Pitman, with the pair spotted at Sunday's Melbourne Grand Prix together

The 31-year-old has been dating Jono Pitman, with the pair spotted at Sunday's Melbourne Grand Prix together.

The duo were double dating with Michelle's twin sister Sharon and her boyfriend Nick Furphy, who is said to have introduced Jono and Michelle.

'Jono is the guy Michelle has always wanted,' a source told NW this week.

'Nick and Jono have been friends for some time ... Nick planted the seed early on and it couldn't have turned out more perfectly for the twins to now be dating two best mates.'
She was living it up in Dubai over the weekend.

But by Monday, jet-setting Ferne McCann had hot-footed it to the Maldives for some more fun in the sun.

The former TOWIE star was clearly having the time of her life in the gorgeous destination, sharing a stunning Instagram shot as she kicked back in a bikini.

Ferne made sure to capture a jaw-dropping photo as she arrived in her latest sun-drenched spot.

This is the life! She was living it up in Dubai over the weekend. But by Monday, jet-setting Ferne McCann had hot-footed it to the Maldives for some more fun in the sun

The star reclined on the trunk of a palm tree on the coastline, stretching out her long legs and showing off some skin in a tiny bikini.

'Monday's in the Maldives & they can't get better than this ... what a place @luxsouthari can I be annoying & add - #nofilter,' the relaxed star gushed to her followers.

Meanwhile, the ex TOWIE star looked to be having the time of her life with new old-flame Arthur 'Art' Collins on a Middle East mini break on Saturday.

The popular This Morning showbiz reporter, 26, was showing off her top notch fashion credentials during the romantic luxury holiday in Dubai.

Ferne looked incredible in a slinky green silk dress with a thigh high slit in the picture as she posed with her man.

Vintage glamour: Ferne looked to be having the time of her life with new old-flame Arthur 'Art' Collins on a Middle East mini break on Saturday

The former TOWIE star leaned against a plush open car door and showing off her toned, slender legs in sky-high heels in the old-school movie star style shot.

Ferne captioned the sexy picture: 'Dubai Nights with my love @arthurjuniorcollins, riding in the rolls - @limitlesscarhire wearing @neverfullydressed.'

Her old flame Arthur 'Art' Collins has appeared back on the scene after Ferne failed to find love on Celebs Go Dating.

Fashionista: Ferne flaunted her tasteful individual style and flawless figure in a plunging crop top with sleeves and star-patterned flared trousers while enjoying her time away

The pair were rumoured to be dating last summer for several months, but, if so, the relationship was kept private.

But now the reality star has been updating fans on Snapchat and Instagram about her rekindled romance, posting several images of the the couple together - holding hands, kissing and even a flirty shot from her bed.

Arthur, a businessman from Essex, looked thrilled to be on the trip with his new girlfriend.

The stubbly hunk is not Ferne's first publicised relationship. The former TOWIE star first joined the drama-laden show with then-boyfriend Charlie Sims, before going on to date co-star Dan Osborne.

Ferne even had a rumoured fling with comedian Russell Brand.

Love you! Ferne made sure not to forget to make her mum feel special for Mother's Day back home in England as she basked in the sun, sharing an adoring shot of the pair together

And Ferne made sure not to forget to make her mum feel special back home in England as she basked in the sun.

The loving daughter posted a mum and daughter snap to Instagram on Saturday evening ahead of Mothering Sunday in the UK, captioning the image: 'Me and my Mama.'

In the adorable picture, Ferne and her mum wear coordinating black outfits.

The good life: Presenting duties were put to one side on Thursday afternoon as Ferne McCann made the most of her current stay in Dubai

And on Thursday the presenter treated fans to a bikini snap from her fabulous trip as she soaked up the sun during a relaxing day on the beach close to the Arab playgrounds luxurious Burj Al Arab Jumeirah hotel.

Stripping down to a midnight blue bikini from online brand Annalous, Ferne casually sipped a fruity beverage.

With the five-star Burj providing a stunning backdrop, Ferne later shared a snap of her idyllic holiday destination with Instagram followers.

Captioning the shot, she wrote: Beach Life.

Dubai appears to be just the tonic for the TV personality, who announced last Friday that she would no longer be endorsing her Ferne Beauty products because the manufacturer owes her money.

Testing times: Dubai appears to be just the tonic for the TV personality, who announced last Friday that she would no longer be endorsing her Ferne Beauty products because the manufacturer owes her money

Addressing the situation for her 798,000 followers, the former TOWIE star announced: 'I am not working with Ferne Beauty going forward and no longer endorse their products.'

Elaborating on the drama, the brunette then went on to reveal that she was working with the same company Lauren Goodger had allegedly been duped by over her own range of products.

She continued: 'They are the same company that Lauren Goodger has recently talked about and I am still waiting payment from them.'
She bravely revealed her secret battle with body dysmorphia last year.

And Ashley James was full of confidence as she posed for a completely make-up free selfie on Monday afternoon.

The naturally pretty former Made In Chelsea star, 29, ditched her usual vampy party look in favour of going au natural after getting out of the shower.

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'Slightly self-indulgent straight out of the shower selfie': Ashley James was full of confidence as she posed for a completely make-up free selfie on Monday afternoon (L - with make-up)

Joking that her smouldering social media snap was a tad 'self-indulgent', the reality star told her army of followers she was pleased with 'how good' her skin was looking without cosmetic assistance.

The DJ wore her newly-dyed platinum locks hanging around her shoulders in loose tendrils and was positively glowing as she gazed into the camera.

Alongside the shot, Ashley wrote on her Instagram page: 'Slightly self-indulgent straight out of the shower selfie to show off how good my skin is looking right now with no makeup.'

Naturally, the TV starlet - who shot to fame as Ollie Locke's girlfriend in Made In Chelsea in 2012 - went on to plug a whole host of products to accompany the shot.

Off-duty beauty: The naturally pretty former Made In Chelsea star, 29, ditched her usual vampy party look in favour of going au natural after getting out of the shower

While all eyes were supposed to be on her naturally stunning features, Ashley flashed a hint of ample cleavage in a low-cut baby pink vest top as she posed for her social media snap.

The star's legion of 81,800 followers flooded the make-up free picture with compliments about her face.

One said: 'There is always a freshness in your look.'

Another added: 'No eye makeup? Well, that's something you don't see everyday.'

An admirer wrote: 'Natural beauty love.'

Blonde ambition: The DJ debuted her new, choppy, platinum blonde bob as she attended the launch of Popchips Crazy Hot Stop on Greek Street in London's Soho last week

Ashley is a keen purveyor of body confidence messages.

In 2016, she revealed she battled with body dysmorphia after her 2014 break-up with TV presenter Matt Richardson, 25.

Speaking to MailOnline, Ashley said: 'It was breakup that knocked my confidence. I put everything into a relationship, moved in with someone for the first time and that didn't work.

'I'm a perfectionist and when that didn't work it had a big effect on me and because it was in the public eye it was a difficult change for me.'

The former flames were dating for a year and a half before things ended acrimoniously.

Moving on: In 2016, Ashley revealed she battled with body dysmorphia after a 2014 break-up

Although Ashley is now friends with the former Xtra Factor presenter, the split took its toll on the star.

She continued: 'We're friends now so it's fine. It was my first difficult breakup where it was in the public eye and it was a difficult time in my life. The stress it caused with my acne and body confidence.

'Even up till a few years ago I've had panic attacks before events because I really struggled with body dysmorphia.

'So body confidence was something I had in a sure way as a teenager then I lost it because there's so much pressure on women. Girls are harsh, so everything I do now is to not tear women down.'
DEAR DOCTOR: My hearing loss is related to my Eustachian tubes: They stay closed. I can open them and improve my hearing by holding my nose and blowing, but the effect lasts only a short time. Hearing aids don't help. What can I do?

DEAR READER: First, let's consider the size and location of the Eustachian tubes, one on each side of your head. Only half a centimeter wide, each one starts behind the nose and travels through cartilage and bone toward the middle ear, an air-filled chamber bordered on one side by the eardrum. The pressure within the middle ear should be equal to the air pressure outside, and the Eustachian tube is the only way for the body to equalize these pressures. This gas pressure homeostasis is necessary for optimal hearing.

The most common reason that the Eustachian tube closes is from inflammation within the tube and secretions that can block it from opening. With the tube closed, the middle ear has no way for the air to go in or out. When that happens, the air in the middle ear gets absorbed by the surrounding structures, creating a negative pressure in the middle ear. The sensation is similar to how your ears feel at the bottom of a pool. This negative pressure makes it even more difficult for the Eustachian tube to open, increasing to the point where fluid starts to fill the middle ear. In severe cases, blockage of the Eustachian tube can lead to vertigo and balance problems.

Now let's look at the possible causes for a closed Eustachian tube. In my experience, the most common cause is chronic nasal congestion, either from allergies or environmental irritants. Infection of the adenoids, sinus or nose also are likely causes; to determine this, an ear, nose and throat doctor would visualize the adenoids to assess their condition.

Chronic nasal swelling is another potential culprit. If that's the case, medications such as nasal steroids, leukotriene inhibitors and antihistamines could decrease the swelling, opening your Eustachian tubes and thus improving your hearing.

Note that one study, however, did not show significant change in Eustachian tube dysfunction with the use of a common steroid delivered via nasal spray, Nasacort. In addition, an over-the-counter expectorant, guaifenesin, could thin secretions sufficiently in the Eustachian tube to help clear it.

Essentially, the treatment depends on the cause. For inflammation and closure of the Eustachian tube caused by infection, antibiotics can help. For inflammation caused by acid reflux, which can lead to inflammation in the nasopharynx, look for ways to decrease acid reflux. If adenoids are blocking the Eustachian tube, the adenoids can be surgically removed.

As for medications, if those are ineffective, either balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube or laser therapy can be used to clear the opening in the nasopharynx.

Talk to your doctor about your symptoms. Eustachian tube dysfunction can be treated and, because symptoms can worsen, it should not be ignored.

Also, a note to my readers: A recent column on the potential link between proton pump inhibitors and heart disease referred to a study involving both clopidogrel and Plavix. In fact, they're the same drug. The reference should have said that researchers found an increase in the rate of heart events among those taking a proton pump inhibitor and clopidogrel/Plavix after angioplasty, but no difference in death rates. Thanks to those readers who pointed this out.

Robert Ashley, M.D., is an internist and assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla.edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o Media Relations, UCLA Health, 924 Westwood Blvd., Suite 350, Los Angeles, CA, 90095. Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided
Joanna Burgess looks ready to pop in her latest Instagram snap.

The NRL WAG is set to give birth to her first child any day now and she showed off her huge baby bump on social media.

Pictured taking a walk with husband George Burgess in Sydney's Centennial Parklands, Joanna joked that that she feels as if she's carrying a 'mini elephant'.

Ready to pop: Joanna Burgess is set to give birth to her first child any day now and she showed off her huge baby bump on social media

She captioned the pic: 'Strolling just doesn't feel the same on the old body these days.'

The couple are all-smiles as they're seen holding hands while strolling across the grass in activewear.

Earlier this month, the model's muscular other half looked proud as punch to be expecting their first child.

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

Happy couple: Joanna has shared regular updates on her pregnancy

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.

'35 weeks with chunky monkey': Pregnant Joanna Burgess showed off her huge baby bump in a leopard print bikini

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.

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.

Beauty in blue! 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.

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.
Her model lifestyle often means she finds herself jetting across the globe.

But there was only one place Hailey Baldwin wanted to be on Monday and that was home sweet home.

The model, 20, had been in Paris but told her 9.6million Instagram followers she was ready to head back to the US while en route to the airport.

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Heading home: Hailey Baldwin, 20, cut a casual figure in Paris as she made her way to the airport to fly back to the US on Monday

Hailey was seen leaving her hotel in the French capital to catch her long haul flight and cut a casually chic figure in her dressed down ensemble.

The catwalk star covered up in a soft burgundy tracksuit and hid her blonde tresses underneath a beanie hat.

She sported large gold hoop earrings and following her earlier shopping spree, Hailey decided to ditch her barely-there heeled sandals for much more comfortable footwear.

The starlet stepped out in a quirky pair of fluffy black sliders and toted her flight essentials in a black leather handbag that she jazzed up with a fur charm.

Jet-setter style! The model opted for a dressed down ensemble and teamed together a burgundy tracksuit and fluffy sliders

Effortlessly chic: The catwalk star kept her lightened locks hidden underneath a black beanie hat as she made her way to a waiting car

'Get me home': While en route to the airport, she posted a fed-up selfie with her 9.6million followers telling them she was itching to get back on home soil

Clearly itching to get back on home soil, Hailey decided to update her social media followers while making her way to the airport.

Striking a pose and pout that suggested she was feeling slightly fed up or not looking forward to the long journey ahead of her, the fashionista complained: 'Get me home.'

Just hours earlier, Hailey had been spotted indulging in a spot of retail therapy as she hit the shops in Paris.

She had been sporting the exact same outfit, but her lightened locks were pinned back into a tousled topknot.

Shopping splurge: Hailey had stepped out in the French capital just hours earlier sporting the same attire as she indulged in a spot of retail therapy

Going glam: Although, the blonde beauty made sure to glam up her getup by adding a pair of barely there heeled sandals and scraping her locks up into a tousled top knot

New purchase: Hailey's visit to the Montaigne Market on Avenue Montaigne was a success, as she left clutching onto a shopping bag

Designer labels: She also made sure to stop by the Yves Saint Laurent store on the same street

Just the one? But it seems Hailey refrained from splashing out a second time, as she didn't add to her bags

Hailey clutched onto her purse and phone, before appearing with a new purchase in one hand after visiting the Montaigne Market and Yves Saint Laurent store on Avenue Montaigne.

Her appearance in Paris came after the blonde beauty confessed she and her father Stephen Baldwin hadn't seen 'eye-to-eye' following America's presidential election.

Hailey revealed her dad is a Trump supporter and told The Times: 'We didnt see eye to eye. It was a very big issue for me, but my dads still my dad.

'I would never let politics get in the way of family.'
The residents of Albert Square finally discovered Michelle Fowler's sordid affair with her former pupil, Preston Cooper.

But the drama is set to continue in EastEnders, as an angry Martin tries to attack the subject of his sisters affection in an upcoming action-packing episode.

In scenes set to air on Tuesday evening, the market stall owner will learn that not only has his daughter's on-off boyfriend been cheating on her, but also the real reason why Michelle returned to Watford.

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Fuming: The drama is set to continue in EastEnders, as an angry Martin Fowler tries to attack the subject of his sisters affection in an upcoming action-packing episode.

The exposure of Michelle's secret affair with teenager Preston sends shockwaves throughout the Square and threatens to turn her into a pariah in her own family.

In a fit of anger, Martin shares some hateful words with his sister before attempting to attack Preston for the heartbreak he has caused to his family.

Determined to get an answer from the teenager, he tries his best to frighten his daughter's - and sister's - boyfriend into giving him an answer.

Luckily, Ian Beale is on hand to break up the fight, demanding the two men to calm down before the situation escalates even further.

Drama: The exposure of Michelle's secret affair with teenager Preston sends shockwaves throughout the Square and threatens to turn her into a pariah in her own family

Heartbroken: But in true EastEnders fashion, things quickly go from bad to worse as Bex learns that her on-off beau has been sleeping with her aunt behind her back

Helping hand: The heartbroken teenager is left reeling from the shocking news and has no choice but to cry her eyes out to her stepmum Stacey

But in true EastEnders fashion, things quickly go from bad to worse as Bex learns that her on-off beau has been sleeping with her aunt behind her back.

The heartbroken teenager is left reeling from the shocking news and has no choice but to cry her eyes out to her stepmum Stacey.

The shocking news comes after weeks of Michelle's attempts to keep her tryst with the teenager under wraps.

Viewers have watched as Michelles life has spiralled out of control as she resumed her sordid affair with her ex-pupil despite fleeing America.

The secret's out! Viewers have watched as Michelles life has spiralled out of control as she resumed her sordid affair with her ex-pupil despite fleeing America

Risky: The troubled character left her adopted home of Florida after the news broke about her sex scandal, resulting in her losing her job and her husband, Tim, cutting her off financially

The troubled character left her adopted home of Florida after the news broke about her sex scandal, resulting in her losing her job and her husband, Tim, cutting her off financially.

But after a series of events - including being blackmailed by 10-year-old Dennis Rickman - the sordid secret was finally revealed on Monday's dramatic episode.

Talking to Radio Times, actress Jenna Russell said: 'For Michelle, its the worst case scenario. The walls are falling down around her and the ground is shifting underneath her.

'Her reputation is very important to her. Shes worked very hard in her life, shes just made some very bad choices and she hasnt learnt that she has to own up to them honestly and move on.'

EastEnders will return on Tuesday evening at 7.30 on BBC One.
She has swapped Brentwood for Amsterdam for the next few days.

And Chloe Sims bought her quirky sense of style to her new homebase as the TOWIE cast arrived in the Dutch city for filming on Monday.

The TOWIE regular headed out to explore the fun-loving city with her pal and co-star Georgia Kousoulou in a sporty look.

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City chic: Chloe Sims bought her quirky sense of style to Amsterdam as the TOWIE cast arrived in the Dutch city for filming on Monday.

Girls' day out: The TOWIE regular headed out to explore the fun-loving city with her pal and co-star Georgia Kousoulou in a sporty look

Chloe layered a black baggy Houston t-shirt under a chic lace coverup for her day in city.

She kept comfy while hitting the pavements in a pair of sneakers and jeans, while adding to the goth-theme with a choker necklace.

The reality star's blonde locks were left loose while she rocked her usual glam full face of makeup.

Mixing styles: Chloe layered a black baggy Houston t-shirt under a chic lace coverup for her day in city

Eye catching: Georgia meanwhile stood out in the sunshine in a bright orange sweatshirt teamed with a pair of ultra skinny jeans and hi-tops

Shop til you drop: The girls appeared in good spirits as they enjoyed a spot of shopping in the city

Sight-seeing: The girls wandered the sunny city streets, taking in the sights as they want

Relaxed: The pair later stopped for a beverage by the canal where they caught up on recent events of Essex for upcoming episodes

Smile! She later happily took selfies on set to document the trip

Georgia meanwhile stood out in the sunshine in a bright orange sweatshirt teamed with a pair of ultra skinny jeans and hi-tops.

A few hours earlier Georgia and Chloe were seen touching down at the city's airport.

And TOWIE star Dan Edgar proved he's still got some charm with the ladies, as he was seen sharing a hug with pal Chloe.

The cast of the ITVBe show are filming in the party city for the next few days, and after some dramatic scenes with his ex Kate Wright and former squeeze Chloe Lewis on Wednesday night's show, resident hunk Dan looked excited to be in new surroundings.

Pals: Dan Edgar proved he's still got some charm with the ladies, as he was seen sharing a hug with pal Chloe as the TOWIE cast touched down in Amsterdam earlier on Monday

Dan and longtime TOWIE star Chloe dressed down for the short flight, both sporting skinny jeans.

Chloe added sneakers, a blue shirt and a slogan coat to her look, as she flung her arms around Dan's neck as they made their way through arrivals with their luggage.

Both stars flashed big smiles as they headed out to explore the city famous for its nightlife.

New city to do mischief in: The cast of the ITVBe show are filming in the party city for the next few days

Good to be here! Chloe dressed down in a blue shirt and slogan jacket as she cuddled up to Tommy Mallet

Strike a pose! The stars were excited to take photos in front of Schiphol airport's famous Amsterdam sign before heading off to the cast hotel

They were joined on the flight by Gemma Collins, who made the most of the sunny weather in a pair of statement shades.

The bubbly blonde was excited to take photos in front of Schiphol airport's famous Amsterdam sign before heading off to the cast hotel.

Gemma was joined by pal Bobby Norris, who rocked a camel-coloured jacket and trousers for his big arrival.

Ready for some fun: Gemma Collins made the most of the sunny weather in a pair of statement shades

Besties: Gemma was joined by pal Bobby Norris, who rocked a camel-coloured jacket and trousers for his big arrival

Always time for a selfie: Bobby made sure he got the best angle for his snaps

Larking around: Bobby and Chloe were joined by a pouting Georgia Kousoulou

Group shot! The cast worked their best poses for the pics before exploring the city

Curve appeal: Chloe flashed a huge smile as she flaunted her curves in her skinny jeans

Georgia Kousoulou was also keen to get some snaps with the sign, posing in her casual denim shirt and leggings with a cheery Pete Wicks.

The group wasted no time in exploring the city after checking into their hotel.

Dan was keen to try out the city's famed love of bikes, hitting the streets and showing off his skills in the sunshine.

Let's explore! Dan was keen to try out the city's famed love of bikes, hitting the streets and showing off his skills in the sunshine

Fun times: Dan and Pete got the giggles as they were overtaken by a local on a unique type of bike

He was joined by his pals Pete Wicks and Tommy Mallet for the bike ride, with Dan looking happy to spend time with his friends after some tense moments with the TOWIE girls lately.

Dan proved just how much can change in two years as fans turned on the star during Sunday night's episode of the ITVBe show when he became locked in a heated debate with ex-girlfriend Kate Wright.

As the busty blonde came face-to-face with her former love in her local gym, she confronted him over Chloe Lewis' revelation that she had kissed Dan two years ago - leading to an astounding moment in which Dan rudely laughed in her face.

He's got skills: Dan changed into a green jacket and jeans for the bike ride

Nervous? Pete looked a little worried as he fastened his helmet ready for the boys' trip
She is the child of a famous rapper.

But Eminem's daughter Hailie isn't following in her dad's footsteps to pursue a life of fame.

The gorgeous 21-year-old is living a relatively normal life as a college student at Michigan State University.

Staying normal: Eminem's daughter Hailie isn't following in her dad's footsteps to pursue a life of fame and is living a relatively normal life as a college student at Michigan State University

Happy! The 21-year-old appears happy as she celebrated her birthday in December with her handsome boyfriend

And her Instagram account shows a happy and healthy woman who likes to spend time with her boyfriend and post photos of her weekend travels.

Eminem's daughter, who goes by Hailie Scott, looks just like her mother in the glamour shots she's posting to her account.

She has actively remained out of the public eye, making it clear she does not have any other private accounts or a Twitter account run by her.

In 2014, Hailie graduated from Chippewa Valley High School in Michigan and thanked her parents for their influence in her life.

Spitting image: Eminem's daughter, who goes by Hailie Scott, looks just like her mother in the glamour shots she's posting to her account

'My mother and father are because they have pushed me to be the person I am and have given me all the support to achieve what I have,' she said.

Hailie achieved the prestigious Summa Cum Laude status which is bestowed upon those who achieve a 3.9 or above Grade Point Average at the school in Clinton Township, Michigan.

She maintained high grades while juggling numerous extracurricular activities, including National Honor Society, Art Club, Key Club, volleyball, and student council.

Regulating her social media: Eminem's daughter has actively remained out of the public eye, making it clear she does not have any other private accounts or a Twitter account run by her.

Living her best life: Hailie's Instagram account shows a happy and healthy woman who likes to spend time with her boyfriend and post photos of her weekend travels

Hailie's mom Kim Scott married Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, in 1999, only to proceed with a nasty divorce two years later and a remarriage in 2006 that didn't last the year.

She's has had her fair share of issues, despite her daughter's success.

In October 2015, Kim was involved in a single-driver crash in Michigan, which she later admitted was a suicide attempt.

'It was intentional,' Kim told Detroit's Channel 995 radio show Mojo in the Morning.

'I never expected to make it out alive,' she said, adding that she had 'been clean for 10 years.'

Good upbringing: In 2014, Hailie graduated from Chippewa Valley High School in Michigan and thanked her parents for their influence in her life

An emotional Kim added people think 'just because we have money, that it makes us happy.'

'Yeah, I can pay bills. Yeah, I can get my kids whatever they ask for and it's great to see them happy. But you lose friends, you lose family, you have no one you can trust you can speak to,' she said.

Witnesses saw Kim drive her black Escalade into a ditch, where it smashed into a pole and flipped upside down with her trapped inside.

Just months later in January 2016, Kim's twin sister Dawn Scott was found dead in the Motor City Trailer Park after a heroin overdose. She was said to be estranged from Kim at the time of her death.

Still a family: Hailie's mom Kim Scott married Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, in 1999, only to proceed with a nasty divorce two years later and a remarriage in 2006 that didn't last the year

Despite personal tragedy, Hailie appears to be enjoying her life as a college student.

And Halie's mom Kim Scott appears to doing well and keeps in contact with her ex, insisting they're still 'best friends.'

'He's been real supportive,' she says. 'We're really close. We're just trying to raise our kids together and make it as normal for them as possible.'

The pair have three children  Hailie Scott, 17, who is Eminems biological child, Whitney Mathers, 11, who is Eminems adopted daughter and Alaina Mathers, 20, Kims twin sisters daughter who Eminem has also adopted.

Eminem also has legal custody of his younger half-brother Nate Kane.
She is known around the globe for her weird and wonderful health regimes.

But 44-year-old GOOP founder Gwyneth Paltrow is the one who will get the last laugh, as she yet again proved that her methods deliver results when seen leaving a commercial shoot in Barcelona on Monday.

The willowy blonde actress and health guru looked stunning as she left the venue in a casual ensemble and pared-back makeup.

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Flawless: GOOP founder Gwyneth Paltrow , 44, who is known for her unusual health regimes, yet again proved that her methods deliver results as she left a shoot in Barcelona on Monday

The mother-of-two was in the Spanish capital of culture to shoot a commercial for TOUS, the Catalonian jewellery firm for which she is an ambassador.

Donning gleaming white Converse, skinny blue jeans and a buttoned-up lighter denim shirt, Gwyneth looked businesslike.

Her gorgeously simple mid-length navy coat finished off the work chic outfit perfectly.

The actress, who 'consciously uncoupled' from husband Chris Martin, shares children, Apple, 12, and Moses, 10 with the Coldplay front man.

Dedicated: The actress, who 'consciously uncoupled from husband and Coldplay front man Chris Martin, is still mainly based in London with their children, Apple and Moses

This week's Spanish excursion was not all work for the blonde beauty.

Earlier in the day, Gwyneth indulged in a bit of sightseeing, sharing a radiant selfie with fans showing a view over Barcelona in the background.

Beaming under a bright blue sky, the health guru wrote: 'Good Morning Buenos Dias Bon Dia Barcelona!'

Glowing: Earlier in the day Gwyneth indulged in a bit of sightseeing, sharing a radiant selfie with fans showing a view over Barcelona in the background

The Shakespeare In Love actress appears to be a big fan of Barcelona, even posting a hot spot guide on her lifestyle website Goop.

Gwyneth and her kids joined as Chris Martin made a tour stop in the Spanish City with Coldplay in 2016.

Offering a rare glimpse of Moses and Apple, Gwyneth posted a photo with her children on a balcony.





Engaged? A new report claims that Gwyn's beau Brad Falchuk (seen here with Paltrow in this picture shared March 1) could pop the question 'soon'

And this time, the world famous Oscar-winning actress may be glowing for reasons not explained by an antioxidant-filled green smoothie.

Last week UsWeekly claimed Gwyneth would love to wed her current beau, Scream Queens producer Brad Falchuk.





A source told the publication that the actress wanted to get engaged 'soon', adding: 'They talk about marriage all the time and know it will happen.'

Family Favorite: The Oscar winner posted this shot with son Moses, 10 and daughter Apple, 12 from Barcelona in May of 2016

It may work out, as the magazine source said both Apple and Moses 'love Brad'.

The loved up couple have been dating since the summer of 2014, but reportedly met years earlier when Gwyneth filmed a guest appearance on Falchuk's other hit show Glee in 2010.

Brad divorced his wife Suzanne, with whom he has two children, in 2014 - before the couple got together.

Private: Gwyneth and Brad have never walked on a red carpet together, only being spotted in paparazzi shots like this December 2016 picture or on Instagram

Don't expect Gwyneth to be as showy if she and her beau Brad walk down the aisle, as she and husband Chris Martin were very camera shy during their marriage.

'Weve never ever walked down a red carpet together, we never will,' she said in 2009.

Gwyneth and Brad seem to be following that same rule, as they have only been spotted together by the paparazzi and in rare social media posts.
From the expensive cars to the Hollywood Hills home, he's living the LA lifestyle ever since cracking the American TV industry.

But James Corden's Stateside state of mind seemed to have developed an air of Los Angeles native Elton John on Thursday as he was seen out in oversized sunglasses.

Known for his kooky eyewear and penchant for relaxed tracksuits, 70-year-old Elton seemed to be the style icon for The Late Late Show host in his most casual moment.

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Changing it up: James Corden appeared to channel the style of 70-year-old pop icon Elton John on Friday, as he was seen exiting The Late Late Show for a cigarette break

James was caught taking five outside the Californian studios of his eponymous late night talk show during rehearsals.

With a cigarette in hand, the British native cut a figure quite far removed from his usual clean-cut suits for the show.

He doubled up the thick, blingy chains around his neck and kept casual in hi-top trainers.

Keeping things casual: The TV presenter (left) rocked a tracksuit with hi-top trainers, just like Sir Elton, seen here in 2013 (right)

Laidback look: Elton is known for his eclectic sense of style

He was hard to miss with red lapels on a zip-up tracksuit top, which he wore with jogging bottoms.

It's known that James was one of the guests at Elton's extravagant bash this weekend, wherein the hitmaker celebrated his 70th birthday in style.

The glitzy party took place at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and guests included Katy Perry and Stevie Wonder.

'So much love for them': Elton (here with sons Zachary, six, and Elijah, four) celebrated his 70th birthday over the weekend

In keeping with James' impressive list of special guests on Carpool Karaoke, James and Elton shared the screen - and the front seats - in February.

They performed Your Song and the Circle Of Life dressed in feather boas in homage to Elton's eclectic fashion sense.

More recently, Corden made a return for British screens with a special Carpool Karaoke in honour of Comic Relief on Friday night.

The charity special, broadcast in the BBC's live fundraiser, invited special guests Take That into the famous 4x4.

Despite the never-ending roll call of Carpool A-listers, British TV star James seemed genuinely starstruck to welcome Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen.
Comic Relief has confirmed that the children Ed Sheeran reached out to on Comic Relief are now safe.

In a statement issued after the appeal show went out on Friday night, the organisation revealed that the British musician's efforts had saved their lives.

An emotional Ed was lauded with praise when he refused to leave the side of raped and abused Liberian street boys who he met on-camera, and instead pleaded to rehouse them for the night.

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Generous: Comic Relief has confirmed that Ed Sheeran has provided a safe home for the raped and abused Monrovian children he met while filming emotional scenes for the charity

The charity, which managed to raise 71,308,475 on Friday night to help people in poverty around the globe, released an update on Monrovian children JD and his friends saying that the act of kindness has since changed their lives.

A spokesperson tweeted: 'JD & his friends, who Ed Sheeran met, are now safe but many more children still live in danger. Help us help them.'

The 26-year-old musician met the young group during scenes filmed for Comic Relief and, after seeing a man try to abuse the boy as the film crew wrapped up, insisted he would not leave JD in the appalling conditions.

Confirmed: Comic Relief confirmed that Ed's act of kindness really has changed the boys' lives, after the show aired

Many Liberian children lost parents in the devastating Ebola outbreak which hit the West African country two years ago.

And after learning about JD's horrendous ordeal at the hands of men and older boys on the street, Ed insisted on ensuring the child was safe 'no matter what the cost'.

JD, who was surviving on the streets of Monrovia, nurtured both the simple dream of being able to go to school and the ambition to be President.

He harboured these dreams even though he was subsisting on just bread and water and sleeping rough.

On camera, Ed said: 'It really does not feel right leaving at all. I mean, the only thing you can do is help them, which we should.

'My natural instinct is to just put them in a car and just take them and just put them in a hotel until we can get them sorted.

Touching: Ed explained that as he had ceased filming the segment, a man had started to attack the boy, prompting Ed to return and personally arrange to look after the young child and his five friends

'Can we do that? Can I pay to put them in a house until we get them in a school?'

When questioned, the star added forcefully: 'It doesn't matter how much it costs can we just get him and his five mates in a house with an older person to look after them?'

He then added: 'I don't think we can go until that's sorted.'

'It doesn't matter how much it costs': The generous musician insisted the child was taken away from the older men

Traumatic: Ed wanted to make sure the kids were removed from the violent threat of the older boys, who he later reported would be known to rape them too

The star had earlier been reduced to tears after meeting Peaches, a young girl who lost her father to Ebola.

After sharing a number of songs, the 12-year-old girl was left weeping as she sang a song that reminded her of her father.

The moment made a lasting impression on Ed, who emotionally broke down following the exchange as he felt helpless in her grief.

Upset: The moment made a lasting impression on Ed, who emotionally broke down following the exchange as he felt helpless in her grief

Teary: He broke down in tears: 'The last thing I always wanted this trip to be was be a celebrity that comes to Africa and cries on TV

'The last thing I always wanted this trip to be was be a celebrity that comes to Africa and cries on TV,' he explained.

'I really wanted to come away saying everything is positive and everything is great and then I was just singing with that girl and she was all smiling and then she started crying.

Adding: 'He dad taught her how to sing and she got really choked up about it. I watch Comic Relief every single year and this is always what celebrities do. I think, "Is it really that bad?" And then I sort of turn up and... "Yes it is". That's just one girl out here, that's just one story and she's the one girl that came up to us.'

Happens to the best of us! Nervous Ed Sheeran forgot the lyrics of What Do I Know, his new song from the fastest selling album  (Divide), when singing live on Comic Relief on Friday night

Ed did not pull off a perfect performance at Comic Relief, but - perhaps due to his generosity - no one cared.

The best selling musician didn't let the nerves get the best of him as he laughed off forgetting the lines to one of his own songs.

The Shape Of You hitmaker flashed a cheeky smile to the audience and confidently continued singing.

And later his fans took to Twitter to share their support for the singing sensation who pulled out all the stops for his performance last night and put a smile on everyone's lips.

Some of his admirers declared the slip-up made them fall in love with the talented artists and others confessed it was the 'cutest'.

One fan wrote: 'I think I just fel in love wit @edsheeran a little more after tat.' (sic)

Another user said: 'Ed Sheeran missing his own song lyrics on, laughing and carrying on.'

Another added: 'Ed Sheeran just f***** his lyrics up! Happens to the best of 'em! #ComicRelief.'

Supportive: Fans praised the singer after he recovered from his on air blunder on Friday night

Soldier: But the flame-haired singer laughed off his mistake and picked up the lyrics showing what a top performer he is




She's never been shy about flaunting every inch of her eye-popping figure.

And Monday was no different for Kim Kardashian as she took to Instagram and gave followers a glimpse of her flawless physique.

The 36-year-old reality star showcased her sculpted abs in a tiny white cropped top while posing for an online campaign.

Toned tummy! Kim Kardashian showcased her sculpted abs in a tiny white cropped top for an Instagram snapshot on Monday

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star seductively leaned over a kitchen counter top while posing for a Fit Tea advertisement.

Kim - who gets paid up to $500,000 per social media endorsement - casually stirred a mug seemingly filled with the warm cleansing beverage.

She kept in line with the laid-back look and teamed the revealing tank with cozy grey sweatpants.

Her long silky raven tresses were styled stick straight and cascaded perfectly down the length of her back.

Biker baby: The reality star took to Instagram two days before and shared a few adorable throwbacks with her 95.9 million followers; she is pictured here at the age of 12

The wife of rapper Kanye West opted for a chocolate smokey matte eye with heavily lashed and lined look, rosy blush with contour and pale pink lip.

Meanwhile, the older sister of supermodel Kendall Jenner took to Instagram two days before and shared a few adorable throwbacks with her 95.9 million followers.

The ever-beautiful star was a pouty 12-year-old preteen, posing in a heavy black leather jacket in front of a motorcycle.

In a second post, a cute seven-year-old Kim smiles at the camera, looking just as beautiful then as now.

Kim captioned the post: '7 years old and obsessed with bows.'

'Obsessed with bows': In a second post, a cute seven-year-old Kim smiles at the camera, looking just as beautiful then as now

The socialite's post comes as a source close to the Kardashian family told People that the entire clan has security guards every time they leave the house.

'Security and privacy issues have changed not only for her but for the whole family,' the insider said. 'They have security guards most of the time when they go out.'

During Paris Fashion Week last October, Kim was pulled from her bed in the early hours of the morning by armed men, bound and gagged, and robbed in a $11 million heist.

She was left traumatized after being tied up by numerous masked men who broke into her room at No Address Hotel.

Shortly after the incident, Kim fired her longtime bodyguard Pascal Duvier, although never blamed him as he was out watching over her sisters on the night.

'They parted on good terms  but they just needed a fresh team with fresh eyes,' the source added. 'This team is a lot larger and with them 24/7.'
This busy mother of six is the queen of the highly successful Kardashian brand empire.

And on Monday, Kris Jenner proved she's still wearing the crown as rumors swirl of two new shows being developed for the famous reality TV family.

The 61-year-old matriarch was seen smiling while leaving a studio in Los Angeles wearing an all-black layered outfit.

Queen bee: Kris Jenner, 61, was seen on Monday smiling while leaving a studio in Los Angeles in an all-black layered outfit

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star wore a comfy tuxedo-style black coat over a very long sleeved black top.

Rocking the casual style, Kris sported relaxed drawstring black pants, and pink and black graphic Gucci slippers.

The California native framed her youthful face with a pair of retro style black sunglasses.

Relaxed: The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star wore a comfy tuxedo-style black coat over a very long-sleeved black top

It was reported recently that Kris held talks with Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in a bid to pitch an outline for a proposed animated show.

While Kris' daughters, Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kendall and Kylie will reportedly join a host of familiar faces should the animated series go into development, transgender father Caitlyn Jenner will not be involved.

The family already has some experience with animation following the release of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood  an Android App that allows users to create their own celebrity and embark on a series of red carpet adventures.

Drawn together: Reportedly, Kris has held talks with producers to pitch an outline for a proposed animated show of the Kardashian family

Reports of an animated addition to the Kardashian TV portfolio comes amid claims that Kris is also trying to secure a dating show for son Rob, 30, following his latest split with Blac Chyna, 28.

Rob and Blac ended their tempestuous relationship after a series of breakups and reconciliations following the birth of daughter Dream Renee Kardashian, their only child, last November.

They starred in their own E! reality show Rob & Chyna that documented their rocky relationship and culminated with the birth of Dream Renee.
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Stephanie Davis has said she will 'always love' Jeremy McConnell, just weeks after his arrest on suspicion of assaulting her.

In a series of now-deleted Twitter messages posted on Monday, the 24-year-old actress defended her ex, with whom she shares son Caben-Albi, saying that although what he is alleged to have done is "wrong", she will "always be there".

The Irish model, 27, was taken into police custody earlier this month over claims he assaulted former the Hollyoaks actress after moving to Liverpool to live closer to his son and the star.

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Hold on: Stephanie Davis has said she will 'always love' Jeremy McConnell, just weeks after his arrest on suspicion of assaulting her

Stephanie and Jeremy's convoluted love story began when they starred together on Celebrity Big Brother in January 2016 before becoming embroiled in a toxic romance which ended in April - a month before she announced she was expecting.

After a bitter nine-month battle in which Jeremy denied paternity, once he was proved to be the father he swore to step up and moved from his native Dublin to be with her in Liverpool.

Earlier this month however Stephanie was reportedly 'shaken' after calling the police on Jeremy at her home. Merseyside Police confirmed to MailOnline that Jeremy was taken into custody after voluntarily coming to the station.

After remaining silent on the issue for some weeks, fans were stunned on Monday when Stephanie took to Twitter to discuss the legal and emotional woes which riddle the couple - yet soon deleted the notes.

Hitting out: In a series of now-deleted Twitter messages posted on Monday, the 24-year-old actress defended her ex, with whom she shares son Caben-Albi, saying that although what he is alleged to have done is "wrong", she will "always be there"

Speaking out: After remaining silent on the issue for some weeks, fans were stunned on Monday when Stephanie took to Twitter to discuss the legal and emotional woes which riddle the couple - yet soon deleted the notes

She penned: 'Jeremy knows he's done wrong. To do wha the did to the mother of his child, he knows isn't right...U can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. I have done all I can regardless what has been thrown in my face...

'He had made the choice to block me after saviour paranoia and that's his choice not mine. To the press, u will always love him...

'But u can't help someone who needs to help them selfs! I will always be there for Jeremy. But he now needs to help himself. (sic)'

Stephanie went on to praise the heavily inked heartthrob for deciding not to appear on 'Ex on the Beach' for the sake of her and their son, and said she refused to let people "say anything bad about him".

Reaching out: 'But u can't help someone who needs to help them selfs! I will always be there for Jeremy. But he now needs to help himself. (sic)'

Kiss, kiss: Stephanie went on to praise the heavily inked heartthrob for deciding not to appear on 'Ex on the Beach' for the sake of her and their son, and said she refused to let people "say anything bad about him"

Get help: She penned: 'Jeremy knows he's done wrong. To do wha the did to the mother of his child, he knows isn't right...U can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. I have done all I can regardless what has been thrown in my face..

She added: "I'll love him always and always be there but sometimes u have to be cruel to be kind I hope he comes back the person I fell in love with

"I won't have anyone say anything bad about him. He has his own Desmond's to deal with. He decided not to ex for me and Caben

"To prove he loves & wants to be with us. He may be horrible to me but I'll always stand by him. He has Deamona to sort of for good... I wish him well despite blocking me after u forgivable behaviour. When he gets help. Done with being abused metaly and all (sic)"
Guests are always warned not to outshine the bride at her own wedding, but Rachel Bilson made it hard to look away from her beautiful bridesmaid gown on Sunday.

Former star of The OC Rachel stunned in a very low-cut gown that showed off her cleavage and hugged her every curve.

The 35-year-old actress wore a bejeweled accessory in her hair as she posed with a bride in an Instagram shot shared Sunday.

Bride and maid: Rachel Bilson, right, shared this shot from her friend Gelareh Khalioun's weekend wedding in Susana, California

The bride was Gelareh Khalioun, who designed costumes on Rachel's 2011 show Hart of Dixie.

'My beautiful baby bunns is married. I love you @gegelspot to the moon and back,' Rachel wrote in her photo with the blonde bride.

The wedding took place at the Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Susana, California.

Accessorized: The actress could be seen pairing a grey cape with her bridesmaid gown

California native Bilson also shared a short video from the weekend festivities with the caption 'My #HOD girls @wipeyoownass @kachtmeyer celebrating @gegelspot @elijah_medge.'

In the video, Rachel could be seen pairing a gray and white cape with her bridesmaid dress, adding a white clutch purse to the ensemble as well.

She added the hashtag #alwaysabridesmaid to the clip.

Bridal squad: The former Hart Of Dixie star (far right) is seen with the wedding party

Rachel is the mother to two-year-old daughter Briar Rose with fellow actor Hayden Christensen, 35.

Despite dating since 2007, they have not gotten married, partially explaining why the hashtag #alwaysabridesmaid was included in her post from over the weekend.

Since Hart Of Dixie ended in 2015, the actress has kept a relatively low profile. It was just announced she will have a recurring role on Nashville.
It's almost Easter, but Rebecca Judd is dreaming of a White Christmas.

The mother-of-four shared a throwback snap of herself swimming with her children, Billie and Oscar, and husband Chris in the snow during a past trip to Whistler, Canada.

In the heartwarming snap, the Channel Nine weather reader is seen holding her adorable daughter Billie (now 3), while former AFL legend husband Chris swam with Oscar (now 5).

Snow worries! Rebecca Judd shared a throwback snap on Tuesday of her and her family swimming in freezing cold Canada

Billie held up a shard of ice, looking genuinely amazed with the unfamiliar substance.

Her high-profile mum looked stunning makeup free, staring into camera as ice fell on the family's head.

Hubby Chris and a younger Oscar enjoyed some bonding time in the background, with the sport star appearing to kiss his son on the cheek.

Family: Bec is pictured here with her husband Chris and their two children Oscar and Billie

'Is it Christmas yet? Whistler we are coming for you,' Rebecca wrote in an accompanying caption.

Teasing a return to the bright blue, foggy outdoor pools, she added: Can't wait to get the twins in the outdoor hot pools while snow flakes flutter down....magic.'

The throwback snap comes from a rare moment of relaxation for the busy of mother of four, who added twins Tom and Darcy to her family of late last year.

New additions: Bec recently welcomed twins and will be taking then on her next trip to Canada

And clearly, adding another two adorable bundles of joy into the mix isn't without its drawbacks.

On Friday, the 33-year-old revealed to her Instagram followers that she had been unable to shower all day because she was looking after her four kids solo.

The blogger shared a photo on her Instagram story which showed her looking fresh faced and natural, wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with the word 'WINNING'.

Thanks a lot boys! On Friday, the 33-year-old revealed to her Instagram followers that she had been unable to shower all day because she was looking after her four kids solo

'Winning is finally having my morning shower at 8pm. 4 kids solo is farrrrrrrkt,' Bec captioned the photo.

Bec and Chris welcomed Tom and Darcy in September last year.

Their cute firstborn Oscar came along in July 2011, followed by adorable daughter Billie in February 2014.
He's the controversial radio shock jock who's renowned for his outspoken ways.

And now Kyle Sandilands has taken aim at his radio competitors, issuing an on-air warning that he has dirt on them and that 'D-Day' is coming.

The co-host of top-rating Sydney breakfast program KIIS FM told his long-term radio partner Jackie 'O' Henderson that 'D-Day' is nearing for other stations after they were caught lying to listeners by the ABC's Media Watch program.

Scroll down for video

Look out! Kyle Sandilands has taken aim at his radio competitors, issuing an on-air warning that he has dirt on them and that 'D-Day' is coming after Media Watch slammed Nova FM

Talking the morning after competitor Nova FM were caught out by the watchdog for re-using audio of Adele prizewinners from both Melbourne and Sydney, he slammed his opponents and issued a veiled threat.

'This shocked me  through trickery and dodgy editing, theyre making it sound like its a winner in Melbourne and Sydney,' Kyle declared on Tuesday morning.

'They copped a spray [on Media Watch] ... and rightly so.

'[But] I'm not finished. This is only day one of my 'D-Day for radio. Bringing down the opposition is on Thursday.'

Ominous: 'I'm not finished. This is only day one of my 'D-Day for radio. Bringing down the opposition is on Thursday,' Kyle declared to co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson

However not only did Kyle issue a warning to Nova FM - the home of breakfast duo Fitzy and Wippa - but also to his former employer.

Kyle and Jackie 'O' made a name for themselves on 2Day FM for more than a decade, but left in acrimonious circumstances in 2013 - and has hit out at the station's latest breakfast duo, Em Rusciano and Harley Breen.

'Nova  you should change your billboards to "It's all over for Nova"... and those clowns at 2DayFM, don't think you get out of it either,' he said.

Comedy: "Nova  you should change your billboards to "It's all over for Nova",' Kyle quipped

All-out war! Not only did Kyle issue a warning to Nova FM - the home of breakfast duo Fitzy and Wippa - but also to his former employer 2Day FM and the station's latest breakfast duo, Em Rusciano and Harley Breen

'You're going to cop it as well. I've been digging around... I've got some great s**t on people, things that people have done bad.

'Thursday  write it down. 2DayFM and Nova, you're in my sights. I have to tell everyone: theres some bad s**t going on.'

It's not the first time Kyle has hit out at his radio opponents, with the outspoken star labeling them 'losers' when they wouldn't take his calls on-air in 2015.
She decided not to attend the public memorial service in honor of her late mother Carrie Fisher and grandmother Debbie Reynolds.

And Billie Lourd, 24, was in 'good spirits' as she was spotted out for dinner with her dad Bryan Lourd and boyfriend Taylor Lautner at Catch in Los Angeles on Saturday night, according to the New York Post's Page Six.

The Scream Queens actress decided to skip the public event at Forest Lawn cemetery in LA where her family members were laid to rest in January after passing away within days of one another in December.

Not there: Billie Lourd, 24, decided not to attend the public memorial service in honor of her late mother Carrie Fisher and grandmother Debbie Reynolds. Pictured December

Meanwhile, at the service, Carrie's brother Todd Fisher, described their mother Debbie's passing as a 'beautiful exit.'

He said: 'When Carrie died, my mother decided to change her plans a bit. My mother always said to me, "I never want to go to my daughter's funeral service. I would like to be buried with Carrie."'

He said despite what his mom said, he never expected her to pass so suddenly.

'I didn't know she was going to leave us that very next day and when she looked at me to ask permission to leave, she said she wanted to be with Carrie, and she closed her eyes and went to sleep. It was a beautiful exit,' he continued.

Family: Billie is seen here with her uncle Todd, grandmother Debbie and mother Carrie before their deaths in January 2015

Saying goodbye: The memorial included a tribute song written by James Blunt, a close friend of Carrie's

The memorial also included a tribute song written by James Blunt, a close friend of Carrie's.

He did not attend the service, but the song accompanied a video montage.

Todd revealed he decided on a public memorial because his mother would have wanted her fans to be involved.

He said: 'The public is invited because that's how my mother would want it. She was very connected to her fans and felt they were a part of her, so we're opening it to the public.'

Support in all forms: Todd Fisher and R2-D2 from Star Wars attend the memorial for Carrie and Debbie

Loved: The service, which was also live streamed on Debbie's website, was attended by hundreds of mourning fans

The service was also live streamed on Debbie's website.

Todd seems to understand why his niece didn't attend.

He recently admitted Billie 'needs to step back' from the devastating loss of her mother and Debbie Reynolds.

Tough times: Carrie's brother Todd Fisher, spoke out and described their mother Debbie's passing as a 'beautiful exit.' Pictured 2015

'There's a vacuum in the room and she's feeling it and we're all feeling it,' Todd told ET.com Wednesday. 'I'm letting [Billie] breathe, you know? She needs to breathe. She needs to step back from all of this loss.'

Star Wars star Carrie, 60, died in Los Angeles on December 27 after suffering a cardiac arrest while on a flight home from London.

Debbie passed away 'from a broken heart' on December 28.
The Clean Power Plan rule has been on hold while a US federal appeals court considers a challenge by coal-friendly Republican-governed states and more than 100 companies

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday to undo his predecessor Barack Obama's plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fueled power plants, according to the new environmental chief.

Speaking on ABC's Sunday talk show "This Week," Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said rolling back Obama's 2015 Clean Power Plan would bring back coal jobs.

"The past administration had a very anti-fossil fuel strategy," he said. "So this is a promise (Trump) is keeping to the American people to say that we can put people back to work."

Told by ABC host George Stephanopolous that most coal-job losses took place a decade ago under Obama's predecessor George W. Bush -- as natural gas increasingly replaced coal -- Pruitt dismissed concerns that Trump had made a promise he can't keep.

"It will bring back manufacturing jobs across the country, coal jobs across the country," he said of the president's forthcoming order.

"For too long over the last several years, we have accepted a narrative that if you're pro-growth, pro-jobs, you're anti-environment," he added, accusing the Obama administration of making "efforts to kill jobs across this country through the clean power plan."

He said Trump's order would also lower electricity rates for Americans.

Supporters of the Clean Power Plan say it would help create thousands of clean-energy jobs.

A known fossil-fuel ally, Pruitt's appointment to head the EPA -- an agency he repeatedly sued as a state attorney general -- has been deeply contentious.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said rolling back Obama's 2015 Clean Power Plan would bring back coal jobs

Earlier this month, the climate change skeptic said he believes carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming, as scientists have said for decades.

Trump's action comes as the Clean Power Plan rule has been on hold since last year while a federal appeals court considers a challenge by coal-friendly Republican-governed states and more than 100 companies.

Trump's proposed federal budget unveiled earlier this month already envisioned ending funding for the plan along with a number of other programs aimed at combating climate change.

Trump's order -- along with his promise to reverse rules about vehicle emissions -- would make it impossible for the United States to reach its commitments under the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

But Pruitt criticized the accord as a "bad deal."

"This is an effort to undo the unlawful approach the previous administration engaged in," he said of Trump's executive order, "and to do it right going forward with the mindset of being pro-growth and pro-environment."

He called Obama's emissions rules "counter-helpful to the environment."

As attorney general for Oklahoma, the 48-year-old Republican filed or joined in more than a dozen law suits to block key EPA rules, siding with industry executives and activists seeking to roll back various regulations on pollution, clean air and clean water.
Police put the turnout at an anti-corruption demonstration at 7,000-8,000 people, the largest unauthorised in recent years

The United States criticized Moscow on for arresting hundreds of people demonstrating against corruption, calling the move an "affront" to democracy.

The march in Moscow was one of the biggest unauthorized demonstrations in recent years. Police put the turnout at 7,000-8,000 people.

"The United States strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters throughout Russia," acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

"Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values."

Among those arrested was opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose anti-corruption foundation organized the marches.

Toner said the United States was "troubled" by the arrest of Navalny, who has announced plans to run for president in the 2018 election and published a detailed report this month accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of nonprofit organizations.

Police said about 500 people had been arrested in Moscow, while OVD-Info, a website that monitors the detention of activists, said at least 933 had been detained, as well as dozens in other cities.

Russia's Interfax news agency said 130 people were arrested in Saint Petersburg, where about 4,000 people gathered in the city center.

"The United States will monitor this situation, and we call on the government of Russia to immediately release all peaceful protesters," Toner said.

"The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve a government that supports an open marketplace of ideas, transparent and accountable governance, equal treatment under the law, and the ability to exercise their rights without fear of retribution."

US President Donald Trump is under intense pressure over his Russia ties, amid an FBI probe of Russian interference in last year's presidential election, including Moscow's possible collusion with Trump's campaign.
Kiran Rana, mother of one of 14 men arrested for lynching a Muslim villager in Uttar Pradesh, supports the state's new hardline Hindu head, recently appointed by Prime Minister Modi

When India's prime minister named a hardline Hindu known for his anti-Muslim speeches to head its largest state Uttar Pradesh this month, many saw it as a sign his party's huge election win had emboldened him to pursue a more radical agenda.

But in the village of Bishara in Uttar Pradesh, where a Muslim man was lynched by his Hindu neighbours in 2015 triggering a national outcry, residents celebrated into the night by letting off fireworks and dousing each other with festive coloured powder.

It was a sign of the popularity of Yogi Adityanath, a 44-year-old firebrand Hindu priest known for his inflammatory rhetoric against Muslims, who make up nearly 20 percent of the northern state's population.

"He is like a god to us," said Kiran Rana, the mother of one of the 14 men arrested over the killing of 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq on suspicion of killing a cow -- considered by Hindus to be sacred -- for its meat.

"He will get them (our children) out."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appointed Adityanath after winning a landslide election victory in Uttar Pradesh, home to 220 million people and seen as a bellwether of national politics.

Modi has frequently sought to downplay his party's Hindu nationalist agenda since taking power in 2014 in India, a Hindu-majority but officially secular country with a significant Muslim minority.

But the appointment of a Hindu hardliner to head its most populous state has raised fears it will implement its ideology of "Hindutva" more aggressively in the future.

Hindutva, which roughly translates as "Hinduness", aims to create a Hindu homeland free from "foreign" communities such as Muslims and Christians, whom adherents perceive as a legacy of successive invasions since the eighth century.

Manini Chatterjee, national affairs editor at The Telegraph newspaper, described it as "a kind of a declaration of war against the secular state".

"It is saying 'we are unapologetic about who we are'," she said.

"Their reading of the UP verdict is that UP and India in general is ready for this aggressive Hindutva."

- Muslim fears -

Bishara is only around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from central New Delhi, but it only has electricity from seven in the evening to the next morning.

Potholes cover the village's main road, and jobs are in short supply.

Asked what she hopes to get from the priest-turned-politician, who shaves his head and often drapes himself in a saffron-coloured robe, Rana said simply, "development".

Her brother-in-law, Rajiv Rana, thought his priority should be to ensure that cows are protected.

A relative holds a photograph of slain villager Mohammad Akhlaq, whose lynching by his Hindu neighbours in 2015 triggered a national outcry

"The cow is our mother. When we prepare food, the first bite goes to our cow. If we have to choose between the cow and development we will choose the cow," he said.

Hindus in Bishara told AFP previous state governments had favoured Muslims for electoral reasons -- a perception widely used by the BJP in its election campaign for UP.

They insisted relations between the two communities remained good.

But Muslim residents gave a different picture.

Mohammad Akhtar, a Muslim carpenter who is planning to leave the village with his family for a new home in the mountains further north, said that "since the Akhlaq tragedy, there is an underlying tension in the village".

"There is no love or affection. Some villagers won't talk to Muslims and even children taunt us. There is a lot of intimidation. We don't feel safe," he said.

- Development hopes -

In one of his first pledges as state leader, Adityanath promised a crackdown on slaughterhouses, which have been traditionally run by Muslims.

In the back alleys of Bishara, however, the villagers have bigger concerns.

Hindus and Muslims alike say they hope Adityanath will rule in the name of both their communities, and will focus on improving life in the region.

Lynched Muslim Mohammad Akhlaq's village home in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where Prime Minister Modi has just appointed a hardline Hindu known for his anti-Muslim speeches to head the largest state

Modi made development the focus of his campaign in the region, a strategy that has already propelled Gujarat into pole position among Indian states in terms of economic performance.

"Simply put, the economic development of the nation is a necessary condition for the political, social, military and cultural revival of Hindu civilization," said Mint, an economic daily, last week.
People arrive for the premiere of Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm's 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story', at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California, on December 9, 2016

It grossed $1 billion and picked up numerous awards nominations, but a particular aspect of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" proved one of the most controversial moments in the entire franchise.

Fans were polarized by the computer-generated appearances of the long-dead Peter Cushing and a youthful Carrie Fisher, with some admiring the technical wizardry but many dismissing their inclusion as downright creepy.

With Lucasfilm planning to release the DVD and Blu-ray of "Rogue One" on April 4, fans will get an insight into just how well the film's crew understood that its flirtation with the "uncanny valley" of computer-generated human images was a huge risk.

In a bonus featurette entitled "The Princess and The Governor," animation supervisor Hal Hickel discusses a cutting-edge special effects process he describes as a "long series of failures resulting in victory."

Visual effects animator Hal Hickel attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards, at Hollywood & Highland Center, on February 26, 2017

"There were many dark days, many sleepless nights, laying awake, worrying about these shots," he says.

Developed by a Japanese robotics professor in 1970, the "uncanny valley" is the hypothesis that human replicas that appear almost, but not quite, like real humans elicit feelings of revulsion.

Its name refers to the sudden dip in our emotional response, which generally grows more positive the more human the replicas look -- until they are so life-like that we are creeped out.

"Close up digital human works is one of the hardest problems in computer graphics," visual effects supervisor John Knoll explains on the featurette.

"You don't want to be sitting there in the theater saying 'Yeah, something doesn't look right. What do you think that is?'"

- 'Unnerving' -

Unfortunately, this was the exact reaction of numerous otherwise rapt critics who thought the movie's perilous deep dive into the "uncanny valley" had undermined its many positive qualities.

A candle of Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia is seen following a public memorial for Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds, in Los Angeles, California, on March 25, 2017

Cushing, who played villainous Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin in the original film, died in 1994, while Fisher had stopped looking like 19-year-old Leia decades before her untimely death just two weeks after "Rogue One" came out.

So the idea of creating CGI versions of the actors was hugely divisive, with The Washington Times's Eric Althoff dismissing their inclusion as "effing weird."

Kelly Lawler of USA Today complained that while Tarkin was "unnerving," the Leia cameo was "so jarring as to take the audience completely out of the film at its most emotional moment."

Tarkin and Leia are played by Guy Henry and Ingvild Deila, with the digital likenesses of the original actors superimposed by San Francisco-based effects studio Industrial Light and Magic (ILM).

"It takes a lot of preparation to get into this character because everyone remembers Leia very well, so it needs to look exactly right," Deila explains on the featurette.

"And so they spent a lot of time on my hair, obviously. They dyed it twice and then added some extra hair... in the front because her hairline is a bit lower than mine. And also a big chunk of hair to make the buns.

"Then all these dots were put on right before we started shooting so that they could put Carrie Fisher's face on top of mine."

- 'Carrie loved it' -

While archived audio is mined for Leia's sole word of dialogue, Henry comes up with a passable Cushing impersonation for his substantial scenes of dialogue.

"It was a very difficult process because there's no way to really go back in time and capture the appearances of these actors," said ILM creative director Paul Giacoppo.

"So we had to really bring every single possible skill set to bear, to try to recreate the details of their facial appearance and skin likeness and performance."

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, a producer on the movie, says she wouldn't have green-lit the digital resurrections if visual effects supremo John Knoll hadn't been so confident he could pull it off.

As for Fisher herself, the actress managed to see her cameo before her death last December 27 at the age of 60, Knoll told ABC News, and gave it her blessing.

"She was involved in the process and, you know, she saw the final result and she loved it," he said.

"She got to see the scene. (Kennedy) showed it to her. So, I got a call afterwards from Kathy saying, 'Well, Carrie loved it.'"
Toddler Salsa Djafar sits on her mother's lap during a circumcision ceremony in Gorontalo, Indonesia, led by a traditional healer

Indonesian toddler Salsa Djafar was wearing a glittering golden crown decorated with ribbons and a shiny purple dress to mark a special occasion -- her circumcision day.

At the celebrations attended by relatives, shrieks filled the modest, yellow-walled house in remote Gorontalo province as a traditional healer covered the 18-month-old girl with a white sheet and sliced skin off her genitals.

The healer used a knife to remove a tiny piece of skin from the hood that covers the clitoris -- which she said looked like a "garlic skin" -- then stuck the knife into a lemon.

It marked the end of a procedure supposed to rid the child of sin and signal she was now officially a Muslim.

"It's hard to see her crying like this, but it is tradition," her father Arjun Djafar, a 23-year-old labourer, told AFP at last month's ceremony.

Toddler Salsa Djafar cries after her circumcision in Gorontalo, Indonesia

Female circumcision -- also known as female genital mutilation or FGM -- has been practised for generations across Indonesia, which is the world's biggest Muslim-majority country, and is considered a rite of passage by many.

The United Nations condemns the practice and the government once sought to ban it, but opposition from religious authorities and its widespread acceptance mean FGM has been impossible to stamp out.

Nowhere is it more common than Gorontalo, a deeply conservative area on the central island of Sulawesi, where the procedure is typically accompanied by elaborate rituals and celebrations.

A government survey estimated over 80 percent of girls aged 11 and under in Gorontalo had been circumcised, compared to about 50 percent of girls in the same category nationwide.

- An obligation -

Traditional healers say circumcision prevents girls from becoming promiscuous in later life, while there is also a widespread belief that uncircumcised Muslim women's prayers will not be accepted by God

Despite the pain it causes and growing opposition inside and outside Indonesia, residents of Gorontalo, mostly poor rice farmers, consider female circumcision an obligation.

The healer, Khadijah Ibrahim, who inherited her job from her mother when she passed away several years ago, said that girls who were left uncut risked developing "mental problems and disabilities".

Local healers say the practice prevents girls from becoming promiscuous in later life, while there is also a widespread belief that uncircumcised Muslim women's prayers will not be accepted by God.

But the practice is not limited to far-flung parts of the archipelago. It remains common among Muslim families even in Jakarta, although doctors there typically carry out a less extreme form of the procedure that involves pricking the clitoral hood with a needle.

In an effort to accommodate cultural and religious considerations, the government has moved away from previous attempts to ban the practice entirely and has instead sought to stamp out the more harmful methods and ensure safety.

A traditional healer shows a cutting tool used to circumcise girls in Gorontalo, Indonesia

Authorities insist the methods most commonly used in Indonesia -- usually involving a pin prick -- do not amount to female genital mutilation.

The methods used in Indonesia are generally less harsh than the most brutal forms of FGM found mainly in African and Middle Eastern countries, that can go as far as total removal of the clitoris.

The UN however disagrees with the Indonesian government's stance, classifying FGM among "harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes" and has passed two resolutions aimed at stopping it worldwide in recent years.

The global body says FGM has no health benefits and can cause many problems, such as infertility and an increased risk of childbirth complications.

- 'Not in Koran' -

Debate within Indonesia has been heating up in recent times, with activists and even a major Muslim organisation arguing against female circumcision, saying it violates a woman's right to do as she wishes with her body.

"I believe there are no verses in my religion that allow female circumcision -- it is not in the Koran," Khorirah Ali, a member of the government-backed national commission on violence against women, told AFP.

The country's second-biggest Muslim organisation, Muhammadiyah, discourages its followers from partaking in circumcision but the largest, Nahdlatul Ulama, and the country's top Islamic authority the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) are still in favour.

The issue is a hot potato and the government has flip-flopped in recent years.

In 2006, the health ministry banned doctors from carrying out female circumcision, saying there was no medical benefit -- but the MUI hit back with a fatwa saying that women who undergo the procedure would be considered noble.

The government backtracked several years later and said licensed medics could conduct the procedure as long as it was only "scratching the clitoral hood", only to later void this measure in favour of asking a specially appointed council to issue safety guidelines.

Campaigners say the constant changes have created confusion about what is allowed and more harmful practices -- such as those used in Gorontalo -- continue to exist.

Despite the opposition, the practice is unlikely to end soon in the country of 255 million people.

Jurnalis Uddin, an expert on female circumcision from Jakarta-based Yarsi University, and a member of the government's advisory council, said the focus should be on encouraging the less harmful methods.

"To get rid of the practice completely is like swimming against the current," he told AFP.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya in Myanmar have been confined to camps since violence drove them from their homes in 2012

Myanmar's army chief defended a military crackdown in Rakhine State on Monday after the UN pledged to probe claims security forces carried out a campaign of killing and torture against Rohingya Muslims there.

Almost 75,000 people from the persecuted minority have escaped to Bangladesh after the military launched operations in the north of the restive state to find Rohingya militants who raided police border posts in October.

UN investigators believe security forces may have committed crimes against humanity. Last week the UN Human Rights Council agreed to dispatch an independent international fact-finding mission, with a view to "ensuring full accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims".

Myanmar has long faced criticism for its treatment of the more than one million Rohingya who live in Rakhine State, who are rejected as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh or "Bengalis" despite many living there for generations.

General Min Aung Hlaing defends a crackdown on Muslim minority Rohingya in Myanmar

Speaking to crowds assembled in the capital for armed forces day, army chief Min Aung Hlaing on Monday defended the military campaign.

"The Bengalis in Rakhine State are not the Myanmar nationalities but the immigrants," he said, according to an official translation.

"The terrorist attacks which took place in October 2016 resulted in the political interferences."

Myanmar's civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi has meanwhile rebuffed the UN probe, saying any international fact-finding mission "would do more to inflame, rather than resolve, the issues at this time".

The country's powerful military until recently ruled Myanmar with an iron fist and built up a notorious reputation for rights abuses, especially when conducting operations against restive ethnic insurgents.

Almost all Rohingya are denied citizenship and forced to live in apartheid-like conditions, while tens of thousands of them have been confined to dire camps since violence drove them from their homes in 2012.

This month a commission led by former UN chief Kofi Annan to resolve issues in Rakhine recommended the camps be closed and said restrictions on freedom of movement should be lifted.
Bangladeshi patient Sahana Khatun, 10 -- the first female known to be afflicted with the so-called "tree man syndrome" -- is seen after her surgery to remove bark-like growths from her face in Dhaka

A young Bangladeshi girl diagnosed with a rare condition known as "tree man syndrome" has left hospital, her father told AFP Monday, saying he feared she would never be cured.

Surgeons operated on Sahana Khatun last month and removed some of the bark-like growths she has developed from the extremely rare condition of epidermodysplasia verruciformisa.

The 10-year-old is believed to be the first female in the world to suffer from the condition, also known as "tree man syndrome", and was being treated for free by the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Doctors hailed the initial surgery as a success, but Sahana's father Mohammad Shahjahan said it had only aggravated her condition and he wanted to spare her from further procedures.

"They removed the bark-like growths and they grew again more thick and strong," he told AFP.

"I am scared. They said my daughter needed another 8-10 operations. But what's the guarantee that she will be cured after that."

Samanta Lal Sen, head of the hospital's burns and plastic surgery unit, said he had wanted to keep the girl in hospital for further surgery but her father, a poor labourer, refused.

"He left with his daughter, complaining there was no progress. We asked them to stay a few more weeks for treatment," Sen told AFP.

Fewer than half a dozen people are known to suffer from the syndrome, among them 27-year-old Bangladeshi rickshaw-puller Abul Bajandar.

He has undergone at least 21 surgical procedures to remove huge growths each weighing five kilos (11 pounds), and doctors believe he may be the first sufferer to be cured.

Sahana's father, a widower, said he had also struggled financially during her treatment.

"I had to remain at her side without going to work. I didn't have any money to feed her properly," he said.

"She's the only family I've got left and I don't want to see her sadly sitting in a hospital bed."
A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces stands in the town of Al-Karamah, near from the Islamic State group bastion of Raqa, as they advance to encircle the jihadists, on March 26, 2017

US-backed forces battled Islamic State group fighters around a key northern Syrian town on Monday, a monitor said, hours after seizing a military airport from the jihadists.

The capture of Tabqa airbase late Sunday comes as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) prepare an attack on IS's de facto Syrian capital Raqa, seeking to surround the city before launching their assault.

On Monday morning, SDF fighters pressed their offensive around the base, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

"There is fighting north of airport as the SDF tries to reinforce its positions there," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said, adding that there were "heavy air strikes" in the area.

The base is approximately 2.7 kilometres (less than two miles) south of the town of Tabqa, an important IS stronghold on the southern bank of the Euphrates River.

Backed by air power from the US-led coalition bombing IS, the SDF's Arab and Kurdish units are approaching the town from the south via the airport, and from the north near the Tabqa dam.

Abdel Rahman said the SDF was also locked in fierce clashes on Monday near the dam's northeastern entrance.

The Tabqa dam, still held by IS, was forced out of service on Sunday after its power station was damaged, a source there told AFP.

The UN has warned that damage to the dam "could lead to massive scale flooding across Raqa and as far away as Deir Ezzor" province to the southeast.

"We will begin rehabilitating the airport after clearing out explosive devices" left behind by IS, SDF spokesman Talal Sello told AFP, describing heavy damage to the base's main landing strip.

He said SDF fighters would continue fighting around the dam and towards the town of Tabqa "in order to complete the siege of Raqa."

The SDF launched their offensive for Raqa -- the de facto Syrian capital of IS's "caliphate" -- in November.

At their closest point, they are just eight kilometres (five miles) from the city, to the northeast.

But they are mostly further away, between 18 and 29 kilometres from Raqa.
Iraqi children displaced from the battleground city of Mosul stand behind a fence at a camp in the village of Hasan Sham, 30 kilometres (18 miles) away

Iraqi forces renewed their assault Monday against jihadists in Mosul's Old City, after days in which the battle was overshadowed by reports of heavy civilian casualties from air strikes.

Iraqi forces began the massive operation to retake west Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group last month and have recaptured a series of neighbourhoods, but the battle poses a major threat to civilians in the city.

Iraqis who fled their homes in the Old City in western Mosul are taken to the Hammam al-Alil camp, south of Mosul, on March 27, 2017

Iraqi officials and witnesses have said air strikes took a devastating toll on civilians in the Mosul Al-Jadida area in recent days, but the number of victims -- said by some to number in the hundreds -- could not be independently confirmed.

"Federal Police and Rapid Response Division units began to advance today on the southwestern axis of the Old City," Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat, the commander of the federal police, said in a statement.

Jawdat said that one of their targets is Faruq Street, which runs near the Al-Nuri mosque.

IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only known public appearance at the mosque after IS seized Mosul in 2014, calling on Muslims to obey him.

Iraqis flee the fighting against Islamic State jihadist group in Mosul on March 26, 2017

Iraqi interior ministry forces have been operating in the area of the Old City for several weeks, but they have faced tough resistance and progress has been slow.

The Counter-Terrorism Service, which along with the Rapid Response Division is one of two special forces units spearheading west Mosul operations, has made faster progress in areas farther west.

But the Old City -- a warren of narrow streets and closely-spaced buildings in which the UN said 400,000 people still reside -- poses unique challenges in terms of the difficulty of advancing as well as the danger to civilians.

Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, the spokesman for Iraq's Joint Operations Command, said that interior ministry units have deployed snipers to target IS jihadists using civilians as human shields.

- Heavy toll on civilians -

However, Iraqi forces have also frequently fired mortar rounds and unguided rockets during the battle for Mosul -- weapons that pose a much greater risk to residents of areas where fighting is taking place.

The battle has already taken a heavy toll on civilians, pushing more than 200,000 to flee in addition to others who have been killed or wounded in the fighting.

Iraqis inspect damage in Mosul's Al-Jadida area on March 26, 2017, following air strikes that reportedly left heavy civilian casualties

An AFP photographer saw civil defence personnel and volunteers digging through the remains of houses to recover the dead in Mosul al-Jadida on Sunday.

The remains of at least 12 people -- among them women and children -- were placed in blue plastic body bags.

Rasool said that the defence ministry has opened an investigation into the reports that strikes killed civilians in west Mosul.

The US-led coalition against IS has indicated that it may have been responsible for at least some of the civilian deaths.

"An initial review of strike data... indicates that, at the request of the Iraqi security forces, the coalition struck (IS) fighters and equipment, March 17, in west Mosul at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties," it said in a statement on Saturday.

But that only addresses one day, while Iraqi officials referred to strikes carried out over several days.

On Sunday, US Central Command chief General Joseph Votel called recent civilian deaths in Mosul a "terrible tragedy".

"We are investigating the incident to determine exactly what happened and will continue to take extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians," he said in a statement.

Iraq is also carrying out strikes against IS with warplanes and helicopters.

The Joint Operations Command announced on Monday that Iraqi F-16 strikes had destroyed targets including bomb factories and weapons stores in the IS-held town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul.
Members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces stand under an Islamic State group banner in the recently recaptured town of Al-Karamah, near the IS bastion of Raqa

US-backed forces battled the Islamic State group around a key Syrian town Monday, after the capture of an airbase brought them closer to besieging the jihadists in their stronghold Raqa.

Backed by air power from the US-led coalition that has been bombing IS since 2014, the Syrian Democratic Forces are laying the groundwork for an assault on the heart of the jihadists' so-called "caliphate".

Operations are currently focused on the strategically important town of Tabqa on the Euphrates River, and the adjacent dam and military airport.

Late Sunday, Arab and Kurdish fighters from the SDF seized Tabqa airbase and pressed north towards the town itself.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, said the alliance was fighting north of the airport to reinforce its positions.

Anti-IS forces advance towards RAqa

"The SDF could bring supplies to the airport in the coming days and use it as a launching point for additional military operations," he added, reporting "heavy strikes" in the area.

SDF spokesman Talal Sello said the alliance would "begin rehabilitating the airport after clearing out explosive devices" left behind by IS and said the base's main landing strip was seriously damaged.

- Fighting pause at dam -

Bolstered by air strikes and military advisers from the US-led coalition, SDF units are approaching Tabqa from the south via the airport and via the north near the IS-held dam.

The US-backed Arab-Kurdish alliance fighting jihadists in Syria took a pause in fighting to allow engineers to inspect the Tabqa dam

The road to the dam was strewn with bits of burned vehicles and the casings of ammunition and the bodies of several alleged IS fighters lie in the shallow water of a canal, evidence of fierce fighting.

On Monday, the SDF observed a brief truce in fighting to allow a technical team to enter the dam after it was forced out of service the previous day.

An SDF spokesman later said inspections had been successful and the pause in fighting was now over.

"There is no damage to the dam or its function, the engineers have finished their work and confirmed that the dam has not been damaged, and on this basis the ceasefire ended," Jihan Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement.

A source at the dam had earlier said the work to assess and repair damage at the dam could last two or three days.

The UN has warned that damage to the dam "could lead to massive scale flooding across Raqa and as far away as Deir Ezzor" province downstream to the southeast.

IS issued warnings through its propaganda agency Amaq that the dam "is threatened with collapse at any moment because of American strikes and a large rise in water levels".

The US-led coalition denied the dam had been "structurally damaged" and said it was "taking every precaution" to ensure its integrity.

The SDF launched its offensive for Raqa city in November, seizing around two thirds of the surrounding province, according to the Britain-based Observatory.

A Syrian woman carries her child at a temporary refugee camp in the village of Ain Issa, housing people who fled Islamic State group's Syrian stronghold Raqa

At their closest point, they are just eight kilometres (five miles) from the city, to the northeast.

But they are mostly further away, between 18 and 29 kilometres from Raqa.

- Rebels quit Homs district -

Syria's conflict began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 but has turned into a brutal war pitting government forces, jihadists, rebels, and Kurds against each other.

In addition to the US-led coalition's bombing campaign, Russian warplanes are carrying out air strikes in support of Assad's government.

On Monday, a spokesman for the Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham told AFP it shot down a "Russian helicopter" over a government-held town in the northwestern province of Latakia.

But a spokesman for Moscow's forces in Syria, headquartered at the Hmeimim air base in Latakia, said Monday that all Russian aircraft inside Syria were safely at their bases or on missions.

Russia's air support has helped Syrian government forces regain the upper hand in swathes of territory across the country.

A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces stands in the town of Al-Karamah, near the Islamic State (IS) group bastion of Raqa on March 26, 2017

Assad's government has also relied on "reconciliation" deals, under which rebels agree to quit territory in exchange for an end to siege or bombardment, and safe passage.

On Monday, evacuations from the last opposition-held district of the central city of Homs resumed under a similar deal, SANA state news agency reported.

Homs governor Talal Barazi told AFP that around 1,900 people left Waer on Monday, 670 of them rebels.

UN-mediated talks between government and rebel representatives continued Monday in Geneva, aimed at bringing an end to the war that has killed 320,000 people.

Speaking in the Swiss city, High Negotiations Committee chief Nasr al-Hariri stuck by the opposition group's long-held demand that Assad cannot have any role in the transition and future of Syria.

The UN's envoy Staffan de Mistura was in Jordan on Monday to brief an Arab League meeting on the talks.
South Africa's Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan delivers the 2017 Budget address at the National Assembly on 22 February, 2017, in Cape Town

South African President Jacob Zuma has ordered his finance minister to return from an overseas investment trip, the presidency said Monday, fuelling speculation that a cabinet reshuffle is imminent.

Zuma's decision to recall Pravin Gordhan from Britain has led to media and opposition speculation that he could be sacked. The two men have had an increasingly uneasy relationship in recent months.

Friction has soared between Zuma, who is seeking to fund a "radical economic transformation", and Gordhan who is taking a stand against graft and heavy spending.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance warned that the developing incident would be seen as "a major setback for the economy in South Africa" and was a prelude to a reshuffle.

"(It) is so bizarre that it appears, at best, calculated to humiliate the minister or, at worst, to suggest that the minister is about to be fired in a cabinet reshuffle," said shadow finance minister David Maynier.

Local media have also speculated that the recall is a precursor to a change of personnel at the top of government.

"Fears are growing that President Jacob Zuma will finally pull the trigger and reshuffle his Cabinet," wrote the Daily Maverick news site.

The tension has also spooked the foreign exchange markets with the rand losing almost three percent against the US dollar on the day, with $1 now buying 12.65 rand. The treasury could not be reached for comment.

- 'Reshuffle is ready to go' -

"President Jacob Zuma has instructed the Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan and Deputy Minister Mcebisi Jonas to cancel the international investment promotion roadshow to the United Kingdom and the United States and return to South Africa immediately," the presidency said in an emailed statement which did not give a reason for Gordhan's recall.

South Africa was granted a reprieve at the end of last year when rating agencies did not drop it to the "junk" investment category following a series of downgrades, but they warned of the impact of poor growth and political instability.

Nomura market analyst Peter Attard Montalto said that the week ahead could prove critical for South Africa's political and economic stability.

"It seems this week is going to be really decisive either way. It is also possibly that Zuma wants PG there if he only reshuffles the deputy," he wrote in a note to investors.

"A reshuffle is ready to go and something Zuma wants to do. It could be deployed rapidly if Zuma does want to do it... This is going to be a key week for political risk."

In December 2015, Zuma suddenly sacked Gordhan's predecessor Nhlanhla Nene and replaced him with an obscure lawmaker, triggering panic among investors and a sharp drop in the rand.
European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager addresses a press conference on the merger between Dow Chemical and DuPont in Brussels on March 27, 2017

The EU on Monday approved a $130 billion mega-merger of US agro-chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont, paving the way for major consolidation in a sensitive sector for farmers and the environment.

The decision by antitrust regulators was subject to Dupont selling "major parts" of its global pesticides business, said the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.

"Due to significant commitments on products and the worldwide research and development organisation, the merger of Dow and Dupont can be approved," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.

Dow Chemical and DuPont, two of the oldest US companies, announced their tie-up in December 2015 to create the world's biggest chemicals and materials group.

The decision spares the EU from angering the administration of US President Donald Trump, just days before Vestager visits Washington.

Vestager has not been shy of tackling major US companies since she took on the competition brief in 2014, winning praise in Europe but criticism across the Atlantic.

"This regulatory milestone is a significant step toward closing the merger transaction, with the intention to subsequently spin into three independent publicly traded companies," the companies said in a joint statement.

The EU's demand is "pro-competitive and maintains the strategic logic and value creation potential of the transaction," the statement added.

Dow and Dupont are dominant players for a huge range of chemical products, but the manufacturing of pesticides and fertilisers has drawn the most attention.

The products developed by the Dow and DuPont "affect each and every one of us. They literally affect our daily bread," Vestager told a news conference in Brussels.

To win approval, the companies agreed to sell off key DuPont pesticides units, including sensitive research and development capabilities.

- 'Dominant market share' -

Dow will be required to sell two manufacturing plants in Spain and in the US, with German giant BASF widely seen as a potential buyer.

The Dow-Dupont merger is part of a broader wave of consolidation in the agro-chemicals sector that has worried environmental activists and small farmers.

Dow Chemical and DuPont announced their tie-up in December 2015 to create the world's biggest chemical and materials group

In the coming days, the EU is expected to decide on the $43-billion takeover bid by ChemChina for Swiss rival Syngenta.

The EU is also to decide on German giant Bayer's $66-billion offer for US firm Monsanto, another mega-merger in the industry that has angered activists.

Opponents to the deals warned that the tie-ups would deepen threats to the environment, bring higher prices to struggling farmers as well as boost the controversial genetically-modified crops industry.

If all tie-ups are successful, "the three resulting companies could control around 70 percent of the world's agro-chemicals and more than 60 percent of commercial seeds," said a letter from Friends of the Earth and co-signed by Greenpeace and dozens of other groups.

"Through dominant market share and sheer political power, they would unduly influence our agriculture and food system," added the letter, which was dated Monday.

Vestager is due in Washington on Friday. She has pushed through a series of anti-competition probes of Google and Amazon as well taking a historic 13-billion-euro decision against Apple.

Some US critics say she unfairly targets American companies but Vestager insists she has simply applied European Union competition rules.
With air support from the US-led coalition against IS, the Syrian Democratic Forces are fighting to seize the town of Tabqa and the adjacent dam on the Euphrates River

US-backed Syrian fighters on Monday paused their offensive on a key dam held by the Islamic State group to allow a technical team to enter the complex, a spokeswoman said.

There have been fears about the integrity of the dam after fighting in the area forced it out of service on Sunday, following earlier UN warnings that a collapse would be "catastrophic".

With air support from the US-led coalition against IS, the Syrian Democratic Forces are fighting to seize the town of Tabqa and the adjacent dam on the Euphrates River, as part of their battle for the jihadists' stronghold in nearby Raqa.

"To ensure the integrity of the Tabqa dam... we have decided to stop operations for four hours beginning at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT)," SDF spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement.

"This is to allow a team of engineers to enter the dam and carry out their work."

Ahmed said the pause could be extended if necessary.

The IS-held structure was forced out of service on Sunday after its power station was damaged, a source there told AFP.

The United Nations has warned that damage to the dam "could lead to massive scale flooding across Raqa and as far away as Deir Ezzor" province downstream to the southeast with "catastrophic humanitarian implications".

The source at the dam told AFP on Monday that a technical team "will assess the level of damage and repair that is needed so that the dam can resume its operations, after it was put out of service yesterday".

"If fixing the damage will require more time, then we will coordinate with the SDF to request additional time to finish repairs, resume the dam's work and remove any threat to it," the source added.

IS issued warnings through its propaganda agency Amaq on Sunday that the dam could collapse "at any moment".

The US-led coalition said on Monday it was "taking every precaution" to ensure the structure's integrity.

"To our knowledge, the dam has not been structurally damaged," it said in an online statement alongside satellite images of the dam.

The SDF had also denied the dam was damaged, and said military operations around it were being conducted "slowly and with precision".

The alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters launched its offensive for Raqa city in November, seizing around two thirds of the surrounding province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

At their closest point, they are just eight kilometres (five miles) from the city, to the northeast.

But they are mostly further away, between 18 and 29 kilometres from Raqa.
Pakistani soldiers patrol at the Torkham crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Pakistan's Khyber Agency on June 14, 2016

Pakistan has begun building a fence along its border with Afghanistan to curtail the movement of militants, its army said, in a move criticised by its eastern neighbour for dividing communities.

The two nations are divided by the "Durand Line", a 2,400-kilometre (1,500-mile) frontier drawn by the British in 1896 and disputed by Kabul, which does not officially recognise it as an international border.

It also splits the Pashtun ethnic group between the states.

Both routinely accuse the other of harbouring militant proxies to carry out cross-border attacks, while their militaries have engaged in numerous skirmishes in recent years.

Last year, Pakistan completed an 1,100 kilometre (700 mile) trench along the southern half of the border. The current round of fencing began in the northern tribal regions of Mohmand and Bajaur over the weekend, according to the army.

"It is first time we've started the formal fencing with the political government onboard. Previous efforts...were local in nature," a security source said Monday.

A statement added "additional technical surveillance" would also be deployed but did not elaborate.

Najib Danish, a spokesman for Afghanistan's interior ministry, denounced the move but said his government had not yet seen any construction work.

"We have not seen any signs of building fences along the border. But it is not going to solve the terrorism problem. It is only going to divide the people and we will not allow it," he said.

Fencing threatens to disrupt the daily lives of communities who have traditionally paid the border little heed, with villages straddling the frontier that have mosques and houses with one door in Pakistan and another in Afghanistan.

They now face stricter controls and are obliged to use official crossing points, which are subject to delays and frequent closures including one that was lifted last week after a full month.

Tensions recently soared after Pakistan blamed Afghanistan for a wave of militant violence that killed 130 people in February.
Jailed ex-prime minister Ehud Olmert,who was premier between 2006-2009, was convicted of graft and entered prison in February 2016

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Monday rejected a request for clemency by jailed ex-prime minister Ehud Olmert, who is serving a 27-month prison sentence for corruption, his office said.

Olmert, who was premier between 2006-2009, was convicted of graft and entered prison in February 2016.

The president noted that the grounds for the request -- including Olmert's contributions to Israel over the years -- were known to the court when it sentenced the former prime minister.

Rivlin also said in a statement that Olmert was due to face a parole committee, which would discuss his request to have his sentence shortened by a third.

If the parole board shortens Olmert's sentence, Rivlin said he could consider a pardon that would allow the 71-year-old to avoid being considered a convict after he is released.

Olmert is Israel's first former premier to serve jail time.

He resigned as prime minister in September 2008 after police recommended he be indicted for graft, but remained in office until March 2009, when Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in to the post, which he has held ever since.

Olmert won international acclaim for relaunching peace efforts with the Palestinians at the Annapolis conference in the United States in 2007, but they failed to bear fruit and the corruption charges against him have come to define his legacy.
China and the Philippines have had a long-running dispute over competing claims in the South China Sea

The Philippines Monday took delivery of two Japanese military surveillance aircraft to help it patrol vital sea lanes in the South China Sea, despite Manila's increasingly conciliatory stance to Beijing's claims over the disputed waters.

Japan will lease a total of five surplus Beechcraft TC-90 planes to the Philippines, according to Manila's defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Philippine military chief General Eduardo Ano said the new planes would be deployed over Benham Rise and the South China Sea.

Japan's attempt to bolster defence cooperation with Manila comes at a time of heightened regional concern over China's activities in disputed waters.

"As we are faced with many security-related issues in the Asia-Pacific, including those in the South China Sea, our cooperation with the Philippines for the regional security and stability is now even more significant," Japanese deputy defence minister Kenji Wakamiya said at a ceremony to hand over the planes.

Japan, which has a territorial row with China over disputed islands in the East China Sea, has worked to strengthen ties with other countries in a bid to contain its regional rival.

China claims most of the South China Sea, including waters close to the Philippine coast, despite the claim being declared as without basis last year by a United Nations-backed tribunal.

Beijing opposed the Philippines' lease of the planes almost as soon as it was announced last year under Manila's then-president Benigno Aquino, who took a tough stance on China's territorial ambitions.

However, Aquino's successor President Rodrigo Duterte has reversed this stance, openly courting China for trade and aid while playing down the South China Sea dispute.

Earlier this month Duterte said he was open to sharing resources with Beijing in the flashpoint waters, saying he could not stop Beijing from building on a disputed shoal near his country's west coast, which China seized from the Philippines in 2012.

He also brushed aside concerns over Chinese survey ships that had been seen near Benham Rise -- waters east of the main Philippine island of Luzon that have been recognised by the United Nation as indisputably Philippine territory.

Parts of the South China Sea are also subject to competing claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi attend a ministerial session ahead of the 28th Arab Summit on March 27, 2017

Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit urged Arab governments on Monday to do more to resolve the conflict in Syria rather than leaving it to other powers.

He was speaking as Arab foreign ministers met to prepare for the Arab League's annual summit, set for Wednesday in Jordan.

"In my view it's not right that Arab governments stay out of the biggest crisis in the region's modern history," Abul Gheit said.

He urged them to "find an effective way of intervening to stop the shedding of blood in Syria and end the war".

The Syrian government was not invited to the summit.

A symbolic vacant chair for Syria as Arab foreign ministers meet ahead of the 28th Arab League summit in Jordan, on March 27, 2017

The bloc suspended Syria's membership in late 2011 after anti-regime demonstrations were brutally repressed.

Abul Gheit in February ruled out an early Syrian return to the bloc, saying that this was up to the League's 21 other members.

He said the issue would only be raised when "a political settlement" was in sight for Syria's devastating civil war which has killed 320,000 people.

On Monday, he called on Arab governments to "work in every possible way to play a more active role in major crises", including in Yemen and Libya.

"It is not right that this kind of terrible crisis gets passed over to international and regional powers to manage as they like and control according to their own interests," he said.

"These conflicts all pose a serious threat to Arab security," he said.
Labourers work at the construction site of Saudi Aramco's Al-Khurais central oil processing facility in the Saudi Arabian desert, east of the capital Riyadh, on June 23, 2008

Saudi Arabia on Monday cut taxes on oil companies in a major move that could attract investments in its energy giant Aramco, expected to be offered to investors in 2018.

King Salman decreed a new set of income tax rates on oil companies working in the kingdom, ranging from 50 percent to 85 percent depending on the firms' investments, after it was 85 percent across the board.

The royal decree published Monday said companies investing more that 375 billion riyals ($100 billion) will be subject to a 50-percent tax rate.

"Saudi Aramco's tax rate is reduced from 85 percent to 50 percent, bringing it in line with international benchmarks," the government-owned oil giant said on its Twitter account following the decree.

Saudi Arabia plans to sell five percent of Aramco next year, as part of efforts to build up a large sovereign wealth fund. The sale falls within the kingdom's strategy to diversify its oil-dependent economy away from hydrocarbons.

"The royal decree concerning taxes is in the interest of the kingdom, its citizens and future generations," said Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, whose country is the worlds biggest oil exporter.

Saudi Aramco chief Amin Nasser said the royal order "is positive for the kingdom's economic diversification," and in line with the "Vision 2030" for economic reforms led by the king's son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The kingdom has intensified economic reform efforts after oil prices plunged last year below $40 per barrel from above $100 in 2014.

The government made unprecedented cuts to fuel and utilities subsidies in a country long-accustomed to some of the cheapest petrol prices in the world.

The budget deficit last year amounted to $79 billion, down from the record deficit of $97 billion registered in 2015.

The energy minister insisted the country's oil wealth would remain sovereign despite the sale of Aramco shares, and that a drop in tax revenues would be compensated by investment returns.

"The hydrocarbon resources of Saudi Arabia remain sovereign and any reduction in tax revenues" will be "replaced by stable dividend payments and other sources of revenue from hydrocarbon producers", Falih said.

Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan also gave assurances that the tax cuts would "not have any negative impact on the state's ability to provide services".
Malian army soldiers, pro-government militia members and former rebels, predominantly Tuaregs, take part in their first joint patrol in Gao in northern Mali on February 23, 2017

Former rebels and Mali's opposition parties Monday boycotted a national summit enshrined in the country's 2015 peace deal, laying bare divisions with the government and armed groups it relies on for security.

The talks were agreed in the accord signed by Tuareg-led rebels, the government and pro-Bamako militias aimed at ending successive separatist uprisings in Mali's north, most recently in 2012, and to isolate jihadist groups.

"We want a united Mali and we are open," said President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita at the conference's opening ceremony, speaking only to his own delegates and commanders supportive of his rule, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA), the former rebel alliance, and Mali's opposition groupings said a lack of consultation and time for preparation meant they would not attend.

"The parties involved have not been able to reach a consensus, taking into account our worries," a CMA statement said, describing failed sessions with international mediators.

The implementation of the peace accord struck has been piecemeal and insurgents who refused to sign the deal are still active across large parts of the country.

Mali's north fell under the control of jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012 who hijacked the rebel uprising, though the Islamists were largely ousted by a French-led military operation in January 2013.
President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has emerged as one of his most trusted advisers

Donald Trump's son-in-law and top aide Jared Kushner will appear before a Senate panel investigating Russian interference in the US election, the White House said Monday.

Kushner, 36, was Trump's main intermediary with foreign governments during the 2016 election campaign and now plays that role in the White House.

He arranged meetings between Trump and leaders from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

But it is his contacts with Russian officials that are now coming under the microscope, amid explosive allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

Trump took to Twitter to insist that "Trump Russia story is a hoax," urging lawmakers to instead focus on his losing rival for the presidency, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state.

US intelligence has concluded that Russia launched a broad-ranging campaign designed to help Trump win election.

In addition to investigations in the Senate and House of Representatives, an FBI probe of Russian interference in last year's presidential election, including Moscow's possible collusion with Trump's campaign, is placing the president under even more pressure over his Russia ties.

"Throughout the campaign and transition, Jared Kushner served as the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials," a White House official said.

"Given this role, he has volunteered to speak with Chairman (Richard) Burr's committee, but has not yet received confirmation," the official said.

Burr chairs the Senate intelligence committee.

- 'Follow the facts' -

In a joint statement with his Democratic counterpart Senator Mark Warner, Burr said Kushner's decision to appear showed the panel's independence.

"From the beginning of this investigation, we have committed to follow the facts wherever they lead us," they said.

"Mr Kushner will certainly not be the last person the committee calls to give testimony, but we expect him to be able to provide answers to key questions that have arisen in our inquiry."

The development comes amid renewed questions over the impartiality of a parallel inquiry from the House Intelligence Committee.

It is led by Congressman Devin Nunes, who is under fire for briefing Trump about issues related to the investigation.

Last week, Nunes revealed that Trump's own communications may have been swept up in intelligence gathering on suspected foreign agents.

Nunes worked on Trump's transition team and is now leading an investigation into possible links between that campaign team and Russia.

The House's top Democrat Nancy Pelosi called for Nunes to be removed from his chairmanship of the inquiry. She was joined by her counterpart in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, along with the House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, Adam Schiff.

"Chairman Nunes is falling down on the job and seems to be more interested in protecting the president than in seeking the truth," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

"You cannot have the person in charge of an impartial investigation be partial to one side."

Pelosi criticized Nunes's "discredited behavior."

"Speaker Ryan must insist that Chairman Nunes at least recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation immediately," she said in a statement.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

NATO said it has rescheduled a key meeting of foreign ministers for Friday after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was unable to make the original date next week.

"Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers moved forward to 31 March," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said on Twitter on Monday.

The NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels had been planned for April 5 and 6, but that was thrown into chaos last week when Tillerson revealed he would not be attending due to other commitments.

The State Department has confirmed that Tillerson would attend the rescheduled NATO talks if they could be held this Friday.

Diplomats have worked frantically in recent days to make the new date, with Britain revealing Monday that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will delay a visit to Moscow to fit in with Tillerson.

"We have unfortunately had to postpone the foreign secretarys visit to Russia planned this month due to rescheduling of the NATO foreign ministers meeting," a spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office said.

Johnson has spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, "and looks forward to reinstating his visit as soon as possible," he added.

The rescheduling drama shows the importance attached to Tillerson's first visit to NATO headquarters, amid doubts about the commitment of President Donald Trump's administration to transatlantic ties.
US citizens Kurt W. Cochran, who was killed in the March 22 London terror attack, and his wife Melissa

The family of Kurt Cochran, the US tourist killed during a terror attack while in London with his wife to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, spoke on Monday of "a humbling and difficult experience".

Cochran's wife, Melissa, sustained a broken leg, a broken rib and a cut to the head in last Wednesday's attack outside the Houses of Parliament, and "her health is steadily improving," her brother Clint Payne said.

Cochran and Melissa, from Utah, were mowed down on Westminster Bridge by a car driven by Khalid Masood, who killed a total of four people and injured dozens more before being shot and killed.

In the first public statement by a victim's family since the attack, Payne thanked the emergency services and members of the public for "the outpouring of love and generosity".

"The most difficult part of all of this is that Kurt is no longer with us, and we miss him terribly," he said.

"He was an amazing individual who loved everyone and tried to make the world a better place."

US President Donald Trump announced Cochran's death last Thursday, calling him "a great American" in a Twitter post.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Melissa's parents were serving as missionaries in London.

Masood also ran over Leslie Rhodes, 75, a retired window cleaner, and Aysha Frade, 43, a language school administrator, as well as stabbing to death 48-year-old policeman Keith Palmer outside parliament.

Police investigating the attack arrested a 30-year-old man on Sunday in the central English city of Birmingham on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts.

He is one of two people who remain in police custody, the other being a 58-year-old also arrested in Birmingham.

The arrest came as the government confirmed that Masood had used the WhatsApp messaging service, saying it was crucial that the security services be allowed to access the heavily encrypted app.
President Donald Trump plans to scrap regulations during his maiden trip to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington

US President Donald Trump will on Tuesday roll back a slew of environmental protections enacted by Barack Obama, in a bid to untether the fossil fuel industry.

In a maiden trip to the Environmental Protection Agency, Trump will sign an "Energy Independence Executive Order," a White House official told AFP.

The new president will unveil a series of measures to review regulation curbing oil, gas and coal production and limiting carbon emissions.

The centerpiece of Trump's plan is an effort to slow walk Obama's Clean Power Plan, which restricts emissions from coal-fired power plants.

The measures will "help keep energy and electricity affordable, reliable, and clean in order to boost economic growth and job creation," the White House said.

But the new president could face a cool reception at the agency's imposing Washington headquarters.

Trump has repeatedly questioned humans' role in warming the planet, leaving environmentally-focused EPA staff to wonder whether the fox is guarding the hen house.

Trump has done little to assuage those fears, vowing to slash EPA funding by a third, appointing anti-climate litigator Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA and Exxon's CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State.

But Trump's climate skepticism has struck a chord with many Republican voters.

Some 68 percent of Americans believe climate change is caused by humans, but just 40 percent of Republicans say they worry about it according to Gallup.

2016 the hottest year on record

During the 2016 election campaign Trump donned a hardhat and embraced miners from Kentucky to West Virginia, promising to return jobs to long-ravaged communities.

He won both states by a landslide.

Since coming to office he has coupled his pro-miner rhetoric with support for the fossil fuel industry.

- 'War on coal' -

The United States is the world's second largest polluter. Around 37 percent of domestic carbon dioxide emissions come from electricity generation.

Curbing emissions from coal-fired power plants was a pillar of America's commitment in the Paris Climate Accord.

"Whether we stay in or not is still under discussion," a senior administration official told AFP.

And it remains to be seen whether stalling implementation and defunding the EPA will bring coal back.

President Donald Trump may face a cool reception at the Environmental Protection Agency when he announces plans to reverse climate laws

Some experts warn the economic payoff from ditching the clean power plan will be limited.

"In my view, it will have virtually no impact," said professor James Van Nostrand of West Virginia University, who said the decline of coal had more to do with higher mining costs and cheaper natural gas and renewables.

"Defunding or dismantling the EPA and repealing its regulations is not going to bring the coal industry back."

"The constant narrative about the 'war on coal' and the alleged devastating impact of EPA's regulations on West Virginias coal industry will now be exposed for its inherent speciousness," he predicted.

Referring to the plan, the same US official told AFP: "It's going to take some time."

In 2008 there were 88,000 coal miners in the United States, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Today, the number of coal miners has fallen around 25 percent. More people work in Whole Foods, an upscale supermarket chain.
Bill Gross, pictured in 2012, said funds from his settlement with former employer Pimco would go to charity

Former Pimco co-founder and bond guru Bill Gross settled a wrongful termination and breach-of-contract suit against his ex-employer, the two parties said Monday in a joint statement released by Pimco.

The terms of the settlement were not released, but a person familiar with the matter said Pimco agreed to pay $81 million. Pimco is owned by German insurance and financial giant Allianz.

Gross, now a top fund manager at Janus Capital Group, said the funds would go to charity.

"Pimco has always been family to me, and, like any family, sometimes there are disagreements," Gross said. "I'm glad that we have had the opportunity to work through those."

The company said it would establish a new "Founders Room" at its California headquarters dedicated to Gross and other key founders and leaders, and also will make Gross a "Director Emeritus" and establish an annual "Bill Gross Award."

"Bill Gross has always been larger-than-life," said Pimco group chief investment officer Dan Ivascyn, who praised Gross for building Pimco "from the ground up."

The gushing tone from both sides marks a sharp reversal from the acrimony after Gross' departure.

In his original suit, filed in October 2015 in California, Gross asserted that his firing the prior year was engineered by a "cabal" who was "driven by a lust for power, greed, and a desire to improve their own financial position."
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Daniel Ricciardo was slapped with a grid penalty, missed the start because of a mechanical problem and retired halfway through the Australian Grand Prix as his season-opening Formula One race unfolded in the worst possible way on Sunday.

The Red Bull driver had the best of the non-Mercedes cars in F1 last year, placing third to eventual winner Nico Rosberg and three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

After weeks of good-natured promotional activities for his home Grand Prix, though, his first race of 2017 started badly and only got worse.

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia gets out of his car after stopping during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, March 26, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

"Sorry mate. Car is done," Ricciardo said as his car finally came to a halt on the 28th lap, smoke billowing from the front left. "Let's get ... out of here."

He'd been given a grid penalty of five places - pushing him back from 10th to 15th - after being forced to make an unscheduled gearbox change on his Red Bull following a crash late in qualifying on Saturday.

It deteriorated further when he had mechanical failure on the warmup and his car was transported back to the garages.

That's where he was when the race got under way - after one aborted start and an extra formation lap for the other 19 cars.

Ricciardo eventually started the race from pit lane, joining with instructions from Red Bull to have fun and "get stuck in" after the leaders had already completed the first of 57 scheduled laps on the 5.303-kilometer (3.295-mile) Albert Park circuit.

Two other cars retired before Ricciardo stopped again, this time at turn three on the 28th lap, with a fuel pressure problem. In all, seven of the 20 cars retired in the first race under the new F1 rules designed to make the cars bigger and faster.

"Not the weekend I wanted at home. For all these things to happen at my home race - that's probably the most frustrating thing," Ricciardo said. "We were on the back foot already after the crash in qualifying and then today we had an issue during the warm up lap followed by a second issue in the race. On both occasions the car just came to a stop so I couldn't do anything else.

"But look, it's the first race, so hopefully we'll move forward from this. I'll wake up tomorrow and be motivated to get ready for China."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner commended the crew for getting Ricciardo into the race after the problem with a sensor on the gearbox in the formation lap.

"It was an unbelievable recovery from the mechanics to get him into the race, nobody gave up in working to get the car out there," Horner said. "Then we were always going to be relying on safety cars to get back on to the lead lap. We decided to put the mileage in and get the knowledge anyway."

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia walks from his car after he stopped during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, March 26, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, right, and teammate Daniel Ricciardo of Australia share a laugh with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, left, during the drivers' photo call for the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, March 26, 2017. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Monday:

1. WHO'S TAKING BRUNT OF TRUMP'S IRE

The president attacks conservative lawmakers for the failure of the Republican bill to replace Obama's health care law.

North Carolina forward Luke Maye, right, scores against Kentucky's Edrice Adebayo in the second half of the South Regional final game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 26, 2017, in Memphis, Tenn. North Carolina won 75-73. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

2. RELIEF QUICKLY FOLLOWED BY ANXIETY

Americans who benefit from "Obamacare" - and were relieved when a GOP push to repeal it failed - are facing new concerns with Trump vowing to let the law "explode."

3. WHAT'S LATEST CONCERN FOR PUTIN

Russia's opposition puts on a nationwide show of strength with dozens of protests across the vast country.

4. GUNFIRE ERUPTS IN CINCINNATI NIGHTCLUB

Police still have no one in custody after the shootout that left one person dead and 15 others wounded.

5. WHERE ISLAMIC STATE MILITANTS ARE BEING PUSHED BACK

U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces say they captured a strategically important air base from the extremists in north Syria.

6. GOOD SIGN FOR CHANCELLOR AT BALLOT BOX

Angela Merkel's conservative party easily wins an election in Germany's western Saarland state, an unexpectedly strong performance as Merkel prepares to seek a fourth term in a national vote later this year.

7. TRUMP TO REVERSE COURSE ON CLIMATE CHANGE

The head of the EPA says the president in the coming days will sign an executive order that unravels his predecessor's sweeping plan to curb global warming.

8. IRAN SLAPS US BUSINESSES

Tehran sanctions what it describes as 15 American companies that support Israel's occupation of land Palestinians want for a future state.

9. ACROSS ITALY, TOASTS TO TOSCANINI

Celebrations are planned across his homeland to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Arturo Toscanini, one of the 20th century's most enduring conductors.

10. JUST TWO COUPLES LEFT AT BIG DANCE

The Final Four is set. And in an unusual bit of geography, it'll be schools from neighboring states out west (Oregon, Gonzaga) against schools from neighboring states in the east (North Carolina, South Carolina).

Protesters shout slogans at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St.Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, March 26, 2017. Thousands of people crowded in St.Petersburg on Sunday for an unsanctioned protest against the Russian government, the biggest gathering in a wave of nationwide protests that were the most extensive show of defiance in years. The writing on the face reads 'Putin is a thief'. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
A 6,800-ton South Korean ferry was hoisted to the surface last week nearly three years after it capsized and sank in violent seas off the country's southwestern coast, an emotional moment for the nation as it searches for closure to one of its deadliest disasters. More than 300 people - most of whom were students on a high school trip - died when the Sewol sank on April 16, 2014, touching off an outpouring of national grief and soul searching about long-ignored public safety and regulatory failures.

In other images from the Asia-Pacific region last week, about 50 farmers and activists opposed to a cement factory in Indonesia's Central Java province encased their feet in concrete during a dayslong protest in Jakarta, the capital. Farmers in the village of Kendeng have battled against plans for the factory for years, saying it could taint their water.

Indonesian police fired tear gas to disperse hard-line Muslims protesting against the construction of a Catholic church in a satellite city of Jakarta. Several hundred protesters from a group called Forum for Bekasi Muslim Friendship staged a rowdy demonstration in front of the Santa Clara church in Kaliabang, a neighborhood of Bekasi city, after Friday prayers.

In this Friday, March 24, 2017 photo, the partially lifted sunken ferry Sewol, center, is ready for transport in waters off Jindo, South Korea. South Korean efforts to bring a sunken, 6,800-ton ferry back to land cleared an obstacle on Friday after divers cut off a vehicle ramp that had been dangling from the ship and hindering efforts to raise it. (Suh Myung-gon/Yonhap via AP, File)

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, completing a series of get-acquainted visits with the members of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which the Philippines is chairing this year. During Duterte's visit, the Philippines and Thailand signed agreements on cooperation in agriculture, tourism, and science and technology.

___

This gallery was curated by Associated Press photo editor Hiroshi Otabe in Tokyo.

In this Monday, March 20, 2017 photo, an activist has skewers wrapped around his head with rubber bands during a rally against the operation of a cement factory in Kendeng, West Java, outside the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia. Kendeng farmers have battled against plans for the factory for years, saying it could taint their water. The factory is now more or less complete and the owner, state-owned PT Semen Indonesia, has said it would create jobs and boost the local economy. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File)

In this Friday, March 24, 2017 photo, police officers clash with Muslim hardliners during a protest against the construction of a Catholic church in Bekasi, Indonesia. Indonesian police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters as they tried to force their way into the Santa Clara church, which has been under construction since November. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, File)

In this Tuesday, March 21, 2017 photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, right, and Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha walk together as they leave a joint press conference at the government house in Bangkok, Thailand. Duterte is in Thailand for a two-day visit rounding out his nine-country tour of southeast Asia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

In this Thursday, March 23, 2017 photo, Hong Kong chief executive candidate, former Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, speaks to the media during an election campaign in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is poised to choose a new leader on Sunday, March 26 when members of a committee dominated by pro-Beijing elites cast their ballots, in the first such vote since 2014's huge pro-democracy protests against the system. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

In this Monday, March 20, 2017 photo, a Papuan activist donning a traditional headwear with a stuffed bird of paradise attends a protest against U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. in Jakarta, Indonesia. A group of activists staged the protest demanding the New Orleans-based mining company close its mine in Papua province saying that it siphons off the region's wealth and gives it little in return. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, File)

In this Monday, March 20, 2017 photo, a man looks at the Victoria Harbour from a commercial building in Hong Kong. In the morning of Sunday, March 26, a select group of tycoons, business leaders, politicians and trade and industry group representatives will gather in a cavernous exhibition center to vote for the next leader of Hong Kong. Three candidates are on the ballot but there's little uncertainty about who the winner will be, with China's communist leaders already signaling early on their preference to the committee, which is stacked with pro-Beijing loyalists. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

In this Friday, March 24, 2017 photo, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and Australian cricket team captain Steven Smith rub their noses during an interaction with the team at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharmsala, India. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia, File)

In this Monday, Feb. 6, 2017 photo, Bangladeshi people walk across a temporary bridge as smoke emits from tannery waste at the highly polluted Hazaribagh tannery area in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Pure Earth a nongovernmental organization that addresses industrial pollution put Hazaribagh on its Top 10 list of polluted places, along with Chernobyl, although similar problems of pollution and dangerous working conditions exist at tannery clusters in the Philippines and India as well. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad, File)

In this Tuesday, March 21, 2017 photo, workers on scaffolding are silhouetted at a building construction site near Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

In this Monday, March 20, 2017 photo, high-rise buildings are partly covered by heavy fog at Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour. Fog blanketing Hong Kong is common in springtime and may greatly affect shipping and aviation. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

In this Tuesday, March 21, 2017 photo, Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano poses after winning the Best Actor Award of the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

In this Tuesday, March 21, 2017 photo, a model displays a creation by Vietnam's Nguyen Cong Tri during the 2017 Autumn/Winter Collection at the Tokyo Fashion Week in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)
ASIA:

SKOREA-POLITICS - South Korean prosecutors said Monday they want to arrest former President Park Geun-hye for the corruption allegations that triggered a huge political scandal and toppled her from power. By Hyung-jin Kim. SENT: 490 words, photos.

PHILIPPINES-MALAYSIANS RESCUED - The Philippines military said Monday they have rescued three more Malaysian tugboat crewmen held hostage by Muslim militants for eight months in the south of the country. SENT: 150 words.

CHINA-JUSTICE-QUESTIONED - At first blush, the plight of former Chinese police official Zhao Liping might not win much sympathy. By Gillian Wong. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.

CHINA-AUSTRALIA-PROFESSOR - An academic at an Australian university has been prevented by Chinese authorities from returning to Sydney because he's suspected of endangering national security, his lawyer said. By Gillian Wong. SENT: 650 words.

AUSTRALIA-CYCLONE - Thousands of people began evacuating low-lying areas of Australia's tropical northeast on Monday as a powerful cyclone bore down on the coast. SENT: 270 words.

JAPAN-AVALANCHE - Authorities say six Japanese high school students have been found unconscious after they were caught in an avalanche at a ski resort Monday morning. SENT: 130 words.

THE WEEK THAT WAS IN ASIA-PHOTO GALLERY - SENT: 200 words, photos.

BUSINESS AND FINANCE

NEW ZEALAND-CHINA-FREE TRADE - New Zealand and China say they plan to renegotiate their 9-year-old free trade deal. The countries made the announcement Monday during a visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. By Nick Perry. SENT: 360 words, photos.

FINANCIAL MARKETS - Asian stocks got off to a weak start on Monday as caution among investors prevailed with lingering doubts about the future policy agenda of the new U.S. administration following the health care reform failure. By Youkyung Lee. SENT: 440 words.

___

HOW TO REACH US:

The editor in charge at the AP Asia-Pacific Desk in Bangkok is Scott McDonald. Questions and story requests are welcome. The news desk can be reached at (66) 2632-6911 or by email at asia@ap.org. The Asia Photo Desk can be reached at (81-3) 6215-8941. Between 1600 GMT and 0000 GMT, please refer queries to the North America Desk in New York at (1) 212-621-1650.

Expanded AP content can be obtained from http://www.apexchange.com. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call (1) 877-836-9477.
BEIJING (AP) - A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves:

___

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest developments in the South China Sea, home to several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region.

___

CHINA'S SCARBOROUGH PLANS STILL UNCLEAR - China may or may not be planning to build an environmental monitoring station on the disputed Scarborough Shoal, depending on who you ask.

While the top official in the administrative region covering the island says preparatory work for the station is a priority, the foreign ministry says there is no such plan.

The Philippines, which also claims the shoal, has sought a clarification from Beijing.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said last week that reports about the facility on Scarborough had been checked and were untrue.

However, the official Hainan Daily newspaper had earlier quoted Xiao Jie, the top official in Sansha City, as saying that preparatory work on the station was among the government's top priorities for 2017. Calls to the region's government seeking clarification have rung unanswered.

Such a move would likely renew concerns among Beijing's neighbors over its assertive territorial claims in the strategically crucial South China Sea.

Beijing seized tiny, uninhabited Scarborough in 2012 after a tense standoff with Philippine vessels.

China's construction and land reclamation work in the South China Sea have drawn strong criticism from the U.S. and others, who accuse Beijing of further militarizing the region and altering geography to bolster its claims. China says the seven man-made islands in the disputed Spratly group, complete with their airstrips and military installations, are mainly for civilian purposes.

Prior to the announcement, South China Sea tensions had eased somewhat after Beijing erupted in fury last year following an international arbitration tribunal ruling on a case filed by the Philippines. The verdict invalidated China's sweeping territorial claims and determined that China had violated the rights of Filipinos to fish at Scarborough Shoal.

China has since allowed Filipino fishermen to return to the shoal following an improvement in ties between the countries, but it does not recognize the tribunal's ruling as valid.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei have long contested ownership of the South China Sea, which straddles one of the world's busiest sea lanes and is believed to sit atop vast deposits of oil and gas.

___

CHINA'S PREMIER REASSURES ON FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION, OVERFLIGHT - On a visit to Australia, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang offered reassurances on the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.

Li, China's second ranked official, said China would work with Australia to ensure freedom of navigation in distributed regions.

China will "never seek hegemony and dominance," Li said, adding China needed a stable world environment to grow its economy.

Li was welcomed to Parliament House by a 19-gun salute and distant protest chants of anti-China demonstrators who were kept well away from the Chinese leader.

While Australia does not take an active participant in the South China Sea disputes, it is a close security partner of the United States, while also relying on China as its biggest export market. During Li's visit, he and Turnbull oversaw the signing of agreements that will expand their 2-year-old free trade pact. China also agreed to expand its market for Australian beef exporters.

Turnbull rejected arguments that Australia must choose between the U.S. and China, despite growing tensions between the economic superpowers.
PARIS (AP) - French Guiana faced a strike Monday over crime and economic difficulties, amid protests that have paralyzed the French territory in South America, halted flights and a rocket launch and prompted a U.S. travel warning.

The French government has sent an emergency mission to try to quell tensions in the territory of a quarter-million people before Monday's general strike by some 27 unions.

Protests have already blocked roads to neighboring Brazil and Suriname, and shuttered many businesses and schools. Air France canceled all flights Sunday and Monday because of the strike. Flights from regional airlines to the city of Cayenne were canceled.

Masked members of the collective "500 Brothers" are pictured at a roadblock outside the French Guiana capital, Cayenne, Monday, March 27, 2017. The Collective of 500 Brothers, the group largely behind the protests who have demanded that the French government send a minister to negotiate with them. French Guiana faced a nationwide strike Monday over crime and economic difficulties, amid protests that have paralyzed the French territory in South America, halted flights and a rocket launch and prompted a U.S. travel warning. (Deborah Neusy/France Guyane via AP)

As tensions mounted, French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced plans to send a high-level ministerial mission before week's end aimed at signing a pact addressing anger over high crime, the cost of living and the quality of health care and other social services.

The Collective of 500 Brothers, the group largely behind the protests, has been demanding that the French government send a minister to negotiate with them. The group, initially created to focus on fighting crime, includes dozens of men wearing black clothes and black hoods to hide their faces.

The unrest is a reminder of the deep economic, social and racial divides between France's mainland and its former colonies from the Caribbean to the South Pacific that remain French today. Some territories use the euro currency, and they all depend heavily on imported goods and policy decisions made in Paris.

Candidates for France's two-round April-May presidential election have urged aid or intervention in Guiana, as the concerns of overseas voters suddenly entered the spotlight.

Ericka Bareigts, the French government minister for overseas holdings, called for calm Monday, and said on RTL radio that the government mission has made progress on demands from fishermen and farmers. However, she said "conditions for dialogue are not met" for her to visit Guiana herself.

The ambitious pact includes aid to the agriculture sector, the construction of a penitentiary and a new court to meet demands and security needs.

French Guiana senator Antoine Karam told BFM-TV the population has been ignored despite grave problems, such as 50 percent unemployment among young people and 30 percent of the population lacking drinking water or electricity in their homes.

"We're not treated in the same way as the mainland French," he said, despite French Guiana being the site of Europe's Ariane rocket launches.

A visit by Segolene Royal, the French minister of ecology, to the territory on March 17 was cut short after masked demonstrators from the Collective of 500 Brothers stormed a regional conference on biodiversity she was attending in Cayenne.

Protests also disrupted the planned launch last week of an Ariane 5 rocket from the space center in Kourou that was carrying a South Korean satellite and a Brazilian satellite.

The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning because of the potential for the protests to turn violent, saying its citizens should avoid travel to French Guiana.
BRUSSELS (AP) - The European Union's presidency says people's privacy must be protected following British calls for police access to encrypted messages in case of attacks.

Maltese Interior Minister Carmelo Abela said Monday "there is a fine line here. We need to of course protect the privacy of the people but we also have to protect the security of the people."

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Sunday that "we need to make sure that organizations like WhatsApp - and there are plenty of others like that - don't provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other."

People look at floral tributes in Parliament Square, London, Sunday, March 26, 2017, laid out for the victims of the Westminster attack on Wednesday. Khalid Masood killed four people and left more than two dozen hospitalized, including some with what have been described as catastrophic injuries. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP)

London attacker Khalid Masood sent a WhatsApp message that can't be accessed because it was encrypted.

Abela said that EU states and internet providers should continue talks to establish the right security-privacy balance.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's foreign minister on Monday challenged the legality of Donald Tusk's re-election to a top European Union job, saying the vote was "fake" and that it exposed the EU as having "double standards."

The view wasn't shared by the aides to President Andrzej Duda.

Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, was re-elected for a second 2-year term as European Council head at a recent EU summit in Brussels.

European Council President Donald Tusk signs a declaration during an EU summit meeting at the Orazi and Curiazi Hall in the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome on Saturday, March 25, 2017. European Union leaders were gathering in Rome to mark the 60th anniversary of their founding treaty and chart a way ahead following the decision of Britain to leave the 28-nation bloc. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said that the summit took a "pseudo-vote" on Tusk, by only asking who was "against," but not who was "for" or who abstained. Waszczykowski told TVN24 that there was no vote on Poland's counter-candidate.

"We have experts' opinions now saying that Tusk was elected in a way that can be questioned on the level of European law," Waszczykowski said.

He said the government of Prime Minister Beata Szydlo will decide whether to officially question the vote.

But he later toned down his message, saying Tusk's re-election was of third-rate importance to Poland, which was only trying to protect its interests.

Poland was the only one among the EU's 28 members to protest the re-election of Tusk, whom Poland's ruling nationalist Law and Justice party considers a political foe. The party also is critical of the EU and uses every occasion to promote its view that the bloc needs deep reform.

"We will be showing society what kind of union we are in now, a union that applies double standards," Waszczykowski said.

But Krzysztof Szczerski, foreign affairs adviser to Duda, said that Tusk's re-election was a closed case and shouldn't be raised again.

European Council President Donald Tusk speaks to EU leaders during an EU summit meeting at the Orazi and Curiazi Hall in the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome on Saturday, March 25, 2017. European Union leaders were gathering in Rome to mark the 60th anniversary of their founding treaty and chart a way ahead following the decision of Britain to leave the 28-nation bloc. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - A top banking supervisor says that British banks must put down solid roots if they want European banking licenses to keep access after the UK leaves the European Union.

Sabine Lautenschlaeger said Monday that banks seeking licenses in the EU post-Brexit would need "sufficient local staff and operational independence." European licensing authorities "will not accept empty shell companies," she said.

Banks currently can do business throughout the 28 EU countries by having a base in one of those states, an arrangement called "passporting." Banks that have their EU base in London - which includes British banks but also non-European ones - could lose access to the other 27 EU countries if Britain opts to break away from the bloc's single market.

The sun sets over some towers of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday, March 26, 2017.(AP Photo/Michael Probst)

EU financial centers such as Frankfurt, Dublin and Paris are competing for any banking business that might have to move.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she plans to submit official notice on Wednesday that her country intends to leave the European Union and its provisions for tariff-free trade and free movement of workers within its borders. That follows a referendum last June in which a majority voted to leave. The terms of Britain's departure will be the focus of talks during a two-year negotiating period following the handing over of May's letter to EU officials.

Lautenschlaeger said banking regulators were "prepared for any outcome of the negotiations, and banks should be too." She warned that EU banking officials would be cautious of banks shopping among jurisdictions looking for easier rules.

"As supervisors, we will not participate in a race to the bottom," she said.

She noted that banks could also seek access under an arrangement known as a "third-party branch," in which they would remain under national supervision. Some countries require local bank branches to have financial reserves to protect them against losses, while others don't. Lautenschlaeger said that could be changed during an upcoming review of EU banking legislation.

Lautenschlaeger is vice-chair of the European Central Bank's supervisory board overseeing banks at the EU level. The single supervisory mechanism was created to provide banking oversight at an EU level after national regulators were seen as too willing to overlook looming trouble at their home banks.

Troubles at banks in Britain, Europe and the United States were a major factor in triggering the global financial crisis in 2007-2009 and the subsequent recession. Governments have since moved to find ways to keep risky behavior and resulting losses at banks from constricting credit to businesses and saddling taxpayers with losses from bailouts.
BERLIN (AP) - A Syrian refugee in Germany won't pursue further legal action against Facebook after a court rejected his call for an injunction forcing the company to seek and delete posts falsely linking him to crimes committed by migrants.

The office of lawyer Chan-jo Jun, who represented Anas Modamani, quoted Modamani on Monday as saying he wants to concentrate on German language exams. He added that the legal proceedings were "dangerous for my families in Syria and in Germany."

Modamani was one of several asylum-seekers who took a selfie with Chancellor Angela Merkel during the refugee crisis in 2015. These started appearing in Facebook posts following high-profile crimes in Germany where migrants were identified as the perpetrators.

A court refused this month to issue an injunction. Modamani could have appealed.
SINGAPORE (AP) - French President Francois Hollande said Monday that European countries can fight protectionism in trade and other forms by standing united and reaching out to Asia.

Speaking at a lecture in Singapore, where he is on a two-day state visit, Hollande singled out the government of President Donald Trump.

"The U.S. again made a number of decisions and made some choices that will have an impact on its own economy and on the rest of the world," Hollande said, addressing the audience in French.

French President Francois Hollande, left, and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrive to witness the signing of several memorandum of understandings between their two countries at the Istana or presidential palace on Monday, March 27, 2017, in Singapore. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

"We must explain what the closing of borders is all about, what building a wall, what unfair and migratory policies mean. It cannot be the strengthening of a nation at the detriment of (others)," he said. "It is indeed a battle, to a large extent a political battle, but we have a lot of arguments to win."

In March, the world's top economic powers dropped a pledge to fully oppose trade protectionism at the Group of 20 meeting in Germany, amid pushback from the U.S. government.

A statement issued by the group said that countries "are working to strengthen the contribution of trade" to their economies. By comparison, last year's meeting called on them to resist "all forms" of protectionism.

Hollande said Monday that "temptation" of an inward approach "could hit big countries, big democracies. It could exist in entire continents."

To counter that, "countries must sign trade agreements, which we did, between Europe and Singapore and between Europe and ASEAN," he said. ASEAN, short for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a 10-nation bloc that operates by consensus.

France and Singapore signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership in 2012 to strengthen ties in areas such as trade and investment, defense and space technology.

On Monday, the two countries pledged to ramp up collaboration in sectors such as space technology, smart cities planning and biomedical sciences.

Last year, their bilateral trade was valued at 16 billion Singapore dollars ($11.5 billion). France was Singapore's second-biggest trading partner in the European Union.

"Singapore and France share a common vision of a world that embraces openness, multilateralism, globalization and the rule of law," said Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. "We all share common challenges, but the solutions are not to be found from turning inwards."

Hollande leaves for Malaysia on Tuesday.

French President Francois Hollande waits to meet with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana or presidential palace on Monday, March 27, 2017, in Singapore. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

French President Francois Hollande, center, shakes hands with Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Defense and Foreign Affairs, Mohamad Maliki Osman, right, while Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, second right, and France's Minister of State of the Industry, Digital Sector and Innovation, Christophe Sirugue, left, watch after the signing of a memorandum of understanding of the Competent Authority Agreement between their two countries at the Istana or presidential palace on Monday, March 27, 2017, in Singapore. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
DEAD SEA, Jordan (AP) - Arab leaders "realize the urgency" of tackling long-running regional crises, from war to high unemployment, Jordan's foreign minister said Monday after chairing a meeting of his counterparts from the region.

Ayman Safadi said he and his colleagues endorsed more than a dozen policy resolutions, including several on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that are to be adopted Wednesday by heads of state of the 22-member Arab League at their annual gathering.

The summit, hosted this year by Jordan, comes at a time when festering crises have "led to an erosion in the level of trust that people have in the regional Arab order, in the Arab League," Safadi told reporters. "So there is a realization of that, of the difficulty."

Saudi Arabia's King Salman, left, rides in a vintage Mercedes with Jordan's King Abdullah II in a lavish welcome ceremony complete with cannon salutes and guards on camel back, Amman Jordan, Monday, March 27, 2017. Salman is in Jordan to attend the annual Arab Summit, to be held on Wednesday. Issues on the summit agenda include conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen. Saudi Arabia is an important financial backer of Jordan. (AP Photo/ Raad Adayleh)

Despite calls for unity, Arab League member states remain divided on key issues, including the six-year-old civil war in Syria.

The league suspended Syria in 2011, several months after a popular uprising against President Bashar Assad that quickly turned into a brutal civil war. Assad hasn't been invited to a summit since then, and Arab League member states disagree on his political fate, if any, if fighting ends one day.

Regional power house Saudi Arabia, led by King Salman, supports the Syrian opposition, while Egypt, fearful of Islamic militants among the rebels' ranks, has pushed for a political solution that might keep Assad in power. Saudi-Egyptian relations have been tense in recent months.

The Saudi monarch arrived in Jordan on Monday to a lavish airport welcome, descending from his aircraft by escalator before being greeted by Jordan's King Abdullah II. The ceremony included troops on camel back, a vintage cream-colored Mercedes convertible and cannon salutes.

The two monarchs are to sign several bilateral agreements during Salman's visit. Saudi Arabia is one of Jordan's main financial backers, and Jordan desperately needs more foreign aid amid a continuous economic downturn, including rising unemployment and public debt.

This year's summit is being held six years after the Arab Spring uprisings that raised initial hopes for greater freedoms in a region still largely ruled by autocrats. Instead, the upheavals led to violent conflict and crackdowns in many parts of the region.

Safadi, the foreign minister, said he expects the summit to signal a readiness for change.

"I think this summit has confirmed and will confirm ... that Arab leaders, the Arab world, need to work together and realize the urgency of working together" on providing solutions that will offer hope to people, he said.

David Schenker, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank, said fear of chaos now appears to override demands for political or economic reform. "The general sense of the population is that they are not pushing back a great deal against the retrenchment of the authoritarians," said Schenker.

He said people in more stable countries, such as Jordan and Egypt, "are pleased their states don't look like Syria, Libya, Iraq or Yemen, even if economies are moribund and their political expression is dramatically limited."

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, overshadowed by the aftermath of the Arab Spring, is high on the agenda at this year's summit. The leaders meet at the Dead Sea, with a view of the Israeli-occupied West Bank on the opposite shore.

Jordan's king has an interest in getting the summit to reaffirm traditional positions on the conflict ahead of his White House meeting next month with President Donald Trump.

In previous comments, Trump stopped short of endorsing the idea of a two-state solution - a state of Palestine to be established alongside Israel - and said he would move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to contested Jerusalem. In recent weeks, there were signs that an embassy move is no longer imminent.

The Palestinians want to set up a state in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, lands Israel captured in 1967.

Jordan has a stake in helping to end the conflict; it has a large Palestinian population and serves as custodian of a major Muslim-run shrine in Jerusalem that is also revered by Jews as their holiest site.

Several of more than a dozen policy resolutions endorsed Monday by the Arab foreign ministers deal with the Palestinian issue, said Safadi.

He said the ministers rejected "any unilateral steps that jeopardize the historic and legal status" of Jerusalem, an apparent reference to a possible U.S. Embassy move.

"On the Palestinian issue, the resolutions are based on a clear vision toward a peace that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 67 borders," he said.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman, views an honor guard in a lavish welcome ceremony complete with cannon salutes and guards on camel back, Amman Jordan, Monday, March 27, 2017. Salman is in Jordan to attend the annual Arab Summit, to be held on Wednesday. Issues on the summit agenda include conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen. Saudi Arabia is an important financial backer of Jordan. (AP Photo/ Raad Adayleh)

An honor guard on camel back greets Saudi Arabia's King Salman, not seen, in a lavish welcome ceremony complete with cannon salutes, Amman Jordan, Monday, March 27, 2017. Salman is in Jordan to attend the annual Arab Summit, to be held on Wednesday. Issues on the summit agenda include conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen. Saudi Arabia is an important financial backer of Jordan. (AP Photo/ Raad Adayleh)

Saudi Arabia's King Salman, center, is greeted by Jordan's King Abdullah II and others, on the tarmac at a military airport on the outskirts of the capital, Amman. Monday, March 27, 2017. Salman is in Jordan to attend the annual Arab Summit, to be held on Wednesday. Issues on the summit agenda include conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen. Saudi Arabia is an important financial backer of Jordan. (AP Photo/ Raad Adayleh)
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. WHAT TRUMP IS WILLING TO DO WITH 'OBAMACARE'

The U.S. president's aides open the door to working with moderate Democrats on the health care issue.

In this photo provided by Evgeny Feldman, Alexei Navalny is detained by police in downtown Moscow, Russia, Sunday, March 26, 2017. Russia's leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny and his supporters aim to hold anti-corruption demonstrations throughout Russia. But authorities are denying permission and police have warned they won't be responsible for "negative consequences" or unsanctioned gatherings. (Evgeny Feldman for Alexey Navalny's campaign photo via AP)

2. AP: 'BATHROOM BILL' COSTLY FOR NORTH CAROLINA

The law limiting LGBT protections will cost the state more than $3.75 billion in lost business over a dozen years, an AP analysis finds.

3. POLICE SEARCH FOR SUSPECTS IN DEADLY NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING

Cincinnati officials say that several men got into a dispute inside the crowded Cameo club, escalating into gunfire.

4. RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER EXPECTED IN COURT

Alexei Navalny, who recently announced he's running for president, was detained while walking to a rally from a nearby subway station as tens of thousands protested across the country against corruption.

5. SOUTH KOREA PROSECUTORS PUSH TO ARREST EX-LEADER

The move comes after Park Geun-hye was questioned over suspicions that she colluded with a jailed confidante to extort from companies and other wrongdoings.

6. WHO WILL RUN NEW 'INNOVATION' OFFICE

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, will lead a division that will seek to overhaul government functions using ideas from the business sector.

7. EVANGELICAL CHURCHES BOOMING IN CUBA

The building of churches conflicts with a communist government that recognizes freedom of religion but not the right to erect houses of worship, an AP investigation finds.

8. SOME RESISTING SEATTLE HOMELESS PLAN

Those opposed to $55 million a year in new taxes to fight the problem say the city already spends millions to combat homelessness, and things have gotten worse.

9. TRUMP SEEKING TO ELIMINATE NEA

The National Endowment for the Arts is diverse and decentralized, with a significant part of its budget distributed to state and local organizations.

10. UPSTARTS REACH FINAL FOUR

After knocking on the door a few times, Gonzaga makes its first national semifinal. South Carolina, meanwhile, enters having never been close to this deep a run.

In this March 19, 2017 photo, people greet each other and sing as they attend Sunday worship at the William Carey Baptist Church in Havana, Cuba. Pastors and worshippers say Cuba is in the middle of an unprecedented boom in evangelical worship, with tens of thousands of Cubans worshipping unmolested across the island each week. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)
BANGKOK (AP) - Thailand's broadcast regulator on Monday ordered a television channel to suspend its over-the-air broadcasting for a week for what it called biased reports affecting national security.

The reasoning for the order issued by the National Broadcasting and Television Commission was challenged by Voice TV, which said in a statement that although it presents views contrary to the official line of the country's military government, its programming does not affect stability. The suspension begins at midnight Monday night.

The television station is controlled by the family of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a 2006 army coup and is in exile to avoid a prison term for corruption. The station, whose news and commentary often challenge the government's point of view, said it will continue presenting its programming online during the suspension period.

The stories cited as offensive by the commission included commentaries on the fatal shooting of a hill tribe youth activist at a military checkpoint, the seizure of war weapons at a building belonging to an anti-government exile and the police siege of a temple belonging to a Buddhist sect.

Voice TV said it will consider legal proceedings, both civil and administrative, because the order affects its business.

Laws implemented after the military took power in another coup in 2014 give it power to shut down any media outlet without any sort of judicial review. The broadcasting commission is an agency with such authority. Most media outlets apply self-censorship.

Voice TV has been one of the most frequent targets of the authorities. Several times it has suspended individual programs under pressure from the government.
DEAD SEA, Jordan (AP) - The Latest on the Arab Summit held in Jordan (all times local):

6:15 p.m.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has received Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Cairo, meeting him at the airport before holding "extensive" talks alongside aides in the presidential palace.

FILE -- In this March 7, 2016 file photo, Sudan's President Omar al Bashir walks to the stage at the extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit, in Jakarta, Indonesia. Sudan's official news agency said Monday, March 27, 2017, that al-Bashir will attend the Arab Summit in Jordan this week, despite a long-standing warrant for his arrest by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide. The international group Human Rights Watch has urged Jordan to deny entry to al-Bashir or arrest him, citing the kingdom's obligations as an ICC member. Jordan says that as an Arab League member, Sudan has the right to attend the meeting of Arab leaders. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File)

Egypt later expressed its solidarity with Bahrain in confronting terrorism, condemning "in the strongest terms" all attempts to destabilize the security and stability of the kingdom and supporting all its efforts to fight them. In a Foreign Ministry statement Monday, Egypt said it was stating its position in light of the arrest a day earlier of what Bahraini authorities claimed was a "terrorist cell" that had been planning assassinations and attacks on several vital targets in the kingdom.

Arab leaders are scheduled to meet Wednesday at a regional summit in Jordan.

__

2:40 p.m.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has received a royal welcome in Jordan, in a lavish ceremony complete with cannon salutes, guards on camel back and a cream-colored vintage Mercedes.

Salman is in Jordan to attend the annual Arab Summit, to be held on Wednesday. Issues on the summit agenda include conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen.

Saudi Arabia is an important financial backer of Jordan. Jordan's King Abdullah II greeted the Saudi monarch on the tarmac at a military airport on the outskirts of the capital, Amman.

The two monarchs are expected to sign several economic and political agreements on the sidelines of the summit. Jordan faces an increasingly dire economic crisis, in part because of the spillover from conflicts in neighboring Syria and Iraq.

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1:50 p.m.

Jordan's foreign minister has told Arab counterparts that the region must come together and urgently confront crises that have been allowed to fester, including violent conflicts and millions of children deprived of the right to an education.

Ayman Safadi spoke Monday, as foreign ministers prepared resolutions for Arab heads of state meeting Wednesday for their annual summit, this year hosted by Jordan.

Safadi painted a grim picture, saying the "Arab political system has failed to solve the crises and halt the collapse as the trust of Arab citizens in the joint Arab institutions has eroded." He says more than 12 million Arab children are being denied access to an education, presumably in part because of conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Libya.

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10:30 a.m.

Sudan's official news agency says President Omar al-Bashir will attend Wednesday's Arab Summit in Jordan, despite a long-standing warrant for his arrest by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide.

The international group Human Rights Watch urged Jordan to deny entry to al-Bashir or arrest him, citing its obligations as an ICC member. Jordan says that as an Arab League member, Sudan has the right to attend the annual meeting of Arab leaders.

Al-Bashir was charged in connection with alleged atrocities in the country's Darfur region. The U.N. estimates 300,000 people have died there and 2.7 million have fled their homes.

Sudan's news agency SUNA reported Sunday that he would attend the summit. He has traveled frequently since his indictment but is careful where he goes.
ORASAC, Serbia (AP) - Ahead of Serbia's presidential election on Sunday, a political parody has emerged as a true star.

His real name is Luka Maksimovic, but the 25-year-old student bidding to become the Balkan country's next leader has won fame - and public support - appearing as a grossly exaggerated politician, complete with a white suit, oversized jewelry and a man bun.

Campaigning as a sleazy, loud character who makes wild promises and whose triumph is foretold by fortune tellers, Maksimovic has won over many in crisis-stricken Serbia, which has been plagued by political corruption and is eager for new faces and ideas.

Luka Maksimovic, otherwise known as Ljubisa Beli Preletacevic touches a cow at a local farm in the village of Maskar, near Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 25, 2017. Maksimovic, the 25-year-old student bidding to become the Balkan country's next leader has won fame and public support appearing as a grossly exaggerated parody politician, complete with a white suit and oversized jewelry. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Opinion polls have predicted that Maksimovic could win around 11 percent of the vote Sunday, trailing the powerful populist Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic but surpassing several other established candidates.

This, analysts say, already is a huge success for a newcomer with scarce political experience, no infrastructure and slim funds.

"It's just my charisma!" the communications student joked in an interview with The Associated Press. "Citizens are so anxious to see me that I must sneak in unannounced to avoid huge crowds descending on me!"

Vucic, the front-runner, is hoping to get over 50 percent of the vote Sunday to avoid a presidential runoff on April 16. His status is not threatened by Maksimovic's over-the-top alter-ego, who is dubbed Ljubisa Beli Preletacevic. In all, 11 candidates are running in the race.

Beli, as he is known, first came to life last year, created by young pranksters for a local election in Mladenovac, a drab former industrial hub outside the capital, Belgrade.

Riding on a white horse surrounded by mock bodyguards, Beli and his "Hit it Hard" citizens' group swiftly became a sensation, gathering 20 percent of the vote, which translated into 12 seats in the local assembly.

A year later, Maksimovic says the disarray in Serbia's political scene means the time has come for Beli - which means "white" in Serbian - to move on to the national level.

"There is definitely something wrong in this country if an unreal person can turn on the crowds in such a way," he noted.

While pollsters warn that Beli's popularity is unstable, it's very visible. Wherever he appears, people instantly flock to him seeking photos or autographs, some addressing him as "Mr. President."

Videos featuring Beli doing pushups, sucking a raw egg or treading through a forest like a prophet have been a hit on social media, in sharp contrast to dull, predictable promotional material put out by other presidential candidates.

On Saturday, Maksimovic launched his "Beli caravan" road campaign in a historic Serbian village by climbing a huge white-marble statue of a 19th century Serbian hero, raising his arms high and shouting through a loudspeaker: "I am here to save you people!"

He then went on to artificially inseminate a cow at a nearby farm, while speaking about the miracle of creation.

"For the first time, we have an outsider with a rating" in Serbia's election, said polling expert Srdjan Bogosavljevic.

"A lot of people, particularly the young, want to express their disgust with politics," Bogosavljevic explained. "That disgust has found a response in a candidate who says he will get rich and steal, thus sending a message that politics is a lie."

Nikola Matjasevic, a 21-year-old from Orasac, believes Beli would know better how to run the Balkan nation than its previous leaders.

"Most of young people adore Beli, and most of us will vote for him," Matjasevic said. "We have had enough of pensioners in top positions - look where they got us!"

Maksimovic, meanwhile, jokes that his first move as the new Serbian president would be to marry his girlfriend, Maja Janic, to make her the country's first lady.

His message to other candidates?

"Just take it easy when you lose to Beli!" Maksimovic said. "That's only normal. A new generation is coming!"

Luka Maksimovic, otherwise known as Ljubisa Beli Preletacevic, addresses his supporters as he stands on a monument of Djordje Karadjordjevic-Karadjordje, the leader of the 1804 Serb uprising against Ottoman Turks, in the village Orasac, near Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 25, 2017. Maksimovic, the 25-year-old student bidding to become the Balkan country's next leader has won fame and public support appearing as a grossly exaggerated parody politician, complete with a white suit and oversized jewelry. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Luka Maksimovic, otherwise known as Ljubisa Beli Preletacevic poses on a pedestal in the town of Arandjelovac, near Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 25, 2017. Maksimovic, the 25-year-old student bidding to become the Balkan country's next leader has won fame and public support appearing as a grossly exaggerated parody politician, complete with a white suit and oversized jewelry. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Luka Maksimovic, otherwise known as Ljubisa Beli Preletacevic, center, poses with his team in front of an engraving of Djordje Karadjordjevic-Karadjordje, the leader of the 1804 Serb uprising against Ottoman Turks, in the village Orasac, near Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 25, 2017. Maksimovic, the 25-year-old student bidding to become the Balkan country's next leader has won fame and public support appearing as a grossly exaggerated parody politician, complete with a white suit and oversized jewelry. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Luka Maksimovic, alias Ljubisa Beli Preletacevic, left, speaks with a woman in the town of Arandjelovac, near Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 25, 2017. Maksimovic, the 25-year-old student bidding to become the Balkan country's next leader has won fame and public support appearing as a grossly exaggerated parody politician, complete with a white suit and oversized jewelry. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Luka Maksimovic, alias Ljubisa Beli Preletacevic poses for photo with a child in the town of Arandjelovac, near Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 25, 2017. Maksimovic, the 25-year-old student bidding to become the Balkan country's next leader has won fame and public support appearing as a grossly exaggerated parody politician, complete with a white suit and oversized jewelry. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Luka Maksimovic, alias Ljubisa Beli Preletacevic, left, poses with his girlfriend Maja Janic, in the town of Arandjelovac, near Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 25, 2017. Maksimovic, the 25-year-old student bidding to become the Balkan country's next leader has won fame and public support appearing as a grossly exaggerated parody politician, complete with a white suit and oversized jewelry. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
MADRID (AP) - A Spanish National Court judge on Monday ordered an investigation into the alleged role of nine Syrian intelligence and security officials in the disappearance and execution of a man in 2013, in what is the first criminal case accepted by a foreign court against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Investigative magistrate Eloy Velasco said the nine could be charged with terrorism and forced disappearance under Spain's universal jurisdiction laws, although he sees evidence of torture, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The case is the first criminal procedure against key Syrian political and security figures, including long-time Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, intelligence chief Ali Mamluc and air force intelligence chief Jamil Hassan.

About 400,000 people have died in more than six years of conflict in Syria. With Russia blocking the referral of the country to the International Criminal Court, activists and victims or their relatives see in European domestic courts their best shot at justice for war crimes.

Stephen Rapp, former U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes issues, said Monday's decision could help put justice on the agenda of international efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis.

"It is the dawn of justice for Syria, it will only get stronger after this point," he said.

The case is built around the arbitrary detention of truck driver Abdulmuemen Alhaj Hamdo, who then disappeared, was allegedly tortured and executed in Damascus.

The complaint was filed last month by a group of international lawyers on behalf of the man's sister, Amal Hag Hamdo Anfalis, a Spanish national.

The sister learned of her brother's death by looking at the macabre trove of photographs smuggled out of Damascus by a sympathetic forensic photographer, codenamed Caesar.

Velasco has called on the sister and the forensic photographer to testify April 10. He also called on the European Union's agency for judicial cooperation to provide information that could lead to setting up an international commission to investigate similar cases.

Velasco is investigating it under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which in Spain allows prosecution of serious crimes in other countries if there is a Spanish victim.

In this case, Velasco says the sister can be considered as the victim.

"It's an important day for the victims of Syria and the world," said Almudena Bernabeu, one of the lawyers from Guernica 37 spearheading the case, who thinks it could pave the way for others to invoke the principle of universal jurisdiction.

"We are sending them a message that they are not alone," she said. The lawyers argue the Syrian state terrorized the civilian population using its security and intelligence branches.

The Commission for International Justice and Accountability said Monday the decision had "significant symbolic importance" for victims in Syria but recognized that the chances of the nine being brought to trial were slim.

Spain has previously taken up universal justice cases against foreign nationals although almost none has concluded in trial.

In the most notable case, the court ordered the arrest of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998, while visiting London. He was kept under house arrest for 18 months before being released for health reasons.

___

AP writer Dominique Soguel contributed to this story from Geneva.
CINCINNATI (AP) - The father of a 4-year-old boy hit by a vehicle in Cincinnati said he doesn't condone the subsequent slaying of the driver and is sorry for the man's family.

The driver, 44-year-old Jamie Urton, got out of his car after hitting the child around midday Friday and was repeatedly shot in a confrontation with onlookers in the Walnut Hills neighborhood, police said.

Initial reports indicated the boy was struck while in or crossing the street, but his father, Jamal Killings, told WCPO-TV (http://bit.ly/2mCUgjL ) the child was at the curb. Killings said he had tried to stop the car for going too fast in a neighborhood full of playing kids, and it slowed down a bit but then swerved around him and struck the boy.

Killings said he tended to his son, who suffered bleeding in his brain but is now out of the hospital, and he didn't realize someone shot the driver.

"My job as a father was to get my son face-first off the concrete and take him to see medical attention, and that's what I did," Killings said.

He said that he doesn't condone violence and that Urton's shooting shouldn't have happened.

"It's an unfortunate situation, unfortunate event, but I hope we all can learn from this," Killings said.

Urton died at a hospital. Police said they were looking for several suspects.

___

Information from: WCPO-TV, http://www.wcpo.com
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) - The death toll of an attack on aid workers in South Sudan has risen to seven, with the news that the driver also died.

David Kim Choop was driving the vehicle when he and six aid workers were ambushed and killed on Saturday, March 25th.

The four South Sudanese and three Kenyans worked for a local non-governmental organization called GREDO (Grass Roots Empowerment for Development Organization) and were attacked while on a routine food convoy from Juba, the capital, to Pibor.

Relatives of the six aid workers who were ambushed and killed grieve as they wait to collect and bury the bodies of their loved ones, outside the morgue in Juba, South Sudan Monday, March 27, 2017. The ambush of the six aid workers took place Saturday on the road from Juba, the capital, to Pibor, and is the latest of several attacks on aid workers in the country where at least 12 aid workers have been killed so far this year and 79 since civil war began in 2013. (AP Photo)

The ambush caused the highest number of aid workers killed in a single incident since South Sudan's civil war began in 2013. At least 12 aid workers have been killed so far this year and at least 79 killed since 2013, according to the U.N.

"We are extremely saddened by this undeserved event," said Pius Ojara, director of the NGO Forum in South Sudan. "These are people who were here to serve the population." Ojara said police are investigating to find out who killed the aid workers.

Grieving families gathered Monday outside the morgue in Juba to collect and bury their dead.

"This is very painful for all of us," said Levis Kori. Kori's 30-year-old brother John Riti, was killed in the attack.

"We're not enemies," said Kori. "They were humanitarians there to do good. They're not soldiers they have no guns."

___

This story was corrected to show the correct spelling of the non-governmental organization is GREDO.
TECUMSEH, Okla. (AP) - The Latest on a traffic-stop shootout that killed an Oklahoma police officer and critically wounded another man (all times local):

1:35 p.m.

Police in Oklahoma say a 22-year-old officer who died Monday after a shootout during a traffic stop aspired to be a canine officer.

Tecumseh Assistant Police Chief J.R. Kidney tells The Oklahoman that officer Justin Terney had recently gotten a puppy. Kidney says Terney grew up in the eastern Oklahoma town of Canadian and was a volunteer firefighter.

Kidney says Terney exchanged gunfire with a man who ran away during a traffic stop Sunday night. That man was wounded and remains in a hospital, and authorities are working to identify him.

Kidney says police believe he may have fled because he had an outstanding warrant.

___

1:10 p.m.

Oklahoma congressmen have expressed their condolences after a 22-year-old police officer was fatally shot during a traffic stop.

Tecumseh Assistant Police Chief J.R. Kidney said officer Justin Terney died Monday morning after undergoing surgery overnight.

Republican Sen. James Lankford said Terney made the ultimate sacrifice and that he was praying for comfort and peace for the officer's family.

Republican Rep. Steve Russell, whose district includes Tecumseh, said the slaying should serve as a reminder of the work law enforcement does every day.

Kidney said the man who fired on Terney was also shot multiple times and in intensive care Monday morning.

___

9:55 a.m.

Police say a 22-year-old Oklahoma officer has died after a shootout during a traffic stop.

Tecumseh Assistant Police Chief J.R. Kidney says officer Justin Terney died Monday morning after undergoing surgery overnight.

The suspect in Terney's death also was struck by gunfire. Kidney says that man remains hospitalized for his wounds.

Police say the traffic stop happened at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday in Tecumseh, 35 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. Tecumseh police say the suspect ran away from the officer after the traffic stop and later opened fire after the officer used a stun gun.

___

8:25 a.m.

Authorities say a 22-year-old Oklahoma police officer who had recently graduated police academy was critically wounded in a shootout with a man during a traffic stop. The suspected shooter was also struck by gunfire.

Tecumseh Assistant Police Chief J.R. Kidney on Monday identified the wounded officer as Justin Terney, who graduated last summer from police academy. Kidney says Terney exchanged gunfire with a man who ran away during a traffic stop Sunday night.

Kidney says authorities are working to identify the suspect, but believe he may have fled because he had an outstanding warrant. He says that man is in intensive care for his gunshot wounds.

Authorities say Terney was shot several times "in the lower extremities." Kidney says the officer underwent surgery overnight and remains in serious but critical condition.

___

7:30 a.m.

Authorities say an Oklahoma police officer is in critical condition after he was shot during a traffic stop. Police say the suspected shooter was also wounded and taken to a hospital.

Police say the traffic stop happened at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday in Tecumseh, about 35 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. Tecumseh police say the suspect ran away from the officer after the traffic stop and later opened fire after the officer used a stun gun.

Police say the officer returned fire, and the suspect was wounded.

Tecumseh police say the officer is in critical condition Monday morning at OU Medical Center. Police plan to release more information at a press conference later Monday.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Arijan Ademi has had his doping ban for an anabolic steroid reduced to two years on appeal.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport halved Ademi's initial four-year ban by UEFA because he proved he had not intended to cheat.

Ademi, who played for Croatia in friendly matches before switching allegiance to Macedonia, will be 26 when the ban expires on Oct. 6.

Ademi tested positive for stanozolol after Dinamo beat Arsenal 2-1 in September 2015 in a Champions League match. Results stand when doping cases involve one player.

In his appeal hearing at UEFA, Ademi blamed a contaminated batch of a supplement called Megamin.

CAS accepted that but "could not uphold the player's argument that the challenged decision should be annulled."
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Kenya's military says it has killed 31 al-Shabab extremists in a raid in Baadhade district in southern Somalia.

The military said Monday ground troops were supported in the Sunday raid by helicopter gunships and artillery fire to strike two al-Shabab bases.

Kenya's military is part of the African Union Mission in Somalia bolstering the government against an Insurgency by the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab. More than 22,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Somalia in the multinational African Union force.

Al-Shabab are fighting to establish a strict Islamic emirate in Somalia. Despite being ousted from most of its key strongholds in south and central Somalia, al-Shabab continues to launch deadly guerrilla suicide bombings and guerrilla attacks against government targets and African Union forces across large parts of the Horn of Africa nation.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The cast of "American Horror Story" is opening up about rumors of a season of the series centered on President Donald Trump.

Series creator Ryan Murphy told Bravo's Andy Cohen last month that the seventh season of the FX drama would be focused on the presidential election and mentioned the possibility of a Trump character.

When asked ahead of Sunday's "AHS" event at the Paley Center in Los Angeles, Sarah Paulson told The Associated Press a Trump-themed season doesn't fit what the show has done so far, but "anything is possible if it's what the audience craves."

Sarah Paulson, from left, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Kathy Bates attend the 34th annual PaleyFest: "American Horror Story: Roanoke" event at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday, March 26, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Cuba Gooding, Jr. adds that he doesn't know for sure, but thinks the rumors are a "red herring."

Kathy Bates says she's OK with it, as long as she's not cast as the president.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Awakened by screams of "fire," Michael Jones bolted out of bed in the pre-dawn darkness Monday at the dilapidated Oakland apartment building he calls home, instinctively pounded on the doors of his elderly neighbors and ushered them to safety - walkers and all.

Jones, 43, then found Princess, the "house" pit bull, cowering in the backyard, and the two ran out the front door as glass shattered from the heat.

A few hours later, he and the dog stood across the street, staring at the smoldering wooden structure that housed some 80 low-income residents, many of whom complained that they had not heard alarms, felt sprinklers or found fire extinguishers as they fled the substandard living conditions.

Firefighters battle an early morning apartment fire Monday, March 27, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Jones said a prayer of gratitude for surviving the fire that killed three people and hurt four others, including two children. One remained missing.

The Alameda County coroner identified one of the victims as 64-year-old Edwarn Anderson, of Oakland.

Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Erik Logan said some people were hanging from windows and others were in fire escapes when firefighters arrived.

The fire broke out in the rundown neighborhood nearly three months after a warehouse called the Ghost Ship caught fire and killed 36 people attending an unlicensed concert about five miles (eight kilometers) away.

The fires have raised questions about the use of some buildings in the city for residences amid a shortage of affordable housing in the San Francisco Bay Area.

"At least the rats are gone," said Angela Taylor, 62, clutching her purse, the only possession she managed to get out of a room she paid $550 a month to live in. "It's the wrong purse, but it's better than nothing. A lady needs her purse."

In 2010, Oakland allowed the owner of the 40-unit building that burned Monday to convert the structure into transitional housing for recovering drug addicts, people struggling with homelessness and others, records show.

Since then, it has been the subject of several building department citations and investigations. City records show building officials verified complaints filed by the nonprofit organization that rents most of the building about deferred maintenance.

The owner, Keith Kim, was sent a notice of violation on March 2 over complaints of large amounts of trash and debris, building materials and furniture behind the property. Kim did not return telephone calls from The Associated Press.

The building department also has an open investigation into complaints of "no working heat throughout the building, electrical issues and a large pest infestation," city records show.

Fire inspectors visited the building three days before the blaze and found it lacked fire extinguishers, smoke detectors in each apartment and a working fire sprinkler system, among other violations, according to documents released by the city.

Inspectors on Friday ordered the owner to immediately service the fire alarm and fire sprinkler systems.

Mayor Libby Schaaf viewed the building briefly Monday and in a statement later offered her sympathies to the families of those affected but didn't address the complaints against the building.

City fire officials have been criticized for failing to inspect the Ghost Ship warehouse and the mayor conceded that city agencies need to improve communications after records showed police responding to a number of complaints there in the months before the Dec. 2 blaze.

The cause of the Ghost Ship fire is still under investigation and Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed announced she would retire May 2.

Days after the warehouse fire, the owner of the building that burned Monday sent an eviction notice to Urojas Community Center, which had leased the first two floors of the three-story building, said James Cook, an attorney for the center.

The center assists about 60 people with transitional housing and services, Cook said. He had complained to the city about clogged toilets and disgusting bathrooms, exposed wires and water an inch deep on the ground floor, he said.

"It's like Ghost Ship, but worse," Cook said.

Residents said the hallways were cluttered with trash and debris.

"There were no sprinklers or fire extinguishers," said Curtis Robinson, 52, who had to leave his wheelchair behind in his first floor room in the scramble to escape.

Several residents said they discounted the initial commotion over the fire because the building and neighborhood are noisy. Loud arguments occur frequently, and some residents stayed up late, drinking and partying.

Kirsten Evans, 52, said she paid $1,100 a month for a small studio apartment without a kitchen. She said she moved in three years ago after she was evicted from her apartment of 20 years because her landlord wanted to raise her rent dramatically.

She said she woke up briefly Monday to take her medication and heard yelling and screaming. Then she heard windows popping, shattering from the heat and a skylight overhead shattering and glass falling outside her door.

As she fled, Evans said she trampled over broken glass as wires and light fixtures sparked red and white.

"I didn't hear a fire alarm," she said.

An evacuee waits as firefighters battle an early morning four alarm apartment fire Monday, March 27, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Firefighters battle an early morning apartment fire Monday, March 27, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

An evacuee sits in an ambulance after fleeing an early morning apartment fire Monday, March 27, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Firefighters battle an early morning apartment fire Monday, March 27, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Firefighters battle an early morning apartment fire Monday, March 27, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

A boy who was evacuated from an early morning apartment fire clutches a Mickey Mouse toy Monday, March 27, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Firefighters battle aa early morning apartment fire Monday, March 27, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Polish prosecutors investigating the 2010 plane crash that killed President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others said Monday that they are seeking help from foreign laboratories in testing the evidence.

The prosecutors are investigating whether anyone contributed in any way to the crash near a military airport in Russia. Poland's ruling party head, Jaroslaw Kaczynski - who is the late president's twin brother- has suggested it resulted from an attack of some kind.

No evidence has emerged so far to support that theory.

The National Prosecutor's Office said a police laboratory in Madrid was "yet another" foreign institution that would assist in carrying out forensic tests. The office said in a statement that the Madrid lab will check samples from the TU-154 M presidential plane's wreckage for traces of explosives.

Rzeczpospolita daily newspaper reported in 2012 that traces of explosives were detected in the wreckage, a claim that prosecutors later denied.

Prosecutors did not identify any other labs outside Poland that are participating in the investigation.

The remains of the aircraft and its flight recorders remain in Russia, which says they are needed there for an ongoing probe.

A separate probe led by Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz is seeking evidence to back the assassination theory.

Commissions of aviation experts in Poland and in Russia concluded the crash resulted from mistakes made by the crew in conditions of poor visibility while approaching the rudimentary airport in Smolensk.

The plane crash while Kaczynski was leading a delegation to ceremonies near Smolensk in memory of some 22,000 Polish officers killed by Soviet secret security forces in 1940.

Prosecutors in Poland have brought negligence charges against two officers of the now-dissolved regiment that was responsible for flying top officials. They also say that two Russian flight controllers from Smolensk should be charged for allegedly giving the plane's crew poor guidance, but they have no legal power to bring the charges.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - The father of a slain Hamas militant says Israeli officers raided his West Bank house three times in 2014 and 2015 to press his son to stop planning deadly attacks from Gaza.

Mohammed Faqha said Sunday that agents forced him to call his son Mazen and deliver the message. He said his son rejected the verbal threats as well as pleas from his family.

Mazen was found shot dead at the entrance of his Gaza house Friday. Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, accused Israel of killing him, but provided no proof.

Israel had sentenced him to nine terms of life imprisonment for directing suicide bombings. He was freed along with more than 1,000 other Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a single Israeli soldier in 2011.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - A 22-year-old South African man appeared in court Monday on charges of murdering three members of his family with an axe in their luxury home in Cape Town in January 2015.

Henri Van Breda, who handed himself over the police in September last year, is accused of murdering his father Martin, 54, a wealthy businessman, his mother Teresa, 55, and older brother Rudi, 22, in a frenzied early morning axe attack in the heart of South Africa's western Cape vineyard area.

His younger sister Marli, who was 16 at the time of the attack, was left for dead on a balcony. She survived, despite a cut to her jugular vein and severe head injuries.

Henri Van Breda, center, accompanied by attorney Lorinda van Niekerk, front, arrives at the supreme court in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, March 27, 2017. A 22-year-old South African man appeared in court Monday on charges of murdering three members of his family with an axe in their luxury home in Cape Town in January 2015. (AP Photo/STR)

Van Breda appeared calm and smiled briefly as he appeared in the packed court room wearing a blue suite.

The case was postponed to April 24 because the defense said it had not received crucial DNA reports about the murder weapon from the state.

Van Breda, who is out on bail, has agreed not to contact witnesses, including his sister. He is also forbidden from being within 500 meters (yards) of an airport or a harbor.

According to police, when officers arrived at the crime scene they found Van Breda sitting outside the house, wearing sleeping shorts and white socks stained with the blood of the victims. He was taken in for questioning and later brought back to the house, where investigators found a bloodstained axe and kitchen knife. He was later released into the care of an uncle.

Marli van Breda, who has been living with other members of the extended family, is suffering amnesia and unable to recall the incident.

On the morning of the attack van Breda had phoned his girlfriend at 4 a.m. but only called paramedics three hours later.

A recording of van Breda phoning the emergency services emerged in which he can be heard telling the operator: "My family and me were

attacked by a guy with an axe."
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan State Police say the office and home of state Sen. Bert Johnson are being searched as part of a joint investigation involving the FBI.

State police spokeswoman Shanon Banner says in an email search warrants were served Monday morning at Johnson's Lansing office and his Highland Park home.

The Associated Press left a message seeking comment Monday from Johnson. The Democrat represents the state's Second District, which includes Highland Park, Hamtramck, northeast Detroit, Harper Woods and the five Grosse Pointe communities.

Details of what investigators were seeking weren't immediately released. The Associated Press sent an email seeking FBI comment.

In 2015, a legal dispute in a Chicago courtroom over an unpaid political fundraising bill led to a bench warrant being issued for his arrest. He disputed the amount owed.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A year after Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley's sexually charged phone calls with a younger female aide set off tabloid-like speculation in the Bible-belt state, the state Ethics Commission is preparing to announce whether it believes he broke the law.

If the commission recommends that prosecutors pursue criminal charges of misusing state resources, the Legislature may try to impeach a governor for the first time in Alabama history.

The scandal has tarnished the 74-year-old Baptist deacon, a mild-mannered dermatologist who attracted voters to his longshot Republican primary campaign in 2010 by promising not to accept a salary.

FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, file photo, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley speaks during the annual State of the State address at the Capitol, in Montgomery, Ala. Bentley's sexually charged phone calls with a younger female aide set off tabloid-like speculation in the Bible-belt state and the state Ethics Commission is preparing to announce whether it believes he broke the law. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

"I made a mistake," Bentley said in a public apology to his family and state. He's denied breaking any laws and told The Associated Press it wasn't a physical affair, because they didn't have intercourse.

Now divorced from wife Dianne and living alone in the governor's mansion, he's determined to serve out his second term despite losing popularity.

"The thing I am most interested in is serving the people of Alabama, and I am just going to work hard to do the best job that I can possibly do," Bentley said recently. "We'll see how things turn out. I think they are going to be fine."

House Speaker Mac McCutcheon said lawmakers will decide on impeachment after the commission shares its findings in April, when the legislative session resumes. "I think that will be a huge determining factor on the timeline on when we may, or may not, address impeachment on the House floor," he said.

House Republicans say internal polls show less than 40 percent of GOP voters favor Bentley in the solidly red state.

Rep. Ed Henry, a Republican who's spearheaded impeachment efforts, believes it's time to act.

"The mood inside the House has finally grown to a breaking point," he told the AP. "There is so much pressure from the outside that we act, that a large majority of members are ready to vote."

State Auditor Jim Zeigler accused Bentley of using state resources to pursue an affair with Rebekah Caldwell Mason, a former television anchor who became so powerful, she was known as Alabama's "de facto governor."

The governor's lawyer, former federal prosecutor Bill Athanas, rejected the accusation.

"The evidence demonstrates the exact opposite: that, in addition to forgoing over $750,000 in salary earned during his service, the Governor has consistently worked to safeguard public funds and otherwise act in the best interests of the State," Athanas wrote via email to the AP.

Both couples attended the First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa before Bentley hired Rebekah as his campaign spokeswoman and her husband, Jon, as his director of faith-based and volunteer initiatives. Some staffers complained she became the only voice in Bentley's ear as he sought political footing by deciding to take down Confederate flags and push to build more prisons.

Mobile devices exposed the rift in the Bentleys' 50-year marriage, according to an ex-administration official who provided recordings to the AP on condition of anonymity to avoid angering politically powerful former associates.

Bentley's wife became suspicious when text messages and emails sent from his phone also appeared on a tablet at home. Then, while she went for a walk, her husband's side of a furtive conversation with Mason was recorded by another phone in the first couple's beach house, the official said.

The recording leaked after the divorce became final, enabling all of Alabama to hear their governor saying "I worry about loving you so much."

And this: "You know what, when I stand behind you and I put my arms around you and I put my hands on your breasts and I put my hands on you and just pull you in really close. I love that, too."

Rebekah Mason, who would not comment to the AP for this story, remains in Bentley's orbit. Her husband still works for him. Both were his guests at President Trump's inauguration.

The ethics commission would make its recommendation to Bentley's replacement for Attorney General Luther Strange, whom Bentley appointed to the U.S. Senate seat vacated when Sen. Jeff Sessions became U.S. attorney general.

Strange raised eyebrows last year by asking the House impeachment committee to halt its investigation, saying his office was doing related work. His successor turned that investigation over to an independent prosecutor to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Bentley also faces lawsuits by former Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier, and his bodyguard, Ray Lewis, who say they were forced out to cast doubt on their credibility because they knew about the relationship.

"Robert Bentley is not an evil man. At one point in public life, I truly believe his heart was good. But power, and lust, both corrupt. Robert Bentley is now a corrupt and feckless man, who should be removed from office so he can do no harm to the people of Alabama," said Lewis' lawyer, John Saxon.

Bentley lawyer Ross Garber urges caution, saying "governors don't get impeached for the kinds of issues we're talking about here."

"Before the legislature may even consider impeachment, they need to identify potentially impeachable conduct and afford the Governor due process," Garber said. "We are very, very far from that point."

FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, file photo, Rebekah Mason claps during Gov. Robert Bentley's speech during the annual State of the State address at the Capitol, in Montgomery, Ala. Bentley is nearing a political and legal crossroads, a year after his relationship with Mason, a former aide who broke up his marriage and tarnished his image. State Auditor Jim Zeigler accused Bentley of using state resources to pursue an affair with Mason, a former television anchor who became so powerful, she was known as Alabama's "de facto governor." (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 23, 2016, file photo, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley responds to statements made by Spencer Collier, the former head of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, in Montgomery, Ala. Bentley's sexually charged phone calls with a younger female aide set off tabloid-like speculation in the Bible-belt state and the state Ethics Commission is preparing to announce whether it believes he broke the law. (Julie Bennett /AL.com via AP, File)
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Hollywood actress Shailene Woodley has reached a plea deal that calls for no jail time over her involvement in protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota.

The "Divergent" star was among 27 activists arrested Oct. 10. She livestreamed her arrest on Facebook.

She initially pleaded not guilty to criminal trespass and engaging in a riot, misdemeanors carrying a maximum punishment of a month in jail and a $1,500 fine.

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, actress Shailene Woodley, left, is led to a transport vehicle by a Morton County Sheriff's deputy after being arrested at a protest against the Dakota Access pipeline near St. Anthony, N.D. Woodley reached a plea deal Friday, March 24, 2017, over her involvement in protests against the oil pipeline that calls for no jail time. (Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP, File)

Woodley signed a court document Friday agreeing to plead guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct, serve one year of unsupervised probation and forfeit $500 bond. The agreement is awaiting a judge's approval. Woodley was scheduled to stand trial this Friday.

Opponents of the $3.8 billion pipeline worry about potential environmental damage. About 750 protesters have been arrested since August.
PARIS (AP) - French energy company Total is launching a multi-billion-dollar petrochemical joint venture in Texas as it tries to profit from the "business-friendly environment" under the current U.S. administration.

The plan announced Monday in Paris is the company's largest-ever investment in petrochemicals, and part of its strategy to benefit from cheap shale gas in the U.S. and President Donald Trump's support for the energy industry.

Total will partner with chemical companies Borealis and Nova to build two new units on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

One is an ethane steam cracker in Port Arthur, Texas that would convert natural gas into chemicals used for plastics and other materials. Total would provide the initial $1.7 billion for that operation.

The other is a new polyethylene plant in Bayport, Texas, also for making plastics. The cost of that plant is still being worked out among Total, Borealis and Nova, said Bernard Pinatel, president of Total's refining and chemicals. Overall, he said, the project would be worth several billion dollars and Total would hold 50 percent of it.

Total says the venture, which depends on regulators' approval, would start in 2020 and create at least 1,500 local jobs.

"We want to take advantage of the business-friendly environment" to boost Total's 60-year presence in the U.S., CEO Patrick Pouyanne said in a statement.

Pinatel told The Associated Press that the French company is not scared away by Trump's "America first" policies, and instead was encouraged by an "American administration favorable to everything that touches the energy sector."

Total SA employs 6,000 people in the U.S. in the oil, gas and solar activities.
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NEW DELHI (AP) - The Bangladesh army said on Monday it has killed all four militants believed to have seized a building in an eastern city four days ago with a large cache of ammunition.

Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Fakhrul Ahsan said two bodies were found in the building in addition to six people, including two policemen, who were killed in explosions near the building earlier.

Ahsan said the army found a huge amount of explosives in the building. Two of the four insurgents who were killed had jackets lined with explosives on them.

Bangladeshi troops cordon off the area during an ongoing military raid on a building where armed militants are holed up in the city of Sylhet, eastern Bangladesh, Monday, March 27, 2017. Army and paramilitary troops have been trying since Friday to flush out Islamist radicals who have holed up in a building with a large cache of ammunition. (AP Photo)

Army and paramilitary troops had been trying since Friday to flush the militants out of building in the city of Sylhet.

The six killed Saturday died after a series of explosions took place on a road near an Islamic religious school and close to the building under siege.

At least 25 people were wounded in the attacks and 78 civilians rescued from the building after troops broke a section of the compound wall where the building is located the army spokesman said.

Several explosions occurred in the area, including a large blast Sunday afternoon. Police barred civilians, including journalists, from the area.

The gunbattle with suspected militants came after a man killed himself on Friday by detonating explosives near a police post on a busy road near the airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital. No one else was hurt.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Sylhet and Dhaka, according to the SITE Intelligence group, citing the Islamic State news agency Amaq. SITE monitors terror group activity online.

Bangladesh has experienced a renewed level of Islamic militancy in recent years.

Dozens of atheists, liberal writers, bloggers and publishers, as well as members of minority communities and foreigners, have been targeted and killed.

Last July, 17 foreigners were killed when five militants stormed a restaurant in Dhaka's upscale diplomatic zone.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.

But Bangladesh's government has consistently denied the presence of the militant group in the impoverished South Asian nation, and says the attacks are the work of local radical groups.

Bangladeshi troops cordon off the area during an ongoing military raid on a building where armed militants are holed up in the city of Sylhet, eastern Bangladesh, Monday, March 27, 2017. Army and paramilitary troops have been trying since Friday to flush out Islamist radicals who have holed up in a building with a large cache of ammunition. (AP Photo)

Bangladeshi villagers watch from a distance during an ongoing military raid on a building where armed militants are holed up in the city of Sylhet, eastern Bangladesh, Monday, March 27, 2017. Army and paramilitary troops have been trying since Friday to flush out Islamist radicals who have holed up in a building with a large cache of ammunition. (AP Photo)

Bangladeshi soldiers and an unidentified man arrive near the scene during an ongoing military raid on a building where armed militants are holed up in the city of Sylhet, eastern Bangladesh, Monday, March 27, 2017. Army and paramilitary troops have been trying since Friday to flush out Islamist radicals who have holed up in a building with a large cache of ammunition. (AP Photo)
Money & Markets modules for Tuesday, March 28

TODAY

The Conference Board delivers its latest monthly snapshot of consumer confidence. Standard & Poor's CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index for January is due out today. The Commerce Department releases its February tally of wholesale inventories.

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

Generic drugmaker Impax Laboratories soars as investors applaud its choice for a new CEO.

CENTERPIECE

Sticker shock from Brexit

Britain's vote to leave the European Union last June had one substantive market impact: a 20 percent fall in the value of the pound. And that is making life more expensive for the British.

STORY STOCKS

G-III Apparel Group (GIII)

Impax Laboratories (IPXL)

Weatherford International (WFT)

M&T Bank (MTB)

Envision Healthcare (EVHC)

DuPont (DD)

Welltower (HCN)

Newmont Mining (NEM)

FUND FOCUS

Hartford Midcap (HFMCX)

This fund has a number of things going for it, including a stable team and strong analytical resources, but issues including a large portfolio size "bear watching," Morningstar says.

For questions about Money & Markets modules, please contact Seth Sutel (212-621-1618). For technical support: contact Todd Balog (816-654-1096). After 6 p.m., contact the AP Business News desk (800-845-8450, ext. 1680) for content questions; 1-800-3AP-STOX for technical support and 212-621-1905 for graphics help. The Money & Markets digest can also be found at www.markets.ap.org.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Saudi Arabia on Monday reduced the tax rate for Saudi Aramco as plans move forward to publicly list shares of the state-owned oil giant.

The new code, rolled out by royal decree from King Salman, taxes Aramco at 50 percent on income retroactively starting Jan. 1.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser thanked the king in a statement for the decree reducing the company's tax rate from what he said was 85 percent, and said it "will bring Saudi Aramco in line with international benchmarks."

The company's oil production is Saudi Arabia's main source of revenue and its finances are not publicly disclosed. The government is embarking on an overhaul of its economy to move away from heavy reliance on oil, its main export, after a sharp drop in prices.

The government is preparing to list less than 5 percent of Aramco, possibly by next year, on the Saudi stock exchange and an international exchange. It is gearing up to be the largest flotation in history, with officials valuing Aramco at more than $2 trillion. The government would remain the company's largest shareholder.

The London-based Capital Economics said the lower tax rate means that the company will have a greater share of its profits available to pay out as dividends to shareholders. It says the dividends going to the government will largely cover the lost tax revenue, so that the move represents "merely a shift in the way that oil revenues accrue to the government."

Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said in a statement that the new tax code will have no impact on the government's ability to deliver services to its citizens.

He said any tax revenue reductions "are replaced by stable dividend payments by government-owned companies, and other sources of revenue including profits resulting from investments."

Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih also said the royal order will not negatively affect state coffers, adding that the kingdom's hydrocarbon resources "remain sovereign."

The decree imposes a 50 percent tax on oil and gas producers that have invested capital of more than $100 billion in the kingdom. That figure jumps to 65 percent for producers with between $80 billion and $100 billion in invested capital, 75 percent if between $60 billion and $80 billion, and 85 percent on producers with invested capital that does not exceed $60 billion.

___

Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet traveled to Haiti on Monday for talks with government and U.N. officials weeks before the start of her country's announced withdrawal of military peacekeepers.

Bachelet's stop included meetings with President Jovenel Moise, the U.N. special envoy to Haiti and the nearly 400 Chileans currently serving in the U.N. stabilization mission.

Chile's government announced last year it would begin withdrawing its peacekeepers, and Bachelet's office now says the gradual pullout will begin April 15.

Haiti's President Jovenel Moise, front right, escorts Chile's President Michelle Bachelet after their meeting at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

That is the same day the U.N. Security Council is due to decide the future of the U.N. stabilization mission in Haiti, which was established after a 2004 rebellion ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is recommending the U.N. peacekeeping mission as a whole wrap up with the departure of all 2,370 military personnel by Oct. 15. Troops come from 19 countries.

The U.N. chief said a successor smaller peacekeeping operation should be established in Haiti to continue to support police training, political stability, good governance, electoral reform, the rule of law and human rights.

Bachelet told Chilean troops based in the northern city of Cap-Haitien that her government believes it has succeeded in realizing the goals set at the start of the stabilization mission some 13 years ago.

"It is time, therefore, to refocus our strategy," she said.

Bachelet also visited a Port-au-Prince school for girls rebuilt by Chile after Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake.

She was scheduled to depart for a flight to Geneva on Monday evening.

Haiti's President Jovenel Moise, right, talks with Chile's President Michelle Bachelet as she leaves the National Palace after their meeting in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 27, 2017. ( AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Chile's President Michelle Bachelet is followed by Haiti's President Jovenel Moise as she arrives to the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - American rapper Wiz Khalifa is stirring controversy in the South American nation of Colombia, where he laid flowers and smoked what looks like a joint at the tomb of cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar.

The rapper is an avid marijuana smoker and used his Instagram account to post several photos of him smoking at Escobar's tomb in Medellin. He played a concert in the city last week.

Colombians took to social media to express outrage.

Medellin's Mayor Federico Gutierrez called the rapper a "scoundrel." He suggested that instead of paying homage to Escobar, the performer should've brought flowers to Escobar's thousands of victims killed during the height of Colombia's drug violence in the late 1980s.
THURMONT, Md. (AP) - An 18-year-old student meticulously planned a mass shooting at her high school in which she intended to die, authorities in Maryland said Monday.

A shotgun, ammunition and bomb-making materials including nails and fireworks were found at Nichole Cevario's home in Thurmont on Thursday, Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins said at a news conference.

There is no evidence that anyone else was involved, Jenkins said.

One of the teen's parents notified Catoctin High School officials Thursday of a potential threat of violence and Cevario was removed from the classroom and turned over to investigators, the Frederick County sheriff's office said in a statement. Cevario was later taken from the school to a hospital for an emergency evaluation and remains hospitalized, officials said.

"This attack was prevented by the parents, who stepped forward," Jenkins said.

Cevario's journal "clearly spelled out" detailed plans for an attack she had been working on for some time, including a timeline of the attack with her expectations for each stage, officials said. She had set April 5 as the day of the attack, the sheriff said. She was acquiring the materials and compiling details about school emergency procedures associated with drills conducted by school staff and on the school resource deputy.

Cevario's diary showed "evidence of mental health issues, emotional issues," Jenkins said. There was no indication that bullying was an issue, but the diary showed "a lot of frustration in her personal life," Jenkins said.

Investigators don't believe anyone was working with Cevario and they think they've eliminated any threat to the school and community, officials said. While explosive materials were located during the investigation, they weren't combined in any form that created an explosive device.

Investigators have obtained an arrest warrant charging Cevario with possession of explosive material with intent to create a destructive device and possession of incendiary material with the intent to create a destructive device. They say the warrants will be served when she is released from the hospital.

A man who answered the phone at Cevario's home and her attorney, Alan Winik, declined to comment.
YOLA, Nigeria (AP) - A former Nigerian governor sentenced to five years' jail for corruption has been granted bail to seek medical care after just 20 days in prison.

Bala James Ngilari of northeastern Adamawa state was the first senior government figure successfully prosecuted since President Muhammadu Buhari won elections two years ago, in part because of promises to fight endemic corruption.

State prosecutors objected but were overruled Monday at the High Court in Yola, capital of Adamawa.

Judge Nathan Musa ordered Ngilari's release on bail after two prison officials testified he suffered from high blood pressure and his health was deteriorating.

Three weeks ago Musa convicted Ngilari of improperly awarding a $1 billion-dollar contract to buy vehicles in 2015. Adamawa is one of three states worst affected by Boko Haram's Islamic uprising.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is calling on Russia to immediately release all peaceful protesters arrested over the weekend during a large anti-government demonstration.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the U.S. "strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters throughout Russia on Sunday."

Spicer on Monday read a State Department statement calling the detentions "an affront to essential democratic values."

Spicer says people everywhere deserve a transparent and accountable government, as well as "the ability to exercise their rights without fear of retribution."
PARIS (AP) - Monaco's prosecutor and police chief say four people have been arrested and almost all the stolen pieces of jewelry have been found, two days after an armed heist at a luxurious Cartier jewelry shop in Monte Carlo.

Jacques Doremieux and Richard Marangoni said at a news conference Monday that they have established at least five people were involved in the robbery.

Police are still looking for the final suspect.

The value of the jewels is "several million euros," the prosecutor said.

Authorities said three individuals carrying at least one firearm targeted the shop Saturday in the prestigious city center of Monaco, as another person was waiting for them in a car.

Police temporarily closed the principality's borders to prevent them from fleeing.
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WASHINGTON (AP) - Roger Wilkins, a historian, journalist and activist who held a key civil rights post in President Lyndon Johnson's administration and helped The Washington Post win a Pulitzer for its Watergate coverage, died Sunday, relatives said. He was 85.

Wilkins, most recently a history professor at George Mason University, died at an assisted-living facility in Kensington, Maryland, said his wife, Patricia King, and his daughter, Elizabeth Wilkins. The cause of death was complications from dementia, they said.

His uncle Roy Wilkins was the longtime executive director of the NAACP. A lifetime later, his daughter Elizabeth worked in the presidential campaign of then-Sen. Barack Obama.

FILE - In a Dec. 27, 1965 file photo, Roger W. Wilkins speaks, in Washington. Wilkins, the historian, journalist and activist who held a key civil rights post in the Johnson administration, died Sunday,, March 27, 2017, at an assisted-living facility in Kensington, Md., said his wife, Patricia King. He was 85. (AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi, File)

Wilkins said in spring 2008 that the presidential candidacies of a woman and a black man "would have been fodder for a fantasy movie" when he graduated from college 55 years earlier.

"Today, whatever our problems are, we have a vastly different and better country than the one we lived in in 1953," Wilkins told University of Southern Maine graduates.

From the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, he worked in the Johnson administration, the Ford Foundation, The Washington Post and The New York Times. In his 1982 autobiography, "A Man's Life," he described the frustrations of being "the lead black in white institutions for 16 years."

In a Washington Post review, famed author James Baldwin wrote that Wilkins "has written a most beautiful book, has delivered an impeccable testimony out of that implacable private place where a man either lives or dies."

In 1965 Johnson tapped Wilkins to head the federal Community Relations Service, which was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to mediate racial disputes and foster progress in black communities.

The New York Times said Johnson told him it would be "the toughest job ever given any Negro in the Federal Government. ... You have one mandate - to do what is right."

As many cities were racked by rioting in the mid-1960s, Wilkins advocated efforts to improve conditions there. "We have to change the way people live," he said in the Times in 1967. "All the rest is Band-Aids and lollipops."

He joined the Ford Foundation when Johnson left office in early 1969. In 1970, he wrote a Washington Post essay about being almost the only black at the Gridiron Dinner, the annual Washington frolic of the male power elite. He wrote that its convivial insider jokes about such things as President Richard Nixon's "Southern strategy" amounted to "a depressing display of gross insensitivity and both conscious and unconscious racism."

He wound up leaving the Ford Foundation for journalism. His Washington Post editorials in the early months of the Watergate scandal in 1972 contributed to the paper's 1973 Pulitzer Prize for public service, a staff award.

Wilkins left the Post in 1974 to join The New York Times, doing commentary on the final stages of the Watergate scandal from his new post.

Among his other books were "Jefferson's Pillow: The Founding Fathers and the Dilemma of Black Patriotism," 2001; and "Quiet Riots: Race and Poverty in the United States" a 1988 look back at the Kerner Commission's 1968 report of urban unrest that Wilkins co-edited with former Sen. Fred R. Harris, who had been a commission member.

In a 1992 Associated Press story on black and white relations, he criticized the notion among some blacks that blacks should stay away from the mainstream white culture lest they be guilty of "selling out" or "acting white."

"If we tried to enforce a black orthodoxy, then we would fall into the white folks' trap. They would love for us to all think alike," Wilkins said.

In a 2009 essay in "AARP the Magazine," he recalled his feelings about Obama's win.

He wrote that in the early stages of the race, he believed Obama had "no chance. This man's been in the Senate for 15 minutes, and white people just aren't going to vote for a new black guy. ... I thought back to the scores of highly intelligent black men and women I'd known over my lifetime who never even passed Go because whites did not believe they could do serious work."

He said despite his doubts, he still advised his daughter to join the campaign, telling her, "this is your generation's Selma, and you dare not miss it." And as Obama began winning primaries, "I caught that fire."

In his 1982 memoir, Wilkins discussed his own lapses with alcohol and extramarital affairs. He said "nobody would have believed my messages if I had presented myself as a pristine and innocent victim of all those bad white folks."

Wilkins was born in 1932 in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was forced to attend segregated schools. His father was a journalist and his mother was national leader in the Young Women's Christian Association.

After his father's death when he was 8, his family moved to New York City and, later, Grand Rapids, Michigan. He earned bachelor and law degrees from the University of Michigan.

In a 1969 New York Times profile of his famous uncle, Wilkins said that once when he was fresh out of law school, a member of a prominent law firm asked his uncle if he should be hired.

The elder Wilkins responded, "Well, how do you usually judge people you are going to hire? Judge Roger the same way, hire him or not, as you would anyone else."

___

Former Associated Press writer Polly Anderson contributed to this story.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A lawsuit brought by victims of the Orlando nightclub massacre against the gunman's employer and wife was withdrawn from federal court and filed in state court in South Florida on Monday.

Attorneys for 61 Pulse victims and family members of those killed filed the lawsuit in state court in Palm Beach County, just days after a federal judge said in an order that he doubted federal court was the proper jurisdiction for the case.

The lawsuit claims Omar Mateen's employer, international security firm G4S, and the wife of Mateen, could have stopped the gunman before the attack last June but didn't. Forty-nine people died in the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history, and dozens more were injured at the gay nightclub.

FILE - In this June 12, 2016 file photo, law enforcement officials work at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., following a mass shooting. A lawsuit brought by victims of the Orlando nightclub massacre against the gunman's employer and wife was withdrawn from federal court and filed in state court in South Florida on Monday, March 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

The complaint said that G4S bosses knew Mateen was mentally unstable yet continued to employ him as a security guard and didn't seek to have his firearms license revoked, even after he was investigated by the FBI in 2013 for telling co-workers he had connections to terrorists and a mass shooter. The company has said in statements that it will vigorously defend itself and that the lawsuit was without merit.

The lawsuit also said that Mateen's wife, Noor Salman, knew her husband was going to carry out the killings ahead of time yet did nothing. Salman currently is in jail awaiting trial in a separate criminal case. She has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of aiding and abetting her husband, and obstruction of justice.

Separately, city and county officials in Orlando said Monday that they want the one-year anniversary next June of the Pulse massacre to be marked with acts of love and kindness.

Elected officials said that June 12 officially would be dedicated as "Orlando United Day - A Day of Love and Kindness."

Officials also announced a series of events planned throughout the day on June 12.

An exhibit of artwork collected from memorial sites set up around Orlando after the massacre will be shown at the Orange County History Center, followed by a memorial service at the site of the former gay nightclub.

Another memorial ceremony will be held in the evening around downtown Orlando's Lake Eola.
Gone in a hail of bullets: Waltki Williams, 35, was shot 19 times by police officers in Sumter, South Carolina, in December after a brief chase

A wrongful death lawsuit alleges that an unarmed black man was shot in the back 17 times by police officers in South Carolina after he was chased down and tackled to the ground.

Officers in Sumter were trying to arrest 35-year-old Waltki Williams on the night of December 10 after his estranged girlfriend called 911 saying he had pointed a gun at her car outside a local mall and she was afraid to leave the shopping center.

Williams sped off in a red SUV with police pursuing but crashed into two vehicles, hurled an unknown object out the window, then fled on foot.

According to the lawsuit filed by Williams sister Tomekia Kind against the city of Sumter and its police force, several officers tackled Williams and stepped back before at least three of them fired two dozen shots.

Williams was struck by 19 bullets, of them 17 in the back, said attorney Carter Elliott.

'I don't know if it gets any more horrible than officers standing over an unarmed man shooting him,' Elliott said Monday. He had investigators take pictures of Williams' bullet-ridden body before it was cremated.

Domestic incident: Police said Williams' estranged girlfriend called 911 saying the man pointed a gun at her car. The woman reportedly had been trying to break up with him for two months

The shooting took place not far from the Sumter Mall (pictured) on the night of December 10

Elliott said Kind has seen police video of her brother's shooting and was shocked. The video has not been released publicly as the State Law Enforcement Division is still investigating the killing.

Sumter Police spokeswoman Tonyia McGirt said later Monday that the police agency hasn't been served with the lawsuit.

She also said releasing any specific information about the shooting would be inappropriate given the state's ongoing investigation. Nonetheless, she said the police department denies the allegations made in the suit.

Wrongful death suit: Williams' sister Tomeika Kind is now suing the city of Sumter and its police force in the officer-involved death of her brother

The station WYFF4 reported that Williams' girlfriend had been trying in vain to break up with him for two months by the time she called 911 at around 9.30pm on December 10, telling the dispatcher her estranged boyfriend threatened her with a gun at the Sumter Mall.

In a news release issued shortly after the police-involved shooting, McGirt wrote that 'there was a brief struggle and then an exchange of gunfire.'

The newly filed lawsuit, however, alleges that Williams had no weapon and makes no mention of an exchange of gunfire with police, reported NBC News.

The race and names of the officers who played a role in the incident haven't been made public. They were placed on administrative leave during the investigation.

'This is a tragedy for everyone involved," Sumter Police Chief Russell Roark III said in a statement in December. 'This incident shows the devastating, far-reaching effects of domestic violence on individuals, families, law enforcement, the Sumter community and the state as a whole.'

The Associated Press filed a Freedom of Information Act request Monday for any video footage of Williams' shooting. State police did not immediately respond to that request.

Williams is survived by two sisters and six nieces and nephews. The image above is a photo collage that was put together by one of his young relatives

Elliott has not seen the video, but plans to subpoena the city of Sumter and state investigators. The lawsuit does not ask for specific damages.

Solicitor Chip Finney will decide if the officers face charges. He said Monday he has not received the case file from state investigators and had no comment about the shooting or the lawsuit.

Williams had a criminal record dating back to at least 2013 that included two convictions for stalking and several minor motor vehicle offenses.

He also had been accused of trying to sell a stolen car and entering a bank with intent to steal, but both those charges were eventually dismissed.

About 50 people participated in a peaceful march in Sumter demanding justice for Waltki William about two weeks after the shooting.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Two ex-allies of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie convicted in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial last fall are seeking probation when they're sentenced this week, while government prosecutors are urging the judge not to show them any leniency.

Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni are to be sentenced Wednesday. Prosecutors called for a sentence of 37 to 46 months in prison because, they wrote in a brief made public Monday, both committed perjury on the witness stand.

In a filing later Monday, attorneys for the defendants argued for probation and community service, saying their clients deserve mercy for a host of reasons. They said Kelly is a single mother of four, and Baroni has led an exemplary life and once assisted the FBI in a separate political corruption probe in New Jersey more than a decade ago.

FILE - This photo combo taken Nov. 3, 2016, shows Bridget Kelly, left, who was New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, right, who was Christie's former top appointee at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, entering court in Newark, N.J. Prosecutors wrote to a judge Monday, March 27, 2017, that Kelly and Baroni committed perjury on the witness stand during their fall 2016 corruption trial, and shouldn't be given any leniency during their sentencing scheduled Wednesday, March 29. (AP Photos/Julio Cortez, File)

One of several dozen people who wrote letters of support on behalf of the defendants was former Democratic Gov. Jim McGreevey, who said of Baroni, "imprisonment will not appreciably add to the punishment of this man, while denying him the potential of serving those needy persons within our midsts."

Kelly's 17-year-old son, who was born with a rare heart condition, wrote a letter calling his mother "my greatest role model."

Baroni and Kelly were convicted last fall of using their positions to cause traffic jams near the George Washington Bridge in 2013 in an alleged plot against a Democratic mayor who didn't endorse the Republican Christie.

Baroni and Kelly testified that they thought the lane realignment was part of a legitimate traffic study. At the time of the gridlock, Kelly was deputy chief of staff to Christie, and Baroni was a top Christie appointee to the Port Authority. Christie wasn't charged.

In Monday's sentencing memorandum, prosecutors scoffed at their claims and said their testimony was contradicted by several other witnesses.

"They lied about what they knew, what they said, and what they did," prosecutors wrote. "They evaded, obstructed, and gave alternative explanations that bore no relation whatsoever to the truth. Their flagrantly false testimony was rejected by the jury, which convicted them of all counts of the Indictment."

Kelly and Baroni were each convicted on seven charges including conspiracy, wire fraud, civil rights offenses and misapplying the property of the Port Authority. The maximum combined sentences would run into the decades, but former U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman had indicated they would receive far less than that.

This month, the federal judge who oversaw the trial denied Baroni's and Kelly's motions to overturn their guilty verdicts. They had argued that U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton should have instructed jurors they could have acquitted the defendants if the government didn't prove the alleged conspiracy was aimed at punishing Mayor Mark Sokolich.

The government argued jurors only had to believe Baroni and Kelly conspired to misapply the property of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - the bridge - and not the reason they did it.

Baroni's attorneys argued in their brief Monday that other defendants who committed, in some cases, violent crimes have received lighter sentences than what Baroni faces. They added that Baroni is remorseful for his actions.

"Bill deeply regrets his role in the lane realignment and particularly his decision to follow the directives given to him to not return Mayor Sokolich's call because they run counter to his moral ethos," they wrote.

Both defendants contended they were misled by Baroni's former Port Authority colleague David Wildstein, a former political blogger and high school classmate of Christie's who pleaded guilty and testified against Baroni and Kelly.

Wildstein faced a maximum combined sentence of 15 years but under a plea agreement is facing between 21 and 27 months. The government could ask for even less time for him considering his cooperation.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Energy Secretary Rick Perry toured the site of a shuttered nuclear waste dump at Nevada's Yucca Mountain on Monday, his first visit to a U.S. Energy Department site since taking over the department.

Perry's visit occurred less than two weeks after President Donald Trump proposed $120 million to restart a licensing process for the site in the desert outside Las Vegas - much to the chagrin of Nevada politicians who've spent more than a decade making sure it remains in moth balls.

Perry said he met Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a fellow Republican, at the Nevada Supreme Court building following his tour of the site. He said he and Sandoval, who are longtime friends dating to Perry's time as governor of Texas, had a "frank and productive conversation" in which Sandoval reiterated his opposition to the project.

"Today's meeting with Gov. Sandoval was the first step in a process that will involve talking with many federal, state, local and commercial stakeholders," Perry said in a statement.

Sandoval followed with a statement agreeing it was a "frank conversation on an array of issues," but added, "this meeting was not the beginning of a negotiation with regard to Yucca Mountain."

"The storage of high-level waste at Yucca Mountain is not something I am willing to consider," the governor said.

The visit came as a surprise to some Nevada Congress members, who are unified in opposition to reviving proposals to store high-level radioactive waste at Yucca.

"I am troubled that the new energy secretary is visiting the site without informing members of the Nevada congressional delegation," said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev.

Rep. Ruben Kihuen, D-Nev., said he was informed of Perry's plans over the weekend and has requested a meeting with him to discuss his concerns. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said he spoke with Perry ahead of time and "reiterated Nevada's staunch opposition to turning Yucca into a nuclear waste dump."

Nye County Commission Chairman Dan Schinhofen, who wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to settle the licensing question once and for all, said he was unaware until Monday that Perry would visit but looks forward to "sitting down and talking with him as the host county."

"It is important to note that nine of 17 Nevada counties have asked for the science to be heard and that has been Nye County's position for years," he told The Associated Press. "If science proves it's not safe, no one wants it. But if it is safe, who would say no to a multi-billion dollar multi-generational public works project?"
The Westminster attack shows why Europe needs to work together to combat terrorism, the EUs security commissioner has said.

British representative Sir Julian King made the remarks after a meeting with London mayor Sadiq Khan in Brussels.

Beginning a three-day visit to Brussels and Paris, Mr Khan said it is was now more important than ever for the UK and its neighbours to strengthen bonds to fight home grown terrorism, despite Brexit.

Productive meeting in Brussels with EU Security Commissioner @JKingEU - discussing how we continue to work together on safety & security. pic.twitter.com/EcIp2KgljH  Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) March 27, 2017

Speaking after the meeting, Sir Julian told the mayor: I hope you got a sense of the solidarity there is following the horrible events.

Sir Julian added: Last Wednesday we started the day here in Brussels with a series of commemorations marking the attacks a year ago, and we finished the day with the horrible news from London.

I think it just shows that against these threats from terror, actually cyber and serious organised crime as well, we need to work together.

I want to thank everyone for their messages of support & can promise you that our capital city is resilient. pic.twitter.com/d7gmmjRnnp  Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) March 26, 2017

Mr Khan said the diverse nationalities of the victims of the Westminster attack showed why it was important for international co-operation to fight terror.

He told the commissioner: This really is an attack on our shared values and shared way of life, so it is very important to have your support.

Earlier, the mayor warned Brexit must not weaken anti-terror ties with the EU.

The reality is we have got excellent links with the European Union. We share intelligence, we co-operate closely.

When our city faces adversity we stand up for our values and we stand together. Thats what it means to be a Londoner. #WeStandTogether pic.twitter.com/1wahG38VQu  Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) March 25, 2017

It is really important that even though we may leave the European Union, we carry on working closely with our friends across Europe, he told ITV London.

Asked if more secure borders post-Brexit would make the UK safer, Mr Khan said: What we do know is that the person responsible for the attack last week was born and raised in the UK.

When pressed on whether he backed Home Secretary Amber Rudds call for social media apps like WhatsApp to allow police more access to content, Mr Khan warned against knee jerk reactions to the Westminster attack.

I think what we shouldnt do is rush to knee jerk responses to the horrific attack last week. Of course, its crucial we talk to our European colleagues, we talk to those who run the internet to make sure there are no places terrorists can hide in, he told LBC.

Talks between Mr Khan and European Council president Donald Tusk were being rescheduled for Tuesday as the mayor was set to use a string of meetings to push the message that London was open for post-Brexit business.
By Rebekah Kebede

KINGSTON, March 27 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Hellshire Beach, one of Jamaicas cultural icons, has appeared in countless documentaries, movies and travelogues about the island nation. The strip of sand, a half-hour drive from the capital and backed by seafood restaurants, is a weekend favourite for Kingstonians, a place to kick back and "lyme" - the local term for "chill".

But Hellshire Beach is fast disappearing. What once was a wide strip of sand in front of Aunt Mays Fish Place has vanished so quickly that Kingstonians find themselves digging through old photos to make sure their memories arent playing tricks on them.

One of them is Kamilah Taylor, a 30-year-old U.S. software engineer who grew up going to Hellshire. She remembers people riding horses and children playing on a wide expanse of beach.

When she visited last year, she was shocked to see that much of it was gone.

"To go from that to basically shops that look like they are on cliffs ... it blew my mind how different it was. It was a totally different scene," said Taylor in a telephone interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Experts say that a combination of pollution and warmer temperatures linked to climate change have killed the once-thriving coral reefs offshore, allowing waves to pound the beach and wash away the sand.

"Ive never seen anywhere along the Jamaican coast change so significantly. ... Its a domino effect starting with the death of the reef," said Mona Webber, a marine ecologist and director of the University of the West Indies Centre for Marine Sciences.

DISAPPEARING REEF

Webber carried out her graduate work in the sea off Hellshire in the 1980s, studying the impact of pollution from Kingston harbour on the reef. Back then, as she used a small skiff to collect water samples along the reef, its structure was so dense that it could be a challenge not to bump into it.

But now the reef is completely gone, she said.

Hellshire sits downstream from Kingston harbour, where industrial and other wastes over decades made their way into the water. As the beachs popularity grew, it also suffered from water pollution created by bathers and fishermen who gutted fish in the water, Webber said.

"Coral reefs cannot handle poor water quality. They really are affected by excess nutrients and algal overgrowth," Webber said. Studies in the 1990s showed that a big day out for Kingstonians at Hellshire led to algae doubling in the bay two to three days later, she said.

Climate change, which can cause rising sea temperatures and additional stress on coral, may have been the "last nail in the coffin" for the reef, Webber said. Once parts of the reef had weakened or died, other parts of it became more vulnerable to storms, she said.

Locals like Nehemiah "Natty" Thomson, 66, a long-time fisherman who now cooks up fish in one of the seaside restaurants, remember the hurricanes that slowly dismantled the reef.

"Ivan, Gilbert, Dean ... every one come cut off a piece," Thomson said.

Parts of the dead reef remain offshore in a pile of coral rubble. Once the reef had been slowly swept away by hurricanes, it left the bay vulnerable, Webber said.

"Once you lose your reef, the seagrass gets exposed to too much high wave action and then the beach itself is also compromised. All those systems help to hold the sand in place," Webber said, adding that the structures on Hellshire have cut the beach off from dunes that could replenish it.

VISITORS - AND PROFITS - DOWN

For Kingstonians, the shrinking beach has meant losing one of the few free public beaches near the city. For the fishermen and vendors, it is a threat to their livelihoods.

"There is definitely a decline in the number of people coming to Hellshire... Its affecting business as well," said Glaston White, chairman of the Half Moon Bay Fishermans Association, the non-profit group responsible for managing the beach.

May Byrou, who owns Aunt Mays Fish Place, a long-popular beachfront seafood restaurant, estimates that her business is down 25 to 50 percent due to the disappearance of the beach.

Parthenope James, who goes by the nickname Pie and owns another seafood restaurant, said she's also felt the impact, even though her restaurant is not on the beachfront.

"When the people come and see how it stay, they go somewhere else," Pie said.

For beach-goers, what little beach is left has been transformed. Doryck Boyd, a semi-retired dental surgeon who has been coming to Hellshire since the 1970s, said the difference is startling.

"You could walk way out and the water would be up to your waist," Boyd said. But without a reef the currents have gotten stronger, and the water increasingly unsafe, he said.

For now, the Half Moon Bay Fishermens Cooperative has tried to stem some of the erosion by putting in a groyne - a wall that extends from the beach out into the water. The cooperative is looking to raise funds do more recovery work, White said.

Some restaurant owners also have stacked sandbags and tires on the beach in hopes of shoring up the sand.

But Webber suggests one of the best solutions might be abandoning the beach entirely to let it recover - or at least restricting access.

"There is such a thing as carrying capacity," she said.

White said fishermen are coming to terms with that fact.

"They are aware that the time may come that well be asked to evacuate," he said.

"They are basically bracing to see if thats going to be a possibility." (Reporting by Rebekah Kebede; 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 Ron Bousso and Ernest Scheyder

LONDON/HOUSTON, March 27 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Anadarko Petroleum Corp may let a 10-year joint venture in the oil-rich Permian Basin of Texas expire and split their properties, hoping to speed up development, according to a senior Shell executive.

The divorce and re-parceling of acreage would let each company drill and develop new wells at its own pace in the Permian, which has become the U.S. oil industry's hottest development area for its low operating costs as crude prices hover under $50 per barrel.

Shell and Anadarko have been discussing how to proceed after the partnership agreement expires this summer and are not likely to renew it, Greg Guidry, who oversees the Anglo-Dutch group's shale business, told Reuters.

The talks come as Shell hopes to boost its North American shale output by 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the next three years, a goal that relies largely on the Permian, the largest oilfield in the United States.

Talks have involved scenarios where acreage would be divvied up, allowing each company to individually develop the fields, he said. Under one proposal, "we could have ideally two 100 percent owned and operated parcels," Guidry said.

"That would be a split that will allow us to manage the flexibilities in terms of capital pace, separate of Anadarko," he said in an interview this month.

A Shell spokesman said late last week that negotiations continue between both sides.

The agreement was first signed in 2007 between Anadarko and Chesapeake Energy Corp. Shell bought Chesapeake's Permian holdings in 2012 and inherited the joint venture.

If the two sides were to do nothing, Anadarko would become the operator of the more than 350,000 acres (142,000 hectares) in the Delaware portion of the Permian, with a roughly 60 percent interest. A breakup would give Shell an opportunity to prove it can grow on its own in the largest American shale oil field.

Terms of the joint venture are not outlined in regulatory filings for either company, fueling confusion among investors about what could come after the deal expires.

Anadarko Chief Executive Al Walker said earlier this month that he preferred an arrangement that would give his company majority control over the land once the joint venture expires.

"We and Shell, I think, have an extremely attractive position in the (Permian)," he told investors on a conference call. "We think the economics are certainly compelling for us to be operator going forward."

An Anadarko spokesman declined to comment beyond Walker's remarks.

The joint venture, where costs and profits are split equally, has benefited Shell more than Anadarko given that the latter has far more experience in horizontal well development so crucial to Permian operations, analysts at Bernstein said last month.

A clean split could be logistically challenging with acreage arrayed in a checkerboard pattern, the way drilling properties are organized in West Texas. Moving a rig or other equipment between such parcels would become more laborious in such a scenario.

"It would be unusual if either party would view that as an optimal solution because that's an inefficient way to develop those assets," said Ben Shattuck, an oil industry analyst with consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

PERMIAN RED-HOT

The Permian has seen a flurry of deals in recent months despite a wobbly recovery in global oil prices as shale producers in the region have been able to increase output and slash production costs, outpacing any other onshore U.S. basin and many deepwater oil fields around the world.

The Anglo-Dutch company is accelerating its North American shale output faster than planned to lock in quick returns from what has become one of its most profitable businesses, Guidry said in an interview earlier this month.

"The strategic fit of the Permian in the Shell portfolio will be different from a the strategic fit of the Permian in a pure upstream player."

Anadarko also has been moving staff to West Texas to develop its holdings. The company sold assets elsewhere in its portfolio and, after deals close, is expected to have more than $6 billion in cash that analysts expect it to primarily use on Permian expansion projects. (Reporting by Ron Bousso and Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
ISLAMABAD, March 27 (Reuters) - Pakistan has begun building a fence on its disputed 2,500 km (1,500 mile) border with Afghanistan to prevent incursions by militants, Pakistan's army chief said, in a move likely to further strain relations between the two countries.

Pakistan has blamed Pakistani Taliban militants it says are based on Afghan soil for a spate of attacks at home in recent months, urging Kabul to eradicate "sanctuaries" for militants.

Citing the attacks, Islamabad earlier this month temporarily shut the main crossing points along the colonial-era Durand Line border, drawn up in 1893 and rejected by Afghanistan.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa said initial fencing will focus on "high threat zones" of Bajaur and Mohmand agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which border eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar.

"Additional technical surveillance means are also being deployed along the border besides regular air surveillance," the military said in a statement over the weekend, citing Bajwa.

There was no immediate comment from Afghan authorities.

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have been tense in recent years, with both countries accusing each other of not doing enough to tackle Pakistani and Afghan Taliban militants.

Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye to Afghan Taliban commanders on its soil and even of supporting the militant group, something Islamabad denies.

Bajwa said Pakistan was working on plans to "evolve a bilateral security mechanism" with Afghanistan.

"A better managed, secure and peaceful border is in mutual interest of both brotherly countries who have given phenomenal sacrifices in war against terrorism," Bajwa added.

Pakistan has long harboured ambitions to seal its border, which is largely unpatrolled and mountainous for large chunks.

In 2007, the military said it was fencing and mining a 35 km (22 miles) stretch of border in the North Waziristan region of FATA to prevent militants crisscrossing the rugged terrain.

Efforts to establish a more permanent presence on the disputed frontier have angered Kabul. Last year, Pakistan's attempt to build a barrier on the main Torkham crossing ended in brief cross-border skirmishes.

In recent weeks at least two U.S. drone strikes have targeted Pakistani militants on the Afghan side of the frontier. (Writing by Drazen Jorgic)
BEIJING, March 27 (Reuters) - China's trade deficit in services narrowed to $17.6 billion in February from $20.9 billion in January, the foreign exchange regulator said on Monday.

February's deficit was largely due to a $15.7 billion gulf in spending between foreign tourists and the Chinese, who splurge more abroad than visitors in China, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) showed.

China's trade deficit in services widened to $260.1 billion last year, from $206.5 billion in 2015. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
By Kentaro Hamada and Taro Fuse

TOKYO, March 27 (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp wants its U.S nuclear unit to file for Chapter 11 protection from creditors as early as Tuesday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, seeking a quick ringfencing of losses before the Japanese parent's financial year ends.

While a Westinghouse bankruptcy filing would help limit future losses for Toshiba, it still falls far short of drawing a line under its problems.

Any filing would trigger complex negotiations between Toshiba, the nuclear unit and creditors, and could embroil the U.S and Japanese governments given the scale of the collapse and U.S. state loan guarantees for new reactors. A worry for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is that a bankruptcy would give President Donald Trump cause to criticise Japanese firms operating in the United States.

"Westinghouse is a major employer and nuclear industry company with ongoing nuclear new build projects in two different states, one of which is supported by U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantees," said George Borovas, the global head of nuclear at law firm Shearman & Sterling.

The future of Toshiba and Westinghouse has already been raised in bilateral talks, with Japan's Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko agreeing to share information on developments during talks in Washington with his U.S. counterparts Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Commerce Secretary Wilbur.

The source said Toshiba is keen on a Tuesday filing as it would prefer to avoid a day close to a shareholders meeting on Thursday that will seek approval for the sale of its prized memory chip unit.

"A March 28 filing is one proposal. The thinking is that it would great if we could pull that off but whether it goes that well or not, is another issue," said the source, who was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter and declined to be identified.

The Japanese conglomerate wants to avoid upsetting investors as it seeks to sell more than half of its chips unit and gain funds that would allow it to remain viable as it absorbs losses at Westinghouse.

Toshiba on Monday reiterated a previous statement that it was premature to comment on a potential bankruptcy.

The company's main lenders, including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Mizuho Bank Ltd may also balk at a Tuesday filing. They favour an even more cautious approach to shareholders, said a financial source familiar with the matter.

"Lenders are aware that Toshiba wants to file by the end of the month, but if possible would like to see it after the meeting," the source said.

Separate sources with knowledge of the matter said last Friday Toshiba had informed its main banks that it was planning a March 31 filing for Westinghouse.

$9 BILLION CHARGE

A Chapter 11 filing for Westinghouse would be decided by the U.S. unit's board and would not require approval by Toshiba's shareholders, It could increase charges related to the unit to 1 trillion yen ($9 billion) from a publicly flagged 712.5 billion yen estimate, sources have said.

While that would be a much bigger-than-expected hit in the short-term, it could limit the risk of future losses at two U.S. nuclear projects in Georgia and South Carolina.

The power plants Westinghouse is building are called the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station in Fairfield County, South Carolina and the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Burke County, Georgia. Scana Corp and Santee Cooper own the plants in South Carolina, and Georgia Power leads a consortium that commissioned the Georgia plants.

In any Westinghouse bankruptcy, the utility companies would be among the largest creditors of the developer, owed the work that has yet to be completed and potential penalties, sources have said.

The Nikkei business daily reported on Monday that Toshiba has asked South Korea's Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) to sponsor its Westinghouse bankruptcy reorganization.

A Seoul-based KEPCO spokesman said that no request had been made. ($1 = 110.3800 yen) (Reporting by Kentaro Hamada and Taro Fuse in Tokyo; Additonal reporting by Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo and Jane Chung in Seoul; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
MOSCOW, March 27 (Reuters) - The following are some stories in Russia's newspapers on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

VEDOMOSTI

www.vedomosti.ru

GAZ Group, Russia's largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, is considering resurrecting the Volga brand for some vans and trucks, the daily cites Siegfried Wolf, chairman and co-owner of the Russian Machines holding company as saying.

The State Duma has incorporated the Montreal Convention on air passenger compensation into law, the daily reports. It covers compensation for flight delays, loss of luggage and the death of passengers, and will mean a better deal for passengers.

The Bank of Russia is buying software from Microsoft for 3.3 billion roubles ($57.5 million), the largest purchase of its kind by a state company from Microsoft in three years, the newspaper says.

IZVESTIA

www.izvestia.ru

A domestic analogue of anti-viral drug Tamiflu should appear in Russia by 2019, the daily says.

KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA

www.kp.ru

The "Miss Russia 2017" beauty contest will be held on April 15 in Moscow. For the first time, the competition will not include representatives from mainly Muslim parts of southern Russia, the contest's director, Larissa Tikhonova, said. It reported that was because their participation was met with condemnation the previous year in some quarters.

($1 = 57.4247 Rub) (Reporting by Margarita Popova; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
By Michael Nienaber

BERLIN, March 27 (Reuters) - German business morale hit its highest level in nearly six years in March, suggesting company executives in Europe's largest economy are brushing off concerns about the threat of rising protectionism and Germany's own election issues.

The surprisingly strong business climate index, published on Monday by the Ifo economic institute, added to signs that the German economy is firing on all cylinders at the start of 2017, helped by rising global demand for cars and machinery.

Ifo said its business climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms, rose to 112.3 from an upwardly revised reading of 111.1 in February.

"Wow! Nobody expected such a clear rise," LBBW chief economist Uwe Burkert said. "The concerns about Brexit, Trump and the upcoming elections in France seem to have disappeared."

But he added: "In my opinion, this carelessness is somewhat exaggerated."

Businesses appeared to be completely unfazed by "America First" protectionist rhetoric in Washington, European politics and even Germany's own election cycle, which will decide later this year whether Angela Merkel remains as chancellor.

"The political uncertainties don't affect the German economy," Ifo economist Klaus Wohlrabe told Reuters, adding that manufacturers in nearly all key segments were markedly more optimistic about their business outlook.

This comes despite U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to hit German carmakers with a border tax of 35 percent, arguing that such a step would make them create more jobs on American soil.

Ifo's March business climate reading was the highest since July 2011 and it came in stronger than a Reuters consensus forecast for 111.0, surpassing even the highest estimate.

Capital Economics research group revised up its growth forecast for the German economy to 1.8 percent from its previous estimate of 1.3 percent, pointing to the strong Ifo figures.

Nordea economist Holger Sandte was even more optimistic, saying he now expected a growth rate of some 2 percent.

GOOD NOW, TOO

Managers' assessment of the current business situation improved, also reaching its highest level since July 2011, and firms also expressed greater optimism about the months ahead.

The rise in the headline figure was driven by improved sentiment in manufacturing, construction and retailing, while the business climate in wholesaling deteriorated.

The "very positive development" in manufacturing, Ifo said, was partly driven by a renewed upturn in demand, pointing to healthy global business activity.

"In our view, there is especially one fundamental rationale behind upbeat sentiment: the renaissance of global trade," Unicredit analyst Andreas Rees said.

In construction, assessments of the current situation reached their highest level since 1991 as a growing population, rising wages, higher job security and record-low borrowing costs are driving a housing boom in Germany.

The Ifo index follows the release of Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) on Friday that showed Germany's private sector grew at the fastest pace in nearly six years in March, driven mainly by strong demand for manufactured goods from the United States, China, Britain, and the Middle East.

The upbeat sentiment indicators were underpinned by a series of strong economic data released earlier this month, suggesting that Europe's biggest economy had a robust start into 2017.

German industrial output rose more than expected in January while a jump in imports surpassed an also surprisingly strong increase in exports that month.

This points to an accelerated growth rate in the first quarter of 2017 after the German economy grew by 0.4 percent in the final three months of 2016, driven by soaring private consumption, increased state spending and construction.

In the full-year of 2016, Germany's gross domestic product expanded by 1.9 percent, the strongest rate in five years.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Additional reporting by Joern Poltz and Emma Thomasson; Editing by Paul Carrel/Jeremy Gaunt)
By Aleksandar Vasovic and Ivana Sekularac

BELGRADE, March 27 (Reuters) - Serbia is committed to European Union membership but it will work hard to improve relations with its traditional ally Russia, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told Reuters ahead of a presidential election on Sunday.

The poll will test the popularity of Vucic, a frontrunner in the race, as well as his center-right Serbian Progressive Party, economic reforms and a bid to bring the country closer to the EU.

"Serbia is on the European path and that is our strategic goal. We want our society to be modelled after most developed Western European countries," Vucic said at the weekend.

But, he said he would work hard as president to maintain good relations with fellow Christian Orthodox Russia as well.

Powers in Serbia are strictly divided between the president and prime minister. Under the constitution the president signs bills into laws, commands the military, presides over the national security council and represents country abroad, but economic and foreign policy is in hands of prime minister.

Serbia, which in the 1990s was seen as pariah of Western Balkans for its central role in wars that followed the collapse of Yugoslavia, expects to complete negotiations on EU membership by 2019.

Many Serbs remain sceptical about joining the bloc and view Western European countries as outspoken advocates of the 1999 NATO bombing to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians in the former province of Kosovo, in which thousands of civilians had been killed.

"We have to show ordinary people what are we doing together (with the EU)," Vucic once a firebrand nationalist, said. "We have to show concrete roads and concrete projects."

The West sees integration of Western Balkan countries as a way to stabilise a region recovering from a decade of wars and economic turmoil.

Russia opposes the integration of Western Balkan countries, including Serbia, into NATO and the EU and is trying to extend its influence.

On Monday, Vucic travelled to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin for talks on trade and military cooperation.

Last year, Russia donated six MIG-29 fighter jets, and Vucic said he now plans to negotiate a purchase of surface-to-air missiles with Putin.

"We are also discussing economic cooperation with Russia, we would like to attract more investors," Vucic said, adding investors could profit on trade deals with EU member states. Vucic said his country is also looking to build economic cooperation with China. He said he expected a Chinese private company to start flights between Beijing and Belgrade. (Editing by Julia Glover)
By Tsvetelia Tsolova

SOFIA, March 27 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party faced the prospect on Monday of lengthy coalition talks after an election victory tinged by the strong showing of pro-Russian Socialists and anti-migrant nationalists.

GERB leader Boiko Borisov, 57, whose resignation late last year triggered the snap election, was due to chair a meeting of his party leadership later in the day.

With 99 percent of votes counted, GERB was seen taking 96 of parliament's 240 seats, leaving it short of a majority and almost certain to seek a deal with the third-placed United Patriots, an alliance of three nationalist parties expected to take 27 seats.

The United Patriots, however, have their own internal rifts over policy towards Russia and the European Union, complicating talks. The alliance will drive a hard bargain, given they could also switch support to the second-placed Socialists, who saw their own share of seats surge to an expected 79.

The Socialists, capitalising on their victory in a presidential election in November that triggered Borisov's downfall, have vowed to improve ties with Russia even at the expense of EU unity.

"It is possible to make a government with GERB; it is possible not to," Valeri Simeonov, co-leader of the United Patriots, told Bulgarian Nova TV on Monday.

"It all depends on whether we can agree on policies. Last time around it took us about a month."

The United Patriots have capitalised on a growing mood of nationalism in Bulgaria since hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa began crossing the Balkan peninsula en route to Western Europe two years ago.

The alliance is staunchly opposed to immigration and has called for legislation to address crimes committed by Bulgaria's Roma minority, to increase pensions and keep down electricity prices. GERB has pledged to maintain the tight fiscal policies underpinning the lev currency peg to the euro.

A role in government for the United Patriots may also further worsen Bulgarias strained relations with neighbouring Turkey.

Borisov may also seek to bring the populist Will party, which is estimated to have won 12 seats, into a three-party coalition or try to lead a minority government.

Whatever the outcome, analysts were sceptical the election would produce a stable government - the country's seventh since 2013 - capable of tackling widespread poverty and corruption as Bulgaria takes on the rotating presidency of the EU in January 2018.

"The election did not give a clear mandate for stable, long-term governance," said Daniel Smilov, a political analyst with the Sofia-based Centre for Liberal Strategies.

"The next government will have a horizon until July next year, when the country will hand over the EU rotating presidency. In terms of reforms, we are likely to see more of the same." (Editing by Matt Robinson and Janet Lawrence)
By Alexis Akwagyiram and Felix Onuah

ABUJA, March 27 (Reuters) - A lingering illness has led President Muhammadu Buhari to reduce his working day to a few hours since he returned from medical leave, slowing down the pace of economic reforms advanced in his absence, diplomats and government sources said.

The Nigerian leader is spending between one and four hours a day in his office to conserve his energy levels, three diplomats and presidency sources said, deepening concerns he is too unwell to orchestrate reforms to the recession-hit OPEC economy.

Buhari has long been criticised by households and investors for his slow response to low global oil prices, which sent the naira currency tumbling and the broader economy into a tailspin.

When he travelled for treatment, his deputy embarked on initial steps to turn around Africa's largest economy before handing back the reins upon Buhari's return seven weeks later.

"Things are slowing down, particularly on the economic front, which is a concern," said one Western diplomat.

One official inside the president's office said the 74-year-old was due to return to Britain for further treatment in April. The presidency has not revealed the nature of Buhari's illness.

Buhari's two spokesmen declined comment on his medical needs or reduced working hours.

A post on the Twitter feed of spokesman Garba Shehu said Buhari had been working from home, even after most civil servants had left their offices.

Buhari's health will be in focus this week, when the International Monetary Fund is due to urge swift reforms - a verdict that risks derailing Abuja's hopes of securing $1.4 billion in international loans.

However, even some government insiders appear to be in the dark over the president's health and his reform plans.

"Everyone is trying to read Buhari's body language now he is back," said an adviser to the government, who did not want to be named.

REAL REFORM?

Buhari was in London between late January and early March for treatment.

Business leaders and diplomats have said that during his absence, the presidency acted with an energy rarely seen in the two years since his election. Civil servants said they were working longer hours and handling heftier workloads.

The central bank devalued the naira for retail customers, a move seen as testing the waters for a wider devaluation that Buhari has so far resisted.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo also oversaw the release of an economic reform plan required for a World Bank loan to help plug a forecast record deficit this year and finance infrastructure projects.

Even so, political observers and economists at the time questioned whether he was acting with Buhari's consent and had the authority to enact long-term reforms.

John Ashbourne, Africa economist at Capital Economics in London, said Buhari's return had opened up "the possibility for important decisions to be made".

"It was never likely that Osinbajo was going to really change directions during his time at the helm," said Ashbourne.

Two diplomats said, however, that Osinbajo has now been authorised by Buhari to hold talks with leaders in the restive Niger Delta region to quell unrest that has choked crude production, in a sign some newfound momentum may be retained.

The coming weeks may help signal how confident creditors are that Nigeria can haul its economy out recession. Finance ministry officials are preparing for further talks with the World Bank over a loan of at least $1 billion, and with the African Development Bank (AfDB) for a $400 million package.

($1 = 307.0000 naira) (Additional reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Ulf Laessing and Richard Lough)
TOKYO, March 27 (Reuters) - An avalanche in central Japan on Monday killed seven high school students and a teacher who were among a group of almost 50 on mountain climbing training, police said.

The avalanche swept down the hillside at around 8.30 a.m. near a ski slope in Nasu, 160 km (100 miles) north of Tokyo, where 40 high school students, accompanied by eight teachers, were climbing, a local government official said.

Thirty-eight of the group were injured and two were in critical condition, the official said, adding that there had been no fatal avalanches in the region for at least three years.

"We have avalanche incidents once or twice a year around here, but haven't had anything this big," a fire department official said.

An avalanche warning from a local meteorological observatory was in place for the area at the time of the accident.

A separate local government official said thee would be an investigation into why the group was climbing during an avalanche alert.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Nick Macfie)
By Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK, March 27 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Elissa Montanti can rattle off the stories without hesitation of the hundreds of wounded children who have come through the doors of her small New York charity to get medical help.

Marci, a five-year-old from Afghanistan, was shot in the face in a Taliban ambush. She lost her eye, and her father died trying to shield her.

Hamandani, nine, was hanging from a tree, trying not to be swept away in Indonesia's 2004 tsunami when he fell and crushed his arm.

And Sarki stumbled into a wood stove as a toddler living high in the Himalayas, a six-hour trek from the nearest passable road. Her burned arm healed into a frozen position, with a web-like hand.

They are among the more than 200 children injured in disaster or conflict and brought to the United States for surgery, prosthetics and other medical treatment, courtesy of Montanti's Global Medical Relief Fund (GMRF).

Almost all come more than once, especially when growing children need larger prosthetics, bringing the number of follow-up visits to about a thousand.

"All the kids are in my head and in my heart," said Montanti, who founded GMRF 20 years ago. "I love all of them.

"People say, 'Do you have kids?' and I say, 'Yeah, 200,'" she said with a laugh. "I look good for 200 kids."

Actually, those 200 plus children take a toll on Montanti, who puts them up in a four-bedroom house down the street from her own in the New York City borough of Staten Island.

"It's not 9 to 5," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a recent interview. "I'm up the street at 12, 1, 2 in the morning seeing who has a fever, who's got a cold."

And she gets some criticism.

"People say why don't you help kids here," she said. "These kids have no resources. Why shouldn't we help them? They don't have half of what we have."

GMRF has hosted children from the United States as well as 40 other countries, their lives shredded by war or calamity.

Some are missing limbs, and others are severely burned or disfigured. Some must be carried off airplanes when they arrive, she said.

Staying in New York City with Montanti, they are treated at no cost by the Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia. Some also have been treated by New York's Northwell Health hospital.

"HEALING AND LOVE"

The first to be helped by Montanti was a boy who lost both arms and a leg stepping on a landmine in Bosnia. Word spread, especially among U.S. soldiers who befriended young war victims and sought her help for them.

That brought her children like Ahmed, who lost his vision and an arm in an explosion in Iraq as he walked home for school at age seven.

This week, Montanti has four children with albinism from Tanzania who lost limbs in brutal attacks and need prosthetics. Albinos in Tanzania are targeted for body parts, which are highly valued in witchcraft and can fetch a high price.

The four children are on a return visit, having first come to the United States and Montanti two years ago for care.

At the same time, she has three amputee children from Nicaragua - two teenage boys who lost limbs in car accidents and the mischievous seven-year-old Alexis Pineda who was born missing one arm below the elbow.

Alexis likes to show off that he is adept at tying his shoes without his prosthetic but with it, he can grab things and use scissors, his mother said through an interpreter.

""There are a lot of bullies. In Nicaragua, they look at him. It's hard," said his mother, Cristian Marcela Pineda, who accompanied him to New York from Managua. "Now they can look at him but at least he has another hand."

Daniel Solis, 14, who lost his leg in a hit-and-run accident in his Nicaraguan hometown of Masaya, grabbed Montanti in a hug as he practiced walking on his prosthetic.

"We are best friends," he said in Spanish.

As the children grow up and move on, they stay in touch, often on Facebook, where Montanti said she recently got birthday greetings from children she helped from Bosnia in 1998.

"In this little house with four bedrooms, there's a lot of healing and love that goes on under the roof," she said. (Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)
By Serajul Quadir

DHAKA, March 27 (Reuters) - Bangladesh army commandos have killed four Islamist militants in the northeastern city of Sylhet during a raid on a building where they were holed up amid local residents, a senior army official said on Monday.

The commandos surrounded the five-storey building on Thursday evening but had to evacuate its 78 residents before they could begin their operation on Saturday to flush out the militants, he told reporters.

The militants had a large arms store in the building so the operation was still going on, he added.

"We are about to end the operation and now we confirm that so far four militants were killed, including a female militant," said Brigadier-General Fakhrul Ahsan.

"We have to carry out our remaining operation very carefully to avoid any risk," he added

Ahsan said two of the four bodies found in the building were wearing suicide vests and surrounded by dangerous explosives.

The commandos had stormed the hideout, which belonged to a domestic Islamist group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, because the group was blamed for a cafe attack in July 2016 in which 22 people were killed, most of them foreigners.

On Saturday, six people, including two police officers, were killed and over 40 were wounded - including about a dozen police - in two bomb blasts near the militant hideout in the Sylhet building.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility "for a bombing on Bangladeshi forces in Sylhet", the SITE monitoring service said, citing a report on the militant group's news agency Amaq that appeared to refer to that incident.

The explosions came a day after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security checkpoint near the country's main international airport in Dhaka, in an attack claimed by Islamic State.

Islamic State and al Qaeda have made competing claims over killings of foreigners, liberals and members of religious minorities in Bangladesh, a mostly Muslim country of 160 million people.

The government has consistently ruled out the presence of such groups, blaming domestic militants instead. (Reporting by Serajul Quadir; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
By Tom Finn and Kylie MacLellan

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Qatar pledged 5 billion pounds ($6.3 billion) of investment in Britain on Monday in a show of support for the world's fifth-largest economy just two days before Prime Minister Theresa May triggers formal Brexit talks.

The wealthy Gulf state has 40 billion pounds of investments in the United Kingdom, including high-profile London landmarks like the Shard skyscraper, Harrods department store, The Savoy hotel and a stake in the Canary Wharf financial district.

While the June 23 referendum vote to leave the European Union took many investors and chief executives by surprise, Qatar's top financial players used an investment conference in London to pledge support for Brexit Britain.

The head of the $335 billion Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) sovereign wealth fund said he saw opportunities in Britain, adding that the fund was focused on infrastructure, healthcare and technology.

"I am still looking, even after Brexit there will be opportunities QIA can really hunt for," QIA Chief Executive Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud al-Thani told the conference. "Whenever the (British) government would like the QIA to step in we are ready."

Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, said in a statement that Qatar expected to invest 5 billion pounds ($6.3 billion) in Britain over the next five years.

June's shock Brexit vote triggered the deepest political crisis in Britain since World War Two and the biggest ever one-day fall in sterling against the dollar, though the economy has continued to grow.

But Britain's exit from the EU -- probably in 2019 -- has raised a number of questions about future economic growth and whether London can retain its position as the only financial centre to challenge New York.

PM May is due on Wednesday to formally notify the EU of Britain's intention to leave the club it joined in 1973.

ENERGY PROVIDER

Qatar, which delivers 90 percent of Britain's imports of liquefied natural gas and is the world's biggest producer of the fuel, could play an important role in steeling the UK economy's against economic fallout during and after Brexit.

"The UK will have a new era post-Brexit ... The negotiations will start among Europeans and nobody is extremely clear about where the negotiations will lead to, however we can sense the possibility of the UK's manufacturing power going higher and with that the need for energy," Qatar's Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

"The UK's manufacturing and industrial sector thriving and going up is possible, and for that Qatar will always be there to supply the energy required. Certainly we can contribute to the UK's need," said Sada.

Sada said Qatar supported a free-trade agreement which the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, including Qatar and the two biggest Arab economies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are hoping to secure ahead of Brexit to ensure preferential arrangements with Britain.

"Qatar is supporting that. That would be excellent. Qatar will do its best to further this agreement," he said.

Sovereign and private investors from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have been prolific buyers of British assets in the past decade, snapping up billions of dollars worth of property, mostly in London.

Qatar has also sought to diversify its UK investments beyond real estate, including buying stakes in retailer J Sainsbury Plc and London Heathrow airport.

But Gulf states including Qatar are facing pressures of their own as they try to diversify their economies and boost non-oil trade after more than two years of low global oil prices that have hurt their finances.

Qatar, the wealthiest country in the world per capita, issued $9 billion of bonds last year and officials say they want to end the country's dependence on oil and gas by diversifying the economy as Doha prepares to host the 2022 soccer World Cup. (Writing by Tom Finn and Kate Holton; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Catherine Evans)
By Olesya Astakhova

MOSCOW, March 27 (Reuters) - Iran's president met Russia's prime minister on Monday in a bid to develop a warming relationship that has been greatly strengthened by both sides' involvement on the same side of the war in Syria.

Beginning a visit to Moscow, President Hassan Rouhani told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev: "I hope that a new turning-point in the development of our relations will be reached."

Iranian arms purchases and Russian investment in the Iranian energy sector are likely talking points for Rouhani, less than two months before Iran's May 19 presidential election.

Iranian media say he will discuss several economic agreements - potentially valuable prizes for the moderate leader, who is keen to show his people that Iran is benefiting from its 2015 deal with world powers to rein back its nuclear programme in returning for an easing of international sanctions.

"Rouhani desperately wants to finalise at least one deal based on new petroleum contracts before the election," said Reza Mostafavi Tabatabaei, an energy analyst and president of London-based ENEXD, a firm involved in the oil and gas equipment business in the Middle East.

"Western companies like (France's) Total are waiting for U.S. approval before any investment in Iran, so Rouhanis only chance is Russian companies that might sign a deal before the election."

As key allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia and Iran have played decisive roles in the past 18 months to turn the tide of the Syrian conflict in his favour.

When Russian jets used an airbase in Iran to launch attacks against militant targets in Syria last summer it was the first time Moscow had made a military deployment there since it was an occupying force in the 1940s.

Economic ties have developed in parallel: bilateral trade nearly doubled between January 2016 and January 2017, according to a statement by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development cited by the Sputnik news agency.

"The political and military relations right now between the Islamic Republic and Russia are the strongest that weve seen ever," said Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

WORRY FOR WASHINGTON

The rapprochement is a concern for both Saudi Arabia, Tehran's main rival for dominance in the Middle East, and for U.S. President Donald Trump, who has expressed an interest in working more closely with Russia but has issued a number of harsh statements about Iran.

After Iran carried out a ballistic missile test in late January, Trump tweeted that the Islamic Republic has been put "on notice" and moved quickly to issue new sanctions.

Of greatest probable concern to Washington is the sale of military hardware to the Islamic Republic. Last year, Russia provided Iran with its S-300 missile defense system, which had been purchased in 2007 but was stalled for years because of sanctions.

Senior Iranian defense officials have expressed interest in purchasing SU-30 fighter aircraft and T-90 tanks from Russia.

On the energy front, Russia played a key role last autumn in helping break a deadlock over OPEC output levels, where agreement had long been hampered by tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, OPEC and non-OPEC sources told Reuters at the time.

President Vladimir Putin personally intervened with both Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and Rouhani, leading to a landmark deal where Iran was allowed to boost oil production while Saudi Arabia agreed to a cut.

"Russias political, economic and military alliance with Tehran made it a unique mediator between Iran and Saudi Arabia, to lead them to a point that is beneficial to both, and also to Russia," Tabatabaei said.

Rouhanis economic team is expected to sign approximately a dozen memorandums of understanding during the visit, which will also include talks with Putin on Tuesday. (Additional reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
In a journey where ICT is making a strong impact towards globalization, digital transformation is the fuel to fire the engine. Avian Technologies (Pvt.) Ltd has taken the leadership to diversify its business in digital space. The event was the first-ever move in this nature to invite over 100 top corporate customers under one roof to share how the digital future will be better with Dell EMC and innovative Microsoft solutions.

Starting the Avian Corporate Night, Avian Group Director Buddhika Liyanage warmly welcome the special invitees and shared the company vision for the future. The event was appeared by over 100 senior management level executives from leading corporates. The event was graced by the special guest Dell EMC Sri Lanka and the Maldives Country Manager Roshan Nugawela.

Addressing the gathering Nugawela said, Avian has won the best commercial partner award consecutively since 2014 and still growing strength to strength in its sales and technical support.

Microsoft General Manager South East Asia New Markets Michelle Simmons said, Sri Lanka is the fastest growing country in South East Asia for Microsoft Cloud Solutions, according to a recent research in Asia. Two key factors could impact the digital transformation, empowering employees and engaging customers, which Office 365 will enable you better.

Avian is fully geared with solutions for the digital transformation, which the country needs and innovative business strategies are in place to enjoy the first move advantage.

As a leading ICT solutions provider, Avian Technologies is a US $ 5 million company at present with a staff strength of 70 people and pushing the bar to surpass US $ 10 million annual turnover by end-2017/2018 financial year. The company operates in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The organisation is diversifying into new ventures and partnerships.

Avian has, from its inception, maintained its reputation in the ICT sector by providing the most robust and reliable services and solutions to its esteemed clientele. At the event, the customers endorsed the support extended by the sales and technical team at Avian over the past many years.

The company has been a leader in the information security sector and now has expanded towards new segments. Solutions such as mobile security, ATM security, POS security, industrial cyber security, data centres, storage, security for virtualization, intelligence solutions, information management, cloud solutions bandwidth management and managed services are to name but a few.

Today, some of the worlds leading brands have appointed Avian for its core competencies and values and its proven ability to take brands to greater heights. Avian is proud to announce the sole distributorship for Kaspersky and also the distributorship for Cyberoam-Sophos, 24 Online & Spam Titan while aggressively positioning Microsoft cloud solutions and Dell as an award-winning partner, followed by VMWare, HP, Cisco & APC for multiple ICT requirements.

The company will be nurturing into more brands in the next few years. The customer-oriented sales and marketing team, dedicated 24x7 customer support hotline for Dell products and highly skilled technical team, have contributed greatly towards the success of the business.

The company is focused in driving innovative entrepreneurship, corporate diversity, regional expansion, in-organic growth, new partnerships and partner recognition and is passionate about investing to increase marketing excellence to be the leading ICT solutions provider in Sri Lanka.
Newly appointed European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice President responsible for South Asia, Andrew McDowell is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka this evening on a historic visit to explore new opportunities for future investment.

A high-level delegation from the EIB, the worlds largest international public bank, will make the three day official visit to Sri Lanka at the start of a South Asia regional tour.

Vice President McDowell is scheduled to discuss recent engagement and future investment with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and senior government ministers, business leaders, members of the diplomatic community and local and international financial institutions.

He will also inspect ongoing construction work to upgrade wastewater infrastructure in Colombo financed by the EIB in conjunction with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Issuing a press release ahead of the Vice Presidents visit, the EIB said the visit represents the first visit of a Bank Vice President to Sri Lanka in more than five years.

The EIBs visit to Sri Lanka builds on the fruitful discussions with Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake following the Banks first ever support for water investment in Sri Lanka and the first loan for public sector investment agreed with the government, Vice President McDowell said before his arrival in Colombo.

Tomorrow, the Delegation is scheduled to visit a number of sites around Colombo to see how new investment is improving the supply of clean water and treatment of waste water in Colombo.

I look forward to seeing at first hand the hard work being done across Colombo to improve water services for inhabitants and discussions with government ministers and other Sri Lankan partners how the EIBs unique global experience can contribute to strengthening new sustainable development and climate related investment across the country, said Vice President McDowell.

In January, the EIB agreed to provide EUR 50 million to support improvement and expansion of sewage networks across the Sri Lankan capital Colombo.

The new water investment programme will include provision of a new sewage network in currently un-served areas of Kirillopone. Under the initiative a new wastewater treatment facility will also be built to reduce pollution at the Wellawata sea outfall.

The ADB will also support the water investment project and this new initiative marks the first time that the EIB has financed a project alongside another International Financial Institution in Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, Tung-Lai Margue, EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives said the visit by the EIB is an opportunity for the Sri Lankan Government to showcase their plans for the sustainable development of the country.

I am confident that strengthened engagement by the EIB will lead to new investment across the key sectors that are vital for the modernisation of the country's infrastructure. These investments have the potential to deliver benefits for all Sri Lankans, he said.
Former Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa has rejected news reports published by AL Jazeera and AFP that he operated a death squad with the intention of silencing his critics.

On March 20, foreign news agencies reported that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) had told the Mt. Lavinia Magistrate's Court that Mr. Rajapaksa led a top secret death squad, targeting journalists and dissidents.

The news report said the alleged unit was also accused of assassinating former Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunge.

Sending a letter to AL Jazeera and AFP news through his lawyer on March 23, Mr. Rajapaksa had said the news was a blatant lie because the Police Report did not refer to Mr. Rajapaksa per se.

I have instructed by my client that in any event, no report whatsoever was read out in court implicating my client as mentioned in your news item, Counsel Sanath Wijewardane, the lawyer of Mr. Rajapaksa, said in this letter.

The letter said Mr. Sarath Fonseka, who gave a testimony in connection with the series of incidents, would attempt to divert the attention of the investigation and it was not possible to operate any Army unit and/or deployment without the sanction and/or approval of the Army Commander.

In any event, my client, during the said time period was a civilian and had no direct links to operate any military or other deployment. Therefore, Im instructed by my client to write to you demanding an immediate correction of the distorted and false publication carried out by you, the letter said.

Meanwhile, MP Udaya Gammanpila, who also released the letter to media during a news conference today, said legal action against such fake news would be considered and taken in the event a correction was not made by the respective news publishers. (Lahiru Pothmulla)

Video by RM
Former minister Mervyn Silva said yesterday he hoped to launch a new political party which would be open for politicians who had faced injustice because of the actions of their political parties or leaders.

If someone has had to face injustice like what happened to me, I invite them to join us. I thought of forming the party not for me but for those who faced injustices for political reasons. I will not the leader of the party. I will be the chairman. We will appoint an educated youth leader for the party, he said.

Mr. Silva said even he did not know whether he was in the SLFP and added that he respected the UNP where everyone was treated equally without any hatred.

He said his party will not tolerate anyone who wanted to make money and that luxury lifestyles, family politics and luxury vehicles would not be allowed.

We will not allow duty free vehicles; food from the canteen for the parliamentarians elected through our party.

Even for the president, there will be no president's houses or vehicles. Animal sacrifice will not be allowed at any cost," Mr. Silva said and added that they were working out the policies which would govern the party.

He said those who joined his party should have money to serve the people and should be willing to make contributions for social services.

Mr. Silva said the party would be launched from Anuradhapura after religious activities.

When asked about the UNHRC allegation of human rights violation against Sri Lanka, he said if they investigated human rights violations, the violation of human rights by the Portuguese, Dutch and English should also be investigated. (Ajith Siriwardana)

Video by RM
Tamil Nadu superstar Rajinikanth on Saturday announced that he had decided not to attend an event to be held in Vavuniya on April 10 to hand over keys to 150 houses built by an Indian firm for people displaced by the war.



His decision appears to have come in the wake of opposition from Tamil Nadus pro-LTTE groups, including the Viduthalai Chriuthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK).



Rajinikanth was supposed to inaugurate the housing scheme built by the Lyca Groups Gnanam Foundation, which is known to be funding the popular actors sci-fi entertainer 2.0 as well. He was also expected to participate in several other events in Jaffna. Referring to their protest against the actors visit to Sri Lanka, Thirumavalavan, VCKs vociferous pro-LTTE leader claimed that Lyca had business ties with the Sri Lankan Government and it had still not yet resettled the Tamils displaced by the war or to take legal action against the people guilty of alleged human rights violations.



Thirumavalavan argued that the Sri Lankan Government could use Rajinikanths visit to mislead the international community about the resettlement of the displaced Sri Lankan Tamils. Acceding to the protests, Rajinikanth said in a three-page statement that he would not participate in the event even though he disagreed with the reasons given by MDMK and VCK leaders Vaiko and Thirumavalavan. He had also requested them not to politicize the issue, if he got an opportunity of meeting the Sri Lankan Tamils in the future.



A statement from Lycas Gnanam Foundation said that baseless rumours had been fabricated by their business competitors, stating that they have a business relationship with the former Rajapaksa regime. Our continuous actions to date have proved that such reports are untrue and unfounded, it said. The negative environment surrounding the aid programmes of a charity has been created to further the political gains of some elements.



The whole episode again points to the attitude of the Tamil Nadu politicians with regard to the welfare of the Sri Lankan Tamils in whose name they issue statements, launch demonstrations and even persuade people to self-immolate. In this instance, they had not respected the feelings of the Sri Lankan Tamils who were craving for a chance to see their celluloid super hero on their own land. The detractors are attempting to disrupt development activities carried out in the North just because the Sri Lankan Government might be be benefited by helping the Tamils. In other words they want the North and the East to be ignored so that they will have the opportunity to continue accusing the Sri Lankan Government of ignoring the Tamils and thus gain political mileage.The actor himself had said that he wanted to visit Sri Lanka to interact with Sri Lankan Tamils and participate in a charity-related project that would benefit them.



These are the same people who speak for those who plunder the aquatic resources and the livelihood of Sri Lankan fishermen in the North and East, while influencing their own people to set themselves on fire on behalf of Eelam Tamils.



They do not like people-to-people contacts being developed between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. That was the reason behind the attacks on the Sri Lankan pilgrims, students, sportsmen and religious leaders who visited their State a few years ago. Having known this, the superstar requested them not to politicize the issue if he met the Sri Lankans in the future. Apart from this they do not like the Indian politicians or important personalities visiting the North and the East to prevent them from contesting the exaggerated versions painted by the detractors about the situation in the Tamil-dominated areas of the island.



It has to be noted that the opposition came only a day after the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted the resolution on Friday that gave Sri Lanka two more years to fulfil its commitments for reconciliation and transitional justice. Parties in Tamil Nadu had vehemently protested giving more time to Sri Lanka, in spite of the main Tamil coalition representing the people affected by the war here, the TNA having welcomed it. It has also to be noted that Tamil Nadu leaders opposed Rajinis visit on the grounds that the government was yet to resettle the Tamils displaced by the war, while opposing the launching of a housing scheme which was meant for resettlement. Can there be a better case of hypocrisy amid the Superstar himself saying he disagrees with the reasons given by MDMK and VCK leaders.
The ever-evolving global smartphone brand OPPO, kick startedthe Group Selfie trend today by launching the new Selfie Expert F3 Plus, priced at Rs69,990.The F3 Plus features the brands first dual front selfie camera including a first-ever120-degree wide-angle Group Selfie Camera. The F3 Plusfirst sale will be on April 1st 2017 in all regions across Sri Lanka.

OPPOs New Brand Ambassador, youth icon and Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone and renowned Indian Photographer  Dabboo Ratnani also shared their own selfie experience with OPPO F3 Plus during the event.

OPPO F3 Plus delivers great selfie photos through the revolutionary dual selfie front cameras: a 16-megapixel camera for selfie and a 120 degree wide angle lens for group selfie.The rear camera is co-developed with Sony, equipped with a customized IMX398 sensor for serious photography. The F3 Plus is a high-end smartphone that is efficient, long-lasting, secure and beautiful, addressing todays highly demanding mobile first world.

OPPO is an industry leader in the Selfie Revolution with the recent Selfie Experts F-series. Our brand has been growing rapidly across Southeast Asia and other regions around the world. As per the GFK data, we becamethe No.2 smartphone brand in India offline market last year. The dual selfie camera F3 Pluswill mark a new Group Selfie trendand reinforce our position as the Selfie Expert, said Sky Li, Global VP & President of OPPO India.

Remarkable Wide-Angle &Dual-Front Selfie Camera Define the Next Expert-Class Photography







Set to be the next ultimate Selfie Expert, the F3 Plusfeatures dual front selfie camera.The 16-megapixel front camera builds upon the technology offered by the earlier Selfie Expert F1s. At the core of this camera is a 1/3-inch sensor, which helps increase light exposure and clarity to images. The large f/2.0 apertureallows for great depth-of-field effects  clear foreground focus matched with the perfect amount of background blurriness.



In becoming the Group Selfie secret weapon, the F3 Plus has aspecialized 120-degree wide-angle 8MP camera which captures a wider view, 105 percent more than a regular 80 degree lens field of view. This allows even more people to enter the frame with minimized lens distortion, thanks to the 6P camera lens. The camera also packs an eight-megapixel camera featuring a -inch sensor.



By built in Smart Facial Recognition, F3 Plus will notify users to switch to Group Selfie modeif there are more than three persons in the frame. Users can snap their Group Selfie at ease, without compromising image stability when taking selfie with one hand.

The outstanding rear camera offers professional and high-end photography performance with fast focusing speed, noise reduction and advanced low-light performance.Powering the 16 megapixel rear camera is a brand-new 1/2.8 inch IMX398 sensor. This sensor is jointly developed by OPPO and Sony, which features Dual PDAF  dual phase detection autofocus technology. This next technology doubles the sensors pixel array area thats filled with photodiodes,necessary for phase detection autofocus. This makes for 40 percent faster focusing speeds even in low light. Paired with the large f/1.7 aperture, the resulting images are clear and breathtaking.

There are other innovative technologies packed into the F3 Plus to help users capture picture-perfect, flawless selfies. OPPOs pioneering beautification editing software, Beautify 4.0,will allow users to choose from various beautification modes, ensuring images presenting the favorable effects.

Long battery endurance and VOOC flash charge

Extended daily usage is another of the devices core features. The 4,000 mAh built in battery gives the F3 Plus a standby time of more than 284 hours . Through OPPOs proprietary and industry leading rapid VOOC Flash Charge Solution, the battery will charge four times faster than standard batteries. Users can get up to 2 hours of talk time with just 5 minutes of charging.

A Flawless Smartphone Experience

The OPPO F3 Plusis fast, utilizing an octa-core processor backed by 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM. It also offers a dual-slot card tray that can hold two Nano 4G SIM cards or one Nano SIM card with amicroSD card, expandingmemory to up to 256GB. OPPOs leading optimized ColorOS 3.0 system ensures superb speed with less energy consumptionand flawless performance with built-in Privacy Protection feature and Avast-based virus scanner.

Privacy protection and security is alsoa top priority. The F3 PlusLightning-Fast Touch Access is undoubtedly one of the quickest in the market. The home button fingerprint reader in the F3 Plus unlocks the phone in a mere 0.2s. The fingerprint reader is even more versatile with the fingerprint-activated calling and app launch functions.

Users can enjoy the flexibility to multi-task and work hard, snap hard, all on one smartphone  seamlessly, securely, with a long battery life.

Stunning Design and Exquisite Craftsmanship

The F3 Plusis constructed with a metal unibody and carefully crafted for a better sense of hand-gripping, resulting in a sleek and thin smartphone that is a wonder to hold. The 6-inch, 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 screen features a pre-applied protective screen coating, giving it an elegant, classy and premium lookwhile retaining unmatched durability.

The six-string ultra-fine antennais re-thinkingdesign by OPPO, removing the ubiquitous, thick pair of white antenna lines of smartphone and make the back shell a stunning look.

Amazing Colors & Competitive Pricing

The F3 Pluscomes in Gold and Black.Priced at Rs.69,990, the Gold variant of the F3 Plus will be available from 1st April 2017in OPPO stores across Sri Lanka. The pre-order starts from today till 31st March 2017. There is also a Black color variant for the F3 Plus which will be available later.

Take selfie with Deepika Padukone and Dabboo Ratnani

At the event OPPO announced its new brand ambassador the youth icon and Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone. Deepika Padukone shared her experience of how excited she is to be a part of the OPPO family and kick start the Group Selfie trend with the OPPO F3 Plus. Its amazing to see the way OPPO has identified the nerves of the Indian youth and the trend  Selfies. Wherever I go, I find people taking selfies and excited to I have also joined the wagon! said Deepika Padukone. OPPO also shared the new TVC at the launch event.

Renowned photographers, also shared their experience in associating with the F3 Plus and how they are looking forward to use the great technology that OPPO F3 Plus will offer and which will take selfies a notch further.

OPPO F3 Plus Key Features:

Screen size : 6.0 inches

Front camera : 16-megapixel with 1/3-inch sensor

8-megapixel with 1/4-inch sensor, 120wide angle

Rearcamera : 16-megapixel, 1/2.8-inch IMX 398 sensor, F/1.7Dual PDAF

Touch Access : 0.2s solid fingerprint recognition + fingerprint-activated calling and app launch

RAM : 4 GB

ROM : 64 GB (Support extension to 256GB with microSD)

Battery : 4000 mAh (Typical) Li-Po Battery VOOCFlash Charging

Processor : Qualcomm MSM8976 Pro

Flash : Flash

SIM Card Type : Dual nano-SIM, 4G supported
ISLAMABAD REUTERS March 27- Pakistan has begun building a fence on its disputed 2,500 km (1,500 mile) border with Afghanistan to prevent incursions by militants, Pakistans army chief said, in a move likely to further strain relations between the two countries.



Pakistan has blamed Pakistani Taliban militants it says are based on Afghan soil for a spate of attacks at home in recent months, urging Kabul to eradicate sanctuaries for militants.



Citing the attacks, Islamabad earlier this month temporarily shut the main crossing points along the colonial-era Durand Line border, drawn up in 1893 and rejected by Afghanistan.



General Qamar Javed Bajwa said initial fencing will focus on high threat zones of Bajaur and Mohmand agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which border eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar.
The Gnanam Foundation which built 150 homes for Tamils in Jaffna has said the decision of Kollywood Star Rajinikanth to cancel his visit to Sri Lanka to unveil the houses was an outcome of politicians acting on lies and rumours

According to India Today, Gnanam; the NGO owned by Lyca, has released a discreet statement stating that the event was scheduled to provide 150 homes to war torn Tamil families from Vavuniya.

"An event to hand over the deeds of the newly built houses to the 150 families was going to be held on April 9 in Jaffna. Superstar Rajinikanth was invited to take part in this momentous charity and he readily agreed," said the statement.

Rajinikanth had agreed to visit Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar, Triconamalee and Batticaloa which were all LTTE strongholds earlier.

He had specifically mentioned that he wished to visit the place where the 'holy war' occurred and it was not right to politicise it.

Lyca's Gnanam foundation regretfully expressed that they do not want the superstar to be subjected to any uncomfortable and embarrassing situation.

Lyca also wanted to make it clear that many baseless rumours are being spread by business competitors regarding relationship with Rajapaksa and called these rumours untrue and unfounded.

"The actions of some Tamil Nadu politicians who repeatedly speak out in support of those who are attempting to gain petty advantage by spreading rumours like these should be condemned," said Gnanam foundation.

Lyca's Gnanam foundation also alleged that these politicians did nothing to alleviate the suffering and hardship of the people affected by the war.

However, Lyca did not answer the major claim by the Tamil politicians who are raising the concerns of their Eelam counterparts seeking the army to return the occupied Tamil lands.
Cashew processing company Royal Cashews, has teamed up with New Zealand Honey Company to introduce world famous Manuka Honey and other specialty honey products to Sri Lankan consumers.

New Zealand Honey Company that produces best honey products in the world has appointed Royal Food Marketing Company as its sales agent in Sri Lanka and Maldives from 2015.

Manuka Honey product is rich with natural UMF 5+ and UMF 10+ (Unique Manuka Factor) as it is made with natural nectar that bees collect only from Manuka flowers. Manuka flowers produce valuable enzymes that no other flower produces. Heart ailments, cancer and ailments in the stomach are caused by micro-organisms and Manuka Honey has the capacity and ability to control these microbes. It also enhances

human vigour.

Manuka Honey is rich with Ayurwedic merits and qualities. Its usage contributes towards better eyesight, reducing body weight, overcome impotence, controlling asthma and diarrhea, relief for ailments in the bladder area. For beautification purposes good quality honey is required. Manuka Honey with its special Ayurwedic goodness is best for Salons to use for beautification purposes.

Three flavours of world famous Manuka Honey can be now purchased in Sri Lanka. Lemon, Cinnamon and Ginger are these three flavours. Other honey products manufactured by the New Zealand Honey Company are; Beach Forest, Thyme, Kamahi, Rata, Clover and Eco Forest Specialty Honey.

All these products are now available in Royal Cashews outlets situated at Crescat (Colombo 03), World Trade Centre, Liberty Plaza, ODEL, Arcade (Independence Square), K-Zone (Ja Ela and Moratuwa), Kandy Uptown, Royal Mall-Kandy, Southern Highway (Welipenna stop), Negombo, Arpico Supercentres and Laksala-Colombo.

Royal Food Marketing Managing Director Dr. Ruwan Wathugala said his company partnered with New Zealand Honey Company in 2015.

I started cashew processing business in 1999 as a hobby. Within a very short span we were able to secure local market and were venturing into foreign markets. At the time New Zealand Honey Company was testing new flavours of their world famous honey products. They were in need of best quality cinnamon. We catered to that need successfully. In the process, we were able to introduce best cinnamon products of Sri Lanka to the world. We are happy for being able to offer Sri Lankans the very best honey products in the world made by New Zealand Honey Company, he added.

Royal Food Marketing Company commissioned in 1999 has ISO 22000, HACCP and GMP standard certifications. It is the foremost cashew processing company in Sri Lanka conferred with ISO 22000.

Royal Cashews products come in diverse mouth-watering tastes. These products are marketed with 19 tastes in 682 types of containers and in 101 containers specially made for gifting purposes.

Research and development wing of the company has experimented and introduced cashews with tastes that are unique to the company. These tastes include; Cheese and Onion, Sugar coated, Chilli Garlic, Hot Pepper, BBQ, Chilli Seasoning, Spanish Tomato, Salt Extra Fine, Shrimp & Red Onion and Sour Cream & Onion.

In addition to this varieties, Sri Lankan authentic cashew curry canned and exported as Royal Cashew Nut Curry by the company has created a heavy demand by foreign countries. The company sources and selects the best quality raw cashew nuts from Sri Lankan cashew cultivations for processing.

Royal Cashews products are exported to Malaysia, Japan, USA, UK, New Zeeland, Germany, Australia, Austria, Maldives and Saudi Arabia.
This years theme at the annually held Sadaharitha Forestry Awards was Beyond the Horizon and the spectacular evening bestowed a galaxy of best performers with honour, recognition and awards to motivate them to reach greater heights.

This year is a significant milestone for Sadaharitha Plantations because the company is celebrating its 15th year in commercial forestry having rapidly achieved market leadership within a short span of time.

This years winners were recognized for their achievements in the calendar year of 2016. The winners received jubilant fanfare from their peers in the audience. The sales force and staff members of over 700 that filled the Banquet & Convention Hall at Eagles Lakeside, in Attidiya were from 32 branches spread across the country.

Sadaharitha Group of Companies Chairman Sathis Nawarathne addressed the audience and outlined his ambitious plans for the company.

We are now focusing strongly on research and development that will help us to expand the scope of business in commercial forestry so that the nation can achieve a higher level of forest cover. This will significantly help to protect and safeguard the planet, making it green and fertile while encouraging more and more customers to use commercial forestry as the preferred mode of financial investment, he said.

Agarwood is fast developing as the way forward to win in the international arena, perhaps overtaking Sri Lankas traditional exports. The business of manufacturing new fragrances that appeal to todays young men and women is taking giant strides and this will result in a flourishing export potential for agarwood.

The awards presented at this years Sadaharitha Forestry Awards demonstrated the diligent and professional approach to forestry that is the hallmark of Sadaharitha Plantations. Homagama 1 was named as Best Branch amidst resounding cheers. The Top Five Gold Award winners were J.H. Nihal Tissera from Region 1, who was adjudged Best Regional Manager, while the rest of the Golds were presented to winners from Homagama 1. J.A.D.S.M.S. Manathunga emerged Best Promotions Officer. M.M.C.K. Manathunga was Best Business Promotions Executive while K.V.G.S.N. Anuradha was named Best Marketing Executive (Team) with R.L. Wettasinghe adjudged Best Branch Sales Manager. Altogether over 130 awards, 29 overseas tours and cash awards were presented. Long Service Awards were presented to six employees who have served over 10 years.

Sadaharitha has 2,000 acres of commercial forestry and counts over 26,000 customers who have invested in commercial forestry and recently launched a novel propaganda vehicle that can be turned quickly into a comfortable mobile office for the convenience of customers. The concept of a two-in-one vehicle to promote forestry is perhaps for the first time in Sri Lanka.
Tokyo, (Daily Mail, London), 27 March 2017 - About 70 Japanese schoolchildren and teachers were said to be at a ski resort near Tokyo when an avalanche struck, injuring many and several feared dead.



Six people were found at the resort showing no vital signs and three are missing, reports Japans Kyodo news agency.



Two students and one teacher were also injured, according to fire officials, who received the emergency call around 9.20am UTC.The avalanche hit the Nasu Onsen Family Ski Resort in Tochigi prefecture north of Tokyo Monday morning.



Students from various high schools were participating in a climbing event there that began Saturday and was supposed to conclude around noon Monday.



Officials are investigating whether more people are missing or injured.



There was an unusually heavy snowfall in the region over the past two days and avalanche warnings had been in effect, according to the Japan Meteorological.
Sri Lankas trade deficit in 2016 widened 8.4 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US $ 9.09 billion with export earnings falling 2.2 percent YoY to US $ 10.3 billion, while the expenditure on imports rising 2.5 percent YoY to US $ 19.4 billion, the countrys Central Bank said.

According to the bank, the largest contribution to the decline in export earnings came from transport equipment as a result of the base effect, while petroleum products, tea and spices also contributed negatively.

The agricultural exports during 2016 fell 6.3 percent YoY to US $ 2.33 billion largely due to the earnings from tea exports falling 5.3 percent YoY to US $ 1.27 billion. Spice exports also fell 16 percent YoY to US $ 317.1 million. Apparel exports during 2016 rose a modest 1.3 percent YoY to US $ 4.88 billion. Export of rubber products, which mainly consist of tyres, rose 0.9 percent YoY to US $ 767.9 million.

Seafood exports during the year also rose 4 percent YoY to US $ 169.6 million. The European Union lifted the ban of fisheries products from Sri Lanka in the mid part of 2016.

The export income in December rose 4.7 percent YoY to US $ 859 million.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank said the cumulative import expenditure in 2016 was boosted mainly due to higher imports of machinery and equipment, textiles and textile articles and gold.

In addition, building material, sugar and confectionery and medical and pharmaceuticals also contributed considerably to the increase in import expenditure.

The import expenditure on investment goods, which includes machinery, building material and transport equipment, rose 13.8 percent YoY to US $ 5.2 billion in 2016.

However, the import expenditure on vehicle imports during 2016 fell 41.5 percent YoY to US $ 794.8 million, while the full-year fuel bill also fell 8.1 percent YoY to US $ 2.48 billion.

However, the Central Bank said the December fuel bill rose 51.8 percent YoY to US $ 328.2 million due to the higher refined petroleum and coal imports for thermal and coal power generation as a result of the prevailing drought.

The import expenditure in December rose 10.4 percent YoY to US $ 1.81 billion.

On a positive note, the income from tourism and workers remittances rose 18 percent and 3.7 percent YoY to US $ 3.52 billion and US $ 7.24 billion, respectively, in 2016.

Inflows to the Colombo Stock Exchange during 2016 rose 375.3 percent YoY to US $ 19.1 million.

However, during the year 2016, the overall BOP is estimated to have recorded a deficit of US $ 499.7 million, in comparison to a deficit of US $ 1.48 billion recorded during 2015.
As much as consumers need to be vigilant and informed about their rights, it is the duty of law enforcement agencies to keep spurious practices adopted by companies in check. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the safety of the public by controlling the many businesses that violate consumer rights.

During the launching of the book titled Paaribhogika Aythiyata Janatha Magak, authored by National Movement of Consumer Rights Protection President Ranjith Vithanage to mark the Consumer Rights Day, this serious concern was taken up by former Human Rights Commissioner and Rights Activist Dr. Prathiba Mahanamahewa, Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) CEO Dilanthe Vithanage and former PRECIFAC Secretary Lacille De Silva. They discussed how consumers have been ignored and why. The book raises awareness among consumers about how they have been ignored by consecutive governments and stakeholders, and provides information on how to act and react in such situations.

CAA has failed to protect consumer rights

- Dr. Prathiba Mahanamahewa Former Human Rights Commissioner and Rights Activist

Former Human Rights Commissioner and Rights Activist Prathiba Mahanamahewa acknowledged that consumers have been ignored even on the World Consumer Day.

The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has failed to protect consumer rights. In Sri Lanka, we witness several issues aimed at consumers, and the main one is the government postponing local government elections -- a foremost right of consumers. The government and the Elections Commission are ignoring it. The consumers must unanimously fight for the preservation of laws that govern consumer rights. Also, illegal maritime fishing by Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters is a long-standing issue the government has not yet resolved, he said.

On the one hand, traders have been violating consumer rights, and on the other, relevant government authorities instituted to administer such affairs have failed to take apt and stringent measures against those traders.

"At a time when the entire world is discussing about building a digital world trusted by consumers, we in Sri Lanka have failed even to protect basic consumer rights"



At a time when the entire world is discussing about building a digital world trusted by consumers, we in Sri Lanka have failed even to protect basic consumer rights. A consumer has the right to receive an acknowledgment for a paid service. Although people receive receipts for services today, they are unable to lodge a proper complaint in case there were faults in the service. The government has given priority for companies and not consumers. Government and non-governmental institutions that continue to violate consumer rights only see the mistakes committed by the consumers. The need of the hour is for consumers to voice their concerns, Dr. Mahanamahewa said.

All dealings should abide by the law

- Dilanthe Vithanage Bodu Bala SenaCEO

Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) CEO Dilanthe Vithanage said the society needed to build a digital world that consumers could trust.

Compared to other countries in the world, the place given for consumer rights in Sri Lanka is far below average. Other countries constantly investigate and verify if the entities elected to protect consumer rights abide by the Rule of Law.

If consumers complaints are found to be genuine, then strict action is taken against the particular business and the judiciary may order it to compensate the victim. However, this is not the practice in Sri Lanka. CAA, the main regulatory body in this context, should guide the consumers as well as the businesses. State authorities should ensure that all dealings in this process abide by the law. They need to be responsive to all types of queries. The consumers should urge the relevant authorities to enact digital consumer rights protection laws as the country is driven in the wrong direction in protecting consumer rights. The consumers in Sri Lanka remain disheartened to the point they are left to think twice on the guidance provided by CAA.

"Compared to other countries in the world, the place given for consumer rights in Sri Lanka is far below average"



The internet has changed the lifestyle of people. The society has adapted to new technologies. Many companies use their own databases to spam consumers through emails, which is ethically wrong. Government authorities should be aware of these malpractices. If not, the general public will be misled. During the previous regime, we formulated a consumer protection policy by adding key fields including education, healthcare, food and transport that are directly applicable to consumers. But, with the Yahapalana government coming to power, this policy has been sidelined. Today, the government authorities treat consumers like slaves, Mr. Vithanage said.

Ministers lavishly spending public funds

- Lacille De Silva Former PRECIFAC Secretary

Former PRECIFAC Secretary Lacille De Silva said lack of proper economic behaviour resulted in consumer ignorance.

A UN report stated that the allowances obtained by ministers couldnt be increased above 7%. But, unfortunately, the allowances obtained by the Cabinet ministers in Sri Lanka have soared to some 30-40%. Although ministers are not supposed to obtain allowances for their vehicles and for the maintenance of their premises, the ones in our country lavishly spend public funds for their personal use.

On the other hand, students are not seen actively involved in educational activities and the hospitals keep running out of medicine, he said.

"students are not seen actively involved in educational activities and the hospitals keep running out of medicine"



Mr. De Silva said lack of knowledge on rights and duties and the dearth of resources to pursue them were a few among the numerous challenges faced by consumers. Consumer rights that were limited to safety, information, choice and the right to be heard, have now progressed to rights to satisfaction of basic need, consumer education, redress and rights to a healthier environment. He emphasized the need for an effective mechanism for consumer protection.
Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance on Sunday entered a military airport held by the Islamic State jihadist group in northern Syria, a spokesman said.



The advance on Tabqa airbase comes as the alliance prepares an attack on ISs de facto Syrian capital Raqa, seeking to effectively surround the city before launching its assault.



SDF forces are also battling for the nearby Tabqa dam, held by IS, which was forced out of service on Sunday after its power station was damaged, a technical source there told AFP.

SDF spokesman Talal Sello said clashes were ongoing at Tabqa airbase, which IS captured in 2014.

The SDF has taken control of more than 50 percent of Tabqa military airport. Fighting is ongoing inside the airport and its surroundings and full control of the airport is expected within the next few hours, he said.



In a seperate report BBC reported the rebels had taken full control of the air base.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said IS forces had withdrawn from the airbase under heavy artillery fire and US-led coalition air strikes



IS seized the base from government troops in August 2014 and carried out one of its worst massacres there, killing up to 200 government soldiers.



Earlier this week, US forces airlifted SDF fighters behind IS lines to allow them to launch the Tabqa assault, and on Friday the alliance reached one of the dams entrances.

BEIRUT AFP March26, 2017
Sandeep Chaudhary is CEO of the Indian business of globally renowned Aon Hewitt Consultants. He is also a well-known news anchor for business in India. Chaudhary says the fundamental education philosophy in South Asia needs to undergo a major change because the education system in Asia has not met the requirements of the industry.

Following are the excerpts from the interview.

What attracted Aon Hewitt to partner with a government policy institution like the National Human Resource Development Council (NHRDC) of Sri Lanka in conducting Sri Lanka Human Capital Summit 2016?

There was a strong purpose and intent behind this summit. Human Capital Summit 2016 was not just a conference that deliberated on issues and challenges at the workplace but has built a platform to create a human capital agenda for the nation. It is indeed very difficult to augment a collaborative environment of industry leaders, subject matter experts and policymakers to address a national issue with the same zest and enthusiasm. It is this enthusiasm and zeal that attracted Aon Hewitt to partner with the NHRDC.

How has Human Capital Summit 2016 helped in addressing the workforce challenges of the future?

The first and most important point of success is that the summit targeted the key sectors that are vital for the economic growth of the nation and those that have the potential to create over a million job opportunities. This helped in formulating industry-specific strategies and action plans. There were several novel and interesting recommendations that the panel made across all sectors. For example, in the tourism and hospitality sector, the panel deliberated the importance of developing an integrated approach towards branding Sri Lanka and its core attributes in all export products and services.

What are the key enablers that will help build a future-ready workforce for Sri Lanka?

The work environment of the future is going to be highly unpredictable and uncertain. Hence, it is important that the workforce of the future is adaptable and comfortable in dealing with ambiguity. A critical skill that the future workforce needs to develop is the ability to make sense of data and take smart decisions based on the same. Technology is going to be a constant source of disruption in the market place, embracing technology and coping with its speed is going to be essential. Developing design thinking to solve customers problems, using innovative solutions will be a differentiator. Most importantly, developing an entrepreneurial mindset, ability to take risks and at the same time, being empathetic to the customers and community will help the country grow leaps and bounds.

What are the sectors that will need critical attention from a skill-development standpoint for Sri Lanka?

Skill development is a key focus area that has been recommended by the panel across all identified sectors  tourism and hospitality, services, logistics and maritime, manufacturing and construction and foreign employment. It is the need of the hour for Sri Lanka to upskill talent across all the identified sectors. Skill development must be aligned to the growth direction of the sector. Sector-specific skills and competencies need to be identified and developed in order to steer performance. Looking at how things are changing over the last decade, it is evident that technology plays a major role in transforming the foundational business models. Technology has been a constant enabler of change in organisations and the worlds economies at large. In a very quick time frame, it has been able to revolutionize organisations relationships with customers and employees. In my view, developing skills in cutting-edge technology will help Sri Lanka to fast track its economic growth.

Lack of employable talent is a key issue that has been identified in the conference. What are the few initiatives that Sri Lanka needs to take up to address this issue and how can organisations and academic institutions play a role in addressing the same?

I strongly feel that the fundamental education philosophy needs to undergo a change. The education system in Asia has not met the requirements of the industry. We need to have a dynamic and adaptable pedagogy fed in from industry to have readily employable talent. Organisations need to be proactive to identify the future skill requirements and must work closely with the academic institutions to ensure that these skills are developed. The government and corporate organisations need to work together to strengthen the training systems provided in the vocational training institutes. The NHRDC has set the tone for a dialogue between industries and academia in addressing this issue through the summit. Now it is critical that the NHRDC continues to act as a platform to help strengthen this partnership.

What should Sri Lankan organisations start focusing on to match its HR capabilities with its global counterparts?

HR in its true sense works when it stops looking at itself as guardians of processes and policies and instead looks at themselves as core business enablers. This shift in mindset is critical for the success of the function. HR leaders must have a clear understanding of the business strategy and the business requirements. The success or failure of HR activities and interventions must be measured from a business performance standpoint. HR can positively impact the organisations growth, profitability and innovation by aligning the people process towards its strategic intent. It is also equally important to embrace technology to not only drive operational efficiency and productivity but also to enhance employee experience.

What should Sri Lanka do to increase the workforce participation of the females, which is currently around 38 percent?

In my view, 38 percent is a healthy figure as compared to global benchmarks. However, there are opportunities to further increase this number. The inability to attract females in the workforce is more a socio-cultural issue than an employment issue. We need to set up the foundational infrastructure that will aid women at the workplace. The government must have a focused strategy to communicate the awareness and importance of women joining the workforce. We can launch campaigns to educate parents and family members on the various initiatives taken to make the workplace comfortable for women. Employers must have a focused diversity and inclusivity strategy. Processes and policies must be in favour of women employees.

What kind institutional arrangements would we need to bring the stakeholders together?

We need to create work committees for each of the identified sectors that will have members representing corporate organisations, government and academia. It is essential to ensure that clear objectives and accountabilities are charted out for the work committees and an action plan is developed to ensure that the recommendations are acted upon. The government needs to ensure that responsibility is shared between all members of the work committees to drive the change.

What has India done at a policy level to accelerate skill acquisition?

The skill ecosystem in India is undergoing major reforms as India embarks on its journey to become a knowledge economy. In the last two years, government has taken a host of initiatives to channelize the efforts and provide impetus to the skill development ecosystem. The skill India campaign has an aggressive aim of training 400 million people on different skills. The policy framework for skill development has been made to align with the key national initiatives like the Make in India and Digital India campaigns.

What are Aon Hewitts plans for Sri Lanka?

Aon Hewitt is extremely positive and optimistic on the growth potential of Sri Lanka. We shall continue to collaborate more passionately with our clients and partners in Sri Lanka to help them scale the next level of growth. We are keen to leverage on more such opportunities with the NHRDC and help it develop the talent the country needs.

(Cathrine Weerakkody is a CIMA Passed Finalist, a graduate in financial management (UK) and has a masters degree in financial analysis from the UK)
Tral again? We are already in wounds, cant tolerate more! This was written by a young Kashmiri on Facebook when news broke that Sabzar Ahmad, a close aide of Burhan Muzaffar Wani, was trapped in an encounter with forces at Nazneenpora village of Tral. The youth's dismay spoke volumes about the helplessness of a common Kashmiri before a giant, ruthless state.

Rumours spread over social media like wildfire, sending alarm bells ringing in the power corridors of Srinagar and New Delhi.

This was what the team led by former Union minister Yashwant Sinha and other political commentators had warned of.

During the first fortnight of March 2017, five encounters between militants and forces have taken place across Kashmir.

Last week, troops launched an anti-militancy operation in Padgampora village of Pulwama district, just 35km from Srinagar. Two militants were killed after a fierce, 10-hour gun battle.

Among those killed was a 15-year-old-boy, Amir Nazir. Reports said he was part of the jeering crowd, many of them throwing stones at forces. Amirs body was garlanded like that of a groom. The images of his mother offering milk to her dead son went viral, and captured the imagination of people across the globe.

While Amirs funeral prayers were on, another photograph hit headlines. This was an anguished Kashmiri boy, about 10 years old, tears rolling down his cheeks. The picture was worth a thousand words. It spoke of the sad story of Kashmir.

The team of concerned citizens led by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had submitted in its report: There is a strange apprehension among the Kashmiris that something untoward is going to happen once spring sets in. What happens in the period after April 2017 is expected to be much higher in magnitude and intensity.

Within no time, strict curfew was imposed in entire Tral, but it didn't help matters. By the time curfew was imposed, the youth brigade had stormed the encounter site and snatched an INSAS rifle of a CRPF man.

The youth of Kashmir have lost fear. The credit goes to New Delhi, which has failed to control the ground situation in Kashmir.

Across the length and breadth of Kashmir, one hears of the excesses of the forces on the young generation. It is stated that many have become militants or stone-pelters because of the excesses of security agencies against even minors, making them hardcore stone-pelters. In many cases, these boys go and join militant ranks, only to get killed in a trap.

Every stakeholder of Kashmir has cried his heart out, asking the government to initiate a dialogue on Kashmir. These cries are not heard in New Delhi's corridors of power.

In his Kashmir Report, the team led by Sinha, even suggested a multi-dimensional dialogue between India and Kashmiri leaders, and between India and Pakistan for settling the Kashmir issue.

The question is whether New Delhi is committed and serious about understanding the problem in Kashmir, or is just buying time for a period of relative peace.

Like his predecessors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has missed the plot where Kashmir is concerned.

Vajpayee is still remembered in various capitals of the world, and particularly in Kashmir, for his vision of peace. Photo: India Today

Modi won the 2014 election with a thumping majority. Indians were disillusioned by multi-crore scams, and a government which seemed to be in slumber. People in mainland India hoped for a visionary leader, and saw Modi as their saviour.

In Kashmir, many people, including the Hurriyat groups  especially Mirwaiz Umar Farooq  and mainstream parties like People's Democratic Party (PDP) kept repeating that they had high hopes from Modi and the BJP government. All of them seemed to be basking in sweet memories, and the genuine bonhomie of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Kashmir has great respect for the former PM, who had come up with an out-of-box solution for the state and had everyone on board, including Hurriyat and Pakistan.

Modi views the Kashmir dispute only through the prism of Pakistan, national security and Hindutva-RSS led votebank politics. In politics, there is a difference between being a statesman and a politician.

So far, the much-famed Modi has behaved like a mediocre politician. Keeping every aspect of Kashmir dispute in view, he should be a statesman and solve the jinxed Kashmir dispute.

If Modi does so, it will not only make his image stronger in mainland India, but will also build himself internationally - something that he seeks so much.

General Parvez Musharaff had focused on two important, long-pending conflicts of the world. The Kashmir dispute and the Palestine-Israel conflict. He had come up with out-of-box solutions for both conflicts.

The point Musharaff wanted to make to the world was that he was a "peace-loving General, and cared for the people in both conflict regions.

Both Musharaff and Modi have things in common. To Musharaffs credit, he was close to solving the Kashmir conflict, had the lawyers agitation not gripped Pakistan. Will Modi attempt likewise? Only time will tell.

Like any other region in the world, Kashmiris too have the right to live. Students have the right to make their careers. Mothers have the right to stop worrying about their sons, and the youth have the right to enjoy life. The stumbling block is the Kashmir dispute.

The Modi government needs to act, and act now, before it is too late. Modi must prove to Indians and to the world that he is a statesman, and not a mere politician.

If he chooses to be a mediocre politician, he may even win a second stint as PM of India, but he can never match Vajpayee. Vajpayee is still remembered in various capitals of the world, and particularly in Kashmir, for his vision of peace.

Since the summer unrest of 2016, Kashmir observers from Srinagar have been asking New Delhi to come to the negotiating table and start talks with the Hurriyat. But the ostrich-like attitude of the BJP-led government at New Delhi is not helping solve the problem. Till New Delhi does not budge, the air of Kashmir will be engulfed by negative peace, at best.

New Delhi must make a difference between positive and negative peace, the sooner the better. Precious time is being lost. The government must start a positive dialogue on the Kashmir dispute. Kashmiris have been craving this positive, meaningful peace for a long time.

The political dispensation in New Delhi and the Indian public is busy watching the election aftermath in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur. Far from mainland India, discontent is brewing within a population which has always looked towards New Delhi and its leaders with hope.
As an electoral tsunami washed over Uttar Pradesh, a compelling nugget failed to capture attention. UPs new Assembly has the highest number of women MLAs (38) since Independence.

For a state known more for misogyny, thats a statistical outlier. Or is it? Are Indian women finally getting their due in fields such as politics typically hostile to women?

The jurys out on that. But theres no doubt women are making solid progress despite Indias entrenched patriarchal society.

Several panchayats have 50 per cent reservation for women. Parliament lags behind with women comprising 11 per cent of the current Lok Sabha.

Cynics say most of UPs 38 women MLAs are the kin of powerful male politicians. The same holds true of local bodies where men pack their female relatives into panchayats to fulfil the mandatory 50 per cent requirement.

The cynics miss the point. Womens empowerment is a continuous process. Politics is arguably the toughest barrier. But once the moat is crossed, whether through female kin proxies or professionally qualified women, things can only improve.

Meanwhile, tokenisms like the celebration of Womens Day every March 8 should be done away with. Every day is womens day. When an Air India aircraft is flown by all-women pilots and crew, the endeavour should be to make sure that, if not yet the rule, this is not an exception.

In customer-facing sectors, women have long carved out a place for themselves: hospitality, travel, healthcare, media, education, law and medicine. Cynics, however, warn against optimism about the steady rise of women at work across professions.

Rahul Jacob, mournful as ever, writes darkly in Business Standard: We have, along with Saudi Arabia, among the lowest proportions of women who work outside the home. Our infant mortality rates, entwined with womens health, put us below the levels of Yemen and Kenya.

"A Bloomberg columnist noted a couple of days ago that Bangladesh is on its way to catching up with the poor southern US states on human development indicators. In India, women have much lower access to female contraceptives than one would expect in a country with 1.2 billion people that has aspirations to be a 21st century superpower."

Several panchayats have 50 per cent reservation for women.

Of course there are problems. India inherited an illiterate, impoverished country from 190 years of British imperial occupation. That was followed by nearly six decades of Nehru-Gandhi socialist underdevelopment. Women are often the last to benefit when development does finally percolate down.

Unlike mournful cynics, however, there are plenty of sensible, realistic voices who believe that women indeed are the future. And it often starts at the village level, far away from city cynics.

Writing in The Economic Times, Delshad Irani tells the story of 23-year-old Laxmi Rani: Last year, 23-year-old Laxmi Rani from Patahensal in West Bengal held a smartphone for the first time when she became an Internet Saathi and embarked on her maiden voyage into the web. Fifteen months later, Rani tells us shes trained over 700 women on how to use the internet and now she wants to learn net-banking and how to use Paytm. A few months of learning the internet ropes through Google and Tata Trusts Internet Saathi programme and women in rural India are charting a new course for themselves and others. Saathis are using, and helping other women use the internet to find information about health, government programmes and agriculture.

Irani adds: Currently, over 2.5 million women in 60,000 villages across 10 states have been trained by 18,000 Saathis travelling the countryside on their branded bicycles. Sapna Chadha, head of marketing at Google India, says watching these women access the net for the first time is a sight to behold. Its a source of power theyve never had, or not allowed to have by a father or husband who thinks shed break the phone.

Stories like Laxmi Ranis are being replicated all over rural and urban India. As the world gets flatter, the balance will tilt towards women. Unlike labour-intensive work of the past, post-industrial revolution work needs precisely the qualities women excel in: intelligence, empathy, adaptability and determination.

Biology gives women an advantage. They have two X chromosomes. Men have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome which is one-third the size of an X chromosome and gives men their aggressive, chauvinistic traits. Two X chromosomes in contrast give women better health and longevity, make them resilient to setbacks, and allow them to carve out a more sensible work-life balance.
Till sometime ago, nobody could imagine Yogi Adityanath as the CM of Uttar Pradesh. Within days of that unexpected event taking place, many are already projecting him as a future Prime Minister. An amazing changing of narrative! But how did that happen?

And what are the chances that this projection is indeed credible?

The first assumption is that the next BJP PM race will begin only after 2024, because Prime Minister Narendra Modi will win 2019. The 2014 Modi wave was no flash in the pan. With the exception of Bihar 2015, Modi has won every major election since then with the biggest prize of UP going into the kitty in a landslide.

Modis development agenda is rolling full steam ahead while hard-hitting measures like the PoK #SurgicalStrike and #Demonetisation have found great favour with the populace. The Opposition is in disarray with little time to get their act together by 2019. Modi looks an unstoppable force.

Now you may say a Bofors type scandal may derail 2019 for Modi. But even that may not be enough. The reason for that is Modis decisive nature. Just look at Gujarat. The Anandiben Patel government was in great turmoil. Bad press kept coming day in and day out.

Hardik Patel was the toast of the nation and even the AAP got great publicity in Gujarat. The Patel agitation was a blot and governance seemed to have crashed. Overnight she was replaced with Vijay Rupani. Overnight the bad press stopped.

The same thing will happen at the Centre. If we have a scam, then Modi will simply ruthlessly sack the relevant cabinet minister, order a high-level inquiry and move on, as will his supporters. UPA-II dragged along all its scams and the Congress was royally plastered in 2014 due to that.

2024 is the key. Should Modi lose, then the succession battle will begin immediately. But even if he wins, the pressure will be huge for Modi to name a successor, for he will turn 75 in that term.

In 2024, home minister Rajnath Singh will turn 73, while both finance minister Arun Jaitley and foreign minister Sushma Swaraj will be 72. In fact, most of current leaders will be in their late sixties.

With the way Modi has set the retirement age at 75 and put the thrust on youth, hiring at least three CMs younger than youth icon Rajiv Gandhi, heres looking at some leaders who are below 60 today:

Transport minister Nitin Gadkari is 59, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan 58, BJP president Amit Shah 52, power minister Piyush Goyal is 52, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis is 46, Yogi Adityanath 44 and textiles minister Smriti Irani is 41. The Shah to Irani age bracket seems to be the brightest.

This is another reason why the BJP has a greater future due to its generation next leaders. Regional parties are one-man shows with ageing satraps while the Congress has no gen-next leadership to speak of.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley and foreign minister Sushma Swaraj will be 72 in 2024. Photo: India Today

Which brings us back to the Yogi. The media made Modi out to be a monster, but the electorate thumbed their nose at all manner of liberals and intellectuals. The media is currently making out Yogi to be a monster and you can be sure that the electorate doesnt care one bit.

In fact, increasingly whoever the media calls a monster, the electorate looks to put them firmly in power. If you dont believe me then just look at Modi, #Brexit and US president Donald Trump. Even the pariah Geert Wilders came No. 2 in the Dutch polls and far right Marine Le Penn is a frontrunner in France.

The media frenzy around the Yogi has started and you can be sure he will get tonnes of publicity, no matter what. Yogi has already become quite high-profile. With the way it is going, he will end up becoming the most famous (or even infamous, it really doesnt matter) leader in India after Modi.

You can be sure that by the end of his term, every person in every village in the four corners of India will know who Yogi Adityanath is. That is priceless if you want to be a national grassroots leader. Just ask Modi!

Its not just style but substance. The media and #AdarshLiberals are showing you only one side of Yogi. Yogi entered the Lok Sabha at the age of 26, one of the youngest India has ever had, a bigger youth leader than Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

At 44, two years younger than Pappu, he is already a five-time MP. He has been very active in the Lok Sabha, asking questions and participating in many fiery debates. If Pappu is one of the worst performing MPs, then Yogi is among the best.

The Yogi is experienced and charismatic and very active in his constituency of Gorakhpur. He has been a regular visitor there and has been sorting out problems due to which his popularity has cut across caste and religious lines. Thats unlike the way Pappu has totally neglected Amethi.

Even before Yogi took over as UP CM, he was very popular among BJP leaders and UP voters and this popularity will now spread across India. Yogi is also a tough-as-nails hardliner. That has been presented as a disadvantage, but not in a state like UP which is reeling under a crime wave and decades of misgovernance.

In fact, he has already hit the ground running. Eve-teasing is a huge problem in UP and while anti-Romeo squads are being presented as Draconian by the national media, they will gain great popularity at the ground level.

Illegal slaughterhouses encourage bad hygiene, cattle theft and are big money earners for certain corrupt leaders. The crackdown will prove to be popular among UP voters in the long run. Even if Yogi does an above-average job and gets re-elected in 2022, he automatically becomes a frontrunner.

His hardliner status will also help him in another way.

You saw the moderate face of AB Vajpayee from 1996-2004, but he was hardly that. Till the 1980s, he was an out and out hardliner and many BJP supporters said he could be replaced only by another hardliner.

LK Advani proved his hardline credentials by his rath yatra and the subsequent Babri Masjid agitation. Advani succeeded Vajpayee, but pulled the latter out of retirement out as a moderate face for the allies. Modi got a hardline image after 2002 Godhra and succeeded Advani.

In fact, theres a thought process that only a true hardliner can lead the Sangh Parivar. That explains the Vajpayee-Advani-Modi succession. That explains why Jaitley and Sushma never really had a crack at prime ministership and Advani continued at the helm of affairs till 2013.

Till 2017, Modi was the biggest hardliner in the pool that consisted his cabinet and BJP CMs. Not anymore! He has suddenly become No. 2.


The Washington Post's Bob Woodward warned on Wednesday that there are people from the Obama administration who could be facing criminal charges for unmasking the names of Trump transition team members from surveillance of foreign officials.



House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said earlier that he had briefed Trump on new information, unrelated to an investigation into Russian activities, that suggested that several members of Trump's transition team and perhaps Trump himself had their identities "unmasked" after their communications were intercepted by U.S. intelligence officials.



The revelation is notable because identities of Americans are generally supposed to remain "masked" if American communications are swept up during surveillance of foreign individuals.



During an interview on Fox News, Woodward said that if that information about the unmasking is true, "it is a gross violation."



He said it isn't Trump's assertion, without proof, that his predecessor wiretapped Trump Tower that is of concern, but rather that intelligence officials named the Americans being discussed in intercepted communications.



"You can learn all kinds of things from diplomats gossiping, because that's what occurs. Under the rules, and they are pretty strict, it's called minimization. You don't name the American person who is being discussed," Woodward said.



He noted that there are about 20 people in the intelligence community who, for intelligence reasons, can order this "minimization" be removed.



"But the idea that there was intelligence value here is really thin," Woodward said. "It's, again, down the middle, it is not what Trump said, but this could be criminal on the part of people who decided, oh, let's name these people."



He drove the point home, adding that "under the rules, that name is supposed to be blanked out, and so you've got a real serious problem potentially of people in the Obama administration passing around this highly classified gossip."
Lake County, FL  A disturbing precedent has just been set in a federal appeals court which ruled in favor of police who knocked on the wrong door at 1:30 am, failed to identify themselves, and then repeatedly shot the innocent homeowner until he died.The homeowner, 26-year-old Andrew Scott had committed no crime when officers came to his home that night on July 15, 2012. Police were actually in search of a person they witnessed speeding on a motorcycle when they began banging on Scotts door.Deputy Richard Sylvester was the officer who saw the speeding motorcycle while on patrol. Sylvester initiated a pursuit but lost sight of it after the motorcycle sped off. For some reason, Sylvester believed the motorcycle driver was armed, might be wanted by another police department, and had been spotted at a nearby apartment complex, according to the police reports.Sylvester, along with three other deputies, arrived at the apartment complex and began knocking on doors close to where the motorcycle was parked. They started with apartment 114 which was occupied by Scott and his girlfriend Amy Young who were playing video games and had zero connection to the motorcycle, the driver, or any illegal activity at all.According to a press release from the Rutherford Institute, assuming tactical positions surrounding the door to Apartment 114, the deputies had their guns drawn and ready to shoot. Sylvester, without announcing he was a police officer, then banged loudly and repeatedly on the door, causing a neighbor to open his door. When questioned by a deputy, the neighbor explained that the motorcycles owner did not live in Apartment 114. This information was not relayed to Sylvester.Clearly troubled by someone pounding on his door at 1:30 am Scott grabbed his legally owned pistol and went to open the door. When he opened the door, he was immediately startled by the shadowy figures aiming guns at him and retreated into the apartment. At this point, Sylvester immediately opened fire on the retreating man, firing six shots, three of which struck Scott, killing him.Drew and I loved each other and he died protecting me, said Young.A lower court ruled in favor of Sylvester and blamed Scott for legally protecting his own home with a pistol against overzealous and apparently trigger-happy cops who failed to identify themselves as such.Read more at A Federal Court Just Ruled Cops Can Go to Wrong House, Kill Innocent Homeowner and Walk Free
FOCUS ON DEFENSE CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA
In the 1960s, Phil Wendel and a fellow teacher at his middle school in Illinois took a group of 100 students on a field trip to Washington.

When we returned from the trip, I thought that I might be able to lead this trip just as well as the tour operator that planned it for us, Wendel said.
Award-winning actor Bryan Cranston spoke to hundreds of people Sunday at the John Paul Jones Arena for the third annual University of Virginia Presidents Speaker Series for the Arts.

Whether it was about his passion for good storytelling and the arts, his time as the iconic Walter White from Breaking Bad or the importance that hard work has had in his life, Cranston and moderator Mark Johnson, an Academy Award-winning producer and UVa alumnus, kept the conversation moving throughout the afternoon.

An acclaimed actor, Cranston is also the author of the New York Times bestseller A Life in Parts, a memoir that touches on many of the subjects he talked about Sunday.

Cranston was introduced to the audience by Jody Kielbasa, provost for the arts at UVa, and by a pre-recorded video from Teresa A. Sullivan, president of the university.

Bryan has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an actor, Sullivan said, before she listed Cranstons award wins and nominations and a film montage highlighting important moments in his career.

Throughout the conversation with Johnson, Cranston talked about some of those pivotal moments in his life  childhood memories, landing his role in Breaking Bad and his belief in staying busy to be successful.

Johnson asked Cranston how hes been able to commit to four very strong, but different characters  Walter White, Hal in Malcolm in the Middle, the title character in Trumbo and his portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson in All the Way  that he has become best known for in his career.

I know your work very well, and a lot of other ones, but I think of those four as really, really defining performances, Johnson said.

Cranston said a lot of it has to do with whether the story associated with those characters resonates with him.

When you read a script and you have an offer to do something, rely on your instincts, he said. You know when youre reading a great book and you cant wait to get back to reading that book, and its like a treat. Well, opening up the next episode of Breaking Bad was like a treat.

Johnson later called Cranston one of the hardest-working people in show business, and asked him how hes able to do it all, including acting, writing and directing.

For Cranston, its about a lifelong commitment to hard work, as well as his perseverance in not giving up his pursuit of acting in the early days of his career.

My message to anyone whos thinking of a career in the arts, do not attempt that unless you love it, he said. Unless you feel like you would do it for free for the rest of your life, thats what you have to be willing to do. You have to be willing to devote your life to it.

Johnson asked Cranston about what he sees as the role of the artist in education.

Well, I think, and maybe the broader question is, what does art mean to a society? Cranston said. And I think that a society that doesnt embrace and nurture art in all forms, that society is not enlightened and will eventually wither and die.

Cranston wasnt the only person who spoke to advocate for the arts and speak to its importance in society and education. Kielbasa said theres no way to measure what kind of an impact the arts have on the lives of students every day.

In many ways, the arts define who we are as a people, and our freedom of expression is a reflection of who we are to the rest of the world, he said. The impact of the arts was particularly important here at the university, dating all the way back to Thomas Jefferson, who ardently and famously advocated for the value of culture for students here and everywhere.

As he was about to leave the stage, Cranston left the applauding crowd with one more message:

Find something, any form of art  dance or painting or music or whatever it is  and support it, he said. Please do support it, because it needs the citizenry to be able to wrap their arms around it and be able to maintain this as a society, and I thank you for that.
An Albany Options School science teacher has been chosen to join a group of 50 teachers nationwide to teach and evaluate curriculum on climate change.

Tassay Gillispie, who is in her fifth year of teaching science and art at AOS, will use climate change lesson plans designed by NASA and funded through a partnership with WGBH, a member station of National Public Radio.

She was chosen from a pool of close to 500 teachers for the project, "Bringing the Universe to America's Classrooms."

The curriculum is all online and technology-based. It is being provided at no cost to Greater Albany Public Schools, although the district did opt to send Gillispie for training next week as a part of the National Conference on Science Education in Los Angeles. She'll also receive a $600 stipend from WGBH for participating.

Gillispie's class will start this fall. It will be an option for science credit, along with chemistry, biology, forensics, Oregon wildlife, astronomy and astrobiology.

As a member of the national teacher advisory group, Gillispie will give regular feedback on the lesson plans. That information will be used by both NASA and by Oregon State University, she said, which has its own study evaluating the lifelong effects of "STEM learning"  classes in science, technology, engineering and math.

Although she hasn't seen the materials yet, Gillispie said she expects them to give students a general awareness of what climate change is and how it works, and a foundation of knowledge in the possible causes.

It's a subject Gillispie already teaches as part of the Next Generation Science Standards, which Oregon is in the process of adopting, but something she wanted to learn more about herself as an educator. Plus, she said, "Working for NASA has always been a dream of mine."

A 2003 graduate of Crescent Valley High School, Gillispie grew up in Corvallis. Her father recently retired from teaching science at Linus Pauling Middle School, and her mother taught elementary and middle grades at the former Highland View Middle School and at Cheldelin Middle School. Going into education, therefore, was a natural possibility, Gillispie said.

She figures she'll probably be giving her students pre- and post-material tests to see what gains they made by using the new curriculum.

"My hope is that students will take away a scientific mindset to climate change, meaning that they are able to look at articles or data and formulate their own opinion based on scientific data and vocabulary," she said. "I also hope that when they are out in the world, they will be able to vote on things that pertain to the environment and their future."

Politicians may argue about the causes of climate change, Gillispie said, but in her research, "No scientist has ever come forth saying climate change isn't real."

It's important, she said, that her students hear from people in the industry.

"For me, getting materials from actual scientists is important because it gives more meaning to learning that me just standing in front of the class telling them how something is," she said.
Dick Dunnivans uncle, Walter Donovan, was the kind of braveand sometimes recklessWorld War II fighter pilot that great war stories are made of.

Once, according to a tale passed on by Dunnivan, his uncle was flying a mission and a bomb got stuck on his wingmans aircraft. So he tipped his plane and pushed the bomb off the other planes rack with his wing.

He was the kind of pilot who, when seeing a friend shot down in enemy territory, would land there and pick up his fallen comrade, Dunnivan said.

So when it came time to honor Donovans last promise to his squadronthe 510th Fighter SquadronDunnivan went to great lengths to keep the late pilots word.

Dunnivan, whose last name is similar but not the same as his uncles, kept two bottles of Calvados brandy distilled in France in 1945, the same brandy Donovans squadron drank while serving in the European theater.

During the war, Donovan and his squadron moved to mainland Europe with the advance of Allied troops, flying from airfields in France, Belgium and Germany.

Upon his death about 10 years ago in Naples, Fla., he asked his nephew, a veteran of the Marine Corps and a Fredericksburg resident, to make sure the last two surviving members of the 510th each received a bottle.

So Dunnivan kept in touch with the men, checking in each month, and over the years their numbers dwindled as the WWII veterans reached the ends of their lives.

When he checked in during February, he found out it was time to get the bottles to the last two surviving men: Ralph Jenkins of Seattle, Wash. and M.E. Johns of Lompoc, Calif.

But when he went to ship the bottles, he was told that alcohol was not allowed to be shipped through the U.S. Postal Service. He was told the same thing at FedEx and UPS.

He worried that he might not be able to keep the promise after all.

But through a series of Fredericksburg connections, he found Jeff Barber, owner of J. Barber Moving & Storage.

Dunnivans daughter, Nikki Christmas, mentioned the predicament to friend Melissa Csikari, the sister of Foode co-owner Beth Black. Black told Foode chef and co-owner Joy Crump about the issue and Crump had an idea: why not contact Barber, who moves items all over the country?

Dunnivan and Barber met last week at Foode to hand off the bottles, and to raise a glass to toast the squadron.

Instead of brandy, they ordered rum and cokes, but spent some time at Foodes bar talking about Donovan and the men he served with.

Barber took the bottles to Chicago, where he had a business meeting. He then handed them off to associates Kelly Kirkman and Bradley Boland who live in Oregon and California, respectively, and are delivering the bottles of brandy this week.

One the the brandy recipients, Ralph Jenkins, is soon to turn 98.

Im just lucky I never got shot down, he said during a phone interview.

He flew a plane called the Tallahassee Lassie in WWII, named after the woman who has been his wife for 75 years.

Jenkins met up with members of the 510th Fighter Squadron in different places around the country for about 20 years, and remembers Donovan well.

Walt, he was a little on the reckless side, Jenkins said. He was brave and courageous and took more chances to be shot down.

He also remembers M.E. Johns, the other surviving member and brandy recipient. Johns could not be reached for comment.

We flew many missions together, he said.

Jenkins described how when his squadron members got shot down, they would dress like French farmers to get back safely through enemy lines and back to the squadron.

He said they drank a lot of brandy on the front, and during annual reunion meetings.

Its customary in the military to give a bottle to the last person alive, he said.

His daughter, Kim Jenkins, called the gift really poignant and touching.

She said as one of the last men alive who served in WWII, it saddens her father to know almost all the men he worked with are not here to share a drink.

There was a lot of camaraderie there, Dunnivan said about his uncle and the 510th Fighter Squadron. He shared the sacrifices they made and the hardships they endured. Being a military man myself, I think he knew Id follow through.
American Woodmark to break ground on consolidated headquarters

The Virginia-based cabinet manufacturer, with a plant in the town of Orange, will break ground this week on its new $30 million corporate headquarters in Winchester.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe will attend the ceremony for American Woodmark Friday afternoon on Shady Elm Road. The new corporate headquarters will consolidate, by early 2018, employees currently occupying four buildings in Winchester and Frederick County, according to a news release.

The governor approved a $550,000 grant for the project that will create 55 new jobs. The company recently reported a 14 percent in increase in net sales for the third fiscal quarter to $249.3 million due to a growth in both new construction and remodels. American Woodmark operates nine manufacturing plants and seven service centers across the country. It provides kitchen cabinets and vanities directly to home centers and major builders.

Parts of confession thrown out in case of teens slaying

CHRISTIANSBURGA judge has thrown out some statements a former Virginia Tech student charged in the killing of a 13-year-old girl made to police because of improper interrogation techniques.

The Roanoke Times reports a judge ruled Monday that parts of Natalie Keepers confession cannot be used at trial. He said officers should have read Keepers her Miranda rights and told her she had the right to talk to an attorney once it was clear she would be charged in Nicole Lovells death.

Keepers has been charged with being an accessory to first-degree murder and with concealing a body. Her co-defendant, David Eisenhauer, has been charged with first-degree murder, abduction and concealing a body. Keepers trial date was set for February 2018.

Bostons alleged Incognito Bandit arrested Friday at Dulles Airport

STERLING  U.S. Customs & Border Protection Officers arrested Albert Taderera, 36, of Brighton, Massachusetts around 5 p.m. March 24 at Dulles Airport as he attempted to board a flight to South Africa, according to a news release.

According to court documents, between February 2015 and March 2017, 16 banks were robbed in the Metro-West and Greater Boston areas. In most of the robberies, the robber was disguised in a dark hooded sweatshirt, dark face mask/sunglasses covering his face, dark gloves and dark clothing. In most of the robberies, the robber displayed what tellers described as a black semi-automatic handgun.

Boston area authorities alerted FBI agents on Thursday that Taderera had booked a flight to Ethiopia and the suspect then rebooked a flight to South Africa. Customs officers encountered him the jetway at Dulles Airport, confirmed his identity and made the arrest.
LINN COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE

Burglary  8:56 a.m. Sunday, 33900 block Langmack Road, near Lebanon. A caller reported that his white Ford farm truck (with tools in back) and an 11-foot trailer had been stolen. The vehicle was parked in a carport, meeting the definition of a burglary. The loss value for the truck was approximately $10,000, and the trailer was recovered nearby after the investigation started.

Swastika graffito  10:30 a.m. Sunday, Harrisburg High School. A swastika had been spray-painted on a large sign outside the school office. There havent been any other recent incidents reported of racist or Nazi-inspired graffiti, a Sheriffs Office supervisor said.

Burglary  10:45 a.m. Sunday, 34300 block Santiam Highway, near Sweet Home. A John Deere tractor and other items, including a leaf blower, power saw and gasoline, were reported stolen from a garage. The estimated loss value was more than $11,000.

LEBANON POLICE

Stolen car arrest  5 a.m. Friday, Linn County Jail. Kyle Keith Martin, 25, of Lowell, was arrested on charges of two counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, first-degree criminal mischief, driving while suspended and third-degree theft. He also had a probation violation warrant, and a no-bail hold was placed on him at the jail.
New Delhi: Cellular operators' body COAI has said the government should not rush to spectrum auction this year and instead, allow the market to settle down in the wake of recent mergers and acquisitions.

COAI emphasised that the next round of sale of airwaves should ideally be scheduled in 2018. "In the immediate context, we don't expect a whole lot of demand for the spectrum because mergers and harmonisation will lead to efficiencies in terms of use of existing spectrum.

Companies like Idea Cellular and Vodafone (which have announced decision to merge in India) will put their spectrum together for efficiencies," COAI DG Rajan S Mathews told PTI.

Companies will be keen to wait a little more to see how the market dynamics plays out, Mathews said, adding that other factors which need to be taken into consideration are demand for data and smartphones.

"The problem with having an annual spectrum auction (that is being talked about) is that it requires three months of preparation, hence a 12-month window is too small... Companies cannot spend three months every year in recalibrating their strategy on airwaves," he said.

After buying airwaves, telecom companies also need time to order equipment, get infrastructure ready and be tuned in to the existing network. Also, typically companies tend to buy spectrum keeping in mind their requirements for the next 2-3 years, he said.

"Other than the dynamics of licence requirement, a 2-3 year timeframe to conduct auction is more than adequate to allow for predictability and strategic planning by firms," he said.

Mathews' comments come at a time when the industry is going through a massive phase of consolidation, intensified by the disruptive entry of challenger Reliance Jio.

Idea Cellular and Vodafone have decided to merge in India to create the country's biggest telecom service provider with a customer base of over 394 million. Telecom operator Bharti Airtel, the current market leader, has said it will acquire Norwegian Telenor's India unit, and more recently announced the acquisition of Tikona Digital's 4G airwaves.

Last month, then telecom secretary J S Deepak had said the government is looking to make spectrum auction an annual event.

"We are not worried if there is no demand for spectrum. We are interested in giving the industry an opportunity to buy spectrum," Deepak had said on the sidelines of the Mobile

World Congress in Barcelona just a day before he was named India's next Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) from June this year.

Last week, however, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha had said the government had no immediate plan to provide telecom companies with an option to buy spectrum annually.
Logistics costs of exports are very high in India and due to this, Indian goods are less competitive in the global markets. (Representational Image)

New Delhi: The Commerce Ministry is working on a proposal to set up a separate logistics unit to deal with the issues, including rising costs, that are impacting global competitiveness of exporters.

There is no single department or ministry at present to look at all the aspects related to logistics covering various modes of shipment such as sea, roads and railways.

According to sources, the proposal is under discussion with the ministries concerned. Exporters too have demanded for a specific department to deal with the issues related to logistics. They are undertaking a study to look at issues like shortcomings in logistics and ways to address that.

A trade expert said that an umbrella body would help coordinate all aspects of logistics, which is currently managed by different departments. To increase the logistics competitiveness of exporters, the Commerce Ministry has also suggested to the Railways Ministry that it needs to clearly distinguish between consignments for exports, imports and the general category in terms of freight rates.

Logistics costs of exports are very high in India and due to this, Indian goods are less competitive in the global markets. In India, the container transport is heavily inclined in favour of roads due to high freight rates of railway, unpredictable and unreliable scheduling of freight trains, and poor last-mile connectivity.

A strategy paper released in 2010 by the Commerce Ministry had emphasised upon the need to invest billions of dollars in improving infrastructure to boost exports.

It had asked the government to invest to modernise roads, ports, railways, airports, power and customs stations. During the April-February period of the current fiscal, exports grew by 2.52 per cent to USD 245.4 billion.

India is aiming to increase its share in global trade to 3.5 per cent by 2020 from the 2 per cent at present. Increasing trade helps create big employment opportunities and boost economic growth.
Sebi, through an interim order in April 2006, had barred Amadhi Investments from the capital markets till further directions.

New Delhi: Sebi has barred Amadhi Investments for 10 years from the capital markets and directed it to disgorge about Rs 78 lakh for indulging in fraudulent and manipulative activities in the IPOs of three companies.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) found that Amadhi Investments financed Sugandh Estates and Investments in the IPOs of IDFC, Sasken and FCS Software Solutions with the purpose of cornering shares reserved for retail investors. These companies came out with their initial public offers (IPOs) between 2003 and 2005.

"...noticee (Amadhi Investments) had most certainly indulged in fraudulent and manipulative activities and employed deceptive devices to corner the shares reserved for retail individual investors in the IPOs of IDFC, Sasken and FCS.

"I therefore, conclude that the noticee has violated the provisions of PFUTP (prohibition of fraudulent and unfair trade practices) Regulations," Sebi Whole Time Member S Raman said in an order dated March 24.

The regulator said that Amadhi Investments made illegal profits to the tune of Rs 77.77 lakh by selling the shares of FCS and Sasken cornered in the IPOs. However, it did not make any profit from disposal of the IDFC shares which it transferred to one Jitendra Lalwani at issue price.

Sebi has barred Amadhi Investments "from buying, selling dealing in securities in any manner whatsoever or accessing the securities market, directly or indirectly, for a period of 10 years".

It has been directed to disgorge the unlawful profit of Rs 77.77 lakh with simple interest at the rate of 10 per cent per annum from September 2005 -- the date of listing of IPOs of FCS and Sasken -- till the date of payment.

In case the amount is not disgorged within 45 days, Sebi said that Amadhi Investments will be restrained from the securities markets for a further period of 5 years without prejudice to the regulator's right to recover the amount with interest.

Earlier, Sebi, through an interim order in April 2006, had barred Amadhi Investments from the capital markets till further directions. Further, the regulator confirmed the ban through an order passed in December, 2008.
New Delhi: Varanasi, spiritual hub of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modis constituency, is going to host G20 working group meeting to deliberate on current global economic situation.

The working group will deliberate for two days from Tuesday on the policy options that countries can pursue to counter the important development challenges on the ghats of Varanasi.

The G-20 Framework Working Group (FWG) is one of the core working groups of G-20. The mandate of FWG is to deliberate on the challenges facing the global economy and the policy options that countries can use to address these challenges.

India along with Canada has been co-chairing this group. One important focus of this meeting will be to deliberate on the inclusive growth agenda of G-20 and to formulate a framework that will enable countries to help frame country specific inclusive growth policies.

Top officials from IMF, World Bank, OECD and the ADB are also expected to be present during the meeting.

Hosting of G20 meeting at Varanasi indicates that the Modi government want to bring the city on the global map.

The third G-20 FWG meeting under the G-20 German Presidency is being co-hosted by economic affairs department and RBI. The first two G 20 FWG meetings under the G-20 German Presidency have already been held at Berlin in December 16 and at Riyadh in February 17. This would be the fourth occasion that India is hosting FWG meeting.
Mumbai: Sanjay Leela Bhansalis (SLB) period drama Padmavati has been in the news for the controversy it has triggered over the central characters, Rani Padmavati (played by Deepika Padukone), depiction in the film. The director has now cleared the air that the Queen from medieval era has no dream sequence or romantic scene with the tyrant Alauddin Khilji who was obsessed with her.

In the light of recent Kolhapur vandalism that happened on the sets of Padmavati, SLB told Bombay Times that the film will make the people of Mewar proud and also assured that he is sensitive towards the feelings of Rajputs and will not exercise his freedom of expression to tarnish the reputation of Padmavati.

As an artist, I too believe in the freedom of expression, but I'm also aware of the responsibility that comes along with this freedom. We do not intend to hurt the sentiments of any community and can confidently say that Mewar will be proud of the film. My team and I have met with some of the Rajput leaders, who, upon receipt of our clarification, have agreed to support us and have also signed our letter and promised cooperation in support of the making of the film. I hope this puts to rest all the misconceptions regarding the filmMy team and I have carefully researched every aspect of information available on Rani Padmavati for making the film. There was never any alleged romantic scene, dream sequence or imaginary song between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji in the script. I repeat, there NEVER was and NOR is there any such scene between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji, said the National award-winning director.

Earlier this month, the set of Padmavati in Kolhapur was burnt down. This incident happened two months after SLB was beaten up at Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur while shooting with the secondary cast of the film. A few activists from Karni Sena organisation had accused him of showcasing their Queen in poor light and vandalised the set.

The sets of Padmavati in Kolhapur in Maharashtra region witnessed an unfortunate incident, when certain miscreants attacked the films set and set it on fire in an attempt to damage the property. A complaint has been filed to investigate this matter further, but we are grateful that there has been no loss of life or harm to anybody on the set. While, thankfully the incident occurred after we had wrapped our shoot for the day and all the artists, cast and crew were safely away; unfortunately, around 70  80 percent of costumes and jewellery for the movie have been destroyed, he added.

This incident had created a huge furore, prompting the film industry to seek justice for the ace Director. This is the second time SLB and team have clarified that their are no objectionable scenes between the Queen and tyrant.

The titular character will be played by Deepika Padukone, while Ranveer Singh portrays the role of tyrant Alauddin Khijli and Shahid Kapoor will be seen as Raja Rawal Ratan Singh, who was the husband of Rani Padmavati.
Mumbai: Saif Ali Khan has wrapped up the final schedule of Raja Krishna Menon's gastronomical comedy, Chef, last week in New York before leaving for London. The actor and the crew who were shooting in sub-zero temperature were hit by a snowstorm which led to below zero temperature.

Film produced by Bhushan Kumar and Vikram Malhotra, the team shot the film's opening scenes, which showcase Saifs character's life as a professional chef, in the week-long New York schedule. He later leaves his life in the Big Apple behind to start a food truck in India.

The major chunks were shot in a restaurant, a diner, a bar and on the streets of Manhattan in sub-zero temperatures. Though it was miserably cold, the weather worked in the film's favour as the script demanded snowfall. Raja told Mirror, We have portrayed a unique side of New York, shot in places where our films rarely go to.We were hit by a snowstorm and the temperature dipped to below zero. It was really sporting of Saif and my crew to shoot in such extreme conditions so that we could use it to our advantage and create the exact mood I had envisaged for this section of the film.

The film is a remake of Hollywood comedy-drama by the same name and is slated to release on July 14.
Mumbai: Sushant Singh Rajput has been on a career high ever since his phenomenal act in 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story' fetched him rave reviews and the film's commercial success elevated his box-office stature to an all-time high.

The actor, who's set to be seen in Dinesh Vijan's 'Raabta,' alongside Kriti Sanon, already has a couple of interesting projects in his kitty, including 'Takadum' and 'Chanda Mama Door Ke,' in which he'll be seen playing an astronaut.

The actor has now taken to Twitter, to announce his next major signing. The film, intriguingly titled 'Romeo Akbar Walter,' will see him play a RAW agent, and will be set in 1971.

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The film, helmed by Robby Grewal, is slated for a 2018 release.

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The rest of the cast and other major crew members are yet to be revealed.

The first two posters have however piqued the interest in the film to a great level.

Watch this space for more!
Mumbai: A 20-year old model has accused Kaisi Yeh Yaariyan actor Parth Samthaan of molestation and has filed a FIR against him at the Bangur Nagar Police Station in Mumbai on Sunday.

The model claims that Parth, her friend of several years, misbehaved with her, following which she started getting insulting and shameful calls from men asking for 'favours.' She also stated that he and his friends shared her details on their Whatsapp group where they called her easy and said that her character was bad, also leaking her pictures and that they would target 16-year-old girls.

The model in her statement said, There was no dispute between me and Parth Samthaan on any financial matter. As a matter of fact, I have known him for more than 4 years. Parth has in many occasions tried to propose me- not for a relationship but having a good time. Which I have very politely turned down. It might be cool in his group for women to sleep around with him and I have no issues with other girls and the choices they make but I have a different value system. After returning from a party in an alcoholic state, Parth misbehaved with me. After which I stopped contact with him for sometime and he really apologised and as we have been friends for years, I decided to forgive him for the behaviour but soon after that, I started getting insulting and shameful calls from boys who would want favours from me.

Someone was sharing my number with people. Parth actually tried to show that he is helping me but in reality, he was the one out of vengeance doing it. His Whatsapp controversy where they made a group called whores and more whores where he shared details about women and his voice notes are available. The voice notes clearly mention me and him stating that I have a bad character and I am easy. Last week of January, the last time I met him, he again misbehaved with me and I informed my mother who then gave me the strength to file the FIR. Yes there was a lot of pressure from my family for this case might go public with him being an actor and we almost were discussing to take the case back with him giving a written apology but I realised that its not just me but the other women in the group targeted were as young as 16 years old. These actors target young girls and then share their details so that they can be exploited. Just because I didnt give in, I was targeted and my reputation was put at stake. I am not taking any case back and I will fight it till the end. They have leaked my pictures online and revealed my name. I will not be slut shamed into taking the FIR back. I come from an educated family and I know when someone is right no matter, what difficulties will come if I stand by the truth, I will get justice.

Parth Samthaan, in his defence, has called all allegations against him false and baseless. The actor had made news few years ago when had claimed that TV producer Vikas Gupta had molested him and this time again he has accused Gupta of trying to demean him by influencing the models decision to file the FIR.

He also said that he has given his statement to the police officials and that the model had called him and told him that she would be taking back her complaint.

Parths statement read, To start with , the case is completely false and baseless .. went to the police station today , gave my statement .. and I am out of it  and yes it was a dispute among friends .. and she complained after almost 1.5 years at the station we also got to know from the cops that the girl (victim name) had come with Vikas Gupta to the station and hence plotted all those false accusations without any proof and filed the case ..the very next day she called me and said she realized what she had done and wanted to take the case back .. but since she filed an FIR , cops could not take the case back  today ,I gave all my call recordings and Whatsapp conversations to the cops which I had with (victim name) where it is clearly mentioned that she wants to take the case back and did all this in the heat of the moment .. and then requesting me to sort it out as soon as possible.. time and again Vikas Gupta has been trying to demean me and that everyone is aware of .. dont need to say more as I know the audience is sensible enough of whats happening as they have already witnessed me getting into stupid controversies before .also given the fact that women are given special rights by law over men in such situations .. to which I completely respect .. but does not mean that they should take undue advantage of it and stoop so low in order to demean me or anyone .thank you."
Mumbai: Shilpa Shinde had recently made the explosive allegations of sexual abuse and molestation against her Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai producer Sanjay Kohli. The actress had also filed an official FIR against the producer a few days back.

Often, he would he pass remarks like, I like you a lot. You are very sexy. You are very hot, she said. And while saying such things, he would hug me forcefully and would touch my waist and breasts. I would resist but he would brush aside the incident saying, Oh, it was a mistake. Come on yeh sab toh chalta hai, she had said.

The actress had also said that actress Saumya Tandon, her former co-star from the show, had been in the loop.

I spoke to Saumya also about this, but she was like, Humari industry mein koi rape nai karta Shilpa, she had been quoted as saying.

However, Saumya has finally reacted to the controversy, stating that there had been no communication between the two regarding the same.

I strongly stand against any kind of sexual harassment of women at work or any place. Having said that, there was absolutely no communication between Shilpa and me about this. Personally, my interactions with my producer has been very professional and I didnt face any problem. I cant comment on Shilpas case as I am not aware about it, DNA quoted her as saying.

Shilpa's FIR read, "In the past year, I battled depression and medical issues. I spoke out since it was getting to me. I know many women from the industry are afraid to speak up, but I want to, on their behalf. Once make-up man Pinku Patwa saw him harassing me. Pinku was sacked the next day. When I spurned his advances, he sacked me from the show.

The actress, who used to play Angoori Bhabhi in the show, had been replaced by Shubhangi Atre.
The effects of porn have for long known to cause a disturbance in relationships and mostly it is because there is a lack of sex. However, there are many other reasons and a new study highlights why porn actually doesnt help couples have better sex but instead creates issues between them.

According to a report in the Toronto Sun, men watch porn for a variety of reasons and mostly it is to experiment with different sex positions. However, it works differently as the expectation from the partner is increased and most often they are left disappointed with their partners. The disappointment makes them steer away from physical contact and they look towards porn to keep them happy. It was also found that more are likely to watch porn by themselves than with their partner.

Interestingly, it also says that spending more time with screens in different forms like video games, mobiles and porn movies; it is going to affect the relationship. Couples need to talk it out if the man expects too much from the woman after watching porn without her.
All seven injured were taken to Chengalpet medical college hospital where two were admitted as inpatients, police said. (Representational image)

Chennai: Six inmates and a warden of Chengalpet govt juvenile home were injured in a clash that broke out on Sunday evening. All injured inmates were convicted juvenile offenders, police said.

Warden V. Giri was injured when he tried to intervene and stop the fight between the two groups of juvenile offenders. All seven injured were taken to Chengalpet medical college hospital where two were admitted as inpatients, police said.

According to police, the clash started when some senior inmates bossed over others and asked them to get into the cells by 6 pm. Usually, the 42 convicted juveniles and 29 remand inmates lodged in different blocks are allowed to be in the open area till 6 am. The clash happened in the block where convicts are lodged.

They clashed with each other using wooden pieces available on the premises. The teenagers were brought under after more staff from the other blocks reached the scene. The local police team also rushed to the home and took the injured to the hospital in 108 ambulance, police noted. Five of injured, including the warden, were discharged after first aid.
Hyderabad: The wife of a Google techie ended life on their first wedding anniversary due to alleged dowry harassment by her husband and in-laws.

C. Bhagyalakshmi, 30, an employee at Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD), had lodged a complaint at the Begumpet Women's Police Station alleging that her husband had threatened to put her nude photographs online if she did not pay additional dowry.

Her husband, S. Shashidhar, also asked her to give him her entire salary, the victim's parents alleged. Bhagyalakshmi hanged herself at the AMD quarters in Begumpet on Saturday evening leaving a suicide note describing the pain she went through.

The police has booked a dowry death case against husband Shashdhar and his parents. Shashidhar has not yet been arrested.

In her note, Bhagyalakshmi alleged that her husband might have bribed the police not to take action on her complaint. He should not be allowed to touch my body or belongings. They bribed the police not to take action. Sorry mommy, daddy, Shiva, the note said.

Begumpet woman inspector Janakamma said they had sent the couple for counselling. As per SC guidelines we sent the couple for counselling. Only after three sessions a case is registered. Two sessions were over, the inspector said.

On Saturday, the victim's parents came to see her at the AMD quarters. Though they knocked several times, she did not open the door. Later, they broke open the door, found her hanging and called the police.

Bagyalakshmi and Shashidhar got married a year ago after a love affair that lasted five years. Shashdhar's parents had opposed the marriage. Soon after the wedding, differences erupted as Shashidhar used to abuse her after getting drunk. He had shot a few intimate videos and photographs using his phone and started blackmailing her.

Husband was alcoholic

Shashidhars parents and sister looked down upon Bhagyala-kshmi after the wedding as she was elder to him and belonged to another caste. Six months after marriage, Bhagyalakshmi had to start living separately due to harassment by her in-laws, Bhaskar Rao and Manjula.

Later, they asked her to pay lakhs as dowry. Bhagyalakshmi asked Shashidhar to live with her at the AMD quarters. But he refused and started blackmailing her. Bhagyalakshmi's father Krishna said that Shashidhar, a drunkard, used to torture Bhagyalakshmi.
Police said the girl, a Class II student, had lost both her parents five years ago and was staying with her 60-year-old grandmother. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: A man lured a seven-year-old girl at the Tandur Government Hospital by promising her snacks and then sexually assaulted her. The incident occurred in Vikarabad district on Saturday.

Later at night sanitary staff found the girl and the suspect and informed the police. However, the suspect managed to flee leaving the girl. The girl is now undergoing treatment and is critical.

Police said the girl, a Class II student, had lost both her parents five years ago and was staying with her 60-year-old grandmother at Yalmakanne village in Vikarabad district.

As the old woman was ill, she came to Tandur Government Hospital with the girl on Saturday. As she was waiting for her turn to meet the doctor, the man approached the girl and offered to buy her snacks.

The woman, who thought that he had come with some other patient, agreed and sent the girl with him. The woman waited till night for the girl and the suspect. She got worried when they did not return and approached the police.

As the police teams were searching for the girl and the suspect they informed sanitary staff who were cleaning roads at night.

Around 12 midnight, sanitary staffers found the girl and the suspect in the bus station area and intercepted him. When they questioned him, he said the girl was his daughter and that he was working in a nearby polishing unit. When they asked him more questions he left the girl and fled, Tandur inspector M. Venkataramaiah said.

There were police teams at the bus station when the sanitary staff found the girl but before they could be informed the suspect fled. Police shifted the girl to the Tandur Government Hospital where doctors confirmed that she was sexually assaulted.

She is now in hospital. The sanitary staff said the suspect is aged around 30. The inspector said they are checking CCTV cameras near the bus station.

A rape case and under the Protection of Children from Sexual offences Act was registered.
New Delhi: Four bills aimed at rolling out the much-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) and usher in landmark tax reforms in the country were tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The Opposition objecting to it saying the introduction of these measures was not listed on Monday's agenda for the House.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the Central GST, Integrated GST, Union Territory GST and the Compensation Law for passage by Parliament to implement the one-nation, one-tax regime.

The government proposes to launch GST from July 1. It is estimated that rolling out of the GST can add up to 2 percent to India's economic growth.

On Saturday, Jaitley had emphasised the urgency to pass the GST laws during the current session of Parliament, saying the Centre and the states will otherwise lose their right to collect indirect taxes after September 15.

The approval of Parliament, coupled with separate nods by all the State Assemblies, will complete the legislative process for the roll out of one-nation, one-tax regime by merging central taxes like excise duty and service tax as well as state levies like VAT.

The GST Council has already approved four-tier tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent plus an additional cess on demerit goods like luxury cars, aerated drinks and tobacco products. The work on for putting various goods and services in the different slabs is slated to begin next month.

The introduction of the Bills by Jaitley was objected to by a number of Opposition MPs for the manner it was being done, saying they were not given enough time to study the proposed legislation.

Raising his objection, Congress member K C Venugopal said the introduction of these bills was not listed on Monday's agenda and asserted that parliamentary procedures must be followed while dealing with important issues.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs S S Ahluwalia said the bills were uploaded on the government website on the midnight of Friday.

The Opposition MPs took strong objection to the statement saying how could the government expect the members to check the website at midnight and why the issue was not discussed at the meeting of Business Advisory Committee last week.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, All India Majlis-e- Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi and TMC's Saugata Roy were among those who opposed the way the GST bills were introduced.

Dismissing the opposition objections, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the bills were sent to the MPs on Saturday morning and there was nothing wrong in these being tabled.
New Delhi: Liquor should be banned across the country for the poor people as its consumption was resulting in crimes, a Lok Sabha member said on Monday.

K Geetha (YSR Congress) said liquor consumption was a matter of concern and a lot of crimes were also happening due to it.

"Liquor should be banned across the country for poor people... Liquor should be banned," she said during Zero Hour. Urging the Centre to come out with a liquor policy, she said many states have resorted to banning liquor and allowing it in five-star hotels, she added.

Raising the issue of judiciary making comments about the perks and salaries of MPs, Congress member M I Shanavas said the government should look at the emoluments of MPs.

"Government should put an end to the insulting attitude of the judiciary (towards MPs) and the media trial," he said.

He also said that recently a Supreme Court committee had decided to increase the salaries of judges and enhance pension benefits, but the judiciary talking about issues regarding the benefits extended to MPs was an "insult to the MPs".

During the Zero Hour, BJP member Meenakshi Lekhi also raised the issue of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announcing that residential house tax would be waived off if AAP wins the civic polls.

Delhi government cannot take a decision in such matter which can be decided only by Parliament, she said, adding that taking a decision on house tax was beyond Delhi government's jurisdiction.

Raising the issue of Teesta water sharing pact, TMC member Saugata Roy registered a strong protest asking why the Centre was bypassing the West Bengal government as it was not being consulted in the matter.
New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government has cracked down only against illegal slaughter houses and the drop in export of buffalo meat last fiscal was due to global factors, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today.

Sitharaman also claimed in Lok Sabha that there was no negative impact on the export of any product due to demonetisation.

"What is being done in Uttar Pradesh is on illegal slaughter houses. We don't want anything illegal. The Chief Minister has also said that the action is only against illegal slaughter houses," she said during Question Hour replying to a supplementary asked by AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi.

The Minister said the drop of 8.87 per cent in buffalo meat export in 2015-16 in comparison to 2014-15 was due to various factors.

Sitharaman said China was not giving access to its markets to various Indian goods, including buffalo meat.

At this, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan remarked "don't slaughter only buffalo", provoking laughter in the House.

Replying to another supplementary, the Minister said there was no negative impact of demonetisation on exports.

"In fact, small and medium enterprises are keeping up their export. There is no negative impact on exports whatsoever," she said.

Sitharaman said the reason for slowdown in exports include fall in global demand and fall in commodity prices impacting the terms of trade of commodity exporters, fall in prices of petroleum crude resulting in consequent decline in prices as well as export realisations for petroleum products, which are major items of exports for India.

Other factors were that EU countries, which account for nearly 16 per cent of India's export, are facing problems of stagnation and deflation. China was also experiencing a slowdown, she said.

The recovery in the US has been moderate and uncertain in terms of sustainability, while there has been a fall in demand for precious goods like pearls, precious and semi-precious stones especially from oil producing countries.
A man stands at a slaughterhouse where he used to work after it was shutdown by authorities in Allahabad. (Photo: AP)

Lucknow: Clearing confusion over its action against slaughterhouses in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government today said it was acting only against the illegal abattoirs.

"We are acting only against illegal abattoirs. Licensed slaughterhouses are requested to stick to the norms," Health Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh told reporters here.

"The licensed slaughter houses should comply with the norms mentioned in the licence and need not to fear," he said.

"No orders have been issued to take any action against any shop selling chicken, fish or eggs. They need not to fear," Singh clarified.

He directed the officials that they should not act in over-enthusiasm nor should they overstep their jurisdiction.

Citing an instance, Singh said, "One of the norms mentioned in the licence is installation of CCTV cameras in the premises of the slaughter house. If this norm is not complied with, then instead of ordering the closure of the slaughter house, a notice may be issued to its owner, and he be instructed to take necessary remedial steps within a specific timeframe."

Noting that the National Green Tribunal had insisted on closure of illegal slaughter houses, he said, "The NGT had in 2015 observed that illegal slaughter houses are a concern for the environment, while insisting on their closure. However, the previous government did not do anything to ensure the closure of these illegal abattoirs."

Incidentally, meat sellers across the state today went on an indefinite strike against the crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses.

Siddhartha Nath Singh said a propaganda is being circulated through various social media platforms (especially by those who do not agree to our ideology). "Please do not fall prey to the propaganda," he said.

On whether the state government is open to holding talks with the meat sellers, the minister said, "So far, no delegation of the meat sellers has approached us.

"They are most welcome to meet us and convey their point of view. We would meet them with an open mind, but will not allow illegal things," he said.

On anti-Romeo squads, Singh said the government would not tolerate any vigilantism.

"If anyone dares do it, he will be in serious trouble," he said, when asked specifically about reports that young boys and girls were being harassed.
Hyderabad: Two nurses, Shobha and Sunita, have been suspended and the duty doctor Naveen Singh has been issued a memo by the director of health and medical education at Gandhi Hospital after it was found that 12 children suffered from an allergic reaction after being administered an injection.

The children, suffering from different complaints, developed fever and chills after being given the injection at 7.30 pm on Saturday. According to the case sheet, the children were to be given Amoxcylav but other vials of sodium sulphate were found in the paediatric ward. The sodium sulphate vials had an expiry date of 2011 and 2016.

Health minister Dr Lakshma Reddy explained, When the director of health and medical education Dr M. Ramani carried out an initial inquiry, there were no from the nurses. For this reason, they have been suspended. Another external inquiry comprising three doctors from Niloufer Hospital, Warangal and Nizamabad will be carried out. If no wrong was done, their suspension will be revoked. But we want to send a strong message that wrong steps will not be tolerated.

Likely negligence in use of needle

After they complained of fever and chills, the duty doctor got a complaint from the parents of two and after that all the parents complained. Immediate action was taken and another set of drugs to control the reaction were given.

A senior paediatrician on condition of anonymity said, "Amoxcylav is known to cause these reactions in patients who are allergic to these antibiotics. The reaction in all the 12 children could be if the same needle was used to give the injections. To control the reaction, steroids and antihistamine drugs are given to the patient."

Those who were suffering from pneumonia and neurological problems were shifted to the intensive care unit for stabilisation while others were taken care of in the ward.

The relatives were very upset. P Ramesh, father of Kavya asks how all the children can have the same reaction from the injection. Something was wrong. My daughter is undergoing treatment for pneumonia since the last 10 days. An injection is given daily at 7.30 pm. There was no problem. On Saturday, it was different. The government must inquire.
Amritsar: A suspected Pakistani intruder was shot dead by the BSF long the International Border in Punjab today.

Officials said the incident was reported at 6:20 AM when Border Security Force personnel on-duty spotted some movement ahead of the fence at the IB near the Paharipur border post in Gurdaspur sector.

They said the suspected intruder was challenged repeatedly but he did not pay heed to it and hence was shot.

The area has been cordoned off and a search has been launched to retrieve the body and look for other possible suspects in the area, they said.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Transport Minister A K Saseendran, who resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct, met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here on Monday and said that a probe into the matter would be ordered.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Saseendran said he told Vijayan that there was something "unnatural" in the news report of his purported phone talks with a woman, a clip of which was leaked by a television channel on Sunday.

"The Chief Minister will order a probe. But who will (conduct) the probe and how many days it will take for it to be over, I do not know," he said.

To another question, he said the ministerial post was not important to him, but he wanted his innocence to be proved.

State DGP Loknath Behara also held discussions with the Chief Minister at the Secretariat this morning.

Behara said he had not received any complaint so far on the allegation against Saseendran.

On Sunday, a Malayalam television channel had released an audio clip, purported to be that of Saseendran, conversing with a woman in sexual undertones.

Meanwhile, NCP state president Uzhavoor Vijayan said a party meeting would be held tomorrow in view of the developments.

The NCP has two MLAs in the assembly -- Saseendran and Thomas Chandy.

Asked if his party would stake claim to fill the ministerial post following Saseendran's resignation, he said,

"A decision will be taken tomorrow on whether or not to have a minister."
New Delhi: After Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was banned by 7 airlines including the national carrier for assaulting an Air India employee, the Central government may modify rules to allow him to fly again.

According to NDTV, the government is thinking of amending the Civil Aviation Requirements rule to balance service and safety requirements. These rules empower airlines to prevent unruly passengers from boarding.

The decision came after Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Shiv Sena MPs meet for 45 minutes on the flying ban on Gaikwad.

The Samajwadi Party and the Congress had come out in support of the lawmaker today.
The government proposed to acquire 5,800 acres in Gattu mandal of Mahbubnagar district to allow solar power companies to set up power plants on the plug-and-play model. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has put off its proposed 1,000-megawatt renewable energy project in Mahbubnagar district due to technical reasons and field-level difficulties.

The government had taken up the project on a priority basis and a few companies had come forward to set up solar power projects with capacities ranging from 2 MW to 200 MW under TS-iPASS.

The government proposed to acquire 5,800 acres in Gattu mandal of Mahbubnagar district to allow solar power companies to set up power plants on the plug-and-play model.

Telangana State Indu-strial Infrastructure Co-rporation Ltd (TSIIC), which was the nodal agency for the project, began land acquisition process in 2014. The project, however, has come to naught in less than three years. According to TSIIC managing director E.V. Narasimha Reddy, the corporation has almost dropped the project.

Acquiring land for the project has been a big problem as there was no provision in land acquisition law to allow the government acquire land for such projects. Variation in Power Purchasing Agreements (PPA) was also one of the reasons for dropping the project, he explained.

The government held talks with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd and other companies for investing in the solar park. As per the Detailed Project Report (DPR), TSIIC had to acquire required land from the government agencies and pattadars in the village for the phase-I of the project for generating 500 MW.

TSIIC had earlier said that the project would be implemented on an open access basis, which would allow heavy users of power to buy power from the open market instead of the state utilities.
An illegal slaughterhouse in Choka Ghat area of Varanasi which was sealed by the authorities. (Photo: PTI)

Lucknow/New Delhi: Meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh go on an indefinite strike from today against the crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses.

Fish vendors were also claimed to have resolved to join the stir which has seen non-vegetarian delicacies go off the menu in several parts of the state.

"We have decided to intensify our strike. All shops will remain closed. Fish sellers too have joined us and are extending support to us," Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal office bearer Mubeen Qureshi said.

He said, in the wake of the crackdown, there was no question of the strike being called off anytime soon. "It will go on indefinitely," he said.

Due to the strike, non-vegetarian food outlets, including the famous Tunday and Rahim's have shifted to mutton and chicken dishes after buffalo meat became scarce. "The meat sellers are piqued over the crackdown on slaughter houses which has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people," Qureshi said.

After coming to power, the Yogi Adityanath government has ordered closure of illegal slaughterhouses and strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling to fulfil a key electoral promise.

As the mouth-watering kebabs went off the platter, the owner of another famous eatery said the situation might force the hoteliers to get mutton from Delhi. "But there will be no compromise on the quality of the food," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

At the same time, he supported the closure of illegal and mechanised slaughter houses in the state, saying it was difficult for a common man to pass through a locality where the slaughter houses were operating almost openly.

He also alleged that the illegal abattoirs even indulged in slaughtering dogs.

Replying to a question, he said, "This is not a religious issue. In fact, it is directly linked to the health of people, who have the right to good quality of meat and fish."

Meanwhile, BJP national spokesman Sambit Patra said in Delhi that the government was only following a court order as illegal abattoirs were contributing to UP's ill health by getting ground water polluted.

He claimed those running meat outlets legally and in accordance with norms were not being victimised. "There has been a court order about illegal abattoirs which was not implemented by the previous government. The state's Chief Secretary has constituted committees in each district headed by the Collector and comprising ten people each. The committee is visiting every slaughterhouse to see if they are being run legally and submitting a report every day," he said.

About loss of livelihood and lack of meat in the market, Patra said," If there is large-scale disruption, the state government will look at it and resolve the issue.

Senior UP Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh said only small meat vendors were being targeted during the drive.

"How is it that the small shops are getting closed and meat exports are going up. The government should have made people aware of the laws and rules before launching the drive," he said.

On Saturday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said abattoirs operating legally will not be touched but action will be taken against those run illegally.

"The government will not touch those (abattoirs) which are operating as per the provisions of law and have a valid licence. But those that are violating the orders of the NGT and playing with the health of the public would not be spared...," he had said.
Mumbai: Slamming Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad for assaulting an Air India officer, Union Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said that violence of any kind can be a disaster for airlines.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that an MP would get caught in such an incident, Raju said referring to Gaikwad.

Gaikwad, an MP from Osmanabad, had on Saturday attacked an Air India manager with a sandal for not providing him a business class seat in a flight to Delhi.

Gaikwad was subsequently blacklisted and barred by Air India, and 6 private carriers, from boarding their flights. He left for Pune on a train, but never got back home to Osmanabad.

Gaikwad is said to be staying at a relatives house in Pune currently. The Sena leader is expected to go back to Delhi, and hence is not travelling to Osamanabad, and will take a train again. While the contact numbers of Gaikwad and his wife are not available, a certain Mr Joshi, who claims to be Gaikwads personal assistant, answered a call made to his house in Osmanabad.

Asked about the whereabouts of Gaikwad, he said, Gaikwad is not in Osmanabad. He has not come here and there is no confirmation on when he will reach Osmanabad. He has to go back to Delhi and will go back via Pune or Mumbai.

Shiv Sena, in the Lok Sabha today, raised the issue of comedian Kapil Sharma being allowed drunk on a flight, to question why Gaikwad had been banned.

"Kapil Sharma misbehaved on a flight after getting drunk but no ban was imposed on him. Corrupt people are allowed to fly. How can an MP be banned," Sena MP Anandrao Adsul questioned in the Lok Sabha.

On Sunday, Gaikwad, unapologetic from the beginning, threatened legal action against Air India and IndiGo for banning him. He claimed he had not gone into hiding and would be present in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. He said a 'top Sena leader' had asked him not to speak to the media.

The Sena MP had earlier insisted that he had done nothing wrong, bragged about his attack on the Air India officer and said that the 60-year-old officer should apologise to him.
New Delhi: The banning of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad from flying after he allegedly assaulted an Air India official at New Delhis IGI Airport last week rocked Parliament on Monday.

The Congress, which apparently supported the Shiv Sena MP and attacked the airlines in the Rajya Sabha, took the opposite line in the Lok Sabha the same day.

There are, meanwhile, some reports that indicate the government may be considering tweaking civil aviation rules to disallow airlines from blacklisting passengers to enable the Shiv Sena MP to fly again. His party also rallied behind the MP and targeted the airlines.

The Delhi Police, on its part, said it had recorded the statements of all persons who were present at the spot during the incident.

The Shiv Sena MP got support from unlikely quarters in the Rajya Sabha, with Naresh Agrawal (Samajwadi Party) raising the issue, asking whether the airlines could take such action even before the MP was found guilty of misconduct.

The SP Rajya Sabha member said Mr Gaikwad being put on the no-fly list was probably the first in Indian history as no one had so far been banned from flying for unruly behaviour in India. He was supported by Congress MPs Hussain Dalwai and Rajani Patil, who also questioned the ban on the MP.

Mr Agrawal was not allowed to raise the issue by deputy chairman P.J. Kurien on the ground that it pertained to a member of the other House. In the Lok Sabha, members of the Shiv Sena, an ally of the ruling BJP, created an uproar demanding the lifting of the ban on flying on their MP. The government, however, justified the action by the airlines.

Aviation minister admonishes MP

The Shiv Senas leader in the House, Anandrao Adsul, who raised the issue, said he was only seeking lifting of the ban on flying imposed on Mr Gaikwad by all major airlines after he assaulted a 60-year-old duty manager of Air India on March 23.

The Shiv Sena members also entered into an argument in the Lok Sabha with Congress MPs who were demanding an apology from the MP.

The government, however, justified the action by the airlines. Civil aviation minister P. Ashok Gajapati Raju admonished Mr Gaikwad for indulging in violence on the flight last week. I never in my wildest dreams thought an MP will get caught in such an incident, he said, adding: Violence of any kind (on board an aircraft) can be disastrous.

Mr Adsul said the ban was against the Constitution and the law and the government must intervene immediately. Talking about the privileges of MPs, he said: An MP is also a passenger... We have to keep safety issues in mind.
Chennai: A 42-year-old woman succumbed to the burns she sustained in her suicide bid after she was reportedly harassed by the cops who went to arrest her husband, a history sheeter under preventive detention ahead of the RK Nagar by-poll, on Sunday night.

Sources said the deceased, identified as Padmavathi who owns a house in Neduncheliyan street, Chinthadripet, visited the tenants who had been contacted after the cops came looking for her husband and her son, at around 4.30 pm on Sunday.

A police team also arrived and questioned her about the whereabouts of her husband Mohan and elder son Pradeep. She argued with the cops that they had not committed any crime warranting their arrest. The cops pressed Padmavathi either to give away Mohan's location, or to send Pradeep with them.

After the cops left, Padmavathi set herself ablaze with a can of kerosene she had managed to grab from her mother's house in the neighbourhood, and she died late at night, not responding to the treatment at the KMCH.

Padmavathi is survived by her 4 children - Priyanka (21), Pradeep (19), Sanjay (17) and Sneha, (15) and her husband. Mohan was involved in petty quarrels in the area a decade ago. He had made amends to his ways and is running a TV-cable service in the locality. Since the cops harassment mounted on the family in the aftermath of violence reported during the culmination of Marina-Jallikattu protest, the family rented out their house and moved to Mylapore to evade the harassment.

The cops threatened Padmavathi's tenants to vacate her house since her family was fighting several criminal cases but left it to them to decide on the same, a relative requesting anonymity told DC.

Sneha is good at carrom, and has won several accolades in State-level meets. Impressed by her feats, the Carrom Association is sponsoring a club building in Neduncheliyan, which is under construction, another relative revealed.

Cops maintained that they went only to pick up Mohan and Pradeep. We also had information about Pradeep's rivals plotting his murder and wanted to intervene," a senior police official noted.

The children petitioned the City Police Commissioner Karan Singha to act against erring Chinthadripet Police, whom the quartet claimed was responsible for their mother's drastic step.
New Delhi: Expressing serious concern over a number of farmers committing suicide across the country, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to come out with a comprehensive scheme to protect farmers during pre-harvest, post-harvest and for sale of their produce at a minimum support price.

A Bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul wanted the Union Government to take steps to prevent farmers suicides by addressing their problems, instead of focusing on payment of compensation alone.

The CJI told additional solicitor general P.S. Narasimha that farmers suffered losses whenever there was a bumper crop causing the market price to fall or a crop failure due to drought or flood or the quality of the produce is below the standards. Mr. Narasimha, however, submitted that the Centre had taken several measures to improve the financial condition of farmers by offering crop insurance and farm credit with interest waiver. He said the Centre was coordinating with the states in the implementation of various policies aimed at helping farmers. He further said the Centre had put in place as many as 12 schemes and since 2015 efforts were focused on strengthening farmers finances.

ASG: Scheme to end farm suicides

The ASG said the Centre had already held discussions with states where suicide of farmers was more and asked them to follow comprehensive measures. He said disillusionment of farmers over crop loss results in suicide and the Centre was in the process of formulating a model scheme to protect the interests of farmers and this scheme can be followed by all states.

At this juncture the CJI said as farmers have no other employment if there was crop loss, the scheme must focus on providing alternative employment opportunities in the event of drought or other natural calamities.

The CJI said You (Centre) cannot have a situation where three lakh farmers commit suicide. You must take immediate steps to improve the situation with reference to farmer suicides. Consider the pre-harvest and post-harvest situation and also in giving minimum support price for their products.

Appearing for NGO Citizens Resource and Action Initiative, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves submitted that despite various reports of expert groups, the problem of farmer suicides has not been adequately addressed.

In the last hearing the Court had sought response of the Centre and all states on the NGOs allegation that drought and debt drove more than 600 farmers to commit suicide in Gujarat alone between 2003 and 2012, when Narendra Modi was the CM.

The court wanted to know whether there was any policy on crop loans when there is a natural calamity. The Bench also wanted the RBI to indicate the policy on loan waiver in such situations.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao told the Legislative Assembly on Monday that a special session of the Legislature will be convened within a week to pass Muslim and ST quota bills. The Budget session of Legislature ended on Monday. However, suspense continues whether the Muslim quota will be increased to 12 per cent or 9 per cent.

Mr Raos remarks in the Assembly on Monday that the government may enhance Muslim quota by 4 or 5 per cent without elaborating further fuelled speculations in the wake of reports that the BC Commission had recommended only 9 per cent quota for Muslims.

The CM had promised 12 per cent quota each for Muslims and STs. At present, Muslims have 4 per cent quota.

Mr Rao said the state government will approach the Centre and the Supreme Court after passing the quota Bills seeking a Tamil Nadu-type reservation quota to implement the over and above SC-prescribed limit of 50 per cent overall quota. At present, TS has 50 per cent overall quota and if Muslim, STs quotas are increased to 12 per cent each, the overall quota will increase to 64 per cent, while Tamil Nadu has a 69 per cent overall quota.

The CM denied giving religious reservations to Muslims and said the quota hike will be based on social, economic and educational backwardness of Muslims in Telangana.

Mr Rao felt there is a need to increase even the existing reservations for BCs and the government will initiate steps in this regard at an appropriate time.

He also proposed to bring a separate BC Sub-Plan Act for backward classes in the next Budget along the lines of SC/ ST Sub-Pan Act.

When Tamil Nadu can implement 69 per cent quota, TS should also be given a similar benefit since nearly 90 per cent of the states population comprises BCs, SCs, STs and Minorities, who lag behind on all fronts. There cant be different norms for different states in the same country, Mr Rao said.
Hyderabad: Opposition Congress, MIM and BJP have slammed TRS government terming the Budget as unrealistic and inflated, during the debate on TS Appropriation Bill, 2017, in Legislative Assembly on Monday.

Congress MLA N. Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the government had inflated Budget figures to hide the financial crisis and to secure more loans from banks by showing a higher GSDP growth rate.

He said though the government has failed to meet budgetary targets in its previous three Budgets with poor spending, it again attempted a higher Budget for 2017-18 ignoring the ground realities.

The government failed to clear crop loan waiver scheme arrears and fee reimbursement arrears. Agricultural production has come down. Farmer suicides have increased. There is no progress in KG-to-PG free education, 2BHK houses for the poor and free 3-acre agriculture land for Dalits. The government has failed on all fronts in these three years, Mr Reddy charged.

MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi questioned how the finance minister came up with supplementary estimates of over Rs 41,000 crore for 2016-17, when the governments had not presented such huge amounts even in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Mr Owaisi said drug menace has increased in the city making students and youth drug-addicts and e-cigarettes, ganja and other drugs were freely sold in Hyderabad near schools, colleges, clubs, resorts etc.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday suggested to the Centre to consider using more effective technical means to deal with agitations in Jammu and Kashmir rather than using pellet guns during unrest.

A Bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul gave this suggestion to the Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and asked him to weigh in the disadvantages of using pellet guns on students as it concerns life and death of human beings.

Pellet guns were used in Kashmir during the unrest last year following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani.

The Bench also expressed concern over injuries suffered by minors involved in protests in the Kashmir Valley and asked the government what action has been taken by it against their parents.
In this file photo, kar sevaks celebrate after demolishing the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.

Lucknow: The Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) on Sunday said an out-of-court settlement of the Ayodhya dispute was not possible with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the helm of affairs.

"With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the helm of affairs, there is no hope that justice will prevail with the Muslims. Both of them have been BJP workers and supporters of Ram temple movement," BMAC Convenor Zafaryab Jilani said after a meeting of its office bearers here.

Earlier the prime ministers used to be "neutral" on the contentious issue, he said.

Jilani said the solution to the Babri Masjid title suit can be arrived only through the Supreme Court.

The BMAC meeting was held against the backdrop of the apex court recently asking parties involved to sit together and arrive at a consensus on the issue, which has been dragging on for decades.

"Efforts were made in the past for out-of-court settlement, but proved to be futile," Jilani told the meeting.

The BMAC office bearers were also of the view that if the Chief Justice of India or any other judge took an initiative to find a solution to the issue, the Muslims would certainly support the move.

"We are ready if he (CJI) nominates a team for hearing the matter. But out-of-court settlement is not possible. If the SC passes an order in this regard, we will look at it," Jilani had said on March 21, the day the apex court had observed that the matter was "sensitive and sentimental and it is best to settle it amicably."

Jilani had earlier said that going by his experience of last three decades, he feels that the matter cannot be settled outside the court and referred to unsuccessful negotiation attempts made during the tenures of former Prime Ministers Chandrashekhar and P V Narasimha Rao.

"Let them hear us, we are prepared. But we are not ready for out of court settlement," he said.

"In 1986, talks started between the then Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamkoti and President Muslim Personal Law Board Ali Miyan Nadvi but it failed.

"Later in 1990, Prime Minister Chandrashekhar, UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat talked but no results came. PM Narasimha Rao also constituted a committee and attempts of talks were made through Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahai but in 1992 the mosque was demolished," he said.

He said after the demolition, the then Muslim Personal Law Board President Rabe Hasan Nadvi had sought a written proposal from Shankaracharya of Kanchi in which he said Muslims should leave claim on three mosques, which was not acceptable.

The ruling BJP at the Centre has, however, welcomed the apex court's suggestion, insisting that the parties to the case should keep in mind its "sensitivity", while the Congress has been guarded in its response, saying there should be a "consensus-based" solution or the SC adjudicate the matter on merit.

Adityanath has said that aggrieved parties must sit together to resolve the matter. Terming the Supreme Court's observation as a "solid" one, he had said, "It is a welcome step."
The trouble began when a devotee visiting the temple noticed the Christian name in the temples marriage hall and took to social media to highlight the outrage. (Representational image)

Chennai: Little did Charles, ITI diploma holder from Mylapore, realise that he would be subjected to enquiries by temple authorities, a day after his marriage to a Hindu girl.

He opted for arranged marriage accepting a bride from Hindu religion, according to wishes of his mother (Mrs. Vijaya), which his father (D. Joseph) magnanimously conceded and his marriage was solemnised as per the Hindu tradition in the kalyana mandapam of the ancient Sri Madhava Perumal temple, Mylapore.

His baggage of troubles began when a few persons, whom he did not know, took to social media and even petitioned the Hindu Religions and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) department officials for allowing a Christian wedding in the temple-owned marriage hall.

We did not serve non-veg or liquor as being alleged. Let those making such baseless allegations prove it. I will prove them wrong, says Charles, who claims that the series of enquiries by the HR & CE authorities have disturbed his peaceful life.

Is it wrong to marry a Hindu girl? Charles, who has been christened Yuvaraj as per his horoscope asks. The board with floral decoration, displayed in front of the marriage hall, had the grooms name as Charles along with the brides name Sabitha.

Had I noticed the name, I would have had it changed to Yuvaraj, Charles, wedded on March 7, says. My father is a Christian and my mother a Hindu. After my mother expressed her desire that I marry a Hindu girl, we registered through a matrimonial site, contacted her parents, exchanged horoscope and finally agreed to marry at the temples marriage hall, he says.

Like Yuvaraj, his wife is also a Dalit. The trouble began when a devotee visiting the temple noticed the Christian name in the temples marriage hall and took to social media to highlight the outrage. Soon there was another mail to the temple officials claiming non-vegetarian food and liquor were served to the guests in violation of the HR & CE rules.

No non-veg, marriage conducted by Brahmin priests, says Sarvanna Kumar, temple executive officer

There is no truth in those claims. Food was served by our temple staff and the cook was a Brahmin. In fact, the marriage was conducted by two Brahmin priests in strict Hindu custom and tradition, asserts Sarvanna Kumar, temple executive officer.

The temple officials, who is contemplating legal action against trouble makers say as per local tradition, the only marriage held inside the temple is the thirukalyanam or the celestial wedding of the Lord.
KOLLAM: A youth hailing from Perumpuzha here has gone missing from the ship that sailed from Egypt to Saudi Arabia last week, and his relatives have alleged foulplay. Abhinand Yesudasan, 21, was working as a pipe fitter in Aries Marine LLC in Sharjah for the last three months and was on an official trip in the ship, Berlioz, when he went missing on the midnight of March 21.

Abhinand is the younger son of Yesudasan Anthony and Fancy Yesudasan of Jerusalam Cottage, Vanchimukku, Perumpuzha, Kollam. We got a message from his parent company in Sharjah that he had gone missing on March 21. We spoke to him last on March 17 when he mentioned that his co-workers had tortured him mentally. The ship authorities also had no idea of Abhinand. We suspect foul-play in this, Abhinands elder brother Abhilash told DC.

The company had informed that Abhinand was missing after he went to the toilet in the ship. According to the authorities, the Egyptian Navy initiated a rescue operation, but could not trace Abhinand. They also allege that Abhinand was tortured in his room in the ship by his fellow travellers. The relatives have contacted the Sharjah police seeking their intervention as the ship is expected to reach Khorfakkan port in Sharjah on March 29. The relatives have also complained to the external affairs ministry.
Chennai: AIADMK deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran filed a complaint with the Election Commission on Monday alleging that rival faction leader O Panneerselvam is manipulating the Electric Pole symbol to represent Two Leaves during the on-going bypoll campaign in the state.

According to media reports, Dinakaran has claimed that the faction is misleading the voters in the constituency by pushing the Electric Pole as Two Leaves symbol.

Interestingly, Panneerselvam, in one of speeches, was quoted as saying that Jayalalithaa and AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran were the lamps in his party symbol.

The Two leaves symbol is the original symbol of the AIADMK that was frozen due to the clash between the rivalling Sasikala-OPS factions.

Each faction had also floated their own party to contest the upcoming RK Nagar bypolls, which fell vacant after the demise of Late chief minister J Jayalalithaa. Nominations have also been filed by the candidates under the new symbols.

While the Sasikala faction will be known as AIADMK (Amma), the OPS camp chose to name their faction AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma).

The Election Commission had allotted the Hat symbol to the Sasikala camp of AIADMK while the OPS camp got Electric Pole, which has an uncanny resemblance to the Two Leaves symbol.

On the other hand, Dinakaran also released AIADMK Ammas election manifesto for the bypoll on Monday.

The manifesto, among others, promises setting up of a super-speciality hospital, mobile hospitals and fish markets in the constituency.

At a function held at the AIADMK headquarters here, the first copy of the manifesto was released by senior party leader 'Panruti' Ramachandran.

It was received by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami in the presence of Dinakaran, AIADMK Amma candidate for the bypoll in the constituency here, and senior party functionaries.
Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh may not have split formally as yet but for all practical purposes, the party is working on two parallel tracks.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav has convened a meeting of newly-elected MLAs on Tuesday while Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav has called the party MLAs for a meeting on Wednesday.

Mr Akhilesh Yadav had earlier convened a meeting of newly elected MLAs on March 16 in which he had been authorised to name the leader of Opposition.

According to party sources, Mr Akhilesh Yadav is keen to name former minister Ram Govind Chaudhary as the leader of opposition while Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav wants the post to be given to Mr Shivpal Yadav who has held the position earlier too.

Senior SP leader Mohd Azam Khan is also said to be keen on the post since it would give him an opportunity to take on the BJP in the Vidhan Sabha.

No discussions have yet been held on the reasons for the partys debacle in the recently concluded elections and it is learnt that some of the legislators had met Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, asking him to take over the party again and check the downslide.

There is no denying the fact that Mr Akhilesh Yadavs leadership has come under a cloud and we need to rethink our strategy if we wish to regain lost ground in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, said a newly elected MLA.
New Delhi: The Election Commission has extended till December 31 the June 30 deadline set for the Congress to hold organisational polls. The EC has allowed the Congress plea of granting six more months to it to complete the process of organisational polls.

There will, however, be no further extension beyond December 2017, the EC said. The EC had given an ultimatum to the Congress to complete the organisational polls by June 30.

This means the elevation of Rahul Gandhi as the Congress President would come through by the year-end. There has been a growing concern among the senior party leadership for initiating organisational changes within the Congress after its drubbing in UP.

AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said the Congress had written to the poll body for granting more time to the party for completing the process of holding organisational polls by six more months.
When he was released from confinement last week, 88-year-old Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt with an iron hand for 30 years, slipped out of history into luxurious obscurity. But Egyptians are still grappling with the consequences of the chaotic 12 months under his successor, Mohammed Morsi, Egypts only democratically elected President, whose short tenure demonstrated two political truths that are both disturbingly relevant to India. First, democracy is a double-edged weapon. Second, religion is a ruthless tiger that politicians mount at their own peril but cannot dismount at their own pleasure. Those who welcomed Mr Mubaraks fall when the so-called Arab Spring gave short shrift to dictators were hoist with their own petard in the subsequent election: instead of voting for a safe and secular retired Air Force chief as President, Egyptians chose Mr Morsi, the burly, bearded chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party which the Muslim Brotherhood had launched to contest the election. A socio-religious organisation that marches to the slogan Islam is the solution, the Brotherhood and its political front, the FJP, invite comparison with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

But while the RSS has been banned only four times (once during British rule and three times after Independence) and is assured of the pre-eminence it now enjoys for some years to come, the Brotherhood has again been outlawed by Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Egypts current President. Having suffered a succession of government crackdowns in 1948, 1954 and 1965, it can boast of a far more tumultuous past than anything the RSS has known. Called al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun in Arabic, the Brotherhood was founded in 1928 (three years after the RSS) by an Egyptian schoolteacher and six Suez Canal Company workers to make Islamic law mandatory and promote what they saw as Islamic ethical concepts. Since Egypt was then virtually a British protectorate, the Brotherhood also aimed at loosening colonial control and purging Western influence. Branches were set up throughout Egypt to run mosques, schools and sporting clubs, and membership soared as revivalist ideas spread across the Muslim world. The escalation of BJP support from two to 282 Lok Sabha seats recalls the Brotherhoods runaway success. In 2000, it returned 17 parliamentarians. Five years later, it captured 20 per cent of the seats, prompting a worried Mr Mubarak, who was then President, to rewrite the Constitution stipulating that: political activity or political parties shall not be based on any religious background or foundation. Independent candidates were banned from running for President, and new anti-terrorism laws gave the security forces sweeping powers to detain suspects and restrict public gatherings.

The fresh election after Mr Mubarak was overthrown enabled the Brotherhood to emerge as the only force in the land (apart from the military which had ruled Egypt in one guise or another since the Free Officers banished King Farouk in 1952) and the power behind the throne. Indians will recognise a familiar ring about Mr Morsis attempt to reassure critics by promising that as President he would build a democratic, civil and modern state that guaranteed freedom of religion and the right to peaceful protest. Even if the commitment was seriously meant, it did not inspire confidence among people who see nominees of religious lobbies as prisoners of their rigorous masters. Visiting Egypt last month, I was shown mile upon mile of ugly ramshackle mostly empty blocks of flats lining the road out of Cairo. They are blamed on Brotherhood favourites who were allowed to build illegally on prime agricultural land. Some condominiums sported a minaret and housed a mosque, thereby escaping taxes. The massive demonstrations against Mr Morsi that erupted in 2013 reflected anger at perceived discrimination and disenfranchisement against religious minorities (Coptic Christians account for about 15 per cent of the population), economic instability and the alleged wholesale murder of protesters.

The violence continued until the Army Chief, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, seized power, bringing to a bitter and bloody end Egypts only experiment with democracy. The prime and never-to-be-forgotten lesson of that conflagration is that those who uphold the lofty principle of Vox Populi, Vox Dei  the voice of the people is the voice of God  forget, as someone once pointed out, that the riotousness of the masses is always very close to madness. Its especially dangerous when Vox Dei is identified with a particular god so that the peoples mandate, as delivered through the ballot box, is seen to uphold the claims of one religion in a multi-religion society. Hundreds of Brotherhood activists were killed when Mr Morsi was toppled; thousands more are languishing in jail. Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Russia have declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. Its assets were seized. The FJPs newspaper was closed and its equipment confiscated. One recalls wistfully that Egypts second President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, was regarded as the apostle of revolution. He promised with Nehru, Tito and Sukarno to banish Cold War hostility and usher in global peace and harmony. Hurling defiance at the West, he nationalised the Suez Canal and vowed to build dams more magnificent and seventeen times grander than the Pyramids so that Egyptians prospered. Those heady times seem as remote now as the high noon of Greek Alexandria. Today, Egyptians are desperately courting Chinese tourists because the Russian boycott since the 2015 Metrojet bombing has deprived Egypt of one-third of its tourism revenue. One Egyptian opened his cellphone to reveal a picture of Farouks son, King Ahmed Fuad II, exiled in Switzerland, and claimed Egyptians were better off under the monarchy. If the Brotherhood has paid a high price for political adventurism, Egypt is paying even more dearly for allowing religion to overwhelm politics.
Karachi: Moments after the attack on Westminster Bridge, a woman was photographed walking past a small group of people attending to an injured victim. In sequential images, she looks past the victim, and then down at her phone. Her hand cradles her face. She is wearing a hijab. The images went viral, with anti-Islam blogs sharing the photographs as proof of the callousness of Muslims. Some sites compared the image of the woman glancing at her phone with that of an MP performing CPR on a victim to highlight the main difference between Muslims and Christians. The online abuse mounted to the extent that the photographer issued a clarifying statement emphasising that the woman was clearly distraught. The woman then approached Tell Mama, an advocacy group that monitors anti-Muslim incidents in the UK, to circulate a statement on her behalf in which she reiterates that she was devastated by the attack and speaks out against the viral campaign. This womans experience neatly summarises the flawed Western response to terrorist attacks.

Each incident has become an excuse to shore up a narrative that isnt actually true. According to the consensus narrative, immigrants are flooding the West and carrying out terrorist attacks because they hate Judeo-Christian values, democracy and Western freedoms. This was the narrative assigned to Khalid Masood until he was revealed to be Adrian Elms, a 52-year-old born in Kent with a history of violent crime, and a late-life convert to Islam, indicating that longstanding mental and social issues rather than exposure to the faith may have driven his actions on March 22. Elms profile is typical of many attackers in the West, who tend to be natives of the country in which they act, often live within an hours distance of the attack location, and have a history of petty or serious criminal activity. But who needs facts when theres a more compelling narrative that can be peddled for cynical political purposes? As Nesrine Malik put it in the Guardian, An infrastructure of hate promotion has been established and incorporated within the mainstream. This is exemplified by Nigel Farages immigrant-bashing hours after the Westminster attack, and Donald Trump Jrs attempts to criticise London mayor Sadiq Khan after this attack for sensible comments he made last year about terrorist incidents being a part of life in major cities. These narratives have enabled political coups ranging from Brexit to Trump to Le Pen.

As attacks in western cities increase, people will cling more desperately to the established narrative, no matter how often it is disproved. This is because it is too terrifying to contemplate a world in which everyday objects like knives and cars can be weaponised by anyone who bears a grudge, had a difficult or abusive childhood, or struggles with addiction. Public debate about violent extremism in the West has long made the mistake of treating radicalisation as a product of demography rather than biography. The assumption is that radicalised individuals must fit a particular type: Muslim, male, young, immigrant, unemployed, internet-savvy. But we have repeatedly seen that these stereotypes dont hold true, and that it remains unclear what causes someone to become radicalised and take the step of committing an extremist act. Since the launch of Raddul Fasaad, the security forces in Pakistan have increasingly resorted to demography, arresting Afghans and Pakhtuns, and stirring ethnic resentment. It is true that generalisations about the types of people who join violent extremist organisations may work better in a context like ours where militant groups are prevalent, operate openly, run social welfare programmes, and have at some point benefitted from state patronage.

By arrangement with Dawn
There is no official statement from either Islamabad or Riyadh, but on Friday Pakistans defence minister Khwaja Asif let slip on a television programme that former Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif, who retired in November, has been appointed to lead the 39-nation Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT), that will be headquartered in the Saudi capital. There is lack of clarity about the structure and remit of this incipient Muslim Nato, which appears more of a Sunni Nato. In Pakistan this is understood to have become a controversial matter even though a contingent of its Army has been stationed inside Saudi Arabia since the mid-60s to defend the kingdom, which has a special status in the world of Sunni Islam for being the keeper of Islams holiest places. But for us in India, the appointment will be noted with irony.

Gen. Sharif is doubtless one of Pakistans most esteemed former Army chiefs. He tried to collar the Pakistani Taliban after they attacked a school for children of military personnel, and gained some success. But he hewed to the standard military line of carrying on the proxy war  through the use of chosen terrorist outfits  against India as well as Afghanistan. This graphically came to light after Pakistani terrorists struck the Indian Armys brigade headquarters in Kashmirs Uri. If so-called Hindu India has been portrayed as an existential enemy in Pakistani Army doctrine and by the countrys mullah constituencies, there appears a wider consensus on subjugating Afghanistan through the use of terrorist proxies for reasons of regional geopolitics. It is hard to see how any government in Kabul can be happy to permit the insertion of IMAFT forces to check terrorism when it is led by a Pakistani chief. This makes the very concept of IMAFT flawed.

Terrorism engulfs the world of Islam. The most prominent countries in the news in this context happen to be Shia nations  Syria and Iraq  and the Houthi Shia rebel-held areas of Yemen where Saudi Arabia led a military campaign to bolster the Sunni side. Sunni nations too  Libya for one  are also being destroyed by Islamic extremists and terrorists. Off and on Saudi Arabia itself has been in the crosshairs of Sunni terrorists for permitting American troops, who are seen as infidels, on its soil. What does that make IMAFT? A force against Iran-led Shia Islam? Or a force to defend Saudi Arabia in the final analysis? We shall know soon, but there should be little surprise if the so-called military alliance, first spoken of in late 2015, is proposed by some to be an adjunct of the Organisation of Islamic Conference. That will reinforce the idea that it is a dud.
In general, whoever occupies the battleground first and awaits the enemy will be at ease; whoever occupies the battleground after war and must race to the conflict will be fatigued, Sun Tzu (The Art of War). China has already illegally occupied the battleground, which is illegally occupied by Pakistan too, but is a legally-owned Indian territory around the Karakoram mountain range, where the borders of at least five countries meet (Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and China). China, therefore is at ease, having occupied the battleground first. India, on the other hand, could be seen to be psychologically fatigued, being nowhere near the Chinese position, as now there is no scope for India even to think of theoretically reaching the battleground which stands beyond its reach. Strangely, China is not at ease and India is not fatigued. On the contrary, it is India that is more at ease! Because, despite reaching the battleground first, it has suddenly dawned on China that stubborn India has taken an unreasonable position. Although China stands supreme in the landlocked high terrain of Central Asia, the inferior India refuses to play ball with it.

And that is irritating the Chinese no end because every power in the vicinity of Chinese dream projects like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC); Belt-Road-Initiative (BRI); One Belt, One Road (OBOR); has to be a part, as ordained by the Lords of Middle Kingdom. Even if that dream project-party embraces territory-grabbing, terror-masterminding, diplomatic-bullying as part of its grand scheme of things. Understandably, the Chinese cannot take it, as they are desperate to achieve their unfulfilled ambition to prove their supremacy and make it acceptable to all inferior powers in the region. Time is short, and the road long. Seen in this backdrop, the endless, vitriolic semantic gems of the Chinese state-controlled media at India are inevitable. Fortunately, Chinas traditional dream (run) to dominate (all) foreigners is being noted and challenged with suspicion with a dose of enhanced lack of diplomatic niceties. The scenario by now has an expected pattern. China will attack anyone trying to stand up to its pressure. Thus, China stoked grievances against Seoul. Why? Because Seoul allowed the US to set up terminal high altitude area defence (Thaad) missile shield to protect itself from North Koreas erratic behaviour.

That was a grave cause of action for Beijing to order 87 out of 99 Lotte Marts stores to close in China. It was followed by anti-Korean diatribes, stoppage of tourist travel and rabid anti-Seoul indoctrination of Chinese children. Beijings threat to Taiwan is a routine breakfast-lunch-tea-dinner syndrome. Anyone talking to Taipei is a foe. Anyone trying to help Taiwan is an implacable enemy of mankind. China has issued clearcut warnings to the US to cease arms sales to Taiwan. China, however, can jointly develop aircraft, missiles and submarines with Pakistan, and any objection raised by India is rubbished with harsh admonitions. Additionally, warnings are issued to India to disallow the Dalai Lama from visiting Arunachal Pradesh and Bihar. Why? Because the Chinese consider the universally-admired peace-loving lama to be a threat to the world order and harmony. This, despite the fact that India (unwisely) allows bulk import of cheap and sub-standard Chinese consumer goods, thereby destroying its own indigenous producers. China is well aware of Indias craze for foreign goods and foreigners, and takes full advantage of it. Thus obscure Chinese mobile phone brands like Tinno, Huaqin and Malata are about to flood the Indian market. Simultaneously, the Chinese threat looms large over Indian battery-makers. After all, it is a combination of FDI plus cheap, competitive products. The panacea of all economic ills.

However, there appears to be a reverse reaction too, as Australia rebuffs Chinas offer of formal Silk Road ties. Canberra rejected Beijings push for a formal alignment of its Australian $5 billion state infrastructure fund with Chinas New Silk Road strategy. It has firmly rejected any agreement over the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility during Chinese premier Li Keqiangs trip to the country. According to Australia, OBOR is a way to extend Chinese influence at the expense of the US, and Australia cannot afford to annoy Washington. Canberra too clearly sees security and economic threats moving thick and fast from Beijing. As the OBOR project faces serious challenges, Beijing is desperate to hurtle down the Central Asian heartland to the warm water ports, connecting the world sea trade lifeline passing around the southern periphery of Indian geography. Hence, the direct challenge and threat to New Delhi. New Delhi cannot prevent the growth of the OBORs influence, the Global Times, a Communist Party-run tabloid published by the official Peoples Daily, said in a commentary. If India wants to exclude itself from OBOR at a time when the initiative is receiving widespread support from the global community, India will end up simply watching the rise of Chinas international reputation.

As if Indias sole aim is to concentrate on an eternally turbulent terrain in which OBOR and BRI will make the Central Asian geography the best trade mart of prosperity, commerce, economics. Some lofty ideas! China is grievously wrong to assume that India is a pushover owing to Beijings financial and firepower assistance to Islamabad, Dhaka, Kathmandu and Colombo. Hence, Beijings aim to put pressure on Kathmandu by denouncing the former Chinese projects stuck due to Prachandas pro-India policies is futile. India and Nepal have been intertwined with each other since time immemorial, much more than the Kathmandu-Beijing connect of recent times. All in all, the Chinese push for OBOR, CPEC, etc., are nothing but a grand military strategy of forward deployment like that of the US after the Second World War. Although global reach is still way beyond China, the Silk Road slogan is a good alibi. After all, a grave threat looms large for China from its all-weather friend Pakistan, as the Uighurs vow to return to Beijing and ISIS threatens to bleed China. In the guise of its dream projects, it is Beijings beyond-the-horizon and beyond-the-visual range war preparations far from mainland China.
Washington: US President Donald Trump today called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and congratulated him on his recent electoral success, the White House said.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that Trump congratulated Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on their electoral victories.

The White House said the leaders spoke by phone. "The president spoke with German Chancellor Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Modi earlier today to congratulate them on their parties' success in recent elections," Spicer said.

Following the elections held in five states that begun on February 4 and ended on March 9 after polling was rescheduled in some constituencies, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party formed the government in four states: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

It, however, lost Punjab to main rival Congress in the results announced on March 11.

Anchored mainly by Modi and his aide Amit Shah, the BJP juggernaut rolled on in Uttar Pradesh and in the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand, bagging three-fourth majority.

The BJP returned to power in the politically-crucial state of UP after a gap of 15 years during which regional parties such as the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party held sway.

Goa and Manipur had hung assemblies after the polls, but the BJP managed to form the government with support from other regional parties.

The elections in the five states had turned into a virtual referendum on Modi's popularity following his much-debated decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.

Previously, Modi and Trump talked by phone on January 24, when they had resolved to stand "shoulder-to-shoulder" in the global fight against terrorism and for defence and security.

According to a White House statement then, Trump had "emphasised that the US considers India a true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world."

The two leaders had exchanged invitations for visits. "President Trump looked forward to hosting Prime Minister Modi in the US later this year," the statement had said.

Prime Minister Modi was the fifth foreign leader Trump had spoken to on phone after he was sworn-in as the US president on January 20. He had by then spoken to British Prime Minister Theresa May, Canada's Justin Trudeau, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

After his surprise victory in the November 8 elections in the US, Modi was among the first world leaders to congratulate Trump. And during the gruelling election campaign, India and Israel were the two prominent countries Trump spoke of strengthening ties if he were to become the president.
The PNG Post Courier newspaper, quoting local police, said a fishing vessel found Rolando Omongos, 21, adrift and without food on a boat on March 9. (Photo: Pixabay)

Manila: A Filipino fisherman cast adrift in the high seas by a storm survived for nearly two months by drinking rainwater as he helplessly watched his uncle die beside him, the survivors mother said Saturday.

The PNG Post Courier newspaper, quoting local police, said a fishing vessel found Rolando Omongos, 21, adrift and without food on a boat on March 9.

Weak and distressed, he was examined by doctors and held on the boat on the island of New Britain while arrangements are being made for his return home, it said, adding his ordeal lasted 56 days.

A January storm separated him and his uncle Reniel Omongos from their main fishing vessel, leaving the two stranded on a tiny boat without fuel, food or fishing tools, said Rosalie Omongos, the mother of the survivor and sister of the deceased.

Rolando told me they lost their voices after one week and my brother later died. My son said he cried but his eyes were dry, she told AFP, speaking by phone from the Philippine port of General Santos.

He told me he kept his uncles body on the boat in case a ship came to rescue them, but there was nothing and so he threw it into the water when it started to smell, she added.

After the storm Rolando and his 31-year-old uncle relied on rain water they gathered using a one-gallon jug, the woman said.

They endured hunger and thirst and their skin was burnt by the sun because the boat did not have any roof, she said.

She said her son and her brother sailed off from General Santos on December 21 along with other fishermen aboard the bigger vessel.

But when the fishing boat and crew returned to port after the storm without the two men, the family feared the worst.

We did not hear anything from them for three months. We thought they were both dead, the woman said.

The mens employer later reported the rescue and the death to the Philippine coast guard on March 10, General Santos coast guard officer Emma Ruth Consuelo told AFP.

His mother said she spoke to her son by telephone on March 12, three days after his rescue.

It is difficult for us to accept my brothers death, but we are overjoyed to learn that my son is alive, said the 40-year-old woman.

The family and the Filipino coast guard both said they did not know when the survivor would return home. His employers could not be contacted by AFP on Saturday.
The girl told her friend about the abuse when she was 14 years old, but the incident was not reported to the police until as late as 2010. (Photo: Representational/File)

Sydney: A 72-year-old Australian man was jailed for 18 years for raping his minor daughter for over a period of three years.

A Daily Mail report stated that the accused repeatedly sexually abused his daughter from the age of 10 and gave her contraceptive pills at 13 so that she would not be pregnant.

The girl, now in her 50s, was first sexually abused on a family holiday, by the father who was in his 30s. He had threatened her that she would never see her brother again if she told anyone about the abuse.

At the age of 12, after undertaking sex education classes at school, the girl had questioned her father about the act, but he said, The school has taught you wrong. I love you and that's the reason that I do it.

The girl told her friend about the abuse when she was 14 years old, but the incident was not reported to the police until as late as 2010. The victims mother filed for divorce when she was told about the rapes. In June 2013, the accused was transferred from England and given an 18 years prison sentence in October 2014. He had pleaded guilty to five counts of rape and one count of buggery.

The man will be eligible for parole on February 22, 2022.

The court was quoted as saying that (he) the accused appears to have had a sense of entitlement to the serious criminal mistreatment of his daughter. It observed that the child had no power over the perpetrator and had to submit to his will.

The mans lawyers appealed the sentence in 2016, asking his health conditions such as dementia, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, to be taken into consideration. But the appeal was rejected.

The man was interviewed by clinical psychologist Laura Durkin who said the man tried to justify his crime by saying that the girl had consented to the abuse most of the time.
Melbourne: Police in Australia's Tasmania state on Monday said they have launched a probe into the assault on an Indian-origin man to assess whether it was a racially-motivated incident.

Li Max Joy, who is pursuing a nursing course and working as a part time taxi driver in Australia, alleged that five people including a girl hurled racial abuses like "you bloody black Indians" at him and assaulted him up at the McDonald's

restaurant at North Hobart in the state.

In a statement, the police said they have spoken to a number of witnesses and were following a particular line of inquiry in relation to the offender.

"The complainant will be kept informed of the status of the investigation as it progresses," police said. "Tasmania Police take all assaults seriously, and whether the assault was racially based will be a component of the investigative facts," it noted.

The 33-year-old victim said that the teenagers had been arguing with the McDonald's staff when he reached the fast food centre, but turned their anger on him when they noticed him.

Joy was admitted to Royal Hobart Hospital with deep wounds. He was later discharged from hospital and he reported the incident to police.
The motion said that Gilgit-Baltistan has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947 (Photo: YouTube Screengrab)

London: A motion has been tabled in the UK parliament condemning Pakistan's "arbitrary" move to declare the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region, bordering disputed PoK, as its fifth province.

Bob Blackman, a Conservative Party MP, who regularly speaks out in support of the rights of Kashmiri Hindus in the House of Commons, tabled the Early Day Motion (EDM) titled 'Annexation of Gilgit-Baltistan as by Pakistan as its fifth frontier' on March 23.

EDMs are formal motions tabled in the House of Commons as a means of drawing attention to a particular issue or cause. The motion said that Gilgit-Baltistan has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947 and the country is attempting to annex the already disputed area.

The EDM reads: "That this House condemns the arbitrary announcement by Pakistan declaring Gilgit-Baltistan as its Fifth Frontier, implying its attempt to annex the already disputed area."

It noted that "Gilgit-Baltistan is a legal and constitutional part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India, which is illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947, and where people are denied their fundamental rights including the right of freedom of expression."

It further said that the attempts to change the demography of the region in violation of State Subject Ordinance and forcibly and illegally to build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which further aggravates and interferes with the disputed territory."

Other British MPs are expected to sign the EDM during the course of this week as a show of support to the motion. A spokesperson for Blackman's office indicated that a formal debate on the issue is also likely to be proposed incoming weeks.

Pakistan's minister for inter-provincial coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada on Marach 14 told Pakistani media that a committee headed by Advisor of Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had proposed giving the status of a province to Gilgit-Baltistan.

He also said that a constitutional amendment would be made to change the status of the region, through which the USD 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes.

India has termed as "entirely unacceptable" any possible attempt by Pakistan to declare the Gilgit-Baltistan region, bordering disputed PoK, as the fifth province.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson said any such step would not be able to hide the illegality of Pakistan's occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir which it must vacate, forthwith.

Gilgit-Baltistan is treated as a separate geographical entity by Pakistan. It has a regional assembly and an elected Chief Minister. Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh are the four provinces of Pakistan.

It is believed that China's concerns about the unsettled status of Gilgit-Baltistan prompted Pakistan to change its status.
London: British Prime Minister Theresa May travels to Scotland on Monday to try to avert its independence bid while also fighting a political crisis in Northern Ireland in the frantic final days before she launches Brexit.

With Britain still reeling from a terror attack at the gates of parliament, May is preparing to embark on a journey out of the European Union this week that will change Britain and the EU forever.

Ahead of her talks with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, May said she wanted "a more united nation" and would fight for the interests of all parts of Britain once exit negotiations with Brussels begin.

But Sturgeon wants Scotland to remain in the European single market when the rest of Britain leaves and the Edinburgh parliament is expected to back her call for a new independence referendum with a vote on Tuesday.

May will send a letter to EU President Donald Tusk with Britain's formal departure notification on Wednesday, opening up a two-year negotiating window before Britain actually leaves the bloc in 2019.

The Sunday Times newspaper reported that the letter would run to eight pages and British media said it would be handed over in person by Britain's EU envoy Tim Barrow.

May will also on Wednesday address British MPs on Brexit, nine months after the country voted by 52 percent in June in favour of leaving the EU, the first country to do so.

The EU is expected to provide an initial response by Friday and an EU summit on April 29 will come up with a more detailed strategy but the talks themselves are not expected to start until May at the earliest.

The prospect of those negotiations breaking down and Britain leaving with no deal in place is a growing concern for UK business leaders and among pro-EU politicians on both sides of the Channel.

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier last week warned that no deal could create queues at the port of Dover, disrupt air traffic in and out of Britain and even see the transport of nuclear material suspended.

"We want a deal," Barnier told reporters, after May said that "no deal is better than a bad deal". Barnier also said Britain must "settle the accounts" after EU officials said Britain faced an exit bill of around 60 billion euros ($65 billion) -- likely to be a major bone of contention in the negotiations.

The launch of Brexit, which has raised wider questions about European integration, will come just days after EU leaders celebrated the 60th anniversary of the bloc's founding treaty in Rome with a declaration in favour a "multi-speed Europe".

Tens of thousands of pro-EU demonstrators took to the streets of London and other European cities on Saturday but for many Britons the country's departure cannot come soon enough.

The run-up to the historic moment has been particularly frenzied for May, who had to be rushed out of the British parliament last Wednesday after an attacker went on a rampage outside the gates.

Briton Khalid Masood, 52, ran over and killed three pedestrians before stabbing a police officer to death and then himself being shot dead just inside the gates of the symbol of Britain's democracy.

Scotland and Northern Ireland are providing two further headaches for Conservative leader May. In Northern Ireland, Britain is seeking an 11th-hour solution to the political deadlock in Belfast following the collapse in January of the British province's power-sharing executive.

Northern Ireland voted for the UK to stay in the European Union and the border with the the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state, is a concern for negotiators. Scotland also voted overwhelmingly for Britain to stay in the EU.

As well as exposing deep rifts between different parts of the country, the Brexit vote showed up the divide between the haves and the have-nots of globalisation and the raw wounds from the global financial crisis and years of austerity.

It also highlighted turmoil in the Conservative Party -- which is now divided between a hardcore of "Brexiteers" and more moderate MPs who have said they want smoother conditions for the departure.

Some Conservative MPs were quoted by The Times newspaper on Monday saying they could vote against the repeal of the European Communities Act 1972, which enshrines Britain's EU membership, "if negotiations are going badly and Brexiteers are out of control".
The announcement of the sanctions also comes ahead of a May presidential election in which President Rouhani is expected to seek re-election. (Photo: AP)

Tehran: Iran on Sunday sanctioned what it described as 15 American companies, alleging they support terrorism, repression and Israel's occupation of land Palestinians want for a future state, likely in retaliation for sanctions earlier announced by the US.

The wide-ranging list from an American real estate company to a major arms manufacturer appeared more symbolic than anything else as the firms weren't immediately known to be doing business anywhere in the Islamic Republic.

A Foreign Ministry statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency said the sanctions barred companies from any agreements with Iranian firms and that former and current directors would not be eligible for visas.

It also said any of the company's assets in Iran could be seized. "The sanctioned companies have, directly and/or indirectly, been involved in the brutal atrocities committed by the Zionist regime in the occupied Palestinian territories, or they have supported the regime's terrorist activities and Israel's development of Zionist settlements on the Palestinian soil," the IRNA report said.

The IRNA report referred to the sanctions as a "reciprocal act," without elaborating. Iran's new sanctions comes after the Trump administration in February sanctioned more than two dozen people and companies in retaliation for a recent ballistic missile test.

The companies named did not immediately respond to requests for comments on Monday. They included ITT Corp., missile-maker Raytheon Co. and United Technologies Corp. Denver's Re/Max Holdings Inc., a real estate company, also made the list.

One of the named companies, Israeli defence contractor Elbit, declined to comment on the matter. Another firm on the list, truck maker Oshkosh, has worked closely with Israeli armoured products maker Plasan, including on the Sand Cat armoured vehicle that is used by several countries, including Israel.

The Israeli Defense Ministry is reportedly seeking to buy some 200 tactical trucks from the Oshkosh, Wisconsin-based company.

Kahr Arms and Magnum Research, two sanctioned firms which share the same parent company, advertise .44-caliber Magnum and .50-caliber "Desert Eagle" pistols, a product line that previously has been made in Israel.

Meanwhile, a senior Iranian lawmaker said Iran would consider a bill branding the US military and the CIA as terrorist groups if the US Congress passes a bill designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.

Allaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, was quoted by Iranian state television as saying the move to further sanction the Revolutionary Guard goes against the 2015 nuclear deal Iran reached with the United States and other world powers.

The nuclear deal saw Iran agree to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of some economic sanctions.

In the time since, Chicago-based Boeing Co. has struck a USD 16.6 billion deal with Iran for passenger planes. Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic relations since 1979, when militant students stormed the US Embassy and took 52 Americans hostages for 444 days.

Tensions eased slightly with the nuclear deal struck by moderate President Hassan Rouhani's administration, though hard-liners have detained those with Western ties in the time since.

Today's sanctions announcement also comes ahead of a May presidential election in which Rouhani is expected to seek re-election.
Sanaa: A rebel court in Yemens insurgent-held capital Sanaa has sentenced in absentia President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to death for high treason, the rebel news agency said.

Yemen on Sunday marked the second anniversary of a Saudi-led coalition starting air strikes against the Huthi rebels in support of Hadis government, after the insurgents overran the capital Sanaa.

The court found Hadi guilty of usurping the title of president after the end of his term in office in February 2014, instigating attacks by Saudi Arabia and undermining the independence and integrity of the Republic of Yemen, the rebel-controlled Saba agency said late on Saturday.

Six members of Hadis government were also sentenced to death for treason, it said. On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of Huthi supporters flooded the streets of Sanaa for a mass rally against Saudi Arabias role in the war, an AFP reporter at the site said.

That came a day after former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is allied to the Huthis, slammed Riyadh in a speech marking two years since the coalitions military intervention.

Free Yemenis will continue to choose resistance, as long as the coalition led by Saudi Arabia continues to choose war, Saba quoted Saleh as saying.

Rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Huthi said the Saudi-led coalition had been living under the illusion that they can take Yemen in a week or a month... but have sunk into the mud, it said.

Hadis forces have gained ground in southern Yemen since the coalitions intervention in March 2015, but the Huthis still control the capital and strategic ports on the Red Sea coastline.

More than 7,700 people have been killed and over 40,000 injured over the past two years, the United Nations says. Three million people have been displaced and the country faces a serious threat of famine, it says.
Pakistan army troops patrol near the Torkham border post between Pakistan and Afghanistan. (Photo: AP)

Islamabad: Pakistan has begun building a fence on its disputed 2,500 km (1,500 mile) border with Afghanistan to prevent incursions by terrorists, Pakistan's army chief said, in a move likely to further strain relations between the two countries.

Pakistan has blamed Pakistani Taliban terrorists it says are based on Afghan soil for a spate of attacks at home in recent months, urging Kabul to eradicate 'sanctuaries' for terrorists.

Citing the attacks, Islamabad earlier this month temporarily shut the main crossing points along the colonial-era Durand Line border, drawn up in 1893 and rejected by Afghanistan.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa said initial fencing will focus on 'high threat zones' of Bajaur and Mohmand agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which border eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar.

"Additional technical surveillance means are also being deployed along the border besides regular air surveillance," the military said in a statement over the weekend, citing General Bajwa.

There was no immediate comment from Afghan authorities.

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have been tense in recent years, with both countries accusing each other of not doing enough to tackle Pakistani and Afghan Taliban terrorists.

Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye to Afghan Taliban commanders on its soil and even of supporting the terrorist group, something Islamabad denies.



General Bajwa said Pakistan was working on plans to "evolve a bilateral security mechanism" with Afghanistan.

"A better managed, secure and peaceful border is in mutual interest of both brotherly countries who have given phenomenal sacrifices in war against terrorism," General Bajwa added.

Pakistan has long harboured ambitions to seal its border, which is largely unpatrolled and mountainous for large chunks.

In 2007, the military said it was fencing and mining a 35 km (22 miles) stretch of border in the North Waziristan region of FATA to prevent terrorists crisscrossing the rugged terrain.

Efforts to establish a more permanent presence on the disputed frontier have angered Kabul. Last year, Pakistan's attempt to build a barrier on the main Torkham crossing ended in brief cross-border skirmishes.

In recent weeks at least two US drone strikes have targeted Pakistani terrorists on the Afghan side of the frontier.
I am a retired newspaperman. I am 69 and live in Poca, WV, with my wife of 45 years, Lou Ann. We grew up in Cleveland. Three kids. Grandfather.

More on who I am is here.

Report all errors to DonSurber@GMail.com
Supporters of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who assaulted an Air India staffer in Delhi last week, today staged a bandh in Osmanabad district to protest his "humiliation" over the incident.





"We have called for the Osmanabad bandh to protest the humiliation of our leader by the airlines who have denied him flying rights," Sena district vice president Kamlakar Chavan told PTI over phone.





"Is he a terrorist that he has been barred from flying by all airlines," Chavan said.

"The testimony of an air hostess on board that flight shows he (Gaikwad) was not at fault," he added.





"Considering its Gudi Padwa tomorrow, we have asked traders to observe the bandh (shut shops) only till 4 pm today to enable people to do festival shopping," Chavan said.





Meanwhile, Gaikwad has refused to reveal his whereabouts. "I can't tell you where I am right now. I am with my family members and I will celebrate Gudi Padwa with them before returning to Parliament on Wednesday morning," he said. The Osmanabad MP said he is lying low on his party's instructions. "I have been asked to stay quiet," he added.





On Friday, Gaikwad had boarded the August Kranti Express, which left for Mumbai from Hazrat Nizamuddin station at 4.50 PM but did not get down at the Mumbai Central station here as expected. He is understood to have got down at Vapi station in Gujarat, Sena sources had said on Saturday.





The 57-year-old MP had on Thursday allegedly abused and assaulted a 60-year-old duty manager of Air India R Sukumar with slippers for not being able to fly business class despite having boarded an all-economy Pune-New Delhi flight.





The official was repeatedly hit with sandals when he persuaded the MP to disembark after the plane landed at the IGI airport from Pune following which two FIRs were registered against him by the Delhi police on the basis of the complaint lodged by Air India.





Also, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has sought an explanation from him over the incident. Gaikwad had refused to alight, holding up the aircraft for over 40 minutes. The MP has been barred from flying all major domestic airlines as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.
A young American boy at 14 years went to work as a printer's apprentice. There he faced many problems and was forced to quit. However, with a fresh perspective, he soon joined as an apprentice confectioner, where he fared better.



For five years he le-arned his trade and at 19, started his own confectionery business in Philadelphia. Due to some problems he had to give up the business in six years. Still, he moved to Denver to work for another candy company. There too he faced many problems. He converted the problems into possibilities and started a candy company in Chicago with his father. Sadly, he was again plagued by problems.



Then he and his father mov-ed to New Orleans where another venture went proble-matic. New York was next. That too proved to be filled with problems. He saw fresh possibilities in them. With much knowledge of the confection trade and brimming with many new ideas he travelled to Pennsylvania around Christmas time and started the Lancaster Caramel Company.



It was a huge success. With new methods for processing milk chocolate, he perfected the art of making chocolate bars and by the end of the century he was able to sell the company for a million dollars and embark on another grand possibility. He built a factory that became the world's largest chocolate manufacturing plant. Shortly, he built a town around the factory where his workers settled.



In 1909, along with his wife, Catherine, he established a school to provide a home and education for needy orphans. Later in 1918, having no children of his own, he transferred 99% of his personal wealth to a charitable foundation he established for philanthropic works.



At the time of his death in 1945, he was well known as an inventor, entrepreneur, indust-rialist, philanthropist and hum-anitarian. Though there were other factors that contributed to his success, the key among them was his ability to transfo-rm problems into possibilities.



Like this luminary, Milton Snavely Hershey, whose epon-ymous foundation, the M S He-rshey Foundation that dispenses millions of dollars to charity, hundreds of others have reached the top by looking for possibilities among problems. Indeed, problems pave the way for fresh possibilities.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has has proved that he means business by taking 50-odd policy decisions within a week of taking over the reins of Uttar Pradesh.



That he is firm on maintaining proper decorum, hygiene and punctuality in the official machinery became clear on the very first day in office when he undertook a round of the CM Secretariat, personally looking into every nook and corner which was never visited by any chief minister in 40 years.



Repulsive paan (betel) stains on the walls, layers of dust on files piled up over the years, missing officials and staff caught his attention during the surprise check.



And no prize for guessing that his immediate action was putting a ban on chewing paan and paan masala in public places, and installation of biometric system and CCTVs.



The very next day some ministers and senior officials picked up brooms to lead by example.

"Such dust can lead to TB among government staff," he noted while taking a round of the Annexe Building, which also houses the chief minister's office.



The chief minister did not wait for chairing a formal cabinet meeting for strict implementation of ban on illegal slaughterhouses and formation of anti-Romeo squads, but took prompt action issuing directives to officials.



Making known his firm resolve on law and order, he has asked criminals to leave the state.

He has also asked BJP office bearers and public representatives not to undertake any contractual work and instead monitor them for effective execution.



During his first visit to Gorakhpur after assuming office, the chief minister did not mince words when he said, "Those who can work for 18-20 hours everyday can remain with us, others can go their own way."



Adityanath also advised ministers and officials not to take files home and rather clear them during office hours. "In two months, we will create such an atmosphere that people will start feeling the difference and know how a government should be run," he said. As part of his efforts to bring about a change in the work culture, the chief minister ordered review of security given to political leaders so that they do not flaunt the red beacon or use sirens and hooters in their vehicles.



He also directed that one female and one male police personnel must be present at the reception of each police station while directing increase in strength of women police personnel in the state.



Ensuring proper drinking water facility at every police station has been ordered along with directions for creating a citizen's charter in each and every department.

To boost the morale of the police force and instill fear among those in a limbo, the chief minister paid a surprise visit to the Hazratganj police station and reached there even before top officials.



To check corruption, officials and ministers have been instructed to give details of their property within 15 days.



Taking a serious note of the condition of state roads, he directed Public Works Department officials to ensure that all state roads are made pothole-free by June 15.



Besides, contractors with criminal background should be replaced by those who have a clean record and can give quality work.



The grant for Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage has been increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh along with directions to get Mansarovar Bhavan constructed near New Delhi for the benefit of pilgrims.



The Adityanath government also ordered to provide non-stop electricity during Navaratri, Ram Navmi and facilities to devotees at Shaktipeetha during the nine-day festival.



Over 50 officials on extension have already been shown the door and unlike his predecessors, Adityanath has so far stayed away from effecting any major administrative reshuffle which might take place after close of current financial year.



"The Uttar Pradesh government is working on a fast-track mode from day one itself and it has taken a number of positive decisions," senior minister Siddhartha Nath Singh said when asked to comment on major decisions being taken by the government without holding a cabinet meeting.



"As far as meeting of the Cabinet is concerned, it will be held shortly," he said.

The chief minister also took up cudgels against illegal mining, warning that no wrongdoer would be allowed to go scot-free.



He also also issued an order to officials that they would be held answerable if there was any death due to starvation or floods in the state.



Adityanath has asked all departments to come up with a plan to prioritise tasks that can be delivered within the first 100 days of his government to reflect a visible change on the ground.



Power Point presentations by each department is being prepared for the chief minister, who is expected to sit through the demo to have a firsthand account of the situation on the ground. "Top officers are spending sleepless nights preparing such reports," said a senior officials requesting anonymity.



To ensure that government employees shun their relaxed attitude, an order has been issued, asking them not to wear jeans and t-shirts at work and stick to formals.



Hospital staff will have their day's salary cut if they do not adhere to the dress code. While men have been asked to wear shirts and trousers, women employees will wear sari or salwar suit.



Instructions have also been issued for teachers that they should not use mobile phones in school unless very necessary.



From day one in office, Adityanath has been toeing BJP's Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra (Pledge for People's Welfare), touching upon key issues on the basis of priority.
The Supreme Court today reserved its verdict on the appeals filed by four death row convicts in the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder case which shook the country's conscience.



A three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra asked the parties concerned to file their written submissions within a week.



During the arguments, senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Delhi Police, told the bench that these convicts had "brutalised" the young woman and they deserved to be awarded death penalty.



"The offence committed by them (convicts) attracts death penalty. They have not given any mitigating circumstances which could warrant reduction of the sentence from death penalty which was awarded to them," he told the bench also comprising Justices R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan.



However, senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae in the matter, told the bench that the option of awarding jail term for the whole life to these convicts may also be considered.



Advocates A P Singh and M L Sharma, who are representing the four convicts, argued that considering their family background and young age, death penalty should not be given to them.



The convicts -- Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Kumar Singh -- have approached the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court's order which had confirmed the death penalty awarded to them by the trial court.



The 23-year-old paramedic was brutally assaulted and raped by six persons in a moving bus in south Delhi and thrown out of the vehicle with her male friend on the night of December 16, 2012. She had died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.



On February 3, the apex court bench prima facie agreed with the contention of Ramachandran that the provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), relating to sentencing of convicts, has not been followed in letter and spirit by the trial court.



It was submitted that section 235 of the CrPC provides that an accused, in the event of conviction, would be heard by on the question of sentencing individually before the trial judge passes the order awarding punishment.



The bench had then mulled ways to rectify the apparent error and said there are two modes -- either the case be remanded back to the trial court to pass a fresh order on the sentence or the apex court itself hears this aspect of the matter afresh.



The trial court had awarded death penalty to the four convicts. Prime accused Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in his cell in Tihar jail in March 2013 and proceedings against him were abated.



Earlier also, the court had asked the convicts to file their response detailing mitigating circumstances on the issue of sentencing.



The convicts had approached the apex court against the high court's March 13, 2014 verdict which had observed that their offence fell in the rarest of the rare category and had upheld the death sentence awarded to them by the trial court.




The present aircraft, owned by Aeropassion, a Swiss firm, flew in here from Karachi last night, its 11th halt on the 55-city tour during which it would circumnavigate the globe.



The aircraft, manufactured by the now extinct US-based Douglas Aircraft Company, were extensively used by the Allied forces during the World War II. Among other missions, they were used to airdrop the troops during the landing on the Normandy coast in France on the `D-day'.



The `Breitling DC-3 World Tour' started off from Geneva on March 9, the 77th birthday of the 36-seater aircraft with a 3-member crew, said Captain Francisco Agullo, the pilot.



Agullo (48), a Swiss national, has experience of 28 years. The tour is sponsored primarily by the Swiss watchmaker Breitling. The other two crew members are co-pilot Paul Bazeley from Britain and engineer Daniel Meyer, a Swiss, who doubles up as official photographer of the tour.





Agullo said DC-3 was the first aircraft to be commercially viable when made in 1935 by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which went on to make as many as 16,000 of them between 1935 and 1950.





The aircraft on the world tour has two Pratt & Whitney piston engines, Agullo said, adding that it has flown 74,500 hours. Engines of this make have to be changed after every 1200 hours, he said.





The DC-3 was also the first plane to complete the US east-west journey with just one stop. Out of the 16,000 DC-3 built, 10,000 were in the US, 487 in Japan and the rest in Russia. The Breitling DC-3 World Tour will end in Geneva in September after covering 24,000 nautical miles.





Bezeley said the plane chose Nagpur for a halt because the city is at the heart of India, and also because the `aviation gas', its fuel, is not available at large airports.





On Wednesday the plane will fly off to Chittagong in Bangladesh, from where it will head to Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Japan.





It will be stationed in Japan for a month before heading for the west coast of the US. In Tokyo, the plane will offer a joy ride to the child victims of the 2013 tsunami.





Civil DC-3 production stopped in 1942 with 607 aircraft made. However, the production of its military derivative, the C-47 Skytrain (designated as Dakota by the UK's Royal Air Force), and the Russian and Japanese versions continued till 1950.

A March 1940-make Dakota C-43, the oldest aircraft in the world attempting circumnavigation of the globe, touched down here today. Also called DC-3 (Douglas DC-3), these planes had played a key role in India's wars with Pakistan in 1947 and 1965.
Germany will go to the polls September 24 to elect a new parliament (Bundestag). Right now Merkel's right-of-center Christian Democratic Union has a coalition government with the slightly left-of-center Social Democrats (emphasis on "slightly"). Her party holds 311 seats (41.5%) and the Social Dems hold 193 seats (25.7%) of the 598 members. The only other parties with Bundestag seats are The Left (64 seats) and the Greens (63 seats). The AfD, the neo-Nazi Putin-Backed Alternative for Germany Party of Frauke Petry is trying to break into Parliament in the upcoming elections.





Today there were state elections in Saarland, the smallest of Germany's states, tucked between Rhineland-Palatinate and France, with a population of just over a million people. The election was the first in a series leading up to the big federal elections in September, with Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia coming in May. The Social Democrats, who have been gaining popularity over the last few months with a new leader, Martin Schultz, were looking to knock Merkel off her stride. They didn't. Early returns showed voters defied polling showing a close call between Merkel's CDU and Schultz's SPD. And Putin's neo-Nazi allies were a mere asterisk.

 CDU- 40.7%, up from 35.2%-- 24 seats

 SPD- 29.6%, down from 30.6%-- 17 seats

 The Left- 12.9%, down from 16.1%-- 7 seats

 AfD (neo-Nazis)- 6.2%-- 3 seats

 Greens- 4.5%

 FDP (right-wing CDU allies)- 3.0%

The SPD had been hoping to form a state coalition with themselves as the senior parter with The Left and the Greens (as they've done in Berlin's local legislature), but instead, they are likely to be back as the junior partner with the CDU. The neo-Nazis did go over the 5% mark, making them eligible to have members in the state Parliament. Currently they have members in 10 of German's 16 state parliaments.





Why did Merkel's CDU do so much better than polling showed it would? There was some speculation that Saarland voters rallied around her when news broke over the weekend that the universally detested Trump had handed her an invoice for $374 billion (including Senor Trumpanzee's demand for $62 billion in interest) when she visited the White House last week, back payments, he contends, are owed for German participation in NATO.

The bill-- handed over during private talks in Washington-- was described as outrageous by one German minister.



The concept behind putting out such demands is to intimidate the other side, but the chancellor took it calmly and will not respond to such provocations, the minister said.



Trump has criticised a number of NATO countries-- Germany among them-- for insufficient military spending, leaving America to pick up more than its fair share of the tab. He wants them to honour a commitment made in 2014 to invest 2% of their GDP in defence-- a target met at present only by the US, Britain, Estonia, Greece and Poland.



Trump appeared to go one step further during his meeting with Merkel. Taking 2002 as a starting point, his officials calculated the extent to which German defence spending had fallen short of the 2% target each year, added the amount together-- and then put interest on top.



...A source close to Merkel was dismissive. The president has a very unorthodox view on Nato defence spending, the source said. The alliance is not a club with a membership fee. The commitments relate to countries investment in their defence budgets.



Merkel is said to have ignored the provocation, but did commit to raise German defence spending gradually, although she asked for spending on international development to be taken into consideration.

Ignoring the evil clown Trump seems to have paid off for her-- at least in Saarland. But Trump is so hated around the world-- outside of Russia and other fascist-leaning countries-- that campaigning in any way that resists him is a real positive.




'The Mental Healthcare Bill' also has a provision to protect and restore the property right of the mentally ill people, Health Minister J P Nadda said in the Lok Sabha, just before it was passed by the House by a voice vote.





All the amendments moved by the opposition members were defeated. The Rajya Sabha had passed it in August last year with 134 official amendments. The bill provides for decriminalising suicide attempt by mentally ill persons by making it non-punishable under the Indian Penal Code.





It also focusses on community-based treatment and provides for special treatment for women. The bill seeks to ensure health-care, treatment and rehabilitation of persons with mental illness "in a manner that does not intrude on their rights and dignity."





While replying to a debate on the bill, Nadda described it as a "patient-centric" measure and said there was a need to empower the patients so that they could secure proper treatment.





The legislation has been brought after wider consultations with the stakeholders, he said.





"There were consultations at the regional level, as well at the Centre. After consultations with the stakeholders the bill was sent to the Standing Committee and post amendments it came to Rajya Sabha."





Most of the suggestions of the Standing Committee were accepted by the government, the Health Minister said. Around 29 members participated in the discussion and almost all of them extended support to the bill.





Stating that the 1987 Mental Act was institutionalised, the minister said that in the present bill, instead of the institution, the focus was on the community. The bill is a "progressive legislation" and intends to take care of everyone in case of any exigency, he said.





Describing the bill as "historic", the Health Minister said with the support of all, "we can develop the mental health services." There was a need to take care of the health and hygiene of the patients, he said, adding the right of a child with his/her mother will also be maintained.



Sterlisation would not be conducted on a person who is mentally ill, Nadda said, describing it as "an insane and inhuman act." If the need arises, he said, NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences) would be extended.



Responding to concerns expressed by some members over the safety of doctors in the wake of assault on a medico in Maharashtra recently by relatives of a patient, the Health Minister said instructions have been sent to the states that security of doctors should be ensured.



With regard to the issue raised by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on the inclusion of "role model", the Health Minister said there was no need to include it in the bill. However, he said, the government will definitely look at it at its own level. Earlier, members cutting across the political spectrum supported the Metal Health Care Bill.





NCP's Supriya Sule said the Standing Committee has "walked an extra mile" to incorporate the suggestions of all stake holders. BJD's Bhartruhari Mahtab said this legislation is the only bill which received 124 amendments and almost all have been accepted by the governmnt.



Highlighting the shortage of medics and paremedics, BJP member Heena Gavit said there are only 4500 doctors specialised in mental health when the requirement was 12,500 and 3000 nurses per one lakh patients having mental disorders.



She rued that the country does not have any Phd seat for research in mental health. She said there should be a proper mechanism to take consent of patients for their treatment and they should not be treated as an "experimental animals." Sule wanted to know what would happen to the child after he/she turns the prescribed age.





Mahtab, along with Gavit and Sule, noted that the budget for the mental healthcare is abysmally low. Sule also demanded inclusion of drug addiction and alcholism into the category of mental disease.





Supporting the legislation, Ravindra Babu (TDP) said, this was one of the "finest legislation" in last three years, but it mostly focuses on schirzophrenia. K Vishweshwar Reddy (TRS) said while the earlier laws on mental health were "regulation centric", the new bill is "patient-centric".





Referring to Nobel prize winning mathematician John Nash, a patient of schizophrenia, who made fundamental contributions to game theory, Reddy said, at least he had support of his family. The movie 'A Beautiful Mind' was based on his character.



"Although he had severe disabilities, he also had other capabilities," he said.





P K Sreemathi Teacher (CPM) said the government should ensure that a mentally ill patient, after treatment, is accepted by the society and the people. Besides, she said, free treatment for such kind of patient should be allowed.



Bansi Lal Mahto (BJP) suggested that ayurvedic clinic should be equipped to treat mentally ill people as this traditional method has precription for treatment of such diseases.



Jai Prakash Narain Yadav (RJD) there is a need to specify rehabilitation policy since the bill is silent about the exact modalties. The government should look at providing conducive environment for mentally ill people after the treatment and suitable employment opportunity should be ensured.

Dushyant Chautala (INLD) said the level of stress is rising in the society and it is necessary to provide medical attention to the people suffering from mental disorder and depression.



He said that just like AIDS patients are give insurance cover, insurance cover with low premium should be provided to people with mental disorder as well. N K Premachandran (RSP) said 5-6 per cent of people have mental problem and of them, 1-2 per cent have severe mental disorder.

He lauded the move to decriminalise attempt to suicide as a "progressive" move and said the government should also define 'severe stress' in the Mental Health bill.



Others who participated in the debate included Idris Ali (TMC), Renuka Butta (YSRC), Janardan Mishra (BJP), Badruddin Ajmal (AIUDF) and Kaushlendra Kumar (JDU), Kaushalendra Kumar (JDU), Ashwini Kumar Choubey (BJP) and Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM). The TRS MP said the bill should have taken care of property of patients suffering from mental health as "cruel relatives" may exploit them under this pretext. Supporting the legislation, Ratna Dey (TMC) demanded stringent punishment for doctors who falsify mental health cases.

Parliament today passed a bill that seeks to decriminalise suicide attempt by mentally ill people and provides for the right to better healthcare for people suffering from mental illness.
Clarifying that its crackdown is directed only against illegal slaughterhouses, the BJP led government in Uttar Pradesh today said that attempts to associate this drive with a particular religion were part of a conspiracy to defame it. The Aditya Nath Yogi's government's move aims to ensure health safety of the people by ensuring safe and clean meat to them, state Cabinet Minister Shrikant Sharma said.



"Our government is going by the rule book and following the orders of Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal. The action is against only illegal slaughter houses. As far as meat shop owners are concerned, I would suggest that rather than go on strike, its better that they follow the rules," Sharma told PTI. Meat sellers, especially mutton vendors, today kept their shops closed on the first day of their indefinite strike against the statewide crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughter houses.



Reports from several districts said goat meat was not easily available, even as chicken was being sold in few shops. Expressing similar views to Sharma, another Cabinet minister Siddhartha Nath Singh said that no orders have been issued for taking any action against shops selling chicken, fish or eggs. Singh added that he had directed the officials not to act in over-enthusiasm and nor should they overstep their jurisdiction.



Noting that the National Green Tribunal had insisted on closure of illegal slaughter houses, Singh said, "The NGT had in 2015 observed that illegal slaughter houses are a concern for the environment, while insisting on their closure." Reacting sharply to opposition to the move, Singh said propaganda is being carried out against the state government over this issue.



Sharma also said that some political outfits are associating this step with one specific religion as a part of larger conspiracy to defame the state government. People are intelligent they will not fall prey to this, he said. Taking on former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav over the issue, Sharma said the Samajwadi Party leader did not act on the orders of the apex court and NGT, as for Yadav politics comes before the interests of the public.
With enough determination, money and smarts, scientists just might revive the woolly mammoth, or some version of it, by splicing genes from ancient mammoths into Asian elephant DNA. The ultimate dream is to generate a sustainable population of mammoths that can once again roam the tundra.



But heres a sad irony to ponder: What if that dream came at the expense of todays Asian and African elephants, whose numbers are quickly dwindling because of habitat loss and poaching? In 50 years, we might not have those elephants, said Joseph Bennett, an assistant professor and conservation researcher at Carleton University, Canada. Joseph has spent his career asking hard questions about conservation priorities. With only so much funding to go around, deciding which species to save can be a game of triage.



Recently, he and a team of colleagues confronted a new question: If molecular biologists can potentially reconstruct extinct species, such as the woolly mammoth, should society devote its limited resources to reversing past wrongs, or on preventing future extinctions?



In a paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution this month, the researchers concluded that the biodiversity costs and benefits seldom come out in favour of de-extinction. If you have the millions of dollars it would take to resurrect a species and choose to do that, you are making an ethical decision to bring one species back and let several others go extinct, Joseph said. It would be one step forward, and three to eight steps back.



But his teams findings do not fully resonate with all scientists. Some who are engaged in de-extinction efforts say that Josephs analysis, and others like it, are too far removed from actual developments in the field. One leading group in the field is Revive & Restore, a non-profit initiative to rescue extinct and endangered species through genetic engineering and biotechnology.



There could be ecological benefits of restoring lost species, said Ben Novak, the Revive & Restores lead researcher and science consultant. In some cases, he said, living species are endangered partly because of the lack of an ecological partner or some link in the food web.



Any de-extinction effort must have long-term benefits that outweigh the costs, Ben said.



Working out the costs

De-extinction may certainly have long-term gains, Joseph acknowledged, but he fears they are a luxury the world cannot afford. By some estimates, 20% of species on Earth face extinction, and that may rise to 50% by the end of the century. In their study, Joseph and his collaborators tried to approximate the costs of re-establishing and maintaining 16 species that went extinct in the last millennium, including the Lord Howe pigeon and Eastern rat-kangaroo from Australia. The researchers selected these animals because they could estimate what it would cost to conserve them based on proposed government expenditures to save similar living species that are endangered.



Based on the price of conserving the endangered Chatham Island warbler from New Zealand, for instance, they determined that managing a new population of the extinct Chatham bellbird would cost $360,000 in the first year. Because the price of genetically reconstructing extinct species is still unknown, the scientists focused on how much it would cost just to reintroduce and maintain these particular species in the wild once they had been engineered. In New Zealand, the researchers calculated, the funds required to conserve 11 extinct species would protect three times as many living species.



The problem with this analysis, said Stewart Brand, co-founder of Revive & Restore, is that these are all species that would never be considered seriously for de-extinction in the first place, either because their ecological roles can be approximated by another living species or because the benefits of restoring them are not great enough to warrant the costs.



Joseph said, He wouldnt want to close the door on de-extinction forever. There may be some instances where it is worthwhile, he acknowledged, and pursuing it will advance research on genetic technologies. If someone wants to work on de-extinction because its technically fascinating, thats fine, he said. But if the person is couching de-extinction in terms of conservation, then she or he needs to have a very sober look at what one could do with those millions of dollars with living species  theres already plenty to do.
India is in discussion with China on the issue of allowing market access to Indian products including buffalo meat.



Not just buffalo meat, but there are many other issues on which market access is not available, and we have been talking with them on every such item so that legitimate exports from India will have to find market access in China, and the work is going on, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said to a query in Lok Sabha.



An issue was also raised about the closure of slaughter houses in Uttar Pradesh during Question Hour, seeking the governments concerns on that.



Nirmala said that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was talking of closing down only illegal slaughter houses.



What has been done in Uttar Pradesh is about the illegal slaughter houses... Be it meat or be it anything else, we do not want anything happening illegally. The chief minister himself has stated it very clearly. He is talking about illegal slaughter houses being shut. On that there cannot be a difference of opinion, she said.



To another question on why the government was importing pulses on the rate double than it was available in the domestic market, the minister said that it was done to maintain sufficient buffer stock. We are comprehensively having our approach to ensure that there is sufficient buffer stock which is necessary for keeping enough stocks of pulses so that there is no fluctuation in the market, she said.



Ministry mulls separate logistics unit

The Commerce Ministry is working on a proposal to set up a separate logistics unit to deal with the issues, including rising costs, that are impacting global competitiveness of exporters.



There is no single department or ministry at present to look at all the aspects related to logistics covering various modes of shipment such as sea, roads and railways.



According to sources, the proposal is under discussion with the ministries concerned.



Exporters too have demanded for a specific department to deal with the issues related to logistics.




Rajashekaran, a senior

Lingayat leader who is also close to Krishna, wrote a separate letter to Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu praising his leadership qualities and speeches. A former MP and MLC, Rajashekaran, is a permanent invite to the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision making body of the party. Earlier, he had openly criticised the working style of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah several times and pleaded the party top brass to reprimand him for ignoring loyal Congress leaders.







Days after former chief minister S M Krishna praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and subsequently joined the BJP, now it is the turn of another veteran Congress leader M V Rajashekaran to hail Modis leadership. Rajashekaran, who was Minister of State for Planning in the Manmohan Singh headed UPA-I government, in his letter to the Modi, expressed his congratulations over the BJP's victory in the recent held Assembly polls.Your kindself has been able to establish direct rapport with electorate, especially the younger generation who constitute nearly 82% of the electorate. You also got support from poor people and women cutting across caste, region, religion and ethnic groups. Your kindself has also been able to focus on poverty alleviation and empowering women to ensure their equal participation in all development activities of the country, he has said in the letter.Rajashekaran, son-in-law of former AICC president and chief minister the late S Nijalingappa, mentioned that the late Smt Indira Gandhiji, while she was the prime minister for the first time gave the slogan Garibi Hatao and got unbelievable support from the electorate.Your kindself has also rightly pointed out the role of middle class in finding solutions to their problems and making them equal partners in the development process. As your kindself is aware, where ever revolutions have taken place for change in the political system, it is the middle class, who have played a major role in such change of governments. I pray the almighty to bestow you with good health and long life to serve India to build new India to realise the aspirations of the younger generation, Rajashekaran has said in his recent letter to Modi.
A 34-year-old builder, his driver and another man were detained at the Sampigehalli police station for more than five hours on Friday for feeding stray dogs. Rohith Chandrashekar, his driver Asif and an autorickshaw driver were picked up by the police from MS Ramaiah North City, a gated community off Thanisandra Main Road, northeast Bengaluru, while they were feeding strays. The action was taken after a neighbour filed a police complaint against Chandrashekar for causing a nuisance.



I felt humiliated to stand barefoot near the lockup for hours like a criminal. I had to give a written apology to police saying I would not cause a nuisance henceforth by feeding the dogs, Chandrashekar told DH. For the last four years, he has been taking care of eight stray dogs, of which four live with him in his house. He would feed them twice  after midnight and before daybreak so as not to disturb anyone.



Balaji, a neighbour, had complained to the Residents Welfare Association (RWA) many times. But the RWA backed Chandrashekar as he owns a house in the gated community unlike Balaji who is a tenant. Its a menace in this locality. My daughter was chased by six to seven dogs when she was playing. The horrified child fell and sustained injuries. We also love dogs, but the problem here is that there are too many strays and they are all ferocious, Balaji said. When he didnt get a response from the RWA, Balaji approached the jurisdictional Sampigehalli police. Police acted promptly and detained Chandrashekar and the two men.



No bar to feeding dogs

An official in the BBMPs Animal Husbandry Department, which administers sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccines to stray dogs with the help of nonprofits, said no one could stop a person from feeding dogs and there were no restrictions on that. G Anand, Joint Director (Animal Husbandry), BBMP, said, As per the guidelines issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India, which is a statutory advisory body, anyone can feed stray dogs. If someone throws stones at dogs or stops a person from feeding them, animal activists can complain to the board. No one can dislocate stray dogs either, as per a Supreme Court ruling. He said that nearly 1,000 stray dogs were sterilised in the city recently.


Three Sudanese nationals, including a 60-year-old woman, got into an argument with a 50-year-old female lawyer in the magistrate court complex on Nrupathunga Road on Monday, triggering an exchange of choicest abuses between the two sides in their native tongues. Police had to intervene and detain the Sudanese nationals as well as the Indian.



It all began when Moha Mohammad, the Sudanese woman, brushed against Lalitha Mary as she entered the lift on the ground floor. Moha had come to the court, along with two compatriots, Ahmed Terai and Ahmed Mohammed Moosa, to give a deposition in a case. Mary, a lawyer herself, was rushing to attend to her own case.



Mary did not take kindly to the brush of the Sudanese and asked her whether she was blind. The Sudanese, who didnt follow a word of Marys, got offended and made a caustic retort, in her native tongue. Mary didnt follow a word either but responded in kind. Soon, the two women started trading barbs, in their respective native tongues. The argument escalated to a ruckus. Terai, Moosa and Mohas lawyer joined in, making for an ugly spectacle. The two parties almost got into fisticuffs.



But before the situation could worsen, police personnel on court duty arrived and took all of them to the jurisdictional Halasuru Gate police station. They opened a non-cognisable report (NCR) case against both the parties and let them off with a warning and some advice.


A large number of farmers on Monday staged a demonstration at the Chikkalinga Shastry lake in Kaggalipura on Kanakapura Road in south Bengaluru, alleging official apathy. The villagers were aggrieved that the government was blocking their attempts to conserve and develop the lake that provides water for drinking and irrigation in nine villages. J Anthony Swamy of Kaggalipura said that about two decades ago, the villagers had desilted the lake spread over 111 acres. As a result, the water holding capacity had increased substantially.



It may surprise one that there is a lake with pristine water in Bengaluru. We have maintained it. It is our lifeline today, he said. The problem emerged when the villagers approached the chief engineer of the Minor Irrigation department with a request to cut a portion of a hillock, which is blocking the water flowing to the lake. If a rock in the hillock is removed, we will have water round the year. We will not be dependent on any other water source, said Swamy.



Swamy added that the villagers wanted the chief engineer to act immediately whereas the latter was in no hurry. The chief engineer said the government takes time to act on the plea and they should not pressure him to give them clearance immediately, claimed Swamy.



Enraged by the poor response, the villagers staged a demonstration by standing in the lake water on Monday. They said they will intensify their agitation if the government does not heed to their plea quickly.






The circus has come to town



Do you find it at all hard to figure out which outrageous Trump endeavor is supposed to get everyone's focus off some other, earlier Trump hour show? You know what I mean? Was the TrumpCare debacle supposed to get out minds off Putin-Gate? Or is Putin-Gate supposed to get us to stop paying attention to the establishment of a kakistocracy? Or is the kakistocracy just a distraction from the kleptocracy? Can this really go on for 4 years? It's just been like 3 months and he's got more scandal fodder going than everything that's happened since Nixon combined! That would include Ford pardoning Nixon in a possible deal (+ coverup), Bert Lance's resignation as OMB Director, Bush pardoning all the Iran-Contra convicted and unconnected criminals, obviously Iran-Contra itself, Obama's NSA electronically spying on American citizens and, of course, Monica Lewinsky. Senor Trumpanzee is way beyond all that already.





International Business Times last week, despite Trump's campaign promises, as soon as he was elected, Ryan and McCarthy-- under pressure from lobbyists for foreign companies-- had killed legislation that would have directed government infrastructure contracts to American manufacturing companies. It was a bold act of defiance against the rhetoric of the newly elected president, and now a top Democrat is attempting to force Trump to put his 'Buy America' promises into action-- against his own party in Congress." That would be Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who reintroduced "legislation requiring billions of dollars of the governments spending on water infrastructure to go only to projects that use American steel. Baldwins move is particularly notable because she hails from a state that proved critical to Trumps win. It is also the home state of House Speaker Paul Ryan, the Republican whose office helped kill the initiative in December." But there is some crap going down that's getting swallowed up in all the fuss over all the other stuff that's coming at us at such high velocity. Who remembers Trump's solemn campaign promise to support bipartisan "Buy America" efforts? That sure got flushed down the memory hole fast as some Putin-owned company supplies the steel for the Keystone KX Pipeline Trump has authorized. As David Sirota reported at thelast week, despite Trump's campaign promises, as soon as he was elected, Ryan and McCarthy-- under pressure from lobbyists for foreign companies-- had killed legislation that would have directed government infrastructure contracts to American manufacturing companies. It was a bold act of defiance against the rhetoric of the newly elected president, and now a top Democrat is attempting to force Trump to put his 'Buy America' promises into action-- against his own party in Congress." That would be Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who reintroduced "legislation requiring billions of dollars of the governments spending on water infrastructure to go only to projects that use American steel. Baldwins move is particularly notable because she hails from a state that proved critical to Trumps win. It is also the home state of House Speaker Paul Ryan, the Republican whose office helped kill the initiative in December."

Amid a presidential campaign focused on trade issues, Baldwin introduced a first version of her Buy America bill last July. It appeared headed for approval when the Republican-controlled Senate overwhelmingly passed an infrastructure bill that included the language.



House Republicans, though, did not include the language in their version of the bill. A senior House Republican on the committee that crafted that bill argued that preferences for domestic firms would ultimately harm Americans.



Quotas in any form and in any sort ultimately hurt the consumer, South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford told the Wall Street Journal. Theyre a form of protectionism, plain and simple.





During the House-Senate negotiations over the final bill, Ryan was lobbied by representatives of foreign steelmakers to block Baldwins provision from being included in the final legislation. At the time, the Wall Street Journal noted that the lobbying firm Squire Patton Boggs was representing two major foreign steel producers-- Russias NLMK Inc. and California Steel Industries, which is owned by Brazilian and Japanese conglomerates. According to federal disclosures, in 2016 Squire Patton Boggs was paid $520,000 to lobby for the two foreign companies.



Federal records show that in 2016, two of Squire Patton Boggs' registered lobbyists for the two foreign-owned companies have ties to Ryan and Republican lawmakers: Natasha Hammond had been Ryans assistant for policy and Jack Kingston is a former longtime Republican congressman.



Squire Patton Boggs also is the immediate past employer of Ryans chief of staff; it now employs former Republican House Speaker John Boehner and it delivered more than $550,000 to Republican candidates and federal party committees in the 2016 election cycle, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. That includes more than $65,000 to Republicans on the two House panels that crafted the chambers version of the bill.



...In the months since House Republicans first blocked the Buy America language, Trumps administration has sent mixed signals about how-- and whether-- it will advocate for policies that preference U.S. companies.



During his first week in office, Trump issued an executive order directing his administration to make sure all new pipelines are built with American-made steel. But then just days after Wilbur Ross was confirmed as Commerce Secretary, that department exempted the Keystone XL project from its mandates. Ross assumed the Cabinet post after serving on the board of the Luxembourg-based steel company ArcelorMittal, which was previously slated to provide steel for the project. The company has spent more than $1.7 million on federal lobbying in the last year, according to disclosure records.



In public, Trump has continued to echo Buy America themes, most recently reiterating them at a rally in Kentucky where he argued that Americans are being taken advantage of.



Like Henry Clay, we want to put our own people to work," he said. We believe in two simple rules: Buy American and Hire American, he told the audience in Louisville. From now on, it's going to be America first. America first. We will be, I promise you, a rich nation once again. And we will do what we have to do, and we will not allow other countries to take advantage of us like they've been doing to a level that's hard to believe.



In reintroducing the bill, Baldwin is trying to force Trump into acting on that rhetoric. She told IBT that Trump won her state promising to support the kind of legislation that she is pushing-- but that she has not seen evidence that he is following through on his promises.



I have no doubt that he won Wisconsin narrowly in part because of his focus on Buy America, she said. It was what I ran on and what I focus on and clearly it had an impact on workers voting for Donald Trump. Now I think the real mission is to hold him accountable to those words... There are too many instances right now where he is not following through on that word. I want a solid commitment from Washington and Donald Trump on a strong Buy America standard and I hope Ill get that."

HuffPo's Zach Carter had an even uglier story last week, Meet The Martin Shkreli Of Defense Contracting , which will prove the beginning for the end of the universally detested Trump OMB director, Mick Mulvaney. First keep in the back of your mind that the honey pot known as the Pentagon is the only federal agency that hasn't conducted an audit. A better name might be the Department of Corporate Fraud. "Monopolists," wrote Carter, "seem to be fleecing the Pentagon in an echo of Pharma Bros 5,000% drug hike." Let's following the money... starting with the $54 billion increase in defense spending Mulvaney claims he's giving the Defense Depratment based on what he intuits from Trump's campaign speeches. The White claimed in the roll out that there is "an ambitious reform agenda" that would "reduce the costs of military programs wherever feasible." Oh God

It was a particularly sensitive subject for new Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, who built a reputation during his tenure in Congress as a serious deficit hawk unafraid to challenge his Republican colleagues on ballooning war spending. One of his favorite punching bags was the Overseas Contingency Operations budget, which Mulvaney derided as a slush fund that should be eliminated. The Trump budget would increase both overall defense spending and the amount that flows to the OCO. To maintain his credibility and demonstrate that Trumps new hard power defense priorities werent just an excuse to throw money away, Mulvaney needed to sniff out wasteful endeavors.



He appears to have missed at least one. On Tuesday, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis and the Pentagons acting inspector general accusing defense contractor TransDigm Group of illegally overcharging the Department of Defense by acting as a hidden monopolist.



The business model Khanna described is devilishly clever, wildly profitable and totally at odds with the basic principles of a competitive market. TransDigm is essentially the Martin Shkreli of defense contractors. Its a large holding company that searches for specialty parts used in heavy machinery-- unique panels, connectors, cables and other components-- that are produced exclusively by a single company. TransDigm buys these producers and Pharma Bros them, dramatically inflating the price to exploit their monopoly.



Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) cited examples of TransDigm price hikes, including a cable assembly that went from $1,737 to $7,863 and a motor rotor that had been $654 now going for $5,474.





Ro Khanna Khannas letter cited five specific aerospace parts the company had jacked the price on, including a cable assembly that went from $1,737.03 to $7,863.00 after being acquired by TransDigm. The price of a TransDigm motor rotor soared from $654.46 to $5,474.00.



But the practice is widespread throughout TransDigm. The companys own filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission state that 80 percent of its sales come from parts for which TransDigm believes itself to be a monopolist.



Not all of the companys parts even work. In 2016, the Washington Post reported that drones were crashing due to faulty starter-generators supplied by a TransDigm subsidiary.



The president is asking for $54 billion more on defense, Khanna told the Huffington Post. How much money are we wasting on monopolistic behavior?



The Pentagon has rules designed to defend itself against predatory pricing. Companies that function as the sole vendors of supplies have to detail their costs to the government, which allows the firms to reap a reasonable profit margin over and above these expenses. But Khannas letter argued that TransDigm evaded these rules by setting up a network of captive distributors-- middlemen who sold to the government, creating the illusion of an actual competitive market.



TransDigm isnt a business, its the abuse of monopoly power so extreme it borders on performance art, according to Matthew Stoller, a fellow with the New America Foundations Open Markets division. Congress should investigate this aggressively.



No less than 12 TransDigm subsidiaries failed to disclose to the Defense Department in their procurement filings that they were owned by TransDigm, according to Khanna.



TransDigm did not respond to requests for comment. The companys chief executive, W. Nicholas Howley, received $18.7 million in 2016-- more than the chief executives of Apple, Boeing or Citigroup.



Khannas interest in the TransDigm case reflects a broader concern in Washington over concentrated economic power. In early March, the Center for American Progress hosted a forum on Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, focused on his antitrust record...



Khanna is waiting to hear back from the Defense Department before taking further action, but he hasnt ruled out a congressional investigation.



This is a bipartisan issue, Khanna told HuffPost. There are many of my Republican friends who want to see our dollars going to troops and readiness and not to anticompetitive behavior.









It's going to be a long 4 years... or maybe not. One of Europe's preeminent betting houses, PaddyPower in Dublin is now offering 3 different opportunities to bet on impeachment
A one-of-a-kind food bank in Frazer Town, east Bengaluru, is feeding around 200 poor people every day. Al-Aman Educational and Welfare Trust, an NGO, collects leftovers from restaurants, parties, corporate and government functions, marriages and households, and distributes them to the poor. The idea of opening the food bank struck the nonprofit when it realised that hundreds of people in Bengaluru struggle to get even a square meal a day while large amounts of food is wasted elsewhere.



Mohammed Farooq, a hotelier and founder chairman of the nonprofit, recalled an incident that happened a few months ago. We had organised a medical camp in a slum in DJ Halli. Doctors who examined the people said most of the women and children are weak and have health problems as they do not get nutritious food. These people live in poverty and cannot afford three square meals a day, he told DH. He continued, I realised that my hotel staff dump the leftovers. I decided that the food should be distributed to the poor. We set up the food bank on Mosque Road since it has around 35 restaurants.



The nonprofit then started spreading the word about the food bank. The response was encouraging. Organisers of parties, marriages and other ceremonies as well as hoteliers inform us about the leftovers. Our volunteers go there and collect them. If its a far-off place, we ask them to pack the food and send it by auto-rickshaw and well pay the transport charges. The NGOs volunteers then neatly pack the food and deposit it with the bank. The needy come and pick up the food. At times, when there is too much food, the volunteers take it to various slums and distribute it to people, he added.



The nonprofit also accepts cash donations from people, spends them on groceries and hires cooks to prepare the food. It distributes food to poor patients at the free dialysis unit of HBS Hospital on Cockburn Road, Shivajinagar. We prefer vegetarian food but when we get non-veg fare, we check its quality before distributing it, a volunteer said. Farooq takes satisfaction from the positive public response. People have begun to realise that there are many who go to bed with an empty stomach. We are planning to open similar food banks across the city, he said.


The National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) Limited on Monday accused Sandur MLA E Tukaram (Congress) of demolishing the boundary wall of its unit in Donimalai.



In a statement, the NMDC said Tukaram, along with some other people, demolished a part of the boundary wall being constructed by Donimalai Iron Ore Mine.



The mine falls under Sandur taluk of Ballari district. As part of the effort to protect government property from encroachment and also in the interest of safety and security of the residents of Donimalai township, NMDC commenced the construction of boundary wall around the township in 2016.



However, when NMDC erected the boundary wall near Akash Nagar camp, an illegal camp adjacent to NMDC quarters with about 200 families, some local leaders asked for opening at about four spots. The NMDC agreed to temporarily leave one opening and also assured the residents that an additional approach road could be built if required and the residents had agreed to the same.



On Sunday evening, Tukaram ordered the NMDC officials to pull down the wall.



The statement said the MLA went ahead and demolished the wall along with some local residents, despite the presence of the sub-inspector (SI) of police, ASI and tahsildar, who all tried to dissuade the legislator from taking law into his own hands.



Inspired by the defiant act of the MLA, the boundary wall was breached at two more places in the evening by some miscreants.


A legislature committee has recommended that IT and BT companies allow women employees to work in day shifts as much as possible in the interest of their safety.



In its report tabled in the Assembly on Monday, the standing committee on women and child welfare said male employees should be made to work night shift, instead of women.

The 22-member panel, headed by Congress MLA N A Haris, has made the recommendation after inspecting Infosys and Biocon campuses in Bengaluru recently.



The committee had inspected these companies in November last year to look into the safety aspects of women employees and to find out whether they are implementing recommendations of the Sarojini Mahishi report.



Besides, the committee recommended that the government introduce pink police patrol system on the lines of Kerala government to prevent sexual assault on women. The panel also wants the government to adopt a mobile application developed by the Kerala government for this purpose.



The committee has observed that those involved in cases of assault against women were not arrested in many cases. The conviction rate is also very low. The government should amend the legislation concerned and ensure that stringent punishment is given to those involved in sexual assault against women, the panel suggested.



Complaint cells pertaining to women, children and senior citizens have three different toll-free numbers. Not many people are aware about these numbers. Hence, steps should be taken to introduce a single, threedigit number for the convenience of these people.



The committee recommended that the Labour and the Women and Child Development departments have to frequently conduct inspection of garment factories and ensure that steps are taken to provide security to the women employees. Women garment factory workers should be educated about various government schemes and programmes being implemented for their benefit, the panel said.




I can understand if special privileges are accorded to the President or prime minister. But if this kind of VVIP treatment is meted out even to MPs, then it becomes objectionable, said a passenger. The five-term Lok Sabha member from Madhubani said that he had never sought any special privileges from any airlines. You should ask the Jet personnel why they provided me with a bus to travel alone. I was not even aware that I will be travelling alone up to the aircraft, said Hukumdeo.



The lawmaker said the incident could be the handiwork of his opponents to tarnish his image as his name was being considered for the post of the Vice President. Though no Jet Airways official was willing to react on the issue, sources said this was not the first time that the Patna airport has been in the news for the wrong reasons.





Close on the heels of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulting an Air India official, another instance of VVIP culture was witnessed at Patnas Jaya Prakash Narayan International Airport. A BJP MP was provided a bus all for himself to go from the airport building to where the aircraft was parked.Hukumdeo Narain Yadav, who was a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, was travelling from Patna to New Delhi by Jet Airways flight 9W0724 on Sunday. Eyewitnesses said the Lok Sabha member travelled all by himself in a bus provided to him by the airlines while other passengers were left waiting to board the plane.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Monday submitted before the Supreme Court that Islam was one of the first religions to grant equal rights to women. It is a misconception that women were discriminated here with regard to marriage and divorce, the board said.



Talaq, Nikah Halala and polygamy are all integral part of the religion of Sunni Muslims following four schools of thought provided by the Holy Quran and thus being essential to the religion of Islam are protected by virtue of Articles 25, 26 and 29 of the Constitution, it said in a written submission.



Pronouncement of triple talaq in one go is undesirable but (it is) irrevocably effective, it said. The organisation claimed the Muslim Personal Law is a cultural issue which is inextricably interwoven with Islam.



Thus, it is the issue of freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion guaranteed under Article 25 and 26 read with Article 29 of the Constitution. Responding to the Union governments stand that several Islamic countries had done away with triple talaq, it said changes made by foreign countries and their understanding of the Muslim Personal Law cannot be the basis of interpretation by this court and supplanting foreign laws into Indian context by surpassing the democratic legislative process.
The Centre on Monday refused to bail out its ally the Shiv Sena, which created an uproar in the Lok Sabha and sought the Speakers intervention to lift the ban on flying imposed on its MP Ravindra Gaikwad for assaulting an Air India employee.



Civil Aviation minister P Ashok Gajapati Raju said airlines were empowered since November 2014 to withdraw boarding passes of passengers indulging in unruly behaviour. The minister rejected the Shiv Senas contention that the Constitution did not bar people from travelling.



Violence of any kind can be disaster in airlines... The rule is not about just an MP. In my wildest dreams, I never expected an MP to get caught in this. An MP is also a passenger. We can't have unequal treatment of people of different classes. We have to keep safety in mind, we cannot compromise, Raju said in the House.



While throwing the partys weight behind Gaikwad, the Shiv Senas leader in the Lok Sabha Anandrao Adsul accused the government of adopting double standards on the issue. In case of comedian Kapil Sharma, he said, only an inquiry was initiated for his alleged misbehaviour, while Gaikwad has been banned when Parliament is in session. He tried to seek support of other parliamentarians as he said the incident does not augur well for the government.



All airlines have blacklisted him. If all airlines ban him, it is not good. Banning him like this is not fair. We condemn the ban. Madam Speaker, I hope you will direct the government to lift the ban, said Adsul in defence of his party member.



The agitated NDAs Maharashtra ally also got into a verbal duel with Congress members, who did not approve of Gaikwad physically assaulting a national carrier staffer. Disappointed at not getting a favourable reply from the civil aviation minister, Sena MPs walked into the Well of the House. Even Speaker Sumitra Mahajan did not approve of the blacklisted MPs conduct and asked the party leaders to return to their seats and discuss the matter with the ministry.
A bill to decriminalise suicide and provide for protection, promotion and a right to better healthcare to people suffering from mental illness got the Parliaments nod on Monday. The bill, passed by the Rajya Sabha with more than 100 amendments in August, got approval of the Lok Sabha with most of the political parties extending their support. The bill was passed by voice vote.



This is a patient-centric bill. It empowers an individual by giving him the right to treatment for mental illness. It compels the states to formulate mental healthcare programme. This bill is historic because it was passed with highest number of amendments in the Rajya Sabha, Health Minister J P Nadda said in his reply to the debate on the provisions of the bill. The bill stipulates that a person who attempts suicide shall be presumed to be suffering from mental illness at that time and will not be liable for punishment under the Indian Penal Code.



This will in effect decriminalise suicide, Nadda said. Special provisions for the treatment of women patients have been made in the bill. A mother suffering from mental illness can only be separated from her child on valid reasons. Such mothers right to access to their children will always be there, Nadda said.






Adding a new dimension to the upcoming presidential elections, the Shiv Sena on Monday recommended the name of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the countrys top post.



Bhagwat is a good name for the post of president, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said.

The recommendation comes at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has organised a dinner for the NDA allies to firm up strategy for the presidential polls.




The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Union government to submit a plan of action within four weeks to stop farmer suicides in the country. A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice J S Khehar told Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha that the government should come out with a policy to deal with the root cause of the issue.



It is a very serious issue and the Centre should file the proposed line of action to be taken by states with regard to the farmers suicide within four weeks, the bench, also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul, said.



The court asked the government to coordinate with Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka among others to prepare its plan of action, as agriculture is a state subject. During the hearing, Narasimha said the government was taking all possible steps, adding that the government is working on a comprehensive to stop farmers suicide.
Thousands of meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh downed their shutters on Monday as part of their indefinite protest against the state governments crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses. The government for its part made it clear that action was being taken only against abattoirs without valid licences.



Hundreds of meat shops and eateries serving non-vegetarian delicacies in the state capital remained closed owing to shortage of meat. We are not getting meat...we have no option but to close the shops, said an eatery owner in Lucknows Aminabad locality. They complained that the authorities had been acting against those selling goat meat and chicken also. Our business has been ruined and we are on the brink of starvation, said a roadside chicken meat seller in Aliganj area.



The UP government on Monday clarified that the crackdown was only against illegally operated slaughterhouses. Those having valid licences need not worry, said UP Health Minister Sidddharth Nath Singh while speaking to reporters here. He said that chicken meat sellers were not being targeted and reports to this effect, which were circulating on the social media, were incorrect.



Singh, however, cautioned the officials against being over excited and targeting slaughterhouses and meat sellers with valid licences. Hundreds of illegal slaughterhouses and meat shops had been sealed across the state after the BJP government assumed power. Closing of illegal abattoirs was part of BJPs election manifesto and the officials were given strict orders to close all such shops and abattoirs.
Apples Taiwan-based original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Wistron has received certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to manufacture iPhone SE from an assembly facility in Bengaluru. The BIS certification for A 1723 model is a direct reference to iPhone SE, which the company launched globally in 2016. The number for the brand is R-62000612 and has been certified under IS 13252, which refers to the information communication equipment as per Indian standards.



The iPhone SE is the smallest screen mobile from Apple. The 4-inch iPhone SE can be used mostly for calls or SMSs. But with its great screen with brightness and colours, it is an ideal phone for those who are using Apple for the first time. It will go well with Indian buyers, said Amit Misra, an IT analyst from Bengaluru.



The iPhone 6 or iPhone 7 Plus, which is actually a proverbial giant, are widely used for social media, browsing the web, emails, games, and watching videos. As part of capturing the India market, Apple recently discounted the iPhone SE to Rs 19,999, said Misra.



As per the BIS information, the manufacturing of the phone will be commissioned to a company called ICT Service Management Solutions and it is owned by Wistron. Besides Wistron, Apple seeks the help of Foxconn for the manufacturing of iPhone SE production in China.



The notification also says that the address of the manufacturing unit is No 93, Industrial Suburb, Stage-II, Yeshwanthpur, Bengaluru, India. It also makes sure that the manufacturing facility in the Peenya Industrial Area, which DH reported earlier.



The development reinforces Apples already declared plan to assemble iPhones in April by setting up a facility in Peenya in partnership with Wistron.



According to an India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) official, normally there is no mandatory requirement for overseas companies to go for BIS compliance as their product is already meeting international standards.



Apples move for approaching the BIS certification is primarily due to its decision to go ahead with changes in its product configuration in India. As per my knowledge the product to be launched in India will have certain changes compared with its current international model, said the official.



Apple has leased about 1,50,000 sq ft of office space in RMZ Galleria at Yelahanka, north Bengaluru. The facility houses design and development accelerator to support engineering talent and grow the countrys iOS developer community. The office will also house the companys officials who are coordinating with their assembly plant in Bengaluru.



Apple officials recently sought concessions including duty exemption on manufacturing and repair units, components, capital equipment and consumables for smartphone manufacturing and service or repair for a period of 15 years from the Centre, which has rejected all its proposals.
Serious human rights abuses continue under the Communist Party-led government of China, according to the latest State Department Human Rights report.

In 2015, the Chinese government launched a crackdown against defense lawyers who take on human rights and public interest cases. Although most of the more than 300 lawyers and human rights activists detained in 2015 were released, 16 remained in pretrial detention. Four others were sentenced to jail terms ranging from three years to seven and one-half years in trials that lacked basic due process. Public security officials continued to harass family members of rights defenders and lawyers in retaliation for their work.

Wang Yu, one of the most prominent lawyers detained during the crackdown, was released on bail after her televised confession, which was likely coerced, but she and many others remain under various restrictions, such as continuous surveillance at undisclosed locations.

The Chinese government continued to tighten controls over civil society organizations. A new law placed foreign nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Security, suggesting foreign NGOs were a national security threat. Although the law was not scheduled to go into effect until January 1, 2017, many foreign NGOs and their domestic partners began to curtail operations before the end of 2016.

Authorities continued to censor and tightly control public discourse on the internet, and in print and other media.

Official repression of the freedoms of speech, religion, movement, association, and assembly of Tibetans in the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan areas and of Uighurs in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region continued to exceed restrictions in other areas both in terms of severity and scope.

The government continued to impose a coercive birth-limitation policy that, despite lifting one-child-per-family restrictions, denied women the right to decide the number of their children, and in some cases officials forced women to have abortions, sometimes at advanced stages of pregnancy.

The United States will be steadfast in its commitment to stand up for human rights and democracy around the world, including in China. It is not just a moral imperative, said U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, "but is in the best interests of the United States in making the world more stable and secure."
Venezuela is officially a multi-party, constitutional republic, but since the turn of the century, President Hugo Chavez and then his successor, Nicolas Maduro, concentrated power in the executive branch. In 2004, the Chavez-controlled National Assembly conducted a political takeover of the Supreme Court, at which point the judiciary ceased to function as an independent branch of government.

As the recently-released State Department Human Rights Report shows, with this imbalance of power came a culture of government intimidation, persecution, and criminal prosecution of political rivals and critics. This state of events, as well as a continuing erosion of human rights, persists to this day.

The government has expanded and abused its powers to regulate media and has harassed and intimidated independent media and journalists using threats, fines, property seizures, arrests, criminal investigations, and prosecutions. Security forces also detained and interrogated a number of journalists, and confiscated their equipment.

The government continued to restrict the operations of non-governmental organizations, denying them the ability to accept funds from international sources.

The government also cracked down on freedoms of speech and of assembly. In 2016, protestors were arrested and prosecuted for participating in peaceful demonstrations. Some of those arrested claimed to have been beaten, tortured, and forced to sign false confessions while in detention.

While conducting raids in low-income and immigrant communities, government security forces allegedly committed extrajudicial killings, mass arbitrary detentions, maltreatment of detainees, forced evictions, the destruction of homes and arbitrary deportations.

The Venezuelan government sometimes took steps to punish lower-ranking government officials who committed abuses, but there were few investigations or prosecutions of senior government officials. Impunity remained a serious concern in the security forces.

Other concerns include poor prison conditions, rampant corruption at every level of government, and continuous harassment of human rights defenders. There were also numerous reports of violence against women, employment discrimination based on political preference and restrictions on workers right of association.

The United States urges the Venezuelan government to comply with its constitution. President Maduro should permit the democratically-elected National Assembly to perform its constitutional functions, and should hold elections as soon as possible. The United States also calls for the immediate release of political prisoners in Venezuela, including Leopoldo Lopez.

Promoting human rights and democratic governance is a core element of U.S. foreign policy, said U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The Human Rights Report demonstrates the United States unwavering commitment to advancing liberty, human dignity, and global prosperity around the world, including in Venezuela.
The U.S. Department of States Rewards for Justice Program is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual who committed, conspired to commit, or aided or abetted in the commission of the murder of U.S. citizen Joel Shrum.

On March 18, 2012, Shrum, 29, was shot and killed on his way to work in Taizz, Yemen, by a gunman riding on the back of a motorcycle that had pulled up alongside his vehicle. At the time of his death, Shrum was an administrator and English teacher at the International Training and Development Center, one of the longest standing international development organizations in Yemen.

A few days after the attack, the terrorist organization Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the murder.

Since its inception in 1984, the Rewards for Justice Program has paid in excess of $125 million to more than 80 people who provided actionable information that helped bring terrorists to justice or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide. You can follow Rewards for Justice on Twitter: @Rewards4Justice.

More information about the Shrum reward offer is located on the Rewards for Justice website at www.rewardsforjustice.net. Anyone with information on this case can contact the Rewards for Justice office via the website, e-mail: info@rewardsforjustice.net, phone: 1-800-877-3927 in North America, or mail: Rewards for Justice, Washington, D.C., 20520-0303, USA.

All information will be kept strictly confidential.
German model Lou Schoof stars in River of No Return story captured for ODDA Magazines Spring Summer 2017 edition by fashion photographer Sarah Blais. Styling is work of Hope von Joel, with casting direction from Emilie Astrom.





For more log on to oddamagazine.com


Discover Ray-Ban s newest 2017 campaign captured by renowned American photographer Steven Klein.

This campaign is about diversity and individualism. The general idea is to create a reality in which people leave a world to enter another, with the intention never to look more to the past. One of the strengths of this campaign is the sense of authenticity that transmits, because anyone wearing a pair of Ray-Ban always expresses its identity and does not overwhelm the glasses.  Steven Klein

The models are wearing the timeless Ray-Ban Aviator, Ray-Ban Clubmaster and Ray-Ban The General, and two new models just landed on the market, such as Ray-Ban Blaze and Ray-Ban Dean.

See more after the jump:
Here's Why Kapil Sharma's Ex And His Show's Producer Preeti Simoes Quit Twitter
On his first trip to the Republic of Korea as Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson reaffirmed the ironclad alliance between the United States and South Korea. This relationship, he noted, serves as the linchpin for security and stability in the Korean Peninsula.

Emphasizing the United States unwavering commitment to its allies in the face of North Korea's grave and escalating global threat, Secretary Tillerson made clear, the policy of strategic patience has ended. We are exploring a new range of diplomatic, security, and economic measures. All options are on the table. North Korea must understand that the only path to a secure, economically-prosperous future is to abandon its development of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and other weapons of mass destruction.

We stand together in facing what was once a regional security challenge, but today North Korea threatens not only its regional neighbors, but the United States and other countries. Efforts toward North Korea to achieve peaceful stability over the last two decades have failed to make us safer. The U.S. and our allies, said Secretary Tillerson, have repeatedly reassured North Korea's leaders that we seek only peace, stability, and economic prosperity for Northeast Asia.

Mr. Tillerson called on other regional powers to join the United States in demanding that the North Korean government choose a different future for its people. The United States is committed to supporting the defense of our allies, and we will continue to develop a comprehensive set of capabilities to counter the growing North Korean ballistic missile threat, he said.

Secretary Tillerson highlighted the strong foundation on which the United States alliance with South Korea stands, noting that it is built not only on security, but our commitment to our core principles that have enabled the success of our nations: a strong economic partnership, deep people-to-people ties, and democratic values.
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There were almost 1,500 child sex offences recorded in Devon and Cornwall last year, an increase of 10 per cent, and there are currently 2,307 men on the sex offenders register in the two counties.

But the figures also reveal that Devon and Cornwall police have 10 boys on their sex offenders register, and 23 women.

Sex offenders can remain on the list for any length of time - sometimes for life - and registration means offenders have to tell police where they live and register all their bank and passport details.

An NSPCC spokesman for South West England said: "Regardless of the gender of the offender, sexual abuse can ruin a victim's childhood and the impact can last a lifetime.

"The NSPCC is committed to protecting children who are being sexually abused or are at risk of sexual abuse.

"Before anyone comes off the sex offenders' register they should undergo a risk assessment and if they still pose a threat to children they must remain on it.

"We also believe those on the register should be strictly monitored and this should include regular visits from the police."

VANESSA GEORGE

In December 2009, Plymouth nursery worker Vanessa George was jailed indefinitely as a judge warned that her "chilling" child sex abuse crimes could keep her in prison for life.

George, from Plymouth, was obsessed with IT salesman Colin Blanchard, telling him she was his "paedo whore mum" and sending him eight pictures a week of sex abuse against children in her care, a judge said.

Mr Justice John Royce, sitting at Bristol Crown Court, described the evidence as "chilling" as he heard how George and Blanchard discussed practices like rape via text. In one message, George referred to herself and Blanchard as the "perfect paedo couple".

Mr Justice Royce told George she will serve a minimum of seven years before she is eligible for parole. However, he made it clear she would not be released from jail until she is deemed to no longer present a danger to the public.

George was sentenced alongside former prostitute Angela Allen for a string of sexual assaults and making and distributing indecent images of children. Allen also received an indeterminate sentenced with a minimum of five years.

There was a shout of "yes" from the public gallery as the judge warned them that otherwise they faced "the rest of their days behind bars".

He said: "This case has caused widespread revulsion and incredulity. It has rocked the city of Plymouth but the shockwaves extend much further and perhaps to every nursery school in the country.

"Who would have believed that you, Vanessa George, a nursery care worker trusted by parents and staff could even have thought of doing what you did. You were trained in child protection. You were a married woman with teenage children of your own.

"You gave those parents, who entrusted their children to your care, every reason to believe their children would be safe. How grossly did you abuse their trust and the trust of those who employed you and worked with you.

"What you did plumbed new depths of depravity. Your sexual appetite appeared to be voracious."

George's indeterminate sentence meant she could apply for parole on December 15 last year.

If any application is refused, she would not be able to apply again for a further three years, bringing her time up to 11 years.

CHRISTINA SETHI

A "depraved" female care worker sexually assaulted three elderly people and sent the sick videos of abuse to her boyfriend in order to "satisfy her own sexual deviance".

Christina Sethi, of Woodville Road, Torquay, was jailed in August 2015 for 10 years at Plymouth Crown Court after a court heard how she targeted care home residents who were unable to resist, consent or complain.

One of her victims was dying of cancer and all suffered from dementia. Sethi was said in court to be seen on videos she made to be "clearly enjoying herself."

She admitted five offences of sexual assault relating to the three vulnerable and elderly residents within her care, one man and two women.

Police said they were appalled at the "atrocious" acts, saying Sethi was "selfish, chilling and manipulative".

The 25-year-old had sole responsibility for looking after the residents at night  but deliberately targeted the most vulnerable.

The court heard she would then send her vile videos of the abuse to a male friend.

Jailing her for 10 years a judge said her case exposed every family's worst nightmares in putting their elderly relatives into care  describing her abuse as "horrific."

The offences happened at the home between January 2014 and May 2015.

Sethi told the court that she committed the offences while under the influence of another person. A man from Torquay who was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit sexual assault but was later released without charge.

In October last year Sethi's original 10-year jail sentence was considered too lenient by the Court of Appeal, which extended it to 15 years.

JENNIFER PHILP-PARSONS

A music teacher who had drink-fuelled sex sessions with two teenage pupils at her Devon home has been jailed for 30 months.

Married mother-of-three Jennifer Philp-Parsons, 45, flirted and plied the 16-year-olds with alcohol at parties she hosted at her house before having sex with them.

Exeter Crown Court heard she seduced the first boy on a sofa bed in the lounge while her husband slept upstairs at their home in Exmouth.

Weeks later, the teacher threw a second party  this time while her husband was away  and had sex with the first boy in her marital bed.

An hour later  when the first boy had gone to a shop to buy food with money Philp-Parsons had given him  she seduced the second boy and had sex with him as well.

The first boy returned to the house and heard his teacher and his friend upstairs engaged in intercourse.

The mornings after both parties, Philp-Parsons took the boys for breakfast, the court was told.

Philp-Parsons, who was head of music at a Devon school, admitted three charges of sexual activity with a male aged 13 to 17 while in a position of trust.

Judge Francis Gilbert QC, The Recorder of Exeter, said Philp-Parsons's offending was so serious that prison was the only option.

"You have committed very serious sexual offences with two 16-year-olds who were at the school in which you were a teacher," the judge said. "The details reveal very serious offences involving you seducing two students of your own school in your own home for your own sexual gratification."

Philp-Parsons was also placed on the sex offenders' register and made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order, both indefinitely.

She was sentenced in September 2013.

PAULINE WILLIAMS

A couple who ran Fred and Rose West's local pub have been found guilty of a 15 year campaign in which they terrorised and abused ten children.

David and Pauline Williams became friends of the Wests when they lived close to their notorious home in Cromwell Street, Gloucester in the 1980s and 90s.

They became prolific child abusers in their own right, subjecting six girls and four boys to horrific campaigns of rapes, sexual assaults and beatings.

David Williams claimed to be able to speak to the dead and terrified some of his victims by boasting of his connections with Fred and Rose West, who used to drink at the Prince Albert pub which he ran in Gloucester.

He was encouraged in his campaign of child abuse by his wife Pauline, who mocked the victims during their ordeals and carried her own sexual assaults on several of the children.

The couple started their 15 year long campaign of rape and sexual assault in the late 1980s when they were running the Prince Albert and continued it when they moved to Exeter and Tiverton in the 1990s and 2000s.

They ran the Victoria pub in Exeter after moving to the city, where they went on to abuse a string of teenagers.

Williams who lived in Monkswell Road, Exeter, used to film some of the abuse, but all the tapes had been destroyed by the time the police mounted their investigation.

He and his wife used violence to bully the victims into compliance, beating some of them with sticks or strangling them.

During a six week trial at Exeter Crown Court in October 2015, the jury heard how David Williams was both an abuser and a voyeur, who liked to film his wife Pauline having sex with pub customers and friends.

David and Pauline Williams, of Cullompton Hill, Bradninch, denied a total of 46 charges of sexual and physical abuse dating between 1989 and 2004.

David Williams was jailed for life after being found guilty of offences including 11 counts of indecent assault, ten counts of rape and two counts of gross indecency with a child.

He was also convicted of three counts of indecency with a child, two counts of cruelty and two cases of aiding and abetting an indecent assault.

Pauline Williams was sentenced to 12 years in prison with four years on extended licence after being found guilty of two counts of aiding and abetting rape, two counts of aiding and abetting an indecent assault and three counts of indecent assault.

THE 'WICKED' FAMILY WHO CAN NOT BE NAMED

Eight people were jailed for a total of more than 100 years in 1998 for their part in the sadistic and brutal abuse of children and grandchildren from the same family.

The case appalled people across the Westcountry, while Judge William Taylor described the crimes as "wickedness beyond belief".

One police officer involved in the investigation said it was "like Fred and Rose West  without the murder".

The last two abusers were released in 2008.

A court order prevents the publication of any details which would lead to the identification of any of the victims, and this includes naming the Westcountry town where the abuse took place.

The "prime mover" in the abuse, which spanned three generations of one family and began in the 1960s, was the grandfather.

He died in February 2006, part-way through a 25-year sentence for a total of 26 offences, including rape and other serious sexual offences.

His son-in-law was jailed for 18 years for 15 offences against two of his four daughters and an indecent assault on his three-year-old niece.

An elderly neighbour of the family who was convicted of three counts of rape and four serious sexual offences and jailed for 16 years. His victims had told how, when they were being tortured, he had inflicted the most pain.

The grandmother was sentenced to 14 years on six charges, including rape. The court heard she had selected the children for abuse and helped to hold the victims down.

One of the couple's three sons, also abused by his parents, who was also jailed for 14 years for offences against two of his nieces and his own three children.

His wife, who was jailed for five years, having been convicted of four counts of rape and two of indecent assault.

Another son was jailed for three years for raping his sister at knifepoint when she was eight and he was 16. The judge said he was satisfied the son had been forced to abuse his sister.

A cousin of the family, the only person to have shown any remorse, was jailed for five years after being convicted of rape and two other serious sexual offences.

All are believed to be the subject of court orders, to protect the public. It is not known whether they still live in the Westcountry.

Reporting by plymouthherald
Samsung is updating Galaxy Note 7 disabling charging and cellular connectivity ahead of Galaxy S8 launch

Samsung is planning to kill all the unreturned Galaxy Note 7 smartphones with a new software update. The company is reportedly preparing for a new remote update that will prevent Galaxy Note 7 from charging. The company initially limited the charging on Galaxy Note 7 to 60 percent and now The Korean Herald reports that Samsung will turn every other Galaxy Note 7 redundant.

Samsung announced Galaxy Note 7 in August before announcing a worldwide recall in September citing safety issues. Samsung confirmed faulty battery design and manufacturing as the cause for Galaxy Note 7's explosion early this year. Back in December, Samsung announced similar plans to turn all Galaxy Note 7 smartphones useless in the United States. The company has already disabled cellular connectivity and charging on most Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.

Samsung is set to announce Galaxy S8 and S8+ at an event in New York on March 29 and it will certainly serve as a platform for the company to apologise for Note 7 debacle for one last time. With the Galaxy S8 launch, Samsung would be hoping every prospective Galaxy Note 7 buyer to pick this one instead as their smartphone choice.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun says the company wants to replicate its India success in other markets like Indonesia, Russia, Ukraine and Vietnam before launching its products in the US

Xiaomi, the second largest smartphone maker in India, aims to expand its offline share to 50 percent of sales this year. Xiaomi is the largest smartphone brand in the online space, but it is yet to replicate its online success in the offline retail space. In an interview with Economic Times, the company CEO Lei Jun said that his company aims to fix the supply demand challenge in order to grow further in the world's second largest smartphone market.

In 2016, Xiaomi clocked $1 billion in sales in India and it now expects to hit $15 billion global revenue this year. Jun says Xiaomi wants to replicate its India success in other markets like Indonesia, Russia, Ukraine and Vietnam before launching its products in the US. "Our biggest challenge has been supply and manufacturing. In our latest Redmi 4A sale, we sold 250,000 phones in just 4 minutes This also means a lot of users who want to buy our products could not get our products and had a bad experience," Jun told ET.

Xiaomi recently started its second manufacturing plant in India to supplement the growing demand. At the launch of Redmi 4A, Xiaomi VP Manu Jain said that the company is producing one smartphone every second and 95 percent of its India sales are coming from its local manufacturing plant. However, Jun added that even with the second plant, the company is falling short on supply.

Xiaomi recently introduced the Redmi Note 4 in the offline channel and its CEO Lei Jun notes that it is difficult to replicate the online retail model in offline channels. "If we look at overall market, online is a small piece. Our business model is all about efficiency so its rather depended on how many people adopt the internet. In China after we have achieved such scale, the challenge is how we can achieve the same in offline with efficiency. In India, after we achieve more than 50% market-share in online space, the question is how to do the same in offline," Jun added.

Xiaomi is struggling to compete against rivals Oppo, Huawei and Vivo in China. The company has already dropped out of the top three in the Chinese smartphone market and is now looking to continue its growth trajectory in India. Jun also added that his company achieved growth in 2016 and has lot of cash for the year ahead.
Mercantile Ports & Logistics is to develop a facility at its port in Mumbai, India with an engineering and logistics project company.

The AIM-listed company and its subsidiary, Karanja Terminal, has entered into an memorandum of understanding for 200 metres of the quay length of its port to be used for handling cargo for the decommissioning of wellhead platforms for the gas industry.

The deal also includes plans to develop a yard area to be ready in time for the start of operations at the port.

The terms relating to the use of the facility are still to be agreed between the companies, which will be finalised within 60 days from signing of the memorandum of understanding.

Mercantile Ports chief operating officer Jay Mehta said there was increasing interest from local and international businesses in basing operations at the port and logistics facility, which was encouraging.

Following the news that construction will begin at the Navi Mumbai Airport later this year, it is clear to see that the [Mumbai] region is developing into a hub for trade and infrastructure," he said.

Shares in Mercantile Ports & Logistics were up 1.61% to 7.88p at 0855 BST.
Closed-ended investment company that specialises in renewable energy projects and emissions instruments, Trading Emissions, announced its results for the six month period to 31 December on Monday.

The AIM-traded firm reported nil realised gain on carbon assets for the period, down from 4k in the same period a year earlier, while its realised gain on private equity assets was 9k, swinging from a 236k realised loss.

Its net positive change in the fair value of private equity assets was 419k, compared to a negative change of 532k in the first half of the 2016 financial year.

Investment services fees were nil, compared to 142k, and administration fees were in line with the prior period at 106k.

Net foreign exchange losses were 6k, compared to gains of 72k, and its other net operating expenses were 519k, almost the double 215k reported at the same time last year.

Trading Emissions said its total operating loss was 203k for the period, narrowing from 336k.

During the six month period ended 31 December 2016, we sold two of the company's five Italian solar operating subsidiaries held through TEP Solar for net proceeds of 9.6m including dividends, of which 3.0m is held in escrow, explained chairman Martin Adams.

Conditional on no claims being received from the buyer, Sonnedix, we expect 1.0m to be released to TEP Solar in December 2017 and 2.0m in December 2018.

Our efforts continue to try to resolve the various operating issues at TEP Solar's three remaining Italian solar operating subsidiaries.

Adams said that as a result of Poland's Renewable Energy Law enacted in July 2016, coal would continue to underpin the supply of energy in Poland.

Nevertheless, under the new law, at least one auction of renewable energy sources should take place annually, with supply contracts being awarded to winning bids for up to a maximum of 15 years.

The first auction under the new law took place in December 2016, where selected renewable technologies were permitted to bid in one of four different technology baskets.

Only projects with planned capacity of up to 1 MW could participate in the first auction.

The Polish Government did not appear to assign a high priority to wind projects given the structure of the auction baskets and the recent amendments to the taxation and permitting regulations, Adams said.

The terms of the 2017 renewable energy auctions have not yet been determined.

Winergy, which acquired TEP Renewables' Polish wind farm interests in 2014, intends to bid at the 2017 auctions.

In order to support Winergy to bid competitively under the 2017 auction processes, we are discussing further amendments to the structure of TEP's receivable.

Included in the recent legislative muddle affecting wind power projects was the threat that all of the companys current building permits would expire if not utilised by May 2019.

If this threat materialises, the only part of our project that is likely to be constructed is that which is supported by bids won by Winergy at the 2017 renewable energy auctions.
Prime Minister Theresa May was to meet Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and press the case for the four nations of the United Kingdom staying together.

The talks in Scotland were set to take place a day before the Scottish Parliament was expected to back a second independence referendum and at the start of the week when Article 50 will be triggered, starting the process of Brexit.

May is expected to say that she intends to build a more united nation outside of the European Union when she triggers the clause of the clause on Wednesday to start formal divorce proceedings with the bloc.

Her visit to Scotland is part of the tour of the four isles to gauge opinion on Brexit and comes a day before Holyrood is expected to pass an SNP-led motion for a second independence referendum.

May rejected outright the case for a second vote, but Sturgeon wants Scots to have the option to make a judgement on the terms of any Brexit deal.

In a speech at the Department for International Developments base in East Kilbride, May said Britain was a big country that will never let down, or turn our back on, those in need".

She stressed her outward ambitions for the country and her faith in the union as the government began negotiations that will lead us towards a new partnership with Europe.

"And I want to make it absolutely clear as we move through this process that this is not, in any sense, the moment that Britain steps back from the world. Indeed, we are going to take this opportunity to forge a more global Britain.

"The closest friend and ally with Europe, but also a country that looks beyond Europe to build relationships with old friends and new allies alike."

"As Britain leaves the European Union, and we forge a new role for ourselves in the world, the strength and stability of our Union will become even more important."

Later in the day she will have a meeting with the first minister of Scotland and also meet with with Police Scotland to to discuss counter-terrorism following the Westminster terror attack last week.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded Ryanair to 'neutral' from 'underperform' and lifted the price target to 15.30 from 12.50 as it took a look at the airlines sector.

"Given Ryanair is still being one of the most loved share prices and with recent traffic statistics persistently choosing volume growth over pricing power, we believe waiting for a pricing inflection to the upside makes sense."

The bank reiterated its 'neutral' stance on easyJet but upped the price target to 1,050p from 1,030p.

It said four profit warnings in eight months have made it hard to stimulate interest in the shares.

"easyJet is waiting for its epiphany-moment so that shareholders that are nestling in Ryanair can re-engage with easyJet management and the share price. Such an inflection, in our view, can only be stimulated by management change or a capitulation on easyJet's illogical capacity growth plans. Until then, we wait."

Merrill said that overall, at both Ryanair and easyJet, despite some signs of their underperformance bottoming, there is not enough improving fundamental data to substantiate a 'buy' case for either.

The bank downgraded British Airways and Iberia parent International Consolidated Airlines Group to 'underperform' from 'buy' and cut the price target to 500p from 550p.

It reckoned that IAG's North Atlantic performance - a key contributor - will splutter in the second quarter and second half of this year as a number of factors put pressure on sentiment and fundamentals.

It said there is evidence to suggest that broader corporate travel spend, in particular financial services, will see pressure through the course of 2017.

As far as leisure travel is concerned, there have been a number of new entrants into this market, in particular Norwegian Air Shuttle, which despite a "likely flawed and certainly leveraged business model", will possibly cause deflation in the market.

Tullow Oil

Goldman Sachs upgraded Tullow Oil to neutral from sell and lowered its target price to 200.6p from 207.4p, as it sees the company having a more balanced risk and reward following a rights issue.

The investment bank sees risks and rewards roughly balance and do not see a compelling value trade either positive or negative from the company as it considers Tullow most sensitive to the oil price.

It expects a drawdown in global inventories in the second quarter which should benefit Tullow with an increase in the price of oil.

Since being added to the Pan-Europe Sell list on 5 December 2016, Tullows stock is down 38% compared to the Stoxx 600 Oil and Gas index which is up 3% and the FTSE All Shares index which is up 9%.

Goldman Sachs said that Tullows guidance in January for the year was disappointing as the company announced it had sold a stake in its Ugandan asset and in March announced a $750m rights issue.

The bank thinks this rights issue will give management the headroom to prevent many negative catalysts from crystalising, mainly reduced production from its Ten and Jubilee sites from 2018 onwards.

The lower target price to 200.6p included updates from the rights issue and 32.9p merger and acquisition premium.

Berendsen

Commercial laundry group Berendsen was under the cosh as RBC Capital Markets cut the stock to 'underperform' versus 'outperform' and slashed the price target to 660p from 950p saying the risk profile has significantly increased.

The bank said weak current trading and the scale of the incremental capex investment and people change make it far more cautious.

RBC pointed out that when it turned positive on the stock two months ago, it thought forecasts were largely underpinned and that the UK business was in the price for nothing, assuming an extra 50m capex was required to fix the underinvestment issues.

However, since then its earnings per share estimates have come down a further 17% for 2018E, while plant capex will be around 300m more than it had expected over the next three years.

"The scale of this investment, and the scale of people change within a business, where local relationships are key, means we now believe the risk profile is significantly increased, whilst the company will be cash flow negative for the next three years."

RBC said it is now 4% below the company's 150m profit guidance for 2017, as it reckons the second half will be a stretch after what will be a very weak first half.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded Ryanair to 'neutral' from 'underperform' and lifted the price target to 15.30 from 12.50 as it took a look at the airlines sector.

"Given Ryanair is still being one of the most loved share prices and with recent traffic statistics persistently choosing volume growth over pricing power, we believe waiting for a pricing inflection to the upside makes sense."

The bank reiterated its 'neutral' stance on easyJet but upped the price target to 1,050p from 1,030p.

It said four profit warnings in eight months have made it hard to stimulate interest in the shares.

"easyJet is waiting for its epiphany-moment so that shareholders that are nestling in Ryanair can re-engage with easyJet management and the share price. Such an inflection, in our view, can only be stimulated by management change or a capitulation on easyJet's illogical capacity growth plans. Until then, we wait."

Merrill said that overall, at both Ryanair and easyJet, despite some signs of their underperformance bottoming, there is not enough improving fundamental data to substantiate a 'buy' case for either.

The bank downgraded British Airways and Iberia parent International Consolidated Airlines Group to 'underperform' from 'buy' and cut the price target to 500p from 550p.

It reckoned that IAG's North Atlantic performance - a key contributor - will splutter in the second quarter and second half of this year as a number of factors put pressure on sentiment and fundamentals.

It said there is evidence to suggest that broader corporate travel spend, in particular financial services, will see pressure through the course of 2017.

As far as leisure travel is concerned, there have been a number of new entrants into this market, in particular Norwegian Air Shuttle, which despite a "likely flawed and certainly leveraged business model", will possibly cause deflation in the market.

At 1000 BST, Ryanair shares were down 1% to 14.42, easyJet shares were off 0.9% to 996.50p and IAG shares were down 4.2% to 526.68p.
Goldman Sachs upgraded Tullow Oil to neutral from sell and lowered its target price to 200.6p from 207.4p, as it sees the company having a more balanced risk and reward following a rights issue.

The investment bank sees risks and rewards roughly balance and do not see a compelling value trade either positive or negative from the company as it considers Tullow most sensitive to the oil price.

It expects a drawdown in global inventories in the second quarter which should benefit Tullow with an increase in the price of oil.

Since being added to the Pan-Europe Sell list on 5 December 2016, Tullows stock is down 38% compared to the Stoxx 600 Oil and Gas index which is up 3% and the FTSE All Shares index which is up 9%.

Goldman Sachs said that Tullows guidance in January for the year was disappointing as the company announced it had sold a stake in its Ugandan asset and in March announced a $750m rights issue.

The bank thinks this rights issue will give management the headroom to prevent many negative catalysts from crystalising, mainly reduced production from its Ten and Jubilee sites from 2018 onwards.

Its lower target price to 200.6p included updates from the rights issue and 32.9p merger and acquisition premium.
South Africa's rand tumbled sharply on Monday after finance minister Pravin Gordhan was recalled by President Jacob Zuma.

The President "did not give permission" for Gordhan's trip to a 'non-deal international investor roadshow' in London before moving onto the US, Bloomberg reported.

Local media in South Africa reported that a reshuffle in the finance ministry appeared to be imminent.

The rand, which had just climbed above the $0.08 mark for the first time since July 2015, fell more than 2% to 0.0792 on Monday morning.
Alexei Navalny , the leader of the opposition in Russia and likely opponent to Vladimir Putin in next years election, has been jailed following some of the countrys largest protests in years.

Navalny was sent to prison for 15 days and fined 20,000 roubles (280) for his part in a mass protest which took place on Sunday in Moscow.

The Russian presidential election is due to take place in 2018, with Putin the overwhelming favourite to retain his position for another six years.

Thousands took part in the demonstration which included to several major cities across Russia at the weekend, as Navalny criticised the actions of minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is alleged of corruption following the release of a video from Navalny and associates. Rallies took place in the likes of Moscow, St.Petersburg and Makhachkala despite the majority being outlawed by the government.

Navalny was detained during the rally in Moscow, as protesters clashed with police in an attempt to free him.

The EU called on Russian authorities to release others that are currently being held in relation to the protests.

"We call on the Russian authorities to abide fully by the international commitments it has made, including in the Council of Europe  to uphold these rights and to release without delay the peaceful demonstrators that have been detained," the EU said.

Russian government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the calls for their release, adding that some young people had been paid to join the demonstrations.
London stocks were set for a weaker open on Monday following a downbeat session in Asia, after Republican leaders withdrew Donald Trump's healthcare bill at the end of last week due to a lack of support.

The FTSE 100 was expected to open 43 points lower at 7,293.

CMC Markets' Michael Hewson said: "President Trump is already having to row back on his assertion that tax reform would have to wait until health reform had been dealt with. The Presidents action in pulling the health care bill is undoubtedly a setback particularly since distaste for Obamacare was one area where there was a great deal of consensus amongst Republicans.

"The inability of the President to gain the required support here doesnt bode well for further interactions with respect to other areas of reform on tax and banking as well as his infrastructure plans, though approval plans for the Keystone pipeline did get the green light on Friday."

In addition investors will be looking towards Wednesday, when Prime Minister Theresa May is set to trigger Article 50 and kick off formal divorce proceedings with the EU - a move that could prompt some sterling weakness in the short term.

There are no major UK data releases due.

In corporate news, BT has been fined 42m by regulator Ofcom for cutting compensation to rivals for delays in providing high speed broadband.

The company will now have to pay 300m in compensation, Ofcom added.

The fine includes a 30% discount for BT admitting its liabilities. It was also ordered to pay 0.3m for failing to provide information.

Old Mutual has struck a deal to offload almost half of its stake in its asset management business for $446m.

Following the sale to HNA Capital US, Old Mutual's will have a 25.9% holding in OM Asset Management, down from 50.8%.

Greencoat UK Wind has acquired Langhope Rig Wind Farm from GE unit, GE Energy Financial Services, for a total consideration of 39.8m.

The company said the acquisition, which completed on 24 March 2017, was funded by Greencoat's revolving credit facility at 37m as well as cash resources of 2.8m.

Energy services firm Wood Group has extended its North Sea contract with explorer Premier Oil for a further two years in a deal worth $50m and which will secure more than 150 jobs.

The company will provide topside operations and maintenance services to the Balmoral floating production vessel in the Central North Sea and the Solan installation, West of Shetland to support Premier Oils work in the region.
BT has been fined 42m by regulator Ofcom for cutting compensation payouts to rivals for delays in providing high speed broadband.

The company will now have to pay 300m in compensation, the watchdog added.

The fine includes a 30% discount for BT admitting its liabilities. It was also ordered to pay 0.3m for failing to provide information.

Ofcom said BT's Openreach unit, which installs broadband lines misused the terms of its contract to cut payments to other providers between January 2013 and December 2014.

The company was supposed to pay out compensation after failing to deliver ethernet high-speed services to other, smaller providers in adequate time.

"Ofcom has taken enforcement action because BT breached rules that address the companys significant market power. This market power comes from the fact that most telecoms companies rely on access to BTs network to provide services such as broadband to their customers," the regulator said in a statement.

BT has 12 months to compensate all of the telecoms providers who faced financial loss because of its conduct.

BTs budget-oriented retail brand Plusnet was last week fined 0.88m by Ofcom for continuing to bill more than a thousand ex-customers.

An investigation started in May last year found the company broke what Ofcom called a fundamental billing rule by continuing to charge a group of customers for landline or broadband after they had cancelled their service.

Analyst George Salmon at Hargreaves Lansdown said BT was "on the naughty step" as this misdemeanour follows the accounting scandal in Italy and the enforced separation of the Openreach business.

"As a result the demands on BTs cash flow are adding up, in the short term at least," he said.

"Whats more, net debt and the pension deficit each stand at over 9.5bn, and more cash could be needed to plug that pension shortfall after a review later this year. With BT targeting dividend increases of at least 10% this year and next, the pressure is increasingly on the consumer facing divisions to generate continued growth.

Dan Howdle, consumer telecoms analyst at Ofcom-accredited broadband advice site Cable.co.uk, says the decision offered insight into "some of the factors contributing to Ofcom's decision to split BT and Openreach into two separate entities".

"Clearly, being the sole owner of shared infrastructure has given rise to precisely the sort of conflict of interest of which BT has long been accused," he said.

"Customers must never be allowed to become collateral damage in the battle to gain the upper hand in the market. Fines such as this, painful though they are for those on whom they are levied, are vital in maintaining a fair, competitive marketplace in which business can thrive."
Strategic Equity Capital noted a press comment over the weekend on Monday, and confirmed that it received a request to requisition a general meeting from two of its shareholders, Ian Armitage and Growth Financial Services - a subsidiary of Harwood Capital Management - representing 5.02% of the companys issued share capital.

The London-listed firm said the proposed resolution Armitage and Harwood wished to put to a general meeting purported to require the company to use all of its general buy-back authority taken at the last annual general meeting on 9 November, to make market purchases of its ordinary shares at not wider than a 5% discount to the prevailing net asset value.

The companys advisors are seeking clarification on the requisition to enable it to be considered further by the board, it said in a statement.

A further announcement will be made in due course.
Greek migration minister Ioannis Mouzalas has said the country will not be taking in any more refugees under the Dublin Regulation , as he says it is no longer able to cope with the amount of people entering the country.

The European Commission has put pressure on Athens to implement the controversial regulation once again, after it was given time to recover after problems with the countrys asylum system in 2011.

The Dublin Regulation stipulates that refugees can be returned to the European state in which they first arrived.

"We accommodate 60,000 refugees and it would be a mistake to make Greeces burden heavier by the revival of the Dublin agreement," Mouzalas told German newspaper Spiegel.

"Greece simply has no capacities to cope with additional arrival of refugees," he said. "We've just pulled ourselves together, so please, don't make us falter again."

In the interview, Mouzalas said that Greece had "reached its limits", adding that "we cant bring a single refugee".

European shores received unprecedented numbers of refugees in the last two years, with thousands still stranded on Greek islands awaiting their next step.

"I want the Germans to understand that this is not because of political or ideological reasons, or failure to appreciate Germanys assistance," he added.
UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd was under fire from tech firms and cyber security experts on Monday over her demand that encryption be removed from social media messages after last week's London terror attack.

Rudd said it was completely unacceptable that the government could not look at messages on applications such as Whatsapp.

However, former MoD cyber security chief Major General Jonathan Shaw said the government was trying to "use the moment" to influence debate over greater snooping powers in its favour.

"I think theres a lot of politics at play here, he told the BBC.

"Theres a debate in parliament about the whole 'snoopers charter' and the rights of the state and I think what they are trying to do is use this moment to nudge the debate more in their line."

British-born Muslim convert Khalid Masood mowed down and killed three people on Westminster Bridge last Wednesday before going on to stab a policeman to death. He was shot inside the Carriage Gate of parliament.

Born Adrian Ajao, Masood sent a final message using the the app, owned by Facebook, just before he started his 82 second journey of carnage. There is no way of decrypting the message, even by WhatsApp itself.

Rudd was aggressive in her stance towards the tech industry.

"We need to make sure organisations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, dont provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other, Rudd told the BBC.

"In this situation we need to make sure our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted WhatsApp."

Ministers have invited industry representatives to a meeting on Thursday to discuss the matter, along with the presence of extremist content on Facebook and Google.

Google was criticised last week for allowing advertisements on its YouTube unit to appear alongside extremist messages. The UK government and big advertisers such as the BBC and Transport for London have pulled their spending as a result.
High-affinity antibody developer and supplier Bioventix announced its unaudited interim financial results for the six months to 31 December on Monday, with turnover rising 32% period-on-period to 3.12m.

The AIM-traded firm said profit before tax was up 49% at 2.48m, while profit after tax improved 41% to 1.98m.

Cash at period end was 0.54m higher than at the end of H2 2015, at 5.15m.

The board proposed an interim dividend of 20p per share, up 21% on the 16.5p declared in March 2016.

As mentioned in our last report in October 2016, Bioventix revenues arriving in global currencies converted at post-Brexit referendum exchange rates give an uplift in reported sterling revenues of 15-20% as no hedging mechanisms are employed, commented chief executive officer Peter Harrison.

The 2015/16 annual accounts featured such an effect for H1 2016 compared to H1 2015 and a similar effect accounts for some of the growth in the reporting period  H2 2016 compared to H2 2015.

Harrison said shipments to China had continued at a high frequency with the majority of antibodies being used for research and development purposes, and while revenues from China remained modest, the board was still optimistic that Bioventix antibodies were proving to be successful.

We reported in October on the progress of our troponin partner Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics and a high sensitivity troponin test which features a Bioventix-created antibody."

Quadrise Fuels International

Emerging supplier of MSAR emulsion technology and fuel Quadrise Fuels International announced its interim results for the six months to 31 December on Monday - a period in which it raised 5.25m through a placing and open offer of new ordinary shares in November.

The AIM-traded firm said the open offer was oversubscribed 2.5 times.

At period end, the company had no debt and 7m cash, up from 6.5m a year earlier.

It reported a loss after tax of 2.4m - of which 0.2m related to non-cash charges for share options - with the loss precisely in line with the figure in the prior comparative period.

Total assets at 31 December stood at of 11.5m, up from 10.8m.

Accumulated tax losses of around 43m were available to be carried forward against future profits, the board reported.

The performance of MSAR on the marine trial vessel has been positive and we expect the recent interim inspection to confirm this, said executive chairman Mike Kirk.

We are now closely engaged with our partners to expedite the interim LONO (low and no emission tests).

This should put us in a good position to progress discussions on commercialisation of MSAR within the shipping industry.

Trading Emissions

Closed-ended investment company that specialises in renewable energy projects and emissions instruments, Trading Emissions, announced its results for the six month period to 31 December on Monday.

The AIM-traded firm reported nil realised gain on carbon assets for the period, down from 4k in the same period a year earlier, while its realised gain on private equity assets was 9k, swinging from a 236k realised loss.

Its net positive change in the fair value of private equity assets was 419k, compared to a negative change of 532k in the first half of the 2016 financial year.

Investment services fees were nil, compared to 142k, and administration fees were in line with the prior period at 106k.

Net foreign exchange losses were 6k, compared to gains of 72k, and its other net operating expenses were 519k, almost the double 215k reported at the same time last year.

Trading Emissions said its total operating loss was 203k for the period, narrowing from 336k.

During the six month period ended 31 December 2016, we sold two of the company's five Italian solar operating subsidiaries held through TEP Solar for net proceeds of 9.6m including dividends, of which 3.0m is held in escrow, explained chairman Martin Adams.

Conditional on no claims being received from the buyer, Sonnedix, we expect 1.0m to be released to TEP Solar in December 2017 and 2.0m in December 2018.

Our efforts continue to try to resolve the various operating issues at TEP Solar's three remaining Italian solar operating subsidiaries.

Adams said that as a result of Poland's Renewable Energy Law enacted in July 2016, coal would continue to underpin the supply of energy in Poland.
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SEATTLE (AP)  A prominent aerospace supplier whose president voiced hatred of Muslims has entered into a consent decree with the state Attorney General's Office that requires the company to pay $485,000 and removes its leader from direct hiring.

The Seattle Times reports the court-monitored decree will be in place at Electroimpact for 42 months.





. . .
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BOISE, Idaho (AP)  Idaho's unemployment held steady in February at 3.6 percent while the state led the nation in job growth for the sixth consecutive month.

The Idaho Department of Labor on Friday says 2,200 people landed jobs in February while 2,100 were added to Idaho's labor force for an overall decline of 100 workers counted as unemployed.





. . .
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)  A Kentucky lawyer accused of conspiring to defraud the government of nearly $600 million in federal disability payments has entered a guilty plea.

Eric C. Conn pleaded guilty Friday to stealing from the Social Security Administration and bribing a federal judge. The flamboyant lawyer billed himself as Mr. Social Security while building one of the nation's most lucrative disability firms in eastern Kentucky.





. . .
University of Washington Police Department

Photos by Lara Swimmer Photography [enlarge]

The University of Washington Police Department has moved into a new $19.5 million building at 3939 15th Ave. N.E., just south of Gould Hall.

The 29,000-square-foot space houses offices, dispatch operations, a community meeting/training room, locker rooms, holding rooms, K-9 and bike patrol, and storage space on two upper levels and a basement.

The exterior is clad in bullet-resistant metal panels, some curtainwall sections are made with bullet-resistant glass and most of the windows have a special coating to control flying glass in case of an explosion.

Work included cleanup of contaminated soils from an old leaking oil tank and asbestos in the houses that were demolished.

Owner: University of Washington, Capital Planning and Development

General contractor/construction manager: BNBuilders

Architect: The Miller Hull Partnership

Design programming: McClaren, Wilson & Lawrie

Structural engineer: PCS Structural Solutions

Mechanical engineer: Notkin

Civil engineer: Coughlin Porter Lundeen

Electrical engineer: Travis, Fitzmaurice & Assoc.

Landscape architect: GGN

Geotechnical engineer: GeoDesign

Surveyor: Bush, Roed & Hitchings

Hazardous materials consultant: PBS Engineering and Environmental

Commissioning agent: HCES

SEPA consultant: EA

Cost estimator: JMB Consulting Group

Permits specialist: Permit Consultants NW





Do you have photos of recent projects? Share them with DJC readers. Send high-resolution images and information to lisa.lannigan@djc.com.





Previous columns:
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FRASER, Mich. (AP)  Two homes are being torn down to help clear the way for repairs to a broken sewer line that caused a sinkhole on Christmas Eve in suburban Detroit.

Three houses had to be condemned in Fraser and a major road has been closed. Macomb County Public Works spokesman Dan Heaton says one of those homes was demolished on Friday and the other is expected to be torn down on Monday.





. . .
A year after the US and its allies lifted sanctions on Iran over its alleged nuclear build-up, it is now the Islamic republic's turn to impose sanctions on 15 US companies for alleged human rights violations and cooperating with Israel. Quoting Iranian foreign minister, the state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday that the sanctions were imposed on the American companies that had ''flagrantly violated human rights'' and cooperated with Israel against the Palestinians. The firms, however, have little business with Iran and therefore the tit-for-tat decision that comes two days after the US announced new sanctions on a number of foreign firms accused of collaborating with Iran's weapons programme, is largely symbolic because the US firms do not do business with Iran. Iran's sanctions target US firms that provide arms and equipment to Israel ''for use against the Palestinians'', IRNA said. ''All transactions with these firms are forbidden, their assets will be seized and their officials will not be able to obtain a visa,'' it added. The firms include United Technologies, ITT Corporation, Magnum Research INC, Military Armament Corporation and Bushmaster Firearms International. Besides, the list includes companies like Re/Max Real Estate, which Tehran accuses of ''buying and selling homes in settlements located in the occupied territories''. The development is seen as a post-Trump development, especially after the US administration imposed travel curbs on nine people from Islamic countries and imposed sanctions on 30 foreign companies or individuals for transferring sensitive technology to Iran for its missile programme, or for violating export controls on Iran, North Korea and Syria. Trump has also criticised the July 2015 deal between Iran and western powers that lifted sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange of curbs on its nuclear programme. Washington now wants to pressure Iran further over its ballistic missile programme. US lawmakers are now proposing a new law that would see Iran's Revolutionary Guards listed as a terrorist organisation. Iran's central bank, meanwhile, said it will appeal the decision of the European Court in Luxembourg to freeze $1.6 billion of its assets, which the US is claiming as compensation for victims of the 11 September 2001 attacks. The bank also said it would take steps to curb its remaining transactions in dollars, which it still receives particularly for oil sales. A Luxembourg court last week denied Tehran's request to retrieve the $1.6 billion frozen in the country during an earlier raft of sanctions targeting Iran's nuclear programme. US lawyers are hoping to seize the money to pay off the families and estates of victims from the 2001 attacks, after a New York judge ruled Iran was partially responsible because it allowed Al-Qaeda members to travel through its territory. Iran rejects the accusation and demands the return of the money, which is frozen in the Clearstream clearing house, a financial company based in Luxembourg. A separate case is being heard in Luxembourg to decide whether the money will be released to the US. Billions of dollars in Iranian assets were frozen in the US and Europe as part of efforts to push Tehran into a nuclear deal with world powers, which was finally signed in July 2015.








Motherson Sumi acquires Finland's PKC Group for 571 mn

Auto component major Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd (MSSL) today said it has completed the acquisition of Finland's PKC Group Plc for around 571 million (Rs4,150 crore).

It said the takeover will help it expand its footprint significantly in the American and European commercial vehicle segment. ''We are very happy to announce that we have successfully acquired 93.75 per cent shareholding in the PKC Group, which has significant market presence in the American and European markets with major growth plans in China,'' MSSL chairman Vivek Chaand Sehgal said in a statement.

This is in sync with the company's declared policy of focusing on these overseas markets to create enhanced value for all stakeholders, including investors, he added.

MSSL and PKC had sealed an agreement under which MSSL launched a public offer for the acquisition of all the issued and outstanding share capital and voting rights of PKC Group.

The tender offer was launched on 6 February. Shareholders of PKC, which had a topline of 846 million in 2016, were offered 23.55 per share. Total consideration paid for the acquisition is around 571 million, MSSL said.

The company has also obtained all pre-closing regulatory approvals for the transaction prior to completion of the offer. ''MSSL has always believed in both organic and inorganic growth and has seen an average annualised growth of 40 per cent over the last 10 years,'' Sehgal said.

Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, PKC is a global tier 1 supplier of wiring harness and associated components to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the heavy and medium duty commercial vehicles and locomotive segments across North America, Europe, Brazil and China.

The acquisition of PKC supports MSSL in expanding its presence in the niche market of global wiring harness business for commercial vehicles. This is the 16th acquisition by MSSL since 2002. The company has set a target of achieving turnover of $18 billion by 2020 through global expansion.
The price of the average three-bed semi in Donegal has risen 2.9% to 87,500 in the last three months, according to a national survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance.

The REA Average House Price Survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland's typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an up-to-date picture of the property market in towns and cities countrywide for the first three months of the year.

There is a continued shortage of stock and the price of semis in Letterkenny is higher than the rest of the county, but still not at level yet to generate any new development, said Paul McElhinney of REA McElhinney in Milford.

We have noticed reduced demand due to Brexit and the sterling exchange rate, said Michael McElhinney from REA McElhinney in Bundoran. This could result in a potential decrease in prices going forward.

The average semi-detached house nationally now costs 209,944, the Q1 REA Average House Price Survey has found  a rise of 3.5% on the Q4 2016 figure of 202,926.

Overall, the average house price across the country has risen by 10.9% over the past 12 months  a marked increase on the 7.7% rise registered to the end of December 2016.

The average three-bed semi-detached in Dublin city now costs 404,167, a rise of 15,000 (3.9%) in the last three months and an increase of 12.8% over the past year, the Q1 REA Average House Price Index has found.

The easing of the Central Bank restriction on lending for first-time buyers has had an immediate effect on the market with a large rise in numbers at viewings and potential buyers with mortgage financing.

The biggest percentage increases over the past year came in the countrys smaller rural towns situated outside of Dublin, the commuter belt and the major cities.

Prices here rose by an average of 12.9% over the year, with a three-bed semi now costing 136,194  an increase of 3% in the past three months.

The commuter counties of Louth, Meath, Kildare, Wicklow, Carlow and Laois rebounded after a relatively static end to 2016 to rise by 2.9% in the past three months, with the average house appreciating by over 6,000 in the quarter.

Irelands major cities outside the capital experienced a 2.3% rise in the first quarter and 7.7% on the year, with the average semi now costing 305,000 in Cork (+3.4%), 132,000 in Galway (+2.1%) and 178,000 in Limerick (+0.6%).

There has been a recovery in bank lending, which has been reflected in the purchasing end, but the accelerated figures in the Dublin market particularly, show that we are moving into a vendors marketplace, said REA spokesperson Healy Hynes.

However, we need to look at these figures in relation to the market where stock levels are at their lowest nationwide since January 2007.

At a current average price of 136,194, and an annual compound rise of 12.9%, it will be 2021 at the earliest before it becomes economic to build outside the cities.
Two urgent community meetings are set to take place this evening in Raphoe and Ardara following the news Ulster Bank is set to close their branches in the towns.

There has been shock in both communities following the announcement on Friday that both areas are set to lose their bank branches.

Now plans are in place for two public meetings this evening to voice concern at the closures which are being described as another attack on rural Ireland.

One will take place in Friels Hotel on The Diamond in Raphoe at 5pm and everyone is invited to attend.

Ardara town traders have also organised an extraordinary public meeting for tonight to take place in the parish centre at 8.30pm.

They say they are hoping to find a resolution to the disgraceful proposed closure of our one and only Ulster Bank in the town and everyone is invited to attend.

There has been strong reaction for politicians and the public to the news, which will leave both without any full-time bank branches in the town.

Meanwhile, it is claimed that staff numbers at the Letterkenny branch of Ulster Bank will also be affected by further job losses.

Speaking about the closures and redundancies in Donegal, Gareth Murphy, Senior Industrial Relations Officer with the Financial Services Union said, Donegal will be particularly hard hit by the scale of the Ulster Bank closures and job losses. Two branches, at Raphoe and Ardara, are earmarked for closure and the bank is intent on reducing staff numbers at its Letterkenny branch. Closures and reductions are also planned for neighbouring Sligo.

Last Thursday, Ulster Bank announced the closure of 22 branches in 11 counties in the coming months, including branches in Ardara and Raphoe. The bank also confirmed it is laying off 220 people and consulting with the Financial Services Union.

Among those calling for the reversal of the decision are a number of Donegal TDs.


Wreckage believed to be from the Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116 helicopter which crashed off Co. Mayo has been found on the Donegal coast.

The wreckage was recovered from near Portnoo on Saturday and was brought to Glenties Garda Station.

It was spotted by a member of the public and recovered.

A spokesman at the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre Malin Head said the wreckage was brought to a secure location but it was yet to be confirmed whether it was from the helicopter which crashed near Blackrock island on March 14th.

Wreckage believed to be from the aircraft was also located by a Donegal fishing vessel that was returning to Killybegs. The vessel was taking part in the search for helicopter and landed the wreckage at Killybegs to be turned over to accident investigators.

The body of co-pilot Capt Mark Duffy (51), was removed from the aircraft by Naval Service divers on Sunday.

Senior pilot Capt Dara Fitzpatrick (45) was recovered from the sea after the crash on March 14th, and died later.

The search for missing winch team Paul Ormsby and Ciaran Smith is continuing.
An apparent illegal animal breeding operation discovered late Friday afternoon in a west Dothan neighborhood was described by Dothan Police Chief Steve Parrish as the worst animal cruelty case he had ever seen.

Several of the dogs claws are growing towards the underneath of the paw, Parrish said. That tells us, these dogs have not been out of the crates in a very long time. The animals were not properly fed and they did not have adequate water. They were found in their own feces and urine was in some of the animals water bowls. We also found nine puppies in a freezer. These animals were truly living in deplorable conditions.

The Dothan Police Department arrested and charged Le Ngoc Pham, 34, and Hoan Cong Nguyen, 47, of the 2900 block of Peachtree Drive, with 24 counts of aggravated animal cruelty and 57 counts of animal cruelty.

Parrish said around 4 p.m. Friday, patrol units were dispatched with animal control units to an animal cruelty complaint. Officers then discovered the illegal animal breeding site and contacted investigators.

A search warrant was issued and during the investigation officers found 65 dogs and 16 exotic birds on the premises, Parrish said. An addition had been built onto the original structure of the home and 25 dogs were kept in that in wood crates. Other dogs were located in the garage in wood crates as well. Dogs were located outside in the yard as well.

According to Parrish, the investigation is showing that the puppy mill has been going on there for the past two years. He said the department has evidence that shows after the female dogs would have a litter of puppies they would breed them once again.

Parrish said exotic birds seized from the home are also suffering from trauma issues.

Several of the birds have picked out their own feathers, Parrish said. We are told this is a sign of being traumatized. The birds have been sent to a safe location for treatment and care. We are not releasing the name of the new location, due to value of the birds. Our reports are showing the exotic birds carry a value of $120,000 to $125,000.

Parrish said the United States Humane Society has also offered to assist with this case for the sake of the animals.

We are filing for custody of these animals, Parrish said. We are also seeking veterinarian care for the animals. We want to make sure the animals are OK and get the proper care they need, and we hope to find them good homes. These animals did not ask for this. They have no voice to be heard. We are their voice. I want to thank the City of Dothan Animal Shelter for responding to the call and helping to assist with the animals. We also thank the Big Bend Wildlife Sanctuary for their assistance in this case.

According to Parrish, before the investigation is complete the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service may also be involved in the case.
Spring break is here for many school systems and residents in the Wiregrass may have noticed the increase in traffic as people head south to Florida beaches.

Headland police have observed the uptick in spring breakers passing through along U.S. 431, which is often associated with an uptick in speed.

Although Alabama is celebrating its spring break a little later this year, college students from up north are hitting the area hard, Headland Police Chief Mark Jones said. The downside to the traffic increasing in Headland is the number of accidents and speeders will also increase. Since the kick off of spring break, we have noticed an increase in tickets being written for speeding.

Unfortunately, several out-of-town drivers believe that, once they hit the Headland city limits, we have a sign that states beaches close at 5. So, they begin to speed even faster, hoping to get to their destination.

The Headland Police Department encourages all drivers traveling on U.S. 431 to play close attention to their surroundings.

Traffic congestion has increased due to out-of-towners, and a majority of travelers are not familiar with our area, Jones said. Not to mention the young drivers who see that sign stating beach closings. The beaches do not close. They are open all the time, and they will be there when you get there. Last year we documented speeds higher than 107 miles per hour. This is not only ridiculous, but also extremely dangerous. Those drivers are just asking for trouble.

The department will have all available officers on patrol targeting speeders, drunk drivers and other issues.

Another problem we run into a lot is road rage, Jones said. We have drivers just trying to start trouble. Not to mention several will use obscene gestures and/or language. Let me go ahead and tell you, whether you are traveling through Headland headed to your destination or just driving down U.S. Highway 431, this will not be tolerated. In the past we have had motorists begin partying before they even hit Headland. Do not get behind the wheel drinking and driving. If you plan on drinking and driving, you may as well plan on spending your break behind bars. That is, if you are lucky enough not to get killed on the highways.
These days, everyone is on social media, and customers expect you to be too. No matter what industry youre in, if you dont have a social media presence, you may not be visible or accessible to a large proportion of potential customers. However, once youre up and running, a worrying issue that social media managers increasingly face is security.

Its not enough to assume, Im not big enough; nobody would bother to hack me. Hackers will try to get into anyones accounts, whether youre an individual, small business or global corporation. Many do it for sport as much any financial gain they might achieve. Its always better to be safe than sorry where your social media accounts are concerned, as bad PR created by a hacker, posting unsavoury updates on your accounts, can be hard to undo. To help you keep your social media channels safe from hackers, here are 4 simple steps to follow:

1. Create a secure password

Using your own name, date of birth, password or 123456 as your password on social media is a bad idea. To be as secure as possible, you should have a different password for each social media account. The password itself should be made up of 8 or more characters and include upper and lower-case letters, as well as symbols and numbers. Remember, dont write your passwords down and dont share them with anyone else. Of course, with a team of marketers or even an external agency managing your social media accounts, this can become tricky. However, you can limit the number of people your password is shared with, or give access to your social channels through tools such as HootSuite.

2. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

This may sound technical, but its very simple. All it means is that you need more than just your password to get into your social media account, so you have an additional level of security. In most cases, it will mean entering a verification code that is texted to your mobile. You may already use two-factor authentication when accessing your Internet banking, where they send a code to your registered mobile number before allowing you to access your account. To set up two-factor authentication for your social media channels, follow these support articles from Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Instagram doesnt have 2FA right now, but it looks like its in the pipeline.

3. Check your applications

There are numerous different applications and services available out there which allow you to schedule and manage your social media accounts. They will require you to grant permissions on your social media accounts, and this means that if they are hacked, the hacker could have access to your social media accounts as well. Of course, these tools can be extremely useful, so were not suggesting you dont use them. However, be careful about which ones you try. Also, if you stop using a service, make sure you go to your settings (in your social media accounts) and the apps/permissions section to remove the old apps permissions.

4. Change passwords regularly

Weve already mentioned the importance of creating secure passwords, but its also important to change them regularly. Although this may sound like a nuisance, its unfortunately necessary these days. There seem to be hacking scandals in the news on a regular basis, with even high profile people like Mark Zuckerberg falling victim to these attacks. It was also only a couple of months ago that the Netflix US Twitter account was compromised. If youre still using the same password you used to set up your social media account six years ago, theres more chance that someone else has managed to get hold of it. Therefore, make sure you change your passwords regularly and dont recycle old ones.

The security of your social media accounts is very important. If your social media is hacked, you could find that you lose all your content and followers overnight. You may also find that your brand is irreparably damaged by being hacked, so its best to do everything you can to avoid that happening.

About the author
Well, that was a stinking few months! Thankfully, with March bringing summer to an end, weve seen a cooler change and hopefully this will be a boon for workplace productivity. What effect do these sweltering few months have on your business?

Earlier this month, the Climate Council released their assessment of summer 2016-17  dubbed the return of the Angry Summer  wherein we were warned to prepare for more of the same in the years ahead.

What was more alarming for our purposes was that The impacts of the last Angry Summer of 2013/14 cost the Australian economy approximately $8 billion through absenteeism and a reduction in work productivity.

While the economic whack this most recent Angry Summer would have served up has not yet been quantified, the fact that 205 records were broken nationwide, and it was the hottest summer ever recorded in the economic and political hubs of Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra, suggest that $8 billion in lost productivity is another record we could see smashed when all the numbers come in.

So whats to be done to maintain your bottom line when the mercury is sky-high?

Encourage summer holidays

Australia has a bit of a leg-up in that for us, Christmas falls in the summer months.

Now, obviously there are a whole host of religions and cultures in our workplaces, meaning many people dont observe the Christian holiday. But regardless of your beliefs, with school holidays in full swing, its a convenient time to take a few days off and spend time with family and friends.

Since most of the country shuts down over the Christmas/New Year period, it just makes sense to give your office a fortnight or so off. This is particularly the case since theres a glut of public holidays falling around that time, meaning people arent forced to lose a full two weeks of their annual leave.

But theres a hidden benefit to having time off during the sticky summer months, with studies suggesting that the notion of productivity dropping off in the warmer months is hardly an Australian phenomenon.

In 2012, US-based media company Captivate had 600 white collar respondents discuss their performances in the summer months, and the results will have you contemplating giving a Valentines Day long weekend if its another one of those 35-degree-plus efforts we caught throughout February this year:

Summertime itself has a negative impact on the workplace. People report productivity goes down (20%), attendance dips (19%), project turnaround times increase (13%) and they are more distracted (45%).

Summer hours are no silver bullet

Efforts to discover the root cause of the drop in efficiency were largely fruitless, although it was made apparent that offering summer hours  one shorter day per week to allow people to get out and soak up the sun  actually had a negative impact.

Of employees who punched out early on a Friday, 53% said their personal productivity went down, while 23% reported increased stress as a result of making up for a cruisey Friday by working longer Monday through Thursday.

 too many businesses are decreasing productivity and increasing stress in an attempt to be flexible, said Mike DiFranza, the then-president of Captivate. While there are many reasons that may contribute to this drop in productivity, we have seen some interesting correlations.

For example, people reporting a drop in productivity also report an increase in socializing with coworkers (63%), taking extended lunch breaks (51%) and leaving early a few days a week (49%).

Summer hours programs are put in place with the very best of intentions, and Im sure with some adjustments they can meet the needs of companies and employees alike.

Telecommuting to the rescue

It wasnt all doom and gloom however, with the research finding that telecommuting was a viable workaround, resulting in an increase in productivity for 26% of respondents, while also being the only approach that results in lower employee stress than prohibiting summer hours all together.

Far from being just a way to keep your staff on-side when its hot, its actually a model thats well worth pursuing year-round.

Global Workplace Analytics swotted up on over 4000 different pieces of research and concluded that telecommuting has huge benefits for both employer and employee, from Gen Y through to those on the cusp of retirement.

While there are always drawbacks  in this case they include management mistrust, co-worker jealousy and employee fear of being out of sight, out of mind  the benefits are manifest, including the fact its a money saver.

As well as helping keep stress in check and productivity on the up, it was found that 36% of people would take the choice to work from home over a pay rise, and with 80% regarding it as a perk, its a huge helper with the hurdle of recruitment and retention.

Keep a cool head

Having a business model that is lean and flexible is admittedly a term thats getting thrown around a lot at the moment, but cliches tend to become cliches because theyre true, and a bloated, sluggish model simply doesnt get results.

Whats more, you tend to feel the heat a lot more when youre bloated and sluggish  those lean and flexible types are far less likely to have mean underarm sweat-patches.

The point is, telecommuting may not be the method that best works for your business. Its rare that a single workaround fits everyone.

Whats key is to recognise when you have a problem and then having the nous and agility to deal with it in a way that works for your business and the members of your team.

Luckily, as we head into the early stages of autumn, youve got a good six months to nut out the best way for your team to keep a cool head when the weather inevitably gets angry again.

About the author

Jason Dooris is the CEO and founder of Sydney-based creative media agency Atomic 212.
When Rick Snyder became the governor of Michigan in 2011, he famously labeled the citizens of Michigan as customers and set about to run the state like a business. This approach to governing has had tragic impacts on our state. In their fervor to save money, the corporatists that run our state have driven our education system into the ground and given us such devastating legacies as the Flint Water Crisis.

Now, Donald Trump is poised to do the same for the entire country:

President Trump plans to unveil a new White House office on Monday with sweeping authority to overhaul the federal bureaucracy and fulfill key campaign promises  such as reforming care for veterans and fighting opioid addiction  by harvesting ideas from the business world and, potentially, privatizing some government functions. The White House Office of American Innovation, to be led by Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law and senior adviser, will operate as its own nimble power center within the West Wing and will report directly to Trump. Viewed internally as a SWAT team of strategic consultants, the office will be staffed by former business executives and is designed to infuse fresh thinking into Washington, float above the daily political grind and create a lasting legacy for a president still searching for signature achievements. [] We should have excellence in government, Kushner said Sunday in an interview in his West Wing office. The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens.

Be afraid, America. Be VERY afraid. All you have to do is look to the formerly great state of Michigan for all the lessons you need to show you how tragically flawed this approach is. It sets government up for failure and the impacts will invariably felt by the most vulnerable citizens. Poor people. Sick people. Elderly people. Children. Prison inmates. The list goes on and on. Those with the least  both in terms of resources and political capital  will be run over in the corporate-driven zeal to give massive tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy at the expense of their lives and their personal pursuits of happiness.
Roger Severino has actively fought LGBT equality, including provisions of the Affordable Care Act that protect LGBT people and others.

While we were busy trying to thwart the terrible American Health Care Act (AHCA) last week, President Trump was quietly appointing a terrible Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS/OCR): Roger Severino, an anti-LGBT extremist who has spent much of his career demeaning and marginalizing LGBT Americans.

Until the appointment last week, Severino served as Director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society for the Heritage Foundation. Yes, as in the family of Betsy DeVos, who as Secretary of Education under Trump isnt too sure about the rights of LGBT kids, especially transgender kids.

In his role at the Heritage Foundation, Severino authored a report opposing OCRs implementation of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare), which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, disability and sex in federally funded health programs. Its worth noting that Section 1557 doesnt just protect LGBT people, but they are particularly at risk for discrimination.

Severino has called the efforts of agencies such as OCR to protect transgender people from discrimination an abuse of power wielded to coerce everyoneinto pledging allegiance to a radical new gender ideology. Contrary to the conclusions of most courts that have considered the issue, Severino has claimed that applying Section 1557 to gender identity discrimination constitutes a radical redefining of sex discrimination that is not justified by the law.

Further, Severino has falsely asserted that HHSs 1557 rule create[s] special privileges based on gender identity that can force doctors to perform sex-reassignment surgeries even when they are not medically necessary. The fact is that Section 1557 does no such thing. And these medical treatments  which Severino calls controversial  are supported by decades of research and the opinions of well-respected medical societies including the American Medical Association, American College of Physicians and American Academy of Family Physicians, among others, as being medically necessary for many patients.

By appointing Mr. Severino to enforce the life-saving protections that he has made his personal mission to dismantle, the Trump administration has once again put the fox in charge of the hen house, said Mara Keisling, Executive Director of The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), in a statement, continued below:

[Severino] has has made attacking womens and LGBT peoples access to health care one of the centerpieces of his career, while his baseless claims about protections for transgender people  repeated over and over without any regard for the consequences on transgender peoples lives  betray a fundamental misunderstanding of federal civil rights laws, medical science, the reality of what it means to be transgender. Mr. Severino is now in a position to transform his dangerous rhetoric into action that can inflict serious harm on the lives of millions of Americans. We cannot let this happen.

Severino isnt just anti-LGBT. Hes also taken actions that discriminate against women. He strongly opposed HHSs commonsense interpretation of Section 1557 to apply to discrimination related to pregnancy termination, including denying care to patients just because they have previously had an abortion. He has been a staunch opponent of access to contraception and other sexual and reproductive health services, opposing the ACAs contraceptive access provision and calling for the defunding of Planned Parenthood.

Most alarming of all, Severinos 2016 Heritage report calls for repealing the ACA, including the nondiscrimination provision he is now charged with enforcing. Thanks to a lawsuit applauded by Severino, one district court judge issued a nationwide injunction last year barring enforcement of parts of the 1557 rule by HHS. In a highly unusual step, the Trump Justice Department declined to appeal that sweeping order.

Civil rights groups have expressed deep concern about Severinos appointment. Given his extreme views opposing the rights of LGBT people and women  views that brought him to prominence on the far right  they are justifiably worried about the fact that Severino will be in charge of enforcing the very same civil rights protections he has worked to undermine.

A joint statement was issued by NCTE, the Center for American Progress (CAP), the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the National Health Law Program, the National LGBTQ Task Force, the National Partnership for Women and Families, National Womens Law Center and Out2Enroll questioning Severinos ability to faithfully and impartially enforce the ACA and protect LGBT people from discrimination.

At a minimum, we call for Director Severino and any other Trump appointee who has worked against the ACAs nondiscrimination protections to recuse themselves from decisions related to its enforcement.

The Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus has also issued a statement denouncing the appointment.

Severinos appointment is yet another example of President Trump and HHS Secretary Tom Prices increasingly long list of compromised nominees who have alarming conflicts of interest  and now, the opportunity to abuse their power guided by ideology, not law or fact. Especially when you consider that Severinos boss at HHS is Price, who has frequently advocated for discriminatory policies that would hurt LGBT people and women during his career.

Frankly, it is sick that President Trump would appoint Roger Severino to lead OCR  putting a man who made his career opposing healthcare nondiscrimination laws in charge of enforcing those very same protections, said Winnie Stachelberg, Executive Vice President for External Affairs of CAP, in a statement. Before the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies routinely denied equal treatment to same-sex couples and more than half of private insurance plans explicitly discriminated against transgender patients, with more than a quarter of transgender people reported being denied medical care by a provider. Severinos writing makes it clear that he wants to take us back to the days when 1 in 4 transgender people was refused medical care outright.

The laws protections remain in place  for now  but Severinos anti-LGBT and anti-women positions make it clear that advocates for equality and healthcare justice have their work cut out for them.

Although the news of Severinos appointment is troubling, Katie Keith, a steering committee member at Out2Enroll, has an important message for the LGBT community.

This appointment is deeply disappointing  and we will fight any attempt at rolling back protections for LGBTQ people  but we want the community to know that nothing has changed when it comes to their rights under the Affordable Care Act. Although this appointment signals the possibility of potential changes in the future, LGBTQ people are still protected when it comes to health care and health insurance and should contact a legal organization if they face any type of discrimination.

All of us who celebrated the AHCAs defeat last week knew the honeymoon couldnt last. But we proved that we can organize and win. Now just have to keep doing it.

If you have questions about your rights under Section 1557 of the ACA, visit Out2Enroll.



[Graphic credits: Photo by Anne Savage; graphic courtesy of Out2Enroll.]
We saw yet another government breach last week, and more secrets went out to WikiLeaks. Im of a mixed mind on this one, because the CIA tools disclosed likely were emulated by others, and WikiLeaks is helping consumer technology companies ensure they no longer work.

I dont know about you, but I really dont want any organization spying on me  not even my own government. Given how I often dress around the house, this is as much for their protection as my own.

When Steve Jobs took over, Apple also had a severe leak problem, and he was pragmatic about fixing it. Ironically, he used the U.S. governments approach as a template. As a side note, Jobs also had a WikiLeaks problem, but whether it really was a leak or was fake news was never determined. Now that is an interesting coincidence, given the topic.

Ill offer some suggestions about what Trump could learn from Steve Jobs, and Ill close with my product of the week: the Jetson TX2, an amazing high-speed drone that uses Nvidias value-priced digital brain, to ensure that it doesnt get you into trouble.

Steve Jobs Problem

When Steve came back to Apple, he had a massive problem in that he wanted to create excitement around his new products  but only when he actually had them to sell. He knew that product leaks tended to kill sales for existing products and made launches far less exciting because there was no mystery.

He also knew if that sometimes to get a product out the door you had to defeature it, and if folks expected a feature that didnt show up, they not only wouldnt be excited but also might avoid buying the product as a result of their disappointment.

Given that the products he started with were crap, in his opinion, he sure didnt want people to stop buying them until he had replacements in market. At the time, though, Apple was a sieve. People who worked there had developed relationships with reporters, and they used their inside knowledge on coming products to gain status.

Simply telling them to stop really didnt seem to have the intended effect  but since Apples survival was at stake, Jobs went full WWII.

Steve early on developed a reputation for firing people on the spot, often for what seemed to be trivial causes  employees referred to it as being Steved. So when Jobs made it clear that anyone caught leaking would be terminated immediately, folks took him seriously.

He also pulled posters out of the old-World War II campaigns, like loose lips sink ships and made it clear to the employees that keeping quiet could make the difference between whether Apple survived and prospered or failed.

He looked to others to report anyone they knew was leaking, for the good of the company. (In one instance, this firing thing supposedly backfired badly.)

Finally, Jobs would deliberately include slight alterations about coming products in internal memos, so that if anyone did leak, he could track the leak back to the group that leaked it and then locate the individual.

That not only was sneaky, but also made the leakers less reliable, because the facts they were leaking were inaccurate. It had the dual purpose of locating and discrediting the leaker at the same time.

Saved My Job

While I was at IBM, I ran security for my organization for a short while implemented something similar because I suspected some of my own reports  which were highly sensitive at the time  would be leaked. One was, and the SVP of sales wanted me fired.

Fortunately, I was able to track the leak to that same SVP, and I outlasted him as a result. Ill likely never forget this practice of altering reports so they can be tracked back, if leaked in whole or part.

Technology Approach

Since the Steve Jobs era, a host of tools that monitor access of information in real time, likeVaronis, have emerged. They can send out alerts if people gain access to data outside of their responsibility, start copying or printing sensitive documents, or suddenly show an interest in an area they never before accessed.

These tools address the kind of bulk information theft that the U.S. intelligence community has experienced, by identifying perpetrators so they can be caught quickly and punished. It continues to surprise me that solutions such as these either arent in place or have not been implemented properly, even after the Snowden breach.

I agree with Julian Assange that this latest breach showcases a level of incompetence that should be unacceptable in a small private company  let alone one of the most powerful and storied intelligence organizations in the world.

Trump Channeling Jobs

Here is where Trump needs to channel Steve Jobs. When a leak like this occurs, the career bureaucrats responsible for protecting the breached data should be terminated for cause. This would convey the seriousness of the problem. Clearly, if and when the perpetrator is located, that person has to be brought to justice definitively, so that the personal risks surrounding leaking exceed the benefit of leaking.

The government should implement an access-tracking tool like Varonis, and make sure the implementation is comprehensive so that in addition to document access, system access would be tracked, so that any related types of security breaches also would be caught.

Finally, the administration seriously needs to consider a WWII level of organizational attitude readjustment, so that employees recognize they are putting their nation at risk and help to ensure that other employees report any questionable things they observe in a timely way.

Wrapping Up: Taking Security Seriously

I do think there is one other aspect of this that should be addressed, and that is that there really needs to be a better way for employees of the intelligence community to report illegal activities other than leaking them. Much of this looks like an employee saw management do something wrong, and in a fit of conscience  and with no other recourse  leaked it to stop the activity.

I mean if the CIA is planning to take over and crash cars, then at the very least, Id like that exploit reported and fixed so that they dont accidentally kill me in the process, or enable someone else to do it on purpose.

In short, I think the Intelligence Community should reprioritize its goal to keep citizens safe and its goal to attack others, putting the keep us safe part first again. Or, put more bluntly, if they know of an exploit that puts me at risk, then Id like them to help fix it rather than keep it secret so they can kill someone else. (By the way this leaking thing doesnt appear to be stopping the illegal activity at all  something the leakers should reflect on.)

Given that the hacking techniques leaked likely could be used against a sitting president, who is by far a larger target than I am, fixing that priority should be compelling for President Trump. In the end, I think Trump could learn a lot from how Jobs secured Apple, and it would make all of us a lot safer if he did.

One other quote President Trump might want to consider from Jobs: If you want to make Apple great again, lets get going. If not, get the hell out.

I was at the Nvidia Jetson TX2 launch last week and up to my armpits in security technology, autonomous drones, and what looked like a 3D scanning Ray Gun.

However, I saw one thing I had to buy, and it was the new Teal drone, due to ship during the summer.

Teal Drone

At nearly US$1,300 it is not cheap date. Given how successful DJI is in this space, you have to ask yourself why anyone would want an expensive drone with no camera gimbal in the first place. The answer is this puppy is fast.

It goes from 0-60 in 1.2 seconds and has a top speed of 85 mph. The lack of a gimbal means you can fly this with a headset on and actually feel like you are flying. That said, if you hit something at 85 mph it will be expensive, which is where the Jetson TX2 comes in.

Effectively, when turned on, it gives you a capability similar to the guardian angel for self-driving cars. It provides a bubble of safety around the drone, helping to prevent that spectacular crash that could kill your drone and end your flying days for some time.

This thing is amazing. At top speed, it sounds like a howling banshee (which is what I would have named it had it been up to me).

It defaults to your phone as a controller, but it also will use a range of professional controllers if you prefer, and it will broadcast the video to several wireless headsets for that flying experience.

It is modular in design, so that if you break an arm or blade you can replace it. The body is a single streamlined piece without the breakable parts of a typical drone has in this class.

Because it uses an AI engine, things like being able to tell the person it is following is you, along with more advanced features  like followiong complex flight plans while avoiding obstacles  are possible. The Teal is one kick-ass drone. Yes, I ordered one, and it is my product of the week.
Facebook on Monday moved to prevent spy applications from accessing its users data.

The company has updated its Facebook and Instagram policies to prohibit developers from using data obtained from those platforms in surveillance tools, according to Rob Sherman, deputy chief privacy officer at Facebook.

Facebook already has taken enforcement actions against devs who created and marketed surveillance tools in violation of the companys previous policy, he noted, adding that we want to be sure everyone understands the underlying policy and how to comply.

Facebook has been under pressure to beef up its rules governing surveillance apps since last fall, when the American Civil Liberties Union released a report exposing how Geofeedia was using Facebook, Instagram and Twitter data to track protesters in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri.

Marketing materials for surveillance companies urged police to monitor hashtags associated with Black Lives Matter, and labeled unions and activist groups as overt threats, the ACLU also reported.

We depend on social networks to connect and communicate about the most important issues in our lives and the core political and social issues in our country, said Nicole Ozer, technology and civil Liberties director at the ACLU of California.

Now more than ever, we expect companies to slam shut any surveillance side doors and make sure nobody can use their platforms to target people of color and activists, she added.

Data Sellers Chill Dissent

The ACLU is part of a coalition that includes the Center for Media Justice and the Color of Change. The group aims to persuade social media companies to establish robust systems to make sure the rules prohibiting surveillance are followed.

When technology companies allow their platforms and devices to be used to conduct mass surveillance of activists and other targeted communities, it chills democratic dissent and gives authoritarianism a license to thrive, said Malkia Cyril, executive director of the Center for Media Justice.

Social media platforms are a powerful tool for black people to draw attention to the injustices our community faces, remarked Brandi Collins, campaign director for Color of Change.

We commend Facebook and Instagram for this step, she continued, and call on all companies who claim to value diversity and justice to also stand up and do whats needed to limit invasive social media surveillance from being used to target black and brown people in low-income communities.

All Facebook users will benefit from the crackdown on surveillance apps, said Andrew Sudbury, CTO of Abine.

This should improve user privacy, as there shouldnt be any commercial companies reselling access to them and their data to law enforcement for tracking and intelligence gathering purposes, he told TechNewsWorld.

Mixed Bag for Cops

For law enforcement agencies using information from developers of surveillance apps, Facebooks policy will be a mixed bag.

Theres nothing to stop law enforcement from looking as a suspects Facebook feed, but it will stop these intermediary-type companies like Geofeedia from getting automated feeds of information, said Timothy Toohey, an attorney with Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger.

Enforcement still could be a problem for Facebook, though.

There may be other companies that have ways to scrape this information from Facebook without developer access, Toohey told TechNewsWorld.

Facebooks ability and willingness to police its antisurveillance policy will be key to its success.

A company could simply do its surveillance anyway, Abines Sudbury noted. Then it would fall on Facebook to carefully monitor what and how developers access data, looking for clues as to the purposes of the data.

Controversies over whats done with Facebooks data are unavoidable, Toohey maintained.

The data is incredibly valuable. Its valuable to law enforcement. Its valuable to private enterprises, he said. Facebook wants to monetize that, which puts them in very difficult positions balancing their commercial interests with other interests.
The Online Trust Alliance on Tuesday released a report calling for businesses, consumers and government to share responsibility for ensuring that Internet of Things devices are not weaponized.

Issued in recognition of National Consumer Protection Week, the report outlines actions that businesses, consumers and government can take to ensure the security, privacy and vitality of IoT devices. It calls for a campaign to have retailers and consumers reject IoT products that pose a security threat.

OTA Executive Director Craig Spiezle later this month will meet with White House staff, and FTC and FCC commissioners to kickstart efforts to harden IoT security measures, he told the E-Commerce Times. In addition, he will participate in five or six congressional staff meetings.

The OTA report is the fourth in a series of vision papers. Its premise is that if manufacturers can not sell products that are inadequately secured, then they will have to change their policies to bolster security.

The IoT represents a mounting and expanding threat vector to consumers and the Internet at large, Spiezle said.

Drilling Down

Addressing connected device security and privacy is as important as addressing global warming, the report suggests.

If there is not a concerted effort by all stakeholders, there will be a mass weaponization of devices. Weaponizing tactics will range from unlocking doors, disabling fire alarms, and stealing personal and business property, it warns.

Thousands of new Internet-connected devices dramatically improve the way we work and live. However, many IoT devices appear designed primarily for convenience and functionality, without much  if any  attention given to long-term security or privacy, Spiezle pointed out.

IoT companies are not heading in the right direction in the OTAs view. The recent connected device privacy and security missteps of product makers such as D-Link, Spiral Toys and Vizio have showcased their weaknesses.

New Rules Needed

The IoT has reached a crossroads where regulation may be required, but the process of passing legislation would take too long, and it could never keep pace with the evolving threat landscape, according to the OTA.

The Trump administrations goal to eliminate two regulations for every new one introduced means the government will not seek a solution any time soon, the report suggests.

Members of Congress should pass legislation to block botnets emanating from residential IP addresses, it urges. Such new rules would echo laws in several other countries.

IoT stakeholders have a shared responsibility, the OTA said. Consumers have a similar responsibility to patch insecure devices and ultimately to replace those with security protections that have become obsolete.

IoT Industry Needs to Step Up

The retail channel is perhaps the best avenue for initiating change, the report suggests. Retailers play a pivotal role in setting baseline security and privacy measures for the products they sell.

All the involved groups are busy pointing fingers at others saying who should do what, said Spiezle. The reality is that we all have a shared responsibility.

Manufacturers need to disclose their security support commitments to users prior to purchase, with security and privacy policies clearly articulated in something akin to food nutrition labels or new car stickers, the report recommends. Such notices should be included on product packaging and point-of-sale materials to inform consumers prior to purchase.

Its a time for action, said Spiezle. Its great to say we need to make a change, but whose job is it? It is everyones responsibility. It has an aggregate effect. We need to think of the need for action as a collective effect.

Brokers, builders, car dealers and realtors have a similar vested interest in pushing for IoT security solutions, the report maintains.

Sellers and owners should disclose all IoT devices and features, and render them inactive at the time of purchase, it suggests. They should fully inform new owners how to reactivate them and create secure passwords. That includes such measures as turning in physical and digital keys, and removing all personal data.

It starts with device manufacturers, Spiezle said. The resellers and retailers have a real opportunity to say that we are not going to sell these things if safety is at risk. Maybe they need to take a stronger leadership for the products that they sell.

Wrong Evangelist?

The message has importance, but it might me coming from the wrong messenger, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

The security of IoT devices is certainly something to worry about, but I dont have a lot of faith in the OTAs grassroots attempt to address what should be a top-down industry imperative, he told the E-Commerce Times.

That results in part from the immaturity and fragmentation of the IoT market, King said. The inherent complexity of IoT technology will make it difficult for retail and consumer customers to address security concerns effectively.

Where will consumers and retailers get the information they need to decide whether or not devices are safe? he wondered. Who will make those assessments?

It would be great if the OTA enlisted the help of a mainstream trusted organization, like Consumer Reports, into the effort, said King.

In addition, it would be helpful if the group had a higher profile within the IT industry, he added. At this point, Microsoft is the OTAs best known global sponsor. Getting the enthusiastic support of larger vendors would be a better strategy to effect change.
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Having spent the last six months preparing a history of Harvard Universitys mission to Moscow in the 1990s and the scandal that ensued (to appear sometime this summer), I have often been reminded of William Faulkners apothegm: The past is never dead. Its not even past. This is as true of the Trump-Russia story as it is of the larger and more intricate realm of US-Russia relations since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Holman Jenkins, Jr., the least predictable columnist at The Wall Street Journal, noted last week (subscription required) that Watergate analogies in the Trump Russia controversy are beside the point. What is wanted, he wrote, is a Pentagon Papers-style history of US policy, an emptying out of the files necessary to illuminate the awkward, contradictory and humiliating straddles of Western governments over the last twenty-five years.

Alas, we are unlikely to get that kind of retrospective from WikiLeaks. What is required instead is a great deal of shoe-leather reporting. An especially good example was to be found ten days ago in The Rich Refugees Who Saved Trump, by Caleb Melby and Keri Geiger, with Michael Smith, Alexander Sazenov, and Polly Mosendz, writing in Bloomberg Businessweek.

When Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza began construction two decades ago as the tallest residential building in the country (90 stories), its most expensive floors attracted wealthy people getting their money out of what had been the Soviet Union. Trump needed the big spenders. He was renegotiating $1.8 billion in junk bonds for his Atlantic City resorts, and the tower was built on a mountain of debt owed to German banks.

The story is the most plausible account Ive yet seen of what Trumps oldest son, Donald Jr., may have meant when he said, in 2008, We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia. In the earlier case reported by BBw, the deluge occurred at a most propitious time, in the late 1990s, when Trumps business was stretched thin and under stress.

Trump broke ground on the building in October 1998, across the street from the United Nations headquarters. After several years of boisterous churn and at long last some growth, the Russian economy was in crisis. The ruble had collapsed in August; the government had defaulted on its domestic debt. Savvy Russians had scrambled to get their money out of the country. From the article:

Real Estate provides a safe haven for overseas investors. It has few reporting requirements and is a preferred way to move cash of questionable provenance. Amid the turmoil, buyers found a dearth of available projects. Trump World Tower, opened in 2001, became a prominent depository of Russian money.

Others who bought units in the building, with its 72 constructed floors and 90 stories listed on its elevator panels, included New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter, Bill Gates, Harrison Ford, Sophia Loren, and Kellyanne Conway and her husband, according to Wikipedia. BBw reported that

The very top floors remained unsold for years but a third of the units sold on floors 76 through 83 by 2004 involved people or limited liability corporations connected to Russia and neighboring states, a Bloomberg investigation shows. The reporting involved more than two dozen interviews and a review of hundreds of public records in New York.

Trump scholars gradually will determine how material was the sales boost in the complicated ups-and-downs of Trumps financial position in those days. For an explication of some of the favors owed, which in one case went back to 1976, see the current article. This much is indelibly clear: the president has seen Russia as a prime source of revenue, if not investment, for twenty years. Again, BBw:

Simultaneous with when the tower was going up, developer Gil Dezer and his father, Michael, were building a Trump-backed condo project in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. Russians love the Trump brand, [Dezer] says, adding that Russians and Russian Americans bought some 200 of the 2,000 units in Trump buildings he built. They flooded into Trump projects from 2001 to 2007, helping Trump weather the real estate collapse, he says.

A similar situation, this one involving a troubled midtown Manhattan building owned by Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and a billionaire Chinese would-be investor, was covered in some detail earlier this month by The New York Times and the WSJ (subscription required). The next step is to follow Bloombergs team in tracing Trumps dealings with Russians back in time.

My hunch is that the WSJs Jenkins is right, that the 2016 campaign-collusion story will turn out to be a dead end. Much more interesting is the saga of the formation of Trumps views of Russia over the last twenty-five years
By Greg Muttitt

We welcomed last week the first step by the International Energy Agency (IEA) towards describing how energy would look for the world to meet one of the Paris Agreement goals, to keep warming well below 2C. Specifically, it looked at emissions being limited enough to give a two-in-three chance of staying below 2C.

The report was co-published by IEA and its clean energy counterpart, the International Renewable Energy Agency, and commissioned by the German government. The two agencies are also working on a 1.5C scenario, to be published in June.

But theres a problem with the IEAs new climate scenario: It describes a slower decline in fossil fuels than our analysis of what the climate science actually requires. Heres the key table:

Remarkably, the IEA foresees significant coal use in 2050 and gas barely declines from current levels. Lets look at how the IEA reaches this outcome.

The new report starts off well: It takes the carbon budget from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as we did in our report The Skys Limit: 880 gigatons (Gt) of carbon dioxide can be emitted from 2015 onwards. But the IEA then does three things that inflate the space for fossil fuels within that budget:

It understates the potential non-fossil fuel emissions (primarily cement and land use emissions);

It assumes a major breakthrough in carbon capture and storage (CCS);

It allocates a disproportionate share of the carbon budget to the pre-2050 perioddeeper emissions cuts are hidden outside the period of study.

The combined effect is to inflate the emissions from fossil fuels by about 180 Gtthe equivalent to running an extra 1,500 coal plants from 2015 to 2050. Heres how the math works:

Disappearing Non-Fossil Emissions

The 880 Gt carbon budget is the total cumulative amount of CO2 that can be emitted from all sources in the future. While fossil fuels are the largest source of CO2 emissions, they are not the only source. The others are the calcination reaction in making cement and land use changes (such as agriculture and deforestation). So an estimate of these other sources must be deducted from the budget, to see how much room is left for fossil fuel emissions.

The IEAs estimate of land use emissions (zero) is only slightly smaller than ours: We estimate 20 Gt over the century (when you take into account absorption of CO2 as well as emissionsbased on a median of IPCC scenarios).

But the IEA assumes only 90 Gt of cement emissions over the century. Cement emissions are current 2 Gt per year; the IEA scenario projects them peaking in the 2020s and falling to 1 Gt by 2050, due to material efficiency and CCS. Our estimate is 160 Gt, based on an optimistic reading of the IEAs own figures. The difference can only be squared with a very optimistic assumption on CCS, to which we turn next.

So the IEA assumes that only 90 Gt of the carbon budget must be deducted, leaving 790 Gt for fossil fuels. Our already-optimistic assumptions would require 180 Gt to be deducted and it could be a lot more than this. So at 790 Gt, fossil fuels are getting too much of the global carbon budget.

Burying Carbon Out of Sight

The new IEA scenario assumes that CCS will be quickly ramped up in the 2020s, capturing 3 Gt per year of fossil fuel emissions by 2035, not counting the more than 1 Gt per year of cement emissions.

This seems highly unlikely, given that both companies and governments (including the UK and the U.S.) have pulled out of investing in CCS in the last couple of years. The IEA itself has noted that deployment has stalled. A major reason is that CCS-equipped coal or gas powerwhile obviously attractive to the fossil fuel industryis significantly more expensive than wind or solar power. The IEA does not explain how it expects a turnaround to occur.

The IEA sees more than 600 GW of CCS-equipped power plants being installed by 2050, equivalent to nearly 20 percent of todays coal and gas capacity. Given the long life of power stations, the IEA believes a significant portion of this will be achieved by retrofitting existing plantswhich is even more expensive than installing CCS in new plants.

The effect of the IEAs CCS assumption is to inflate the available carbon budget by around 60 Gt before 2050 and up to 200 Gt over the century, based on an expensive technological fix that has no track record to date.

Hiding Emissions Cuts Off the Page

The new report describes the energy system from 2015 to 2050. But the carbon budget stipulates how much the world can emit over all time (until atmospheric concentrations stabilize). So a key part of IEAs calculation is to decide how much of its 790 Gt budget to allocate before 2050 and how much after. The IEA opts to save just 80 Gt of the budget for post-2050 and 710 Gt for pre-2050.

This would require a sudden change in the rate of emissions once we reached 2050, as the graph shows.

Since the scenario forecasts only up to 2050, it understates the emissions reductionsand overstates fossil fuel useduring that period. Like a magicians trick, the real action is happening out of sight.

If emissions fell at a steady rate after 2020, rather than postponing some reductions until after 2050, they would have to decrease by 5 percent per year. On this basis, the IEAs pre-2050 carbon budget for energy would fall from 710 to 635 Gt. Compounding this with our more reasonable assumption on non-fossil emissions, we would start with an all-time budget of 880  180 = 700 Gt. Reducing emissions at a constant rate after 2020 would allocated 590 Gt of this to pre-2050. In comparison, the IEA has taken a pre-2050 budget of 710 Gt and inflated it with CCS to about 770.

The IEAs three distortions buy an extra 180 Gt for fossil fuels (see table). Over the 35 years of the scenario, thats the equivalent of an extra 1,500 average-sized coal plants.

Wrong Conclusions



Without these distortions, the IEA would reach the same conclusion that we did in the Skys Limit: that there is no room for new fossil fuel development. Instead, it calls for new investment in fossil fuelsincluding $200 billion a year of investment in fossil fuel extraction as late as 2050investment that will either be wasted or will drive devastating climate change.

Governments and investors routinely use IEA scenarios to inform energy decisions, especially the scenarios in its flagship World Energy Outlook, published every November. But as weve seen, even in its new climate scenario, the IEA overstates the future of fossil fuels, due to flawed assumptions and hidden distortions.

It is time for the IEA to come clean. First, the IEA must drop its outdated 450 Scenario and replace it with one in line with Paris. Second, it must fix these distortions, to give a clear picture of the action thats really needed.
By Genna Reed

Emails unsealed in a California lawsuit last week reveal that agribusiness giant Monsanto engaged in activities aimed at undermining efforts to evaluate a potential link between glyphosatethe active ingredient of the companys popular herbicide Roundupand cancer. The documents reveal the companys plans to seed the scientific literature with a ghostwritten study and its efforts to delay and prevent U.S. government assessments of the products safety.

Many corporate actors, including the sugar industry, the oil and gas industries and the tobacco industry, have used tactics such as denying scientific evidence, attacking individual scientists, interfering in government decision-making processes and manufacturing counterfeit science through ghostwriting to try to convince policymakers and the public of their products safety in the face of independent scientific evidence to the contrary. This case underscores the urgent need for greater transparency and tighter protections to prevent these kinds of corporate disinformation tactics that could put the public at risk.

https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/842513331609096192

High Stakes in Glyphosate-Cancer Link

The case centers on the scientific question of whether glyphosate causes a type of cancer known as non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In the California lawsuit in which the key company documents were unsealed, plaintiffs with non-Hodgkin lymphoma claim that their disease is linked to glyphosate exposure.

The science is still unclear on this question. The EPAs issue paper on this topic said that glyphosate is not likely carcinogenic, but some of its Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) members point to critical data gaps and even suggest that there is limited but suggestive evidence of a positive association between glyphosate and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemical Agency have both concluded that scientific evidence does not support classifying glyphosate as a carcinogen. More than 94 scientists from institutions across the world have called for changes to EFSAs scientific evaluation process.

Its complex. What is clear, however, is that independent science bodies should be conducting their assessments on glyphosate without interference from outside players with a stake in the final determination.

The stakes for public healthand for Monsantos bottom lineare enormous. Glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S. Sold by Monsanto under the trade name Roundup, it is the companys flagship product. U.S. farmers spray nearly 300 million pounds of it on corn, soybeans and a variety of other crops every year to kill weeds. It is also commonly used in the U.S. for residential lawn care. As a result of its widespread use, traces of Roundup have been found in streams and other waterways and in our food and farmers and farmworkers are at risk for potentially heavy exposure to the chemical. (More on the ramifications of its agricultural use and the related acceleration of herbicide-resistant weeds here).

Setting the Scene for Science Manipulation

In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began a compulsory risk assessment of glyphosate as part of its pesticide reregistration process. The agencys process risked the possibility that the chemical could be listed as a possible carcinogen, as the agency is required to review new evidence since its last review in the mid-1990s and determine whether it will cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment and human health. From Monsantos standpoint, such a classification change posed a clear threat for its lucrative product, possibly resulting in changes to labels and public perception of the products safety that could tarnish the brands image.

Compounding the companies woes, in March 2015, the United Nations-sponsored International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released an assessment concluding that glyphosate was a probable human carcinogen after evaluating the available scientific research on glyphosates link to non-Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma. IARC recommended that glyphosate be classified as a 2A carcinogen, along with pesticides like DDT and malathion. IARCs was a science-based determination, not regulatory in nature. But the IARC assessment, the pending EPA review and a slated evaluation by yet another U.S. agencythe Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)appears to have spurred Monsanto to use at least four separate tactics to inappropriately influence public perception and the assessment process.

Tactic 1: Suppress the Science

In one disturbing revelation, the emails suggest that Monsanto representatives had frequent communications with a U.S. government official: Jess Rowland, former associate director of the Health Effects Division at the EPAs Office of Pesticide Programs and chair of the agencys Cancer Assessment Review Committee. Internal Monsanto emails indicate that Rowland tipped the company off to the IARC assessment before its release. The emails also quote Rowland as saying he would work to quash the ATSDR study on glyphosate, reportedly telling Monsanto officials: If I can kill this I should get a medal. The emails suggest that Monsanto was working with staff inside a U.S. government agency, outside of the established areas of public input to decision-making processes, in a completely inappropriate manner.

Tactic 2: Attack the Messenger

Immediately following the IARC assessment, Monsanto not only disputed the findings but attacked the IARCs credibility, trying to discredit the internationally renowned agency by claiming it had fallen prey to agenda-driven bias. The IARCs working group members were shocked by Monsantos allegations questioning their credibility. IARC relies on data that are in the public domain and follows criteria to evaluate the relevance and independence of each study it cites. As one IARC member, epidemiologist Francesco Forastiere, explained:  none of us had a political agenda. We simply acted as scientists, evaluating the body of evidence, according to the criteria. Despite Monsantos attacks, the IARC continues to stand by the conclusions of its 2015 assessment.

Tactic 3: Manufacture Counterfeit Science

In perhaps the most troubling revelation, emails show that in February 2015, Monsanto discussed manufacturing counterfeit scienceghostwriting a study for the scientific literature that would downplay the human health impacts of glyphosate and misrepresenting its independence. William Heydens, a Monsanto executive, suggested that the company could keep costs down by writing an article on the toxicity of glyphosate and having paid academics edit & sign their names so to speak and recommended that the journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology be contacted since the company had done such a publication in the past at that journal.

The 2000 paper Heydens referenced, the lead author of which is a faculty member at New York Medical College (NYMC), cites Monsanto studies, thanks Monsanto for scientific support, but fails to disclose Monsanto funding or other direct involvement in its publication. That paper concluded that, Roundup herbicide does not pose a health risk to humans. After a quick investigation to assess the integrity of this study, NYMC announced that there was no evidence that the faculty member had broken with the schools policy not to author ghostwritten studies.

Tactic 4: Undermine Independent Scientific Assessment

The emails and other court documents also document the ways in which Monsanto worked to prevent EPAs use of a Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) to review the agencys issue paper on glyphosates cancer risk and to delay and help shape the SAP findings through suggested changes to the composition of the panel. Within the unsealed emails, Monsanto mentioned that it opposed the EPAs plan to create a SAP to review glyphosate because the scope is more likely than not to be more comprehensive than just IARC  SAPs add significant delay, create legal vulnerabilities and are a flawed process that is probable to result in a panel and determinations that are scientifically questionable and will only result in greater uncertainty. This is a bogus claim. Scientific Advisory Panels, when they are fully independent, are a critical source of science advice.

EPAs SAP meetings on glyphosate, scheduled to begin in October 2016, were postponed just a few days before they were slated to start. This occurred after intense lobbying from CropLife America, an agrichemical trade organization representing Monsanto and other pesticide makers, which questioned the motives of the SAP looking into the health impacts of glyphosate. CropLife submitted several comments to the EPA, including one that attacked the integrity of a nominated SAP scientist. The agency subsequently announced the scientists removal from the panel in November 2016, one month before the rescheduled meetings took place.

Simultaneously, Monsanto created its own expert panel in July 2015 composed of 16 individuals, some scientists and some lobbyists, only four of whom have never been employed by or consulted with Monsanto. Who needs independent assessments when you have ready, willing and substantially funded agribusiness scientists who call themselves independent?

Defending the Scientific Process

The revelations from the unsealed Monsanto emails underscore the vital need for independent science and transparency to ensure credibility, foster public trust in our system of science-based policymaking and prevent entities like Monsanto from undermining objective scientific assessments. Clearly, better controls and oversight are needed to safeguard the scientific process from tactics like ghostwriting and more transparency and accountability are needed to ensure that scientific bodies are able to adequately assess the risks and benefits of any given product. Given what is now known about Monsantos actions, the need for independently conducted research and impartial science-based assessments about glyphosates safety is more important than ever.

Genna Reed is a science and policy analyst in the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Environmentalists in New Zealand are increasingly angered that bottled water companies are extracting and exporting the countrys pristine and finite freshwater sources for private profitand paying very little for this privilege.

As the Guardian reported, Coca-Cola, which has an annual revenue of over $60bn, last year paid NZ$40,000 to the local council for the right to extract up to 200 cubic meters of water a day from Blue Spring in Putaruru, which is considered a national treasure.

Additionally, the company Alpine Pure is proposing to take millions of liters of glacial water from Lake Greaney and Lake Minim Mere in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Mount Aspiring National Park.

Alpine Pure project summary Alpine Pure

Alpine Pure managing director Bruce Nisbet defended the proposal, telling the Guardian that the amount they want to take is very small.

Also, Environment Minister Nick Smith says that the amount of freshwater being taken is tiny. His office notes that New Zealands annual freshwater resource is 500 trillion liters, of which 10 trillion liters is extracted. Six trillion goes towards irrigation, two trillion for town water supplies and two trillion for industries.

But many Kiwis are unhappy. Earlier this month, a petition carrying 15,000 signatures was delivered to Parliament calling for a moratorium on bottled water exports. The petition was organized by opposition group Bung the Bore.

In many parts of our country people are struggling to access clean safe water, yet at the same time billions of liters are being given away to private companies for nothing, Bung the Bore founder Jen Branje told Hawkes Bay Today.

According to the publication, 74 bottling plants in New Zealand have permits to take water and more permits are awaiting approval.

These bottling companies pay as little as NZ$500 (US$350) to local councils to take billions of liters of this precious resource and consent for this exploitation is often given with no public consultation at all, Branje said.

Bottled water is a big business with more that $100 billion spent each year on bottled water around the globe. In areas of the world where clean water is not readily available and boiling water is inconvenient, bottled water is a definite solution.

However, there are many reasons why you should avoid bottled water if you can, from plastic waste to money waste. Additionally, the bottled water industry is a huge water waster. The International Bottled Water Association reported in 2013 that North American water bottling firms use 1.39 liters to make one liter of water.

Water scarcity is an issue around the world and is certainly becoming a problem in New Zealand, as contamination breaks out in wells and water bodies around the country. As environmental nonprofit Pure Advantage details:

According to Canterbury District Health Board figures, the region now has the highest rate of campylobacter infections in the world, along with 17,000 notified cases of gastroenteritis a year and up to 34,000 cases of waterborne illness annually.

Its clear that water quality in New Zealand is deteriorating. Increased algal blooms containing toxic levels of bacteria are polluting our waterways and 75 percent of native freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction.

Catherine Delahunty, the Green partys spokesperson for water, wrote in an editorial that it is unfair for bottled water companies to take the countrys water when there is none to spare in areas struck by water contamination.

Recently, Te Matatini kapa haka festival had to buy bottles of water for people because the drinking water supply was so polluted with e. coli bacteria, it was too dirty to drink, she wrote. Ironically, the brand they bought was HB Waterbottled locally from an unpolluted source. Why should people have to pay for water because their water has been polluted, when a bottling company down the road can bottle and sell water for free?

Safe clean water not given away for profit pic.twitter.com/rI49L8puCR  Catherine Delahunty (@greencatherine) March 21, 2017

Prime Minister Bill English acknowledged the Bung the Bore petition

last week, announcing that the government is asking a panel of experts to explore whether to introduce a charge for water exports.

His statement, however, reflected the governments century-old view that no one owns the water.

On the one hand, there is real public concern about foreign companies access to water. On the other hand, theres a long-held, deep-seated view among New Zealanders that no one owns it and its free, so wed want to step through any process carefully, English said.

As weve discussed, New Zealands long-held position has been, no one owns the water and no one pays for waterthey pay for consents, they pay for infrastructure, but water in itself is free, just as it is for our electricity users and businesses who use it, he added.

In response, Delahunty wrote, Were pleased that the Government is hinting it may look at charging for water, but whether they follow through with a plan that actually protects our water from pollution and extraction remains to be seen.
Is dealing with

climate change too inconvenient for the Trump State Department?

The

Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI), which has been monitoring changes to federal websites ever since Donald Trump took office, noted significant new changes to the State Departments climate change website.

Climate Central reported that these are the first changes to the Office of Global Change as documented by EDGI. The changes started on Jan. 24 and continued until Feb. 2, the day after former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson took over the State Department on Feb. 1, according to Toly Rinberg, a researcher and coordinator for EDGIs Website Tracking Team.

The offices revised page has scrubbed its mention of President Obamas Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon pollution, promote clean energy, protect communities from the impacts of climate change and work with partners to lead international climate change efforts.

Here is the Jan. 2 description of the office:

The Office of Global Change(OES/EGC) works on a broad range of international climate change issues, under the guidance of the Special Envoy for Climate Change. The United States is taking a leading role by advancing an ever-expanding suite of measures at home and abroad. The Presidents Climate Action Plan highlights unprecedented efforts by the United States to reduce carbon pollution, promote clean sources of energy that create jobs, protect communities from the impacts of climate change, and work with partners to lead international climate change efforts. The working partnerships the United States has created or strengthened with other major economies has reinforced the importance of results-driven action both internationally and domestically and are achieving measurable impacts now to help countries reduce their long-term greenhouse gas emissions.

And heres what the current page says now:

The Office of Global Change represents the United States in negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and in many other international forums on climate change, including the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization. The office also leads U.S. government participation in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which assesses scientific and technical information related to climate change. The office is further responsible for coordinating a number of bilateral and regional partnerships on climate change, as well as U.S. foreign assistance related to clean energy, adaptation and sustainable landscapes.

Notable changes have been made to the Obama-era Office of Global Change website Republished with permission from EDGI

Under Tillersons leadership, Exxon issued several statements that supported the Paris climate agreement. However, Tillerson has not explicitly endorsed the global climate action accord.

The rewritten text reflects how the State Department is apparently distancing itself from domestic and international action on climate change, which the White House recently described as a waste of your money.

It seems that the new role of the Office of Global Change is toborrowing a phrase from Tillerson himselfhave 

a seat at the table for international forums on climate change negotiations.

During his confirmation, Tillerson said that it is important that the U.S. maintain a seat at the table on the conversations around how to address the threats of climate change, which do require a global response.

On the face of it, Tillersons carefully worded comment might sound like he is in support of climate action, but the phrasing is broad enough to allow the U.S. to rewrite the terms of the deal or withdraw from it altogether, which is

likely what Trump wants to do.

As Tillerson later said during his hearing, climate science is not conclusive and said the reason to maintain a seat at the table was so we can judge the level of commitment of the other 189 or so countries around the table and again adjust our own course accordingly.

Various government websites have been purged of climate change information ever since Trump took over. Within minutes of the presidents inauguration, the White Houses webpage removed pretty much all references to climate change and replaced it with An America First Energy Plan.

EDGI has noticed changes on other government websites, including text describing two rules regulating the oil and gas industry that was removed from an Interior Department page.

[Editors Note: EcoWatch has been informed about a tracking error by EDGI revealing that the significant website rewriting occurred before Feb. 1, which would be before Tillerson took office. This article has been updated.]
What Is the Keystone Pipeline?

The Keystone pipeline is an existing structure that carries oil from Alberta, Canada, down to Cushing, Oklahoma. The major controversy surrounds a proposed 1,200-mile extension, or shortcut, between Alberta and Nebraska. Dubbed the Keystone XL pipeline, this additional route would connect into the existing Keystone pipeline in Nebraska, which extends onward to Texas. Its worth noting that the proposed shortcut shouldnt be confused with an already existing Keystone XL extension between Oklahoma and Texas, called the Gulf Coast pipeline, which has been operating since 2014.

The additional extension has been under consideration since 2008, when Canadian-based TC Energy (known as TransCanada at the time) decided this would be the best way to ramp up oil production as the route would allow 830,000 barrels a day to be transported to Texas. The current pipeline carries around 550,000 barrels a day from Canada. However, the proposed shortcut faced almost immediate objections from a varied contingency concerning the pipelines environmental impact. For more than a decade the project has been caught in a tug of war between political administrations, environmentalists and oil lobbyists, alternating between having permits granted then revoked. The battle continues to this day.

How Much of the Keystone Pipeline Is Completed?

Its estimated that just eight percent of the Keystone XL pipeline has been built so far, although President Joe Biden canceled the project in January 2021.

History

Understanding the fuller picture of the pipelines complicated history involves some patience. The pipeline first underwent environmental review by the U.S. State Department in 2009. Around this time, Nebraskans started raising concerns about the pipelines potential impact on farmland and a major water system. The State Department approved the pipeline moving forward in 2010 after determining it would have a minimal effect on the environment, but this only increased opposition from state legislators and scientists. As a result, the State Department delayed the project for another year pending additional review, yet came to the same conclusion in 2011.

Following increased protest activity that year surrounding environmental concerns in Nebraska, the department revised its decision and ordered the pipeline to be rerouted through the state, and TC Energy agreed. Yet this wasnt the end. Barack Obama, president at the time, blocked the Alberta to Nebraska extension based on insufficient time for officials to properly review the new proposed route.

Meanwhile, TC Energy moved forward with the southern extension from Oklahoma to Texas in 2012 while re-submitting a new reroute application for the first leg. No sooner did Nebraska approve the new route in 2013 before opponents filed a lawsuit against the state government. In 2014 a Nebraska judge ruled in favor of the opposition, and the State Department once again suspended moving forward. After being laddered up to the Nebraska Supreme Court, the previous ruling was overturned in 2015 and the U.S. Senate greenlit Keystone XL to resume yet again. President Obama immediately vetoed the bill; later that year the administration rejected TC Energys reroute application, putting a supposed end to the project.

That is, until Donald Trump took office in 2016. One of President Trumps first orders revived the Keystone XL pipeline in 2017. A federal judge blocked that order in 2018, pending an environmental review. Not to be outdone, President Trump issued a presidential permit in 2019 allowing the pipeline to proceed, and construction began in 2020.

Why Is There So Much Opposition?



Members of the Cowboy and Indian Alliance, including Native Americans, farmers and ranchers from across the United States, begin a demonstration against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in front of the U.S. Capitol April 22, 2014 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

The type of oil that TC Energy wants to transport from Alberta via the XL pipeline is known as tar sands, a thick-as-molasses oil due to a hydrocarbon substance called bitumen, which also contains a mixture of clay, sand and water. This type of oil is considered one of the dirtiest fossil fuels on the planet. Extracting it involves clearing large swaths of biodiverse boreal forest and using steam to liquefy the underground bitumen. All of this comes at a great cost to the environment and contributes to climate change, explaining why so many different groups are opposed to the project. Yet just as many groups have political and financial reasons to keep the Keystone XL pipeline alive.

Financial Motivators

For starters, the U.S. oil industry finds tar sands oil attractive because it means less of a reliance on oil from the Middle East, while the XL extension would prove cheaper than using rail transportation. Investors also want to protect their stake in the $8 billion pipeline.

Then there are other industry supporters, including the National Association of Manufacturers and construction unions, who have vested reasons for supporting claims that the pipeline would rely on renewable energy and achieve net-zero emissions by 2023, according to TC Energy. However, fully offsetting pipeline emissions wouldnt help to reduce any of the emissions created by those using the actual tar sands oil.

The Global Energy Institute within the U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports Keystone XL because it claims the pipelines construction would provide more than 13,000 jobs to Americans and Canadians and generate $3.4 billion in U.S. GDP growth. That number also encompasses millions from state and local taxes. The Global Energy Institute has recently accused President Biden of making a politically motivated decision to cancel the pipeline, claiming that the pipeline would in fact protect the environment while boosting the domestic economy.

Yet there are valid claims that the refined tar sands oil wouldnt even be sold in the U.S., but instead benefit the global market since Canada is free to sell the oil to anyone, all while the pipeline takes a toll on American land and water.

Not only that, but the State Department estimated that Keystone XL would ultimately create just 35 full-time jobs to operate the pipeline  so the thousands that are touted would be temporary jobs.

Political Motivators

The pipeline became caught in political crosshairs since it crosses the Canadian border, meaning TC Energy cant proceed without a permit from the U.S. State Department.

Keystone XL has become highly politicized since its introduction in 2008, with democrats concerned about climate change (generally) opposing it and republicans who deny climate change (generally) supporting it. As mentioned in the timeline, former President Obama continually rejected the pipeline due to concerns about the rushed nature of environmental considerations. Later, former President Trump sought to immediately restore the Keystone XL project upon taking office: in part because his predecessor rejected it, and in part because of motivators that had more to do with maintaining economic reliance on the fossil fuel trade and less to do with worrying about climate change issues.

Ultimately, the real issue comes down to the environment.

How Does the Pipeline Impact the Environment and Society?



Heavy oil seen mixed with water in a tailings pond in the Alberta Oilsands. dan_prat / iStock / Getty Images

Tar Sands Oil



As previously touched upon, tar sands is not your average oil. Accessing it requires two different methods, neither of which is environmentally friendly. Both require water from the nearby Athabasca River in Alberta, taxing its finite quantities. The first method, involving surface mining, creates gallons of wastewater in the process. This wastewater is stored in tailings ponds, where the toxic water is more likely to leak into the environment. The other method involves pumping steam underground in order to access the needed bitumen through a well. This method also requires burning fossil fuels in the process. In fact, extracting tar sands oil produces more greenhouse gas emissions than extracting other natural resources.

Extraction methods arent the only environmental threat. Oil pipeline leaks and spills are very real dangers too. In 2010, a faulty pipeline carrying tar sands oil leaked 843,000 gallons into Michigans Kalamazoo River. Owned by Canadian-based Enbridge, the companys slow response to stop the spill prompted area evacuations and permanently damaged the Talmadge Creek, the initial site of the spill. The incident is considered the largest inland oil spill to occur in the U.S. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that the oil damaged more than 1,560 acres of streams and rivers and negatively impacted at least 4,000 area animals that needed to be saved. Not only that, but removing bitumen from the environment is a far more costly and involved process than typical crude oil, itself a costly and involved process. Whereas crude oil floats on a surface, bitumen sinks.

Then theres the matter of using tar sands oil itself as a fossil fuel. As it stands, burning the full amount that current technology is able to extract would contribute 22 billion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere. The worst-case scenario predicts burning the maximum amount of tar sands oil that exists in Alberta would increase global warming by 0.4 degrees Celsius.

Indigenous Tribes

Parts of the proposed Keystone XL extension would run through or close to Indigenous territory, potentially threatening drinking water sources. There have already been oil leaks along existing parts of the Keystone pipeline, and the affected tribes, including the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, have no reason to believe the extension would be any different. Besides the environmental dangers, the initial permits granted by the State Department ignored existing treaties between the government and Tribal Nations.

Farmers and Ranchers

Tribes arent the only ones whose rights and land have been threatened by the pipeline. Farms and ranches along the route have faced eminent domain, which would allow the government to take control of private land for public use; i.e., handing it over to TC Energy regardless of opposition. Nebraska has been a battleground state, with an estimated 92 percent of its land belonging to family-owned farms and ranches. Also at stake would be the Ogallala aquifer, an underwater supply that provides water to most of the state. If thats contaminated by leaks, the ramifications would take a toll on public health, agriculture, livestock and wildlife. One study estimates that even a small leak could contaminate five billion gallons of water. Its not just the tar-like bitumen that poses this danger; transporting sludgy tar sands oil requires carcinogenic chemicals to dilute it enough for pipelines.

Public Health

Tar sands oil poses additional hazards, both to local Alberta residents and those who live along the proposed route. Numerous studies have already linked higher cancer rates from polluted air and water in areas where people live near tar sands oil production or tar sand spills.

Wildlife

Its not just the public who is at risk. For example, Nebraska is home to 20,000 acres of dunes and prairie hills known as Sandhills. Its a popular pitstop for migrating sandhill cranes in particular. TC Energys proposed reroute would still cut straight through this region; a leak of any size could prove disastrous.

When Did the Pipeline Leak and Why?

Despite TC Energy touting an advanced leak detection system, the existing pipeline has leaked dozens of times since its inception in 2010, and locals have often been the first to notice and report many of them.

There were 35 leaks in the pipelines first year alone, including a 21,000-gallon spill impacting North Dakota. In 2016, about 16,800 gallons of oil leaked in South Dakota, but that was small compared to the following year, when 210,000 gallons spilled near the small town of Amherst, South Dakota. TC Energy later revised that number to 407,000 gallons of leaked oil. In 2019, an additional 378,000 gallons spilled in North Dakota.

Tar sands oil is more likely to leak than crude oil due to its corrosive nature and the high temperatures needed to transport it, and leaks are also much harder to detect. Not only that, but cleaning it up has proven to be a Herculean task. An NRDC report found that tar sand leaks are three times more likely than conventional crude oil. On top of that, a 2012 report revealed that leak detection systems missed 19 out of 20 leaks during a 10-year period. TC Energy itself admitted in 2011 that the company could only detect leaks greater than 500,000 gallons of tar sands a day.

As for what specifically caused all of the leaks to date? That depends, although variations of equipment failure is a recurring favorite. Its still unknown what caused the massive 2019 leak in North Dakota.

Whats Being Done About Keystone XL?

After years of back and forth, President Biden, who ran on a more climate-friendly platform than his predecessor President Trump, canceled the pipeline on his first day in office on Jan. 21, 2021. But the case still isnt closed. In response, 21 Republican-led states have since filed a lawsuit against Biden questioning his authority to make such a decision. (Nevermind that Trump overstepped his authority by issuing a 2019 presidential permit allowing the pipeline to proceed, thereby bypassing the required environmental reviews.)

Oil demand has also dropped since the pipelines initial proposal back in 2008, due in part to an economic shift toward clean energy and then decreased oil usage during the 2020 COVID pandemic. Plus early investors, including Shell and the Koch Brothers, have since pulled out of the deal. Though Keystone XL appears to have reached the end of the line, opponents say the final step involves removing the existing pipeline infrastructure.

Takeaway

The canceled Keystone XL pipeline is a promising step toward a less oil-reliant future, but its still a step. There remain other controversial pipelines caught up in legal battles, most notably the Dakota Access pipeline and Enbridges Line 3 replacement project. Resolving the ongoing oil pipeline threat ultimately requires a continued push toward clean energy, thereby eliminating the need for pipelines in the first place.

Meredith Rosenberg is a senior editor at EcoWatch. She holds a Masters from the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in NYC and a B.A. from Temple University in Philadelphia.
(REUTERS/Carlos Barria)U.S. President Donald Trump is one of the powerful U.S. politicians associated with the INC Christian movement.

Mexico's Roman Catholic bishops have said that companies in their country expressing interest in working on a border wall in the United States proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, are betraying their country.

Some Mexican companies have considered making profits from the multi-billion dollar project and the church called them "immoral," The Daily Telegraph reported March 27.

An editorial in Desde la fe, the Mexican archdiocese's weekly publication, was titled "Treason against the Homeland" and castigated Trump as a "fanatic."

During a meeting with steel companies in Mexico last week, Mexico's Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo said the government did not plan restrictions on businesses, The Associated Press reported.

He warned that Mexicans would judge and base future buying decisions on "which brands are loyal to the national identity, and which are not."

"Any company intending to invest in the wall of the fanatic Trump would be immoral, but above all, its shareholders and owners should be considered traitors to the homeland," said the bishops' editorial.

The Desde la fe editorial was published online arguing that the barrier would only feed prejudice and discrimination.

"In practice, signing up for a project that is a serious affront to dignity is shooting yourself in the foot," said the editorial.

Mexican cement maker Cemex has said it is open to providing quotes to supply raw materials for the wall but will not take part in the bidding process to build it, Reuter's news agency reported.

Another company specializing construction materials Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua, has also signaled readiness to work on the project.

Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo had on March 21 in a meeting with steel companies warned firms it would not be in their "interests" to participate in the wall.

Guajardo said the government did not plan restrictions on businesses, but warned that Mexicans would judge and base future buying decisions on "which brands are loyal to the national identity, and which are not."

The editorial, however, accused the government of responding "tepidly" to those eyeing the project for business.
Latest News

GATE 2023 application correction window to open tomorrow The GATE exam will be held in February 2023

Delhi environment minister to call meeting today for decision on reopening primary schools He is also expected to discuss the recent directions by the Centre's air quality panel

MCC round 2 registrations to end today for NEET UG counselling The choice filling and locking window will be closed on November 8






Experts agree on the role of phytogenics in alternative-to-AGP strategy

At BIOMIN's "Phytogenics in Focus" seminar at VIV Asia 2017 in Bangkok, Thailand, swine and poultry experts agreed that there is increasing research to suggest that phytogenics is an effective component of an AGP replacement or reduction strategy.



In particular, in his presentation entitled "Achieving Optimum Gut Health and Performance in Pigs - a Role for Phytogenics", Tony Edwards of ACE Livestock Consulting, Australia, outlined several benefits of phytogenics reported in literature: antimicrobial activity, gut microbiota stabilisation, improved immune function and immunoglobulin production, improved antioxidant capacity, positive anti-inflammatory effects, increased pancreatic enzyme secretion and digestion, reduced ammonia production, slowed gastric emptying, improved gut morphology, synergy with organic acids, improved palatability, and potential disruption in pathogen signalling.



He concluded that with "efforts to isolate, characterise and titrate the effective dose of specific phytogenic compounds, and optimal combinations, the consistency of responses will improve".



Edwards' conclusion probably sheds positive light on BIOMIN's recent "Phytogenics Feed Additives Survey", which revealed that the lack of commercial trial results and scientific studies is one of the key reasons preventing the industry from confidently using phytogenics. The survey was presented by Marc Guinnement, managing director of BIOMIN Asia Pacific.



Just like Edwards, in his "Key Lessons on Phytogenics in Poultry", Maarten de Gussem of Vetworks, Belgium, concluded that phytogenics should be part of a holistic solution which includes other alternatives like probiotics, enzymes and organic acids.

Neil Gannon, regional product manager of BIOMIN Asia Pacific, also launched the company's 'next-generation' phytogenic Digestarom DC at the seminar, which uses encapsulation technology for the targeted release of phytogenic compounds.
Amid the splendour of Michelangelos architectural innovations at the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Capitoline Hill, delegates from six European countries signed the Treaty of Rome on 25 March 1957. The treaty, which included the articles that founded the European Investment Bank, was a declaration of future good intentions, according to one historian. For two weeks, we are publishing a series of stories to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the treatyone for each decade of the EIB story. These are stories of how the EIB helped turn good intentions into reality.

Donwload the book, available in PDF and epub format.

With the scent of the sea in his nostrils and the fresh air against his face and the bright water stretching so far away, Ola Ghatnekar crosses the Oresund Bridge on his Kawasaki ER-6n. The four-stroke engine powers him high over the narrow channel between his native Sweden and Denmark. He is on his way from his home in Malmo to work as a health economist in Kastrup, just outside Copenhagen. But for now his mind is clear of the stresses of office life. Its really something, he thinks. A little moment of mindfulness. The tang of the water makes him emotional. It is so beautiful up here. It is what everyone says when you ask them about the Oresund Bridge. It is so beautiful.

But right now Ghatnekar really feels it. Up here on the bridge, the sweeping, steel-girdered, 82 000-tonne connection built between 1995 and 1999. He rides one of the four road lanes on the top of the bridge, while his wife Anna is on a train to Copenhagen on the lower deck. When he gets to work, it is only 24 minutes since he twisted the clutch and powered his Kawasaki out of Malmo. He has passed across the three cable-stayed sections of the bridgethe longest is almost 500 metresand down into the Drogden Tunnel, the second part of the crossing, a 3 510 metre tube made up of 20 reinforced concrete segments each weighing 55 000 tonnes.

He leaves his bike in the parking lot and goes into the office. Half of his colleagues are Swedes who have made the same crossing, either by motorbike or car or train. All of them, crossing to jobs that they might not have been able to take before the bridge. Ghatnekars wife used to spend hours each day on a hydrofoil, forced to use her elbows to get through the crowds, then jolted by the waves for forty-five minutes. Compare that to the moment of peace Ghatnekar experiences now.

I would never have done it. I would not have been working in Denmark without the bridge, he says. At the end of the day, Ghatnekar rides back to a city transformed by this bridge, which brought the job opportunities of Copenhagen to Swedes and cheaper housing to Danes priced out of the property market in their capital city.
This year, Microsoft is expected to release one of its flagship phones, however, it seems like it won't push through anymore. Apparently, Microsoft Surface Phone will undergo more major developments, causing the device to suffer a delay. It looks like the American multinational technology company is really aiming to release something huge!

Previously, Trusted Reviews reported that the Microsoft Surface Phone will be released sometime this 2017. However, a contradicting report claims that the flagship phone is still under some major development, perfecting the key features that it has as this will be the brand's major selling point. It also claims that it will be sporting Win32 applications.

As Droid Report cited, one of HP Elite X3's flaw is its feebleness with Windows 10, in regards to running desktop apps. Despite the smartphones' positive feedbacks, fans have flaws that need improvement. Because of this, supporters were turned off causing most of them to ditch the product. Meanwhile, some users were hopeful in looking fir a workaround.

According to DrWindows, a German publication, the anticipated flagship phone will address its previous concern by designing it as a pocket-sized laptop in terms if functionality. Although the company has proven a lot in the past years, Microsoft will surely find it challenging for the Microsoft Surface Phone to catch up with the improvement. Without a doubt, it will take the brand a longer time than expected to attain its goals.

Because of this, a source has announced that Microsoft will take a time to work on the Microsoft Surface Phone. Therefore, instead of 2017, the smartphone is expected to arrive in 2019. The said improvement will touch not only the Windows 10 ARM, but also its other features such as CShell, Windows 10 Cloud, and Windows 10 Mobile. While this will require a long wait, the brand has promised its users about a forthcoming Windows 10 device.
The much-anticipated Marvel Studios movie; "Avengers: Infinity War" will reportedly shoot in New York. The said film will also feature Brie Larson as Captain Marvel wherein the actress felt a huge responsibility with the role.

According to Comicbook, the "Avengers: Infinity War" production is currently in Edinburgh, Scotland as it films some parts of the movie. There were spectators who have taken a pictures of the Vision and Scarlet Witch actors Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olson fighting with some of Thanos' henchmen.

Upon the completion of scenes to be shot in Scotland, the production will go back to the United States which is the site of the original Incident. A casting site has revealed a notice from Disney for the filming of "Avengers: Infinity War" stating that the production needs New York City looking people. The said announcement also revealed that filming is slated to start in May.

Furthermore, Daily Express has learned that Brie Larson is anticipated to take the role Carol Danvers in next year's "Avengers: Infinity War." It has been noticeable that the female protagonists are still immensely outnumbered by males in the Marvel universe but then Captain Marvel having her own adventure is a huge leap with the situation.

In an interview, Larson has stated that she feel a great responsibility for obtaining the Captain Marvel role. "I want to create this symbol of strength and humor for women that I really wish I had had growing up. It feels so valuable", she further added.

It can be remembered that last month Larson joked about the pressure she feels on a specific part of her performance in "Avengers: infinity War" which is her hairstyle. Also, during the press tour to promote "Kong: Skull Island" she was inquired if Captain Marvel will have a mohawk hairstyle in the film but she insisted that she can't state anything yet.

Since a casting site already received a notice from Marvel Studios, it really appears that some of the scenes of "Avengers: Infinity War" will be taken in New York. Moreover, Brie Larson which will portray Captain Marvel role in the movie has felt a huge responsibility being a protagonist.
The "Star Wars" franchise is undeniably one of the most successful and iconic franchises in the world. Loved and recognized by an international audience, both young and old, the investment of Disney "Star Wars" is very apt and will most probably carry on until this current generation gets old.

With the apparent success of the latest Disney "Star Wars" movie, reports have been circulating that Disney is planning a string of "Star Wars" movie up to 2030. This report has been received with mixed reactions, with some fans excited with upcoming "Star Wars" movie to look forward to, while some fans getting worried that it might make the plot dragging.

According to Consequence Of Sound, the possible Disney "Star Wars" that will be reportedly be strategically released one movie after another until 2030, is expected to be patterned after Marvel Universe. Of course, the plot will be different from Marvel, but the way the world and the brand of the franchise are interconnected will be a very big possibility.

Currently, Disney "Star Wars" fans have a lot to look forward to, with a Christmas treat leading the list. This coming December, Rian Johnson's "Episode VIII: The Last Jedi" will be released. Soon after, a Disney "Star Wars" project is also set in May 2018 but it is still in the works so it still has no final title.

The said May 2018 "Star Wars" project will reportedly focus on Han Solo's early days, documenting his adventures and significant experiences when he was still 18 and 24 years old, which include his first experience with The Millenium Falcon and Chewbacca. Another Disney "Star Wars" character in question is Princess Leia, which has become a controversial topic for diehard fans as to whether there is a need to digitally restore her character following Carrie Fisher's death. This issue remains unsettled as of writing so keep posted.

Meanwhile, Disney "Star Wars" fans can expect that Episode IX won't be the last of the franchise. According to Dark Horizons, Disney CEO Bob Iger, shared at an event in USC that they are still talking about what could happen after Episode IX.
Trump the chumps By Dr. Robert Owens

This is it. This is the last chance we have of returning our nation to an agenda of America First. If the globalists among the perpetually re-elected twin headed bird of prey that is the best Congress money can buy along with their Deep State/Permanent Government allies can successfully thwart this attempt to make America Great Again there will be no reprieve. The stenographers of the Democrat Party, the ABCCBSNBCCNNMSNBCPBS Cartel media megaphone trumpets their fake news every day. Within hours this becomes the personal opinion of their legions of militantly apathetic low information voters. The last person elected president who wanted to drain the swamp was Nixon in 1972. Before that it was JFK. Mr. President, watch your back. The RINOs in Congress along with their brethren across the aisle are planning the Nixon treatment for you. Let us pray there is no one planning the JFK treatment. America has been sold down the river for so long many people have come to enjoy the ride. Like paying customers on an amusement ride they float along through the tunnel of entitlements not knowing that at the end of the tunnel is a waterfall called austerity. You just simply cannot continue to spend more than you make forever. While it may sound like fun to charge your overdrawn Mastercard to your Visa and your overdrawn Visa to your Discover and then get a cash advance on your Mastercard to pay your Discover eventually you run out of other peoples money We have been following the pipers on our way to bankruptcy like rats out of Hamelin. The music sounded great, You can have it all for free  but eventually you have to pay the piper. President Trumps first budget is a down payment on a debt too big to be paid. It is a stretch to believe we could ever see twenty trillion dollars paid off in our lifetime but we can make a start. We can begin to scratch our way out of the hole our out of control spending has dug. Have you ever heard of the scratch test? An old man, the descendant of a band of robbers from Italy once told me that in the Old Country they would throw new born babies into a marble pool and if the baby did not at least scratch at the side in an attempt to live they would let it drown. Another old story is that if you find yourself stuck in a hole the first thing to do is stop digging. Support the Presidents Budget. Ignore the Cartel and their fake news. Let you senators and congress person know you want them to support the president. In other words, Trump the chumps, stay the course and make America great again. Dr. Robert Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @  2017 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens Home
Democrats v. Gorsuch: It's the rule of law, stupid! By Mark Alexander

In March of 1991, after Operation Desert Storm  the first war in Iraq  President George H. W. Bush enjoyed a 90% public approval rating. But a year later, facing an unknown young and energetic presidential challenger, Bill Clinton, Bush's disapproval rating somehow topped 60%. Clinton's "ragin' Cajun" campaign advisor, James Carville, sharply focused Clinton's message on the economy and a single mantra, which the mainstream media dutifully repeated ad nauseam: "It's the economy, stupid!" And it worked. Last week, as Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, faced a barrage of leftist criticism from Democrat "constitutional scholars" on the Senate Judiciary Committee, it became abundantly apparent that all of them missed the prerequisite "Constitutional Law 101" course regarding the role of SCOTUS jurists. With no apology to Carville, allow me to respond to those critics: "It's the Rule of Law, stupid!" Early in his campaign last year, Donald Trump promised that he would appoint "conservative judges" to the Supreme Court. By "conservative," he meant those who would "conserve" the Liberty and Rule of Law enshrined in our Constitution. Conversely, his opponent (I can't recall her name) promised to appoint "liberal judges," those who would seek to "liberate" the American people from their unalienable rights to Liberty  judges who would treat our Constitution as if it were, as Thomas Jefferson warned, "a mere thing of wax ... which they may twist and shape into any form they please." Indeed, Jefferson, who Democrats claim as the father of their political party, warned, "[T]he opinion which gives to the judges the right to decide what laws are constitutional and what not, not only for themselves, in their own sphere of action, but for the Legislature and Executive also in their spheres, would make the Judiciary a despotic branch." Despite Jefferson's timeless warning, our judiciary has devolved into a despotic branch in this era. Its jurists legislate by judicial diktat, which the Democrats have sought to create ever since the reign of the 20th-century father of their party, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Since 1970, leftists have, in large measure, succeeded in undermining Rule of Law by nominating SCOTUS judges who subscribe to the errant notion of a "living constitution," one that can be shaped and twisted to comport with their political ideology. Last year, when endorsing Donald Trump's candidacy, I noted that when asked, "How will you vote," I responded as I have every quadrennial election since I cast my first vote: "For our Constitution." In other words, for the candidate who is most likely to nominate constitutionally constructionist judges to the Supreme Court  those who will promote Liberty over tyranny. I warned that "the outcome of the November election will not only determine our president for the next four years, but the composition of the Supreme Court for the next quarter-century." In the month prior to his inauguration, Donald Trump began to lay the foundation for a conservative administration that would rival that of Ronald Reagan. Within days of his inauguration, President Trump delivered on his promise to nominate constitutional conservatives to the Supreme Court  starting with Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch, who was endorsed by both our colleagues at the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society. The nomination of Judge Gorsuch to fill the seat of the late Antonin Scalia is an unequivocal win for Rule of Law. Despite how Democrats and their Leftmedia echo chambers want to frame the nomination debate, it is NOT a "Republican versus Democrat" or "conservative versus liberal" issue. This is a pitched battle for the future of Liberty. Our Founders and our Constitution prescribed that the specific role of Supreme Court justices was and remains, "to support and defend" Rule of Law in accordance with their solemn oaths. As George Washington stated on behalf of the framers, "The Constitution, which at any time exists 'till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole People, is sacredly obligatory upon all." Justice Antonin Scalia defined constitutional originalism (conservatism) this way: "The Constitution that I interpret and apply is not living but dead, or as I prefer to call it, enduring. It means today not what current society, much less the court, thinks it ought to mean, but what it meant when it was adopted." That is the same constructionist view held by Judge Gorsuch. The current Senate judiciary hearings provide a clear and dramatic contrast between the competing visions of conservatives advocating for the constitutional Rule of Law our Framers established and the Democrats' desire for the despotic rule of men. Lecturing Judge Gorsuch on how judges should conduct themselves on the federal bench, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) complained, "It has been 25 years since an originalist has been nominated to the Supreme Court. Given what we've seen from Justice Scalia, and Justice Thomas and Judge Gorsuch on record, I worry that it goes beyond being a philosophy and it becomes an agenda." Leahy continued, "Judge Gorsuch appears to have a comprehensive originalist philosophy ... While it has gained some popularity within conservative circles, originalism, I believe, remains outside the mainstream of moderate constitutional jurisprudence." I would challenge Leahy to find anything  anything  in our Constitution about "mainstream moderate constitutional jurisprudence." Then again, by his account Rule of Law is just an antiquated concept. Judge Gorsuch channeled Justice Scalia in his reply to Leahy: "If judges were just secret legislators, declaring not what the law is but what they would like [it] to be, the very idea of a government by the people and for the people would be at risk. And those who came before the court would live in fear, never sure exactly what the law requires of them, except for the judge's will." The Demos' ranking committee member, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), protested: "Judge Gorsuch has stated that he believes judges should look to the original, public meaning of the Constitution when they decide what a provision of the Constitution means. ... I find this originalist judicial philosophy to be really troubling." Feinstein continued, "In essence, it means that judges and courts should evaluate our constitutional rights and privileges as they were understood in 1789. However, to do so would not only ignore the intent of the [Framers], that the Constitution would be a framework on which to build. ... I firmly believe the American Constitution is a living document, intended to evolve as our country evolves." Feinstein's assertions are mind-numbingly wrong in every syllable  but this is precisely the sort of incoherence that we've come to expect from her. In 1789, our Framers provided a brilliant foundational document on which to sustain Liberty. It prescribed a clear method for its own amendment by the whole body of the people and their legislatures, not by judicial activists as Feinstein and her fellow Democrats would wish. What leftists "firmly believe" is that they should dictate law. I should note here that when Feinstein pressed Judge Gorsuch on his views regarding the Second Amendment, the premier civil right ensuring the defense of all others, he stood firm in his position that "Heller is the law of the land." (As you recall, the Heller decision overturned banning of handgun possession by law-abiding citizens in Washington, DC, and by broad extension other jurisdictions across the nation.) Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) scolded Gorsuch, insisting, "Your nomination is part of a Republican strategy to capture our judicial branch of government." If so, then by "capture" he must actually mean "restore Liberty for this and future generations." Indeed, Judge Gorsuch stood equally firm in his defense of the First Amendment protection of religious liberty when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) challenged the right of family-owned businesses to practice their religious beliefs. Of course, back in 1993, Schumer and former Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) joined Republicans enacting the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which Judge Gorsuch noted "says that any sincerely held religious belief cannot be abridged by the government without a compelling reason." Apparently, Schumer was endeavoring to contradict the legislation he helped pass. Judge Gorsuch noted further that because Congress previously "has defined 'person' to include corporation ... you can't rule out the possibility that some companies can exercise religion. And of course we know churches are often incorporated and we know nonprofits, like Little Sisters or hospitals, can practice religion." Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) turned her attention to pronouns. She asked Gorsuch if a woman could be president, even though "the Constitution refers like 30-some times to 'his' or 'he' when describing the president of the United States." Gorsuch replied, "Senator, I'm not looking to take us back to quill pens and horses and buggies. ... Of course women can be president of the United States. I'm the father of two daughters, and I hope one of them turns out to be president." Last and most certainly least, the comedic Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) exclaimed, "While no one can dispute [Justice Scalia's] love of the Constitution, the document he revered looks very different from the one that I have sworn to support and defend." Only if one is in severe need of historically corrective lenses. The truth is that our Constitution says and means exactly the same thing today as it did when our Founders drafted it  and as properly amended in the years since. It remains the standard for enumeration of Liberty and the innate and unalienable rights of man. Founder John Adams, who drafted the Declaration of Independence with Thomas Jefferson, warned, "A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." In other words, if constitutional liberty is abdicated, it would take the reformation of another constitution to restore it  most likely by way of revolution. Contemplate those words. Currently, our Constitution has been subjected to enormous insult and adulteration by Democrat SCOTUS appointees, and the resulting corruption of the constitutionally authorized role of government means that even the most stalwart constitutional constructionist is operating in a lawless environment. Restoring Rule of Law is an enormous task, and it begins with holding members of the legislative and executive branches accountable for abiding by their sacred oaths "to Support and Defend" our Constitution  and uphold Rule of Law. Beyond Gorsuch, last week Donald Trump announced his nominee for the first of the appellate court vacancies  U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Thapar was on the short list for SCOTUS nominees, so another great pick. Of the 677 District Court and 179 Court of Appeals judgeships, there are 19 appellate and 96 district vacancies awaiting Trump nominees. By comparison, of the last three administrations, Bill Clinton nominated 62 Court of Appeals and 306 District Court judges over his eight year tenure. Of course, over the next four years, if Republicans can hold the Senate in 2018, given additional attrition on the courts, Trump may get to half the Clinton number. Let's hope he gets at least one more Supreme Court nominee. (Footnote: One reason Rule of Law is being undermined  according the latest public surveys, only 43% of Americans can name even one Supreme Court Justice...) Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post. Home
The silver-tongued liars playbook By Paul Driessen

Coal-fired power plant scrubbers now remove 80-90 % of airborne particulate, mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants. But that means fly ash and noncombustible residues (what we used to call clinkers) must be sent to landfills. Thats opened a new front for anti-energy activists, who use accidents, detectable pollutants in water, and scary stories about health threats to advance their agenda. In 2008, a Tennessee Valley Authority earthen retainer dam near Knoxville ruptured, sending 5.4 million cubic yards of rain-soaked fly ash into a nearby river, lake and neighborhood. Twelve homes were damaged by the muck, which contained low levels of arsenic, cadmium and other metals. The TVAs cleanup efforts were less than exemplary, as were its measures to prevent the accident in the first place. Companies and regulators clearly must do more to prevent accidents and pollution  and more to educate people about the actual risks involved. With a new fly ash playbook being tested in North Carolina, Virginia and other states, as part of the war on coal and the keep-fossil-fuels-in-the-ground campaign, those informational efforts are vital. Duke Energy operates 14 coal-fired electricity generating plants in North Carolina  and several large fly ash facilities. Like coal itself, the ash contains trace amounts of hexavalent chromium (chromium-6 or Cr-6) and other metals that can be toxic to humans in high doses. Blazing temperatures bond the vast majority tightly in glassy vitrified ash, and well maintained impoundments ensure that few seep out. However, tiny amounts can still escape into nearby surface waters and groundwater. Highly sensitive scientific instruments can now detect parts per trillion  the equivalent of a few seconds in 3,300 years. In 2016, an NC state toxicologist ruled that metallic levels detected in surface and ground water around the state were dangerously high. He blamed ash from coal-fired power plants and persuaded Tar Heel health officials to send do not drink letters to several hundred families living near coal ash disposal sites. In his view, there is no safe level for exposure to Cr-6, and the state should slash its allowable level from 100 parts per billion down to 0.07 ppb (1,428 times lower). Other health officials reviewed the scientific literature, determined that amounts detected pose no health risk, noted that Cr-6 often seeps from natural rock formations into surface and ground water, and rescinded the warning letters. But the resulting controversy continues, and the company, regulators and politicians are trying to resolve it. Duke Energy and many health experts maintain that Cr-6 levels found near the ash facilities (and miles away, from natural sources) are far below what cause health risks. But it wants to assuage concerns among families closest to the ash facilities. So the company offered to provide alternatives to their well water, by giving them access to public water sources or installing state-of-the-art home filtration systems. In January 2017, the NC Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) granted preliminary approval to these company plans for homes within one-half-mile of a coal ash impoundment. Final approval is contingent on state health and environmental departments certifying that water provided via these systems meets applicable or appropriate standards for each location. Now activists say Duke and other companies should move millions of tons of ash from multiple depositories. Not only would that involve hundreds of thousands of dump truck loads, millions of gallons of fuel, and huge trucks lumbering through towns and along back roads and highways. A far more basic question is: Take it where, exactly? Who would want it? Activists certainly offer no viable alternatives. Companies previously proposed turning fly ash into cement blocks or gravel, for construction projects. Activists quickly nixed that option, even though it would involve virtually no contamination risks. Its becoming increasingly apparent that the real reason for all the vocal consternation is that these agitators simply want to drive coal out of business. Indeed, the same unaccountable, silver-tongued agitators also detest natural gas-generated electricity  and drilling and fracking to produce the gas. They oppose nuclear energy, and even want hydroelectric dams and power plants removed. They claim to support wind and solar, by conveniently ignoring the huge downsides pointed out here, here, here, here and elsewhere. Forcing utility companies to spend billions relocating huge ash deposits to lined, watertight landfills (in someone elses backyard) will bring no health or environmental benefits. But it will bankrupt companies, send electricity prices soaring, and hurt poor, minority and working class families the most. If rates double from current costs in coal-reliant states like North Carolina and Virginia (9 cents per kilowatt-hour or less) to those in anti-coal New York or Connecticut (17 cents), families will have to pay $500-1,000 more annually for electricity. Hospitals, school districts, factories and businesses will have to spend additional thousands, tens of thousands or millions. Where will that money come from? Virginias 665,000-square-foot Inova Fairfax Womens and Childrens Hospital pays about $1,850,000 per year for electricity at 9 cents/kWh, but would pay $3,500,000 at 17 cents: a $1.6-million difference. Will businesses have to lay off dozens or hundreds of employees, or close their doors? If they pass costs on to patients or customers, where will families find the extra cash? What will the poorest families do? The war on coal, petroleum, nuclear and hydroelectric power is a callous, eco-imperialist war on reliable, affordable electricity, on jobs, and on poor and minority families. Policies that drive energy prices up drive people out of jobs, drive companies out of business, drive families into green-energy poverty. Preventing ruptures and spills means selecting, building and maintaining the best possible ash landfill facilities. Safeguarding public water and health means properly addressing actual, proven toxicity risks. The US Environmental Protection Agency and North Carolina set allowable Cr-6 limits at 100 ppb for drinking water (equivalent to 100 seconds in 33 years or 4 cups in 660,000 gallons of water). The state also applies a 10 ppb standard for well water. No one applies a 0.07 ppb standard (70 parts per trillion). In 2015, the NCDEQ tested 24 wells two to five miles from the nearest coal plant or coal ash deposit; 20 had Cr-6 levels above 0.07 ppb but far below 100 ppb, underscoring its diverse origins. May 2016 tests could not even detect the chemical in Greensboro water, the News & Record reported. A 2016 Duke University study found that hexavalent chromium is prevalent in many North Carolina surface and ground waters. Some comes from coal ash deposits, but much is leached from igneous and other rocks found throughout the Piedmont region of Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia. Other health experts note that Cr-6 is found in 70% to 90% of all water supplies in the United States. Applying a 0.07 ppb would mean telling hundreds of millions of Americans not to drink their water! Moreover, studies have found that Cr-6 in water is safe even at 100 ppb or higher. A 2012 paper in the Journal of Applied Toxicology concluded that regularly drinking water with 210 ppb of Cr-6 poses no health risks. (The real health problems involve airborne Cr-6.) Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, US EPA and other studies buttress those findings. Equally important, an ability to detect a substance does not mean it poses a risk. Cancer is certainly scary, but the risk of getting cancer is not the same as dying from it. And people routinely accept risks of dying from activities they happily engage in daily. For example, the National Safety Council puts the lifetime risk of dying in a motor vehicle crash at 1 in 113; thats 8,850 times greater than the alleged lifetime risk of contracting cancer from 0.07 ppb Cr-6 in water. Drinking and smoking fall into the same category. However, all too many people seem easily terrified by detectable levels of strange-sounding chemicals. 100% clean is not necessary, not possible, not found in nature and not a sound basis for public policy. Coal and chemical controversies like these offer our nation, states and communities excellent opportunities to find novel solutions that recognize sound science, hidden agendas, often limited options, and undesirable repercussions of poorly informed policy decisions. Lets hope they are up to the task. Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org), and author of Eco-Imperialism: Green power - Black death and other books on the environment. Home
An OPEC deal extension isn't as simple as it sounds



By Tsvetana Paraskova

It's been six months now that oil prices have been reacting to OPEC, first to the possibility of an agreement, and then to the production cut deal itself, forged by OPEC to rebalance the market. The deal--initially aired as an agreement to agree on a deal' in September and signed at the end of Novemberwill likely impact the market for at least the next six months.



The agreement clearly states that it is production that OPEC producers are vowing to cut, but Iraqi oil minister Jabbar al-Luaibi has recently claimedrather emphaticallythat it is exports, not production, that serve as the baseline for the cuts. And according to Iraq, the agreed-upon cuts have been all about exports all along.



Of course, exports are the logical by-product' of production of oil exporting nations, but each of those producers feels the weight of production cuts differently. Each OPEC nation has a specific domestic demand for oil based on population numbers and the share of oil and petroleum products in the energy mix and electricity generation. Each member has unique buyers of their crude, along with differing agendas in keeping and/or growing market shares in various corners of the world.



To cut exports rather than production would hit hard the bottom lines of those who are heavy exporters, so it's quite clear why an oil cartel whose self-proclaimed mission is to secure "a steady income to producers" chose to cut "production" instead of "exports" in its latest supply-cut agreement.



OPEC producersespecially Saudi Arabia, which shoulders the biggest share of cuts-are desperately trying to maintain their most important market shares such as those in Asia, while measuring exports bound for other destinations in its attempt to comply with the production cuts.



The cartel would have never used the language exports' in a deal to cut supply, because cutting their exports would mean they would hold a smaller market share. Having a smaller footprint globally would, in turn, mean that OPEC would wield less influence over the price of oil. It's doubtful OPEC would ever agree to such an unappealing scenario.



But Iraq is uniquely positioned. First, Iraq must contend with the Kurds, as well as international companies, with which it has production agreements that come with penalties for breeching. For this reason, Iraq does not have as much control over production as, say, Saudi Arabia, who deals only with state-run oil. So using export figures rather than production figures may show that Iraq is complying at a higher rate, even though exports are not entirely under their control either. The mere perception of compliance, regardless of the validity, is important as far as the market is concerned.



Another reason why Iraq may prefer to cite exports is because exports are a bit trickier to nail down. There is always conflicting loading data and shipping schedules to contend with, and it's hard to pinpoint precisely how much oil each OPEC nation has heading out the door.



Production, on the other hand, has concise figures (two figures each, we might add) published in OPEC's Monthly Oil Market Reportone direct reported figure and one secondary source figure. Exports are even less transparent, especially for Iraq, who has export figures for both the north and the south.



Data compiled by Bloomberg showed that Iraq's February exports of 3.85 million barrels per day were, in fact, 39,000 barrels per day higher than January levels, which doesn't seem so compliant.



In October 2016, Iraq's oil exports were estimated to be 3.89 million barrels per day. So even if the "reference basket" that OPEC used to craft the deal was based on exports, it doesn't look like Iraq's compliance is particularly noteworthyit's just more difficult to pin down exactly how noncompliant Iraq is.



So, for OPEC, it's about production cuts, but beyond the wording of the agreement, it's the message  we are the ones finally doing something to bring the huge oversupply back to balance. The fine print, of course, is - we wanted the price of oil higher and stable, so that we could plug the gaps in our oil-revenue-dependent budgets.



The market bought the balance' message, and oil prices steadied at above $50 for three months. The initial surprisingly high compliance at more than 90 percent, due to Saudi Arabia going the extra mile, instilled further confidence that OPEC was following through its promised cuts. Almost every cartel producer is boasting near full or overcompliance, and those who don't comply, notably Iraq, are claiming the deal's baseline is about exports.



The price gains from the OPEC deal have been capped by resurging U.S. shale output at the higher oil prices. But the recent drop in the price of oil wiped out almost all the price increase that the cartel's deal has managed to achieve.



The message to OPEC was that it may have underestimated U.S. shale resilience once again, and the cartel's previous plans for higher prices may prove ill-conceived.



OPEC's playbook currently is 1) urging full compliance from all signatories to the deal, 2) using Saudis to signal they may be fed up with doing the extra heavy lifting for rogue members, and 3) talking prices up from time to time with messages that the supply-cut deal may need to be extended.



Earlier this month Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih told Bloomberg Television that OPEC would extend the deal beyond June if stockpiles were "still above the five-year average."



According to OPEC's own estimates from earlier this month, OECD commercial oil stocks in January were 278 million barrels above the five-year average.



OPEC's deal now is trying to send a unified message that the members are making every effort to rebalance the market, so it's unlikely that OPEC will correct Iraq's insistence that the deal was forged over export figures rather than production figures.



The cartel is a diverse group of nations with various bilateral, trilateral and bloc relations among them. OPEC members rarely act in full concert, and seldom keep production-cut pledges. Their game now is playing the market with the possible extension of the cuts beyond June, and they have time until May to try to talk prices up.



If the cartel doesn't extend the deal, the glut may not clear soon, further depressing oil prices and straining the already stretched OPEC producers' budgets. If they decide to extend the deal, they risk losing market share and part of their power to sway oil markets and prices.



Tsvetana Paraskova is a writer for Oilprice.com where this originally appeared. Home
The progressively frightening totalitarian and judgmental left By Rachel Alexander

The left has done a 180 since its free speech heyday of the 1960s. What used to be anything goes, and protecting the First Amendment right to say controversial things, has morphed into a treacherous map of what you can and cannot say. Universities, which were once a bastion of free speech, have now become the most hostile areas of all. If you do not agree with the left  even if you are on the left  expect to be savagely targeted. You could lose your job, your career and reputation over just one social media post. Not to mention being bombarded with vitriolic, threatening emails. Left-wing comedians now avoid performing comedy routines on university campuses. Conservative speakers are violently stopped from speaking engagements there. Conservatives now walk on eggshells throughout society, just one tweet away from having their lives destroyed. The rise of social media has made it easy for the left to monitor everyone on the right. Since some successful conservative pundits as well as anonymous social media accounts get away with tweeting politically incorrect statements, others feel a false sense in comfort in engaging similarly, sometimes merely retweeting the remarks. But the reality is, for most of us, something you post could end up on the front page of the newspaper the next day. The private comfort of your home where you post on social media is deceptive. The left used to accuse the right of being authoritarian and judgmental, due to laws against abortion, drug use and frowning upon sexual promiscuity. Fifty years later, the right has been proven right in those arenas, which were never anywhere near the level of an authoritarian society but merely common sense. Ever advancing technology confirms a baby is terminated during an abortion, it is not some mindless clump of tissue. The emotional strife abortions leave mothers and fathers with is often devastating, haunting them the rest of their lives. Drug use is not a victimless crime, and causes all kinds of harm to the abuser, including increasing their likelihood of becoming a burden on society. Sexual promiscuity is also not victimless, leading to broken families, unwanted pregnancies and STDs. The less-churched left frequently takes one verse out of the New Testament and shakes it at the right, Judge not lest ye be judged, from Matthew 7:1. Yet Jesus didnt mean to excuse every possible action. He meant that criticizing someone else must be done the right way. Jesus further explained in the next verse, which liberals leave out, For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Out of one side of their mouths, the left shuts down opposing viewpoints with Matthew 7:1. Only the left is allowed to be the final arbiter of what constitutes judgmentalism (its easy  anything that comes from the right). Out of the other side of their mouths, the left judges like crazy, and the punishments are quite harsh. Tweet something critical of radical Islam? Lose your position with ESPN. Dont agree with Christian businesses servicing same-sex weddings? You will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, lose your business and your savings. And heres the most telling scenario: Anonymously tweet criticism of the lefts authoritarian ways? They will track you down at your university professorship and you will lose your job. The left keeps coming up with more and more ways to implement this judgmentalism against conservatives. It began with political correctness around the end of the 1990s, with words like sexism, racism and prejudice bandied about (with the lefts chosen meanings for those words). It expanded into code words like diversity, multiculturalism, tolerance and social justice. Recently, its started exploding into many more words like safe spaces, trigger warnings, snowflakes, anti-discrimination and Black Lives Matter. There has also been a splintering off across language, preferring certain phrases while censoring out others: climate change instead of manmade global warming, peaceful migrants instead of illegal immigrants (or aliens), lone gunman instead of Islamic terrorist, and anti-abortion instead of pro-life. Much of these Orwellian word changes have been encoded in media through the left-leaning AP Stylebook, as I recently covered. Disagree with any of the values that go along with those code words and expect the wrath of judgment to come down upon you. The left has become the modern-day equivalent of the Pharisees from Biblical times, pretending to act morally righteous while brutally serving their own version of morality on everyone who disagrees. Jesus warned about the Pharisees, who were the keepers of Old Testament law, obey everything they teach you, but dont do as they do. After all, they say one thing and do something else. His characterization of the judgmental leaders could easily be describing how the left treats the middle class and poor with the modern welfare state, They pile heavy burdens on peoples shoulders and wont lift a finger to help. Everything they do is just to show off in front of others. There seems to be no end in sight to how far the lefts purges will go, they have become so authoritarian and single-minded in their goal of stamping out all dissent. Since the left controls much of the educational system and media, it has tremendous power. Many of these totalitarian policies have been made into law under the Obama administration, the left-leaning legal system and in progressive areas of the country. Fortunately, the left went too far, and a majority of Americans had enough, electing politically incorrect Donald Trump as president and Republicans in control of both houses of Congress. Trump is thwarting the biased media by tweeting directly to the people and eliminating past privileges the fake news media had with presidents. Since it is unknown how long this pushback will last, it is imperative to call the censorship out for what it is, totalitarianism, and defend those on the front lines who are being cruelly targeted. Its no longer just the politically correct left, its the totalitarian left. The late Charles Colson tells the story of a pastor who was about to be taken away in December 1989 by the Secret Police in communist Romania, which was under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. Pastor Laszlo Tokes had been vocally critical of the totalitarian regime. Members of Tokes congregation refused to let the police take him and his pregnant wife, forming a massive human shield around the entrance to the church building. Soon, believers from Christian churches of many denominations nearby showed up to join the blockade, carrying candles. They remained vigilant all night, and began yelling, Liberty! Freedom! The Secret Police eventually forced their way through on December 17 and seized the pair, but the event had helped trigger the Romanian Revolution. Within a few days, Ceausescu was overthrown and the Tokes were freed. Until a relatively safe, high level of Americans recognize how far the American left has lurched toward socialism and communism  who would have ever predicted the only socialist in Congress, Bernie Sanders, would one day be considered a mainstream Democratic presidential candidate little different than the frontrunner  we are at risk of no longer being a free country. Rachel Alexander and her brother Andrew are co-Editors of Intellectual Conservative. She has been published in the American Spectator, Townhall.com, Fox News, NewsMax, Accuracy in Media, The Americano, ParcBench, and other publications. Home
Treason and patriotism in Canada and the current-day world (Part Two) By Mark Wegierski

Joseph McCarthy is today one of the most highly vilified figures in U.S. history. At the time he was active, however, many persons supported his crusade against "Communist traitors." What precisely was McCarthy's greatest crime? At the time he was active, America was indeed locked in a ferocious struggle with Soviet Communism. Were not those willing to be members of the U.S. Communist Party at that time, at the very least, very suspect elements? Should such persons have been allowed to continue to hold positions of high cultural and scientific influence? Should such persons have been allowed to continue to burrow their way into influential government departments? How much suffering was prolonged for decades in the Eastern Bloc by the fact that so many Western nuclear scientists of the 1940s and 1950s took it upon themselves to reveal as much as they knew about U.S. nuclear programs to the Soviet Union -- presumably because they felt the U.S. was "unworthy" of exercising global power responsibly? Were these not legitimate security concerns of that day? McCarthy's chief failing was grossly overplaying his hand in the end, which has subsequently made him appear as some kind of inquisitorial monster. Yet, it should also be remembered, how utterly inconsequential the social penalties meted out to most of these persons were, e.g., "not being allowed to direct big-budget Hollywood movies for ten years." On the other hand, these persons were frequently not some milquetoast social democrats, but out-and-out apologists for Stalin, professional deniers of the many genocides carried out by Soviet Communism, and representatives of a then-active and dangerous evil. Unfortunately, the left-liberal friends of the far left have been able to utterly transvalue the meaning of McCarthy's efforts to the point where "McCarthyism" has become a very sharp term of opprobrium. In reaction to the ever more amplified excesses of McCarthy, America became extremely skittish about properly identifying, condemning, and punishing treason. This tendency was exacerbated in the Vietnam War era, because of the possible moral ambiguities of that conflict. What some Americans at that time saw as one of the most odious acts of treason in their history was Jane Fonda's trip to Hanoi, where she manifestly "gave aid and comfort" to an enemy. The fact that Jane Fonda remains unpunished to this day for such manifest treason may be one indication of how far America's self-conception as a nation has sunk. In some of the more recent spy-scandals, importantly placed moles who have done enormous damage to U.S. intelligence efforts, and actually betrayed other agents to death by torture, have received punishments which amount to being little more than symbolic. Is this how a nation that believes in itself behaves? In the case of Jonathan Pollard, ever-increasing levels of mendacity have been reached. Because Pollard spied on behalf of a U.S. ally, it is often considered that he did nothing wrong. But what if Israel took that highly-sensitive information and used it as bargaining chips to obtain concessions of various sorts from regimes hostile to the U.S., e.g., the Soviet Union? Pollard had a large number of very prominent supporters in the U.S., who continued to press for his release, and finally got their way in 2015.



Britain, of course, has had its own problems. A book about the famous Cambridge spy ring was very acerbically titled, "spies, lies, buggery, and betrayal." The treason of the so-called "best and brightest" certainly attests to the decay of at least a part of Britain's traditional ruling elites. John Le Carre, who is among the best-known writers of espionage novels in the world, was nourished on this kind of climate, and, although writing with enormous skill, tried to pretend that there was no moral difference between the Soviet Bloc and the West. His writing has certainly played a part in what has been called by critics, "the relativizing of treason." Canada was so innocent of the realities of the Cold War, that when Igor Gouzenko made his heroic defection in 1947, many Canadian government officials thought he was simply a lunatic, and considered sending him back! Considering a figure like Igor Gouzenko, it may be noted that the Soviets, of course, saw him as a traitor, and sentenced him to death in absentia. So to say that a person should be bound by the obligations of loyalty towards a state, regardless of its ideological complexion and political realities, is fallacious. One thing that can be noted right away is that no totalitarian state like that of Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union throughout most of its history can legitimately and unquestionably claim the adherence of its population. In the case of authoritarian regimes, however, the admonition to reject and resist such a regime is less clear-cut. To be continued. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home
Trumps jawboning wont deliver enough jobs By Dr. Peter Morici

President Trump does not have to deliver on all his campaign promiseseven all the big onesbut he does have to rev up growth and create more jobs if he is to avoid a dramatic setback for Republicans in the mid-term elections and maximize his chances in 2020. Key elements of his economic programtax, regulatory and trade reformare delayed by the considerable distraction of replacing ObamaCare. For now, he can only tout progress by pointing, as he did in his recent address to congress, to the deals with corporate leaders to move jobs back to America. The list is impressiveUnited Technologies, Fiat Chrysler and other top companies have jumped on board but the impact of those agreements pale in comparison to the task at hand. The Obama recovery accomplished 2.1 percent annual economic growth and averaged about 186,000 new jobs a month. Mr. Trump would have to create at least 100,000 more jobs each month to bring growth up to 3 to 4 percent and substantially improve living standards for ordinary working Americans. Generally, company announcements include many jobs that were planned before the presidents surprise election. For example, Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson promised 1,800 jobs at its Fort Worth factory after meeting with the persuasive president, but those include some 1,000 that were announced in 2015. Most deals announced only create 1,000 to 2,000 jobs. Calculating generously, Trump would need 50 new deals each month a Herculean taskto hit his growth goals. Even if Trump found the time for so much jawboning and enlisted Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the administration would quickly run out of big companies who could afford to placate the president's demands. In fairness, Trump is countering foreign-government practices that sway multinationals to manufacture abroad even when U.S. locations may make good economic sense. China tightly regulates foreign investment and requires most American companies to take joint-venture partners. Often, these deals entail shifting production and R&D to access the Chinese market. In Germany, Volkswagen must restructure to accommodate the next generation of automation and mass produce electric vehicles. Thanks to German law, the union and the government of Lower Saxony combine to hold a majority of seats on the company board, creating a decided preference for domestic over foreign locations. All this notwithstanding, congress and the president must recognize other countries have done a lot in recent years to become more competitive. For example, Mexico has negotiated an extensive network of free-trade agreements. U.S. and foreign auto makers can make cars and parts there for sale duty-free throughout North America, Europe and Japanthat is not something automakers can do in the United States. Given the dependence of the U.S. industry on components from Mexico, it is not at all clear that the United States would come out the winner in a trade war. U.S. corporate tax rates are much higher than elsewhere and business regulations have grown more burdensome in recent years. And comprehensive free-trade agreements that accomplish fair market access, currency reform and balanced trade are sorely needed to motivate scores more businesses to keep manufacturing, R&D and administrative activities here without presidential attention. Tax and regulatory reform face barriers posed by divisions within the Republican Party in congress, opposition from Democrats and the bureaucratic requirements of legislation that slow rule changes. And his new trade policy document emphasizes lodging individual company complaints against foreign governments instead, for example, of taking on China to accomplish comprehensive compliance with its WTO commitments. Unfortunately, the impulse to rely on individual deals runs deep in the new administrationthat's how Messrs. Trump, Mnuchin and Ross amassed fortunes. As businessmen, they were great at exploiting the systemincluding controversial records of lobbying for protection and outsourcing jobs. Now they must try their hands at accomplishing radical systemic reform and need cooperation from congress and foreign governments, where leaders have ideas of their own and can't be fired by Trump. Presidential blustering can motivate negotiating partners to offer some quick, token results but it won't work well for making the really big deals America needs to prosper again. Peter Morici is an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland, and a national columnist. Home
Social Science research has encountered several crises throughout its history; more often than not, such crises have been methodological in character (Hammersly 1993). Ideally, a researcher must read/observe the field/context and represent the situation as it is. In reality, however, this activity is replete with subjective factors: how much time one spends in the field; how much prior knowhow one has; follow-ups with respondents, and crosschecking of facts among others. These are questions that animate the researcher's world, alongside concerns about rapport building, methodological lapses, financial constraints, and time management. When the field happens to be a conflict zone, the data collected by the researcher is often coloured by the researcher's own threat perception, as well as respondents' perception of and suspicions about the researcher.

Challenges in Doing Research

The Kashmir valley has been mired in conflict for over two and a half decades. Most research projects on the conflict, conducted during this period, have had to deal with issues around the duration and quality of field work, sample design, data collection techniques, and how best to word these reports. In a setting like the conflict-torn Kashmir valley, being in the field is a frustrating experience for the field investigator today, owing to a plethora of security-related issues and other vulnerabilities. The long history of the conflict in Kashmir has produced public fatigue. There is immense frustration around unmet demands, poor delivery systems, and rising mass dissent. People in Kashmir also have a high threat perception against outsiders. They are fatigued by years of answering journalists' and researchers' questions.

In such a state of affairs, researchers often contend with a surplus of irrelevant, false and ineffective inputs from the field, thereby adding to his/her burden, and resulting in misleading interpretations/conclusions/findings. This leads researchers to constantly question their own identity, and the validity of their samples. Even secondary data analysis in such situations is of little use, as the data produced by earlier researchers offers little insight and reliability. For instance, a lot of literature has been produced on the Kashmir valley during the decades of the conflict. The major themes have been gender, education, religion, conflict studies, community or ethnicity studies, and political or administrative studies. Despite this range of studies, we hardly see any use of varied models and approaches of data collection. There is a need to deconstruct research in conflict zones and think through research themes, discourses, field work patterns, findings, and conclusions.

Rationale, Methodology and Analysis

This article deliberates upon the sociology of the field; ethical and political issues in the field; the researchers struggle with the self and subjects in the field; dealing with unclear, clever and scared respondents; suspicions, misleading facts and figures; and manipulated data, are some of the issues and challenges faced by the fieldworker in a conflict zone. The Kashmir valley has been chosen primarily because the author himself has carried out extensive field work on auqaf (Muslim Endowments) in the valley for two and a half years.

The basic methodological tools used in this study are personal fieldwork experiences, observations of, and casual interactions and interviews with other researchers who have carried out fieldwork in the same context between 2009 and 2013. Secondary sources and inputs from relevant sources have been taken into account as well.

The basic findings are: People in the valley (respondents of research studies) have developed a high degree of fatigue with regards the conflict. Researchers must not only contend with this fatigue, but also engage with respondents patiently, and respond to their queries about the actual intentions of the study. Researchers must also deal with peoples preconceived notions and stereotypes, and reflect on their own subjectivity constantly to survive the conflict. This study also provides a validation of the white mans burden and Hawthorne effect1 in research on conflict zones. Very often, what is presented as fact can also be assumptions of the researcher, itself based on unreliable studies from the past2.

Several of the researchers this author interviewed and who were insiders were unable to detach themselves from their biases. The outsiders among them, on the other hand, spent lesser time than scheduled for their studies. Researchers' access to information in conflict zones is curtailed in several ways. People in such zones are highly politicised. Since they witness the repressive state apparatus at first hand, they tend to be suspicious and apprehensive in general, and particularly towards strangers. They also create their own theories about research projects being undertaken in their areas. In most cases, they think that research is a garb adopted by intelligence agencies to gather information on what is happening in their areas. This is in keeping with Goodhand's findings (2000) where he says that research in conflict zones is unlikely to be viewed by local actors as neutral and altruistic.

The authors personal experience also suggests that respondents often mislead investigators especially when talking about sensitive issues. The tenuous and uncertain political and security situation leaves subjects with little time for non-productive academic research; since they are engaged in contending with worries regarding their survival, safety and livelihood. To explore these questions and the problems that field workers face in conflict zones, 20 researchers from various disciplines (see table 1) were asked to respond to an opinionnaire. The five-point Likert Scale was used to gauge the opinions and experiences of field workers.

Table 1: Respondents and their Areas of Research

Sr. No. Area Of Research Number of Field Workers Interviewed 1 Sociology 4 2 Comparative Religion & Civilisation Studies/Islamic Studies 3 3 Mass Communication 2 4 Political Science 2 5 Peace and Conflict Studies 3 6 Psychology 1 7 Kashmir Studies 2 8 Economics 1 9 Education 2

Perils of Research in a Conflict Zone

The onset of armed conflict in the Kashmir valley in the early 1990s also brought about a collapse of law and order, and the spread of a culture of uncertainty and insecurity. Like other conflict areas, research work in the valley received a major setback as the situation restricted free movement and speech, and opportunities in general. The prevalence of the Hawthorne effect in a conflict zone makes this job all the more difficult.

While entering the field, the researcher has to be careful; s/he may need to act covertly or overtly depending on the situation. There may also be times when the researcher, instead of conducting an interview, ends up being an interviewee, or a speaker. I remember the time I was visiting a big Islamic seminary in Kashmir valley two years ago for a focused group discussion with students on the quality of education at the Waqf Board-funded institution. I was showered with a range of questions on general education even by teachers of the seminary who were excited that a researcher from Delhi had come to study them. However, they were also suspicious of my motives in being there. On that occasion, I ended up speaking about education in general, my experience at the university, life outside Kashmir, the need for modernisation of madrassas, etc. by which I could build a rapport with the respondents and gain insights into my research questions.

There are also times when a researcher asks about one issue, but ends up receiving a flood of irrelevant information in response. Sometimes, s/he tweaks the pre-decided schedule or questionnaire to adjust to and survive through perceived sensitivities and threats in the field. At times, researchers start interviews with questions, but often observe and notice what is left unsaid to understand the situation better. Researchers often use empathy as a rapport building tool, but also get drawn into participating in activities they may not want to be part of as a result. Sometimes, s/he informs subjects/respondents about her/his full identity; at other times, the researcher resorts to anonymity. Sometimes, s/he mentions something safe as the subject of study so as to not draw unwarranted attention. I remember this instance when one of my senior colleagues was researching child labour in the cotton industry of Uzbekistan. He was sure he would not be allowed entry into Uzbekistan for research on such a provocative topic. He, therefore, described his topic in vague terms which were not alarming to the authorities and having received the required permission came back with an interesting study on child labour in the central Asian republic.

The way a researcher represents himself is also extremely important. When I was visiting endowment schools in the Kashmir valley, I initially received a very cold response and was barely able to gather any information. I realised I should change my style of functioning if I was to gain any real insight. I then started behaving less as a researcher and more as an endowment expert. This way, I received a lot of inputs and was able to gain access to essential documents, as well as interact with teachers and discuss their issues and concerns. There were ethical concerns, but there was also the realisation that I was not working in a normal situation.

E J Wood (2006), who conducted field work for 26 months in El Salvador during the civil war and confronted a plethora of ethical dilemmas, had this to say on the matter:

Field research in conflict zones is challenging for both methodological and ethical reasons. In conflict zones, the usual imperatives of empirical research (to gather and analyse accurate data to address a relevant theoretical question) are intensified by the absence of unbiased data from sources such as newspapers, the partisan nature of much data compiled by organizations operating in the conflict zone, the difficulty of establishing what a representative sample would be and carrying out a study of that sample, and the obvious logistical challenges.

Ethics and the Researcher

It cannot be argued that insecure regions need not be studied at all or should be studied only when the conflict stops (Goodhand 2000). However, the complicated position of the researcher must be taken into account when designing studies. Take my own awkward position (Pandey 2008) as regards research in Kashmir. I am a native of the valley and being an insider, engaged in research, created certain difficulties in rapport building. For instance, it was awkward to talk to people about religion and religious organisations, given my awareness of the nature of their suspicions about me. I had traveled outside the valley, studied in Delhi, and knew of the perception created among Kashmiris during the conflict, that those who went outside Kashmir for studies sometimes converted to Christianity for money or joined spy agencies and came back to inquire about sensitive issues on the sly. I was, therefore, dealing with the psychological stress of being an outsider while also carrying the burden of being an insider (emic). As Sarsby (1984) aptly puts it, it was a feeling of "isolation in the crowd".

This feeling persisted through the two and a half years of my fieldwork. I was aware of the reality of my identity and location throughout my fieldwork, as pointed out by Naz (2012), who the researcher is and where the research is conducted are the two key dimensions of fieldwork (p 97). I took advantage of my position as an insider and began casual discussions with people associated with the management of mosques, shrines while conducting the study, employing participant observation and attending several religious congregations to observe the role played by shrine managers, while also simultaneously assessing the extent of religiosity and religion in Kashmir. Initially, I couldnt openly state that the subject of study was waqf3 or endowments. Instead, I started taking an interest in auqaf affairs, and started speaking to family and close acquaintances. I got the feeling that I was a stranger unto the respondents, but a friend too (Powdermaker 1967).

I spoke to some political leaders as well. Initially, I sensed their suspicion regarding my interest in auqaf affairs, as the chief minister was the chairman of the Waqf Board. Here, my caste identity came to rescue: being an Ashraf4 Muslim (Syed)5, many subjects took it as my family orientation and subject of interest to talk about Islam, endowments, auqaf and administration. While I was able to gather some information from each category of informants, the bigger challenge was to access actual administratorsthe top brass of shrine managers. These comprised two groups, the waqf board members and the Khudams6. Besides caste, there was one more factor that helped me as far as the ulema community, khudams and sajjadanishins7were concerned. This was my gender identity as male. Had it been otherwise, the twin factors of the conflict and the local practice of women not visiting mazars, dargahs, khanqahs8, offices, political institutions, etc would have hampered my work. Pandey (2008) maintains that such a cultural perception produces some additional problems of adjustment to female investigators in the field, compared to those faced by their male counterparts.

Nevertheless, I was aware of my lack of connections in the valley, and the problems that posed in access to information and senior waqf officials. It was a senior academic at Kashmir University who came to my rescue and arranged a meeting with a Waqf chief, who had been a former Vice Chancellor of the said university. The said academic introduced me, thus, to the waqf boss,

This person is of our own group, a very like-minded student who is studying auqaf for his thesis in Jamia in Delhi. He can push your agenda forward some day and is a good writer. Can he meet you tomorrow in your office?

The smile on the professors face implied that the boss had agreed. I went to the Waqf office the next afternoon and was surprisedalthough this was a sacred religious organisation that collected Nazr-o-Niyaz (donations/alms) from the religious and distributed it to the poor, its office resembled that of a political entity complete with flags of the ruling party, portraits, and other symbols.

Field work in conflict zones usually comes with a range of both overt and covert challenges. My study on waqf too encountered its share of problems. Planned study trips had to be postponed on several occassions due to strikes, curfews, and routine incidents of protest and violence. People too had become apprehensive about everything, including researchers/fieldworkers/ investigators; this made interviews and appointments difficult.

Cross-checking Facts

In order to substantiate my arguments borne out of my own firsthand experience in the field and analysis of secondary sources, I interacted with 20 researchers. They were my respondents for this study; each one had conducted research in Kashmir between 2009 and 2013. I chose the respondents on the basis of familiarity, either direct or indirect. Most of the researchers I interviewed had a background in social sciences; there were a few from the humanities as well. 18 of the 20 respondents were concerned about safety issues while conducting their respective research, and most were concerned about the credibility of data and perception of respondents (see table 2).

Table 2: Problems Faced in the Field

S.no Issues No. of Respondents (out of twenty) 1 Safety issues 18 2 Maintenance of Research Ethics and Values 15 3 Lack of Credible Data 17 4 Denial of subjects to talk 16 5 Unwillingness of respondents 17 6 Communication/rapport building issues 16 7 Researcher Taken as a journalist 13 8 Researcher taken as a spy/Indian agent 11

Each respondent who was interviewed had to answer 20 focused questions based on the conflict torn field. These questions in the form of Likerts scale were sent to respondents over e-mail. Interactions and interviews were mostly conducted over telephone and social media. The responses (see Table 3) show how the conflict plays a detrimental role on the quality of research or field work.

Table 3: Respondents Experience of Research in Conflict-ridden Kashmir

S. No. Statement *SA A PA D SD 1 Conflict situation had a negative impact on the quality of field work 9 6 3 1 1 2 Data /information could not be easily accessed rather was denied 2 12 4 1 1 3 Entry was easy to offices/institutions for information and data collection. 2 13 3 1 1 4 Movement was restricted due to conflict ridden field 3 11 3 2 1 5 Not able to build a quick rapport in the field 2 15 1 1 1 6 Respondents treated the researcher as a spy or an agent of government 3 11 5 1 1 7 Treated as a newspaper reporter in the field 1 13 4 1 1 8 The field work took more time in field than expected 3 14 2 1 0 9 Some portions of data were manipulated 0 2 1 15 2 10 Interviews were held with and questionnaires were received back only from selected known people. 0 5 3 11 1 11 Useful and objective conclusions of study could not be reached 1 5 2 11 1 12 Not satisfied with the kind of field work done 2 12 3 2 1 13 Resorted more to secondary data and secondary data analysis 1 13 3 2 1 14 Results are true and in line with the ground reality 1 15 2 2 1 15 Field situation and violence led to drastic changes in the research design/plan and procedures. 2 11 4 2 1 16 Respondents were confusing and dual, so managed/incorrect answers. 0 2 3 12 3 17 Able to finish field work on time. 0 2 1 14 3 18 Were scared of working in the field 3 13 2 1 1 19 Material consulted as secondary source was reliable and correct 1 13 4 2 0 20 Rebuked/Faced direct violence in the field 0 1 1 15 3

*SA- strongly agree, A- agree, PA- partially agree, D- disagree, and SD- strongly disagree.

The results and findings of such a research often involve fabrication/manipulation and methodological compromises. For instance, a researcher who had been studying the plight of half widows and orphans in Kashmir, narrated how he was initially rubbished, criticised and even abused by female respondents. It took him almost double the assigned time to complete the fieldwork. He recounts,

We have to finish it (field work) somehow and play our part. We have to complete our thesis. Though it is our mandate as researchers to represent truth, where was the truth and who was willing to tell it to me?

Another (non-local) researcher working on social development was not satisfied with the quality of fieldwork. He says that he was ridiculed by respondents in the field for choosing to work on development, when there was so much uncertainty about life itself. During one of the interactions, a respondent told him

Working on development and empowerment in the valley... what does it really mean, when you dont know whether you will be alive tomorrow or dead? Wind it up and escape from here.

He also says his being an outsider pushed him to wrap up his field work in almost half the assigned time. A female researcher, despite being from the valley, was not content with the quality of her field work. She says her relatives were particularly critical of her.

I was asking them about the position of women in the job market but, often, I'd receive unheeded advice or warning. Even my way of dressing was questioned. It took a lot of time to collect authentic data as I kept reviewing my sample constantly to keep out crazy respondents... I was even advised to get married rather than waste time in research!

My batch mate and colleague Riyaz (name changed) was studying primary education in a Kashmir village. He narrated how he was initially perceived as a spy who was providing information about the religiosity of teachers and their affiliations with various groups to government agencies. It took him more than a year to collect data as he was thrown out of many schools and denied data simply because he was perceived as a threat. He did not manage to get government figures on education either, forget data on other sensitive topics. Riyaz states,

I was denied information despite my continued efforts and was doubted even by my own acquaintances who were teachers in schools. They did not permit me to take any photographs and took me more as a journalist than a researcher. Although I was conducting research in my own village, I had a really a tough time.

Concluding Remarks

There is a need to seriously rethink the very design of field studies in conflict zones. Researchers working in conflict areas must be provided ample training to ensure their safety and management of unforeseen situations. Researchers must also be given enough time and support to complete their studies with proper guidance and help from their supervisors, rather than being pursued with deadlines. Major surveys must hire trained and professional field investigators and keep a constant vigil on them so that unethical practices are checked. Research institutes must issue proper documents and travel permissions, so that affiliated researchers do not face any issues in the field.

Lastly, all research findings coming out of a conflict area must undergo constant rechecks, revisions and improvements, so that theories are not built on manipulated or fake research. One needs to be careful as it has been found that researchers often commit ethical errors at crucial points (Ford 2009). Regular (academic and friendly) contact with locals in the conflict zones, alongside awareness of the ground situation is key to good fieldwork. Researchers must, therefore, acquaint themselves with the local culture and follow local codes to facilitate public acceptance.

End Notes

1.Hawthorne effect refers to the alteration of behaviour by subjects of a study due to their awareness of being observed.

2.Based on personal accounts of researchers revealed during interviews with the researchers themselves.

3.Waqf is an Islamic, charitable organisation. Waqf is an Islamic endowment, and the term Auqaf is the plural of Waqf.

4.Imtiyaz Ahmed (1967) defines the ashraf, or the upper caste Muslim, as including all undoubted descendants of foreign Muslims (Arabs, Persians, Afghans, etc), and converts from upper caste Hindus.

5.Syed is an honorific title that denotes males accepted as descendants of the prophet Muhammad.

6.Khudams are those who serve worshippers at shrines.

7.Sajjadanishins claim to be descendants of shrines and operate at shrines as managers.

8.Mazars are Muslim graveyards. Dargahs and Khanqahs are shrines of Sufi saints and pilgrimage sites in Kashmir.

References

Ahmed, I (1967): The Ashraf and Ajlaf Categories in Indo-Muslim Society, The Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 2, No 19, pp 887-891.

Ford, N, Mills, E J, Zachariah, R, & Upshur, R (2009): Ethics of Conducting Research in Conflict-settings, Conflict and Health, Vol 3, No 7, pp 1-9.

Goodhand, J (2000): Research in Conflict Zones: Ethics and Accountability, Forced Migration Review, Issue 8, pp 12-14.

Hammersly, Martyn (ed) (1993): Social Research: Philosophy, Politics and Practise, London: Sage.

Naz, F (2012): Negotiating Identities in a Dangerous Field, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 47, No 25, pp 97-101.

Pandey, T (2008): Methods of Field Research: Encounter, Experiences and Strategies in Nepali Villages, Contributions to Nepalese Studies, Vol 35, No 1, pp 83-104.

Powdermaker, H (1967): Stranger and Friend: The Way of an Anthropologist, New York: W W Norton and Co.

Sarsby, J (1984): Special Problems of Fieldwork in Familiar Settings, In R. Ellen, Ethnographic Research (pp 129-132), London: Academic Press.

Wood, E J (2006): The Ethical Challenges of Field Research in Conflict Zones, Qualitative Sociology, Vol 29, No 3, pp 307-41.
The European Physical Society Accelerator Group (EPS-AG) has awarded the ESRFs Accelerator & Source Director, Dr. Pantaleo Raimondi, the 2017 Gersh Budker Prize, for his outstanding contribution to the accelerator field in the form of his invention of the Hybrid Multi Bend Achromat (HMBA) lattice, which has become the design basis of most future 4th generation synchrotron sources.

Awarded once every 2-3 years, the prestigious Gersh Budker Prize recognizes a recent, significant, original contribution to the accelerator field. The Prize was awarded today, 18 May 2017, during the International Particle Accelerator Conference, IPAC17, in Copenhagen (DK).

According to the EPS-AG, the HMBA-lattice shows Raimondis ability to foster new ideas, his deep understanding of accelerator physics and mastering of technological aspects. This Prize is also a great honour for the ESRF as the design has inspired the design of other big light-source facilities around the world, as underlined by the EPS-AG: The HMBA-lattice has been adopted as the basis for the design for most future 4th generation storage ring light sources such as the Advanced Photon Source upgrade at Argonne National Laboratory and the Advanced Light Source Upgrade at Berkeley Lab in the US (APS-U and ALS-U); Spring8-2 at the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute; and the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility and the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility in China (SSRF and IHEP).

The new lattice will improve the brilliance of the ESRF light source by a factor of 100 while fulfilling the constraint to keep the original beam line structure, thanks to an innovative magnet design. With its larger dynamic aperture, smaller sextupole settings and smaller emittance with respect to previous proposals, the HMBA-lattice has made a large impact on the light source community.

It is currently being implemented at the ESRF as the foundation of the 150M Extremely Brilliant Source upgrade project, lasting from 2015 to 2020. Presently in the component procurement and production phase, the project will see the facilitys user program put on hold at the end of 2018 while the existing accelerator is removed and new girders pre-assembled with the novel magnet arrangement are installed and commissioned in the storage ring before the start-up of the user programme in summer 2020. This will be followed by the construction of new state-of-the-art beamlines, an ambitious instrumentation programme with a particular focus on high-performance detectors and an intensified big data strategy, designed to exploit the enhanced brilliance, coherence flux and performances of the new X-ray synchrotron source.

Dr. Raimondis ability to foster new ideas is based on a long and rich experience in research and development at accelerators including ENEA, CERN, SLAC and INFN, where he gained in-depth knowledge of all aspects of accelerator design and commissioning, from the development of RF power systems, linacs and microtrons to the operation, design and realisation of linear and circular colliders. During a career spanning 30 years, he has written over 300 publications and developed several new techniques, including the revolutionary crab waist scheme implemented at the DAFNE PHI-Factory in Italy in 2009 that significantly improved luminosity in the circular electron-positron colliders and strongly influenced the development of similar kinds of accelerators.

Dr Raimondi said, I am very pleased and honoured to be nominated for the award. This is a very important recognition of all the efforts made by the accelerator community to improve the performance of storage rings and to extend the scientific reach of the research based on such machines.
Two months into Donald Trumps presidency, Washington has unleashed radical measures to prevent migrants and refugees from entering the United States. He temporarily banned citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries from travelling to the US, suspended the US refugee resettlement program for Syrian refugees and the arrival of all refugees. He also ordered to build his long-promised wall on the US-Mexican border purportedly designed to stem the flow of irregular migrants from the south.

The European Union was very quick to condemn the measures while also forgetting that some of its own members had also resorted to illiberal and restrictive measures to control immigration and the influx of migrants. In Europe, just as in the United States, rightist populist groups are scapegoating migrants and refugees for every problem in the society. The continent is already mired in populism and hate speech against migrants, and particularly against the Muslims. The toxic climate and attacks are on the rise. If the current trend goes on, Europe may actually easily end up following Washingtons anti-immigration line.

Yet, the United States, unlike most of the European Union, has a long tradition in migration and immigration policy. While these moves of the White House might be just an aberration in the worlds most successful immigration society, which is actually better positioned to control who comes in, in Europe, xenophobia and Islamophobia pose a greater risk.

Many Europeans do see immigration from predominantly Muslim countries as particularly problematic. According to a recent Chatham House research study conducted in ten EU countries, about 55 percent of respondents agreed that all such immigration should be stopped, 20 percent disagreed, and 25 percent were undecided. Therefore, Islamophobia and xenophobia could easily destabilize societies that already have large, insufficiently integrated minority communities. They could also easily hamper efforts to stabilize Europes turbulent neighborhood.

European leaders need to acknowledge that unlike the United States or Canada, European societies do not have much experience and thus are not naturally inclined to facilitate immigration. To make it a success will require a lot more active governmental involvement, in particular massive investment in education. It will also mean revising long-established practices designed to protect the interests of existing stakeholders and implementing structural reforms that are indispensable for successfully integrating large numbers of immigrants.

Will Europe Follow Trump on Migration?  Commentary by Stefan Lehne  Carnegie Europe.
Theresa May said that no Brexit deal would be better than a bad deal and her European counterparts seem to feel the same way. The two-year negotiating process will begin next week when the British Prime Minister finally invokes Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. London hopes that it will be able to secure an amicable long-term relationship with the EU but EU policymakers are getting more and more pessimistic whether a deal can be reached.

EU leaders doubt whether Ms. May has sufficient political capital to make the compromises that will be needed along the way to secure an aspirational deal. They are aware that some voices in the Conservative party would prefer the UK to leave the bloc without an agreement. Londons decision to withdraw from both the EU single market and the customs union will mean that the United Kingdom will technically end up even further detached from the EU than, for example, Turkey. This position is a difficult starting point from which to secure a comprehensive and deep agreement that would fulfill Ms. Mays goal of frictionless trade.

The UK government will thus face tough choices since one reason it gave for leaving the EU was to enable the UK strike its own trade agreements with third countries. However, the deeper the deal with the EU, the more London will have to compromise. For example, Brussels will demand mechanisms to make sure that British regulations continue to be equivalent to the EU rules. This has been a condition in all past deals granting deep market access, including those with Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. From the EUs perspective, full equivalence means fully complying with all changes in EU regulations.
The European Union turned 60 on 25 March, marking the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, which were signed in 1957. EU leaders came together in Rome to celebrate the anniversary and mark the signing of the Treaties of Rome by the six founding Member States, which paved the way for the European Union we know today  reunited continent of peace, founded on the values of democracy, solidarity and the rule of law.

The EUs single market ensures freedom of choice and movement, economic growth and prosperity for half a billion people. It is the largest trading bloc in the world and the biggest donor of development and humanitarian aid. EU leaders see the anniversary as a moment to look back on the collective achievements and discuss the future of Europe. Ahead of the Rome summit, the Commission had launched a pan-European debate with the White Paper on the Future of Europe, which will enable citizens and leaders to shape the vision of the bloc without the United Kingdom.

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker took the occasion and reminded Europeans of what Europe really is and why it was founded: Our parents and grandparents founded this Union with one common vision: never again war. It was their strong conviction that breaking down barriers, working together  and not against each other  makes us all stronger. History has proven them right. For 60 years, the values on which this Union is built have not changed: peace, freedom, tolerance, solidarity and the rule of law bind and unite us. They must not be taken for granted and we must fight for them every day.
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned US Vice President Mike Spence that the Western Balkans could see another war if the EU were to collapse  recalling Donald Trump encouraging member states to leave the bloc following Brexit. Mike Spence visited Brussels at the end of February but the details of the meeting with EU leaders were only published last week. I told the vice-president, Do not say that. Do not invite others to leave, because if the European Union collapses, you will have a new war in the Western Balkans, Mr Juncker said. The President of the European Commission said that it was important to give countries in the region the prospect of EU membership if we do not want to have war again.

The Yugoslav Wars were a series of ethnically based conflicts and insurgencies that lasted between 1991 and 2001 inside the territory of the former Yugoslavia. They are often described as Europes bloodiest conflict since the end of World War II and they became notorious for multiple war crimes and atrocities including ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and rape. The wars were also humiliating for the EU as they were ended mostly thanks to the US intervention, albeit controversial one.

The situation in the Western Balkans is raising concerns again due to external influences fueling divisions in the region after recent moves by Russia and its Balkan allies to block closer ties with the West. As Montenegro is readying to become a NATO member later this year, Moscow has called the move a provocation and a threat to its own security. Mr. Juncker is planning to visit Washington next month but he is uncertain whether he will meet Donald Trump. He commented regarding the US interest in the Western Balkans that theyre trying to fix it, but [President Trump] has other priorities. By the way, he does not understand anything about Europe, while also noting that [Donald Trump] had Tusk [Donald Tusk, President of the European Council] on the phone and he thought it was me.
A Libyan court has suspended a deal struck with Italy aiming to reduce refugee boat crossings across the Mediterranean Sea. The court did not provide any explanation for the decision that comes at a time of a rising number of migrants trying to get to Europe with the arrival of spring. The Justice Ministry of the Government of National Accord (GNA) confirms that the court is still examining the issue in order pending a ruling, and that no final judgment has been issued, an official statement said.

The GNA is not recognized by Libyas Tobruk-based parliament, which supports a competing administration in eastern provinces where Russian-backed General Haftar holds sway. The rival government said that the agreement struck between Tripoli and Italy was null and void and declared the GNA had no legal status in the Libyan state. The GNA is backed by the United Nations but is failing to regain territory controlled by factions. In the meantime, smugglers are using the ongoing fighting to export migrants for profit. Around 90% of vessels crossing the Mediterranean are launched from Libya.

In 2016, more than 5,000 migrants drowned and this year more than 580 deaths have been reported. Last week, as many as 240 migrants are feared to have perished around 15 kilometers off the Libyan coast after a Spanish aid organization Proactiva Open Arms found five bodies in the water and two capsized boats. The number of those who might have drowned is an estimate based on the boats capacity. The two vessels that were found are said to be capable of holding 100 people in normal circumstances but smugglers always dispatch boats overflowing.
Over the last two years relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated to their worst state since the Cold War. Allegations of Russian cyber interference in the recent US election cycle in order to help get Donald Trump elected are just the latest indication of how bad things are. It is no exaggeration to say relations are already in a state of profound crisis and notwithstanding uncertainties about how President Trump will approach the entire relationship with President Putin, it is entirely possible that the crisis will soon get worse.

This report asks how the two sides can best prevent that from happening while still defending their interests. It asks what a more effective approach to crisis avoidance and management might look like, especially as this relates to events in the shared neighbourhood in Eastern Europe. By shared neighbourhood, we understand  in line with the predominant EU typology  six post-Soviet countries situated between the enlarged EU and NATO, and Russia: Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The report examines credible political scenarios including a Belarusian succession crisis forcing action by the EU and Russia; a renewed conflict in Georgia caused by the frequent intrusions from South Ossetia; and an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine drawing outside actors such as the US, NATO and the EU.

The authors make the case that leaders need to be aware of how to best to manage these flashpoints before they escalate. The report puts forward recommendations of how to avoid and handle these crises in the future.

These include:

Avoiding crises through clarity over core interests: the West needs to be clear on what it considers its core interests in the shared neighbourhood, such as what would, and what would not, be defended by military force but would nonetheless trigger non-military sanctions and other forms of counter-action.

the West needs to be clear on what it considers its core interests in the shared neighbourhood, such as what would, and what would not, be defended by military force but would nonetheless trigger non-military sanctions and other forms of counter-action. An unambiguous and well communicated commitment to deterrence as a means of crisis avoidance: this means going beyond the NATO measures currently implemented to deter large scale conventional and nuclear attacks. Being clear, for example, that should little green men or insurgents appear to destabilise one of the Baltic States, NATOs working assumption right from the start would be that the Russian leadership is responsible and would therefore be held accountable.

this means going beyond the NATO measures currently implemented to deter large scale conventional and nuclear attacks. Being clear, for example, that should little green men or insurgents appear to destabilise one of the Baltic States, NATOs working assumption right from the start would be that the Russian leadership is responsible and would therefore be held accountable. Engaging in high-level political dialogue: dialogue should not be dismissed as a return to business as usual or as a reward for Russian actions, but treated as the crucial part of confrontation management. Summits should provide leaders with as clear as possible an understanding of how the other side perceives its core interests and not designed as an attempt to overcome deep-rooted differences or carve out spheres of influence.

dialogue should not be dismissed as a return to business as usual or as a reward for Russian actions, but treated as the crucial part of confrontation management. Summits should provide leaders with as clear as possible an understanding of how the other side perceives its core interests and not designed as an attempt to overcome deep-rooted differences or carve out spheres of influence. Exercising military and diplomatic restraint: both sides must exercise diplomatic restraint, impose restraint on their associates and proxies, and extend this to the military activity of regional actors. This is because localised actions by relatively minor actors in the shared neighbourhood will almost certainly be attributed to Moscow or Washington, Brussels, or other western capitals and potentially provoke an escalation.

The report also calls for making use of existing dialogue mechanisms and for adopting new diplomatic initiatives as stabilising the current situation requires some diplomatic flexibility and innovation. These include:

Creating an ad-hoc Military Crisis Management Group by broadening the NATO-Russia Council agenda: this will consist of military officials from NATO countries and Russia.

this will consist of military officials from NATO countries and Russia. The broader use of OSCE mechanisms: going beyond the Vienna Document, such as the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre, and Forum for Security Cooperation.

going beyond the Vienna Document, such as the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre, and Forum for Security Cooperation. Proactive use of the contact group approach on flash-point issues (for example the Normandy process on Ukraine): The contact group format has proven to be a more effective model than conventional the OSCE, NATO-Russia Council of the UNSC conflict management mechanisms which can be restricted by consensus decision making and veto.

The contact group format has proven to be a more effective model than conventional the OSCE, NATO-Russia Council of the UNSC conflict management mechanisms which can be restricted by consensus decision making and veto. EU-Russia crisis management mechanism: The EU has evolved significantly from a technocratic to a political actor in the region. The lack of EU-Russia crisis management consultations on security issues leaves a dangerous vacuum. Setting up an EU-Russia crisis management mechanism is essential.

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.
Suggestions that the UK government is reconsidering its insistence that it could walk away without a deal at the end of Brexit negotiations have helped to keep the Pound on a stronger footing.

With risk appetite still weak the British Pound to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate continued to trend higher in the region of 1.7917.

With New Zealands upcoming economic calendar quiet and risk-sentiment low, the Pound is likely to drive GBP/NZD movement in the coming week.

GBP/NZD could weaken on Wednesday when the Brexit process begins.

Risk appetite generally weakened at the start of the week, responding to the news that Republicans had been unable to pass their repeal-and-replace healthcare bill in the US.

This encouraged the Pound New Zealand Dollar exchange rate to trend higher in the region of 1.7811, even though the uncertainty of Brexit continues to cloud the outlook of Sterling.

GBP/NZD opened last week at the level of 1.7685.

The pair spent most of the week climbing and by Friday had touched on a high of 1.7834  a new 2017 high.

Sterling put in solid gains last week, as key UK ecostats beat expectations and improved hopes that Britains growth would continue to impress even during the upcoming Brexit process.

The most notable UK data was Februarys Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Februarys retail sales results, which both came in well above expectations.

Higher than expected inflation increased speculation that the Bank of England (BoE) could be pressured into tightening monetary policy in the foreseeable future, while strong retail sales offset concerns that rising consumer prices were causing households to rein in spending.

However, analysts warned that retail sales could still fall again in the coming months due to inflation and slow wage growth, which caused GBP/NZD to fall from its highs on Friday.

The New Zealand Dollar was easily influenced by the Pound last week, as falling risk-sentiment and a lack of supportive ecostats left the Kiwi unappealing in forex markets.

A worse-than-expected New Zealand trade balance report during Fridays Asian session also weakened the Kiwi. The trade deficit was expected to come in with a surplus, but instead only lightened to N$-18m.

Pound (GBP) Forecast: Brexit Begins Next Week

The main event of the coming week is doubtlessly the UK governments plan to activate Article 50 and finally begin the formal Brexit process, which will take two years or more and culminate with Britains separation from the European Union.

With uncertainty surrounding the process still high, Sterling could be jittery next week.

GBP traders may also react to the weeks March UK consumer confidence survey from GfK, as well as Fridays publication of Britains final Q4 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) result.

The Pound is unlikely to weaken considerably next week, unless risky currencies like the New Zealand Dollar become more appealing or UK news comes in worse-than-expected.

New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Forecast: Quiet Economic Calendar Ahead

Next weeks New Zealand economic calendar is set to be a quiet one, which will leave the GBP/NZD exchange rate being moved largely by the Pound, as well as potential shifts in global risk-sentiment.

Risk-sentiment could improve next week if traders become more excited for US President Donald Trumps fiscal policy plans again. Hopes for his plans have faded in recent weeks due to expectations that they would be met with significant resistance in Congress.

Improving commodity news may also boost risk-appetite. Last week saw many key commodity prices slumping to multi-week lows, so an improvement in this area would give the New Zealand Dollar firmer ground to trade on.

The only notable NZ data due for publication next week is Marchs business confidence report from ANZ, which publishes on Friday.

The GBP NZD Data Releases in Near-Term Outlook

29/03/2017:

08:30 GBP Net Consumer Credit (FEB) Medium

08:30 GBP Net Lending Sec. on Dwellings (FEB) Medium

08:30 GBP Mortgage Approvals (FEB) Medium

GBP Article 50 Brexit Process Starts High

31/03/2017:

00:00 NZD ANZ Business Confidence (MAR) Medium

08:30 GBP Gross Domestic Product (QoQ) (4Q F) Medium

08:30 GBP Gross Domestic Product (YoY) (4Q F) High
University of Exeter expert working to reform tax collection in Greece

A University of Exeter expert has been appointed to help the Greek authorities make the tax collection system more efficient and enhance tax compliance.

Professor Christos Kotsogiannis, from the University of Exeter Business School, has been appointed as President of the Management Board of the newly restructured Greek Independent Authority for Public Revenue Authority, the IAPR.

The IAPR is responsible for collecting tax in Greece on behalf of the Government. It has recently been given new powers so it is independent and has administrative and financial autonomy.

The Management Board oversees the strategic and business planning of the IAPR as well as preparing the annual account report and the planning of the Authority's activities. It also oversees the Authoritys human resources policy and monitors its implementation.

Professor Kotsogiannis is a leading expert in Public Finance and has published widely on tax issues and how to improve the efficiency of tax collection. He is also a co-Director of the Tax Administration Research Centre (TARC), which undertakes research on tax administration in order to strengthen the theoretical and empirical understanding of the practical operation of tax systems. The Centre is a partnership between the University of Exeter and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and is jointly funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and Her Majestys Revenue and Customs.

Professor Kotsogiannis said: An Independent Public Revenue Authority is a much needed reform for Greece and will lead to better performance by removing impediments to effective and efficient management, while, by being accountable to parliament, it will maintain appropriate accountability and transparency.

A key priority in the years for the IAPR will be to improve tax compliance in Greece. The knowledge on tax revenue administration that TARC has created, and continues to create, will undoubtedly help me to provide IAPR the right policy guidance on this.

It is an honour to have been offered this important role. I hope the work I do will benefit the economy and the people of Greece.
I'd like a little help if anyone's available to give it to me. A little backstory for the situation so far.



My wife is from the US and I'm from the UK. We have a child who is registered as both a US and UK citizen. Our plan is to send them over to the US (NY state) while I stay in the UK and work while my I-130 is being reviewed. She will get a job out there to look after themselves and my mother-in-law will help as a co sponsor for me.



We haven't as of yet started anything because we are just becoming more and more confused. Can anyone help? (I've answered the questions below for additional information).



* Are you married to or considering marrying a US citizen, a permenant resident, or someone on a non-immigrant visa? Yes. Wife is a US citizen

* Do you have a child over 21 who is a US citizen? No

* Do you have a sibling over 21 who is a US citizen? No

* Do you have a parent who is/was a US citizen? No

* Do you have grandparents who are/were US citizens? No

* Do you have an academic degree? No

* Do you have specialist skills? No

* Do you work in your home country a high-or medium-level position for a multinational employer with offices in the US? Yes but not in the NY state.

* Do you have an extraordinary ability in anything? Not sure what this means but I've been working in IT for 7 years

* Are you an accomplished fashion model? No

* Are you a minister of religion or religious worker? No

* Are you interested in menial seasonal work? Sure

* Are you interested in becoming a student and, if so, do you have the necessary capital? No

* Are you a student or recent graduate in your home country? No

* Are you a potential intern/trainee for an organization such as a hotel? No

* Do you have at least $200,000 in cash and an entrepreneurial spirit? No

* Do you have at least $500,000 in cash? No

* Do you have at least $1,000,000 in cash? No

* Do you have a business in another country and are you in a position to expand your business activities to the US? No

* Are you in a position to claim refugee status/political asylum? No

* Are you an Australian citizen? No

* Are you a Canadian or Mexican citizen? No

* Are you a Singaporean or Chilean citizen? No

* Are you a citizen of the Pacific nations of Palau, Marshall Islands or Federated States of Micronesia? No

* Are you 50% Native American by blood but born in Canada? No

* Are you an Irish citizen in university education or recently graduated? No

* Were you, your spouse or your parents born in any country other than Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, or Vietnam? No

* Do you have current knowledge to assist US law enforcement to investigate and prosecute crimes and terrorist activities such as money laundering and organized crime? No

* Do you have connections with a member of Congress? No





Potential Skeletons



* Have you ever been arrested for anything, anywhere? No

* Do you suffer from a serious communicable disease? No

* Do you suffer from a mental disorder? No

* Have you ever broken the terms of any previous visit to the US? No

* Do you any connections whatsoever with countries the US might consider as terrorist in nature? No



If you have any questions you'd like me to answer to help point us in the right direction please let me know.
Hello All -Am an American whose been living and working in America, London and Prague the past several years ... However back in 2002-2006 I lived and worked in AKL, NZ - and am now giving serious thought to returning down under as there's just so many wonderful things that I miss about NZ, I just can't wait to (possibly) getting back - For as I look back over my life now - those times there in NZ, are truly some of my fondest memories of my entire life -Really excited to return if at all possible.All that said, obviously I'm pretty much already familiar with the basics - and have just re-registered on several NZ Gov't websites to get that ball rolling - and then there's all the day to day stuff (banking, cars, food, housing, transport, insurance, passports/visa etc) I'm also already pretty familiar with - But my primary reason for writing today is that I'm pretty certain things have also changed allot there since I left - and am curious what others think about all this, or can advise me on certain things as I contemplate my return?Specifically - I have some age questions - Health questions - Job/Work/Entrepreneur or investor questions - and one visa question.(1) I own and operate 3 mfg facilities in USA/UK/CZ and have the chance now to partner one of my companies with an existing company there in NZ - the only issue is they are on the S. Island and that's not my 1st choice for location - but we could possibly have a '2nd plant' on the N. Island - so that's probably not an issue - But my Question is - does anyone know who I can speak with regarding this business transaction and what type of Visa(s) I'd need to apply for to make this happen? I already bank with HSBC (worldwide) and had an ANZAC and BNZ accounts before, and have been told I can resurrect those fairly easily - but just need to be aware of any hurdles or pitfalls with all that?(2) RE: Age - Obviously I was 10-15 years younger when I lived in NZ prior - and turned the big 40 when I was living in Takapuna... but as with everyone, time has now passed, and know Australia has age limits, as does NZ (I believe?) - but also know they (NZ) will make some exceptions with this depending on what I'm bringing to the table business-wise or with my finances or career etc ... So my Q here is - now that I'm 10+ years on... am I blocked or precluded from coming to NZ now? If so, what are my options then - if any? I still have 25 good working years left in me - so this 'retirement' thing (Aussie's push that for 50+) is foreign to me ... Plenty more money to madeand wish to do it in NZ if possible - So if anyone has any info on this topic and/or a sharp migration attorney (NZIS approved) then that too would be greatly appreciated as well - cheers - In that vein, I see allot of health/doctor (GP) questions posted here? - What are the major deal breakers now with NZIS? I'm in good health - so not really sure what the issue would be, if any? - but if anyone has a list or can point out absolute non-negotiable deal breakers - that too would be appreciated - Thanks.(3) Assuming I can clear the myriad of hurdles that lie ahead of me - I'm curious what people are using for international shipping these days?? - I won't (and don't) bring allot with me usually - as the steering wheels are on the wrong side of all my cars, and the climates vary - so I usually just pack a few suitcases and ship a box or 2 of personal effects and call it a day - But this time I have what can only be best described as a 'studio' flat sized room that needs to be boxed up and shipped from the USA to NZ - So does anyone have any cost-effective recommendations with this? As said, normally I just restock clothes and furniture once there - but do have some personal items that need to come along this time - and need a cost effective method to pack/store/ship/that clear customs and be delivered to my new place in NZ if anyone knows? - again, any help with that would be appreciated as well -(4) RE: Work - Lastly - and the most common question on this forum regardless of country - but on the long shot that I cannot merge or acquire this other NZ corporation (as we've yet to meet or tour their facilities- and done everything to date via phone and images on their website) then I may have to look at going "corporate" and getting a "J.O.B." - sigh - I worked for Telstra Clear and an AKL sports team before - but have tried contacting everyone there - and things have changed so much that most of my contacts are now gone - So I'm basically starting from square 1 with all this - and it's kinda frustrating and annoying b/c based on your points system (I was engaged to a kiwi gal last time so "points" weren't a concern) but we parted ways and I left NZ and went to Oz and worked there no problem - but now I'd like to return to NZ and actually finish out the next 25 years of my life and retire there either in AKL or CHCH - but back on topic (sorry for the rambling tangent) ... I've seen the several links here that ExpatForum was good enough to supply, so will go thru those sites, and see if there's any Director level or Manager positions that are suitable for me and my skill set that sponsor ppl ... but here's where I've run into hurdles in the past with NZ ... I attended an accredited Uni in America for 5 years and got a Mechanical Engineering Degree - but my Senior (final) year, I took a "work/credit" job that paid 6-figure$ and that work experience replaced 50% of my Sr. year credits - Trouble is - "on paper" this 5 year degree, b/c I worked for the school/company the final half of the semester (much like a Doctor doing their internship in a hospital) that scenario is very common and understandable - but to NZIS - they look at my transcripts like I have 3 heads and say I don't have a full degree?? This is utter bollocks - as I logged 5 years and graduated at the top of my class - but the 'format' is not your typical 5 year degree on paper b/c I worked the final 6 months - So this then dings me on the NZ points schedule (now I've not checked this in several years - so maybe things have changed - but I doubt they've changed for the better) - Either way - If I should have to go Corporate and just find any decent J.O.B. - For 2017, what's the work climate like down there now in AKL or Church? What's the current unemployment rate and demand for executive-level talent? If you're associated with, or know of any exec recruiters (headhunters)- Please feel free to PM/DM me with more info as I'd love to speak with you.Well, I do have several other questions - but if I get roadblocked by any of the above, it's a really moot point to ask anything more for now, as I'm basically dead in the water really... and don't wish to waste your time, or mine. London is just screaming for high paying workers atm - but this whole Brexit thing is making me nervous and I just lost 26 EU trading partners - so looking to shift that to Ireland or NZ (Down under for our Asia clients, Ireland for our EU clients) till this Brexit nightmare gets sorted over the next 2-10 years - sigh.. Plus I'm really tired of FEB weather in LondonVery depressing...OK, stick a fork in me - I'm done ...Apologies again for the long missive - but hopefully some of these questions aren't too inane and can get some feedback and sound advice here as I'm new to this forum and hopefully can find some decent help, resources, and contacts here....Cheers,BB
Yes they do consider BMI. There is a guideline maximum BMI if you trawl through Immigrations Operations manual.

It would be a good idea to lose a bit of weight, reduce cholesterol and increase fitness if at all possible before you have the medical. We hammered it for at least 3 months before the medical. In my case maybe 9 months...not that I was majorly overweight but it gave me an incentive to get fit. We trained 5 days a week in the gym and cut out alcohol and fast food. Small price to pay for the peace of mind when the application is going through. Unfortunately didn't work for the wife as she has a lifelong condition that no health regime will fix and that's what she was pulled up on by the medical assessor, but in the end after a bit of a fight we got through.

Immigration are getting tighter and tighter on the health issues faced by modern society. It's all about how much ($dollars) you are likely to cost the NZ Health system should you become ill, depending on the findings in your medical and it doesn't make any difference if you state you'll pay for comprehensive private medical care as if you are granted the visa you have the right to the same care as everyone else. They are keen to protect the system for the persons already in NZ with a right to claim for health care.



You will not fill in the form. It is now all done electronically by the authorising GP who is approved to carry out INZ medicals.
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Two local developers are piecing together properties outside the main gate to Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston for a potential mixed-use development, five years after they failed to persuade local officials to build a childrens hospital there.

Michael Westheimer, who is known for fixing up houses on the East Side, and Larry Baumgardner of the Dominion Advisory Group commercial real estate firm have bought 10.1 acres of land over the last five years along Walters Street between Interstate 35 and the military base, property records show. They still need to purchase another 2.7 acres on the site of the tentative development in the historic neighborhood of Government Hill.

They expect to draw up plans soon for a mixed-use project with apartments, townhomes and up to 60,000 square feet of office space, Westheimer said. Then they will market the property to potential joint venture partners or possibly build it themselves, he said. They have yet to raise any financing.

Westheimer said he expects the projects residential portion to be popular among military officers from Fort Sam Houston and that the office space will appeal to defense contractors. The site benefits from being a mile and a half east of the Pearl and highly visible from I-35, he said.

Its strategically placed there, Westheimer said. It sits at the center of a lot of really interesting infrastructure.

The developers have been tearing down vacant homes to pursue their goal of getting a portion of the site development-ready in the next six months, he said. They plan to start construction of a first phase while they finish purchasing the properties.

Government Hill is rundown in some areas but has a strengthening housing market thanks to its historic homes and its proximity to the Pearl and downtown. Its western border runs along Broadway, where developers have built numerous midrise apartment complexes. The stretch of Grayson Street running through the neighborhood has become a foodie destination, home to restaurants such as Grayze and Shuck Shack.

Westheimer owns 7 acres at the site through Walters Street Real Partners LLC, a company that is co-owned by personal injury lawyer Mikal Watts of Watts Guerra LLP, according to corporate filings and the Bexar Appraisal District. Baumgardner owns 3.1 acres through a partnership, Dominion Holdings.

Westheimer and Baumgardner have tried twice to develop the site with medical facilities. Five years ago, they failed to get local officials to build a childrens hospital there. A later effort to get the University of the Incarnate Word to put a medical school on the site also fell through.

rwebner@express-news.net

@rwebner
Two Decembers ago, 7-year-old Raelyn Marie Guevara came home from Roy Cisneros Elementary on the West Side and handed her mom, Reyna, a neon-green Habitat for Humanity flyer she had picked up at school.

Mom was like, Oh, we cant ever qualify for one of those things, said Raelyn, now 8, on a bright, busy Saturday morning. And I was like, Oh, come on, Mom, just fill it out. You never know.

Raelyn was beaming as she told the story, with her grandmother beside her, just moments before she got to see for the first time the Habitat home that was built for her, Reyna and a second child on the way all because she nudged her mom two years ago.

The single-story, three-bedroom house is one of 14 in Lenwood Heights, a new neighborhood off Acme Road on the West Side, that Habitat dedicated Saturday, celebrating the 1,000th home that the San Antonio chapter  the oldest Habitat affiliate in America  has constructed since its founding by a local Presbyterian pastors wife, Faith Lytle, in 1976.

Hundreds of Habitat volunteers, full-time construction workers, future homeowners and well-wishers filled the tidy neighborhood as crews of Valero volunteers wheeled out new sod to front lawns, swept driveways and mingled with carpenters doing measurements for cabinets.

I owe this all to my daughter, said Reyna Guevara, a lab technician at Baptist Medical Center, as she eyed the new kitchen in her new, 1,060-square-foot house. To watch it all go from a blank slab to this is amazing. I had a hand in building the porch. I put up siding. And I had no experience in construction. Now I know how to use all these saws, she giggled, but I dont know what you call them.

I am just overcome, said Guevara, who attended Memorial High School, that people who dont even know me and my daughter would come out and do something like this. It shows there is still hope and love in this world. I grew up on the West Side, and it has always been known for drugs and violence. I want to be a part of changing that. I want to see it thrive.

The now-familiar formula of Habitat, made famous by its most celebrated volunteers, former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, combined the progressive Christian faith of the Carters and fellow-Georgian millionaire Millard Fuller with corporate volunteer programs and the need for affordable housing throughout America to build one of the most successful charitable foundations in the country. Under Fuller, who was eventually fired over disputes with the Habitat board, the group built more than 175,000 houses in 100 countries.

In San Antonio, according to communications director Stephanie Wiese, Habitat works with low-income families making about $28,000 a year who promise to provide at least 300 hours of sweat equity in the building of the home. Habitat provides 20- to 25-year mortgages with zero interest and at no profit to Habitat, which estimates that it costs the organization about $80,000 (with no federal funds) to build its basic three- and four-bedroom homes, not including land and infrastructure. Guevaras monthly mortgage payment will be about $550, including insurance and taxes, said Wiese, who added that Habitat has had only a 1.5 percent foreclosure rate.

The homes dedicated Saturday, Wiese said, are part of 167 houses Habitat will build on 26 acres it bought from Bethel United Methodist Church on Acme Road.

Habitat of San Antonio builds about 40 to 55 homes a year, using hundreds of tons of donated materials that are often high-quality, energy-efficient items, such as impact-resistant shingles. During all our hailstorms, said Wiese, none of our Habitat homes had any repair problems. These are not starter homes.

Surprisingly, there is not a wait-list for the homes. Wiese said families are qualified for their loans as homes are constructed, which, with good weather, takes about two months.

Our first house in San Antonio took us two years to build, said Wiese, who has been with Habitat for 21 years. Weve learned a few things. Mainly, that you have to have great volunteers  Valero has worked with us for 10 years  and you must remain a grass-roots organization thats really tied to the community.

And I hope, Guevara said as she explained both her pride of ownership and parenting, that my little girl will tell other families about this program and how it can change their lives.
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Sometimes the Fat Leonard conspiracy needed new people. Only an officer with plenty of pull within the Seventh Fleet would be considered.

He had to be corruptible. He had to be willing to help Fat Leonard when asked. And of course he had to keep things secret.

In August 2007, according to the latest indictment, an officer inside the conspiracy emailed Fat Leonard, aka Leonard Glenn Francis, the owner and boss of Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA).

The subject was whether another Navy officer was corruptible: [He] is certainly someone you can reach out to and have a dialogue with, but [were not] sure if he is someone who could keep his mouth shut . . . still working on it.

Francis and his core group called the effort to recruit new conspirators a shaping operation.

For example, when Francis needed more covert influence in the Seventh Fleets logistics centers, he organized a shaping operation against an officer connected to the Naval Supply Systems Command.

In March 2007, a GDMA executive delivered a slab of tuna to one of the existing conspirators. That officers wife in turn gave the tuna to the target officers wife. The conspirators wife also arranged to spend social time with the targets wife.

Francis asked in an email how the recruitment was progressing. Guess all of [my wifes] shaping is working, was the reply. The DOJ didnt reveal the targets name or say if he joined the conspiracy.

* * *

In May 2008, a conspirator emailed Francis with an assessment of whether the new Seventh Fleet [Commanding Officer] was corruptible and hence a potential recruit to the conspiracy, according to the indictment.

We still need to be cautious with his participation in events, another conspirator wrote.

On the other hand, [The USS Blue Ridge Chief of Staff] was completely comfortable with you the other night at Nadamans [a restaurant at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore] and felt safe, a conspirator emailed to Francis.

During a port visit to Jakarta, Indonesia that same month by the USS Blue Ridge (the flag ship of the Seventh Fleet), Francis paid for hotel accommodations at the Shangri-La Hotel and the services of prostitutes for at least three Navy officers, the DOJ said.

It was part of a shaping operation. But Francis emailed to complain that one officer was very cautious around me last night.

Another conspirator responded: [That officer] is definitely poisoned .  Now you can see why I havent attempted to bring him in.

The same conspirator then emailed Francis from a secret account, sending him classified ship exercise schedules for various U.S. Navy ships, according to the indictment.

* * *

In late May 2008, the USS Blue Ridge was in the Philippines. Six Navy officers stayed at the Makati Shangri-La in Manila at Francis expense.

Francis booked the Presidential Suite for a raging multi-day party, with a rotating carousel of prostitute in attendance, during which the conspirators drank all of the Dom Perignon available at the Shangri-La, the DOJ said.

Francis paid room and alcohol charges of more than $50,000.

One of the officers who was there later emailed Francis: I finally detoxed myself from Manila. That was a crazy couple of days. Its been a while since Ive done 36 hours of straight drinking!!!

* * *

In June 2008, some of the conspirators criticized another Navy officer who wasnt part of the conspiracy.

The outsider had awarded a ship husbanding contract for the USS Blue Ridge in Vladivostok, Russia to a GDMA competitor. One of the conspirators threatened the outsider from the Navy Fleet and Industrial Supply Center, saying hed be held responsible/accountable for shortfalls in support.

In the following days, two conspirators exerted pressure on other officials within the U.S. Navy with the influence . . . to award the Vladivostok ship husbanding contract to GDMA, the DOJ said.

On or about June 21, 2008, GDMA was notified of one-time contract to support the USS Blue Ridge port visit to Vladivostok from July 2-5, 2008. Upon being informed of the contract award, Francis forwarded the award email to three of the conspirators.

A month later, according to the indictment, Francis emailed two of the conspirators a naked picture of one of the prostitutes from the Manila bash, with the notation: I thought this photo will bring memories of . . . Manila.

Soon after, a conspirator on the receiving end of the emailed photo sent Francis updated classified ship schedules and transit plans for various U.S. Navy ships, the DOJ said.

An early conspirator once talked in an open staff memo about problems a Navy ship had with GDMAs services in Noumea, New Caledonia. Francis in turn emailed another, more senior conspirator to cover for GDMA: We should be putting out fires not copying al con [all concerned] to make us look bad. 

The more senior conspirator responded: Ill take [the other officer] to the wood shed for that.

* * *

So far, the DOJ has charged 20 current or former U.S. Navy officials with taking bribes from Fat Leonard and GDMA.

Thirteen defendants including Francis have already pleaded guilty. A half dozen have been sentenced to prison. Sentences range from 30 months to more than six years.

An indictment isnt evidence of guilt and the accused are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. Eight of the officers indicted earlier this month have pleaded not guilty.

* * *

In the next post, well look closer at the bribes Francis allegedly used to corrupt at least 20 top-level officers from the Navys Seventh Fleet.

_____

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog.
Human rights might not be the first thing that spring to mind when considering everyday worries.

A Practical Guide To Your Human Rights And Civil Liberties

But, as new book A Practical Guide to Your Human Rights and Civil Liberties explains, post-Brexit, people in the UK citizens need to be extra-vigilant of their rights, their relationship with the powers that be, and how these may be affected once we leave the European Union.

Written by respected Human Rights barrister and prolific author Dr Michael Arnheim, this go-to guide discusses the whole span of our human rights and liberties, including those that can often be ignored or misinterpreted.

The first chapter outlines where British citizens rights actually come from, including the Magna Carta  which celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2015  and Common Law acts, as well as the powers held under acts of Parliament and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The second chapter, A Fistful of Fallacies, exposes what the author describes as a politically correct hype surrounding human rights law and how UK judges often pander to their own agendas.

The remaining chapters address specific rights which we, as citizens, can expect to enjoy including the Right to Life, the Right to Freedom of Expression, the Right to a Fair Trial and the Right to Privacy.

Arnheim pointedly notes that these rights are also often called upon in the defence of terror suspects, illegal immigrants and even convicted killers at the expense of law-abiding members of society.

From time to time the use of human rights law in these circumstances leads to a public backlash, often stirred up by the national press, and the author addresses this, asking, for instance, in what circumstances can a convicted killer be given lifelong anonymity to protect their lives and is such a grant justifiable?

With regard to Freedom of Expression, the book also questions its limits. What rights do you have against someone who attacks you in print or on the internet? Do you have a right of reply in a newspaper that has done the same?

And what of the Right to Freedom of Religion? There have been cases of Christians whove been forbidden from wearing a cross at work, or business owners who have been found guilty of discriminating against people over a perceived conflict with their faith.

The book is worth the price alone for helping shed light on the legal realities and arguments on either side that come into play with these sorts of knotty, headline-grabbing cases.

It also discusses a persons social rights, such as the right to marry and have an education, and also our duties as citizens, such as being able to stand for election and to petition.

While this is more the sort of book to dip into rather than read chapter by chapter, it will help readers become more informed, and also equipped to handle themselves if for any reason they find their own human rights challenged or are accused of breaching the rights of someone else.

Arnheim, a Sometime Fellow of St Johns College, Cambridge, and the author of 19 books including two previous titles on human rights, never dumbs down his subject but his straight-talking approach, and handy explanations of key legal terms, makes for a headache-free, and often fascinating, resource.

A Practical Guide to your Human Rights and Civil Liberties by Dr Michael Arnheim (Straightforward Publishing) is available now in paperback, priced 10.99, and as an eBook priced 4.99. Visit www.straightforwardco.co.uk
Gavin Rossdale "would love" to marry again.

Gavin Rossdale

The 51-year-old musician - who was married to Gwen Stefani for 14 years before they divorced last year - has hinted he would like to have the "dilemma" of tying the knot again because he believes love is a "beautiful thing", although he is too busy to wed again because he is focusing on his music and his four children Daisy, 28, Zuma, eight, Kingston, 10, and three-year-old Apollo.

Speaking about his marital plans for the future, the 'The Voice UK' judge told The Mirror newspaper: "Would I get married again? It is one of those beautiful things to fall in love. It's a force to be reckoned with.

"I would love that dilemma, but right now it is my kids and my work. That's plenty."

However, the Bush frontman has admitted he "never" thought he would split from the 47-year-old blonde beauty, which has caused him "a lot of pain and sadness".

Speaking previously, he said: "We're all products of nuclear families. My parents have been married three times each. I'm just a junior. I never thought I would get divorced. But it just happens. All these life things.

"Who knew that was possible? There's been a lot of pain and sadness."

Although the dark-haired hunk was hurt by the break-up he has revealed he has gained more "perspective on life".

He continued: "It really teaches you perspective on life. It's really health, happiness and safety. After that, I don't know what there is other than that."

And Gavin has revealed his new album 'Black and White Rainbows' is a signal of the "rebirth, relaunch and restart" of him following his divorce.

Speaking about the new release, he said: "It's the rebirth, the relaunch and reset. It's a restart.

"It's nothing more than an energy and synchronicity. It's a really great time for me and my boys."
Scarlett Johansson's celebrity crush is Gordon Ramsay.

Scarlett Johansson

The 32-year-old actress recently filed for divorce from her husband Romain Dauriac - with whom she has two-year-old daughter Rose - and has opened up about her dream guy, which takes the form of the foul mouthed celebrity chef.

During an appearance on 'The Howard Stern Show' on US radio station Sirius XM on Monday (27.03.17), host Howard asked: "[Who is] the hottest guy right now in the world? Is it Brad Pitt? Who? If I said to you I could put you in a movie with so-and-so, who would it be?"

To which the 'Ghost In The Shell' star replied: "Don't put me under the gun like that. Honestly I'm like somebody who likes Gordon Ramsay."

And whilst the blonde beauty might not have a shot with 50-year-old Gordon - who has been happily married to his wife Tana since 1996 - she did reveal her second celebrity crush is yet another TV chef, this time being Anthony Bourdain.

She added: "There's a running theme."

Meanwhile, the 'Lucy' actress recently said she would "never" discuss her divorce for the sake of her young daughter.

She said in a statement released earlier this month: As a devoted mother and private person and with complete awareness that my 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. Thank you."

It was previously reported Scarlett has asked for primary custody of their three-year-old daughter Rose, but Romain is desperate to leave America and move back to his home town in France with his child following the split.

The dark-haired hunk's attorney, Harold Mayerson, has revealed a few details about his plans for the future.

He said: "[Romain] would like to move to France with his daughter and Ms. Johansson does a lot of traveling.

"It will be an interesting process."
New Netflix/Marvel series Iron Fist has hit the headlines following release, and not for all the right reasons. Gaining some less-than-impressive critical reviews, the show has also been at the brunt of negative reaction because of its white male lead.

Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing in Marvel's Iron Fist / Credit: Netflix

One of the people who isnt afraid to speak about the comments being made is actress Jessica Henwick, who plays Iron Fists ally Colleen Wing in the series.

Speaking to EW in a recent interview, the actress said the controversy surrounding the property was something she considered before joining the show.

It was a hard decision to make to join the show, she said. Not because of the material or anything. But Im part of the Asian community. Im Asian. Im an actor. If anyone understands the conversation, its me. Ive lived and breathed it.

She added: When I came on to Iron Fist, it was really Colleen Wing that sold it for me. I thought it was a good opportunity to see a really strong female Asian American Shes not a superhero; shes just an ordinary person who has the guts to fight people with superpowers. Which I think is amazing!

Despite Iron Fist not paving the way for an Asian superhero just yet, Henwick does have hope for the future.

I would love to see an Asian American superhero, she concluded. And I think its going to happen. Theres something about fantasy and sci-fi that seems more welcoming of different ethnicities. It means that Ive been presented with a lot of really cool opportunities.

What do you think? Should we see an Asian American superhero in the future? Could writers even turn the Colleen character into a superhero in her own right in upcoming Marvel/Netflix releases?

Iron Fist is available to stream now on Netflix, alongside Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. Collaborative series The Defenders drops later this year.

by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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Indian business will benefit much by going digital, according to a new study which has predicted an increase in revenues by up to 27 per cent, employment by up to 84 per cent and access to international markets by up to 65 per cent for small and medium business with use of digital technologies. The study has been done by ASSOCHAM and Deloitte.

Indian business will benefit much by going digital, according to a new study which has predicted an increase in revenues by up to 27 per cent, employment by up to 84 per cent and access to international markets by up to 65 per cent for small and medium business with use of digital technologies. The study has been done by ASSOCHAM and Deloitte.#

The study 'Digital India: Unlocking the Trillion Dollar opportunity' says that availability of digital infrastructure will accelerate business growth. It will help companies drive significant efficiencies by reducing time to market (new products, new markets). Technologies like telepresence will reduce the need for business travel and result in cost savings. Use of digital technology is also expected to improve employee satisfaction and collaboration, leading to a more productive workforce. It is estimated that in India, employees in SMBs with advanced digital engagement are 8.7 times more likely to collaborate than offline businesses.

Indian government has taken several measures to improve ease of doing business which has led to an improvement in country's global ranking for ease of doing business. Services such as eBiz portal and KYC are contributing to this improvement.

Indian business will benefit much by going digital, according to a new study which has predicted an increase in revenues by up to 27 per cent, employment by up to 84 per cent and access to international markets by up to 65 per cent for small and medium business with use of digital technologies. The study has been done by ASSOCHAM and Deloitte.#

The vision and initiatives towards "digital India" are expected to boost investment in the digital space in the short-term and lead to rise in digital innovation, efficiency and productivity in the long-term. Currently, a number of domestic and global companies have announced investments in the digital space in the country.

Indian business will benefit much by going digital, according to a new study which has predicted an increase in revenues by up to 27 per cent, employment by up to 84 per cent and access to international markets by up to 65 per cent for small and medium business with use of digital technologies. The study has been done by ASSOCHAM and Deloitte.#

"Digital India is likely to have a significant impact on the profitability and operations of business. Through adoption of digital technologies, companies can consolidate documentation, automate processes and have access to efficient and cheaper ICT capabilities," said Sandeep Jajodia, president ASSOCHAM.

Indian business will benefit much by going digital, according to a new study which has predicted an increase in revenues by up to 27 per cent, employment by up to 84 per cent and access to international markets by up to 65 per cent for small and medium business with use of digital technologies. The study has been done by ASSOCHAM and Deloitte.#

India has pledged to decrease its carbon emissions by 33 to 35 per cent relative to its GDP from 2005 levels by 2030. The Digital India programme is likely to have a positive contribution towards achieving these goals. Widespread implementation of telepresence and cloud computing technology under Digital India will lead to reduction in carbon emissions. For example, telepresence can eliminate 20 per cent of the business travel, leading to reduction in carbon emissions by 1.08 million tonnes globally. Use of cloud storage for documents will significantly reduce the consumption of natural resources like paper.

Indian business will benefit much by going digital, according to a new study which has predicted an increase in revenues by up to 27 per cent, employment by up to 84 per cent and access to international markets by up to 65 per cent for small and medium business with use of digital technologies. The study has been done by ASSOCHAM and Deloitte.#

India is the fifth-largest producer of e-waste, discarding approximately 1.8 million tonnes of e-waste each year. Under Digital India, adoption of ICT solutions such as waste collection automation and waste management information and prognostics are expected to considerably reduce e-waste. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Fynd, an online to offline (O2O) e-commerce fashion marketplace, has raised $500,000 in Series A funding round from Venture Catalysts and other investors. The fresh capital will help the Mumbai based company to further expand its offerings. The company will continue to partner with key industry stakeholders who will help Fynd increase operational efficiency.

Fynd, an online to offline (O2O) e-commerce fashion marketplace, has raised $500,000 in Series A funding round from Venture Catalysts and other investors. The fresh capital will help the Mumbai based company to further expand its offerings. The company will continue to partner with key industry stakeholders who will help Fynd increase operational efficiency.#

The Series A funding also received investment from existing investors like Anand Chandrasekaran, Facebook executive and former chief product officer at Snapdeal; Rajiv Mehta, CEO of Arvind Sports, and Ramakant Sharma, co-founder of Livspace and former VP of Myntra. Fynd had earlier raised funding from Kae Capital, Powal Lake Ventures and Jehaan Mehta.

Fynd, an online to offline (O2O) e-commerce fashion marketplace, has raised $500,000 in Series A funding round from Venture Catalysts and other investors. The fresh capital will help the Mumbai based company to further expand its offerings. The company will continue to partner with key industry stakeholders who will help Fynd increase operational efficiency.#

Fynd is a promising e-commerce venture which provides an innovative solution to every online shoppers most basic problem  product delivery. The platform has performed splendidly in terms of product fulfillment and maintained seamless customer experience through unsurpassed quality and an array of brands. These factors have converted its buyers into loyal patrons, said Dr. Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, co-founder, Venture Catalysts.

Fynd, an online to offline (O2O) e-commerce fashion marketplace, has raised $500,000 in Series A funding round from Venture Catalysts and other investors. The fresh capital will help the Mumbai based company to further expand its offerings. The company will continue to partner with key industry stakeholders who will help Fynd increase operational efficiency.#

Venture Catalysts will provide Fynd with best-in-class mentorship to eliminate operational bottlenecks, accelerate its growth rate, and achieve sustained success. We are confident this promising business idea has the true potential to become a household brand in India, he added.

Speaking on the fundraise, Fynd co-founder Harsh Shah said, Early last year, we completed the preliminary testing of our business model and were scaling up our business from Mumbai to a pan-India presence. At that time we realised the need of expertise from industry majors who can actually guide us in building our product and also give us better industry exposure along with continuous feedback on our efforts.

Fynd, an online to offline (O2O) e-commerce fashion marketplace, has raised $500,000 in Series A funding round from Venture Catalysts and other investors. The fresh capital will help the Mumbai based company to further expand its offerings. The company will continue to partner with key industry stakeholders who will help Fynd increase operational efficiency.#

Our major purpose of raising the round wasnt to gain more capital but to also partner with mentors who can actually guide us with their experiences and insights, he added.

Fynd, an online to offline (O2O) e-commerce fashion marketplace, has raised $500,000 in Series A funding round from Venture Catalysts and other investors. The fresh capital will help the Mumbai based company to further expand its offerings. The company will continue to partner with key industry stakeholders who will help Fynd increase operational efficiency.#

Fynd was founded by three entrepreneursHarsh Shah, Sreeraman MG and Farooq Adamin 2013. The O2O company sources products directly from the brands and delivers them to customers in a quick time. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The board of directors at Indian home textiles manufacturer and exporter Himatsingka Seide, approved disinvestment of 100 per cent stake in its Italian subsidiary Giuseppe Bellora Srl. The stake will be sold to Himatsingka Europe at a fair market value and is part of the company's strategy to make London its European operations headquarter."The board of directors approved to disinvest 100 per cent holding in its subsidiary company Giuseppe Bellora Srl and sell the same to Himatsingka Europe Ltd (wholly owned subsidiary) at fair market value," the company said in a regulatory filing.

The board of directors at Indian home textiles manufacturer and exporter Himatsingka Seide approved disinvestment of 100 per cent stake in its Italian subsidiary Giuseppe Bellora Srl. The stake will be sold to Himatsingka Europe at a fair market value and is part of the company's strategy to make London its European operations headquarter.#

Himatsingka Seide has recently set up a wholly owned European subsidiary, Himatsingka Europe Ltd to strengthen its distribution network in Europe. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
One of China's biggest textile and apparel manufacturer's, Shandong Ruyi Technology Group is in the process of acquiring a property cum industrial building in Arkansas, USA to produce, warehouse and distribute several textile products. The location is currently owned by Sanyo Manufacturing in Forrest City, where it used to manufacture televisions.Arkansas media reported the news quoting a property development decision document filed with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India




According to reports, Pranavananda Swami of Basaveshwara Mutt in Karnataka criticised actor Kamal Haasan for his alleged remarks against the Mahabharata and demanded an apology from the actor. Its alleged that recently when he was asked to air his views on violence against women, he responded saying that people even read books like the Mahabharata, where a woman was pledged as a bet. Reportedly, a complaint has been filed against the actor in a court in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu by Hindu Makkal Katchi over his remarks. Pranavananda Swami has also allegedly threatened the actor with legal action if he doesnt apologise within three days.




Some time ago, we heard that Sunita Kapoor was very much in favour of daughter Sonam Kapoors current beau Anand Ahuja. Now, we kind of got more proof of the same. It happened that Sunita Kapoor celebrated her birthday recently in London along with her gang of relatives and friends and a picture taken on the day has Anand Ahuja posing happily with the Kapoors. The picture has Cambridge theatre as the backdrop and it looks like the group attended a performance of Matilda: The Musical together.
Check It Out..

Bruna has been holidaying in Brazil and she has put up some pictures on Instagram which will leave you speechless.

What A Hottie...

She posted this picture and wrote, ''Because he won't wait for me to pose!!!  #instagramhusband @alfromscotland #praiadajoaquina.''

Bruna's Claim To Fame

Bruna Abdullah became famous in Bollywood with films like I Hate Love Storys, Desi Boyz and Grand Masti.

Bruna Started As A Model

Before joining the Hindi film industry, Bruna Abdullah started her career as a model and then hosted a show called "India's Hottest" for Channel V.

It Was Destined!

In an interview to a leading web portal, Bruna Abdullah had said, "When I packed my bags for Mumbai, all I knew was that I wanted to be a model. I just don't know exactly how I am here, but I guess it was destined.''

When She Came To India..

Bruna Abdullah had added, ''When I had come to India, I couldn't understand the language. Everything sounded same to me.''

She Is Learning...

''But I can proudly say that I am learning and it is going to be much better in coming years," the pretty actress had revealed.

On The Work Front

On the work front, Bruna Abdullah has shot a film named Udanchoo alongside model and actor Rajneesh Duggal.

Release Date

The film was scheduled to release in the year 2016 but did not due to certain problems from the producers' side.
Kriti Sanon and Sushant Singh Rajput are rumoured to be in a relationship but the duo have remained tight-lipped about their love affair and kept it all hush hush for a long time. When asked if she's dating someone, Kriti spilled the beans saying that she's single and is okay with dating someone from the industry and stopped herself from revealing further. She said,

HOT! Sunny Leone & Daniel Weber Holiday In Cancun Beach, Mexico!

"You can't plan a relationship. You connect with people or you don't. I'm single, honestly. But I'm okay dating someone from the industry. A boyfriend would have to understand my profession and it's not an easy one to understand unless you're a part of it."



Kriti Sanon will next be seen in the film Raabta alongside Sushant Singh Rajput and the film revolves around horse racing. Both Kriti and Sushant have undergone horse riding lessons for Raabta and Kriti has injured herself twice during the shoot.

She's also shooting for Bareilly Ki Barfi alongside Ayushmann Khurrana and revealed that she's grateful for whatever has come her way. She said, "I'm super grateful for my first few films, but I was just finding my feet then. Now I'm craving meatier, layered and more challenging roles."

Hot! Julie 2 Star Raai Laxmi Flaunts Her First Look In A Bikini!
Celebrated Hollywood actress Emma Thompson revealed that once she had been asked for a date by the now US president Donald Trump, which she ultimately turned down.

The renowned British activist, actress, author, screenwriter and comedienne shared the incident and said it would have been interesting if she had gone on a date with Donald Trump.

"I had just been divorced and my decree absolute has just come through, like, the day before. So the phone rings in my trailer, which it has never done before. I look at it and it's, like, weird. It's like a moose has just entered my trailer." Said Emma Thompson in a statement.

"I lift up the phone. 'Hi, it's Donald Trump here.' I said, 'Really? Can I help you?' and he said, 'Yeah, I just you know, I wondered if I could offer you some accommodation in one of my Trump Towers. They're really comfortable'," explained the actress.

Emma Thompson also stated that when she had first received the call from Donald Trump she was confused only to quickly realise that she was asked for a date, which she then turned down.

"Well, you know, I think we would get on very well. Maybe we could have dinner sometime. Okay, well I'll get back to you! Thank you so much for ringing." Said the actress in response to the Trump call.
Mohanlal is all set to release his upcoming war movie 1971 Beyond Borders, this April. The actor reprises the role of Mahadevan, who has now been promoted to a Colonel in the movie, directed by Major Ravi.

In a recent interview, Mohanlal revealed an interesting fact about the highly anticipated movie. Interestingly, 1971 Beyond Borders is the first Indian film to feature a large-scale war sequence, featuring tanks.

According to Mohanlal, he drove the original military in the war sequences, which were widely shot at the desert regions of Rajasthan. Mohanlal is highly excited about being the first actor to drive an original military tank.

The actor also revealed that the movie is inspired by the real-life stories of Param Vir Chakra winners Hoshiyar Singh and Arun Khetarpal. Mohanlal feels that Keerthichakra has deeply influenced several youngsters.

In the interview, he also proudly revealed an incident, when a young army officer whom he met during an army camp in Mahajan, Rajasthan, revealed that Keerthichakra inspired him to join the army.

1971 Beyond Borders, which revolves around the Indo-Pak war of 1971, is the fourth installment of Major Mahadevan series. The movie also stars Allu Sirish and Arunodhay Singh in the pivotal roles.
Television actress Pratyusha Banerjee shocked everyone with her suicide! Her parents and close friends were shattered with Pratyusha's death.

Pratyusha's close friend Kamya Punjabi has decided to release Pratyusha's last short film Hum Kuchh Keh Naa Sakey on Pratyusha Banerjee's first death anniversary on April 1.

Apparently, the short film was shot one-and-a-half months before her suicide. The film bears an uncanny resemblance to Pratyusha's real life. The film revolves around heartbreak and depression that were also the reasons for the actress' death in real life.

Kamya Talks About Pratyusha's Short Film Kamya was quoted by the leading daily as saying, "Though a work of fiction, it will seem quite similar to what Pratyusha must have gone through. She will be seen heartbroken, resorting to vices like drinking and smoking." Kamya Is A Narrator Of The Film "As a narrator, I will interlink her reel and real lives, and question viewers on why people change in love and choose to remain silent sufferers." Pratyusha Didn't Use Glycerine "Pratyusha didn't use glycerine while shooting the emotional scenes. I too was nursing heartbreak at that time." Pratyusha's On-Screen Beau Name Is Rahul If you watch the promo, Pratyusha's on-screen beau is named Rahul, which is her real life boyfriend's name (Rahul Raj Singh). Regarding this, Kamya said that it was Pratyusha's decision to name the character Rahul. Kamya Felt Helpless Watching The Film! Kamya is yet to recover from her BFF's death and was quoted by the leading daily as saying, "I wish we had spoken about our problems. I felt helpless watching the film. We couldn't shoot the climax as she ended her life before that." ratyusha Banerjees Last Short Film Promo Sharing the promo of Pratyusha's short film, Kamya wrote, "Miss you my chhotu.... #PratyushaBanerjee #1stapril @NNeerushaa thank you ."

Miss you my chhotu #pratyushabanerjee #1stapril Https://youtu.be/Qz-GhMSqn5E thank you @neerushaa_nikhat  for making this film... tum naa hoti toh yeh yaadien naa hoti...!!! A post shared by Kamya Panjabi (@panjabikamya) on Mar 27, 2017 at 4:41am PDT



For the uninitiated, Balika Vadhu actress Pratyusha hanged herself at her Mumbai residence. The actress was taken to Mumbai's Kokilaben Ambani Hospital by her boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh, who later went absconding.

Rahul was accused of abetting the suicide of actress-girlfriend, but he was granted bail later. Pratyusha's friends and parents cry foul play and felt Rahul was the reason for Pratyusha's death. But, the mystery is yet to be solved.

Rahul also made headlines for wrong reasons. There are reports that Rahul has cheated many girls previously as well! An FIR has been registered against him as he was accused of molesting an actress and her producer-friend at a restaurant in Oshiwara.. Apparently, he was also arrested and booked for drunk driving in Santacruz.

He had slapped one crore defamation case against Kamya. Rahul was quoted by a leading daily as saying, "Kamya claims to be Pratyusha's friend. If she wanted to help solve the case, she would have gone to the police and not the media. I want her to prove all the allegations she had levelled against me in court now."

While Kamya had said, "I haven't received any legal notice yet. I will decide what needs to be done once I get it. I am not scared of anyone."

Well, with this short film, Pratyusha's fans will get to watch her for one last time in this short film!
March 25

Hunter C. Langley, 23, of Spring Creek was arrested at the Elko County Jail on a warrant for sexual assault. Bail: $500,000

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Garret R. Lopez, 21, of Spring Creek was arrested at Lamoille Highway at Boyd Kennedy Road for driving under the influence and failure to maintain lane or improper lane change. Bail: $1,255

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Cristie L. Oldfield, 36, of Elko was arrested at 1575 Lamoille Highway for buying, possessing or receiving stolen property, and possession of a controlled substance. Bail: $6,140

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Refujio M. Rivera, 32, of West Wendover was arrested at 101 Wendover Blvd. on a warrant for failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor. No bail listed.

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Edgar L. Sierra, 33, of Ogden, Utah as arrested at 101 Wendover Blvd. for trespass not amounting to burglary, and disturbing the peace. Bail: $710

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Bruce P. Stevens, 63, of Wells was arrested at 1740 Mountain City Highway on a warrant for failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor. No bail listed.

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Jose G. Zataray-Soria, 21, of Elko was arrested at 2065 Idaho St. on a warrant for failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor. No bail listed.
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.
Government of Vietnam's Yen Bai province teams with South Korean renewable energy developer Solkiss to finalize plans to develop 500 MW solar project at Thac Ba Lake. Solkiss will request Korean government financial assistance for the project.South Korean government assistance has been requested for a proposed 500 MW solar PV project planned for Thac Ba Lake in Vietnam's Yen Bai province as the local government seeks to increase its clean energy output and strengthen ties between Vietnam and South Korea. In a statement on the Yen Bai province website, the local government confirmed that Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade has given the green light for the solar power project, with South Korean renewable energy developer Solkiss already on board. The company's president, Do Young Woo, remarked that, ...

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.
FRANKFURT, Germany, August 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

Pentahotels, the innovative lifestyle hotel group, has promoted Ben Thomas to the position of Regional Director pentahotels UK, effectivefrom 1 June 2017. In his new role, Ben will take over from Andrew Munt, who was promoted to Vice President Operations for the group earlier this year. Ben will now be responsible for all hotel operations and management within the region.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/543520/Pentahotels_Ben_Thomas.jpg )



Since joining the hotel group in 2014, Ben has contributed significantly to the success of pentahotels in the UK, overseeing the launch of two new hotels in his previous role as Cluster General Manager, pentahotels Birmingham & Derby hotels. With various qualifications and certifications as well as an advanced diploma in hospitality management, Ben will continue to cultivate strong relationships with the talented teams across pentahotels' various properties in the UK and further strengthen the group's global market presence.

On the announcement of his appointment, Andrew Munt said: "With such a proven record of success since joining pentahotels, Ben is absolutely the right individual to lead the UK in to its next chapter. His sound strategic and commercial approach will prove incredibly valuable at this time. I am delighted to hand the region over to Ben and am excited to see how it evolves under his unique leadership style."

About pentahotels

Pentahotels represents a new generation of hotelsoffering modern-minded individual and business travellers comfort and style in a relaxed atmosphere. Known for its unique interior design and unconventional business attitude, the lifestyle brand stands for true innovation in the industry's four-star segment. With 28 hotels across seven countries over two continents,thehallmark of the hotel chain is the pentalounge - a combination of lounge, bar, cafe and reception - that stands out with its "living room" look and feel. For further information and bookings, please visithttp://www.pentahotels.com. Follow us on facebook.com/pentahotels for our latest news.

Note to editors

A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA Photowire. It can be downloaded from http://www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or viewed at http://www.mediapoint.press.net or http://www.prnewswire.co.uk

Media Contacts (Continent):



media consulta International Holding AG

On behalf of pentahotels

Aleksandar Musikic

Telefon: +49(0)30-65-000-388

E-Mail: press.pentahotels@mcgroup.com



Global Marketing & Communications Department

pentahotels

Max Siegers

Phone: +49(0)69-256699-750

E-Mail: communications@pentahotels.com


CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese yen moved away from its early highs against its major counterparts in the early European session on Monday. The yen was trading at 119.90 against the euro, 112.08 against the franc and 138.83 against the pound, from its early high of 119.54, 4-day high of 111.57 and a 5-day high of 138.05, respectively. The yen that rose to a 3-month high of 83.95 versus the aussie, more than 4-month highs of 110.12 against the greenback, 82.56 against the loonie and 77.64 against the kiwi reversed direction and was trading at 84.26, 110.32, 82.73 and 77.82, respectively. The next possible support for the yen is seen around 112.00 against the greenback, 140.00 against the pound, 113.00 against the franc, 120.00 against the euro, 84.00 against the loonie, 79.00 against the kiwi and 85.00 against the aussie. 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.
Parts of Algeria's renewable energy sector is questioning the 4 GW solar tender recently announced by the Algerian government. Provisions on domestic content requirements and the large share that state-owned entities will have on the ambitious solar plan are seen as the major obstacles for its implementation.Mourad Louadah, an Algerian entrepreneur which is also president of the renewable energy division of local trade industry association Forum des Chefs d'Entreprise (CFE), said that the 4 GW tender for solar projects announced by the government is doomed to fail. In an interview with local radio station Radio M, Louadah said that there's the real risk that the tender wouldn't even be launched, although the publication of the tender's documents is expected this week or the next week. Louadah claims that the domestic content requirement quota included in the tender will make it impossible for project developers to offer low bids and, at the same time, make the investments to set up solar module manufacturing facilities across the country. "Under these conditions," Louadah said, "the projects will not be bankable." This, Louadah added, will apply especially ...

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.
Shunfeng International Clean Energy (SFCE) expects to record a loss of 2.4 billion yuan ($349 million) for the 12 months to the end of December 2016.The outlook is significantly gloomier than the anticipated loss of 923 million yuan it announced in early January. The Chinese company attributed the revised forecast to a number of factors. It expects to book an impairment loss of roughly 259 million yuan on its October 2015 investment in U.S. solar panel manufacturer Suniva, in addition to roughly 228 million yuan of the Georgia-based company's potential financial liabilities. SFCE owns a 63.13% stake in Suniva. Lower average selling prices (ASPs) for PV modules - particularly in the U.S. market, where Suniva primarily operates - also eroded SFCE's earnings in 2016. The impact of lower ASPs was exacerbated by a rise in shipments of cheap panels to the U.S. by undisclosed suppliers in Southeast Asia, further driving down the price at which Suniva sells its products in the country. In addition, ...

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.
PLAYA VISTA, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/27/17 -- American Premium Water Corporation (OTC PINK: HIPH), a water Company, updated its shareholders today on key elements in its current plan.

"We are excited to be selling one of the most important products in the world today -- which is quality drinking water." The company currently distributes LALPINA high pH water, but Culbreth's vision for the Company extends well beyond a single product.

"As a naturalist, my primary interest is in water that supports a healthy lifestyle, so we're exploring an array of opportunities, including CBD Water, Hydrogen Water, and, of course, possible mergers or acquisitions of appropriate natural alkaline water companies," said Culbreth.

HIPH has plans this year for an aggressive online sales campaign that will include Brand Ambassador Hip Hop star FLO RIDA.

To that end, the Company has been in negotiation for the acquisition of a west coast-based Natural Artesian 8.0 pH water Company whose gross annual revenues exceeds seven figures. In addition, HIPH has recently implemented a successful reduction in bottling costs while also negotiating a multi-million dollar financing package with a New York-based hedge fund.

"The HIPH mantra is to supply the community with the maximum health benefits we can deliver," said Alfred Culbreth. "The process of choosing the right products and or partnerships has been rigorous and demanding but as our shareholders have stood behind us, we stand behind them to bring them success," Mr. Culbreth concluded.

For more information on American Premium Water Corporation / HIPH go to http://www.lalpinawater.com/HIPH. The full LALPINA WATER line up of high pH waters can be found and purchased at: http://www.lalpinawater.com

Safe Harbor Notice

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). American Premium Water Corporation cautions that statements made in this news release constitute forward-looking statements and makes no guarantee of future performance. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the time statements are made. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions made by management. Actual results could differ materially from current projections or implied results. American Premium Water Corporation undertakes no obligation to revise these statements following the date of this news release. Additional details of the Company's business can be found in its public disclosures as a reporting issuer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") EDGAR database.

This press release is issued on behalf of the Board of Directors by Alfred Culbreth, President and Chairman.

Disclaimer Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release, on American Premium Water Corporation's ("APWC") website and other oral and written statements made by APWC from time to time are "forward-looking statements", as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities and Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding beliefs, objectives, intentions, goals, plans, strategies, financial projections, any other statements regarding the future and any statements that are not purely historical. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and APWC expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date thereof. All forward-looking statements, whether written or oral and whether made by or on behalf of the APWC, are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. APWC's expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith and are believed by the APWC to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that management's expectations, beliefs or projections will result or be achieved or accomplished. A variety of factors, many of which are beyond APWC's control affect APWC's operations, performance, business strategy and results and could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of APWC to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For APWC, particular uncertainties arise, amongst others but not limited to and not in any order of importance, from (i) focusing on and allocating more resources on certain target markets (ii) the possibility to raise further equity and debt to fund future growth, (iii) changes in demand for APWC's products, (iv) performance issues with key suppliers, affiliates, agents, advisors or subcontractors, (v) changes in government changes in laws or regulations to which APWC or its suppliers are subject, including environmental laws and regulations relating to water or water sources and (vi) the inability to complete announced acquisitions, difficulty or unanticipated expenses in connection with integrating acquired businesses and the risk that anticipated synergies and opportunities as a result of acquisitions will not be realized or the risk that acquisitions do not perform as planned, including, for example, the risk that acquired businesses will not achieve revenue projections.

THIS NEWS RELEASE HAS BEEN PREPARED BY APWC'S MANAGEMENT, WHO TAKES FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITS CONTENTS. NO SECURITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS NEWS RELEASE. THIS NEWS 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 JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SOLICITATION OR SALE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL PRIOR TO REGISTRATION OR QUALIFICATION UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY SUCH JURISDICTION.

American Premium Water Corporation

12777 Jefferson Blvd.

Suite 300

Playa Vista, CA 90066-7408

(888)-983-0054

Stock Symbol: HIPH

General Inquiries: info@americanpremiumwater.com

Company Website: www.americanpremiumwater.com

Social Media: @americanpremium @lalpinawater lalpinawater




VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Limited (the "Company")

(a closed-ended investment company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of Guernsey with registered number 61765)

Transaction in Own Shares

27 March 2017

Pursuant to Disclosure Rule 3.1, the Company is obliged to notify the market of Director's holdings or interests of the Directors or their connected persons in shares of the Company.

The Company was notifiedon27 March 2017 that the followingholding of Ordinary Shares was acquired and is beneficially held byHuw Evans,a Director of the Company:

Purchased

17,500 Ordinary Shares atGBP 2.8286 per share.

Following this purchase, Mr Evans now holds a total of 17,500 Ordinary Shares in the Company.





Enquiries:

Company website: www.vof-fund.com



Company Secretary

Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited

Franczeska Hanford

Tel: +44 (0) 1481 745001


Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 27, 2017) - Abattis Bioceuticals Corp. (OTCQB: ATTBF) (CSE: ATT) (the "Company" or "Abattis"), and its subsidiary, Northern Vine Labs is anticipating the Liberal government's upcoming announcement, next month (the week of April 10th), on legislation that will legalize recreational marijuana use across Canada by July 1, 2018.

As reported by the CBC, Trudeau's government will follow the recommendations of a federally appointed task force, led by former liberal Justice Minister Anne McLellan, and in doing so, will look to deliver on their controversial campaign promise of introducing legislation by the Spring of 2017.

The report outlines the federal government will be in charge of making sure the country's marijuana supply is safe and secure, with Ottawa responsible for handing out licenses to producers. A key factor in this discussion is that provinces will have the right to decide how the marijuana is distributed, sold and at what price. While Ottawa has set a minimum age limit of 18 to buy marijuana, the provinces will have the option of setting a higher age limit, if they wish.

This report further confirms the unique position and macro-timing in which Abattis and its subsidiary, Northern Vine Labs, a Health Canada Dealers Licensed cannabis testing laboratory, will have the privilege to operate in. Last week, High Times magazine published this report, stating that Lab Testing will represent the Next Billion Dollar Market opportunity within the Marijuana industry. Following a string of pesticide and contamination scandals and leading to numerous pending class action lawsuits, industry analysts believe there will be increased demand for accurate and reliable cannabis testing to ensure product cleanliness and safety.

To combat this problem, Health Canada recently announced random testing on the 39 licensed producers in Canada. In addition, the board of the Cannabis Canada Association voted unanimously on March 9th, 2017, to implement mandatory product testing among all its members. The association, which represents Aurora and 14 other Health Canada-licensed producers of medical marijuana, recommended that testing should screen for contaminants including bacteria, heavy metals and unapproved pesticides. It also called for those test results to be made public, for consumers to see.

Northern Vine Labs is set to open its doors for product testing next month (April 2017) and looks forward to contributing to the safety of Canada's budding, and soon to be legal, marijuana industry. Management will continue to provide updates in the weeks leading up to this event.

About Abattis Bioceuticals Corp.

Abattis is a specialty agricultural technology and biotechnology company which aggregates, integrates, and invests in agricultural technologies and biotechnology services for the legal cannabis industry developing in Canada. The Company has successfully developed and licensed natural health products, medicines, extractions, and ingredients for the biologics, nutraceutical, bioceutical, and cosmetic markets. The Company is also seeking to acquire exclusive intellectual property rights to agricultural technologies to be employed in extraction and processing of botanical ingredients and compounds. The Company follows strict standard operating protocols, and adheres to the applicable laws of Canada and foreign jurisdictions. For more information, visit the Company's website at: www.abattis.com.

About Northern Vine Canada Inc.

Northern Vine Labs is licensed by Health Canada for the possession of Cannabis and related active ingredients, as well as the production of extracts for the purpose of analysis. Northern Vine Labs product certification and quality assurances programs incorporate global best practices and procedures for application in the legal Canadian Cannabis market.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Rene David"

Rene David, CFO, Director

For further information, contact the Company at (604) 336-0881 or at news@abattis.com.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks various risk factors discussed in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time. NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/27/17 -- Capstone Infrastructure Corporation (TSX: CSE.PR.A) and the shishalh Nation are pleased to announce they have signed an agreement for the Sechelt Creek Hydro Project, located in British Columbia. This agreement recognizes and gives effect to shishalh's indigenous rights and title in view of the facility's ongoing operation in their territory, enshrines collaborative decision-making and governance, and will result in equity ownership and profit sharing for the project, which will provide significant economic benefits to shishalh. The agreement is the successful result of a positive 20-year history of collaboration on the project, and more recently, a mutually respectful engagement between shishalh and Capstone, who sought to modernize their relationship with shishalh and the shishalh territory in which Capstone continues to operate. Capstone and shishalh are committed to working together as partners to ensure a continued long-term life of the Sechelt Creek Hydro Project.

"We are pleased to now be official partners in this renewable energy project," commented Chief Calvin Craigan. "Capstone has worked with us to come to an agreement that recognizes and respects our role as an indigenous government. This long-term partnership is an example of how we are working with industry and ensuring the stewardship of our lands. We have a greater role in the operations of this facility going forward."

"We are extremely pleased that shishalh will be our partners throughout the life of this project. This agreement demonstrates our commitment to working with shishalh to deliver reliable, efficient, and sustainable energy to the Sunshine Coast and British Columbia," commented David Eva, Chief Executive Officer, Capstone Infrastructure Corporation.

The Sechelt Creek Hydro Project is a traditional run-of-the-river hydro facility that has been recognized for its environmental stewardship efforts. In 2005, the project was awarded the International Hydro Association's Blue Planet Award for Environmental Excellence and in 2013 Clean Energy BC presented the facility with an award for Environmental Stewardship and Community Improvement. The second award recognizes Capstone's work with shishalh Nation for the protection and continual efforts to enhance and protect the salmon run in Sechelt Creek.

Efforts on protecting and building anadromous salmonids in Sechelt Creek continue through the ongoing monitoring of the man-made spawning channel and proposed improvements to in river habitats. "These projects and the partnership between Capstone and the Nation will ensure salmon and trout resources in Sechelt Creek continue to be protected for future generations," said shishalh Resource Director Sid Quinn.

The 16 megawatt run-of-river hydro facility began operation in 1997. The facility is located on Sechelt Creek, which flows into Salmon Inlet. The facility delivers the electricity it generates to BC Hydro's transmission grid and on February 28, 2017, Capstone's electricity purchase agreement with BC Hydro was extended from its original expiry on an interim basis.

About Capstone Infrastructure Corporation

Capstone's mission is to provide investors with an attractive total return from responsibly managed long-term investments in power generation in North America. Capstone's strategy is to develop, acquire and manage a portfolio of high quality power businesses that operate in a contractually-defined environment and generate stable cash flow. Capstone currently owns, operates and develops thermal and renewable power generation facilities in North America with a total installed capacity of net 505 megawatts. Please visit www.capstoneinfrastructure.com for more information.

About shishalh Nation

shishalh Nation is a self-governing and culturally rich indigenous Nation which flourishes in both traditional and modern cultures and economies. While respect for shishalh indigenous rights, including title, is paramount to the shishalh people, shishalh continues to establish and support many business opportunities in shishalh territory done in the right way, with respect and recognition of the paramountcy of our people's connection to our land.

Notice to Readers

Certain of the statements contained within this document are forward-looking and reflect management's expectations regarding the future growth, results of operations, performance and business of the Corporation based on information currently available to the Corporation. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. These statements use forward-looking words, such as "anticipate", "continue", "could", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "believe" or other similar words.

These statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements and, accordingly, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. The forward-looking statements within this document are based on information currently available and what the Corporation currently believes are reasonable assumptions.

The forward-looking statements within this document reflect current expectations of the Corporation as at the date of this document and speak only as at the date of this document. Except as may be required by applicable law, the Corporation does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

This document is not an offer or invitation for the subscription or purchase of or a recommendation of securities. It does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any investors. Before making an investment in the Corporation, an investor or prospective investor should consider whether such an investment is appropriate to their particular investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances and consult an investment adviser if necessary.

Contacts:

Capstone Infrastructure Corporation

David Eva

Chief Executive Officer

(416) 649-1300

deva@capstoneinfra.com




WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/27/17 -- On March 24, 2017, Lloyd I. Miller, III acquired ownership, control or direction over 150,000 common shares ("Common Shares") of Genesis Land Development Corp. ("Genesis"), representing an increase in Mr. Miller's securityholding percentage of approximately 0.34% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares, as reported by Genesis. Mr. Miller acquired the foregoing Common Shares through Lloyd I. Miller Trust A-4 ("Trust A4"), a trust in respect of which Miller has discretionary investment management authority.

Prior to the acquisition, Mr. Miller acquired ownership, control or direction over 686,800 Common Shares through Trust A4 and other entities, bringing his ownership, control or direction to 7,006,800 Common Shares, representing an increase in Mr. Miller's securityholding percentage from 14.17%, as previously reported, to 16.02% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares, as reported by Genesis.

Immediately after the acquisition, Mr. Miller, through Trust A4 and other entities, had ownership, control or direction over an aggregate of 7,156,800 Common Shares, representing approximately 16.36% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares, as reported by Genesis.

The Common Shares were acquired through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange at a price of US$2.1702 per Common Share, which based on the Bank of Canada daily exchange rate on March 24, 2017 equals CDN$2.9024 per Common Share for a total consideration of CDN$435,363.82.

The Common Shares were acquired for investment purposes. Depending on the evolution of Genesis's business, financial condition, the market, if any, for Genesis's securities, general economic conditions and other factors, Mr. Miller and his joint actors may acquire additional securities of Genesis, or sell some or all of the securities they hold, in the open market, by private agreement or otherwise, subject to their availability at attractive prices, market conditions and other relevant factors.

For inquiries or a copy of the related early warning report, a copy of which will be filed on www.sedar.com under Genesis's profile, please contact:

Lloyd I. Miller, III Eric Fangmann 3300 South Dixie Highway 3300 South Dixie Highway Suite 1-365 Suite 1-365 West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach, Florida USA 33405 USA 33405 Telephone: (561) 287-5399 Telephone: (561) 287-5399 E-Mail: info@limadvisory.com E-Mail: info@limadvisory.com

Contacts:

Lloyd I. Miller, III

3300 South Dixie Highway, Suite 1-365

West Palm Beach, Florida

USA 33405

(561) 287-5399

info@limadvisory.com



Eric Fangmann

3300 South Dixie Highway, Suite 1-365

West Palm Beach, Florida

USA 33405

(561) 287-5399

info@limadvisory.com




CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/27/17 -- Canacol Energy Ltd. ("Canacol" or the "Corporation") (TSX: CNE)(OTCQX: CNNEF)(BVC: CNEC) is pleased to report its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2016. Dollar amounts are expressed in United States dollars, except as otherwise noted.

Charle Gamba, President and CEO of the Corporation, commented: "2016 saw the emergence of Canacol as a premier gas producer in Colombia. By April 2016, we had achieved our goal of 90 million standard cubic feet per day ("MMscfpd") of gas production. As a result of the increased gas sales, our adjusted petroleum and natural gas revenues after royalties increased 43% to $173.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to $121.5 million in 2015; our adjusted funds from operations increased 122% to $113 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to $51 million in 2015; our EBITDAX increased 101% to $135.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to $67.4 million in 2015; and we posted comprehensive income of $23.6 million in 2016. After achieving the 90 MMscfpd milestone, several significant new 2016 gas discoveries drive our reserve and production base towards our December 1, 2017 target of 130 MMscfpd, and our December 1, 2018 target of 230 MMscfpd, which will place Canacol as the second largest gas producer in Colombia behind the state oil company.

Our industry leading 2015/2016 average gas F&D of $2.52/boe ($0.44/Mcf), combined with our very low operating expenses and robust long term gas contracts denominated in US dollars, ensure that our current and future gas production will yield consistently high netbacks and margins for our shareholders. This operating base in conjunction with the financial flexibility achieved by the closing of the February, 2017 $265 million senior secured term loan, led by Credit Suisse, provides a solid platform for our targeted growth. For 2017, management's primary goals are to 1) achieve a gas production rate of 130 MMscfpd by December 1, 2017 via the construction of a new private gas pipeline, 2) drill three gas exploration wells to continue to build the Corporation's gas reserves base at industry leading F&D costs, and 3) drill two oil exploration wells to increase oil production and satisfy exploration commitments to the ANH.

With respect to the new private gas pipeline, a Special Purpose Vehicle ("SPV") has been formed to build and operate a six inch pipeline that will transport 40 MMscfpd of gas from the Corporation's Jobo gas processing facility to Sincelejo / Bremen approximately 80 kilometers ("kms") to the north, where the private pipeline will connect to the Promigas operated pipeline that ships gas to Cartagena. Canacol has executed a ten year take-or-pay contract for 40 MMscfpd of gas at contractual terms comparable to the Corporation's current US dollar denominated gas sale contracts. A bank has been retained to raise the $60 million that the SPV will require to complete the pipeline outside of Canacol. In the meantime, the SPV is acquiring all of the right of ways required for the pipeline, and is tendering all of the major contracts which would include tubulars and compression. The Corporation anticipates that the pipeline will be in operation on December 1, 2017. The productive capacity of the Corporation's currently producing wells is approximately 195 MMscfpd, and that of the Corporation's gas processing facilities approximately 200 MMscfpd.

Canacol has also spud the Canahuate-1 gas exploration well and the Pumara-1 oil exploration well. The Canahuate-1 exploration well, located on the Esperanza E&P Contract (100% operated working interest), was spud on March 24, 2017. The Canahuate-1 well is located approximately three kms north of the Corporation's Jobo gas processing facility and is targeting gas bearing sandstones within the proven producing Cienaga de Oro reservoir. Over the past three years, six of the seven exploration wells drilled by the Corporation on its gas blocks, including the Esperanza E&P contract, have resulted in commercial gas discoveries. The Canahuate-1 well is expected to take approximately six weeks to drill and test.

Canacol also maintains a large inventory of light oil drill ready production and exploration opportunities. The Corporation will spud the Pumara-1 exploration well on the LLA-23 E&P Contract (100% operated working interest) on March 31, 2017. The Pumara-1 exploration well is located three kms north of the Labrador field and is targeting light oil bearing reservoirs within the proven producing C7, Mirador, Gacheta and Ubaque reservoirs. Over the past four years, five of the six exploration wells drilled by the Corporation on the LLA-23 contract have resulted in commercial light oil discoveries. The Pumara-1 well is expected to take approximately five weeks to drill and test, and if successful, it will be placed immediately on permanent production via the Corporation's oil processing facilities located at Pointer.

With the 2017 capital program to be funded by a combination of existing working capital and cash flows, Canacol is well positioned to continue to build production and revenues despite the uncertainty and volatility associated with global oil prices, especially with a near to mid term global outlook of "low oil prices for longer". It is important to point out that approximately 90% of our current production revenues are not impacted by global oil prices, and that the Corporation's debt facility is not subject to redetermination should oil prices fall. Our financial strength, coupled with Canacol's outstanding exploration drilling and commercialization track record, provides a solid platform which will allow us to reach our target of 230 MMscfpd of gas production exiting 2018.

The Corporation anticipates releasing an update on its Mono Capuchino-1 exploration well on March 28, 2017 and its 2017 guidance during the week of April 3, 2017."

During 2016, the Corporation had many operational and financial accomplishments:

-- The drilling and completion of the Oboe-1 exploration well and its combined test results of 66 MMscfpd in March 2016. -- The completion of the Promigas pipeline and the Promisol Jobo gas plant upgrade in April 2016, which allowed Canacol to increase gas production to 90 MMscfpd. Canacol's total current gas processing capability is 200 MMscfpd. -- The drilling and completion of the Nispero-1 exploration well and its test result of 28 MMscfpd in August 2016. -- The completion of the first and second tranche of private placement offerings of 9,687,670 and 1,800,000 common shares of the Corporation, respectively, issued at C$4.08 per common share for a total of C$46.9 million in August 2016. -- The drilling and completion of the Trombon-1 exploration well and its test result of 26 MMscfpd in October 2016. -- The drilling and completion of the Nelson-6 exploration well and its test result of 23 MMscfpd in November 2016. -- The initiation of a private pipeline venture in November, 2016 that will deliver 40 MMscfpd of new gas production to new and existing customers located on the Caribbean coast in December 2017, thereby increasing the Corporation's transportation capacity from its current 90 MMscfpd to 130 MMscfpd upon completion. -- The execution of the agreement with Promigas in November 2016 to expand the existing gas distribution network currently used by the Corporation to accommodate an additional 100 MMscfpd of new gas transportation and sales, thereby increasing the Corporation's transportation capacity to 230 MMscfpd in December 2018. -- The drilling and completion of the Clarinete-3 development well and its test result of 18 MMscfpd in December 2016. -- The Nelson-5 Porquero recompletion and its test result of 13 MMscfpd in December 2016.

Highlights for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2016

(in thousands of United States dollars, except as otherwise noted; production is stated as working-interest before royalties)

Financial and operating highlights of the Corporation include:

-- Realized contractual sales volumes increased 96% to 18,310 boepd for the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to 9,359 boepd for the same period in 2015. The increase is primarily due to an increase in gas production in the Esperanza and VIM-5 blocks as a result of the additional sales related to the Promigas pipeline expansion. -- Average daily production volumes increased 96% to 17,728 boepd for the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to 9,064 boepd for the same period in 2015. The increase is primarily due to an increase in gas production in the Esperanza and VIM-5 blocks as a result of the additional sales related to the Promigas pipeline expansion. -- Adjusted funds from operations for the three months ended December 31, 2016 increased 395% to $42 million compared to $8.5 million for the same period in 2015. Adjusted funds from operations are inclusive of results from the Ecuador Incremental Production Contract (the "Ecuador IPC") (see full discussion in MD&A). The increase in adjusted funds from operations is primarily the result of additional sales related to the Promigas pipeline expansion and an increase in benchmark crude oil prices. -- Petroleum and natural gas revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2016 increased 141% to $42 million compared to $17.4 million for the same period in 2015. Adjusted petroleum and natural gas revenues, inclusive of revenues related to the Ecuador IPC, for the three months ended December 31, 2016 increased 93% to $47.9 million compared to $24.9 million for the same period in 2015. The increase is primarily the result of additional sales related to the Promigas pipeline expansion. -- Average corporate operating netback for the three months ended December 31, 2016 increased 9% to $24/boe compared to $21.96/boe for the same period in 2015. Operating corporate netback is inclusive of results from the Ecuador IPC. -- The Corporation recorded a comprehensive income of $20.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2016 despite the non-cash impairment charge of $37.3 million, mainly due to the execution of its tax planning strategies which significantly reduced income tax expense. The Corporation recognized a current income tax recovery of $6.3 million and a deferred income tax recovery of $42.3 million during the three months ended December 31, 2016 despite its $42 million adjusted funds from operations. -- Capital expenditures for the three months and year ended December 31, 2016 were $58.6 million and $107.9 million, respectively, while adjusted capital expenditures, inclusive of amounts related to the Ecuador IPC, were $59.7 million and $110.2 million, respectively. -- At December 31, 2016, the Corporation had $66.3 million in cash and $62.1 million in restricted cash. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three Three Twelve months months Months ended ended ended December 31,December 31, December 31, Financial 2016 2015 Change 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum and natural gas revenues, net of royalties 41,967 17,402 141% 147,985 Adjusted petroleum and natural gas revenues, net of royalties(2) 47,943 24,883 93% 173,184 Cash provided by operating activities 30,289 4,974 509% 73,577 Per share - basic ($) 0.17 0.03 467% 0.44 Per share - diluted ($) 0.17 0.03 467% 0.44 Adjusted funds from operations (1) (2) 41,979 8,473 395% 113,019 Per share - basic ($) 0.24 0.05 380% 0.68 Per share -diluted ($) 0.24 0.05 380% 0.67 Comprehensive income (loss) 20,331 (84,466) n/a 23,638 Per share - basic ($) 0.12 (0.54) n/a 0.14 Per share - diluted ($) 0.12 (0.54) n/a 0.14 Capital expenditures, net, including acquisitions 58,638 22,394 162% 107,930 Adjusted capital expenditures, net, including acquisitions (1)(2) 59,691 22,867 161% 110,224 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Six Twelve months months ended ended December 31, June 30, Financial 2015Change 2015 Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum and natural gas revenues, net of royalties 39,360 276% 149,047 (1%) Adjusted petroleum and natural gas revenues, net of royalties(2) 54,782 216% 177,937 (3%) Cash provided by operating activities 19,276 282% 64,445 14% Per share - basic ($) 0.14 214% 0.58 (24%) Per share - diluted ($) 0.13 238% 0.58 (24%) Adjusted funds from operations (1) (2) 23,690 377% 87,395 29% Per share - basic ($) 0.17 300% 0.79 (14%) Per share -diluted ($) 0.16 319% 0.78 (14%) Comprehensive income (loss) (103,495) n/a (106,022) n/a Per share - basic ($) (0.72) n/a (0.96) n/a Per share - diluted ($) (0.72) n/a (0.96) n/a Capital expenditures, net, including acquisitions 44,693 141% 217,342 (50%) Adjusted capital expenditures, net, including acquisitions (1)(2) 48,947 125% 243,108 (55%) December 31, December 31, 2016 2015 ---------------------------------- Cash 66,283 43,257 53% Restricted cash 62,073 61,721 1% Working capital surplus, excluding non- cash items and current portion of bank debt(1) 64,899 46,310 40% Current and long-term bank debt 250,638 248,228 1% Total assets 787,508 668,349 18% Common shares, end of period (000s) 174,359 159,266 9% Three Three months months Operating ended ended December 31, December 31, 2016 2015 Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum and natural gas production, before royalties (boepd) Petroleum (2) 3,616 5,523 (35%) Natural gas 14,112 3,541 299% Total (2) 17,728 9,064 96% Petroleum and natural gas sales, before royalties (boepd) Petroleum (2) 3,657 5,468 (33%) Natural gas 13,986 3,542 295% Total (2) 17,643 9,010 96% Realized contractual sales, before royalties (boepd) Natural gas 14,653 3,891 277% Crude oil 2,026 3,390 (40%) Ecuador (tariff oil) (2) 1,631 2,078 (22%) Total (2) 18,310 9,359 96% Operating netbacks ($/boe) (1) Esperanza (natural gas) 26.35 24.03 10% VIM-5 (natural gas) 21.99 20.78 6% LLA-23 (oil) 14.80 12.02 23% Ecuador (tariff oil) (2) 38.54 38.54 - Total (2) 24.00 21.96 9% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twelve Six months months Operating ended ended December 31, December 31, 2016 2015Change -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum and natural gas production, before royalties (boepd) Petroleum (2) 4,012 6,253 (36%) Natural gas 11,930 3,507 240% Total (2) 15,942 9,760 63% Petroleum and natural gas sales, before royalties (boepd) Petroleum (2) 4,019 6,370 (37%) Natural gas 11,830 3,499 238% Total (2) 15,849 9,869 61% Realized contractual sales, before royalties (boepd) Natural gas 12,357 3,674 236% Crude oil 2,315 4,253 (46%) Ecuador (tariff oil) (2) 1,704 2,117 (20%) Total (2) 16,376 10,044 63% Operating netbacks ($/boe) (1) Esperanza (natural gas) 27.15 23.27 17% VIM-5 (natural gas) 23.68 20.78 14% LLA-23 (oil) 12.05 16.74 (28%) Ecuador (tariff oil) (2) 38.54 38.54 - Total (2) 24.92 22.38 11% -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twelve months Operating ended June 30, 2015 Change --------------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum and natural gas production, before royalties (boepd) Petroleum (2) 7,999 (50%) Natural gas 3,505 240% Total (2) 11,504 39% Petroleum and natural gas sales, before royalties (boepd) Petroleum (2) 8,010 (50%) Natural gas 3,512 237% Total (2) 11,522 38% Realized contractual sales, before royalties (boepd) Natural gas 3,512 252% Crude oil 6,083 (62%) Ecuador (tariff oil) (2) 1,927 (12%) Total (2) 11,522 42% Operating netbacks ($/boe) (1) Esperanza (natural gas) 20.62 32% VIM-5 (natural gas) - n/a LLA-23 (oil) 34.91 (65%) Ecuador (tariff oil) (2) 38.54 - Total (2) 28.05 (11%) --------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Non-IFRS measure - see "Non-IFRS Measures" section within MD&A. (2) Inclusive of amounts related to the Ecuador IPC - see "Non-IFRS Measures" section within MD&A.

The Corporation's has filed its audited consolidated financial statements and related Management's Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form as of and for the year ended December 31, 2016 with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. These filings are available for review on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Canacol is an exploration and production company with operations focused in Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico. The Corporation's common stock trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the OTCQX in the United States of America, the Colombia Stock Exchange and the Mexico Stock Exchange under ticker symbols CNE, CNNEF, CNEC and CNEN respectively.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, including without limitation statements relating to estimated production rates from the Corporation's properties and intended work programs and associated timelines. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Corporation cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these forward looking statements. They are made as of the date hereof and are subject to change and the Corporation assumes no obligation to revise or update them to reflect new circumstances, except as required by law. Information and guidance provided herein supersedes and replaces any forward looking information provided in prior disclosures. Prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the exploration for and development of crude oil and natural gas properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological and geophysical data, fluctuating energy prices, the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs or delays and other uncertainties associated with the oil and gas industry. Other risk factors could include risks associated with negotiating with foreign governments as well as country risk associated with conducting international activities, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Corporation. Other risks are more fully described in the Corporation's most recent Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") and Annual Information Form, which are incorporated herein by reference and are filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Average production figures for a given period are derived using arithmetic averaging of fluctuating historical production data for the entire period indicated and, accordingly, do not represent a constant rate of production for such period and are not an indicator of future production performance. Detailed information in respect of monthly production in the fields operated by the Corporation in Colombia is provided by the Corporation to the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia and is published by the Ministry on its website; a direct link to this information is provided on the Corporation's website. References to "net" production refer to the Corporation's working- interest production before royalties.

Use of Non-IFRS Financial Measures - Due to the nature of the equity method of accounting the Corporation applies under IFRS 11 to its interest in the Ecuador IPC, the Corporation does not record its proportionate share of revenues and expenditures as would be typical in oil and gas joint interest arrangements. Management has provided supplemental measures of adjusted revenues and expenditures, which are inclusive of the Ecuador IPC, to supplement the IFRS disclosures of the Corporation's operations in this press release. Such supplemental measures should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, the measures as determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Corporation's performance, and such measures may not be comparable to that reported by other companies. This press release also provides information on adjusted funds from operations. Adjusted funds from operations is a measure not defined in IFRS. It represents cash provided by operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital and decommissioning obligation expenditures, and includes the Corporation's proportionate interest of those items that would otherwise have contributed to funds from operations from the Ecuador IPC had it been accounted for under the proportionate consolidation method of accounting.

The Corporation considers adjusted funds from operations a key measure as it demonstrates the ability of the business to generate the cash flow necessary to fund future growth through capital investment and to repay debt. Adjusted funds from operations should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, cash provided by operating activities as determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Corporation's performance.

The Corporation's determination of adjusted funds from operations may not be comparable to that reported by other companies. For more details on how the Corporation reconciles its cash provided by operating activities to adjusted funds from operations, please refer to the "Non-IFRS Measures" section of the Corporation's MD&A. Additionally, this press release references working capital and operating netback measures. Working capital is calculated as current assets less current liabilities, excluding non-cash items such as the current portion of commodity contracts, the current portion of warrants, and the current portion of any embedded derivatives asset/liability, and is used to evaluate the Corporation's financial leverage. Operating netback is a benchmark common in the oil and gas industry and is calculated as total petroleum and natural gas sales, less royalties, less production and transportation expenses, calculated on a per barrel of oil equivalent basis of sales volumes using a conversion. Operating netback is an important measure in evaluating operational performance as it demonstrates field level profitability relative to current commodity prices. Working capital and operating netback as presented do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measures for other entities.

Operating netback is defined as revenues less royalties and production and transportation expenses.

Realized contractual gas sales is defined as gas produced and sold plus gas revenues received from nominated take or pay contracts.

Total cash sales is defined as realized contractual gas sales and crude oil sales plus cash received for gas classified as deferred income according to IFRS.

The reserves evaluations, effective December 31, 2016, were conducted by the Corporation's independent reserves evaluators DeGolyer and MacNaughton ("D&M") and Petrotech Engineering Ltd. ("Petrotech") and are in accordance with National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities. The reserves are provided on a Canacol working interest before royalty basis in units of barrels of oil equivalent using a forecast price deck, adjusted for quality, in US dollars. The estimated values may or may not represent the fair market value of the reserve estimates.

"proved reserves" are those reserves that can be estimated with a high degree of certainty to be recoverable. It is likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the estimated proved reserves;

"probable reserves" are those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than proved reserves. It is equally likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater or less than the sum of the estimated proved plus probable reserves;

"deemed volumes" means those volumes produced under a service agreement in which the Corporation does not have a direct interest, but represents reserves attributable to the Corporation as calculated using the cash flow divided by the fixed tariff price over the life of the reserves. The Corporation has a non-operated 25% equity participation interest in the Ecuador IPC for which it receives a fixed price tariff for each incremental barrel produced;

Boe Conversion - "boe" barrel of oil equivalent is derived by converting natural gas to oil in the ratio of 5.7 Mcf of natural gas to one bbl of oil. A BOE conversion ratio of 5.7 Mcf to 1 bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. As the value ratio between natural gas and crude oil based on the current prices of natural gas and crude oil is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 5.7:1, utilizing a conversion on a 5.7:1 basis may be misleading as an indication of value. In this news release, the Corporation has expressed Boe using the Colombian conversion standard of 5.7 Mcf: 1 bbl required by the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia.

F&D - Finding and development costs on a 2P (Total Proved plus Probable) basis.

With the F&D costs, the aggregate of the exploration and development costs incurred in the most recent financial year and the change during that year in estimated future development costs generally will not reflect total finding and development costs related to reserve additions for that year.

This press release contains a number of oil and gas metrics, including F&D, FD&A, reserve replacement and RLI, which do not have standardized meanings or standard methods of calculation and therefore such measures may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Such metrics have been included herein to provide readers with additional measures to evaluate the Corporation's performance; however, such measures are not reliable indicators of the future performance of the Corporation and future performance may not compare to the performance in previous periods.

Contacts:

Investor Relations

+1 (214) 235-4798

IR@canacolenergy.com

www.canacolenergy.com




Peakon, a London and Copenhagen based people analytics company, closed 6.1m funding.

The round was led by EQT Ventures, with participation from existing investors IDInvest, Sunstone and angel investor Tommy Ahlers.

Since launching in early 2016, Peakon has been rapidly adopted by hundreds of enterprise clients such as World First, Trinity Mirror, Secret Escapes, and Lombard Risk.

Founded in December 2014 by Kasper Hulthin (Podio  acquired by Citrix), Christian Holm (Podio), Phil Chambers (Gumtree  acquired by eBay, Qype  acquired by Yelp, Podio), and Dan Rogers (Qype, Songkick), Peakon provides a SaaS-based platform that generates insights through the automated collection of employee feedback via web and mobile apps, which is then analyzed using machine learning techniques, to understand what motivates employees, what problems they have, and how those problems can be fixed and to create improvements.

The company, which works with hundreds of enterprises, including Trinity Mirror, Secret Escapes, LHH Penna (part of the Adecco group), World First, Delivery Hero, Opera, Urban Airship, Adzuna and Depop, already operates across three locations in Copenhagen, Denmark; London, UK; and Raleigh, US, and is expected to treble headcount to over 100 in the next 12 months.

FinSMEs

27/03/2017
Solina, a European producer of savoury ingredients for the food industry, is to complete the acquisition of Supremia Grup from Levente Hugo Bara, the founder and owner of the company.

This agreement is subject to anti-trust authorities approval which is expected in the coming months. The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

Headquartered in Alba Lulia, Romania, Supremia provides food ingredients and spices, active in Eastern and Western Europe, as well as Scandinavia.

Since founding the company in 2000, Mr Bara has built the group into an established player with more than 300 employees and sales of 52.1m in 2016.

Following the acquisition, the current management team will remain in place at the company.

For Solina, the acquisition represents the latest step in its external growth strategy in the European food industry.

Led by Laurent Weber, CEO, Solina is a European leader of the savory ingredients European market. With 14 production facilities, multiple R&D centers and local sales offices, Solinas services feature personalized ingredient solutions for the food industry in the areas of Functionalities, Taste and Visual, and Nutritional solutions. The company is also a major player in the butchers and food service markets. Headquartered in France, Solina has around 1,200 employees, direct presence in 17 countries and serves customers in more than 75 countries. The majority shareholder of the company is Ardian.

FinSMEs

27/03/2017
The income tax department advertisement on television channels exhorts people who had deposited their ill-gotten demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 rupee notes into banks during the period the deposit window was kept open i.e. from 10 November 2016 to 30 December 2016 to behave like good citizens and declare under the ongoing Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) before it expires on 31 March 2017.

The exhortation part is all right but the eulogisation part rankles. Indeed it stinks. It is one thing to say that it makes sense to avail of the amnesty under the scheme which consists in getting away with a 49.9 percent tax plus locking up of another 25 percent in an interest-free four year deposit instead of having to pay 77.25 percent in addition to doing a jail term if subsequently caught but quite another to confer the honor of good citizen on the declarants.

For, the truth is both -- the declarants and those not declaring -- are crooks. It is wrong to believe and encourage the notion that those participating in amnesty schemes are good citizens. If anything they are good opportunists who make the most of a bad situation and what is more often repeatedly, blithely ignoring the last-chance-to-return-to-the-path-of-rectitude rhetoric cum admonishment accompanying most of the amnesty schemes.

Experience shows that evaders instead of paying taxes regularly when they should, smugly bide their time in anticipation of yet another amnesty scheme that is invariably rolled out with unfailing regularity in this country. They then wash their tax-related sins getting in the process just a slap on the wrist when honest taxpayers---the salaried class by and large---have already coughed up their taxes faithfully through their noses over the years.

Let the income tax department by all means infuse a sense of urgency on crooks and get them to declare under PMGKY before 31 March 2017 which is hardly a few days away. And let the ads highlight its USP---49.9 percent tax is less than 77.25 percent plus the ignominy of a jail term---but let it not go overboard and call the declarants a good citizen. Pray if they are good citizens what are the honest taxpayers? Perhaps suckers as many of them feel with abject despondence each time an amnesty or quasi-amnesty scheme is rolled out. Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised reward for the salaried class from out of the proceeds of the 2016 income declaration scheme (IDS). But sadly it hasnt yet been delivered.

The Modi government is desperate to make the scheme a success so that its decision to go for demonetisation of high value notes on 8th November 2016 is vindicated in retrospect. But the reports are not very encouraging. As of 28 February 2017, the PMGKY had but collected declarations aggregating to a measly Rs 2,500 crore. It is true that most of the amnesty schemes witness a last minute surge in declarations and collections. But none of these warrant placing declarants and wannabe declarants on a pedestal which conferring on them the good citizens honor amounts to.

Perhaps the Modi government did not do enough to send fear down the spines of crooks by cracking down on the suspects who brazenly deposited their ill-gotten high denomination notes. That would have served as a warning and egged the crooks to embrace PMGKY. The let up in the crackdowns might have been on account of getting busy with GST implementation and the UP elections but none of these alibis wash.

Post 31 March 2017, the Modi government must walk the talk and gun after the crooks who have had the gumption of depositing their ill-gotten high denomination notes and sitting tight on them without bothering to declare under PMGKY, using the much-vaunted banking cum income tax software that is supposed to flag off abnormal deposits. Otherwise, its stock will go down in the eyes of both the honest taxpayers and the cognoscenti.
Lucknow/New Delhi: Meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh (UP) would go on an indefinite strike from Monday against the crackdown on illegal and mechanized slaughterhouses. Fish vendors were also claimed to have resolved to join the stir which has seen non-vegetarian delicacies go off the menu in several parts of the state.

We have decided to intensify our strike from tomorrow (Monday). All shops will remain closed. Fish sellers too have joined us and are extending support to us, Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal office bearer Mubeen Qureshi said.

He said, in the wake of the crackdown, there was no question of the strike being called off anytime soon. It will go on indefinitely, he said.

Due to the strike, non-vegetarian food outlets, including the famous Tunday and Rahims have shifted to mutton and chicken dishes after buffalo meat became scarce. The meat sellers are piqued over the crackdown on slaughter houses which has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people, Qureshi said.

After coming to power, the Yogi Adityanath government has ordered closure of illegal slaughterhouses and strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling to fulfill a key electoral promise. As the mouth-watering kebabs went off the platter, the owner of another famous eatery said the situation might force the hoteliers to get mutton from Delhi.

But there will be no compromise on the quality of the food, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

At the same time, he supported the closure of illegal and mechanized slaughter houses in the state, saying it was difficult for a common man to pass through a locality where the slaughter houses were operating almost openly. He also alleged that the illegal abattoirs even indulged in slaughtering dogs.

Replying to a question, he said, This is not a religious issue. In fact, it is directly linked to the health of people, who have the right to good quality of meat and fish. Meanwhile, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesman Sambit Patra said in New Delhi that the government was only following a court order as illegal abattoirs were contributing to UPs ill health by getting ground water polluted. He claimed those running meat outlets legally and in accordance with norms were not being victimized.

There has been a court order about illegal abattoirs which was not implemented by the previous government. The states chief secretary has constituted committees in each district headed by the collector and comprising ten people each. The committee is visiting every slaughterhouse to see if they are being run legally and submitting a report every day, he said.

About loss of livelihood and lack of meat in the market, Patra said, If there is large-scale disruption, the state government will look at it and resolve the issue. Senior UP Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh said only small meat vendors were being targeted during the drive. How is it that the small shops are getting closed and meat exports are going up. The government should have made people aware of the laws and rules before launching the drive, he said.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had on Saturday said abattoirs operating legally will not be touched but action will be taken against those run illegally. The government will not touch those (abattoirs) which are operating as per the provisions of law and have a valid licence. But those that are violating the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and playing with the health of the public would not be spared..., he had said
New Delhi: Car, motorcycle and health insurance will cost more from 1 April with regulator Irdai giving go-ahead to insurers for revision in commission for agents.

The change in premium after modification will be limited to +/- 5 per cent of the existing rates.

The increase will be in addition to the enhanced third party motor insurance rates, which too will come into effect from April.

The Irdai (Payment of Commission or Remuneration or Reward to Insurance Remuneration or Reward to Insurance Agents and Insurance Intermediaries) Regulations, 2016 comes into effect from April 1, 2017.

The regulations, the regulator said, bring about certain revisions in commission/ remuneration rates and also introduce the reward system.

These may trigger insurers to revisit the pricing of their products in so far as the costing input relating to commission or remuneration is concerned, said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).

However, the change in premium due to the new regulations should be "limited to +/- 5 per cent of the existing premium rates of products/add-ons", it said.

Further, insurers will have to give a certificate that there is "no detrimental change" in premium rates or any other provision of policies already sold.
A sea of people thronged Ramoji Film City on Sunday, March 26, to witness what is most likely to be the biggest film event of the year in Telugu cinema: Baahubali - The Conclusion's pre-release event and audio launch. With Karan Johar as the chief guest, the entire team of Baahubali, over a span of three hours, praised their co-stars and technicians for putting their heart and soul into making the film.

The big #Baahubali2 selfie!!!!!! 28th April!!! At a theatre near you.... pic.twitter.com/viB5X41oJ2  Karan Johar (@karanjohar) March 26, 2017

Speaking at the event, Karan Johar said, "I have said this many times and I'll say this again; Baahubali is probably the proudest Indian film ever made. K Asif's Mughal-E-Azam brought the entire fraternity together as a proud Indian film. That was way back in 1960. And 57 years later, there's an experience like Mughal-E-Azam and that is Baahubali. To say that SS Rajamouli is the biggest Indian filmmaker is not enough. I would say SS Rajamouli is a global filmmaker in the league of Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Christopher Nolan and beyond."

"His narrative has soul, his cinema has strength and his personality, which is so humble, makes me feel tiny. I haven't even achieved 1/10th of what he has achieved in the past 5 years. It takes guts, gumption and tremendous amount of glory to make a film like Baahubali. Baahubali is not the conclusion but the beginning of a journey which will inspire thousands of Indian filmmakers. I feel proud that we are a tiny part of Baahubali," he said.

Karan went on to praise the whole cast of Baahubali : The Conclusion saying that they have displayed such strength and dedication to cinema that not many Hindi actors display that in Bollywood. "I want to go back home and teach actors that this is what pure dedication to cinema is all about," he said referring to the cast of Baahubali.

Earlier in the event, Raja Koduri, senior vice president and chief architect of the AMD Radeon Technologies Group, gave a sneak-peek of Baahubali's virtual reality experience - The Sword Of Baahubali, which will be premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in late April this year. He said, "When I visited the sets of Baahubali for the first time, I was stunned looking at the scale of the film. And then, I went back to the US thinking that we need to bring this world of Baahubali closer to the people. That's how we started exploring the idea of Baahubali VR."

The team spirit and camaraderie among the cast and crew was at full display and Rajamouli himself paid a rich tribute to the entire team - right from the production team to the costume assistants, who toiled for five years to make the film possible. "There are so many people whom I want to thank that I don't think I've enough time for it. I couldn't have made Baahubali without the support of the whole team and my family. Every time I scored a hit, it was my wife who kept me grounded and I'll always be indebted to her," Rajamouli said.

Perhaps, the most emotional moment of the event was the song sung by MM Keeravani, music director, as a tribute to SS Rajamouli's incredible vision. Not only did it get a standing ovation from the crowd, but also Keeravani's gesture reduced Rajamouli to tears. Soon after he stepped down from the podium, Rajamouli's daughter Mayukha rushed to hug him to celebrate the moment. The entire segment struck an emotional chord with people so much that the clip of Rajamouli, visibly overwhelmed, went viral on social media.

Moreover, the entire team made it a point to acknowledge the efforts of Sri Valli (line producer), Rama Rajamouli and Prashanthi, who worked as the costume designers, as the driving force behind the film. "Valli is my Sivagami," said MM Keeravani referring to his wife, adding, "Once, when I went to the sets of the film, some people wanted to take my photographs. They didn't even know my name. All they knew was that I was Valli's husband. I was extremely pleased."

Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni, who produced the film, thanked Karan Johar for helping them to conquer the Hindi market, which had been quite tough for South Indian filmmakers in the past. "When we showed Karan Johar few stills and concept art of Baahubali, he saw potential in it. Since he put his name on the film, we were able to reach out to a wider audience. We sincerely thank him for being part of the journey," Shobu said.

Praising Rajamouli, he added that he expects everyone around him to be on the same page. "Rajamouli is successful because of his talent, handwork and more importantly, he's uncorrupted by money. That's a rare quality to have," Shobu said.

Among the actors, Tamannaah was the first to go on stage and she thanked Rajamouli for believing in her. "Baahubali is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I became more brave as a person after acting in this film," she said. Anushka Shetty, who played Devasena in the film, was all praise for her co-star Prabhas. "He dedicated five years of his life to the film. We are all quite proud of him."

Calling Prabhas as the best co-star he has ever had, Rana Daggubati said, "I would love to work with Prabhas in all the films. He's the best co-star I've ever had. I'm going to miss the team a lot and it makes me sad that I can't hear Valli yelling at me for being late to the sets. I hope she continues to reprimand me every now and then, just for the sake of good old times."

The best part of the event was reserved for the star Prabhas himself who made a grand entry - suspended in air with ropes, descending on to the podium amidst fireworks - a feat that was the first of its kind for any movie-related event in Telugu cinema.

"I thank all my fans who patiently waited for the film to release. I hope to do at least couple of films every year from now onwards," Prabhas said.

Baahubali : The Conclusion, directed by SS Rajamouli, is expected to release in close to 6500-7000 screens in India alone on April 28. It'll also release in IMAX format in select screens across the world on the same day.
In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Viswanath Sundaram, the concept artist for the Baahubali series, reveals his journey with SS Rajamouli, Sabu Cyril and what it takes to work on an epic period drama of this scale. Oh, and how he sketched that scene where Kattappa killed Baahubali! Read on...

In 2012, when Viswanath Sundaram heard about SS Rajamouli's Eega, he had no idea who the director was or what his previous hits were in Telugu cinema. A Fine Arts (painting) graduate from Bharathiar Palkalaikoodam in Puducherry, Viswanath had just begun seeking opportunities in the film industry on the insistence of his friends, who were mighty impressed with his penchant for digital art. And then, sometime in 2013, soon after Viswanath had collaborated with Balaji Kumar for the Tamil film Vidiyum Munn, he got a call from production designer Sabu Cyril, who wanted to work with him. "It was a dream come true. Sabu Cyril is one of the best production designers in the country and when he told me that the film he was working on was 10 times bigger than the norm, I was intrigued," Viswanath recalls. And thus began the youngster's journey into the Mahishmathi kingdom, the citadel of SS Rajamouli's magnum opus Baahubali: The Beginning.

Initially, Sabu Cyril offered him a three-month gig to do the concept art for Baahubali; however, it wasn't an easy task for the young concept artist. "I was completely lost in the beginning. I didn't understand what they were saying and it took me a while to even be on the same page as Sabu Cyril and SS Rajamouli," Viswanath says. And then, the prospect of working with Rajamouli himself is as daunting as it can be. For the uninitiated, if you offer your 100 percent to Rajamouli, he'll expect 200 percent. It's not easy to please him; however, when he says 'yes' to something, writers and technicians can be assured that they have outdone themselves.

"It's like discovering a part of you which you never knew existed," Viswanath laughs, adding, "Sometimes, he doesn't even tell us 10 percent of what he has in mind, but he'll expect you to deliver a really good product within a short duration. That's the biggest challenge of working on a film like Baahubali. How do you deliver an outstanding sketch within such a short span of time? I've been working on this project for the past four years of my life and I'm amazed that I've done so much, all thanks to Rajamouli and Sabu Cyril. They make you excel at your own craft. It's sheer magic."

Concept art, as a profession, isn't in vogue in the film industry, unless of course it's a period drama or a futuristic thriller. This is perhaps why the likes of Viswanath Sundaram are rare to find in the film industry, although there are quite a few working in the animation and gaming industries. Viswanath credits his friends as the driving force behind his foray into films. For that matter, he didn't even know what digital art was until one of his seniors from college introduced him to the works of renowned international digital artist Craig Mullins and concept artists of films like Star Wars and Gladiator. "It was like a bolt of thunder. Digital art offers you so much more scope to express your ideas compared to what you can do manually. I began my career in an animation firm in Chennai and one fine day, my friend and production designer, Suresh Selvarajan referred my name to Sabu Cyril. Three years later, I got a chance to work with him on Baahubali," he says.

In the past four years, Viswanath has drawn over 400 sketches for Baahubali, including the iconic scene where Kattappa kills Baahubali. Ask him more about that scene, he confesses that it was he who suggested to Rajamouli that they could play around with silhouettes, instead of showing the faces of Kattappa and Baahubali clearly. Rajamouli was so impressed that instantly okayed the idea and it was reproduced exactly as the shot was sketched by Viswanath. "Don't ask me why Kattappa killed Baahubali. You'll get all the answers in Baahubali: The Conclusion. All I can say is that whatever you have seen in the trailer is not even 5 percent of what Rajamouli and the team have achieved in the film," he says.

He describes himself as a connoisseur of period dramas, although not many filmmakers in India take up the genre on a regular basis. For the Baahubali series, he drew inspiration from Indian architecture and Western Renaissance paintings to work on the concept art; however, everything had to be built from scratch. "My job falls in between the production designer and an art director. When you have the concept art, it'll give you a clear idea of the look and feel of the scene, the crowd that's required for that visual, the props, the colour palette. It becomes a visual reference for everyone to build upon. The scale of Baahubali: The Conclusion is much bigger than what we have seen in the first part and it was quite challenging to draw the key sequences like the visuals of the palace and the war," he adds.

Apart from Baahubali, Viswanath Sundaram has also worked with director Shankar on films like I and 2.0. He had designed the character sketches of Chitti (Rajinikanth) and the villain, long before the film went on floors. Having worked with two of the biggest directors in India, we couldn't help but ask him how do these two visionary filmmakers differ from each other. Viswanath is, admittedly, in awe of both of them and he puts things in perspective saying, "It's hard to compare both of them and they are pushing the envelope with every film. From what I've seen, it's harder to impress Rajamouli because he keeps pressing you to do more and more. It's also challenging because he doesn't tell you exactly what's in his mind and that makes us excel in whatever we are doing. I would love to work with both of them again because they are among the very filmmakers who are doing period films and futuristic action thrillers."

As a child, long before he pursued a degree in fine arts, one of his hobbies was to draw sketches inspired from films he would watch. Some of his favourite films include the likes of Jurassic Park and Terminator 2. It was his father, who was an artist himself, who encouraged him to turn his hobby into a profession. And little did he know that his life would change the day he went to watch Eega in 2012. "After watching the film, I couldn't stop thinking about what Rajamouli had done and achieved through the film. I was almost in tears the first time I saw the film. And then I watched it a couple of times again. If someone can make you empathise with and root for a housefly that's avenging its death in its previous life, he can pull off anything," Viswanath concludes.
Doordarshan recently announced the success of its show Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon, which achieved a cumulative reach of 400 million as per the channel. This is the highest viewership across all shows on Indian television, claims Doordarshan.

Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon is the story of Sneha, a doctor from Mumbai who decides to give up her lucrative practice in Mumbai to work in a village called Pratappur. The first season explores the changes in her life, while the second delves into her involvement in the lives of the women and youth in the village.

The show airs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10.30 am on DD India and at 7 pm on DD National on Saturday and Sunday. The decision to air it on DD India was a result of the success it achieved in the beginning, and now it is viewed in more than 50 countries. The viewership garnered by this show has put Doordarshan in the third rank among all channels during that slot.

This show deals with a variety of themes, from the struggles of a woman working in a village, to health and education about it, to the struggle caused by being born between one's family and social responsibilities. It touches upon topics in a feminist manner, with commentary on fundamental rights, child marriage, female stereotyping and sex determination.

Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon has been translated into 13 languages and aired on 216 All India Radio stations in the country. The show weaves together real data, statistics and cases into its fictional plot. A third season is in the offing.

It stars Meinal Vaishnav, Vikrant Rai, Dadhi Pandey, Janhavi Singh, Ranjana Tiwari and Danish Sharma.
Even as Lipstick Under My Burkha has been critically acclaimed in several international festivals, it is not getting a certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), in India. '

The film has been deemed too 'lady oriented' and according to CBFC, it is laced with sexual scenes and abusive words. Revolving around four women  a burkha-clad college girl, a young beautician, a mother of three and a 55-year-old widow who rediscovers her sexuality, the film features actors like Ratna Pathak Shah and Konkana Sen Sharma.

As the team awaits the decision of Film Appellate Tribunal (which is due today, on 27 March), producer Prakash Jha and director Alankrita Shrivastava put across their point of view in a chat with Firstpost. Excerpts:

Isnt it ironical that despite hitting roadblock ahead of its release in India, the film has earned accolades in the International film festival circuit?

Alankrita Shrivastava: It is very ironic. Its huge disrespect to the Indian audience by not certifying the film because then you are saying that world over somehow people are more educated and are more evolved except in India. It is a very colonial mindset to say that there is something wrong with the Indian audience. Why should we deny the rights of Indians to watch a film that has been made in their own country?

The kind of response we have been getting at festivals across the world is really phenomenal. I wasnt expecting that. It is getting lot of applause and standing ovation in every country we have shown. We have got several jury and audience awards. The question and answer session post screening has been long and non-stop because people want to talk and discuss. There is lot of emotional connect which people are feeling across the world among different audiences.

It is unfair that our own audience is not getting to watch it. Hope the decision is reversed and people finally get to watch the film.

The film talks about womens sexuality and their desires. From what we have seen recently, the industry is not ready to accept women who speak up their mind? Why do you think it is happening? How do you react?

Alankrita: The CBFC is clearly functioning from a very patriarchal mindset, they have no idea about the context of how they should watch a film. They have no idea about the gender dynamics, the politics of representation, the politics of female gaze versus male gaze. I feel they are just functioning from a space where the only kind of cinema they seem to be propagating is a very male gaze controlled popular mainstream cinema. There is no level playing field for alternative voices.

CBFC is not uncomfortable with sex per se but they are uncomfortable with the fact that a woman is striving for agency over her own body and she is trying to claim her own desires. There is no nudity, there is not even a cleavage shot in the film. The film talks about the lives of women from their own point of view but we are so used to watching item songs where the camera mindlessly travels up and down a womans body with zero connection with the narrative, or where women are portrayed as sati savitri, virtuous women, or vamps.

There is very little space for ordinary women who have had their ups and downs. They want to keep us engaged only with popular representation of women and nothing more. No one has the right to shut down 50 per cent of the population voice. The decision of CBFC is absolutely not in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution of India which promises freedom of expression and gender equality.

Thank you for all your support for #LipstickUnderMyBurkha against this ridiculous regressiveness. We won't be silenced. #CensorTheCensors pic.twitter.com/sBSSbx5FRy   Under My Burkha (@LipstickMovie) February 23, 2017

Prakash Jha: CBFC clearly has no sense of the audience, they are completely blank. They seem to be telling women: How dare you change the balance of the society? You have been raised, indoctrinated, we have told you how to speak, how to stand, how to behave, how to express, how to serve men all your life. The audience all over the world is extremely intelligent, they are expressive because they are what they are.

Can anyone stop me from exercising my rights? No one can stop this film eventually from coming to people. I am not afraid. I dont get discouraged by such things.

Why didnt you move the High Court like the Udta Punjab producers?

Jha: They probably didnt have much time on their hand as the release date was very close and court saw the logic in Udta Punjab team approaching them. In our case we didnt have the release date announced, so the court would have asked us whether we have exhausted all our options. We are going to the Tribunal and waiting for the verdict which takes time.

Recently the Padmavati set was vandalised and the films director was assaulted, you think intolerance on freedom of speech is on a rise?

Jha: It has always been like that. Indian society, mythologically, historically, socially has always been very strong. They have never tolerated, never accepted and allowed anything which doesnt fit into their mind-frame. Lot of objections have been raised on my films and I have ended up going to the tribunal, court; this is not new for me. I always tell filmmakers that film-making is not just a creative process, it is an art of putting your view to the society in the forefront.

Perhaps, I have given the same mantra to my assistant Alankrita, too, and she is going to face controversies. But we dont want controversies. We have shown the film in several festivals, it has reached different kinds of audience. Alankrita is just back with seven global awards. Audience from Cairo, Sweden, England, Miami, France, Tokyo and even our own, MAMI, have applauded and appreciated the film.

When people have the freedom to select their government and their own future, then dont they have the freedom to watch a film?

While slamming the supporters of Lipstick Under My Burkha, CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani defended himself by saying that they have been liberal in the censor certification of films like Befikre, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Rangoon and yet the industry folks were complaining. Comment.

Prakash Jha: Lipstick Under My Burkha questions the very soul of the society which perhaps is not understood by CBFC.

Alankrita: Women in our popular, mainstream cinema are always acted upon. Stalking is portrayed as love. But a situation where a woman is striving for agency over her own life, her own body, her own desires and dreams, that is something making them uncomfortable.

For a very long time now, we have been striving to move to a place where films are certified and not censored, but it doesnt seem to be happening.

Prakash Jha: I appreciate that the government had appointed a body under Shyam Benegal and they have submitted the report. I encourage the government to adopt that report and make it into a law and thus remove the process of censoring. A film like Lipstick Under My Burkha will only enhance the thinking of the society, the richness of the society. It is not going to damage the society.

Alankrita: I am not discouraged, I have faith in the Tribunal. I hope they are able to see the film in the context it has to be seen. I am sure that they will be able to reverse the CBFC decision. It is important to continue my journey, I will continue to make such films. One has to be prepared to fight it out.
Following vandalism on the set of his upcoming period drama in Kolhapur, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has issued another statement (this is the second time he has had to justify the intentions with which his film Padmavati is being made). His statement starts off by clarifying that Padmavati is a film that every Indian would be and should be proud of.

Speaking to the Bombay Times, Bhansali has said, "My team and I have carefully researched every aspect of information available on Rani Padmavati for making the film. There was never any alleged romantic scene, dream sequence or imaginary song between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji in the script. I repeat, there NEVER was and NOR is there any such scene between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji."

He further adds that his team has clarified multiple times that there is no scene between the two characters, and that the violence that his sets have seen is unjustified.

He says, "As an artist, I too believe in the freedom of expression, but I'm also aware of the responsibility that comes along with this freedom. We do not intend to hurt the sentiments of any community and can confidently say that Mewar will be proud of the film. My team and I have met with some of the Rajput leaders, who, upon receipt of our clarification, have agreed to support us and have also signed our letter and promised cooperation in support of the making of the film. I hope this puts to rest all the misconceptions regarding the film"

Earlier this year, a set of the film in Kolhapur was torched and burnt down by local activists. A statement from the team revealed, "The sets of Padmavati in Kolhapur in Maharashtra region witnessed an unfortunate incident, when certain miscreants attacked the films set and set it on fire in an attempt to damage the property. A complaint has been filed to investigate this matter further, but we are grateful that there has been no loss of life or harm to anybody on the set. While, thankfully the incident occurred after we had wrapped our shoot for the day and all the artists, cast and crew were safely away; unfortunately, around 70  80 percent of costumes and jewellery for the movie have been destroyed."

Padmavati tells the story of Alauddin Khilji, the medieval-era Delhi ruler, who fell in love with Rajput queen Padmavati. Actors Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor star in the film.

Activists of Shree Rajput Karni Sena protested against and misbehaved with the crew of Padmavati in Jaipur's Jaigarh Fort last week. They also damaged some cameras and other equipment, forcing Bhansali to stop shooting.

The incident elicited strong support from the Hindi film fraternity for Bhansali.
In a rather surprising move, the Supreme Court on Monday told the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre that it cannot make the Aadhaar card mandatory to extend the benefits of its welfare schemes. The Supreme Court further added that the government, however, cannot be stopped from using Aadhaar in other schemes like opening of bank accounts.

Government cannot make #Aadhaar mandatory for extending benefits of its welfare schemes: #SC.  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 27, 2017

Govt, however, cannot be stopped from using #Aadhaar in other schemes like opening of bank accounts, says #SC.  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 27, 2017

The apex court also said that a seven-judge bench has to be set up to hear the pleas challenging the Aadhaar but "right now it is not possible."

In January this year, the Supreme Court had refused to expedite the hearing of Aadhaar cases challenging the constitutional validity of the scheme. It, however, observed that data collection by private agencies is not a good idea.

A bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar made the remarks after senior advocate Shyam Divan sought urgent hearing of the plea citing privacy concern. "We are not inclined to give immediate hearing as there are limited resources but biometric data collection by private agencies is not a great idea," the bench also comprising Justices NV Ramana and DY Chandrachud said.

Divan, who represented one of the petitioners, said that these matters needs urgent hearing as there is individual's privacy concern as biometric datas are being collected by private agencies.

The apex court on 15 October, 2015 had lifted its earlier restrictions and permitted voluntary use of Aadhaar cards in welfare schemes that also included MGNREGA, all pension schemes and provident fund, besides ambitious flagship programmes like 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna' of the NDA government, PTI had reported.

The social welfare schemes, aimed at reaching the doorsteps of the "poorest of the poor", were in addition to LPG and PDS schemes in which the apex court had allowed the voluntary use of Aadhaar cards. A five-judge constitutional bench had put a caveat in its interim order for the Centre and said that Aadhaar card scheme is purely voluntary and not mandatory till the matter is finally decided by this court, this way or the other way.

It had said that that a larger bench was required to be set up for final disposal of the petitions that also include the question as to whether the right to privacy is fundamental right.

A three-judge bench on 11 August, 2015 had referred a batch of petitions, challenging the Aadhar card scheme, to a larger bench for an authoritative view on the question as to whether the right to privacy is fundamental right or not and had also restricted the use of Aadhaar to PDS and LPG scheme only.

According to another apex court ruling in September 2013, Aadhaar cards cannot be made mandatory to avail of benefits from social security schemes like cooking gas subsidy. In 2014, the court, in an interim order, restrained the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) from transferring anyones biometric information with an Aadhaar number to any other agency without the individuals consent in writing.

The BJP government recently had said that it will be mandatory for citizens to produce the 12-digit Aadhaar number for benefits under nearly three dozen central schemes including free mid-day meals for schoolchildren. Aadhaar was also made compulsory for scholarships and other schemes for backward castes and the disabled.

On 21 march, the government also proposed to make Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns and also applying for a Permanent Account Number (PAN). The proposal was made through an amendment to the Finance Bill 2017 moved by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Lok Sabha. Besides being necessary for filing an income tax return, any application for an income tax PAN will also have to state the applicant's Aadhaar or 12-digit unique ID which is backed by biometrics like fingerprints and iris scans.

UIDAI, established by UPA-II in 2009, issues Aadhaar cards to the citizens. Under the programme, every citizen is to be provided a 12-digit unique identification number for which biometric information is collected.

With inputs from agencies
One of the three men accused in the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast on 7 March revealed to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that the group had earlier planned strategic attacks in several locations across Uttar Pradesh  a dargah in Barabanki, the Bara Imambara in Lucknow and a leading Shia cleric, as per a report in The Indian Express.

The report quoted NIA sources, saying that, Syed Mir Hussain, one of the three arrested, said that the group had plans to attack the Waris Ali Shah dargah in Barabanki. He told NIA interrogators that the group had scoped out the location  studying security arrangements, movement of pilgrims  and that they dropped the idea as it was heavily guarded.

The group had also targeted the Bara Imambara in Lucknow and Shia cleric Maulana Salman Hussaini Nadvi. They had closely surveyed the clerics house and had kept tabs on his movements and vehicles, the report said.

Husain told NIA interrogators that the group had scoped several locations in and around Lucknow to fix the targets, to implement the sharia law, to have a jihad and to have bomb blasts and commit murder at fixed places.

Husain along with the other two, Mohammed Danish and Atif Muzaffar, were arrested Pipariya, Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh. Their fourth accomplice, Saifullah, was killed in a gunfight by the UP anti-terror squad in Lucknow.

At least 10 people were injured, three of them seriously, in the non-lethal blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train.

A NIA team had gone to Bhopal to look into the train blast. The officials had visited the site of the blast near Jabri railway station under Shajapur district, about 60 kms from Bhopal.

The agency had taken over the custody of three persons arrested in connection with the IED blast after a Bhopal special court order. The court had allowed their custodial interrogation by NIA during a remand period of 11 days.

With inputs from PTI
The newly-appointed director-general of the Border Security Force (BSF), KK Sharma has refuted allegations made against the force on social media on 22 March that it has had its 'jawan-turned-whistleblower' Tej Bahadur Yadav killed. Yadav made the headlines after airing his grievances on Facebook regarding the supply of poor rations. "He's alive and is in a protective custody in Jammu. This rumour has been spread by the cyber cell of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI to malign BSF and Indias image at international level. Even, the Bangladesh governments report that large numbers of terrorists have entered India through West Bengal border is false," he said.

In an exclusive interview after taking over as DG, BSF, earlier this month, Sharma, a 1982 batch IPS officer of the Rajasthan cadre and recipient of the Presidents Police Medal for Distinguished Services, spoke at length to Firstpost on various issues ranging from the ISIs role as rumourmonger to infiltration, and the modernisation of Indias elite force.

Edited excerpts follow:

What is the truth behind the rumour on social media that the BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav has been killed by the force?

The ISI has a cyber cell that uses such incidents and creates strong rumours on social media. In Tej Bahadurs case, Pakistan aggressively acted to make that incident go viral. There are around 28 websites in Pakistan from where this video (of Tej Bahadur) was uploaded with comments and made viral. This led to tweets and retweets, and discussion on social media from across the world, whereas the fact is that they are really not concerned about the quality of food that was served to Tej Bahadur. It happened because of the ISI proxies.

This time we have countered the rumour of Tej Bahadurs death strongly. The dead body shown on social media as Tej Bahadurs is actually the photograph of a CRPF jawan who got killed in the recent Maoist ambush in Bastar; he slightly resembled Tej Bahadur. The fact is that Tej Bahadur is alive and even his family members have denied his death. We have strongly countered it both in the media and on social media. It is ISIs game to malign the BSF and Indias image at the international level.

Whats the truth about the recent Bangladesh governments report to our Ministry of Home Affairs that JMB and HuJI militants have entered through the borders of West Bengal, Assam and Tripura that are guarded by the BSF?

Its totally false and hasnt been verified by anyone or any source. The report apparently mentions that 2,000 terrorists have sneaked into India. Forget men, even if 2,000 cattle enter India, itll be visible. In present times, its virtually impossible to have such a large exodus.

There are allegations that right under the nose of the BSF, cattle and drug smuggling takes place through the borders of West Bengal and Punjab respectively. Why can't the BSF take any strong action against these smugglers?

Cattle smuggling is a very complex issue. The Bangladesh border is 4,096 kilometres long, of which around 950 kilometres is unfenced due to the riverine belt. Its humanly not possible to cover this unfenced stretch. Smuggling takes place through this porous stretch, despite our patrolling and floodlights. The population on both sides is economically dependent on cattle trade. Local politicians are hand-in-glove with those who supply cows to Bangladesh. The BSF has lost members of its personnel in clashes with smugglers. Although were the only agency to stop this illegal practice, its quite difficult to do so due to limited manpower and several other constraints.

In Punjab, smugglers have been nabbed by the Punjab Police, Narcotics Control Bureau and by us, but how many of them have said that the BSF helped them in smuggling drugs? There are allegations against BSF of conniving with smugglers, but have investigations proved it? We also keep a strict vigil on our people and if we find anyone guilty, strict action is taken.

During the surgical strike, the Indian Army targeted and destroyed terrorist launch pads on the Pakistani side. Has the BSF initiated any such action against the continuous ceasefire violations along the Indian-Pakistan International Border (IB)?

The surgical strike was a turning point and has brought about a total change in perception  its like if you do wrong, well strike you at a place and time of our choice, unlike in the past. Earlier, our hands were tied, but this time we were given a clear mandate to do whatever needed to be done. For the first time, Pakistan has realised that India, instead of making a hue and cry at the UN and in the media, can actually strike hard. There is a clear instruction from Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to give a Moonh tod jawab (fitting response) to Pakistan's attacks. Even our former defence minister Manohar Parikkar had said that India could make the first strike if needed, instead of acting in retaliation.

Every Diwali, Pakistan creates problems, by sniping and killing our jawans, which causes a lot of resentment within the force. This time we prepared ourselves with state-of-the-art long range sniper rifles. We adopted an aggressive approach that compelled those on other side of the IB to withdraw.

Since then, attempts of shelling, firing at our jawans have come down considerably, although infiltration attempts are ongoing.

Hasnt the BSF taken this issue up with the Pakistan Rangers?

Under normal circumstances, we have DG-level meetings (between the BSF and Rangers) twice a year. But, if we call them when the situation is volatile, they refuse to meet. Once I was told by a senior official in the Pakistan Rangers that ISI-backed terrorists come and snipe our men. ISI identifies battalion commanders with radical ideological views and sends terrorists in those areas to launch attack on our jawans. To counter them, we are focussing on our operational preparedness, supply of ammunition and technical equipment for seamless coverage.

What was the first thing you focussed upon after taking over as BSF DG?

I have been with BSF as ADG (Operations) for the past five years. Emphasis is being given to the forces operational side, which is extremely important. Our basic job is of guarding the borders and traditionally it has been manpower intensive. I feel that the future of protecting our borders lies more in the use of technology than increasing manpower. Hence, Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) has been initiated. The home ministry is positive on this project, as they want the borders to be sealed.

How effective is BSFs lesser known yet high-profile G branch?

The lesser said about it, the better (smiles). Its the intelligence wing of the BSF. It finds its genesis in the 1971 India-Pakistan war. Our personnel trained the Bangladesh Mukti Vahini (freedom fighters) in the jungles of Tripura and even fought alongside them in civilian clothes. In that war, 139 BSF jawans and officers were killed. G branch collects intelligence from foreign lands. Now, it is the multi-agency centre (MAC) from where intelligence inputs are procured, and it functions with a coordinated approach.

What is BSFs modernisation plan?

Our main thrust is to bring a sea change in guarding our borders by integrating latest technology and equipment. The CIBMS has two pilot projects in Jammu. Its unique in the world. We are integrating all highly sophisticated equipment  like handheld thermal imagers that absorb the body heat signatures of any living being that moves towards us even in the dark of night at a distance of upto three kilometres. Analytical tools will identify such movements and distinguish between man and animal from the shadow. Night vision devices, long range radars, battlefield surveillance radars that catch slightest of vibrations at shorter distances etc have been added to the inventory.

This equipment were in the hands of jawans posted on the borders and the possibility of human error cant be ruled out. So, now after integration, a common feed will be given to command outpost. This is our top priority on operations. Weve indigenously developed infrared intruder alarms that are not visible to the naked eye. Anyone crossing the invisible infrared wall within the 700 metres range gets caught. CIBMS will also give some relief and rest to our men on duty. As a pilot project, motion sensors have been included in CIBMS to save power and reduce our electricity bill of Rs 90 to 100 crore (due to floodlights). It has been sent to the home ministry for approval.

Post-Tej Bahadur incident, have any steps been taken to increase intra-force communication and grievance redressal?

Taking a lesson from the Tej Bahadur incident, I focussed on a neglected side of BSF. For long, weeding out hasnt taken place. Bad hats with more than four bad entries have been identified and disciplinary action initiated. Strong disciplinary action has been initiated against Tej Bahadur and legal action will be taken as per the rules. At present, hes in protective custody in Jammu.

Simultaneously, were finetuning our grievance redressal system. Besides an orderly room, where an individual can lodge his complaint, every Wednesday, theres an open house for senior officers and monthly Sainik Sammelan for junior officers and jawans. We have developed intranet connectivity, where every individual can lodge complaint and it has a time-bound disposal mechanism. The BSF is the only force that has a television system of its own. I can address my staff from my studio and can take calls from our jawans in faraway locations.

Besides delayed promotions and appointment of more number of IPS officers vis-a-vis the BSF cadre, there is grievance amongst the BSF staff that despite being an armed force, its deprived of its pension on par with the army.

Those who have been appointed after 2004 will be entitled for contributory pension. Its true that a constable gets his first promotion after 20 years, but we cannot decide on policy matters. So, to compensate the delay in promotion, we give our staff three assured career progressions (10-20-30 years) through salary. One gets the salary that is due in the next promotion. Another welfare measure I have undertaken is providing financial literacy to our jawans to help them make intelligent investments for a secure future.

Through a cadre review of senior officers, a record number of posts have been created, which will ease out existing stagnation. As far as appointment of IPS officers is concerned, its done as envisaged in the constitution due to the varied experience of IPS cadre. At DIG, IG and ADG levels, the percentage of IPS officers is 25 percent, 50 percent and 75 percent respectively.

Could you share some details about BSFs welfare measures?

As DG, Ive identified four major areas. More than 20,000 in BSF have pledged for organ donation, including myself and my family. Divyang Skill Development Centre empowers disabled BSF and Central Armed Paramilitary Force jawans. We have created separate composite border outposts for women personnel. The BSF Wives Welfare Association manages play schools at all BSF headquarters and five CBSE schools.
Suspected militants on Sunday night attacked the ancestral home of a Jammu and Kashmir minister in South Kashmir's Anantnag district and injured two policemen. Armed militants stormed into Jammu and Kashmir Minister of State for Hajj and Auqaf Farooq Andrabi's house in Dooru Anantnag late on Sunday night, India Today reported. The two policemen suffered bullet injuries, and have been hospitalised, India Today reported.

According to Greater Kashmir, police sources said that a group of militants opened fire at Andrabi's house."The militants resorted to heavy firing on the guard picket. The fire was retaliated by the policemen deployed there, triggering a brief gunfight in which two policemen sustained injuries." Speaking to Greater Kashmir, the DIG, South Kashmir Range, SP Pani said, "Weapon snatching has also taken place. We are ascertaining how many weapons have been snatched," he said.

Daily News & Analysis reported that Andrabi, a senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader who represents Dooru constituency in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, was not at his residence when the attack took place late on Sunday evening. This is the third militant attack that took place in different parts of central and south Kashmir on Sunday.

DIG Pani, told Daily News & Analysis that it seems like that the attack was apparently on the police guard and the intention could have been to snatch weapons. It is his (Farooq Andrabi) ancestral home and he does not stay there. Apparently, two constables are injured and we are looking into it, said Pani.

The strike comes hours after two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed early on Sunday after a brief gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said.

Jammu and Kashmir has been put on high alert following these attacks that are taking place days ahead of the upcoming parliamentary by-elections in South Kashmir, according to NDTV. Polls in Srinagar and Anantnag will be held on 9 April and 12 April respectively.

According to NDTV, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to visit Jammu and Kashmir on 2 April for the inauguration of the Chenani-Nashri tunnel, where he will then address a public rally.

With inputs from agencies
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to consider effective means other than use of pellet guns to quell stone pelting mobs in Jammu and Kashmir as it concerns life and death. A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar also expressed concern over injuries suffered by minors involved in protests in the Kashmir Valley and asked the government what action has been taken by it against their parents.

The apex court asked Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to file a detailed reply on what alternate effective steps could be taken to deal with such situation of agitating mobs in Jammu and Kashmir. The bench posted the hearing for 10 April. On 14 December last year, the apex court had said pellet guns should not be used "indiscriminately" for controlling street protests in Jammu and Kashmir and be resorted to only after "proper application of mind" by the authorities.

A bench headed by the then Chief Justice T S Thakur had issued notices to the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir government while seeking their replies on a plea alleging "excessive" use of pellet guns in the state. The apex court had also sought assistance of Attorney General on the issue and asked him to submit copy of the

report submitted by the Expert Committee constituted for exploring other alternatives to pellet guns.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association against the High Court order seeking stay on the use of pellet guns as a large number of people had been killed or injured due to its use. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court had on 22 September rejected the plea seeking a ban on use of pellet guns on the ground that the Centre had already constituted a Committee of Experts through its memorandum dated 26 July, 2016 for exploring alternatives to pellet guns.

Taking note of the statement, the High Court had disposed of the petition, saying that no further direction was required since the matter was being looked at by the Centre.

The High Court Bar Association challenged the order, contending that High Court should not have disposed the petition and instead waited or called for the report of the

expert committee. The High Court had also declined to accept the plea to prosecute the officers who ordered use of pellet guns and those who actually fired them.

It had also directed the authorities concerned to ensure that all the injured are extended adequate medical treatment by specialists for whatever injury they sustain.
If the present trend of political rewards is any indication, hate speeches by politicians are at a premium, as far as post-election gains are concerned. Yogi Adityanaths ascension to the position of Uttar Pradesh chief minister proves that hate speeches against minorities (read Muslims) ought to be the bellwether of any election campaign.

Though there are various provisions in criminal and other laws to censure, restrict and punish hate speeches, most of them kick in only in the run-up to elections, or if they have the potential to cause, or result in, communal violence.

But what happens to speeches which are so polarising in nature, and irrespective of whenever they are delivered (even during the non-election period) that they create a deep sense of vulnerability and feelings of oppression among minorities and other marginalised sections of society?

The present legal regime, hobbled as it is by the lack of a watertight definition of hate speech, falls short of being able to effectively combat and prosecute cases where hate speeches are made for reasons other than immediate electoral gains. Now, the Law Commission of India, in its 267th Report, has come up with a slew of recommendations to fill in this lacunae.

By broadening the definition of what should be considered hate speech, and suggesting appropriate amendments to the criminal law, the Report seeks to put in place a legal regime strong and comprehensive enough to deal with statements that breed extreme manifestations of vilification and detestation.

Widening the meaning of "hate speech"

In 2014, acting on a Public-Interest Litigation filed by the NGO Pravasi Bhalai Sangathan, the Supreme Court tasked the Law Commission with suggesting measures to curb the proliferation of hate speeches by politicians, which have been increasingly dotting the landscape in recent times.

The Commission, however, has gone a few steps ahead and suggested a mechanism to rein in offending speeches made not only by electoral candidates and their agents, but also by those enjoying prominence in the public sphere.

For this purpose, the Commission has recommended a departure from Sections 153A and 295 A of the Indian Penal Code, and other provisions of relevant legislations, which proscribed and punished speeches or statements only if they led to communal tensions or created law and order problems as a consequence.

The Commission has foregrounded its recommendations on American legal philosopher Jeremy Waldrons book 'The Harm in Hate Speech' (read a review by Justice John Paul Stevens, retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States).

In that book, Waldron expresses grave concern for "the use of words which are deliberately abusive and/or insulting and/or threatening and/or demeaning directed at members of vulnerable minorities, calculated to stir up hatred against them."

He contends that hate speech should not be restricted only to those statements which pose a clear and present danger (as held in the US Supreme Courts 1919 decision in Schenck v US) or which poses an imminent threat to lawless action (held by the US Supreme Court in 1969, in Brandenburg v Ohio).

Rather, it should also include speech which does not always lead to violence, but is directed at the dignity of members of vulnerable groups, and provides an incitement to hatred.

Noting that the spread of some ideas, especially with the aid of the rapid speed of the Internet, might perpetuate the discriminatory attitudes already prevalent in a society where inequality is rife, the Commission recommends that the law go by Article 20 (2) of the International Convention of Civil and Political Rights, which requires that statements negating the equality of all human beings should be prohibited and punished by law.

Regarding the identification of which speeches should be regarded as being "hateful" in the eyes of the law, the Commission has adopted the criteria laid down in the Canadian Supreme Courts decision in Saskatchwan (Human Rights Commission) v Whatcott (2013).

In that ruling, the court classified two categories of hate speech. One, that which marginalises individuals based on their membership of a targeted group, thus affecting inclusiveness and dignity. Two, speech which impairs minorities ability to respond to substantive ideas under debate, thus creating a serious barrier to full participation in democracy.

Creating new offences

August 2012 witnessed people from the North East fleeing Bangalore on an unprecedented scale. This exodus was caused by rumours of communal violence in Assam. In the age of the Internet and social media, these rumours (which were later proved to be not only false, but also deliberately malicious) spread like wildfire, causing hordes of people to nurture fear about their lives and limbs, apprehending that they could be targeted next.

All that the government could do was to impose a blanket ban on the internet and mobile data services in certain regions; it lacked the legal wherewithal which could serve as a restraint and effective deterrent. In order to plug these loopholes in the law, the Commission has recommended the insertion of two new provisions in the Indian Penal Code.

One is Section 153 C, which punishes incitement to hatred by imprisonment of two years, or a fine of Rs. 5,000 or both. The other one is Section 505A, which penalises the causing of fear, alarm, or provocation of violence with imprisonment of a year or fine of Rs. 5,000 or both.

Maintaining a neutral stance on free speech  that is, holding that every offensive speech is not illegitimate or illegal  has severe ramifications for those in minority, who are deprived of the right to protect their dignity from assault. It also violates the principle of equality.

By not limiting the definition of hate speech to those in the political (and electoral) arena, and by prescribing effective remedial and preventive measures, the Election Commission has added another bulwark against the violation of minorities rights.
New Delhi: The Mental Healthcare Bill 2016, which makes provision to protect, promote and fulfill the rights of persons during delivery of mental healthcare and services, secured parliamentary approval on Monday with the Lok Sabha's assent to the legislation. The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha in August 2016.

The bill, passed by the Rajya Sabha in August 2016, ensures every person shall have a right to access mental health care and treatment from mental health services run or funded by the appropriate government. It also assures free treatment for such persons if they are homeless or poor, even if they do not possess a Below Poverty Line card.

One of the clauses in the bill decriminalises suicide, stating that a person who attempts suicide should be presumed to have severe stress, and shall not be punished.

"Notwithstanding anything contained in section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, any person who attempts to commit suicide shall be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to have severe stress and shall not be tried and punished under the said Code," the bill said.

As per the bill, it will be government's duty to provide care, treatment and rehabilitation to a person, having severe stress and who attempted to commit suicide, to reduce the risk of recurrence of any attempt.

The bill also provides that a person with mental illness will have the right to make an advance directive that states how he she wants to be treated for the illness and nominate a representative.

According to a Firstpost article, in February 2017, the Supreme Court asked the Union Health Ministry to formulate guidelines for the rehabilitation of mental health patients in mental asylums. They gave the Centre eight weeks to come up with these guidelines, stating that it is inhuman and inherently wrong to make them live with those who suffer from mental illness. The Apex Court observed that the issue is immensely sensitive and that there is a definite need to have healthcare responses that centre on rehabilitation.

As a Hindu article writes, the Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016, aims to provide for mental healthcare and services for persons with mental ailments and ensure these persons have the right to live a life with dignity by not being discriminated against or harassed.

With inputs from IANS
Seven hundred academics, including the vice-chancellors of 51 universities, attended a two-day workshop held by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over the weekend, according to media reports.

The seminar, organised by RSS-affiliate Prajna Pravah, focused on how to include a more "nationalist narrative" and Indian perspective in higher education. Many of the participants also met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, the Financial Express reported.

J Nand Kumar, national convener, Prajna Pravah said that various commissions have pointed to the lack of "Indianness" in the country's educational system. Kumar also stated that the Supreme Court has also called for incorporating Indian views into education.

The exercise is not an alternative to the present educational system which is aping the West, but its a real nationalist narrative to imbibe Bharatiya perspectives in it, Kumar said.

DNA reported that the seminar, entitled 'Gyan Sangham', was organised at the Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology and Management. Delhi University (DU) vice-chancellor Yogesh Tyagi was also present.

"We need to first tap academicians in order to reach out to students with Indianised form of educational content," Kumar told the gathering.

He also decried the "culture of protests" and the practice of "cultural evenings" in educational institutions, stating it was not a part of India's "real culture", DNA reported. "What's going on here (educational institutes) in the name of culture is actually an onslaught on our real culture  be it cultural evenings or the culture of protests. It badly affects young minds and poisons the environment of our educational institutes."

He added, "We have to develop a social and an intellectual point of view that will be able to solve the problems of our current generation. We have to free our youth from the colonial values."
Osmanabad: Even as the Shiv Sena stood by its MP Ravindra Gaikwad, his supporters on Monday shut down Osmanabad district demanding action against Air India and other airlines for banning him from flying.

Hundreds of activists created road blocks, took out protest marches and raised slogans against Air India and shut down all shops and establishments in towns like Osmanabad, Omerga and Lohara as well as nearby villages.

Sena activists demanded to know how the MP could be banned from flying and sought action against Air India for its alleged poor services to customers.

While Gaikwad has lodged complaints with the Lok Sabha Speaker and the civil aviation minister, Shiv Sena raised the matter strongly in Parliament and demanded that the flying ban imposed on him by Air India and other airlines be lifted.

Meanwhile, Sena sources said that contrary to speculation, Gaikwad was not in hiding but was advised to keep a low profile till the entire issue cools down.

"He has not been summoned to meet any party leader as reported in the media. He is reaching his hometown to celebrate Gudi Padva (New Year) with his family. He is expected to resume attending Parliament on Wednesday," said the official declining to be quoted.

Last week, Gaikwad reportedly reached Vapi town in south Gujarat by train and has remained incommunicado with the media ever since.

He has admitted to repeatedly beating an Air India official with his slipper in New Delhi. Air India and all private airlines then announced that they cannot fly him any more.
This Bill moves the burden of surrogate birth from a paid-strange woman to an unpaid-known one within the exploitative confines of the family she is deemed as married into, says Pinki Virani, author of Politics Of The Womb  The Perils Of IVF, Surrogacy & Modified Babies.

The Surrogacy [Regulation] Bill 2016, post-introduction in Parliament, is currently being examined by a Rajya Sabha Standing Committee.

In her detailed suggestions to the Standing Committee to plug the several loopholes, the author of five bestsellers adds, The Bill ignores male inability to produce any useable sperm, thereby encouraging the placement of the entire blame upon the wife; also evident in the fact that no male-infertility specialist has been included on the Surrogacy Board where its about stri-rog. This emboldens reproductive graft by being ambiguous about whose spermatozoa, whose ova  the genetic constituents  of the embryo to be carried by the altruistic surrogate as the babys birth-mother.

She explains, There are cases of father-in-law, brother-in-law's sperm fertilising the daughter-in-laws eggs. Those-in-the-know back such unethical acts because its in-vitro intercourse, no sex-act, and the resultant embryo is chemically-implanted into a third-party uterus. This law must specify that the couple putting another woman at risk, as their intending childs birth-mother, at least use their own genetic material. That is, the sperm must be that of the husband, the eggs that of the wife. If its not her eggs, she is not the childs genetic-mother nor is she its birth-mother. What, then, does the wife get which she would not from adoption?

Pinki Virani was the first to speak in favour of Indias complete ban on commercial surrogacy when its announcement created a storm as sanskaari sarkar. The author observed, Well, we appear to have a santaan sansthaa on the other far-side, and counselled that people stop this appalling parade of competing rights over a womans body in the name of a baby.

She wondered if Indias middle-class was being misled to misunderstand since the Surrogacy Bill stops no one from directly availing of fertility services upon themselves.

In an interview to Firstpost, she spoke about the glamorisation of surrogacy by certain sections of permanently-patriarchal Bollywood even as it wears the mask of modernity who care not about the acute hormonal violence, the onslaught on another womans womb, hyper-medicalised, to produce a son.

There is also what the repro-tech industry romanticises as the gender-balancing of families but may be  proof is difficult since its not foetus post-pregnancy but embryos pre-implantation  gender selection. Politics Of The Womb quotes a fertility specialist claiming that sex selection can be done while embryos are being checked for genetic and chromosomal anomalies before being gummed into the surrogates uterus as either singles or twins.

Pinki Virani has sent a copy of her suggestions to Union Health Minister Dr JP Nadda in which a possible solution stated is to not implant the surrogate with twins, but one embryo at a time, to the maximum of three IVF-cycles.

She adds, Aggressive-IVF can present dangers of deadly diseases, deformities and disorders; women and the intending child are at equal risk as the book proves. Therefore the surrogacy law, and the upcoming Artificial Reproductive Technology Act, should minimise this risk by protecting, to its utmost, the intending mother, be she surrogate or direct-patient. With surrogacy this is possible by restricting even further the number of people who can avail of her generosity.

Towards this, she recommends that the maximum age for the husband and wife be lowered [gametes deteriorate with age, old sperm is particularly problematic for the mental health of offspring as international studies prove]. Further, couples who have existing children either singly or from earlier marriages also be prevented [her book discusses third-party-reproduction arising from the trophy-wife syndrome].

Other solutions include how to avoid reproductive-trafficking. As she puts it, Surrogacy spawns illegal adoption across borders to create a sub-set of reproductive-slaves. The Nepal earthquake also threw up evidence that there was active agent and clinical collusion from this side of the border. And rich people can fly in women from elsewhere.

The author-activist also demands that the clause which allows the availing of altruistic surrogacy if an existing child is in an irreparable mental or physical condition be deleted, its discriminatory.

Once the Standing Committee gives its report, will Parliaments June session see a rigorous debate on the Bill? Lets see what politics is played around the womb, Pinki Virani responds.
New Delhi: Congress leader from Karnataka and former Union minister MV Rajasekharan has showered praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and congratulated him for the BJP's success in the recent Assembly polls.

Rajasekharan's remarks came days after veteran Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister SM Krishna joined the BJP. Former Karnataka Chief Minister Krishna had also hailed Modi for his leadership.

Karnataka will have Assembly elections in the first half of 2018. In a letter to Modi, Rajasekharan eulogised him for establishing a "direct rapport" with the electorate and for getting support from the poor and women cutting across religion and caste.

Rajasekharan, son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister S Nijalingappa, also drew parallels between the 'Garibi Hatao'

(abolish poverty) slogan of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and Modi's assertion of making the middle class equal partners in the development process.

In 1971, Gandhi had given the call for removing poverty when the opposition parties called for 'Indira Hatao' (remove Indira).

In his letter, Rajashekaran said, "I would like to take this opportunity to convey my heartiest congratulations on the tremendous success of the BJP in the recent Assembly elections in the five northern states, specially on getting two-thirds majority in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand."

"Your kindself has been able to establish direct rapport with the electorate, specially the younger generation, who constitute nearly 82 percent of our electorate. Your kindness has been able to get support from the poor people and from women cutting across caste, region, religion and ethnic groups," he said.

Rajashekaran said Modi has been able to focus on poverty alleviation and empowerment of women to ensure their equal participation in all the development activities of the country.

"As you would kindly remember, Late Smt. Indiraji, while she was the Prime Minister of this great country, for the first time gave the slogan 'Garibi Hatao' and got unbelievable support from the electorate. Your kindness has also rightly pointed out the role of middle class in finding solutions to their problems and making them equal partners in development process. As your kindness is aware, wherever revolutions have taken place for change in the political system, it is the middle class who have played a major role in such change in the governments," he said.

The former Union minister of state for planning also wrote a letter to Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, congratulating him for the BJP's absolute majority in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. "You have contributed so much to the success of the Indian democracy and its functioning," he wrote.
New Delhi: In a setback to the AAP ahead of the crucial MCD polls, its MLA Ved Parkash on Monday resigned from the party and the Delhi assembly to join the BJP, alleging the Arvind Kejriwal government has "failed" to deliver on poll promises.

The move is seen as a shot in the arm for the BJP as elections to the three municipal corporations of Delhi (MCDs) are scheduled to be held on 23 April.

Ved Parkash, who represented Bawana in the assembly, alleged that the MLAs who talk of development are "suppressed" by the party's top leadership.

He joined the BJP at its Delhi unit office in the presence of Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari and state party incharge Shyam Jaju. Later, accompanied by leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, he submitted his resignation at the Assembly Speaker's office.

Ved Parkash claimed there are 30-35 AAP MLAs who are not happy with the party's leadership, indicating that an unrest has been brewing within the Aam Aadmi Party.

He said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is not "concerned" about what is happening at ground level and instead, he only focuses on how to "defame" Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.

He said that the AAP government is "being run through laptop" and that there is no connect with the ground reality.

"I had joined the AAP with a hope that there will be some change, but I am disillusioned...I have neither quit under duress nor will I take any post in the BJP and will abide by the decisions taken by the party leadership. I have been influenced by the BJP's recent decision to make a priest (Adityanath Yogi) the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Modiji is a saint and with this hope, I have joined the BJP," he told a press conference at the Delhi BJP office.

Delhi BJP chief Tiwari said that the people of Delhi have now understood how they were "cheated" by the Aam Aadmi Party.

"Corruption has not been brought down in Delhi. There is corruption in every department in government. People are unhappy with the government's performance. Every person is feeling cheated. They (AAP) have failed to deliver on promises made in the run-up to assembly elections. What is about promises like Wi-Fi, CCTVs and women safety," he said.

Ved Parkash resignation has brought down the AAP's tally to 65 in the 70-member Delhi Legislative Assembly.

There are also four rebel MLAs  Devinder Sehrawat, Pankaj Pushkar and former ministers Sandeep Kumar and Asim Ahmed Khan.

The political development comes days after BJP President Amit Shah gave a call to "uproot" the Aam Aadmi Party from Delhi at the party's booth in-charge convention.

Reacting to the resignation, a senior AAP leader said, "The party ticket for the MCD polls were given after consulting Ved Parkash. There could be a disagreement over one seat, but we did not expect him to quit."

Ved Parkash, who also resigned all government-run bodies, alleged that the issues of Dalit are being "ignored" by the AAP government.

He alleged that AAP ministers do not pick up calls from legislators, adding that no work has been done by the government in his constituency.

He also took a dig at deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's ambitious project to send the government's principals abroad for training skills.

"In my constituency, there is a shortage of 30 percent of teachers in a government school and they (AAP) talk of sending teachers abroad. Also, SC/ST fund has been lying unspent," he said.

"I am leaving the party with a heavy heart after I saw no hope in the AAP. I am quitting to protect my identity," he added.
Republicans spent much of last week struggling with one another over details of the measure to overturn and replace Obamacare. House members looked warily across the Capitol to their Senate Republican colleagues, knowing that the handiwork in one chamber will be unacceptable in the other. Members of the House Freedom Caucus argued that the GOP bill doesnt go far enough. More moderate lawmakers worried it was going too far.

Amid all the talk of reserve funds, tax credits, budgetary plus-ups, House rules and Senate rules, one thing was clear: The majority party in Washington is not a unified party.

Part of this is the weakness that always accompanies strength; the larger the party  the bigger its majority  the more likely it is to have schisms and factions. This is a matter of psychology as much as politics, and above all it is a matter of physics.

The Democrats who ruled the House for 40 years through 1995 were riven with divisions, some over foreign policy (the party had hawks and doves on Vietnam), some over civil rights (the party had integrationists and segregationists), some over economics (the party had profligate spenders and stingy budget-cutters). Nature abhors a vacuum, but it also abhors a majority.

In earlier periods, party divisions were of less importance than they are now. The Democrats, for example, were able to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on the strength of Republican crossovers, civil-rights moderates like Everett Dirksen of Illinois in the Senate and Bill McCullough of Ohio in the House who more than compensated for the opposition of such giants as Sen. Richard B. Russell of Georgia and Rep. Howard W. Smith of Virginia, both devout segregationists.

But today there are few if any crossovers. Not one Republican voted for Obamacare in 2010, and not one Democrat will vote to repeal it in 2017. That is a reflection both of the hardened ideological profiles of the two parties and of the polarization of politics, two factors that mutually reinforce each other even as they make our politics less supple and less civil.

And while compromise has always been a controversial concept  remember how divisive was the Compromise of 1850, transforming Daniel Webster from a visionary into a villain among his own Massachusetts constituents  it is especially devalued now. With lawmakers increasingly coming from districts drawn to reinforce their ideological inclinations rather than to broaden them, there are fewer incentives to find common cause with partisan rivals than there were a generation ago. The gerrymander has become a viper.

For peculiar, perhaps inexplicable reasons, Republicans have been particularly susceptible to partisan divisions.

The divisions that pitted President William Howard Taft against his mentor, former President Theodore Roosevelt, in 1912 were far more injurious to the Republicans than were, for example, the divisions that produced essentially three Democratic Parties in 1948, the Henry Wallace acolytes, the Strom Thurmond Dixiecrat dissenters and the party regulars who supported Harry Truman. Taft finished third in the 1912 election that sent Woodrow Wilson to the White House, while Truman managed to prevail over GOP nominee Gov. Thomas E. Dewey of New York.

Both parties fell victim to nominees at the far extremes of their party, the Republicans in 1964 when Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona, the Republicans choice, was defeated in the Lyndon Johnson landslide, and the Democrats in 1972, when Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota was defeated in the Richard Nixon landslide.

But the Republicans have had many schisms that prompted deep anxieties  in 1940, when they nominated a politically untested business executive, Wendell Willkie; in 1952, when the party split between supporters of Sen. Robert A. Taft of Ohio and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower; in 1976, when President Gerald R. Ford had to fend off a strong challenge from Gov. Ronald Reagan of California; and in 1992, when President George H.W. Bush was forced to defeat conservative commentator Pat Buchanan. Throughout the end of the 20th century, Republicans faced an identity crisis, struggling with the role of religious conservatives, once a Democratic group, in their party.

The ascendancy of Donald J. Trump to party leadership poses a special Republican challenge.

Most conventional party leaders abhorred Trump, whose passage from a Democrat supporting abortion rights to a Republican opposing them, horrified them even though a similar passage  of Ronald Reagan from ardent New Dealer to conservative avatar  filled them with pride and pleasure. As a candidate, Trumps manners and language were an assault on the partys polished traditions.

The Republicans may have had a plutocratic image, buttressed by nominees like the two Bushes, but in truth it more often embraced candidates from far more modest backgrounds  Willkie and Nixon, for example, or Robert J. Dole of Kansas, all from poor families. Trumps glittery lifestyle was a jarring departure. Ronald Reagans supporters may have been dripping in diamonds, but no one thought the onetime lifeguard from Dixon, Illinois, grew up with privilege, just with the perspective (shared by Nixon and Dole, especially) that comes with relentless striving and struggle.

So now it is the divisions among the Republicans as much as their shared determination to obliterate Obamacare that define them. Are they the party of conservatives, as their natural progression beginning in the Reagan years suggested? Are they better suited to opposition than to governing? Are they master politicians, or simply master pugilists?

In 1954, amid the McCarthy scare, Adlai Stevenson, who had been the Democratic presidential nominee two years earlier and would be the partys nominee again two years later, looked at the rival party and described it as hopelessly, dismally, fatally, torn against itself. He went on to say that the Republican Party was divided against itself, half McCarthy and half Eisenhower. The echo of Lincolns 1858 speech at the Illinois state capitol  A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free  was intentional and unmistakable.

Today the divisions endure, and the role of the president in healing or papering over them remains uncertain. Im gonna come after you, Trump vowed on Tuesday as House conservatives asserted their independence and their opposition to the health care bill that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin had shaped. It is entirely possible is that these conservatives, more than the president, hold the balance of power in the party.
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party accused the BJP of destabilising the Arvind Kejriwal government in the state after its MLA Ved Prakash joined the saffron party.

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the BJP is "rattled" with its "imminent defeat" in the civic body elections  where polling is scheduled for 23 April  after Kejriwal's decision to do away with residential house tax. Talking to reporters outside the CM's residence, Singh alleged the BJP had resorted to horse-trading before the 2015 Assembly polls as well.

The BJP had then taken AAP MLAs Vinod Kumar Binny, Ashok Chauhan, Rajesh Garg and Maninder Singh Dhir into the party fold.

"The people, however, gave a befitting reply and AAP won 67 out of 70 seats. The MCD election will also see similar results. The BJP does not believe in democracy and its action in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarkhand to destablise the (Congress) governments is well known. It is now trying to destablise the Arvind Kejriwal government," he said.

AAP's Bawana legislator's decision to quit the party, and the MLA post, came as a surprise to its top brass. The party's Delhi unit convenor Dilip Pandey was to address the media on the residential house tax issue, but cancelled it as the top brass gathered for an emergency meeting at Kejriwal's residence.

AAP MLA Jarnail Singh had earlier resigned to contest the Punjab Assembly poll. Ved Parkash's resignation has brought down AAP's tally to 65 (from 67) in the 70-member Delhi Legislative Assembly. There are also four rebel MLAs  Devinder Sehrawat,

Pankaj Pushkar and former ministers Sandeep Kumar and Asim Ahmed Khan.

Singh also rubbished reports of more AAP MLAs quitting the party. "We are in touch with all our MLAs and no one is quitting

the party," he said.

The party also paraded Madanlal, its MLA from Kasturba Nagar, after buzz that he too was planning to quit it. Madanlal, who was formerly a parliamentary secretary with the Delhi government, dismissed the claims of his quitting and said he will approach the Press Council of India against those who ran such reports.
New Delhi: The Janata Dal (United) will release the fourth list of candidates for the high-stakes Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Elections, and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will address two rallies during campaigning for the polls next month.

Party sources today confirmed that Kumar will stump for the party at public gatherings in Burari and Khanpur. The Janata Dal (United) chief is lined up to address two "big rallies" on April 9, and Kumar is expected to leverage the prohibition model during the campaign trail.

"The first rally would be at Burari in north Delhi and the next would be at Khanpur in south Delhi. The Bihar model of prohibition and good governance piloted by Nitishji as the chief minister will add weight to the campaign," a source told PTI.

The party had yesterday released its third list, according to which 23 candidates have been given tickets to fight the civic polls.

About 40 candidates have already been fielded as per the first two lists. Women and youth hailing from the Purvanchal region dominate all the four lists.

The party's national general secretary and Delhi unit in-charge Sanjay Jha took a veiled dig at AAP, saying the people of Delhi have a great opportunity to "reassert their verdict" and throw out "merchants of propaganda and false promises".

He asserted that the people of Delhi will support JD(U) based on what the party has done in Bihar and what it plans to do in Delhi.

Jha said the campaign has picked up pace with every candidate doing door-to-door canvassing. He asserted that people's loyalty has now shifted to Nitish Kumar because of his "good governance model", which should be a benchmark not just for Delhi but the entire country.

Banking on its prohibition model, the party through Kumar is trying to reach out to the people from the Purvanchal region.

All major parties including BJP, Congress and AAP are fronting their big guns in the run-up to the polls. Purvanchalis, or people hailing from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh settled in Delhi, are considered a major vote bank by all the parties. A sizeable chunk of this community is settled in "jhuggi-jhopri" and unauthorised colonies.

"The 153 sitting councillors of BJP will not be fielded but what about their report cards of last five years. The party has decided to go with fresh faces because its councillors have failed and it does not want to risk its fortunes," Jha had earlier said.

The JD(U) also seeks to reach out to the Sikh community based on the goodwill earned for organising "Prakash Parv"  Guru Gobind Singh's 350th anniversary in Patna in January.

The Nitish Kumar-led party said it has targeted to field candidates on about 150 of the 276 seats and "prohibition impact in Bihar would give us a major shot in the arm in the MCD polls too".

Incidentally, JD(U) had supported AAP in the 2015 Assembly elections. The same year JD(U) had cobbled 'Grand Alliance' with RJD and Congress for the Bihar Assembly polls, which it swept comprehensively.

The BJP has been ruling the MCD since 2007. The last polls were held in 2012. The much-awaited polls will decide the fate of 272 councillors. While NDMC and SMDC have 104 seats each, EDMC has

64 seats.

The total number of the electorate for the civic polls stands at 1,32,10,206, which include 73,15,915 men, 58,93,418 women and 793 voters in the other category, according to the state election commission.
Once again, the Shiv Sena has thrown a googly in the Presidential election poll highlighting the name of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat as a candidate for the President of India post. The party said that since India is known as a Hindu country Bhagwat is the best choice for the president's post. The Presidential election which is scheduled to be held in July this year.

Interestingly, senior BJP leader and former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj are being talked about as the BJP's President of India candidates. There is word is that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar is also in the race. Sena, however, seems to be more inclined towards Bhagwat.

"Mohan Bhagwat is a good name for the president post. He is the real face of RSS. After Hedgewar and Golwalkar, Bhagwat is doing hard work towards forming a united Hindu country," Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said on Monday. Raut, however, added that Uddhav Thackeray will take a final decision on the party's choice for the post.

Earlier, Shiv Sena had supported Advani for the president's post. Considering that Advani shares a very good rapport with Sena party chief Uddhav Thackeray, the party is likely to have dragged Mohan Bhagwat's name in the race as its last chance to bargain with BJP. It will be interesting to see how Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacts to this change.

President Pranab Mukherjee's tenure ends in July 2017 and the next president will take over charge from July onwards. Shiv Sena has 21 MPs (18 from Lok Sabha and three from Rajya Sabha) and 63 MLAs from the state of Maharashtra, all of which takes the total value of votes at 25,893. This makes Shiv Sena vote important in the election of the next president.

(The value of an MP vote is weighted at 708 whereas that of an MLA's vote is weighted at 175).

In the last two Presidential elections, Shiv Sena voted for a Congress candidate. Former president Pratibha Patil and President Pranab Mukherjee won the presidential election after Shiv Sena support. Though Pratibha Patil avoided visiting Matoshree, Pranab Mukherjee had visited Matoshree and meet Sena Chief Bal Thackeray. So, this is the third time that the Sena is talking against the BJP in the presidential election.

Due to the importance of Sena votes valued a 25,893, the BJP central leadership is now planning for compromise and is likely to rope in Prime Minister Narendra Modi for dinner diplomacy next week with NDA members.

The BJP is making yet another bid to improve its ties with its uneasy ally Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.

BJP sources confirmed that Modi is likely to send an invitation to Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray for dinner in Delhi for a one-on-one meeting so that the misunderstanding between the two parties is over. "This is for the first time that a direct and personal invite has gone out to Thackeray for an NDA get-together," confirmed a Sena MP who did not wish to be named. However, Raut denied of any such invitation. "We havent received any invitation from the PM. It is a rumour in the media fraternity only. If they (BJP) want to discuss Sena stand in the Presidential election, then it will be discussed at Matoshree only," Raut said while talking with IBN Lokmat.

Raut also added that the Matoshree cooks tasty food, so it's unlikely that Uddhav will attend a dinner party, which he hasn't been invited.

The BJP's gains in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Assembly polls where they won more than 65,000 votes value has improved its chances, but the party is still short of 20,000 votes for President election. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has 20,000 votes but the AIADMK is angry on governor C Vidyasagar Rao for delaying the oath-taking ceremony of its chief minister candidate Sasikala. All of which gives Shiv Sena a chance to bargain with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Both parties relations have deteriorated after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation poll in February this year. There is also pressure from MLAs from both the parties to break up post alliance with each other. So, this is the last chance for Sena to get one cabinet and one MoS minister in the Centre and an important portfolio in Marahashtra too.

BJP MLAs have often stressed in party meetings that the party should rethink its ties with Sena. So, the next three months are crucial for the Sena and BJP alliance in Centre as well in Maharashtra.

An interesting thing is that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently said that Senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani and Sushma Swaraj also good choice for President post.
Mumbai: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will be a good choice for President to make India a 'Hindu Rashtra', Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Monday said.

"It is the highest post in the country. Somebody with a clean image should occupy it. We have heard Mohan Bhagwat's name is being discussed for president. If India has to be made a 'Hindu Rashtra', Bhagwat will be a good choice for president. But the decision (to support

his candidature) will be taken by Uddhavji," he told reporters.

Asked if he will attend the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the strategy for the presidential polls, Raut parried a direct reply, saying sumptuous food is cooked at "Matoshree" (Uddhav Thackeray's residence in Mumbai) as well.

"In the last two presidential polls, Bal Thackeray had gone against the flow and done what was in the interest of the nation. Even then, the Presidential candidates had come to 'Matoshree' to discuss the elections," the Sena leader said.

"Those who want votes can come to 'Matoshree'. We are ready for a dialogue. Sumptuous food is cooked at 'Matoshree' as well," Raut said.
Lucknow: Clearing confusion over its action against slaughter houses in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday said it was acting only against the illegal abattoirs.

"We are acting only against illegal abattoirs. Licenced slaughterhouses are requested to stick to the norms," Health Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh told reporters.

"The licenced slaughter houses should comply with the norms mentioned in the licence and need not fear," he said.

"No orders have been issued to take any action against any shop selling chicken, fish or eggs. They need not fear," Singh clarified.

He directed the officials that they should not act in over-enthusiasm nor they should overstep their jurisdiction.

Citing an instance, Singh said, "One of the norms mentioned in the licence is the installation of CCTV cameras in the premises of the slaughterhouse. If this norm is not complied with, then instead of ordering the closure of the slaughterhouse, a notice may be issued to its owner, and he be instructed to take necessary remedial steps within a specific timeframe."

Noting that the National Green Tribunal had insisted on the closure of illegal slaughterhouses, he said, "The NGT had in 2015 observed that illegal slaughter houses are a concern for the environment while insisting on their closure. However, the previous government did not do anything to ensure the closure of these illegal abattoirs."

Incidentally, meat sellers across the state on Monday went on an indefinite strike against the crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses.

Singh said a propaganda is being circulated through various social media platforms (especially by those who do not agree with our ideology).

"Please do not fall prey to the propaganda," he said.

On whether the state government is open to holding talks with the meat sellers, the minister said, "So far, no delegation of the meat sellers has approached us."

"They are most welcome to meet us and convey their point of view. We would meet them with an open mind, but will not allow illegal things," he said.

On anti-Romeo squads, Singh said the government would not tolerate any vigilantism.

"If anyone dares do it, he will be in serious trouble," he said when asked specifically about reports that young boys and girls were being harassed.
Liberals are once again missing the point and mainstream media, not for the first time, asking all the wrong questions in the ongoing crackdown on illegal meat trade in Uttar Pradesh under new chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

The liberal position is unambiguous. It sees Yogi's every action through the prism of distrust and interprets his each step as an extension of the larger Hindutva project.

From western media to eminent jurists and almost everyone in between claiming to uphold the edifice of India's liberal-secular order, Yogi's ascension to the UP CM's chair is an Apocalyptic catastrophe. They are not ready to give the Mahant of Gorakhnath mutt even a small fraction of the benefit of doubt they grudgingly extended to Narendra Modi post-2014. Not that it matters.

Openness of ideas is the sine qua non of liberalism. When ideological positions become ossified, it blinkers practitioners and makes them blind to reality. At this stage, liberals resemble indoctrinated ideologues, the antithesis of everything liberalism represents. Right now in India, liberalism is undergoing such a crisis of logic that it finds merit in arguing that illegal abattoirs  that have earned the wrath of courts for slaughtering the environment  should be allowed to function so that shops may serve delectable kebabs.

The entire political discourse over the last few days has seen dire threats of Armageddon being issued from liberal towers over chicken and mutton replacing buffalo meat in 'Tunday kebabs'. Let's wrap our heads around the argument. Shops should be allowed to procure meat from illegal sources so that kebabs may retain their succulence, prices may be kept down and India's liberal edifice may be maintained. That the chief minister has moved to put an end to this illegal ecosystem has been presented as the biggest proof of Yogi's 'persecution of Muslims' and elaborate theories have been spun around how this denies a section of UP populace their daily intake of protein. Without a morsel of evidence.

The ridiculousness of this argument resists a rational rebuttal. If the 'reputed' shops had so long been procuring raw materials from illegal sources then it is time penal action is levied against these instead of lobbying for excuses or lending them a sympathetic ear. Sourcing meat from unlicensed butcher shops not only plays havoc with local economy, it also incentivises law-breakers and makes those who live by rules appear as fools. If ending of this illegal cycle forces eateries to source meat from elsewhere, so be it.

It is also misleading to think that all eateries who have been affected are in opposition to this move. One of them whose kebabs have gone off the platter told PTI that he supported the closure of illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses in the state. The owner admitted that it was "difficult for a common man to pass through a locality where the slaughterhouses were operating almost openly. He also alleged that the illegal abattoirs even indulged in slaughtering dogs."

The more persuasive argument is of the larger ramifications of the step. Abrupt shutting down of the illegal operations renders thousands of people associated with the industry jobless and has a domino effect on the ancillary industries linked with the unlicensed abattoirs. There is no doubt that there may be a temporary spurt in unemployment as these abattoirs and butcher shops, assuming they are intent on running their businesses, apply for a licence and set up effluent treatment units.

There are two intrinsic problems with this argument. One, blaming Yogi Adityanath for acting against illegal butcher shops and meat processing units because a large number of Muslims are associated with this trade is to argue against the very grain of the Constitutionality of his position. A chief minister's job is to ensure rule of law. He cannot be expected to indulge in acts of omission based on which section of the populace is being affected. Since assuming office, Adityanath has also banned chewing of paan and gutkha in all government premises  a trade mostly linked with Hindus. Is the chief minister anti-Hindu?

Closing of illegal abattoirs and unlicensed butcher shops was part of BJP's poll manifesto. The chief minister, in implementing the order, is staying true to one of the promises that presumably has voter support. To argue that he should show some leeway to illegal meat traders and selectively apply rule of law is a slippery slope that might set grave precedents. It is inconceivable how the liberal argument has once again fallen on the wrong side of law and ethics.

The second issue is even more serious. Arguments in favour of keeping open illegal slaughterhouses completely ignore the enormous environmental and public health hazard linked to these units. The chief minister has clarified that in acting against these unlicensed abattoirs, he was implementing an NGT (National Green Tribunal) order passed in 2015. In May 2015, the NGT had ordered the shutting down of all slaughterhouses that do not have permission from the state pollution control board and/or other environmental clearance issuing authorities.

As a report in The Hindu points out, a Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar "also directed Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) to ensure that there is no illegal extraction of water by these slaughterhouses in these three districts. Orders were also passed to constitute a committee to monitor small butcher outlets and concerned public authorities were asked to "ensure that there is a proper regulation of meat shops and appropriate measures are taken for hygiene and healthcare"

There has been no question from media  busy fulminating on illegal slaughterhouses  why the Samajwadi Party government turned a blind eye to the NGT order. Almost a year later in April 2016, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that only one out of 126 slaughterhouses in the state is operating with a valid permission and only 21 units have sewage treatment facilities. According to a report in Times of India, the information came to light when a Delhi-based petitioner moved the court against UP abattoirs "dumping blood and animal carcasses in drains, polluting ground water sources, besides illegally drawing ground water for running their equipment."

The NGT can pass orders and repeatedly remind the administration of its Constitutional duty  which it did on more than one occasion  but when administrative duties are held hostage at the altar of "secularism", rule of law goes for a toss. This inverted paradigm of governance has resulted in a situation where nearly the entire meat industry in the largest meat producing state of India is illegal. Only a smattering of around 40-45 are licensed and integrated abattoirs-cum-processing units. The rest, thousands and thousands of small butcher shops and hundreds of slaughterhouses spread across the western parts of the state in areas such as Meerut, Sambhal, Aligarh, Ghaziabad and Bulandshahr operate in complete disregard of all environmental norms and NGT orders.

These units discharge offal and animal waste in open drains which then finds their way to groundwater and tributaries of Ganga and Yamuna. In addition, as a Times of India report points out, "furnaces used for extracting animal bone fat releases toxic and harmful gases into the atmosphere in contravention of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981." Nearly one-fourth of a two-quintal typical buffalo is body waste that is disposed of in open fields while the liquid waste goes to drains leading to cholera, hookworm, dysentery, and other diseases, says the report quoting a study on environmental and health hazards from slaughterhouses.

An industry which spreads such a debilitating amount of pollution and has such a devastating effect on civic health cannot be allowed to run uncontrolled. That it has gone on for so long speaks volumes about the state of administration in UP and the nexus that existed between illegal meat traders and politicians who no doubt saw a rent-seeking opportunity in these practices while keeping up the facade of "secularism". The blackmailing of these meat traders who have since gone on an 'indefinite strike' points to the deep rot in the system.

Yogi should be applauded for initiating this much-needed cleaning up of the state's corrupted edifice.
Lucknow, for ages, has had the distinction of serving the most authentic Awadhi and Mughlai non-vegetarian cuisine. It's a foodie paradise. The taste of the food has remained distinct through the generations but the irony is that the recipe has not travelled even to the national capital, Delhi.

Each region of Uttar Pradesh has its own list of non-vegetarian delicacies and that perhaps has been the reason why chefs or the cooks have relied on their homegrown recipes rather than borrowing them from Lucknow or Moradabad. But now the kebabis and dastarkhans in Lucknow are faced with a rare problem, procuring the very basic raw materials  beef, mutton and chicken  for the mouth watering dishes they have been serving for decades or even centuries.

Several of these outlets and their suppliers never bothered about the legality of procuring and supplying meat  from where it was procured, how it was procured and who supplied it  as long as the supply was regular, not really unhealthy and within the stipulated price. The licensing issue was there, it had to be as in any civilised society but then business was, as usual, no one cared for it. If questions were asked then they were only to grease palms of officials concerned or to raise the bribe bargain.

Livestock thefts and their smuggling to slaughter houses had grown into a huge nuisance in the state. Since no remains or evidence was left of a stolen cattle, the problem was becoming alarming and the state needed to put its act together with required administrative will. By making it a big pre-poll issue, BJP has conveyed the message home: that business on this aspect can't remain, as usual.

A thumping victory by the BJP and advent Yogi Adityanath at the helm changed it all. A message said: "What PETA couldn't achieve (number of slaughter houses closed) since its existence, Yogi Adityanath has achieved in less than a week."

But a mindless overdrive by the police and other state officials is now pinching the UP government for the issue was as legal as cultural. After a severe crack down on slaughter houses by the police and vigilantism by some private groups, the political leadership in the government is talking in a manner the government is expected to talk, or in the manner should talk in a democratic society  law must be enforced, illegal slaughter and illegal trade should be stopped, and those operating with prescribed license need not worry and those entrusted with law enforcement should not cross their official brief.

Mark the words of newly appointed health minister, Sidharth Nath Singh, who is also the designated spokesman for UP government. He said the word "avaidh" (unauthorised) was important. The government has directed closure of only unauthorised slaughter houses. Those running with valid licenses to slaughter need not worry. He also cautioned some over-enthusiastic officials, in police and other departments, not to misread or interpret the directive in a way which was never meant to be.

Singh made it clear that mutton, chicken and egg shops should not be shut. There never was a direction to shut such shops. The officials looking for minor deviations like not having a CCTV camera installed in legally-permitted slaughterhouses as an excuse should use prudent discretion and not indulge in high handedness. He even sent out a stern warning against policemen crossing the brief and harassing genuine meat sellers. "Vigilantism by police is unacceptable," he said.

Given the fact that Singh is also the spokesperson of the government, it should be assumed that he was speaking on the subject after due deliberation with the leadership in the government.

Responding to All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen Party (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owasi's charge in the Parliament on the issue, Union commerce minister Nirmala Sitaraman too emphasised that on the legality of the issue, adding that only illegal slaughter houses are being closed.

Though this has been a pre-poll issue for the BJP, and senior leaders including party president Amit Shah talked at length about the issue in his public rallies, the issue now has acquired political-religious overtones.

With saffron-clad Yogi Adityanath steering the government, the issue has got into a domain where one could suspect would go  the secular-communal debate  irrespective of merits of the issue. It's true that those engaged in running slaughterhouses and meat trade belong to the Muslim community but a number of Hindus are also in this business. The argument that this is an alibi to force vegetarianism on people of UP is devoid of any merit. Non-vegetarianism does not distinguish religion, just that most Hindus don't touch beef, least of all cow meat.

There could be temporary disruptions in meat supply but a regulated slaughterhouse and supply will make meat more hygienic. Animals butchered on the streets and sold without any hygiene standards is not a healthy sight in a modern society. The challenge before Yogi Adityanath government is to stop thefts, smuggling and raise hygiene standards of procurement and supply.

The move has provoked all kinds of thoughts. One interesting message said: "Koi Yogi aaye bewafaon ke shahar me bhi, khwahison ke katalkhane wahan bhi band karwane hain."
British Prime Minister Theresa May travels to Scotland on Monday to try to avert its independence bid while also fighting a political crisis in Northern Ireland in the frantic final days before she launches Brexit.

With Britain still reeling from a terror attack at the gates of Parliament, May is preparing to embark on a journey out of the European Union this week that will change Britain and the EU forever.

Ahead of her talks with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, May said she wanted "a more united nation" and would fight for the interests of all parts of Britain once exit negotiations with Brussels begin.

But Sturgeon wants Scotland to remain in the European single market when the rest of Britain leaves and the Edinburgh parliament is expected to back her call for a new independence referendum with a vote on Tuesday.

May will send a letter to EU President Donald Tusk with Britain's formal departure notification on Wednesday, opening up a two-year negotiating window before Britain actually leaves the bloc in 2019.

The Sunday Times newspaper reported that the letter would run to eight pages and British media said it would be handed over in person by Britain's EU envoy Tim Barrow.

May will also on Wednesday address British MPs on Brexit, nine months after the country voted by 52 percent in June in favour of leaving the EU, the first country to do so.

The EU is expected to provide an initial response by Friday and an EU summit on April 29 will come up with a more detailed strategy but the talks themselves are not expected to start until May at the earliest.

We want a deal

The prospect of those negotiations breaking down and Britain leaving with no deal in place is a growing concern for UK business leaders and among pro-EU politicians on both sides of the Channel.

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier last week warned that no deal could create queues at the port of Dover, disrupt air traffic in and out of Britain and even see the transport of nuclear material suspended.

"We want a deal," Barnier told reporters, after May said that "no deal is better than a bad deal".

Barnier also said Britain must "settle the accounts" after EU officials said Britain faced an exit bill of around 60 billion euros ($65 billion)  likely to be a major bone of contention in the negotiations.

The launch of Brexit, which has raised wider questions about European integration, will come just days after EU leaders celebrated the 60th anniversary of the bloc's founding treaty in Rome with a declaration in favour a "multi-speed Europe".

Tens of thousands of pro-EU demonstrators took to the streets of London and other European cities on Saturday but for many Britons the country's departure cannot come soon enough.

Out of control Brexiteers

The run-up to the historic moment has been particularly frenzied for May, who had to be rushed out of the British parliament last Wednesday after an attacker went on a rampage outside the gates.

Briton Khalid Masood, 52, ran over and killed three pedestrians before stabbing a police officer to death and then himself being shot dead just inside the gates of the symbol of Britain's democracy.

Scotland and Northern Ireland are providing two further headaches for Conservative leader May.

In Northern Ireland, Britain is seeking an 11th-hour solution to the political deadlock in Belfast following the collapse in January of the British province's power-sharing executive.

Northern Ireland voted for the UK to stay in the European Union and the border with the the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state, is a concern for negotiators.

Scotland also voted overwhelmingly for Britain to stay in the EU.

As well as exposing deep rifts between different parts of the country, the Brexit vote showed up the divide between the haves and the have-nots of globalisation and the raw wounds from the global financial crisis and years of austerity.

It also highlighted turmoil in the Conservative Party  which is now divided between a hardcore of "Brexiteers" and more moderate MPs who have said they want smoother conditions for the departure.

Some Conservative MPs were quoted by The Times newspaper on Monday saying they could vote against the repeal of the European Communities Act 1972, which enshrines Britain's EU membership, "if negotiations are going badly and Brexiteers are out of control".
Beijing: China on Sunday defended its ambitious USD 46 billion CPEC project, saying President Xi Jinping's pet initiative was aimed at improving livelihood of people in the area and will not affect Beijing's stand on the Kashmir issue. Reacting guardedly to a motion tabled in the UK parliament condemning Pakistan's "arbitrary" move to declare the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region as its fifth province, China said its position on the issue of Kashmir is consistent.

The motion introduced by Conservative MP Bob Blackman, who regularly speaks out in support of the rights of Kashmiri Hindus in the House of Commons, said that Gilgit-Baltistan has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947 and the country is attempting to annex the already disputed area. Commenting on the motion, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was a motion moved by a member and not a resolution.

Skirting any references to Pakistan's move to merge Gilgit-Baltistan, the spokesperson's office said there is no change in China's stand on the Kashmir issue as result of the CPEC project. Pakistan media reports had said the move to incorporate Gilgit-Baltistan as new province after seven decades of independence followed pressure from China over the disputed status of the two areas which formed part of the CPEC.

"China's position on the issue of Kashmir is consistent. It is an issue between India and Pakistan left over from history and it should be properly handled by them through dialogue and consultation," the ministry said in written response to a PTI query about the motion. The motion further said that the attempts to "change the demography of the region in violation of State Subject Ordinance and forcibly and illegally to build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which further aggravates and interferes with the disputed territory."

Delinking CPEC from the Kashmir issue, the ministry said, "it is a cooperation framework set up by China and Pakistan with eyes on long-term development of all round cooperation, with a purpose to improve local infrastructure, livelihood and promote local economic and social development." "The building of the CPEC will not affect China's position on the Kashmir issue," it added.
Washington: US President Donald Trump has picked his son-in-law Jared Kushner to head a new innovation office which will overhaul federal bureaucracy and fulfill key campaign promises, a media report said.

The White House Office of American Innovation, slated to be unveiled on Monday, will operate as its own power centre within the West Wing and will report directly to Trump, the Washington Post said in a report on Sunday.

The office will be staffed by former business executives and is designed to infuse "fresh thinking into Washington, float above the daily political grind and create a lasting legacy for a president still searching for signature achievements", the report said.

"All Americans, regardless of their political views, can recognise that government stagnation has hindered our ability to properly function, often creating widespread congestion and leading to cost overruns and delays," Trump told the Washington Post.

"I promised the American people I would produce results, and apply my 'ahead of schedule, under budget' mentality to the government."

Kushner, 36, a former real estate and media executive is also a shadow diplomat, serving as Trump's lead adviser on relations with China, Mexico, Canada and the Middle East.

He is positioning the new office as "an offensive team"  an aggressive, non-ideological factory capable of attracting top talent from both inside and outside of government, and serving as a conduit with the business, philanthropic and academic communities.

"We should have excellence in government," Kushner said on Sunday in an interview in his West Wing office.

"The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens."

The innovation office has a certain focus on technology and data, and it is working with industry titans like Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk, the Washington Post report said.

The group has already hosted sessions with more than 100 such leaders and government officials.
Not far from a threadbare flag demanding the transfer of ETA prisoners to Basque penitentiaries, a street in the town of Tolosa reflects the regions new reality. One doorway is the entrance to the mosque of the Islamic Association Litaarafu and an Extremadura cultural center; another is the evangelical center Casa de Dios  run by a young pastor with the air of a rapper  and yet another is a Chinese bazaar called Haozailai. Only at the end of the street can you find traditional Basque-run businesses  a hairdresser and a grocery selling the gourmet beans Alubias de Tolosa.

Maritxu Jimenez (psychologist), Josu Amantes, Fernando Etxegarai and Oihana Garmendia. Bernardo Perez

ETA recently announced that it will fully disarm by April 8, marking the latest chapter in a history of terrorist activity that began in the late 1960s. Many of the groups prisoners who are being released after sentences spanning an average of 20 years are coming back to a world that looks nothing like it used to; a world in which furniture is bought at IKEA and clothes in Zara and where there seems to be no room for their old demands.

Six years ago there were around 600 ETA members behind bars. Now, there are fewer than 280. Some of them, like Fernando Etxegarai, Josu Amantes and Oihana Garmendia, feel neither defeated nor frustrated, but others, according to Maritxu Jimenez, a psychologist who has been treating former ETA prisoners for 17 years, feel as though they have not only lost a war but are returning to a world where suddenly that war has no meaning.

There is now a plurality that would have been impossible in the ultra-nationalist vision of Basque society that ETA attempted to impose through weapons

In 2003, Arnaldo Otegi, then the leader of ETAs political wing Batasuna, was filmed for the documentary The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone outside the pelota court in Zubieta, a town on the outskirts of San Sebastian. I have a Cuban friend who calls us the last natives of Europe, he said on camera. The day everyone in Lekeitio or Zubieta eats hamburgers, listens to American rock music, wears American clothes, replaces their language with English, and looks at the Internet instead of at the hills, that will be such a boring, boring day, that it wont be worth living.

Just 14 years later, a 20-kilometer drive from Zubieta to the town of Tolosa illustrates how this boring world has come to pass. The end of ETA violence has produced a snapshot of picture-perfect tolerance  the mosque, the Chinese shop and the evangelical cult center. It is the kind of plurality that would have been impossible in the ultra-nationalist vision of Basque society that ETA attempted to impose through weapons. In 1995, 45.3% of Basques cited terrorism and violence as one of their main concerns. In 2016, the figure had dropped to 0.7%. And now that a date for disarmament has been announced, how many Basques will remember terrorism at all in the next survey by the Center for Sociology Studies (CIS)?

Josu Amantes, Maritxu Jimenez (psychologist), Fernando Etxegarai and Oihana Garmendia. Bernardo Perez

When a fierce civil conflict ends, there are two groups that are adversely affected by the vertiginous speed at which society moves on, says Imanol Zubero, who teaches sociology at the University of the Basque Country (UPV). There are the victims of terror attacks, who dont understand how so many years of suffering can fall into oblivion; and then there are those who think of themselves as heroes because they have killed and spent years in jail in the pursuit of their dream of Euskal Herria [a Greater Basque Country encompassing parts of southern France]. Both groups are aware that society has forgotten them.

Zubero, who used to require a bodyguard to protect himself against ETA attacks, but who still visited jails to administer examinations to ETA prisoners studying for degrees with the UPV, has noticed a gradual disintegration of that feeling of shared suffering that used to exist within the abertzale [radical] left on the subject of ETA prisoners, and which used to be very strong.

Line of fire

Historically, ETA looked after its jailed members as long as they toed the line, and reacted badly to any who broke ranks and negotiated their sentences or conditions on an individual basis, even going as far as assassinating them, as was the case with Maria Dolores Gonzalez Katarain, a senior ETA leader better known as Yoyes, who was shot dead in 1986 for being a traitor.

This conformity no longer exists, says Zubero. There are prisoners who have negotiated individually in order to get out of jail as soon as possible with the explicit support of Bildu, [a Basque pro-independence party with links to ETA]. The family members of those who have chosen to act alone then break away from the ETA prisoner community. Its a clean break and its reflected in the rallies. Suddenly, someone who used to always be there is missing, and if you ask around youll find that their son or daughter has been moved to a jail in Euskadi or set free. This used to happen in secret, but it is now happening openly with Bildus support, and its generating a lot of conflict among the abertzale left.

It has also produced a minority group called ATA that accuses political leaders, including Otegi, of treachery for abandoning the prisoners and the armed struggle.

Prisoners about to finish long sentences are not likely to choose a moderate way out

The feeling that we have come to the end of an era, and that its a case of each man for himself, is also evident inside the prisons. According to an anti-terrorist expert who prefers to remain anonymous, The idea that it's all over has existed among ETA prisoners for some time. They have been bereft of leadership for two years. Before, they used to receive secret and very precise instructions from the groups lawyers, such as when to go on hunger strikes and when to protest by refusing to leave their cells. But now the debate is open. And behind it is the idea of linking the ETA prison community to [the political party] Sortu instead of ETA itself. That way, they become pro-independence prisoners instead of ETA prisoners.

Such a change of surname could help bring them prison privileges and a move to a prison closer to home. Jose Luis de Castro, the judge who oversees the execution of sentences at the Audiencia Nacional, Spain's central high court, has noticed an increase over the past year and a half in the number of ETA prisoners wanting to bring their records up to date in order to be ready for the next steps they might want to take.

The antiterrorist expert who prefers to remain anonymous does, however, point out that prisoners about to finish long sentences are not likely to choose a moderate way out. Those who have only months left before they are out aren't about to repent; their logic is that theyve just spent 20 years inside, most of those in solitary confinement, and theyre going to come out with their heads held high, he says. The so-called terrorist dignity is very important to them  that is, they want everyone to know that 20 years of jail has not been able to crush them.

A different world

This attitude is evident in Fernando Etxegarai, Josu Amantes and Oihana Garmendia, three former ETA prisoners who have agreed to speak to EL PAIS. Josu Amantes was arrested in the French region of Brittany in 1992 and spent 22 years behind bars in France and Spain after being sentenced for a bomb attack on the main branch of the Vizcaya Bank in 1983, which killed three and injured 12. After the bombing, Amantes fled to France where he was seriously injured by the state-sponsored anti-terrorist squad GAL. Like Fernando Etxegarai who was imprisoned for 21 years from 1987 to 2008 for nine attacks, and Ohiana Garmendia who was jailed from 2009 to 2015 in France for recruitment, Amantes does not feel defeated, nor does he believe that ETAs objective  an independent and socialist Basque country  is now out of reach.

The old part of town in San Sebastian, Bernardo Perez

It's true that when I got out I found society had changed a lot, he says. Young people have been demobilized, but you have to put that into context. Our era was one of action, response, action; there was unstoppable momentum. But since coming out, I have encountered a lively debate on objectives that havent changed, they are simply being pursued with different tools.

Meanwhile, Etxegarai believes the struggle now has to be taken to the ballot box. Given the political situation, people would not vote for independence in a hypothetical referendum, he says, but the important thing is to give the public the chance to vote, whatever the result.

When asked whether so much death and confinement has been worth it, neither man expresses regret. But they do pick their words carefully in case they are used against them. The means were what they were, says Etxegarai. At least I tried. I believed then and I believe now in certain objectives, and even though it was very difficult to take the decision to do what I did, at least I have the peace of mind of knowing that I tried.

Oihana Garmendia agrees. We are often asked these kinds of questions, she says. But when you make a decision, you know whats involved, and that its a pretty gray prospect  jail, death or disappearance.

When a fierce civil conflict ends, there are two groups that are adversely affected by the vertiginous speed at which society moves on

Imanol Zubero, Basque Country University

And, drawing from her lengthy experience, the psychologist Maritxu Jimenez declares that regret is not one of the problems she has encountered among former ETA prisoners. I don't remember anyone wondering if it was worth it, she says. Thats not why they crack. They crack on account of foiled expectations. They think that once they are out, the worst is over and they don't reckon with the difficulty of adapting.

Etxegarai, who is now one of the leaders of Harrera, an association that helps prisoners sort themselves out after being released into society, explains that prisoners who have served long sentences often face destitution on the outside. They can find themselves pushed towards crime precisely because of being marginalized, he says.

Emotionally, they can also be destitute. Some of them are not in touch with their emotions because they have kept them hidden to avoid being hurt, says Maritxu Jimenez. Many are indebted to loved ones but suddenly they feel nothing for them.

After a life on the run, carrying out attacks or languishing in solitary confinement, loneliness becomes a familiar condition. When I got out, says Amantes, there were no walls to stop me, so I walked and walked like crazy. I needed to get rid of the poison inside me.

English version by Heather Galloway.
Paris: Carlos the Jackal, already serving two life sentences for murder, should be given a third life term for a deadly 1974 bombing in Paris, a French prosecutor said on Monday.

The Venezuelan self-styled revolutionary, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, denies the grenade attack on the Drugstore Publicis store that claimed two lives and injured 34 on 15 September, 1974.

Prosecutor Remi Crosson du Cormier said Monday that "all evidence gathered in this investigation points to him."

During the two-week trial, in which a verdict is expected Tuesday, 67-year-old Carlos argued that he should not be required to testify against himself.

He also said that as an "officer of the Palestinian resistance"  on whose behalf he staged a spectacular hostage-taking at OPEC in Vienna in 1975  he faced death if he divulged operational information.

Pressed by presiding judge Francois Sottet, the defendant said at one point: "Maybe it's me, but there's no proof of it."

The world's most wanted fugitive in the 1970s and early 1980s has been in prison in France since his arrest in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in 1994 by French elite police.

He is already serving a life sentence for the murders of two policemen in Paris in 1975 as well as that of a former comrade who betrayed him.
Mosul: Conflicting accounts emerged on Sunday about an explosion in Iraq's Mosul a week ago after a US-led coalition strike against Islamic State that local officials said collapsed buildings, killing and burying many people.

Iraq's military said 61 bodies had been recovered from a destroyed building that Islamic State had booby-trapped in west Mosul, but that there was no sign the building had been hit by a coalition air strike.

The military statement differed from reports by witnesses and local officials that said many more bodies were pulled from the building after a coalition strike targeted IS militants and equipment in the Jadida district.

A Nineveh province health official said on Sunday that 160 bodies had been officially buried after they were recovered from the site where eyewitnesses said buildings had been flattened by the 17 March blast.

"Six alleyways of the neighbourhood were completely destroyed," the official, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told Reuters. "Civil defence has extracted and buried 160 bodies up to this moment."

What happened on 17 March remains unclear and details are difficult to confirm as Iraqi forces battle with Islamic State to recapture the densely populated parts of the western half of Mosul, the militant group's last stronghold in Iraq.

Eyewitnesses on Sunday described horrific scenes from the blast, with body parts strewn over rubble, residents trying desperately to pull out survivors and other people buried out of reach.

"We felt the earth shaking as if it was an earthquake. It was an air strike that targeted my street. Dust, shattered glass and powder were the only things my wife, myself and three kids were feeling," said one Jadida resident, Abu Ayman.

"We heard screams and loud crying coming from the house next door. After the bombing stopped, I went out with some neighbours and found that some houses on my street were levelled."

As combat continues, the Jadida incident highlights the complexity of the fighting in west Mosul, where militants hide among families, using them as shields and putting at risk as many as half a million people still caught in Islamic State-held areas.

Iraqi forces hit militant positions on Sunday with helicopter strikes and exchanged heavy gun and rocket fire around al-Nuri mosque in west Mosul, where the Islamic State leader declared his caliphate nearly three years ago.

At the north edge of Mosul, Iraqi army divisions raided and entered the Badush cement factory, to where militants had retreated, Lt Col Ali Jassem of the 9th armoured division said. Army units are clearing villages to the north.

Thousands of people have already fled Mosul and coalition officials and Iraq's Shi'ite-led government are wary of incidents that could alienate residents of the mainly Sunni city and fuel the kind of sectarian tensions that helped Islamic State's rise.

The US-led coalition backing Iraqi forces on Saturday said it carried out a strike on Islamic State militants and equipment in the area of the reported deaths, and was investigating. It did not give figures for any casualties or details of targets.

Brigadier General Matthew Isler, a deputy commanding general for the coalition, said on Sunday it took "every feasible measure to protect civilians" and was investigating all "credible allegations."

The Iraqi military command said witnesses had told troops that the building was booby-trapped and militants had forced residents inside basements to use them as shields. IS militants had also fired on troops from houses, it said.

"A team of military experts from field commanders checked the building where the media reported that the house was completely destroyed. All walls were booby-trapped and there is no hole that indicates an air strike," it said.

"Sixty-one bodies were evacuated," the statement said.

A coalition air strike had hit the area at the time though there was no sign it struck that building, it said.

Conflicting Accounts

The military's casualty figure was much lower than that given by local officials. A municipal official had said on Saturday that 240 bodies had been pulled from the rubble.

A local lawmaker and two witnesses said that a coalition air strike may have targeted a large truck bomb, triggering a blast that collapsed buildings.

Ghazwan al-Dawoodi, head of the Nineveh governorate human rights council, said his team had made a field visit and that 173 people were killed after militants forced them into a bunker, and then opened fire on gunships to prompt an air strike.

Another eyewitness Abu Obeid, a teacher, told Reuters that Islamic State had parked a truck bomb in the neighbourhood.

There was one huge blast then several others, he said. When he emerged from his home after three hours, many homes were destroyed.

Iraqi forces have retaken the east of Mosul and half of the west, across the Tigris River that divides Iraq's second city. Thousands of people are fleeing each day to escape the fighting.

Aid groups are scrambling to build more camps to cope with the surge.

The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights said that since the campaign against western Mosul began on 19 February, unconfirmed reports have said nearly 700 civilians have been killed by government and coalition air strikes or Islamic State action.

The militants have used car bombs, snipers and mortar fire to counter the offensive. They have also stationed themselves in homes belonging to Mosul residents, from which they fire at Iraqi troops, often drawing air or artillery strikes that have killed civilians.
Houston: A 24-year-old American, who took a bullet for an Indian, has been honoured as "A True American Hero" by the Indian-American community in Houston which raised $100,000 to help him buy a house in his hometown Kansas.

Ian Grillot, who was injured when he tried to intervene in the shooting by a Navy veteran targetting Indians at a bar in Olathe, Kansas last month, was honoured as 'A True American Hero' at the 14th annual gala of India House Houston.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed and his colleague Alok Madasani was critically injured in the shooting.

"On behalf of the Indian-American community in Houston, India House recognised this selfless act beyond the call of duty and has extended the communitys gratitude to Ian Grillot by helping him to buy a house," said a statement posted on the India House Houston Facebook page.

India House raised $100,000 as part of an initiative supported by the Consul General of India in Houston Anupam Ray to help Ian buy a house in his hometown, it said.

India's Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna handed over a cheque of $100,000 to Ian.

"I don't know if I could've lived with myself if I wouldnt have stopped or attempted to stop the shooter because that wouldve been completely devastating. I do now have a very powerful message and if I can help empower people and spread hope and love, then why not? I am honored to be at India House that serves so many families from so many communities in the Houston area," Ian said.

India House is a community centre built by Americans of Indian origin in the Greater Houston area.

"It is not every day that one meets a genuine hero  a person who risks his life for another and takes a bullet for a complete stranger. Ian Grillot is a man who reminds us of the promise of America and its greatness," said Jiten Agarwal, a prominent Houstonian and chair of the annual gala.

With inputs from PTI
An Indian man from Kerala was assaulted by a group of teenagers in Australias Hobart city, in an alleged case of racial abuse. Limax Joy, who hails from Meenadom in Kottayam, sustained head injuries when five teenagers allegedly hurled racial abuse at him and then beat him up at a McDonalds outlet early on Sunday.

This is the second such incident this week, after a Catholic priest of Indian heritage was stabbed in the neck at a church in Melbourne.

Joy, who is pursuing a nursing course and works as a part-time taxi driver in Australia, alleged that five people, including a girl, hurled racial abuses like "you bloody black Indians" at him and assaulted him at the restaurant, where he had stopped for a coffee. According to television reports Joy will meet the Indian High Commissioner on Monday.

He alleged that the five accused were arguing with a worker inside the store but soon turned their attention to him the moment they noticed him. When others in the restaurant telephoned police, the attackers left, but returned later to assault him again.

Joy was admitted to the nearby Royal Hobart Hospital and was later discharged the same day. The police have since filed a complaint.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, Joy told a Malayalam news channel that, "A big boy in a black T-shirt yelled racial abuses and attacked me without any provocation. I was literally shocked." "Nobody intervened when I was attacked," he added.

Joy, who has been living in Hobart for the last eight years, was quoted as saying by Australian media that "the racial mood is definitely changing. It is continuous now. Many other drivers have been abused but not everyone reports it to the police."

Joy has since sought intervention of the External Affairs Ministry to ensure punishment to the accused and has alleged that there was no serious efforts from the authorities to bring the guilty to justice.

Meanwhile, Kottayam Lok Sabha MP Jose K Mani condemned the incident and said that he will raise the issue with the External Affairs Ministry on Monday.

In another racial attack earlier this week, an Indian-origin Catholic priest was stabbed in the neck at a church in Melbourne by a man who called him unqualified to say mass as he was an Indian, prompting the Indian consulate to take up the matter with the police.

With inputs from PTI
London: A motion has been tabled in the UK Parliament condemning Pakistan's "arbitrary" move to declare the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region, bordering disputed PoK, as its fifth province.

Bob Blackman, a Conservative party MP, who regularly speaks out in support of rights of Kashmiri Hindus in the House of Commons, tabled the Early Day Motion (EDM) titled 'Annexation of Gilgit-Baltistan as by Pakistan as its fifth frontier' on 23 March.

EDMs are formal motions tabled in the House of Commons as a means of drawing attention to a particular issue or cause. The motion said that Gilgit-Baltistan has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947 and the country is attempting to annex the already disputed area.

The EDM reads, "That this House condemns the arbitrary announcement by Pakistan declaring Gilgit-Baltistan as its Fifth Frontier, implying its attempt to annex the already disputed area. Gilgit-Baltistan is a legal and constitutional part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India, which is illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947, and where people are denied their fundamental rights including the right of freedom of expression."

It further said that the attempts to change the demography of the region in violation of State Subject Ordinance and forcibly and illegally to build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which further aggravates and interferes with the disputed territory.

Other British MPs are expected to sign the EDM during the course of this week as a show of support to the motion. A spokesperson for Blackman's office indicated that a formal debate on the issue is also likely to be proposed in the coming weeks.

Pakistan's minister for inter-provincial coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada had told Pakistani media on 14 March that a committee headed by advisor of foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz had proposed giving the status of a province to Gilgit-Baltistan. He also said that a constitutional amendment would be made to change the status of the region, through which the $46 billion CPEC passes.

India has termed as "entirely unacceptable" any possible attempt by Pakistan to declare the Gilgit-Baltistan region, bordering disputed PoK, as the fifth province.

An External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said any such step would not be able to hide the illegality of Pakistan's occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir which it must vacate forthwith.

Gilgit-Baltistan is treated as a separate geographical entity by Pakistan. It has a regional assembly and an elected chief minister. The other four provinces in Pakistan are Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh.

It is believed that China's concerns about the unsettled status of Gilgit-Baltistan prompted Pakistan to change its status.
Cincinnati: A gunfight broke out inside a crowded Cincinnati nightclub early Sunday, leaving one man dead and 15 other people wounded after a dispute among several patrons escalated into a shootout, authorities said.

No suspects were in custody by Sunday night in the shooting at the Cameo club, which has a history of gun violence, and police said there was no indication of any terrorism link.

Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said one of the wounded was in "extremely critical condition," while a hospital spokeswoman said two victims were listed in critical condition.

Police began receiving calls at 1:30 am about gunshots at the club near the Ohio River east of downtown Cincinnati. Isaac said some 200 people were inside the club, one of the few hip-hop venues in the city, for music and dancing. Isaac identified the dead man as 27-year-old O'Bryan Spikes, but provided no other details. He said 15 others were injured, with some already treated and released from hospitals.

"What we know at this point in the investigation is that several local men got into some type of dispute inside the bar, and it escalated into shots being fired from several individuals," Isaac said. It wasn't clear how many people fired shots.

Club patron Mauricio Thompson described a chaotic scene in which as many as 20 shots were fired as people scrambled to get away. He said there was a fight and people were yelling for security to intervene before the gunfire began.

"Once I got outside, people coming out bloody, gunshot wounds on them, some of their friends carrying them to the car, rushing them to the hospital," Thompson told WCPO-TV. "It was just crazy."

Another patron told the television station that she dove to the ground outside the nightclub to dodge bullets and her boyfriend climbed on top of her to protect her.

"I thought I was going to die. At that point survival skills started kicking in," said Sherell, who preferred not to give her last name. "Once I heard the third shot  I didn't know whether it was coming from outside, someone was shooting at the club, or whether it was coming from inside."

Police Sgt. Daniel Hils said the large crowd at the club was a factor in the number of people who suffered gunshot wounds.

"When you're talking about something tightly packed like that, I think intended targets aren't going to be the only thing that's hit," said Hils, who is president of the Fraternal Order of Police local. "When you starting throwing lead around, and there's a lot of other people standing around, then the other people are going to get hit."

Isaac said the club has its own security operation that uses detection wands and pat-downs, but that police believe several firearms got inside. Four officers were working security in the club's parking lot and some tried unsuccessfully to revive the man who died.

Cameo's Facebook profile said it caters to college students on Friday nights, when anyone over 18 is allowed in, while Saturdays are "grown and sexy night" for ages 21 and older. The page was taken down later Sunday.

The club has a history of gun violence, including a shooting inside the club on New Year's Day in 2015 and one in the parking lot in September of that year, City Manager Harry Black said.

Police Capt. Kim Williams said there was "just a lot of chaos, obviously, when shots were fired." "Saturday night, it is a very young crowd. We have had incidents here in the past, but this is by far the worst," she said. Referring to initial speculation about possible terrorism, Mayor John Cranley said: "What difference does that make to the victims? Innocent people were shot."

He called the shootings "unacceptable" and said authorities would work to find ways to prevent such violence. A single body was removed by the coroner shortly after 6 am A federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives team was also at the scene.

Among the injured, five were treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and released, hospital spokeswoman Kelly Martin said. She said two people were in critical condition and another three were listed in stable condition by late afternoon. She had no details on the types of injuries or the ages of the victims. Other injured people were taken to or drove themselves to other hospitals.

Authorities asked anyone with information to come forward. Investigators were checking to see if surveillance cameras were working, Williams said. The owner of the nightclub, Jay Rodgers, released a statement Sunday night calling the shooting that took place there, "senseless."

"We will do everything in our power to cooperate and make sure the monsters that did this are caught and brought to justice," Rodgers said. He added that the club would remain closed until "both our management completes our own investigation and the Cincinnati Police Department completes their investigation."

The area is mostly industrial but also home to several nightclubs with a smattering of homes. A regional airport is nearby. The neighborhood is fairly desolate at night, with the exception of the nightlife scene and 24-hour gas stations. The road where the club is located was easily cordoned off by a single police cruiser and officer at either end.

First responders had problems reaching the shooting victims because the parking lots were full, Sgt. Eric Franz told the Cincinnati Enquirer. Ohio governor John Kasich said on Twitter that he was "saddened to learn about last night's shooting" and that he was offering the state's assistance.

American gun violence

But shootings are a common feature of life in America, where the right to bear arms is protected by the US Constitution. Cincinnati, a city of 300,000 people nestled along the northern banks of the Ohio River, had 66 homicides in 2016, all but nine of them as a result of firearms. This year has seen a spike in gun violence, with 57 shooting victims in the city as of Thursday last week, compared to 31 during the same period last year.

Elsewhere in the United States, a gunman opened fire Saturday on a double-decker bus on the Las Vegas Strip, killing one person and wounding another. Police said the suspect appeared to have "mental issues." More notorious gun crimes in recent years included the rampage carried out by 21-year-old white supremacist Dylann Roof, who shot to death nine people during a Bible study session at a historically African American church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015.

And a massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012 claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults. Gunman Adam Lanza, who had a history of mental illness, also killed his mother and went on to commit suicide.

The tragedy sparked calls for stricter gun control laws, but bills banning assault weapons and expanding background checks on gun purchases were defeated in the US Congress.

With inputs from Associated Press and AFP
Moscow: Russia's opposition, often written off by critics as a small and irrelevant coterie of privileged urbanites, put on an impressive nationwide show of strength on Sunday with dozens of protest across the vast country. Hundreds were arrested, including Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who is President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic.

It was the biggest show of defiance since a 2011-2012 wave of demonstrations rattled the Kremlin and led to harsh new laws aimed at suppressing dissent. Almost all of Sunday's rallies were unsanctioned, but thousands braved the prospect of arrest to gather in cities from the far east port of Vladivostok to the "window on the West" of St Petersburg.

An organization that monitors Russian political repression, OVD-Info, said it counted more than 800 people arrested in the Moscow demonstrations alone. That number could not be confirmed and state news agency Tass cited Moscow police as saying there were about 500 arrests.

Navalny, who was arrested while walking from a nearby subway station to the demonstration at Moscow's iconic Pushkin Square, was the driving force of the demonstrations. He called for them after his Foundation for Fighting Corruption released a report contending that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has amassed a collection of mansions, yachts and vineyards.

Navalny is a persistent thorn in the Kremlin's side. He has served several short jail terms after arrests in previous protests and has twice been convicted in a fraud case, but given a suspended sentence. Even though the conviction technically disqualifies him, he intends to run for president in 2018  an election in which Putin is widely expected to run for another term. Putin has dominated Russian political life, as president or prime minister, since 2000.

No overall figures on arrests or protest attendance were available. Some Russian state news media gave relatively cursory reports on the demonstrations, while the state news TV channel Rossiya-24 ignored them altogether in evening broadcasts.

The US government condemned the arrest of Navalny and of peaceful protesters, calling for their immediate release. "The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve a government that supports an open marketplace of ideas, transparent and accountable governance, equal treatment under the law, and the ability to exercise their rights without fear of retribution," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

Police estimated the Moscow crowd at about 7,000, but it could have been larger. The one-hectare (2.5-acre) Pushkin Square was densely crowded as were sidewalks on adjacent Tverskaya Street.

In St Petersburg, about 5,000 protesters assembled in the Mars Field park, shouting slogans including "Putin resign!" and "Down with the thieves in the Kremlin!"

Russia's beleaguered opposition is often seen as primarily a phenomenon of a Westernized urban elite, but Sunday's protests included gatherings in places far from cosmopolitan centres, such as Siberia's Chita and Barnaul.

"Navalny has united people who think the same; that people don't agree with the authorities is obvious from what is going on in the country today," Anna Ivanova, 19, said at the Moscow demonstration. "I am a bit scared."

Scuffles with police erupted sporadically and the arrested demonstrators included a grey-haired man whom police dragged along the pavement. Police cleared the square after about three hours and began herding demonstrators down side streets.

"It's scary, but if everyone is afraid, no one would come out onto the streets," 19-year-old protester Yana Aksyonova said.

The luxuries amassed by Medvedev include a house for raising ducks, so many placards in Sunday's protests featured mocking images of yellow duck toys. Some demonstrators carried running shoes  a reference to Navalny's assertion that tracking shipments of running shoes for Medvedev helped reveal his real-estate portfolio. Others showed up with their faces painted green, a reminder of a recent attack on Navalny in which an assailant threw a green antiseptic liquid onto his face.

"People are unhappy with the fact that there's been no investigation" of the corruption allegations, said Moscow protester Ivan Gronstein.

There were no comments reported from Putin, Medvedev or other top Russian politicians, leaving in doubt what the Kremlin's strategy may be for countering the protests. Previous waves of demonstrations have dissipated through inertia or the intimidation of increasingly punitive measures; under a 2014 law, holding an unauthorized protest is punishable by 15 days in jail, or five years imprisonment for a third offense.

In Vladivostok, police forcefully detained some demonstrators near the city's railway terminal, in one case falling down a small grassy slope as they wrestled with a detainee.

News reports and social media reported demonstrations in large cities throughout the country, including Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk. At least 25 people were reported arrested in Vladivostok and 12 in Khabarovsk.

About 40 people were detained in a small protest in the capital of Dagestan, a restive republic in the Russian Caucasus, according to Tass.
WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will not meet members of Turkish opposition groups during a one-day visit to Ankara this week where talks with President Tayyip Erdogan will focus on the war in Syria, senior U.S. officials said on Monday.Thursday's visit comes at a politically sensitive time in Turkey as the country prepares for a referendum on April 16 that proposes to change the constitution to give Erdogan new powers.A senior State Department official said Tillerson will meet with Erdogan and government ministers involved in the fight against Islamic State in Syria."It is certainly something we are very acutely aware of and the secretary will be mindful of while he is there," one State Department official told a conference call with reporters, referring to political sensitivities ahead of the referendum.

American officials expect Erdogan and others to raise the case of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the government accuses of orchestrating a failed coup last July.The focus of the Ankara talks is the U.S.-led offensive to retake Raqqa from Islamic State and to stabilise areas in which militants have been forced out, allowing refugees to return home, officials said.

A major sticking point between the United States and Turkey is U.S. backing for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Turkey considers part of the Kurdistan Workers' Party that has been fighting an insurgency for three decades in Turkey.But the United States has long viewed Kurdish fighters as key to retaking Raqqa alongside Arab fighters in the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

"We are very mindful of Turkey's concerns and it is something that will continue to be a topic of conversation," a second U.S. official said.Turkey, Russia and Iran have held Syrian peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, on a ceasefire in Syria. The United States has proposed "areas of stability" where Islamic State has been pushed out and refugees can be returned.Six years since the start of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, he is winning on the battlefield although the war is far from over. The once stable country is broken into fiefdoms ruled by rebels and warlords."We're looking forward to discussing with Turkey how we can reinforce ceasefire negotiations through the Astana process," the second U.S. official said. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Steve Holland and Patricia Zengerle

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON A Russian bank under U.S. economic sanctions over Russia's incursion into Ukraine disclosed on Monday that its executives had met Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a top White House adviser, during the 2016 election campaign.Kushner, 36, married to Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump, has agreed to testify to a Senate committee investigating whether Russia tried to interfere in the election.Allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russian actors were behind hacking of senior Democratic Party operatives and spreading disinformation linger over Trump's young presidency. Democrats charge the Russians wanted to tilt the election toward the Republican, a claim dismissed by Trump. Russia denies the allegations.But there has been no doubt that the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, developed contacts among the Trump team. Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign on Feb. 13 after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with Kislyak and misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.Executives of Russian state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) had talks with Kushner during a bank roadshow in 2016 when it was preparing a new strategy, the bank said."As part of the preparation of the new strategy, executives of Vnesheconombank met with representatives of leading financial institutes in Europe, Asia and America multiple times during 2016," VEB said in an emailed statement.It said roadshow meetings took place "with a number of representatives of the largest banks and business establishments of the United States, including Jared Kushner, the head of Kushner Companies."There was no immediate comment from Kushner.In an article posted on Dec. 18, Forbes estimated that Jared Kushner, his brother Josh and his parents, Charles and Seryl, have a fortune worth at least $1.8 billion, more than half of which Forbes estimates is held in real estate.

Forbes did not provide a specific estimate for Jared Kushners net worth on his own.VEB declined to say where the meetings took place or the dates. U.S. officials said that after meeting with Russian Kislyak at Trump Tower last December, a meeting also attended by Flynn, Kushner met later in December with Sergei Gorkov, the CEO of Vnesheconombank. White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed the meetings.On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that Kushner is willing to testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by U.S. Senator Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican.Throughout the campaign and the transition, Jared served as the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials ... and so, given this role, he volunteered to speak with Chairman Burr's committee, but has not received any confirmation regarding a time for a meeting," Spicer told reporters at his daily briefing.The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate panel also said Kushner had agreed to be interviewed.

Simply meeting with representatives of a U.S.-sanctioned entity is not a violation of sanctions or against the law.Evgeny Buryakov, 41, a Russian citizen who worked at Vnesheconombank and whom U.S. authorities accused of posing as a banker while participating in a New York spy ring, pleaded guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge on Friday. Buryakov admitted in federal court in Manhattan to acting as an agent for the Russian government without notifying U.S. authorities.CLASSIFIED INFORMATION

Also on Monday, a mystery rooted in Trump's claim that he was wiretapped by then President Barack Obama during the election campaign deepened with the disclosure that a top congressional Republican reviewed classified information on the White House grounds about potential surveillance of some Trump campaign associates.U.S. Representative Devin Nunes, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, visited the White House the night before announcing on Wednesday that he had information that indicated some Trump associates may have been subjected to some level of intelligence activity before Trump took office on Jan. 20.

Democrats have said Nunes, who was a member of Trump's transition team, can no longer run a credible investigation of Russian hacking, the U.S. election and any potential involvement by Trump associates. Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi last week called Nunes "a willing stooge of Trump."Nunes spokesman Jack Langer said in a statement that 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."White House spokesman Spicer did not shed any light on who at the White House helped Nunes gain access to a secure location.It was the latest twist in a saga that began on March 4 when Trump said on Twitter without providing evidence that he "just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory."FBI Director James Comey told Congress last Monday he had seen no evidence to support the claim.Trump's mention of wiretapping drew attention away from U.S. intelligence agencies having said that Russia tried to help Trump in the election against Democrat Hillary Clinton.Nunes told reporters on Wednesday that he had briefed Trump "on the concerns I had about incidental collection and how it relates to President-elect Trump and his transition team and the concerns that I have." After an uproar over the allegations and the fact that he briefed Trump first before members of his own committee, Nunes apologised on Thursday for the way he handled the information. (Additional reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Polina Devitt in Moscow and John Walcott and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Mark Hosenball and Steve Holland; editing by Yara Bayoumy and Grant McCool)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Steve Holland and Patricia Zengerle

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a top White House adviser, has volunteered to testify to a Senate committee probing whether Russia tried to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, the White House said on Monday.The allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russian actors were behind the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails last year linger over Trump's young presidency. Democrats charge the Russians wanted to tilt the election toward the Republican, a claim dismissed by Trump. Russia denies the allegations.But there has been no doubt that the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, developed contacts among the Trump team. Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign on Feb. 13 after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with Kislyak and misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Kushner is willing to testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by U.S. Senator Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican.Throughout the campaign and the transition, Jared served as the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials ... and so, given this role, he volunteered to speak with Chairman Burr's committee, but has not received any confirmation regarding a time for a meeting," Spicer told reporters at his daily briefing.The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate panel also said Kushner had agreed to be interviewed.At the same time, a mystery rooted in Trump's claim that he was wiretapped by then President Barack Obama during the election campaign deepened with the disclosure that a top congressional Republican reviewed classified information on the White House grounds about potential surveillance of some Trump campaign associates.

U.S. Representative Devin Nunes, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, visited the White House the night before announcing on Wednesday that he had information that indicated some Trump associates may have been subjected to some level of intelligence activity before Trump took office on Jan. 20.Democrats have said Nunes, who was a member of Trump's transition team, can no longer run a credible investigation of Russian hacking, the U.S. election and any potential involvement by Trump associates. Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi last week called Nunes "a willing stooge of Trump."Nunes spokesman Jack Langer said in a statement that 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."White House spokesman Spicer did not shed any light on who at the White House helped Nunes gain access to a secure location.

"I'm not going to get into who he met with or why he met with them," Spicer said. "I will leave it up to him and not try to get in the middle of that."It was the latest twist in a saga that began on March 4 when Trump said on Twitter without providing evidence that he "just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory."FBI Director James Comey told Congress last Monday he had seen no evidence to support the claim.Trump's mention of wiretapping drew attention away from U.S. intelligence agencies having said that Russia tried to help Trump in the election against Democrat Hillary Clinton by hacking leading Democrats and spreading disinformation.

Nunes told reporters on Wednesday that he had briefed Trump "on the concerns I had about incidental collection and how it relates to President-elect Trump and his transition team and the concerns that I have." After an uproar over the allegations and the fact that he briefed Trump first before members of his own committee, Nunes apologised on Thursday for the way he handled the information.A congressional source said congressional investigators have questioned agencies directly to try to find out what intelligence reports and intercepts Nunes is referring to, but that as of Monday the agencies were still saying they did not know what Nunes was talking about. The Washington Post reported on Monday that Nunes was on his way to an event late Tuesday when he left his staff and went to review classified intelligence files brought to his attention by his source, whom he has not identified.The White House had seized on Nunes' remarks to bolster Trump's unproven assertion that Obama wiretapped his campaign headquarters in Manhattan's Trump Tower.Nunes and some other Republicans have focused much of their concern over the investigation about the possibility that some Americans' names have been improperly "unmasked" and released to the public in leaks about the investigation of whether Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Mark Hosenball and Steve Holland; editing by Grant McCool)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Latvia: cant live with Russia, cant live without her Only country in EU that is 100% dependent on Russia for gas supply is set to liberalize market

Latvia is facing a dilemma. The only country in the EU entirely dependent on Russia for its natural gas supplies, this small Baltic state will open up its natural gas market on April 3, enabling it to finally benefit from other energy sources and break free from Moscow. But the move could have serious repercussions, with independence coming at a price.

In this corner of the EU, winters are long and the homes of its two million residents need to be heated for longer. Toward the end of March, an incessant blizzard blows snow onto the highway that connects Riga, the capital, with the rest of the country. An hour-and-a-half from Riga on a train that dates from the Cold War, hidden among the pines of Incukalna, is the only underground gas-storage facility in the Baltic region, considered a national treasure since its construction under the Soviets in 1968, according to Andra Jesinska, director at Conexus Baltic Grid.

This is the company that has been managing the countrys infrastructure and pipelines since the beginning of the year while the private firm Latvijas Gaze controls the gas flow. But it is the Russian giant Gazprom that owns the largest stake in both companies (34%) as well having a contract to exclusively supply the private firm Latvijas Gaze until 2030, despite the imminent opening of the market, a move triggered by the EUs commitment to an Energy Union.

Politically there is a certain disquiet with regard to a possible Russian cut in supply

Martins Kaprans, University of Latvia

This contract will undoubtedly make it more difficult for smaller companies to get a foothold in the market, leaving it as is  largely in the hands of Gazprom, says Sebastian Groblinghoff, Vice President of Latvijas Gaze. Adjustments to the agreement [with the Russians] will be necessary if Latvia is to prove attractive to the rest of the world, he says.

Both the EU and Latvia are keen to shake free of Russia  relations between Latvia and Russia have been tense since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. But though Latvia is not scared of its neighbor, it is concerned. Politically there is a certain disquiet with regard to a possible cut in supply, but we have to trust in Russian common sense because gas is a business, says Martins Kaprans, an expert at the University of Latvia.

The Russians have shown themselves to be reliable on a business level according to Groblinghoff, who doesnt give too much weight to the threat of a supply cut, such as those carried out by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2006 and 2009 when he turned off the gas to the Ukraine, something not forgotten by the people of Latvia.

The Spanish European Commissioner for Energy, Miguel Arias Canete, is of a different opinion. He remembers the problems in Europe when Russia turned off the tap and reveals that Brussels aims for each country to have access to three different sources of energy.

But if there were a boycott or a cancellation of the contract with Gazprom or even a simple infrastructure problem, the populations supply would be guaranteed for 18 months, thanks to the Incukalna underground-storage facility. Five months, if we had to supply neighboring countries, says Reinis Aboltins, a researcher at Latvias only think tank, Providus.

Prices will go up because well have to add the cost of transit and storage to gas not coming from Russia Andra Jesinska, Conexus Baltic Grid director





Diaga Bluke, 47, a local Latvian resident, is clear that he would rather pay more to heat his home than be dependent on Russia. Moscow can use gas as a means of putting pressure on us and thats not normal, he says.

But the countrys economics minister, Arvils Aseradens, is keen to talk down such concerns among Latvians as fueled by Russian propaganda and fake news.

His government, he says, has emergency measures lined up, such as agreements with Norway, Qatar and the US in the event that Russia cuts off supply. All well and good, but Norways reserves stand at 1.9 billion cubic meters compared to Russias 47 billion cubic meters controlled by Russia, the country with the most natural gas in the world, according to the European Commission.

Brussels has made it clear that European production will drop by 50% in the next 20 years while consumption will remain stable, which means an increasing amount of gas will have to be imported from non-EU countries. But the Spanish Commissioner is confident that new finds in Egypt, Cyprus and Israel will make up for the shortfall.

A Baltic market?

Latvia already has an eye on business opportunities that will arise when the market opens, such as selling its neighbors the gas stored at the Incukalna storage facility. The facility has the capacity to store 2.4 billion cubic meters and annual consumption in the country is less than 1.3 billion cubic meters, according to official data.

Once the gas is at the facility, its ours and well sell it as we wish [in an open market] says Groblinghoff, from Latvijas Gaze, who believes the most sensible way forward is an alliance between the three Baltic countries [Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania] and Finland, working within the Energy Union that has 28 members  or 27 if you take out the United Kingdom.

April 3, 2017 is a red letter day for Latvias political and economic calendars

Latvia has good reason to favor the Energy Union and stop operating in isolation, but the idea of setting up a purely Baltic market is even more attractive and one that is supported by both the government and the opposition.

The proposed project known as the Balticconnector  already signed by Helsinki, Tallin, Riga and Vilna  would give the region more independence from Russia while continuing to link it with the EU through liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. There is already an LNG terminal in Klaipeda in Lithuania and in Estonia while Finland has plans to build an underwater gas transmission pipeline across the 87 kilometers of sea in the Gulf of Finland that separates it from Estonia. If we join forces, we can create an interesting market, says Aseradens.

April 3, 2017, is therefore a red letter day for Latvias political and economic calendar. But while the conservative government is convinced that creating more competition will bring prices down, not everyone agrees. Im skeptical, says Ivars Zarins, an opposition politician.

The director of Conexus Baltic Grid also expresses doubts. The prices will go up because well have to add the cost of transit and storage to any gas not coming from Russia, he says. But Canete, the Spanish commissioner, prefers to look on the bright side. Competition is good, he says without elaborating.

However the situation develops, Gazprom is set to control Latvias gas at least until 2030. As Ivars Zarins says, Its difficult with Russia but impossible without her.

English version by Heather Galloway.
Spanish troops stationed in Iraq, like the rest of the forces within the coalition fighting ISIS, now face a new danger: drone attacks. In response, the Spanish Ministry of Defense has set up an urgent plan to install an electronic shield at the Gran Capitan military base in Bismayah , which is under Spanish command and where some 450 soldiers and members of Spains Civil Guard are stationed, along with US, British and Portuguese personnel that have helped train 6,000 Iraqi troops.

Spanish special forces personnel with an explosives-packed ISIS drone. REUTERS / EPV

A workshop containing wing fragments, military and radio parts and other equipment needed to make drones was discovered during the coalitions ongoing assault to retake the city of Mosul.

ISIS originally used these unmanned aircraft, which can be bought for around $1,000 or constructed by hand, for monitoring Iraqi army positions, but with minor modifications, they have been fitted with explosive devices such as 40-millimeter grenades. There have been a number of attacks using them since last fall, although they have had relatively little impact. ISIS recently posted a video of a drone dropping a grenade on a group of Iraqi soldiers who were narrowly able to escape the explosion.

There is now the fear that ISIS will use armed drones for attacks in Europe

ISIS lacks any air power, but its drones are difficult to detect and intercept, and if used en masse, could pose a serious threat to coalition troops.

Spains Defense Ministry intends to try to neutralize drones that might threaten the Bismayah base by installing a radar system  of which there are several US or Israeli versions  that detects the arrival of drones several kilometers away and that then interferes with the radio signal controlling it, even if the device is using a GPS flight program. At the same time, defense on the base will be beefed up with reinforced control towers, concrete blast walls almost four meters high and air-raid shelters.

The idea is to take advantage of extension work to Bismayah, which is to be tripled in size to cover some 90,000 square meters so as to accommodate the further 125 soldiers and members of the Civil Guard that are to be deployed at Gran Capitan, some 60 kilometers south of Baghdad.

Drones that have fallen or been brought down without releasing their grenades pose a threat as de-facto mines, and troops have been told not to approach them. Coalition forces say that as yet ISIS has not used the drones to disperse chemical weapons in Iraq, although it has used them in Syria against the Russian-backed forces of the Assad regime.

Analysts say that the danger now is that ISIS will soon be able to make use of the experience it has acquired in Iraq and Syria to launch drone attacks in Europe.

English version by Nick Lyne.
Panasonic has launched Eluga Ray Max and Eluga Ray X, its latest smartphones in the new Eluga Ray series that comes with Arbo, a smart AI assistant built by the company. This understands your usage of the phone and will make it more intelligent based on the time and location, says the company. Arbo will be available for the phones by the end of April. Both the phones have a unibody metal design, features a fingerprint sensor, have a selfie flash and come with 4G connectivity with support for VoLTE.

Panasonic Eluga Ray Max specifications

5.2-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) 2.5D curved glass display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection

Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 ( 4 x 1.2 GHz Cortex A53 + 4 x 1.5 GHz Cortex A53) 64-bit processor with Adreno 505 GPU

4GB LPDDR3 RAM, 32GB / 64GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

Dual SIM

16MP rear camera with LED flash

8MP front-facing camera with LED flash

Fingerprint sensor

3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio

Dimensions: 148 x 73 x 9.5mm; Weight: 165g

4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, USB OTG

3000mAh built-in battery with Quick Charge 3.0

Panasonic Eluga Ray X specifications

5.5-inch (1280  720 pixels) HD 2.5D curved glass display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection

1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6737 64-bit processor with Mali-T720 GPU

3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, expandable memory with microSD

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

13MP rear camera with LED Flash

5MP front-facing camera with LED Flash

Fingerprint sensor

3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio

Dimensions: 153.477.0x10.5mm; Weight: 193g

4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS

4000mAh built-in battery

The Panasonic Eluga Ray Max comes in Rose Gold, Space Grey and Gold and is priced at Rs. 11,499 for the 32GB version and the 64GB version costs Rs. 12,499. It will be available exclusively on Flipkart starting April 1st. The Eluga Ray X comes in Rose Gold, Space Grey, Gold and is priced at Rs. 8999. It will also be available exclusively from Flipkart.

Commenting on the launch, Manish Sharma, President & CEO, Panasonic India & South Asia, and Executive Officer, Panasonic Corporation Said:

Panasonic has always strived onto creating a sustainable connected environment for its customers across the world. With the launch of our first AI-enabled smartphone, we are now expanding our product offerings which will help empower our consumer base and assist them in performing tasks in a smarter way. AI has been dubbed as the technology which in future will shape the product interface and the way we interact with our smartphones, with this pilot advancement we hope that this will not only enhance our market share but will also further strengthen our position within the industry. AI has been dubbed as the technology which in future will shape the product interface and the way we interact with our smartphones, with this pilot advancement we hope that this will not only enhance our market share but will also further strengthen our position within the industry.

Pankaj Rana, Business Head  Mobility Division, Panasonic India, said:

With hectic work schedules and over-burdened social lifestyles, Arbo is the best virtual assistant for working professionals. Today we are delighted to present before you Eluga  Raymax and Ray X, Panasonics first AI assisted smartphones powered by Arbo, a perfect blend of innovation and style. The features embedded within the smartphone will provide our customers with on the go access to high speed information and content at a value-based pricing.

Commenting on their exclusive partnership with Panasonic, Ajay Yadav, Vice President  Smartphones BU, Flipkart, said:

Disruptive technologies like AI are increasingly shaping the way consumers connect with the world around them. At Flipkart, our continuous endeavour has been to make innovative and high-quality products easily accessible to Indian customers at affordable price points. With the launch of the Panasonic Eluga Ray Max and Eluga Ray X smartphones, we are confident that consumers in India will be able to enjoy an immersive mobile experience. Flipkart has been the most preferred ecommerce platform for brands and customers, and we are confident that this exclusive partnership will enable us to provide our customers with the best-in-class technology experience and build further on customer delight.
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
Buffalo Wild Wings Inc , battling activist hedge fund Marcato Capital Management LP in a proxy fight, escalated tension between the two sides on Monday by tapped one of Marcato's own nominees for its director slate.

The restaurant chain nominated Janice Fields, a veteran executive at McDonald's Corp , and Sam Rovit, the CEO of CTI Foods and a former executive at Kraft Foods.

In an unusual move, Rovit is also one of Marcato's four nominees it is seeking for election to the board. Proxy voting rules allow one nominee to serve on two director slates as long as the person consents.

Rovit's dual-role provides added drama to one of this year's most high-profile proxy fights, pitting Marcato founder Mick McGuire against Sally Smith, CEO of the $2.5-billion Minneapolis-based wings and beer chain.

McGuire, a former Pershing Square partner, officially launched the proxy fight in February, though Marcato began to agitate for changes at the company last July. The San Francisco-based fund is Buffalo Wild Wings' fourth largest shareholder with a 5.6 percent stake.

Buffalo Wild Wings said on Monday that James Damian, who had previously served as board chairman, and Michael Johnson will retire from the board at the annual meeting.

The company's other nominees are Smith and six sitting directors.

"It is deeply troubling that the Company would take these steps without consulting us or other major shareholders, as we have continuously endeavored to engage in constructive dialogue," Marcato said in a statement on Monday.

Marcato added that the company should address its suggested operational improvements.

Buffalo Wild Wings' annual meeting is expected in May.

A Marcato spokesman did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.

(Reporting by Michael Flaherty in New York and Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Nick Zieminski)
Mexicos Catholic Church has left no doubt about its opposition to US President Donald Trumps proposal to build a wall along the US-Mexican border and the interest shown in participating in its construction by some Mexican businesses: Any company that intends to invest in the wall of the fanatic Trump would be immoral, but above all, its shareholders and owners should be considered traitors to the fatherland.

A section of USMexico border at BrownsvilleMatamoros. Eric Gay (AP)

More information La Iglesia mexicana llama traidores a quienes trabajen en el muro de Trump

Writing in an editorial in the weekly Desde la fe, published by the Archdiocese of Mexico, the countrys Catholic authorities lambast domestic companies interested in working on what it calls a fanatical project, and which it says will destroy relations between the United States and Mexico. Using the benign argument of generating employment, these companies are looking to make a profit without thinking of the consequences. For them, the end justifies the means, the editorial reads.

The publication criticizes the half-hearted response of the authorities in Mexico in not showing greater firmness with companies that have expressed an interest in working on building the wall. The Catholic Church, which is a powerful force in this traditionally religious country, argues that local involvement in building the wall will end up feeding discrimination. In practical terms, joining a project that is an affront to dignity is shooting oneself in the foot, it adds.

Mexican cement company Cemex has said it would supply materials for the wall if asked

A number of Mexican companies have shown an interest in working on Trumps proposed wall, which the US president has insisted will be paid for by Mexico, a possibility that Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has repeatedly rejected.

Mexican cement company Cemex said in early March that if asked, it would be prepared to supply material for the project, adding that so far it had not been approached about participating.

Meanwhile, Ecovelocity, a small company based in the central city of Puebla, hit the headlines earlier this month when its owner said he saw nothing wrong in providing lighting for the wall, but in the end decided to withdraw his bid. Trump wants to assign some $2.6 billion for the planning, design and construction of the wall, which would supposedly halt migration from Mexico into the United States.

English version by Nick Lyne.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Anadarko Petroleum Corp may let a 10-year joint venture in the oil-rich Permian Basin of Texas expire and split their properties, hoping to speed up development, according to a senior Shell executive.

The divorce and re-parceling of acreage would let each company drill and develop new wells at its own pace in the Permian, which has become the U.S. oil industry's hottest development area for its low operating costs as crude prices hover under $50 per barrel.

Shell and Anadarko have been discussing how to proceed after the partnership agreement expires this summer and are not likely to renew it, Greg Guidry, who oversees the Anglo-Dutch group's shale business, told Reuters.

The talks come as Shell hopes to boost its North American shale output by 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the next three years, a goal that relies largely on the Permian, the largest oilfield in the United States.

Talks have involved scenarios where acreage would be divvied up, allowing each company to individually develop the fields, he said. Under one proposal, "we could have ideally two 100 percent owned and operated parcels," Guidry said.

"That would be a split that will allow us to manage the flexibilities in terms of capital pace, separate of Anadarko," he said in an interview this month.

A Shell spokesman said late last week that negotiations continue between both sides.

The agreement was first signed in 2007 between Anadarko and Chesapeake Energy Corp . Shell bought Chesapeake's Permian holdings in 2012 and inherited the joint venture.

If the two sides were to do nothing, Anadarko would become the operator of the more than 350,000 acres (142,000 hectares) in the Delaware portion of the Permian, with a roughly 60 percent interest. A breakup would give Shell an opportunity to prove it can grow on its own in the largest American shale oil field.

Terms of the joint venture are not outlined in regulatory filings for either company, fuelling confusion among investors about what could come after the deal expires.

Anadarko Chief Executive Al Walker said earlier this month that he preferred an arrangement that would give his company majority control over the land once the joint venture expires.

"We and Shell, I think, have an extremely attractive position in the (Permian)," he told investors on a conference call. "We think the economics are certainly compelling for us to be operator going forward."

An Anadarko spokesman declined to comment beyond Walker's remarks.

The joint venture, where costs and profits are split equally, has benefited Shell more than Anadarko given that the latter has far more experience in horizontal well development so crucial to Permian operations, analysts at Bernstein said last month.

A clean split could be logistically challenging with acreage arrayed in a checkerboard pattern, the way drilling properties are organized in West Texas. Moving a rig or other equipment between such parcels would become more laborious in such a scenario.

"It would be unusual if either party would view that as an optimal solution because that's an inefficient way to develop those assets," said Ben Shattuck, an oil industry analyst with consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

PERMIAN RED-HOT

The Permian has seen a flurry of deals in recent months despite a wobbly recovery in global oil prices as shale producers in the region have been able to increase output and slash production costs, outpacing any other onshore U.S. basin and many deepwater oil fields around the world.

The Anglo-Dutch company is accelerating its North American shale output faster than planned to lock in quick returns from what has become one of its most profitable businesses, Guidry said in an interview earlier this month.

"The strategic fit of the Permian in the Shell portfolio will be different from a the strategic fit of the Permian in a pure upstream player."

Anadarko also has been moving staff to West Texas to develop its holdings. The company sold assets elsewhere in its portfolio and, after deals close, is expected to have more than $6 billion in cash that analysts expect it to primarily use on Permian expansion projects.

(Reporting by Ron Bousso and Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Big pharma stocks don't wake up in the middle of the night and require feeding or changing like a baby does. But some of them can require plenty of attention.

No babysitting is required, however, for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), and Novartis (NYSE: NVS). Here's why you can buy these big pharma stocks and rest peacefully for years to come.

Image source: Getty Images.

Johnson & Johnson: An unbeatable success streak

There aren't too many stocks on which you can confidently expect earnings increases and dividend hikes year in and year out, but Johnson & Johnson is one of them. The healthcare giant has increased its adjusted earnings 32 years in a row. J&J has also increased its dividend for an impressive 54 consecutive years.

The key reason why you don't have to sit watch over Johnson & Johnson is its vast array of businesses and products that produce solid cash flow. J&J consists of more than 230 operating companies in three major business segments: consumer, pharmaceutical, and medical devices. These operations combined to generate sales of nearly $72 billion last year, with net earnings totaling $16.5 billion and operating cash flow of $18.8 billion.

Johnson & Johnson might not provide as much growth as some others, but it doesn't seem to matter. In 2016, J&J's stock performance beat every other big pharma stock even though the company's earnings growth trailed behind several others.

Are there some problem areas with Johnson & Johnson? Sure. Its consumer and medical devices segments are growing revenue slowly if at all. The company's top-selling drug, Remicade, faces biosimilar competition in and outside of the U.S. These issues aren't enough to overcome J&J's strengths, however. I expect the company's earnings and dividend increase streaks to continue unbroken.

Pfizer: Sizzling dividend and solid growth

A few years ago, Pfizer probably wouldn't have been included in a list of big pharma stocks that you didn't have to watch carefully. The big drugmaker faced a steep patent cliff with several of its top drugs losing patent exclusivity. Pfizer has largely moved past those problems now, however, and appears to be set for sustained growth.

The company has two business segments -- innovative health and essential health. Its innovative health group focuses on developing and marketing new drugs and vaccines plus products for consumer healthcare. Pfizer's essential health segment includes brands that have lost or will soon lose patent exclusivity, branded generic drugs,generic sterile injectable products, and biosimilars. The two segments combined to generate revenue of $52.8 billion last year with net income of $7.2 billion and strong operating cash flow totaling $15.9 billion.

Several home-grown and acquired products should drive Pfizer's future growth. Cancer drugs Ibrance and Xtandi and autoimmune disease drug Xeljanz especially appear to be on track for higher sales. Pfizer recently won regulatory approval for potential blockbuster eczema drug Eucrisa. The company's pipeline also includes 34 late-stage programs, with experimental cancer drugavelumab one of the most promising candidates.

Like Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer faces a few headwinds, particularly with declining sales for some of its legacy products. However, the company's growth prospects, combined with an attractive dividend currently yielding 3.7%, make Pfizer stock one that investors shouldn't have to worry about.

Novartis: An impressive pipeline

Novartis also can boast of a mouth-watering dividend with the same yield right now as Pfizer's. The big pharma company has increased its dividend every year since it was formed in 1996 when Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz merged.

The company has three major business segments: innovative medicines, Sandoz (generic drugs and biosimilars), and Alcon (surgical and vision care products). Together, these businesses generated revenue of $48.5 billion, net earnings of $6.7 billion, and free cash flow of $9.5 billion in 2016.

Novartis' sales slipped last year, however, in large part due to loss of patent exclusivity for key products. The drugmaker also loses patent protection for two other major drugs, chemotherapy Afinitor and multiple sclerosis treatment Gilenya, in the next two to three years.

You don't have to babysit Novartis stock, though. Solid growth should be on the way. The company's pipeline includes over 200 clinical programs. By the end of next year, Novartis anticipates filing for regulatory approval for six new drugs, 13 additional indications for current drugs, and six biosimilars.

Best of the bunch

I don't think you could go wrong buying any of these three big pharma stocks. My personal favorite, though, is Pfizer.

Wall Street analysts project that Pfizer will have slightly higher earnings growth than either J&J or Novartis over the next five years. I suspect those projections are right. In addition, Pfizer is tied with Novartis for the highest dividend yield of the three stocks. Because of that combination of growth and dividends, my view is that Pfizer is the best of the bunch.

10 stocks we like better than PfizerWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

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In this week's episode of Industry Focus: Healthcare, host Kristine Harjes interviews Matt Wallach, the co-founder and president of cloud computing companyVeeva Systems(NYSE: VEEV). Veeva serves healthcare companies across the board, from fledgling biotechs to massive stalwarts like Johnson & Johnson, and many investors see big potential for sustainable, long-term growth in the future.

Listen to this episode to find out more about just what Veeva does, how the company achieved such impressive success so quickly, what the competition looks like, what some of the most exciting new growth opportunities on its horizon are, a few things that investors should keep an eye on this year to see how Veeva is doing, and more.

A full transcript follows the video.

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This video was recorded on March 15, 2017.

Kristine Harjes:Welcome to Industry Focus, the podcast that dives into a different sector of the stock market every day. I'm your host, Kristine Harjes. This Healthcareepisode is being released on March 22, and it features an interview that I recorded on March 15 with Matt Wallach, the co-founder and president of one of my favorite healthcare companies,Veeva Systems. Hope you enjoy it.

Hi, Matt! Thanks so much for coming onto Industry Focus today. Let's kick off with some background. Talk to me about how Veeva was created, and what the business does.

Matt Wallach:Sure. Thanks, Kristine, for having me on. It was a little bit of an unusual recipe to start a company. Peter Gassner and I had never met, and we lived 3,000 miles away. We got together because there was a shared idea that cloud computing was going to go in the same direction that client server and mainframe had before, and that is that, as it gets more and more mature, it gets more and more verticalized, more specific to specific industry segments. So no one had done that in the cloud yet at that time. So that was the original idea. Peter and I were a combination of Peter's deep expertise in Silicon Valley. He's really one of the best product guys in Silicon Valley and has attracted a great group of product people around there. Then I had a long background in life sciences, knowing what life-sciences companies look for in technology, the types of solutions that they need, the types of people that would be innovative and would potentially be an early adopter. That was the original combination -- deep Silicon Valley expertise with deep life-sciences expertise.

The products that we have today basically come in two big packages. The Veeva Commercial Cloud is used by lots of pharma companies and biotech companies around the world to help them sell and market their products more effectively and efficiently around the world. It started as Veeva CRM, which was our first product, and now it's expanded to be all kinds of interaction management between life-sciences companies and their customers. So that could be face to face, over the phone, through the web, through video calls, through email. Really, all the interactions between our customers and theircustomers. It's also expanded to include things like the data that you would use to make a CRM product effective, and the content that you use to deliver the message in front of physicians, either face to face or through all those different channels. So that's the Commercial Cloud; that's where we started.Our second product line is called Vault. That's been a really big success for us as well. That's content management and data management, also in the cloud, for all kinds of life-sciences companies. That products spans from commercial and medical content, anything you might see in a doctor's office or the script that you would be read from if you were to call a call center, all the way through to regulatory, clinical, and quality. So all the important documentation gets collected during clinical trials, that you train people on in a quality manufacturing setting, and all the documents that go into regulatory submissions for new drugs and new indications around the world.The product set is pretty broad, which makes us a unique partner to the life-sciences industry as we try to build out this industry cloud.

Harjes:Who are your typical customers?

Wallach:Our customers are life-sciences companies large and small. It's large companies that you've heard of.Johnson & JohnsonandPfizer,Novartis, andAmgen. It's also many smaller companies, either that are commercializing their very first drugs, or companies that are still in the clinical development stage that maybe you haven't heard of. It really is any life-sciences company from about the time they have 20 employees all the way up to the largest companies in the world.

Harjes:So clearly this is a company that has been able toinfiltrate this market and really expand a customer base fairly quickly. Veeva was, in fact, the second fastest software company to ever reach $500 million in annual revenue. Matt, how were you able to achieve that?

Wallach:I think some of it was good timing. We certainly came into the market at a time that the world was moving to cloud computing. And life sciences companies had been coming off -- we founded the company in 2007. If you look at the two decades before that, the life sciences industry really had a large string of very successful and very profitable years. Operationalexcellence was not the most important thing to pharma companies, it was getting products to market and selling them any way that you could. So, in 2007, there was a need to start to get more efficient as an industry as some big drugs were coming off of patent and it was getting more competitive. And the life sciences industry had not invested in any cloud computing up until that point. We were really the first cloud computing option that these companies had, and we really became synonymous with cloud computing, starting with our CRM product. The CRM product hit the market at just the right time, and I think that we created the right kind of product team that understood the importance of running to the complexity, wherethings are difficult for our customers. Many software companies might think, "We'll do the easy stuff, and we'll let them custom-code the hard things." We ran toward that complexity, and that created a lot of fans within our customer base. So now that we have 10 years of operating experience under our belts, where we're really known for having great products because of that focus on the details and getting everything right and making them reliable, and we've expanded over time, now, I think companies look at us and think, "That's a pretty safe investment. I know that if the Veeva guys say they're going to do it, the product is going to work, we're going to be successful and be able to focus on doing things more efficiently."

Harjes:You're certainly right that there are plenty of challenges that these companies face, particularly because they are in the healthcare sector, which is such a unique space. What are some of the biggest challenges for you guys working in this industry, and what is Veeva doing to overcome them?

Wallach:I think one of the things that was a challenge for us andis a challenge for them is, these are big, global enterprises. There's no such thing as a leading life-sciences company that has a really good business just in Germany. You can't do that. So these are big, global companies. They havelots of specific requirements. And I think it's really that combination, where it's much more global than many other industries. You can't just build a successful software business in the U.S. and call yourself a partner to the life-sciences industry. But then, there's also a lot of specifics, aroundspecific functionality that they need, specific regulations that they need to comply with, and those regulations may differ literally from country to country around the world. So it makes operating a life sciences company very challenging, and normal off-the-shelf software doesn't work. They really need verticalized software. And that was the thing that made the life-sciences industry late adopters to cloud. Software companies were late adopters to cloud for aspecific industry. Veeva was one of the first companies to try to buildindustry cloud software. It looks like it's a great match for this big, complex industry.

Harjes:Are there any competitors out there in cloud-based solutions, specifically for life sciences?

Wallach:We have lots of competitors. I wouldn't say any pure cloud companies like us. Most of our competitors started 10 or 15 years before we did. And one of the great advantages that we have is, we're kind of late to this party, and we're able to start with real, multi-tenantcloud technology, all types of web-based technology that literally didn't exist or wasn't usable five, 10, 15 years ago. So yeah, we always have competitors, but generally, when we're competing for a new business, we're the only real cloud solution.

Harjes:Where would you say the pharma industry as a whole stands as far as the adopting cloud technology?

Wallach:I think, in general, life sciences has always been a technology laggard. In my whole career -- it's almost 20 years now -- marketing and selling things into the life-sciences industry, we've always referred to pharma companies as fast followers. The hardest thing is getting the first pharma company to sign on. But once you do, and they're successful, you get them on stage telling other people that it works, there has been a tendency for companies to follow quickly.

Harjes:One ofthe most exciting parts of your latest earnings report and conference call was some caller on the expansion of the product outside of life sciences. What's the latest on that opportunity?

Wallach:We took several months to figure out what the right opportunity would be. We realized, it's really a couple years ago that the Vault platform was going to be a unique asset, really unique, the ability to blend content management in the cloud with data management applications. To do that on a single platform was really unique. And other companies started hearing about us, so we were getting inbound from companies that were asking us, "Hey, I know that you guys just do life sciences, but we have this really bad problem, could you help us with this?" So, rather than bleeding into other industries in and uncoordinated fashion, last spring, almost a year ago, we decided to do it for real and to put together a small, targeted team to figure out what the right strategy would be. So we took time last year to figure out the strategy and just announced it recently on the earnings call, as you said.What we're going to go after is the quality management space.

Quality management is something that we do within life sciences, who are big manufacturers. Quality management to us has two flavors. One is all of the documents that are stored and captured and utilized during quality and manufacturing operations. This is something like the document that gives you instructions for how to clean a machine between batches. It's a highly controlled document, you don't want people just going in and changing it, and you actually want to know every time it's printed or emailed or opened or downloaded. So it's all kinds of control around documents. So it's those quality documents in manufacturing, and actually, it's all standard operating procedure that the employees would access around the world. It's that read and understood functionality that we have in lots of regulated industries. The other side of quality management we call QMS, or quality management system, is all the data around what you have to do if something goes wrong. The first thing is a deviation; something goes wrong. You have to document it and make sure the right people know. Sometimes you have to actually tell the regulatory authorities about it. Then you have to put together a plan, acorrective action or preventive action plan; we call those CAPAs in the industry. This is the plan for how you're going to make sure that doesn't happen again. Then you have change control, which is now, you have a plan to make sure that that deviation is not going to happen again, you have to go implement it. All of these things are heavily regulated. There's lots of approval processes, sometimes regulatory bodies associated.

That's what we do in life sciences. But it turns out that across lots of discreet and process manufacturing industries, these things look pretty much the same. So we thought this was a perfect opportunity for us to go into a huge market, well over $1 billion in additional opportunity for us, but a huge market that has been underserved by technology providers, basically forever. If you're sitting in Silicon Valley, you're doing artificial intelligence and machine learning and internet of things and Big Data, social media. That's what Silicon Valley is excited about today. We're excited about quality management in big, old, slow companies everywhere around the world, because it's important and they've been underserved, and I think the Vault platform is a really unique platform, because we can do both those two pieces that I described, the document management part and the data management part. That's something we're really excited about. We're starting with a small, focused team to make sure we get the early adopters live and happy this year so that we can start reference selling in the future. But it's something that we think is going to be an important growth driver for Veeva over the long term.

Harjes:That sounds phenomenal, and it also sounds a lot like you guys running at complexity yet again.

Wallach:Yeah.

Harjes:When you're looking at this opportunity, youmentioned that it was about a $1 billion opportunity. I wanted to ask some follow-up questions about that. Is that just in the quality management space?

Wallach:What we've said is we think just quality management across multiple industries is well over $1 billion. In fact, if you were to go do all the market research, you're going to see some numbers much larger than that. We think that quality management is going to be the strategic entry point for us into lots of these other industries, very similar to how our CRM product was ourstrategic entry point into life sciences. I think 10 years from now, it's not going to be Veeva with the life-sciences industry cloud and one quality management thing they sell outside; there's going to be a whole suite of products that we sell to multipleindustries. Quality management is the first area. And we really have to create a multi-industry model that allows us to scale, allows us to be profitable like we like to, and allows us to become a really important technology provider to those companies.

Harjes:When you look at that broader opportunity, what would you say is the total addressable market for Veeva?

Wallach:I think it's early to put a number on it, because we're just getting started there. But we joke internally, because Vault can manage content management applications, which is this whole huge class of software, and it can manage data management applications, which is even larger; we joke internally that it's kind of an unlimited market. It's limited by which products we choose to build. This is an important part of our strategy, or really any company, but for us specifically -- because we have expanded from one product; now we actually have 23 products that we sell. We're going to continue to build new applications and new modules to expand the product line, a lot of that on Vault. The onus is on us to choose the right markets. We're not just going to go into every market. We have to choose the right markets; we have to do it at the right pace that allows us to continue to provide the same level of customer success that we've seen in life sciences. As we expand and make those strategic bets, we'll update our TAM accordingly. It's just a little early to put a number on what it could look like in 10 or 20 years from now for us.

Harjes:Fair enough. Itseems like you put a lot of thought into choosing the first non-life-sciences market that you wanted to enter. What is the competitive landscape within that market?

Wallach:That competitive landscape actually reminds me a bit of what we've seen in life sciences. There's a large number of companies. None of them are huge. I think it's probably 100- to 400-person companies, and a bunch of them. They have specialization either on the content management side or the data management side. And they also have specialization from industry to industry, although many of them try to target the same industries that we're going after. It's mostly small companies that I would say try to have a best-of-breed type approach. With software companies, there's really two main approaches to building products. Either you want to be a best-of-breed company, you do one thing really well, you try to do it better than everyone else, but when a customer wants to integrate that with other things, they have to write that code themselves. Or you have integrated suites of products, and some of the integrated suite vendors take advantage of the fact that it's an integrated suite. So when they build something new, they make it just good enough that everyone's going to buy it, because they know you're going to buy it anyway because it's part of the suite. What Veeva does that is unique is we talk about unified and best-of-breed products. So yes, we have a unified suite, all of these applications on Vault. And as we build more and more applications, they're all going to be on the exact same platform. But we also make a commitment to our customers that if we go into an area, we're committing to build a best-of-breed product. We're not going to stop until we have the very best product available. And then, our products get better three times a year, working with customers forever. So we're going after, in life sciences today, with a unified suite of best-of-breed products, and we will use that same strategy outside life sciences to try and counter what we think is going to be a competitive set of a bunch of legacy best-of-breed applications.

Harjes:You mentioned earlier that your team relies a good bit on word of mouth within the life-sciences industry. You have one big pharma company that loves you guys, gets up on a stage and talks about how much they love it, and that's really helpful in spreading the word. How do you see thatgoing as you enter completely new industries? Is your sales forceprepared for building completely new relationships?

Wallach:I think that's a very fair question, and we certainly have the recipe in life sciences. Our customer events are actually a measurable part of our success. I think we've done a good job of bringing the industry together to allow them to share best practices. When we look outside life sciences, it's not as obvious that we can pull together companies across industries. I think we have to invent new ways to build that sense of community around our products. We do believe that in quality management, there are events that people go to, there are topics that we could sponsor that are relevant to people that work in a quality manufacturing capacity across lots of different industries. But it's a little early to tell in our life cycle here exactly how we'll do that. But it's a good question, and it's one we've been asking ourselves and we'll be experimenting a lot over the coming years.

Harjes:And we'll definitely be looking forward to seeing how you guys choose to tackle that. Before I close this out, I have one last question for you which is, on behalf of our listeners, what is something we should all be keeping an eye out for with this company in the next year or so?

Wallach:If you look out one year for Veeva,I think there's a few new products that, if they're successful, you're going to be looking at a very healthy, long growth trajectory for Veeva for many years. One is our entry into the electronic data capture space. That's a very big market' it's very competitive. We've added a CTMS, a clinical trial management system. Also, those two products are coming out in April. Those are, just themselves, over a $1 billion market just within life sciences. So we're just entering that market in April of this year. We're going to be working on our early adopters. So I would look for signals that we're having some success in that market. The other brand new big thing is our efforts outside of life sciences. I would look for signals and customer wins, the same types of strategies, the same types of product, that have been so successful in life sciences, are working across industries. And then, I would also look at our attempts at becoming a real partner to the industry. Now, I'm talking about the life-sciences industry again. We do have a high market share in many of the markets that we're in. We're trying to use that market share for the good of the industry, to use the seat we have at the table with life sciences companies, to do things that normal software companies wouldn't do. We started Align Biopharma. We're working with seven of the top 25 pharma companies today already on creating standards that will help every pharma company interact with their customers. We're looking at other areas that Align Biopharma can create standards that are good for the whole industry. That's just one of several initiatives that we're going to be taking in the next 12 to 24 months to really try and create community, create this industry cloud, and allow the entire industry to improve their performance.

Harjes:Sounds great. Matt, I want to thank you so much for your time today, and tell you best of luck to you and the entire Veeva team.

Wallach:All right. Thanks, Kristine! Thanks for having us on!

Harjes:As always,people on the program may have interests in the stocks that they talk about, and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. For Matt Wallach, I'm Kristine Harjes. Thanks for listening, and Fool on!

Kristine Harjes owns shares of Johnson and Johnson. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Johnson and Johnson and Veeva Systems. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
What happened

Shares of oil services company Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT) are up 10% as of 11:15 a.m. EDT after Wells Fargo analysts upgraded the stock. The move comes after Weatherford and peerSchlumberger (NYSE: SLB) announced a joint venture on Friday.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

The upgrade was predicated on the recent announcement of the OneStim joint venture between the two oil services giants. According to the agreement, Weatherford and Schlumberger will combine their well completion products and services into a single joint venture to better serve the North American shale market. Weatherford will contribute its multistage completions assets, its regional manufacturing capability, and its supply chain while Schlumberger will provide its surface and downhole tools and technologies as well as some other operational services. Schlumberger and Weatherford will own 70% and 30% of the new venture, respectively. Also, Weatherford will get $535 million in cash to complete the deal.

The reason analysts are keen on this plan is that it will give the two companies the needed scale to compete with Halliburton (NYSE: HAL). Even though Halliburton is considerably smaller than Schlumberger, it has significant size advantages in North America and unconventional shale drilling. Also, Weatherford and Schlumberger have been suffering from low rates of return on their shale assets since the price of oil crashed, so the theory is that the combination of the two will give it greater pricing power and economies of scale.

According to the analyst note, this joint venture should produce $1.1 billion-$1.4 billion in annual EBITDA for Weatherford in 2019. If true, that would be meaningful since the company posted a $359 million EBITDA loss over the past 12 months. Thisdeal should also help the company finally generate free cash flow, something management has promised to do for years now.

Now what

This recent move was the first from newly installed CEO Mark McCollum, and it looks to be a good one. Weatherford gets the quick cash injection it needs, boosts the competitive advantage of its existing shale assets in North America, and doesn't have to deploy large amounts of capital to obtain those benefits.

Between this and the moves interim CEO Krishna Shivram made during his short tenure, Weatherford International looks to be much better positioned than it has been in years. While it may take a while for investors to realize those benefits with earnings and free cash flow on a steady basis, it's the first time in a long time that Weatherford's shareholders can be hopeful for the future.

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Tyler Crowe has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Tobi Ltke Source: Shopify.com

Tobi Ltke loves snowboarding and programming. When he wanted to start an e-commerce business to sell snowboarding equipment, he found there was no good software to help get his online business up and running, so he coded it himself. It didn't take long for Ltke and his co-founder Scott Lake to realize that the snowboarding business didn't do well in the summer. However, subscriptions of the e-commerce platform Ltke built had started selling, andShopify(NYSE: SHOP) was born.

SHOP data by YCharts

Shopify's stock has been on a tear since the company's IPO, significantly beating the S&P 500. Shopify's platform supports 377,500 merchants today, an 814% increase from 2012. Through this tremendous period of growth, the company has been able to attract talented people because of a great culture and that has contributed to the company's amazing performance. Ltke, Shopify's founder and CEO,has had significant influence on what Shopify's culture is today. Let's go back in time to see how Ltke'searly training as a programmer and his unwanted CEO promotion have shaped this fast growing e-commerce platform company's culture.

High school dropout -- and programmer

Ltke received his first computer at age six and by the time he was 12, he was rewriting the code for his computer games. He dropped out of high school at the age of 16 because, in his words, "computers were so much more interesting." Ltke was able to land a computer programming apprenticeship at Siemens in his German hometown. He ended up working for an unconventional boss named Jrgen, who made a tremendous impact onLtke.

Jrgen was a rebel, he refused the corporate dress code, rebuffed the corporate standard programming language, and called people out on bad ideas in a public way. But everyone respected him because the team produced results. Ltkedescribed the experience working for Jrgenin a blog titled "The Apprentice Programmer."

Ltke spent seven years at Siemens before snowboarding and a girl from Ottawa got Ltke to move to Canada. In 2004, he started the online snowboard shop with Scott Lake.

The unlikely CEO

Fast forward to 2008; Shopify had a staff of ten and $60,000 in revenue per month when his co-founder and CEO, Lake, decided to leave. Up to that point Ltkehad been totally focused on the product and had no idea about the finances or business of Shopify, but now hehad no choice but to step into the CEO role.Ltke said "When I took over as CEO, I had to essentially get an MBA in a couple of weeks."

Ltke dived in and read everything he could put his hands on about being a CEO and running a business. He decided to go to Silicon Valley to find a CEO and meet with venture capital (VC) firms about getting funding for Shopify. When he met with the VC's, they would use terms he didn't understand and ask questions about the business he couldn't answer. At night, Ltke wouldresearch to get the answers, so that for the next VC meeting, he'd be more prepared.He didn't find a CEO on the trip to Silicon Valley, but he did learn the basics of being CEO of a start-up company. It was still a lean time at Shopify and he was still living at his girlfriend's parent's house and having his friends and family cover payroll. John Phillips, an early angel investor, convinced Ltketo stay on as CEO.

Because Ltkekept getting thrown into unfamiliar situations and would emerge a more capable person, personal development has become a defining part of Shopify's culture today.

Shopify's Culture

Shopify couldn't build a fantastic business that serves hundreds of thousands of merchants without having a strong culture of achievement. Ltke constantly challenges his team to do more, just like Jrgendid for him at Siemens, and it has trickled down throughout the Shopify organization. Looking over Shopify's career page in the "Life at Shopify" section personal development is front and center with the subtitle "We care about growing great people". The culture of learning is further emphasized in the following description.

It seems that the experiences Ltke had as a high school dropout have created a great place to work since Shopify was named the #1 Best Place to Work in Canada by Glassdoor for 2017.

Why it matters for investors

Buck Hartzell,Director of Investor Learning and Operations at The Motley Fool, wrote an article titled6 Inviolable Rules for Analyzing Stocks,in which he discussed the importance of culture."The great businesses have dynamic leaders who build outstanding cultures. Those cultures don't always prevent mistakes, but they do allow the company to adapt more quickly and learn from failure." Hartzell went on to say that investors would do well to look for companies with a learning culture.

It would seem that Shopify fits Hartzell's mold for having a learning culture, and it's no accident that that atmosphere has produced incredible financial results -- the stock has soared as the company's monthly recurring revenue has climbed at a compound annual growth rate of 81% over the past five years. The learning culture that Tobi Ltke has built at Shopify is a key reason why this business has been successful and will continue to be successful long into the future.

10 stocks we like better than ShopifyWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Shopify wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017

Brian Withers owns shares of Shopify. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Shopify. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
As one campaign promise gets pushed to the back burner, President Donald Trump hosted a roundtable Monday at the White House to promote economic empowerment for women business owners, moving forward with his pledge to help America's small business sector.

"We must ensure that our economy is a place where women can work and thrive. We will continue addressing the barriers faced by [women in the workforce]," Trump assured the group of female executives.

In attendance at the meeting was Trumbull Unmanned founder Dyan Gibbens, a former Air Force graduate and Department of Defense employee who now heads one of the nations leading drone service providers to the energy sector. Also at the table was Shirley Ann Perry, founder of environmental consulting company HydroTech, and Claudia Mirza, CEO of workforce solutions company Akorbi.

President Trump signed two executive orders last month championing the importance of women in business. The Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers and Innovators and Explorers Act calls on NASA to encourage women to pursue careers in science, engineering and math. The Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act endorses a higher level of support for entrepreneurial programs started by women.

Also sitting in on Monday's meeting was Trump's daughter, Ivanka. The president thanked his daughter for her contributions to the business initiative.

A few of the executives in attendance have already met with Ivanka Trump, including Lisa Phillips, founder of events company CeleebrateUs, who retweeted Trumps photo of the pair from a gathering last month.

Mondays roundtable comes just one day after Ivanka, who has no official role within the White House but does have security clearance and an office in the West Wing, announced she has accepted an invitation from German Chancellor Angela Merkel to attend a global summit focused on womens empowerment and economic development in Berlin. The W20 meeting will take place in late April.

The president acknowledged the role of the First Daughter, a successful business owner herself, as a motivating factor behind the administrations push for womens equality in the workforce.

Meanwhile, Ivankas husband Jared Kushner is making headlines of his own after the White House confirmed he will head a new office tasked with using business solutions to fix stagnation within the government. According to The Washington Post, the White House Office of American Innovation will be comprised of business executives from both sides of the aisle and will report directly to the president. The group is expected to address some of the presidents other key campaign promises, such as opioid addiction and health care for veterans.
After Democrats and a split GOP pressed pause last week on President Donald Trumps effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the administration on Monday was already working to spin the narrative forward, promising a week of action.

The president is expected to sign executive orders focused on trade, energy and deregulation over the next few days, allowing him to bypass the Congressional gridlock that stalled his first major legislative initiative as Commander-in-Chief. Between Monday and Tuesday alone he will sign at least two directives into law, according to the White House, including one that will undo Obama-era environmental regulations which the administration has blamed for stifling the energy industry and killing jobs within the sector.

Trump has also enlisted the help of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, to join his crusade against what he decries as politics as usual in Washington, charging him with heading a brand new office called the White House office of American Innovation.

Basically the president is creating a new version of a privatization office, Al Angrisani, author and former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Ronald Reagan, told FOX Business. The main objective is to move expense off the government budget and cut the deficit. The second objective is to try to improve the efficiency of the service behind the expense.

Angrisani pointed to the U.S. Post Office as one example of an agency that might work more efficiently, and save taxpayers billions each year, as a completely private enterprise.

The office will be filled with business executives of all ideological backgrounds, who will not only be tasked with revamping the federal bureaucracy and cutting through stagnation, but also with helping push through some of Trumps campaign promises, according to The Washington Post. Those promises reportedly include working to combat opioid addiction and improving health care for veterans.

I definitely believe the president would like to legally bypass Congress if possible, Angrisani added. The health care debacle reminded us how incompetent Congress is regardless of which political party is running [it].

FOX Business has learned that JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon, Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX) CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Apple (NYSE:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook will be advising the administration as part of the initiative.

The president did hit the ground running Monday, meeting with a roundtable of female small business owners to promote women empowerment in the workforce. He was expected to announce the first of his executive orders for the week by Monday afternoon.
TheBlaze, Glenn Becks stumbling multi-platform media network, faces an uncertain future after the apparent dismissal this month of Tomi Lahren  who until now was seen as conservative medias rising star  after she expressed pro-choice views on live TV.

Lahren was banned permanently from appearing on TheBlaze after declaring herself pro-choice on The View last week, the New York Post reported this weekend. The 24-year-old broadcast journalist was one of the networks few crossover stars, having parlayed her viral political rants into digital fame and a high-profile debate with The Daily Show host Trevor Noah.

According to media experts, Lahrens departure comes at a critical time for TheBlaze. Becks site garnered just eight million unique visitors in February 2017, down from 21.5 million unique visitors in March 2014, according to comScore data.

TheBlazes decision to part ways with Lahren could be Becks attempt to re-establish his brand as a leading conservative voice at a time when the longtime pundit and radio host is drawing criticism for his public opposition to President Donald Trump, Mark Feldstein, a professor of broadcast journalism at the University of Maryland, told FOX Business.

Perhaps Beck thinks presenting differing views somehow dilutes his conservative brand or alienates his audience, Feldstein told FOX Business. Then again, Beck himself has risked alienating his audience by his vocal anti-Trump stance, including on the liberal Samantha Bee comedy show. So Lahren's doing the same with her off-message comments on The View isn't unprecedented--unless only the boss is allowed such heresy.

TheBlaze and Becks representatives did not immediately respond to FOX Business request for comment. Attempts to reach Lahren were unsuccessful.

Lahren was initially suspended earlier this month after she essentially told panelists on The View that she supported legalized abortion.

Im someone thats for limited government. So I cant sit here and be a hypocrite and say Im for limited government but I think the government should decide what women do with their bodies, Lahren said at the time. I can sit here and say that, as a Republican and I can say, you know what, Im for limited government, so stay out of my guns, and you can stay out of my body as well."

For Lahren, an apparent dismissal from TheBlazes platforms is likely a temporary setback for a promising career, according to Jonathan Albright, a professor of media analytics at Elon University. Lahrens personal Facebook page has more than four million likes, while her videos have garnered tens of millions of views.

Albright suggested that Lahrens appearance on The View, coupled with the news that President Trump personally called to express gratitude for her support after an appearance on FOX News Hannity, could mean that Lahren is aiming to reach beyond the traditional conservative base.

Tomis own Facebook is her primary channel, and Id argue that she no longer needs The Blaze. In fact, as has been shown quite clearly, her association with The Blaze may in fact be limiting her audience reach, Albright said.

Jeffrey McCall, a communications professor at DePauw University in Indiana, said it is really hard to tell whether Becks decision was a move to solidify his brands ideology or simply a case of internal politics. In either case, Lahrens departure isnt a death knell for TheBlaze.

I think The Blaze will be just fine with its core followers. The brand is bigger than just Tomi, McCall said. There are plenty of other bright, poised and photogenic commentators out there who can fill Tomi's role.
The Moke, an electric car first popularized by Brigitte Bardot in St. Tropez, will soon be available for purchase in the US.

Todd Rome, of private jet firm Blue Star Jets  named after Gordon Gekkos Blue Star Jets in Wall Street  has just acquired US rights to the electric car, still popular in the south of France and St. Barts.

The model eMOKE will sell for $15,975. Its a LSV  a low-speed vehicle that travels up to 35 miles per hour  that is perfect for the Hamptons, Rome told On the Money.
As if drivers needed another distraction these days.

An Idaho woman who crashed into a deer on the night of March 22 claims the animal was chased in front of her car by a sasquatch.

The unidentified 50-year-old from the town of Tensed apparently became just that as she was driving along U.S. 95 near Potlatch and saw a shaggy seven- to eight-foot-tall creature running after the deer on the side of the highway, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports.

The woman told police that, after speeding by, she took a look in her rear-view mirror and next thing she knew the deer ran into the road and slammed into her Subaru Forester.

FOLLOW FOX NEWS LIFESTYLE FOR MORE BIZARRE CAR STORIES

Uninjured, she left the area to pick up her husband at work, and then reported the incident to the Benewah County Sheriffs Office.

Police found no evidence of a sasquatch at the scene of the accident, which is not far from Moscow Mountain, the location of several alleged sasquatch/bigfoot sightings over the years.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy recently talked to journalists from media organizations representing LENA, the Leading European Newspaper Alliance, of which EL PAIS is a member. Although the formal reason for meeting the press was to discuss European issues on the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community, the questions also covered the national agenda. The following are highlights from that meeting.

Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy at his desk. Samuel Sanchez (EL PAIS)

The interview took place on Wednesday, March 22, three-and-a-half hours before the terrorist attack on Westminster Bridge, in London. Rajoy, who had mentioned terrorism during the interview, made an additional statement following the attack to call on European citizens for perseverance and a solid determination to defend the values of our civilization.

The leader of a country that has dealt with decades of terrorism from ETA first, then from Islamists, underscored the importance of adapting legislation to the new forms of violence and radicalization, and for governments and parliaments across Europe to support law enforcement agencies.

I knew this was going to be hard

Rajoy, on his minority government

And third, and this is the most important thing of all  and I speak out of personal experience fighting terrorism as interior minister  we need to increase cooperation among intelligence services. said Rajoy. We [in Spain] have benefited greatly from French cooperation, for which I will never tire of expressing gratitude. There is no doubt that if we were able to increase cooperation among member states, it would be easier to fight terrorism. This is one of our great challenges of the future, and one of the issues that the European Union must emphasize. [...] Lets focus on the real issues: immigration, terrorism, growth, jobs, and lets take a clear stand in favor of EU integration. The message that needs to come out of Rome is something like Together forever.

While Rajoy defended greater cooperation and integration throughout the interview, the union is now facing the unprecedented challenge of dealing with a breakaway member. Brexit is of particular interest to Spain due to the issue of Gibraltar, where a majority of people voted against leaving the EU, and because of the large number of British citizens who live in Spain and are now uncertain about their own future.

There is no good Brexit, said Rajoy. Brexit was not good news, neither for Britain nor for the rest of Europe. At this point, we need to do things properly, which means achieving the best possible relationship during Britains exit and in the future. [] Regarding Gibraltar, it will leave the EU when Britain goes  not because it is part of Britain, but because Britain sets its foreign policy. And that means its leaving. Starting from there, all relations between the EU and Britain, and those affecting Gibraltar, will require the opinion and the favorable vote of Spain.

Mariano Rajoy at La Moncloa palace, the seat of government. Samuel Sanchez (EL PAIS)

Although Rajoy demands a voice for Spain in this key decision, observers note that right now the country is not playing a leading role in European strategy policy despite its size and recent economic successes. In July 2015, Spain was dealt a blow with the re-election of Jeroen Dijsselbloem to preside the Eurogroup, the name given to meetings of euro-zone finance ministers. Luis de Guindos, the Spanish economy minister, had been a leading candidate for the post.

Shortly before the interview with Rajoy, the Dutch Eurogroup chief had attracted a furious reaction from southern EU members following public remarks about states that spend their money on liquor and women and then ask for bailout funds. Asked if he would like to see a Spanish-speaking Eurogroup chief, Rajoy said that the Spanish economy minister is really one of the most important and able personalities in the Eurogroup. The position is up for grabs again in January 2018.

The Spanish PM also argued that Spains recent economic successes deserve a corresponding role within the European hallways of power.

We want to play the role that befits us, he said. Spain is a big contributor to the EU. We had five years of negative growth, we lost three-and-a-half million jobs and 70 billion in lost taxes. I arrived in government in late 2011, and I can tell you that the years 2012 and 2013 were a nightmare. In 2014 we began to grow and create jobs; we grew 1.4%. And in 2017, if there is political stability, we will grow 2.5% and create more than 400,000 jobs. There was a meeting of the European Council in June 2012 in which Mr Mario Monti [then the prime minister of Italy] and I had a bitter debate until the early hours of the morning, and after that there was more talk about economic growth and less about austerity.

Spain always did well for itself when it looked beyond its own borders

Rajoy also posited that current immigration policies adopted by Europe are the same ones that Spain had in place years ago to deal with its own waves of migrants from Africa, and that the EU funds for youth unemployment were an initiative put forward by Spain.

As for Spain and Europes relationship with the rest of the world, the leader of the Spanish conservatives would not issue a personal opinion on US President Donald Trump, stressing instead that I want there to be a good relationship with the United States. We have almost always had one: we share values, principles, a sense of democracy, freedom and respect for others with the American people... but that doesnt mean that we cannot disagree on some subjects.

I am worried about trade, he admitted. Spain always did well for itself when it looked beyond its own borders. We signed a free-trade agreement with Canada. I think the treaty with Japan is going well, and at the last European Council, Portugal and ourselves asked to revitalize the agreement with Mercosur. And it is very important to update the EUs agreement with Mexico  President Pena Nieto personally asked me for this.

Spain recently expressed support for Mexico in the context of the latters deteriorating relationship with the new US administration. But some critics say that this support has not been as strong as it should be, and that Spain could be acting as a bridge between the US and Latin American governments.

Mariano Rajoy during the interview with LENA reporters. Samuel Sanchez (EL PAIS)

I will not be a mediator nor a bridge, said Rajoy. What I will say is that Spain is part of two communities: the European one and the Ibero-American one. We are ready to help whoever needs our support, and we defend that it would be in the best interest of both communities to have more and better relationships with one another.

Improved relationships are likely something that Rajoy would like to see within his own parliament, where he now heads a minority government following 10 months of political deadlock and two national elections in Spain. The effects of his weakened position are already palpable: a congressional majority recently stonewalled a government attempt at liberalizing the dockers sector, which Rajoy says sends out the negative message that Spain will not abide by European rules on this point. And the government also faces an uphill struggle to get its budget approved.

But Rajoy insists that early elections are not an option.

I knew this was going to be hard, he said. At the investiture debate I said I was aware that I had to act with the greatest responsibility, trying to reach agreements and create dialogue, and that everyone should do the same. Some important decisions have been made that I am satisfied with, especially economic ones. Weve lost some votes, thats normal. [] But I do not want to call early elections and I will do everything in my power to prevent them. There was already enough nonsense in 2016. I will repeat it ad nauseam: I will not call early elections.

English version by Susana Urra.
Josh Earnest, who served as White House Press Secretary in the latter part of President Barack Obamas tenure, will join NBC News and MSNBC as a political analyst, according to a Monday announcement.

With his wealth of experience and insight, Josh will be a great addition to our roster of contributors and will be an asset for our two networks as we continue to cover the White House, Congress and politics beyond the Beltway, said NBC News President Noah Oppenheim and MSNBC President Phil Griffin in a memo to staffers. Earnest served as press secretary from 2014 to 2017.

Earnest worked for the Obama White House and his campaigns for ten years, initially joining his first presidential campaign in March 2007 as its Iowa communications director. Earnest would go on to work as deputy communications director during the 2008 general election. Josh has also worked on numerous national, statewide and local campaigns over the course of his 20 years in politics.

He graduated from Rice University with a degree in political science and policy studies.

Earnest debuted in the new role Monday morning with appearances on both NBCs Today and MSNBCs Morning Joe.
Tech-savvy restaurant Eatsa touts its ability to let customers seamlessly order, pay for and pick-up food at their seven establishments without any need for human interaction.

Customers place orders via in store tablet kiosks or a smartphone app, then pay using self-service credit card scanners. The final meal is picked up at a clear, cubby-like container-- so most diners can complete the full process without having to deal with someone on the other end of a counter, or even seeing how their food is prepared.

But, according a class action lawsuit filed last week in New York City, the restaurant with locations in California, D.C. and New York City has not properly accounted for needs of all patrons, specifically those are blind or suffer from some type of visual disability.

Disability Rights Advocates, a nonprofit organization, filed the suit claiming that Eatsa is not accommodating blind customers in either its ordering model or within the store's design.

INSIDE THE FOOD INDUSTRY'S HIGH TECH FUTURE

The chain, which provides quinoa-based bowls that customers can customize with toppings, currently has two locations in New York City.

According to the suit cited by Eater, tablet technology can be utilized for blind and low-vision customers-- but Eatsa has not implemented it.

Because the self-service mobile applications, touchscreen tablets, and visually-marked cubbies Eatsa utilizes rely on exclusively visual displays and do not provide any form of audio output or tactile input, Eatsas design is entirely inaccessible to blind customers, states the lawsuit.

Voice activation technology can be used along with headphones jacks on tablets, which allow users to hear instructions and or/options. Properly enabled iPad tablets also have a way for those with low vision to zoom in on the text. But the suit, which invokes the Americans With Disabilities act, alleges that Eatsa has disabled these features.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Accordingly, plaintiffs are asking that the eatery pay for attorney and legal fees, fix the current service issues regarding customers with disabilities and grant such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

Eatsa opened its first location in San Francisco in 2015.

A representative from the restaurant chain was not immediately available for comment.
A Boston doctor who turned down an oncology fellowship to care for the citys homeless turned the one-year position into a 32-year career, and is even referred to as Jesus by some of his patients. Dr. Jim OConnell, who is the head of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, treats his patients on park benches, under bridges or wherever else they call home, CBS News reported.

I feel like Im a country doctor in the middle of the city, you know? OConnell told CBS News.

OConnell and his team provide everything from stitches to help finding a place in a temporary shelter for patients who require more care, the news outlet reported. He said his morning rounds include about 20 patients, while his team counts around 700 regulars.

You start to realize, You know what, Im just a doctor, OConnell told CBS News. And what I can do is I can get to know you and ease your suffering, just as I would an oncologist. You could not find a more grateful population.

OConnells program includes a main shelter, McInnis House, where patients can stay for an extended period of time for treatment, CBS News reported.

Hes like Jesus, an unidentified patient told the news outlet.
A typical healthy scalp has about 100,000 hairs  and you can lose up to 50,000 of them without noticing any hair loss, Dr. Jerry Shapiro told Fox News. Shapiro is a professor in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology and director of Hair and Scalp Disorders at NYU Langone Medical Center.

WHY YOU'RE GOING BALD  AND HOW TO GET YOUR HAIR BACK

Its called invisible baldness: thinning hair that essentially goes unnoticed until you hit that 50 percent mark. If you feel like you may be at risk, see a dermatologist to figure out what the root cause of your hair loss may be, considering many different underlying conditions could cause hair thinning, Shapiro said.

You could also use a device called HairCheck to measure cross-sectional bundles of hair on the scalp, Dr. Alan J. Bauman, a board-certified hair restoration physician based in Boca Raton, Florida, told Fox News. By tracking the amount of hair in specific locations over time  or comparing them to other areas of the scalp  you can figure out just how much hair youre losing.

RESEARCH SUGGESTS THIS GROUP MAY BE MORE AT RISK OF GOING BALD

But how do you know if you may be experiencing invisible baldness, and should make an appointment with a physician? Fox News spoke to Bauman and Shapiro about the potential signs to watch out for:

1. A change in hair texture

If you notice a change in hair texture, such as if your hair feels thinner or lighter, you may be experiencing some hair loss, Bauman said.

2. A thinning ponytail

Similarly, for women, a thinning ponytail can be a sign of hair loss  for instance, if a woman finds she can twist her elastic around her hair many more times than shes used to, Shapiro said.

6 WOMEN REVEAL THE HAIR LOSS 'REMEDIES' THAT DIDN'T WORK

3. Family history

If you have a family history of hair loss or hair thinning, you may be at greater risk of experiencing it yourself, Bauman said.

4. Changes after a haircut

You may notice, if you get a haircut or change your hairstyle, a loss of coverage in certain areas that you hadnt noticed before, Bauman said.

5. Hair shedding

Men and women experiencing hair loss may notice more shedding after showering, brushing, or combing, Shapiro said.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

6. Hair loss in lower-density areas

Some areas of the scalp have less hair density to begin with, including the temples, Bauman said. You may be able to spot hair loss more easily in these locations.
When a Jordanian Army corporal killed seven Israeli schoolgirls 20 years ago, King Hussein traveled to Israel to kneel before the parents of the victims.

In what may have been his finest moment as a leader, he told them: Your daughter is like my daughter. Your loss is my loss." Hussein's profoundly moving gesture generated a flicker of hope for Jordanians and Israelis. From the public reaction to the recent release of the schoolgirls' killer, Ahmed Daqamseh, however, we learn that the late monarchs humanity is no match for the hatred generated by Muslim clerics.

During his lifetime, King Hussein saw it all. As a teenager, he was at the side of his grandfather, King Abdullah I, when he was assassinated at Jerusalems Al-Aqsa Mosque, for his willingness to seek peace with the Jews. The assassin was a former terrorist connected with Haj Amin Al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, collaborator with Hitler, and architect of a militant Palestinian anti-Semitism. Fifty years ago, Hussein joined in Abdel Nassers war with Israel in 1967, only to lose half his kingdom.

In the end, he rose above the hate and fear to make peace with Israel. And on that day in northern Israel, King Hussein displayed a nobility of compassion the world will never forget.

That nobility did not find its way to the people. Before Daqamsehs trial, 200 lawyers and the Jordanian Bar Association competed for the privilege of defending him. Four years later, his mother reflected, "I am proud of my son, and I hold my head high. My son did a heroic deed and has pleased God and his own conscience. My son lifts my head and the head of the entire Arab and Islamic nation. I am proud of any Muslim who does what Ahmad did.

Ahmed Daqamseh had 20 years in prison to reflect on his murder of the seventh- and eighth-grade students as they alighted from a bus at the Island of Peace, a joint Jordanian-Israeli tourist location under Jordanian control. He took pains to shoot some of his victims at close range, and later lamented only that his M16 had worked imperfectly, so he was unable to murder the entire busload of students.

Daqamseh learned nothing during his incarceration. After walking out of prison, he said: They (Jews) are human garbage This garbage should be burned or buried. Upon his release, hundreds of enthusiastic supporters traveled to his hometown to welcome their hero.

With one exception, his heroics went unchallenged in the Jordanian media. Not surprising, when you consider a 2009 Pew poll that reported that negative attitudes toward Jews in Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Lebanon reached 95-98 percent. The percentage plummeted to 35 percent among Israeli Arabs, who actually live among Jews  demonstrating that indoctrination, rather than personal experience, is the key factor in bigotry. Contempt for the other didnt end with Jews: 40 percent of the Arab respondents held negative views about Christians.

Where does this hate come from? Egypts President Al-Sisi challenged the clerics of Al-Azhar, the worlds oldest Sunni university, during a 2015 visit:

Is it possible that 1.6 billion people [Muslims] should want to kill the rest of the worlds inhabitants -- that is 7 billion -- so that they themselves may live? Impossible! I say and repeat again that we are in need of a religious revolution. You, imams, are responsible before Allah.

Attitudes in the Middle East are shaped to an outsize degree by mosque and madrassah, where Muslim clerics hold the keys. Many Muslim religious leaders point fingers at ISIS and Al Qaeda, hoping to distract attention from the fundamentalist message they serve up regularly, teaching contempt  and worse  for Jews, Christians, Westerners and gays. Recently, Mufti Muhammad Hussein, Palestinian President Abbas appointee as chief religious authority, publicly stated that killing Jews -- accepted in Islam as the people of the Book -- is a Muslim obligation. God knows what fate he will command upon Hindus and Buddhists, who are regarded as pagan.

One Israeli mother harbors a different message. Nurit Fathis daughter Sivan was 13 years old when Daqamseh murdered her. Nurit misses her laughter, her smile, her joy of life, but insists that, Despite the murder, we are for peace.

When the great Chassidic Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchiv was asked how a charity campaign was going, he replied that he was halfway there. Ive gotten the poor to agree to receive. Now all I have to do is convince the rich to give. In the Middle East, there are people who lost their children to terrorists, yet still yearn for peace. Others embrace the preachers who teach the holiness of hate.

In 2017, it seems, we are barely halfway there.
The United States has made no progress to decrease its dependence on China for metals and materials that are critical to our national security and defense, according to a narrowly-circulated report from the Department of Defense.

The document, dated January 2017 and titled, Strategic and Critical Materials Operations Report to Congress, confirms the widespread fear among industry experts that the U.S. remains dangerously incapable of mining and producing so-called rare earths. Those 17 metals and elements are needed for, among other things, the Pentagons new F-35 fighter jet, laser-guided missiles and catapults that launch fighter jets from aircraft carriers.

Those same materials, which the United States imports almost exclusively from China, are also used for consumer goods such as smartphones, GPS systems, automobile electronics and computer and television screens.

With President Trump vowing to deal more aggressively with China on trade matters, possible Chinese export restrictions on critical metals like rare earths have again been raised.

Our perilous dependence on Chinese-produced rare earths is likely to be a topic of discussion when the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources meets Tuesday. Among the witnesses expected to testify is an associate director of the U.S. Geological Survey, the government agency that released a report showing that the U.S. is 100 percent reliant on foreign producers of rare earths. The last American rare earth production facility, Molycorp, closed in 2015.

Also expected to testify are representatives of mining and energy companies that hope Trump will encourage domestic production of rare earths and other critical metals, which exist in abundance under American soil.

Those producers have been frustrated by eight years of inaction by the Obama administration, which largely ignored Americas rare earth dependence because of environmental concerns and because those materials could be imported from China more cheaply than they could be produced domestically.

In 2012, the Obama administration brought a complaint against China to the World Trade Organization, charging it was restricting exports of rare earths, as well as tungsten and molybdenum. When, in 2015, the WTO ruled in favor of the United States, China removed its quotas. It also exposed American reliance on Beijing exports of rare earths and rang alarm bells in the defense establishment.

The WTO allows appeals when issues of national security enter into consideration, said Anthony Marchese, chairman of Texas Mineral Resources Corp., a company that has pending rare earth projects in the United States. The Obama administration was effectively hamstrung since any mention of national security concerns would have strengthened Chinas position.

The danger of Americas dependence is hard to overstate. What would you say if you blanked out the words rare earth and said, How would you feel about being totally dependent on a product from a potential adversary whose use is ubiquitous in your defense industry and everyday products like smartphone? says Marchese.

So far, no one has the rarest notion of how to answer that question.
The fallout over House Republicans' failed ObamaCare overhaul bill continued Sunday when Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, resigned from the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Poe intended to vote in favor of the bill and personally told President Trump last week that he would support the measure.

To deliver on the conservative agenda we have promised the American people for eight years, we must come together to find solutions to move this country forward," Poe said in a statement. "Saying no is easy, leading is hard, but that is what we were elected to do. Leaving this caucus will allow me to be a more effective member of Congress and advocate for the people of Texas. It is time to lead."

Poe resigned hours after President Trump called out the Freedom Caucus and conservative groups Club for Growth and The Heritage Foundation for not supporting the measure.

Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!, Trump tweeted.

On Friday, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., canceled the final vote for the ObamaCare replacement bill after concluding he didnt have enough support despite the chambers GOP majority.

Ryan was purportedly about 20 votes short of the requisite 216, amid strong opposition from the chambers conservative House Freedom Caucus, which has 30 to 40 Republican members. Several moderate House Republicans also did not support the bill, written by Ryan and his leadership team.

In the days leading up to the planned vote, Trump suggested those who wouldnt support the overhaul bill could lose in their 2018 reelection primaries. And in a closed-door Capitol Hill meeting last week, the president made clear to Freedom Caucus leader Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., that he would hold the congressman responsible if the bill failed.

Trump and Ryan spoke Saturday and Sunday. Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said the leaders spoke Saturday for roughly an hour about moving forward on (their) agenda and that their relationship is stronger than ever right now.

Strong also said Trump made clear Sunday that his tweet earlier in the day had nothing to do with the speaker.

They are both eager to get back to work on the agenda," she said.

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Two companies from the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division are being deployed to the Mosul to bolster security in Iraq at the request of the top American commander in Baghdad fighting ISIS, a U.S. defense official with knowledge of the order told Fox News.

A U.S. defense official told Fox News the 200 additional troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are going to Mosulto provide additional advise and assist support to our Iraq Partners as they liberate Mosul, according to the official.

In another sign the Pentagon is ramping up the fight against ISIS, jets from the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush began striking ISIS targets on Friday, days after arriving in the Persian Gulf.

Last month, Bush conducted airstrikes in Syria from the Eastern Mediterranean.

US-BACKED FORCES SEIZE SYRIAN AIR BASE FROM ISIS

In recent weeks, multiple press reports said upwards of 1,000 additional American troops would deploy to Kuwait or Syria to act as a "reserve force." These reports were said to be inaccurate by multiple Pentagon officials.

"I don't foresee us bringing in large numbers of coalition troops, mainly because what we're doing is in fact working," said Townsend in a press briefing with Pentagon reporters earlier this month.

IRAQ PM SAYS ISIS WILL BE DEFEATED 'WITHIN WEEKS'

Some of the additional forces from the 82nd Airborne Division will head to the Qayyarah Airfield West, or "Q-West" as the soldiers call it, the official said. U.S. forces have occupied the former Iraqi military base since the summer. Currently, Apache gunships and GPS-guided rocket systems called HIMARS are based there roughly 40 miles south of Mosul to support the ongoing battle for Iraq's second largest city.

In Hamam al-Alil, 15 miles south of Mosul, a U.S. Army artillery battery has also been supporting the Iraqi-led operation into West Mosul in recent months.

The fight against ISIS in Mosul has stretched longer than five months. In an exclusive interview with Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday," Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi predicted ISIS will be defeated in the next few weeks.

"We are defeating them militarily," he said.

On Saturday, the U.S-led coalition acknowledged that its jets had bombed the location where up to 200 civilians were killed in west Mosul last week. The coalition claimed Iraqi forces had requested the airstrike.

In neighboring Syria, a U.S. Marine artillery battery has been supporting a US-led air assault roughly 30 miles west of Raqqa, the de facto ISIS capital, in recent days.

Last week, hundreds of Syrian Arab and Kurdish fighters  accompanied by a handful of U.S. special operations forces  were inserted via U.S. military helicopters outside the city of Tabqa, where a strategic dam has been in ISIS hands since 2014.

Earlier Sunday, the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced they had captured a strategic airfield in the city, located approximately 30 miles west of Raqqa.
Former Florida governor and GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush returned to the spotlight on Sunday to offer President Trump some unsolicited advice.

When asked by Facing South Florida host Jim DeFede about Trumps administration so far, Bush praised the president on his cabinet picks, as well as the economic optimism hes created for the country.

But the compliments stopped there, as Bush went on to criticize Trumps unorthodox approach to the presidency.

"He's a distraction in and of himself," Bush said. "He's got a lot of work to do, and some of these things  the wiretapping and all of this stuff  is a complete distraction that makes it harder to accomplish the things I know he wants to do."

DeFede asked Bush if the president should stop tweeting -- a common criticism of the tool Trump often uses to communicate anything from press appearances to unfounded bombshell accusations like the wiretapping of Trump Tower.

He should stop saying things that arent true, Bush responded. That are distractions from the task at hand."

Bush also said that he thinks some of Trumps more radical claims, most shared via Twitter, diminish the office of the presidency.

I hope he learns that its one thing to do it as a candidate where youre garnering a huge following on Twitter and people go to massive rallies where people clearly love him, Bush said. Another thing is, when youre the president, your words have consequences that go way beyond that.

Bush, whose own presidential hopes fizzled out about a year ago when he dropped out of the race after losing the South Carolina primary, also commented on Trumps fake news claims, saying he learned a lot about the way people consume their news during his campaign.

Its not necessarily fake news, Bush said. Its that people customize their news to validate what they believe and it makes them increasingly less tolerant of other peoples views that may have a different set of facts. That is dangerous for our democracy.

Bush also stated that he has no regrets about running for president but doesnt know if he would ever run again, although saying he doesnt rule out anything.
The week began with fierce finger-pointing in Washington in the wake of Fridays flameout of the GOP alternative to ObamaCare, with conservatives and moderates blaming each other, President Trump sending mixed signals as to he faulted and Democrats gloating over the laws preservation.

Opposition from the House Freedom Caucus, the powerful bloc of conservative Republicans, prompted Speaker Paul Ryan to pull the bill prior to a scheduled vote, but members said it should spur a fresh approach instead of recriminations.

Instead of doing the blame game, lets get to work, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said on Fox News Sunday. Lets do the responsible thing. Lets get back to work and do what we told the voters we were going to do.

Trump, who has had an on-again, off-again relationship with Ryan, initially seemed let down by the speakers inability to deliver the votes for a bill Trump had supported. The president sparked speculation he was gunning for Ryan when he tweeted Saturday morning for people to watch Fox News Justice with Judge Jeanine, which then featured a blistering monologue from host Jeanine Pirro calling for Ryans ouster.

"Hey Republicans, don't worry, that burn is covered under the Affordable Care Act.","  Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

"Americans elected the one man they believed could do it," Pirro said. "And, Speaker Ryan, you come in will all your swagger and experience and sell him a bill of goods which ends up a complete and total failure."

But a day later, Trump tweeted that it was the Freedom Caucus and conservative think tanks that had killed the bill and left ObamaCare in place.

Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare! Trump tweeted.

On Sunday, Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus seemed to elaborate on his boss comments directing blame at House conservatives.

I think the president is disappointed in the number of people he thought were loyal to him that werent, Priebus said.

The administration kept hope alive that another alternative could be in the works, when Vice President Mike Pence declared Trump has not abandoned the idea of repealing and replacing ObamaCare.

"West Virginia and President Trump, we all know the truth about this failed law, that every day ObamaCare survives is another day that America suffers," Pence told a crowd gathered Saturday at a Charleston construction supply company.

The Republican infighting extended to Freedom Caucus circles, where one member of the approximately 40-member group, Texas Congressman Ted Poe, quit over what he characterized as the groups ever-changing demands of Ryan.

"To deliver on the conservative agenda we have promised the American people for eight years, we must come together to find solutions to move this country forward," Poe said Sunday through his congressional office.

"Saying no is easy, leading is hard, but that is what we were elected to do. Leaving this caucus will allow me to be a more effective member of Congress and advocate for the people of Texas. It is time to lead."

In the Senate, critics of the bill, including Tom Cotton of Arkansas, said Ryans leadership team moved too fast and failed to build consensus on the bill. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a physician, also has been a vocal critic of the House bill and it was not clear that the Trump-backed plan would have passed in the Senate.

Democrats were giddy over the Republicans failure, mocking them for the self-inflicted wound.

"Hey Republicans, don't worry, that burn is covered under the Affordable Care Act," tweeted Sen. Robert Menendez, D- N.J.
At first it felt really odd. Accustomed as they were to living with their backs to the city, the 40,000 residents of Villa 31, the oldest and best-known shantytown in Buenos Aires, could scarcely believe that it was really Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta they were seeing strolling down their streets.

Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Larreta outside his office in Villa 31. Daniel Baca

More information El alcalde de Buenos Aires abre despacho en la favela mas conocida

But slowly, they are getting used to his presence. Dont let up, pelado!, shouts one local business owner as he passes by, making a friendly reference to the mayors thinning hair. Other, more desperate residents come up to him to ask for a job.

Larreta has opened up an office in the heart of this slum, which is located not 200 meters from the most expensive neighborhood in Buenos Aires, yet a world away. He comes here almost every week, walking to work and stopping to chat with the locals.

The office itself is a symbol: the modern, three-story building strikes a contrast with the surrounding chaos and poverty, and was built over the ruins of the neighborhoods best-known drug distribution center.

Not everyone shares this enthusiasm. Reality is very tough inside Villa 31

This used to be the main headquarters for the drug lords in Villa 31. We want to send out the message that the state is now reaching out to where it didnt before, explains Larreta.

That before includes the last 10 years, when he was first the deputy mayor to Mauricio Macri, and now that the latter has moved on to bigger things, as mayor himself. During that period of time, Villa 31 expanded like never before, and experienced a notable degradation. But Larreta blames the former president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, for that.

We couldnt do any construction work, this is state-owned land, and we were at odds. Now Macri has given me permission to enter, he says.

But the mayor has two adverse forces to reckon with. One is resistance from the locals, who do not trust a power that always aimed to kick them out  residents have been occupying the land since the 1930s, and pay no utility bills for their electricity and water hook-ups. The other problem is resistance from some of the people on the outside, who dont want their taxes to go into helping Villa 31.

A police officer patrolling the streets of Villa 31. Ricardo Ceppi

But for most insiders  with the exception of those who live literally under the expressway and whose homes will be demolished  the question marks are beginning to vanish now that they see their houses slowly undergoing improvements, sewers being put in, and drinking water suddenly available.

The city of Buenos Aires is undertaking a complete overhaul of the area, a project that will cost 400 million, of which 170 million are being paid by the World Bank. Authorities are even going to move the freeway route.

When you come every week, they start to believe you, notes Larreta. We are breaking the circle of skepticism in people who were promised things for decades, yet you can see for yourself how things stand.

As he talks inside his office, the mayor gestures toward the dozens of cables connecting homes, the stagnating water, and the muddy streets. Inside his building, there is a crisp sense of modernity. Outside, there is an unmitigated disaster unbefitting a capital like Buenos Aires.

The city of Buenos Aires is undertaking a complete overhaul of the area, a project that will cost 400 million

This is an old due for the city, admits Larreta. That is why the city will transfer its education department, which employs 1,500 municipal workers, into the heart of Villa 31. Right now, there isnt even a school within this miniature city filled with children.

Most Buenos Aires natives have never set foot inside Villa 31. Most of them drive overhead on the freeway every day, see the abject poverty below, but never come close to it. But Larreta and David Fernandez, the head of the project, dream of a day when thousands of city dwellers will come here to buy cheaper fruit and vegetables.

There is an enormous warehouse that is currently used to wash buses. I imagine it as Barcelonas Boqueria market a few years down the line, says Larreta. It is hard to envision such a future in the midst of so much dust, noise and scattered trash. But Fernandez sees it very clearly: This is as though Buenos Aires were a large home, and Villa 31 were a room thats been kept shut for 85 years. Its a huge opportunity.

Both men ooze optimism as they offer up a few figures. In 2015 there were 30 murders in Villa 31. In 2016 there were five. So far this year, none. I wont say that drugs dont get sold here, but this is not a drug-controlled area, asserts Larreta.

Not everyone shares this enthusiasm. Reality is very tough inside Villa 31, and some people fear that any changes will be purely cosmetic, leaving intact the core problem: inequality and social exclusion. A third of all Argentineans are poor, and there sits Villa 31, just 200 meters from La Recoleta, the citys most exclusive neighborhood, as a reminder of the enormous social differences that are predominant in Latin America.

English version by Susana Urra.
The top Democrat on the House intelligence committee said Monday that the committee's chairman should recuse himself from any further involvement into the investigation of possible ties between Russian officials and President Donald Trump's campaign.

In a statement, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said he believed "the public cannot have the necessary confidence that matters involving the Presidents campaign or transition team can be objectively investigated or overseen by [Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.]."

Nunes responded in an interview with Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" late Monday, telling host Bill O'Reilly, "Im sure the Democrats do want me to quit, because they know that Im quite effective at getting to the bottom of things."

Schiff's statement was made hours after Nunes' spokesman revealed that the congressman met on the White House grounds with the source of the claim that communications involving President Donald Trump's associates were caught up in "incidental" surveillance.

"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," Nunes spokesman Jack Langer said.

The meeting occurred before Nunes disclosed at a news conference last week that U.S. spy agencies may have inadvertently captured Trump and his associates in routine targeting of foreigners' communications. Trump quickly seized on the statements as at least partial vindication for his assertion that President Barack Obama tapped his phones at Trump Tower  though Nunes, Schiff and FBI Director James Comey have said there is no such evidence.

"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.

Previously, Nunes would not say where he met his secret source. In an interview with Bloomberg View on Monday, Nunes said the source was not a White House staffer and was an intelligence official.

In addition to the White House itself, the grounds of the executive mansion include an adjacent building with offices for National Security Council and other executive branch employees.



"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," Langer 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."

It is unclear exactly what documents Nunes reviewed. White House spokesman Sean Spicer would not comment on whether White House officials were involved with Nunes.

"I'm not going to get into who he met with or why he met with them," Spicer said.

The bizarre disclosure about the intelligence reports brought criticism from Democrats, especially those who sit on his committee and are working with him on an investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election campaign. That investigation is also looking into possible ties between Trump associates and the Kremlin.

Nunes has repeatedly said the intelligence reports were not related to Russia, which could suggest that Trump associates were in touch with other foreign targets of U.S. intelligence surveillance in November, December or January.

The House investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential race has been plagued with partisan divisions under Nunes' leadership.

The chairman did not tell Schiff about the meeting at the White House complex. It is highly unusual for a committee chairman and ranking member not to coordinate meetings related to an investigation.

"'I think the chairman has to make a decision whether to act as a surrogate of the White House  as he did during the campaign and the transition  or to lead an independent and credible investigation," Schiff said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."

The disclosure renewed calls for an independent committee to investigate the Russia ties.

Indeed, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to replace Nunes as chairman of the intelligence committee.

"He has not been operating like someone who is interested in getting to the unvarnished truth. His actions look like those of someone who is interested in protecting the president and his party," Schumer said.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, "Chairman Nunes' discredited behavior has tarnished that office," and said Ryan should insist that Nunes "at least recuse himself" from the Russia probe.

AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan, said Monday the speaker has "full confidence that Chairman Nunes is conducting a thorough, fair and credible investigation."

Nunes and Schiff have asked the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency for the names of officials who were cited in intelligence reports. The committee has said it is getting some of what it requested, but has not received everything.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser and the son-in-law of President Trump, has volunteered to meet with the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of an inquiry into ties between the administration, its associates and Russia.

A White House official told Fox News that Kushner will discuss his campaign role, where, among other duties, he arranged and met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and other foreign officials.

"Throughout the campaign and transition, Jared Kushner served as the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials," a senior administration official told Fox News. "Given this role, he has volunteered to speak with Chairman [Richard] Burrs Committee, but has not yet received confirmation."

Burr, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, confirmed to Fox News that he asked Kushner to answer questions before the committee about his interactions with Kislyak.

According to The New York Times, which first reported the story, Kushner also met with Sergey N. Gorkov, the chief of the Russian-state owned bank Vnesheconombank. The bank had been placed on the sanctions list during the Obama administration following a controversy in Ukraine.

The White House emphasized Kushner volunteered to meet with the committee as it continues to investigate the extent of Russia's alleged interference, primarily through hacking, into the 2016 presidential election.

The news of Kushner comes on the same day as the White House announced he would head up the Office of American Innovation  which will be tasked with crafting ideas to reshape the federal bureaucracy to make it more efficient by applying business strategies to flaws in the federal government.
Two mining bills designed to eliminate safety checks for the coal industry have reignited smoldering tensions between miners and mine owners.

In West Virginia, lawmakers advanced revisions to a controversial bill that originally would have eliminated state safety checks at coal mines.

A similar effort made its way through the Kentucky Legislature. That bill would decrease the number of mandated safety inspections to three, with only one full electrical inspection. The Kentucky bill does allow for up to six safety inspections. An on-site safety equipment check could be subbed out by a written safety analysis report based on conversations with miners.

Longtime safety experts say they are shocked at the scope of the proposals that will seemingly void violations that traditionally carry stiff monetary penalties.

No one wants to be perceived as being against safety."  Chris Hamilton, West Virginia Coal Association

Its breathtaking in its scope, said Davitt McAteer, who served as assistant secretary of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration during the Clinton administration.

McAteer, an internationally recognized expert on mine safety, led a team that pushed for strengthening West Virginias mine safety efforts following the death of 29 miners after a coal dust explosion at Massey Energys Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal in 2010.

The Kentucky and West Virginia proposals come at a time when the industry is fighting for its survival. While they are both state deregulation proposals, both come as President Trump has pledged to take steps at the federal level to boost the beleaguered industry.

Coal production hit its peak in 2008, but when President Obama came into office, he rolled out a series of regulations that he said were designed to protect Americas streams and waterways from the pollution caused by the mining operations. Those regulations, in concert with others, crippled the industry, leading to a loss of 50,000 jobs between 2008 and 2012, according to a study by researchers at the Duke Nichols School of the Environment.

Despite their dwindling numbers, coal miners played a central role in the 2016 election.

Trump campaigned on a promise to end Obamas War on Coal -- and put out-of-work coal miners back on the job.

Trump traveled to West Virginia, donned a hard hat and promised jobs would return to an area whose very identity has been linked to the coal-mining industry for generations. And last month, Trump signed legislation undoing a regulation he called a job-killing rule that blocks coal-mining debris from being dumped into nearby streams.

But all of the goodwill came to a screeching halt a few weeks ago when the pair of bills was introduced in two of the countrys top coal-producing states.

In West Virginia, state Sen. Randy Smith, a Republican and Mattiki Coal Co. official, initially introduced a bill that would strip almost all coal mine safety enforcement by state inspectors. It was billed as a bridge between the fledgling industry and those working the coal mines, but received strong pushback by the pro-worker unions and organizations.

West Virginia Coal Association Vice President Chris Hamilton expressed his skepticism of the first bill to Fox News.

No one wants to be perceived as being against safety, he said, adding that tweaks needed to be made before his organization would sign off.

United Mine Workers of America spokesperson Ted Hapney also said the union objected to the original version of the bill that included losing three inspections a year and reducing -- well, actually taking away -- the enforcement power of the agency.

Following a burst of negative national attention and strong pushback, Smith made some concessions -- but maintains his original bill made the impact he intended.

The bill I initially introduced was designed to be shocking, Smith told Fox News. I wanted it to be enough to get people talking. I think too often, we dont have serious conversations about mine safety until someone is hurt or killed. I was able to accomplish getting this discussion moving without either of those having to happen first.

Smiths new bill focuses on modernizing coal mining regulations. He pushes back against allegations his motives were more about profit than security.

Sometimes it is hard to get groups to come together, he told Fox News. This bill forced us all to come to the table to have a real discussion about the issue.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired a broadside at so-called "sanctuary cities" Monday, telling reporters local policies of noncooperation with immigration authorities are "dangerous" and will cost communities federal funding.

In the Trump administration's most pointed warning yet, Sessions said federal law allows withholding of federal funding to sanctuary cities, and signaled that such measures will soon be taken. Sessions, who took the podium at White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's regular media briefing, warned of a pending crackdown by the administration.

"Such policies cannot continue," he said. "They make our nation less safe by putting dangerous criminals back on the street."

"Such policies cannot continue. They make our nation less safe by putting dangerous criminals back on the street."  Attorney General Jeff Sessions

While not a technical term, "sanctuary cities" are communities that have refused to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials after detaining illegal immigrants. By federal law, they are required to inform the feds when they have an illegal immigrant in custody, even if he or she has not been convicted of a crime.

Several big cities, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as dozens and possibly hundreds of smaller counties, cities and towns, also refuse to notify ICE, which can then come and take custody of the illegal immigrant, possibly for deportation.

LAPD has never participated in programs that deputize local law enforcement to act as immigration agents, and on my watch they never will, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said last week.

A spokesman for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the administration's plan to hold back federal funds was "no different than what was in the Executive Order [travel ban] the president signed weeks ago."

"The administration's plan to deny federal funds to cities that are standing up for their values is unconstitutional," said Matt McGrath, a spokesman for Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel. "Chicago is proud to stand with 34 cities and counties across the country in asking a federal court to prevent the federal government from illegally withholding federal funds."

Immediately after Sessions spoke, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a staunch critic of Trump, said he will fight any efforts to defund sanctuary communities in the Empire State.

My office will continue to ensure local governments have the tools they need to legally protect their immigrant communities  and we wont stop fighting to beat back President Trumps un-American immigration policies, Schneiderman said in a statement.

But Sessions said such policies put citizens' safety in jeopardy.

"The American people know that when cities and states refuse to help enforce immigration laws, our nation is less safe," Sessions said.

Perhaps telegraphing action President Trump warned of during his campaign, Sessions said the administration will pull billions in federal funding to sanctuary communities if they remain in noncompliance.

Sessions said communities applying for Department of Justice grants will be required to show they are following immigration law.

The DOJ will withhold, and could potentially "claw back" grants to localities out of compliance with federal immigration law, Sessions said. He noted one Justice Department office alone was expecting to award more than $4.1 billion in grants this fiscal year.

"Failure to deport aliens who are convicted of criminal offenses puts whole communities at risk, especially immigrant communities in the very sanctuary jurisdictions that seek to protect the perpetrators," Sessions said.

Sessions, an early supporter of Trump's candidacy, is a longtime illegal immigration hawk who helped drive Trump's winning platform plank on the subject.

Early in Trump's candidacy, in July 2015, a woman named Kate Steinle was killed in San Francisco by an illegal immigrant who had been deported previously and had recently been freed by local authorities. The murder became a rallying point for the campaign.

More recently, a 14-year-old Maryland high school girl was raped in a school bathroom allegedly by two men, at least one of whom is an illegal immigrant. That case has reignited the debate about illegal immigration and sanctuary policies.

Just days after his inauguration, Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security to publish a weekly list of all detainer requests turned down by local jails. Trump said the list will "better inform the public regarding the public safety threats associated with sanctuary jurisdictions."
Critics of the Trump administrations plan to store nuclear waste in Nevada dismissed the initiative as "naive" and "a token of affection" to the nuclear industry.

President Trumps 2018 budget provides $120 million to restart licensing activities for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, as well as to initiate a robust interim storage program, to safely store nuclear waste for 10,000 years.

Nevadas Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage site has languished for three decades because of opposition from both environmentalists and liberal politicians, like former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

But in 1982, Congress made a legally binding pledge that the U.S. government was responsible for disposing of the radioactive material that can take tens of thousands of years to degrade. Five years later, Congress amended the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and determined Yucca Mountain as the lone repository for high-level nuclear waste.

According to a 2011 Government Accountability Office estimate, since 1987 the federal government has dumped $15 billion into developing the Nevada waste site.

In 2010, after major opposition from Reid, the Obama administration cut funding for the project early in the presidents first term and, in 2011, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission allowed the shutdown of the project citing budgetary limitations from Congress.

Now the Trump administration plans to resuscitate the project.

According to the presidents budget proposal, the investments are said to accelerate progress on fulfilling the federal governments obligations to address nuclear waste, enhance national security and reduce future taxpayer burden.

Were approaching a third decade of federal abdication when it comes to the appropriate disposition of used nuclear fuel -- there are signs that the new administration wants to end the stalemate, but we need resolve from both branches of government, Nuclear Energy Institute spokesman John Keeley told Fox News. The nuclear industry is committed to working with Congress and the administration to put the used fuel management program back on its feet.

But Fox News contributor and former Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, is a strong opponent of the plan. He stopped a nuclear dump in Ohio in 1995, and did extensive work on nuclear power issues when chairman of a House subcommittee on domestic policy. And Kucinich told Fox News that President Trumps proposed $120 million wouldnt even cover the cost of the paperwork in arranging Yucca Mountain.

The president, being a very famous developer, should know that a nuclear waste depository is the opposite of development -- no one wants to be anywhere near it, Kucinich told Fox News.

The White House did not have any further comment, other than the initial proposal for Yucca Mountain.

This is just a token of affection from the president to the nuclear industry, which will have very little impact on whether or not a nuclear dump is cited in Nevada, Kucinich said.

Nevada residents have strongly resisted the project.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., who took Reids Senate seat upon his retirement last year, told Fox News that she will continue to fight against this and any other attempt to revive this reckless project.

Trumps attempt to revive Yucca Mountain is naive and would be a colossal waste of taxpayer money, Cortez Masto said, quoting a report that estimated licensing hearings alone would cost more than $1.6 billion. Yucca Mountain is nothing more than a hole in the ground and will never be a viable solution for dealing with nuclear waste -- Nevadans know this and they have been clear they do not want a nuclear dumping site in their backyard.

Kelley told Fox News that until the government meets its legal obligation to accept the fuel, the industry will continue to safely and securely store the waste at its 99 operating reactors located at 61 sites in 30 states.
President Trump handed a bill to German Chancellor Angela Merkel for about $400 billion -- money he claims Germany owes NATO -- during their White House meeting earlier this month, according to a British newspaper.

Trump has been outspoken about NATO countries not meeting their pledge to spend at last 2 percent of GDP on defense. He raised the issue publicly in the joint press conference he held with Merkel on March 17.

I reiterated to Chancellor Merkel my strong support for NATO, as well as the need for our NATO allies to pay their fair share for the cost of defense, Trump said at the joint press conference. Many nations owe vast sums of money from past years, and it is very unfair to the United States. These nations must pay what they owe.

But The Times of London reported Sunday that Trump had gone a step further and told officials to calculate how much German defense spending had fallen short of the target since 2002 -- when former Chancellor Gerhard Schroder committed to higher defense spending. The bill was then handed to Merkel during their private meeting, The Times reported, to the tune of more than 300 billion U.K. pounds  about $374 billion.

Trump's colorful move was described as outrageous by a German minister.

The concept behind putting out such demands is to intimidate the other side, but the chancellor took it calmly and will not respond to such provocations, the minister told The Times.

The White House denied the report to Business Insider, with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer saying: No, this is not true.

The Times reported that Trump had his staff prepare similar bills for other NATO members not meeting the 2 percent targets.

If true, the hardball tactic may have had some effect, with Merkel reaffirming at the press conference her nations intention to keep the 2 percent commitment.

NATO is of prime importance for us, and it was not without very good reason that we said during our summit meeting in Wales that also Germany needs to increase expenditure. We committed to this 2-percent goal until 2024, she said. Last year we increased our defense spending by 8 percent, and were going to work together again and again on this.
Texas GOP Rep. Ted Poe's exit from the House Freedom Caucus after it helped sink the Republicans ObamaCare overhaul has created widespread uncertainty about the political future of the caucus and its roughly 35 other members.

The picture emerging Monday appeared to be that caucus members realize that their future largely depends on fulfilling campaign promises to fully repeal and replace the 2010 health care law.

You cannot always say no, Poe told Fox News Monday morning, about 12 hours after his resignation from the conservative caucus and three days after House Speaker Paul Ryan cancelled a final vote on the bill in the GOP-led chamber.

Poe, who supported the overall plan crafted by Ryan and his leadership team, also addressed the argument posed by President Donald Trump and others that voting against the plan could result in a 2018 re-election loss.

I think we will repeal it, said Poe, a seven-term congressman. We will do that.

Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, a caucus co-founder, said Monday, "We still have time."

Trump met several times with Freedom Caucus members in recent weeks, with a focus on winning support from group leader Rep. Mark Meadows, even inviting him to the White House and his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago.

However, Trump, amid the realization that the GOP plan might fail, hinted last week in a closed-door Capitol Hill meeting that non-supporters could suffer a primary defeat next year and said to Meadows, Oh Mark, I'm going to come after you.

Meadows, R-N.C., brushed aside both comments.

I serve at the will of 750,000 people in western North Carolina. Im going to be a no even if it sends me home, he said. I dont know of too many people who can challenge me on the right.

Still, voters in Meadows largely blue-collar district and in some other conservative-leaning parts of the country appear to expect House Republicans to make good on repeal and replace vows.

They will come up with a plan that will make health care better for all Americans," Ralph Slaughter, chairman of North Carolinas Jackson County Republican Party, told Politico over the weekend.

Meadows has signaled a desire to revisit the issue. But he and others might have missed their opportunity, considering Trump and Ryan now appear eager to move to tax reform and other big policy issues.

Poe also told Fox News Monday that he has discussed his departure with members of the Freedom Caucus, which pushed out House Speaker John Boehner in 2015, apparently for not being conservative enough.

But none has expressed a desire to resign, too, he said.

The Harris County Republican Party, in Poes east Texas district, declined Monday to talk about Poes decision and whether re-election fears could have been a factor.

Capitol Hill sources said Monday that caucus members and other House Republicans who opposed the overhaul plan still appear in a moment of reflection about a possible missed opportunity and the need to govern.

Poes departure is a sign that the Freedom Caucus needs to shift gears into a legislative mode, said David Payne, a Republican strategist and partner at Washington-based Vox Global. Theyve proven they can be a purity check. Now, theyll need to prove that theyre a legislative force.

Payne also argued that if House Republicans can unite and pass important bills in the coming weeks, the health care bill failure will quickly fade from memory.

But if a trend develops, the caucus might push Trump into the arms of moderate Democrats willing to pull bills to the left in exchange for passage, he said.
The U.K. government wants WhatsApp to give security services access to encrypted messages in the aftermath of the Westminster Bridge terror attack. Officials, however, could face stiff challenges if they choose to apply U.K. surveillance legislation to the U.S.-based firm, according to a digital privacy advocate.

British press reports suggest Westminster Bridge attacker Khalid Masood used the WhatsApp messaging service just minutes before the Wednesday rampage that left three pedestrians and one police officer dead and dozens more wounded.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd used appearances on BBC and Sky News Sunday to urge WhatsApp and other encrypted services to make their platforms accessible to intelligence services and police trying to carrying out lawful eavesdropping.

APPLE DENIED MASSIVE ICLOUD HACK

We need to make sure that organizations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, dont provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other, she said, in a BBC interview. We need to make sure that our intelligence services do have the ability to go into situations like encrypted WhatsApp.

Last year the U.K. passed the Investigatory Powers Act, which aims to strengthen the countrys surveillance powers.

However, the London-based Open Rights Group, which advocates for digital privacy and free speech online, told Fox News that any attempt to apply U.K. surveillance legislation would take the government into uncharted legal waters.

"The U.K. claims the power to ask companies with U.K. users to change their products as long as it is reasonable or technically feasible, explained Jim Killock, Open Rights Group executive director, in a statement emailed to Fox News. Although WhatsApp is U.S.-based, its parent company, Facebook, has offices and assets in the UK -- and so it might be compelled to respond to such a request. However, none of this is tested in law; we dont know whether there would be resistance or if the U.S. government might try to intervene.

TRACTOR HACK: FARMERS ARE HARNESSING HACKED SOFTWARE FOR JOHN DEERE REPAIRS

WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, says that it is working with U.K. authorities following Wednesdays attack. We are horrified at the attack carried out in London and are cooperating with law enforcement as they continue their investigations, it said, in a statement emailed to Fox News.

In an interview with Sky News, Rudd said that tech giants such as Facebook, Google and Twitter need to step up in the battle against terrorism. They really have to take responsibility for the fact that their sites, their platforms, their publishing enterprises, are being used by terrorists, she said.

The Cabinet Minister is meeting with key players in the tech industry on Thursday and will urge them to play a bigger role in tackling terrorists. I want them to be part of this answer, she said, but would not rule out changes to the law, if needed. I am not taking anything off the table, she added.

MILITARY PERSONNEL DATA LEAKED IN DUN & BRADSTREET DATABASE

The tech industry has faced previous law enforcement demands for access to data after major attacks. In the United States, Apple fought the FBI's request for the passcodes needed to unlock an iPhone that had been used by one of the perpetrators in the deadly 2015 extremist attack in San Bernardino, Calif.

The FBI initially claimed it could obtain the data only with Apple's help, but ultimately found another way to hack into the locked phone.

Controversy has swirled around WhatsApp before. Judges in Brazil, for example, blocked the messaging app on three occasions amid rows over handing over messages to the courts.

FOR THE LATEST TECH FEATURES FOLLOW FOX NEWS TECH ON FACEBOOK

The Westminster Bridge attack has thrust secure messaging apps firmly into the spotlight again. ISIS sympathizers cheered the attack using channels in the Telegram app. ISIS used Telegram to claim credit for the Paris terror attacks in November 2015, prompting the messaging app to remove a slew of ISIS-related channels.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
A cool video shows the U.S. Navy test-firing a powerful electromagnetic railgun.

The video posted to YouTube by U.S. Navy Research shows the first shot from the railgun at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgrens new Terminal Range. Located in Dahlgren, Virginia, the facility undertakes research, development and testing for complex naval warfare systems.

FUTURISTIC MILITARY RAILGUN 'BULLETS' COULD TRAVEL AT MACH 6

The test took place on Nov. 17, 2016, according to a post accompanying the video.

Railguns use electricity to generate strong magnetic fields and launch a projectile down a set of rails. The U.S. military is keen to harness the technology - railgun 'bullets' have been tested that could travel at more than six times the speed of sound.
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Here are five news stories and events to start your week:

The Carl Vinson carrier strike group has been ordered to cancel planned port visits in Australia and sail to the Western Pacific days after North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile from its eastern coast. U.S. Third Fleet announced Saturday night that the San Diego-based strike group, which just completed a four-day port visit in Singapore, will now sail north and "report on station" in the Western Pacific. Multiple outlets reported that the ships would be positioned off the Korean peninsula. Cmdr. David Benham, a spokesman for Pacific Command, called the North's missile tests and pursuit of nuclear weapons "reckless, irresponsible, and destabilizing."

A U.S. soldier was killed Saturday during combat operations in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. military. The unidentified U.S. Special Forces team member died of injuries sustained while serving with Afghan forces during an operation against militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, and a branch called Khorasan that operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to a release from U.S. Forces-Afghanistan. "I offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of our fallen comrade," Gen. John W. Nicholson said. "We will always remember our fallen comrades and commit ourselves to deliver on their sacrifice."

The Navy has extended the operational pause implemented for its fleet of T-45C Goshawk trainer aircraft without a stated end date to allow leadership to develop a plan to address hypoxia-like episodes in the cockpit. Naval Air Forces officials first announced a three-day operational pause for the aircraft Wednesday, less than a day after Fox News reported that some 100 instructor pilots had refused to fly March 31, citing safety concerns. Officials confirmed that about 40 percent of flights in T-45C training commands in Kingsville, Texas; Pensacola, Florida; and Meridian, Mississippi, were canceled that day because of operational risk issues raised by the pilots.

The Marine Corps has taken punitive action against a pair of Marines whose online activity was investigated as part of a effort to crack down on misogynistic internet postings and "revenge porn" sharing within the service. Two enlisted Marines -- a noncommissioned officer and a junior enlisted service member -- both attached to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, California, were demoted in paygrade and punished with 45 days of military restriction and 45 days of additional punitive duties. The Marines were sent to NJP because of derogatory comments made about one of their more senior enlisted leaders.

Dr. Mark E. Green, a medical doctor, Tennessee state senator and decorated West Point graduate, has been nominated to serve as the 23rd secretary of the Army, the White House announced Friday. His nomination comes more than a month after billionaire Vincent Viola, President Donald Trump's previous pick for the position, removed himself from consideration due to business interests. Green served in the Army as an infantry officer from 1986 to 2006, deploying twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan while on active duty. He earned the prestigious Army Ranger Tab early, and later served as a captain with the 82nd Airborne Division.

-- Hope Hodge Seck contributed to this report.

-- Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry.
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About 100 people have protested the detention by federal immigration officials of three advocates for Vermont dairy farm workers.

A judge in Boston set bond on Monday for two of the advocates and denied bond for a third, following their recent arrest in Vermont by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration officials allege they're in the U.S. illegally.

The Burlington Free Press reports (http://bit.ly/2ntFeMe ) Cesar Alex Carrillo's bond was set at $21,000 but the judge revoked it because of Carillo's arrest on suspicion of drunken driving, a charge that was dismissed.

The judge set bond of $2,500 each for Zully Palacios and Enrique Balcazar, who were arrested as they left the office of Migrant Justice in Burlington, Vermont.

The group rallied outside the federal courthouse in Boston before the hearings.
An animal wildlife park in northern Arizona was forced to go into lockdown Monday after reports of an armed suspect nearby following a police chase.

Bearizona, located in Williams, posted a statement on its Facebook page that it was on lockdown due to a "possible armed and dangerous suspect" nearby.

"No visitors are able to enter the park and we are working with local law enforcement agencies to evacuate visitors in a safe manner," the statement read. Officials said the suspect, identified as John Freeman, is believed to be armed and dangerous.

Outstanding suspect near Williams, AZ - 31 y/o John Freeman, 6'0, 170 lb, hazel eyes, brown hair https://t.co/rA4tgOO3fj pic.twitter.com/b18Ddc4Rop  Coconino Sheriff (@CoconinoSheriff) March 27, 2017

The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said in a statement the incident began after a K-9 unit tried to stop a car for a traffic violation on Interstate 40 just before 11 a.m. local time. The car then failed to yield and a male passenger appeared to be thrown from the vehicle, police said.

The car then continued on and exceeded speeds of 100 mph on tInterstate 10 befoe it eventually became disabled near Bearizona and crashed into the culvert, according to police.

Freeman then fled from the car and fired at least one shot towards deputies with a handgun, police said. He is believed to be injured.

Deputies are asking everyone to avoid the area until the situation has cleared. Several law enforcement agencies and SWAT teams are coordinating search efforts in the area around I-40 and milepost 165 in the area of the wildlife park.

Schools in the area are also on lockdown, FOX 10 Phoenix reported.

Anyone who sees Freeman, who may be wearing a denim shirt and pants, is asked to call 9-1-1. Police are also warning drivers not to pick up hitchhikers in the area.

Bearizona is a wildlife park that "allows visitors to drive into "the wilderness" and witness herd and pack life from the safety and comfort of a private vehicle," according to a description on its Facebook page.

Read more from FOX10Phoenix.com.
A New Jersey family fed up with getting creepy notes about their "young blood" is seeking to demolish the spooky home coveted by a mysterious figure known as "The Watcher."

The anonymous letter-writing weirdo has pestered Derek and Maria Broaddus with eerie messages since they purchased the six-bedroom house for nearly $1.4 million in 2014, according to the family.

WALMART HORSEBACK RIDE CAUGHT ON VIDEO

Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested? one letter read, according to a complaint viewed by The Washington Post. Once I know their names I will call to them and draw them out to me.

Another asked: "Have they found out what is in the walls yet? In time they will.

SWORD-CARRYING JOKER ARRESTED IN VIRGINIA, POLICE SAY

The Broaddus' filed suit against the town of Westfield after its planning board rejected their plan to raze the house and subdivide the land so they could build two houses. They say they can't live in the house because of the letters and their attorney says they're caught in a situation they didn't ask for.

A lawyer for the town told NJ.com she couldn't comment on the lawsuit.

"The Watcher" hasn't been identified, though the person claims to be just one member in a long line of so-called watchers.

My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. It is now my time, a letter read. I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming.

Some of the letters have been particularly sinister.

Who has the bedrooms facing the street?" one read. "Ill know as soon as you move in.  It will help me to know who is in which bedroom then I can plan better.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Abdul Jalal Hashimi grew up in Kabul and fled with his family to the United States after working more than six years against the Taliban alongside American military forces.

A 32-year-old Muslim, he has known few Jews personally, but come Passover he'll be among more than a dozen refugees sharing special holiday food and swapping life stories with congregants at Temple Beth-El in his new hometown of Richmond, Virginia.

The experience, he said, is aimed at breaking down stereotypes and eliminating bigotry.

"What I hope is to know each other," said Jalal, who prefers that name, in a blog post the synagogue posted on its website ahead of the Seder.

The Conservative synagogue's senior rabbi, Michael Knopf, said in an interview that it's the first time his congregation has marked the global refugee crisis through special readings and rituals at a Seder. Congregants and guests will be using a supplement to existing Haggadahs, the collection of recitations and stories that guide the evening, including the telling of the Israelites' liberation from Egypt.

The supplement was written by HIAS, a Jewish resettlement organization first established in the 1880s that has helped millions of Jews fleeing pogroms, war and other tragedies. In recent years, the nonprofit has helped resettle refugees of all faiths and ethnicities and offers aid around the world to people ineligible for entry to the U.S.

Last year, Muslims comprised 51 percent of the 4,191 people from 47 countries assisted by HIAS and its network of more than 320 synagogues that have signed on to support refugees.

The HIAS Haggadah supplement last year was downloaded from the group's website more than 3,000 times and distributed in hard copy at events and through other organizations, said Rabbi Rachel Grant Meyer, HIAS director of education and community engagement.

"Throughout our history violence and persecution have driven us to wander to seek freedom," she said. "Passover really feels like the time on the calendar that just makes the most sense to put people's attention on the global refugee crisis. There is clearly so much resonance with Jewish history."

Rituals suggested by the supplement include refugee guests and Seder leaders rising from the table to place a pair of shoes on the doorstep while reciting a phrase that translates to: "My father was a wandering Aramean," or sometimes, "An Aramean sought to destroy my father." (Aram was a region of the Middle East in ancient times.)

That phrase, according to the supplement, represents "the essence of the Jewish experience: a rootless people who have fled persecution time and time again." The words, the group is instructed to read, "acknowledge that we have stood in the shoes of the refugees."

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism suggested last year placing a banana among other traditional symbolic foods on the Seder plate. The banana honors 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, a Syrian boy of Kurdish background whose lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach in 2015 as he fled Syria with his family. His brother, mother and three other children also drowned when their dinghy capsized. Aylan's father survived and described how his two young sons loved bananas, a luxury in war-torn Syria. He'd brought them a banana as a daily treat.

Rabbi Dan Moskovitz of Temple Shalom in Vancouver, Canada  where Aylan's family had hoped to eventually settle with a relative  wrote the banana story for the Action Center Haggadah supplement. This year, his Reform congregation will use the banana on Seder plates while welcoming a Kurdish family from Syria that it sponsored. The family's resident relatives attended a Seder there last year, "so all will be reunited," he said.

The congregation also sponsored another Syrian family, raising more than $100,000 to help both. Moskovitz expects 200 congregants to join them for Passover. Among the questions for discussion: "Who are the pharaohs of today?" (According to the Passover story, Egypt's pharaoh enslaved the Jews.)

The HIAS supplement estimates there are 65 million displaced people and refugees globally. That number is to be read aloud at the Seder start.

Knopf expects Afghanis, Iraqis and Syrians, including Jalal, to attend his synagogue's Seder, along with more than 100 congregants. Because of "the cruelty with which our government is treating the refugee issue," Knopf said, "we felt a moral obligation and a religious obligation to do our part to care for refugees and to support our friends in the Muslim community."

Stories of individual refugees are woven into the HIAS supplement, including an accounting of the sparse belongings they brought, coupled with these words: "Just as the story of our own people's wandering teaches us these lessons time and time again, so, too, do the stories of today's refugees. The meager possessions they bring with them as they flee reflect the reality of rebuilding a life from so very little."

Added Meyer: "It shouldn't be about faith. It should be about helping people who are being persecuted and making sure that they don't succumb to the same fate the Jewish people did."
A Georgia couple has reportedly filed a lawsuit against the state after they were denied a birth certificate for their infant with the last name they gave her  Allah.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia filed a lawsuit against the state on behalf of Elizabeth Handy and Bilal Walk, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday. The 22-month-old child does not currently have a birth certificate and, as a result, the couple said they cannot get a Social Security number for her.

IMMIGRANTS FIND SANCTUARY IN GROWING AUSTIN CHURCH NETWORK

We have to make sure that the state isnt overstepping their boundaries, Walk said. It is just plainly unfair and a violation of our rights.

State officials contend that the childs proposed last name would not fit the states naming conventions, the paper reported. Officials said the last name should be Handy, Walk or a combination of the two. Lawyers representing the state said Georgia requires that a babys surname be either that of the father of the mother for purposes of the initial birth record.

TEXAS JUDGE SUED FOR BEGINNING COURTROOM SESSIONS WITH PRAYER

General counsel Sidney Barrett wrote in a letter that once the birth certificate is made, the childs name could be changed by petitioning superior court.

The ACLU said the states decision was an example of government overreach and a violation of the First and 14 amendments. The group said that the couples son  who has the last name Allah  without any issue.

The couple said they have been dealing with this issue since May 2015 and the fight has kept them from being able to attain medical coverage and food snaps through SNAP. They added that the name had nothing to do with religion.

Simply put, we have a personal understanding that we exercise in regards to the names, Walk said. It is nothing that we want to go into detail about, because it is not important. What is important is the language of the statute and our rights as parents.

The couple hopes to get the issue settled quickly. Handy is six months pregnant.

Click for more from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Three would-be robbers were shot and killed Monday when an Oklahoma homeowner's son opened fire on them with an AR-15, authorities said.

Wagoner County sheriff's deputies were called to the home in Broken Arrow, southeast of Tulsa at around 12:30 p.m. local time. When they arrived, they found the three dead suspects and two uninjured residents.

Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Nick Mahoney said the suspects enetered the home through a glass back door with the intent to burglarize it. It was not immediately clear why they picked that home.

Mahoney said the suspects encountered the homeowner's 19-year-old son, who opened fire after an exchange of words. Two of the suspects died in the home's kitchen while a third was found in the driveway.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspects were armed, but Mahoney said the preliminary investigation indicated the shootings were in self-defense. The homeowner's son volunteered to give a statement at the sheriff's office.

This is very, very unusual for us [in Wagoner County]," Mahoney told the Tulsa World. "It's not something we're used to."

Click for more from OKCFox.com.
9/11 was bad. But lets pretend it wasnt.

Thats the challenge some International Studies students at Iowa State University faced in an assignment obtained by The College Fix.

COLLEGE DIVERSITY COUNCIL APOLOGIZES FOR RACIST FLIERS ON CAMPUS

Write a paper that gives a historical account of 911 from the perspective of the terrorist network, the project rundown stated. In other words, how might Al-Qaeda or a non-Western historian describe what happened.

Though the description acknowledges the terror attack was a "heinous action," it encourages students to view the events "from other perspectives."

The university defended the proposal for the 500-word minimum essay.

As you can see, the assignment was in no way an attempt to diminish the tragic events of September 11, 2001, an ISU spokesperson told The College Fix. Nor was it designed to support the goals of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.

The spokesperson added: This is similar to the vital work being performed in our nations diplomatic and intelligence operations, such as the Central Intelligence Agency, or the State Departments Bureau of Intelligence and Research.

The class is taught by lecturer James Strohman,a member of the Iowa Employment Appeal Board and a registered Democrat. Strohman has taught at ISU for 10 years, according to his biography on the university's website.

The assignment was given out during the first week of class and was worth a total of four points, according to the online description.

ISU is located in Ames, about 35 miles north of Des Moines.
Hundreds of volunteers combed the woods, roads and properties of south-central Pennsylvania over the weekend in the search for a missing 16-year-old girl.

Madison Krumrine was last seen Thursday night and did not turn up to school on Friday. Her cell phone was found at her home in South Hanover.

Beth Mann, a friend of Madison's family, helped organize Sunday's search, which drew 300 volunteers.

"Turnout was great, and that just shows the overall community support." Mann told Fox 43. "I know it's been overwhelming, but we have to be supportive."

On Monday, police confirmed that a "suspicious discovery" during the serch was not related to Madison's disappearance. The York Daily Record reported that volunteers had found a freshly dug hole measuring 6.5 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet. A latex glove with red stains was located nearby.

Investigators said the hole and the glove were left over from the production of a trailer for a horror movie and had been there for about a month.

Police have said they believe Madison tried to run away from home. She is described as standing 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighing 130 pounds. She has blonde hair and green eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or contact the West Manheim Township Police Department at 717-854-5571.

Click for more from Fox43.com.
A man accused of shooting a Georgia police officer after luring him with a 911 call has pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder.

The Valdosta Daily Times reports (http://bit.ly/2nYXM89 ) 22-year-old Stephen Beck entered his plea Monday in a Valdosta courtroom. District Attorney Brad Shealy said Beck faces up to 30 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced May 22.

Beck was charged last July with shooting Valdosta police officer Randall Hancock, who was ambushed while responding to a 911 call about a vehicle break-in outside the apartment complex where Beck lived. The officer returned fire and wounded Beck. Both men survived the shootout and later recovered.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Beck made the 911 call and told investigators he wanted police to kill him.
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

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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

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan

Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement

With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh
Investigators say an 18-year-old Catoctin High School student was gathering materials, compiling information on school emergency procedures and planning an act of violence.

Details of the investigation were announced on Monday.

According to the Frederick County Sheriffs Office the plot was uncovered after a concerned parent notified school officials on Thursday of a possible threat. Deputies identified the student as Nichole Cevario and immediately removed her from the classroom for transport to a hospital for an emergency evaluation.

Detectives say the students journal clearly spelled out a detailed shooting event she had planned for a day in April at the school.

According to the Sheriffs Office, Cevario was actively gathering items for the plot, including a shotgun with ammunition, bomb-making materials including pipes with end caps, shrapnel, fireworks, magnesium tape, and fuse material. At no time were any weapons or explosives brought onto school property, investigators noted, and the explosive materials had not been assembled into a functioning device.

Investigators believe she was acting alone.

Ms. Cevarios journal revealed that she had been planning this event for some time and had been compiling intelligence on behavior activities of the school, noting emergency procedures associated with drills conducted by school staff and obtaining intelligence on the School Resource Deputy assigned to the school, the Frederick County Sheriffs Office wrote in a release. The journal was very detailed including a timeline that revealed how she was going to execute the plot and her expectations at each stage of the event.

Read more from FOX 45 Baltimore.
A house fire early Sunday morning killed a three year old and left a young couple and their seven month old baby without a home.

The fire in the southern New Mexico town Las Cruces started around two in the morning. A couple in their early twenties were in the home with their three year old son and seven month old daughter. The family told KFOX the fire started when they were asleep. They said the son woke up his father from another room to tell him there was a fire.

WEST OAKLAND FIRE: ONE KILLED IN 4-ALARM BLAZE

The couple was able to escape through their bedroom window with the daughter but could not get to their son. The boys father, who wished to remain anonymous, told KFOX he tried to get his son out of the house through another window.

While the father tried to save his son, the mother, Helen Huckabay, ran down the street to get help from her brother Chris. He ran to the home and also tried rescuing the child but couldnt.

AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILS IN CHICAGO

As I was punching the window, just black smoke was engulfing my face so I tried to go around to the front door. I thought Id have a better chance there but there was actually more fire, Chris Huckabay told KFOX.

Firefighters arrived a few minutes later and made their way inside the manufactured home. They found the young boy unresponsive and he was pronounced dead shortly after.

The firefighters put out the fire but the home is totaled. The family said they lost everything. Another uncle also wishes he could have done more.

If I had to I would have ran inside the house. I dont care I wanted to save my little nephew, said Michael Huckabay.

Two family members were treated for minor injuries but were okay; no other injuries were reported. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.

The family is getting help from the Red Cross, who is accepting food, clothes and other items.

Click for more from KFOX.
A New York City police detective has been arrested on charges that he exposed himself outside the Long Island homes of four teenagers.

Newsday (http://nwsdy.li/2nYMlNI ) says Detective Richard Francis is charged with public lewdness, trespassing and child endangerment.

After the first three incidents in February, police questioned a registered sex offender.

Rockville Centre Police Commissioner Charles Gennario says that man moved out of the village and the incidents stopped. Then it happened again Friday night.

Gennario says Francis has expressed remorse and said he was "going through tough times."

The NYPD says it has suspended Francis.

There was no immediate information on an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
American Muslims complain that bills to prevent the use of Islamic code in courts are frivolous measures meant to spread fears and sow suspicion of Islam.

But supporters argue the proposals aren't overtly anti-Muslim and are needed to safeguard constitutional rights for average Americans.

Montana state Sen. Keith Regier says his proposal would treat all religious codes and foreign laws equally. It is poised to clear the state legislature this month,

Muslim leaders say the bills are among a range of proposals and decisions they're gearing up to fight this year. They maintain the bills don't serve any practical purpose.

John Robbins is executive director of the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He says the bills are "a stupid solution to a nonexistent problem."
Cincinnati police searched for suspects in a nightclub shooting that left one man dead and 15 other people injured and sent club patrons diving to the ground to dodge bullets in what they described as a chaotic and terrifying scene.

A gunfight broke out inside the crowded Cameo club early Sunday after a dispute among several patrons escalated into a shootout, authorities said. Some 200 people were inside the club near the Ohio River east of downtown Cincinnati at the time.

"What we know at this point in the investigation is that several local men got into some type of dispute inside the bar, and it escalated into shots being fired from several individuals," Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said. It was not immediately clear how many people fired shots.

O'Bryan Spikes, 27, was killed and 15 other people were injured. At least five victims remained hospitalized Monday morning. A University of Cincinnati Medical Center spokeswoman said two were in critical condition and three were in stable.

No suspects were in custody in the shooting at the club, which police said has a history of gun violence.

Club patron Mauricio Thompson described a chaotic scene in which as many as 20 shots were fired as people scrambled to get away. He said there was a fight and people were yelling for security to intervene before the gunfire began.

"Once I got outside, people coming out bloody, gunshot wounds on them, some of their friends carrying them to the car, rushing them to the hospital," Thompson told WCPO-TV. "It was just crazy."

Another patron told the television station that she dove to the ground outside of the nightclub to dodge bullets, and that her boyfriend climbed on top of her to protect her.

"I thought I was going to die. At that point survival skills started kicking in," said Sherell, who preferred not to give her last name. "Once I heard the third shot  I didn't know whether it was coming from outside, someone was shooting at the club, or whether it was coming from inside."

Isaac said the club has its own security operation that uses detection wands and pat-downs, but that police believe several firearms somehow got inside. Four officers were working security in the club's parking lot and some tried unsuccessfully to revive the man who died.

The club has a history of gun violence, including a shooting inside the club on New Year's Day in 2015 and one in the parking lot in September of that year, City Manager Harry Black said.

Cameo's Facebook page, which later was taken down, said it caters to college students on Friday nights, when anyone over 18 is allowed in, while Saturdays are "grown and sexy night" for ages 21 and older.

"Saturday night, it is a very young crowd. We have had incidents here in the past, but this is by far the worst," Police Capt. Kim Williams said.

Authorities asked anyone with information on the shooting to come forward. Investigators were checking to see if surveillance cameras were working, Williams said.

The operator of the nightclub, Jay Rodgers, released a statement Sunday night calling the shooting, "senseless."

"We will do everything in our power to cooperate and make sure the monsters that did this are caught and brought to justice," said Rodgers, who added that the club would remain closed until both an internal and a police investigation are completed.

___

Associated Press reporter Mike Householder in Cincinnati contributed to this report.
The Las Vegas strip returned to normal after the deadly weekend shooting and barricade situation. The suspect, Rolando Cardenas, surrendered peacefully to police on the scene after a four-hour-long standoff near the Cosmopolitan Hotel.

According to police, he is being charged in the killing of 57-year-old Gary Breitling from Sidney, Montana. Breitling's family told Fox 5 "he was a loving husband, father, and grandfather... Friends remembered him as a happy person who made those around him smile".

CENTRAL FLORIDA GUNMAN ACCUSED OF KILLING GIRLFRIEND, WOUNDING 5 OTHERS, INCLUDING BYSTANDERS

Police say Cardenas was riding a public double-decker bus. Cardenas who was sitting in the back got up and fired off several rounds from a handgun striking two individuals. Breitling was shot by Cardenas and succumbed to his injuries. Another victim was shot in the stomach, but that person's identity has not been made public.

The bus driver stopped the bus so passengers could evacuate. Cardenas then barricaded himself in the bus for hours, resulting in the closure of a significant part of the strip between the Bellagio and Cosmopolitan hotels.

OKLAHOMA POLICE OFFICER KILLED IN TRAFFIC-STOP SHOOTOUT

Police have not identified a motive for the shooting saying it seems to have been for no apparent reason.

What is normally a busy thoroughfare with taxis and tourists, the cordoned-off part of the strip remained completely empty Saturday afternoon. Police did not know if there were any other passengers on the bus when the barricade started so crisis negotiators were called in. It was never a hostage situation. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, there was a loud bang near the scene about 1:45 p.m. local time. Police used a flash-bang to break the bus windows. Units then placed a robot inside the bus. The robot confirmed to officers the shooter was still inside.

Guests at the Cosmopolitan hotel were told to remain in their rooms during the unfolding events while hotel rooms were put on lockdown. In a statement on their website, the hotel told guests who were scheduled to arrive the day of the shooting could cancel their arrangements without penalty. Those playing games at the casino were told to contact Casino Services for a resolution in their games.

Cardenas is facing an open murder charge with use of a firearm along with attempted murder with use of a firearm, burglary while in possession of a firearm, and discharging a gun within a vehicle. He is currently being held at the Clark County Detention Center.

Click for more from Fox 5.
Firefighters based at Fort Bragg, N.C., are working at a fire station the Public Affairs Officer Thomas McCollum says exhibits poor working conditions. Now the states congressman is doing something about it.

Firefighter Michael Griddine wrote a letter to U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson in January describing the repairs needed for Fire Station #7. The letter portrayed rodent and pest problems, a roof that leaks throughout the building, carpets with a mildew smell, and suspected structural issues.

We are seeking answers concerning the whereabouts of the funds that were set aside to construct a new fire station, Griddine wrote. We are also requesting a complete hazard/suitability assessment of the facility to include the structural integrity, by a qualified 3rd party contractor not affiliated in any way with the Army or the Fort Bragg installation.

McCollum says final approval is needed by Congress for all military construction costing more than one million dollars.

Our routing for issues that are presented to Congress are through US Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM), US Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) and the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management (ACSIM), McCollum said in an email to Fox News. We have notified all three commands numerous times of the issues with fire station #7.

McCollum explained that after taking charge of the base in 2010- it was Pope Air Force base originally - they immediately had issues with the building and have been doing repairs since.

Since FY (fiscal year) 15 we (the Directorate of Public Works) have spent more than $1.2M in repairs.This includes weather proofing, roof repairs, electrical repairs, plumbing and designs for new construction, McCollum said.

An OSHA complaint was filed last summer and another complaint on Feb. 2017 resulted in an inspection, according to Michael DAquino from the US Labor Department Public Affairs office in Atlanta.

Besides that, I understand two inspections were handled by the Army Garrison Safety Office, DAquino said.

However, it was Griddines letter that got results. Congressman Hudson asked the Army to start an investigation after reading the conditions the service members had to work in.

In a email to Fox News Congressman Hudson wrote, The working conditions described to me are unacceptable and reflect the underlying problem of deep defense budget cuts under the Obama Administration, Hudson wrote. I will work with my colleagues in Congress and the Army to find a long-term solution to this issue.

McCollum stated during a phone conversation with Fox that the repairs will cost more than five million dollars for the fire station. But this is only one issue of many that Fort Bragg is dealing with. During that same conversation he expressed that many buildings around the base are in dire need of repairs.

Since FY 2013, Fort Bragg is more than $312M short funding for SRM (Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization) projects. For Fire Station #7, on average we have spent more than $413K, McCollum said.

Even the building McCollum works in daily was deemed unhealthy and unsafe by the Installations Safety Office. An evacuation of that building started late last week.

The hot water piping with temperatures of at least 200 degrees has corroded, ruptured and leaked throughout the building, McCollum said. We also have offices that have been evacuated as a result of sewage lines breaking.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico says Mexican companies that express interest in working on a border wall in the United States are betraying their country.

The archdiocese says in a Sunday editorial that Mexican companies have expressed willingness to supply materials or work on the wall proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The editorial titled "Treason against the Homeland" says that "what is most surprising is the timidity of the Mexican government's economic authorities, who have not moved firmly against these companies."

Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo says the government does not plan restrictions on companies, but warns that Mexicans will judge firms on whether they are "loyal to the national identity."

It is unclear how many Mexican companies have expressed interest in the wall, which Mexico opposes.
Police say at least 22 people were killed in two road accidents in India, with a bus falling into a gorge in the northeast and a truck overturning in central India.

Police officer L. M. Kaute says the bus driver smashed through a bridge railing on Monday as he was apparently speeding in Senapati district near Imphal, the capital of Manipur state.

Kaute said police have recovered 10 bodies and taken 20 injured people to the hospital.

Also Monday, police officer Net Ram said 12 people were killed when a truck transporting them overturned near Jabalpur, a town in Madhya Pradesh state. The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

Driver fatigue, negligence, and poor road quality and vehicle maintenance are often the causes of such accidents in India.
Kiraki: New electoral system gives way to new electoral fraud (video)

The second week of the campaign of the parliamentary elections, which kicked off on March 5, surpassed with its tension and singled out with two events. The DA former commander Samvel Babayan and two other citizens were detained for an attempt to smuggle an Igla anti-aircraft missile system into Armenia from Georgia; Samvel Babayan is considered to be a shadow leader of the ORO alliance. The alliance announced that the detention is a political persecution. First President Levon Ter-Petrosyan gave an interview to Public TV of Armenia. If in short, one of the messages of the first president was that only the Republican Party (HHK) and the Armenian National Congress (HAK) have an idea of Karabakh issue, which is the most important as of now. Naira Zohrabyan from Tsarukyan alliance opposed that in the issue of Artsakh the HAK serves the interests of the HHK. How do the people go to elections? Which are the most efficient measures of supervising elections? How to free the voters from fear of being supervised? The program hosted Heriknaz Tigranyan, Legal Adviser of Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center, and sociologist Karen Sargsyan.
Kenya's military says it has killed 31 al-Shabab extremists in a raid in Baadhade district in southern Somalia.

The military said Monday ground troops were supported in the Sunday raid by helicopter gunships and artillery fire to strike two al-Shabab bases.

Kenya's military is part of the African Union Mission in Somalia bolstering the government against an Insurgency by the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab. More than 22,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Somalia in the multinational African Union force.

Al-Shabab are fighting to establish a strict Islamic emirate in Somalia. Despite being ousted from most of its key strongholds in south and central Somalia, al-Shabab continues to launch deadly guerrilla suicide bombings and guerrilla attacks against government targets and African Union forces across large parts of the Horn of Africa nation.
An Austrian court has found a man guilty of terrorism-linked charges for spreading Islamic State group propaganda, and sentenced him to prison.

The court in the western city of Linz convicted the Austrian national for "participation in a terrorist organization." The man, who is not being identified in accordance with Austrian privacy laws, has been given an 18-month prison sentence, three months of which are suspended.

The man was accused of spreading videos of radical Islamic preachers and beheadings prepared by IS. The court was told Monday that police started investigating him after he hung an IS flag from his balcony several years ago.

He acknowledged interest in IS but denied being part of the group.
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Near final results in Bulgaria show that a center-right, pro-European Union party is the clear winner in the country's parliamentary election.

With about 96.7 percent of the votes counted, GERB had 32.6 percent of the votes, the central election commission said Monday morning. The results allows party leader Boiko Borisov, a former prime minister, to form his third Cabinet.

The Socialist Party was in second place, polling 27.1 percent. Its leader, Kornelia Ninova conceded defeat and said the party wouldn't take part in a coalition government with GERB.

GERB didn't win enough votes to govern alone, and will likely seek to form a coalition government with some of the three smaller parties whose votes exceeded the 4 percent minimum threshold to enter parliament.
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The American Jewish Committee, a global Jewish advocacy organization, is celebrating the opening of a new Central Europe office.

The AJC, a 111-year-old organization based in New York, has a long history of engagement in the region. It was the first Jewish organization to call for recognizing German unification after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it supported Central and Eastern European nations as they worked to become democracies and join the European Union and NATO.

The organization is committed to supporting democracies in the belief that open, tolerant societies provide greater security to Jews and other minorities.

The office is based in Warsaw and will work in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

The group is holding a gala celebration Monday evening in Warsaw.
A massive gold coin worth millions of dollars vanished from a museum in the middle of the night, police in Germany announced Monday, saying a team of thieves managed to steal the 221-pound currency before cops could arrive.

It's listed in the Guinness Book of Records for its purity of 999.99/1000 gold, according to the Bode Museum in Berlin, which housed the coin.

LONDON TERROR: UTAH VICTIM'S FAMILY HARBORS NO 'ILL-WILL OR HARSH FEELINGS'

The daring -- and apparently strong -- thieves snuck in through a window around 3:30 a.m. Monday, broke into a cabinet holding the "Big Maple Leaf" coin, and escaped, police spokesman Stefen Petersen said.

Clues apparently were scarce -- but a ladder turned up by nearby train tracks, The Associated Press reported.

ITALY COULD BE FIRST WESTERN COUNTRY TO OFFER PAID MENSTRUAL LEAVE

The 1.18-inch-thick coin, with a diameter of 20.9 inches, has a face value of 1 million Canadian dollars, or $750,000. By weight alone, however, it would be worth almost $4.5 million at market prices.

Petersen would not comment on whether authorities had surveillance video of the crime, but said police assume more than one person was involved because of the weight of the coin.

It has a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on one side and maple leaves on the other.

It was produced in limited quantities by the Royal Canadian Mint to promote a new line of its Gold Maple Leaf bullion coins in 2007. It has been on display at the Bode Museum, on Berlin's Museum Island, since December 2010.

Berlin museums spokesman Markus Farr said the coin is on loan from a private collection, but would not elaborate. Detectives specialized in art-related crimes were investigating.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Italy could soon become the first Western country to offer paid menstrual leave to women who experience painful periods.

WHAT'S 'INVISIBLE BALDNESS'? 6 WARNING SIGNS YOU MAY BE AT RISK

The countrys parliament has been discussing the measure, which would mean companies have to offer three paid days off each month to women who get bad aches.

Its not the first time this kind of legislation has been mooted, with countries including Japan and Indonesia already allowing women time off.

HALF-MARATHON HEROES CARRY RUNNER TO FINISH LINE

Experts have previously argued it makes sense as it would make workers feel happier and more comfortable.

While thats the view of some in Italy, not everyone agrees, reports The Washington Post.

Marie Claire has praised the proposal, saying it proves the country is all about progress.

However, in womens magazine Donna Moderna, Lorenza Pleuteri feared it might backfire on ladies.

She voiced concerns that kind of legislation might make some firms think twice before taking on women.

Click for more from The Sun.
The two southern European countries that absorb nearly all boat-borne refugees from North Africa and Turkey are taking steps to halt the arrivals, with both saying they have reached their limit.

The United Nations International Organization for Migration reports that 20,484 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea this year through mid-March. More than 80 percent  16,248 -- of that staggering number arrived in Italy, the second largest-number went to Greece and the third-largest to Spain.

Greek Migration Policy Minister Yannis Mouzalas said that his nation is not able to absorb any more and will not be taking any more refugees.

He said that Greece is unable to abide by the Dublin Regulation, which holds that refugees may be sent back to the first European stop they made.

"We accommodate 60,000 refugees  and it would be a mistake to make Greeces burden heavier by the revival of the Dublin agreement," Mouzalas told German newspaper Spiegel in an article that was published Sunday.

Mouzalas said Greece is coming out of its economic hardship and cannot take on more of a burden.

Greece simply has no capacities to cope with additional arrival of refugees," he said. "We've just pulled ourselves together, so please, don't make us falter again."

Meanwhile, officials in Italy, which has received about 500,000 migrants in the last three years, say that rescue vessels operated by charities and humanitarian organizations  some of which reportedly receive funding from billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Foundations (OSF) -- are working with smugglers based in Libya.

Greece simply has no capabilities to cope with additional arrival of refugees. We've just pulled ourselves together, so please, don't make us falter again.  Greek Migration Policy Minister Yannis Mouzalas

OSF emphatically denies such accusations.

"Our grantees and our partners do not help people cross borders, neither within nor into the European Union," an OSF spokesperson told Fox News. "Our work aims both to support effective and orderly government migration policies and to ensure that the rights of migrants are upheld in accordance with domestic and international law."

Italian officials also say that some NGOs act as a sort of taxi service by picking refugees up just off the African coast and then transporting them across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy instead of returning them to Africa.

Whomever is resonsible, an Italian lawmaker said that groups transporting refugees should take them to closer places such as Malta and Tunisia.

Other Italian authorities want to investigate the funding of charity boats transporting the migrants. Critics of the charity boat operators say they are colluding with criminal smugglers and, in effect, are accomplices in the deaths of so many migrants trying to reach Europe.

If the government does not decide to put a brake on these [humanitarian] boats, we will find ourselves overrun by tens of thousands of African immigrants by the end of the year, said Paolo Grimoldi, a lawmaker who belongs to the Northern League party, according to Reuters.

GEFIRA, which stands for the Global Analysis from the European Perspective, questioned on its website whether the smuggling involving humanitarian organizations, local smugglers and even the Italian Coast Guard rise to the level of a criminal enterprise.

The Dutch, Maltese and German-based NGOs are part of the human smuggling network and one wonders, are these NGOs themselves criminal organizations? asked GEFIRA. Whatever the motives of these NGOs, their behavior is illegal, and in countries governed by a constitution, i.e. European states, crimes should be prosecuted regardless of the intention of its perpetrators.

The charities deny they are doing anything wrong and say they are in fact helping to save lives by getting migrants out of dangerous zones.

Migrants have described Libya as increasingly dangerous because of violence between factions fighting for power. They say smugglers are also operating in a kind of anarchy since former leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown six years ago.

Over the weekend, humanitarian ships rescued more than 1,000 Italy-bound people on the Mediterranean Sea on crowded boats, according to Doctors Without Borders, who were quoted in several published reports.

Since January at least 481 people have died attempting to reach Italy.
Killer Khalid Masood was seen driving around Westminster in the lead-up to the London terror attack that saw him plow an SUV into crowds at 76 miles per hour, according to reports.

BBC journalist Danny Shaw today tweeted: Its understood car Khalid Masood used was seen driving in Westminster Bridge area at some point before attack  unclear exactly when & why.

LONDON ATTACKER NOT LINKED TO ISIS OR AL QAEDA, OFFICIAL SAYS

It comes as police revealed Masood was traveling at up to 76mph on Westminster Bridge when he killed three members of the public.

He then stabbed hero cop Keith Palmer to death in an atrocity lasting 82 seconds.

PENTAGON SENDING AROUND 200 MORE TROOPS TO MOSUL IN ISIS FIGHT, OFFICIAL SAYS

Frame-by-frame examination of CCTV footage by police revealed the astonishing speed at which Masood, 52, caused carnage  killing four people and wounding more than 50.

Within 72 hours, cops had made 11 arrests and were able to establish the twisted 52-year-old was not part of a wider cell.

The Sun also learned that Masoods precise movements in the hours and days before the attack were swiftly pieced together by Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras that picked up his hire cars plate.

Masood, 52, killed four people in a murderous rampage outside Parliament last Wednesday.

The terror group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack as Amaq news agency reported Masood was a soldier of the Islamic state.

Sun Online contacted the Met police, Westminster council and Lambeth council for comment.

The Met has said it will not comment on this element of the ongoing investigation.

This story first appeared in The Sun.
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A senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's party says the conservatives' unexpectedly strong win in a state vote gives them "tail wind" for bigger upcoming elections.

Merkel's Christian Democrats easily beat the center-left Social Democrats in Saarland state Sunday. A tighter race was expected after the Social Democrats were boosted in polls by nominating Martin Schulz to challenge Merkel in September's national election.

Armin Laschet, a Christian Democrat deputy leader, told ZDF television Monday: "Everything that was said about the Schulz train rolling over everything and changing everything didn't come true."

The Saarland governor's popularity apparently made the difference Sunday. Laschet faces a tough task to oust a center-left regional government in May in North Rhine-Westphalia.

He said: "We have tail wind, but we haven't won anything yet."
In a provocative editorial, the Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico said on Sunday that Mexicans who help build U.S. President Donald Trump's planned border wall would be acting immorally and should be deemed traitors.

"What is most surprising is the timidity of the Mexican government's economic authorities, who have not moved firmly against these companies" aiming to profit from the wall, the publication said.

MEXICAN CATHOLIC CHURCH CALLS US IMMIGRATION POLICIES AN 'ACT OF TERROR'

The editorial was titled "Treason against the Homeland."

The Archdiocese published a similar editorial just a month ago, turning up the heat on a simmering dispute over the project. The latest editorial accused the government of responding "tepidly" to those eyeing the project for business and said the barrier would only feed prejudice and discrimination.

"In practice, signing up for a project that is a serious affront to dignity is shooting yourself in the foot," it wrote.

Mexican cement maker Cemex and Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua have signaled readiness to work on the project or take part in it supplying cement, paint, lighting and other materials.

TRUMP BUDGET CALLS FOR BILLIONS FOR BORDER WALL WITH MEXICO

A spokesman for the Archdiocese, which centers on Mexico City and is presided over by the country's foremost Roman Catholic cleric, Cardinal Norberto Rivera, told Reuters the editorial represented the views of the diocese.

Trump says he wants to build the wall to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the U.S. southern border. He has pledged Mexico will pay for the wall, which the Mexican government adamantly says it will not do.

Reuters and AP contrinuted to this report.
Sari Tagh residents start sit-down strike outside Prosecutors Office (video)

The relatives of the detainees along lines of the case into Sari Tagh events today have started sit-down strike outside the Prosecutors Office. The situation is extreme; my husband has been holding hunger strike for already 4 days and he isnt even given pills for his blood pressure. They say that you are holding hunger strike and we have no right, says Lala Bernetsyan, wife of Eduard Zeytunyan. Aghavni Zhamkochyan, grandmother of Hrachya Boyajyan, adds that for already 9 months they havent been able to receive a concrete answer. We want our children to be freed, we dont want anything else. He had been married for only 3 months, when he was arrested. The residents of Sari Tagh 10 are accused of use of dangerous violence against the government representative. The relatives claim that during the days following seizure of the police regiment, they simply demanded to turn on their electricity and water supply and open closed roads. There is no concrete guilt. I can bring forward so many facts. In the end it isnt Bible, which says that Gods ways are unknown for people. It is a simple Prosecutors Office, which must give concrete answers to our questions. There are no answers, but only people, who have been in custody for 9 months. In a small city 10 inmates from a district, adds Toros Torosyan, brother of detained Harutyun Torosyan. Ten detainees of Sari Tagh 10 are beneficiaries of Freedom and homeland fund. The families of 10 detainees are in socially vulnerable situation. If at the moment they come here and hold sit-down strike, a problem with taking care of their children comes forward, because as of now those women work for keeping their families, says Ani Kaghinyan, Executive Director of the Fund.
The 15-day jail sentence imposed Monday on Alexei Navalny is nothing new for the Kremlin's most visible domestic foe, and is unlikely to be more than a brief interruption of his campaign against what he calls "the party of crooks and thieves." He's repeatedly been jailed, endured a year of house arrest and three convictions that could have brought him significant prison time.

Amid all the detentions, the 40-year-old Navalny has relentlessly pursued corruption investigations that allege the top tier of Russian officials, including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, have amassed extraordinary wealth, living lives of unparalleled luxury behind their modest public images.

These claims of tainted riches have struck a chord with many Russians, who are not so moved by the more-abstract concerns of some dissidents such as freedom of speech. Protests called by Navalny took place in scores of Russian cities on Sunday, the biggest show of defiance in years.

HOW HE BEGAN

Trained as a lawyer, Navalny began his rise to prominence after he bought shares in several state-owned companies in 2008 and then pushed for access to information to which shareholders are legally entitled. His blog critiques attracted such attention that he was made a board member of state airline Aeroflot for a year. Savvy about the Internet and social media, he was able to pursue detailed open-source investigations and to disseminate the results widely to increasingly cyber-savvy Russians.

He also has a Twitter-perfect knack for pithy remarks and image-projection: His page currently features a photo of him grinning in drenching rain.

FIRST PROTEST WAVE

By 2011, when Russia held a parliamentary election rife with fraud claims, Navalny had become prominent enough to be a galvanizing figure in the call for protests. The demonstrations brought tens of thousands into the streets of Moscow and broke out in other cities as well. The size and persistence of the protests  which were held sporadically for months  appeared to take the Kremlin off guard after years of regarding opposition groups as irrelevant, if annoying, minorities.

On the eve of Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a third term as president in May 2012, police cracked down hard on protesters, arresting hundreds amid violent clashes. The crackdown appeared to sap the opposition's momentum and the Kremlin cemented its advantage by sharply increasing penalties for participating in unauthorized demonstrations  up to five years in prison for a third violation.

LEGAL PRESSURE

While the opposition staggered, Navalny was hit with complicated and dubious prosecutions for fraud and embezzlement. In one case, he and his brother Oleg were convicted of defrauding clients of a shipping business they had started. Oleg Navalny was sentenced to 3 years in prison, but Alexei's sentence was suspended -- a move that critics said resembled Soviet-era tactics of intimidating dissidents by imprisoning their relatives.

In 2013, Alexei Navalny was convicted of embezzling timber from a state-owned company in a region where he had worked as an adviser to the governor. He was sentenced to five years in prison  but in an unprecedented move, the case's prosecutor appealed the sentence and Navalny was freed the next day. The decision appeared to reflect the Kremlin's desire to neutralize Navalny's political ambitions  the conviction would prevent him from running for office  without angering supporters enough to take to the streets.

After the European Court of Human Rights ruled he had been denied a fair trial, Navalny was again tried on the charge and again convicted in February, but given a suspended sentence.

POLITICAL FUTURE

Despite the conviction, Navalny has declared himself a candidate for next year's presidential election, in which Putin is expected to seek a fourth term. He is opening campaign offices throughout the country, expanding on experience he learned in a 2012 run for Moscow mayor  in which he came an unexpected second against Putin's favorite.

While campaigning in the Siberian city of Barnaul last week, an assailant doused Navalny's face with a bright green antiseptic liquid. Navalny used the indignity to unleash his sharp-edged humor, saying that he now looked like The Hulk.
A former Nigerian governor sentenced to five years' jail for corruption has been granted bail to seek medical care after just 20 days in prison.

Bala James Ngilari of northeastern Adamawa state was the first senior government figure successfully prosecuted since President Muhammadu Buhari won elections two years ago, in part because of promises to fight endemic corruption.

State prosecutors objected but were overruled Monday at the High Court in Yola, capital of Adamawa.

Judge Nathan Musa ordered Ngilari's release on bail after two prison officials testified he suffered from high blood pressure and his health was deteriorating.

Three weeks ago Musa convicted Ngilari of improperly awarding a $1 billion-dollar contract to buy vehicles in 2015. Adamawa is one of three states worst affected by Boko Haram's Islamic uprising.
As the United States and many European nations try to stem the flow of violence across their borders, one country on the doorstep of one of the planet's most dangerous terror hotbeds has just broken ground on a fence of its own.

Pakistan announced over the weekend it started building a fence along the Afghan border in areas where terrorists have launched cross-border attacks -- regions the Pakistani army called "high threat zones."

LONDON TERROR: UTAH VICTIM'S FAMILY HARBORS NO 'ILL-WILL OR HARSH FEELINGS'

Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa said Saturday -- during a visit to tribal regions along the border -- that both nations would benefit from the fence.

However, the Afghan government has cried foul already. Najib Danish, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said officials had not yet seen any signs of construction along the frontier but would move to prevent any such project.

HIGH-PROFILE AL QAEDA LEADER KILLED IN AIRSTRIKE

"Building fences or any construction is not acceptable for us and we won't allow anyone to do it," he said.

The Afghan government has never recognized this section of the border, drawn up during British colonial rule. It runs through the Pashtun heartland, diluting the power of Afghanistan's largest ethnic group on both sides.

At the same time, Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of harboring its own terrorists: wanted Afghan Taliban leaders and their Haqqani network allies, The Wall Street Journal noted.

The two countries share a 1,500-mile internationally recognized border known as the Durand Line, which was drawn in the 19th century, when the British dominated South Asia.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have long accused each other of turning a blind eye to Islamic militants operating along the porous frontier, and Pakistan recently closed the border for more than a month.

Bajwa said Pakistan was trying to develop a bilateral border security mechanism with Afghanistan. "A better managed, secure and peaceful border is in mutual interest of both brotherly countries who have given phenomenal sacrifices in war against terrorism," he added.

Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A small plane crashed Monday near the border between Zimbabwe and Mozambique, killing all six people on board.

PERU MUDSLIDE SURVIVOR: I PRAYED TO GOD FOR STRENGTH

A Mozambican district police commander, Gelindo Vumbuca, said the crash occurred in the Machipanda mountain range, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported. However, a state-controlled newspaper in Zimbabwe, the Herald, said the plane crashed in the mountainous Vumba area on the Zimbabwean side of the border.

The victims included two crewmembers and four passengers, Lusa said.

The Mozambican plane was flying between the Mozambican port city of Beira and the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, according to AIM, the Mozambican news agency.
A Spanish National Court judge has ordered an investigation into the alleged role of nine Syrian officials in the disappearance and execution of a man in 2013, in the first criminal case accepted by a European court against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Investigative magistrate Eloy Velasco said Monday the nine could be charged with terrorism and forced disappearance.

The case is built around the 2013 arbitrary detention, disappearance, torture and execution of a truck driver in Damascus. The complaint was filed last month by the driver's sister, a Spanish national.

Velasco is investigating it under Spain's principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows prosecution of crimes outside of the country only if there is a Spanish victim. In Monday's acceptance of the case, Velasco considers the sister as the victim.
Dramatic new video from the ISIS stronghold of Mosul captures the pitched battle between the black-clad jihadist army and the U.S.-backed Iraqi forces - and the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.

Airing Monday on Fox News' Shepard Smith Reporting," the Sky News video captured the firefights, damage and desperation as the world's most feared terrorist group makes its last stand in the war-torn nation.

And in the middle, Mosul residents too scared to leave and terrified at staying," Sky News Special Corespondent Alex Crawford says.

Footage depicts Iraqi soldiers, with members of the press, taking sniper fire on a rooftop and moving on ISIS positions as coalition attack helicopters roar above.

Crawford reveals the human side of the fighting, meeting with one family that has converted their home into a bunker, with makeshift blast walls made from sandbags. They venture out only for sustenance.

"They pick their way past dead bodies covered by blankets and burnt-out suicide car bombs."  Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford

"They pick their way past dead bodies covered by blankets and burnt-out suicide car bombs," Crawford says. "Theyd only gone out to forage for food.

Flame-ravaged car bombs, their exploded gas canisters visible inside the twisted hulks, litter the roads. More civilians are fleeing, Crawfor says, encouraged by ISIS pending defeat and afraid of remaining in the crossfire.

"The destruction in central Mosul is extensive," Crawford says. "Swaths of the city literally reduced to rubble.

The exclusive video was shot as the U.S. sends 200 more troops to Iraq to advise and assist in the offensive against the Islamic State in western Mosul. It's a crucial point in the campaignt to finish off ISIS, Smith noted.

Take this city, and ISIS will be crippled, the veteran newsman said.

The report comes on the heels of a statement by American officials on Saturday confirming that an airstrike targeting ISIS fighters in Mosul -- that witnesses say killed at least 100 people -- was in fact launched by the U.S. military.

U.S. officials did not confirm the reports of civilian casualties but opened an investigation. In the days following the March 17 airstrike, U.S. officials had said they were unsure whether American forces were behind the attack.

The statement issued by the U.S.-led coalition said the airstrike had been requested by Iraqi security forces to target IS fighters and equipment "at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties." U.S.-backed government troops were fighting IS forces in that area of western Mosul, the statement said.

The coalition said it takes all allegations of civilian casualties seriously and a formal Civilian Casualty Credibility Assessment had been opened to determine the facts surrounding this strike and the validity of the allegation of civilian casualties.

"Our goal has always been for zero civilian casualties, but the coalition will not abandon our commitment to our Iraqi partners because of ISIS's inhuman tactics terrorizing civilians, using human shields, and fighting from protected sites such as schools, hospitals, religious sites and civilian neighborhoods," the coalition said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The British government faces a deadline on whether to extend negotiations on Northern Ireland's political future or renew direct control from London.

Britain's system of "direct rule" ran from 1972, the deadliest year of Northern Ireland's conflict, until the Good Friday peace accord of 1998 paved the way for the first of several Catholic-Protestant coalitions in Belfast.

Northern Ireland's latest unity government collapsed in January amid deepening disputes between the British Protestants of the Democratic Unionist Party and the Irish Catholics of Sinn Fein.

Sinn Fein withdrew Sunday from talks aimed at reviving its partnership with the Democratic Unionists, saying no agreement was in prospect.

Britain's secretary of state, James Brokenshire, faces a legal deadline of 4 p.m. (1500 GMT; 11 a.m. EDT) Monday to announce what happens next.
A U.N. commission has adopted an Israeli-sponsored resolution - the first put forward by the country in five years - opposing sexual harassment in the workplace. But hours later the same commission approved a draft resolution blasting Israel for allegedly oppressing Palestinian women.

The approval Friday by the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women of the Israeli resolution followed weeks of comprehensive diplomatic engagement between the Israeli mission and the other 44 members of the commission eligible to vote  including reliably anti-Israel members Qatar and Iran.

The prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace is alarming. Too many are silent when it comes to this menace, Ambassador Danny Danon, Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, told Fox News. We hope this resolution will give people all over the world a voice and make clear that the dignity of every human being, men and women alike, is not something that can be ignored.

The resolution focuses on raising awareness, educating young people and encouraging employers to take preventative steps. It also marks the first Israeli-backed initiative centered on human rights, and the first in the U.N. with a specific focal point on denouncing sexual harassment in the workplace.

Iran, however, used the vote to criticize Israel for its allegedly apartheid policies.

The same day, the same commission approved a draft resolution that, in part, blasted Israel for its mistreatment of Palestinian women.

The draft resolution condemns "acts of terror" and the amount of violence, intimidation and provocation inflicted on Palestinian women by "extremist Israeli settlers. It expresses grave concern that Palestinian women and girls continue to be held in Israeli prisons or detention centers under harsh conditions and reaffirms that the Israeli occupation remains the major obstacle for Palestinian women with regard to their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development of their society, calling on the international community and secretary-general to take action.

Benjamin Ryberg, chief operating officer and director of research at the Lawfare Project, an international free speech advocacy group, denounced the commission for hypocrisy.

This was the only resolution condemning any state for violating womens rights, Ryberg noted. Not shockingly, that resolution made no mention of Hamass flagrant and well-documented abuses of women, nor the permissibility of honor killings under Palestinian rule.

Much of the global hostility toward Israel stems from its ongoing military occupation of parts of Palestinian land, continued settlement building and failure to reach a peace agreement to simmer the decades-old dispute. However, some are hopeful that Friday's resolution passing will signal a change for Israeli efforts to make progress within the worlds largest intergovernmental organization to promote cooperation.

I often speak of the public and private U.N.  how many countries who vote and speak out against us in public often speak to me privately about ways to cooperate with Israel. I view resolutions like this was as important in closing that gap, Danny Danon, Israels permanent representative to the U.N., told Fox News. I think more and more countries are publicly acknowledging all Israel has to contribute to the world  and we are more than happy to share our innovation and ingenuity with our friends around the globe.
Dick Dunnivans uncle, Walter Donovan, was the kind of braveand sometimes recklessWorld War II fighter pilot that great war stories are made of.

Once, according to a tale passed on by Dunnivan, his uncle was flying a mission and a bomb got stuck on his wingmans aircraft. So he tipped his plane and pushed the bomb off the other planes rack with his wing.

He was the kind of pilot who, when seeing a friend shot down in enemy territory, would land there and pick up his fallen comrade, Dunnivan said.

So when it came time to honor Donovans last promise to his squadronthe 510th Fighter SquadronDunnivan went to great lengths to keep the late pilots word.

Dunnivan, whose last name is similar but not the same as his uncles, kept two bottles of Calvados brandy distilled in France in 1945, the same brandy Donovans squadron drank while serving in the European theater.

During the war, Donovan and his squadron moved to mainland Europe with the advance of Allied troops, flying from airfields in France, Belgium and Germany.

Prior to his death about 10 years ago in Naples, Fla., he asked his nephew, a veteran of the Marine Corps and a Fredericksburg resident, to make sure the last two surviving members of the 510th each received a bottle.

So Dunnivan kept in touch with the men, checking in each month, and over the years their numbers dwindled as the WWII veterans reached the ends of their lives.

When he checked in during February, he found out it was time to get the bottles to the last two surviving men: Ralph Jenkins of Seattle, Wash. and M.E. Johns of Lompoc, Calif.

But when he went to ship the bottles, he was told that alcohol was not allowed to be shipped through the U.S. Postal Service. He was told the same thing at FedEx and UPS.

He worried that he might not be able to keep the promise after all.

But through a series of Fredericksburg connections, he found Jeff Barber, owner of J. Barber Moving & Storage.

Dunnivans daughter, Nikki Christmas, mentioned the predicament to friend Melissa Csikari, the sister of Foode co-owner Beth Black. Black told Foode chef and co-owner Joy Crump about the issue and Crump had an idea: why not contact Barber, who moves items all over the country?

Dunnivan and Barber met last week at Foode to hand off the bottles, and to raise a glass to toast the squadron.

Instead of brandy, they ordered rum and cokes, but spent some time at Foodes bar talking about Donovan and the men he served with.

Barber took the bottles to Chicago, where he had a business meeting. He then handed them off to associates Kelly Kirkman and Bradley Boland who live in Oregon and California, respectively, and are delivering the bottles of brandy this week.

One of the the brandy recipients, Ralph Jenkins, is soon to turn 98.

Im just lucky I never got shot down, he said during a phone interview.

He flew a plane called the Tallahassee Lassie in WWII, named after the woman who has been his wife for 75 years.

Jenkins met up with members of the 510th Fighter Squadron in different places around the country for about 20 years, and remembers Donovan well.

Walt, he was a little on the reckless side, Jenkins said. He was brave and courageous and took more chances to be shot down.

He also remembers M.E. Johns, the other surviving member and brandy recipient. Johns could not be reached for comment.

We flew many missions together, he said.

Jenkins described how when his squadron members got shot down, they would dress like French farmers to get back safely through enemy lines and back to the squadron.

He said they drank a lot of brandy on the front, and during annual reunion meetings.

Its customary in the military to give a bottle to the last person alive, he said.

His daughter, Kim Jenkins, called the gift really poignant and touching.

She said as one of the last men alive who served in WWII, it saddens her father to know almost all the men he worked with are not here to share a drink.

There was a lot of camaraderie there, Dunnivan said about his uncle and the 510th Fighter Squadron. He shared the sacrifices they made and the hardships they endured. Being a military man myself, I think he knew Id follow through.
Sealston Elementary School in King George County will be closed today because tests showed bacterial problems have made the water unsafe to drink without boiling.

Residents of the nearby Oakland Park subdivision have faced the same water restrictions since Friday night, when notices were attached to their front doors and porches. The notices stated the bacteriological water quality at Oakland Park is unknown at this time, and that tap water should not be used for drinking or cooking without being boiled or treated with water purification tablets.

The school, subdivision and King George Industrial Park are served by Oakland Park Waterworks, a county system operated by the King George Service Authority. About 330 customers are on the system, which had its most recent bacterial tests on March 8and all those came back clean, said Director Chris Thomas.

The Virginia Department of Health required the King George utility to post the notices. The department provided the exact wordage and instructed the utility to hand-deliver them to customers, Thomas said, adding his office didnt get the finalized notices until 5:21 p.m. Friday.

The school system didnt know about the water problem until Monday morning. Officials decided to keep the school open then because School Superintendent Rob Benson said turning buses around and going back to empty houses would not be a good idea.

The school supplied bottled water for cooking and drinking, and workers provided sanitizer for hand-washing. But because so much water is needed to clean cafeteria tables and other school equipment, Benson said it wasnt practical to operate a second day on bottled water.

Sealston Elementary School sent home letters Monday afternoon about todays closing.

The no-drink notices went out after water samples taken last week showed a problem. Thomas said a resident was complaining about irritation, presumably from too much chlorine in the water, so his department sampled water from the house.

Tests on March 20 and 22 both showed too much bacteria, so the utility followed up with eight additional tests throughout the system.

Two showed bacteria. Both were from homes on cul-de-sacs in Oakland Park, Thomas said, but we honestly do not know what caused the levels of bacteria.

New samples were taken Monday, but results wouldnt be available until mid-afternoon today, Thomas said.

The Oakland Park community is off State Route 3 in the eastern part of the county. In recent years, residents have been plagued more by smells than liquids, as subdivision homeowners have complained repeatedly about unpleasant odors coming from the nearby King George Regional Landfill.

Resident Micah Murphy was irritated that county officials didnt use the usual electronic notification, King George Alert, to let people know about the problems Friday night. An alert finally was posted Monday afternoon, five minutes before the announcement of Sealston school being closed.

The electronic alert would have more appropriately reached the entire community in a timely matter, Murphy wrote in an email. Thomas said that might have been the case, but when alerts of water problems go out to people who arent affected, you start getting a lot of phone calls from people from other water systems who get alarmed.

Because the notices were placed on doors or elsewhere on houses after dark on a Friday night, some residents may not have seen them, Murphy said.

Mary and Angelo Galatis didnt know of the water warning until he went to the mailbox Saturday morning and saw utility workers flushing hydrants. He was told about the problem, checked the front porch and saw the notice.

Both Galatises are in their 80s with light health problems, she said. They were concerned about what impact water in the bacteria might have on their well-being, as well as others who may not have gotten the notification.

She boiled water for cooking, and the couple purchased bottles and jugs for drinking. It was more a physical hardship than a financial one, she said.

Just the fact that youre lugging gallon jugs and were not spring chickens anymore, she said. Everybodys perturbed.

Murphy said several neighbors had guests, and the situation left them very embarrassed because they had to explain they could not use the water at their house. The notices said the water did not have to be boiled for bathing or washing clothes or dishes, but for every other use.

The Oakland Park Homeowners Association posted the water notice on its Facebook page Friday night. As Oakland Park residents got up and started their errands Saturday morning, they discovered they had no water as lines were being flushed.

The Service Authority notice said it had increased chlorine level in the Oakland Park area and flushed the water system as a precautionary measure.

When Corrine Graves said we cant speak to anyone at the Service Authority because its after-hours, Chris Werle, a member of the utilitys Board of Directors, responded. He posted the cellphone number for Scott Sweeney, the authoritys superintendent of operations, and said Sweeney would answer residents questions after hours.

When another resident asked on Sunday if restrictions were still in place, Werle again responded.

Unfortunately, yes, Werle wrote. New samples will be taken and sent to the lab Monday. If the tests results are negative, which we are confident will be the case, the advisory should be lifted sometime on Tuesday.
Residents who think Spotsylvania leaders need to contribute more money to public schools, reduce taxes or otherwise change the county budget should mark their calendars for Tuesday night.

The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. in Courtland High Schools auditorium to solicit feedback on next fiscal years proposed spending plan. It marks the first public forum since supervisors voted earlier this month to effectively end debate over a tax increase.

Some public schools supporters had urged supervisors to consider a 2-cent real estate tax rate increase, but othersincluding the leader of the local tea partyspoke out against a tax hike.

The anti-tax camp won out, with a divided board voting March 16 to advertise the current rate of 85 cents per $100 of assessed value. The advertised rate can only be lowerednot raisedwhen supervisors take a final vote on tax rates April 11.

Supervisors Greg Cebula, Gary Skinner and Chris Yakabouski, who supported advertising a 2-cent increase, cast the dissenting votes.

County Administrator Mark Taylors budget proposal keeps taxes steady, but is more than $4 million shy of what the School Board says it needs to help cover 2 percent pay raises, in addition to rising health care rates and Virginia Retirement System payments. Taylor said recently that he thinks the county can significantly close that deficit without a tax increase.

Both sides of the tax debate have engaged in a little verbal sparring.

Chancellor District School Board member Dawn Shelley said she called Supervisor Timothy McLaughlinwho represents the same districtto ask him to advertise a tax rate that would give our constituents a voice.

Not advertising a higher tax rate is just saying they dont matter, she added.

McLaughlin voted against a possible rate increase, along with Supervisors Greg Benton, David Ross and Paul Trampe.

But Michael Hirsch, chairman of the Fredericksburg Virginia Patriots tea party group, called the outcome an outstanding victory in an email addressed to fellow patriots. He lives in Fredericksburg, but the tea party group has members from Spotsylvania.

He wrote that Cebula, Skinner and Yakabouski once again fought for special interests to raise your taxes and thankfully were defeated! ... Lets work to defeat them, drain the swamp and replace them in the upcoming election this fall!

Yakabouski, a Republican, said the fiscally conservative approach would be to first pay the countys bills, which he said include the school systems rising health care rates.

Spending money on new, recurring [and necessary] positions before all of the countys bills are paid is irresponsible, Yakabouski wrote. The county administrators budget proposal includes an additional 19 full-time employees.

Yakabouski said he finds it funny that an 85-cent tax rate is now acceptable to those who dubbed it a tax increase last year.

Benton said he thinks supervisors can come up with additional money for the school systems health care costs and VRS payments, but not the teacher pay raise. He did, however, say the county needs to establish a system of routine pay raises for all employees.

When we give a pay raise, the schools should get a pay raise, he said. And if its that much of a financial burden on us, then we do it every other year.
The University of Mary Washingtons Center for Leadership and Media Studies is hosting a talk on the United Kingdoms prospective withdrawal from the European Union today at 5 p.m.

The talk, Brexit & the Possible Break-up of Europe? Whats next?, will be held in Lee Hall, Room 411 and is free and open to the public.

Guest speaker Sean Hillen is an Irish-based journalist who has reported for the Irish Times, the Times (UK), and the BBC.
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

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan

Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement

With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh
Richard Hoagland: Minsk Group will not impose any solution on the sides (video)

Minsk Group will not impose any solution on the sides, today announced Richard Hoagland, the U.S. Co-chair of Minsk Group. Its not our job to impose solution, we talk to all the sides to encourage them to return to negotiations table to find a solution. In this sense, Hoagland says, there is no deadline for Minsk Group in order to find a solution to the conflict. Richard Hoagland together with other Co-chairs has already been in Baku, and tomorrow they will leave for Nagorno Karabakh. He has come to Armenia to say that April War is not a solution anymore; its time to negotiate. The most important is that all the sides display political will and return to the negotiations table to work on the plans for finding a peaceful solution. One of the journalists inquired why Minsk Group doesnt make targeted statements, when the opposing side initiates a diversion attempt or violates the ceasefire; Richard Hoagland was extremely sincere. I want to assure you that we are aware of what is happening, but as we are international mediators, we should keep some distance in order not offend one of the sides. Ambassador gave rather diplomatic reply to the question to what extent non-legitimacy of leaders of two countries can hinder solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict. There is no such way that any diplomat criticizes the legitimacy of the authorities. Sometimes people in the country might not like the leaders, who are in charge, but thats a part of democratic process. By the way, ambassador also touched upon Lavrovs plan. He admitted that there is such a plan, which consists of three provisions. But I will not go into details, said Minsk Group Co-chair.
CHRISTIANSBURGParts of Natalie Marie Keepers confession in the Nicole Lovell murder case will be thrown out because of improper interrogation techniques, a judge ruled Monday.

However, other parts of the confessionincluding the entire second day of two days of questioning last yearwill be allowed into a two-week jury trial that is now scheduled to begin Feb. 5. The material that remains as potential evidence includes statements admitting a role in planning Lovells murder and in hiding the Blacksburg 13-year-olds body.

Commonwealths Attorney Mary Pettitt wrote in an email after Mondays hearing in Montgomery County Circuit Court that she did not intend to appeal Judge Robert Turks ruling on the potential evidence.

Keepers attorneys, John Robertson and Kris Olin of Blacksburg, did not respond to a request for comments after the hearing.

Lovell, a seventh-grader at Blacksburg Middle School, disappeared from her home in the Lantern Ridge apartment complex in Blacksburg on Jan. 27, 2016. Her body was later found in Surry County, N.C.

Keepers, 20, of Laurel, Md., was a Virginia Tech engineering freshman when she was arrested last year. She is charged with being an accessory before the fact to first-degree murder, and with concealing a body.

Her co-defendant, David Edmond Eisenhauer of Columbia, Md., also 20 and a Tech engineering student when arrested, is scheduled to begin a jury trial Nov. 6 on charges of first-degree murder, concealing a body, and abduction.

On Monday in Montgomery County Circuit Court, Judge Robert Turk ruled on a defense motion asking that he throw out Keepers statements, made on Jan. 30 and 31, 2016, because investigators did not read Keepers her Miranda rights until the start of the second day of questioning. The reading of Miranda rights is required by law when a suspect is taken into custody and Turk agreed that officers should have read Keepers her rights earlier.

Hours of recorded questioning from the first day of Keepers interrogation will be barred as evidence because the character of officers interview with Keepers changed, Turk said. While Keepers came to the Blacksburg police station willingly and was first questioned as an alibi witness for Eisenhauer, it soon became evident to any reasonable person that she would be charged and in fact was in custody, the judge said.

Turk said that he had reviewed about 27 hours of recordings of Keepers interactions with police, and decided that about three hours into the police interview, the tone of investigators questions shifted. At that point it was clear that officers viewed Keepers as a suspect, he said. That was when officers needed to read her her Miranda rights that advised her that anything else she said could be used against her, and that she had a right to consult an attorney, Turk said.

The judge said he would allow into evidence anything from the first roughly three hours of questioning, but the remaining questioning on Jan. 30 would be barred.

The portion of the first day that remains as potential evidence includes officers asking Keepers if they could search her cell phonefor messages from Eisenhauer, among other informationand her signing a form giving permission for them to do so.

The second days questioning of Keepers began with the reading of Miranda rights and with Keepers signing a form indicating that she understood them and still wanted to continue talking to investigators. Later that day, she signed another statement saying that she wanted to delay meeting with a lawyer so she could continue her interview with police.

All of the second day will remain as potential evidence, Turk ruled.

On the second day of interrogation, Keepers took a road trip with officers and described places where she said that she and Eisenhauer had discarded Lovells clothes and belongings, according to court filings and evidence presented at earlier hearings.

And in an excerpt from a recording of the second days questioning that was played at a January hearing, Keepers said that she and Eisenhauer had messaged back and forth about ways to kill Lovell, and that she had assisted with preparation for the murder.

Keepers attorneys have said that she had an anxiety disorder that made her more likely to agree with investigators suggestions. Dr. Jonathan Mack, a New Jersey psychologist called as a defense witness at a January hearing, said Keepers had a long list of mental health problems. Keepers demonstrated essentially schizophrenic thinking that made her susceptible to being led, Mack testified in January.

Prosecution and defense have sparred over exactly how much jurors will get to hear about Keepers mental health. On Monday, Turk said again that much will depend on how defense attorneys attempt to bring up mental health issues and whether it relates to other evidence that has been introduced. Turk said that he would have to wait until questions come up at trial and decide then what to allow.
Mohamad Khweis quit his job as a Metro Access driver in Virginia, sold his car and created a new email account to buy a one-way ticket abroad, prosecutors said, traveling a circuitous route to the border between Turkey and Syria before contacting an Islamic State facilitator to take him across. He was undeterred by reports of land mines and bombs along the route.

"He made it from his couch in Alexandria to an Islamic State safe house in Raqqa in about two weeks," Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick wrote in a court filing last week. "This is not a person who frightens or breaks down easily. . . . This defendant knew exactly what he was doing."

Fitzpatrick is pushing back against contentions by defense attorneys that Khweis, 27, who is charged in federal court in Virginia with providing material support to terrorists, was coerced into making incriminating statements when he was detained in Iraq. His lawyers claimed earlier this month that he was denied access to the American attorney his parents hired and that authorities took advantage of his intense desire to return home to Alexandria, Virginia.

At the heart of the dense legal filings on both sides is a fundamental dichotomy. Was Khweis, who allegedly joined and then left the Islamic State early last year, a hapless dreamer or a sophisticated operator?

Khweis, born and raised in Virginia to Palestinian immigrants, spent months with the Islamic State before running away and getting captured by Kurdish forces in Iraq. While with the terror group, he went through intensive religious training in various Islamic State safehouses. Videos of terrorist attacks were found on his phone. He told investigators, according to the court documents, that "he thought he was destined for military training because he didn't have any skills to offer ISIS," using another term for the Islamic State.

Fitzpatrick said Khweis was repeatedly offered a Kurdish lawyer, including a free public defender, and declined the offer. He was also regularly visited by a U.S. consular officer.

When interviewed by intelligence agents looking for sensitive national security information, prosecutors say, Khweis was treated well.

"He was often observed smiling, laughing, appearing engaged, answering all questions and willingly volunteering information to assist the interviewers," Fitzpatrick wrote.

When he later met with an FBI "clean team" whose interviews could be used in court, Fitzpatrick says Khweis remained cooperative and at each interview signed away his right to remain silent or speak only with an attorney present.

"The defendant was also informed that an American-trained attorney is available to him, but (given that he was in Kurdish custody at the time), the agents' ability to provide the defendant with access to him may be limited by the decisions of the local authorities," Fitzpatrick wrote.

Khweis was given a sheet by the State Department, according to court filings, saying that Iraqi lawyers do not argue for either side and that the right to remain silent does not apply.

Khweis was interviewed by the FBI multiple times before his attorney, John Zwerling, was added to his list of contacts. But Fitzpatrick said that even after the State Department official met Khweis and got Zwerling approved as a contact, the prisoner waived his rights and gave another interview.

Six times, according to court documents, Khweis signed papers waiving his right to remain silent. He also signed a document consenting to a search of his electronics.

His detention was not "secret," prosecutors add - he was seen by Red Cross and State Department officials and received letters from his family addressed to the Irbil facility. He also appeared on Kurdish television, in an interview discouraging others from joining the Islamic State.

The defense filing exposed tension between the FBI, State Department and Kurdish authorities over the American's detention. Kurdish officials said Khweis needed to be moved out of the country or into their court system. State Department officials complained that they couldn't get access to the prisoner.

Zwerling said prosecutors chose to "smear the defendant" rather than confront the issues raised in those messages, "because the facts that we used came directly from the communications of government officials."

Fitzpatrick acknowledges that some emails "reflect pressure placed on the FBI by Kurdish authorities to bring the investigation to a premature conclusion." But, he contends, the Kurds were not being manipulated by the FBI into keeping Khweis detained. In fact, the Kurds dictated the schedule of interrogations.

"It is sheer folly to suggest that one FBI Special Agent had the authority or the ability to control the actions of senior members of the Kurdistan Regional Government," Fitzpatrick wrote.
WHEN Chuck Berry duck-walked across the stage at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on Labor Day weekend 1995 in front of 60,000 people, my Marienamed for the little one in Chucks Memphis, Tennessee and the absolutely sweet one with the railroad gate Bob Dylan just cant jumpwas there.

She was a few months away from popping out onto the planet, but she was there just the same. I imagine her tapping her tiny toes, or what eventually would form into tiny toes, playing umbilical-cord guitar and using a nearby organ as a bass drum.

It was the Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and 500 miles from our doorstep.

The wife and I couldnt really afford the high-dollar tickets. We had been emotionally reeled and rocked by a miscarriage a year before. There was a good chance the used Corolla, wrecked and repaired once and nearly lost to an electrical fire a second time, wouldnt even make it out of North Carolina, let alone to the promised land of Ohio.

But, happily, there was a new baby on the way and cest la vie, say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell.

Jerry Lee Lewis was going to be there. James Brown was going to be there. Johnny Cash was going to be there. And the man who to me WAS rock and rollChuck Berrywas going to be there.

My introduction to Chuck Berrys music was typical for a child of the 1970s. He was the guy who sang My Ding-a-Ling. It was a No. 1 single in 1972Chucks only No. 1a silly, double-entendre cover that was beneath his talents but hysterical to an 8-year-old boy, which I was at the time.

It served as an introduction to the good stuff, the essential stuff, the patented guitar riffs, multi-syllable word play/poetry and crowd-pleasing showmanship that better writers, more informed historians and more musically astute individuals than me have covered ad infinitum.

I bought cassettes and LPs when I could find them, some featuring the original cuts and some inferior re-recordings, but even those were exciting. Technology advanced to compact discs and if The Great Twenty-Eight wasnt the first CD I owned, that collection was second or third.

I knew from reading books and magazines that Chuck was an ornery cuss. I later learned more about his dark side than I would ever want to know, which re-enforces the axiom trust the art and not the artist.

What I only knew then was he demanded payment in advance and played with pickup bands who better-by-god know Chuck Berry songs or there would be hell to pay. I was cool with that. But unlike Jerry Lee and his fiery pianowho I saw several times with wildly mixed resultsChuck never seemed to show up in my neck of the woods slinging his guitar with the local boys and entertaining all the former sweet little sixteens.

It was one of the main reasons I hit the road, pregnant wife in tow and my youngest brother riding shotgun, across the MasonDixon. One of the biggest Bruce Springsteen fans alive, my brother was lured on this road trip by The Boss reuniting with the E Street Band after nearly a decade. It was not a hard sell.

We packed the Corolla with snacks and headed north, three of us and a little one unticketed and tucked away. We stayed in Canton overnight, then rolled into Cleveland with the beat-up Toyota still humming along and not on fire.

Chuck Berry opened the showwhich would go seven-plus hourswith Springsteen and the E Street Band backing him on Johnny B. Goode, a pickup band worthy of his talents. It remains a highlight of my life.

Sixty thousand or so of us were there, including a tiny one who would arrive a few months later and become the ultimate highlight of my life.

Hail, hail rock n roll.

Scott Hollifield is editor/general manager of The McDowell News in Marion, N.C., and a part-time humor columnist. Contact him at rhollifield@mcdowellnews.com.
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The Scottish government will divide its share of a 350m EU Commission fund between dairy farmers worst hit by the recent crisis.

Payments will help farmers to implement management tools such as milk recording and production profiling techniques.

See also: Scots renewables and food and drink get 20m in extra funds

Producers will each receive between 4,000 and 1,000 of the 2.4m given to Scotland by the EU as part of its 350m dairy support package.

Dairy farmers from Bute, Arran, Mull and the Kintyre peninsula will receive the maximum amount of 4,000 to safeguard the supply base of the Campbeltown Creamery.

Payments will then be allocated according to 2016 average farmgate milk prices, with producers who were paid less than 20p/litre receiving 3,250.

Those on less than 25p/litre will be entitled to 2,000 and those who averaged more than 25p/litre can claim 1,000 each.

Supporting those hit worst

It is clear that some farmers suffered more than others during the latest period of market instability, which put severe downward pressure on dairy farmgate prices, said Scottish rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing.

It is therefore only right that we deploy this EU funding to support those who were at the lower end of the milk price table.

[The management tools] will enable farmers to take control of their own costs and drive stability.

I would therefore urge everyone who wishes to do so to submit their application as soon as possible.

The Scottish government will release more information on the scheme on April 1 but producers can submit applications for the scheme now (pdf).
Four county council farms in Somerset have been put up for sale, further dwindling the countys farming estate.

Somerset authority decided to sell off two-thirds of its 60 tenanted farms back in 2010, with the latest four being part of it major rationalisation plan.

The council said Stibbear Farm and Oxenford Farm near Donyatt, Brinscombe Larn Farm in Weare and Decoy Pool Farm in Nyland, would be offered to their tenants first.

See also: 8 mistakes that can put someone off buying your farm

The holdings have already been valued and any not bought by tenants will be offered on the open market.

A spokesman for Somerset County Council told Farmers Weekly: A decision was made by the council in 2010 to sell these farms.

All of the properties and land that will be put up for sale are surplus to the county councils requirements and will raise much-needed funds in the region of 4.9m.

Since 2010, Somerset County Council has sold about 800ha, which has raised more than 27m.

It is left with 30 equipped farms, which according to Defra figures amount to about 647ha.

Strategically important

The farms it kept are those viewed as being strategically important or having future development potential.

George Dunn, chief executive of the Tenant Farmers Association, said the council had got itself into a black hole financially and so had decided to sell off the farms in order to plug the gap.

This is all part of an unfortunate plan, which we made a fuss about at the time. It is depressing and sad, but no real surprise.

U-turn

Earlier this month, Eastbourne Borough Council did a U-turn on the proposed sale of its farms after a campaign by residents to keep the holdings.

The English county with the biggest area of tenanted farmland is Cambridgeshire County Council, which is way ahead of any other, with 13,190ha (at 31 March 2016), according to Defra statistics.

At the lower end of the scale, Essex County Council lets just 80ha, while Medway Council lets only 30ha.

Across England, 86,700ha of farmland was let by county councils in March last year, spread across 2,583 smallholdings.
Story Highlights "Concerned Believers" at 50%, up from 37% in 2015

"Mixed Middle" falls to 31%, well below recent high of 45%

"Cool Skeptics" remains smallest group at 19%, down from 26% in 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With a record number of Americans sounding the alarm on global warming, the share of the U.S. population that Gallup categorizes as "Concerned Believers" on climate change has consequently reached a new high of 50%. This is up slightly from 47% in 2016 but is well above the 37% recorded only two years ago.

While the half of Americans classified as Concerned Believers take global warming very seriously, the other half are split between what Gallup calls "Cool Skeptics" and the "Mixed Middle." The percentages of Americans falling into these last two groups have declined in recent years as the ranks of Concerned Believers have swelled.

Once the largest category of Americans on global warming, the Mixed Middle has ratcheted down from a recent high of 45% in 2012 and now ranks second, at 31%. Cool Skeptics have always been the smallest global warming segment, but at 19%, their numbers are diminished from 26% in 2015 and the high point of 28% in 2010.

These groupings stem from an update of a statistical cluster analysis of its global warming questions that Gallup first reported in 2014. The analysis is based on four questions that measure Americans' beliefs and concerns about climate change, and that Gallup has now asked together 10 times since 2001. The latest results are from the March 1-5, 2017, Environment poll.

The questions tap the following views on global warming:

Concern: How much Americans worry about global warming or climate change -- a great deal, a fair amount, only a little or not at all.

How much Americans worry about global warming or climate change -- a great deal, a fair amount, only a little or not at all. Seriousness: Whether the seriousness of global warming is generally exaggerated, underestimated or assessed correctly in the news.

Whether the seriousness of global warming is generally exaggerated, underestimated or assessed correctly in the news. Cause: Whether global warming is mainly the result of pollution from human activities or mainly from natural causes.

Whether global warming is mainly the result of pollution from human activities or mainly from natural causes. Threat: Whether Americans believe global warming will pose a serious threat to themselves or their way of life in their own lifetime.

As shown in the accompanying graph, 100% of Concerned Believers worry a great deal about global warming and think human activity causes global warming. Two-thirds in this group also expect global warming to pose a serious threat in their lifetime, while none believe that news reports exaggerate the problem.

On the flip side, Cool Skeptics uniformly believe the news about global warming is exaggerated, while none worry a great deal about climate change. Also, none think the problem will pose a serious threat in their lifetime or blame human activity for the earth's warming.

Those in the Mixed Middle express some combination of views on the four items. Overall, the slight majority blame human activity for the problem, and just above half worry about it a great deal. At the same time, half also think the seriousness of global warming is exaggerated, and only 29% believe global warming will pose a threat in their lifetime.

Concerned Believers Tilt Democratic, Female and Young

In line with the strong partisan differences Gallup finds in Americans' responses to individual questions about global warming, the global warming groups are highly differentiated politically. Nearly half of Concerned Believers, 47%, identify as Democrats, whereas 61% of Cool Skeptics are Republicans and the Mixed Middle is more independent than anything.

Concerned Believers are also weighted a bit more toward women and young adults, while the profile of Cool Skeptics skews decidedly male and older.

As Gallup found in 2014, education is not a strong discriminator between Concerned Believers and Cool Skeptics. Roughly four in 10 people in each group are college graduates. Lack of a college education is, however, strongly associated with being a member of the Mixed Middle. In other words, as Gallup has found previously, being a college graduate is associated with having more hardened positions on global warming.

Political and Demographic Composition of 2017 Global Warming Groups Concerned Believers Mixed Middle Cool Skeptics % % % Republicans 9 32 61 Independents 44 46 36 Democrats 47 22 3 Men 44 48 64 Women 56 52 36 18 to 34 37 25 12 35 to 54 30 34 32 55 and older 33 41 57 College graduate 36 21 41 College nongraduate 64 79 59 Gallup, March 1-5, 2017

Implications

There has long been a disconnect between the high proportions of Americans who believe global warming is real and even ascribe it to human activity, and the low priority Americans give to global warming as a policy issue and a factor in their vote. This is largely explained by the relatively low percentages of Americans who consider global warming a serious threat in their lifetimes or who say they worry a great deal about it. That may be changing, however, as 50% of Americans now take all aspects of global warming seriously -- classifying them as Concerned Believers. That contrasts with most years from 2001 through 2016, when Gallup found the majority qualifying as Mixed Middle or Cool Skeptics on the issue.

A number of factors may influence Americans' attitudes about global warming, including the prominence of various pro- and anti-global-warming arguments, the sitting president's stance on the issue, the perceived reliability of climate science data, the state of the economy and unseasonably high or low temperatures leading up to Gallup's annual Environment poll. Any of these could cause the ranks of Concerned Believers to expand further or shrink in the coming years, but for now, they represent the single largest global warming opinion group.
Leaks Hint 'Destiny 2' PS4 Exclusive Content

An unexpected but welcome leak for "Destiny 2" has caused a lot of excitement among the "Destiny" gaming community. Players are apparently asking for more information about Bungie's sequel to its famous online sci-fi shooter. The leak reportedly came from an Italian GameStop branch that accidentally shared promotional posters of the upcoming game. Fans were able to pick out the printed release date as well as hints of a PS4 exclusive content.

Speculations of some PS4 exclusive contents possibly came from the "Destiny 2" poster's upper left-hand corner. The logo seems to indicate that the poster, which details some announcement regarding a beta, might be exclusive to PS4 gamers or it could be an early access kind of element, reports Game Rant. Some sources believe that the sequel will follow what Sony did for the original game when it came out for their system.

Several rumors claim that the PS4 exclusive content for "Destiny 2" might come in the form of exotic weapons, quests, crucible maps and more. Fans recalled that Sony strategically turned the original game into a pseudo-exclusive through some of its limited content, which drove sales of the original game and the console itself. Speculations continue to indicate that the company will follow the same footsteps that made the original release successful.

Several reports claimed that Bungie might step away from console exclusive content to expand the "Destiny 2" community. Just like what the developer did for the original game, which had several exclusives during its Year 1 and Year 2. By the time Year 3 arrived it did not really offer as much as the first two seasons. Most gamers allegedly feel that exclusives might just frustrate the player base. News of a PS4 exclusive content will surely divide gamers instead.

Meanwhile, rumors of a PC version for "Destiny 2" have been reportedly confirmed by a report from Gamenguide. A gamer recently posted his pre-order receipt from a GameStop branch in Hannover, Germany. The slip also indicates the estimated release date and the price for the sequel. Players are expecting Bungie to make an announcement soon about the newest installment of their online FPS. News of some PS4 exclusive content have yet to be confirmed by the developer and retailers.
Readers, we need your help to prove a merry Christmas for victims of domestic violence.
Millennials are imbibing more liquor than recent generations, and the number of small distilleries has boomed in response.

Oregon is actually one of the leaders across the country, said Christie Scott, Oregon Liquor Control Commission alcohol program spokeswoman.

We are seeing younger people make more trips to the liquor store as they come of age. Women are choosing spirits more over beer and wine, she said.

According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, supplier sales were up 4.5 percent to $25.2 billion in 2016, which was the seventh straight year of market share gains relative to beer.

Theres a lot more mixology going on and the reintroduction of older cocktail recipes, which is great, said Dudley Clark, owner of Hard Times Distillery in Monroe. Hes planning on moving his business to downtown Corvallis this year and opening up an eatery and lounge where he can sell his liquor.

In 2007, the state had 30 distilleries. Today, it boasts 96, according to state data, and that includes five operations in Linn and Benton counties  4 Spirits in Adair Village, Spiritopia and Vivacity Spirits, both in the Lewisburg area, Sinister Distilling in Albany, and Hard Times.

Oregon-based distillers produce hundreds of products, and during the 2014-2016 biennium, those businesses had roughly $146 million in sales, or roughly 13 percent of the total liquor sales in the state, Scott said.

To be sure, some of the Oregon distilleries couldnt be considered small or artisan operations. Hood River Distillers vodka, for example, was the leading liquor for volume sales in the state in 2016 at 852,000 liters, according to OLCC data. That product also was eighth in Oregon for dollar sales at $8.3 million. Pendleton whiskey was third in dollar sales at $11.8 million for 2016.

Regardless, the industry is only expected to grow in large part thanks to smaller distillers. Thats especially true in Oregon, where theres a strong emphasis on buying local, including a farm-to-table movement thats connected to foodie culture.

That seems to be very much an Oregon thing, and its not a liberal versus conservative argument, said Scott Stursa, a Corvallis resident who authored Distilled in Oregon: A History & Guide with Cocktail Recipes."

Distillers across the state, from Eugene residents to Eastern Oregon ranchers and grain growers, are trying to create spirits with all-local ingredients, he added.

Vivacity Spirits owner Caitlin Prueitt said that she and her husband Chris Neumann tried to go 100 percent Oregon with their Native Gin, but couldnt get the flavor profile right without adding a few out-of-state ingredients. Nevertheless, the product features local hops, hazelnut, myrtle leaf, Oregon grape and juniper berry.

There is a cornucopia of botanicals here in Oregon, Clark said.

A logical step

Craft distilling also ties in to the plethora of microbreweries and small wineries in the Beaver State.

You get a couple of guys, Well, we were thinking about starting a brewery, but we looked around and saw everybody was doing that. People want to make alcoholic beverages and apply their own creativity, Stursa said.

Prueitt said that Oregonians were always interested in the next interesting thing to do. Breweries and wineries are great, coffee is fun, but whats next? she said, adding that liquor was a logical step.

Oregon ranks first per capita in wineries, second for breweries and fourth for distilleries, Stursa said.

Craft distilling fits with the psychology of the state, Stursa said. Oregonians are free-thinking mavericks who are unafraid to try something new, whether theyre entrepreneurs or consumers picking out a bottle at the liquor store.

Theres a wide swath of varying expertise and models in Oregons liquor industry, Scott said.

Some of them buy spirits in bulk and then they might infuse it with something else and bottle it. Some of them are distilling their own products. They might even be barreling products, she added.

(A small number of those distillers listed by the state are pharmaceutical or microchip companies that must distill a solution, Scott said.)

Some of the distilleries are simply buying from massive manufacturers in the Midwest and repackaging liquor, Stursa said. He estimated the number of true liquor distilleries in Oregon at somewhere between 70 and 80.

The state encouraged the growth of the local liquor industry by trying to find ways that the small companies could expand their businesses, such as through tasting rooms where they could sell bottles and other products directly to the consumers, Scott said.

In 2011, the first tasting room in the state opened. There are now 38 distillery tasting rooms in operation.

Clark, of Hard Times Distillery, said that the OLCC treats distilleries much like wineries, but other states have far more restrictions on such businesses.

Local distillers also have an advantage in Oregon in that the state controls the liquor, so theres a more level playing field with big manufacturers, Scott said. We carry many Oregon products in our warehouse, and any liquor store can buy one or two bottles, Scott said.

Clear Creek has a Doug fir-flavored alcohol. Not everybody might want to carry a whole case, Scott added.

Clark said that in other states, stores might be required to buy a case of a product from a distributor  which may or may not sell well.

The state control and distribution process also helps keep costs low for small businesses, Clark said. I can have my products out in Joseph or Cannon Beach without having to lift a finger myself. As far as big brothers go, the OLCC is a very good one, he added.

While the liquor industry is continuing to blossom, Clark thought there will be distilleries who dont survive, in part because of a saturated market for some spirits such as vodka.

Prueitt said unusual offerings or a unique story, can help an artisan distiller shine. You need to find something that makes you stand out a little bit, she added. Vivacity recently won an award for its Turkish Coffee Liqueur, which is more coffee forward and less sweet than similar spirits.

Clark said another Oregon distiller is specializing in absinthe.

Still, if the product is too offbeat, then it wont sell, Prueitt cautioned.

Prueitt said that the proliferation of distilleries in the state posed challenges with competition and marketing, but the rapid rise of artisan spirits was mostly beneficial for her business, which started producing in 2011.

We can all help each other. We can all grow the industry and everybody wins, Prueitt said.

Clark thought that the additional distilleries created more interest in the industry as a whole and a spirit of friendly competition. Hes helped other producers get their start and organizes the Hard Times Distillery Expo held every year in Eugene to showcase artisan liquors.

Three or four people or five or six or seven people can all create whiskey, and theyre all going to be different, Clark said.
Broker associate

on RE/MAX team

RE/MAX Integrity recently announced that Scott Foss, licensed broker associate, has joined the Jill Schuster Team at RE/MAX.

Foss holds an associates degree in graphic design and recently sold his remodeling and general contracting company, Curb Appeal Pros LLC.

Foss was a general contractor for nine years, and spent two and a half years as a mortgage loan officer. He has invested in Oregon real estate since 1997 and owns 12 properties. Foss is working exclusively with buyers and investors in the purchase of new construction and resale real estate.

He works with Principal Broker Jill Schuster, who negotiates contracts for the benefit of their clients. Foss works primarily out of the RE/MAX Integrity office at 2910 Santiam Highway SE in Albany.

The Jill Schuster Team now has six members.

Martial arts school

offers classes

Golden Naga Martial Arts Center, 857 SW Western Blvd. in Corvallis, is offering free self-defense seminars to community members. Owner Geoffrey Wathen said the classes are being offered in response to escalation in violence and threats in recent months.

Golden Naga teaches the Indonesian martial art style of Pukulan, a traditional martial art with a focus on practical self defense and personal combat skills.

The three-hour seminars will take place on Saturday afternoons. For more information or to register, call 541-758-4264 or visit www.goldennaga.com.

Building company

earns award

TnT Builders Inc., 620 SW Queen Ave., Suite A, in Albany has earned the home service industrys Angies List Super Service Award.

The award reflects a year of exemplary customer service to members of the local services marketplace and consumer review site in 2016.

Angies List Super Service Award 2016 winners met strict eligibility requirements, which include an A rating in overall grade, recent grade and review period grade. The SSA winners also must be in good standing with Angies List, pass a background check and abide by Angies List operational guidelines.

Acupuncture practice

hires associate

Life in Balance Acupuncture in Corvallis recently welcomed a new acupuncture associate, Joe Moceus, to the practice.

An experienced practitioner new to Corvallis, Moceus received his Oregon Acupuncture License from the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners last year, and is accepting new patients. Moceus has experience in treating a variety of ailments, such as pain, headaches, musculo-skeletal problems, neurological disorders, post-stroke complications, autoimmune disorders, sleep disorders, digestive complaints, psychological and emotional issues, as well as optimizing energy and general well-being.

In addition to providing acupuncture treatments, Moceus also offers qi gong and tai chi classes. He can be reached at 541-757-4868 or joe@corvallishealing.com.
July 17, 1925  March 23, 2017

Patricia Ann (Cool) Huebner, 91, of Albany passed away of natural causes at home on March 23, surrounded by her children.

The memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Friday, March 31, in the chapel at Musgrove Family Mortuary at West Lawn Memorial Park, 225 S. Danebo, Eugene, with a reception to follow.

Pat was born July 17, 1925, in Roseburg to Harry Sr. and Velma (Marshall) Cool. She graduated from Drain High School in Drain, Oregon, in 1942. She married her high school sweetheart, Thomas Frederick Huebner, on Sept. 8, 1946, shortly after his return from the European Theater of World War II. They remained married 58 years until his death in 2004.

Pat was at times a homemaker, a bookkeeper for EG Whipple of Drain, Lillebo Construction and the John C Diehl Agency of Reedsport, but was at all times the cog that made her family go.

She sat on the Douglas County Library board for several years and was a long time member of the Order of Eastern Star and PEO.

Pats greatest joy was her family, her love, pride, and fierce loyalty extending from her three children to her grandchildren to her great-grandchildren and to her many nieces and nephews and their families. Pat and Tom enjoyed traveling, whether at home or abroad, and to a favorite destination, Hawaii.

Pat is survived by her brother, Robert Marshall Cool of Honolulu, Hawaii; daughter Chris Retherford-Johnson (Bob) of Albany; sons Tom Huebner (Julie) of Reedsport and Bob Huebner (Susan) of Reedsport; seven grandchildren; six great-grandchildren with another one due at any moment; and a large family of nieces and nephews.

The family suggests that memorial contributions in lieu of flowers can be made to Samaritan Evergreen Hospice House, 4600 Evergreen Place S.E., Albany, OR 97321, or the Reedsport Education Enrichment Foundation, PO Box 203, Reedsport, OR 97467, in Pats memory.

Arrangements entrusted to Musgrove Family Mortuary. Please access the obituary and you are invited to sign the guestbook at musgroves.com.
Spring being as it is in the Willamette Valley, the weather was not particularly cooperative with the plan to release the trout fry in Dixon Creek Friday.

But with the fishes yolk sacks depleted and spring break looming, it was then or never.

So Mara Burkes class of sixth-grade Franklin K-8 School students trooped down to the creek anyway carrying fish hatched in their classroom in small water- filled tubs. While half the class looked on from a covered bus shelter, the other students braved the swampy creek banks to release the trout and collect water samples for testing in the classroom.

The release was part of a science learning project at Franklin School and Hoover and Jefferson elementary schools. Students at the schools are learning about fish life cycles and water quality through hands-on research, which they are doing with help of a $6,000 Diack Foundation grant.

In addition to measuring and studying the trout as they grew, Burkes students have been doing water quality analysis by collecting data about air and water temperature, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water, water pH and turbidity.

Burke, a Franklin teacher, said the project creates a connection between science and the real world for students.

It really heightens their engagement, she said.

The students will continue collecting data on the creek through the school year, Burke said, and eventually she will task them with coming up with some kind of research project involving the creek.

We are hopefully leading to a place where they have some questions they want to test in the spring, she said.

She said these could include questions like how water quality varies by location in the creek, or if distance from the creek affects bird diversity.

Liam Gaskill, a 12-year-old in Burkes class, said he learns more from hands-on activities like this.

I think it sticks a lot more. You remember the experience better, he said.

Liam said hed learned a lot about water quality, such as the fact that the presence of macroinvertebrates that cant tolerate pollution would indicate water quality is better.

Its like seeing a bunch of celebrities in a restaurant: you know its probably good.
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.
2. ERMAHGERD GIRL



In the original photo of Maggie Goldenberger, she was posing as a joke, simply playing a character



Then shit blew up.



And she indirectly spawned the era or the "ERMAHGERDs" and general "ER" speak.



Back in 2012, Goldenberger was traveling around India with her then girlfriend, when a friend sent her the OG "ERMAHGERD GERSBERMS" meme (above) through a message on Facebook. At that moment, Goldenberger had no idea how widespread the meme had already gotten and just thought it was kinda funny.



That soon changed.



She's dealt with some harassment over the years... fortunately. it's largely been light hearted.



Goldenberger told Vanity Fair: I just can't believe this is my 15 minutes of fameI was hoping it would come in another form. But I guess you have to take what you can get.



These days she's a practicing nurse. Having long moved on from dressing up as a goober, she wants her life as a meme to be in her past but it keeps coming back to haunt her. And probably always will.




An opportunity for foodies and beer lovers to get lost in a world of food and drink from a hand-selected range of food trucks and breweries from around New Zealand.
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.
bohlah at 27-03-2017 06:41 AM (5 years ago) (m)

In line with his vision for stronger synergy in security and in the pursuit of his quest for a safer Nigeria in particular and a more secured World in general, IGP Ibrahim Idris has arrived at Abu Dhabi in the UAE, where under the patronage of His Highness, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, he would rub minds with members of the Interpol, at a conference entitled titled Unity for Security.

In line with his vision for stronger synergy in security and in the pursuit of his quest for a safer Nigeria in particular and a more secured World in general, IGP Ibrahim Idris has arrived at Abu Dhabi in the UAE, where under the patronage of His Highness, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, he would rub minds with members of the Interpol, at a conference entitled titled Unity for Security.



The conference is organized in conjunction with the United Arab Emirates and the INTERPOL Foundation for a Safer World, which would take place from the 28th to 30th March 2017. The conference would bring together ministers with security portfolios, senior police officials and representatives from the private sector, to collectively address common issues.



Unity for Security will enable participants to identify their responsibilities in implementing a global policing architecture, aimed at combating future security threats. Counter-terrorism, Organized, Emerging Crime and Cybercrime, which are the central concern of the Interpol, would be in the front burner of the three-day event.















The conference is organized in conjunction with the United Arab Emirates and the INTERPOL Foundation for a Safer World, which would take place from the 28th to 30th March 2017. The conference would bring together ministers with security portfolios, senior police officials and representatives from the private sector, to collectively address common issues.Unity for Security will enable participants to identify their responsibilities in implementing a global policing architecture, aimed at combating future security threats. Counter-terrorism, Organized, Emerging Crime and Cybercrime, which are the central concern of the Interpol, would be in the front burner of the three-day event.

Post Reply I have been reporting on latest news from Nigeria for almost 10 years now. I report on every possible news area I come across, but always ensure my reports are compiled with dignity and fact to uphold my personal values and duty as a journalist Posted: at 27-03-2017 06:41 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero
felicilin at 27-03-2017 05:13 PM (5 years ago) (f)

A prison inmate will soon enroll for a PhD programme in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), the institutions Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdalla Adamu has said.

A prison inmate will soon enroll for a PhD programme in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), the institutions Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdalla Adamu has said. Adamu disclosed this in his address at the opening ceremony of the 53rd Meeting and 30th Anniversary of the Committee of Deans of Post-Graduate Schools (CDPGS) in Nigerian Universities on Monday in Abuja.

According to Abdalla, prison inmates and juvenile who are willing and qualified are given free education as part of NOUNs corporate social responsibility.

We have 84 study centres including the prisons; NOUN is the only university that allows prison inmates completely totally free education because that is the opportunity they have to learn.

Right now, we have somebody who has finished his Masters and he is about to embark on PhD and he is still behind bars. We have juvenile-young people who one reason or the other are caught up and locked up.

NOUN is the largest university in the West African sub-region and one of the biggest in the world with over 200, 000 students.

Adamu urged the committee to fashion out a mechanism for improving the global ranking of Nigerian universities.

The vice-chancellor regretted that Nigerian academics hardly uploaded their research content; hence the poor online visibility of Nigerian universities.

Adamu said that unless a university established a strong online presence, it would not be ranked.

He said that NOUN complied with the National Universities Commission (NUC)s guidelines and had all its programme duly accredited and wondered why the institutions products were denied post graduate admission.

Part of the major steps taken by the university management when I assumed office as vice-chancellor was to bring all our programmes in tandem with the regulatory ambience of NUC.

With that, therefore, it would be unfair for any institution under the supervision of the same commission to deny recognition of NOUN certificates and deny our products opportunities for post-graduate studies.

I therefore urge you to draw attention to all the deans in your respective faculties to this challenge faced by our products in their pursuit of post-graduate studies, he said.

In his address, Dr Samiala Mande, Dean, School of Post-Graduate Studies, NOUN, said there was need for Nigerian universities to catch up with modern methods of teaching and research.

He listed some of the challenges confronting post-graduate studies as dearth of research grants, quality of graduates, quality of instructional content, limited availability of PhD holders to recruit, among others.

Mande said that NOUN encountered difficulties in sending transcripts of post-graduate applicants to other universities.

Even when the transcripts are sent, some post-graduate schools are said not to have a proper documentation process to account for transcripts received. The implication of this is that NOUN incurs more cost in the process of having to resend such transcripts.

Furthermore, there are times when as a result of a deadline, there is the urgent need to send a transcript by at least email. Unfortunately, many schools of post-graduate studies do not have functional, institutional email addresses, he said.

No fewer than 28 deans of schools of post-graduate studies in Nigerian universities attended the meeting.

Adamu disclosed this in his address at the opening ceremony of the 53rd Meeting and 30th Anniversary of the Committee of Deans of Post-Graduate Schools (CDPGS) in Nigerian Universities on Monday in Abuja.According to Abdalla, prison inmates and juvenile who are willing and qualified are given free education as part of NOUNs corporate social responsibility.We have 84 study centres including the prisons; NOUN is the only university that allows prison inmates completely totally free education because that is the opportunity they have to learn.Right now, we have somebody who has finished his Masters and he is about to embark on PhD and he is still behind bars. We have juvenile-young people who one reason or the other are caught up and locked up.NOUN is the largest university in the West African sub-region and one of the biggest in the world with over 200, 000 students.Adamu urged the committee to fashion out a mechanism for improving the global ranking of Nigerian universities.The vice-chancellor regretted that Nigerian academics hardly uploaded their research content; hence the poor online visibility of Nigerian universities.Adamu said that unless a university established a strong online presence, it would not be ranked.He said that NOUN complied with the National Universities Commission (NUC)s guidelines and had all its programme duly accredited and wondered why the institutions products were denied post graduate admission.Part of the major steps taken by the university management when I assumed office as vice-chancellor was to bring all our programmes in tandem with the regulatory ambience of NUC.With that, therefore, it would be unfair for any institution under the supervision of the same commission to deny recognition of NOUN certificates and deny our products opportunities for post-graduate studies.I therefore urge you to draw attention to all the deans in your respective faculties to this challenge faced by our products in their pursuit of post-graduate studies, he said.In his address, Dr Samiala Mande, Dean, School of Post-Graduate Studies, NOUN, said there was need for Nigerian universities to catch up with modern methods of teaching and research.He listed some of the challenges confronting post-graduate studies as dearth of research grants, quality of graduates, quality of instructional content, limited availability of PhD holders to recruit, among others.Mande said that NOUN encountered difficulties in sending transcripts of post-graduate applicants to other universities.Even when the transcripts are sent, some post-graduate schools are said not to have a proper documentation process to account for transcripts received. The implication of this is that NOUN incurs more cost in the process of having to resend such transcripts.Furthermore, there are times when as a result of a deadline, there is the urgent need to send a transcript by at least email. Unfortunately, many schools of post-graduate studies do not have functional, institutional email addresses, he said.No fewer than 28 deans of schools of post-graduate studies in Nigerian universities attended the meeting.

Post Reply Posted: at 27-03-2017 05:13 PM (5 years ago) | Hero
Terrorists using WhatsApp as a secret place to hide, UK Home Secretary claims News oi -Chandrika WhatsApp end-to-end encryption,boon or bane

WhatsApp is facing the heat for not cooperating with the authorities in the London attack investigation. The popular messenger app has turned down the authorities' request to give out the details of the last conversation of Westminster attacker Adrian Ajao making UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd furious.

She said that she is prepared to "call time" on internet companies that provide terrorists with a secret place to hide. As WhatsApp's messages are encrypted end-to-end, they can only be seen by the sender and the receiver. Even the company itself cannot decrypt the messages. Rudd says that this is "completely unacceptable" and the company should recognize its responsibility towards the society.

WhatsApp text status comes to iOS; co-exists with Snapchat Stories-like feature

She also added that it should come up with a way to gain access to the content of the conversations in critical situations like thisMany security agencies had called the end-to-end encryption of WhatsApp as a potential security threat after it was launched last year.

Reportedly, Rudd has summoned representatives from WhatsApp, Facebook, Google, and other online firms for an event for discussing the matter.

Rudd is basically asking WhatsApp to give the government access to all messages if a situation like this arises. Although this can be helpful in times like these, authorities can use it for spying on common people as well. Nowadays, where hacking is prevalent, the absence of proper privacy tools could lead to invasion of privacy.

WhatsApp had also previously refused to cooperate with the authorities in Brazil during a criminal investigation resulting in the app getting banned in the country for a few times.

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Nokia, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Moto G, and more: Most searched smartphones Features oi -Harish Kumar List of the most searched smartphones in India.

Well, in the smartphone world while there are lots of brands and manufactures all around the globe, it is pretty impressive how many phones are unveiled every now and then.

Moreover, we witness smartphones launching almost every week. Considering this, there are many smartphones coming to the market but not all of them are sought after. And only a few manage to create a stir in the market and create headlines. Further, only these few are able to capture people's mindshare in the country.

Besides, brands like Nokia, Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple amongst others have been popular but do they fal in the most searched category!

Best-selling phones in 2016: iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Oppo A53 and more top the list

To find out, you can scroll down and check. We have compiled a comprehensive list of the most searched smartphones in India. These are the models that have created a huge interest among the Indian consumers.

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Apple can now resume sales in China, Court quashes ban on company News oi -Vigneshravi Apple's ban has been lifted off as the court finds that the company did not violate intellectual property rights and further there were, insufficient proof to prove otherwise.

Apple can now breathe a sigh of relief as the Chinese court has ruled in favor of the company and quashed the decision taken earlier by the bureau. The Cupertino-based tech giant had been in a legal battle with a domestic phone-maker which had resulted in a ban on Apple from selling the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus phones in China.

The ban which was imposed last year in May where a Beijing patent regulator ordered Apple's Chinese subsidiary along with a local retailer Zoomflight to stop selling the iPhones. This was with effect a complaint being lodged by Shenzhen Baili Marketing Services. Which claimed of having a patent for the design of its mobile phone 100c and that the design was being infringed by the iPhone sales.

Following which Apple and Zoomflight took up the Beijing Intellectual Property Office's ban to court, which resulted in the ban being revoked on Friday.

SEE ALSO: Govt working on Apple demand

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court went on to state that ban was revoked as Apple and Zoomflight did not violate Shenzhen Baili's design patent for the 100c phones. The court added that the regulator which imposed the ban did not follow due procedures in ordering it as there was no sufficient proof to claim the designs were a violation of intellectual property rights.

In response to the ruling, the representatives of Beijing Intellectual Property Office and Shenzhen Baili at this juncture said they would like to take time and decide on whether to appeal the ruling or not.

iPhone 8 to release in September as usual, but with limited units

Furthermore, in a related ruling, Apple's request to demand stripping Shenzhen Baili, of the design patent for the 100c phones to the same court was denied. Apple had first filed the request to the Patent Re-examination Board of State Intellectual Property Office.

The office rejected this request, following which the company lodged a lawsuit against the rejection. As on Friday, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court ruled to maintain the board's decision, while it is unclear if Apple will appeal.

As of now, these are the latest updates we have received. We will keep you posted on the latest developments as when we get them, but for now, Apple can resume sales in China.

Source

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HTC One (M8) to get Android 7.0 Nougat update at T-Mobile News oi -Shilpa Surprise for HTC users

T-Mobile made an announcement stating that Android 7.0 Nougat update is available for HTC One(M8) devices. It soon made this proclamation after finishing its test on this phone.

Since this news have been published in T-Mobile's online support page, it does not sound fake. They made a truest attempt to inform its One M8 users about this software update. This update turned out to be a surprise for HTC users who bought this phone three years ago. It is said to be a generous move by the company to extend its support to the phone launched back in 2014.

One should also note that this is not the first time they are providing this kind of major updates to HTC one. A year ago, T-Mobile and a few other carriers in the United States have come up with Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for the same handset.

South Korean giant Samsung has already started rolling out Nougat update over-the-air (OTA) for its flagship smartphones such as Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge in the United Kingdom and Canada. Another popular phone Mi 5 recently received this update as well.

HTC launches the Limited Edition of HTC U Ultra

When compared with other OEMs, they normally support their devices which are relatively new, like less than 2 years or so. But now it's time for the lucky HTC users to taste this surprised update.

However, it is still unclear when the users will be able to access this update or whether they have already updated their phones. According to the information on T-Mobile's website, it looks the company is in the process of pushing this update to its One M8 customers.

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Xiaomi to increase offline share by 50 percent in 2017 News oi -Samden Sherpa Xiaomi locally makes 95 percent of the phones it sells in India.

Chinese manufacturers are already capturing significant market shares in India. Last year companies like Oppo, Vivo, and Honor did well in the market. And in the current scenario, Xiaomi, one of the popular Chinese brands in India is also aiming to grab about 50 percent share of the burgeoning online market.

Xiaomi's founder and CEO, Lei Jun in an exclusive interview with ET has further revealed that the company will be expanding manufacturing in India especially "to resolve issues around the shortage of supply in the face of high local demand." Further, ET notes that the company may even look at exports from India. However, the company will first fulfill Indian consumer needs before taking the step further in exporting business.

Xiaomi Mi 6, Mi 6 Plus: Complete specs are out before launch

In any case, outside China, India is the biggest market for Xiaomi. And the company is taking the advantage. Xiaomi has, in fact, become the number one selling smartphone brand in the online market, with 29.3 percent in India.

According to some statistics, in 2016 Xiaomi sold more than 4 million devices. This year the numbers might just go up. Xiaomi has plans to launch a lot of smartphones in many categories for the Indian market. While the Redmi Note 4 was introduced earlier, we are seeing strong demand for the device. In March 2017, the company launched the Redmi 4A and while it has just been few days since the launch, the company has already sold over 250,000 units of the smartphone on Amazon.com within four minutes. Moreover, 1 million customers had pre-booked the device.

Lei Jun said, "We are hoping for offline sales to be 50% of our total sales at some point in the future."

Amid this developments, Xiaomi locally makes 95 percent of the phones it sells in India. While the company already has two manufacturing plants in India, Xiaomi could likely set up a third plant in as well, basically to cater to the huge demand for its smartphones. It might not just be the plant, Xiaomi could also setup offline stores to make the devices easily available for purchasing.

You can pre-order Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 on Mi.com; service debuts on March 31

Well, the company sure looks to be pretty serious about delivering more to the Indian consumers and simultaneously grabbing a good chunk of the market share in the process. Just to recall, Xiaomi grabbed the No 2 position in smartphone segment as of December 2016, with 10.7 percent market share.

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DataWind MoreGMax 3G6 6-inch Phablet launched at Rs. 5,999 with free internet for 1 year News oi -Samden Sherpa Datawind is promoting the new handset as a phablet for media consumption.

Canadian smartphone manufacturer Datawind has just launched a new smartphone in India. Dubbed as DataWind MoreGMax 3G6, it is priced at Rs. 5,999 and comes with free Internet access for a year.

While the key highlight may be the free internet service, Datawind has partnered with Reliance to offer free Internet service. The free Internet service will be available to DataWind MoreGMax 3G6 users via the default browser on the handset. As per the company, users will not require any data plan for browsing the Internet.

Honor 6X will now be available in Pink and Blue colors

However, during the first year of free unlimited Internet browsing, the browser will not support audio/video streaming or local-downloads. Datawind states users will need to recharge with additional top-up plans.

Commenting on the launch, Suneet Singh Tuli, President, and CEO of DataWind said, "Today, we've added a phablet to our lineup with a huge screen that meets the need of people wanting a rich internet experience on their handset. We at DataWind want to cater to the forgotten billion, those that have been left out of the growth and prosperity that India is witnessing. By empowering them with connectivity to billions of pages of the website, we give them the opportunity to take advantage of both educational content and also commerce."

Telenor launches new plan to attract more users

Coming to the smartphone, Datawind MoreGMax 3G6 comes with a massive 6-inch display. It is powered by 1.3GHz quad-core processor coupled with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of inbuilt storage. The storage is expandable via microSD card up to 32GB. The dual-SIM device features an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front camera. Connectivity options like GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Micro-USB are provided with the device. Sadly, the phablet doesn't support 4G and VoLTE.

The battery capacity or Android version of the new device has not yet been disclosed by the company. Likewise, the company has not provided any information on the availability of the handset. It should be revealed in the coming days.

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Congo Militia Decapitates More Than 40 Police Officers in Ambush

By VOA News March 25, 2017

A Congolese militia decapitated 42 policemen in an ambush near the central Democratic Republic of Congo city of Kananga, a local official said Saturday.

Francois Kalamba, speaker of the Kasai provincial assembly, said the Kamuina Nsapu militant group ambushed a group of police officers traveling between Kananga and Tshikapa a day earlier.

The militants captured the police officers and decapitated 42 of them, Kalamba said, noting that the militants freed six of the officers because they could speak the local Tshiluba language.

The attack marks the deadliest encounter between security forces and the militant group since last summer when security forces killed the group's leader, sparking an insurrection that has spread to five provinces throughout the country.

According to United Nations figures, more than 400 people have been killed due to the violence in central Congo. Many of the dead have been dumped into mass graves, the UN said last week after discovering 10 alleged grave sites.

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Inherent Resolve Strikes Target ISIS in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 26, 2017  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes consisting of 38 engagements against ISIS targets in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed 35 oil barrels, six oil refinement stills, and a well head.

-- Near Raqqa, four strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units, damaged a supply route, and destroyed a fighting position, a tactical vehicle and a mortar system.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes damaged a pump jack and destroyed two pump jacks and an oil rig.

-- Near Tabqah, nine strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units, damaged a supply route, and destroyed nine fighting positions, an improvised weapons facility and a weapons factory.

Strikes in Iraq

Coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes consisting of 55 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Qaim, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

-- Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS-held building.

-- Near Kirkuk, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed an ISIS-held building.

-- Near Mosul, five strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units; damaged 11 supply routes and a fighting position; suppressed two ISIS tactical units; and destroyed seven fighting positions, four mortar positions, two tactical vehicles, a supply cache and a sniper weapon system.

-- Near Rawah, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS-held building and an ISIS headquarters.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed an ISIS-held building.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIS terrorist group and the threat it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIS' ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

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 a 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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Iran calls for putting an end to bloodshed in Yemen

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, March 26, IRNA -- On the second anniversary of aggression of the so-called coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia against Yemen, Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday to strongly condemn the blatant warmongering and called for putting an end to the devastating war and bloodshed in the country at the earliest.

It is two years after waging a devastating and inconclusive war on people in Yemen claiming lives of thousands of women and children. According to inernational organizations, over 18 million of Yemeni civilians are in dire need of humanitarian aid and some eight million people mainly children suffer malnutrition, famine and hunger, said the statement.

Deliberate destruction of the country's infrastructures under fabricated motto of returning hope to the country and continued bombardment of medical and educational centers are parts of this oppressive war, it said.

There is no doubt that continuation of this situation will not only be harmful to the countries in the region but will lead to regional instability and insecurity, the statement read.

The vacuum of power in the country due to military confrontation has created grounds for growth of terrorism and increase in the number of their activities in various parts of the country and this will threaten peace, stability and security of the region and the international community, it said.

The Islamic Republic of Iran underlines its proposed four-article plan to stop conflict and bloodshed, dispatch of relief aid, removal of the unjust siege and unfair economic sanctions imposed on people in Yemen, and calls for establishment of a political dialogue and formation of a national unity government and urges the international community to spare no efforts to alleviate pains and sufferings of people in Yemen mainly those of children and women, read the statement.

1430**1771

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China calls for cooperation mechanism among South China Sea littoral countries

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 09:23, March 26, 2017

China on Saturday called on littoral countries of the South China Sea to establish a cooperation mechanism.

Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin made the proposal when delivering a speech at a symposium on South China Sea as part of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference.

Without interfering with each country's proposition, the mechanism would serve as a platform to enhance mutual trust, strengthen cooperation and share interests, Liu said.

It would contribute to exchanges in such areas as disaster prevention and reduction, maritime rescue, environmental protection, biodiversity, scientific research and navigation safety, he added.

Liu noted the mechanism would be complementary to the existing bilateral ones between China and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as multilateral ones between China and ASEAN countries under the framework of Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

It would not involve resolving disputes, rather, it aims to press ahead pragmatic cooperation, the vice minister stressed.

Noting cooperation among littoral countries should not affect settlement of territorial and jurisdictional disputes through consultation and negotiation by countries directly concerned, Liu expressed China's willingness to conduct further communication and coordination with concerning parties.

Responding to Liu's proposal positively, experts attending the symposium urged all littoral states of the South China Sea to cement traditional friendship, jointly push forward pragmatic cooperation, and create benign atmosphere for the final settlement of disputes via consultation and negotiation by countries directly concerned.

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US secretly sending strategic weapons to South Korea: Report

Iran Press TV

Sun Mar 26, 2017 6:20PM

The US has been secretly moving strategic weapons to South Korea in order to threaten North Korea, a US military official says, noting that Washington has taken a more aggressive approach towards Pyongyang under President Donald Trump

"Surprise dispatch of strategic weapons is effective in maximizing fear in the North as it sends a message that such weapons can be mobilized any time in case of a contingency," the unnamed official was quoted as saying by The Korea Times on Sunday.

The comments came days after Washington belatedly confirmed that it had deployed a number of F-35B stealth fighter jets to the restive peninsula. The aircraft were originally sent to Japan.

The advanced fighter jets reportedly took part in the US-South Korea annual joint military exercise Foal Eagle, where they simulated a bombing attack on virtual targets in the North.

The flight reportedly took place between March 20 and 23 but was only made public by US Forces Korea (USFK) Commander General Vincent K. Brooks on Saturday.

"The deployment of the most advanced aircraft the US Marine Corps has in its inventory to Korea is yet another example of how dedicated the United States is to supporting the ROK-US Alliance," he said in a statement. "The training within the Korea Marine Exercise Program helps ensure our readiness and is critical for our alliance as we maintain security and stability on the Korean Peninsula."

Washington employed the same strategy when the US Navy's USS Columbus nuclear submarine arrived in South Korean waters to join the drills.

Earlier on March 15, two American B-1B strategic bombers were secretly deployed to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam and were later spotted over a firing range in South Korea.

The strategic nuclear-capable bombers also simulated attacks on North Korean targets for about an hour and their presence there was only confirmed by Korean news outlets.

American officials did not acknowledge the flight at the time, arguing, "We do not discuss operational matters."

Infuriated by the provocative military drills, which involve 17,000 American troops and more than 300,000 South Koreans, Pyongyang warned Sunday that a preemptive strike was always a possibility.

"As long as the US and South Korea's troops and means  remain in and around South Korea, they should keep in mind that our military will carry out annihilating attack at anytime without any prior warning," the North said in a statement.

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Iran urges swift end to Saudi aggression against Yemen

Iran Press TV

Sun Mar 26, 2017 3:31PM

On the second anniversary of Saudi Arabia's brutal military aggression against Yemen, the Iranian Foreign Ministry says war and bloodshed must immediately end in the impoverished country.

"The power vacuum created as a result of war and military conflict in Yemen has prepared a suitable ground for the spread of the dangerous phenomenon of terrorism and the increase in the activities of terrorist groups in different parts of the country," the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

"This issue poses a threat to peace, stability and security in the region and at international level," it added.

As confirmed by international figures and organizations, two years of a fruitless and destructive war against Yemen have claimed the lives of thousands of civilians, including women and children, and left more than 18 million people in need of humanitarian aid and some eight million Yemenis on the brink of malnutrition, starvation and famine, the Iranian Foreign Ministry noted.

It added that the deliberate destruction of infrastructure in the impoverished country of Yemen and the constant bombardment of its medical and educational centers are among other outcomes of this brutal war.

"Undoubtedly, continuation of this situation will not only fail to benefit any country in the region, but also create regional instability and insecurity," the statement emphasized.

It stressed the importance of implementing a proposed peace plan put forward by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in 2015 to help end the ongoing conflict gripping Yemen.

The statement called on the international community to step up its efforts and measures to relieve the suffering of the Yemeni people, particularly children and women.

During his visit to the Spanish capital, Madrid, in April 2015, Zarif proposed a four-point plan, emphasizing the Yemeni nation's right to decide its own future free from foreign interference.

The proposal included enforcing a ceasefire and halting conflict and bloodshed, sending humanitarian aid to people affected by violence, launching intra-Yemeni dialog, and establishing a broad-based government through participation of all Yemeni factions.

On March 26, 2015, Saudi Arabia began launching airstrikes on different areas across Yemen, its southern neighbor, in an attempt to reinstall the former Yemeni government, which was a close ally of Riyadh.

The campaign, which also involves ground operations and a naval blockade, has so far left over 12,000 civilians dead, pushing the Arab world's poorest country to the verge of famine.

Indiscriminate Saudi bombardments have taken a heavy toll on Yemeni infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, with prominent rights groups censuring Riyadh's military for the use of internationally-banned weapons against Yemeni civilians.

As the war enters its third year, Saudi Arabia has failed to achieve its declared goals of war and seems without an exit strategy.

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Yemenis rally in Sana'a on 2nd anniversary of Saudi war

Iran Press TV

Sun Mar 26, 2017 8:38AM

Thousands of Yemenis have poured out into the streets of the capital Sana'a to mark the second anniversary of the brutal Saudi war, which has left a massive trail of death and devastation across the impoverished Arab state.

On Sunday, the demonstrators converged on al-Sabin Square in Sana'a, waving national flags and chanting slogans against the Saudi military offensive and two-year bloodshed.

Senior Yemeni officials also participated in the demonstration.

Speaking at the event, Saleh al-Samad, the president of the Supreme Political Council, praised the nation's firm resistance in the face of the Saudi aggression and said the Riyadh regime failed to bring Yemen to its knees despite all the money and resources at its disposal.

The official further held Saudi Arabia and its partners responsible for the collapse of the conflict resolution talks between Yemeni warring sides, saying the US and Israel are also in cahoots with the Riyadh regime in its war on Yemen.

"Yemen's resistance, however, proved to be more powerful than any weapon in the world," Samad said.

On the eve of the war's second anniversary, Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi, the leader of Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement, also addressed the nation, saying the kingdom's almost daily airstrikes against civilians are nothing short of war crimes.

On March 26, 2015, Saudi Arabia, backed by a number of African and Persian Gulf Arab states, began launching airstrikes on different areas across Yemen, its southern neighbor, in an attempt to reinstall the former Yemeni government, which was a close Riydah ally.

The campaign, which also involves ground operations and a naval blockade, has so far left over 12,000 civilians dead, pushing the Arab world's poorest country to the verge of famine.

Indiscriminate Saudi bombardments have taken a heavy toll on Yemeni infrastructure, schools and hospitals, with prominent rights groups censuring Riyadh's military for the use of internationally-banned weapons against Yemeni civilians.

As the war enters its third year, Saudi Arabia has failed to fulfill its declared goals of war and seems without an exit strategy.

The Saudi intervention in the conflict came months after Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement took state matters in its hands after the former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, stepped down and fled to Riyadh.

The former president is now based in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, but spends most of his time in the Saudi capital.

Several rounds of peace talks between Ansarullah and the Saudi-sponsored party, loyal to Hadi, have failed to yield results amid deep divisions.

Ansarullah fighters, backed by army forces and popular forces, are currently defending the nation against the Saudi offensive.

The chaos in Yemen, fueled by the Saudi campaign, has given the Takfiri al-Qaeda and Daesh terror groups room to operate in the country, further complicating the situation on the ground there.

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Pro-West Party Of Ex-Bulgarian PM Tops Vote; Socialists Concede

RFE/RL March 26, 2017

Partial official results in Bulgaria have given the pro-Western party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov apparent victory in national parliamentary elections, and the pro-Russia Socialists have conceded defeat.

With 16.8 percent of the votes counted by early March 27, Borisov's GERB had 33.2 percent of the vote, while the Socialist Party (BSP) had 27.5 percent. The numbers match results from separate exit polls by Alpha Research and Gallup International Balkan.

The United Patriots nationalist alliance had 9.7 percent of the vote in the initial results. Ethnic Turkish MRF party had 6.4 percent, and populist party Will had 4.0 percent.

If full results confirm the numbers, Borisov would have a mandate to form his third cabinet. He would need to form a coalition with a wide array of smaller parties to take power.

The vote was being closely watched for indications of the future direction of the European Union and NATO member state.

GERB is expected to continue to push for stronger ties with the West, while the Socialists would likely favor closer links to Moscow.

Borisov, nevertheless, will still have to maneuver between East and West to help keep tensions at bay in the nation, where the economy remains highly dependent on Russia.

The leader of the Socialists, Kornelia Ninova, conceded defeat late on March 26 but said her party would look at options to form a government should GERB fail to do so.

"We want to congratulate winners GERB," Ninova told reporters.

"If they fail to form a government and we receive a mandate, we will try to form a Bulgarian government," she added.

Despite her lean toward Moscow, Ninova has said she would maintain EU and NATO membership.

Bulgaria is scheduled to take over the EU presidency on January 1, 2018.

If Borisov does in fact return to power, it will mark another comeback in the long-time politician's career.

Since 2009, he has twice led the country as prime minister, both times resigning early.

He quit in February 2013 when Bulgarians took to the streets to protest poverty and corruption.

He returned three months later, only to resign again after the November 2016 elections, when Rumen Radev, an air force commander backed by the Socialists, was elected president.

Borisov will now turn his attention to finding a coalition partner

Bulgaria has a Muslim population of about 700,000, most of them ethnic Turks, and it is likely parties representing that segment will play a role in any coalition-building efforts, along with several nationalist parties that have been gaining in popularity.

GERB is likely to turn first to the United Patriots nationalist alliance, observers say.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/bulgaria-vote -ninova-borisov/28391266.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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Houthi Addicted to Mass Massacres against Armless Yemenis

Saudi Press Agency

Sunday 1438/6/27 - 2017/03/26

Aden, Jumada II 27, 1438, Mar 26, 2017, SPA -- The Yemeni National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) concluded that the Houthi militia and the ousted Saleh forces carried out mass massacres against unarmed civilians, in several Yemeni governorates, by indiscriminately shelling residential compounds and open markets with artillery, mortars and Katyusha rockets.

According to a recent report of the commission, these crimes constitute grave violation of international law in terms of Human Rights humanity and are not subject to statute of limitations and their perpetrators must be, severely punished.

In the report, the commission cited 11 incidents, in which the Houthi militia and the ousted forces of Saleh carried out mass massacres, including targeting of displaced persons from the Tawahi area; when the militia dropped mortars on a group of unarmed civilians, fleeing Al-Huthi's inferno, in small boats, leaving several scores of them, dead and injured.

According to the report, the commission's teams monitored killing of 10811 Yemeni civilians by mortar shells of Al-Houthi militia and the ousted forces of Saleh, including 679 women, 1002 children and 9160 men, in the past two years, where the majority of the dead were, in 2015, asserting that the militias of Al-Houthi and Saleh forces, deliberately targeted civilians.

-- SPA

21:08 LOCAL TIME 18:08 GMT

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Yemeni Pro-Houthi Court Sentences Country's President to Death

Sputnik News

03:22 26.03.2017

Yemeni ambassador to the United States Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak said that a court in Yemeni capital city of Sanaa, controlled by the Houthi movement, sentenced the country's President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and six other top government's officials to death.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A court in Yemeni capital city of Sanaa, controlled by the Houthi movement, sentenced the country's President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and six other top government's officials to death, Yemeni ambassador to the United States Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak said.

"Houthi court in Sanaa has sentenced President Hadi and 6 of his senior assistants to death, proudly I am one of them," Mubarak wrote on Twitter late on Saturday.

According to media reports, the president and his officials were sentenced for high treason.

Yemen's civil war between the internationally recognized Aden-based government of President Hadi and the Houthi movement backed by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh erupted in March 2015. Shortly after the start of the conflict, the Saudi-led coalition of Arab countries launched Operation Decisive Storm, which has since been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request.

 Sputnik

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IGAD Leaders to Help Send Refugees Back Home

By Mohammed Yusuf March 26, 2017

The leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development regional grouping, meeting in Nairobi Saturday, agreed to facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and address the political and security situation in Somalia.

Eight leaders from eastern Africa met in Nairobi to discuss the situation of Somali refugees in the region.

The meeting was held two months before the planned Dadaab refugee camp closure by the Kenyan government.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta insists the refugee camp in the northeast part of his country is no longer just a sanctuary for refugees but is the scene of criminal and terror activities too.

"Instead Dadaab has become a protracted situation characterized by hopelessness that easily feeds environmental destructions, a conflict between refugees and host communities, insecurity, radicalization, criminality and also allows terrorist operatives to exploit for its operational efforts," he said.

More than 200,000 refugees live in the Dadaab refugee camp. Close to a million Somalis are refugees in neighboring countries. Kenya hosts a third of those, and Ethiopia is home to a quarter of a million of Somalis.

The region is also facing a humanitarian crisis. More than 17 million are affected by drought and are in need of aid assistance.

The leaders said there was a need to respond to the humanitarian crisis to prevent new displacement of people.

Observers fear the current crisis may threaten the lives of refugees returning to Somalia where 6 million-half of the population is hungry.

The heads of the nations in the summit said that voluntary repatriation is not the only option and has urged other countries to come forward and share responsibility through settling some of the refugees in third countries.

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed says his compatriots tell him the situation back at home has forced them to live in camps.

"Today 2.5 million Somalis refugees and IDPs live in camps in and out of the country. Tragically some have lived in the camps for three generations," he said. "All the environment was not conducive enough in Somalia for them to return."

Mohamed says his government will call on the rest of the nations in the region to improve the security situation.

"We will increase our effort to jointly achieve the objectives of this conference on the voluntary return of our people, safe and dignified manner and to provide global solutions so that they can participate in the rebuilding of prosperous, and peaceful Somalia at peace and harmony with itself and neighbors," he said.

Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti, Burundi and Ethiopia have sent troops to Somalia to support the government and fight Islamist militant group al-Shabab.

The UNHCR's assistant high commissioner for operations, George Obbo, creating a safe place for refugees will require a collective effort.

"Solutions for refugees and internal displaced are, however, fundamentally linked to resolving conflict, and building stability inside Somalia but these should not be pursued as sequential states rather we need to engage a range of tools and actors," he said. "To help build the conditions will allow those refugees who are ready to return home to do so voluntarily."

The U.N.'s refugee agency is calling for a joint effort to mitigate the effect of drought and avert famine in the region to reduce the suffering of the population in Eastern Africa.

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Kamuina Nsapu - An Army of Bewitched Children

Witchcraft is reported by interviewees as being a fundamental element of the attacks by Kamuina Nsapu. The men, women and children recruited by the Kamuina Nsapu militia are reportedly convinced that their magic rituals prevent them from being killed in battle. When the Kamuina Nsapu execute someone, usually in public, they reportedly frequently decapitate the body, taking the heads away allegedly to expose them in the Tshota, meaning the sacred fire in Tchiluba. The refugees interviewed by the team, stated that they were convinced that the Kamuina Nsapu had magical powers.

This generalized belief about the powers of Kamuina Nsapu and the fear it triggers among segments of the population in the Kasais may partly explain why a poorly-armed militia, composed to a large extent of children, has been able to resist offensives by a trained national army for over a year.

A large number of the Kamuina Nsapu were boys and girls, some as young as seven. Tchokwe and Pende refugees interviewed reported that Luba families would often offer their children to fight for the militia. In one village, Lubamimanga, dozens of Luba children were allegedly recruited by Kamuina Nsapu. Groups of girls called Lamama, often wearing skirts made out of straw and red bandages tied around their heads and arms, reportedly accompanied the militia. The Lamana reportedly practiced rituals considered as magic, such as shaking their skirts to repel bullets and drink the blood of victims which is believed to render the group invincible. The victims were reportedly told to lie on the ground and the Lamama (aged approximately 13) sat on their chest. A militiaman would then decapitate them. The Lamama reportedly drank the blood of the victims while the other assailants inserted a stick into the heads before placing them in a fire.

One of the first requests of the Kamuina Nsapu as they entered a village, was for the inhabitants to hand over their children to be baptized and join the group. Some of the chiefs and other individuals killed by Kamuina Nsapu, were targeted for resisting the recruitment of children by the militia. The Kamuina Nsapu were reported to have used boys and girls, many aged between seven and 13, as fighters. Witnesses also said groups of girls called Lamama accompanied the militia, shaking their straw skirts and drinking victims blood as part of a magic ritual that was supposed to render the group invincible. All the refugees interviewed by the UN team said they were convinced of the magical powers of the Kamuina Nsapu. This generalised belief, and resulting fear, by segments of the population in the Kasais may partly explain why a poorly armed militia, composed to a large extent of children, has been able to resist offensives by a national army for over a year.

Kasai Central province, in remote, heavily forested central Congo, has been riven by clashes between security forces and the Kamuina Nsapu Movement (Mouvement Kamuina Nsapu: MKN), a local tribal militia, since July 2016. The militia members were reportedly armed mainly with machetes and spears. Its members wear red headbands or armbands, and like the Mai Mai groups operating in eastern DRC they undergo rituals and carry amulets that are believed to bring invulnerability.

The Luba people are of Bantu origins and mostly live in the eastern part of the DRC and in different provinces of the Greater Kasai region and Katanga. Baluba-Bakuba peoples between Kasai and Sankuru are singularly superstitious, and wizards, occult practices, mysterious guilds and brotherhoods abound in this fertile, rankly forested region. The Baluba sorcerers (baloshi, bena mifongo, batempeshi, etc.) believe, amongst other tenets, that they can make themselves and their adepts invisible by means of certain charms. Once invisible (or believing themselves so), they can indulge in horrible ghoulish practices or in disgusting immoralities.

The Luba, who form the majority of the population in the province of Kasai, consist of many sub-groups that include the Lulua. Despite a major conflict between the Luba and Lulua during the independence period from 1959 to 1961, both communities are generally perceived as belonging to the same ethnic group by the three other main ethnic groups living in the province of Kasai, on account of both groups speaking the Tchiluba language.

The Tchokwe, the Pende and the Tetela, who speak distinct languages, form a minority of the population in the Greater Kasai region. All five major ethnic communities of the Kasai province are also present in the Angolan province of Lunda Norte, which borders the Kasai province to the south. However, the demographics are distinct in Lunda Norte where the Tchokwe make up the largest number of inhabitants, whilst the Luba and Lulua constitute a small minority of the population.

The Kamuina Nsapu is almost exclusively composed of members of the Luba ethnic group. It is primarily an anti-government militia, which initially aimed at eliminating State authorities in the Kasai provinces, including police officers, military, intelligence agents and public officials, as well as symbols of the State, mainly administrative buildings. The Kamuina Nsapu members are reported to be primarily armed with machetes, sticks and hunting rifles and, to a lesser extent, semi-automatic weapons which, interviewees claimed, were stolen from the FARDC and PNC.

As pressure for democratization increased in Zaire in the early 1990s, Mobutu and regional politicians linked to his regime manipulated resentments against Luba residents of the Shaba region in order to weaken and undercut democratic opponents of Mobutu - particularly Etienne Tshisekedi, a Luba from Kasai who was prime minister in 1992-93, and to force Luba residents from the Shaba region. The conflicting populations are fighting for arable land. These conflicts often cause loss of life, enormous material damage and even impede economic momentum in this part of Central Kasai.

In April 2016, the refusal of the central authorities to recognize Jean-Pierre Mpandi as Kamuina Nsapu [meaning "black ant"], the hereditary chief of the Bajila Kasanga chieftaincy in Kasai Central, and the decision to replace him with a Government-appointed chief, provoked the Kamuina Nsapu insurrection.

In the DRC, traditional chiefs are integral to public administration. They administer villages and many perform important spiritual functions. Chiefs are appointed per local traditions and on a hereditary basis, and are then recognized by the State. In principle, traditional chiefs are apolitical, but they are often pressured by the State for political allegiance, which in turn helps them to secure their position.

The Kamuina Nsapu instructed other traditional rulers to join him in the revolt against all symbols of the State, and ordered that every village send him groups of young people to be initiated and trained to form a militia that would take actions aimed at destabilizing the Government. Many young people and some traditional leaders in his region, including leaders from Kayasampi, Mindula and Kabundi villages, responded favorably to his instruction.

The Kamwina Nsapu's death on 12 August 2016 sparked months of fighting with the military that has left more than 400 people dead in the country's Kasai Central province. His family had been asking for the late leader's body, and the government returned and buried his body on 14 April 2017. The family declared an end to fighting, saying further violence will not be carried out by its members. The Kamwina Nsapu militia, named after the title of its chief, appointed Jacques Kabeya Ntumba as its new leader. By 2017 violence had expanded to Kasai, Kasai Oriental and Lomami provinces, and the insurgency posed the most serious threat yet to the rule of President Joseph Kabila.

Hans Hoebeke noted 21 March 2017 that "Kamuina Nsapu is the hereditary title for the chief of Bajila Kasanga, or Bashila, a groupement containing several villages in Dibataie sector, Kasai-Central province, approximately 70km south east of Kananga. Since colonial times, the Bajila Kasanga chieftancy has spread and established several other groupements in the region, extending into Angola. In the DRC, traditional chiefs are integral to public administration, receiving a salary and managing villages....

In 2016, the state refused to recognise the traditional appointment of Jean-Pierre Mpandi as Kamuina Nsapu, and the provincial governor reportedly refused to meet him. This was considered an insult, and put the chief and the state authorities on a collision course, further aggravated by the state recognition of lower-ranked Bashila leaders. Subsequently, Mpandi criticised the regime in a nationalist diatribe using xenophobic language, decrying the presence of foreign mercenaries and what he called a government of occupation. Like many radical critics of the regime, he focused on its supposed Rwandan origin.... the decision not to recognise Mpandi as chief was prompted by the then Interior Minister Evariste Boshab, because Mpandi was considered close to the opposition and refused to support the presidential majority. ... "

At least 400 people had been killed and 200,000 had been displaced since the fighting broke out when police killed a customary chief (after whom the Kamuina Nsapu militia is named). The Kamuina Nsapu was killed by the armed forces on 12 August 2016 in an attack on his house. Kasai, which was split from two into five provinces in 2015 in a policy known as decoupage, is one of the DRC's poorest.

The militia of Chief Kamwina Nsapu, killed nine people on the night of Sunday to Monday 8 August. Chief Kamwina Nsapu had taken a resolution over the previous two months to "rid Kasai Central of all the services of order" which according to him, had inflicted all kinds of harassment against the population. The national and provincial governments legitimacy in the region was particularly weak.

Kamwina Nsapu, who had fought against the police at the beginning of the week, was killed on Friday (August 12th) in Tshimbulu (Central Kasai) in new battles with the security forces. The official report said 19 were dead, according to governor Alex Kande. Among the victims were 11 policemen and 8 bandits loyal to Kamwina Nsapu, including himself, whom the Governor called "terrorists". Four police officers were missing. The head of the provincial executive added that 40 other men from the Kamwina Nsapu militia were captured, including "14 minors aged 5 to 12 years". Several weapons and munitions of war, the number of which has not been specified, have been recovered.

As for the circumstances of these confrontations, Alex Kande explains: "Following a police intervention to secure and protect the peaceful citizens on Friday, August 12, the latter were dangerously attacked by the terrorists of the customary chief Kamwina Nsapu. Thus they were obliged to resort to self-defense".

The Congolese military regained control of the capital of the territory of Dimbelenge in Kasai-Central on 01 October 2016. The militiamen of the traditional chief Kamuina Nsapu had occupied him for several days, destroying in particular police stations and offices of the public administration. Afraid, the population continued to take refuge in the bush.

On December 21, 2016, clashes took place between a FARDC patrol and assailants carrying weapons of war. Militants marched on Mbuji-Mayi successively in the villages of Mwana Lemba, Katengayi and Katende at 25 kilometers from Mbuji-Mayi. After two days of clashes, the assailants stalled and fled after thirteen of them ere wounded, two of whom died.

The Kasai-Central Provincial Security Council reported 09 January 2017 that twenty-six people were killed in a week in January in clashes between police and militiamen of the traditional leader Kamuina Nsapu. Particularly, since 9 February 2017, there have been ongoing clashes between Kamuina Nsapu militia and Congolese security forces within the area of Tshimbulu (160 kilometers South East of Kananga) with unconfirmed reports of 30 to 50 deaths resulting from these clashes.

On 11 February 2017 the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo expressed its concern about the persistent conflict in the Kasai provinces where violent atrocities are being committed by the Kamuina Nsapu militia. The militia was recruiting and using child soldiers while targeting symbols and institutions of State authority, according to the UN Stabilisation Mission in the African country (MONUSCO), which also cited the disproportionate use of force by Government security forces known as FARDC in their response to the situation. MONUSCO deployed one of its mobile monitoring response team in the area covering Tshikapa, Dibaya, Bunkode, Tshimbulu and Luiza to possibly prevent, investigate and document human rights violations in line with its mandate.

At least 101 people were reported to have been killed by soldiers in clashes between military forces and members of the Kamuina Nsapu militia in central Democratic Republic of the Congo over the last five days, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said 14 February 2017. Some 39 individuals among those killed in the violence between 9-13 February were women, caught in the shooting, when Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) soldiers opened fire indiscriminately with machine guns when they saw militia fighters. The reported high number of deaths, if confirmed, would suggest excessive and disproportionate use of force by the soldiers in their response to violence from members of the Kamuina Nsapu militia.

A film supposed to cover atrocities attributed to the elements of the Armed Forces of the DRC engaged against the militia of Kamwina Nsapu in Mwanza Lomba in the Kasai Oriental circulated on social networks. The video showed a small detachment walking on a path to a group of people singing in Tshiluba (one of the national languages of the DRC, spoken in Kasai) "Our land, our land". Then an order burst forth: "Go on! PULL ! ". The platoon then opened a fierce fire and progresses without needing to shelter: no one replied in front. The fire ceased, and the men advance and finished several people lying on the ground, starting with a woman, and insulting the corpses, making obscene remarks while contemplating the sex of two women lying on the ground. The camera lingers long on one of them agonizing. "You die for nothing, for nothing," said one man.

By 22 February 2017 the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) continued to monitor the situation in the Kasai provinces, where there had been a resurgence of clashes between Congolese national security forces and the Kamuina Nsapu militia. MONUSCO was trying to secure access to areas where the human rights violations reportedly took place. The Mission and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations called on the Government to exercise restraint and launch a credible and independent investigation into the reported human rights violations.

The UN Mission was adapting to this evolving situation within the limits of its existing resources and had reinforced its military, civilian and police presence in Kananga and other areas of concern to support its monitoring and investigation efforts. It was also working with national and provincial authorities to address local disputes through peaceful means. MONUSCO, the UN's largest peacekeeping mission, has only minimal capacity to respond to civil unrest or widening conflict.

Clashes erupted between suspected militiamen Kamuina Nsapu and the security forces on 12 March 2017 in Mwene-Ditu. As a result of these fights, the mayor's office had decreed a curfew between 8 pm and 6 am. Two UN officials of American and Swedish nationality have been kidnapped in Congo's Kasai Central province, the Congolese government said on 13 March 2017. Its statement said Michael Sharp, a U.S. citizen, and Zaida Catalan, of Swedish nationality, had "fallen into the hands of negative forces not yet identified", along with four Congolese they were with near the village of Ngombe. Sharp and Catalan were among a U.N. panel of experts investigating the conflicts that have been simmering in Congo since the mid-1990s, when the civil war spawned dozens of armed groups and drew in half a dozen neighboring armies.

For the notables of Kasai-Central, the return of his body to his family was one of the solutions to promote the return of peace to the Central Kasai. The body of the traditional chief Kamuina Nsapu, killed in August 2016 during the clashes with the police, will be exhumed to be buried according to customary rites. Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary told the press in Kananga on 17 March 2017 that he found the compromise with the family of the deceased. The two parties also agreed on the procedure for nomination by the ruling family of a new leader of a group. But on the ground, nothing changed.

The Kamuina Nsapu militant group ambushed a group of police officers traveling between Kananga and Tshikapa 24 March 2017. The militants captured the police officers and decapitated 42 of them, but freed six of the officers because they could speak the local Tshiluba language. The attack marked the deadliest encounter between security forces and the militant group since summer 2016, when security forces killed the groups leader, sparking the insurrection that had spread to five provinces throughout the country.

The Kamuina Nsapu began conducting targeted attacks on individuals due to their ethnic identity from March 2017. These attacks included the killing of Tchokwe and Pende inhabitants in the villages of Lupemba, Mayanda and Mwaango. During attacks, the Kamuina Nsapu combatants were also reported to have picked up earth from the ground and thrown it in the air while shouting this land is ours, which was interpreted by Tchokwe and Pende refugees interviewed as an affirmation that the Kasai was a Luba territory.

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Heavy Riot Police Presence In Minsk Following Crackdown

RFE/RL's Belarus Service March 25, 2017

MINSK -- Riot police deployed in force in the Belarusian capital, preventing protesters from holding a rally one day after a violent crackdown that activists said saw hundreds of people arrested and many beaten.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Belarus in recent weeks in the country's largest antigovernment demonstrations in years (read latest in Belarusian-language live blog here).

Demonstrators have been trying to build on discontent that has been growing in Belarus since President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's government began enforcing a tax against people who don't have full-time employment.

The 2015 law, known popularly as the law against "social parasites," went into effect earlier this year, sparking protests that have broadened into general dissatisfaction against Lukashenka's 23-year rule, which many Western countries have described as Europe's last dictatorship.

In the past, most political protests have been limited to Minsk and other major cities, but notably, the demonstrations of recent weeks have popped up in smaller towns and cities.

Several dozen people were detained in Minsk March 26, as protesters began gathering in central October Square. Riot police rounded up protesters, in some cases forcefully herding them into police vans.

Police conducted searches in other cities across the country ahead of time as well.

Tatsyana Revyako, an activist from a Belarusian human rights group called Vyasna (Spring), said on March 25 that an estimated 700 people were arrested in Minsk.

"Many of the arrested were beaten and are in need of medical assistance," she said.

During his two decades in power, Lukashenka has systemically quashed opposition parties, independent media, and civil society groups. Past outbursts of political protests have been met with violence.

Some political observers have speculated that Lukashenka was allowing the demonstrations to take place as a way to release pressure on the country's beleaguered economy.

Belarus is heavily depended on cheap oil imports from Russia, which it refines and then exports to Europe and elsewhere.

The country is also heavily dependent on trade with Russia, and remittances from Belarusians working there, something that has suffered due to Russia's own economic problems.

The European Union has condemned the Belarusian authorities' actions against protesters and demanded an immediate release of "all recently detained peaceful citizens."

Opposition Leader Detained

Opposition leader and former presidential candidate Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu was detained late on March 24 in the western city of Brest, where he is currently being held in a detention facility.

Nyaklyeau was on his way to Minsk from Warsaw after talks with Polish government officials. He was stopped at the border and taken off a train, his wife, Olga Nyaklyaeva, said.

Nyaklyaeu had been scheduled to appear in court on March 24 to face charges of participation in previous protests, but the trial was delayed when he failed to show.

Nyaklyeau was planning to lead the rally in Minsk along with prominent opposition leader Mikalay Statkevich.

Statkevich, a former presidential candidate, said he still planned to attend the protest, but he did not attend and his whereabouts were unknown late on March 25.

Statkevich's wife, Maryna Adamovich, told RFE/RL she was briefly detained by authorities at the March 25 Minsk demonstration and that she has not heard from her husband since March 23.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Belarus Service correspondent Alyaksandr Dynko in Minsk; AP and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/belarus -opposition-parasite-tax-protest- nyaklyaeu/28389979.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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Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor elected as Hong Kong's new chief executive

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:40, March 26, 2017

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Sunday won the election of the fifth-term chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).

The Electoral Affairs Commission of the Hong Kong SAR declared that Lam garnered 777 of 1,163 valid votes.

The voting started at 9 am local time (0100 GMT) and nearly 1,200 members of the Election Committee for the next chief executive cast their votes by secret ballot at the main polling station in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

There are three qualified candidates running for the SAR's top position. The order of their names on the ballot paper is -- Tsang Chun-wah, Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Woo Kwok-hing.

The voting will be closed at 11 am and the results of counting will be announced later. If no candidate wins outright, the second round of voting will be scheduled from 2 pm to 3 pm and the third round from 7 pm to 8 pm on Sunday.

A candidate wins the election when he or she obtains more than 600 valid votes in any round of voting and will be appointed by the central government, according to Hong Kong's Basic Law and the Chief Executive Election Ordinance.

After the appointment, the winner will take oath of office on July 1 and become the fifth-term chief executive.

Backgrounder: Powers and obligations of Hong Kong chief executive

HONG KONG - Voting for a new chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) took place Sunday morning at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

The following are the powers and obligations of the HKSAR chief executive as prescribed in the Basic Law of the HKSAR.

As the head of the HKSAR, the chief executive shall represent the HKSAR and be accountable to the central government and the HKSAR in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law.

The term of office of the chief executive shall be five years. He or she may serve for no more than two consecutive terms.

The HKSAR chief executive must be a person of integrity, dedicated to his or her duties. On assuming office, the chief executive shall declare his or her assets to the chief justice of the HKSAR Court of Final Appeal, and this declaration shall be put on record.

Besides leading the HKSAR government and being responsible for the implementation of the Basic Law and other laws in the HKSAR in accordance with the Basic Law, the chief executive shall also exercise powers and functions such as to sign bills and budgets passed by the Legislative Council (LegCo) and to approve the introduction of motions regarding revenues or expenditure to the LegCo.

If the chief executive considers that a bill passed by the LegCo is not compatible with the overall interests of the HKSAR, he or she may return it to the LegCo within three months for reconsideration. If consensus cannot be reached after consultations between the chief executive and the LegCo over a budget or an important bill, the chief executive may dissolve the LegCo, but only once in each term of his or her office.

The chief executive has the power to nominate and report to the central government for appointment or removal of multiple principal officials of the HKSAR. He or she can also appoint or remove judges of the courts at all levels, as well as holders of public office, in accordance with legal procedures.

The chief executive's functions also include: to implement directives issued by the central government in respect of the relevant matters provided for in the Basic Law; to conduct on behalf of the HKSAR government external affairs and other affairs as authorized by the central authorities; to pardon persons convicted of criminal offences or commute their penalties; and to handle petitions and complaints.

Before making important policy decisions, introducing bills to the LegCo, making subordinate legislation, or dissolving the LegCo, the chief executive shall consult the Executive Council, an organ for assisting him or her in policy-making. This council shall be presided over by the chief executive, and its members' appointment or removal shall also be decided by him or her.

The HKSAR has two independent commissions, the Commission Against Corruption and the Commission of Audit. They shall function independently and be accountable to the chief executive.

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China favorite elected Hong Kong's new leader

Iran Press TV

Sun Mar 26, 2017 5:43AM

Former senior government official Carrie Lam has been elected Hong Kong's next leader by a 1,200-person committee amid competing rallies held outside the election venue over China's rule.

The 55-year-old former chief secretary won 777 votes from the Election Committee on Sunday, becoming the city's first female leader.

Lam ran for the top post in the Chinese-ruled financial hub of 7.3 million people against another former official, John Tsang, and retired judge, Woo Kwok-hing.

Security was tight around the venue with metal barricades and large numbers of police deployed, keeping pro-Beijing groups and their rivals apart.

Protesters denounced what they called Beijing's interference, accusing China of lobbying the voters to back Lam.

Lam is an efficient and pragmatic administrator but his detractors in Hong Kong see her as a proxy for Beijing and out of touch with ordinary people.

She will take over from current leader Leung Chun-ying who is not seeking a second term, citing family reasons.

Members of the Election Committee included tycoons like Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong's richest person. Other members represented industry and trade groups such as finance, accounting, real estate and textiles.

Hong Kong lawmakers, local councilors and delegates to China's parliament also have votes and some 326 seats are held by pro-independence supporters.

Since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, Beijing has been walking a fine line for the administration of the city under the formula of "one country, two systems."

Pro-autonomy groups, meanwhile, have tried to avoid the 2014 protests that pitted young activists against the city's Beijing-backed government, leaving tensions over the city's political reform.

Hong Kong's proximity to China has been a boon for the city, bringing in Chinese investment and spending.

Businesses, however, have faced growing competition from mainland Chinese firms in core sectors like services and property.

Housing prices, now among the world's highest, are widely seen to have been pushed up by an unrelenting wave of buying from rich Chinese, intensifying anti-Beijing sentiment.

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North Korea vows preemptive strike against South, US

Iran Press TV

Sun Mar 26, 2017 7:29AM

North Korea has condemned a joint military drill between South Korea and the United States and threatened a preemptive strike.

South Korean and US troops began large-scale war games on March 1 conducted annually with the participation of American warships and reconnaissance aircraft.

Earlier this month, USS Carl Vinson joined the drill. South Korean officials say US special troops are also set to take part in the joint exercises.

"As long as the US and South Korea's troops and means  remain in and around South Korea, they should keep in mind that our military will carry out annihilating attack at anytime without any prior warning," a statement read on North Korean broadcaster KCTV said on Sunday.

The war games called Foal Eagle will be continued until the end of April. Last year, it involved about 17,000 American troops and more than 300,000 South Koreans.

North Korea said in a letter to the UN Security Council earlier this month that the US was using nuclear-propelled aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, nuclear strategic bombers and stealth fighters in the exercises.

North Korea has protested against the drills, calling them a rehearsal for war, and responded with a series of missile tests which the West and the UN have used as a ground to impose fresh sanctions on the country.

The United Nations said earlier this week that sanctions against North Korea were taking a serious toll on humanitarian aid activities in the country, where millions of women and children are reliant on donations.

Tapan Mishra, the UN's senior resident official in Pyongyang, said North Korea was in the midst of "a protracted, entrenched humanitarian situation largely forgotten or overlooked by the rest of the world."

North Korea has been the target of a broad array of tough sanctions by the US and the UN Security Council over its nuclear and missile tests.

Pyongyang says its missile and nuclear program is part of its self-defense measures aimed at protecting the North's sovereignty and safety in the face of threats by the US and South Korea.

On Friday, the US said it had imposed sanctions on 30 foreign companies or individuals for allegedly violating export controls on Iran, North Korea and Syria.

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In reciprocal act, Iran sanctions 15 American companies

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, March 26, IRNA -- The Islamic Republic of Iran, in response to Washington's imposition of new sanctions against Tehran, has put 15 American companies under sanctions.

The Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on Sunday that the Islamic Republic of Iran has imposed sanctions on 15 American companies involved in propping up the Zionist regime, terrorists and suppressing civilians in the region.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns the recent measure taken by the United States administration to impose one-sided extraterritorial sanctions against Iranian and non-Iranian individuals and institutions," the Foreign Ministry said in its statement.

"Imposition of new sanctions by the US is based on fabricated and illegitimate pretexts and amount to an action against the international regulations as well as the word and spirit of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," it said.

"Hereby, the Islamic Republic repeats and insists that strengthening and enhancement of the country's defense capabilities, including boosting Iran's missile defense power remains to be certain and inevitable in a bid to safeguard the country's right to defend itself against any foreign aggression and build up its deterrence power against threats."

"The Islamic Republic of Iran accepts no restrictions imposed against its efforts to protect its dignity, territorial integrity and security of the people."

The statement by Iran's Foreign Ministry suggests that the 15 American companies have gone under sanction for their blatant violation of human rights and international humanitarian rights.

"They have been included in the list of the individuals and legal entities which are under sanction by the Islamic Republic."

According to the statement, the sanctioned companies have, directly and/or indirectly, been involved in the brutal atrocities committed by the Zionist regime in the occupied Palestinian territories, or they have supported the regime's terrorist activities and Israel's development of Zionist settlements on the Palestinian soil against the Resolution 2334 adopted by the United Nations Security Council urging Tel Aviv to stop construction of new settlements.

The following are the names of the American companies now under Iranian sanction:

BENI Tal

United Technologies Produces

RAYTHEON

ITT Corporation

Re/Max Real Estate

Oshkosh Corporation

Magnum Research Inc.

Kahr Arms

M7 Aerospace

Lewis Machine and Tool Company

Daniel Defense

Bushmaster Firearms International

O.F. Mossberg & Sons

H-S Precision Inc.

Most of the companies listed above are involved in security and military activities and generously help the Zionist regime to continue its brutal treatment of Palestinians.

2044**1771

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Iran announces sanctions on 15 US companies

Iran Press TV

Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:40AM

Iran has announced retaliatory sanctions on 15 American companies over their support for Israeli crimes and terrorism two days after Washington imposed bans on nearly a dozen foreign companies or individuals for aiding the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that these companies have directly and/or indirectly collaborated with the Israeli regime in committing its savage crimes in occupied Palestine, thrown their weight behind the regime's terrorist acts or contributed to the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories in flagrant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334.

Therefore, any transactions with these companies and businesses shall be prohibited, their assets shall be subject to freezing, and no visas shall be issued for individuals holding positions in or associated with these corporations, the statement further noted.

The ministry also said Washington's unilateral bans were imposed on Tehran "under fabricated pretexts," censuring the restrictive measures as a violation of "international law" as well as the spirit and text of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

On Friday, the US State Department said Washington had sanctioned 30 foreign companies or individuals for transferring sensitive technology to Iran for its missile program or violating export controls on Iran, North Korea and Syria.

The statement further emphasized Iran's resolve to develop its peaceful missile power as part of the nation's "inalienable" right to enhance its deterrence and defense might in the face of threats.

The US sanctions targeted 11 companies or individuals from China, North Korea or the United Arab Emirates for transferring technology to Iran that it claimed could boost the country's ballistic missile program.

Here is the list of the sanctioned US corporations:

-Beni Tal security company has collaborated with the Israeli military in the suppression of Palestinian people.

-United Technologies has sold Black Hawk military helicopters to the Israeli regime which have been used to bomb occupied territories and Palestinian refugee camps.

-Raytheon has supplied Israel with technologically advanced military weapons that have been used against Palestinian people during the Gaza war.

-ITT Corporation has provided the Israeli military with equipment it has used to stage nightly raids in Palestinian villages and refugee camps.

-Re/Max has been involved in illegal real estate transactions in Israeli settlements across occupied Palestinian territories.

-Oshkosh Corporation has been supplying the Israeli military with parts for armored vehicles used to restrain the Palestinian population.

-Magnum Research Inc. has collaborated with Israeli military industries in the manufacturing of firearms and military equipment.

- Kahr Arms has provided spare parts and developed light weapons used by the Israeli army in cooperation with the regime's military industry.

- M7 Aerospace LP, purchased by US subsidiary of the Israeli military contractor Elbit Systems, has been active in the production and development of Israeli radar and missile systems.

- Military Armament Corporation has provided services and equipment linked to the weapons used by Israeli police.

- Lewis Machine and Tool Company has provided weapons spare parts and services to the Israeli military's arms industry.

- Daniel Defense has provided the Israeli military's arms industry with spare parts and services for weapons manufacturing.

- Bushmaster Firearms International has provided the Israeli military's arms industry with spare parts and services for weapons manufacturing.

-O.F. Mossberg & Sons has supplied Israel with weapons, which are used by the regime's military and police forces in the crackdown on Palestinian civilians.

-H-S Precision, Inc. has provided the Israeli regime with weapons manufacturing technology.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that the list could expand to include more entities.

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Iraq investigates fatal US-led airstrikes in western Mosul

Iran Press TV

Sun Mar 26, 2017 12:56PM

Iraqi officials have launched an investigation into two airstrikes by the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group that claimed the lives of more than 200 people in the country's northern city of Mosul last week.

Brigadier-General Yahya Rasool, the spokesman for the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC), said on Sunday that the Iraqi Defense Ministry "has opened an investigation into this issue."

On Saturday, the US-led anti-Daesh coalition confirmed that it had carried out strikes on a location in western Mosul on March 17. Civilians were reportedly killed in the attack.

Iraq's Kurdish-language Rudaw television network reported late on Thursday that 237 people had been killed in US-led coalition airstrikes on a Daesh-held neighborhood in western Mosul.

The report said 137 people died when a bomb hit a single building in the densely populated Mosul al-Jadida district. Another 100 people were killed nearby.

Lise Grande, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, said she was "stunned by the horrendous loss of life" in the aerial attacks.

Western Mosul has recently seen Iraqi troops backed by pro-government fighters from Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by their Arabic name, Hashd al-Sha'abi, pushing hard to flush out Daesh terrorists.

Grande urged all parties to the Mosul operation to refrain from "indiscriminate use of firepower" and "do everything possible to protect civilians."

Bashar al-Kiki, the head of the provincial council for Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital, said "dozens" of bodies were still buried under the rubble.

General Rasool also said government forces had deployed snipers to target those terrorists who are using civilians as human shields in Mosul. Daesh "began to use citizens as human shields, and we are trying to target them with... snipers to eliminate them."

The senior Iraqi military figure said army forces were making use of "light and medium weapons, among them sniper (rifles), to hunt for Daesh members" disguised among civilians.

Rasool said the terrorists were gathering civilians together and then blowing up explosives-rigged vehicles nearby to make it look like "Iraqi forces... are targeting innocent civilians."

Meanwhile, Commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah said forces with the Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) had established control over Orouba district and the Industrial Zone in western Mosul, and raised the national Iraqi flag over several buildings in both areas.

CTS forces also recaptured Southern Wadi al-Ayn and Rajm al-Hadid districts in the western side of Mosul.

Soldiers from the Iraqi army's 9th Division wrested complete control over Badush cement factory northwest of Mosul as well, inflicting heavy losses on Daesh ranks and destroying their military hardware.

Separately, two civilians were killed and 13 others injured when Daesh fired a barrage of mortar shells at Nabi Yunus market in eastern Mosul.

The commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation also said Daesh ringleader Ibrahim al-Samarrai, better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is hiding in an area close to the border with Syria.

Iraqi army soldiers and Hashd al-Sha'abi fighters launched their offensive to retake Mosul last October and since then they have made sweeping gains against Takfiri elements.

Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19.

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Navalny, Hundreds Of Others Detained At Anticorruption Rallies Across Russia

Tom Balmforth March 26, 2017

MOSCOW  Police detained anticorruption activist Aleksei Navalny as hundreds were arrested and thousands rallied in cities across Russia in the largest public demonstrations the country has seen in years.

Navalny, a gadfly crusader whose fight against graft has resonated with many Russians, was detained as he emerged with supporters from a subway station March 26 in central Moscow.

On Twitter, Roman Rubanov, the director of Navalny's nongovernmental foundation, posted videos of a crowd of supporters trying to prevent the van carrying Navalny from moving amid a heavy riot police presence.

Thousands of protesters crowded into the square, some of them chanting "shame!" and "defenders of thieves!" One protester mounted the base of a famous statue of poet Aleksandr Pushkin and raised a placard with "Putin 666." He was swiftly detained.

Several other protesters were detained as the riot police cleared the way for the van to pass through. Dozens of others were arrested at another square, not far away, amid a similarly heavy police presence and a helicopter circling over the crowd.

Navalny, who challenged Moscow's mayor in 2013 elections and has announced his intention to run for the presidency in 2018, called on supporters to continue their protest without him.

More than 800 people were believed to be detained in Moscow alone, according to the the nongovernmental organization OVD-Info. City police did not immediately release any figures, but the state news agency TASS, citing an unnamed Moscow police source, said more than 500 people were arrested.

Yury Kostyuk, 28, who works for a telecommunications company in a regional city, said he attended the rally because "the horrific amount of corruption and theft."

"As they say, the fish rots from the head down. We're here to remove the head," Kostyuk told RFE/RL.

Yevgeny, an unemployed 51-year-old who declined to give his surname, said he turned out because he felt the laws applied only to the powerful.

"The problem is there are no laws and there is no justice. Even when there is the law, it doesn't apply to everyone. The slogan of the rally should be: the law applies to all," he told RFE/RL.

Combined with similar rallies in several cities across Russia, the demonstrations were among the largest since 2011 and 2012, when thousands rallied to criticize elections that were won by Russia's ruling party and President Vladimir Putin.

The size of the March 26 protests was remarkable as well because they were unauthorized. Recent laws have tightened criminal punishment for protests not sanctioned by the city authorities.

Leonid Volkov, who heads Navalny's foundation, said police officers were searching the foundation's Moscow offices March 26, and had detained a number of foundation employees.

The rallies followed a report released by Navalny's foundation on March 2 accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of using charities and NGOs to collect donations from tycoons and state banks and using the funds to buy expensive assets.

Navalny said on his website that protests would be held in 99 Russian cities, but local authorities refused to give official permission in 72 of them. Still, the demonstrations attracted crowds of hundreds or thousands in most large cities across the country, according to local media.

In the port city of Vladivostok, home to the Russian Pacific Fleet, police detained at least 30 people. Local Russian media outlets reported around 1,000 people came out to the rally, which was not authorized by the city administration.

Some 2,000 people gathered in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, where the protest was authorized by the authorities. Protesters held signs that said "No to corruption," and images of yellow rubber ducks, after reports that Medvedev had a special house for a duck on one of his properties.

According to local media around 1,500 people came out in the Siberian cities of Krasnoyarsk and Omsk. In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, at least five were detained at the rally and nine others afterward. Six people were detained in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

In what may be an indication of the depth of Russians' unhappiness with rampant corruption, rallies were also held in smaller provincial cities, such as Komsomolsk-on-Amur, home to fighter jet manufacturer Sukhoi. Six people were detained there.

And in Makhachkala, the capital of the North Caucasus region of Daghestan -- a region not known for antigovernment protests -- more than a dozen people were detained after police told organizers the rally was unsanctioned.

Navalny announced in December that he would run for president next March when Putin is widely expected to seek a new six-year term.

Russian authorities have said Navalny will be barred from the ballot if a conviction on charges of financial crimes is upheld on appeal. But he has pushed ahead with his campaign.

Navalny has said the two previous convictions in two separate cases were politically motivated punishment for his opposition to Putin.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service, Current Time TV, Interfax, and AP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/navalny- anticorruption-rallies-start-far- east-siberia/28391418.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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Russian Opposition Figure Navalny Detained in Moscow Amid Unlicensed Protest

Sputnik News

16:44 26.03.2017

Detention of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny took place in the center of Moscow during an unauthorized protest against corruption, according to a lawyer for Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny was detained Sunday in the center of Moscow during an unauthorized protest against corruption, a lawyer for Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation told Sputnik.

"[Navalny] is in the bus. This is near Pushkinskaya [metro station]," Ivan Zhdanov said.

A police source confirmed Sputnik the fact of Navalny's detention without specifying the reason.

In the follow-up to the detention Navalny posted on his Twitter account that he was fine.

A Sputnik correspondent reported that that detention took place near Tverskaya Street in downtown Moscow and that the bus with Navalny had already left.

The Moscow authorities rejected Navalny's application for an anti-corruption rally in the city center as it could disrupt traffic and proposed activists to hold the demonstration in other districts of the capital. Representatives of the Moscow authorities told Sputnik that Navalny had refused the offer.

On Friday, a representative of the Moscow authorities said that the protest would be considered unauthorized even in case the activists gather in the places offered by the City Hall as the offer was rejected by Navalny.

The Moscow City Directorate of the Interior Ministry released an official warning to citizens asking all residents to abstain from participation in the unlicensed event planned for March 26. The directorate said it had warned the organizers of the event that they would be responsible for safety of people participating at the rally.

 Sputnik

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Russia Destroys Last Remaining Supplies of Deadly Chemical Weapon Soman

Sputnik News

16:30 26.03.2017(updated 20:49 26.03.2017)

Russia's last supplies of the deadly chemical weapon soman have been destroyed, Russia's Federal Administration for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons announced on Saturday.

Russia has destroyed the last of its supplies of the deadly chemical weapon soman, the Federal Administration for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons announced on Saturday.

"On March 25 2017 at the Kizner facility for the storage and destruction of chemical weapons in the Udmurt Republic, in accordance with the schedule for the destruction of chemical weapons in the Russian Federation, the last drop of the poisonous substance soman was destroyed," the administration's head Colonel-General Valery Kapashin stated.

"As of today, Russia's supplies of the poisonous skin irritant mustard gas and the organophosphate soman have been completely destroyed."

Russia is one of 192 members of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, which classifies hazardous chemicals and regulates their production and sale.

Along with mustard gas, sarin, lewisite and other chemical warfare agents, the Convention placed soman in the most dangerous Schedule 1 category of chemicals.

Soman is a nerve agent that can cause convulsions, loss of consciousness, paralysis and respiratory failure in large doses.

It is a clear, colorless liquid that mixes easily with water. If heated, the chemical forms a vapor that may be inhaled or come into contact with the eyes or skin of the victim.

Parties to the convention declared world-wide stockpiles of 9,057 tons of soman and pledged to destroy them.

With the destruction of over half a million munitions containing 1,395 tons of soman, Russia has destroyed 97 percent of its chemical weapons supplies.

According to Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Kapashin said that Russia is on course to completely destroy its chemical weapons stockpiles and fulfil all its obligations under the Convention ahead of schedule, on October 24.

 Sputnik

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Russian Police Arrest Opposition Leader Navalny at Moscow Protest

By Daniel Schearf March 26, 2017

Russian protesters have demonstrated by the thousands in cities across the country in support of a call by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny for accountability among Russian elite. Over a hundred people were detained around Moscow's Pushkin square, including Navalny, for protesting without permission.

"This is an important event! We came here to express our position as citizens," said one protester who just gave her first name-Alina. "We came to remain citizens of our country."

"By my presence here, I stand against the corruption of the incumbent power," said another protester who only gave his first name-Maxim. "The authorities do not feel like talking to their people, they communicate only through force-applying methods."

Navalny, a Kremlin critic, was detained as he arrived to join the Moscow rally. Reports from the scene say police put him in a truck that was surrounded by hundreds of protesters who tried to open its doors and halt the arrest.

The protests appeared to be the largest coordinated outpouring of dissatisfaction since the massive 2011-2012 demonstrations following a fraud-tainted parliamentary election.

Navalny called the demonstrations after publishing a detailed report earlier this month accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of amassing a collection of mansions, yachts and vineyards through a shadowy network of non-profit organizations.

The report has been viewed over 11 million times on YouTube. Medvedev has not reacted to it so far.

Navalny said on his official website that 99 Russian cities planned to protest, but that in 72 of them local authorities did not give permission.

There was scant coverage of the demonstrations on Russia's official media. A short report on Tass said a police officer was injured during an "unauthorized" rally in Moscow.

Navalny, who has announced his intention to run for president in next year's election, has been rallying supporters in major Russian cities in recent weeks.

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Russian Opposition Figure Navalny to Face Court Over Unlicensed Rally

Sputnik News

02:22 27.03.2017

Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny will face a court hearing in Moscow on March 27 over organization of an unauthorized rally, his lawyer Olga Mikhailova told Sputnik on Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, Navalny was detained in downtown Moscow during the rally he had organized without a permission of Moscow authorities.

"Navalny is now in the Konkovo District Internal Affairs Department. A decision on his one-day detention was taken. The trial will be held tomorrow. Moscow's Tverskoy Court will consider the case initiated under Article 20.2.2, Part 1," Mikhailova said.

Under Article 20.2.2 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses "Organization of mass simultaneous presence and (or) movement of citizens in public places, which caused violation of public order," Navalny could face a fine of up to 20,000 rubles ($351) or up to 100 hours of community service. Maximum penalty under this article is administrative detention for 15 days.

Police in Moscow have estimated 7,000-8,000 people in the city center participating in an unauthorized protest against corruption on Sunday. The Moscow City Directorate of the Russian Interior Ministry said police officers had detained around 500 people during the demonstration.

The Moscow authorities rejected Navalny's application for an anti-corruption rally in the city center planned for March 26 and proposed activists to hold the demonstration in other districts of the capital. Representatives of the Moscow authorities told Sputnik that Navalny had refused the offer.

On Friday, a representative of the Moscow authorities said that the protest would be considered unauthorized even in case the activists gather in the places offered by the City Hall as the offer was rejected by Navalny.

The Moscow City Directorate of the Interior Ministry released an official warning asking all citizens to abstain from participation in the unlicensed event planned for March 26. The directorate said it had warned the organizers of the event that they would be responsible for safety of people participating in the rally.

 Sputnik

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Residents warned of catastrophic dam failure in northern Syria

Iran Press TV

Sun Mar 26, 2017 3:29PM

Members of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group have ordered the residents of their major urban stronghold in Syria to immediately evacuate the city of Raqqah, warning of imminent flash floods that could submerge countless settlements on the banks of Euphrates River due to failure in Tabqa Dam.

The terror outfit, in a statement released on Sunday, announced that dam, most commonly known as Euphrates Dam and located 40 kilometers upstream from Raqqah, is out of service due to airstrikes being carried out by the US-led coalition, and could collapse.

The statement said pressure on the dam's compromised structure is building up rapidly as more water flow into the reservoir, bringing it up to its maximum capacity, while the sluice gates normally used to relieve that pressure are jammed shut.

Raqqah is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), a group of citizen journalists who document abuses in the Daesh stronghold, confirmed that the dam is not operational, saying people are fleeing Raqqah en masse in the wake of the looming collapse and consequent death toll.

The so-called and Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) also reported that Tabqa Dam is out of service.

Syrian officials have warned that the collapse of earth-filled Tabqa Dam could inundate Raqqah as well the cities of Dayr al-Zawr and Abu Kamal, which lie 140 kilometers downstream from Raqqah.

Meanwhile, Daesh militant commander and three of his close aides have been killed during intense clashes with US-backed fighters from Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - a Kurdish-dominated and anti-Damascus alliance  near Tabqa Dam.

Local sources identified the slain commander as German national Abu Omar al-Almani.

"Fighting is ongoing inside the airport and its surroundings. Full control of the airport is expected within the next few hours," Talal Sello, a spokesman for the US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance, said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said Daesh forces had withdrawn from the airbase under heavy artillery fire and US-led coalition air strikes.

Separately, Syrian army soldiers have carried out a special operation against a gathering of Daesh terrorists in Beer al-Qasab area on the southeastern outskirts of Damascus, killing scores of the extremists and destroying their military equipment and munitions.

Syrian government forces, backed by the army air force, also pounded Daesh positions in Dayr al-Zawr suburbs, dealing heavy blows to the Takfiris.

Elsewhere in the southwestern province of Dara'a, army units targeted the positions of Nusra Front terrorists.

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France's optimism on Raqqah recapture far from reality: Russia

Iran Press TV

Sun Mar 26, 2017 6:59AM

Russia has rejected the US-led coalition's "rosy forecasts" on surrounding and swiftly retaking the Syrian city of Raqqah from Daesh, saying any such victory could only be achieved through concerted cooperation among all parties fighting terror in the Arab state.

Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, was reacting on Saturday to comments by French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who claimed the "very hard but essential" battle for Raqqah was just days away.

Le Drian had said Friday, "Today, one can say that Raqqah is encircled, that the battle for Raqqa will start in the coming days."

Konashenkov further said Le Drian's "optimism" has "no relation to reality or the situation on the ground."

"It is clear to any military specialist that the liberation of Raqqah will not be a walk in the park for the international coalition," said the Russian official, adding that the duration and success of a Raqqah battle would depend on coordination among "all the forces fighting international terrorism in Syria."

Raqqah was one of the first major cities that fell to Daesh in 2013, when the terror group emerged in Syria. The northern city serves as the extremist group's operational command headquarters.

France is a partner in the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh terror group in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

Players on the Raqqah scene

Syrian government troops, backed up by Russian airpower, have been pushing against Daesh from the west of Raqqah, where up to 4,000 Takfiri terrorists are estimated to be based.

In a separate operation, which began in November 2016, US-backed Kurdish and Arab forces, called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have been squeezing the terror group from the north.

In their latest gains against Daesh around Raqqah, the SDF forces managed to retake the military airport south of the Tabaq town.

The US has also deployed hundreds of troops to northern Syria to "support " SDF forces. AFP cited a Pentagon official as saying last week that an additional 1,000 military personnel could be dispatched to the area in the future.

Another party on the Raqqah front is the Turkish military, which is helping a separate group of militants in northern Syria. Ankara and the Washington-led alliance are at odds over the role of Kurdish militias in the Raqqah offensive.

The Turkish and Western military presence in Syria comes without the consent of the central government in Damascus, which slams the uncoordinated intervention as illegitimate and a violation of its sovereignty.

On Friday, Syria's UN ambassador and chief negotiator in peace talks, Bashar al-Ja'afari, said "those who are truly fighting Daesh are the Syrian Arab army with the help of our allies from Russia and Iran," adding that "arming factions in Syria and encouraging them to challenge the authority of the state does not serve the fight against terrorism."

Coalition failure in Mosul

Elsewhere in his remarks, Konashenkov drew attention to the anti-Daesh front in neighboring Iraq, where government forces are trying to liberate the northern city of Mosul, Daesh's last urban stronghold, in the Arab state.

"Similar rosy forecasts on encircling and the quick victory of the coalition in Iraq's Mosul have already turned into considerable losses in the Iraqi forces and a growing humanitarian catastrophe," the Russian military official warned.

The comments come days after reports said over 230 civilians, including women and children, were killed under collapsed buildings in Mosul due to a mid-March US airstrike, which triggered a massive explosion in a residential neighborhood there.

The US and its coalition allies have been widely criticized by both Syria and Iraq for falling short of their announced objectives in their so-called anti-Daesh offensive.

The US military is also suspected of helping Daesh extremists by airdropping weapons in territories held by them in the face of advances by government forces.

According to monitoring group Airwars, at least 2,463 civilians have been killed in US-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since the start of operations in 2014.

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SDF Units Liberate Airport Near Syrian Tabqa From Daesh on Way to Raqqa

Sputnik News

00:21 27.03.2017

SDF reportedly pushed Sunday the militants of Daesh terrorist group out of the military airport, located near the Syrian city of Tabqa.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik)  The armed units of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) pushed Sunday the militants of the Islamic State (Daesh) terrorist group out of the military airport, located near the Syrian city of Tabqa, Lebanese Al Mayadeen broadcaster reported, citing its source.

Earlier in the day, the media said the SDF forces planned to seize the city of Tabqa, which is the last big Daesh stronghold on the way to Raqqa, serving as Daesh's de facto capital in Syria since it was captured in 2013.

Sunday fighting between SDF units and Daesh militants inflicted damage to the Tabqa Dam located on the Euphrates river and aimed at holding back the water on the Lake Assad which is the state's biggest reservoir. The SDF did not rush to attack the dam, fearing that the terrorists could blow it up, according to the broadcaster's earlier reports.

 Sputnik

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Syria's Biggest Dam Partially Collapses Due to SDF-Daesh Fight Near Raqqa

Sputnik News

19:44 26.03.2017(updated 20:05 26.03.2017)

Syria's largest Tabqa Dam located on the Euphrates river partially has collapsed on Sunday as a result of the fighting between armed units of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and militants of Daesh near the city of Raqqa.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik)  Tabqa Dam, which functions primarily as a hydropower plant, suspended service after its control center was damaged by what could have been an airstrike or shelling, a source told Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen, adding that technical experts could not reach the site due to continuing fighting in the area.

Earlier this week, US and Syrian opposition forces were air-dropped to Syria's Raqqa province to conduct a joint operation to liberate several villages in the vicinity of Syria's northern Al Tabqah town from Daesh.

The SDF forces, deployed up to four kilometers (approximately 2.5 miles) away from the dam, plan to seize the city of Tabqa, which is the last big Daesh stronghold on the way to Raqqa, de facto Daesh capital in Syria.

The SDF do not rush to storm the hydropower plant, fearing that the terrorists could blow it up, according to the broadcaster.

The Tabqa Dam was built in 1970s with the help of Soviet experts to create Lake Assad, Syria's biggest reservoir, and to generate hydroelectric power.

On Thursday, Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman Talal Selo said that the SDF units would need no more than 15 days to block Raqqa and start the liberation of the city. On Friday, Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) said they were close to liberating the dam.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which include Arab and Kurdish forces such as YPG, launched the Wrath of Euphrates operation to retake Raqqa on November 5, 2016.

 Sputnik

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Syrian Democratic Forces Deny Allegations of Tabqa Dam Being Damaged

Sputnik News

03:13 27.03.2017

SDF on Monday refuted media reports about the Tabqa Dam partly collapsing.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik)  Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday refuted media reports about the Tabqa Dam partly collapsing in result of airstrikes or shelling.

"We are very careful in order for the Euphrates Dam to not be damaged during the operation to liberate it [from the terrorists of the Islamic State (Daesh)]. However, the international coalition's air force conducts massive strikes against the IS units around Tabqa in order to secure the dam," official spokesman of the SDF said in a statement obtained by Sputnik.

On Sunday, local media reported that the dam partially collapsed as result of the fighting between armed units of (SDF) and militants of Daesh near the city of Raqqa.

Tabqa Dam, which functions primarily as a hydropower plant, is the biggest dam in Syria. According to media reports, it suspended service after its control center was damaged by what could have been an airstrike or shelling, with technical experts not being able to reach the site due to continuing fighting in the area.

On Sunday, the SDF pushed Daesh militants out of the military airport located near the city of Tabqa. The city is the last big Daesh stronghold on the way to Raqqa, which serves as Daesh's de facto capital in Syria since it was captured in 2013.

 Sputnik

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In 'one country,' China can open market wider to Taiwan: negotiator

ROC Central News Agency

2017/03/26 22:21:56

Boao, China, March 26 (CNA) China's top negotiator with Taiwan said Sunday that there will be a problem for Beijing to unilaterally open the Chinese market to Taiwan since both are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

That problem, however, can easily be dismissed if both Taiwan and China -- two WTO members -- are "in one country."

Chen Deming (), chairman of the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), was responding Taiwanese business people's appeal in a panel discussion of the Boao Forum for Asia, which was being held March 23-26 in the southern Chinese province of Hainan.

The Cross-Strait Round Table of Entrepreneurs was attended by a 19-member Taiwanese business delegation, led by former Vice President Vincent Siew (), and 19 Chinese officials and entrepreneurs.

During the round table meeting, Taiwanese entrepreneurs expressed hope that China will open its market wider to them and continue to boost trade and economic cooperation and interactions with Taiwan without being influenced by political factors.

Chen replied that the mainland has its dilemma. "We are two WTO members in one country, which have not yet been unified peacefully," Chen said.

Under WTO rules, if one WTO member offers a preferential treatment to another member, it has to give that same treatment to all other members, he pointed out.

China will be challenged if it unilaterally opens its market to Taiwan, "but this problem will be much easier to solve if the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are in one country," he said.

Cross-strait relations has been cool since Tsai Ing-wen () was sworn in as Taiwan's president in May 2016, mainly due to her refusal to heed Beijing's calls to recognize the "1992 consensus" as the sole political foundation for cross-strait exchanges.

The "1992 consensus" refers to a tacit understanding reached in 1992 between the two sides that there is only one China, with both sides free to interpret what that means.

(By Chen Chia-lun and Elizabeth Hsu)

ENDITEM/sc

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Bill to monitor cross-strait pacts crucial: Chinese official

ROC Central News Agency

2017/03/26 19:44:55

Boao, March 26 (CNA) China's top negotiator with Taiwan said Sunday that a draft bill on monitoring agreements between the two sides should be passed in Taiwan's Legislature as soon as possible so that bilateral negotiations on a pending trade pact can resume.

Chen Deming (), chairman of the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), said Taiwan should weigh the interests of its people, entrepreneurs in particular, and the long term future of its youth in planning its next move on cooperation with China.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Boao Forum in China's Hainan Province, Chen said Taiwan has been talking for long time about the draft bill to monitor cross-strait agreements.

Unless the bill is enacted, however, a cross-strait trade-in-services pact, which was signed in 2013, and the trade-in-goods pact that was near the end of negotiations cannot take effect, he said.

A legislative procedure to ratify the trade-in-services pact was halted after protesters in a student-led movement occupied Taiwan's Legislature from March 18 to April 10, 2014 to prevent the ratification of the agreement by the then ruling Kuomintang (KMT) administration.

Since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power last May, relations between Taiwan and China have cooled considerably and trade agreement negotiations have ground to a halt.

Earlier this month, the DPP-dominated Legislature started to deliberate six draft bills on monitoring cross-strait agreements, but it is not clear whether any of them will be passed.

Meanwhile, Chen said Sunday in response to reporters' questions that China would welcome a visit by his Taiwan counterpart, Tien Hung-mao (), chairman of the Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).

But the precondition is recognition that "both sides" belong to "one China," however that is defined, Chen said.

On Saturday, he told reporters that he would like to visit Kinmen County and Taiwan proper to drink soybean milk and eat fried bread sticks in Taipei, but he would not visit "as a foreigner."

He said any visit to Taiwan would have to be "as an authorized representative from an organization in a separately ruled part of the country."

Lee Li-jen (), SEF deputy secretary-general and spokeswoman, said Saturday that Taipei and Beijing should resume negotiations as soon as possible without any political preconditions.

(By Chen Chia-lun, Kao Chao-fen and Kuo Chung-han)

Enditem/pc

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Iran dismisses Turkey's claims as justification for its expansionist policies

Iran Press TV

Sun Mar 26, 2017 5:48PM

Iran has dismissed the recent "unacceptable and unjustifiable" remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against Tehran, saying Ankara is leveling accusations against other countries to justify its expansionist policies.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi expressed regret on Sunday that Turkish officials continue to make "baseless, meddlesome and troublesome" remarks against the country's neighbors.

"By accusing others and repeating fictitious claims, they [Turkish officials] are trying to justify their meddlesome and expansionist policies toward their neighbors," he added.

Speaking at a Turkish-British forum in the southern city of Antalya on Saturday, the Turkish president accused Iran of adopting and pursuing "racist and discriminatory" policies in Iraq.

The Iranian spokesperson also dismissed as incorrect comments by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak, who recently claimed that some three million refugees, mostly Afghans, were trying to go to Turkey from Iran, expressing concern that Iran was "ignoring their demand for migration."

"Iran has been hosting millions of refugees from its neighboring countries for more than 30 years," Qassemi said.

"Turkey must learn from Iran how it has hosted millions of refugees for more than three decades and has never abused this human and humanitarian issue for specific and politically-motivated purposes against any other country."

He recommended Turkish officials to avoid conflating humanitarian issues with political disputes, urging them to respect the national sovereignty of their neighboring states, particularly Iraq and Syria.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran regards respect for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring countries as the best option for strengthening and developing relations among nations and countries," Qassemi said.

Iran also considers "constructive dialogue with neighbors, instead of accusing others, as the most appropriate way" to deepen ties with them, he pointed out.

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Erdogan says Turkey may hold referendum for EU accession

Iran Press TV

Sun Mar 26, 2017 12:45AM

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says a second referendum may be held after the April constitutional reforms vote over the continuing of EU accession talks.

"Right now we are holding a referendum on April 16 and after that we could choose to do a second one on the [EU] accession talks and we would abide by whatever our people would say there," said Erdogan during Turkish-British Tatldil Forum held in Antalya on Saturday.

Turkey is set hold a referendum on the constitutional amendments, including giving executive powers to the president, currently a ceremonial post, and abolishing the office of the prime minister.

The country applied for membership in the European Union in 1987, and began formal accession negotiations in 2005. Since then the talks have made little progress over Turkey's human rights track record.

"You [Britain] have made a decision with Brexit, there may be different things after April 16," said Erdogan in reference to a June 2016 referendum in the UK in which voters supported the country's exit from the EU.

Earlier in the day, he stated that it would be "easier" if the EU just rejected Turkey's bid to join the bloc.

"What? If a 'yes' comes out on April 16, they would not take us into the European Union? Oh, If only they could give this decision! They would make our work easier," he said while addressing a rally.

Erdogan also condemned a recent terror attack near the Houses of Parliament in London in which four people were killed and around 50 more injured.

"This attack is the latest example of terror having no boundaries, no principles, no morals. It is very noteworthy that the parliament was targeted and it has similarities with the July 15 coup attempt, in which our parliament was bombed," he said.

On Wednesday, an assailant plowed a car into pedestrians and stabbed a police officer near the British Parliament, in an attack which has been declared a terrorist incident. The attacker was also shot dead by the police.

Erdogan added that terrorism will eventually lose, and that Ankara clearly and openly stands by Britain in its battle against terror.

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Symbolic End: Missile Cruiser 'Ukraine' Being Sold Off for Scrap Metal

Sputnik News

13:36 26.03.2017(updated 14:05 26.03.2017)

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a decree to scrap the unfinished Soviet-era missile cruiser 'Ukrayina' ('Ukraine'), which has been sitting for nearly thirty years at the docks of a shipyard in the port city of Mykolaiv, local media reports. Observers suggest that the decision is highly symbolic.

On Friday, Mikolaiv regional state administration deputy head Vyacheslav Bon met with workers at the 61 Communards Shipbuilding Yard, a massive Soviet-era shipyard which has faced hard times in recent years.

Bon informed workers about a decree by the Ukrainian President to demilitarize and sell off the missile cruiser Ukrayina. The decision has already been agreed by the Defense Ministry and the Ukroboronprom, Ukraine's state-owned defense concern, and is now awaiting the approval of the Finance and Justice ministries, he said.

"You have the cruiser Ukrayina sitting in your docks. A presidential decree on its demilitarization exists. If your remove the weapons and sell what's left, that will be enough to pay your back wages, and three times that left over," Bon said. "The ship has a frame and turbine engines, they are in demand," he added.

As of March 1, workers at the 61 Communards Shipbuilding Yard are owed 48,646,000 hryvnia, equivalent to about $1.8 million US, in back pay. Workers have been protesting, demanding to be paid what's owed to them. Earlier, workers had asked the state administration to try to convince the Defense Ministry to get the necessary funds for the Ukrayina's upkeep.

Launched in 1990, just before to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Ukrayina was left unfinished, estimated at 75-95% completion, and needing about $30 million in additional investment to be completed. Since then, Ukraine has held negotiations with the interested parties of Russia, China and India, although interest eventually went cold. In 2010, the Ukrainian parliament stripped the ship of its proud name, but failed to rename it.

The Ukrayina is a Slava-class cruiser, official classification Project 1164 Atlant, a late Soviet-era project developed in the 1980s. The warship class, nicknamed 'Aircraft Carrier Killer' due to its deadly arsenal, featured advanced radar, sonar and fire control systems, P-500 Bazalt anti-ship missiles, S-300F and OSA-M SAMs, 10 torpedo tubes, 2 RBU-6000 anti-sub mortars, 36 close-in AK-630s, and the ability to carry a Kamov Ka-27 helicopter.

Ten ships were planned, with three completed, with the Ukrayina's construction halted shortly before completion after the Soviet collapse. The three completed ships, the Moskva, Marshal Ustinov and Varyag remain in service in the Russian Navy, in the Baltic Sea, Northern Fleet and Pacific Fleet, respectively. All three ships have seen comprehensive overhauls and modernization.

Mikolaiv's shipyards, already on life support since the collapse of the Soviet Union (before that they were building everything from frigates to aircraft carriers) have been equally hard hit by the rupture in military-technical cooperation between Ukraine and Russia in recent years. Since the Maidan coup d'etat of February 2014, many joint projects have been either frozen or cancelled altogether, with Russia also forced to cancel orders of Ukrainian parts and components, such as Mikolaiv's famous diesel turbine engines.

 Sputnik

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Alan Burkitt-Gray speaks to Don MacNeil, chief operating officer of GTT, about its company restructuring after coming out of Chapter 11 and its strategic roadmap for the next 12 months.
Ive been married to my very own West Virginian, David, for more than 19 years.

I think its past time to address a few issues associated with being married to a West Virginian, especially one from northern West Virginia, close to Ohio.

I really like West Virginia, although it is linked eternally in my mind with carsickness. As I traveled across the country with my Army family as a child, all new duty posts seemed to require traveling the West Virginia Turnpike. Back and forth, left and right, around those beautiful mountains. And this was long before the strains of John Denvers Almost heaven, West Virginia would wind through my mind, over and over in whats called an ear worm.

Then there are the two tunnels to get there.

I must love David because why else would I marry someone who came with the baggage of going through two tunnels to get to any of his family reunions? I dont like tunnels. I basically just close my eyes. And, no, Im never driving.

Last summer on our way to a reunion we had just exited the tunnel into West Virginia when we noticed a long line of cars stopped at the tunnel going back into Virginia. We measured the line for 11 miles. Something was stopped up in the tunnel to get into Virginia.

I would have been so out of any vehicle and running toward the light at the end of the tunnel. I said a prayer first of all that the problem didnt involve anyone being hurt and secondly a prayer that I would never be stuck in a West Virginia tunnel.

And then I popped a Dramamine and held on. I personally think David could drive a little slower on the turnpike, but he seems to think driving the speed limit and around trucks is a good idea. Usually I think he drives too slowly, not that I would ever use the word like a little old lady, since my mother drives with a lead foot, but  well, lets end this sentence.

But besides curvy turnpikes, dark tunnels, John Denver ear worms and nausea, another problem with being married to a West Virginian is that he has a weird way of saying the word color.

I know this is a dialectal problem  maybe to call it a problem is too harsh  because I read an article about dialects in the Ohio Valley that described it. I know  English major people who read article about dialects in the Ohio Valley are in a problem in themselves.

Nevertheless, the article pointed out what I had observed and pointed out to David for years  that he says collar instead of color for the word color, meaning the quality of an object or substance with respect to the light reflected by the object, according to the Dictionary.com app on my phone.

Come on, I know everyone has that app on their phone. Admit it.

When David says something like Thats a nice color, he really says Thats a nice collar and I reach up to my neck to see which collared blouse I am wearing.

Sometimes I make him practice pronouncing it, all in good fun, but its hard for him.

Color. Cawler. Culler. Cuhler. It finally winds up being a Gomer Pyle kind of Cuuuler and I give up, usually because Im laughing.

Mostly his mispronunciation is confined to color, but when I was helping him cut down a tree yesterday in our woods, our conversation went awry. He was lifting up a long, thin tree he had cut down and I was putting a log under it so he could cut it into lengths with the chain saw.

He explained to me that when the chain saw hit mud it got doll.

It got what? I said. I was sincerely trying to understand. (Its my column. I can be the hero.)

Doll.

Oh. Dull. I didnt know you carried over the collar to dull. Its dull, pronouncing it the right way. (Of course.)

I didnt say a g, he said. (Did I say dog?)

This was going nowhere, so we went back to chain sawing. Actually I was using my weight to keep the log from rolling (rulling? rawlling?) while contemplating West Virginia Ohio Valley dialects.

For the sake of transparency, my daughter pointed out to me years ago I mispronounced poem. I said poim, not po-em, so Ive had to relearn speech too.

Out of all of this I still wonder why the West Virginia Turnpike couldnt have been made straighter and John Denver died so young.

Then there are the many beautiful collars of the rainbow to contemplate.
Identity thieves are working overtime this tax season, impersonating taxpayers and filing fake tax returns.

As they become more cunning at gaining access to personal information, more returns are being stopped for review  and delaying legitimate refunds for weeks, if not months.

The Virginia Department of Taxation  to combat rising tax refund fraud  has mailed about 104,000 letters to taxpayers to date this year asking for additional information to verify their identities.

In 2016, of 4.2 million returns filed with the state, the agency sent 140,000 letters for the filing season  and denied or reduced refunds on about 35,000 returns.

Our efforts are working, Department of Taxation spokeswoman Paige Tucker said.

More than $60 million in fraudulent and erroneous refunds were stopped from being issued in 2015 and 2016, she said. We did that by verifying information on tax returns before issuing refunds.

In 2013 and 2014, more than $40 million in fraudulent and erroneous refunds were prevented from being issued.

Were taking these extra steps to verify information to be sure refunds go to the right person, Tucker said.

While it may take a bit longer for some taxpayers to get their refunds, we believe its worth the time to protect taxpayers and the state from costly tax refund fraud schemes.

Tax agencies and the IRS also are asking taxpayers to provide drivers license numbers on their returns as another way to verify identities and reduce theft.

***

Despite stepped-up efforts to stop fraud, fake refunds are slipping through the system.

It is unclear how much money has been stolen.

We know it does happen, Tucker said. However, we dont know how many (fake refunds) are issued in a given year.

The scam is often discovered when a taxpayer tries to file a return only to get it kicked back because an impostor filed under their name, address and Social Security number.

The filing of a bogus tax return does not prevent the actual taxpayer from receiving a valid refund, Tucker said. The taxpayer needs to alert the Taxation Department to the theft and submit documentation to prove their claims and identity.

Once we know that a fraudulent return has been filed, the affected taxpayers account is flagged, she said. If the fraudster filed electronically, the taxpayer is required to file a return on paper for the current tax year.

Only one electronic submission is allowed for each tax year, so the paper return is manually reviewed and processed. If the taxpayer is owed a refund and we receive all requested verification documents, it may take up to four weeks for their refund to be issued.

Taxpayers who are victims of fraud receive unique personal identification numbers each year after the scheme is identified. The PIN process enables taxpayers to file electronically and reduces the risk of ongoing issues, Tucker said.

The refund review program has been in effect for more than 10 years. But its constantly adjusted to respond to greater threats.

Like all state revenue agencies and the Internal Revenue Service, were responding to increased incidents of refund fraud as a result of identity theft, Tucker said.

Criminals keep finding new ways to cheat and steal, said Cathy Mueller, a tax preparer with Peoples Income Tax Inc. in Henrico County. People who arent breaking the rules are being inconvenienced.

For returns that pass the review process, the state is usually pretty fast with refunds  about one week to 10 days, Mueller said. The IRS is slower this year in issuing refunds. Most federal tax refunds are taking 10 to 14 days for direct deposits, although the IRS says it could take up to 21 days.

***

Every Virginia tax return passes through analytical models that review information provided by the taxpayer and compares that to data the state agency has on the taxpayer and to data provided by other agencies, Tucker said.

We cant discuss specific taxpayer information or what criteria are used to select returns for review, Tucker said.

However, tax returns are not selected randomly for additional review, she said.

If the state stops a refund for review, it can take up to 10 weeks for taxpayers to receive refunds, and thats after additional documentation is submitted.

We received a 2016 tax return filed with your name and/or Social Security number, the letter states. We have stopped this return for additional review because we are taking extra precautions to verify tax return information and to be sure that refunds go to the right person.

The taxpayer must check one of three boxes. The boxes say:

I did not file a 2016 Virginia income tax return. By checking this box, the taxpayer needs to alert the agency, since an impostor most likely has filed a return in their name.

I did file a 2016 Virginia income tax return, and I have already received my refund. If this is the case, disregard the letter.

I did file a 2016 Virginia income tax return, but I have not yet received my refund. In this instance, the taxpayer will need to submit additional documents such as copies of a W-2 form  a wage and tax statement, a 1099 form  miscellaneous income or a VK-1 form  an owners share of income.

The state agency also requires one of the following: a copy of a current Virginia drivers license or Virginia identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles; a copy of the last pay stub received in 2016 with year-end information; a copy of a 2016 bank statement to show at least one deposit from each payer from which a withholding is claimed; or information from a previous Virginia income tax return.

Taxpayers are given a deadline to submit information. If they do not respond by the deadline, the agency closes the case and does not issue the refund, Tucker said. If a taxpayer provides the requested information later, we will review the provided documentation and determine if the refund should be issued.

***

The tax agency has become more cautious and constantly adjusts its models based on analyses of current filing data and information received from other states and the IRS on patterns and issues they are experiencing, Tucker said.

We have multiple methods to stop, reverse or recover fraudulent refunds before they are received by the fraudster, she said. This year, we have extended the length of time that a refund is processed through the bank to reduce the likelihood of fraudulent refunds being issued. We have successfully recovered refunds that may have been lost in previous years.

During calendar year 2014, the state tax agency reviewed about 42,000 returns  and refunds were denied or reduced on 13,000 returns. The number rose in calendar year 2015 to about 67,000 returns that were scrutinized  and refunds were denied or reduced on more than 18,000 returns.

Edward Blair, owner of Blair & Associates CPAs PLC in Henrico whose firm employs 10 tax experts focused mostly on preparing individual returns, said five or six clients have received the agency letter in the past week.

The letter is printed with the state seal and Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Taxation with this title: Did you file a Virginia income tax return?

Some clients wonder if the letter itself is a scam, Blair said.

A copy of the letter can be viewed on the Department of Taxation website, www.tax.virginia.gov.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:PE) (FRANKFURT:A111EG) (OTCQB:PEMIF) (the Company or Pure Energy) is pleased to announce that it has completed a constant-rate pumping test at its newest exploration well, CV-8, at the Clayton Valley South Project (the CVS Project). The test ran continuously for three days and included a collection of brine samples along with extensive hydrogeological data on the brine aquifer system. CV-8 is believed to be the deepest well drilled in Clayton Valley, having reached a total depth of 3,194 ft (974 m) below ground level. The drillers completed the well with casing and filter pack to a depth of 2,874 ft (876 m), installing perforated casing and seals around two separate intervals. This type of well construction allows for isolation and separate testing of shallow and deeper zones of the aquifer system.



The well encountered numerous aquifers, including the interlayered volcanic ash and silt that are typical of Clayton Valley lithium production. At greater depths, the well passed through travertine (hot springs deposits) and conglomerate (gravel) that had not previously been described on the CVS Project, thus offering the potential for new brine hosting aquifers. Down hole fluid logging revealed elevated electrical conductivity to the bottom of the well, suggesting the presence of brine at greater depths than any previous sampling on the project.

The pumping test was configured using an electric submersible pump and monitoring apparatus in CV-8. The test ran at a constant pumping rate of approximately 2.0 litres per second (30 gallons per minute) for its duration. The hydrogeologists collected approximately 48 separate brine samples (including QA/QC samples) for lithium analysis over the 72-hour pumping period.

Monitoring during the test revealed that the extracted brine from CV-8 reached near steady-state elevated fluid conductivity and fluid density, comparable to other brine wells on the CVS Project. Based on previously observed correlations between conductivity and lithium content, this suggests the production of consistent lithium-bearing brine during the entire pumping test. Data collected during the pumping test will be used to enhance understanding of the hydrogeology of the CVS Project. The team also collected depth-specific brine samples for chemical analysis. These results are expected in April. The upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) will include a full discussion and interpretation of the data from CV-8.

Patrick Highsmith, Pure Energy Minerals CEO commented, CV-8 probed greater depths and encountered new aquifers not yet seen on the CVS Project. It is significant that CV-8 more than doubled the thickness of known brine-saturated sediments in our resource when compared with the drilling in the maiden resource. This pumping test is an important milestone as it adds considerably to our knowledge for the resource model and the preliminary design of a production well field. We look forward to working through the data as we update the mineral resource and deliver the first PEA at the CVS Project.

This pumping test was designed and supervised by Pure Energys hydrogeological consulting specialists, Montgomery & Associates (Montgomery). The test was performed in accordance with State of Nevada waivers and permits issued to Pure Energy by the Nevada Division of Water Resources and the Division of Environmental Protection, which allowed for the extraction of brine from the well for the extended duration of this test and subsequent discharge to surface.

Quality Assurance

Patrick Highsmith, Certified Professional Geologist (AIPG CPG # 11702), is a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, and has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Mr. Highsmith is not independent of the Company as he is an officer and director.

About Pure Energy Minerals Ltd.

Pure Energy is a lithium resource developer that is driven to become a low-cost supplier for the burgeoning lithium battery industry. The Company is currently focused on the development of the CVS Lithium Brine Project and the adjoining Glory Lithium Clay Project in Clayton Valley, Nevada. Pure Energy also recently announced the acquisition of a purchase option on a major new lithium brine project in the Lithium Triangle of South America, the Terra Cotta Project (TCP). The TCP is located on Pocitos Salar in Salta, Argentina, where it enjoys some of the best infrastructure and access of any lithium brine exploration project in the country. Execution of the definitive agreement concerning the Terra Cotta purchase option is expected during Q1 of 2017.

Pure Energy has developed core strengths in innovative development and processing technologies for lithium brines and lithium mineral deposits. The Companys key attributes and activities include:

Generating positive results on a large land position with excellent infrastructure in a first-class mining jurisdiction: approx. 11,000 acres in four main claim groups in Clayton Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada;

The only lithium brine resource in North America except for its neighbor, which is the only producing lithium operation in the United States (Albemarles Silver Peak lithium brine mine);

An inferred mineral resource containing approximately 816,000 metric tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) at an average grade of approximately 102 mg/L lithium, reported in accordance with NI 43-101 (see July 2015 Inferred Resource Report);

An advanced program of testing the efficacy and economics of modern environmentally-responsible processing technologies to convert the CVS brines into high purity lithium products for new energy storage uses;

A new early stage exploration program on the 13,000 hectare Terra Cotta Project (TCP), located on Pocitos Salar in Salta Province; and

An active business development program, applying its expertise to the evaluation of new lithium targets around the world.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,



Patrick Highsmith

Chief Executive Officer

Forward Looking Statements: The information in this news release contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Forward-looking statements in this release may include statements regarding mineral processing, adaptation of test work to larger scale and/or future operational scales, estimates of reduced future capital and operating expenses, delivery of a preliminary economic assessment, future exploration programs, operation plans, geological interpretations, and mineral tenure issues. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release



CONTACT:



Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. (www.pureenergyminerals.com)

Email: info@pureenergyminerals.com

Telephone  604 608 6611, ext 5


THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Mar 27, 2017) - Benton Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BEX) ("Benton" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has acquired through staking, a 100% interest in the Bold cobalt-copper-nickel project located 50km NE of Mine Centre, Ontario. The Project is easily accessible by new logging roads throughout the area.

Subsequent to staking the four separate claim blocks that compose the project, Benton entered into a option agreement with ASX-listed Ardiden Ltd. (ASX:ADV) whereby Ardiden can acquire 100% interest by paying Benton $10,000 cash and 200,000 shares. Benton will retain a 2% Net Smelter Royalty which 1% can be purchased by Ardiden for $500,000.

The four Bold Property claim blocks have multiple historic copper, nickel and cobalt occurrences which were originally discovered in the 1992 by Hexagon Gold (Ontario) Ltd ("Hexagon"). Hexagon discovered a number of sulphide zones and completed a limited broad space reconnaissance drill and sampling program which confirmed the potential for copper, nickel and cobalt mineralization. The 1992 grab sampling program reported grades from trace up to 5.54% Copper, 0.73% Nickel and 0.33% Cobalt which confirms significant exploration potential.

The option agreement on the Bold project adds great investment upside (shares and royalty) for one of Benton's non-core projects.

In addition Benton would like to announce it has multiple other high quality projects available for option and Joint Venture. The projects can be viewed on Benton's website listed below and interested parties are encouraged to contact Benton for further information.

About Benton Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BEX)

Benton Resources Inc. is a well-funded Canadian-based junior with a diversified property portfolio in Gold-Silver, Nickel, Copper, and Platinum group elements.

Clinton Barr (P.Geo.), V.P. Exploration for Benton Resources Inc., is the qualified person responsible for this release has prepared, supervised the preparation or approved the scientific and technical disclosure in the news release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Benton Resources Inc.,

Stephen Stares, President

THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements."

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections
Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - PPX Mining Corp. (the "Company" or PPX) is pleased to announce that the Companys mining partner Proyectos La Patagonia S.A.C. (PLP) has provided the company with a report of operations at Mina Callanquitas for the months of January and February 2017. PLP is developing Mina Callanquitas for the Company as part of a systematic test mining and bulk sampling program to evaluate the potential commercial development of the Callanquitas gold and silver resource. Highlights of the January and February operations update include:

PLP reports that forty-two truckloads containing 771 tonnes of gold mineralized rock were shipped to the Malin Plant of Silver Cascas S.A.C. (Silver Cascas) during the January-February operating period. The average gold grade of the mineralized material continues to increase compared to previous months, averaging 8.09 gpt gold during the Janaury-February operating period. Gold recoveries from processing the mineralized rock at the Silver Cascas processing plant ranged from 79.0 to 90.0%, with the last ten truckloads shipped during January (172 tonnes grading 11.04 gpt gold) averaging 88% gold recovery, the same gold recovery reported in previously completed metallurgical testing (88%, please see press release dated May 19, 2015).

Starting in mid-February, intense rainfall began in northern Peru, culminating in dangerous flooding and landslides that have impacted much of the country. The Company and PLP have suspended operations at Mina Callanquitas until conditions improve and operations can be conducted safely. The weather has negatively impacted access to the property and the local community. When conditions permit, roads we anticipate that the roads will be repaired and a new road will be built to bypass the community. There has been no damage to Mina Callanquitas or other mine infrastructure.

Brian J. Maher, President and CEO of PPX Mining commented: While the Company is pleased with operational results of our test mining and bulk sampling program at Mina Callanquitas, everyone at PPX is saddened by the impacts of the adverse weather on the local community of Callanquitas and northern Peru. The loss of life, the damage to homes in La Libertad, and the destruction of rural infrastructure is devastating to the communities effected and all Peruvians.

The Company also announces that in connection with the Gold Streaming Agreement between the Company and Rivi Capital LLC, previously announced on October 11, 2016 and October 31, 2016, the Company issued 3,000,000 warrants to the arms length finder Mahalski Partners as part of a finders fee. The warrants expire on October 10, 2018 and are exercisable at a price of C$0.12 per warrant share. The warrants and underlying warrant shares are subject to a hold period that will expire 4 months and a day after the issuance of the warrants.

The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Natasha Tsai as Interim Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Ms. Tsai is a Chartered Professional Accountant with Malaspina Consultants Inc. and has a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

About PPX Mining Corp.: PPX Mining Corp. (PPX: TSX.V; BVL) is currently exploring and evaluating mine development opportunities at its Igor Mine Project in Northern Peru. The Igor project explores several high grade, gold and silver mineralized high-angle structures that host significant gold and silver resources. The Callanquitas Structure at the Igor Project contains Inferred gold and silver resources of 7,189,000 tonnes grading 1.94 gpt gold and 71.8 gpt silver containing 448,500 ounces of gold and 16,600,000 ounces of silver at a cutoff grade of 1.5 gpt gold equivalent. Included within this resource estimate is a higher grade zone consisting of 2,730,000 tonnes grading 2.73 gpt gold and 119.1 gpt silver containing 239,400 ounces of gold and 10,500,000 ounces of silver using a 3.0 gpt gold equivalent cutoff grade (Please see Technical Report as amended on September 27, 2013 entitled Technical Report on the Callanquitas Structure, Igor Mine Project, Northern Peru, South America, available on the Companys web site or SEDAR). Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resource will be converted into mineral reserves. The Company has begun work on its underground test mining and bulk sampling program which is designed to validate and upgrade the resource estimate, and generate data to evaluate the possibility of future mine development at Igor. The Company is accelerating its exploration program at Igor in order to fully evaluate the resource potential of the entire Igor project area.

All scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Quentin J. Browne, P.Geo., Independent Consulting Geologist to PPX Mining Corp., who is a qualified person under the definitions established by National Instrument 43-101.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Brian J. Maher

President and Chief Executive Officer

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

PPX Mining Corp.

Brian J. Maher, President and Chief Executive Officer

Phone: 1-530-913-4728

Email: brian.maher@ppxmining.com

Website: www.ppxmining.com

Cautionary Statement:

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. Certain disclosure in this release, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities legislation. In making the forward-looking statements in this release, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable. However, the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such uncertainties and risks are detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the appropriate securities commissions, and may include, among others, market conditions, and delays in obtaining or failure to obtain required regulatory approvals or financing. 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. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/ppxPR03272017JA.pdfSource: PPX Mining Corp. (TSX Venture:PPX)

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Copyright  2017 Filing Services Canada Inc.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Mar 27, 2017) - Alset Energy Corp. (TSX VENTURE:ION) ("Alset" or "the Company") subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, proposes to undertake a non-brokered private placement of units at a price of 13 cents per unit for gross proceeds of up to $520,000. Each unit shall comprise one common share in the capital of the company and one common share purchase warrant.

Each warrant shall entitle the holder to purchase one common share at a price of 20 cents per share at any time within 12 months of the date of issuance. All securities to be issued under this private placement will be subject to a four-month resale restriction. If, subsequent to the four-month required hold period, the Company's closing share price is $0.30 or greater for ten consecutive days the Company may accelerate the warrant exercise term by giving the warrant holders 30 days' notice.

The company intends to close the private placement immediately following the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of all regulatory approvals. Alset will use the net proceeds of this private placement for general working capital purposes and to advance its Lithium projects in Mexico.

A finder's and/or administrative fee may be paid to registered representatives in connection with the offering.

The Company held its Annual Meeting on Thursday March 23, 2017. All matters presented to our shareholders were unanimously approved including the reappointment of Allan Laboucan, Gennen McDowall, William Harper, John Harper, and Emily Hanson to the board of directors (the "Board") and the addition of Brian Robertson to the Board.

Brian Robertson is President and CEO of Source Exploration Corp., advancing the Las Minas project in Veracruz State, Mexico. He has over 40 years of experience in corporate management, direction of exploration programs, project management, mine permitting, mine construction and development as well as mine operations and the evaluations of corporate acquisitions. During his 21 year career with Placer Dome, he operated open pit and underground mines in Canada and was Area Manager for the South Deep mine, South Africa. He served as President of Victory Nickel and Nuinsco Resources and is currently a director of Romios Gold Resources Ltd., Appia Energy Corp. and Minnova Corp. Over the last seven years, Mr. Robertson has directed exploration activities in Mexico and has development a number of business relationships with people involved with the Mexican mining industry. He is a graduate Mining Engineer from the University of Alaska, with a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Laurentian University and a member of Professional Engineers of Ontario.

About Alset Energy (ION.V)

Alset Energy is a TSX-V listed junior exploration company focused on exploring and acquiring mineral properties containing the metals needed by today's high-tech industries. The Company is actively exploring in Mexico and Canada.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Alset Energy Corp.,

Allan Barry Laboucan, President and CEO

THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements."

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a bill into law Friday aimed at resurrecting many of the requirements of a voter-identification law that was struck down by the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2014.House Bill 1047, by Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, will require voters to show photo identification before casting ballots. It also will require the secretary of state's office to issue free photo identification cards to those who lack other acceptable identification.A new provision -- not included in the old law -- allows people without photo identification to sign a sworn statement saying they are registered in Arkansas. By signing that statement, they will be allowed to cast provisional ballots to be verified later."I've always supported reasonable requirements for verification of voter registration," Hutchinson said in a statement. "This law is different -- in a number of ways -- than the previous law, which was struck down by the Supreme Court. It should hold up under any court review. For those reasons, I signed the bill into law."Proponents of voter-identification laws see the increased requirements as a way to prevent voter impersonation and fraud. Opponents say there is little fraud and that such laws unduly restrict the right to vote and also impose unnecessary burdens on election administrators.The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas filed suit over the 2013 law and has raised concerns about the new law.
A Cook County judge on Thursday ruled against the "no budget, no pay" policy backed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic Comptroller Susana Mendoza, finding that the comptroller can't delay lawmaker paychecks even in the midst of a historic state budget stalemate and Illinois' pile of more than $12.8 billion in unpaid bills.The ruling immediately became fodder for the ongoing political war in Springfield, with a top Rauner ally raising the idea of a "coordinated abuse of taxpayers" and a Democratic lawmaker saying his colleagues were no longer being held "hostage."Last year, then-Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger, a Rauner appointee, put lawmaker paychecks in line with Illinois' other past-due bills in an effort to delay their salaries and make officials feel the pain of the budget stalemate. Mendoza continued the policy after defeating Munger in a November special election.A handful of Democratic lawmakers went to court, asking a judge to compel the comptroller to pay their salaries ahead of other past-due bills. They said state law requires lawmakers to be paid in 12 equal monthly installments.Judge Rodolfo Garcia on Thursday ruled Mendoza needs to pay up and stop delaying lawmaker paychecks. Mendoza said she planned to comply with the order but also to ask her lawyers to appeal the judge's ruling."As former Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka did in a 2013 legislator-pay case, I will release the back pay checks to all elected officials consistent with the judge's order," Mendoza said in a statement."I have always argued that there is a sound policy reason, given the absence of a balanced state budget, to prioritize payments to the state's most vulnerable -- hospice care, child care, meals on wheels for seniors -- ahead of paychecks for elected officials," Mendoza said. "We will confer with the Attorney General and the consulting attorneys we retained from Holland and Knight, who advised us and the former Comptroller on this case, and ask them to appeal the judge's ruling."That Mendoza made mention of her outside attorneys is a nod to the political pressures surrounding the case. Munger, in her election campaign, made "no budget, no pay" a central slogan. Mendoza also embraced the populist message, indicating that she'd maintain the policy if elected. Democratic lawmakers, not wanting to sue one of their own, went to court days before Munger left office.The lawmakers hired attorneys Michael Kasper, a Democratic lawyer with long-standing ties to House Speaker Michael Madigan, and Richard Prendergast, who helped successfully sue former Gov. Pat Quinn after he froze legislative pay during a fight over pension legislation more than three years ago.That gave Rauner an opening to challenge Mendoza to hire her own lawyers for the case rather than rely on Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the speaker's daughter. So Mendoza kept the outside lawyers and made a point of mentioning them Thursday.Munger, whom Rauner has since hired as a deputy governor, struck back. She echoed a recent Rauner line of attack, accusing Mendoza of being part of a "coordinated abuse of taxpayers" and criticizing her for not asking a judge to put the order on hold pending an appeal."Rather than immediately releasing all the back pay, the Comptroller should request independent counsel and ask for an immediate stay of the ruling pending her appeal," Munger said in a statement. "The fact the Comptroller didn't immediately request a stay is further proof that the Comptroller, Attorney General and Speaker Madigan are engaged in a coordinated abuse of taxpayers."Last week, Judge Garcia heard arguments in the case and said lawmakers had left the comptroller no choice but to delay some payments. The absence of a full state budget, he said, has left the state accumulating more expenses than it has money to pay for.But the judge appeared persuaded Thursday by a different argument, concluding that the comptroller doesn't have the discretion to delay payments that have been written into the law."There may be discretion by a comptroller as to certain expenditures, but as to expenditures that are compelled by Illinois law, that discretion doesn't exist," Garcia said Thursday as he explained the winning argument in court.The ruling came as lawmakers were issued their July paychecks, according to Mendoza's office. Spokesman Abdon Pallasch said that in response to the ruling, the comptroller on Thursday started processing paychecks to send out all of lawmakers' delayed money.Democratic Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch, of Hillside, one of the lawmakers who brought the lawsuit, said he was "glad the judge got it right."It's unfortunate that we had to do this, but we have to stand up for the constitution and make sure that one branch of government can't hold the other branch of government hostage," Welch said. "I can't imagine what would happen if he would have ruled the other way. The precedent that would have set would be unbelievable."
Being a pedestrian in the United States is much more dangerous for black, Native American and Hispanic people than for whites.Blacks make up 12.2 percent of the population but accounted for 19.3 percent of all pedestrian deaths in the decade ending in 2014, according to a Smart Growth America study . The situation is even worse for Native Americans, who have 4.5 times the pedestrian fatality rate as whites. Hispanics, meanwhile, make up 16.9 percent of the population but 21.5 percent of these deaths. In fact, the study found that the fatality rates of non-white pedestrians exceeded their share of the population in at least 42 states and the District of Columbia.It's not clear why those disparities are so stark, but there are many plausible explanations., for example, showed in 2014 that poorer neighborhoods, which tend to have more minorities, have disproportionately higher rates of pedestrian deaths. This could be because low-income neighborhoods tend to have lower-quality infrastructure; they may lack sidewalks, adequate lighting and sufficient road crossings for pedestrians.Academics have also looked at how differences in the socioeconomic status, urban environment or alcohol use of different demographic groups might lead to disparities in pedestrian fatality rates.But two recent studies -- one out of Portland, Ore., and the other out of Las Vegas -- raise another possibility: Drivers treat pedestrians near the roadway differently depending on their race.In the Las Vegas experiment, researchers studied what happened when a white woman and a black woman of similar height and build in neutral clothing tried crossing roads at marked intersections in two different neighborhoods, one high-income and the other low-income.(There were differences in the design of the roads, too. The crosswalk in the high-income area crossed six lanes in a stretch where the speed limit was 45 mph; the street in the low-income neighborhood had four lanes and a speed limit of 35 mph.)The most alarming finding for the researchers was that, when the women were in the middle of the road, cars in the high-income area with the faster, wider road were seven times less likely to yield to the black pedestrian than the white pedestrian.But when the women were waiting on the sidewalk for cars to slow down, drivers in the higher-income area were actually slightlylikely to stop for the black pedestrian than the white one.In general, motorists in the lower-income neighborhood were more accommodating than drivers in the wealthier area. Regardless of race, the car closest to the sidewalk stopped to let the walker proceed 70 percent of the time in the low-income area, compared to just 52 percent of the time in the high-income neighborhood. (The drivers in the lower-income neighborhood with the slower street showed no significant difference in how they responded to the different pedestrians.)Courtney Coughenour, a public health professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) who led the study, says other experiments, including follow-up studies she has been involved in, have found similar disparities in motorists' reactions.In fact, one of the reasons Coughenours team conducted the experiment was to see whether the same type of disparate treatment of pedestrians occurred in the sprawling neighborhoods of Las Vegas as earlier researchers had found in a much more dense environment in Portland.In the 2013 Portland study, researchers kept track of how long it took drivers to yield to black and white men at the side of the road. About half of the cars that first encountered the pedestrians stopped to let them pass. But there was a big difference in what happened when the first car kept going.In those situations, blacks were twice as likely to have to wait for two or more cars to pass before they could go. That meant it took those pedestrians twice as long to cross the street.Tara Goddard, a researcher at Portland State University who led the field study, says the results are particularly significant in light of other research that shows similar biases in other fields."There is evidence of biases affecting policing, doctor-patient interactions and hiring," she notes. It would be illogical, she says, to presume that those prejudices wouldn't carry over to drivers. Thats not how human behavior works.In fact, driver behavior around pedestrians varies not just by who the pedestrians are but also by who the drivers are. One well-publicized 2012 study from the University of California, for example, found that people who drive more expensive vehicles are less likely to slow down to let walkers cross.For Goddard, the lesson is that road engineers need to minimize the potential impact of those built-in biases by drivers.As a planner and an engineer, it is very difficult to change these larger, cultural issues of biases. What we can affect -- and what has very real benefits -- is changing the roadway environment, she says.Traffic engineers can design roadways that give pedestrians more visibility and more space, says Goddard. Adding crosswalks and other traffic devices for pedestrians helps drivers better understand that pedestrians are intended users of the road.Roadway designers can also slow down traffic, which "allows us to better use our executive function instead of making snap decisions, says Goddard. Thats important because our minds often take shortcuts while performing a complex task like driving, and those shortcuts often reflect implicit biases that a driver is not even conscious about.Coughenour, the UNLV professor, says the studies results could also influence public education campaigns. Thats an issue that strikes close to home for her: Nevada officials declared an epidemic of pedestrian deaths in the state last March, and one of the things theyve done as a response is step up public awareness campaigns.Its important to educate the pedestrian because even though they might have the right of way, they are the more vulnerable user, she says. Its really important that we continue driver education and pedestrian education. But I do hate it. I hate that we put the onus on the pedestrian.
Millions of Dollars Needed

Continuous Upgrading

A recent rash of disruptions in antiquated 911 emergency-response systems points up the urgent need for new technology to save lives in the wireless age. But few states or localities have the financial means to pay for it on their own.Earlier this month, AT&T wireless customers nationwide found they couldnt dial 911, prompting local emergency officials in more than a half dozen states  including Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas  to tell people to call an alternate number or text authorities in case of emergency. The company said it was a service issue. The Federal Communications Commission is investigating.In Dallas this month, callers were unable to reach 911 during spikes in calls that put hundreds of people on hold. City officials blamed a combination of calls from T-Mobile customers and a shortage of people to handle calls. To combat the problem, officials have dedicated $2 million to upgrades, increased staffing and asked T-Mobile to disable a feature that calls 911 repeatedly if an initial call does not go through.And in October, a malicious Twitter post with a link targeting faulty phone software caused peoples cellphones to repeatedly call 911 in cities around the country in what investigators now think was the largest cyberattack on the countrys emergency-response system, The Wall Street Journal reported.During the attack, emergency call centers in at least a dozen states from California to Florida were overwhelmed by a storm of calls for 12 hours over two days. A Washington state teen was arrested and accused of sharing the link as a prank. Apple said it is putting safeguards in place to prevent similar incidents on its iPhones.The attack illustrated how aging 911 systems are vulnerable to malicious hackers who may deliberately program multiple phones to crash emergency networks, either by infecting phones with malware or by buying a few thousand phones, according to a 2016 paper on U.S. call center security by Ben-Gurion Universitys Cyber-Security Research Center in Israel.And all of the incidents demonstrate the need for states and localities to switch to the newest next-generation internet-based technology that uses digital routing instead of old-fashioned phone lines with switches. Internet-based systems are better capable of handling cellphone traffic that is subject to accidental or malicious misuse.An estimated 70 percent of emergency calls are now made via cellphone, but few states and localities have the technology to fend off abuse or buggy software that can cause cellphones to call 911 repeatedly and stall the entire system.The newest internet-based technology offers a wider suite of defensive tools for call centers, said Trey Forgety, government affairs director for the National Emergency Number Association, which represents government agencies and private firms involved in the emergency system.Calls thought to be malicious or repetitive could be flagged and diverted automatically to systems that could detect whether they are legitimate by using techniques such as requiring clicks or voice commands, Forgety said.Most emergency officials know how vulnerable their systems are. But they worry about where they will get the money to upgrade them.Its easy to crash some of the bigger systems like Denver and Dallas, said Monica Million, operations manager at the Grand Junction Regional Communication Center in Colorado. The next-generation protocol is a more secure pipeline with better monitoring software than we currently have. But most of us in the states dont have the financial resources to make the transition ourselves.Million estimated Colorado would need $15 million to move the state into the newest next-generation technology.The cost of making the switch will vary by jurisdiction, but major metropolitan governments can expect to spend between $5 million and $7 million, and potentially more depending on other equipment and network needs.The National 911 Program, housed in the U.S. Department of Transportation, is studying the costs associated with the transition to help Congress develop a long-term funding plan. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, has circulated a draft bill that would help with funding.Fairfax County, Virginia, is one of the few localities to install a next-generation system after years of planning for the costs, said Steve Souder, who oversaw the transition last year as the countys director of public safety before retiring. Its part of a $4.3 million regional project to upgrade systems in the Northern Virginia suburbs outside Washington, D.C.The county was having trouble with 911 outages caused by cellphones, Souder said. Once the new infrastructure is in place, the county can finally take defensive action against attacks with bogus calls or call storms, he said.Some of the states and localities that were among the first to move to an internet-based service are finding that the technology is evolving so fast they already need to upgrade.In 2012, Washington became the first state to have a 911 service based on internet connectivity. But the technology isnt advanced enough to keep pace with todays mobile phone issues, as the October Twitter prank demonstrated. An Olympia call center was shut down for about 15 minutes by the storm of bogus calls.Washington now plans to upgrade its technology so that it can shed excess calls to neighboring call centers at busy times, said Andy Leneweaver, the states deputy state 911 coordinator. The estimated initial cost of the upgrade is $5 million, but it will cost a total of $45 million over five years."It cant prevent the problems," Leneweaver said, "but it can help mitigate them."
Description

GIS - 27 March, 2017: Two hundred and twenty cases of contraventions have been registered for violation of the regulations with regard to environment cleanliness since the launch of the Clean up Mauritius and Embellishment Campaign by the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Jugnauth, on 5 March at Floreal. Two hundred and twenty cases of contraventions have been registered for violation of the regulations with regard to environment cleanliness since the launch of the Clean up Mauritius and Embellishment Campaign by the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Jugnauth, on 5 March at Floreal.

This was announced by the Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Housing and Lands, Mr Showkutally Soodhun, on 24 March following the meeting of the multi-sectoral committee set up to monitor actions for the Clean up Mauritius campaign.

Addressing the press, the Vice-Prime Minister called for a concerted effort of one and all to act as responsible citizens and meet up the various targets and challenges in keeping a clean Mauritius. He underlined the role of the private sector which he said has equally a fair contribution with regard to the Clean up Mauritius campaign. Mr Soodhun made an appeal to the private sector to cooperate further with the government and the civil society so as to achieve the set results.

In a bid to raise awareness among the citizens to keep Mauritius clean, litter bins will be distributed throughout the country so that every household has a bin for waste disposal, said the Vice-Prime Minister. He also lauded the Police Force who have engaged police officers in the embellishment of the environment initiatives and in the cleaning, painting and tree planting campaign in Police stations.

As chairperson of the multi-sectoral committee, VPM Soodhun cautioned that people not complying with the laws regarding littering, dumping, and bare lands, among others, will be severely dealt with and such actions will not be tolerated.

The committee established to supervise and monitor actions of the various task force set up to initiate actions under the Clean-Up Mauritius and Embellishment Campaign will meet on a regular basis to review progress and advise Government on measures being taken to achieve the set target of cleanliness.

Another responsibility of the committee is to ensure an effective coordination between the public and private agencies responsible for cleaning and maintenance, and take action for the prompt cleanliness of various regions of the country. The Clean Up Mauritius campaign adopts a multi-sectoral approach with the active participation of the community.

In line with the Clean Up and Embellishment Campaign, the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Jugnauth, participated yesterday at the Clean up initiative on the theme Moris Mo Zoli Pei, Quartier nettoye, Pays en bonne sante organised by the civil society and Forces Vives at Quartier Militaire. Addressing the inhabitants, he recalled the objective of the campaign which is part of the vision of the Government to make of Mauritius a model of sustainable development.

He further emphasised the purpose of the campaign which is to sensitise the community and raise awareness on the importance of keeping the environment clean and also to bring a change in the mindset in every citizen so as to contribute towards a healthier environment in the country.

According to the Prime Minister, environment protection remains crucial for the economic development of the country given that our country relies much on the tourism sector.
Description

GIS  27 March 2017: The Foreign Secretary of India, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Jugnauth, on 25 March 2017 at the Treasury Building in Port Louis. During the meeting, both parties recalled that ties between Mauritius and India which are rooted in history and ancestry, are characterised by deep mutual trust and shared interests.

The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary expressed satisfaction over the ongoing, significant consolidation of bilateral relations in diverse areas. Dr. Jaishankar recalled that the Government of India has extended special treatment to Mauritius in several areas, including the Overseas Citizenship of India scheme; tax matters and in renewing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership Agreement talks.

Mr Jugnauth thanked the Government of India for the Special Economic Package of USD 353 million for five priority projects for Mauritius, namely the Metro Express, the new Supreme Court building, the social housing units, the new ENT hospital and the supply of digital tablets to primary school children.

Both sides reiterated their determination to implement three other mutually agreed projects in a timely manner, namely: the Petroleum hub at Albion; the development of infrastructure in Agalega; and project Trident. Messrs Jugnauth and Jaishankar also discussed ways and means of identifying other projects of priority to both sides and working out mutually acceptable financing modalities for their implementation to further consolidate the longstanding and time-tested relationship between Mauritius and India.

Prime Minister Jugnauth and Foreign Secretary Dr. Jaishankar also reviewed bilateral cooperation in the areas of maritime security, training and capacity building and trade and investment cooperation.
Description

GIS - 27 March, 2017: The first meeting of the Financial Services Consultative Council (FSCC) was held on Friday 24 March at the Ministry of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms in Ebene. The Council was chaired by the Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms, Mr D. Sesungkur, is in line with Government policy to give a new boost to the global financial sector of the country. The first meeting of the Financial Services Consultative Council (FSCC) was held on Friday 24 March at the Ministry of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms in Ebene. The Council was chaired by the Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms, Mr D. Sesungkur, is in line with Government policy to give a new boost to the global financial sector of the country.

The Minister recalled that the FSSC serves as a think-tank and a platform for discussions of the latest concepts and international trends in the field of financial services and global business. He pointed out that the Council, which brings together stakeholders of the public and private sectors, aims at promoting and consolidating the financial services as a leading pillar of the national economy.

The Consultative Council was constituted on 3 March 2017 by virtue of section 12 of the Financial Services Act 2007. It serves to formulate suggestions and ideas for the advancement of the financial services and global business sectors.

The Council will be holding a series of meetings focused on accessing the African market and positioning Mauritius as a centre for enterprises of financial services .
The workshop focused on: history of development of SOLAS amendments to require the verification of the gross mass of packed containers; guidelines regarding the verified gross mass of a container carrying cargo; and examples of implementation efforts in the U.K and South Africa, including challenges faced and how they are addressed.

In his speech the Minister of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, Mr Premdut Koonjoo, recalled the importance of the declaration of the accurate gross mass of a packed container for maritime safety. This is an important safety measure aimed at saving lives and preventing injury and the destruction of property, he said.

According to the Minister the consequences of misdeclaring the gross mass of a packed container can be far-reaching on the Mauritian economy given that more than 30,000 laden containers are meant for exports yearly.

In a bid to ensure compliance with the developed procedures, the Ministry has compiled a list of registered service providers and shippers who meet all requirements to provide services in compliance with the SOLAS Convention for the verification of gross mass of packed containers. Furthermore, a draft Merchant Shipping (Weight Verification of Containers) Regulations has been prepared and is in the process of being finalization by all concerned stakeholders. The objective is to give a legal framework for the implementation of SOLAS VGM requirements,

SOLAS container mass verification requirements

On 1 July 2016 new requirements to verify the gross mass of a packed container under SOLAS came into force. The a ccurate gross mass of a packed container is critical to ensure correct stowage and stacking and also to avoid collapse of container stacks or loss overboard. This is an important safety measure, which is aimed at saving lives and preventing injury and the destruction of property.

The SOLAS regulation provides for two methods to verify the gross mass of packed containers:

Method 1 : weighing the packed container using calibrated and certified equipment; or

Method 2 : weighing all packages and cargo items, including the mass of pallets, dunnage and other securing material to be packed in the container and adding the tare mass of the container to the sum of the single masses, using a certified method approved by the competent authority of the State in which packing of the container was completed.
Worlds of data

Sensors-on-lampposts have become a smart city cliche, the go-to image of urban technology in action. But these projects have a Bigfoot quality about them: often discussed, seldom seen.San Diego officials are going front and center with what they describe as the largest such deployment to date. By the end of the year, they expect to have 3,200 multi-sensor pods attached to poles all around the city: pods that can listen for gunshots, count cars, monitor air temperature and potentially carry out a wide range of other tasks.Its all about using the coolest technology tools for the city, Mayor Kevin Faulconer told. How can we take a smart approach to improve the lives of residents? Thats the bottom line. These sensors will make parking, traffic, city infrastructure better.In addition to deploying the sensors and a GE platform to manage the influx of data, the city also will be upgrading 25 percent of its outdoor lighting with new LED technology. The 14,000 new light fixtures are expected to save $2.4 million in annual energy costs, money the city will use to fully offset the $30 million investment in sensors and analytic capabilities. If the numbers pan out as predicted, the nations biggest lamppost-sensor project on record will be, effectively, free.San Diegos project is not the only such large-scale deployment. The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, for example, recently executed a massive effort using LED lighting and diverse smart technologies. Among domestic efforts, however, this project by the eighth-largest city in the U.S. is exceptionally expansive.More than just an aggregation of street-side sensors, GE says its CityIQ nodes represent an IoT platform. We are repurposing the existing street lighting infrastructure and transforming it into digital infrastructure," said GE General Manager of Intelligent Cities Austin Ashe. "We think of it as a digital engine, something that can weave a thread through every street and sidewalk of the city to extract extremely valuable metadata."The pods, which will begin appearing this summer, will be rigged out with a range of capabilities. They will be able to detect environmental factors like temperature, humidity and pressure. They will register vibrations, magnetic fields and sounds. Optical sensors will watch traffic, parking and pedestrian activity. All these things are working together to create a real-time data set, he said.Analytics at the edge will compress the data and strip it of some detail in order to keep it anonymous. You want to extract just the meaningful events out of it, Ashe said, adding that reducing the data to high-level metadata lessens the data traffic load, and perhaps more importantly, helps ease privacy concerns. Some residents may find the sight of a few thousand data-collection pods to be a little unnerving, and organizers are eager to reassure the public.We arent looking at faces or license plates, as Ashe put it. Still, the pods will be scooping up an awful lot of information. What to do with all this data? Thats where the real fun starts.San Diego officials have given GE some specific instruction regarding the forthcoming data deluge.First and foremost, they want the parking data. That is critical. It is pretty well-known that approximately 30 percent of all congestion in a city is caused by people looking for parking spaces," Ashe said. "So if you can get real-time data on where there are cars being parked, and you can put that on an app and put it on someones mobile device, that is a huge new community service."A close corollary to parking: traffic. The smart pods should be able to count cars, to clock their speeds and monitor their direction. Unlike traditional traffic-count techniques, the pods will be able to deliver this data in real time to enable on-the-fly adjustments, such as changing the timing of traffic lights.Such capabilities could enhance pedestrian safety as well. We know that bicycles travel in packs, in places that may or may not be safe. So we want to use real-time data to try to prevent accidents from happening, Ashe said. If we have a sensor that can predict when a pedestrian or a bicycle is in a crosswalk, maybe we can get that data in the hands of someone to help them make a quick decision.But all of this is just the tip of the iceberg. GE and the city also are making all this data available to the public with APIs , so that anyone with a knack for programming can step up and offer their own tools based on the new information.If local technology developers can create apps and software off the data, maybe they will show how traffic flows more efficiently, or maybe are there other neighborhood issues out there that we dont even know about, Faulconer said. This is all about getting the data out there and letting people use it to improve peoples lives.Opening up the data is where it gets really interesting, Ashe said. Any university student or entrepreneur, anyone in the entire community will have access to this through APIs and through simple coding techniques. So the entire community can start building apps on this data.Planners say that by opening up the data, they may be more easily able to overcome citizens concerns about a Big Brother-type network being deployed on literally every street corner. We are able to tell people: This metadata is for you. It is for you to consume. That helps to close that gap, Ashe said.The citys long-term history with the tech industry also could help to speed acceptance of the new data collection and processing tools.We are a city of innovation. That is part of our DNA, Faulconer said. Lets use that strength that we have right here in our own back yard and demonstrate to others that this is how you can do it. IoT is not something to be feared. It is something to be embraced.Ultimately, planners say, the tangible outcomes of this effort will be what build public support.When people see the benefits that come out of this data, it is going to far outweigh these considerations about Big Brother, Ashe said. The first time someone drives downtown and finds a parking spot in two minutes, they are just going to be glad to have that data.
Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] suspended its pilot program for driverless cars on Saturday after a vehicle equipped with the nascent technology crashed on an Arizona roadway, the ride-hailing company and local police said.The accident, the latest involving a self-driving vehicle operated by one of several companies experimenting with autonomous vehicles, caused no serious injuries, Uber said.Even so, the company said it was grounding driverless cars involved in a pilot program in Arizona, Pittsburgh and San Francisco pending the outcome of investigation into the crash on Friday evening in Tempe."We are continuing to look into this incident," an Uber spokeswoman said in an email.The accident occurred when the driver of a second vehicle "failed to yield" to the Uber vehicle while making a turn, said Josie Montenegro, a spokeswoman for the Tempe Police Department."The vehicles collided, causing the autonomous vehicle to roll onto its side," she said in an email. "There were no serious injuries."Two 'safety' drivers were in the front seats of the Uber car, which was in self-driving mode at the time of the crash, Uber said in an email, a standard requirement for its self-driving vehicles. The back seat was empty.Photos and a video posted on Twitter by Fresco News, a service that sells content to news outlets, showed a Volvo SUV flipped on its side after an apparent collision involving two other, slightly damaged cars. Uber said the images appeared to be from the Tempe crash scene.
(TNS)  Broadband internet is available in all hamlets, villages and outposts across Pennsylvania  at least according to state standards.Compared to the national definition, the Keystone States minimum connection speed is lagging.The Federal Communications Commission redefined broadband in 2015 as 25 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload. Thats 1,500 percent faster for downloads and 2,200 percent faster for uploads compared to Pennsylvanias 1.54/.128 minimum split set by a 2004 law.Advances in internet technology and resulting demands for greater bandwidth outpace the benchmarks called for 13 years ago. A 5 Mbps download speed is recommended by Netflix to stream in high-definition. Demand only grows with other users in a home or business simultaneously using social media, browsing web pages or streaming video to a second device.Discussions in Harrisburg are ongoing toward raising the standards. The House Consumer Affairs Committee held a public hearing Wednesday on the issue, and a representative from Western Pennsylvania is readying legislation to boost speeds.When Im down there (Harrisburg) talking about autonomous cars this week, its amazing to me were still talking about broadband, said state Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver, R-108, of Sunbury.The telecommunications industry is reluctant to build new infrastructure serving rural areas, with low population limiting returns on the investment.Jeanne Shearer, vice president, state government affairs, Windstream Communications, testified during the hearing new fiber optic lines cost between $25,000 and $50,000 a mile.Frank Buzydlowski, director, state government relations, Verizon, told legislators the company invested $16 billion in private capital to comply with standards.Thomas Bailey, director, state regulatory and legislative affairs, CenturyLink, said high speeds in rural areas mean more fiber cable run further into the field, closer to customer locations.In most cases placing or extending fiber to increase broadband speeds is not economical because of its high cost, the low household density in rural areas and the fact that there is no guarantee customers will buy the service, Bailey testified.Verizon North LLC of Philadelphia declined $23 million in federal funds to build out its infrastructure to rural areas. The speed requirement under the Connect America Fund would have been 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. The funds are now subject to competitive bidding, with Sen. Bob Casey imploring to keep the money allocated for Pennsylvania.As it stands, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission says all companies bound by current law report 100 percent coverage.By federal standards, 6 percent of the state lacks access to high-speed internet. The gap widens in the Valley where 45 percent of Snyder County residents lack access; Montour County, 32 percent; Union County, 21 percent; Northumberland County, 20 percent.Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, press secretary, Pennsylvania PUC, noted how online habits evolved since 2004. There were no iPads or Facebook. Streaming video services were a concept only. Websites have become data-rich and video-driven, he said.Its a whole different concept of what the internet was, Hagen-Frederiksen said.The commission hasnt taken a position on potential changes to state standards. If and when legislation is introduced, PA PUC will weigh in if asked, he said.Changing the statute is something that requires legislation. Its not something the PUC can do unilaterally, he said.State Rep. Pam Snyder, D-50, represents 650 square miles of largely rural communities in western Pennsylvania.She intends to reintroduce a bill this year, as soon as next month, requiring minimum standards of 10 Mbps/1 Mbps  equal to the federal governments 10/1 reduced split for its rural infrastructure subsidy program, meant to entice telecom companies to build high-speed service in unserved areas.Should the federal standard rise, Snyder said her proposal is for Pennsylvania to match it.Snyder said high-speed internet is an essential utility in modern times, as much so as roadways and water service. Constituents in Snyders district say current service makes it impossible for some to complete homework online, participate in web-based college courses or conduct business.I recognize the investments for companies but lets be real. The testimony we heard yesterday is that telecommunications is the largest industry in Pennsylvania. Theyre booming. Yeah, its an investment, and its an investment we need, Snyder said.Snyder is open to incentives to entice companies to invest in rural areas. Culver agreed a balance of burden is needed for companies and customers.
(TNS)  TWIN FALLS, Idaho  Nearly a third of job-seeker accounts with the Idaho Department of Labors search engine have been compromised by hacking, the department reported Wednesday.About 170,000 of the 530,000 accounts on IdahoWorks were affected March 12-13 when hackers breached Americas Job Link, a Kansas-based, multi-state system that operates the IdahoWorks job search engine.The Department of Labor is sending direct notification, via email or regular mail, to customers whose accounts may have been compromised.The breach means information such as customers names, Social Security numbers and birth dates may have been accessed. Anyone whose account may have been viewed should place a fraud alert on credit reports and notify law enforcement of any suspicious activity.Americas Job Link serves 10 states job search engines, and 4.8 million accounts are believed to be affected in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Oklahoma and Vermont.The matter is under criminal investigation and the vulnerability that allowed the unauthorized access has been eliminated. Idaho accounts created on and after March 14 were not affected.For information on protecting yourself from identity theft, and a phone number you can call for information, visit labor.idaho.gov/security
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Listen using the player above and subscribe on iTunes and Stitcher so you can take it with you.There is still plenty of GovTech Social in the newly renamed and rebooted Not Safe For Government (NSFG) podcast. In fact, we have been working to make social media safe for government. That impulse was in full evidence during the Atlanta GovTech Social Academy, where this episode was recorded with a live audience in northern Georgia.Lt. Odilia Bergh from the Peachtree City Police Department ( @PTCfirepolice ) says sarcasm is helpful in connecting with an audience (and making a point) on social media. Her team uses it a lot and, perhaps not coincidentally, team members have each others backs if things go wrong. As for humor, Bergh says they have a hard and fast rule: Never post while still laughing. Ever.Chelsea Stevens from Georgia Interactive ( @GeorgiaGovTeam ) discussed the states efforts to refine its voice  informative, fun and friendly when engaging the public on social media while keeping it all business for internal audiences.And Angela Thompson described a five-year serial journey through the city of Milton ( @cityofmiltonga ) to the city of Canton ( @CityofCantonGA ) that included internal resistance to social media and refashioning the two cities messaging.Listen to the whole episode for details and audience questions.Wed appreciate your help in spreading the word about the GovTech NSFG podcast. Tell a friend. Share this episode on your social graph. And write a review on iTunes
Antonio Giovinazzi says he will be back in red gear when he returns to the F1 paddock in two weeks.

Ferrari's new reserve driver got a shock call-up to the race grid in Australia, when Sauber's Mercedes-backed main driver Pascal Wehrlein pulled out with apparent fitness concerns.

Giovinazzi, a standout in GP2 last year, was widely hailed for his performance.

"It was a perfect weekend because an Italian driver was back in F1 and Ferrari returned to winning," he told the Italian broadcaster Sky in Melbourne.

Giovinazzi, 23, admitted that although Wehrlein pulled out due to a lack of training, he too suffered with fitness issues in Australia.

"Physically it was tough," he said, "especially my neck in the closing laps. It takes practice because cornering in F1 is completely different.

"In two weeks I will be in China dressed in red. Then we'll see."

Indeed, German Wehrlein has said he is determined to be fully fit for Shanghai, even if there are rumours political influences could see Giovinazzi back in the Sauber soon.

"Antonio has a good future," A Ferrari insider is quoted by Speed Week.

"His talent is obvious -- everyone at Ferrari and Sauber can see it. Now we have to observe whether Wehrlein is fit for China and Bahrain. If not, Giovinazzi is there.

"And then it's clear -- if Kimi Raikkonen is not interested in 2018 or Ferrari wants to invest in youth, then Antonio will take his place," the insider added.

(GMM)
Team boss Christian Horner has denied losing its 'trick' suspension system is the reason Red Bull struggled in Australia.

Many observers are surprised that, with the rules changing and designer Adrian Newey reportedly fully motivated again, Ferrari and Mercedes turned out with clearly faster cars at the 2017 season opener.

Mercedes also removed a controversial suspension layout prior to Melbourne, but it was reportedly done so voluntarily to save weight.

On the other hand, the FIA actually told Red Bull to remove its system.

But team official Dr Helmut Marko insisted in Australia: "For weight reasons we wouldn't have used it here."

And when asked if the suspension system contributed to Red Bull's lack of pace in Australia, boss Horner answered: "I don't think so.

"In the winter, we had just started to implement and improve it, and honestly, even if we had the opportunity to use it, it's not a fact that we would have continued down that path because of the weight.

"In fact, the configuration of our suspension now is the same as last season," he added.

Horner said Red Bull was actually pleased its race pace was better than it had been in qualifying, but he admitted the team is still trailing the top two teams.

"We want to progress quickly," he said. "Our car is clearly third, but in the next two races, we intend to reduce the gap.

"In Melbourne, Ferrari made the strongest impression and they probably have the strongest car, but quite honestly, I don't think Mercedes is too far ahead of us. In my opinion we need to add about half a second per lap," he said.

(GMM)
Jean Todt has made clear the FIA will continue to make the rules in formula one.

As the Liberty Media era begins in earnest, new F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn said in Melbourne he is prepared to "fight" for changes if the spectacle is not right.

FIA president Todt, also in Melbourne, responded: "I'm glad the Liberty people are thinking about the future.

"I am willing to listen to their thoughts about the regulations," the Frenchman is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport, "just as I respect any input from any side.

"But the final responsibility will always be in the hands of the FIA," Todt insisted. "We make and control the rules."

The next set of rules is already being thought about because, while the new cars are more aggressive looking and faster, most agree that the spectacle could suffer due to one-stop races and a lack of overtaking.

Todt admitted that is a problem.

"The cars are more spectacular and faster," he said, "but I'm a bit worried about the racing and the gaps between the teams.

"As nice as it is that Mercedes has an opponent in Ferrari, the gap of 2 seconds from the midfield to the top is too much.

"Another thing that surprised me is that we were promised a time improvement of up to 5 seconds, but pole was only 1.7 seconds beneath last year's time. Perhaps this is due to the circuit only," Todt added.

Nonetheless, rule changes are already being discussed, including the dire need for cheaper, simpler and louder engines to satisfy the trackside spectators.

But Todt insists F1 is actually in good health.

"Your question implies that we are talking about a dying sport," he said. "The organiser in Melbourne sold 300,000 tickets, where last year it was only 220,000.

"The media centre is also full, so there is no crisis here. Why do we always see only the negative? Let a few races pass and then we can make a judgement."

(GMM)
Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai, and Secretary of the Laos Vientiane Party Committee and Mayor Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune (Photo: VNA)

The confirmation was made during talks held on March 26between Vietnams Hanoi delegation led by Hoang Trung Hai, Politburo member and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, and Laos delegation led by Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune, Politburo member, Secretary of the Laos Vientiane Party Committee and Mayor, during his visit to Vietnam.

During the talks, Secretary Hai asserted that the Vietnam  Laos relationship was an invaluable asset of the two Parties and States, adding that the Lao delegations visit was a precious opportunity for the two capitals to review bilateral relations over the past years, and draw experience for greater efficiency in the years to come.

According to Secretary Hai, Hanoi will make its greatest efforts to foster the relationship between the two countries and two capitals. In September 2015, Hanoi and Vientiane signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation in 8 issues relating to education, agriculture, justice and trade. Based on the memorandum of understanding, Hanoi and Vientiane have carried out diverse activities for experience sharing and mutual support, said Secretary Hai.

Mayor Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune confirmed that Hanoi had made remarkable contributions to boost the development of Vientiane. The cooperation with Hanoi has helped a wide range of projects to be carried out, including the Vientiane  Hanoi Cooperation and Friendship School and the dormitory of the Vientiane Politics and Administration School. The projects are very helpful for Vientiane, as well as for Laos, said Mayor Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune.

He proposed an increase in the quality of cooperation between the two capitals in the future. In particular, Vientiane hoped Hanoi would provide support for Lao agricultural products to be sold in Vietnam, and for continued building of the Vientiane trade centre in Hanoi as well as the Hanoi trade centre in Vientiane. He also urged for the establishment of tourism promotion centres in both countries.

Mayor Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune invited Hanoi to attend the Mekong Tourism Meeting which will be hosted by Laos in 2018, suggesting that Hanoi support Vientiane in organizing Peoples Councils at all levels, administrative reform and the training of human resources./.
Ho Ngoc Dat (L) helps tourists cross roads. (Photo: SGGP) In a letter sent from Australia to Vietnam, Paul Threlfall and his wife said they appreciated the assistance of the voluntary officers as, if they had not appeared, the couple would have lost their properties, adding that they wanted to express their appreciation to the volunteers.

The two volunteers Mr. Paul mentioned are not police, but two members of the tourism order team under BESCO. Not only assisting tourists in finding roads and hotels, the team does not hesitate to face criminals and re-take properties from them for tourists.

Sai Gon Giai Phong (Saigon Liberation) newspaper reported that in 2016, Nguyen Huu Dinh and Dang Thanh Xuan were on duty in a bus station in district 1 when they saw a thief robbing a mobile phone from a tourists hand. Mr. Dinh and Ms Xuan immediately gave chase and successfully arrested the robber, returning the criminal and the phone to Nguyen Thai Binh ward, district 1, and instructing the tourist to report the case.

Similarly, Nguyen Thi Truc Phuong and Ho Ngoc Dat were standing at Independence Hall when they saw a robber driving his motorbike on the pavement, snatching the handbag and mobile phone of a pedestrian. When the victim shouted loudly, Ms Phuong ran to and cut in ahead of the escaping robber, and kick the robber and made his motorbike underground. However, the robber successfully re-controlled the vehicle and escaped again. Mr Dat ran and followed the robber through the 30-4 Park across Pasteur Road. The robber hid the motorbike in a small alley, intending to escape in a house. When Mr. Dat and surrounding people reached to the house, the robber took a cane and beat the group of people and used an injection needle to threaten the people. However, thanks to the support from surrounding people, Mr. Dat successfully subdued the robber and brought him to the police.

Studying and following Uncle Hos teachings, each member of BESCO registers to serve people without shrinking from difficulties, said Le Minh Hoa, Deputy Head of the Ho Chi Minh city voluntary youth forces. Of which, maintaining the beautiful image of the city named after the beloved Uncle Ho is a target that the members look forward to.
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Private joint-stock company Ukrainian Automobile Corporation (UkrAVTO), a leading company on the Ukrainian automobile market, tentatively saw UAH 3.076 million of net loss in 2016, and this is 140 times less than in 2015.

According to an announcement on holding the general meeting of its shareholders scheduled for April 25, undistributed profit as of January 1, 2017 totaled UAH 964.91 million (UAH 969.88 million a year ago).

As reported, in 2015, UkrAVTO saw a 56.5% fall in net loss, to UAH 430.76 million.

Last year the corporation almost retained its current liabilities at the previous year level  UAH 1.05 billion, while noncurrent liabilities grew by 5.5%, to UAH 1.585 billion.

Total bills receivable rose by 4.8%, to UAH 1.521 billion, and assets grew by 2%, to UAH 3.729 billion, including UAH 971.7 million of long-term financial investment.

Net worth was UAH 1.093 billion and charter capital amounted to UAH 94.96 million.

UkrAVTO was registered in 1992. It holds a controlling stake in CJSC ZAZ and Poland's FSO. The corporation includes over 400 car servicing enterprises in all Ukrainian cities, distribution and dealer companies of the leading car brands and the filling station network.

As of Q3, 2016, UkrAVTO Corporation President Tariel Vasadze held 93.8927% of the shares in PrJSC UkrAVTO.
Our undemocratic electoral system has elected Donald Trump president of the United States, overriding the peoples will. We citizens will be blessed or cursed with him representing us to a world that will judge us by his behavior for the next four years.

The media will have a tough time separating his tweets from his actions. Perhaps each member will create the position of Responder to Presidential Tweets and assign someone witty enough to turn them into dust bunnies with humor. The actions are news.

Our national health care program is on the verge of dismemberment without any clear repair plan in place. Suggestion: First take national health care out of the hands of the financial sector. In fact, recognize the fact that national health care is one of two areas in a successful society that is truly nonprofit. The other area is education.

Our representatives need to be educated in the fundamental tenets of capitalism. Taxes are simply income and should be divided into three categories: spending, savings and capital. While spending is spent and savings are saved, capital is invested to improve the societys welfare, which begins with educating its youngest members.

Ben Andrews

Greensboro
MADISON  There has always been a historic feel to the Town of Madison and residents of Rockingham County have embraced it.

At lunch or dinner time, parking spots are filled. The uniqueness of several locally owned restaurants continues to help build a buzz and put shoes on the sidewalks for local merchants.

In 2017, events, grants and programs have helped lift revitalization to a new level. Downtown Madison continues to grow under the Madison Downtown Streetscape Improvement Plan, which was designed to make improvements for the area, while exploring ideas to make the main strip more efficient and attractive to visitors.

Rockingham County Community Foundation Grant

In October of 2015, Madison was awarded $25,000 through the Rockingham County Community Foundation to fund enhancements of the downtown area.

Several different projects took place through September that instantly added beautification and made it easier for visitors to park.

During that time, the downtown parking lot on Murphy Street was resurfaced and striped. A sidewalk was added alongside the lot and greenery was added to help make the area pop. Three decorative benches were also installed, to go with a new Welcome to Madison sign that was installed on Murphy Street  prior to approaching the downtown strip.

In July, local artist Hope Brummit painted two beautiful town murals that have helped add a unique blend of color to two downtown locations.

On the corner of Murphy and Market, a Rockingham County scene with a barn, horses and hay stand out on the exterior wall of Scotton Shoe Shop. On the side of Serenity Spa & Tanning, inside the municipal parking lot, stands a nature scene featuring hummingbirds.

The efforts put together through the Rockingham County Community Foundation grant has led to several other business owners investing in facade improvements for local businesses.

With separate facade grant money, Businesses like The Mad Bean and Madison Dry Goods continue to improve the exterior of their buildings.

Mad Bean owner Daniel Joyce has also added several paintings and decorative signs in the last few months on the exterior of his downtown coffee shop and restaurant.

The Rockingham County Community Foundation has started a new cycle of grants. If the town is selected for additional funding, they hope to add welcome to Madison signs in 2017 at various entry locations.

Downtown merchants come together

Town Manager Bob Scott says that when he first became town manager, when the town tried to host something downtown, five little groups of downtown merchants would volunteer to help but eventually the total number of participating merchants would dwindle because of disagreement in the direction of an event.

In the last year, that has changed. The Madison Merchants Guild has successfully hosted several events with great turnouts.

Now, if you ever go to their meetings, they are laughing and joking while trying to help each other and coming up with ideas, said Scott.

On Oct. 28, during the annual downtown trick or treat, over 2,500 youngsters lined the sidewalks. Businesses gave away hundreds of pounds of candy.

That success continued in December, during the Downtown Christmas Stroll and Tree Lighting. Businesses were packed, while residents filled the streets despite below freezing temperatures. Downtown businesses came together for months to plan the successful stroll.

Towns cant do everything, said Scott. You cant push these events on people either. You need a buy-in and right now, our merchants are sold on creating a great downtown experience.

Now, after re-branding in early March, merchants have started preparations for the celebration of Madisons bicentennial in 2018.

Veterans Parade returns to Madison

On Nov. 11, citizens of Rockingham County marched down Murphy Street to honor those who have served in the military.

The event was organized by the Madison American Legion and Mayor David Myers. It marked the return of a tradition that was prevalent on Veterans Day in the 60s and 70s.

Myers plans to work with fellow town leaders to help the parade grow in western Rockingham in the future. The parade is scheduled to rotate through the three towns and will be held in Stoneville this November.

Potential Water treatment expansion

In August, it was announced that Rockingham County would participate in the Community Based Grants Initiative, which allowed the county to submit between up to three letters of inquiry for project ideas that total of no more than $1.5 million.

On behalf of the Golden Leaf Foundation, County Manager Lance Metzler served as the key contact in the selection and vetting process.

In the fall, The Town of Madison submitted a $500,000 proposal that was selected by Metzler to be reviewed by the Golden Leaf Foundation. The inquiry focused on making improvements to the towns water treatment plant.

Golden Leaf invited the town to submit a complete application in January. Golden Leaf officials made a site visit in March to view the facilities and review project plans.

In late April, Golden Leaf will determine if the Town of Madison will be one of the recipients of those grants.

Thats a half a million dollars that taxpayers potentially dont have to come up with, said Scott. Water and sewer has to pay for itself by state law. You cant use tax money. If we had to come up with $500,000, we would have to raise water bills quite a bit.

Scott says that if funding is obtained, it would go toward a new settling system to increase the capacity of the water plant by about 500,000 gallons a day.

At this particular time, we dont have a need for that water specifically, but if we had a large industry come in, you dont want to turn them away because you cant provide, Scott said.

In 2016, the state set aside $14.5 million to help build water systems in Guilford and Rockingham County.

With the improvements, Madison could also potentially build a revenue stream as a water supplier to Guilford County.

Located off U.S.220, Madison has a logistically close plant to Guilford County towns like Summerfield, Stokesdale and Oak Ridge.

Summerfield and Oak Ridge residents depend on well water. Stokesdale purchases its water from Winston-Salem.
DTEK intends to invest in construction of solar power plants, DTEK CEO Maksym Timchenko has said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

He said that the pilot project will be construction of a 10 MW solar power plant in Kherson region.

"The project is small, for 10 MW, but we want to try. I think that we would expand this pilot project if there were financing. This is our investment in the future, new generation," he said.

Timchenko said that DTEK also intends to expand its portfolio of wind generation.

"Today, despite the current situation, we are in the active phase of talks with General Electric on building a new 200 MW plant  Prymorska wind farm If we were able to form a pool of banks which would not be afraid of investing in Ukraine and come to an arrangement with GE, the development of wind generation would accelerate," he said.

He said that the company is mulling construction of up to 1 GW of green generation facilities in coming five years.

As reported, in 2011, DTEK started building Botiyeve wind farm in Zaporizhia region and in October 2012 the first phase was launched. At present, the installed capacity of the farm is 200 MW. The share of DTEK of the Ukrainian renewable energy market in 2015 was 13%.
WENTWORTH  It might be five o clock somewhere, but on the campus of Rockingham Community College, professors and students are punching their time clock to help grow a budding craft brewing industry.

It started in 2011, when the industrial technologies department began offering continuing education courses on home brewing.

Two years later, after the classes garnered interest from all types of people in the community, RCC officials began a new program.

The craft industry was growing by leaps and bounds at that time, said Keith Elliott, department chair of Industrial Technologies at RCC.

It was seen as an opportunity to provide for all these breweries that needed people. With Miller also being here in Eden at the time, it just felt like a natural fit,

Instructors started teaching students in the Associated Applied Sciences program in August 2013, tapped full of ideas that would build brewing industry workers of the future.

Their only problem was finding the right mug to pour their thoughts into. Officials quickly realized in 2011 that curriculum for a Brewing, Distillation and Fermentation program had never been created at the community college level.

The home brew and craft brewing industry is unique in what it does, said Elliott, while recounting the start of the program  something he never envisioned as an industry technology the college would focus on.

Its still beer and its still made the same way, but because of the scale difference it was a whole different animal. There was no real blueprint to go by. There were some schools that offered some brewing certificates  UC Davis is very famous for their program  but there was not a real AAS program in the community college setting, especially in the state of North Carolina, because we had to develop it.

Now fast forward to 2017. Despite the loss of MillerCoors in Eden, Brewing Sciences is thriving across the region and state.

The Brewing, Distillation and Fermentation program at RCC has blossomed into more than what some people might have envisioned as an opportunity to show up for class with a red solo cup prepped for hops and suds.

Nothing comes easy for students who are genuinely trying to create their own career path in a growing industry of craft brewing full of individual uniqueness.

Yes, classes are held in the evenings and those enrolled must be 21 or older. Yet, students dont start brewing until the second semester when they experience home brewing in small-scale extract brews in small five gallon buckets. They dont experience intricate brewing methods at the RCC Center for Brewing Sciences until the start of their second year.

The Associate of Applied Sciences degrees in Equipment, Packaging and Maintenance and Specialty Agriculture for Fermentation both total 65 credit hours or higher.

Certificate programs in Craft Brewing and Agriculture are also in place to provide training for entry-level employment in the industry. The 18 credit hour certificates can be completed on a part-time basis.

RCCs main brewing and fermentation instructor is Todd Isbell, of High Points Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery. Isbell is a graduate in Brewing Sciences at UC Davis  the only North American program that is accredited by the infamous Institute of Brewing and Distilling in London, England.

Cindy Vickers, a retired microbiologist with MillerCoors, teaches beverage chemistry and microbiology. Elliott leads the technical classes that involve motors, control and automation, while RCC Agriculturist Brad Overby prepares future brewers with plant science, malting, hops selection and production.

Elliott says that 95 percent of graduates have been placed in the brewing workforce and that everyone with a goal to work in the industry has found a brewing home.

Graduates have found placement at regional brewers like RedOak in Raleigh, Foothills in Winston-Salem, as well as Natty Greenes, JoyMongers, Pryor Brewing Company and Pig Pounder Brewery in Greensboro.

In total, 32 students have graduated with a Craft Brewing or Brewing Specialty certificate. Eight have finished with a full Associates of Applied Sciences in Brewing, Distillation and Fermentation.

Brewing Center in Eden helping build up regional Industry

When the RCC Center for Brewing Services opened in downtown Leaksville in August 2013, it was the first community college brewing facility in the United States. Brewing started the following semester on a Sabco Brew-Magic system  a half-barrel brewing mechanism that was made famous by Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. The very popular Delaware-based brew company got its start brewing with the unit in 1995.

In 2017, the company sells its 21 unique beers in 30 different states.

Like Dogfish Head, the RCC program is also planning on scaling up. In the fall, the Brewing Sciences Center will upgrade to a locally-made three and a half barrel system designed by SMT Brewing Systems in Ridgeway, Virginia.

The much larger unit will give students more of an industry experience, with larger scale brewing that is used by most self-distributors.

Elliott says despite the loss of MillerCoors to the Eden infrastructure, RCC still anticipates that brewing will be an essential state-wide industry and will continue to grow locally.

With the craft industry market, you are going to see more of an expansion of the small brewer. A lot of the bigger regional breweries are starting to pop out a little bit. What you are going to start seeing is more of an explosion of the mom and pop operation that doesnt plan on distributing outside of their neighborhood, Elliott said.

You might not see their beer on the shelf at the grocery shelf but thats the whole idea. You go to their place to get their unique brew. I think we will see more of the pre-prohibition concept when there were literally 5,000 or 6,000 breweries in this country but they were all small operations.

Rockingham County is already starting to see that operational change with the emergence of Lucky City Brewing  a cooperative brewing company that is slated to open in downtown Reidsville in 2018.

The one of a kind program that is the first of its type at the community college level, just might be the yeast that helps ferment even more micro-breweries in the future.

Now that we are going back to a more simpler scale, with so many flavor types, the craft industry is going to require more people, Elliott said. I could see an increase in the number of people working in the brewing industry with more craft brewers coming online.

With so many talented brewers making their way through the RCC Brewing, Distillation and Fermentation program over the last three years, it wouldnt be surprising to see micro-brews develop soon in every town and city in Rockingham County.

For more information on the Brewing, Distillation and Fermentation programs at Rockingham Community College, call program coordinator Cindy Vicker at 336-342-4261 ext. 2912.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has facilitated the rules for registering agreements on taking credits or loans in foreign currency from nonresidents by residents, the central bank has reported on its website.

The decision is outlined in NBU resolution No. 26 dated March 23, 2017.

The NBU in particular relaxed registration rules if the creditor is changed from resident into nonresident. The regulator expanded the list of participants of these agreements who have the right to apply to the central bank to initiate the relevant registration.

"Henceforth, the registration or amending the agreement can be settled with the application from both resident borrowers and nonresident creditors, if the nonresident creditors are replaced by other nonresident creditors, and the authorized banks, if the creditors (authorized banks) are replaced by new nonresident creditors," the NBU said.

Earlier only borrowers have the right to initiate the registration and amendments to the agreements.

The NBU decision envisages the introduction of the automated agreement registration system. With the introduction of the system the list of grounds for annulling the registration will be relaxed: now the NBU would not annul the registration of agreements if there are not enough statistics information about the transactions under the agreement in the period of 90 days.

The NBU also annulled the requirement to obligatorily submit a certificate on the volumes of the loan and the state of its repayment by resident borrowers.

The amendments will take effect from April 10, 2017. The resolution took effect on March 25, 2017.
The fast-food-style Smash Burger is a default double, with two Pat LaFrieda three-ounce patties and American cheese on a sesame-seed bun. Photo: Liz Clayman

What do a fine-dining chef from Texas and his two Irish-immigrant partners call their new West Village bar? The Spaniard, of course.

The name is a tribute to a few fondly remembered public houses in Ireland, the homeland of the founders of a mini-empire of seven bars scattered across Manhattan and Astoria. They include Bua, Sweet Afton, and the Penrose, all of which serve better-than-it-needs-to-be bar food conceived by chef PJ Calapa, a veteran of Ai Fiori and Nobu. At the Spaniard, which opens next week opposite Sheridan Square, Calapa has become a co-owner, and for the first time, hell be on-site running the kitchen  until he embarks on his own solo restaurant project.

The space is well-known to Village drinkers: Before it was the Spaniard, it was Olivers City Tavern, and Boxers before that. Its location and layout, with its vaulted ceilings and landmark designation, put the owners in mind of iconic New York taverns like Old Town and P. J. Clarkes, which served as inspiration. Brooklyns Home Studios installed tiling, custom fixtures, green-leather booths, and a back-room snug. The bar is stocked with 100 whiskeys, half of them Scotch, and the cocktail list calls out whiskey drinks like the Penicillin and a rosemary Manhattan. Its sort of an old Irish pub meets a New York tavern, says Calapa. It feels like its been there a hundred years.

History provided a starting point for his menu, too, which includes classics like oysters Rockefeller and steak tartare in addition to such modern-appetite concessions as chopped-broccoli salad and farro risotto. The 12-ounce rib eye is an homage to the bar at Keens. I want it to be your favorite neighborhood steak, he says. Of course, few corner taverns make their own steak sauce and hot sauce  or grind beef tartare to order. Take a look at the space and some of the food.

Oysters Rockefeller topped with creamed spinach, lardons, and Parmesan breadcrumbs. Photo: Liz Clayman

Top round is cut to order for the beef tartare  a technique Calapa began using at Ai Fiori. Its served with crackers made from house-baked seeded brown bread thats frozen, sliced thin, and toasted. Photo: Liz Clayman

For his patty melt, Calapa uses a dry-aged beef blend and aged New York Cheddar, plus his mother-in-laws tomato jam  or, as the chef calls it, Indian ketchup. Photo: Liz Clayman

Calapa parlayed his tempura-frying experience at Nobu into Vidalia onion rings, served with smoky aioli. Photo: Liz Clayman

Rye Tai, with pineapple juice and housemade orgeat. Photo: Liz Clayman

The Gibbo, a Gibson riff. Photo: Liz Clayman

The ceiling is original; everything else is new.

The designers were inspired by the works of Realist painter Gustave Courbet. Photo: Liz Clayman

190 W. 4th St., at Barrow St.; 212-918-1986
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Samsung confirms that it will offer refurbished Galaxy Note7 units, but not in the US

Last month a report from South Korea claimed that Samsung was getting ready to offer refurbished Galaxy Note7 units this summer, following last year's recalls.

Today this has been confirmed by the company itself, through a news release that focuses on how it's going to "recycle" the giant pile of returned Note7 units that it has in its possession.

The first step in that process is refurbishing units or renting them (whatever that may mean). The second step involves detaching salvageable components from the phones, in order to reuse them. And third, if all else fails, "processes such as metals extraction shall be performed using environmentally friendly methods".

Regarding the sale of refurbished units, Samsung hasn't shared any actual details such as where that will happen and when. All it's giving us at the moment is that "applicability is dependent upon consultations with regulatory authorities and carriers as well as due consideration of local demand". The exact markets in which these will be offered, as well as release dates, will apparently be "determined accordingly".

That rumor from February which talked about this said the refurbished handsets would be sold in emerging markets such as India and Vietnam. They will allegedly come with new, smaller batteries. Other parts could be changed too. In order to be sure exactly which, we're going to have to wait for another announcement from Samsung on the matter.

UPDATE: Here's a statement Samsung made to The Verge regarding the refurbished Note7s:

The objective of introducing refurbished devices is solely to reduce and minimize any environmental impact. The product details including the name, technical specification and price range will be announced when the device is available. Samsung will not be offering refurbished Galaxy Note 7 devices for rent or sale in the US.

So it sounds like the refurbished units may not even be called Galaxy Note7 when they go on sale. That's not entirely unexpected, given how the public has come to associate that name with exploding batteries.

Source
By now the upcoming Galaxy S8 has leaked so much that theres little left that we do not know. But all those rumors are a bit of a mess, so a few days ahead of the official unveiling, we thought it would be helpful to make a clear summary of whats to come.

2 versions

Theres no more edge, both versions will have a dual-curved screen. The difference in size remains 0.4 between them, but the new models have bigger screens - 5.8 on the small Galaxy S8 and 6.2 on the bigger Galaxy S8+.

No bezels

The Super AMOLED screen has grown wider - 18.5:9 aspect ratio instead of 16:9. This squished the top and bottom bezels to a minimum. The side bezels were already close to non-existent thanks to the edge screen design. Its not quite a match for the Xiaomi Mi Mix, but it could beat the LG G6 in bezel minimalism.

Fingerprint reader

Theres no room for it on the front and no time for it to go under the screen. So the fingerprint reader is on the back, on the opposite side of the heart rate monitor relative to the camera. Not the most convenient place to reach (LG already took a shot at Samsung for it) and smudging the camera is a real possibility.

Facial recognition is a new addition to the biometric security gadgetry. This is different from the iris scanner (also present) and will serve to secure Samsung Pay transactions and more.

Chipset

Reports came out that Samsung hoarded all Snapdragon 835 chips (which are made at Samsung plants). For a while, the S8 duo will be the only access to Qualcomms latest powerhouse. Early benchmarks show improvements multi-core and GPU performance, but the Snapdragon 821 is still pretty capable.

Samsungs own Exynos 8895 will power some units (non-US ones) and it could offer even better performance - its down to whether Samsung or Qualcomm did a better job of customizing ARMs cores.

Software

The Galaxy S8 duo will switch to a new Samsung Experience skin. It has a minimalist style and uses on-screen buttons - Galaxys were some of the last proponents of hardware buttons, even the tablets had them.



Screenshots of the Samsung Experience homescreen

Bixby - Samsungs digital assistant - will play a big role in the new interface. Samsung has had S Voice for the longest time, but Bixby will bring more personality and features to the table.

Camera

One of the things Samsung will not change is the camera - all current rumors point to pretty much the same hardware. The 12MP module with a bright aperture, Dual Pixel AF and OIS was quite capable, but even if it receives software updates that improve image processing, it will still have to compete with dual camera phones (the majority of 2017 flagships seem to have a dual cam setup).

It seems that the selfie cam will be bumped to 8MP (from 5MP), we havent heard of any other major changes to it.

Body

The front is light on bezels, but aside from that the Galaxy S8 will not look very different from its predecessor. This includes an all glass front and back, mounted to a metal frame. It will keep the IP68 certification - dust-proof and waterproof up to 1.5m (for 30 minutes).

Battery

Capacity is mostly unchanged - we say mostly because the plus-sized model lost 100mAh (now at 3,500mAh) while the base model remains at 3,000mAh. We dont have any solid information if the fast charging (both wired and wireless) has been updated.

Price

The latest information on the matter points to 830 for the Samsung Galaxy S8 and 930 for the Galaxy S8+. Pre-orders will start in early April, brick and mortar stores will receive stock around April 21. Note that pre-orders should ship earlier than that.

Misc

Samsung will market a dock alongside the Galaxy S8 - the Desktop Experience or DeX will be similar to Continuum of Windows Mobile. It will add multiple full-size ports and a desktop UI so you can use the S8 as a desktop replacement.
The preliminary results of the Ukrainian insurance market in 2016 show that 55% of assets of insurance companies worth over UAH 30 billion are low liquid or hard to sell and generate low income, a member of the national commission for financial service markets regulation Oleksandr Zaletov has told Interfax-Ukraine.

He said that the 2016 figures also display some positive trends in the improvement of the quality of assets of insurance companies.

He said that thanks to the implementation of the first phase of reformation of assets of the insurance market under the resolution on obligatory criteria and requirements for asset adequacy, diversification and quality took effect in May 2016 the reallocation of the assets of market players was seen from 'unreliable' (corporate securities, financial investment when it is impossible to determine the fair cost) to 'low risk' assets (deposits at banks with the investment credit rating and higher, government securities).

The analysis of the year results showed that insurers more often provided financial assistance to each other as of reporting date, and a large part of assets is presented by doubtful assets, such as bills of exchanges and corporate rights to blank check companies.

"This leads to the non-observation of the insurance agreement conditions by insurers both for payments in claims and the term of payment," Zaletov said.

He said that during the second phase of reformation of assets the commission proposes to remove the following assets from the acceptable assets of insurers: assets burdened with liabilities taken into account on off-balance sheet accounts (collateral, guarantees, liabilities); assets of registered and/or located on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine or on the territories where Ukrainian authorities cannot fulfill their duties and located on the contact line.

It is also proposed to remove claims to individuals and companies on which the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine applied sanctions and banned from using or selling assets of these persons or their property, apart from cases when the restriction is imposed aiming at making insurers to observe their liabilities.

The commission proposes to expand the list of low risk assets thanks to the inclusion of claims to nonresident reinsurers under the reinsurance agreements signed with nuclear unit operators for damage caused due to nuclear incident, obligatory civil aviation insurance and under Green Card agreements if the reinsurers are not residents of the aggressor state.

In addition, the commission proposes to expand the acceptable assets thanks to the inclusion of undue bills receivable under the insurance and/or reinsurance agreements, bills receivable on accrued bank deposit interests and contributions of insurers which are members of financial groups to charter capitals of other insurers  members of the groups in the amount set in Ukrainian law if the financial group observes the requirements to regulatory capital.
Samsung has joined forces with Grammy Award winner Jacob Collier for a new version of its recognizable tune Over the Horizon. In its 2017 version the ringtone sounds the richest you've ever heard.

What makes Samsung's tune unique is that it's always evolving each year. Over the Horizon's six notes are used within different musical genres making the ringtone sound familiar but with a different twist every time.

In his version Jacob Collier is full of different layers with a mix of contemporary jazz, pop and dance. In his rendition Collier uses 16 instruments including drums, a bass guitar and a piano, all of which he plays for the unique video below.

The video is shot using bleeding edge motion control camera tech that creates a one-man band effect.

Over the Horizon 2017 will make its debut on a certain new smartphone (or smartphones) soon - hint hint.

Source | Via
Published on 2017/03/26 | Source

A growing number of married couples are sleeping in separate beds to ensure a good night's sleep, untroubled by each other's snoring and other disruptive habits.

Advertisement

Retailers are swiftly catching on to the trend, and Korean furniture makers like Hanssem, Casamia and Iloom introduced separable beds last year. They not only split in two on demand, but the mattresses can be raised or lowered to deal with snoring spouses or alleviate swollen legs.

Iloom said sales of these beds doubled over the last two months, while Hanssem saw sales rise 30 percent. "Our target customers were middle-aged couples, but a lot of newlywed couples also bought the beds", says Kim Tae-eun at Iloom.

Hanssem used to sell its single beds mostly to students, but now a growing number of married couples are opting to buy two single beds, so now there is a swish leather version for older people available.

Property developers are also altering their designs to suit the needs of couples who want some time apart from each other. Small and mid-sized apartments with private dressing rooms, studies and terraces are all the rage these days, even at the expense of smaller living and sleeping spaces.

The changes reflect a trend among younger people who have started to question traditional perceptions of married life and explore fresh options of staying comfortable together.

Marriage counsellor Park Sung-deok is in two minds. "More consideration between spouses because of an increased awareness of the need for their own space is more important than splitting up beds", he says.
EBRD could invest up to EUR 200 mln in Ukrainian agriculture in 2017

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in 2017 plans to invest EUR 150-200 million in Ukrainian agriculture, the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine has reported.

"In 2017, we hope to reach at least EUR 150-200 million. We expect the resolution of economic activity and as a result the increase in companies' need in working capital and investment," the ministry said, citing EBRD Country Director in Ukraine Sevki Acuner.

He said that EBRD intends to support diversification of agribusiness in Ukraine and reaching the new level of development.

Along with crediting, other aspects of EBRD support is participation in a dialog on the regulation of the agricultural sector, provision of technical assistance and a platform for exchange of opinions on the functioning of meat industry and the dairy sector.

EBRD also backs the creation and strengthening of agricultural cooperatives and self-government institutions in various segments of the sector.

The bank has been strengthening financial support of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the past eight or nine months, Acuner said. The EBRD is trying to help to increase management efficiency and introduce new technologies in agribusiness, he said.

As reported, Acuner hopes that the bank's investment into the implementation of projects in Ukraine in 2017 would expand to EUR 1 billion.
Ukraine and Moldova plan to apply to the European Commission (EC) within one month with a proposal to analyze Ukraine's plans to build new hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) on the Dniester River, Prime Minister of Moldova Pavel Filip has said.

"I think that during one month a common address to the European Commission asking to help us to deeply analyze the possible consequences of construction of this HPP on the Dniester River will be finished," Filip told reporters after a meeting of prime ministers of the GUAM member countries (Georgia-Ukraine-Azerbaijan-Moldova) in Kyiv on Monday.

He also said that at a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman the eco-system of the Dniester River in the context of plans to build HPPs there was discussed.

Groysman said that the eco-system issue is a top priority issue.

"The assessment will be carried out and the first issue is ecology. We are in communication," he said.
Federal managers seek to retain US fishery access to US waters

News Release from WESPAC March 23, 2017

HONOLULU  The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council concluded its three-day meeting in Honolulu with a suite of recommendations, many of which are focused on keeping U.S. fishing grounds open to sustainably managed U.S. fisheries.

The council includes the local fishery department directors from Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and the CNMI, fishing experts appointed by the Governors and federal agencies involved in fishing-related activities.

Marine national monuments, national marine sanctuaries, other marine protected area designations and Department of Defense training are among the uses that are increasingly closing off fishing grounds in U.S. waters.

Council Chair Edwin A. Ebisui Jr. clarified that council communications to the administration about impacts of marine national monuments on fisheries are not lobbying.

Some environmental activists recently made misleading statements about this in regards to a letter to President Trump prepared on March 1, 2017, by the Council Coordination Committee or CCC. The CCC includes the chairs of the nations eight regional fishery management councils. The letter details the impact of designations of Marine National Monuments under the Antiquities Act in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and was submitted to the president after conferring with the NOAA Office of General Counsel.

To address the impacts of ever increasing fishing grounds being closed, the council agreed to the following:

 Direct the council chair to request that the president remove fishing prohibitions within the Marine National Monuments in the U.S. Pacific Islands, therefore reestablishing management of those fisheries under the authority of the council and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act or MSA.

The voting members of the council agreed to this action, with abstentions by the State of Hawaii and Michael Tosatto, regional administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Islands Regional Office.

Ebisui noted that MSA requires not only conservation and protection of marine resources but also their optimal use. The United States imports more than 90 percent of the seafood it consumes with an estimated 30 percent or more from illegal, unreported and unregulated or IUU fisheries. He noted the absurdity of U.S. actions that support these IUU fisheries by closing off U.S. fishing waters for regulated U.S. fisheries. Council executive director Kitty M. Simonds noted that the governors of American Samoa, Guam and the CNMI have already sent a similar request to the president.

 Communicate to the secretary of Commerce concerns related to the proposal to overlay a national marine sanctuary on the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, including the scope of the proposal, federal overreach, regulatory duplication and increased administrative costs. Council Member John Gourley of the CNMI noted that the two petitioners are the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Friends of the Marianas Trench, which was established by Pew in 2008. Council member Vaamua Henry Sesepasara, who directs the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, said the American Samoa government is considering to request removal of the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, in part because of its fishing prohibitions.

 Request that the National Marine Fisheries Service analyze the potential impacts on protected species from effort redistribution related to fishery provisions to prohibit commercial fishing in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument expanded area, 50 to 200 miles offshore around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, encompassing waters twice the size of Texas.

 Work with National Marine Fisheries Service and NOAA general counsel to review the US District Courts decision regarding Large Vessel Prohibited Area and to evaluate next steps, which could include requesting the court to stay the decision pending reconsideration or appeal of the courts decision; and further, to provide regulatory relief for the American Samoa longline fleet because it continues to face dire economic conditions. Council member Christinna Lutu-Sanchez, an owner of American Samoa longline vessels, noted that the longline vessels being prohibited access from the area are owned and operated by local American Samoans. Council member Taotasi Archie Soliai of StarKist Samoa noted the importance of the albacore tuna caught by the local longline fleet and landed at the cannery. The cannery is the largest non-government employer in the territory. A second cannery in the territory closed earlier this year, in part due to difficulties with tuna landings.

 Request that the Guam Department of Agriculture and the CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife report on the efficacy of the Guam Marine Preserves and CNMI MPAs to determine how they have met their management objectives.

 Reconvene the Bottomfish Working Group to develop a plan that provides options for opening the State of Hawaii Bottomfish Restricted Fishing Areas; and request the State of Hawaii develop guidelines for the closure of any area to fishing and consider, as a requirement of closing an area to fishing, the development of a plan that includes regular monitoring of the area and a periodic assessment to the determine if management objectives have been met.

 Request that the DOD and the CNMI, in their consultations on the continued use of Farallon de Medinilla for military training and testing, include the fishing community to determine appropriate compensation and mitigation for damage and loss of fisheries, noting that recent expansion of Federal Aviation Administration Restricted Airspace from 3 to 12 nautical miles around the island has further impacted the local fishing community through reduced access to prime fishing grounds and increased transit times.

Request that the CNMI government evaluate the impacts to trolling and atulai (mackerel scad) fishing operations due to the anchoring of military prepositioning ships off Saipan.

 Request that the DOD complete an inventory and assessment report of all military dump sites throughout the CNMI and surrounding waters.

Besides fishing ground access, the council also addressed, among other items, the newly introduced amendment to the Billfish Conservation Act that would limit the sale of billfish caught in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and the CNMI to the U.S. mainland; the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission longline bigeye tuna catch limit for U.S. vessels greater than 24 meters in length in the Eastern Pacific Ocean; management options for the next Western and Central Pacific Commission tropical tuna measure; and local fishery development including fish aggregation devices, marina repairs, boat ramps, docks, training and loan programs.

* * * * *

Federal Managers to Consider Regulating Fisheries in the Expanded NWHI Marine Monument, Designating Thousands of Species as Ecosystem Components

News Release from WESPAC, March 20, 2017

HONOLULU-- Developing new fishing regulations for the expanded marine national monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) and identifying marine species to be federally managed as components of the ecosystem are two key issues to be addressed at the 169th meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. The meeting runs tomorrow through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Honolulu and is open to the public. The Council includes the local fishery department directors from Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), fishing experts appointed by the Governors and federal agencies involved in fishing-related activities.

Click here for printable PDF

The Presidential proclamation under the Antiquities Act that expanded the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument calls for closing offshore commercial fisheries from 50 to 200 miles around the NWHI, an area twice the size of Texas. The Hawaii-based longline fleet is expected to redirect its fishing efforts to the high seas (beyond 200 miles from shore) or into the allowable longline fishing area 50 to 200 miles offshore around the main Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaii longline fleet, which catches bigeye tuna and swordfish, is banned from 0 to 50 miles throughout Hawaii.

While the Presidential proclamation prohibits commercial fishing around the NWHI, it allows regulated non-commercial and Native Hawaiian subsistence fishing. As part of its decision-making process, the Council will consider the results of public scoping meetings that were conducted throughout Hawaii in December as well as the recommendations of its advisory bodies. The Councils Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), which met March 7 to 9 in Honolulu, recommends that existing data be explored, for example those from the former sport-fishing operation at Midway Atoll in the NWHI and the Hawaii tuna tagging project. It also recommends that the potential impact on protected species be considered as fishing effort is redistributed. The Council advisory bodies made up of fishermen and indigenous experts, which met March 15-17 in Honolulu, jointly support the removal of fishing provisions in the NWHI as well as other marine monuments in the region: Rose Atoll (American Samoa), Marianas Trench (CNMI) and Pacific Remote Islands (the US atoll and island possessions of Johnston, Palmyra, Wake, Baker, Howland, Jarvis and Kingman Reef). The group recommends that the Council continue to express its concerns to the new Administration regarding the impacts to fisheries from the monument designations and their expansions as well from military closures and other marine protected areas in the region.

The second key item the Council will consider when it meets is determining which of the thousands of marine species in the region to manage using annual catch limits as targeted fish species and which to manage using other tools (for example, minimum sizes and seasonal closures) as ecosystem component species. The Council may endorse the SSC recommendation to form an expert working group to ensure the final listings take into account species of social, cultural, economic, biological and ecological importance.

As part of the Council meeting, a Fishers Forum on Using Fishers Knowledge to Inform Fisheries Management will be held 6 to 9 p.m. on March 22 at the Ala Moana Hotel, Hibiscus Ballroom. The free, family friendly event includes informational booths, panel presentations and public discussion. For the complete agenda and meeting documents, go to http://www.wpcouncil.org/category/upcoming-council-and-advisory-body-meetings/ or email info@wpcouncil.org or phone (808) 522-8220.

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council: Secretary of Commerce appointees from nominees selected by American Samoa, CNMI, Guam and Hawai`i governors: Michael Duenas, Guam Fishermens Cooperative Association (Guam) (vice chair); Edwin Ebisui Jr. (Hawaii) (chair); Michael Goto, United Fishing Agency (Hawaii); John Gourley, Micronesian Environmental Services (CNMI) (vice chair); Christinna Lutu-Sanchez, commercial fisherman (American Samoa); McGrew Rice, commercial and charter fisherman (Hawaii) (vice chair); Dean Sensui, film producer (Hawaii); Archie Soliai, StarKist (American Samoa) (vice chair). Designated state officials: Suzanne Case, Hawai`i Department of Land & Natural Resources; Henry Sesepasara, American Samoa Department of Marine & Wildlife Resources; Richard Seman, CNMI Department of Lands and Natural Resources; Matt Sablan, Guam Department of Agriculture. Designated federal officials: Matthew Brown, USFWS; Michael Brakke, US Department of State; RADM Vincent B. Atkins, USCG 14th District; and Michael Tosatto, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office.
One arrested after fatal Cambodia garment factory explosion

Following the deadly explosion on March 22 at Levis supplier Zhen Tai Garment factory in Phnom Penh, authorities yesterday arrested a factory employee for alleged negligence. The blast, which occurred in an industrial boiler and sent large pieces of debris flying for some 100 metres, killed one and injured seven others.

The Phnom Penh Post quoted a local official saying that the boiler tank appeared to be in poor condition, and was very old and rusty and had cracks from long use.

Levi Strauss & Co said that they were looking into the incident.

We are involved in an ongoing investigation with the factory owner, local authorities and the International Labor Organisations Better Factories Cambodia [BFC] program, the company said in a statement. At this time its too early to confirm any specifics related to the cause of the accident.



The BFC told the Phnom Penh Post there had been a problem with the valve of the boiler, which failed to automatically release pressure when it had to, causing the explosion. During BFCs assessment in December 2016, the safety certificate for the boiler was still valid, it said.


A restaurant owner and operator has been penalised for his deliberate and calculated conduct in dismissing an employee by text message because she refused to accept below-Award wages.



Jia Ning Wang, who owns the Fire and Stone Restaurant on Moreton Island, has been penalised $20,366 - and his company Golden Vision Food and Beverage Services has been penalised a further $51,830.



It is the second time the Fair Work Ombudsman has secured penalties against Wang and his company after they were last year penalised a total of $21,000 for paying a young Chinese backpacker just $10 an hour.



The most recent incident involves an American student who performed 69.75 hours of waitressing work at Wangs restaurant over fortnight in December 2014.



The then 21-year-old refused to agree to Wangs offers to be paid amounts that undercut her minimum entitlements and Wang threatened to terminate the students employment.



Moreover, he told her the Award was just a guideline and that $20 per hour was the standard minimum wage across the industry.



Wang later sent the employee a text message telling her she would be sacked, stating that the employment was not working out and that technically you dont work for us.



Subsequently, Wang failed to pay the student for any of the work she performed. The student complained and the FWO contacted Wang.



Wang denied the allegations and said his company never employed the student.



However, he later admitted to contravening workplace laws and his company finally back-paid $1963 in wages owed, almost a year after the wages were due.



Apart from the underpayment contraventions, the threat to terminate the students employment and the actual termination contravened the section of the Fair Work Act that makes it unlawful to take adverse action against an employee for exercising a workplace right (such as the right to receive minimum entitlements and the right to inquire about entitlements).



Furthermore, Wang and his company violated the section of the Fair Work Act that makes it unlawful for an employer to recklessly or deliberately make a false or misleading representation to a worker regarding their workplace rights.



Judge Michael Jarrett described the contraventions as serious, saying that the conduct of the respondents that constitute the contraventions was plainly deliberate and calculated.



Judge Jarrett noted that the conduct occurred despite Wang having been put on notice to pay employees minimum lawful entitlements in the context of Fair Work Ombudsman investigations of underpayment allegations dating back to 2011.



I think the background is also relevant because it demonstrates that Golden Vision or Mr Wang seems to have done little to change their business practices, Judge Jarrett said.



The respondents should be left in no doubt that its conduct and treatment of (the student) was an extremely serious contravention of Australian workplace laws.



Judge Jarrett praised the resilience of the student, who gave evidence that she found pursuing her wages mentally exhausting and that she had called her mother in tears after Wang threatened to dismiss her because I didnt want to lose my job for doing the right thing and standing up for myself and my rights.



Judge Jarrett said: laudably (the student) revealed herself to be very proactive and effective in looking out for her own interests. (Wangs) attempts to take advantage of her youth and her status as a visitor to this country were ineffective.


In Australia, there are around 350,000 people who are blind or have low-vision, and this figure is expected to rise to 550,000 within the next 15 years.



Of those who can work, approximately 60% are unable to find employment.



In order to raise awareness of this issue and to help people who are vision-impaired with their careers, SEEK recently ran an eight-week pilot work experience program in partnership with Vision Australia.



HC interviewed Kathleen McCudden, SEEK Group HR Director, about the program, and how HR managers can create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.



What are the main goals you are trying to achieve from the program?



The aim of our pilot work experience program was to learn what SEEK can do to create a more inclusive workplace for people who are blind or have low-vision, to open a new talent pool for SEEK, and to provide a rewarding work experience for those partaking in the program and help to progress their careers .



By sharing our pilot program learnings, hopefully this will inspire other organisations to run similar work experience programs to support people with disabilities to gain skilled work experience and ultimately secure employment.



SEEK created a series of educational videos, that feature our pilot participants, to help socialise our learnings to hirers and candidates, which can be viewed across our SEEK digital channels. The videos have also been well received by the people at SEEK, as they reflect our commitment to being an inclusive and welcoming place to work.



In looking at creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace, why did you decide to specifically focus on people who are blind or have low vision?



We decided to run our pilot work experience program with participants who are blind or have low vision after working with Vision Australia to support one of our new employees re-entering the workforce after they started losing their sight.



This experience made us aware of all the services Vision Australia has available to help people who are blind or have low vision to ensure a smooth on-boarding process into a workplace. This inspired us to partner with Vision Australia to run our pilot program.



At SEEK we are very passionate about creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, and feel by running a work experience program for people with disabilities, it opens up a new talent pool for us.



Currently at SEEK we have three people working for us on a casual or permanent basis in our Melbourne office who are blind or have low vision, and theyre terrific employees who contribute as competently as their able-bodied colleagues. Moreover, as the largest employment platform in Australia and New Zealand, we are learning a lot from these colleagues and believe this will help us evolve and adapt our services, to cater for candidates and hirers who may also be vision impaired.



What are your tips to HR managers who want to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce?



To run a successful work experience program for people with disabilities, its important you bring in the experts (like Vision Australia and Job Access) to help you navigate through the unknown, to discuss your plans and find out their feedback and how they may be able to support your organisation.



SEEK is well known for its people first approach, and our employees found it really rewarding to see their workplace learning and trialling how we can make SEEK an even more diverse and inclusive place to work.



Therefore, seeking your colleagues support and feedback, beyond HR, throughout the journey of establishing your program can really help create a richer experience for the participants. It will also help raise the profile of the program across your business because you have support and buy-in.



The program required a strong commitment and investment of time across HR, customer service, marketing and our technology teams, but the rewards for us have been enormous.



Diversity and inclusion is a pretty broad area, so my advice is to take a step back, look at your organisation and focus on areas where there may be a great opportunity to create the a big impact  in a very practical way.


Five famous global companies have become bidders in an open tender to reconstruct the sea approach canal and internal water approaches to the deep water berths of Yuzhny port (Odesa region).

The press service of Ukrainian Sea Port Authority has reported that as of March 24, Boskalis International B.V. (the Netherlands), China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. (China), Jan De Nul N.V., Novadeal Ltd (subsidiary of DEME Group, both based in Belgium) and Van Oord Ukraine (representative office of Van Oord, the Netherlands) submitted their bids.

The auction to select the contractor is scheduled for May 3, 2017.

Earlier Ukrainian Sea Port Authority at a meeting with dredging companies presented the draft updated tender documents for dredging works. A working group consisting of specialist from the authority with the involvement of advisors from the European Bank for Reconstruction and development (EBRD) and Arzinger law firm drew up the draft.

"The draft agreement with the future contractor would fully suit Ukrainian legislation and requirements of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC)," the press service said.
The key message is the unity of the union. Together, we can best respond to contemporary challenges, foster growth and stability, while promoting our common values and interests, he said.

The Rome Declaration, a joint statement signed by the leaders of 27 EU member states amid heavy security in Rome on Saturday, reflects the views of Finland on the future of the European Union, states Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre).

He also acknowledged the necessity to allow member states to take action at different paces and intensity while moving in the same direction.

Working together is the priority, but we should be able to proceed at different paces, where necessary, as long as it is in compliance with treaties and a possibility for everyone, told Sipila. Our experience is that its better to be part of EU action than to be left outside.

Finland, he added, has proactively sought to develop defence co-operation within the European Union  an area that was flagged as a priority by the the bloc's leaders amid concerns heightened by recent criticism from US President Donald Trump about military spending by the EU, according to Bloomberg.

We want a more powerful Europe, which means that we will have to co-operate more closely in our defence, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters after the informal summit in Rome on Saturday.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni suggested that the heads of state share a willingness to develop defence co-operation by estimating that a common defence system is attainable.

The joint statement was signed as the heads of state convened to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, a series of treaties setting forth many of the principles at the core of modern-day Europe.

The Rome Declaration calls attention to the achievements, challenges and values of the EU, placing particular emphasis on the blocs unity and ability to respond to the concerns of its citizens. The EU, the statement reads, will strive to be safe and secure, prosperous, competitive, sustainable and socially responsible, and with the will and capacity of playing a key role in the world and shaping globalisation.

The European Union is facing unprecedented challenges, both global and domestic: regional conflicts, terrorism, growing migratory pressures, protectionism and social and economic inequalities. Together, we are determined to address the challenges of a rapidly changing world and to offer to our citizens both security and new opportunities, it states.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Tiziana Fabi  AFP/Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
A total of twelve people are believed to have been inside the tent at the time of the fire. One of them required hospital treatment for injuries sustained while putting out the fire.

Police are looking for a man dressed in dark clothes in connection with a fire that broke out in a tent used by unsuccessful asylum seekers protesting against deportations at Helsinki Railway Square in the early hours of Friday, 24 March, 2017.

Officers at the Helsinki Police Department have determined based on the fire pattern that the fire was not accidental and are looking for a man dressed in dark clothes, who was sighted leaving the scene by bicycle towards the Kaisaniemi Park at approximately 4.30am on Friday. The officers also discovered a container at the scene of the fire, according to a press release from the Helsinki Police Department.

The man is tentatively suspected of criminal mischief.

The Helsinki Police Department has requested that anyone with information pertaining to the incident call its tip line, at 029 541 7935, or send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
The City of Helsinki, she reminds, will oblige the project organisers to present detailed plans and calculations, also in regards to the funding of the construction project, before even considering granting a building permit for the mosque.

People should not get ahead of themselves in discussing the project to build a grand mosque in Helsinki, says Pia Jardi, the project manager of Helsinki Grand Mosque.

The funding is being debated, even though we are not even building anything yet, she exclaims in a blog on Puheenvuoro.

Jardi reminds that the 18,000 square metre building complex will also consist of an activity centre, with the mosque set to account for roughly 15 per cent and the activity centre 85 per cent of the complex. Both of the facilities, she adds, will be open to everyone, regardless of religious beliefs.

The services will be designed to suit Muslims. Everyone who accepts that is welcome to use the services, writes Jardi.

Jardi also points out that the project is headed by a Finnish foundation, the operations of which are supervised by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH). The rules of the foundation lay out the objectives of the operations clearly and strictly, according to her.

The rules include no radical teachings or ways of operation, she stresses. The plan is clearly that the activities of the mosque will be managed by Finnish Muslims and that activities will also be organised in Finnish. The Friday sermons, for example, must be organised in both Arabic and Finnish.

Jan Vapaavuori, the mayoral candidate of the National Coalition in Helsinki, has voiced his opposition to the project.

Im not in favour of building a large mosque in Helsinki, regardless of who provides the funding, he said during a mayoral debate organised by Ilta-Sanomat on Thursday.

Anni Sinnemaki, the mayoral candidate of the Green League in Helsinki, contrastively estimated that there are no obstacles to building the mosque. Helsinki, she reminded, already has 30 mosques, none of which were originally designed as a mosque.

I don't have a final position on the issue just yet. In principle, a mosque can be built in Helsinki, she stated.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Antti Aimo-Koivisto  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
DTEK energy holding will send official notifications to 32 companies warning them of not buying coal made by the group's divisions located on the temporarily uncontrolled territory, DTEK CEO Maksym Timchenko has said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"We have a list of 32 companies which potentially could buy this coal. We will send this letter to each company. Today a separate unit has been created in the company where lawyers play first fiddle. We warned from the beginning that we will protect own property and own products using all available legal ways," he said.

He said that in 2016, Sverdlovanthracite, Rovenkyanthracite and Komsomolets Donbasu planned to extract 12.8 million tonnes of coal. Consumption of Starobesheve thermal power plant (TPP) of Donbasenergo in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone is around 2.2 million tonnes.

Taking into account that sulphur content in anthracite extracted in Donbas does not meet the requirements of foreign markets, and Russia has a large surplus in production of anthracite, Ukrainian companies are potential buyers of around 10 million tonnes of coal.

"Average sulphur content in Ukrainian anthracite is 1.7% and in hard ash coal is 2.6%. The requirement for exports is 0.9% and lower. This coal may not be exported," Timchenko said.

DTEK would warn Novocherkask TPP under control of Russia's Gazprom that it is unlawful to buy coal from the company's divisions on the temporarily uncontrolled territory, while TPP every year consumes around 3 million tonnes of anthracite and Russia annually produces around 12 million tonnes of this coal.

"We are taking the similar steps [as for Donbasenergo] for Novocherkask TPP, which the second potential buyer of coal. The plant belongs to Gazprom, which securities are listed on more than 10 exchanges. TPP would receive the similar notification. We also plan to send notifications to all exchanges," he said.
Daniel Belling will be tried for the murder of his wife (right) by an Italian court in September

The body of an Asian woman found in a suitcase in the sea off Italy on Saturday is unlikely to be that of missing Mediterranean cruise woman Li Yinglei.

Local police are investigating whether the grim find in Rimini harbour on Italy's Adriatic coast is that of the missing Dublin-based woman.

Two male nurses raised the alarm when they saw the blue suitcase in the water.

Inside the case, police discovered the remains of a woman wrapped in a bin-bag. Some reports said the remains were dismembered.

Italian authorities are due to carry out a post-mortem today.

There was an immediate suspicion that it might be Ms Li, but there are factors that make police now believe it may not be her.

Ms Li was last seen on the luxury cruise ship MSC Magnifica on February 11. She was travelling with her IT husband, Daniel Belling (45), and their two young children.

The family, who live in Clare Hall, Dublin, set sail from Civitavecchia on Italy's west coast on February 9. The ship then sailed to Malta, Greece and Cyprus.

Ms Li's husband was arrested in Italy after he tried to catch a Ryanair flight to Ireland with his two young children on February 20. He is being held in a prison in Rome on suspicion of Ms Li's murder.

Earlier, the cruise company found that Ms Li was unaccounted for when they did a head count at the end of the cruise.

Row

Belling, who was born in Germany, denied killing her and said she had quit the trip after they had a row. He said he expected her to travel to either Ireland or her native China.

Today, Daniel Belling's solicitor said he believes the body found in the suitcase is not that of the missing mother-of-two.

Speaking to the Herald, Luigi Conti said he has heard the body that has been recovered does not match the description of Belling's wife.

"The body in the suitcase is 170cm in height but Daniel Belling's wife is smaller than that. I am also told it is a different type of body than that of Mr Belling's wife," he said.

It was not clear whether this meant the body found was of a different nationality or of a different description to the missing Chinese woman.

It also seems unlikely that the body, if it were Ms Li's, could have ended up in Rimini harbour, more than 400 miles north of the ship's route.

Mr Conti said he would be visiting Mr Belling in prison today.

"He knows a body has been found. I have not been talking to him but I will see him tomorrow [Monday] and will talk then but I believe the body that has been found is not his wife."

Last week, an Italian judge ruled that Mr Belling must remain in custody in Rome's Regina Coeli prison after attempts were made for him to be released on bail.

There was no answer at Belling's Clare Hall apartment yesterday but his wife's car, which advertises her party planning business, is still parked in the underground car park below.
Dublin City Council paid out more than 41m in compensation last year. Picture posed by model

More than 63 million has been dished out in compensation by Dublin's four local authorities in just five years amid concerns the city has fallen prey to a compensation culture.

Dublin City Council paid out by the far the most - dishing out a staggering 41,322,784.12 to 3,853 claimants from 2012 until 2016.

Lord Mayor of Dublin Brendan Carr said he was concerned about a "claims culture" developing.

"If there are claims coming in causing that amount of money to be paid out, then it would be more beneficial to put more money into fixing footpaths," he said.

"Clearly, the claims culture in Dublin needs to be reviewed as well, but I'm not sure how to control that.

Resources

"I do know these figures show we should be looking into how this money is being paid out.

"If people have serious health cases, then there is no money in the world that would fix that, so we need to put more resources into making sure the city is a safe place.

"I call on the public that if they see any hazards, report it to the council."

Dun Laoghaire County Council forked out the second highest number of compensation claims, with a 12,310,000 bill for five years.

Some 719 claimants got payouts from the local authority in this time, with the average estimated claim sitting at 17,121.

Dun Laoghaire Fine Gael councillor Mary Fayne said: "It's a no-brainer - if you want less claims, you give less conditions for claims.

"Nothing is new about our compensation culture.

"No win, no fee lawyers are advertised everywhere, encouraging people to call if they fall over.

"There is a problem with delays in some of our road repairs, too, and I've been trying to get potholes done for some time.

"But there is this culture of people claiming and something will have to be done about it."

Claimants

Fingal County Council paid out 8,095,700 across the five-year period to 1,042 claimants, with each claim averaging an estimated 7,769.38.

Fingal independent councillor Tony Murphy said: "This is partly a national issue with regard to the way claims are processed and delivered without a cap.

"The UK has caps. I'm not suggesting people who have the misfortune of suffering an accident shouldn't claim, but there is also a system that is wide open for abuse."

2016 was the most expensive year for Dublin City Council, when 9,605,001.81 was paid out to 742 claimants.

In 2012, 6,755,859.4 was dished out. In 2013, this rose to 7,619,183.02.

Some 8,026,519.90 was claimed in compensation in 2014 and by 2015, 9,316,220.00 was claimed.

In 2014, 808 claimants were paid - the highest number of payees the city council had witnessed in the five-year period.

In 2015, Dun Laoghaire forked out 3.58 million and in 2012, it shelled out 3.2 million.

In 2012, 130 claimants received compensation awards and by 2013, 210 had received compensation.

Although figures dropped for the number of claimants in 2015 to 125, this was the year Dun Laoghaire recorded the highest financial amount to be distributed. A Dun Laoghaire County Council spokeswoman said: "Claims are for accidents in our administrative area.

"All claims are investigated fully."

Fingal County Council had its highest compensation bill in 2016, when it paid 2,587,100. 2013 was its second most expensive year, with a 1,672,300 bill.

Footpaths

In 2014, 69 claims were made due to footpath issues, thought to be mostly falls, and 103 claims were made for injuries on the county's roads in 2013.

Some 236 claims were made that year in total.

In 2015, 39 claims were made for accidents in parks and open spaces owned by the local authority. Some 196 claims were made in total that year.

A Fingal Council spokesman said: "The compensation paid in these years is not in any way related to the number of claims received in these years.

"For example, the compensation paid in 2012 largely relates to claims received from 2008-2011.

"The level of compensation paid in 2016 shows a significant increase, but this does not indicate an increase in the cost of claims.

"It is entirely related to a small number of high-value claims, which were settled and related to claims received between 2009 and 2014."

The public claimed 2,060,000 from South Dublin County Council (SDCC) between 2012 and 2016.

The local authority's claims figures dropped since it handed over the management of claims to Irish Public Bodies (insurance company) in January 2014.

A SDCC spokeswoman said: "The majority of cases in relation to public liability cases are trips, slips and falls on footpaths/roads, or in public parks.

"A small number of claims are in regard to damage to property, i.e. car tyres."
The hearse carrying Capt Mark Duffy to Mayo General Hospital is escorted by rescue workers. Photo: PA

Rescue workers are today expecting to lift the wreckage of the Rescue 116 helicopter in an effort to find the two missing Irish Coast Guard members.

As the search and recovery operation enters its 13th day, hope remains that Ciaran Smith and Paul Ormsby will be found at or near the crash site.

The remains of their colleague, Captain Mark Duffy (51), were recovered yesterday morning by a Naval Service dive team.

His body was brought to Blacksod, Co Mayo, shortly after 1pm, when a guard of honour was formed by rescue workers as his coffin, draped in the tricolour, was taken by hearse to Mayo General Hospital, where a post-mortem will be carried out.

Capt Duffy's colleagues, winch operator Ciaran Smith and winch man Paul Ormsby, have still not been located despite extensive searches off the Mayo coast.

The fourth crew member, Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, was recovered soon after the helicopter crashed but was later pronounced dead in hospital.

The rescue operation will now focus on using flotation devices to partially raise the Sikorsky S-92's main section in an effort to locate the two missing airmen.

Jurgen Whyte, a chief inspector with the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU), said: "Now that the cockpit area has been cleared, we wish to lift a segment of the wreckage, mainly the gearbox and the engines.

Priority

"We wish to lift that just a bit to see if the missing crewmen are there. That would be our last task at the moment at the wreckage site.

"We may, after we recover the crew members, lift pieces of the wreckage that are of interest to us."

He said "the hope" is that the two Irish Coast Guard members are near the wreckage, but added that the search area would need to be widened if they were not discovered after today's operation.

"The reason we have to focus so much on the cockpit is that we didn't want to lose Capt Mark Duffy in the process of lifting the wreckage, so the priority had to go to releasing him.

"Now that area is clear, we want to partially lift the large area that is there.

"After we've done that, we hope the divers will be able to get underneath to see if the remaining crew members are there. If not, then we expand the search area away from the wreckage."

Colleagues of the tragic crew described the recovery of Capt Duffy as a "poignant and challenging" day for the Irish Coast Guard.

Incident Officer Michael O'Toole said their thoughts were with Capt Duffy's wife and two children.

"It is a particularly poignant day for ourselves in the Coast Guard. We've recovered our colleague Capt Mark Duffy," said Mr O'Toole.

"Our thoughts are with his family, his wife Hermione, daughter Esme (14), son Fionn (12) and his extended family.

Difficult

"It's difficult to prepare for these things but I think the coast guard community in Galway and Mayo and those other volunteers that has attended today have acquitted themselves quite well in the dignity which they showed our dearest colleague Capt Mark Duffy."

The senior garda who has helped co-ordinate the investigation, Superintendent Tony Healy, also praised the crew of Rescue 116.

"These are a crew who put their lives at risk day in, day out for the Irish community. It's very poignant and very sad that we're involved in such a search."

Investigators have established that the helicopter's tail section collided with the western section of Blackrock island before crashing into the sea early on March 14.

However, the examination of the helicopter's black box will help determine exactly what led to the tragic incident.
An opposition rally took place outside the Globus theater in central Novosibirsk on Sunday.

"About 1,500 people are taking part in the rally," a city hall official told Interfax.

A day earlier the Central District Court of Novosibirsk overturned the city authorities' ban on an opposition rally near the Globus theater.

The site has a "Hyde Park" status in Novosibirsk, meaning no permission required from the authorities, but the city hall had earlier banned the rally, citing pavement repairs there, and suggesting that the rally be held on March 30.

Another "hyde park" opposition rally was held in Barnaul, Altai Territory, on Sunday.

According to the police, some 150 people took part in the event on Freedom Square.

"The event is taking place at a site specifically designed for such public gatherings, in the hyde park format, which is why it is not considered to be unauthorized, it is legal," one of its organizers Olga Fotiyeva, the Altai leader of the Party of Progress, told Interfax.

Overall, the event was held quietly, public order was maintained.

"We have no information of any event participant having been detained," a regional police spokesperson told Interfax.

A permitted opposition rally was held in central Tomsk, at a small 1812 Patriotic War memorial park.

Around 400 people took part in the event, according to the public safety committee of the Tomsk administration.

Meanwhile, police told Interfax that no public order violations were registered upon conclusion of the rally.

In Kemerovo, an opposition rally took place in Orbita park in the city center, where National Liberation Movement (NLM) activists held a parallel rally. NLM members said they were ending the event early because of "shouts from the crowd" of supporters of Alexei Navalny.

The opposition rally was not permitted by the local authorities. A spokesperson for the Kemerovo administration told Interfax that around 150 people were attended the event.

Because the authorities banned the rally in the center of Kemerovo and a picket, unless it is held the city's outskirts, the opposition decided to join the NLM activists.

In Krasnoyarsk, around 450 people gathered for an opposition rally permitted by the local authorities, Krasnoyarsk Territory police spokesman Vladimir Yurchenko told Interfax.

"No public order violation was registered during the rally. No one was held," Yurchenko said.

An unauthorized opposition rally was also held on Sunday at a train station square in Vladivostok.

"About 180 people took part in the rally," the Primorsky Territory police spokesperson said.

Over 25 people faced administrative charges, the police said.

The 26 citizens were charged with violating the rules for organizing and conducting rallies and then released, the police spokesperson said.
A couple described as childhood "sweethearts" were two of five people to tragically lose their lives on Irish roads over the weekend.

Meanwhile, a 91-year-old woman pedestrian is in St Vincent's University Hospital with serious head injuries following a collision on the Old Dublin Road, Stillorgan, on Saturday afternoon.

Clare teenagers Gary Kelly (19) and Delia Keary (18) both passed away within a day of each other, after their car was in collision with a truck on Friday night.

The couple were on their way to Kerry for a weekend away.

Mr Kelly was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident on the N21 road, near Abbeyfeale in Limerick.

Despite a valiant fight for her life, Ms Keary succumbed to her serious injuries and died on Saturday night at Limerick University Hospital.

Apprentice

It is understood that a female garda on the scene remained for five hours past her shift in order to ensure the bodies of the pair could be removed from the car.

Mr Kelly had been training as an apprentice electrician in his hometown of Ennis, Co Clare.

His boss Jerry O'Keeffe told the Herald that he was an exemplary employee, who had a very tight-knit relationship with his family.

He had been in a relationship with Ms Keary for a number of years.

"They were going out for maybe five years - young school sweethearts, I suppose," Mr O'Keeffe said.

"It's very sad, it's shocking.

"He was a very dedicated worker, he was always there on time, every morning.

"It's such a sad, sudden loss of human life."

Mr O'Keeffe added: "His grandmother even rang him on Friday, wishing him a good weekend away, and the whole lot."

Friends of the couple also paid tribute via social media.

"RIP Gary Kelly and Delia Keary so young and so full of life may ye rest in peace forever young," one friend wrote on Facebook.

Meanwhile, a spate of road collisions across the country saw deaths occur in Mayo, Clare and Cork over the weekend.

Tim Lyons (36) from Breaffy, Co Mayo, was pronounced dead at the scene following a crash just outside Newport shortly after 4am on Sunday morning.

Tragic

Mr Lyons was the only person in the vehicle, which is understood to have left the N59 road in Kilbride and crashed into a fence.

Independent councillor for the area Michael Kilcoyne told the Herald the death of Mr Lyons was "very tragic". He added: "It's a terrible tragedy for his family and all of the people that would have known him.

"I want to extend my deepest sympathies to them all."

Elsewhere, in Cork, emergency services were called to the scene of a single-car crash on the R577 near the village of Kiskeam shortly before 6am yesterday.

A 21-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.

It is understood the car left the road and struck a ditch.

In Clare, a 50-year-old cyclist was killed when he collided with a camper van just off the N18 road between Limerick and Galway.
At least 25 journalists were detained in Belarus on Saturday - association

At least 25 journalists were detained in Belarus on Saturday during opposition protests timed to the Day of Will, and most of them have already been released, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said.

"As of 6:30 p.m. on March, there was information that at least 25 people were detained. Twenty have been released," the Belarusian Association of Journalists said in a report posted on its official website.

Most of the detentions of journalists occurred in Minsk.

According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, the journalists who now remain in detention are Denis Ivashin (website

InformNapalm), Alexander Borozenko (Belsat), Dmitry Korenko (independent journalist), Nikita Yarosh (Gantsevichsky Chas), and Anton Karlinger (photographer from Russia).

"The colleagues cannot find British journalist Filip Warwick. There is no information on his detention or on where he is and what happened to him," the association said.

Artyom Sizintsav (Radio Ratsiya) remains in detention in Vitebsk.

Yelena Bychkova, Ivan Yarivanovich and Larisa Shchirakova also remain in detention. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, they were detained in Gomel.

According to earlier reports, opposition rallies timed to the celebration of the day of Will were held in Minsk, Gomel, Vitebsk, Grodno and Brest on Saturday. The rallies were authorized by the authorities only in Grodno and Brest.

The rallies held in Minsk ended in detentions. According to human rights activists, hundreds of people were detained. Closer to the evening, the people started being released from police stations, some without any protocols.
Election day forecast? Sunny skies and, perhaps, a good turnout

"I hope that means that more people will go out and vote," said Barry Jackson, deputy elections director in Washington County.
Damages of 243 buildings have been recorded in Balaklia of the Kharkiv region as a result of a fire that started at night of March 23 with subsequent detonation of ammunition at artillery warehouses of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine located nearby.

"Balaklia. Some 243 buildings have been damaged, including 117 apartment buildings, 87 private houses ... 12 social facilities, 22 infrastructure and industry objects have been destroyed. Damage and destruction volumes are being assessed," Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Hennadiy Zubko wrote on his Twitter on Sunday afternoon.

He noted that the distribution of construction materials for the primary repair of damaged buildings had already been organized.

Speaking about the elimination of the consequences of emergency situations at ammo depots, Zubko said that teams of pyrotechnics of the State Service of Ukraine for Emergency Situations had already cleared five of the nine sectors of Balaklia, as well as seven other settlements.

"... Demining continues ... A total of 820 explosive items have been removed," he wrote.

The deputy prime minister informed that the works on restoration of power supply and gas supply of the city and the district continued, and two power stations of the State Emergency Service were involved to provide power supply to Yakovenkove.

"Emergency and restorative work is continuing. Some 64 emergency recovery teams were brought in," Zubko said.

In addition, according to the deputy premier, single explosions of ammunition are observed on the territory of the army arsenal with a frequency of ten explosions per hour.
Poroshenko not to allow revision of obligations undertaken by Ukraine to obtain visa-free travel with EU  Tseholko

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko considers the decision of the Verkhovna Rada Committee to exclude the so-called anti-discrimination norms from the draft of the new Labor Code erroneous and assured the European partners that this initiative would not find support for its implementation.

"The president will not allow revision of Ukraine's obligations, which we implemented to get visa-free regime [with EU]. The president considers the decision of the parliamentary committee to exclude the so-called anti-discrimination norms from the draft of the new Labor Code erroneous and even provocative," Sviatoslav Tseholko, press secretary of Ukrainian president wrote on his Facebook page on Monday morning.

According to him, the Ukrainian president assured the partners through diplomatic channels that such a position of the committee would not find support either in the Verkhovna Rada or, even more so, on his part.

"Ukraine fulfilled, fulfills and will fulfill all its obligations," a message says.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko will pay a working visit to Malta on March 29-30, where he will address the European People's Party (EPP) summit, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Kostiantyn Yeliseyev has said.

"The president is scheduled to pay a working visit to Malta for participation in the Congress and an expanded summit of the heads of state and government of the European People's Party on March 29-30. It is planned that our president will speak at the session of the Congress of the European People's Party," Yeliseyev said in an interview with the 'Today' newspaper.

According to him, this is a platform for an opportunity to talk about the priorities of domestic reforms, as well as about the challenges that Ukraine faces in the context of Russian aggression in Donbas and the temporary occupation of Crimea.

"Of course, the president will have about a dozen bilateral meetings with EU leaders and the leaders of its member countries," he said.

As earlier reported, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and President of the European Council Donald Tusk would hold a meeting within the summit of the European People's Party (EPP) in Malta on March 30.

According to the weekly schedule of Tusk, posted on the official website of the European Council, a bilateral meeting with Poroshenko will take place at the EPP summit in Malta at 10:45 (local time) on Thursday, March 30.
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One of the most significant features of Union budget 2017 was the intention to increase transparency in electoral funding. When it was presented last month, it seemed like a good beginning towards cleansing politics of money power. At that time, the finance minister had strongly acknowledged that a transparent method of funding political parties is vital to the system of free and fair elections. He also expressed concern that even 70 years after Independence, the country has not been able to evolve one. He said that political parties continue to receive most of their funds through anonymous donations which are shown in cash. The finance minister categorically stated: An effort, therefore, is required to be made to cleanse the system of political funding in India.

The most significant proposal was to issue electoral bonds which the donors could purchase from authorised banks. These bonds will be redeemable only in the designated account of a registered party within a short time that the finance minister specified as 3-4 weeks. This will stop cash payments which were subject to abuse. Till now, all donations above Rs20,000 are disclosed by the political parties to the Election Commission.

Questions were raised on whether donation through bonds would be disclosed to the Election Commission as well. Under section 182 of the Companies Act, no political donation can be made unless the board of directors passes a resolution authorising such a payment. The minutes of the meeting being in public domain, its hoped that donations through bond will be transparent. The full operational details, however, would be known only after the scheme is framed by the government of India.

Today what has raised alarm is a last-minute amendment in the Finance Bill made quietly, which removes the cap of 7.5% of average three years profit that a company can donate to a political party. Experts are questioning this move, especially when the identity of the recipient will be kept a secret.

The finance minister, in his reply to a Rajya Sabha debate, assured the house that all the concerns will be addressed in the Electoral Bonds Scheme being formulated. He invited suggestions from every one assuring that their concerns will be addressed.

The government putting the transparency of political funding high on its agenda is most welcome. But its own actions must be fully transparent, too. The ideal solution would be to set up a National Electoral Fund to which all donors can openly contribute without expressing any preference for any political party. The funds could then be allocated to all registered political parties in proportion to the votes obtained. This will also address the donors concern for secrecy.

Once public funding of political parties is ensured, private donations must be totally banned. And since public funds will be involved, there must be an annual audit by the Comptroller and auditor General of India or an auditor approved by it. This will be the most decisive action electoral reform that the country needs.

SY Quraishi is a is former Chief Election Commissioner and the author of An Undocumented Wonder - The Making of the Great Indian Election
An abuser, who stole a minibus in Kyiv on March 2 and wounded a police officer, was detained in the town of Fastiv, Kyiv region, chief of the National Police, Serhiy Kniazev, has said.

"The abuser who hijacked a minibus in Kyiv, has been detained by police in Fastiv [Kyiv region] today," Kniazev wrote on Twitter on Monday.

He said that the offender is a 29-year-old resident of the Kyiv region, who was released under the "Savchenko law."
Is man free enough to think without any restrictions given the law is invisible and the court untouched? Writer Franz Kafka had raised this question a century ago in his novella The Trial.

The German writers iconic story has been adapted into a Hindi play Giraftari to address situations in present-day India, which the director Rama Pandey feels, are similar to the early 20th century in Europe.

Today people are grappling with Kafkaesque experiences, says Pandey, as her play attempts to pillory the system in a contemporary narrative, much like what Kafkas path-breaking literature did to the Austro-Hungarian bureaucracy in his time.

The bhaav (feelings) used by Kafka in every scene depicted the social order of the day. We have tried to simplify it and adapt to the local conditions here. This play is about a mans arrest and why he was arrested, she said.

Written during 1914-15 and originally titled Der Procez in German, The Trial has been a touchstone of 20th-century critical interpretation with subject experts even considering it a mirror for any sectarian reading.

But not much has changed in society even in the modern world  people are kept captive by the system, says Pandey. In totality, nothing has changed in the modern world. The man was alienated from the society in the 1920s, 1930s, 1950s and even in 2017, the system, the law remain the same...people follow the system foolishly without logical conclusions, she says.

Much like Kafka, Pandey has kept the writing of the play bold, punctuating the intense plot with well-timed humour. She believes theatre must always have a purpose, and render the audience with a thought-provoking experience.

The play which was staged here recently, was penned and directed by Pandey over a period of a whole year during which she went through as many as 40 books on and by Kafka to recreate the literary genius of the iconic writer.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more.
Actor Kriti Sanon wants us to believe shes single (honestly, she says) and not dating her Raabta co-star Sushant Singh Rajput.

The Heropanti and Dilwale star tried to put all rumours to rest during a caht with DNA. She said, You cant plan a relationship. You connect with people or you dont. Im single, honestly. But Im okay dating someone from the industry, a boyfriend would have to understand my profession and its not an easy one to understand unless youre a part of it.

An outsider in the industry, Sanon was seen as a mere co-star in Tiger Shorffs debut film, Heropanti. But, Dilwale gave her a solid footing in Bollywood. Now she is waiting for the release of Raabta which has Sushant Singh Rajput as her co-actor.

Its been a while since she is linked to Rajput as grapevine suggested they came close during the shooting of Raabta. Recently, it was said that the actors are not dating anymore as they are not mentally prepared for a steady relationship at this point in their career.

Raabta, directed by Dinesh Vijan will hit the screens on June 9, 2017.
Sonam Kapoor and her rumoured boyfriend Anand Ahuja dont seem to be hiding their relationship any more. Anand joined other members of the Kapoor family, including Anil and Maheep Kapoor, in London on Sunday. The family is in London to celebrate Anils wife Sunitas birthday.

What A Wonderful Way To Celebrate Mothers Day!  A post shared by Sunita Kapoor (@kapoor.sunita) on Mar 26, 2017 at 10:00am PDT

Sunita posted a photo on Instagram in which many members of the Kapoor family can be seen.

Initially, Sonam was very secretive about her personal life, but of late shes been posting pictures with Anand.

Happy new year folks! #keepitreal  A post shared by sonamkapoor (@sonamkapoor) on Jan 1, 2017 at 12:22am PST

There are a lot of other things which make you a whole person besides who youre dating. My personal life is out there because Ive always been myself but if youre talking about personal life as in (context of) boyfriend, then Ill never talk about it, Sonam had told PTI in an old interview.

Anand is a Delhi-based businessman who runs clothing line, Bhane. He attended American School before graduating from Wharton Business School.
Minister of Information and Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said they are seriously considering the recommendations made by Shyam Benegal committee to revamp the guidelines of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Naidu said he has already started consulting with former I&B ministers and will also meet people from the film industry before taking the final decision.

Launching Online Film Certification System of #CBFC, e-CinePramaan, step towards enhanced ease of doing business in film certification arena https://t.co/fiY6qB0QGh  M Venkaiah Naidu (@MVenkaiahNaidu) March 27, 2017

In e-cinepramaan, status of each application would be visible online in the dashboard of the producer / concerned #CBFC official. pic.twitter.com/st5eSqvtgJ  M Venkaiah Naidu (@MVenkaiahNaidu) March 27, 2017

We want to revamp the CBFC based on the Shyam Benegal and Mudgal Committee recommendations. We have already started the consultation process. I am trying to understand the different elements of the recommendations.

I will also be meeting people from the film industry and media before taking the final call. We want to revisit the system of CBFC and make improvement according to the reports given, Naidu said at the launch of online film certification system.

This is a big step towards making #CBFC paperless & transparent, enabling effective monitoring & real-time progress tracking for applicants. pic.twitter.com/ZpuWY5G2kS  M Venkaiah Naidu (@MVenkaiahNaidu) March 27, 2017

The minister has advised the censor board to not rush through decisions and also asked producers to not do things just for publicity.

The Benegal committee had submitted recommendations to the I&B ministry in June, 2016.

Other members of the committee include actor Kamal Haasan, filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, ad-man Piyush Pandey, film critic Bhawana Somaaya and NFDC Managing Director Nina Lath Gupta.
Much has been said, a lot more debated ever since Bollywood star Kangana Ranaut accused Bollywood of practicing nepotism on the talk show, Koffee with Karan. Kangana had called the host and filmmaker Karan Johar, the flag-bearer of nepotism in Bollywood. KJo was rather defensive in his response and claimed that perhaps the Rangoon star did not know what nepotism means. While most of Bollywood decided to side with Karan, a few, including Manoj Bajpayee and Vidya Balan, extended their support to Kangana.

Karan and Kangana on Koffee with Karan.

An old video from May 2014 has now emerged that shows Karan accepting the existence of nepotism in the industry.

The video looks like a snippet from the chat show hosted by Anupama Chopra - The Front Row with Anupama Chopra. Karan says in the video, I picked up a chubby girl, I saw something...And maybe the fact - I cant lie - maybe the fact that she was Mahesh Bhatts daughter also excited me. I dont know. Right now, I want to say no, but at that point it may have been a very strong fact. If that is nepotism, then definitely, I am guilty. Would I have cast Varun Dhawan had he not been David Dhawans son? Because he was Davids son, he was on the sets as an AD (assistant director) and spent enough time for me to understand that he can be a movie star. A lot of factors determine movie stardom in our country and I think true talent is the least of them.

It is truly tragic. Would I have been a filmmaker? I am a producers son; I had no experience and had assisted on just one film. My father had the platform to give me, therefore I am a filmmaker. So if I go through any struggle in my career, I deserve it, he adds.

During her visit to Karans show to promote her film Rangoon, Kangana had said, In my biopic, if it is ever made, you will play the stereotypical villain. One who is intolerant of outsiders, the flag-bearer of nepotism in Bollywood and movie mafia.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Oil fell further towards $50 a barrel on Monday, pressured by uncertainty over whether an OPEC-led production cut will be extended beyond June in an effort to counter a glut of crude.

A committee of ministers from OPEC and outside producers agreed on Sunday to look at prolonging the deal, stopping short of an earlier draft statement that said the committee recommended keeping the measure in place.

International benchmark Brent crude was down 34 cents at $50.46 by 0822 GMT, after falling as low as $50.26. U.S. crude was down 44 cents at $47.53.

We would see the relative lack of reaction in the price perhaps as a reflection of some disappointment that nothing more concrete was forthcoming, analysts at JBC Energy said in a report, referring to the conclusion of Sundays talks.

A number of ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers met in Kuwait to review the progress of their supply cut, which initially runs until the end of June.

OPEC and 11 other producers including Russia agreed in December to reduce their combined output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of this year, to support prices and curb oversupply.

While many in OPEC have called for prolonging the curbs, Russia has been less definitive. Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday it was too early to say whether there would be an extension.

There is increasing scepticism in the market as to whether a rollover of the cuts can be agreed, JBC added.

Oil also came under pressure from further evidence that higher prices as a result of the OPEC-led supply cut are helping boost supplies in the United States.

U.S. drillers added oil rigs for a 10th week in a row, data from energy services firm Baker Hughes showed on Friday, as energy companies boost spending on new production.

Because of higher U.S. output and the cuts by OPEC, the discount of U.S. crude to Brent has grown to around $2.90 per barrel, heading for its widest close since late 2015.

Despite ample inventories and rising U.S. output, Goldman Sachs said the market was rebalancing and it may not be necessary to keep output curbed unless supply-and-demand fundamentals worsen.
Shares of Reliance Industries fell by over 2% today after Sebi banned the company and 12 others from equity derivatives trading for one year.

At 1:50 pm, the stock, after making a weak opening, lost 2.78% to Rs 1,250.50 on BSE.

At NSE, shares of the company went down by 2.89% to Rs 1,249.55.

Sebi on Friday banned Reliance Industries and 12 others from equity derivatives trading for one year and directed the Mukesh Ambani-led firm to disgorge nearly Rs 1,000 crore for unlawful gains made through alleged fraudulent trading in a nearly 10-year-old case.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said it will challenge the order before the Securities Appellate Tribunal and termed Sebi directions as unjustifiable sanctions.

After finding that RIL made unlawful gains, Sebi has asked the company to disgorge Rs 447 crore, along with an annual interest of 12 per cent since November 29, 2007, which itself would be more than Rs 500 crore, taking the total disgorgement amount to nearly Rs 1,000 crore.

The case relates to alleged fraudulent trading in the futures and options (F&O) space in the securities of RILs erstwhile listed subsidiary Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL).
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lost a lawmaker to the BJP ahead of crucial municipal elections in the Capital, as Bawana MLA Ved Parkash joined the rival party on Monday after accusing the leadership of running a coterie.

Parkash, who resigned from the assembly, said about 35 unhappy AAP lawmakers could switch side to the BJP.

The AAP was quick to blame the defection on the BJP, accusing the opposition party of attempting to destabilise chief minister Arvind Kejriwals government.

The BJP does not believe in democracy. It wants to rule by dislodging governments and breaking parties. We witnessed that in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand earlier and in Manipur and Goa recently. They are starting to do the same in Delhi, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said outside Kejriwals home.

The AAP leaders played down unverified reports that a dozen disgruntled legislators were in touch with the BJP, which had just three MLAs in the 70-member Delhi assembly before Parkash broke ranks.

I joined the AAP with a hope that there will be some change, but I am disillusioned ... I have neither quit under duress nor will I take any post in the BJP and will abide by the decisions taken by the party leadership, Parkash said.

The AAP turncoat told reporters at the Delhi BJP office that he was influenced by the BJPs decision to make a priest (Adityanath Yogi) the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

He alleged that chief minister Kejriwal is not concerned about ground realities, and focuses his entire attention to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.

Modiji is a saint and with this hope I have joined the BJP, he said.

He accused the Kejriwal government of failing to deliver on the partys poll promises, and the top leadership of suppressing MLAs who broached the development topic.

Delhi BJP chief Tiwari said people have now understood how they were cheated by the AAP.

The development buoyed the BJPs campaign to retain power in the citys three municipal corporations, which go to the polls on April 23.

The AAP is trying to dislodge the BJP, which has been ruling the corporations for the past decade, and keep the Congress at bay in the high-stakes civic polls. The cash-strapped corporations, struggling to pay staff wages and quell labour unrest, have been the object of a bitter AAP-BJP political battle.

The AAP is confident of winning the civic elections.

People punished the BJP for trying to weaken the AAP by giving 67 seats to us in the Delhi assembly, Sanjay Singh said.

He recalled how the BJP poached four AAP legislators, including then speaker MS Dhir, and fielded them in the 2015 assembly elections. The BJP will face a similar fate in the municipal elections, he said.
With the district magistrate promising that licences as per updated operational guidelines will soon be issued to the meat shop owners, the meat prices are likely to see a spike.

The Ghaziabad district magistrate assured abattoirs that licences will be issued through a single-window facility at the municipal corporation and Nagar Palikas in the district.

There has been a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses and meat shops since the new government under chief minister Yogi Adityanath took over in Uttar Pradesh.

In the crackdown, 152 slaughterhouses and meat shops were shut down. The district has no legal slaughterhouse for meeting local requirements.

In this connection, we held a meeting with export units and asked them to provide the facility to meet local consumption. They have largely agreed to this. But they will not provide their livestock to meet the local requirement which is costly and meant for exports. In such a case, the local shopkeepers and businessmen will have to make arrangements for the transport of meat, which should have deep-freezer facility, said Nidhi Kesarwani, district magistrate, Ghaziabad.

The shopkeepers will have to follow the updated guidelines. For example, they have to set up freezer facilities, proper disposal of garbage and even tinted glasses at shops. For local sales, the shopkeepers will procure meat from units and bring it to their shops for retail sales. Roadside and open slaughtering will not be permitted at any cost, she added.

The updated guidelines and transportation are likely to increase the cost of procuring meat for retailers and in turn will affect the consumers.

Ones health is of prime importance. Even if updated guidelines come at a cost and an increase in prices, the system is welcome. However, this will also affect the small meat shop owners, who may not have funds to follow the guidelines. Even the lower strata of society will feel the impact if there is a rise in prices, said Sudeepta Pal, resident of Windor Park, Indirapuram.

However, residents feel that quality meat procured from clean slaughterhouses would ensure that customer will get access to safe food.

Currently, one would be surprised to know how meat processing was done in the open amid utterly unhygienic conditions. The shopkeepers hardly paid any attention to filthy surroundings and the type of livestock they procured for selling. There has to be a change now. The government is just enforcing previous guidelines and it is for better, said Mohsin Alvi, a resident of Islam Nagar.

Many shopkeepers procure chicken from nearby Ghazipur Market. The slaughterhouse operated by Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation had shut operations around four years back as residential localities sprung up nearby.

We dont support of roadside illegal shops. It is hardly known what quality of product they procure and what they sell to the customer. We are willing to put in place the updated guidelines and get the renewal of our licences which have not been renewed for the past couple of years. It may increase the cost of meat but customers will be assured of getting the right supplies and we will not be harassed frequently, said Yaad Ilahi Qureshi, a shop owner at Raj Nagar.

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President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has said that 193 servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine have been killed during the ATO (Anti-Terrorism Operation).

"Some 1,175 soldiers deservedly received high state awards. In total, 193 guardsmen were killed defending Ukraine," the president said, visiting the military range of the National Guard in Novi Petrivtsi on Monday.
The ghar wapsi of AAP MLA Ved Parkash into the saffron camp seemed almost complete on Monday, with the Bawana legislator accusing the Arvind Kejriwal government of having failed to fulfil electoral promises for rural Delhi---including failure to provide facilities such as shamshan ghat and kabristan.

In a separate letter to the chief minister, Parkash, who was with the Bharatiya Janata Party before he switched sides ahead of the 2015 assembly elections on AAP symbol, wrote that the AAP government failed even in making efforts in delivering electoral promises, especially those related to the rural parts.

Despite (my) attempts to ensure development for gullible residents of Shahbad dairy, the government could not even provide facilities such as shamashan ghat and kabristan, said Parkash, who was a grassroots worker of the BJP before he joined the AAP ahead of the 2015 assembly elections to contest assembly polls on AAP ticket.

Parkash, who was vice-president of the BJPs youth wing in North West district before he quit the party, represented Bawana, which is one of the 12 reserved constituencies in Delhi assembly.

Sources in the BJP said Parkash father, Uday Singh Kataria, had contested as an independent from the seat in 1993 assembly elections. He lost but joined the BJP later.

Speaking to reporters at Delhi BJP office, Parkash said he was influenced by the BJPs recent decision to make a priest (Adityanath Yogi) the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Modiji is a saint and with this hope I have joined the BJP, he said adding that the AAP government is being run through laptop and that there is no connect with the ground reality.

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In 2012, Municipal Corporation of Delhi was trifurcated and roads less than 60 feet were transferred to the three new corporations. It was then believed that this will improve the functioning of local bodies.

The decentralization, however, made no difference to the condition of roads in the Capital. From south Delhis Vasant Kunj and Sarita Vihar to east Delhis Khichripur and Trilokpuri or north Delhis Swaroop Nagar, the neighbourhood roads are still in a mess.

Multiplicity of agencies, unscientific approach in road repair and poor drainage has lead to several roads being left with potholes and cracks.

MULTIPLICITY OF AGENCIES

In 2016 the Delhi governments Jal Board decided to repair the pipelines in Kalkaji, which comes under SDMC. The roads were dug up and then left unattended for months. Residents had to struggle through potholed colony lanes for months with none of the agencies taking up the responsibility for it.

This was not an isolated case. Walk into any Delhi locality and the story is more or less the same. People complain that one government agency constructs the road while other breaks it to lay underground wires or pipelines.

A senior official of the South corporation said that it is mandatory for government and private agencies to deposit a fixed sum before they take up construction. But in many cases they either dig more than the permissible limit or leave it unattended.

There are times when roads have to be urgently dug up. For instance, if there is a water supply issue, the Jal Board may have to dig up the pipelines. In such a case, we cannot wait for the formalities. But as a result, they do not do the repair work and we have to go to courts, North corporation leader of House VP Pandey said.

Residents, also claim that private telecom companies too dig up the roads and leave them unattended as there is no check by corporation. East Delhis Krishnsa Nagar is one sucj example. President of East Delhi RWA Joint Front BS Vohra says roads were dug up in Krishna Nagar by telecom companies to lay underground cables and were not repaired for months.

Involvement of too many agencies also results in confusion over jurisdiction. The PWD, corporations and DDA often blame each other for repair and construction. Residents say that several roads lie neglected as BJP-ruled corporations and Delhi governments PWD pass the buck. For instance, it took more than three years for Vasant Kunj residents to figure out who is responsible for the maintenance of a Master Plan road.

Multiplicity of agencies benefits civic bodies as they can pass the buck. The Unified Traffic And Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre (Uttipec) was formed so that it will intervene in matters of multiplicity of agencies and work as a watchdog. But that never happened, said S Velmurugan, principal scientist, CRRI.

FUND CRISIS

The BJP-led East and North corporations blame the Delhi government for not giving enough funds to them for developmental work.

The corporators are dependent on Rs 2-3 crores which they get as funds. Around 50 per cent of this is spent on road repairs. The corporation earlier took loans from the Delhi government but since 2013 we have been asked to pay 11.5% interest for it. This is not feasible as we are already reeling under financial crisis.

A total of Rs 920 lakh was allocated in the budget for repair of roads near Gazipur dairy. However, the promised funds could not be disbursed and the work never got underway. Another road work of Rs 110 lakh from Ganesh Nagar to Dhobi Ghat was also not executed in East Delhi due to fund crisis.

The BJP-ruled corporations had promised to convert bituminous roads into cement concrete roads. However, over 60% roads in all the corporations are still being made using bituminous due to fund crunch.

Drainage issues

Experts says the citys poor drainage system damages roads massively. A sub-standard road with a good drainage system will last longer than a good road with improper drainage in the area, said SM Sarin, former director scientist at Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).

Clogged drains lead to spillage onto roads weakening and corroding them Several areas in our locality comes under mixed land use and traders throw plastics or left over foods in the drains. This leads to leakage and roads being broken, said resident welfare association president of Lajpat Nagar, Pawan Arora. The corporation says drainage comes under PWD or Jal Board while road repair their job, he added.

Checks and balances

As per the rules, a road made using Bituminous cannot be constructed again before five years and of ready mix concrete before 10 years. If there is damage before this period, it has to be repaired by contractors free of cost. However, the nexus between the contractors and corporators leads to the roads lying with potholes, said an official from North Corporation.

There is need for an external body that looks upon the quality issues for greater transparency rather than the quality control department of corporations judging it, said Sarin.

The condition of roads is comparatively better in South Delhi  the richest municipal corporation  while in several residential pockets of North and East, the roads are damaged and have not been repaired for years.

In some areas, repair works were taken just before the elections. More than 12 damaged neighbourhood roads were repaired just before the elections. For the remaining time of the year we had to live with the potholes, said Narender Goswami, resident of Mayur Vihar, Phase 1.

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The move by major domestic airlines not to allow Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad on board has thrown up questions about the validity and effectiveness of such a ban. The errant MPs party has so far stood by him and also indicated that it plans to bring a privilege motion against the state airliner Air India for grounding the MP, according to ANI.

Ravindra Gaikwad had hit headlines last week for allegedly thrashing an Air India official on March 23 after which the airlines had moved to introduce a no-fly list of troublesome passengers.

In a statement, Air India and Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), an umbrella body of four domestic airlines, condemned the assault and sought strict action. The statement said: In the interest of the safety and security of our colleagues and other customers, we also propose the promulgation of a no-fly list which shall include the names of all unruly passengers. Such customers are not welcome on our carriers and we seek the support of the government and security agencies to enforce such a no-fly list.

Here is all you need to know about the ban imposed by different carriers:

1. No precedent: The ban on Gaikwad is the first such in India. No one has so far been banned from flying for unruly behaviour though there have been incidents in the past of rowdy passengers being offloaded. Last month, AirAsia India filed a police complaint in Bengaluru against two drunk fliers for creating nuisance on one of its flights. In January, IndiGo was forced to tie down a passenger to his seat for being violent aboard one of its flights from Dubai for New Delhi.

2. Ban legitimate: Airlines can ban a passenger for security reasons. As per regulator DGCAs guidelines, any airline can ban a passenger if they feel he/she is a threat to safety. Air India said that their employees are agitated and might harm the MP in this case. The airlines have requested the government to form a rule to prepare a no-fly list so that a passenger cant challenge it.

3. Airlines united: In a joint statement the Air India and FIA (which includes IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Go Air) said: We believe that an assault on any one of our employees is an assault on all of us and on ordinary law abiding citizens of our country who work hard to earn a living... We believe that exemplary action should be taken in such incidents to protect employee morale and public safety.

4. Not without problems: Making a no-fly list could also open a can of worms giving the airlines blanket power. It could also spark fears of abuse of such a list and lack of transparency due to subjectivity in making such list. In the past, such lists drawn up in the United States have invited criticism and claims of discrimination.
It should have been an open and shut case, but five months after 13-year-old Aradhana Samdariya died after a 68-day fast in Hyderabad, the police find they have to drop the case against those responsible for lack of evidence.

The police have either been extremely shoddy in their work or are acting under pressure from the powerful Jain clergy, which sanctioned the little girls fast in the first place. After her death due to a cardiac arrest brought on by extreme nutritional deprivation, the police had registered a case of culpable homicide and one under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, for wilful neglect of a child.

It is inexplicable why this was not done during the highly publicised fast that the girl undertook ostensibly to improve her fathers business fortunes. The explanation that there is no technical evidence or witnesses does not wash, the child was visited by several politicians during her fast, advertisements were taken out about it and her school knew of this. Above all, her parents knew, though they argue that she undertook this voluntarily.

But the question is, was a young girl in a position to make a life or death decision while in the custody of her parents? Did her family and others who witnessed this fast not have the duty to stop it and save her life? The clerics of the community argued that this was a tradition in their religion and could not be questioned. But the death of a child cannot be explained away as being part of tradition, the coercive element in this fast amounts to child abuse which led to fatal consequences.

Similarly, when children in Tamil Nadu undertook body piercing to appease the gods and save the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, it was explained away as being part of tradition. Nothing justifies any tradition or religious practice which harms children.

Aradhanas death and the fact that people who were responsible for her well being have got of scot free sets a dreadful example to other young children that this is somehow a noble thing.

It will also encourage religious groups and sects who prescribe regressive and dangerous practices for children  an example is burying children for a few seconds in certain areas of Karnataka to cure them of physical disabilities, another is throwing babies off a 50-foot tower to be caught below in Maharashtra to negate bad luck. These are practices that must be resisted in the interest of child rights. The Aradhana case should have been a test case, instead it has fallen apart putting the lives and well being of more children in danger.
There has been a drop in the number of cow smuggling cases since Haryana implemented a law for protection and conservation of cows in 2015, head of the Cow Protection Task Force (CPTF) said.

CTPF head, inspector general of police Bharti Arora, stated this in a letter written to the director general of police KP Singh and chairman of the Haryana Gau Seva Aayog (cow service commission) Bhani Ram Mangla earlier this month.

The letter was written as the government was to file a reply on March 22 to a civil writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana high court on the issue of cow slaughter and protection.

In the letter, Arora also said there is a lack of coordination among the police, the animal husbandry, and the transport departments.

The Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act, 2015 was implemented with the aim of checking cow and beef smuggling, and conservation of the cattle. The CPTF was formed in July 2016.

As per figures in the letter, in 2013, 619 cases were registered, 4,418 cows rescued, and 1,138 accused arrested. The number dropped to 475 cases, 3240 cows rescued, and 632 accused arrested in 2015. In 2016, only 437 people were arrested for cow smuggling.

Arora refused to comment.

The letter says beef is being openly sold in several areas of Mewat district. The letter also states that due to the lack of coordination and sensitisation of police in all districts, prevention of cow smuggling and slaughter remain a low priority crime.

Mangla said an analysis of the letter is being done. There has been a drop in the number of cases. We have to check whether cow smuggling has reduced or slack policing has led to a drop in cases, Mangla said. He said a meeting of gau rakshakas and police will be held in Rohtak on April 2 to discuss the issues.

In the letter, Arora has suggested setting up of a dedicated helpline to report cow smuggling, and coordination among police, animal husbandry, and transport departments.

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Police filed a case against a real estate developer on Sunday allegedly for chopping more than 2,000 trees without permission from the authority concerned in Chauma village of Sector 111, 15 kilometres from the city.

The forest department filed a complaint on Sunday against the developer stating that it chopped trees in an area that comes under general Section 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) 1990, where tree felling is illegal without approval from the forest department.

We submitted a report to the police regarding our findings. Further investigation should be done by them. We have also provided them with photographic and Google image evidences. We have suspended a guard and two range officers who were allegedly involved in the case, a forest officer said.

In September 2016, the developer had approached the forest department seeking permission to axe 20 trees. However, the department had only given nod for transplantation of the trees and permission was not given to the developer to cut trees, the complaint by the forest department stated.

After the department came to know about the incident, it conducted an inquiry and suspended a guard, Parveen, and two range officers, Amardeep and Khajjan Singh, for their alleged involvement in the case.

The area is close to a project site of a real estate firm and residents alleged that it is a deliberate attempt by the builder lobby to grab more land illegally. The area is a prime location for realtors, as it is six kilometres from the Dwarka Expressway.

Rajiv Talwar , a resident of the area who filed a complaint in the forest department against the developer, said, The trees were chopped and transported in a truck from this area.

A case has been registered in the Palam Vihar police station. The forest department had mentioned that 1,322 fully grown trees and 921 shrubs were chopped from an area of 12 acres without permission from the forest department. We have filed a case against an employee of the firm and three forest department employees, Jai Singh, assistant commissioner of police, said.

Representatives of the real estate firm did not respond to calls and messages for a comment.

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The removal of Kherki Daula toll plaza on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway will depend on industries in Manesar as the state government wants them to pay a share of the buy off package to settle matters with the concessionaire operating the toll. The government has made it clear that the toll would not be removed if the industries back track from paying their share.

The government said the industries had earlier agreed to share financial liabilities of Rs 200 crore. The government had constituted a high-level committee headed by chief secretary of Haryana DS Dhesi to resolve the Kherki Daula toll issue. However, the industries later refused to pay the share.

The Kherki Daula toll plaza is being run by a private operator appointed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). The operator collects toll. The toll plaza has become a choke point on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and the Manesar industries have been demanding its removal for long.

After all this, the industries have refused to share financial liabilities, and, in that case, it would be difficult for the government to resolve the issue. I appeal to all beneficiaries to join hands in order to pay off the toll plaza concessionaire as its the removal is essential for smooth industrial growth, Devender Singh, principal secretary, industry, Haryana government, said.

Financial liabilities have been a big constraint and that is why it was decided earlier that the three beneficiaries will share Rs 600 crore equally. I doubt the state government would be able to remove the toll plaza in the current scenario (when industries are backing out), Singh said.

Singh said after the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) board meeting on January 26, the CM gave the nod to form a committee so that shareholders can work out a formula to share financial burden to buy off the toll plaza from the NHAI.

The two industrial associations of Manesar -- Manesar Industry Welfare Association (MIWA) and IMT Manesar Industrial Welfare Association (IMT-IWA) have demanded an audit into the accounts of the concessionaire.

We have written to the Haryana government to order an audit into the accounts of the concessionaire operating the Kherki Daula toll plaza, Manoj Tyagi, general secretary, IMT Manesar Industrial Association, said. The audit is urgently required in this regard, he said.

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In a major relief to those heading from Manesar to New Delhi, the one-side carriageway of the eight-lane Hero Honda Chowk flyover was opened on Monday.

It will help commuters save travel time by bypassing an intersection that witnesses heavy traffic from Jaipur, Pataudi, Manesar and other parts of northern Gurgaon.

Officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) claim more than three lakh vehicles ply on the Manesar-New Delhi route every day so the flyover was opened after only two days of trial runs.

For many commuters heading to work after the weekend, the 1.4-km carriageway came as a surprise.

For Kuldeep Dahiya, a resident of Rewari who travels for nearly three hours to Azadpur Mandi in New Delhi to sell cauliflower and brinjal at the wholesale market, the carriageway provides an escape from heavy traffic and ensures he does not lose on customers.

I leave home around 3.30 am to reach the mandi before 6am. Most of the route is traffic-free besides the Hero Honda Chowk where heavy traffic from Manesar merges with traffic from Pataudi and nearby areas. If there is a jam at the junction, it can take over 45 minutes to clear the stretch and increases chances of losing early morning customers. The flyovers opening is a huge relief, Kuldeep said.

Similarly, for Dr Harshavardhan Hegde, an orthopedician with Rockland Hospital at its facility in Manesar and Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi, the flyovers opening will save 20-30 minutes of travel time between the two facilities located 40 km apart.

I complete the 40 km journey between the Manesar and the facility at Qutub Institutional Aarea under two hours, with Hero Honda Chowk being the major bottleneck. I am anticipating that my travel will cut down by half-an-hour, Hegde said.

The NHAI had awarded the eight-lane flyover project (four lanes on either side) to Valecha Engineering Ltd in January 2015 with expected cost of 145 crore. Work began in February 2015. The deadline for the project was set as May 27, 2017.

It is unlikely that the flyover will meet this deadline owing to a restaurant and petrol pump coming in the way of construction on the opposite side of the flyover (from New Delhi to Manesar).

However, officials said with the opening of one-side carriageway the diversion road for traffic from Manesar to New Delhi has been barricaded to create space for accelerating construction work and completing the project by June.

The flyovers opening has been done to create a diversion. Traffic from Manesar to New Delhi will be diverted to that route. The official opening will only happen after the entire project is completed on June 30, Ashok Sharma, project engineer of NHAI said.

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Monday marks a week of Yogi Adityanath as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The 44-year-old has hit the ground running, grabbing headlines with a series of decision ranging from banning pan and gutkha at workplaces to cracking down on illegal slaughterhouses.

A new CM usually begins her stint by overhauling the bureaucracy but Adityanath has walked a different path. He retained former chief minister Akhilesh Yadavs set up, but warned officers against laxity.

Here is a list of things he decided and ordered:

1) MINISTERIAL INCOMES: An hour after he took oath on March 19, Adityanath ordered all ministers to declare their income, movable and immovable properties within 15 days. He asked them to submit declarations to the CM secretariat. He also made them take an oath of cleanliness and honesty. He conveyed that his government would have zero tolerance on corruption and law and order.

2) CLEANLINESS: Adityanath administered his ministers an oath of cleanliness and honesty. Also he fixed every Friday as the day when the state staff must tidy up workspaces. He asked them to devote two hours per week to cleanliness. He also asked them to read up BJPs 2017 poll manifesto and begin mulling over how to implement it in their respective departments. Also asked them to make budgetary provisions for it and begin preparing for the first cabinet meet.

3) PAN BAN: The next day, he ordered a ban on Paan-masala, Gutkha consumption in government offices, hospitals, schools etc. He also

4) MEAT CRACKDOWN: He ordered a crackdown on illegal slaughter houses and meat shops, and check cow smuggling. Many meat shops were burnt and businesses on strike with supplies drying up. The government has clarified that only illegal abattoirs would be targeted.

5) ANTI-ROMEO SQUAD: The CM also called for an end to road-side boozing and asked for the setting up of anti-Romeo squads across the state. When the anti-Romeo action created an outrage with the way police responded, Adityanath on March 25 ordered making of guidelines and said police should not be inhuman while implementing it.

6) SETTING AGENDA WITH MODI: On March 21, he went to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss distribution of portfolios to his ministers. He also informed the PM Modi that MPs were lobbying for transfers, postings of officers. Modi, on March 23, ordered all MPs not to interfere in transfers, postings.

7) ACID ATTACK CRACKDOWN: On March 24, Adityanath visited an acid attack survivor. Gave her Rs one lakh aid and ordered the arrest of the culprits.

8) POT-HOLES: On March 25, Adityanth set a deadline of June 15 for making all UP roads pot-holes free.

9) METRO: The new CM has also announced Metro train projects for Gorakhpur (his Lok Sabha constituency) and Jhansi.

10) CRACKDOWN ON LAXITY: During a visit in Gorakhpur, Adityanath said those officers who cannot work 18-20 house were free to leave. He also said that the state would promote regional dialects.

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Thirteen persons have been arrested in connection with the communal violence at Vadavali village in Gujarats Patan district which left one person dead, police said on Monday.

We arrested 13 persons yesterday (Sunday) after a combing operation in villages neighbouring Vadavali from where the crowd came and attacked residents, said CP Sadiya, inspector of Chanasma police station.

Those arrested so far belong to Sunsar and Dharpuri villages..., the officer said.

One person died and six others sustained severe injuries after violence broke out following a minor fight between two students of different communities on Saturday over a petty issue.

Some vehicles and a few houses were also set on fire.

Cross FIRs were filed at Chanasma police station against 45 accused and a crowd comprising over 3,000 people under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including 302 (murder), 147, 148, 149 (rioting armed with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly), 395, 397 (robbery), 435 and 436 (mischief by fire).

Sadiya said over 100 police personnel and two companies of State Reserve Police were posted at the village.
Leonid Kuchma, a former Ukrainian president and currently Kyiv's representative to the Trilateral Contact Group considers it necessary to hold a meeting of the leaders of the 'Normandy Four' (Ukraine, Germany, France, Russia).

"I generally think that the question is fully mature for today, the meeting of the 'Normandy Four' is needed. I want to emphasize: the issues do not move ahead either at the level of the Minsk process (the Trilateral Contact Group), or at the level of the foreign ministers, so they need [the leaders of countries] to gather and say in public what we should expect," Kuchma told reporters in Dnipro on Monday.
A seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man who took her away from her grandmother on the pretext of offering her snacks, in Tandur town of Telangana, police said on Monday.

The girl, who accompanied her grandmother to a hospital on Saturday, was taken away by the unidentified man who promised her snacks and tea, Tandur town circle inspector Venkat Ramaiah said.

At around 11 pm (on Saturday), the accused took permission of her grandmother, stating that he will offer the girl snacks and took her away. When she did not return, a search was launched and later the police were approached, the Inspector said, adding that efforts are on to identify the accused.

Meanwhile, the girl was spotted by some municipal workers on road along with the man, who told them that he was taking her to her grandmother, police said.

The girl was subsequently taken to hospital, where she told her grandmother and other family members that she was sexually assaulted by the man. Following a complaint, a case was registered on charge of rape and under various sections of IPC and POCSO Act, Ramaiah said, adding that three teams have been formed to nab the accused.

The girl has been shifted to a hospital in Hyderabad, where doctors said that she is out of danger.
At least 8 labourers were killed and more than 25 injured in a road accident in Madhya Pradeshs Jabalpur district on Monday morning, police said.

Police sources said a mini truck carrying labourers overturned near Neechi village on Jabalpur-Chargawan road resulting in the death of at least 8 of them.

Jabalpur superintendent of police Manjeet Singh confirmed the death of 8 labourers. However, an unconfirmed report said that 13 labourers were killed in the accident.

The driver reportedly jumped out of the truck and fled the spot.

The injured have been rushed to Jabalpur for treatment.
Top activists and academics have come out against a controversial draft law expanding the use of Aadhaar and written to Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari to rule that the government was wrong in bypassing the Upper House.

They also said they would challenge in court the classification of the finance bill  which made Aadhaar mandatory for PAN cards and income tax returns as a money bill, which doesnt need to pass in the Rajya Sabha where the government is in a minority.

If it goes unchallenged then it sets a very wrong precedent that governments can get any legislation passed by making them money bills. This disrupts constitutional functioning, said Gopal Krishna from the Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties, a co-signatory to the letter.

He said at least two organisations would approach the judiciary soon. Prominent activists who signed the letter include Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, and economist Jayati Ghosh and Prabhat Patnaik. They say that the finance bill contains provisions that have wide-reaching impact and need to be independently debated.

As concerned citizens of India, we are appalled and dismayed at the governments use of money bills to push through important legislation that affects all citizens, without requiring approval by both houses of Parliament, the letter read.

The letter follows days of outrage over the 12-digit biometric ID that is increasingly needed to access benefits and entitlements. The government has indicated that Aadhaar could become the sole identity card in the future and PAN cards not linked to the unique number could become invalid by year-end.

The activists asked Ansari to allow extensive and uninterrupted discussions into every aspect of the bill in the Upper House and ensure the practice of illegitimately classifying bills as money bills is immediately stopped.

We appeal to you to protect the rights and duties of the Upper House and the interests of all the people of India. These bills and the relevant provisions that cannot be described as routine in any sense, must be subject to proper democratic scrutiny in both houses of Parliament.

The letter points out the government abused the provisions of a money bill even last year when the controversial Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) legislation was passed as a money bill.

As per the act, proof of Aadhaar number was necessary for receipt of certain subsidies, benefits and services, the expenditure for which is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India.

The Aadhaar bill faces robust challenge in the Supreme Court because the proceedings of Parliament reveal that it is not a money bill, said Krishna.

The identification project was rolled out roughly a decade ago to plug leakages in government schemes but many flag privacy concerns with Aadhaar that is seen as vulnerable to data breaches and government spying.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly said that benefits cannot be denied for not having Aadhaar but has cleared the use of the ID for non-benefit schemes such as opening of bank accounts.

Krishna said the Supreme Court didnt call the passage of the money bill contempt of court because the attorney general had contended that only a seven-judge Constitution bench was appropriate to hear Aadhaar-related pleas.

Since no constitution bench was constituted between October 15, 2015 and March 4, 2017, there was no entity which could have taken cognisance of the violations of the courts order.

Nandan Nilekani  the first chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)  believes that as Parliament passed the bill and all Supreme Court judgments precede the law, it wasnt unconstitutional. There is a petition in the Supreme Court on the money bill aspect. Let the Court decide.

But Reetika Khera, an economics professor at IIT Delhi, disagreed, saying the government created the false impression that as the Aadhaar act was passed, the courts orders no longer applied. This is wrong because on 14 September 2016, after the passage of the act in March 2016, the court reiterated its October 2015 order that said Aadhaar was voluntary.

The letter to Ansari also raised red flags over invasion of privacy, data sharing practices and weak protections. It also objected to new political funding norms and increased powers given to tax authorities.
There is a certain unease in Hariharapur village as around 300 policemen stand guard at a fair, Udusalammana Jatre, being held at the temple of Udasalamma, said to be an incarnation of Durga.

While most Dalits participate willingly in the rituals, somethe educated youngstersare opposed to the age-old practice, deemed casteist towards them.

As part of the rituals, a tree has been placed on a wooden pulley with its base tethered to a boulder to anchor it.

Below this tree, eight women, from four Dalit houses in Chakenahalli, sit facing the temple, separated from the rest of the crowd. They have their mouths covered with thin metal needles for a ritual called Baayige beega (locked mouth).

By 2 pm, three temple cars enter the village, pulled by groups of Vokkaliga youth, many wearing jerseys with the words Gowdru Boys prominently emblazoned on the front.

The procession, led by a group of Dalit men, proceeds to the entrance of the temple, where three Dalit men have been fanning the embers of burning coal and tree bark.

One by one people started walking over the coal. It is considered a test of their purity, because falling on the embers would mean the persons soul is tainted, either by their own or their ancestors misdeeds.

Dalit women, whose mouths were pierced with metal spikes, taking part in the baayige beega (locked mouth) ritual at the Udusalamma fair in Hariharpur village in Karnataka. (HT PHOTO)

After the temple cars pass, the crowd gathers near the horizontally placed tree for the main eventSidi.

Sidi is a ritual in which, one by one, four Dalit men are attached to the tree through metal hooks drilled into their backs, and the tree is then made to rotate.

It is believed Sidi is the penalty Dalits agreed to pay to Udusalamma, when one of their forefathers was caught stealing paddy. However, nobody could say how long the ritual has been taking place, or for how much longer Dalits would be penalised.

Speaking on the centrality of the practice, an elderly Sidappa Gowda said it was the reason people came to this fair. Nowhere else is Sidi conducted with such grandeur.

I have seen this being performed for at least 50 years now, Gowda said.

There was a change this year though.

A group of Dalits had petitioned the district administration asking it to stop the ritual as it amounted to promoting caste discrimination.

Raju Sigarnahalli, a Dalit youth from neighbouring Sigarnahalli village, said activists had submitted the petition as early as March 10. We had even built a consensus among Dalits, who had agreed not to participate.

However, a few days before the event, a letter, signed by Dalits, surfaced, in which they said they wanted to participate in the rituals of their own free will.

We have no idea what happened, why they decided to change their stance on this issue, Raju said, adding that officials had told him and other activists that the letter made their protests irrelevant.

Activists feel that there was pressure from the dominant Vokkaligas. Hassan district is considered a stronghold of former prime minister H D Deve Gowdas Janata Dal (Secular), a predominantly Vokkaliga party.

Advocate Clifton Rosario questioned how the district administration could have allowed the event, saying the very act of a second letter surfacing should have been reason for further investigation.

How can a casteist practice be allowed to take place? he asked.

For Mahadevappa, one of the Dalits who participated, this was a ritual he had to take part in. My father had shifted to Ooty, but used to still come here to participate in this ritual. Similarly, I had to also come to take part in this because it is the practice of my forefathers.

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The army is trying to get virtual reality simulators to sharpen the skills of its commandos involved in counter-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast.

A new army report has highlighted the lack of adequate infrastructure for training soldiers in entering buildings and clearing rooms-- scenarios they frequently encounter while conducting operations.

The militaries of the US and the UK use virtual reality training methods to help soldiers rehearse for missions in dangerous settings by simulating diverse combat situations.

The report prepared by the Army Design Bureau (ADB), headed by army deputy chief Lieutenant General Subrata Saha, has made a strong case for providing Special Forces (SF) units with virtual reality based training simulators to impart realistic training for room intervention/urban warfare. The simulators would have a variety of programmed training environments.

Lack of virtual reality training is one of problems identified by the ADB in its 72-page report titled Compendium of Problem Statements, Volume II (2017). The army is trying to find indigenous solutions to at least 78 problem areas  28 listed in the new report and another 50 spelt out in an earlier volume.

At present, troops are being trained in infrastructure which is permanent and has limited capability for modification as per requirement, thereby depriving troops of realistic training which is a necessity in present day counter insurgency/counter terrorist operational scenario, the report said.

The army has sought the help of the private sector to build the first prototype in two to three years. An initiative of the Modi government, the ADB has been tasked with promoting research and development and act as a bridge between the force and the private sector to meet the armys requirements.

The report said the use of virtual simulators for training will allow instructors to portray various permutations and combinations of situations and terrains as desired.
An Arunachal Pradesh Congress leader was shot dead by the son of the state assemblys deputy speaker Tumke Bagra at Aalo in West Siang district, police said on Monday.

Kenjum Kamsi, a secretary-rank leader of the Arunachal PCC, was shot dead by Kajum Bagra, the son of the deputy speaker, in front of a hotel at Aalo around 10pm on Sunday, said West Siang superintendent of police Mari Riba.

The incident was reportedly a fallout of a scuffle between the two, he said, adding that the matter was being probed.

The accused was arrested, the firearm seized and a case registered, Riba said.

The APCC condemned the incident and said Kajum using his fathers official vehicle and committing such heinous crime proved the saying like father like son.

The tragic incident also reflects the true colour of the BJP to which the deputy speaker belongs. It raises a serious question, the party said.

Condoling the death, it also demanded exemplary punishment for the accused and resignation of the deputy speaker.
A dargah (shrine) in Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, the Bara Imambara in Lucknow and a leading Shia cleric were among the targets of the three men who allegedly set off a bomb in the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train on March 7, The Indian Express has reported.

The newspaper quoted official sources as saying that Syed Mir Husain, one of the three arrested from Pipariya in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh shortly after the blast in the train, told NIA interrogators that the group had earlier wanted to attack the Waris Ali Shah dargah in Barabanki and had spent an entire day studying security arrangements and the movement of pilgrims at the dargah. But heavy security forced the group to abandon the plan, Husain told the NIA.

The Bara Imambara in Lucknow and Shia cleric Maulana Salman Hussaini Nadvi were also on their hit list. Hussain told the NIA that they had surveyed the clerics house, monitored his movements and took pictures of his house and two vehicles.

Husain, Mohammed Danish and Atif Muzaffar were arrested from Pipariya hours after the attack on the train. A fourth accomplice, Saifullah, was killed in a gunfight with the UP anti-terror squad at a house on the outskirts of Lucknow on the same day. On March 16, the NIA took over the probe into the train blast case. The NIA took into its custody three of the seven arrested so far. Husain, Atif and Danish are in NIA custody until March 27.

According to sources, Husain told the NIA that they surveyed several places in and around Lucknow to fix the targets, to implement the sharia law, to have a jihad and to have bomb blasts and commit murder at fixed places before settling down in Arab or other countries, The Indian Express report said.

NIA sources said Husain, Danish, Atif and Saifullah visited the Barabanki dargah in the first week of February and took photographs of the shrine. The accused are said to have identified four locations inside the dargah as best places for placing bombs because they always remained crowded. They had also monitored the crowds at the shrine on Jummerat and made videos of the flow of pilgrims, sources said.

The accused found that the maximum rush at the shrine was from 9 am to 3.30 pm but there was heavy police deployment throughout the day which meant they could not plant any bomb there, sources said.

The accused also carried out a reconnaissance of the Bara Imambara in Lucknow and visited it on the last three Fridays of February. A large crowd gathers on Friday to pray there. The accused also took photographs of locations at the Imambara.
In yet another embarrassment for the beleaguered Congress party, its senior leader MV Rajasekharan has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the BJPs recent victory in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand assembly elections.

In a letter to Modi, Rajasekharan wrote, Your kind self has been able to establish direct rapport with the electorate, specially the younger generation who constitute nearly 82% of our poor people.

The octogenarian leader is a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee, the apex executive body of the party.

Your kind self has been able to establish direct rapport with the electorate, specially the younger generation who constitute nearly 82% of our poor people.

In his letter, Rajasekharan suggested that just like Indira Gandhi, Modi too had rightly addressed certain sections of society, which his own party could not do.

In a separate letter, he praised Union information and broadcasting minister Venkaiah Naidu.

Rajasekharan, the Union minister of state for planning during the UPA regime, sent the letter days after veteran Congress leader from Karnataka, SM Krishna, joined the BJP.

Rajasekharan is also the son-in-law of former AICC president and Karnataka chief minister, late S Nijalingappa.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress had tied up, for the first time, with the Samajwadi Party, while in Uttarakhand, the party lost in the assembly polls earlier this month.

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The Congress on Monday extended support to Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, accused of thrashing an elderly Air India employee , saying that staffer Sukumar was equally at fault.

Congress leader Rajni Patil said that she has given a notice in Parliament over the VVIP culture issue.

Not all MPs are the same as shown. As the MP behaved, so did the airlines. If he misbehaved, the airlines also put him in the no-fly list. The people should behave like a normal citizen, she told ANI.

Resonating similar views, another Congress leader Husain Dalwai said it was not just one-sided.

He is a famous leader in Osmanabad. We should keep in mind how the officer talked to Gaikwad. I am not going to support his act. What he did was wrong, but this is not just one-sided, he told ANI.

The Shiv Sena has given a shutdown call in Maharashtras Osmanabad in support of Gaikwad, who had assaulted an Air India staffer last week. The Shiv Sena is also likely to bring a privilege motion in the Parliament over the issue of Gaikwad being put in no fly list of all airlines.

Air India and six private airlines banned the 56-year-old MP from flying as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.

Anandrao Adsul of the Shiv Sena raised the issue of ban imposed on R Gaikwad by airlines in Lok Sabha, saying I hope you (Speaker) will raise it with government.

Naresh Agrawal of the Samajwadi Party said in Rajya Sabha that airlines banning Gaikwad show their (airlines) dadagiri.

Naresh Agrawal of the SP in Rajya Sabha: Airlines banning Ravindra Gaikwad (Shiv Sena), just goes to show their (airlines) 'dadagiri' pic.twitter.com/PC9Zc7SI0x  ANI (@ANI_news) March 27, 2017

The Osmanabad MP after being blacklisted by the top airlines boarded a train to Mumbai earlier on Friday evening.

The MP refrained from commenting further on the row and said Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray would speak on the matter.

Earlier, the MP, while showing no regret for his action had said, What is there to repent? I will not apologise. He (Sukumar) should come and apologise.then we will see.
The union cabinet decided last month to double Indias solar power generation capacity, from 20 GW to 40 GW, by setting up 50 solar parks, which are solar projects with a capacity of 500 MW or more concentrated in one area.

But this additional 20 GW would mean acquisition of at least 80,000 acres of land, thrice Jaipurs area, and possibly a problematic move in a land-starved country, as IndiaSpend reported in January 2017, when talking about canal-top solar installations, where solar panels are installed atop lengths of canal, to save on the cost and conflict involved in land acquisition.

Cabinet approves capacity hike from 20GW to 40GW & additional 50 solar parks will be set up in the country to encourage use of solar power. pic.twitter.com/VqAYuVQipS  Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 22, 2017

There are already signs of trouble with three recorded conflicts related to land acquisition for renewable energy projects. One of these involves the ultra-mega solar parkthat is, one with a capacity of 500 MW or morein Anantapur district in western Andhra Pradesh, according to Land Conflict Watch, a mapped online repository of land conflicts across India. Delays in land acquisition add to the cost of the project, also making developers wary of investment.

Indias record with solar power generation does not offer reasons to be optimistic either. With less than a month left for end of financial year 2016-17, India still has over 70% of its target to achieve, while the targets for upcoming years are even higher.

The latest plan now is to generate 40% of Indias solar renewable target of 100 GW by 2022 from solar parks and ultra-mega solar power projects. The augmented solar capacity, when operating at full capacity, will generate 64 billion units of electricity annually, cutting 55 million tonnes of CO2 per year over its life cycle, according to this statement of the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE).

For the sake of comparison, 64 billion units of electricity per year would be enough to power two Delhis, which required 31.1 billion units of electricity during 2016-17, according to the Load Generation Balance Report. This power ministry report records energy requirement and availability in the country for the upcoming year.

India currently has one of the largest renewables expansion programmes in the world, aiming as it does to install 175 GW of capacity by 2022over thrice the current capacity of 50 GWin line with its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC). INDC refers to the promise of alternate energy generation made by countries in the 2015 Paris Agreement with a view to cooling a rapidly warming planet.

One month to go, 2016-17 achievement is 70% below target

As of January 2017, Indias cumulative installed solar capacity from all sources was just over 9 GW, and crossed 10 GW in March. To achieve targets, the country will therefore have to install about 90 GW more in the coming five years, a target that might not be achievable, as IndiaSpend reported in February 2017.

At present, there is a marked gap between the targets and achievements. For example, against the target of installing 12,000 MW of solar capacity in 2016-17, by January 2017, only 2,472 MW had been installed.

Rooftop installations still struggling to take off

The largest contributors to solar energy in India will now be rooftop solar installations (40%) and large solar parks (40%). The last 20% will come from utility scale solar projects, with a very small percentage coming from off-grid solar installations.

Capacity addition of rooftop solar has been slow to take off, as IndiaSpend reported in January 2017. By November 2016, only 0.5 MW of solar rooftop capacity was installed, while 3 GW was sanctioned and under installation, according to this December, 2016 MNRE update.

The decentralised nature of rooftop installations makes progress difficult, because you need to engage about 500 consumers on average (on the assumption that one household installs a 2-W capacity on average) to reach 1 MW, so the administrative process is far more expensive, said Abhishek Jain, senior programme lead at the Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW), a research institution based in New Delhi.

Rooftop solar installations to make up 40% of Indias 100 GW solar target for 2022; only 0.2% currently installed. pic.twitter.com/TjZTZwCXVr  IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) January 23, 2017

Why solar parks are a good idea: Clearances plus infrastructure

Large solar parks come with several benefits for individual producers such as land clearances, development of infrastructure such as roads and transmission systems, and water access.

By mid-2016, a total of 34 solar parks spread over 21 states were given approvals. These had an aggregate capacity of 20 GW. Details of state-wise division for the parks show that Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka had the most commissioned projects, as IndiaSpend tweeted on December 1, 2016.

Centre plans 20,000 MW installed capacity of #solarpower power parks by 2020, over 18,000 MW approved. pic.twitter.com/xhhRaqn6Wh  IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) December 1, 2016

Being part of a solar park also means that it is easier to raise finance at a lower cost for individual producers within the park. It also ensures that off-take is guaranteed, or else underwritten, which again reduces risk.

With the additional 20 GW, the number of solar parks is estimated to increase to 83. Information about areas where these additional parks will be installed, or how the installation mix will change, is not yet available.

Solar tariffs falling, but land acquisition and off-take still hurdles

Solar tariffs in India have been falling since 2010from Rs 10.95 per kWh in December 2010 to a level tariff of Rs 3.30 per kWh achieved last month by the 750-MW Rewa solar park project in Madhya Pradesh, according to a Business Standard report.

However, risks due to transmission uncertainties, when produced renewable power cannot be sold, delayed payments, and curtailment of renewable power along with weak enforcements of renewable purchase obligations remain problem areas, according to the report.

Solar parks are perhaps currently the best way to produce renewable energy because they take care of problems faced by smaller producers, which include non-reliability with off-take of produced power, and problems of land acquisition, which is becoming increasingly problematic.

Land acquisition poses a challenge for developers but solar parks enable developers easy access to land, clearances, and evacuation infrastructure. As seen in the recent Rewa solar park bid, the risk of curtailment has also been eased by a 100% payment guarantee offered by the state government, Kanika Chawla, senior programme lead at CEEW, told IndiaSpend.

As a general rule, one MW of ground-mounted solar installations require about four acres of land, down from five acres due to advancements in solar cell technology, as IndiaSpend reported.

Whether the capacity is added under utility scale projects or large solar parks, their land footprint would be similar. Solar parks result in economies of scale being realised for land, evacuation infrastructure, and the balance of system, which results in the per unit cost of solar power coming down, Chawla said.

Indiaspend.org is a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit/FactChecker.in is fact-checking initiative, scrutinising for veracity and context statements made by individuals and organisations in public life.
Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and another eight people were wounded in the area of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) in Donbas in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian Defense Ministry official Andriy Lysenko said.

"Three Ukrainian servicemen were killed and eight were wounded in action in the past 24 hours," Lysenko told a briefing in Kyiv on Monday.
New Delhi: Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Monday introduced the GST and related bills in the Lok Sabha amid objections by some Opposition members over the manner the government had moved the proposed legislation.

Opposition leaders KC Venugopal (Congress) and Saugata Roy (Trinamool) sought a ruling from Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, claiming that the government had not given the members enough time to study the bills.

Though the opposition members maintained that they were not opposed to the introduction of the bills, their objections were on the ground of procedural matters, saying these were not listed in Monday's agenda for the House.

Minister of state for parliamentary affairs SS Ahluwalia said the bills were uploaded on the government website on Friday midnight, a remark that enraged the members.

The opposition MPs asked how could the government expect the members to check the website at midnight and why the issue was not discussed at last week's meeting of Business Advisory Committee.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi were among those who opposed the way the GST bills were introduced.

Dismissing the objections, the Speaker said the bills were circulated to the members on Saturday morning and there was nothing wrong in these being tabled.

She later gave the permission to introduce the bills.
DSP Bhagwan Dass, who shot himself in head on March 15, succumbed to injuries at Alchemist Hospital, Panchkula, on Monday.

ACP (HQ) Mukesh Malhotra confirmed the development.

Dass, 52, had come to Panchkula on March 14 after being transferred on March 13 for being named in an FIR for the murder of three people, including a BSF jawan, at Sekhpura village under Hansi sub-division of Hisar district.

Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Dalip Singh had got room number 104 booked for him at the officers mess, Police Lines. Dalip is a batchmate of Dass and they had joined the Haryana Police together in 1994 as assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs).

He was the first one to see him after he attempted suicide and brought him to Alchemist Hospital.

Dass and 23 others were booked by the police for murder of Ram Kumar (57), Mukesh Kumar (22) and Pradeep Kumar (30) at Sekhpura. Pradeep, a BSF jawan, had come home to the village to celebrate Holi.

It is alleged that Dass had a dispute with former village sarpamch Balbir Singh who had contested panchayat election against his daughter Pooja Rani. The victims were said to be close to Balbir.
A group of women at Gamri village under Sonepat districts Gohana subdivision attacked the local liquor vend demanding it be shifted out of the village.

The protesting women throw liquor bottles on roads demanding shifting of a liquor shop from the village. (HT Photo)

They were angered over the men in their families coming home drunk every day and spending their entire income on alcohol.

The protesting women throw liquor bottles on roads demanding shifting of a liquor shop from the village. (HT Photo)

The women reached the liquor vend and started throwing the boxes containing country-made liquor out on road, and set these ablaze. They also roughed up some drunk men who tried to steal liquor bottles which they had thrown on roads to burn.

Watch | Sonepat village women strike at liquor vend

The women, who also blocked the village road for several hours, were pacified after an assurance of state backward class panel chairman Ram Chander Jangra. (HT Photo)
Indias temperature has risen by nearly 0.60 degree Celsius over the last 110 years and extreme events like heat waves have increased in the last 30 years, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), in line with rising temperatures across the globe, all India mean temperatures have risen nearly 0.60 degree Celsius over the last 110 years. Further IMD studies have highlighted that extreme events like heat waves have risen in the last 30 years, environment minister Anil Madhav Dave said in a written reply.

Similarly, trends in extreme rainfall events in last century showed significant positive trend over the west coast and northwestern parts of peninsula, Dave said.

He said as per the fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published in 2014, globally averaged combined land and ocean surface temperature has risen by 0.85 degree Celsius over the period 1880 to 2012.

Many extreme weather and climate events like heat waves, heavy precipitation and tropical cyclones have been observed since about 1950, he said.

The government launched the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in June, 2008 to deal with climate change and related issues.

The NAPCC comprises eight missions in specific areas of solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, habitat, water, sustaining Himalayan ecosystems, forestry, agriculture and strategic knowledge for climate change.

These missions address the issues relating to mitigation of greenhouse gases and adaptation to the adverse impacts of climate change on environment, forests, habitat, water resources and agriculture, he said.

All states and UTs have also been requested to prepare State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) in line with the objectives of the NAPCC highlighting state-specific issues relating to climate change. So far, 32 states and UTs have prepared their SAPCC, the minister said.
We know stoppage of work amounts to contempt of court and violation of the oath we took upon entering the medical profession, but what can we do when violent attacks have become such a regular feature of our lives?

This statement by a student-doctor at the medicine department of the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and Medical College in suburban Mumbai sums up the problem that drove Maharashtras 4,000-odd medical students to bunk work for six days  starting Sunday.

Since March 12, 2017, there have been six instances of patients kith and kin attacking doctors at public hospitals across Latur, Dhule, Nashik, Sangli and Mumbai districts. A particularly glaring incident was the assault on Dhule civil hospital doctor Rohan Mahamunkar, who was admitted to the intensive care unit after being blinded in one eye.

The states resident doctors have two major demands: one, restrictions on the entry of patients relatives to ensure that mobs dont gather at hospitals and, two, additional security personnel on the premises.

Theres nothing new about their demands. Though the government promised additional security and visitation curbs after several similar protests in the past, they have mostly remained on paper.

THE DELHI EXPERIMENT

Resident doctors at leading public hospitals in Delhi went on eight flash strikes over the past 18 months to demand security. After people created a ruckus in the gynaecological emergency room of the Lok Nayak Hospital, two CCTV cameras and an alarm system were installed to alert the guards and the chief medical officer.

While I am not sure if the alarm system works, I do know that there is nobody monitoring the CCTV feed. Of what use is such security? asked a doctor on the condition of anonymity.

Patients wait outside Sir Ganga Ram Hospital as doctors were on strike in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

After a big strike in 2015, the Delhi government promised to depute 500 home guards at its hospitals.

We hardly ever spot them, said a Lok Nayak doctor. Theres always someone who is not happy with the treatment received by their loved ones. When theyre present in large numbers, the dissatisfaction turns into violence.

Adequate security can prevent such incidents, claimed Dr Parul Tank, a consultant psychiatrist at the Asian Heart Institute. If there are enough guards, even an aggressive man will think twice before resorting to violence, he said.

However, security guards are not always the solution to such issues. The Lok Nayak Hospital has private security guards, but they can do little when doctors are attacked by angry mobs. Also, limiting the number of patients is difficult. It swells up within minutes if the patients health starts deteriorating, said Tank.

THE VULNERABLE ONES

Government hospitals in small cities are the most affected by this issue. Last week, a mob of 35-40 people assaulted doctors and a nurse at the Nasik general hospital, which had only four guards to protect the staffers from over 700 people.

We demanded more security from the superintendent of police, but we are yet to hear from him, said medical superintendent Dr Said P Jagdale.

What doctors want Increase jail term of attackers from existing three years to seven years. No bail for accused for at least three months. Form a medical committee to decide how serious a violation is. Enact a strict law to prevent trespassing in hospitals. Consider it a violation of law if a patient is accompanied by more than two relatives. Suspend security personnel if they fail to prevent an assault on doctors

Dr Gadre said that while security guards and CCTV cameras are important, better enforcement of the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service (MMAPMS) can provide a more permanent solution.

With increased availability of information from informal channels, patients families now desire informed participation in the treatment process.

Earlier, unethical practices would go. But the doctors word is not final anymore. Relatives want to actively participate in therapeutic decisions, said professor Sachin Divekar, an expert.

LACK OF PUNITIVE ACTION

Though the Indian Medical Association makes assaulting doctors a non-bailable offence punishable by imprisonment of up to seven years, nailing the guilty parties can be tricky. Dr Sagar Mundada, former president of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors, said: There hasnt been a single conviction under the MMAPMS Act since it was enforced in 2010.

An official with the Directorate of Medical Education and Research said police take a lot of time to book the accused under the MMAPMS Act, and fail to file the charge sheet in time. The cases are not even heard most of the time, he added.

In Delhi, the emergency department witnesses over 70% of the violence. Everyone wants to be treated first, but we have no choice but to look at those in a more critical condition, said Dr Harjit Singh of AIIMS.

Dr Abhay Shukla from the Jan Swasthiya Abhiyan attributed the peoples frustration to lack of resources, equipment and medicine  which, in turn, are caused by a debilitated health budget. In the end, it is the overworked frontline resident doctors who fall victim to physical assaults.

(With inputs from Anonna Dutt)
Suspected militants opened fire at the house of two policemen, who are brothers, on Monday night in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir but no one was injured in the attack.

The ultras opened fire at the house of ASI Dilbar Ahmad and Constable Reyaz Ahmad at Keegam in Shopian, a police official said.

He said the militants broke some window panes of the house and vehicle of the cops before fleeing.

He said no one was injured in the incident.
Vishwanathan Pillai has never before felt so insecure about his job at an abattoir. His anxiety comes in the wake of on-going action that has been described by the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh as a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses.

Pillai, 40, who works as production head at Frigerio Conserva Allana Limited -- one of the countrys biggest, and legal, slaughterhouse-cum-meat processing units  said the factory has seen 50% reduction in buffalo stock due to the crackdown and fears the worst is yet to come.

The traders have stopped transporting animals from local mandis for us because they fear they would be attacked on the way. Farmers do not want to sell their spent animals because the rates have come down. I do not know who will give us jobs if they close our plant too, said Pillai.

A father of two children who live with his wife back home, Pillai draws a salary of Rs 30,000 a month.

Spread over 45 acres in Talaspur Khurd village of Aligarh, 150 kms from the national capital, the abattoir provides employment to 2,100-odd workers, most of them Hindus. The high-pitched crackdown has found support of Hindu right-wing groups and this has made the workers, like Pillai, foresee a bleak future.

Except butchers, who are specialised in halal (Islamic) slaughter, the rest of the workers in almost all abattoirs are Hindus, said an office-bearer of the All India Meat and Livestock Exporters Association. He did not want to be named.

In economic terms, UP accounts for nearly 50% of Indias total meat exports, a huge industry that provides livelihood to 25 lakh people, directly or indirectly. Though the chief minister has assured legal slaughterhouses would not be harmed, abattoir owners allege the administration was harassing even legal set-ups, perhaps to please their bosses.

Why have they (authorities) woken up suddenly? They should have given us time to get licenses. I am jobless till I procure a license. -- Shaban Qureshi, who runs a meat shop near Gantha Ghar in Meerut

All our three units in Sahibabad, Aligarh and Unnao have all the clearances. But still administration officials come to harass us, said Ayaz Siddiqui, a general manager who recently joined Allanasons after quitting a job at a five-star hotel.

Of the 72 government-approved abattoirs across the country, 38 are in Uttar Pradesh. The association puts the countrys annual meat exports at Rs 27,000 crore, which includes Rs 15,000 crore from UP.

Fearing a ban would mean a loss of least Rs 11,350 crores of revenue, the association is mulling a legal option in case the UP government passes an ordinance to ban the business.

While hundreds of illegal slaughterhouses have been sealed across the state -- mostly in Meerut, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Agra in western UP -- in the past one week, the crackdown has also affected business of small meat traders even in the state capital Lucknow.

Vishwanathan Pillai, production head at Frigerio Conserva Allana Limited -- one of the countrys biggest, and legal, slaughterhouse-cum-meat processing units -- says the factory has seen 50% reduction in buffalo stock due to the crackdown and fears the worst is yet to come. (Gulam Jeelani/HT Photo)

Not just buffalo meat traders, those dealing with chicken, goat meat and egg have started a strike since Monday across the state in support of a strike against the crackdown.

Shaban Qureshi, who runs a meat shop near Gantha Ghar in Meerut, has not opened his shop for the past five days.

Why have they (authorities) woken up suddenly? They should have given us time to get licenses, asked Qureshi, who would sell 300 kg of meat per day till a week ago. I am jobless till I procure a license, he said.

In Sambhal, three slaughter houses, declared legal by the owners, were sealed on Saturday, because of some technical fault in the CCTV cameras, rendering 6,000 people jobless.

Among the top most condition for inviting authorities wrath is the health of the animals. Only spent buffaloes discarded by farmers and having passed the checks for diseases and pregnancy are slaughtered.

There has to be no compromise with the hygiene and health of the buffalo, said Dr Amarjeet Singh Sidhu, the veterinary facility head of the Allana slaughter house.

To take care of hygiene, workers at this world-class slaughterhouse, draped in white uniforms with caps and gloves, de-bone the animal after slaughter. In all the 40 buildings, part of the procedure, the temperature is always maintained at 12 to 15 degrees Celsius. The meat stored in freezers is then transported in temperature sensitive containers for export.

Aware of the shortage in supply in the local markets, many slaughterhouses have lent a helping hand to small traders.

It is not clear why only meat is being attacked. The industry is not only a source of livelihood for a particular community. So many industries like hotels and tanneries, are dependant on it, said Siraj Qureshi, who owns a plant in Hapur.

During his first visit to Gorakhpur after being sworn in as the CM, Adityanath said on Saturday: The government will not touch those abattoirs which are operating as per the provisions of the law and have a valid licence, adding that those violating National Green Tribunal norms on would not be spared.

But there are many who claim that the crackdown has become an excuse to target all in one sweep.

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The Kerala government on Monday decided to order a judicial probe into the circumstances leading to the resignation of a second minister from the cabinet, said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to reporters here.

Transport minister AK Saseendran on Sunday resigned after an audio emerged in which he was heard having a lewd conversation with a woman on phone.

He (Saseendran) handed over his resignation and it was sent to Kerala governor P Sathasivam yesterday (on Sunday) itself and it has been accepted, chief minister Vijayan said.

Saseendran was of the firm opinion that he would resign in the wake of the scandal, Vijayan said. He did not want to sit in the chair while the probe is on.

We decided to order a judicial probe and will finalise other details during Wednesdays cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister said.

A probe by a sitting judge has never materialised in Kerala, so the final decision on the nature of the probe would be taken by the cabinet and it includes the terms of reference, said Vijayan.

On Monday morning, Saseendran met Vijayan and reiterated that he did nothing wrong.

I have told the Chief Minister that there are loose ends in the case made out against me and welcomed a probe into it. The Chief Minister will decide on the nature of the probe, Saseendran told the media.

The next to meet Vijayan were Kerala Police chief Loknath Behra and Home Secretary Nalini Netto.

Meanwhile, the state unit of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) -- to which Saseendran belongs and which is supporting the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front -- is meeting here on Tuesday to discuss the turn of events, state party President Uzhavoor Vijayan said.

We will decide on what needs to be done as we have one more legislator, Thomas Chandy. We are an ally of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and hence we have a natural claim of getting a cabinet post, he said.

Saseendran is the second minister to resign since the LDF took office.

In 2016, CPI-M strongman and industries minister EP Jayarajan quit on charges of nepotism.
Mahatma Gandhi Central University (MGCU) will adopt five villages near its proposed campus in Bihars East Champaran district, about 150km from state capital Patna.

MGCU vice chancellor Arbind Agarwal said the university would address major social and economic issues of the five villages near Bankat and Fursatpur where it was acquiring 301 acres of land for its campus.

Chandrahia, where Mahatma Gandhi was detained by then British rulers in 1917 during his Champaran visit, was among the five villages, he said. The other villages were Turkaulia, Gajpura, Birchhapra, Pipradih and Ajgari, Agarwal added.

A team of MGCU faculty members had been formed to undertake a detailed survey of the socio-economic condition of the villages, Agarwal said.

After the initial study, survey team coordinator Pawan Pavnesh told HT that the villages had been classified as backward on most indices. We will focus on impact study, ground realities of government schemes and data of social-economic condition, healthcare services and sanitation facilities in the villages, he said.

Digvijay Phukan, lecturer in social work department of MGCU said the university planned community development through involvement of students, faculty and the local community.

Researchers, who surveyed the area, said, There has been no significant changes in the villages since Gandhi visited the place. We have to delve into the reasons and find answers to take them out of the present situation, said Bhanu Patel and Sanjay Kumar, members of the team from the sociology department.

Mritunjay Yedvendu, also from the sociology department, Pratibha from zoology and Garima Tiwari from Hindi, said behavioural studies would also be conducted in the region.

Lecturer in biotechnology department Swati Manohar and English honours students Sweta Kumari said a few interventions in the area had excited the students as they went about studying the various aspects of village life. We will study all aspects of their life and prepare a detailed data in this regard. It will bring transformational changes in the rural development process, they said.

The VC said once the survey was complete, the university would prepare a detailed report for development of the area. The baseline data would also help the government to plan projects for the area, he said.

The MGCU would concentrate in the areas of education, healthcare, adult literacy, sanitation and skill development among the rural people, the VC added.
The 12-digit Aadhaar number has helped states strike off 4.4 lakh ghost students from schools across Jharkhand, Manipur and Andhra Pradesh, for whom the government had been earmarking funds under the mid-day meal scheme.

The government provides free lunch to students from class one to eight on working days under the mid-day meal scheme.

This month, the Union human resource development (HRD) ministry made the unique identification number mandatory for students to obtain mid-day meals. This evoked a strong reaction from activists, who claimed that the move would result in many beneficiaries being excluded from the child nutrition scheme.

However, data for 2015-16 and 2016-17 shared by the three states with the HRD ministry revealed that many government schools in the three states had been showing non-existent students on their rolls to claim additional funds from the mid-day meal scheme allocation. For instance, Andhra Pradesh  which linked all its 29 lakh government school students to Aadhaar  had 2.1 lakh claimants who existed only on paper. Their enrolment was cancelled after the anomaly was brought to the governments notice, an official said.

We are still in the process of collating data from states, but available figures show fake enrolment of students in government schools. The number of fake students may go up further once all the states share data, an HRD official said.

In Jharkhand, the names of 2.2 lakh non-existent students have been deleted from school records. So far, 89% of the 48 lakh students enrolled in the states government schools have availed of Aadhaar numbers. The number of ghost students discovered in Manipur schools stood at 1,500.

Most states in India share the financial burden for the mid-day meal scheme with the Centre at a 40:60 ratio. The ratio for northeastern states is 90:10, with the Centre paying the bulk of the funds.

Of the 13.16 crore children enrolled in 11.5 lakh schools across India, as many as 10.03 crore students availed of mid-day meals in 2015-16. We are yet to calculate the money saved through the elimination of fake beneficiaries, an HRD ministry official said.

The problem is not confined to ghost students. A pilot study conducted by Keralas department of general education in 2014, after Aadhaar numbers were integrated with the student database, found its schools to have an excess of 3,892 teachers. The state sanctions one teacher for every 45 students.

Due to this exercise, no new teaching posts have been sanctioned in the state for the last two years. On the other hand, the notional savings achieved is estimated at Rs 540 crore per annum, said a source.

At present, only 30% of the 11 crore students enrolled in class one to eight at government schools across India possess Aadhaar cards. The government plans to bring all students and teachers under the scheme by June this year.

ABP Pandey, CEO, Unique Identification Authority of India, said there was more to the 12-digit number than just weeding out bogus beneficiaries. It will also ensure that benefits meant for a particular student do not fail to reach him/her. Money that was earlier siphoned away through the submission of false enrolment figures will be checked. The state will have more resources at its disposal to improve school facilities, he told HT.

According to a government statement issued on March 7, Aadhaar linkage has helped save as much as Rs 49,000 crore by plugging leakages in LPG, scholarship, MNREGA and pension schemes over the last two-and-a-half years.

Pandey said it would be wrong to assume that students without Aadhaar cards will be denied mid-day meal benefits. Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act clearly states that until the number is assigned to an individual, he or she can continue to avail them on the basis of alternative identification documents, he added.

In August 2015, the Supreme Court had ruled that while Aadhaar can be used for five public distribution schemes, it cannot be made mandatory. Even as the case lay pending, the government decided to notify the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act in March 2016 after getting it cleared in Parliament.
The Kyiv regional police have freed the chief of the electricity supply department of Ukrzaliznytsia, Valeriy Liudmyrsky, who was held hostage for eight months by kidnappers who demanded a EUR 10 million ransom, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has said.

"As a result of months of complex and painstaking searches, the Kyiv regional police have conducted a brilliant operation and freed Valeriy Liudmyrsky, who was kidnapped on July 18, 2016. Two abductors were detained, the secret bunker where the hostage was held, was established, arms and explosives were confiscated," Avakov wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.

According to the minister, Liudmyrsky said he was beaten only during the abduction, the rest of the time he was not subjected to physical torture. Liudmyrsky is currently in hospital, doctors say his life and health are out of danger.

"Last night in a private house in the village of Fastovets, Kyiv region, law enforcement officers found a secret basement bunker consisting of two chambers with ventilation, lighting, water supply and sewage system, armored doors and constant video surveillance - the premises were clearly prepared to keep a hostage for a long time," Avakov said.

In his words, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, cartridges for it, foreign-produced pistols, an underbarrel grenade launcher with grenades and a kilogram of TNT were found in the next room.

The interior minister said that a Russian citizen (a Dagestanian) and a citizen of Ukraine were detained on suspicion of involvement in the crime. Measures are taken to find and detain the organizer and the mastermind of the crime.

The criminal proceeding previously launched under Article 115 (premeditated murder) was re-qualified under Article 189 (extortion) and Article 146 (illegal deprivation of liberty or abduction) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Amid a crackdown in Uttar Pradesh by the new BJP government to enforce a ban on cow slaughter and illegal abattoirs, the party has clarified that a similar rule would not be imposed in three northeastern states which go to polls next year.

Beef is widely consumed in Christian majority Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland and the drive against illegal abattoirs in UP has had repercussions in these states.

To put speculations to rest, the partys Meghalaya unit general secretary David Kharsati issued a statement on Sunday blaming groups with vested interest for spreading rumours.

Ban on cow slaughter like the one in UP wont take effect in Nagaland if our party comes to power next year. The reality here is very different and our central leaders are aware of that, Nagaland BJP chief Visasolie Lhoungu told Hindustan Times.

As per 2011 census nearly 88% of Nagalands population of around 2 million, are Christians. The figure is 87% for Mizoram and nearly 75% for Meghalaya.

Congress is in power in Meghalaya and Mizoram while BJP is a minor partner in the Naga Peoples Front-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) coalition in Nagaland.

There would be no ban on cow slaughter in Mizoram and other states in the region where there is a majority Christian population, Mizoram BJP president JV Hluna said.

Fresh from the electoral victory in Manipur, where the saffron party managed to set up its first government with the help of smaller parties, BJP is looking to repeat similar successes in the three states.

The party is already in power in Assam after a remarkable win last year and was able to form government in Arunachal Pradesh towards the end of 2016 when chief minister Pema Khandu and most Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA) MLAs switched sides to join BJP.

Slaughter of animals and birds in private homes and social gatherings still take place across north-east as part of tradition associated with some festivals.

Even in UP, action is being taken on slaughter houses operating without proper license. While there would be no ban on cow slaughter, we would like the government to ensure killing and sale of animals is done legally and in a hygienic manner, Meghalaya BJP chief Shibun Lyngdoh said.

The BJP had failed to win a single seat in the 60-member Meghalaya assembly and the 40-member Mizoram assembly in 2013. In Nagaland, the party won two seats five years ago.

We are in BJP because of the partys development agenda. The partys position is improving and more and more people are joining. Things look bright for next year, Lhoungu said.

The partys Mizoram unit chief Hluna indicated that like in Assam and Manipur, several senior leaders from Congress and from other regional parties could join the BJP ahead of the assembly elections.

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The Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) on Sunday said an out-of-court settlement of the Ayodhya dispute was not possible with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath at the helm of affairs.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath at the helm of affairs, there is no hope that justice will prevail with the Muslims. Both of them have been BJP workers and supporters of Ram temple movement, BMAC convenor Zafaryab Jilani said after a meeting of its office bearers here.

Earlier, the prime ministers used to be neutral on the contentious issue, he said.

Jilani said the solution to the Babri Masjid title suit can be arrived only through the Supreme Court.

The BMAC meeting was held against the backdrop of the apex court recently asking parties involved to sit together and arrive at a consensus on the issue, which has been dragging on for decades.

Efforts were made in the past for out-of-court settlement, but proved to be futile, Jilani told the meeting.

The BMAC office bearers were also of the view that if the Chief Justice of India or any other judge took an initiative to find a solution to the issue, the Muslims would certainly support the move.

We are ready if he (CJI) nominates a team for hearing the matter. But out-of-court settlement is not possible. If the SC passes an order in this regard, we will look at it, Jilani had said on March 21, the day the apex court had observed that the matter was sensitive and sentimental and it is best to settle it amicably.
Only illegal slaughter houses are being shut in Uttar Pradesh and there cannot be a difference of opinion that they should be shut, Union commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu, meanwhile, said it was wrong to give communal colour to the Uttar Pradesh governments decision to shutdown illegal slaughterhouses.

During Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said the export of buffalo meat had gone down and China was not allowing the import of Indian buffalo meat.

Replying to the supplementary question, Sitharaman said: What is being done in Uttar Pradesh is about illegal slaughter houses. I think even the honourable member would not want illegal slaughter houses to function.

The chief minister (Yogi Adityanath) has been clear (that) he is talking about illegal slaughter houses. There cannot be a difference of opinion here, she said.

About China not allowing import of Indian buffalo meat, the minister said there were many other goods as well for which the Chinese market was not accessible.

He said the central government was in talks with Beijing on this.

The minister also denied that demonetisation had any affect on exports.

Responding to a question by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Sitharaman said the decline in export had been visible for the last few years due to the global economic situation.

Decline in export happened during 2014-15, 2015-16. If you look at month on month export data, the position is improving.

The impact of demonetisation is not found on exports, the minister said, adding the decline had been there for some years, much before the November 8 note ban.

Venkaiah Naidu said it was wrong to give communal colour to the Uttar Pradesh governments decision to shutdown illegal slaughterhouses.

Referring to a 2016 report, Naidu said the newly formed government was not targetting any legal slaughterhouse.

In Uttar Pradesh, the action is only being taken against illegal slaughterhouses. No legal slaughterhouse is being targetted. There is a report saying only one slaughterhouse has valid permit out of 126 in UP. This report is of April 27, 2016, he said.

I request people to not create a hue and cry and create unnecessary doubts in the minds of people. Giving this a political and communal angle is not right and opportunist. On behalf of the government I wanted to tell the truth to the people, he said.
Police caned an unruly mob, which resorted to brickbatting, while protesting government corruption and the steep hike in Bihar power tariff.

Supporters of the Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) of Rajesh Ranjan, an MP, better known as Pappu Yadav, had taken out a rally in Patna on Monday. They reportedly insisted on moving towards the Bihar legislative assembly, a prohibited zone, where the budget session is underway till March 31.

Facing resistance from the police, the mob reportedly resorted to stone pelting. The police retaliated by using force after water canon failed to quell the rampaging mob.

At least 10 JAP supporters and some cops were injured in the ding-dong battle, which continued for almost an hour near Gardanibagh locality here on Monday.

The police had to use mild force only after the mob resorted to stone pelting, additional superintendent of police Rakesh Dubey said. He did not rule out the possibility of an FIR being lodged against Yadav.

Yadav is also demanding a CBI inquiry into the question paper leak of the Bihar Staff Selection Commission, besides protesting officers amassing benami (anonymous) property and government doctors running private clinics.

Talking to HT, Yadav said, We have a Talibani government, which tries to muffle any public protest using brute force. We will burn the governments effigy tomorrow and observe black day throughout the state on April 14.

The Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) had last Friday announced a hike between 174% and 47% for rural and urban domestic consumers, respectively. Yadav has been demanding a rollback in power tariff even as the government is working out a subsidy. The hike comes into effect from April 1.
Demanding uniformity in laws, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on Monday stated that there should be a nationwide ban on slaughter of animals.

Cow slaughter should be banned across the country. Why is it so that it is legal in states like Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura but not in other states? I am not only in support of banning slaughter but for very long I have been saying this that we should stop slaughter. No one should be slaughtered. What is legal and illegal slaughter? I want all slaughter houses to be banned. No animals should be cut, Khan told ANI.

Questioning the logic behind the Uttar Pradesh Governments move to allow only legal slaughterhouses to function, Khan said, This means it is ok if the animals are butchered in legal slaughterhouses and not ok when they meet the same fate in an illegal place.

All slaughterhouses should be shut. No animal should be slaughtered, he added.

The Samajwadi Party leader also advised the Muslims to stop eating meat.

I appeal to the Muslim fraternity that they think upon it. It is not mandated in Islam that Muslims should eat meat. I appeal to the people that they should stop eating meat, he said.

Uttar Pradesh Minister Siddharth Nath Singh earlier in the day reiterated that the state government would only act against slaughterhouses that are illegal.

We have assembled here to give a clarification that it is an investigation only against the illegal slaughterhouses. Those who have licenses have nothing to fear. They should continue following regulations, Singh told the media.

The minister further said it was also a message to the officers not to overstep their jurisdiction and the mandate given by the state government.

Singh also clarified that no orders have been issued by the government to close down shops selling chicken and eggs, urging the people not to believe such reports.

After coming to power, Yogi Adityanath-led government has ordered the closure of illegal slaughterhouses and strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling.

Adityanath earlier on Saturday said abattoirs operating legally will not be touched but action will be taken against those being run illegally.
Indian taxi driver attacked in Australia, SC order in Sardar jokes: Heres a look at 10 stories making the headlines today on internet

1) Midday meal scheme: Aadhaar exposes 4.4 lakh ghost students across 3 states

The 12-digit Aadhaar number has helped states strike off 4.4 lakh ghost students from schools across Jharkhand, Manipur and Andhra Pradesh, for whom the government had been earmarking funds under the mid-day meal scheme. Data for 2015-16 and 2016-17 shared by the three states with the HRD ministry revealed that many government schools in the three states had been showing non-existent students on their rolls to claim additional funds from the mid-day meal scheme allocation.

Read the full story here.

2) Indian taxi driver attacked by teenagers in suspected racial attack in Australia

In a suspected case of racial attack an Indian taxi driver from Kerala was attacked by group of teenagers in Hobart in Australias Tasmania state early Sunday. Li Max, hailing from Kottayam, had to be admitted to the Royal Hobart Hospital with deep wounds on his face and chest. Li told his relatives that he was attacked without any provocation. He said when he stopped his car near a McDonalds outlet he saw three youths were arguing with an employee but they soon turned their ire on Li.

Read the full story here.

3) Jaipur youth gets top GATE rank in chemical engineering

Results of the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2017 brought good cheer to Jaipurs Malviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT) as one of its students, Harsh Gupta, got the all-India rank 1 in chemical engineering. Harshs GATE score was 999 out of 1,000.

Read the full story here.

4) Supreme Court to take up matter of farmer suicides

The Supreme Court will the plea, filed by NGO Citizens Resource and Action and Initiative on the plight of farmers in Gujarat and the incidence of suicide in the state. The Bench has expanded the scope of the petition to the entire country. The Court expressed grave concern over farmers suicide and has asked the Centre to apprise it of the policy roadmap to address the issue. Chief Justice JS Khehar said that paying compensation to the families of such victims post-facto was not the real solution. This issue is of extreme importance. Tentatively, we feel that you are going in a wrong direction. Farmers take loan 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, he said earlier this month.

5) Supreme Court may issue order to block Sardar jokes on internet

The Supreme Court on Tuesday assured Sikh bodies, including the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee and Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, that it will explore issuing an order to block Sardar jokes on the internet. A bench headed by justice Dipak Misra, while hearing a PIL seeking ban on sardar jokes, asked lawyers representing Sikh bodies to discuss with solicitor general Ranjit Kumar if any order on the lines of the one issued to Google, Yahoo and Microsoft to delete all pre-natal sex determination advertisements from the internet can be issued. Cyber experts, however, claim it is practically impossible to completely remove the content once it becomes available on the internet.

6) Solar power lights up remote villages in Rajasthan

Not long ago, Sita, a woman of Shishviya village in Rajasthans Udaipur district, used to share a kerosene lamp with her children who studied under its dim light as she cooked. Last month, her house was lit up with solar energy when Shishviya and 26 other remote villages in the district got solar power connections under the chief ministers rural electrification scheme. Solar power now lights up villages in some of the most backward and inaccessible regions not connected to an electrical grid. So far, more than 6,200 households across 91 villages in Udaipur, Barmer and Bara districts have been covered under the scheme, according to the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation.

Read the full story here.

7) Governments big solar park push could run into land acquisition hurdle

The union cabinet decided last month to double Indias solar power generation capacity, from 20 GW to 40 GW, by setting up 50 solar parks, which are solar projects with a capacity of 500 MW or more concentrated in one area. But this additional 20 GW would mean acquisition of at least 80,000 acres of land, thrice Jaipurs area, and possibly a problematic move in a land-starved country.

Read the full story here.

8) Sonepat women throw liquor bottles on road, beat up drunk men

A group of women at Gamri village under Sonepat districts Gohana subdivision attacked the local liquor vend demanding it be shifted out of the village. They were angry that the men in their families were coming home drunk every day and spending their entire income on alcohol.

Read the full story here.

9) RBI refuses to answer why exchange of old notes was not allowed till March 31

Why was not the conversion of old currency notes allowed till March 31, 2017 for Indians as assured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech on November 8 announcing demonetisation? The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has refused to answer the question under the Right to Information (RTI) Act claiming the query does not come under the definition of information as per the transparency law.

Read the full story here.

10) Two girls barred from United flight in Denver for wearing leggings

Two teenage girls were barred by a gate agent from boarding a United Airlines flight from Denver to Minneapolis on Sunday because they were wearing leggings, according to a spokesman for the airline. The girls, whose ages were not specified, were not allowed onto the morning flight because they were travelling under an employee travel pass that includes a dress code, a spokesman for United said.

Read the full story here.
The Supreme Court on Monday took to task an NGO for filing 64 petitions over the years under the garb of PIL without a single success and asked its head to show cause why he should be allowed to continue filing cases.

In our list of 64, you have not got relief in a single matter. It is a misuse of the court. It has to be stopped, a bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said while issuing show cause notice to Rajiv Daiya who is the chairman of the NGO Suraz India Trust.

It handed over to him a compilation of the 64 petitions filed by him in the nature of writ petitions, review petitions to respond the notice in four weeks.

We would request him to respond to the same so as to enable us whether he should be permitted to continue to file petitions in this court, the bench, also comprising Justice D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul, said.

The bench, in its order, specifically noted that Daiya, who is not a qualified advocate, was appearing on behalf of the NGO in the 64 matters and there are also some under objection by the registry which is of the view that they are not maintainable in the court.

It said either it will give a certificate to the NGOs head to file petitions in future or disallow him.

The apex court also dealt sternly with a few more PIL petitioners and warned them orally that they should desist from filing frivolous PILs based only on media reports.
The Supreme Court on Monday said farmers committing suicide in the country was a serious issue and the Centre should deal with the real issues which force them to take the extreme step.

A bench comprising Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justices DY Chandrachud and SK Kaul said that the Centre should file the proposed line of action to be adopted by the state governments for dealing with the issue.

Farmers committing suicides is a serious issue. You (Centre) should bring the proposed policy dealing with all the real issues which force the farmers to take extreme step. We are with you. You should crystalise on four-five real issues which deal with the farmers and try to address these, it said.

Additional solicitor general PS Narasimha said that the government is coming up with a comprehensive policy in which it would deal with all the issues which farmers face at the ground level.

He said that now the government is directly procuring food grains from the farmers at the minimum support price and they do not need to take help of the middlemen or market.

The ASG said that for crop loss or crop failure, the government is extending compensation and a new mechanism has been put in place for the purpose.

Insurance cover has been increased for the farmers. Earlier, it was for those who took agriculture loan but now it has been extended to all the farmers, he said.

Noting that as per a study, the farmers who commits suicide have no backup, Narasimha said that now farmers are being encouraged to adopt alternative sources of income.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for NGO Citizens Resource and Action and Initiative, said that over 3000 farmers have committed suicide in the last few years and the proposed policy should deal with all those real issues which affect the them.

The bench then told Gonsalves that after the policy comes and is implemented and if still anything remains which according to him needs to be done, then the court will accord him a hearing.

The affidavit of the ministry of agriculture had submitted that out of a total of over one lakh suicides in the country in 2013, farmer suicides were recorded at 8.7%.

It referred to data maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) as per which the number of suicides by persons self-employed in farming/agriculture in 2009 was 17,368 which had come down to 11,772 in 2013.

It had submitted that as against the total population of 122 crore (estimated) during 2013, the total number of suicides in the country was 1,34,799, of which suicides under the category of self-employed (farming/agriculture) was 11,772 which is 8.73% of total suicides.
The Shiv Sena on Monday demanded lifting of a flying ban on its lawmaker Ravindra Gaikwad, accused of assaulting an Air India staffer, but the government said airlines had the right to refuse a passenger.

MPs of the Sena, an ally of the ruling BJP at the Centre and Maharashtra, created uproar in the Lok Sabha and at one point of time, engaged in a verbal duel with Congress members who slammed Gaikwads action.

Sena supporters also called a shutdown on Monday at Osmanabad, the parliamentary constituency of the MP who has admitted to hitting a 60-year-old Air india employee with slipper more than 25 times.

Gaikwad was allegedly angry after being denied a business class seat on a Pune-Delhi flight. The flight reportedly did not have a business class.

There was some dispute, he had beaten an Air India staffer. I agree it is wrong. Air India has filed a police complaint and we will accept whatever the result is, that is not a problem, Sena member Anandrao Adsul said in the Lok Sabha.

The problem is all airlines have restricted him. The Constitution says people can go anywhere in the country. If there is one incident and all airlines ban him, it is wrong.

Adsul cited the example of actor Kapil Sharma who he alleged misbehaved with an airline staffer on a flight to Australia.

He was not banned. But a person who represents people, and when the session is on, was banned.

Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju said an MP was just another passenger and violence of any kind on a flight can turn into a disaster.

He said airlines have been empowered to deny boarding to any passenger whose demeanour was not proper.

An MP is also a passenger. Now that the MP has raised it, we cant have unequal treatment to people of different classes...We need to keep safety in mind, we cant compromise safety of airlines, Raju said.

I never in my wildest dreams thought that an MP will get caught in such an incident, he said

With the minister giving no positive response, the Shiv Sena members expressed their unhappiness by trooping into the Well of the House.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan told them that it was not right.

Message achha nahi jaa rahi hai (The message going out is not good)...This is not the way, she said.

The Speaker said the Shiv Sena members were trying to support something that is wrong.

Being a public representative, the incident he (Gaikwad) was involved in, does not send the right message, she said.

Mujhe zyaada bholne pe majhboor na kare (Dont force me to speak more on the issue), Mahajan said.

The Sena has continued to defend its MP though senior leaders have said that the party does not endorse his actions. However, the MP is unlikely to face any strict action.

Last Saturday, Gaikwad, who took a train to come to travel to Maharashtra after he was banned by airlines, was scheduled to meet party chief Uddhav Thackeray. Thackeray decided against meeting the MP. Gaikwad later left for Osmanabad.
The Shiv Sena said on Monday it will move a breach of privilege motion against Air India for grounding and cancelling Ravindra Gaikwads ticket after the controversial party legislator assaulted the airlines staff last week.

In a show of support, the party has also called for a shut down in Maharashtras Osmanabadthe constituency which Gaikwad represents in the Lok Sabha. Shiv Sena supporters also held a motorcycle rally in Omerga.

Senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay said the party is planning to bring a privilege motion over the issue and that the airlines should not have banned Gaikwad without carrying out an investigation into the matter.

There is no need for any disciplinary action against him (Gaikwad), Raut told Hindustan Times.

A breach of privilege is a violation of any of the parliamentary privileges or the rights and immunities enjoyed by MPs, MLAs and MLCs, to help them effectively discharge their functions. A notice is moved in the form of a motion by any member of either of the Houses against those being held guilty of breach of privilege.

Sena leaders said the party, which had earlier said it sought an explanation from Gaikwad, does not endorse his actions.

Gaikwad sparked outrage last Saturday after he assaulted a 60-year-old Air India officer on board a Pune-Delhi flight apparently over being denied a business class seat. The politicians burst of fury, peppered with profanities, went viral on social media, drawing widespread criticism.

Several top politicians called for strict action against the politician, and civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju condemned the incident. Six top airlines  including Air India  put Gaikwad on a no-fly list and demanded exemplary punishment, forcing the parliamentarian to return to Pune by train.

Gaikwad, who took a train to travel to Maharashtra after he was banned by the airlines, was scheduled to meet Uddhav Thackeray, but the Shiv Sena chief decided against meeting the MP. Following that Gaikwad left for Osmanabad.

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Ukrainian Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Mykola Doroshenko has expressed his protest to the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry in connection with the trip of a Kyrgyz lawmaker to the Russia-occupied Crimea.

"Today I have expressed diplomatic protest to the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Kyrgyz Republic in connection with the trip to Crimea of the member of parliament, representative of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan M.A. Amankulov [Marat Amankulov], which was not agreed with Ukraine. I called to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, explained that #CrimeaIsUkraine and that there are rules of entry to and exit from the occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and stressed that the offenders will be brought to criminal/administrative responsibility in accordance with the law of Ukraine," the ambassador wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.

Doroshenko also expressed the hope that the Kyrgyz authorities will heed his call and take appropriate action.
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Monday said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagats name should be considered for the next President of India. The Presidential election is due in July.

Senior Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said if the dream of a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation) has to be fulfilled, then Bhagwat should be made President. According to Raut, the BJP has selected and appointed chief ministers associated with the RSS and they shouldnt shy away from nominating Bhagwat for President.

After a long time, there is an atmosphere of Hindutva in the country. A Hindutvawadi [pro Hindu] leader is the Prime Minister of the country in the form of Narendra Modi. Recently, Yogi Adityanath, another Hindutva leader, was made the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. So if the dream of a Hindu rashtra has to be fulfilled, then Bhagwat should be made the President, Raut told HT.

Raut said, The demand for Ram Mandir, Uniform Civil Code, the issue of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, all these issues have been close to the PM and Bhagwat ji. If he is elected President, they can fulfil these agendas.

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Uttar Pradeshs new chief minister Yogi Adityanath is emulating Prime Minister Narendra Modis model of governance in the countrys most populous state. Or so it seems from the proactive chief ministers pronouncements and decisions in his first week in office.

Here are some samples of the Yogis decisions that may give you a sense of deja vu:

Biometric attendance in offices: It was first started in Central government offices by the Modi government and now implemented in UP. Yogis instructions to babus to put in 18-20 hours every day also echoed Modis work ethics for officials. However, the Prime Minister refrained from spelling out any time frame unlike Adityanath who seems to given unrealistic working hours for Lucknow babus.

Declaration of assets by ministers: The chief minister has asked his ministers and officials to declare their assets, a practice started by the Prime Minister. Central ministers declare their assets every year and it is available on the PMOs website.

Swachhata oath: The UP CM borrowed a leaf out of Modis book on governance to administer an oath of cleanliness to officials. Ministers in UP have been wielding brooms to clean up their offices, something their counterparts at the Centre did after the NDA government came to power.

Power-point presentations: The chief minister has asked bureaucrats to give power-point presentations on the functioning of their ministries every month, an exercise started by the Prime Minister at the Centre.

100-day agenda: After Modi took over the reins of the country, ministers and senior bureaucrats started preparing 100-day and 200-day action plans. They were, however, abandoned later as the government set out to implement its agenda for five years. The UP government has now started working on a 100-day agenda now.

While these decisions of the new chief minister indicated his intention to moderate his image -- from a hardcore Hindutva ideologue to a development-oriented politician the makeover is not going to be easy.

His decisions such as crackdown of slaughterhouses and unleashing of so-called anti-Romeo squads betrayed his willingness to play to the gallery and not compromise his image as UPs Hindutva mascot.

Government sources in Delhi said that the Centre was not inclined to guide the UP administration even though the mandate in UP was for Modi and his developmental agenda.

The PM has faith in (BJP) CMs and he gives them a free hand. Let them prove their mettle. How can the Centre intervene in the state administrationdirectly or indirectly? If you think otherwise, you dont know Modi, a senior bureaucrat told HT.

Yogi obviously has his task cut out. He might borrow profusely from Modis model of governance, but accountability for its success or failure in UP will be entirely his.

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The Supreme Court on Monday refused permission to a Mumbai woman to abort her 27-week-old foetus showing signs of severe physical abnormalities.

A bench of Justices SA Bobdey and L Nageshwara Rao referred to the report of the medical board, which has examined the woman, and said that as per the opinion of the doctors the baby may be born alive if the mother is allowed to abort at this stage.

The apex court also observed that as per the doctors opinion the physical condition of the woman is normal and there is no risk to her health.

As regard to the foetus, the report states that, if the pregnancy is terminated in the 27th week, there is a possibility that the baby may be born alive, the bench observed.

We dont consider it appropriate to direct the petitioner (woman) to terminate the foetus, the apex court said.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told the bench that as per the report of the medical board of the Mumbai-based KE M Hospital, the foetus has severe physical abnormalities but the doctors have not advised termination as she is in her 27th week of pregnancy.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act prohibits termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks even if there is a fatal risk to the mother and the foetus.
The BJPs election manifesto promised to shut down all illegal slaughterhouses and place curbs on all mechanical abattoirs in the state. The manifesto said the concerns were about UPs livestock that suffered badly during previous dispensations. Though cow slaughter is banned in UP, there is no ban for slaughtering buffaloes. As the Yogi Adityanath government launches a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, heres a look at Uttar Pradeshs abattoirs and what drives the business

What does it take to start an abattoir

A proposal is submitted to the industries centres by an applicant after procuring land for the unit. It is then sent to the UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) which forwards it to the concerned district magistrate (DM) for clearance. A panel formed by the DM visits the project site and examines it on various parameters, law and order being the most important factor. After receiving the administrations nod, the proposal is sent back to the UPPCB for granting no objection certificate (NOC). A team of UPPCB officials also visits the project site and screens it to ensure it conforms to the norms laid down to check air, water and other forms of environmental pollution. An application is then moved by the plant owner before the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the Union governments regulatory body that monitors exports of all products. Before granting approval for export, the APEDA carries out its own inspection of meat and meat products in slaughter houses, processing plants, storage and conveyance facilities.

Number of slaughter houses in UP

Of the 72 government-approved abattoirs across the country, 38 are in Uttar Pradesh, according to UP Pollution Control Board based on NoCs issued. This includes four government-run of which only two  Agra and Saharanpur  are functional. The remaining two are proposed in Lucknow and Bareilly. Hind Agro IMPP in Aligarh is one of the first plants set up in 1996.

Why do illegal slaughterhouses flourish

Most of the 38 slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh cater to exports. The buffaloes slaughtered in India are in demand in Gulf countries because of two reasons -- low cost and the assurance that buyers in Muslim countries are assured it is halal, slaughtered in a manner Muslims consider ritualistically appropriate. Under these circumstances, the local demands are met by illegal or standalone slaughterhouses.

How are buffaloes procured

On an average, 300 to 3000 livestock is slaughtered daily at these abattoirs depending on their capacity and permission. The abattoirs slaughter buffalo, sheep and goat, which have become spent for their owners/farmers, mostly Hindus, and are procured by a group of traders from regional weekly mandis (village markets). The average cost of a buffalo is around Rs 20,000. A minimum of 10-acre plot of land is needed to set up an IMPP at a cost of Rs 40 to 50 crore. The slaughter houses in the state have permission to kill a bull which is more than 15 years or is of an unhealthy breed.

How big is the industry

Uttar Pradesh is the market leader in production and export of meat in the country. There is no record of illegal animal slaughter and the quantity of meat produced from animals butchered illegally but rough estimates suggest that 140 slaughterhouses and over 50,000 meat shops dont have permission. As per an APEDA report, UP is the highest producer of meat with 19.1% share, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 15.2% and West Bengal at 10.9%. From 2008-09 to 2014-15, the state produced 7515.14 lakh kg of buffalo meat, 1171.65 lakh kg of goat meat, 230.99 lakh kg of sheep meat and 1410.32 pork meat in the year 2014-15, data from the states animal husbandry department show.

How does Centre support the industry

The Centre has been encouraging the meat industry and the food processing ministry by providing aid of up to 50 per cent of the cost of setting up a unit. Uttar Pradesh accounts for nearly 50 per cent of Indias total meat exports and more than 25 lakh people are associated with the industry directly or indirectly, according to the All India Meat and Livestock Exporters Association.

How will a ban on slaughterhouses effect the industry

As per estimates, meat exports account for Rs 26,685 crore annually, according to UPs animal husbandry department. According to the All India Meat and Livestock Exporters Association, a ban on meat exports would mean a loss of at least Rs 11,350 crores of revenue for the state. And if it persists the for next five years, then the revenue loss can mount up to Rs 56,000 crore. In the year 2015-16, UP exported 5,65,958.20 metric tonnes of buffalo meat.

What does the law say

In 2012, the Supreme Court asked all state governments to constitute committees for monitoring modernisation and relocation of slaughterhouses in every city and ensure appropriate measures to deal with their solid waste and pollution. According to the Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1959, the local municipal bodies are mandated to ensure that fresh and hygienic meat is provided to people while keeping a tab on operation of slaughterhouse within city limits. The Act also lays down rules for functioning of slaughter houses, sale of animals and control of private slaughterhouses.

What invites government action

Any slaughterhouse can come under the authorities radar over the source of meat. Plus the plant needs to have approval from the concerned development authority after which registration certificates are issued. The owners are bound to furnish documents relating to the layout of the premises, no objection/clearance certificate from the state pollution control board, permission from the municipal authority to operate the unit.

When is registration refused or cancelled

Issue of certificate may be refused or cancelled or suspended because of many reasons including, if the processing unit does not conform to prescribed standards which may include violation of the foreign trade policy, adverse reports from the banks violation of quality and food safety norms/ pollution control board guidelines.

Statistics on depleting livestock industry

As per data from successive Livestock census, there has been a consistent increase in UPs buffalo population since 1997 -- from 189.96 lakh to 306.25 lakh in 2012. The number of female buffaloes has increased from 141.09 lakh to 257.11 lakh between 1997 and 2012, according to Livestock Census.
A 28-year-old woman was burnt alive in her village near Jodhpur on Sunday allegedly for protesting the chopping of a tree.

Tension griped Hariyadhana village on Monday as locals assembled at the spot insisting that the accused including the sarpanch and a revenue official be arrested before cremating the body.

Station House Officer of Borunda police station Suresh Choudhary said Vidhyadhar, son of Om Prakash Brahmin lodged a complaint that his sister Lalita had protested the chopping of a tree near his field to build a road.

Around 10 people including sarpanch Ranveer Singh Champawat and a revenue official Omprakash then attacked her, poured petrol over her and set her on fire, her brother alleged. The 10 accused have been named in an FIR.

Lalita was rushed to a hospital in Jodhpur, 100 km away, later in the evening after primary medical aid at the government hospital in at Borunda village. She succumbed to burn injuries during treatment at hospital in Jodhpur late Sunday night.

The body was handed over to the family members after post-mortem.

When the body reached the village on Monday morning, angry locals began protesting and demanded the arrest of the accused.
A village in Barmer district, lit up by solar lights about two years ago when an oil company set up a solar power plant, is back to darkness.

The Cairn India set up the solar plant, lighting up 100 houses of Meghwalon Ki Dhani village under Rawatsar panchayat, about 20km from the Barmer district headquarters. Before this, there was no electricity in the village inhabited by Meghwals, a scheduled caste in Rajasthan.

Darkness descended on the houses soon after the plant became dysfunctional one and a half years ago, said sarpanch Ratanlal Chopra. The LED (light emitting diode) bulbs and television sets in the houses became mere show pieces.

Barmer MLA Mevaram Jain raised the issue in the state Assembly on March 25, alleging that Cairn India betrayed the people and misused the CSR (corporate social responsibility) fund. The solar power micro grid, installed by Cairn in 2015, functioned for less than 10 months, sending the villagers back into darkness, he said.

The village is part of an area that generates 30% of electricity consumed in the state and produces 30% of Indias crude.

Cairn bore the cost for installation of the solar grid and Sun Edison was the technical partner to ensure its smooth operation.

The micro grid connected each household to a central energy system through transportation and distribution lines. The company claimed that such a pooled resource has the ability to supply higher peak-demand power to a household.

The company said villagers will be in charge of maintenance of the network, and formed a village power committee to monitor power supply.

The sarpanch, who took charge two years ago, said he had not heard of any such committee. We informed the company several times about the dysfunctional plant but they reacted only two weeks ago; a team visited the place and assured us of repair. The plant continues to be dead, he said.

A Cairn India official said the solar plant was handed over to the village in 2015. Later we came to know about the technical snag and sought help from MNIT experts, he told HT on the condition of anonymity.

The official said a few parts of the plant had reportedly been stolen. Villagers have lodged a complaint. We will ensure that technical snag is rectified soon, he added.
Mystery shrouding death of a girl student at a hostel in University Maharani College here last week continued on Monday. Komal Prajapat, 18, was found hanging in her hostel room by her roommate on Thursday morning.

In their complaint, the girls family has alleged that she was being harassed by the warden and some seniors.

Although prima facie it seems to be a case of suicide, we are not ruling out other angles. We are also investigating if the girl was being harassed by anybody, said Ram Chandra, the head constable at Ashok Nagar police station.

He said police were recording statements of the victims family, her hostel mates and the warden. Police are also going through Prajapats phone call records.

Pieces of a torn letter, believed to be a suicide note, have been recovered from her room. The pieces were sent to a forensic science laboratory for examination.

On Monday, BJP Mahila Morcha state unit president Madhu Sharma visited the girls hostel. Students are under a lot of pressure regarding their studies. What they need is proper counseling and values, said Sharma.

College principal Alpana Kateja said Prajapat never approached the colleges counseling cell.

Her fellow students say that she was scared of appearing for the BA first year exams which started on Monday. She had Hindi literature, geography and drawing in class 12 and had scored 85% in the board exams. In BA, she had chosen English literature and her friends say that she was very worried about her performance, said Kateja.

RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the Congress student wing National Students Union of India held protests against alleged negligence of the university administration.

Meanwhile, the university constituted a committee to prepare a report on the incident. The committee was asked to give recommendations regarding prevention of such incidents in future.
The Rajasthan government might have declared camel as the state animal in June 2014, but if state police data is to be believed, the journey of the ship of the desert is filled with hindrances, smuggling being one of the main concerns.

The police data reveals that in the last three years, 76 cases of camel smuggling have been registered in the state wherein 939 animals were transported outside for slaughter. During the same period, 196 people have been arrested under the Rajasthan Camel (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Bill 2015.

Camels are slowly becoming endangered animals in Rajasthan. Ironically, the law to ban the transportation of the animal has backfired in a way that the government didnt foresee, said Hanwant Singh, director of Lokhit Pashupalak Sangsthan. Customers from outside the state who used to come to cattle fairs in Rajasthan has stopped coming.

As a result of this, camel breeders in the state are sustaining huge losses, Singh said.

The demand for camel meat in areas such as Hyderabad also contributes to camel smuggling. Lately, camel meat has become a delicacy in such places for which camels are made to walk hundreds of miles to illegal slaughterhouses, he said.

The camel population in the state was 7.46 lakh in 1992 which went down to 3.25 lakh in 2012, according to livestock census data available with the National Research Centre on Camel, Bikaner. Singh said the current estimate of the camel population in the state, according to the research done by Lokhit Pashupalak Sangsthan, is around 2.5 lakh.

The Rajasthan animal husbandry department has started a plan to encourage camel breeding from October last year under which 10,000 is awarded after the birth of every camel calf.

The new generation of the raikas, traditional breeders of camels, are not interested in their familial occupation due to lack of profits after the ban on camel transportation as the fear of smuggling has led to legitimate buyers backtracking, said Singh.

He added that the size of a standard camel herd has also decreased.

We have cracked down on quite a few cases wherein camels were being transported to Uttar Pradesh without permits and no-objection certificate of sub-divisional magistrates. The incidents increase particularly during the Gogamedi cattle fair during August every year, Hanumangarh superintendent of police Bhuvan Bhushan told HT.

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Not long ago, Sita, a tribal woman of Shishviya village in Rajasthans Udaipur district, used to share a kerosene lamp with her children who studied under its dim light as she cooked.

Last month, her house was lit up with solar energy when Shishviya and 26 other remote villages in the district got solar power connections under the chief ministers rural electrification scheme.

Under the scheme, each household gets five LED (light emitting diode) bulbs, one ceiling fan and a cell phone-charging socket.

Before we got solar power connections, we used kerosene lamp to light up our house. However, kerosene was always in short supply, said Sitas husband Udai Singh.

Solar power now lights up villages in some of the most backward and inaccessible regions not connected to an electrical grid. So far, more than 6,200 households across 91 villages in Udaipur, Barmer and Bara districts have been covered under the scheme, Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation managing director BK Dosi told HT.

The Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Ltd (REIL) has been tasked with installing standalone solar lighting system of 100 watts at each household. The beneficiaries have to shell out only 1,029 or 5% of the total cost of 20,573 as the rest is subsidised by the state government, project officer Rakesh Katiyar said.

There is no monthly charge and maintenance is free, but if there is a breakdown in equipment due to the consumers fault and if it has to be replaced, then he or she will have to pay the charges. For generations, tribals in remote villages of Udaipur district had no access to electricity.

Power department officials said that it was not possible to give grid connections to many villages as installation of poles and cables is not allowed in forestland.

The new electric connections have transformed their everyday life. Lack of electricity was not only inconvenient but could also have proved fatal. Snakes have entered huts unnoticed due to darkness, Dhaniya Ram (45), deputy sarpanch of Umaria, told HT.

Dhaniya Ram, one of the few to have a cell phone, used to travel 15km to Kotra town to charge it.

Highlights Cost of solar equipment: Rs 20,573 Cost to villagers after subsidy: Rs 1,029 Kit includes: 5 LED bulbs, one DC fan, one charging socket Number of villages covered: 91 Number of households covered: 6,200

Tribals didnt know the comfort of cool air of a fan. It was difficult to get a boy of these villages married with a girl from other villages that had access to electricity, he said.

Against 2,024 identified houses in 27 villages, about 1800 have been provided solar power connections and the process is underway to cover the rest of the households.

One hindrance to getting solar connection is that the head of the family must have an Aadhaar card.

About 150 connections are pending in 27 villages in Udaipur district either due to absence of Aadhaar cards or due to mismatch in name of the head of the family in ration card and Aadhaar card, said an REIL official.

In the 2016-17 budget, the Rajasthan government allocated 24.97 crore for electrifying villages through solar energy.

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Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya was accorded a warm welcome on his maiden visit to the city after declaration of assembly poll results and formation of Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state under the leadership of CM Aditya Nath Yogi.

On his way to circuit house, Maurya was welcomed by the BJP activists, who gathered at several places between airport and Circuit House, which affected traffic movement on the busy GT road for nearly four hours on Sunday morning.

After reaching Circuit House, the dy CM met party leaders and activists due to which the meeting with administrative officials got delayed. Excited supporters and party workers, in trying to get their presence noticed, created chaos and damaged glass panes of a door besides a few flower pots and wall painting at Circuit House.

Later, interacting with a section of media, the deputy chief minister assured improvement in law and order in the state besides strict action against corrupt officials. He said that officials of Public Works Department (PWD) had been given June 15 as deadline for improving condition of roads. In case of dereliction of duty, suspension would not be the only punishment but FIR would be lodged against such officials and would be sent to jail.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modis appeal in his programme Mann ki baat on radio for saving petrol-diesel once a week, Maurya said his government would strictly follow the advice.
KYIV. March 27 (Interfax-Ukraine)  Rivals could be behind the pressure of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on YouControl online service, the company has said.

"I guess that this is the planned action of our rivals," YouControl Commercial Director Olena Lapa said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on March 24.

YouControl CEO Serhiy Milman said that the company has not yet collected enough information to prove this, using facts.

"The thing is that until recently we did not see profit at all. We were permanently subsidizing the project to develop it and only in February we saw small profit. Maybe, this was a sign for someone. Maybe, we are too dangerous for them, for example, in the banking sector, or they simply wanted to receive a good product," he said.

As reported, on March 23, the SBU raided YouControl office and apartments of top managers, employees and partners of the company. According to the company, around 100 SBU officers took part in the raids. Around 100 mobile phones and laptops were seized during the raids.
Bollywood producer-director-actor Fahan Akhtar was seen riding a scooter with his on-screen friend in Lalbagh on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. The actor was driving an old Bajaj scooter UP32-Y-3622 with Sahajahanpur-lad Alok as pillion rider for Ranjit Tiwaris directorial debut Lucknow Central.

With the night-shoot, the team wrapped-up the shoot for Lucknow-leg and next they will shoot partially in Varanasi and then in Mumbai where a massive set of jail has been set up in Film City. Farhan was sporting a black jacket teamed with a mustard t-shirt and trouser. Riding the scooter, he stops besides a car that had broken down opposite Bhopal House and drives after some cracking some jokes.

Actor Farhan Akhtar shooting in Lalbagh, Lucknow. (Deep Saxena/ HT Photo)

Farhans co-actor Diana Penty and Airlift-fame Inaamulhaq have also shot during the Lucknow schedule in the last few days. Producer Nikhil Advani had also been in the city for many days. The film is said to be based on jail inmates who form a band.

Talking to HT City director Ranjit Tiwari says, On a personal note I dont have any connection with the city but films central theme has brought us to the city. The story, which I cant talk about at this moment, is based in Lucknow which is its soul. I have stayed and researched here for the film and it was very important to shoot here to capture the soul of the city in real locations. He has been associate director for several films including Hero, D-Day and Katti Batti.

On the sets that they have built in Mumbai he says, There is rule, which does not allow us to shoot inside a jail so the production team decided to erect one. We chose to do it in Mumbai as its easy to shoot there and saves extra budget of shooting in an outside location (Lucknow). The film falls in the drama genre.

Farhan with actor Deepak Dobriyal, director (left) Ranjit Tiwari & executive producer Hemraj Dogra (standing) at the jail set in Mumbai (Lucknow Central team)

The team has shot on the roof of Chota Imambara, Centenniel College, Jahangirabad Palace, Malihabad, Roomi Gate, Kaiserbagh, Residency and Lalbagh besides other localities informed line-producer Aroon Singh Dicky.

Films executive producer Hemraj Dogra tells that the team initially had some apprehension with the change of state government but it turned out to be a smooth ride. We faced no problem at all and everyone co-operated a lot. The public has been very supportive. They do flock to watch the shoot but are very nice and obedient. We are very happy on this front, he says.

Fan moment

Farhan obliged his fans and crew members for a photo-op on the last day of shoot. Just before the final shot he asked his staff to call kids watching him sitting in his SUV and interacted with them. He also posed with team members and some fans at the Novelty (2 am) roundabout where they had been patiently waiting for a long time to meet him before leaving the spot.

Read more: Anarkali Swaras kismet connection with Lucknow!
Paan (betel leaf) and tobacco spittle has stained parts of Varanasis iconic ghats.

Take the case of the Assi Ghat. It was here that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wielded a spade in November 2014 to remove silt and launch the Varanasi leg of the Swachh Bharat campaign.

Today, many spots on the steps of Assi Ghat bear tell-tale signs of gutkha stains. It seems that those chewing paan and tobacco have been making a mockery of a sign which says Kripaya yahan na thuken (Please, dont spit here). This ghat receives a large number of visitors daily from sunrise to sunset.

The scene is similar at Dashashwamedh Ghat, Rajendra Prasad Ghat, Pandey Ghat, Tulsi Ghat and a few other ghats.

Though dustbins have been set up on the stairs, people spit on the surface and not inside the bins.

The Varanasi Nagar Nigam imposed a blanket ban on gutkha, paan, tobacco spittle at the ghats around six months ago. But no one observes the ban, the violation of which entails a fine of Rs 500.

The municipal corporation, in association with sanitation activists and locals, has carried out several drives against spitting but not with much success.

Varanasi mayor Ramgopal Mohale says, Spitting is already prohibited to maintain the beauty of the ghats. To keep an effective check on paan, gutkha and tobacco chewing at the ghats, we will carry out a drive. It will begin in a day or two.

Biancone Sonia, a French tourist, says: Stains at several spots on the ghat stairs are irritating. It appears people spit recklessly. The stains must be washed off and cleanliness maintained at the ghats..

Her friend Gentile Elizabeth says: Varanasi ghats are very beautiful. We travelled all the way from France to India to catch glimpses of the ghats which were clean by and large but there were stains at some spots at the corner of the stairs. Stains should not be there.

Finding stains on the ghat stairs is really disappointing. The authorities concerned should keep an effective check on gutkha, paan spittle at the majestic ghats, Chetna, a resident of Patna, says.

Prabhu Sahani, a boatman, says a drive against those chewing tobacco is needed.

Gopal Yadav, a resident of Dashashwamedh area, says, Many visitors freely spit at the stairs, ignoring warnings.

Using soap or detergent powder to wash clothes at the Ganga is also prohibited. But detergent soaked clothes on the stairs are a common sight at Pandey Ghat, Assi Ghat and Rana Mahal Ghat.

Read more| Yogi impact: Cops in a clean-up act

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Non vegetarians have perforce shifted to fish and eggs following meat vendors strike in the state capital. However, the sudden change in food habits has spurred a minor rise in the rates of fish in the local markets.

On Sunday, mutton and chickens shops observed a total shutdown as meat sellers protesting against the crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughter houses in Uttar Pradesh went on an indefinite strike.

As a result, the number of customers in the fish market increased. The rates of Rohu shot up to Rs 400 per kg from Rs 360 just a day before , while prices of other fish, which ranged between Rs 120 to 160 shot up to Rs 180 to R200 in the fish market of Qaiserbagh and Kanpur Road.

There was no change in the price of eggs (Rs 48 per dozen) in the wholesale market but the rates increased in the retail market.

In a nutshell There is no mechanised slaughter house in Lucknow Lucknow has 600 licensed mutton sellers There are five licensed beef sellers In Lucknow, 1,500 goats and 25,000 chickens are slaughtered per day

The closure of eateries like Tunde Kebabi and Idris benefited small vendors selling eggs on roadside carts. The demand for boiled eggs increased three-fold, said Kashif, an egg stall owner at Lalkuan.

The mutton and chicken sellers who have pulled down their shutters have warned the government of intensifying their stir from Monday.

Major non veg food outlets, including the famous Tunday, Idris, Wahid and Rahims, remained closed as a mark of solidarity to meat traders.

Mubeen Qureshi of the Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal, said, The meat sellers are worried over the irrational crackdown on slaughter houses. This has created shortage of beef in the market. Now butchers are afraid of slaughtering buffaloes and this has adversely hit their livelihood.

He said, The government has only ordered action against illegal slaughterhouses and ban on cow smuggling but here officials are closing down shops selling chicken and mutton.

However, former mayor and deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma has assured the meat sellers that action is only against the illegal slaughter houses and illegal meat sellers, not against licensed meat traders.

Chief veterinary officer Dr AK Rao also assured smooth trade to licensed meat traders but said those in illegal trade of meat would not be spared as this was directly connected with the health of the people.

However, prices of vegetables are still stable in all major mandis of city.

Read more| UP stares at meat crisis as traders begin strike against Adityanaths crackdown: 5 developments

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The official launch of Lucknow Metro, scheduled on Sunday (March 26) failed to take off as for the first time since the start of the project, the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) officials were unable to keep tryst with the deadline which they had set for themselves.

Officials of Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) said that it was disappointing that the metro was not rolled out officially because of some technical snags .

To note, Lucknow metro was a much publicised project of the erstwhile Samajwadi Party government in the state led by Akhilesh Yadav.

Much politics was played over the 8.9 km stretch from Transport Nagar to Charbagh during the elections too. Former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav touted the metro project as an outstanding achievement of his government. During his election rallies, he blasted the Narendra Modi-led central government for its efforts to delay the project several times.

But the Bharatiya Janata Party retorted that the Samajwadi Party must not claim ownership of a project which was funded 80% by the centre.

Earlier, on March 17 this month, minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha had made it clear that Lucknow metro would take at least four months from the day the Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) submitted its report to the railway ministry. With this, he put a full stop on the dates of official launch of Lucknow metro.

Not only that, Sinha also came down heavily on the outgoing Samajwadi Party government for misguiding people on the launch date.

He said that officials of railways and others knew well how much time ministry of railways and commissioner railway safety would take before giving final clearance for official launch of the metro.

LMRC officials also admitted that out of the eight stations from Transport Nagar to Charbagh, only Krishna Nagar station was nearing completion while other stations would require at least two more months to get completed.

Read more: Smart cards to ensure smart travel in Lucknow Metro

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UP health minister Siddharth Nath Singh has justified the clampdown on illegal slaughter houses and meat shops in Uttar Pradesh.

Lets not fall prey to a disinformation campaign. There is no crisis as there isnt a problem with legal and licensed slaughter houses. Same is the case with authorised meat shops. But as I have said earlier as well, anything illegal cannot be justified, Singh told reporters.

The Yogi Adityanath governments crackdown against illegal slaughter houses and meat shops has met with a stiff resistance from tradersincluding those selling chicken, fish and eggsand many of them have closed shops in protest against the decision.

The health minister said there was no closure order for chicken and egg shops. And if some have shut down to modernise and legalise their businesses, I guess there is no harm in this.

He also advised leaders, including BJP lawmakers, not to make out-of-turn and irresponsible statements. Our language should be sober, he said, adding that officers too shouldnt act without thinking.

His warnings come in the wake of some BJP legislators like Vikram Saini from Khatauli in Muzaffarnagar having said that they would break the legs of those engaged in cow slaughter.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday told the Bombay high court that it would hand over a plot of land at Veravali reservoir to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) by the weekend for installing the citys second Doppler radar.

IMD had earlier refused to take possession because of the pending proposal for waiver of one-time premium of Rs56 lakh fixed by the BMC for allotting the land.

On Monday, additional solicitor general Anil Singh told the court that the department would take possession of the land, while the proposal for the premium waiver is pending with the state government. Responding to the statement, BMC counsel Anil Sakhare said that the possession would be handed over to the IMD by this weekend.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocate Atalbihari Dubey seeking corrective steps after the June 2015 deluge brought Mumbai to a halt for two days. During the course of hearing, Singh also informed the court that the IMD will require at least 18 months to install the radar.

Also read: Maharashtra most vulnerable to hailstorms: IMD
Unabated destruction of mangroves continues in the city with zero deterrence for violators, either through arrests or convictions, according to state government data.

In the first three months of this year, Mumbai has seen 63 cases of mangrove destruction  57 on private land (under the revenue department) and six cases on government land (forest department)  revealed data from the Mumbai Mangrove Conservation Unit under the state mangrove cell.

Violators have gone undetected because no arrests have been made in any of the cases yet. First-information-reports (FIRs) were filed in all six cases on government land, but action is yet to be taken on private land cases. The violations were identified mostly along the western and central suburbs of Mumbai like Manori-Gorai, Marwe, Kandivli, Borivli, Charkop, Chitta camp, Kannamwar Nagar, parts of the eastern suburbs like Chedda Nagar in Chembur and all the way up to Trombay.

The state mangrove cell started collating data on mangrove destruction cases from April 2016 onwards and between April and December last year, Mumbai saw 244 mangrove destruction cases with no arrests or convictions in all cases. Mumbai currently has 5,800 hectares (ha) of mangrove cover  4,000 ha on government-owned land and 1,800 ha in private areas.

The details come less than a week after the government decided to constitute a task force and setup a helpline to curb the destruction of mangroves in coastal areas of Mumbai, Thane and other parts of the state. Mangroves protect the city from coastal inundation and harbour a variety of flora and fauna.

We received 73 complaints of mangrove destruction on private land, of which 57 were identified as cases since many complaints were repetitive. Violations included debris dumping and illegal shanties cropping up on mangrove land, both violations under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and laws prohibiting mangrove destruction by the Bombay high court (HC), said Makarand Ghodke, assistant conservator of forests, Mumbai Mangrove Conservation Unit. On government land, we removed 850 shanties from Chedda Nagar, Chembur over the past two weeks and mangrove restoration programmes will be carried out there.

A list of the cases and survey numbers of each location will be submitted to the wetland grievance redressal committee formed by the Bombay HC last year, and the Mumbai suburban collectors office. Since most cases fall under private land, action needs to be taken by the revenue department under the suburban collectors directive, said Ghodke.

Officials from district collectors office said an inquiry into the matter will be conducted. Once we receive the list of cases we will cross-verify them through our circle officers and initiate action immediately, said Deependra Singh Kushwa, Mumbai suburban collector.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS SPEAK

The state machinery has helped the land mafia by sending only junior officers to file FIRs knowing very well that even a magistrate court will dismiss the case. It is a clear indication of collision between the construction mafia and government departments. Over 500 cases are pending for action, said Stalin D, director, NGO Vanashakti.

READ MORE

Mangroves in Manori-Gorai being destroyed, say activists from Mumbai

In Mumbai: Fire in Charkop mangroves, third since February

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Will students excelling in cultural activities get a double advantage this year with additional marks in SSC exams and 3% reservation? How will the 30% reservation for women be implemented in class 11 admissions? The education department doesnt have answers to these questions yet, even when the first-year junior college (FYJC) online admission process is just weeks away.

Students better brace for chaos in the upcoming admission process. A plethora of changes in the rules, a new website and nodal agency, along with additional benefits for certain students groups will be introduced this year, but education officials said that there is no clarity yet over how these changes are to be implemented.

Officials said they expect more chaos from students and parents in this admission process owing to new rules. This year, students will be free to change the order of college preferences after every round. This, officials fear, will add to the confusion. Students and colleges had finally gotten a hang of the old system. Teachers could guide students better because they had experienced it for six years. The new system could cause chaos, said a senior education official from the directorate.

Over 2.5 lakh aspirants from across Mumbai take part in the online admission process for over 800 junior colleges. The number is expected to go up this year because admissions to technical colleges, minimum competency vocational courses (MCVC), and reserved seats, which were filled at the college-level earlier, will now be done online.

But whats worrying is that the government has appointed a new agency, NYSA Asia, to provide technical support for admissions, while ditching Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL), which was the technical partner for the last six years, since the online admissions began in 2011.

As a result, a new online admission portal is being developed. It was to open for college registrations (on a trial basis) by Monday, but it has been delayed to April 1. The agency noticed some errors in the website and are in the middle of ironing them out, said BB Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai region.

To make matters worse, officials are confused over implementing the new admission rules. Students excelling in cultural quota enjoy 3% reservation during FYJC admissions. But a government resolution (GR) issued on January 8, states that such students will be awarded 10 to 25 additional marks in their Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams. The GR hasnt specified whether we should continue with cultural quota now that these students will get the benefit of extra marks, said the official.

READ MORE

Mumbai: New proposed changes to simplify FYJC admissions process

Mumbai: FYJC online admissions to get student-friendly

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The Bombay high court on Monday directed the Maharashtra anti-corruption bureau (ACB) to complete its open inquiry into the Kharghar toll plaza scam within the next three months.

A division bench of justices Ranjit More and Anuja Prabhudessai ordered the state not to pay the toll operating contractor dues worth Rs390 crore until the inquiry had been completed and the court was informed.

The high court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by activist Praveen Wategaonkar, who alleged that the states rules were flouted and a certain contractor was favoured while issuing tenders to widen the Sion-Panvel highway, maintain the Kharghar plaza and collect toll.

Earlier last month, the court had directed the ACB to look into Wategaonkars allegations and file an affidavit in response.

At a previous hearing, the Maharashtra government had told the court that while the ACB had conducted a preliminary inquiry, it now planned to conduct an open inquiry, which would take six months.

The bench refused to give the state an additional six months. It also questioned the need for an open inquiry when a preliminary one had been already conducted. It said the states request appeared to be merely a delaying tactic.

The judges had said they would allow the open inquiry only on the condition that the state registers an offence in the case first. However, on Monday, the state said it had started the inquiry on February 15.

The bench permitted the state to go ahead with it, provided that it completes the inquiry within the next three months and does not release payments to the contractor in charge of maintenance and collection at the toll plaza.

According to Wategaonkars plea, eight firms had expressed an interest in submitting bids for the Kharghar toll plaza.

However, the public works department refused to allow four of these firms to buy tender forms, required to submit a bid, as it favoured a particular contractor.

The high court is likely to take up the matter for further hearing on July 8.

Read

Bombay HC asks Maharashtra govt if an FIR should be filed in Kharghar toll plaza case

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1. Victory, faith, life: Thats what youre really celebrating on Gudi Padwa

The return of spring and all the good it brings; a reminder that not everything bitter is to be shunned - theres wisdom hidden in every element of your feast. Read

2. In Mumbai: Realtors offer big discounts for Gudi Padwa

Builders in Mumbai are looking forward to Gudi Padwa, the Maharashtrian new year, and hoping that realty sales pick up around this time.They have come up with cash discounts, offers like gold coins, flexible payment options, foreign holidays, and waiver of stamp duty to woo homebuyers.Read

3. In Mumbai: SGNP buffer zone under threat from construction activity

Private builders are ravaging the Dindoshi hills that form part of the buffer zone of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) flouting all environmental norms, say green activists. Read

4. In Mumbai: Twelve vehicles set on fire in Bhandup

Twelve vehicles were set ablaze in Bhandup, in the northern part of Mumbai, in the wee hours on Monday. no one has been arrested yet. Read

5. Mumbais Mithi is more sewer than river now

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation may claim it has finished 95% of the work on deepening and widening the Mithi river at a cost of Rs659.83 crore, but, point out environmentalists, nothing has been done to improve the health of the river. Read
KYIV. March 27 (Interfax-Ukraine)  Accusations of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) of unlawful interference in operation of the automated systems and computer networks of the Justice Ministry, the State Fiscal Service and the State Court Administration of Ukraine and the illegal sale of collected data by online service YouControl are groundless, lawyer of YouControl Danylo Hloba has said.

"The situation is absurd. In 2015, the Ukrainian president initiated the bill that was enacted into the law that the public information of open data, which is the element of all these registers and many other registers, can be freely stored, spread and purchased by any legal entity of Ukraine. It can be also freely used as part of any information products, software, including for commercial use. Our absolutely legal actions are interpreted as a crime," he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on March 24.

Hloba also denies the involvement of the company in the unlawful sale and use of computers, mobile phones and software made by Russia, which the court ruling claims.

"We do not have any relation neither to Russia nor equipment for secret collection of information. First of all, we are the Ukrainian company and no our employee or partner is linked to Russia. No payments with this country are settled," he said.

On March 23, the SBU raided YouControl office and apartments of top managers, employees and partners of the company. According to the company, around 100 SBU officers took part in the raids. Around 100 mobile phones and laptops were seized during the raids.

SBU reported that they revealed a commercial structure in Kyiv which unlawfully collected information that has the status of restricted access and belongs to the state and sold it.

According to the register of companies, YouControl LLC was registered in September 2014. Its charter capital is UAH 100,000. Its founder is CEO of the company Serhiy Milman.

YouControl describes itself as the information and analytical platform for business analytics, competition reconnaissance and verification of contractors. The head office is located in Kyiv.
From next month, vehicle registration process in the western suburbs will be smoother and faster. After introducing the web-based Vahan 4.0 at Tardeo and Wadala Regional Transport Offices (RTOs), the motor vehicles department will implement the system at Andheri and Borivli RTOs next month.

According to RTO sources, work at Andheri and Borivli RTOs was pending owing to a delay in getting high-speed internet connectivity. MTNL is expected to complete the work of providing internet connectivity lines of 10mbps speed within the next four to five days. Once done, Vahan 4.0 system could be introduced any time, said an official.

RTO sources said a shortage of computers is another issue in implementation of Vahan 4.0.

It will allow residents sitting in any part of the world to do various work such as transferring vehicles, obtaining a no-objection certificate, changing the address and making online payments.

Around 400 new vehicles are registered in the western suburbs every day  the highest in the city. The system developed by National Informatics Center (NIC) will do away with the role of touts and agents. Currently, people are forced to approach agents or touts for their vehicle-related work owing to corruption at the RTOs. Vahan 4.0 will make registration of new vehicles faster and smoother for dealers.

Sources said the registration process will become faster and dealers could hand over new vehicles to customers in a day or two. The department has already introduced Vahan 4.0 at 25 of the 50 RTO offices across the state.

Within the next two months, the department will implement the system at all RTOs across the state.

If everything goes as per plan, Vahan 4.0 should be in place at all RTOs across the state, said Praveen Gedam, transport commissioner of the state.

Read

No more touts, vehicle registrations, driving licenses in Mumbai to go online soon

E-governance centres to make getting a driving licence easier

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A 32-year-old Navy officer from Visakhapatnam was arrested in Colaba for allegedly groping a 27-year-old woman doctor when he was drunk on Sunday.

The woman raised an alarm after which passers-by chased and bashed him up. He was later handed over to the police.

According to Colaba police, the incident took place somewhere around 1am at the BEST junction in Colaba.

She had arrived at a popular hotel in Colaba to have a dinner with her female friend. The hotelier asked them to wait for an hour as there was a lot of rush due to the weekend. She decided to kill time and went for a joyride in the area on her friends two-wheeler. Later, they received a call from the hotelier that seats were available.

They had stopped the two-wheeler to take the phone call at the BEST junction when the alleged accused, identified as Sanjaysingh Chouhan, came from behind and groped the woman. The woman shouted for help and passers-by chased Chouhan. He was caught and beaten up by the crowd before being handed over to the Colaba police. A magistrates court sent him to judicial custody.

READ MORE

Russian national and minor rescued from flesh trade in Mumbai; two arrested

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Private builders are ravaging the Dindoshi hills that form part of the buffer zone of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) flouting all environmental norms, say green activists. They say a comparison of satellite images from 2000 and 2016-17 clearly show how soil and rocks have been mined from these hills, cutting into them, which has also resulted in widespread destruction of tree cover.

A satellite image that shows the forest area under SGNP. (HT)

The Mumbai-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Watchdog Foundation alleged private builders in Goregaon (East) were behind these depredations that were in violation of the December 5, 2016, notification by the Union Environment Ministry that prohibits commercial mining and stone quarrying around the SGNP.

The NGO filed complaints with the Mumbai suburban collector and SGNP officials on Saturday. The notification by the environment ministry says stone quarrying and crushing units are prohibited except for the domestic needs of local residents when it comes to construction or repair works only. Such activity is not permitted for development of real-estate, said Godfrey Pimenta, trustee, Watchdog Foundation.

Officials from the Mumbai suburban collectors office said that an independent investigation would be done in the matter. We have not received the complaint yet but I will ask my sub-divisional officer to visit the site, carry out a cross-examination of the complaint and file a report. We will take action against private builders if there is a violation that has gone unnoticed, said Deependra Singh Kushwa, Mumbai suburban collector.

Forest department officials said a survey had been planned to check such violations in the area. The local divisional forest officer has been informed about such activities in Mumbai and surrounding areas. A survey will be conducted to check the destruction of forest. If we find any wrong done at the site, immediate action will be taken, said a senior official from the Thane forest range.

The SGNP is home to more than 1000 plant species, 251 species of birds, 50,000 species of insects and 40 species of mammals. In addition, the park provides shelter to 38 species of reptiles, nine species of amphibians, 150 species of butterflies and a large variety of fish.

Some of the animal and bird species are becoming increasingly uncommon around the SGNP due to the urbanisation in the surrounding areas like this cutting into of the hills, said Pimenta. The ecology of this entire area is on the verge of deterioration as a result of this rapid urbanisation.

Environmentalists also said that trees and water bodies were the worst-hit by this illegal quarrying and mining. Stalin Dayanand, director, Vanashakti, says, There was a waterfall that used to run through the hills, which have dried up due to illegal constructions within the hills, hidden from the public and these activities are conducted only at night.

An order passed by the National Green Tribunal, western bench in 2015 said that hills with a slope of 25 degrees or more cannot be permitted to be cut into. Several Bombay High Court orders and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, do not allow quarrying or cutting into the hills in and around the national park, said Stalin.

Why should you care?

 If a hill is being demolished within two separate hills, continuity of the range is lost, which means it impacts the ground water, percolation, tree cover and natural biodiversity

 Unregulated quarrying leads to high siltation in creek areas. Construction debris landing up at creeks squeezes them from the edges

 There is noise pollution due to the rock cutting and heavy dust is generated while drilling.

 Excavators and heavy machinery can cause serious disturbance to the wildlife

READ MORE

Open wells are a hazard for wildlife: 1,500 animals died in the last 10 years

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Officers from Kandivli police station arrested a 36-year-old man from Gujarat for allegedly kidnapping and raping a 10-year-old Mumbai girl.

The minor, who lives with her family along the SV Road, was kidnapped on March 5 from Kandivli (West) around 1.30 am while she was asleep, police officials said. Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused took the girl into the bushes near the railway tracks and sexually abused her.

After the girl was found, the police formed six teams to identify and arrest the accused. After the initial failure to secure leads in the case, cops stared scrutinising CCTV footage recorded by cameras installed at railway stations across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai.

Cops secured a lead and traced the whereabouts of the accused to Gujarat. Meanwhile, several police teams were investigating to other states following numerous tip-offs.

The accused was arrested and booked under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, said senior inspector Mukund Pawar from Kandivli police station.

Officials said that although the accused does not have a fixed residential place in Mumbai, he is based out of Uttar Pradesh. After he was identified with the help of CCTV footage recovered from near the railway station, the police sent a team to track him to his hiding spot in Gujarat.

The accused was produced in Dindoshi sessions court and was remanded in custody till April 1. The police are investigating whether the accused had committed similar offences in the past.

Also read: Taxi driver accused of rape, extortion held in Madhya Pradesh
Mumbai Police and other security agencies across Mumbai and Maharashtra have further ramped up their already intensive intelligence gathering in the wake of Wednesdays lone wolf terror attack in London, where a man ploughed a car through pedestrians and knifed a policeman before being shot. The challenge for security agencies is that terror plotters are devising new ways to get around the enhanced security levels across the world. Its not just about guns and bombs now as it was during the 26/11 terror siege.

After the 2016 terror attack in Nice, where a man drove a huge truck through a crowd, security agencies have been bracing for more such lone-wolf strikes. And London happened on Wednesday.

Security experts say Maharashtra and Mumbai are not immune to lone wolf plots, considering several Indian youth are suspected to have either joined Islamic State (IS) or have been arrested on suspicion of being sympathisers. Another security scare was witnessed when gelatin sticks and iron rods were found on the suburban tracks in Thane and Navi Mumbai recently. However, anti-terror agencies ruled out any IS link.

Security agencies should be prepared to face attacks by individuals, as IS gets increasingly desperate as the pressure on the group mounts, warn experts.

In the future, more attacks could take place and the terror organisation may use new methods, says KP Raghuvanshi, former chief of the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS).

IS believes that equipment, time and place are not important, but that recruits are important. The terror group believes recruits should be able to carry out attacks where ever they are, with whatever they have, explains Raghuvanshi who led the probe over the 2006 train blasts in Mumbai.

An ATS officer, who has questioned a few suspected IS recruits, says IS leaders are telling their sympathisers that they dont need to fly to IS-controlled territory and can carry out attacks wherever they are.

Intelligence agencies have alerted their informants to be vigilant. The city is on high alert and we have been keeping a close watch on people whom we find suspicious. All the agencies in the city and its neighbourhood have been gathering information through human intelligence, said an official.

Satish Mathur, Director General of Police of Maharashtra, says, We are already on a high alert, focussing on railways and Vidhan Bahvan. We also want peoples support. In Mumbai, where the assembly session is underway, we are taking extra precaution and have deployed more forces such as quick reaction team (QRT) and commandos of Force One at the entry and exit points. We are frisking people and anti-sabotage checks are on.

Four people were killed and at least 20 injured after a man ploughed a car through pedestrians and stabbed a policeman outside Parliament in London on Wednesday. Similarly, IS claimed responsibility of the Nice attack last July. The group was also behind the attack in Berlin in last December.

Nice carnage triggered first lone-wolf scare

Although the recent security alert came after the London attack, this is not the first time the police have gone into a huddle to prevent lone-wolf attacks.

Security agencies in the city had issued a similar alert after the Nice terror attack in France in 2016.

During that time, agencies were worried as the Ganpati immersion procession was round the corner.

And to ensure that no such incident took place in the city, police had verified papers of heavy vehicles and done background checks on drivers.

All local police stations were alerted and instructed to carry out a check on all truck and tempo drivers, especially those driving bigger vehicles.

The police had also obtained a logbook containing details of drivers transporting Ganesha idols to various immersion points. Apart from these records, mandals were instructed to display vehicle numbers prominently.

These mandals had furnished personal information of drivers and the route taken by them to transport idols for immersion.

After verifying these details, the local beat chowkie officer would give clearance to vehicles, said a senior officer, requesting anonymity.

IS claimed responsibility for the Nice attack last July, when a a man plowed a truck through a mob, killing 86 people.

After the London attack, security agencies have issued an alert as many festivals in the city witness huge gatherings.

No such trend has been spotted in the city or in the state, but we are keeping a close watch, said a senior official.

READ

Post 26/11, this is the security ring that keeps Mumbai safe
Officers from Dahisar police station are getting their hands dirty, literally, for a good cause.

The cops have set an example for the civilians in their jurisdiction by converting the biodegradable waste generated by the police canteen into compost.

The inspiration behind this initiative was based on the curiosity and the fascination of a head constable, who overheard a seminar on environmental awareness in a school where he was deployed for Class 12 exams.

I was guarding the main gate when I overheard the seminar. I liked the idea immensely. I approached our senior inspector and requested him to start a similar initiative at our police station as well, said head constable Bajai Jagtap from Dahisar police station. It is simple and doable for every citizen of the country. They just have to decide to do something good.

Senior police officials immediately acceded to the idea and sought help from Eco-ROX, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), for setting up the project. The NGO also received support from the civic bodys solid waste management department.

Since the projects launch on March 23, policemen have been dumping more than 4 kg of dry leaves, flowers and canteen waste in a 3x2 feet compost box daily.

We call it a waste to wealth project. We trained a few of the police personnel in composting process. They were eager to learn and put it to practice, said Rashmi Joshi, joint secretary, Eco-ROX. She is the same person whose lecture influenced Jagtap.

Kanhaiyaram Telang, who volunteers for the composting process, said he thought it will just be a couple of days work and they will get the compost.

When they [NGO] explained the process, I thought we just have to do it once and we will get the compost the next day or a day after that, said Telang, adding, I love the fact that the waste will be reused as fertiliser for plants. It is a satisfactory feeling to know that well be doing our bit to protect the environment.

Telang first spreads dry leaves evenly inside the compost box and adds the bacterial culture provided by the NGO followed by cow dung, which forms the base layer of the compost.

Inspector (Crime) Uday Shirke said he was delighted to see the initiative being implemented on the premises. I do composting at my ancestral home. In a city like Mumbai, you seldom get to see things like these, Shirke said, adding, One should do whatever they can for the environment. That is the least one can do.

A senior municipal official said it was one of the best examples, as the move was initiated by the police themselves. This is a special occasion for the city, as public servants are setting an example for public. Anyone who does his bit for the environment is a hero, said a senior BMC official.

The official added, Development can be sustained only if everyone participates and have the right mindset. Managing waste at residential and public-level is the need of the hour for the city. Waste management in urban areas is important. It will help the city breathe.

The cops are now looking forward to reap rich dividends for their efforts and are keen on increasing the production by adding more compost boxes on their premises.

Also read: Mumbai school dumps old ways, recycles 3,000-kg waste

Teen powers change, helps buildings, schools recycle 350 kg of batteries
A professional dancer was stoned to death by two of his friends after he allegedly passed lewd remarks at the wife of one of the accused. The incident occurred in the we hours of Monday during a binge drinking session between the three. Both the accused were arrested by Nalasopara police and were in Vasai court on Tuesday.

The deceased, Pratik Kadam, 20, was stoned to death by Shubham Bhise, 30, and Samrat Pawaskar, 29. All three are residents of Shirdi Nagar in Nalasopara (East).

Inspector Prakash Birajdar from Tulinj police station said the three started drinking on Sunday night near Saideep Apartment, a few blocks away from Shirdi Nagar. Around 5.30, an argument broke out between the three after Kadam allegedly passed lewd comments and resorted to character assassination of Shubhams wife.

Enraged by Kadams comments, both Bhise and Pawaskar picked up a cement block lying nearby and smashed Kadams face, killing him instantly. They then fled the spot, said Birajdar and they fled from the spot.

Kadams body was first spotted by locals in the morning, who then immediately informed the police control room. Based on the call detail record (CDR) of Kadams mobile phone, the police arrested Bhise and Pawaskar on Monday afternoon. The duo confessed to the crime during interrogation.

We would produce the duo accused before the Vasai court on Tuesday he added.

Pratik the victim was a professional dancer, while one of the accused worked with a security firm and the other was employed with a travel firm, said the official.

Also read: Police crack trolley bag murder in Mumbai, 6 arrested
The BMC was stopped from taking any action against popular restaurant Gaylord, near Churchgate, by the Bombay high court on Monday.

The restaurant management had approached the high court earlier this month against the corporation having rejected their plea to regularise their cake shop and the restaurtants outdoor seating area.

According to the plea, the restaurant was set up in 1956 and at the time, the management installed an awning and constructed a fence along a 20x5.40 metre area in front of the restaurant to accommodate the cake shop and an open seating area for its patrons.

The plan, the restaurant claims, was approved by the district collector at the time.

The restaurant management also submitted that in 1958, it paid a penalty of Rs204 to BMC and got the awning, fencing and the use of the open space regularised.

In 2001, the management paid revised licence fees and got the said arrangement re-approved and regularised by the collectors office and the BMC. However, since then, the corporation keeps sending them demolition notices from time to time, it said.

The management submitted it also filed a civil suit against the corporations notices and managed to get a stay against demolition.

Yet, the corporation sent them another show-cause notice this January, asking them to respond to why the awning, the cake shop area and outside seating must not be demolished since the same had encroached upon the compulsory open space that all establishments must maintain as per BMC rules.

The petitioners told HC that after they submitted all the past papers proving the regularisation approvals and payment of penalties, licence fees etc. to the collectors office as well as BMC, the corporation asked them to make a fresh plea for regularisation.

However, once the restaurant management made the plea for regularisation, on January 20 this year, the corporation rejected its plea.

The restaurant then approached HC.

On Monday, the management told HC that it had not violated nay FSI regulations or any other rules of the corporation and sought that the BMCs decision to reject their regularisation plea be quashed.

The court is likely to take up the matter for further hearing on Wednesday.

Read

Iconic Gaylord restaurant turns 60 this week, take a look at some of its landmark moments

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Mumbai In a first-ever political initiative since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) romped to power in 2014 assembly polls, seven political parties from Maharashtra have come together to take on the BJP-led government demanding loan waiver for farmers.

The Opposition parties  Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Samajwadi Party (SP), All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), Republican Party (Kawade) and United Janata Dal  have chalked out a seven-day Sangharsh Yatra (Struggle March) from Chandrapur to Panvel from March 29.

The idea is to cover 1,500 km through Vidarbha, Marathawada and Western Maharashtra where farmer suicides have remained the highest in the state. Leaders of the seven parties would be interacting with farmers and families of those who have committed suicide. The Yatra will pass through Nagpur, home town of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis . The protest will be held during the ongoing budget session, which the Opposition intends to boycott. The move assumes significance against speculations being rife that the BJP is contemplating mid-term assembly polls.

Fadnavis had recently stated that it was financially unviable for the state government to beare the burden of Rs30,500 crore required to waive off loans of 1.34 crore farmers. The Opposition, after its rout in the recent civic and local body polls, is trying to corner state government over the CMs loan wavier remark, especially when Sena  BJPs ally in the government  is also in favour of the waiver.

The Yatra will be more of an interaction with people and less speeches. Precisely the reason we have kept 16 public meetings during this period, said a senior Congress leader.

The Yatra will witness participation of MLAs and MPs, which will be accommodated in a convoy of 150 to 200 vehicles. All the legislators and leaders will be meeting in Nagpur on March 28.

Ashok Chavan, Maharashtra Congress president, said the state has been conveniently ignoring farmers suicides and other issues related to farmers despite raising them repeatedly. This is the very reason why the Opposition parties decided to come together and directly approach farmers and bring their attention to the governments apathy towards them, Chavan said.

The Yatra is more about raising voices of the downtrodden rather than starting a political movement against the state government, he clarified.

Also read: Maharashtra budget: No loan waiver for farmers, but agri sector gets boost

Farmers, loan waiver and politics in Maharashtra

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More than two months after the body of a 12-year-old boy was found in a trolley bag near Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), the police cracked the case and arrested six persons.

A police official said that the boy was employed as a child labour in a small imitation jewellery manufacturing unit that made bangles in Kurar village, Malad. He has been identified as Randheer Sahani from Bihar.

The six people arrested for the alleged murder are Shivnath Sahani, 36, his wife Renudevi, 35, son Ranvijay, 20, and accomplices Krishna Sahani, 28, Ramanand Sahani, 45, and Vinay Sahani, 33. The last three are relatives and worked in the same unit at the jewellery unit. The son of the manufacturing units owner, Ranvijay, killed the boy. The rest of the accomplices helped in disposing the body, said Manoj Lohia, additional commissioner of police, east region.

According to the police, Ranvijay was furious as Randheer woke up late for work and did not help in small chores such as cooking. Around 11pm on January 7, Ranvijay accosted the boy and slapped him. He then smothered Randheer with his hands till he collapsed. Ranvijays parents had witnessed the incident, said a police source.

The next day, Ranvijay purportedly tried to revive the boy and sprinkled water on his face but to no avail. When he realised that Randheer was dead Ranvijay went to a shop with Krishna and bought a trolley bag. They tied up the boys limbs with a towel and shoved him inside the trolley.

The accused wanted to dispose the body in Bihar and so Ranvijay and his parents took a taxi to LTT while the other accused followed in bikes. They had planned to board the Puri Express to reach Bihar, said Shahji Umap, deputy commissioner of police, zone 6. But when they saw the metal detectors at the station, they panicked and abandoned the bag at the station, he added.

A porter saw the family abandoning the bag, said the police. He dragged it inside the LTT station and opened it to discover the body. This incident was caught on the CCTV cameras and was widely circulated which led the police to trace and arrest the porter. He was nabbed in Madhya Pradesh and he told the police that he only took the bag expecting to find valuables in it.

We thought we had reached a dead end when we realised that the porter was not directly involved with the childs murder. We then traced the bag seller to Malad and acquired their CCTV footage which revealed the faces of the two accused who had bought the bag, said Vijay Khaire, senior police inspector, Tilak Nagar police station. He added, We then traced the accused and nabbed them.

The boy had come to the city six months ago. After the childs death, Ranvijays accomplice Sahani went to meet the parents and gave them Rs1.11 lakh and told them that the boy had died of some disease.

Also read: Trolley bag murder: Mumbai cops release photographs of suspects

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Theres dressing up and get-togethers with aunts and uncles and cousins. You wear your Nauvari or nine-yard sari and, for the young ones, therell be excitement and much fretting about how to drape it. If you have something big planned, this is the day to do it - a new car, a new flat. Its an auspicious time for new beginnings. This is the stuff you probably know. Heres whats really going on, though, as you celebrate this ancient festival.

Here, women celebrate together, with a bike rally in Mumbai.

Gudi Padwa celebrates the beginning of the traditional Hindu year. The festival is also called Chaitra Shukla Pratipada - Sanksrit for the first day of the first month of the new year, that month being Chaitra. Its also celebrated as Ugadi (Telugu) in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and Yugadi (Kannada) in Karnataka.

You may not know it, but youre celebrating three different things on this day. First, this is believed to be the anniversary of the day that Brahma (the Creator, in the Hindu trinity) created the cosmos. So when you hoist the Gudi, you are calling upon Vishnu (the Preserver, in the Hindu trinity) to protect your little universe, your family.

The abduction of Sita, Raja Ravi Varma. Gudi Padwa is associated with the joy of Ramas victorious return from exile, after he defeated Ravana.

That bright yellow cloth with which you drape the Gudi, that is the traditional flag of victory - and in that sense, an ultimate sign of faith. You hoist the flag no matter what stage of battle you may be in, because the assumption is that God has achieved victory at the outset.

For some, this victory flag is a reminder of how Rama, the epic hero of the Ramayana, joined forces with Hanuman, the powerful monkey god, and slayed the demon king Ravana, rescued Ramas wife Sita and finally ended their 14 years in exile. Victory.

For Maharashtrians, its a reminder of their good and just emperor, Shivaji, the warrior-king who rode out to battle under a saffron flag himself.

For Maharashtrians, its a reminder of their good and just emperor, Shivaji.

Youre also celebrating the beginning of spring, which is why the leaves on your gudi are traditionally meant to be the first bright green fresh leaves of a mango tree. And the red and yellow flowers are meant to be auspicious symbols of fertility and health. A plea, in a sense, that the sowing and tilling to soon begin will be fruitful, that Nature will be kind, and the harvest plentiful.

The sweets and delicacies? Thats just to give the cousins an excuse to come over. But hidden in the tray should be something thats equal parts sweet and bitter - a mix of neem and jaggery - as a reminder that all things good for us may not be sweet, and all things bitter are to be taken as best we can.

Happy Gudi Padwa.

Watch: A typical Maharashtrian celebration
On Friday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis criticised resident doctors, who went on strike against the attacks on their colleagues by patients relatives, for being adamant and insensitive towards patients.

The doctors have been criticised for paralysing the citys public health care system for the past five days with their strike, but the doctors have said that they are overworked and are being made scapegoats of an ineffective healthcare system. A first-year resident doctor from KEM Hospitals medicine department, one of the busiest in the hospital, said that he puts in more than 100 hours of work each week. I finish my 24 hours official duty at the emergency ward and head straight to the general ward to see other patients are already admitted, he said. On an average, each day, there are 35 new admissions in the ward, he said.

Along with treating the patients, there are other errands that he ends up doing daily in the absence of medical attendants. I, like the 47 resident doctors in my department, do the job of shifting a patient from one ward to the other, moving the ventilator from one bed to the other and carry trolleys from one floor to the other, he said. After working for 48 hours straight, I am over-stretched, he added.

A senior doctor from KEM Hospital called the resident doctors the backbone of the public health care system.

Their working conditions are appalling. They do the work of accompanying the patient to the X-ray facility, collecting their blood samples, explaining the prescription to relatives, he said. Till the government does not invest in improving the infrastructure, it is unlikely that things will change much, he said.

Resident doctors said their demand for better security is a result of day-to-day experiences with stress-ridden relatives. A senior medical officer, Mihir Trivedi, 28, from Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospitals ophthalmology department said a mother of a five-year old patient hurled a shoe at him last fortnight because she was upset with the long waiting time. She entered and screamed at the first doctor she saw. She shouted dont sit here if you all dont want to do your jobs, took out her sandal and flung it at me, he said. The ophthalmology department with 16 resident doctors attends to 600 patients every day. While he refrained from filing an FIR, he said the long queues and waiting timings were not in his hands.

Read

Insight: Ailing doctor-patient relationship needs urgent cure
Five Nigerian nationals were booked by the Greater Noida police on Sunday in connection with the death of a class 12 student, who died from a cardiac arrest, caused allegedly due to drug overdose. The Nigerians have been accused of drugging the student.

Manish Singh, who died, was a class 12 student of Jaypee International School and a resident of NSG Society in Greater Noida. He reportedly went missing on Friday evening and returned home the next morning in an inebriated state. The boy was later admitted to a private hospital, where he died due to cardiac arrest.

The Nigerians  Said Kabir Abdullahi, Said Abubakar Abdullahi, Adamu Usman, Muhammed Amir Zakari Yau and Abdul Qadir Usman  are students of Noida International University. They have been booked under the charges of kidnapping, culpable homicide and murder.

Several students from other countries, including African nations, study in various higher educational institutions in Greater Noida and many stay at private accommodations in the city.

The incident caused an uproar in the NSG Society and residents accused the Nigerians residing in the society of drugging the boy. After the boys death, hundreds of residents of the society staged a demonstration on Saturday, demanding the arrest of the Nigerians and their eviction from their society.

Residents said that Manish went missing around 7.30pm on Friday. The residents and his parents had launched an extensive search in the locality but could not find the boy. The police were informed and the accommodation of the Nigerian nationals was searched, but the police did not get any lead.

The Kasna police picked up two Nigerian nationals on Friday night and released them after questioning.

On Saturday morning, Manish was found near the entrance of the society in a highly intoxicated state and was unable to recollect incidents of the previous night. As the boys condition got worse, his parents rushed him to a hospital, where he reportedly died due to cardiac arrest around 4pm.

The victims brother, Uttam, told media persons that Manish never took any kind of drugs or intoxicants, but injection marks were found on his arms.

The Kasna police picked up five Nigerian nationals and booked them in the case. Following the arrests, many Nigerian nationals and nationals of other African countries held a demonstration outside the Kasna police station demanding the release of the students.

Avnish Dixit, the station house officer of Kasna police station, said, Five Nigerian nationals have been booked on a complaint filed by the victims parents. The matter has to be investigated thoroughly.

Talking to Hindustan Times, Samuel T Jack, the president of the association of African students in India, said, The Nigerian students have been falsely implicated in the matter without any evidence. We are in talks with the Nigerian High Commission on the issue. The police have assured a fair inquiry into the matter.
Delhi-based chartered accountancy (CA) student Shubham Maheshwari, who was missing for over a month, was allegedly depressed after he could not appear in the final exam. The police said that Shubham switched off his phone and went to Nepal where he took a teaching job.

The 24-year-old had been missing since February 18, as he was allegedly distressed about discussing his studies with his parents. A police team from Jewar that was investigating the case told HT that Shubham had become a teacher in a school on a monthly salary of Rs 10,000 in Nepal. He was also provided lodging by the school management.

I was aware that he did not appear in exams as he had discussed it with me. I had advised him to come home and prepare. I never pressured him but the situation was troubling him and he took a bus to Nepal. Now, I have given him free time to enjoy so that he can come out of this situation and live his life peacefully, Ambrish Maheshwari, Shubhams father, said.

A missing person case was registered at the Jewar police station after he had boarded a bus from Anand Vihar bus station in east Delhi to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh on February 18. He had last spoken to his mother on the phone during a halt at Jewar, about 70 kilometres from the Capital.

After Shubhams return, a police team went to Shubhams residence in his home town of Hathras. He narrated the events to the police team. Shubham said that he did not want to face his parents as he could not appear in his final exams last year, Ajay Kumar, station house officer of Jewar police station, said.

He remained untraceable for about a month and returned home on March 20 after the principal of the school where he was teaching found posts pertaining to Shubham on a social networking site. The school principal informed his parents and the police, after which he was brought to Hathras.

After the CA student went missing, his family and friends had launched a social media campaign #findingShubham. The Jewar police team also visited 30 districts in the state searching for him. Pamphlets and posters seeking information about him had been put up across western UP. His parents also went to villages in Bulandshahr, Agra and Aligarh to look for him.

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Around 30 people, majority of them women and children, were injured in a late night bus accident on early Monday morning as a bus returning from Vrindavan collided with a divider near Mahamaya flyover in Noida.

The victims were rushed to the district hospital in Sector 30 after the driver allegedly lost control due to sleep and stepped the bus on the divider. A total of 65 people including 55 women and children, were travelling in the bus. The victims, who hailed from east Delhis Krishna Nagar and Chander Nagar, were returning from a pilgrimage in Vrindavan.

At 12.30 am on Monday, a private bus coming from Vrindavan met with an accident near Dalit Prerna Sthal when the driver stepped up the bus on a divider. Dozens of people were injured in the accident, said Madan Singh, a constable posted with the police control room van.

A total of five ambulances and two PCRs were rushed to the spot in five minutes of the accident.

A total of 30 people have come to the hospital with cut marks and injuries. Five of them have been seriously hurt. We have attended all of them and the serious cases have been referred to Delhi Hospital, said Ram Gopal, a medical staff at the district hospital.

Victims recounted the accident saying that it occurred while they were sleeping.

We were sleeping when suddenly we experienced a jolt as the bus collided with a divider. We were thrown off our seats inside the bus due to the impact, said Anuradha Kapur, a resident of Krishna Nagar.

Many eyewitnesses reported that there was a stampede inside the bus after the collision, due to which several children got hurt.

Many children fell down on the floor of the bus due to the impact. There was chaos inside the bus as everyone wanted to exit the bus. There was a stampede due to this reason, said Mehul Kumar, a resident of Jaipur, who was travelling with his relatives to Delhi.

A total of five victims with multiple fractures were referred to Lok Nayak hospital in Delhi. Twenty-year-old bus conductor, Govind, suffered serious injuries on his face and was also rushed to the Delhi hospital.

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Following the orders of higher authorities to end the VIP culture in the state, traffic police will crack down on the unauthorised use of red and blue beacons atop vehicles from Tuesday.

Traffic personnel have been directed to impose a fine on violators and ensure that the beacons are removed. Moreover, those using tinted glasses in their vehicles will also face action, the police said.

Red and blue beacons are allowed only on designated official vehicles and people using it without permission will be dealt with strictly. There are several private vehicles in which these beacons and tinted glasses are used. We have prioritised this issue to ensure action, Prabal Pratap Singh, superintendent of police (traffic), Gautam Budh Nagar, said.

The traffic police and police personnel will act jointly to crack down on illegal beacons in Gautam Budh Nagar. Under Section 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act, a fine between Rs100 and Rs300 can be imposed for violating rules pertaining to the beacon and horn.

Earlier, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had decreed that no minister in the state will be allowed to use the red beacon atop their vehicle.

Police sources said that higher-ups have asked the Noida police to crackdown on over 200 people, mostly workers of Samajwadi Party, who use a beacon, hooter, tinted glass and party flag on their vehicles, which is prohibited. The vehicles have been identified and action will be taken when they hit the road, sources said.

The district police have been asked to submit an action-taken report within 15 days and ensure that the use of beacons is not restarted after the drive.

Besides the crackdown, the traffic police and Noida authority officials will also visit the corporate offices to inspect parking on roads by employees. These organisations will be given a weeks time to resolve their parking issues and failure to do so will warrant legal action, officials said.

The district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar, NP Singh, said, Most of the corporate offices have marked parking spaces in their building plans and its their responsibility to accommodate the vehicles. We do not want the public to suffer.

The traffic police and police have been given a months time by the district magistrate to resolve all traffic-related problems. After a month, an action-taken report is to be submitted to the district magistrate.

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Industrial development minister Satish Mahana on Monday administered a cleanliness pledge to sanitation employees and other staff of the Noida authority, apart from his own party workers, during his first visit to Noida as minister.

Sanitation employees took the pledge with him in Sector 3 before he reached the Indira Gandhi Kala Kendra to address Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Sector 6. He reached Noida at 10am and made his way to Sector 3, where he symbolically cleaned a road with a broom. He then visited Sector 6 where he took the cleanliness pledge along with Noida authority officials.

In his address to party workers, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself took a broom in his hand and cleaned the roads in Delhi to inspire others to do the same.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has woken up the people and the party workers and inspired them to work for public welfare. Taking inspiration from him, we have decided to clean Uttar Pradesh. We will not only rid UP of garbage, but also of the ill feelings that officials have in their minds. We will clean everything from roads and garbage to the minds of the people, he said.

State minister (independent charge) of cane development and sugar mills, industrial development, Suresh Rana and Noida MLA Pankaj Singh, who were present with Mahana, also said that they will work to make Noida a better city.

We will bring in investment and help set up industries so that Noida surpasses Gurgaon in all aspects, including job creation and policing. It would be the place to work and set up a business. We will also make Noida the safest place for women, he said at the event in Sector 3.

Mahana also said that he will regularly visit Noida and keep interacting with the people so that the city does not remain neglected.

Earlier, chief ministers did not visit Noida because there was a perception that whoever visits the city will lose their position. But we do not believe in andhvishwas (superstition), so we will keep coming to Noida to be able to fulfil the promises made to public, he said.

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Several African nationals were assaulted in Greater Noida on Monday after a candle light march in memory of a teenage students death over a suspected drug overdose got out of hand. Rumours started circulating that a Nigerian girl had been abducted, adding further tension, but police denied any such incident had taken place.

Noida police chief Dharmendra Singh said no abduction happened. Its a rumour to escalate tension in the area, he said.

The peaceful protest march suddenly turned violent and triggered a vicious racial attack as locals have accused Africans living in the area of drugging class 12 student Manish Khari, who died of a cardiac arrest on Saturday.

Most of the victims of the mob attack were doing their evening shopping near Pari Chowk, oblivious to the undercurrent of anger against Africans.

Police arrested five people allegedly involved in the violence. More are likely to be picked up.

Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj has asked for a report from the Uttar Pradesh government about the violence.

I have asked for a report from Government of Uttar Pradesh about the reported attack on African students in Noida.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 27, 2017

The protesters were shouting slogans against Africans and demanding arrest of those behind the death of the boy, a resident of NSG Society in Greater Noida, who reportedly went missing on Friday evening and was found in a drug haze near the entrance of his colony the next morning. He died in a private hospital later.

People accused Nigerians living in the building of drugging the boy. Police picked up five Nigerians and confiscated their passports, but released them because of lack of evidence.

A Honda City car was damaged by the mob in front of the Ansal Plaza mall near Pari Chowk in Greater Noida. (HT Photo)

Many African students live in Greater Noida, where a clutch of international universities has come up of late.

The crowd was peaceful until it reached Pari Chowk, but went out of control at the sight of Africans in the market. The protesters roughed up many black people until police intervened and baton-charged to disperse them, an eyewitness said.

People were not happy with the police action after the boys death. Hundreds of protesters gathered at Surajpur on Monday morning and surrounded the offices of the district magistrate and senior superintendent of police, demanding action against the culprits.

The protestors also demanded eviction of Africans living on rent in residential societies. (HT Photo)

The population of Africans is growing in Greater Noida, which is increasingly becoming a menace to locals, said Sher Singh Bhati, a resident.

Africans alleged that the incident was a racial attack.

The environment is such that locals may any time attack us. We are scared of coming out of our homes, a Nigerian said.

More than 150 policemen were deployed in areas where Nigerian students live.

(From Left) Endurance Amarawa, Ibgiya Malu Chukwuma, Precious Amalsima were admitted in Kailash Hospital post-violence on Monday evening in Greater Noida. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT Photo)

Greater Noida circle officer Abhinandan said: This behaviour of people giving a racial tone to an issue is not acceptable. Some anti-social elements joined the peaceful march and resorted to violence. We have videotaped the events and will book each one of them.

Mondays attack reflects a growing intolerance against Africans in New Delhi and its satellite cities. At least six Africans were wounded in three separate incidents in Chattarpur area of south Delhi in May last year, prompting external affairs minister Swaraj to take up the issue with home minister Rajnath Singh.

The attacks on the African youth, mostly from Nigeria, happened less than a week after a 23-year-old man from Congo was stoned to death by three people in Kishangarh village near Vasant Kunj.
Three days before China blocked the United Nations Security Councils attempts to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)s Maluana Masood Azhar as a global terrorist under the 1267 committee on December 30, 2016, representatives of Beijing, Moscow and Islamabad held a meeting on Afghanistan and raised Cain over looming threat of Islamic State (IS) over Kabul.

Two months later, another meeting was held, this time joined by India, Afghanistan and Iran. In the second meeting, it became clear to New Delhi and Kabul that Beijing backed by others wanted Taliban to play an important role in the stabilisation of Afghanistan by taking on the exaggerated threat of IS after the withdrawal of US troops.

The importance of Maluana Masood Azhar lay in the fact that he continued to be close to both the Taliban leadership as well as the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) since the 1990s. The Afghan Taliban and JeM are both Deobandi Sunnis and follow Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence and have a long history together starting from jihadist teachers at Karachis Binori Mosque.

When Masood Azhar was released in exchange of hostages aboard Indian Airlines A-300 Airbus in the December 1999 (IC-814) hijacking at Kandahar airport, he was hugged by Mullah Akhtar Mansour, then Taliban minister of civil aviation and who later succeeded Mullah Omar as the emir of Taliban in 2015 and killed an year later in US drone strike.

The fact is that Masood Azhar returned to Pakistan after his release and then was taken to Kandahar by Mullah Mansour to meet Mullah Omar in January 2000. Even before he formed JeM terrorist group in Bhawalpur, Pakistan, Azhar was general secretary of Harkat-ul-Ansar (HUA) with claimed cadre strength of over 10,000 people.

During an interrogation at Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu after he was arrested outside Srinagar in February 1994, Azhar used to boost that his organisation may have started with the help of ISI but subsequently grew independent with over 10,000 followers.

The umbilical cord between Azhar and the Taliban, now headed by Hibatullah Akundzada, with a common enemy in US is the key to Chinas plans in the Af-Pak region.

By protecting Azhar from global terrorist label, China is buying peace for the restive Xinjiang region from Uighurs, trained and sheltered by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan as well as its growing business interests in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan regions of that country.

Even though some TTP commanders have announced allegiance to IS, the brutal group is largely Deobandi in thought with jihadists linkage to Mazood Azhar going back to the HUA days in Afghan war.

Both China and Pakistan are well aware of the role Azhar can play in helping Taliban recapturing power in Afghanistan against common enemies in US and India in the region.

In spite the fact that JeM single-handedly scuttled the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis peace overtures to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif by launching the January 2016 Pathankot air base attack, both Islamabad and Beijing are on the same page in protecting Azhar and his jihadist machinery from sanctions.

The UN terrorist label will not only restrict the movement of Azhar but also hit at the financial funding of the JeM and the Bhawalpur madrassa.

This was also severely hamper Maulanas capabilities with the Quetta shura of Taliban, thus nixing Chinas play in Af-Pak region.

Afghanistan has been the graveyard for empires with British, Soviets and US tasting defeat in the hardy terrain. Hope Beijing has read modern history of Afganistan.

shishir.gupta@hindustantimes.com

The views expressed are personal

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Continuing with its effort to break the nexus of mobile phones in the Amritsar Central Jail, the jail officials succeeded in recovering 16 more mobiles phones from the premises on Sunday.

Two mobiles were found from the possession of two inmates while 14 were found unclaimed.

The jail inmates from whom the mobiles were recovered were identified as Shamsher Singh and Kuldeep Singh. A separate case has been registered against them.

Confirming this to HT, jail superintendent Ashish Kapoor said, We are very vigilant regarding the mobile phones. Surprise checks are being made and this is the reason we are making regular seizures. In past five and a half months, we have recovered 242 mobiles from the jail.

Not only mobiles, vigil is also being kept on any sort of intoxicants and other elements being traded or present in the jail.

On a question about how these phones are being smuggled inside the jail, the police officer said, The jail premise is very big. So often, people throw the phones inside the jail. Checking is on a high and there is zero tolerance on this issue.

Notably, mobile phones have been a regular thing in jails of the state, giving a chance to the inmates to establish contact with their accomplices or others outside.

In Amritsar jail, regular seizures are being made but still authorities continue to find the gadget inside. Authorities claimed that special efforts are made to plug out all routes taken to smuggle the phones in.
Five days from now, on April 1, the MC will start its drive to stop wastage of water. For the three months ending June 30, there will be a ban on washing cars, watering of courtyards and lawns banned during morning hours, checking wastage of water due to overflow from overhead or underground water tanks, leakage in pipeline and leakage or overflow from desert coolers.

Any violation of this invites a fine of Rs 2,000 from any of the 16 teams of three members each that the MC has formed to implement the ban.

However, the drive has rarely failed to a difference to the colossal water that the city wastes, around 20 MGD, enough to cater to daily demand of 48,000 houses. One MGD is equal to 4.5 lakh litres. This wastage is also 75% of the demand-supply shortage that the city has of 29 MGD.

THE GRIM SITUATION 20 MGD or 90 lakh litres water wasted in city every day. This can cater to daily demand of 48,000 houses 29 MGD: Shortage of water the city battles every day as demand is 116 MGD against a supply of 87 MGD. Fines of no help: The water wastage causes a loss of Rs 10 crore a day to the MC. Against this, the MCs collection from fines over these two years has been a meagre Rs 10 lakh

500 CHALLANS DURING SUMMER MONTHS OVER PAST TWO YEARS

The water wastage causes a loss of Rs10 crore a day to the MC. Against this, the MCs collection from fines over these two years has been a meagre Rs 10 lakh. This is calculated as the civic body has fined around 500 people all this time Rs 2,000 each. Records show that 248 people were fined in 2015 and 252 in 2016.

So, the summer ban drive is more or less a cosmetic exercise with no real difference expected to be made to the water wastage scenario. However, there are other methods/policy steps that the MC could take to really tackle the issue.

POSSIBLE POLICY SOLUTIONS Installation of water gauges to check water pressure so that it is distributed equitably Implementation of Tertiary Treated Water Supply project. The Rs 15-crore TT project was commissioned to cater to houses of one kanal and above (nearly 5,000) in the city, but only 700 connections have been allotted till date. Keeping a check on internal (underground) water supply distribution system and the leakages around it.

The first is the installation of water gauges to check water pressure so that it is distributed equitably.

The second step could be to keep a check on internal (underground) water supply distribution system and the leakages around it.

During summers, if MC officials learn to adjust the distribution across pipes, a lot of water could be saved. However, sources claimed that it is rarely done.

Another project that has not been implemented is the Tertiary Treated Water Supply project.

The Rs 15-crore TT project was commissioned to cater to houses of one kanal and above (nearly 5,000) in the city, but only 700 connections have been allotted till date.

OFFICIAL TAKE

Underground leakage will be tackled under the Smart City project when the system will be overhauled. We also plan to give 24x7 supply to residents. NP Sharma, MC chief engineer

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For SPS Oberoi, philanthropy is a way of life. So much so that Oxford University had bestowed an honorary doctorate on him for it. The 59-year-old businessman, a native of Indias Punjab and is based in Dubai, is in the news again for depositing blood money to save 10 Indians from his home state who faced the death sentence for the murder of a Pakistani man in the UAE.

He puts his annual charity bill at Rs 36 crore, and is known as a saviour not only of Punjabis but of whoever approaches him, particularly in the Middle East or West Asia.

He deposited Rs 60 lakh (200,000 dirham) with a UAE court last week and the 10 youths from Punjab would soon be released as the murder victims father has agreed to a pardon. He says he has saved 88 people so far.

Oberoi is expected to bring ten youths back to their homes and give them jobs in the district offices of his social organisation, Sarbat Da Bhala Trust.

Also read | NRIs last wish fulfilled: Cancer victim kin provide houses to 4 families in Patiala after his death

Into construction business in Dubai, Oberoi had moved there in 1992 and later came back to help his family settle in Patiala.

His philanthropy is expanding from Punjab  where he runs offices that give out pension and help in getting jobs  into Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, where he plans to open dialysis units and creches, and donating computers for jail inmates.

He is known as an astute businessman, who has the Harnam brand of food products. He also dewaters spaces  even parts of the sea  to help construction of buildings in Dubai, including Burj Khalifa, the worlds tallest building. My business is booming. And the more charity I do the more business profits I earn, he said over the phone.

He said he got into philanthropy after seeing conditions of a village in Punjab. Many people have no money for food, medicines, or for education of their children. I am doing very little, he said.

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When it comes to bending rules, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited can beat David Beckham! To favour a Amritsar based private firm  Abundant Energy Private Ltd  the power corporation bent rules and violated norms by working on a national holiday (Independence Day). This all was done to let the private solar plant save Rs 1 crore. The firm is reportedly owned by a person having close proximity to Akalis.

Perusal of the records highlights that the power corporation management acted under political pressure.

Abundant Energy Plant commissioned its 2-MW solar power plant in March 2015 and erected an independent 11KV line for power transmission to 66KV grid sub-station at Narli in Amritsar. Punjab Energy Development Agency approved it and chief engineer (planning) awarded another 1-MW project to the same firm.

As per the power purchase agreement (PPA) signed with the PSPCL and implementation agreement signed by the firm with PEDA, it is the responsibility of the developer to erect line at its own cost by arranging right of way at its own level.

As per PSPCL norms, a solar plant below 2MW can sell electricity through 11KV line. For solar plants of higher capacity, the developer has to build a 66KV line as voltage drop through 11KV line will be 7.96% against the permissible limit of 6%.

In this case, failing to erect an independent line for its second project, the firm requested PSPCL to allow pooling of power generated from both projects (totalling 3 MW ) and let transmission through the existing 11 KV line. The chief engineer (planning) objected to the proposal citing rules. He also mentioned that similar requests in the past had been turned down, and if this was allowed, the other firms will seek refund from PSPCL for making them erect 66KV transmission line. The agenda was kept pending at the whole time directors (WTD) meet on August 2, 2016.

However, as the political pressure grew, PSPCL chief engineer (border zone) Jagjit Singh Suchu, crossing his domain, presented a new agenda, on August 15, 2016,  a national holiday  and made the firm deposit 25 lakh as estimation cost the same day. To help the firm further, he recommended transmission through the 11KV line as a stop-gap arrangement. And corporation whole time directors approved the agenda, despite the fact chief engineer (planning) had turned down the firms request. The approval was for four months, but its almost seven months and the PSPCL is yet to direct the firm to erect a 66KV line, which costs roughly Rs 1 crore.

The PSPCL management extended the firm double benefit  it earned for the period it was supposed to erect the 66KV line and saved Rs 1 crore. And most interesting is that the nod was given on a national holiday, said an official.

Chief engineer Jagjit Singh Suchu said he would reply on the issue on a working day.

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Jharkhand is gradually moving the Uttar Pradesh (UP) way. The actions of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanaths are also impacting the tribal state. After UPs Anti-Romeo squad model, there is now demand for closure of slaughter houses in Jharkhand.

About half a dozen right wing organizations, including Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM), Bajrang Dal and Jharkhand Gau Raksha Dal have started campaigns across the state demanding immediate ban on illegal slaughter houses and cattle smuggling in the state.

The organizations jointly organized a signature campaign at eight places of the capital city and took out a torchlight procession on Sunday evening to garner peoples support on closure of illegal slaughter houses.

We will observe fast on Monday in support of our demand. If the state does not take any action on illegal slaughter houses, we will intensify our agitation, said Sujit Kumar, Ranchi president of Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM).

Kumar said hundreds of cattle are illegally smuggled from Jharkhand to other states, which is proved by recent rescue operations conducted by state police. Government should ensure stern action against cattle smugglers, he said.

Kumar claimed that the Jharkhand government had cancelled licenses of all slaughter houses in 2004. Despite the cancellations, hundreds of slaughter houses are functioning in the state, he said.

As per the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) officials no contract of slaughter house has been given in the city in last seven years. There were two slaughter houses in Ranchis Kanta Toli and Doranda areas but they are not operational. The corporation has issued 47 licenses to sell meat.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) officials held two different meetings in Ranchi urging the state government to put a ban on the illegal slaughter houses in the state.

RSS Sah Prant Karyawah Rakesh Lal, said, RSS has been demanding ban on slaughter houses, which was fulfilled by UP chief minister. Jharkhand government should also act on same lines.

Prior to this, VHP Bihar-Jharkhand head Pramod Mishra had urged the state order closure of slaughter houses and ban on cow smuggling in the state.

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Filmmaker Karan Johar on Sunday thanked the makers of Baahubali for letting him being a small part of the project. He also said he doesnt even have 10% of director SS Rajamoulis gumption.

Johar, who had acquired the theatrical rights of the Hindi version of Baahubali franchise which he will present under the banner of Dharma Productions, called it probably the greatest film ever made.

At the pre-release event of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, he said: This is the biggest movie event in the history of Indian cinema and I have to say Im amazed. This is pure dedication, pure strength and this is what I want to go back and teach.

At the event, a special audio-video on Johars career was screened. He said he was stumped.

Baahubali, 67 years later, has beaten the magic created by Mughal-e-Azam on screen. Rajamoulis cinema has soul, his personality has gumption and I dont think I even have 10% of it, he said.

The big #Baahubali2 selfie!!!!!! 28th April!!! At a theatre near you.... pic.twitter.com/viB5X41oJ2  Karan Johar (@karanjohar) March 26, 2017

Producer Shobu Yarlagadda thanked Johar for helping them conquer one of the toughest industries (Bollywood) with Baahubali.

We went to Karan Johar to take Baahubali out of Tollywood. When he saw the film, he could see the potential in it. Since he believed in the film and put his name on it, we could conquer Bollywood market. Thank you, Karan Johar, for being a part of this journey, Yarlagadda said, and added that the film wouldnt have happened if everybody didnt stick together for five years.

Starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Tamannaah Bhatia, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan and Sathyaraj, the film will release worldwide in IMAX on April 28.

With Prabhas and Rana as warring brothers fighting for an ancient kingdom, Baahubali 2 will finally shed light on why the character Kattappa killed Baahubali.

DANDAAALAYYAA... to everyone for all the love... WRAPPED UP..... Enjoy the music. #Baahubali2PreReleaseEvent pic.twitter.com/d5neCYGU7p  Baahubali (@BaahubaliMovie) March 26, 2017

The trailer released a few days ago has received 100 million views across four languages -- Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam. It has become the most viewed Indian film trailer on video sharing site YouTube.

Veteran Tamil actor Sathyaraj, who plays Kattappa in the franchise, finally revealed why he killed Baahubali.

Producer Shobu paid me very well to kill Prabhas. My director Rajamouli asked me to kill Baahubali, and I obliged. Why would I kill Prabhas otherwise? he asked, with laughter.

Sathyaraj also said that though he has starred in over 250 films, the world knows him as Kattappa.

Tamannaah, who plays princess Avantika in the film, said its once in a lifetime experience to be part of Baahubali.

She thanked Rajamouli for giving her the opportunity.

Though its been two years since the release of first part, people are still excited as though it released last week, she said.

At the event, the films audio was also launched. Composer MM Keeravani explained the music behind the trailer of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, which has clocked over 100 million views.

Anushka said that each and every one of them got to learn something from each other while working on the project.

While all of us put in so much of effort in the film, Prabhas dedicated five years of his life. All of us are proud of him, she said.

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion will release in four languages -- Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.

Rana, who plays Bhallala Deva in the film, said every minute of the last five years was close to his heart.

He said that he will miss working on the project and that he would like to work as Prabhas co-star in all the films.

Veteran actor Krishnam Raju said he would like to ask Steven Spielberg, who has made certain comments on Indian cinema, whether he has watched Baahubali.

When Rajamouli finally arrived on stage, he had a lot of people to thank. From policemen who helped the conduct the event smoothly to his crew members, he extended heartfelt gratitude.

He also thanked his wife Rama for being his support and keeping his grounded.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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The makers of superstar Mahesh Babus next have headed to Vietnam for the next schedule of the film. Having completed nearly 80% of the film already, the team will shoot for two weeks in Key locations in Vietnam. Interestingly, its the second time a south Indian film is being shot in the southeast Asian country. The first being Jayam Ravi starrer Vanamagan.

A source close to films unit told HT that in the current schedule of the film a very important action sequence will be shot. They will be shooting a chase scene and a never seen before action episode. A team of local stuntmen have been hired to shoot the scenes. The team will return to India in the second week of April, the source said.

Come Ugadi, the makers are expected to announce the title and first look of the film. Among the few rumoured titles, Sambhavami and Agent Shiva are doing the rounds. Being directed by AR Murugadoss, the film also stars Rakul Preet Singh and SJ Suryah.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Ram Gopal Varma has earned the wrath of actor Pawan Kalyans fans after the filmmaker went on to criticise the stars latest Telugu outing Katamarayudu, while also targeting his personal life and family.

In a series of late-night tweets on Saturday, Varma spewed venom on Pawan Kalyan.

Varma said Pawan Kalyan made profits by selling his film at an exorbitant price to distributors.

Making film in Rs 30 crore, selling at Rs 100 crore and pocketing Rs 70 crore and enjoying daughters birthday is no less than Nero playing Fidel when Rome was burning, Varma tweeted.

Making film in 30cr selling at 100cr taking in pocket 70cr n enjoying daughters' bday is no less than Nero playing Fidel when Rome burning  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) March 25, 2017

On the day of release of Katamarayudu, Pawan Kalyans daughter Aadhya turned seven. He spent the whole day with her and his ex-wife Renu Desai.

Varma went on to blame the actors fans for distracting him from real strength.

His lafoot outward fans distracting him from realising his real strength is inward fans who don't shout and throw paper in theatres  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) March 25, 2017

He also said that Pawan Kalyan doesnt bear losses of a film unlike superstar Rajinikanth.

Rajinikanth cares about exhibitors losing and returns money to them because he failed to deliver, he said.

Real ultimate power star is @superstarrajini who cares about exhibitors losing and returning money to them becos he failed to deliver  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) March 25, 2017

Varma wrote: A 50+ man (referring to himself) with married daughter watching porn is more powerfully honest than delivering a powerless film and celebrating birthdays of two daughters with two wives.

Varmas tweets resulted in a war of words with staunch fans of Pawan Kalyan.

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Kapil Sharmas brawl with fellow comedian Sunil Grover on a flight has led other cast members of The Kapil Sharma Show, including Chandan Prabhakar and Ali Asgar, to boycott the show. None of them turned up at the shoot held recently. To ensure that the show goes on, the channel and the production house roped in comedians Raju Srivastava, Sunil Pal and Ahsaan Qureshi, who featured in a special episode.

Now, Raju says that he plans to sort things out between Kapil and Sunil. Kapil success ke pressure ko jhel nai pa raha. I dont think he is arrogant, I just feel he cant deal with the pressure that comes along. No matter which show it is, be it a function or a shaadi, people always want Kapil to come and perform. This is why he has even stopped answering his phone calls, says Raju.

Reports suggest that Kapil was in a drunken state when he hit and abused Sunil on the flight from Australia. Raju reveals that hes heard stories about Kapil losing his cool after consuming alcohol in the past too. Although he has never misbehaved with me, other artists and technicians on the show have told me how he gets angry after drinking. They all say that otherwise he (Kapil) is fine, but changes completely as a person post consuming alcohol. It is so sad. People love us and if we behave like this (after drinking), it hurts our fans, says Raju, adding, Janta ka pyaar sabse upar hai...daaru-vaaru he can leave, but not this (Audiences love matters the most, rest everything can be managed).

Nonetheless, Raju has taken the responsibility of sorting out this issue between Kapil and Sunil. He initially planned to hold a meeting at his place on Sunday, however it could not take place. Kapil has told me that he is trying to meet Sunil, but he is out of Mumbai. He told me that Sunil is determined not to come back on the show. To make things better, I had arranged a meeting with them at my house on Sunday, and I had even thought of calling Kapils mom (to mediate). But Sunil told me that he had extended his travel plans and will get in touch with me when he is back, says Raju.

Kapil also recently introduced his long-time girlfriend Ginni aka Bhavneet Chatrath on social media, which has been seen as a ploy to divert attention from his fight with Sunil. It seems that Ginny has been by Kapils side through all this. Ginni was on the set last week as well. Not in any capacity, just to support Kapil. He even introduced me to her and said, Yeh aapki bhabhi hai (she is your sister-in-law), says Raju.

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TV actor Shilpa Shinde, who played Angoori Bhabhi in Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai roughly one year ago, accused the shows producer, Sanjay Kohli of sexually harassing her.

Often, he would he pass remarks like, I like you a lot. You are very sexy. You are very hot, she said. And while saying such things, he would hug me forcefully and would touch my waist and breasts. I would resist but he would brush aside the incident saying, Oh, it was a mistake. Come on yeh sab toh chalta hai.

Shinde also said that she had mentioned about such incidents to co-actor Saumya Tandon. I spoke to Saumya also about this, but she was like, Humari industry mein koi rape nai karta Shilpa.

However, Saumya Tandon has denied the allegation that Shinde spoke to her on the matter.

I strongly stand against any kind of sexual harassment of women at work or any place. Having said that, there was absolutely no communication between Shilpa and me about this, she told DNA.

Personally, my interactions with my producer has been very professional and I didnt face any problem. I cant comment on Shilpas case as I am not aware about it, she said.

Currently, Shubhangi Atre is playing Angoori Bhabhi on the show.
Forty-six dogs were flown to New York from South Korea after being rescued at a farm where they were to be slaughtered for human consumption, animal advocates said.

The Humane Society International is responsible for saving the dogs that were fed barely enough to survive.

The animals arrived at Kennedy International Airport late on Saturday and were headed to emergency shelters in New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Read: Heaven and hell: Korean dog meat farmers seek new start

The farm in Goyang, a city just north of Seoul, was more like a dungeon, where theres very little light, little to no ventilation, so the stench of ammonia would bring tears to your eyes when you walk through, said Kelly OMeara, who oversees the societys companion animal-related international projects.

A dog is pictured in a cage at a dog meat farm in Wonju, South Korea. (Reuters Photo)

You would see eyes peering at you, but it was hard to actually see the dogs themselves in the dark.

An estimated 17,000 other such farms still operate in South Korea, said OMeara. However, she said, it is a diminishing industry in a society where demand for dog meat has been plummeting. Meat from about 2 million dogs is eaten there each year.

In the United States, the rescued dogs will be available for adoption after the shelters evaluate their behaviour and medical needs and make sure each one is ready for a new life in someones home.

In South Korea, OMeara said, the dogs receive no veterinary care of any kind. They either get through it or they die in their cage and they receive just enough food to get by, she said.

Rescued dogs wait for transport, at a dog meat farm in Wonju, South Korea. (Reuters Photo)

At the seven farms from which the Humane Society rescued more than 800 dogs since 2015, those to be slaughtered included both mixed breed dogs and purebred ones  from a Chihuahua and a Maltese to various spaniels and a Saint Bernard.

In Pics: Raised for meat in South Korea, these dogs head for new homes in the US

A German shorthaired pointer and a miniature pinscher came from the latest farm.

The Washington-based Humane Society International, which relies on private donations, deals directly with farmers to close down and demolish dog meat businesses and help owners financially to transition to other work.

The animals must be taken abroad, OMeara said, because they are generally not wanted in South Korea as pets or companion dogs. Some had been abandoned pets, and others were raised to be sold as pets but given to the meat industry if that failed.
A 94-year-old Indiana woman is celebrating 44 years of working at McDonalds.

A Evansville Courier & Press report said friends and co-workers threw a party for Loraine Maurer, of Evansville, last week.

Maurer started working at McDonalds in 1973 and has been a fixture behind the counter at several locations in the area ever since.

Lorraine loved her party & we had a blast honoring her 44 years working @ McD's!



Pictured: Loraine & Owner/Operators Chip & Katie Kenworthy pic.twitter.com/uMjIdx2W2s  Evansville McDonalds (@McD_Evansville) March 23, 2017

Maurer works the breakfast shift on Friday and Saturday mornings. Franchise owner Katie Kenworthy tells the newspaper that people come from all over town to see her and make sure they get their coffee or oatmeal made the Loraine way.

Loraine Maurer celebrating her 44th work anniversary. (Twitter/ Evansville McDonalds)

Maurer tells ABC News that she has thought about retirement, but would miss it too much.

Maurer, who has four children, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, said the relationships she has with her customers are particularly important, since they helped her get through a very tough period in her life -- the loss of her husband, Kenneth, in 1980.

I really and truly enjoy it, Maurer told ABC News. Life is what you make it. And so Im trying.
Police in Australias Tasmania state on Monday said they had launched a probe into the assault on an Indian-origin man to assess whether it was a racially- motivated incident.

Li Max Joy, who is pursuing a nursing course and working as a part time taxi driver in Australia, alleged that five people including a girl hurled racial abuses like you bloody black Indians at him and assaulted him up at the McDonalds restaurant at North Hobart in the state.

In a statement, the police said they had spoken to a number of witnesses and were following a particular line of inquiry in relation to the offender.

The complainant will be kept informed of the status of the investigation as it progresses, police said.

Tasmania police take all assaults seriously, and whether the assault was racially based will be a component of the investigative facts, it noted.

The 33-year-old victim said that the teenagers had been arguing with the McDonalds staff when he reached the fast food centre, but turned their anger on him when they noticed him.

Joy was admitted to Royal Hobart Hospital with deep wounds. He was later discharged from hospital and he reported the incident to police.
Chinese President Xi Jinping suggested to visiting Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda to maintain good relations between Nepal and India during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday.

Prachanda held talks with Xi and other senior Chinese leaders on a wide range of issues, including Nepals relations with China and India, extending a Chinese rail link to Nepal and beyond and opening up more trade routes with China.

After the delegation level talks between the two leaders, the Nepalese media quoted Prachanda as saying, At the end of our conversation, the Chinese president told us that Nepal should maintain good relations with India.

However, this is not the first time Chinese leaders have called on Nepalese leaders to maintain good relations with India due to proximity, the open border and close cultural, religious and social ties.

It is widely believed in Kathmandu that India played a role in ousting the pro-China government led by former premier K P Sharma Oli in August last year and installing the Prachanda-led regime that is comparatively softer on New Delhi.

At the height of the economic blockade along the Nepal-India border and protests against Nepals new Constitution in 2015, Oli visited Beijing and signed the first bilateral transit and transportation agreement that was reportedly aimed at ending an Indian monopoly on petroleum products and other essential goods.

This change of guard in Kathmandu will not affect ties between Kathmandu and Beijing, Xi reportedly told Pracahnda, according to media reports.

Apart from Prachanda seeking Chinese aid for several projects, Xi announced that China will provide 9 million RMB to assist Nepals upcoming polls to local government bodies.

A statement issued after the meeting on Prachandas official website said, He had an open and candid conversation with the Chinese president on various issues pertaining to bilateral (relations). The meeting was very fruitful and productive...

The website said Xi was positive on matters raised by the Nepalese side during the meeting.

This was the third meeting between Xi and Pracahnda. The Chinese leader was keen on Nepals political stability, development and prosperity and wants to contribute to several infrastructure projects in Nepal.

Prachanda said he and the Nepalese people were waiting to see a Chinese train plying from Lhasa to Kathmandu and Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. Xi said he would take initiatives to link the Chinese rail network to Nepal and to develop railways in Nepal.

Xi also accepted Prachandas invitation to visit Nepal.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will be a game changer in the region.

Sharif, addressing PML-N party workers convention in Sindh provinces Hyderabad city, said the $ 48 billion CPEC will bring prosperity and development in the country.

He said the project, which passes through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, will provide employment opportunities to the youth.

It will prove as a game changer in the region, he said.

He said Pakistan is changing due to governments efforts.

On terrorism, he said, the government is committed to root out the menace and all out efforts are being made in this regard, the Radio Pakistan reported.

The back of terrorists has been broken and peace has been restored in Karachi, Balochistan and other parts of the country, he said.
One more person has been arrested in the UK on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts in connection with an attack on the British parliament by a lone wolf last week.

A 30-year-old man was arrested on Sunday at an address in Birmingham on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts. He was detained under the Terrorism Act and currently remains in police custody, Scotland Yard said in a statement on Sunday.

A 58-year-old man, who was arrested on March 23 on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts, remains in police custody, the Metropolitan Police said.

A 32-year-old woman was arrested on March 24 under PACE and has been released on bail until a date in late March.

Officers have carried out a total of 15 searches at various addresses in east London (two), south London (one), Brighton (one), Surrey (one), Carmarthenshire (one), Birmingham (eight) and Manchester (one). Fourteen searches have now concluded, with one ongoing in Birmingham, the Met said.

In total, 12 people have been arrested as part of the investigation. Nine have been released with no further action.
Often referred to as Pakistans last surviving Jew, Fishel Benkhald has finally been recognised as such by the government.

The 29-year-old outspoken activist, originally registered as a Muslim, was recently allowed by the interior ministry to change his religion from Islam to Judaism, an unusual move by authorities in the Muslim-majority country.

Benkhald, born in Karachi in 1987 to a Muslim father and a Jewish mother, was registered as Faisal in his national identity documents. His parents died in the 1990s and Benkhald identified himself as a Jew during the ongoing census.

After several months of bureaucratic paperwork and numerous rounds of appeals, the interior ministry gave the green light in response to his application seeking conversion/correction of his religion.

Benkhald, a resident of Karachi, claims he is the only person of his faith in Pakistan. In his appeal to the interior minister, he insisted that his religion be changed on his national identity card.

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) usually does not entertain requests for changing religion on the grounds that an applicants faith is different from the fathers. NADRA also does not allow members of the Ahmadi religious sect to proclaim themselves as Muslims.

Muslims are expected to sign an affidavit with NADRA that they are not Ahmadis or "Qadiyanis", as they are known in some circles.

"It is a very sensitive issue where people have been killed either way," said Peter Jacob, who heads a faith-based organisation in Lahore.

In a telephone conversation with The Express Tribune newspaper, Benkhald thanked the authorities, especially the interior ministry and NADRA, for granting him the right to profess the religion of his choice.

I studied Islam in childhood. But I never practiced it as a religion, Benkhald said, adding he would consider the positive development in his case as a treat from Pakistani authorities for the upcoming Passover, a spring festival that commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.

Despite Benkhalds claim that he is the last Jew in Pakistan, The Express Tribune quoted an unnamed NADRA official as saying that there are 745 registered Jewish families in the country. The official said details about Jews in the NADRAs records are treated as top secret.

There are numerous reports in Pakistan every year of members of minority communities such as the Hindus being forcibly converted to Islam but instances of Muslims renouncing their faith for another religion are extremely rare.
Pakistan has begun building a fence on its disputed 2,500 km border with Afghanistan to prevent incursions by militants, Pakistans army chief said, in a move likely to further strain relations between the two countries.

Pakistan has blamed Pakistani Taliban militants it says are based on Afghan soil for a spate of attacks at home in recent months, urging Kabul to eradicate sanctuaries for militants.

Citing the attacks, Islamabad earlier this month temporarily shut the main crossing points along the colonial-era Durand Line border, drawn up in 1893 and rejected by Afghanistan.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa said initial fencing will focus on high threat zones of Bajaur and Mohmand agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which border eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar.

Additional technical surveillance means are also being deployed along the border besides regular air surveillance, the military said in a statement over the weekend, citing Bajwa.

There was no immediate comment from Afghan authorities.

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have been tense in recent years, with both countries accusing each other of not doing enough to tackle Pakistani and Afghan Taliban militants.

Vehicles travel in the mountainous area near Torkham, close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. (AFP Photo)

Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye to Afghan Taliban commanders on its soil and even of supporting the militant group, something Islamabad denies.

Bajwa said Pakistan was working on plans to evolve a bilateral security mechanism with Afghanistan.

A better managed, secure and peaceful border is in mutual interest of both brotherly countries who have given phenomenal sacrifices in war against terrorism, Bajwa added.

Pakistan has long harboured ambitions to seal its border, which is largely unpatrolled and mountainous for large chunks.

In 2007, the military said it was fencing and mining a 35 km stretch of border in the North Waziristan region of FATA to prevent militants crisscrossing the rugged terrain.

Efforts to establish a more permanent presence on the disputed frontier have angered Kabul. Last year, Pakistans attempt to build a barrier on the main Torkham crossing ended in brief cross-border skirmishes.

In recent weeks at least two US drone strikes have targeted Pakistani militants on the Afghan side of the frontier.
The family of a Pakistani man, allegedly murdered by 10 Indians in Abu Dhabi in 2015, has pardoned the convicts facing death sentence.

The father of the victim, Mohammad Farhan, appeared in the Al Ain Appeals Court and submitted a letter of consent to pardon the Indians, an Indian Embassy official told the Gulf News.

On behalf of the accused, an Indian charity deposited the blood money in the court and the case has been adjourned for further hearing on April 12, said Dinesh Kumar, an official at the embassy in Abu Dhabi.

It is expected that the court may commute the death sentence, he said.

The Indian men, from Punjab, were convicted in October 2016 for killing Farhan during a brawl in 2015, said the report.

The blood money as compensation to the victims family was arranged by Dubai-based Indian businessman SPS Oberoi, chairman of Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust.

Oberoi said his Pakistani manager travelled to Peshawar and spoke to the family and their relatives to secure the pardon.

He said the victims father said he did not want 10 other Indian families to face the same tragic fate.

All the convicted young Indian men were from poor families and worked in the UAEs Al Ain city as plumbers, electricians, carpenters and masons, said the report.

Most were in their 20s and had paid huge sums to recruitment agents in India to secure a visa to reach the United Arab Emirates.
A Pakistani man was convicted in Germany on Monday of spying for Iran to search out potential attack targets for the Revolutionary Guards.

The defendant, 31-year-old Mustufa Haidar Syed-Naqfi, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison for working for a foreign intelligence service, a spokeswoman for Berlins superior court said.

The court found he spied against Germany and another NATO member, France, for the Quds Force, the foreign operations wing of the elite Revolutionary Guards.

Syed-Naqfi compiled dossiers on possible attack targets -- a German lawmaker who is the former head of a German-Israeli organisation, and a French-Israeli economics professor.

Investigators found detailed dossiers on the men and their daily routines, with hundreds of photos and video clips.

The court heard they detailed the targets homes and work places, various access routes to them, as well as information on security guards, surveillance cameras and nearby police stations.

A representative of Germanys domestic intelligence service, which handles counter-espionage, said it was alerted to the defendant by a reliable source.

The service suspected the Quds Force was preparing for a possible future conflict with the United States and Israel, when it could hit targets in Europe in a form of asymmetrical warfare.

Karachi-born Syed-Naqfi came to Germany as a student in 2012 and most recently lived in the western city of Bremen.

The defendant travelled to Iran at least twice, in October 2015 and February 2016, and received at least 2,052 euros ($2,237) for his intelligence activities.

He was arrested in July 2016 but declined to testify during the trial -- out of fear, according to his lawyer.
An army veteran accused of randomly killing a 66-year-old black man in a racial attack in New York City said he regretted killing the man because he would rather have killed a younger or a more successful black victim.

James Harris Jackson told the Daily News on Sunday that he was sorry he stabbed Timothy Caughman, who was collecting bottles. He said it was dark and he did not know the victim was elderly.

Authorities said Jackson came to Manhattan from Baltimore earlier this month with the aim of killing black men and to make a statement.

Jackson told the newspaper his goal was to force women to reconsider their interracial relationships.

The 28-year-old has been arraigned on a hate crime murder charge. He did not enter a plea. His next court date is on Monday.

People at a vigil in the Hampden neighbourhood of Baltimore to show sympathy for Timothy Caughman. (NYT Photo)

Jackson had encountered Caughman, who was collecting bottles from trash cans, and stabbed him in his chest and back, authorities said.

He turned himself in at a Times Square police station early on Wednesday, a day after the wounded Caughman staggered into a police precinct. The sword was found in a trash can.

Jacksons lawyer suggested that his client might be suffering from mental illness.

The accused told the police he had harboured hatred toward black men for at least 10 years, authorities said. Jackson was in the army from 2009 to 2012 and worked as an intelligence analyst.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appeared in court on Monday, a day after being detained at a major opposition rally against government corruption that he led the previous day.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, has lashed out at protest organizers, blaming them for putting lives at risk by inviting people to unsanctioned demonstrations.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Russia on Sunday in the biggest show of defiance since 2011-2012 anti-government protests.

The Kremlin has dismissed the opposition as Westernized urban elite disconnected from the issues faced by the poor in Russias far-flung regions, but Sundays protests included demonstrations in the areas which typically produce a high vote for President Vladimir Putin, from Siberias Chita to Dagestans Makhachkala.

Russian police say that about 500 people were arrested, while human rights groups say 1,000 were taken into custody. On Monday, the European Union has called on Russian authorities to release the demonstrators.

President Vladimir Putins spokesman chided protest organizers, saying they incited illegal acts.

The Kremlin respects peoples civic stance and their right to voice their position, Dmitry Peskov told reporters. We cant express the same respect to those who consciously misled people and who consciously did it yesterday and provoked illegal actions.

Peskov defended police who were seen manhandling protesters, some of whom were underage, calling their response highly professional and lawful.

An opposition supporter blocks a police van transporting detained anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny during a rally in Moscow on Sunday. (Reuters)

Asked about the Kremlins reaction to the wide geography of the protests, something that has not been seen at least since 2011, Peskov said the Kremlin is quite sober about the scale of yesterdays protests, and are not inclined to diminish them or push them out of proportion.

Putin constantly talks to people and is well-briefed on the sentiment in the country, Peskov insisted.

He also claimed that underage protesters in Moscow were promised cash if they were arrested. Pressed on the source of these claims, Peskov quoted facts.

The protests were led by Navalny, a charismatic opposition leader who has recently announced his bid for presidency. Navalny was grabbed by police while walking to the rally from a nearby subway station. He posted a selfie on Twitter from the courtroom on Monday morning, saying: A time will come when well put them on trial too - and that time it will be fair. If found guilty, he could be jailed for 15 days for staging an unauthorized rally.

The 40-year old Navalny, arguably Russias most popular opposition leader, has been twice convicted on fraud and embezzlement charges that he has dismissed as politically motivated. Navalny is currently serving a suspended sentence, and Sundays arrest could be used as a pretext to convert it into jail time.

Separately, police arrested Navalnys associates who were at their office, setting up and monitoring a webcast of the rally. Thirteen of them spent the night at a police station while authorities raided their office, reportedly removing all equipment. It wasnt immediately clear what charges they may be facing. Over the years, Navalny, a trained lawyer, evolved from a lone blogger to someone who leads a group of like-minded activists, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, whose full-time job is to investigate official corruption.

Whether Navalny and his associates will be slapped with new charges could indicate which approach the Kremlin will take in dealing with a new wave of discontent: crack down on it even further or exercise restraint.

Russian state television completely ignored the protests in their broadcasts on Sunday, and authorities didnt comment on it in any way.
A senior Republican lawmaker on Monday said his bill proposing a massive hike in the minimum salary for those employed on H-1B visas to prevent outsourcing has the backing of President Donald Trump, himself a critic of the programme.

If enacted, the bill will hurt Indian IT firms in the US and all other consultancies whose business model was based on offering same services performed by temporary foreign workers on salaries lower than their American counterparts.

The president is supporting it, Darrell Issa, a House of Representatives member from California, said in response to a question about the chances of the passage and enactment of the legislation he moved jointly in January.

Aides of the congressman have said he had been in conversation about this issue also with the presidents son-in-law and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, who favours broader and other reforms of the visa programme.

Speaking at an event on Capitol Hill hosted by Washington-based think-tank Atlantic Council, the congressman insisted his bill did not target Indian IT companies in the US like TCS, Infosys and Wipro, but conceded that they will be impacted by it, adding that they will have to up their game.

The Protect and Grow American Jobs Act, the legislation Issa moved jointly with Scott Peters, a Democratic lawmaker also from California, proposes to raise the minimum salary for workers on H-1B visa for high-skilled foreign workers from the absurdly low $60,000 at present to $100,000 a year.

The bill also proposed to do away with the masters waiver provision of the current law to ensure only the best and the brightest are given H-1Bs, which in a large number of most instances lead to permanent residency (Green Card).

Trump and some leading critics of H-1Bs programme in his administration have long been said to be considering changes in the visa programme for high-skilled foreign workers and there was even a leaked draft of an executive order they were said to have been working on.

Issa argued the salary cap of $60,000 was fixed in 1998 and a revision was long overdue to bring it up to current wages and salaries, which was help plug a loophole in the current law used by consulting companies to bring foreign workers on low salaries to replace local Americans and then eventually ship those jobs abroad.

He cited the example of Southern Edison California, a public utility company headquartered in his district, which drew nationwide attention in 2015 for firing a large number of employees whose jobs were contracted out to Infosys and TCS.

In response to another question, Issa echoed a widespread perception present even in the Trump administration: Indian companies are gaming the system.

Issas is one of multiple legislations introduced and re-introduced in congress this year which proposes to reform the H-1B visa programme. The Trump administration is under increasing pressure to fix whatever it can through executive action  via audits and inspections, for instance  and the Indian government and IT companies are largely prepared for changes.

It remains to be seen whether something be announced before April 3, when the US Citizenship and Immigration Services begins accepting applications for the 65,000 H-1Bs (annual cap, with 20,000 more for students) it will grant for 2018.
Police in Leicester in the east Midlands, home to a large minority of Indian origin, have cautioned the community against using the services of babas, bogus faith healers and 'tantriks', who promise love, luck and lucre for a price.

Many people have fallen prey, parting with thousands of pounds without any results. One healer, who called himself Kamal-ji and conned many in the UK, the US and Canada, was jailed last year, and another faced the same fate last week.

Leicester police official Adam Makepeace, who has dealt with such cases and secured convictions, said: The practice of spiritual healers is one that goes back many years and is mainly associated to the Asian subcontinent and Africa. These individuals are known to advertise their services within those communities.

These people are committing fraud and we would encourage anyone approached in these circumstances to contact the authorities. The aim of the campaign was to educate communities and raise awareness that these people cant perform miracles and no one should contact them or recommend their services.

Last year, the nine-year prison term of Kamal-ji, whose real name is Mohammed Ashrafi, was extended by five years because he failed to pay back 613,500 conned from his victims. He reportedly owns property in India.

File photo of Kamal-ji, the healer who was sent to jail last year for for duping many people many in the UK, the US and Canada. (Courtesy: Leicestershire Police)

Sachdev Virdee of the Asian Rationalist Society Britain told Hindustan Times: "I appeal to the Asian community that now is the time to wake up, think logically and understand that tantrics and babas have no extraordinary powers than what you have.

He said the societys challenge to such individuals to scientifically prove their extraordinary powers and win 100,000 had still not been taken up.

Anasudhin Azeez, the Indian-origin editor of Asian Lite, a leading British Asian publication, said as a matter of policy, his newspaper refuses to carry such adverts but he continues to be approached by insistent babas seeking to advertise in his publication.

Every week, we get at least three phone calls from babas who want to advertise. They are ready to pay whatever the charge in the rate card. Since we never carry such adverts, we often get threats in the form of parcels containing ashes, hair, egg shells, threads, lemons and small metal bits scribbled with slokas, but it all goes straight into the bin, he added.

Palm-reading, horoscopes and other services are offered in areas with Indian populations, including in Hounslow, Southall and Wembley in London. In some cases, police found the spiritual healers were recommended to people by relatives and friends.

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A woman was arrested on Sunday after scaling a fence at the US treasury building, and a spokesman for the US Secret Service said she had been apprehended twice in the last week, once for trying to jump a White House fence.

The woman, who was not identified by the Secret Service, was carrying a backpack and sleeping bag but no weapons when she was taken into custody on the grounds of the treasury building, Secret Service spokesman Shawn Holtzclaw said.

Following her arrest, agents determined that the woman had been arrested on March 21 for trying to jump the south fence of the White House, which is adjacent to the Treasury Building, and released the next day after a court appearance.

On Friday, Holtzclaw said, the woman was again taken into custody after she was spotted in the area, violating a stay away order issued by the judge in the first case. She appeared in court again the following day and was again released on her own recognizance.

Earlier this month Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House of Representatives oversight committee, asked Secret Service Acting Director William Callahan provide a briefing in response to reports that a 26-year-old man had climbed the White House fence and spent 16 minutes on the grounds before he was detained.
New Music: Els  Slide Featuring Silento

Indonesia, a Southeast Asian nation native ELISKH HGI better known as ELS now residing in Hollywood, California releases a hit dance song featuring Silento. Silento is known for his global smash Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae). Slide is a Dance/electronic, Pop, Hip-hop/rap track that is spreading like wildfire with over 3M plays on Soundcloud and be on the lookout for official video releasing soon. ELS favorite saying is My blood contains of music.
SNAPSHOT:

Filmmaker Laurent Bouzereaus excellent Netflix documentary, Five Came Back, is adapted from Mark Harris 2014 book and tells the absorbing story of five Hollywood directors during World War II.

By the early 1940s, Americans were in love with the moviesover half of its adult population went to the cinema at least once a week. When the United States entered the war in December 1941, the War Department partnered with Hollywood to produce documentariesand propagandathat could record the conflict as well as sell it to the public. In stepped Hollywood directors John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens.

ON TARGET:

Regardless of the audiences level of familiarity with the five wartime directors, the series successfully establishes their distinct personalities before following their transcontinental journeys during the war. Fortunately, Harris and Bouzereau focus not only on the mens professional accomplishments, but also on their personal aspirations, victories, and defeats. Their final work may appear polished, but the process was often messy and continually interrupted by bureaucratic disputes and the unforgiving nature of war.

Each of the Hollywood five had varied experiences, and each was affected in different ways. With Meryl Streeps narration moving the plot forward, Bouzereau wisely relies on another set of five directorsSteven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Lawrence Kasdan, Paul Greengrass, and Guillermo del Toroto analyze their wartime counterparts and their legacies.

In this case, hindsight is important in understanding the lasting impacts of war. George Stevens, originally known for his lighthearted films, had a particularly affecting journey. After recording color footage of the Allied landings at Normandy, the liberation of Paris, and the nightmarish revelations at the Duben labor camp and Dachau concentration campwhich was later used as evidence at NurembergStevens was forever changed. He remained haunted by his experiences, and, upon returning home, never again wanted to film a comedy.

Audiences may also be surprised to learn of John Hustons immensely moving Let There Be Light, which starkly depicts a real group of soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, which was poorly understood at the time. However, as critics and film goers anticipated the films premiere, the army pulled the film at the last minute. It remained banned for three decades. [For more on this remarkable film, see Let There Be Light: How a Film on PTSD Worried the Army.]

MISFIRES:

By necessity, the first episode is the choppiest, as it covers the most ground. Once the series establishes the principal characters and the proper context, it progresses smoothly.

BOTTOM LINE:

Five Came Back is a fitting companion to Harris detailed book, as well as a stellar example of how best to utilize starkly different mediumswhat Harris wrote, Bouzereau shows. But the excellent documentary also stands alone, and it will undoubtedly help introduce these wartime films and stories to newer generations.

Film Recon is a web series by Paraag Shukla, Senior Editor of World War II and Aviation History magazines at HistoryNet.

Film Came Back will be available on Netflix on March 31, 2017. Netflix will also make available 13 related wartime documentaries, including The Battle of Midway, The Battle of Russia, The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, The Negro Soldier, San Pietro, Nazi Concentration Camps, and Let There Be Light.

For further reading, see Let There Be Light: How a Film on PTSD Worried the Army, originally published in the March/April 2017 issue of World War II.
Founded by Vietnam veterans but operated by the Vietnamese, Project RENEW is working to rid Quang Tri province of unexploded ordnance left over from the war.

Dong Ha, Vietnam  They say its 42 degrees Celsiusthis Monday in late May, around noon. Thats 108 degrees Fahrenheit. The 18 members of the Project RENEW Battle Area Clearance (BAC) team, all local residents, are sweating uncomfortably but walking care- fully through the newly planted forest in one of the most heavily bombed areas of the world, listening to the squawk of the metal detectors they carry. A high-pitched whine in the headphones means there is a substantial chunk of metal in front of thema bomb or artillery shell left over from the Vietnam War. A young medic stands by the team ambulance parked at the rally point, just in case one of the bombs explodes. Periodically, Khiet, the team leader, barks into his handheld radio and gets a short reply. The team members move with slow, practiced steps, the same way they work eight hours a day, five days a week. And its hot

Every workday, the BAC team heads out to its designated district in Quang Tri province to look for the dangerous leftovers of war. The team partitions the land into 50-meter boxes, then subdivides it into long 1.5-meter-wide corridors. They sweep the corridor with a loop metal detector of the same width, while a team member listens for sounds indicating metal. The detectors are recalibrated every day so that the team can distinguish between metal fragments (which can be ignored) and possibly active ordnance. Any indication of something potentially dangerous is marked with a small red flag on a stake. Behind the large loop detectors come the team members with more sensitive detectors who precisely isolate the metals location and oh so gently dig it out with a shovel or trowel. Metal fragments are thrown into a bucket; a whole shell or bomb is set aside for disposal or left to be destroyed in place. In one day, the BAC can clear 5,000 square meters of land.

For the first two days of my visit, Mr. Hong escorts me around the site, helping me get close enough for serviceable photos while keeping me away from any real danger. During one break, as I slump in a chair, sweating more than seems anatomically possible, I learn that Mr. Hong is retired Colonel Bui Trong Hong, a 30-year veteran of the Peoples Army of Vietnam (NVA). During the 1972 saturation bombings in Quang Tri, Hong hid underground with his explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) unit, emerging to deactivate and clear unexploded ordnance (UXO). He was surprised to have survived the war. Since 2008 he has been the national technical officer for Project RENEW.

Hong speaks virtually no English, I no Vietnamese. Through gestures, voice inflection and sounds worthy of a Looney Tunes cartoon, I learn that tomorrow we will go see the ordnance destroyed. Good boom! he promises.

Twice a week, safely removed ordnance is taken to the controlled demolition site, a sandy field about a square kilometer in size. On Tuesday the team sets off two controlled explosionslarge, loud and impressive under the watchful eyes of Hong: one of high-explosive shells, and one for white phosphorus. After each one, he grins at me and asks, Good boom? Yes, I say, putting a thumb up, good boom.

The war in Vietnam ended in April 1975, but many effects of the conflict are still present, and none more strikingly than unexploded ordnance. During 1965-73, it is estimated that the U.S. military dropped between 6 and 7 million tons of bombs on Indochina as well as millions of mortar rounds and artillery shells. Quite a fewmaybe 10 percent, RENEW estimates based on information from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) never exploded and have been resting on the jungle floor, or lying a few centimeters under the ground, or safely buried in the earth until thunderstorms wash the soil away or bulldozers show up to clear land. They are still fuzed and capable of exploding at the slightest touch. The ordnance ranges from 16-inch shells fired from battleships to antipersonnel cluster bomblets, notably the BLU-26/B and related sub munitions (called bom bi here) that weigh only half a kilogram and contain hundreds of round metal pellets. The teams also find and clear the Soviet/Chinese ordnance used by the North Vietnamese and National Liberation Front units.

After the war ended, the Vietnamese started the dangerous job of clearing the agricultural land of mines and unexploded ordnance, often by villagers carefully prodding the ground in front of them with long bamboo poles. Not surprisingly, there were significant casualties. After a number of years, the mines were cleared, but the unexploded bombs were harder to clean up. The Vietnam Ministry of Defense estimates that since the end of the war, some 105,000 Vietnamese have been killed or injured by explosive remnants.

The most heavily bombed area in Vietnam was Quang Tri province, where the Demilitarized Zone and the area just south saw constant, intense ground combat throughout the war. In 1972 six NVA divisions pushed through the defending South Vietnamese and American troops along the DMZ, stopped only by extensive B-52 and other aerial bombardments over a period of months. By the end of the war, of the 3,500 villages in the province, only 11 still had most of their original buildings standing. Between 1975 and 2010, some 2,635 people in Quang Tri were killed by explosive remnants and another 4,435 injured. About 31 percent of the victims have been children. Using DOD data, the Vietnamese estimated that 84 percent of the land area of Quang Tri province was contaminated by unexploded ordnance.

A number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from around the world have worked in Vietnam with sophisticated equipment and proven procedures to make the areas safe, including the Mines Advisory Group, Clear Path International and the German group SODI (Solidarity Service International). However, Quang Tri province is home to one of the most effective ordnance clearing programs in the country, Project RENEW (Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War), a model of international cooperation initiated by Americans who served in Vietnam during the war.

Chuck Searcy, one of the projects founders, had been assigned to the Combined Intelligence Center near Saigon as part of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion during his tour in 1967-68. The intelligence he processed and what he saw around him convinced hima Barry Goldwater conservative before he enlistedthat the war was unwinnable for the Americans and was causing horrific and unnecessary damage to the Vietnamese. Returning to his native Georgia after his enlistment ended, Searcy attended college and eventually became a public critic of the war. By 1995 he was living in Vietnam as the representative of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, headed by Bobby Muller.

As an American veteran living in Vietnam who spoke fluent Vietnamese, Searcy was respected both by the local government and by Americans who came to visit. For years he had urged the Vietnamese government to seek more international aid to clear mines and UXOs, but he says the Vietnamese had other prioritiessuch as normalizing diplomatic relations and winning favorable trade statusin their discussions with the U.S. government. An attempt in 2000 to create a cooperative structure for all the NGOs working on UXO clearance in Quang Tri also failed.

Shortly after that, Searcy began working for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation, the nonprofit organization that built and maintains The Wall in Washington. In April 2000, VVMF President Jan Scruggs brought a delegation of about 20 key foundation supporters to Vietnam. They were moved by what they saw. Scruggs remembers walking around in the Quang Tri countryside, asking people if they knew of any bombs lying around. A young boy said yes and led him to the back of his home, where there were old 60mm and 81mm mortar rounds stacked up. That clinched it in Scruggs mind. As a result of that trip, VVMF decided to undertake a major project in Vietnam to clear unexploded ordnance. This would benefit both countries, Scruggs said, reducing casualties in Vietnam while creating goodwill for the United States.

Out of these efforts came Project RENEW, an independent NGO that would receive private and public financial support and American advice, but be run by the Vietnamese themselves. With the support of VVMF, American veterans chipped in. Scruggs reached out to Christos Cotsakos, who had been a fire team leader in Quang Tri with the 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Later, when Cotsakos became wildly successful in business, eventually serving as CEO of the internet-based stock trading company eTrade and other technology companies, he contributed $250,000 of the initial $500,000 budget for the project.

David Wells has also been a RENEW backer. Just out of Army ROTC, Lieutenant Wells had been attached to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, and led a five-man mobile advisory team along a strip of Highway 1 in II Corps during his 1969-70 tour. He returned home with a Combat Infantry Badge and two Bronze Star Medals, but also with a sense that the Americans were not going to win. Wells became a lawyer and joined a large commercial firm, opening its London office.

Wells heard about Project RENEW through communications from VVMF, and thought it was a great idea. While he believed the American war effort was well-intentioned and worth the attempt, The fact remains, he said, we flattened the country and killed an extraordinarily large number of civilians doing it. Repairing the damage struck Wells as an important humanitarian project for his generation and for the United States as a whole. He began sending generous contributions to RENEW, and traveled to Quang Tri several times to meet Searcy and see the project in action.

Not all the support has come from military veterans. Steve Nichols and Sally Benson spent about a year in Vietnam in 1967-68 teaching English for International Voluntary Services, an NGO doing what is sometimes called capacity building projects with sizable grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Now married and running the Chino Cienega Foundation, Nichols and Benson arranged for $76,000 in grants to build the Mine Action Visitor Center in Dong Ha, a combination history museum and education center to build awareness of the continuing dangers of UXOs. More recently, the foundation voted to contribute $20,000 as a matching grant toward creating another explosive ordnance disposal team.

Project RENEW has also received financial and technical assistance from other sources, including the Freeman Foundation, the Humpty Dumpty Institute, the U.S. Department of State and the DOD. The Golden West Humanitarian Foundation not only assisted the project with mine clearance and research, but also facilitated the receipt of grants from the U.S. government that, among other things, allowed RENEW to obtain DOD maps and data showing where the United States had targeted bombing runs during the war, and where mines had been laid.

Project RENEW fields two mobile EOD teams, each with nine members, that circulate through- out the countryside in response to calls of dis- covered ordnance. Generally, the teams arrive within 24 hours; in emergencies, as quickly as 20 minutes. The UXOs that can be safely moved are taken to a designated blast area and destroyed. The more dangerous ones, like the bom bi and the 40mm rifle grenades, are destroyed where they are found. Team members dig a small hole, carefully lower in the ordnance, add a TNT charge purchased from the Vietnamese military, cover it all with pink sandbags, run the detonator cord back a safe distance and connect the detonator. Other team members fan out around a 500-meter perimeter with bullhorns to give stern warnings to all civilians that they must evacuate the area (the team also evacuates any water buffalo that stray too close to the blast site). Project RENEW maintains rigorous safety rules, and its teams are trained to international standards. A medic and an ambulance accompany every team. After a quick countdown over the team radio system, the button is pushed and an impressive amount of earth and debris launches into the air, along with flecks of pink sandbag covering.

Part of RENEWs success rests on its integrated approach to the problems of UXO. In addition to clearing ordnance, it works on community awareness and education so that no one touches suspected explosives, but instead calls the projects emergency hotline (actually Colonel Hongs cell phone) to report the discovered munitions. RENEW provides prosthetics for those who have lost limbs from explosions. The project also offers micro-credit loans for families unable to sustain themselves because of injuries caused by exploded remnants. Through two Norwegian partners, it has provided advanced trauma care training to Quang Tri medical professionals. Its newest program, Mushrooms With a Mission, operates in conjunction with the Humpty Dumpty Institute and provides the supplies and know-how to those suffering disabilities from explosives so that they can grow and locally sell mushrooms. Project RENEW has 90 paid staff members, but relies on hundreds of trained volunteers to assist in community education and reporting new potential hazards.

Over the years, Scruggs says he received a few negative comments from Americans wanting to know why VVMF was helping its erstwhile enemybut those comments were few and far between, and did not deter the project. About once a year, VVMF took funders to Vietnam to see Project RENEW in action. In 2011 VVMF decided to focus its efforts on projects at home, such as building a new visitors center at the site of the Washington memorial, and ended its financial support for RENEW. Ultimately, said Scruggs, the logistical train from D.C. to Vietnam was too long. A member of the foundations staff referred to it as a mission realignment. The VVMFs role was assumed by Norwegian Peoples Aid, a private organization heavily funded by the government of Norway and other governments, which had been deeply involved with Project RENEW for several years. Searcy still works with the project as an adviser, living in Hanoi but visiting Dong Ha two to three times a month as needed.

Although the Vietnamese were on the receiving end of so many bombs and shells, the explosions set off by the clearance teams do not seem to engender any anxiety among the local people. Maybe its because in the last four years, no child has been injured by UXOs in the districts where Project RENEW operates. Every explosion by the team means one less child who might be killed, one less farmer who might lose an arm or leg, one less hazard to planting crops or raising a family in a country where, finally, the fighting has ceased.

Ted Lieverman is a freelance photographer and writer based in Philadelphia. See more of his images at tmlphotojournal.com.

Originally published in the February 2014 issue of Vietnam. To subscribe, click here.
Crowds Mourn General Giap

Tens of thousands of Vietnamese from all provinces of the country flooded into Hanoi when word came of General Vo Nguyen Giaps death at age 102 on Oct. 4, 2013, at Military Hospital 108, where he had spent the last four years. The crowds gathered for a brief vigil at Giaps longtime home at No. 30 Hoang Dieu St. in Ba Dinh District, near the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense. Mourners formed a queue nearly a half-mile long, and some waited five to eight hours to pass by the home. During the October 12 funeral at the national funeral home, respectful crowds again filled the surrounding streets. Viewing the casket was limited to high-ranking officials, family members and official delegations.

After the ceremony, hundreds of thousands lined the 25-mile funeral route from the capital to the airport, where Giaps body was to be flown via commercial airliner to a burial site on an island in his home province of Quang Binh. Although most Vietnamese Communist dignitaries, including Le Duan, Truong Chinh and Ton Duc Thang, are buried at the Mai Dich Cemetery on the outskirts of Hanoi, Giap had chosen to be interred on Quang Binhs Rong (Dragon) Mountain, based on the sites positive feng shui, which Giap believed was compatible with his birth date and time, according to the lunar calendar. The grave is beside a traditional Vietnamese temple, with a view of Dao Yen (Swallow Island), which many Vietnamese consider sacred. Giaps gravesite on this special island may well become a tourist destination.

Nicknamed the Red Napoleon for his brilliant and ruthless use of guerrilla tactics, Giap made every citizen a soldier in the war. Though he lacked formal military training, Giap read widely and drew upon his conviction that soldiersand citizensfighting for freedom would be powerful foes of French colonial power. A Communist since the 1930s, he gained military experience under Ho Chi Minhs wing and dedicated his life to resisting foreign occupation of Vietnam. In that struggle, he lost his first wife and his father to colonial adversaries, which hardened his resolve.

Among the Vietnamese, Giap is esteemed second only to Ho Chi Minh.

The NSA Was Watching

Tenacious researchers at the National Security Archive at George Washington University have turned up surprising details on domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency during the Vietnam era. Citizens targeted included Martin Luther King Jr.; Tom Wicker, Washington reporter for The New York Times; and Sen. Frank Church, an early critic of the U.S. escalation in Vietnam. The surveillance of some 1,600 individuals was part of Project Minaret, conducted from 1961 to 1973, and newly declassified documents provide more details than an earlier disclosure in November 2008. The names of individual targets are revealed, as is the NSAs choice not to prosecute newspaper columnist Jack Anderson over the release of the Pentagon Papers, most likely out of fear of disclosing the degree of surveillance of other countries communications. Other new information pertains to the Berlin Crisis, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Panama Canal negotiations.

To review the disclosure, visit www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv and see the posting from Sept. 25, 2013.

Vet in it for the Long Run

Vietnam veteran Mike Bowen, 65, completed a 58,282-mile run on September 20 in Washington, D.C., making good on a 31-year-old pledge to run a mile for every soldier killed or missing in the war. The Flushing, Mich., native made his vow in 1982, after a visit to the newly erected Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and persevered even after cancer treatment and knee surgeries. Over the past 31 years, he has run in all kinds of weather, always carrying the POW/MIA flag. Bowen enlisted in 1966 after graduating from high school. Of nine friends who served in Vietnam, only he returned. He has vowed to repeat the commemorative run.

Have Hooch, Need Permit

After standing for about a decade, an impressive bamboo treehouse in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles has come under fire by the citys planning department for lacking a permit, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. Built by the owners late husband with the help of a friend who was a Vietnam vet, it resembles traditional structures in Vietnam. At press time, the treehouse owner, Eileen Erikson, was working to address the citys concerns about the structures stability.

Historians, Envoys Shine Light on 1963

The National Archives in Washington welcomed Vietnam War historians, envoys and authors to Vietnam, 1963, the 2013 conference of the Vietnam Center and Archive, Texas Tech University, September 26-28. It explored such early tipping points in the war as the Battle of Ap Bac, the abortive Kennedy withdrawal of U.S. military advisers from South Vietnam, the overthrow and death of President Ngo Dinh Diem, the JFK assassination and the Ninth Plenum of the Vietnam Workers Party.

Among the 34 panelists were George Herring, Merle Pribbenow, Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, John Prados and Andrew Birtle. Ambassador Bui Diem, former Republic of Vietnam ambassador to the United States, and Rufus Phillips, with the U.S. Agency for International Development, added first-person perspectives on the fall of South Vietnams First Republic. It all fell apart because the South Vietnamese couldnt get organized, Bui Diem said. They werent interested in a political solution to the war.

Research was also presented on revelations about the growing role of Communist militant Le Duan, who took over the Politboro in 1957, and the Central Committees Resolution 9, adopted in January 1963, which was a declaration of war on the Saigon regime and the United States by extension. Resolution 9 granted Le Duan and militants a blank check to wage war in the southHanois own Tonkin Gulf Resolution, said Pierre Asselin, author of Hanois Road to the Vietnam War. Hanoi was the aggressor and its not being taught.

Arguing that the conference was too narrowly focused in its choice of panelists, appearing to lack balance between orthodox and revisionist views of the war, Vietnam Veterans to Correct the Myths distributed its own book of research at the meeting titled Our Pre-sponse, hoping to avoid the permanent enshrinement of carefully selected orthodox viewpoints.

The Vietnam Center and Archive plans to continue its 50th anniversary retrospective on the war with a Vietnam, 1964 conference in 2014.

Protesters Arrested at NYCs Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Members of Veterans for Peace, assembled for a vigil at the Vietnam Memorial in New York City on October 7, were arrested for violating the parks 10 p.m. closing. The group was reading names of soldiers killed in recent wars to protest the 12th year of the war in Afghanistan. Participants included a young Iraq war veteran calling for better detection and treatment of mental trauma among troops, a former Vietnam medic opposing the continued wars and a World War II veteran defending the vigil based on the constitutional right to freedom of assembly. The event marked the second anniversary of the groups protest of the war in Afghanistan.

Healing Center for Warriors Opens

Boulder Crest Retreat for Military and Veteran Wellness, a healing center for combat-wounded warriors and their families, formally opened its doors on September 6. Located on 37 acres in Bluemont, Va., in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains 60 miles from Washington, D.C., the retreat grew as a natural extension of founder Ken Falkes practice of bringing patients from Walter Reed Hospital with their families to his private home in the country for a little peace and quiet. Boulder Crest features a main lodge and four private three-bedroom cabins, all ADA-accessible.

The retreat uses an online reservation system with an application process designed to screen for combat-stressed military service personnel. There is no cost for the stay. Reservations opened four months in advance of our opening and by November 1 we were fully booked until the end of the year, said Falke, a 21-year U.S. Navy combat veteran and retired master chief petty officer. So far, we have had two Vietnam veteran families; most of our guests have been from the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. We hope to accommodate 250 to 500 families per year.

Wellness organizations also conduct group retreats at Boulder Crest. Since opening, Save a Warrior, Artemis Rising, Wounded Warrior Project Odyssey and the EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) Warrior Foundation have visited.

Boulder Crest Retreat is the first of its kind in the nation. On site, military families can enjoy an archery range, nature trails, a fishing pond and a playground, or they can kayak and fish in the nearby Shenandoah River. Life skills seminars as well as yoga, meditation classes, musical instruments and photography are also available. Falke hopes this type of facility will be replicated across the country. More information at bouldercrestretreat.org.

Originally published in the February 2014 issue of Vietnam. To subscribe, click here.
(Xinhua) 08:22, March 27, 2017

BEIJING, March 26 -- Once widely considered the world's richest man, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has said China is the "best place" for the young to fulfil their ambitions to make the world a better place.

In a Friday lecture to Peking University students, the billionaire philanthropist described the skepticism in some developed countries about whether globalization works for ordinary people.

He said the results of the U.S. presidential election and the Brexit vote showed how any country may turn inward when confronted with difficult issues like immigration, security and global development. In a world suddenly short of experienced leaders, Gates commended China for assuming greater responsibility for critical global issues like climate change and inclusive development.

Gates told hundreds of students attending the lecture of his high hopes for China's youth as they enter the workforce at the time of "China's rise as a center of global progress and innovation."

"The world's eyes are on China...the world's eyes are specifically on all of you... What an incredible thing is the belief that you can make the world a better place. There has never been a better moment."

Gates said China has to deal with the most urgent challenges the world faces.

Health, agriculture, energy, and technology are areas where Gates sees "exciting opportunities" for more "amazing progress" for China and for the world.

Gates believes China could lead the world in eradicating malaria. He commended Tu Youyou's discovery of artemisinin, which won her a Nobel Prize in 2015, and said there was need to develop more powerful tools -- like a single-dose treatment -- to block transmission of the malaria parasite form mosquitos to humans. More than 3.2 billion people in the world still live with the risk of malaria infection, he said.

On agriculture, Gates said China's continuing advances in rice growing could benefit to millions of small farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Gates' foundation has keen interest in Africa and is working with the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Agriculture on sustainable agriculture throughout Africa.

He said China understands that helping other countries creates a more stable and secure world for people everywhere.

The founder of Microsoft sees great potential in China's tech sector. A lab he set up in Beijing about 20 years ago has grown into Microsoft's largest research center outside the United Stateswith some 200 of the world's top researchers, developers and more than 300 visiting scientists and fellows.

He said the lab also supports up-and-coming software developers by hiring more than 5,000 interns.

"Maybe you want to develop the next vaccine that protects everyone from malaria. Maybe you want to design the battery that lights people's desks at night..." he told students.

"No matter what, if your ambition is to improve the world, this is the best time and the best place to do it."
The night of February 89, 1904, Japan launched a damaging surprise attack on the Russian fleet moored at Port Arthur, Manchuria, heralding the opening of the Russo-Japanese War. For the next two years a rising, rapidly modernizing Imperial Japan inflicted a series of severe defeats on a moribund tsarist Russia.

In America President Theodore Roosevelt closely followed events in the East. He had little sympathy for Russia, as word of the extensive penal system in Siberia and of anti-Jewish pogroms had recently reached America. For several years, Russia has behaved very badly in the far East, Roosevelt declared, her attitude toward all nations, including us, but especially toward Japan, being grossly overbearing. Yet despite his abhorrence of the tsarist autocracy and his belief that Japan was a civilized, modern power, he was more sympathetic to ordinary Russians than to the Japanese, since he felt Russian culture was more similar to his own. Consequently, Roosevelt didnt want the Russians to fall too far, nor did he want to see a total Japanese victory. If the Japanese win out, not only the Slav, but all of us will have to reckon with a great new force in eastern Asia, he predicted. An empowered Japan would seek to organize China in its own interests, thereby creating a real shifting of the center of equilibrium as far as the white races are concerned.

On May 2728, 1905, the Russian fleet was devastated again, this time in the Sea of Japan. Despite the Japanese victory in the Battle of Tsushimathe largest sea battle since TrafalgarRoosevelt surmised that after 15 months of bloody warfare, Japan might be running low on resources and ready to negotiate. So he was happy to oblige when, on May 31, the Japanese approached him to ask that he directly and entirely of his own motion and initiativeinvite the two belligerents [Japan and Russia] to come together for the purpose of direct negotiation.

On Roosevelts orders, the American ambassador in St. Petersburg went to work convincing a reluctant Tsar Nicholas II to agree to talks by telling him an end to the war would mean saving possibly hundreds of thousands of lives. Nicholas consented to the talks on condition that the Japanese not know he desired a negotiated peace. Roosevelts next challenge was getting the parties in the same location. Oh Lord! I have been going nearly mad in the effort to get Russia and Japan together, he fumed. With the United States considered neutral ground midway between Europe and Asia, Roosevelt pondered his American options. Ultimately, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was chosen as the treaty site because its naval yard offered good security, international communications links, and some shelter from the public glare. The talks were to begin on August 9.

On August 5 an introductory meeting was held aboard the presidential yacht, Mayflower, anchored in Long Island Sound near Roosevelts Sagamore Hill summer home. Japans leading negotiators were Foreign Minister Baron Jutaro Komura and Ambassador Kogoro Takahira. Baron Roman von Rosen and Count Sergei Witte represent Russia. and the cranky Witte complained about the lack of wine and tablecloths aboard Mayflower and the almost indigestible food. When the Russian and Japanese plenipotentiaries traveled on to Portsmouth, the president remained behind at Sagamore Hill but kept a close eye on developments.

The conference did not begin well. In defiance of the actual course of the war, Witte insisted to Komura, There are no victors here, and therefore, no defeated. Komura, for his part, demanded a reimbursementreally an indemnitya sure sign, if paid, that Russia acknowledged Japan as victor. The Russians refused outright.

On Roosevelts advice, the Japanese had softened some of their other original demands before the talks even began, but they still wanted recognition of their supremacy in Korea and territorial concessions in Manchuria and on Sakhalin Island to their north and Russias east. Russia would not agree to any of that, a stance Roosevelt, watching from afar, found irrational. In a message to the tsar, he warned that a continuation of the war might mean not just the loss of some Asian territory but all of eastern Siberia as well. In the interest of peace, he counseled Russia to purchase the northern half of Sakhalin from Japan, which controlled it at that point. Roosevelt felt that if money, in any guise, flowed to the Japanese, their demand for a war indemnity would be satisfied. At the same time, this solution would ensure that the Russians got back part of Sakhalin without having to pay anything actually called an indemnity to the Japanese.

Though the Japanese had shown some willingness to compromise on Sakhalin, as August wore on peace seemed a dim prospect. I am having my hair turned gray by dealing with the Russian and Japanese peace negotiations, Roosevelt told his son Kermit. The Japanese ask for too much, but the Russians are ten times worse than the Japs because they are so stupid and wont tell the truth. At root, the Russians knew they had been defeated, but the tsar especially was reluctant to admit it. His empire was in the throes of an incipient revolution that would one day topple it, and his negotiators were well aware of Russias precarious position. They refused to make any payment to Japan, and word spread that the Russian delegation was about to leave Portsmouth.

Instead, on August 29, the impasse was at last broken when Count Witte made what he said were Russias final concessions. Peace could be had if the Japanese returned the northern half of Sakhalin Island to Russia, without any form of compensation for the restored territory, and dropped its demand for an indemnity. Baron Komura, likely realizing that a continuation of the war would be financially ruinous for Japan, agreed. The two sides signed the Treaty of Portsmouth on September 5, 1905. Its a mighty good thing for Russia, and a mighty good thing for Japan. And a mighty good thing for me too! Roosevelt declared. A year later he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts and a commendation from historian Henry Adams as the best herder of Emperors since Napoleon.

Lawyer Marc G. De Santis is a frequent contributor to MHQs War List.

Originally published in the October 2014 issue of Military History Quarterly. To subscribe, click here.
Following three and a half years of German occupation, Greece suffered four more years of atrocious civil war as communists, collaborators, monarchists, rebels, ex-partisans, and death squadsbacked variously by Yugoslavia, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, Albania, and Romaniaall but destroyed the country.

DECEMBER 1944 MARKED A NEW LOW POINT for a world that seemed to be sliding toward Armageddon. In the Pacific, firebombing had reduced Japanese cities to ash and a brutal showdown was ongoing at Iwo Jima. Northern Europe was in flames, and Allied forces were still in a fierce fight for Italy. Elsewhere around the Mediterranean peace seemed at handexcept in Greece, where the bloody events of December 3 inaugurated a civil war more savage than any the continent would see for another half century.

The trouble began in Athens, which the Germans had evacuated only six weeks before. Weak British forces and Greek police, acting under instructions from the recently restored government in exile, struggled to maintain order in a city teeming with suffering and discontent. Political demonstrations by competing factions, especially communists, had become a fact of life. Shortly after sunrise on Sunday, December 3, several angry processions marched toward the center of the city in Constitution Square protesting the governments announcement that it planned to disband the armed groups that had resisted the Germans and replace them with an army.

Police attempted to block the processions from the city center, but the flimsy barricades quickly collapsed as the demonstratorsmany of them womenswarmed through the central square and finally converged on the apartment building that served as the residence of Premier George Papandreou. Hard-pressed policemen struggled to hold back the crowds, and when a grenade exploded nearby, the enraged demonstrators stormed the building. The premier cowered in his bedroom until his machine guntoting guards drove the attackerswho may have included his own stepdaughter, Miranda, a convert to communismback outside.

Shortly afterward another crowd, waving Greek, Soviet, and even British and American flags, assembled outside a central police station. Panic stricken, the police steadily pulled back until an armed man in uniform rushed out of the station, yelled Shoot the bastards! then dropped to one knee and opened fire on the crowd. The policemen followed suit. Civilians tumbled screaming to the ground12 dead, more wounded. Others fled, but they would be back. Several British paratroops watched these events nervously from nearby. They had been ordered not to intervene. Soon, however, they would no longer be observers but direct participants in the Greek maelstrom.

WINSTON CHURCHILL WAS AMONG GREECES most ardent Western suitors, but his affection was not always reciprocated. As first lord of the Admiralty during World War I, he had hoped that the Gallipoli Campaign would entice Greece to enter the war on the side of the Entente against the Ottoman Empire. But the Greeks remained hesitant, and when the campaign failed, it also temporarily derailed Churchills political career. British and French forces were eventually allowed to assemble at Salonika, but Greek support remained tepid through 1917. To the British this seemed a poor return on a special relationship that went back a century: The 1821 Greek war for independence from the Ottomans had inspired a revival of interest in classical history and mythology among the British public and especially its literary class. British, French, and Russian warships had helped to secure Greek autonomy by crushing the Ottomans in the 1827 naval battle of Navarino, and the three powers had established and recognized Greek independence in 1832.

After that, Greek politics had offered little to admire, let alone emulate. Although the country expanded its borders in further wars against the Ottomans through 1913, the majority of the population continued to live in medieval squalor under corrupt monarchical and eventually pseudo-republican rule. After World War I and the disastrous Greek intervention in Asia Minor that followed, the country descended into a morass of political and social instability. Economic depression gave rise to a coup that brought the dictator Ioannis Metaxas to power in 1936. During his reign, so-called subversivesmany of them impoverished refugees who were ethnically Greek and had fled Asia Minor in 1922were persecuted and tortured in an expanding penal system. Communists were singled out for special treatment, notoriously being forced to drink castor oil and endure its consequences while sitting on blocks of ice.

Yet the Greeks had not forgotten how to fight. Numerically superior Italian forces invaded the country from Albania in October 1940, only to be driven back in humiliating defeat. But the triumph over Mussolini was only temporary. In January 1941 Metaxas died suddenly. He had accepted secret aid from Britain but had rejected Prime Minister Churchills offer to send Allied troops to the country because he didnt want to offend Hitler. Now, his successors reversed course, welcoming a British expeditionary force. Churchill, romantically attached to the Greek cause, complied instantly, diverting his troops from a victorious advance against the Italians in Libya, despite opposition from his commanders in the Middle East. His fateful decision dashed hopes of capturing Tripoliand possibly keeping German general Erwin Rommel out of North Africaand to no avail.

An eventual German invasion of Greece was already probable, with plans drawn up, but British troop landings and a coup overthrowing the pro-Axis Yugoslav regime on March 2627 made it inevitable. Hitlers forces invaded Yugoslavia on April 6 and subsequently crashed through or outflanked Greco-British defenses in northern Greece, forcing the Royal Navy to evacuate yet another defeated British expeditionary force. The Greek regime quickly crumbled, as the king fled to join a British-sponsored government in exile, and German forces entered Athens on April 26. The German capture of Crete followed in May. Greece would spend the next three and a half years under occupation.

OCCUPATION IMPOSES TOUGH MORAL CHOICES on the occupied. Desperation may force resisters to emulate and even outdo their oppressors brutality, and resistance can become an occasion to settle personal scores or class resentments, subjecting real and imagined collaborators and their families to widespread atrocities. The Greek occupation of 19411944 displayed all of these elements. In Greece, unlike much of Eastern and even Western Europe, few people became committed Nazis. Many conservatives, however, saw the Germans as a necessary if unpalatable bulwark against communism. Thousands of ordinary Greeks dealt with the Germans or at least remained quiescent in order to stave off disaster; thanks to Axis mismanagement and a British blockade, over 100,000 people died of starvation in the country through 1944.

Resistance was slow to get started, with rebels lashing out haphazardly in 1941 against German, Italian, and Bulgarian troops and interests. But by 1942 Greek resistance groups and their homegrown enemies had begun to reflect social and political rivalries that predated the war. The Metaxas regime had oppressed and alienated many Greeks, whose lingering resentments now exploded. Their calls for the elimination or expropriation of the wealthy, along with traditional political and religious leaders, ensured that many of those who battled the Germans would fight Greek leftists with equal energy.

Greek communists, who had ample reason to despise the Metaxas regime and its allies, coalesced with other factions in the National Liberation Front (EAM) and its National Popular Liberation Army (ELAS). The latter began as a mere platoon of 15 men and quickly grew into a formidable guerrilla army. The ELAS wiped out many rival opposition groups even as they fought the occupiers. Knowing Churchills strong anticommunist stance and sympathy for the exiled king, the EAM distrusted the British but at times accepted their covert support.

The Greek government in exile opposed the EAM, as did the collaborationist government, which organized well-manned and -equipped security battalions. These forces, 18,000 strong, suffered proportionately far higher casualties in antipartisan operations than did the Germans or Italians. Another large resistance group, the National Greek Republican League (EDES), was anticommunist but opposed the monarchist government in exile. Its leaders were a motley bunch, most notable among them the corrupt adventurer and former army officer Napoleon Zervas. The British supported and supplied the EDES, in part because it actively fought the EAM and the occupying forces.

Arms were easily obtained. The disbanded Greek army had left plenty of armaments behind, and British intelligence agents provided more. After 1943 rebels seized ordnance from Italian and Bulgarian forces as their regimes collapsed. But the protagonists usually found it easier to terrorize civilians suspected of sympathizing with their enemies than to engage in open combat with armed opponents. Large-scale massacres of prisoners and hostages were common.

Churchill remained deeply interested in Greece. By early 1944 he feared that Soviet advances in the Balkans would spark an EAM uprising resulting in the installation of a communist puppet regime. The British had reformed the government in exile to make it more palatable to factions like the EDES, placing it in April 1944 under Papandreou, a republican and Metaxas enemy. Of greater long-term significance was a diplomatic offensive by British foreign minister Anthony Eden to persuade the Soviets that Greece should remain in the Western sphere. The Soviets appear to have conceded this principle long before Churchill and Stalin confirmed it in Moscow on October 9. So far as Britain and Russia are concerned, how would it do for you to have 90 percent predominance in Rumania, [and] for us to have 90 percent say in Greece? Churchill had asked Stalin. The Soviet premier had acquiesced, but the Americans only later accepted the notorious Percentages Agreement as a fait accompli.

Outflanked to the north by Soviet forces penetrating the Balkans, the Germans began withdrawing from Greece in September 1944. As they departed, anti-EAM factions, including both collaborationist forces and their erstwhile enemies, gradually coalesced to fight their common enemy: communism. The process was uneasy, though, and the more unitary and utterly ruthless EAM had seized control of much of the country, except for Crete, by the end of the year.

Lacking the manpower to exert control over the countryside, the British decided to concentrate on the major cities. Mediterranean commander in chief Sir Henry Maitland Wilson designated Lieutenant General Ronald Scobie as commander of the 10,000-strong Force 140, which was to seize Athens in Operation Manna as soon as practicable. But the Germans retreated only gradually, leaving behind intact supply dumps for all to plunder and well-equipped security battalion garrisons, in hopes that they would foment civil war. Reprisals and counterreprisals were well underway by the time the Germans left Athens on October 12 and the British began to land. On October 14, as British troops on parade entered Athens with Papandreou at their head, ELAS fighters were setting up checkpoints and battling rivals throughout the countryside.

Bereft of overt Soviet support but still hoping to secure it in the future, the EAM went through the motions of compromise and agreed to participate in a coalition government under British supervision. It also agreed not to interfere with British military operations or maintain armed forces in Athens, but it broke that pledge almost immediately. It propagandized relentlessly through protests, publications, and graffiti; actively instigated unrest; and formed armed cells throughout the city.

The uneasy truce did not last long. Fighting between ELAS forces and anticommunists broke out in eastern Macedonia at the beginning of December. Two days later the Greek governments declaration of disbandment for partisan formations throughout the country served as the occasion for the protests that led to the storming of Papandreous apartment and the massacre in front of the police station in Constitution Square. By the next day full-scale fighting had begun in earnest throughout the country, between about 22,000 ELAS fighters versus double that number of government troops, composed of Greek army units returned from exile, former security battalion troops (whom the British had interned only briefly), and miscellaneous anticommunist resistance bands.

Though outnumbered, the ELAS formations were better organized than their opponents. Within hours they had stormed and occupied almost all of Athenss police stations. On some occasions the communists dragged policemen into the streets and tortured them to death in front of horrified British troops forbidden to interfere. Scobie and Churchill had hoped that the British presence alone would suffice to overawe the rebels, but such was clearly not the case.

ON THE NIGHT OF DECEMBER 45 CHURCHILL decided the uprising had become so dangerous that British troops should take overt action against the communists. But Scobies command was entirely inadequate for anti-insurgency operations, with only eight British and four Greek regular infantry battalions plus a squadron of tanks, a handful of armored cars, and some field guns. Although ELAS fighters were not yet prepared to attack the British directly, from December 8 through 12 they successfully infiltrated and cut off a number of detachments. As Scobie pulled his dispersed forces back to the city center, abandoning a number of supply dumps, insurgents sniped at and ambushed British troops, sometimes using women and children as human shields or even combatants.

Help was on the way: British major general John Ginger Hawkesworth was put in charge of combat operations in Greece. Far superior in tactical ability to Scobie, Hawkesworth deployed his troops in mutually supporting emplacements and awaited significant reinforcements of combat-hardened troops from Italy. His dispositions were completed just in time to repulse a full-scale but uncoordinated ELAS attack on the night of December 1516. Well-positioned British tanks and armored cars played a major role in stopping and then routing the attackers.

Working under cover of a tentative truce, Hawkesworth prepared a detailed plan for securing essential buildings in central Athens and then methodically clearing the city of resistance. After the truce collapsed, he launched a major offensive to retake the capital on January 3, 1945. Thanks to substantial reinforcements, the attack succeeded, clearing the city within several days at a cost of 210 British troops killed and a few hundred wounded. At the same time, though, the ELAS entirely wiped out its rivals in northern and western Greece. Communist detachments also rounded up and interned over 1,000 British civilians and 15,000 well-to-do Greeks throughout the country. In the weeks that followed, thousands of the captives would die from forced marches, exposure, and brutality.

Surprisingly, the communistsprobably unnerved by the Soviets continued refusal to offer supportdid not press their advantage. The EAM leadership accepted a truce in February and agreed to disband its military arm, the ELAS, on the assumption that they could not take on the British directly and win. But many communist guerrilla leaders refused to accept the agreement. As a result, resistance became less organized but remained fierce, as small bands vied for control.

Communist forcesdrawing on the fears of Slavophone Greeks that the new government would persecute them as savagely as Metaxas hadremained dominant in the mountains of northern Greece, especially Thessaly and western Macedonia. Their political head, George Siantos, was a charismatic former tobacco farmer with a natural ability to connect with the Greek peasantry. But right-wing vigilante bands, emboldened by firm British and government control of the cities, began operating in the central part of the country and even penetrated the mountains, and a new cycle of reprisals and counterreprisals shattered the February truce, plunging Greece back into fighting as brutal as any seen during the war.

After Churchill lost to Labour leader Clement Attlee in July 1945, British forces continued to hold their ground in Athens but refused to intervene in the country. Fighting there fell to the Greek government, which now had to take on the newly formed Communist Democratic Army of Greece, the DSE. As the struggle continued, the EAM became increasingly desperate and its program more radical. Siantos, who had been willing to accommodate the British at least in the short term, was ousted and died mysteriously in 1947. No longer willing to compromise, the communists called for the institution of a Soviet-style regime, the dismantling of the Greek Orthodox Church, and the extermination of all fascist sympathizers. While this appealed to students, refugees, and some impoverished peasants (Greece had no urban working class to speak of), it infuriated religiously observant Greeks, who still dominated the population. Communist bands became infamous for savage atrocities, including the torture-murder of popular actress Eleni Papadaki. EAM support, once robust, began to crumble.

At the peak of the fighting, in 19461947, the government could call on 250,000 organized troops plus about 50,000 militia. The DSE, by contrast, mustered a mere 26,000 fighters. But they were veterans of guerrilla warfare and fought well. Some of their material support came from the Soviet Unionwhich did not seek a communist takeover but had an interest in fomenting instabilityand Yugoslavia. Marshal Josip Broz Tito supplied the rebels with thousands of rifles, machine guns, antitank weapons, and land mines. He even sent antiaircraft weapons that the communists used to shoot down dozens of Greek air force planes (mostly secondhand Supermarine Spitfires). The laying of thousands of mines impacted military operations in the short run but primarily induced civilian suffering. What the communists sorely lacked were basic supplies like food, clothing, and especially transport; they had just enough to carry on resistance but not nearly enough to advance or exert control. Recruiting remained limited, and there were few effective officers.

As the communists continued widespread atrocities against civilians, government oppression approached levels not seen since the Metaxas regime. Captured rebels were imprisoned on the island of Makronisos off the Peloponnese, where they were subjected to extreme deprivation and forced labor. Inventive tortures included forcing bound prisoners and several half-starved cats into canvas sacks that were then partially submerged in water. The prisoners emerged cut to pieces and sometimes dead.

Britain had been dilatory in providing equipment and especially training to the Greek army. Most army conscripts and officers (trained veterans often having been discredited by collaboration) had no understanding of antiguerrilla warfare, and their operations were ponderous and often ineffective. Army troops also had no motivation to fight their fellow Greeks. The government tried to compensate by forming mobile commando units, but these took time to become effective. Right-wing partisan squads, meanwhile, were successful at taking on the communists at their own game and matching them in a brutality that often engendered more opposition.

Though not as dominant as they had been earlier, the communists by 1947 still controlled approximately half the country and a third of its population. Large-scale Greek government offensives that year put on a lot of show but accomplished little of substance. Communists, operating in bands as large as a few hundred strong, ruthlessly employed overt terrorism, bombarding peaceful villages with artillery and mortars to discredit government authority, provoke reprisals, and overtax the army. They also destroyed infrastructure such as power stations, dams, and factories. The government simply responded with ever larger antipartisan operations.

BRITAIN FORMALLY WITHDREW FROM GREECE in early 1947, but American military advisers turned the tide in favor of the Greek government after 1948. Resisting Greek calls to finance an expansion of the national army, the Truman administration elected instead to focus on providing effective training. Led by a new commander, General Alexandros Papagos, better-equipped Greek government forces operated methodically to push the rebels north toward their mountain strongholds. American equipment and especially aircraftnotably surplus Curtiss SbzC-5 Helldiversplayed an important role in these operations.

The Greek Civil War climaxed in August 1949 at the final major communist stronghold, the massif of Grammos near the Albanian border in August 1949. Three Greek army divisions began the attack at the town of Vitsi on August 10. Several days of vicious combat ensued as the rebels were slowly repulsed and finally broke, streaming back across the Albanian border and leaving behind 2,000 dead and wounded. The final assault on Mount Grammos, backed by Helldivers dropping napalm, destroyed the remnants of the rebel army and brought the entire massif under government control. Fighting quickly faded afterward, thanks in part to Stalins express orders to the Greek communists to declare a cease-fire.

The Greek Civil Wars final toll is difficult to estimate, and few tallies agree. Government forces suffered about 48,000 casualties from 1946 to 1949 while claiming to inflict 38,400 casualties on their enemies. (Half that number is more likely.) Death squads on both sides executed thousands of civilians, however, and thousands more died from brutality, disease, and starvation. By one estimate, a total of about 158,000 Greeks died as a result of the civil war. Yet not all of the wars costs can be measured in terms of physical wounds or lives lost. Hundreds of thousands of civilians left Greece during this period. Some ethnic minoritiesAlbanian and Slavicwere forced into exile, but most voluntarily fled conflict and poverty for Western Europe and the United States.

Unlike other major civil wars, large-scale executions or reprisals did not follow the cessation of armed conflict. This was so partly because the Americans insisted upon parliamentary government and domestic stability. And while Greek economic devastation was total, the seeds of revival were already in place through the Marshall Plan. With its conclusion in 1952, healing from one of the most brutal civil wars of the 20th century could begin in earnest.

TIMELINE

1832

Greece wins independence from the Ottoman Empire, with help from Britain, France, and Russia

1936

Ioannis Metaxas becomes dictator

1940

Italy attacks Greece but is repulsed

1941

January: Metaxas dies suddenly, and his successors ally with the British

April: Germany invades Greece, and Axis powers occupy it for almost four years

1942

Resistance forces join to form the EAM (the National Liberation Front), with ELAS as its fighting arm; British Special Operations Executive establishes a military mission in Greece to help coordinate them

1943

October: Fighting among collaborationist, Greek government-in-exile, and ELAS forces signals the first round of civil war

1944

July: American Office of Strategic Services joins with British Military Mission to form Allied Military Mission in Greece

September: Germans withdraw from mainland Greece, and resistances forces begin to fracture into warring factions. The pro-communist EAM-ELAS becomes a common target

October: Churchill and Stalin arrive at Percentages Agreement, which leaves Greece within the Western sphere. British forces march into Athens

December: Greece erupts into a second round of civil war

1945

February: Varkiza Agreement ends second round of civil war, but right-wing elements brutally persecute communists from former EAM-ELAS into 1946

1946

March: Third round of civil war begins between government forces and the Communist Democratic Army of Greece

1948

Britain withdraws military support to Greece; the United States steps in to shore up the government fight against the communists

1949

Communist forces collapse, and under orders from Stalin, declare a cease-fire that effectively ends the civil war

MHQ

EDWARD G. LENGEL, an expert on George Washington, also writes frequently about the World War I era.

PHOTO: Bitter factionalism made the Greek Civil War especially notable for its atrocities. Here, Greek political prisoners, whose shirts spell out in French the British must go, await a United Nations team sent to investigate conditions at a Salonika prison in March 1947. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

[hr]

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2016 issue (Vol. 28, No. 4) of MHQThe Quarterly Journal of Military History with the headline: Postwar Agony in Greece.

Want to have the lavishly illustrated, premium-quality print edition of MHQ delivered directly to you four times a year? Subscribe now at special savings!
Captain, Womens Army Corps, October 1968  December 1970

I grew up in Stoyswood in western Pennsylvania, a small town near the regions steel mills, but I wanted to travel instead of work in a factory or be a housewife. I enlisted right after high school, in 1958, and received basic training at Fort McClellan, Ala. As a cryptographer, I was assigned to the Signal Corps, completing several Stateside assignments and two tours in Europe. Seven years later, I went to Officers Candidate School in Alabama, and served two Stateside assignments. Then I volunteered and was selected to go to Vietnam as the commander of the Womens Army Corps Detachment in Long Binh, which was an honor.

Upon arrival in Vietnam in October 1968, I was put in charge of between 60 and 100 women who had administrative jobs in communications, logistics, intelligence and engineering. Long Binh, just 12 miles outside Saigon, was the Armys largest logistical base in Vietnam. Most of the enlisted women were barely out of their teens.

I lived in the WAC Detachment compound trailer, with most of the comforts, while the enlisted women stayed in barracks with about 10 square feet of living space. The women were not allowed to leave the post and were required to be back at the WAC Detachment at 10 every night. We had no weapons and one security guard. As a commanding officer, my number-one priority was their safety.

Being in charge of women had its challenges, especially in getting them to straighten up their barracks. (I hated going through their areas; I wanted the women to have as much privacy as possible.) They had cash, and when stereo components arrived in the post exchange, they practically flew over there to buy them, so the wiring was everywhere! One time, during an alert, we heard a woman screaming, Ive been hit! In gathering her helmet and canteen, her stereo had become dislodged and hit her on the head. I told her to get herself in the bunker and stay there.

They wanted to take their creature comforts to the bunkers. One woman brought an electric skillet for frying eggs, and others brought paper plates and plastic forks for a picnic. You had to keep saying, Look, the helmet is more important. Some would bring tape recorders to record noise from rockets. My biggest challenge was keeping everyone in the bunker until the all-clear was given. These women had little fear.

I tried to break the routines and arranged for two field trips. A helicopter company invited the corps women to fly down to their unit for a training day, so everyone volunteered, and helicopters arrived at Long Binh to pick them up. On another occasion, the women were invited to see the Vietnam Womens Training Center in Saigon. They had security guards with them on the bus to Saigon; they actually took a big chance going down dangerous Route 1 from Long Binh.

On Feb. 23, 1969, Long Binh Post came under attack at 2 in the morning. About 80 rockets or mortar rounds fell on the base, followed by a Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army ground assault. The post was just one of more than 115 bases or towns subjected to this second Tet Offensive. We were on yellow alert, and a Headquarters Company reaction force was called into action on the perimeter. Though not trained as hardcore infantrymen, Headquarters and Headquarters Company gave it their all and, aided by attack helicopters, repulsed the attack. But the next day, we found out that our commander, Lt. Col. William W. Dickey, had been killed on the perimeter. Overall, seven U.S. servicemen died, including Colonel Dickey, and 31 were wounded. The most difficult thing I had to do in Vietnam was tell the women that our boss had been killed.

In March I received orders to an administrative job at the 1st Logistical Command HQ at Long Binh, where I remained until 1970. Enlisted women of all military branches were there in Saigon, so I lived in the WAC Detachment bachelors quarters, in a private room.

I left Vietnam excited to continue my career as an officer, with more schooling. After the WAC Advanced Course at Fort McClellan, I served in the Pentagon and retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1984. My years in Vietnam were the highlight of my 26 years in the Army. The women were so dedicated to their profession, to their duties and most of all to the United States at a time when many Americans were turning their backs on the country.

Originally published in the February 2014 issue of Vietnam. To subscribe, click here.
Russia denied that it is supplying the Taliban after a top Nato General's allegation. The American General said that Russia may be supplying the Taliban in Afghanistan, the top Nato General was Gen Curtis Scaparrotti, he told lawmakers in Washington that Moscow was "perhaps" supplying the terrorist group.

Right after the statement the Kremlin's special envoy in Afghanistan said the allegation was absolutely false. Russian has already said that they have a limited contact with the Taliban and they are aiming to bring them to a negotiation. Moscow clearly considers the Taliban a terrorist organization as per BBC.

However, Nato's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe Gen Scaparrotti spoke to the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. He said he has observed the influence of Russia lately, in terms of association and perhaps even supply to the Taliban. There was no further information in order to back up the allegation.

The Afghan Taliban assurances are assumed to keep Isis away from Russia's borders, and this also includes Iran and China. But a number of high ranking American military officials have accused Russia for undermining the Afghan government. Some of the western officials also believe that the country is using the emergence of Isis in Afghanistan, and this comes because it is an excuse to justify its meddling with the country.

On the other side of the story says that some Afghan officials have reminded Moscow to work with the government. They repeatedly reminded that instead of establishing links with non - state actors, it must work for regional peace and stability with the government.

Russian encouraging the Taliban and proving them with diplomatic cover has no proof. The country denied the top Nato General's allegations on supplying the Taliban, plus they believe that the Taliban is nothing but a terrorist organization taking lives of innocent people.

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Chinese version of Snapchat, Kuaishou announced on Thursday that it has raised US$350 million in a funding round from Tencent Holdings, according to a Bloomberg report.

Though both companies' spokespersons have not commented on the matter, an anonymous source revealed that the investment has pumped the startup's valuation to "about US$3 billion."

Having been a popular streaming app among rural communities in China similar to Snapchat's popularity over the world, Kuaishou stated its plans to expand abroad, particularly to developing countries such as Indonesia and Thailand.

Tencent Chairman Ma Huateng referred the platform as a "dynamic Chinese mobile internet product that resonates with people" in a press statement. Kuaishou is believed to have 50 million daily active users with five million videos being uploaded each day. It has been registering a sharp increase of traffic consumption, reportedly overtaking the numbers of Weibo and WeChat.

The company is supported by investments from Sequoia Capital, DST, Baidu, and DCM. According to a TechCrunch report, Kuaishou is planning for IPO in the US in the second quarter this year.

At the same time, it is noted that Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent have been investing heavily in video content and services with the hope to monetize this platform via online advertising.

Alibaba has been putting its focus on China's own Youtube, Youku Tudou, while Tencent has been in talks with game streaming platform Douyu.

In its latest financial report, Tencent reported a net profit of RMB41.45 billion (US$6 billion) for 2016 (up 42% from the previous year), on revenue of RMB151.94 billion (US$22 billion), a 48% increase.

The revenue growth is contributed by the stunning performance of smartphone games, paid digital content, social and performance advertising, and payment-related services. To recap, Snapchat raised US$3.4 bil in its IPO earlier this March.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ will soon hit the tech market as it is known that on March 29 there will be an unpacking event of these greatest developments. Before the event, the two most awaited Samsung smartphones clears P3DN Certification in order to enter the Indonesian tech market.

Samsung has placed the unpacking event of Galaxy S8 and S8+ on March 29, will have a global release on April 21, 2017, following which these two handsets will go on sale in different regions. The devices are seen having model numbers as SM - G950FD and SM - G955FD on the P3DN Indonesian Certification Website.

The details of Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ known so far-

Body: Both the Smartphones are amazingly built with all glass front and back, mounted to a metal frame. The Galaxy S8 features a screen size of 5.8-inch, whereas the Galaxy S8+ features a 6.2-inch screen. The smartphones feature Super AMOLED screen with 18.5:9 aspect ratio and with minimum top and bottom bezels. The phone is reported to have an IP68 certification - dust-proof and waterproof up to 1.5m (for 30 minutes).

Hardware: Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are reported to arrive with either of the two processors- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor or Samsung's own Exynos 8895 chipset. The processor will be packed with 4GB RAM and 64GB / 128GB internal storage with a provision of storage expansion via microSD card.

Software: Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ is reported to have a new "Samsung Experience" skin which has a minimalist style and uses on-screen buttons. Other best software feature arriving in these phones is the Bixby - Samsung's digital assistant - will play a big role in the new interface.

Other features: Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ will have the fingerprint reader on the back, which is the opposite side of the heart rate monitor relative to the camera. In addition, it is reported that the smartphones will feature a facial recognition and an iris scanner will serve to secure Samsung Pay transactions and more.

The devices will feature DeX Station, wireless charging, and AKG powered earphones.Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ is reported to arrive in six colors- Black Sky, Orchid Grey, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue, Violet, and Gold.

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It has been only three months that Selena Gomez and The Weeknd came together but it looks like they are going strong and cannot be away from each other. Three days back, Gomez arrived in Colombia to pay a visit to her boyfriend during his South America tour break, thereby, strengthening the rumors that they are serious about each other.

Selena Gomez and The Weeknd are not afraid of the media and do not shy away from showing their love to each other. According to US Weekly, the 24-year-old-songstress recently arrived in Colombia to meet The Weeknd on his South America tour and have some time together during his break. She was spotted at the El Dorado International Airport in a black attire as she made her way to the exit. Just a day before, she had taken off to Brazil with her beau.

Notably, Selena Gomez and The Weeknd have been inseparable ever since they came in contact. They were first spotted indulging in some serious PDA in January and later on they were seen hanging out in public on multiple occasions. Their romantic timeline of three months is really interesting and if one takes a look at it, it is clearly evident that they are inseparable, E! News claimed.

January saw them not just kissing each other in public but also bore witness to their hangout with friends where they looked completely smitten with each other. In the last week, Selena Gomez and The Weeknd vacationed in Italy, photos of which also made it to Instagram.

In February, the duo attended the after-party of Rihanna at the 1Oak nightclub in West Hollywood where they arrived in separate cars but left together. In the same month, Selena Gomez flew down to Amsterdam to be with The Weeknd and later they were seen together in Paris as well.

By the third month, Selena Gomez and The Weeknd had become the hot couple in Hollywood and despite the media following them, they walked hand in hand in his hometown Toronto, showing everyone out there that they are not scared of gossip mills.

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Every man, no matter how humble, how quiet, has his breaking point--where he decides he has nothing to lose.

Daniel was at his breaking point.

No more seeing South Dakota again, he thought.

He fell in love with the state as a boy. Seeing the wild mustangs run free in the Black Hills, hiking in the Badlands, watching the buffalo roam on the lowlands.

Dad loved the west, said Linda Frantz, one of his daughters. He loved the outdoors and could do almost anything.

But, never again.

No more seeing those stunning sunsets, no more swimming in the lake on a hot summer day, no more playing his guitar on the porch, no more seeing that special girl under a vast starry sky...

All of it had been replaced by brutal guards, meager rations of rice and vegetables in a hot prison cell, the sad, depressing symphony of the moaning and coughing of the sick.

Staff Sergeant Daniel Stoudt had decided. He had nothing left to lose.

He had given up a lot.

He gave up his former life in Wisconsin when he was drafted in 41, assigned to the U.S. Armys 192nd Tank Battalion.

He had given up his left eye when he was wounded by melting metal while driving a tank in a battle with the Japanese in 42.

He had lost a little piece of his soul every time he saw the dead bodies stacked like firewood along the brutal march.

He was, a POW, a survivor of the Bataan Death March, a perfect hell on Earth. It was an experience never to be equaled, nor ever to be forgotten for his next 50 years.

He didnt want to talk about it, said his other daughter Alayene Patches. Because he didnt think anyone cared.

But, many still care about the plight of the Bataan Death March survivors, even in 2017.

This year marked the 75th anniversary of the Bataan Death March. More than 7,200 marchers from around the country, military and civilian, came together at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to pay their respects. By walking (or running), 26 miles in their honor--over pavement, sand, hills and pits.

The memorial march is hard. Its meant to be.

Despite the hardship, each participant has their own reasons why.

For those who did it before me, said TSgt Dejaye Hererra of the 704th Test Group at Holloman Air Force Base. For those who didnt have a choice.

Those who didnt have a choice began their march in 1942.

Ten days and 66 miles.

Ten days and 66 miles.

Thats how long and how far the 76,000 POWs, American and Filipino walked during the infamous Bataan Death March starting on the April 9, 1942.

Ten days and 66 miles--the equivalent of walking across the state of Rhode Island. Twice.

Ten days and 66 miles, blinded by sweat in their eyes, mouth chalky and parched from no water.

They cramped. They staggered. They wilted.

Expecting every step, every second to be his last, he had kept himself hydrated by keeping a pebble in his mouth, a trick he learned from Native Americans in his youth in South Dakota.

They taught him how to go without food. How to develop physical endurance. How to survive.

As a boy, he never knew one day he would be using this knowledge while walking his own Trail of Tears as a man.

They were yelled at in a language they couldnt begin to understand, but the language of violence and torture is easily translated.

The butt of a rifle struck to the small of the back for those who understood. A bayonet stab to the neck for those who didnt.

Driven along like cattle, 76,000 marched.

Only 54,000 reached the end.

And those few men who reached the end, stood in defiant humiliation were the embodiment of manhood, worn and famished but still standing--unconquered.

Daniel Stoudt was among those standing.

After surviving the nightmarish march, beaten, half-starved, and humiliated beyond anything he could imagine.

But, his suffering continued.

And it seemed endless.

He agonized over seeing friends and comrades murdered.

He drowned in the smell of human waste.

His lower jaw deteriorated from scurvy.

The increased pain in his eye, and the backbreaking work in the mines.

All of these things could be tolerated, barely.

Yet it was this Japanese prison guard, in the mines, who seemed like it was his lifes mission to make his life even more of a living hell.

The physical cruelty could be dealt with, maybe even ignored. But the treatment of him, and his comrades as slaves, with no rights and no honor?

It was the last straw.

Daniel didnt care anymore. He had made up his mind. He was going to kill the guard.

He knew if he did kill the guard, then he would be killed, probably right where he stood, only he didnt give a damn.

He was fine with the stakes.

He was broken.

He had had enough.

He was a man with nothing to lose. 

He had it all planned out, said Linda. My father, you cant make him mad. Nothing bothers him, but he made a plan to kill that guard.

But, fate dealt a card from the bottom of the deck, or maybe it was from the top.

The morning he was going to do it, when he got there, there was a new guard there, said Frantz. And, he was nice. So he didnt have to do it.

One crisis was averted, yet another still remained.

Hopelessness.

But, fate had another ace up its sleeve.

1944.

The days ran into each other. Weeks turned into months.

The depression deepened, until it turned into despair.

His anger now gave way to sadness, now given into acceptance.

Ill never see home again.

Then, Dorothys letter arrived.

Miracles come in all shapes and sizes. And this miracle, contained within a small envelop mailed with a three cent stamp, gave Daniel something that was priceless.

Hope.

The letter began simply, Dear Daniel,

But, what was written by his sister, Dorothy, gave him hope and forged a fire inside him to keep fighting.

While the original is lost to time, Daniel never forgot its message.

And that message lives on in the hearts of his children and grandchildren.

He never really spoke about it, said Linda. Just to say that receiving that letter after so much time of no communication reminded him that there was still family at home, that were praying for him and waiting for him to return. 

That letter saved his life, said his nephew, Jeff Carroll. Just getting that letter was enough to help him through.

The Japanese had kept his body imprisoned.

Despair and depression had kept his mind and soul imprisoned.

Dorothys letter had set at least two parts of him free.

He persevered, keeping himself going by the thoughts of seeing his family again. He even made plans for a gas station and restaurant.

He kept himself going spiritually. There was this one passage from the Bible he liked to recite, Psalm 23.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me

Daniel had walked through his valley of the shadow of death, and survived.

And in 1945, he made the journey home.

He was honorably discharged in 1946, married the lovely Charmaine Landis in 1947. Together they had four children; Daniel, Linda, Steven and Alayene.

He opened his gas station and restaurant in 1947--Dannys Snack Shack.

The war was over.

He had survived one of the worst cataclysms in human history. Came home, started a family, created a business--the American Dream.

But, Daniel Stoudt still had more battles to fight, each night when he lay down to sleep.

Growing up, he never wanted to talk about it, said Linda. He had tons of books. I read every single one of them, I would ask him questions, and I would get one sentence answers.

His wife, Charmaine knew something was wrong. Whether it was a thousand-yard stare, the tossing and turning at night, or the prolonged silences, she was very worried.

She confided in one of Daniels friends, Bud Bankes, who finally convinced her husband to start attending reunions.

And it was a life saver, Linda said. He opened up to his fellow comrades, and he went every year--even went back to the Philippines.

He wouldnt miss many up until his death in 1993.

Twenty-four years later, its 5 a.m. at White Sands Missile Range. Its a mild morning and most of the marchers have made their way to the starting area for the opening ceremony.

Among those who are honoring the brave men were 14 people who have never been to a Bataan Memorial.

They are the family of Daniel Stoudt.

Like so many who experience it for the first time, they are awestruck by the size of the crowd.

Makes me cry, said Linda. Its awesome.

Im thankful to be here, says Betty Stoudt, Daniels sister. I wish he could be here.

The night before, while the family was having dinner, they suddenly realized about how much Dorothys letter had changed the course of their lives, their very existence.

All of us who are alive today, said his granddaughter Christina Bruckhart, grandchildren, and great grand-children, so many people are alive today because of him.

One letter.

One message.

Love Always, Dorothy.
B enedict Cumberbatch and David Suchet are among the many actors who attended London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in Kensington, Britain's oldest drama school.

Now LAMDA has relocated to Hammersmith, paving the way for the blue plaque building to be redeveloped into 10 flats, designed in classic-contemporary style.

Logan House, in a quiet residential corner off Earls Court Road where the late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury once lived, includes underground parking.

Prices from 1,375,000 to 5.5 million. Call Knight Frank on 020 3504 4111.
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Gorillaz held a secret gig in London where they premiered songs from their newest album Humanz, and invited guests such as Danny Brown, Kelela and former rival Noel Gallagher onstage.

Gorillaz' debuted the opening salvo from Humanz at a secret gig in London on Friday (March 24), only a day after the virtual band, led by Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn, announced their new album.

The gig, which took place in a south-east London venue, was the bands first in five years. Guests of honour on the night included Kelela, Danny Brown, Kali Uchis, De La Soul, Pusha T, Savages Jehnny Beth and Jean-Michel Jarre. Perhaps the most surprising addition of the night was Noel Gallagher. Noel's appearance suggests that he and Damon Albarn have long since buried the hatchet from the Blur/Oasis Britpop rivalry days of the 1990s.

Humanz is set to drop April 28 with 14 full-length tracks, and a deluxe edition featuring five more songs.
The Seattle squad will be touring with their first new album in five years.

Fans of the Seattle indie four-piece Minus The Bear will be happy to hear that they're on their way to Ireland, with an album's worth of new music in tow. The band will be playing Whelan's in Dublin on May 31, with tickets available now. This gives fans more than enough time to get their own copy of the new album, Voids, which the band themselves says marks a whole new direction for their music. Regarding the album's title, guitarist David Kundson says, There was a lot of change and uncertainty. I think the general vibe of emptiness, replacement, lacking, and longing to fill in the gaps was very present in everyones minds.

The new album was produced by Sam Bell, famous for his work with such artists as Weezer, Bloc Party, and Two Door Cinema Club. This is their first full album release since Infinity Overhead came out in 2012.
The headquarters of Healthpost in Collingwood in Golden Bay on New Zealand's South Island.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Healthpost is a typical Kiwi family business, with mom and or dad starting up and running the business and kids lending a helping hand.

The company packs and delivers health products ordered via mails or phone calls to customers living in New Zealand.

This has been the situation since the company was established in 1988 in the small village of Collingwood, Golden Bay on New Zealand's South Island.

This is still part of the story, but not all.

Changes began when Abel Butler, son of HealthPost founder Linley Butler, decided to set up a website for all the products in their mail-order catalogue in 2002.

"Linley did not like the idea of e-commerce as she even hated emails," Abel Butler said.

Healthpost chairman Peter Butler said it took several months for them to persuade Linley, promising her that if this new business model worked, they could employ more people and she might not need to work as late as one o' clock in the morning to handle orders herself.

Just as Abel Butler had imagined, their natural health products appealed to customers all over the world, with orders coming in from India, Turkey, South Africa and the United States.

"We did not search for them, they searched for us," Abel Butler said.

"I guess that was because the need for natural products was growing worldwide and they searched online and they found us," he added.

Abel Butler, the web manager at first and now the CEO of Healthpost, attributed this progress to grasping the right opportunities at the right time.

"Back in 2002, there were few online retailers in the health products sector and we were the earliest and we are still the largest," he said.

"Our upstream manufacturers also grow as our markets expand and we need more," said the chairman.

"Without globalization, New Zealand could still be an isolated island country down under, but due to globalization, we could now make products manufactured in a geographically remote area accessible to almost everyone in the globe," said the CEO.

A Healthpost employee sorts products at the company's warehouse in Collingwood in Golden Bay on New Zealand's South Island..[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Peter Butler said as their customers are located almost everywhere, there was no data pointing to which sub-market might be more important than others.

In 2008, the Butlers thought Korean consumers might be more interested in their products and they put more efforts into the market.

" We could see no big difference in sales related to Korean consumers after all these efforts, " Peter Butler said.

Two years later they turned their attention to the Japanese market by building a Japanese sub-site and hiring two Japanese employees.

But likewise, their efforts did not result in a significant difference in sales.

However, in 2014, Abel Butler recalled that they had noticed there was a significant increase in Chinese-related orders.

"The Chinese prefer to order a variety of products once while consumers in other countries might order one piece each time," Peter Butler said.

" You know we, of course, like these type of consumers and by the way, parcels to China seldom go missing, which might happen quite often in other developing countries such as in India," he added.

Although, the family attributes the increase to the common ground between traditional Chinese medicine, which is sourced from herbs and their belief in products made from natural ingredients and not tested on animals, they are still not exactly sure why the Chinese like their products.

"I guess the surge in inbound tourists and students from China might have helped them get to know us and brought in orders," Abel Butler said.

Healthpost's CEO Abel Butler (left), China country manager Harriet Zhou (center), and chairman Peter Butler speak with China Daily in Beijing on March 17, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

While the Butlers were still searching for the reasons behind their increased Chinese-related sales, a Chinese lady knocked on their doors and said she could help to expand the China market.

Harrriet Zhou, or Zhou Xinpei, who studied for her bachelors' degree at the Auckland University between 2008 and 2012, later became Healthpost's China country manager.

Abel Butler said he believed that hiring Zhou marked a great turning point for their business.

That same year, Able Butler, accompanied by Zhou, visited China for the first time. They visited Alipay, Baidu and showed up at health products expositions and shops selling imported products.

He said he was awed, not only by Chinese food which tasted so good, but also by the sound economy of the country and its people's purchasing power.

Back in his home country, they decided to hire four more employees of Chinese origin to set up and maintain a Chinese sub-site, the company's Sina Weibo and WeChat accounts and to serve Chinese customers.

In 2016, the company earned millions of New Zealand dollars from approximately 25,000 Chinese consumers, who accounted for 20 percent of all consumers. Two years earlier, the percentage was only two percent.

On Dec 12, 2016, Healthpost, a cross-border B2C e-commerce platform itself, joined Tmall International. Abel Butler said the company has seen robust growth in sales over the past three months.

Although Healthpost went online on Tmall in the second week of December, the company recorded 30,000 yuan ($4,355) in revenue on China's e-commerce website in that month alone, said Harriet Zhou.

She added that in January and February transactions reached 63,000 yuan and 81,000 yuan respectively and predicted that in March sales would hit 160,000 yuan as the company saw revenue reach 30,000 yuan in just one day after it held a promotion on Wednesday.

A herbal liquid for chest care manufactured by the Butlers' another firm BioBalance, a milk tablet, and manuka honey were the top three best sellers, said Zhou.

Abel Butler said he did not rule out the possibility that the company would open a bricks-and-mortar store in China even though more custom procedures might be needed.

"We are where our customers are so that they could buy at any channel convenient for them," said the CEO.

Abel Butler came to China in the middle of March for a second time, this time with his father Peter, to visit Alibaba in Hangzhou, to form more sales channel partnerships and to seek advice from advertising firms.

They also chatted with four Chinese customers face-to-face in Beijing to get answers on "why they like us".

He said he might come to China more often than before. "Perhaps every several months."

He also revealed that the company is going to hire more people of Chinese origin to fully meet demands from this vast country.

Peter Butler said that even though the Chinese government has lowered its expectations for economic growth in 2017, he still viewed China as the best market for his company as 6.5 percent growth is still much higher than economic growth in other countries including New Zealand.

When asked whether the company is open to capital from China, he said that although many big brands in New Zealand's health product sector have been bought by Chinese investors, he still prefers the company to be family-owned.

"But we are open to joint ventures or cross ownership. "
They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words. With this in mind, the former R.E.M. frontman is planning to tell parts of his own amazing story in the form of an autobiographical photo book.

Micheal Stipe, who has just revealed that he is working with collaborator Jonathan Berger on the photo memoir book, also explained that it "focuses on my timeline, on the work Ive done all along, all through the band and back to my early 20s".

He also told The Creative Independent, "Its all photo based, but some of its just documentation of things Im obsessed with and that I focus on to make new pieces from. There are also certain things Ill take, recontextualize, and present as something completely different.
Implementing President Donald Trump's political agenda is not going to get any easier.

If you think the divisions in Congress over replacing the Affordable Care Act were dramatic, that's just the warm up to repealing the Dodd-Frank law governing the financial markets and the proposed tax code overhaul. Trump is discovering that politicians in Washington behave very differently from real estate developers in New York.

The group of tea party Republicans who torpedoed the American Health Care Act last week are unlikely to welcome the Border Adjustment Tax on offer from Houston-area U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady. Brady, one of Speaker Paul Ryan's top lieutenants, is finding no love for the 20 percent levy he wants to put on imports.

"The unprecedented tax would actually erect trade barriers resulting in increased costs on middle-class consumers, economic decline and job losses," says Freedom Partners, a tea party political action committee. "Comprehensive tax reform would be a major boon to the economy and we're glad that Congress is making it a top priority ... but this trillion-dollar tax hike would be punch in the gut to hardworking families everywhere."

RELATED: Border tax is part of a plan we've seen before

Some right-wing economists insist that the U.S. dollar would go up in value because of the tax and American consumers would therefore not see any change in the cost of imported goods. That's not a sure thing, and even if was, these economists always forget to mention that a higher dollar will make U.S. exports much more expensive. That would hurt U.S. manufacturers that sell overseas.

Yet the border tax is critical to the GOP plan because it would generate the $1 trillion over the next 10 years needed to pay for proposed tax cuts. The only other alternative is to cut spending on Medicare and Social Security, something that Trump vowed to never do.

Speaking of vows, Trump has also promised to get rid of the financial regulations introduced after the extremely bad behavior on Wall Street that triggered the Great Recession of 2008. Known as Dodd-Frank Act, it is perhaps the least understood and most despised piece of legislation in the country.

The complexity of Dodd-Frank makes Obamacare look like child's play. The 2010 law touches on almost every aspect of the nation's financial system, from savings accounts to collateral debt obligations. And there is a lot that Republicans, Democrats and even banks will want to keep.

With 75 percent of Dodd-Frank already in force, a repeal without a largely similar replacement will cost the financial industry tens of millions in compliance costs. Then there's the politics around dropping the rules that are intended to ensure taxpayers will never need to bail out banks again.

"Aside from the logistical challenges of repealing portions of the Act, Trump's populist message during the campaign included condemnation of the bankers and financial executives that caused the financial crisis," wrote Fran Reed, corporate strategy analyst at financial data firm FactSet Insight. "This seems at odds with the repeal of Dodd-Frank, which would seemingly benefit those same bankers."

Too often, observers forget that in addition to their social and fiscal conservatism, there is also a very strong anti-business streak in the tea party. Members frequently lash at what they see as crony capitalism and corporate welfare.

RELATED: Misguided effort to limit Export-Import Bank is far from over

Based on the last headcount before Ryan and Trump stopped Friday's vote on the Obamacare repeal, there were 36 Republicans opposed to the replacement. Those 36 representatives now feel empowered to dictate other legislation that American businesses need to see passed.

Herein lies an interesting political opportunity for Trump and Ryan. Both men have talked about trying to unify our country, so why allow 36 extremists to dictate what passes a 535-member chamber?

Trump has proposed affordable, universal health coverage. That has long been a primary plank of the Democratic Party. Ryan has said the GOP needs to show a more human face to win over younger voters and minorities.

Perhaps they should try to negotiate legislation that might win over some of the 193 Democrats in the House. Bipartisan bills would also find a warmer reception in the Senate, where Democratic votes are needed to overcome filibusters.

Focusing on garnering a majority of lawmakers from both parties would require Ryan and Trump to forsake the informal Hastert Rule, named after former Speaker Dennis Hastert, a confessed pedophile. Hastert said he would never allow a bill to pass unless it had support from the majority of the majority party.

Trump and Ryan have chosen to take on the most vexing and complex legislation in our nation, bills that will determine the economic future of our country. Perhaps they should think outside the partisan box, draft compromise legislation and walk away from the right-wing hostage takers ready to blow up the nation's economy.
Last week on our tour through elements the Houston tech startup scene needs to grow, we covered access to capital. Today, let's take a closer look at another essential ingredient: Institutions that host and nurture startups, like the rocks that anchor shellfish in turbulent seas.

"Entrepreneurship is a very lonely activity," says Hesam Panahi, a professor of entrepreneurship at Rice University. "And you need to be around that energy and that buzz."

In Houston, those rock shelters have been unstable and overcrowded, with some falling apart altogether in recent years. But gradually, more are being constructed  and the long-term success of the startup ecosystem will depend in part on whether they succeed and thrive.

For the better part of two decades, all Houston had was the Houston Technology Center, a nonprofit organization that has housed, taught, and mentored hundreds of startups since its founding in 1998. Launched with the help of a city-owned building and grants from the federal government, and funded on an ongoing basis by the city's biggest corporations, it had stability that many other business incubators would envy.

But some venture capitalists who backed HTC originally wanted the group to look more like the accelerators popping up in Silicon Valley: More focused on the kind of super-high-growth software applications that benefit from equity investments early on in their development, as well as more open workspaces where people can share ideas and meet potential collaborators.

The economic development oriented, nonprofit model that the HTC uses comes straight from the 1990s, said Blair Garrou, managing director with the Houston-based venture capital house Mercury Fund. "This was brought to the HTC's attention multiple times," said Garrou, "and it did not want to change, it did not want to innovate."

Walter Ulrich, who retired after a decade at the help of HTC in February, counters that many founders don't want the centralized, open-floor-plan offices and constant networking events that modern accelerators usually offer. While hosting many of those at its Midtown headquarters, HTC has also expanded by opening branches in the far reaches of metropolitan area  The Woodlands, the Energy Corridor, out by NASA  rather than seeking to build dense startup activity around a central hub.

"People in the outlying areas aren't going to commute in," Ulrich says. "Look at the really big entrepreneurs, the Steve Jobs of the world, they worked hard, they didn't look for places where there are 'collisions.' They had a vision, they put their head down."

Starting an accelerator that venture capitalists and software-focused entrepreneurs wanted, however, proved easier said than done. For reasons I described last week, an energy-focused accelerator called Surge grew and died between 2010 and 2016, unable to fund day-to-day operations while waiting for its member companies to go public or get acquired. Meanwhile, two co-working spaces that hosted small companies also came and went.

Finally, in 2015 the Texas Medical Center founded its TMCx accelerator, which puts classes of health care-related startups through a program that gives them access to a vast array of potential clients. Last year, Johnson & Johnson founded JLabs, which houses another couple dozen early stage life science companies, and this year will start a new center focused on medical devices. AT&T started Foundry, a similar operation focusing on digital health.

Now, the list runs even longer: TXRX is a non-profit "makerspace" that offers access to 3-D printers and other machining technologies for hardware entrepreneurs. Rice University and the University of Houston have startup incubators for students. WeWork, the nationwide provider of co-working spaces, has announced it's coming to Houston this year.

And then there's Station Houston, founded with the help of some of some of the venture capitalists who became impatient with HTC's resistance to change. Operating out of two floors of a downtown office building, it offers co-working space, a crowded schedule of events, access to mentors, a coding school, and soon, its own venture fund.

Everyone you'll talk to in Houston's startup ecosystem will say that this flowering of new support organizations is hugely beneficial to entrepreneurs and the city. The question for Station, however, will be whether it sustain itself without a steady source of institutional backing, which HTC and the TMC-based accelerators have, but Surge lacked. There's no established business model for tech-focused business accelerators, and they usually need a variety of funding streams to make it over the long term.

Other institutions that Station's backers have cited as models, including 1871 in Chicago and Cintrifuse in Cincinnati, have received grants from either the city or the state government to get started. If Houston does the same, either with real estate or funding, Station would have to balance the interests of investors  who are typically looking for the next Facebook, which is worth $400 billion but employs far fewer people than many other companies of its size  with the interests of the city, which wants to see many businesses survive to employ lots of people, even if they're not the kind of companies that make venture capitalists rich.

"That's where the whole concept of economic development and wealth creation start to diverge," says Aruna Viswanathan, a former director of operations at HTC who now works at the RBR Group, a business consultancy. "Wealth creation is about how many dollars are returned for the investments that are done. A nonprofit is going to be able to pick up those companies that might not be unicorns, but grow to a good steady size."

Meanwhile, the HTC, now led by former banker Lori Vetters, is thinking through that balance, too. They've participated in roundtables led by the Greater Houston Partnership and local government, looking at how other cities have tweaked their models, and trying to figure out their role in Houston's new innovation landscape.

"The bottom line is going to be, how do we refresh ourselves in this very competitive marketplace?" says Maryanne Maldonado, HTC's chief operating officer. "We don't want to make one small change. We want to look at what is going to be needed five years down the line."

Next up, we'll look at what the government could do  and is more or less likely to do  to help.
Before his untimely death in 2015, architect and University of Houston professor Thomas Colbert dreamed of creating a storm surge protection system for Houston and Galveston that would serve as an icon for the region.

He was interested in the intersection of "green and gray space," says Jim Blackburn, an environmental lawyer, planner and professor at Rice University. Colbert wanted to create an architectural statement worthy of an area that is vital not only to the nation, but the world. Home to the Houston Ship Channel, petrochemical complexes, beach and recreation areas, a thriving fishing industry, world-class birding and a rich ecosystem, Galveston Bay is an estuary that is important for tourism, community and industry alike.

To demonstrate how a protection system that incorporates a monumental architectural statement could focus this vast area, Colbert created a rendering that places the Statue of Liberty within the Gulf Coast landscape  an image loaded with meaning  as if to say, "Here is a place of importance and a place for all."

"Usually, the cost of doing nothing is missing out on some future benefit," Blackburn says. "In this case, the cost of doing nothing is disaster." Much of the research and many proposals were prompted by Hurricane Ike, which hit on September 13, 2008, and was a Category 2 storm in terms of wind, with surge levels more like those of a larger storm.

Damages, which cost $25 billion, came not only from the surge but from the water flowing back in from the bay side.

The Port of Houston's website lists the Houston Ship Channel as second in the nation in overall tonnage and first in U.S. imports and U.S. export tonnage; it handles 41 percent of project cargo at Gulf Coast ports. The port is also the home of the nation's largest petrochemical complex, the second largest in the world. Estimates indicate that if a storm surge overwhelmed the complex, the spill volume could range from 2.9 million gallons at 10 feet of water to 289.7 million gallons at 30 feet of water.

For a major surge event, FEDERAP (Facility Economic Damage and Environmental Release Assessment Planning) models estimate a baseline condition of $37 billion to $73 billion dollars just for flood damage to the industrial facility, not including cleanup or lost production costs for the economies. Such an event would have a substantial impact on a local, regional, national and international scale.

Rogers Partners

And though the costs are staggering, the biggest concern should be the looming ecological and shoreline disaster, which would devastate industry and neighborhoods alike. Imagine oil-soaked beaches, dead animals, contaminated fishing supplies and destroyed wetlands  an area suddenly unattractive for living, recreation, tourism, birding and fishing. In a considerable surge situation, the Houston-Galveston region's expected spill is at least 10 times the Exxon Valdez Spill  and as of 2014, Prince William Sound still has oil on its beaches, traces of the spill in mussels and an ecosystem that has not fully recovered.

Other disasters can only begin to approximate the damage: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill was in open water, not an estuary bay, and the Murphy Oil USA refinery spill following Katrina was only one tank, not many. (Neena Satija of The Texas Tribune provides an interactive map of the flooding.)

Considering the risk of a disaster in the bay without any action, it is equally important to understand what a proposal for the bay could produce for the community. One new option for the mid-bay strategy begins to fulfill some of Colbert's early hopes. Designed by Rogers Partners Architects+Urban Designers of New York and Houston, the strategy, developed as part of the Houston-Galveston Area Protection System (HGAPS), asks what else a protection system can do, how it can function for a community during the 99 percent of the time when there is no storm surge.

Firm principal Rob Rogers, FAIA, a Rice graduate, has regional as well as national urban design experience. Rogers Partners' design for the mid-bay strategy, like much of their work, is, says Rogers, "focused on the intersection of landscape, architecture and urbanism." The firm's design for the new St. Pete Pier in St. Petersburg, Florida, establishes connections between the public and nature, commerce and transit. To promote security post 9/11, for the New York Stock Exchange Streetscapes, instead of putting up standard bollards, Rogers Partners created a barrier that doubles as a pedestrian amenity.

When Charles Penland, a senior principal at Walter P. Moore  who also participates at SSPEED at Rice and serves on the board of the Houston Water Authority and the Environmental Committee of EWRI  reached out about the project, intriguing opportunities already existed in the infrastructure and at dredging sites. "Can we create a barrier that improves the habitats, water quality, and wetlands while providing a net benefit and value for the bay?" he remembers asking early in the process.

Rogers Partners' proposal has its roots in the work not only of SSPEED, but also of Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG), the Gulf Coast Community Protection and Recovery District, the Texas General Land Office and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As William J. Merrell, president of TAMUG, states in his research, there are two strategies for dealing with vulnerability to storm surge: First, limit or reduce human infrastructure; second, build and maintain comprehensive coastal defenses.

Nonstructural strategies seek to minimize risk on the residential side by means of disclosures, with signs in the community, warnings to prospective property-buyers and real-time flood information that can help with evacuation.

Others have focused on policy: With flood insurance subsidized through the National Flood Insurance Program, building in vulnerable areas has been incentivized. The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 would phase out these subsidies for homes below 100-year flood elevation levels, reducing risks to the taxpayers outside the flood-prone areas who pay for the subsidies, but making selling flood-prone homes  or choosing to pay the unsubsidized insurance rates  difficult for current owners of these homes. A solution is offering one-time buyouts to owners of flood-challenged homes.

While the foregoing addresses residential concerns, another nonstructural proposal is to tap the recreational potential of the bay by creating the Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area (LSCNRA). LSCNRA would bring more recognition to the upper Texas Coast, since these recreation areas are part of the National Park System, but it would be a relatively hands-off solution, as participation by property owners would be voluntary.

Since Hurricane Ike, the two most prominent studies, initially, were the Centennial Gate, originally developed by SSPEED, and the Ike Dike, developed at TAMUG by Merrell.

The Centennial Gate focuses on protecting the Houston Ship Channel and petrochemical complexes, and connects with the Texas City Levee by either elevating State Highway 146 or constructing a levee along the shoreline of Galveston Bay. In the early stages, plans by the SSPEED Center also proposed a Galveston Island Levee as a back-side barrier, to prevent water from rising and going into the city  something which the Ike Dike alone would not address.

Alternatively, the Ike Dike is a coastal spine for the bay and includes a storm surge barrier at Bolivar Roads, the largest opening into the bay. TU Delft (Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands) and TAMUG have collaborated on this proposal, with the Bolivar Roads barrier to include a navigational channel and an environmental section. Studies from Delft, like that of Maarten Ruijs, have simulated the hydronics of different alternatives for Bolivar Roads, San Luis Pass, and Rollover Pass, while Peter A.L. de Vries investigated the environmental section and Iman Karimi examined the navigational barrier. Other studies have sketched design approaches for integrating the barrier island levee, with its "levee in dune" and raised highway approach for the coastal spine.

Three possibilities came out of the initial studies: the Upper Bay Strategy (Centennial Gate), the Mid Bay Strategy, and the Lower Bay Strategy (Ike Dike). The price tag for each plan ranges from $2.84 billion for the upper-bay gate, to $2.76 billion for the mid-bay gate, and $7.62 billion for the lower-bay gate  prices that are dwarfed by the cost of disaster.

Though they might seem like separate plans, they are, in fact, all interrelated, and share several components: Dredge spoils, raised Highway 87, raised FM 3005, and the Galveston Levee. Diagrams highlight the different components, as well as existing protections that could be heightened or expanded, like the Texas City Levee, Freeport Levee, and the Galveston Seawall. Some components, such as raising the highways and existing levees, do not require any impact or environmental study and, given a build height and funding, work could begin on them tomorrow.

Most importantly, as Penland, Blackburn, and SSPEED's 2016 report suggest, multiple lines of defense constitute the best strategy, particularly as climate change continues to increase the elevation of the sea level.

So, addressing the components common to all the plans and pursuing all strategies  including the Mid Bay Strategy (through regional funding), and simultaneously applying for the federal funding for the Lower Bay Strategy (a notoriously long process but necessary, given the larger price tag)  appears to be the best way to minimize risk.

The Mid Bay Strategy is what Rogers Partners has begun to explore through a series of renderings. Though many of the studies by SSPEED have addressed cost and engineering issues, the need for a vision to build off these functional components is apparent. Built in an area where disposed dredge material is contained, the space would plug into these dredge sites, transforming the area into a place for enjoying the natural landscape. Since much of the area is already disturbed by these dredged sites, additional environmental impacts could be minimized, and water and sediment quality improved, by the way the system is designed  in short, the system could be a catalyst for positive effects on the ecology. In addition, by working with the dredging sites already underway, efforts could plug into an already existing system, reducing costs of implementation.

Rogers Partners

Going beyond the functional is at the heart of Rogers Partners' proposal. Blackburn points out that the public could experience new access to the waterfront itself, since currently much of the property adjoining the bay is privately owned. Residents could find amenities to enjoy as part of a new programmatic narrative, including a series of trails for recreation space, a marina, performance spaces, fishing camps and camping spaces. Birding would become an accessible, immersive experience from inside the bay, while picnickers could watch boats moving in and out of the channel.

What is proposed would be not just a public protection system, but also a new place that would expand the outdoor offerings of the area. The components would become a larger system that would be a new type of place: Habitat as amenity, as described by Tyler Swanson, an associate partner at Rogers Partners.

Though much of it would be public, spaces could be leased to private entities for concessions or other community needs, which could help generate the revenue needed to maintain the area, according to Penland. The system would become an asset, rather than just a risk-mitigation drain on funds. Unlike a levee built along the shoreline, this proposal would allow residents views unblemished by the newly created urban space. The landmass would subtly blend, dwarfed sectionally by the size of the boats. Residents could take their own boats out to the new manmade archipelago, enjoying a walk from inside the bay alongside visitors.

To understand the inspiration for these proposed improvements, look at the Netherlands' effort to make protection systems part of the Dutch Delta Works. Look at The Hague's new reinforced boulevard, Scheveningen, designed by Manuel de Sola-Morales, which integrates panoramic views, green spaces, beaches, benches and resort amenities. Look at Maeslantkering, the iconic moveable storm surge barrier that includes a museum and education center as well as a kids' playground. Galveston's Seawall stands in stark contrast to these testaments to tourism and education of the public.

Elizabeth Newcamp

Well-intentioned intervention doesn't always work, however. The Dutch learned from a dam they built in 1975  and eventually abandoned  between Ijsselmeer and Markermeer. Feargus O'Sullivan, London-based contributing writer to CityLab, described the resulting ecosystem disruptions as an environmental mess. It is surely important to avoid drastically altering the tidal prism.

This is what makes the Mid Bay Strategy exciting: It seeks to use the existing infrastructures and minimize additional impact, while offering a uniquely regional experience. It also suggests ways that it could be funded: Changes to roadways paid with transportation money; work on the areas of the mid bay dredging to be combined with dredging operations; and bond issues as necessary to fund the project for the gate and cover some initial investment, the cost of which might be offset by reduced insurance costs. The Houston-Galveston area has proved the value of urbanism, green and community spaces, particularly in recent years with projects like Discovery Green and Metro rail. The main port entrance can become another stage for the community to showcase itself to those who visit.

Last, but not least: To date, the Houston-Galveston area has not needed to be reactive, unlike New Orleans, where necessity has required building more mundane protections quickly. As all three strategies for Galveston Bay are pushed forward, each should look to engage and realize its reach, touching the lives of people directly. As Rogers Partners suggests, viability comes from finding multiple purposes, by encouraging learning and thinking about the performance of a given space. Their proposal is both joyful and hopeful in the way it shapes an exciting future for Galveston Bay. This opportunity to be proactive is one that the region should take advantage of before the next disaster strikes.

Renee Reder wrote this article for Texas Architect. She works for Metalab in Houston.

Bookmark Gray Matters. It seeks to use the existing infrastructures and minimize additional impact, while offering a uniquely regional experience.


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The piece: "'Bout a Stranger"

The artists: Choreographer/artistic director Annie Arnoult, music director Garreth Broesche, technical director/sound designer Bryan Ealey, lighting and projection designer David Deveau, set designer Ryan McGettigan, and the performers of Open Dance Project and Couger Roots.

Where: MATCH, 3400 Main, through Saturday

Why: It leaves you feeling slightly run-over, in a good way.

Open Dance Project's environmental dance-theater piece is an emotionally moving, complete package with a museum worthy, sculptural set that feels so authentic you expect to walk out with dust on your pants. (Although the performers, thankfully, are clean.)

Annie Arnoult and Garreth Broesche have produced a seamless, dream-like sequence of movement, music and spoken word sprung from Dust Bowl troubadour Woodie Guthrie's time in Oklahoma, Texas, California and New York and his wildly popular 1930's radio venture, the "Woody and Lefty Lou Show."

Intimate by design, the experience plunks you into the middle of the set that consumes the small black-box theater at MATCH. You're breathing next to 14 strong dancers, the four marvelous musicians of University of Houston's American Roots Ensemble (popularly known as Cougar Roots), and about 29 other lucky viewers.

That's all the space accommodates. Although set designer Ryan McGaffican's environment of stacked and hung crates, two room vignettes of vintage furniture and two low stages  one a bandstand, the other a long platform that evokes a boxcar  allows circulation room for all. No one got bumped during Thursday's show.

We were invited to pick up and read any of the books and notebook ephemera lying around. And we could sit on any "sittable" surface, although settling wasn't advisable. The performers move within close range and often shift the furniture. The benches prove especially useful, evoking burdens or lined up vertically to form a wall.

Lighting and projection designer David Deveau activates the air space dynamically, working an especially good surprise with a wall of white boxes. Bryan Easley's sound design deftly immerses you into Guthrie's aural universe, often linking the live musicians' mikes with scratchy sound that emanates from speakers in the form of vintage radios. Among the other sound surprises: A typewriter as percussion.

But really, the performers could have kept me spellbound in empty space.

Arnoult's excellent, humanistic dancers move with the tensile stealth of cats, and her choreography uses their individuality to beautiful effect. Moments of plaintive, grounded business contrast with acrobatic partnering, kicky jigs and hauntingly airy dancing. Much of the hour-long piece features small groups and duets, but the ensemble also gels powerfully in the boxcar scene.

And the music  wow. It's really the soul of the show.

Plucky vocalist Emily Hardey, achy-good vocalist/guitarist Zachery Lacey and percussionist Justin Grubbs make you forget it's 2017 when they perform songs like "I Can't Feel at Home," "When the World's on Fire," "Ash and Dust," "California Blues," "Vigilante Man" and "Dust Bowl Refugee." They own it all.

Guthrie was a man for the common man, and his activist sentiments echo profoundly in today's ban refugees-and-build-walls political climate.

"'Bout a Stranger" may be sold out by the time you read this; just three performances remain, through Saturday. But here's hoping this train somehow comes down the tracks again soon. At the very least, we need a CD.

Bookmark Gray Matters. It's really the soul of the show.
HONG KONG, March 26 -- Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was elected fifth-term chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Sunday.

From the election of the election committee to Sunday's ballot, the procedure followed the HKSAR Basic Law, relevant decisions by the National People's Congress Standing Committee, and the electoral law of the HKSAR.

The process embodied the principles of openness, fair play and justice, demonstrating the seriousness of the election.

Chief Executive-elect Lam meets all the central government's standards for the role. She loves the country and loves Hong Kong, has the trust of the central government, proven governance capabilities and the support of the people of Hong Kong.

With nearly 40 years' experiences as a civil servant, Lam's diligence and devotion to her work has been widely applauded.

The election marks the beginning of a new journey for the region. How will people's consensus be pooled, and the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law be implemented fully and accurately? Can Hong Kong ensure its prosperity and stability and achieve better development for the next five years?

These are not only the questions of Hong Kong's people, but define the mission of Lam and the new SAR government.

July 1 will be the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the "one country, two systems" undertaking will enter a new phase.

Hong Kong faces many challenges including slow economic upgrading and a lack of competitiveness as economic rivals appear around the globe.

In addition, filibustering by some opposition lawmakers in the SAR legislature has disrupted policy implementation. Pursuit of "Hong Kong independence" has had an even worse effect on social stability and severely handicaps Hong Kong.

The new chief executive has an in-tray filled difficulties which must be addressed if Hong Kong's development is to be assured for the next five years.

She must unite society and create harmony. She must work to develop the economy, find new sources of growth, speed up diversification and improve competitiveness. She must find ways to improve the lives, and she must resolve the problems that Hong Kong citizens care most about.

The new administration takes office just as the SAR celebrates its 20th birthday, and must accept responsibility for implementing the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law steadfastly, without bending or distortion.

Running for election, Lam said that the "one country, two systems" principle had ensured Hong Kong's prosperity and stability for almost twenty years and she promised to strive for "a new peak."

At this historical point, the new chief executive should work with Hong Kong's citizens to make the most of opportunities as they present themselves. She must weather current difficulties and ensure that Hong Kong has a bright future of harmony, stability and prosperity.
Submitted

If President Donald Trump is going to put the blame for Republicans' inability to pass health-care legislation on the House Freedom Caucus, at least one member of the conservative coalition thinks it deserves it.

Rep. Ted Poe of Humble resigned Sunday from the coalition of 35 to 40 conservative House lawmakers in protest over the group's opposition to the Republican health-care bill that tanked in Congress on Friday.
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Supreme Court

Regarding "Gorsuch promises independence on bench" (Page A1, March 22), the question the American people need to ask isn't whether Gorsuch can be independent on the bench, but rather should he even be considered for the seat. We should be insisting that Merrick Garland be the first consideration, not Gorsuch, because U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and the Republicans changed the protocols after Justice Antonin Scalia's death when they said President Obama should not be allowed a nomination because he had less than a year left in office.

Actually, all business brought forth by this administration should be halted until the legitimacy of Trump's presidency is confirmed. Donald Trump, his family and campaign staff should be thoroughly investigated by an independent commission. If they have nothing to hide, they should welcome the scrutiny.

The American people deserve the truth as to whether Trump was deliberately working with the Russians to further his business interests, was an unwitting pawn or if he's being blackmailed.

A talking point on the 2016 campaign trails of the various Republican candidates such as Trump, Rubio and Bush was that Secretary Clinton might be under FBI investigation as president so we shouldn't vote for her. Well, I guess they had the FBI investigation part correct, just the wrong person.

Patty Justice, Montgomery

Local control

Regarding "Abbott's contempt for true local control has tyranny in the bag" (Page A3, Thursday), Lisa Falkenberg is on target as usual. The irony of the state government trying to usurp the rights of municipalities after whining for years about federal government interference is palpable.

Lightweight plastic bags are not only an environmental plague, they cost taxpayers more to clean up the mess than businesses receive selling them. It's estimated that each piece of litter in a city cost 17 cents to clean up. That's just one portion of the costs to taxpayers. The purchase price of these bags is about 2 cents each.

To me it's a no brainer! I have no desire to subsidize the plastic grocery bag industry with my tax dollars.

Susan Miller Jackson, Houston

Preserving order

Regarding "American democracy: not so decadent after all" (Page A23, Friday), I seldom agree with Krauthammer, but I always read his column. Even when I disagree, I find his arguments very compelling.

As much as Trump may want to be dictator, the checks and balances of our Constitution, which Krauthammer brilliantly explains, will prevent Trump from becoming a Vladimir Putin.

However, as great as our Constitution is, it will only endure if the American people are diligent in keeping up with news, reading editorial columns especially of those with whom we disagree, and most important, voting intelligently.

David Schubert, Houston

Once and done

Regarding "Gorsuch promises independence on bench" (Page A1, Wednesday), the televised hearings for Cabinet secretaries and a Supreme Court justice confirmed only one thing: the need for congressional term limits.

Jack Gaarder, Spring
A Houston woman was flown to a St. Louis hospital Sunday night after her vehicle ran off Highway B and struck a tree.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Tina D. Redman, 42, was traveling eastbound when her 1997 Chevrolet Blazer ran off the right side of the roadway. The 7:45 p.m. accident was four miles east of Houston.

Redman, who was wearing a seat belt, was transported to Texas County Memorial Hospital and then flown by Air Evac to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. The vehicle had moderate damage.
It's a great day for anyone who was rooting for Wall Street's 'Fearless Girl' statue to become a permanent fixture  because she's here to stay, at least until February 2018, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday.

"In her short time here, the Fearless Girl has fueled powerful conversations about women in leadership and inspired so many," he said in a statement. "Now, she'll be asserting herself and affirming her strength even after her temporary permit expires  a fitting path for a girl who refuses to quit."

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The statue, which portrays a young girl bravely staring in the face of the trademark Charging Bull, was installed by State Street Global the day before International Women's Day in an effort to encourage more companies in New York's financial district to hire more women.

But despite making an important statement in the name of feminism, the statue has had its fair share of criticism. Some have said the statue should have portrayed an adult woman, rather than a girl. Others criticized State Street Global itself for promoting a feminist message, despite its lack of women on their executive board.

The 'Fearless Girl' was even sexualized by a Wall Street wise guy earlier this month, who thought it was a good idea to bump and grind against the statue.

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The foul moment was captured by architectural designer Alexis Kaloyanides, who told her side of the story to Inside Edition.

"These three young men came along, and at first they were hanging off the bull... and then this one guy rushed up and started grinding against the statue of the girl, being lewd and totally inappropriate," she told the platform. "The stunt shocked the crowd, which immediately yelled at the unidentified man, who laughed as he walked off with his friends."

"He was gone within 20 seconds, but it just ruined the mood of the scene, the 34-year-old added. "There were people there talking about empowering children and women and for then to have this 20-something showing his entitlement, defiling the statute... it was utterly revolting."

But regardless of the debate around the sculpture, it looks like many people are thrilled to see her stick around, and voiced their praise through Twitter.

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Yes! I was so happy to take my daughter & son to see her while we were in NYC. Yes! #FearlessGirlhttps://t.co/rDqTzkNkVd  ~K~ (@FromFL) March 27, 2017

So glad this little lady will be around for another year... I enjoy her! #FearlessGirl#BeFearlesspic.twitter.com/B5gRZ1P25L  Kate Walsh (@katewalsh) March 27, 2017

YES    I'm glad I will be able to see this IRL sometime this year! #Fearlessgirlhttps://t.co/zaxWHCLkwi  Lindsay Munro (@lindsaymunro) March 27, 2017

This is definitely a sight to see if you're in New York City!

Also on HuffPost
Conservative leadership hopeful Kevin OLeary does not appear to understand how the notwithstanding clause in Canadas Charter of Rights and Freedoms works, a constitutional expert says.

Emmett Macfarlane, a professor of political science at the University of Waterloo, sounded the alarm over OLearys musings about using the controversial legislative tool to help curb a growing problem with asylum seekers crossing the Canada-U.S. border.

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OLeary released a video Monday morning criticizing the Liberal governments approach to refugee claimants who, he said, are exploiting a loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the United States.

The 2004 agreement stipulates asylum seekers must make their claim at the first country in which they arrive, but that only applies at official border crossings.

Asylum seekers who cross between official points are arrested by the RCMP but, as per Canadas obligations under the UN Convention of Refugees, are still entitled to go through a claims process. The Mounties have arrested nearly half as many border crossers this year  1,134  as were apprehended in 2016, according to recent figures.

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OLeary called the situation unacceptable and criticized the Liberal government for not finding "a solution to close the loophole" during a recent visit by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

O'Leary's push to get Canada to "act on its own," however, is raising eyebrows.

'Nothing to do' with issue: prof

Mr. Trudeau has the ability to do this by using something called the notwithstanding clause, OLeary said in the video. His dad [former Liberal prime minister] Pierre Elliott Trudeau put this in the Constitution in 1982 to give Canadian governments the authority to respond to extraordinary situations like this one and put in place policies that are reasonable for a fair and democratic society like Canada.

This would allow the government to solve the loophole problem by passing a law making it clear that anyone crossing into Canada illegally from the U.S. would be ineligible to make a refugee claim since they had forfeited the right to make their claim in the U.S., which the United Nations considers to be a safe third country.

The controversial notwithstanding clause allows Parliament and provincial legislatures to enact legislation that overrides sections of the Charter pertaining to fundamental freedoms, such as expression or peaceful assembly, as well as equality and legal rights. Only Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan and the Yukon have ever used the clause.

But Macfarlane argued on Twitter that the clause has "nothing to do" with the issue O'Leary was trying to address.

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The notwithstanding clause has nothing to do with what you're talking about. https://t.co/oEYRmVkXOz  Emmett Macfarlane (@EmmMacfarlane) March 27, 2017

You might as well be saying Trudeau can use the federal disallowance power to force NATO members to pay allowance. https://t.co/oEYRmVkXOz  Emmett Macfarlane (@EmmMacfarlane) March 27, 2017

Mr. O'Leary's complaint appears to be about a loophole in the Safe Third Country agreement. Canada is free to withdraw from that agreement at any time, Macfarlane wrote The Huffington Post Canada in an email.

The notwithstanding clause applies only when the government wants to pass a law and prevent courts from assessing whether that law is contrary to the Charter rights, he added.

Based on Mr. O'Leary's comments, he appears to be confused about what the notwithstanding clause allows government to do.

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If OLeary is proposing a law that seeks to remove any right of due process for refugee claimants, he should be more clear about it, Macfarlane said.

O'Leary's team: 'This practice is unacceptable'

Monday afternoon, OLearys team responded to this story saying: Professor Macfarlane seems to be confused.

If Americans refuse to amend the Safe Third Country Agreement so that individuals crossing unofficial border points are returned to the U.S. to make a claim, an OLeary government would invoke the notwithstanding clause in legislation to render any such claimants ineligible to proceed with a claim in Canada, campaign spokesman Ari Laskin wrote in email.

The fact is such applicants have the right to a fair hearing before an independent court in the U.S. and by crossing into Canada illegally they are engaging in asylum shopping. This practice is unacceptable and must be stopped, Laskin wrote.

Macfarlane later responded on Twitter that OLeary could have been much more clear about his intentions.

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Story continues after slideshow:

RCMP Officers Help Refugee Claimants Into Canada From U.S. Border See Gallery

[B]ut fine, he tweeted. Let's turn to the implications of that, shall we? Assuming refugee claimants can't be returned to US, O'Leary would strip their rights and deport them to their country of origin. Think about that for a minute and let me know if you're a human being or not.

Sean Rehaag, an associate professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, told HuffPost that OLearys comments demonstrate a remarkable level of ignorance of international refugee law and international relations for a person with national leadership aspirations.

If Canada starts unilaterally deporting refugee claimants who arrive from unofficial ports of entry back to the U.S., the Americans will respond by unilaterally sending them back to Canada, Rehaag said.

Thus, if Canada wants to deport such claimants without first assessing their refugee claims, they would need to be deported to their countries of nationality  countries where they say they will be persecuted, tortured, or killed.

'Using the notwithstanding clause can't make it legal'

Deporting asylum claimants without some kind of due process would violate the 1951 Refugee Convention, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention Against Torture, and several other human rights instruments, Rehaag said. It would be illegal  and using the notwithstanding clause can't make it legal.

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OLearys challenger, Quebec MP Maxime Bernier, also weighed in Monday by calling to close all legal loopholes used to sidestep the refugee process.

If the use of the notwithstanding clause is required to close these loopholes, of course we will use it, Bernier said in a statement.

But without proper resources for enforcement, any changes in the law will be meaningless.

A Bernier government would provide more resources to the RCMP and the Canadian Border Services Agency, he said.

If it takes too long to put that additional manpower in place, I will look at additional temporary measures  including deploying Canadian Forces in troubled border areas."

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Conservative leadership hopefuls have until Tuesday to sign up new members to vote for a new leader. Stephen Harpers replacement will be announced on May 27.

With a file from The Canadian Press, Althia Raj

Also on HuffPost:
DAMASCUS, March 26 -- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fully captured the Tabqa airport west of the northern city of Raqqa on Sunday, following battles with the Islamic State (IS) group, the SDF spokesman told Xinhua.

Tabqa airport in a city bearing the same name in the western countryside of Raqqa, is the first airport to be controlled by the Kurdish-led groups, Talal Silo, the SDF military spokesman, told Xinhua. He added that the airport will be used to bring in humanitarian aid to the area, and also passengers.

He noted that the airfield had been used for military and civilian aviation.

Silo said the airport needs repairing, without elaborating whether the United States will use the airfield as a base for its forces, who have been either airdropped or crossed from Iraq to aid the Kurds in their push against the IS strongholds on the basis of a new Pentagon plan against the terror group.

The SDF entered the airport earlier in the day and got engaged in intense battles with the IS in and around the facility.

Silo said the achievement comes with the help of only the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition, the main backer to the Kurdish groups in northern Syria.

The Syrian army did not join in the attack on Tabqa, he added.

The push by the U.S.-backed SDF toward the city of Tabqa and the nearby areas is part of a major offensive against Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS.

The first stage of the attack is aimed at isolating Raqqa from Tabqa and other IS positions in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour.

Earlier in the day, Kurdish officials said the battle against Raqqa city will start early next month.

The Tabqa Air Base has a strategic value for the SDF, as it will enable the Kurdish-led group to tighten the noose on IS militants in the city of Tabqa from three directions.

There are also reports that the U.S.-led coalition may plan to use the base to provide supplies for SDF units in the upcoming battle of Raqqa.

The Syrian army withdrew from the airbase in August 2014, the year IS declared its caliphate in Raqqa and took the city as its capital.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the over 90 civilians have been killed over the past week as a result of the airstrikes by the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition on Tabqa city.

The UK-based watchdog group also said that 66 civilians have been killed in Raqqa city of the past five days.
Want to get a lot of attention from strangers? Eat pancakes in the middle of a street.

A Lakeland, Fla. man faces minor charges after he admitted to the bizarre stunt.

Lakeland police said they received a call Tuesday about a man sitting in a crosswalk eating pancakes off a small table. When officers arrived, the man was gone.

They tracked him down after a video of the odd meal was posted on Facebook and sent to police. Several people also tagged the man, 21-year-old Kiaron Thomas, in the video.

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Thomas, who lives less than 100 metres from the intersection, admitted to police he was behind the prank.

Hes been charged with placing an obstruction in the roadway and disrupting the free flow of traffic.

No one appears to have been injured, but many Facebook users were entertained.

"I hope that was Aunt Jemima he was using. Anything else on pancakes is blasphemy," wrote one commenter.

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"Might I suggest the Bemus Point fire department's pancake breakfast Sunday 3/26 from 7a.m. to noon, at the fire hall as an alternative to eating in the street," wrote another.

Others took his gesture more seriously, saying he could have hurt someone.

"People really need to stop and start considering the consequences of their actions maybe then we might be able to start fixing this country," wrote one angry commenter.

But his real crime, in our opinion, is he didn't offer any pancakes to the drivers he held up.

Also on HuffPost
Globe and Mail columnist and author Leah McLaren has made a career out of sharing her life as part of her work. But her latest column has pretty much broken Twitter.

In "The joy (and politics) of breastfeeding someone elses baby," McLaren reminisces about that time she tried to breastfeed now-Conservative leadership candidate Michael Chong's infant more than a decade ago.

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She writes that she was at a Toronto house party when she was about 25, and walked into a bedroom where there was a baby in a car seat. Already feeling "broody" and "glum," McLaren says she picked up the infant to "give him a cuddle."

The columnist was then seized by the urge to try breastfeeding him  even though she was not lactating or pregnant.

"But would it be so bad, I wondered, if I just tried it out  just for a minute  just to see what it felt like?" McLaren wrote.

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A Globe columnist said she began removing her blouse, planned to breastfeed Michael Chong's baby... without consent. https://t.co/MBZU40tv2C  Sean Craig (@sdbcraig) March 26, 2017

She says she unbuttoned her blouse and was just about to reach into her bra, when a man she identified as Chong walked in and retrieved his son. Chong is an Ontario MP and currently running for the Tory party leadership.

The column, which was published this week, has been removed from the Globe website. But a cached version is still available online.

Uhh, did anyone grab a copy of this column before it was 404'd? pic.twitter.com/gRx6rAb0F7  ishmael n. daro (@iD4RO) March 26, 2017

On Sunday night, Twitter users didn't know what to react to first. First, there was the mystery.

So @goldsbie has done the math and when @leahmclaren was 25 @MichaelChongMP had no babies so WHOSE BABY DID SHE TRY TO FORCE HER BOOB ON?  Jesse Brown (@JesseBrown) March 27, 2017

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UPDATE: Michael Chong released a statement on Monday and told The Huffington Post Canada in an email: "This incident happened over 10 years ago. It was odd, no doubt, but not of any real consequence. I entered this race to discuss important challenges facing Canada. I am happy to discuss those. But I won't be making any further comment on this."

There was outrage.

@sdbcraig@leahmclaren 'weird' doesn't begin to describe this. Not only is this behaviour inappropriate; it verges on some sort of assault  Sebastian DeGrandis (@SebMarkinTO) March 27, 2017

if this happened to my baby and i seen it, I would call the police on the drunk pedophile|https://t.co/31QBkIlpnz#cdnpoli#leahmclaren  ISHBAHFF (@AntiTiSA) March 27, 2017

There was plain WTF.

Me: Why do I keep seeing Leah Mclaren in my timeline? *finds and reads article* Me: pic.twitter.com/pNxB5zbtGC  Jill (@jedichica) March 27, 2017

@JesseBrown@leahmclaren@sdbcraig I don't... I mean... Why did they publish this? And why did she write this? Also put ur boob away lady!!  Bad Critic (@Eliisabadcritic) March 27, 2017

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And there was regular funny stuff.

Went to washroom at bar last night. Asked #LeahMcLaren to watch my vodka, came back to a White Russian. Not cool. https://t.co/9N32t4WAl7  Mark Critch (@markcritch) March 27, 2017

Find yourself someone who looks at you the way Leah McLaren looks at a hungry baby.   or barbarism (@grahamvsworld) March 27, 2017

McLaren's column concludes with her touting the benefits of co-feeding  which she said she experienced after having her own babies  and wondering why wet nurses aren't more popular.

@JesseBrown@leahmclaren it is the weirdest argument for ending stigma around co-feeding I've read. And will have the opposite effect.     (@happystash) March 27, 2017

@ArielTroster@JulieSLalonde Judging from that column, I think Leah McLaren has zero clue what wet nurses do, much less the racist history  Voltron of Failure (@mattrose) March 27, 2017

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McLaren, who is Maclean's magazine's London correspondent, is no stranger to controversy.

In 2012, the Globe's Public Editor Sylvia Stead found it was a conflict of interest for McLaren to promote (and then sell) her own home in the newspaper's Home of the Week feature.

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When it comes to the mainstream media's depictions of black men, the portrayals we see on TV and in print are often negative. But one teen's new multimedia project is aiming to erase these stereotypes.

Myles Loftin, a photographer and videographer based in New York City, started the HOODED project in hopes of "humanizing and decriminalizing" the image of the black male in the eyes of larger society.

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"The media has always put a negative light on black men in hoodies and even when you google black boy hoodie you get images of criminals while the search 'white boy hoodie' produces cookie cutter stock photos of white teenagers smiling," he tells Milk. "I photographed four black teens and men and portrayed them in a positive light that is in direct contrast of the media representation that has oppressed us."

"The final product is a series of photographs, screenshots and a film that attempts to shift perception."

In the video, the 19-year-old features audio snippets of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's "super-predator" speech, as well as the chilling 911 call made by George Zimmerman, the man who murdered Trayvon Martin.

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Like Loftin, Netflix's Luke Cage star Mike Colter shared similar concerns around the stereotypes of black men with HuffPost Canada back in September 2016.

"When you're a black man in a hoodie, all of a sudden you're a criminal," the actor said. "That's something we shouldn't have to deal with, but we do. It's a double standard.

"We can't cover our head when it's cold and raining because God forbid someone sees us and puts our life in danger."

A post shared by Myles Loftin Photography (@goldenpolaroid) on Mar 6, 2017 at 12:11pm PST

Other initiatives to change this stereotypical image are already in play as well.

Musician Chance The Rapper began popularizing the hashtag #BlackBoyJoy after the MTV Music Video Awards last year. Since then, Twitter and other social media platforms have been flooded with positive images of happy black boys and men from all different walks of life.

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#brotherhood #welldressed #theblackmancan #kings #morroco #blackboyjoy #iammybrotherskeeper @eltonandersonjr A post shared by TheBlackManCan, Inc. (@theblackmancan) on Mar 26, 2017 at 6:16pm PDT

But while Loftin does note media representation is slowly improving, he still thinks there's a long way to go, and encourages other artists to do their part in changing the narrative.

"One of the best ways to tackle it is to just put yourself out there  putting out the positive side," he says in the interview with Milk. "The side that the media doesnt really show accurately. Me being a successful black photographer is one way of rebellion against the media which is trying to portray a different image of what black boys are."
Spinach has long been labelled a superfood  look no further than Popeye and his bulging biceps for pop culture evidence of that.

But, now, researchers have found that not only is the leafy green good for the body, it can actually mimic the actions of the human heart.

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Biomedical engineers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts were looking to engineer a solution to widespread organ donor shortage in the U.S.

It was over lunch that two of the scientists, Glenn Gaudette and Joshua Gershlak, began to toy with the idea of experimenting with salad greens, reports the Washington Post.

Their study, published this month in the journal Biomaterials, focused on the similarities between the structure of spinach leaves and the human heart. Both have a branching network of thin veins that deliver water and nutrients to cells.

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"The main limiting factor for tissue engineering  is the lack of a vascular network," Gershlak said in a video describing the study. "Without that vascular network, you get a lot of tissue death."

In a series of experiments, the team was able to strip spinach leaves of their plant cells using a special detergent, leaving behind a frame made of cellulose. They then gave these cellulose frames a bath in human cells, so that human tissue began to grow on the spinach and encase the tiny veins on each leaf.

After this was complete, they injected fluids and microbeads similar in size to human blood cells through the network of veins on the leaves.

The most amazing part? After five days, the muscle cells in the leaves started to beat.

"It was definitely a double take," Gershlak told the Post. "All of a sudden you see cells moving."

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"We have a lot more work to do, but so far this is very promising," said Gaudette in a statement. "Adapting abundant plants that farmers have been cultivating for thousands of years for use in tissue engineering could solve a host of problems limiting the field."

In their video, the researchers describe the future potential for the technology, explaining that the decellularized greens could potentially be stacked for strength and then grafted onto damaged heart tissue.

Watch the video above for more information on this groundbreaking research.

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How much should the federal government pay towards health-care costs?

Hardly a week goes by without this thorny issue being disputed between federal and provincial governments -- even now that the budget has been tabled and health accord agreements have been reached, one by one.

There's considerable scope for inflating or deflating the numbers on both sides. The simple solution often repeated is that health costs should be shared between the federal government and the provinces, 50-50.

But this solution is far from simple and very misleading.

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The old model of "shared-cost" financing (with the federal government paying about half the costs of what the provinces spend on medicare) has not existed since 1977. At that time, the shared-cost model was replaced with a block transfer of funds -- with roughly half of the new transfer being in the form of "tax points." This meant that the federal government reduced its tax rate, which allowed provinces to increase their tax rate without any net effect on the taxpayer.

The result was that, since 1977, the federal cash contribution toward health care was roughly 25 per cent of provincial medicare expenditures. Today, provincial governments routinely -- and conveniently -- ignore the tax points when calculating how much money they are receiving for health care from the federal government.

To make matters more confusing, the block transfer (currently called the Canada Health Transfer) is not earmarked specifically for provincial health ministries to spend on health care. Instead, the entire transfer goes into the general revenue funds of the provinces -- and it is up to the provinces where and how they spend it.

This funding system makes it impossible to know whether a Canada Health Transfer dollar from Ottawa to the provinces ends up being spent on health care.

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Rather than squabbling over whether the federal government is contributing its '"fair share" of health dollars, it's time to move on.

An additional complexity is that the older cost-shared model for health funding did not cover all provincial health expenditures. Federal money was directed only to universal coverage for all residents of each province/territory for "medically required" hospital and medical care services. This restriction still applies today; the Canada Health Act definition of insured services only requires provinces to cover hospital and medical care (largely doctor) services, although they can (and often do) go beyond that.

So, how much does the federal government contribute to health care?

If we very roughly estimate the federal contribution to provincial spending on hospital and physician services today without counting the tax points or including all provincial health spending -- we end up with a federal cash contribution that is well in excess of 25 per cent -- now closer to 30 per cent.

Why, then, is there a perceived funding crisis? Why are the provinces crying foul when it comes to health-care funding?

One key reason is that how we deliver health care has changed.

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Provincial governments now spend considerable amounts of money on items that are not insured services under the Canada Health Act; this includes out-patient prescription drugs (since drugs administered in hospitals are required to be covered), long-term care, home care, rehabilitation, dental care and mental health.

There are no national standards or conditions on covering these services.

Researchers have long pointed out the potential for improving outcomes and cutting total costs if provinces/territories could work together to identify and implement best practices and potentially gain buying power. Some of this is now, thankfully, beginning to happen (e.g., purchasing pharmaceuticals on a national basis).

So rather than squabbling over whether the federal government is contributing its '"fair share" of health dollars, it's time to move on.

Moving the debate forward could help us stop living in the past and move towards constructing a better future.

Now, more than ever, we need federal and provincial governments to talk about the important areas of health care that have never been required to be covered by medicare. This is particularly pertinent as technology allows more care to be delivered by non-physicians in-home and in the community.

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Provinces are spending more in health arenas outside of the Canada Health Act, with considerable variability across jurisdictions for who is covered for what.

Our governments need to work out a new arrangement for health for the 21st century. Filling in these gaps with better and more cost-effective coverage should be the focus of our first ministers.

Proposals for targeted funding for some of home care and mental-health programs in the bilateral agreements between Ottawa and some provincial and territorial governments could be a helpful first step. But they still omit critical cost drivers such as pharmacare, dental care and rehabilitation.

Moving the debate forward could help us stop living in the past and move towards constructing a better future for all Canadians.

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Two and a half decades after the end of the Cold War, nine countries together continue to possess around 15,000 nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons pose a significant threat to global security as they risk becoming available to more state and non-state entities. A single nuclear warhead could kill millions of people, with the effects lasting decades.

With the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pledged to increase the American nuclear arsenal, and troubling recent actions by North Korea, it is more urgent than ever that the international community work together to ban nuclear weapons.

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One might assume, given the lofty rhetoric of Prime Minister Trudeau that "Canada is back" on the international scene, that Canada would be leading this effort. After all, the Canadian Parliament unanimously voted in favour of nuclear disarmament in 2010. And at their policy convention in 2016, members of the Liberal party followed the NDP's lead and voted in favour of efforts for a nuclear-free world. So it would make sense that Trudeau's government would be a strong supporter of a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons.

If only that were true.

This is a travesty and a massive failure in Justin Trudeau's foreign policy.

There is no excuse for Canada to be following President Trump's lead on this issue.

I have asked the Canadian government to participate fully in the nuclear weapons ban negotiations no less than five times in Question Period since September, and I still don't understand their reasoning behind their position. The Liberals have given three different excuses, but none of them make much sense.

First, the Liberal response has consistently been to hide behind the fissile material cut-off treaty. It is fine that Canada is working towards an FMCT. But how dare the government use this to distract from the very serious issue of working with others towards a treaty that would ban nuclear weapons for good.

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Second, it appears that the Liberals are hiding behind Canada's NATO membership and succumbing to pressure from the United States, who have told their NATO allies to oppose the negotiations. There is no excuse for Canada to be following President Trump's lead on this issue. Nor does Canada's membership in NATO mean we should only vote with nuclear states, most of which are not NATO members. Canada should take a lesson from the Netherlands, also a NATO member, who are attending the negotiations.

Third, the Liberal government seems to think there is no point to the negotiations. As a spokesperson from Global Affairs told the Globe and Mail, "The negotiation of a nuclear-weapon ban without the participation of states that possess nuclear weapons is certain to be ineffective and will not eliminate any nuclear weapons."

This last point may be the most ridiculous of them all. All international negotiations worth their salt are difficult. The Ottawa Treaty on landmines took political will. The creation of the International Criminal Court took political will. Work on the Kimberley Process, which I participated in while a Canadian diplomat, took political will. Not all states participated in these negotiations, but we got results. And in those cases, Canada adopted an ambitious approach and took the lead on the international stage. What on earth has happened to us?

I am ashamed of the Liberal position on nuclear disarmament. We need to be working towards a comprehensive nuclear weapons treaty if we want to achieve significant progress.

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A government with ethics would participate in this week's historic negotiations for a nuclear weapons ban treaty. If we truly want nuclear disarmament, we have to work hard for it, along with over 120 countries that are committed to banning the bomb. It's time the Liberals grow a backbone and do what's right. They should get to work and attend the nuclear weapons ban treaty negotiations.

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suraark via Getty Images Machu Picchu is among the greatest artistic, architectural and land use achievements anywhere and the most significant tangible legacy of the Inca civilization. Recognized for outstanding cultural and natural values, the mixed World Heritage property covers 32,592 hectares of mountain slopes, peaks and valleys surrounding its heart, the spectacular archaeological monument of La Ciudadela (the Citadel) at more than 2,400 meters above sea level. Built in the fifteenth century Machu Picchu was abandoned when the Inca Empire was conquered by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century. It was not until 1911 that the archaeological complex was made known to the outside world.

I've never been one for small talk. I much prefer to get to the heart of the matter and find a true connection to another human being beyond what the weather is like today, or which team played where or won what. I am much more interested in who people are; what drives or inspires them, what keeps them up at night, and gets them up in the morning. I suppose this makes me either great or terrible company depending on how you look at it, but in an age of superficial social connection a fulfilling conversation or exchange of ideas with another human being, face to face, is one of the parts of community that I cherish. I have always cherished it in my private life and I grew to appreciate those connections more and more throughout my professional career.

I do find it surprisingly rare, however, to find an individual or an organization that is not so preoccupied with 'doing' that they can confidently articulate why they are doing what they are doing. Can you or your business answer the big question of "what is important to you?"

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Have you identified the values and assumptions that drive you personally and professionally? What drives your business beyond shareholder expectations? What drives your day-to-day personal life beyond working to pay bills? Are you clear on what matters?

Often, personal financial obligations can overshadow more fundamental aspects of our character and personality. I have found it incredibly helpful to design my own mission, vision and values, and to at all times have a list of the four most important mid-term items required to move me forward. I do not think of this as a "to do list", but rather a "must do list". A concise list with big tasks to make big projects happen. In good times or bad, this list of priorities serves as my guide.

Like everyone, I can easily busy myself with the many chores of life, but I find if I ensure that every day at least one of my priorities is advancing, I know that I am not only making it through the day, but also moving toward the things that matter most to me. Without clarity on these priorities, I would be unfocused and drifting.

Professionally, the same principles apply. We can drive the bottom line, but is profit the only reason to exist? I can speak from experience in saying that profit alone is not enough to sustain engagement in employees. Well established organizations will have cohesive, engaged and inspiring vision, mission, and values statements, sourced and built from the grass-roots of their organizations. If used properly, these can be remarkably galvanizing tools that can excite and unite a large group of people. These statements answer the "why" of the organization and drive the business beyond the bottom line.

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Unfortunately, most business see the task of creating these statements as an obligatory tasks and they end up with vision, mission, and value statements that are without spirit, full of jargon, and are completely meaningless - so much so that that they have no engaging resonance with their employees. In fact, most employees at organizations like this do not even know what these statements mean in action for their organization, how they were created, or by whom. If this is the case, it would be better to use none of these statements, as they will send a message to employees that an exclusive process was followed to set irrelevant priorities by senior leaders who could not be bothered to gather the input of their most valuable resource - their employees.

I have the privilege of working with Matt Holland, formerly of the Boston Consulting Group, co-author of Innovation Nation, and my partner in Creative Change Management Consulting. For businesses and organizations struggling with the above scenario, Matt and I have specifically developed an organization-wide approach to listening and employee engagement that can help develop organizational unity.

Through cross-divisional focus groups with every staff member and co-designed sessions on strategy, vision, mission and values, what emerges is a dynamic engagement process with a foundation built for and from every level of the organization.

The processes also help employees understand themselves and their role in the organization's work, while helping CEOs and senior leaders identify some of the exceptional yet hidden talent buried within their organizations. It is a process that requires serious and sustained commitment, but your people and their success is worth it. The investment of time in this process of reflection and strategic ideation produces serious financial benefit and a much more engaged workforce.

Whether personally or professionally, it is imperative that we are clear on who we are and what drives us. Without this, no person or organization can move forward meaningfully. Without this clarity you will likely still do a lot but not necessarily do anything in service to what you really want or need.

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Living in a complex and chaotic world requires real focus on our values or we risk becoming lost in the swirl of life. We must take time to be clear with our ourselves, our family/friends, and our colleagues on who we are and what we are here to do. This clarity of purpose will lead to much more effective and fulfilling personal and professional lives. What do you value and how did you serve it today? If you didn't do anything meaningful, it might be time to change your approach.
In the 2015 election, Justin Trudeau and the Liberal party promised a new relationship with indigenous young people. Last week Finance Minister Bill Morneau indicated that Budget 2017 would "provide greater access to mental health, wellness, and suicide prevention services, while working with indigenous communities to combat substance abuse."

While it sounds substantive to many Canadians, in reality the budget falls short, offering no designated indigenous suicide prevention funding or programming investments. While the 2015 election platform, the 2016 budget and 2017 budget did promise investments in mental health services for all Canadians, all failed to grapple with the structural barriers and systemic discrimination that are common to indigenous children and youth's access to public services.

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The emergency debate did result in some positive outcomes. For a moment, the debate seemed to wake up Canadians. In a social media driven society still struggling with the residue of settler-colonialism, it is easy for people to become numb to the numbers. But this extraordinary debate not only awakened Canada, but garnered global attention on the issue of indigenous youth suicide. The debate also resulted in a surge of emergency funding, and later in June 2016, the Ministry of Health partnered with the Assembly of First Nations National Youth Council, the National Inuit Youth Council, and research partners to develop the National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy.

Following Budget 2016, the Ministry of Health boasted an 8.37 billion investment in wellness programs accessible to indigenous youth. The catch is that this funding is distributed across five year periods, and like all public services for indigenous people in Canada, there is not an equity in funding or access (and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal happens to agree).

Budget 2017 is all about strengthening the middle class, strengthening their access to services, but what gets lost in the numbers and system is that indigenous youth have the least access to these services and do receive equitable funding as compared to any other young Canadian. When over 50 per cent of First Nations children in Canada live in poverty, is the budget of the middle class for them?

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The greater policy issue here is that suicide prevention is not a one portfolio issue, it is not just about health. It extends across all almost every aspect of relationship between indigenous peoples and the Canadian government. Suicide isn't a new problem, it has been studied now for decades in Canada and by researchers in many fields. There is substantial research on the issues and the many intersecting socio-political and economic dimensions.

While we can give a nod to the Liberal Government for investments in sports, technology, language revitalization, and infrastructure commitments to indigenous communities over a five to 10-year period, the troubling issue is that indigenous youth most in need of advocates have a minister of youth who doesn't show up or listen.

Critical research in suicidology advocates for approaches to indigenous youth suicide prevention where indigenous youth are seen as critical partners, with real political power. When indigenous youth struggling with multiple barriers and intersecting forms of discrimination in this country, showed up for the Liberals in this last election, they expected better. Instead they get a minister of youth who not only chides young people when they protest environmental degradation but they also get a budget that altogether seems to have erased the most pressing issues of life promotion for indigenous youth.

So rather than telling tall tales about canoe storage, TVs, and greedy chiefs, it is high time for Justin Trudeau and his government to sit down, and deliver to indigenous youth real proof that their lives matter. Between Budget 2017 and 2018, an estimated 320 indigenous youth will die by preventable suicide. While the Liberals might have two years left to govern and if they are lucky five to 10 years to see this budget through, indigenous youth can't wait. Time is up.

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(Global Times) 09:44, March 27, 2017

Carrie Lam was elected fifth Hong Kong chief executive Sunday, with 777 votes from the 1,194-member Election Committee, higher than expected. Lam's election by a large margin provides an important basis for Hong Kong's future unity and is to be congratulated.

The election was open and transparent. Lam meets the four criteria for a Hong Kong chief executive, which indicates she is accepted by both the central government and Hong Kong society. She has the condition to lead Kong Kong society in facing myriad current challenges under the Basic Law.

Some opposition forces in Hong Kong launched political campaigns around election time, but had a very limited influence. The radical opposition forces have exhausted their power during several rounds of struggle over political reform. Thanks to the improving governance in Hong Kong, support for extreme resistance is shrinking.

Previously, as the opposition forces continuously hit the bottom line of the Basic Law, advocating unrestricted political rights to object, many people were bewildered and the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong society was impaired. Political turmoil is not the desire of a developed society. When there are growing signs of political chaos, public opinion is bound to oppose it.

In a society like Hong Kong, if the authorities had implemented a line that is unacceptable to the majority, the public would have staged a very intense boycott rather than small-scale demonstrations that we have seen before. The public knows clearly whether the central government is doing what is good for Hong Kong and what kind of democracy is the most feasible and effective in Hong Kong.

The world is undergoing changes. Despite the multitude of uncertainties in the Asia-Pacific, the Chinese mainland and central government will always offer stable and reliable political and economic support to Hong Kong.

We hope that Hong Kong under the leadership of Lam will get rid of infighting, redefine its position in the Asia-Pacific and the world and figure out the main contradictions of development. It needs to seriously take a ride on the express train of the nation's rapid development and properly handle how it maintains its characteristics and strengthens ties with the mainland.

Only with the support of the mainland will most of Hong Kong's advantages be brought into play.

A stronger mainland will provide more opportunities for Hong Kong to build new advantages. The city needs to advance with the times rather than refuse to change.

At a time when globalization has led to extreme disparities between the rich and the poor in many places, how to make the public satisfied with their livelihoods and social equality is undoubtedly a major challenge. We believe Lam, with rich experience of government work, will spare no effort to promote progress in this regard, both for the good of Hongkongers and the country.
stevecoleimages via Getty Images Prescription bottles and pills on a counter.

Surveys and polls often show Canadians are proud of our universal health system, which provides publicly funded care for doctor and hospital services. Canadians don't have to worry about filing for bankruptcy to get care for themselves or their families when they need it.

But when it comes to prescription medications, our health system comes up short.

That's because most medications outside of the hospital setting are not covered by our health system, so Canadians must rely on private drug insurance or pay for sometimes costly medications out-of-pocket.

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Some provinces offer prescription drug coverage to certain populations -- low income Canadians or seniors, for example -- but still one in five Canadians report that a member of their household cannot afford medications.

That means many Canadians are not getting the medicine they need, and the consequences can be devastating.

So how can we make sure Canadians have better access to prescription medications?

We could improve access -- and improve the health of Canadians -- by facilitating access to a carefully selected set of "essential medicines."

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has already developed a model list of essential medicines that is designed to meet the core health needs of people around the world. They recommend that each nation adapt the list of medicines to local circumstances and facilitate access to them.

In a recent article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal Open, my colleagues and I adapt the WHO's list based on Canadian guidelines and input from Canadian clinicians.

Hundreds of countries already have essential medicines lists and we can learn from their successes and challenges. These include high income countries like Sweden which has more than a decade of good experience with its Wise List, middle income countries like India and low income countries from Armenia to Zimbabwe.

In addition to providing patients with critical medications when they need them, an essential medicines list also helps make sure patients are getting the right medicine. How?

More than ten thousand pharmaceutical products are approved for sale in Canada, and public formularies, which determine which medicines to fund for some groups (welfare recipients, people with disabilities and older adults) contain three to five thousand medicines. That's a lot of information to track.

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With a short list of essential medicines there is less likelihood of error and confusion because patients, doctors and pharmacists only need to know about a small number of medicines.

Critics might argue that an essential medicines list could limit choice and access to important new prescription medications. But we may not have as many 'choices' as we think today.

Are we offered 'choice' when there's such an overwhelming list of products that health practitioners can't possibly keep up? Prescribing decisions then too often end up based on the beliefs and habits of the health practitioner holding the pen -- which might be based on the best available evidence, but is often based on messages in pharmaceutical marketing campaigns.

When is the last time a doctor explained the pros and cons of each of the 11 different ACE inhibitor blood pressure medicines and asked the patient which they would like to take? What would the doctor even say given that there are no important differences between the medicines?

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Governments often have a tough time saying "no" to drug companies that have made a product that is similar to a previously approved drug because they might be asked, "Why did you approve that company's product but not ours?" So these 'me-too' products proliferate and we end up with a large number of medications that do the same thing.

The people who cannot afford medicines now are already forced to make different choices. Food or medicines? Nobody should have to decide whether to pay the rent or to take a life-saving medication for high blood pressure, diabetes or HIV-AIDS. And that's happening today in Canada.

Discussions about medication access often go down the money rabbit hole. How can our governments afford to pay for essential medicines?

A short list of elite medicines could actually help us save money by focusing competition on a small number of products that we could collectively purchase in larger quantities. Less could mean more bargaining power.

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Prescription medicines only have their intended benefits when they are accessible and prescribed appropriately. Developing a list of essential medicines in Canada and publicly funding them could promote progress on both fronts.
The world is watching, Canada.

Given global circumstances, Canada has been uniquely placed to capture the world's attention and admiration. While Sweden, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States grapple with a political climate that has become more hostile to Islam, Canada has had the opportunity to affirm itself as a beacon of inclusivity and diversity. Canada has been positioned to send a symbolic message not only to its global allies, but more importantly, to the thousands of Muslim-Canadian families at home.

Canada has not been immune from the cultural fanaticism transpiring across the world and the United States. Hate crimes against Muslims in Canada have significantly increased yearly. Fourteen Muslims were shot by a Canadian while peacefully praying in a mosque in Quebec City. A group of Canadians protested outside a mosque, holding signs saying "Muslims are terrorists," while Muslims were praying inside. Just the other week, Concordia University and McGill University received a bomb threat citing specifically the presence of Muslims on campus as motivation. This is on top of the mosques that have been vandalized and individuals subjugated based on how they look or what they believe.

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This is not to reduce the prevalence of many other hate crimes against Jews, Christians, Hindus and people of all faith. However, it is calling on the Canadian government to address and act as a leader on a particularly salient issue in the global political climate.

M-103, the House's recently passed motion condemning Islamophobia, was a necessary first step.

Critics have continued to argue that because the motion specifically mentions Islamophobia, it inherently preferences Islam over other religions. In fact, however, the government has passed motions like this historically: the House (indeed, under Conservative leadership) has denounced hatred against other groups, including Jews, Yazidis and Egyptian Coptic Christians in the past. Further, the motion itself explicitly "condemn[s] Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religion discrimination" (emphasis added). Therefore, it is not even exclusive to Muslims, but includes other forms of discrimination as well.

Critics have also argued that M-103 impedes on free speech because criticism of Islam or Shariah law could be construed as Islamophobia. M-103 is a non-binding motion; therefore, it does not have the force of law like a bill. Canada has a unique history of being able to balance the protection of freedom of speech while criminalizing hate speech. M-103 is completely consistent with the Canadian legal tradition.

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Finally, critics have pointed to the fact that, according to a survey published by the Angus Reid Institute last week, only one in 10 (12 per cent) Canadians believe that this motion will have a tangible impact on how Canadians view the Muslim community. This argument fundamentally misses the point.

Whether or not this motion has a tangible impact on the Muslim community is not the issue; the importance of M-103 is rooted in the symbolic message attached to it. The very fact that this motion has been subject to public outcry, nationwide protests, and was opposed by 91 members of Parliament has sent a signal to Muslim communities in Canada and elsewhere that perhaps Canada is not as welcoming and inclusive as its citizens believe.

In a world where Muslims are facing heightened criticism and violence, simply based on their belief system, Canada has sent a powerful message that reverberates across all factions: Canada stands with Muslims. This is what M-103 accomplishes. And this is the kind of religious tolerance and inclusiveness that make Canada a model for diversity around the world.

These are real Canadian values.

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ericsphotography via Getty Images Lady justice, gavel and a law book against the national flag of Canada.

Parliament recently passed a bill that will bar health and life insurance companies from forcing clients to disclose results of any genetic testing procedures that they have undergone.

It may surprise you to learn that prior to this happening, Canada was the only G7 country without any legal protections for people who face discrimination due to their genetic makeup.

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Individuals deemed "at risk" for developing certain genetic disorders, like Huntington's disease, for instance, could be denied life insurance coverage unless they agreed to undergo invasive genetic testing to prove their genetic identity. This process has been largely accepted as being unfair, dehumanizing, and contrary to individual rights and liberties.

Polls indicate that many Canadians, who would otherwise undergo genetic testing in order to become better informed about their health-care needs, and make positive changes in their lifestyle according to those needs, were dissuaded from undergoing the procedure for fear of repercussions from insurance companies. The concerns associated with being denied coverage, or paying inflated premiums, were enough to stop people from using advancements in genetic testing to their benefit.

This bill, popularly known as the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act, makes it illegal for insurance companies and employers to request genetic testing or ask for test results of any genetic testing procedures that have already been performed. Breaking the law could result in large financial penalties or even jail time.

Predictably, the bill's most notorious critic was the Canadian insurance industry, which argued that premiums would skyrocket for all Canadians if it's denied access to some people's genetic test results.

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However, their logic seems backward when one considers the overwhelming positive impact that increased genetic testing should have on our population. After all, once people are no longer concerned about the potential ramifications of genetic discrimination, they will be more likely to seek it out and use it proactively and accordingly. This should lead to a healthier population, on the whole, which should, in turn, reduce insurance costs overall.

But the insurance industry was not the only critic of the proposed bill.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also expressed concern and directed his Liberal backbenchers to vote against the bill. He stated constitutional concerns as his primary reason for not backing the new law. Trudeau argued that the bill offends the delicate balance of power between federal and provincial jurisdictions in this country, fearing it would encroach upon the provinces' and territories' ability to properly regulate this issue for themselves.

The prime minister's concerns did little to convince members of Parliament, though. His wishes were defied and the bill passed by a whooping vote of 222-60.

While the passing of the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act is good news for all Canadians, and particularly for those who could be subject to discrimination due to their genetic makeup, it has even bigger implications for all of us. This parliamentary act gestures to a new era of government free voting and productive partisan politics in our country.

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When deciding this matter, MPs were free to vote as they saw fit. They were not forced to toe the party line or vote according to the prime minister's direction.

This is a marked departure from the past, when MPs were routinely expected to vote according to their party's whip, and not their own conscious or the wishes of their constituents. Failure to toe the party line, and vote as instructed, could jeopardize one's political career in a very tangible way.

While Trudeau has said that his party will restrict free votes to issues that fall outside party platform, and do not go to the heart of charter matters, it is still encouraging to see this method being effectively and expediently exercised in our government moving forward.

The passage of this bill is illustrative of good government and a glowing example of MPs being able to vote in line with their constituents, and to represent their interests in a fair, democratic, and conscientious way.

Hopefully, there will be many more examples of such free votes to come.
In Liberia, I used to work alongside a UN Police Officer from Yemen. Ali and I became friends over our coffee breaks, when he would tell me colourful stories about the beauty of his country. One day, I would have to come visit, he insisted.

After more than a year of training and building the capacity of the Liberia National Police, Ali's deployment with UN Peacekeeping was coming to an end. I remember the joy in his eyes when he spoke of returning home to see his wife and children again.

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That joy turned into fear when he got word of fighting back home, and the closure of Yemen's main airport left him stranded. He couldn't get back into Sana'a, and the risk of flying into a neighbouring country (if they would even accept him) and crossing by land was too dangerous, he said. And so Ali waited desperately in Liberia. Each day praying that his family would be ok. And each day hoping it would be the day he could finally go home.

Last week marks two years since the current conflict in Yemen began, a war that has destroyed the economic and social fabric of the country. According to the Government, the GDP shrunk nearly 35 per cent when fighting erupted. Infrastructure collapsed. Public institutions continue to struggle to provide even basic services.

The beautiful country my friend once spoke of was fast becoming unrecognizable.

More than 14 million people are now food insecure, and more than three million people are internally displaced. Humanitarian organizations are crying the warning signs of famine, and almost 10 million children are in urgent need of aid. Already the poorest country in the region before the crisis, things have gone from bad to worse for the Yemeni people.

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At the end of a mission to Yemen earlier this month, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien said if we act now, we could still avert a massive catastrophe. But it will require deeper pockets and greater commitment from all parties to the conflict to allow humanitarian access to those in need.

One hundred and twenty partner organizations have come together to launch a Humanitarian Response Plan, calling for $2.1 billion to provide life-saving support to 12 million people in need - almost half the country's entire population. This will go towards providing them with badly needed food and shelter, education and health services, and psychosocial support among other things. To date, just 8.3 per cent of that appeal has been funded, leaving a gap of $1.9 billion.

Despite the shortfall, humanitarian agencies are trying their best to stretch their resources as far as they can. Last year, they jointly provided emergency food assistance to nearly four million people, safe water to more than 1.2 million people, and treated more than 530,000 cases of acute malnutrition.

Ali did finally make it home, but it did little to dissipate his fears. He still wakes up each day praying that his family will be safe. Only this time, if anything happens, at least he'll be right there beside them.

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A few days ago, the (usually) brilliant writer Andrew Potter resigned as the director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, which he called "a dream job of a lifetime," amid scrutiny over an ill-received March 20 article in Maclean's. As such, many in the journalistic community are left horrified about the state of free speech in Canada -- as they ought to be.

In case you've missed it, Potter's now-infamousMaclean's piece speculated that the "public crisis" in Montreal, which occurred when 300 cars were left stranded overnight on highway 13 in a snowstorm, revealed an "essential malaise eating away at the foundations of Quebec society."

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Potter described this broken society with a colourful -- maybe too colourful -- melange of statistics and anecdotes. He cited the province as having a "pathologically alienated and low-trust society;" noted how the Montreal "police don't wear proper uniforms" but "clownish camo pants;" and how "some restaurants offer you two bills: One for if you are paying cash;" and honed in on the fact that "28 per cent of Quebecers over the age of 75 report having no close friends."

This did not culminate in the most elegant argument about Quebec's fissures. Nevertheless, as a Montrealer, I was hardly offended by the piece -- even if others may have been.

Actually, the tone of Potter's grievances echoed in a familiar Montreal-specific cadence. Come to think of it, he sounded a heck of a lot like my mother-in-law after she'd endured another grueling winter. Or like anyone I know in the city whose car has just collided with yet-another pothole.

We all still love Montreal though. Otherwise we wouldn't be here.

In any case, after the backlash, Potter suddenly resigned as the director of the MISC. Whether this was motivated from the top-down McGill politics, from an angry mob below, or instigated by Potter himself, I cannot speculate.

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The views expressed by @JAndrewPotter in the @MacleansMag article do not represent those of #McGill.  McGill University (@mcgillu) March 21, 2017

However, I will wave my fist about the implications his departure has on free speech in Canada.

I will also roar about how this incident may impact our future sense of Canadian identity.

Because as the director of the MISC, Potter was inspiring important conversations about what it means to be Canadian -- a topic that does not generally garner that much excitement in this country, let alone in Montreal.

Meanwhile, at the February 2017 MISC conference -- "Canadian Exceptionalism: Are we good or are we lucky?" -- Kathleen Weil, Bob Rae and others held stirring conversations about Canada's attitude towards multiculturalism among intellectuals, journalists and students.

As the former editor the Ottawa Citizen and a columnist for Maclean's, Potter was (and still is) also something of a cultural studies hero, and was the ideal person to inspire such participation.

That McGill staff had the genius to hire Potter as the director of the MISC was a promising sign.

In 2004, Potter and Joseph Heath co-wrote the popular book The Rebel Sell: Why The Culture Can't Be Jammed, about how consuming certain beverages or wearing counter-culture clothing doesn't lead to political change, even if these actions feel like they might. Rather, what we buy was a reflection of our human yearnings.

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The book provided a clear-cut Veblen-esque rational understanding of consumer culture and behaviour, and offered a much-needed response to Douglas Coupland's Generation X with its twenty-somethings lost to "McJobs," and to Naomi Klein's No Logo where society's sacred poetry was gobbled up by advertising agencies.

That McGill staff had the genius to hire Potter as the director of the MISC was a promising sign. Not only would Potter instigate cultural conversations about Canada through lectures and conferences, he would also best motivate today's students to explore these often overlooked core issues as well. (After his resignation, Potter will remain an associate professor at McGill.)

The Canadian sense of identity has long been considered vague.

Unlike the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Canadians don't have monuments that reveal themselves as clearly and obviously as Americans do.

Rather, our reflections of Canadian-ness are demonstrated through humble statues and memorials, and thoughtfully curated historical museums.

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We also have our institutions, including current frenemies the CBC and the TD Bank. We have Tim Hortons and Roots.

We also have poutine, Kraft Dinner and maple syrup.

We have hockey and the Trudeaus.

But Potter's search for what it is to be a Canadian dug deeper than this without plunging into esotericism.

Free Speech! Multiculturalism! Canada vs USA! Come hear @allisonrharell hit all the hot buttons tomorrow. https://t.co/9XgDl4vNOZ  Andrew Potter (@jandrewpotter) March 20, 2017

As the director of the MISC, Potter was the ideal candidate to stitch together our various national threads of contemporary Canadian-ness into a semi-coherent narrative.

Unfortunately, in Potter's recent Maclean's polemic, his arguments weren't woven together as carefully as usual. Many reacted.

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Shortly after its publication, Potter apologized in a Facebook post profusely about the article's "errors and exaggeration" -- another quintessential Canadian move.

Then Potter resigned.

Ever since, it has been a sad week for Canada.

How are we going to get through the outspoken Trump years, confront the threats of global warming and embrace the next influx of refugees with this kind acquiescence to hyper-sensitivity?

As a culture, we need to know how to deal with polemics from others, and learn how to engage in impassioned debates amongst ourselves.

We need to protect the freedom of speech, along with the freedom for people to eff up every once in a while.

A well-practiced tendency towards politeness and peacekeeping may be good for the heart, but it can also leave many feeling muzzled, not just journalists.

If Canada wants to be known as a country that is truly great, truly kind and truly peaceful, let alone truly "happy" -- and not simply pathologically well-liked and tolerant of opinions providing the level of conversation is kept at ginger beer and Ryan Gosling -- we need to protect the freedom of speech, along with the freedom for people to eff up every once in a while.

Otherwise as hyper-tolerant Canadians, repressed anger may one day be revealed as our nation's hubris, running far deeper than just potholes.

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"The more things change, the more they stay the same."

There could not be a more fitting description for the painful and perpetual struggle for labour market justice in Ontario.

Later this month, the most comprehensive review of employment and labour laws in a generation -- the Changing Workplaces Review -- is scheduled to be released to the Government of Ontario. In that report, Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn will have an opportunity to effect great changes to Ontario's employment and labour regime.

Much of the discussion during nearly the two-year-long consultation process has revolved around how much the labour market has changed over the years: automation, outsourcing, student debt, the knowledge economy, etc.

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One thing however that has not changed over time is the problem of worker exploitation by unscrupulous employers who fail to abide by the Employment Standards Act (ESA). Although the purpose of the ESA has always been to provide a minimum level of employment protection to all workers in the province, in reality, enforcement of its provisions has been lacking, particularly for Ontario's most vulnerable workers.

Nowhere is this problem more egregious than in the enforcement and collections of orders to pay issued by the Ministry of Labour under the Employment Standards Act.

According to an investigative series conducted by the Toronto Star, from 2009 to 2016, only $19 million of a total $47.5 million in Ministry orders was ever recovered for out-of-pocket workers. This means that even when a worker files a successful complaint for unpaid wages to the Ministry of Labour and the violations are validated by the Ministry in the form of an order to pay, 60 per cent of these wages are never collected -- they simply remain in employer coffers. Furthermore, despite these chronic and widespread violations of the ESA, only a mere 0.18 per cent of law breaking employers were subject to prosecution.

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We have repeatedly witnessed time after time the dire need of a wage protection program such as the EWP over the years.

This problem is nothing new, and neither are the solutions. We already know how to protect the most vulnerable workers in our society from getting their wages and entitlements stolen. In fact, the Ontario government used to have a crucial piece of the protection puzzle in place when it created the Employee Wage Protection Program (EWPP) in 1991.

The purpose of the EWPP was to guarantee employee wages up to a specified maximum (initially $5,000) where a Ministry order for those wages went unpaid by an employer. The government is then subrogated to the claims of a worker against the employer to the extent of the payments given to the worker under the EWPP.

The system was simple, targeted, easy to understand, and easy to administer.

At the Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, we have repeatedly witnessed time after time the dire need of a wage protection program such as the EWPP over the years. In fact, two landmark cases at the clinic, over 20 years apart, serve to perfectly illustrate why workers are in need of protection from wage theft.

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The earlier of the two is the case of Lark Manufacturing, [1992] OJ No 819. Lark Manufacturing was a sportswear garment company which employed some 140 workers at its Toronto factory, the vast majority of whom were Chinese. The company shut its doors suddenly in September 1988, leaving its 140 or so workers not only without a job, but also without over $500,000 in owed wages, as confirmed by the Ministry of Labour and a 1992 court decision.

Rather than pay the workers their owed wages, the directors at Lark refused to comply with the orders to pay and fought the case tooth and nail through the courts to avoid liability. Incredibly, they even set up another garment factory right down the street from the original factory whilst simultaneously pleading insolvency. Despite years of court battles concluding in a 1995 Ontario Court of Appeal decision ([1995] OJ No 3903) in favour of the workers' position, not a single cent was recovered for the workers in that case.

Political scrutiny over the injustice and indignation suffered by the Lark garment workers helped paved the way for the creation of the Ontario Employee Wage Protection Program in 1991. The EWPP was created to solve the very specific problem of wage theft and went a long way towards alleviating its effects on workers. Despite its success, the Ontario government dismantled the EWPP completely in 1997, again leaving its most vulnerable workers behind.

Twenty-five years later, in 2013, our clinic came across Lark Version 2.0 -- the case of Regal Restaurants. Regal involved a chain of large Chinese restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area that shuttered its doors without paying its workers and staff their owed wages under the ESA.

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Our clinic represented over 60 workers in making claims to the Ministry of Labour. In the end, the Ministry found that the restaurant bosses owed its workers a grand total of $676,693.79 under the ESA. However, through a combination of accounting wizardry (the primary owners of the restaurants operated a complex structure of at least 19 related companies) and declaring personal bankruptcy, the Regal workers, like their Lark counterparts 25 years ago, didn't end up seeing a single cent of what was owed to them.

The Lark and Regal cases demonstrate that the current employment regime in Ontario leaves our most vulnerable workers footing the bill on employment standards violations. For low-wage workers, this can often lead to great hardship and the inability to meet basic living expenses.

The need for a wage protection fund in 2017 is just as strong, if not stronger, than the need for such a program in 1991, when the EWPP was first introduced in Ontario.

The public needs to stand up and declare with one voice that they will no longer permit these affronts to justice to go on. Ontarians need to demand that their government reinstate the Provincial Employee Wage Protection Program immediately so we never see a Lark Version 3.0.

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The five things you need to know on Monday, March 27

1) TARTAN THERESA

Theresa May is in Scotland as part of her Tour of Britain ahead of triggering Brexits Article 50 on Wednesday. Shell meet First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to tell her in person that now is not the time to hold a second Scottish independence referendum. Given the awful famines currently stalking the planet, the PM has shrewdly chosen to visit DfID aid staff in East Kilbride to underline her better together message ahead of the meeting.

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In overnight extracts of her speech, May talks about strengthening the devolution settlements. Were told that means more powers from Brussels over things like fisheries and agriculture, but what if it included other things? And what if those new powers were put on the ballot paper of any referendum, as a third option to the status quo and independence - something Cameron was advised to do and didnt? Could a new vow and a referendum option split the indy vote and undermine it for good? Or were Scots burned by the last 'vow' and think Brexit is so momentous that they are more likely to back Sturgeon?

Mays warning that she wont countenance #indyref2 until after Brexit is an attempt to call Sturgeons bluff. But what about her own bluff/threat to Brussels of a no deal Brexit? The FT has senior Government sources saying the UK will agree to keep EU regulatory bodies for at least a transitional period because we simply lack the expertise to build them from scratch in two years. The Times quotes an LSE adviser to the Department for International Trade warning that an attempt to get a trade deal before 2019 will hurt British industry. And the Engineering Employers Federations Terry Scuoler today points out average EU tariffs of 5% are misleading as 10% tariffs on car parts and agriculture could threaten many jobs.

Labours position seems a tad confused again. Keir Starmer told Marr he wanted the same benefits of single market access, while Jeremy Corbyn said there has to be unfettered access to the European market. Yet JC told Peston that he was not saying Labour would vote against a Brexit that lacked such acces.

2) WHATSAPP DOC?

In the wake of the news that Westminster murderer Khalid Masood used Whatsapp minutes before his attack, lots of newspapers this morning pick up on Home Secretary Amber Rudds line on Marr that its unacceptable that the service uses end-to-end encryption. But the Guardian quotes former Met assistant chief constable Brian Paddick (now a LibDem peer) saying new powers to access the messages would not be proportionate.

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Paddick said something Ive also heard of late in Whitehall, that in fact our spooks do indeed have ways of reading such messages already. But more important is the point made by the BBCs home affairs reporter Danny Shaw this morning: on Saturday, the cops categorically announced Masood was acting alone. They would not have made such a definitive statement if they believed the Whatsapp message was significant.

Given Google and Facebook now control much digital advertising that news media rely on, a cynic would say thats precisely why they get it in the neck in the media. But the Times has an excellent splash that ISIS flooded Google-owned YouTube with hundreds of propaganda videos after the Westminster attack. And given these firms are in the US, I wonder if Donald Trump is considering any action? Or if hes been asked to act by Theresa May?

As for the late PC Palmer, his family issued a message those who rushed to help the stricken officer in his final moments. There was nothing more you could have done. You did your best, and we are just grateful he was not alone. Emily Thornberry told Westminster Hour last night that arming all police in Parliament was one of the things we do need to look at.

On the tactics and strategy of the wider ISIS fight, we learn that 200 civilians have been killed in a US air strike near Mosul. Thats something Jeremy Corbyn may want to raise.

3) LENNY LANE

Unite boss Len McCluskey has been out and about as part of his re-election campaign (ballot papers went out today). And on BBC 5Live's Pienaar show he appeared to be yet another Jeremy Corbyn ally putting the Labour leader on probation: Hopefully well see if he can break through, the opinion polls begin to change. I would suggest that the next 15 months or so will give us the answer to that.

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The probation period seems to vary. John McDonnell gave him a year in February, then upped it to two years last weekend. Diane Abbott and Ken Livingstone have given him a year. All seem to think May will somehow get more unpopular as time goes on, but will Jeremy get more popular? (Ken's expulsion case is this week; read my report HERE on him saying he will take Labour to court if it kicks him out).

The Sun's veteran political commentator Trevor Kavanaghwrites today that if McCluskey beats Gerard Coyne in the Unite election, Labour can 'kiss goodbye' to any chance of forming an alternative Government. As for Labours future, Dan Jarvis has sketched out his vision a little more today, with a New Statesman piece calling for a new civic capitalism.

At least one bit of good news for Labour - and the Tories - is the disappearance of UKIP as a Commons presence, after Douglas Carswell announced he had become an independent MP. In the Telegraph, Nigel Farage says hes wanted Carswell out of UKIP since 2015. When asked by Andrew Neil yesterday if he would stand as a Conservative at the next election, Carswell said: Lets wait and see. My colleague Owen Bennett has blogged HERE on why the Clacton MPs failure to call a by-election means he has become like all those Estabishment politicians he despised.

BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FAR

Watch pollster Frank Luntz (an Oxford contemporary of Cameron, whose focus groups helped him become Tory leader) claim being a socialist gets you more sex.

4) THE RANK OF MUM AND DAD

Social mobility czar Alan Milburn has a new report showing that the social rank or wealth of your parents has a huge impact on whether you can afford your own home. Nothing particularly new in that you may think, but his Social Mobility Commission has new research showing the problem has got much, much worse.

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A third of people in England (34%) are relying on family for a financial gift or loan to help them buy their first home, compared to one in five just seven years ago. The growing gulf between rising house prices and stagnant wages has led to home ownership among 25-to-29 year-olds to fall by more than half in the last 25 years, from 63 per cent in 1990 to 31 per cent most today.

Milburn blogs for HuffPost today: Owning a home is becoming a distant dream for millions of young people on low incomes who do not have the luxury of relying on the Bank of Mum and Dad to give them a foot up on the housing ladder. 

5) FAT CHANCE

Another area where Theresa May has backed off the Cameron legacy is on moves to tackle child obesity (which dont forget NHS chief Simon Stevens says is a multi-billion pound problem). Today, the Commons Health Select Committee says it is extremely disappointed with Government plans and urges curbs on supermarkets offering deep discounts on unhealthy foods. Even the British Retail Consortium backed restrictions, but ministers havent, the MPs say.

With perfect timing, the Sun has a story that reveals just how bad things are. A primary headteacher in Kent has revealed that parents have sent their kids to school with jaw-droppingly unhealthy packed lunches: a cold McDonalds Happy Meal; two bags of crisps and a crisp sandwich; four yoghurts and a packet of Smarties; a chocolate muffin and a bar of chocolate.

The FT meanwhile has a front-page report that half the additional money injected into the health service to woo voters before the last general election was spent on treating patients outside the NHS. Its analysis of health service data shows local commissioners spent 900m on care from the private sector and 800m from the NHS. That Andrew Lansley shadow looms large, it seems.

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SUNDAY SHOWS ROUND-UP

Had a lie-in? Got the clocks wrong? Have a life? Read our handy round-up of all the Sunday morning politics shows, complete with short video clips HERE.

If youre reading this on the web, sign-up HERE to get the WaughZone delivered to your inbox.
The huge cost of cybercrime was once again graphically illustrated this week by a story on the BBC of a hacker who allegedly used phishing techniques and fake websites to steal over $100m from two major U.S. companies.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Lithuanian man allegedly set up a bogus company, which bore the same name as a legitimate Asian-based computer hardware manufacturer, and used the front to syphon off money from two major US companies between 2013 and 2015.

The attacker allegedly registered the bogus company in Latvia and opened various accounts in its name at several banks around the world.

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He then is reported to have sent fraudulent phishing emails to employees and agents of the victim companies, which regularly conducted multimillion-dollar transactions with the cloned company, and got them to send money to bank accounts set up around the world for goods and services.

If you wanted a graphic illustration of why there is such an active and motivated cybercrime underworld, it's here - $100million worth of illustration!

Malicious actors have a range of motivations, including geopolitical, ideological and espionage purposes. However, it is the financially-motivated cybercriminals we commonly see targeting the organizations we work with. These actors will go wherever the money is. Pure and simple.

It also ably demonstrates the threat posed by fake websites, companies and brands to legitimate businesses around the world.

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The trouble is it is easy to set up these resources, but it's not always easy to identify them and act against them quickly and before they can have an impact. Intelligence is critical in these cases; the sooner you know about the threat, the sooner can you do something about it and protect your business.

But knowing the risk posed by your digital footprint is critical in today's business environment. Companies need to be aware of the risks posed by malicious typosquatting and impersonation in support of targeted attacks. This is where attackers use domain names that are like a legitimate company to launch a wide variety of online fraud including phishing campaigns.

Early detection of these domains is critical to helping organizations identify threats specific to their business so that they can quickly act to remove or neutralize them. In one case, I have worked with a U.S. based global brand was targeted by another company with 50 typosquat domains, which went undiscovered for some time. In a second instance, we detected 30 active phishing sites targeting a client's brand and detected customer and employees' details being shared and sold on IRC channels.
George Clerk via Getty Images

Liverpool is a proud city with some of the finest civic buildings in England. A couple of weeks ago I was in the opulent setting of one of these, and I was angry. Standing in the finery of St Georges Hall I was reminded of the once-great wealth of this trading port. And, as I shared a platform with its current Mayor Joe Anderson, I was angry.

I was angry because we were there to launch a report commissioned by the City Council that looked at how the cumulative impact of the government's welfare reforms has really hit the poorest hardest. Not only a double whammy but in many cases a triple whammy of cuts that fall on the same people, pushing them under where before they were "just-about-managing". And I was angry.

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I was angry because I believe that a measure of a true and just society is our attitude to the poorest and most vulnerable. I believe, that as a Christian, a bishop and a pastor I am called to care for those people. My faith speaks of the God who came among us as a poor man, and who calls us still to care for the least and the lost. And my anger is not "fake news". I know, because my priests tell me, and with them I have seen for myself - I know that for many in my diocese - not just in Liverpool but in the proud northern industrial towns of St Helens, Warrington, Wigan and Widnes - life is a struggle made impossibly hard by these cuts.

A comment piece in today's (23/3/2017) Guardian shows again the human cost of what I am sure to the bureaucrats in the Treasury seems like a sensible pen stroke on an accountancy line. It tells the story of "Carol", a disabled woman, struggling to keep her head about water as she copes with the loss of 40 a week. "Welfare reform" - cuts - have made it harder and harder for her to survive. Our local Council has supported her through its hardship fund but even that is squeezed meaning tough decisions and greater hardship. And when I think of Carol, and of the other real people I have met, I am angry.

I am angry because we as a nation are allowing a cumulative, creeping deprivation to happen to our sisters and brothers, to our children, to our neighbours. I am angry that our hard-working local politicians are forced into heartbreaking, difficult decisions over where best to spend their limited resources. I am angry that the Westminster government fails to recognise the cumulative impact of their cheese-paring, the impact in injustice and impracticality of their funding regime.

I do not want to see a society where our children starve, where our fellow citizens are punished for being disabled, sick and in need. In today's world, in today's Britain we should surely be investing in our support for people not continuing to punish, attack and demonise the very people who need our help. We should be investing in dignity and love, and we should if necessary be paying the price of dignity and love, the price of human flourishing, the price of a caring and more equal society.

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It is my privilege in this city to co-chair our Strategy Group for Fairness and Tackling Poverty. Together with local politicians and members of the business community, the voluntary and faith sectors, we are working to find ways to change this situation. But we can't make bricks without straw.
By Yang Sheng (Global Times) 09:45, March 27, 2017

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's official visit to New Zealand will bring new momentum to the Asia-Pacific region in the midst of rising anti-globalization sentiment and protectionism, experts said.

2017 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-New Zealand relations. Li, who arrived in Wellington on Sunday, is the first Chinese premier to visit the country in 11 years, and this trip is widely expected to further strengthen bilateral ties, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

New Zealand knows globalization cannot move forward without China, Chu Yin, an associate professor at the University of International Relations, told the Global Times. He added that New Zealand is the first Western country to have abandoned ideological bias over China's rise.

During his four-day visit, Li will hold talks with his New Zealand counterpart Bill English, and meet Governor-General Patsy Reddy and other officials. He will also visit Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, for business discussions and cultural exchange activities, Xinhua reported.

English expressed hopes for closer ties and cooperation between the two countries. "The visit is an important opportunity to set the agenda for the next stage of our strong relationship, and demonstrates our shared commitment to open trade and economic growth," English said in a statement.

"New Zealand and Australia are both developed countries that heavily rely on the sea trade. With the withdrawal of US support for free trade, the two countries have high expectations of China. The China-initiated 21st Century Maritime Silk Roadis a great opportunity for them," Wang Yiwei, a professor at Renmin University's Department of International Studies, told the Global Times.

The two sides will expand cooperation in such areas as infrastructure, agriculture and animal husbandry, technological innovation, education, culture, tourism and civil aviation, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang told a press briefing in Beijing last week.

The visit shows that China and New Zealand are committed to liberalizing trade and investment as well as regional peace and stability, Zheng said.

Healthy trade

Trade between China and New Zealand has increased nearly threefold compared to 2008, when the two countries reached a free trade agreement. The first round of negotiations on upgrading the deal will be held in the first half of this year, Xinhua reported.

The upgrade will create more opportunities for economic cooperation, and push the two sides to increase market openness and reach a consensus on such areas as services, trade and e-commerce, Zheng said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English on Friday announced a renewed push to promote free trade in his first major trade policy announcement since taking over as leader last December, Reuters reported.

New Zealand's $180 billion economy depends on exports, and the country lobbied hard in favor of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. It wants to push for an expansion of a free-trade agreement with China at a meeting with Li on Monday.

English said on Friday his center right government wants free-trade agreements to cover 90 percent of goods exported by 2030, up from just over half currently.

"China has been the biggest source of overseas students to New Zealand in more than a decade, and China is always a major source of foreign tourists to New Zealand, which is expected to surpass Australia in 2020 to become the biggest source," Chu said.

Unlike some Western countries, which enjoy economic ties with China but remain suspicious and reluctant about cultural exchanges with the country, New Zealand welcomes Chinese culture, Chu added.

"While some Western countries are wary of Confucius Institutes, this small country has already established three Confucius Institutes and offers Chinese language courses in more than 300 middle and primary schools. China will surely return the favor to this friendly and trustworthy gesture in various ways," Chu said.
Making the global local will be the challenge as Welsh Labour delegates gather for our annual Conference in Llandudno. In the midst of Brexit discussions, and the ongoing ramifications of Donald Trump's election, we must remind ourselves that we also have to deliver for people locally on the bread and butter issues that are much closer to home. Council elections are just weeks away, and whilst we will be going all out to secure every vote we can, we know it will be tough to replicate our stellar results in 2012.

Events this week in Westminster will obviously be on everyone's minds, and the customary hugs and handshakes will be a little warmer and linger a little longer as we greet each other this weekend. Wednesday's attack shook us all, but the dignity and defiance on show from the police, Parliamentarians and Londoners continuing with their lives shows that terror will not win. Our members will be given every opportunity to express their sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the attack over the weekend.

A Fair Deal for Wales

Over the last couple of years I have travelled the country doing public events, under the banner (not my choice) of Carwyn Connects. They're invaluable occasions, not just to show the Welsh public that their Government is open and accessible - but to provide regular reminders to me about the real priorities that exist outside the political and media bubble.

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Brexit is rarely mentioned. Local transport is. The desire for more quality, secure work and access to apprenticeships comes up everywhere. But, the clear single message which underpins almost every question is a people in search of a Fair Deal for Wales, and that is exactly what we aim to deliver for every community over the next four years. Brexit or no Brexit, people expect us to deliver on our promises and it is weekend we will show that this is exactly what we are doing.

On each of the six headline pledges we made to the people of Wales in May 2016, we have already made significant progress.

Delivering for Wales

You can already benefit from our new treatment fund which launched in January and just this week we announced the seven local authorities where pilots for our childcare scheme - the best childcare offer for working parents across the whole UK - will begin this autumn.

We have already raised the capital allowance meaning that people entering residential care will get to keep more of their hard earned money. By 2021 the limit will have more than doubled.

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We've cut the tax burden for small businesses through our Small Business Rates Reduction scheme which provides support to 70% of small businesses in communities up and down our country.

By prioritising education and training, we are equipping our people with the skills they need to succeed. We are delivering an extra 100m funding for schools and 100,000 all-age apprenticeships by the end of the term.

Delivering for communities

Fairness is at the heart of everything we do as a party - but the huge budget cuts handed down by the Tories means that the financial context of public services has changed radically in a short space of time. Nowhere are the daily decisions tougher than for our councils - facing increasing demand but ever diminishing resources.

'Business as usual' is no longer an option, and it is Welsh Labour in council chambers up and down Wales, embracing this challenge and showing that there is a different way.

They have innovated to deliver the best services to the people they represent.

All the while ensuring that Labour values of fairness, community and social justice are the driving force of that innovation.

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-In Cardiff we saw the creation of 'Cyd Cymru' an energy collective that helped 4,000 households switch to a cheaper energy tariff, saving householders an average of 235 each.

-Flintshire are taking advantage of the abolition of the Right to Buy and are investing in house building once again.

-My own council in Bridgend has invested in new Flying Start centres in Brackla, Cefn Glas, Garth, Lewiston, Blackmill, Sarn and Wildmill helping over 1,000 children and their families.

-Barry Island has been transformed thanks to our Welsh Labour council driving through ambitious regeneration plans and boosting tourism - Barry doesn't just look different under a Labour council, it feels different too. That's the confidence a Welsh Labour council working with a Welsh Labour Government can deliver.

It is also about taking budget decisions for the long-term, not replicating the Tory tactic of short-termism, u-turns and robbing Peter to pay Paul. That means pupils in deprived communities in Wales do better than their contemporaries elsewhere in the UK - because we've a stable and secure funding mechanism that puts the money where it is needed most.

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The UK state pension age (SPA) could increase to 70 by as early as 2057 if the government follows the recommendations set out in John Cridland's review published on Thursday 23rd March. Cridland, a former Director General of the CBI, was asked a year ago to look into the need for changes on top of the Government's existing commitment to raise state pension ages to 68 by 2046. (Women, it will be recalled, are in any case on a fast track to state pension ages linked to the current male SPA of 65, by November 2018.) So after years when nothing changed much and state pension ages were set in stone, we now seem to be on a moving escalator. Wherever will we end up?

The longer term scenario is that for each periodic increase in average life expectancy, state pension age will nudge up a bit more to compensate, thus retaining an even balance between the proportion of our lives in work and retirement. The argument for change was delivered with a double barrelled blast as a second report from the National Audit Office was published on the same day as Cridland's. This has modelled the effect of anticipated increases in life expectancy on alternative assumptions. The first of these is that we would spend a third of our adult lives, from 20 onwards, in receipt of a pension. If this happens, says the NAO, state pension age will need to reach 69 by 2056.

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The second scenario is that we will spend slightly less than a third, 32 per cent in fact, of our adult lives in retirement. Modelling this option the NAO says that state pension age would reach 70 by 2056. This is the number that has been grabbing the headlines in the UK media. Imagine, say an eighteen year old, starting work today. In 2056, 39 years' time, he or she would be 57 and have a further 13 years to work before being able to draw their state pension.

For some people in some jobs this will be possible, but there will be others for whom it is a terrifying prospect. Already, fewer than half of people are in work by the time they hit state pension age. Raising SPA to 68 or 70 could inflate this number considerably.

Both Cridland's and the NAO reports were commissioned on the basis that we have a seemingly inexorably ageing society. This may turn out to be an exaggeration. One of the biggest issues to bear in mind, should SPA creep up in the way suggested, is the inequity of its impact. Average life expectancy is a statistic that conceals enormous inequalities, connected to location in the UK, health, life-style, working and living environments and more. A big hike in the SPA will affect poorer and less able bodied people disproportionately.

On the other hand a flexible retirement age that takes into account the arduousness of work and the length of time one has been working would be a progressive move, if only it could be achieved. It could be difficult to manage but if our society needs people to do hard, dirty and wearing jobs that contribute to reduced life expectancy, it should be considered. How can we expect people like this to subsidise the better off, healthier individuals who will live longer and take more than their fair share out of the global state pension pot?

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Unfortunately Cridland refuses to touch the idea of adjusting the state pension age for the individual on account of the nature of their work. How unfair to ignore the undoubted health effects of arduous work - for example on people who have spent their lives working nights, so that the rest of us can enjoy the security and services they provide. Rejecting proposals to allow early state pensions in such cases. Cridland's excuse is that a single state pension age is, "simple and clear and provides a trigger for pension planning". Simple, maybe, but "the state pension age" is not, and probably never will be, the same as "the retirement age".

Basing national pensions and retirement policies on assumptions that are increasingly distant from reality, is hardly a recipe for clarity in planning. Pushing up state pension ages using the standard broad brush approach, is always going to leave some people behind, scraping around with difficulty and hoping for a state benefit. Flexible working in little jobs in later life will become more common, but it will not help everyone and could lead to more exploitation of older people on zero hours contracts and the like.

On a more positive note, Cridland does put forward a number of suggestions that could be helpful, though whether they will adequately mitigate the increasing inequalities flowing from differences in work-life experience is another matter. He supports a "mid-life MOT" to help people plan their later lives, "addressing their lifestyle, their skills, paid and unpaid work, and their retirement income". There is mounting support, from divers quarters, for this notion, long supported by TAEN. However, so far little or no public money has been made available to take it forward.

If a time comes when the average person works to 70 before getting their state pension, it is to be hoped that such a move will be well supported by a range of policies. In fact we will need them sooner than later as the big social change of retirement at 70 is likely to be a gradual process and is already under way. At the very least we would need extensive support for mid and later life career changes, personal development throughout working life and effective partnerships that encourage individuals to maintain their working capacity and career prospects over the long haul. Whatever happens, the questioning should start now in earnest.

Chris Ball is Specialist Adviser on the Ageing Workforce for Shaw Trust and directs TAEN - The Age and Employment Network, a Centre of expertise on age and work in Shaw Trust.
DR

It is Groundhog Day in Guantanamo Bay. I visited four of Reprieve's clients last week. One was Abdul Latif Nasser, who was cleared for release to his native Morocco last year, after six US intelligence agencies determined he was no threat to anyone. He narrowly missed the plane home when the Obama Administration failed to organize his transfer before Donald Trump took office; the new president promises to keep the prison open, and end any releases. Understandably, Abdul Latif seemed downhearted.

Then there was Ahmed Rabbani, a Karachi taxi driver who was mistaken 15 years ago for a big time terrorist called Hassan Ghul. He spent 545 days in the CIA secret prison programme before making it to Guantanamo. The US Senate Report classifies him as one of the rare prisoners "who was subject to [torture] techniques without the approval of CIA headquarters." (I struggle to understand why it might have been better if American authorities had authorized it.)

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Or there is Haroon al Afghani, the last Afghan among the 24, who is alleged to have played a minor role with a group that vehemently opposed the Al Qaida interlopers, and who now play a role in the US-backed government. Or Khalid Qassim who (as he would say of himself) is simply nobody, from Yemen. And so it goes on and on. The original 762 "low value" detainees were identified by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as the "worst of the worst" terrorists in the world. Far from it. Even after distilling them to just 24, they are a motley crew.

I first came to Guantanamo in 2004. Thirteen years on, it remains surreal. The sign near the prison camp still boasts in massive letters, along nine drums of concrete, that we are "Honor Bound" to defend freedom. There is no solitary confinement - only "single cell operations." The military on the base continue to use fake names as if revealing their true identity will attract ISIS into middle America - this time, I was shepherded around by Wookie, Jack Sparrow, King Kong and others.

But the officers were uniformly polite and helpful, trying hard to keep busy. With more than two thousand soldiers, there are 50 for each detainee. The annual cost is estimated to be $454 million, a shade over $11 million per prisoner per year. By way of contrast, this is more than 100 times more than the costliest prison in the U.S. - a Colorado Supermax, which is a snip at $78,000. Each of my clients offers his own take on better ways of spending his millions.
University students compete at the Inter-ACE competition. Photo courtesy of Inter-ACE

One of the biggest challenges facing businesses, political institutions and individuals is cyber security. In Germany this week, the Government has revealed that its websites are being subjected to daily assault ahead of its parliamentary elections, while GCHQ have recently warned that British elections are at threat from cyber-attack.

As well as protecting data and preventing hacks, one of the major issues surrounding cyber security is the much publicised skills gap. A recent report from cyber security professionals association (ISC)2 identified that by 2021 the shortage of skilled workers in the cyber security sector will reach 1.8 million globally. This growing void is leaving individuals, companies and the state exposed to attacks from cyber criminals and terrorists.

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Companies and Government alike are developing comprehensive training programmes, designed to ensure the cyber security defenders of the future have all the tools necessary to protect us, and the businesses they work for, from cyber criminals.

However, universities across the UK have a vital role to play in equipping these cyber security professionals with the necessary skills to enter the industry. University staff must ensure that candidates are receptive to training, by providing an adequate framework of knowledge to them, instilling a solid foundation of principles and theories behind where these problems come from.

Cyber security, however, is an ever-changing industry with cyber criminals constantly finding new ways to attack and exploit vulnerabilities. In industry, training often focuses on teaching a particular skill. A university's job, instead, is to teach the ability to learn new skills. At the same time, universities need to combine theory with the development of practical skills in a real-world environment, thus allowing students to test what they've learnt and teaching them how to apply this in a realistic environment.

One way to enable students with the vision to do this is through face to face competitions. Bringing together different individuals to apply their cyber security abilities in a collaborative and competitive setting allows students to implement the skills they have been taught, while learning new ones in the process, all in a fun and inclusive environment.

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This was the intention behind the Inter-ACE competition, which is backed by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Cabinet Office, Leidos and NCC Group and was held on Saturday, March 18. It was designed to give budding cyber enthusiasts a platform to test and improve their skills in a real-life simulation, meet like-minded individuals, and learn more about careers in the sector by introducing them to key players in the industry and government.

Cyber security competitions give pupils the opportunity to implement the skills and theory they have been taught at university in a realistic environment, while learning new ones in the process, which will help grow them in to the cyber defenders of the future. It also teaches them to adapt to their surroundings and think on their feet, priming students to be trained in industry and make a real impact.

The need for these type of events is being recognised across the world. For example, the winners from this year's Inter-ACE competition will now be guaranteed a place in the annual Cambridge2Cambridge (C2C) cyber competition later in the summer, which is jointly organised by the University of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Boston, US.

This time, the teams competing at C2C will be mixed to include cyber defenders from the best universities from across the UK and US, who will come together to learn best practice in cyber security and demonstrate their ability to become future cyber defenders.
On 20 March 2017 Theresa May exultantly announced that she was about to trigger Article 50. A top priority is supposedly to negotiate the rights of UK expatriates in the remaining 27 EU member states - using the 3.2 million EU citizens living in the UK as "bargaining chips". In fact, however, UK expats' post-Brexit rights are protected by EU law!

The "Bargaining Chip" Myth

I pointed this out in my open letter to Theresa May published as a blog here on 3 March 2017. I was surprised that nobody in the UK besides myself was aware that the "bargaining chip" argument for denying EU citizens' rights was invalid. Theresa May completely ignored my revelation of this uncomfortable fact. And Brexit Secretary David Davis has still not replied to a personal email alerting him to the invalidity of the "bargaining chip" argument.

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Commons Brexit Committee

Among the members of the Commons Brexit committee there was an initial flurry of interest in my argument, of which they had been unaware. I received some pertinent questions for clarification, but when I offered to answer these queries by giving evidence before their committee they suddenly went very quiet.

Clarification and Explanation

So let me explain the true situation now. EU Directive 2003/109/EC gives the right of permanent residence to most non-EU citizens who have lived in the EU for more than five years. Most UK expats of more than five years' standing already have that right as EU citizens - under Directive 2004/38/EC. So, when they cease to be EU citizens after Brexit, they should be entitled to the same rights as long-term non-EU residents. It will only be a matter of changing the label under which they enjoy those same rights. It is inconceivable that UK expatriates will not be allowed to carry over rights acquired as EU citizens to a situation where they are non-EU citizens. As no other EU member state (except Greenland, which is not comparable) has seceded before, the situation of an EU citizen ceasing to be an EU citizen is unprecedented. If need be, this matter may have to be clarified by the European Court of Justice. But the rights of UK expatriates is an EU-wide question - not a matter for negotiation with each of the 27 remaining EU member states individually, as the UK Government evidently believes.

88 Non-EU Countries
Once again, Europe has been placed at the mercy of terrorists. Innocent people are dead and injured and others will forever be haunted by the carnage they witnessed. But the wider impact of the terror attack in central London on Wednesday night is only starting to emerge.

This, we now know, was not a crime committed by a radical who grew up in an atmosphere of hate amid the bombs and bullets of a far-away country ripped apart by war. This was a crime committed by a man who lived and worked in our society, who grew up here - and who was radicalised here.

And so all society has a special responsibility to prevent this from happening again. As Europeans, we cannot and should not live this way.

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For the most part, Britain is a safe and secure place to live, a gloriously multi-cultural, multi-faith society which celebrates tolerance religious freedom. These values are a way of life, as was vividly demonstrated by the gathering at the candlelit vigil at Trafalgar Square last night.

But despite our nation's solidarity and our ever-increasing security and defence measures, horrific acts of terror are still not being prevented.

So many Europeans have been violently murdered in terrorist attacks, in places like Brussels, Essen, Nice, Munich, Ansbach, Hamberg and Berlin. Europe is in danger. We must warn, ring an alarm bell about the threat, the threat that has come to our common home challenging us every day, every day.

Terrorism has no religion, colour or creed. As we learn that the victims of Wednesday's attack represent at least 12 different nationalities, we must not ask for whom the bell rings. The bell rings for all Europeans.

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There has been a constant assault on Europe from those who seek to inflict terror and destruction. Today, we know that there are around 3,000 people on the MI5 list thought to be capable of a terrorist attack. We also know that list is growing daily, and it is likely the atrocity we've witnessed this week will expand recruitment within communities across Europe.

The Jews in Europe are painfully aware of the continuing threat facing Europe. Unlike any other minority, we have been targets of Islamist extremists, as well as the far Right and also the far Left.

We know the value of standing together to fight a common enemy. As responsible Europeans, all society must join forces in defence of our shared values against extremism, radicalism and terrorism.

What can we do to restore ensure peace? Firstly, we must recognise this murderous ideology targets all of Europeans and all of Europe must stand together to fight this scourge. We need greater intelligence sharing among European law enforcement and intelligence agencies and stronger policing laws to act against those in Europe, and across the world, who provide the means, motivation and ideology to enable these attacks.

Across the world, governments are also waking up to the need to engage communities in addressing the root causes of violent extremism. Yet these initiatives account for only a small fraction of the money being spent on military action to target terrorists. History has told us that we cannot rely only on military solutions to combat violent extremism.

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The key is to cut it at its roots. This can be done through the promotion of respect and understanding between people in schools, universities, places of worship and neighbourhoods where people meet. Fundamental terrorism is often built out of poverty and social exclusion, and by creating strong social networks alongside educational programmes, we can hope to make it harder for jihadists to exploit and incite people to hatred.

We must also continue to pressure social media networks whose platforms give oxygen to the vile ideologies of extremists. Astonishingly, guides to mounting car terror attacks - manuals that UK jihadists can use for training - were available on Google and Twitter. We can no longer allow social media companies to shirk their responsibilities to remove vile materials that incites terrorism, and we must use legislation and heavy financial penalties - as Germany has proposed - if necessary. Neglecting this responsibility is to guarantee the further indoctrination of home-grown radicals and more death and destruction.

Lastly, to address the challenges of the future, we must also look to our past. One of the most important legacies of the Second World War - perhaps the most positive legacy - is the creation of a new system of international justice, grounded in the Geneva Conventions, created at the Nuremberg Trials and updated through the International Criminal Court.

Thanks to the Nuremberg Trials, it was above all the Nazi ideology that was outlawed and declared criminal. Now it is time to build on these lessons and establish a special tribunal to condemn terrorism and the radical ideologies that support it.
Ben Birchall/PA Archive

This Wednesday, the PM will trigger Article 50 and start the negotiations for Britain's exit from the European Union.

We want the PM and her team to get the best possible deal for the UK, to give us the best chance of a fair and prosperous future outside the European Union.

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First, that means making sure that the UK doesn't slide inexorably towards a low pay, precarious work economy. British workers deserve protections at work that are at least as good as those which German or Spanish workers get. We don't want to lose hard-won rights to equal pay for women, maternity leave, paid holidays or safety at work - and we don't want hardworking Brits to miss out on new rights that workers in other European nations will get.

Mrs May has promised that working people will keep all their existing workplace rights and protections. But we want that written into the final Brexit deal alongside a guarantee that rights at work in Britain will be at least as good as those in the EU.

Next - and even more importantly - we want to see Brits' jobs and living standards safe. Staying in the single market and customs union is plainly the best way to preserve trade and the benefits it brings. Mrs May has taken a terrible risk with all our futures by ruling this out - and she should think again.

The UK already has the power to deal with the pressures of immigration without needing to sacrifice trade and good jobs. But this government does nothing to deal with the things that make people anxious. Where's the action to tackle the low pay, low skill economy? Why won't she fund schools, hospitals and housebuilding properly?

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For some groups of workers, triggering Article 50 brings extra worries. For workers in Northern Ireland, travel across the Irish border might become troublesome - and that's without even looking at the impacts on the peace process. Similar problems apply in Gibraltar.

And for workers from other EU countries who've made the UK their home, the ongoing uncertainty about whether they can stay is devastating - and disgraceful. Our friends, colleagues and neighbours from other EU countries make a massive contribution to the UK, keeping our health and social care systems going, raising families, working hard and paying taxes.

The PM has got a huge job ahead of her. Trade unionists negotiate for a living, so trust us when we say these talks are going to be tough. And they will need longer than two years to complete - racing into a deal that's bad for Britain is no way to create a prosperous nation.

So Mrs May should be upfront: in two years' time, we'll leave the EU. But while we're working out the final deal, let's agree a transitional deal, giving us the time and space needed to negotiate the best deal for Britain's future outside the EU.

Britain can prosper after Brexit. But the PM has to put the interests of ordinary working people at the heart of her agenda, and take time to get the right deal, to make it fair.

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The call for an independence referendum for Northern Ireland by Sinn Fein, closely following on from that of Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, is not an opportunistic endeavour. The recent elections in Northern Ireland demonstrated that the political tide is turning.

For the first time, the unionists do not have an overall majority and the gap between first preference votes for the DUP and Sinn Fein was 1168 votes. Why has this change occurred and will this really be a significant opportunity for the open-ended provisions in the Good Friday agreement for the future of the island to be tested?

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The recent election demonstrated that people in Northern Ireland are now moving away from sectarian voting patterns and view themselves with a new Northern Irish identity. While the former leaders of the DUP and Sinn Fein were seasoned politicians who had lived through many years of the troubles, the current DUP leader Arlene Foster seems to have forgotten this past and to take her electorate for granted. Before the election, the NI Assembly had made no preparation for Brexit and acted as if all would be the same as usual. They accepted assurances that agricultural subsidies would continue but this seems impossible in a new WTO system of trade that the UK government appears to prefer. These specially negotiated EU agricultural subsidies will not be allowed under that regime.

On the other hand, Sinn Fein has been active in promoting the issues that will face Northern Ireland following Brexit. They have already achieved an agreement from the European Parliament that Northern Ireland will receive funding to stabilise it post Brexit. Secondly, they have been visiting all the EU capitals to argue that Northern Ireland needs a special status to reflect its economy and its past difficulties. Added to this, the Taoiseach has agreed with the President of the European Commission that if Northern Ireland ever has a closer political arrangement with the south, then it can join the EU immediately, using the German reunification precedent and that this will form part of the Brexit agreement. This point will also not be lost on Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland.

People in Northern Ireland are only too aware of the difficulties that they will face when Brexit is implemented. Already companies are moving across the border to the south. While the Prime Minister has guaranteed the continuance of the Common Travel Area (CTA) in the Brexit white paper, this will only be for people. Some 30,000 people currently work across the border and there are more that 1million movements each month but many of these will be for goods. With the exit from the customs union will come border posts reminiscent of the time when the north south border was the most militarised in Europe. Also, people are aware of the organized crime and smuggling that goes on across any border of this kind. In practical terms, the CTA separates Great Britain from the United Kingdom - how will this work? Will there be migrants gathering in Northern Ireland seeking to enter the mainland?

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The theme for this year's International Women's Day was #BeBoldForChange, calling on us all to make a world that works better and harder for gender inclusivity. Yet, despite society moving on from the sexism of the 1960s and 1970s, there are still some issues that demand our attention.

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I have been involved in the campaign against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) for nearly 45 years, ever since I witnessed the impact of FGM for the first time as a student nurse, whilst on an obstetric placement. I was preparing a woman of Egyptian heritage for a theatre vaginal delivery of her third child. This required me to shave her public area; I still recall the shock of seeing her mutilated genitalia, and to my shame fainting at what I saw.

I later discovered that she had undergone what I came to know as a 'type 3' FGM procedure. Against all hospital protocols, the lady's husband was a member of the surgical team and was allowed to cut her, facilitate the birth and re-stitch her afterwards. The senior staff around me assured me that there was nothing to worry about and I was instructed to carry out other duties for the rest of the day.

Bizarrely, the only record of the event was the accident report I completed, detailing the cause of my collapse. This new mother had gone through something far more traumatic and dangerous. Yet, because FGM was considered a cultural practice, her medical records would have failed to mention it.

The campaign to eradicate FGM has seen huge progress since I decided to get involved back then. The traumatic procedure is now illegal in many part of the world and in the UK from 2015 there has been a mandatory requirement on health, social care, and teaching professionals to report any cases they identify to the police.

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In London new cases are still being discovered amongst young girls, and there are thousands of women of all ages who are survivors of the practice. I have the honour of working along-side campaigners like Hibo Wardere - a Somalian-born campaigner, author, FGM educator and public speaker. In her memoir 'Cut' published in April 2016 by Simon & Schuster. Hibo takes us through her life from the age of 6 when she was made a victim of type 3 FGM, an event she describes as "being engulfed in pain from head to toe". I urge you all to read this poignant and powerful book.

It is frustrating to learn that an estimated 103,000 women aged 15-49 with FGM born in countries in which it is practised were living in England and Wales in 2011. In London, roughly 21 women out of every 1,000 are victims of FGM. With this in mind, I am more determined than ever that London becomes a 'Zero-cutting City.'

We have come a long way since International Women's Day was first recognised more than a century ago. Many of the earliest battles - including women's right to vote, own property, obtain degrees, maternity benefits/leave and the right to return to work are now a given. However, we have no room for complacency as stark inequalities and pervasive discriminatory forces remain for women socially, economically and politically.

So in the spirit of female empowerment, I wholeheartedly support the Mayor's assertion that tackling FGM will be an important part of his mayoralty. I am delighted that the London Assembly is undertaking a scrutiny on FGM and it is my privilege to lead it. We kick started the process with a conference at City Hall in January, which gave us many recommendations for our action plan.

Be assured I will #BeBoldForChange, and continue fighting until London is a city free of cutting.

Find more about me on my website.

Facebook: facebook.com/JennetteArnoldAM

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 City of London Corporation - one of the world's oldest local government bodies - which oversees the historic heart of London held elections to its Common Council last week. The Square Mile financial district delivered a surprise upset to the traditions and the politics of that ancient house.

Traditionally, candidates for the Council do not stand on party political platforms. They stand rather as independents. The old joke was that party affiliation is not necessary because they are all supporters of one party anyway - the Conservatives.

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Last week, that changed.

No less than five Councillors were elected as Labour Party candidates. It an ironic twist, this means the first-ever political grouping on the Council is a Labour group. The City's electors include 7,000 adult residents as well as the businesses based in the City - banks, accounting firms and global corporations who traditionally have supported a conservative free-market business agenda.

The five official Labour members are the vanguard of a broader change on the 100-member Council. Right wing members lost several seats, and several liberal and pro-EU candidates were unexpectedly elected. The next Chair of the all-powerful Policy and Resources Committee (in effect, the Corporation's CEO) is tipped to be the liberal, pro-EU Catherine McGuinnes, who is rumoured to be replacing Theresa May's personal friend, Mark Boleat, in this role.

Many corporations and City media outlets strongly supported the Remain camp in last year's referendum. Since then, there are reports that companies have been alarmed that Brexit will encompass leaving the European Single Market (which the Leave campaign had insisted would not happen). In private, businesses have also expressed concern at Prime Minister May's surprisingly interventionist economic policies. She has spoken of mandating employee representation on company boards, and of capping executive pay and "the excesses" of corporate cultures. The apprenticeships levy and higher minimum wages have added to the sense that this is the most economically-interventionist government the UK has had for over 38 years.

City folk may have leaned towards the Conservatives in the past, but the hard Brexit policies currently en vogue in Westminster are alarming many in the Square Mile. In last year's by-election in the London borough of Richmond, voters chose to punish the previously-popular Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith for his pro-Brexit views, by handing victory to his Liberal Democrat opponent who campaigned explicitly on a pro-EU platform. It seems similar punishments for Brexiteers are now also being handed out in the City elections.

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(Photo/Xi'an Evening News)

(Photo/Xi'an Evening News)

(Photo/Xi'an Evening News)

(Photo/Xi'an Evening News)

From 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on March 25, the lights of several major Xi'an landmarks in western China's Shaanxi province were switched off in honor of the 10th annual Earth Hour, which highlights the issue of climate change.

Earth Hour is a worldwide environmental campaign initiated by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). It is celebrated each year on the last Saturday of March, advocating for a one-hour switch-off of unnecessary lights and electronic devices. At 8:30 p.m. on March 25, the lights of major landmarks in Xi'an went dark, and onlookers recorded the moment with their mobile phones. In addition to the Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and Chang'an Tower, the city wall also passed the hour without any illumination.

Even shopping malls and businesses joined the movement by shutting down electricity-consuming devices. One shopping center held a candle party in honor of the occasion.

Deputy Director Wang Tao of the Xi'an Environmental Protection Bureau noted that Earth Hour aims to raise people's awareness of energy use and environmental protection. Though the activity only lasts for one hour, its influence can be profound.
As the events of the horrible attack on Westminster unfolded, the journalist and activist Laurie Penny sent a tweet that read, 'thoughts and atheist prayers with everyone in Westminster right now. What a horrifying situation.' And with that, the twittersphere erupted. Atheist prayers?! Atheists and prayers united in a vicious chorus of righteous indignation at Penny's turn of phrase. Vitriol was liberally poured, acidic comments hurled in her direction.

Twitter is the first, often unrehearsed, draft of what we are trying to get at. Immediate and curt, that it springs from the unconscious is why it can be both wonderful and maddening. I felt great sympathy for Penny, but more than that: in her irrational, fumbling attempt to reach for the right words to express the right things, I think she hit on something rather profound.

When something awful happens, what is the correct phrase to use when you don't believe in God? It wouldn't have been right to say that she was praying, but in the face of such horror, 'thoughts' alone seem so horribly inadequate. When people are in mortal danger, what possible good can it do if I am thinking of them?

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As someone who used to pray a great deal, but now has no belief in God, I absolutely understand what 'atheist prayer' is trying to reach for. It is essentially about hope. Refusing any claim that there is a transcendent force that could - or should - intervene, there remains a very human part of us that longs for some force outside of our limited material selves to act. It hopes for a miracle: the miracle of action-at-a-distance, of someone stepping into a situation to help when we have no power to do so ourselves.

In so many of the prayer meetings I sat through there were a lot more of these 'atheist miracles' than many were prepared to admit. To exaggerate only a little, there was much beseeching the Lord to fix a sink when we knew there was a plumber in the room. To have asked for help outright might have been awkward; to ask 'God' and then have the plumber feel good about being an answer to prayer created a rather delicious kind of gift-cycle... but woe-betide anyone who questioned God's primary place in all of this.

My hunch is that Penny's hastily tweeted 'atheist prayer' perhaps betrayed more honesty than many of the atheists or the prayers would be willing to offer themselves. Prayer is really no more than focused hope; the real question is, on what does that hope focus?

For the true believers, to hope that God will step in is too often an abdication of any responsibility for action. We pray for the hungry, but refuse to offer them bread from our own loaded plates. When hope is located in the heavens, the earth is left to perish.

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Seen this way, the atheist's prayer is perhaps the only genuine prayer we have: it is sustained by hope, but a hope that understands that it is only human agency that can effect change in the world. In this sense, in the Westminster attacks all our prayers were answered: horrific though the injury and loss of life has been, what could have been a far more terrible situation was brought to a halt relatively quickly by some very brave individuals. Having been incapacitated, the attacker was then tended by NHS medics who tried to save his life. Emergency services showed great courage entering a theatre of conflict where no one could be sure if the last act had been played out.

We don't have God to thank for that, but nor do most of us have our own actions to thank for it either. We put our hope in others. This was our prayer, and in praying it we commit to this creed: one day we might have to gather our courage, put our own lives on the line, and be the answer where others cannot.
Growing up as a child of Ghanaian origin in England, I often wondered why school history lessons never made mention of Africans other than them being slaves. I remember vividly those awkward classroom sessions (as the only black girl in the class), where I'd feel eyes boring into me as the teacher droned on about these poor Africans forced on to ships to the Americas.

No explanation was given about what preceded that momentous Trans-Atlantic Slave trading period. And no acknowledgement of the impact Africans (such as Fante-born 18th century slave abolitionist Quobna Ottobah Cugaono, and Igbo-born abolitionist Olaudah Equiano) made in shaping the modern world.

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This omission said more to me about this massive gulf I was being forced to breach. I was schooled to believe that highly developed and sophisticated people from African kingdoms such as those of ancient Ghana, Mali and Dahomey had been reduced to just chattel. What my teacher was trying to convey just failed to satisfy me, prompting me ever since to find answers elsewhere.

Brazil and slaves

Luckily, I love reading so the library became my haven. By my early teens, I exhausted all books on slavery in my local branch but still had a hunger for more knowledge! In my explorations, I learnt about the slave trade from the Ghanaian perspective - visiting one of its many slave posts in the country. I'll never forget that smell of death intermingled with sea salt and this heavy feeling of sadness that I felt when I visited Elmina Castle, Cape Coast, Ghana. Surrounded by the four walls of a female prison, our guide told us that under the soles of our shoes, we were walking on the bone remains of women that had died under inhuman conditions centuries earlier. That smell took days to leave my clothes....

And while in Brazil, I followed that journey of West Africans captured, transported and sold at Pelourinho Square in Salvador, Bahia, in the north-east of the country. Pelourinho means whipping post and is where new arrivals were oiled up and put on display for prospective buyers.

Identity and belonging

Until I read Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain, by English historian Peter Fryer, I did not know that Africans were in Britain before the English came here! And it wasn't until I had my fill of the many exhibitions celebrating the contribution that Africans made to Britain, that I had a better sense of what being an African person in England really meant.

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African kingdoms ruled by the likes of Emperor Musa of Mali and Oba Ozolua from the Kingdom of Benin, had already established trading links with Europe long before slavery existed. And between 711AD and 1492, Spain was under African rule when Moor Tarik Ibn Ziyad led the occupation of the European nation. It was only when the last kingdom in Spanish Granada fell, that many Moors were forced to renounce their faith and convert to Christianity or face enslavement. This resulted in many becoming servants to royals in other parts of Europe, including England, I have since learnt.

African imports

African-Iberian Catalina de Cardones is one such example who arrived in Plymouth in 1501 as Henry VIII's first wife's 'lady of the bedchamber' or personal servant, according to historian Onyeka - author of Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, Their Presence, Status and Origins. De Cardones was believed to be of noble birth but took on the role of servitude for Spanish-born Catherine of Aragon following the political and social upheaval in Spain. It was people of her ilk that brought the Farthingale style of dress worn by African women in Spain to Britain, according to Onyeka.

African pioneers

And the list goes on. We have Diego - a Symeron (a Spanish word meaning wild and free and shortened version of Maroon) travelled across north and south America with vice admiral Sir Frances Drake - an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era.

And there was multilingual Jacques - a skilled diver and was able to hold his breath and open his eyes under water for long periods of times. Jacques not only spoke Italian and the West African languages Fulani and Soninke but his ability to hold his breath for long periods made very employable because he could recover items lost at sea and search for highly-prized pearls.

What I find fascinating is that these African legacies are not common knowledge or immediately visible today. Onyeka's painstaking consolidation of information from over 10 years of research included trawling through English parish records across London, Plymouth, Bristol and Barnstaple from England's Tudor period. Based on his research, the African presence in some parts of England was surprisingly high - at a ratio of 1:15, such as in St Botolph with Aldgate, London, or 1:20 in the St Andrews ward in Plymouth. Interestingly, Onyeka highlights that the ethnicity of the African pales (pardon the pun) into insignificance as the years pass. So an initial entry recording someone as black may disappear in subsequent records, suggesting that the individual had assimilated enough into English society.

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So if like me, you were taught that Africans only had a limited presence and contribution to Britain, this is not the whole story. Look around you because the signs are there, it is just a case of deciphering between what is said and what is not.

*The image is free to use*
matka_Wariatka

Recently, something amazing has happened. The House of Lords and Commons have been discussing ways of tackling period poverty. On an increasingly regular basis, politicians from all political parties have been debating policy changes that will help to widen access of sanitary products to those who need it most. This subject has never been discussed inside the walls of Parliament on such a thorough basis. Ever. This has made history, and it will benefit women up and down the country. That's pretty amazing.

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Here's a brief overview of recent parliamentary action, geared to ending period poverty. Period:

13th March 2017

Labour MP Helen Goodman asked a written question in the House of Commons (found here). She boldly and simply questioned the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: 'whether the Government offers any provision of female sanitary products for women who consider themselves unable to afford such products'.

Boom. Period taboo smashed. Period poverty challenged. Practical solution to help women, proposed.

In response, Conservative Minister Damian Hinds admitted: 'Benefits administered by DWP do not include a specific amount for sanitary products, just as they do not include a specific amount for any other item such as food or fuel charges. Instead, an "applicable amount" is set through legislation passed by Parliament for each benefit'.

Although this isn't a totally positive answer, it is positive that answers are being given and that this issue is being seriously considered by the Conservatives. A small step, but an important and unprecedented one nonetheless.

14th March 2017

14th March marked an extremely important day for women. For the first time in history, the House of Lords debated sanitary product provision, other than in relation to tampon-tax-ending legislation. Liberal Democrat Baroness Burt of Solihull said something absolutely amazing in the House of Lords:

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'I wonder if the Minister saw the story in the Metro yesterday about a charity which sends sanitary products to girls in Africa being asked if it could donate some to girls in Leeds who are bunking off school each month because they cannot afford sanitary products to wear to school. I am sure that the Minister will agree that this is a shocking state of affairs, where low-income girls and women cannot afford hygiene products during their period. We cannot have that in this country. So perhaps I may make a suggestion for the Government to consider. Could we not give sanitary towels to girls who qualify for free school meals? We already know who they are, and the cost of setting up the system would, I am sure, be very small. It would mean that all girls in school could confidently attend school all month round without having to worry about the embarrassment of their period letting them down.'

Baroness Burt, I second every word. I'm sure many others will, too. Interestingly, the debate didn't stop there. Later, a Conservative Lord reinforced Baroness Burt's arguments. Lord Porter of Spalding said: 'I want to sit down on a happy note. The noble Baroness, Lady Burt, right at the beginning of the debate, made one of the best suggestions I have heard in here, which is to allow girls on free school meals access to free sanitary products. If there is a way of exploring that, I would welcome it, and I hope my noble friend the Minister can at least ask whether it is feasible'.

The Lords are backing practical solutions to ending period poverty and protecting our schoolgirls. That's big. And important. With their support, we're ever closer to tackling period poverty.

15th March 2017:

This timeline could go on and on, but finally, I want to mention period-focused Early Day Motion (found here) that was proposed by Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland: the first of its kind proposed by a male politician. Awesome. EDMs are a way for politicians to register an interests in a particular initiative or policy. His reads:

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'FREE PROVISION OF SANITARY PRODUCTS FOR GIRLS FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES

Primary sponsor: Mulholland, Greg

Sponsors: Mak, Alan Stephens, Christopher Meale, Alan Lucas, Caroline Cunningham, Jim

That this House is deeply concerned that girls in the UK are missing time in school because of a lack of access to sanitary products; recognises the unaffordable cost of sanitary products for some low-income individuals and families; notes that this is a hidden problem that some girls may find difficult to discuss, and as such the number of girls affected is likely to be higher than any estimates available; and calls on the Government to take immediate action to ensure that girls are not prevented from going to school because they do not have access to sanitary products, including the provision of free sanitary products for those girls needing them and the automatic entitlement to free sanitary products for girls receiving free school meals.'

It has been signed by 13 MPs so far. The more support an EDM attracts from politicians the more seriously it is handled and the greater effect it can have on policy. If you want to ask your MP to sign Mulholland's EDM and support the idea of providing low-income schoolgirls with the sanitary products they need, then you can do so by following this link.

These efforts support those of longterm-period-poverty-fighting-parliamentary-superheroes (not the most catchy superhero name but it does the job) such as Stella Creasy MP who has fought for the end of tampon tax since she was at school and continues to do so as a Labour politician. Baroness Dawn Primarolo must also be mentioned. She's the woman we can thank for the reduction of tampon tax to 5% in 2001. Finally, Shadow Minister Paula Sherriff brought forward the successful technical case for ending tampon tax in 2016 and has worked tirelessly to end period poverty across a variety of initiatives, too.

There are many politicians across all parties who do great work for us. But Parliament hasn't traditionally chosen to tackle period poverty. This change in attitude is important. And it has been driven by the generations of everyday superheroes/campaigners who have pushed for it. This cultural shift will benefit the thousands of girls who cannot afford sanitary products and the homeless who are not provided with the menstrual support they need. Moreover, it will also help to tackle the wider period taboo, encourage women to speak more freely about their bodies and related injustices and feel less alienated by the political elite.

You can help this progression by urging your MP to continue the trend of raising period-poverty-focused questions, early day motions and statutory instruments within Parliament. Period. To do so, you can write to your MP following this link. This cultural shift marks the beginning of a whole world of changes that will help women everywhere.

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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
CARL COURT via Getty Images

If Brexit is the most pressing challenge working people face, it's not the only one.

Automation is also casting a long shadow. The replacement of workers by robots is an issue facing all parts of manufacturing and many service sectors but it's presently focussed on the motor industry above all.

According to a 2016 World Economic Forum survey, an estimated 1.6 million manufacturing and production jobs will be lost globally due to automation between 2015 and 2020.

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One manager recently said: "Instead of five people doing these jobs, I have one guy running five robots that do tedious jobs longer without quality issues. Plus, the robot shows up for work every day and doesn't get the flu."

Of course, automation could be a good thing for industry and society, if handled in the right way - which means not seeing it as just another opportunity to cut jobs and costs and make a fatter profit.

It should instead be an opportunity for a shorter working week with no loss in pay, or the gateway to a nationwide programme of re-skilling and up-skilling existing workers, while also creating new training and apprenticeship schemes.

But that won't happen if a laissez-faire free-market approach is allowed to dominate.

That is why Unite is calling for the government to take the lead in setting up a Future of Automation Commission, involving unions, employers, researchers and academics to find workable solutions to automation, opportunity and threat as it simultaneously is.

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With automation's advance we are now in the grip of a new industrial revolution. This challenge needs to be met and scaled but we will fail as a nation in this if we succumb to a `cliff-edge' Brexit that will see our economy isolated from investment and skill opportunities.

Unite's members in manufacturing are now in the eye of a brewing storm, no more so than those in the auto sector.

Brexit and automation point up the pre-existing vulnerabilities of an industry mostly controlled from abroad, dependent on investment decisions made with an eye to maximum profit in a globalised economy.

A world where our parents' hopes for a "job for life" have been replaced with the hope for work for the next six years or so, or whenever the next decision on a model falls due.

That is why I am determined that the issue of market access needs to be put front and centre in discussions about Brexit. The government itself acknowledged as much when it signed a deal with Nissan to protect the plant at Sunderland, a vital element in the whole economy of the north-east.

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Unite welcomed that approach. We might welcome it even more if we knew what was in the deal.

But a case-by-case solution is not enough. Big investment decisions affecting Vauxhall, Jaguar Land Rover, BMW and more are not going to wait for a few years while the government sorts out its Brexit agreement with Europe.

80% of our vehicles are exported, and half of that is to Europe. Tariffs could add as much as 1.8billion over a model's lifecycle.

So we need to hear a good deal less speculation and waffle from ministers on this vital issue.

At least a quarter of a million jobs are at stake here - this is not a debate in the Oxford Union, it's a matter fundamental to the future of hundreds of thousands of families and communities up and down the country.

A bungled Brexit would be devastating so I have no truck with those who take a casual attitude towards it, or who write off single market access.

Such rhetoric is gambling with the futures of thousands of Unite members and workers everywhere.

Of course, I understand why so many people, including so many Unite members, voted to leave the EU. Above all, it is fears related to the free movement of labour.

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That's why Unite has taken the lead in bringing forward plans to address these very real concerns while keeping open the possibility of single market access.

Our proposals are all about safeguards for workers, communities and industries, by ensuring that labour should only be recruited abroad into companies or industries that are covered by proper collective bargaining agreements.

This would cut the ground out from under the feet of bad employers who seek to import low-wage labour from abroad, and help turn Britain from a race-to-the-bottom culture into a rate-for-the-job society.

And it would be a vast and sensible step towards restoring some stability in an increasingly insecure world.

Automation's advance and resisting a bungled Brexit; these are the massive challenges ahead. Unite is stepping up - and we will make business and politicians do the same.

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Is the UK a divided place? What are the things that divide us? What are the bonds that unite us?

Is it class and wealth, immigration and segregation, is it where we live and our perception of others based on where they live that divides us, even though we may be of the same ethnicity?

Those are the questions that we were asking our Afternoon Edition audience on BBC Radio 5 live all last week. Deep diving into the lives and experiences of communities living in the UK offered everything from views on immigration to concerns about the NHS, social mobility and where people say they're from.

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Today we have unveiled a mural in Peterborough, painted by members of the public and exploring the theme My Britain Is....

It is an uplifting portrayal of a multicultural community living happily side by side.

I grew up in a village in Essex, as you can probably imagine there wasn't a huge British Sri Lankan community there. In fact I knew every one of them and they all lived in the same house, our house. There was no choice but to integrate but that was a good thing. As a child I realised there was racism and once or twice I thought about how much easier life would be if I had fairer skin. I also realised that for every racist there were far more non racists. My childhood, and most importantly my parents, taught me that there is much more that unites us than divides us.

Last week's terrorist incident at Westminster was deeply shocking. It was designed to create division and chaos. A few days after that shocking act, it seems to me that integration is one of the greatest challenges of our times. How will we all learn to get along with each other? The differences between assimilation and integration. What are the psychological and structural barriers that prevent us from living side by side with each other. Is it perfectly reasonable to accept that whole communities are living two distinct experiences without any real need to ever meaningfully mix with one another.

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Last week being able to discuss whether the United Kingdom is divided or not on air with BBC 5 live has given the audience the opportunity to share their thoughts about some of their most pressing concerns.

The EU referendum divided the country with 52% voting to leave and 48% voting to remain. For the majority it was salvation, validation and celebration. In the immediate aftermath the police and various monitoring groups recorded rises in reports of hate crime. Friends, colleagues and families fell out over the decision.

These tensions and frustrations obviously existed before Brexit. But the E.U referendum gave some people the voice they craved. A minority of those voices, especially on social media, preferred to revel in sowing the seeds of division.

On the day Theresa May announced the date on which she would be triggering Article 50, we took our show to Peterborough, a city where 61% voted to leave Europe.

Bringing together fifteen local people in Peterborough to explore community and identity through public art, we asked them to crowd-produce a mural that represents their common view of today's Britain, a creative way of looking at unity and division within what some now - post-Brexit vote - call a fractured UK.

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We opened the conversation out to 5live listeners to share their thoughts on what divides us. Having an ongoing conversation with the UK audience is our raison d'etre.

One caller was particularly striking about whether wealth and class divide us. She was a Kenyan who now lives in Northern Ireland. She called in to say the barriers to her progressing in this country are so insurmountable that she is considering moving, both herself and her family, back to Nairobi. We also heard from an 18 year old student who wants be upper class one day. A woman of Italian parentage told us quite robustly that British Values were Christian values. These are the voices that 5live can bring to the forefront.

The Runnymede Trust told me we all too often focus on the whiteness of the white working class, ignoring geography and socio-economic disadvantage. And the debate on identity and where in the UK you come from provided a fascinating audience view including the man from Liverpool who says the city has a far better standing internationally compared within the UK, North v South, Asians in the Nations and the rivalry between Yorkshire and everyone else.

We asked people to complete the sentence, My Britain Is...For Goldie it's about the steel of Sheffield, from olde to borough markets, it's about art, music and the pebble stones of Fleet Street.

And we received hundreds of texts when we asked our audience to finish the sentence 'My Britain is...' From 'My Britain is a multicultural hell hole' sent by a listener who made a point of letting us knowing that he was black - to this text from another listener who wrote 'My Britain is....happy, sad, annoying, pleasing, challenging, rewarding, but most of all a place where I'm free to say what I really feel and to listen to others.'

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A long, long time ago (in what now seems like a galaxy far, far away) I was a young community education tutor. This was in the days when colleges were given a grant to provide education for their localities, and largely left to create their own programmes in collaboration with representatives from the local community. This process inevitably resulted in an eclectic patchwork of provision, which was how, starting in one beautiful autumn, I came to be teaching a GCSE psychology class for mature adults on the same afternoon that the dancing class met.

The little car I drove at that time had been made long before air conditioning was a standard feature, and on turning up for my first session on a sunny afternoon with the windows down, I could hear strains of a familiar melody: In the Mood, by the Glenn Miller Orchestra. This immediately stirred memories of my dad, a lifelong swing and jazz fan. Sitting there in my car, with a view through the window of the large room in which the class was held, I could see grey heads and smiling faces bobbing gracefully around the floor, and, in my mind's eye, my dad, who had died quite recently, listening to his old records and watching old Hollywood movies during his long illness, transported back to the fun and high jinks of his youth.

As the weeks rolled by, I began to purposely park my car in a place where I could listen to the music and watch the dancing for a few moments before I went into teach; observing the pleasure that the dancers took in their activity and listening to their music for a few minutes never failed to calm my mind, however frantic the morning had been, and always started my afternoon pleasantly. So, when I was allocated the same teaching slot the following year, I looked forward to observing what I had come to think of as 'my' dancers again. However, the hall was dark and silent when I arrived, and after a few weeks when nothing had changed, I asked the administrator at the centre if she had altered the time of the dancing class.

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'We can't do dancing anymore' she said. 'What do you mean, you can't do it?' I replied. 'Surely you would get loads of enrolments again this year?' 'It's not that' she said 'we have to offer education where we can demonstrate progression. They just dance, don't they, we can't test them on it. And if we don't get the government funding, the fees we would have to charge would be too high for people here' ('here' being an area of high unemployment). 'So the old people can't come out to their dancing class anymore?' I asked incredulously. 'That's right' she said. 'We'd been running it for twenty years. But not anymore'. In further conversation, I found that the same fate had also been meted out to a long standing embroidery class 'because the ladies who had been coming for years said that they wouldn't be prepared to do assessments'.

For the rest of that year, when I arrived at the venue and looked into a dark silent room rather than one full of music, light and joy, I imagined all the people who would have been there dancing, now sitting silently alone in separate rooms, feeling old, missing their two hours a week when they could re-live their youth on a 'bright cloud of music'. And subsequently, over the twenty-some intervening years, I have begun to wonder how many such socially inept policies vandalised the spaces in which people within similar communities across the nation were able to come together, and in so doing, created the conditions for holes to form within the fabric of human connection.
Dado Ruvic / Reuters

Google has learned the hard way that even the shiniest corporates cannot sit on their hands when their reputation is on the line. The search engine giant thought that a boycott by global brands would blow over. Once the tide turned against them, it became clear that inaction was no longer an option. After apologising and setting out how they would make things right, Google were able to stop this scandal in its tracks. They belatedly recognised that no brand is immune to reputational challenges.

For a company that claims to be 'advertiser-friendly', this whole affair has been embarrassing. Brands from L'Oreal to Audi started deserting Google after their adverts appeared alongside extremist videos on YouTube. Rape apologists, hate preachers and anti-Semites made money out of their advertising, and companies were having none of it.

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If Google had apologised at this point and pledged to fix the problem, this scandal might have been nipped in the bud. Instead, they did nothing. There was no immediate apology. No plan to put out the fire. Just silence.

Google clearly felt it was too big to be brought down by a few dissatisfied customers. Its brand is so widely recognised, it has been 'verbified' into our everyday language. We may not Facebook, but we certainly do Google.

But the boycott only gathered pace. Dominos, O2 and McDonald's became the latest to withdraw their chequebooks and, with consternation growing and the press on high alert, Google was caught flat-footed. They did not expect this boycott to continue and soon realised that they had to do something. Decisive action had become a repetitional imperative.

On Monday night Philipp Schindler, the company's Chief Business Officer, issued a rare mea culpa via the company's blog. Google has not been forced to apologise for much in the past. Having demonstrated a tin ear for too long, Schindler moved to show that he understood the gravity of the situation.

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His communication achieved a careful balance: acknowledging that Google could and should have acted faster, while reminding its corporate customer base of the substantial challenges it faces in tackling unacceptable content. In setting out a clear plan to overhaul their advertising policies and give clients greater control over where their adverts appear, they have every chance of winning their deserters round. Now is the time for Google to make good on its promises.
I'm the younger child from a Jewish family with parents who encouraged me to do the very best at everything I tried. With my mother being a phys-ed teacher, being competitive was encouraged. I've always had a natural cheekiness, perhaps a precursor to my fundraising abilities-beginning with rolling my big brown eyes at the photographer at my first dancing recital age six, saying my mother wouldn't let me have the $1 to buy my picture. He gave it to me.

I was bullied for two years age 11 and 12. That affected my desire to really achieve and my core values to be sensitive to vulnerabilities in others and to make sure my children did the same. I've always had a high level of energy-working in a dress shop and selling Avon in high school, taking pride in being the fastest cashier in the grocery store while in university. When studying for law and MBA degrees, I lived in a school of yoga getting up at 5:30 to meditate while holding down 4 jobs simultaneously cook, waitress, assisting doing books for eight related businesses, clerking in a law firm - all enjoyed for different reasons.

One of my continuing life patterns is always being on the edges of power and influence, the outside rung of the inside circle. I've always fought for the 'proletariats', pushing boundaries as I've felt strongly about issues, putting my head on the block and recovering every time it got chopped off.

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I spent eight years specialising in taxation of Americans abroad gaining technical skills, client facing skills, learning to make presentations, and beginning to achieve success on operational, finance, organisational, management and leadership matters. I was headhunted by a client to be FD of an asset management company operating in 6 countries. This required other skills. It was a different, small environment instead of a large operation. When the company was bought out, I learned a little about humility. I thought I'd never be unemployed... It took a few months to find a new job. I did it by making networking a job, seeing 4 or 5 companies per day, getting referrals and having the discipline of going home, writing thank yous, writing letters to new prospects, and booking appointments. I then became Deputy CEO and Head of Operations at what is now called the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. That really required using my people skills. It was all lawyers and accountants, and my first venture into preparing for and presenting at Board and Committee meetings. I was let go after the best results which had ever been achieved.

It's with hindsight you understand why things which appear to be bad are just pushing you to the next life challenge. Learning from those knocks is crucial. Starting up In Kind Direct for HRH The Prince of Wales almost 21 years ago required all the skills I had picked up along the way, from legal minefields and negotiating, IT systems/personnel policies/salesmanship, writing, being a jack of all trades, to knowing when I needed help - plus passion, singlemindedness and the type of brain that never shuts down. I constantly see opportunities for In Kind Direct and for others whether it is when I meet people or read articles. The way my brain works is to figure out the end game and then what is the most efficient way of getting there.

Success does involve risk, but it is a two-sided coin. My life's lesson is learning patience. Sometimes I annoy people, but that tenacity has also contributed to the fact that In Kind Direct has worked with over 1,000 companies, helped 8,300 charities, and distributed to them almost 170 million in value of the new consumer goods they need for their operations and to give to the people they serve. We have for the past four years also been spreading product philanthropy to other countries through In Kind Direct International too.

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For a small organisation certainly, you need all the skills in your bag of tricks - know when you need to be gracious or how to counter reasons why people say no. I love what I do. I still get a real buzz out of winning back former donors, succeeding in being granted new funding, convincing new donor companies to come on board, and hearing how what we do has made a substantial difference to people's lives and to the organisations working at the grassroots to help them. It's important to always be authentic and learn little tricks like giving credit to anyone or organisation giving support. It often helps matters along and encourages future giving.
Remember these people:

Aysha Frade, a school administrator with a Spanish mother and a Cypriot father, on her way to pick up her children from school.

Kurt Cochran, an American from West Bountiful in Utah, on a tour of Europe with his wife Melissa to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.

Leslie Rhodes, aged 75, who died of his injuries late on Thursday night.

Keith Palmer, a police officer with 15 years' experience, a member of the Metropolitan police parliamentary and diplomatic protection command.

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Four victims of a callous murderer whose name need not concern us. (Although now that we know that he was born in Kent as Adrian Ajao, I look forward to the apologies from all the racist bigots who claimed that the attack was in some way related to immigration.)

How unlucky his victims were to be at Westminster on Wednesday afternoon -- three of them walking across Westminster Bridge, the fourth doing his job at the entrance to the houses of parliament.

And as we mourn all victims of politically-motivated killings, let us also remember Lee Rigby, the off-duty soldier who was murdered in 2013, and Jo Cox, the MP who was killed last June and whose husband Brendan has been a role model ever since as we struggle to find the right words in response to such cruelty.

After the Westminster attacks on Wednesday, he said: 'The person who did this wants us to be fearful and divided. Let's show them that we are neither.'

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In Paris 16 months ago, 130 people died when gunmen opened fire in a series of coordinated attacks. In Brussels, exactly a year ago, 32 people were killed. In Nice, last July, 86 died when a lorry ploughed through Bastille Day crowds on the Promenade des Anglais. And in Berlin last December, 12 died in a similar attack on a Christmas market.

So we may be forgiven for thinking that London got off lightly. We knew the city was not immune, we knew that the security services believed an attack was 'highly likely'. It was a question of when, not if.

Why did London get off lightly? It is tempting to say that we were lucky, but luck was only part of it. The attacker was armed with only knives. No gun -- because it's not easy to get hold of guns in a country with strict laws about the ownership of firearms.

He couldn't get into the Palace of Westminster because it is extremely well-fortified. Those hideous black security barriers are there for a reason. If he could have, I'm sure he would have loved to kill some MPs. PC Palmer was in his way, and gave his life to defend them.

Let us not forget: in 1979, the senior Conservative MP Airey Neave was murdered when Irish republican bombers placed an explosive device beneath his car while it was in the House of Commons underground car park.

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In 1984, they blew up the Grand Hotel in Brighton and nearly wiped out Margaret Thatcher's entire Cabinet. In 1991, they tried to kill John Major's Cabinet by firing mortars at 10 Downing Street.

So yes, we were lucky on Wednesday that it was 'only' a man in a rented car with a couple of knives. But we also owe an immense debt to the police and security services who have learnt well from the mistakes of the past. We are all immeasurably safer today than we were during the IRA bombing campaigns of the 1970s and 80s.

It would be the height of folly to claim that a coordinated series of attacks on the scale of the 7/7 bombings in 2005 could not be mounted again. But it is worth noting that for more than a decade, there has been nothing comparable. (In 2007, two car bombs were discovered and disabled before they could be detonated, and the following day, there was an attempted attack at Glasgow airport.)

Londoners like to claim that the spirit of Blitz lives on in the capital. The truth is that in all the major cities of Europe that have been attacked, life goes on. Which is, of course, exactly as it should be. Twenty-four hours after the Westminster attack, I walked through the heart of London's West End -- and with the exception of a helicopter whirring noisily overhead and a couple of heavily-armed police officers on patrol in Leicester Square, it was as if nothing at all had happened.

Over the coming days, we will learn more about the man who was responsible for the attack and perhaps begin to understand more about the best way to minimise the risk of more such attacks in the future. For the police and the security services, the task is never-ending -- to find, identify and monitor those who seek to do us harm. As the IRA said after they failed to kill Margaret Thatcher in 1984: 'Today we were unlucky, but remember we only have to be lucky once. You will have to be lucky always.'

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Across East Africa more than 18million people are facing catastrophic drought and food shortages.

Already in Somalia people have died because of hunger and, as the drought deepens, people are becoming weaker and exhausting all their coping mechanisms to keep themselves and their families alive.

Two years of failed rains has wiped out crops and harvests triggering a food and humanitarian crisis.

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There are signs that this drought is tipping into a famine - with more hunger-reported deaths in the region over the past few weeks.

On the drive from Somaliland's capital Hargeisa to the Ethiopia border, rocks, and stones are replacement of roads. The driving and journey is difficult because of the terrain and thick dust which covers everything. The landscape is mostly flat - all around are the signs of the devastating drought that has taken hold in the self declared independent region of Somaliland.

The cactus are shrivelled up and limp.

From the bush, hungry camels emerge, because of hunger, they look confused and disorientated, their frames are thin, their legs are wasted, the animals are struggling to stand up and walk.

Animal carcasses litter the landscape. One camel that died forty eight hours earlier, because of the drought, has been devoured clean by hyenas.

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All that is left is the white skeleton which stands out against the brown orange dust and sand.

The ground where where livestock dies turns into a symbolic funeral gathering. Old men stand with their heads bowed and their hands behind their backs to mourn their loss, children and women huddle together.

Women point to the carcasses and say they are scared their children will die next.

In Somaliland, livestock are more than animals, they are the backbone of a families livelihood and identity.

Exporting livestock is also what Somaliland's economy depends on.

According to government figures, of the 18million livestock the country exports, at least 10million have perished in the drought so far.

"For our people their livestock is their identity and pride. When a woman is married her groom brings livestock for his bride's dowry. When there is a feud in the community, traditionally it was settled and peace was agreed though the exchange of livestock. When someone is sick, livestock is traded and sold. The money is used to treat them. Of course the livestock also provides a source of nutrition to families and is their source of income. This is why why it is so devastating to see so much of Somaliland's livestock wiped out - it is a deep loss for our people," explains Sadia Abdi Alin, ActionAid Somaliland's Country Director.

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In a Bali Cabane, village on the Somaliland, Ethiopia border, Ifrah Mohamed, 30 and and her eight children mingle close to their make shift home - a tent made out of fabric, wood, tin and rope.

Ifrah is cradling her baby daughter Nima, who is one month old, she strokes her daughters head lovingly. Her baby is mesmerised by her mother. Ifrah says she is hungry, her body is weak and exhausted and she can not produce breast milk to feed her baby.

"We arrived here four month ago because there was no food or water. We had fifty camels but all our camels died. We cried when the camels died - they are our responsibility - they belonged to us and they died. It was very hard.

"My husband is out with the rest of the livestock looking for food and water.

"The children are getting weaker. In the morning I feed the children flour and porridge. This is all the food we have. We do not have much. I am scared my children will die. First our animals died. I am afraid the children will die next."

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This story is repeated across the communities where ActionAid works dotted along the eastern side of the Somaliland, Ethiopia border.

I meet women, old and young who have the same story to tell.

The men in the families, their husbands, sons and brothers have left to find food, water and pasture for their remaining livestock - trying to keep the animals alive. The men are migrating, they're traveling vast distances. The women say they feel vulnerable to violence and sexual abuse because there are no men in their communities.

In Somaliland sexual harassment and violence is not something that women talk about openly. The women are clear to explain that nothing has happened to them but they live in fear of being attacked. "At night we are scared and we make sure that women are kept together and we sleep in big groups in our small tents. We know that anything can happen and there are also wild and hungry animals outside too that are dangerous for us," says one woman.

These pastoralists and nomadic communities are facing huge forced changes to their way of life which has been turned upside down because of the drought.

Generations of families have been separated and family structures altered as women take on the role of the head of the household. The burden of responsibility women carry for their families has become even heavier during the drought.

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Children as young as 14 are also taking on the responsibility of heading up their families, left to take care of their younger siblings as their parents search for food and water for their livestock.

In the communities I visit, generations of women are left to fend for themselves and have nothing more than handfuls of food to feed heir children.

Fatima Noor, 90, squats on the ground. She has her arms firmly around her grandson Umer, 4, she clings on to the boy with all the strength in her body. Umer's parents left three moths ago with their livestock, they took their three eldest children with them and left Umer with his grandmother because they're the weakest members of the family, the eldest and youngest, the family members decided they were not strong enough to make the journey.

Fatima says "I take care of my grandson. There is no food or milk or water. We make do with rice and flour. I do not know when my family will return. Everyday we pray for rain so that they can return home."
On March 25, a number of ski enthusiasts gathered at Yabuli Ski Resort in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province to take part in the resort's second Naked Ski Festival. Attendees celebrated in bright bikinis and costumes at the snow-covered venue. (Chinanews.com/Zhong Xin)
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On Wednesday the 29th of March Peter McGraith and David Cabreza will be celebrating their third wedding anniversary. I, along many others, will be celebrating with them. Why? They were one of the first same sex couples to legally marry in 2014 - so this marks a very happy anniversary indeed.

The decision by Parliament to allow same sex marriage, rather than civil partnership, was a legal milestone. However, despite the fact that the law around same-sex weddings has been dragged out of the dark ages, there are still a number of areas within the wedding experience where inequality, discrimination or simple thoughtlessness still persist.

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When planning a wedding, couples speak to tens of different suppliers and service providers - the venue, the cake maker, the wedding planner, photographer and so on. For same sex couples most of these conversations involve some element of coming out simply by having to give the names of the wedding couple. This can be wearying, even just in anticipation of an adverse or uncomfortable reaction. Straight is still the assumed default.

In coming out, many suppliers treat the lesbian and gay community with open arms. However, this is not always the case, particularly when it comes to choosing the venue or method of marriage.

Same-sex couples who are religious have limited choice. According to recent ONS figures out of the 4,850 same-sex marriage ceremonies in 2014, only 23 were religious, that's less than half a percent. In comparison 28 per cent of straight couples opted for a religious wedding. For many, regardless of religious leanings, weddings and churches go hand in hand but for same-sex couples, they quite simply cannot. In the UK, the largest religious groups have either banned (in the case of the Church of England) or have chosen not to (for example, the Catholic Church or Orthodox Judaism) conduct same-sex ceremonies. Certain more liberal churches, such as the Quakers or Reform Judaism, will allow same-sex ceremonies, but often on the discretion of the individual minister.

There is always the option of a civil wedding. However, even then there is a risk of problems. Certain registrars in the early days of civil partnership legislation either expressed distaste or refused to officiate at same-sex ceremonies. And for private venues, I have heard of venues mysteriously becoming unavailable when it was clear that it was being hired for a same-sex wedding. Of course, if this was the reason it is a clear breach of the Equalities Act 2010, but as ever the problem is one of proof.

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These types of prejudices were encapsulated very clearly in the 'gay cake row', which eventually saw a bakery in Northern Ireland convicted of discrimination after refusing to bake a pro-gay marriage cake. But in most cases the inequalities don't reach the courts or the front pages.

Even when suppliers are delighted to support a same sex wedding, remarks like "You'll be my sixth gay wedding!" are all too common. Very often, such comments are made with the best intentions but it cannot be underestimated how exasperating it can be to smile and nod and explain that you don't find your life as a couple particularly different from anyone else's.

As a case in point, at my wedding our photographer was fantastic, but in the excitement, we hadn't thought to really educate him on the alternative family and friends that are so prevalent in the LGBT community. Our wedding photos show a "traditional" family set up, sometimes to the exclusion of friends that have been equally important to us.

Then there is the honeymoon. Couples may get hitched without a hitch but the bulk of honeymoon packages are geared towards heterosexual couples. Indeed, it wasn't long ago that some package holiday providers, such as Sandals, were in trouble for not allowing same-sex couples on their holidays. Unfortunately, an even sadder fact remains, many countries are still hostile to same-sex couples. If you're a male-male couple looking for island sun in Jamaica, sex between men is punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The truth is homosexual honeymooners face the same travel problems when planning a vacation, and then a whole series of extra concerns about the law and their own security.

This outsider feeling extends to the less exciting elements of planning a wedding, like the insurance taken out to protect the special day. Many financial products for weddings are stuck in the past. For example, insurance policies often won't cover two bridal dresses or two grooms' suits - it's one of each. This is in no way fit for purpose and to add to that the customer application process and customer service is geared towards heterosexual couples. So much so that according to research by Emerald Life, when asked about insurance in general, four out of five (79%) of the UK's LGBT population would change the way that insurance companies interact with them.

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Hutchinson woman arrested for alleged sex with four juvenile males

Police have been investigating case since two victims came forward in September. Two others were identified since through the investigation.
Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye leaves the prosecutors' office in Seoul, South Korea, March 22, 2017. South Korean prosecutors on March 27 sought to arrest Park Geun-hye in a corruption investigation. (Xinhua/Lee Sang-ho)

South Korean prosecutors on Monday sought to arrest Park Geun-hye, the country's former president who was impeached in a historic ruling earlier this month, over a corruption scandal embroiling Park and her longtime confidante.

The special investigation headquarters of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, tasked with the probe into the scandal, said in a statement that concerns remained about an attempt to destroy evidence as Park denied most of criminal charges despite a number of collected evidences.

Park was removed from office on March 10 as the Constitutional Court upheld a motion to impeach Park. The first South Korean female leader became the first president ousted by impeachment.

State prosecutors, who took over the investigation from special prosecutors this month, summoned the disgraced leader last week for questioning, but she denied most of her wrongdoings.

The arrest warrant was formally delivered to a Seoul court, which would review evidences and decide whether the warrant can be justified. The decision would be made late Wednesday or early Thursday.

If issued, Park would become the third South Korean former leader to be taken into custody. Two former military strongmen were put behind bars in 1995 for charges of treason and corruption.

State and special prosecutors levied a total of 13 charges against Park, including bribery, abuse of power and the leakage of state secrets.

The statement said Park abused power by using her "powerful status and authority as president" to extort money and valuables from businesses and infringe on the liberty of corporate management, while leaking official secrets.

Park is accused of colluding with her decades-long friend Choi Soon-sil, who is now in custody, to solicit tens of millions of U.S. dollars in bribes from Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong who is also arrested.

The bribes were offered in return for getting assistance in the transfer of management control of Samsung Group to Vice Chairman Lee from his ailing father Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

The younger Lee, an heir apparent of the country's biggest family-controlled conglomerate, has effectively taken the helm of Samsung since his father was hospitalized after a heart attack three years ago.

Choi is charged with extorting tens of millions of dollars from scores of conglomerates to establish two non-profit foundations she used for personal gains. Prosecutors already branded Park and Choi as criminal accomplices.

Choi, at the center of the influence-peddling scandal, is also suspected of receiving secret government documents from one of Park's former secretaries on a regular basis to meddle in state affairs behind the scenes.

The prosecution office said it considered fairness in the decision to seek the arrest of Park given the detention of many of those implicated in the scandal including Choi, the Samsung heir and other government officials.

The decision is believed to have considered recent opinion polls, in which a majority of South Koreans demanded Park's arrest. According to a Realmeter survey released on Thursday, 72.3 percent of South Koreans favored restricted prosecution of the former president.

A candlelight rally was held on Saturday night, and over 100,000 participants marched to the streets, chanting the slogan "Imprison Park Geun-hye."

A presidential election is scheduled for May 9. The three-week campaign period is slated to kick off on April 17.

Concerns remain that if Park, dressed in prison uniform and handcuffed, appears on TV, it could cause backlashes from conservative politicians and voters and influence the election results.

Others claim Park's arrest would have no effect on the upcoming election, in which one of progressive candidates is widely forecast to succeed Park, as the majority of people still want Park detained.
The Beijing-based China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) recently signed a deal to sell unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) as well as production lines to Saudi Arabia, according to IHS Janes Defence Industry news.

The UAV model in question, the Rainbow-4, can accommodate a satellite communications antenna and has previously been displayed with AR-1 laser-guided missiles and FT-9 guided bombs, the military newspaper disclosed. It was developed to perform reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence collection and ground strikes, according to the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics.

During a state visit to China by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud from March 15 to 18, the two countries signed 35 deals worth as much as $65 billion, including a partnership agreement to manufacture drones. According to an agreement signed by China Aerospace Long-March International (ALIT) and manufacturers in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi-made UAVs will be marketed to other countries in the region.

Chinese companies have signed deals with buyers in Pakistan and Myanmar for the Rainbow UAV production line, a developer was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post. In the past, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan and Pakistan have deployed Rainbow drones against terrorists. The excellent performance of Chinese UAVs in the Middle East may have caught Saudi Arabia's attention, one expert speculated.
8 student boys likely dead after being hit by avalanche in eastern Japan, 30 others hurt

(Xinhua) 16:52, March 27, 2017

TOKYO, March 27 -- Eight senior high school boys hit by an avalanche on a ski slope in Japan's Tochigi Prefecture were found displaying no vital signs on Monday morning, and more than 30 other people were injured in the avalanche, local authorities said.

They said the avalanche occurred on a ski slope during a spring mountaineering workshop involving school children and their teachers in the town of Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture.

Fire officials said that following the avalanche, more than 30 other people were found to have been injured in the disaster.

More than 60 students from 7 different high schools and a dozen teachers were believed to be on the slope at the time when the avalanche occurred, local media said.

The avalanche struck the Nasu onsen Family Ski Resort in the morning, while students were taking part in a springtime climbing event with the avalanche believed to have occurred on the upper side of one of the slopes at the ski resort that ended this season's operation last Monday.

Emergency calls were received following the avalanche at 9:20 a.m. local time by emergency dispatchers. The teachers and students began their mountaineering activities on the slope at around 7:30 a.m. local time on Monday, a representative of one of the participating schools said.

The weather agency here said that a 33-centimeter snowpack had been recorded in the town over an eight-hour period through 9 a.m.

Following this the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued an avalanche advisory in the area.

The springtime climbing event began on Saturday and was supposed to finish at noon on Monday, a representative of one of the schools involved said.

Local government authorities, given the scope of the disaster, asked for the assistance of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to help with relief and rescue operations.

Both students and teachers from seven different different schools were taking part in a springtime climbing event when the accident happened, local reports and authorities said.

The Tochigi Fire and Disaster Prevention Division said that rescue measures are currently ongoing.

The prefectural Board of Education in the area said that 66 people, including 11 faculty members, joined the climbing workshop from seven high schools in the prefecture and were all concurrently receiving workshops to do with mountaineering on three different slopes when the disaster happened.

The central government has set up a task force at the crisis management center of the prime minister's office.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said himself during a parliamentary session that his government "will make every effort to respond to the disaster, while making it a top priority to rescue victims of the avalanche."

Tochigi Prefecture is located in the Kanto region just 120 km north of Tokyo on the island of Honshu and its capital is the city of Utsunomiya.

In Japan a doctor has to examine the bodies that are showing no vital signs of life before an official death notice can be issued.
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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!
Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Micronesian President Peter M. Christian Monday that China welcomed the Pacific island country to participate in the Belt and Road construction.

Through cooperation on the Belt and Road, China and Micronesia can achieve win-win results, Xi said during talks with his Micronesian counterpart.

Proposed by Xi in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network along ancient trade routes.

The initiative has gained the support of over 100 countries and international organizations.

Christian said Micronesia highly appreciated the Belt and Road Initiative and was ready to actively participate in pragmatic cooperation on it.

Micronesia appreciates China's long-term assistance for the country's economic and social development, Christian said.

Xi called on both sides to continue exchanges, and respect each other's core interests and major concerns to consolidate bilateral relations.

The two countries can also push forward cooperation in tourism, agriculture, fisheries, infrastructure and other fields, Xi said, adding China is willing to expand exchanges with Micronesia in the fields of culture, education, youth and cooperation at local level.

Xi said China would further coordination with Micronesia on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, climate change and other major issues to better safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

China supports Micronesia to play an active role in regional affairs, he said.

The Micronesian government firmly adheres to the one-China policy and agrees with China's position on climate change, globalization and other major issues, Christian said, adding that the country was ready to enhance coordination with China to deal with global challenges.

Following their talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of bilateral agreement on economic and technological cooperation.

Prior to the talks, Xi held a red-carpet welcoming ceremony for Christian.
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British actor Ariyon Bakare stars in the new sci-fi extravaganza Life opposite Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson and Jake Gyllenhaal. They play astronauts on the International Space Station who have just discovered the existence of life on Mars. But before you can say David Bowie, the little critter is trying to kill them. What then unfolds is the scariest space opera since Aliens.

When the first trailer for Life launched last October, it was cut to make it look like Bakare was going to die, and social media lit up with comments about how the black dude is always dying first in movies.

It was a reaction that made the 45-year-old British actor sad. That was pure identity politics, he says. That was quite upsetting. I understand why people thought that, but I hoped that we could rise above it. We are a multicultural cast and this is 2017.

The real reason its upsetting to me is that we have the idea that the lowest strata of society is the black man, so we think its the norm for a black man to be considered disposable, he states. Im hoping its changing and its changing. The general consensus at the moment is that everyone is politicising more.

Bakare with Hiroyuki Sanada in the movie 'Life'

And how black actors are treated in cinema is big news. Last year the British Film Institutes Black Star season just seemed to highlight how far Britain still needs to go to achieve diversity. There was also the #OscarsSoWhite campaign that led to the American Academy inviting a more diverse membership to join, a move that made it more than coincidence when Moonlight won the Oscar this year.

In the past month British Westworld star Thandie Newton has complained that the preponderance of period dramas in the UK has meant that she cant find roles on British television; and Samuel L Jackson as suggested that black British actors were being used so much in America only because they are cheaper to employ.

But for a long time Bakare resisted the urge to go to America. He was enjoying his career on stage and screen and hopeful that the British industry would accommodate his talents. However, he admits that in the end he had to go. There is a ceiling when acting in England, he says. Its changing and it could do with a lot of change. Im not saying that its just about identity politics either, but I was being offered a lot of the same roles.

And that is a question that is more than about race. A few years ago all the talk was about the British actors getting superhero roles, and so the question of British actors getting great work across the pond is much more complex than that put forward by Jackson when he posited that an African American may have given a more nuanced performance in the hit film Get Out, starring British actor Daniel Kaluuya.

Jake Gyllenhaal and director Daniel Espinosa on set of 'Life'

That outburst from the Pulp Fiction star left Bakare feeling perturbed. Acting is not about waiting for the perfect role to suit your history, he says. What you need is good acting skills and with black British actors that is what happens. We do theatre, TV and films, as in my career.

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His big break came in 1998 when he starred in the TV mini-series A Respectable Trade. Set in 1787, it saw Bakare excel as a learned slave who catches the eye of a slave traders well-bred wife. I was one of the first black men to be in a period drama, he says.

Another period drama, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, set around the Napoleonic Wars in an alternative 19th century England was also one his most difficult experiences on set. In the series starring Eddie Marsan and Bertie Carvel, Bakare plays Stephen Black, born on a slave ship, who is adopted and schooled by the slavers family. As a man, the butler does a heinous bargain with a fantasy spirt that sees him become the servant of two masters.

I lost my sister at the start of filming and then my step-mum six weeks later, says Bakare. That was a painful time, helped by having a cast and director so sensitive to how I was feeling. Imagine youre filming something and in your private life you are burying someone and the world is disintegrating around you, and then Stephen the character your playing is disintegrating as well. Thats not nice. But it helped the character that my face was full of pain and grief.

He has just completed shooting a part for the second series of Doctor Foster. His other credits include Doctors and Dancing on The Edge. Movie-wise, he had parts in Rogue One and The Dark Knight, so he finds it amusing now that the early buzz for Life has seen him being talked up as the overnight success. Im the overnight success that didnt happen last night, he says.

His father, an electrician, didnt want him to be an actor. But Bakare had more flamboyant ideas. He went to New York to pursue his dreams of becoming a dancer. But then he chatted to a professional he respected who was about to retire at the age of 26, and Bakare didnt like the maths: three years of training at school for a career lasting only three years. Literally the next day I threw away my ballet shoes, he says.

Back in England he went to drama school in London and was soon found treading the boards. He starred alongside Jude Law for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Everything since then has been a progression he argues.

He speaks in a soothing voice that is perfect for telling bedtime stories. On the set of Life he stayed in character throughout the shoot, having spent months learning how to be immobile and what its like to be an astronaut in space. A journey that is finally putting Bakare in amongst the stars.

'Life' is out now
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"My mother didn't like funerals and memorials," stated Todd Fisher, son of Debbie Reynolds and brother to Carrie Fisher, who both so tragically passed away in December of last year.

The beloved pair were honoured over the weekend with a special memorial service which took place at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Los Angeles (via The Hollywood Reporter); bringing together friends, family, and fans to commemorate their inspirational lives and immeasurable work.

"You are all her people  not just her extended family, but her close friends and fans," Fisher addressed the crowd. "We would be sharing these same kinds of films and photographs, telling the same stories... youre gonna see a lot of things youve never, ever seen before."

"She looked at me to ask for permission to leave, said she wanted to be with Carrie, closed her eyes and went to sleep," he shared of his last moments with Reynolds before her death. "It was a very peaceful exit that only my mother couldve orchestrated. She was trained in Hollywood, where they teach you to make a great entrance and exit... a beautiful exit."

The celebration included montages, set to music by Star Wars composer John Williams, with tributes to both women's work on film, alongside family photos, interview footage, and documentation of their humanitarian work.

 Carrie Fisher: Fans mourn Star Wars heroine

Dan Aykroyd, who was briefly engaged to Fisher and starred alongside her in The Blues Brothers, also took to the stage to reminiscence about his friendship with the actress. "I once saved her life, applying the Heimlich manoeuvre to dislodge a Brussel sprout, and if I had been with our beloved showboat, I might have been able to save her again," he said. "I know these women will have a song for us when we arrive at the crossing. After all, were only seconds behind."

"She was, without a doubt, the most generous human being," Ruta Lee said of her longtime friend Reynolds. "She gave her heart to everything."

Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher Show all 9 1 /9 Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher American actor and singer Debbie Reynolds smiles and holds her infant daughter, Carrie Fisher Getty Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher American actress Debbie Reynolds with her daughter Carrie Fisher Getty Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher Actress Debbie Reynolds, poses with her children Carrie Fisher and Todd Fisher Getty Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher arrive at the premiere of 'Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith' Getty Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher Actress Carrie Fisher and her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds Getty Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher Actress Debbie Reynolds accepts the Life Achievement Award from her daughter, actress Carrie Fisher onstage at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. Getty Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher Actresses Carrie Fisher, Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award recipient Debbie Reynolds, and Billie Lourd pose in the press room during the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California Getty Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher A candle is seen on the star for Debbie Reynolds on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California Getty Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher A view of a temporary star made by fans in tribute to actress Carrie Fisher on Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California Getty



The ceremony also saw a brief appearance by Star Wars' own R2-D2, and the performance of an original song entitled 'I'm Here to Let You Go' by family friend James Blunt; which debuted over a final photo montage, alongside footage of Reynolds' last performance, which was with Fisher and her daughter Billie Lourd.

The joint public memorial takes place after the deaths of both Fisher and Reynolds in late December, one day apart from each other, and following a private joint memorial between close family and friends which took place on 5 January.
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Motley Crues snorts-and-all autobiography The Dirt sent countless readers off the rails - a debauched chronicle of the bands decadent lifestyle during their heyday in the 80s.

A biopic based on it has been kicking around for some time, and now it looks to have found a home.

Paramount and Focus Feature are in negotiations with Netflix to distribute the long-gestating film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Jackass director Jeff Tremaine has been line up to direct - a really good fit given his expertise in showing off gleeful idiocy.

The writing department is on point too, with Tom Kapinos having apparently penned the script, the man behind dissolute LA comedy series Californication.

The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band was written by Motley Crue members Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx, along with author Neil Strauss, and became a New York Times best-seller.

Focusing on their rise to the throne of hair metal, it told tales of sex with groupies, clashes with police, in fighting and boatloads of drugs, interspersed with over 100 photos.


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A fresh row has broken out over a controversial risk assessment form used by the Metropolitan Police for music events in the UK.

Minister for Digital and Culture Matt Hancock has written a letter to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, asking him to address the issue.

He said that he is concerned the form is not only potentially stifling young artists and reducing the diversity of Londons world renowned musical offering, but is also having a negative impact on Londons night time economy by pushing organisers and promoters of urban music events to take them outside of London.

He noted that grime has the same significance for todays young people as punk did in the 1970s, empowering them, creating a new generation of musical heroes and growing to become a worldwide phenomenon.

Sadiq Khan has previously spoken in support of Londons grime scene, noting that it is here to stay. He recently presented Skepta with the Best British Male Artist award at this years VO5 NME Awards.

Form 696 is often completed voluntarily by promoters and licensees before hosting music events by DJs and MCs that use a backing track.

It reads: Our recommended guidance to music event organisers, management of licensed premises or event promoter on when to complete Form 696 is where you hold an event that is  promoted/advertised to the public at any time before the event, and predominantly features DJs or MCs performing to a recorded backing track, and runs anytime between the hours of 10pm and 4am, and is in a nightclub or a large public house.

Recommended Matt Hancock pens letter to Sadiq Khan over police form for live music

The original form had previously attracted controversy in 2008 because of a request for details of ethnic groups likely to attend the performance  this was revised in 2009 to omit those parameters after complaints that it was racist.

At the time, UK Music chief Feargal Sharkey claimed the form made an implicit, unwarranted association between live music and the war on terror.

Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up

However grime artists have told the Victoria Derbyshire programme that information on the new version of the form can be passed on and result in the cancellation of their gigs at the last minute.

The BBC reports that some police forces are allegedly also still asking for the ethnic make-up of audiences attending, along with the type of music that will be played.

Artist P Money told the BBC programme that the form was a race thing and targeted grime a lot.

Its been happening for so many years that now we kind of know, its just our scene, he said. We know theyre just trying to shut down grime, because if it was anything else they wouldnt have this issue.

If, for example, Ed Sheeran had a show and a fight broke out, hes not going to do a 696 on his next arena tour.

Last year Peckham rapper Giggs, whose tour was cancelled in 2010 following advice from police, called for them to work more closely with grime acts to prevent other shows from being cancelled.

The Metropolitan Police has denied that the voluntary form targets certain genres of music.

A Met spokesman told the London Evening Standard: Some events can be problematic and in some cases have resulted in serious violence and disorder.

To assist in managing events of this type, the Metropolitan Police Service currently uses a system that allows premises and event owners who want to hold events, or use an outside promoter, to submit an event assessment form 696 to police.

The form does not target any particular group nor does it ask for the genre of music, event type, age range or demographic of the customers who attend.

A City Hall spokesperson told The Independent: Our priority is to keep Londoners safe and support a vibrant night time economy, and this means ensuring that all performances have the most appropriate security and safety plans in place.

We have supported a number of events that bring together the Met, music venues, and promoters to try to improve the understanding of when and how risk assessment form 696 should be used. In the majority of cases, the use of these forms is voluntary and it is very rare for the police to assess a planned event as high risk.

Mr Hancock has said that while he appreciates the intended purpose of the risk assessment form, he is keen to know whether there was a case for changing the current system.

Anything which has the potential to impact negatively on free expression and Londons economy while denying young people the opportunity to attend and perform at certain events, needs careful consideration, he said.
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A controversial plan to create a wall in the sky to reflect sunlight could win support from the Trump administration because it appears to offer a way to keep burning fossil fuels while reducing global warming, campaigners have said.

A team of Harvard University scientists led by Professor David Keith plans to begin a trial of a so-called geoengineering project next year.

This will involve spraying fine particles of water and various materials, such as sulphur dioxide, from a high-altitude balloon.

It is thought doing this on a large scale would cool the planet in a similar way to the effect of the lightest debris produced by volcanic eruptions.

However such ideas are controversial with the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity agreeing in December that its moratorium on climate geoengineering should remain in place.

This is partly because such measures could have unintended consequences, such as causing drought in the Sahel region of Africa, as one scientific study suggested.

After the Harvard team unveiled their plans, Silvia Riberio, Latin America director at technology watchdog ETC Group, told the Guardian: Clearly parts of the Trump administration are very willing to open the door to reckless schemes like David Keiths, and may well have quietly given the nod to open-air experiments.

Worryingly, geoengineering may emerge as this administrations preferred approach to global warming.

In their view, building a big beautiful wall of sulphate in the sky could be a perfect excuse to allow uncontrolled fossil fuel extraction.

We need to be focussing on radical emissions cuts, not dangerous and unjust technofixes.

Professor Daniel Schrag, of Harvard, said in a promotional video about their planned trial: One aspect of the climate problem that people sometimes dont appreciate is the timescale  the fact that a large fraction of the carbon we are putting in the atmosphere will still be there thousands, even tens of thousands, of years from now.

But switching from fossil fuels to renewables, he claimed, would take many decades and probably much more than a century.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

Many of us who have looked at the energy systems of the world and the climate system have a feeling we may actually not be able to switch our energy system over in time to prevent the worst consequences of climate change, Professor Schrag said.

This is really why solar geoengineering is, I think, an important thing to look at very carefully.


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Perhaps you work at an office with a stated dress code, or you've received an invitation to an event with the request to dress "business casual."

But what exactly is a business casual dress code? It turns out the answer to that question is confusing for many.

"This one is the murkiest for our customers and for other people we speak to. Part of the problem is that there are so many trends that are so casual," Dorie Smith, cofounder of women's workwear brand Of Mercer, recently said to Business Insider.

Last June, for example, JPMorgan sent out a company-wide memo encouraging employees to dress in business casual unless they were meeting with clients. Other firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers and BlackRock (which has had a business casual dress code since the '90s) followed suit in relaxing their office dress requirements as they sought to attract millennials, many of whom like to dress in athleisure in their spare time.

But the rise of athleisure and increasingly casual workplaces has led some people to don leggings and other inappropriately casual clothing items for the office. Since more and more people are wearing leggings and other performance-centric materials as they socialize and do errands on the weekends, it seems only natural that the look would bleed into the workplace.

Leaning into that, according to the ladies behind Of Mercer, could be a big mistake.

"We've even gotten emails from HR at some of these firms that say, 'Help our analysts realize it's not OK to wear leggings to work,'" Smith said. "People go too casual."

You can, however, incorporate some elements of athleisure into your work wardrobe, like tailored pants that have some stretch to them -- just no sweatpants, yoga pants, or tank tops.

"Our rule of thumb is to make sure you're dressing one step above everyone around you," Emelyn Northway, Smith's cofounder, said. "If people are wearing jeans, wear nice black pants instead. It goes a long way to making you feel good about yourself and to making other people feel like you know what you're doing."

Recent studies have shown that wearing nice clothes in the office can actually be an effective strategy -- dressing professionally can affect the way people perceive you, how confident you're feeling, and even how you're able to think abstractly.

The Of Mercer founders recommend going for a dress with a fit-and-flare silhouette or a wrap dress in a bold color. After all, you'll never hear a manager complain that someone dresses too nicely -- but you might hear about someone who's dressed down too much.

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Read the original article on Business Insider UK.  2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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Some days, you treat yourself to organic raspberries and mangoes. Other days, when its been a while since payday, perhaps you stick to apples and bananas.

Prepare for your mind to boggle then, at the news that people in Japan are buying melons that cost as much as a new car.

This specific variety of melon is called the Yubari King and is actually a cross between two types of cantaloupe.

Just like Kobe beef or champagne, the fruit can only be produced in a certain region in order to be named thus - Yubari.

A pair of the premium cantaloupes has recently sold at auction for an astounding 3 million (21,500).

Thats over 10,000 for one melon. Just let that sink in.

The reason Yubari King melons are so expensive is reportedly their sweetness.

However this latest sale is record-breaking. Previously, Yubari melons have been bought for no more than 19,000.

The record-breaking melons

Normally they cost between 40 and 80, which - although significantly less - is still an extraordinary amount to pay for one fruit.

The successful bidder who claimed the melons is a supermarket buyer in Hyogo Prefecture. I wanted to return a favour to the farmers of Yubari, who help us every year, he said.

This is not the first example of the Japanese spending vast amounts of money on fruit though.

There was the case of individual strawberries being sold for 17 (each one packaged in its own box, where the strawberry lay on a bed of hay) not to mention the bunch of grapes that sold for nearly 8,000 - its probably best not to think about how much that costs per grape.

A pair of melons for 21,500 - truly for the person who has everything (except maybe sense).
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Uber has suspended its self-driving car operations after one of its vehicles was involved in a crash in Arizona.

The accident left one of the companys driverless Volvos on its side, but fortunately led to no serious injuries.

A picture of the crash scene shows two other damaged cars sitting next to the Volvo, one of which has smashed windows and particularly bad dent marks, suggesting the accident happened at some speed.

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 vehicles collided, causing the autonomous vehicle to roll onto its side, Tempe Police Department spokesperson Josie Montenegro told Reuters. There were no serious injuries.

Two safety drivers were sat in the front seats of the Uber car at the time of the crash, and nobody was in the back.

According to Ms Montenegro, the crash happened when the driver of a second vehicle failed to yield to the Uber car while making a turn.

Uber is looking into the incident, and has halted its self-driving car programmes in Arizona, Pennsylvania and California  the three states in which testing was taking place  while its investigations are ongoing.

The company is going through a particularly turbulent period at the moment, following sexual harassment allegations and the resignation of president Jeff Jones after just six months in the job.

Its also recently emerged that Uber has been using Greyball, a secret tool, to avoid law enforcement authorities in countries across the world.
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American Ranika Hall was not happy with what motherhood had done to her body.

Her one-year-old daughter was doing well but Halls figure had not rebounded as much as she had expected, her family told US news channel NBC.

Ignoring their objections, the 25-year-old left the child with its grandmother and flew from her home in Missouri, South Florida, to Miami for a Brazilian butt lift.

Also known as fat grafting, this increasingly popular surgery transfers fat into the buttocks to resemble the rears of Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj.

Liposuction extracts fat from the abdomen, thighs or fatty areas around the triceps, then the tissue is injected into a patients buttocks, increasing its size and sculpting its shape.

Hall chose a clinic offering the treatment for $3,500 (2,800).

Some people are blessed with naturally curvy bottoms, the Eres Plastic Surgery in Hialeah, near Miami, said on its Facebook page. But for the rest of us, we have Brazilian Butt Lift!

Earlier this month, Hall went under the knife of Daniel Calva. Its lasted several hours, ending around 9pm.

Then, Hall stopped breathing.

The clinic called 911, and Hall was rushed to an emergency room.

But it was too late. An hour after paramedics were called, Hall was dead.

The medical examiner determined that she died of a fat embolism, according to Eres Plastic Surgery. A piece of fat had been injected into her bloodstream and lodged near her lungs, preventing oxygen from getting into her bloodstream.

Her mother, Nicole, told NBC Miami that the news was unbelievable, like its not true. Its hard for me to grasp ahold of it. I know its supposed to be a common procedure... Im looking for answers.

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. 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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. 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She has started a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to help pay for funeral expenses.

As word of the deadly results of Halls surgery spread, people realised that Eres was the same cosmetic surgery clinic where Heather Meadows died last year while undergoing the same type of procedure.

The facility was known as Encore Plastic Surgery and had a different owner, NBC Miami reported. The location has been a plastic surgery centre for at least a decade but has changed names three times and owners multiple times in those 10 years.

Hialeah police were called to investigate both cases.

Meadows death has been ruled an accident, according to police. Halls death remains under investigation.

Giannina Sopo, chief operating officer of Eres Plastic Surgery, said the clinics doctors are well-trained and have performed thousands of procedures. Their complication rate is below the national average, she said.

Surgeries are inherently risky, she said. Pulmonary fat embolism is a very common risk in liposuction cases. We did everything we could with this patient. She was transferred to a higher level of care. Our staff and our doctor did everything they should have done.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the number of people who had buttock augmentation with fat grafting grew 26 percent between 2015 and 2016. The statistics only count procedures performed by ASPS surgeons.

As The Washington Posts Ben Guarino wrote, fat grafts are mostly safe, though there have not been extensive studies on the cosmetic procedure, which is only about two decades old: In an early study of over 500 patients, the major reported complications were cellulitis and bruising in less than one in 40 procedures. (Cosmetic surgeries, like all surgeries, carry some degree of risk for pain, bleeding or other complications.)

That said, there is a paucity of information about cosmetic fat grafts that worries some experts. A 2012 paper published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery examined nearly a thousand articles on autologous fat grafting  that is, fat relocated from one body part of a patient to another ... The authors found that neither high-quality data nor a published consensus on the optimal technique exist for fat grafts.

Recommended Twins who married twins resort to surgery to tell each other apart

But some plastic surgeons say they worry that too many doctors  lured by the chance to make a quick buck on relatively low-risk cosmetic procedures  are dabbling in plastic surgery without proper training and, in doing so, are putting patients at risk.

A lot of this stuff is out-of-pocket paying  theres no insurance that covers buttock augmentation, said David H Song, former president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. It creates some perverse incentives for people that are not trained.

The organisation consists of doctors who are board-certified plastic surgeons, Song said.

Calva, who performed Halls surgery, is a board-certified general surgeon but not a board-certified plastic surgeon, according to Sopo, the chief operating officer at Eres.

But Sopo defended her doctors practices. Halls death was the first time a patient had died during a fat grafting procedure, she said.

We have immensely talented doctors on staff, she said. Theyre board-certified. Some of them went to the best medical schools in the world. We dont skimp on safety here.

Miami, Sopo said, is a mecca for plastic surgery, and she insists her centres quality is not diminished because it specialises in these procedures and does many of them.

We do a lot of volume here, she said. Because what we have are better prices.

 The Washington Post
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

Trend:

Ukraines Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman is convinced that it will be possible to achieve progress in improving the situation regarding bilateral trade within GUAM.

Groysman made the remarks at the beginning of the summit of heads of government of GUAM member countries, the Ukrainian National News (UNN) agency reported.

The summit of government heads of GUAM member countries was held in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Mar. 27.

We have a small increase in our trade compared to 2015, but I am convinced that this doesnt correspond to our opportunities. We will be able, after this summit, when we will sign the necessary documents, to improve the situation regarding our bilateral trade, noted the Ukrainian prime minister.

The GUAM format was created by post-Soviet states in 1997 during the summit of heads of the EU states in Strasbourg. In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the format and four years later withdrew.

In 2006, Ukraine and Azerbaijan announced plans to further increase the GUAM member relations and established its headquarters in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Currently, GUAM cooperates with Washington and Tokyo within GUAM+US and GUAM+Japan formats.
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Scientists are calling on Britains bosses to let their staff take a nap this afternoon to cope with losing an hours sleep over the weekend due to the clocks going forward.

It is hoped that an afternoon siesta could reduce the risks of diabetes, heart problems and depression, which are more likely when you dont get enough sleep.

New research by Silentnight and the University of Leeds shows that a quarter of Brits only get five hours sleep a night, and the clock change could see that drop to four for some people.

Recommended Most Britons demand national holiday on Monday after clock change

The loss of an hour in bed is particularly detrimental to individuals that already struggle with their sleep, said psychologist and lead study author Dr Nerina Ramlakhan.

If you are one of the 25 per cent of the nation that gets less than five hours' sleep a night, this time change could see you drop down to as little as four hours, which is a dangerously low amount.

Bosses should consider allowing staff to take a short nap in the office. It can make a huge difference.

Dr Ramlakhan recommends napping between 2pm and 4pm - any later and you might struggle to get to sleep that night (plus its surely the ideal time to take advantage of post-lunch fatigue).

You neednt be away from your desk for too long either:

Six healthy breakfast recipes to try Show all 6 1 /6 Six healthy breakfast recipes to try Six healthy breakfast recipes to try You will need: 1 onion, 1 red pepper, 1 stick of celery, 1 cup of mushrooms, 4 to 6 eggs, 1 habanero chilli (optional), 1 tablespoon of oil, 25g of grated low-fat cheese, 150 ml of skimmed milk, 50g of turkey breast. Add some spinach for an extra boost. Method: 1) Cook your turkey breast so that its ready to add to the mix later on. Best to grill it and then chop it up as its healthier than shallow frying. 2) Meanwhile, heat the oil and add your onion, pepper, chilli, mushrooms and celery to your pan. Cook these for around five minutes until your veg is nice and soft. 3) Whisk your eggs and milk together in a separate bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper. 4) Add the egg mixture, veg, cooked turkey and cheese to a high-sided baking pan or tin and cook in your oven for around 15 minutes at 170C. 1) Cook your turkey breast so that its ready to add to the mix later on. Best to grill it and then chop it up as its healthier than shallow frying. 2) Meanwhile, heat the oil and add your onion, pepper, chilli, mushrooms and celery to your pan. Cook these for around five minutes until your veg is nice and soft. 3) Whisk your eggs and milk together in a separate bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper. 4) Add the egg mixture, veg, cooked turkey and cheese to a high-sided baking pan or tin and cook in your oven for around 15 minutes at 170C. DW Fitness Clubs Six healthy breakfast recipes to try Be careful when you buy your porridge, as some brands will cram a lot of sugar in there. Porridge is a good breakfast option as it is renowned for releasing energy slowly, which means you can get to lunch without suffering from a lull. A great source of fibre, potassium and vitamins, bananas are always a good accompaniment to your morning oats. DW Fitness Clubs Six healthy breakfast recipes to try Ingredients: 2 full eggs, 3 egg whites, asparagus, peppers, 50g of smoked salmon Method 1) Boil your asparagus in water for around five minutes. 2) Meanwhile, mix your eggs and egg whites in a jug, and add a splash of skimmed milk. Chop some peppers up and throw them in too. 3) Once your asparagus is cooked, drain it and chop into smaller chunks. Add these to your egg mixture. 4) Whisk your mixture and season with salt and pepper. 5) Pour the mix into a hot pan with a small knob of butter or a teaspoon of quality olive oil. 6) Cook the omelette for around 90 seconds to two minutes. 7) Once the bottom is cooked, take the pan off the hob and place under the grill for another 30 seconds to a minute in order to cook the top. 8) Serve with your smoked salmon. 1) Boil your asparagus in water for around five minutes. 2) Meanwhile, mix your eggs and egg whites in a jug, and add a splash of skimmed milk. Chop some peppers up and throw them in too. 3) Once your asparagus is cooked, drain it and chop into smaller chunks. Add these to your egg mixture. 4) Whisk your mixture and season with salt and pepper. 5) Pour the mix into a hot pan with a small knob of butter or a teaspoon of quality olive oil. 6) Cook the omelette for around 90 seconds to two minutes. 7) Once the bottom is cooked, take the pan off the hob and place under the grill for another 30 seconds to a minute in order to cook the top. 8) Serve with your smoked salmon. DW Fitness Six healthy breakfast recipes to try Greek yoghurt has vast nutritional benefits. Regardless of where you stand on the superfood debate, Greek yoghurts credentials speak for themselves. A good source of potassium, protein, calcium and essential vitamins, this food forms an ideal base for a healthy breakfast, especially if youre trying to lose weight. DW Fitness Six healthy breakfast recipes to try Eggs Florentine is not only a tasty breakfast, it also carries a hefty nutritional punch, particularly when you throw some spinach into the equation. DW Fitness Six healthy breakfast recipes to try So fast and easy to make, yet so effective. Wholemeal toast can be a good breakfast choice, as long as you are sensible with your toppings. Peanut butter is perfect. A good source of healthy fats, as well as protein and Vitamin E among other nutrients, a liberal spreading of peanut butter can set you up for the day. DW Fitness

Just a twenty minute power nap can make a huge difference. Naps have been scientifically proven to boost creativity and problem-solving ability, and they can even rebalance the immune system, meaning staff are less likely to take sick days.

Company nap-time would definitely work in the boss favour in the long run.

Recommended How to get the perfect amount of sleep based on your sleep cycles

Of course, the concept of company nap-time may be easier said than done considering most offices arent geared up to provide snoozing space for their employees.

Nonetheless, the scientists behind the study are adamant that afternoon siestas are a good idea.

Allowing staff to indulge in a nap during the working day might sound unusual, but considering the country will be losing an hour of sleep over the weekend its a fair request, Dr Ramlakhan told The Sun.

Some kind of national napping day would allow the UK workforce to return to their jobs feeling refreshed and ready.
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A childs cognitive development is the same at five years old regardless of whether they were breast or bottle fed, a new study has found.

The behaviour, vocabulary level and cognitive ability of 7,478 children in Ireland was measured at age three and five and analysed in relation to whether or not they had been breastfed.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, linked breastfeeding with improved problem solving and reduced hyperactivity in children aged three, but not at the age of five.

No evidence was found that breastfeeding affected vocabulary and other abilities at either age.

Author Lisa-Christine Girard, from University College Dublin, said previous research showing the long-term benefits of breastfeeding may have been affected by socio-economic factors such as the mothers education and income.

Theres a certain profile of mothers in developed countries who engage in breastfeeding behaviour, Dr Girard told The Independent. So its important to tease that apart and understand the direct link, if there is one.

She said mothers who were more highly educated, better off financially and who engage in less risky prenatal behaviour such as smoking, which can impact on a childs development, were statistically more likely to breastfeed.

But after the data was randomised, we didnt find any statistically significant differences between children who were breastfed and those who werent, in terms of their cognitive ability and language, said Dr Girard.

We did find direct effect of breastfeeding on a reduction in hyperactive behaviours when the children were three years old. This wasnt found at five years, suggesting there may be other factors that are more influential as children develop.

 Woman kicked out of court for breastfeeding

Nearly three quarters of mothers in the UK breastfeed, according to the NHS, and it is well established that breast milk helps protect newborn babies from infections and diseases.

However, whether breastfeeding in a babys first months also carries long-term benefits has been hotly debated for years.

Dr Girard said ethical considerations make it difficult to conduct in-depth studies into the effect of breastfeeding on the brain: We cant tell one group of mothers to breastfeed and another not.

Breastfeeding in public controversies Show all 11 1 /11 Breastfeeding in public controversies Breastfeeding in public controversies A woman has sparked a heated debate among parents after she revealed that she breastfeeds both her and her friend's son. Jessica Colletti, from Pennsylvania, said nursing Charlie Interrante's son seemed like the natural thing to do because she was already breastfeeding her son. Colletti told the Mama Bean parenting blog that she asked permission to nurse Interrantes son when she began looking after him, after they met at a photoshoot for new mothers. Interrante agreed as her son had not taken to formula milk Breastfeeding in public controversies New Hampshire State Rep. Josh Moore said on Facebook that men should be allowed to grab the nipples of breastfeeding mothers if the law banning women exposing their breasts did not pass Breastfeeding in public controversies When Gemma Colley's photo of her son with fake tan on his fake after she breastfeed him went viral, she also saw that no parent is alone when they make a silly mistake. Over 100,000 people liked and 40,000 people shared Ms Colleys photo of her sons sleepy face with fake tan encircling his mouth and nose, after she posted it to the Unmumsy Mum Facebook page Breastfeeding in public controversies A candid image of a mother breastfeeding her young child while using the toilet has divided parents online, as some argue its an honest depiction of parenthood, while others have labelled it disgusting Breastfeeding in public controversies The exclusive Claridges hotel has been widely criticised for asking a woman to cover herself with a ridiculous shroud while breastfeeding her three-month-old daughter. Lousie Burns said she burst into tears when staff members at the five-star venue asked her to cover herself and her baby with an oversized napkin in order to avoid causing offence to other guests Breastfeeding in public controversies An Australian cafe has been praised for sticking up for a breastfeeding mother after a customer told her to cover up. Jessica-Anne Allen, owner of Cheese and Biscuits Cafe in Queensland, Australia, has described how she was approached by a male customer in the cafe to complain that he was upset by a woman in the coffee shop breastfeeding her child nearby. The customer asked the cafe owner, 29, to tell the mother to cover up. When Mrs Allen refused to do so, he took matters into his own hands and challenged the woman himself. Staff at the cafe then asked the man to leave Breastfeeding in public controversies A woman who claimed a Primark security guard had forcibly removed her child while she was breastfeeding has admitted to perverting the course of justice. Caroline Starmer sparked a series of headlines after claiming on Facebook that a store guard had taken her nine-month-old daughter Paige away from her. The mother from Leicester then repeated her claims in a number of interviews, before Primark denied the incident and handed CCTV over to the police to show there was no evidence to support the allegations. Appearing in Leicester Crown Court, she admitted the charge of perverting the course of justice by not telling the truth Breastfeeding in public controversies Pope Francis has become an unlikely advocate for public breastfeeding, by encouraging mothers to feed their babies in the Sistine Chapel. During a ceremony in Vatican City on Sunday, the Pope baptised 32 babies and told their mothers: If they are hungry, mothers, feed them, without thinking twice, because they are the most important people here Breastfeeding in public controversies Facebook has changed its community guidelines to allow users to post photos of breastfeeding. The change comes as the wide-ranging #FreeTheNipple online campaign has built pace in its attack against guidelines used by social media websites to regulate nudity  from photos of breastfeeding to topless photos post by singer Rihannas on her now defunct Instagram account. Facebooks Community Standards, which outline what users are allowed to post, never included a outright ban on photos of breastfeeding Breastfeeding in public controversies The manager of a public swimming pool at the Lux Park centre in Liskeardhas been forced to apologise after he told a mother to stop breastfeeding her son by the waterside. 23-year-old Rebecaa Hough of Torpoint, Cornwall, was feeding 10-month-old Max a few steps from the main pool, when the manager told her to carry on in the changing rooms in case the infant was sick into the water. She was also told that she should not to return for half an hour to ensure the milk was fully digested Breastfeeding in public controversies A Conservative MP has claimed allowing women to breastfeed in the House of Commons chamber would expose politicians to tabloid ridicule. Sir Simon Burns, a former transport minister, spoke on what he called a controversial subject in a debate in making Westminster more family-friendly

Brooke Orosz, a maths professor at Essex County College in New Jersey who was not involved in the study, told CNN the findings fit in with previous research.

The long-term benefits of breastfeeding look a whole lot smaller or non-existent if you properly control for your confounding variables, she said.
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Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is one of the greatest fears faced by parents.

But one of the ways in which the risk of a mother or father finding their baby has tragically died in their sleep is through baby boxes.

The boxes contain essential items to help parents through the first few months of their babys life such as baby wipes, nappies and a onesie, but they also double up as cribs - sleeping in a box means its less likely a baby will roll on to their front, which increases the risk of SIDS.

Earlier this year it was announced that New Jersey was to be the first US state to roll out the baby boxes, and they plan to provide about 105,000 over the course of 2017.

This process has now begun.

One mother whos benefitted from the scheme, which is in partnership with the Los Angeles-based Baby Box Co and the New Jerseys Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board, is Jernica Quinones.

Her son is four months old and has spent the majority of his life thus far sleeping in a cardboard box.

The 33-year-old mother-of-five points out that not everyone can afford a crib or bassinet: Some mothers can't buy a Pack-n-Play or a crib, she told NPR. Without the boxes, many parents have no other option than to have their babies share beds, which increases the risk of SIDS.

Finland has been handing out baby boxes to new parents for nearly 80 years, but the concept has now been adopted or at least trialled in Essex, Birmingham, Scotland, Argentina, Atlanta in Canada, South Africa and Zambia too.

In Finland, the baby boxes have been praised as a huge success and infant mortality rates have dropped since their introduction.

In the US, the new boxes have an extra focus on safe sleep - as well as receiving the packages, parents are encouraged to watch online videos about SIDS and complete a short quiz.

After New Jersey led the way, baby boxes have now been launched in Ohio and Alabama too.

One of the first mothers to benefit from the scheme in Ohio was Kyle Stimpert, a mother of twins in Cleveland, who revealed shed have felt much less anxious if the baby boxes had already existed when her son and daughter were born in December.

You don't have to research, you don't have to text a friend, you just know it's a safe place, she says.

Its as much about educating parents as much as the actual box for the babies to sleep in.

Of course, you cant force anyone to really concentrate on or even watch a video, but Quinones revealed she could still remember the key points one month later: for example, you should never put teddy bears in the crib and breastfeeding reduces the risk of SIDS.

Quinones had already had four children, but she didn't know those facts before.

 Baby boxes trialled in UK

The whole premise is that people like free things, says Dr. Kathryn McCans, chair of New Jersey's Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board. It's about getting the information out there.

Through education and awareness, people can make better choices and hopefully we can see fewer children dying.
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Jeremy Hunt has been accused of asking a Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) campaigner whether girls like you can still have an orgasm.

Nimco Ali claimed the Health Secretary found her via a Google search and that he had no idea about FGM at the time.

The former civil servant, who is the director of the Daughters of Eve non-profit organisation, told the News Roast podcast that the pair met at his Whitehall office four years ago.

FGM survivor Nimco Ali described how Jeremy Hunt's opening gambit was to tell her he had been on a hospital night shift

This man is the Secretary of State for Health but he has no idea about FGM and I dont think he even reads his briefings, said Ms Ali, recalling her thoughts at the time.

She added that he probably got in touch after reading a newspaper article about the subject, "so then he googled and found me."

She said: "So I got an email to say will you come in and speak to the Secretary of State and I said yes because we need data and the NHS is, like, right at the forefront.

After waiting in his office, Ms Nimco said he walked in "rolling up his sleeve, and said he just did a night shift for the hospital."

Then she said he asked: "What I really want to know Nimco, is, can girls like you have an orgasm?"

She said: It was his first direct question. My reply was: Well, it depends how good you are Jeremy. Because 80 per cent of the clitoris is actually internal, but lets move.

News Roast presenters Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein called his question disrespectful and crude.

But Ms Ali replied: I think he is privileged enough to ask those questions.

FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Show all 12 1 /12 FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl cries after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM The traditional practice of circumcision within the Pokot tribe is a rite of passage that marks the transition to womanhood and is a requirement for all girls before they marry Reuters FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls are encouraged to leave their hut and make their way to a place where they will take off their clothes and wash during their circumcision ceremony REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised in a tribal ritual in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls, draped in animal skins, sit on rocks during their circumcision ceremony REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot woman performs a circumcision on a girl REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot woman holds a razor blade after performing a circumcision on four girls REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl bleeds onto a rock after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl is smeared with a white paint after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM More than a quarter of girls and women in Kenya have undergone genital cutting, according to United Nations data REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised Reuters FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls covered with animal skins squat on rocks after being stripped naked and washed during their circumcision rite in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County REUTERS

Asked if the two then started dating, she said: I have boundaries.

Ms Ali went on to praise the former under secretary for public health, Jane Ellison, for her campaigning on FGM.

An FGM survivors ability to have an orgasm depends on the type of FGM and cutting they have suffered.

Mr Hunts health department has since started publishing annual statistics for FGM and the latest data revealed nearly 5,500 new cases in 2016.

Met Police inspector Allen Davis last month said the force still did not know where in the UK FGM was taking place.

The Department of Health refused to comment on Ms Ali's allegation.
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Police investigating the Westminster attack say they have found no evidence that killer Khalid Masood had links to radical Islamist groups such as Isis or al-Qaeda.

As more details of the fast-moving investigation emerged, Scotland Yard revealed a probe into his use of encrypted messaging service WhatsApp on the day of the attack now forms a main line of enquiry.

Detectives also raised doubts over suggestions that Masood was radicalised during a spell in prison.

The revelations, which come on the fifth full day of the police investigation, appeared to contradict earlier reports that he was linked to Islamist terror groups, and that he had developed extremist views while in jail.

A day after the attack, Isis claimed responsibility and called Masood a soldier of the Islamic State.

The claim was met with scepticism, given the groups record of claiming attacks without any proof of its involvement.

The Mets senior national coordinator for UK counter-terrorism policing did not rule out that Masood was inspired by the violent extremist groups responsible for massacres in other European cities, but quashed that they were directly involved in last Wednesdays attack.

Deputy assistant commissioner Neil Basu said: His attack method appears to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of Isis leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians, but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others.

Whilst I have found no evidence of an association with Isis or AQ [al-Qaeda], there is clearly an interest in Jihad.

In pictures: Westminster attack Show all 9 1 /9 In pictures: Westminster attack In pictures: Westminster attack An air ambulance lands after gunfire sounds were heard close to the Palace of Westminster in London PA wire In pictures: Westminster attack MPs wait until the situation is under control in Westminster. 'The alleged assailant was shot by armed police,' David Lidington, leader of the House of Commons, told the house. BBC News In pictures: Westminster attack Crowds gather in Westminster after shooting incident, which police are treating as terror attack BBC News In pictures: Westminster attack Police were also called to an incident on Westminster Bridge nearby AP In pictures: Westminster attack Early reports indicate the car, which mounted the pavement on Westminster Bridge and mowed into around a dozen people, was the same vehicle which then rammed into the railings of the Palace of Westminster, just around the corner Reuters In pictures: Westminster attack Security sources described the suspected assailant as a middle-aged Asian man, who is understood to have left the car before attacking a police officer with a seven-to-eight inch knife PA wire In pictures: Westminster attack Police have asked people to avoid the immediate area to allow emergency services to deal with the ongoing incident AP In pictures: Westminster attack One woman has died and a number of others, including the police officer, have been hurt, according to a junior doctor at St Thomas' Hospital Reuters In pictures: Westminster attack At least three gun shots were heard by those inside Westminster, and proceedings in the House of Commons have been suspended AP

Meanwhile, police believe the car used to mow down dozens of pedestrians on Westminster Bridge may have been travelling at speeds of up to 76mph.

The developments came as police repeated an appeal for those who may have been in contact with the killer to come forward.

Masood used a rented Hyundai as a weapon during his 82-second attack, mounting the pavement and driving the vehicle into tourists and Londoners as they crossed the bridge.

He then crashed it into the fence surrounding Parliament before running into the grounds of the Palace of Westminster and stabbing a police officer.

In all, four people were killed before 52-year-old Masood  also known as Adrian Ajao and before that Adrian Elms  was shot by police.

In her first comments since the attack, Masoods mother, Janet Ajao, of Carmarthenshire, said she was shocked, saddened, and numbed by his actions.

I wish to make it absolutely clear, so there can be no doubt, I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity, she said.

I wish to thank my friends, family and community from the bottom of my heart for the love and support given to us.

As investigators continue to pore over evidence, it also emerged that the car Masood used in the attack had been seen in the area before the attack.

The details remain patchy but the BBC reported it was spotted either on the day of the attack or at some point in the days leading up to it.

What the car was doing in the area is not yet known, but it will likely lead to speculation that Masood had carried out some form of scoping mission before he launched the fatal attack.

 Amber Rudd says WhatsApp's encryption of messaging may come to an end after Westminster terror attack

Claims that Masoods phone connected with WhatsApp just before the atrocity triggered a debate at the weekend over authorities ability to intercept communications as part of national security investigations.

At the weekend, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said there should be no place for terrorists to hide.

Her call for more powers was given greater urgency today after police confirmed Masoods use of the messaging service is a key element of the investigation.

There has been much speculation about who Masood was in contact with immediately prior to the attack, Mr Basu said.

All I will say on this point is that Masoods communications that day are a main line of enquiry.

If you heard from him on 22 March, please come forward now, the information you have may prove important to establishing his state of mind.

Confirming that Masoods last criminal offence was carried out in 2003, and that he was not part of the current domestic or international threat picture, the counter-terror chief also spoke about claims the attacker was indoctrinated with extremist ideology while he was behind bars.

There is no evidence that Masood was radicalised in prison in 2003, as has been suggested; this is pure speculation at this time, Mr Basu said, in a statement released on Monday afternoon.

Whilst I have found no evidence of an association with Isis or AQ, there is clearly an interest in Jihad.

On Sunday, police arrested a 30-year-old man in Birmingham on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts. He remains in custody along with a 58-year-old man arrested last Thursday.

A 32-year-old woman detained on Friday has been bailed until later this month, while a further nine people arrested last week have since been released without charge.
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The Westminster terror attacker was not a proper Muslim, his former landlady has claimed.

Cassie Havard also said Khalid Masood, who was born Adrian Elms, s****** prostitutes, smoked crack cocaine and stuck knives in peoples faces while living in East Sussex.

The Metropolitan Police have said the 52-year-old acted alone when he killed four people and injured around 50 others during an 82-second attack on Westminster Bridge and outside the Palace of Westminster.

Masood, who had previous convictions for criminal damage and possession of a knife dating back to 1983, is believed to have converted to Islam during his second spell in jail in around 2003.

He wasnt a proper Muslim, said Ms Havard, as quoted by The Sun.

He s****** prostitutes, smoked copious amounts of crack and stuck knives in peoples faces. He was a madman. After one four-day crack session, one druggie pal got paranoid and accused him of being an undercover cop.

Adrian went absolutely wild and ran to the kitchen to grab the biggest knife he could find. He went back in the room and slashed the guys face to pieces. It was horrific, but he always had that darker side about him.

In pictures: Westminster attack Show all 9 1 /9 In pictures: Westminster attack In pictures: Westminster attack An air ambulance lands after gunfire sounds were heard close to the Palace of Westminster in London PA wire In pictures: Westminster attack MPs wait until the situation is under control in Westminster. 'The alleged assailant was shot by armed police,' David Lidington, leader of the House of Commons, told the house. BBC News In pictures: Westminster attack Crowds gather in Westminster after shooting incident, which police are treating as terror attack BBC News In pictures: Westminster attack Police were also called to an incident on Westminster Bridge nearby AP In pictures: Westminster attack Early reports indicate the car, which mounted the pavement on Westminster Bridge and mowed into around a dozen people, was the same vehicle which then rammed into the railings of the Palace of Westminster, just around the corner Reuters In pictures: Westminster attack Security sources described the suspected assailant as a middle-aged Asian man, who is understood to have left the car before attacking a police officer with a seven-to-eight inch knife PA wire In pictures: Westminster attack Police have asked people to avoid the immediate area to allow emergency services to deal with the ongoing incident AP In pictures: Westminster attack One woman has died and a number of others, including the police officer, have been hurt, according to a junior doctor at St Thomas' Hospital Reuters In pictures: Westminster attack At least three gun shots were heard by those inside Westminster, and proceedings in the House of Commons have been suspended AP

The 43-year-old said Masoods friends kicked him out of the accommodation.

Another friend reportedly said he took cocaine, ecstasy and LSD.

Another said he stole boats and sold fraudulent fishing licences in France.

Investigations are continuing into the circumstances leading up to the attack.

A 30-year-old man has been arrested in Birmingham on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts.

Another man, 58, also arrested in Birmingham, remains in police custody.
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Muslim women have gathered on Westminster Bridge in a show of solidarity with the victims of Wednesday's terror attack.

The group of women spoke of the "overwhelming" emotion they felt standing on the bridge where dozens of people were mown down when terrorist Khalid Masood ploughed his car into pedestrians.

Three members of the public died and many more were injured after the attacker sped along the bridge before storming the parliamentary estate and stabbing a police officer to death.

People from a range of backgrounds joined the event, organised by Women's March on London.

The vigil was organised by Women's March on London (PA)

They said they were wearing blue as a symbol of hope and stood holding hands for five minutes as Big Ben chimed 4pm.

Afriha Khan, 40, a GP from Surbiton, said: "The feeling of what happened here on Wednesday was really strong.

"We thought of the ordinary people who were here and were mown down, standing here like this, it was very overwhelming."

She was joined by fellow Ahmadiyya Muslims who said they wanted to add to the condemnation of the violent attack and stand defiant in the face of terrorism.

The women, some of whom said they were wearing blue as a symbol of hope, held hands for five minutes (PA)

Sarah Waseem, 57, from Surrey, said: "When an attack happens in London, it is an attack on me.

"It is an attack on all of us. Islam totally condemns violence of any sort. This is abhorrent to us."

Being present for the demonstration shows people in the city are united in support of democracy, said Ayesha Malik.

The 34-year-old mother-of-two, also from Surrey, said: "As a visible Muslim I think it was important to show solidarity with the principles that we all hold dear, the principles of plurality, diversity and so on."

Londoner Mary Bennett said she was present to make a "small gesture".

The retired healthcare worker said: "I am here to show that in a quiet way we continue to go where we like and do what we like in London.

"This is my city. It's a very small gesture but life is made up of small gestures."

Additional reporting by PA
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Boris Johnson has postponed a planned visit to Russia, the Foreign Office has announced.

The FCO said the Foreign Secretary has shelved the planned trip so he could attend a meeting with Nato counterparts.

Mr Johnson is set to meet with foreign ministers, including Donald Trumps pick for US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, at the ministerial gathering in Brussels.

The Nato meeting was rescheduled to March 31 after Mr Tillerson indicated he could not attend on its original planned date of April 5 to 6 because Chinese President Xi Jinping would be visiting the US visit on that day.

Though the new date clashes with Mr Johnson's planned visit to Moscow, the meting was not reschedule for the benefit of the UK.

Mr Jonson was due to visit Russia on the invitation of foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. The trip would have been the first by a UK foreign secretary in more than five years.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We have unfortunately had to postpone the Foreign Secretary's visit to Russia planned this month due to rescheduling of the Nato foreign ministers meeting," said the spokesman.

The Foreign Secretary has spoken to Foreign Minister Lavrov and looks forward to reinstating his visit as soon as possible.

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

At the time the visit was announced, Government sources insisted it did not represent an attempt to reset relations with Moscow and that Mr Johnson would take a "robust" line with his Russian hosts.

The former Mayor of London has given a mixed commentary on Russias Government over the years. A year ago he praised Vladimir Putins ruthless clarity in Syria for retaking an archeological site from Isis militants, arguing that the operation was very much to the credit of the Russians.

He has however also said, in a speech at Chatham House in Deceber, that the UK must lead the fight against Mr Putins cult of the strong man .

Additional reporting by PA
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Two Lords committees have attacked the poor quality of the Governments response to their report raising concerns over Theresa Mays approach to Brexit, saying it lacked rigour and analysis.

The cross-party group of peers said the official ministerial response to their report, which pointed to gaps in the Governments approach to Article 50 talks and post-Brexit trade, was undetailed and repetitive.

It comes amid warnings that Ms May is stirring resentment at the way she is treating parliamentary procedure and following claims that Whitehall is unprepared for the Brexit process.

Recommended Zika virus project hailed by Theresa May was funded by EU scheme

The EU External Affairs and Internal Market Sub-Committees report Brexit: the options for trade sought a series of clarifications from the Government on its approach to the European Economic Area, trade, Ireland and the European Court of Justice.

But after reading the Governments reaction to the report, it wrote back: We are disappointed at the quality of the document, which the Sub-Committees felt was often repetitive.

It added: A number of the responses did not address the issues raised by the Sub-Committees, and in other cases points were not addressed with the appropriate level of rigour and analysis.

This suggests that the Government is not taking our concerns, or those of our expert witnesses, as seriously as it should.

 Jeremy Corbyn calls for greater accountability of Brexit process

The report went on to say there was disappointingly little detail in the Governments response on the issue of how Brexit will affect the border with Ireland, and how problems might be resolved.

Ms May found herself fighting a court battle after seeking to trigger Article 50 without consulting Parliament.

She was told by Supreme Court judges that she could not use the Queens powers to take Britain out of the EU and would need legislation, but was then later accused of seeking to bully MPs and peers into allowing her Article 50 Bill to pass unamended  she even took the unprecedented step of going to the Lords to watch the debate from the floor of the Chamber.

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

When Conservative peer Michael Heseltine said he would vote against the government on two amendments, which sought to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the UK and give Parliament a say on the final deal, he was sacked from his job advising ministers on devolution.

Meanwhile, ex UK Ambassador to the EU EU Sir Ivan Rogers quit his job after despairing at muddled thinking in government. He also shone a light on the strain Brexit is putting on Whitehall.

He said departments had failed to maintain reports to his team as they struggled to cope with the prospect of Brexit and keeping up on its potential implications.

He told members of a Commons committee that reports routinely received from departments, giving his team direction on what positions to take, dried up in the wake of the referendum, with the quality and quantity of documents suffering.
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The EUs chief negotiator has warned it will crush Theresa Mays hopes of a new trade deal if she slashes business taxes, workers rights and environmental standards.

Michel Barnier said an ambitious free-trade agreement was possible if the two sides can first reach agreement on the divorce bill, EU citizens rights and Northern Irelands border.

But he warned it could only be agreed provided that it ensures fair competition and guarantees high environmental, social and consumer protection standards.

The warning flows from the EUs fears that Britain, under a Conservative Government, will embark on a race to the bottom after Brexit.

Ministers will come under pressure to slash so-called red tape to win a competitive advantage  partly to compensate for being out of the EUs single market and customs union.

At the weekend, The Independent revealed that Michael Gove wants to rip up Brussels regulations on clinical trials for new drugs and on building near protected wildlife habitats, for example.

Theresa May has promised to protect existing workers right, but the Government rebuffed an attempt to put that commitment into law.

In an article for the Financial Times, Mr Barnier, the European Commissions lead Brexit negotiator emphasised that Britain and the EU would first have to agree the exit terms.

He wrote: This means agreeing on the orderly withdrawal of the UK before negotiating any future trade deal.

The sooner we agree on these principles, the more time we will have to discuss our future partnership.

Mr Barnier warned it was a distinct possibility that no exit agreement would be reached, which would have severe consequences and undoubtedly leave the UK worse off.

However, he did give the Prime Minister a boost by agreeing the future status of EU nationals in the UK  and British ex-pats in the EU  could be discussed from day one.

First and foremost, we must protect the rights of the 4.5m citizens who have found themselves faced with an uncertain future in the place they call home, the lead negotiator wrote.

The 27 member states, and the European Commission, will work tirelessly to preserve the rights of European citizens across our continent. We are ready to discuss this issue from day one.

But Mr Barnier also made clear Britain must agree to pay the so-called divorce bill for its EU liabilities  which the EU has previously put at around 50bn.

Beneficiaries of programmes financed by the European budget will need to know if they can continue relying on our support, he said.

The 27 member states will honour their commitments and we expect the UK to do the same  because it is the mutually responsible way to act.

The EU would also not stand for anything that weakens dialogue and peace in Northern Ireland, Mr Barnier stressed.

He said: If we cannot resolve these three significant uncertainties at an early stage, we run the risk of failure. Putting things in the right order maximises the chances of reaching an agreement.

The article comes two days before Theresa May triggers the Article 50 exit clause, by delivering an eight or nine-page letter to the European Council of Ministers.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

Trend:

The UN, which reflects the will of international community, never was and never can be apart from the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts resolution process, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend Mar. 27.

He added that international peace and security are the priority tasks of the UN according to its charter.

Use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states and acts of aggression are prohibited according to the Charter of the UN, he said.

Armenia, as a state which is committing occupation and aggression against Azerbaijan by the use of force, continues flagrantly violating the Article 2 (Paragraph 4) of the UN Charter, he noted. Armenia refuses to abide by the demands of the UN Security Council resolutions No. 822, 853, 874 and 884 and by maintaining its illegal military presence in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan undermines the regional and international peace and security.

Armenias pretending to be committed to the UN Charter at the level of foreign minister is nothing but hypocrisy and an attempt to mislead the international community, Hajiyev added.

In a press statement Feb. 27, 2017, the UN secretary general urged the resumption of substantive negotiations leading to a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict without delay, Hajiyev said.

Azerbaijan commends and supports this statement of the UN secretary general, he noted. We have repeatedly stated that the substantive negotiations for the resolution of the conflict launched during the Saint Petersburg meeting of the presidents should be continued.

At the same time, we support the UN secretary generals Jan. 1 appeal for peace and his initiative of declaring 2017 the year of peace, Hajiyev said.

In his appeal, the UN secretary general also called for ceasefire and compromise in the negotiations for the conflicts peaceful settlement, Hajiyev added.

It is regrettable that as a result of Armenias policy of maintaining the status quo of occupation and continuing annexation of Azerbaijans territories, the ceasefire regime since 1994 has not been transformed into the political solution and sustainable peace, he said.

Armenia continues to misuse the ceasefire regime for consolidating occupation and by all means undermines the efforts to achieve progress in the negotiations, he noted.

Armenias deviation from the substantive talks and its policy of boycotting and putting pre-conditions to the negotiations over the conflicts peaceful settlement is proceeding from this fact, Hajiyev said.

Armenia understands well that the essence and end-goal of substantive talks is to change the status quo of the occupation on a step-by-step basis, he noted.

In 1993, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted four resolutions (No. 822, 853, 874 and 884), condemning the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan, reaffirming respect for its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the inviolability of international borders and the inadmissibility of the use of force for the acquisition of territory, Hajiyev said.

In response to Armenias territorial claims and actions, the Council reconfirmed that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is an integral part of Azerbaijan and demanded an immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces from all the occupied territories, he added. No country is authorized to misinterpret or downgrade significance of UN Security Council resolutions.

In the resolution No. 873, the Council welcomed and commended the Adjusted timetable of urgent steps to implement Security Council resolutions 822 and 853, he said.

The adjusted timetable prepared under the mandate of resolution No. 853 envisaged withdrawal of armed forces of Armenia within concrete timeframe from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, he noted.

The UN Security Council also tasked the OSCE to ensure the implementation of the resolutions when performing its mediation efforts towards the settlement of the conflict, Hajiyev added.

The final paragraph of the resolution No. 884 of the UN Security Council reiterates that the secretary general continues to report to the Council on the progress of the Minsk process and on all aspects of the situation on the ground, Hajiyev said.

The OSCE Budapest document of 1995 on mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs also confirms that the mandate of the co-chairs is based on the principles of international law, the Helsinki Final Act and the UN Security Council resolutions, he noted.

The UN secretary general in the press release dated Oct. 31, 1994, made it crystal clear that the position of the United Nations is based on four principles which have been mentioned in the different resolutions of the Security Council, Hajiyev added.

The first principle is the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, the second principle is the inviolability of the international boundaries, the third principle is the inadmissibility of the use of force for the acquisition of territory, and the fourth principle is the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all foreign troops from occupied territories of Azerbaijan, he said.

It is also worth noting the resolution of the UN General Assembly on the situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan of Mar. 14, 2008, he noted. We should also bear in mind that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The UN and specialized agencies were also actively involved to support Azerbaijan in overcoming the consequences of humanitarian catastrophe which Azerbaijan faced as a result of the conflict, he said.

In this regard, we particularly appreciate the role and support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in alleviating the humanitarian situation of more than one million Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs, Hajiyev added.

Based on the UN Security Council resolutions, the efforts of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs must be redoubled, Armenia must be urged to return to the substantive talks and must be demanded to abide by its obligations under the international law and the UN Security Council resolutions for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he said.

We are hopeful that 2017, as declared the year of peace by the UN secretary general, will be the end of the continuing occupation of Azerbaijans territories by Armenia and will also be the beginning of the lasting peace in the region through substantive negotiations, he added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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Downing Street has warned Tory rebels they will be defying the will of the people if they stymie the Governments legislation to make Brexit a reality.

Number 10 said it was determined to deliver on the June 23 referendum result after rebels told The Independent Theresa May faces a legislative swamp after she triggers Article 50 later this week.

In an apparent slap down to Brexit Secretary David Davis  who has said the UKs deal would provide the exact same benefits as EU membership  the Prime Ministers spokesman also said Ms Mays position was only to win the best possible deal.

Mr Daviss comments are all the more pertinent after Labour confirmed on Monday that it will not support any withdrawal deal that does not deliver the exact same benefits.

Downing Street also confirmed on Monday that sweeping powers for ministers to ditch bits of EU legislation they do not want after Brexit without parliamentary approval will be subject to a sunset clause.

With Ms May due to officially launch withdrawal talks on Wednesday, Tories have claimed that ministers are not being clear on how difficult disentangling the UK will be.

As well as the main Great Repeal Bill, which makes all aspects of EU law affecting Britain pass on to the UK statute book when we leave, the Government may also need to pass around a dozen pieces of complex legislation to prevent commercial and legal chaos on Brexit day, not to mention 5,000-odd smaller pieces of secondary legislation.

MPs told The Independent the Prime Minister could be bogged down in complex legal and political wrangling for years before Brexit happens, but Downing Street said on Monday: Parliament voted to trigger Article 50. The Bill passed without amendment.

 Keir Starmer: Theresa May must 'face down' the Brexiteers in her Government

The will of the British public is clear and we are working to deliver on that.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said on Monday that Labour would not support a withdrawal deal that failed to meet his partys six tests  including that any agreement deliver exact same benefits as being a member of the single market and customs union.

Those same words were used by Mr Davis in the House of Commons in January, when he said: What we have come up with is the idea of a comprehensive free trade agreement and a comprehensive customs agreement that will deliver the exact same benefits as we have.

But Downing Street today was unwilling to repeat the phrase, saying that Ms May had always said only that the country would aim for the best possible deal it can achieve in negotiations.

 Tens of thousands take to streets to demand Brexit be reversed

Once all parts of EU law pass on to the UK statute book, ministers will decide which pieces they wish to keep and which to ditch, but such is the mass of legislation that the Government is likely to adopt so-called Henry VIII powers allowing it to scrap regulation without full parliamentary approval.

After some Tory members of the House of Lords also warned the Government over the powers, Ms Mays spokesman confirmed the powers would not be permanent.

He added: Where we are talking about significant changes, on immigration or the customs union, that would be subject to primary legislation.
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Theresa May has admitted she must secure her Brexit deal in just 18 months, the SNP has said - claiming it clears the way for a second independence referendum within two years

Nicola Sturgeon leapt on the comment to argue there was now no "rational" argument against the poll, because Scottish voters would be able to make an informed decision as the Prime Minister has demanded.

Ms May has insisted the poll cannot be held within two years because the Scottish people would not know the outcome of the Brexit talks.

Recommended Sturgeon says Scotland will pursue EU membership after independence

But Mike Russell, the SNPs Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotlands Place in Europe, said: The Prime Minister has confirmed to the First Minister that the timescale is 18 months for negotiations to get the framework to make sure theres something to be voted up on by the European Parliament.

In other words, she expects this deal to be done within the 18 month period, with six months for ratification.

That is the timescale we have indicated in our resolution, so there is an agreement on the moment at which enough will be known for the people of Scotland to make an informed decision.

Ms Sturgeon added: I think it makes it very difficult for the Prime Minister to maintain a rational opposition to a referendum in the timescale I have set out.

The Prime Minister has never publicly acknowledged what some EU leaders have put forward as the inevitable shortened timetable for the Brexit negotiations.

Article 50 says the exit talks can run for two years, but six months will be required for the European Parliament to ratify any deal, it is argued by Brussels.

No.10 was caught by surprise when Michel Barnier, the European Commissions lead Brexit negotiator, laid out the 18-month timetable in December  refusing to confirm it.

There was no immediate official comment from Downing Street on the face-to-face talks, which took place in a Glasgow hotel room.

However, a Government source insisted its position on Brexit  and a Scottish referendum  had not changed, that a deal would take a minimum of 18 months and a maximum of 24 months.

We still think this is the wrong time to have a discussion about a referendum, the source said. Eighteen months is not enough time to give people an informed choice about what the options are.

The crunch talks were the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since Ms May blocked Scotlands bid for a second independence referendum.

They were staged just one day before the Edinburgh Parliament is due to vote on issuing its formal demand for a poll aimed at breaking up the 300-year Union.

In order to hold a legally-binding poll, Edinburgh must be granted an Order in Council by Westminster under Section 30 of the 1998 Scotland Act.

Earlier, Ms May insisted she would not bending under SNP pressure, saying: My position is very simple and it hasnt changed.

It is that now is not the time to be talking about a second independence referendum and thats for a couple of reasons.

First of all, now is the point when we are triggering article 50, were starting negotiations for leaving the European Union. Now is the time when we should be pulling together, not hanging apart. Pulling together to make sure we get the best possible deal for the whole of the UK.

Also I think it would be unfair on the people of Scotland to ask them to make a significant decision until all the facts were known, at a point where nobody knows what the situation is going to be.

The Prime Minister rejected SNP protests that her Government had refused to explain the role the Scottish Government will play in the Brexit negotiations, or how its interests will be represented.

She insisted there had been considerable discussion at various levels, at official level, at ministerial level, with the Scottish Government and indeed with the other devolved administrations.
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British regions that voted for Brexit are among those most at risk from the economic consequences of leaving the EU, a new report has found.

Cross-party think tank, Demos, came to the conclusion after studying regions reliance on exports to the EU, use of non-British European workers and receipt of support grants across the UK.

They found that area most vulnerable to the effects of a so-called hard Brexit if the UK does not negotiate access to the Single Market, was Wales, where 52.5 per cent of voters opted to leave, while 47.5 chose to remain.

With over 60 per cent of the country's exports going to the EU meaning it could be hard hit by tariffs.

Wales is also threatened by the loss of EU grants, which the devolved nation benefits from far more than any other British region.

EU funds make up almost one per cent of its total annual output in terms of goods and services  more than three times higher than anywhere else in the UK.

The north-east and the east Midlands are also relatively highly reliant on the EU despite both regions having a high proportion of Brexit voters, the report found.

But it is not only Brexit-leaning areas which could be left economically exposed, with London  which voted heavily for Remain  also likely to be hard hit because of its reliance on EU workers.

The Government has indicated it will prioritise control of immigration over access to the single market, which is almost certain to result in a sharp drop in the numbers of EU workers coming to the UK.

Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland Show all 14 1 /14 Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland Enda Craig, a member of the Loughs Agency Advisory Forum, holds a map of Lough Foyle in Moville, Ireland Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland Oyster farmer William Lynch puts on his wellington boots on his oyster farm on Lough Foyle in Culmore, Northern Ireland Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland Women walk along the shores of Carlingford Lough with Northern Ireland seen across the lough in Carlingford Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland A poster hanging on a wall of a house reads: "No to the ferry", referring to a proposed new car ferry that would run from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland through Carlingford Lough in Greencastle Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland Skipper Shay Fitzpatrick (L) and boat owner Brian Cunningham navigate out of Warrenpoint harbour into Carlingford Lough in Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland A woman with flowers walks past an old fuel station in Carlingford, Ireland Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland A boat is seen at sunset on Carlingford Lough in Greenore, Ireland Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland A mandries off after swimming in Carlingford Lough in Omeath, Ireland Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland A derelict house is seen on the shore of Carlingford Lough in Omeath, Ireland Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland Skipper Shay Fitzpatrick dredges mussels from Carlingford Lough in Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland Bagged-up farmed oysters at a cleaning facility to get them ready for overseas shipping in Moville, Ireland Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland A man walks his dog in matching hi-vis outfits on Carlingford Lough in Greenore, Ireland Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland Carlingford Lough and in the distance Northern Ireland are seen at sunset from Omeath, Ireland Reuters Loughs, Brexit and fishermen in Northern Ireland A sign that reads: 'In 1721 nothing happened here' is seen on the shores of Carlingford Lough in Carlingford, Ireland Reuters

With 17 per cent of its workforce currently made up of EU workers, it is thought that drop could have serious economic consequences for the capital.

Northern Ireland, where a majority also voted to remain, could also be left vulnerable because of its relatively high percentage of EU workers and its reliance on European structural grants.

Manufacturing, agriculture, and energy are sectors likely to be worst hit by a hard Brexit due to the combined effects of large numbers of EU workers, high levels of exports to the EU, and the likelihood of high tariffs on their products.

Brexit will also likely result in the UK leaving, or retaining only partial membership of, the Customs Union.

With tariffs imposed on British goods at the levels currently paid by non-EU states, industries likely to face the highest duties will be agriculture, forestries and fishing, mining and quarrying and manufacturing.

UK producers of dairy products, confectionary, alcohol and tobacco will be hit with the costliest duties, with the highest tariffs of exports into the EU at 33.5 per cent for dairy produce.

Manufacturing will also be particularly vulnerable to the threat posed by reduced trade and immigration to and from from the EU where one in 10 of its workers originate and 45 per cent of its products are exported.

Recommended The EU will not seek to punish the people of Britain for Brexit

The report warns that despite fears around the likely loss of low-skilled workers coming from the EU, the UK also needs to prepare for a significant loss of labour in high-skilled manufacturing and engineering sectors.

The think tank claims Brexit should be a wake-up call to the UK to skill-up its own work force so the country becomes less reliant on foreign workers in the future, calling it an opportunity to fundamentally rethink and level up the economy towards high skills and high productivity, looking beyond immigration policy, to encouraging investment in education and adult skills.

The researchers did not attempt to analyse the potential for future trade deals outside the EU, the potential impact of UK-imposed restrictions on trade or the potential gains from being outside the Customs Union, all of which could potentially mitigate the risks identified.

The Government has said repeatedly it hopes to soften the blow of leaving the single market by signing a new free trade arrangement, but the EUs negotiators have insisted they will not give the UK a sweetheart deal, leading to fears the country will crash out with no deal at all.

In the event of no deal being reached, exporters would be forced to revert to the terms of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which include steep tariffs for a majority of manufactured goods and agricultural produce.
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There is no public appetite for another round of devolved assembly elections in Northern Ireland, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has said.

James Brokenshire said it was extremely disappointing that a Northern Ireland executive had not been formed and that there would be widespread dismay across the community.

He said though progress had been made there were still significant gaps between the parties and that there was still narrow window of a short few weeks in which a government could be formed.

Under the rules of power-sharing, if the deadlock is not broken and no new elections are called the British Government would be expected to take Northern Ireland back under direct rule.

The minister however indicated that there was no appetite for this course of action either, which might require legislation at Westminster.

We are rapidly approaching the point at which Northern Ireland will not have an agreed budget. This is not sustainable, he said.

The Northern Ireland civil service would control the budget and allocation of resources to public services in the province from Wednesday, he said.

Mr Brokenshire said he would make a further statement in the House of Commons on Tuesday laying out more detail. He put the focus on the two main Northern Irish parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein, however.

The UK Government has played, I think, a very active and positive role in the discussions, but ultimately the issues at stake here are about the main parties themselves coming together and therefore the inevitable focus is on those parties, on their engagement and their ability to come to agreement, he said.

It is about bringing those parties around the table that remains at the heart of this, continuing that discussion that they themselves have indicated that they want to see.

It is with that intent that we will be approaching the days ahead but equally, knowing that there are those stark issues that are there for public services in Northern Ireland, therefore that time is short.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert 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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 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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. 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Northern Ireland has already held two assembly elections in the last 12 months in an attempt to break a political deadlock in the province.

At the last election Sinn Fein made major gains with 27 seats compared to 28 for the DUP. The SDLP won 12 seats UUP 10 seats, Alliance 8 seats and Green Party 2 seats.
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A research project hailed by Theresa May to protect people from the awful Zika virus was funded under an EU scheme likely to be lost after Brexit.

The Liberal Democrats said the revelation was a major embarrassment for the Prime Minister, exposing the weakness of her case for leaving the EU.

Speaking on her visit to Scotland, Ms May pointed to the 11m project being carried out by scientists from the University of Glasgow as an example of her determination to forge a more Global Britain.

Recommended May to meet Sturgeon after independence referendum clash

She told civil servants in East Kilbride: Researchers here are exploring the potential for new vaccines to prevent the devastation caused by serious illnesses and epidemics.

I know, for example, that the work to tackle the awful Zika virus that is a source of such anguish for people across Latin America is being led by researchers at Glasgow University, supported by UK government funds.

The Prime Minister said, of such vital work: It says this: that when this great union of nations  England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland  sets its mind on something and works together with determination, we are an unstoppable force.

She added: I believe, when we work together, there is no limit to what we can do.

But, although the Zika virus work is supported by UK government funds, as Ms May said, only around 1m comes from the Governments Global Challenges Research Fund.

No less than 10m has been provided by the EUs Horizon 2020 research and innovation program  its key funding stream for ground breaking medical research.

Ministers have pledged to underwrite existing Horizon 2020 projects to the end of the current spending round in 2020. British researchers receive about 1bn a year.

However, future involvement would have to be renegotiated as part of any Brexit deal, creating huge uncertainty for scientists.

Many fear the worst because, by 2020, the details of the follow-up Horizon programme will be almost completed, making it harder for Britain to opt in.

Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, said: This is a major embarrassment for Theresa May.

Shes trying to make the case of Brexit Britain, but one of the examples she points to has benefitted massively from our membership of the EU.

Theresa May has chosen the hardest and most divisive form of Brexit, and now she is clutching at straws to try and defend this reckless decision.

The Zika virus hit the headlines last year, when some athletes pulled out of the Rio Olympics over fears of infection.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global public health emergency after more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly in babies in Brazil, an outbreak which spread to 60 countries.

The babies were born with abnormally small heads, a condition threatening their brain development. The virus has also been linked to a rare nervous system disorder, Guillain-Barre syndrome.

The EU funding is confirmed in a press release, last October, announcing how the Glasgow scientists had united with 25 research organizations to fight Zika Virus and build long-term outbreak response capacity in Latin America.
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Donald Trump might live in the White House but his friends and associates appear to be getting in touch with him via his old Trump Tower secretary.

Rhona Graff, who joined the Trump Organisation in 1987, has reportedly been working as a middle man for people who want to get in contact with the president. Since his inauguration, these associates have been using Ms Graff to privately offer Mr Trump advice, make suggestions for staff picks and arrange times to meet the billionaire property magnate at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

According to seven Trump associates who spoke to Politico, Ms Graff continues to pass on messages from acquaintances and friends of the president. Many of these contacts have used her to get in touch with Mr Trump for years.

Two associates, who requested anonymity to ensure they did not risk their access to the president, claimed Mr Trump directed them to get in touch with his longtime secretary instead of the White House.

Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally who advised the former reality TV star throughout his campaign, called Ms Graff a point of contact for anyone who thinks the system in Washington will block their access.

Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Show all 18 1 /18 Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The 12th-century castle dominates Sevnica old town Getty Images Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The old town has a beautiful riverside setting Getty Images Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town 'White House' slippers in Sevnica castle Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The annual salami festival, the Salamiada Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Sevnica was a nondescript town before Melania hit the big time AFP/Getty Images Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Sevnica butchers take their sausage-making skills seriously Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Only men are allowed in the Salamiada Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town As American as.... a Sevnica apple pie Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town There are no plans to make a Donald pie Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The slippers featured in a recent fashion show AFP/Getty Images Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The castle is one of the top tourist sites in town Getty Images Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Melanija cake has gone down a storm AFP/Getty Images Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The smart house still owned by Melania's parents Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town They live in America but visit occasionally Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town The communist block of flats in which Melania grew up Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Melania skin cream, for a presidential complexion Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town First lady chocolates, dusted with gold Nick Redmayne Sevnica: Melania Trump's home town Even locals can't get enough of the Melanija cake Nick Redmayne

I go through Rhona, Stone said. Shes a woman of excellent judgment who reflects her boss views. She has to field requests from a lot of people.

If I wanted to get something to Trump without calling his cellphone, Id send it to Rhona, one Trump confidant said.

Do you know the number of people who have his cell phone? Its a joke said a source who has the presidents number.

New York grocery billionaire John Catsimatidis, who has been involved in the citys Republican politics for years and is a long-time ally of Mr Trump, said: If I really wanted to whisper something in his ear, I would probably go to Rhona.

Ms Graff, who lives in New York, is said to link up Trump's contacts with his personal assistant in the White House, who she helped train up during the transition period.

White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters, however, denied Ms Graff informally serves as a go-between, insisting: All correspondence goes through the White House.

The White House is constrained by the Federal Records Act, which requires the preservation of all records including schedules and correspondence from the president, the vice president and their staff in the National Archives.

Ms Graff, who is a senior vice president at the Trump Organisation and sat outside Mr Trump's Trump Tower office as his assistant, has long been a gatekeeper to him and an enduring presence in his business dealings for over twenty years.
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All eyes are on Donald Trumps promise to piece together a great healthcare plan and tax reform, but the fight against funding Planned Parenthood could cause the next big shake-up and could even close down the government.

After the Republicans American Health Care Act (ACHA) was pulled on Friday, conservatives have been tasked to come up with a new way to replace Obamacare.

The government is running on stopgap funding in fiscal 2017 that expires on 28 April, and the funding extension needs to be approved.

Recommended Trump goes to war with conservatives over failed health care bill

If Speaker of the House Paul Ryan takes out a provision to defund Planned Parenthood, it would diminish his popularity even further amongst certain red-meat Republicans and could lead to a government shut-down, as reported by Axios.

If Mr Ryan leaves the provision in, the bill would still be unlikely to pass even with a Republican-controlled House and Senate, as Democrats would vote in block against it.

The two options are worrying for Mr Ryan. His predecessor John Boehner was forced out of his job in 2015, thanks to the House Freedom Caucus, after he relied on Democrat support to push through bills.

What is being said, is that Conservatives are saying, We will only approve the extension of government funding if we defund Planned Parenthood, said Scott Lucas, professor of American Studies at the University of Birmingham.

The problem with that is many surveys say that the vast majority of Americans dont want to defund it, once they understand that federal funds dont cover abortion, and even if there is a minority [of lawmakers who want to defund it], Im sceptical as to whether they would do it through blackmail by threatening a government shutdown.

 Donald Trump pledges to 'repeal and replace' Obamacare, denies he ever pledged to 'repeal and replace' Obamacare

The House Freedom Caucus is a loud minority, however. They would need a majority of votes in the House and more than 50 votes in the Senate. The Caucus also successfully worked to block the scrapped healthcare bill.

Planned Parenthood, the network of family planning and health clinics, which also offers abortions, has been a political hot potato for years.

Vice President Mike Pence, who spoke at the annual March for Life in January, is also keen to take away the clinics federal funding. Of Mr Pences 10 last tweets since 27 January, six of them have been advocating his pro-life stance.

He and his colleagues determination comes in spite of the fact that the Hyde Amendment has already scrapped government money for abortion providers.

Planned Parenthoods funding is used for other health services like cancer screenings and STI tests for women and men. Around 2.5 million patients, of mostly low incomes, depend on the organisation for basic medical needs.

House Freedom Caucus co-founder Jim Jordan said that a total repeal of Obamacare was still their top priority after the ACHA was pulled.

Now, House Republicans owe it to our constituents to immediately get back to the drawing board and bring forward a bolder effort to replace the failing Obamacare with a plan to reduce costs by increasing choice and competition, he said.

Meanwhile Planned Parenthood declared the fight was far from over.

Theyre going to continue to try to defund Planned Parenthood, continue to try to take away womens access to health care, said Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, who has promised more grassroots campaigning.

So its really important to continue to march, continue to show up at town hall meetings, continue to contact your member of Congress.
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Donald Trump could "jeopardise the future of Nato, and might even start a major war", a former US Secretary of Labor has claimed.

Robert Reich, who served in the administrations of Presidents Ford, Carter and Clinton, accused the US leader of being utterly ignorant about world affairs which he claims could jeopardise the organisations existence.

In a lengthy tweet he said Mr Trump has almost complete control over foreign policy, has installed Steve Bannon as a principal on the National Security Council, and is utterly ignorant about the rest of the world."

As a result, he said that the US leader could "jeopardise the future of Nato, and might even start a major war."

Mr Bannon was previously Mr Trumps chief political strategist and head of right-wing Breibart News before his controversial elevation to the National Security Council, where he advises Mr Trump on matters of national security.

Before taking on his new role, Mr Bannon predicted the US and China would go to war within the next ten years over the South China Sea dispute.

He has also warned that Christianity around the world is under threat from radical Islam.

Professor Reich claimed that Mr Trump was stuffing his cabinet with people who will do his bidding and repeal laws that protect ordinary Americans, while a Republican-controlled Congress could waive through his plans for military expansion.

He named Justice Secretary Jeff Sessions, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Environment Secretary Scott Pruitt as individuals he believes will fail to enforce laws that should be enforced, and put in place new laws and regulations that hurt average people and the poor.

The commentator and author of several books, who now serves as the chancellor's professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, also suggested that Mr Trump has almost total control of Congress and increasing influence over the judiciary, threatening the checks and balances that are supposed to operate in the US system of government.

Republicans still control Congress and many are eager to do exactly what Trump wants to do with the federal budget," he wrote. "Expand the military and cut safety-net programs that low-income Americans depend on.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

He accused Mr Trump of governing from his bully pulpit and predicted he will continue to tell big lies and unleash hatefulness and bigotry across the land.

The academic warned that because Mr Trump has the power to install at least one more Supreme Court justice, he could tip the Court in a more conservative direction for years if not a generation.

Professor Reich, who Time magazine named as one of the ten best cabinet members of the last century, is a frequent and vocal critic of the President and has previously branded him incompetent and a liar. He has also suggested Mr Trump may be a traitor because of his alleged links to Russia.

He said he believed that all but the most ardent Trump supporters are now waking up to what he sees as the potential disaster of his presidency.
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Donald Trumps eldest daughter has accepted an invitation from German Chancellor Angela Merkel to attend a womens economic summit.

Just days before Ivanka Trump releases her book, Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success, she is expected to fly to Berlin to join women from other G20 countries and four additional US delegates.

Looking forward to working together in Berlin next month to promote the role of women in the economy and the future of our workforce globally #W20, Ms Trump wrote on social media.

Recommended Ivanka Trump mired in controversy over White House office

The so-called W20 summit in late April, now in its third year, will focus on womens empowerment and Ms Trump, whose travel plans are still being worked out, is expected to look at successful apprenticeship programmes for women.

The conference will also focus on access to finance for business women, closing the gender digital divide and womens inclusion in the labour force.

Ms Trump, a mother of three who took a step back from her executive position at the Trump Organisation to move to Washington DC, spent time with Ms Merkel while the German leader visited the President. It was an awkward trip for Ms Merkel, as Mr Trump did not shake her hand in front of the cameras in the Oval Office.

 Ivanka Trump comments on article about father's respect for women

She also helped to arrange a meeting, at the request of German officials, between American and German business leaders to talk about vocational training.

It followed a visit from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, during which she helped organise a meeting on economic development opportunities for women.

 Donald Trump says he wishes Ivanka and Chelsea were not friends

She spoke out about womens equality in the workplace during the campaign trail and at the Republican National Convention but has not publicly addressed the issue since her father took office.

Ms Trump is not only being viewed as a rising power within the administration and an olive branch to reluctant women voters, helping to craft policies around paid maternity leave, but is also described as a human face to the Trump brand, posting pictures on social media of her family outings.

The 34-year-old has been given an office in the West Wing and security clearance even though she is not a paid, official employee, unlike her husband Jared Kushner who is the Presidents senior adviser.

Her lawyer said she would voluntarily comply with the governments ethics rules, raising questions as to whether she would circumvent transparency.
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Jared Kushner will face questioning as part of a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into contact between Trump aides and Russian operatives.

Mr Kushner, the Presidents son-in-law and Senior Adviser, will be the closest person to the President to be questioned on the alleged links to Russia during the 2016 campaign.

The 36-year-old, who has been tapped to lead the new White House Office of Innovation, met with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak at Trump Tower in December.

The meeting was also attended by former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign after it was revealed he misled Mr Trump and Vice President Mike Pence about the extent of his communication with the ambassador.

Mr Kushner also met with the head of Russias state-owned development bank, according to sources as reported by the New York Times.

Former President Barack Obama sanctioned the bank, Vnesheconombank, and other Russian banks in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea.

 Trump's presidency could be finished by Russia investigations, former NSA analyst says

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said that Mr Kushner met with dozens of officials from foreign countries. Members of the transition team do set up meetings and forge contacts before the Inauguration, which is not unusual.

Ms Hicks also said Mr Kushner isnt trying to hide anything and would speak to the panel.

A White House official also said that Mr Kushner had already "volunteered" to speak to the Senate Intelligence Committee and had "not heard back yet".

 FBI chief confirms Russia election interference probe

US intelligence agencies are currently investigating Trump aides and their contact with Russia. The CIA and the FBI determined the country exerted a campaign of influence to get Mr Trump elected, which the President and Russia have denied.

FBI Director James Comey confirmed the investigation of Trump aides last week at a Senate hearing.

Following the intelligence reports, at least four congressional committees are looking into the extent of alleged collusion with Russia and what impact, if any, it had on the election.

The New York Times reported that later in December last year, Mr Kislyak requested a second meeting with Mr Kushner, and the then-newspaper editor and real estate developer asked a deputy to attend.

At Mr Kislyaks request, Mr Kushner then met Sergei Gorkov, head of Vnesheconombank, which was also sanctioned by the European Union after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Agencies contributed to this report.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

Trend:

Azerbaijan has appealed to the OSCE Minsk Group member countries, OSCE Permanent Council chairperson and other OSCE institutions with regard to the military drills of Armenia in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, the illegal visit of Armenias president to those territories and the statements made by him.

The appeal letter was sent by Azerbaijans Permanent Mission to the OSCE upon instruction from Azerbaijans Government, to inform that in blatant violation of norms and principles of international law, relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, documents and decisions of the OSCE, the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia conducted regiment level military exercises in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend Mar. 27.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the letter reads:

The President of Armenia personally attended the final phase of the exercises on March 25. On that occasion, he illegally visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, awarded military servicemen who excelled in the combat duty and made belligerent provocative statements threatening sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The President of Armenia attempted to introduce a religious dimension to the conflict as he praised the Armenian armed forces as upholders of Christianity. He, inter alia, admitted involvement of the armed forces of Armenia in occupation of the Azerbaijani territories and his own personal responsibility in this regard. He declared that in the course of military hostilities in April 2016, I gave a new order to strike back. He further praised his own role in occupation of territories of Azerbaijan saying that: only a strong one could give the order to stop [April operations], to spare those lives and to take upon himself the future hollow blows of populism, realizing all too well how much territory had been gained before that silently and how much would be taken next time. (emphasis added).

The statement of the President of Armenia is a clear manifestation that Armenia violates the Bishkek Protocol of 1994, which is a basis for ceasefire, through entrenching and building-up military positions, transferring military equipment and hardware to the occupied territories and, thus, takes advantage of cessation of military operations to consolidate the status-quo of occupation.

In this regard, the statement of the President of Armenia is self-explanatory: In one year [after April 2016], we fortified our border and armed our troops to the extent that today our frontline is simply unrecognizable. Today, our guys are following the movements of the enemy in the depth of its own territory. Today, super modern, devastating striking power aims at the entire territory of our belligerent neighbor, including its vital infrastructure. And today, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armenia without batting an eyelid will give if needed the order to strike with the Iskander. In the neighboring country they know it all too well. The military exercises and the statement of the President of Armenia are illustrative as to the real intentions of Armenia and its unwillingness to settle the conflict through negotiations.

It is notable that the President of Armenia delivered his speech in Azerbaijans occupied district of Aghdam, the seizure of which was condemned and the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal from which was demanded by the UN Security Council in its resolution 853. This demand by the international community remains unimplemented for 24 years.

Instead, Armenia uses the ceasefire to exercise and train its armed forces for renewed hostilities, as it was vividly demonstrated by Armenian tanks during the recent live fire exercises targeting ruined houses of expelled Azerbaijani population.

This is a clear testimony of mindset of the senior leadership of Armenia built upon series of crimes against humanity, war crimes, acts of genocide committed against Azerbaijan and its civilian population. This is the understanding of peace, tolerance and co-existence by the Armenian leadership.

Provocative warlike gesture of Armenia and bellicose rhetoric of its high-ranking officials obviously run counter to this countrys stated commitments both under international law and within the ongoing political process towards the resolution of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is a clear manifestation of continued illegal use of force by Armenia against Azerbaijan, and the OSCE should act in unity to reverse such a flagrant violation of basic principles of inter-State relations as enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act.

The Azerbaijani side strongly urges the OSCE, in particular, the OSCE Minsk Group and its Co-Chairmen and the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship to publicly condemn Armenias flagrant violations of relevant provisions of UN SC Resolutions and the ceasefire regime, demand from Armenia to put an end to its aggression against Azerbaijan, withdraw its forces and engage in good faith in substantive negotiations with a view to finding lasting political solution to the conflict.

Failure to properly react to such blatant and repeated violations by Armenia will be a serious blow to the peace process with unpredictable consequences, for which the Armenian senior political-military leadership bears full responsibility.
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A white army veteran accused of killing an elderly African American man in cold blood in Manhattan has said he would rather have killed a younger or more successful black man.

James Harris Jackson, 28, is charged with murder as a hate crime following the death of 66-year-old Timothy Caughman in New York. He allegedly attacked Mr Caughman in the back and chest as he was collecting bottles on Wednesday night, using a sword with an 18-inch blade as a weapon.

In an interview with the New York Daily News, Jackson said he chose to attack Mr Caughman at random but said he did not realise he was elderly. The army veteran said he would rather have killed a young thug or a successful older black man with blondes, indicating his detest of interracial couples.

Jackson, from Baltimore, turned himself in to a police station in Times Square 25 hours after Mr Caughman had staggered into a police precinct bleeding to death. He was rushed to hospital where he later died from his injuries.

District attorney Joan Illuzi said Jackson travelled to New York to kill as many black men as possible and make a statement, but turned himself in before murdering anyone else. She said it is possible Jacksons charges could be upgraded because the killing was an act most likely of terrorism.

Speaking from Rikers Island, the jail complex where Jackson is being held ahead of his trial, the army veteran outlined his white supremacist beliefs.

The white race is being eroded No one cares about you, the blacks dont care about you, he told the newspaper.

 CCTV shows James Harris Jackson running moments after stabbing Timothy Caughman

He claimed to have had racist thoughts since the age of three, but described his family in Baltimore as being as liberal as they come. Jackson said he had turned to online spaces such as the Daily Stormer to discuss his racist views with like-minded people instead.

Jackson joined the army in 2009 and served in Afghanistan as a military intelligence analyst and was discharged three years later after earning a number of medals. He told the newspaper that his military training had aided him in his plan to kill African American men in the city.

He said he had been thinking about attacking people for the past three years, and figured I would end up getting shot by police, kill myself, or end up in jail.

In a statement, the Jackson family extended condolences to Caughman's family and said it was "shocked, horrified and heartbroken by this tragedy."

Additional reporting by agencies
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A United Airlines agent stopped two girls from flying because they were wearing leggings, Twitter user and activist Shannon Watts said on Sunday, sparking a firestorm of backlash online for policing womens clothing. Responding to the criticism, airline officials said that they can refuse passengers who are not properly clothed.

Another girl wearing grey leggings had to change before she was allowed to board her flight at Denver International Airport. The witness said the girl appeared to be 10 years old and was attempting to fly from Denver to Minneapolis.

Shes forcing them to change or put dresses on over leggings or they cant board, she tweeted. Since when does @united police womens clothing?

At first, United did not issue a formal response to the tweets but said on Twitter that the company shall have the right to refuse passengers who are not properly clothed via our Contract of Carriage. They added, This is left to the discretion of the agents.

A United spokesperson told the Washington Post that the two teens were not allowed on the flight. They explained the girls were travelling with a United employee pass and were not in compliance with our dress code policy for company benefit travel.

Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Show all 18 1 /18 Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters gather outside the White House at the finish of the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds attended the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters hold up signage near the Washington Monument during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Drew Angerer/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters gather during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. The march is expected to draw thousands from across the country to protest newly inaugurated President Donald Trump. Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters arrive at the Capital South Metro station for the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, the Women's March has spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights. Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters arrive on the platform at the Capital South Metro station for the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, the Women's March has spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights. Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Demonstrators protest during the Women's March along Pennsylvania Avenue January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women's rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. Joshua Lott/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21: Protesters attend the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, the Women's March has spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights. Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington A marcher holds a sign during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. The march is expected to draw thousands from across the country to protest newly inaugurated President Donald Trump. Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington A woman chants while attending the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Mario Tama/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters attend the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Mario Tama/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters march in Washington, DC, during the Women's March on January 21, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of people flooded US cities Saturday in a day of women's rights protests to mark President Donald Trump's first full day in office. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington A protester gestures toward the White House on the Ellipse near the South Lawn of the White House during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Drew Angerer/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington A protester, holding a Donald Trump doll wearing a pink cap, marches in Washington, DC, during the Womens March on January 21, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of people flooded US cities Saturday in a day of women's rights protests to mark President Donald Trump's first full day in office. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters take to the National Mall to demonstrate against the presidency of Donald Trump Washington, DC on January 21, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women's rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protesters march during the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. Mario Tama/Getty Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Demonstrators gather on The Ellipse during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women's rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. Zach Gibson/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Demonstrators march down Pennsylvania Avenue during the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women's rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. Zach Gibson/AFP/Getty Images Thousands attend Women's March on Washington Protester's signs are left near the White House during the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Large crowds are attending the anti-Trump rally a day after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Mario Tama/Getty

Still, many people online expressed outrage over the incident, suggesting many women wear leggings and yoga pants for comfort while travelling.

I have five kids: four of them are women. They wear yoga pants all of the time when flying, Watts said in an email exchange with the newspaper. I think this policy is arbitrary and sexist. It singles out women for their clothing and sexualises little girls.
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Amid the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the UKs Parliament, which killed four people including a police officer, another mass casualty further afield has been buried in the headlines.

Over the weekend the US Pentagon has admitted to another air strike in Mosul, which is believed to have killed more than 200 civilians including women and children.

It has been described as a humanitarian disaster by Iraqi Vice President Osama Nujaifi, and United Nations officials said they were profoundly concerned by the attack.

The Pentagon released a statement, saying it had targeted Isis fighters and equipment at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties.

The coalition respects human life, which is why we are assisting our Iraqi partner forces in their effort to liberate their lands from ISIS brutality.

If the US is found to be responsible, it will be the deadliest such attack in three years.

The Pentagon has admitted to killing 220 civilians in Iraq and Syria since mid-2014, yet independent monitoring groups such as Airwars.org in London say the number could be closer to 3,000.

In pictures: Mosul offensive Show all 40 1 /40 In pictures: Mosul offensive In pictures: Mosul offensive A doctor carries an Iraqi newborn baby at a hospital in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi girls play at a yard of a school in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017alal Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A woman on crutches who is a relative of men accused of being Islamic State militants is seen at a camp in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq July 15, 2017. Picture taken July 15, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A displaced girl, who fled from home carries a doll at Hamam al-Alil camp south of Mosul, Iraq July 13, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi federal police members and civilians celebrate in the Old City of Mosul on 9 July 2017 after the government's announcement of the "liberation" of the embattled city. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office said he was in "liberated" Mosul to congratulate "the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people on the achievement of the major victory" AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A picture taken on 9 July 2017, shows a general view of the destruction in Mosul's Old City. Iraq will announce imminently a final victory in the nearly nine-month offensive to retake Mosul from jihadists, a US general said Saturday, as celebrations broke out among police forces in the city. AFP In pictures: Mosul offensive Members of the Iraqi federal police raise the victory gesture as they ride on a humvee while advancing through the Old City of Mosul on 28 June 2017, as the offensive continues to retake the last district held by Islamic State (IS) group fighters. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Smoke billows as Iraqi forces advance through the Old City of Mosul on 26 June 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district held by the Islamic State (IS) group. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi man wearing the green scarf of the Shi'ite faith kisses an Iraqi Army soldier on safely reaching the Iraqi forces position as Iraqi civilians flee the Old City of west Mosul where heavy fighting continues on 23 June 2017. Iraqi forces continue to encounter stiff resistance with improvised explosive devices, car bombs, heavy mortar fire and snipers hampering their advance. Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A picture taken from the inside of an Iraqi forces armoured vehicle shows residents walking through a damaged street as troops advance towards Mosul's Old City on 18 June 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district still held by the Islamic State (IS) group. Military commanders told AFP the assault had begun at dawn after overnight air strikes by the US-led coalition backing Iraqi forces. They said the jihadists were putting up fierce resistance. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi Army soldiers advance in a destroyed street after an Iraqi forces airstrike targeted an Islamic State sniper position 17 June 2017 in al-Shifa, the last district of west Mosul under Islamic State control. IS snipers, as well as car and suicide bomb attacks continue to hinder the Iraqi forces efforts to retake the final district. A series of airstrikes by Iraqi helicopter gunships attempted to hit multiple Islamic State sniper positions in al-Shifa. Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier frisks a displaced Iraqi man at a temporary camp in the compound of the closed Nineveh International Hotel in Mosul on 16 June 2017 which was recovered by Iraqi troops from Islamic State group fighters earlier in the year. A screening centre set up in the compound's fairgrounds sees a constant stream of Iraqis fleeing the battle for Mosul, awaiting their turn to be checked by the Iraqi forces who are searching for suspected Islamic State (IS) group members. The small fairground lies at the end of a pontoon bridge across the Tigris recently opened to civilians that is the only physical link between the two banks of the river. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqis staying at the al-Khazir camp swim in a river near the camp for internally displaced people, located between Arbil and Mosul on 11 June 2017. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi government forces drive on a road leading to Tal Afar on 9 June 2017, during ongoing battles to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi policeman carries a poster bearing an image of Mosul's iconic leaning minaret, known as the "Hadba" (Hunchback), on 22 June 2017. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqis stand in line to receive food aid in western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood on 7 June 2017, during ongoing battles as Iraqi forces try to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. Living conditions in Mosul have again deteriorated since the start of the Iraqi government's offensive on the city in October in which they retook a large part of the west of the city. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Displaced Iraqis carry lightbulbs and sacks as they evacuate from western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood as government forces advance in the area during their ongoing battle against Islamic State (IS) group fighters on 13 May 2017 AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) flashes the victory gesture as he patrols in western Mosul's al-Islah al-Zaraye neighbourhood on 13 May 2017 AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi army soldiers from the 9th armoured division on a truck flash the sign of victory as they drive back from Mosul to the town of Qaraqosh (also known as Hamdaniya) Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Members of Iraqi forces flash the sign of victory on their vehicle as they advance towards Hammam al-Alil area south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi security forces gestures in Hammam al-Alil, south of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi children, one flashing the sign of victory, greet Iraqi army's soldiers from the 9th armoured division in the area of Ali Rash, adjacent to the eastern Al-Intissar neighbourhood of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Peshmerga forces look at a tunnel used by Islamic State militants near the town of Bashiqa, east of Mosul, during an operation to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier takes a photograph with his phone as his comrade stands next to a detained man, whom the Iraqi army soldiers accused of being an Islamic State fighter, who was fleeing with his family in the Intisar disrict of eastern Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iranian Kurdish female members of the Freedom Party of Kurdistan (PAK) hold a position in an area near the town of Bashiqa, some 25 kilometres north east of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi families, who fled their homes in Hamam al-Alil, gather on the outskirts of their town Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Displaced people walk past a checkpoint near Qayara, south of Mosul, Iraq AP In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi families who were displaced by the ongoing operation by Iraqi forces against jihadists of the Islamic State group to retake the city of Mosul, are seen gathering in an area near Qayyarah In pictures: Mosul offensive A boy who just fled Abu Jarbuah village is seen with his family at a Kurdish Peshmerga position between two front lines near Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi child eats a pomegranate upon the arrival of Iraqi forces in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive People who just fled Abu Jarbuah village sit as they eat at a Kurdish Peshmerga position between two front lines near Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A couple who just fled Abu Jarbuah village are escorted by Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Women carry a boy over a wall as civilians flee their houses in the village of Tob Zawa, Iraq AP In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier and a civilian ride a motorbike as smoke rises behind them, on the road between Qayyarah and Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi forces, wearing a skull mask, waits at a checkpoint for people fleeing the main hub city of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier sits at a checkpoint in an area near Qayyarah Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi men prepare food portions for Iraqi forces deployed in areas south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi forces celebrate upon the arrival of vehicles bringing food to them Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi childen smoke cigarettes upon the arrival of Iraqi forces in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi forces distributes drinks to children in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty

Airwars claimed there had been around 1,000 civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria in March alone due to coalition air strikes.

We realise the huge responsibility the liberating forces shoulder, Iraqi parliament speaker Salim Jabouri tweeted, calling on them to spare no effort to save the civilians.

An investigation, using classified and public information, is underway to determine whether it was US forces, Isis militant bombs or both that caused the civilian buildings to fall.

The Civilian Casualty Credibility Assessment investigation will take several weeks.

 Iraqi forces launch push to retake western Mosul from IS

In the meantime, the air strike on Baghdad Street in western Mosul on 17 March has left families torn apart and grieving, with emergency workers working long hours to pull corpses from the rubble. Iraqi police chiefs have also denied reports that the US-Iraqi operation to fight Isis has been put on pause.

US President Donald Trump has remained silent on the calamity.

In late January he came under fire for criticising the US military for not taking Iraq oil when they withdrew in 2011.

You wouldnt have Isis if we took the oil, he said.

The President is unlikely to take responsibility in the latest mass casualty. He was criticised for blaming the military for a botched operation in Yemen in early February, which killed Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William Owens.

This was a mission that was started before I got here. This was something they wanted to do, Mr Trump said.

They came to me, they explained what they wanted to do  the generals  who are very respected, my generals are the most respected that weve had in many decades, I believe. And they lost Ryan.
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Donald Trump has been compared to Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin by a professor at America's distinguished Yale University.

In my world, where I come from, its the 1930s," Timothy Snyder, told talkshow host Bill Maher, on his Real Time with Bill Maher show. "Picking out a group of your neighbours and citizens and associating them with the worldwide threat, thats the 1930s.

And what we have to remember with the 1930s, we think of Hitler and Stalin as super villains. But theyre not, they could only come to power with some form of consent.

Adolf Hitler was elected as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, while Stalin was able to consolidate his power and lead the Communist Party following the death of Vladimir Lenin, eliminating anyone who stood in his way.

Professor Synder also warned that tyrants use terrorist attack, such as the Reichstag fire of 1933, to suspend your rights.

The author, whose latest book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century draws such parallels between modern day America and previous dictatorships, added: It was the fascists who said, everyday life doesnt matter'. 'Every detail doesnt matter. Facts dont matter. All that matters is the message, the leader, the myth, the totality. We should be thinking about the 1920s.

A Day That Shook The World: Hitler elected German Chancellor Show all 3 1 /3 A Day That Shook The World: Hitler elected German Chancellor A Day That Shook The World: Hitler elected German Chancellor 541841.bin Getty Images A Day That Shook The World: Hitler elected German Chancellor 541843.bin Getty Images A Day That Shook The World: Hitler elected German Chancellor 541842.bin Getty Images

Host Bill Maher then reeled off a list of reasons why Mr Trump was behaving like a tyrant.

The comedian said Mr Trump put his name on buildings, appointed family to positions of power, held scary rallies and hated the press.

He also jokingly mentioned how the property magnate wanted to hold missile parades, used his office "personal financial gain, liked other strong men, and claimed minorities caused economic failure.

Mr Trump recently said that taxpayers have picked up hundreds of billions in healthcare, housing, education and welfare costs because of unauthorised immigrants.

"Im not going to laugh at any of that, Professor Snyder said.
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Environmentalists have denounced a plan by Donald Trump  who has said climate change is a hoax  to sign an executive order that will take apart his predecessors efforts to try and slow the warming of the planet.

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Scott Pruitt, said the order will undo Barack Obamas Clean Power Plan, an environmental regulation that restricted greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants. The 2015 regulation has been on hold since last year while a federal court hears an appeal filed by Republican-controlled states and more than 100 companies.

Over the weekend, Mr Pruitt said Mr Trumps plan would help create jobs and lower the cost of electricity.

Weve penalised ourselves through lost jobs while China and India didnt take steps to address the issue internationally, he told ABC News.

But environmentalists have condemned the proposal, saying the move will not only undo more than an a decade of fighting climate change, but will also not provide the sort of jobs Mr Trump has said he will create.

Trumps trying to undo more than a decade of progress in fighting climate change and protecting public health, said David Doniger, director of the climate and clean air programme at the Natural Resources Defence Council.

 Bill Nye to Bernie Sanders: The effects of Trump's climate change denial could be catastrophic

But nobody voted to abandon Americas leadership in climate action and the clean-energy revolution. This radical retreat will meet a great wall of opposition.

Bloomberg News said Mr Trumps plan involved some measures that would be undertaken immediately and said that could take years to be completed.

The order will compel federal agencies to quickly identify any actions that could burden the production or use of domestic energy resources, including nuclear power, and then work to suspend, revise or rescind the policies unless they are legally mandated, it said.

It will also remove two Obama-era directives that gave consideration of climate change a prominent role in federal rule making.

One advised government agencies to factor climate change into environmental reviews.

The other, called the social cost of carbon, considered the potential economic damage from climate change.

Activists have vowed to fight the move, which they say will not create the high-paying industrial jobs that Mr Trump had vowed during the election campaign to bring back to America.

By turning his back on US climate action, the Trump administration is threatening Americans health and the countrys economic prosperity. This will also diminish the United States standing in the world, said Sam Adams, US director of the World Resources Institute.

Like many of the Presidents early actions, the consequences of these policies directly contradict many of his campaign promises. Trump considers himself a champion for cutting waste, yet he is undermining a range of energy efficiency measures that would do precisely that.

He added: The result will be steeper energy bills and dirtier air. This is not what Americans want.
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The White House has denied reports that Donald Trump handed Angela Merkel a bill for hundreds of billions of pounds he believed Germany owed Nato.

On Sunday, claims emerged that the US President had presented the German Chancellor with an invoice for an undisclosed sum  believed to be around 300bn.

The bill  which was said to include how much German spending fell below the two per cent Nato target over the past 12 years, plus interest - was reportedly given to Ms Merkel during talks held in Washington earlier in March.

But White House press secretary Sean Spicer attempted to pour cold water on the rumour when questioned on Sunday.

"No, this is not true," he said. Michael Short, a White House spokesperson, also said the report was "false.

While solid proof of the bill has yet to emerge, the allegation appears to fit with Mr Trumps long-standing criticism of countries he says are not paying their fair share of the military alliances budget.

The unorthodox move would also suggest relations between the two countries are even more strained than previously thought.

 Donald Trump apparently snubs handshake with Angela Merkel

At a joint press conference after the 17 March meeting in Washington, Mr Trump said he had reiterated to Chancellor Merkel my strong support for NATO, as well as the need for our NATO allies to pay their fair share for the cost of defence.

Many nations owe vast sums of money from past years, and it is very unfair to the United States. These nations must pay what they owe.

Ms Merkel replied that Germany was committed to this two per cent goal until 2024 and said her government was going to work together again and again on this.

The President later tweeted that Berlin owed the US and Nato vast sums of money for the powerful, and very expensive, defence it provides to Germany.

The incident involving the alleged invoice first came to light in a report in The Sunday Times, which quoted an unnamed German government minister as saying the move was outrageous.

The concept behind putting out such demands is to intimidate the other side, but the chancellor took it calmly and will not respond to such provocation, the minister said.

Commenting on the reports, former Secretary of Labour under Bill Clinton, Robert Reich, described Mr Trump as an international embarrassment.
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Donald Trump has been branded an international embarrassment after he reportedly presented Angela Merkel with a bill for what he thought Germany owed Nato during her recent trip to the White House.

The bill  which was reportedly given to the Chancellor during private talks last weekend  was described as outrageous by one unnamed German minister.

They told The Sunday Times: The concept behind putting out such demands is to intimidate the other side, but the chancellor took it calmly and will not respond to such provocations.

 Branson: Trump is an embarrassment for the world

All Nato countries have previously agreed to spend two per cent of GDP on defence spending but only five countries  the US, the UK, Greece, Poland and Estonia  are currently meeting that target.

Germany, which currently spends around 1.23 per cent, previously pledged to increase its defence spending in 2002 and it is believed that Mr Trumps team calculated the amount Berlin has fallen short of the 2 per cent target from that point then added interest.

But the move has been condemned by many Americans who said the move showed Mr Trump failed to understand how Nato worked.

Former Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton Robert Reich said: Trump is an international embarrassment. To our allies around the world: He doesnt represent most Americans, and were doing all we can."

The alleged gesture came as Mr Trump tweeted that Germany owed the US and Nato vast sums of money for the powerful, and very expensive, defence it provides to Germany.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer subsequently denied that Mr Trump had handed the invoice to Ms Merkel, Business Insider reported.

Under the terms of Article 5 of the Nato agreement, member states must come to the aid of each other if one is subject to military attack.

It was originally signed in 1949 as a way to combat the dominance of the Soviet Union in Europe.

As tensions have increased between Russia and the West over its annexation of Crimea, its support for rebels in the Donbas region of Ukraine and its intervention in Syria, vulnerable Eastern European states have seen their defences bolstered by Nato troops.

Countries which share a border with Russia  including Poland, Lithuania and Estonia but not Germany  have seen one of the biggest deployments to Eastern Europe since the Cold War in recent weeks.

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. 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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. 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But this does not mean the US is funding the defence of other countries.

As Ivo Daalder, the US ambassador to Nato between 2009 and 2013, explained on Twitter last week Washington decides how much it spends on defence on its own and has chosen to provide a large military commitment to Europe for its own security as well as that of its allies.

But Mr Trump has repeatedly suggested he may roll back the US commitment to Nato.

On the campaign trail he called it obsolete and suggested he would cut spending  but since his inauguration he has attempted to reassure European leaders that he understood its strategic importance.

During a Nato summit in February, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis suggested the US would moderate its commitment unless other members increased their own spending.

He said: No longer can the American taxpayer carry a disproportionate share of the defence of Western values. Americans cannot care more for your childrens security than you do.

Disregard for military readiness demonstrates a lack of respect for ourselves, for the alliance and for the freedoms we inherited, which are now clearly threatened.

The bill was a further embarrassment during Ms Merkel's first trip to the Trump White House after the President was roundly criticised for refusing to shake her hand during their initial meeting and then trying to suggest they had being hacked by Barack Obama "in common"  before receiving a withering stare from the Chancellor.
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The US Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, has called for the removal of Republican Representative Devin Nunes as chairman of the House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee.

Mr Nunes, whose Congressional committee is investigating potential ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia, visited the White House the day before announcing he had information indicating Trump's transition team may have been subject to what he called "incidental" intelligence gathering by US officials.

Chairman Nunes is falling down on the job and seems to be more interested in protecting the president than in seeking the truth, Mr Schumer said in a Senate speech.

Recommended Trump transition members potentially under surveillance says Nunes

Neither Mr Schumer or fellow Democrats in the House or Senate have the power to remove and replace Mr Nunes, but in his floor speech he urged House Speaker Paul Ryan to do so if Mr Ryan "wants the House to have a credible investigation" into the Trump campaign team's possible ties to Russia.

Nunes spokesman Jack Langer said in a statement that Mr 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.

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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. 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Mr Nunes has said he will not reveal his source which has led to several questions regarding who let him onto the grounds and who granted him access to the documents.

He claims that the documents he viewed regarding conversations about Mr Trump and his team may have been distributed around the government improperly and in a press conference the next day he explained that he felt certain names of the Trump team may have been unnecessarily "unmasked".

However, he also said during the press conference that he felt the surveillance was "legal".

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the White House was not aware Mr Nunes was on the grounds that day but that he was "not concerned" about the matter.

Mr Spicer claimed if two people who are cleared to share classified information share it, then "it's not a leak."
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There was once a time  before the investigations, before the sexual abuse conviction  when rich and famous men loved to hang around with Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire money manager who loved to party. They visited his mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. They flew on his jet to join him at his private estate on the Caribbean island of Little Saint James. They even joked about his taste in younger women.

President Donald Trump called Epstein a terrific guy back in 2002, saying that he's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.

Now, Trump is on the witness list in a Florida court battle over how federal prosecutors handled allegations that Epstein, 64, sexually abused more than 40 minor girls, most of them between the ages of 13 and 17. The lawsuit questions why Trump's nominee for Labour Secretary, former Miami US attorney Alexander Acosta, whose confirmation hearing is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, cut a non-prosecution deal with Epstein a decade ago rather than pursuing a federal indictment that Acostas staff had advocated.

Although Epstein's friends and visitors once included past and future presidents, rock stars and some of the country's richest men, he is no longer a social magnet. Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida state charge of felony solicitation of underage girls in 2008 and served a 13-month jail sentence. Politicians who had accepted his donations, including former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, have scurried to give them back. (Harvard University kept a $6.5m [5.2m] gift, saying it was funding important research in mathematics.)

But Epstein's unusually light punishment  he was facing up to a life sentence had he been convicted on federal charges  has raised questions about how Acosta handled the case. Former Palm Beach police chief Michael Reiter, whose department conducted the initial investigation into Epstein's behaviour, said in a civil lawsuit deposition that Epstein got off easy. That wasnt an appropriate resolution of this matter, Reiter said, arguing that the charges levelled against Epstein were very minor, compared with what the facts called for. In a letter to parents of Epstein's victims, Reiter said justice had not been served.

Jeffrey Epstein in custody in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 2008 (AP)

Prosecutors in Acostas Miami office who had joined the FBI in the investigation concluded, according to documents produced by the US attorney's office, that Epstein, working through several female assistants, would recruit underage females to travel to his home in Palm Beach to engage in lewd conduct in exchange for money ... Some went there as much as 100 times or more. Some of the womens conduct was limited to performing a topless or nude massage while Mr. Epstein masturbated himself. For other women, the conduct escalated to full sexual intercourse.

Epstein has a near-legendary reputation in New York financial circles as a money manager who made many millions for his clients. Although he never graduated from college, he taught advanced math at the Dalton School, one of the city's top private schools, and went on to be a successful trader at Bear Stearns before starting his own firm, J Epstein & Co., which managed the finances of clients who had a minimum of $1bn in assets.

Federal prosecutors detailed their findings in an 82-page prosecution memo and a 53-page indictment, but Epstein was never indicted. In 2007, Acosta signed a non-prosecution deal in which he agreed not to pursue federal charges against Epstein or four women who the government said procured girls for him. In exchange, Epstein agreed to plead guilty to a solicitation charge in state court, accept a 13-month sentence, register as a sex offender and pay restitution to the victims identified in the federal investigation.

This agreement will not be made part of any public record, the deal between Epstein and Acosta says. The document was unsealed by a federal judge in a civil lawsuit in 2015.

Reiter said in the 2009 deposition that federal prosecutors in Miami told him that typically these kinds of cases with one victim would end up in a 10-year sentence. Reiter said he was surprised not only by the decision to pull back from prosecuting the case, but also by the light sentence and liberal privileges granted to Epstein during his jail term.

Acosta did not return a call seeking comment. He explained his decision in a To whom it may concern letter that he released to news organisations three years after the decision: The bottom line is this: Mr Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire, served time in jail and is now a registered sex offender. He has been required to pay his victims restitution, though restitution clearly cannot compensate for the crime. Acosta wrote that the case against Epstein grew stronger over the years because more victims spoke out after Epstein was convicted.

Acosta is Trump's second nominee to be Secretary of Labour; the first, Andrew Puzder, withdrew last month after Senate Republicans questioned his past employment of an undocumented housekeeper. Support for Acosta seems strong, as some Democrats and union leaders have joined with Senate Republicans in praising the nominee, who has been confirmed for federal positions three times in the past.

In the 2011 letter explaining his decision in the Epstein case, Acosta said he backed off from pressing charges after a year-long assault on the prosecution and the prosecutors by an army of legal superstars who represented Epstein, including Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz; Kenneth Starr, who as independent counsel led the investigation that brought about President Bill Clinton's impeachment; and some of the nation's most prominent defence attorneys, such as Roy Black, Gerald Lefcourt and Jay Lefkowitz.

The defence strategy was not limited to legal issues, Acosta wrote. Defence counsel investigated individual prosecutors and their families, looking for personal peccadilloes that may provide a basis for disqualification.

Dershowitz said in an interview that no such effort to rattle the prosecutors ever took place. That's just dead wrong, he said. I would never participate in anything of that kind. Of course we investigated the witnesses but not Acosta's deputies. That's absurd.

Acostas intention was to indict, and he fought hard and tried to get the best deal he could, Dershowitz said. We outlawyered him. Epstein did not return a call seeking comment.

Conchita Sarnoff, the author of TrafficKing, a book on the Epstein case, said in an interview that Acosta told her a few years after his decision not to prosecute that he felt incapable of going up against those eight powerful attorneys. He felt his career was at stake.

In his letter about the decision, Acosta, who has been dean of the law school at Florida International University since 2009, acknowledged that some prosecutors felt that we should just go to trial, and at times I felt that frustration myself. He also complained that Epstein received highly unusual treatment while in jail, including being allowed to serve much of his sentence in the county jail rather than a state prison, and being permitted to leave the jail six days a week to work at home before returning to jail to sleep.

The treatment that he received while in state custody undermined the purpose of a jail sentence, Acosta said.

Dershowitz said Acosta was very anxious to prosecute Epstein, but we persuaded them that they didn't have enough evidence of interstate transportation of the underage girls to warrant federal charges.

But Reiter, the former police chief, said the FBI had evidence from flight logs or something that an underage victim was transported on an aircraft of Mr. Epstein.

Some may feel that the prosecution should have been tougher, Acosta wrote. Evidence that has come to light since 2007 may encourage that view. But the prosecutor argued that his offices investigation allowed state prosecutors to strengthen their charges against Epstein. And Acosta said that those who disagree with his decision are not the ones who at the time reviewed the evidence available for trial and assessed the likelihood of success.

The deal Acosta made with Epstein precluded any new federal prosecution based on offences he may have committed between 2001 and 2007, but in Florida, Trump is on the witness list in a civil case in which two attorneys accuse federal prosecutors of having deceived Epstein's victims by failing to inform them that they would not charge Epstein.

Lawyers for the women argue that they had a right under the federal Crime Victims' Rights Act to know about Acosta's deal with Epstein. They say Acosta sought to keep the deal under wraps to avoid the intense public criticism that would have resulted from allowing a politically-connected billionaire to escape from federal prosecution.

Although Trump and Bill Clinton flew on Epstein's plane and visited his homes, neither president has been accused of taking part in the sexual misdeeds. But lawyers for Epstein's victims say Trump nonetheless may have useful information. Trump banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach because Epstein sexually assaulted an underage girl at the club, Bradley Edwards, an attorney who represents three of the young women, said in court documents.

Lawyers involved with the various Epstein cases said there is virtually no chance that the President will be required to testify in a matter in which both sides agree his involvement was tangential.

Trump and Clinton are both among the dozens of names that appeared in a black book of Epstein's phone contacts that his houseman, Alfredo Rodriguez, obtained. Rodriguez, who died in 2015, was convicted of obstruction of justice in 2010 after he tried to sell the book for $50,000 to lawyers representing Epstein's victims. In the book, Rodriguez circled the names of contacts he said were involved in sexual misbehaviour at Epsteins properties. There were no circles around the names of Trump, Clinton or other boldfaced names such as former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and celebrities Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, David Frost and Jimmy Buffett.

Rodriguez spent 18 months in prison, five months longer than Epstein served in jail. Epstein has continued to move among his homes in New York City, where he owns one of the largest private residences in Manhattan, Palm Beach and the Caribbean.

 Washington Post
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The historic Paris Agreement on climate change  hailed by Barack Obama as perhaps the moment that we finally decided to save our planet  is a bad deal, the climate science-denying head of the US Environmental Protection Agency has said.

Scott Pruitt, who as Oklahomas Attorney-General repeatedly sued the organisation he now leads, told US broadcaster ABC that China and India had got away scot-free under the terms of the deal and said the US had penalised ourselves through lost jobs.

Donald Trump has previously said he is considering withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement because, in his opinion, nobody really knows if climate change is real.

However the Trump administration appears to be split over taking this momentous step with Defence Secretary James Mad Dog Mattis among those who accept the established scientific view that climate change is indeed real.

The prospect of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement has cast a shadow over international talks about the issue.

The US produced about 5,170 megatons of carbon dioxide in 2015, the second highest of any country, behind China, which emitted about 10,600 megatons. However, Chinas population of more than 1.3 billion is about four times larger than the United States.

The whole of the European Union, which has a population of about 743 million, was responsible for about 3,500 megatons.

However, despite the fact that China and India are 84th and 122nd on the International Monetary Funds list of countries ranked by gross domestic product per person, Mr Pruitt said he felt the US, which is 11th, had been hard done by.

You know, what was wrong with Paris was not just that it was, you know, failed to be treated as a treaty, but China and India, the largest producers of carbon dioxide internationally, got away scot-free, he said.

They didnt have to take steps until 2030. So weve penalised ourselves through lost jobs while China and India didnt take steps to address the issue internationally.

So Paris was just a bad deal, in my estimation.

His complaints about Chinas and Indias carbon dioxide emissions are perhaps a little strange, given he only recently denied the gas was a primary cause of global warming. Scientists have known about carbons warming effect since the mid-1800s and it can be demonstrated by a simple experiment.

The Paris Agreement was given that name partly to avoid being classed as an international treaty because, under US law, a treaty cannot be approved by the President alone and must be ratified by Congress.

The Obama administration decided the Republican-controlled Congress would not approve the deal so persuaded the rest of the world to call it an agreement, which the President could sign up to on his own authority.

However Mr Pruitt gave a hint that the Trump administration might decide against withdrawing from Paris, for the moment at least.

Immediately after describing the Paris Agreement as a bad deal, he added: But were trying to focus on getting things right here domestically and making sure we operate within the framework of the Clean Air Act.

Mr Pruitt also said Mr Trump would issue the Energy Independence Executive Order, which would make sure we have a pro-growth and pro-environment approach to how we do regulation in this country.

He complained some people seemed to think that if youre pro-growth, pro-jobs, youre anti-environment.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

Weve made tremendous progress on our environment and we can be both pro-jobs and pro-environment, and the executive orders going to address the past administrations effort to kill jobs across this country through the Clean Power Plan, Mr Pruitt added.

The Clean Power Plan was the mainstay of attempts by the Obama administration to shift the US economy from one largely run on fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Mr Pruitt's assessment of the Paris Agreement is markedly different from Mr Obamas.

In September last year, as the US and China jointly ratified the deal, the then US President said: This is not a fight that any one country no matter how powerful can take alone.

Some day we may see this as the moment that we finally decided to save our planet.
Details added (first version posted on 18:13)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

Trend:

Azerbaijan has appealed to the OSCE Minsk Group member countries, OSCE Permanent Council chairperson and other OSCE institutions with regard to the military drills of Armenia in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, the illegal visit of Armenias president to those territories and the statements made by him.

The appeal letter was sent by Azerbaijans Permanent Mission to the OSCE upon instruction from Azerbaijans Government, to inform that in blatant violation of norms and principles of international law, relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, documents and decisions of the OSCE, the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia conducted regiment level military exercises in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend Mar. 27.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the letter reads:

The President of Armenia personally attended the final phase of the exercises on March 25. On that occasion, he illegally visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, awarded military servicemen who excelled in the combat duty and made belligerent provocative statements threatening sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The President of Armenia attempted to introduce a religious dimension to the conflict as he praised the Armenian armed forces as upholders of Christianity. He, inter alia, admitted involvement of the armed forces of Armenia in occupation of the Azerbaijani territories and his own personal responsibility in this regard. He declared that in the course of military hostilities in April 2016, I gave a new order to strike back. He further praised his own role in occupation of territories of Azerbaijan saying that: only a strong one could give the order to stop [April operations], to spare those lives and to take upon himself the future hollow blows of populism, realizing all too well how much territory had been gained before that silently and how much would be taken next time. (emphasis added).

The statement of the President of Armenia is a clear manifestation that Armenia violates the Bishkek Protocol of 1994, which is a basis for ceasefire, through entrenching and building-up military positions, transferring military equipment and hardware to the occupied territories and, thus, takes advantage of cessation of military operations to consolidate the status-quo of occupation.

In this regard, the statement of the President of Armenia is self-explanatory: In one year [after April 2016], we fortified our border and armed our troops to the extent that today our frontline is simply unrecognizable. Today, our guys are following the movements of the enemy in the depth of its own territory. Today, super modern, devastating striking power aims at the entire territory of our belligerent neighbor, including its vital infrastructure. And today, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armenia without batting an eyelid will give if needed the order to strike with the Iskander. In the neighboring country they know it all too well. The military exercises and the statement of the President of Armenia are illustrative as to the real intentions of Armenia and its unwillingness to settle the conflict through negotiations.

It is notable that the President of Armenia delivered his speech in Azerbaijans occupied district of Aghdam, the seizure of which was condemned and the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal from which was demanded by the UN Security Council in its resolution 853. This demand by the international community remains unimplemented for 24 years.

Instead, Armenia uses the ceasefire to exercise and train its armed forces for renewed hostilities, as it was vividly demonstrated by Armenian tanks during the recent live fire exercises targeting ruined houses of expelled Azerbaijani population.

This is a clear testimony of mindset of the senior leadership of Armenia built upon series of crimes against humanity, war crimes, acts of genocide committed against Azerbaijan and its civilian population. This is the understanding of peace, tolerance and co-existence by the Armenian leadership.

Provocative warlike gesture of Armenia and bellicose rhetoric of its high-ranking officials obviously run counter to this countrys stated commitments both under international law and within the ongoing political process towards the resolution of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is a clear manifestation of continued illegal use of force by Armenia against Azerbaijan, and the OSCE should act in unity to reverse such a flagrant violation of basic principles of inter-State relations as enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act.

The Azerbaijani side strongly urges the OSCE, in particular, the OSCE Minsk Group and its Co-Chairmen and the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship to publicly condemn Armenias flagrant violations of relevant provisions of UN SC Resolutions and the ceasefire regime, demand from Armenia to put an end to its aggression against Azerbaijan, withdraw its forces and engage in good faith in substantive negotiations with a view to finding lasting political solution to the conflict.

Failure to properly react to such blatant and repeated violations by Armenia will be a serious blow to the peace process with unpredictable consequences, for which the Armenian senior political-military leadership bears full responsibility.
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Donald Trumps top legal officer has announced a new crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities, declaring that those places that offer services to undocumented migrants will lose federal funding.

Jeff Sessions said cities and states that were seeking to protect undocumented migrants who had been found guilty of a crime would see cuts in grants from the Department of Justice.

Failure to deport aliens who are convicted of criminal offences puts whole communities at risk, especially immigrant communities in the very sanctuary jurisdictions that seek to protect the perpetrators, Mr Sessions told a White House news briefing.

He said the department would withhold, and potentially claw back, grants to sanctuary cities and other localities that are not in compliance with federal immigration law. Mr Sessions said one Justice Department office was expecting to award more than $4.1bn in grants this year.

Mr Sessions said he was urging states and local jurisdictions to comply with federal laws. He also urged the state of Maryland not to make itself such a place.

Mr Trump said during the election that he would defund sanctuary cities by taking away their federal grants. Mr Trump signed an order in January to withdraw funding from those communities that decline to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, a move that sparked protests across the country. The order did not specify what kind of money could be pulled.

 US Sanctuary Cities: We in California have a responsibility to say 'no'

Sanctuary cities include New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as many smaller municipalities.

The announcement from Mr Sessions came as the Republican governor of Mississippi signed a new law banning the establishment of sanctuary cities and other policies that might help people who have entered the country illegally.

Governor Phil Bryant, a longtime critic of illegal entry by immigrants, cited Mr Trumps executive order banning sanctuary cities when he signed the law. Since Ms Trumps order, some states added protections for immigrants while others moved to limit such communities.

The President said these jurisdictions have caused immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of the republic, said Mr Bryant.

Mr Sessions claimed that decisions by states or cities to set themselves up as places that provided services to undocumented migrants and protect them from the immigration authorities put the safety of citizens at risk.

He cited the case of a woman named Kate Steinle, who was killed in San Francisco by an illegal immigrant who had been deported previously and had recently been freed by local authorities. The murder became a rallying point for Mr Trumps newly minted presidential campaign.

Failure to deport aliens who are convicted of criminal offences puts whole communities at risk, especially immigrant communities in the very sanctuary jurisdictions that seek to protect the perpetrators, Mr Sessions said.

The American people know that when cities and states refuse to help enforce immigration laws, our nation is less safe.

He added: Such policies cannot continue. They make our nation less safe by putting dangerous criminals back on the street.

Almost immediately after Mr Sessions spoke, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a strident critic of Mr Trump, said he will fight any efforts to defund sanctuary communities in his state.

My office will continue to ensure local governments have the tools they need to legally protect their immigrant communities  and we wont stop fighting to beat back President Trumps un-American immigration policies, he said.
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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed a prison sentence by a Moscow court for his involvement in anti-government protests at the weekend.

Thousands of anti-corruption protesters took to the streets of Moscow and other cities across Russia on Sunday, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Mr Navalny was detained while walking to the protest from a nearby train station, and held overnight.

Recommended Russian opposition leader Alexi Navalny announces presidential bid

On Monday, he was jailed 15 days after the court ruled the political activist disobeyed instructions from a police officer during the demonstration.

He was also fined 20,000 roubles (280) for a second offence, namely his role in organising the protest, which Russian authorities said was illegal, but avoided a further 15 days in prison  the maximum sentence for that crime.

Mr Navalny is expected to the appeal the sentence, his lawyer said.

Speaking from the defendants bench, Mr Navalny said: "Even the slightest illusion of fair justice is absent here.

"Yesterday's events have shown that quite a large number of voters in Russia support the programme of a candidate who stands for fighting corruption.

These people demand political representation  and I strive to be their political representative."

Police officers detain Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny during an unauthorised anti-corruption rally in central Moscow (AFP)

Reuters reported that a group of 20 of Mr Navalnys supporters were arrested after surrounding a police van the opposition leader was being held in after his court appearance.

Russian state television completely ignored the protests in their broadcasts on Sunday, despite police having made around 1,000 arrests.

Among those detained were Mr Navalny's associates, who were at their office monitoring footage of the Moscow rally.

Thirteen of them spent the night at a police station while authorities raided their office.

Recommended Opposition leader Navalny among hundreds arrested in Russia

They were taken to court on Monday afternoon, although it wasn't clear what charges they would face.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested some of those taking part in the demonstrations had been paid. Protesters had been "promised financial rewards in the event of their detention by law enforcement agencies", he said.

It was a claim reminiscent of assertions made by Donald Trumps press secretary Sean Spicer, who accused demonstrators angry at the Trump administration's policies of being paid.

The protests are thought to be the biggest in at least five years, and come amid growing pressure from the US and EU for the Kremlin to release political prisoners.

A French foreign ministry spokesman said the crackdown on protests was of "deep concern" to the government.

 Navalny detained by police at Moscow protest

Sundays protests included demonstrations in the areas that typically produce a high vote for President Vladimir Putin, from the western city of Chita in Siberia to southern Dagestan's capital, Makhachkala. That contradicts claims made by the Kremlin that opposition to Mr Putin was limited to a Westernised urban elite.

Mr Navalny announced in December his intention to run for the Russian presidency in 2018.

The 40-year-old is arguably Russias best known and most popular opposition leader. He is running on a campaign to clean up Russias political system, tackling corruption in politics and the courts, as well as huge disparities in wealth and lies purveyed by the countrys media.

However, opinion polls suggest he stands little chance of beating Mr Putin, who continues to enjoy favourable ratings.
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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has appeared in court, a day after being detained at a major opposition rally which he led.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across the country on Sunday in the biggest show of defiance since the 2011-2012 anti-government protests.

The Kremlin has dismissed the opposition as a Westernised urban elite disconnected from the issues faced by the poor in Russia's far-flung regions, but Sunday's protests included demonstrations in the areas which typically produce a high vote for President Vladimir Putin, from Siberia's Chita to Dagestan's Makhachkala.

Recommended Opposition leader Navalny among hundreds arrested in Russia

Russian police said about 500 people were arrested, while human rights groups said 1,000 were taken into custody.

On Monday, the European Union called on Russian authorities to release the detained demonstrators.

The protests were led by Navalny, a charismatic opposition leader who has recently announced his bid for the presidency.

He was seized by police while walking to a rally in Moscow from a nearby subway station.

He posted a selfie on Twitter from the courtroom on Monday morning, saying: "A time will come when we'll put them on trial too - and that time it will be fair."

If found guilty, he could be jailed for 15 days for staging an unauthorised rally.

The 40-year old, arguably Russia's most popular opposition leader, has twice been convicted of fraud and embezzlement charges which he has dismissed as politically motivated.

He is currently serving a suspended sentence, and Sunday's arrest could be used as a pretext to convert it into jail time.

Separately, police arrested 17 associates of Navalny who were at their office, setting up and monitoring a webcast of the rally.

All of them spent the night at the police station while authorities raided their office, reportedly taking out all equipment. It was not immediately clear what charges they may be facing.

Whether Navalny and his associates will be slapped with new charges could indicate which approach the Kremlin will take in dealing with a new wave of discontent - crack down on it even further or exercise restraint.

Russian state television completely ignored the protests in its broadcasts on Sunday, and authorities did not comment on it in any way.
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Isis will be defeated in Iraq within weeks, according to the country's prime minister, Haider al-Abadi.

Insisting they would definitely be driven from the country, Mr Abadi made the comments as his country's armed forces continue their campaign to retake the northern city of Mosul from the terrorist group.

The city is Isis last remaining stronghold in the country.

However, Mr Abadi admitted the group, which is also known as Daesh, will continue to maintain strongholds in Syria.

At the moment we are at a very important juncture where Daesh is on the retreat, he told Fox News. We in Iraq have been killing Daesh, removing them from our land. We are killing their aim so that recruits are minimal at the moment.

In Iraq the defeat is sure, its definite. Well finish the job in a very short time  its within reachwithin the next few weeks. We are defeating them militarilywe need the efforts of others to flush them out in Syria and other places.

The Iraqi army has been engaged in a bloody battle with the jihadist group in Mosul after launching a new offensive on the city late last year.

After months of heavy fighting, around 400,000 civilians are estimated to be trapped in the city, with food, clean water and electricity all in scarce supply.

In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Show all 11 1 /11 In pictures: Isis' weapons factories In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A mortar round fin manufactured by Isis in Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis rocket components discovered in Gogjali, Mosul, Iraq in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis mortars discovered near Karamlais, Iraq, in November 2016 CAR In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis rocket launch frame in Qaraqosh, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A memo from Isis' COSQC on quality control at a manufacturing facility in Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Electrically-operated initiators manufactured by Isis in forces Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis mortar tubes at a manufacturing facility in Karamlais, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis mortar production facility discovered in Gogjali, Mosul, in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis weapons manufacturing facilities near Mosul in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Stocks of French-manufactured Sorbitol, Latvian potassium nitrate and Lebanese sugar at an Isis weapons factory in Iraq Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A destroyed Isis weapons facility in Qaraqosh, Iraq, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research

Isis retains control of around 40 per cent of the western part of Mosul, and the remaining 2,000 or so militants in the city are continuing to fiercely fight to defend their positions.

Mr Abadi said last weeks terrorist attack in Westminster was a result of Isis trying to maintain its reputation as it faces defeat in Iraq.

Five people were killed when Khalid Masood drove a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge and then stabbed a policeman in Parliament.

Isis claimed responsibility for the attack but experts said the group frequently claims to have been behind incidents in which it actually had little involvement.

 Syrian refugee recalls ISIS horrors

They are trying to attract more recruits by doing these criminal acts, Mr Abadi said. Its like somebody who is dying and is just trying to flex his muscle at the last moment. The only way forward is to kill their home - just to finish them. Then they will not have any hope to commit such criminal acts.

Mr Abadi also suggested Donald Trump is more determined than Barack Obama to defeat Isis.

President Obama didnt want to get involved in the first place, he said. He just wanted to just forget Iraq.

Coming back to Iraq was sort of imposed on him because of Daesh and what they had done by crossing the Syrian-Iraqi border, occupying about 40 per cent of Iraqi land and slaughtering people. So there was a lot of pressure on President Obama to come to the help of Iraq.

In contrast, he said Mr Trump's Administration understood that Iraq is an ally and we should keep on working with Iraq to support Iraq to stand against terrorism.
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US Vice President Mike Pence has reiterated that President Donald Trump is giving serious consideration to moving the US embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, two months after White House bluster on the subject had appeared to die down.

After decades of simply talking about it, the president of the United States is giving serious consideration to moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Mr Pence told a crowd of thousands of pro-Israel activists and lobbyists on Sunday at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) convention in Washington DC.

The holy city is contested by Israel and the Palestinians, who both claim it as their capital.

 Sean Spicer: There has been no decision made on moving the US embassy to Jerusalem

Mr Trumps inflammatory promise  made on the campaign trail  was condemned by the international community, which is worried that such a symbolic move could spark renewed violence in Israel and the Muslim world.

Many presidential candidates have made similar pledges in the past to appeal to right-wing Jewish voters, but none have followed through during their administrations. While technically a law was passed to move the embassy in 1995, all presidents since  Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama  have signed orders suspending it. The current waiver expires on June 1 2017.

High times in Jerusalem: How free-running is uniting Arab and Israeli teenagers Show all 8 1 /8 High times in Jerusalem: How free-running is uniting Arab and Israeli teenagers High times in Jerusalem: How free-running is uniting Arab and Israeli teenagers 581241.bin MATANYA TAUSIG High times in Jerusalem: How free-running is uniting Arab and Israeli teenagers 579941.bin MATANYA TAUSIG High times in Jerusalem: How free-running is uniting Arab and Israeli teenagers 579943.bin MATANYA TAUSIG High times in Jerusalem: How free-running is uniting Arab and Israeli teenagers 579944.bin MATANYA TAUSIG High times in Jerusalem: How free-running is uniting Arab and Israeli teenagers 579945.bin MATANYA TAUSIG High times in Jerusalem: How free-running is uniting Arab and Israeli teenagers 579946.bin MATANYA TAUSIG High times in Jerusalem: How free-running is uniting Arab and Israeli teenagers 579947.bin MATANYA TAUSIG High times in Jerusalem: How free-running is uniting Arab and Israeli teenagers 579948.bin MATANYA TAUSIG

After President Trump took office in January the White House appeared more cautious on the subject, although during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month, Mr Trump said, Id love to see [the relocation] happen. Were looking at it very, very strongly. Were looking at it with great care.

Mr Pences mention of a possible move  which Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has warned against, and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) has threatened to revoke recognition of Israel over  marked the first public comments on moving the embassy in almost two months.

The Vice President also reiterated that Mr Trump is committed to finding an equitable and just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and forging a lasting peace in the Middle East.

Mr Trumps pick for Israeli Ambassador, pro-settlement bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman, was confirmed by the Senate last Thursday and is due to be sworn into office later this week. It is understood he will live and work in Tel Aviv for the time being.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkey could hold another referendum on whether to continue talks on accession to the EU after the nationwide vote on constitutional reform next month which could give him sweeping new powers.

Right now we are holding a referendum on 16 April, and after that we could choose to do a second one on the [EU] accession talks, and we would abide by whatever our people would say there, Erdogan told reporters in the southern city of Antalya at the weekend.

The suggestion comes amid highly strained relations with several EU member states.

 Erdogan accuses Merkel of Nazi practices: Any country that harms a Turk will "face the consequences"

The President is at loggerheads with both Germany and The Netherlands, countries which cancelled planned yes campaign rallies on their soil for dual nationals.

Both Berlin and Amsterdam said the rallies were cancelled due to security concerns, but Mr Erdogan accused them of impeding free speech and using Nazi methods.

Mr Erdogan commented last week that all non-financial ties with the bloc, including the landmark 2015 refugee deal, will be on the table for renegotiating regardless of the outcome of the April vote on extending his executive power.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes Show all 8 1 /8 Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Just a week before he was elected President, he called Erdogan Amberin Zaman, the Turkey correspondent for 'The Economist', a "shameless militant woman disguised under the name of a journalist" after she had asked an opposition leader whether "Muslim society is able to question" the authorities. "Know your place," Erdogan said. "They gave you a pen and you are writing a column in a newspaper. "And then they invite you to a TV channel owned by Dogan media group and you insult at a society of 99 per cent Muslims," he said he said according to Today's Zaman newspaper. Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Turkish people are pictured chanting slogans during an anti-government protest on Taksim square in Istanbul, on 29 June, 2013. The protests were sparked by brutal police action against a local conservation battle to save Istanbul's Gezi Park, and soon turned into nationwide demonstrations against the government. Amid the protests - the worst in Turkey for years - Erdogan accused demonstrators of being "arm-in-arm with terrorism," according to Reuters. "This is a protest organized by extremist elements. We will not give away anything to those who live arm-in-arm with terrorism," he said. GURCAN OZTURK/AFP/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes During last years protests, activists used social media to organise and disseminate information. Several dozen tweeters were arrested following the protests, according to local media reports. Erdogan responded by calling the technology a "menace". "There is now a menace which is called Twitter," Erdogan said. "The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society," BBC New reported. Vladimir Astapkovich/RIA Novosti via Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Not helping to allay accusations of authoritarianism, after Turkish police detained 49 people, including well-known business people and those close to the ruling party, Erdeogan ominously told reporter that Turkey "is not a banana republic" that can be affected by unnamed "operations", according to Today's Zaman newspaper. People who are backed by the media and certain funders cannot change this country," he said. "People backed by certain dark gangs both inside and outside Turkey cannot mess with the country's path. They cannot change conditions in Turkey. Turkey is not a country that anyone can launch an operation into. The [Turkish] nation will not allow that. The AK Party, which is governing this nation, will not allow this." Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Friends and relatives of the miners who died in an explosion at the Soma mine are pictured praying following the burial in Soma cemetery of the last body to be recovered from the mine in May 2014. At the time, the then-Prime Minister badly misjudged the Soma mining disaster, in which 301 workers died. He told the relatives of dead and dying miners that "these types of incidents are ordinary things", following allegations that the government had ignored safety concerns about the privately owned mine, the Guardian reported. In his defence, Erdogan recounted in a separate speech a list of mining disasters which occurred abroad, including a British disaster in 1862, and one in America "which has every kind of technology". Oli Scarff/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Palestinians pictured attending Friday noon prayers in a destroyed mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes, in Gaza City. As Prime Minister, Erdogan has condemned Israel, accusing it of deliberately killing Palestinian mothers and warned that the it would "drown in the blood it sheds." Speaking to thousands of supporters during a rally in Istanbul ahead of the 10 August election, Reuters reported him as saying: "Just like Hitler, who sought to establish a race free of all faults, Israel is chasing after the same target." "They kill women so that they will not give birth to Palestinians; they kill babies so that they won't grow up; they kill men so they can't defend their country ... They will drown in the blood they shed," he said. AP Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Amid the worst protests in Turkey for years which had spread across dozens of cities last June, Erdogan accused demonstrators of being "arm-in-arm with terrorism," according to Reuters. A demonstration to halt construction in a park in an Istanbul square grew into mass protests against a heavy-handed police crackdown and what opponents called Erdogan's authoritarian policies. "This is a protest organized by extremist elements," Erdogan said before departing on a trip to North Africa. "We will not give away anything to those who live arm-in-arm with terrorism," he said. Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes In March 2014, Erdogan accused a 15-year-old boy who died from injuries sustained in last year's anti-government protests of being linked to terrorism. Berkin Elvan, who became a symbol of anti-government protests, had gone to pick up bread when he was hit with a teargas canister - sending him into a nine-month coma before he passed away. In a speech broadcast on state TV, Erdogan said of Berkin: "This kid with steel marbles in his pockets, with a slingshot in his hand, his face covered with a scarf, who had been taken up into terror organisations, was unfortunately subjected to pepper gas. How could the police determine how old that person was who had a scarf on his face and was hurling steel marbles with a slingshot in his hand? ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images

Turkey has waited at the door [of the EU] for 54 years, he said on Saturday, referring to the 1963 trade deal between Ankara and the then purely economic union.

What? If a yes comes out on 16 April, they would not take us into the European Union? Oh, If only they could give this decision! They would make our work easier, he continued.

We will put this [EU-Turkey] business on the table because Turkey is no ones whipping boy.

No EU leader has said that a yes vote  which would give Mr Erdogan the power to appoint and dismiss government ministers and possibly stay in office until 2029  will spell the end of Turkeys accession to the bloc.

However, concerns over Turkeys human rights record, as well as the fate of Cyprus, have been contributing factors to the snails pace at which talks have progressed since 2005.

Reuters contributed to this report
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As MPs prepare to debate the worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the tragic suffering of some of the conflict's youngest victims has come to the fore.

Two years since the civil war began, at least 1,546 children have been killed and 2,450 maimed.

Nine-year-old Ali wears two hearing aids and barely speaks after an airstrike hit a building near his home in Saada Governorate. The blast threw him from a window and he fell two stories, before landing on his neck.

Blood was coming out of Alis ears and nose," his mother Enas said. "Blood was even coming out from his mouth it was hard for him to even breathe.

Recommended The UK is selling arms to Saudi while pretending to care about Yemen

She added: We took shelter in a small ground room that was made from mud. It was the most horrible night of our lives. Ali was injured and we couldnt take him to the hospital  there were the sounds of the flying jets and missiles falling one after the other very close to our home.

Khalil and his sister Noor, aged nine and six, were peppered with shrapnel when an airstrike hit their home on New Years Day. The attack killed their grandfather, three-year-old cousin and three guests.

Khalil has since stopped going to school and Noor is too afraid to leave the house.

I was playing in the yard with my brother, and then we heard the missile coming towards us," Noor said, adding that she was "so scared," she kept her eyes closed.

My wounds still hurt and I am very afraid when I hear aircraft overhead," she said. "I have nightmares at night  I see aircraft hitting our house again and again. My brother and I cannot sleep properly. Sometimes I wake up because I hear my brother Khalil shouting while he is asleep.

Khalil and Noor were injured when their home was destroyed by an airstrike (Mohammed Awadh/Save the Children)

Leading charities believe all parties involved in the conflict - which has displaced more than three million people - are guilty of violating international law, with reports of homes, schools, and hospitals being targeted.

The bloodshed started in March 2015 after an opposition offensive led by Houthi rebels drove the government out of the capital Sanaa, sparking an intervention by Saudi Arabia and its allies to support the internationally-recognised government.

More than 7,600 people have been killed so far in the fight for control between forces loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and those allied to the rebels.

The UN human rights office said the Saudi-led air campaign, seeing rebel-controlled areas heavily bombarded, was responsible for 60 per cent of civilian deaths  almost 2,300 lives.

The situation in Yemen Show all 14 1 /14 The situation in Yemen The situation in Yemen Houthi supporters trample on a US flag during a gathering mobilizing more fighters into several Yemeni battlefronts, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen People carry the coffins of men, who were killed in the recent Saudi-led airstrikes during their funeral, in the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen AP The situation in Yemen Pro-government fighters give food to Yemeni children on the road leading to the southwestern port city of Mokha. Yemeni rebels are putting up fierce resistance in a key Red Sea port city where they are encircled by pro-government force Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni stands in front of a graffiti protesting US military operations in war-affected Yemen, in Sana'a, Yemen. According to reports, US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen A Yemeni female fighter supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, takes part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen Yemeni female fighters supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, take part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A boy shouts slogans next to pro-Houthi fighters, who have been injured during recent fighting, during a rally held to honour those injured or maimed while fighting in Houthi ranks in Sanaa, Yemen Reuters The situation in Yemen Balls of fire and smoke rise from a Houthi-held military camp following alleged Saudi-led airstrikes, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy looks on as Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy sits amidst the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa AFP/Getty The situation in Yemen Marine One with US President Donald Trump flies with a decoy and support helicopters to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, for the dignified transfer of Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens who was killed in Yemen Getty Images The situation in Yemen US President Donald Trump aboard the Marine One to greet the remains of a US military commando killed during a raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen on Sunday, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, US Reuters

British-manufactured weapons, including cluster bombs, have been used in the strikes, despite calls by MPs to suspend sales to Saudi Arabia over war crimes allegations.

Peter Salisbury, a senior research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, said Britain was the principal sponsor of a UN Security Council resolution used by Saudi Arabia to justify its intervention.

The UK is also a huge arms supplier and provides a great deal of logistical support to Saudi forces, he told The Independent. Arguably the UK has also given political coverage to the Saudis by preventing various resolutions and investigations from happening.

Save the Children is calling for the UK to ban arms sales to Saudi Arabia as the crisis rages. The charity also wishes to see an independent international inquiry into alleged violations of international humanitarian law.

In this crisis children are not just being bombed  they are also being starved. The Saudi-led coalition is stopping vital supplies getting in by sea, while warring parties are detaining aid workers and obstructing deliveries by land, Save the Childrens Interim Country Director for Yemen Grant Pritchard said.

Millions of children and their families have no idea where their next meal is coming from, or where the next bomb will fall.

Tuesdays meeting will see MPs debate the motion: That this House notes the worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen; and calls upon the Government to take a lead in passing a resolution at the UN Security Council that would give effect to an immediate ceasefire in Yemen."

A landmark judgement to determine the legality of British arms transfers to Saudi Arabia is also expected to be announced in the near future.
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The link between the death toll in Yemen and the sale of arms by British companies to Saudi Arabia can be seen in two new charts produced exclusively for The Independent.

As the conflict enters its third year one shows that the UK has licensed an estimated 3.3bn in arms sales to the oil rich Middle Eastern kingdom since it began.

In the same period, a second chart indicated that 4,773 civilians have been killed and 8,272 injured. Both were compiled by Statista.

Human rights activists have also claimed that 17 million people have been made food insecure in the two year conflict.

Statista (Statista)

Statista (Statista)

As a result, the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), which has mounted a judicial review in court aiming to halt all UK arms sales, is once again calling on Theresa Mays government to work on a ceasefire.

For two years now, Saudi forces have unleashed a brutal humanitarian catastrophe on the people of Yemen, said the group's spokesman, Andrew Smith. The response from Whitehall has been to keep arming and supporting the Saudi regime, irrespective of the destruction it has caused.

Ten thousand people have been killed, yet the message being sent out is that their lives are less important than profits for arms companies.

CAAT estimate the British government has licensed 2.2bn in ML10 licences for aircrafts, helicopters and drones, 1.1bn in ML4 licences for grenades, bombs, missiles and countermeasures, and 430,000 in ML6 licences for armoured vehicles and tanks.

Recommended The UK is selling arms to Saudi while pretending to care about Yemen

We are always being told that the UK enjoys a strong influence over Saudi Arabia, added Mr Smith. If that is true then it needs to use it to call and work for a meaningful and lasting ceasefire. It must also end its own complicity and stop the arms sales.

Forging lasting peace from a conflict zone is never easy, but as long as governments like the UK continue to prioritise arms company interests then it will be civilians who pay the price.

While the Conservative-led government continues to supply arms to Saudi, it says it has committed 85m in aid, making it the fourth largest donor to the humanitarian crisis.

It claims to be providing vital medical supplies, water, food and nutrition and emergency shelter to more than 1.3 million Yemenis.

But it means UK taxpayers are, paradoxically, funding support to Yemeni victims while simultaneously supporting the Saudis bombing campaign' against them.

The Saudi government has admitted it using UK-manufactured cluster bombs against Houthi rebels, while Britains foreign office admits that British made Typhoon jet fighters have been used in Yemen.

The UK is giving a fraction in aid of what it is giving in weapons, added Mr Smith.

 2.1 million children are facing famine in Yemen

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said the UK is not a member of the Saudi Arabian-led coalition but that it does support it.

It added: We continue to urge all parties to the conflict to take all reasonable steps to allow and facilitate rapid and safe humanitarian access, and to take all feasible precautions to avoid harming civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The Independent has contacted the House of Saud for comment

A verdict on CAAT's judicial review was scheduled for some time over the spring.
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Nato will announce plans to spend 3bn (2.6bn) on upgrading its satellite and computer technology over the next three years, a senior official has said.

As the alliance adapts to new types of warfare it hoped the technology will deter hackers, as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) acknowledges conflicts are increasingly fought out online rather than in the air, on land or at sea.

The plans include a 1.7bn (1.5bn) investment in satellite communications to better support troops and ships deployed across the alliance, as well as aiding the use of drones, a senior official at the Nato Communications and Information Agency said.

Around 800m (690m) spent on computer systems that help command air and missile defences.

However, some of the funding is still subject to approval by the individual Nato governments.

It was not immediately clear if Nato allies would fund a new military communications satellite to be launched into space or if an increase in broadband capacity could be gained from existing US and other allied satellites.

An investment of 71m (61m) will go to improving the protection of Nato's 32 main locations from cyber attacks and another 180m (155m) is to be spent to provide more secure mobile communications for alliance soldiers in the field.

It comes at a time of heightened tensions between Nato and Russia. The Kremlin has been accused of sponsoring attacks on Nato networks before major summits.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters

An investigation into Russias influence on the US election is also currently underway after both the FBI and the CIA concluded the Kremlin had intervened to help Donald Trump win.

Russian hackers have also been blamed by Western intelligence for the hacking of the emails of several leading members of the Democrat party on the eve of their national conference.

Recommended DNC chair says Russian hackers did not stop until election day

Mr Trump, who has called the hacking claims a political witchhunt.

Nato will present its needs in detail at a conference in Ottawa in April and will then begin launching the bidding process.

It is likely to attract major Western defence contractors including Airbus Group, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Corp as contractors from non-Nato companies are unable to bid.

Nato rules prohibit Russian or Chinese suppliers unless there is a specific need that allied companies cannot provide.
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Its only 8.30am, but the joint is jumping. My first bloody mary is sparking a fire in my throat and the crawfish pie is cooling fast as I two-step round the floor with a French-speaking charmer sporting a well worn pair of boots and a fine cowboy hat.

Bienvenue au fais do do, chere, he shouts, twirling me under his arm as the zydeco band plays on, a bluesy ensemble of accordion, drums, Cajun fiddle and frottoir (a washboard by a much more exotic name).

Were in Breaux Bridge, gateway to Acadiana, the French-speaking Louisiana hinterland punctuated by murky bayous and stunted tree stumps. Its a mysterious, swampy land, a world away from New Orleans  and two and a half hours in real time, obliging us to leave the city before dawn to make it by opening time at the Cafe des Amis.

Floor show: dancing up a storm at Cafe des Amis (Louisiana Office of Tourism) (Louisiana Bureau of Tourism)

Out here in Cajun Country, the weekend starts with a zydeco breakfast, where customers eat and dance to a live band playing zydeco  the bluesy, Creole-Cajun music that evolved in the area. Breaux Bridge is the first stop in a mad dash between the three best gigs of the week. The other two are in otherwise unremarkable Eunice and the tiny, tumbleweed hamlet of Mamou. Everything happens between 8am and 2pm, here, so its vital to get started early.

Not least because there might be a queue. The morning dance session attracts hundreds every week, and not just at the Cafe des Amis. Buck and Johnnys and Joie de Vivre, rival cafes down the road, serve up eggs, cocktails and live bands at their own zydeco breakfasts, too.

Fuelled by the bloody mary, I could happily dance till the band packs up at noon. But by 10am, just as Im getting the hang of the two-step (a courtly dance French settlers brought south with them from Canada when they fled religious persecution), friends are dragging me away.

In session: professionals and amateurs at the Savoy Music Centre (Louisiana Office of Tourism) (Louisiana Touism Bureau)

It takes nearly an hour to reach Eunice. We pelt down a highway littered with billboards advertising both boudin (local sausage thats often sold at service stations here) and KAJN Jesus, a Christian radio station. Eunice is home to the Cajun Music Hall of Fame but theres no time for that this morning  were here for the weekly jam session at the Savoy Music Centre, a shop owned by Marc and Ann Savoy. Its a precious chance to hear locals fiddling, strumming guitars and pumping Savoy-made accordions in the company of some fine professional musicians (Ann and her sons have played on movie soundtracks).

When Marc  patriarch of the Savoy Family Cajun Band  opened the store half a century ago, it was amateurs like himself he had in mind.

I set out to recreate the spirit I enjoyed as a child: that of an old-time house dance, he says, explaining that Saturday was the day when Cajun farmers got all gussied up. In the early days, customers would call in at the shop to socialise over coffee, take an instrument off the counter and play a few tunes. To list all the names of early jammers at the Savoy would read like a whos who of Cajun music in Louisiana, he says.

Today, the jammers are a mix of professionals and amateurs (everything from lawyers to labourers in real life). Listening to them is as sublime an introduction to the music of Acadiana as you can get. This is purer, more lyrical, more bluegrassy than zydeco  transporting, even. Luckily, my friends allow me to stay until the very last number, since the action at our last stop continues till 2pm.

Musical treat: patrons make the most of the six hours a week that Freds Lounge is open (Flickr/Megg)

Mamou is a sleepy place, with no sign of life on a Saturday morning other than the odd stray dog sprawled in the white afternoon heat. It seems impossible to imagine it could be home to the most jumping of joints. But all those missing locals appear to have crammed into Freds Lounge, a bar open for just six hours a week for a party thats even broadcast on local radio. Live bands blast out country tunes under disco lighting at a time when, normally, youd be having your first coffee.

Its packed by lunchtime  though lunch here means beer, bands and more bloody marys. It feels every bit as edgy as any pub at closing time on a Friday night  an atmosphere at odds with the blindingly bright daylight beyond the saloon doors.

Come 2pm, were in urgent need of a siesta. Lightweights would return to the Big Easy now, but were aiming to hold out until 6.30pm when the action starts up again. Lafayette is the capital of Acadiana and the nearest Cajun Country gets to an urban hub. Its also home to some legendary dance halls, where we want to round off our Saturday Cajun music experience.

Come in for a bite: deep-fried alligator is on the menu at Randols (Flickr/John Krupsky)

Randols is part dance hall, part restaurant, with food like deep-fried alligator, boudin balls and blackened catfish etoufee on the menu. Its a down-home country experience  as different as you can get from the sophistication of New Orleans (Bourbon Street aside)  but thanks to the old-fashioned courtliness of the company and the patois they use to greet each other on the dance floor, its not one iota less exotic.

Travel essentials

Getting there

British Airways flies from London Heathrow to New Orleans from 694.

Staying there

It's easiest to stay in New Orleans. Soniat House has doubles from $245 (196), B&B
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

Azerbaijan and Turkey will hold political consultations today in Ankara, says a message posted on the Turkish Foreign Ministrys website.

The political consultations will be held under leadership of Azerbaijani and Turkish deputy foreign ministers, Khalaf Khalafov and Umit Yalcin.

The sides are expected to mull prospects of development of cooperation at bilateral and regional levels. They will also exchange views on international issues, said the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
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What not to say to gay people in France, where to sit on a Swedish bus, and items not to be taken into a Mongolian yurt: Russian tourists now have an online briefing on cultural sensitivity abroad.

The Foreign Ministry in Moscow has published some General Elements of Behaviour to help Russians avoid undesirable incidents abroad  as well as country-specific advice, which is particularly focused less-than-enlightened attitudes.

In France, Russians are advised not to address representatives of the LGBT community with offensive words or gestures.

Across the border in Spain: Public expression of negative attitudes towards people of non-traditional sexual orientation will not meet with understanding, therefore, one should abstain from it.

The UK Foreign Office tells British visitors to Russia: In June 2013 a law banning the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations entered into force.

The Russian guide notes that in Canada, gay marriage has been legalised for a long time and there is a serious fixation on gender equality. Accordingly, visitors are advised not to tell off-colour jokes.

The tightrope of cultural sensitivity continues in the Netherlands, where In conversation, it is better not to question the Dutch about the royal family.

In Denmark,it is recommended that you keep distance, avoiding personal matters, income level, work and religion. And in on buses in Sweden, personal space should be respected: It is not customary to take places directly next to passengers if there are vacant separate seats.

Visitors of a sensitive nature might want to avoid Greece, where Greeks in all walks of life abundantly sprinkle their speech with curses.

Travellers from the West can learn from the online guide. In North Korea, care needs to be taken when taking pictures in rooms where there are portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il: It is necessary that they be completely placed in the frame.

In Mongolia, It is not appropriate to loudly shout and get drunk. Crucially, though, for anyone visiting the locals in rural areas: Earthmoving tools introduced into a yurt are a bad omen.

In 2013, Chinese tourists were provided with a Guidebook to Civilised Tourism, instructing travellers not to pick their noses in public, to keep their nose-hair neatly trimmed and never to use their fingers to pick their teeth.
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If history is much guide, the most likely prospect for Northern Irelands politics in the short term is drift.

While the recent history of the power sharing executive has been mostly stable and successful  including the unlikely partnership between the now departed Ian Paisley and Martin McGuiness, the hard men of both communities in their time  the prior history of the province up to and including the Troubles has been of one failed political initiative after another, and a lot of waiting around and talking.

Almost a century after its formation as the part of Ireland retained by the British after the rest of the island won its independence, Northern Ireland enjoys a greater degree of popular consensus about its constitutional arrangements than ever before. That is what is now being jeopardised by the row between Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party.

Another round of elections beckons, which will most likely solve nothing and simply be a mildly stimulating interlude before a return to drift. No side, and least of all the Secretary of State himself, James Brokenshire, actively wishes to see a return to direct rule from Westminster. From that, and the prospect of a hard border with the South, some fear that the dying embers of violence could start to flare up. Drift is preferable to that, for all concerned.

In this particular standoff, it is unionism that has the most to lose. Another round of elections could see Sinn Fein edge ahead to first place in the elections, and thus have a claim to the role of First Minister. Although there can be no First Minister without a Deputy  it is more of a co-chair than a traditional hierarchical constitutional pairing  the symbolism and the humiliation of the once dominant Unionist tradition would be plain.

Sinn Fein, alongside the non-sectarian Alliance Party, has the best of the political momentum now, and the DUP and the middle-class and moderate Ulster Unionist Party are looking tired and lacking strong leadership. Both sides, it is worth mentioning, miss the roles played by Paisley and McGuiness, whose turbulent histories gave them the authority to take risks and to act in the best interests of all the people in the six counties. Their successors, through no necessary fault of their own, lack that heft.

The sensible thing for the DUP to do now would be to have their leader and former First Minister, Arlene Foster, stand aside while the official inquiry into the scandal of a misbegotten energy scheme is completed. That is the right thing to do in any case, as she was so closely involved in the mess. The Unionists can still take the First Ministers chair, and the prestige that goes with it, and business as usual can, more or less, resume.

The DUP would also be well advised to compromise on the vexed question of the Irish language and resolving some unfinished questions from the Troubles, as Sinn Fein ask. None would hurt their position, and would be a powerful indication that they had indeed put sectarianism behind them. Ms Fosters handshake with Michelle ONeill, McGuiness's successor, at the latters recent funeral was a sign that she and her party are capable of flexibility.

There is much excited talk, post-Brexit, about a united Ireland  like an independent Scotland, another unintended consequence of the UK voting to leave the EU. That seems overdone, but Sinn Fein plainly feel that they have stumbled upon their best chance of achieving their ultimate goal since partition itself, and things are going their way. As such a state of affairs would destroy the very purpose of Ulster unionism, its leaders ought to realise that any compromise with republicans and nationalists is preferable to that. They might also reflect on how some loyalists might react, with a return to violence or resistance. The DUP has some very hard thinking to do as they drift towards the prospect of Stormont giving way to rule from Dublin and Brussels.
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The imminent triggering of Article 50 means the time has now come for Parliament to hold the Government to account on whether it can deliver the promise that Brexit will provide a better future for the British people.

Brexit snake oil was supposed to cure a host of ills, ranging from protection against the nasty effects of an overdose of EU economic immigration, immunisation against the debilitating disease of bloated EU regulation, a revitalised economy set free to surf the clear blue unpolluted waters of a free trade sea, and of course an additional 350m a week for the NHS.

When established experts challenged the claims of the Brexit snake-oil salesmen, sceptics were told to ignore them  who needs experts, the Brexit snake-oil salesmen said, they never really know what they are talking about.

Parliament must now hold the Government to account by demanding that it demonstrates Brexit is capable of meeting promises that were made to 65 million UK citizens, and prove to the sceptical 16 million people who voted Remain that they were wrong.

J Gaskell

Bishops Stortford

Terrorism has nothing to do with religion

Theresa May was prudent not to describe the criminal act in Westminster as Islamic terror. It is absolutely wrong to tarnish more than a billion Muslims with the brush of extremist violence for the actions of a minority.

Uncontrolled migration always comes with daunting challenges. However, neither social media nor immigration are entirely responsible for terrorism. Immigrants contributions to the welfare of Western societies and economies were and are still indefatigable, inspirational and unforgettable.

It is time to investigate the underlying causes of homegrown terrorism and not ignite the embers of discord and distrust.

Munjed Farid al Qutob

London, NW2

Benefit sanctions must stop

Whilst issues such as Brexit and the state of the NHS are rightly in the news at the moment, the Government quietly continues to pursue a policy that has caused untold misery for many: the benefit sanctions policy.

Benefit sanctions were set up to catch people out who cheat the system. However, the evidence clearly shows that many legitimate claimants are punished unfairly. People have had their benefits stopped for reasons including: being minutes late for a Job Centre appointment, not applying for work whilst waiting to start a new job, and even missing a meeting to attend the funeral of a family member.

Whilst claiming Jobseekers Allowance myself, the Job Centre threatened to cut my benefits unless I agreed to do unpaid work at Tesco for four weeks. I literally had no choice but to work for less than the minimum wage at a multi-billion pound company. It was deeply humiliating.

The evidence shows that this dysfunctional policy costs the taxpayer considerably more to administer than it saves. Analysis from the National Audit Office shows that the DWP spend 30-50m yearly in applying sanctions and around 200m a year in monitoring the terms it sets for jobseekers, yet these measures only reduced the benefits bill by 132m in 2015.

I would strongly urge the Government to scrap this cruel and wasteful policy of benefit sanctions, instead investing taxpayers money into genuinely helping people into secure and sustainable work, rather than punishing them for minor indiscretions and pushing them into poverty.

Lee Burkwood

Waltham Forest and Redbridge Green Party

Raising taxes is the answer to our economic problems

Despite almost 10 years since the disaster of the banks, we are still assailed by pronouncements that the country cannot afford the NHS, the prison service, police, social care and schools. We must see services cut.

In any other walk of life a different approach would be adopted. We would ask, in order: what do we want, how much will it cost and how can we pay for it. This, of course, would lead to the obvious conclusion that to achieve a fair, equitable and modern society we need better services which will cost more. We get better quality from paying more and the obvious solution (but not the entire solution, I know) is to raise taxation. This, at least, is graduated and reflects the ability to pay.

But maybe the lofty and distant political elite believe that only by squeezing the poor and disadvantaged can they buy off the rich and leave themselves to doze on the green leather couches.

Tim Rubidge

Salisbury

The supermassive black hole sounds familiar

As I read about the supermassive black hole rocketing through space at five million miles an hour, I couldnt help feeling that this massively destructive force tearing about all over the place sounded somewhat familiar...

I dont know whether astronomers name black holes the way that meteorologists name hurricanes but, if they do, might I suggest Boris?

Julian Self

Milton Keynes

The best deal for the UK and for Europe is simple

David Davis wants a deal that works for every nation and region of the UK and indeed for all of Europe  a new, positive partnership between the UK and our friends and allies in the European Union.

Idea: lets join the EU.

Dave Mellor

Address supplied
There will be no bartering over the amount the UK will have to pay as it exits the EU, France's finance minister has told the Irish Independent.

In an interview ahead of his visit to Dublin today, Michel Sapin said the EU and UK will have to come to mutual agreement about how to calculate what the latter owes.

But he warned that if there are no signs that the UK is willing to reach agreement, it won't be possible to put together a good deal.

He also said the EU has no intention of punishing the UK or taking a tough stance with the country in the negotiations, but added the decision to leave has consequences.

Britain is facing a bill of about 50bn (58bn) as it prepares to exit the EU, according to Commission President Jean Claude Juncker, with the formal exit process set to begin on Wednesday when Prime Minister Theresa May triggers Article 50. The size of Britain's exit bill will be among the first - and most contentious - topics for discussion, with British ministers indicating they do not believe the UK is liable for such a large sum.

Mr Sapin told this newspaper that he was optimistic that an arrangement can be found.

"This is not about getting the UK to pay for its decision to leave, but rather doing the sums and working out exactly what it owes under the terms of its budget obligations as an EU member state," Mr Sapin said. "It is an extremely complex issue, so we need to reach a mutual, unequivocal agreement about how we calculate the UK's dues.

"But there is no question of bartering over specific figures. That is not how it works. [European Commission Brexit negotiator] Michel Barnier has made that quite clear. Obviously, if there are no signs that the UK is willing to reach an agreement on these issues as it leaves the EU, we will not be in a position to negotiate a good deal for the future. But I am genuinely optimistic that we will come to an arrangement."

More generally, he said the task was now to reach a deal that works for everyone, acknowledging that Brexit raises "particularly challenging" issues for Ireland which he said will have to be taken into account in the negotiations.

"The EU has no intention of taking a tough stance or punishing the UK. That does not serve anyone's interests," he said. "But being a member comes with regulatory obligations and other duties. The British people have decided, of their own free will that they want to leave. We deeply regret that choice. But everyone understands that the decision has consequences."

Jobs

He also said he believed Paris had the potential to become the Eurozone's premier financial hub. He said financial services firms are already looking to leave London, noting HSBC's decision to shift 1,000 jobs to Paris. Dublin is tipped as a possible contender for financial services jobs displaced as a result of Brexit, but is vying with other European cities including the French capital.

Paris, Mr Sapin said, already has four systemically important banks, the city is number two in Europe for insurance and is home to the continent's second biggest stock market, Euronext.

"The city definitely has the potential to become the Eurozone's number one financial hub," Mr Sapin said. "France has also become a more attractive place to do business again, for reasons that go well beyond Brexit. Our country's image has changed in the last five years. Foreign investment is at its highest level for a decade, as the government has taken active measures to make France more competitive and boost its appeal."

Read More

Asked if he supported the European Commission's decision that Apple must pay back taxes to Ireland, the minister said France has no claim to the money.

Also asked if he supported Eurogroup chair Jeroen Dijsselbloem, after recent comments the latter made about southern European countries, Mr Sapin said he had made his views known privately, and that the matter for him was now closed. Mr Dijsselbloem, who is also the Dutch finance minister, has rejected calls for his resignation, but said he regretted comments suggesting southern European countries had squandered their money on "booze and women".

Mr Sapin will meet with Finance Minister Michael Noonan today.
On Wednesday, the UK prime minister is scheduled to 'trigger' Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union to announce to the 27 other EU member states that the UK intends to leave the union.

It will be no surprise. On June 23 last a majority of voters in the UK and Gibraltar voted in favour of leaving. On October 2, Theresa May announced her intention to 'trigger' Article 50 before the end of this month. Everyone saw this trigger being primed.

If the UK changes its mind - and states do (Norway changed its mind twice about joining the EU and Indonesia changed its mind about leaving the UN) - then it will also be largely forgotten.

At one level, nothing changes with the triggering of Article 50.

The UK is still bound by EU law - emphasised recently by the European Parliament - and, legally, it is 'business as usual' with the UK obliged to comply with EU law, while businesses and citizens in the UK may avail of EU rights and others elsewhere may still invoke EU law against the UK.

In reality, though, the shadow boxing is over.

Expand Close Dr Vincent Power, head of A&L Goodbody's EU, Competition and Procurement Group / Facebook

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The hard negotiations start. There will be even more uncertainty and volatility. The court challenges will continue - Mrs May's government has lost in the UK Supreme Court already which means that challengers may take heart.

Many commentators assume the UK will leave the EU exactly two years from the triggering of Article 50. It is not so simple.

The EU treaties would normally cease to apply to the UK from the date of entry into force of the withdrawal agreement concluded between the EU and the UK - which could be earlier or later than two years after the triggering notification.

However, if no such agreement is reached then the EU treaties would cease to apply to the UK exactly two years after the notification to leave.

But this rule is also subject to an exception. The 27-member European Council (without the UK), may, in agreement with the UK, unanimously decide to extend this two-year period. So, even the 'two year' rule is not so certain or simple.

By triggering Article 50, the UK is left out of the negotiations on the EU side - a situation that it is getting used to over the last few months as the '27' develop their own strategy in meetings from Bratislava to Brussels.

Could the UK withdraw the notification and change its mind? Views differ whether this is legally possible but, on balance, the UK could change its mind and the 'law would probably follow the politics' and allow it to stay.

That might happen if there could be sufficient reform in the EU to win a majority vote in the UK to remain.

If the UK leaves and decides to rejoin the EU then it has to apply in the normal way to join the EU according to Article 50 (5). If the UK leaves the EU but Scotland or Northern Ireland wanted to join the EU then they would first have to be states (or become part of states) to be able to join the EU by virtue of the forgotten Article 49.

The negotiations will be long and tense. This is the style of many EU negotiations.

And to cap it off, the departure of a big state - indeed, any state - is entirely unprecedented stuff.

The negotiations will be late. The EU rarely reaches agreement on time, not to mind, ahead of time. The negotiations will be tough. Interests differ radically between the parties. Talks cover the most difficult of issues including money, sovereignty, pride, trade and people.

The UK wants to concentrate on trade, but most of the 27 prioritise the EU vision, people, money and, as part of the mix, trade. Even the 'divorce bill', estimated by some EU sources at up to 60bn but which the UK reckons is much less, will be a flashpoint.

The challenge in the EU 2019 deal is to avoid the Versailles Treaty 1919 problem of concluding a treaty which is unduly tough on one state - it was on Germany in 1919 and should not be on the UK in 2019 - but equally, Brussels will not want to make the EU too easy to leave or to enable those who leave to prosper better than those who remain.

Depending on the arrangement concluded, there is a possibility that Ireland may even need a referendum, which means that the UK's future could be partially in Irish hands.

Triggering Article 50 was the easy bit: the EU is like a lobster pot - easy enough to enter but difficult to leave.

Dr Power is a partner in A&L Goodbody
Dear Karen, a younger woman has moved in with my father and Im worried.

My father is in his late sixties and he has 70 acres and the farmhouse. Its not great land and it has been rented on a lease to a neighbour for the past five years.

My mother died a few years ago and myself and my siblings, four of us in total, have all moved out of the family home over the years. About two years ago my father started going to social dances in a local town with a friend of his and he met a woman at one of these dances.

Over the past 12 months she has become more and more a feature of my fathers life and I discovered the last time I visited him that she has moved in with him and is living in the house for the past six months. I havent had a chance to talk to my father about this situation as she was there, but I am worried about it. To be frank, I'm concerned she's a gold digger.

I know my father has a will that leaves the farm and house to myself and my three siblings equally, but could this woman lay claim to part of it, if my father passed away?

Dear Mary,

The first advice I would give you is to not panic and remember that a rash reaction may make any issues worse.

This situation is more common than you might think, but the scenario raises a number of issues, which I will outline below and detail your options.

What rights does this lady gain from co-habiting with a man to whom she is not married?

Under the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 this lady currently doesnt appear to have rights to your fathers property.

However, if they live together for 5 years or more, she may acquire rights to his property. At the end of the relationship, she would have to apply for a property adjustment order or for redress. A court would determine, based on a number of factors, the size of her interest.

Couples may effectively contract out of the terms of the 2010 Act. Agreements on financial matters between cohabitant partners may be regarded as valid, only if each party receives independent legal advice or waives the right to independent legal advice.

Such an agreement constitutes a contract and must be signed by each party. It may also include a provision that the redress scheme does not apply to them. A court may set aside or vary a cohabitants agreement in exceptional circumstances if its enforcement would cause serious injustice.

The Will

It seems likely that the Will your father executed (of which you are aware), is likely valid. However, if your father was to remarry, any earlier wills would be invalid under the Succession Act, 1965. When a parent dies leaving a valid Will, their legal spouse is generally entitled to 1/3 of the estate. When a parent dies without a Will, their legal spouse is generally entitled to 2/3 of the estate.

It is wise for people who are older, to consult their physician before executing a new Will or any important legal document. Such a medical report would allay concerns that the he or she didnt have the mental capacity to make decisions.

What steps a family can take to protect elderly relatives?

An Enduring Power of Attorney is a document executed by a person (the donor) who is mentally capable and which is only intended to be brought into force if the donor becomes or is becoming mentally incapable. In this event the attorney(s) appointed by the donor can apply for the registration of the enduring power of attorney so that they may act on behalf of the donor. This allows people (often relatives) they trust to manage their assets when they can no longer do so. At the start of the process, a physician must report that the person is mentally sound. Other people are Notice Parties and are notified of the creation of such a document as a protection. If the Donor is married, their spouse must be a notice party.

Often years can elapse between the creation of the document and its registration with the High Court. In the intervening period it is usually kept safe by the Solicitor. When the document is registered by the Attorneys, it is sent, with proofs, to the Wards of Courts Office in Dublin.

Taking control of somebodys assets and health related decisions is a serious step and so requires care to prevent over reach. It is not an easy process and can take several months to complete. If family members believe their relative is no longer mentally capable, it is likely too late to put an Enduring Power of Attorney in place.

All of this advice is given without knowing the circumstances of your fathers partner. Obviously, your father would gain similar rights to any estate she might have.

It could well be argued that this lady provides a benefit to your family and should be welcomed. Her participation in his life may contributing to his good living condition.

Nursing Home Support Scheme Act 2009 (also known as Fair Deal) is managed by the HSE. The statute outlines a claim the state may have to estates when people move to long term care.

The application process involves full financial disclosure and assessment.

Having looked at income and assets, the Financial Assessment will work out the contribution to care. The person will contribute:

80pc of net income and

7.5pc of the value of any assets per annum. However, the first 36,000 of assets, or 72,000 for a couple, will not be counted at all in the Financial Assessment.

Where assets include land and property, the 7.5% contribution based on such assets may be deferred and paid to Revenue after death. This is known as the Nursing Home Loan.

A principal residence will only be included in the financial assessment for the first 3 years of a persons time in care. This is known as the 22.5pc or three-year cap' (the cap is 15% for applications made before 25 July 2013). It means that they will pay a 7.5pc contribution based on the principal residence for a maximum of 3 years regardless of the length of time spent in nursing home care. If the elderly person chooses a private nursing facility, it is likely that their estate will owe the State a larger sum.

Karen Walsh, of Walsh & Partners, Solicitors, comes from a farming background and is a solicitor specialising in agricultural law, land law and renewable energy and is author of Farming and the Law available from www.claruspress.ie . The firm also specialises in personal injuries, employment law and family law. She has offices in Dublin and Cork. For further information please contact 01-602000 or 021-4270200.

Email: info@walshandpartners.ie

Web: www.walshandpartners.ie

Disclaimer: While every care is taken to ensure accuracy of information contained in this article, Solicitor Karen Walsh does not accept responsibility for errors or omissions howsoever arising, and you should seek legal advice in relation to your particular circumstances at the earliest possible time.
The current ban on Brazilian meat by numerous countries has not yet impacted demand for Irish beef, Irish beef processors admit.

While Brazil's meat export trade looks to suffer badly, there has been no immediate knock on lift in demand for Irish beef it seems.

Brazil's beef exports are worth around US$12 billion a year, but the suspension of imports from countries including Hong Kong, which accounts for US$1.1 billion of that trade, have impacted the Brazilian meat trade.

Industry commentators here though have said they have yet to see any indication of a pick up in demand on the back of the scandal.

One factory source said the market is generally challenging and numbers are tightening up a bit so next few weeks will be tricky for processors.

"If you look at the markets where Brazilian beef is being sold they are not likely to look to Ireland for supply. We have a more premium product.

"Its not a like for like product," he said.

Another factory source confirmed that it is "far too early" for any impact to be felt in the beef sector. It comes as China reopened its market to Brazilian beef.

Brazil accounts for 140,000t of beef in EU markets, or 42pc of the EU's beef import total. However, in a market that totals 7.5mt annually, Brazilian beef makes up less than 2pc of the total EU beef market.

Hong Kong and China are the two main importers of fresh Brazilian meat, accounting for around 25pc of all Brazil's beef and poultry exports, while Hong Kong is, by farm, the most significant market for offal from Brazil.

Ireland imported 59t of Brazilian beef in 2016, according to figures from the Brazilian Beef Exports agency.
A legal challenge has been brought over a refusal to give the go ahead for a solar power generating facility in Wexford.

The action has been brought by Highfield Solar Limited against An Bord Pleanala over its decision last month to refuse the company permission to construct a photovoltaic (pv) energy development on a 90 hectare site near Killinick.

The proposed facility, known as Grahormick Solar Farm, will consist of a single story 38kv electrical substation building, electrical building, solar pv panels ground mounted on steel supports, 6km of new roads, and 13km of electric cabling.

Wexford Co. Council, which in August 2016 refused permission for the development, is a notice party in the company's proceedings which have come before the High Court.

Highfield, with a registered address at Old Castle View, Kilgobbin Road, Dublin 18, claims the board abdicated its responsibility by refusing permission on the basis it would be premature to develop the solar farm before any national or regional strategy on such developments had been adopted.

There is no provision in the planning laws that allows the Board refuse or defer consideration of a planning application for a solar farm development because there is no national strategy in place, the company claims.

The company also argues the decision is inconsistent as the board has granted permission for other solar developments in other parts of the country, including one in Co Longford and at another location in Co Wexford.

Permission to bring the action, was granted on a (one side only represented) ex parte basis, on Monday by Mr Justice Seamus Noonan. The Judge made the matter returnable to a date in May.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

Trend:

Conflicts in the GUAM area should be solved based on sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of states, says the final statement of heads of government of GUAM member states.

The statement was adopted on Mar. 27 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Expressing deep concern over the conflicts, continuing in the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, undermining sovereignty and territorial integrity and impeding the sustainable development of GUAM member states, we reaffirm our commitment for their speedy settlement on the basis of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the internationally recognized borders of states, says the statement.

Government heads of GUAM member states reaffirmed their commitment to the decisions, resolutions and documents adopted at the GUAM summits, as well as the norms and principles of international law enshrined in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act.

The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, hosted the summit of heads of government of GUAM member countries on Mar. 27.

The GUAM format was created by post-Soviet states in 1997 during the summit of heads of the EU states in Strasbourg. In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the format and four years later withdrew.

In 2006, Ukraine and Azerbaijan announced plans to further increase the GUAM member relations and established its headquarters in Kyiv.

Currently, GUAM cooperates with Washington and Tokyo within GUAM+US and GUAM+Japan formats.
Michael Noonan does a good routine in folksiness. When the European Commission said Ireland had given Apple a sweetheart tax deal, Noonan said collecting the billions supposedly owed would be like "eating the seed potatoes".

It's an expression that's probably not familiar to many attendees at the World Economic Forum at Davos, the gathering for the world's rich and powerful. With Ireland's economic model so dependent on foreign direct investment, the Davos summit is a useful opportunity for Irish politicians to network with executives at big multinationals and make Ireland's pitch.

And so it was that Noonan found himself invited to Sheryl Sandberg's cocktail party at Davos. Attendees were to be treated to a showcase of some of Facebook's "breakthrough technologies in virtual reality and artificial intelligence", according to Noonan's invite. "Kindly be aware the evening is off the record," it added.

Noonan spoke to Sandberg that night but was limited to "a cordial greeting" at the "well-attended and busy event" a spokesman for the Department of Finance said. The invitation emerged among records released to the Sunday Independent under the Freedom of Information act, which provide fresh insight into the interactions between our lawmakers and bosses at some of the biggest companies in the world. What do the companies ask about, and what do our politicians tell them?

Some months before the cocktail party, Noonan was in San Francisco and met a different set of Facebook executives at their Menlo Park headquarters. The company's CFO Dave Wehner and vice-president of tax Jue Lin were among those present, according to a Finance Department summary of the November 16, 2016 meeting authored by Nicholas O'Brien, assistant secretary general with responsibility for the EU & International division.

His report on the meeting, which had been arranged by the IDA, reveals that Noonan "outlined developments" on the Apple tax case to Facebook.

It wasn't all they discussed. Among other issues Noonan noted Facebook's commitment to Ireland, including its under-construction data centre in Clonee, Co Meath.

The report says Wehner spoke of "a very strong relationship with Ireland and the positive investment climate which encourages the company to continue to invest".

However, the European Commission's State Aid ruling was brought up as it has been at other high level contacts with other multinationals.

To recap, the Commission found that Ireland had given "illegal tax benefits" worth 13bn to Apple since 1991.

"Member states cannot give tax benefits to selected companies - this is illegal under EU state aid rules. The Commission's investigation concluded that Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years," the EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.

She added: "This selective treatment allowed Apple to pay an effective corporate tax rate of 1pc on its European profits in 2003 down to 0.005pc in 2014."

The decision was greeted with fury in Dublin, but also with fear. It was seen as an attack on Ireland's tax sovereignty - crucial to our FDI-heavy economic model and something that could scare off multinationals.

Facebook would not comment on the meeting with Noonan but a lengthy statement from the Finance Department indicates the Government's appetite for defending its position has not faded.

"The Government profoundly disagrees with the Commission's analysis and had no choice but to take an appeal to the European Courts to annul the whole Decision ... our position on all aspects of the case is very well known," it said.

"Ireland did not give favourable tax treatment to Apple. Ireland does not do deals with taxpayers." The statement said that in all cases where Noonan has discussed the state aid case with external parties, it has been limited to information that is already in the public domain.

"We regularly interact with companies who have substantial presence and employment in Ireland and who have a legitimate interest in the allegations made by the EU Commission and the potential implications for their businesses. They may have concerns stemming from the case. Such concerns might be understandable but would be unfounded," the statement said.

One company that had some questions at the very least is Google. In September last year, Taoiseach Enda Kenny met a delegation from the tech giant. Caroline Atkinson, the company's global head of public policy was present alongside then-Google Ireland boss Ronan Harris and others. Minutes of the meeting drawn up by one of Kenny's officials show that Atkinson asked the Taoiseach for a briefing on the Apple tax case.

The minutes say that Kenny spoke of "the Government's intention to appeal on the basis that there was no deal or special treatment".

"He [Kenny] recognised the importance of certainty for enterprise and investors, and the difficulty the case created in that respect."

A spokesman for the Taoiseach said the meeting - held in Government buildings - "took place at Google's request to facilitate engagement between the Taoiseach and one of their senior executives [Atkinson] - who was then visiting Europe and wished to brief the Taoiseach on Google's activities and plans".

"As the meeting took place shortly after the European Commission made its announcement in relation to the Apple case, Atkinson asked in general terms about the Government's proposed approach.

"The Taoiseach set out the position, as he had done the previous day in the Dail," the spokesman added.

Asked why Google had asked for the briefing and whether the Apple case would affect its presence here if the Government appeal fails, a Google spokeswoman said: "We meet regularly with politicians and policymakers on a wide range of issues so that we can better understand the Irish business environment, answer politicians' questions and explain the opportunity for businesses to grow online.

"Our engagements are recorded on the register of lobbying as required under Irish law," the spokeswoman added.

It's understood that the European Commission's state aid ruling against Ireland has no bearing on Facebook's position here, though the company would not comment when asked by the Sunday Independent. In its statement, Google didn't answer on whether it had concerns about the ruling. For its part Apple has previously strenuously denied wrongdoing in relation to its tax arrangements in Ireland. Its chief executive Tim Cook has dismissed the Commission's ruling as "political crap" and Apple is also appealing the decision in European courts.

The Finance Department noted notwithstanding the appeal, Ireland is required by law to recover the alleged state aid from the company.

"We are continuing to make progress of the recovery from Apple with the full co-operation of the company and the EU Commission", its statement adding that the Commission was "satisfied with the progress we are making".

Aside from the Apple tax ruling, Brexit and the cost and availability of housing are issues that are prompting questions from multinationals, according to an official's note on a visit by European Affairs Minister Dara Murphy to the US in January.

"Brexit was raised as an issue at every meeting, especially for companies that do not have their European base in Ireland. The uncertainty caused by the question of the UK's post-Brexit approach to data protection standards was raised at most meetings.

"Issues relating to availability/cost of housing were also regularly raised," the note reads. Kenny's spokesman said Google didn't raise the issues of housing or visas.

Brexit - and its possible implications on the EU's Digital Single Market (DSM) project - was also raised at a December 20, 2017 meeting between officials at the Taoiseach's office and Google representatives including Iarla Flynn, the Irishman who is the search engine's director of public policy and government affairs for Northern Europe. The minutes indicate a view on his part that Ireland - which the Government likes to represent as a utopia for tech - is not best placed to pick up the slack when the UK leaves the EU, and by extension the DSM project.

"On Brexit, smaller MS (member states) will struggle to the role [sic] of the UK in advancing DSM/SM files and providing thought leadership. IF [Iarla Flynn] wondered if Poland could step up to this role," the minutes read.

On this meeting the Taoiseach's spokesman said: "While acknowledging the loss of UK influence on single market issues, we continue to develop stronger alliances with a number of like-minded member states, including through key initiatives at political level ... the Minister for European Affairs continues to lead Irish engagement on DSM matters in line with the roadmap for his responsibilities in this area that was noted by the Government."

Correspondence released by the Jobs Department discuss arrangements for Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor's attendance at the June opening of Google's 150m data centre in west Dublin. A email sent by the firm had the subject line "Google good news event".

That event went ahead, with the Taoiseach also attending. However, Mitchell O'Connor's later plan to visit Google's city centre headquarters on August 31 had to be cancelled.

The reason? The government's emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss the European ruling on Apple.

That pesky Commission really is getting in the way.
Gardai had the highest average pay last year at 64,700, followed by semi-state companies at 53,300 and education at 47,600 (Stock picture)

Public sector workers get paid 40pc more on average than their private sector counterparts, a report claims.

By contrast, in the UK public sector pay is almost on a par with the private sector, with Ireland's public/private pay gap high by European standards, the paper states.

The study by Davy Stockbrokers argues that any future growth in public sector pay should at most only match pay rises in the private sector.

"Ideally, the pay gap should close over time," wrote Davy economist Conall Mac Coille, author of the report.

"Public sector pay rises should also be conditional on the on-going performance of the economy and tax revenues, guarding against the risks from Brexit, corporate tax reform and other economic uncertainties."

The report notes the average public sector wage last year here was 47,400 - 40pc higher than in the private sector.

Around half of this pay gap can be attributed to differences in education, experience and qualifications, the paper said.

But in the UK, average public sector pay is 26,200 (30,200) - almost exactly that of the private sector. Davy said Ireland's public/private pay gap is on a par with southern European countries such as Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain.

"The public sector also enjoys retirement benefits that need to be taken into consideration," the report states.

"On our calculations, a private sector worker would need to save a 590,000 pension to match the same 23,000 paid per annum to public sector workers when they retire on a career-average salary scheme. The figures are higher for those with defined benefit pensions linked to their final salary."

Quoting figures supplied by the Central Statistics Office, Davy said there is a wide distribution of wage rates across the public sector.

Gardai had the highest average pay last year at 64,700, followed by semi-state companies at 53,300 and education at 47,600.

The Defence Forces had the lowest average pay, at 42,200, but were still above the private sector average of 33,900.

"A key point here is that we are looking at what is actually paid to workers," Davy noted.

"Pay scales in the public sector are often unrepresentative of actual earnings due to a myriad range of allowances, reliefs and other payments."

The Davy report states that the Public Sector Pay Commission should, in determining a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement, ensure that growth in public pay per employee should match rises in the private sector. It should also make sure that the value of pensions are included in any comparison of public and private sector pay, and that any planned multi-year pay rises must be conditional on the performance of the economy.

Read More

A report by the ESRI in December stated that there was little clarity on the difference between public and private sector remuneration. The think-tank stated that we must "generate a reliable estimate of the public-private sector pay premium" in order for pay talks to be effective.
The NTMA has bought back and cancelled the latest 500m batch of bonds linked to the liquidation of the former Anglo Irish Bank.

The bonds bought back from the Central Bank were issued in 2013 as part of the liquidation of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC).

That complex deal saw the Central Bank acquire 25.03bn of eight long-dated so-called Floating Rate Notes (FRNs), and 3.461bn of the Irish Government 2025 Fixed Rate Bond, which was due to mature in March 2025.

The NTMA has been buying the FRNs in batches of 500m from the Central Bank in order to tear them up. If the bonds went to another owner the interest would have to be paid, in the case of the latest bond purchased, until 2043.

Controversially, the Central Bank destroys the money it receives from the State when the purchases happen as part of its management of the amount of money in circulation.

The Central Bank originally received the bonds as part of the liquidation of the IBRC in February 2013 - the so-called 'Prom Night'. But the Central Bank had to agree a disposal schedule for the debt with the European Central Bank because it is not allowed to lend to the State.

In the latest transaction, the NTMA announces the cancellation of 500m of the Irish Floating Rate Treasury Bond due to mature on 18 June 2045. Following this cancellation, the total nominal outstanding for this bond will reduce to 2.5 billion.
Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump's oldest daughter, has accepted an invitation from Angela Merkel to attend a womens economic summit in Germany.

After meeting Ms Trump earlier this year, the German Chancellor invited her to the summit.

Ms Trump is due to to fly to Berlin to join women from other G20 countries and four additional US delegates.

She wrote on Twitter: "Looking forward to promoting the role of women in the economy and the future of our workforce globally #W20".

The W20 summit, which is now in its third year, is held in April.

It focuses on women's empowerment, with topics including apprenticeships for women, access to finance for business women, closing the gender digital advice and womens inclusion in the labour force.

Last month, Ivanka Trump set up a meeting with her father and Angela Merkel to discuss vocational training.

A White House official said Mrs Merkel's staff reached out to Ivanka Trump about setting up the meeting, which proved far less frosty than the encounter between the leaders in the Oval Office when they did not shake hands.

It was also further evidence that Ivanka Trump could act as an unofficial White House liaison on the international stage, a person to help smooth over diplomatic spats - much like she did when her father ruffled feathers on the campaign trail.

Today, I had the privilege of joining President @realdonaldtrump, Chancellor Merkel and leading CEOs of US and German companies in a robust discussion centered on workforce development. We also heard from graduates of exemplary Apprenticeship programs on the important role vocational education has played in their professional careers. I applaud my father's commitment to creating millions of jobs and ensuring that all Americans have the skills training they need to succeed in the modern workforce. #WorkforceDevelopment A post shared by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Mar 17, 2017 at 2:43pm PDT

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
A heartbroken woman has spoken about sharing "the same dream" with her father during their final meeting before he passed away last month.

The woman, who is identified only as Sine, explained that her father died in Dublin last month after years of being homeless.

She explained how her father, who has not been named, met her mother in the capital.

Speaking to the popular Humans of Dublin Facebook page, she said: "I live in Denmark and have been in Dublin many times to try and find him!

"He used to make a living from playing music on the streets, in bars and pubs.

"This is where he met my mother and they soon fell madly in love. In 1973 they got married and seven years later I was born.

"We lived together for ten years, but he was devoted to music, to Ireland and to alcohol, so they split up and he moved back to Dublin.

"After that he lived day-to-day, where he played music.

"As time went by, he found himself with no place to stay and soon ended up on the streets homeless."

Sine also spoke candidly about her touching last meeting with her dad.

She explained: "In 2002 I decided I would find him so I moved to Dublin for three months.

"The day before I left for Denmark he rang me and we arranged to meet at the GPO - and there he was!

Video of the Day

"My last and most vivid memory of him was our walk through St Stephen's Green on a warm and sunny May afternoon.

"We walked slowly in the park and he was telling me about his life in Dublin before he came to Denmark, he was telling me about being a child and how poor the country was.

"I told him about my childhood and the time he had missed.

"We talked about him coming to live with us and for a minute we both believed it would happen some day.

"To dream with him was fantastic. We both knew it would always be just a dream but we shared the same dream and it felt beautiful."

Sine and her father's story clearly touched the hearts of the public as it notched up over 1,300 reactions in an hour and was shared dozens of times.

People paid tribute to them, with one saying: "How bittersweet, I'm so glad you both got to 'dream' together, however briefly."
A director, I forget who, told me that it takes 30 years to make an actor," Cillian Murphy says. "And I believe that. You have to learn your craft, learn your trade - and also you have to live a life and experience things. I have been doing this for 20 years now so, hopefully, in another 10 years I will be an actor."

Though his modesty is sincere, it's difficult to agree.

The Cork-born actor is already loved by millions courtesy of his role as the cold-eyed Brummie gangster Tommy Shelby in BBC2's Peaky Blinders.

He's proved a huge success on stage and in independent cinema, while also emerging as a bona fide movie star.

Expand Close Cillian Murphy as Chris in Free Fire / Facebook

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Whatsapp Cillian Murphy as Chris in Free Fire

He's been acting professionally for half his life. "Honestly," he adds, "if you stick around long enough, don't make an idiot of yourself and aspire to make good work, people go, 'All right. He is here to stay'."

Murphy is certainly here to stay and has now reached a point, he insists, where he feels comfortable - with the press, industry and, most importantly, himself.

"Having just turned 40 I hope I've achieved some sort of wisdom or patience," he says in his soft, evenly paced brogue.

As a younger man he disliked watching himself on screen; he struggled with press duties and avoided TV chat shows until a few years ago.

"I was very uncomfortable with this," he continues with a gesture at my tape recorder and notepad. "The reductive nature nowadays of most journalism is very frustrating." One newspaper report on the most recent series of Peaky Blinders focused on the baring of his bottom. "It is getting absurd with the dumbing down, the level of questions you get asked."

We'd better disregard half of my questions, I offer with a smile. Murphy smiles back. "Seriously, though, if someone asks a stupid question, you can only give a stupid answer or appear arrogant. But all of this stuff I tolerate a lot better now. Patience is something that as a young man I didn't have - when waiting for parts to arrive or waiting for people to behave as I wanted them to."

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Whatsapp With Padraic Delaney in 'The Wind that Shakes the Barley'

Maybe this is because Murphy's career took off so suddenly.

In the summer of 1996 he failed his law exams at University College Cork; his band - the Frank Zappa-influenced the Sons of Mr Green Genes - turned down a deal with hip record label Acid Jazz; he met his wife, the artist Yvonne McGuinness; and he was cast in the Corcadorca production of the Enda Walsh play Disco Pigs.

Video of the Day

The play, originally scheduled for a three-week run in Cork, went on to tour Europe and North America. Murphy left college and quit his band. A film version of the play, in which he also starred, was seen by director Danny Boyle who subsequently cast him in the zombie flick 28 Days Later. It was his breakout movie.

Since then he has excelled in a variety of roles. He chased down director Neil Jordan in the hope he'd get cast as Kitten in Breakfast on Pluto. His performance as a transgender foundling searching for love emerged as one of his standout moments.

"I knew Neil was making that film and that I was the right age," he says. "People respond to direct contact from other artists and other filmmakers. I think people don't do it enough." The Palme d'Or-winning The Wind That Shakes the Barley for director Ken Loach followed in 2006.

Perhaps Murphy's modesty is the legacy of an upbringing where an artistic career wasn't seen as a viable option.

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His parents worked in the Irish education system, his mother as a French teacher, his father a civil servant. They encouraged him to study law. "No one before in my family has ever professionally made a living in the arts [though his father is an accomplished musician], because in the 1980s it was like U2 and Jim Sheridan and Neil Jordan and maybe two others who actually made a living that way.

"I am being facetious," he adds, "but it wasn't conceived as a possibility. Gabriel Byrne had to go away. Liam Neeson had to go away. But when I came around, you could make a living as a working actor in theatre. That's all I ever aspired to."

And yet, like Byrne and Neeson, Murphy moved away, making his home in London with his wife and children, Malachy and Aran, now 11 and nine.

After 14 years in the British capital, however, they have just relocated to Dublin. It is, he concedes, a common Irish narrative "to move away in your 20s to England or America to establish yourself and find your calling, and then come home. I always thought that it was retrogressive, but now I realise that it is just natural".

The advancing years are tucking their tendrils into all aspects of his life. "You want to be with your parents as they get older and you want your children to be aware of their culture."

Did his boys rebel when they were told they'd be leaving their schoolfriends behind?

"We promised them a dog so that was just fine." A black Labrador arrived, though, he says, "I am the only one that walks it, of course."

He has concerns about the Irish education system, which he feels did him few favours, focusing as it does on multiple disciplines. "You get these really bright and creative kids who get eaten up by that system."

His own children will have to navigate the same system. "If they come out from education with some degree of self-confidence and self-awareness, that's enough," says Murphy. "And, hopefully, they will make some good friends. Initially, I was the reluctant one when it came to moving back, but I was quite quickly convinced. Irish people are brilliant and you have to go away and come back to realise it."

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Murphy plays an Irishman in his latest film, Free Fire. As he had done with Jordan all those years ago, he directly petitioned director Ben Wheatley for a role after seeing the writer-director's award winning film, Kill List. Murphy stars with Michael Smiley (who also plays an Irishman) bidding to conclude an arms deal in a Boston warehouse during the late 1970s. When shots are fired, tension explodes into violence and a feature-length shootout ensues.

"The film is unique," says Murphy. "Ben spoke about it to me at our very first meeting all those years ago and I was very taken with the idea of making a film that is one long gunfight."

The exchange of fire in Free Fire is something else. The story plays out in real time, in one location, the hail of bullets recalling the work of Sam Peckinpah or Quentin Tarantino.

Murphy and Smiley's characters, it is implied, are members of the IRA, though this is not mentioned. "Obviously, that was the political backdrop. That was the context - that's why Irish fellows were out in America buying guns. But it is not a political film in any way.

Guns also feature in Murphy's next big-budget outing, the Second World War picture Dunkirk, which sees him reunite with director Christopher Nolan. Nolan had considered Murphy for the lead role in his 2005 Batman reboot. In the end, the job went to Christian Bale, but Nolan selected Murphy as the villainous Scarecrow instead, covering those much-coveted icy blue peepers with a burlap sack. He also cast him in 2010's Inception.

Though Nolan's films are usually shrouded in secrecy, as Murphy points out: "Everybody knows what happened at Dunkirk, so it can't deviate too much from the facts.

"It is not like Inception or Interstellar, there's no major reveal."

He describes Nolan as an old-fashioned filmmaker. "And while all of his films have big budgets and involve a lot of set pieces, they always feel like a little independent film for the actor because you only ever have one camera and Chris watches on a tiny little monitor. He is right there beside you."

His own ambitions as a director, he notes, are a vague itch rather than a burning desire. Thus far he's only directed music videos, such as Money's Hold Me Forever - though he has found producing on Peaky Blinders, a role he took on for the third season, a rewarding process.

"You have to learn to watch yourself and the show very soberly in post-production, with an eye to narrative and storytelling and not to your own particular performance. That is very educational and I enjoy it."

The show will run for two more seasons.

"It is some of the best writing I have come across," he says, "and I never expected to revisit a character like that over and over. It will be about 30 hours of television when we have finished and to shine a light into all these weird parts of the character's psyche that you would never ever get in the compressed version of a feature film or even a play, that is an extraordinary gift. I am very lucky that it came along. I have always just been about the work."

That is irrefutable. "I have not been interested in anything else," he says. "I know I am old-fashioned, but I don't want to bring out a fashion line, I don't want to bring out an album. I just want to do the work as best as I can and if that effects change for somebody, then that is great."

He smiles. "I don't want to change the world."

Free Fire is in cinemas from Friday
Dancing with the Stars champion Aidan O'Mahony is getting straight back to work after his win.

The Kerry garda and former GAA star and his professional partner Valeria Milova waltzed away with the glitterball trophy on Sunday night,

But the Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) champion said the celebrations will be curt short as he plans to return to work this week.

Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on RTE Radio One this morning, the new dad said he'll be back on the beat on Tuesday.

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"The great thing now is I can go home tomorrow and go back on the beat," he said.

"I put it (the Garda uniform) on last week for Valeria, she was laughing the whole time.

When asked when exactly he would be returning to his station in Tralee, O'Mahony said it would be back to business straight away.

"This week, sure its back to normality."

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"When I put on my uniform, youre back to a profession. It's a profession, Im looking forward to getting back to normality."

O'Mahony beat competition from former Fair City star Aoibhin Garrihy and Red Rock actress Denise McCormack, despite getting the lowest score from the judges.

In their final dance of the night, the Showdance, O'Mahony and Milova had received the maximum 30 points from the judges, for a total of 80 from their three performances.

Denise McCormack and her dance partner Ryan McShane received the perfect score of 90, while Aoibhin Garrihy and Vitali Kozmin received 88.

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And it was the public vote that crowned O'Mahony although the former GAA legend said he's still coming to terms with his victory.

"Id say we were more shocked than anything else. Last week, we very relaxed - all we want to do was go and perform our three dances," he said.

#DWTSIrl Aidan lovely n 'all, but the girls were sensational tonight....the votings messed up in Ireland, there'll have to be another way!  Deirdre O'Kane (@DeirdreOKane1) March 26, 2017

And I'm extra sorry #DWTSIrl ... no disrespect to Aidan, I thought he did very well tonight. Not the winner in my eyes.Judges SO Vital  Val O'Donovan (@ValOD1) March 26, 2017

"It was a relief and nice to finish off on a high. From week one, everyone was a winner and just being part of it was amazing. "

Many viewers on social media complained:
Ash Cahill played by Leah Minto; Strictly embargoed until Monday 20th March; Red Rock airs Mondays at 9pm on TV3. Episode 22 - airs Monday 27th March 2017 at 9.00pm on TV3

There is a new face in the Red Rock Garda Station and she is ready for whatever is thrown at her.

Tonight viewers of the TV3 soap will meet newcomer to the series Garda Ash Cahill.

Played by theatre performer Leah Minto, Garda Ash is young and not that long wearing the blue uniform. But there is no way that this young garda is a pushover.

Gda Cahill is stepping into the role as Garda Sean Holden's new partner.

Her character is replacing Gda Holden's sorely missed best friend, Garda Adrijan Kosos who returned to Croatia a year ago when a head injury put him on permanent desk duty.

Speaking about her character, Minto said: "Ash is coming into Red Rock with barely a year of experience under her belt but with a real determination to assert herself.

"She's passionate about the job and I think she has these high expectations of being in action every day and chasing the criminals and getting the job done."

What Ash lacks in experience she makes up for in street smarts. She certainly has an affinity with the residents of the crime-ridden Ridge Estate of Red Rock because she is also from that world.

Her upbringing and young life has made her tough but has also given her more understanding of what their lives are like.

The young garda has a very different view of the residents than her colleagues, especially Paudge.

The series' writers have ensured Gda Cahill is a bit of a wind-up merchant too and her new partner, Sean, is easy bait.

Needless to say, they get off on the wrong foot almost immediately in tonight's show.

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"Ash is cheeky and has a bit of a mouth on her," said Minto.

"She hasn't really adapted the composure of a guard just yet; which makes it all the more fun for me to play her."

Minto appeared in the successful Irish film What Richard Did in 2012, directed by Lenny Abrahamson, in which she played the part of Lara's friend.

In 2015, she was seen in three episodes of TV mini-series Rapt which was a sci-fi drama set in Dublin where, in a single instant, everyone has vanished.

Everyone, that is, but paramedic and single mum Ange Smith, who finds herself alone in an empty world and desperate to get home to her baby daughter.

In Rapt, the plot included the scenario that the world is not as empty as she might have thought - strange and dangerous forces were on the prowl. Minto played the part of Martina in the series.

Red Rock airs on TV3 at 9pm tonight.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

By Ilhama Isabalayeva  Trend:

In 2017, the majority of tourists coming to Azerbaijan for the Novruz holiday were Iranian citizens, Muzaffar Agakerimov, adviser to the chairman of the Azerbaijan Tourism Association, told Trend.

Azerbaijan annually celebrates Novruz on March 20-21.

Agakerimov noted that this time, Iranian tourists stayed in the country for over a week. He said that Russians and citizens of Arab countries also visited Azerbaijan this year.

Most places in Baku hotels were booked by the Iranian tourists.

He added that Iranian tourists on a budget rented apartments, which is wrong in terms of security.

Besides, this does not bring income to the state budget, he said.

Agakerimov added that it is necessary to build hostels as well as one and two star hotels for those who prefer budget traveling.
Captain Mark Duffy joined the Coast Guard in 2002 while living in Blackrock, Co Louth with his wife Hermione.

The father-of-two had previously worked with the California Coast Guard in San Francisco for seven years after completing his training in the US.

The weekend before the fatal collision, Capt Duffy (51) was also involved in the helicopter rescue helping to save the lives of a father and son.

In an operation befitting his career, Capt Duffy was one of the first on scene in the Cooley Mountains in Louth when Donie and Dustin Marron had to be cut from their Robinson R-44 Clipper following a crash.

It was just one of the many life-saving cases the Rescue 116 crew responded to throughout their dedicated careers.

In January of this year, Rescue 116 helped save five fishermen from a sinking trawler off the Dublin coast. Heroic acts were an almost regular part of Capt Duffy and his colleagues' lives.

When Mark got his dream job as a Coast Guard pilot in Dublin, the family opted to base themselves again in Dundalk, near Hermione's dad, who lives in Omeath, and her mum in Gormanston.

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A much-respected man in his community, Mark once surprised pupils in his son's school, St Francis National School, in 2015 by arriving in the Coast Guard's helicopter.

Senior investigators also praised the work done by Mark Duffy and his crew, with Supt Tony Healy saying: "These are a crew who have put their lives at risk day in day out for the Irish community."

According to locals, Capt Duffy was known for his community work on behalf of the Coast Guard, which the community of Blackrock is "very proud of".

Mary Moran, a teacher and former senator described him as "an absolute gentleman".

"We are absolutely devastated for his wife, his children, his mother and brothers and the whole family."

Cllr Mark Dearey, chairperson of the Dundalk Municipal District, previously said: "We are proud of him and people think of Mark and his colleagues are heroic.

"We are so aware that he put himself in danger to save others."

Capt Mark Duffy, a co-pilot aboard the Rescue 116 aircraft, is survived by his wife, Hermione, daughter Esme (14) and son Fionn (12).
The solicitor of a man currently in prison on suspicion of murdering his wife while on a cruise believes a body discovered in a suitcase floating in an Italian bay is not that of the missing woman.

Italian police are investigating if the remains found in the port of Rimini are those of Dublin-based woman Li Yinglei.

A passer-by raised the alarm on Saturday after they noticed a blue, locked suitcase in the water off the north-east coast of Italy on the Adriatic Sea.

Police discovered the remains of a woman wrapped in a bin-bag in the suitcase. Some reports said the remains were dismembered.

Authorities are due to carry out a post-mortem today, and while there was an immediate suspicion the body might be that of Ms Li, there are some factors - such as the height of the body discovered - which make Italian police now believe it may be a different person.

Ms Li disappeared from a luxury cruise in the Mediterranean and was last seen on February 11. She was with her husband Daniel Belling (45) and their children when she vanished.

The couple, who live in Clare Hall, Dublin, had set off on the 11-day cruise with their two children aboard the MSC Magnifica. The ship set sail from the Italian port of Civitavecchia on February 9 and continued on to Genoa, Malta, Greece and Cyprus.

Ms Li's husband was arrested by police in Italy after he tried to catch a Ryanair flight to Ireland with his two young children.

Earlier, the cruise company found that Ms Li was unaccounted for when it did a head count at the end of the cruise and contacted the authorities.

Row

Mr Belling, who was born in Germany, denied killing her but said she had quit the trip after they had a row. He said he expected her to travel to either Ireland or her native China.

Today, Mr Belling's solicitor said he believed the body found in the suitcase was not that of the missing mother of two.

Luigi Conti said he has heard the body that has been recovered does not match the description of Ms Li.

"The body in the suitcase is 170cm in height, but Daniel Belling's wife is smaller than that," he said. "I am also told it is a different type of body than that of Mr Belling's wife."

It was not clear whether this meant the body found was of a different nationality or of a different description to the missing Chinese woman.

Mr Conti said he would be visiting Mr Belling in prison today. Last week, an Italian judge ruled that Mr Belling must remain in custody in Rome's Regina Coeli prison after attempts were made for him to be freed on bail.

Sources close to the investigation say the corpse found in the suitcase would initially appear to be a taller person than Ms Li, and was at a level of decomposition that would appear to be more recent than the time she went missing.

"DNA samples of Ms Li's children or mother may have to be taken and compared with the DNA from the body to see if they match," the source said.
A man who, according to a judge, broke into an old age pensioners house and has been living there with a group of friends since October last, was today ordered to get out by Wednesday at noon.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane said in the Circuit Civil Court that Peter Herron, by changing the locks on the property at 109 Connaught Street, Phibsborough, Dublin, had broken in.

Barrister Joe Smyth, counsel for the 80-year-old pensioner Noel Kavanagh, told the court that Herron and a group of people living in the house had refused access to the gardai and an agent of Mr Kavanaghs.

Herron, against whom proceedings had initially been taken out in the name of John Doe, described himself as a film maker and claimed to have a legal right to live in the property because he had possession of it.

The fact is that the defendant broke in to these premises and it appears to have been pre-planned, Judge Linnane said. This is illegal and he is a trespasser and has broken the law.

The judge said he had continued to cause worry and distress to Mr Kavanagh who was in his eighties and in ill health. She said Mr Kavanaghs belongings in the property had been interfered with.

Judge Linnane told Mr Smyth, who appeared with Mackey OSullivan Binchy solicitors, that Mr Kavanagh had a right to recover his property for which, since the break-in, there had been insurance implications.

The court granted an interlocutory injunction directing Herron and all others in occupation to vacate the house by Wednesday and ordering them to cease their occupation by noon of the same day.

Judge Linnane also made an order for possession in favour of Mr Kavanagh and adjourned the issue of damages to a full trial of the proceedings. She granted Herron time to enter a defence and directed the court orders be served on the Garda Siochana.

The judge told Mr Smyth that copies of her orders could be served on Herron and others in the house by posting them through the letter box or, if it was sealed, by affixing them to the front door.

Judge Linnane told Herron his film making might be limited internationally if a formal complaint was made to the Garda Siochana or the DPP and a successful conviction was obtained against him.

Herron, who told the court Mr Kavanaghs belongings had been safely stored, represented himself with the help of a McKenzie friend.
A stay has been put on his deportation, pending the outcome of Supreme Court proceedings. Stock Image

THE Supreme Court has halted pending a further hearing the deportation of a man with alleged links to Islamic terrorism following an application by his lawyers.

The three-judge court gave leave to the man's lawyers to challenge an order of the High Court last week permitting his deportation on grounds the case raised a point of general public importance.

It will sit on Thursday to issue a fixed determination order and also deal with any ancillary applications including in relation to the status of the man.

The court heard he is currently detained in Cloverhill Prison in Dublin after he was arrested on Friday following his release from a sentence for having fraudulent travel documents.

The deportation order must be executed with a time limit of 56 days, the court heard.

Among the grounds his lawyers were were that the Minister for Justice's decision to deport was in contravention of European law. The Minister opposed the application.

Following an adjournment to consider the matter, Mr Justice Donal O'Donnell said the court would grant leave but on substantially narrower grounds than had been sought by the applicant. It would sit on Thursday to issue a determination on that.

Last week in the High Court, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys refused to grant the man permission to bring an appeal against the Minister decision to deport him.

It followed the dismissal by the judge earlier in the month to his challenge to the deportation order.

The man, aged in his 50s and has been living in Ireland for several years, claims he is at serious risk of ill treatment and torture if deported to his native country.

The deportation order was issued after gardai informed the Department of Justice that the man's activities and associates are "of serious concern" and "contrary to the State's security."

The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, denies being involved in terrorism claims he is at risk due to his political views.

The court heard he was convicted and jailed in France for several years for terrorist offences.

It was the State's case the man had been "raising money for jihadists" and he saw "Al Qaeda as a good model to follow."

He was not only convicted of terrorism offences there but also of offences where human life was taken.

On Friday, Mr Justice Humphreys refused to allow the man bring an appeal to the Court of Appeal and lifted a stay preventing him being removed from the state.

However, the judge said no point of law of exception public importance arose.

It was not in the public interest that the man be allowed to appeal, he said.

His lawyers then made an application directly to the Supreme Court.
Notorious mob boss Christy Kinahan put his war with the Hutch gang to one side last week as he threw a lavish party in Dubai to celebrate his 60th birthday.

A large number of his wealthy business associates from Belgium, Spain and Holland were all in attendance at the bash in the millionaires' playground.

It is understood that Kinahan relocated to Dubai due partly to the increasing threat resulting from the bitter feud with the Hutch faction.

The safety of his family, along with a Europol probe into his massive drug and money laundering business, were at the centre of his concerns.

Bloodshed

His sons Daniel and Christy Jnr are also understood to have attended the flash party.

Daniel is once again taking a more hands-on role in running the drug cartel in the capital - having made himself scarce for the past year following the escalation of the feud.

The mob boss placed the running of its Dublin operation in the hands of close associate, Liam Byrne.

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Byrne's brother, David was assassinated in the Regency Hotel in February last year, sparking a year of bloodshed.

Since making himself more visible, Kinahan has also called on his chief-enforcer, Paul Rice to also come out of hiding and get a grip on the Irish drugs market once again.

This week also marked a year to the day since the murder of Noel 'Kingsize' Duggan at his house in Co Meath.

Duggan, the best friend of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, was gunned down when he pulled into his home in Ratoath in March last year.

Smuggler

The assassination of the cigarette smuggler was carried out by the Kinahan gang as retaliation for David Byrne's death.

Last week Duggan's family marked his passing with floral tributes by his graveside, one to "dad" and another to "grandad".

A headstone has not yet been put in place. Another tribute read: "Boss, gone but not forgotten".

Prior to his death, Duggan had been lying low during the feud and had not even attended the funeral of Eddie Hutch, Gerry's brother.

Despite being a close friend of The Monk, the pair had not been in regular contact in the recent years preceding his murder.

The Criminal Assets Bureau demanded 4m in unpaid taxes from Duggan in 2003, while 4m worth of property was also seized.
Martin Mahon (left) has been jailed for 30 years for his attack on Gillian McCann Johnston

An Irish mother who narrowly survived after she was stabbed by a jealous ex, who then turned the blade on himself, has described how she fought for her life.

Gillian McCann Johnston (50) pleaded with Dubliner Martin Mahon (59) to think of her children as he stabbed her.

She only managed to survive the attack in her Florida home by knocking over a drinks cabinet - alerting neighbours - and then playing dead.

Mahon was jailed last week for 30 years for attempted murder.

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The mother-of-two, from Belfast, met Mahon when he had returned to Dublin from Florida for a visit in 2010.

The pair hit it off and she followed him over to the US the following year.

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However, things started to go sour in April 2011 when her adult children came over to visit them.

He was "rude and mean" to them and she eventually moved out to a hotel.

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What started then was a cycle of threats, followed by apologies leading to reconciliation that would continue for a number of years.

Ms McCann Johnston explained that he did become physical against her on one occasion, holding her down against her will.

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She managed to escape by throwing a set of keys against his head and fleeing to a friends home.

The Belfast woman laughs now when she describes what happened next.

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"He came over to my friends house carrying a massive teddy bear and his face was covered in blood.

"He was a charmer. He always kept saying he was sorry. When he was working he would come home with expensive jewellery for me."

She said Martin would also use a mixture of violence and threats to control her - regularly vowing to have her deported from the US.

Eventually Ms McCann Johnston took out a restraining order against him in September 2014.

A month later he arrived at her Fort Lauderdale home begging her to remove the order and go for a walk with him in the park. She said she dreads to think what might have happened if she had taken him up on the offer.

Instead she gave him $20 and told him to never return. But just hours later he sneaked into the flat.

Recounting the incident Ms McCann Johnston said she woke up early on the October morning and walked outside to empty her bins.

"I walked back inside the apartment and I remember thinking I saw something move. I looked at the clock and it was 5.50am.

"The next thing he put his hand over my mouth and he stabbed me in the neck. It missed the main artery in the neck by millimetres. If the blade went one way I would have bled out in a minute. If it went the other I would have been paralysed for life."

She continued: "Then he spoke for the first time. He said: If I cant have you then nobody can.

"I asked what about our kids?

"By this stage I was lying on the floor and all the blood was spurting out of my neck. I thought this was it. He was on top of me."

Ms McCann Johnston described how she grabbed a globe shaped drinks cabinet and pulled it to the ground. The noise raised the alarm and her friend knocked on the door to see if she was okay.

"He had his hand over my mouth so I bit into it and screamed, 'he's trying to kill me.'

"He pulled me back by the hair and stabbed me right in the back."

Ms McCann Johnston knew her only hope of surviving was to play dead so she made noises like you would see in the movies pretending she was taking her last breath.

Martin then attempted to take his own life.

"It was 10 minutes from when he stabbed me to when my neighbour called 911 but it felt like a lifetime."

Both Martin and his victim were taken by ambulance to hospital where they survived.

"You dont realise how much you want to live until you think you are going to die," she said.

Days later he appeared for the first time at Broward County Court on attempted murder charges.

In court he denied the attack, claiming Ms McCann Johnston had stabbed him. However, he was found guilty of attempted murder in December 2016.

During the five-day murder trial his victim spent two days on the stand giving evidence.

Last week he was jailed for the maximum 30 years and Ms McCann Johnston said he is likely to be deported if he is ever released.

She is happy with the sentence and is now trying to move on with her life.

"I am going to have the scars the rest of my life. But the physical part is easier to get away from than the emotional part. I dont go out in the dark," she said.

"Ive had nightmares that he is coming after me, trying to kill me but I always get away from him. I am having them less and less."

She continued: "I am in a relationship now with a real sweetheart who wouldnt raise a finger to me."

Although she runs a successful cleaning business in Fort Lauderdale the mother now has ambitions of retraining in victims advocacy.

"I want to advocate for the victims of all crimes, not just domestic abuse."

She said she follows the cases of murder-suicide that have been reported in Ireland and feels that the public often shows too much sympathy towards the perpetrator if they take their own lives. She believes victims are often forgotten.

If you are affected by the article above, call the Samaritans Helpline on 116-123 or Women's Aid on 1800 341 900
The EU's soul-searching exercise on its future direction promises nothing revolutionary. Afraid of rocking the boat ahead of elections in France and Germany, and with Brexit talks looming, EU leaders kept things low-key for the 60th anniversary of the bloc's founding treaty.

They made the right noises in favour of unity, signing a two-page pledge to stay "undivided and indivisible", though allowing each other to move "at different paces and intensity where necessary".

But it's a rather lacklustre statement that simply rehashes previous commitments on border controls, growth and jobs, social progress and security and defence.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker described the text as a "new awakening", and Taoiseach Enda Kenny high-fived the EU's top officials after putting his name to it.

But Polish premier Beata Szydlo appeared to hesitate before signing, fresh from her failure earlier this month to thwart the re-election of Poland's Donald Tusk as European Council chief.

A voice in the audience exclaimed, "Finally!" when Greek premier Alexis Tsipras put his name to the paper, following his threat to withdraw his support over what he sees as his country's unfair bailout terms.

And there was laughter in the room when Hungarian prime minister, and EU problem child, Viktor Orban, took his time to appear on stage to sign the accord. The events paint a picture of an EU that is not quite sure what it is that is keeping it together.

One unifying force is the UK's decision to leave after 43 years. British Prime Minster Theresa May was not invited, with French President Francois Hollande saying that it was the UK's choice.

"She chose not to be here. I mean to say, it's her, it's the British people who chose this.

"They are no longer on this adventure with us, they have chosen another path," he told reporters after the three-hour ceremony on Saturday.

Peace proved a more positive clarion call, with Mr Juncker recalling how the European Economic Community created in 1957 "rose from the ashes of two world wars" and was shaped by "the iron will of those who had returned from battlefields and concentration camps".

But alternative rallies in the Italian capital paint a divergent picture of where the EU is at 60 years on. A sea of azure washed over Rome as EU federalists, draped in the bloc's blue and yellow-starred flags, marched in favour of a United States of Europe.

But one attendee, who did not want to be named, did not take heart from the public showing.

"In a city of five million, only 15,000 people bothered to march, either for or against the EU," he said.

On the other side of town, an alternative demonstration of self-styled "Euro realists" pointed the finger at the EU for failing to tackle inequalities within its own borders.

"We will not give up on Europe, but it is becoming very difficult for us to defend it right now," said Laura Sullivan, Europe director for anti-poverty campaigners ActionAid and vice-president of Concord, a coalition of development NGOs.

Even the Pope hit out at a culture of "fearfulness" that he says has led the EU to turn its back on refugees fleeing war or poverty.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

Trend:

Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman has said his country is interested in joining the Trans-Caspian international transport route.

He made the remarks Mar. 27 at the summit of government heads of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM) member countries, the Ukrainian National News reported.

I would also like to note the importance and priority of the Trans-Caspian international transport route, Groysman said. In 2014, 400 carriages passed through the territory of Ukraine via this route, and last year, we increased the number to 3,000.

We see serious potential here.

The GUAM format was created by post-Soviet states in 1997 during the summit of heads of the EU states in Strasbourg. In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the format and withdrew four years later.

In 2006, Ukraine and Azerbaijan announced plans to further increase the GUAM member relations and established its headquarters in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Pre-flight messages can be extremely boring but this cabin crew member decided to lighten everyone's mood with a series of terrible puns.

The unidentified steward took the microphone on a flight from Glasgow to Dublin before unleashing the one-liners.

And a video of his cringe-worthy performance, taken by Irish teacher Sinead Greene, has gone viral online.

He started by asking: "Have you heard about the man who was living in a tyre? He got a puncture he now lives in a flat."

The steward went on to ask: "What do you call a Spanish man whose car was stolen? Carlos."

Laughing at his jokes he continued: "What happened to the guy who broke his left arm and left leg? He's alright now."

He finally ended his act with a sushi pun before thanking his audience: What does a sushi say to a bee? Wasabi!

Passenger Sinead Greene told Independent.ie that he was the "best flight attendant ever".

"Oh yeah he was so nice. He made a load of other jokes that I didn't get on camera."

The flight was from Glasgow to Dublin on Sunday, March 19 at about 10pm.

Ms Greene said: "Everyone was exhausted from paddy's day. He made a few jokes for the kids first then at the end of that video when I somehow stopped recording he said: 'I will now pass you over to my colleagues who will do your favourite part of any Ryan air flight, the safety maaaaacerena'."
SIPTU is set to ballot its members at Dublin Bus and Irish Rail for industrial action in sympathy with their colleagues in Bus Eireann.

Following a meeting of representatives from the three CIE companies today, the union said it had a mandate for the vote because members believe they are "next in the firing line" if Bus Eireann forces through pay cuts and changes to terms and conditions.

The meeting was called after workers mounted an all-out strike last Friday after the company announced it would impose cuts to earnings in a bid to lower its payroll costs by 12m.

Acting Chief Executive Ray Hernan has warned that the company faces insolvency in May.

The union representatives also discussed a planned protest in support of the Bus Eireann workers to be held at Leinster House on Wednesday to coincide with a meeting of the Oireachtas transport committee that Minister for Transport, Shane Ross, is due to attend.

SIPTU Sector Organiser, Willie Noone, said that if Bus Eireann becomes insolvent and 2,600 people have no jobs, their CIE colleagues are "not going to sit back and take that".

He said the representatives agreed that Wednesday's protest should be supported as it is a means of highlighting the "failure" of the minister to take responsibility for the "dysfunctional state" of the public transport service.

"We are encouraging members of the public and of the union, including those who work in the public transport sector and are available, to attend the protest," said Mr Noone.

Earlier, Bus Eireann revealed it will not be able to fund a voluntary redundancy scheme and will have to "consider other measures" to avoid becoming insolvent.

The board today discussed a management plan to cut 300 jobs through an exit scheme under a 30m cost-cutting plan at a crucial meeting to sign off on its accounts for last year.

Following the meeting, it said it was unable to sign off on its accounts and could not pass a budget for next year "in the absence of agreement with staff."

"This is a very serious matter as the board must now formally advise CIE that this governance requirement will not be met," it said in a statement.

It said management had presented the board with a plan that will secure the future of the company and a key component of this was cost efficiencies to eliminate "grossly inefficient" work practices.

The statement said these inefficiencies had been acknowledged by unions at talks at the Workplace Relations Commission.

It said management had presented the Board of Bus Eireann with a plan which will secure the future of the company.

"The board remains gravely concerned that losses continue to accelerate at Bus Eireann, exacerbated now by four days of strike action," it said.

"Regrettably, today the board could not sign off accounts for 2016, or pass a budget for 2017 in the absence of agreement with staff.

"Without a plan which encompasses the necessary work practice changes to generate savings, it will not be possible to fund a voluntary redundancy scheme and faced with that scenario, the board of directors will have no option but to consider other measures to prevent the business becoming insolvent."

It urged all employees to urgently engage in talks with management through their unions to agree a survival plan.

Consequences

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the National Bus and Railworkers Union, Dermot O'Leary, has warned against the consequences of compulsory redundancies following the company's comments.

He described the company's statement as "bizarre and extraordinary" given that 2,500 staff have been on strike for four days in response to the imposition of cuts.

"The notion that alternatives to work practice changes and a voluntary severance programme would be entertained, would appear to indicate that the company may go down the road of compulsory redundancies which, if pursued would be unprecedented in the semi-state sector," he said.

He said compulsorily laying off staff will "open a completely different and potentially uncontrollable" dimension to the dispute and present severe difficulties maintaining the "already fragile" industrial peace across other CIE companies. He said the NBRU is fully prepared to engage in talks on efficiencies.
Dublin City Council paid out more than 41m in compensation last year. Picture posed by model

More than 63 million has been dished out in compensation by Dublin's four local authorities in just five years amid concerns the city has fallen prey to a compensation culture.

Dublin City Council paid out by the far the most - dishing out a staggering 41,322,784.12 to 3,853 claimants from 2012 until 2016.

Lord Mayor of Dublin Brendan Carr said he was concerned about a "claims culture" developing.

"If there are claims coming in causing that amount of money to be paid out, then it would be more beneficial to put more money into fixing footpaths," he said.

"Clearly, the claims culture in Dublin needs to be reviewed as well, but I'm not sure how to control that.

Resources

"I do know these figures show we should be looking into how this money is being paid out.

"If people have serious health cases, then there is no money in the world that would fix that, so we need to put more resources into making sure the city is a safe place.

"I call on the public that if they see any hazards, report it to the council."

Dun Laoghaire County Council forked out the second highest number of compensation claims, with a 12,310,000 bill for five years.

Some 719 claimants got payouts from the local authority in this time, with the average estimated claim sitting at 17,121.

Dun Laoghaire Fine Gael councillor Mary Fayne said: "It's a no-brainer - if you want less claims, you give less conditions for claims.

"Nothing is new about our compensation culture.

"No win, no fee lawyers are advertised everywhere, encouraging people to call if they fall over.

"There is a problem with delays in some of our road repairs, too, and I've been trying to get potholes done for some time.

"But there is this culture of people claiming and something will have to be done about it."

Claimants

Fingal County Council paid out 8,095,700 across the five-year period to 1,042 claimants, with each claim averaging an estimated 7,769.38.

Fingal independent councillor Tony Murphy said: "This is partly a national issue with regard to the way claims are processed and delivered without a cap.

"The UK has caps. I'm not suggesting people who have the misfortune of suffering an accident shouldn't claim, but there is also a system that is wide open for abuse."

2016 was the most expensive year for Dublin City Council, when 9,605,001.81 was paid out to 742 claimants.

In 2012, 6,755,859.4 was dished out. In 2013, this rose to 7,619,183.02.

Some 8,026,519.90 was claimed in compensation in 2014 and by 2015, 9,316,220.00 was claimed.

In 2014, 808 claimants were paid - the highest number of payees the city council had witnessed in the five-year period.

In 2015, Dun Laoghaire forked out 3.58 million and in 2012, it shelled out 3.2 million.

In 2012, 130 claimants received compensation awards and by 2013, 210 had received compensation.

Although figures dropped for the number of claimants in 2015 to 125, this was the year Dun Laoghaire recorded the highest financial amount to be distributed. A Dun Laoghaire County Council spokeswoman said: "Claims are for accidents in our administrative area.

"All claims are investigated fully."

Fingal County Council had its highest compensation bill in 2016, when it paid 2,587,100. 2013 was its second most expensive year, with a 1,672,300 bill.

Footpaths

In 2014, 69 claims were made due to footpath issues, thought to be mostly falls, and 103 claims were made for injuries on the county's roads in 2013.

Some 236 claims were made that year in total.

In 2015, 39 claims were made for accidents in parks and open spaces owned by the local authority. Some 196 claims were made in total that year.

A Fingal Council spokesman said: "The compensation paid in these years is not in any way related to the number of claims received in these years.

"For example, the compensation paid in 2012 largely relates to claims received from 2008-2011.

"The level of compensation paid in 2016 shows a significant increase, but this does not indicate an increase in the cost of claims.

"It is entirely related to a small number of high-value claims, which were settled and related to claims received between 2009 and 2014."

The public claimed 2,060,000 from South Dublin County Council (SDCC) between 2012 and 2016.

The local authority's claims figures dropped since it handed over the management of claims to Irish Public Bodies (insurance company) in January 2014.

A SDCC spokeswoman said: "The majority of cases in relation to public liability cases are trips, slips and falls on footpaths/roads, or in public parks.

"A small number of claims are in regard to damage to property, i.e. car tyres."

14k for siblings living in damp council home to 5m for man run over by bin lorry

In December, a woman was awarded 140,000 for injuries she received when she tripped on an uneven footpath.

Kathleen Dunne, of Whitestown Green, Blanchardstown, sued the city council after she fell at the corner of Westmoreland Street and Aston Quay in September 2014.

Mr Justice Michael Hanna told the High Court she had suffered "a very nasty injury" that led to her being hospitalised for weeks.

There were concerns she would develop arthritis and need a knee replacement.

Work had previously been carried out on the pavement to remove telephone boxes and underground services.

The judge was satisfied there was a hazard left as a result of the work.

He awarded Ms Dunne 40,000 in general damages and 100,000 for damages into the future.

Earlier last year, three children were awarded 14,000 from the council at the Circuit Civil Court for "recurring respiratory illness" due to the state of their local authority home.

Their mother, Janice Maguire, believed the illness had been caused by damp in their home in Lissadel Road, Drimnagh.

Ms Maguire had al- ready accepted undisclosed damages to settle her own 38,000 personal injuries claim.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane approved settlement of 6,000 for Harrison Maguire (5) and 4,000 each for brother Chad (9) and sister Kadie Mae (8).

The court heard that the family, who moved into the maisonette in 2010m, visited their GP on numerous occasions as a result of respiratory illness.

Assault

In 2014, a former Mr Ireland was awarded nearly 5m damages by the city council after he was run over by a bin lorry.

Padraig Hearns (below) suffered brain damage after the incident in 2007 when he ended up under the lorry after an assault.

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Mr Justice Michael Peart said it was unclear how Mr Hearns ended up under the lorry's wheels but it was likely that he had been dazed and confused after the assault in which he was punched five or six times in the face.

He fell under the lorry in Sycamore Street, Temple Bar and suffered a skull fracture and was in an induced coma for more than a week.

The former air steward, who flew British Airways' long-haul flights, would never be able to live an independent life again, the High Court heard.

Mr Hearns, of Lower Hollywood Cross, Hollywood, Co Wicklow, was under the care of his elderly parents and siblings as a result of the incident.

The judge said the council had breached its duty of care when the lorry moved off without a man remaining outside to ensure it was safe to do so.

In May, Audrey Fitzpatrick - whose teenage daughter vanished in Spain in 2008 - received 60,000 from the council and Irish Water when her foot went into an open shore on Lorcan Drive, Santry, in 2014.

Expand Close Audrey Fitzpatrick alleged that she was injured when her foot went into an open shore on Lorcan Drive, Santry, Dublin on May 29, 2014. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Audrey Fitzpatrick alleged that she was injured when her foot went into an open shore on Lorcan Drive, Santry, Dublin on May 29, 2014.

She complained of intermittent aching in her knee and had been unable to wear high heels.
Noirin O'Sullivan has indicated she will not voluntarily stepdown as Garda Commissioner ahead of a Cabinet meeting to decide her fate.

Government confidence in the Garda chief was ebbing away last night as ministers privately acknowledged it will be difficult to defend her position in light of the latest scandals.

The Cabinet will tomorrow be forced to take some form of action or face an unprecedented scenario whereby the Dail could express no confidence in Ms O'Sullivan.

The Irish Independent understands one option being considered is a review similar to the Patten commission, which led to the establishment of the PSNI in Northern Ireland.

This would allow space for an examination of the culture within An Garda Siochana and an analysis of Garda management's performance.

"Such a report would be likely to call for significant change in Garda management with more emphasis on Garda officers running policing and civilian experts in charge of actually managing the organisation," said one source.

A review with a short deadline for completion may also pacify Fianna Fail and the Independent Alliance. Sinn Fein will today publish a Dail motion of no confidence in Ms O'Sullivan.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has called on her to "consider her position" in a move that now means a majority of TDs do not have confidence in her.

But Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar said: "The reason why we have confidence in her is that we believe she is part of the solution to cleaning up the gardai, not part of the problem."

It was revealed last Thursday that 937,000 breath tests were falsely recorded on the Garda Pulse system. And in a separate scandal, 14,700 wrongful convictions occurred because officers brought people to court rather than issuing them with fixed-charge notices.

Ms O'Sullivan has argued she was the person to put safeguards in place to ensure such incidents cannot happen again.

"We're looking at a problem that goes back more than a decade," she said over the weekend. "This is an issue which is more than systemic. It's about ethics. It's about supervision. It's about measurement. Most of all, it's about trust."

The criteria under which the Cabinet could force Ms O'Sullivan to resign are very strict and sources said last night that she will not walk away "without proper procedure and an opportunity to defend herself".

Mr Martin said his party wants the commissioner to give a "very blunt" explanation for how the scandals were born and went undetected for so long.

Fianna Fail also intends to heap pressure on Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald in the coming days to outline what actions will be taken to ensure somebody is held accountable.

"This is an appalling vista that people cannot just wish away in internal reports and audits," he said.

Mr Martin did back the idea of a review of Garda practices "to be established to fundamentally, radically reform An Garda Siochana and bring it into the 21st century".

Read More

Fine Gael will today be trying to reassure members of the Independent Alliance to hold their nerve after junior minister John Halligan told RTE's 'This Week' the commissioner should "maybe consider stepping aside".

Transport Minister Shane Ross has decided to hold his counsel until after he meets with his colleagues tomorrow.

Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin has said the "lack of understanding from Government of the seriousness of these matters beggars belief".

"There must be an acceptance of responsibility, and a consequent action of accountability," he said.
The body of Captain Mark Duffy is borne gently ashore at Blacksod, Co Mayo, by some of his colleagues from the Coast Guard service for formal identification. Photo: Chris Radburn, PA

The hearse carrying the tricolour-draped coffin slowly made its away from Blacksod pier as rescue workers guided their tragic colleague on his final journey.

Irish Coast Guard, Naval Service and Civil Defence workers walked solemnly alongside the remains of Capt Mark Duffy (51), who was recovered by a navy dive team from the Rescue 116 helicopter shortly before noon yesterday.

A lone piper from the Achill Coast Guard played 'Wrap the Green Flag' and 'The Dawning of the Day' as the cortege, including family members, accompanied the heroic father-of-two's coffin from the coastal town.

For the family, friends and colleagues of Capt Mark Duffy it was a bittersweet day; the relief of finally bringing their loved one home combined with the grief of losing his life in the most tragic of circumstances.

In a touching moment, the Shannon-based Rescue 115 helicopter shepherded Capt Duffy, on board the LE Samuel Beckett, to the shoreline.

Michael O'Toole, an Incident Officer with the Irish Coast Guard, described it as a "poignant and challenging" day for the organisation.

"We've recovered our colleague Capt Mark Duffy. Our thoughts are with his family, his wife Hermione, daughter Esme (14), son Fionn (12), and his extended family," Mr O'Toole said.

"Equally the Coast Guard family are very cognisant we're still missing our two other colleagues and we maintain a focus on that and our thoughts are with them and Mark Duffy's family today."

"It's difficult to prepare for these things but I think the Coast Guard community in Galway and Mayo and those other volunteers that have attended today have acquitted themselves quite well in the dignity which they showed our dearest colleague," he added.

Capt Duffy's remains were brought to Mayo General Hospital, where a post-mortem examination will be carried out by the State Pathologist today. Supt Tony Healy said the families, while upset, had good news in the recovery of their loved one.

"Obviously it's a very upsetting time for them. The recovery of a loved one is good news from that point of view but obviously it's a tragic loss," Supt Healy said.

Efforts will now be made to lift the wreckage of the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter in an attempt to locate the remaining two crewmen - winch operator Ciaran Smith (38) and winchman Paul Ormsby (53).

This will be done with the help of flotation devices which will briefly raise the aircraft and allow a Naval Service dive team to examine under the wreckage.

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Naval Service personnel said that visibility was at around 10m for divers, and that sea conditions were expected to remain favourable today.

Lieut Cdr Darragh Kirwan said: "We are into the end game of search and recovery and it is very much focused on Blackrock.

"The naval divers are playing a key part in that, along with the other agencies involved.

"The Samuel Beckett is still co-ordinating vessel searching on scene, and the Naval Service divers.

"The families are here and, at the end of the day, it is about the families," he added.

The fourth crew member, Capt Dara Fitzpatrick (45), was recovered from the sea following the fatal collision but was later pronounced dead.

Senior investigators said that "the hope" is that the two missing Irish Coast Guard members are in or near the main section of wreckage, but added the search area would be expanded if this was not the case.

Their families continue to wait and hope for their recovery and are regularly briefed by gardai on any developments.

"It's obviously very challenging for them and their loved ones are still missing," Supt Healy said.
Fianna Fail has accused Leo Varadkar of "trying to speak out of both sides of his mouth" after the minister revealed his vision for taxation reform.

In Saturday's Irish Independent, Mr Varadkar outlined his belief that there should be tax cuts for middle-income earners and more emphasis on social insurance benefits.

He said that society has been divided "into one group of people who pay for everything but get little in return due to means tests, and another who believe they should be entitled to everything for free and that someone else should pay for it".

A key plank of the Social Protection Minister's proposal is to replace the Universal Social Charge and PRSI with a new charge simply called Social Insurance. "This would be linked to wider and better benefits," he said.

However, Fianna Fail's finance spokesman Michael McGrath has now accused Mr Varadkar of trying to distance himself from the Government's policy of abolishing the USC altogether.

"Leo's comment piece is significant in that he seems to be moving away from the abolition of the USC.

"That was utterly unachievable and not something we'd support given the impact it would have on funding for vital public services," Mr McGrath told the Irish Independent.

The Programme for Partnership Government agreed by Fine Gael and the independents states that "to make Ireland's personal taxation system more competitive, we will ask the Oireachtas to continue to phase out the USC as part of a wider medium-term income tax reform plan".

Mr McGrath said: "Leo is a minister in Government and shares collective responsibility. That's the policy he signed up to."

He accused the frontrunners to replace Enda Kenny as leader of Fine Gael of "tyre-kicking" in a bid to jockey for position.

"I'm not going to entertain any kite-flying from Leo.

"He's trying to speak out of both sides of his mouth. He'd want to make up his mind," Mr McGrath said.

"From our point of view, the most pressing issue on income tax is the very low entry level to the marginal rate of tax at 33,800.

"That's a very low level of income to enter the high marginal rate of tax.

"If resources are available, and that's not certain with Brexit and Donald Trump's policies, our priority is to see that entry point raised significantly."

Last night, Mr Varadkar told the Irish Independent it was Fianna Fail who created the USC.

"It's not surprising they should want to retain it. I look forward to a robust debate on tax and social insurance reform with Fianna Fail.

"Fine Gael will be offering people a choice. The principles I set out will ensure that taxes and personal taxes are low, simple and fair," he said.

In his tax plan, Mr Varadkar warned that Ireland needs to start bringing down the marginal rate of tax in order to attract "skilled, qualified and talented people home from London and other countries".

"The Government should never take more than 50pc of any euro you earn," he said.

His idea is to link the USC in with PRSI to create a social insurance fund that would be "ring-fenced to fund better services and does not just go into the big pot or black hole like USC".
Talks aimed at restoring devolution in Northern Ireland have ended in rancour raising the prospect of a return to direct rule from Westminster.

Sinn Fein said discussions with the DUP had run their course last night as the deadline loomed for a First Minister to be nominated.

Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire will be obliged to intervene today, with a fresh election or direct rule among his options.

However, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said he believed the conditions to go back into power-sharing would be achieved in the time ahead.

As talks broke down yesterday, the party's new leader in Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill said: "Today we have come to the end of the road."

Sinn Fein has said it will not share power with the Democratic Unionists' leader Arlene Foster as first minister until a public inquiry into the renewable heat incentive (RHI) is concluded.

Sinn Fein has also been seeking movement on issues like an Irish language act giving the tongue official status in Northern Ireland.

It also wants to see progress on legacy funding for Northern Ireland conflict victims waiting up to 45 years for answers over how their loved ones died.

The five main parties only have until 4pm today to resolve their differences or a fresh crisis will be triggered.

Mr Adams said that unionism was at a crossroads.

"The DUP cannot be in there representing the DUP voters. They have to work with us and any other party in there representing everyone. We don't have the basis for doing that, we are not going back to the status quo, but will we be back, will we get the institutions in place? Yes."

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said: "Despite constructive engagement by all of the parties and important progress being made during these discussions, it has not yet been possible to make the necessary breakthroughs on a small number of core issues."

He said it was a critical time for Northern Ireland ahead of next week's triggering of Brexit by the UK government.

Meanwhile, the family of Martin McGuinness have spoken for the first time since his death to say their "hearts are broken".

The former deputy first minister's wife, Bernie, thanked the thousands of people who lined the streets of Derry for his funeral last Thursday. "I and our entire family have been touched by the efforts of so many to provide solace and comfort to us throughout this very difficult period," she said.
Tenants looking to rent accommodation are being warned to beware of scam artists who are asking for rent to be transferred before the property has even been viewed.

A number of these suspicious advertisements have appeared on rental portal pages for apartments in Dublin city centre.

One prospective tenant who made contact with the purported property owner was informed that the transaction would be carried out through an 'Airbnb agent'.

The 'landlord' claimed he lived in Italy and could not arrange a viewing in person but said the 'Airbnb agent' would handle all the financial transactions.

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However, he said a deposit and one month's rent would have to be transferred before the viewing.

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Independent.ie visited the apartment in question, which is located on Church Street in Dublin 7.

The pictures in the advertisement portrayed a high-end apartment.

The two-bed apartment was sold in 2016 for 190,000. However, it is not clear who owns it as it is currently not registered with the Land Registry.

When we spoke to a tenant living on the floor below this apartment and showed him pictures of the flat being advertised, he confirmed his apartment looked "nothing like that", saying it looked a lot nicer than his.

The sockets in the pictures advertised also appear to be two-prong which would indicate the property is not based in Ireland.

The person advertising the flat said via email: "Right now I'm currently living in Italy and for the moment I cannot come in person to show you the apartment. I used to come to Ireland every once in a while but for now I am very busy with my work and I really don't have enough time to come there in person to rent it.

"However, I hope this will not change your intentions to rent my apartment because we can do the transaction through Airbnb (www.airbnb.com). I have used this company in the past and I was very happy with them. You can inspect the apartment in the presence of the Airbnb agent."

He claimed rent would be 1,300 per month and asked for proof of financial stability.

The advertisement initially appeared on Rent.ie but was soon taken down.

Another Independent.ie reader got in touch to say they had been targeted by the same scam.

The property they were interested in was based in Ballsbridge.

They were informed it was a one-bed apartment, however when they looked up the property price register, it was listed as a two-bed apartment.

Martin Clancy of Daft.ie said: "I'd advise that this person ceases all contact with this person and as we suggest in blog posts around security and also our safety tips we recommend that no one transfers money before viewing a property as this sounds very much like a 'long distance' landlord scam."

A spokesperson for Airbnb said that they do not advertise any properties in this manner.

"This website has nothing to do with Airbnb. Airbnb provides a secure platform for people to find, book and list unique accommodation around the world. We encourage users to report fake emails or websites to our trust and safety team on report.phishing@airbnb.com, who will investigate. "
A young Irish boy who flew to Italy for life-saving treatment has received a special blessing from Pope Francis.

One-year-old Ciaran Martin flew to Italy with his parents Leslie and Lynda Martin, from Rathnew, Co Wicklow to receive treatment for a rare condition called metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD).

The young parents also have a three-year-old boy Cathal who suffers from the disease.

The condition, which affects the nervous system, is terminal for Cathal.

Expand Close Leslie and Lynda Martin with sons Ciaran and Cathal, who have metachromatic leukodystrophy / Facebook

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However, as Ciaran was diagnosed at an earlier stage, he can take part in the trial in Italy which has been shown to delay the onset of further symptoms.

So far the family have raised 150,000 of their 250,000 target to get Ciaran to Italy to undergo the Gene Therapy programme.

Leslie's sister Sinead Martin told Independent.ie that the family were honored by a special visit by the Pope during a visit to Milan on Saturday.

"The hospital arranged for Ciaran to visit the Pope and he received a special blessing. My brother and his wife were absolutely delighted. He got a prayer from the holiness himself. Ciaran was oblivious to the whole thing but he's only one.

"They're delighted that this might help Ciaran along the way as they need any blessing they can get. Even just a split second with the Pope has helped them stay hopeful. It showed them some comfort."

Ciaran (1) began the intense Gene Therapy treatment today which requires one of his parents or family member to be with him 24 hours a day.

While partially funded, the treatment will take six months and require round-the-clock nursing care.

The family are planning to do two 12-hour shifts each day, seven days a week, and rotate between Ireland and Italy.

During this time, they will also be caring for Cathal.

"It's a very intense treatment. It's six months long and is a cutting edge trial. Ciaran will be kept in isolation during the treatment and when we're caring for him we'll have to wear a full protection suit because his immune system will be so weak," said Sinead.

She said the response to the family's fundraising has been 'amazing'.

"We've had a fantastic response and we're blown away by the support from people who have helped us get on our way."

You can help at www.idonate.ie
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

Financial Monitoring Service of Azerbaijans Financial Market Supervisory Authority has reduced the list of persons subject to international sanctions for their support of terrorism, said a report of the service posted on its website.

Saudi Arabian citizen Fahd Muhammad Al-Khashiban has been removed from the list.

This is the 7th change made to the list in 2017. The list is updated in accordance with the UN Security Councils decisions and the information received from regional organizations.

According to an order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, the international list is approved and updated by the Financial Monitoring Service based on the information received from the countrys Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The service also makes the approved list available for the monitoring and supervisory bodies. In the case of detection of properties and money belonging to legal entities and individuals specified in the list, the monitoring and supervisory bodies must inform the Financial Monitoring Service of Azerbaijan without performing any operations with these properties and funds.

The Financial Monitoring Service of Azerbaijan was established Feb. 23, 2009.

The monitoring of the service covers activities of credit, insurance and reinsurance organizations, professional participants of the securities market, pawn shops, investment funds, transactions with precious metals and stones, as well as purchase of products from them.

The monitoring of the service also covers activities of non-governmental and religious organizations, organizers of lotteries, people providing services of the real estate sales, as well as lawyers, accountants, real estate transactions, client money, securities and property, client bank and deposit accounts.
Pushing grief aside: Helen with her young son Ben (one), whose birth both reminded her of and forced her to cope with the the death of her mother several years before. Photo: Hannah Maule-Ffinch

When we found out we were going to have a baby I cried. Like a baby. Uncontrollably for quite a while and it seemed to me at the time a completely over the top reaction.

We were two 30-somethings, happy and in love, in a steady relationship and it had been carefully planned. It was expected but I lost the plot nevertheless.

Then I realised, like so many other times over the past 10 years, my hysteria was the reaction caused by the well-hidden grief of losing my mum.

No one could have asked for more in a mum. In every respect she was, to me, perfect and I loved her with all my heart and still do. We had our moments too. I shaved my head circa 1994 and the ensuing argument could be heard for miles around.

As a very small girl I can remember trying to be just like her -- my ultimate role model. In mid-December 1980, aged three, there is photographic evidence of me parading around the house pretending to smoke a small red crayon.

By Christmas that year my mum's 20-a-day habit had come to an abrupt end and a cigarette never passed her lips again. As I said, the ultimate role model: she would never run the risk of passing a bad habit on to me.

As I matured ungracefully it is fair to say we didn't always see eye to eye. A trip to Belgium aged 15 to see Lenny Kravitz with a boyfriend was (unsurprisingly) vetoed and at the time I remember huffing and puffing about the inequalities of life whilst stomping my ugly Doc Martens firmly on to her kitchen floor.

Freedoms

But she was fair when it came to matters closer to home and allowed several wild parties and countless sleepovers. I felt smug as a teenager at the freedoms I felt I was granted but now I see that she was just playing a clever parenting trick: keeping my bad behaviours close to her awareness and reigning me in when necessary.

She was always right and that infuriated me. What huge shoes to fill now that I was to become a mum myself.

So with pregnancy swelling all around me and my life, everything started to change. I was forced to start thinking of myself as the most important person in someone else's life, the way my mum had been in mine.

In hindsight these thoughts did not make me doubt myself. In fact rather arrogantly I assumed that because I had lost my mum I would be so much better equipped because I could hold her up as a shiny beacon, knowing exactly the sort of mum I wanted to be. With such a great role model I surely couldn't go wrong?

The big day rolled around and a long, exhausting labour came to a close with the professionals crowding my bed trying to convince me that an emergency caesarean was the only way to go.

The last time I saw my mum was in an operating theatre where her exploratory and routine procedure had, in fact, found a fatal thrombosis and there was nothing anyone could do for her.

The bright lights, stainless steel instruments, slow eerie beeping and a bed with cold metal sides provided the backdrop to the last of my mum's life. I said goodbye to her under the glare of those bright lights with my dad sobbing behind me.

So, whilst everyone was trying to get me to theatre for the "happiest moment of my life", all I knew was that I would be returning to the setting of the saddest moment of my life.

Fear gripped me along with the contractions, but my mother-in-law was magnificent in her role and calmed me down to the point of reason. Shortly after I was wheeled in for the fairly routine and utterly fascinating C-section.

Within minutes I became a mum myself. And quite frankly I don't think anything works as well at pushing grief and fear down into second and third place than a newborn baby boy and all the challenges that come with him.

As any new mother will tell you, my baby consumed me completely. Ben's needs were all I could focus on. But at the same time a desperate feeling of needing my mum welled up and threatened to break me.

Like never before I needed her to hold me and tell me everything would be OK; that I was doing fine in my new role.

In those first weeks guests came and went with their pastel blue helium balloons. Guests that needed feeding and at least a vacuumed floor. Mums feed you. It's what they do, right? And they feed everyone else. Often with their own food brought conveniently to your house in Tupperware. Then they vacuum the floor.

I had been aware of other mums doing this for my friends but in those initial weeks it just reminded me of my loss even more and on several occasions I found the realisation overwhelming.

Thankfully I've increasingly found that this kind of self-indulgence is something a new mum can't allow herself. There simply is no time.

As things started falling into a routine, the middle of the night feeds both delighted me and broke my heart in equal measures. I'd hear my little boy crying out in his familiar "feed me" squeal and I'd automatically head to his bedroom across the landing.

I loved this time. No matter how tired I felt, it just didn't feel like a chore. I'd stare at his face and see her every night. Not that Ben looks anything like my mum. It's just in those dark, silent moments when the world around us seemed so unimportant, I felt her close by.

Having had my son I now understand how utterly relentless it is being a parent. Because my mum isn't around to argue to the contrary, I assume she glided through motherhood.

As every good mother, she didn't allow me or my brother to see her flapping, crying in the bathroom, consumed with guilt, anger or frustration. She went about her motherly and household duties, seemingly so content, never complaining, and provided a safe, happy, problem-free life for us all.

I'm sure there were problems but she never allowed us to know about them. And I'm sure she didn't enjoy clearing our mess up, day in day out. But I don't remember her complaining. I'm trying to do the same for Ben but I don't make it look as easy as mum did. My cracks are much more visible.

When do I miss her most? At the swings watching his joy as he is pushed higher and higher. Recently, when he successfully consumed an entire bowl of porridge by himself. She would have delighted in these moments.

But more often than not it's when tiredness is almost crippling me, or the relentlessness of each day, every early start, the constant clutter to clear, meals to make, mess to sweep and mop makes me want to give up. Those are the times that my grief is compounded.

Guilty

A knot of sadness adds to whatever baby-related burden is already weighing me down. At his first birthday party a little while back, her lack of presence made me feel guilty for celebrating at all. Sometimes I am forced to run and hide (toilets are best) and let myself have a meltdown, much like my baby. And much like babies it doesn't last long.

I'll find myself wondering if she can see what's going on. If I speak directly to her, can she hear? Is she proud of what I'm doing? What sort of mum I am? Is she proud of Ben?

I'm always certain of her response to questions and I know, without doubt, she wouldn't tolerate more than a minute of self-indulgent grieving, so as quickly as the loss of her not being around hits me, it disappears and after a deep breath to steady myself I reappear.

I remember discussing our mum dying with my brother. I talked and cried for an hour as he listened awkwardly before summarising, "yeah, it's crap, but there's nothing we can do about it". End of discussion.

At the time I was angry with him for being so blase but having my baby has made me realise that he was right. Nothing will bring her back but I have a good reason to get busy and simply cope without her. Now I'm a mum myself, what else can I do?
Nicola Farrington (26) is happiest when, camera in hand, she roams around Wicklow's incredibly beautiful hills and valleys, near where she lives. "Photography is my passion," she says. "It also takes my mind off things."

Among the "things" she is referring to, is a particularly difficult skin problem that first appeared when she was 16 years old. "I started getting spots and cysts under my arms," she explains. "I thought it had to do with puberty. The cysts could be painful and would eventually burst, staining my clothing and leaving scars."

Nonetheless, she told no one about these problems; not even her parents, whom Nicola describes as incredibly supportive, selfless and loving. "I was too embarrassed," she confesses. "As a teenager, I avoided getting close to people - especially boys. You'd never see me in togs or a skimpy top. And no matter how nice my outfit was, I'd always wear a cardigan."

Nicola used to fib and tell people she got the scars (which were caused by her skin condition) from getting scraped from jumping over a barbed-wire fence. "I'm a farmer's daughter, and that's where I got that story from," she says quite candidly. As time went on, Nicola became more and more withdrawn, even though that was not her true nature. Then one day, a very big cyst on her inner thigh burst, causing her a lot of pain. This time, in floods of tears, she did turn to her mother for help. "Mam took me to the doctor, who referred me to a dermatologist at Tallaght Hospital," says Nicola. "I was told I'd have to wait two years for an appointment. Some 27 months later, I got a letter asking me if I still wanted an appointment. When I said I did, they referred me to Mount Carmel. But it closed the week before my appointment."

About two months later, Nicola was seen by Tallaght Hospital dermatologist Dr Anne-Marie Tobin, at a clinic in Naas. "Within 10 minutes, she had diagnosed me with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)," Nicola says.

According to the Irish Skin Foundation, HS is an autoimmune chronic skin condition, which is characterised by recurrent, painful, boil-like lumps or abscesses, in the armpits, groin, perianal area, buttocks or under the breasts. The condition causes the abnormal blockage of hair follicles in areas where certain sweat glands (apocrine glands) are located, leading to recurrent inflammation, nodules and abscesses. The Foundation says that there has been very little discussion about HS to date.

Dr Tobin gave Nicola some information leaflets. "I'd been hoping she would simply give me a prescription and that that would be the end of it," says Nicola. "But she had the unpleasant task of telling me that HS was a chronic condition and that it was for life. So I attend her clinic on a regular basis. But for a while after that, I lost heart, because I now knew where this was going to take me."

It was a very bitter pill for Nicola to swallow. She was only 23 years old; she was vivacious, loved life and she worked and played hard. But having cysts and boils did little for her confidence or self-esteem. "We live in a very image-conscious world," she explains. "We are bombarded by pictures of how we are supposed to look, and basically that means being flawless and perfect. When people compliment me on my clear skin, or whatever, I would think, 'If only you could see what's underneath'."

Nicola says while many friends have remained loyal and supportive, others struggled to understand her condition. "Relationships could become difficult, because I was trying to hide the symptoms," she explains. "And I couldn't always make plans, because painful cysts would suddenly pop up." And even though she had been an enthusiastic GAA athlete, she felt unable to continue with sport, because physical exertion makes her condition worse.

But in spite of all this, Nicola has bounced back. "I used to let my skin problems define who I was, but not any more," she says. "Having HS is only one aspect of who I am. And if anyone has a problem with me having this condition, then that is their issue, not mine. So, now I get on with my life and make the most of it. But I also know it's OK to have a bad day and to have a little cry from time to time."

Currently, Nicola's main focus is on raising awareness about HS. To date, she has been involved in four studies, which have highlighted some of the problems. "I feel it's very important to get involved," she says. "One of the main things that emerged from one study was the fact that while there are treatments for the physical side of HS, there is no support for the emotional aspects. When I got my diagnosis, I was only 23, and that was a very traumatic experience for me." At the time, Nicola was managing a phone shop and loved it so much thatshe happily worked long hours. But as time went on, the stress made her condition worse, so in the end she was forced to resign.

She now works for a Wicklow pharmacy, where she is mainly concerned with the photo processing side of things. "My current employers are great," says Nicola. "It's a friendly, family-orientated business and they are very understanding about my health issues."

Nicola has a careful daily routine to prevent infection and to manage wound control. But from time to time she has to have cysts lanced at the hospital. Apart from the physical symptoms, having HS has many other implications. "Because it's rare enough, it's not on the long-term illness scheme," explains Nicola, "So on top of the usual living expenses, I have to pay my medical bills. I certainly couldn't afford a psychologist."

She says that she was hospitalised recently for a different ailment, and was somewhat shocked that medical staff appeared to know very little about HS. "It's not surprising," she says, "because there is such a lack of awareness about the condition." Meanwhile Nicola urges anyone who thinks they may have HS to get medical help. "They mustn't be embarrassed to come forward, and I'd especially like them to know they are not alone."

All this brave campaigner wants is a fair deal. "We're fighting for a cure and we want our voices heard, so we get the help we need," she says. "We're not looking for sympathy, but we are asking for understanding and support."

The Irish Skin Foundation, supported by pharmaceutical company AbbVie, is hosting meetings in Dublin (April 5) and Cork (April 19) for people living with HS. For more information, see irishskin.ie/events-calendar
Jackie Nolan (44) has turned her life around and lost 11 stone in weight. Jackie who was once at rock bottom and homeless is loving life and admits that helping others is truly what she does best. Picture Ciara Wilkinson.

A woman who could not go to the cinema with her children because she was too big for the seats has turned her life around and lost 11st.

Mum-of-three Jackie Nolan's weight-loss journey began when she was told she had a rare tumour on her pancreas and needed urgent surgery to remove it.

"It is five years since I had the operation for what I was told was a condition that only affects one in three million," said Jackie (44), from Baldoyle, Co Dublin.

However, it took doctors a long time to discover the tumour, which left her so tired that she would have to go back to bed after getting her children off to school.

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She was passing out in the shower and unable to do more than make a cup of tea without becoming exhausted. Doctors were struggling to diagnose what was causing her symptoms. Once they identified the problem, Jackie had half her pancreas removed to ensure the tumour was gone. A photograph taken of her in hospital, when she was a size 30, spurred her into losing weight when she had recovered from surgery.

challenge

"I wanted to be healthy and be around for my children. We had gone through a very tough time and I wanted to meet a partner in the future," she said. "That photograph was what made me realise my next challenge was to lose weight. I lost 8st on my own and then I heard about Slimming World and I joined it in Balbriggan. Over three-and-a-half years I went from 24st 8lb to 13st 8lb."

Jackie has also come through a difficult separation and is now sole parent to her two sons and one daughter.

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She said she went from being "a homeless, hopeless woman to having my own business and being at a weight I want to be."

"I have three children who make me proud and I found love again after nine years. It all makes life worth living," she said. "My weight stopped me from doing things with my children. I could not go to the cinema because I couldn't fit into the seats. When you carry extra weight you do all you can to keep your humiliation down to a minimum."
Whenever I travel to other European cities, like Amsterdam or Paris, I inevitably find myself exclaiming repeatedly over the light in homes and cafes, and even Airbnb apartments. On coming home to Dublin, I'm on a perpetual hunt to create that light and airy feel in my own home, which always seems a little more dull and dark than its European counterparts.

If taking a sledgehammer to the outer wall in your semi-D to hack out holes for new windows is not an option, there is a plethora of little ways to make the most of what light does shine through Irish windows.

Most Irish homes just weren't built to capitalise on natural light, and can instead feel more like concrete bunkers. After years of trying to help maximise the natural light in my Irish home, I've come up with a bunch of creative ways to bring in a little extra light and bounce around what does make it through. From installing mirrors and opting for shiny, light-reflecting hardware to investing in skylights or sheer curtains, bringing more light into your home is something people on any budget can accomplish.

1 Window to your world

If your budget for maximising light in your home is on the larger side, creating new windows or installing skylights is an obvious option, depending on the layout of your home.

For five years, I lived with my husband in a tiny granny flat converted from a garage during the boom. It had two teensy-tiny bathrooms with showers that were barely big enough to turn around in. But what the apartment lacked in space, it made up for in light. Four skylights made us forget the apartment was built like the galley of a boat.

If you have the budget, installing more windows will be your best bet.

2 Lights on

I once read that a room should have no fewer than six sources of light. Crazy, right? That seems like a whole lot of lights for one small room, but consider this combination: an overhead light, one or two lamps on either side of the couch or bed, task lighting on a dresser or bookshelf for reading, and a standing lamp or two in a corner. Frankly, if you're looking to maximise light in your home, sometimes that means just bringing in more sources of it. A single room might benefit from a pendant light as well as dimmable recessed lighting. And if you're really looking to increase natural light in the daytime, choose a glass pendant that will allow light to stream through it when it's not in use.

Buy it: Lute pendant lamp, 379, Amara, amara.com

3 Wash up

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Talk about an extremely unglamorous option, but washing your windows can have an enormous impact on how much light streams through them. And you'd be surprised how a little dirt can obscure light in a major way. Mix up equal parts water and white vinegar, and use a stack of newspapers to wipe the streaks away. Upstairs windows get even less love than downstairs ones, so you might want to hire a handyman with a ladder to get the job done.

If you have shrubs or trees blocking the light coming in, break out the clippers. Keep a close eye on the direction light could come into your home and trim trees sparingly to maximise light.

4 Add gloss

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Another sneaky way to use paint to brighten up your home is to go for high-gloss paint for furniture or finishes. If you're choosing a finish, opt for something with a little shine that will bounce light around the room. If you have a DIY streak, you can repaint furniture with high-gloss or semi-gloss paint, but the key to a shiny surface is going over the whole piece with fine sandpaper between each coat. High-gloss paint is a great way to add in colours that would otherwise seem too dark.

Buy it: Alexia high-gloss drawer chest, 182, Littlewoods Ireland, littlewoodsireland.ie

5 Sheer chic

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Curtains are an essential decor tool, but they can also be doing more damage than you realise if they're too heavy or dark. Curtains are great for highlighting windows and making your home feel warm but if the fabric you choose is thick, you might be blocking light from entering. Instead, choose sheer curtains that will let in more light. Sheer curtains leave you with few options for colours or patterns. If they don't suit your style, consider layering two sets of curtains. Choose sheer curtains for the actual window and, for providing privacy when necessary, and another set of curtains to layer over them. The second set can be darker or heavier, but make sure they don't obscure any of the window when open.

6 Raise 'em up

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When you're choosing furniture, keep in mind that natural light will be able to bounce around a room that's filled with pieces which have light bases or glass tops. For coffee or side tables, or even dining tables, choose pieces that have glass or mirrored tops. With all furniture, keep in mind that the less blocky the base, the more light your room will seem. Choose a couch that has legs instead of a base that runs to the floor. Find tables and chairs with thin legs rather than heavy bases. And the downside of having to dust more often will be far outweighed by the extra light in your home.

Buy it: Conran Farley coffee table, 309, Marks & Spencer, marksandspencer.ie

7 Mirror, mirror

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Mirrors are the single fastest and most effective way to bring light into your home. A mirror hung opposite a window will instantly reflect light around the room, while making the space feel larger. If you don't have a window to hang a mirror opposite, consider what the mirror will be reflecting: make sure it's something you'd like to see in double. There are a few spots in your home that can really benefit from mirrors. First, at the end of a hallway to make it seem longer and brighter. Second, in a small living room to brighten the space. And you almost can't go wrong with a very large mirror. They can get expensive, but keep an eye out at second-hand shops for frames that you can have reflective glass put into for a much cheaper option. Mirrors have their limitations, though, and large mirrors should be avoided in the bedroom. Mirrors in the kitchen need constant cleaning.

Buy it: Brookfield wall mirror, 95, Littlewoods Ireland, littlewoodsireland.ie

8 Whitewash it

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One sure-fire, simple way to make your home seem brighter is to use light or white paint. That doesn't mean you have to stay away from colour altogether, but if your home feels cramped, examine the wall colour and get out your paintbrushes. We lived for years in a home that was painted with builder-standard magnolia paint and it felt dingy and dull, in part because of the warm tone of the paint. One weekend, I spent every waking hour repainting the walls a cool shade of white. The change was incredible. We broke up the white with colour in the areas that were already high on natural light, and even added interest by painting the lower half of a hallway charcoal to contrast with the white (see page 22).

9 Get brassy

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As with the use of mirrors and high-gloss paint, changing standard fixtures and drawer pulls for brass or metal will lend a lot of shine to a dull room. In fact, swapping standard drawer pulls or knobs with metal can change the style of a room as well. You can find great options for different fixtures on eBay (ebay.ie) or at Ikea (ikea.com./ie) but make sure you measure the distance between existing holes so that you can choose new fixtures that fit. Metal can also be a good choice for light fixtures, allowing in natural light. Update tables to those with metal legs - you'll have even more sparkle in your room.

Buy it: Broste Copenhagen Freja nesting tables, 399, Amara, amara.com

10 Frosted delight

Most people don't have the budget or freedom to start poking holes in their roof or walls to maximise light, but don't fret. There are options that don't involve major construction. First up, swapping solid exterior or interior doors for doors with window panes. You'd be surprised at how much light can enter a home just by replacing a solid front door with a frosted glass door. Likewise, swapping out solid interior doors can make a house seem brighter.

Look for antique doors with glass panels that you can cover with pretty opaque paper.

Buy it: Primed glazed Warwick door, 279, from Carroll Door Depot, Dublin and Galway, doordepot.ie
Like many other people, Sari Winckworth wasn't terribly interested in children before she had her own.

Then, when her eldest daughter Rebecca was born, she suddenly understood what all the fuss was about, "I thought there had never been a child like her on this earth," she laughs. "I was mesmerised by her and felt every little move she made was the most incredible thing,"

Sari now has three daughters with her former husband Peter, whom she married in 1986. Sadly things didn't work out between them and they went their separate ways, amicably.

Their other daughters are called Andrea and Danielle, and all four women live together in Rathmichael. "Everyone always laughs when we go anywhere together because we all look the same, and walk and talk the same way," says Rebecca, who, like her sisters, is in her 20s. "We all take after our mum, and we're clones of each other."

Now in her 50s, Sari grew up in Mount Merrion as the middle child of Louise and the late Bryan's three children. Her dad was an entrepreneur and a huge figure in business, who started his well-known office supply company, Bryan S Ryan, in the 1960s. Her mum, Louise Studley, was a leading lady with Rathmines & Rathgar Musical Society and is a fantastic bridge player. She was playing the lead role of Sari in the Noel Coward play Bittersweet while she was pregnant, which was how her first daughter got that name. "Terry Wogan was also in that play so it was an amazing cast," says Sari. "My sister Melanie's name came from Perchance to Dream, and our brother Bryan was after our dad."

Sari went to boarding school at Our Lady's School in Rathnew. She was very creative and wanted to be an interior designer, so she went off to study at the Inchbald School of Design in London. Upon her return, she established an interiors department in her dad's offices in 1982, and then set up a business called Forever Green doing office accessories - she had huge contracts, including the ESB offices and Ulster Bank. Her company evolved into luxury interiors and she developed The Winckworth Collection because she found it difficult to get high-quality bed linen for her clients. While she still has private clients and makes very high-end Italian bespoke bed linen, Sari wanted everyone to be able to sleep on beautiful quality bed linen.

She now owns and runs White & Green in Monkstown, one of the world's first organic fairtrade cotton bedding products companies. They will be exhibiting at the forthcoming house 2017 in May. "I decided to find out exactly what makes good quality cotton, and then look for a factory that could supply us with really good quality bed linen that didn't cost a fortune," she says. "We're going to go into a line of organic baby wear, towels and nightwear next. We're also starting a new range of peace silk products, starting with silk pillows."

Peace silk is where the silk has been ethically harvested. This means that rather than being killed by being boiled alive, the silkworms are freed from their cocoons and allowed to grow into adult moths.

Rebecca recalls how her mum was always very hard-working and entrepreneurial, but she also spent plenty of time with them and cheered them on at everything they did. "She was also the type of mum who let us do our own thing," she says. "It was never too strict in our house. Mum is fun, adventurous, generous, and very kind and encouraging. There is never anything that can't be achieved by us in her eyes."

Rebecca inherited her grandmother's musical talent, and was singing in choirs from the age of four. She started singing professionally and touring with Anuna at 17. After completing her degree in business and French at Trinity College, followed by a post-grad stint at business school, she went touring with shows like Ragus and Celtic Nights.

Travelling led her to question global inequality and how patterns of trade benefit some people while exploiting others. She decided to work with NGOs in Africa and Asia and then completed a master's in international development at the London School of Economics. She is now the development, labour rights and fairtrade expert at White & Green.

It's very much a family business as Danielle, who has worked as a leading international model, also works full-time in the business and is responsible for all things around design and social media. Andrea works full-time in PR and event management for Gotcha Covered. Naturally, she is in charge of marketing and events for the family business too. The girls are fantastic and bring great things individually to the business, says their proud mum.

Sari says Rebecca is very hard-working, driven and focused, and is very different in personality to herself. "I am a very dreamy Sagittarian, so I'm sure I drive her mad from time to time when she tries to keep everybody straight," she says. "Having Rebecca as a driving force behind the business is going to turn it into something fantastic."

White & Green, 18a The Crescent, Monkstown, Co Dublin. whiteandgreen.ie

Ireland's new high end interiors event, House 2017, showcasing world class interiors, art and design, is taking place in Dublin's RDS from May 26-28. Tickets: house-event.ie
You might hate Monday, but you'll love our selection of the week's best travel offers...

197pp: Whisk yourself to Windsor

SuperBreak.ie has return flights to London Gatwick, two nights at the Holiday Inn, Windsor, and entry to Windsor Castle and State Apartments from 197pp. The trip is based on an April 21 departure, and coincides with the Queen's 91st birthday. 01 695-0000; superbreak.ie.

209pp: Summer starts with Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus has released a wave of transatlantic fares from 209, for travel from April until October. The fares, which come with a 23kg baggage allowance and full services, are valid for booking until midnight on April 10. aerlingus.com.

299pp: A week in Dubrovnik

Concorde Travel has an Easter break in Croatia, departing April 9, from 399pp. The packages includes flights from Dublin and seven nights at the 3-star Antuninska Apartments, in the Old City of Dubrovnik, from 399pp. 01 775-9300; concordetravel.ie.

319pp: Get to Gran Canaria

Falcon Holidays has a week in Gran Canaria, one of the Canary Islands, departing May 11 from 319pp. The trip includes 3-star, self-catering accommodation at Cay Beach Meloneras. 1850 45 35 45; falconholidays.ie.

1,290pp: #TotesAmazeHols South Africa

GoHop.ie has a new #TotesAmazeHols collection, full of holidays designed to amaze their clients. Included are a 10-night trip to South Africa from 1,290pp, and seven nights of five-star luxury in the Seychelles from 1,979pp. Flights extra. 01 241-2372; gohop.ie.

NB: All travel deals subject to availability/change.
In the media blizzard following the Mayo helicopter tragedy and the London terrorist attack last week, the report that Jimmy Breslin had passed on to that great newsroom in the sky went almost unnoticed. And maybe that's how he would have wanted it.

They don't bestow honours lightly in the Big Apple, but when it came to the journalist and author who had called the city his beat for all his 88 years, nobody would dare deny he wasn't the ultimate 'Prince of the City'. An Irish-American who wore his heritage with a proud swagger, he was a Pulitzer prize-winning champion of the little guy who regularly transformed his rage at political corruption into deadly heat-seeking missiles fashioned from the 26 letters of the alphabet.

His newspaper columns were required reading - after all, where else would you get the inside line straight from the mouths of characters like Fat Thomas, Klein the Lawyer and Marvin the Torch.

"You climb the stairs, all the stories are at the top of the stairs," he once explained of a work ethic that saw him meet deadlines with a snarl of derision as he chomped down on his Cuban cohiba.

"Phone calls meant stories," his son James recalled at the funeral. "The phone rang and he went. Simple as that."

Jimmy Breslin straddled the eras from hot type printing presses up to digital hard drives with an instinct for the story that went back to Edward R Murrow, Walter Winchell and Walter Cronkite. He was the chosen correspondent of David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam serial killer, and the only reporter who thought to interview the two NYPD cops who took John Lennon's body to the hospital.

And on November 25, 1963, as 500 other journalists waited impatiently at Arlington Cemetery for sightings of Jackie, he ambled unnoticed across the lawns to get the story of the year from Clifton Pollard, the gravedigger on $3.01 an hour to dig the final resting place of JFK. When he won the Pulitzer in 1986, the committee noted that his columns "consistently championed ordinary citizens" - a fair description of this son of an alcoholic father who went out to buy cigarettes one day and never returned.

Jimmy Breslin could empathise with the gamblers, crooks and grifters whose phone numbers littered the pages of his black address book, a journalist who drank too much, gambled on the wrong horses and borrowed high interest loans from wiseguys called Solly and Moe. Like Churchill, his constant need for funds spurred the writer in him, often dashing off 5,000 words before lunch.

No stranger to every section of the newspaper, he excelled at sports commentary, and particularly the ill-fated New York Mets of 1962 - the team with the worst losing record since 1900. In a city where losers are never loved, Breslin understood the team's unique and unwavering place close to the heart of all New Yorkers.

"This is the team for every guy who has to get out of bed in the morning and go to work for short money on a job he does not like, and for every woman who looks up 10 years later to see her husband eating dinner in a T-shirt and wondering how the hell she ever let this guy talk her into getting married." Like Wilde's line that we are all in the gutter, but some are looking at the stars, Breslin knew the most revealing emotions are often found among the vanquished: "You always went to the losers' dressing room - that's where the story was."

One summer's evening in the late 1980s, I was waiting in The Lion's Head in Greenwich Village for a date who never showed. My maudlin reverie was suddenly interrupted as the door crashed open to reveal four highly-animated individuals, each trying to out shout the others with accounts of the fight they'd all just been to at Madison Square Garden.

The only one I recognised was Tom Wolfe, whose novel, 'Bonfire of the Vanities', was rocketing up the bestsellers lists. I knew nothing then - Wolfe's drinking mates were Pete Hamill, Malachy McCourt and Jimmy Breslin, an Irish literary mafia sharing the same counter as me. Picking up on my fresh-off-the-plane accent, Breslin inquired in his trademark Queens growl: "So, whadda ya wanna do, kid?"

I'd like to write, I stuttered.

"Well, just remember, never trust a great idea unless it survives the hangover," he said.

As an epitaph for someone who was a true prince of the city, it pretty much said it all.
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John Downing Opinion New British prime minister Rishi Sunaks succession proves an important milestone in British political inclusivity

There is an old saying in British politics that goes: The right looks for converts while the left seeks out traitors. It comes to mind when one reflects upon the election of Rishi Sunak as the UKs first non-white prime minister in a party traditionally seen as most opposed to mass immigration and the dilution of national identity via multiculturalism.
Killarney-based manufacturing firm Tricel is one of many Enterprise Ireland supported companies that is reaping the rewards of true commitment to the market.

When manufacturing firm Tricel recognised in 2011 that its business in France was going to be substantial, it decided to set up a factory in Poitiers and employ French people on the ground. This has been a cornerstone of success for the company there, which up until 2008 was mainly focused on Ireland and the UK.

Now with 25 people based in France, Tricel is in the process of kitting out a second plant in Avignon. It has started recruiting for this new operation in the south-east of the country, which will play a pivotal role as a key assembly, logistics and distribution centre.

Established in Killarney, Co Kerry in 1973 by Ann and Con Stack, Tricel is a provider of high performance solutions for the water, environmental, construction and materials industries with 12 operating locations across Europe.

In 2008 the company developed a range of waste-water treatment solutions in tandem with its market diversification strategy. Sales of these products have doubled year-on-year over the past four years in France, which now accounts for around 15% of Tricels overall revenues, according to managing director Mike Stack.

Tricel currently employs a total of 350 people with 134 based at its headquarters in Killarney. Since 2010 we have doubled our headcount and plan to employ 600 people across the group by 2020, says Stack.

In France, we are a French company with French people on the ground and a nationwide French distribution network. We have a managing director in France and the back-up of a lot of French-speaking staff both locally and in Killarney.

It is hugely important to understand that French people like buying from people in their own country. There is great security in knowing that if they buy a product, especially if it is technical, there are engineers on hand and a factory to visit.

The fact that Tricel chose to appoint a local man as managing director for France is a big lesson for other Irish companies to learn from, according to Sinead Lonergan, manager of Enterprise Irelands Paris office.

If you want to grow in France you need to hire a local person who understands the complexities of doing business and managing teams there, she says.

The culture and labour laws are very different. Irish companies have managed the French market to a certain stage from home. It is preferable however to take on a French country manager or appoint someone of another nationality that has been based in France a long time. This can really help an Irish company to scale in France.

Knowing the market

The first step to achieving success in France is to invest time and effort in market research  an approach which has also paid dividends for Tricel, Lonergan notes.

The key reason why Tricels business took off in France is that it became aware of a market opportunity created by a regulatory change. This was its green flag to enter the market and it reacted very quickly.

It was targeting a deeply French and local market  waste-water treatment systems for one-off properties in the smallest of towns  so there was a lot of legwork involved to build sales. Enterprise Ireland had a member of staff working closely with the company in the early days as it toured the country meeting people.

The regulatory change Lonergan refers to was an announcement by the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and the Sea in 2009 that a Government licence would be required from then on for waste-water treatment systems for one-off houses.

Tricel happened to be at the trade fair in Evreux where the announcement was made and immediately went about getting the licence for its sewage treatment products. It was one of the first companies outside France to be granted the licence, in 2011.

Last May Tricel was granted an additional government licence, for its new Seta waste-water treatment tank. This innovative product is suitable for both constant and intermittent use, making it ideal for a range of functions including holiday homes as well as larger applications such as rural school developments. It has been very well received in the market so far, notes Stack.

There are currently 500 Irish companies selling into France and indigenous Irish exports to the market have been growing by around 5% over the past few years. Success has been achieved in a mixture of sectors including construction, lifesciences and retail, and in recent years there has been particular momentum in the ICT area, notes Lonergan.

Around 60 Irish companies have a direct presence in France and the number setting up offices or employing people on the ground is growing, she says.

France is not a market for the fainthearted. It requires good resources and resilience. But I would always say it is there for the taking once you do your homework. If you do break the market you will really make it here.

Market entry tips  France

Sinead Lonergan, manager of Enterprise Irelands Paris office, shares her key pieces of advice to companies keen to succeed in the French market:

* French companies are becoming more and more open to partnering with Irish companies, particularly if they have innovative technologies. This is an effective strategy for Irish companies struggling to internationalise as the French market can be quite complex. It can help them to strengthen or accelerate their market entry. Seven Irish companies  Combilift, Novareus, Transpoco, Ding, Vigitrust, Xintec and Gaelectric  signed contracts with French partners recently.

* If you plan to attend a trade fair in France, it is advisable to carry out research in advance to establish which distributors you want to target. Know everything about them before you get there so you are in a position of power, rather than just meeting distributors randomly. You could take on a French-speaking intern to do a few months of research or a full-time French speaker if you are really committed.

* All business has to be conducted in French and it is important to learn how things are done locally. Go to the market as much as possible to meet with people and become familiar with the environment. Dont just focus on Paris as there is a lot of business activity in other cities and smaller towns.

* When looking to sell to large French companies it is important to note that the business culture involves lots of meetings and is very conservative. A PowerPoint presentation is very important if youre going to be pitching to a complex group in a large organisation. The first slide needs to include figures or you will lose your audience. You will only get one shot so you have to impress them first time round.

* Irish companies need to properly resource their marketing teams and invest in digital marketing if they want to sell into France. It is no secret that if you optimise your website you will sell more. There is a big move towards digitalisation in France, which means that any sort of basic product will have to embrace digital marketing.

To read more about Tricels exporting strategy and other case studies, click here.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan signed a protocol on expansion of bilateral cooperation in the railway sector, press service of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC reported.

The document was signed following a meeting of Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways Javid Gurbanov and First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Uzbekistans Parliament Sodiq Safoyev.

During the meeting, Gurbanov elaborated on the reforms carried out in Azerbaijans railway sector, the work aimed at increasing transit capacity and future goals.

The work to construct the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway in the territory of Georgia is being completed, according to him.

During the meeting, the sides also discussed the bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan Railways and Uzbekistan Railways.
Becoming a beauty queen, winning Miss Ireland and moving to New York were never part of Aoife Walsh's plan.

Life was planned out; there would be study, a HDip, and a teaching career. As it happened, nothing panned out as she expected. At 27, she has just taken her biggest, most unlikely leap yet - earlier this year she moved to New York and got signed with an agency, in the hope that her career as an influencer and model will gain further traction there.

"I've been modelling for a few years in Ireland, and I wanted a new challenge, and to experience something different. I'd always wanted to live in New York; it's that dream a lot of people have. I decided to just come over and put a couple of feelers out and see if anyone would bite about joining an agency here. To see if that would be a possibility for me."

She attended three agencies that she liked the look of, to open-casting calls, and, as it turned out, all three offered her a contract. It's daunting, and much more competitive than Ireland, she says, but she's loving the new experience. It helps that her Irish boyfriend lives there as well, and that she plans to come home regularly - when we speak, it's just three weeks since she moved over and she's heading back to Ireland for her first visit home. "I'm very much a home bird, and I very much miss my mum and dad," says Aoife, whose mother first urged her on to enter the Miss Ireland competition.

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From the outset, the Irish model has always been in something of a rush to get started, to succeed. It's an attitude that should serve her well in her new home. Having skipped transition year in school - "I just wanted to get going with my life" - she was just 17 starting her BA in economics and geography in UCC. "I was a bit of a go-getter. I suppose I still am," she muses. "I definitely would consider myself an ambitious person."

Teaching was the aim, but, unusually for one so intent on her studies, getting into the course proved difficult. "I didn't get it. I was gutted. I was really disappointed," she says of applying for the HDip in teaching and education after her degree. "I suppose it was the first time in my life where I wanted to do something, and I had the door shut," she reflects. Sitting around was clearly not an option, so it was on to a master's in the University of Limerick, tutoring in a Youthreach centre in Waterford, and studying accountancy at night. The rather brutal workload sounds almost like a form of self-punishment.

"I grew up that year," she recalls. "I went out about five times in the whole year. I was determined to do quite well in my master's. And I did. I was like, 'Thank God. Thank God'," she repeats emphatically. There's a pause in her resolutely chipper manner. You get the impression that the minor failure had cut rather deeply. She applied again for the teacher-training course. "And I didn't get it again. Second time around." Even now she looks faintly baffled by this, and the sense of relief is palpable when she moves on; third time around, she was offered UCC and Trinity.

She chose Trinity, moving from her native Tipperary; her first time living in the city. "It was a really exciting time for me," she recalls. She was newly single, her then boyfriend having emigrated. "That was very sad, of course, but we stayed in touch," she says briskly.

As it turned out, the year at Trinity was "a really, really hard year". As well as college, she was teaching, which was unpaid. To cover rent and bills, she worked as a model in the Abercrombie & Fitch store, having been scouted in Dundrum Town Centre. "Hey, what's going on? Welcome to Abercrombie & Fitch," she intones. "I mean, you folded [clothes] sometimes as well."

Modelling wasn't an obvious choice. "It was the first time I had ever done anything modelesque. I was just thrilled to be included," she smiles. "I knew nothing of anything like that. I was aware of it, but I kind of always thought, 'Oh, I'm not good enough for that'. But I was thrilled and I really, really enjoyed the job. It was definitely a confidence boost." That summer, working in Abercrombie & Fitch, she thought she'd wait until September, and see if a teaching job came up.

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On the side, she had entered Miss University. It was nerve-wracking, she recalls. "I just kept smiling. I would have considered myself a country girl. Considered myself not really good enough, not tall enough for to be a Miss." Coming third was a huge confidence boost.

The next year, she almost didn't enter the Miss Tipperary heat. "I remember sitting by the fire with my mum. I was bowled over with school work. I was like, 'I don't know if I'll go. I've so much to do. I dunno if I'll bother'. My mum said to me - and I'll never forget this - she was like, 'Aoife, if you're going to sit here at the fire tonight with me, will you regret not going up, not doing it'. And I was like, 'Yeah, I will'. She was like, 'Just go up. Get into the car now and go up'."

There's an unabashed sense of ambition about Aoife that's refreshing, and charming in its own way. It's the same quality of moxie that you associate with Reese Witherspoon in her lighter films. You suspect it might come with a perfectionism that could, at times, make Aoife quite hard on herself. Physically, she's a much prettier version of Bree from Desperate Housewives; outwardly, she's all perfectly coiffed hair and immaculate make-up - which might cloak an inner steel. There's a faint suggestion of an old-style, 1950s femininity.

Winning Miss Ireland was, she says, one of the best moments of her life. At the competition, the question she was asked was, "What is the worst thing that ever happened to you, how did you deal with it, and how did you overcome it?"

"I said,'I need a minute'," she recalls, at which the crowd crowed, "Oooooh".

"I didn't want to give a dreary answer. In my mind, I was flashing through moments of my life. It was like a lightbulb went off. 'I have it, I have the answer!'," she remembers thinking triumphantly. Not getting the HDip first time was the answer: "The first time being told I couldn't do something that I wanted to do". In a masterclass in the classic 'beauty queen overcomes hardship' narrative, Aoife elaborated on how she went on to deal with the disappointment, by getting more education, working with disadvantaged kids, and showing she had a vocation for her chosen occupation.

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A lot of people said to her afterwards that she knew she was going to win, but she says actually, she didn't. She even had a holiday booked for the day after the Miss Ireland final. Unexpectedly, the world of beauty pageantry allowed her greater freedom than she had ever known in her adult life, and provided her with the impetus to let loose a little.

"I really liked it, because it wasn't heavy," she explains. "I was so used to being so academic and constantly working really hard. I just felt that this was a little bit more fun. I was at a stage in my life where I just wanted to do something a little bit lighter. I felt that the HDip year, it nearly finished me off. I stood back and was like, 'I'm 23, I've done three degrees'. I kind of was like, 'OK, I've achieved a lot'. I was exhausted."

Typically though, she didn't rest on her laurels. To create a career out of modelling, "you have to work really, really hard", she says firmly. "You win Miss Ireland and it is a fantastic platform. I am proof of that. I really pushed myself to work at modelling."

Now, she's scored major campaigns for Newbridge Silverware and Ryanair, and a stint presenting her own show for the now defunct Irish TV. You suspect that a TV travel show might be next on the bucket list she confesses to having. "My dream job growing up was Kathryn Thomas's in No Frontiers." Her Instagram posts are peppered with hashtags about her regular travels, #aoifetravels, pointedly setting travel up as part of her brand.

"I've always been one to have a game plan," she reflects.

She took a lot of last summer off, and some of it was taken up with planned travels. As it turned out, the break was necessary, as Aoife had approached her modelling career with the same exhausting determination as her college studies. "I'd been working really hard since I won Miss Ireland. I really kind of threw myself into modelling, and the scene and the industry. And I kind of said, 'I want to enjoy life a little bit'. I suppose I have a pattern of taking on a lot. I never want to say no. And I try and do everything, because I just want to grab every opportunity."

However, her self-imposed hiatus took an unexpected turn, when in August last year, while on holiday in Greece, she fractured her arm after slipping on the way to breakfast in the hotel. "The very minute I hit the marble ground, I knew that something was really wrong. I had never felt pain like that before.

"When something like that happens, it's so unexpected. I was expecting to just go back to work, and go back to normal, and I really had to take additional time out that I hadn't forseen." Unable to look after herself, Aoife went home to her parents for a time.

"It was kind of a tough time, because you get so frustrated. I was disappointed that I had to take more time out. I wasn't depressed or anything, I think I was just a little bit lonely," she says, laughing her tinkling laugh. "I wanted to be out and about."

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For now, it's New York, and an attempt to carve out something there. "I really enjoy what I do. It's not going to last forever, so I always just like to live in the moment, and enjoy it while I can," she reflects. "I push myself to do my best. I think it's because I don't want to have any regrets about anything, ever. I suppose that's why I take on a lot."

And if it doesn't work out, there is always teaching. "I'll go back when the time is right," she smiles. "When I'm too old and nobody wants me any more."

Photographed by Kip Carroll

Styling by Liadan Hynes

Hair by Roy Leigh, Brown Sugar, 36 Main St, Blackrock, Co Dublin, tel: (01) 210-8630

Make-up by Dearbhla Keenan, Brown Sugar, 50 South William St, D2, tel: (01) 616-9967, or see brownsugar.ie

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The Brandeis University biophysicist spent three years researching, creating and perfecting the design.

Theres nothing worse for wine drinkers than pouring a large glass of vino, only for it to run down the neck of the bottle creating a sticky mess.

One man who shares the same pain is Daniel Perlman  a lover of wine, inventor and biophysicist at Brandeis University in Massachusetts  yet hes now figured out how to combat the problem.

Perlman spent three years analysing the flow of liquid throughout a variety of different wine bottles and discovered by cutting a groove just below the lip, drinkers can enjoy a drip-free glass of wine.

Studying video after video of glasses of wine being poured in slow motion, Perlman found drippage was at its highest when the bottle was full, or close to full.

He also observed the stream of wine tended to curl under the lip and run down the botte because glass, being hydrophilic, actually attracts water.

With the help of engineer Greg Widberg, Perlman chiselled a circular groove around the neck of the bottle using a diamond-studded tool. The new design meant droplets of wine that were usually destined to drip, fell straight into the glass.

It took a while for Perlman to perfect the specifics of the groove, though he finally found a width of 2mm and depth of 1mm were the optimal dimensions.

While there are already products designed to prevent wine spillage, they all require buying an additional device to use alongside the wine bottle.

Perlman has approached bottle manufacturers with his design in the hopes they may adopt it for their products.
The First Minister wants to hold another vote on leaving the UK between autumn 2018 and spring 2019.

Youre probably aware that during a visit to Scotland, Prime Minister Theresa May met with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on the subject of a second independence referendum.

The meeting came just a day before the Scottish Parliament is expected to pass a vote in favour of seeking another independence referendum, and two days before May is due to trigger Article 50.

Heres everything you need to know about the discussions between the two leaders.

Remind us again where the two leaders stood on the subject of a second referendum before the meeting?

Sturgeon wants to hold another vote on leaving the UK between autumn 2018 and spring 2019  a timescale May is set to reject.

May has said a referendum during that period would be unfair to voters because they would not have all the necessary information to make a choice.

Ahead of the meeting, May told reporters her position will not change on Sturgeons call for a referendum by spring 2019.

So, what has Sturgeon said about it all following the meeting?

She said the Prime Minister has no rational argument against a second independence referendum.

Sturgeon insisted the Prime Minister had been clear the terms of the UKs divorce from the EU and the details of a new free trade deal would be known within two years.

I think it makes it very difficult for the Prime Minister to maintain a rational opposition to a referendum in the timescale I have set out, Sturgeon said.

I think she has got a perfectly rational opposition to a referendum now, which is why I am not proposing it.

But I think based on the discussion today I would struggle to see what her rational opposition to it would be in the timescale we have been talking about.

What has Sturgeon said she will do if her call for another referendum is formally rejected?

Sturgeon said: I will set that out in due course. I actually have views in my mind around that.

If their position remains as it is right now, I will set out to Parliament what I think the next steps should be.

And has Mays position on the referendum changed?

Nope. She said: My position is very simple and it hasnt changed.

It is that now is not the time to be talking about a second independence referendum and thats for a couple of reasons.

First of all, now is the point when we are triggering Article 50, were starting negotiations for leaving the European Union. Now is the time when we should be pulling together, not hanging apart. Pulling together to make sure we get the best possible deal for the whole of the UK.

Also I think it would be unfair on the people of Scotland to ask them to make a significant decision until all the facts were known, at a point where nobody knows what the situation is going to be.

Later in an address to staff at the Department for International Development in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, she said: As Britain leaves the European Union and we forge a new role for ourselves in the world, the strength and stability of our Union will become even more important.

Any notable reaction to the news which we should know about?

Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said: Nicola Sturgeon has once again failed to act today as a First Minister for all of Scotland.

We are just about to enter the most important international negotiations this country has taken part in for decades, and all the First Minister can think about is raising a timetable for a referendum that most people in Scotland dont want.

The SNP has shown that it is interested only in process rather than substance.

Nicola Sturgeon has made it clear she no longer wants to govern for everyone in Scotland, she just wants to use meetings with the Prime Minister to further her campaign for separation.
The sunken Sewol ferry lies sideways on a transport vessel after being raised from the seabed during the salvage operation in waters off the southern island of Jindo. Photo: GETTY

Salvage crews have raised the South Korean ferry that sank in 2014 on to a transport vessel, completing the most difficult part of the massive effort to bring the ship back to shore.

It will take up to two weeks to bring the Sewol, in which 304 people died, to a port 80km away so investigators can search for the remains of nine missing victims.

Most of the victims were students on a high school trip when the 6,800-ton ferry capsized on April 16, 2014, triggering national grief and soul searching about long-ignored public safety and regulatory failures.

Public outrage over what was seen as a botched rescue by the government contributed to the recent ousting of Park Geun-hye as president.

"We just got over one hump ... we are trying hard to stay calm," said Lee Geum-hee, the mother of a missing schoolgirl.

Once the ferry reaches land, it will take about a month for the ship to be cleaned and evaluated for safety.

Investigators will then enter the wreckage and begin a three-month search for the remains of the missing victims and for clues further illuminating the cause of the sinking, which has been blamed on overloaded cargo.
Eight people are feared dead and two were in critical condition on Monday after an avalanche hit a group of high school students and teachers climbing in central Japan.

It was not immediately clear how many of the victims were students, an official said.

The avalanche occurred on Monday morning near a ski slope in Nasu, 160 km (100 miles) north of Tokyo, where 52 high school students and 11 teachers were climbing, a local government official said.

The eight showed no vital signs, officials said. Japanese officials typically do not declare victims dead until a doctor has made a formal announcement.

"We have avalanche incidents once or twice a year around here, but haven't had anything this big," a fire department official said.
Al-Shabab has been behind a number of attacks in Somalia (AP)

Kenya's military said it has killed 31 al-Shabab extremists in southern Somalia, but the Islamic militant group denies it.

The Kenyan military said on Monday that its ground troops were supported in the Sunday raid by helicopter gunships and artillery fire to strike two al-Shabab bases in the Baadhade district.

However, al-Shabab later denied the Kenyan military's report.

Sheikh Abdiaziz Abu Musab, the military spokesman of al-Shabab said that no attack was carried out on al-Shabab bases, calling the Kenyan military's claims a "fabrication".

Kenya's military is part of the African Union Mission in Somalia bolstering the government against an insurgency by the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab.

More than 22,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Somalia in the multinational African Union force.

Al-Shabab are fighting to establish a strict Islamic emirate in Somalia.

Despite being ousted from most of its key strongholds in south and central Somalia, al-Shabab continues to launch deadly guerrilla suicide bombings and guerrilla attacks against government targets and African Union forces across large parts of the Horn of Africa nation.

AP
Authorities have confirmed the body found inside a suitcase in an Italian port is not the Dublin-based woman who went missing during a Mediterranean cruise last month.

Local police told Italian media the Asian woman found in Rimini most likely died of starvation, showing signs of extended physical suffering.

It was suspected that the body was linked to Chinese-born Li Yinglei, who disappeared when she boarded a cruise ship with her husband Daniel Belling and two children on February 10.

It has now been ruled out the woman found has any connection to the ongoing investigation, following an autopsy.

Italys Ansa news agency stated that authorities are now "certain" the body is not that of Ms Li.

Police found no evidence of a violent death and believe the woman, who is yet to be identified, may have been close to death when she was put into the suitcase.

"She looked as if shed come out of a concentration camp," the news agency quoted.

The body is understood to be six or seven inches taller than that of Li Yinglei and would have not been in water longer than 10 days.

Ms Li went missing more than one month ago.

A passer-by discovered the remains of the woman, locked in a blue suitcase on Saturday and raised the alarm.

The suitcase in which the woman was found does not match that of Ms Li, which has been missing since her disappearance.

Her suitcase was orange and black, while this one is understood to be blue.

Mr Bellings lawyer Luigi Conti visited his client at the Regina Coeli prison in Rome this morning and said that his client was shocked by the latest development.

Mr Conti said he is still attempting to have Mr Belling released on bail and to be allowed to stay in an apartment in the city instead.

An attempt earlier this month was quashed by a judge involved in the case.

Mr Belling has repeatedly denied involvement in the disappearance of his wife after he was arrested by Italian police at an airport in Rome on February 17.

The family were had been on the MSC Magnifica cruise ship since February 9, but Ms Li Yinglei has not been seen since February 10.
The airport which is the main target of the Governments ban on electronic devices has a security flaw that renders rigorous checks futile, The Independent can reveal.

After clearing six separate security hurdles at Istanbul airport, passengers bound for London Heathrow mingled in the gate area with newly arrived travellers who had faced no extra checks/

Starting at the weekend, the Department for Transport made it mandatory for airlines flying from Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia to the UK to remove laptop computers, tablets and e-readers from passengers' cabin baggage. They must be transported in the hold.

Professor Anthony Glees, director of the centre for security and intelligence studies at the University of Buckingham, told The Independent the ban defies logic.

If security is lax in any airports - which we know it to be in some more than others - then the answer is not to let anybody take anything electronic, not simply to single out laptops, he said.

If you are going to keep your house safe you have got to lock it up, you cannot lock it up sometimes and sometimes not.

Terrorists will always go for the weakest link in the chain and this demonstrates a non existent link in Istanbul, which means that the idea that this policy makes sense is thrown into the wastepaper basket.

The ban is based on intelligence suggesting an al-Qaeda plot to bring down an aircraft with explosives concealed in consumer electronics.

The airport most affected by the British ban, in terms of passenger numbers, is Istanbul Ataturk. It is the hub for Turkish Airlines, which has up to six flights a day to Heathrow, as well as two daily departures to Manchester, 10 a week to Birmingham and five a week to Edinburgh.

British Airways also flies from Istanbul to Heathrow, while AtlasGlobal flies from the airport to Stansted.

In total, around 2,500 people fly from Istanbul to the UK in a typical day.

"If there is specific intelligence then the ban is justified - but in that case the airport should have been boycotted altogether. You cannot be half in and half out, half locked and half unlocked," Professor Glees said.

"Everybody has an interest in making airport security as good as it possibly can be and Turkish airports cannot be a weak link because we are all interconnected."

Istanbul airport already has heightened security following a terrorist attack in June 2016 in which more than 40 passengers and staff were killed by gunmen. Vehicles entering the airport area are searched, and all passengers face additional screening before they reach check in.

Passengers for the UK are now checked in at a separate area alongside flights to Israel. Besides the standard screening to go airside, three extra security hurdles have been added. The last, at the entrance to the departure gate, is a thorough hand search of cabin baggage. Any device bigger than a standard smartphone is confiscated and put in a special sealed case which is then opened on arrival at Heathrow.

Passengers on flight TK1983 on Saturday evening seemed resigned to increased security. Lesley Abdela from East Sussex said: Its just added to the stresses of travel. Travels not a pleasure any more.

Gary Mackay, who was in transit from the Seychelles via Istanbul on a journey home to London, said: Theyre doing a thorough job. Ive got no complaints whatsoever.

His wife, Anid, said they had learned about the new rules while on holiday, but said the restrictions could come as a shock to some travellers: If you were somewhere like the Seychelles and you werent checking the news on a regular basis, you would have missed it.

But as the heavily screened travellers were waiting to board the Heathrow flight at Gate 202, an entire planeload of arriving passengers wandered through what was supposed to be a security-sterile area.

It was an alarming example of a failure to look at the bigger security picture. I watched while security staff diligently discovered and removed PlayStations and Kindles from travellers heading for Heathrow  yet no one noticed that 100-plus passengers, who had not been screened for devices, were mingling in the gate lounge.

Philip Baum, editor of Aviation Security International magazine, said it was a fundamental flaw that made a mockery of the new rules. There is no value in restricting people carrying laptops through checkpoints if they can be given them, or other items, just prior to boarding, he said.

The Independent reported the breach to Turkish Airlines and the UK Department for Transport.

Many aviation figures have questioned the value of the UK ban, which is a variant of similar rules imposed earlier by the US. Anyone seeking to take large electronic devices in the aircraft cabin from Istanbul to Britain needs only fly to Amsterdam, Paris or any of dozens of other airports and change there for an onward flight to the UK.

Airlines affected by the ban are likely to suffer financially. Mr Mackay said: Well choose a different airline and a different route next time.

Business travellers choosing flights affected by the ban will be required to check in earlier than normal. They will be unable to work on their laptops on board. And if they are accustomed to travelling with cabin baggage only, they will need to wait for checked luggage to arrive on the baggage carousel on arrival.

The Department for Transport said in a statement: The additional security measures may cause some disruption for passengers and flights, and we understand the frustration that will cause, but our top priority will always be to maintain the safety of British nationals.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

The first cargo has arrived at the Baku International Sea Trade Port from Kazakhstans new port Kuryk, reads a message from Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC.

Freight cars were sent from the Kuryk port Mar. 24 on the Barda ferry, belonging to the Azerbaijani company, and they arrived at the Baku International Sea Trade Port in Alat the next day.

Management of the Kuryk port observed the mooring of the Barda ferry and the process of loading of the cars, both of which proceeded successfully, said the message.

The Kuryk port with a total area of 40 hectares is located on the Trans-Caspian international transport route, which is of great importance for handling the cargo going via this route.

The role of the Kuryk ferry complex will significantly increase in the future. Infrastructure work is ongoing in the ports territory. Currently, construction of another berth for Ro-Ro and Ro-Pax vessels is underway there, reads the message.

The new complex is located closer to the Baku port, than the Aktau port, through which transit was carried out previously.

Voyage from Kuryk to Baku takes 18 hours, while from Aktau it takes 22 hours, said the message.

Experience of Azerbaijani seamen and the Baku International Sea Trade Port was taken as a basis during the construction of the Kuryk port. It is also noteworthy that the first vessel sent from Kuryk was the Azerbaijani ferry Shahdag, which was sent in the test mode on Dec. 7, 2016.

Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC is the sole operator of ferries in the Caspian Sea.
Britain's ban on laptops and tablets being carried as cabin baggage on inbound flights from a group of Middle East countries could be extended to all flights.

It was announced on Tuesday that passengers will no longer be able to carry large electronic devices on inbound flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

It will theoretically stop a terrorist on an affected flight from physically triggering a bomb concealed in a laptop and would ensure any explosion takes place in the hold, away from other passengers.

Yesterday, British Home Secretary Amber Rudd hinted that the ban could be extended - potentially affecting millions of travellers.

Asked why such devices were not banned from all flights if bombs can be hidden in them, Ms Rudd told BBC One's 'Andrew Marr Show': "It's difficult to say how far this will go, whether we may at some stage arrive at that place. But at the moment the Government has made the decision on where to have that ban in place based on intelligence we've received."

The move was ordered by Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday in the latest of a series of meetings on aviation security.

Ms Rudd said the ban was based on intelligence assessments.

However, it was not immediately clear whether the move was introduced in response to a general terror threat or a specific plot from the likes of al-Qa'ida.

It follows a similar measure announced last Tuesday by the US authorities affecting flights originating in a longer list of eight mainly Muslim countries.

UK airlines operating direct flights which are being hit by the new measures are British Airways, easyJet, Jet2.com, Monarch, Thomas Cook and Thomson.

Overseas airlines affected are Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airways, Atlas-Global Airlines, Middle East Airlines, EgyptAir, Royal Jordanian, Tunis Air and Saudia.

The ban covers devices larger than a typical smartphone and means that all bigger gadgets, including Kindles and other e-readers, will have to go in the luggage holds of aircraft.

The restriction covers any electronic device measuring 16cm (6.3in) by 9.3cm (3.7in) by 1.5cm (0.6in).

This includes laptops and tablets, as well as some gaming systems, and large smartphones.
Participants in the Women's March, gather on Westminster Bridge to hold hands in silence, to remember victims of the attack in Westminster earlier in the week, in London, Britain March 26, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall

Westminster attacker Khalid Masood's teenager daughter allegedly "defied his orders" to join the Muslim culture and wore a revealing dress to prom instead of a burqa.

Teegan Harvey (18) refused her father's demands to convert to Islam and continues to live a western life with her mother Jane Harvey, according to The Sun.

The teenager posted an image of herself in a revealing black dress at her prom last year in an English Grammar School, instead of a burqa at her father's demands.

Teegan's eldest sister, Andi (24), converted to Islam six years ago and went to live with her dad in Brimingham.

Expand Close Attacker: Khalid Masood. Photo: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire / Facebook

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According to The Sun she changed her name to an Arabic one and wears a burqa.

Jane and Teegan have reportedly been keeping a low profile at their home in Tunbridge Wells, trying to digest the shocking attack carried out by Masood.

The father-of-two, believed to have "inspired by international terrorism", brought death and destruction to the streets of London last week.

Five people were killed in the "sick and depraved" terror attack, including a police officer who was stabbed and his assailant, while dozens more were injured.
Dr Syllm-Rapoport, who was part-Jewish, moved to the US in 1938 after being prevented from defending her doctoral thesis by the Nazis' race laws

Ingeborg Syllm-Rapoport, who became Germany's oldest recipient of a doctorate almost 80 years after fleeing the Nazis, has died aged 104.

A specialist in newborn care, Dr Syllm-Rapoport was cheered when she passed her oral exam at the University of Hamburg with flying colours at the age of 102 in 2015.

Dr Syllm-Rapoport, who was part-Jewish, moved to the US in 1938 after being prevented from defending her doctoral thesis by the Nazis' race laws.

She finished her degree in Philadelphia and returned to Berlin in 1952, becoming the first head of neonatology at East Germany's prestigious Charite hospital.

Tom Rapoport said his mother died Thursday in Berlin.

She is survived by four children, nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. A commemoration is planned in the German capital on May 12.
Russias leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny is detained by police in downtown Moscow during a mass protest in March 2017 Photo: AP

Russia's opposition leader was among hundreds arrested in Moscow yesterday as anti-corruption protests swept across 80 towns and cities.

Thousands took part in what are believed to be the biggest demonstrations in Russia since 2012, with the largest held in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Alexei Navalny, a campaigner who hopes to stand against Vladimir Putin in next year's elections, was bundled into a police van yesterday morning as he approached a group of protesters in Moscow's Pushkin Square.

An American journalist captured the incident on camera, only to be arrested himself and subsequently charged with "participation in [an] unsanctioned protest".

The protests were triggered by a film produced by Mr Navalny which claims that Russia's prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, has seized a collection of yachts, several mansions and a vineyard through questionable means.

Mr Medvedev is also alleged to have used a network of charity websites run by business associates to conceal his links to the deals.

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It comes after hundreds of demonstrators were also arrested in Belarus over the weekend during a protest in Minsk against a tax on the unemployed.

Around 200 demonstrators were arrested in the Russian capital, according to Russian state media, adding that 25 had been detained in the eastern port of Vladivostok.

Witnesses said four people were also detained at a rally in Yekaterinburg in the industrial Urals region.

On Yekaterinburg's Labour Square, protesters waved posters reading, "We are the authorities here", while nationalists and supporters of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party looked on.

Expand Close A man shouts anti-government slogans in downtown Moscow. Photo: AP / Facebook

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Some witnesses complained of heavy-handed tactics, with one image of the scenes in Moscow showing a young woman being restrained by at least five riot policemen.

Pictures and videos of the protesters posted on social media suggested a large number of them were youngsters, with some looking no older than 14 or 15. Police estimated the size of the crowds in Moscow at around 7,000, though protesters said the actual numbers were far larger.

Anger

The string of protests yesterday marked the largest outpouring of anger with Vladimir Putin's government since the 2011-'12 demonstrations which followed an election dogged by fraud claims.

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"People are unhappy with the fact that there's been no investigation," protester Ivan Gronstein said.

Some opposition supporters on Manezh Square in Moscow shouted "Putin is a thief" as tourists wandered nearby.

Denis Korneev, a 17-year-old film student, said: "I've come out (to protest) against corruption and want the authorities to answer the accusations in the Navalny film.

"In many countries the government would have resigned over this."

Several demonstrators painted their faces green, a reference to an incident on March 20 when Mr Navalny had green dye thrown in his face by a pro-government activist.

"Navalny has united people who think the same; that people don't agree with the authorities is obvious from what is going on in the country today," Anna Ivanova (19) said.

"I am a bit scared." ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Simphiwe and his mother Girlie, who both have HIV, in their tiny home on the outskirts of the city of Manzini. Photo: Clare Keogh

Mother of two Hlengiwe (who has cerebral palsy and HIV) with her four-year-old daughter Bagcinile in a township in Swaziland. Photo: Clare Keogh

One young head pops around the corner, then another and another. They're giggling in unison. Sitting in his 'office', an old table surrounded by a few chairs on the veranda of a bungalow, Fr Martin McCormack springs to his feet and disappears indoors before returning with lollipops for the mischievous trio - who by now have grown in courage and have hands outstretched.

Since he first came here in 1976, Martin has worked with the children of Swaziland helping to feed and educate thousands. Focussing on empowerment, he aims "to create leaders". He's worked elsewhere but the road always seems to lead him back to this stunning mountainous kingdom.

"We feed 3,000 children twice a day at our schools here," explains Martin, who comes from Ballydesmond on the Cork/Kerry border, adding "and we give food to the orphans to bring home for their families."

With the highest HIV rate in the world, Swaziland is a country choked by the virus.

Expand Close Martin McCormack with boys from the St John Bosco Secondary School. Photo: Clare Keogh / Facebook

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Almost 30pc of the adult population is HIV positive; a quarter of the country's people are categorised as 'orphans'.

Even when compared with other nations in sub-Saharan Africa the level of HIV prevalence in Swaziland, with a population of 1.2 million, is startling.

Between 2012 and 2015 Ireland provided 223,000 in funding for specific projects in Swaziland - but nothing last year.

Africa's last absolute monarchy

The small land-locked nation is bordered on three sides by South Africa, and Mozambique to the East. It's the last absolute monarchy in Africa. In front of walled palaces vendors sell their meagre goods and life goes on - two different worlds separated by high iron gates.

King Mswati III has complete rule. Dissidents are dealt with harshly. He controls government and all opposition parties are banned, there are no dissenting voices in the media and people are afraid to publicly criticise the king - who has 13 wives and lives a lavish lifestyle complete with private jet.

Expand Close Simphiwe and his mother Girlie, who both have HIV, in their tiny home on the outskirts of the city of Manzini. Photo: Clare Keogh / Facebook

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At the same time, two-thirds of his people earn around 1.50, or less, a day.

Swaziland is a nation on the brink, poor and with limited resources. Without foreign aid and assistance, it would a crumble. Yet tens of millions of euro are allocated by the Swazi government to cater for the King's living expenses each year.

But there's an air of acceptance in Swaziland that this is just the way it is - imperfect as it is. The challenge to live seems to outweigh the challenge to be truly free.

In many of the humble homes we visit, portraits of the king hang on the wall. They stand out like shiny gemstones amongst grey pebbles on the beach. Incongruous to their surroundings.

At the St John Bosco High School, young men queue for rice and beans.

Fr McCormack, a Salesian cleric, is manager of this school and works alongside Frs Sean Murphy from Laois and Corkonian Michael Whelton.

"I manage seven schools in all, five primary and two secondary," he explains. "That involves training teachers, developing infrastructure and operating feeding programmes. A huge part of my weekly work is hustling for food."

For him, the hope comes in the young people he works with.

"We run an empowerment course for young girls, teaching them that their voice is equal to a man's. A young teacher was murdered here on the playing fields of the St Anne's School by her former partner - we organised protests against gender violence which attracted crowds of thousands in a country where public rallies don't happen.

"I'm an optimist, hope is essential. Of course funding is always an issue for us. While the state contributes a little to the running of our schools, the majority of our funding comes from donations. Many of my past students in Pallaskenry in Limerick sponsor a child through their education, and my community at home in Ireland has never let me down.

"In 1997 we set up Swaziland's first HIV-dedicated hospice called Hope House. Through money raised at events in Kerry, Cork and Limerick, we were able to build a village-type hospice of 25 units where people could die in peace and dignity. Now we treat people to recovery too so the death rate is considerably less."

In 2012, at the time of the London Olympics, Martin brought three Swazi athletes, whom he'd helped train, to Ireland to visit the area that had given his mission so much assistance.

During their visit to Ireland, they spent time with the Irish physiotherapist and Salesian past pupil of Pallaskenry, Gerard Hartmann. He hosted them in his home and took them to the high-performance centre in University of Limerick.

Living with an epidemic

In one class here, 15 of the boys have HIV.

One of those is 17-year-old Simphiwe Groening. The eldest of five children, he is a wannabe businessman, a chess shark - and a father figure, despite his tender years. His father is dead and he is the man of the house.

In a building measuring 10ft by 8ft live Simphiwe, his mother Girlie, 12-year-old brother Quinton, and sisters Valencia (15), Promise (13) and Lando (5).

It's a stretch to call this hovel a house, but it is a home. Simphiwe's mother has HIV also. While he was born with the virus, his siblings were not.

"I have to look after my family. At night, two of the kids sleep in bed with my mother and the rest of us sleep on the ground. It's difficult to buy food as we have very little money. It costs 650 Swazi Lilangeni (50) in rent each month for this place. Trying to pay rent is very hard and often we go hungry," says Simphiwe.

In a mud hut in the south of the country, I meet 25-year-old Beghi, who has both HIV and TB. This area was hit by a two-year drought recently. Some locals told us people were so desperate they resorted to eating cow dung mixed with water to survive.

We're with a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) outreach team in the region of Shiselweni where the humanitarian NGO has worked to decentralise care and deliver treatment to the patients rather than requiring them to visit a hospital.

There's no road to this collection of huts, just tracks of stones along a carpet of red dust with drought-caused cracks in the earth. In the scorched growth, snakes linger, and access to clean water is limited. It's hard to think of a harsher place to live on the planet - harsher still a place to be so ill.

Battling the 'healers'

MSF do amazing work in this region and over the last decade have initiated community liaison plans where 'expert patients', who themselves have HIV, ensure those suffering with the virus locally are taking their anti-retroviral medication.

They let MSF know if any of the sufferers have visited alternative medicine men or traditional 'healers' in a bid to rid themselves of the disease.

In the town of Nhlangano, a laboratory, co-run by MSF and the Ministry for Health, collects blood samples from remote clinics and tests for HIV and viral load - effectively the amount of HIV in the blood. They also run various other tests including for TB, which is the biggest killer in Swaziland today.

HIV is the gateway disease - 80pc of TB sufferers in Swaziland are also HIV positive.

Sex work is common, making the containment of the virus more difficult.

But huge strides have been made in reducing the number of babies born with HIV, and around 67pc of the adult population now has access to anti-retroviral medication; the biggest problem, however, is getting men to test.

"In 2004 I was very sick and I lost a baby at seven months," explains community worker Nonhlanhla. "At the hospital, I was tested. I was HIV positive. My husband wouldn't get tested until it was far too late. In 2010, he died. Altogether I've lost three children. Of my two remaining children one, a daughter who is 21, has HIV - but we're determined to survive."

Public health campaigns target men with the slogan 'Real Men Test' and MSF is hoping to introduce self-test kits.

In this complex corner of the world, reality and appearance are not always one.

Pineapple fields sway in the afternoon sun but locals can't afford to buy the fruit; tourists frolic in the many stunning safari parks complete with the big five, but they are off limits to your average Swazi; and local women proudly wrap themselves in the flag of a nation which has largely failed them. Still, one student, Britany Mkhonta, tells me: "I'm going to be the first female prime minister of Swaziland - why not?"

And I hope she succeeds. But change happens very slowly here - and change is the enemy of the state.

In the meantime life goes on. Martin McCormack feeds and educates, the gentle people of Swaziland persevere and the likes of Simphiwe and his family wonder where the next meal and rent cheque will possibly come from.

This project was supported by the Simon Cumbers Media Fund

Swaziland: world hotspot for HIV

1.2m

Population of Swaziland

220,000

Number of those who are HIV positive

28.8%

Adult HIV prevalence

31%

Percentage of women with HIV

11,000

Number of new infections each year

3,800

Number of AIDS-related deaths in 2015

57

Life expectancy of men

61

Life expectancy of women

1 in 3

The number of women experiencing some form of sexual abuse by the time they reach the age of 18

74%

Percentage of women living with HIV receiving anti-retroviral treatment. The figure for men is 56%

3%

Mother to baby transmission now stands at this figure, down from 12%

Source UNAIDS Gap Report 2016
An Iraqi rescue worker gestures towards bodies wrapped in plastic in Mosul's al-Jadida area following air strikes in which civilians have been reportedly killed during an ongoing offensive against the Islamic State group. Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Iraqi officials have denied claims that more than 160 civilians in Mosul were killed by a US-led coalition air strike.

The coalition confirmed its aircraft attacked Isil fighters in Mosul's al-Jadidah neighbourhood on March 17, at Iraq's request. But a statement by the Iraqi military's joint command said there was no sign of an air strike against a "destroyed" house where the casualties were thought to have taken cover.

Journalists and local officials were reportedly denied access to the site yesterday.

"All walls were booby-trapped and there is no hole that indicates an air strike," the statement said.

Witnesses spoke of carnage in the aftermath of the blast, with more than 50 bodies dug from beneath one home alone (pictured inset).

The World Health Organisation has confirmed at least 100 deaths. Bashar al-Kiki, head of the provincial council for Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital, said "dozens" of bodies were still buried under rubble.

Ninevah provincial governor's health directorate said 160 bodies had been buried.

"Six alleyways of the neighbourhood were completely destroyed," said Laith Habbaba, head of Nineveh health directorate. "Civil defence has extracted and buried 160 bodies up to this moment."

The Iraqi military said just 61 people had been killed. It cited witnesses saying that the building was booby-trapped and militants had forced residents inside basements to use them as shields.

If the deaths are found to have been a result of an air strike, it would be one of the deadliest US attacks on civilians in recent history.

What happened on March 17 remains unclear and details are difficult to confirm as Iraqi forces battle with Isil to recapture the densely populated parts of the western half of Mosul, the militant group's last stronghold in Iraq.

Eyewitnesses described horrific scenes from the blast, with body parts strewn over rubble, residents trying desperately to pull out survivors and other people buried out of reach.

"We felt the earth shaking as if it was an earthquake. It was an airstrike that targeted my street. Dust, shattered glass and powder were the only things my wife, myself and three kids were feeling," said one resident, Abu Ayman.

"We heard screams and loud crying coming from the house next door. After the bombing stopped, I went out with some neighbours and found that some houses on my street were levelled."

Meanwhile, a pause in operations announced on Saturday to review tactics in the wake of the rising civilian death toll did not appear to have taken place. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
President Donald Trump meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Oval Office of the White House Photo: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Angela Merkel will reportedly ignore Donald Trumps attempts to extricate 346bn from Germany for what he deems to be owed contributions to Nato.

The US President is said to have had an invoice printed out outlining the sum estimated by his aides as covering Germanys unpaid contributions for defence.

Said to be presented during private talks in Washington, the move has been met with criticism from German and Nato officials.

While the figure presented to the Germans was not revealed by either side, Nato countries pledged in 2014 to spend two per cent of their GDP on defence, something only a handful of nations  including the UK, Greece, Poland and Estonia  currently do.

But the bill has been backdated even further to 2002, the year Mrs Merkels predecessor, Gerhard Schroder, pledged to spend more on defence.

Mr Trump reportedly instructed aides to calculate how much German spending fell below two per cent over the past 12 years, then added interest.

Estimates suggest the total came to 346bn, including interest that was added on.

The Times quoted a German government minister as saying the move was outrageous.

Read More

The unnamed minister said: The concept behind putting out such demands is to intimidate the other side, but the Chancellor took it calmly and will not respond to such provocations.

And the paper quoted a source close to Mrs Merkel saying she has ignored the provocation.

The bill follows a disastrous meeting between the pair earlier this month, characterised by Mr Trumps refusal to shake his peers hand.

A day after the meeting, Mr Trump tweeted: Despite what you have heard from the FAKE NEWS, I had a GREAT meeting with the Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Nevertheless, Germany owes ... vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!

In response to the claims, German defence minister Ursula Von der Leyen rejected the notion the European nation owed the US or Nato.

She issued a statement saying: There is no debt account at Nato.

Defence spending also goes into UN peacekeeping missions, into our European missions and into our contribution to the fight against [Isis] terrorism.

Her comments were backed by Ivo Daalder, permanent representative to Nato from 2009 to 2013 under the Obama administration, who queried the Presidents understanding of the organisation.

He tweeted: Sorry Mr President, thats not how Nato works. The US decides for itself how much it contributes to defending Nato.

This is not a financial transaction, where Nato countries pay the US to defend them. It is part of our treaty commitment.

Mr Trump has repeatedly voiced his criticism over member payments to Nato, throwing doubt on the future role of the US in the organisation.

He has singled out a number of Nato countries, including Germany, over their defence contributions claiming the US has been forced to bear the brunt and pick up the tab.
WAN-IFRA letter to US President Donald Trump

We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum (WEF), to express our deep concern at recent comments made by you and your administration targeting news media. Combined with the exclusion of selected news outlets from a recent White House press briefing, we fear that the overall climate for media freedom currently being fostered by your presidency seriously jeopardises the on-going ability of a free press to hold power to account in the United States.

Mr President, we are dismayed to hear your frequent comments since being elected to office disparaging media and targeting individual outlets - seemingly for no other reason than personal retribution for critical reporting of you or your administration. We remind you that it is the role of a free press, protected under the 1st Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, and Article 19 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to subject government and the actions of elected officials to the highest standards of scrutiny and accountability.

We highlight one particular comment, among many, that you chose to articulate via the Twitter platform, the sentiments of which you then repeated during a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference held on February 24th 2017:

The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!

Such an accusation is immensely damaging on a number of levels. Firstly, fake news, more appropriately termed disinformation, is indeed provoking a crisis among professional news media institutions throughout the world. Addressing the question of how the professional media responds to the growing phenomenon is one of the highest priorities for our members. It is deeply unhelpful, however, to see the President of the United States of America fuelling antagonism towards news outlets by labelling them  misleadingly - as fake news. In reality, the organisations cited by you in this particular tweet adhere to the highest professional and ethical standards, and it is disingenuous to suggest they contribute to the current fake news epidemic.

The effects of deliberate attempts to spread disinformation have been seen to influence election processes, alter policy, and surface unprecedented hatreds and growing resentment between peoples; all of which contribute to the division of communities. The causes, as well as the appropriate responses required to counter disinformation are being analysed by newsrooms globally, particularly in terms of what this means for professional media and the practice of journalism.

The media will find a response that continues to valorise the work of professional journalists and allows the public to filter facts from fiction. However, differentiating between those that apply such standards and the organisations, blogging sites, social media commentators, etc., that do not, is very much part of the core challenge ahead regarding tackling disinformation.

While in no way suggesting that media is, or should be, beyond criticism we point to the rigorously established forms of redress and retraction available to all who feel wronged by the actions of professional media organisations. When this fails, our democratic societies have established legal recourse to set limitations on freedom of expression, as measured against appropriate international standards. The checks and balances provided by an independent judiciary and an independent media are therefore essential to maintaining the correct intersection between the application of laws and the exercise of rights in any political society.

Such a system as exists in the United States is one to which many other countries aspire, and that professional organisations such as WAN-IFRA frequently cite as a model on which to draw example when attempting to strengthen frameworks around media in the worlds most challenging regions. The US is looked to as inspiration for many around the world, particularly in terms of governance standards, the application of the law, and fundamental freedoms as upheld in the Constitution: it is therefore essential for the US to maintain its high regard for these rights and to do its utmost to guarantee their protection. Failure to do so risks weakening these values for US citizens (and included in this, media) at home, as well as inspiring authoritarian regimes abroad to weaken their commitment to democratic values.

Mr President, recent events appear to place all of this in jeopardy. We must also take firm exception to your accusation that media is the enemy of the American People. At a time when journalists and news media are being increasingly targeted for violent reprisal (and, in too many cases, often deadly retribution as a result of the work they do), the tone of your comment is highly inflammatory. In a deeply divided America, a country facing many challenges on numerous fronts, the need for a vocal and critical press to act as the watchdog over essential freedoms on behalf of society seems more urgent than ever.

We strongly feel that the President of the worlds leading democracy should welcome and encourage the kind of rigorous self-criticism a free media upholds as a means of ensuring the highest attainable standards of governance. Media should not be seen as a hindrance to achieving this, and therefore we urge you to reconsider the language you use in order to better reflect this and to ensure the channels of power remain open and accessible to all media.

WAN-IFRA was founded in 1948 by the remnants of the independent European press who recognised media had - in light of the rise of violent populism and the horrors that it brought during the Second World War - to a large extent failed in its responsibility to protect democratic values on the continent. The organisation based its core principles around the notion that a free, independent press is the cornerstone of democratic society, and that without a vibrant, financially healthy and courageous media our communities would again be left exposed to the kind of tyranny and persecution witnessed in the lead up to, and during the years of conflict that so ravaged the world.

The association quickly grew from its initial base, and today embraces some 18,000 members from over 120 countries worldwide. Many of our early, most vocal supporters were  and indeed remain so today  from amongst the US press; the very members for whom we feel the urgent need to speak out on behalf of in this letter.

In this context, and given the pressing need to redress the attitudes of the current administration towards the press, we invite you to meet with our representatives at your earliest convenience to discuss ways of rebuilding a better relationship. We firmly believe, Mr President, in the importance and value that a vociferous, critical press brings to democratic society; we would very much welcome the opportunity to convince you likewise.
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 27



By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:



It is probably reasonable to expect an extension of OPEC oil output deal to the end of 2017, but at the same level of production cuts, Charles Ellinas, oil market expert, executive president at Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Company (CNHC) told Trend March 27.



However, the expert said he doesnt believe that the deal will be suspended, adding that it will at least see through its course, i.e. 6 months.



US shale carries on with its rampant production growth, cancelling any benefits from the OPEC cuts. In such a situation, there is a risk that OPEC may not extend the deal, said Ellinas.



On the other hand, extending the current deal, but not increasing the level of production cuts is another possibility, according to the expert.



With shale production increasing unabated, this may keep prices below $50 but not down to $30. That way, OPEC countries are still better off but shale producers are not, he added.



In December 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices.



Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 bpd starting from Jan. 1, 2017 for six months, extendable for another six months, to take into account prevailing market conditions and prospects.



OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1, with top exporter Saudi Arabia cutting as much as 486,000 bpd.



According to OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report, worlds oil supply decreased in February by 0.21 million barrels per day compared to January to average 95.88 million barrels per day. In November 2016, worlds oil supply was at 96.84 million barrels per day.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been jailed for 15 days for resisting police orders.

A court in Moscow issued the ruling after Navalny was detained on Sunday as he made his way to a massive protest in the Russian capital.

Tens of thousands of anti-corruption protesters took to the streets across Russia on Sunday in the biggest show of defiance since 2011-2012 anti-government protests.

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman on Monday chided opposition organisers for putting people's lives at risk in the unauthorised protests and defended the actions of Russia's helmeted riot police, which critics called heavy-handed.

Journalists and well-wishers on Monday packed the courtroom in central Moscow where Navalny was taken. He posted a selfie on Twitter from there, saying: "A time will come when we'll put them on trial too - and that time it will be fair."

Navalny, 40, Russia's most popular opposition leader, has been twice convicted on fraud and embezzlement charges that he has dismissed as politically motivated.

Navalny, who is currently serving a suspended sentence, has also recently announced his bid to run in Russia's 2018 presidential election.

"Even the slightest illusion of fair justice is absent here," Navalny told reporters on Monday at the defendant's bench, complaining about the judge striking down one motion after another.

"Yesterday's events have shown that quite a large number of voters in Russia support the program of a candidate who stands for fighting corruption. These people demand political representation - and I strive to be their political representative."

The Kremlin has dismissed the opposition as a Westernised urban elite disconnected from the issues faced by the poor in Russia's far-flung regions. Yet Sunday's protests included demonstrations in the areas that typically produce a high vote for Mr Putin, from the city of Chita in eastern Siberia to southern Dagestan's capital of Makhachkala.

Russian police said about 500 people were arrested in the protests on Sunday, but a human rights group published a list of detainees that has more than 1,000 names. On Monday, the European Union called on Russian authorities to release the demonstrators.

"The Kremlin respects people's civic stance and their right to voice their position," Mr Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "We can't express the same respect to those who consciously misled people and who consciously did it yesterday and provoked illegal actions."

Mr Peskov defended the Russian police in riot gear who were seen manhandling protesters, some of whom were minors, calling their response "highly professional and lawful." He also claimed that under-age protesters in Moscow were promised cash if they were arrested.

Asked about the Kremlin's reaction to the wide geography of the protests, something that has not been seen at least since 2012, Mr Peskov said "the Kremlin is quite sober about the scale of yesterday's protests, and are not inclined to diminish them or push them out of proportion".

Mr Putin "constantly talks to people" and is well-briefed on the sentiment in the country, Mr Peskov insisted.

Russian state television completely ignored the protests in their broadcasts on Sunday, and authorities did not comment on it in any way.

Russian law allows officials to sanction or ban demonstrations, although Navalny and other opposition activists often have defied official bans.

Over the years, Navalny, a lawyer, has evolved from a lone blogger to someone who leads a group of like-minded activists, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, whose full-time job is to investigate official corruption.

Separately on Sunday, police arrested Navalny's associates who were at their office, setting up and monitoring a webcast of the Moscow rally. Thirteen of them spent the night at a police station while authorities raided their office, reportedly removing all equipment. It was not immediately clear what charges they may be facing. The activists were taken to court late on Monday afternoon.

Local media on Monday reported protesters still in detention and some facing a trial later on.

AP
Members of the Syrian Red Crescent assist in the departure of opposition fighters and their families as they prepare to leave the al-Waer area (AP)

US-backed forces in northern Syria have paused military operations near a dam held by the Islamic State group to allow engineers to fix any problems.

The decision by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after conflicting reports over whether civilians had begun evacuating the nearby city of Raqqa - the extremists' de facto capital - due to concerns about the Tabqa dam on the Euphrates River.

Some activist groups opposed to IS have said residents are seeking higher ground, fearing that the collapse of the dam could cause severe flooding, while others said people were remaining in place.

The SDF, a US-backed and Kurdish-led force, has been fighting IS in the area since Friday in an attempt to capture the dam, one of the main sources of electricity in northern Syria.

The SDF said in a statement that the ceasefire expired at 5pm local time, after their engineers inspected the structure and found no faults. Photos credited to an embedded freelance journalist indicated they had just inspected the dam's spillway, which is on SDF-controlled territory. The main dam structure and the gates lie 2.5 miles away and are still held by IS militants.

The SDF said the request for a ceasefire was made by the dam's administrators, without specifying whether they were part of the Syrian government or IS, which operates a quasi-state in the areas under its control.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said technicians inside IS-held Tabqa did not reach the dam during the ceasefire, to reactivate its main power controls. There was no explanation given.

The engineer Ahmad Farhat, who oversaw the mechanical administration of the dam, said that it is "equipped with the necessary precautions for its own protection", but there needs to be technical personnel on site to engage them. He spoke from the rebel-held north-western Syrian province of Idlib.

Engineer Aboud al Haj Aboud, who was the head of the electricity division of the dam, said on social media that if indeed the control room is busted and the gates of the dam cannot be opened, it will still take at least a month for the waters being held back by the dam to overflow the top of the structure.

The US-led coalition said it is taking every precaution to ensure the integrity of the dam. "To our knowledge, the dam has not been structurally damaged," it said on its Twitter account.

SDF fighters on Sunday captured a strategically important air base from IS in Raqqa province, marking their first major victory since the United States airlifted hundreds of forces, as well as American advisers and artillery, behind enemy lines last week.

The SDF announced they had captured the Tabqa air base, 28 miles west of Raqqa.

On Monday, IS fighters detonated a car bomb on the southern edge of the air base, but it was not clear if it inflicted casualties among SDF fighters, the activist collective Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently and the Observatory reported.

Fighting is ongoing in areas near the air base, both activist groups said. The SDF said in another statement that its fighters captured two villages north of Tabqa on Monday.

Elsewhere in Syria, authorities resumed the evacuation of the last opposition-held neighbourhood in the central city of Homs in an agreement to surrender the district to the government.

Opposition activists have criticised the agreement, saying it aims to displace 12,000 al-Waer residents, including 2,500 fighters. The Observatory has called the evacuees "internally displaced" people.

The government has rejected allegations that the Homs deal and similar agreements in other besieged areas amount to the forced displacement of civilians.

On Monday, 667 militants, along with their families, for a total of 2,009 residents, were taken by bus in the direction of the rebel-held city of Jarablus, near the Turkish border, according to an official in the Homs Governorate administration.

Syrian state TV had forecast that some 700 people would leave, far fewer than the final tally.

The evacuation was planned to take place on Saturday, but no reason was given for the delay.

Opposition fighters agreed to leave al-Waer after years of siege and bombardment at the hands of pro-government forces. They were guaranteed safe passage to rebel-held parts of northern Syria.

The evacuations are expected to last weeks, after which the government will be able to claim control over the entire city for the first time in years.

AP
CONCORD- Throughout recent discussions, it became clear that some members of the Cabarrus County Board of Education were interested in seeking another firm to represent the school system.

The district has been represented by Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, PLLC for over 20 years, but in response to board members comments staff put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) from other interested firms.

Four firms responded and a committee vetted and selected two of those firms to give presentations in front of the board during a special called meeting on Wednesday, March 22. The two firms invited to present were Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, PLLC and Schwartz & Shaw, PLLC.

The ones that were invited today showed they had the most experience in education law. We invited these two firms because they had more than 50 percent of what they do as education, Board Chair Barry Shoemaker said. The other two firms were a little bit weak in the education law.

Schwartz & Shaw, PLLC

Schwartz & Shaw was designed to serve and meet the special needs of education clients. There are currently seven full-time attorneys in the firm, all concentrating in education law.

Located in Raleigh, the firms website says it is recognized in North Carolina and nationally as a leader in the development of education law.

For the presentation to the board partners Richard Schwartz, Brian Shaw and Rachel Hitch spoke about the cases they have handled in the past and their passion for education.

We are education lawyers, thats what we do and all we do, Schwartz said. We do represent school systems; we are all over the place.

Schwartz opened the firm in 1991 and devoted it to the practice of education law. Shaw became a partner in the firm in 1997 and Hitch was added in 2011. All of them also serve on a wide variety of education boards and attend education conferences.

We are entirely dedicated to this practice, we are dedicated to our clients, we are completely committed, Schwartz said. We will drop and run and be there with a quick response time in the case of an emergency.

He added that the firm covers a wide range of topics including policies, property issues in construction, financing, personnel issues and special education cases among others.

I can assure you that if we are asked to represent the Cabarrus board, we would be delighted and proud and would do everything in our power to be as responsive, as efficient and as confident as we know how, Shaw said. We are all here because we are committed to public education. We love the people that serve public education, whether that be teachers, staff or school board members.

On the money side of the things, Schwartz said he was happy to give the board options and discuss prices within its range.

We understand you are public and your finance is public. We are sensitive to that in our retainer proposal and fees, Schwartz said.

Schwartz said his firm has retained attorneys for about 10 school systems and has worked with about 30 to 40 systems on other issues. If selected, he said Cabarrus County Schools would be the firms largest school system.

Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, PLLC

Board attorneys Mark Henriques and Sarah Stone gave the presentation for Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice.

Henriques began the presentation by saying he has been pleased to serve as the board attorney for over 20 years and he remains committed to the students of Cabarrus County. He added that he is glad the board is going through the RFP process because it gives his firm a chance to look at the services it offers and how they can be improved.

Certainly Im not suggesting we are here by any right of succession. Ive been pleased to be the board attorney for over 20 years. The children are our future and Im committed to serving you, he said.

Speaking about the firms long relationship with the school system, Henriques said that history is what makes it the best for Cabarrus County Schools. He said attorneys have worked directly with staff, principals and teachers and the firm is deeply rooted in the system.

We have developed over 20 plus years a deep knowledge of this system. Our entire focus has been representing Cabarrus County Schools. The other advantage we have is, we have a pretty good sense of how things are done, Henriques said. I think thats what makes us different is we really understand Cabarrus County Schools. We know your 10-year plan, we know the key stress points in redistricting. Weve been here at meetings and retreats over a long period of time. We have that history to know where the district has been and where it is going.

Henriques went on to give examples of incidents the firm assisted the district with in the past and invited Stone to share a day-in-the-life of a board attorney.

Stone shared a calendar spanning the last two months, which marked the meetings she had with staff, teachers or the board of education.

This illustrates how frequently we touch. I really like being in the trenches and Im in the trenches with your staff frequently, she said. Theres a whole host of items going on every day that the board doesnt hear about because, quite frankly, we are able to handle those and keep issues from growing and needing to be brought to the boards attention.

Lastly, Henriques reminded the board that his firm does not charge for travel while Schwartz & Shaw would charge for travel at its regular hourly rate. Henriques said he is only 20 minutes away and the board only starts paying for services when he or someone in his firm enters the door.

He said that while Schwartz & Shaw charge a lower rate per hour, that rate would also include the time it took for its attorneys to travel to Concord from Raleigh.

You may get a lower rate, but if you look at total cost expenditure when you travel from Raleigh, its going to be higher. You are paying a lot to bring lawyers that do not live in this community and asking them to driver here to attend a three-hour meeting, Henriques said. Its an advantage we have because we live right here. We are not going to charge you any travel time.

Henriques concluded by saying that his firm has handled every legal item Cabarrus County Schools has handled every lawsuit filed against or on behalf of the Cabarrus County Board of Education over the last 20 years and he hopes to continue that trend.

I think it is an individual knowledge we can bring, which you arent going to get if you hire a firm from Raleigh that doesnt know the circumstances, Henriques said. We are the local choice here. And I think you lose that if you go to a firm in Raleigh.

The next steps

After the presentations, Shoemaker asked board members to gather their thoughts and send him opinions on each firm. He added it would be ideal to take some sort of action at the boards April business meeting.

Send me your feelings and Ill try to articulate that and put together a document and we can figure out where we want to go, Shoemaker said.

The board will continue its discussion on selecting a firm at its upcoming work session on Monday, April 3.
CONCORD- The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. is committed to impacting the well-being of families and communities, which is why it is hosting a health fair.

The Community Health Fair will be held on Saturday, April 8 from noon- 3 p.m. at Logan Multipurpose Center, located at 184 Booker Drive SW in Concord. The fair will provide basic preventative educational awareness and medical screening to the community.
Aadhaar mandatory for filing tax returns from July 1

Providing your Aadhaar number for filing income tax returns (ITR) will be mandatory from July 1. Individuals who do not have an Aadhaar card can file their tax returns by furnishing their Aadhaar enrollment number. Tax authorities have given until June end for people to link their Aadhaar number with their Permanent Account Number (PAN). This means that an ITR where the PAN is not linked with Aadhaar will be considered an invalid filing.

RELATED: Tax Compliance Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

The change in law will be implemented via amendments to the Finance Bill 2017 that was passed on March 22 as a money bill, causing uproar among the opposition. A money bill does not require approval from the Rajya Sabha (upper house of parliament) where the ruling NDA coalition does not have a majority.

The government has defended its 40 amendments in the bill, labelling them as incidental. Other controversial amendments include the reduction in the maximum cash transaction allowed from US$ 4609.68 (Rs 300,000) to US$ 3073.12 (Rs 200,000), increased arbitrary powers for income tax officials, and the merger of eight tribunals.

RELATED: International Tax Planning Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

Income declaration scheme PMGKY ends March 31

The income declaration scheme  Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY)  launched on December 17, in the aftermath of demonetization, will end on March 31. Tax authorities have issued stringent warnings across public media asking individuals to declared their undisclosed assets or face intense scrutiny and heavy penalties.

Those declaring cash deposits under this scheme will be subject to a levy of 50 percent that breaks down into: 30 percent tax, 33 percent surcharge, and a 10 percent penalty. Additionally, the declarant will have to deposit 25 percent of the declared amount into the zero-interest Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme, 2016 for a lock-in period of four years.

These schemes are part of the governments overarching Operation Clean Money that seeks to expand the governments tax net, track and eradicate black money, and retract the parallel market thereby formalizing a bigger section of the market economy.

No interest liability in retrospective tax disputes, under conditions

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued new guidelines on March 24 announcing the waiver of interest liable to be paid by companies involved in disputed tax cases under various scenarios. Importantly, the tax department will waive interest liability if the principal demand of the capital gains tax is paid by the firm. This is important for companies like Cairn India and Vodafone who have been subject to vast tax liabilities as a result of the governments imposition of retrospective tax demands.

The new guidelines follow the Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, which expired on January 31; the scheme had been announced on February 28, 2016 as part of the previous fiscal budget.

RELATED: Ongoing Monitoring Solutions Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

India lifts temporary ban on imports from Vietnam

India lifted its temporary ban on six commodities imported from Vietnam: coffee beans, bamboo, black pepper, cinnamon, cassia, and dragon fruit. The ban was imposed since March 7 after Vietnam suspended the import of five commodities  pods and seeds of peanuts, seeds of cassia, cocoa, bean, and fruit of tamarind  from India. While Vietnam cited phytosanitary concerns for its ban, India justified its ban by stating the interception of quarantine pest in cargoes.

Vietnam lifted its ban on March 21 following which India lifted its own ban on March 22.

About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email india@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight.

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.
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 27

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

It is too early to talk about the expediency of extending the OPEC oil output cut deal, according to Russias Energy Minister Alexander Novak.

Additional time and first of all, additional analysis of the market situation is needed for making a decision on more cuts, Novak told RT following the Joint OPEC/Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting in Kuwait.

The Joint OPEC/Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) convened in Kuwait City for its second meeting on 26 March. It announced that, based on the Report of the Joint OPEC/Non-OPEC Technical Committee (JTC) for the month of February 2017, OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries have continued their progress towards full conformity with their voluntary adjustments in production.

As of February 2017, the OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries achieved a conformity level of 94 percent, an increase of 8 percentage points over the January 2017 performance.

It is only the end of March. The exchange of views held by ministers and the proposals which were put forward during the meeting mean that all the participating countries have an opportunity to consider this issue till the next ministerial meeting, give instructions to OPEC secretariat on providing additional market analysis for January-April, give forecasts on implementation in May, June and for the second half of 2017, he said.

Novak pointed out that during the meeting, it was agreed to hold Russia-OPEC dialogue in Moscow May 31.

Regarding the oil price, Russian energy minister said that it depends on the market situation, as well as the demand and supply balance.

Novak said he doesnt change the forecasts for average Brent oil price at $50-$60 per barrel for 2017.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 27



By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:



Bulgaria may lose the gas contract with Azerbaijan if the construction of Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) is not completed by 2020, said Bulgarias Energy Minister Nikolay Pavlov in an interview with "24 chasa".



Bulgarias Bulgargaz has a long-term contract for 25 years with Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR for supply of 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from Shah Deniz 2, said the minister, adding that this is one third of Bulgarias domestic consumption.



We need to be able to receive this gas. If the interconnector is not ready, we may lose the contract. The gas interconnector is a continuation of the Southern Gas Corridor and is part of the Vertical Gas Corridor of the European Union, added Pavlov.



The minister talked about the shortcomings in the implementation of the IGB project.



There is a delay in the preparation of a cost-benefit analysis that will show what further grant funding we have to seek from the EU. ICGB has been aware of the necessity for such an analysis since March 2016. So far, this analysis hasnt been ready and its assignment is delayed, he said.



The utilization of the 45 million-euro grant provided by the European Commission in 2009 hasnt started yet and the deadline for its utilization is 2018, he said, adding that there is a real risk for these funds to be lost.



The technical design is another reason of concern. It was approved by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works on 15 January 2016 with one-year validity, which actually expired on 15 January 2017. The request for its extension was submitted on 20 January 2017. The deadline had been missed, added Pavlov.



IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to the Trans Adriatic pipeline via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets.



The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
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Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Mar. 27

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmenistan has scheduled a parliamentary election for May 21, the countrys Central Election Commission said Mar. 27.

New MPs will be elected to replace the ones who discontinued their office terms early, according to the Turkmen CEC.

Turkmenistan will also elect members of local governing bodies on the same day due to changes in administrative and territorial structures of the countrys regions.

Ensuring transparency and wide choice at the election were set as priorities in a meeting of the Turkmen Central Election Commission Mar. 27.

Representatives of the Democratic Party, the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Agrarian Party, as well as public organizations and associations of Turkmenistan took part in the meeting.
On a day that honored a stalwart of the Black Press and saw a liaison of the Trump Administration walk out on a breakfast with members of the Black Press, it was the words of Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) in a university library that rang the loudest.

Rep. Jackson Lee delivered remarks on March 23 in memory of Lenora Doll Carter, long-time publisher of the Houston Forward Times, who was just enshrined in the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Gallery of Distinguished Publishers at Howard Universitys Founders Library. The enshrinement ceremony is one of the signature events of Black Press Week, an annual celebration in Washington, D.C., attended by NNPA members, partners, sponsors and Black Press contributors.

The NNPA is a trade group of more than 200 Black-owned media companies operating in 70 markets in the United States.

During her impromptu talk after the enshrinement ceremony, Jackson Lee dropped a bombshell. In talking about the nations current president, Jackson Lee minced no words.

This is not a government, right now, she said in front of nearly 50 NNPA members. Jackson Lee added: Im on the route of impeachment.

Jackson Lee said there are a litany of reasons that should disqualify President Donald Trump as president including his potential ties to Russia and its interference in Novembers election, but she also said America is unsafe under Trump.

Im concerned about our nation. Im concerned about what happens when we get that call about North Korea in the middle of the night, said Jackson Lee. You have in office an individual that is unread and unlearned.

Jackson Lees statement rang loud, because she is also a member of the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees.

Some have expressed concerns that an impeachment of Trump would leave the nation under the control of Vice President Mike Pence, who is seen as a staunch conservative with far right-wing views. Jackson Lee does not share in those concerns.

At least he understands government, said the Texas representative. And Im focused on getting him (Pence) out in 2020, anyway.

Jackson Lee also remembered Doll Carter, fondly.

Doll was larger than life, remarked Jackson Lee. Carter lived in Jackson Lees district.

Carter, who died in 2010, also served as the treasurer of the NNPA. She was remembered as a powerful businesswoman and a loving friend.

Colleague and close friend Dorothy Leavell said Carter lived up to her nickname.

I know why they called her Doll, said Leavell, She was beautiful on the outside and she was beautiful on the inside, as well.

Insight News is a member publication of the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Learn more about becoming a member at www.nnpa.org.
Bigg Boss contestant Bani Judge, who was in news for publicly admitting her relationship with model Yuvraj Thakur, has been caught kissing Sapna Bhavnani in public.

Twitter

Yes, this picture of Bani kissing and chilling with the celebrity hair stylist has taken the internet by storm and we dont understand why.

If you closely look at the stills, the two are not actually kissing and even if they are, we dont understand the fuss over it.

Twitter

Sapna Bhavnani has revealed about her bi-sexuality and Bani J has always worn her 'I don't care' attitude like a boss.

Twitter

We would have found it hot if we were living in the 90s but in 2017 its pure friendship and the internet should really stop 'OMG' about it.
While you were still planning on 'that Goa trip', these 3 women have already embarked upon a road trip all the way from Coimbatore to London, in a bid to promote literacy.

Meenakshi Arvind, 45, from Coimbatore, Priya Rajpal, 55, from Mumbai and Mookambika Rathinam, 38, from Pollachi began their incredible journey on Sunday, 26th March 2017.

TN: 3 women began their 70-day drive from Coimbatore to London yesterday covering 24 countries; stress on women empowerment and literacy. pic.twitter.com/oomwKuml1w  ANI (@ANI_news) March 27, 2017

The women will traverse through 24 countries in their 70-day journey, covering near about 24,000km in order to promote literacy. For their intercontinental road trip, these women will be using a modified Tata Hexa, with security features and a facility to store additional fuel.

2470ind

Their trip will commence from here, with their first stop at Myanmar, followed by China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Austria, Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands and finally making it to London on June 5.

abercrombiekent

The project was tendered by Meenakshi, who extensively planned this journey for more than 6 months, penning the nitty-gritty for all women trip.

"We underwent training at a factory of Tata Motors in Pune for two days and we are prepared. We are a little nervous about Central Asia," said Meenakshi, as reported by The Times Of India.

As one can tell, taking a trip on these rough terrain can be really daunting, which is why the ladies are loping with full preparation.

They have taken a guide in China and Kyrgyzstan, and military support in Myanmar.

chinadaily

Apart from advertising knowledge, they will also build on India's reputation for the world.

The 70-day trip is in commemoration with 70 years of Independent India. We also want to send the message that India is much more than what it is perceived to be," Meenakshi further added.

The cost of per person for this daring trip turned out to be a whopping 15 lakh. As a result, the trio sought sponsorship from several institutes, NGOs and industries in the city.

They plan to cover at least 500 km in a day and take rest at night.

architecturaldigest

Seems like women are loving their time on the wheels. Three grandmothers from Delhi decided to go on a road trip and the internet can't thank them enough for doing it.

Kudos to all the ladies!
Ten Indian youths have been pardoned by a Pakistan family for killing their son in the United Arab Emirates in 2015. The victims family from Pakistan have accepted blood money amounting to 2,00,000 dirhams and agreed to pardon the convicts, say media reports.

Mohammad Riaz, the father of Mohammad Farhan, appeared in the Al Ain appeals court on March 22 and submitted a letter of consent to pardon the accused Indians, a senior Indian Embassy official told Gulf News on Sunday.

It was unfortunate that I lost my son. I appeal the young generation not to indulge in such fights. I have forgiven these 10 individuals. In fact, Allah has saved their lives. Lives of at least 10 people, including a wife and children, hinge [financially] on one person [who comes to work in the UAE], Riaz said.

On behalf of the accused, an Indian charity organisation deposited the blood money in the court and the case has been adjourned for further hearing on April 12, said Dinesh Kumar, Counsellor, Community Affairs at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

Representational Image

Kumar said that the court may commute the death sentence.

On December 8, 2016, the murder allegedly occurred during a brawl over bootlegging in Al Ain in December 2015. Eleven men from Punjab were convicted in the case but one was spared the death sentence.

All the convicted young Indian men are from poor families and worked in Al Ain as plumbers, electricians, carpenters and masons.
More than 200 individuals and companies have deposited unaccounted money to the tune of Rs 600 crore in various bank accounts in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry after demonetisation was announced on November 8 last year.

Most of the accounts in which such deposits were made are in rural Tamil Nadu, but some are in Chennai. Many such instances were reported in suburban areas and districts adjoining cities, said income tax sources.

BCCL/Representational Image

Officers told TOI that an individual in Tiruchengode in Namakkal district deposited Rs 246 crore in a branch of the Indian Overseas Bank."We were following him for more than 15 days after finding that he had deposited cash in a rural branch of the IOB.

First, he tried to hide, but after a few days, he agreed to join the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) and pay 45% of the total money as tax. As per PMGKY, 25% of the money will be retained by the government without any interest," a senior I-T investigation wing official told TOI. The cash deposited by the individual was in old demonetised currencies. There are several similar individuals and companies who have deposited cash in their accounts and accepted that they were unaccounted income.

"Most of them have joined the PMGKY scheme, which comes to an end on March 31. We hope the total unaccounted money will go up to Rs 1,000 crore before the month end. We are also warning people who are still not on board that the heat will increase from April 1," said the official.

BCCL/Representational Image

Soon after December 31, 2016, all banks in the country were told to send the list of account holders who had deposited cash above Rs 2.5 lakh after demonetisation.

"All the lists were sent to our headquarters and with the help of a software we scrutinised it and dispatched them to our regional offices for follow-up action.

After we received the TN and Puducherry list, it was divided between investigation wing and the assessment wing in the I-T. All deposits with PAN were taken over by the investigation wing," said the official. Across the country, the I-T department found Rs 85 lakh transactions to be suspicious.

AFP/Representational Image

"In TN and Pondy, we found 28,000 accounts to be suspicious and some of the accounts had deposits in cash to the tune of Rs 85 lakh or move. In the first instance, we send a mail to the account holder asking for details. Most of them have replied and some of the cases have been closed or they have joined the PMGKY scheme accepting that the cash was black money," he said. But in some cases, despite several reminders, the account holders have not replied.

"We will wait until the end of the month and go behind them. If they accept on their own, the tax is only 45%. But if we find the money to be unaccounted, then the total tax will be around 83.5%," the official warned.
With Indians getting subjected to racial discrimination in western countries, we here in our country are no better with outsiders. In a bizarre episode of racial discrimination, the residents of the NSG Black Cat Enclave in Greater Noida barged into the flat occupied by five Nigerians on suspicions of cannibalism.

According to the story published in The Telegraph, the incident took place after a boy from the society went missing and people assumed that Nigerians have eaten him up. However, the boy was found later in a hospital where he died. The missing boy Manish Khari was suspected to have died of drug overdose.

AFP

The Nigerian students, however, are disturbed by the allegations of cannibalism. Samuel Jack, the president of the Association of African Students in India told The Telegraph, "They accused them of being cannibals. That is the kind of ignorance against black people."

Ever since Khari went missing on Friday, the residents of the enclave were busy looking for the missing boy, before someone suspected that Nigerians might have eaten up the boy. And therefore, their flat was barged in to carry out the search for the remains of the boy.

Parents of the deceased Khari have lodged FIR against Nigerian students despite knowing that their child has died of drug overdose. A protest took place near the Kasna police station.

The Times of India reported a student as saying, "We feel that the FIR was registered against Nigerian students due to bias. The police should investigate the matter and then take action. We protest against this motivated action."

Reuters

African students have been subjected to racial discrimination in past as well and Indians in generals carry many misconceptions about them. And Africans being cannibalistic is one of the many.
Tehran, Iran, March 27



By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:



Turkey should learn from Iran, how it has hosted millions of refugees for over three decades and has never used the issue for political gain, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.



The remarks came as a response to Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak, who had said that 3 million of refugees from Iran may come to Turkey, tacitly accusing Iran of assisting them to get through to Turkey.



Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said such statements by Turkey are unfounded, meddlesome, and unconstructive, and said Ankara uses them to justify its own expansionist actions.



The Islamic Republic of Iran has one of the largest and most protracted refugee situations in the world.



Estimates from the government of Iran indicate that 951,142 Afghan refugees and 28,268 Iraqi refugees reside in Iran, in addition to 620,000 Afghans who hold Afghan passports and Iranian visas.



The government also estimates that there are approximately 1.5-2 million of Afghans also living in Iran.
The Day Earth Was Murdered

By Paul Craig Roberts

Change you can believe in disappeared in the early days of the Obama regime as the same Washington insiders filled the new governments ranks. David Brooks sung the praises of those who made change impossible: the best of the Washington insiders, Achievetrons who got double 800s on their SATs.

Eight years later Donald Trump was specific about the changes he intended, the two most important being normalized relations with Russia and the return home of the middle class jobs and associated state and local tax base that US corporations had moved offshore to foreign locations. But Trumps government quickly became home to corporate polluters, Wall Street executives, defense contractors, and Russophobic generals.

Obamas disappointed supporters held firm to their conviction that their man would set the agenda and not the Washington insiders who occupied his government. Trumps disheartened deplorables are currently finding refuge in this same conviction. But it looks like we will not get the good part from Trump, only the bad part of more pollution and more damage to the social safety net.

Those who agree about this disagree over the explanation. Some insist that Trump, not Hillary, was the establishments choice from the beginning and that the fierce opposition to Trump played out in the press and on the airwaves was only an orchestration to convince flyover America that Trump stood for them. My view is different. Trump threatened the power and budget of the military/security complex and the profits of Wall Street before he had an organization and a team in place to impose his agenda. Unlike Michael Corleone, Trump was rash.

Consequently, the CIA, FBI, NSA, Democrats, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, and the presstitute media boxed Trump in by portraying him in collusion with Russian President Putin to steal the election from Hillary. Marches worldwide were instantly choreographed, and there were constant and escalating accusations portraying Trump and his associates as puppets on Putins string. Lists were made of Internet media sites that took exception to Washingtons wars and dangerous provocations of Russia, China, and Iran.

The attack on Trump seems to have succeeded. Trump lost his National Security Adviser who favored normalized relations with Russia. Trump was forced to prove he was not working for Putin by appointing a Russophobe as National Security Adviser. Trump backed off from an early meeting with Putin to reduce the tensions in the relationship caused by the past three US presidents.

The CIA won the fight by creating an atmosphere hostile to any thought that Russia is not a dangerous adversary and the main threat that the US faces. In other words, a preference for reduced tensions between nuclear powers has become evidence that one is a Russian agent or Putins dupe.

The CIAs victory means that the prospect of nuclear Armageddon remains on the table, but the budget of the military/security complex is safe and rising. Is this an acceptable trade-off for you?

I was astonished to see the liberal/progressive/left line up with the CIA against peace and with globalism and Identity Politics against the working class. The liberal/progressive/left has turned against heterosexual white males and transformed the working class from a victim group into alleged victimizers of women, blacks, homosexuals, and Muslim refugees. The American left has degenerated into the Identity Politics that originated with Zionism. ( See for example the article by Eric Draitser , the host of CounterPunch Radio,)

The political left, once a force for peace, has transitioned into a force for war, as war is the likely outcome of the high level of tension that now exists between the US and Russia. By helping the CIA handicap President Trump and prevent him from reducing these tensions, the liberal/progressive/left has responsibility for the impending danger.

These tensions are very dangerous. They have resulted in high-readiness nuclear alert postures, which together with short warning times, false signals of incoming missiles and distrust, create a dangerous strategic nuclear situation.

It is reckless for Washington to convince Russia (and China) that the US is preparing a pre-emptive nuclear strike against them. But that is what Washington is doing when it puts anti-ballistic missiles on Russias border and tells the Russians the lie that the missiles are there to protect Europe from Iranian ICBMs. The entire world knows that Iran does not have nukes or ICBMs. All Washingtons lie does is to make the purpose of the missiles obvious to the Russians.

The continuous anti-Russian propaganda issuing from Washington, NATO and the despicable Western presstitutes has the purpose of orchestrating a Russian Threat and preventing a reduction of tensions between the nuclear powers. The demonization of Russias president and the clearly false charges against Russia, such as interference in the US presidential election, invasion of Ukraine, reconstruction of the Soviet empireare understood by the Russians as a propaganda campaign to prepare Western populations for a pre-emptive nuclear attack on Russia. The conventional NATO forces conducting military exercises and deployed on Russias border are understood by the Russians as being too small and lacking in strength to be of any consequence. They are merely an orchestration to emphasize the Russian Threat for insouciant Western populations. The Russian government understands that all of this is preparation for an attack on Russia. Just as Saddam Hussein, Gadaffi, and Assad were demonized by US government officials, now it is Putin. The dangerous situation could not be more obvious.

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Yet Hillary supporters are completely blind to what is occurring in front of their noses, as is the liberal/progressive/left, the idiot EU governments, and the Western presstitute media. As President Putin himself has stated, no one listens to us when we point out the impending danger.

As environmentally damaging as a pipeline can be, it is nothing compared to nuclear war. In the opposition to Trump, emotion has prevailed over reason and hate has prevailed over judgment. The consequences for life on earth will be dire.

Just as the CIA is indifferent to the threat to life on earth that the agencys orchestration of the Russian Threat presents, and the liberal/progressive/left is too absorbed in hatred of Trump to comprehend that it is enabling the march to nuclear war, the Trump forces are enabling another catastrophic/apocalyptic threat by dismissing global warning as a hoax. That the obvious, observable melting of Arctic ice can be dismissed as a plot against capitalism by left-wing scientists demonstrates a detachment from reality that is difficult to fathom. For whatever reason the ice is melting, the consequence is the sudden enormous release of life-destroying methane into the atmosphere. As far as I am aware, the dire consequences of massive methane release are not controversial.

For a world that sees itself as based on science, it is amazing how uninfluential scientists are. They warn of the consequences of nuclear war, and Western governments continue escalating tensions between nuclear powers. Scientists warn of the consequences of global warming, and the polluting economic interests and their supporters cry hoax.

Read Dahr Jamails report on the latest published scientific report on the likelihood of a sudden and gigantic release of methane, and then go read the report itself. This is not the fake news that you get from the New York Times, BBC, CNN, Washington Post, Le Monde, MSNBC and the rest of the presstitutes. This report is peer-reviewed scientific opinion based on the known facts at hand.

What is known among scientists as the Arctic Methane Time Bomb has been studied intensely. Scientists believe that a 50-gigaton burp of methane could be released in a brief period of time from the melting of the Arctic ice. This would be the sudden addition to the atmosphere of ten times the amount of methane currently in the atmosphere. Scientists equate this to an increase in carbon dioxide of 1,000 gigatons.

In other words, based on our existing scientific knowledge, life on earth depends on the Artic ice not melting. But it is melting.

With the two apocalyptic scenarios described in this article both possibly close at hand, why is the liberal/progressive/left concerned with tranny toilet facilities and the freedom of Muslims to immigrate to Europe and the US? Is this the way they distract themselves from the real threatening issues?

Why are the timber companies cutting down forests and why are the remaining rain forests being massacred when it is trees that absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen?

Why is there intense commercial farming of beef and pork when the methane release from the vast numbers of animals is extraordinary and a factor in the rising temperatures that are melting the Arctic ice?

The answer is that profit-seeking has only short-term motivations, and the profits come mainly from the external costs imposed on third parties and the environment. The effort to control what economists call externalities requires thoughtful and determined regulation. Yet, the Trump administration declares regulation to be a hindrance to business. In other words, regulation interferes with the ability of capitalism to generate profits by externalizing its costs, and, thereby, regulation must be abolished.

We have reached the point where the externalities of economic activity and the externalities of the military/security complexs need for a Russian threat are on the verge of bringing life on Earth to an end.

The idiocy of Identity Politics is that the ideology has no idea that we are all victims of the real victimizersthe US military/security complex and a carbon-based life style.

Considering the dire circumstances, it really doesnt matter if more Muslim refugees, whose countries and prospects we have destroyed with our wars of hegemony and who may be seeking revenge for what they have suffered, are admitted to the West. The danger of being run over on a London bridge or at a German bus stop by a Muslim seeking revenge is miniscule compared to thermo-nuclear war and catastrophic changes in the biosphere.

But dont expect any intelligent awareness from any Western government or from any member of the Western presstitute media. Truth is the last thing that interests these purveyors of fake news. They are interested in manufacturing fake threats, not confronting real ones.

What these hyper-criminals are doing is murdering planet Earth.
Trump's Wars





The president is doubling down on the Middle East quagmires he once criticized.



By Emma Ashford

March 27, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " US News " - President Donald Trump is no stranger to conflict escalation. In his short time in office, he has managed to successfully escalate disputes against the media , immigrants and the intelligence community . Yet Trump's most important escalation has been in the War on Terror, substantially increasing the U.S. commitment to wars in Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. Unfortunately, these steps are likely only to draw America deeper into some of the world's most intractable conflicts.

Trump's foreign policy approach during the campaign can be charitably described as incoherent. On the one hand, he openly admitted that the Iraq war had been a mistake, and repeatedly criticized the money wasted on pointless Middle East conflicts . These ideas, unorthodox for a Republican candidate but popular with the general public, helped to win him votes.

But on the other hand, candidate Trump often contradicted himself, calling for the use of overwhelming force in the fight against the Islamic State group , and promising a massive increase in U.S. military spending . The candidate's militaristic worldview frequently came through in his off-the-cuff remarks, most memorably when he told a rally of supporters, " I love war , in a certain way."

Sadly, since his inauguration, Trump has pursued the second of these two approaches. This choice  escalating U.S. involvement in a variety of conflicts  risks dragging his administration further into the very Middle Eastern quagmires he once railed against.
US Forces Block Syrian Army Advance in Preparation For Syria Partition



A U.S.-backed operation near Raqqa aims to "block any advance by Syrian government forces from the west". The Balkanization of Syria begins



By RI

March 27, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " RI " - The road to Raqqa is now blocked by U.S. forces and their allies. The chances that Raqqa (and the surrounding region) will be returned to Syria are now slim to none. Foreign armies and their proxies are sharpening their carving knives.

U.S. Special Forces and Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters have just captured a "strategic air base" from Islamic State in northern Syria; in doing so, they have also "blocked" the advance of the Syrian Army as it approaches Raqqa from the wes t:

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Sunday that they captured the Tabqa air base, 45km west of Raqqa, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group's de facto capital in Syria. Earlier this week, US forces airlifted SDF fighters behind ISIL lines to allow them to launch the Tabqa assault, and on Friday the alliance reached one of the dam's entrances. SDF forces were within 10km of Raqqa from the north, and aimed to effectively surround the city before launching an assault.

But as RFE/RL quietly notes

:

Besides recapturing the dam, SDF said the U.S.-backed operation also aimed to block any advance by Syrian government forces from the west. The landing forces airdropped into Syria seized four small villages in the area west of Tabqa and cut a main highway that links the provinces of Raqqa, Deir al-Zor, and Aleppo, Scrocca said. The SDF cut the last main road out of Raqqa earlier this month, narrowing in on the city from the north, east, and west. The only way in or out of Raqqa now is over the Euphrates River that borders the city to the south.

Incredible, isn't it? A foreign army that is illegally operating in a sovereign nation can just march in and cut off the legitimate army of said sovereign nation from liberating its own city from terrorists.

What a world  and so much for international law.

It will be interesting to see Moscow's reaction. Was this always part of the "deal" in Syria? Or is Washington hoping that Syria, Iran and Russia will accept Raqqa's U.S.-ordained fate?

Stay tuned.
Gas From Israel And The Flynn Wiretapping - Behind The Deep-State Infighting Over The Trump Election

By Moon Of Alabama

March 27, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " Moon Of Alabama " - What is really behind the deep-state infighting over the U.S. elections and the "wire tapping" of the Trump campaign? Why was the CIA-Neocon axis vehemently lobbying against Trump? What foreign interests and what money is involved in this? Answers to these questions are now emerging.

The former director of the CIA under Clinton, James Woolsey, went to the Wall Street Journal and offered some information (likely some true and some false) on the retired General Flynn and the lobbying businesses he was involved in. Woolsey is an arch-neoconservative. He had worked on the transition team of Trump but got fired over "growing tensions over Trumps vision for intelligence agencies." Flynn is the former National Security Advisor of Trump who later also got fired. Woolsey was a board member of Flynn's former lobbying company FIG.

Woolsey claims: In September 2016 he took part in a meeting between Flynn and high level Turkish officials, including the Turkish foreign minister and the energy minister who is the son-in-law of the Turkish president Erdogan. During the meeting, Woolsey claims, a brainstorming took place over how the Turkish cult leader Fethullah Gulen could -probably by illegal means- be removed from the U.S. and handed over to Turkey.

Gulen is accused by the Erdogan mafia of initiating a coup attempt against it. The U.S. claims officially that there is no evidence for such an accusation and that Gulen can therefore not be rendered to Turkey. Gulen is an old CIA asset that helped the U.S. deep state to control Turkey. Erdogan divorced from the Gulen organization after it became useless for his neo-Ottoman project.

Here is the WSJ report on the Woolsey claims and a video clip with parts of his WSJ interview. Woolsey also went on CNN where he repeated his WSJ story.

Flynn was accused by the anti-Trump campaign to have worked for Russia. He had taken several $10,000 for speeches he gave in Moscow. He also, at times, had argued for better U.S. relations with Russia. But Flynn's pro-Russia stand was probably honest. (Or the bribes involved were just smaller than the ones paid by others.) The money he got on the speaker circus was rather small for a man in his position.

Flynn's real corruption was on another issue. After having been fired from the Trump administration, Flynn retroactively filed under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). His lobbying firm had a contract over $530,000 to work for a company near to the Turkish president Erdogan:

In its filing, Mr. Flynns firm said its work from August to November could be construed to have principally benefited the Republic of Turkey. The filing said his firms fee, $530,000, wasnt paid by the government but by Inovo BV, a Dutch firm owned by a Turkish businessman, Ekim Alptekin.

This lobbying , not the alleged Flynn-Putin relation, is the real scandal and part of the Trump/CIA/Clinton deep-state in-fighting.

The meeting Woolsey described was under the "Turkish" Flynn contract. The Turkish business man, and owner of Inovo, Ekim Alptekin is a member of the Erdogan gang. But hidden at the very end of the WSJ story is the real key to understand the shady network:

Inovo hired Mr. Flynn on behalf of an Israeli company seeking to export natural gas to Turkey, the filing said, and Mr. Alptekin wanted information on the U.S.-Turkey political climate to advise the gas company about its Turkish investments.

It was the Israeli gas company, not the Alptekin outlet , that drove the issue.

The Leviatan (and Tamar ) gas fields in the Mediterranean along the Israeli coast are a huge energy and profit resource IF the gas from them can be exported to Europe. Several companies are involved in the exploration and all are looking for ways to connect the fields to the European gas network. There are (likely true) rumors that huge bribes have been payed in Israel, Jordan and elsewhere to win exploration contracts and to sell the gas. Negotiations between Israel and Turkey over the pipeline have been on and off. They depend on a positive climate towards Israel in the Turkish government which again depends on the often changing political position of the Erdogan gang.

The picture evolving here (lots of sleuthing and sources) is this:

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An Israeli company (or whoever is behind it) wants a gas pipeline to Turkey. It hires Flynn and Alptekin to arrange a positive climate for the Leviathan pipeline within the Turkish government. It offers Flynn more than half a million for a little (4-month long) influence work. His job is to create a "friendly atmosphere" for the deal by using his influence in the U.S. to accommodate Erdogan. A major point that is expected from Flynn is to arrange the handover of Gulen, by whatever means, from the U.S. to Erdogan.

After accepting the (lobbying) bribe Flynn-the-whore suddenly changes his former anti-Turkish, pro-Russian, pro-Kurdish political position into a pro-Turkish, neutral-Russian and anti-Kurdish one. (His lobbying firm also makes some smaller payments related to the Clinton email-server scandal. This may be related to links between the Clinton family and the Gulen school empire.) He has a meeting with the Turkish government/Erdogan officials part of which is a discussion of a removal of Gulen to Turkey. He pens a pro Erdogan anti-Gulen op-ed which is published on the day of the election and he denigrates the Pentagon plan to work with the Kurds in Syria.

The NSA, CIA and the FBI are listening to Flynn's conversations with Turkish and Israeli interests. (For the old and long history of such "wiretapping" of Turkish and Israeli connections and various dirty and criminal deals they revealed read and ask Sibel Edmonds .)

The projects which Flynn is involved in, especially removing Gulen, are against the long term interests of the (neoconservative-driven) CIA. Selected tapes of his talks are transcribed and distributed within the anti-Trump campaign. This is the origin of the "wiretapping" of the Trump Tower the U.S. president lamented about. The stuff the CIA dug up about Flynn's dealing was and is used against Trump.

Woolsey is caught up in this as he also worked for Flynn's lobbying firm. (His neocon-pro-Zionist history suggests that he is the senior Israeli watchdog over Flynn in all this.) He is now engaged in damage control and is "coming clean" and selectively leaking his anti-Flynn stuff to exculpate himself. (There is probably also some new, better deal involved that will pay off from him.)
Home How US Flooded the World with Psyops By Robert Parry March 27, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " Consortium News " - Newly declassified documents from the Reagan presidential library help explain how the U.S. government developed its sophisticated psychological operations capabilities that  over the past three decades  have created an alternative reality both for people in targeted countries and for American citizens, a structure that expanded U.S. influence abroad and quieted dissent at home. The documents reveal the formation of a psyops bureaucracy under the direction of Walter Raymond Jr., a senior CIA covert operations specialist who was assigned to President Reagans National Security Council staff to enhance the importance of propaganda and psyops in undermining U.S. adversaries around the world and ensuring sufficient public support for foreign policies inside the United States. Raymond, who has been compared to a character from a John LeCarre novel slipping easily into the woodwork, spent his years inside Reagans White House as a shadowy puppet master who tried his best to avoid public attention or  it seems  even having his picture taken. From the tens of thousands of photographs from meetings at Reagans White House, I found only a couple showing Raymond  and he is seated in groups, partially concealed by other officials. But Raymond appears to have grasped his true importance. In his NSC files, I found a doodle of an organizational chart that had Raymond at the top holding what looks like the crossed handles used by puppeteers to control the puppets below them. Although its impossible to know exactly what the doodler had in mind, the drawing fits the reality of Raymond as the behind-the-curtains operative who was controlling the various inter-agency task forces that were responsible for implementing various propaganda and psyops strategies. Until the 1980s, psyops were normally regarded as a military technique for undermining the will of an enemy force by spreading lies, confusion and terror. A classic case was Gen. Edward Lansdale  considered the father of modern psyops  draining the blood from a dead Filipino rebel in such a way so the dead rebels superstitious comrades would think that a vampire-like creature was on the prowl. In Vietnam, Lansdales psyops team supplied fake and dire astrological predictions for the fate of North Vietnamese and Vietcong leaders. Essentially, the psyops idea was to play on the cultural weaknesses of a target population so they could be more easily manipulated and controlled. But the challenges facing the Reagan administration in the 1980s led to its determination that peacetime psyops were also needed and that the target populations had to include the American public. The Reagan administration was obsessed with the problems left behind by the 1970s disclosures of government lying about the Vietnam War and revelations about CIA abuses both in overthrowing democratically elected governments and spying on American dissidents. This so-called Vietnam Syndrome produced profound skepticism from regular American citizens as well as journalists and politicians when President Reagan tried to sell his plans for intervention in the civil wars then underway in Central America, Africa and elsewhere. While Reagan saw Central America as a Soviet beachhead, many Americans saw brutal Central American oligarchs and their bloody security forces slaughtering priests, nuns, labor activists, students, peasants and indigenous populations. Reagan and his advisers realized that they had to turn those perceptions around if they hoped to get sustained funding for the militaries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras as well as for the Nicaraguan Contra rebels, the CIA-organized paramilitary force marauding around leftist-ruled Nicaragua. So, it became a high priority to reshape public perceptions to gain support for Reagans Central American military operations both inside those targeted countries and among Americans. A Psyops Totality As Col. Alfred R. Paddock Jr. wrote in an influential November 1983 paper, entitled  Military Psychological Operations and US Strategy,  the planned use of communications to influence attitudes or behavior should, if properly used, precede, accompany, and follow all applications of force. Put another way, psychological operations is the one weapons system which has an important role to play in peacetime, throughout the spectrum of conflict, and during the aftermath of conflict. Paddock continued, Military psychological operations are an important part of the PSYOP Totality, both in peace and war.  We need a program of psychological operations as an integral part of our national security policies and programs.  The continuity of a standing interagency board or committee to provide the necessary coordinating mechanism for development of a coherent, worldwide psychological operations strategy is badly needed. Some of Raymonds recently available handwritten notes show a focus on El Salvador with the implementation of Nation wide multi-media psyops spread through rallies and electronic media. Radio + TV also carried Psyops messages, Raymond wrote . (Emphasis in original.) Though Raymonds crimped handwriting is often hard to decipher, the notes make clear that psyops programs also were directed at Honduras, Guatemala and Peru. One declassified top secret document in Raymonds file  dated Feb. 4, 1985, from Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger  urged the fuller implementation of President Reagans National Security Decision Directive 130 , which was signed on March 6, 1984, and which authorized peacetime psyops by expanding psyops beyond its traditional boundaries of active military operations into peacetime situations in which the U.S. government could claim some threat to national interests. This approval can provide the impetus to the rebuilding of a necessary strategic capability, focus attention on psychological operations as a national  not solely military  instrument, and ensure that psychological operations are fully coordinated with public diplomacy and other international information activities, Weinbergers document said. This broader commitment to psyops led to the creation of a Psychological Operations Committee (POC) that was to be chaired by a representative of Reagans National Security Council with a vice chairman from the Pentagon and with representatives from the Central Intelligence Agency, the State Department and the U.S. Information Agency. This group will be responsible for planning, coordinating and implementing psychological operations activities in support of United States policies and interests relative to national security, according to a secret addendum to a memo, dated March 25, 1986, from Col. Paddock, the psyops advocate who had become the U.S. Armys Director for Psychological Operations. The committee will provide the focal point for interagency coordination of detailed contingency planning for the management of national information assets during war, and for the transition from peace to war, the addendum added. The POC shall seek to ensure that in wartime or during crises (which may be defined as periods of acute tension involving a threat to the lives of American citizens or the imminence of war between the U.S. and other nations), U.S. international information elements are ready to initiate special procedures to ensure policy consistency, timely response and rapid feedback from the intended audience. Taking Shape The Psychological Operations Committee took formal shape with a secret memo from Reagans National Security Advisor John Poindexter on July 31, 1986. Its first meeting was called on Sept. 2, 1986, with an agenda that focused on Central America and How can other POC agencies support and complement DOD programs in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama. The POC was also tasked with Developing National PSYOPS Guidelines for formulating and implementing a national PSYOPS program. (Underlining in original) Raymond was named a co-chair of the POC along with CIA officer Vincent Cannistraro, who was then Deputy Director for Intelligence Programs on the NSC staff, according to a secret memo from Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Craig Alderman Jr. The memo also noted that future POC meetings would be briefed on psyops projects for the Philippines and Nicaragua, with the latter project codenamed Niagara Falls. The memo also references a Project Touchstone, but it is unclear where that psyops program was targeted. Another secret memo dated Oct. 1, 1986, co-authored by Raymond, reported on the POCs first meeting on Sept. 10, 1986, and noted that The POC will, at each meeting, focus on an area of operations (e.g., Central America, Afghanistan, Philippines). The POCs second meeting on Oct. 24, 1986, concentrated on the Philippines, according to a Nov. 4, 1986 memo also co-authored by Raymond. The next step will be a tightly drafted outline for a PSYOPS Plan which we will send to that Embassy for its comment, the memo said. The plan largely focused on a range of civic actions supportive of the overall effort to overcome the insurgency, an addendum noted. There is considerable concern about the sensitivities of any type of a PSYOPS program given the political situation in the Philippines today. Earlier in 1986, the Philippines had undergone the so-called People Power Revolution, which drove longtime dictator Ferdinand Marcos into exile, and the Reagan administration, which belatedly pulled its support from Marcos, was trying to stabilize the political situation to prevent more populist elements from gaining the upper hand. But the Reagan administrations primary attention continued to go back to Central America, including Project Niagara Falls, the psyops program aimed at Nicaragua. A secret Pentagon memo from Deputy Under Secretary Alderman on Nov. 20, 1986, outlined the work of the 4th Psychological Operations Group on this psyops plan to help bring about democratization of Nicaragua, by which the Reagan administration meant a regime change. The precise details of Project Niagara Falls were not disclosed in the declassified documents but the choice of codename suggested a cascade of psyops. Other documents from Raymonds NSC file shed light on who other key operatives in the psyops and propaganda programs were. For instance, in undated notes on efforts to influence the Socialist International, including securing support for U.S. foreign policies from Socialist and Social Democratic parties in Europe, Raymond cited the efforts of Ledeen, Gershman, a reference to neoconservative operative Michael Ledeen and Carl Gershman, another neocon who has served as president of the U.S.-government-funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED), from 1983 to the present. (Underlining in original.) Although NED is technically independent of the U.S. government, it receives the bulk of its funding (now about $100 million a year) from Congress. Documents from the Reagan archives also make clear that NED was organized as a way to replace some of the CIAs political and propaganda covert operations, which had fallen into disrepute in the 1970s. Earlier released documents from Raymonds file show CIA Director William Casey pushing for NEDs creation and Raymond, Caseys handpicked man on the NSC, giving frequent advice and direction to Gershman. [See Consortiumnews.coms  CIAs Hidden Hand in Democracy Groups. ] Another figure in Raymonds constellation of propaganda assets was media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who was viewed as both a key political ally of President Reagan and a valuable source of funding for private groups that were coordinating with White House propaganda operations. [See Consortiumnews.coms  Rupert Murdoch: Propaganda Recruit. ] In a Nov. 1, 1985 letter to Raymond, Charles R. Tanguy of the Committees for a Community of Democracies  USA asked Raymond to intervene in efforts to secure Murdochs funding for the group. We would be grateful  if you could find the time to telephone Mr. Murdoch and encourage him to give us a positive response, the letter said. Another document, entitled  Project Truth Enhancement , described how $24 million would be spent on upgrading the telecommunications infrastructure to arm Project Truth, with the technical capability to provide the most efficient and productive media support for major USG policy initiatives like Political Democracy. Project Truth was the overarching name of the Reagan administrations propaganda operation. For the outside world, the program was billed as public diplomacy, but administration insiders privately called it perception management. [See Consortiumnews.coms  The Victory of Perception Management. ] The Early Years The original priority of Project Truth was to clean up the images of the Guatemalan and Salvadoran security forces and the Nicaraguan Contras, who were led by ousted dictator Anastasio Somozas ex-National Guard officers. To ensure steady military funding for these notorious forces, Reagans team knew it had to defuse the negative publicity and somehow rally the American peoples support. At first, the effort focused on weeding out American reporters who uncovered facts that undercut the desired public images. As part of that effort, the administration denounced New York Times correspondent Raymond Bonner for disclosing the Salvadoran regimes massacre of about 800 men, women and children in the village of El Mozote in northeast El Salvador in December 1981. Accuracy in Media and conservative news organizations, such as The Wall Street Journals editorial page, joined in pummeling Bonner, who was soon ousted from his job. But such efforts were largely ad hoc and disorganized. CIA Director Casey, from his years crisscrossing the interlocking worlds of business and intelligence, had important contacts for creating a more systematic propaganda network. He recognized the value of using established groups known for advocating human rights, such as Freedom House. One document from the Reagan library showed senior Freedom House official Leo Cherne running a draft manuscript on political conditions in El Salvador past Casey and promising that Freedom House would make requested editorial corrections and changes  and even send over the editor for consultation with whomever Casey assigned to review the paper. In a Dear Bill letter dated June 24, 1981, Cherne, who was chairman of the Freedom Houses executive committee, wrote: I am enclosing a copy of the draft manuscript by Bruce McColm, Freedom Houses resident specialist on Central America and the Caribbean. This manuscript on El Salvador was the one I had urged be prepared and in the haste to do so as rapidly as possible, it is quite rough. You had mentioned that the facts could be checked for meticulous accuracy within the government and this would be very helpful.  If there are any questions about the McColm manuscript, I suggest that whomever is working on it contact Richard Salzmann at the Research Institute [an organization where Cherne was executive director]. He is Editor-in-Chief at the Institute and the Chairman of the Freedom Houses Salvador Committee. He will make sure that the corrections and changes get to Rita Freedman who will also be working with him. If there is any benefit to be gained from Salzmanns coming down at any point to talk to that person, he is available to do so. By 1982, Casey also was lining up some powerful right-wing ideologues to help fund the perception management project both with money and their own media outlets. Richard Mellon Scaife was the scion of the Mellon banking, oil and aluminum fortune who financed a variety of right-wing family foundations  such as Sarah Scaife and Carthage  that were financial benefactors to right-wing journalists and think tanks. Scaife also published the Tribune Review in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A more comprehensive public diplomacy operation began to take shape in 1982 when Raymond, a 30-year veteran of CIA clandestine services, was transferred to the NSC. Raymond became the sparkplug for this high-powered propaganda network, according to an unpublished draft chapter of the congressional Iran-Contra investigation that was suppressed as part of the deal to get three moderate Republican senators to sign on to the final report and give the inquiry a patina of bipartisanship. Though the draft chapter didnt use Raymonds name in its opening pages, apparently because some of the information came from classified depositions, Raymonds name was used later in the chapter and the earlier citations matched Raymonds known role. According to the draft report, the CIA officer who was recruited for the NSC job had served as Director of the Covert Action Staff at the CIA from 1978 to 1982 and was a specialist in propaganda and disinformation. Not For Profit - For Global Justice - Since 2001 Get Our Free Daily Newsletter The CIA official [Raymond] discussed the transfer with [CIA Director] Casey and NSC Advisor William Clark that he be assigned to the NSC as [Donald] Greggs successor [as coordinator of intelligence operations in June 1982] and received approval for his involvement in setting up the public diplomacy program along with his intelligence responsibilities, the chapter said. Gregg was another senior CIA official who was assigned to the NSC before becoming Vice President George H.W. Bushs national security adviser. In the early part of 1983, documents obtained by the Select [Iran-Contra] Committees indicate that the Director of the Intelligence Staff of the NSC [Raymond] successfully recommended the establishment of an inter-governmental network to promote and manage a public diplomacy plan designed to create support for Reagan Administration policies at home and abroad. War of Ideas During his Iran-Contra deposition, Raymond explained the need for this propaganda structure, saying: We were not configured effectively to deal with the war of ideas. One reason for this shortcoming was that federal law forbade taxpayers money from being spent on domestic propaganda or grassroots lobbying to pressure congressional representatives. Of course, every president and his team had vast resources to make their case in public, but by tradition and law, they were restricted to speeches, testimony and one-on-one persuasion of lawmakers. But President Reagan saw the American publics Vietnam Syndrome as an obstacle to his more aggressive policies. Along with Raymonds government-based organization, there were outside groups eager to cooperate and cash in. Back at Freedom House, Cherne and his associates were angling for financial support. In an Aug. 9, 1982 letter to Raymond, Freedom House executive director Leonard R. Sussman wrote that Leo Cherne has asked me to send these copies of Freedom Appeals. He has probably told you we have had to cut back this project to meet financial realities.  We would, of course, want to expand the project once again when, as and if the funds become available. Offshoots of that project appear in newspapers, magazines, books and on broadcast services here and abroad. Its a significant, unique channel of communication  precisely the focus of Raymonds work. On Nov. 4, 1982, Raymond, after his transfer from the CIA to the NSC staff but while still a CIA officer, wrote to NSC Advisor Clark about the Democracy Initiative and Information Programs, stating that Bill Casey asked me to pass on the following thought concerning your meeting with [right-wing billionaire] Dick Scaife, Dave Abshire [then a member of the Presidents Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board], and Co. Casey had lunch with them today and discussed the need to get moving in the general area of supporting our friends around the world. By this definition he is including both building democracy  and helping invigorate international media programs. The DCI [Casey] is also concerned about strengthening public information organizations in the United States such as Freedom House.  A critical piece of the puzzle is a serious effort to raise private funds to generate momentum. Caseys talk with Scaife and Co. suggests they would be very willing to cooperate.  Suggest that you note White House interest in private support for the Democracy initiative. The importance of the CIA and White House secretly arranging private funds was that these supposedly independent voices would then reinforce and validate the administrations foreign policy arguments with a public that would assume the endorsements were based on the merits of the White House positions, not influenced by money changing hands. Like snake-oil salesmen who plant a few cohorts in the crowd to whip up excitement for the cure-all elixir, Reagan administration propagandists salted some well-paid private individuals around Washington to echo White House propaganda themes. The role of the CIA in these initiatives was concealed but never far from the surface. A Dec. 2, 1982 note addressed to Bud, a reference to senior NSC official Robert Bud McFarlane, described a request from Raymond for a brief meeting. When he [Raymond] returned from Langley [CIA headquarters], he had a proposed draft letter  re $100 M democ[racy] proj[ect], the note said. While Casey pulled the strings on this project, the CIA director instructed White House officials to hide the CIAs hand. Obviously we here [at CIA] should not get out front in the development of such an organization, nor should we appear to be a sponsor or advocate, Casey said in one undated letter to then-White House counselor Edwin Meese III as Casey urged creation of a National Endowment. But the formation of the National Endowment for Democracy, with its hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. government money, was still months down the road. In the meantime, the Reagan administration would have to line up private donors to advance the propaganda cause. We will develop a scenario for obtaining private funding, NSC Advisor Clark wrote to Reagan in a Jan. 13, 1983 memo, adding that U.S. Information Agency Director Charlie Wick has offered to take the lead. We may have to call on you to meet with a group of potential donors. Despite Caseys and Raymonds success in bringing onboard wealthy conservatives to provide private funding for the propaganda operations, Raymond worried about whether a scandal could erupt over the CIAs involvement. Raymond formally resigned from the CIA in April 1983, so, he said, there would be no question whatsoever of any contamination of this. But Raymond continued to act toward the U.S. public much like a CIA officer would in directing a propaganda operation in a hostile foreign country. Raymond fretted, too, about the legality of Caseys ongoing role. Raymond confided in one memo that it was important to get [Casey] out of the loop, but Casey never backed off and Raymond continued to send progress reports to his old boss well into 1986. It was the kind of thing which [Casey] had a broad catholic interest in, Raymond shrugged during his Iran-Contra deposition. He then offered the excuse that Casey undertook this apparently illegal interference in domestic politics not so much in his CIA hat, but in his adviser to the president hat. Peacetime Propaganda Meanwhile, Reagan began laying out the formal authority for this unprecedented peacetime propaganda bureaucracy. On Jan. 14, 1983, Reagan signed National Security Decision Directive 77 , entitled Management of Public Diplomacy Relative to National Security. In NSDD-77, Reagan deemed it necessary to strengthen the organization, planning and coordination of the various aspects of public diplomacy of the United States Government. Reagan ordered the creation of a special planning group within the National Security Council to direct these public diplomacy campaigns. The planning group would be headed by Walter Raymond and one of its principal outposts would be a new Office of Public Diplomacy for Latin America, housed at the State Department but under the control of the NSC. (One of the directors of the Latin American public diplomacy office was neoconservative Robert Kagan, who would later co-found the Project for the New American Century in 1998 and become a chief promoter of President George W. Bushs 2003 invasion of Iraq.) On May 20, 1983, Raymond recounted in a memo that $400,000 had been raised from private donors brought to the White House Situation Room by U.S. Information Agency Director Charles Wick. According to that memo, the money was divided among several organizations, including Freedom House and Accuracy in Media, a right-wing media attack organization. When I wrote about that memo in my 1992 book, Fooling America, Freedom House denied receiving any White House money or collaborating with any CIA/NSC propaganda campaign. In a letter, Freedom Houses Sussman called Raymond a second-hand source and insisted that this organization did not need any special funding to take positions  on any foreign-policy issues. But it made little sense that Raymond would have lied to a superior in an internal memo. And clearly, Freedom House remained central to the Reagan administrations schemes for aiding groups supportive of its Central American policies, particularly the CIA-organized Contra war against the leftist Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. Plus, White House documents released later revealed that Freedom House kept its hand out for funding. On Sept. 15, 1984, Bruce McColm  writing from Freedom Houses Center for Caribbean and Central American Studies  sent Raymond a short proposal for the Centers Nicaragua project 1984-85. The project combines elements of the oral history proposal with the publication of The Nicaraguan Papers, a book that would disparage Sandinista ideology and practices. Maintaining the oral history part of the project adds to the overall costs; but preliminary discussions with film makers have given me the idea that an Improper Conduct-type of documentary could be made based on these materials, McColm wrote, referring to a 1984 film that offered a scathing critique of Fidel Castros Cuba. Such a film would have to be the work of a respected Latin American filmmaker or a European. American-made films on Central America are simply too abrasive ideologically and artistically poor. McColms three-page letter reads much like a book or movie pitch, trying to interest Raymond in financing the project: The Nicaraguan Papers will also be readily accessible to the general reader, the journalist, opinion-maker, the academic and the like. The book would be distributed fairly broadly to these sectors and I am sure will be extremely useful. They already constitute a form of Freedom House samizdat, since Ive been distributing them to journalists for the past two years as Ive received them from disaffected Nicaraguans. McColm proposed a face-to-face meeting with Raymond in Washington and attached a six-page grant proposal seeking $134,100. According to the grant proposal, the project would include free distribution to members of Congress and key public officials; distribution of galleys in advance of publication for maximum publicity and timely reviews in newspapers and current affairs magazines; press conferences at Freedom House in New York and at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.; op-ed circulation to more than 100 newspapers ; distribution of a Spanish-language edition through Hispanic organizations in the United States and in Latin America; arrangement of European distribution through Freedom House contacts. The documents that I found at the Reagan library did not indicate what subsequently happened to this specific proposal. McColm did not respond to an email request for comment about the Nicaraguan Papers plan or the earlier letter from Cherne (who died in 1999) to Casey about editing McCombs manuscript. Freedom House did emerge as a leading critic of Nicaraguas Sandinista government and also became a major recipient of money from the U.S.-funded National Endowment for Democracy, which was founded in 1983 under the umbrella of the Casey-Raymond project. The more recently released documents  declassified between 2013 and 2017  show how these earlier Casey-Raymond efforts merged with the creation of a formal psyop bureaucracy in 1986 also under the control of Raymonds NSC operation. The combination of the propaganda and psyop programs underscored the powerful capability that the U.S. government developed more than three decades ago for planting slanted, distorted or fake news. (Casey died in 1987; Raymond died in 2003.) Over those several decades, even as the White House changed hands from Republicans to Democrats to Republicans to Democrats, the momentum created by William Casey and Walter Raymond continued to push these perception management/psyops strategies forward. In more recent years, the wording has changed, giving way to more pleasing euphemisms, like smart power and  strategic communications . But the idea is still the same: how you can use propaganda to sell U.S. government policies abroad and at home. Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, Americas Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com ). The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. What's your response? - Scroll down to add / read comments Please read our Comment Policy before posting - It is unacceptable to slander, smear or engage in personal attacks on authors of articles posted on ICH. Those engaging in that behavior will be banned from the comment section.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has departed from Tehran for an official visit to Moscow at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, IRNA reported.

The sides are expected to ink about 10 documents for expansion of cooperation in various areas, particularly in economic, trade and industrial spheres during the two-day visit.

Trade turnover between the two countries saw a huge surge over the past year, rising by 80 percent to more than $2 billion, with energy, agriculture and defense sales forming the bulk of the transactions.

Iran and Russia have targeted to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $10 billion over the coming three years.
Daesh

, Creature of the West

By Pepe Escobar



March 27, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " Sputnik " - James Shea, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Emerging Threats at NATO  now thats a lovely title  recently gave a talk at a private club in London on the Islamic State/Daesh. Shea, as many will remember, made his name as NATOs spokesman during the NATO war on Yugoslavia in 1999.

After his talk Shea engaged in a debate with a source I very much treasure. The source later gave me the lowdown.

According to Saudi intelligence, Daesh was invented by the US government  in Camp Bacca, near the Kuwait border, as many will remember  to essentially finish off the Shiite-majority Nouri al-Maliki government in Baghdad.

It didnt happen this way, of course. Then, years later, in the summer of 2014, Daesh routed the Iraqi Army on its way to conquer Mosul . The Iraqi Army fled. Daesh operatives then annexed ultra-modern weapons that took US instructors from six to twelve months to train the Iraqis in andsurprise! Daesh incorporated the weapons in their arsenals in 24 hours.

In the end, Shea frankly admitted to the source that Gen David Petraeus , conductor of the much-lauded 2007 surge, had trained these Sunnis now part of Daesh in Anbar province in Iraq.

Saudi intelligence still maintains that these Iraqi Sunnis were not US-trained  as Shea confirmed  because the Shiites in power in Baghdad didnt allow it. Not true. The fact is the Daesh core  most of them former commanders and soldiers in Saddam Hussein s army  is indeed a US-trained militia.

True to form, at the end of the debate, Shea went on to blame Russia for absolutely everything thats happening today  including Daesh terror.

Mr. Sykes and Monsieur Picot, youre dead

Now lets go back to the proclamation of the Daesh Caliphate in June 29, 2014. That was choreographed as a symbolic abolition of the Sykes-Picot border that split the Middle East a century ago. At the same time, abandoning the option of a military push to take Baghdad, Daesh chose to regionalize and internationalize the fight, creating their own transnational state and denouncing regional states as impostors. All that coupled with the amp up of any chaos strategy capable of horrifying Western public opinion.

For large swathes of a Sunni Arab audience, this was powerful stuff. Daesh was proclaiming themselves, in a warped manner, as the sole real heir of the different Arab Springs; the only totally autonomous regional movement, depending exclusively on its own local base, made up of numerous Bedouin tribes.

But how did we get here?

Lets go back once again  now to Iraq in the 1990s, during the Clinton era . The strategic logic at the time spelled out an instrumentalization of UN resolutions  with Washington de facto controlling Iraqs oil, manipulating the price as a means of pressure over trade competitors much more dependent on Iraqi oil such as China, Japan and selected European nations.

9/11 turned this state of affairs upside down  leading to the 2003 neocon ideological stupidity and subsequent amateurism managing an occupation in total ignorance of history and the ultra-complex dynamics between the Iraqi state and society. Saddam Hussein was the de facto last avatar of a political arrangement invented by imperial Britain in 1920. With the invasion and occupation, the Iraq state collapsed. And the Cheney regime had no clue what to do with it.

There was no Sunni alternative. So Plan B, under major pressure by Shiites and Kurds, was to give voice to the majority. The problem is political parties ended up being religious and ethnic parties. The partition of power, Lebanese-style  Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds  turned out to be a dysfunctional nightmare.

Between 2005 and 2008, this American attempt to rebuild the Iraqi state yielded a horrendous confessional civil war between Sunnis and Shiites. The Sunnis lost. And that largely explains the subsequent success of Daesh in creating a Sunniland.

The US occupation-Arab Spring love affair

Now lets turn to the Syrian version of the Arab Spring in February/March 2011. Initial protests against Assads iron rule were peaceful  multi-communitarian and multi-confessional. But soon anti-Alawite rancor started to radicalize a significant part of the Sunni majority.

As historian Pierre-Jean Luizard, a specialist in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon at the French CNRS reminds us, Syria was the favorite land of Hanbalism  a most conservative branch of Sunni Islam that highly influenced the emergence of Wahhabism in the Arabian Peninsula. That implies a virulent anti-Shiism. Thus the emergence among the Syrian armed opposition of multiple Salafi-jihadi groups, most of all Jabhat al-Nusra  a.k.a. al-Qaeda in Syria.

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Meanwhile, Assad fine-tuned a message to the West and his own Sunni bourgeoisie oscilating between allegiance and dissidence; its me, or chaos. Chaos ensued, anyway; horrendous structural violence, all-around institutional decrepitude, total territorial fragmentation.

So its fair to argue that both US occupation and the Syrian Arab Spring ended up producing the same result. With some differences; in Iraq, Daesh enjoys the (silent) support of a majority of Sunni Arabs. In Syria, Sunnis are divided; Daesh may rule the desert  Bedouin culture, but its Jabhat al-Nusra that captured significant Sunni support in big urban centers such as Aleppo. In Iraq, the borders between the three large communities  Sunni, Shiite, Kurd  are more or less frozen. In Syria, its a never-ending jigsaw puzzle.

What happens next is a mystery. The de facto independence of Iraq Kurdistan may solidify. The Baghdad government may increasingly represent only Shiites. Yet its hard to see Daesh consolidating its control of Sunni Iraq  not with the ongoing Battle of Mosul.

Blowback rules the wilderness of mirrors

Its easy to dismiss Daesh as the apex of barbarian cultural idiosyncrasies. Even wallowing in gruesomeness, Daesh has been able to project a universalist dimension beyond its Sunni Arab Middle Eastern base. Its like the clash of civilizations playing in a wilderness of mirrors. Daesh amplifies the clash not between East and West, or the Arab world and the Atlanticist hegemon, but mostly between a certain (warped) conception of Islam and assorted infidels. Daesh welcomes everyone, even Catholic Europeans while persecuting Arab infidels and bad Muslims.

Its no wonder the Caliphate  a concrete utopia on the ground  finds an echo among young lone wolves living in the West. Because Daesh insists on the colonial Franco-British  and then neocolonial American  history of Muslims being trampled upon by a dominating, infidel West, they manage to channel a diffuse sentiment of injustice among the young.

Everyone  US, France, Britain, Russia, Iran  is now at war with Daesh (Turkey only half-heartedly, as well as the House of Saud and the GCC petrodollar gang; for them this not a priority.)

But this is a war without a serious political long-term perspective. No one is discussing the place for Sunni Arabs in an Iraq dominated by the Shiite majority; how to put the Syrian state back together; or whether private donors to Daesh from Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates will simply disappear.

The encirclement of Raqqa and the re-conquest of Mosul will mean absolutely nothing if the causes of Daeshs initial success are not addressed. It starts with the Wests mission civilisatrice as the cover story for unbounded colonial domination, and it straddles the methodical, inexorable, slow motion American destruction of Iraq. Blowback will continue to reign over the wilderness of mirrors; an attack near the British Parliament by a knife-carrying lone wolf soldier answering its call killing four people mirrored by US jets bombing a school near Raqqa killing thirty-three civilians.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has commenced construction and rehabilitation of roads across the three senatorial districts of Ondo State.

The governor has mobilised engineers, technicians and other relevant officials of the Ondo State Agency for Road Maintenance and Construction to where the construction will begin.

According to the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Segun Ajiboye, major towns in the three senatorial districts would be affected as work had commenced on the internal and access roads in the Ondo State University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, in the southern part of the state.

The walkways are already being cast, while kerbs are also being constructed just as the components of the car parks are being put in place, he said.

The development came just one week after the Deputy Governor, Mr. Agboola Ajayi visited the site of a project, which was initiated by the administration of a former Governor of the state, Dr. Olusegun Agagu.

Similarly in the Central Senatorial District, Ajiboye explained that reconstruction of the road linking Ilara-Mokin with Ikota in Ifedore Local Government Area was in progress and that the project would be completed in quick time.

He added that the Owo township roads being constructed by the immediate past administration of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko would be totally completed as work had already begun on them.

Source: Punch
After the remaining housemates of the ongoing BB Naija reality show were given the pass by Big Brother to conspire and talk about who they want to get evicted, Tboss has commented that ex-housemate, Kemen, who was disqualified for sexually assaulting her, is the biggest ass-kisser she has ever seen.

The Nigerian-Romanian housemate disclosed this in a conversation with fellow housemate, Debbie-Rise.

Recall that Kemen was kicked out of the house after he was caught on Camera fondling T-boss without her consent while she was asleep. Upon his eviction, Kemen claimed T-Boss withheld the truth about the events that led to his disqualification and eviction.

Debbie-Rise, however, advised that the housemates shouldnt conspire even though it has been allowed.

T-boss told Debbie, You know the one person that was the biggest kisser this house has ever had? Kemen. Kemen could lick nyash.

Debbie Rise then asked, why did you say that? She replied, Because he was the one that asked me to watch them [other housemates].

https://youtu.be/j8rnW0q_63c
More students of Queens College, Yaba, have been admitted in the general hospital according to reports.

According to information, a parent, whose child had been admitted at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, for about a week, told reporters that no fewer than 15 pupils of the school were receiving treatment in LUTH.

The parent and other parents with children in the school called on the Federal Government to recall a former principal of the school, Dr Lami Amodu, to face criminal charges for negligence and the death of two pupils of the school.

According to reports, the pupils of the school had diarrhoea after eating spaghetti and water, said to have been contaminated.

A teacher in the school had disclosed to reporters that one-fourth of the school population was infected with diarrhoea and were initially admitted at the schools sickbay.

Two pupils of the schoolVivian Osuiniyi and Bithia Itulua  were reported to have died after being taken away for proper treatments at home.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, had released a statement, saying health records from the schools sickbay indicated that the illness started on January 16, 2017, adding that a total of 1,222 pupils presented themselves at the schools clinic on account of abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Idris had advised an indefinite suspension of academic activities in the school.

The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, was reported to have asked the schools new principal, Mrs. Bola Are, to cease plans for the resumption of the school.

It was however learnt that the schools Junior Secondary School three pupils and Senior Secondary School three pupils had been going to the school as day students because of their certificate exams.

A parent, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone from LUTH on Thurday, said the decision was wrong, adding that some parents had been bringing their children from the school in their uniforms to LUTH.

She said, My daughter did not show any symptom until about two weeks ago. We took her to a private clinic in our area, where she stayed for five days without any improvement.

Then, we took her to a standard hospital where some consultants battled with the infection. After I had spent about N150,000, I was advised to take her to LUTH.

In LUTH, I saw a lot of Queens College parents with their children. We were about 15 in number. Just yesterday, they brought a girl in school uniform. She was brought by her parents directly from the school. Unfortunately, while some of our children are struggling to survive, the school is trying to manage its reputation by lying that all is well.

They are bringing pupils on a daily basis. The school authority and the Federal Ministry of Education are paying lip service to this unfolding incident.

He said on the average, each admitted pupil spent two weeks in the hospital.

On Friday, the parent sent a message to our correspondent that another child had been brought in her school uniform to LUTH.

According to the reports, the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, had instructed all federal hospitals to treat pupils of the school free of charge.

A parent said one of the doctors attending to the children cautioned that pupils who had yet to show any sign of infection were more at risk.

He said, We were told that the more the bacterial stays dormant in the body of the girls, the more dangerous it would be. There is a need for the school management to sensitise all the parents whose children have not fallen ill to take urgent action. It is dangerous for pupils to still be using that environment because the infection has not been isolated.

A parent said many of the parents were of the opinion that the former principal of the school must be recalled and made to answer for the incident.

He said, She was just transferred, which is wrong. She should be made to answer to what happened. She should be prosecuted for criminal negligence or manslaughter. The same principal bought a Ford Explorer Jeep. The Jeep is on the schools premises. This principal denied that anything happened, and the question is why? Somebody must pay for this.

The Public Relations Officer of LUTH, Mr. Kelechi Otuneme, said he could not confirm the number of Queens College pupils in the hospital.

He said, I dont have that case before me right now, so I cannot tell the frequency at which they bring in pupils and the number of those in the hospital. I will get back to you tomorrow (Monday).

The President of the Old Students Association, Dr Frances Ajose, confirmed the development, adding that she was informed each time a new pupil took ill.

She said, Of course I am aware. I am notified each time they (the pupils) are going to hospitals.

Ajose, however, directed our correspondent to the state Commissioner for Health, Idris, saying he was the only one authorised to comment on the outbreak.

A top official of Queens College, who begged not to be identified, said she had spoken with LUTH director and was informed many of the pupils had been discharged.

I was told only five pupils are on admission. We are monitoring the situation. I have been praying for the pupils to return to school. The past principal really messed things up and I believe all other schools must have learnt from her mistake, she added.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
Three members of the school management of Government Secondary School have been summoned by the Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello, on Monday for underfeeding students of the school and causing them to starve unnecessarily.

Bello, while in an unscheduled visit to the school dining hall expressed sadness that the food met for 300 students was being served for 600 students by the officers in charge.

According to the governor, it was an act of wickedness to deprive the students of their food when the provision has been made by the government.

He ordered the principal officers involved to appear in his office for proper briefing, adding that the school management has failed to perform.

The governor decried a situation whereby school officials would pilferage on students meals to undermine government efforts at ensuring adequate feeding of students in its schools.

While in Agwara, the governor announced the conversion of Government Secondary School Agwara to boarding school and directed the state commissioner of education to commence the construction of hostels for the student immediately.

He directed the commissioner to ensure that all necessary facilities for the smooth take off of the boarding were in place within the shortest possible time.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
The founding overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has condemned in totality what he termed lopsided arrests over the aftermath of the clash between the indigenes and the Hausa community in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

Speaking in Lagos during his sermon at the Latter Rain Assembly, Bakare described as an abuse the arrest of some Yoruba as suspects in the clash and the justification of the arrest by the police.

DAILY POST reports that police had paraded 20 suspects of Yoruba extraction in Abuja last week, alleging that they masterminded the riot in the town on March 8, where 46 persons were reportedly killed.

Police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, who conducted the parade, did not, however, give reasons why no Hausa, who were involved in the clashes, were arrested as suspects.

The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, justified the arrests, which some Yoruba groups and individuals had described as one-sided and unacceptable.

Reacting, Bakare who leads the Save Nigeria Group believed that it was unfair for the police to arrest only Yorubas as suspected masterminds of the mayhem.

He said, If there is a fight between two people, you dont arrest one person and leave the other. What you do is to arrest the two and let the law takes its course. To arrest one party and leave the other and even go ahead to justify it is an abuse.

No one should be allowed to promote ethnic agenda in the country. That is not the way of righteousness, added the cleric, who spoke on The raising of a model leader.

Bakare equally accused those he described as sons of disobedience around President Muhammadu Buhari of leaking a memo, written by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, to the President.

On the alleged leaked memo written by governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State, Bakare alleged that those around Buhari deliberately leaked the memo to create friction between the President and the governor to fulfil their selfish interests.

Bakare stated, I can never deny that I knew about the memo; I knew about it. I flew from Lagos to meet El-Rufai in Abuja to discuss the contents with President Buhari. There were just three of us at the meeting.

The memo was an assessment of what was going on; where mistakes had been made and things were not going on well; and what could be done to move the country forward.

It was not an attack on anybody or on the President but some sons of disobedience around President Buhari leaked the memo to Sahara Reporters to make it look as if it was meant to attack the President for their own selfish interests.

Can you imagine that the memo was written in September last year and some people think that they could gain from that? Woe betides anyone who thinks he can further his interest by manipulating anything in this era.

Source: Dailypost
After a few weeks of respite, suspected kidnappers have swooped on a family at the Epe area of Lagos State, and abducted a 16-year-old student of Caleb University, Rachel Chukwuemeka. The kidnappers have swiftly demanded a N10 million ransom.

Chukwuemeka, the only child of her parents, is a first year Accounting student of Caleb University. She was abducted on Thursday around 1:00a.m. Numbering six, the kidnappers, reportedly armed to the teeth, came in a Sienna car and four among them went straight to the girls apartment. They used an axe to break down the door of the apartment and grabbed the girl, who was in her pyjamas.

They also inflicted machete cuts on her father when he attempted to struggle with them over Rachel. A resident said the injury on the man was so serious, that he had to be rushed to the nearest hospital.

Residents, who said kidnapping was still rife in the area, despite the presence of mobile policemen patrolling the area, revealed that more than six cases occurred within the last two weeks.

According to a source, Rachels abductors called on Friday night, demanding for N10 million ransom. The source said: Rachels family lives at the back of the building. The building itself is fenced. The kidnappers jumped into the compound and went straight to Rachels flat. They used an axe to break down the door. They made enough noise to wake other tenants.

When they gained entry into the flat, they asked her parents for Rachel and went into her room to grab her. She screamed and cried. She was only in her pyjamas; almost naked. They didnt ask for anything else. They didnt demand for money. They were not armed robbers.

While four scaled the fence into the compound, two remained in the Sienna car. One, among the four that jumped into the compound, wore facemask. Rachels father refused to allow them to take her. When the father tried to stop them, they inflicted machete cuts on him.

When the kidnappers called the following day to ask for ransom, Rachels mother demanded to speak with her daughter. The kidnappers gave Rachel the phone. The mother asked her if she was molested in anyway, she said no.

She told her mother that they gave her clothes to cover herself. Rachel said that after the kidnappers snatched her from home, they bundled her into the Sienna car and drove to the jetty in the area. At the jetty, they left the car and entered a boat. She said she didnt know where they took her. She described the place as isolated. The kidnappers collected the phone and told the mother to start working on how to raise the money, the source added.

Residents believed Rachel was the target of the abduction after several days and weeks of careful planning. According to a resident, we believe some of these kidnappers and their informants live in the community with us. We are terrified. They go after people they think have money. Kidnapping is becoming rampant in the area.

Within two weeks, six different incidents of kidnap have occurred. Its a serious matter. These men always escape through the river. I am suspecting that the parents of the girl will pay the ransom. I wouldnt blame them. Theyll negotiate with the kidnappers. They appeared to be on their own. The police have not made any arrest since Thursday.

In most kidnap cases that have taken place in this area, victims families used to sort things out themselves. Attempts by The Guardian to get the reaction of Lagos police spokesman, Famous Cole was futile as his telephone rang without any response.

Source: Guardian
A Katsina Chief Magistrates Court has sentenced one Gambo Saeed to nine months imprisonment for insulting and defaming the character of Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State on social media.

Saeed resides in Muduru village in Mani Local Government Area of Katsina State.

The police prosecutor, Isa Liti, earlier told the court that Saeed was arraigned following complaints received from Mansur Ali Mashi, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Radio Monitoring.

Mashi said the accused person abused Masari and called him names on social media, Mr. Liti, an inspector, said.

He said the accused person posted on the media that it was Gov. Masari who influenced the impeachment of Speaker of Katsina State House of Assembly, Aliyu Muduru.

Mr. Liti said police arrested the accused person and arraigned him for intentional insult, defamation of the governors character and inciting disturbance.

The charges were in accordance with sections 399, 392 and 114 of the Penal Code.

He also explained that the accused person confessed to have committed the offences.

Delivering the judgment on Monday in Katsina, Chief Magistrate Abdu Ladan, said the court has found the accused person guilty of the said offences; each charge attracts three years imprisonment.

Mr. Ladan then sentenced the accused to nine months imprisonment without option of fine.

(NAN)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that ties between Iran and Russia will benefit the nations of the two countries as well as the region.

Speaking to reporters at the Tehran airport before his departure to Moscow, the president said the relations between Iran and Russia are not against any third country, IRNA reported.

Saying the two countries currently enjoy close ties, President Rouhani described the two countries cooperation in the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as an example of close ties between Tehran and Moscow.

He added that Tehran and Moscow have common viewpoints regarding the issue of terrorism and stability in the region.

The cooperation between Tehran and Moscow concerning Syria is a clear sample for such understanding, he added.

Speaking about the existing capacity for cooperation between Iran and Russia on economic issues, the president called for constructive relations regarding oil production, instead of unhealthy competition.

Rouhani also touched upon the Iran-Russia-Azerbaijan and Iran-Russia-Turkey trilateral cooperation formats, saying there are proper developments in diplomatic as well as regional issues, including Astana peace talks on Syria.

According to the president, the issues of cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), tourism and banking ties are among the important topics of discussion.

Rouhani has departed from Tehran for an official visit to Moscow at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The sides are expected to ink about 10 documents for expansion of cooperation in various areas, particularly in economic, trade and industrial spheres during the two-day visit.
Nigeria students in Greater Noida residents, Indian have been accused eating a class 12 student, who had gone missing.

Though they failed to find any, local TV channels reported it as a case of cannibalism. The Nigerians, students of Noida International University, were taken into protective custody by police.

The incident occurred at NSG Black Cat Enclave on Friday night. A 19-year-old student Manish Kumar had earlier gone missing triggering wild speculation that he had been eaten by the students.

The police rushed to the enclave after the refrigerator raid and took the suspects to custody. Manish was later found lying in a nearby park on Saturday morning and passed away in a private hospital later, The Telegraph reports .

While the police are waiting for a post-mortem report to ascertain the cause of his death, his family have registered a case of abduction and murder against the Nigerian students.

The police released the students for a short while on Saturday and took them into custody again. They later handed over the students to an African student association, which has moved them to an undisclosed location.

A group of Africans had protested outside Kasni police station on Saturday against the detention of students. A local resident also alleged that the Africans may have eaten up the two dogs that have gone missing in the area.

Delhi residents have thrown unsubstantiated allegations of cannibalism against African community earlier as well.

In 2013, Nigerian residents of Arjun Nagar were accused of killing a child and cannibalism. In 2010, a mob had reportedly attacked Africans living in Ambedkar Colony accusing them of cannibalism.

Source: (PM News)
Two business men Labbo Giyawa and Murtala Dantata  have been kidnapped by Gunmen in Sokoto, this was confirmed by the Sokoto State Police Command.

The Command spokesman, El-Mustapha Sani , told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sokoto on Monday that the two men were kidnapped at Giyawa, Goronyo Local Government Area of the state.

Mr. Sani said: I can confirm the abduction of the two businessmen on Sunday night, at around 10 p.m.

They were seized by some gun-wielding men, while they were reportedly sleeping in the frontage of their various houses.

They were said to have been taken to an unknown destination, but the police is suspecting that they were being held captive in the nearby Gundumi Forest, he said.

He said the kidnappers were yet to establish communication with either their families or the police.

Mr. Sani said the command had taken measures to ensure the safe rescue of the captives.

The police spokesman also confirmed the arrest of four gang leaders of street urchins at the Kwanni area of Sokoto on Monday.

Mr. Sani said the suspects were arrested following raids on their hideouts.

NAN reports that two local government officials in the state who were recently kidnapped were rescued from Gundumi Forest. (NAN)
Popular Nigerian comedian, Oluwaseyitan Alatile, a.k.a Seyi Law who got married to his heartrob Stacy Ebere and together had a baby last year is celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary today and their daughter, Tiwaloluwa also turned six months old today.

He wrote:

Wawuuuueeessstttt!!! Its been six years of Gods awesomeness.

I took the decision to walk down the road of marriage with you, my love. I waited to see you walk down the aisle to meet me. You have done more than the I DO in agreement to marry me.

Everyday, a beautiful you is unveiled and our home is merrier.

God who knew my suffering and lack of Parental closeness as child built a home for me with you. The world will wag their tongues and some will succumb to evil prayers, but with theirs will come to nought. I am happy to be the one to celebrate you, my own number 1 celebrity. Mummy Tiwaloluwa and the rest coming. Beyond the moon my love remains and beneath the earth even in death my heart rejoiced it ever met you. I love You, the rarest of all precious gems. Happy Sixth Wedding Anniversary.

OLUWASEYITAN LAWRENCE ALETILE

See below:
Three days after Academic and administrative activities were halted at the University of Ibadan, students of the institutions have been complaining about living in difficult conditions on campus, as sources of water and electricity have been switched off by the striking staff.

Activities was halted on March 20, 2017, when the staff declared indefinite strike because of what the union described as illegal deductions of pension money from their salaries.

Aside the pension deduction issue, the workers are also asking for unpaid promotion arrears, shortfall in salary payment, and better welfare for staff, among other issues.

Some of the students who spoke with our correspondent on Monday said there was no water and electricity in the hostels and in all the classrooms.

Each time there is crisis between the school administration and the staff, the students are always at the receiving end, said Kayode Onifade, a 300 level student of the Faculty of Arts.

Our lecturers now combine their work with that of non academic staff because they get the keys to open the classrooms for lectures to hold and lock them after.

In the hostel, we sleep in darkness. Many of us attend classes without taking our bath because there is no water. Both parties must reach an agreement for the sake of the students. The living condition is terrible, added Onifade.

Since the strike began a week ago, gates to the institution have been locked, while lectures only resumed today (Monday).

Efforts to speak with the chairman of the institutions branch of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Wale Akinremi, by our correspondent proved abortive; as he refused to answer his mobile telephone.

The institutions Director of Public Communication, Mr. Olatunji Oladejo, told our correspondent that efforts were being made by both parties to resolve the crisis.

Source: ( Premium Times )
Vice chancellor of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) Prof. Sabastine Maimako has justified the recent increase in tuition fees saying the administrative cost of running the institution forced the management to increase the fees of undergraduate students to N45, 000.

Before the increment, undergraduate students of the university were paying N25, 000 as tuition fee per annum. Although the vice chancellor disclosed that the increase would take effect from next academic session, parents and guardian of students have condemned the development.

Maimako at an interactive session with the parents and stakeholders said since the monthly subvention from government was no longer realistic, the university has to look inwards and find means of sustaining the institution.

He stated that the increase is aimed at providing conducive learning environment and teaching materials for the students. The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Prof. Nelson Ochekpe and the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Theresa Madu, told the stakeholders that the institution would soon set up a tracking system to notify parents and guardians about the performances of their wards.

During an interactive session, the stakeholders commended the institutions management for providing the platform which they said was quite informative about the university activities.

Source: Guardian
Companies are facing a digital imperative to revamp business operations to better serve customers. To accommodate these shifts, CIOs are making sweeping organizational changes, adding new key roles, setting up innovation labs and tapping modern technologies to meet strategic mandates issued by their CEOs and boards.

SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) forms the primary digital fuel for most IT organizations. But most CIOs eager to stay atop trends are also testing new products in artificial intelligence, machine learning, internet of things, and blockchain. Collectively, such technologies have the potential to help companies transform their business processes.

[ Related: CIO Quick Takes: What's your strategic focus? ]

As Victor Fetter, CIO of LPL Financial, puts it: "The leading CIOs are finding the right spots in their organization to make strategic hires to drive transformation. And they're creating an environment where it's OK to innovate and use that to see how it shapes the agenda. They're doing all of that in a space that's wrapped around the customer experience you want to deliver."

However, CIOs know to avoid technology for technology's sake. Rather, Deloitte says, the tools must be harnessed as part of a new "unbounded IT" operating model in which CIOs better align their IT departments with the business strategy. And CIOs have work to do as industries remain less than 40 percent digitized on average, according to research McKinsey & Co. A few CIOs recently shared with CIO.com their methodologies for attacking this challenge.

Victor Fetter, CIO of LPL Financial

LPL Financial Victor Fetter, CIO of LPL Financial.

Fetter, whose financial services firm supports 700 banks and credit unions and more than 14,000 financial advisors, is focused heavily on improving the way LPL caters to its customers. He's established a customer experience center where members interact with financial advisor clients to learn ways they can improve their workflow and processes. The team reports its findings to LPL's business groups, which can adjust customer experiences, optimize workflows, enhance data insights and implement other customer-facing tools.

Fetter also appointed a devops point person whose role is to shrink time to market and hired a "data lead," whose job is normalizing, extracting and using data in different ways and making it available to the business and clients. "It's about finding those key roles that you want to have in your organization to really drive change," Fetter says.

Cultural change also extends to competitions and events, including hackathons and guest speakers, such as Constellation Research's Ray Wang, who Fetter says brought a broad view of emerging technologies and their role in markets. When LPL moved to a new facility in Fort Mill, S.C., Fetter created an innovation lab. There engineers can test emerging technologies, such as how to use Amazon.com's Alexa and other virtual assistants to check balance inquiries, trades and other transactions . Fetter says such experiments force engineers to think about how they must rewire service layers to integrate voice into LPL's back-end systems.

LPL is also prototyping a digital dashboard intended to serve as a virtual assistant for customer service representatives. When a call comes in, the rep can see who is calling, conduct a sentiment analysis to gauge the caller's tone and pull up content pertaining to their recent transaction history to prep the rep. "I think that has the potential to be a game-changer in freeing up time by using information in different ways to provide better service," Fetter says.

Yousuf Khan, CIO of Pure Storage

Pure Storage Yousuf Khan, CIO of Pure Storage.

While most CIOs long to build deep benches in a tech talent-strapped world, Pure Storage CIO Yousuf Khan believes he can keep the flash storage outfit running lean thanks to cloud software and automation. Only about 30 workers provide IT for 1,700 employees. Khan runs the business largely on applications from Salesforce.com, Workday, NetSuite, and Marketo. He's also operating a data warehouse and other infrastructure based on Pure's own technology.

Rather than hire software programmers -- a hard task in the competitive Silicon Valley -- Khan works with venture capitalists to learn about software startups that automate IT operations. For instance, he is exploring how employees might create and resolve help desk tickets using chatbots in Slack. Automation will enable his small team to focus on data analytics to bolster the business. "CIOs are business enablers more than ever before," Khan says.

Khan is also prioritizing cybersecurity, mulling how to defend against social engineering risks, such as phishing threats, an attack vector he says was hardly an issue as recently as two years ago. Part of his challenge is determining which of the many hundreds of tools available will best help him protect Pure. But he also needs cyber staff that can work with the tools to identify and neutralize threats, a tall task at a time when cyber talent remains scarce. Khan is offering to train up IT staff to more sophisticated cyber roles, including new certifications.

"The people are not there," Khan says. "The challenges that CIOs have includes building out security thinking within your organization and using that to build out that team. Security is one of those areas where every CIO wants to build up their skill set."

Kevin Murray, CIO of Cincinnati Bell

Cincinnati Bell Kevin Murray, CIO of Cincinnati Bell.

Upgrading IT for a telecommunications carrier, particularly one running legacy ordering, billing and provisioning systems is no easy chore. Yet that's exactly what Cincinnati Bell CIO Kevin Murray has been focused on in recent years.

As part of a software modernization strategy to help the company work better with its partners and customers, the company has been replacing or augmenting custom software with cloud applications from Salesforce.com, TOA, Callidus, Microsoft, Xactly, among others.

Last July, Cincinnati Bell moved roughly 1,100 employees in the company's professional services organization onto FinancialForce, an ERP product hosted on and feeding data to Salesforce.com. The migration from custom software to FinancialForce took about four months, compared to the roughly 12-to-24-month cycle it typically takes to move to on-premises ERP solutions. Cincinnati Bell also benefits from periodic upgrades and the software's ease of use from smartphones.

"It's a lot faster to implement," Murray says. "We've essentially said SaaS is our preferred path."

This story, "How CIOs are transforming their organizations for the digital era" was originally published by CIO .
Hog Commentary Walsh Trading - 1 hour ago Hog markets rallied significantly today with the Dec contract up over $4 and the Feb contract up over $2.50, hitting a high of $89.65 before settling at 89.05 on the day. This rally comes after speculation...

Cotton Closes in Black on Monday Barchart - Mon Nov 7, 4:46PM CST Mondays cotton trade added 16 to 87 points to the rally. December ended the day up by 56 points and to levels not seen since 10/11. NASS reported 62% of the cotton crop was harvested through 11/6. That... CTZ22 : 87.49s (+0.64%) CTH23 : 85.83s (+0.19%) CTK23 : 85.07s (+0.52%)

Cattle Close Higher on Monday Barchart - Mon Nov 7, 4:46PM CST Live cattle futures ended the week with $0.47 to $1.40 gains led by the Dec contract. Feeder cattle closed the day with 30 to 70 cent gains. Cash trade was quiet on Monday. Last weeks cash price was... LEZ22 : 153.050s (+0.92%) LEG23 : 155.025s (+0.42%) LEJ23 : 158.550s (+0.35%) GFX22 : 178.225s (+0.22%) GFF23 : 179.925s (+0.17%)

$4 Gain for Dec Hogs Barchart - Mon Nov 7, 4:46PM CST December hogs rallied $4.60 of their $4.75 limit at the high on the day, and closed with a $4.07 gain. That took the contract back to 10/27 levels. The other front months also closed higher, but the gains... HEZ22 : 87.050s (+4.91%) HEJ23 : 94.350s (+2.11%) KMZ22 : 96.200s (+2.48%)

Double Digit Pullback for Soy Futures Barchart - Mon Nov 7, 4:46PM CST The new week of soybean trading ended with beans 8 1/4 to 12 cents in the red. Jan beans closed near their low on a 22c range. Meal prices bounced in the afternoon to end mixed within $1.50/ton of UNCH.... ZSX22 : 1440-0s (-0.79%) ZSPAUS.CM : 14.1524 (-0.72%) ZSF23 : 1450-2s (-0.82%) ZSH23 : 1458-0s (-0.75%)

Wheats Fade into Close Barchart - Mon Nov 7, 4:46PM CST Afternoon action in Mondays wheat market left the board mixed but mostly higher. CBT prices went home with a penny to 3 cent losses. Dec closed mostly mid ranged on the 30 cent range. KC HRW futures... ZWZ22 : 845-6s (-0.24%) ZWH23 : 864-0s (-0.32%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.7799 (-0.24%) KEZ22 : 957-2s (+0.42%) KEPAWS.CM : 9.1529 (+0.44%) MWZ22 : 960-2s (+0.60%)

Corn Market Closes Monday Red Barchart - Mon Nov 7, 4:46PM CST Mondays corn futures market ended the session with 2 to 5 1/4 cent losses for the front months, For December that was the weakest close since 10/6. The December to December premium tightened to now... ZCZ22 : 675-6s (-0.77%) ZCPAUS.CM : 6.7306 (-0.72%) ZCH23 : 681-4s (-0.76%) ZCK23 : 682-0s (-0.69%)

Livestock Report Walsh Trading - Mon Nov 7, 4:26PM CST Cattle rallies
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27



By Fatih Karimov  Trend:



The Islamic Republics foreign ministry has rejected reports about having ties with a "terrorist cell" in Bahrain, suspected of involvement in a bomb attack on a police bus in February.



The spokesman of the Islamic Republics foreign ministry, Bahram Qasemi, rejected Bahraini interior ministrys statement that says the 14-member cell was working under direct supervision from two exiled Bahrainis living in Iran.



Qasemi advised Bahrain to stop repeating baseless claims against Iran, the Iranian foreign ministrys official website reported Mar. 27.



He further called on Bahrain to respect the rights of its nationals instead of playing the blame game and repeating unfounded allegations.



Bahrains state news agency BNA said that six of the arrestees received military training in camps under Irans IRGC supervision, five had been trained by the Iraqi Hezbollah group and three received training in Bahrain.



The group is also suspected of plotting to attack "senior officials," according to Bahrains interior ministrys statement.
Halifax, NS  (March 27, 2017)  The Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour is pleased to announce King Freight Lines will return to sponsor the King Freight Future Winner Award. King Freight Lines has been a marketing partner with the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour for many years and became the inaugural Future Winner Award sponsor last season.

The King Freight Future Winner Award is presented to the highest finishing driver in each Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour main feature that has never won a series race (2001 to present). The highest finishing driver without a win on the Series will take away a $300 cash award. Once a driver scores their first career feature victory, he or she becomes ineligible to win the award in future events.

Eight drivers divided up the $3,600 awarded to Future Winners during the 2016 Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour season. DJ Casey (Prospect, NS) lead the charge of Future Winners collecting the award three times, with Russell Smith Jr. (Lakeside, NS) and Jarrett Butcher (Porters Lake, NS) both cashing in twice. Nevin Scott (Marshfield, PE), Robbie MacEwen (Charlottetown, PE), Matt Rodgers (Smithtown, NB), Steve Ross (Waverly, NS) and Harry Ross White (Kennetcook, NS) all collected the award once last season.

The first King Freight Future Winner Award of 2017 will be presented at the Lucas Oil 150 on May 20th at Scotia Speedworld. Racing action begins at 4:00pm with Atlantic Tiltload Heat Races. Tickets available at the gates on race day.

About King Freight Lines:

In 1975 President, Mr. Roland (Rollie) MacDonald formed MacDonalds Excavating as primarily an excavating company. Growth into the transportation side of the business was progressive and in 1986 the name of the company was changed to King Freight Lines Limited to better reflect the now dominant transportation side of the business. King Freight Lines, based out of Pictou NS, now operates throughout Canada and the United States with a fleet of modern equipment. For more information please visit www.kingfreight.com or call toll free 902.485.8077

About the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour:

The Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour (PST) is considered the highest level of stock car racing in Canada. The Tour is recognized in the industry as one of the healthiest stock car racing series in North America. PST visits five tracks throughout the Maritimes during its May through September season. The Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour is owned and operated by Maritime Pro Stock Tour Limited. For more information, call our administration office at 902.481.2531 or click www.maritimeprostocktour.com . You can also follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/prostocktour and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prostocktour

Media Contact:

Tara Foster

902.429.4069 office

902.488.0809 mobile

media@maritimeprostocktour.com
Hedge fund managers be warned: The masses are coming for you, and they are angry.

At a time of rising populism and increasing income inequality, with state governments and local municipalities strapped for cash and making cuts to essential goods and services, the ultrarich  a class that includes many hedge fund and private equity managers as well as banking executives  have become an increasingly prominent target for unrest. This past weekend activists took to the leafy streets of Greenwich, Connecticut, and the surrounding towns to highlight the growing inequality in that state and to call for tax reforms that would make the wealthiest 1 percent of the states population pay more into state and federal coffers.

The Lifestyles of the Rich & Shameless bus tour was organized by a number of union-backed community groups, including the Connecticut Working Families Party. Dominic Rushe, a journalist for the Guardian, went along for the ride, reporting that the activists made stops to protest at, among other spots, the homes of Point72 Asset Management founder Steven Cohen and Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates.

Dalio is well aware of the growing populist sentiment in America and what that might mean not just for capitalists like himself but also for capital markets in general. Just last Wednesday the Bridgewater founder, who announced in February that he is stepping back from day-to-day firm management responsibilities when he relinquishes his co-CEO role effective April 15, published a 61-page research paper on the emergence of populism  a phenomenon most clearly manifested in the developed-market countries in the shock election last November of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Populism is not well understood because, over the past several decades, it has been infrequent in emerging countries ... and virtually nonexistent in developed countries, Dalio writes in the paper, which he coauthored. It is one of those phenomena that comes along in a big way about once a lifetime  like pandemics, depressions, or wars. The last time that it existed as a major force in the world was in the 1930s, when most countries became populist. Over the last year, it has again emerged as a major force.

Dalio says populism today is less rigidly ideological than it was in the 1930s, though it is gaining power rapidly. Given the extent of it now, over the next year populism will certainly play a greater role in shaping economic policies, the hedge fund manager writes. In fact, we believe that populisms role in shaping economic conditions will probably be more powerful than classic monetary and fiscal policies (as well as a big influence on fiscal policies). It will also have important international implications  especially given that the new populism is not solely a U.S. phenomenon, but is playing out across the U.K. and the rest of Europe as well.

Just how important the new populism will be, Dalio says, we cant yet say. We will learn a lot more over the next year or so as those populists now in office will signal how classically populist they will be and a number of elections will determine how many more populists enter office.

What is clear is that the groups protesting at the entrance to Dalios property this weekend are a very tangible manifestation of the new form of American populism, one that crosses political divides and confounds political analysts. Just one day before the protest in Greenwich, the House Freedom Caucus in Washington  a group made up of far-right Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, most of whom were elected as part of the so-called Tea Party movement  had succeeded in stymieing President Trumps efforts to repeal his predecessors health care law.

Whereas Connecticut is home to some of the worlds wealthiest hedge fund managers, the state as a whole also has pockets of extreme poverty, and its finances are in such poor shape that the second-term Governor Dannel Malloy has called for significant cuts, including the restructuring of municipal aid.

The union groups that organized the Lifestyles of the Rich & Shameless tour would like to see the in-state hedge fund mangers pay more in taxes. In particular, they are supportive of a bill before the Connecticut state legislature, HB 6973, which would require investment managers to pay a local surcharge on their tax bill. (Similar bills are being put before lawmakers in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to ensure that hedge fund managers do not just up and leave the state for a more favorable jurisdiction nearby.) The Connecticut bill is expected to get a hearing in mid-April.
Gross, who was pushed out from Pimco in 2014, is donating proceeds from the settlement to charity.

Famed bond manager Bill Gross and Pacific Investment Management Co. have settled a lawsuit over his firing in 2014, allowing Pimco to move on under new leadership.

In a joint statement Monday, Pimco acknowledged the enormous contribution that Gross and its other founders and leaders have made to its success as a global asset manager, without disclosing terms of the settlement. The Wall Street Journal reported the firm settled for $81 million, citing people familiar with the matter. A spokesman for Pimco declined to comment.

Gross, now a portfolio manager at Janus Capital, co-founded Pimco in 1971 and turned the firms total return bond fund into what was the worlds largest mutual fund before he left. In his 2015 lawsuit, Gross alleged that senior executives, including Mohamed El-Erian, the firms former CEO and current chief economic adviser of Pimco parent Allianz, and Dan Ivascyn, the firms current chief investment officer, pushed him out to take his share of profits.

Pimco settled the suit so it could move beyond headlines dominated by Gross, two people with knowledge of the matter told Institutional Investor. The firm is now led by Emmanuel Roman, who became Pimcos new CEO late last year in a move from alternative asset manager Man Group.

Under Grosss leadership, Pimco, based in Newport Beach, California, increased assets to more than $2 trillion under management. Since his exit, assets have dropped to $1.5 trillion, and according to Morningstar, the Pimco Income Fund now exceeds the size of its total return fund, with $75.4 billion of assets. Pimco Total Return has about $74 billion under management.

The lawsuit had never been about money, Gross said in the joint statement, as hes donating proceeds from the settlement to charity. Pimco has always been family to me, and, like any family, sometimes there are disagreements, he said.

Pimco has created a founders room at its headquarters, which will include the contributions of Gross, whos being named director emeritus of the Pimco Foundation, according to the statement. The foundation, which was originally created and funded by Gross, is also establishing an annual Bill Gross Award to recognize charitable contributions.
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The president will take a more aggressive stance with China and Russia if Republicans win the House or the Senate, according to BCA Researchs Matt Gertken.
CBL Insurance has announced that it has filed for regulatory approval in a bid to acquire a US-based insurance business.The regional insurer will acquire Affirmative Direct Insurance Company in a deal worth US$5.7 million.The international credit and financial risk specialist sees the deal as a unique opportunity to access the American market and will be able to write niche insurance business within the existing expertise of the company.The opportunity to gain direct access to this market in a low-risk, controlled and manageable way when we are ready is one we dont want to pass up, Peter Harris, CBL managing director, said.Affirmative is a New York-incorporated insurer that was founded in 1987 and wrote non-life insurance until 2007 when it ceased operations and began running off its business.The firm no longer has any outstanding claims or run off insurance, CBL confirmed, but holds cash, cash investments and regulatory capital, and holds insurance licenses in 14 states.The company aims to write a small amount of business in the United States by the end of the year.The acquisition is subject to approval from the New York Department of Financial Services, which is expected over the next four months, and funding for the purchase will come from existing cash resources.Existing capital in the Affirmative business is sufficient to write business for the first years of operation, requiring no further investment from CBL.CBL will provide product capacity, underwriting and claims management expertise along with managing general agents (MGAs) to write business, but will build a US-based management structure when the US firm is at sufficient scale.With no employees or employee liabilities, US-based independent non-executive directors will be appointed upon the completion of the transaction and CBL expects to rebrand the business in due course.
Cyber risk/cyber security has been identified by roughly one-third of insurers as the most used word or phrase in the industry in 2016.According to a Best Special Report, titled A.M. Best Winter 2016-2017 Insurance Industry Survey, 30.7% of respondents chose the combined cyber phrases as the most commonly used industry buzzword; while 23.1% of respondents cited low/negative rates, followed by increasing regulation, at 10.6%.The survey sought the insurers opinions on a range of key themes, including current issues and trends, changing market dynamics, and grey and blank swans, A.M. Best said.When asked about estimates on targeted returns, 62.6% of respondents said they expect returns within the range of 5% and 10% in 2017; 23.7% said they expect returns in excess of 11%; and 12% anticipated returns of between 1% and 4%.In terms of opportunities, the majority cited advanced analytics (artificial intelligence), at 31.9% of the respondents. This was followed by increasing use of mobile apps to sell, at 18.7%; and big data, at 18.1%. In contrast, Silicon Valley-backed insurtech start-ups were identified as the biggest threat among 16.9% of respondents.The survey also revealed that 56.2% of respondents were optimistic about the economy and see improvement on the horizon, a significant rise from just 7.9% of respondents in A.M. Bests 2016 survey.
The recent terrorist attack in London has put the corporate travel insurance market in clear focus for businesses, and brokers have a key role to play, an expert has said.Last weeks attack killed five people, injured dozens more, and mirrored similar lone-wolf style attacks that hit Berlin and Nice last year.Grant Chisnall, founder and client experience leader at global emergency management company Dynamiq , said that the London attack brings questions for insurance and mitigation for corporate travel clients.The question of the insurance coverage for these types of incidents is a really vexed question because these are more of those lone-wolf or random style attacks, which is making it very hard for organisations who are sending their people overseas to prepare for these types of events, Chisnall told Insurance Business.That, in terms of the insurance side, can make it quite a challenge to look at what the coverage would look like specifically.Chisnall stressed that clients looking at an online option for corporate travel cover, rather than seeking expert advice through a broker, are not doing their company or their staff the right service and leave their directors and officers open to liability.While, in the past, corporate travel cover and evacuation planning has focused on high-risk areas, with the spread of global terrorism business destinations such as London now require a similar level of planning.Chisnall advised brokers to approach corporate travel clients with an understanding of the risks their staff face when travelling overseas.To help clients devise an emergency management plan, Chisnall said that using the acronym PACE - planning, awareness, communication, evacuation - is a good starting place.Good brokers are the ones that understand the risks and understand where their clients are travelling to and give them that appropriate advice, Chisnall continued.
Brokers in Queensland are on high alert with a cyclone expected to cross the coast on Tuesday.A low pressure system off Papua New Guinea began drifting southwards late last week and is expected to make landfall anywhere between Rollingstone and Proserpine, as a category 4 storm.The storm, named Cyclone Debbie, will bring winds of up to 200 km/h and up to 200mm of rain with the storm a size not seen since Cyclone Yasi in 2011."Communities between Lucinda and St Lawrence, including Townsville, Bowen and Mackay, may experience gales in the next 24 hours, with the Whitsundays and surrounding coastal islands among the first areas to be impacted," Bruce Gunn, Queensland regional director at the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said."Cyclone Debbie is likely to maintain cyclone strength for some distance inland towards Charters Towers, with damaging to destructive winds, delivering significant rainfall as it tracks to the west-southwest."Thousands of residents in north Queensland have been ordered to evacuate low-lying areas in Burdekin, Whistsunday and parts of Townsville as the storm is set to make landfall around 8am tomorrow. Anthony Day , CEO of Suncorp 's insurance division, urged policyholders to take the day to prepare.We urge our customers to finalise their preparations today, including making sure all windows are locked down, garage doors secured, emergency kits replenished, spare batteries for flashlights, having an ABC radio and emergency contact numbers handy, and importantly, checking on your neighbours," Day said.Sergeant Bill Stanley, from the far norths District Disaster Management Group, urged those in the area to start planning for the worst.SES and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services are well and truly in the planning and preparation phase and again they have been for quite a period of time, he told the ABC.The earlier that it crosses the coast, the less intense the system will be.So far this season, Australia has been hit by three tropical cyclones but Debbie would be the first to cross the Queensland cost since Cyclone Nathan in March 2015.Brokers should advise clients to ensure they are prepared for the worst.
Thousands of dollars in increased insurance costs are hitting small businesses in South Australia due to an unreliable electricity system.According to reports, the state does not have a blackout compensation system, with the SA Power Networks (SAPN) posting meagre payments of between $100 and $605 for the latest blackout in December, and only to cover inconvenience.There has been a rise, however, in the frequency of claims lodged against private insurers, said the SA Independent Retailers and the Hotels Association.Since the September blackouts the excesses have gone from $500 for a store to $5,000, said SA Independent Retailers CEO Colin Shearing, as quoted in The Advertiser.The hit comes as SAPN cuts down the $100 to $605 payments for the December blackout - it originally expected to payout on 99,000 out of a total 183,000 customers but this has been reduced to 65,000, The Advertiser reported.In Sydney, venues claim for hailstorms and the excess and premiums go up - and in SA the problem is venues claim for blackouts and the excesses and premiums also go up, said Ian Horne, GM of the Australian Hotels Association.After the December blackout, Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis asked that an investigation be made on increasing the maximum payment of $605.These customers can rightly ask why payments are capped at the $605 rate, which is why I asked the independent regulator ESCOSA [Essential Services Commission of South Australia] to consider if that cap should be lifted, he said.But SAP spokesman Paul Roberts said the proposed changes would not create a compensation scheme.This is an inconvenience payment, not compensation, he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

Trend:

A high ranking delegation led by Irans President Hassan Rouhani arrived in Moscow on March 27 for a two-day official visit to Russia, IRNA reports.

Upon his arrival, the Iranian president and his entourage were welcomed by Russian officials at the airport.

Accompanied by a high-ranking delegation, including ministers of foreign affairs, industry, mines and trade, petroleum, communications and information technology as well as governor of Central Bank, President Rouhani is expected to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and the countrys Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Signing of 10 cooperation documents and drawing a roadmap for boosting future ties are on the agenda, while President Rouhani is scheduled to attend a dinner banquet and visit a group of Iranians living in Russia.

He is also expected to lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the vicinity of the Kremlin and to receive an honorary doctorate degree from Moscow State University.

This is going to be the ninth meeting between Putin and Rouhani.
Ontario is the latest province to clear insurance coverage for ride-hailing drivers operating in the region.The provincial government has approved a regulatory change under the Insurance Act to enable insurers to create commercial fleet insurance policies for transportation network companies (TNC).The provinces insurance regulator announced Thursday that it has approved a policy from Intact Financial. The Canadian Press reported that Intact began offering the coverage for Uber drivers in Alberta last week; and that both the TNC and Alberta are working with Quebec to implement a similar insurance policy.This new ridesharing insurance approved by [the Financial Services Commission of Ontario] should serve as a practical solution designed for ridesharing, said Uber Canada general manager Ian Black in a statement. Both [Intact] and Uber remain engaged with regulators across Canada to bring new ridesharing insurance policies that offer a smart, seamless and simple solution for driver-partners.According to the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, the approved blanket fleet coverage tackles a critical insurance gap for the TNC industry.Going forward, I want to emphasize that the sharing economy in general, and the automobile insurance implications in particular, will continue to evolve and will require innovative solutions and responses by all stakeholders, including FSCO, that respond to technological advances, commented Financial Services Commission of Ontario CEO Brian Mills.At the same time, I want to emphasize that approved solutions may also need to evolve and adapt as circumstances and legal requirements change. Therefore, any policy form or endorsement that I approve is also subject to ongoing review, he added.Intacts new ridesharing policy covers all Uber drivers, passengers, and vehicle owners when the TNCs app is in use. Once the app is closed, the vehicle owners personal auto insurance policy comes into effect. The coverage includes statutory accident benefits, uninsured motorist coverage and third-party liability of up to $1 million while the app is in use while no ride has been accepted. After a ride has been accepted, the limits extend to $2 million.For a ridesharing car to receive collision and comprehensive coverage, its owner must have the appropriate personal policy.
Fresh from its acquisition of Vancouver-based Retirement Concepts, Chinese company Anbang Insurance made known its plans to not only send entrepreneurs into Canada, but also to provide those businesspersons with seed funding.We have 300m migrants from rural areas, half a billion people left on farms, said Anbang chairman Wu Xiaohui on Sunday at the Boao Forum in Hainan. What about if we moved some of them to Canada rather than Beijing?So long as youre Chinese and meet three conditions  no drugs, no gambling, no bad record  in principle weve got funds to lend, he added.Financial Times reported that through the Million Euros Plan, Wu intends to provide 1 million to would-be founders interested in opening businesses abroad. The businessman appeared calm on Sunday, despite the Chinese governments recent clampdown on outbound investment and insurance companies, as he said that partnerships with foreign companies would be the new trend in Chinas overseas business ventures.When we go abroad were no longer using our own money, Wu said, describing business with foreign investors. We have a few asset management companies and many pension funds  similar to the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board  they have trade union money and they entrust international companies like us to manage their assets.According to state media, Wu has purportedly funded 10 such entrepreneurs.
The future of warfare is hybrid  and the future is now, expert says
A Milwaukee-based brokerage is bucking the consolidation trend as its primary stockholder undertakes ownership transfer to its employees under an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).Jim McCormack, co-founder of Diversified Insurance Solutions, which employs 70 in Brookfield, said the idea of selling his company to his employees appealed to him after his chief executive Christian Lie, and Karl Cumblad, chief financial officer, broached the idea to him.They are the ones who do the work, and they are the ones who deserve any future success, McCormack said in a Journal Sentinel report.Under the ESOP, employees get to keep their jobs, in contrast to selling to another company which could potentially result in staff cuts, the report said.In addition, they will receive shares in Diversified Insurance as its debt is paid off. Upon retirement, employees can cash in their shares and although similar to a 401(k) plan, the company will still maintain a separate retirement program for its employees to spread risk.Keeping the company in employees hands will also give Diversified Insurance a competitive advantage because a large part of its clientele is also made up of local companies, Cumblad said in the report.ESOPs are gaining popularity as the baby boomer generation goes into retirement and works to preserve their professional legacy.Citing statistics from the National Center for Employee Ownership, the report said that in 2014, 6,717 companies, including 565 public firms, shifted to ESOP.
All retail agents who have built themselves a book of business in an industry niche or class specialty have at least two things in common: hard work and tenacity. Its easy for agents to feel like theyve hit a ceiling; that they dont have the time, energy or resources to get onto the next level. Its in those situations that teaming up with a specialty carrier can help an agent transform their ordinary book of business into an exclusive program.In todays ultra-competitive market, teaming up with a carrier with a developed program specialization who focuses on creating long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with agents could be the difference between mediocrity and consistently profitable growth. Our Elite Programs unit offers comprehensive program capabilities that are especially valuable to agents who are interested in turning a class specialty spread among several carriers into a truly exclusive program, explains Richard Suter, Divisional Senior Vice President at Great American Insurance. For these programs, Great American can provide underwriting, claims and loss prevention services so that the agent can focus on marketing and sales.In many cases, agents books of business do not get treated as a program from a product perspective and often have nothing unique in terms of forms, rates or services. By teaming up with the right carrier, an agent can not only develop a proprietary product, but also get access to dedicated underwriting, tailored loss prevention services, and claims services customized to their focus industry.As well as working with specialist retail agents, Great American also works with more sophisticated Program Administrators who may get more involved in the underwriting process or who may prefer to work with a TPA for claims. In all cases, the opportunity must go through a due diligence review process. We are numbers driven: the agent has to provide historical data indicating that the program is profitable, Suter says. If approved, the agent then gets assigned to a dedicated underwriter for all lines of business who can address issues with risk selection, pricing, processing, marketing and claims. The agent has one dedicated resource that is responsible for all aspects of that program. Elite Programs operates in many areas including retail, wholesale, manufacturing and service sectors and has the capability to write all lines  General Liability, Property, Package (CPP or BOP), Auto, Workers Compensation, Inland Marine, Cyber Risk and Umbrella. An agent with an industry niche who doesnt team up with the right carrier runs the risk of being lumped in with a bigger book of business; their business wont be looked at on its own merits and wont be treated like a program, Suter says. Agents need to know that there are options available to help them take their specialty to the next level.
A U.S. appeals court in New York on Friday weighed arguments over whether Uber Technologies Inc. customers gave up their right to sue the company when they registered for its popular taxi hailing service.

The case could have wider implications for internet businesses, which often require customers to agree to bring disputes through private arbitration as part of long lists of terms and conditions when they register for services.

Theodore Boutrous, arguing for Uber, urged the three-judge 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel to send a class action lawsuit by Connecticut Uber passenger Spencer Meyer over the companys pricing practices to arbitration, which U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff refused to do last year.

When users register for Uber on their smartphones, Boutrous said, they are told on the registration screen that by registering, they are agreeing to terms and conditions. Boutrous said a typical smartphone user cant miss the notice, and can easily read the terms and conditions by touching a link.

Jeffrey Wadsworth, arguing for Meyer, said it was not reasonable to expect customers to know they were giving up their right to sue when they agreed to standard terms and conditions from an internet-based service.

To register means to put your name on an official list, he said. It does not mean youre engaging in some complex contractual transaction.

However, Circuit Judge Susan Carney and Reena Raggi both pointed out that providing credit card information, as Uber users do when they sign up, goes beyond merely registering.

In a short response, Boutrous said that no other court had ruled the way Rakoff did when faced with a registration agreement similar to Ubers.

He also said small differences in the way registration screens are set up should not make a difference.

We cant have district judges going on immaterial distinctions here, he said. Its on the screen, right in front of the individual.

Meyers lawsuit, filed in 2015, claims that Ubers practice of surge pricing  raising prices when demand spikes at a particular time and place  violates federal antitrust laws.

In his opinion refusing to send the case to arbitration, Rakoff took broad aim at onlines businesses practice of including arbitration agreements in their terms and conditions, saying it threatened consumers right to jury trials.

This most precious and fundamental right can be waived only if the waiver is knowing and voluntary, he said.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; editing by Grant McCool)

Topics USA New York
Vermont businesses should see a $28 million reduction in expenses this year from lower workers compensation and unemployment insurance costs.

Democratic House Speaker Mitzi Johnson tells the Rutland Herald the state Department of Labor projected there will be a $76 million reduction in unemployment insurance payments over the next half-decade.

The Associated Industries of Vermont says the unemployment insurance burden on Vermont employers following the recession was more than double the national average.

Data from the Department of Financial Regulation indicates workers compensation rates are also expected to fall, resulting in $15.5 million in savings.

Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe says many employers will receive a nice little booster shot, in the form of thousands of dollars on their bottom line.

Information from: Rutland Herald

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Vermont
The owners of a New Jersey diner have admitted burning it down to collect insurance.

Sussex County prosecutors say 49-year-old Tina Diakos and 40-year-old Ozkan Cengiz pleaded guilty to arson on Wednesday.

Prosecutors say the pair said business at the Jerzeez Diner in Vernon was not doing well so they drove from their home in Butler and set it on fire in March 2016. No one was injured.

Theyre scheduled to be sentenced in May.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics New Jersey
Peoples Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said the country is preparing to further open its financial sector, and that doing so will involve negotiations over how other nations treat Chinese investors.

Areas of potential liberalization include banking, insurance, investment banking, securities firms, and payment systems, Zhou told a gathering of Asian leaders Sunday during a panel talk at the Boao Forum for Asia on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. Foreign financial companies are mostly banned from doing business in China except in partnerships with domestic entities.

Sometimes its a negotiation process, Zhou said at the annual conference. China would like to see that when we open wider in the financial sector, whether we can access some things. China is very interested to see that Chinese investors, especially private investors, should get better treatment overseas in other countries.

Global trade was the central theme for officials and executives at this years forum, with Zhou saying Saturday he wanted Group of 20 leaders to seek greater consensus on the issue when they meet later this year. The central banker for the worlds largest trading nation listed the many trade discussions the country is involved in, including talks with Europe, Japan, the 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in Asia, and the U.S. over a bilateral investment treaty.

Negotiation Path

Theres a path of negotiation and were waiting for the U.S. and the new administration to decide how we would like to push this forward, Zhou said, noting that the final responsibility belonged to the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission. We still have active talks with the Europeans, with Japan, with Asean countries, so I hope these things can continue and reach a positive result.

China released plans to ease restrictions on overseas investment in banking, securities, futures, mutual funds and insurance in January, including steps to allow foreign-invested, locally incorporated firms to issue stock and debt.

Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli told the gathering Saturday that RCEP negotiations should be concluded soon and cooperation within the region, including with the Association of South East Asian Nations, should be advanced. The world must commit to multilateral free trade under the World Trade Organization and reform global economic governance, he said.

Zhou referred to Chinas efforts to buy non-military high technology when discussing its treatment by other countries. Its dependent on the negotiation, and each side may make a kind of compromise that makes globalization go forward and everyone can benefit, he said. Chinese officials in the past have expressed concern that U.S. security reviews could become a barrier to investment.

China is looking to introduce a more precise national treatment for foreign investors, Zhou said, adding that the private sector, public sector, and state-owned enterprises, should have equal access.

Bilateral investment treaty talks have made a lot of progress, former U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a Bloomberg Television interview from Boao. He said the Chinese are very tough negotiators and want to find a way to work well with the U.S.

The four-day Boao Forum concluded Sunday with the release of a declaration that globalization has underpinned economic growth and reduced poverty worldwide, but also causes problems that should be addressed. It said protectionism should be rejected, echoing Chinese President Xi Jinpings January speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Pressures on global growth and the increase in de-globalization and trade protectionist rhetoric and actions have caused serious concerns about possible disruptions to global trade and growth, members said. Asian countries should stay committed to the course of open markets, inclusive growth and continued economic cooperation to ensure shared prosperity.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics USA China
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says relations between the Islamic Republic and Russia are growing, stressing that their mutual ties will play an effective role in promoting regional and international stability and security, Press TV reported.

Undoubtedly, cooperation between the two countries will have positive effects on the regional and international stability and security, Rouhani said in a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on Monday.

He added that Iran welcomes the expansion of relations with its neighboring countries in the region, particularly Russia.

The Iranian chief executive expressed hope that his visit to Moscow would lead to new developments in Tehran-Moscow cooperation in political, economic and cultural areas and on international issues.

The Russian premier, for his part, said his country was resolved to bolster relations with Iran in all sectors.

He pointed to the favorable relations between Tehran and Moscow and expressed confidence that President Rouhanis trip would help both sides further deepen their ties.

Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, the Iranian president arrived in Moscow Monday evening for a two-day official visit at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president is scheduled to officially welcome his Iranian counterpart at the Kremlin on Tuesday. Rouhani and Putin will then hold talks on regional and international issues and matters of mutual interest.

The two presidents are also expected to issue a statement following their meeting.

Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Monday before setting off for Moscow, Rouhani said the two sides were closely cooperating on regional issues, including fighting against terrorism and promoting stability.

The two countries are also opposed to any shift in geographical borders in the region, he said, adding that Iran and Russia have the highest level of cooperation on the crisis in Syria, the campaign against terrorism and the establishment of stability in the Middle East.
Belize SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) is providing US$100,000 to the government of Belize to purchase 40-50 automatic weather stations that will provide the Meteorological Service of Belize with access to real-time rainfall data.

The weather stations will significantly improve the governments ability to monitor, record and forecast rainfall within Belize and better prepare the country for hydrometeorological events, said CCRIF CEO Isaac Anthony, who quoted comments from Belizes Met Service.

The CCRIF also has supported Belize by funding in 2010 two scholarships to meteorologists, Michele Smith and Shanea Young, to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology at the University of West Indies.

Young built on this opportunity and in 2015, through CCRIFs Scholarship Programme, was awarded a scholarship to pursue a Master of Science degree in Applied Meteorology at the University of Reading, CCRIF said in a statement.

Belize has been a member of CCRIF since 2007 and currently has CCRIF insurance policies for tropical cyclones and excess rainfall  the latter purchased for the first time last year. The excess rainfall policy was triggered by rains associated with Hurricane Earl in August 2016, resulting in a payout of US$261,073, CCRIF explained.

People in the Ministry of Finance have to find the funds to deal with all that happens after a hurricane, said Yvette Alvarez, senior adviser to the Belize Ministry of Finance, noting that the funds from CCRIF, though small, were welcomed.

Weve never collected under the tropical cyclone part of the policy but we are convinced that it is a policy that we would want to renew on a continuing basis and we continue the dialogue with CCRIF as we look into other products that they are exploring, she added.

About CCRIF SPC

CCRIF SPC is a segregated portfolio company, which is owned, operated and registered in the Caribbean. It limits the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes, earthquakes and excess rainfall events to Caribbean and  since 2015  Central American governments by quickly providing short-term liquidity when a parametric insurance policy is triggered.

Related:
The worst cyclone in six years is set to smash into the coast of Queensland on Tuesday morning, forcing thousands of Australians to evacuate or seek emergency shelter and prompting some of the worlds biggest miners to halt coal operations.

Cyclone Debbie is forecast to intensify before it makes landfall north of the city of Mackay with winds as strong as 275 kilometers an hour (171 miles per hour) at its very destructive core, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Police warned that 25,000 residents need to evacuate the city due to an expected storm surge.

This is going to be a severe cyclone, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters Monday. It is increasing in intensity.

Debbie is expected to cross land as a category four cyclone, carrying the risk of significant structural damage and dangerous airborne debris, according to the weather bureau. It will be the first in two years to reach the coast of the northeastern state and could be worse than Cyclone Yasi in some areas. Yasi was category five  the most severe  and badly damaged sugar- and banana-producing regions and affected tourist sites on the Great Barrier Reef.

Australias military is moving into position to help authorities respond to the cyclone, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Monday.

Sugar Threat

BHP Billiton Ltd., the worlds biggest miner, said it was suspending operations at the South Walker Creek metallurgical coal mine. Glencore Plc is preparing to temporarily halt output from the Collinsville and Newlands mines. Evolution Mining Ltd., Australias second-largest gold producer, evacuated its Mt Carlton mine, according to a filing Monday.

The cyclones footprint covers the Burdekin, Proserpine and Mackay sugar-cane growing regions, which account for about half of Queenslands crop, the industry group Canegrowers said in a statement. Its too early to say whether the winds would affect the current forecast for a crop of 37 million tons of sugar cane in the harvest that starts in eight to nine weeks, Paul Schembri, the groups chairman said in an interview.

Its bound to generate some crop losses but at this point in time we cant speculate what the extent of those losses will be, Schembri said. Damage now is just going to be another body blow to farmers at this time of the year.

Aurizon Holdings Ltd., Australias largest freight rail operator, has stopped delivering coal to the export ports of Abbot Point, Dalrymple Bay and Hay Point, the company said Sunday.

The Port of Townsville, which handles approximately A$30 million ($23 million) in trade per day, evacuated vessels and personnel Monday. It took about 40 hours before the first ship was allowed back into port after Cyclone Yasi passed in 2011, Corporate Affairs Manager Sharon Hoops said by phone.

Resolute Mining Ltd. said Monday it had suspended operations and sent home staff at the Ravenswood gold mine, about 100 kilometers inland from Cape Upstart.

With assistance from Ben Sharples, Perry Williams and Hannah Dormido.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Australia
Members of a Kansas House committee are pushing to ramp up oversight of temporary and permanent amusement park rides after a lawmakers son was killed on a waterslide last year, but the bill that would allow it to happen could face changes before getting a vote.

The states requirement that amusement parks self-inspect their rides annually came under scrutiny after Rep. Scott Schwabs 10-year-old son, Caleb Schwab, was killed on Schlitterbahn Waterparks Verruckt waterslide in Kansas City, Kansas. The 168-foot-tall waterslide, which was dubbed the worlds tallest, had passed its annual self-inspection.

The slide has since been shut down, and the family reached an undisclosed settlement in January with the park owners and the manufacturer of the raft that carried Caleb on the ride.

Rep. John Barker, chairman of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, said the amusement park laws in Kansas are some of the loosest. He compared the states self-inspecting to requiring drivers to report their own speed limit violations.

Every time you speed do you want to report yourself? Barker said. So you need some verification.

He said he couldnt know for sure whether the measure would have prevented Calebs death, but he hopes it can prevent others.

Lawmakers and some members of the amusement park industry are united behind the idea of requiring qualified outside inspectors to do the ride checks.

The bill would mandate annual inspections for permanent rides. Temporary ones would be inspected each time a ride is set up at a new location. The inspections would have to be done by a licensed engineer with at least two years of experience in amusement rides  one of those in inspections  or someone with five years of amusement ride experience with at least two of those in inspections.

But industry members said other states allow people certified by the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials to do inspections and that including those people in Kansas bill would help ensure the state has enough inspectors.

The committee could tweak the bill before it gets a vote. Barker said the members would look at possible amendments. One member, Rep. John Whitmer, said he would be introducing amendments, including making the national ride associations inspector certification part of the possible qualifications for a ride inspector in Kansas.

Andrew Evans, who said he owns a carnival and is a certified inspector, said Kansas should also hire some state-paid inspectors to do random spot checks.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Kansas
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a bid by major record labels to revive copyright infringement claims against video-sharing website Vimeo LLC for hosting content that included songs by famed bands such as the Beatles, the Jackson 5 and the Beach Boys without permission.

The high courts action was a blow to Vivendi SAs Capitol Records and units of Sony Corp., which warned of rampant online copyright abuse if a ruling by a lower court shielding Vimeo from liability remained in place. Vimeo is owned by media mogul Barry Dillers IAC/InterActiveCorp.

The case was being closely watched by Hollywood and the recording industry, which are seeking stronger protections for their copyrights, as well as high-tech companies wary of having to police user-generated content.

The dispute centered on the interpretation of a 1998 U.S. law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, which protects internet service providers from liability when users upload copyrighted content, so long as they remove infringing material once they receive notice or otherwise become aware of it.

The labels in 2009 sued Vimeo, alleging infringement over music in 199 videos that Vimeo users had uploaded to the site. A New York federal court in 2013 threw out claims related to the most of the videos, but said Vimeo should face allegations related to content with sound recordings made before 1972.

That court said the federal DMCA protections were not applicable to recordings from before 1972, the year Congress first included them in the scope of federal copyright law. Pre-1972 recordings are protected by state law.

Last year, the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, finding that the DMCA applied to infringement claims brought under federal and state law, including oldies songs. It said service providers should not have to incur the heavy burden of monitoring every posting to ensure it did not contain pre-1972 recordings.

The record labels asked the Supreme Court to hear their appeal of the circuit court ruling, but the justices declined.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)

Related:

Topics USA Claims
The Texas Senate has approved a bill protecting property owners statewide from liability for injuries incurred by people rock climbing on their land.

The proposal by Republican Sen. Charles Perry of Lubbock now heads to the state House.

It immunizes landowners of liability when allowing rock climbing on their property, just as they currently are protected when permitting other activities like hunting and fishing.

Perry argues that Texas has world-class rock climbing resources but many landowners block access to people wishing to use them because of fears they could be sued for any injuries sustained.

He says limiting landowner liability on rock climbing injuries would allow Texas landowners to exploit a new revenue streams on their property.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Texas
The Oklahoma Senate has unanimously passed legislation to change how first-time driving under the influence (DUI) offenses are handled in Oklahoma.

Senate Bill 643, also known as the Impaired Driver Elimination Act 2 (IDEA2), is strongly supported by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), its author, Sen. Kim David, says. It would create the Impaired Driver Accountability Program (IDAP) within the Department of Public Safety (DPS).

Only first-time DUI offenders would be eligible to enter the program. Participants could have their license revocation reduced from one year to six months. If they successfully complete the program, their driving record will reflect that as well as no revocation, which will prevent higher insurance rates and will make seeking employment easier. Participants will also not be charged any reinstatement fees.

Those wishing to enter IDAP would have ten days from the date of their arrest to submit their application form. They would also have to have an ADSAC or DUI assessment reflecting a treatment category of I or II within 45 days as well as provide proof of installation of an interlock device. Participants would also be required to not receive any verified ignition violations during their last 60 days in the program.

Anyone who refuses to go into the program will be required to have a modified license and an interlock device on their vehicle for one year (rather than the current 180 days) before they can reinstate their license. The revocation will go on their record.

SB 643 makes it a misdemeanor for anyone to operate a non-interlock vehicle for a drunk driver who is in the IDAP program or has an interlock restricted license. It would also make refusing a breath test following a suspected drunk driving arrest a misdemeanor punishable with up to ten days in jail or a $1,000 fine.

The bill was requested by the Governors Impaired Driving Prevention Advisory Council.

Source: Oklahoma Senate

Topics Personal Auto Oklahoma Politics
Montana lawmakers have tabled a proposal seeking to dismantle and privatize the states massive workers compensation system, saying the matter is too daunting to take up in the waning days of the legislative session.

Instead, a Senate Committee decided to take more time to analyze what it should do about the $1.6 billion State Fund, which has among the countrys highest workers compensation premiums.

Republican Sen. Ed Buttrey of Great Falls says that privatizing the fund has its merits, but he and other committee members needed more time to see how privatizing the system would affect Montana businesses.

Small business owners, labor groups and some key, pro-business Republicans say that blowing up the State Fund could lead to skyrocketing rates for high-risk trades such as logging and trucking.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Workers' Compensation
A group of New Mexico property owners has sued Winona County over its ban on industrial mining of silica sand for use in hydraulic fracturing.

The Southeast Minnesota Property Owners joined Saratoga Township resident Roger Dabelstein in filing the lawsuit last week in state court, the Post-Bulletin reported.

The Winona County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to enact the ban on Nov. 22. The ordinance ended mining, transporting and processing silica sand for the purpose of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which is a drilling process used to unlock underground oil and natural gas reserves.

But the ordinance allows those activities for other uses of silica sand, such as cattle bedding or construction.

The plaintiffs attorney, Gary Van Cleve, said allowing some silica sand mining for some purposes but not others doesnt provide equal protection. He said a better alternative would have been to regulate the industry, which was an option the commission considered.

Theyre banning certain kinds of sand mining, but other kinds are OK, Van Cleve said. As long as the end use is OK. Theres no rational basis for that.

Commissioner Steve Jacob said he wasnt surprised by the lawsuit. He previously argued that a ban could expose the county to litigation.

I agreed with the criteria that they brought forth in the lawsuit, Jacob said, declining to go into the specifics of the case.

Johanna Rupprecht of the Land Stewardship Project provided grass-roots support that helped enact the ban. She said the lawsuit contains the same arguments the industry made before the ban was passed.

We view this lawsuit as an attack by outside corporate interests on Winona Countys democratic decision, and its outrageous, she said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Mexico New Mexico
Western Growers Insurance Services Inc. has promoted Jason Verhoef to director of employee benefit sales.

Verhoef will lead sales efforts to provide affordable healthcare insurance options for agribusinesses throughout California, Arizona and Colorado, as well as support the employee benefit sales team.

His past role was regional sales manager for Northern California. Prior to joining Western Growers, Verhoef was in finance, investments, insurance and he eventually specialized in group employee benefits

Western Growers is the wholly-owned insurance brokerage of Western Growers.
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 27

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed Ankaras readiness to hold discussions with Moscow about the procedure for Russian citizens to cross the Turkish border without foreign passports, Anadolu news agency reported March 27.

Cavusoglu made the remarks at a meeting with representatives of the Russian community in Antalya, Turkey.

He added that Turkey and Russia achieved great progress regarding the border crossing issue two years ago.

"The friendly relations between the two countries contribute to the solution of regional problems, in particular, the armistice in Syria, he added. Turkey and Russia are also working over the issues related to the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Syria."

Cavusoglu added that Ankara intends to strengthen cooperation with Moscow to settle regional problems.

He also said that Turkey and Russia fulfill the promises and act in accordance with the signed agreements, adding that fact played an important role in normalization and improvement of relations between the two countries.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade
Di quella tragedia di 18 anni fa ha ricordato larcivescovo Tommaso Valentinetti: Ho dovuto celebrare il funerale dei 27 bambini a San Giuliano di Puglia. Ero diventato vescovo da due anni. E stato il funerale piu difficile della mia vita. Mi sono chiesto perche la casa di fronte alla scuola non e crollata e la scuola e crollata?. Messa solenne a San Giuliano nel Giorno della Memoria. Sono state accese le fiaccole dalle famiglie e liberati i palloncini. Nel palazzetto dello sport, invece, sono stati collocati dei lumicini a forma di cerchio a ricordo delle vittime. E il parroco del paese ha impartito la benedizione. Liniziativa si e conclusa al cimitero del paese. Ancora una volta la commozione ed il silenzio ha dominato levento.

San Giuliano, cancellata la classe 96

18 anni fa il crollo che ha cancellato la classe 1996 del paese e spezzato la vita della comunita. Le cerimonie in forma ridotta a causa dei protocolli Covid. La messa solenne celebrata nella Chiesa madre di San Giuliano di Puglia ha chiuso la commemorazione dei 27 bambini e della loro insegnante Carmela Ciniglio, il Giorno della Memoria, iniziato il 31 ottobre con la cerimonia in cimitero. La sera, invece, nel Parco della Memoria, si sono ritrovate le famiglie dei piccoli morti nel crollo della scuola Jovine.

Per non dimenticare

Il Comitato Vittime della scuola ha organizzato una manifestazione in maniera statica, senza corteo. Cosi come richiesto dallemergenza da Covid-19. Accedendo delle fiaccole. E facendo poi volare dei palloncini bianchi ed uno rosso dedicato alla maestra Carmela Ciniglio. A San Giuliano- spiega il sindaco Giuseppe Ferrante- non solo il 31 ottobre, ogni giorno alle 11.32 ci si ferma nel ricordo delle piccole vittime. A distanza di 18 anni il paese pian piano e ripartito. Sia a livello sociale. Sia come sicurezza delle scuole. Perche spero sia di insegnamento soprattutto da questo punto di vista. Anche se ce tanta strada da fare.
What Is the Silk Route?

The Silk Route was a historic trade route that dated from the second century B.C. until the 14th century A.D. It stretched from Asia to the Mediterranean, traversing China, India, Persia, Arabia, Greece, and Italy.

It was dubbed the Silk Route because of the heavy silk trading that took place during that period. This valuable fabric originated in China, which initially had a monopoly on silk production until the secrets of its creation spread. In addition to silk, the route facilitated the trade of other fabrics, spices, grains, fruits and vegetables, animal hides, wood and metal work, precious stones, and other items of value.

In 2013, China announced plans it would revive the Silk Route, connecting it with more than 60 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Understanding the Silk Route

The Silk Route was a series of ancient trade networks that connected China and the Far East with countries in Europe and the Middle East. The route included a group of trading posts and markets that were used to help in the storage, transport, and exchange of goods. It was also known as the Silk Road.

Travelers used camel or horse caravans and stayed in guest houses or inns typically spaced one days travel apart. Travelers along the Silk Routes maritime routes could stop at ports for fresh drinking water and trade opportunities. Archaeologists and geographers pursuing research of ancient sites have been the Silk Routes most modern travelers.

The opening of the Silk Route brought many products that would have a big impact on the West. Many of these commodities had their roots in China and included gunpowder and paper. These became some of the most traded goods between China and its Western trading partners. Paper was especially important, as it eventually led to the invention of the printing press, which gave way to newspapers and books.

There has been a push by China to reopen the Silk Route to improve cooperation among countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe.

History of the Silk Route

The original Silk Route was established during the Han Dynasty by Zhang Quian, a Chinese official and diplomat. During a diplomatic mission, Quian was captured and detained for 13 years on his first expedition before escaping and pursuing other routes from China to Central Asia.

The Silk Route was popular during the Tang Dynasty, from 618 to 907 A.D. Travelers could choose among a number of land and sea paths to reach their destination. The routes evolved along with territorial boundaries and changes in national leadership.

The Silk Route was a means to exchange goods and cultures. It also served in the development of science, technology, literature, the arts, and other fields of study.

The Silk Route also helped missions by Buddhist and European monks and was instrumental in spreading Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and other religions throughout the regions served by the routes.

Reviving the Silk Route

In 2013, China began to officially restore the historic Silk Route under president Xi Jinping with a $900 billion strategy called One Belt, One Road (OBOR). The project was a way to improve Chinas interconnectivity with more than 60 other countries in Asia, Europe, and East Africa.

Also known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it traverses numerous land and sea routes. The Silk Road Economic Belt is primarily land-based to connect China with Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe, while the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is sea-based, connecting Chinas southern coast to the Mediterranean, Africa, South-East Asia, and Central Asia.

China views the venture as an important way to improve its domestic growth. It also serves as a way to open up new trade markets for Chinese goods, giving the country the cheapest and easiest way to export materials and goods.

Criticsincluding Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamadsay China is using the BRI to lend to countries who may default as a way of getting economic or political concessions.

China has passed several milestones related to the OBOR including the signing of hundreds of deals since 2016. In January 2017, a new rail service using the East Wind freight train was introduced from Beijing to London along the historic route, passing beneath the English Channel to reach London. The 16- to 18-day journey, travels nearly 7,500 miles and allows freight shippers an alternative to slow but relatively cheap water routes, and fast but relatively expensive air routes. Other key OBOR routes go from China to 14 major European cities.
Top News - Investor Idea

Cleantech and Climate Change Podcast  Interview with Founder and CEO of Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) Discussing Recent Acquisitions, Rollout and Manufacturing of EV Line of Products

Vancouver, Kelowna, Delta, BC - November 7, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Investorideas.com, a global news source and leading investor resource covering cleantech and renewable energy stocks issues a new edition of the Cleantech and Climate Change Podcast, featuring an interview with Mr. David Michery, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Electric Vehicle Company, Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN).

Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea

Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) AI Driven Financial Technology Patent Application Received a Notice of Publication

San Diego, CA - November 3, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) received a notice of publication for its financial software patent application.

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Breaking AI Stock News: Intellagents, a FatBrain AI (OTCQB: LZGI) Company, Announces Hiring of Insurtech Industry Veteran as Chief Revenue Officer

NEW YORK, NY - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, announces the hiring of Euan King, an experienced and respected Insurtech industry leader as Chief Revenue Officer for insurance technology-focused subsidiary Intellagents.

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Health and Wellness Stock News - Endexx (OTCBB: EDXC) Secures $3.8M Order for Non-Nicotine Vape Product HYLA from Italy

CAVE CREEK, Az. - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Endexx Corporation (OTCBB:EDXC), a provider of innovative, plant-based, and sustainable health and skincare products, today announces it has secured a new $3.8 million USD order for its newly acquired, non-nicotine based vape product, HYLA from customers in Italy.

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Stream Technologies is sponsoring Vietnams annual IoT Startup competition, the company has announced. Organized by the Board of Management of Saigon Hi-Tech Park, the competitions goals are to attract the interest of the startup community and foster the development of IoT-based products, and to incubate and establish new IoT startups.

The competition was launched March 25. With more than 400 participants from all over Vietnam competing for a top prize of 50,000,000 VND, or $2,195.50, the event will see nearly 100 IoT projects being developed in many fields ranging from wearable devices, smart cities, security, health, energy, farming and retail applications.

Part of the sponsorship support being offered by Stream includes the use of the companys IoT-X platform. IoT-X is being made available for all IoT Startup participants to manage connected devices for the duration of the event. Stream will also be providing access to one of its partners solutions: myDevices Cayenne, which is a drag and drop IoT project builder. Cayenne is designed to enable developers to quickly design and prototype IoT solutions.

Streams CEO, Nigel Chadwick, was invited to deliver a presentation on global IoT trends at the competitions launch event in Ho Chi Minh City. Streams sponsorship of the competition demonstrates the companys continued commitment to supporting projects that foster the development of innovation within the IoT industry.

IoT-X is Streams Connectivity Management Platform (CMP). IoT-X is designed to be used to manage cellular, satellite and LPWAN (Low-Power Wide Area Network), including LoRa connectivity. It is integrated with Oberthurs M-Connect eUICC platform and Streams LoRaWAN network server and LoRa subscription management capabilities.

Although the prize itself is not large, this kind of competition is valuable for the participating companies because it serves to raise their profiles to key market decision-makers. And its not terrible to call your solution award-winning either.

Edited by Alicia Young
Bahrain said on Sunday it had broken "terrorist cell" suspected of involvement in a bomb attack on a police bus in February and plotting to assassinate senior officials, Reuters reported citing state news agency BNA reported.

The agency quoted an Interior Ministry statement as saying that the 14-member cell was working under direct supervision from two exiled Bahrainis living in Iran, one of them recently designated by the United States as a "global terrorist".

Tensions have been rising in the kingdom since last year after authorities stepped up a crackdown on dissent, banning the main opposition group al-Wefaq, arresting a leading activist and critic of the government and revoking the citizenship of the spiritual leader of the country's majority Shi'ites.

They are suspected of a bomb attack on a bus in February that injured five police officers, the agency said. The group is also suspected of plotting to attack "senior officials", the statement said but gave no further details.

It said weapons, locally-made explosives and communication equipment had been seized from the homes of the suspects.

Earlier this month, Bahrain announced it had uncovered a group comprising 54 members suspected of involvement in attacks on security forces, including organizing a prison break in January, and seizing automatic weapons.

Bahrain in February executed three men convicted in the death of three policemen, including an Emirati officer, in a 2014 bomb attack.
Press Release

Worlds MPs to tackle rising economic, political and social inequalities

Geneva, 27 March 2017

Reducing inequalities will be addressed by the 136th IPU Assembly in Dhaka. Citizenside/Julieta Belen Ferrar/Citizenside

Taking decisive actions to end economic, political and social inequality will be the focus of deliberations for the more than 650 MPs from 132 countries meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 1-5 April 2017.

Parliamentarians, including 53 Speakers of Parliament, will make concrete proposals on a range of issues, from ending rising inequality to promoting womens access to financing, during the 136th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) (#IPU136) hosted by the Bangladesh Parliament. Nobel Peace Prize laureate and childrens rights activist, Kailash Satyarthi, will be the keynote speaker during the opening session of the debates on 2 April.

Kailash Satyarthi has spent many years tackling the tragic impact of inequality on children. He is expected to highlight the role and responsibility of parliamentarians in ending child labour and better protecting children from all forms of exploitation. Together with the IPU, he also will call on nations to end child trafficking and make every effort to protect the fundamental rights of children.

New estimates published by Oxfam show that just eight men own the same amount of wealth as 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity. According to the IPU, the consequences of inequality are unsustainable, causing instability and undermining human rights.

In 2015, the international community agreed to take robust action on inequality. Goal 10 of the Sustainable Development Goals calls on governments to reduce inequalities within and among countries.

During the IPUs Assembly, parliamentarians will concentrate on the impact of inequality on the poor, women and vulnerable groups. Using the achievement of Goal 10 as the measure of success, they will potentially look at ways to assess the extent of economic, social and political inequalities and to ensure the needs of the poor and marginalized are addressed at all levels of decision-making.

IPU Members will adopt a resolution to guarantee the financial inclusion of women as drivers of development. The IPU Standing Committee on Peace and International Security will further examine, and possibly adopt a resolution of the issue of non-interference in the internal affairs of States, in the context of our world today.

The 136th IPU Assembly will host the 25th Session of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians (#womenMPs). More than 207 women MPs are due to attend the Dhaka meeting, which among other things, will focus on ending the gender gap in access to financial services.

The IPUs Forum of Young Parliamentarians (#youngMPs) will also meet at the Assembly, infusing a youth perspective into the deliberations.

The Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians will examine cases involving the abuses of MPs human rights. Hearings are planned with national authorities or individuals.

For further information:

Watch the 136th Assembly live at http://www.ipu136bangladesh.org/ from 1-5 April.

Follow or take part in discussions on Twitter using #IPU136.

Photos of the event will be made available on Flickr.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national parliaments. It works to safeguard peace and drives positive democratic change through political dialogue and concrete action.
A man has been shot in Dublin city centre. The shooting took place at around 9.55pm.

The man was reportedly shot in the chest in the incident on Railway Street in Dublin's north Inner city.
US President Donald Trump noted on Monday the decrease in the number of migrants arriving in the United States, praised Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, Sputnik reported.

"General Kelly is doing a great job at the border. Numbers are way down. Many are not even trying to come in anymore," Trump wrote on Twitter.

On March 6, President Donald Trump signed a revised immigration executive action that temporarily blocks nationals of six predominantly Muslim countries from traveling to the US. The countries affected are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Unlike Trumps first executive order, the revised ban does not apply to nationals from Iraq.
Walking across Londons Canary Wharf last week, I was struck by both the size of financial services office blocks and the extent of new high-rise living accommodation for the 143,000 people employed there. The area is home to Europes largest banking cluster and continents biggest accelerator space for financial technology companies, Level39.

Moving any major part of this edifice following formal Brexit negotiations, which British prime minister Theresa May is set to trigger on Wednesday, will require suitor cities to invest heavily in infrastructure.

Dublin will struggle to meet any major influx of financial services personnel. Most European cities do not carry sufficient empty fourth-generation office and living accommodation to handle a major move out of London by the financial sector. Notwithstanding bricks and mortar, or UK government lobbying, certain activities will inevitably exit London, such as the Eurobond trading, which handles 70% of global activity.

Frankfurt is most likely to benefit. Paris looks set to gain, as major banks such as HSBC move to facilitate eurozone clients. Dublin is likely to continue to build its investment funds cluster. However, occupying the interest of the Government once Article 50 is triggered will be the wider issues of cross-Border trade and free movement of people.

The all-important formal guidelines, which EU president Donald Tusk has committed to drawing up and then getting the remaining EU 27 member countries to approve, will be of vital interest to Ireland. These will show how hard a line the EU will take with the UK. More importantly, they are expected to specify the priorities for the EU 27, and the principles on which the EU cannot compromise.

Ensuring that Irelands common travel arrangements with the UK, as well as a frictionless border between the Republic and the North, are included in these guidelines is the critical challenge facing the Government. With a timeline of April 29 to approve the formal guidelines by the remaining 27 EU leaders, the need for early interaction with Mr Tusk is now vital.

Ms Mays 12-point Brexit plan, announced on January 17 in her Lancaster House speech, included maintaining that Common Travel Area with the Republic of Ireland will be an important priority for the UK in the talks ahead.

It should be possible to have a similar commitment in the Tusk guidelines. However, the caveat included in Ms Mays speech, that we will work to deliver a practical solution that allows the maintenance of the Common Travel Area with the Republic, while protecting the integrity of the UKs immigration system could prove a stumbling block.

Once the EU guidelines are approved, negotiations will commence. The UK is expected to push for special treatment for Londons financial services sector and the British motor industry.

However, the UK is expected to take advantage of Brexit to open up its food market to low-cost supplies from Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil. The implications of such a strategy could be devastating for Irelands agrifood sector, which exports 41% of its output to the UK. Strong Irish representation in the talks will be vital in ensuring that proposed tradeoffs between the UK and EU dont damage our special trading relationship with the UK.
What part did economic pragmatism play in the transformation of Martin McGuinness from IRA leader into that of Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, committed to the path of peace?

Quite a lot, one suspects.

Last June, the Sinn Fein leader delivered a speech in London just ahead of the June 23 Brexit referendum, in which he cautioned about the dangers of a vote in favour of a British exit from the EU. He warned that the cost of Brexit to the Northern Irish economy would be around 1bn a year.

The agricultural sector would lose out to the tune of 325m while a two-thirds reduction in immigration to the North was also in prospect, with resulting serious negative impacts on economic output.

This is a speech that could have been delivered by his fellow Derryman, John Hume, who devoted his career to building up the economy of his native town right from the days in the mid-1960s when he helped to found the local credit union.

As an MEP, Mr Hume built contacts in Europe while simultaneously amassing friendships in Washington, in particular among senior Democratic party connections which would stand him in good stead, particularly after the peace process kicked off and the Clinton administration took up office.

The SDLP leader was a driving force behind hotel and retail projects in the town and by the late 1980s, Derry was viewed as a forerunner when it came to the politics of reconciliation.

Mr Hume was not alone in this regard. Important roles were played by people such as the businessman and community leader Paddy Doherty, who spearheaded the Inner City Trust which has helped retrain unemployed people.

The great feather in Mr Humes cap is the Seagate project, landed by the city against some serious competition, in 1993. The SDLP politician was also responsible for the Derry Boston Ventures initiatives as he sought to plug into Irish American contacts.

More than 1,300 are employed by Seagate in Derry. A real concern must be whether this linchpin can be sustained. As far back as 1965, Mr Hume, then a teacher, was among those pressing for the establishment of a university in the city. Education has turned the key to many career doors in Irish lives.

Back in the early 1990s, then US president Bill Clintons decision to provide Gerry Adams with a visa led to a transformation in the relationship between Sinn Fein and Irish America, previously viewed almost exclusively as a source of funds for the armed struggle.

The range of contacts between the Sinn Fein leadership and Americans expanded greatly and the nature of such contacts was fundamentally altered following the appointment of George Mitchell, the former Senate Majority leader as Mr Clintons economic envoy to Northern Ireland.

The conclusion of the Belfast Agreement, followed within a couple of years by the traumatic events of 9/11, led to a further alteration. The attacks on the World Trade Center hit Irish America extremely hard.

What has followed has been a remarkable transformation from the days of the Troubles.

In the run-up to that conflict, the economic depression in nationalist communities such as Derry and Strabane played a key role.

What is less recognised is that, between 1969 and the early 1990s, the gap in living standards between the rival communities actually grew.

According to Kathleen Lundy, writing in the Notre Dame Journal of Law Ethics and Public Policy in 2001, from 1980 the rate of unemployment actually grew faster among Catholics than among Protestants.

In large part, this was due to the fact that the great majority of the 40,000 security jobs were filled by those from the majority religion. This was despite the enactment of the 1976 and 1989 Fair Employment Acts prohibiting discrimination in employment on religious grounds.

In 1995, 57% of the population were considered to be Protestants, but this group accounted for just 42% of the unemployed.

As Mr Mitchell put it, for many years, violence and fear settled over Northern Ireland like a heavy unyielding fog. The conflict hurt the economy so unemployment rose ... in a deadly cycle of escalating misery.

As Ms Lundy puts it: The United States realisation of the economic impetus to peace is the most tangible reason the latest peace process advanced to yield the Good Friday Agreement.

Prior to Mr Mitchells involvement, American and European friends of Ireland were already playing a key role in this regard.

The North received 240m under a special EU Peace and Reconciliation package, with 40m more being paid by the International Fund for Ireland.

The carrot was dangled. Mr McGuinness was won over to the politics of pragmatism. Since those days, the North has enjoyed many of the dividends. Its tourism sector is buoyant yet its economy remains seriously unbalanced and now Brexit brings with it a new set of threats.

True, the unemployment rate has dropped from its 1986 peak of over 17% to around 6% while growth in GDP is being recorded at a very modest pace (2% in 2016 though perhaps just over 1%, this year).

While unemployment is down, it remains at 15% among 18- to 24-year-olds.

At the same time, construction firms complain about a shortage of skilled labour as the sector ramps up to tackle a growing housing shortage.

A shortage of migrant labour could hit sectors such as farming, hospitality, and healthcare while further hitting the regions ability to attract mobile investment.

The Brexit vote has been followed by a sharp dip in inquiries from foreign investors.

Northern Irish exporters depend heavily on the EU market and now the prospect of a hard border looms as talks between the UK and the remaining 27 EU member states get set to commence.

Looming over all of this is the huge reliance on Westminster subsidies estimated at around 10bn a year.

It is hard to believe that the pragmatism espoused by Martin McGuinness over the past decade or more can remain unchallenged in an environment of potential economic meltdown.

Levels of anger could soar in nationalist communities if cutbacks are implemented in a post-Brexit economic panic.

An experiment has commenced. Will we witness an explosion in the laboratory as the mad scientists of the Tory right fumble with their bubbling test tubes?

Will the pro-investment strategies promoted by the departed Deputy First Minister come to be seen as little more than a passing phase in the tangled history of Northern Ireland?

Will economic pragmatism give way once again to the politics of protest and economic populism.
Coming to light over the weekend, a report  commissioned by David Daly, one of the first major property developers to exit Nama  claims that the States so-called bad bank/toxic loan agency failed to realise at least 18bn in money for the taxpayer by not holding a number of property loan assets on its books for long enough.

The findings of the report came from research undertaken by economist Jim Power and Lisney estate agents.

It also claims that in the case of 11 asset sales by Nama to investment funds, the buyers flipped the asset and made an average profit of 47%. The cumulative loss to the Irish taxpayer from these transactions alone was 317.6m, according to the study.

Commenting on the report, Mr Daly said: Its clear that Namas firesale of the nations property assets has allowed vulture funds to make a killing at the taxpayers expense. The agency would have fared better had it opted for a medium to long-term commercially-savvy approach over its knee-jerk, panicked and inexperienced reaction. Had it done so, then conceivably, the lions share of the 74bn bank loan value could have been recovered on behalf of the Irish taxpayer.

In the context of the recovery of both Irish and global property markets, Namas stated return of a maximum 2.3bn on an investment of 31.8bn seems significantly lighter than would be expected.

A spokesperson for Nama yesterday said that the agency has met all of its targets.

It is important to bear in mind that the agency was set a very difficult job to do, which included meeting specific debt repayment targets  all of which have been met, said the Nama spokesperson.

While the agency said it does not comment on individual debtors, the spokesperson added that it is ironic that Mr Daly is one of the complaints taking a case to the EU seeking to prevent Nama from proceeding with its house building programme.
The opposition TD heavily criticised the comment after Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes yesterday released a letter from European environment commissioner Karmenu Vella which warned Ireland will not be allowed to implement the plan.

Last month, Mr Cowen told the Oireachtas water committee his party will now not support the reintroduction of water charges.

Mr Cowen said that instead of water charges, existing legislation could be adapted to fine people who misuse public water and that this could be checked by more general community metering systems.

While Fine Gael Housing Minister Simon Coveney rejected the claim, the Fianna Fail position led to a water committee stalemate, resulting in the group being given an extra month  until April 14  to agree its findings.

In a letter to Mr Hayes released at the weekend, just days before the water committee meets tomorrow to discuss Mr Cowens plan, Mr Vella said the approach will breach European law and will fail to create a reliable revenue stream for water services.

However, while Mr Hayes supported the remark, Mr Cowen last night said he does not accept the Brussels view.

The comments are, as usual, premature. How, for example, can it be determined how sufficient the [existing] act can be when the committee has yet to agree the means by which it can be strengthened, he said, adding Mr Vellas comments are a needless intervention.

At a separate media event, Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar said while he is not of the view that we need the European Commission to tell us what to do he welcomed Mr Vellas clarity.

However, Sinn Fein TD Martin Kenny said the European commissioner and Fine Gael comments are choreographed, while Solidarity-PBP TD Paul Murphy said the commissions warning of massive fines are nothing new.
1. SKY HIGH RENTS

Most observers say it is too early to formally assess the rent caps introduced in December.

Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) were extended beyond Dublin and Cork to commuter towns and other cities in January. But the concern is that landlords in other areas will hike up rates ahead of any possible cap being introduced there.

There is uproar that towns such as Dundalk, Drogheda, Maynooth, Greystones as well as the cities of Waterford and Limerick have not been designated RPZs.

Some welcome the 4% annual rent rise cap, others say rates in fact should have been forced down or even at least linked to the consumer price index.

Zones could also be smaller and not electoral area sizes, suggest critics. But even Fianna Fail privately say some cap is better than none at all.

It may also be years before standards are improved. A recent audit of local authority inspections of rentals found failure rates amounted to 100% in six areas.

The Government plans to ringfence funds for local authority inspections from 2018 onwards, so a quarter of rentals are checked by 2021. But some argue this will be too little, too late.

Especially when rates are already extremely steep.

There is also pressure to ease rental pressures by returning run down rental stock to the market as well as calls to regulate Airbnb so more units are freed up for tenants, especially in cities.

2. NEW BUILDS

The Government has promised to help double the number of new homes constructed annually to 25,000 by 2021.

Eight months since the launch of Rebuilding Ireland, Department of Environment data shows 14,932 new homes were completed in 2016, an increase of 18% on 2015.

The figures are based on ESB connections.

Planning permissions were also granted for 16,375 new homes in 2016, a 26% rise on the previous year.

It could be argued then that the Government is more than half way to meeting its annual new build target. It is early yet though.

There is criticism about proposals from Government to sell off State lands for development.

It is also unclear to what extent builders or foreign investors have jumped at the idea of constructing here, as claimed by Housing Minister Simon Coveney.

An independent assessment is also needed on what it costs to actually build new homes, critics say.

A proposed 200m infrastructure fund to encourage development has also been oversubscribed, with 800m in plans lodged by local authorities, Sinn Fein notes.

Moreover, Independent TDs warn that selling lands at discount prices to developers will result in only 20% of units going to social housing, 20% to affordable renting while the builder sells the 50% left to private buyers. This is based on pilot projects in Dublin.

3. SOCIAL HOUSING

The Government has promised to build 47,000 new social housing units by 2021 at a cost of 5.3bn. It is a huge commitment, especially after almost a decade which saw little or no social housing development.

Other measures to reduce the estimated 90,000-long social housing waiting list include expanding Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) for renters and increasing the number of mixed housing developments.

The facts are social housing new builds were among the lowest in the states history last year. Only 652 new social housing units were built. While the department notes over 18,000 social housing solutions were delivered, two thirds of these involved HAP payments.

The rest included reusing void units, councils buying existing stock and leasing homes among options.

The issue is the huge backlog in social housing development.

Furthermore, there are mixed views about whether state funds should go towards new builds or doing up vacant properties.

Housing agencies point to the fact there are over 200,000 empty properties nationwide.

But Labour points to the limited success of the living over the shop or living city schemes.

The take-up there has been low.

Critics also claim that putting families onto HAP schemes just fudges the situation and is not a long term solution.

Local authorities again and again also come under criticism for their slow building records and more of a stick approach is needed to ensure social housing demands are met, say Opposition TDs.

4. HOMELESSNESS

Minister Simon Coveneys promise to end the use of emergency accommodation for the homeless in hotels and B&Bs by the end of June is bold.

His predecessors set targets that were never reached. This one is a key for Coveneys leadership ambitions as well as for Fine Gael as a whole.

There are still 700 families living in hotels and B&B accommodation. As part of the plan to tackle homelessness, the Government promised 200 rapid-build homes by the end of 2016, a further 800 this year, and a further 1,500 next year.

Just 22 have been built so far in Poppintree, Dublin. It has failed here so far  despite many units awaiting construction. Some 250m was made available this year for emergency accommodation and Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

The funds are there, says Government. But numbers without homes spiked in December and January this year  despite the usual expected seasonal drop.

With solutions promised, the concern is that families get long-term solutions, especially when it comes to the welfare of children who have been forced to live out of bags in hotels.

Agencies such as Threshold say, however, that soaring rents are a main reason for families finding themselves on the streets.

Coveneys promise is ambitious, concede agencies, but they welcome that someone is at least trying to end the use of hotels and B&Bs for the homeless.

The occupation of Apollo House in Dublin city centre over Christmas rightly focused minds on the need to solve the homelessness crisis. Such actions could be revisited if promises are not kept by the Government.

Agencies on the frontline also admit that more joined-up thinking is needed to help solve the problem in the long term. This is especially so now, given the huge funds ringfenced to help people.

5. HOUSING STOCK

This is one of the more vague areas as part of the five-pillar approach.

There are a number of promised measures here to increase the number of housing units overall.

These include local authorities doing up and reletting vacant units.

The housing agency has also been tasked with buying vacant homes from banks and reintroducing them onto the market.

There is also the repair and leasing scheme, designed to help owners prepare their properties for the rental market.

In addition, the Government continues to try and push local authorities to do up ghost estates and housing developments that were left half-finished or without facilities after the property crash.

There is concern that the local authority buy and renovate scheme will only allow for a limited number of vacant properties to be refurbished and put back on the market by councils.

Opposition TDs say only about 3% of the empty housing stock nationwide might be reused under this scheme.

While there could be some scope for abuse under schemes to get existing stock opened up again, most politicians agree that this is the best approach.

But there is some concern that the investment here is limited.

Potentially, less than 7,000 units may be made fit for living in, out of the estimated 200,000 empty units nationwide, under proposed schemes with Rebuilding Ireland, according to TDs.

This is expecially so in Dublin where there are an estimated 40,000 empty properties and where the housing crisis is most acute.

Equally, while the repair and lease scheme funding for existing owners to do up properties to rent, with the loan of State funds, has gone from 6m to 32m, TDs say more could be spent here.
This familiar resident of city parks fouls paths and lawns. Bossy and aggressive, its accused of bullying the Greenland whitefronted goose, a vulnerable species. Eight years ago, Canadas were implicated in a notorious aviation accident which inspired a major film (Sully). Now the birds are in trouble again; the authorities at one of the worlds great seats of learning, Kings College Cambridge, claim that geese there have become a threat to health and safety.

Canada honkers are native to North America; those on this side of the Atlantic are descendants of ones brought to England in the 17th Century. Charles II introduced Canadas to his wildfowl collection at St. Jamess Park in 1665. The greyish brown body, black head and neck, are distinctive. Gleaming white face patches extend up from the chin. Breeding throughout England and Wales, Canadas have doubled their numbers in recent decades. We havent many in Ireland; breeding is mostly confined to the Erne catchment area and the lakes of drumlin country in the northwest. American vagrants are seen occasionally among visiting whitefronts on the Wexford slobs.

This large vegetarian, with a liking for man-made environments, thrives wherever there is open water and swards suitable for grazing in the northern United States and Canada. Although often deemed a pest, local people generally oppose culling it. Exasperated at seeing other waterfowl compromised by the geese, swan expert Bill Sladen once told me that he wanted people to eat these nuisance geese.

Increases in goose numbers have led to crowded skies in some areas. On the afternoon of January 15th 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 took off from La Guardia Airport, New York. Three minutes later, flying above the Bronx, the airbus slammed into a flock of Canada geese. The turbine blades of jet engines can withstand collisions with medium-sized birds but a large goose might weigh 5kg. Power was lost in both engines. Pilot Chesley Sullenberger, with extraordinary judgement skill and incredible luck, managed to land his plane smoothly in the Hudson River close to the George Washington Bridge. Miraculously, all 155 souls on board climbed out onto the wings and survived. There were no serious injuries.

We cant blame the geese for the New York crash, but we must take sides in the ongoing war between Canadas and their neighbours in Greenland. Theres an Irish dimension to the conflict. According to BirdWatch Ireland, almost 36,000 Greenland whitefronted geese came here for the winter of 1999/2000. By 2010, there were less than 23,000. Crucially, juvenile birds were virtually absent from the flocks; not enough youngsters are being raised to compensate for the deaths of older birds. The culprits appear to be climate change and Canada geese.

Canada goose numbers migrating to Greenland seem to be causing habitat problems for whitefronted geese

Prior to the 1970s, few Canadas visited west Greenland where the whitefronts breed. The rising temperatures of recent years have made conditions there more suitable for honkers. Colonisation has been rapid. The aggressive invaders monopolise resources and the whitefronts are losing out. Breeding success is reduced and parents are being forced from their traditional brood-raising sites.

Compared to the Greenland problem, the row in Cambridge is a storm in a teacup. Geese convert large amounts of grass into long soft turds. These faecal creations are deposited indiscriminately at rates of up to one a minute; people can slip and injure themselves on the resulting mess. Sports fields, its alleged, are becoming virtual skating rinks and theres a risk that disease will spread.

Some of the dominant birds, its reported, have become aggressive and are biting people. Cleaning up after geese is time-consuming and expensive.

Proposals to cull the geese have angered students, who consider it unnecessary and cruel. A letter, signed by a quarter of the student population, has been sent to the authorities in defence of the birds.
REBUILDING Ireland, An Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness is just eight months old and already we are now starting to see some progress.

I have consistently said that addressing the challenging problems of housing and homelessness would be difficult and there would be no quick-fix solutions.

Lets be honest, the housing sector has been on life support for a number of years and there was little or no money for local authorities to build social housing.

Many years of pro-cyclical policies contributed to the crash that caused a decade of inactivity, and it will take a number of years of the correct ones to put things right.

The ESRI has calculated that for a country of our population and size, we need to deliver 25,000 homes or more every year, to meet the needs of our people, whether for rental or purchase, social or private housing.

We are a long way off that level of home starts, but the most recent statistics are positive and indicate that at last we are moving in the right direction.

The most recent monthly activity report indicates 15,256 homes were provided last year and commencement notices in the year up to the end of January 2017 show an increase of 44% year on year.

My target is to get to 25,000 new homes per year and go beyond that as quickly as possible.

One of the central elements of Rebuilding Ireland involves an unprecedented commitment of 5.35 billion for social housing. We are determined to help individuals and families that are homeless and those on social housing waiting lists.

The most recent figures show that there are 91,600 households on the lists.

Local authorities and approved housing bodies have been tasked to build, buy, rent and lease social housing properties across the country. This means a dramatic ramping up of capacity to deliver on social housing projects. And its starting to work.

Last year 18,300 social housing solutions were put in place and this year that figure will be over 21,000 and we will spend 1.3bn making it so.

In terms of social housing construction, 650 homes were built last year, 1,800 are under construction on sites around the country and 8,430 are at various stages in the pipeline of delivery.

We must be innovative in our approach and that is why, along with the massive additional commitment to social housing, we are looking at any and all means of getting more houses to use for families that need them.

I have introduced a series of new schemes worth hundreds of millions of euro in order to get thousands of vacant houses back into use for social housing  the Repair and Leasing Scheme will see some 3,500 homes returned to use at a cost of 140 million.

Last year, we spent 200m buying back houses for social housing.

We need to achieve maximum delivery on some large strategic sites that have been in a state of suspended animation because critical infrastructure is missing.

Thats why we brought in a 200m housing infrastructure fund to unlock these sites. I will be shortly announcing funding for roads, bridges and amenity infrastructure that will facilitate the delivery of tens of thousands of new homes across the country.

I have been Minister for Housing for less than a year but in that time significant progress has been made, we have launched a comprehensive plan which is well funded and making steady progress, housing activity is increasing and the outlook is positive.

Responding to and solving our housing issues is the Governments number one priority and I intend to keep driving that agenda forward.

Simon Coveney is Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government
Families need Government to build a workable solution to housing crisis

Its too early to say whether recent Government attempts to fix the housing crisis will work. In the meantime, many people are still suffering, writes Political Correspondent Juno McEnroe.

SKY-HIGH rents, unaffordable house prices, unprecedented numbers of homeless families and an all-time low record of social housing builds.

These are some of the characteristics that mark so-called solutions to help solve Irelands housing crisis that has left ordinary families in a state of stasis, in poverty, and in many cases, without a roof over their heads.

Families without homes are being treated like second class citizens, according to frontline agencies.

There are exceptional amounts of money going into government promises to solve the housing crisis but little sign of relief for those renting, buying or relying on state support for a home to live in. It is a national shame.

Jenna Foley, with her daughters Kaylee and Chloe, one of the first families who will move into Cork city councils Sheridan Park development in Togher

Property problems have plagued this country and its cities for years. The property boom helped bust the entire nation. And still, years later, we have yet to formally regulate and allow families the courtesy of normal lives under a roof.

A new generation now look hopelessly on (many have no choice but to leave their communities or areas) at this tragedy.

And it is a tragedy that people face massive rents and therefor cannot save for a home and in worse situations are priced out of the rental market and so become homeless.

The vicious housing crisis circle will only profit and benefit those who have no interest in a modern, properly working society, namely ruthless landlords, funds and builders.

The rest of the country is at the mercy of an uncontrollable market that is out of control once again.

A determined Simon Coveney has vowed to fight this crisis head on and plans to try to fix the broken housing and rental sectors.

The Housing Minister, has set an number of ambitious targets, these include:

Putting an end to the use of emergency accommodation such as hotels for homeless families by the end of June

Doubling the number of new home builds to 25,000 by 2021

Limiting rent increases by setting a cap of 4% for annual rate hikes

Making up for years of funding gaps for social housing

These are grand visions, backed by specific deadlines and targets, and overseen by his officials in the Department of Housing. In many cases, it is too early to say though if the plans are working.

Many of the multi-annual plans are only unfolding or beginning. Rents were only capped for Dublin and Cork in December and number of other areas in January. Rates have rocketed elsewhere since.

So-called rapid builds, to give immediate solutions for the homeless, have only been completed in Poppintree, Ballymun. Just 22 units have been completed, despite proposals for hundreds across Dublin and elsewhere.

Equally, the rate of social housing completion is slow. Only 652 new social housing units went up last year.

Two thirds of the solutions delivered for social housing came through housing assistance payments.

Critics would say Coveney is missing his mark. Activists on the ground, including housing agencies, say any results will take a while.

Nonetheless, the Programme for Government specifically stipulates that the actions of the new partnership Government will work to end the housing shortage and homelessness crisis.

You would hope it does, especially with the likes of some 935m in Government funds going into housing last year.

Critics and agencies agree that local authorities could do more. Councils must inspect more rental properties, speed up social housing builds and could use more vacant stock to help the sector.

In fact, many agree the existing stock of 200,000 empty homes nationwide should be more heavily focused on by officials instead of the push to construct new units.

Mr Coveney did publish the promised action plan for housing within 100 days of taking office. But is it working? It could be argued it is too early to say.

But we are certainly experiencing a savage and damaging housing crisis which is forcing families out of communities and has already seen many lose the chances to own their own homes.

Renters are in desperate places, trapped without any rights or unable to pay huge rates. The Dublin Tenants Association, set up two years ago, has been inundated with complaints.

Member and spokesman Mick Byrne told the Irish Examiner that landlords in rent cap areas are wrongly hiking up rates.

But tenants fear being evicted and wont bring challenges to the the residential tenancies board.

There is weak regulation and excess demand. It is a disaster. Now people are being treated like second class citizens. There is a strong culture of non-compliance among landlords.

They are applying invalid rent increases, entering properties unannounced and there are no minimum standards. There is a systematic, unregulated black hole at the centre of the rental market.

Equally, housing charity Threshold states families have been priced out of the rental sector, particularly in Dublin, in the last two years.

The supply of new social housing, says Threshold CEO John Mark, is the key to rebuilding Ireland.

The quality of housing stock is equally worrying, says the charity CEO. Mr Mark says standards in the private housing sector could be improved by having a rating, similar to the BER.

Clearly there is still a lot to be done. And Simon Coveneys period of grace as the minister charged with fixing the housing sector is coming to an end.

Families need relief. And soon.

Looking at all means of getting more houses

Years of pro-cyclical policies contributed to the crash that caused a decade of inactivity, says Housing Minister Simon Coveney.

Rebuilding Ireland, An Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness is just eight months old and already we are now starting to see some progress.

I have consistently said that addressing the challenging problems of housing and homelessness would be difficult and there would be no quick-fix solutions.

Simon Coveney

Lets be honest, the housing sector has been on life support for a number of years and there was little or no money for local authorities to build social housing.

Many years of pro-cyclical policies contributed to the crash that caused a decade of inactivity, and it will take a number of years of the correct ones to put things right.

The ESRI has calculated that for a country of our population and size, we need to deliver 25,000 homes or more every year, to meet the needs of our people, whether for rental or purchase, social or private housing.

We are a long way off that level of home starts, but the most recent statistics are positive and indicate that at last we are moving in the right direction.

The most recent monthly activity report indicates 15,256 homes were provided last year and commencement notices in the year up to the end of January 2017 show an increase of 44% year on year.

My target is to get to 25,000 new homes per year and go beyond that as quickly as possible.

One of the central elements of Rebuilding Ireland involves an unprecedented commitment of 5.35 billion for social housing. We are determined to help individuals and families that are homeless and those on social housing waiting lists.

The most recent figures show that there are 91,600 households on the lists.

Local authorities and approved housing bodies have been tasked to build, buy, rent and lease social housing properties across the country. This means a dramatic ramping up of capacity to deliver on social housing projects. And its starting to work.

Last year 18,300 social housing solutions were put in place and this year that figure will be over 21,000 and we will spend 1.3bn making it so.

In terms of social housing construction, 650 homes were built last year, 1,800 are under construction on sites around the country and 8,430 are at various stages in the pipeline of delivery.

We must be innovative in our approach and that is why, along with the massive additional commitment to social housing, we are looking at any and all means of getting more houses to use for families that need them.

I have introduced a series of new schemes worth hundreds of millions of euro in order to get thousands of vacant houses back into use for social housing  the Repair and Leasing Scheme will see some 3,500 homes returned to use at a cost of 140 million.

Last year, we spent 200m buying back houses for social housing.

We need to achieve maximum delivery on some large strategic sites that have been in a state of suspended animation because critical infrastructure is missing.

Thats why we brought in a 200m housing infrastructure fund to unlock these sites. I will be shortly announcing funding for roads, bridges and amenity infrastructure that will facilitate the delivery of tens of thousands of new homes across the country.

I have been Minister for Housing for less than a year but in that time significant progress has been made, we have launched a comprehensive plan which is well funded and making steady progress, housing activity is increasing and the outlook is positive.

Responding to and solving our housing issues is the Governments number one priority and I intend to keep driving that agenda forward.

Simon Coveney is Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government

Leave all doors open in search for solutions

Pat Doyle, CEO of the Peter McVerry trust, says they welcome Simon Coveney's commitment to tackling the housing crisis but says the country needs an enhanced role for social protection in preventing homelessness.

We welcome the continued commitment from Housing Minister Simon Coveney to tackle the housing and homeless crisis.

Rebuilding Ireland has set out ambitious plans for large-scale social housing delivery. Until the plan reaches the output levels needed, we must ensure that all other appropriate measures are in place to help tackle homelessness.

Pat Doyle

We must ensure we take the appropriate steps to reduce the number of people on our streets and to this end we welcome the increase in Housing First targets. But we must also reduce the number of people in emergency accommodation and the number of people going into commercial hotels and B&Bs.

We welcome the ministers commitment to end the use of commercial hotels and B&Bs to accommodate homeless families.

The Rapid Build programme, which should be scaled up and rolled out, will be critical in achieving this goal.

As we wait for the social houses to come on stream, there are three key steps that need to be taken. The first is to build and scale up prevention measures already in place.

The tenancy protection scheme is one measure that has done amazing work in preventing people entering homelessness, by keeping tenants in their homes. By increasing the capacity and resources of the scheme, we can help prevent further cases of homelessness in the coming months.

It also important to acknowledge the issue of poverty as a major cause of homelessness. Any study of people entering homelessness, including those entering hotels and B&Bs, will find that the underlying issue for many is poverty.

An increase in allowances and strategic targeting of social welfare supports can only strengthen and complement prevention strategies already in place to prevent people becoming homeless. Clearly, we need an enhanced role for social protection in preventing homelessness.

The second step is to go after the empty homes, the low-hanging fruit of housing supply. In early March, we hosted Irelands first empty homes conference, which heard from experts from Ireland and abroad who underlined the huge potential that exists in the area of empty homes.

We welcome the ministers repair and leasing scheme, which will be launched in the coming days. It has the potential to see thousands of homes coming back into the housing system.

This scheme and other new initiatives will sit alongside changes to the process for adapting some commercial buildings to residential.

All of these measures combined can help to quickly and cost-effectively ensure that empty homes play a key role in housing supply.

Finally, it is also essential that anyone in need of shelter has access to it. At a minimum, our response must ensure everyone has access to high quality emergency accommodation and professional supports.

Since December, a total of 238 new emergency beds have come into the system in Dublin and a further 100 are earmarked to come into operation shortly.

We believe every resource and every available building should be assessed as regards its suitability for providing new homeless accommodation.

It is important that people have access to shelter because it means more people can get off the street, more people access proper assessment, access keyworkers and support services and be put on a pathway to housing.

Clearly though, in the medium and long-term the response to homelessness must be all about housing, housing, and housing.

Pat Doyle is CEO of the Peter McVerry Trust

The Government's five pillars to tackle the housing crisis

1. SKY HIGH RENTS

Most observers say it is too early to formally assess the rent caps introduced in December.

Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) were extended beyond Dublin and Cork to commuter towns and other cities in January. But the concern is that landlords in other areas will hike up rates ahead of any possible cap being introduced there.

There is uproar that towns such as Dundalk, Drogheda, Maynooth, Greystones as well as the cities of Waterford and Limerick have not been designated RPZs.

Some welcome the 4% annual rent rise cap, others say rates in fact should have been forced down or even at least linked to the consumer price index.

Zones could also be smaller and not electoral area sizes, suggest critics. But even Fianna Fail privately say some cap is better than none at all.

It may also be years before standards are improved. A recent audit of local authority inspections of rentals found failure rates amounted to 100% in six areas.

The Government plans to ringfence funds for local authority inspections from 2018 onwards, so a quarter of rentals are checked by 2021. But some argue this will be too little, too late.

Especially when rates are already extremely steep.

There is also pressure to ease rental pressures by returning run down rental stock to the market as well as calls to regulate Airbnb so more units are freed up for tenants, especially in cities.

2. NEW BUILDS

The Government has promised to help double the number of new homes constructed annually to 25,000 by 2021.

Eight months since the launch of Rebuilding Ireland, Department of Environment data shows 14,932 new homes were completed in 2016, an increase of 18% on 2015.

The figures are based on ESB connections.

Planning permissions were also granted for 16,375 new homes in 2016, a 26% rise on the previous year.

It could be argued then that the Government is more than half way to meeting its annual new build target. It is early yet though.

There is criticism about proposals from Government to sell off State lands for development.

It is also unclear to what extent builders or foreign investors have jumped at the idea of constructing here, as claimed by Housing Minister Simon Coveney.

An independent assessment is also needed on what it costs to actually build new homes, critics say.

A proposed 200m infrastructure fund to encourage development has also been oversubscribed, with 800m in plans lodged by local authorities, Sinn Fein notes.

Moreover, Independent TDs warn that selling lands at discount prices to developers will result in only 20% of units going to social housing, 20% to affordable renting while the builder sells the 50% left to private buyers. This is based on pilot projects in Dublin.

3. SOCIAL HOUSING

The Government has promised to build 47,000 new social housing units by 2021 at a cost of 5.3bn. It is a huge commitment, especially after almost a decade which saw little or no social housing development.

Other measures to reduce the estimated 90,000-long social housing waiting list include expanding Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) for renters and increasing the number of mixed housing developments.

The facts are social housing new builds were among the lowest in the states history last year. Only 652 new social housing units were built. While the department notes over 18,000 social housing solutions were delivered, two thirds of these involved HAP payments.

The rest included reusing void units, councils buying existing stock and leasing homes among options.

The issue is the huge backlog in social housing development.

Furthermore, there are mixed views about whether state funds should go towards new builds or doing up vacant properties.

Housing agencies point to the fact there are over 200,000 empty properties nationwide.

But Labour points to the limited success of the living over the shop or living city schemes.

The take-up there has been low.

Critics also claim that putting families onto HAP schemes just fudges the situation and is not a long term solution.

Local authorities again and again also come under criticism for their slow building records and more of a stick approach is needed to ensure social housing demands are met, say Opposition TDs.

4. HOMELESSNESS

Minister Simon Coveneys promise to end the use of emergency accommodation for the homeless in hotels and B&Bs by the end of June is bold.

His predecessors set targets that were never reached. This one is a key for Coveneys leadership ambitions as well as for Fine Gael as a whole.

There are still 700 families living in hotels and B&B accommodation. As part of the plan to tackle homelessness, the Government promised 200 rapid-build homes by the end of 2016, a further 800 this year, and a further 1,500 next year.

Just 22 have been built so far in Poppintree, Dublin. It has failed here so far  despite many units awaiting construction. Some 250m was made available this year for emergency accommodation and Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

The funds are there, says Government. But numbers without homes spiked in December and January this year  despite the usual expected seasonal drop.

With solutions promised, the concern is that families get long-term solutions, especially when it comes to the welfare of children who have been forced to live out of bags in hotels.

Agencies such as Threshold say, however, that soaring rents are a main reason for families finding themselves on the streets.

Coveneys promise is ambitious, concede agencies, but they welcome that someone is at least trying to end the use of hotels and B&Bs for the homeless.

The occupation of Apollo House in Dublin city centre over Christmas rightly focused minds on the need to solve the homelessness crisis. Such actions could be revisited if promises are not kept by the Government.

Agencies on the frontline also admit that more joined-up thinking is needed to help solve the problem in the long term. This is especially so now, given the huge funds ringfenced to help people.

5. HOUSING STOCK

This is one of the more vague areas as part of the five-pillar approach.

There are a number of promised measures here to increase the number of housing units overall.

These include local authorities doing up and reletting vacant units.

The housing agency has also been tasked with buying vacant homes from banks and reintroducing them onto the market.

There is also the repair and leasing scheme, designed to help owners prepare their properties for the rental market.

In addition, the Government continues to try and push local authorities to do up ghost estates and housing developments that were left half-finished or without facilities after the property crash.

There is concern that the local authority buy and renovate scheme will only allow for a limited number of vacant properties to be refurbished and put back on the market by councils.

Opposition TDs say only about 3% of the empty housing stock nationwide might be reused under this scheme.

While there could be some scope for abuse under schemes to get existing stock opened up again, most politicians agree that this is the best approach.

But there is some concern that the investment here is limited.

Potentially, less than 7,000 units may be made fit for living in, out of the estimated 200,000 empty units nationwide, under proposed schemes with Rebuilding Ireland, according to TDs.

This is expecially so in Dublin where there are an estimated 40,000 empty properties and where the housing crisis is most acute.

Equally, while the repair and lease scheme funding for existing owners to do up properties to rent, with the loan of State funds, has gone from 6m to 32m, TDs say more could be spent here.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 27

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

A delegation of the Turkish Eastern Black Sea Exporters Association will visit Azerbaijan and Georgia on May 2-6, said head of the association Ahmet Hamdi Gurdogan.

He noted that this visit, supported by Turkeys Ministry of Economy, is aimed at strengthening of trade ties between the countries, according to the associations website.

Although, Turkeys trade ties with Azerbaijan and Georgia significantly increased in recent years, they have not achieved the desired level. In 2016, 13 percent of the total export of Turkeys East Black Sea Region accounted for Georgia, while only 1.7 percent accounted for Azerbaijan, which does not reflect the real potential of the region, Gurdogan said.

He noted that export from the East Black Sea Region could account for at least half of Turkeys total export to Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Visit of the delegation of exporters and entrepreneurs to Azerbaijan and Georgia will contribute to the growth of export opportunities in the region, according to Gurdogan.

The Turkish delegation is expected to hold business meetings and research the local markets. Turkeys Economy Ministry will provide funding for 60 percent of the delegations expenses during the visit.

Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey amounted to $2.3 billion in 2016, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee.
IN A context where public relations and charity fundraising have become #dirtywords, potent disproval is provided by Daffodil Day, and fair dues, this year, to Isabel Bray. Isabel is a staff member but also a volunteer fundraiser for the Irish Cancer Society  just one of thousands out collecting for the charity as the weekend drew on. Shes also impulsive. An opportunist. Now, impulsivity in PR can come back and bite the impulsive soul, but in this instance, the payoff was enormous.

Isabel was flogging daffs outside the Kilkenny Shop on Dublins Nassau St when she spotted that former US president Bill Clinton and his team had gone into the shop to buy a thing or two.

As he was coming back out I thought it would be nice to give him a bunch of daffodils and explain what Daffodil Day is all about, she told the Mail later. Bill was charming. Unsurprisingly. He shook her hand. He posed for photographs. He chatted, listened to the pitch, and told the fundraiser she was working for a very good cause. The Irish Cancer Society immediately tweeted the picture, crediting Bill with lending his support to that good cause. Game, set, and PR medal to Isabel.

But then, the history of Daffodil Day is an instructive narrative of informed opportunism. Roughly 30 years ago, an Irish businessman named Charles Cully noticed a promotion in Canada whereby, on one day in the year, daffodils were sold as a fundraising device. Imported to Ireland in 1988, the idea was that the funds raised would go to a special team of nurses who could give specialised care to patients suffering from cancer, often, if not always, in their own homes.

This, remember, was back in the day when people muttered to each other about the Big C, in order to avoid use of the deadly word and the deadly concept, because a diagnosis of cancer at the time still conveyed a death sentence to the individual involved. Since then, the diagnostic methods have improved beyond belief, the treatments are better and more sophisticated, and the prognosis, for many cancer sufferers, a whole lot more optimistic than three decades ago.

Its been rightly said that cancer touches every family in Ireland, but important to remember that in an increasing number of those families, the person diagnosed with some form of malignancy goes into remission or, after the magical five years during which they live in an almost foetal crouch, is given an all-clear and an indicator that, statistically, theyre pretty much at the same risk level as the rest of us.

When the Cancer Society, back in the day, decided to try out Daffodil Day, they did the kind of in-depth thinking that has undoubtedly contributed to the longevity of the event. They didnt start at the publicity end. They started at the engagement end.

They wanted to involve every parish, townland, and community right across Ireland, and that meant an enormous amount of logistical and conversion work. By conversion is meant that people who had lost a loved one to cancer had to be approached  sensitively  with the idea that they could best contribute to the memory of their dead friend or relative by fundraising. It meant convincing people that cancer could be turned into a chronic, rather than a necessarily lethal, disease, and that if they were to participate, they could save lives and ameliorate suffering.

It meant doing that most basic, difficult task: Asking for help. The capacity to ask the uninvolved to get involved is the single most important factor in successful political life, and its the same with fundraising. Its a vitally important task, but its not that difficult, as politicians and fundraisers constantly find to their surprise. People are altruistic. More importantly, people want to belong, whether its to a church, the GAA, a group following a celeb on social media, a political party, or charity.

If involving people in communities right around the country was one advance priority, bulbs were another. Hundreds of thousands of daffodils had to be planted in November if a sufficient quantity of the flowers was to be available in the springtime. Then, and only then, did the PR kick in. The company I ran at the time was heavily involved, with the brief that wall-to-wall publicity was to be achieved directly before Daffodil Day, but it was all to be free. No advertising. At the time, and because it was a pilot, the emphasis was on unpurchased publicity. That changed as time went on, and advertising agencies proved to be marvellously generous with their time, expertise, and space.

Low-level coverage to introduce the idea needed to happen back at bulb-planting stage, and so two student nurses were photographed in the Botanic Gardens, on their knees with trowels, ostensibly doing horticulture. The photographs were black and white, because colour photos were rare in newspapers at the time and the two girls in the shot look like nurses in a TV series from much earlier in the 20th century, with their pointless pointy white caps stuck on the backs of their heads.

RTE personalities like Pat Kenny, the late Derek Davis, Bibi Baskin, and Anne Doyle agreed to be photographed having a daffodil pinned to their lapels. The artwork was cheap and more effective as a result: Black and white photographs with a bright yellow flower pulling the attention of the passer-by. The RTE Guide liked it and did a cover.

But from the very start, this was about more than money. It was about public education, and so approaches were made to the producers and scriptwriters of radio soap operas, asking if they would include a cancer-related story in their upcoming scripts. They did.

Not everything worked so swimmingly. The notion of replacing the shamrock on the tail of Aer Lingus planes was a good one, but once the airline looked at the cost of the massive decals and factored in the cost of grounding even one plane to have the thing transferred, they backed off. Even then, informed opportunism kicked in, with publicity being gained from the effort to substitute a daff for the normal logo. Aer Lingus cabin staff, however, were photographed around Shannon Airport pinning daffs to any willing passing celeb. Even Molly Malone got in on the act. The statue had no objection to her wheelbarrow being filled with flowers.

Looking at the coverage in the past week, decades after that first madly successful pilot, what was on display was a clever idea nourished into longevity and broad spectrum efficacy by careful brand management and by the constant commitment of ordinary people who have, by their efforts, helped, not only to fund vital services to cancer sufferers, but to change our understanding of the disease itself, and how to prevent it and manage it.

Its a case study in excellence. Excellence in public relations. Excellence in fundraising. Excellence in health education. Added to every year by clever individuals like Isabel.

From the very start, this was about more than money. It was about public education
Monday, March 27th, 2017 (2:40 pm) - Score 1,563

Internet providers including BT, EE, Plusnet, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk and Virgin Media have agreed not to charge Armed Forces personnel a cancellation fee for their broadband and media services, albeit only when posted overseas or to another part of the UK.

The change has been agreed under the tenets of the Armed Forces Covenant, which reflects the fact that members of the Armed Forces are often stung by cancellation and or other exit fees that can occur each time theyre required to move to a different part of the country or be deployed overseas.

Happily related subscribers will now be able to exit their contracts penalty free. Sometime its the little things that really count, particularly when risking your life to help keep the rest of us safe.

Mark Lancaster, Defence Minister, said: Our Armed Forces are sent all over the world and across the country to help keep our country safe and they should never be at a disadvantage because of this. The removal of cancellation fees by leading broadband providers is yet another example of the Covenant in action, which is making sure our brave personnel are treated fairly. Its a welcome move and were looking forward to seeing what more British businesses can do to support our military.

Gavin Patterson, BT CEO, said: Armed Forces personnel play a vital role protecting our country, whether serving overseas or stationed away from home in other parts of the UK. Thats why were committed to ensuring they dont have to pay for broadband or TV services they cant access, when they find themselves in this situation. Whether its through todays announcement, our hiring of ex-armed forces personnel, or through our work with Reservists, BT, along with our fellow signatories are proud to support our countrys military personnel.

Dido Harding, TalkTalks Outgoing CEO, said: We recognise that service personnel and their families face unique challenges, not least due to the fact they are regularly posted to new locations all over the country and abroad, often at short notice. TalkTalk was the first ISP to recognise how tricky this can be and offer free disconnections for service personnel moving overseas, and were delighted that the rest of the industry has followed suit.

The announcement makes no mention of Sky Broadband, which is a bit odd since they represent around 6 million of the United Kingdoms broadband subscribers and have previously waived cancellation fees for members of the Armed Forces. We have asked and are awaiting a reply.

Pictured (Top Left): A couple of troops practicing for what happens if they dont get to cancel their broadband service without charge. Allegedly.

UPDATE 28th March 2017

The Government seems to have amended their press release to insert Skys name, after they were originally excluded.
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Chopard has been sponsor and official timekeeper of one of the worlds most prestigious endurance races  the Mille Miglia  since 1988. Every spring, more than 400 vintage vehicles set off on the 1000-mile journey from Brescia to Rome. What has become an accepted connection between the Geneva watchmaker and the classic car race was born out of Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufeles passion for classic cars and the world of motor racing. His appreciation of fine machinery and sporting performance inspired a range of watches: the Mille Miglia.



The 2016 Mille Miglia collection comprises his and hers chronographs inspired by classic cars that raced between 1927 and 1940. The usual features of the collection are all present and correct in the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph for ladies, although with a feminine touch thanks to a judicious choice of colours and materials: mother-of-pearl dial, white strap, diamond-set bezel and 39 mm steel case. The mens version comes in a 43 mm steel case, and features a tachymetric scale that can be used to calculate average speed as a function of the time taken to travel a given distance.





On the black dial, two baton-style hands coated with SuperLuminova point to the Arabic numerals (also filled with SuperLuminova) indicating hours and minutes, while a red-tipped central hand counts off the seconds. The slender cursive typeface is inspired by the dashboards of the late 1920s. Finally, the iconic Rosso Corso red arrow-shaped logo is visible front and centre of the dial at 12 oclock, as well as around the edge of the transparent caseback.

These new his & hers chronographs are fitted with the distinctive Mille Miglia rubber strap, reminiscent of the Dunlop tyres used on racing cars back in the day. Both timepieces come with a sapphire caseback giving an unrestricted view of the automatic chronograph calibre. This COSC-certified movement offers hour, minute, seconds and chronograph functions along with a date, and has a 42-hour power reserve.





See all Baselworld news >>
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)

Once again, Hong Kongs new chief executive will be selected by a pro-China committee that insists on maintaining a facade of free elections, according to a report by the New York Times.



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Many pro-democracy supporters advocating for more freedom in the selection of the regions leaders are disappointed at this new development.



Recently activists were successful in opposing Beijings offer to push for a direct popular vote, which was expected to be a sham nonetheless. Although it did little to dissuade Beijing meddling in Hong Kongs election, pro-democracy activists are proud of their efforts.



The direct vote would have given the election false legitimacy, and the chief executive a false mandate, said Nathan Law, one of the student leaders of the protest movement. Theres absolutely no regret.



China tightens its grip, discontented activists press on



Since the 2014 protests, China has increasingly made efforts to intervene in the regions elections. In November, the Beijing did not hesitate to block the seating of two incoming legislators who pledged their loyalty to the Hong Kong nation, the report furthers.



The two politicians even made a variation of their oaths in an effort to express their anti-China sentiments.



Although Beijing made a commitment in 2014 to enable Hong Kong to elect its leaders freely, there are many provisions that maintain strict limitations.



For instance, while millions of Hong Kong citizens would be able to vote, they could only do so by choosing among two or three candidates handpicked by a committee that is staunchly pro-China.



Furthermore, as election day draws closer, Beijing is struggling to handle persistent protests and calls for even greater Autonomy in Hong Kong. Many activists are coming from the younger populations.



Pro-democracy sentiment reached a high point when new lawmakers were sworn in last October.



Among them, Lau Siu-Lao, a legislator read her oath slowly, pausing after each word. While another legislator, Leung Kwok-Hung, proceeded to open a yellow umbrella, which was symbolic of the iconic 2014 protests.


Aside from earning a reputation as a culturally diverse city, Yiwu is also known as the source of a variety of products. (Photo : Getty Images)

The eastern city of Yiwu has made a name for itself in the national sphere as one of the Chinas most multicultural cities. In Yiwu, visitors will find people of different cultures and ethnicities, thriving and coexisting peacefully, The Guardian reported.



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The main reason why immigrants flock to Yiwu is simple: anything can be had for a dollar or a yuan, Mark Jacobs wrote in his book, Yiwu, China: A Study of the Worlds Largest Small Commodities Market.



Aside from earning a reputation as a culturally diverse city, Yiwu is also known as the source of a variety of products. According to The Guardian, 70 percent of the Christmas decorations used around the world come from Yiwu.



Today, retailers from anywhere in the world cant survive without Yiwu products, said Girdhar Jhanwar, the first Indian businessman in Yiwu.



Anyone can come and set up a business in Yiwu, and get items to sell in countries all around the world. They dont have to go anywhere else in China. Yiwu has become a one-stop shop, Jhanwar told The Guardian.



The Chinese government has taken note of Yiwus profitability, putting up multilingual signs to attract more foreigners to settle in the city. Other steps to welcome foreigners include the publication of an English newspaper and the establishment of Yiwus first international school.



Due to the large numbers of Middle Eastern and North African traders in the city, the government is also mulling teaching Arabic in Yiwus public schools.



Efforts to make the foreign community feel included dont stop there.



According to The Guardian, Yiwu officials also contact an annual meeting with representatives from the foreign community to discuss issues prevalent in the city. Yiwus foreign residents also exercise freedom of worship, with Muslims free to attend prayers at the local mosque. Even festivals such as Diwali and Eid are observed and celebrated by the Yiwu government.



Some foreigners, however, note that there is a growing racial tension in the city, with most of it directed towards Muslims.


Londoners mourn the victims of the latest terror attack to the U.K. Parliament. (Photo : Getty Images)

Beijing sent a message of condolence and support to the British government for its efforts to counter terrorism after a terrorist attack on the U.K. parliament.



President Xi Jinping stated that China condemns the terror attack and is willing to give support to attain world peace and security.



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Premier Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent separate messages of sympathy to Britain.



"We extend our condolences to the victims and express our sympathy to the wounded and the families of the victims," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Chunying Hua said. She added that China is against all forms or terrorism.



The spokesperson said that China is willing to cooperate with other countries in the fight against terror, the world's common enemy.



A terrorist named Khalid Masood drove a car over Westminster Bridge, near the Houses of Parliament. He ran on the pavement and started hitting passing pedestrians.



The victims, Aysha Frade, a British national, and American tourist Kurt Cochran, were killed on the spot. Leslie Rhodes, a 75-year-old Brit died of his injuries the next day.



There were 50 people injured and 31 of those needed hospital treatments, according to police reports.



One of the victims was Keith Palmer, 48 years old, and was stabbed by Masood. He served the parliamentary and diplomatic protection service for 15 years.



The killer was armed with a knife and started charging the parliament house. He was killed by a member of Defense Secretary Michael Fallon's close protection team.



Khalid Masood was 52 years old. He is a British national and was born in Kent in 1964. He was a resident in the West Midlands.



British Prime Minister Theresa May said that Masood was investigated by MI5 several years ago but is not part of the current intelligence priority list.



Seven suspects have been arrested.


Fewer layoffs might occur at Carrier if early retirement for its employees is approved.

The IndyStar reports that roughly 250 employees gave their retirement notices to Carrier, stating their desire to leave the company under a severance agreement that was reached with the United Steelworkers Local 1999 last year.

The website adds that voluntary exits are beneficial for both the employees that will stay and leave. For the latter, they can find new employment without having to give up the union's negotiated agreement, while the former may not have to go through layoffs, which are expected to number at 550, says Union President Chuck Jones.

Jones adds that some of the workers are already in their retirement age and can leave with severance benefits. This also has the effect of not forcing junior workers to lose their jobs.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed in an email that separations are expected to start in the second half of the year, writes IS. Furthermore, employees are already in the confirmation process.

The United Technologies Corp, which is the parent company of Carrier, stated that it wants for voluntary exits to happen. However, it does not know how many of the 250 notices will be approved and the number of layoffs depends on how many are allowed an early exit.

The layoffs come after Trump and Pence negotiated a deal with United Technologies Corp to keep Carrier operations in Indianapolis, reports the IndyStar. Not all the jobs could be saved, however, and layoffs are expected to happen according to seniority, one in January and another in the late summer, says Jones.

Carrier will receive $7 million in incentives due to a deal headed by Trump. This deal is unusual, writes USA Today, adding that retention deals are smaller than the job creation packages.

For more news and updates, follow Jobs & Hire.
Boris Johnson, UK's Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, called Google "Disgusting" for profiting from extremist content.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson calls several IT companies, Google as one of them, "disgusting" for making money from violent content, reports the Independent. He adds that Google needs to stop profiting from such material.

This comes as many European firms such as Marks & Spencer pull out their ads from Google-owned Youtube's ad platform in fear that it would be played next to videos that contain hate, racism, and/or terrorism.

Google has apologized over the matter and said that it is committed to doing better. Controls and safer defaults would be added, said Google's EMEA President Matt Brittin.

Boris Johnson also said that IT companies are not reacting fast enough to take down terrorist propaganda and training manuals, calling it disgusting. He is furious about the fact that internet providers and social media firms such as Facebook and Twitter do not react when they are tipped off.

Johnson said that there is a need to develop systems and algorithms to detect these material and consequently remove it.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd shares the same sentiments, asking for firms to show more social responsibility towards content that promotes extremism and terrorism. She wrote in an article for the Sunday Telegraph that each attack shows the vital role that the internet is playing in serving as a conduit for the spread of extremism, reports SBS.

According to Rudd, the issue cannot be handled or solved alone. She went on to say that social media firms are needed to be more proactive and lead the fight against terrorists who use their platforms for the wrong reasons.

For more jobs and business related news and updates, follow Jobs & Hire.
After Disney has extended CEO Bob Igers contract by a year, the executive has revealed the companys plans for one of its biggest franchises, and he also gave a few hints about a much-anticipated spinoff.

During a talk at the University of Southern California, Iger said (via The Hollywood Reporter) that after Star Wars Episode IX, its likely that there could be another decade-and-a-half of Star Wars stories.

This year will make the release of the franchises eighth film, titled Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which is the second film in the Skywalker saga. Based on the 66-year-olds statement, its likely that other sagas will focus on other Star Wars main characters.

The CEO also revealed that The Last Jedi will not be changed in the wake of star Carrie Fishers death. The actress played Princess Leia in the original trilogy, as well as in 2015s The Force Awakens. She has finished filming her scenes for The Last Jedi before she passed away.

Iger said that when Disney bought Lucasfilms, they planned to make three filmsEpisodes VII, VIII, and IX.

We had to deal with tragedy at the end of 2016, said Iger. Carrie appears through VIII. We are not changing VIII to deal with her passing. Her performance remains as it is in VIII.

The CEO also said that unlike in last years Rogue One, wherein they had a digital character playing Princess Leia, they will not be doing that to Fisher in the upcoming Star Wars films.

As for the new Han Solo film, Iger said that the movie will span the Millennium Falcons pilots years from 18 to 24. Han Solo was played by Harrison Ford in the original Star Wars films and will be played by Alden Ehrenreich in the spinoff. According to the CEO, Han will be meeting Chewbacca and will be seen finding his iconic ship in the upcoming movie.

As for his plans, Iger said that he is leaving his CEO post in mid-2019. According to Deadline, Disney has yet to designate an heir apparent following COO Tom Staggs departure last year.

Just like other industry leaders, Iger is also rumored to run in the 2020 presidential elections. But the executive said that hes not thinking much about it.

Theres a whole world to enjoy, he added.

For more, check out Jobs & Hires report on Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and how he handed over the keys to his successor.
President Donald Trump has reportedly planned on appointing Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, as the head of the newly developed innovation team at the White House. The new team is intended to revamp the Federal bureaucracy by formulating tactics that can help improve the business.

According to reports, the White House Office of American Innovation is all set to function as a SWAT team of strategic consultants who are expected to work as a team with their own politically unbiased strategies. Kushner, who is a former realtor and media executive, is a senior advisor to President Trump. The innovation office team is now working with a number of major business executives such as Tesla's Elon Musk, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Microsoft's Bill Gates, and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

According to Kushner, there needs to be excellence in the government. He further noted in The Washington Post interview that the government needs to be run as if a huge American business venture. Kushner hopes of achieving success with the new strategies for the citizens, whom he referred to as customers.

With the primary focus on the data and technology aspects, the innovation team is reportedly set to modernize the digital setup of all the Federal agencies. The team will plan on rebooting the training programs for the workforce and will also enhance the Veteran Affairs. With that, the team led by Kushnet aims at developing transformative projects which are going to be backed up by President Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure scheme. The plan also notes of offering broadband internet services for all American citizens in the future.

In support of the above statement, President Trump noted that all the citizens of the US can see that the inactivity in the government has hindered the way the country is currently functioning, the political views are left behind, CNBC reported. He further quoted that this has led to a complicated atmosphere with high costs and unnecessary delays. Trump stated to The Washington Post that he promised the citizens of the country to bring up results for which he has applied the schedule in advance of the schedule and that too within the budget.
It seems like Krispy Kreme may have paid for the entire "Power Rangers" (2017) reboot as there are so many scenes in the movie with the company's product placements. Fans who have seen the movie are aware of what this means as they could visually and verbally sense all the Krispy Kreme product placements in the entire movie.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

In the first scene of the "Power Rangers" 2017 reboot movie, the Pink Ranger and Yellow ranger are training in a Krispy Kreme. Later in the scene, the Blue Ranger informs other rangers that Krispy Kreme present in their town called Angel Grove is where the "Zeo Crystal" is located.

The Krispy Kreme product placement or verbal revelation does not seemingly end right here as another scene comes in where the Blue Ranger notes of villain Rita Repulsa secret hideout to be a Krispy Kreme. The movie also features a scene where Rita Repulsa literally eats a doughnut at Krispy Kreme. Vulture's Emily Yoshida notes in her review about the film that the whole movie is one long Krispy Kreme commercial. Even though the fight scenes are jaw-dropping.

She further notes that the movie partner is pretty clear and weird. Furthermore, Mashable's reporter Angie Han also noted that the town Angel Grove's establishments are named as "Daily News" and "Marine Garage" and it seems as if Krispy Kreme is the only business running in the location, which makes it looks quite exclusive. Moreover, the partnership does not end right there with the movie as Krispy Kreme is offering Power Ranger-themed doughnuts to customers until April 2, 2017. Krispy Kreme is also noted to offer a 360-video tour of the restaurant used in Angel Grove on its official website.

Krispy Kreme is further offering sweepstakes where customers can win a chance to visit San Francisco, where the fictional town of Angel Grove is located. Winners will also be winning $500 and a gift card for Krispy Kreme doughnuts for a complete year.
The Dalai Lama's visit to Tawang is raising a long-standing border issue between China and India. (Photo : Getty Images)

Lian Xiangmin, director of contemporary research at the Beijing-based China Tibetology Research Centre, said that Tawang is part of Tibet, not India.



The visit of the Dalai Lama involves sensitive issues regarding the claim of India that the Arunachal Pradesh is part of their territory.



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Lian said, "Tawang is a part of Tibet and Tibet is a part of China. So Tawang is a part of China. There is not much problem here."



China has criticized India for letting the Dalai Lama enter India and said that the Tawang Buddhist Monastery is part of the three main Buddhist temples of Tibet.



The Indian government has made arrangements for the Dalai Lama to visit Tawang, which angered China.



Even the Dalai Lama claims that Tawang is part of India.



The scholar said that the claim in completely false. He said, "The Dalai Lama said Tawang part of India. This is against the facts."



"It is not true. It undermines the friendly relations between China and India," he added.



The scholar hopes that China and India will resume friendly talks because the issue has not been resolved for a long time.



He said, "I hope to see friendly relations between India and China. We don't want to see such a thing happening time and again."



"This time around the Indian government once again allowed the Dalai Lama to go to Tawang. This will only hurt the friendly relations between the two countries," he said.



A spokesperson from the ministry of foreign affairs, Geng Shuang, said, "China is gravely concerned over such information. China's position on the eastern section of China-India border dispute is consistent and clear."



"The Dalai-clique has long been engaging in anti-China separatist activities and its record on the border question is not that good," he added.



Lian hopes that both China and India respect the facts of history and move forward despite the Dalai Lama hitting a sensitive nerve for both countries.


Before Mr. Budd headed to Washington to represent North Carolinas 13th congressional district, he tried making it abundantly clear where he stood.

Sure his candidacy was awash in cash and support made possible by the backing of the ultra conservative Club for Growth (and its political arm/ATM called the Club for Growth Action). But that wasnt going to stop Ted Budd from being his own man.

I have other endorsements besides (the Club for Growth), Budd said before he beat a cast of thousands in the GOP primary last June. I see this as win-win. I dont need this and I dont intend to be a career politician. If I dont win Tuesday, Ill go back to my business and be perfectly happy.

He did win  bigly  and it was only a matter of time before the Club for Growth came calling. When the GOP ramped up efforts last week to pass TrumpCare, repeal and replace, the Club for Growth came out against. And so did Mr. Budd.

What, you thought $500,000 in political backing comes without strings?

Job interview

by another name

To win his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a job that pays an annual salary of $174,000, Budd had to beat out 16  count em, 16!  other candidates in the Republican primary.

He did that, handily, and then knocked over Bruce Davis, a Democrat from Guilford County, in Novembers general election.

To get there, Budd, like every other serious candidate for a seat in Congress, was going to need serious cash.

According to Opensecret.org and the Center for Responsive Politics, the average winning candidate for a seat in the House in 2016 had spent $1.3 million apiece by the middle of October  a figure that surely increased by another $200,000-$300,000 by election day.

Outside spending, dough coughed up by PACs such as the Club for Growth Action, to support a candidate without giving directly to his/her committee, accounted for perhaps another 10 percent in House races.

(In the Senate, the average winning candidate spent some $10.6 million. Outside money bumped that figure up to a $19.4 million.)

Obviously, only the well-connected and the deep-pocketed need apply. And in the 13th Congressional District, Ted Budd is both. He owns ProShots gun shop and range, and his family the Budd Group, a large cleaning and janitorial supply company.

To win  especially in the primary  he was going to need a wad. Julia Howard, an entrenched Republican state representative from Mocksville, mined more than $325,000 from the National Association of Realtors PAC in Washington to pay for a carpet-bombing TV ad campaign.

Im new at this, but there does seem to be a lot of money in politics, Budd said a week before his primary win as if he didnt already know. I wish it wasnt this way but it is.

By that time, with the June 6 primary right around the corner, Budd had already been to Washington for a job interview of sorts with the Club for Growth. He said that he didnt seek the Club out.

Rather, they found him once it let it be known he was thinking of running. The political philosophies between candidate and PAC  limit the size of government and lower taxes, particularly for corporations and the wealthy  were simpatico so the spigot opened. Budd had much in common with the group so the backing was natural.

Opensecrets.org reports that the Club for Growth Action spent close to $500,000 to support Budds candidacy. And thats on top of the $594,297 he raised himself.

Ive had the same free market philosophy since I was at Appalachian State, Budd said Monday. That hasnt changed.

A big slice of the pie

Nationwide, the Club for Growth Action spent more than $23.4 million on candidates in 2016, the overwhelming majority of them Republicans like Budd whod passed muster.

With that kind of dough baked into the election pie, PACs and Super PACs like the Club for Growth Action naturally come to expect an outsized slice. So it was with the American Health Care Act, the repeal-and-replace bill some are calling TrumpCare that was so bad that House Republicans decided Friday to pull it from consideration.

The Club (and other influential conservative special interest groups) had come out against it, so it was hardly surprising that Budd came out against the bill.

Just for whom do you think Budd  and most members of Congress for that matter  are working? Voters or the people who write six-figure checks?

His people, naturally, chalked the congressmans opposition up more to philosophy. Budd did, too.

He accepted gracefully the criticism that comes from being a member of Congress and the way voting records are examined, particularly when votes are in sync with big donors. But he noted that a large majority of the callers who rang his office last week were opposed  and that nationwide, the bill was supported by less than 20 percent of voters. It was a bad bill.

The calls were running 20 to 1 against, he said. I vote the way I vote because thats the way I think and Im trying to represent my district.

Thats true. But it doesnt hurt that in this case, the big money wanted the same thing. This is America, baby. There is no such thing as a free lunch  or a free seat in Congress.

Jason Walser, one of those 16 other Republican candidates who ran against Budd in June, summed it up nicely when he said when somebody writes a check for $325,000 or $400,000, you take their phone call and do what they want you to do.

The swamp that was going to be drained, it would seem, still teems with life and is awash in cash.
Q: I recently received a call about donating to a charity. Ive heard that phone scams tend to target the elderly, and something just didnt seem right about the situation. Im retired and looking for ways to give back, but I dont want to be swindled. How do I know if a charity is legitimate?

TG

Answer: Telemarketing fraud alone is a $40 billion a year business, and 60 percent of all callers to the National Fraud Information Center describe themselves as senior citizens. Although your age on its own is not a reason that you may be victimized, it is certainly true that scam artists tend to target the elderly, possibly because they tend to be stable and well-off and are also most likely to be at home during the day to receive telephone scams.

Reaching out to donors by telephone is not uncommon with genuine charities and is a valuable resource for many of them. However, most legitimate nonprofits will not mind discussing their programs with potential donors and will take the time to answer reasonable questions. If a solicitor is talking quickly or droning on, or asks for immediate payment, this could be seen as a red flag.

It pays to know who you are talking to on the other end of the line. Remember, you have the right to ask questions. When approached by a charitable organization, ask how much of your donation will actually go to the charity. Legitimate solicitors will be straightforward; almost all require a small percentage of donations to offset operating costs. If they are an above-board organization, you can ask that they mail you their information and review their website before deciding to make a contribution. Soliciting organizations are usually charities, but can also be civic groups, labor unions or other entities. What they are affects whether and how much of your contribution is tax deductible.

Here a few other tips to consider: You should never give your credit card or bank account number to someone you dont know, and you should always keep your Social Security number confidential. Never agree to pay or mail in cash, and dont be afraid to walk away or hang up if you are feeling pressured into an immediate decision that doesnt feel right. You can often trust your instincts, but, before you send any money, it wouldnt hurt to check out the company with the Attorney Generals Office and the Northwest North Carolina Better Business Bureau, located at 119 Brookstown Avenue, Suite 304, Winston Salem, NC 27101. You can reach the BBB at (336) 725-8348 or toll free at (800) 777-8348, or by sending an email to info@bbbtrust.org.

For additional help, you can find the Donors Telephone Checklist that was put online by the N.C. Department of the Secretary of State at www.sosnc.gov.

Q: Meals-on-Wheels has been a great help to me, and I love having a chat with the nice people who bring the meals. This budget proposal I keep hearing about concerns me. How is our local Meals-on-Wheels program funded, and should I be worried that the program will lose its funding?

CP

Answer: Since the president sent his budget blueprint to Congress on March 16, the proposed cuts to non-defense discretionary (NDD) programs have caused many to be concerned. The White House has proposed slashing the Health and Human Services budget by nearly 18 percent, but the details of how these cuts might be implemented and potentially affect various programs locally is still unknown.

What we do know is that the rising number of seniors living in this area increases the need for programs such as Meals-on-Wheels to help meet their needs. Even before these proposed cuts, federal funding was not keeping up with this trend. In Forsyth County, Senior Services Meals-on-Wheels program delivers nearly 1,200 meals per day to homebound seniors across our community.

Meals-on-Wheels programs across the nation are funded through a variety of sources. Locally, our program receives about a third of its funding from the government. However, it is unclear how each would be affected by the presidents proposed budget.

This is a time not to worry but to pay attention. There are ways for you to support your local Meals-on-Wheels, even if you cant afford to help financially. You can take action today by reaching out to your local elected officials and spreading the word about the value of the program.
Today

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Planning Board Sign Check Committee will meet at 8 a.m. in room 201 of the Stuart Municipal Building, 100 E. First St.

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners will meet at 2 p.m. in the Commissioners Meeting Room on the fifth floor of the Forsyth County Government Center, 201 N. Chestnut St.

Sister Cities will meet at 6 p.m. at World Exchange, 420 N. Cherry St.

The Winston-Salem City Council will meet at 7 p.m. in Council Chamber Room 230 at City Hall, 101 N. Main St.

Tuesday

The Downtown Winston-Salem Business Improvement District Advisory Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. in Public Works conference room, room 348 City Hall.

The Piedmont Triad Airport Authority will meet at 2 p.m. in the Stanley Frank Board Room, Piedmont Triad International Airport, 1000-A Ted Johnson Parkway, Greensboro.

The Minority and Women Business Enterprise Advisory Committee will meet at 4:30 p.m. in the Public Works Conference Room, room 348 City Hall.

The Youth Advisory Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Committee Room, room 239, City Hall.

Thursday

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners will hold a briefing session at 2 p.m. in the Commissioners Meeting Room, fifth floor of the Government Center.
The Winston-Salem Police Departments first Coffee with a Cop event drew crowds Saturday morning, some lining up 15 minutes before the event.

Coffee with a Cop is a national initiative to bring police officers and community members together to discuss issues and learn more about each other.

Were always trying to reach out and communicate with the community, police Chief Barry Rountree said. We want to be available and give people an opportunity to discuss with our police officers.

An estimated 200 people filtered through the 2-hour event, said Nic Albright, metro marketing and community relations manager for Whole Foods on Miller Street where the event was held.

Attendee Laura Hart McKinny said the event was extremely positive and will help enhance trust between citizens and officers.

Its a terrific way to galvanize the community and enable people to express their concerns, said McKinny, a professor in the school of filmmaking at UNC School of the Arts. I really wanted to be there and support the officers.

As part of her third-year screenwriting class, she requires her students to do a ride-along with police officers to foster connections and understanding, she said. She hopes the Coffee with a Cop event will be the first of many to come.

Its a warm engaging atmosphere and people talked about everything from immigration to safety in their neighborhoods, she said. Thats what its about  an opportunity to discuss what really matters.
Historical structures in Dalian are due for demolition. (Photo : Getty Images)

Structures in the oldest street in Dalian are set for demolition. These old Japanese and Russian-inspired buildings were constructed when Dalian was a major port city.



These buildings line up along Russian Street and were built during the early 20th century during the Russian rule. The structures were then handed over to the Chinese in the 1950s.



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Dalian was called China's most livable city, but the mayor, Bo Xilai, who made that possible was sent to prison due to corruption charges. The mayor received money and properties from the former chairman of the Dalian Shide Group.



Grace Cong, a resident of the area, said, "When he was mayor, Dalian experienced its fastest development."



"As a result of this, Dalian attracted more tourists than ever, and became known as 'the city of romance.' I think that was the only time Dalian nearly became a 'top-tier' city," she added.



Cong said that the city now is not attracting tourists due to the loss of interest in tourism by the mayors who followed.



Another student, Yijing Liu, went to Dalian to take photographs of the historic streets. She was shocked to find that the buildings were dumped with hoardings.



She noted, "I was shocked to see the beautiful and historic buildings were covered with blue steel hoardings."



"There were signs on them saying 'demolition.' Standing on the empty streets and looking further, I saw skyscrapers just like anywhere else. I thought these old houses and streets were something special in this city, but they were dying," she said.



The China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) sued the city government for not preserving these historic sites. Russian Street was due to become a commercial district but construction was halted.



Aside from the buildings, important relics were also removed by the city government. An ornamental column, a huabiao, mysteriously disappeared last year.



The column was built by Bo in 1997 at a government construction site in Xinghai Square.


CARY  A neighborhood of abandoned homes has captured the imagination of paranormal theorists and urban explorers who wonder whats lurking beyond broken doors and shattered windows.

The owners of 13 homes along Guernsey Trail near WakeMed Cary Hospital sold their homes last year to a developer who plans to build a senior care center, medical offices, and a hotel.

Since the last families moved out in December, the homes have fallen into disrepair, largely as a result of vandalism. Doors and windows swing on their hinges, and gutters are packed with leaves. Broken glass litters porches and front yards.

Some people on social media have called the neighborhood certifiably terrifying and creepy  a good spot to shoot a post-apocalyptic movie.

Heather Leah, a writer and urban explorer who lives in Raleigh, learned about the neighborhood from a post on social media site Reddit. She went there to take photos and made a blog post that has been viewed more than 330,000 times.

People see abandoned homes and they see what the world would be like if humans were gone, Leah said. This was particularly fascinating because I normally explore old places  at least 100-year-old houses, that kind of thing. But this was recently abandoned. And it was just a suburban neighborhood, something we can all relate to.

The last time Leah went to check on the houses, she said, there were about 20 people walking around.

Police have responded to eight calls related to the homes since they were abandoned, including one report of a yard set on fire and several reports of vandalism, said spokeswoman Deanna Hawkes.

Police officers also patrol the area periodically, including walking the neighborhood, since it is unoccupied, Hawkes said.

Kevin Mangum, who is developing Paraclete Park on the site, said he is worried someone will get hurt while exploring the neighborhood. He put up no trespassing signs and laid tree branches across Guernsey Trail as makeshift barricades.
Giant panda Bao Bao plays in her outdoor habitat at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, Feb. 21, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (Photo : Getty Images)

The U.S.-born giant panda Bao Bao has appeared in public for the first time in eastern China's Sichuan Province on Friday.



After 30 days of quarantine, the 3-year-old female walked out of her house and met diplomats, reporters, and dozens of other guests at the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda in Chengdu, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency.



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Bao Bao arrived in Chengdu earlier in February and has undergone a 30-day quarantine in a 100-square meter enclosure, the report said.



Li Desheng, a panda expert with the center, ensured Bao Bao's good health in the facility.



"Bao Bao eats more bamboo than some adult pandas and she has put on 2 kilograms during her staying at the base," said Wei.



However, Bao Bao did experience some difficulties adjusting since moving to China from the U.S., according to one of her handlers.



Over the past month, the panda had to learn instructions in Mandarin with a Sichuan accent as well as acclimatize to the local cuisine in place of the food she was used to, Tang Cheng, one of Bao Bao's keepers during the quarantine, told the New York Times.



By now, Bao Bao is able to understand some commands in Chinese and is adapting well to her new environment,", Tang said.



Bao Bao, which translates to "precious" or "treasure" in Chinese, was born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington D.C., the second giant panda born there.



Her older brother, Tai Shan, was born in 2005 and sent back to China in 2010 and is now her neighbor at the center. A younger brother, Bei Bei, was born in 2015 and still lives in Washington.



Her parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian was flown to the zoo in 2000 as part of an agreement between China and the United States. Under the agreement, panda cubs born in the U.S. to parents on loan from China must be returned to China before their fourth birthday in preparation for breeding.



According to the China Conservation and Research Center, 25 pandas have been born abroad since the 1990s, when China set up panda breeding programs in collaboration with 17 zoos in 12 countries. Of these, 17 cubs have survived, according to Zhang Zhizhong, deputy head of the center.



So far, the center has welcomed back 11 pandas from overseas, Zhang said.


Civil servant Carrie Lam on Sunday became Hong Kongs new leader and first female chief executive after defeating former financial secretary John Tsang by a vote of 777-365. The 7.3 million people living in Hong Kong could not participate in the election. Instead, the new leader was chosen by a 1,200 person election committee. Lam is considered a controversial pick, with Tsang being preferred by more Hong Kong citizens and Lam being backed by Beijing [Reuters news report]. China has promised Hong Kong autonomy to govern on local issues, and the election of Lam is seen by some as Chinas attempt to keep de facto control of Hong Kong [BBC news report]. Lam served for five years as the deputy of former leader CY Leung, who was unpopular because of his policies and close ties to China. Critics have accused Lam of being a CY 2.0, expecting her to follow in Leungs footsteps. The election of Lam could spark further protests calling for democracy in Hong Kong or even a split from China [Al Jazeera news report]. Lam is currently scheduled to take office on July 1

Hong Kong has recently faced political conflict and civil unrest. In February a Hong Kong Court sentenced [JURIST report] Donald Tsang, the former Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012, to 20 months in prison for his failure to disclose personal conflicts of interest when his cabinet was considering a broadcasting license application. In January 5,000 people protested in Hong Kong [JURIST report] because elected lawmakers were barred from taking office in 2016 after altering the words in their official oaths. In October 2016 these politicians was barred from taking office [JURIST report] when they pledged their allegiance to Hong Kong istead of China during their inaugural oaths.
An Egyptian court on Sunday sentenced 56 people to prison for up to 14 years for their involvement in a deadly capsizing of a boat carrying migrants and refugees. The boat capsized [Al Jazeera news report] close to the Egyptian coast last September, possibly on its way to Italy. 169 people were saved by rescuers and local fishermen, but at least 202 drowned. The 56 defendants were convicted [Guardian news report] of causing the accidental death of 202 passengers, not using sufficient rescue equipment, endangering lives, receiving money from the victims, hiding suspects from the authorities and using a vessel without a licence. Shortly after the accident the Egyptian government passed a new law instituting fines and prison terms for smuggling migrants and refugees, acting as brokers or facilitating journeys. The law also focused on treating the victims as victims rather than as illegal immigrants, possibly facing prosecution. Sundays decision was the first time the law had been officially utilized [DN Egypt news report].

The disaster was one of the deadliest in the Mediterranean sea, but far from the first one. In October 2016 the UN Refugee Agency (UNCHR) [official website] called 2016 the worst year for refugees [JURIST report] crossing the Mediterranean Sea as the death toll reached its highest point. In Augsust 2015 a rights group estimated [JURIST report] that 2000 people had already lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean that year. On March 1, UNICEF [official website] called for protection [JURIST report] of migrant women and children crossing the Mediterranean sea, as reports had documented increased risk of abuse and exploitation.
According to a report [release] issued by IRNA [state news agency], Iran has imposed sanctions on 15 US companies for human rights violations and supporting Israeli terrorism against Palestinians. The sanctions were issued in response to what the Iran government called one-sided extraterritorial sanctions issued by the US on Friday against China, North Korea, or the United Arab Emirates for providing Iran with technology which could help the countrys ballistic missile program. The 15 companies sanctioned by the Iran government, including the United Technologies Corporation (UTC) and Oshkosh Corporation [corporate websites], were said to have a direct or indirect part in supporting the Israeli governments actions in occupied Palestinian territories in opposition to UNSC Resolution 2334 [text]. Additionally, under a bill announced on Thursday, Iran could face even tighter US sanctions [Reuters report] over ballistic missile launches and other non-nuclear activities.

The situation surrounding Irans development and testing of nuclear technology has been a matter of national concern and has elicited multiple sanctions over the years. A bill renewing US sanctions against Iran for another 10 years became law [JURIST report] last December. In response to renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has accused the US of breaching the nuclear agreement and has ordered the head of Irans Atomic Energy Organisation to plan the development of nuclear-powered ships. The US House had approved the extension of sanctions [JURIST report] last November. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [official website] reported as recently as last September that Iran had successfully maintained a stockpile of heavy water below the threshold. In July 2015 the US entered into the JCPOA nuclear agreement with Iran where the county agreed not to create a nuclear bomb in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. The agreement was reached [JURIST report] after 20 months of negotiations. Iran has repeatedly claimed [JURIST report] that it has a right to nuclear technology and that its aims are peaceful.
[JURIST] Alexei Navalny, a well-known Russian opposition leader, was arrested on Sunday at a demonstration protesting the alleged corruption of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev [official website]. On Monday, the Tverskoy Court fined [BBC report] him 20,000 rubles (USD $350) for organizing the protest and sentenced him to 15 days in jail for resisting police orders. Protests against Medvedev took place in many other Russian cities on Sunday, including St. Petersburg. Police estimate [WSJ report] between 7,000 and 8,000 people attended the Moscow protest. Moscow law enforcement officials reported that 500 individuals had been detained, but the human rights group OVD Info [advocacy site, Russian] estimates twice that number.

This is not the first time Navalny has trouble with the Russian legal system. In February he was convicted and sentenced [JURIST report] for embezzlement. That same month, the European Court of Human Rights ordered [JURIST report] Russia to pay more than 63,000 for arresting Navalny multiple times between March 2012 and February 2014. In May a Moscow court declined [JURIST report] authorities request to convert Navalnys suspended sentence into a prison term. He had been convicted of fraud and sentenced to three-and-a-half-years suspended sentence. In 2015 Navalny was handed [JURIST report] a 15-day prison sentence for distributing leaflets attempting to publicize an anti-crisis demonstration. In 2014 Navalny and his brother, Oleg Navalny, were charged [JURIST report] with embezzling approximately 30 million rubles (USD $518,000) from French cosmetics company, Yves Rocher Vostok, and the Multidisciplinary Processing Company by a fraud scheme between 2008 and 2012.
[JURIST] The Seoul Central District Prosecutors office [official website] announced on Monday that it is seeking a warrant for the arrest of former president Park Geun-hye [BBC profile] on criminal charges of bribery and abuse of power. The prosecutors asked the Seoul Central District Court [official website, in Korean] for a warrant after interrogating Park for several hours last week [JURIST report]. Prosecutors are still discussing [NYT report] whether the interrogation yielded enough evidence to obtain the warrant. The courts deliberation on whether or not a warrant is proper is expected to take several days. If Park is arrested, she will be the first former president to be arrested in two decades. Park continues to deny any legal wrong doing.

This is the latest development in a scandal that has grown to encompass numerous South Korean political and corporate leaders. Earlier this month South Koreas Constitutional Court upheld parliaments decision to impeach [JURIST report] Park over a scandal related to government bribes paid by Samsung. In February Samsungs head Lee Jae-yong was arrested [JURIST report] on charges of bribery and undue influence in connection with the scandal. Five Samsung executives denied charges [JURIST report] of bribery, embezzlement and corruption that were leveled against them in connection with Park. Park may also be subject to charges that may relate to the indictment [JURIST report] of former culture minister Cho Yoon-sun and former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon over the coercion, abuse of power and perjury due to suppression of artists involved with the impeachment process.
[JURIST] Spains top court on Monday agreed [press release, in Spanish] to investigate claims by a Spanish woman who alleges her brother was tortured and murdered by Bashar al-Assads security forces. According to the woman, who is identified only as AH for security reasons, her brother was executed in 2013 in Damascus by Syrian security forces. Spanish High Court Judge Eloy Velasco has asked Syrian authorities to appoint legal representation in Spain for the nine security officers implicated in the torture and murder of the womans brother. The case is the first criminal complaint accepted against President Bashar al-Assads security forces by a European court. The lawyers for AH contend [press release] that Spanish courts have jurisdiction over the complaint due to the womans status as a Spanish citizen. Velasco determined that the complaint has standing in the Spanish Court system due to international norms that consider family members of those who have disappeared as a result of international crimes to be equally considered victims of those crimes.

The Syrian Civil War [JURIST backgrounder] has been ongoing since 2011 when opposition groups first began protesting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and the increasingly bloody nature of the conflict has put pressure on the international community to intervene. In February the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported [JURIST report] that the Syrian government is systematically exterminating detainees. In November Human Rights Watch released a report stating that the practice of caging captured soldiers and civilians constitutes hostage-taking [JURIST report] and an outrage against their personal dignity. In October France opened a torture investigation [JURIST report] into the actions of the Syrian government under Assad in detention facilities. Additionally, Amnesty International released a report [JURIST report] in October detailing the possibility of war crimes in Syria. The AI report criticized the Syrian government by stating that they have maintained unlawful sieges, restricted humanitarian assistance deliveries, deliberately attacked civilians, and carried out indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, arbitrary detentions, abductions and enforced disappearances.
The United Nations (UN) stated on Friday that Israel has not yet taken any steps towards stopping illegal settlements in Palestinian territory. According to UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov, instead of working to halt the illegal settlements, Israel has authorized a high rate [Al Jazeera news report] of settlements in contravention of international law. The UNSC Resolution 2334 [text, PDF], which passed with a 14-0 vote at the end of 2016, called upon Israel to stop the development of these settlements not only because theyre illegal, but [also because] they are the main obstacle in the path of the two-state solution. Currently, there are 430,000 Israelis settled in the Palestinian West Bank and 200,000 Israelis in East Jerusalem.

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. Iin 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. Last 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.
Chinese Troops Marched in Pakistan Day Parade (Photo : Getty Images)

On Thursday, Chinese troops marched alongside Saudi and Turkish troops for the first time in the Pakistan Day parade held in capital Islamabad. The participation of Chinese troops in the event symbolizes the deepening China-Pakistan ties.



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Chinese troops marched with their arms past Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the chief of Pakistan's powerful military, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The parade was followed by Pakistans display of long-range rockets.



Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain called the march a historic event for it was the first time Chinese troops joined a parade in a foreign country. China and Pakistan are starting to build great infrastructure together.



Saudi Arabian soldiers and Turkish military band also participated in the parade. Saudi Arabia has been a long-time ally of Pakistan. Turkey, in the recent years, has boosted its ties with nuclear-armed Pakistan.



China is considered as an all-weather friend by Islamabad. The two countries have grown closer in the recent years with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).



The CPEC is a network of road, rail and pipelines that will connect western China with Gwadar, Pakistans Arabian Sea Port. The $57 billion project was funded by Beijing.



Chinese officials had appealed to Pakistan to exert more effort in increasing security to help CPEC function. Pakistani military response has helped boost cooperation between the militaries of the two countries in the past few years.



Beijing has also pushed Islamabad for some time to do more to restrict Islamic militants. According to China, the militants are connected with extremists and separatists in the countrys obstreperous far western region of Xinjiang.



The United States also has strategic ties with Pakistan. However, the relationship sometimes seems transactional as Washington intermittently discontinue the financial support for the Pakistani military to punish it for its unsuccessful efforts to stop Islamic militants destabilizing the region.



China-Pakistan ties continue to deepen as both countries increase military and economic cooperation. The presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan Day parade testifies of this.


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Italian agro-food group Granarolo has acquired a 60% stake in Brazilian food processor and distributor Allfood.

Allfood imports and distributes European-made food products in Brazil. The company has a portfolio of more than 200 products, of which 48% are Italian. One-third of Allfoods products are marketed under its own brands and the group operates one factory in Brazil with three slicing and packing production lines, two for cold cuts and one for cheeses.

The business is headquartered in Sao Paulo. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The deal is Granarolos second acquisition in Brazil in the last two years. At the end of 2015, the Italian firm purchased a 60% stake in cheese producer Yema.

Brazil represents a strategic market due to the presence of a large Italian community  about 25m people  who are naturally interested in Italian products. The dairy sector alone is worth EUR23bn. It is a country with significant potential: in a single year, Yema recorded an increase in turnover of 25%, Gianpiero Calzolari, Granarolos president, said.

The purchase of Allfoods business integrates perfectly with the activities carried out by Yema. The former, in fact, distributes mainly to mass retail, while Yema sells to the food service channel.

Granarolo said the integration of Allfood and Yema will allow it to become a leading company in both the production and import of Italian and European food products in Brazil, capable of covering all distribution channels and creating economies of scale. Joining the Granarolo Group besides meaning a great leap for the Italian company in the Brazilian market, also strengthens Allfoods strategy of consolidating its leadership in the import of European gastronomic products in Brazil, Allfood CEO Luciano Almendary said. Access to new Italian product lines will expand our portfolio and our offer to consumers. It also deepens our ability to serve our Brazilian partners in all states and segments, both retail, normal trade and horeca.
Chinese millennials are now seen as a lucrative market for global businesses. (Photo : Getty Images)

Eyeing to double its investment in the world's second-largest economy, Airbnb China has rebranded its service to "Aibiying," which means "welcome each other with love," online portal Inc.com reported.



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In a statement, CEO Brian Chesky enthused that "there a whole new generation of Chinese travelers who want to see the world in a different way," emphasizing their mission of catering to the demands of Chinese millennials.



According to a 2015 Goldman Sachs report, China's population is composed by approximately 31 percent millennials, which is equivalent to around 415 million people.



Airbnb, a fast-growing online marketplace and hospitality service, reported that its outbound travel from China increased by 142 percent last year. The company also took note that its users from the Asian giant are aged 35 and below.



Furthermore, the Airbnb airport listed a coordinated 1.6 million guest arrivals in China.Sammy Suzuki, a specialist in emerging markets at AllianceBernstein, remarked back in 2015 that "Chinese millennials are likely to travel farther afield--and to spend more while traveling--as their disposable incomes and appetite for adventure grow."



"This suggests they're likely to prove an increasingly lucrative market for the global travel and tourism industry when they start to make longer-haul trips," Suzuki added.



For this year, the newly rebranded firm eyes to launch a collection of "Experiences" and "Trips" in Shanghai.



Apart from Shanghai, the company has also signed memoranda of intent with other Chinese cities, including Guangzhou, Chongqing and Shenzhen, to solidify its presence in the country.



To adapt locally, Airbnb also supports local payment portals such as Alipay and allows its users to sign up via the popular messaging app, WeChat.



The company said it also plans to triple its local workforce, giving Chinese more job opportunities.



For Airbnb's investors, China is considered as the firm's biggest luxury market, and this can be hugely attributed to the country's millennial populace.


Dallas, TX, USA, 03/27/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/

I have prepared literally hundreds of witnesses to testify in civil depositions and trials and in criminal cases for both the prosecution and, as a Dallas criminal lawyer, for the defense. I have also cross-examined a lot of criminal defendants in trial as a prosecutor. From these experiences, I know that preparing a criminal defendant to testify at trial involves some unique challenges. They can be overcome, though, by applying critical thinking and proven methods to the task.

The first challenge is deciding whether or not to call the defendant as a witness in the first place. The law says that a criminal defendant has an absolute right NOT to testify, and prosecutors are not allowed to comment in any way on a defendants failure to testify.

In many cases, though, especially if the defendant is accused of something outrageous like domestic violence or sexually assaulting a child, jurors expect a defendant to get on the witness stand and deny the charge even though the law says they have an absolute right not to. They think, If I were falsely accused of that, I would want to get up there and deny it. Therefore, if a defendant does not testify, they tend to think it is because he or she is guilty.

As a criminal defense lawyer, I do my best to set up the evidence so that I can win the case without having to call the defendant. That way, calling my client as a witness is an option instead of a necessity.

The second major challenge is helping my client understand how to testify persuasively. Many people accused of crimes have no experience testifying and are not naturally good communicators. They have to be taught that, even though a prosecutor and I are asking them questions, the real audience is the jury. They have to understand how to look calm, confident, and like they have nothing to hide. They have to understand that they will testify, if at all, only after the government has called all of its witnesses who have tried to make the defendant look guilty. This means that the jury may be very skeptical of them, or even angry with them, before they even open their mouth.

I like to practice my clients testimony on videotape so that we can play it back, and I can point out the good things and the bad things. Being able to see themselves on video helps people learn as they get to see themselves as the jury might see them.

I also explain that being able to provide details and examples makes someones testimony more memorable and believable. It sounds simple, but many people do not know this. For example, saying, She does not like me, is not particularly persuasive. It is better to add details and examples, like, She would call me lazy. When I was around her, she would not even look at me. She would say things under her breath that I could tell were about me.

A third major challenge is preparing a defendant for cross-examination by the prosecutor. Very few people are used to cross-examination. In court, you are required to answer the prosecutors questions. If you try to avoid answering the question, or if you try to argue with the prosecutor instead of answering the question, it is obvious to the jury, and it looks bad.

Since the prosecutor seems to believe the defendant is a criminal who is trying to get away with a crime, juries understand, and to some extent expect, the prosecutor to treat the witness harshly. Prosecutors therefore often act outraged and offended when they are questioning a criminal defendant.

I believe that the best way to prepare a defendant for this is to try to come up with the hardest questions that a prosecutor may ask and to practice answering those questions on videotape. As a former prosecutor, I have a pretty good sense of some of the questions and strategies prosecutors like to use.

For example, a lot of prosecutors like to use the everybody else is lying line of questioning. It goes like this:

You were here in court when all of those people took the witness stand and said you did it, werent you? And you say you didnt do it, right? So, I guess all of those people are just a bunch of liars, then, is that what you are saying?

I have to tell my clients that I cannot possibly anticipate every question a prosecutor will ask. I also tell them, though, that if they get used to answering tough questions in a way that looks credible, they should be able to handle whatever they are asked.

Preparing a criminal defendant to testify at trial is not easy. It takes advance work and critical thinking. It can also make or break the defense case. It takes experience and good judgment to know when to advise a criminal defendant to take the stand. If the defendant does testify, he or she should be prepared by a lawyer who knows exactly what they are doing.

If you, a family member or someone you know has been charged with a crime in the Dallas area, contact Dallas criminal lawyer John Helms at (214) 666-8010 or fill out the online contact form. You can discuss your case, how the law may apply and your best legal options to protect your rights and freedom.

Press Contact

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(214) 666-8010

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source: http://johnhelms.attorney/dallas-criminal-lawyer-explains-prepares-criminal-defendant-testify/

Social Media Tags:criminal defense lawyer, Attorney John Helms Criminal Defense Lawyer for Collin County, Criminal Defense Lawyer Near Dallas

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New York City, NY, 03/27/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/

A few years ago, desktop magnet sculptures were a popular gift, especially around the holidays. Made up of dozens of tiny magnetic balls, they decorated the offices of numerous executives and hard-to-shop-for bosses. Sometimes marketed under the name Buckyballs, Zen Magnets, Magnicube, or Neoballs, the little metal balls are actually rare earth magnets. As such, they are extremely powerfulso powerful, in fact, that they can cause gruesome injuries if swallowed.

After a 19-month-old child died from swallowing several of the magnets, which caused a perforated bowel, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned the sale of Buckyballs and similar products in the United States in 2014. USA Today reports that about 7,700 other children suffered injuries related to ingesting the magnets.

Doctors say the magnets are dangerous because doctors dont immediately think to look for them in the intestines when a child presents at the doctors office or the emergency room with stomach complaints. In the case involving the tragic death of the child who swallowed the magnets, doctors initially diagnosed her with a virus. It was only after an autopsy was performed that doctors discovered the presence of the magnets, which the child swallowed after her brothers brought home a necklace containing the magnets from school.

The Return of Deadly Rare Earth Magnets

However, the CPSC ban was not the end for the deadly magnets. After winning an appeal in court, the desktop magnet sculptures are back and are now being sold under various names just in time for the big holiday shopping rush.

According to a Popular Science report, Since the small magnets are remarkably strong, they can attract one another even from some distance away. That means they can pull themselves together inside of you, breaking through bodily tissues to do so.

This is not just theorythese injuries have happened repeatedly to young children across the country, including a toddler who swallowed 37 of the tiny magnets and a six-year-old who sustained intestinal injuries after ingesting 19 of the balls.

Despite these horrific injuries, an administrative law judge ruled in 2016 that the dangers posed by the magnets are outweighed by the benefits, including uses in the educational sector.

Parents: Be Wary When Buying Toys This Holiday Season

Many of the products containing the rare earth magnets have been remarketed under new names. New York dangerous products lawyer Jonathan C. Reiter says, Parents and caregivers must use extreme caution when shopping for toys that may contain these types of magnets, especially if they have young children who may put the magnets in their mouth. Always carefully read the packaging and contents before buying.

Media Contact:

Jonathan C. Reiter Aviation Lawyer New York : T: 866-324-9211.

Jonathan C. Reiter Law Firm, PLLC

The Empire State Building

350 5th Avenue #6400

New York, NY 10118

T: (212) 736-0979

source: http://injuryaccidentnews.jcreiterlaw.com/2017/03/22/defective-products-lawyer-talks-dangerous-magnets-allowed-back-stores/

Social Media Tags:Defective Products, Dangerous Magnets, Deadly Rare Earth Magnets, New York dangerous products lawyer, New York dangerous products lawyer Jonathan C. Reiter

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Chinese-made UAV (Photo : Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia has agreed to build unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for China after the signing of a partnership agreement on March 16 between Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), IHS Jane's Defense Weekly reported.



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The agreement to build drones for China was one of the several pacts announced during King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud's visit China, which was aimed at improving the strategic relationship between the two countries, KACST said.



Ali Mohammed al-Ghamdi, the CEO of the Taqnia Aeronautics Company, a subsidiary of the Saudi technology development organization Taqnia, had previously tweeted that an agreement to build CH family of UAVs in Saudi Arabia has been signed, with China Aerospace Long-March International (ALIT).



Al-Ghamdi said that the Saudi-made UAVs will be used for both civilian and military purposes and will be promoted and sold in other countries in the Middle East.



ALIT leads the promotion of Chinese UAVs and other products made by CASC, such as the CH series of UAVs, to foreign customers, according to the report.



Saudi Arabia confirmed that it is already using Chinese UAVs during the induction ceremony for the Royal Saudi Air Force's (RSAF) new F-15SA multirole fighters in February.



During the event, a photograph of a sophisticated version of the CASC CH-4 medium-altitude long-endurance UAV appeared. The UAV looked better than the one displayed by the Iraqi military, which has a bulge on its nose, where a satellite communications antenna can be placed. It also has AR-1 laser-guided missiles and FT-9 guided bombs.



Both CASC products are used in Iraq's CH-4s.



The larger CH-5 was unveiled by CASC during Airshow China in November last year. According to the company's promotional information, the CH-5 has a maximum take-off weight of 2,600 kilograms and a 900-kilogram payload. It can fly for 30 hours when it is not carrying any weapon, the report said.


Snapdeal Executive Kunal Bahl (Photo : Getty Images)

Indian online retailer Snapdeal may be forced to sell the company after it failed to seek investments to strengthen its finances and continue to be competitive, according to sources.



In the past few months, the company has been talking with Alibaba and some Chinese funds to raise money but failed to get their support. Its existing investors, which include Softbank and some U.S. hedge funds also showed little interest, the Financial Express reported.



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"Snapdeal has been desperately looking to raise money in China for the last few months," a source with direct knowledge of company plans, said.



"It had multiple rounds of talks with some Chinese funds and was also hoping to get some fresh money from Alibaba. But those talks were not going anywhere and Alibaba made it clear to them they would not write a new cheque for them given the dim outlook for making money anytime soon," the source added.



According to the source, the failed negotiations and decreasing valuation may drive Snapdeal to decide for an outright sale. Last year, the company was valued at $6.5 billion after a fund-raising round but it weakened after that.



The company also suffered a blow from bigger rivals such as Flipkart and Amazon, which resulted in the layoff of about 600 employees and forced its founders to forego salaries to cut costs.



But Snapdeal, however, denied that they planning to sell the company, the report said.



About two weeks ago, a company executive had approved a plan to raise its profits, after seeing a "small gap in funding." The source said that the company hopes to strengthen its finances within two years, increase by fund-raising round, ahead of listing.



The source told Reuters that Alibaba was already in talks with Softbank, Snapdeal's biggest shareholder, but it was only interested in raising its investments. The Chinese e-commerce giant is willing to invest more in Snapdeal if management control will go to Paytm, it which it has 35.31 percent stake.



"Alibaba is very keen to invest more in Snapdeal as an entity if the management control goes to Paytm. The proposal has the backing of Softbank as well, which is also looking to consolidate its investments in one or two large e-commerce companies," the source said.



If the deal with Alibaba succeeds, it could make Snapdeal more competitive as its rival Flipkart is planning to raise its valuation to $1 billion and Amazon has already committed to increasing its investment to more than $5 billion last year.



Competition among rivals in India's e-tailers sector has caused Snapdeal a loss of about 29.5 billion rupees last year, records from regulatory filings showed.


Chinese Deals with US Startups Worrying US Amid Release of New White Paper

Review Process for Foreign Investment (Photo : Getty Images)

The U.S. government, especially the Pentagon, has expressed concern over deals made by state-owned Chinese companies with U.S. startups, following the release of a new white paper distributed to senior officials of the Trump administration last week.



The New York Times reported that U.S. authorities were alarmed at the increasing level of investments made by Chinese firms in American start-ups, which often involved technology with potential military applications such as rocket engines for spacecraft, sensors for autonomous ships, among others.



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According to the white paper, the U.S. government failed to protect these critical technologies from China, which it considers a military competitor.



"What drives a lot of the concern is that China is a military competitor," James Lewis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said. "How do you deal with a military competitor playing in your most innovative market?"



The report said that the Chinese, as investors, can push for partnership and affect licensing or hiring decisions that would make intellectual property vulnerable. They may also have access to how the technology is developed.



With the release of the white paper, which was done before Trump assumed office, many U.S. officials are now questioning China's economic relationship with the U.S. as Republican lawmakers call for tighter laws on foreign acquisitions and giving more power to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).



People familiar with the contents of the white paper said that Ashton Carter, Obama's former secretary of defense under President Barack Obama, had nominated Mike Brown, the former chief executive of Symantec, to lead the inquiry into the Chinese investments.



A spokesman for the Department of Defense, however, said it "will not discuss the details or components of draft internal working documents."



According to data from research firm CB Insights, China has invested nearly $9.9 billion in U.S. startups in 2015, about four times the investment the year before.



Experts, however, noted that the Chinese investors could only be making innocent investments as both the start-ups and the Chinese investors have never been accused of any wrongdoing. In addition, the Chinese investors were investing abroad as the government is trying to reduce pollution and enhance its industrial capacity.



Limit on Chinese investments



Proponents of the deal said that the limits on technology still apply on the Chinese deals.



Critics, however, said that the Chinese investments are part of China's effort to push its industrial policy and improve its technology holdings. They also cited China's effort to steal technology with military applications.



But some startups contend that only the Chinese investors can provide them with funding and the Chinese firms provide support for those struggling U.S. companies, believing they can make a big breakthrough.



Chinese investors can take risks and they are will to make deals fast, according to Max Versace, chief executive of Neurala, a company that makes software for drones.



Versace said that Haiyin Capital, a Chinese fund, has a minority stake on Neurala, as part of a $1.2 million round. He added that they make sure that the Chinese investor will have no access to the source code and other sensitive technological information.



Meanwhile, Yuquan Wang, Haiyin Capital's founder, said that the company plans to improve Chinese industrial capabilities but the U.S. export controls make it impossible to export the technology to China.



"We strive to get a portion of research and development moved back to China so that we can avoid China being only a low-end manufacturer," Wang added.


Eye Mo Philippines Launch

Our eyes gives us vision and it plays an important role in our life. We use our sense of sight everyday that's why it is important to take good care of our eyesight. How do you take good care of your eyes? Aside from eating foods rich in Vitamin A, following simple eye care routine at home and at work is a must.





If you neglect your eyes, let's say you're always prone to dirt and pollution while commuting and you're always in front of the computer for more than two hours a day chances are your eyes will be prone to irritation leading to poor eyesight. Like other parts of the body, you should take care of your eyes. Proper eye care is important so that we can prevent eye diseases in the long run. More information on eye health and Eye Mo eye drops below :)





Eye Mo Philippines Launch





Weeks ago, Eye Mo was relaunch here in our country. They launched a campaign entitled "Eyeritation" in an effort to help Filipinos become more aware of the state of their eyes. In this campaign, Eye Mo eye drop brand has identified 5 signs of eye irritation and aims to educate Filipinos by raising awareness to proper eye care and importance of eyesight.





Eye Mo Philippines Launch





Marketing manager for Eye Mo, LF Asia Philippines, Inc., Healthcare Division Earl Jayona identified the top 5 signs of eye irritation and explained to us their differences. Here are the eyeritation that you need to know:





1. Red Eyes





This condition is usually caused by allergy,dirt, pollution, smoke or common eye infections which are the most common among people who have high exposure to outdoor activities such as motorcycle riders and commuters.





2. Watery Eyes





Excessive tearing that is not caused by normal crying may be a sign of an underlying health condition. When too many tears are being secreted, it is often because of irritation or inflammation of the surface of the eye that can be caused by external elements as well.





3. Sore Eyes





This is usually caused by staring into a computer screen or a book for too long.





4. Itchy Eyes





Itchy eyes are often caused by allergies. It can also occur when there is constant exposure to household elements such as mold and dust. Also, as much as you want to do it, rubbing your itchy eyes wont help.





5. Dry Eyes





This condition is common for people who have high exposure to gadgets, TVs, laptops and those working in air-conditioned rooms. Lack of tears or moisture in the eyes is also common as we age.





If these signs are present in your eyes, fret not as these can be given immediate solution by using eye drops. Eye Mo can be used to combat uncomfortable eye irritations. I can still remember that my parents have stock of the blue and red variants at home when I was in high school.





Eye Mo Philippines Launch





I'm not sure if you're aware that Eye Mo disappeared in pharmacies and health care stores for quiet some time. But I'm relieved that they're making a huge come back because of their campaign with the same eye drop that's been trusted for many years by the Filipinos.





Eye Mo variants:





Eye Mo Moisturizing Formula (blue)- Hypromellose

eye moisturizer

lubricant

3 mg/ml solution

refreshes dry eyes

Eye Mo Philippines Launch

Eye Mo Moisturizing Formula (blue)


Is Strong Woman Do Bong Soon the new Descendants of the Sun?

Park Bo-Young arrives for the 34st Blue Dragon Film Awards at Kyung Hee University on November 22, 2013 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo : Getty Images/Chung Sung-Jun)

"Descendants of the Sun" starring Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo was the most popular South Korean drama series in early 2016. In early 2017, it appears that "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" is the new drama series can potentially become the most popular one in South Korea.



"Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" episode 10 titled "Find a Hidden Heart" aired on JTBC on March 25, Saturday. The episode gathered 9.668 percent ratings, according to Nielsen Korea, as cited by Soompi.



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This is 2.245 percent higher than the previous episode's ratings. Episode 11 titled "Love of Life," which aired on March 24, Friday, obtained 7.423 percent ratings.



Written by Baek Mi Kyung and directed by Lee Hyung Min, "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" is a romantic comedy drama series starring Park Bo Young, Park Hyung Sik and Ji Soo. The story revolves around the title character (Bo Young) who is trying to use her inborn superhuman strength for good.



Do Bong Soon's strength earned her a job as a bodyguard to a Ahn Min Hyuk (Hyung Sik), a spoiled rich heir and the CEO of a gaming company called Ainsoft. The title character wants to develop a video game with herself as the main character and become a soft and elegant woman like the ideal type of her crush, a police officer named In Guk-doo (Ji).



The entire cast and crew of "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" will go to Bali, Indonesia, for a celebratory vacation. Towards the end of March, they will stay there for around three nights and five days as their reward, All Kpop quoted a representative of the show as saying.



The new OST for "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" is a song by MAMAMOO titled "Double Trouble Couple." Released as a single on March 24, Friday, this is the fifth OST for the JTBC drama series.



Watch the music video of "Double Trouble Couple" here:






X-Men star Fan Bingbing is Best Actress at 11th Asian Film Awards, plays mermaid in The Kings Daughter

Fan Bingbing attends the Louis Vuitton show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 5, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo : Getty Images/Pascal Le Segretain)

In 2014, Fan Bingbing played Blink in "X-Men: Days of Future Past." Two years later, she played Li Xuelian in "I am not Madame Bovary," which earned her the Best Actress award at the 11th Asian Film Awards.



"I am not Madame Bovary" also won the Best Film award. In the film, Fan played a woman accused of adultery.



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"Even though playing the role was challenging, I had an unforgettable experience," Reuters quoted Fan as saying. She said it was her favorite role so far.



Fan won Best Actress over "The Last Princess" actress Son Ye Jin, "A Bride for Rip Van Winkle" actress Haru Kuroki, "Happiness" actress Kara Hui and "The Woman Who Left" actress Charo Santos-Concio. Fan's male counterpart was Tadanobu Asano, who is set to reprise his role as Hogun in "Thor: Ragnarok."



Asano won the Best Actor award for his performance in the Japanese film "Harmonium," which was written and directed by Koji Fukada. The Japanese actor won over "Godspeed" actor Michael Hui, "Train to Busan" actor Gong Yoo, "Mr. No Problem" actor Fan Wei and "Trivisa" actor Richie Jen.



"The Handmaiden" actress Moon So Ri won Best Supporting Actress. She beat "Mad World" actress Elaine Jin, "The Mohican Comes Home" actress Atsuko Maeda, "Neerja" actress Shabana Azmi and "See You Tomorrow" actress Lynn Hung.



The Best Supporting Actor award was given to "Trivisa" actor Lam Suet. He was chosen over "The Wailing" actor Jun Kunimura, "Rage" actor Go Ayano, Goo's "Train to Busan" co-actor Ma Dong Seok and Fan's "I am not Madame Bovary" co-actor Dong Chengpeng.



Fans of Fan are about to see her in "The King's Daughter" as a mermaid. Among her co-stars are William Hurt, Pablo Schreiber, Paul Ireland, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Kaya Scodelario, Benjamin Walker and Pierce Brosnan, who was recently in Austin, Texas, for the premiere of his new television series "The Son" at SXSW, Daily Mail reported.



Watch Fan in a Super Bowl 2017 video with "The Walking Dead" star Jeffrey Dean Morgan and "Bleed For This" actor Aaron Eckhart here:






KEARNEY  Patients at Kearney Clinic can expect to see a total interior update soon.

The health care center at 211 W. 33rd St. is at the beginning of an extensive renovation with the first phase expected to be completed in October.

In that first phase of the project, construction crews will repair the clinics HVAC system and restructure the lobby area, according to Kearney Clinic Administrator Peggy Dobish.

We needed better temperature control both for patients and for equipment that we have in the building, Dobish said. Some of our lab and radiology equipment is very sensitive to temperature.

A main shaft of the HVAC system that runs through the middle of the lobby will be moved back to make way for extensive beam work that will be done upstairs and downstairs. As a result, it was decided that the lobby would be remodeled as well.

The current flow is not efficient for patients, Dobish explained. The clinic plans to re-position the front desk so it would be more visible. A temporary front desk was set up as were check-in kiosks to help cut down on waiting time. The whole center front area is shut off for construction while the staff works out of the north side of the building.

This is probably the toughest phase were in right now, Dobish said. Because this is where your patients come in, and youre shutting off a big chunk of the front area.

At this point in the process, administrative offices and a conference room were moved to the south end of the building and a new ADA-compliant pediatric bathroom was set up.

The rest of its just really getting started, Dobish said.

Once phase one is completed, work will begin on exam rooms for phase two. Carpets and wall coverings will be replaced. Once phase one is completed in October, Dobish said the hope is to start on phase two right away. In the final phase, the downstairs departments will be remodeled.

Throughout the process, Dobish said, staff members are evaluating the best use of space to create the best patient experience.

We want our patients to come to a nice modern facility. Weve been here a long time and have had a lot of patients and just want it to feel welcoming and (have a) smooth flow. Were doing it for our patients.

@AmandaPush
The Merrick County Sheriffs Department arrested three people who live at 156 Beck Road for felony animal neglect on Thursday.

Horses and dogs have been seized from the property in the last nine months.

Thomas J. Leetch Sr., 35; Michelle A. Vonohlen, 34; and Rolland E. Schleichardt, 50, were all three arrested for felony animal neglect. Leetch also was arrested for possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

As of Friday afternoon, the three individuals were in jail.

In June, the Central Nebraska Humane Society assisted in the removal of five horses from the property. In that instance, Leetch was charged with five counts of abandoning or cruelly neglecting an animal, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The trial on those charges is set for 9 a.m. April 21 in Merrick County Court.

On Saturday, March 18, the Merrick County Sheriffs Department executed a search warrant at the property. Twenty-one dogs were taken from the property and placed with the Central Nebraska Humane Society.

The animals were severely abused/neglected and were in desperate need of veterinarian care, says a news release from Merrick County Sheriff John Westman.

On Thursday, the Sheriffs Department located all of the responsible parties involved and made arrests in the case, the release says.

The Merrick County Sheriffs Office has responded to numerous complaints in reference to the conditions of the property, concern for resident living conditions and animal complaints, the release says. The Sheriffs Office has affected several arrests and issued numerous citations to the individuals residing on the property.

The residence falls within the two-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction for the city of Grand Island and is subject to the zoning regulations set forth by the city of Grand Island and not those of Merrick County. However, Merrick County cannot enforce city ordinances/zoning regulations for the city of Grand Island.

In a case such as this, removing animals from an abusive or neglectful environment allows for the animals to enjoy a better quality of life and also allows law enforcement to hold inhumane animal owners accountable, the release says.

This property is not only a disgust to Merrick County, but it has been made very clear by the property owners that they are not willing or capable of fostering animals or providing appropriate living conditions or respect for their surrounding neighbors, the release says. We will continue to enforce laws and hold persons accountable for their actions as we continue working to improve our environment by partnering with our communities.

The Merrick County Sheriffs Department was assisted by the Central Nebraska Humane Society and the Central City Police Department.

According to neighbors, Leetch and Vonohlen and three children lived in a mobile home on the property. Schleichardt lived in a camper on the lot, which totals slightly more than a half-acre.

Legal records indicate that the land is owned by David Stout.

On Feb. 3, the city of Grand Islands building department director posted a Notice to Vacate near the front door of the mobile home. The sign urges people not to enter because the building is unsafe to occupy since it is not served by water or electricity.

Grand Island Building Department Director Craig Lewis said on Thursday that residents have made some strides in cleaning up the property. Some of the debris has been picked up outside since the notice was posted, he said.

Leetchs lawyer, James Wagoner, said his client is misunderstood. Hes probably trying to help some critters and they want him off the property. So what are you going do? he said Friday. Referring to the horses, Wagoner said, He got them for Christmas for his kids. Later on he spent a week in jail, but when he got them, they were pretty damn skinny.

Wagoner is not happy that the Merrick County sheriff invited the Humane Society to the property.

What gives him the right to make the invitation? Wagoner said. Well, you know, they make allegations, but thats all they are for now.

Neighbors in Schwartz Subdivision say theyve had issues with Leetch for more than 10 years. They complain about the horses and dogs wandering into their yards. Not only have the animals been neglected, but their waste products have created a health hazard, they say. They also say Leetch has plugged electrical cords into their property to use their electricity.

In 2012, Leetch and Vonohlen were served notice by the Merrick County Sheriffs Department of the dogs being potentially dangerous.

In March 2016, Leetch and Stout received a letter from Hall County Regional Planning Director Chad Nabity. The letter says the property had been brought to the attention of the city due to the presence of livestock maintained on the property as well as the accumulation of rubbish, trash, junk and other offensive materials that have been allowed to accumulate on the property.

The property is zoned large lot residential with a manufactured home overlay, said Jen Myers, Merrick Countys zoning administrator.

Grand Island City Attorney Jerry Janulewicz said hes been in contact about the property with Merrick County Attorney Lynelle Homolka.

Weve known for some time that theres been conditions that need to be addressed, Janulewicz said Thursday. Were working toward getting those addressed.
Dozens of jobs and millions of dollars could ride on the recommendations of University of Nebraska panels that will submit their findings Monday to a committee.

NU President Hank Bounds early this year assigned 10 working groups made up of 86 people to look for efficiencies, cost reductions and better ways to do business.

They could alter payroll processes and methods of marketing, computer systems and online education. Their suggestions could centralize how things are done or decentralize them, change travel and building upkeep in the NU system, privatize or deprivatize.

NU and all of public higher education in Nebraska are strategizing for inevitable budget challenges this year because of financial shortfalls at the state level. The size of the state allocation, coupled with the amount of cuts made by institutions, will determine how much tuition will rise the next couple of years.

Bounds assembled a budget response team made up of the 10 groups and a 10-person steering committee. Each of NUs campuses is represented on the committees. Some from outside the university also are on the team.

State Sen. John Stinner of Gering, chairman of the Nebraska Legislatures Appropriations Committee, commended Bounds and the NU Board of Regents for the process.

This is how you prudently go about trying to find the savings that you need to have, Stinner said last week. Still, he said, the Appropriations Committee has its own hard calls to make, and NUs process wont play a role in those.

Im not sure it will have much of an impact on our decision, he said.

The state colleges  Wayne, Peru and Chadron  are seeking cuts through a more campus-based, less centralized process.

Nebraskas six community colleges also are addressing the situation on a campus-by-campus basis.

The NU system faces $50 million or more in cuts over the next two years, Bounds has said, unless the Legislature allocates more money to NU than is currently expected.

Bounds has said tuition could go up 5 percent or more over each of the next two years, depending on state appropriations.

Public higher education suffered midyear budget cuts in 2016-17. NU faced a 2.3 percent reduction; the state colleges and community colleges, 4 percent.

The Appropriations Committee made preliminary recommendations for a slight cut in 2017-18 to NU and flat allocations for the state colleges and two-year colleges. The Appropriations Committee will make a firm recommendation to the Legislature about a month from now.

NU spokeswoman Melissa Lee, who is on one of the 10 panels, said the groups submissions Monday to the steering committee will not be made public.

This is merely one step, and no decisions have been made, Lee said. She called it premature to divulge any recommendations.

The steering committee then is expected to make its recommendations to Bounds on April 10. Bounds will make the ultimate call.

Jon Watts, vice chancellor for business and finance at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, said the working groups are considering such things as whether an expert in boiler operations or heating and air conditioning on one campus might serve all campuses for those functions.

That way, certain campuses wouldnt have to hire contractors for such work.

And they are considering creating a centralized procurement office for equipment purchases and acquisitions of other items instead of leaving each campus to handle those matters.

Those are two examples among many.

Theyre pretty much looking at everything, said Watts, who is on one of the committees. At Bounds encouragement, there is no limit on what may be suggested, Watts said.

The 10 panels have groups looking at travel, public relations, digital education, payroll and human relations, finances, energy, facilities, printing, info technology and procurement.

People are less terrified about layoffs, Watts said, than they are encouraged that solutions can be found.

Theres a trust in the administration and President Bounds, for sure, Watts said. Employees are aware of whats at stake, but I dont think theyre overwhelmed, he said.

Watts said the financial operations committee meets by videoconference once a week for about three hours.

UNK administrators also meet once every two weeks with UNKs approximately dozen committee members to provide support, data and information, he said.

Bounds has made it clear that the consequences of budget cuts may be harsh because of inevitable raises, health insurance increases, utility hikes and other costs.

Bounds has said about 80 percent of NUs general-fund budget is for personnel, and making cuts generally means cutting people.

I do know that these cuts are going to be painful and that they are going to impact real people and real services across our campuses and the state, Bounds told the Appropriations Committee late last month.

Regents Chairman Bob Whitehouse of Papillion said last week in an interview that if NU has to cut considerable sums, employees obviously will be affected.

You can only turn out so many lights, Whitehouse said.

David Woodman, head of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Faculty Senate, said he wants alternatives to layoffs if possible. Woodman is on the steering committee.

My hope is that most of our budget issues in terms of personnel will be taken care of by things like attrition and hiring freezes, Woodman said.

No specific dollar goal has been given to the panels and steering committee.

The president has challenged them (the panels) to look at everything and do their best, Whitehouse said. All of us are challenged with making the pieces of the puzzle fit.

Whitehouse said these are tough times, and Bounds will face hard decisions.
President Donald Trump has virtually no experience running a government or reading the Constitution. But now hes getting a painful civics lesson about one of the principle precepts underlying American politics: checks and balances. Some of those checks are written into law: the power of federal judges to block unlawful rules, or the independence of tenured officials like the head of the FBI.

Other checks are less formal, like the ability of the press to scrutinize a president through relentless reporting and fact-checking. Or like public opinion, which can sap a presidents leverage and credibility when his popularity sinks.

All these barriers have restrained and restricted the new president during his first two months in office. The most powerful man in the world is discovering that running a country is far more difficult than running a business.

Of course, Trump retains enormous assets. He still has the bully pulpit. He can still twist the arms of wavering Republicans. He has stocked the federal government with appointees who promote his policies on issues like climate change. He can make executive decisions, like accelerating the deportation of undocumented immigrants. And one of his most important powers was on display last week as his nominee to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, seemed poised to win Senate approval.

But a political highway filled with speed bumps and stop signs is thwarting him in other ways.

Start with Republicans in Congress. All of them represent their own constituencies, whose interests and values might not coincide with the presidents. As a result, lawmakers from states with aging populations objected strongly to his proposals that would boost health insurance premiums for older policyholders.

Others  joined by many Republican governors  were furious over proposed spending cuts that would harm specific regions, like the Great Lakes, or target useful programs like job training or Meals on Wheels. Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky, an influential figure on the Appropriations Committee, called Trumps budget draconian, careless and counterproductive.

A growing number of Republicans are also alarmed by the presidents penchant for fabrication, urging him to recant his baseless charge that he was wiretapped by the Obama administration. Democrats on Capitol Hill have little real power, but they can still ask questions, shine spotlights and voice protests. Rep. Adam Schiff of California used a Congressional hearing to publicize the many connections between the Trump campaign and Russian interests.

Lawmakers can be vulnerable to White House pressures, but federal judges are not. Five different courts have now blocked Trumps proposals to limit immigrants and refugees from majority-Muslim countries. And those judges dont act in isolation.

The cases they ruled on were brought by powerful outside interest groups, like the American Civil Liberties Union, and attorneys general from Democratic states, who can mount legal challenges to a presidents more outlandish impulses.

Unlike federal judges, the head of the FBI is not appointed for life, but he does have a 10-year term, and that has enabled the current director, James Comey, to stand up to the president on wiretapping and suspected links between Team Trump and Russian agents who attempted to influence the U.S. election.
Each member of the U.S. military joins for different reasons whether patriotic, for education benefits, to travel or provide a better life for their family members; regardless of why they joined their life changes as they transition from civilian to Airman.

To pursue her dream of serving in the U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Vera Povetina had to cross the ocean and travel across 11 time zones.

Growing-up in Kazakhstan Povetina loved watching American war movies. She thrived on watching the action, enjoyed the camaraderie and values portrayed in those films spawned her dream of someday wearing a U.S. military uniform.

It was my childhood dream to join the military, said Povetina, 335th Training Squadron student. When I was just a little girl I saw movies about World War l and World War ll and it was so cool and exciting because of the action. I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself and be useful. The idea of Americas value of democracy and freedom mean a lot for me.

As she went through school in Kazakhstan she learned the basics of the English language. After graduating high school she went on to graduate college with her degree in management.

After traveling to more than nine countries and taking on different logistics and management jobs, Povetina and her husband decided to fulfil his dream of opening up and managing a restaurant.

He asked me if I was OK with opening the restaurant because it was his childhood dream, Povetina said. We both love Chinese cuisine so we decided to open a Chinese restaurant. We had the restaurant for four years so I was the manager there.

Povetina used her knowledge of management and logistics to help her husband fulfil his dream but for her something missing.

In Kazakhstan we have a lottery where you can receive your green card, Povetina said. I set reminders for myself almost every day to fill out the paperwork for it.

At the age of 34, she won that lottery. Povetina had an opportunity to fulfill her dreams.

When I won it, we had to make the final decision to move to America, she said.

Just a few months after living in the U.S., Povetina stepped off of the bus at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, for Air Force Basic Military Training. Even though she spoke several languages and knew the basics of English, Povetina needed help learning the militarys unique language

I love challenges, Povetina said. Going through basic training was a difficult experience for me. One of the tough things was the language. The language used in the military is not the same one I read in the books in school. The girls in my flight helped me a lot with understanding what was being said.

Povetina graduated from basic military training and made her way to Keesler AFB for the financial management course. Just a few months into her career, Povetina has set her eyes on a new goal  becoming an officer in the Air Force.

Ive met a lot of really good people so far in the military, Povetina said. The officers are really patient and involved in their jobs and I love that. If people love what they do then they do it better. They are role models for me and how I need to behave myself. My plan is to become an officer so I can be that for other Airmen.

Povetinas driven personality is a result of always setting and accomplishing goals ever since she was a child, said Nadezhda Povetina, her mother.

I was scared when she decided to join the military but I know Vera is independent and able to accomplish things on her own, Nadezhda said. I believe she will have a good career in the Air Force because she is smart and clever. When she makes a decision and creates a goal she makes sure she gets it done.

Povetina achieved her dream by setting goals, not shying away from obstacles and through the camaraderie she found in the Air Force.

Ever since I was a child I love challenges so I would always set goals for myself, Povetina said. Even if it took me longer to complete it I would always accomplish my goals. I am driven by my goals. Nothing and no one is perfect but it seems like everyone here in America tries their best at what they do and thats what I strive to be like each day.
Public access along Crown land on the Kelowna shoreline is impeded in too many places, says Abbott Street resident Al Janusas, who hopes to make the matter an issue in the May provincial election.
Jo Jing-Woong, Kim Tae-Ri, Park Chan-wook, Kim Min-Hee and Ha Jung-Woo attend 'The Handmaiden (Mademoiselle)' premiere during the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals on May 14, 2016 in Cannes, France. (Photo : Getty Images/Andreas Rentz)

Kim Tae Ri played Sook Hee in the romantic drama mystery film "The Handmaiden," which premiered in Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2016. For her performance in the film, she won the Best Newcomer award at the 11th Asian Film Awards.



Also nominated for the Best Newcomer award were "Rage" star Takara Sakumoto, "Apprentice" star Fir Rahman, "Weeds on Fire" star Wu Tsz Tung and "The Mermaid" star Lin Yun. The Rising Star of Asia award was given to Yun.



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"The Handmaiden" was directed by Park Chan Wook. The film will have a Blu-ray version to be released in the United Kingdom on Aug. 7, according to Blu-ray.com.



In 2016, Kim won Best New Actress at Busan International Festival. She was criticized for mentioning in her speech Kim Min Hee, who had an affair scandal with Hong Sang Soo, according to All Kpop.



Kim's "The Handmaiden" co-star Moon So Ri won Best Supporting Actress beating "Mad World" actress Elaine Jin, "The Mohican Comes Home" actress Atsuko Maeda, "Neerja" actress Shabana Azmi and "See You Tomorrow" actress Lynn Hung. The Best Supporting Actor award was given to "Trivisa" actor Lam Suet beating "The Wailing" actor Jun Kunimura, "Rage" actor Go Ayano, Goo's "Train to Busan" co-actor Ma Dong Seok and Fan's "I am not Madame Bovary" co-actor Dong Chengpeng.



"I am not Madame Bovary" actress Fan Bingbing won Best Actress over "The Last Princess" actress Son Ye Jin, "A Bride for Rip Van Winkle" actress Haru Kuroki, "Happiness" actress Kara Hui and "The Woman Who Left" actress Charo Santos-Concio. "Thor: Ragnarok" star Tadanobu Asano won the Best Actor award for his performance in the Japanese film "Harmonium," which was written and directed by Koji Fukada, over "Godspeed" actor Michael Hui, "Train to Busan" actor Gong Yoo, "Mr. No Problem" actor Fan Wei and "Trivisa" actor Richie Jen.



Fukada was also nominated as Best Director along with, "Soul Mate" director Derek Tsang, "I am not Madame Bovary" director Feng Xiaogang" and "The Woman Who Left" director Lav Diaz but they all lost to "The Wailing" director Na Hong Jin. "The Salesman" by Asghar Farhadi won Best Screenplay beating "The Woman Who Left" by Lav Diaz, "Your Name" by Makoto Shinkai, "The Handmaiden" by Park Chan Wook and Chung Seo Kyung and "Trivisa" by Mak Tin Shu, Loong Man Hong and Thomas Ng.



Kim is set to star in "1987" opposite Ha Jung Woo and Gang Dong Won. It was written by Kim Kyung Chan and directed by Jang Joon Hwan.



Here is a video featuring Tae Ri:






We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

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President Donald Trump talks about the health care overhaul bill, Friday, March 24, 2017, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. TrumpAos accusation that his predecessor ordered snooping of his communications has fallen apart, slapped down by the FBI chief and again by the Republican leading the House intelligence committee, a Trump ally. The president gave up on arguing that Barack Obama tapped his phones, and he doesnAot give up on anything easily. A look at how that sensational charge and a variety of other statements by the president, on Russia, immigration, health care and more, met reality checks over the past week. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
A general view of the LG logo at the 2013 International CES at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 8, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo : Getty Images/David Becker)

LG Electronics Inc. is expecting to launch its new mobile payment system, dubbed as LG Pay, in its home country in June, which should compete with other products like Samsung Pay, Apple Pay and Android Pay.



Last week, LG Electronics has secured an agreement with U.S.-based Dynamics Inc. for the release of its payment service LG Pay. According to Yonhap News, LG will integrate the Wireless Magnetic Communication technology of Dynamics Inc. to its payment system, which allows people to make payments by touching their smartphones to regular credit card devices.



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"Dynamics is (LG's) strategic partner securing the most advanced technology in the mobile payment business. We will try to give more benefits to consumers through LG Pay," said Kim Hong-joo, head of LG Electronics' mobile communications product planning unit.



Through the LG Pay, customers can pay transactions through several credit cards saved in their phones without the hassle and risk coupled with them. This mobile payment system is knowingly similar to Samsung Pay, which is marketed by Samsung Electronics Co. However, the algorithm in LG Pay is different on how Samsung's MST operates.



According to Korea Herald, LG is negotiating with South Korea's eight credit card companies for the payment mobile system. Right now, seven of the said companies have confirmed in putting the service on their system.



Although the LG Pay has not been fully administered in Korea, LG's flagship phone LG G6 already comes with this mobile payment system. In addition, the company is eyeing to tap other handsets with LG Pay through software updates.



On another note, the LG G6 is highly received by customers as it skyrocketed in first place on local smartphone markets in Korea since its launch last March 10, based on local research form Atals Research and Consulting. As proof, the LG G6 marked more than 30,000 units sold, the company said.



As of this writing, LG has not announced further plans on expanding the service to outside markets. LG Pay is not yet confirmed for other devices or if it would generate revenue. As for its future, LG plans to expand the service into online payment, membership services and banking services.






Goodbye Mr. Loser (Photo : Happy Mahua Pictures)

Malaysian director Adrian Teh made a local remake of Goodbye, Mr. Loser, a hit Chinese movie which garnered five awards at the Gold Aries Macau International Film Festival. The movie held its world premiere at the 2017 Osaka Asian Film Festival recently in Japan.



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Movies Cast



Yan Fei and Peng Damo, joint writer-directors of the original Chinese movie which grossed $142.1 million after 12 days of exhibition in 2015, went to Malaysia to watch Tehs version of their blockbuster film, Star 2 reported. The lead role went to Ian Fang, an actor who was born in Shanghai but now based in Singapore. His leading lady is Hoon Mei Sim, a Malaysian actress, who is Ian Fangs wife in the movie.



Playing the role of his high school crush in the Malaysian remake of Goodbye, Mr. Loser is Anjoe Koh, the Miss Astro Chinese International Pageant 2014 winner. There are three member of the Malaysia shuttlers Olympic team who have cameo appearances in the movie. They are Chan Peng Soon, Goh Liu Ying and Goh V Shem.



Veteran Malaysia actors are also in the cast. Jack Lim, a Malaysian actor, plays the school teacher, while portraying the school principal is Singaporean actor Richard Low. Cast as Lins mother is Phoebe Huang, a Taiwanese actress, while playing Lins classmates are Tan Li Yang, Lex Pun, Vinx Lim and jack Yap.



2 Months to Cast



Teh said it took him to cast the film since for the male lead, there were 100 actors who auditioned for the role. The production, based on guidelines from the original directors, avoided hiring big names so as not to overshadow the movie character. Their criteria when they auditioned actors for the remake was the applicant must be a fresh face and have no movie experience.



Since the Malaysian censor in strict, Teh said the Malaysian Censorship Board initially gave the movie, which premiered on March 18 at the GSC Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, an 18-rating and ordered 18 cuts. But he appealed and the movie got a P13 rating. The board reduced the cut to just one three-second scene when Fang and Koh kissed.



The film started its regular run in Malaysia on March 23, while it would exhibit in Singapore on March 30, Cinema reported.


10 signs to know when to quit your job

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Attention all nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, doctors and anyone else in health care: Here are the top 10 warning signs that it is time to quit your job. The first three are mine. The rest are from colleagues. If you recognize anything on this list, please quit your job.

10. You feel nauseated when you see your clinic logo. You alter your commute to avoid streets with your clinics billboard.

9. Discouraged by the general despair among clinic staff, you try to be joyful. Then youre reprimanded by the clinic manager for being excessively happy.

8. You dream of leaving medicine to work as a waitress.

7. You envy your sickest patients and/or you develop a perverse pleasure in your patients pain.

6. You pray you will be diagnosed with cancer so you can get some time to sleep.

5. You spend your nights trying to keep patients alive while you imagine ways to die by suicide.

4. You work 16 to 24 hour shifts and have not had sex with your spouse in months.

3. You are a top-rated doctor, yet you daydream about walking into traffic, jumping through the window, or just dying in the course of a normal day.

2. You are counting down the days until retirement during patient appointments.

1. You change your computer password to f*ck [name of hospital where you work]!!!

Pamela Wible pioneered the community-designed ideal medical clinic and blogs at Ideal Medical Care. She is the author of Physician Suicide Letters  Answered and Pet Goats and Pap Smears. Watch her TEDx talk, How to Get Naked with Your Doctor. She hosts the physician retreat, Live Your Dream, to help her colleagues heal from grief and reclaim their lives and careers.

Image credit: Pamela Wible
Ji Soo, Park Bo Young and Park Hyung Sik star in the South Korean drama 'Strong Woman Do Bong Soon.' (Photo : YouTube/JTBC Drama)

In 2015, Park Bo Young played a friendless assistant chef named Na Bong Sun in "Oh My Ghostess." Currently, he plays Do Bong Soon, a young woman with superhuman strength in "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon."



Recently, Park compared her "Oh My Ghostess" and "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" characters. At a conference for the JTBC drama series on March 17, the actress explained why Na Bong Sun and Do Bong Soon are similar.



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Having appeared in a number of fairly similar projects recently, Park said many people have been saying that she always takes on the same role no matter what she acts in. Because of this, she has made it my goal to change that.



For Park, her role in "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" is somewhat of a continuation of her role from "Oh My Ghostess." The actress added that she may be reaching a limit with the lovely and cutesy image and she sees this as a huge mountain she is going to have to cross over eventually as an actress, Soompi quoted her as saying.



Park is grateful because she believes that viewers have enjoyed and appreciated her acting so far. In order to show to viewers a different side of her, she is going to have to take some time to think about what kinds of roles she would like to take on, the actress said.



Joining Park in the main cast are Park Hyung Sik and Ji Soo. Among the cast members playing supporting roles are Ahn Woo Yeon, Shim Hye Jin, Shim Hoon Gi, Kim Seong Beom, Yoo Jae Myung, Jun Seok Ho, Lee Se Wook, Im Won Hee, Kim Kim Kyo, Kim Won Hae, Lee Ho Cheol, Kim Ki Moo, Jang Mi Kwan, Han Jung Kook, Baek Soo Ryun, Kim Mi Hee and Kim Soo Yeon.



"Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" is currently enjoying good ratings. Because of this, the entire cast and crew of the JTBC drama series will have a vacation in Bali, Indonesia, All Kpop quoted a representative of the show as saying.



Watch a "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" clip here:






One of the largest gold producers in Africa, Acacia Mining, has been losing out on more than $1 million a day in revenue following the recent introduction of the gold and copper concentrates export ban by the Tanzanias government.

Image courtesy of Acacia Mining

The company, whose biggest shareholder is Canada's Barrick Gold, has been in talks with the local authorities, but no progress was made so far.

Since the announcement we have been engaging with key Government officials and other stakeholders in an attempt to have the directive lifted. To date there has not yet been a change in the situation, the company said in a press release.

In order to resolve the issue, the gold producer has proposed to support and partner with the Government in a new study by third-party experts to assess the economic potential of building of a smelter in Tanzania capable of processing our concentrate.

Acacia said it will be reassessing production in the end of April if the export ban holds. For now, however, the companys two Tanzanian mines, Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi, are continuing to operate as normal, with all of the produced concentrate being stored in containers.

Up to that point we will focus on engaging with the relevant authorities in Tanzania with a view to resolving the stoppage of the export of gold/copper concentrate and other related issues as soon as possible, the company said.

Twitter User Samira Sawlani posts a screenshot of the ban on gold and copper concentrates

The export ban was introduced on March 3 by Tanzanias Energy and Minerals Ministry. The announcement came after President John Magufulis urged to build more gold smelters in the country.

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals would like to inform the public, companies and individuals involved in minerals extraction that export of mineral concentrates and ores for metallic minerals such as gold, copper, nickel and silver has been banned, stated the ministrys press release. The ban intends to make sure that mineral value addition activities are carried out within Tanzania as emphasized in the Mineral Policy of 2009 and Mining Act of 2010.
The Daytime Village At The 2015 iHeartRadio Music Festival - Backstage (Photo : Getty Images)

The furor created by Matt Damon playing the lead role in The Great Wall, a co-production between American and Chinese movie producers, has barely died down and a similar controversy is hounding an upcoming Netflix movie.



Netizens Call for Movies Boycott



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Death Note, an upcoming Netflix movie based on a popular Japanese manga series, is the subject of an online petition to boycott the film because of whitewashing. Nat Wolff, actor of The Fault In Our Stars, got the lead role of Light Turner, and it displeased a lot of netizens. In the original manga, the lead characters name is Light Yagami which was westernized to Light Turner, CBC reported.



La Keith Stanfield, a black actor, got the role of private detective running after Light Yagami. The female lead role was given to Margaret Qualley of The Leftover. In the film, Light Turner, a student, acquires a supernatural notebook which gives him the power to kill anyone whom he could identify by face and name.



Sarah Rose initiated the online petition that opposed the casting of white actors in the movie since it went against the very soul of the story. She accused the American adaptation of Death Note as whitewashed. So far, the petition has almost 10,000 signatures.



In 2015, a new Asian actor, Edward Zo, posted a YouTube video where he claimed he was told not to audition for a role iin the movies American adaptation of Death Note because of his ethnic origin. Netflix, which would stream the movie on Aug. 25, would not comment on the whitewashing complain, according to a spokesman of the streaming service.



Casting Sparks Twitter Debate



A Twitter member who uses the handle @midlysrprsng pointed out that the movie is set in America which is why the main characters are white. But @plantblogger pointed out that Death Note is heavily based in Japanese culture and it does not make sense outside that context, Metro reported.


HONG KONG, March 27 (Reuters) - Shares of Yingde Gases Group Co Ltd were set to fall 3.4 percent on Monday after Air Products and Chemicals Inc said it would drop a proposed $1.5 billion bid for China's largest producer of industrial gases. The announcement by the U.S. industrial gas maker on Friday leaves the door open for a competing offer from Hong Kong-based private equity firm PAG. (Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Michael Perry)

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.
(Recasts with share price)

HONG KONG, March 27 (Reuters) - Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd shares jumped on Monday after the first Chinese property developer to default on its offshore bonds made its first financial report in 2-1/2 years.

Kaisa shares, which have been suspended from trading in Hong Kong since March 31, 2015, surged almost 70 percent in early trading to the highest since Dec 2014.

Total aggregate borrowings stood at 87.5 billion yuan ($12.7 billion) at the end-2016, with about 7.8 billion yuan of the total repayable within a year, Kaisa said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Sunday evening.

The Shenzhen-based company, which had total debt of $11 billion at the end of June 2014, failed to repay its creditors after some of its developments were blocked from sale by local authorities late that year, exposing the political risk and high leverage players face in the sector.

But Kaisa's business slowly recovered in the second half of 2015 after it proposed a debt restructuring, and it posted record-high contracted sales of 29.8 billion yuan ($4.33 billion) in 2016. That surpassed the pre-crisis level in 2013 when it reported sales of 23.9 billion yuan.

"The group actively facilitated the negotiation of its onshore debts and restructuring of its offshore debts to lift blockages and re-launch projects for sale in major cities to unleash sales momentum," the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Kaisa's loss for the year attributable to equity holders was 612.4 million yuan, down from 1.12 billion yuan in 2015.

Its net loss for the year, excluding gains on extinguishment of financial liabilities, changes in fair value of investment properties and financial derivatives, net of deferred tax increased to 4.16 billion yuan, a 2 percent rise from 2015.

Kaisa said revenue rose 62.6 percent to 17.8 billion yuan.

"It was nearly the number one in Shenzhen before the blockade, and Shenzhen home prices have risen a lot, so its cashflow could be able to cover much debt if its sales are okay," said CRIC Hong Kong head of research David Hong.

The company was not allowed to resume trading before reporting updated financial statements, according to stock exchange rules.

Kaisa, which owed $2.5 billion to offshore creditors, last March sweetened a debt-restructuring proposal that offered offshore investors higher coupons and amended payments contingent upon certain milestones. Although the total interest payable at the end of June is $99.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters data, there is no cash implication as it's all payment-in-kind in the first year.

The group plans to repay offshore debt from 2019, after addressing onshore debts in the 2017-19 period.

Kaisa bonds have been performing well on the back of recovering contract sales and a generally buoyant high-yield market.

But analysts have called into question how credible Kaisa's financial statements are, after Kaisa's restructuring advisor FTI Consulting questioned its pre-2014 accounting records.

According to a statement issued in December, FTI found that during the period 2012-2014, the developer had misclassified outstanding loan liabilities totalling 30.8 billion yuan and its former employees had attempted to obscure the existence of these 41 loan agreements involved through an elaborate scheme.

"Its balance sheet will need to be discounted," Hong said. ($1 = 6.8870 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Clare Jim and Umesh Desai; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Stephen Coates)
HANOI, March 27 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 6:08 GMT.

March 27 USD/VND mid-point 22,256 USD/VND interbank 22,765/22,785 USD/VND unofficial 22,765/22,780 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.48/36.70

Interbank offered rates Overnight 4.8-5.0

1 week 4.9-5.0

1 month 5.0-5.2

3 months 5.0-5.2

NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources.

One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co.

For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on .

For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom)
JOHANNESBURG, March 27 (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma's decision to call Pravin Gordhan back home from an investor roadshow in London marks a major setback for the economy, the Democratic Alliance opposition party said in a statement on Monday. The presidency earlier said Zuma had requested Gordhan and his deputy return immediately, without giving a reason. The rand fell by as much as 1.7 percent against the U.S. dollar, bonds tumbled and banking shares slid more than 2 percent on the news. (Reporting by Tiistesto Motsoeneng; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by James Macharia)

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.
* Deposits hit lowest level since October 2001

* Bank of Greece chief urges conclusion of bailout review

* Gap between loans and deposits forces further borrowing

(Adds central banker, background)

ATHENS, March 27 (Reuters) - Greek private sector bank deposits declined in February for the third month in a row, central bank data showed on Monday, as worries over the country's drawn out bailout review put them at their lowest level in nearly 16 years.

Business and household deposits fell to 119.07 billion euros ($129.35 billion), the lowest amount since October 2001, from 119.75 billion in January, when they decreased by 1.63 billion.

Bank of Greece Chief Yannis Stournaras urged the government to wrap up a bailout review that has dragged on for months to put an end to uncertainty that is unnerving investors.

"We already have the first negative impacts on the economy. If we want to attain the targets we must conclude (the review) as soon as possible," Stournaras told financial website capital.gr on Monday.

The Bank of Greece said there was an outflow of 637 million euros in household deposits in February and a 113 million euro drop in corporate deposits.

Greek banks have seen small deposit inflows after the country clinched a third bailout in the summer of 2015 to stay in the euro zone.

After that bailout, Athens eased capital restrictions following progress on bailout-mandated reforms which led to improved confidence in the banking system.

As part of the relaxation of controls, "mattress" cash returned to banks are not subject to the restrictions, meaning amounts deposited can be fully withdrawn.

For older deposits the 420 euro weekly limit on cash withdrawals remains in force.

But the gap between outstanding loans and deposits has forced private sector banks to rely on borrowing from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Greece to plug funding holes.

Greece's banking sector saw a 42 billion euro deposit outflow from December 2015 to July last year. Capital controls imposed in June 2015 helped contain the flight but sharply increased banks' dependence on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) from the Bank of Greece.

Last week the European Central Bank raised the cap on ELA Greek banks can draw from the domestic central bank by 400 million euros to 46.6 billion euros, as a result of deposit outflows. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Julia Glover)
* MSCI consultation process hints at compromise

* World's biggest IPO venue struggling with new listings

* Years away from implementing an identity trading system

(Adds details, quotes)

By Michelle Price

HONG KONG, March 27 (Reuters) - Hong Kong Stock Exchange CEO Charles Li said a new consultation process initiated by global index provider MSCI suggested a compromise or interim solution to a lengthy wrangle to get Mainland China shares included in its emerging markets index could be found.

"You don't really want to do that unless you've decided there is a greater likelihood of some kind of action," Li said on Monday at the annual Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong.

While MSCI did not include mainland shares in its widely tracked emerging markets index for the third year running in 2016, market watchers are slightly more optimistic about a favourable outcome this year. Li said he would consult market participants on whether or not to launch weighted voting rights which offer voting characteristics tailored to different classes of shares.

Li noted the Hong Kong exchange was years away from implementing a mainland-style "identity trading" system, in which the beneficial owner of shares traded on the exchange has to be known to or identifiable by the exchange, unlike the current system where investors can remain anonymous via nominee accounts held for them by others.

Hong Kong brokers currently only provide information on client activity only when requested by authorities.

In January, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd said the bourse was proposing to launch a new listing venue that would allow companies with different voting rights to go public in the city, in a bid to remain a global listings powerhouse. Hong Kong, which was the world's biggest IPO venue last year, has been struggling to attract new listings. Its previous efforts to allow companies which had shares with different voting rights on to its main exchanges failed to get support from regulators.

(Writing by Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Randy Fabi and Eric Meijer)
Stuff reports:

An international ratings agency has kept New Zealands credit status at the highest possible level.

Moodys Investors Service has affirmed the Governments triple-A issuer rating with a stable outlook and said it was in a strong fiscal position compared to other countries.

We expect New Zealands economy to be among the fastest growing Aaa-rated economies in coming years, it said.

Factors behind the rating included New Zealands economic resilience against overseas and domestic shocks, which remained very high, supported by strong growth.

The country was also praised for its proactive policies, a vigilant central bank and stable political system which meant it had effective tools to shoulder downside scenarios.

Moodys noted that strong population growth had bolstered the economys potential and that longer term, its growth could be higher than many other Aaa-rated countries.
As the NZ Defence Force and Hager/Stevenson have been giving their versions of what happened in Afghanistan, Ive been waiting for a media site to go through them and explain to those of us confused, what are the things they agree and disagree on.

The mainstream media have yet to produce such a thing, but Toby Manhire at The Spinoff has, which is very useful.

An extract:

Both sides AGREE that there may have been civilian casualties, but DISAGREE on both the scale and identities. While Hager and Stephenson have identified six dead, including a three-year-old girl, and 15 injured, Keating conceded only that civilian casualties may have occurred  but [were] not corroborated, based on a report into the raid by the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). This nevertheless represents a shift from the earlier NZDF position that reports of civilian casualties were unfounded, which Keating struggled to reconcile during the press conference. They DISAGREE on how any civilian casualties may have come about. If there were casualties, the fault of those casualties was a mechanical failure of a piece of equipment, said Keating. He said this happened when some rounds of fire from US Apache helicopters fell short, and so were called off. They DISAGREE on whether Taliban insurgents were killed in the raid. While the NZDF maintains that nine identified insurgents died as a result of the operation, Hager and Stephenson say that the insurgents, expecting a reprisal attack, had fled for the mountains, though returned later to funerals of civilians killed. Keating said they did not have a record of their names, but the NZDF has video footage which provides irrefutable evidence backing their account of events; it is classified but he would explore releasing it. There may be ambiguity around how the NZDF judged an individual to be an enemy combatant, and it is possible that some of those categorised by the NZDF as insurgents are the people categorised as civilians by sources in Hit and Run.

I wonder if this could explain some of it. Of course relatives are unlikely to say x was a pro-Taliban fighter. This would not explain the three year old, but might explain some of the difference.

It would be useful if the NZDF did release the video.

They DISAGREE on the second raid. Hit and Run describes a return to Naik about 10 days later, in which houses were destroyed by explosives, with an SAS member quoted saying it was to punish them. According to Keating there was a return to Tirgiran but it was many weeks later, unremarkable, and only one small explosive was used to access a building, not to destroy it.

Kudos to NZDF for replying in such detail, rather than just blandly saying the book is wrong. A point by point rebuttal is far more convincing.

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Actors Anthony Mackie, Chris Evans and Producer Kevin Feige of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR took part today in 'Worlds, Galaxies, and Universes: Live Action at The Walt Disney Studios' presentation. (Photo : Getty Images/Jesse Grant)

Fans of superhero films were all wounded when Hugh Jackman and Sir Patrick Stewart announced that "Logan" was their last outing as X-Men's Wolverine and Professor Charles Xavier. It appears, however, that other stars are also planning to retire as superheroes soon.



As the Marvel Cinematic Universe enters Phase 3, Iron Man and Captain America have completed their solo trilogies, while Thor will wrap up his this year. The core Avengers team will then star in two more movies, and what happens after that remains uncertain. For Chris Evans, however, hanging up the shield seems likely.



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In the cover story for Esquire, Evans revealed that his contract with Marvel is only for a six-picture deal, which means he can tap out after that. So far, he has done three "Captain America" movies and two "Avengers" movies. He is confirmed to star in the next two "Avengers" films, which means "Avengers 4" could be his last rodeo as Captain America.



This is not the first time Evans spoke about eventually leaving the franchise. In a 2014 interview, the 35-year-old star said he thinks he'll be done by 2017. The actor said he wants to pursue other things like directing and taking on acting roles other than playing a superhero in a massive movie franchise.



Naturally, Evans' statement caused panic among fans. Many could not imagine anyone else playing Captain America as flawlessly as he does. Moreover, the MCU is still quite young, compared to the "X-Men" universe that started in 2000.



However, Evans clarified that he's not completely shutting his doors after "Avengers 4" wraps. He's totally game to return as Captain America in future movies as long as Marvel wants him to.



"I love the character. The only reason it would end is 'cause my contract is up. After Avengers 4, my contract is done. Talk to Marvel. If we engage further, I'd be open to it," Evans told Collider. The odds seem good for Evans, especially since he has good rapport with Marvel and his "Captain America" movies are the most bankable for the studio.



Meanwhile, the third and fourth "Avengers" films are currently filming simultaneously.






Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low around 40F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low around 40F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph.
Premier Li Keqiang and Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull (Photo : Getty Images)

Feng Chongyi, a vocal critic of the Chinese government, was barred from leaving China. He has been an associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney.



He was detained during the visit of Premier Li Keqiang to Australia. There are no formal changes given to the professor.



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The professor was in Guangzhou and was repeatedly questioned by national security officers of his purpose of stay and meeting with some people while in China. He is accompanied by a lawyer, Chen Jinxue.



Chen said that Feng has "been told he's suspected of involvement in a threat to national security."



"His movements inside China aren't officially restricted, but national security authorities have questioned him a number of times about who he's met and that kind of thing," he added.



The lawyer said that Feng is requested to stay in China for a couple of days so that he can answer queries from the security officers.



Aside from the professor's vocal criticism of the Chinese government, he has been investigating the cases of human rights violations on lawyers that have been jailed. Chen believes that this is why Chinese authorities want to interrogate Feng.



The Australian foreign ministry said that they cannot interfere with Feng's case as he is not an Australian citizen. Feng is only a permanent resident of Australia.



The ministry responded to queries via email and wrote, "The Australian Government is aware that a U.T.S. professor, who is an Australian permanent resident, has been prevented from leaving China."



The ministry added, "the Australian government is able to provide consular assistance only to Australian citizens who have entered China on their Australian passport."



Supporters of Feng from the academic community believe that the professor has not violated any law.



"We are urging the Australian government to intervene," said John Hu, a spokesman in Sydney for the Embracing Australian Values Alliance.



Hu added, "Feng has not breached the Chinese law--his doings were not even under China's jurisdiction, and the Chinese government has no right to persecute him."


The programme will provide loans for energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy investments by private companies through a group of participating banks, with the aim of also achieving energy security

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), along with Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Union (EU), has launched a 140 million ($151.22 million) programme to promote green investments in Egypt, the EBRD announced.

In an emailed press statement Tuesday, the bank said that the launched programme, titled Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF), will support "projects to boost energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy sources in the country at a time of rising energy prices."

In 2014, Egypt started a plan to introduce a number of fiscal reforms, including fuel subsidy cuts and the imposition of new taxes, to ease a growing budget deficit, currently estimated at 12.2 percent of GDP. As part of these reforms, the Egyptian pound was floated in November.

The new programme will provide loans for energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy investments by private companies through a group of participating banks, with the aim of also achieving energy security.

The loans are combined with technical support to develop projects and with incentives for the successful completion of investments, aimed at promoting energy-efficient and renewable energy technology, raising awareness, reducing operating costs and improving competitiveness.

The EU is contributing a grant of 23.8 million. The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) in Egypt and the Qatar National Bank (QNB) Al-Ahli in Egypt are the first banks to participate in the new facility.

Christophe Lucet, head of the European Investment Bank, Egypt, said: During the launch event, real-life investment examples were presented, demonstrating how high-performance technologies can help companies stay competitive during times of increasing energy costs.

In one example, an investment in a new glass furnace reduced natural gas consumption by 65 per cent and in another example waste heat is used to generate 25 per cent of the electricity needs of a large industrial company, Lucet said.

The GEFF is the latest in a series of similar programmes led by the EBRD. They have been rolled out so far in 24 countries in cooperation with 120 local financial partners, providing over 4 billion towards energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD and has been receiving funding since 2012.

The bank has invested 2.3 billion in 43 projects in the most populous Arab country, while the current portfolio of projects is about 1,928 million, according to the EBRD website.

The EBRDs areas of investment include the financial sector, agribusiness, manufacturing and services, as well as infrastructure projects such as power, municipal water and wastewater services and support for transport services such as the metro lines. The EBRD has also provided technical assistance support to more than 500 small and medium-sized local enterprises.

*The exchange rate of 1 Euro is equivalent to 1.08 US dollars, while the exange rate of 1 euro is equivalant to 19.65 Egyptian pounds.

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By Nam Hyun-woo



Global audit and consulting services provider Deloitte will maintain its 15-year partnership with Anjin, a domestic accounting firm that was penalized by Korea's financial authorities over the accounting fraud of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).



An Anjin official said that Alan Glen, leader of Deloitte Audit & Risk Asia Pacific, held a town hall meeting at the accounting firm's office in Seoul on Monday to reconfirm Deloitte's commitment to Anjin. Panos Kakoullis, leader of Deloitte Global Audit & Assurance, also joined the meeting by conference call.



Deloitte Global said it will enhance its partnership with Anjin down the road so that they can provide the highest degree of professional services in the Korean marekt.



Deloitte Global is the global head office otherwise called Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.



The remarks followed speculations that Deloitte may sever its longstanding partnership with Anjin after the Financial Services Commission (FSC) last week banned the company from providing auditing services to new customers as punishment for the DSME's accounting fraud in 2013 and 2014. Back then, Anjin was the auditor of the embattled DSME shipyard.



"We are very disappointed with this decision (of the financial regulator on Anjin). Our focus now is on our people and our clients, and continuing to ensure they receive the highest degree of professional service," Anjin said. "We will continue to improve our audit quality with Deloitte Global continuing to support Anjin as it serves the Korean market."



However, there have been disputes whether Anjin is responsible for the accounting fraud. According to the Anjin official, Deloitte Global expressed its stance that it "believes that Anjin did the right thing and has trust in Anjin's practices."



Following the measure, Anjin is expected to suffer damages. It conducts audits for more than 1,100 companies a year and up to 150 companies would have to leave Anjin under the FSC's punitive measure. The number is feared to rise in case others follow suit.



However, another Anjin official said a vast majority of their clients would stick with the accounting firm.



"Recently, we had talks with our clients and most of them said they are willing to work with us," the official said.



With Deloitte and clients expressing their commitment to Anjin, market observers estimate that the current hegemony of the "big four" accounting firms in the Korean market will likely continue  involving Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, Samjong KPMG and EY Han Young, on top of Deloitte Anjin.




By Yoon Ja-young



Foreign companies operating in Korea are supposed to send part of their earnings here to their headquarters in the form of dividends and royalties.



However, if they send too much compared to what they earn here, tax specialists say they may be doing so to avoid paying taxes.



In a filing with the Financial Supervisory Service, Adidas Korea reported 5.4 trillion won in sales during the 10-year-period between 2006 and 2015 here. Its annual sales grew more than three times over that time.



Most of its earnings, however, were sent to its headquarters in Germany. Adidas Korea sends 14 percent of its total sales in royalties _ 10 percent for using the brand and 4 percent as expenses for global marketing.



Out of the 5.4 trillion won in sales, 693.5 billion won was paid as royalties. It also sent 450 billion won to its headquarters as dividends during the 10-year period, which is around 80 percent of its net profit.



Philip Morris Korea also reported 5.2 trillion won in sales during the period between 2006 and 2015, posting 1.2 trillion won in net profit.



The tobacco company sent 1.4 trillion won as dividends to its headquarters, on top of 440 billion won in royalties. It paid between 6 and 12 percent of total sales as royalties.



Analysts said foreign companies may be paying huge royalties to their headquarters to avoid taxes.



"Royalties payments are expenses for the companies operating here. Huge royalties payments mean less earnings, which will decrease taxes," said Lim Dong-won, a senior researcher at the Korea Economic Research Institute. Hence, companies levying high royalties for their brands end up paying less corporate tax, while those levying low royalties pay more corporate tax. Since the headquarters own the rights over royalties, the subsidiaries operating here can transfer their huge earnings without paying taxes. Lim also explained that businesses can avoid taxes by setting up a subsidiary in a tax haven or countries with lower tax rates, and let the subsidiary collect royalties from operations elsewhere.



Analysts point out that the loophole in royalties may prompt businesses only to increase their payment of them, thereby avoiding corporate taxes they should pay. Many companies have in fact been raising the ratio of royalties paid from total sales. Adidas Korea, for instance, paid 4 percent of its total sales as royalties in 1997, but it has been raising the ratio continuously.



UNIQLO's royalties to its headquarters recorded 24.8 billion won in 2015, up 100 times from 2006. Royalties increased much steeper than sales, which jumped 34-fold to 1.18 trillion won in 2015 from 34 billion won in 2006.



Starbucks also saw its royalties payments jump to 50 billion won from 5.4 billion won in 2006.



While sending much of the money earned here as dividends or royalties, many foreign companies, however, are reluctant in giving back to the community here.



Starbucks' donation stood at around 0.15 percent of its total sales in 2015. Adidas Korea and Philip Morris had the ratio hover below 0.1 percent of total sales. UNIQLO made no donations at all in 2015 though it marked over 1 trillion won in total sales here.



Facing criticism that they are using tax loopholes while avoiding contribution to the community, foreign companies are increasingly switching to becoming limited companies.



"Limited companies have no obligation of filing their financial information. They can also save taxes," Lim said. Louis Vuitton Korea, Gucci Korea, Apple Korea and Microsoft switched to limited companies while Chanel Korea, Hermes Korea, Prada Korea, Google Korea and Facebook Korea all started as limited companies when they advanced into the country.




A US senator has introduced a resolution calling for an investigation into North Korea's possible involvement in the unexplained disappearance of an American citizen from China more than a decade ago.



Sen Mike Lee (R-UT) proposed the bipartisan resolution last week renewing concerns about the 2004 disappearance of David Sneddon, noting that the communist North has a track record of kidnapping foreigners to train spies in languages and culture.



Seven senators co-sponsored the resolution, including Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Cory Gardner (R-CO).



Sneddon, then a college student from Utah, disappeared in China in 2004. Media reports last year alleged that he is living in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang after being kidnapped to teach English to current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.



"The Senate encourages the Department of State and the intelligence community to work with foreign governments known to have diplomatic influence with the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to better investigate the possibility of the involvement of the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in David Sneddon's disappearance and to possibly seek his recovery," the resolution said.



The State Department has said there is "no verifiable evidence" Sneddon was kidnapped by the North.



North Korea has a record of kidnapping foreign nationals.



In 2002, then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il admitted that 13 Japanese citizens were kidnapped to the North in the 1970s and 1980s to train communist spies in the Japanese language and culture. He then allowed five of them to return to Japan, saying that the eight others were dead. (Yonhap)




North Korea on Monday condemned South Korea's unification ministry for the strained inter-Korean ties and confrontation between the two Koreas, saying that it should be disbanded.



A spokesman at the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea issued a statement claiming that the ministry handling inter-Korean affairs cannot avoid its responsibility for the frayed relations between the two Koreas.



"The Unification Ministry should be disorganized under any circumstances as it is opposed to reunification and it is staffed with lazybones," read the statement by the North Korean agency handling inter-Korean affairs in English.



"The bankrupt policy of confrontation be scrapped unconditionally," it added.



North Korea said that the ministry implemented ousted President Park Geun-hye's vicious policy of confrontation with the North.



Former President Park's key inter-Korean policy is called the Korean Peninsula Trust-Building Process, which calls for building mutual trust to pave the way for unification.



But since North Korea's two nuclear tests and numerous missile launches in 2016, South Korea has been focusing on applying pressure and sanctions on the North. The government did not officially ditch Park's signature policy.



In February last year, Seoul shut down a joint industrial complex in North Korea's border city of Kaesong in response to Pyongyang's provocations.



"South Koreans will have to send the group of traitors of the ministry along with Park to the cemetery of history," the statement added. (Yonhap)




Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kang Eun-hee, center, poses with children of multiracial families who took part in a vocational experience program offered at nationwide support centers, last November. Courtesy of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family

By Kim Bo-eun



The number of children of multiracial families is growing as Korea becomes increasingly racially diverse. Data shows the number of children of multiracial families up to the age of 18 jumped from around 25,000 in 2006 to over 200,000 in 2015.

The government made its first policies for multiracial families a decade ago, when the children were mostly young. Government support was aimed at assisting both children born here and those who come here with parents after growing up abroad. As these children face prejudice due to their different appearance that makes it difficult to adapt to school life, the programs were focused on early stages of adjustment.

The children have now grown to the age where they are entering universities and looking for jobs, but their struggles continue, with a high dropout rate as they have trouble keeping up with their schoolwork.

According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, only 53.3 percent of multiracial youths go on to receive higher education, compared to 70.9 percent of the total population.

Ministry data shows 18 percent of multiracial youngsters between the ages of 15 and 24 fall in the NEET group, which refers to a young person "not in education, employment or training."

In particular, 32.9 percent of the children who come here after growing up abroad are in the NEET group, which signals they are in need of job training.

To address this need, the gender ministry started providing programs at ministry-affiliated multiracial family support centers across the country last year.

Career development based on aptitude tests, vocational experience and career planning is part of the comprehensive programs offered at the centers.

Others range from extracurricular activities such as volunteer work and leadership camps to sessions aimed at improving parent-children relationships through counseling, classes and camps, as well as psychological counseling for children in need.

Yoo Yun-seon, 13, who was born to a Korean father and Chinese mother, attended a multiracial family support center in Daejeon throughout her elementary school years.

"I enjoy cooking and handicrafts, and my dream was to become a patissier," she said.

"But through the vocational experience programs at the center, I decided I can teach these activities as a social welfare worker to multiracial young people like myself."

The ministry has increased the number of centers nationwide offering this program to 107, from 81 last year.

"The program is aimed at helping children of multiracial families discover their talents and aptitudes, set their career paths and develop their skills accordingly," said Yun Kang-mo, director at the ministry's multiracial family policy division. "We will make sure more children can take part in the program."
By Jun Ji-hye



Vice Defense Minister Hwang In-moo will visit Egypt and Angola this week to discuss strengthening defense cooperation with the countries, the defense ministry said Monday.



This is part of Seoul's efforts to isolate Pyongyang further in line with tougher sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).



Hwang will meet with Egyptian Defense Minister Sedki Sobhy Tuesday and sign a memorandum of understanding on institutional strategy for defense cooperation which will include increasing high-level exchanges and expanding defense industry cooperation.



The visit followed Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam's trip to Egypt over the weekend during which Lim sought the African country's cooperation on security issues as it is currently a non-permanent member of the UNSC.



Egypt was previously friendly with the North, but the Egyptian foreign ministry issued a statement criticizing the reclusive state after its fifth nuclear test last September.



On Friday, Hwang will visit Angola and meet with its Defense Minister Joao Lourenco and other ranking military officials to reaffirm the two countries' military cooperation, the ministry added.



The vice defense minister plans to appeal for Angola, a traditional ally of North Korea, to maintain its cooperation with international pressure against Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development.



Last December, Defense Minister Han Min-koo held a defense ministerial meeting with Minister Lourenco in Seoul for the first time since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992.



"Hwang's visits to Egypt and Angola will be a chance for the nation to enhance substantial defense cooperation further with African countries," the ministry said in a release.



Hwang visited Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya last May to seek such cooperation, the ministry added.



Last year alone, Pyongyang carried out two nuclear tests and launched more than 20 ballistic missiles in defiance of the concerted warnings from the international community.



North Korea again fired four ballistic missiles March 6, 22 days after firing a new intermediate-range ballistic missile. The latest launch conducted on March 22 ended in failure as the missile exploded in mid-air shortly after liftoff.



According to 38 North, a U.S.-based North Korea monitoring website, another indication that Pyongyang may be preparing for its sixth nuclear test has also been detected as satellite imagery showed several vehicles or trailers at the entrance to the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.



The ministry noted that the North is capable of pushing for its sixth nuclear test at any time once its leadership decides to do so.








The following is a chronology of major events leading to the prosecution's decision Monday to seek an arrest warrant for former President Park Geun-hye on charges of corruption. (Yonhap)



2016



Oct. 24: Cable TV network JTBC unveils a tablet PC presumed to be used by Choi and reports allegations of her receiving and editing drafts of presidential speeches.



Oct. 25: Park apologizes over leak of presidential speeches to Choi.



Oct. 27: State prosecution establishes a special task force to investigate allegations surrounding Park and Choi.



Oct. 29: Liberal civic groups hold first anti-Park candlelight rally. Prosecutors attempt to raid the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, but are denied entry.



Oct. 30: Park accepts the resignations of her secretaries Woo Byung-woo, An Chong-bum, Lee Jae-man, Jeong Ho-seong and Ahn Bong-geun. Choi returns to South Korea from Europe.



Oct. 31: Choi is put into emergency detention after hours of questioning by prosecutors.



Nov. 3: Choi is formally arrested by prosecutors.



Nov. 4: Park delivers a second national address, says she will accept investigation into the scandal.



Nov. 6: Ex-presidential secretaries An and Jeong are formally arrested. Former senior presidential aide Woo undergoes questioning.



Nov. 8: Prosecutors raid offices of Samsung Electronics Co.



Nov. 14: The National Assembly passes a bill for an independent counsel to investigate the scandal.



Nov. 20: Choi is indicted along with Park's former aides An and Jeong. Prosecutors name Park as a criminal suspect claiming she colluded with them.



Nov. 29: Park delivers third national address, calls on parliament to determine her fate as president.



Nov. 30: Prosecutor-turned-lawyer Park Young-soo is appointed independent counsel.



Dec. 6: The National Assembly questions business tycoons over scandal in first parliamentary hearing on it.



Dec. 9: The National Assembly passes an impeachment motion against Park by the overwhelming majority of 234-56. Park is accused of letting Choi meddle in state affairs and colluding with her to extort millions of dollars from local conglomerates, including Samsung Group. The impeachment resolution is sent to the Constitutional Court for review.



Dec. 11: Justice Kang Il-won is designated as the lead justice for the impeachment trial.



Dec. 14: The Constitutional Court decides to begin proceedings in the impeachment trial.



Dec. 15: The court requests the submission of investigation records from state prosecutors and an independent counsel on the corruption scandal that led to Park's impeachment.





Park Geun-hye desperate to avoid arrest Who is the judge that will decide Park's fate? Prosecution seeks arrest warrant for Park Geun-hye Dec. 16: Park submits a written statement at the court's request to deny all of the charges against her.



Dec. 21: Independent Counsel Park launches investigation.



Dec. 31: Former head of state pension fund Moon Hyung-pyo is formally arrested.



Dec. 22: The court holds its first preparatory hearing in the impeachment trial.



2017



Jan. 1: Park meets with the presidential office press corps during which she denies her charges.



Jan. 3: The court holds its first formal hearing in the impeachment trial in Park's absence.



Jan. 9: Parliamentary committee on the influence-peddling scandal holds its final hearing.



Jan. 16: Choi appears at the fifth hearing of the trial after being summoned a second time. She denies any wrongdoing.



Jan. 21: Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun and ex-presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon are arrested over allegations of creating and managing a blacklist of artists critical of the government. Cho resigns from the post.



Jan. 25: Outgoing Chief Justice Park Han-chul says the court should deliver its ruling by March 13, when another justice is set to retire upon completing her term. Park again rebuts her charges in an interview with a conservative online media outlet.



Jan. 31: Chief Justice Park Han-chul retires after completing his term, reducing the number of justices to eight.



Feb. 2: Special prosecutors attempt to raid the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, but are denied entry again.



Feb. 7: Ex-Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun and former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon are indicted over the artist blacklist.



Feb. 16: Acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi announces that the final hearing will be held on Feb. 24.



Feb. 17: Samsung's de facto leader Lee is arrested on multiple corruption charges, including bribery and embezzlement.



Feb. 22: The court postpones the final hearing to Feb. 27 after Park's lawyers request it be delayed to early March. Park's lawyers petition for the removal of Justice Kang Il-won, claiming he is biased toward parliament. The court dismisses the request.



Feb. 27: The court holds the final hearing of the trial. Park is absent but makes her final argument in a statement. She pleads innocent. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn refuses to extend the investigation period.



Feb. 28: Park Young-soo's team wraps up its investigation, indicting 17 more suspects including Samsung's Lee Jae-yong. A total of 30 suspects have been indicted since the launch of the independent investigation.



March 6: Independent Counsel Park announces the results of an investigation into the scandal. President Park is named an accomplice of Choi in taking bribes from Samsung in exchange for business favors.



March 8: The court announces it will deliver its ruling at 11 a.m. on March 10.



March 10: The court's eight justices unanimously uphold Park's impeachment, removing her from office.



March 21: Park undergoes interrogation by prosecutors.



March 27: Prosecutors seek arrest warrant for Park.




The first delivery is expected to arrive in Egyptian ports at the beginning of May

Russia's top oil producer Rosneft has agreed with the Egyptian gas company (EGAS) to provide Egypt with 10 shipments of liquefied natural gas this year, Al-Ahram daily reported on Wednesday, citing an anonymous source at the petroleum ministry.

The deal comes as "part of the ministry's plans for imports from a number of global suppliers, to satisfy the growing demand for the product during the summer period," the source said.

The first delivery from the Moscow-based company is expected to arrive in Egyptian ports at the beginning of May, according to the report.

Last month, the Egyptian oil minister signed a $1 billion contract with three international companies, including Rosneft, to import 45 shipments of LNG.

The shipments will range between 138,000 and 156,000 cubic metres, and Egypt will have a grace period of six months to pay for them, minister Tarek El-Molla said.

Egypt was once an energy exporter but the country has in recent years become a net importer because of declining oil and gas production and growing consumption.

Last year, Rosneft supplied four liquefied natural gas cargoes to the Egypt, according to the Russian state-run Tass news service.

In June 2016, EGAS told Reuters that Egypt aims to import between 110 and 120 shipments of liquefied natural gas in 2017.

In December, Rosneft bought a 30 percent stake in the giant Egyptian gas discovery, the Shorouk concession, by Italian producer Eni.

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Taejon Christian International School was scammed out of $5.5 million in 2011. / Screen capture of TCIS homepage



By Lee Han-soo

A Manhattan Federal Court has found a scammer guilty of defrauding a Korean international school out of millions of dollars, according to U.S. magazine Newsweek on Mar. 22.

William Cosme, claiming to manage more than $11 billion, emailed Taejon Christian International School (TCIS) in 2011 agreeing to invest the school's $5.5 million and to lend the school $55 million to relocate. He also promised to put the school in touch with his "royal" clients.

But after receiving the money, Cosme did not introduce anyone.

Instead, he went on a gambling spree in Las Vegas and bought numerous cars including a $314,000 Lamborghini Gallardo. He spent about $2 million of the school's money before being arrested in 2012.

"He claimed he would generate 25 percent annual returns for 10 years. That's not true. He has no investing track record," said Daniel Levy, the assistant U.S. attorney in charge of the case.

"So he committed fraud in order to get the school to give him this money. When the school wanted a progress report on how he was investing the money, he sent a false bank statement showing he had $12.5 million."

The jury found Cosme guilty of wire fraud charges, punishable by up to 20 years' jail.
By Kim Se-jeong





Seoul Global Startup Center poster

Foreign residents looking to start businesses here can get a helping hand from the Seoul city government.

According to the city government, the Seoul Global Startup Center is now open for new applications.

Thirty winners will receive free space for up to two years at the center located in Yongsan-gu, as well as financial support of up to 20 million won. The center's staff will help the startups with administration, as well as running mentor programs for each of the 30 companies. Those services will be available in English and Chinese.

Applications are open to any foreign individual or team with at least one foreign national. Applicants do not need to have companies established at the time of applying, and for companies, they should be no older than three years.

"This is the most comprehensive consulting service for entrepreneurs who are from outside of Korea," the city said in a statement. "We have leveled the playing field and this will encourage foreigners to apply for it."

The city's support for foreign startups took off with the center which opened last year in Yongsan. The support is in line with the city's long-term strategy to make the city an attractive destination for brilliant people from outside Korea. Job creation in the city is another goal of the city.

Less than a year old, the city's support center helped a couple of businesses settle.

Rezi provides translation services for jobseekers who are looking for jobs abroad and need to translate resumes into English. Globs is a company that links students who wish to study abroad to foreign school graduates.

In addition to providing startups administrative support, the city also encourages people with great ideas to start a business. It organizes a contest for business ideas and offers winners financial and other necessary support.

Since its opening last August, the Seoul Global Startup Center has nurtured 35 teams so far.

The application deadline is April 14. Visit seoulgsc.com for more information. The center will host an introductory session about the program on April 3.
Presidential contenders of the Democratic Party of Korea wave during a party convention at the Kwangju Women's University Universiade Gymnasium, Monday. From left are South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung, former party leader Moon Jae-in, Goyang Mayor Choi Sung and Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung. / Yonhap



By Kim Rahn

Campaigners for leading presidential contender Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are nervous about North Korea's possible provocations ahead of the May 9 presidential election.

With Pyongyang showing signs of preparing another nuclear test, conservative hopefuls are increasingly taking issue with the liberal frontrunner's past remarks about the North and by extension the United States, raising questions on his views on national security.

Any fresh North Korean provocation that heightens tension on the Korean Peninsula is the last thing the Moon camp needs.

Wary of this, Rep. Park Kwang-on, one of his key campaigners, said Sunday any provocations by the North would not be tolerated.

"We will punish the North's reckless provocations sternly, without hesitation," he said in a statement Sunday.

In another statement Saturday, he also warned North Korea not to take "foolish action" which would jeopardize itself.

North Korea has been a major factor affecting elections here. This is partly because conservatives have used tensions with the North as leverage to attack liberals ahead of key elections. Although the impact is weaker than it used to be during the Cold War era, it still haunts liberal presidential contenders who are less hawkish toward the North than conservatives.

"If North Korea carries out the test, it will be like the crossing of the Rubicon. It will make the two Koreas unable to hold talks for a long time. With unmanageable sanctions and pressure, the North Korean regime's future will become unpredictable," Park said.












By Yi Whan-woo



A byelection candidate who claims to be keeping one of the two remaining copies of a 15th-century book detailing how the Korean alphabet, or Hunminjeongeum, was created, has reported it as his personal property to the National Election Commission (NEC).



Bae Ik-ki, who is running in an April byelection in North Gyeongsang Province as an independent candidate, reported to the NEC that his wealth is over 1 trillion won, considering the value of the treasure. However, the NEC rejected Bae's claim, saying it could not confirm whether he owns the historic document.



Copies of the Haerye Edition of Hunminjeongeum were published three years after Sejong the Great completed developing hangul with his scholars in 1443. The text is a commentary manuscript explaining the invention of the Korean script.



Bae was embroiled in a legal dispute over the rights for the manuscript after it was revealed in July 2008.



It was believed to have been destroyed during a blaze in March 2015 while Bae kepts it at his home.



He has been unclear about its existence since then. He once claimed it was lost forever, but later proposed to donate it to the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) in return for 100 billion won.



According to the NEC, Bae reported his net wealth as over 1 trillion won, Friday, the registration deadline for candidates.



This amount included the value of the missing manuscript, which the CHA assessed as worth 1 trillion won. The CHA has been demanding its ownership of the missing script as well.



"We asked Bae to deduct 1 trillion won from his net wealth and re-report the amount accordingly," an NEC official said. "There is no way for us to confirm whether he actually owns the disputed treasure or not."



Bae, also a rare book collector, was the first to reveal the manuscript before the public in July 2008 after he purportedly obtained it around his home in Sangju.



He was then sued by antique collector Cho Young-hoon, who claimed Bae stole the book from his store days before he disclosed it to the public.



In May 2011, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Cho and asked Bae to return the book to him. But Bae refused to do so, claiming he no longer had it.



The prosecution looked into the case separately and pressed theft charges against him in July 2011. It said the manuscript originally belonged to a Buddhist temple in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, but was stolen in 1999 and was sold to Bae.



Bae was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a district court in February 2012 but the high court in September 2012 and the Supreme Court in May 2014 ruled he was not guilty.



The CHA has been claiming its ownership over the missing book as well after Cho, who died in 2012, won the trial against Bae in May 2011 and promised to donate it to the government.



The other remaining copy was discovered in 1940, named as a national treasure in 1962, inscribed on UNSCO's Memory of the World Register in 1997 and is preserved at the Kangsong Art Museum in Seoul.




By Jane Han



DALLAS  As South Korea gears up for an unprecedented presidential election in May, the number of overseas voters who have long been considered a passive bloc is expected to reach a record high.



More than 23,000 voters have registered on the first day of registration, a seven-fold jump compared to the first day figure during the most recent presidential election, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).



Kim Mi-ae, 41, who lives in Dallas, is one of many who took action as soon as registration began.



''There was no reason to wait,'' she said. ''Ultimately, the opportunity to vote for a new leader is what we've been fighting for over the past couple months.''



Stella Kim, 38, a mother of two in Los Angeles, who has been a local activist for victims of the Sewol ferry disaster that happened in April 2014, called registering to vote in the upcoming presidential election a ''hard-earned crucial step toward transformation.''



''We earned this together,'' she said. ''Anyone who has any love for their mother country must vote. There should be no excuses after seeing how our nation has been flipped upside down over the past six months.''



This type of highly charged political sentiment is the main driver behind the spike in overseas voter interest.



''The impeachment process has shaken Korean society here in the U.S.,'' Kim Dong-suk, founder and chairman of the New York-based Korean American Civic Empowerment (KACE). ''Interest in Korean politics has intensified even for those who didn't care much about it in the past. This rise in attention is naturally leading to a higher participation in voting.''



Kim, however, added that such ''emotional interest'' needs to consistently carry through among a majority of potential voters in order to see strong numbers at the polls.



Consul General Baik Joo-hyeon of Houston is optimistic that the turnout will be the highest in history.



''The level of interest is extraordinary and this is evident in the registration so far,'' Baik said.



As of Mar. 21, nearly 120,000 expatriate voters worldwide have registered with the number continuing to go up. The current figure already makes up more than 50 percent of the voter turnout in the last presidential election in 2012.



Baik, who currently oversees five states  Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma  says a significantly shorter registration period is the only different variable that may cut short the voter turnout.



Overseas voters typically get 90 days to register, but only 20 days for the election scheduled for May 9.



''Koreans both at home and overseas share the same nature of hope and expectation from politics,'' Baik said, adding that residents specifically in the U.S., who make up the biggest chunk of expatriate voters among 116 countries, will likely seek a policy that favors strong political and economic bilateral relations between the U.S. and Korea.




Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) responds to a cheering crowd at the Universiade Stadium in Kwangju Women's University in Gwangju, Monday, after winning the party's first primary in the Jeolla region for the presidential election. From left are Goyang City Mayor Choi Sung, Moon, Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung and South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung. / Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun



By Choi Ha-young

GWANGJU  Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) scored a landslide victory in the party's first primary in the Jeolla region, paving his way to become the nominee of the largest parliamentary party, Monday.

The leading contender gained 60.2 percent in the liberals' traditional stronghold, followed by South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung with 20 percent, and Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung with 19.4 percent, according to poll results released at 6:50 p.m.

The results from the region, the biggest liberal support base that includes Gwangju, and the South and North Jeolla provinces are considered a barometer for the party's entire primary. Moon's overwhelming victory there raises his chances of winning the party's ticket for the presidential election slated for May 9; possibly without a run-off race.

"Thanks to Jeolla voters who gave me a landslide victory," Moon told reporters. "I'll firmly achieve a change in political power, in line with our supporters' wishes."

Moon's lead was overwhelming in all polls  65.2 percent in on-site votes; 59.9 percent in telephone voting; and 75 percent in DPK representatives' votes.

Both An and Lee were looking for unexpected victories in the area, which ex-President Roh Moo-hyun achieved in 2002 with less than support of 10 percent nationwide.

Moon's victory in the first regional primary could be the result of a strategic choice by Jeolla residents  voting for the person with the highest possibility of election. Many Gwangju residents supported Moon, even though they favored other minor candidates.

"I personally back An. Many people around me are not a fan of Moon, but they are likely to vote for him because his poll numbers are over 40 percent," college student Lee So-hee, 23, told The Korea Times.












By Simplice A. Asongu



YAOUNDE  Opponents of immigration into the EU typically make one or more of four arguments: immigrants are weakening Christian values, undermining liberal democratic institutions, bringing terrorism, and burdening public budgets. If these claims were true, the EU would be justified  if not obliged  to close its borders. In fact, none of them withstands scrutiny.



Begin with the loss of Christian cultural values, which has lately received a lot of attention in scholarly, political, and policy circles. Immigration opponents often point to the precipitous drop in the share of Europe's population that identifies as Christian  from 66.3% in the early twentieth century to 25.9% in 2010  which they blame partly on the combination of high immigration from Muslim-majority countries and declining birth rates among native Europeans.



But anti-immigration groups have offered no significant empirical evidence to support this claim. In fact, when one actually looks at the data, the holes in their argument quickly become apparent.



For starters, the decline in the share of Christians in Europe does not correlate with an equivalent rise in the share of Muslims. According to Pew Research, the Muslim share of Europe's population has been growing at a rate of about one percentage point per decade, from 4% in 1990 to 6% in 2010. In 2030, Muslims are projected to make up just 8% of Europe's population.



In any case, immigrants to Europe aren't all Muslim. Plenty of them, including from Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, are Christian. Add to that religious shifts among "native" Europeans, with many choosing not to attend church or identify as religious, and it seems clear that claims about immigrants diluting Christianity in Europe are not rooted in reality.



Of course, immigration opponents might argue that the threat to Europe is not so much a matter of official religion as of the values, cultivated in Europe's Christian societies, that underpin liberal democratic institutions. Citing retrograde cultural practices  from the subjugation of women to violence against religious and sexual minorities  in the autocratic and crisis-prone countries from which immigrants often hail, their opponents often argue that people from these cultures cannot assimilate properly in Europe. According to figures like France's Marine Le Pen, the Netherlands' Geert Wilders, and Belgium's Filip Dewinter, immigrants will bring their culture with them, thereby undermining European institutions. But, again, they offer no compelling evidence for this; nor do they differentiate among immigrant groups.



The truth is that some secular developing countries have their own democratic values and institutions, comparable to those in Europe; they may simply lack some of the economic opportunities Europe offers. Even immigrants who come from countries with autocratic governments and problematic cultural norms are, once in Europe, held to the same legal standard as Europeans. And they rarely run for any political office that would enable them to reshape European institutions.



Nonetheless, these immigrants, Europe's right-wing politicians declare, could still bring religious fundamentalism with them, threatening Europeans with the terrorism that is tearing apart their home countries. This, too, is a flawed argument, for it conflates Islam and Islamist terrorism.



In fact, a very low proportion of the Muslim population is sympathetic to radical Islamic fundamentalism. As of 2010, there were an estimated 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide; there are obviously far fewer Islamist terrorists.



Even more damning for the populists' argument is that individuals who were born and raised in the EU, not immigrants, have been largely responsible for recent terrorist attacks in Europe. And even they  often self-radicalized online  were not necessarily motivated by religion so much as by grievances over economic marginalization and stalled social mobility.



The final common argument against immigration to the EU is economic. Surveys show that a majority of Europeans believe that immigrants represent a heavy economic burden, owing to generous social-welfare schemes in many EU countries, and contribute little in return. And when immigrants aren't sponging off the taxpayers, they're suppressing their wages and taking their jobs.



So what is the truth? In the first few years after arrival, most immigrants do not pay taxes and depend on public services. But once immigrants have had a chance to settle into their new countries and acquire the relevant knowledge and training, they begin to contribute economically.



For Europe, where the population is aging fast, these contributions will prove critical. Indeed, in the longer term, today's immigrants will become a vital engine of growth and source of tax revenues needed to fund social-welfare entitlements. Europeans simply must be willing to incur the short-term costs of integrating and training these individuals.



When arguing to keep people  especially refugees who are fleeing violence and persecution  out of the EU, one should at least have a solid case. After all, closing the borders to those in need is an extreme response  and one that runs counter to the Christian and European values immigration opponents claim to be defending. Yet no anti-immigrant political leader or group has managed to produce credible evidence to support such a response. So who is the real threat to the European way of life?







Simplice A. Asongu is Lead Economist in the research department of the African Governance and Development Institute. Copyright belongs to Project Syndicate.




By Andrew Salmon





Seoul's Myeongdong is eerily quiet at present. I am not talking about the lack of Chinese tourism bustle in the department stores, I am talking about the lack of angry Korean shouts outside the Chinese embassy.

Across South Korea  a country which is hyper-sensitive to national slights, as witnessed by the endless anti-Japanese protests and massive anti-American protests  the lack of indignation is astonishing. Making this doubly odd is that this silence is resounding at a time when the populace is politically mobilized and emotionally bubbling.

How can we define Chinese pressure on Korea for its deployment of the THAAD missile-defense system? Punishment for a sovereign political decision made by Seoul. However, this punishment is not being administered via diplomacy: Economics has been linked to politics. Chinese tourist numbers are falling, and Korean investors are taking hits on Chinese soil.

These actions are deeply hypocritical, for Seoul offered Beijing the initiative on this issue. For the first half of her term, Park Geun-hye cozied up to Xi Jinping, hoping against hope that he would enact real sanctions against North Korea that would impact Pyongyang's strategic arms programs.

He never did. So Park turned to traditional ally Washington and green-lighted THAAD. As a result, Beijing has turned the blowtorch of its anger not upon Pyongyang, but upon Seoul.

Is THAAD of use to South Korea? Could it bring down North Korean ballistic missiles? Perhaps. And if those are nuclear tipped, that could save millions of lives.

The problem, of course, is that within the geographical confines of the peninsula, North Korea does not need a ballistic missile to deliver Armageddon to the South. They could place a nuclear warhead on a cruise missile. Or, more likely, pile fissile materials into a mini-submarine, which they can sail into Busan or Incheon harbor, or into a small truck, which they can drive through a tunnel under the DMZ and park in central Seoul.

However, the system has another use: as the forward element of a layered defense of the US mainland. The United States has saved Korea countless billions of dollars over decades with the presence of US Forces Korea. Now, is it not reasonable for South Korea to assist its ally with a defensive system?

Meanwhile, China shows it cannot be trusted. The obvious learning is for Korean businesses to start hedging investments and diversifying export destinations, so they are no longer reliant upon Beijing's goodwill.

Despite the above, and despite market research that suggests China's brand is fraying in Korean eyes, there are no protests. Why not? Imagine if Tokyo or Washington were acting as Beijing is: The roars would be thunderous. Perhaps, local emotion is not yet sufficiently stoked. Perhaps, this inaction is based on fear that Beijing will react more harshly than Washington or Tokyo. Or perhaps, liberals are unwilling to act for ideological reasons.

Regardless, my sense is that the next Seoul administration will kowtow before Beijing. That would be a mistake.

On the moral front, it would be surrendering to bullying. On the practical front, what would stop China using similar tactics in future disputes?

From the ancient historical perspective, it would indicate the return of a subservient, vassal-state stance toward "The Middle Kingdom." From a modern historical perspective, it would be rewarding the same government  indeed, the same party  that prevented the imminent unification of the peninsula when it intervened in the Korean War in October 1950.

On the geo-strategic front, it could eventually see the United States and Japan forging a closer alliance, with South Korea left on the outside  or even being sucked into Beijing's orbit.

Let us be clear about the implications of that. Does South Korea  a modern, liberal polity, belong on the same side of the table as one-party state China and its client state, despotic North Korea? For every political, diplomatic, strategic and  above all, ethical  reason, I would argue, "no."

At a time in which South Korea is being viewed as a beacon of democratic freedom and people-power action, for Seoul to shift in that direction would be supremely ironic.

Andrew Salmon is a Seoul-based reporter and author. Reach him at andrewcsalmon@yahoo.co.uk.
KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu speaks about the firm's fifth-generation network vision at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 27. Hwang started his second term as chairman of the nation's largest fixed-line operator, Friday.

/ Courtesy of KT



By Lee Min-hyung

KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu has started his second-term as chief of the nation's dominant fixed-line operator, raising expectations that the mobile carrier will further raise its global profile.

KT shareholders approved his second chairmanship Friday, recognizing his leadership in halting the firm's weakening profitability and draw up a specific long-term vision.

"I feel a strong sense of responsibility for shareholders who have trusted me to serve a second-term at one of the nation's leading telecom operators," Hwang said at the annual meeting. "KT will make all-out efforts to leap into becoming the global No. 1 mobile carrier."

This comes at a critical time for the KT chief, who had been in a state of uncertainty as the company was recently said to be involved in the political scandal surrounding former President Park Geun-hye and her long-time friend Choi Soon-sil who is now behind bars.

Late last year, KT executives were suspected of receiving preferential treatment from political figures linked to the scandal, which critics said would hold back the firm's plan to extend Hwang's leadership.

Despite the murky outlook, Hwang has been voted on to lead the company for three more years, in recognition of his vision to reduce heavy reliance on the telecom sector and shift focus to next-generation growth areas such as fifth-generation (5G) networks.

During his first term, the KT chief underlined the importance of transforming the firm into a platform giant by taking full advantage of its expertise in managing big data and telecom technology.

He recently said the firm's telecom unit will only account for 30 percent of sales by 2020, urging executives to push ahead with five new revenue areas  media, smart energy, security, intelligent traffic control and healthcare.

A KT spokesman said: "For the next three years, KT will focus on becoming a global platform company as well as the most-innovative telecom giant."

Hwang's three-year passion has served as the foundation for the firm to draw up such a grand vision, he said.

At this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC), Hwang stressed the growth potential of what he called the "intelligent network era," which will arrive in a couple of years when 5G is commercialized.

In an MWC keynote speech, he said: "5G will be the key driving force to change the world, as it opens the intelligent network era," adding that the next network standard will create infinite opportunities in emerging technology areas such as artificial intelligence, and virtual and augmented reality.
New CEO faces tough tasks ahead



By Yoon Sung-won





Cho Bum-coo, Cisco Korea president

Cisco Systems is accused of sidestepping tax codes in Korea and shifting tax burdens to its local distribution partners, according to industry sources Monday.



As far as business is concerned, the U.S.-based network equipment firm has enjoyed a dominant market status in Korea, including multiple conglomerates including Samsung, SK and KT as its clients.



When it comes to tax payments, however, it has been suspected of reducing them in dubious fashion  its local distribution partners purchase equipment directly from Cisco's head office in the U.S. or other global supply channels, not from Cisco Korea.



As a result, the small partners, not Cisco, suffer heavy burdens from corporate taxes and value-added taxes, the sources said.



"Cisco has highly depended on local partners in distributing its network equipment in the Korean market, connecting them directly to its global supply channels," an industry source familiar with the matter said.



"In the process, the company registers its sales to a branch in an overseas country with a low tax rate."



It is not rare for multinational network equipment companies to involve local distribution partners to reduce or avoid taxes. The industry source pointed out, however, Cisco has gone too far.



"Cisco has provided 100 percent of its telecom network equipment in the Korean market through local partners," the source said. "There are other vendors which occasionally make local distribution partners directly deal with their headquarters. But none of them resort to such practices as much as Cisco does."



In comparison, Cisco Korea directly deals with its clients in services such as warranty repairs. The Korean subsidiary's sales from the service provision are subject to taxation in Korea, the source said.



Cisco Korea confirmed this. "All our products are sold through (local) channels in Korea. Some of our services are directly provided to clients through domestic subsidiary, Cisco Service Korea," a Cisco Korea spokeswoman said.



Cisco stopped releasing earnings reports here after its local subsidiary became a limited liability company in 2013. This has resulted in further lack of Cisco Korea's transparency here as limited liability companies don't have to disclose their balance sheets or income statements for external audit.



In 2012, the latest year when data on its business performances are available, Cisco Korea posted only 82.8 billion won in sales. But it is estimated to generate over 500 billion won in sales in the Korean market considering its dominant market presence in the network equipment sector for telecom services and datacenters.



Critics said Cisco's tax avoidance here is not technically illegal but it takes advantage of loopholes to transfer its tax burden to Korean distributors, which would be hard for them to refuse.



Cisco Korea has argued that its policy does not breach any law in Korea because it is paying taxes as the corporate value estimated by the National Tax Service.



Tall tasks ahead



Besides the tax and transparency issues, Cisco Korea President Cho Bum-coo is expected to be challenged by aggravating market competition.



Cho, 55, returned to Cisco Korea last August to face the difficult tasks of restructuring the company's business and laying off employees. According to the source, about 50 to 60 tech support employees left Cisco Korea last October. Before the layoffs, its payrolls are estimated to have been somewhere between 300 and 350 although the company has not disclosed details.



"It is believed that Cho returned to Cisco with restructuring as one of his major missions," the source said.

The layoffs came after Cisco headquarters decided to fire up to 5,500 employees, which is about 7 percent of its global workforce.



Cisco has said the restructuring was made to optimize the cost base in lower growth areas of its portfolio and further invest in key priority areas.



"We expect to reinvest all of the cost savings from these actions back into our businesses and will continue to aggressively invest for our areas of future growth," the company said.



The Cisco Korea spokeswoman said the global restructuring "also affected Korea." The Korean subsidiary refused to release the exact number of fired employees, adding that it was not 50.



Cho started his career at Accenture in 1989 as a business and technology consultant. He entered Cisco Korea in June 2009 to deal with the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis and fiercer competition with Hewlett-Packard and Juniper Networks. During his first term at Cisco, Cho ambitiously pushed for projects like establishing a smart city in Songdo, Incheon.



But Cho's drive to revitalize the company has been considered failure, leading to a performance slowdown in 2009 and 2010. Amid Cisco's continued slump worldwide, Cho left the company and moved to Samsung Electronics in November 2011.



Cisco maintains its solid leadership in selling network hardware equipment such as switches and routers in Korea and around the world. But it faces fiercer rivalry from vendors like Juniper Networks and Huawei.



Another industry source said, "Though Cisco still is the market leader, fiercer competition and stagnation in the network equipment market are making the company's dominance not as solid as in the past."



Particularly in Korea, the company has also been urged to target to revenue sources in the wake of the fifth-generation (5G) era.



"Compared to the past when mobile carriers made heavy investments to establish nationwide network infrastructure for long-term evolution (LTE) services, the 5G services are more about software-centric technologies," the source said. "To remain ahead of the pack, Cisco would have to shift its focus to software sales."



The company is responding to such challenges by diversifying its focal points to new growth engines such as cloud computing and cybersecurity. Cisco acquired multiple security companies to strengthen its cybersecurity business.



Cisco's global revenue proportion of switch and router sales is already less than 60 percent, according to the company.
The army said eight militants were killed during the latest operation

The Egyptian military has said it foiled a militant plan to establish a patrol to inspect cars in North Sinais Rafah.

In an official statement released on Sunday, army spokesperson Tamer El-Refai gave some details of the operation apparently carried out by the armed forces second field army which led to the killing of eight militants. The statement did not say when the operation took place.

In the past weeks, Islamic State militant group affiliates in Egypt have released images of what looked like security roadside checkpoints in several areas in North Sinai that was manned by militants not police.

The forces arrested 22 suspects suspected of executing terrorist operations in the areas of Rafah and Arish in North Sinai, the statement read.

On a separate, earlier statement on Sunday, the Egyptian military announced it had killed an unnamed leading figure in Sinai-based militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis.

On Wednesday, three army officers and seven soldiers were killed during a raid on a militant hideout in central Sinai during which the unnamed leader was killed.

The army said it was able to kill 15 militants and arrested seven others during the raid.

Egypts army and police forces are battling a North Sinai-based Islamist insurgency that intensified following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Hundreds of security personnel have been killed in attacks by militants in recent years, while the army says it has killed hundreds of militants in security campaigns in the governorate.

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With Innovation draws fire for lacking security readiness



By Yoon Sung-won



Chinese hackers are suspected of targeting Korean mobile app users as part of the country's retaliatory steps against Korea's deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system, industry officials said Monday.



Some 4,000 users of mobile accommodation reservation app Yeogi-Eoddae received text messages last week that included detailed information on their lodgings such as date and location. Some of them included obscene expressions that mocked the users' private lives.



The messages were sent after the servers of With Innovation, provider of the reservation app service, were compromised. The app has more than 3 million users. But the company has not been able to confirm how much information was leaked.



With Innovation has pointed its finger at Chinese hackers.



"More than 90 percent of the IPs that have attacked our database originated from China," a company official said. "We are weighing the possibility that it's a retaliatory act by Chinese hackers who oppose the deployment of a THAAD battery here."



Another factor linking the attack with China is that it used a type of structured query language (SQL) injection attack also used by the Honker Union, an infamous Chinese hacker group, in a recent cyberattack on Korean websites to protest the THAAD deployment.



The SQL injection allows hackers to infiltrate servers and databases by inserting certain statements into entry fields for IDs and passwords.



The latest assault on the mobile service differs from previous political cyberattacks from China in terms of the techniques used. For instance, a recent attack on the Lotte Duty Free Shop website, which has been the target of Chinese retaliation, paralyzed the site using a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.



But not all security experts said the data leak has something to do with Chinese retaliatory steps against THAAD.

Some experts said the Honker Union is unlikely to use the SQL injection technique. They also pointed out it may not be a political cyber threat as the perpetrators demanded bitcoins after the attack.



According to Korea University Graduate School of Information Security professor Kim Seung-joo, it may be rash to conclude Chinese hackers carried out the cyberattack because there are so many hackers worldwide who use China-based IP addresses to avoid backtracking.



Poor security readiness



Regardless of the origin of the trouble, With Innovation has come under fire for failing to protect the private data of its users from SQL injection, which is considered one of the simplest and most common hacking methods.



With Innovation promoted that the "Yeogi-Eoddae" app had received security certification from the Korea Online Privacy Association. But it did not have the information security management system approval used by the Korean government.



Among Korean online-to-offline service providers, another mobile accommodation reservation service "Yanolja" and food delivery service "Baedal Minjok" have the approval.



With Innovation has fueled users' anger as it has expanded its advertising and marketing drives without taking steps to protect users' personal data.



"The company would have been able to prevent the data leak if it had a simple defense system like a firewall," said a 29-year-old officer worker who uses the app at issue. "This means the company did not even have the common sense to keep the fundamentals."



On its website, With Innovation said it is working with the Korea Communications Commission and the National Police Agency to investigate the cyberattack.



"We have put forth much effort for security and to protect private information," the official claimed. "We deeply apologize for causing such a problem and pledge to strengthen security measures to prevent future recurrences."




Seen above is Lincoln Center in New York. Samsung Electronics plans to unveil its Galaxy S8 smartphone at the center's David Geffen Hall, Wednesday (local time). / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics



Sales forecast to top 6 million

By Kang Seung-woo

NEW YORK  Samsung Electronics' next-generation Galaxy S8 smartphone, which will be disclosed here this week, is expected to outsell its successful predecessor the S7 series, according to market watchers Monday.

The S8 is Samsung's first flagship phone of this year to be unveiled in New York on Wednesday (local time). The firm hopes the phone will compensate for losses caused by the Galaxy Note 7, the jumbo smartphone that suffered a global recall in the second half of last year due to a battery explosion issue.

Samsung is estimated to have sold 50 million units of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge in 2016 after releasing them in March.

The new S8 will come in two different models: a 5.8-inch screen for the standard S8 version and a 6.2-inch display for the S8 Plus one.

"The global sales of the Galaxy S8 are expected to top 60 million units. It will establish itself as a successful model," said Noh Kyeong-tak, an analyst at Eugene Investment and Securities. "The latest device is expected to sell more than the Galaxy S7."

He added that the tech giant's operating profit will reach a record high of 12.1 trillion won ($10.8 billion) in the second quarter of the year on the back of the S8's solid sales performance.

Noh Geun-chang, an analyst at HMC Investment Securities, echoed this view.

"The Galaxy S8 seems to have pushed for changes in hardware and software, which will help its sales," he said. "In addition, given that we are at a point when the sales of Apple's iPhone 7 are on the wane, the S8 is expected to put up a good performance."

Kim Yang-jae, an analyst at KTB Investment, forecast that Samsung's smartphone shipments for this year will rise to a 2015 level of 320 million units, including low-budget gadgets.

Launching the latest marquee device, Samsung is seeking to restore its damaged reputation from the global recall of the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7  a disaster costing the world's largest smartphone maker more than $5 billion.

To prevent recurrence of such an accident, the Seoul-based firm has concentrated on improving the safety of its flagship product, thus postponing releasing the Galaxy S series until the second quarter. The Galaxy S series had traditionally hit shelves in the January-March period.

In that respect, Samsung's efforts to redeem itself for the Note 7 fiasco is expected to pay off, according to market analysts.

"The Galaxy S8 with a new artificial intelligence assistant and bezel-less design could successfully appeal to consumers," said Kwon Sung-ryul, an analyst at Dongbu Securities. "It will fully make up for the Note 7 debacle."

However, there are some negative voices over the sales tally.

Due to the short-lived Note 7, the S7 lineup has been working overtime to fill the void of Samsung's flagship smartphone, attracting potential buyers of the jumbo smartphone, observers said.

In addition, Samsung's biggest rival Apple's iPhone 8 is coming to town in the second half of 2016. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, raising consumers' expectations toward it.

Taiwan's KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a prominent Apple analyst, believes the S8 will not live up to expectations, saying it lacks "attractive selling points."

He predicted global sales of the S8 smartphone would stand at between 40 and 45 million units, adding that iPhone 8 could be a bigger draw for consumers.

Meanwhile, in order to boost the S8 sales, Samsung plans to disclose the subsidy information to those who pre-order the latest handsets and let them use the high-end phone in advance. Pre-orders for the S8 series will be available in April before its official release set for late April.
Renault Samsung Motors' QM6 SUVs are being loaded onto a cargo ship bound for Europe, at a port in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Sunday. The automaker plans to ship more than 30,000 QM6s to Europe this year. / Courtesy of Renault Samsung



By Lee Hyo-sik

Renault Samsung has begun exporting its popular QM6 mid-size SUVs to Europe, kicking off its campaign to turn the vehicle into a global hit.

The company said Monday that it loaded the first batch of 1,793 QM6s onto a cargo ship Sunday, bound for 12 European markets. The Korean unit of French automaker Renault plans to ship more than 30,000 QM6s to Europe this year.

It also plans to export an additional 10,000 from its main Busan plant to South America, the Middle East and other regions.

"The QM6 has been highly recognized for its top product quality. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to export the vehicle to European markets," company executive Kim Tae-joon said. "The SUV has been popular with Korean consumers since its debut last September. We have no doubt that it will also become popular among European motorists. We will transform our Busan plant into an export hub for Renault Group."

Under the name of Koleos, the vehicle will be available at Renault dealers across Europe, Kim said.

The carmaker spent nearly 400 billion won ($357 million) to design and develop the QM6, according to company officials, who said it collaborated with its parent firm Renault in designing the SUV, the follow-up model to the previous QM5.

"The sales of more than 19,000 QM5 SUVs since last September, or about 3,000 a month, show that it has been received well by local consumers," a company spokesman said. "Its sales will continue to remain brisk for the foreseeable future and we would like to repeat the success story in Europe and elsewhere."

The QM6 has the power train and 4 wheel-drive technology, coupled with Renault's sophisticated design.

Its exterior design is similar to that of the SM6 mid-size sedan, and is equipped with a full C-shaped LED headlight and a 3D-type LED rear light to maintain similarity with its previous QM5 model.

The vehicle's interior has an 8.7-inch touch screen for navigation and multimedia use, and premium Bose speakers to provide surround sound.

Prices start at 27 million won for the two-wheel drive vehicle and 31 million won for four-wheel drive.
POSCO displays a self-developed vehicle body applied with the company's so-called "Giga Steel" plates at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, last year. / Courtesy of POSCO



By Jhoo Dong-chan

The nation's largest steelmaker POSCO is contributing greatly to the automotive industry with its so-called "Giga Steel," a lighter but more solid product based on the nation's largest steelmaker's latest technology in steel.

Entering an era of fuel efficiency and eco-friendly vehicles, global carmakers are making more investments on weight reduction of their vehicle models. Because lighter cars are, obviously, more fuel-efficient than heavier ones.

As a part of their weight reduction efforts, an increasing number of new materials, including magnesium, carbon and aluminum, started to be applied to make their cars lighter.

"Aluminum has been an alternative material for vehicle plates for its lightness, weighing only one third the weight of the conventional steel. But, it is expensive. POSCO's Giga Steel' is as light as aluminum but almost three times stronger," POSCO CEO Kwon Oh-joon said.

According to the classification defined by the World Steel Association, steel with a strength yield in excess of 550 Mega Pascal (MPa) is generally referred to as Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS). Steel such as this is sometimes called "Ultra High Strength Steel" for its tensile strength exceeding 780 MPa. AHSS with tensile strength of at least 1,000 MPa is often called "GigaPascal Steel."

POSCO is the only steelmaker in the world that mass produces the TWIP steel, a Giga Steel that can withstand 100 kilograms or more weight per square millimeter. A POSCO official said POSCO TWIP steel products can be used in various vehicle parts, including front and rear bumper beams, to absorb exterior shocks.

POSCO's steel technologies for vehicle plates have gained industry attention since the world's fourth-largest steelmaker entered the automotive steel plate market in 1973 by supplying its hot rolled coil to Hyundai Motor and the then to Daewoo Motors.

Last year, the steelmaker sold more than 9 million tons of vehicle steel plates, roughly 10 percent of the total steel supply for global automakers. Currently, the top 15 global carmakers are supplied with POSCO steel products.

The official said the company will strengthen its partnerships and sales networks with carmakers across the world, aiming to sell more than 10 million tons of vehicle steel plates by 2018.

POSCO held a series of technology exhibitions jointly with Renault Samsung, Ssangyong Motor and GM Korea, last year.
Chief Executive Election candidates John Tsang, Carrie Lam and Woo Kwok-hing stand on stage during the announcement of the results of the Hong Kong Chief Executive Election.



Beijing's preferred candidate promises more inclusive leadership and better ties between executive and legislature



By Joyce Ng, Tony Cheung, Jeffie Lam, Stuart Lau, Kimmy Chung





Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was elected as Hong Kong's first female leader on Sunday, promising to unite a divided city with a more inclusive style of governance and appealing for the chance to start a new chapter.

The former No 2 official, who secured 777 out of the 1,186 votes cast by the Election Committee tasked to pick the next chief executive, also vowed to find ways to improve relations between the executive and the legislature.

However, opposition politicians remained sceptical, given her non-committal response to their demands for universal suffrage. They also pointed out that she was picked by a small-circle electorate despite being eclipsed in the popularity stakes by John Tsang Chun-wah, who finished a distant secondwith 365 votes.

The third candidate, retired judge Woo Kwok-hing, managed only 21 votes.

The State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said the election had been "open, fair and orderly", and that Lam "fitted" Beijing's requirements for a chief executive. The office will now get started on procedures to formally appoint Lam.

Beijing's liaison office said it expected Lam to implement the "one country, two systems" policy and the Basic Law "accurately".

While critics called the election result "a defeat of the people's majority views" and blamed it on Beijing's "interference" in lobbying support for Lam, the former chief secretary projected her win as the fruit of her own labour and that of her team.

Popular underdog Tsang appeared gracious in defeat, hugging Lam on stage and later urging Hongkongers to accept the result and support the winner for the good of the city.

Delivering her victory speech in a conciliatory tone, Lam, 59, said she had realised her shortcomings and learned humility on the campaign trail.

"Hong Kong, our home, is suffering from quite a serious divisiveness and has accumulated a lot of frustration," she said.

"My priority will be to heal the divide and to ease the frustration  and to unite our society to move forward."

To achieve that, Lam said, she would choose talent on merit rather than political affiliation, and form a platform to maintain regular communication with all parties in the legislature.

However, regarding the pan-democrats' biggest demand  restarting the stalled electoral reform process with the goal of universal suffrage  Lam would only say she would start with "easier subjects that will not be severely affected by one's political affiliation".

She vowed to uphold the "one country, two systems"formula for Hong Kong and the city's core values such as inclusiveness, respect for human rights, rule of law and clean government.

Lam promised to get moving on taking the city forward, starting with the policy proposals in her manifesto, such as ramping up spending on education, lowering the profits tax rate for smaller enterprises and boosting land supply for housing.

The higher-than-expected vote tally reflected "unprecedented unity" among the pro-establishment camp under "the central government's full support", said Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, a quasi-official think tank based in Beijing.

Lau said the pro-Beijing camp, split between outgoing chief executive Leung Chun-ying and Henry Tang Ting-yen in the last election, had unified behind Lam this time.

Leung won the 2012 election with 689 votes, earning the number as a derogatory nickname.

In yesterday's election, only about 60 pro-Beijing votes are believed to have gone to Tsang, who had been promised 300 votes by the pan-democrats.

It has been reported that Beijing officials lobbied Election Committee members  including Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing  to vote for Lam. Two of Tsang's nominators also made a last-minute U-turn on Saturday, with one of them, Ricky Chim Kim-lung, admitting he had been approached by the liaison office.

Tsang himself denied any knowledge of Beijing's "interference" yesterday, while Lam would not concede that her success was a result of the central government's lobbying.

Asked whether she would have the courage to stand up to Beijing on issues opposed by Hongkongers, Lam replied: "You have seen my guts. I will remain fearless on issues that are for the good of Hong Kong."

The new leader in waiting said she would visit the liaison office in the coming few days "as part of the protocol", along with visits to other offices, including that of the incumbent chief executive.

Former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, now a state leader, said Lam would be able to lead Hong Kong out of its troubles.

Ray Yep Kin-man, a public policy professor at City University, said Lam's victory was a "demonstration of democracy in Chinese style" and "a defeat of Hong Kong's majority view". She should form a cabinet with credible figures to rebuild trust.
BTS' Rap Monster channeled his inner Drake as he sings the American rapper's song "Fake Love". It's amazing how he sounded just like Drake.

According to Koreaboo, BTS is currently in their American tour. The boy group caught a break and visited iHeart Radio to be interviewed.

BTS members were asked many questions, but perhaps the highlight was when they were asked what their favorite American songs were. Member Jimin revealed that Frank Ocean's song "Lost" was his favorite.

BTS' J-Hope revealed that he liked Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" featuring Bruno Mars. Member V on the other hand, liked Bruno Mars' "Versace on the Floor", just like everyone does.

BTS' Jungkook revealed he liked Charlie Puth's "We Don't Talk Anymore". He recently covered the said song that even went viral in Korea.

However, everyone was surprised when Rap Monster's response was in a song form. He suddenly sang the American rapper Drake's "Fake Love" with extreme similarity in rendition.

BTS' Rap Monster also did a cover of "Bad and Boujee" by Migo. He also added that he admires the band so much. Watch BTS' interview with iHeart Radio down below.

In other news, BTS' concert in New Jersey was almost cancelled due to a false report by a citizen. As previously reported, the incident happened on March 24 outside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Around 1 p.m., the Newark Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) rushed on the site with the report of a bomb on the nearby vicinity. However, the only "bomb" they found was the BTS "A.R.M.Y BOMB" merchandise being sold outside the center.

The fans lining outside the center were surprised because of the incident. The Newark BDU even brought their canine bomb sniffing companion to search for the area.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt during the incident. Newark BDU left the BTS concert premises after 10 minutes of search for the "bomb".
"Descendants of the Sun" actor Song Joong Ki recently moved the audience to tears with his touching speech at the 29th Korea Producers Awards. The actor won the much coveted Best Performer award from the prestigious award giving body.

According to a report from Soompi, CBS radio show writer Kim Mon Sook was also honored by the body for the writers' category. Overwhelmed, the writer said in her speech that everyday, she writes scripts that go nowhere, which touched a lot of members in the audience.

But the highlight of the event was when it came time for Song Joong Ki to receive his award for the acting category. The "Descendants of the Sun" actor took the time to address Kim Mon Sook's words and humbly came up with his own vow.

"I learned a lot from hearing the words of many veterans in their fields. I think it was a good thing to come tonight," he said. "Kim Moon Sook said that she writes scripts that go nowhere. I will become an actor who can work to bring those precious scripts to life."

At that segment, Kim Moon Sook became teary eyed again and the audience applauded Song Joong Ki's humility and thoughtfulness. Another writer, Kim Eun Sook also praised the actor for considering the words of a writer whom he has not even worked with before.

After his successful drama "Descendants in the Sun", Song Joong Ki will star in the film "Battleship Island," a historical film that tells the story of 400 Koreans who attempted to escape Hashima Island, a place where they are enslaved to work in mining, Kpopstarz reported.

Song Joong Ki will star opposite veteran actors like Hwang Jung Min and So Ji Sub and play the part of Park Moo Yeong, a soldier who will sneak into the island on a mission to save an important freedom fighter. The film is expected to premiere in China and Korea later in the year. Meanwhile, reports also hint that "Descendants of the Sun Season 2" is already under way.
Egypts minister of manpower has urged Egyptians in Saudi Arabia who have been pardoned by local authorities after overstaying their visas to exit the country swiftly, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.

Thirty thousand Egyptians were pardoned last week by Saudi authorities after having been found to have committed visa violations, amid implementation of new, stricter measures for foreigners in the kingdom.

The pardon exempts the Egyptians from punitive measures that workers who overstay visas would normally face, including deportation, fines, a 10-year ban from entering Saudi Arabia, and the confiscation of financial, educational and work privileges, provided they leave the country within three months.

Saudi interior ministry spokesman Mansour Al-Torky told Saudi newspaper Okaz last Monday that Saudi authorities will give the Egyptians 90 days to adjust their status and leave the country without deportation, which would allow them to return to Saudi Arabia in the future.

Manpower Minister Mohamed Saafan has called on pardoned Egyptians to exit the country swiftly in order to avoid the punitive measures.

Al-Ahram reported that he has instructed labour ministry representatives in Riyadh and Jeddah to seek out Egyptian workers and to ensure that they are briefed on how to proceed.

The minister clarified that Egyptians who applied for the pardon included those who residence visas were not renewed, who were absent from work (therefore jeopardising their visas), who received permission to work but not a residence visa, who went on pilgrimage without permission, those who overstayed visas, and some who entered the country illegally.

In 2014, Saudi Arabia implemented a new system requiring foreign nationals performing the pilgrimage to Mecca to fulfil a number of requirements including demonstrating valid pilgrimage visas at the time of departure; those without valid visas are registered as violators and their fingerprints taken.

Some 2.5 million foreign nationals have been deported since the implementation of the new system, according to Al-Torky.

The pardon is a result of talks between Egypt and Saudi Arabia regarding the deportation of Egyptian families who violate residency and pilgrimage regulations.

Hundreds of Egyptians based in the Gulf country who had violated their visas had requested Cairo intervene on their behalf, as they were unable to work or have access to banks, education, or residences.

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The Nile Basin Initiative's council of ministers commenced on Monday a meeting in Uganda's Entebbe with the participation of Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Ati to discuss concerns over the Cooperative Framework Agreement, state news agency MENA reported.

Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs Mohamed Idriss said that Egyptian participation in the current round of talks reflect's Cairo's keenness to achieve a fair distribution of benefits to all Nile basin countries, adding that the Nile River should be a source of of cooperation and development rather than dispute on the continent.

The first phase of meetings, which began earlier this month in Sudan's capital Khartoum, included "long discussions wherein Egypt presented all its concerns regarding the Nile Basin Initiative and the Entebbe agreement," Abdel-Ati was quoted as saying by MENA.

The Cooperative Framework Agreement, more commonly known as the Entebbe Agreement, has been signed by six Nile Basin countries: Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Egypt and Sudan have declined to sign the treaty, which sets out principles and obligations of member states regarding use of the basin's water resources, citing concerns about its reallocation of Nile water quotas and other provisions.

Historic water-sharing pacts between Egypt and Sudan divide the Nile waters between the two countries.

The Egyptian minister said earlier that the Entebbe meetings will cover the results of the Khartoum meetings and Egypt's concerns as well as look at "solutions and alternatives that guarantee collective benefit and prevent harm."

The Nile Basin Initiative has ten permanent members -- Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Eritrea has observer status.

The under-construction Grand Ethiopian Dam, which when complete will be Africa's biggest hydroelectric dam, has been a source of concern for Egypt in recent years, with some experts arguing that filling and operating the dam will reduce the water that flows downstream to Egypt.
Israel's anti-terrorism directorate called on nationals Monday to "immediately leave" Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in light of the imminent threat of Islamic State attacks. It affirmed, however, that Israel would not close the Taba border crossing with Egypt without organising with Cairo.

In a statement, the directorate said it had new information suggesting a heightened threat of attacks by the Islamic State group against Israeli citizens in the upcoming period.

The directorate issued similar warnings of attacks on Israelis in Turkey, Russia, Belgium, France, Germany and India, on the occasion of the upcoming Jewish holidays. The directorate issued similar warnings of attacks on Israelis in Turkey, Russia, Belgium, France, Germany and India, on the occasion of the upcoming Jewish holidays.

It said that Israel is not the center of these threats, but called on all Israeli citizens in Sinai to return and advised those planning to travel to Sinai not to do so.
A 35-year-old "homeless" man from Springfield faces multiple charges  and could face more  after ramming a stolen car head-on into a Lawrence County sheriffs deputys car on Saturday. Sheriff Brad DeLay says Jason Harvey led the deputy on a chase before turning around and driving toward the deputy.

Harvey is charged with two counts of first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, armed criminal action, first-degree burglary, and second-degree burglary.

Sheriffs deputies and state troopers answered two calls about burglaries in the Mount Vernon area on Saturday afternoon. One call was reported as a burglary in progress.

While deputies were at the first burglary south of Mount Vernon, the second burglary was reported. In the second one, a woman called and said she was home when a man forced his way into her home. The burglar left before deputies could arrive.

A neighbor called 9-1-1 and gave a dispatcher a vehicle description and license plate of the possible burglar. As deputies were heading towards the second burglary, Deputy Craig Freitag spotted the vehicle and tried to stop it. The driver swerved toward the deputys car, nearly striking him. Earlier, troopers at the second burglarized home noticed that same car return to the scene before leaving quickly, according to the probable cause statement against Harvey. The troopers didnt give chase because they were on foot at the time.

The fleeing driver did not stop and Freitag chased the vehicle through rural areas around Mount Vernon and Aurora. The fleeing driver turned around his car and drove towards the deputy, hitting the patrol car nearly head-on near the intersection of Lawrence County roads 2135 and 1195.

The driver ran after the crash. The deputy chased him on foot, before he tackled and arrested Harvey after a short struggle in the yard of a rural home. Both Harvey and Freitag were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Investigators found the shoes that Harvey wore have tread that matches a footprint left by the burglar when he was kicking in a door at one of the homes. Deputies also found Harvey was carrying a substance that field-tested to be methamphetamine. Harvey also was carrying several stolen debit cards, including one issued to a deceased woman, according to the probable cause statement.

If Harvey is convicted, he could get prison sentences between 10 and 30 years for each count of assault of a law enforcement officer, three years of more for armed criminal action, and between five and 20 years for first-degree burglary, and up to four years for second-degree burglary.

Investigators found the car had been stolen in Webster County. Officers searched the car and found a fully loaded handgun in the passenger front seat.

The burglaries for which Harvey is charged are for break-ins at a home on Lawrence 1175 Road , in which someone was home at the time, and a home on Lawrence 2154 Road. Both burglaries were Saturday before the chase. A news release from DeLay says the arrest could clear up "a string" of burglaries but doesn't say if Harvey is suspected of any others.

Harvey has been in the Lawrence County Jail since Saturday. A judge set his bond at $200,000.

Casenet, the online record of Missouri court cases, lists Harvey's home address as Mount Vernon but DeLay says Harvey said he had several recent addresses. DeLay says Harvey told detectives that he was homeless but most recently lived in Springfield.
Egypt's deputy foreign minister for human rights said FM Shoukry would seize Sisi's visit to Washington next week to respond in detail to the report

In a meeting of the Egyptian parliament's human rights committee, Deputy Foreign Minister for Human Rights Laila Bahaaeddin accused the Obama administration of painting a "bleak view" of the human rights situation in Egypt.

"The most recent report issued by the US State Department on human rights in Egypt reflected the view of the former Obama administration which had always sought to tarnish the image of Egypt in any way," said Bahaaeddin, adding that "this report was issued in a secret way and without the media taking note of it."

The foreign ministry said it decided to give a private response to the report.

"We gave orders to Egypt's ambassador in the US to respond to this negative report in an official way and without much fuss in media circles," said Bahaaeddin.

The report, mandated annually by congress and put together by staff in US embassies, was released earlier this month, documenting human rights conditions in nearly 200 countries and territories.

This year's report was largely compiled under President Barack Obama's administration.The report said Egypt's "excessive use of force included unlawful killings and torture."

The foreign ministry responded at the time in an official statement, saying the report was not based on any "legal frameworks," and that "human rights conditions in Egypt are held to clear constitutional obligations and are being monitored by national Egyptian organisations, both governmental and independent."

On President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's visit to Washington next week to meet with new US president Donald Trump, Bahaaeddin said "as we see, Trump is different from Obama and has said he wants closer relations with Egypt."

"As we want to open a new page with this administration, we decided not to make a lot of fuss in the media on a negative report which was issued by the outgoing administration of Obama," she added.

Bahaaeddin said however that Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who will be part of El-Sisi's official visit, will give a detailed response to the report.

"[He] will be ready to respond to any accusations in this respect in a diplomatic and wise way," said Bahaaeddin, adding that "we want to give the new administration a chance to change this negative view of Egypt."

Bahaaeddin's words, however, were seen as highly insufficient by most MPs. Alaa Abed, head of parliament's human rights committee, said "the US State Department's negative report about the situation of human rights in Egypt reflected the political view of Barack Obama who was supportive of political Islam movements, especially the Muslim Brotherhood."

"The report also reflected the lies which were disseminated by the Brotherhood and radical liberal media in America, especially in the area of street protests, sectarian tension and what they call hundreds of political prisoners," said Abed.

The report cited the most significant human rights concerns in Egypt as "excessive use of force by security forces, deficiencies in due process, and suppression of civil liberties."

Abed slammed the foreign ministry for what he called "its very brief and incomplete" response to the US State Department's report.

"I am afraid that this report might be exploited by Trump's political foes and the US mainstream media which are supportive of political Islam and the Brotherhood in a bid to disrupt president Sisi's first state visit to Washington," said Abed, adding that "I had high hopes that the foreign ministry's response would be strong, comprehensive and corroborated with documents, but all of my hopes were dashed."

Abed said the foreign ministry should send parliament a detailed response to the state department's report, or else he would submit a complaint against Soukry, accusing him of negligence.

Abed said the US State Department's reports on human rights in general reflect "a radical liberal viewpoint."

"This viewpoint only leads to chaos and disruption because it ignores national security considerations in favour of focusing on controversial issues such as street protests and religious freedoms. Not to mention that the State Department reports are always based on information from local human rights organisations which receive money from America," said Abed.

The report said that due process problems in Egypt included "the excessive use of preventive custody and pre-trial detention, the use of military courts to try civilians," trials without evidence and arrests without warrants.

Civil liberties violations included societal and government restrictions on freedoms of expression and assembly, the report said.

Nabil Bolous, a Coptic MP, asked the foreign ministry to take the matter as a national security issue, complaining that the report is rife with lies, particularly in the area on sectarian tension.

"While the ministry of defence is responsible for defending the country's borders, the foreign ministry's job is to safeguard Egypt's national security and international image against malicious attacks," said Bolous.

"I am a Coptic Christian who has never felt that there is a sectarian problem in Egypt or that Christians feel that they are being treated as a minority as the report alleges," Bolous said, adding that "by contrast we see that it is America which has been rife with sectarian tension, racial discrimination incidents and police brutality throughout the year 2016."

The MP said he wanted the foreign ministry to send the world a strong message that Egypt is safe and secure and that it is a land of peace. "Unfortunately the foreign ministry is not doing enough, leaving Egypt vulnerable to malicious attacks in the Anglo-American media and to radical liberal human rights organisations and politicians in the United States." 

In response, Bahaaeddin insisted that the foreign ministry is doing its job.

"All we want now is to make sure that President El-Sisi concludes a successful visit to the US. [we don't want to] cause any kind of trouble with anyone in Washington at that time," she said.

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Egypt took part Monday in an extraordinary meeting of the Nile Council of Ministers (Nile-Com) in Entebbe to facilitate the country's full return to the initiative

Egypt asked the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) council of ministers for more time to study a report by the councils special committee addressing Cairo's concerns regarding the Co-operative Framework Agreement (CFA), the initiative said in a statement on Monday.

According to the statement, Cairo took part in the extraordinary meeting of the Nile Council of Ministers (Nile-Com) on Monday in Entebbe to facilitate Egypts full return to the initiative.

Source familiar with the matter told Ahram Online that Egypt raised four issues to be considered by the Nile-Com. First of these was the importance of reaching a consensus over the CFA, given that not all NBI members adopted the CFA draft, which could raise questions about the decision-making process in the future.

The most populous Arab nation, which almost fully relies on the Nile River for water, also said that article 14 of the draft, which deals with water security, does not adequately cover current and future uses and rights, the source said.

Prior notification of planned measures by any NBI member states was also among Egypts concerns, and finally that some of the CFAs provisions apply only to the river system not the Nile Basin.

However, the aforementioned report of the committee -- formed by Nile-Com at its 24th annual gathering last year in Uganda -- implied positive responses to Egypts concerns over the CFA.

Meanwhile, article 14b of the agreement would be the CFAs only pending provision and set to be resolved within six months of the establishment of the Nile Basin River Commission, the source said.

Egypt decided to freeze its full participation in NBI in 2010, over disagreements about the CFA, publicly known as Entebbe Agreement

The CFA, signed by six NBI members out of ten so far, outlines principles, rights and obligations for cooperative management and development of the Nile Basin water resources through a permanent institutional mechanism, according to the initiatives website.

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PRESS RELEASE

Conyers Single-Payer Health-Care Bill Now Grows in Importance

March 26, 2017 (EIRNS)To the failure of Obamacare has now been added the failure of the Republican attempt to make a cut-price version, while claiming to be "repealing and replacing" it. The quest of the health insurance companies to keep extracting major private profits from what is a public utility in nearly every other advanced economyand from an increasingly sick and self-abusive American population as wellcaused failure of both Obamacare and GOP "not-Obamacare." (Big Pharma-related businesses remain far more successful at this perverse pursuit, but that should be ended.)

President Trump now says he expects to work with Democrats at some future point to legislate a better health-care system; and some close associates have indicated that the bill he supported in hopes of a Republican legislative victory, was not his idea of a good healthcare system.

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) H.R. 676, "The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act," which in concept enjoys wide public support and has 70 House Democrats sponsoring it, now becomes more important. It is the only healthcare system, of those now used or proposed in the United States, which can work for the American population as a whole.

The failures of current American health care are so widely known they need not be repeated, and even its few, great supposed strengthsfast access to care, high quality of hospitals and specialistsare only middle-ranking among 35 member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Americans are in worse health, and kill themselves and each other, accidentally or deliberately, much more often than the people of other advanced economies; so until that can be changed, U.S. health-care costs must be higher per capita and as a share of GDP. But not double! And prescription drugsthe same prescription drugs, for the same conditionscost far more in the United States, because of the tens of thousands of opaque "pricing deals" that Pharma makes with separate health plans, drug distribution and management companies, hospital systems, government agencies at all levels, and pharmacies.

Total U.S. health-care spending was $3.3 trillion in 2016. The largest government health insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid cover about 42% (125 million) of the 300 million Americans with health insurance, with about 39% of the nations total expenditure. But those 125 million are either over 65, of low income, or both, and therefore collectively have more health conditions to treat than those on public or private employer plans, Obamacare exchanges, etc. The case is even clearer with Medicare alone, which provides better coverage than Medicaid, and spends 50% more per beneficiary than Medicaid. Without Medicare, large numbers of seniors, as individuals, would be absolutely uninsurable on private insurance markets despite subsidies, vouchers, etc. because of their health conditions. Yet it covers the oldest 18% of the American population with just 19% of national health expenditures.

Conyers H.R. 676 rests on the starting premise that Medicare could clearly cover the 80-plus percent of Americans under 65, for less than the $2.7 trillion in expenditures now spent by and on them, even with Medicaid benefits greatly improved. Medicare administrative overhead costs are about 2% (so are Medicaids), while private insurers overhead costs are 12-15%. Conservatively $200 billion annually would be saved there. If a single-payer national insurer with, say, 250 million beneficiaries bargained with Pharma on drug prices (Medicare is not permitted to bargain by the 2003 law for seniors drug coverage, but the Veterans Administration does; other nations national plans do, and the results are undeniable), most estimates are that an additional $125-150 billion would be saved annually. And then there would be reduced physicians and hospitals administrative costs as well. $400 billion per year is a not-unreasonable assumption of savings, within the first few years.

Thus the national healthcare bill could be brought back down below $3 trillion to start with. Then further improvements would depend on growth and productivity in the economy.

Why? Because a single-payer healthcare system, or Medicare for all, should be funded primarily on a payroll tax, whose revenues will grow with economic, productivity, and wage/salary growth. The principle of H.R. 676, and of the single-payer idea generally, is that taxes rise, while premiums, copays, deductibles, etc. largely disappear for up to 200 million Americans and their employers. But then healthcare costs can slowly fall relative to the economy as a whole, only if the productive economy revives.

The additional condition, is that the Hill-Burton standards for hospital and specialist clinic facilities per capita be restored, because healthcare is held down now by the simple shortage of sufficient emergency room, hospital and clinic capacity.

Medicare has much broader bedrock support in the American population than Medicaid, fundamentally because Medicare recipients paid a payroll tax for it all their working lives. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt fully understood this principlefrom the first (Social Security) payroll tax, to war bonds, to the patriotic March of Dimes to fight polio. Everybody pays in; everybody benefits. Lyndon Johnson and the 1965 Congress used it in creating Medicare.

Let us assume, as H.R. 676 does, that all the present public insurance programs, from Medicaid to Federal and State Employee Health Benefits plans, brought their beneficiaries and their current funding into Medicare-for-all or single-payer insurance. And assume single-payer produced the national savings reasonably named above. Thenthough not specified in the H.R. 676 outlinea payroll tax of about 6% each for employees and employers, producing about $1.1 trillion in revenue to begin with, would complete the funding of the whole single-payer system. This means quadrupling the current Medicare payroll tax. Including the Social Security payroll tax of 6.2%, gives 12.2% total payroll tax, rather than the current 7.7% total.

An employee filing $40-60,000 in taxable income, then, would pay $2,400-3,600 payroll tax a year for healthcare (not for health insurance, for healthcare), or $200-300/month. The average U.S. employee in an employer plan now pays about $120/month toward the premium, and then shells out for a deductible, copays for doctor visits, prescription drugs, etc. The employer of that average employee typically pays significantly more, about $375/month toward the premium. That employers savings could partially go to higher wages.

This doesnt rule out small "harm reduction" taxes on consumption like alcohol and soft drinks to ensure that everyone, including those unemployed or out of the workforce, is paying something in, getting healthcare benefits out. But the payroll tax can be its bedrock. Single-payer universal healthcare does not need to involve "taxing the rich."
PRESS RELEASE

Counterattack Escalates Against Trumpgate

March 25, 2017 (EIRNS)Three members of the House Judiciary Committee, including its Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), have just fired a shot across the bow of those in the intelligence community who are scrambling to cover up for "those who feloniously disseminate classified or otherwise legally protected information," i.e., the individuals and agencies responsible for the orchestrated leaks to try to topple the Trump administration over supposed ties to Russia.

In a March 24 open letter to Attorney General Sessions, Director of National Intelligence Coats, and the heads of the FBI (Comey), NSA (Rogers) and CIA (Pompeo), the three Intelligence Committee congressmenGoodlatte, Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), and Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.)demanded that they provide information on

"any efforts made by your agencies to identify those who feloniously disseminate classified or otherwise legally protected information and bring them to justice."

The letter stated that the House and Senate Intelligence Committees have oversight over the intelligence community directly, but the Senate and House Judiciary Committees have primary oversight over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act provions, whose Section 702 authorizes "surveillance that reportedly encompasses more than a quarter of all NSA surveillance." But

"because of the aforementioned disclosures [surrounding the Trump administration], many Members of Congress are distrustful of these capabilities and fear the consequences if wrongdoers within the government continue to disseminate information feloniously."

Since Section 702 is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2017, the three congressmen asked that these matters be clarified immediately, including coughing up the specifics of who was involved in the leaks against the Trump team, or Section 702 would probably not be renewed.

This development comes on top of the ongoing hearings held by the House Intelligence Committee chaired by Rep. Devin Nunes, which have put the FBI and others in the Obama administration in the crosshairs for possible criminal leaks against Trump et al. On March 24, three Trump associates who have been attacked in the media and by Obama operatives for their purported ties to Russia, called the bluff by offering to voluntarily testify before the Intelligence Committee. Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Carter Page each sent letters to the House Intelligence Committee on March 24 with their offer. The letter from Stones lawyer stated that his client

"deeply resents that several members" of the committee "have intimated that he has committed treason in his political press, and social media activities."

He is offering to testify 
PRESS RELEASE

Will U.S. and Russian-Backed Forces Cooperate in Syria?

March 26, 2017 (EIRNS)The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the U.S. armed and advised force of Kurds and Arab "opposition" forces in Syria, has announced through its spokesman that it may be possible to cooperate with the Syrian government military forces in the crucial effort to free Raqqa from the ISIS terrorists. In declarations to the Syrian newspaper Al-Watan, SDF spokesman Talal Silo claimed the SDF has always stated that the Syrian people have the right to liberate their areas, and that the Syrian Army is an essential part of the Syrian homeland and people, according to Al Masdar News wire service.

The question here, is whether or not the Trump Administration has approved such a statement of cooperation. Another problem is that the Turks are opposed to the Kurds being involved in the assault. While Turkish forces are blocked from participation, they can still cause problems for the United States, which is backing the mostly Kurdish SDF.

Both the SDF and the Syrian Arab Army are moving into positions around the ISIS headquarters in Raqqa. The United States flew in a significant force of the SDF to positions near Raqqa, while, according to Assad:

"Now we are close to Raqqa. Our troops have reached the Euphrates River, which is very close to Raqqa that remains the stronghold of Daesh. This is why Raqqa will be our priority."

The recent liberation of Deir Hafer gives the Syrian army a major platform for initiating a major assault on Raqqa, reported Fars News of Iran, yesterday. The Syrian government, of course, has also said repeatedly, that the U.S. involvement in the liberation of Raqqa is illegitimate.
Charlaine Harris, whose Sookie Stackhouse books inspired the television series True Blood, will release the first book in a new trilogy next year.

Harris novel Texoma will be published in fall 2018 by Saga Press, a science fiction and fantasy imprint of Simon & Schuster, the publisher announced in a news release.

The first installment in the trilogy is based on Harris short story The Gunnie, which first appeared in the 2016 anthology Unfettered II: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy.

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Texoma will be a work of speculative fiction that takes place in an alternate history of a broken America weakened by the Great Depression and the assassination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

In the novel, what was the United States is now five territories, including New America, an area of the Pacific Northwest under the control of Canada, and the Holy Russian Empire, formerly the states of California and Oregon.

The novel takes place in Texoma, a territory in the American Southwest. It focuses on a mercenary named Lizbeth Rose, who is hired on a manhunt by Russian sorcerers in a Mexican border town.

All writers love what if. Harris said in the news release. I became fascinated by the idea of writing about an alternate America, seen through the eyes of a professional gun for hire who happens to be a woman.

The prolific author is best known for her Sookie Stackhouse series about a telepathic waitress in a north Louisiana town populated by vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures.

The 13-book series formed the basis for the popular HBO show True Blood, which starred Anna Paquin as Sookie, and ran from 2008 to 2014. The final book in the series, Dead Ever After, was published in 2013, to the horror of many of Harris fans.

Harris most recent literary project was Midnight, Texas, a three-book series about the secretive residents of a town with a reputation for paranormal activity. The first book in the trilogy, Midnight Crossroad, was published in 2014, with Day Shift following in 2015 and Night Shift in 2016.

That series is being adapted as a television show, starring Francois Arnaud and Dylan Bruce, and scheduled to premiere on NBC on July 25.
Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance, on Sunday seized a military airport from the Islamic State group in northern Syria, a spokesman said.

The capture of Tabqa airbase comes as the alliance prepares an attack on IS's de facto Syrian capital Raqa, seeking to effectively surround the city before launching its assault.

SDF forces are also battling for the nearby Tabqa dam, held by IS, which was forced out of service on Sunday after its power station was damaged, a technical source there told AFP.

"The Syrian Democratic Forces have full control of Tabqa military airport and operations to clear and demine are under way in order to secure the airport fully," spokesman Talal Sello told AFP.

SDF forces entered the airport earlier Sunday, backed by heavy artillery fire and air strikes by the US-led coalition, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

IS seized the base from government troops in August 2014 and carried out one of its worst massacres there, killing up to 200 government soldiers.

With support from the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq, SDF fighters have inched closer to Raqa, taking territory to the north and east.

At their closest point, they are just eight kilometres (five miles) from the city, to the northeast.

But they are mostly further away, between 18 and 29 kilometres from Raqa.

Earlier this week, US forces airlifted SDF fighters behind IS lines to allow them to launch the Tabqa assault, and on Friday the alliance reached one of the dam's entrances.

But the fight for the dam, the biggest in Syria, forced it out of service on Sunday, risking dangerous rising water levels.

"Shelling on the area... that supplies that dam with electricity has put it out of service," the technical source said.

"The work needed to fix the problem is not possible because there is not sufficient staff available as a result of the intensive shelling in the area of the dam," he added.

"If the problem is not fixed, it will begin to pose a danger to the dam."

The SDF's Sello told AFP there was no imminent danger to the dam, adding it had not been hit in air strikes.

The dam remains under IS control, with SDF progress being hampered by the exposed nature of the terrain, which is also heavily mined, the Observatory said.

IS issued warnings through its propaganda agency Amaq that the dam "is threatened with collapse at any moment because of American strikes and a large rise in water levels".

But the source at the dam told AFP there had not yet been significant water level increases, though he acknowledged levels would rise if the facility remained out of service.

Earlier this year, the UN's humanitarian coordination agency OCHA said water levels in the Euphrates had risen 10 metres (33 feet) since late January, in part from heavy rainfall and snow.

But it warned that damage to the dam "could lead to massive scale flooding across Raqa and as far away as Deir Ezzor" province to the southeast.

Any further rises in the water level or damage to the Tabqa dam "would have catastrophic humanitarian implications in all areas downstream", the UN warned.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since its conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

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Odds are, youve at least heard of Venmo, but theres also a good chance you havent used the mobile app or anything else like it to send money to family or friends.

But thats likely to change over the next few years, as banks, payment companies and even the likes of Google and Facebook push so-called peer-to-peer, or p2p, payment systems  a medium of exchange with revolutionary potential.

The apps and online tools could someday overtake cash and checks as the primary way individuals pay each other, and they even could make inroads at the cash register and with businesses that send refunds and other payments to their customers.

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These systems will get a boost later this year when a coalition of the nations biggest banks roll out Zelle, a mobile and online money-transfer network that will let any customer of nearly every U.S. bank send money to customers of any other bank using only a phone number or email address.

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Analysts say the bank-led system  and the related marketing push  should bring online and mobile peer-to-peer payments to a larger audience. Even competitors, notably the popular money transfer app Venmo, say the Zelle rollout could boost their fortunes by making digital-money transfers more mainstream.

We dont see it as a winner-take-all scenario, said Josh Criscoe, a spokesman for Venmo owner PayPal. We welcome any effort to move folks to more digital payments and move toward the smartphone as the central point of financial life. The common enemy is cash.

Online and mobile peer-to-peer payment systems have grown rapidly over the last few years, and analysts expect that to continue. In a report published this month, finance industry research firm Aite Group estimated that Americans made about $147 billion in digital p2p transfers last year, up from $100 billion the year before.

Those are big numbers, to be sure, but last years sum still only accounted for about 12% of the more than $1.2 trillion that Americans paid each other that year, mostly in cash.

That means theres still plenty of growth ahead, said Talie Baker, an analyst at Aite Group. In her report this month, she estimated that the volume of digital p2p payments will more than double by 2020, topping $316 billion.

Not that many consumers are using mobile payments yet, Baker said, noting that though these payments are more common among young consumers in big coastal cities, theyre not so ubiquitous elsewhere. Im a Gen-X person and I live in Denver  I hadnt heard of Venmo until 2015.

There are plenty of players in the p2p game.

Square Inc., the payments company behind the tiny white credit card reader that plugs into a smartphone, has a p2p service of its own, Square Cash, which launched in 2013.

Following the geometric theme, theres also Circle, a Boston firm that started the same year and specializes in cross-border p2p transfers in dollars, euros and British pounds.

Facebook and Google, too, allow users to send money to friends. Google has Google Wallet, which started as a mobile wallet app but became a p2p payment tool in 2015, and Facebook users have been able to send money through Facebook Messenger since 2015.

Square, Google and Facebook dont report the volume of payments made through their p2p systems, but Facebook in regulatory filings has said that only a relatively small percentage of its users have used the payments feature.

Venmo is arguably the biggest name in peer-to-peer transfers. It even has the coveted status, like Google, Uber and a few others, of becoming a verb  as in Venmo me.

Founded in 2009, the company was acquired in 2012 by payment services provider Braintree, which was acquired the following year by online payments giant PayPal  which offers p2p payments under its own name too.

But the biggest players in the market are still the banks.

Last year, Venmo users transferred $17.6 billion. Thats more than double the volume from 2015, but its also much less than the $28 billion transferred in 2016 through QuickPay, JPMorgan Chases peer-to-peer payment system. And thats just one bank.

Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and other major financial institutions have had their own p2p transfer programs for years, though it can sometimes be clunky for bank customers to send money to people with accounts at other financial institutions.

Aite Group estimates that of all the digital p2p transfers Americans made last year, non-bank systems such as Venmo accounted for only about 17% of that. Banks accounted for the rest, though much of that likely was made through banks websites, not mobile apps, and much of it was money transferred between customers of the same bank.

In part, thats a statement about who uses different systems, and what they are used for. Venmo and other non-bank systems are accessed about twice as often as bank systems, but for much smaller transactions, according to Aite Group. The average money transfer on a non-bank system is $135; the average for bank systems is $1,359, according to the report.

That might suggest that parents sending money to a student for college tuition, for instance, might be more likely to transfer money through a bank, while students are much more likely to split a restaurant bill or bar tab using Venmo.

The payment app is also a social network in its own right, with users sending messages to friends when they transfer money  a feature Venmo pioneered. Those messages shed light on whats behind each transaction and indicate that Venmo is most often used among friends over food and drink, said Criscoe, the Venmo spokesman.

Pizza is the No. 1 emoji on Venmo; beer is a close follow, he said, adding that other messages suggest users are splitting bigger-ticket items too, such as rent.

Though Venmo and other non-bank payment systems are still a small part of the p2p market, banks want to make sure they keep their place in the financial order and keep their customers.

This summer, Early Warning, a company owned by some of the nations largest banks, will release Zelle, a payment system built to compete with Venmo and others  and, banks hope, to make digital p2p payments more mainstream.

Along with the release, Early Warning will kick off a marketing campaign showing not only how Zelle works but how it might be used. Lou Anne Alexander, president of Early Warnings payments group, said the focus will be on appealing to older consumers who might not have tried p2p payments.

Were trying to take (p2p) from millennials to the mainstream  customers might use a product like this, Alexander said. That might be managing contributions to the high school marching band or it might be renting a home on the beach with friends or family.

Zelle traces it roots back to 2011, when Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase set out to build a system  initially called ClearXchange  that would allow their customers to send money to each other using only phone numbers and email addresses. Before, customers could only transfer money to friends and family by entering account and routing numbers  information customers often didnt know and might be concerned about sharing.

Zelle is essentially a souped-up, rebranded version of ClearXchange. It will be available to anyone with a U.S. bank account, and it aims to overcome some of the limitations and confusion around the ClearXchange system.

Sarah Grotta of research and consulting firm Mercator Advisory Group said banks didnt do a great job of explaining that ClearXchange would allow customers to send money to customers of other banks.

Part of the problem, she said, was that every bank has its own name for its ClearXchange-powered p2p system, including Chase QuickPay, Wells Fargo SurePay and Capital One P2P Payments.

It wasnt well-marketed that someone at Chase could pay someone at Bank of America because they had different marketing and different branding, Grotta said. You could pay someone at any financial institution, but people never realized that.

To address that problem, banks over the next few months will begin rebranding their p2p transfer systems to include Zelle in the name. Chase, for instance, will start calling its system QuickPay with Zelle. Customers of more than a dozen big banks  representing most U.S. account holders  will be able to transfer money through the banks mobile apps. For other banks and credit unions, customers will be able to do so through the Zelle mobile app, set to be released this summer.

Once the system is running and the marketing campaign kicks off, Grotta expects Zelle to be a hit.

This is going to be a much better user experience than the banks had before, she said. I think it will start to catch on once people see that they can in fact send money to another person at another financial institution.

For banks, the stakes are high. Though Venmo and other money transfer apps are tiny by comparison, Baker said banks are rightfully worried about what might happen if their customers interact more often with outside payment companies.

If a customer opens an outside p2p payment app once a day and their mobile banking app just once a week, the payment company has more opportunities to sell that customer on products and services the bank would otherwise provide, she said.

Once Venmo builds up a strong enough customer base, then it can say, Hey, come get a credit card from us, or Come get a home loan from us, Baker said. Thats the approach some providers are hoping to take.

Banks see other advantages too. Mary Harman, an executive in Bank of Americas consumer payments division, said its expensive for banks to process checks and move cash around, so an increase in digital p2p payments could cut costs.

She said banks also want to give customers the services and options they want. Some customers, she said, might prefer using Venmo; others might prefer the implied security of managing financial transactions exclusively through their bank.

We serve 65-million households in the U.S., and not everyone will act the same way, Harman said. We have to recognize that and have different products available in different places.

james.koren@latimes.com

Follow me: @jrkoren

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Patrick Soon-Shiong, the L.A. billionaire battling for control of Los Angeles Times owner Tronc Inc., is pressuring the companys board to allow him to buy more stock now that Chairman Michael Ferro has been allowed to up his stake.

In a letter sent Monday to Tronc executives and obtained by The Times, John Quinn, an attorney for Soon-Shiong, said the company should immediately allow the biotech entrepreneur and his investment firm to own as much as 30% of Tronc stock. For now, he is limited to holding 25% under an agreement signed when he invested in the company last year.

Ferro, a Chicago entrepreneur who bought into Tronc last year through his firm Merrick Media, had also been limited to holding no more than 25%. But Troncs board last week approved bumping that figure up to 30% in a move made public by a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

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The company did not offer an explanation as to why the terms of Ferros deal were amended. Earlier this month, the company noted in a different filing that Soon-Shiong, who has been Troncs vice chairman since last summer, had not been nominated to serve on the board in the coming year.

In Mondays letter, Quinn said that Troncs treatment of the doctor and his investment firm, Nant Capital, has been egregious and demanded that the board allow Soon-Shiong to boost his stake in Tronc.

Tronc spokeswoman Dana Meyer said the company rejects the claims in the letter.

We have reviewed it, have found it to be filled with misstatements and baseless innuendo, and intend to respond to Nant Capital as promptly as possible, she said.

The letter lays out several corporate actions that Quinn said have unfairly benefited Ferro and represent poor corporate governance, including the boards decision to not renominate Soon-Shiong for his seat.

We were therefore doubly surprised and troubled by recent actions by the company  all of which we believe are contrary to principles of good governance and to shareholders best interests, the letter said.

Quinn also sent a demand for access to corporate documents, including communication between board members, management and company attorneys over Soon-Shiongs seat on the board, Ferros increased stake in the company and the recently announced buyback of more than 3 million Tronc shares from investment firm Oaktree Capital Management.

james.koren@latimes.com

Follow me: @jrkoren
Pharrell Williams has spent the past quarter century making his mark in pop music, and now his life is the basis of a musical project in the works at Fox.

Titled Atlantis, the musical is inspired by the multi-platinum, Grammy-winning producers childhood in Virginia Beach, Va.

The project is described as a Romeo and Juliet-style story with a musical edge, according to Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news on Monday.

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Williams has either produced or penned a hit for a long list of contemporary pop stars. His production duo the Neptunes helped redefine the sound of hip-hop and R&B in the late 90s and it made him an in-demand hitmaker for Beyonce, Jay Z, Britney Spears, No Doubt, Usher and Justin Timberlake.

Lately hes moved further into the film world.

Last year Williams was a producer on Foxs hit Hidden Figures, which was nominated for three Academy Awards, including best picture, and he wrote original music for it.

He also produced Roxanne Roxanne, which recently debuted at Sundance to acclaim, and his work on the Despicable Me 2 animated film yielded Happy, an Oscar-nominated track that became the biggest of his solo career.

Michael Mayer, who won a Tony for helming Spring Awakening, is attached to direct and Martin Hynes is slated to write. Williams and Mimi Valdes will produce Atlantis under their I Am Other imprint, and Gil Netter is producing for Netter Productions.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

gerrick.kennedy@latimes.com

For more music news follow me on Twitter:@GerrickKennedy
Leaders from so-called sanctuary cities across Southern California struck a defiant tone Monday, stating that they would continue to protect people who are in the country illegally despite threats by U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions to cut off and even claw back grant funding from the Justice Department.

We will fight this vigorously and still continue to maintain services to provide for our high quality of life in Santa Ana, Sal Tinajero, a city councilman in Santa Ana, which voted unanimously to become a sanctuary city shortly after Donald Trump was elected president.

During a brief appearance at the White House briefing room, Sessions repeated previous statements that the Trump administration would seek to deny sanctuary cities some Department of Justice grant funds, but offered no new policies.

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Still, officials in sanctuary cities scrambled to touch base with attorneys and explore their legal options.

We are going to look into every single legal action that we can take to protect ourselves from the Department of Justices plan, Tinajero said.

He said city leaders had already prepared for possible funding cuts, adding that Santa Ana has more than $50 million in reserve, just in case.

Maywood Councilman Eduardo De La Riva said the issue will likely be settled by the courts.

I am confident that when this latest move is challenged in the courts, this too will prove to be yet another loss for this administration, De La Riva said.

Maywood declared itself a sanctuary 11 years ago, enacting a law that said local police could not enforce federal immigration law.

Anti-illegal immigration groups Save our State and The Minuteman Project demonstrate in Maywood in 2006. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Monday evening, Pasadena city officials are expected to take up a resolution on whether to declare itself a sanctuary for people who are in the country without legal status.

For most cities, the move is largely a message of political support for immigrants in the country illegally. But some cities have specific policies tied to them, notably San Francisco, which has come under criticism from Trump and during Sessions briefing on Monday.

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.

Countless Americans would be alive today and countless loved ones would not be grieving today if these policies of sanctuary cities were ended, Sessions said.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee could not be reached for comment, but he sent a tweet soon after Sessions announcement.

#SF knows that #SanctuaryCities are safer, more productive, healthier places to live. We work for all our residents. #SFStandsAsOne, he stated.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Lee said:

San Franciscos sanctuary city laws are in compliance with this federal law. If the federal government believes there is a need to detain a serious criminal they can obtain a criminal warrant, which we will honor, as we always have As we have always asserted, sanctuary cities are safer cities. When immigrants can enroll their children in school, access healthcare for vaccinations, and report crimes, our City and County is safer.

The statement added: It is shocking that the U.S. Attorney General, the nations top law enforcement official, does not agree with this basic principle of public safety.

Some state leaders denounced Sessions move.

Instead of making us safer, the Trump administration is spreading fear and promoting race-based scapegoating, California Senate leader Kevin de Leon said in a statement. 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.

There is no neat definition of sanctuary city, but in general, cities that adopt the designation seek to offer political support or practical protections to people who are in the country illegally. For some cities, the sanctuary movement consists simply of encouraging people without legal status to get more involved in government. Other places, such as San Francisco, adopt far-reaching policies, such as taking steps to cut ties with federal immigration officials and refusing to fully cooperate with them.

Cudahy Councilman Cristian Markovich also said he will stick to his guns and support the citys sanctuary policy. He called it a safety issue.

We pay our taxes and I feel that the federal funding is rightfully ours regardless of the fact that we are a sanctuary city or not, he said.

ruben.vives@latimes.com

Twitter: @latvives

cindy.carcamo@latimes.com

Follow Cindy Carcamo on Twitter @thecindycarcamo

Times staff writer Michael A. Memoli contributed to this report.

ALSO

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UPDATES:

6 p.m.: This article was updated with a statement from the San Francisco mayors office.

This article was originally published at 3:50 p.m.
The Los Angeles County coroners office has identified a man who was shot and killed by Los Angeles police officers in Boyle Heights this weekend.

James Barragan, 35, of Los Angeles, was killed early Saturday in an alley next to a Metro Gold Line station, near the intersection of Soto and 1st streets.

Officers were on patrol around midnight near that intersection when they heard multiple gunshots, according to LAPD Officer Jenny Houser. The officers drove to 1st and Breed streets where the shots had come from and saw a man running from that direction.

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An officer-involved shooting occurred when the officers attempted to stop the man, Houser said. Paramedics responded to the scene and pronounced the man dead. Houser said a gun was recovered.

On Sunday, demonstrators held a rally and march to raise awareness of the police shootings in the neighborhood and demand justice for the man. Demonstrators gathered at Mariachi Plaza and marched to the Hollenbeck police station.

ruben.vives@latimes.com

For more Southern California news, follow @latvives on Twitter.
Pomona police on Sunday arrested a man on suspicion of killing an 8-year-old boy in a drive-by shooting last month.

Sengchan Houl, 35, was taken into custody just before noon and was being held in the Pomona City Jail in lieu of $2-million bond, according to the Pomona Police Department.

Police said additional details about Houls arrest and the investigation into the killing of Jonah Hwang would be released Monday.

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Jonah was with his parents and brother at a family friends home for dinner on Feb. 20 when a gunman pulled up to the residence and opened fire. The boy was fatally struck in the head, according to the Los Angeles County coroners office.

A neighbor in the 1100 block of West 11th Street, Justin Armijo, said he heard a car speed off after gunshots.

No one else was injured, police said.

Jonah had been adopted about three years ago from an orphanage in Taiwan, according to a statement released by his parents, Jonny and Karen Hwang.

He had an infectious smile and loved everyone and everything: sports, wrestling with his dad, running, laughing, superheroes, his parents said. Jonah was a light and joy in our household and we cannot imagine our family without him.

Sandi Hwang Adam, who said Jonahs parents are her cousins, started a fundraising page to help cover costs of the boys funeral. The campaign had a $10,000 fundraising goal, but as of Sunday evening, it had collected nearly $60,000.

Jonahs parents said they would devote the additional funds to creating a scholarship fund for the children of Pomona in memory of their son.

We hope that Jonah can continue to be a beacon of light in this city, and that he wont be forgotten because of the love of so many people that have made his light shine as brightly as the person he was, his parents said.

Times staff writer Sonali Kohli contributed to this report.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno

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An OC Weekly reporter and two photographers said Sunday that they were physically assaulted by pro-Trump demonstrators at a Make America Great Again rally in Huntington Beach and are seeking the publics help in identifying at least one of the people responsible.

Frank Tristan, an intern at the paper, and photographers Julie Leopo and Brian Feinzimer were attacked before one of several counter-demonstrators pepper sprayed an organizer of Saturdays event. After Jennifer Sterling was pepper-sprayed, several fights broke out.



For the record: A photo caption (Photographer shoved) in a previous version of this story misidentified which photographer was shoved in the video. The KTLA video shows Brian Feinzimer being shoved, not Julie Leopo. Another photo and caption (Pepper spray) highlighted a person as shooting pepper spray. Its not clear if that person was the one responsible.

A video of the confrontation shows Sterling trying to intervene after a Trump supporter pushed and shoved Feinzimer, who was shooting pictures of Leopo being hit with an American flag, then repeatedly punched Tristan. A moment later, Sterling is pepper-sprayed and can be seen staggering around, rubbing her eyes before falling to the ground.

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My photographers and intern were just trying to do their jobs, OC Weekly editor Gustavo Arellano said in a statement Sunday. For that, they got harassed by Trump supporters, then shoved and punched when they tried to defend each other. . .Im proud of them, and we will not be silenced by biddies or bros.

On Sunday, Leopo posted a picture of the man in the white shirt and faded blue cap on her Facebook page. She asked her followers for help in identifying the man who assaulted her and two other colleagues.

Well be looking to refer him to law enforcement, the post states.

Heres the sequence of events from video (seen above) aired on KTLA-TV Channel 5.

1. Photographer shoved

2. Reporter defends photographer

3. Man punches reporter

4. An attempt to break it up

5. Pepper spray

Saturdays noontime rally Bolsa Chica State Beach drew hundreds of Trump supporters and was billed as a show of patriotism, a way to celebrate first responders, military veterans, the vice president and the president. It was one of dozens of similar rallies held nationwide.

About two dozen counter-demonstrators, some of whom dressed in black and wore face masks, said they were overwhelmed by Trump supporters and posed no threat. One stressed that the group used pepper spray only after they were attacked by their rivals.

Travis Guenther, whose wife was also pepper-sprayed, said he was among those who chased the man who sprayed Sterling and struck him with a flag that said, Trump, Make America Great Again.

I hit him five times with the flag over his head, said Guenther, who yelled at the man as he was detained by law enforcement officials.

Were not xenophobic, Guenther said. Were not racist. Were just proud Americans.

The three journalists found themselves caught in the middle of the Saturdays fracas.

On Sunday, Leopo said her body still hurt.

I ache all over, she said. What happened was crazy.

1 / 13 Violence erupts at a Make America Great Again rally in Huntington Beach when a protester opposed to President Trump allegedly doused the organizer of the event with pepper spray and was immediately pummelled by a group of Trump supporters. (Cindy Carcamo / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 13 Blows are exchanged during the Make America Great Again march in Huntington Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 13 White doves were released at the start of the Make America Great Again rally in Huntington Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 13 Deanne Payn cheers during the Make America Great Again march in Huntington Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 13 Tensions run high between supporters and opponents of President Trump at the Make America Great Again rally in Huntington Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 13 Mick White rescues a President Trump prop created by anti-Trump protesters during the Make America Great Again rally in Huntington Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 13 A Trump protester hits the sand during the Make America Great Again march in Huntington Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 13 A scuffle breaks out at the Make America Great Again march in Huntington Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 13 Trump supporters clash with opponents during the Make America Great Again march in Huntington Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 13 Supporters of President Trump cheer during Make America Great Again march in Huntington Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 13 A child looks on as a Trump supporter, left, argues with a protester during a pro-Trump rally in Hollywood along Hollywood Boulevard. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 13 Supporters of President Trump dance on the Walk of Fame during the Make America Great Again rally in Hollywood along Hollywood Boulevard. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 13 Trump supporters march in the Make America Great Again rally on Hollywood Boulevard. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Leopo, 26, stood in front of a banner while photographing the anti-Trump demonstrators, when a woman scanning the crowd zeroed in on her, she said. The woman held an American flag and she walked directly to me, yelling Fake news. Fake news. She hit my camera, then she hit my arm. I told her to stop, leave me alone but the woman continued, Leopo said.

Feinzimer started photographing the incident when the woman turned on him, using the flag to swat his camera, Leopo said.

I grabbed [the flag] and threw it to the ground and then she grabs my arm, Feinzimer said in a phone interview Sunday. It just got so chaotic. There was so much rage and anger in the air.

A man in the crowd then demanded that Feinzimer pay for the flag while another man in a white T-shirt and faded blue cap shoved the photographer. Because things happened so fast, Feinzimer said he chose to continue doing my job.

I wasnt so afraid for me, but you have in the back of your mind whats going on around you and you have to stay aware, he said.

Trump takes to Twitter to blame GOP hardliners over healthcare failure 

Tristan, the 21-year-old intern, said he has been reporting on the event all day and noticed that the Trump supporters were the aggressors. In a story published in the OC Weekly, he said they were hurling racial slurs and chanting racist statements at anti-Trump demonstrators.

Video shows Tristan stepping in to stop the man from pushing his colleague. The man turned on Tristan and repeatedly began hitting him in the face and head. Thats when Sterling and others were doused with pepper spray.

From everything I saw, the counter-protesters and Sterling were trying to defend me from the people beating me, Tristan said. Sterling got caught in the middle and was pepper-sprayed. It was not a direct attack on her.

In all, four counter-demonstrators were arrested at Saturdays event, authorities said. Three men were arrested on suspicion of illegal use of a Taser, and one woman was arrested on suspicion of assault and battery, said Capt. Kevin Pearsall of California Parks. Leopo said she reported her attack to an officer at the scene but he did not write up a report.

Feinzimer said its unfortunate that innocent people were injured exercising their rights.

It hurts me to see people act this way, to act with such hate, he said. I cant speak to where that hate comes from.

For more California breaking news, follow @AngelJennings. She can also be reached at angel.jennings@latimes.com.

ALSO

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Man arrested in fatal drive-by shooting of 8-year-old Pomona boy

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US-backed Syrian fighters on Monday paused their offensive on a key dam held by the Islamic State group to allow a technical team to enter the complex, a spokeswoman said.

There have been fears about the integrity of the dam after fighting in the area forced it out of service on Sunday, following earlier UN warnings that a collapse would be "catastrophic".

With air support from the US-led coalition against IS, the Syrian Democratic Forces are fighting to seize the town of Tabqa and the adjacent dam on the Euphrates River, as part of their battle for the militants' stronghold in nearby Raqa.

"To ensure the integrity of the Tabqa dam... we have decided to stop operations for four hours beginning at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT)," SDF spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement.

"This is to allow a team of engineers to enter the dam and carry out their work."

Ahmed said the pause could be extended if necessary.

The IS-held structure was forced out of service on Sunday after its power station was damaged, a source there told AFP.

The United Nations has warned that damage to the dam "could lead to massive scale flooding across Raqa and as far away as Deir Ezzor" province downstream to the southeast with "catastrophic humanitarian implications".

The source at the dam told AFP on Monday that a technical team "will assess the level of damage and repair that is needed so that the dam can resume its operations, after it was put out of service yesterday".

"If fixing the damage will require more time, then we will coordinate with the SDF to request additional time to finish repairs, resume the dam's work and remove any threat to it," the source added.

IS issued warnings through its propaganda agency Amaq on Sunday that the dam could collapse "at any moment".

The US-led coalition said on Monday it was "taking every precaution" to ensure the structure's integrity.

"To our knowledge, the dam has not been structurally damaged," it said in an online statement alongside satellite images of the dam.

The SDF had also denied the dam was damaged, and said military operations around it were being conducted "slowly and with precision".

The alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters launched its offensive for Raqa city in November, seizing around two thirds of the surrounding province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

At their closest point, they are just eight kilometres (five miles) from the city, to the northeast.

But they are mostly further away, between 18 and 29 kilometres from Raqa.

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A man who was on parole was arrested Sunday after he allegedly stabbed his girlfriend to death in what police say was a case of domestic violence.

Julio Cesar Serrano, 42, was arrested after police officers discovered the body of Martha Macias, 45, inside a trailer behind a home in San Bernardino.

Investigators said a person had called the Los Angeles Police Department indicating that Serrano had arrived at the callers house and that Serrano claimed he had hurt his girlfriend.

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LAPD notified officers in San Bernardino, who drove to the trailer and discovered she had been stabbed to death. Serrano was arrested by LAPD and booked on suspicion of murder.

Serrano, who was on parole for burglary and other arrests, was wearing an ankle tracking device.

ruben.vives@latimes.com

For more Southern California news, follow @latvives on Twitter.
Roger Wilkins, a historian, journalist and activist who held a key civil rights post in President Johnsons administration and helped the Washington Post win a Pulitzer for its Watergate coverage, died Sunday, relatives said. He was 85.

Wilkins, most recently a history professor at George Mason University, died at an assisted-living facility in Kensington, Md., his wife, Patricia King, and his daughter Elizabeth Wilkins said. The cause was complications from dementia, they said.

His uncle Roy Wilkins was the longtime executive director of the NAACP. A lifetime later, his daughter Elizabeth worked in the presidential campaign of then-Sen. Barack Obama.

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Wilkins said in spring 2008 that the presidential candidacies of a woman and a black man would have been fodder for a fantasy movie when he graduated from college 55 years earlier.

Today, whatever our problems are, we have a vastly different and better country than the one we lived in in 1953, Wilkins told University of Southern Maine graduates.

From the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, he worked for the Johnson administration, the Ford Foundation, the Washington Post and the New York Times. In his 1982 autobiography, A Mans Life, he described the frustrations of being the lead black in white institutions for 16 years.

In a Washington Post review, famed author James Baldwin wrote that Wilkins has written a most beautiful book, has delivered an impeccable testimony out of that implacable private place where a man either lives or dies.

In 1965 Johnson tapped Wilkins to head the federal Community Relations Service, which was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to mediate racial disputes and foster progress in black communities.

The New York Times said Johnson told him it would be the toughest job ever given any Negro in the Federal Government.... You have one mandate  to do what is right.

As many cities were racked by rioting in the mid-1960s, Wilkins advocated efforts to improve conditions there. We have to change the way people live, he said in the Times in 1967. All the rest is Band-Aids and lollipops.

He joined the Ford Foundation when Johnson left office in early 1969. In 1970, he wrote a Washington Post essay about being almost the only black person at the Gridiron Dinner, the annual Washington frolic of the male power elite. He wrote that its convivial insider jokes about such things as President Nixons Southern strategy amounted to a depressing display of gross insensitivity and both conscious and unconscious racism.

He wound up leaving the Ford Foundation for journalism. His Washington Post editorials in the early months of the Watergate scandal in 1972 contributed to the papers 1973 Pulitzer Prize for public service, a staff award.

Wilkins left the Post in 1974 to join the New York Times, doing commentary on the final stages of the Watergate scandal from his new post.

Among his other books were Jeffersons Pillow: The Founding Fathers and the Dilemma of Black Patriotism, 2001; and Quiet Riots: Race and Poverty in the United States, a 1988 look back at the Kerner Commissions 1968 report on urban unrest that Wilkins co-edited with former Sen. Fred R. Harris, who had been a commission member.

In a 1992 Associated Press story on black and white relations, he criticized the notion among some black people that they should stay away from the mainstream white culture lest they be guilty of selling out or acting white.

If we tried to enforce a black orthodoxy, then we would fall into the white folks trap. They would love for us to all think alike, Wilkins said.

In a 2009 essay in AARP the Magazine, he recalled his feelings about Obamas win.

He wrote that in the early stages of the race, he believed Obama had no chance. This mans been in the Senate for 15 minutes, and white people just arent going to vote for a new black guy. ... I thought back to the scores of highly intelligent black men and women Id known over my lifetime who never even passed Go because whites did not believe they could do serious work.

He said despite his doubts, he still advised his daughter to join the campaign, telling her, This is your generations Selma, and you dare not miss it. And as Obama began winning primaries, I caught that fire.

In his 1982 memoir, Wilkins discussed his own lapses with alcohol and extramarital affairs. He said nobody would have believed my messages if I had presented myself as a pristine and innocent victim of all those bad white folks.

Wilkins was born in 1932 in Kansas City, Mo., where he was forced to attend segregated schools. His father was a journalist and his mother was national leader in the YWCA.

After his fathers death when he was 8, his family moved to New York City and, later, Grand Rapids, Mich. He earned bachelors and law degrees from the University of Michigan.

In a 1969 New York Times profile of his famous uncle, Wilkins said that once when he was fresh out of law school, a member of a prominent law firm asked his uncle if he should be hired.

The elder Wilkins responded, Well, how do you usually judge people you are going to hire? Judge Roger the same way, hire him or not, as you would anyone else.
In my 17 years as an immigration judge in Los Angeles, I heard thousands of cases. I watched sons trying to grasp complicated legal concepts not written in their native language and mothers desperately advocating for daughters who were in detention. I saw families torn apart by a system they were unable to understand.

The Trump administrations new wave of immigration raids will flood the courts with such cases. Though some immigrants will be deported immediately, the fates of many others will be decided by judges, as the Constitution and immigration laws allow. This flood will worsen a longstanding need for more legal representation.

As if language barriers werent enough, defendants in immigration court have no constitutional right to a court-appointed lawyer. For this reason, New York City and other localities have created programs to provide lawyers to immigrants facing deportation. At the moment, L.A. has no such program in place, even though the city has one of the largest unauthorized immigrant populations in the country  nearly one in 10 of these immigrants lives in L.A. County, according to a 2015 study by the Migration Policy Institute.

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In December, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the creation of a $10 million fund to provide lawyers to immigrants facing deportation. But the parameters of the program are still being determined. In order to be effective, the program needs to be implemented soon and expanded quickly.

For defendants in deportation proceedings, the stakes can be life or death, since some face torture or worse upon returning to their home countries.

For defendants in deportation proceedings, the stakes can be life or death, since some face torture or worse upon returning to their home countries. This is why a fellow immigration judge, Dana Marks, once said that deportation cases are death penalty cases heard in traffic court settings. Many other defendants face permanent separation from their families.

Yet immigrants who cannot afford a lawyer must argue against government prosecutors. More often than not, this includes immigrants who are detained  that is, jailed  while their cases move through the courts. Detention almost always means loss of income, while lawyers cost more than the majority of immigrants can afford. A person who speaks little or no English must gather information from police officers or medical experts, submit written declarations in English or find evidence to support their asylum claims, all without access to the Internet or to affordable phone calls. There are an estimated 3,700 immigrants in detention across the greater L.A. area, according to the mayors office.

With one side at such a great disadvantage, it becomes much harder for judges to apply the law in a just manner, increasing the risk of flawed decisions. Especially in cases where defendants are detained, a day in court without a lawyer isnt a day in court at all. A recent study found that detained immigrants who are represented by an attorney are five times more likely to win their cases than immigrants without representation.

A court system without lawyers is not merely unjust  it is also inefficient and wasteful. Without adequate legal representation for immigrants, judges cant spend their time making decisions. Instead, they must constantly explain the legal process, reschedule cases and answer questions. In some instances, judges issue decisions only to cover the same ground again if the defendant is lucky enough to find a lawyer and get the case re-heard.

All this waste results in a heavily backlogged immigration court system, and nowhere more so than in California, where almost 100,000 cases are waiting to be decided. In San Francisco, for instance, an immigrant in court today will have his next hearing over two years from now.

The consequences of this inefficient system are felt far beyond immigrant families. In 2014, immigrants contributed $232.9 billion, or 35.7 %, to the citys economy. The detention of immigrants during unnecessarily drawn-out deportation cases keeps productive workers out of the labor force while also placing burdens on the state system.

New York Citys program, which began in 2013, has been tremendously successful. After securing representation for its first 1,000 clients, the program reported that it completed more than a third of the citys deportation cases in the first or second hearing, and that immigrants were nearly 10 times more likely to win their cases. The program has since been expanded to New York State.

After 17 years on the bench, Im troubled to see a wave of new raids that are sure to clog the dockets for years to come. But I also see an opportunity for local leaders to take a stand and provide immigrant communities with the fair and responsive representation they deserve.

Bruce J. Einhorn is the executive director of the Asylum Project.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook

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A Spanish National Court judge on Monday ordered an investigation into the alleged role of nine Syrian intelligence and security officials in the disappearance and execution of a man in 2013, in what is the first criminal case accepted by a foreign court against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Investigative magistrate Eloy Velasco said the nine could be charged with terrorism and forced disappearance under Spain's universal jurisdiction laws, although he sees evidence of torture, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The case is the first criminal procedure against key Syrian political and security figures, including long-time Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, intelligence chief Ali Mamluc and air force intelligence chief Jamil Hassan.

About 400,000 people have died in more than six years of conflict in Syria. With Russia blocking the referral of the country to the International Criminal Court, activists and victims or their relatives see in European domestic courts their best shot at justice for war crimes.

Stephen Rapp, former U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes issues, said Monday's decision could help put justice on the agenda of international efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis.

"It is the dawn of justice for Syria, it will only get stronger after this point," he said.

The case is built around the arbitrary detention of truck driver Abdulmuemen Alhaj Hamdo, who then disappeared, was allegedly tortured and executed in Damascus.

The complaint was filed last month by a group of international lawyers on behalf of the man's sister, Amal Hag Hamdo Anfalis, a Spanish national.

The sister learned of her brother's death by looking at the macabre trove of photographs smuggled out of Damascus by a sympathetic forensic photographer, codenamed Caesar.

Velasco has called on the sister and the forensic photographer to testify April 10. He also called on the European Union's agency for judicial cooperation to provide information that could lead to setting up an international commission to investigate similar cases.

Velasco is investigating it under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which in Spain allows prosecution of serious crimes in other countries if there is a Spanish victim.

In this case, Velasco says the sister can be considered as the victim.

"It's an important day for the victims of Syria and the world," said Almudena Bernabeu, one of the lawyers from Guernica 37 spearheading the case, who thinks it could pave the way for others to invoke the principle of universal jurisdiction.

"We are sending them a message that they are not alone," she said. The lawyers argue the Syrian state terrorized the civilian population using its security and intelligence branches.

The Commission for International Justice and Accountability said Monday the decision had "significant symbolic importance" for victims in Syria but recognized that the chances of the nine being brought to trial were slim.

Spain has previously taken up universal justice cases against foreign nationals although almost none has concluded in trial.

In the most notable case, the court ordered the arrest of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998, while visiting London. He was kept under house arrest for 18 months before being released for health reasons.

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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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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
Plenty of fingers are being pointed after Fridays abrupt end to Republicans effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. After blaming Democrats on Friday, President Trump on Sunday took aim at hard-right-wing conservatives who didnt back the plan, depriving the GOP of the votes it needed to pass the bill.

Noah Bierman has the story on the lesson Trump learned last week: The negotiating tricks and power plays he honed in business dont translate to the messy world of Congress.

Im Sarah Wire, and I cover the California delegation in Congress. Welcome to the Monday edition of Essential Politics.

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After Republican leaders pulled the bill before Fridays scheduled vote, Trump said on Twitter that hell let the Affordable Care Act explode and wait for Democrats to come to him for a fix.

But that may not be politically possible. Noam N. Levey took a look at what could be next for the law, and what the parties may have to come together to fix once tempers have cooled.

Speaking of the politics of the repeal effort, a handful of California Republicans declined to take a position on the House GOPs healthcare bill, and now they wont have to. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi declared the failure of the healthcare law a victory for all Americans.

Get the latest about the Trump administration on Essential Washington and follow @latimespolitics and keep an eye on our Essential Politics news feed for California political news.

NO STUPID LAWSUITS

California Gov. Jerry Brown spent much of last week in Washington railing against GOP healthcare efforts and pondering the danger of nuclear warfare. He also taped an interview for Meet The Press, where he vowed to avoid filing stupid lawsuits against the federal government and reiterated his interest in Trumps call to fund infrastructure projects across the country.

And he offered a little free advice to Trump: 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.

VEHICULAR WARFARE?

California has been bracing itself for battle with a president whose party represents the polar opposite of the states progressive policies. It looks like that battle may be here.

California regulators are pushing forward with tougher rules on vehicle emissions even though the Trump administration is preparing to roll them back in Washington. Chris Megerian writes about how the divergence between state and federal regulations could reignite historic battles over the cars Americans drive.

TAX BREAKS ARE EASIER TO GIVE THAN TAKE AWAY

Lawmakers in Sacramento are now wading through hundreds of proposed laws, and several would create new tax breaks for everything from teachers to pet owners. But its easier to give a tax credit than to take it away.

In his Sunday column, John Myers takes a look at both the overall total value of California tax incentives  about $55 billion  and why the political stakes for canceling a tax break are so high.

EIGHT DAYS LEFT

Most of the 24 candidates running to replace Xavier Becerra in Congress are scrambling for votes in the final week before the April 4 primary. But theyre fighting over what many believe will be a relatively small number of voters, which means L.A.s congressional race could turn into a friends-and-insiders affair. Candidates and officials alike are concerned voters may not realize theres another election coming up, or might be confused because they already voted in the March city and county contests. Potentially adding to that confusion is a printing error in some Korean-language sample ballots. As a precaution, county elections officials are sending notices to all 8,200 Korean-language voters in the district.

The last fundraising figures before the election are in. Robert Lee Ahn, the only Korean American candidate in a field dominated by Latinos, raised a whopping $338,702 in contributions and loaned himself another $295,000, putting him in a favorable cash position in the final weeks of the election. But its not just big money thats talking in this election: Small donors played a big role for some campaigns, too.

To help sift through the positions of so many candidates, we asked each of them to answer six questions on some top issues, including healthcare and immigration.

TODAYS ESSENTIALS

 This weeks California Politics Podcast takes a closer look at the governors shuttle diplomacy in Washington, as well as the brewing political battle over tuition hikes at California State University and University of California campuses.

 Drivers for Uber and Lyft in California would only need to get one business license under new proposed legislation.

 Mark Z. Barabak finds former California Gov. Pete Wilson waging what amounts to his final campaign, and certainly his most personal: an effort to shape how hell best be remembered.

 State lawmakers have a plan to reform how counties in California set bail for defendants while they wait for their cases to be resolved or go to trial.

 Republican state Sen. Andy Vidak wants 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.

 Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes and Cheryl Brown (who formerly held Reyes San Bernardino seat) could be headed to a rematch next year. Brown, who lost to Reyes by 9 points in a bitter intra-party fight, said shes still exploring whether to run.

 Los Angeles bid to host the 2024 Olympics requires state agencies to begin planning and state officials to guard against changes that might put the venture at financial risk, the state Legislative Analysts Office warned Thursday.

 Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) on Saturday implored Trump to be truthful, saying presidential credibility, once squandered, may never be fully regained.

LOGISTICS

Essential Politics is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can keep up with breaking news on our politics page throughout the day for the latest and greatest. And are you following us on Twitter at @latimespolitics?

Miss Fridays newsletter? Here you go.

Please send thoughts, concerns and news tips to politics@latimes.com.

Did someone forward you this? Sign up here to get Essential Politics in your inbox.
Two congressmen from the state President Trump seems to despise most are leading an investigation into whether his campaign team conspired with the Russians. And the two lawmakers couldnt be more different.

They symbolize, in many ways, the diversity of California and are a microcosm of the sprawling state.

Rep. Devin Nunes, 43, of Tulare is a Republican former dairy farmer from the conservative southern San Joaquin Valley. His county has nearly a half million cows.

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Rep. Adam Schiff, 56, of Burbank is a Democratic former federal prosecutor from liberal neighborhoods stretching from Glendale through Hollywood, Los Feliz, Echo Park, western Pasadena and La Crescenta. His district has the Hollywood sign.

Democrats rule politics in California, but are relegated to second fiddle in Washington. So Nunes is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating  at least its supposed to be  whether there was any collusion between Trump campaign aides and sinister Russians to hobble Democratic loser Hillary Clinton.

Schiff is the committees ranking Democrat. But the only real power he has comes from his ability to articulate and attract a national audience, his savvy as a strategist to prod GOP weaknesses and the discipline to calmly rattle Nunes. He has been doing all this quite well.

California Democrats have been giving Trump a headache, or at least trying to. He lost the state in November by nearly 2 to 1.

Legislative leaders are attempting to declare California a sanctuary state to thwart the presidents attempts to deport immigrants here illegally. And while Trump has begun rolling back federal rules intended to fight global warming, California is pressing forward with tough new pollution-reduction requirements for automobiles.

California arguably has the nations most aggressive and expansive version of Obamacare, which Democrats and political activists have vigorously fought to preserve while Trump has tried and failed to repeal.

California in many ways is out of control, Trump told Fox News last month.

In Nunes, however, Trump seemingly has a soul mate and certainly a loyal follower. The congressman served on his transition team.

The Russian investigation aside, Nunes obsessive interest is on attaining more irrigation water for the valley, primarily from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. That has been his legislative focus for years. And he often has tangled with centrist Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her attempts to balance irrigation and the environment.

You name it, his congressional district produces it: wine grapes, raisins, figs, peaches and  increasingly  thirsty almonds and pistachios. Tulare County also leads the nation in dairy sales. The Nunes family, of Portuguese descent, has operated a large dairy farm for three generations.

Updates from Sacramento 

Nunes rails at radical environmentalists who are trying to save threatened salmon and the coastal fishing industry. It was a man-made drought, not lack of rain, that created water shortages for farmers the last five years, he has said.

There was plenty of water, he contends, but President Obama gave it to fish.

And, while complaining that government isnt building enough dams, Nunes simultaneously attacks big government, equating Democratic spending to a broke gambler who desperately keeps doubling down in a vain effort to break even.

Nunes, like Trump, also is a climate change denier. Global warming is nonsense, he has proclaimed.

But these days, Nunes is making headlines as the Republican chairman of the Intelligence Committee, who, Schiff contends, is too friendly to the president. It compromises Nunes ability, the Democrat says, to conduct an objective investigation of the Trump campaigns alleged ties to Russian operatives.

Schiff is far from the only one. A New York Times editorial criticizing Nunes last week was headlined: A Lapdog in a Watchdog Role.

This was after Nunes rushed to the White House with newly learned intelligence that was perhaps relevant to the committees investigation, but he didnt share it with the committee. Nunes later apologized. But some lawmakers from both parties are calling for an independent investigation, a notion Nunes flatly rejects.

Its no way to run an investigation, Schiff told the Los Angeles Times. You dont go to someone who is associated with people that are under investigation with evidence and withhold it from the investigatory body.

Nunes looked pathetically like an amateur, but hes hardly a political rookie. After graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with an agriculture business degree, he was elected to a community college board at age 22.

He won a congressional seat in 2002 in a district that is one of the GOPs strongest in California. Republicans outnumber Democrats by about 43% to 33%.

By contrast, Schiffs district is heavily Democratic, about 50% to 18%. Hes considered a fiscal moderate and in Congress joined the Blue Dog Coalition.

Schiff graduated from Stanford as a political science major, and earned his law degree at Harvard. He was an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles for six years. Twice he failed to capture a state Assembly seat. But he persisted and won a state Senate race in 1996.

In 2000, Schiff defeated Republican Rep. Jim Rogan, a Democratic target because he had led the impeachment process against President Clinton. It was then the most expensive House race in history.

Schiff is soft spoken, but can use his words like a stiletto. If Feinstein, 83, were to retire next year, as often speculated, Schiff would be a logical candidate to replace her. But she seems intent on running.

Schiff will continue to represent a slice of the Left Coast, which stops far short of Nunes district.

george.skelton@latimes.com

Follow @LATimesSkelton on Twitter

ALSO

Providing free college tuition in California is a good idea  but taxing millionaires to do it is a bad one

Heres an idea for legislators: Figure out how to pay for a spending bill before proposing it

What does sanctuary state actually mean? Its time for lawmakers to figure it out

Updates from Sacramento
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
There are lots of reasons why doctors encourage new mothers to breastfeed their babies. Compared with babies who get formula, babies who are breastfed are less likely to die as a result of infections, sudden infant death syndrome or any other reason. The longer a mother nurses  and the longer she does so exclusively  the bigger the benefits, studies show.

Another perceived benefit of breastfeeding is the possibility that it boosts a babys brain. A clinical trial involving more than 16,000 infants in Belarus who were randomly assigned to get either special support for breastfeeding (based on a program from the World Health Organization and UNICEF) or a hospitals usual care found that babies in the first group scored an average of 7.5 points higher on a verbal IQ test and 5.9 points higher on overall IQ. Teachers, apparently, could tell the difference  children whose moms got extra help with breastfeeding got higher marks in school for both reading and writing.

That result is something of an outlier. In an analysis of 17 studies on breastfeeding and IQ, the four that were considered to be of highest quality  each had at least 500 participants and took a mothers IQ into account, among other things  also found an association between breastfeeding and IQ, though the benefit was only 1.76 points, on average.

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The latest data come from a study of about 7,500 Irish children who have been tracked since birth as part of the ongoing Growing Up in Ireland study. The results were published Monday by the journal Pediatrics.

Unlike the kids in Belarus, these kids were not randomly assigned to groups that got more or less help with breastfeeding. But researchers did their best to get around this problem by simulating random assignments. They identified pairs of children who seemed to be equally likely to be breastfed  based on factors like ethnicity, mothers educational background and whether they had to spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit  except that one of them actually was and the other wasnt.

Using this matching technique, the researchers found very little difference in cognitive development between the two groups of children. The only differences that were statistically significant were for 3-year-olds, and only between those who were exclusively breastfed for at least 6 months and those who didnt nurse at all. (Kids who were older and/or who nursed for shorter periods of time were no different from their peers who didnt nurse.)

In the rough analysis, the children who were breastfed did better on tests of problem solving and hyperactivity. However, after the researchers accounted for other factors, the apparent benefits for problem solving were no longer statistically significant.

The study authors, from University College Dublin in Ireland, were surprised by their findings. They noted that breast milk contains two key nutrients  docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, and arachidonic acid, or ARA  that boost an infants growing brain.

In a commentary that accompanies the study, Dr. Lydia Furman of Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital suggested that this wont be the last word on breastfeeding and brain growth. On the one hand, the preponderance of studies shows that theres a small but durable impact of breastfeeding on intelligence. On the other hand, the more that researchers are able to account for factors like a mothers IQ and the exact duration of nursing, the weaker the relationship between nursing and intelligence is likely to get.

So whats a new mom to do? Luckily, thats a question with an easy answer.

Breastfeeding has an array of life-saving maternal, child, and societal benefits, even if childhood behavioral outcomes are not affected, Furman wrote.

The researchers, led by childhood development expert Lisa-Christine Girard, agreed.

The medical benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and child are considered numerous and well documented, Girard and her colleagues wrote. These findings do not contradict those benefits, they added.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers nurse their babies exclusively for the first six months, then continue nursing for another six months (or longer) after solid foods are introduced.

karen.kaplan@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @LATkarenkaplan and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook.

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Nine leaders of Hong Kongs pro-democracy Umbrella Movement turned themselves in to police on Monday, one day after the territory selected a conservative, pro-Beijing politician as its next leader.

The arrests of the nine, who led months of protests in 2014, sent shock waves through the city, which has generally tolerated a level of dissent that would be unthinkable in mainland China.

Earlier Monday, police had called the activists  students, lawmakers, professors and a reverend  and notified them that thet would be charged with causing a public nuisance, which carries a maximum seven-year sentence. In the evening, all nine surrendered to police.

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Activist Benny Tai gestures to supporters as he enters a police station before his arrest in Hong Kong on March 27, 2017. (JAYNE RUSSELL / AFP/Getty Images)

Early this morning, nobody expected the government would do this, said Chan Kinman, a sociology professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who helped organize the 2014 protests and was among those charged. Its sending a very strong message to society that the government is not going to resolve the conflicts in the community.

Im not worried about myself, even though I know these are serious charges, he added. Im worried about the future of Hong Kong.

Experts say that the charges were just the latest sign of how far the city remains from healing the deep ideological rifts that, for nearly three months in late 2014, spurred tens of thousands of Hong Kongs 7.3 million people to take to the streets.

Since 1997, Beijing has ruled the former British colony under a one country, two systems framework. Beijing takes care of the citys defense and foreign affairs, while the city enjoys civil liberties unavailable on the mainland, such as freedom of assembly and an unrestricted press.

Yet in 2014, many Hong Kong residents believed that the two systems part of the arrangement had begun to fray. Many openly worried that Hong Kong would become just another Chinese city, replete with strict censorship regulations, mandated patriotic school curricula, and Communist Party-controlled courts. Protesters demanded that Beijing allow them to choose their own top leader in 2017, a hedge against creeping authoritarianism.

But Beijing made no significant concessions, condemning the protests. On Sunday, Carrie Lam  a pro-Beijing bureaucrat, and the citys second-in-command during the demonstrations  was elected to the chief executive post by an elite, 1,194-member electoral college stacked with Beijing loyalists.

Former Finance Secretary John Tsang, a clear favorite in pre-election polls, came in second.

At a news conference marking her victory, Lam, 59, promised to unite our society to move forward. Yet even the election was marked by conflict. In the official seating area, some pro-democracy supporters yelled slogans and held up yellow umbrellas  a symbol of the 2014 protests.

The previous night, hundreds of young protesters walked a mile through the eastern part of the city. They held up signs that read, Scam Election and Lies, Coercion, Whitewash.

Shun Tsi Wai, a 24-year-old accounting student, walked with them. Now, the will of Hong Kong will be more controlled, he said. Carrie Lam cares more about the Chinese communists and interests of China.

Lam told a news conference on Monday that she had no prior knowledge of the decision to make the arrests.

This is the action of the current administration, she said, according to the local South China Morning Post newspaper. Prosecution actions are undertaken independently by the Department of Justice under the Basic Law, she added, referring to the citys mini-constitution.

Activist Tanya Chan, center, before her arrest in Hong Kong on March 27, 2017. (JAYNE RUSSELL / AFP/Getty Images)

Activists remain convinced that the charges were politically motivated. Amnesty International called them the latest blow to [the] right to peaceful protest in the city.

Joshua Wong, 20, an Umbrella Movement organizer and leader of the political party Demosisto, called them political prosecution. We expect the suppression to continue, and the scale to increase, he said. Wong was not among those arrested.

Although experts said that the prosecutions would likely set a hard-line tone for Lams early tenure, they were divided over who likely orchestrated the move. Some called them a parting shot by Leung Chun-Ying, the citys outgoing chief executive, who, as a staunch Beijing loyalist, was the target of intense public scorn during the 2014 protests. Others said that it may track back to top Communist Party leaders in Beijing.

The timing of the arrests is troubling because it sends two messages, said Jason Y. Ng, Hong Kong-based author of Umbrellas in Bloom, a book about the movement in 2014. First, Lam operates and will continue to operate, at the behest of some higher power, even at the expense of the citys best interests. Second, that higher power has no qualms about further polarizing Hong Kong society and plunging it into more political crises.

Our leaders are frankly powerless against who put them in power in the first place, he said. Until and unless our leaders are democratically elected, this will always be the case.

The protests began in September 2014 with a student sit-in. Police attempted to disperse the crowds with tear gas and pepper spray, but the protests only grew until they were big enough to choke off three major thoroughfares. Protesters sang songs, waved banners and slept in tents; some protected themselves with umbrellas, giving the demonstrations their name: the Umbrella Movement.

Since then, many Hong Kong residents say that the citys underlying problems have only worsened. They blame Beijings encroaching influence for rising self-censorship in media, the financial struggles of pro-democratic institutions, and the secret detention of five Hong Kong booksellers in late 2015. The citys economic growth is slowing, and income inequality is on the rise.

Since the protests, talk of full independence from mainland China, once an unspeakable taboo, has become borderline mainstream.

Activists say they have not been cowed. The Demosisto party has called for a large civil disobedience protest when Lam is sworn in on July 1, an event timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Hong Kongs return to China from British control.

On Monday evening, scores of democracy advocates gathered in front of Hong Kongs police headquarters to protest the charges.

Im still passionate, said Wong, the Demosisto head. This is not an easy time for us. We still face suppression. ... But well still continue the fight.

Special correspondent Jessica Meyers contributed to this report from Hong Kong,

jonathan.kaiman@latimes.com

For more news from Asia, follow @JRKaiman on Twitter

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South Korean prosecutors said Monday that they would seek to arrest disgraced former President Park Geun-hye on multiple charges, including bribery and abuse of authority, related to a widespread corruption investigation.

The prosecutors said they plan to ask a judge here to detain Park pending a formal indictment related to 13 specific allegations, including bribery, abuse of power, coercion and disclosure of confidential information.

The suspect has used her status as a president to receive money from companies and interfered with the freedom of business management, as well as leaking important confidential material related to the government, prosecutors in Seoul said.

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Parks arrest, if approved, would be the latest twist in the high-profile corruption investigation that has led to charges against more than two dozen people, including several Park aides and the de facto head of the countrys largest conglomerate, Samsung Group.

The announcement comes less than a week after prosecutors summoned the former president for more than 12 hours of questioning.

The National Assembly impeached Park in December amid allegations that she allowed a confidant to use her influence to extort money from the nations largest companies and to access confidential government documents.

A court upheld that vote this month, and Park was removed from office. A special election has been called for May 9 to elect her successor while the prime minister remains the acting head of state.

Park had enjoyed immunity from criminal charges while in office, and two sets of prosecutors had been unable to compel her to answer their questions. Now living as a private citizen in Seouls wealthy Gangnam district, however, Park finally submitted last week.

She rode to the prosecution office in a black limousine escorted by security cars and police motorcycles in an eight-minute procession carried live on television across South Korea. She arrived to find a sea of reporters.

I feel apologetic toward the nations citizens. Ill cooperate in the questioning sincerely, she said then.

Small details about the circumstances of her questioning have leaked  she had gimbap (seaweed rice rolls) and tofu balls for lunch and rice porridge for dinner  but little about the case had emerged until Monday.

Prosecutors said that the former president denied most of the allegations about a scheme with her confidant, a longtime friend named Choi Soon-sil, who remains jailed. Choi is on trial now on allegations that she took millions of dollars in donations from large South Korean companies for foundations or firms she controlled. Some of the companies have said they donated because they felt pressure from Park or the power of her office.

Prosecutors say those payments were bribes, and that they had no choice but to seek Parks arrest, given the seriousness of the allegations  and the fact that many others ensnared by the case await their fates from jail.

As the suspect denies most of the criminal allegations, there is a possibility of her destroying evidence, the prosecution said in a statement. It would be unfair not to seek a warrant considering that her accomplice Choi Soon-sil, as well as those government officials who followed her direction and the ones who gave kickbacks have all been detained, it said.

The public furor over the allegations involving Choi and Park  including allegations that Chois daughter received preferential admission to an elite university  led to weeks of massive, peaceful street rallies reminiscent of the nations transition to a direct presidential democracy in the late 1980s.

Public polls suggest that voters have turned away from Parks former ruling party, which has since splintered, making the election of a more liberal candidate a possibility for the first time in nearly a decade.

A change in ideology for South Koreas powerful chief executive could shift the nations policy on North Korea and its posture with the United States on regional security. The leading candidate in the polls, Moon Jae-in of the center-left Democratic Party, has said he would delay deployment of an American-backed defensive missile system and be open to more engagement with North Korea, despite its refusal to stop developing nuclear weapons and technology to deploy them.

Parks administration has been pushing to quickly deploy the missile system, known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, in a southern South Korean province. It intended to protect American allies from medium-range missiles fired by North Korea, but it has also led objections from China.

Park is the first South Korean president to be removed from office through impeachment, but shes not the first to face criminal scrutiny after leaving. Two former presidents, Chun Doo-hwan and his successor, Roh Tae-woo, were charged in the mid-1990s with collecting money from businesses. They also faced sedition charges related to Chuns coup and a violent crackdown against pro-democracy protesters.

Chun and Roh received sentences of life and 22 years in prison, respectively, but they were later pardoned.

Another former president, Roh Moo-hyun, committed suicide by jumping from a cliff in 2009 after leaving office after prosecutors questioned him about alleged crimes by family members. He previously had survived an impeachment vote amid allegations of electioneering.

Stiles is a special correspondent.

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9:40 p.m.: Updated with details, background.

This article was originally posted at 8:05 p.m.
For decades, South Korean leaders such as ousted former President Park Geun-hye and those in their orbits have endured criminal inquiries, embarrassing scandals, even prison time.

Its almost a rite of passage in this relatively young democracy.

Since the mid-1990s, two former leaders received lengthy prison sentences. Another committed suicide by jumping into a ravine after questioning by prosecutors. Still others have left under clouds of suspicion about corruption among relatives or friends.

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Few have escaped untarnished by scandal  both a testament to the countrys struggles with corruption and also perhaps to its burgeoning commitment to the rule of law.

Park Geun-hye bows in apology as she delivers an address to the nation from Seoul on Nov. 4, 2016, when she was still president. (YONHAP / EPA)

Now Park also faces the prospect of jail time after prosecutors on Monday sought her arrest on as part of a sprawling corruption investigation that forced the scandal-marred politician from office earlier this month. She remains free and had no comment about the decision.

Prosecutors have asked a court for permission to detain the former president  whose father ruled South Korea as a military strongman as the country emerged as an economic force in the 1960s and 1970s  pending an indictment related to 13 allegations. They include bribery, abuse of power, coercion and disclosures of confidential information.

The allegations against Park are long-simmering and have upended the nations political order, prompting historic street protests for months.

The prosecutions effort sparked a variety of reactions among South Koreans on Monday inside and outside the countrys institutions of power.

For some, like Younkyoo Kim, a professor at Hanyang University in Seoul, a nagging question lingers: Why do Korean presidents keep on making these kinds of mistakes?

Theories abound.

Its that strong presidency thats the problem because as soon as a president is elected, everybody immediately starts to check their Rolodex.  Michael Breen, author of The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want, Where Their Future Lies

Some say the presidency itself, crafted in the late 1980s to be democratic but maintain a strong leader during a continuing warlike posture with North Korea, requires constitutional reform. Proposed changes are stalled in the National Assembly.

Others point to decades of collusion  both real and perceived  between the countrys powerful family-controlled conglomerates, known as chaebol, and political leaders, including the president. Despite years of progress in reforming their influence, solutions remain elusive amid concern about maintaining South Koreas export-driven economy, among Asias largest.

Park was the nations first female president and the first democratically elected leader to be removed by impeachment. However her saga ends, Parks name will be added to a list of troubled South Korean presidencies.

The nation emerged from the Korean War under Syngman Rhee, a strongman who fled the country in 1960 amid a popular uprising. He died in Hawaii in 1965. The following two decades were largely led by Parks father, Park Chung-hee, who ruled as a strongman until his assassination by the nations spy chief in 1979.

The country began allowing direct election of presidents in the late 1980s, when mass protests threatened to cast a shadow over the Summer Olympics in Seoul.

Two other former leaders, Chun Doo-hwan and his successor, Roh Tae-woo, were charged in the mid-1990s  after they left office  with improperly collecting tens of millions of dollars from businesses during their tenures. The two men, former army colleagues, also faced sedition charges related to Chuns coup and an earlier violent crackdown against pro-democracy protesters in a southern province.

Chun and Roh received sentences of life and 17 years in prison, respectively, but were later pardoned.

Another former president, Roh Moo-hyun, committed suicide by jumping from a cliff in 2009. He had left office after prosecutors questioned him about alleged crimes by family members. He previously had survived a highly politicized impeachment vote amid allegations that his public support for a new political party in legislative elections violated constitutional provisions under South Korean law mandating presidential impartiality.

Other presidents have seen family members charged amid allegations of influence peddling, an endemic problem, some believe, in South Korea, where government ties to businesses generations ago propelled the economy to its current heights.

Some say reform, perhaps switching to a parliamentary system that might shift power to a prime minister and cabinet ministries, is needed.

Its that strong presidency thats the problem because as soon as a president is elected, everybody immediately starts to check their Rolodex, said Michael Breen, author of The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want, Where Their Future Lies, which chronicles decades of the countrys triumphs and scandals.

Oh, I went to university with his cousin. Bingo. Those sorts of connections, or the perception of connections, allow for all sorts of advantage.

In Parks case, a combination of these government critiques seems to have been at play in her swift downfall, which began in earnest last fall after the disclosure that she allowed a confidant, a woman with no government title, access to sensitive government documents, including drafts of important speeches.

Prosecutors later alleged that the confidant, Choi Soon-sil, used her influence with the president  with Parks knowledge  to extort contributions from business titans to firms she controlled. The bribery allegations involve whether Park helped direct approval for a controversial Samsung Group merger in exchange for payments to firms controlled by Choi.

The suspect has used her status as a president to receive money from companies and interfered with the freedom of business management, said a statement from the prosecutors in announcing their arrest warrant application.

The National Assembly had already impeached Park in December, and a court upheld that vote earlier this month. A May 9 snap election will select her successor, while the prime minister remains the acting head of state.

Long under suspicion, Park had enjoyed immunity from criminal charges while in office, and two sets of prosecutors and the impeachment court had been unable to compel her to answer their questions. Now living as a private citizen in Seouls wealthy Gangnam district, however, Park finally submitted last week.

A supporter of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye looks at photos of Park on a wall of her private home in Seoul on March 27. (Lee Jin-man / AP)

I feel apologetic toward the nations citizens, she told a sea of reporters after arriving to meet the prosecutors. Ill cooperate in the questioning sincerely.

Park did, sitting for roughly 14 hours of questioning that day. Prosecutors said she denied most of the criminal allegations, but they sought her arrest to prevent the destruction of evidence. They also said it would be unfair for her to avoid detention while others who followed her direction remain jailed.

That list includes perhaps South Koreas most-powerful man, Samsung Electronics vice chair Lee Jae-yong, the tech giants heir apparent whose net worth is estimated at $6 billion.

Parks arrest, if approved after a hearing planned for Thursday, would be the latest twist in the high-profile corruption investigation that has led to charges against more than two dozen other people, including several Park aides. Other chaebol chiefs have faced questions in recent weeks about payments they made to Choi.

The news that Park now faces jail is hardly surprising to many who have followed South Korean politics or its latest scandal, which played out in detail in the media for months. Some say they would have been angry otherwise, and they hope the move signals progress.

I felt relieved, said Seoul resident Kim Ji Hong, 24. I wanted to shout, I can still live here!

Public polls suggest that residents such as Kim might reject any candidate from Parks former conservative ruling party, which has since splintered, making the election of a more liberal candidate a possibility for the first time in nearly a decade.

A change in ideology for South Koreas powerful chief executive could shift the nations policy on North Korea and its posture with the United States on regional security.

The reaction from political spokesman for the countrys main political parties was relatively muted, with expressions of understanding for the prosecutions steps to regret that the scandal has upset the people.

A spokesman for the conservative Righteous Party, which split from Parks Liberty Korea over the impeachment vote, noted concern that yet another president faces criminal scrutiny and perhaps jail.

We hope former President Park will offer a sincere apology and show a sincere reflection of her wrongdoing before the people, Rep. Oh Shin-hwan said.

Stiles is a special correspondent.

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It had been the vacation of a lifetime.

Kurt Cochran and his wife, Melissa, had never traveled outside the U.S. before and their 25th wedding anniversary was something extra special to celebrate.

The Utah couple decided to head to Europe, where they spent several weeks hopping from Scotland and Ireland to Holland, Belgium and Germany, soaking up the sights and relishing the chance to meet strangers from different cultures.

They had taken hundreds of photos and Kurt had repeatedly told his friends and family he felt like he was home.

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He was so happy the whole time, said Sandra Payne, Melissas mother. He was like a little kid. Just loving every moment of it. The last two weeks were just amazing for the two of them. Just perfect.

As their trip was drawing to an end, the Cochrans had one final day in London, where they wanted to take in some of the citys most iconic sites  including Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

As they were crossing Westminster Bridge last Wednesday, a car officials said was driven by 52-year-old Khalid Masood mounted the curb at high speed and plowed into them in Britains worst terrorist attack since the 2005 subway and bus bombings. Kurt was killed and Melissa was hospitalized with a cut to her head, broken ribs and leg injuries.

In total, 50 people were injured and four were killed, including police Officer Keith Palmer, who officials said was fatally stabbed by Masood just inside the gates leading to Parliament.

The British-born Masood was then shot and killed by police who say he was motivated by Islamic-related international terrorism, but acted alone. Masood was known to police and had a string of previous criminal convictions, including for assault, inflicting grievous bodily harm and weapon possession, officials said.

Authorities said Monday there was no evidence to suggest that Masood had ties to Islamic State or Al Qaeda militants and they were still appealing for anyone who had been in contact with him in recent days, weeks or months to come forward.

I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said.

During a news conference at New Scotland Yard, the couples family talked about the pain they have been grappling with since the attack last week.

The circumstances under which he was killed obviously are horrific, said Jason McFarland, who is married to one of Melissa Cochrans sisters. I think we all feel horrible that it happened, but it happened, and we love him still.

The family members said they became aware that Kurt and Melissa were caught up in the attack after seeing images online. They thanked the public for its outpouring of support and celebrate Kurt Cochrans life, instead of focusing on the attacker.

[Kurts] whole life was an example of focusing on the positive, not pretending that negative things dont exist, but not living our lives in the negative, said Clint Payne, Melissas brother. Thats what we choose to do also.

At least a dozen relatives of the couple were present for the news conference, taking turns to speak passionately about them.

Most of them flew to London immediately after the attack, but Melissas parents, Dimmon and Sandra Payne, were already in the city, where they are serving as Mormon missionaries. They said Kurt was a humble man who loved creativity and wanted to make the world a better place.

Kurts sister-in-law, Sara McFarland, said one of her most striking memories was when Kurt had performed on stage with her band in Utah wearing a powder blue tuxedo from the 1970s, complete with ruffles and a flower.

It was so great to see him smiling on stage with us, she said. He was happy to share in what we had created and he was so excited that we were able to accomplish something with our band.

The couple was self-employed and shared a love of music, building a recording studio business from scratch over the past 10 years, Clint Payne said on a GoFundMe page set up to support Melissa that has amassed more than $70,000 in pledges.

Participating in family occasions without Kurt will be one of the hardest things to handle, relatives said.

He would play with all the kids, he was a magnet. Kids just ate him up, said Shantell Payne, Melissas sister. Thats really going to be a tough one for our little family members.

Jennifer Burton, another sister of Melissas, said the family was focusing on getting Melissa strong enough to return home.

Shes a fighter, Burton said.

Boyle is a special correspondent.

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Since taking office nearly three years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to clean up Indias notoriously corrupt political system.

His signature policy so far  abolishing large currency notes that accounted for 86% of the cash in circulation  was billed as a strike against undocumented black money, much of which flows into the coffers of political parties and candidates and makes tracking campaign finance almost impossible.

But Modis government might have made electoral financing in India even more opaque with a series of measures that critics say will undermine public trust in the worlds largest democracy.

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A finance bill approved by lawmakers last week would enable individuals to make large political donations anonymously  by purchasing bank certificates redeemable by parties  and eliminate limits on corporate contributions to parties.

Modis government argues the measures will improve transparency because the contributions would be channeled through the formal banking system, reducing the use of cash. But watchdog groups say the moves will only increase the influence of major companies and special interest groups over a political system that many Indians already believe is rigged in favor of the powerful.

The changes in the finance bill were billed as improvements in the transparency of political funding, said Milan Vaishnav, an India expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington and author of When Crime Pays, a book about money and criminality in Indian politics.

Yet, with these alterations, 100% anonymous corporate giving  stripped of any limits  is now not only legal, it is encouraged.

Few would argue that campaign finance in India desperately needs an overhaul. The Assn. for Democratic Reforms, an election watchdog, released a study this year that found nearly 70% of political contributions in India came from undisclosed sources.

Parties reported more than $1.7 billion in income from 2004 to 2015. But loopholes, including a law stipulating that the sources of individual cash contributions of less than $300 did not have to be disclosed, have long meant that there is almost no paper trail for large chunks of campaign cash.

Modis government has reduced that limit to $30. But because there is no cap on the number of such contributions, and there are plenty of opportunities to fudge receipts, experts say parties could in effect take in an unlimited number of $29 donations.

The state has given legitimacy to opacity, Vaishnav said.

The changes were passed Wednesday by the lower house of Parliament, where Modis Bharatiya Janata Party has a majority, after scant debate and with relatively little notice from mainstream Indian media.

They appear set to become law because Finance Minister Arun Jaitley appended them to a bill that involves government spending and by law does not need the assent of the upper house, which is held by the opposition.

The way the Omnibus Finance bill has been passed, no debate, you wish for good of India there was an effective opposition.  Ishkaran Singh Bhandari (@Ish_Bhandari) March 24, 2017

Modi campaigned on his ability to jump-start Indias economy, and his party has a reputation for being business-friendly. But as the cost of Indian elections has skyrocketed, corporate interests have poured money over the years into both Modis party and the other national party, the Indian National Congress.

Last year, Modis government instituted a rule that eased contributions to political parties from foreign sources, while at the same time clamping down on nonprofit groups dependent on overseas funding.

Until now, a law prevented corporations from contributing more than 7.5% of their net profits to political parties. The changes would do away with both the cap and the requirement that the company disclose the party to which it donated.

In theory a business house can donate all its profits to a political party, and nobody will ever know which political party this company has donated to, said Jagdeep Chhokar, founding member of the Assn. for Democratic Reforms.

If enacted, the changes will further erode Indians trust in their elected officials, he said.

People dont think very highly of politicians, here and around the world, Chhokar said. Parties can improve that image only when they come clean.

Parth M.N. is a special correspondent.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia
Iran's president met Russia's prime minister on Monday in a bid to develop a warming relationship that has been greatly strengthened by both sides' involvement on the same side of the war in Syria.

Beginning a visit to Moscow, President Hassan Rouhani told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev: "I hope that a new turning-point in the development of our relations will be reached."

Iranian arms purchases and Russian investment in the Iranian energy sector are likely talking points for Rouhani, less than two months before Iran's May 19 presidential election.

Iranian media say he will discuss several economic agreements - potentially valuable prizes for the moderate leader, who is keen to show his people that Iran is benefiting from its 2015 deal with world powers to rein back its nuclear programme in returning for an easing of international sanctions.

"Rouhani desperately wants to finalise at least one deal based on new petroleum contracts before the election," said Reza Mostafavi Tabatabaei, an energy analyst and president of London-based ENEXD, a firm involved in the oil and gas equipment business in the Middle East.

"Western companies like (France's) Total are waiting for U.S. approval before any investment in Iran, so Rouhanis only chance is Russian companies that might sign a deal before the election."

As key allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia and Iran have played decisive roles in the past 18 months to turn the tide of the Syrian conflict in his favour.

When Russian jets used an airbase in Iran to launch attacks against militant targets in Syria last summer it was the first time Moscow had made a military deployment there since it was an occupying force in the 1940s.

Economic ties have developed in parallel: bilateral trade nearly doubled between January 2016 and January 2017, according to a statement by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development cited by the Sputnik news agency.

"The political and military relations right now between the Islamic Republic and Russia are the strongest that weve seen ever," said Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Worry For Washington

The rapprochement is a concern for both Saudi Arabia, Tehran's main rival for dominance in the Middle East, and for U.S. President Donald Trump, who has expressed an interest in working more closely with Russia but has issued a number of harsh statements about Iran.

After Iran carried out a ballistic missile test in late January, Trump tweeted that the Islamic Republic has been put on notice and moved quickly to issue new sanctions.

Of greatest probable concern to Washington is the sale of military hardware to the Islamic Republic. Last year, Russia provided Iran with its S-300 missile defense system, which had been purchased in 2007 but was stalled for years because of sanctions.

Senior Iranian defense officials have expressed interest in purchasing SU-30 fighter aircraft and T-90 tanks from Russia.

On the energy front, Russia played a key role last autumn in helping break a deadlock over OPEC output levels, where agreement had long been hampered by tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, OPEC and non-OPEC sources told Reuters at the time.

President Vladimir Putin personally intervened with both Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and Rouhani, leading to a landmark deal where Iran was allowed to boost oil production while Saudi Arabia agreed to a cut.

Russias political, economic and military alliance with Tehran made it a unique mediator between Iran and Saudi Arabia, to lead them to a point that is beneficial to both, and also to Russia, Tabatabaei said.

Rouhanis economic team is expected to sign approximately a dozen memorandums of understanding during the visit, which will also include talks with Putin on Tuesday.

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Iraqs military disputed reports that a U.S.-led coalition airstrike ordered by Iraqi forces killed civilians in west Mosul this month, even though the claims were substantiated by an initial coalition investigation this weekend.

In response to witness reports that an airstrike killed scores of civilians, including women and children, in west Mosuls Jadidah neighborhood on March 17, the Iraqi military issued a statement Sunday saying that while a strike had been ordered that day, military experts dispatched to a house at the scene found no sign of a strike. Instead, they insisted the houses walls had been booby-trapped, and a suicide car and detonator found nearby.

Witnesses told them that families had been forced to the basement and the house bombed while others in the area were used by militant snipers and suicide bombers. They recovered 61 bodies.

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All walls were booby-trapped and there is no hole that indicates an airstrike, the statement said.

They noted that Iraqi forces rescued 25 women and children from a similarly booby-trapped house and that late Saturday, militants attacked Iraqi troops again in the same area by exploding a tank.

Our forces are still engaged in fierce battles and sacrifices to liberate our people, the statement said.

The statement came as some Iraqi officials called for an independent, international investigation into the airstrike. It also contradicted accounts from Iraqi officials at the scene Friday and witnesses who claimed militants used them as human shields.

Iraqi Civil Defense Lt. Col. Taha Ali said the airstrikes came after militants began shooting at aircraft with heavy rockets.

Everything was from an airstrike, he said at the scene Friday.

West Mosul residents have been complaining for weeks of civilian deaths and injuries caused by airstrikes in other neighborhoods.

Mohammed Mahmoud Suleiman, also with civil defense, estimated that at least 200 people had been killed in the latest strike.

1 / 18 A man overcome with grief cries out as he is escorted away after finding a loved one dead amid the rubble of a destroyed home following an airstrike in Mosul, Iraq. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 18 A man points towards the fighting as he walks through an area that was affected by a reported coalition air strike in the al-Jadida neighborhood of Mosul, Nineveh Province. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 18 Family members identify the dead bodies recovered in the rubble of a destroyed home after there were reported coalition air strikes in the al-Jadida neighborhood of Mosul, Nineveh Province,. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 18 Neighbors and volunteers watch as corpses are pulled out of the rubble of a home destroyed by reported coalition air strikes in the al-Jadida neighborhood of Mosul, Nineveh Province. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 18 Iraqi residents carry out body bags after recovering corpses from the rubble inside a house destroyed by an airstrike in Mosul. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 18 People move quickly to avoid danger along the destroyed streets in Mosul after an airstrike attributed to the U.S. killed scores of people in Iraqi city. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 18 With the help of family members, Iraqi Civil Defense members recover a body that was buried in the rubble of a home destroyed by an airstrike in Mosul, Iraq. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 18 Residents climb out of a basement after showing where family members survived an airstrike by being underground in Mosul, Iraq. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 18 A man walks out of a destroyed home in Mosul, Iraq, climbing over piles of rubble left following an airstrike. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 18 A man grieves for his loved ones, who were found dead in the rubble of a destroyed home after reported coalition airstrikes in Mosul, Iraq. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 18 Turkya Azadin weeps while watching Iraqi Civil Defense members recover bodies trapped in the rubble after a reported coalition airstrike in Mosul. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 18 Residents pile body bags in the back of a truck after airstrikes in Mosul left scores dead. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 18 Family members help Iraqi Civil Defense members pull corpses from beneath the rubble in Mosul after airstrikes killed dozens of civilians. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 18 Local residents help Iraqi civil defense force members recover corpses trapped in the rubble of a home destroyed after coalition air strikes in the al-Jadida neighborhood of Mosul. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 18 The dead body of an Islamic State militant lies in the street after coalition airstrikes in Mosul, Iraq. Dozens of civilians were killed during the raid. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 18 Mosul residents pile body bags in the back of a truck after recovering the dead from the rubble in Mosul. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 18 Iraqi Civil Defense members search for bodies in the rubble of a destroyed home after coalition airstrikes killed scores of civilians in Mosul. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 18 A boy stands outside a house in Mosul in which neighbors had reported that Islamic State was operating. The rubble in front of the boy is what remains of a house destroyed in coalition airstrikes. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

We have bodies under the concrete because of an aircraft, an airstrike, Suleiman said at the scene Friday.

You can see all the destruction, he added, pointing to several blue body bags, one of which was unzipped to reveal the body of a young boy in a blue sweatshirt. Another contained a pregnant woman wearing a dark head scarf. Residents said one of the victims was just 20 days old.

The destruction was not isolated: Several homes on the street had been razed. At one house, neighbors  including relatives of those killed  said 130 people had died in that home alone.

The area has been destroyed, witness Ihab Adnan, 35, said at the scene Friday, insisting that the strike should be investigated and families like his who had lost several loved ones compensated so that they can rebuild.

We want to be paid and for people to know what happened to us, he said as he walked among body bags containing his relatives remains, including children.

Munatha Jasim, 52, lost her 7-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter in the strike. Standing beside the remains of her home, she said she was still waiting to recover the rest of her childrens bodies.

Their heads are there, she said. We just want to take the bodies out, more than anything.

At least 50 bodies could be seen at the site Friday, and Iraqi civil defense workers recovering remains said they had found more than 80. The World Health Organization confirmed at least 100 deaths, while witnesses and neighbors claimed hundreds of bodies remained beneath the rubble.

The death of innocent civilians in Mosul is a terrible tragedy. We are investigating the incident to determine exactly what happened.  Gen. Joseph Votel, military commander for U.S. Central Command

Witnesses said they saw militants park a suicide truck on the street days before, then a sniper set up on top of a house, shooting at aircraft which responded with the strike.

Lise Grande, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said the U.N. was stunned by the loss of life and that everything must be done to avoid civilian casualties.

Parties to the conflict  all parties  are obliged to do everything possible to protect civilians, Grande said in a statement. This means that combatants cannot use people as human shields and cannot imperil lives through indiscriminate use of fire-power.

If the deaths are found to have been the result of an airstrike, it would be one of the deadliest coalition attacks on civilians in recent history.

The death of innocent civilians in Mosul is a terrible tragedy, Gen. Joseph Votel, military commander for U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, said in a statement. We are investigating the incident to determine exactly what happened and will continue to take extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians.

Soldiers with the U.S. Armys 82nd Airborne Division have been ordered to Iraq to help Iraqi forces dislodge Islamic State militants in their final holds in Mosul. A relatively small number of the troops will assist Iraqis, who are facing mounting resistance in the densely populated city, according to a U.S. official, who wasnt authorized to speak publicly about the decision.

The fact that the U.S.-led coalition has yet to determine whether it was at fault for leveling a city block, an incident that killed so many people, underscores the number of weapons dropping in Mosul as the bombing campaign ramps up.

Hundreds of artillery shells, ground-based rockets and precision-guided bombs strike targets around the densely populated city each week, raising questions about whether the Trump administration has relaxed the written rules of engagement in the more than 2-year-old war against Islamic State.

Civilian casualty claims from U.S.-led coalition airstrikes have increased in both Iraq and Syria.

Col. John Thomas, spokesman for Central Command, said the rules of engagement have not been changed and the military maintains tight restrictions to ensure that civilians are not inadvertently injured or killed.

The U.S.-led coalition and its ground partners in Iraq and Syria are closing in on Islamic States last strongholds, where the militants mix among the locals in heavily populated areas. This is a departure from the early phases of the campaign when the militants were driving through the desert flying black flags, making themselves easy targets.

Iraqs security forces are making measurable progress, the fight in Mosul is a difficult one, and particularly because the enemy operates amongst the civilian population. While I am confident ISIS will be defeated, there is tough fighting still ahead and we will continue to prioritize the protection of the people of Iraq in the conduct of all operations, said Votel, using an acronym for Islamic State.

Times staff writer Hennessy-Fiske reported from Baghdad and Hennigan from Washington.

molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com

william.hennigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @mollyhf, @wjhenn

ALSO

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All material is subject to strictly enforced copyright terms & conditions and cannot be repurposed or reproduced.  19882022 Latin American Financial Publications Inc.
It would surprise anyone but it's true that Apple CEO Tim Cook got his new Surface Pro 4 from Microsoft during Monday's conclusion at the China Development Forum in Beijing. It happened that each of the 300 attendees has been given a brand new Microsoft Surface Pro 4 that they could take home as a gift from the event's sponsor, the Microsoft company. Tim Cook was one of these attendees who got his own Microsoft Surface Pro 4 on Monday.

It can be seen on Twitter, which Hyken Wong posted, that there appears Tim Cook's nameplate with the alluring Microsoft Surface Pro 4 beside it. "Haha, all the SP4 there in Development Forums, even Tim Cook has to use it," he further tweeted, as The Science Times reported.

According to CNET, few of the attendees during the said forum on Beijing have actually used the free laptops that were given as gifts to them. Tim Cook was not seen even inspecting this machine after all since no updates are being reported about it yet. He may have inspected it in private but for some security issues, he would be more cautious in using it for curiosity's sake.

It can be recalled that Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is the laptop that Microsoft uses in mocking the iPad Pro in advertisements. Tim Cook even referred to this laptop as "a cross between a fridge and a toaster." Tim Cook made this statement as if he will never turn his head on such a gadget as the Microsoft Surface Pro. This is very normal to CEOs of leading global companies. However, with the event's turn of giving this particular machine as a free gift to attendees that include himself, intrigue cannot be avoided.

Although this is not the very first time that the Apple CEO has been on photos with a Microsoft product, many people are still intrigued whether he would switch to this particular hybrid of tablet-laptop. There's a big possibility, however, that Tim Cook will use his Microsoft Surface Pro 4 for a flawless iPad kickstand as many users did with utmost convenience.
Chile, China, and Egypt have lifted suspensions on Brazilian on meat imports on Saturday. Brazilian government stated that this is the victory for the Latin American countries' third-biggest export industry.

According to Financial Times, China, Chile, and Egypt lifted the bans on Brazil meat in spite of ongoing investigations into allegation of corruption between health inspectors and the operators of regional plants. The Brazilian government says the move follows a "giant effort" by officials to explain the investigation into tainted food.

The export suspensions on Brazil meat were instituted over the put week after federal police announced a probe into meatpacking companies and plants. The investigation was launched on March 17 that pointed that some regional operators used rotten meat or otherwise violated regulations in preparing processed goods.

BBC has reported that the scandal was triggered by a huge federal police investigation last week. That found that meatpackers had been selling rotten and substandard produce for several years.

After the investigation, the police alleged that some regional plants of JBS and BRF were involved in the team. They say some officials of both the companies conspired with a ring of corrupt health inspectors to pay the bribe on Brazil meat in order to get the certificate.

However, the lifting of the suspensions on Brazil meat is good news for the government of President Michel Temer. The government hopes the economy of the country was expected to recover this year. The Brazilian government is wrestling with the country's worst recession in more than a century.

The Brazil's President Michel Temer, in a statement, said," reaffirms the trust of the international community, robust and recognized around the world". Brazil meat that is exported amounted to nearly $14bn each year. But the figure has fallen sharply since the scandal broke out.

Meanwhile, the scandal caused a 22 percent drop n weekly average exports of pork and poultry. But there is no report related to the beef export.


Similar to Microsoft Surface Pro 5, the Microsoft Surface Book 2 has been roaming around all over the wire. Now, the said notebook is said to be in mass production stage making its fans anticipate an April launch date.

According to DigiTimes, trusted sources have revealed that new Microsoft Surface Book 2 is already being mass produced. The publication also noted that this piece of information came from reliable sources in the supply chain. The said informant believes that the Redmond-based tech giant is possible to unveil the new Microsoft Surface Book 2 at the end of March or April.

When it comes to the design, Tech Times has learned that the Microsoft Surface Book 2 will not adopt its predecessor's appearance. As a matter of fact, Microsoft will be implementing a clamshell design to its forthcoming notebook. Aside from that, this device will reportedly feature a framework that is made of a magnesium-aluminum alloy.

The upcoming Microsoft Surface Book 2 is also predicted stick to the 13.5-inch display. Nevertheless, the tablet hybrid nature of the Surface Book is maybe being superseded due to the design clash with the other anticipated gadget from Microsoft; the Surface Pro.

As for the price, it was noted that the Microsoft Surface Book 2 will likely to be tagged at a lower cost compared to its predecessor. There is a huge probability that the tag price of the new product will be around the $1,000 mark. This is significantly lower than the starting prices of the previous Surface Book model that is tagged with a rate ranging between $1,499 to $3,199.

Until this moment, Microsoft hasn't confirmed the above-mention speculations yet. Nonetheless, if the source can be really trusted; the mass production of the Microsoft Surface Book 2 might be true thus making it safe to conclude that the upcoming notebook from the Redmond-based company could hit the market shelves next month.
Google recently started the year of with the release of their latest mobile operating system version, Android 7.0 Nougat. The new version was rolled out for a handful of previously released Google Nexus devices as well as for the company's newest premium flagship smartphones, the Google Pixel and the Google Pixel XL.

The company then quickly released several new version of the operating shortly after, including Android 7.1.1 and the beta for Android 7.1.2. However, for the past few weeks, the company has become silent regarding plans for new updates, which has really concerned some Android fans. According to a report from Android Central, there might have been a good reason for the long silence.

The report reveals that Google may have actually been preparing a public release for the latest Android 7.1.2 operating system update. The company's vice president for Android, Dave Burke, even pointed out in a blog post that the developers have been working on the public release for "a couple of months," starting from when Android Nougat was initially unveiled. The post further revealed that they are actually preparing to release the update soon.

Based on the blog post, reports have pegged the release of Android 7.1.2 to be sometime at the end of March or perhaps at the very first days of April. This claim was further backed by the recent actions of one of the biggest carriers in Canada, Rogers. The carrier recently sent out announcements for Google Pixel owners to enable VoLTE in order to receive an upcoming update on April 3.

It also has to be pointed out that Rogers has been testing their new VoLTE service with the previously released Android 7.1.2 beta. This fact combined with the hint of an upcoming update has made some publications predict that the public release of Android 7.1.2 could very well be on April 3, 2017.
Researchers have located an impact crater linked to a powerful tsunami that swept across part of ancient Mars. That has triggered 150 metre-high water on Mars tsunami waves when it plunged into an ocean on the red planet three billion years ago.

According to BBC, the details of the research of waters on Mars were outlined at the 48th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Lomonosov crater in the planet's northern plains fits the bill as the source of tsunami deposits identified on the surface. Scientists stated that the feature is extremely degraded today, with a collapsed crater rim.

The NASA scientists presented the report on waters on Mars at the 2017 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in the Woodlands, Texas. The team led by Francois Costard, planetary geomorphologists from the University Paris-Sud in France, it has identified the possible sources for one or more of these tsunamis.

The team and the researchers began by looking for craters that might reveal the locations of tsunami-producing impacts. They have modeled a system about the waters on Mars would propagate.

India Today has reported that some scientists think an ocean might once have filled the vast lowland region that occupies the red planets northerly latitudes. The water on Mars waves washed over the boundary between the southern highlands and northern lowlands help strengthen the hypothesis.

However, the scientists have previously proposed the occurrence of the waters on Mars. But the recently published report is the first study to link an event to an impact crater.

NASA scientists have reported this is not the first time scientists examined the evidence for waters on Mars. The scientists have published a report on Nature, stated that two mega-tsunamis had wiped out the shorelines of an ocean that existed in the northern hemisphere.

The report is based on images captured by Mars-orbiting spacecraft. That about 3.4 billion years ago, two meteors crashed into the Martian ocean, that is triggering 400-ffot-high tsunami waves.


Miroslava Breach, a reporter for La Jornada and el Norte de Juarez, was shot dead while she was in a car outside her home in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. The dead of the third journalist in a month in Mexico is raising new alarms about the state of free expression in a country.

According to Los Angeles Times, Mexican journalist Miroslava Breach spent her final days documenting murders. The famous journalist reported the six people killed in a single night in her home state of Chihuahua, and on the assassination of a well-known environment there.

Miroslava Breach became the victim of the growing violence in Mexico on Thursday that she chronicled so thoroughly. The 54-year-old journalist and mother of three were killed as she left her home in the capital city of Chihuahua, the third journalist slain in Mexico this month. Breach was known for reporting on issues including organized crime and drug trafficking.

The Amnesty International has reported that the journalist was shot several times as she pulled her car out of the garage early in the morning. One of the children with her at the time of the incident was unhurt.Miroslava Breach was rushed to the nearest local hospital, where she pronounced dead.

The local authorities and police officers have not arrested any of the suspects in the case. The local report has stated that Breach was likely killed because of her journalism. Miroslava Breach cast a critical light not only on Mexico's criminal groups but also the failing of its government. However, the journalist's committee urged the Mexican government to put an end to the violence by bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The International Federation of Journalist has reported that Mexico is the third deadliest country for journalists in the world, with more than 120 murders in the last 25 years. During the time, only Iraq and the Philippines saw more journalists killed.


Recent reports about the Microsoft patent hinged a display on a mobile device. The said patent contained details to the rumored Surface phone and hinted what it could be, is Microsoft ready to release the high Surface Phone this year?

Indian Express reported that the new patent released hinted that the Redmond Giant tech company is rumored to be working on a Surface phone with a foldable screen. The rumored device would be a powerhouse that is capable of competing in the present giant brands in the industry like the Samsung and Apple.

In a recent interview with Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft stated in Australia Financial Review that they will be introducing a new generation of mobile. They said that Microsoft will continue in the phone market, not following and be defined in today's market but by doing what is unique in the most ultimate mobile device.

According to some reports, Satya Nadella referring to the ultimate mobile device was actually suggesting the Surface phone. On Thursday, FPO reported that the patent was already granted to Microsoft that was originally filed on Sept. 17, 2015. The patent mainly has four parts, there are two transparent panels which are adjacent into each other.

Next, it has a display layer with also two display panels apart by a gap, it also has redirecting elements. These elements are positioned on each side of the display panel combination and transparent panels and it all resulted into foldable display.

But Microsoft noted that everything is subject to change as there are still several embodiments mentioned in the patent. During the Windows Weekly session claimed that Microsoft doesn't bring out successor in Surface Book Line and claimed that Microsoft definitely creating a new breed device.

According to Mary Joy Foley, a reporter in ZDNet stated that the new rumored underwork breed will still focus on Microsoft's Surface devices. Other reports claimed that Surface Book 2 and Surface Pro 5 is unlikely to introduce this year. Though there hasn't been any confirmation about Microsoft is working on the Surface phone

If Microsoft will introduce its Surface phone this year, it surely going to be a tough one. The Korean giant tech companies like LG and Samsung will also introduce foldable phones.
Shell Company has been making efforts for the clean-up of the 2008 Nigerian oil spill. The clean-up is expected to start in April. Last 2015, the Royal Dutch Shell agreed to a 55 million pound ($68.62 million) settlement with the Bodo community in Nigeria.

The agreement happened after the company admitted for the two pipeline leaks due to corrosion which led to Nigerian oil spill that severely contaminates the land. According to Irish Examiner, the Royal Dutch Shell fiercely opposed to any environmental testing.

The company had concealed several data showing the terrible effects of Nigerian oil spill to thousands of Nigerians. The residents in the area are exposed to health hazards due to Nigerian oil spill. The progress of the clean-up has been slow after Shell Company said that the town denied access on August 2015.

One of the community representatives stated that they were unhappy with the contractor Shell picked. According to Belfast Telegraph, there is an environmental study to prove that the pollution caused by Nigerian oil spill is very high because the soil is soaked with hydrocarbons.

German geologist Kay Holtzmann said that people in Bodo, particularly in the oil-producing Southern Niger Delta, should undergo urgent medical tests. The clean-up which took place 17 months ago was a part of a British out-of-court settlement.

In the context of the agreement, Shell paid 83.5 million dollars to 15,600 fishers and farmers for the damages of Nigerian oil spill caused by the old pipelines in 2008 and 2009. The Nigerian oil spill destroyed thousands for hectares of mangroves and creeks.

Bodo Mediation Initiative (BMI) is now mediating between Shell's Nigeria subsidiary and the Bodo community about the Nigerian oil spill. There are also representatives from the United Nations Environmental Programme, Dutch embassy, local government, and non-governmental organizations.

Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) promise gives their full commitment to ensure that the clean-up would successfully take place. The group will work with the BMI to implement a remedy plan to save Bodo area from Nigerian oil spill.




NATO has rescheduled a key meeting of foreign ministers for Friday, the alliance said, after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was unable to make the original date next week.

"Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers moved forward to 31 March," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said on Twitter on Monday.

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Leicester Citys Demarai Gray was a second half substitute as the England Under-21s recovered from Fridays defeat to Germany with a 4-0 rout of Denmark on Monday night.

The City winger, who recently featured during 3-1 victories over Liverpool and Hull City, has been in stellar form this season and was impressive again for Aidy Boothroyds men at the AutoC Park Randers Stadium just three months ahead of the U21 EURO tournament in Poland this summer.

Solly March and Cauley Woodrow strikes were bookended by a brace from Chelsea youngster Ruben Loftus-Cheek in Randers. Gray almost got himself on the scoresheet in the 77th minute, too, only to fire high and wide - but he remained a threat throughout his 29-minute cameo in Scandinavia.

Enterprising full-back Ben Chilwell also travelled to Denmark after playing a full 90 minutes during the 1-0 reverse to Germany on Friday evening. However, he did not feature this time around for the young Lions with Boothroyd, the former Watford and Coventry City manager, evaluating his squad.

Elsewhere, the exhibition friendly match between Nigeria and Burkina Faso, scheduled to take place at Barnets The Hive Stadium on Monday, was abandoned meaning Ahmed Musa and Wilfred Ndidi will return to Leicester in the coming days ahead of clashes against Stoke City and Sunderland.
Mar 27, 2017, 5:07am ET

Aston Martin aims at Rolls-Royce with Lagonda sub-brand

Aston wants to take a different approach to luxury.

Aston Martin has hatched a plan to return to the highest rung of the automotive industry. The brand is re-launching its emblematic Lagonda nameplate to take on to players in the luxury segment like Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

Aston primarily stands for performance cars, so company boss Andy Palmer asked his team to take a different, unprecedented approach to luxury.

"The direction I gave to [Aston design boss] Marek Reichmann was "look, Rolls-Royce is the epitome of luxury. It's first class in a Boeing 777 -- big and comfortable, we can't compete with them. Give me Concorde -- the best of speed; the finest of fastest cars," explained Palmer in an interview with Australian website Motoring.

He confirmed a sedan and a SUV will spearhead Lagonda's return as a full-blown manufacturer. Neither design has been finalized yet, but the high-riding model will not be simply a more luxurious variant of the DBX that Aston will begin building in Wales before the end of the decade.

The models will likely ride on a bonded aluminum platform developed and manufactured in-house. And while engines and other mechanical components could be shared across different model lines, the Lagonda models will feature brand-specific designs and interiors.

"It's got to look like it comes from a different father," summed up Palmer.

The first member of the new Lagonda lineup is tentatively scheduled to make its debut around the turn of the decade.

Note: 2017 Aston Martin DB11 pictured. Photo by Steve Siler.
New York LIVE: 2017 Nissan GT-R Track Edition

Apr 12, 2017, 4:05pm ET

Nissan will use the New York auto show to add a third trim to its GT-R lineup.

Nissan is adding a new Track Edition to its GT-R lineup for the 2017 model year. The 2017 Nissan GT-R Track Edition made its United States debut at the New York auto show.

The new GT-R Track Edition will slot between the "base GT-R Premium and the top-spec GT-R Nismo. The Track Edition will use the same 565-horsepower twin-turbocharged 3.8L V6 found in the GT-R Premium rather than the 600 horsepower unit used in the GT-R Nismo, but it'll gain some go-fast goodies from the Nismo model.

Those improvements include additional adhesive bonding for improved rigidity, a lighter Nismo-tuned suspension and Nismo-spec tires. The Track Edition also boasts Nismo front fenders, 20-inch wheels, carbon fiber rear spoiler and a unique red and black interior treatment.

"The new GT-R Track Edition gives buyers a specialized model, one true to GT-R heritage and available only by special order, said Michael Bunce, vice president, Product Planning, Nissan North America, Inc. "Building on the major upgrade to every GT-R for 2017, the Track Edition is an amazing package inside, outside and under the skin.

Nissan hasn't announced pricing for the 2017 GT-R Track Edition, but expect a premium over the base GT-R's $109,990 starting price.

Nissan last offered a GT-R Track Edition in the United States in 2014.

Live images by Brian Williams.
A vacant Allentown home was torn down Sunday morning, hours after it was gutted by fire, authorities report.

The blaze at 621 N. Ninth St. was reported about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, city fire department Capt. John Christopher said.

The investigation into the cause continues but the city fire marshal couldn't get into the building due to the damage and the danger, Christopher said.

With flames coming out the first- and second-floor windows of the two-story, detached home, the fire immediately went to two alarms, Christopher said.

Firefighters initially took the battle into the home, but when one stepped through a floorboard and another through a stair, tactics changed and they only applied water from outside the home, Christoper said.

It took about an hour and 10 minutes to knock down much of the fire, Christopher said. The home was a "total loss," he added.

Firefighters protected the exteriors of other homes in the neighborhood to keep the fire from spreading, he said.

No one was hurt fighting the fire and the only damage it did to surrounding row homes was compromising the electrical service next door at 619 N. Ninth, Christopher said. Those residents were assisted by the American Red Cross, he added.

There was concern about the home collapsing on Saturday night and a wall did bow, he said. Collapse zones were set up just in case, he added.

While neighbors mentioned concerns, Christopher said he didn't know if anyone was squatting in the vacant home.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The Lehigh Valley drug task forces busted a cocaine and methamphetamine ring, with multiple raids Friday morning in Allentown, authorities said.

Authorities allege Ramon Reyes was the ringleader, and he delivered or accepted deliveries of cocaine and methamphetamine eight times in March.

Officers raided Reyes' home at 1020 W. Wyoming St. in Allentown, and police said they found cocaine, $1,092 in cash, a rifle and evidence of a drug dealing operation.

Reyes and and Elinette Nieves, who also lives at the address, were arrested. The 35-year-old Reyes is facing multiple drug charges, as well as a person not to possess a firearm. He was sent to Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $350,000 bail.

Nieves, 29, faces possession with intent to deliver, possession and conspiracy charges. She was sent to county jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

The following people were also arrested and charged:

Victor Rodriguez Jr. allegedly delivered meth March 16 to Reyes at Reyes' home.

At Rodriguez's apartment at 343 N. Sixth St. in Allentown, police said they found methamphetamine, two digital scales and a cellphone used for drug transactions.

The 51-year-old Rodriguez is facing five drug charges, and was sent to county jail in lieu of $350,000 bail.

Luis Angel Rosario delivered meth to Reyes on March 15 near Penn and Washington streets in Allentown, police said.

At Rosario's home at 426 W. Green St. in Allentown, officers said they found "owe" sheets, scales, marijuana, heroin and a cellphone used for drug transactions.

The 28-year-old Rosario is facing eight counts of drug charges, and was sent to county jail in lieu of $350,000 bail.

Jonathan Irizarry allegedly bought cocaine from Reyes on March 17 at Reyes' home.

At Irizarry's home at 1006 W. Tilghman St. in Allentown, police said they found cocaine, marijuana, $8,269 in cash, a stolen .38-caliber Luger revolver, and digital scales.

Irizarry, who turned 30 on Sunday, is facing eight counts of drug charges, as well as a person not to posses a firearm and receiving stolen property. He was sent to county jail in lieu of $350,000 bail.

Comarie Thomas allegedly bought meth from Reyes twice, on March 13 and March 17.

At Thomas' home at 2230 W. Allen St. in Allentown, police said they found marijuana, a digital scale, and a cellphone used for drug transactions.

The 26-year-old Thomas is facing eight counts of drug charges and was sent to county jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

David Rodriguez allegedly bought cocaine from Reyes on March 6 in the 600 block of East Brick Street in Allentown. At Rodriguez's home at 17 W. Sycamore St. in Allentown, police said they found cocaine, $1,383 in cash, "owe" sheets, plastic vials and digital scales.

The 39-year-old Rodriguez is facing six counts of drug charges, and was sent to county jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Eric Fisher allegedly bought meth from Reyes on March 20 in the 700 block of South Eighth Street in Allentown.

Fisher, of the 400 block of Bridle Path Road in Bethlehem, is charged with possession with intent to deliver meth, possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of a cellphone.

The 46-year-old Fisher was sent to county jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The owners of Martin Tower are holding their first public meeting Monday night to discuss the future of Bethlehem's tallest building.

Owners Lewis Ronca and Norton Herrick announced earlier this month that they were convening a 7 p.m. public presentation to detail the remediation plans for the old Bethlehem Steel headquarters.

The meeting is being held at earby Nitschmann Middle School, 909 W. Union Blvd.

Representatives of the Center Valley-based RCD Group will give a short presentation outlining the remediation process, including safety standards and protocols.

"The remediation process is necessary to the site's redevelopment and revitalization," an earlier news release stated.

Representative Duane Wagner did not respond to a request seeking further details on the plans for the site ahead of Monday night's meeting.

The owners have applied to the city for permits to begin remediation and selective interior demolition of the iconic 21-story tower that has been empty for years. The tower itself is filled with asbestos, which must be removed whether Ronca and Herrick decide to demolish the building or remodel it.

In January, the 53-acre site at Eighth and Eaton avenues in West Bethlehem was surrounded with temporary fencing in anticipation of demolition work. In recent weeks, trees began to pile up on parts of the property.

The developers bought the property in 2007 but its redevelopment has been stalled for years and the landmark building's fate is unknown.

The tower itself is polarizing. Some view it as a historic landmark worth preserving, while others see its cruciform shape -- designed to maximize the number of corner offices -- as a monument to the greed that brought about Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s demise.

The developers have been tight-lipped about their plans for the property in recent years, refusing to weigh in during contentious 2015 hearings about the property's rezoning.

The rezoning allows for the tower to be torn down and allows greater retail uses on the site.

City officials argued it was necessary to jump-start the redevelopment of the property into a mixed-use. But they later came under fire when it was revealed that the city and developers discussed plans for the site months before they became public.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Verizon store in Forks Township

Cellphones were stolen Oct. 29, 2016, from the Verizon store at 301 Town Center Blvd. in Forks Township (Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com)

A woman charged with receiving cellphones stolen from a Verizon store has given up her right to a preliminary hearing and her case is the first of possibly several to reach Northampton County Court.

Patricia Calcano, 29, is accused of possessing four Samsung S7 Edge cellphones with a total value of $2,940, according to court records. She had the phones between last Oct. 29 and Nov. 16 in her Allentown home; the phones belonged to Verizon Wireless Nation, police said.

Court papers now show her crime took place Oct. 29, the same date Nadir Chandler is charged with stealing cellphones from the Verizon store on Town Center Boulevard in Forks Township.

Calcano was arraigned March 3 before District Judge Jacqueline Taschner on a felony count of receiving stolen property. She waived her preliminary hearing on Friday before Taschner and her formal arraignment is set 9 a.m. May 25 in county court.

She was living in the 200 block of St. George Street in Allentown, but she is charged in the district court that covers Forks and Palmer townships.

Most of the court records connected to a crime spree involving several Lehigh Valley cellphone stores since last fall have been sealed. A task force is investigating five cellphone store robberies from late October through February in the Lehigh Valley and northwest New Jersey, as well as a homicide and abduction in late November reportedly tied to the Forks case.

While clerks in the district and county courts wouldn't be specific on Monday, it appears the papers remain sealed, so Calcano's exact role remains unclear -- as is why she was charged where she was. She remains free on $15,000 unsecured bail.

Forks police Chief Greg Dorney declined to answer Monday when asked why Calcano is charged in an Oct. 29 crime and if she was present at the Forks store when the theft happened, referring calls to Assistant District Attorney Patricia Mulqueen. She's heading a multijurisdictional task force into the crimes and couldn't immediately be reached Monday morning.

Calcano also gave up her right to an attorney, court papers say. She could not immediately be reached for comment.

Three other suspect -- Vaughn Felix, 26, of Easton; Greg Lewis, 26, of Wilson Borough, and Eric Watson, 25, of Allentown -- face charges from various parts of the investigation but have not gone forward yet with preliminary hearings, all of them being continued from their original dates. They remain jailed in lieu of bail of $100,000 or more.

Chandler, 25, formerly of Bethlehem, is charged with theft from the Forks Verizon store and didn't fight extradition in Georgia, where he recently served time in an unrelated case. He is expected to be returned this week to Northampton County to face arraignment.

No one has been charged in the robberies in South Whitehall and Lopatcong townships, the killing or the abduction. Authorities have previously said all the crimes are related.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
An online fundraiser has been launched to help raise money for funeral expenses for 24-year-old Baher Raafat Eskander, of Allentown.

A friend of Eskander has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser aiming to raise $12,000. By 11:30 a.m. Monday, $2,665 had been raised by 42 people.

Proceeds will help the family with any costs related to Eakander's passing, according to friend Bryan Lanning, of Allentown.

"If you knew Baher ... you knew how much of a caring person he was, especially for his family and close friends," Lanning said. "His family always came first, making sure his efforts benefited the household."

Friends of Eskander, who called him by the nickname "Egypt," remembered himn as their "go-to guy" because he had a knack for calming situations down and giving suggestions. Lanning said Eskander lived his life "always striving," whether it was taking up a new hobby, learning a new topic or figuring out how to fix something.

Eskander, of the 800 block of Sherman Street, at 12:37 p.m. Saturday lost control of the motorcycle he was driving on Route 309 and struck a bridge abutment of the Interstate 78 overpass in Lower Macungie Township. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim said the cause of death was attributed to multiple traumatic injuries and the manner of death was ruled an accident. The coroner's office and Pennsylvania State Police at the Fogelsville barracks continue to investigate.

Nancy Eskander, 15, Baher's sister, said she wasn't sure where her brother was headed at the time, but he also was with two friends who were also riding bikes with him.

Eskander was a 2010 graduate of Dieruff High School and attended the academic center program at Lehigh Career and Technical Institute, where he studied material handling. He worked for B. Braun Medical Inc. in Allentown in the Introcan department and had aspirations of becoming a mechanical engineer.

Funeral arrangements are by the Judd-Beville Funeral Home of Allentown. Services are set for Wednesday.

Besides his sister, Eskander leaves behind his mother, Sohayla Awad, and stepfather, Alaa Hegazi, as well as two brothers, Bahaa Eskander, 18, and Bassem Eskander, 26.

"He had the most unforgettable laughter and smile that was contagious, no matter the situation," Lanning said. "Baher had his jokes, although sometimes corny, they would be keep you laughing for hours. His more serious side offered you great life advice through several hour-long conversations or during long drives to nowhere.

"He had so many great qualities, Baher was just an all-around wholesome person," he added on GoFundMe.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
As a 33-year-old man raped an 11-year-old girl, the girl's family called police and reported her missing, authorities said.

Sandro Zhinin, of Brooklyn, New York, is accused of traveling to the Lehigh Valley three times to sexually assault the girl, whom he met online.

The third time Zhinin drove to the area, this past Saturday, he was met by troopers from the Bethlehem barracks at a playground where he had arranged to meet the girl, authorities said.

Zhinin was arrested and is charged with rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of a minor and criminal use of a cellphone.

He was sent to Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.

The girl told investigators she met someone known as "Sam" on the website Meet Me. They communicated through Skype and Snapchat, and eventually arranged to meet in person, state police said. The girl reportedly told Zhinin she was 11.

On March 4, the two met at the Fourth Street Park in Northampton Borough and Zhinin took the girl to the Red Roof Inn off Airport Road, state police said. The girl told Zhinin she was too young to have sex, and when he asked her if she wanted to have sex, she said no, according to police.

Zhinin then raped the girl, and later drove her back near her home, state police said.

Zhinin picked up the girl again on March 11 at the same park, and took her to the Scottish Inn, also off Airport Road, state police said.

Again, the girl said she did not want to have sex, and that she tried to get off the bed and kicked Zhinin before he raped her twice, according to state police. When the girl looked at her phone, she saw missed calls and texts from her family, who called police and reported her missing, troopers said.

When the girl got home, she told police she was sexually assaulted by a man she only knew as "Sam," prosecutors said. The girl had injuries consistent with what she reported to police.

Zhinin "panicked," according to police, drove the girl close to her house and dropped her off. Troopers found Zhinin's credit card information that he used to rent the room at the Scottish Inn, and later found he used his driver's license and credit card to rent the room at the Red Roof Inn.

The girl identified Zhinin from a photo lineup March 13, troopers said.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
By JoAnn Bergeron Nenow and Pamela Bechtel

The first budget blueprint to Congress has caused a great deal of concern and confusion. Many media outlets, for instance, incorrectly reported initially that the government was defunding Meals on Wheels programs.

We received a lot of unexpected attention as a result -- and a lot of concern from the people we serve, our dedicated volunteers and the public at large. We need to separate fact from fiction so people understand the ramifications that proposed federal budget cuts could have.

Meals On Wheels is not a federal program and thus can't be eliminated by any federal budget. Meals on Wheels is a proven public-private partnership that successfully improves the quality of life for our most vulnerable seniors and adults with disabilities. We ensure that our clients receive the nutrition they need to stay healthy and live in their homes for as long as possible.

Our Meals on Wheels programs in Northampton and Lehigh counties are independent nonprofit organizations and aren't chapters of a national organization. This year we must raise a combined total of $1.2 million to meet the needs of our community.

Our funding comes from a number of sources. Our programs depend on client payments that are on a sliding scale but don't cover the cost of their meals. We also depend on government funding, which accounts for about one-fourth of funding for both of our agencies. This includes the Community Development Block Grants program, a program that the budget blueprint would discontinue.

Over the past five years we have received more than $280,000 from our counties' CDBG programs. These grants helped to purchase meals, commercial kitchen equipment as well as fresh produce from area farms through our Better Fresh Project, an initiative that incorporates locally grown fruits and vegetables into our clients' daily meals.

Of greater concern is the proposed 17.9-percent cut in funding for the Department of Health and Human Services. The primary source of federal government funds for Meals on Wheels programs under the Older Americans' Act comes from this department. Nationally, 35 percent of the total funding for Meals on Wheels (both for senior center meals and home-delivered programs) comes from OAA.

Details on how OAA might be impacted by the proposed budget have not yet been released, but any cuts to OAA surely will have an impact on Pennsylvania and our local Meals on Wheels programs.

Pennsylvania ranks fourth in the percentage of people 65 and older. By 2030, the state's 60-and-older population is expected to be 29 percent of the population, approximately 4 million people.

State Bureau of Aging Director Christine Miccio told the House Aging and Adult Services Committee that with more than 3.9 million Baby Boomers projected to become eligible for aging services in Pennsylvania by 2020, the department anticipates the demand for congregate and home delivered services to rise concurrently.

Here in the Lehigh Valley, we expect to serve 565,000 meals this year to our clients and those whom we serve under meal contracts. We are serving 24 percent more meals than we did just four years ago. Trends in our aging demographics show that the need for our program will continue to increase.

We have proudly served our community for more than 45 years and will do so for many more years to come. While we will continue to provide meal deliveries, friendly visits and other programs such as grocery shopping services, the proposed budget cuts, if enacted, will force us to find additional sources of private funding, which will be challenging.

Congress will decide how funds will or won't be allocated in the next budget, but a 17.9-percent cut in funding to the Department of Health and Human Services and the potential loss of CDBG funding are truly worrisome.

JoAnn Bergeron Nenow and Pamela Bechtel are executive directors for Meals On Wheels of Northampton County and Lehigh County, respectively.
A vehicle crash that occurred as the Monday evening rush hour was beginning was slowing traffic on Interstate 78 West in Warren County.

The crash was reported at 4:18 p.m. in the area of Exit 3 in Alpha, according to New Jersey State Police. Reports from the scene indicated the crash was actually a half-mile east or so of Exit 3, in Greenwich Township.

A Ford Explorer towing a Honda CR-V overturned, according to state police spokesman Trooper Alejandro Goez. Neither occupant in the Ford was seriously injured, police said.

Both SUVs ended up on the westbound shoulder of the highway, reports from the scene indicated.

Responders closed the right lane, and reports indicated traffic headed toward Pennsylvania was backing up to at least Exit 7 shortly after the crash.

The Stewartsville and Alpha fire departments and Greenwich Township and Alpha EMS responded, in addition to state police.

Freelance photographer Dave Dabour contributed to this report from the scene.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Bus Eireann users in Laois will have to make other arrangements again on Monday but Irish Rail is confident there will not be repeat of last Friday's curtailments caused by the bus strike.

No Bus Eireann services will run on Monday with no progress or talks between unions and management over the weekend.

There was significant disruption to many Intercity train services last week as services were affected by the bus dispute. While Iarnrod Eireann is not a party to the dispute, disruption arose from picketing associated with the dispute.

However, in a statement issued on Sunday, March 26, Iarnrod Eireann said "it does not anticipate further disruption" arising from the bus dispute.

The company updated this statement with a tweet on Sunday evening. "No rail disruption arising from Bus Eireann dispute anticipated tomorrow: we will update here if any change from 05.00hrs" said the company on social media.

To read Irish Rail's tweets go here

The train company said customers who did not travel on Friday due to service cancellation because of uncertainty over services, are advised to email reservations@irishrail.ie including your reservation number for a full refund for your rail ticket.

It added that Bus Eireann tickets are not valid on Iarnrod Eireann services during this dispute. It also advised that there will b higher demand on rail services as long as the dispute continues.

It said customers with flexibility should travel outside busiest times.

"We apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused from Friday's disruption," said Irish Rail.

Dermot O'Leary of the National Bus and Rail Workers Union warned on RTE today that workers in Irish Rail and Dublin Bus are concerned with the situation facing their colleagues in Bus Eireann. He said that NBRU policy is that dispute is with bus company alone but he could not direct the actions of union members during the dispute.
Fresh from successfully seeing off closure Cistercian College Roscrea is to host an open day to promote the school to parents of potential pupils Laois and other counties.

The organisers say event will give parents who are interested in the school an opportunity to view the facilities, receive information about the schools offerings and meet students, parents and staff.

The schools Action Group also confirmed the amount of money raised to save the school and what it plans to do with the funds. Ronnie Culliton is the chairman of the Action Group Chairman.

During the course of the campaign we received over 500 pledges of financial support totalling over 1.8 million. These came from past students and current parents and we intend to invest over 1 million of this into the schools facilities over the next six years, he said.

The Action Group also released some of the data that was included in their presentation to the CCR trustees and ultimately led to the decision to invest in the schools long term future.

It is claimed these figures show an encouraging demand for the new day boarding and five-day boarding options that the school is now offering. There have been 69 expressions of interest for 2017 enrolments and a further 49 for 2018.

This would bring the projected student population above 200 in 2018, a key milestone according to Mr Culliton.

The idea is to steadily build figures back to the point where we can maximise the schools vibrancy, said the former student and current parent.

The Action Group, through past pupil Graham Ross, used an online survey to establish the demand for new options proposed by the leading boys boarding school.

The survey was advertised via Facebook and the distribution of 14,500 flyers to boys schools in the catchment area. The groups Facebook page attracted over 3,300 likes and a reach of almost 300,000 over the course of the campaign.

Due diligence was also carried out with personal phone calls made by all group members to many of the 512 survey responders.

The Action Grop says the Open Day will give people a great opportunity to see student life in action. Registration for the day opens at 11am.

Rugby and hurling games will be organised for kids in attendance who will also be given a guided tour of the school by current students. Parents will be given the opportunity to meet staff and current parents who will be happy to answer any queries that they have. There will also be information given on a new bursary programme available from September 2017 for new students.

Anyone interested in experiencing life as a boarder in CCR will also have a chance to do so. On Friday March 31st the school will welcome prospective new boarders to join the crew from 4pm.

To secure a place for the overnight CCR experience those interested should contact the school.

This investment coupled with the increasing numbers of students will surely allow Cistercian College Roscrea to thrive into the future.

The school ranks among Irelands top 5 schools for academic results, has won the Leinster Rugby Schools Senior Cup, All Ireland Schools Hurling title and boasts an impressive reputation for musical achievements.

The Open Day takes place at the school on Saturday April 1. For more information please contact the school on 0505 23344 or visit www.ccr.ie
The man behind the Supermac's fast food chain is expected to begin the process of building a Portlaoise motorway services stop in the coming weeks.

The Leinster Express understands that on the back of the purchase of a key piece of land off the M7 motortway near Junction 17, Mr Pat McDonagh is aiming to repeat the success of Barak Obama Plaza at Moneygall.

Mr McDonagh already has a busy Supermacs outlet in Portlaoise and owns a hotel in the town. His chain is the anchor fastfood outlet in the nearby motorway services stops in Monasterevin and Ballacolla.

The site earmarked for the Portlaoise development is close to another hotel and food court located off the motorway which was developed by Laois builder Paddy Kelly. A planning application for to build a filling station was previously rejected.

The development of the Supermacs services station will have to get the permission of Laois County Council.

Laois councillors today, Monday, March 27 gave the goahead to the council's management to buy 76 acres land from Mr McDonagh which adjoins the site earmarked for the motorway services stop.

In the past few weeks, Mr McDonagh purchased the 109 acre NAMA controlled site for a price in the region of 3.25 million. The council will pay 1.75 million to the businessman for part of the site which it wants to use to attract jobs and investment to Laois.

The entire 109 sites was originally part of the council-backed strategy to build an Inland Port on Portlaoise's outskirts. The project was to have included transportation and distribution businesses taking advantages of Portlaoise's location.

Public and private money was already invested in the site to pave the way for the Inland Port which fell foul of the recession.

Since the plan was hatched more than 15 years ago, Portlaoise has expanded rapidly with the addition of critical infrastructure for business.

It has also direct motorway access to Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Belfast.
Laois County Council is preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of Irish farmers' famous protest march from all corners of Ireland to Dail Eireann, in 1966.

A Cathaoirleachs Reception will be held in county hall on Thursday March 30 to honour the surviving 12 members of 18 who marched from the Laois branch of the IFA, then the National Farmers Association.

Fine Gael Cathaoirleach Cllr Tom Mulhall recalled marching with his father.

I walked with my father from the Wheel Inn to Monasterevin, with Laois farmers, he said.

I am delighted this is being brought forward. It has been done in a lot of local authorities. The IFA is a fantastic organisation which has achieved an awful lot. They walked from the four corners of Ireland to assemble in Dublin, said Cllr Willie Aird.

He told Cllr Jerry Lodge that your father saluted them as they walked by.

Cllr Padraig Fleming welcomed the reception.

It was a fantastic success, how it was planned, from who made meals and fed them to who lit fires, he said.

The NFA's march, 21 day sit-in, road blockades and rates strike, had dozens of members jailed, resulted in it it winning a voice for farmers in political decisions.
A new play by Laois playwright Frances Harney will be performed in the Mountmellick Arts Centre this week, to raise funds for the refurbishment of Ballyfin church.

Following the sell-out success of The Wedding, Frances Harney presents a jaw cracking, belly buckling comedy with more than thirty characters.

The Wake, set in a rural village in the Midlands has all the ingredients for a night of fun and revelry.

With the help of his good friends Ned and Jack, Dicky O'Dee fakes his own death. He intends to return as his fictional twin brother Matty, in order to inherit the farm. However, a host of wacky characters converge on the O'Dee household, each with their own agenda, throwing Dicky's plans into hilarious and impossible chaos.

The Wake goes on stage in the Mountmellick Arts Centre at 7.30pm this Friday, March 31.

All seats are 10, so dont delay in booking yours.

The biggest night on Ballyfins calendar, according to one local. Sure werent there people left outside last year?

Funds raised by The Wake will go towards refurbishing Ballyfin Parish Church. Keep up-to-date with preparations for the play on Facebook @BallyfinParish
The Punchestown Music Festival returns this summer with a two-day line up featuring Tom Jones and Jess Glynne, Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 July.

Performing across the weekend will be Deacon Blue, Lightning Seeds, Dr Hook, Roland Gift, Village People, Smash Hits, Shane Filan, All Saints, ABC, Bjorn Again, Bonkey M, Smoke.

Tom Jones 50-year career has remarkably gone from strength to strength. Along with sustaining his popularity as a live performer and recording artist for five decades, he has garneredat the age of 76the best reviews of his career for his most recent albums Long Lost Suitcase, Spirit In The Room and Praise & Blame.

Sir Tom is described as a living legend, and one of the few musical artists whose profession began at the dawn of modern popular music who continues to have a vital recording and performing career to this day. His show traverses musical eras and genres, cuts across class divides and appeals to all ages, male and female, mainstream and cutting edge. Sir Tom has always been about the power of the song and the power of the voice.

Platinum selling artist Jess Glynne returns to Ireland for her headline slot on Saturday. Jess was armed with the biggest selling debut album of 2015 which featured chart topping hits Dont Be So Hard On Yourself, Hold My Hand, Take Me Home.

Tickets priced 69.50 incl. booking fee go on sale at 9am Friday, 31sMarch

Two day tickets - 129.00 from Ticketmaster.
The price of the average three-bed semi in Co Kildare has risen 2.1% to 250,000 in the last three months, according to a national survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance.

And prices in the county have grown by 3.1% over the past 12 months, with most of the increase coming in the past three months.

The average home in the county is now taking five weeks to sell, down from an average of eight weeks in March 2016.

There is huge demand for residential properties in the Newbridge area, said Brian Farrell, from REA Brophy Farrell in Newbridge and Naas.

Supply is short as there are no new homes in Newbridge (average price 210,000) due to the lack of services.

Naas (average price 250,000) has a good supply of new homes as services are good in this area.

The first quarter has been very active with plenty of buyers and lots of viewings  all selling within a short period, said Will Coonan from REA Coonan in Celbridge and Maynooth, where prices are averaging 270,000.

Overall, the average house price across the country has risen by 10.9% over the past 12 months  a marked increase on the 7.7% rise registered to the end of December 2016.

The easing of the Central Bank restriction on lending for first-time buyers has had an immediate effect on the market with a large rise in numbers at viewings and potential buyers with mortgage financing.

The biggest percentage increases over the past year came in the countrys smaller rural towns situated outside of Dublin, the commuter belt and the major cities.

Prices here rose by an average of 12.9% over the year, with a three-bed semi now costing 136,194  an increase of 3% in the past three months.

The commuter counties of Kildare, Louth, Meath, Wicklow, Carlow and Laois rebounded after a relatively static end to 2016 to rise by 2.9% in the past three months, with the average house appreciating by over 6,000 in the quarter.

There has been a recovery in bank lending, which has been reflected in the purchasing end, but the accelerated figures in the Dublin market particularly, show that we are moving into a vendors marketplace, said REA spokesperson Healy Hynes.

However, we need to look at these figures in relation to the market where stock levels are at their lowest nationwide since January 2007.

At a current average price of 136,194, and an annual compound rise of 12.9%, it will be 2021 at the earliest before it becomes economic to build outside the cities.
Social justice charity Extern will launch a new Garda Youth Diversion Project (GYDP) in Athy tomorrow.

The Caislean Project, the second new Extern GYDP project in Kildare, is a community based, multi-agency, youth crime prevention initiative which primarily seeks to divert young people who have been or are at risk of being involved in criminal or antisocial behaviour.

Based in Athy Community Enterprise Centre, Woodstock Industrial Estate 16 young people, aged between 12 and 17, will be involved in the Extern Project at any one time. Once a young person moves on from the Project, the Extern team will offer follow-ups at various periods throughout the year, to check how they are progressing.

The Extern team will work alongside An Garda Siochana and the Irish Youth Justice Service in the delivery of the Project, which offers opportunities for education and employment training. It is also introducing young people to activities and interests which they may not have previously known how to access, including specific sports, art and music.

Tailor-made programmes

The Extern Project will deliver individual work, group work, educational support and pro-social activities. This will empower the young person to engage and take responsibility for their social and personal development as well as gaining the opportunity to learn new skills and improve on existing skills.

Once identified as suitable for the project, the young person and their family will meet with a Youth Justice worker. Together Extern will devise a personalised programme plan which will best suit the young persons needs.

Safer communities

Commenting ahead of the launch of the Athy GYDP, Charlie Mack, CEO of Extern, said: "I am confident that the Caislean Project will prove itself to be a valuable and worthwhile initiative for the Athy and Castledermot areas. I have no doubt that the palpable benefits of this project will become clear to all in the community in no time. The main reasons that these Diversion Projects are successful is that they are operated at a local community level and receive input from local agencies that have an interest in developing young people into socially active, responsible and educated adults. I am also confident that the project will bring great success for the young people and afford them the opportunity to engage and participate fully in society

It is great to have such a great project up and running in the South of the County and what a great service to offer to young people and families. I was honoured to be asked to be part of the committee and am looking forward to working with the team in the future. said Patricia Berry, Community Representative Athy/Municipal District, Kildare County Council.

Garda Kevin Fahy JLO added, A Garda Youth Diversion Project is a resource which is much sought after in every community. The establishment of The Caislean project will be a very useful service in Athy, Castledermot and Ballitore which can support young people and their families. An GardaSiochana is delighted to be able to be involved with this positive development for young people. I look forward to working with Eimear, Rachel and Marie from Extern and know that their experience and commitment will have a positive effect in the south Kildare area.

Externs Athy GYDP can be contacted on 059 8641331 or by emailing eimear.flood@extern.org
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Superintendent Joe Prendergast was appointed to that rank at the Kildare Garda District Headquarters in 2012 and served for two years before moving to Portlaoise. He retired from the force last Thursday - recalling another memory of an earlier posting in the Lilywhite county, when he was the junior garda told to guard the stable after Shergar was kidnapped from Ballymany in 1983

When Joe Prendergast joined An Garda Siochana on May 14, 1980, Johnny Logan had just won the Eurovision Song Contest with 'What's Another Year' and everyone wanted to know Who Shot JR.

Thirty-seven years on and Superintendent Prendergast recalled that era at a coffee morning to mark his retirement from the force in the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel last Thursday morning.

A large crowd of colleagues and friends turned out to mark the Mayo man's almost four decades of service.

Joining Superintendent Prendergast were his wife, Geraldine, son Harry, daughter-in-law Kate, two year old grandson Daniel, and his brother Paddy and sister-in-law Kay.

Inspector Aidan Farrelly was on duty as MC for the occasion and he noted Joe Prendergast's "sense of decency and fair play, as well as his commonsense approach." On behalf of the civilian workers in Portlaoise, Margaret Fitzpatrick wished Supt Prendergast all the best in his retirement.

Superintendent Martin Cashin paid tribute on behalf of the Superintendent's Association and Birr District Garda Division. "He was a dedicated and proud police officer," said Martin Cashin of his colleague.

"He led by example in pursuit of high standards. He had great empathy with people, both internally and externally. He was a man of conviction who spoke his mind.

"Being Superintendent in Portlaoise was a difficult challenge with 12 stations and two prisons. It also had the satellite towns which sprung up during the boom and which brought their own challenges. He did his job exceptionally well with his team," he noted.

Supt Cashin made a presentation to Joe Prendergast on behalf of the Superintendent's Association and Birr Garda District. The Portlaoise Social Club also presented Geraldine Prendergast with a bouquet of flowers.

Chief Superintendent John Scanlon said that Joe Prendergast was a consummate professional. He was gentleman who dealt with issues humanely.

"He is part of what is sometimes criticised as the old school, but the old school has something good to offer - tradition, loyalty and dedication. Those of you who wish to decry the old school, we could do with a lot more of it these days. We could certainly do with loyalty to this organisation and what we do. Joe was a loyal and a valued colleague."

Chief Supt Scanlon made a presentation of a painting of Portlaoise Garda Station

Joe Prendergast said he was leaving the job in a positive frame of mind. He recalled fallen colleagues who never got the chance to retire.

"This job allows you to make a positive difference in peoples lives. You are there with them in good times and when they are at their lowest ebb. I hope that in some way I helped make peoples lives better.

"I am very proud to have worked with people of the highest caliber. This job is about doing good and being on the right side."

He noted that he served in seven different stations, and made 11 moves. He was in Kildare twice; Banager twice and Portlaoise three times, as well as Tallaght for a year and a half.

A memory of his time in Kildare was the kidnapping of Shergar in February 1983.

"As a junior Garda I was given the job of minding the stable the morning after the horse was gone. I don't know what happened to Shergar but I know he never came back on my watch."

He also spent six years in Tullamore as an Inspector and was appointed Superintendent in Kildare in 2012. "That was a time when resources were tight and I admire how people showed what they were made of when their back was to the wall.

"In recent times some people have been pontificating from their studio armchairs about Garda culture and using words like systemic, and saying it needs to be eradicated as quickly as possible.

"I can tell you that I'm a witness to Garda culture and, in my experience, it is men and women who are doing a difficult job to the best of their ability and putting themselves and their safety on the line on a daily basis. That is the Garda culture I know.

"We are very lucky in Ireland that the Gardai have the support of the vast majority of people. They know what we are about and they are behind us. There is a minority that are against us, and that is because we interrupt their way of life.

"In Portlaoise in the last six to eight months we have had Gardai assaulted, kicked and spat at and seriously assaulted. Some are out on sick leave. However, there is a resilience there day after day.

"Always hold your head up, you are on side of right.

"We should not mind criticism and we need to change but I am very proud of the garda culture I know and long may it last.

Superintendent Prendergast thanked his family and also mentioned his mother, who will turn 96 in October.
To give Kildare people an insight into why the Mayor of the county travels to New York every year for the St. Patricks Day parade, the following is a diary of this years visit by the Mayor Ivan Keatley in his own words about this year's trip and what events he enjoyed during his stay.

Day 1  16 March 2017

Myself and the Chief Executive of Kildare County Council Peter Carey began our visit with appointments with the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Tourism Ireland at Ireland house on Park Avenue. It was reassuring to see how optimistic the IDA were about Irelands future prospects in attracting and consolidating foreign direct investment in-spite of the political climate. We were keen to point out the obvious key advantages in locating in Kildare such as the motorway network and access to airport and port, consolidation of zoned commercial land in our recently adopted County Development Plan, an educated workforce and access to key infrastructure.

Enterprise Ireland and Tourism Ireland outlined their key strategies to us, for gaining access to the US market in separate meetings later that day and we were able to discuss the challenges and opportunities that our Local Enterprise Office and Kildare Failte have in order to fully exploit Kildares potential in both areas.

All three meetings also gave us an opportunity to present the agencies with our unique new promotional video packs commissioned by KCC and our LEO and they were very well received.

Day 2  St Patricks Day

St Patricks Day began with a visit to St Patricks Cathedral for mass celebrated by Cardinal Timothy Dolan. It might seem like an unfashionable thing to say but mass was one of the highlights of the weekend, especially the singing of Amhran na bhFiann and The Star-Spangled Banner at the end, amplified by the enormous and impressive vaulted cathedral ceilings, which was full of emotion and pride.

It was on then, to 34th St on 5th Avenue to greet our fellow Kildare people who gathered from all over New York and some on holidays from Ireland to get ready to lead them under the NYC Kildare Association banner down 5th Avenue to 81st street. A tradition that started in 1896, the parade took an hour and a half and its hard to describe the scale and size of the place, sky scrapper after sky scrapper. Starting at 11am the line of Marchers were still passing Trump Tower at 5pm. Its fair to say that our Irish American community bring celebrating St. Patricks day to a whole new level.

Day 3  18 March

On Saturday we visited Ground Zero to view the memorial to the victims of 9/11 and the exhibition centre that has been built on the site of the Twin Towers. It was an extremely poignant afternoon as we were part of an eerily silent crowd taken through the tragic events of 9 /11. From speaking to many Americans and in particular, Irish Americans following the recent election of their new president, I wonder how much we have learned since that awful day.

The biggest highlight of the trip for me was the unbelievable friendship and hospitality we were shown by everyone, especially those in the NYC Kildare Association. In particular the appreciation they showed to KCC in allowing the Mayor of the day the privilege of travelling to the US to show solidarity and to help continue the connection they have with their county. Nowhere was this more evident than at the Associations dinner on Sunday night in Yonkers where I met people from Castledermot to Coill Dubh, Carbery to Straffan and everywhere in between.

At no time in recent history has this been more important. Their appreciation was emphasised by the current president John Duggan in his speech that evening in Yonkers where the gathering of Kildare people on a spring evening and the Irishness of the place made it feel more like Athy or Naas than anything you would expect to find in the Big Apple.

Mayor of Kildare Ivan Keatley
Maynooth-based charity Trocaire recently arranged for a young woman who featured on its iconic Lenten collection box in 2004 to pay a visit to Ireland.

Rwandan Josiane Umumarashavu was just 12 years old back in 2004, and the genocide in her country had claimed the lives of her father, sister and two of her brothers when she was just a toddler. The 2004 Trocaire box featured a smiling Josiane playing a game of skipping.

Now a 26-year-old university graduate, she works as a finance intern for the Irish aid organisation in Kigali.

She was invited by the charity to leave Rwanda for the first time and visit Ireland earlier this month. She visited schools and communities around the country to show how traditional Lenten donations to the charity make a difference in the developing world. Thanks to support from the Irish public, Josianes family could improve their farm and afford to eat and earn a vital income. This also meant the young girl could stay in school.

A photo of Josiane featured on the 2004 Trocaire Box

She and her travelling companion, Sr Ancille, even took in the St Patricks Day in Parade in Maynooth, getting into the spirit with flags and shamrock hats, despite the unaccustomed cold weather and rain.

I still have a copy of the photograph and the Trocaire box in my home, she said. It makes me very happy to look at it and to think that people in Ireland saw my photo and thought about life in Rwanda.

WATCH: RTE report on Josiane Umumarashavu's visit to Ireland to support Lent 2017 campaign
At the 13th Annual Africa Liberal Network (ALN) General Assembly, Africas largest political network adopted the flagship Nairobi Delegation condemning the common practice of violence against women on the continent and committing the Networks members to working stringently to eliminate gender-based violence in their home countries.

Acknowledging that violence against women remains one of the most widespread forms of human rights violations, the ALN has committed to working with their partners in Liberal International (LI) and liberal parties across the world, in opposition and in government, to condemn and eliminate gender-based violence.

The Networks members agreed to promote and, where in government, implement policies to secure womens access to education  the single most effective method of empowerment  as well as working with judicial branches and police forces to ensure the effective protection of women from acts of violence.

The declaration also commits ALN members to working to bring more women into public life and politics, believing strongly that we can only eliminate violence against women when women are comfortable taking over leadership roles.

The Nairobi Declaration comes at a particularly poignant moment as this years host party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) faces parliamentary and presidential elections later this year. In Kenya, women often face intimidation during elections and there have been widespread incidents of physical and verbal intimidation against female candidates at party primaries and during campaigning in the past. Working with the UK Liberal Democrats, the ALN has been running a campaign of support for women running on the ODM ticket in the upcoming elections. This began with a workshop in February 2017 for twenty outstanding women running in the partys internal primaries to represent ODM in key seats in the August election.

Rosemary Machua, ALN Vice President for East Africa and a Director of the ODM, said:

African politics remains overwhelmingly the work of men. Women continue to face hurdles when engaging the democratic process, from their families, their communities and from the men at the top of the political tree. I am delighted that the ALN has acknowledged the unique challenges women face and the horrifying prevalence of gender-based violence. I look forward to working with the member parties on exposing violence in their home countries and supporting more women to enter into public life.

Stevens Mokgalapa MP, newly-elected ALN President and DA Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation in South Africa, said:

I am proud that my first action as President is to endorse this declaration which commits the Network to taking the serious problem of violence against women  in all its forms  head on. It is unacceptable for liberals to stand by while over half of the population still suffers from discrimination and, in many cases, violence. The ALN pledges today to work on ourselves, by striving to bring in more women into our own processes, whilst strongly, passionately, and loudly protesting poor treatment of women across the African continent.

Markus Loening, Chairman of the Liberal International (LI) Human Rights Committee and LI Vice-President, said:

This fundamental document represents an important step towards the empowerment of women and it testifies to the ongoing commitment by the African liberal family to gender equality. As we look forward to strengthen the cooperation between Liberal International (LI), its Human Rights Committee and the Africa Liberal Network, I sincerely hope that this Declaration will serve to solidify the efforts of liberals to speak with one voice when it comes to promotion and advancement of human rights.

The ALN General Assembly met in Nairobi, Kenya from 23-24 March 2017. Delegates from over 40 liberal parties from across the continent met to discuss the major issues facing their countries and the wider continent and to share their experiences of campaigning, governing and scrutinising governments in Africa.

* Harriet Shone is Head of the Liberal Democrats International Office.
Weve raised over 7,000 of our 15,000 target to back an additional 50 wards we are fighting to win this May.

Thanks to the generosity of scores of ALDC and Liberal Democrat supporters, 20 seats are now receiving additional direct mail to help them win.

Were now able to help:

Neil Mottershead tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in Burnley

tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in Emily Smith fight for traffic improvements in Abingdon

fight for traffic improvements in Beverley Baker defend her seat in Shropshire

Im sure youll agree that on Friday May 5th we want to be seeing on the TV; hearing on the radio; and reading in the papers: that the Liberal Democrats are back. That the Liberal Democrats are again making significant strides in local government.

To achieve those headlines, we need to be providing support to seats where it will make the difference between winning and losing. We need to be making those decisions with local campaign teams now, so that we can provide the support to help them win on May 4th.

If you are able to help create those headlines. If you are able to support more people like Neil, Emily and Beverley, then please donate online: www.aldc.org/local-election-appeal

Or send a cheque made payable to ALDC, to: Local Election Appeal, Freepost Plus RTEG- LHLL-JYTG, ALDC, 23 New Mount Street, Manchester M4 4DE.

Thanks for your support to help us re-establish ourselves as winners in the national medias mind.

* ALDC is the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors and Campaigners
Since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader much of the Liberal Democrats rhetoric has been aimed at portraying him as an extremist. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron claimed that Labour had left the field in a party conference speech. The implication of this claim is that Labour have left the centre ground to embark on a far leftist fellow-traveller path, seemingly ignoring the electoral success it gained from the dominating the centre ground in the New Labour years. In this way the Liberal Democrat comeback seemingly relies on a message that it is the new party of the centre ground. However doing this mean more than just gesture politics, it means not being afraid to tackle issues which are not commonly associated with liberalism, most notably defence.

Liberal Democrat manifestos in recent years have treated defence matters like an afterthought, an embarrassment almost, especially when it comes to questions of hard power. When it comes to asking questions about our hard power capability our manifesto prefers to move toward the murky soft power where it seems we are more ideologically comfortable. The 2016 manifesto talked about emphasising a Single Security Budget, including not just conventional defence spending but the work of our security agencies, cyber defences and soft power interventions. This policy in itself provides opportunities and dangers. While it is important to emphasise that multiple security threats require multiple solutions to tackle them, there can be no substitute for hard power. Put simply; while it is arguable that the main security threat we face is from terrorism we cant leave ourselves unprepared for future inter-state conflict.

We have to be frank about what we have achieved so far. The claim that we spend 2% of GDP on defence is playing liberal with the truth, keeping in mind that much of this percentage is down to creative accounting which allowed Ministry of Defence pensions to be included within that figure. In terms of hard power our countrys future is looking grim. Our new aircraft carrier lacks planes. Our expeditionary forces are forced to cannibalise vehicles from other parts of the British Army in order to participate in NATO exercises in the Baltic States. Far from trying to confront these harsh realities the 2016 Liberal Democrat manifesto simply stated that we should have the capability to deploy rapidly expeditionary forces, without actually stating how we should do this.

The Liberal Democrats should not be afraid to challenge Prime Minister Theresa May over her flip-flopping over Putins Russia and its ongoing aggression. During her previous cabinet role she postponed the inquest into Alexander Litvinenkos assassination in order to not upset relations with the Russians. At the same time while her government has sent out some strong statements about Russian aggression, the UK has been notably absent from important exchanges such as the Minsk talks over Ukraine. Our party must send a strong message that standing up for the security and self determination of nations is key to liberal principles.

In politics perception is reality. If our party is seen as too readily sticking to centre left domestic causes, we risk being dismissed as a party for government that can make the hard decisions. We liberals have shown in the past that a commitment to a strong defence does not necessarily mean an abandonment of domestic responsibilities. David Lloyd George during his Peoples Budget showed that the Guns vs Butter game is winnable, if you shrewdly move the goalposts. He delivered liberal reforms while ensuring that we outpaced Germany in the pre-World War One arms race. It is time to be strong and decisive on both domestic policy and defence policy.

* Zachary Barker is a Liberal Democrat member in Bristol West.
Poker is a game that is not won by playing the hand but by playing the people.

On March 29th, Theresa May will trigger Article 50 that will start the lengthy process of negotiating a deal with the EU. She might feel confident with the size of Britains economy, outstanding financial service sector and vast number of international companies behind her. When compared to the might of the Single Market, it might not be enough.

Liam Fox revealed the Prime Ministers intentions when he said, to give EU nationals the right to stay before we get into the negotiation would be to hand over one of our main cards in that negotiation. May is short stacked at the table. She knows her position is poor and will bluff as best she can to get the best deal for Britain.

The key role of a government is to protect its people. Yet since the Brexit vote, hate crimes shot up by 41%. We have seen no large-scale action to douse the flames of prejudice. Nor any action to reassure those who have been looking after our sick, paying their taxes and contributing to our society, that they have any future in a post-Brexit Britain.

The repercussions have begun. There has been a 92% fall in EU nationals registering as nurses including a 68% increase in EU national resignations. The NHS is already on its knees and these statistics forecast even further hardships. There is no sign of where the 350 million a week the leave campaign promised us will come from and with the lack of funding, how can they train up enough replacement nurses to keep with demand?

EU nationals make up a large part of our workforce but look past the superficial notions of benefits they bring to our economy. You are left with human beings. Thrown around the negotiating table as if they were commodities on a trading floor.

They are our neighbours, colleagues, friends, fathers, mothers, wives and husbands. They might not have been born here but their lives have been made here. Since June 23rd 2016, they have become Theresa Mays poker hand.

The government is on tilt. It is best they fold this hand. There are more ethical ways of guaranteeing a prosperous future for Britain.

* Ryan Lailvaux is an active member of the Bristol Liberal Democrats
You get bad people in power because good people are doing other things. Sarah Olney

Imagine, for just a second, less than two years ago you were living in relative obscurity. You were known to only a select few people  friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues. You belonged to no political party. Then, in only a few months, you rose from anonymity to the hottest national topic of the day, creating history along the way. The contrast is almost unimaginable. In short, thats the story of Sarah Olney.

Five months have yet to pass since she overturned a 23,000 majority to pull off an incredible by-election victory, over the well-known Zac Goldsmith, to become MP for Richmond Park. The Lib Dems newest parliamentarian was attending her first party conference as a backbencher (and only her second since joining the party). In between handshakes and selfies, Sarah took half an hour from her busy schedule for an interview with me, over tea and cake, in the Conferences Parliamentarians Lounge.

Sarah has been a regular feature in the media since the announcement of her candidacy at the end of October last year. Focus has largely been concentrated on her opposition to both Brexit and Heathrow Airport expansion, and, of course, the by-election. I wanted to find out more about Sarah Olney the person, her take on the election campaign, how she is adjusting to her new role as MP and her opinion on the issues surrounding her party.

Can you tell me about your formative years up to when you finished education?

I was born in Frimley, Surrey. My dads a teacher, and my mums a nurse. Im a middle child with an older sister and a younger brother. I was educated at local state schools and, following my A-Levels, I was accepted to study a degree in English Literature at Kings College London. At the time, I wanted to be in London. Thats the outline.

In between your university days and becoming an MP, what did you do?

I did a variety of things actually. I was a project manager for several organisations: Barclays Bank, followed by a charity and then for a friends start-up. While working for my friends start-up, I migrated from project manager to finance manager. That was when I started studying finance. Subsequently, I became an accountant and worked as part of a finance team for the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, Middlesex. I was working there when I was elected.

Did you take many transferable skills from these roles into your new career as an MP? Accountancy and parliamentarian appear to have very little in common.

You are probably right. There probably arent many applicable skills. And theres certainly a disappointing lack of requirement for spreadsheets! My carefully honed spreadsheet skills have gone completely to waste! It certainly is not a natural transition. The only thing I would identify is that, as I said, before accountancy, I had many different jobs, in various industries, for different organisations. The one thing I learnt was that if you wanted to be at the heart of what was happening and you wanted to be able to shape the decision-making, you needed to be where the money was. Essentially, thats what prompted me to move into finance. Therefore, the one thing I see as connecting my previous working life to my new one is that I became interested in politics because I wanted to get closer to where the decision-making was, to be able to affect some of the changes I wanted to see. The motivation was similar in both cases. Apparently, twelve accountants sit in the House of Commons. There are more accountants than Lib Dems. And Im the only one in the Venn diagram of the two.

Why did you get into politics?

There are push and pull factors. Firstly, it was just the right time of my life. Id finished the accountancy qualification, and my children were not babies any more. I had time on my hands and needed an outlet. I arrived at that point in my life just as the 2015 general election was happening, the one where the Lib Dems were decimated. I was dismayed and upset. You get bad people in power because good people are doing other things. I thought Well, Im not as busy doing other things as I was, so Im going to spend some time trying to get the Lib Dems back into parliament. I didnt expect it was going to be me!

So you do what most dont. You dont just moan and do nothing about it; you moan and do something about it?

Yes. I have done a lot of moaning about it though. Like I say, I did have time to spare but, in addition to that, accountancy can be quite boring, and I wanted to do something outside of work.

Do you miss accountancy?

Sometimes. I miss the regular hours, the team around me and the anonymity of the job. The predictability of accountancy is quite comforting in its own way. However, on the whole, I dont miss it. Being an MP is far more interesting. Its much more impactful. I get to meet far more people. Im quite a sociable and gregarious person, and I like to get out and converse with others. I like the diverse range of issues you become involved in when youre an MP. You generally have the opportunity to make a difference. That appeals to me. Moving numbers around spreadsheets does not change the world!

So no regrets?

No regrets.

Why the Lib Dems?

Although I grew up in a Tory area, Ive never liked them. Their worldview seems to be inherently selfish. Its all about looking after people who are already well able to look after themselves. They give even more advantages to those who are already doing quite nicely. I find the Labour philosophy quite combative. Its based on conflict. Theres the workers and then theres the bosses. Its quite an old fashioned way of looking at the world. We are not just workers or bosses anymore. Its like setting groups of people against each other. I really dont like divisive politics of any kind, and thats what I see everywhere I look right now. Its just getting worse and worse. I prefer cooperative and collaborative politics. Its far more effective.

Labour is taking it to extremes at the moment arent they? They are fighting each other!

I think they always have to a certain extent. I was speaking with, our Gorton candidate, Jackie Pearcey yesterday. She was telling me how Labour are going about selecting their candidate in Gorton. It makes your hair stand on end. Its just unbelievable.

Is there a standout political figure who you admire?

This may sound like quite a surprising one, but Ive always admired Harriet Harman. I dont think shes the most shining example of a politician, but she came into parliament when it wasnt common for women to be there. I remember seeing pictures of her at her by-election while heavily pregnant. I thought it was really cool to see a pregnant woman do that. She would not be held back by it. I like that. Its brave, even now. I havent seen anyone do that since. There are a number of women in parliament who are currently pregnant, its more common, but back then it was unheard of. Pregnant women were nowhere near parliament. Also, shes really dogmatically stood up for womens rights. She gets so much abuse for doing it but, from my perspective, most of the things she says are correct. If she hadnt done that I dont think we would be where we are in parliament now. I wouldnt be there and many other women wouldnt either. It so matters that we make being in parliament as accessible as we can to the widest range of people. If we cant even make it possible for women, who make up fifty per cent of the population, to be in parliament then we arent going to make any progress with other disadvantaged groups. I admire her for that.

(To be continued tomorrow.)

* Rob May is a Political History PhD student and Lib Dem activist.
We dont usually cover newspaper editorials, but the one yesterday in The Observer was extraordinarily angry and intense. The subeditors and author seemed to have had second thoughts about how it should be titled. The online version was originally headed The triggering of article 50 jeopardises 60 years of unparalleled peace  a quote from the piece, and a strong enough sentiment, but it does not do justice to rest of the hard-hitting post which begins:

Like sheep, the British people, regardless of whether they support Brexit, are being herded off a cliff, duped and misled by the most irresponsible, least trustworthy government in living memory.

By the time it appeared in the print version it had become Hard Brexit is an epic act of self-harm  only reinforcing rancour and division.

It goes on:

The ultra-hard Tory Brexit break with Europe that is now seen as the most likely outcome when the two-year negotiation concludes is the peacetime equivalent of the ignominious retreat from Dunkirk. It is a national catastrophe by any measure. It is a historic error. And Theresa May, figuratively waving the cross of St George atop the white cliffs of Dover like a tone-deaf parody of Vera Lynn, will be remembered as the principal author of the debacle. This is not liberation, as Ukip argues, nor even a fresh start. It is a reckless, foolhardy leap into the unknown and the prelude, perhaps, to what the existentialist writer Albert Camus described in La chute  a fall from grace, in every conceivable sense.  Every day produces more evidence that this hard Tory Brexit is a disaster in the making. Carmakers and other export manufacturers, fearing swingeing tariffs, are demanding special protections and exemptions or else they leave. Professional bodies, ranging from lawyers to economists, warn of endlessly damaging business consequences. The NHS faces the loss of tens of thousands of qualified doctors and nurses it has no prospect of replacing. Care homes are in a similar plight. Banks, financial institutions and airlines face unavoidable decisions about moving jobs and operations to mainland Europe.  The prospective political, diplomatic and reputational cost is every bit as daunting. Take the damage to Britains democracy. Last week, parliament was at its best, uniting in defiance of terrorism. The week before, it was at its worst, agreeing to deny itself a meaningful vote on any final deal. The government argued that to do otherwise would tie its hands. This is baloney. David Davis, Liam Fox, Boris Johnson and the other Brexit blowhards know they have no chance of achieving their stated aims, such as a 350m weekly NHS payback. So they pre-emptively reject parliamentary scrutiny, dismiss any criticism as unpatriotic and hope, like the cheap chancers they are, that they will get away with it. Theyve peddled a fake Brexit, full of false promises. The reality is beginning to dawn.

The editorial concludes:

Truth and common sense are in short supply as Britain charges towards the precipice.

You can read the full article here.
WITH hand on heart, style queen Celia Holman Lee spoke of her delight at officially launching Organ Donor Awareness Week 2017.

The annual life-saving awareness campaign which is organised by the Irish Kidney Association will take place from April 1 to April 8.

There will be a number of organ donor awareness events taking place in Limerick to mark Organ Donor Awareness Week. This Wednesday, Doon Secondary School hosted an information event and on April 5 the University of Limerick will host an organ donor awareness event.

Im very honoured to launch Organ Donor Awareness Week on behalf of the Limerick branch of the Irish Kidney Association, said Celia of the launch which took place at the South Court Hotel.

It is very important that we draw awareness to this week to encourage people to carry organ donor cards, she added.

Publican and international haulier Jimmy ONeill from Hospital will hold a fundraiser in aid of the Irish Kidney Association which will take place at the end of Organ Donor Awareness Week.

The Irish Kidney Association and organ donation is a cause close to Jimmy's heart as two of his brothers, one of whom is deceased, had kidney failure.

On Sunday, April 9 truck drivers from around the country are expected to join in what promises to be an impressive convoy of trucks with some displaying posters promoting organ donation.

As a prelude to this event the truckers will enjoy a fundraiser night of music in ONeills Pub on Saturday, April 8.

As well as raising vital funds for the Irish Kidney Association, Jimmy is hoping that the event raises awareness about the importance of organ donation while honoring the memory of his deceased brother.

The key focus of Organ Donor Awareness Week is to continue to remind the Irish public to have the important family discussion about their wishes concerning deceased organ donation and support the Irish Kidney Association by buying a forget-me-not flower and other merchandise, while its volunteers distribute the organ donor cards.

Organ Donor Cards can also be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association LoCall 1890 543639 or Freetext the word DONOR to 50050. Visit website www.ika.ie
BUS Eireann services in Limerick remain at a standstill as a fourth day of industrial action is underway.

Dozens of staff have been picketing outside three locations in the city  Roxboro Road, Sexton Street and Colbert Station  since around 5am this Monday.

The strike action  over cost-cutting plans  began on Friday morning and continued over the weekend.

There are no Expressway, city or rural county services operating as a result of the strike.

Some Iarnrod Eireann workers refused to pass the pickets on Friday resulting in all rail services to and from Limerick being cancelled.

However, rail services resumed over the weekend and are now operating as normal.

All train services operating on all routes today, no disruption anticipated arising from Bus Eireann dispute.  Iarnrod Eireann (@IrishRail) March 27, 2017

Commuters who use Bus Eireann services had to make alternative arrangements over the weekend as did students who are attending college or university.

Speaking this Monday, Dermot Healy of the NBRU says he and his colleagues remain resolute.

We were not expecting much to happen over the weekend, the mood is still the same (as it was on Friday) and we are willing to stay here as long as it takes, he said.

While there is still some support for the striking workers several people took to social media over the weekend to criticise the action.
LIMERICK councillors have unanimously passed a motion aimed at highlighting the importance of the local media.

At this Monday afternoon's full meeting of Limerick City and County Council, Mayor Kieran OHanlon proposed a notice of motion aimed at highlighting the importance of a properly resourced independent media to the functioning of democracy at local and regional levels.

Reading from the motion, Mayor OHanlon said local media  including the Limerick Leader  are crucial in informing citizens about the work undertaken by politicians and agencies.

Local media also reflects the concerns of citizens and provide a platform for civic participation in dialogue on all aspects of community life, he said.

The mayor added: Sometimes we might not like what they write. But as mayor, I am happy that our journalists have the betterment of Limerick at their heart. I hope the bosses of the various media organisations appreciate what youre doing.

The leader of the Fine Gael bloc on the local authority, Cllr John Sheahan formally seconded the motion.

And Labour councillor Elena Secas, a former journalist herself, said a strong local media is crucial.

Its important that our journalists are given the proper support to provide people with accurate, fair and comprehensive coverage, she said.

Councillor Lisa-Marie Sheehy paid tribute to the journalists who have been covering the councils sub-committee on suicide prevention.

Id like to praise the sensitivity shown in terms of the language they have used, the Sinn Fein member said.

The motion was passed with the full support of councillors.

It was submitted in conjunction with the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), which is holding a week of events highlighting the importance of the local media.

Entitled Local News Matters, a local event at King Johns Castle saw around 50 people attend a debate on fake news.

This event was organised by the NUJs local branch, Irish South West and the Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII).

Speakers at this event included RTEs educational correspondent Emma OKelly and Cian Connaughton, the president of the PRII.

Local deputies Maurice Quinlivan and Jan OSullivan and Dr Michael Harty joined Senators Paul Gavan and Kieran ODonnell at the event.

Also showing their support were Chamber chief executive Dr James Ring, the president of the Limerick Council of Trade Unions Mike McNamara and Mayor OHanlon.
The Special Criminal Court has been told a Limerick man accused of nailing another man to the floor of a house in the city denied the allegations when questioned by gardai.

Mark Heffernan, aged 33, of Swallow Drive, John Carew Park, Southill has pleaded not guilty to assaulting Dan Quilligan, causing him harm, at a house at Larch Court, Kennedy Park on September 14, 2015.

He has also denied falsely imprisoning The now 53-year-old at the same address on the same date.

It is the prosecution case that three men were involved in a "joint enterprise" during which Mr Quilligan, who lives in Rathkeale, was beaten and his left foot nailed with a nail-gun to the kitchen floor.

This Monday, the non-jury court heard details of garda interviews conducted with the suspect.

Detective Garda Pat Whelan told Tara Burns SC, prosecuting, that when he interviewed Mr Heffernan on May 24 last year he denied any involvement in the alleged assault and false imprisonment.

"I had no involvement in anything like that," he said. "It's sickening."

The gardai told Mr Heffernan that a tracking-device on a white Audi hired from Europcar had the suspect going into and out of Kennedy Park, where Larch Court is located.

"You're wrong," Mr Heffernan said. "I was not involved in any assault. You have a car, you don't have me."

The court also heard details of a statement from Richard McInerney, which was read to the court by Ms Burns.

Mr McInerney was in the house on the day of the alleged assault, the court was told.

He told gardai he was in the sitting-room when three men went into the kitchen, and they were arguing about owed money.

The kitchen door was opened, the court heard, and one of the men threw a bag into the sitting-room.

Mr McInerney said that there were two white "painter's suits" in the bag. "I had the feeling something was going on," he stated. "I said I'm out of here."

The prosecution has closed its case and the court will hear legal submissions on Wednesday.
Mar 26, 2017, 3 PM

Canadas souvenir sheet commemorating the Battle of Vimy Ridge contains two $2.50 international-rate stamps reproducing the designs of Canadas permanent-rate stamp and Frances 1.30 stamp. The monuments towering pylons and trenches from the battle are

The France souvenir sheet focuses on sculptures from the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.

Canada Post and Frances La Poste are participating in an April 8 joint issue remembering the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The battlefield in northern France is the site of the largest Canadian war memorial ever built.

By Denise McCarty

Canada Post unveiled the designs for its 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge stamps, a joint issue with Frances La Poste, March 22 at the French Embassy in Ottawa. The stamps are being issued April 8.

Fought April 9-12, 1917, in northern France, this World War I Allied victory is considered by many to be one of the defining moments that helped to forge a proud, more independent identify for a nation that was still relatively young, Canada Post said in its press release announcing the joint issue.

Deepak Chopra, president and CEO of Canada Post said: The Battle of Vimy Ridge saw thousands of Canadians make the ultimate sacrifice and is the best-known chapter in our countrys proud First World War history. The valour of Canadians at Vimy a century ago is a poignant reminder of the enormous price paid so we can live in freedom.

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The designs of the stamps and souvenir sheets in this issue feature the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.

The website of Veterans Affairs Canada describes this monument: The Canadian National Vimy Memorial does more than mark the site of the great Canadian victory of the First World War. It stands as a tribute to all who served their country in battle and risked or gave their lives in that four-year struggle.

Designed by Canadian sculptor and architect Walter Seymour Allward, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial stands on Hill 145, overlooking the Canadian battlefield of 1917, at one of the points of the fiercest fighting. It took 11 years and $1.5 million to build and was unveiled on July 26, 1936 by King Edward VIII, in the presence of President Albert Lebrun of France and 50,000 or more Canadian and French Veterans and their families. In his address, the King noted, It is a memorial to no man, but a memorial for a nation. 

Canadas nondenominated permanent-rate (85) stamp depicts a statue of a grieving man from the memorial, the memorials towering twin pylons representing the Canadian and French forces, and a few of the 11,285 names of Canadian soldiers, whose bodies were never recovered, inscribed on walls at the site. The ridge behind the monument is shown in the background.

Collectors searching for the reference to the 150th anniversary of confederation hidden on this years Canadian stamps might want to look closely at the wall of names on the design.

Canadian artist Susan Scott of Montreal created the illustration for this stamp. It was printed in a booklet of 10.

The 1.30 French stamp, designed by French illustrator and engraver Sarah Bougault, features the statue Canada Bereft, sometimes called Mother Canada.

In its Details magazine for collectors, Canada Post said this figure of a cloaked woman, one of the most poignant statues at the site, symbolizes the country in mourning.

The flags of France and Canada also are pictured in the stamps design.

Souvenir sheets from Canada Post and La Poste include both stamp designs, with additional images from the memorial in the selvage.

In the Canadian souvenir sheet, the two designs are shown on $2.50 international-rate stamps, and the French sheet includes the aforementioned 1.30 stamp and an 0.85 stamp picturing the Canadian design.

Images from Chris Howes of Wild Places Photography also were used in the design of this joint issue.

Frances Philaposte printed that nations souvenir sheet by intaglio in a quantity of 450,000, according to La Poste.

Colour Innovations printed the Canadian booklet stamps by offset in six colors, and the souvenir sheet by offset in five colors plus one intaglio color. The printing quantities are 200,000 booklets and 130,000 souvenir sheets.

The France stamps are available from La Posts online philatelic boutique. Unicover Corp. of Cheyenne, Wyo., operates the French Stamp Service in North America.

Canada Post also will be selling the French souvenir sheet, as well as two first-day covers: one with the permanent-rate booklet stamp, and one with both the Canadian and French stamps.

The order numbers are 41403711 for the booklet of 10, 404037145 for the Canadian souvenir sheet, 342137 for the French souvenir sheet, 414037131 for the FDC with a single Canadian stamp, and 342136 for the joint-issue FDC.

These stamps and related items are available online from Canada Post. Stamps and FDCs are available by mail order from Canada Post Customer Service, Box 90022, 2701 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8 Canada; or by telephone from the United States or Canada at 800-565-4362, and from other countries at 902-863-6550.

Canadas stamps and stamp products also are available from many new-issue stamp dealers, and from Canada Posts agent in the United States: Interpost, Box 420, Hewlett, NY 11557.
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A massive gold coin worth millions of dollars was stolen early this morning from the Bode Museum in Berlin, Germany, according to news reports.

Robbers broke into the museum at around 3:30 a.m. local time today (March 27), likely entering through a window and fleeing with the valuable coin before police arrived on the scene, reported the Associated Press. A ladder was also discovered nearby, according to the AP.

The coin, dubbed the "Big Maple Leaf," was produced in 2007 in Canada, and was the first coin with a face value of 1 million Canadian dollars ($750,000), according to the Royal Canadian Mint. The hefty coin tips scales at 221 pounds (100 kilograms), and by weight alone, could be worth almost $4.5 million at market prices, reported the AP. [Lost Art: Photos of Paintings Stolen from the Gardner Museum]

Police spokesman Stefan Petersen said that more than one thief was likely involved with the heist, due to the coin's size and weight, but officials would not specify if they have any security footage of the robbery, according to the AP.

The huge coin measures almost 21 inches (53 centimeters) across and is 1.18 inches (3 cm) thick. In October 2007, the "Big Maple Leaf" earned the title of world's largest gold coin, designated by the Guinness World Records. The coin has been on display at Berlin's Bode Museum since December 2010, on loan from a private collection, reported the AP.

The coin, which features an engraving of maple leaves on one side and an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the other, was designed to promote the Royal Canadian Mint's line of "99999 pure gold bullion" coins (which refers to the coins' purity of 999.99/1000 gold). The "Big Maple Leaf" was created as a unique showpiece, but after a few buyers expressed interest, a very limited quantity of the coins were made available for sale, according to the Mint.

Original article on Live Science.
People who are allergic to one type of tree nut, such as cashews, may not be allergic to all other kinds of tree nuts, though they are often told to avoid those nuts, a new study finds.

The study's authors suggest that people who have developed allergic symptoms in the past to one tree nut, and who have been avoiding eating all other tree nuts based on medical advice may wish to undergo a properly supervised "oral food challenge" test, to see if they are truly allergic to other tree nuts. However, more research is needed to confirm the new findings.

Tree nuts are a group of eight nuts: almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios and walnuts. Researchers in the new study found that 76 percent of the participants who had an allergy to one type of tree nut could pass an oral food challenge test with a different tree nut. This test involves eating very small amounts of a food under medical supervision to see if the individual develops any symptoms of an allergic reaction, such as wheezing, a rash, an upset stomach or facial swelling. [How to Cope with Allergies & Asthma in 2017]

An oral food challenge is a closely supervised medical procedure, and people with known allergies to tree nuts or peanuts should not be experimenting with eating nuts on their own, because this could trigger a severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis.

Passing an oral food challenge test is considered the most accurate way for people to demonstrate that they do not have a food allergy, according to a statement from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, an association of allergy specialists that publishes the medical journal in which the new study appears.

"We found that patients with tree nut allergies can be allergic to one nut but be tolerant to another tree nut," said Dr. Christopher Couch, an allergist at the Allergy Asthma Clinic, Ltd. in Phoenix, and the lead author of the study published today (March 27) in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Allergies vs. sensitivities

Two other tests, a blood test and a skin-prick test, are also used to diagnose food allergies. However, a positive result on either of those tests does not always indicate that a person is truly allergic to the food being tested, Couch told Live Science. A food challenge is the next step to confirm the allergy, he said.

About 1 percent of children in the United States are allergic to tree nuts, according to an estimate published in the journal Pediatrics in 2011.

In the new study, researchers analyzed data from the medical records of 109 patients who had visited allergy clinics affiliated with the University of Michigan Medical Centerduring an eight-year period, from 2007 to 2015. Most of the patients were children.

The study included only people with known allergies or sensitivities to a single tree nut. These participants were given an oral food challenge test at a clinic, to find out whether they were also allergic to other nuts. [8 Strange Signs You're Having an Allergic Reaction]

In the research, people who had developed allergy symptoms after eating a specific tree nut were considered to be allergic to that nut, while people who had positive blood or skin-prick test results to tree nuts but had never actually eaten that food were considered sensitized, Couch explained.

High pass rates

The study found that 76 percent of people with allergies to a specific nut passed the oral food challenge test for a different type of tree nut. In addition, 91 percent of the participants passed the food challenge if they had food sensitivities to a tree nut rather than true allergies.

Interestingly, all of the participants who ate an almond during the food challenge passed the test, whereas the passage rates for people given a walnut or a cashew were lower, at 82 percent and 79 percent, respectively.

It was surprising to find that everybody passed the almond food challenge but not those of other tree nuts, Couch said. The reasons why are not exactly clear, but it's possible that something about the structure of the almond is unique, he said. [9 Myths About Seasonal Allergies]

The researchers also looked at people with peanut allergies, who had positive blood or skin-prick tests for tree nuts but had never eaten any of these nuts. (Peanuts are not tree nuts, but allergy specialists usually tell people with peanut allergies to avoid tree nuts, too.)

Results showed that 96 percent of the people with peanut allergies passed the oral food challenge with tree nuts, meaning that only 4 percent developed an allergic reaction when given a small amount of an individual tree nut.

One of the limitations of the study is that the patients were drawn from only one health care system in Michigan, and so may not be representative of people throughout the United States, the authors noted.

Originally published on Live Science.
The southern lights, less-photographed than their northern counterparts, are seen from the air in a recent charter flight from New Zealand.

On March 23, airline passengers caught a breathtaking view of the aurora australis  the spectacular celestial light show also known as the southern lights  from midair, on a flight booked to fly them into the heart of the light display.

The charter flight to the aurora was the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. It flew 134 passengers on a round-trip journey to the Antarctic Circle from Dunedin Airport (DUD) in New Zealand on Air New Zealand flight NZ1980, a Boeing 767-319(ER), according to FlightRadar24, a site that tracks air traffic in real time.

They departed from DUD on New Zealand's South Island on March 23 at 9:23 p.m. local time and returned to DUD on March 24 at 4:54 a.m., with a flight time of 7 hours and 31 minutes, FlightRadar24 reported. [Intricate Aurora Details Seen From Space | UHD Video Montage]

Astronomer Ian Griffin, director of the Otago Museum in Dunedin, organized the trip, announcing the landmark air experience in October 2016. Tickets were sold in pairs  window and adjacent seats only  and were priced at 3,950 New Zealand dollars ($2,776) per pair in economy and NZ$8,500 ($5,972) per pair in business class, according to the New Zealand Herald. They sold out in only five days, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Griffin was inspired to arrange a commercial charter flight to the southern lights after glimpsing them from the air himself while on board the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)  a Boeing 747 housing a powerful NASA telescope  he told TVNZ in October.

Though the sight wasn't new to Griffin, he described the view to the AP as "absolutely brilliant."

"We were right under it. There were beautiful streamers, auroral streamers. This green-colored stuff that moves quickly, it looks like you're looking into a green, streaky river," he said.

Using the hashtag #flighttothelights, passengers shared stunning images of the aurora on social media. When artist and photographer Rene Burton uploaded a photo to Instagram showing the airplane wing backlit by the glowing green lights, he added another hashtag: #nofilterneeded.

(opens in new tab) A photo posted by on

Video posted on YouTube showed a fast-moving point of light appearing outside the airplane about 23 seconds into the footage, leading some commenters to question whether the camera operator had glimpsed a meteor.

But the passenger who shot the video, Stephen Voss, a medical doctor and astrophotographer, replied in a YouTube comment that the object only appeared to be fast-moving because the video was shot as a time lapse. In real time, the object was moving far too slowly to be a meteor or comet and was likely a satellite, "possibly the International Space Station," Voss replied.

Voss captured the 24-second video clip as the plane flew south, on an intercept course with the 66th parallel  a latitude circle found 66 degrees south of the Equator  and the international date line, he wrote in the video description.

Auroras  bands of eerily glowing light that undulate unpredictably in the night sky commonly occur at high northern and southern latitudes, and are known as the aurora borealis in the Northern Hemisphere and the aurora australis in the Southern Hemisphere, according to NASA.

These mysterious displays are dynamic, with the light forming shapes that are constantly shifting and changing. Auroras are produced when the sun's energy and particles travel down magnetic field lines at the North and South poles. When these charged particles interact with atmospheric gases, the result is a beautifully colored light show. Auroras are typically greenish in color, though they can also be white, violet, blue, pink or red.

While aurora displays are beautiful to look at from afar, the electron activity that generates the light shows can disrupt electricity and communications networks on Earth, according to NASA.

Original article on Live Science.
(Image credit: Steen DA, Hopkins BC, Van Dyke JU, Hopkins WA (2014) Prevalence of Ingested Fish Hooks in Freshwater Turtles from Five Rivers in the Southeastern United States. PLoS ONE 9(3): e91368. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091368 )

Ingested fishhooks pose an underestimated threat to freshwater turtles, according to a new study.

Swallowed fishhooks are a deadly threat to freshwater turtles, and until now, this danger was largely unexplored. A new study, however, finds that in some species, the likelihood of a turtle dying from a swallowed fishhook is as high as 11 percent, and that the frequency of turtle deaths from fishhooks would be enough to nudge vulnerable turtle populations into decline.

Threats to sea turtles from commercial fishing  such as swallowing hooks  are well-documented, but far less is known about how recreational fishing and the threat of swallowed fishhooks impacts freshwater turtles.

Recently, researchers evaluated data from multiple studies to calculate the probability of freshwater turtles ingesting fishhooks, how often that would prove to be fatal, and how deaths from swallowed hooks could affect turtle population numbers. [Fishhooks Threaten Freshwater Turtles | Video]

Prior research suggested that hook ingestion in freshwater turtles is more widespread than scientists had suspected. In 2014, scientists gathered X-rays of more than 600 turtles representing four species, and found fishhooks in 33 percent of the animals. Another survey detected evidence of hooks in 36 percent of alligator snapping turtles in one Florida river, the authors reported in the new study.

Ingested fishhooks pose an underestimated threat to freshwater turtles, according to a new study. (Image credit: Steen DA, Hopkins BC, Van Dyke JU, Hopkins WA (2014) Prevalence of Ingested Fish Hooks in Freshwater Turtles from Five Rivers in the Southeastern United States. PLoS ONE 9(3): e91368. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091368 )

"If you ask anyone who's gone fishing with live bait, there's a chance they've hooked a turtle," study co-author David Steen, an assistant research professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Auburn University Museum, told Live Science.

"But there hasn't been an opportunity to look at this on a grand scale and see what's been going on," Steen said.

In sea turtles, interactions with commercial fishing gear, including hooks, is known to be frequently deadly, with mortality rates of up to 82 percent, the authors wrote in the new study. But relatively little has been done to better understand how freshwater turtles are affected when they swallow fishhooks.

"So we took the data from sea turtles and applied it to freshwater turtle populations," Steen said.

Calculating the risk

Steen and study co-author Orin J. Robinson Jr., a postdoctoral researcher with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, modeled estimates for freshwater turtle mortality based on sea turtle mortality rates. Then, they combined those estimates with long-term data on turtle life histories in known populations, to see if they would be significantly affected by the deaths.

Turtles in the wild produce a lot of young, but many of their babies die before reaching adulthood, so high survival rates among adults  which can live for many decades  help to keep populations stable, Steen said.

However, if the mortality rates among adults go up, it can lead to a population decline. And the computer models showed that deaths from fishhooks would be significant enough to cause turtle populations to drop, the researchers said.

X-ray of a pond slider (Trachemys scripta), a semi-aquatic turtle, captured in Tennessee and containing a fish hook. (Image credit: Steen DA, Hopkins BC, Van Dyke JU, Hopkins WA (2014) Prevalence of Ingested Fish Hooks in Freshwater Turtles from Five Rivers in the Southeastern United States. PLoS ONE 9(3): e91368. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091368 )

Freshwater turtles are known to face threats from human activity, such as habitat loss and overharvesting for food and pet trades, and the new findings suggest that fishhook ingestion should be added to that list, Steen told Live Science.

"Sea turtles have been a subject of study for many years, and people have come up with strategies to protect them from bycatch," Steen said. "Policymakers and land managers might consider whether they should be regulating or monitoring the type of fishing that's going on in areas with vulnerable freshwater turtles."

The findings were published online March 15 in the journal Conservation Biology.

Original article on Live Science.
When a volcano in Ethiopia erupted in January, volcanologists hoped a NASA satellite would be able to train its eyes on the explosive event and capture photos. It turned out that a satellite was already a few steps ahead and had already begun observing the volcano, thanks to an artificial intelligence program on board.

The Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment (ASE) is an artificial intelligence (AI) software that has guided the activities of NASA's Earth Observing 1 (EO-1) spacecraft for more than 12 years, according to NASA. The EO-1 satellite was launched in 2000 as an experimental Earth-science satellite, and was outfitted with the AI guide in 2003. With the assistance of the ASE, the satellite can detect changes of scientific interest on Earth (i.e. volcanic eruptions, wildfires and flooding), alert researchers and autonomously take photos of the events.

This month, NASA will be retiring the EO-1 satellite, and agency researchers said the recent volcanic activity in Ethiopia was a fitting end to the satellite's mission. [The 11 Biggest Volcanic Eruptions in History]

"We caught this event at the perfect time, during an early, developing phase of the eruption," Ashley Davies, lead scientist for ASE and a volcanologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), said in a statement. "This simply wouldn't have happened without the Volcano Sensor Web."

The Volcano Sensor Web is a network of satellites (including EO-1) and ground sensors that is tasked with monitoring changes such as rapid temperature increases on the planet. In late January, one of the satellites in the network detected changes in Erta Ale's lava lake in Ethiopia, and pinged the EO-1 satellite to capture images of the volcano.

Known as the "smoking mountain" and the "gateway to hell," Erta Ale is Ethiopia's most active volcano. The shield volcano is located in Africa's Danakil (or Afar) Depression, where three tectonic plates are separating, triggering volcanic activity along the seams. Erta Ale is also one of the few volcanoes in the world that has an active lava lake at its caldera, the basin-shaped depression that forms after an eruption.

Thanks to the EO-1 satellite's quick response to the activity, NASA researchers said they can review images of Erta Ale to study how the discharge of lava changes over time.

NASA's EO-1 spacecraft obtained images of the continuing eruption of Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano. (Image credit: Ashley Davies/GSFC/EO-1 Mission/JPL/NASA)

Erta Ale was not the only volcano on EO-1's radar during the satellite's more-than-a-decade-long run. NASA researchers used the ASE on board EO-1 to study the eruption of Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano in 2011, and an Icelandic volcano's eruption in 2010. The software was not limited to covering volcanic activity, however, and also helped monitor severe flooding in Thailand in 2011.

"It's a milestone in AI application," said Steve Chien, principal investigator of ASE and head of the Artificial Intelligence Group at JPL. "We were supposed to do this for six months, and we were so successful that we did it for more than 12 years."

Though EO-1 and its AI program, ASE, are headed for retirement, future research will continue the pursuit of satellite autonomy, Chien and Davies said.

Original article on Live Science.
Millions of internet viewers are tensely following the video feed featuring a pregnant giraffe named April. And more than one month after the animal's distended belly took the internet by storm, the baby giraffe that is so greatly anticipated has yet to emerge.

April appears unconcerned about still being pregnant. Though her belly hangs lower than ever and her baby's kicks are vigorous and visible, the mother giraffe appears none the worse for wear, placidly going about her daily routine under the camera's unblinking eye, in her pen at Animal Adventure Park (AAP) in Harpursville, New York.

In a Facebook update on the evening of March 26, April's keepers described "increased calf activity in comparison to this morning and last evening," and reported the giraffe's appetite as "strong." [Baby Watch! 'Giraffe Cam' Tracks Expectant Mother]

By the morning of March 27, April was "relaxed," and the animal frequently raised and lowered her tail, and experienced "significant mammary change," her caregivers posted on Facebook. But while the mammary change could suggest that her delivery time was approaching nearer, April's keepers did not report signs of active labor.

Giraffe mothers carry their young for about 15 months, and while April's caregivers observed breeding behavior between April and her mate, Oliver, in the middle of October 2015, it is hard to tell for sure if conception occurred, AAP owner Jordan Patch told Live Science in February.

If April didn't conceive then, she might have conceived during her next cycle, 17 days later, Patch explained.

One sign that birth may be imminent is that waxy plugs have appeared over April's teats, according to Patch. These work to keep the colostrum, the highly nutritious "first milk" secreted by mammary glands, from leaking out. AAP shared photos on March 27 on Facebook that showed the whitish plugs, which look "like dried toothpaste at the end of a tube," Patch added.

Waxy plugs on the tips of April's teats hint that she may be close to delivering her calf. (Image credit: Copyright Animal Adventure Park)

At the start of every day, April's keepers check on her and make a status report, which is relayed to the veterinarian by AAP officials, Patch told Live Science in an email. The keepers also provide April's morning meal, reloading the hay feeders and dishing up 4 to 6 quarts (3.8 to 5.7 liters) of a specialized dry food produced commercially for giraffes and other African grazers.

Pregnant April's portion is a special feed blend that has a higher calorie count and contains extra supplements for pregnant and lactating mothers, Patch added.

In the middle of the day, the giraffes are given enrichment puzzle feeders, which provide romaine lettuce and carrot treats as a reward for successful puzzle-solving. Another meal at the end of the day, during the keepers' evening check, provides the giraffes with additional servings of hay and feed, Patch said.

The veterinarian visits April every afternoon for a checkup and to monitor any changes in her condition.

"We look for swelling in the vulva, vaginal discharge, mammary development, wax-cap production and lactation, and general mood and behavior," Patch said in an email. Today (Mar. 27), April's back-end swelling had approximately doubled in size from the previous week.

Giraffes can give birth at any hour of the day or night, but April's most ardent watchers may want to set their alarm clocks for early morning hours, as "many facilities report predawn births," Patch told Live Science.

Original article on Live Science.
House plants have become incredibly popular in recent years, but do indoor plants purify air? And to what extent?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there's been a huge focus on the importance of indoor air quality since so many of us have spent increasing amounts of time inside.

Further to this, the Environmental Protection Agency (opens in new tab) (EPA) reports that Americans spend up to 90% of their time indoors, where levels of pollutants can be up to five times higher than outside air. And that's one of the many reasons why it's essential to ensure the air we breathe indoors is as clean as possible. Yes, you could look at getting one of the best air purifiers, such as a Dyson air purifier, to improve your home's air quality, but even when discounted, they can be expensive.

So, while house plants are sometimes advertised as air purifying plants for your home, is there actually any truth in that? Here we look into the science behind indoor plants and their effect on air quality.

Related: What is the air quality index?

How do indoor plants purify air?

You might already know that air quality, in general, is affected by carbon dioxide , carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can exist in some of the products and materials inside our homes, according to the EPA (opens in new tab).

Through the process of photosynthesis , plants convert the carbon dioxide we exhale and also remove gases from the air through a process called absorption.

In an often-cited 1989 NASA report (opens in new tab), scientist Bill Wolverton claimed that household plants could provide a "promising economical solution to indoor air pollution." Wolverton studied the ability of plants to remove VOCs from the environment and their potential for use in deep-space missions. However, more recent research has poured cold water on the idea.

Peace lilies are one of the more effective plants at removing VOCs (Image credit: Getty)

Scientists studying the effectiveness of indoor plants for the passive removal of ozone , found houseplants make "at best, modest contributions of about 0.99% to indoor ozone removal effectiveness," they reported in 2017 in the journal Building and Environment (opens in new tab). The tests, performed in a laboratory to simulate the effects on a typical U.S. home, found houseplants barely affected the environment. To make a meaningful difference to the air quality of your home, you'd need to fill a room from top to bottom with plants, they suggest.

Related: How do air purifiers work?

While a single spider plant won't purify the air, a green wall covered in plants just might, found scientists in a study published in 2020 in the Journal of Environmental Management (opens in new tab). The scientists concluded that a green wall filled with suitable plant species "can be used to create a horticulturally sustainable internal green wall, and improve the health index in the building interior environments."

So, in high enough quantities, plants can improve air quality. But what should we buy? Sadly, science doesn't have the answer (yet).

A 2018 paper published in Trends in Plant Science (opens in new tab) is confident that plants remove pollutants, but there is little research into which species are most effective. The paper concludes that "the capacity of plants to remove indoor air pollutants through stomatal uptake (absorption) and non-stomatal deposition (adsorption) remains largely unknown."

(Image credit: Getty)

Which pollutants can indoor plants filter out?

The most common, harmful pollutants found indoors include trichloroethylene, formaldehyde, benzene, xylene and ammonia, according to the NASA study, Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement (opens in new tab). Trichloroethylene can be found in paints and varnishes, formaldehyde in paper bags and synthetic fabrics and benzene in tobacco smoke and dyes. Xylene is released in car exhausts, while ammonia is found in window cleaners and floor waxes, according to NASA.

In high concentrations, these five pollutants can cause dizziness, headaches and irritation to nose, mouth and throat as well as liver and kidney damage. The results of NASAs study showed two plants that work to reduce the levels of all five of these pollutants from indoors. These are peace lilies (Spatiphyllum Mauna Loa) and florists chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium).

Spider plants have been shown to reduce levels of formaldehyde in a room (Image credit: Getty)

Do indoor plants have other health effects?

During COVID-19 lockdowns, many of us decided to get our hands dirty and get into gardening  but was there any health benefit to this?

In a study published in May 2021 in the journal Environmental Research (opens in new tab), scientists studied 323 students and found that houseplants were linked to feelings of "being away while at home" providing a staycation for the mind that improves mental health .

While the benefits of plants purifying the air is less certain, a recent study from Princeton University (opens in new tab) finds that gardening is beneficial for physical and mental health. While another study cited in the Journal Physiological Anthropology (opens in new tab) involving young adult males found that indoor gardening lowered stress responses compared to the demands of completing a computer task. When sitting in front of a computer and asked to complete a task, researchers identified an increase in blood pressure , heart rate , and stress that wasn't present when the same group was gardening.

(Image credit: Getty)

Are indoor plants safe for pets?

Introducing more plants and greenery to the home can have benefits, but are indoor plants safe for pets?

Most people know that lilies are dangerous to cats and tomato plants to dogs, but many other species also threaten the health and wellbeing of our pets. There are too many to list here but there's a full list of poisonous plants available on the ASPCA's website (opens in new tab).

What happens if your pet does eat your plants? Alexander Campbell of the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) said: "In many cases, animals remain asymptomatic or suffer little more than gastrointestinal upset. There are a few instances where more severe clinical effects have resulted."

One of the biggest challenges for vets is knowing what a pet has ingested, researchers caution (opens in new tab). The simple solution? Remove any known contaminants from your home or garden. And, in case you're wondering, air purifiers are safe for pets, in the main.

While plants can make your home a more pleasant environment and taking care of them can have mental health benefits, it's unlikely they'll do much to purify the air  unless you're going to buy hundreds. So if you're concerned about air quality in your home, we advise you to invest in an air purifier, preferably one fitted with a high-quality HEPA filter.

Related: : Air purifier myths debunked
Civil rights groups asked Californias attorney general Monday to investigate dozens of school districts across the state that require parents to provide childrens Social Security numbers, their citizenship status and other sensitive information such as when they entered the country.

Requiring families to provide such information not only raises legal concerns but can cause a chilling effect, deterring parents, especially immigrants in the country without documentation, from enrolling children in school, said the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and California Rural Legal Assistance.

While such questions have been on school enrollment forms for years, the Trump administrations plan to aggressively enforce immigration laws has spurred opponents as well as schools and cities to reassess policies and protections in place for immigrant students and families.

Several Bay Area districts were among the 75 identified in the letter to Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Forms used by Dublin Unified and La Honda-Pescadero, for example, requested childrens Social Security numbers, while Antioch Unified asked if students were citizens at birth, and Orinda asked if students were U.S. citizens.

Asking about and collecting this information when parents are simply trying to enroll their children in school is clearly unlawful and creates fear, anxiety and can deter parents from enrolling their children in school,  said Cynthia L. Rice, a director at California Rural Legal Assistance.

We strongly urge Attorney General Becerra to use the full power of his office to ensure that school districts immediately stop these practices, said Deborah Escobedo, senior attorney at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.

Such state action may not be necessary in many districts, where officials said they were unaware they had been asking parents for citizenship status or Social Security numbers  and vowed to immediately remove those questions.

Im just so appreciative that this was brought to our attention so we can fix it, said Orinda Superintendent Carolyn Seaton, adding that the forms predate virtually all of the current administrators. We want every child attending our schools to feel welcome, and questions like those just have no place on a registration form for any of our districts.

In Dublin, officials said they were also surprised.

District leadership was not aware that Social Security numbers were being collected as part of the registration and enrollment process, said district spokeswoman Michelle McDonald. We do not need to collect that information from students and will immediately cease the practice of doing so.

Antioch officials said they ask if a student was a citizen at birth to determine eligibility for federal funding designated for English learners.

State education code prohibits districts from collecting students Social Security numbers unless required by state or federal law. No current law requires it, the civil rights attorneys said.

In fact, state and federal education officials  including the state superintendent, California School Boards Association and federal Department of Education  have advised school districts to refrain from collecting citizenship or Social Security information. Federal law requires states to educate all children, regardless of country of origin, legal residency in the U.S. or citizenship.

Even if districts are using outdated forms, Superintendent (Tom) Torlakson continues to strongly discourage schools districts from collecting any kind of information related to immigration status, said Robert Oakes, a spokesman for the state Department of Education. And if schools do have any such information, they should not keep it on file. Schools have many other ways that they can verify a students residency in a district, and a students right to public education has nothing to do with citizenship status.

In the past, Social Security numbers were often used as the student identifier in special-education programs, while the date of first enrollment in a U.S. school was used in a statewide database to track student mobility.

It might be a vestige from way back when this information was requested and before there was a level of enlightenment ... as to the value of that information, said Keith Bray, the California School Boards Association general counsel. Clearly as our guidance points out, thats not the type of information you should be gathering.

In the La-Honda-Pescadero district, Superintendent Amy Wooliever said there is no reason for schools to be collecting Social Security numbers. The field will be removed from the districts enrollment forms, she said.

The fact that the request is on the form has not been brought to my attention until now, she said. Any (Social Security number) currently in our system will be deleted.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker

Civil rights complaint
Three people were killed and a fourth was missing after an early morning fire Monday ripped through a large transitional housing building in West Oakland where fire inspectors had found 11 glaring safety violations just three days earlier.

As friends and neighbors awaited identifications of the dead, public records revealed the city had responded to numerous complaints about the building at 2551 San Pablo Ave. The records again raised questions about city property inspections in the wake of Decembers catastrophic Ghost Ship fire, which killed 36 people.

Following a Feb. 25 referral for a fire safety inspection at the building by the Fire Department, the Oakland Fire Prevention Bureau said it could not get inside.

It took a second request March 18 before inspectors finally gained access on Friday. Once inside, inspectors said they found the 11 flagrant violations, including units lacking smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, a malfunctioning sprinkler system and a series of extension cords.

Under Oakland fire code, property owners have 30 days to correct such violations, a spokeswoman for the city said. There were 27 days left when the roof of the three-story building erupted in flames just after 5:30 a.m. Monday, sending heavy smoke into the dawn sky.

Firefighters rescued at least 15 people who had been trapped in the building, some who knotted sheets into makeshift ropes and lowered themselves from third-floor windows.

Ed Silva, a Red Cross official, said more than 100 people were displaced by the fire, including 60 to 80 who were tenants as well as dozens of squatters. They were taken to a shelter at the West Oakland Youth Center.

Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County coroner, said late Monday that three people had died, including Edwarn Anderson, 64, who lived in the building. Battalion Chief Erik Logan of the Oakland Fire Department said four people were hospitalized, some with smoke inhalation, but were expected to be released Monday night.

Residents said a church deacon and a woman who had recently moved into the building were among the dead.

The building has been the source of complaints about living conditions for years. City records show tenants had filed 20 complaints over the past 10 years, citing rodent infestations, lack of heat and garbage collection, mold and mildew, and urine and feces on the floors. Attorneys for residents said squatters had taken over the third floor.

City inspectors agreed with a complaint from Urojas Community Services, the master tenant, which alleged deferred maintenance. The organization, which runs transitional housing and social service programs, was embroiled in a dispute over evictions that started just days after the Ghost Ship fire.

After the latest complaint Feb. 23, inspectors with the citys planning and building departments inspected the property Feb. 28 and March 3, they said. A follow-up was scheduled April 18.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf released a statement expressing her condolences to the victims and their families. I want to offer my deepest sympathies to the families who have been hurt and displaced by this tragic fire, she said, and to the loved ones of the victims whose lives we know were lost.

Residents of the building that burned Monday and their attorney, James Cook, said the landlord, Keith Kim, had issued eviction notices in December to dozens of residents living on the first two floors of the building. Residents said they were told the Ghost Ship fire was the reason for the evictions.

Attorneys for the residents have been battling the eviction effort since then, employing a mediator and Oakland City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney to help settle the dispute. McElhaney did not return calls seeking comment, nor did Kim.

Cook provided a March 17 letter giving Urojas Community Services a 30-day eviction notice. Under California law, businesses may be evicted with such notices without cause. Cook contended that it was obvious people were living in the building and should have been subject to the more stringent process of residential evictions.

Documents filed in Alameda County Superior Court recount a February incident in which Kim purportedly led a group of men into the building in an attempt to evict residents, prompting two to request restraining orders against Kim.

One of the tenants, Gail Harbin, alleged that Kim and the other men went into the building on three occasions and changed tenants locks, told them not to pay rent to Urojas Community Services, and forcibly removed items from peoples apartments and threw them onto the street. Harbin said the men threatened violence if anyone sought to intervene.

Cook said he visited the building early this year during a rainstorm and witnessed exposed wiring and water pouring through leaks and flowing down the floor like a river. There were overflowing toilets and people living two or three to a room, he said.

They were terrible conditions, he said. Uninhabitable really.

Asia Wade, 32, who had been living in the building since July, said she filed a complaint with the city the first week she moved in, but nothing changed.

It was like rats, roaches, bed bugs. I had black mold underneath my kitchen sink. The floor was sunken in, she said. They never ever repaired it.

Emails provided by Cook suggest the city was well aware of the conditions and that McElhaney was trying to negotiate a deal for residents to voluntarily move out so the building could be rehabilitated. That agreement apparently fell apart.

In the Ghost Ship disaster, Oakland faces criticism that it failed to take action against the owner and operator of the underground warehouse despite a number of warning signs.

Prior to the blaze, city police officers had been told the warehouse was illegally occupied and had responded to complaints about unpermitted raves. Building inspectors had responded to complaints about the warehouse, which was a maze of electrical cords, makeshift stairs and sleeping areas. And Oaklands now-retired fire chief, Teresa Deloach Reed, said days after the fire that her department was not aware that the Ghost Ship existed.

The cause of Mondays fire remained under investigation. Residents said it was started by an unattended candle, but Logan, the battalion chief, did not confirm that. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting in the investigation, he said.

Logan said the firefight had been difficult. Firefighters, he said, thought they saw a body on the second floor when they entered the building but couldnt reach the person before flames and heavy smoke caused them to pull out of the building.

Fantazhia LaTonda, 44, one of the evacuated residents, sat nearly a block away from the fire huddled under blankets with her boyfriend, watching her home go up in flames. She had moved into the building two weeks ago.

She said the first and second floors housed a drug rehabilitation center. LaTonda lived in an apartment on the third floor, next door to where she said the fire started.

I woke up to get a snack, and I went to lay back down and I looked out the window and I saw sparks and I kept hearing crackling, she said.

She and her boyfriend tried to open the door of their room, but she said the handles were too hot to touch. They opened the curtains of their window and began waving outside to get the attention of the firefighters.

I was scared. I thought I was going to die, LaTonda said.

The firefighters grabbed them through the window and pulled them onto the fire escape, she said. Now, she said, everything she owns is gone.

I was worried we weren't going to get out, she said. Just burning. That's not the way I want to die.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Trisha Thadani, Cynthia Dizikes and Joaquin Palomino contributed to this story.

Sarah Ravani, Michael Cabanatuan and Michael Bodley are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com, mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com, mbodley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani @ctuan @michael_bodley

How to help

Anyone wishing to help fire victims should visit the Red Cross website at www.redcross.org. Check the option Home Fire Relief and note in the comments that the gift is earmarked for services to support families impacted by the 2551 San Pablo Ave./Mead Ave. fire in Oakland.
City-owned CPS Energy postponed choosing a general contractor for its $122 million headquarters project.

The utilitys board decided not to vote Monday so they could conduct more due diligence, CPS spokesman Paul Flaningan said. He said the board will likely vote in April. Flaningan added that because the process is still in the competitive phase, the utility cannot release the names of the three top finalists.

The general contractor will oversee the complete remodel and upgrading of the former AT&T towers at McCullough Avenue and Avenue B. CPS hopes to complete the project in 2019.

CPS appropriated $12 million in October to retain two architecture and design firms. Of that money, $9 million was paid to Dallas-based architectural firm Corgan and $3 million to Houston-based real estate developer Patrinely Group for additional oversight.

CPS plans to sell its current headquarters complex at 145 Navarro St. on the River Walk. Some of the money from the sale  the 300,000-square-foot property was appraised in 2014 by Bexar County at $19.3 million  will be used for the new headquarters.

CPS on Monday approved selling an 11.8-acre storage and equipment site off Gugert Street. The property was appraised by Bexar County at $6.3 million in 2016 and is located south of the former Lone Star Brewery and across the river from the former Mission Road power plant. Both complexes are under development  the Lone Star Brewery for a mixed-use property, and Mission Road for the EPIcenter, a new energy innovation initiative  but it is unclear what interest there is for the Gugert Street property.

The 430,000-square-foot site for the new headquarters was formerly owned by AT&T and had been Valero Energy Corp.s headquarters at one point. Since AT&T moved out of the building in 2012, the buildings have sat mostly vacant.

CPS current plans are for the utility to spend $122 million to gut and renovate the two downtown towers, creating a like-new space that would accommodate all of the utilitys 1,200 staff. The 1920s-era headquarters at 145 Navarro Street on the River Walk that CPS currently operates out of would take $142 million to renovate while building a brand-new structure could have cost up to $130 million, John Benedict, a vice president who oversees the companys real estate portfolio, said in a November interview.

rdruzin@express-news.net

@druz_journo
A girl drowned over the weekend at a pool party in the Rancho Viejo neighborhood, off FM Road 1472, according to Laredo police.

Authorities identified her a Hillary Ramirez, 5.

"It is with deep sorrow that United ISD confirms the passing of a Ruiz Elementary School student, Hillary Ramirez. She was a kindergarten student who was well loved by her peers, her teachers and the faculty, staff of her school," the district said in a statement.

"United ISD expresses its condolences to her family during this most difficult time. The district is providing counseling services to students and staff members in an effort to help them cope with this loss."

First responders were dispatched to a 911 call at 8:45 p.m. Saturday in the 200 block of Toro Drive. A person at the party found the child at the bottom of the pool.

Paramedics rushed Ramirez to Doctors Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

An investigation is underway.
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Rita McCarthy could finally relax.

After months of speculation and negotiation, strategy sessions and late night phone calls, Corning Inc. decided in the spring of 2013 to expand its factory in Erwin, where McCarthy serves as town supervisor.

Corning is the largest employer in Steuben County, within the economically struggling region of western New York that stretches along the Pennsylvania border, known as the Southern Tier.

Assuaging McCarthy's fears that it would shift operations overseas,

Corning promised to invest $250 million in the facility and create 250 jobs. In exchange, the company received a package of state and federal tax credits, local property tax breaks, discounted power, and grants worth a combined $85 million.

"We were working every angle we possibly could," McCarthy said. "It was a fight."

All told, each job will cost taxpayers $340,000.

Whether that's a good deal for New York depends on who you're talking to, but such subsidies for upstate businesses are increasingly common.

New York is spending more than ever in the name of economic development  $8.6 billion last fiscal year alone, according to an estimate by the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan group that tracks state spending.

That money is coming under greater scrutiny after complaints from state legislators over a lack of transparency in how it's given out, criticism from state oversight agencies, and the indictments of top state officials and developers involved in projects in Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany.

Dig Into Our Data ProPublica, working with Investigative Post and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, has built a searchable database of nearly 16,000 economic development deals statewide. See for yourself how state and local officials are dishing out subsidies. Explore the data 

Only a handful of companies have received more in recent years than Corning. It was awarded $113 million in state and local subsidies between 2009 and 2015, according to an analysis of 11 state economic development programs by Investigative Post, ProPublica, and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

The company has used the leverage that comes with being a major employer in a struggling region to secure tax breaks on projects that were in little danger of going anywhere else, such as a childcare center and a parking garage for employees.

The subsidies represent a bonus for a company that's already flourishing, with $9.4 billion in revenues and $1.5 billion in profits last year. Its share price has soared 45 percent in the past year and is trading at a five-year high.

G. Thomas Tranter Jr., president of Corning's economic development arm, said that the $113 million figure "far exceeds reality," but declined to provide a different number, arguing that "it is inaccurate to assign monetary values to incentives."

The company is also eligible to benefit from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2014 elimination of corporate income tax on manufacturers, as well as a property tax credit introduced that year.

Corning illustrates the tradeoffs that come with subsidy deals. Critics argue that subsidy programs sap state and local budgets to create too few jobs, at too high a cost. Still, unlike some high-profile recipients of New York's tax incentives, Corning has a longstanding commitment to the state and to its eponymous hometown in the Southern Tier.

Corning has also mastered the art of obtaining subsidies.

With operations in 17 countries, the company can always hint that it might put new facilities elsewhere if New York doesn't offer enough. And New York isn't the only state prepared to pay up  Corning has also received subsidies for facilities in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Maine.

Economic development agencies have given Corning

not only subsidies, but a voice in shaping economic development policy in the Southern Tier. One Corning executive serves on the governing board of the local industrial development agency; another co-chairs the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council.

The regional council has recommended that Corning

receive state grants, while the IDA has granted tax abatements to around half the company's properties in the Corning area. That saves the company approximately $1.5 million a year in property taxes alone  money that would otherwise go to the local school

district, city, and county.

Still, for Steuben County and the Southern Tier,

the risk of Corning cutting back outweighs the cost of the subsidies the company receives.

"Any time you have a large surviving employer in a depressed regional economy, it's very hard for public officials to say no," said Greg LeRoy, executive director of subsidy research group Good Jobs First.

Company executives say taking advantage of subsidy programs is simply part of staying competitive.

"At the end of the day, we have a fiduciary responsibility to our shareholders," Tranter said.

Small town, big business

In Corning, it's hard to tell where the town ends and the company begins.

Founded in 1851 as a glassmaker  famously providing light bulbs for Thomas Edison  Corning Inc. now makes high-tech products like optical fiber, ceramics for catalytic convertors and the extra-strong glass used in smartphones and tablets. Corning is one of only two Fortune 500 companies headquartered in upstate New York.

The Corning area is a rare bright spot in the Southern Tier economy, which continues to lag behind most of the state.

While other companies have downsized or left the region altogether, Corning has not only stayed but continued to add jobs, delivering on the promises made in exchange for state and local assistance.

More than half of the 1,500 U.S. jobs Corning has added since 2009 have been in New York, where the company's workforce currently stands at 5,800  mostly in the Corning area. Most of the company's job growth, however, continues to take place abroad; only one-third of Corning's 35,700 employees work in the

U.S.

State and local governments across the country have long offered financial incentives to businesses to relocate or expand operations, although experts caution that taxpayers are unlikely to break even on deals where the cost of each job saved or created runs to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Locals focus less on what the company gets and more on what it gives.

As well as being an anchor of the regional economy,

Corning is a good corporate citizen, donating to local charities and schools, and investing in the city's business district.

In downtown Corning, where the company's sleek glass office buildings line the Chemung River, its influence is unmistakable. Unlike the faded main drags of so many upstate towns, the quaint storefronts along Market Street are bustling, buoyed by the six-figure average salaries of company employees.

At one end of the street is a hotel complex the company paid to renovate in the aftermath of Hurricane Agnes, which devastated the area in 1972. At the other, [don't need this comma] is a giant Wegmans grocery store, which Corning executives helped bring to town in the 1980s  the first branch in the Southern Tier. At the time, some shareholders criticized the company for spending too much on community investment.

Corning's interest in maintaining the quality of life in the area goes beyond philanthropy; the company's former CEO said it was "simply good business."

"In a small town, if the company doesn't take a large stake in maintaining the quality of the community, we won't attract the right kind of professionals," said Daniel Collins, the company's vice president of corporate communications.

Carrot and stick

Across the country, local officials like Rita McCarthy make the same argument to explain why taxpayers should subsidize large, successful corporations: otherwise, they will move, or expand, elsewhere.

"Those jobs were going to China, were it not for the incentives," McCarthy said of the $85 million Corning received to expand its factory in Erwin.

Her fears may have been justified.

As with most major expansions, Corning hired a site selection consultant to find out how much competing communities were prepared to offer in financial incentives. Company executives said that China, a key market for the product made at the factory, also offered a lucrative subsidy package for the plant. The

company has 11 facilities in China and Taiwan that employ roughly 5,000 people, almost as many as in New York.

And most of the company's recent job growth has taken place outside the U.S. Of the 12,200 jobs Corning has added since 2010, 85 percent have been abroad, where many of the company's biggest customers are located and the cost of doing business is lower.

The plant had already received one round of tax breaks, worth at least $2.3 million, when it was built 10 years earlier.

Company representatives said the subsidies were needed to offset the high cost of doing business in New York. The expansion "could have gone anywhere," said Tranter.

"Frankly, everybody wants us."

Still, of all the factors the company considers when choosing where to expand, he said, the most important is the availability of a skilled workforce  which the Corning area offers. And, he added, there are advantages to putting new facilities close to the company's R&D operations, which are clustered

in and around Corning.

Some experts say companies tend to exaggerate the role subsidies play in their choice of location.

When it comes to moving jobs overseas, any tax breaks offered are dwarfed by savings on cheaper labor costs, said LeRoy of Good Jobs First.

"It's very easy for companies to make the appearance of being interested in going to other places but being paid to stay where they are."

A seat at the table

A sizeable chunk of the subsidies for the Erwin expansion came from the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency, which awards more tax breaks to Corning than any other company.

The company's projects, mostly research facilities and manufacturing plants, received $30 million in tax breaks between 2009 and 2014  almost 40 percent of the value of all abatements the IDA gave out in that time.

Corning has a close relationship with the economic development agency: the company has had a seat on the IDA board since at least 1985. The IDA's current executive director, James Johnson, said it was important that the board reflect the interests of the local community.

"It makes sense to have a representative from Corning on the board  it doesn't mean they get special treatment," he said.

Corning employees recuse themselves from votes on the company's projects, IDA records show. And the employees who have sat on the IDA board don't make decisions about projects receiving IDA incentives in their work for the company, according to Corning's applications for tax breaks.

But, in 2008, when Corning asked the IDA for tax breaks on a new construction project, the application was signed by Richard Weakland, who sat on the IDA board at the time. He also headed the Corning subsidiary that owned the land the company was seeking tax breaks to build on. Neither Weakland, nor James Sherron  who was the executive director of the IDA at the time  could be reached for comment.

Neither of the state agencies responsible for overseeing IDAs  the State Comptroller's Office and the Authorities Budget Office  has reviewed the management practices of the Steuben County IDA in recent years. In audits of other IDAs that have done business with their board members, though, the comptroller concluded

that "such transactions may create an actual conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriety."

Company representatives insist that the projects currently receiving tax breaks would never have gone ahead in Steuben County without help from the IDA. That's more plausible for some  like high-tech research facilities that require significant investment from the company  than for others.

For example, the IDA has also approved tax breaks for Corning to build a child care center, where around half of the children have parents who work for the company, and a parking ramp reserved for its employees  facilities that serve the local workforce and could not be moved elsewhere.

That parking ramp created 555 new jobs in 2014, the IDA reported to the state  an abrupt increase, since no one had been recorded as working there for the previous five years. IDA staff arrived at that figure by counting employees at company buildings nearby that use the parking ramp, an approach criticized

by officials at the Authorities Budget Office.

Corning won't pay full property taxes on the structure until 2022.

"Southern Tier Soaring"

The county IDA isn't the only economic development entity where Corning has a seat at the table.

At the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council, Tranter is one of two co-chairs handpicked by the governor's office.

The 10 regional councils, made up of local officials, business executives and representatives from colleges and universities, compete to win state funding for their economic development plans. The councils make recommendations to state agencies about which projects should receive funding; the Cuomo administration

has the final say.

The annual award ceremonies in Albany have the feel of a game show, complete with slick promotional videos and upbeat slogans ("Southern Tier Soaring").

The Southern Tier has done well, frequently designated a "top performer." Corning  and the Corning Museum of Glass, founded in 1951 as the company's "gift to the nation"  have been successful, too, winning a combined $4.8 million so far.

That includes $1.5 million towards the cost of a new entrance for the museum, complete with a large interactive map of the state, and a $275,000 grant for a mobile glass-blowing studio on a canal barge, to celebrate this year's bicentennial of the Erie Canal, as well as grants for Corning's expansion in Erwin.

It's not unusual for board members and co-chairs to represent organizations that also receive funding from the regional councils  Tranter is one of at least six on the Southern Tier council to have done so.

Critics say this is an inevitable conflict of interest.

"Are you really telling me they can't find enough people with the expertise to judge it whose business is not receiving REDC funds?" said John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, a good government group.

Tranter said he recused himself from discussions of any funding for Corning and the Corning Museum of Glass, and that the council's co-chairs cannot vote to approve projects.

"Not only did I not get to vote, but when they discussed the Corning project I left the room and they still picked it to be number one," he said, describing the $3 million in grants the regional council gave Corning for the expansion in Erwin. "Why wouldn't they, with 250 jobs? We haven't had anything like it."

Local budgets lose out Corning Inc.'s reduced property taxes mean less tax revenue for nearby municipalities, at least in the short term. But the company has, at times, given more in grants from its foundation than it has received in tax breaks.

In 2011, when the local school district was facing a serious budget gap after a cut in state aid, the company's foundation stepped in to make up the difference, giving the district more than $14 million over the next four years.

The money didn't save the district from making cuts altogether, but did allow it to maintain programs like special education, counselling and extracurriculars, said Michael Ginalski, the district superintendent.

"If it weren't for that money, this would be a completely different school district," he said.

Still, while the City of Corning is thriving compared to many others in the Southern Tier, it's not immune to the economic pressures facing local governments across upstate: a stagnant tax base, rising pension costs and a limited ability to increase revenues due to the state property tax cap.

In 2011, facing a $1.8 million gap, the city increased property taxes, introduced new municipal fees, and laid off 12 full-time employees.

"These were hardworking, valued employees that we can no longer afford," City Manager Mark Ryckman told a State Assembly committee last February.

Despite the cuts, the city "continues to struggle to pay for basic city services while meeting our infrastructure needs," he said.

Ryckman did not respond to interview requests.

Between 2009 and 2014, Corning's property tax breaks saved the company  and cost the city  $590,000, according to state reports.

For Corning Inc., that's a drop in the ocean of the company's annual revenues.

For the city of Corning, that could cover the salaries of half a dozen municipal employees.

Some say the company is taking with one hand and giving with the other.

"Would there be greater value to the community," asked Ron Deutsch, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, a labor-backed think tank, "if Corning were just paying what they should be paying, like almost every other business?"

Reporting by Investigative Post (www.investigativepost.org), a nonprofit investigative reporting center based in Buffalo.
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One of Laredos shining stars in the world of culinary history, Maite Gomez-Rejon will return to the Gateway City briefly for a special guest lecture at Texas A&M International University on Wednesday.

Gomez-Rejon joins the University for its A.R. Sanchez, Jr. Presidential Lecture Series (Distinguished Lecture Series) at 6:30 p.m. in the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Theatre. Her lecture topic will be Food, Identity and Authenticity in Latin America.

Gomez-Rejon earned her BFA from The University of Texas at Austin, an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Grande Diplome from the French Culinary Institute in New York City.

Since 1995, she has worked in the education departments of renowned museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and the J. Paul Getty Museum. She has also worked as a private chef and caterer for rock stars and celebrities.

RELATED: IBC lecture to focus on US role in global economy

In 2007, Gomez-Rejon founded ArtBites, which combines art and culinary history with hands-on cooking instruction, and now teaches at museums across the country. She has been a guest on the Today Show, featured in Food & Wine Magazine and interviewed on NPRs Splendid Table, among others. Her blog, Cooking Art History, appears in The Huffington Post.

She has also lectured at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and The University of Texas at San Antonio, and has brought her programs to inner city and private schools in and around LA County. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two dogs.

Gomez-Rejon is the daughter of the late Dr. Julio C. Gomez-Rejon and Beti Gomez-Rejon.

RELATED: City of Laredo issues cease and desist letter to Lyft

The A.R. Sanchez, Jr. Presidential Lecture Series (Distinguished Lecture Series) is an occasional series at the University that seeks to bring innovative thinkers and creators to the University in public lectures open to both students and the University community at large. It is made possible through generosity and vision of Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Sanchez, Jr.

The most recent lecture featured the insight of former Pakistan Minister of Education, Dr. Khalid Khan who presented One Generation of Educated Women.

The Lecture Series is coordinated by University College.
A sentencing hearing for two men who pleaded guilty last year to pocketing more than $100,000 after perpetuating a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service has been reset for June, court records state.

Jeffery Wahab Jubril and Sunday Quincy Usoh pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims during a May 17 final pretrial hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo.

Jubril was indicted June 23, 2015 on an array of theft and aggravated identity theft charges.

A superseding indictment filed Nov. 24, 2015 names Usoh as a co-defendant in the case.

Both men were charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, 16 counts of theft of government money, property or records and 16 counts of aggravated identity theft.

RELATED: Man suspected of kidnapping arrested after faking unresponsiveness

Originally scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 26, their hearings have been reset multiple times, according to court records.

Records state Marmolejo ordered a revised pre-sentence report for both men during a hearing held earlier this week.

On Thursday, a notice of resetting was filed announcing a June 28 sentencing date.

The scheme

Court records indicate the criminal activities began in February 2015 and continued through May 28.

The stolen identity refund fraud scheme resulted in the filing of 13 fraudulent income tax returns and the identity theft of at least 25 taxpayers.

During the four-month period, Jubril and Usoh opened at least two dozen bank accounts in the Southern District of Texas and elsewhere in Texas, using Jubrils name, social security number, and other identifying information, according to court documents.

The purpose for opening these accounts was to receive income tax refund payments for taxpayers who identity had been stolen for the purpose of electronically filing false U.S. income tax returns, records state.

According to the documents, after Jubril opened a particular bank account, other conspirators electronically prepared and filed the false tax returns.

The records do not expressly name any of the other co-conspirators alleged to have had a hand in the scheme, but do state they lived as far as the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

RELATED: Teacher accused of using racial slurs, making lewd remarks will appeal termination

After the false tax returns were processed by the IRS, Jubril, Usoh and others would withdraw the funds using the taxpayers identity information, banking information and other relevant information.

Other stolen information included names, social security account numbers, birth dates and home addresses.

After withdrawing the money from the accounts, (Jubril) would take his share of the funds, forwarding the remainder to Usoh, records state.

Usoh, in turn, after taking his portion of these proceeds, would forward the remainder of the proceeds to other conspirators in the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

Both men may be forced to compensate victims by paying restitution amounts to be determined by the court prior to the sentencing hearing.

Jubrils plea agreements states, defendant stipulates and agrees that as a result of his criminal conduct, the victim(s) incurred a monetary loss of at least ($103,606).

Usohs plea agreements states the victims incurred a monetary loss of at least $528,757.
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Although UISD trustees voted last week to terminate the employment contract of a teacher accused of using racial slurs and making lewd remarks in the classroom, the matter is not over yet.

Silverio Martinez, attorney for Melissa Lerma, said he will appeal the termination to the Texas education commissioner.

United Independent School District said Lerma, an Alexander High School teacher, breached her employment contract, used profanity in class and failed to meet the district's standards of professional conduct. Martinez denied the allegations against his client.

In December, UISD trustees voted to propose her termination. Lerma then asked for an independent hearing examiner appointed by the Texas Education Agency to hear the case.

RELATED: Sheriff's Office receives recognition from Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve

The hearing examiner ended up siding with UISD, recommending Lerma be terminated. On Wednesday, trustees voted to accept the hearing examiners recommendation.

In mid-February, Lerma filed a lawsuit against UISD human resources department employee Rita Garner and four students. One of the students is Garner's son. The lawsuit states he "colluded with his three close friends to go after their teacher."

This lawsuit is the result of a society where many parents, instead of listening to a students teacher, choose to blame the teacher for the students problems ... A society where minors are taught or enabled to think that their failures and bad behavior are someone elses fault, the lawsuit states.

An investigation conducted by Alexander High School Principal Ernesto Sandoval states Lerma allegedly humiliated a student in front of the class by calling him a benchwarmer, according to the hearing examiners report.

She also allegedly told a student he was sick in the head, dumb and was not going to do anything with his life.

READ MORE: Ticketed event to be part of Outlet Shoppes at Laredo dedication

She had in her possession a photo of two students in a compromising situation as well, the report states.

Ms. Lerma threatened that it would be a real shame for (then-City of Laredo Police Department Chief Ray) Garner  to see a photo of his son in that compromising position, according to the report.

She allegedly threatened to release the photo to expose the students.

Trustees voted Wednesday to appoint their law firm, J. Cruz and Associates, to represent Rita Garner and the students in the lawsuit. Garner was sued in her individual capacity.

That is outrageous, Martinez said. Teachers dont get that luxury. They have to spend out of their own pocket.
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The auto-theft ring that stole vehicles from Laredo, San Antonio and other parts of Texas were delivered into the hands of the ruthless Zetas drug cartel, which used them to smuggle guns and drugs as well as carry out killings, authorities said.

LPD, in conjunction with other local, state and federal law enforcement, recently announced it had dismantled the auto-theft ring. The operation led to a host of arrests and indictments in the 111th District Court.

Two Nuevo Laredo men who remain wanted allegedly facilitated the transportation of the stolen vehicles from Texas and into Mexico. Each has had prior encounters with federal law enforcement, according to court records recently obtained by Laredo Morning Times.

RELATED: Man suspected of kidnapping arrested after faking unresponsiveness

Roberto Beto Castaneda Silva was at one point a drug mule who allegedly made at least 10 trips until his arrest in 2006. In 2010, U.S. Border Patrol arrested Guadalupe Diablo Javier Nunez Galvan, as he tried entering the country illegally.

Authorities said the two men handed over the vehicles to the Zetas. However, their connection with the drug trafficking organization is not clear.

On Dec. 14, a grand jury in the 111th District Court charged Castaneda and Nunez, along with a slew of other defendants, with engaging in organized criminal activity and criminal conspiracy to commit theft of property.

Castaneda

Castaneda pleaded guilty to possess with intent to distribute cocaine on June 12, 2006. Two months earlier, Castaneda arrived at the Gateway to the Americas International Bridge driving a 2005 Chevrolet Tornado. A K-9 unit alerted to the odor of narcotics. He was referred to secondary inspection.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers inspected the undercarriage and discovered a compartment that contained 21 packages of cocaine. The packages weighed 54.86 pounds.

In a post-arrest interview, Castaneda told authorities that some men approached him and asked him to transport narcotics to the United States. He stated he had made approximately 10 trips. He was paid $1,500 to $2,000 to smuggle the narcotics, according to court documents.

In October 2006, he was sentenced to 120 months. He tried appealing his sentence to no avail. Bureau of Prisons records show Castaneda was released in June 2011.

Nunez

Border Patrol arrested Nunez on Dec. 7, 2010, while he tried entering the country illegally.

Nunez pleaded guilty Dec. 9, 2010 to the offense.

He was sentenced to two days confinement and was deported after his released.

Operation Metal Rain

Last week, Laredo police announced the results yielded by Operation Metal Rain, a collaborative effort among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to dismantle an auto-theft ring.

Authorities said the vehicles stolen in Texas were crossed into Mexico and used for gun smuggling, human smuggling and slayings, including the assassination of the top prosecutor in Tamaulipas, Mexico, in January.

A group of people labeled as crossers were tasked with picking up the stolen vehicles in San Antonio and then bringing them to Laredo and into the Sister City, authorities said.

RELATED: Man wounded in park shooting in west Laredo

Police said they were able to confirm that at least 18 vehicles were taken to Nuevo Laredo, where Castaneda and Nunez would allegedly receive them and give them to the Zetas.

To report their whereabouts, call police at 956-795-2800 or Laredo Crime Stoppers at 727-TIPS (8477). Calls made through Crime Stoppers leading to an arrest may be eligible for a cash reward.
A congressman from Laredo came out swinging against President Trump Monday afternoon, issuing a statement in response to the latest developments regarding Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election.

"It's clearly time for an independent, non-partisan investigation into the ties between Russia and Trump administration officials, before and after the 2016 election," Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) said in a news release. "The Russian government is no friend of the United States. Under Putin's leadership, it stole Crimea from Ukraine, assassinates journalists, and openly seeks to weaken our nation."
City of West University Place

Residents of West University Place will have to make two stops if they wish to vote in upcoming elections on May 6.

West University Place will hold its General Election on Saturday, May 6, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for residents to elect a mayor and four council members.
A one-eyed, black-and-white cat named Sweet Pete and a Rottweiler mixed-breed orphan named Annie took a trip to a Conroe car dealership last week.

Sweet Pete and Annie's lives were heading down a difficult path before the Animal Shelter Volunteers of Texas stepped in, nurtured them back to health and found them a forever home. The two joined the volunteers at Wiesner Buick-GMC of Conroe, located at Wilson Road and Interstate 45, to receive a $10,000 check to help the ASVT continue its mission to help animals like them who have been abandoned, abused or neglected.

The ASVT is a nonprofit organization that started 10 years ago and focuses its volunteer and foster efforts to the city of Conroe Animal Shelter. The funds will assist the ASVT in a variety of ways, including by covering medical costs, paying for supplies, funding transportation, fostering and relocating the animals, according to ASVT President Kathy Joslyn. The ASVT assists about 200 animals through foster and rescue per year in Conroe with a $100,000 annual budget, she said.

This year, the funds also will be used for one of ASVT's major goals, which focuses on spay and neutering. Joslyn encouraged those in need of assistance to contact the ASVT, which can make $100 go a long way thanks to the help of businesses such as Wiesner and even $5 contributions from the community.

"We just love the support of Wiesner, which has allowed us to accomplish so many goals," Joselyn said.

Joselyn said the majority of animals rescued and fostered were simply "unwanted" by their owners. The costs of those who require medical assistance, like Sweet Pete, she estimates ranges between $500 and $5,000 per animal in need.

"It's an emotional roller coaster, but we're saving lives ," she said. " We don't' want to give up on them; we know we can't save them all, but we do our best."

This is the third year for Wiesner to contribute to the ASVT. The business has provided more than $33,000 to support the organization's mission and has several employees who also serve as volunteers.

Wiesner Spokesperson Falon Wiesner-Jones said the dealership is a big supporter of the ASVT. The company chose to give a lump sum of $10,000 up front at the beginning of the year for the organization to be able allocate the funds as it sees fit.

"We wanted to do something for the company that the employees felt passionate about," Jones said. "We are all animal lovers here. It's the year of our 45th anniversary, so we decided we wanted to give back to the community as a way to say thank you, so we decided to continue the corporate sponsorship with ASVT.  It's so exciting to see the animal faces and help give a voice to those who can't speak."

Wiesner supports the community in other ways as well, including as a sponsor for the Montgomery County Fair Association Non-Livestock Show Auction and Fair Queen candidate; the Montgomery County Crisis Assistance Center and host of its upcoming annual Duck Derby; assisting the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4709, as well as serving as a major supporter of the Conroe Symphony Orchestra.

"My late grandfather, John Wiesner, was a big proponent in the arts and bringing culture to the Montgomery County area, and that is something that we continue to support," Jones said.

Toni and Bruce Sellers, who is a Sellers and Associates Real Estate Broker, joined the ceremony with their two foster dogs as sponsors of ASVT's upcoming Ales for Tails fundraiser.

"It's wonderful," said Toni Sellers, who volunteers with ASVT. "(Wiesner) has found a need in the community and seems to care about the small animals of Montgomery County. We appreciate their support."

The annual Ales for Tails fundraiser is set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 6 at Ransom's Steakhouse and Saloon at 300 CB Stewart Drive in Montgomery. For more information about the fundraiser, ASVT or spay and neutering, email asvtexas@gmail.com or call 936-537-5768. For more information about Wiesner of Conroe, visit conroe.wiesnerauto.com.
Ironman Texas again is asking the Harris County Toll Road Authority to allow the use of the Hardy Toll Road for the bike portion of the Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas race for 2018.

The Woodlands Township Board of Directors agreed March 22 to send a letter of support to HCTRA for the use of the Hardy Toll Road in 2018.

While HCTRA and Harris County agreed to offer the toll road for the upcoming April 22, 2017, event, the agreement initially was to be just for this year's event while event organizers worked on other options for the bike race to reduce the impact on The Woodlands and surrounding areas.

However, according to John Powers, assistant general manager for community services for the township, the Texas Department of Transportation has yet to give approval to use the Grand Parkway and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle's project to add pathways to the Spring Creek Greenway is still a couple of years away from completion.

"(Cagle) has committed to work with the township, but it is going to take a couple years for him to get all that done," Powers said.

Board Chairman Gordy Bunch said the pathway, when complete, will stretch about 40 miles connecting in The Woodlands. He said it will help get some races and events off public roads.

"It's a beautiful pathway," he said.

Harris County commissioners approved the recommendation from HCTRA in June last year to allow the closure of the southbound side of the Hardy Toll Road between the hours of 3 a.m. and 6 p.m. April 22 for the bike portion of the Ironman.

As part of the 2017 agreement, the Ironman event will reimburse the Harris County Toll Road Authority $135,000 for the lost toll revenue, law enforcement and closure of the road.

Route troubles for the popular event started last year when the 2016 course had to be changed due to the previous year's route being "riddled with construction." However, once a route was settled on, it eventually was reduced from the 112-mile route to 93 miles due to flooding in the area from heavy rains in May.

In previous events, the bike route took athletes north and west of The Woodlands. Last year, the winding route took the athletes south into Harris County, including Spring and Tomball.

The township entered the Ironman agreement in 2010 with the first race in 2011.

In 2014, the township extended the agreement through 2020. As part of the agreement, the event was moved from May to April to take advantage of cooler temperatures.

The Ironman event includes a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run.
After almost two years on the real estate market, Wunsche Bros. Cafe & Saloon in Old Town Spring officially has a new owner. The designated historical landmark was born in 1902 as a hotel and saloon. Years later, it was transformed into a restaurant, quickly becoming a community icon that attracted tourists into Old Town Spring to enjoy classic Southern fare and ghost tales of the "haunted" restaurant.

Wunsche Bros. met its untimely, fiery finish in March 2015, when a fire destroyed the mid-1980s expansion and the original building received significant smoke damage.

The restaurant has sat quietly in Old Town Spring for almost two years, dilapidated and surrounded by a wire fence. In September 2015, the Houston Chronicle reported that the property was listed at $450,000 "cash only, as is."

The Villages Group Realtors' Cameron Collins, the agent who listed the property, said Wunsche Bros. - previously owned by the Laviage family - was purchased by the Kosh family, owners of Amerigo's Grille in The Woodlands. While whispers of this transaction appeared in February, the official closing of the property took place March 20.

"The sale closed today for an undisclosed amount, with an extensive long-term vision to redo the cafe better than ever and restore it to all of its 1902 splendor," Collins said.

With the purchase of Wunsche Bros., the understanding is that the restaurant will maintain its name, theme, exterior, menus and recipes. New co-owners Nancy, Casey and their daughter Tina are longtime Woodlands residents committed to the revival of Wunsche Bros.

"We always felt it would be good to be part of the heritage of the area," Nancy said. "We frequented the restaurant for many years and we love the community."

Nancy confirmed that her family intends to keep the restaurant's "integrity and history" and very similar decor, all while remaining loyal to its founding era. The Kosh's will be working with the Texas Historical Commission during the renovation.

"We're going to stay true to what people are looking forward to, the history of it, and we have confidence in what we're doing," Nancy said. "We're so excited and really looking forward to it. We want to bring it back to its original glory, enhance Old Town Spring and liven that whole area as well."

As for the classic menu and recipes, Nancy said the food also will stay true to its roots, with some minor tweaking. She said Wunsche Bros. will incorporate a "Made in Texas" approach where the restaurant will include items from local and regional producers.

Additionally, Nancy hopes to put a larger emphasis on live music when Wunsche Bros. reopens. The Kosh family is tentatively aiming for Wunsche Bros. to reopen in spring 2018.

Following the March 20 statement, Collins teased that another announcement about Old Town Spring will be made soon from The Villages Group Realtors following a meeting with the Spring Preservation League. While Collins would not reveal specifics, he said it will concern "the rebirth of Old Town Spring."

Spring Preservation League Vice President Clarence Williams did not choose to comment at this time about the future of Old Town Spring, but he did express confidence in the Kosh family.

"Old Town Spring is looking forward to Wunsche Bros. being open," Williams said. "We're comfortable with the new owners; they're good people and a good representation of our community. We believe in them and we hope the reopening will re-energize the community."

Wunsche Bros. Cafe & Saloon is located at 103 Midway Street in Old Town Spring.
Courtesy photo /Border Patrol

The Laredo Sector Border Patrol held their Youth of the Month ceremony for March honorees at Nixon High School.

The Laredo Sector Border Patrol presented seniors from 11 Laredo high schools with the prestigious Youth of the Month Award.
When Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Paxton has made a career of complaining about what he calls discrimination against Christians in Texas schools, going so far as to sue the Killeen school district after a middle school asked a teacher to remove a homemade Charlie Brown poster with a religious quote. Paxton has also opposed atheists seeking to halt prayers before public meetings.

Paxton's office this month took an unwarranted whack at Frisco ISD, suggesting that school officials allow special treatment of Muslim students who gather to pray in an empty classroom at Liberty High School.

What an embarrassing display of political grandstanding.

In a letter to the school district, Deputy Attorney General Andrew Leonie wrote that it appears that students at the high school are "being treated differently based on their religious beliefs," a violation of the First Amendment. Leonie, however, offered no evidence of unequal treatment and apparently made the public accusation without first even contacting the school district.

Gov. Greg Abbott then tweeted Leonie's letter, noting that the attorney general was "looking into the Public School Prayer Room issue many of you have questioned."

Is this the way the state's top law enforcement official conducts an agenda-free inquiry? Make a public accusation without checking out the information with the school district first?

Had officials checked in with Frisco first, they'd have discovered that the school has provided space for students since 2009. Administrators noticed that some Muslim students were leaving campus to attend Friday prayer; with the commute, it meant missing hours' worth of school for dozens of students. So the district found space for students to pray on school grounds, preserving their instructional time - and making it clear that the room was open to students of all faiths.

This editorial board then asked the attorney general's office for an explanation. Instead, we got a misleading prepared statement, saying Frisco ISD "assured us today that students of all faith, or no faith, may now use this meeting room during non-instructional time." Yes, just as they have been able to do all along.

This is cynical politics feeding a conservative narrative of Christian victimhood. Real supporters of religious liberty should shout it down.

Frisco ISD officials say the arrangement has worked and are rightly livid.

Superintendent Jeremy Lyon fired back in a letter that "inflammatory rhetoric in the current climate may place the district, its students, staff, parents, and community in danger of unnecessary disruption."

Plus, Lyon says, the district has no idea about the complaints the governor's office mentions. He wants the attorney general's office to produce "any and all evidence the OAG has in its possession of any religious group and/or individual requesting access to this room or any other room for their religious practices" as well as documentation of any complaints to Paxton's office. That's not too much to ask.

Once again, it seems that Paxton has allowed personal beliefs and political motives to pursue a narrative despite facts to the contrary. It is wrong. It is divisive. It is time for Paxton's office to back off.

-- The Dallas Morning News
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NEW YORK  Should the "Fearless Girl" stand up to Wall Street's charging bull forever?

That's the question New York City officials are facing after a statue of a ponytailed girl in a windblown dress went up in front of the bronze bull early this month and immediately became a tourist draw and internet sensation.

What was intended as a temporary display to encourage corporations to put more women on their boards is now getting a second look in light of its popularity, which has spawned an online petition seeking to keep it.

But does keeping the girl past her scheduled April 2 deadline forever alter the meaning of the bull? After all, the 11-foot-tall, 7,100-pound bull has been hugely popular in its own right; it was placed in a lower Manhattan traffic median in the wake of the 1987 stock market crash as a symbol of Americans' financial resilience and can-do spirit.

Some fans of the bronze girl already see the bull much differently.

"The bull represents men and power," says Cristina Pogorevici, 18, a student from Bucharest, Romania, who visited the statues this past week. "So she is a message of women's power and things that are changing in the world right now."

Holli Sargeant, 20, a visitor from Queensland, Australia, says the 4-foot-tall, 250-pound bronze girl "is standing up against something and we see her as powerful image. She represents all the young women in the world that want to make a difference."

Such shifting perceptions of the bull  from American hero to villain of sorts  outrage bull sculptor Arturo De Modica, who wants the girl gone.

He dismissed Kristen Visbal's statue as nothing more than an "an advertising trick," noting the bronze was a marketing effort on the eve of the March 8 International Women's Day by Boston-based State Street Global Advisors and its New York advertising firm, McCann.

As for his bull, "I put it there for art," the Italian-born sculptor told MarketWatch, which first reported his anger. "My bull is a symbol for America. My bull is a symbol of prosperity and for strength."

The girl's sculptor has no hostile feelings toward the bull.

"I love Charging Bull!" Visbal told The Associated Press on Sunday, speaking from her home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. "But women are here, and we're here to stay."

She was commissioned to create a 36-inch-tall girl with hands on hips and chin up. "Then we thought, this is a really big bull and we should increase the height to 50 inches," she said. "But I made sure to keep her features soft; she's not defiant, she's brave, proud and strong, not belligerent."

The sculptor based her work on two Delaware children  a friend's daughter she said had "great style and a great stance, and I told her to pretend she was facing a bull." The second was a "beautiful Latina girl, so everyone could relate to the Fearless Girl."

Visbal, who was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, while her American father was in the foreign service, is to be honored Monday along with State Street on the steps of New York's City Hall by a group of prominent bipartisan women who are asking that the statue be made permanent.

A spokesman for New York City, which controls public art in the area, did not say when a decision would be made. Mayor Bill de Blasio has said only that he would try to prolong the girl's presence.

David Levi Strauss of Manhattan's School of Visual Arts, known for his writings about the impact of art on society and politics, says he is excited by the dynamics the girl statue has brought to the space and agrees the overall meaning has shifted.

"The girl has changed the meaning of the bull forever," he says. "With public art like this, you never know what's going to happen; it's a Rorschach test onto which people are projecting their own opinions and feelings."

A similar point-counterpoint was played out at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, erected in 1982 in Washington, with three soldiers in bronze added two years later, seemingly interacting with the stark marble wall bearing the names of the dead. The result prompted debate; some said the soldiers infused life onto the wall, while protesters blasted the statue as a tasteless intrusion.

When it comes to the girl facing the bull, Strauss said, "the bull's stature diminishes. She's the individual standing up to the beast of power. ... She's frozen in a sort of dream of winning, and that's what appeals to people. She's irresistible."
Ed Gonzalez, Harris County's newly-elected sheriff, has ended a special enforcement partnership with federal immigration officials, but at least 18 other mostly rural and suburban Texas sheriffs have now proposed to help the Trump administration aggressively deport immigrants in the country illegally.

Gonzalez announced last month that he no longer would fund a team of 10 specially trained deputies at a cost of about $675,000 a year who worked at the Harris County Jail helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement identify detainees who might be subject to deportation. He said he will continue cooperating with federal immigration authorities and maintain an office and ICE computers.
A North Texas teacher was arrested earlier this month for an alleged affair with a student, the latest in a string of arrests for similar crimes so far this year.

Rebecca Goerdel, a special education inclusion teacher, was arrested Friday for allegedly participating in an improper relationship with a student at the Young Men's Leadership Academy, a school in Grand Prairie, according to a news release. The school was notified of possible misconduct on March 10.
Facts dont lie.

Maintaining transparency in government requires access to data without having the information filtered and spun by those with a vested interest in how it is interpreted.

Any allegation of voter fraud is a very serious matter. It does not serve the public interest to have the Texas secretary of state refuse to release basic information about the number of complaints it receives.

In its defense, the office cites a provision of the Texas Election Code that says that information about the allegations are not public unless it is determined a complaint does not warrant further inquiry or the attorney general has completed its investigation.

Secretary of State Rolando Pablos strict interpretation of that provision recently kept him from giving a legislative committee information about the number and nature of voter fraud complaints his office has received.

Pablos told lawmakers during a Senate Nominations Committee hearing last month, There is voter fraud in Texas, and were doing everything we can to prevent it. He then refused to release supporting data to the committee without their signatures on nondisclosure statements.

The move has prompted Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, to file legislation that would require the secretary of state to disclose the number of complaints it has referred to the attorney general for prosecution, the types of crimes alleged, when investigations are completed and the number of complaints dismissed.

Much of the information legislators were requesting from the secretary of state was later released by the state attorney general.

It indicates the secretary of states office has referred over 443 voter fraud complaints since 2002 representing the bulk of the 703 fraud allegations the attorney generals office has received during that time period. Data going back to 2005 indicates 93 voter fraud cases have been prosecuted and eight of them were dismissed, the Express-News reports.

Release of basic statistical information about cases is not going to compromise investigations. We wholeheartedly support Watsons efforts to make government more transparent.

The public should have access to basic information and statistics collected by all state agencies especially in matters relating to voter fraud allegations.
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Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Arts & Culture

By Long Island News & PR Published: March 27 2017

New Patch Program Teaches Girl Scouts about New York History and Encourages Girls to be Advocates

Albany, NY - March 27, 2017 - Governor Andrew Cuomo and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a new Girl Scouts patch celebrating the centennial of women's suffrage in New York. Women in New York gained the right to vote in 1917, three years before the 19th amendment granted suffrage to women across the United States. The patch program is a partnership between Girl Scouts councils and the New York State Women's Suffrage Commission, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. All seven Girl Scouts councils in New York will participate in the patch program, giving girls across the state an engaging way to learn about the history of the womens movement in New York and envision how they can lead for justice.

"From the birth of the womens suffrage movement with the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 to the strongest in-the-nation paid family leave and the Womens Equality Act, New York has remained on the forefront of the battle for womens rights and gender equality," Governor Cuomo said. "This new patch is a great opportunity for girls across New York to learn about the importance of the fight for womens suffrage as they become the next generation to lead the movement for equality and justice for all."

Lieutenant Governor Hochul was joined by representatives from the seven New York Girl Scouts councils and Girl Scouts from across the state at a ceremony celebrating the patch program, held at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City.

"This year marks a great opportunity to celebrate womens accomplishments and contributions to our history, including fighting for the right to vote," Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul said. "The womens suffrage Girl Scouts Patch is the next step in the Girl Scouts history of advocacy and empowerment on behalf of girls and women, and I look forward to joining with these girls throughout the coming year to learn and share about womens equality. The patch is a key part of the Women's Suffrage Commissions work to inspire the next generation of young women who want to rise up and achieve great things themselves."

The patch program, developed by the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York, asks New York Girl Scouts to think about what justice means to them, how the Womens Rights Movement is a part of their lives today, and encourages them to make advocacy a part of their lives. They must learn the names of key suffragette leaders and the definition of civil disobedience, visit (virtually or in person) key sites in the womens rights movement, create a suffrage banner, and play games popular for girls 100 years ago, among other things. View the patch here and the patch program here.

The seven New York Girl Scouts Councils participating in the patch program are:

Girl Scouts Council of Greater New York, Inc.

Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson, Inc.

Girl Scouts of Nassau County, Inc.

Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York, Inc.

Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways, Inc.

Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, Inc.

Girl Scouts of Western New York

The Women's Suffrage Commission, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, is organizing statewide programs to commemorate women's suffrage between 2017, 100 years from when women won the right to vote in New York State, and 2020, which will be a century after the 19th Amendment was ratified. The Commissions programs will celebrate the accomplishment of womens suffrage and the central role of New Yorkers and New York State in this milestone, while also helping shape the future to ensure a more just and equitable society for all. To get involved, visit www.ny.gov/suffrage

Mary Buszuwski, Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York, said, We here at Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York are pleased to work in collaboration with Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, the NYS Womens Suffrage Commission, and our sister Girl Scout Councils in New York State on this patch program in recognition of the Centennial of Womens Suffrage in New York. The civics component of Girls Scouting is critical in helping girls understand the importance of voting and the electoral process. Not just here, but around the world. Democracy is not a spectator sport. Our hope is that this patch program will encourage all of our girls to have a better understanding of the significance of participating in our democratic system, from exercising their right to vote, to running for office, to serving their constituents with the same passion for service and values that they learned as a Girl Scout.

Barbara Murphy Warrington, CEO Girl Scouts of Greater New York, said, At the Girl Scouts of Greater New York, we believe in the power of every girl to make her community, her state, and the world a better place. Our new women's suffrage patch program builds on our advocacy education efforts by encouraging our nearly 30,000 girls to learn about the importance of civic action and become advocates for their own causes. We are proud to work with the Governor Andrew Cuomo, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, the Womens Suffrage Commission, and our sister Girl Scouts across New York State to educate girls about the importance of voting, civic engagement and the history of womens equality.

Donna Ceravolo, Executive Officer and CEO of the Girl Scouts of Nassau County, said, We are thrilled to have our Girl Scouts be a part of this special centennial anniversary of the womens suffrage movement. Its important for our girls to know the historic accomplishments of women over the last century and this patch program will help girls across the New York State learn all about the fight for the vote. Our founder, Juliette Gordon-Low, has instilled a progressive spirit in this organization that has been carried on throughout all of our initiatives. Today, its women such as Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, who will help further inspire this next generation of young women to continue to pave the way for equality. We thank her for her leadership and we look forward to participating in this exciting event."

Judith Cranston, CEO of Girl Scouts of Western New York, said, New York has long been a leader in the womens rights movements, and I am thrilled to work with the New York State Womens Suffrage Commission to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote. The new Girl Scout suffrage patch will ensure our scouts learn about womens history in New York, and follow in the footsteps of women like Susan B. Anthony to become future leaders in the process.

Yvonne Grant, President and CEO of Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, said, Girl Scouts began in 1912 at the height of the womens suffrage movement. The young women in our council are delighted to participate on this momentous occasion as we celebrate the centennial of womens right to vote in New York State.

Julie Dale, CEO of Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways, Inc., said, The first convention on womens rights was held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, an historic town in our council. These pioneering women were audacious and remind us that all people must be accepted as equal. As modern Girl Scouts, we continue their mission and guide girls to become leaders who have the courage and conviction to stand for what they believe in. It is only fitting that we celebrate these early women who recognized the importance of coming together and shared their voices to win the right to vote.
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: March 27 2017

The legislation establishes standards for confining animals and creates an Animal Cruelty Database.

Albany, NY - March 27, 2017 - Today, Senator Todd Kaminsky announced that he is co-sponsoring bills to combat animal abuse. The legislation bans the cruel practice of tying up animals outside overnight, confining pets in small cages and using leashes that choke animals. A separate bill creates an Animal Cruelty Database that lets law enforcement track animal abusers.

"We have a duty to protect the pets that have become our family. No animal should ever be abused or neglected, said Senator Todd Kaminsky. When I think that some pet owners chain their dog overnight in the winter, it makes me shudder and is simply abhorrent. These bills establish necessary standards for the humane treatment of animals while also giving law enforcement the tools they need to track abusers. I will continue fighting to increase protections for animals on Long Island and across New York.

The Humane Society of the United States joins the League of Humane Voters of New York in applauding Senator Kaminsky for his support of important animal protection legislation, said Brian Shapiro, NY State Director for The HSUS. Cracking down on animal cruelty and neglect creates safer communities for both people and our companion animals.

Senator Kaminsky has co-sponsored two bills to combat animal cruelty. S1283 prohibits tying up animals outside overnight and using leashes that choke animals. The bill also requires that cages be four times the height and length of the animal and that when confined the animal is able to reach food, water, shade and dry ground. S2558 directs the State of New York to create the Animal Cruelty Database and include names of people over the age of 18 who have been convicted of various crimes against animals, including animal cruelty and neglect.
Al Qaedas recently formed entity in West Africa, Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), claims that it was involved in recent communal clashes between Fulani and Bambaras in Malis central region of Segou. The jihadist group claims it killed dozens and wounded many more in the assaults.

Last week, tensions between Fulani herders and Bambara farmers flared again near the town of Niono. A young Fula herder was reportedly killed by Bambara farmers, which prompted a response from the Fula militia. According to local media, as the Fula militia was retaliating, jihadists from JNIM joined in on the side of the militia killing 10 Bambara. JNIM confirmed this report today on its Telegram channel, stating that it got involved in more clashes yesterday. It is unclear if more attacks occurred, or if the dates are wrong on the jihadist statement as the original strikes occurred on the 22nd.

The Mujahideen clashed yesterday in the Macina region with Dozo militias [Bambara term for hunter] backed by the Malian army, which left dozens dead and wounded, the statement said. JNIM also claimed to have captured motorcycles and weapons, while burning other vehicles. Stating that the Bambaras were backed by the Malian army was likely to justify its actions in the name of protecting the Fula and to downplay its role in the communal fighting. However, the Malian military has been deployed to the area to help control the situation.

Parts of JNIM, specifically Katibat Macina (also known as the Macina Liberation Front), is comprised of ethnic Fulani jihadists. Malian authorities have accused Fulani jihadists of stoking tensions between the Fula and Bambara in central Mali, as this is the second time in as many months tensions between the two ethnic groups have resulted in clashes.

In addition, JNIM claimed two other attacks in central Mali today. It claimed an IED assault on a Malian vehicle in the Mopti Region yesterday, which likely occurred near the town of Koina. It also claimed a strike on a Malian gendarmerie post near the town of Djenne, also in the Mopti Region. However, according to Menastream, local sources only confirmed the IED. Malian media has reported on the gendarmerie post being targeted, but details are scarce.

According to data compiled by FDDs Long War Journal, this means there have been at least 60 al Qaeda-linked attacks in Mali and neighboring countries so far this year.

JNIM was formed earlier this month as a merger between Ansar Dine, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrebs (AQIM) Sahara branch, Al Murabitoon, and Ansar Dines Katibat Macina. The group is led by Iyad Ag Ghaly, the former leader of Ansar Dine, and is openly loyal to Abdelmalek Droukdel, the leader of AQIM, and Ayman al Zawahiri. (See FDDs Long War Journal report, Analysis: Al Qaeda groups reorganize in West Africa.)

Caleb Weiss is a research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Apple and Zoomflight took the Beijing Intellectual Property Office's ban to court.

Last May, a Beijing patent regulator ordered Apple's Chinese subsidiary and a local retailer Zoomflight to stop selling the iPhones after Shenzhen Baili Marketing Services lodged a complaint, claiming that the patent for the design of its mobile phone 100c was being infringed by the iPhone sales.

A Chinese court has ruled in favor of Apple in design patent disputes between the Cupertino, California company and a domestic phone-maker, overturning a ban on selling iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus phones in China, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court on Friday revoked the ban, saying Apple and Zoomflight did not violate Shenzhen Baili's design patent for 100c phones.

The court ruled that the regulator did not follow due procedures in ordering the ban while there was no sufficient proof to claim the designs constituted a violation of intellectual property rights.

Representatives of Beijing Intellectual Property Office and Shenzhen Baili said they would take time to decide whether to appeal the ruling, according to Xinhua.

In a related ruling, the same court denied a request by Apple to demand stripping Shenzhen Baili of its design patent for 100c phones.

Apple first filed the request to the Patent Reexamination Board of State Intellectual Property Office. The board rejected the request, but Apple lodged a lawsuit against the rejection.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court on Friday ruled to maintain the board's decision. It is unclear if Apple will appeal.
Even so, the company said it was grounding driverless cars involved in a pilot program in Arizona, Pittsburgh and San Francisco pending the outcome of investigation into the crash on Friday evening in Tempe.

The accident, the latest involving a self-driving vehicle operated by one of several companies experimenting with autonomous vehicles, caused no serious injuries, Uber said.

Uber Technologies suspended its pilot program for driverless cars on Saturday (March 25th) after a vehicle equipped with the nascent technology crashed on an Arizona roadway, the ride-hailing company and local police said.

The accident occurred when the driver of a second vehicle "failed to yield" to the Uber vehicle while making a turn, said Josie Montenegro, a spokeswoman for the Tempe Police Department.

Two "safety" drivers were in the front seats of the Uber car, which was in self-driving mode at the time of the crash, Uber said in an e-mail, a standard requirement for its self-driving vehicles. The back seat was empty.

Photos and a video posted on Twitter by Fresco News, a service that sells content to news outlets, showed a Volvo SUV flipped on its side after an apparent collision involving two other, slightly damaged cars. Uber said the images appeared to be from the Tempe crash scene.

When Uber launched the pilot program in Pittsburgh last year, it said that driverless cars "require human intervention in many conditions, including bad weather." It also said the new technology had the potential to reduce the number of traffic accidents in the country.

The accident is not the first time a self-driving car has been involved in a collision. A driver of a Tesla Motors Inc Model S car operating in autopilot mode was killed in a collision with a truck in Williston, Florida in 2016.

A self-driving vehicle operated by Alphabet Inc's Google was involved in a crash last year in Mountain View, California, striking a bus while attempting to navigate around an obstacle.

The collision comes days after Uber's former president Jeff Jones quit less than seven months after joining the San Francisco-based company, the latest in a string of high-level executives who have departed in recent months.

In February, Alphabet's Waymo self-driving car unit sued Uber and its Otto autonomous trucking subsidiary, alleging theft of proprietary sensor technology.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Politics of Flags: Indias Largest National Flag on the India-Pakistan (...)

by Gautam Sen

India has recently hoisted the largest and tallest national Tricolour at the Wagah-Attari crossover point, on the Indian side. The flag is of 120 feet by 80 feet dimension, flies at a height of 360 feet and has involved a public expenditure of Rs 3.5 crores. This will be an unique symbol of national identity and inspiration for the Indian security and other government personnel who control the border and the installations of state display and ceremony at the border-point. The special flag will have a similar value for those who would be witnessing the public ceremonies of daily opening and closing of border gates at Wagah-Attari in Amritsar, with all the trumpetering and fanfare. Incidentally, near-similar large national flags have been hoisted at a few other places in the country, such as at Hyderabad on the banks of the Hussain Sagar lake on the occasion of the second anniversary of the new State of Telangana, at Ranchi atop a hill, at the southern end of the Shanti Path and at Connaught Place or Rajiv Chowkthe main downtown area of the national Capital, and a few other places.

It may be worthwhile to ponder on the significance of such large national standards and the manner of their display. Telangana raising such a flag in the State capital at a historic central place like the banks of the Hussain Sagar Lake and on the important occasion of the States second anniversary, is unexceptional and in fact, laudable. It is a celebratory event, and will inspire the people of Telangana to work for the success of their new State within the ambience of the larger nation-state and its democratic and accommodative polity which allows for fruition of regional aspirations within the canopy of the larger Indian state. Such flags at other places like Ranchi, may not have similar significance but, nevertheless, will have an inherent inspirational value. The flags at the national Capital may be deemed to proclaim or herald the significance of the Indian state with all its cherished values and the motivational aspirations of its people in a spirit of national identity.

The latest flag at Amritsar has, however, a slightly different significance. It is placed at an important or strategic border-crossing to our neighbour, Pakistan, with whom our relational history has been chequered. Moreover, the Pakistani border guarding force, the Pakistan Rangers, has already lodged a protest with Indias Border Security Force (BSF), on the positioning of the flag. Pakistan, apart from being piqued with the hoisting of such a huge-sized Indian national flag, which will be visible from as far as Lahore, is reportedly worried on its security implications. Pakistani authorities seem to be apprehensive of the Indian flagpole being used to mount observational or electronic monitoring devices to track communication and security-oriented movements on their side of the border. Though such latent implications may be there, governments at Chandigarh and New Delhi are not expected to indulge in exploring such possibilities in normal circum-stances, only to negate the prospects of using the emblem for promoting tourism and motiva-tional visits of its citizens to the site. All such positive opportunities will be undermined if tension and trouble descend on the border-point and the fluttering of such a beautiful flag is not feasible. In fact, Indias BSF may propose to the Pakistan Rangers to install a similar Pakistani flag on their side as a friendly gesture.

A point worth pondering is whether the possibility of all such objections being raised were weighed carefully by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government of Punjab in concert with the Government of India, before the huge and high national flag was hoisted. The enthusiasm of the BJP partner in the State Government coalition was evident with its Minister for Municipal Affairs, Anil Vij, hoisting the flag instead of the Chief Minister or a Minister from the major partner, the SAD. New Delhi must have been part of the decision-making process, because the BSF, a central force, has positioned and hoisted the flag. India is well within its rights to instal such a flag on its territory. However, any such unique installation or structure with certain security attributes at a border-point with a country with whom our relations have not been the best and military operations of high intensity had taken place in the past, should have been carefully appraised with all its attendant implications, before being actually operationalised.

Assuming that such an assessment has been done, India need not backtrack or ignore the Pakistani objections, but instead persuade them to live with the special display of the Indian national flag and also put up a similar Pakistani flag on their side. This may assuage the Pakistani ego, and also ultimately foster a sense of brotherly competetiveness. From the security point of view, such a structure may also be a confidence-building measure to the extent that Pakistan and India would consequently have enhanced their monitoring capability vis-a-vis each other, in the event the such structures are surreptitiously exploited for security purpose.

There should a national policy based on a political consensus and also reckoning the views of our citizens in as broad-based manner as possible, regarding the pattern and parameters of display of the national flag. The initiative for evolving such a norm undoubtedly devolves on the Central Government. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court of India recently, to enjoin on the Union Government to formulate a law on the national standard, means of its respectful display, etc. The Court, however, rejected the petition alluding to the Constitution of India wherein the status of the national flag has been clearly specified.

Notwithstanding this Court decision, the realities of competitive politics in the country today is such that at the slightest instigation, to whip up frenzy, the national flag is brought out and displayed at all sorts of places. It is for consideration whether such displays, while campaigning or propagating different issues, some of them prima-facie of divisive or sectarian nature, are appropriate from the national ethos and unity points of view. Moreover, a norm may be decided on the dimensions of the national standard and its display at places of significance from the national perspective, reckoning all relevant aspects which impinge on Indias overall interests.

The large-size national flags hoisted at various places in the country are apparently inspirational, and have been welcomed by the people in their vicinity and are harmonious towards promoting the feeling of national identity. The flag at Amritsar however, is of special import because of its location and apropos India-Pakistan relations. The authorities concerned in India may now only use their diplomatic and administrative skills to get Pakistan on board with the unique arrangements for display of our national flag at Wagah, to accept this phenomenon and become part of the same, as suggested above.

The author is a retired Indian Defence Accounts Service officer, who has served till recently as Adviser to the Nagaland Chief Minister in the rank of Additional Chief Secretary. The views expressed were are the authors own.
Tens of thousands of pro-EU demonstrators rallied in London, despite heightened concerns about the terrorism threat, to mark the European Union's 60th anniversary -- just days before Britain's exit from the EU is expected to formally begin.

Organizers said about 80,000 people joined the march calling for Britain to stay in the EU on March 25.

The demonstration came four days before British Prime Minister Theresa May said she would formally start Britain's exit negotiations by invoking Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty.
Pakistan says it has started fencing off its long border with Afghanistan and areas vulnerable to cross-border militant attacks are being given priority.

Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa revealed the project during a visit Saturday to tribal districts, including Mohmand, near the Afghan border where "terrorists" assaulted outposts from across the other side and killed five Pakistani soldiers this month.

Bajwa identified Mohmand and neighboring Bajaur district as "high threat zones", saying fencing them is the military's high priority.

An army statement quoted him as saying that efforts are also underway to "evolve a border security mechanism" with Afghan authorities.

"A better managed, secure and peaceful border is in mutual interest of both brotherly countries who have given phenomenal sacrifices in war against terrorism," the general said.

Without elaborating, the Pakistan army chief said that "technical surveillance means" are also being deployed in addition to regular air surveillance to enhance the border security.


If the Republicans get a majority in the US House of Representatives, as is expected, theyll focus on lawsuit investment transparency and Chinas IP practices
Dubai International Airport and its flag carrier Emirates began implementing a ban on laptops and tablets on direct flights to the US, on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. 1.1 million people are expected to pass through the busiest international airport as the city marks UAE spring break, Dubai Airports' senior vice president for communications Anita Mehra said. An estimated 260,000 travellers were expected to pass through each day from Friday through Monday. Dubai International Airport expects 89 million passengers this year.

The United States announced a ban on all electronics larger than a standard smartphone on board direct flights out of eight countries across the middle East. US officials would not specify how long the ban will last, but Dubai-based Emirates told AFP that it had been instructed to enforce it until at least October 14. Travellers using 10 airports across the Middle East and North Africa are subject to the ban. The ban also covers all electronics sold at Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths told local radio earlier this week.

Government-owned Emirates operates 18 flights daily to the United States out of Dubai. In an attempt to appease its customers, the airline announced it would be offering complimentary packing and shipping services at gates to enable passengers to use their electronic devices after check-in and until boarding. Adding to the complication on Saturday, a number of flights out of Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports were delayed due to thunderstorms, including an Emirates flight to Houston.

The US ban affects nine airlines from eight countries: Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Britain has also announced a parallel ban, effective Saturday, targeting all flights out of Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Lebanon. Abu Dhabi, home to UAE national carrier Etihad Airways, is one of the few international airports with a US Customs and Border Protection Facility, which processes immigration and customs inspections before departure. PTI
U.S. F-35B fighter jets conducted a precision bombing drill over the Korean Peninsula last week as part of a huge contingent of special forces taking part in this year's joint exercises with South Korea, U.S military officials said Saturday.

South Korean and U.S. militaries are putting on their biggest show of force against the North since early this month, including the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and B-1 bombers.

The jets arrived from a U.S. military base in Japan and carried out a drill for hitting targets in North Korea in the event of a war on the peninsula. Six to eight F-35B jets conducted the drill in Taebaek, Gangwon Province from March 20 to 23, carrying precision-guided missile and small diameter bombs.

They can take off from and land vertically on a large landing ship, carrying a maximum of 6.8 tons of bombs and missiles.


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The Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress suffered defeat as their proposal to repeal and replace Obamacare disintegrated. Historically speaking, a new President has the most momentum in his first 100 days. Trump has been president less than 65 dayswith no victories and now a major defeat.

The Republicans withdrew the bill before a vote as they knew it had no chance of passing the House of Representatives. This is a body they control with a 237-193 majority, along with five vacant seats, and all they needed was 216 votes to win! This is an astounding defeat for Trump and it shows that the capitalist crisis has not only split the ruling class as a wholeit has split the Republican Party and their government. Workers and youth must study these events and take advantage of the situation to build the forces of Marxism.

Capitalist austerity & the healthcare industry

The Republicans have claimed for seven years that they wanted to repeal and replace Obamacare, but the problem they faced was that Obamacare was in fact the Republican healthcare plan. Years ago, the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think-tank, drafted a plan with individual health care mandates as an alternative to single-payer health care, which was growing in popularity. Republican Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts passed such a bill in 2006. President Obama modeled his national plan on this state plan. Ironically, Romney was his future opponent in the 2012 presidential elections.

Karl Marx explained that capitalism often takes services that were formerly provided free of charge and turns them into commodities. At one time, hospitals were charitable institutions that provided care for the sick as part of a religious duty, not to make money. But there are massive profits to be made in medicine, medical machinery, insurance, and healthcare facilities, including hospitals, treatment centers, and urgent care facilities. The problem is that although the population has an expectation to receive care, most people cannot afford the out-of-pocket expenses or to purchase adequate health insurance.

In most of the industrialized capitalist countries, the working class has built mass socialist, communist, and labor parties. During the post-World War II capitalist boom, the working class of these countries forced their ruling classes to provide some form of universal healthcare and to somewhat curb the rapacious healthcare industry.

By contrast, in the US, there is no mass workers party, and therefore, no universal healthcare, although many unionized workers received health insurance through their employers. Some non-union employers followed suit as they wanted to keep the unions out of their work places. The Civil Rights and youth movements of the 1960s forced Lyndon Johnson and the Democrats to pass Medicare and Medicaid (known as Medi-Cal in California). Medicare is a single-payer healthcare plan for people 65 years and older. Medicaid is a second-class version of a single-payer health plan for the poor who are not covered by their employer. But reimbursement fees are low and some doctors avoid taking patients with Medicaid and those that do are not usually the cream of the crop of the medical profession.

The end of the postwar boom forced big business to aggressively drive down wages and benefits and break the unions. Over time, fewer Americans had healthcare coverage through their employer and were forced to pay a part of this coverage through rising employee premiums, deductibles, and co-pays. Obamacare was above all a colossal handout to the big insurance companies. It did not implement universal, government-sponsored healthcare or eliminate the second-class nature of Medicaid. But it did expand Medicaid coverage and it did provide some subsidies to a part of the population forced to purchase individual policies. More than 70 million people now depend on Medicaid.

Guns versus butter

Capitalism is a system in decline. The ruling class must implement austerity to maintain its decrepit system. The federal government now has a debt of $19.5 trillionthe size of the entire GDP in 2015 and the growth rate of the economy has been low since then. They must pay this debt back with interest, to all the banks and investors who hold bonds.

At the same time, the Trump government wants to spend more on the military, as US imperialisms power continues to decline, along with a wall on the Mexican border. This requires cuts in the federal budget and the repeal and replace plan was seen a way of cutting health insurance subsidies and Medicaid. It was estimated that by 2024, an additional 24 million people would no longer be covered if Trumpcare had passed. In addition, many on Medicaid would have seen their healthcare coverage worsen as the reimbursement to doctors continues to drop. Many Medicaid recipients have longer waits to see a doctor, and when they do see them, the doctor has limited time. Millions would have been deemed not qualified for Medicaid coverage. In 2015, the government spent more than $545 billion on Medicaid.

This created a problem for Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan. On the campaign trail, Trump said he would easily repeal Obamacare and replace it with something better and cheaper that would provide healthcare coverage for all, but he refused to provide details. Sections of the working class voted for him on the assumption that Trumps word was good. But as the facts on this replacement bill started to get out to the public, many Trump voters in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Michigan turned against this. Masses of people went to congressional town meetings in February to show their disapprovalwith many congresspeople declining to hold such events, fearing the wrath of the population. The NY Times reported that a recent Quinnipiac poll showed only 17% of Americans approved of Trumpcare, while 56% opposed it. Among self-identified Republicans, only 41% approved of the bill.

Splits among the Republicans

The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) has explained that the crisis of capitalism leads to splits in the ruling class and its parties. The Tories in Britain are split. The traditional French right-wing is also split. The Democratic Party in Italy are coming apart. The US is no exception to this process.

The Republican Party began to split with the rise of the so-called Tea Party, now known in the House of Representatives as the Freedom Caucus. The only freedom that this caucus supports is the right of capital to exploit workers and destroy the environment. It was the Tea Party ideologues who led to the resignation of former Republican House Speaker John Boehner. Maybe they would like Paul Ryan to now play the role of Julius Caesar, although the ides of March has just passed?

These right-wing fanatics receive large sums of money from the Koch brothersironically a family that made money with investments in Stalins USSR. These hard liners of the Republican Party want a more draconian bill than Ryan and Trump proposed. They want deeper cuts to subsidies and Medicaid, if not outright elimination of these programs. When Trump began to negotiate with these people, the bill shifted even further to the right and the more moderate Republicans began to turn against it. The so-called moderate Republicans are simply the traditional Reaganites who are fearful of losing their seats in the next election. Theoretically, they would love to cut all government spending on social welfare, but then they would not be in Congress any longerthey could see the anger among some of the Republican voters.

Trump and Ryans bill also faced pressure from Republican governors who would have had to directly implement the Medicaid cuts, as working class and poor voters in these states were outraged that they would lose coverage. Yet another factor in the defeat is the healthcare industry itself, which reaps huge benefits from government handouts. Many insurance companies did not want cuts in subsidies to those who purchase health caresubsidies that end up going straight into the pockets of the insurance companies as profits.

Even with the help of Vice President Mike Pence, an extreme right-winger, and Trumps heavily touted negotiating skillsremember his book, The Art of the Deal?  they could not secure enough votes to pass this bill. Given that the Democrats were not about to dismantle the policy they themselves implemented, the split in the Republicans led to this defeat. In the face of such a humiliation, it is unclear whether Paul Ryan will be able to maintain his Speakership, and the eventual fight to replace him will mean even sharper clashes within the Republican camp.

The role of the Democrats

The Democrats celebrated the defeat of the Republicans, but do they deserve credit for this? Within hours of Trumps election, millions hit the streets in protest. In an unprecedented event, more than 1% of the US population in more than 200 cities protested against Trump the day after he was inaugurated. Then there was a series of protests at the Congressional Town Halls in February. These events show the massive anger from the population against the attacks of Donald Trump and the Republicans. Because of the unwillingness of Bernie Sanders and the labor leaders to break with the Democrats, the Democrats stand to gain from this vacuum.

However, like the Republicans, the Democrats are also a party of the ruling capitalist class. They are also split between the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders wings. The Clinton camp just secured a victory in electing Tom Perez to the DNC Chair position against Congressman Keith Ellison, a Sanders surrogate. When the Democrats are in opposition, they can put forward a more radical face. This mask is put away when they get back into powerand the taste of power is something they cant resist. After this defeat, Trump held out the proposal that if the Democrats would deal with him, they could fix Obamacare. The Democrats may well oblige himto get some patronage goodies in return.

Historically, the worse austerity is implemented via bipartisanship. The two parties know that if just one party implements austerity, that party takes the blame. This is why they pass austerity under the cover of compromiseas if there were no other alternatives but cuts and more cuts. As an example, the last major regressive measures for Social Security were applied during Reagan administration with the help of Democratic House Speaker Tip ONeil. This is when it was determined that the retirement age would be raised over time. Workers and youth must not fall into this trap. No matter their present posture, the Democrats are not the friends of working people. The working class needs its own party!

Checks and balances or paralysis?

The Constitution of 1789 is a peculiar form of bourgeois government. Most bourgeois democracies have some form of parliamentary government system. In the US, the president is the head of state and the government, i.e., an elected Chief Executive, independent of the legislature. They rely on a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate to pass legislation. Frequently, the two houses of Congress are divided against each other and the President, who runs the executive branch.

In the past, American capitalism and imperialism was a growing system with massive super profits. This provided the fat to grease the wheels of the system and to make deals between the President and both houses of Congress. But American capitalism is on the decline. The system of checks and balances set up to keep the masses in check has now turned into trench warfare between elements of the ruling classa state of paralysisas they dont have the same material basis to oil the governmental machinery.

Donald Trump, like Obama before him, will see that there are limits to the powers of the Presidency. Trump will likely have similar problems with his tax reform proposals. These will likely include some form of import tax, which is heavily opposed by WalMart and the Koch brothers. More and deeper splits among the Republicans are likely.

The crisis of Trump and the Republicans, like the impasse of the Obama years, is really a reflection of the crisis of the capitalist regime. Only the working class and socialism can show a way forward through this nightmare.

Build the revolutionary organization!

Trump has suffered a defeat, but he is still president and the Republicans and Democrats still control Congress. When the class enemy suffers a defeat, the working class should organize its next step forward. We must not lose this opportunity!

The labor leaders have a responsibility to organize meetings in every central labor council around the country to build and mobilize for a massive demonstration on May 1, 2017. A big turnout on May Day would allow the working class to assert its own interests and demands as a class. If this is coordinated with job actions and strikes, it would be that much more effective. Imagine the longshore unions going on strike for May Day. Construction sites and factories closing down for that day. Teachers going on strike and rallying their high school and college students to join the protests. Mass transit workers could agree not to strike as to facilitate the movement of protesters. An appeal should also be made to non-union workers to join this day of action. Such a day would begin to pose the question: who really makes society run? Who should really control society?

The movement for quality, universal healthcarefree at the point of service for allmust be linked with the fight to defend immigrant workers and their families, the fight against austerity, for a higher minimum wage, and the campaign to unionize presently unorganized workers. If the labor leaders take up this fight, Trump, the Republicans, and the Democrats could be defeated quite easily. However, the unwillingness of the labor leaders to adopt class struggle methods means our struggle will be protracted.

Ultimately, these demands can only be secured in a socialist society, with a workers government. In order to achieve this, we need to build a revolutionary tendency in the labor movement and among students and youth. This force will battle for a mass socialist party of the working class. The IMT is working on building this force now. One hundred years ago this coming November, the Russian workers took power, sweeping out the capitalists and the landlords. The American working class is a far bigger force than the Russian working class and the US is an industrialized and technologically advanced country. All the material conditions exist to provide housing, education, healthcare, and much more for everyone. Join the IMT and help us make this a reality!
Best Of Mass French Fry judges wrapped up this contest's Top 10 visits with stops at five Eastern and Central Mass. restaurants: Saus and Tasty Burger in Boston and VIA Italian Table, The Fix Burger Bar and The Boynton in Worcester.

The visits, which took place on Thursday, were the second in two days' worth of stops at the Top 10 restaurants for french fries in Massachusetts, as nominated and voted by MassLive readers.

In the gallery above, you can see photos from the judges' trips across the state. In the Youtube playlist below, you can relive the judging from the beginning of the second day.
Avalanche.jpg

Firefighters make rescue operation at a ski resort following an avalanche in Nasu, Tochigi prefecture, Monday, March 27, 2017. Several high school students are feared dead after being caught in an avalanche Monday during a mountain climbing outing at a ski resort.

(Kyodo News via AP)

Several high school students were killed at a ski resort in Japan after a large avalanche swept through the area, the New York Times reports.

The avalanche occurred near Nasu, in Tochigi prefecture, 100 miles north of Tokyo.

According to a Japan's Kyodo news agency, eight high school students were found with no vital signs, and more than 30 people have been injured.

Students and teachers from several schools were in the area at the time, taking part in a large-scale mountain climbing event, the BBC reports. Students were invited to camp out at the resort for three days and were expected to climb for several hours Monday.

The avalanche occurred shortly after students began their climb.

The New York Times reports that the region has been pounded by unusually heavy spring snows. When the avalanche struck, the snowfall was so strong that, initially, rescue helicopters could not be deployed to the area.

Additionally, about a foot of snow fell on the resort the night before the mountaineering event. According to the New York Times, a combination of heavy snow and relatively warm temperatures may have made the recent accumulation unstable.




After a homeless Northampton man crashed a stolen vehicle head-on into a dump truck, Hatfield Police say they found heroin and a crack pipe in his possession.



Lt. Michael O. Dekoschak responded to North Hatfield Road, near the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Friday night following reports of a crash.



According to his report, Dekoschak came upon a red Volkswagon Jetta with a totaled front end, which had apparently veered into the southbound lane and driven straight into an Allied Waste Services dump truck.



The truck was undamaged and the driver was speaking to a Conway police officer.



Running the plates on the Jetta, Dekoschak learned the vehicle had been reported stolen out Springfield two days earlier.



He found a prescription bottle containing a packet of heroin during a subsequent search of the Jetta.



Then, Dekoschak located a crack pipe was hidden away in a shoe of the driver, identified as Michael D. Olmstead, 36.



Dekoschak learned from Olmstead that Chicopee Police had arrested him several days earlier for possession of another crack pipe.



The Springfield owner of the stolen Jetta told Dekoschak that Olmstead had allegedly faked interest in buying the car then made off with it during a supposed test drive, never returning.



On Monday, Olmstead appeared in Northampton District Court, where he was charged with possession of a class A drug, possession of a class B drug, receiving a stolen motor vehicle and a number plate violation.



A pretrial hearing was scheduled for April 12.
It was Jan. 9, 2003, and Kevin A. Perry Jr. was eager to cut a deal.

Perry, the Worcester restaurauteur and real estate developer now facing charges of laundering drug money, was facing 15 to 22 years in prison for a drug conspiracy that involved the manufacture and distribution of more than 20,000 tablets of Ecstasy.

So he signed a letter agreeing to talk to federal authorities about his drug case. And then he talked some more. He impersonated and cooperated and informed, feeding information about co-defendants and, later, unrelated people he met in pre-trial detention.

He gave up his co-defendants. He implicated his then-girlfriend. He pretended to be Muslim to inform on a suspected extremist in Rhode Island's Wyatt Detention Center. He traveled to Pennsylvania to aid an investigation into a chemical company. And he helped federal authorities break up a murder-for-hire plot by Guillermo Vasco, a fellow inmate in the Essex County Correctional Facility.

The deals paid off. Federal authorities recommended a 50 percent reduction in his sentence, he testified in Vasco's 2006 criminal trial. He was given eight years in federal prison and was out by 2008, factoring in time served before sentencing.

The details, elicited from Perry as Vasco's defense attorney tried to build a case that the government had entrapped his client into hiring a hitman to kill his wife, offer an uncommon look into the world of federal jailhouse informants.

And they show how Perry was able to emerge from prison in 2008 and start buying property in Worcester by 2012 -- deals investigators now say were financed by a drug enterprise Perry re-launched shortly after his release.

Perry first served time in Massachusetts in 1991, he testified during Vasco's trial. It was one of a string of convictions that led to probation or jail sentences, he said, for crimes including possession of controlled substances, larceny and assault and battery.

And in 2002, when Perry was indicted on a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute MDMA, those convictions came back to haunt him. His prior record of 13 or more criminal history points, combined with the seriousness of the drug charge, put him in line for 15 to 22 years of federal prison, according to federal sentencing guidelines.

Perry did not want that kind of time. So he began to inform -- at first on his co-defendants, and then on fellow inmates he met in prison while his criminal case was ongoing.

"And what was the reason you were cooperating with the government?" Vasco's attorney Melvin Norris asked, according to a transcript of testimony.

"To try to get more time off," Perry replied.

Perry's attorney James H. Budreau was not immediately available for comment.

While being held in the Donald D. Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island, Perry pretended to convert to Islam to endear himself to Brett Sullivan -- a Muslim inmate the ATF believed was an extremist who had illegally possessed a semi-automatic SKS rifle and threatened government agents in government buildings.

Sullivan, along with his brother Ross Sullivan, had been arrested on charges of possessing a stolen pump shotgun in December 2002. While in the back of a police cruiser, Ross Sullivan allegedly said he believed that Jews perpetrated the Sept. 11 terror attacks and that he was being targeted for his Muslim faith.

Brett Sullivan was held in Wyatt, where he met Perry, who had already signed a deal promising to cooperate with federal authorities. During jailhouse conversations, which Perry took notes on and reported to the ATF, Sullivan allegedly gave incriminating information about a semi-automatic rifle and professed extreme religious beliefs.

"Sullivan also talked about his Muslim beliefs and how he was going to Jordan to fight in the jihad, and that Osama Bin Laden had nothing to do with Sept. 11, rather it was the Jews," then-U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan wrote in a filing in Sullivan's case. "Reportedly, Sullivan also stated that he had friends in Afghanistan who sent him books and videos."

Perry, who at one point wore a wire to record Sullivan and elicited information from him during chess games and prison showers, appeared to consider himself part of the ATF's investigative team and in one letter offered unsolicited advice to investigators.

"I believe, from previous conversations, that if we could find out where Sullivan's old residence was (when he was living with these two other Muslims) that we could find another lead," Perry wrote in a section of his notes to the ATF that was later crossed out.

Perry also told federal authorities that Sullivan had written "raps" about killing ATF Special Agent David Oliver, according to court filings.

Parts of Perry's information were ruled inadmissible due to his over-eagerness in prying information from Sullivan about his pending charges, and Sullivan does not appear to have been indicted on terrorism counts.

But Sullivan later pleaded guilty on the gun charges and was sentenced to 37 months in prison.

Perry also went to Pennsylvania at the government's request to give information on an investigation into a chemical company, he testified.

And when he was held in Essex, he was an instrumental part of the ATF's sting to catch Guillermo Vasco in a plot to kill his wife, who was scheduled to testify against him in his sexual assault case.

In that case, Perry convinced Vasco to write a letter describing his murder-for-hire plans to a "hitman" who was actually an undercover ATF agent. Vasco was later convicted of five counts of using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder for hire, and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Perry's turn as government mole put him at risk as he served time while awaiting trial, he testified. He was transferred from jail in Bridgewater because other inmates discovered he was an informant.

"And what is the terminology they use in prison for somebody that's a cooperator?" Norris, Vasco's attorney, asked him.

"Snitch," Perry replied.

"And what else?"

"Rat."

"And that's what they called you?"

"That's correct," Perry said.

His cooperation earned him a recommended sentence of 94 months instead of 188 months, per his deal with federal authorities. While the judge in his case still had discretion over sentencing, he appeared to follow the recommendation, giving Perry 94 months in federal prison with credit for time served.

Perry became a free man in 2008, and according to a federal indictment released this month quickly began selling drugs again.

In November 2011, Perry created Secondwind Investments, and in 2012 began purchasing property in Worcester and Millbury, allegedly using the proceeds from the manufacture or distribution of anabolic steroids, cocaine and fentanyl.

Last year, Perry bought the site of the Blackstone Tap restaurant and 166 Shrewsbury, now the site of the gourmet sandwich restaurant The Usual. Both restaurants are registered to Perry's wife Stacey Gala, who he married in 2015 and who has not been charged with any crimes.
"We received many, many applications for (the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program)," said Kate Miller, UW provost and vice president of academic affairs. "More than we expected to."

An upfront cost of $7.5 million to fund the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program at the University of Wyoming approved by the UW Board of Trustees on Friday could save the college about $6.5 million annually, a UW representative said.

The incentive program was a one-time offer to pay eligible academic personnel their nine-month budgeted salary in addition to benefits in exchange for their voluntary separation. Applicants were required to have worked at UW for 20 years and the application window was open from Dec. 1 to Feb. 1.

Ike Fredregill The Laramie Boomerang

Full Story: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/uw-program-incentivizing-early-separation-more-popular-than-expected/article_b907fea7-45f7-5b1e-a404-53a03ad3c559.html
Montana is long on the natural resources all outdoor-minded tourists loveafter all, its home to both Glacier National Park and a sizable part of Yellowstone National Parkyet, when it comes to broadcasting that message, the Big Sky state hasnt exactly had the largest of budgets.

In fact Jennifer Pelej, director of marketing for The Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development (MOTBD), calls it "humble." But rather than let budget limit their reach, it simply forces the team to work smarter.

Full Story: https://rootsrated.com/labs/content-marketing/marketing-montana-how-a-state-with-1m-people-lured-12m-annual-visitors
Building a retirement plan as a small-business owner should involve setting goals, selecting investments and getting relevant insurance coverage. "Ideally, the best time to develop your exit strategy for retirement is the day you open the business," says Joe Fahey of Wells Fargo.

By Rebecca Lake

Full Story: http://money.usnews.com/investing/articles/2017-03-24/how-to-create-your-small-business-retirement-succession-plan
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, my name is Mike Sheard. Im the CEO of iConnect Montana http://www.iconnectmontana.com , a Montana corporation that has operated colocation and data center facilities in the state since 1999. Our newest and largest facility is a 43,000 square foot data center located in Billings.

SB 359 http://leg.mt.gov/bills/2017/BillPdf/SB0359.pdf

Our state actually has much to offer data center operators or any company that is looking for a great home for their information technology operations. Montana offers a favorable business environment, a skilled labor force, low entry and operating costs. We also have access to multiple, low-latency, and competitively priced fiber-optic networks that link directly to the major network hubs in Seattle, Chicago, Denver and Calgary.

Finally   and this is a key factor for data center operations   compared to many other locations across the U.S., Montana offers very low risk of service disruptions due to both man-made and natural incidents. We offer safety and security.

Due to these comparative advantages, iConnect Montana has a growing and successful track record of convincing companies to move their servers and other equipment from higher-cost data centers in places like California to our data center in Billings. Sometimes, the systems administrators and other IT people at these companies are pretty skeptical about moving their equipment to what they consider to be a rural and remote location like Montana. However, oftentimes their CFOs or upper management see the lower costs of service available in Montana and make the decision to give us a try. Invariably, not only are the financial officers at these companies happy, but due to the quality of the services we offer, even the technical people are surprised and delighted with the decision to move into our data center.

Obviously this bill is focused on bringing in new, and very large data centers to Montana and the provisions of the bill dont appear to offer any direct benefits to iConnect Montana. However, we still strongly support the bill and would welcome the types of data center operations to our state that the bill speaks to. We know from experience that Montana is a great place for data centers and wed like to see more locate here.

Id be happy to try to answer any questions and I also want to extend an invitation to committee members that any time you plan to be in Billings, and are interested in seeing our data center, please contact me and Ill arrange for a tour  we love to show it off.

Thank you.

Mike Sheard [email protected]
The public is hereby informed that the National Identity Card Unit at Central Flacq will resume its activities on Wednesday 30 March 2022.

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by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, March 27, 2017

The U.S. will continue to be the primary engine driving the global ad economy for the foreseeable future, according to the latest forecast from Publicis Zenith unit. The updated forecast, released early this morning, projects that the U.S. will contribute 28% of worldwide ad expansion through 2019 -- which is significant considering how mature the U.S. marketplace is relative to big developing nations.

China is projected to be the second-largest contributor, with an estimated 24% of global ad growth coming from the Chinese marketplace.

Indonesia, the U.K. and India tie for third-place ranking, with each contributing about 4% of global ad growth.

Overall, Zenith projects global ad expenditures will expand 4.4% both this year and next, reaching $592 billion by the end of 2017. The agencys 2017 forecast is unchanged from its previous outlook released in December, but its 2018 estimate was revised downward by 0.1 percentage point due to downgrades in its outlook for Western Europe and Asia Pacific.

advertisement advertisement

Zenith currently projects North American ad spending will expand 3.4% this year.

By medium, much of the global ad expansion is projected to come from mobile and desktop Internet ad spending.

Zenith projects that Internet ad spending will expand 13% to reach $205 billion in 2017, marking the first time the medium had broken the $200 billion threshold.

In terms of market share, the Internet will account for nearly 37 cents of every dollar spent on advertising this year, up from 34 cents per ad dollar in 2016.

This will be the first year in which more money will be spent on Internet advertising than advertising on traditional television (which will total $192 billion), Zeniths new report notes, adding: The sheer scale of Internet advertising means its growth rate is slowing. Internet ad spend grew 17% in 2016, down from 20% in 2015, and we expect growth to slow to 13% in 2017, 12% in 2018 and 10% by 2019.
by Wayne Friedman , March 27, 2017

U.S. traditional pay TV providers will continue to lose grown in the coming years. The industry is expected to drop 5% in subscribers by 2022 to 90.711 million from 94.957 million in 2017, according to Digital TV Research.

North America pay TV revenues -- subscriptions and PPV -- peaked in 2015 at $108.58 billion, the research says. Estimates are revenues will fall by 12.7% -- $13.76 billion -- to $94.82 billion in 2022.

In five years' time, cable pay TV revenues will decline by $12.13 billion, while satellite TV providers will climb $1.93 billion; and telco IPTV business will drop $3.55 billion  a massive 32.5%.

U.S. digital cable TV subscribers -- the bulk of the overall U.S. pay cable business -- will remain flat at about 57 million, the level in 2015. Satellite TV also flat at about 36 million; from 2015.

Telecommunication IPTV companies will continue lose subscribers -- in large part as AT&T looks to transition its U-Verse customers in DirecTV customers.

Total Canadian pay TV subscribers will remain steady -- 11.3 million in 2016; 11.2 million in 2017; and going to 11.3 million by 2022.
by Sara Guaglione , March 27, 2017

andare heading across the pond to expand into Europe.just announced the launch of, its first international edition in Nordic countries.

The Finnish language edition is a partnership with SK Media Finland (SKF), which has published Forbes in Baltic countries since 2010.

Forbes magazine has 38 editions around the world. SK Media Finland will launch Forbes in Sweden in 2018 and in Norway in 2019. Forbes Finland will be distributed across the country starting March 28, with a monthly circulation of 70,000.

The digital app version will launch in May; live events and conferences will follow in June. The editorial team based in Helsinki is led by business journalists Jouko Marttila and Hannu Vuola.

In his opinion column for the launch edition of Forbes Finland, chairman and Forbes magazine editor-in-chief Steve Forbes wrote: A well-educated population and an impressive school system are formidable assets which, combined with structural reforms that the government has just began to grapple with, could make Finland an economic powerhouse.

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Separately, The Atlanticannounced today a major push to reach a global audience, with plans for 10 editorial and business employees to fill a new, London-based office called the Global Bureau.

A new editorial and business staff will focus on covering global news with a focus on Europe, across a scope of audience development, sales, marketing, events and business partnerships.

The Atlantic also plans to expand the work of its branded content studio Atlantic Re:think to international advertising partners in the coming year.

National correspondent James Fallows, a 43-year veteran of The Atlantic who has lived and worked in numerous international cities, will lead the effort as the magazine's first Europe editor. He and his wife, Deborah Fallows, also a writer for The Atlantic, will move to London this summer.

More than one-quarter of our digital audience lives outside the United States, stated Atlantic president Bob Cohn. So we are already a global brand. This expansion means well be creating more journalism from Europe, for both U.S. and international readers, bringing our lens on the world to more global leaders in business, finance, technology, culture and government.

Global readers currently account for nearly 30% of the 33 million unique monthly visitors to TheAtlantic.com.

In 2016, The Atlantic increased single-copy newsstand sales by 19%. Total revenues across businesses grew 18% in 2016, which will likely help fund this new international endeavor.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, March 27, 2017

The advertising boycott related to extremist content on YouTube will cost Alphabet $750 million, an analyst predicted Monday -- and another, Pivotal Analyst Brian Wieser, just doesn't think Google is working quickly enough to solve the problem.

"CMOs were genuinely unaware of the problem and related risks given the range of issues they are charged with managing," Wieser wrote in a research note published Monday. He estimates about a 1% revenue impact this year and next, assuming that the problem is settled soon.

The issue is quickly spreading from Google to Facebook, according to Eric Feinberg, founder of Global Intellectual Property Enforcement Center (Gipec). The former Madison Avenue executive turned tech geek set out several years ago to find ad-supported content linked to terror and hate groups. He co-developed a patent issued in December that relies on deep Web integration to find keywords and coding linked to terrorism and hate speech on sites.

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"We're not going after one tree at a time," Feinberg said. "We understand how the root structure and the soil interact to make the whole forest work. That's how the patent was designed."

In the patent's abstract, the inventors describe it as a "computerized system and method for detecting fraudulent or malicious enterprises."

Feinberg said this patent will only work if it is allowed to integrate with Google's and Facebook's advertising and content technology. "We don't say certain words and phrases that ISIS uses, so we built a database of key communication strands and certain keywords used by hate groups and extremists and certain characteristics of the videos to identify them," he said.

Advertising agencies have recently come forward admitting that Google DoubleClick has technology within the platform to block ads from serving on specific sites, but Feinberg -- who is co-author of the patent -- said that's not enough.

Feinberg recently connected with Dallas Police Department Sergeant Demetrick Pennie, president of the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation, to further the cause.

"Facebook created a phenomena in streaming media the world is not ready for," Pennie said. The content also indexes and serves up in Google search queries based on keywords and hashtags.

Google has posted several blogs detailing changes to their policy, and Facebook interrupts the live streams as quickly as possible when they are reported to the company when someone violates its Community Standards.

Facebook has given people a way to report violations during a live broadcast, and it also monitors live videos if they hit a certain threshold of popularity. The team works around the clock to review content and urges people to contact law enforcement directly if they become aware of a situation where the authorities can help.

But Pennie said all this is not enough. On YouTube and Facebook and other social media sites, certain hashtags tie content about killing police to advertisements from automotive manufacturers like Ford and Dodge, Pennie said. "Some are rap videos," he said. "I'm just trying to get someone to pay attention."

Based on Pennie's personal interactions with the Dallas 2016 shooter ambush in which several officers were killed, he brought two lawsuits against Google, Facebook and Twitter, the latest in January. He attributed the murders to the hate content on these Internet sites and each company's refusal to take down the content.

In the past year there have been more than a half a dozen suicides broadcast live and a couple of attack on Facebook, Pennie said, where brands subsidize extremist and disturbing content.
by Jess Nelson , March 27, 2017

Flybe and Honda have both been fined for sending unwanted spam emails and breaking consumer data regulations in the United Kingdom.

Flybe (previously British European), a regional budget airline based out of Exeter, was fined 70,000 for spamming customers. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO), an independent regulatory office reporting directly to Parliament, found that Flybe had sent more than 3.3 million unwanted emails to customers.

The emails in question were sent last August with the subject line Are your details correct?, and asked consumers to check their profile information and update their marketing preferences.

Flybe customers had not opted-in to receive email marketing, thus breaking the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations (PECR). The 2003 law requires consumer permission before a company can send any direct marketing material, such as phone calls and email marketing messages.

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Fines from breaking PECR are paid into the Treasurys consolidated fund to be utilized on public services by the government.

Honda was also fined 13,000 for sending out just under 300,000 emails requesting customers update their marketing preferences.

Both companies sent emails asking for consent to future marketing, states Steve Eckersley, ICO Head of Enforcement, in a press release posted online. In doing so they broke the law. Sending emails to determine whether people want to receive marketing without the right consent is still marketing and it is against the law.

The United Kingdom will soon be embracing even more strict data regulations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a new data privacy regulation rolling out in the European Union on May 25, 2018. Brexit will not affect the adoption of GDPR in the United Kingdom.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, March 27, 2017

The House of Representatives could vote as early as Tuesday on a bill to revoke sweeping broadband privacy rules that limit carriers' ability to engage in online behavioral advertising. Last week, the Senate voted 50-48 in favor of a similar resolution.

The measure (S.J. 34) would overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act -- a 1996 law that allows federal lawmakers to vacate recent agency decisions. If Congress uses that vehicle to overturn the rules, the Federal Communications Commission won't be able to replace them with new privacy regulations.

The broadband privacy rules, passed by the FCC 3-2 last October, impose a host of new requirements on Internet service providers. Among the most controversial are provision requiring carriers to obtain opt-in consent before drawing on data about subscribers' Web-browsing history and app usage for ad targeting.

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Trade groups representing the ad industry and broadband carriers oppose those rules, as does FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Critics argue that the opt-in consent requirement subjects carriers to tougher standards than search engines, social networking services and other Web companies. The Federal Trade Commission -- which has jurisdiction over companies other than common carriers -- broadly recommends that Web companies allow people to opt out of the collection and sharing of non-sensitive data. The FTC also suggests that companies should obtain opt-in consent before sharing a narrow category of "sensitive" data -- including health information and precise location data.

But privacy advocates counter that broadband carriers are not comparable to other online companies -- largely because broadband carriers can glean detailed knowledge about subscribers' online activity by examining all unencrypted traffic that passes through their networks.

Supporters of the privacy rules, including Mozilla and the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, are urging consumers to express concerns to lawmakers. The advocacy group Fight for the Future said Monday that it plans to put up billboards to advertise the names of members of Congress who vote to rescind the rules.

The VPN provider Private Internet Access warned people Sunday in a full-page New York Times ad that Internet service providers will be able to "monitor you," "manipulate what you see," and "sell it all," if Congress revokes the privacy rules.
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified cell surface markers specific for the very earliest stem cells in the human embryo. These cells are thought to possess great potential for replacing damaged tissue but until now have been difficult to distinguish from classical embryonic stem cells. The study is published in the prestigious journal Cell Stem Cell.

During the first week of fertilisation, the embryo grows from a single cell into a blastocyst, a hollow cluster of a few hundred cells. The blastocyst then attaches itself to the wall of the uterus (implantation), and for a limited period from fertilisation to a few days after implantation the embryo contains pluripotent stem cells. These cells can develop into all the body's cell types and are therefore of considerable interest to the field of regenerative and reparative medicine.

A few years ago, it was discovered that there are two stages for human pluripotent stem cells, corresponding to the pre-implanted and post-implanted embryonic cells. Although the classical stem cells used in regenerative medicine are isolated from the pre-implanted embryo, they have adopted a mature stage that is most likely more similar to a post-implantation embryo. A new type of pluripotent cell that genuinely corresponds to the more immature, pre-implantation stage has been identified and can now be cultivated in the laboratory. These immature stem cells are of great scientific interest since they are believed to have the potential to build certain cell types that are difficult to obtain from the classical stem cells, and they may also be easier to cultivate and manipulate in the laboratory.

Fredrik Lanner's research team at Karolinska Institutet and their colleagues in Peter Rugg-Gunn's team at Cambridge's Babraham Institute in the UK have now developed a tool for separating the two stem cell states. They have screened combinations of antibodies that bind to specific proteins on the surface of the immature and mature stem cells and that can be used for flow cytometry, a common laboratory technique for sorting cells.

"We've not had cell surface markers for the different stem cell states before, which has made it hard to study them," says Fredrik Lanner, assistant professor at Karolinska Institutet's Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology. "We now have a simple tool for identifying and sorting the cells, which benefits future stem cell research and basic research on early embryonic development."

Mature embryonic stem cells cultivated in the laboratory can, under the right conditions, be backed up in their development to the more immature stem cell type. The researchers tested their technique on such cultivated stem cells of both a mature and immature type, and on donated human embryos left over from IVF treatments. As expected, only the immature stem cell type was identified in such pre-implanted embryos, which indicates that the antibodies are highly specific.

"It is at the point of implantation that the stem cells go through this change and 'mature', which is also a highly critical time for the embryo," says Dr Lanner. "These cells are therefore also of interest to infertility research."

The study was financed by several bodies, including the Swedish Research Council, the Ragnar Soderberg Foundation, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Centre for Innovative Medicine (CIMED) and the Ming Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine.

Article: Comprehensive Cell Surface Protein Profiling Identifies Specific Markers of Human Naive and Primed Pluripotent States, Amanda J. Collier, Sarita P. Panula, John Paul Schell, Peter Chovanec, Alvaro Plaza Reyes, Sophie Petropoulos, Anne E. Corcoran, Rachael Walker, Iyadh Douagi, Fredrik Lanner, Peter J. Rugg-Gunn, Cell Stem Cell, doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2017.02.014, published online 23 March 2017.
A new analysis reveals a relatively high rate of colon cancer screening among US patients on dialysis, even though they rarely stand to benefit from such screening. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

Because of the high rates of death among patients receiving dialysis, routine colon cancer screening with colonoscopy does not improve survival for most patients who are not candidates for a kidney transplant. Therefore, as a partner of the American Board of Internal Medicine's Choosing Wisely campaign, the American Society of Nephrology recommends against colon cancer screening among patients receiving maintenance dialysis with limited life expectancy and without signs or symptoms.

A team led by Kirsten Johansen, MD and Christopher Carlos, MD (University of California, San Francisco) looked to see how many US dialysis patients aged 50 years were being screened and whether testing was appropriately targeted toward healthier patients on dialysis.

The investigators evaluated 469,574 Medicare beneficiaries receiving dialysis between 2007 and 2012 and ranked them according to their expected survival. Over a median follow-up of 1.5 years, 11.6% of patients received a colon cancer screening. The healthiest quarter of patients were 1.53-times more likely to be screened than the sickest quarter of patients, and those most likely to receive a kidney transplant were 1.68-times more likely to be screened than those least likely to receive a kidney transplant.

Although screening was performed more often among healthier patients, the overall screening rate was fairly high, at a rate of 27.9 colonoscopies per 1000 person-years. This rate is over 8-times higher than the rate of 3.4 per 1000 person-years found among Medicare beneficiaries not on dialysis with similarly limited life expectancies.

"While our findings suggest that the patients with the longest life expectancy and greatest chances of receiving a kidney transplant are the most likely to be screened, there remains a substantial amount of over-screening overall among patients on dialysis," said Dr. Johansen. "Physicians should carefully evaluate patients' prognoses and consider the likelihood that they will truly benefit before ordering screening tests," added Dr. Carlos.

The findings may serve as a starting point for future studies that assess the impact of the Choosing Wisely campaign, which seeks to reduce waste in the healthcare system.

Article: Colon Cancer Screening among Patients Receiving Dialysis in the United States: Are We Choosing Wisely? Christopher A. Carlos, Charles E. McCulloch, Chi-yuan Hsu, Barbara Grimes, Meda E. Pavkov, Nilka R. Burrows, Vahakn B. Shahinian, Rajiv Saran, Neil R. Powe, Kirsten L. Johansen, for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Chronic Kidney Disease Surveillance Team, JASN, doi: 10.1681/ASN.2016091019, published online 23 March 2017.
High blood pressure

Diabetes

Heart disease

Chronic kidney disease

Prostate surgery

Psychological issues - anxiety, stress, depression

One out of ten adults may suffer from erectile dysfunction on a long-term basis.

Erectile dysfunction can cause emotional problems due to unfulfilled sex life.

Stress, anxiety, and depression may make it difficult to attain or keep an erection.

The research findings were found to European Association of Urology's annual conference which was held in London and United Kingdom.The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases, found around 12% of men who were under the age of 60 and 22 % of men between 60 and 69, were found to have erectile dysfunction.The first phase of the clinical trial tested stem cell therapy on 21 men who had erectile dysfunction due to prostate cancer.In stem cell therapy, the abdominal fat cells were extracted from each man through liposuction. The fat cells were isolated from the stem cells and injected into the corpus cavernosum of the penis (a spongy tissue of the penis that is filled with blood during an erection).The erectile function of the patients was also assessed using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire before and after the stem cell therapy procedure.The IIEF score of 5-7 represents severe erectile dysfunction, while 12-16 shows mild to moderate erectile dysfunction and 22-25 has no erectile dysfunction.Erectile function was found to improve with stem cell therapy in all 21 men. The IIEF score was found to be 12 after six months of treatment.The study findings reported that eight of the 21 men engaged in spontaneous sexual activity, six months after stem cell therapy. The outcome was evident even after 12 months of the treatment.Dr. Haahr said, "What we have done establishes that this technique can lead to men recovering a spontaneous erection - in other words, without the use of other medicines, injections, or implants."He said, "We are the first to use a man's own fat stem cells as a treatment for erectile dysfunction in a clinical trial. The technique has been trialed in animal work, but this is the first time stem cell therapy has allowed patients to recover sufficient erectile function to enable intercourse."Erectile dysfunction in men can be caused by various factors likeTreatment for erectile dysfunction includes phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDE5), injections. However, these treatments may have significant side effects.Source: Medindia
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"When people experience seizures we frequently call an ambulance, and they're treated with a benzodiazepine if they're still having a seizure when the ambulance arrives," says William Meurer, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine at Michigan Medicine and a member of the Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care and the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. "There are a few type of benzodiazepines that can be used, one of which is midazolam."Meurer is the senior author on a new study that investigated if previous research on midazolam's efficacy as a seizure treatment affected whether ambulances nationwide were choosing the drug over other benzodiazepines for seizure patients.The team focused on a clinical trial, titled RAMPART and published in 2012, in which lead author Robert Silbergleit, M.D., also of Michigan Medicine, and his team demonstrated that midazolam was more effective in treating seizures than other benzodiazepines. Because it is injected, rather than administered through an IV, it is also faster to use, RAMPART found."Here, we have a situation where this drug works as a treatment, is faster to administer, is cheaper than others, and it's easier to use because it doesn't have to be refrigerated like some other benzos," Meurer says. "But, we know that the process of clinical trial findings moving into accepted clinical practice can take years and years. We wanted to see, after RAMPART was published, how quickly and how much did a clinical trial change what ambulances were doing across the country."Meurer adds, "Ambulances are different than a doctor; for example, sometimes they make yearly decisions on what medicines they stock. If a doctor wants to start prescribing a different medication to a seizure patient, they can generally do so right away. With ambulances, there could be administrative delays from the agency."The research team used data from the National Emergency Medical Services Information System, a national repository of standardized patient care reports from EMS agencies across the country. They compared data from the two years prior to RAMPART's publication with the two years after its publication, when midazolam was used as the first-line treatment.The team identified all patient care events, both pediatric and adult, where the patient was treated with benzodiazepines for seizures and presumed convulsive status epilepticus in the pre-hospital setting from Jan. 1, 2010, to Dec. 31, 2014.They found 156,539 benzodiazepine-treated seizures. Using statistical analysis, the researchers concluded midazolam use increased from 26.1 percent in January 2010 to 61.7 percent in December 2014. In addition, the annual rate of EMS agencies adopting midazolam annually increased from 5.9 percent per year to 8.9 percent per year after the publication of RAMPART.After adjusting for secular trends, demographic characteristics, EMS encounter characteristics and agency size, the team found the odds of a patient receiving midazolam were 24 percent higher after the RAMPART study's publication."We found a substantial increase in the use of midazolam and the rate at which it was adopted after RAMPART," Meurer says. "It's hard to say this can all be attributed to RAMPART. Perhaps people were already learning more about midazolam and its benefits, but it's encouraging to see EMS agencies embracing clinical trial results and knowledge gained through these trials."The team also performed a secondary analysis for rates of airway interventions and rescue therapy for patients treated with midazolam and noted little change in those values from before and after RAMPART was published.While midazolam is gaining traction in the seizure community, it has already been used for several years for lethal injections -- perhaps to the detriment of seizure patients."I'm fearful this important drug may suffer the same fate some of its fellow injections, such as sodium thiopental, have seen," Meurer says. "Drug companies aren't making enough money off of midazolam to make it worth the bad press it gets from executions."Meurer hopes its benefits for patients will outweigh the negative attention, adding, "I hope people will realize this drug is so much more widely used than sodium thiopental was and is incredibly beneficial to this patient population."Source: Eurekalert
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Multiple sclerosis - (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/multiple-sclerosis/home/ovc-20131882) Lori Chibnik et al. Rab32 connects ER stress to mitochondrial defects in multiple sclerosis. Journal of Neuroinflammation; (2017) DOI: 10.1186/s12974-016-0788-z

The destruction of the protective myelin leads to exposure of the nerve fiber. This slows or blocks the messages that travel along that nerve. Eventually, the nerves can become permanently damaged.There are more than 100,000 Canadians living with MS and the partially effective treatments aim to provide symptomatic relief by reducing inflammation and not curing the condition."Scientists have been pointing to the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, as a possible link to MS, but have not been able to decipher how they malfunction. Ours is the first study that combines clinical and lab experiments to explain how mitochondria become defective in MS patients," said Thomas Simmen, study co-author and cell biology professor.In addition to the disrupted mitochondrial dynamics, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is another hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS).The membraneous contact between the ER and mitochondria is called the mitochondria-associated membrane (MAM).The study team identified one protein, guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) Rab32 that triggers endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress within a cell, using human brain tissue samples of patients with MS.This ER stress leads to miscommunication between the two sub-components, the ER and mitochondria resulting in dangerous dysfunction of mitochondria and death of brain cells in MS.The Rab32, a known regulator of the MAM, mitochondrial dynamics, and apoptosis, could be associated with ER stress as well as mitochondrial dysfunction."A part of the cell that stores calcium (ER or endoplasmic reticulum) gets too close to the part of the cell that creates energy (mitochondria) when massive amounts of Rab32 are present in the brain of MS patients. The resulting miscommunication with the calcium supply triggers the mitochondria to misbehave, ultimately causing toxicity for brain cells in MS patients," explained Simmen.There is no Rab32 present in the brain tissue samples of healthy individuals.The unwelcome influx of Rab32 could be due to the defect that originates at the base of the ER.The scientists can now search for effective treatments that target Rab32."Rab32 is just one of the proteins that is having the effect of drawing the ER and mitochondria too close. There are dozens of other possibilities," Simmen said.The research team is trying to identify more proteins that could be associated with multiple sclerosis.The study, conducted with researchers at the University of Exeter, was recently published in theSource: Medindia
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"The government should focus towards organizing workshops on latest knee replacement surgeries for the emerging orthopedic surgeons and create more medical colleges along with training centers," said Chugh.Osteoarthritis occurs when there is damage in and around the joints and that the body cannot fully repair. The exact causes are not known but there are several factors thought to increase the risk of developing the condition.According to doctors, though the current solution for osteoarthritis is surgery involving a transplant, only 10 percent of the Indians undergo it due to fear of late recovery till now.Surveys have revealed that the reason behind the onset of this endemic is said to be increasing longevity of Indians. By 2020, the number of 65 and above population in India is likely to be about 177 million, whereas India had 100 million people in this age group in 2010.Doctors said that with improvement in joint replacements, it is now a days being opted by an increasing number of young patients because of the durability, unlike some years ago."If a young patient knows that their replaced joint will last anywhere between 30-35 years, they can confidently go for it not worrying about whether they are too young for a joint replacement," said Ajai Singh, orthopedic surgeon with the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital here.Singh said that proper training of orthopedic surgeons will help the osteoarthritis patients in rural areas, which is expected to have a 60 percent of the disease burden in the coming years.Source: IANS
TVs favourite comedian Kapil Sharma, who used to be in news for hosting Bollywoods bigwigs and making people laugh with his funny antics, is making headlines for all the wrong reasons today. Ever since his controversy with his co-star and everyones favourite, Gutthi aka Sunil Grover, started doing the rounds, the situation is only getting worse with each passing day. Everything seems to be adding fuel to this already burning issue.

 Facebook

To worsen the situation that is already spiraling down, Air India is now planning to issue a warning to Kapil Sharma, who allegedly created disturbance on a recent Australia-India flight. It seems that Kapils mid-air angry man fiasco is going to haunt him for a really long time. If the sources are to be believed, Kapil had already downed several drinks before he lashed out at his tea, using abusive language. The flight in question, AI 309, was flying from Melbourne to Delhi. In fact, it is being alleged that Kapil even threw a shoe at Sunil and slapped him.

 Twitter

This commotion made the other passengers uncomfortable and scared, soon the flights cabin crew came forward and asked him to calm down and be seated. Reportedly, after this unruly incident, AI chief Ashwani Lohani has now sought a report on Kapils in-flight behaviour and a warning will be issued soon. Well, Kapil Sharma isnt the only prominent figure to face the wrath, earlier Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Gaikwad too was barred from flying by the national carrier. He abused and assaulted a 60-year-old duty manager of Air-India with slippers, for being unable to fly business class despite having boarded an all-economy Pune-New Delhi flight.

Although, Kapil later apologized to the crew and calmed down during the flight, his star status will not be able to help him get out easily from the repercussions of his rowdy behaviour.

Source: The Times Of India
Ian Grillot, the Kansas shooting hero who took a bullet for an Indian has become a stellar example for humanity in this crippling world. He was even invited to India recently.

 Twitter

Taking this heartfelt gratitude forward, the Indian American community in Houston raised $100,000 for Ian to show solidarity for the brave man.

The Indian-American community in Houston raised $100,000 for Ian Grillot, who took a bullet for an Indian in Kansas. pic.twitter.com/imcO7ohrGn  Dhruva Jaishankar (@d_jaishankar) March 26, 2017

People like him prove that nationality, communal hatred has got nothing to do with being a human.
The moment we think of prasad, a slideshow of all the scrumptious delicacies like halwa, laddoos, pedas, payasam, tamarind rice, modak and what not, start playing in our heads. The mere imagination has made us drool so much that we are sure you too, like us, will be smacking your lips while sitting at your work desk. However, on one hand where halwa, pedas, and laddoos make up for the regular prasad served at the temples, a certain temple in Chennai is changing the trend and how. They are ditching offerings like sweet pongal or rice and replacing them with funkier counter-parts like burgers, brownies, cracker sandwiches and cherry tomato salads.

 Pexels

Imagine you have plans with your friends, but suddenly your mom asks you to take her to the temple. No problem, call your friends over to temple and kill two birds with one stone. This unique a-la-carte prasad menu is served at the Jaya Durga Peetham temple, located in Padappai. In fact, they have paid serious attention to the quality of food and every serving comes certified with manufacturing date and expiry date. The pret-a-prasadam boxes as they are called have been authorized by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The idea was to show that anything that is nutritious and prepared in a clean kitchen with a clean mind can be served to God. It doesnt have to be only traditional dishes, K Sri Sridhar, a herbal oncologist who helped set up this temple.

 wikimedia

Well, it isnt only the menu which is turning heads around; the services too are quite innovative to say the least. Here the visitors are asked to slip token inside vending machines to collect the food boxes, which are prepared inside the automated temple kitchen. Sridhars quirky idea seems to have hit the right chords with the locals and tourists. Whats more, it isnt just the regular everyday prasadam that is served there, the temple even introduced for its devotees the birthday cake prasadam. Yes! Clearly they are putting in a lot of efforts to keep their devotees happy. The temple authorities also maintain a computerized register of the birth dates and addresses of the people who visit the temple and deliver a cake prasad at their doors.

 flickr - Sankar Viswanathan

For instance, recently an 81-year-old woman was sent a birthday cake and she said that it was her first surprise cake ever. She also said, It came with an agar deepam (a traditional oil lamp) instead of candles which was so nice. Just like they light at the temple. The temple authorities feel that the gods should be given the food we relish. Honestly, slight alterations in the gods food menu isnt bad after all, they too should get the opportunity to enjoy the sweet and spicy delicacies of this world.

This temple is hands down one of coolest places for worship and if they are open for suggestions, we would like to see doughnuts, tiramisu and chocolate fondue making its way to the menu.

Source: The Times Of India
"Meetings with the President are always productive, creative and friendly. We discussed the international situation, the changes taking place in the world, the meetings we had in Washington with the U.S. leadership, and the continuation of the negotiations and how we will proceed."
Kannur VC Dr Gopinath Ravindran was the last to respond to Raj Bhavan shortly before the 5pm deadline.
UPPER THUMB  The American Red Cross encourages eligible donors to give blood during National Volunteer Month this April.

All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or drivers license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood.
Here are five news stories and events to start your week:

US to Deploy 200 More Soldiers to Iraq

The U.S. Army plans to deploy 200 more soldiers to Iraq to assist in the fight to rid Mosul of militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, according to multiple news reports Monday morning. If the deployment is approved by Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, who heads the joint task force coordinating the war against ISIS, the troops will come from two companies from the service's 82nd Airborne Division, an official told Fox News. Currently, a little more than 5,000 American service members are in Iraq and about 500 mostly Special Forces troops are permitted in Syria under what are called the Force Management Levels.

Will the Air Force Build More F-22s?

While pilots of the stealthy fifth-generation jet made by Lockheed Martin Corp. would love for the F-22 Raptor production line to resume, Air Force officials seemed to throw cold water on the idea -- in part because of its estimated $20 billion cost. Even so, with the prospect of the service retiring the venerable F-15 Eagle sometime in the next decade, defense experts question how the service plans to maintain its air superiority. For example, will the F-22 eventually take over the role of the F-15 Eagle? If so, will Raptor pilots be more in demand than ever? Military.com's Oriana Pawlyk spent time with pilots at Tyndall Air Force Base to learn more about the issue. Read more.

Soldiers to Test for Expert Action Badge

Beginning in October 2019, the U.S. Army plans to require soldiers to compete for the Expert Action Badge, an annual physical and skill-based test similar to the prestigious Expert Infantryman Badge and the Expert Field Medical Badge. "Right now, it's a concept that we have developed that is very similar to the EIB program for the infantry and EFMB program for the medics," Army Training and Doctrine Command's Command Sgt. Maj. David Davenport told reporters Friday. The EAB will be discussed at an NCO Development Town Hall that Davenport will host 11 a.m. Thursday Eastern Standard Time.

Commissary Military Star Card to Roll Out in October

Commissaries will begin accepting the Military Star credit card in October, said officials with the commissary and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which manages the card program. The Military Star card, operated by AAFES through the Exchange Credit Program, is a popular credit card choice among young service members because approval does not require a long credit history or a good credit score. The card, which historically has been accepted only at exchange facilities across the services, often carries a low credit limit starting at $800 and does not have a yearly fee.

Starbucks Pledges to Hire More Vets

Starbucks plans to open 100 more military family stores over the next five years, company officials announced last week. The Seattle-based company plans to hire 15,000 more veterans and military spouses by 2025, after having already hired 10,000 military-affiliated employees a year early. In a separate but similar announcement on March 22, as part of Starbuck's commitment to bring on 10,000 refugees across the global business by 2022, the company said it's partnering with the veteran-owned nonprofit No One Left Behind, which focuses on the resettlement of Iraqi and Afghan U.S. military interpreters.

-- Richard Sisk, Oriana Pawlyk, Matthew Cox, Hope Hodge Seck and Amy Bushatz contributed to this report.

-- Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry.
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...
A stepped-up air campaign against the Al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia would be complicated by the famine and drought crisis sweeping the Horn of Africa, the head of U.S. Africa Command said Monday.

Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, who has requested more "flexibility" from the White House to attack the al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab, said AfriCom would have to coordinate closely with relief agencies to avoid hitting civilians on the move in search of food and water.

"We need to have good communications," Waldhauser said at a breakfast with defense writers. "You need to be very, very careful in terms of certainty" before approving strikes by manned or unmanned aircraft.

The drought in Somalia, where locals report that it has rained only twice in the last two years, is threatening three million lives in a nation of 10-12 million that has been wracked by civil and tribal warfare for decades, according to the United Nations.

Earlier this month, Stephen O'Brien, the U.N. under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, told the Security Council that more than 20 million people in four countries -- Somalia, Yemen, South Sudan and northeast Nigeria -- are facing starvation and famine.

Without coordinated global efforts, he warned, "people will simply starve to death" and "many more will suffer and die from disease."

In Somalia, the U.S. military is prepared to assist aid agencies in relief efforts but has not yet been asked to do so, Waldhauser said Monday and in a separate briefing to the Pentagon last Friday.

Waldhauser's "flexibility" request would give field commanders more leeway to approve airstrikes without going through the White House National Security Council, but "we are not going to turn Somalia into a free-fire zone," he said.

The White House has yet to sign off on his request, Waldhauser said.

Over the weekend, Kenyan forces from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) attacked two Al-Shabaab bases in the southern Somali region of Jubaland, and killed at least 31 militants, the Kenyan military said Monday.

"Ground troops were supported by attack helicopters and artillery fire," the Kenya Defense Forces said in a statement. Waldhauser said he could not immediately confirm whether U.S. forces backed the Kenyan attack.

Newly installed Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a dual U.S.-Somali citizen who was formerly commissioner of the Buffalo, N.Y., Municipal Housing Authority, has pledged to rout Al-Shabaab while also calling on members of the group to surrender.

At his inauguration in February, Mohamed said, "To those who work with al-Qaida, Al-Shabaab and IS [Islamic State], your time is finished. You have been misled, destroyed property and killed many Somalis. Come and we shall give you good life."

The U.S. has had a fraught relationship with Somalia since the overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 led to civil war and famine, triggering a humanitarian intervention by U.S. forces to support aid deliveries. In October 1993, 18 U.S. troops were killed in the "Black Hawk Down" incident.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
Joseph V. Micallef is a best-selling military history and world affairs author, and keynote speaker. Follow him on Twitter@JosephVMicallef.

During the 2016 presidential election, then-candidate Donald Trump roiled the foreign policy establishment by praising Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggesting it was time for a comprehensive re-evaluation of U.S.-Russian relations and broader cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fight against jihadists.

In doing so, Trump raised two issues: one political and one strategic. By praising Putin and challenging the prevailing view that Moscow poses a long-term threat to American interests around the world, the Trump campaign underscored its anti-establishment credentials as an outsider and its distance from both the Republican and Washington foreign policy establishments.

The move also lent credence to a strategic view that had been circulating around Washington and which was closely associated with Michael Flynn, who would briefly serve as President Trump's national security adviser, that the threat posed to the United States by jihadists outweighs the threat posed by Russia. Since Russia is also threatened by jihadists, there is, in theory, a basis for a realignment of American-Russian relations and expanded cooperation in combating international jihadism.

Russia has a significant Muslim population, currently estimated at between 12 percent and 15 percent of its citizenry, or around 27 million people. Moscow has the largest Muslim community in Europe, outside of Istanbul, estimated at between two million and two-and-a-half million of its inhabitants -- roughly half of whom are Russian citizens and the balance immigrants, many undocumented, from the Caucasus.

More significantly, current birth rates between Russia's Muslim and non-Muslim citizens point inexorably to a steady increase in Russia's Muslim population. It's estimated that by 2050, more than 50 percent of Russia's population will be of Muslim descent, although not necessarily practicing Muslims. Muslim conscripts already make up more than 50 percent of the Russian Army's new soldiers and by 2030 this will increase to three-quarters of new conscripts.

The Russian Caucasus have been a hotbed of jihadist activity since the Russian empire first began to encroach on the region in the 18th century. In recent times, Russia has fought two bloody wars in Chechnya, first from 1991-1994 and then from 1999-2000. Since then, jihadists have been carrying out an ongoing insurgency in the region and have staged several high-profile terrorist attacks within Russia.

Chechen militants have a reputation as being among the Islamic State's most ferocious and effective fighters. It's estimated that 2,500 Russian nationals, many of them from Chechnya and the surrounding region, have fought with the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

Jihadism represents a serious threat to Russia. Notwithstanding those risks and its own self-interest, however, expanded cooperation with the West and an increase in Russia's role in combating jihadism would come at a steep price. At the very least, it would require the revocation of the economic sanctions placed on Russia following its intervention in Ukraine and its seizure of Crimea. More likely, it would precipitate a Yalta-like agreement under which the US and its NATO allies would recognize a Russian sphere of influence in the former Soviet Republics and some portions of Eastern Europe -- what Moscow typically refers to as the "near abroad."

Such an agreement would end the eastward expansion of NATO and the European Union and would most likely end Western aid to Ukraine. Where such an agreement would leave the Baltic Republics or NATO's newer members is unclear. Moreover, although the Kremlin has often spoken about a joint Russia-NATO effort to combat jihadism, especially in Syria, it has stopped short of providing any indication of what such cooperation would entail and what Moscow is prepared to bring to the effort.

There is a larger issue here than whether the struggle against jihadism might offer a basis for resetting U.S.-Russian relations. That issue is to define the nature of Russia's ongoing relationship with the West. The Soviet Union emerged from the Second World War as one of two undisputed superpowers in the world. During the Cold War, the USSR represented an alternative pole of legitimacy and opposition in a bipolar system that offered a unique and alternative ideology for organizing society, albeit one that had become corrupted and diluted, from the one offered by the United States and its allies.

Modern-day Russia is no longer a superpower, the Kremlin's pretensions notwithstanding. It still has a formidable military force, however, as well as an advanced military-industrial base and most importantly, more than 7,000 nuclear warheads and the missile forces with which to deliver them. It can no longer challenge the U.S. across the globe and no longer boasts the stable of client states it once had. Its presence in Latin America and Africa, once hotbeds of Soviet-American rivalry, for example, is largely nonexistent. Instead, Russia behaves more like an emerging power trying to define its role in the world.

Its primary focus has been in the near abroad, the region previously incorporated into the Soviet Union or under its control and the Middle East. The latter is particularly important to Moscow since the region represents the swing producers in the petroleum market whose production can have a significant impact on the prevailing petroleum price and because, opportunistically, it sees issues there where it can gather diplomatic chips that it can trade for concessions elsewhere.

The problem with the Kremlin's foreign policy is that its conception of national security is stuck in the 19th and 20th century and creates an inherent contradiction between Russia's dependence on western capital and technology and Moscow's desire to control its periphery.

Students of Russian history are quick to point out that Russia's lack of defensible frontiers and its history of repeated invasions from the west create a geopolitical imperative that has wound its way through Russian history for the last five centuries. Only by controlling its periphery can Moscow be certain of defending itself and protecting its core. During periods of Russian strength, that periphery extends outward, only to retreat during periods of Russian weakness. At the height of the Cold War, Moscow succeeded in pushing that periphery all the way to the Adriatic Sea, albeit briefly, and well into Central Europe.

Over the last several decades, hydrocarbon exports have represented around 70 percent of Russia's foreign earnings and around 50 percent of the federal government's budget. During periods of high oil prices, Russia generated sufficient surpluses to finance the modernization of its industry and its military. It was still dependent on foreign technology in many industrial sectors, especially the petroleum industry, but the rapidly growing economy and rising personal incomes made Russia an attractive place to invest.

That did not mean that the Kremlin's desire to exert more control over its periphery was any less contradictory with its desire to attract foreign capital and technology, but it does mean that economically, it was less dependent on Europe and the U.S. and better able to afford the price of an aggressive foreign policy toward its neighbors.

Since 2008, low oil prices have meant that Russia has been in a period of very low to negative growth and declining real wages. Moscow has run persistent budget deficits and has been forced to dig into its reserves. It has cut back its spending, especially those funds earmarked for the modernization of its military forces. Its intervention in Ukraine and its seizure of Crimea resulted in the imposition of economic sanctions that have further aggravated the economic slowdown precipitated by low oil prices.

Moscow's desire to control its periphery, much of which has now been incorporated into NATO and the European Union, is incompatible with a long-term improvement of its relationship with the United States and its allies. More importantly, it represents an adherence to a national security paradigm that is largely obsolete.

Russian history notwithstanding, there is no state today that could mount a significant military threat to the territorial integrity of Russia. Neither Europe nor even the United States have the military manpower or the political will to mount an invasion of Russia. In theory, China's military forces are large enough to pose a threat to Russian control of its Far Eastern regions. But such scenarios, while plausible, are more the stuff of fiction writers and the odd thriller than a practical consideration.

That does not mean that the Kremlin does not rightly see threats to its security from the West. The lessons of the color revolutions that have swept across some of the former states of the Soviet Union have not been lost on Moscow -- especially the fact that those revolutions were encouraged by political and financial support from the United States and the European community. The Kremlin is correct in perceiving such actions as legitimate threats to the Russian ruling elite.

In the digital age of the internet and social media, however, geography is less of a factor. When the threat to Moscow came from tanks, be they Panzers or M1s, geography and its ability to provide defense in depth were critical. Geography is irrelevant to social media. In a world of instantaneous digital communication and dissemination of news, proximity is both meaningless and ubiquitous.

As long as the Kremlin defines its security in terms of controlling its periphery, its relationship with the United States and the European Community will be problematic. Russia's gambit in Ukraine has misfired spectacularly: NATO has increased its forces along its East European periphery. Under pressure from the Trump administration, its members are beefing up their defense spending, and Russia has been subjected to crushing economic sanctions.

More importantly, there is, for now, no evidence that the U.S. or EU are open to considering a Yalta-like agreement that would reset Russia's relations with the West, end economic sanctions and give Moscow a free hand to shape the national governments along its periphery more to its liking.

High oil prices will make it easier for Moscow to pay the price of an aggressive foreign policy, but they do not eliminate the contradiction between that policy and its need for better economic relations with the West. The fact that oil prices will likely stay low for the foreseeable future means that for Moscow, there is no easy way out of its dilemma.

It is in the West's interest to improve its relationship with Russia. To do so, it needs to persuade the Kremlin that it will not pursue a color revolution-inspired regime change while making it equally clear that it will not abandon NATO's newest members or tolerate Moscow's attempts to instigate its own counter-color revolutions or to intimidate those states into adopting policies more to Russia's liking.

U.S.-Russian relations are unlikely to improve if Moscow adheres to a concept of national security welded to its historic experiences in the 19th and 20 centuries. Nor will they improve if the U.S. and NATO see every instance of political unrest as an opportunity to encourage new color revolutions that will ultimately necessitate a further eastward expansion of NATO to defend.
If you think about it, there is not a better time to build a new morning fitness habit than right now with the end of...
Economist George Fulton shows how his predictions for the local economy fared for the past year while speaking to members of the Washtenaw Economic Club during the B2B Expo 2011and luncheon held at Washtenaw Community College's Morris Lawrence Building, T

Economist George Fulton shows how his predictions for the local economy fared for the past year while speaking to members of the Washtenaw Economic Club during the B2B Expo 2011and luncheon held at Washtenaw Community College's Morris Lawrence Building, Thursday, March 10.

(Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com)

ANN ARBOR, MI - Will Ann Arbor reach a predicted unemployment rate of 2.5 percent, and how many jobs have been created across the region in the past year?

The Washtenaw Economic Club is preparing to answer those questions with the unveiling of the club's 2017 Economic Outlook at its next gathering. The report is a detailed forecast that covers what the county can anticipate in the next three years.

The 32nd Economic Outlook presentation takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, at Washtenaw Community College. It includes a question and answer session featuring University of Michigan economists Gabriel Ehrlich and Donald Grimes, the creators of the report, and a panel of Washtenaw County officials.

Grimes had previously created the report with University of Michigan economist George Fulton, and both predicted around 10,000 jobs would be created in Washtenaw County by 2018 in last year's report.

They saw strength in industries like technology, health care, research and development as well as hospitality, things Fulton said Ann Arbor and the Washtenaw region are known for.

Another factor is last year's report was a falling unemployment rate, which Grimes and Fulton predicted could reach a low of 2.5 percent by 2018.

Ann Arbor had an unemployment rate of 3.4 percent in January 2017, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, something Ehrlich and Grimes are expected to discuss at the economic club presentation.

Other topics will include job creation, real wage growth in Washtenaw County, the impact of the national economy and a look at growth and losses expected across industries.

Here is the schedule of events for the meeting:

11:30 a.m. Registration and Networking

Noon Welcome/Luncheon

12:25 p.m. Introduction of Speakers

1:10 p.m. Questions and Answer Session

1:25 p.m. Closing Remarks

1:30 p.m. Program Concludes

The Washtenaw Economic Club was founded in 1998 as a nonprofit, and later became a Washtenaw Community College program in 2010. There are 200 members, who meet throughout the year for luncheons with business speakers and networking events.

The gallery below includes graphs and data from the 2016 Economic Outlook, with predictions for 2016 through 2018.
HICKORY CORNERS, MI - Six West Michigan teenagers will go on an epic road trip this summer in an antique car they helped to rebuild through the Gilmore Car Museum's Garage Works, an after-school program that provides hands-on training for maintaining and restoring vintage cars.

Not only will their 1935 Packard be old-school, so will their navigation methods during the 2,400-mile "Great Race."

No cell phones, GPS devices or even road maps will be allowed in the race that will start in Jacksonville, Fla. on June 20 and travel along much of the historic Dixie Highway for nine days before concluding in Traverse City.

The 120 teams will only have precise turn-by-turn written instructions that include such directions as how many seconds to sit at stop signs or the exact speed. Only stop watches and pencils are allowed. The winner will receive a $250,000 prize.

The X-Cup Division for students doesn't compete for cash but for student scholarship funds and "an experience of a life time," according to Fred Colgren, Education Director of the Gilmore Car Museum.

Jakob Taylor, a senior at Otsego High School, will be one of the navigators aboard a 1935 Packard that was donated to Garage Works by Bea Dinger, a Zeeland widow whose late husband, Bud, died before he could finish his restoration project.

"It's something I've always been interested in," says Taylor, who helped rebuild the brakes on the car. He's been involved in the program since his sophomore year and plans to enroll in a union-sponsored welding and pipe-fitting program when he graduates.

The Gilmore group, consisting of five boys and a girl from Otsego, Galesburg and Comstock public schools, will be accompanied by mentors from the museum who will handle the driving chores while the students navigate. They will be the only student team from the Midwest.

The Garage Works program began in 2008 to help fill the void left after several local schools eliminated auto shop classes. The program was mentored by facility and staff members, along with volunteer mentors made up of area hobbyists.

Each semester, the students and mentors meet every Tuesday and Thursday evenings to work on the cars. Together they restored the chassis of a 1931 Willys and 1909 Buick, several vintage motorcycles and are working on a Model A pickup and a 1948 Lincoln V-12 Sedan.

"You never know the impact you're going to have on a student," Colgren said. "We are thrilled to give our students the remarkable opportunity to run in the Great Race-- the world's premiere vintage car endurance rally."
Wyoming officials are hosting two informational meetings in April concerning a ballot request asking voters to change how money collected through a dedicated library maintenance millage can be spent.

The meetings are set for April 24 and 29, and will focus on a May 2 ballot initiative that aims to bring greater flexibility in funding for a millage currently dedicated solely to the library building.

Wyoming currently collects .37 mills and is authorized to collect up to .39 mills for library maintenance and capital improvements, said Rebecca Rynbrandt, the city's director of community services.

With the millage funding, officials have spent more than $650,000 in the last two years to upgrade the library, located at 3350 Michael Ave. SW. City leaders said that capital investment means the library building will not need improvements until 2027.

So, officials are asking voters if some of that millage funding can instead be used for park improvements.

Leaders said the city's five-year recreation plan calls for $23 million in capital improvements to continue the quality and safety of the parks and recreation programs.

The city currently collects 1.5 mills for parks and recreation, which goes toward programs, services and basic maintenance. Officials said that millage has not risen in the last 20 years and doesn't provide enough money for major park capital improvements.

If the ballot request is approved by voters, officials plan to use the millage dollars for maintenance and upgrades to Ferrand, Gezon, Ideal and Jackson parks.

Officials said the ballot request will not cost taxpayers more money and will not reduce library services and building maintenance.

The city's information meetings will take place at 7 p.m. April 24 at the Gezon Fire Station, 2300 Gezon Parkway SW, and 10 a.m. April 29 at the library. Officials previously held a meeting March 7 at the Wyoming Senior Center.
Story by Edward Pevos of MLive | epevos@MLive.com

Magician, illusionist, and stunt artist David Blaine will bring his first-ever North American tour to two Michigan cities. No two shows will be exactly the same.

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The 40-city tour kicks off May 30, 2017 in San Diego, CA. Blaine will be at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw on Friday, June 16 and at 20 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids on Tuesday, June 20.

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Tickets go on sale Friday, March 31st at LiveNation.com and on the Live Nation app. They are $29.50, $49.50. $59.50 and $79.50.

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About David Blaine

Blaine has redefined magic, illusions and stunts over the last two decades. You may have seen some of his death defying acts on his nine primetime TV specials where he's been buried alive for a week, encased inside a six-ton block of ice for three days, survived standing atop a 100ft tall pillar for 36 hours without a safety net, endured 44 days inside a transparent box on nothing but water, and had over one million volts discharged at him continuously for 72 hours from seven Tesla coils.

He also spent one week submerged in a sphere-shaped aquarium at Lincoln Center, before breaking the world record for breath holding live on the Oprah Winfrey show where he held his breath for over 17 minutes.

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The biggest concert announcements for 2017... so far

BELOW are all of the big shows coming to Michigan in 2017.

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Green Day at Joe Louis Arena on Monday, March 27, 2017.

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Bon Jovi at Joe Louis Arena on Wednesday, March 29.

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Def Leppard, Poison and Tesla at Van Andel Arena on Monday, April 17.

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Chris Rock at the Fox Theatre on Friday, April 28, Saturday, April 29, and Sunday, April 30.

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NKOTB, Paula Abdul and Boyz II Men at Van Andel Arena on Saturday, May 13 at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Thursday, June 29.

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Hall and Oates & Tears for Fears at Joe Louis Arena on Wednesday, May 17.

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Neil Diamond at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Friday, June 2.

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Tool at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Wednesday, June 7.

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Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Tuesday, June 13.

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Tim McGraw & Faith Hill at Van Andel Arena on Thursday, June 15 and The Palace on Friday, September 8, 2017

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John Legend at Meadow Brook Amphitheatre in Rochester Hills on Friday, June 16.

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Nickelback and Daughtry at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Saturday, June 24.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers at Van Andel Arena on Sunday, June 25.

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Train with O.A.R. and Natasha Bedingfield at The Palace of Auburn Hills on June 25.

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Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Wed., June 28

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Jimmy Buffett at DTE on July 1.

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Common Ground Festival with Alessia Cara and Toby Keith in Lansing July 6-9.

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Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold and Volbeat at Comerica Park on Wednesday, July 12.

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Tuesday, July 18.

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Queen with Adam Lambert at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Thursday, July 20.

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Vans Warped Tour at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Friday, July 21.

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Faster Horses Festival July 21-23 at Michigan International Speedway. Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker and more.

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The Who at Van Andel Arena on Tuesday, July 25.

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Bell Biv DeVoe, En Vogue and SWV at Chene Park in Detroit on Saturday, July 29.

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Mo Pop Festival at West RiverFront Park in Detroit on July 29 and 30.

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Rod Stewart & Cyndi Lauper at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Tuesday, August 1.

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I Love the 90's tour featuring TLC at Soaring Eagle Casino on Wednesday, August 2 and at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Sunday, August 6.

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Howard Jones, English Beat, Men Without Hats, Modern English, Paul Young and Katrina (ex-Katrina And The Waves) at Van Andel Arena on Tuesday, August 1 and at Meadow Brook Amphitheatre on Friday, August 4.

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Goo Goo Dolls & Phillip Phillips at Meadow Brook Amphitheatre on Thursday, August 3.

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James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Tues., Aug. 8.

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Carlos Santana at Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights on Wednesday, August 9.

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Bruno Mars at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Saturday, August 12.

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Brantley Gilbert with Tyler Farr and Luke Combs at DTE on Sunday, August 13

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Ted Nugent at Freedom Hill on Friday, August 25

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Depeche Mode at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Sunday, August 27.

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John Mayer at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Friday, September 1.

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Deep Purple and Alice Cooper at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Sunday, September 3.

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Kid Rock - Debut concerts at Little Caesars Arena in Downtown Detroit on Sept. 12, 13, 15 and 16.

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Matchbox Twenty and Counting Crows at Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant on Thursday, September 14 and at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Saturday, September 23, 2017.

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Ed Sheeran at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, September 27.

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Lady Gaga at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, November 7.

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Andrea Bocelli at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday, December 3.

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Photo by Jerry Nunn | MLive.com

By Jessica Shepherd | MLive.com

You may or may not think the function of water towers is interesting. They are basically tanks built on top of tall poles to facilitate the high pressure needed for water distribution, whether for emergencies or to help supplement a communitys water supply.

Whether or not youre interested in the function of water towers, there are some worth seeing in communities across Michigan. Sure, many are plain, perhaps displaying the name of the communities in which they are located. Others are completely bare, making the water tower a purely utilitarian structure. There are some water towers, though, that serve more as a landmark or welcome sign than as a tank of drinking water. Here's a look at some of the weirdest and most wonderful Michigan water towers.

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Photo by Joel Bissell | MLive.com

The smiley face water towers

Michigan seems to have a particular fondness for water towers that smile on the state's small towns. There are at least seven happy water towers scattered across the state. According to Roadside America, Illinois is the only other state that stacks up that many smiley towers.

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Photo by Ken Stevens | MLive.com

Fruitport Township

Since 1975, visitors of Fruitport Township in West Michigan's Muskegon County have been welcomed by the friendly face of the town's water tower. "Smiley" gets repainted once every 10 years to keep him looking fresh.

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Photo by Cathy Layman | MLive.com

West Branch

West Branch is VERY proud of their smiley face water tower. The small city in the northeastern Lower Peninsula has the motto, "City with a Smile" staring right at you if you visit their website. According to the website, "Smiley" is a symbol of the town's hospitality.

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[)

Northwest of Flint in Genesee County, you'll find the city of Flushing and another smiling water tower. Unlike West Branch, Flushing doesn't even mention the tower on the city website. If you research the water tower online, you'll find it is called "Kick Boy Face" by some residents who say it earned the nickname from punk rockers of decades past.

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I thought this water tower I saw on my way back from Millington was awesome Posted by Brenda Hulsman on Saturday, August 22, 2015

Millington

What makes Millington's smiley face water tower stand out? It has eyebrows, for starters. It's also a fancy water tower, sporting a bow tie. This Tuscola County tower is not to be confused with the patriotic water tower in Millington, Tennessee.

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Wells Township

In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, near the city of Escanaba, you'll find Wells Township. The community is home to a light blue water tower smiling upon the water of Little Bay de Noc.

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"'

Wells Township isn't the only place in the U.P. where you'll find a happy water tower smiling down at you. Ironwood, on Michigan's border with Wisconsin, is the place to find a big, yellow smiley face tower that looks like it has a bumpy texture.

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Caspian

Making it a near-tie between the Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula, the smiley face tower in Caspian is the third happy tank in the U.P. You'll find the small city of Caspian in Iron County near the southwest U.P. border with Wisconsin. If you check out the city website, you'll see the water tower smiling at you.

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Other interesting water towers across the state

The six smiley face towers are not the only noteworthy water towers within the state. Far from it, in fact.

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Photo by Angela J. Cesere | MLive.com

Ypsilanti Water Tower

The Ypsilanti Water Tower, once called the Ypsilanti Water Works Stand Pipe, is perhaps the most well-known water tower in the state. Completed in 1890, the tower is a major geographic marker for residents and visitors. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the tower's unusual shape frequently draws attention to the structure. The tower has sparked products such as shirts and candles, while students at Eastern Michigan University have been known to organize events focused on the tower.

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Photo by Ryan Stanton | MLive.com

Nearby in Ann Arbor

Not too far from the Ypsilanti Water Tower, a tower in Ann Arbor is getting recognition for its paint job, as opposed to its shape. The tower, located near the Stadium Boulevard and Washtenaw Avenue split, was painted with a new design in 2016 after residents took part in the design's selection. The 2016 design by local illustrator Bill Burgard features birds and fish swimming in the Huron River. The design helped the tower take the title of Tnemec Tank of the Year for 2016.

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Photo by Mark Felix | MLive.com

Durand's homage to Railroaders

Ann Arbor might have won the Tnemec title for 2016 but it wasn't the only Michigan water tower in the running. Durand's unique water tower was a runner-up in the contest. Just like the Ann Arbor tower, Durand's water tower was painted in 2016.

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Photo by Mark Bialek | MLive.com

Kalamazoo's historic water tower

On the grounds of what was formerly the Kalamazoo State Hospital or Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital stands a skinny, tall brick building. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Kalamazoo's well-known water tower no longer holds water but does hold plenty of history. Built in 1895, the tower once held three separate tanks full of water used to provide water to the hospital. Nearly demolished in the 1970s, community members banded together to raise funds and save the tower.

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Super cool water tower in Novi Michigan Posted by Uncle Bunk's Trunk on Tuesday, January 27, 2015

The Novi Special

The Novi engine was created for automobile racing. A water tower in Novi commemorates the engine, dubbed the "Novi special" on the tower's design. It also depicts a race car, like those in which the Novi engine was used until the mid-1960s.

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One of the many water towers in Manistee Posted by Joe Gillish on Sunday, March 14, 2010

It's always sunny in Manistee

Even on a cloudy day, you can see the sun in Manistee. The city, located on Lake Michigan in the northwest Lower Peninsula, has two water towers. The more decorative of the two is blue with a red, yellow and orange sky and sun setting behind a depiction of the Manistee lighthouse.

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Photo by J. Scott Park | MLive.com

Homer is home

If you are one of the 1,600-plus residents of the Calhoun County village of Homer, seeing this water tower means you are home. "Homer is Home" is the message painted on the village water tower, which also depicts a pair of American flags.

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Something fishy in Caseville

Caseville is known for its Cheeseburger Festival, but there isn't a cheeseburger on the city's water tower. Located on the Saginaw Bay in the western Thumb region, Caseville's water tower is decorated with the silhouette of a fish painted in blue.

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Detroit Zoo Water Tower on a beautiful day. Posted by Epperly Photographic Images EPI on Tuesday, August 23, 2016

This tower is a zoo

If you want to see the lovely Detroit Zoo water tower, don't travel to Detroit proper. The water tower  like the zoo itself  is located in the Metro Detroit city of Royal Oak. The local landmark is painted in the lovely colors of an evening sky with a parade of animal silhouettes appearing to march around the tower.

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Did we forget your favorite?

Did we include your favorite Michigan water tower? If not, tell us about that tower in our comments section. Your photos are always welcome, as well.

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Photo by Fritz Klug | MLive.com

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We have recently seen a significant shortening of the overall product lifecycle for mobile devices. Massive production runs, the proliferation of high speed mobile networks on a global scale, and an acceleration in technical capabilities have all contributed to products being updated more often.

Were also starting to see multiple versions of mobile devices with different form factors, various storage capacity options and even different fireware versions for individual network carriers. For example, it is expected that Apple will release a new iPhone model every year. Were simply seeing more and more devices enter the marketplace each year. This is proven by the fact that FutureDial processed more than 30 million smartphones in 2016, covering 3,000 different models with an estimated value of $6 billion.

IT personnel require a degree of expertise across an increasing array of devices, operating systems and applications. This can be unrealistic, so increasingly, enterprise customers outsource this function. The benefits of this can include employing seamless data integration services for every mobile device within an organization and customizing it to fit operations. Companies can also automatically and remotely monitor the condition of each device being used and flag issues in a timely fashion. But simple hardware failure is not the only reason that smartphones dont perform as they should. Lets look at other common non-hardware issues that should be checked out if a hardware failure is not obvious.

Mobile technology is continually evolving. As a result, operating system updates are not always compatible with older or legacy devices. This can be problematic and affect functionality and productivity. As a fix, manufacturers will often release updates following a major release, applicable for older devices. These releases can sometimes cause subtle issues that may seem hardware related.

In the same way that computers have performance limits in terms of RAM, mobile devices suffer when software and applications, when coupled with newer OS releases, result in system resource conflicts. This creates what can seem like a hardware failure. For example, the devices touchscreen locking up or the smartphones volume freezing as if buttons stopped working/responding. These issues can occur when two or more apps are conflicting with each other, creating a perfect storm that can seem like a hardware issue.

Often, software and/or application issues are resolved post-return through a factory reset, resulting in a costly No Trouble Found (NTF) classification. Part of the reason for the costs associated with an NTF classification is in the reverse logistics supply chain flow. When a device (or any product for that matter) is returned, that is costly to the retailer as well as to the manufacturer because of the logistics and handling of the returned product.

In addition, the original customer who returned the device also needs a replacement unit and many times it is a new or like new replacement. If a like new unit is used, then there is a cost to get that product into a like new and certified condition. These costs include cosmetic cleanups (a new bezel or glass, for example), brand new packaging, shipping and handling, plus the added labor costs. Studies have shown that the cost for just handling and shipping/returning a returned device is around $50. This does not include the added cost of the new replacement or the negative customer experience.

When we take all these factors into account  the logistics, time, effort, money, the new device replacement  they put an unnecessary burden on the supply chain. Its no surprise that the issue is a billion-dollar issue within the reverse logistics market.

The customer/device user is going to want to install whatever apps they believe they need on their device. So, although recommending that they dont put apps on a device is what an IT department would like, its not practical. People do not want to carry two devices.

Running diagnostics software on a somewhat regular basis (once a month) is one way to identify potential problems on a device. So is running a diagnostics app when they are experiencing issues. Also, paying close attention to the last software change that preceded unexpected behavior from a device could indicate that the culprit is software related.

A more specific solution, such as FutureDials NTF Investigator, enables customers to mitigate NTF device returns. This technology helps determine the source of problems with devices. As a cloud-based AI-driven solution, it provides a platform for customer care representatives and offsite technicians to resolve mobile device issues and ultimately deflect any potential return of No Trouble Found devices.

About the Author

A seasoned professional, Thomas has over 25 years of experience in the technology industry. He has played integral roles for startups, mid-stage and fortune 500 companies while holding key positions in sales, business development, product marketing, and systems engineering. Thomas has developed strong alliances and business relationships with top tier organizations such as Asurion, Assurant, Brightstar, Sprint-Nextel, and Verizon Wireless. Prior to FutureDial, Mr. Rayas was a Vice President at Axis Market Solutions, a Director at Amnis Systems managing strategic alliances, and was head of Sales in the Asia/Pacific region for Optivision, Inc. He received a BS in Business Marketing from the University of Phoenix and holds an Information Systems degree from De Anza College.

Edited by Alicia Young
Time Jumpers in class - Photo courtesy of Time Jumpers

Ph.D. Samantha Ellens in the WSU Archaeology Department archives

Items excavated from the foundation of the Renaissance Center

When Kevin Tykoski, a middle school teacher in Chelsea, looked out at his seventh grade class a particular day, he knew it would be a good one. The students were stooped over their workstations, carefully excavating chocolate chips out of cookies.Tykoski relishes any opportunity to introduce hands-on, interactive lesson plans into his curriculum, so when he heard about the Time Jumpers, he knew he had to invite them into his classroom. Run by the Wayne State University Archeology Department , Time Jumpers is a program where professors and graduate students introduce local junior high students to archeology through activities and presentations. Cookie excavation is just the beginning."It is really cool," Tykoski says. "The students come in, and right away, they have a lot of artifacts displayed, things they have pulled out of their dig sites. They get to see the actual artifacts that these professionals have found in their working environment. Not only do they have a chance to see the real thing, but they have a chance to experience it."Any time something is hands-on, students are drawn to it. And I think this program does a fantastic job of having hands-on activities but also explaining the process of what these professionals do on a daily basis."The Time Jumpers program is an extension of a growing trend of inclusion within the archeology community. Often referred to as "community archeology" or "public archeology," it's the idea that cultural artifacts are part of everyone's shared history, and should be made available to the public."It's something that my colleagues in the field have been practicing for probably over 20 years," says Krista Ryzewski, a Wayne State archeologist and professor of anthropology. "It's a strategy for sharing the information we find."Similar programsnot necessarily directed at children, specificallyhave popped up across the country, run by the American Institute of Archeology, the Florida Public Archeology Network, the Boston City Archeology Program, and others. Inspired by the idea of community archeology, Ryzewski helped develop a program while working in the Caribbean before moving to Detroit to become a professor of anthropology at Wayne State. She launched Unearthing Detroit , a public archeology project about the history of the city, and, in the fall of 2013, Time Jumpers, which focuses on middle school education.The Time Jumpers presentation, which lasts about 90 minutes, was first given at the Friends School in southeast Detroit and has been adopted by others, including the Westland school district and Beach Middle School in Chelsea.In the last three and a half years, graduate students at Wayne State have run the Time Jumpers presentation about 20 times. And the results have been outstanding."All of the kids have been really engaged and excited with it," says Samantha Ellens, a Ph.D. student who has been working with Time Jumpers since beginning her masters in archeology in 2013. "I like that we get to share who archeologists are and what we do with them and kind of implement understanding of the meaning of cultural heritage, and how important artifacts are to public history."Tykoski currently teaches at Beach Middle School in Chelsea and has been one of the biggest proponents of Time Jumpers since the beginning. He brought it to Westland while he working there and invited the Time Jumpers to Chelsea when he moved.This year, the Time Jumpers were at Beach for an entire day, running the presentation several times to make sure that every seventh grader experienced it. It was a big hit. "The librarian sent out an email saying that she had a huge influx of students checking out books on archeology from the library, and she was going to have to order more," Tykoski says.When students walk into the classroom on Time Jumpers day, they are met with an array of artifacts from dig sites around Detroit. That is an important detail to Ryzewski, because it is a tangible connection to history. The artifacts range from mugs and bowls to shoes and personal items, some of which are Native American artifacts that are over 1,000 years old."Some of the artifacts we were looking at were excavated from the foundation of the Renaissance Center, before they built it," Ryzewksi says. "That's a building the kids had seen every day, but they don't think about the history of what used to be there, so when they had the personal artifacts in front of them, it really added many different layers to their understanding of the history of Detroit and the diversity of the people who lived there and the people who made the city what it is today."We could have just as easily brought in artifacts from South America or Italy or some place like that," Ryzewski continues, "but it doesn't have the same effect, because they're not around it all them time. There's a difference between talking about the archeology of foreign places, which is more abstract, and the archeology of us. That is how these types of programs work bestdrawing from local resources."The first step in the course is the cookie excavation, which teaches the importance of record-keeping and how to properly map a dig site to indicate the precise location of where artifacts are found."They get really excited when they pull out the chocolate chip cookies," Ellens says. "But once they start to do it, they become very detailed. They get really into it."After that, the students split into groups and receive a ceramic mug or bowl that's in pieces. Their task is to try and reassemble it, which teaches essential skills needed at a dig site like teamwork and patience.The final activity involves a large plastic box filled with layers of colored fabrics, representing levels of soil, with artifacts "buried" inside, to learn how to determine an artifact's age.All the while, the Wayne State graduate students are working alongside them and taking time to explain everything and talk about the real-world importance of cultural history."The fact that they're getting these lessons from professionals who are trained and do this for a living is entirely new," Tykoski says. "The questions they're asking is great, as is the fact that they can get the answers from professionals. The way that it's set up and presented to the students, it's much more engaging for them than just hearing it from their teachers."And, for the archeologists from Wayne State, it makes it all worthwhile to see the kids walk away with a new appreciation for their profession."The things that seem to resonate have to do with teamwork and patience and the importance of documenting scientifically the things that come out of the ground," Ryzewski says. "That's the message we want to impart. We're not training them for careers in archeology. We're training them to appreciate their past and grow up into responsible citizens who will take care of and preserve cultural resources. We win if they can do that."This article is part of Michigan Nightlight, a series of stories about the programs and people that positively impact the lives of Michigan kids. It is made possible with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation . Read more in the series here All photos, except where credited, by Nick Hagen
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It is a well-known math that two negatives make a positive. But in the real world, where businesses fight to survive and sometimes take on partners to tide over a crisis, it just adds to the mess.

Reports say that the government is once again contemplating merging the two public sector giants MTNL and BSNL. Its now a ritual with every government since 2002 to announce the possibility of a merger between the two companies.

One only needs to look at the Indian Airlines-Air India merger, which though made common sense didnt add up financially. Air India has not yet recovered from its merger or the other blunders committed during UPA I government. And one fears the same fate could befall the merger of the two telecom companies, whose financials alone is enough to conclude that the marriage is doomed from the word go.

The employee strength of both the companies have been a big hurdle in the past and will continue to weigh heavily on their operational costs in future. More than 80 percent of MTNLs revenue is absorbed in employee costs, while in the case of BSNL it is 55 percent. Compare this to Idea Cellular where the number is less than four percent and we know why the PSU giants are losing the battle.

It is not that its huge employee base has gone unnoticed by the ministry. The liposuction needed to remove the excess fat never came. Instead the government resorted to minor plastic surgeries. Small VRS (voluntary retirement schemes) have been repeatedly announced, but these have failed to improve the financials of the company.

The size of the problem is so huge that the government has little option but to wait it out. MTNL has 40,000 employees while BSNL has 2 lakh. The cost of giving VRS to just 20 percent of the employees above the age of 50 in MTNL, which works out to 5,300 employees comes to about Rs 2,000 crore. MTNLs annual wage bill including retirement benefit is Rs 2837 crore.

Merging the two entities is unlikely to solve the problem of its huge employees. With workers at both the companies wanting to have wage parity it will only add to the costs.

Unlike a public sector company where its management pegs the wages to its performance, public sector employees enjoy wage hikes irrespective of the performance of the company. MTNLs revenue has come down from Rs 6,143.77 crore in 2002 to Rs 3,303 crore in 2016 but its employee costs have increased from Rs 1480 crore to Rs 2837 crore. Add to that the problem that MTNL has a negative net worth and a debt of just less than Rs 18,000 crore.

A merger would mean spoiling BSNLs relatively respectable balance sheet. Further, BSNL is an unlisted entity; thus, in order to merge it completely BSNL would have to shell out money to buy out its listed shareholders.

The two companies have assets like tower companies and real estate which can be monetised to salvage the situation for some time, but will it really solve the problem of these companies in the current scenario? That is a bigger question. The public sector giants, especially MTNL, have among the weakest balance sheet among its peers.

In a pricing war, the company with the lowest cost is the one that will survive. Both BSNL and MTNL are the fattest among its peers. As the merger is not cutting flab, what purpose will it serve on an operational basis is anybodys guess. In the end, as in the case of Air India, tax payers will end up paying for the inefficient companies.
Brands such as Dabur, HUL's Vim, Sunfeast, Brooke Bond and Patanjali joined the Billion CRP Club this year.

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Dabur India is betting on local manufacturing in Africa to replace imports to ensure that its subsidiary Namaste Laboratories is able to derive in two years half of its revenues from the continent as against 30 percent now, according to Sunil Duggal, Chief Executive Officer of the maker of Real fruit juices and hajmola.

What we have done now is we have localised manufacturing of Namaste products in our Africa plants, whether it is in Egypt or Nigeria or South Africa to may be 70-80 percent of domestic sales from this year. So this year we should see a good growth in terms of the volume of business we get from there. And while that 50 percent will take another two years or so, it will now happen because all the Africa sales will come from local manufacturing," Duggal told Moneycontrol in an interview.

He blamed the depreciation in the currencies of the emerging markets in Africa for the company lagging in its target as a large part of the goods sold by the African arm were imported.

Namaste posted a net profit of Rs 8.39 crore on operating revenues of Rs 558.12 crore in 2015-16. The Ghaziabad-based company derives 32 percent of its turnover from its international business. Dabur's consolidated net sales in the last financial year came at Rs 8,435.95 crore.

Namaste was one of the two major acquisitions  the other one being of Turkey's Hobi Group  that Dabur made in 2010. Even as Namaste was an ethnic hair care products company based out of Chicago, the acquisition was done with an eye on expanding operations in Africa. Namaste then also sold products not only in the US but also Africa, the rest of North America, Europe and West Asia.

"What we need to do is to get much higher slice of the Namaste business from Africa. At the moment, around 30 percent is coming. Our stated intent was that it should become around 50 percent by now when we bought the company. By 2017-18, we should have been 50 percent. We are still 30%," Duggal said.

To help it achieve the target in two years, Dabur in November last year also acquired South Africa's CTL Group of Companies that was till then its supplier.
Auto component major Motherson Sumi Systems could be eyeing the starter motors and generators division of global giant Bosch LLC through a likely USD 600-million bid, a report in the Economic Times said today.

The company is said to be in discussion with banks to evaluate financing options for the bid.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Chairman of Motherson, did not deny the news, saying: "We dont comment on things which are not fully done."

The ET report suggests Motherson could use its European arm to conclude the acquisition and might look to win binding contract for Boschs customers. Morgan Stanley is said to be an advisor for the deal. India is the only country where Bosch shares are publicly traded.

Bosch, which is a Euro 70-billion group and operates through 450 subsidiaries in more than 60 countries, had in 2015 spun off the USD 1 billion plus generators and starter motors division. It had also talked about finding a partner or buyer.

The division is a leading supplier of generators and starter motors for passenger and commercial vehicles in Europe, the US, China, India and South America.

If the deal goes through, it will be the fifteenth acquisition for Motherson in the last fifteen years.

Sehgal also talked about the recently-concluded acquisition of Finland's PKC Group, which was sealed on January 21. The Rs 4,000-crore acquisition gave Motherson the much-sought expansion in the US market.

PKC is a profit-making company and brings huge synergy in terms of the wiring harness business and opportunities to cross-sell other products like dashboards, cockpits, among others, he said. PKC is in markets where Motherson is either not present or lacks a strong foothold, so the acquisition will create value, he added.

Mothersons 5-year plan is to be a USD 18-billion company by 2020 with 40 percent growth rate in return on capital employed and the company is open to achieve it through organic growth as well as acquisitions, if needed, he said.

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview with CNBC-TV18

Sonia: The market is now talking about another big acquisition from you, the possibility of you making a bid, USD 600 million bid for one of Boschs arms in the Tata Motors division. Is that correct?

A: We dont comment on things which are not fully done. So, we really would want to talk more about PKC. Our response is there to that particular news item, so, we have no issues on that. Whenever it will happen, we will come back to you and tell you that it is happening or something like that. We dont comment on speculation.

Anuj: You have a track record of turning around acquired companies, how will the new acquisition of PKC add to the parent company? Will it be EPS accretive from the first year itself?

A: Absolutely, you are right. PKC is existing profit making company and we feel that there is a huge amount of synergy between Mothersons wiring harness business and PKCs wiring harness business. It opens up huge market for us, it allows us to cross sell our other products like cockpits, dashboards, and all these particular things to all these new customers. So, we are very excited by it.

In the wiring harness Motherson, it is like our backyard, that is where we have been born, brought up, and that is our specialty area. So, we think that there is going to be huge amount of value created by both of us coming together. We have a lot to learn from them, they have a lot to learn from us so I think together we will make it a brilliant company. They are also in those markets where we are not present, or we are not so powerful over there. So, I think that allows us not to destroy value and hence it will be very accretive for all the investors in Motherson.

Sonia: You are already sitting on a very high base as far as revenue growth is concerned, but there are still analysts who expect about a 25 percent EPS compounded growth over the next three years, is that a possibility?

A: If they say it, definitely we have to try and make sure that we come better than their expectations.

Anuj: Can the topline grow at 15 percent plus CAGR over a four year period, over FY16 to FY19?

A: Our five-year plan is very clear. Motherson Sumi Systems is going to be a USD 18 billion company by 2020 at 40 percent growth. Our focus is always topline matched with the bottomline with cash in the bank. So, we are very clear that we are open to all acquisitions, growth avenues, either doing it by ourselves or through joint ventures or through acquisitions. So, we are there to support our customer; if our customer tells us do anything, we dont hesitate at all.
Ports and shipping

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The country's largest ship liner Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) now has a modern fleet with average age of 9.5 years against average Indian fleet age of 18.4 years, Parliament was informed today.

"Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has replaced most of its aged fleet and it has a modern and fuel efficient fleet with an average age of 9.5 years as on March 2017 compared to average Indian fleet age of 18.4 years," Shipping Minister Mansukh Lal Mandavya told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

The minister said all vessels of SCI meet the latest regulations of IMO and are equipped with modern facilities.

SCI is the largest Indian shipping company and its fleet include bulk carriers, crude oil tankers, product tankers, container vessels and passenger-cum-cargo vessels.

It owns and operates around one-third of the Indian tonnage.
Village women stand in a queue to get themselves enrolled for the Unique Identification (UID) database system at Merta district in the desert Indian state of Rajasthan February 22, 2013. In a more ambitious version of programmes that have slashed poverty in Brazil and Mexico, the Indian government has begun to use the UID database, known as Aadhaar, to make direct cash transfers to the poor, in an attempt to cut out frauds who siphon billions of dollars from welfare schemes. Picture taken February 22, 2013. REUTERS/Mansi Thapliyal (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY POVERTY SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) - RTR3EDSU

The Supreme Court and government seem to be at loggerheads once again, this time on the usage of Aadhaar cards. The apex court has maintained its stand that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory by the government for extending the benefits of its welfare schemes.

The government is making Aadhaar compulsory as an authentication tool for identification. Recently, it made Aadhaar compulsory for filing income tax returns, for students appearing for national level entrance exams and booking of rail tickets as well.

Citizens are not sure whom to believe. On one side, the government is pushing Aadhaar down our throats, and on the other the Supreme Court is giving the impression that its use is not compulsory.

Though the Supreme Court is saying that use of Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory for using government benefits through its welfare scheme, the general inference is that if it is not mandatory for availing scheme benefits, then why it should be made compulsory in other transactions?

The court has clarified that it is not against the use of Aadhaar for other schemes but only against mandatory use of Aadhaar for benefit schemes. With Aadhaar identification not reaching every citizen, especially in the rural areas, the Supreme Court cannot be faulted for delaying the governments move to make it compulsory.

The court, however, is not against Aadhaar and it is clear from its recent judgment where it asked the government to make it mandatory for telecom subscribers to be re-verified via Aadhaar cards.

The general grouse amongst those complaining is that the data is not safe with the government. Further, they accuse the government of invasion of privacy in collection of biometrics.

The Supreme Court has yet to decide if Right to Privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the constitution.

To reply to the question, one needs to go back to the origin of Aadhaar. The Kargil Review Committee, which was formed to assess national security in India felt the need to issue identity cards. But it took the government nearly a decade to establish Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) under the Planning Commission.

By then it was felt that plain identity cards are easy to replicate and there was a need for using more secure identification cards. Given the incidence of homegrown terrorists, the need for identifying and tracking them was felt.

Then there was the case of tax evasion, which was proving to be an equally bigger menace. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in a recent debate on Aadhaar said that the reason to make Aadhaar number mandatory was to get rid of those who possess multiple PAN cards for tax evasion.

"With Aadhaar, we can stop a person from creating extra PAN cards as it is backed by biometrics like finger prints and iris scans," Jaitley had said. "We have seen some examples where people own at least five PAN cards for tax fraud purposes and because of that the government has proposed to provide Aadhaar number while filing returns."

Revamping PAN cards, as recommended by critics of Aadhaar, would be a meaningless exercise as the data to create a PAN card is not as secure as that of Aadhaar.

The widely reported numbers suggest that around 98 percent of adults in the country have Aadhaar numbers and more than 1.12 billion Aadhaar cards have been issued. Aadhaar cards have authenticated against other IDs some 5 billion times, and a billion e-KYCs have been done on the platform.

If an individual can submit his ration card or PAN card or passport for various authentications, there is little reason for him or her not to produce their Aadhaar card if it helps secure the country better and prevent black money generation.

The only complaint that could have some validity pertains to the security of data collected through biometrics. Government will not only have to ensure that it is not leaked or hacked but also affix blame and take action if an untoward incident occurs.
The import alert issued by the US Food and Drug Authority against the Visakhapatnam unit of Divis Labs last week is expected to impact 5 percent of the company's total sales.

The company addressed analysts in a conference call on Monday and explained that the US FDA has exempted several products due to a shortage of drugs in the US. This would curb the impact of the import alert.

The company has so far been guiding revenue growth of 10 percent for FY18 and FY19. Babu explained that with the import alert the company needs to assess the impact of 5 percent revenue impact.

During the call with analysts, Kishore Babu, Chief Financial Officer of the company, said: Unit II of Divis contributes 60-65 percent of revenues and of this 32 percent comes from North America. Exports from Unit II could be 22-23 percent of total sales of Divis but due to exempted products, the actual impact will be only 5 percent of sales.

The company conveyed that exports to the US constitute 22-23 percent exposure from Unit II, which is facing an import alert. However, less than 5 percent would be impacted due to the import alert.

The US FDA has given the company a methodology to export batches from the facility. Babu explained that the company would follow procedures and get the inspection done batch by batch. The company did not, however, disclose the extra cost incurred for the additional inspection (to be carried out) batch-by-batch as mandated by the FDA.

The company will work with consultants and modalities will be put into practice soon. The company conveyed that US FDA has asked for a batch-by-batch verification of products by a third-party before exports. The company will put this in place soon.

The cause of concern stems from the fact that the US FDA carried out a surprise inspection at Divis Unit II facility and then issued an import alert. The company could not clarify if this was due to a whistle blower initiative or a regular surprise inspection.

Given that there are data integrity issues raised in the current observations made by the US FDA, there could be a similar inspection of Unit I too of Divis. In response, the companys management conveyed that the company had prepared for an inspection of Unit I, too. Unit I accounts for 35 percent of the total turnover and 32 percent of this unit is to US exports. Overall, Unit I accounts for 10 percent of total sales.

The company also conveyed that customers of Divis were seeking an exemption of more products from Unit II. Babu said: We and our customers will be approaching FDA for exemption of more products. These products are not new products. The import alert will not impact large products. The revenue impact will be negligible based on number of exemptions given which will be less than 5 percent."

The management of Divis Labs has largely been caught off guard by the import alert as it came as a surprise and are ascertaining reasons. We cannot attribute one reason and we need more clarity once the review has happened by FDA. Customers are familiar with FDA procedures and they are satisfied with remediation. The list of exemptions are based on FDA analysis on drug shortage.

Divis Labs gave US FDA an update in January and the second update will be given this week. The company will await evaluation from US FDA. The company is currently evaluating causes that would have led to an import alert.

The exposure of Unit II accounts for 22 percent but impact on sales is 5 percent. The reason for this is that Divis supplies ingredients to other manufacturers, which formulate and sell to the US market. This is also a reason for lower loss of business.

The company does not expect too much impact on its European exports as regulations are different and there are no issues with European regulations. The company said that they have not heard from European customers seeking risk mitigation.

The company is functioning at 87 percent capacity and it has spent Rs 500 crore in the current fiscal to expand capacity of Unit I and Unit II, as the new unit at Kakinada is getting delayed.

When asked if the company intended to carry out a buyback as the share price had corrected considerably, the company said while it was sitting on cash pile of Rs 1700 crore, its prime goal was to comply with US FDA observations. We are concerned about value erosion but at this point remediation is most important.
airports

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Rajasthan government and other stakeholders for transferring 37 acres of land for development and expansion of the civil airport in Jodhpur.

The state government signed the MoU with the Air Force, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the Jodhpur Nagar Nigam (JNN).

The state government through JNN in lieu of the provided land, will provide 106 acres of land to the Air Force.

The MoU was signed in presence of Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Mayor Ghanshyam Ojha and other distinguished public representatives, and Air Force officials.

According to the MoU, the state government will transfer 106 acres of its land contiguous to the airfield by JNN/state government.

37 acres of land will be provided free of cost in lieu of 37 acres of IAF land being transferred to AAI.

The remaining 69 acres of land shall be transferred to IAF as per the prescribed rates and rules of the state government.

"This makes an important step in the progress for expansion of the Jodhpur Civil Airport. We hope that all parties associated with the project will do their utmost to realise this long cherished dream of the people of this city," defence spokesperson, Lt Col Manish Ojha said.
After Delhi and Goa, another twenty states are likely to cut aviation turbine fuel (ATF) tax to 1 percent. The states have signed a memorandum with the Aviation Ministry for the same, according to sources.

Earlier this month, Delhi and Goa cut ATF tax to one percent under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) to boost regional travel.

Five other states  Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Tripura, Mizoram and Nagaland  have given consent for the ATF tax cut. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, too, have agreed to take a cut.

RCS, introduced in October 2016, is to boost regional connectivity and is applicable on routes between 200 to 800 km with no lower limit for remote, sensitive or hilly regions,

Under the scheme, states will have to cut ATF tax to one percent while the central government will provide concessions of about 2 percent on value added tax (VAT).

Aviation minister Jayant Sinha said the scheme will add 50 more airports to the current number of 75 in next six months.
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The European drug regulator has recommended suspension of around 300 medicines on which bioequivalence studies were conducted by Chennai-based Micro Therapeutic Research Labs, citing unreliability of data.

bioequivalence studies are usually the basis for approval of generic medicines.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said that the suspension has been ordered for all drugs for which the bioequivalence studies were conducted by Micro Therapeutic Research Labs at two sites in India.

The review, by EMAs Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), concluded that data from studies conducted at the (two) sites between June 2012 and June 2016 are unreliable and cannot be accepted as a basis for marketing authorisation in the EU, EMA said in a statement.

It, however, said there is no evidence of harm or lack of effectiveness of medicines authorised and being evaluated in the EU on the basis of studies at the sites.

Aurobindo Pharma, Zydus, Sandoz, Sanofi and Mylan are among the major pharmaceutical firms that will be affected by the suspension.

Micro Therapeutic Research Labs is a contract research organisation (CRO) which conducts analytical and clinical parts of bioequivalence studies, some of which are used to support marketing authorisation applications of medicines in the EU, it added.

Comment from Micro Therapeutic Research Labs could not be obtained.

The regulator also recommended that medicines not yet authorised but which are being evaluated on the basis of studies from the two sites should not be authorised until bioequivalence is demonstrated using alternative data.

The review of medicines studied by Micro Therapeutic Research Labs was started after inspections to check compliance with good clinical practice by Austrian and Dutch authorities in February 2016, EMA said.

The inspections identified several concerns at the companys sites regarding misrepresentation of study data and deficiencies in documentation and data handling, it added.

The CHMPs recommendation concerning these medicines will now be sent to the European Commission for a legally binding decision valid throughout the EU, EMA said.

The regulator, however, said that some of the medicines which have been recommended for suspension may be of critical importance in certain EU member states. Therefore, national authorities can temporarily postpone the suspension in the interest of patients.

Member States should also decide whether recalls of the affected medicines are needed in their territories, EMA said.
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The rally might not be over in most of the PSU banks which have already outperformed S&P BSE Sensex so far in the year 2017. The sector which is weighed down by concerns of rising non-performing assets needs $30 billion from the government to set things right, explain analysts.

Punjab National Bank rose 66 per cent, followed by Oriental Bank of Commence, which gained 54 per cent, Canara Bank rallied 52 per cent, and SBI rose 41 per cent compared with 16 per cent rally seen in the S&P BSE Sensex so far in the financial year 2017.

Traders rushed in to cover their short positions in banking stocks after the Finance Minister at IBLA Awards last week promised a major policy decision to push for the quick settlement of the non-performing assets (NPA) at banks soon.

The intention is right but will the government be able to foot the bill which is required to repair PSU banks? PSU Banks are on inflection point and further rally will only depend on the reform process initiated by the government.

"The banking sectors state makes one circumspect on the market and PSU banks need to see fresh equity infusion, he said. Unless this is done, the mess will not be resolved, Saurabh Mukherjea of Ambit Capital told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

We have been beating around the bush for three years now. Either the government, the RBI or a public-sector entity has to bear the bill to repair balance sheets of PSU banks, he told the channel. The Bill to repair these banks will be to the tune of USD 30 billion, he added.

According to Capitaline data quoted by a media report, the total bad loans of 41 banks stood at Rs 7 lakh crore in the December quarter of FY17, up 60 per cent from the year-ago period.

In Q2 FY17, gross NPAs of the same set of banks stood at Rs 6.74 lakh crore. According to RBIs Financial Stability Report, the gross NPA ratio climbed to 9.1 per cent in September 2016 from 5.1 per cent in September 2015.

PSU banks should outperform in the medium term given the government weight behind cleaning the bad loan mess and the economic recovery that would add to earnings growth for the banks, Jimeet Modi, CEO, SAMCO Securities told Moneycontrol.com.

The private sector banks are facing some amount of competition from payment banks, technological disruptions etc. and given the alleviated valuations does not make out a good case for investment at current levels, he said.

Where to invest in the banking sector?

Most analysts are cautiously optimistic on the banking sector and prefer names which have a strong lending franchise, focussed retail loan book, resilient asset quality, professional management etc.

Further recovery in PSU banks will be dependent on credit growth which in turn is dependent on economic recovery. Analysts put their bet on banks which are more retail focused because that is one sector which is likely to pick up pace.

Sanjiv Bhasin, Executive VP-Markets & Corporate Affairs at IIFL

The best of treasury profit may have played out for PSU banks. If you have to take a view, you have to take a view on the back that credit will expand in the second half and that should be a game changer.

We are relatively sanguine on few names, just to name State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda (BoB), and Union Bank continue to be three top picks which we have on the PSU side, he said.

Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL Wealth & Asset Management

At IIFL, we remain averse to PSU Banks and prefer small to mid-sized private banks with the strong lending franchise, improving liability profile, resilient asset quality, robust capitalization and professional management.

The ones we like are Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. We are bullish on the housing finance space also and have a positive stance on Can Fin Homes and LIC Housing Finance.

For large private corporate lenders such as Axis Bank and ICICI Bank, the credit cycle would take some time to turn for better as the pace of stressed accounts resolution has not been encouraging thus far.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The US market which has already rallied up to 12 per cent to touch fresh record highs since November 8th election win of President Donald Trump, may not continue the winning run as most market gurus predict 5-10 per cent correction in near-term.

US stocks struggled last week as President Donald Trump failed to gather majority on health care reform in Congress which raised questions about his ability to push through other key reforms promised in his election campaigns such as tax cuts and fiscal spending to boost the economy.

US markets went higher on bets that lower taxes, deregulation and fiscal stimulus would boost economic growth and corporate earnings, but the hopes are soon fading away. If the US market does go into a tailspin, it would have the rub-off effect on markets across the globe including India.

However, for India, most analysts predict at best a knee-jerk reaction as there are a lot of domestic triggers which could support the market when foreign institutional investors (FIIs) might be selling.

It does appear that when we do get a correction in US markets, either now or after a further rally, the Nifty may drop below 9,000 levels. I would imagine the reasons for the correction may be linked to a global event and not a domestic one, Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL Wealth & Asset Management told Moneycontrol.com.

The US is the biggest financial powerhouse controlling about 38 per cent of global market cap and any rupture in the bull-market there will have a spillover effect in markets across the globe including that of India.

In terms of relative valuations, US stocks are trading well above their historical averages while Emerging market stocks including India market is still broadly in line despite a recent bounce.

"The setback from the Healthcare bill is not a trend reversal but a correction could extend up to 5-10 per cent in US markets, but emerging markets like India and China are likely to do well," Ken Peng, Asia Pacific Investment strategist at Citi Private Bank said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

Going by the buzz on D-Street, we have created a list of top 5 factors which will provide support in case markets starts to drift lower:

Reform Process:

Indian market should outperform in case the Wall Street starts to drift lower supported by the reform process initiated by the Modi-led government. The finance minister introduced four bills on Monday aimed at rolling out the much-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The government proposes to launch GST from July 1. It is estimated that rolling out of the GST can add up to 2 per cent to India's economic growth. Apart from that, the govt and the RBI is making effort to bring down the burden of the non-performing asset on the balance sheet of banks.

There is huge liquidity in the system which will keep the bull engine going on for the Indian market, plus the speedy reforms will lay the foundation for a sustainable bull market for years to come, Jimeet Modi, CEO, SAMCO Securities told Moneycontrol.com.

Channelization of household saving:

Backed by household savings, domestic flows into the mutual fund sector have been increasing in the recent months and demonetisation has added to this trend.

According to the global financial services major, Citigroup in a report said that rising domestic flows in MFs suggest the channelising of household savings in the form of cash towards financial assets.

Domestic fund flows to stock markets could potentially double in the financial year 2018-19 to USD 55 billion, from USD 28 billion recorded last fiscal, said a Citigroup report earlier in March.

The demographics and channelization of savings into equity is the most powerful trigger for the sustained bull market in India, the recently concluded demonetization will just accentuate the trend into equities market, said Modi of Samco Securities.

India - attractive investment destination:

Indias relative positioning is only improving vis-a-vis other emerging markets and enjoys overweight stance in most FII portfolios.

Many Emerging Markets (EMs) are suffering due to borrowings in US$, which has appreciated strongly while others, who rely on the US for exports, are now facing the brunt of protectionist policies, Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL Wealth & Asset Management told Moneycontrol.com.

Indias growth is now ahead of China, which is a huge standout. This puts India on the preferred list of FPIs, he said.

Preferred Asset Class - Equities:

Most analysts see a structural shift in domestic liquidity from physical savings to financial savings. Ambani of IIFL Wealth & Asset Management is of the view that the charm for physical assets has dwindled and with yields on 10-year G-Sec also falling significantly, the interest on deposits earned is also ordinary to attract investors.

Equities are now the natural choice, with the hope of a significantly improved FY19 in terms of earnings. We see growing SIPs in equities as sustained investments that will keep flowing in, month after month, he said.

Better Earnings:

After a stable December quarter results most analysts are factoring a relatively better March quarter. The management commentary for most companies suggested that the demonetization impact is largely over.

Given the low base, stable commodity prices and revival of consumption led demand, we expect strong double-digit earnings recovery over FY18-19E, Pankaj Pandey, Head of Research, ICICI Securities told Moneycontrol.com.

We assign a multiple of 16x on FY18E & FY19 average EPS (average of Rs. 1750 and Rs 2098) to arrive at a fair value of 30,800 as our CY17/FY18E target for the Sensex and 9,300 levels for Nifty50, he said.
Equity benchmarks extended losses on Monday, with the Sensex shedding 258 points intraday, tracking correction in global peers after the US President Donald Trump failed to get healthcare reform passed. The news of SEBI order on Reliance Industries and the forecast of Monsoon below normal level were other reasons for selling pressure in the market.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 184.25 points at 29,237.15 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 62.80 points to 9,045.20, on top of 0.6 percent loss in previous week.

Experts turned cautious after recent rally, citing economic weakness in country. They expect the consolidation to continue for couple of days on account of F&O expiry this week.

"Combination of underlying economic weakness plus the stellar rally makes us very uncomfortable about chasing the market. I have been consistently telling clients over the last three months that there is no point in chasing the rally in an economy where there is underlying sluggishness," Saurabh Mukherjea of Ambit Capital says.

Jayant Manglik of Religare Securities has reiterated its advice to limit leveraged positions and keep them hedged. At the same time, trader shouldn't go against the trend and maintain buy on dips approach, he says.

Broadly, he feels Nifty will consolidate further within 9000-9300 in near future prior to next directional move.

The broader markets slightly outperformed benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap index falling 0.3 percent. About 1630 shares declined against 1168 advancing shares on exchange.

Global equity markets were lower today as investors adopted a cautious tone on the back of US President Donald Trump's surprise failure to deliver swift health-care reform. However, gold rose to a one-month high on weakness in dollar.

Meanwhile, Jatin Singh of skymetweather.com says monsoon this year is expected to be below normal level. He expects the monsoon at 95 percent with an error margin of plus or minus 5 percent.

The Indian rupee closed at 65.03, the highest level against US dollar since October 28, 2015, up 37 paise over previous settlement.

All sectoral indices closed in red. Nifty Metal index lost the most, down more than 2.5 percent following correction in commodity prices. Tata Steel and Hindalco Industries slipped 3 percent each.

Healthcare and IT stocks were also under pressure as indices lost 1 percent each on concerns over rising rupee. Sun Pharma, Lupin and Wipro fell more than 1 percent while TCS and Infosys declined 0.3-0.6 percent.

Reliance Industries was top contributor to Sensex' loss, down 2.76 percent after the Securities and Exchange Board of India, on Friday, banned the company and 12 others from equity derivatives trading for one year.

(Disclosure: Reliance Industries owns Network 18 that publishes Moneycontrol.com).

HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, Tata Motors and ONGC fell 1-2 percent. However, HDFC (up 0.87 percent) and ITC (up 0.3 percent) managed to limit some market losses.

State Bank of India was biggest gainer among Sensex stocks, up 1.2 percent as the bank has initiated process for stake sale in its insurance subsidiary via IPO. Even merger of five associate banks with it will be effective from April 1.
Representative Image

Being laid off is a strange feeling for those who have been asked to go. And more so for those who have been asked to remain.

A sense of guilt that develops in those who remain. While for those who are asked to go  they are in an existential dilemma: "What did I do wrong?"

They talk about the inter-office politics that led them to this juncture. That so and so was close to the founders so he or she was asked to stay. They start to question their own performance even if a stellar one. Or that how does one chart the course to keep salaries/money coming in.

For those who are not financially so savvy, it becomes an existential question - of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul kind of survival. Or hunting for any job, even a one that could hurt their career, just to pay the bills.

Few think of setting up own venture, unless that was already on their mind.

The survivor's guilt

Last month, about 2,000 people were asked to go from Gurgaon-based Snapdeal. Companies such as Stayzilla and RoomsTonite got closed. According to a source, the ones who remained almost felt guilty.

They suffer from the survivor guilt  a state of mind in which people perceive themselves to have done wrong by surviving a traumatic event. Many founders try to alleviate that guilt via arranging for job interviews for those impacted while others try to justify it through long emails.

A mass and sudden layoff kind of creates classes of us versus them. Long formed WhatsApp groups, Facebook groups and even family groups get destroyed.

One of the founders of Grofers last year revealed that last July was one of the most painful month of his life. He took investors into confidence and about 200 people were asked to leave.

If we had to survive, we had to take that decision. It was tough. But we could have kept the workforce when it was not relevant anymore and bled more, making our survival in question, he said.

In some startups, the administration or facilities department calls the police or employs private security to protect the founders from the laid off employees, or discontinued contracted vendors and delivery boys et al. Mostly its to protect employees from the vendors, I was told by one of the founders, whose security detail accosted us when we visited him at his office in Gurgaon.

Founders seem clueless on the art of layoffs

In most cases, the founders choose to work from outside office, from hotels or non-HQ locations, to avoid confrontation.

The same happened in AskMeBazaar and Snapdeals case where some of the top management chose to avoid office and worked out of hotels.

I try not to make laid off employees mingle with ones that remain, said founder of a SaaS startup in Delhi, with about 100 employees. The toughest is to fire your own friends, he tells me. The founder had to fire one of his first employees, also one of his best friends. She was just not suitable for the job, said one founder, candidly.

From that day on this young 29-year old CEO pays advance salary of two months to an employee who is required to mark an attendance. This founder was himself fired from one of Gurgaon-based travel portals.

While on a vacation trip, his system went missing when he reported back. Another person was on an India tour when she received a message of the company shutting down a division.

Clearly, naivety reflects in approach of founders towards man-management. In 2015, TinyOwl founders were alleged to have laid off employees during a townhall just before Diwali. Their move invited criticism even as local political parties stepped in and one of the founders was not allowed to leave office till employees got clarity on jobs.

Giving birth to a startup is challenging. It requires months of planning and gestation. But keeping the startup alive is more challenging. In the early days it is always on ventilator.

And even during a startup's growth years when it becomes healthy, a sudden change of political and economic climate can put it back on a ventilator within weeks.

Layoffs is not a booster shot. A startup cant survive because it lays off people. It just controls its death for a few more days, weeks or months.

I asked for learnings from layoffs from a seasoned Snapdeal top executive. "Don't over hire. Too much money is dangerous for a founder. The easiest thing to do is to over-hire with no plan where to utilise the manpower," he said.

His words still ring in my ear, even as I see news such as this.

Talking to a former TinyOwl founder, I asked if he has regrets that he had to fire a lot of people including recent hires. It seemed he had none and he would do it again.

It is always a question of growth versus profitability. And when rivals in the market don't care about losses, over hires and scales rapidly to acquire market share, investors question us, he told me.

I asked him if he can justify laying off senior employees who were just hired a few months ago.

Again there were no answers.

Perhaps he is right on the fact that - investors were to blame as well.

There is a way to approach layoffs, says Kunal Khattar, cofounder of Carnation Auto and managing partner at advantEdge Partners. Khattar managed to lay off almost 2,150 out of 2,200 employees, when Carnation decided to pivot.

It took us almost a year to complete the exercise. The key is to approach and face each employee personally, listen to their grievances and ease transition into a new job. The founders should be present and not avoid office when such a thing has to happen, says Khattar.

The past 12 months have been not so good for ecommerce in India. Snapdeal has cut its staff strength from 4,300 to less than 2,000 people.

Last year, Noida-based AskMeBazaars sudden shutdown impacted over 4,500 employees and their families. More such consolidations are expected to follow in the startup sector in coming years. It's high time that the founders learnt skills that can help them expand or reduce teams.

Lack of turnaround skills in founders also impedes emergence of a global startup brands out of India. Most companies get consolidated with larger ones, even before they can achieve a maturity stage.

Till then, any advice for those working in startups?

Enjoy till the party lasts, but always keep one foot in the door.

(This is an opinion piece)
Swiggy, the online food delivery startup, is currently in talks with potential investors to raise at least USD 50 million in fresh funding, according to a report in Mint.

Among the potential investors include South African media company Naspers and Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, two people familiar with the developments were quoted as saying. They added that existing investors are also likely to participate.

The existing investors are likely to pool in at least $20 million, said the source.

Raising funds would give Swiggy a shot in the arm in the race with rival Zomato.

Thus far, Swiggy has raised at least USD 75 million in equity from investors including SAIF partners and Apoletto, which is owned by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner. The company has also raised about USD 8 million in venture debt from InnoVen Capital.

Zomato leads the funding race among homegrown food technology startups with USD 224 million in its kitty.

Swiggy currently operates in eight citiesBengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

In the last financial year, Swiggy recorded a 65-fold increase in losses. To shore up its profits, it started charging a fee of Rs 30 on orders below Rs 250 and also experimented with surge pricing.

Food tech startups in India are struggling to find a way to profitability even as millions of dollars have been guzzled for customer acquisition.

Over 78 food delivery and ordering startups have raised USD 391 million in multiple rounds since 2014 in India, according to data by Tracxn.

Since then, a good odd 999 companies have been created in this space, with 110 already shutting shop. This also includes cab aggregator Ola's food delivery platform Ola Cafe that had to be shut within a year of launch.
CNBC-TV18 brings you a brand new week of Bull's Eye. It's the popular game show where market experts come together to dish out trading strategies for you to make your week more exciting and compete with each other to see whose portfolio is the strongest.

Remember these are midcap ideas not just for the day, but stocks that look attractive in the medium-term as well.

This week, Ruchit Jain, Sumeet Jain and Ashish Kyal battle it out for top honours.

Below their top stock picks and analysis:

Ruchit Jain of Angel Broking

Buy Federal Bank with a stoploss at Rs 86 and target of Rs 96

Buy Union Bank of India with a stoploss at Rs 149 and target of Rs 163

Buy Bank of Baroda with a stoploss at Rs 163 and target of Rs 179

Buy M&M Financial with a stoploss at Rs 308 and target of Rs 338

Sumeet Jain of Destimoney Securities

Buy Gujarat Fluorochemicals with a stoploss at Rs 616 and target of Rs 657

Buy Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation with a stoploss at Rs 824 and target of Rs 878

Buy Ipca Laboratories with a stoploss at Rs 572 and target of Rs 608

Sell Torrent Pharma with a stoploss at Rs 1380 and target of Rs 1429

Ashish Kyal of Waves Strategy Advisors

Buy Century Textiles with a stoploss at Rs 990 and target of Rs 1040

Buy Cummins India with a stoploss at Rs 900 and target of Rs 965

Buy HDIL with a stoploss at Rs 75 and target of Rs 83

Buy Marico with a stoploss at Rs 280 and target of Rs 305
Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com told CNBC-TV18, "On Reliance Industries, I would recommend buying into this dip. Century Textiles has completed its correction and from here, it is a fairly decent buy and typical broader market type stock. All the Century group stocks are doing extremely well. So, looking at targets of Rs 1,080-1,100."

At 11:15 hrs Reliance Industries was quoting at Rs 1,260.00, down Rs 26.20, or 2.04 percent. It has touched an intraday high of Rs 1,278.50 and an intraday low of Rs 1,256.10.

: Reliance Industries owns Network 18 that publishes Moneycontrol.com.
Shares of Reliance Industries fell over 2 percent intraday post the market regulators order against it.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India, on Friday, banned Reliance Industries and 12 others from equity derivatives trading for one year and directed the firm to disgorge nearly Rs 1,000 crore for alleged fraudulent trading in a 10-year-old case.

A company spokesperson said it will challenge the order. Reliance Industries has been asked to disgorge Rs 447 crore, along with an annual interest of 12 percent since November 29, 2007, which itself would be more than Rs 500 crore, taking the total disgorgement amount to nearly Rs 1,000 crore.

The case related to alleged fraudulent trading in the F&O space in the securities of RIL's erstwhile listed subsidiary Reliance Petroleum.

The stock gained over 2 percent in the past one month, while its three-day gain stood at 0.14 percent. At 10:39 hrs, the stock was quoting at Rs 1,261.30, down Rs 24.90, or 1.94 percent on the BSE. It touched an intraday high of Rs 1,278.50 and an intraday low of Rs 1,259.00.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries owns Network 18 that publishes Moneycontrol.com.
The central government today came out in support of vehicle makers arguing before the Supreme Court that the March 31 deadline is for manufacturing and not sales or registration.

Quoting previous similar changes in emission norms (from BS-II to BS-III for instance) the government stated that in each case the deadline was meant for manufacturing while sales and registration of previous generation vehicles were allowed even after April 1.

The SC will continue to hear the case on Tuesday.

The apex was to decide today whether or not old and polluting Bharat Stage-III vehicles should be allowed to be registered after end of this month.

The fate of 824,000 unsold two and three-wheelers, trucks and buses was on the line today. Collectively worth over Rs 12,000 crore, the inventory runs the risk of being turned into junk if the apex court rules that such vehicles cannot be allowed to be registered.

On Friday, a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said that the Centre had spent thousands of crores of rupees to upgrade technology to produce BS-IV fuel and the companies could not be allowed to frustrate the government's initiative to check increasing pollution levels by selling around 8.2 lakh BS-III vehicles which they are holding in stock.

One alternative to banning the polluting vehicles that the Supreme Court had mentioned in its last hearing was the slapping of additional cess on the BS-III vehicles as a compensation towards polluting the environment. Even if this solution is adopted it would bring such vehicles on par, cost-wise, with a BS-IV vehicle and buyers will rather choose to buy the cleaner of the two.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), the apex lobby body of automobile dealers, has asked its vehicle makers to take back their unsold stock of BS-III vehicles if the Supreme Court decides to disallow their sales.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) had submitted data on manufacturing and sale of BS-III vehicles on a monthly basis from January 2016 and told the Supreme Court that the companies were holding stock of around 8.24 lakh such vehicles including 96,000 commercial vehicles, over six lakh two-wheelers and around 40,000 three-wheelers.

Irked by the reluctance of automotive companies to comply with the emission norms laid down by the government the Environmental Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) had moved the SC seeking a ban on sale of BS-III vehicles from April 1.

BS-IV vehicles have 80 percent less Particulate Matter (PM) and 50 percent less NOx emissions according to research findings. Bajaj Auto, Toyota Kirloskar and Daimler India have repeatedly voiced their opinions accusing majority of manufacturers of dragging their feet on the matter and refusing to comply with the norms.

Erich Nesselhauf, Managing Director and CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles said, In the current environment, OEMs ramping up BS-III vehicles aggressively before March 31 could create an imbalance to OEMs like BharatBenz that are ramping down BS3 vehicles. Selling BS3 vehicles should not be allowed after April 1, or at least the sales of those vehicles should be penalised in order to set off the additional cost and environment burden the society has to absorb. In general, it should not be allowed that some OEMs gain additional margins, delaying the implementation of the urgently needed new BS4 environmental standards."
In a bid to improve efficiency and consolidating operations, Tata Group is exploring a merger of Tata Global Beverages and Tata Coffee. The group is weighing the pros and cons of a possible merger between the two entities, reports CNBC-TV18's Kritika Saxena.

If the deal looks favourable, Tata Coffee will be merged into Tata Global Beverages. It will help the Group amplify synergies of both the companies together, persons privy to the developments told CNBC-TV18. Tata Group is also aiming at strengthening its fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment by way of the merger, they said on the condition of anonymity.

The primary focus will be on improving efficiency at Tata Global Beverages and consolidation of operations. Besides, the Group is aiming to ramp up Tata Globals European operations, which contribute 25 percent to its revenues.

Tata Global Beverages, however, said that there is no such proposal under consideration.

In an earlier interview, Tata Global Beverages Chairman Harish Bhat had said the group is focusing on the FMCG segment, where it already has a strong footing. The company also has a vision of stronger brands in tea, coffee and water.
The logo of Apple is seen at a store in Zurich, Switzerland November 22, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann - RTSUCB7

The government is working on certain options to accommodate demands related to tax and duty concessions sought by iPhone maker Apple for setting up a manufacturing unit in India.

Although the Finance Ministry has prima facie rejected the demands of the US-based technology major, senior executives of the company met an inter-ministerial group recently to deliberate upon the issue.

The group discussed at length the demands of the company, sources said, adding that the government is trying to find ways through which certain support measures could be extended to the American firm.

Sources also said the company is asking for concessions as it wants to bring in its supply chain or component makers to the country as Apple cannot source inputs locally.

The company also wants duty exemptions on the products to be bought from special economic zones (SEZs).

At present, goods exported from SEZs do not attract any duty but import duties are levied if items produced in special economic zones are sold in the domestic market.

There is a possibility that this demand could be met by the government as several domestic companies are also demanding for the same. On the other hand, certain duty concessions being sought by Apple are very difficult to meet as India is gradually becoming a manufacturing hub of smartphones.

A strong supply chain is being established in the country despite any sop or concession offered to any player. Also, no domestic or foreign manufacturer has sought any concession from the government so far.

There is dilemma that if the government extends support to Apple, it may weaken this strong supply chain.

"So the government has to make a balance," sources added.

Apple has also sought relaxations for consumables for smartphone manufacturing and service or repair for 15 years. In January, Apple had indicated to the government that it is ready with a blueprint to begin manufacturing iPhones in India, but wants fiscal concessions, including customs duty waiver on import of components.

The company sells its products through Apple-owned retail stores in countries like China, Germany, the US, the UK and France, among others. It has no wholly-owned store in India and sells its products through distributors such as Redington and Ingram Micro.
New Delhi: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi with Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath during their meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. PTI Photo(PTI3_21_2017_000029B)

Students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh believe that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who until now was known as saffron-cloaked Hindutva mascot of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has changed his ways.

Only he can tell if he still relies on the religion card or prefers the role of a hardliner, but since he took the reins eight days ago, the state has already undergone several changes.

Moneycontrol takes a look at eight key decisions taken by new Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the eight days since he has been in power:

Illegal meat ban: What is Lucknow without Tunde kebabs? But with illegal slaughter houses shutting shop amid a crackdown by the Adityanath government, meat delicacies are fading off the menu.

Big clean-up in government offices: March 25 was not a lucky day for the 60 retired senior officers who were shown the door after their re-employment was cancelled. These officers were holding on to their posts even after crossing the retirement age.

Anti-Romeo squad: At an election rally in Uttar Pradesh, Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah had vowed to protect the honour and chastity of girls. The new chief minister intends to keep those promises and has come up with the idea of anti-Romeo squads to deal with sexual harassment, which is a deep rooted problem in the state.

These squads comprise police officials who ask for ID cards of men seen loitering outside womens colleges, schools and public spaces.

100-day priority plan: For sabka vikas, Adityanath is asking for sabka saath for his 100-day priority plan. He has asked officers of all departments to come up with tasks that can be delivered in the first 100 days of the new government.

Pothole promise: The man who said "all promises will be fulfilled" has given the officials of Public Works Department the task of making sure that all state roads are pothole-free by June 15. Not leaving anything to chance, Adityanath has also directed officials to bring in contractors with a clean background for the road projects and to bid goodbye to those with criminal charges.

Clean UP, Green UP: Daag ache hain for some, but not in government offices where the walls bear red stains. These walls will be whitewashed as the new Chief Minister has ordered a ban on the use of paan masala. To keep up with the cleanliness drive, he has also put a stop to the use of plastic bags in government offices.

Mark your attendance: You are not the only one to have visited a government office and find officers not at their desk because they were late to work or decided not to come at all. With biometric attendance in place, those residing in Uttar Pradesh can expect a better response rate. Officers reaching after 10 am, beware.

Cracking the whip: Under Adityanath's rule, babus will have to work for "18-20 hours or leave", the Chief Minister said.

To curb corruption, Adityanath has asked officials not to take up contracts of government works. He said there should be no interference from government officials in contractual projects and they should just keep an eye on them.

Also, to bridge the gap between public servants and public, Adityanath has urged his ministers to be there for the public when in need.
After a year of normal monsoon, India could again bear the brunt of a weak monsoon.

Private weather forecaster Skymet today said the country's monsoon could be below normal at 95 percent. The margin of error for the forecast is plus or minus 5 percent.

"The culprit to be blamed is the notorious El Nino, whose effect will be visible July onwards. Most of the weather models are indicating towards 60 percent chance of El Nino coming into existence during the second half of the monsoon," the forecaster said in a report. "An evolving El Nino is harmful for the performance of monsoon."

State-run IMD has not come yet come out with an official forecast though it has said it does expect the impact of El Nino to be very disruptive.

Last year had seen above average rains across the country after two years of severe drought.

This year, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and the eastern states are the ones that may see healthy rainfall, Skymet CEO Jait Singh told CNBC-TV18.

Gujarat, Konkan, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are the states that are most likely to see below average rainfall, he added.

According to the forecaster, the overall probabilities for monsoon are:

- 0 percent chance of excess (seasonal rainfall that is more than 110 percent of long period average)

- 10 percent chance of above normal (seasonal rainfall that is between 105 to 110 percent of LPA)

- 50 percent chance of normal (seasonal rainfall that is between 96 to 104 percent of LPA)

- 25 percent chance of below normal (seasonal rainfall that is between 90 to 95 percent of LPA)

- 15 percent chance of drought (seasonal rainfall that is less than 90 percent of LPA)
Armed police respond outside Parliament during an incident on Westminster Bridge. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

British police made a new arrest as part of an investigation by the Counter Terrorism Command into the attack on UK Parliament, Scotland Yard said.

"A 30-year-old man was arrested on Sunday at an address in Birmingham on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts. He was detained under the Terrorism Act and currently remains in police custody," the police statement said.

A 58-year-old man who was arrested on March 23 on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts and detained under the act remains in police custody, the Metropolitan Police said.

A 32-year-old woman was arrested on March 24 on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts under PACE and has been released on bail until a date in late March.

"Officers have carried out a total of 15 searches at various addresses in east London (two), south London (one), Brighton (one), Surrey (one), Carmarthenshire (one), Birmingham (eight) and Manchester (one). Fourteen searches have now concluded, with one ongoing at an address in Birmingham," the Met said.

In total, 12 people have been arrested as part of the investigation. Nine have been released with no further action. PTI AK .
NORRISTOWN  With just days until the 2022 general election a board room on the eighth floor of One Montgomery Plaza was filled with an air of contention. Public comment surrounding election practices including the dozen drop boxes posted across...
ADVANCE, N.C. (AP)  Three North Carolina Highway Patrol troopers are on leave while state police investigate the shooting of a man during a confrontation following an attempted traffic stop.

Highway Patrol Sgt. Michael Baker says in a news release that troopers Courtney Richmond, John Chapman and Ryan Goodin are on leave during the investigation.

The statement says 30-year-old Steven P. Little of Statesville was shot and wounded and is wanted on 14 felony charges in Iredell County.

The race of those involved wasn't immediately available.

The shooting happened Sunday afternoon in Davie County, outside Winston-Salem.

Baker says the chase started when the driver of a car refused to stop for a trooper in Iredell County. The pursuit crossed into Davie County and resulted in an armed confrontation between the driver and troopers.
They would be our caller of the year if our bosses could let us play it!
A man from Lenoir is hearing a lot better these days thanks to the Beltone Hearing Center in Morganton.

Charles Martin, 78, desperate to improve the quality of his life, sought help to combat his severe hearing loss. He wrote an emotional letter to the Beltone Hearing Care Foundation to see if he could get approved for new hearing aids, according to a press release from the BHC.

The Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, donates hearing aids to those who are in need and are unable to access them. Both individuals and organizations are eligible to receive assistance from the Foundation through direct nominations to Beltone or at one of its 1,500 locations across North America.

This Foundation gives us a new path to achieve this mission by helping deserving individuals and organizations in their communities enrich their quality of life through better hearing, states Michael Andreozzi, CEO of Beltone New England.

In Martins letter to the Beltone Foundation, he shared how he was not able to talk to his daughter, who lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on the phone due to his hearing loss. She currently has a lot going on in her personal life, and he wanted to be there for her, but she gets frustrated with him not being able to hear.

He said he and his wife are not in the financial position to purchase hearing aids or make a payment on one.

Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated, Martin wrote.

Thanks to the Beltone Hearing Care Foundation and Beltone Carolina/Virginia, Martin was approved almost instantly and fitted with new hearing aids free of charge on March 23 by hearing aid practitioner William Beck from the BHC in Morganton.

Martin was supposed to go to the Morganton BHC office to have his hearing aids fitted, but was hospitalized that day due to an undisclosed illness. Beck made a trip to the hospital and fitted Martins hearing aids right there.

This delivery was so special, a representative with BHC said. He was beyond thankful and grateful. He kept saying to us, Why are you guys so good to me?
After nearly four years since he pleaded guilty to federal witness tampering and embezzlement, former Foothills Regional Airport board chairman Randy Hullette is scheduled to be sentenced in April.

However, previous sentencing hearings for Hullette have been scheduled but then continued. Hullette has been scheduled for sentencing four times but each one was continued.

A hearing notice for Hullette was filed Friday in federal court. His sentencing hearing is set for 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom No. 1 on April 20 in the federal courthouse in Asheville, according to the filing. Federal District Judge Martin Reidinger will be the presiding judge for the hearing.

Hullette faces a maximum 30-year sentence. He pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 21, 2013.

The FBI raided the airport in June 2012. A federal warrant included records from the airport involving former airport manager Alex Nelson, former operations manager Brad Adkins and Hullette. The investigation revealed the three defrauded the airport of at least $100,000.

Nelson and Adkins have both sentenced.

Nelson, who pleaded guilty in September 2012 to conspiracy, embezzlement and money laundering, was sentenced in February 2014 to three years in federal prison and three years supervised probation. Nelson also was ordered to pay $179,781.51 in restitution.

He served time in Beckley, W est Virginia , entering prison on June 9, 2014, was later released and was under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons Residential Reentry Management field office in Raleigh. He was released on April 25, 2016, according to the prisons website.

Adkins pleaded guilty in September 2012 to public corruption conspiracy and embezzlement, aid and abet.

Adkins was sentenced in June 2014 to time served and four months of house arrest. He also was given a 3-year term of supervised release on each count.

Adkins, 40, had his probation revoked in December because he failed to comply with drug testing requirements, according to federal officials.

He also failed to report to the jail to serve a two-day term of confinement previously imposed by the court as a punishment.

Federal documents say Adkins failed to report for a substance abuse test he was scheduled for on April 25 and on July 30.

On June 18, Adkins did submit a diluted urine specimen for testing, court documents say.

Adkins is being held in the McDowell County jail to serve a seven-month term, followed by an additional 28 months of supervised release, according to federal and local officials.

Sharon McBrayer is a staff writer and can be reached at smcbrayer@morganton.com or at 828-432-8946.
Fresh data collected by a Toronto-based brokerage indicated that of all the suggested factors pushing the citys red-hot home price increases, it is speculation that is chiefly responsible for driving the areas real estate into bubble territory.



In its latest report, Realosophy Realty Inc. noted that the increased popularity of speculation heralded a transformation in market psychology in Toronto and the surrounding locales.



When we began to see investors act on the assumption that the price of houses will continue to rise indefinitely, we started shifting from a market driven by an investors mindset to a speculators mindset. This is one of the big red flags that economists point to in terms of housing bubbles, Realosophy president and broker John Pasalis wrote, as quoted by The Globe and Mail.



He noted that the clearest example of this phenomenon can be found in the Durham Region, and in particular Ajax, Oshawa, and Whitby. The area has seen demand increase by more than 400 per cent in just roughly 4 years.



Pasalis added that these developments will continue to price regular buyers out of the market, and that the time is ripe for more decisive government action.



However, Bloomberg markets analyst Theophilos Argitis argued last month that speculators might prove immune to any federal-level moves to restrict their activity.



If speculators are the cause of Torontos stratospheric home-price gains, it makes it difficult for the federal government to intervene, since its primary tool is mortgage insurance rules that dont apply as much to investors, Argitis explained.



One possibility may be to clamp down on the countrys unregulated private mortgage industry -- so-called shadow banking.



Restricting foreign investment might also yield results, Argitis said. So far, though, the federal government has not demonstrated a willingness to implement such a move.



In fact, the only place where government steps to rein in prices seems to have worked has been in British Columbia, which introduced a 15 percent tax on foreign buyers in August.





Related stories:

Ontario urging Ottawa to change tax rules in bid to curb real estate speculation

Toronto housing segment at a critical time - analyst
Toronto has seen a record number of condo apartments sold last month, according to the Building Industry and Land Development Association.



In a March 23 CNW press release, BILD announced that more than twice as many new condo apartments were sold compared to low-rise units. Data from Altus Group revealed that in February, 3,542 transactions involving condo apartments (in stacked townhouses and mid and high-rise buildings) transpired, while 1,541 sales were those of new detached and semi houses and low-rise townhomes.



Condo apartment sales in February were up 79 percent over the same period last year and more than double the ten-year average. The month's condo apartment sales were driven by continued strong sales in Toronto (1,661 units) and a significant increase in 905 sales, which included 105 unit sales in Durham, 107 in Halton, 370 in Peel and 1,299 in York, the news release stated.



As of February, the average price of a condo apartment in the GTA stood at $523,086, up from $507,511 in the month prior. The average price per square foot reached a record-high $652, while the average unit size declined to 802 square feet.



These developments accompanied a sharp drop in the inventory levels of condo apartments, which fell to an unprecedented low of 10,342 units.



While the February results point to a trend decades in the making, the severity of the monthly figures, is jarring, BILD President and CEO Bryan Tuckey said.



As the current data demonstrates, legislative guidelines and planning policies have real impacts on real people. With significant declines in builder inventory and record prices (for both low and high-rise homes), the GTA housing market is in crisis and it is time for governments to work with us to address the problems.





Related stories:

Toronto rental rates comparatively affordable - report

GTA market is approaching full blown affordability crisis  CIBC economist
Fraud and misrepresentation in mortgage applications is on the rise, according to new data from First American Financial Corporation.



According to First Americans Loan Application Defect Index, the frequency of defects, fraud and misrepresentation in mortgage applications was up 4.1% month over month in February. It was also up 1.3% year over year, although it was still 25.5% lower than its peak in October of 2013.



The Defect Index for purchase transactions was up 2.4% both month over month and year over year. The refinance defect index rose 3.4% month over month in February, but was down 6.4% from February of 2016.



According to Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American, the recent Fed interest-rate hike, and the resulting upward pressure on rates, tend to push fraud levels upward.



Defect, fraud and misrepresentation risk continues to respond to the shift in market composition. Rising mortgage rates continue to increase the share of higher risk purchase loan applications, but they are also incenting more borrowers to apply for ARMs, Fleming said. The savings for the consumer can be significant, but ARM loan applications have historically had higher defect, misrepresentation and fraud risk, said Fleming. The increasing popularity of adjustable rate mortgages is something to keep an eye on as the spring home buying season warms up.



Wyoming saw the largest year-over-year increase in defect frequency, with defects shooting up by 43.1%. Connecticut saw the largest decrease, with mortgage application defects falling by 9%.





Related stories:

Defects, fraud on the rise in January mortgage apps

Government fraud case against Bank of America officially dead
2016 was a troublesome year for Wells Fargo, and in Florida last week, CEO Tim Sloan launched a new brand platform and national advertising campaign, according to a news release.



The bank has been battered by scandal since last year, when it was revealed that employees had opened 2 million unauthorized customer accounts. The revelation led to congressional hearings, the ouster of then-CEO John Stumpf, and controversy over the role of incentives and high-pressure sales environments at financial institutions.



In an attempt to repair the banks tarnished image, Sloan also announced six new long-term goals for the company, related with its new campaign Building Better Every Day.



Were making things right for our customers and our team members, Sloan said. We are fixing problems, and were building a better bank for the future. As we rebuild trust, we will reintroduce to our stakeholders what our Wells Fargo bankers have always been known for, and thats helping our customers to succeed financially.



The banks stated long-term goals include improving customer service, better team member engagement, innovation, improved risk management and corporate citizenship, and maximized shareholder value.



As part of the banks effort to make things right, Sloan said there are plans to survey all 269,000 Wells Fargo team members to strengthen the banks culture.



As a company, Wells Fargo wants to build a better bank every day for our customers, for our team members, for our country, and for the world, he said. For our team members and customers, we want to create a culture thats better for you every day. For our communities, we want to help build better communities every day. The key to our success is our commitment to being better every day.





Related stories:

Wells Fargo scandal reminiscent of subprime crisis  Fed official

Wells Fargos scandal hasnt touched its mortgage business
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POTEET  A controversial frac sand mine is coming to Atascosa County whether residents like it or not, but theyve promised to continue fighting the project, slated for an area where historians still hunt for remnants of the bloodiest battle in Texas history.

Neighbors to the planned mine had asked for  but did not receive  a public hearing on the project before the state agency that oversees environmental permits approved the plans March 1. But they did get to meet with company executives to ask questions about the site at a meeting Thursday night that drew more than 200 from the community.

Pennsylvania-based Preferred Sands plans a mine and plant that could process 300-400 tons of sand per hour through a Texas company it set up in the fall, Sand Mining of Texas LLC. It owns or controls about 2,500 acres mostly in Atascosa County, but also stretching into southern Bexar County. A mixture of sand, chemicals and water is used in oil fracking to blast open crevices in rock to extract hard-to-get oil.

The mine has drawn fierce opposition from the community, which organized a protest group, called Not Just Dust  Bruce Road. A sign posed on the outside of the VFW Post where the meeting was held asked, What the frack? Others posted in the ground or held by residents read Protect Our Air, Protect Our Water and Stop Dangerous Traffic.

Elected officials and residents sent more than 200 letters to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the states environmental agency, in protest or to ask for a hearing about the proposed mine.

The agency, though, does not have to hold public hearings for such facilities.

The mine falls under the states permit-by-rule process, a speedier application for facilities that produce a trivial amount of air emissions. Under its application, the mine said it would emit as much as 26 tons per year of particulate matter, 54.6 tons of nitrogen oxides and 30.5 tons of carbon monoxide from its plant. The plant would have to emit significantly more to trigger a lengthy permit process that would include public hearings.

Residents expressed as much frustration with the state agency and the permitting process as they did with the mine itself.

Where is TCEQ? asked Janet Bartek. Why arent they protecting us?

A creek that runs through the sand mines property also comes through Barteks land, and shes concerned about storm runoff during floods. Bartek doesnt want her dozen grandchildren playing near the creek any more. Shes also frustrated with local and state elected officials who have told residents there isnt much that can be done to stop something like a sand mine from moving into a rural area.

People are saying we dont have any laws, Bartek said. Make some laws. Were not getting support anywhere.

T.J. Doyle of Preferred Sands said he realizes the sand mine will have an impact on the community.

We hope its more positive than negative, Doyle told the crowd.

He asked for feedback and concerns. Doyle said construction plans for the facility are on hold while it considers whether it can mitigate some of the impact on residents  perhaps moving its plant, now sited directly across from homes, to another location, but the company couldnt make any promises, he said. Moving the plant would take it off of property that cant be mined and place it on property that could otherwise be mined, Doyle said.

The mine will also build roads on its property so that it can move trucks on and off site without traveling down gravel roads or passing as many houses as it originally planned. Its working with Atascosa County and the Texas Department of Transportation to pay for roadwork, including improvements to the intersection of Old Pleasanton Road and U.S. 281, where it would be difficult to safely cross large numbers of trucks.

The local VFW that hosted the community meeting was a packed. The format, though, didnt suit everyone who attended. The company brought several executives and contractors, everyone from geologists to engineers, stationing them at tables around the room with large displays. There was a brief presentation at the start from both the community opposition group and the company, and a chance to visit face-to-face with various executives and representatives, but Doyle said he did not want to do a Q&A.

Why are they trying to get out of answering the questions? one man called out.

Another left the meeting before it even started, angry that the company wouldnt speak to the entire room.

Good luck, he told other residents as he walked outside the VFW. Im wasting my time.

Doyle said they wanted to avoid a traditional public meeting format where they would be speaking from the front of the room. It creates an us verses them preachy scenario, he said.

Neighbors said they have a range of worries, from their likely soon-to-be diminished property values to the noise and dust from 24-hour truck traffic. People tap the Queens City or Carrizo-Wilcox aquifers here, some with water wells as shallow as 60 feet.

Obviously this is not what we would have chosen to have in our backyards, but its here, said Jessica Hardy.

Hardy last week visited one of Preferred Sands other mines in Wisconsin. That site, though, was set into a hilly area and blocked by pine trees  neighbors didnt have a direct view of the mining operations as they would in Atascosa County.

It was pretty devastating to see how big everything was, Hardy said. We pulled over on the side of the road after we left. We just needed a minute.

Theres also the 200-year-old mystery of the Battle of Medina.

Archival records indicate that about 1,300 rebel bodies from the Battle of Medina litter the countryside, although no one has proved the precise location of the fight. On Aug. 18, 1813, 1,400 Tejanos, Anglos and American Indians with the Republican Army of the North, defending the first republic of Texas, were crushed by more than 1,800 Spanish Royal Army forces. About 1,300 rebels died in battle or were executed. Only 55 Spanish troops were killed.

The Spanish forces included a young lieutenant, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who would become the Mexican president best known in Texas history for ordering a predawn assault on the Alamo on March 6, 1836.

A historical marker at Bruce Road and Old Applewhite Road, about 20 miles south of downtown San Antonio, commemorates the battle. Its across from the proposed mine.

Doyle said the company did an archaeological study that didnt turn up any artifacts.

Preferred Sands also has mines in Nebraska, Arizona and Wisconsin. The company has said that it would follow the guidelines and regulations of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Its Arizona mine is on Navajo Nation land, and it is well versed in what to do when artifacts are discovered, company officials said.

The frac sand mine would be just north of the Eagle Ford Shale, a 400-mile-long field producing around 1 million barrels of oil per day. Frac sand is more commonly mined in Brady, in the states geographic center, though most of the frac sand used in Texas wells comes by train from farther flung locations such as Minnesota or Wisconsin.

In the past decade, a boom in shale drilling has set off a boom in sand, too.

jhiller@express-news.net
Is Rick Perry the secretary of energy or the de-facto president of Texas A&M University?

Excuse this graduate (Class of 1994) for being confused. Because for the life of me, I cant understand why Perry would feel the need to weigh in on his alma maters student elections.

For those who missed the story, Robert McIntosh received the most votes in the election for student body president but, according to the Houston Chronicle, was disqualified amid accusations of voter intimidation and failure to report a campaign expense. That handed victory to a student named Bobby Brooks, who is gay.

Perry wrote an op-ed in the Chronicle questioning the decision to disqualify the election winner over election infractions -- only one of which stuck (the campaign expense) -- that seemed pretty minor. He offered his voice -- as a former student, former yell leader and former governor of the great state -- to say this was not the way to achieve diversity.

Now, Brooks presidency is being treated as a victory for diversity, Perry wrote. It is difficult to escape the perception that this quest for diversity is the real reason the election outcome was overturned. Does the principle of diversity override and supersede all other values of our Aggie Honor Code?

Every Aggie ought to ask themselves: How would they act and feel if the victim was different? What if McIntosh had been a minority student instead of a white male? What if Brooks had been the candidate disqualified? Would the administration and the student body have allowed the first gay student body president to be voided for using charity glow sticks? Would the student body have allowed a black student body president to be disqualified on anonymous charges of voter intimidation?

The irony here is that Perry -- the secretary of energy -- surely wouldnt have written this op-ed if diversity wasnt part of the equation. He wouldnt have been nearly as concerned if he didnt know Brooks sexual orientation. The need for answers wouldnt have been quite as urgent.

I side with those who said the secretary of energy must have other matters to address. Republican Congressman Joe Barton, R-Ennis, probably said it best with this quote, found in a Texas Tribune report:

I believe if youre going to have a student-run organization, then it ought to be student-run, Barton said. I certainly dont think this is worthy of federal intervention or former-governor intervention, but I do think on the merits the student that won, won. And maybe he should have paid a fine or something, but the candidate that got disqualified claims that he did not purchase the glow sticks, therefore did not think he had to report them. And to me, that seems to have merit. When somebody voluntarily gives you some material or something happens to be available, that shouldnt in and of itself be grounds for disqualification.

Then again, if you have a student-run organization, and the students make decisions, then generally you should stand back and let the students make those decisions, said Barton, the former chairman of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce.

I am proud to say Texas A&M is greater than any student election outcome, and any involvement of a former student (whether that person is the former governor or a newspaper editor). I wish Brooks the best. A legion of former students will be watching. Rick Perry made sure of that.
April is Volunteer Appreciation Month. Numerous nonprofit agencies will be celebrating their volunteers at a luncheon or with a small token gift. But April isnt the only time to recognize our fine volunteers. Chevron has been sponsoring the 52 Faces recognition of Midland volunteers for a couple of years now and they should certainly be commended. What a wonderful way to recognize the hundreds of thousands of active volunteers in our community. I know I personally look forward to seeing which worthy individual is being honored and which organizations in our community are benefiting from the hours they provide.

It seems since Baby Jessica was caught in the well, Midland has been recognized as a city with extremely charitable, giving people. Individuals and businesses alike are known for their philanthropy. Honestly, it seems like we should be able to recognize an individual every day of the week, given how many volunteers there are around Midland.

Meals on Wheels requires 246 volunteer hours per week to cook and deliver to the many shut-ins that they serve. The Midland Childrens Rehabilitation Center needs 64 volunteer hours every week to provide life-changing hippotherapy services. In 2016, Big Brothers Big Sisters had more than 750 hours spent with Littles. The Pickwick Players and Midland College students provided more than 3,500 hours assisting with Theatre School, Centerstage and Applause. The Midland County Public Library had 82 volunteers provide 1,764 hours.

These numbers are astounding -- especially when you realize these are only the numbers from a few of the wonderful nonprofit organizations in our community. There are more than 800 nonprofits in Midland. Play with the math on that and you just have to be amazed.

And speaking of amazing, what about all the local businesses and individuals that support events and organizations time after time. Midland is an oil and gas community. We live by it. Im not sure there is another community in Texas with such a philanthropic attitude. I wont individually name them -- the list is much too long. You need only receive an event invitation to see the long list of companies that have put up their money to support the organizations and their missions. And at each and every one of those companies, there are individuals who also give their personal time and money.

Chances are, you know of an individual who goes above and beyond for our community. It may be your neighbor or a co-worker. Why not nominate them for 52 Faces? The Midland Reporter Telegram has made the nomination process so easy that everyone should be submitting names. It literally takes less than 10 minutes to fill out the form -- and what nicer way to recognize the volunteer Sunday School teacher, the woman who reads to the elderly, the man who helps build homes for Habitat, or that board member who works so hard for a nonprofit organization just because they believe in the mission.

So Chevron -- thank you for being a great community member. Midland Reporter Telegram -- thank you for recognizing the amazing servants of our community in this partnership. And Midlanders, thank you for nominating these wonderful volunteers.

It is a blessing to be a part of such a community.

---

Gail Heathington is development director at Midland Childrens Rehabilitation Center
We are collating signatures to petition ...
President Donald Trump View Photos

President Trump was Mondays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words:

My fellow Americans,

This week, in the company of astronauts, I was honored to sign the NASA Transition Authorization Act right into law. With this legislation, we renew our national commitment to NASAs mission of exploration and discovery. And we continue a tradition that is as old as mankind. We look to the heavens with wonder and curiosity.

More than two decades ago, one scientist followed his curiosity and dramatically changed our understanding of the universe. The year was 1995. Taxpayers were spending billions and billions of dollars on NASAs Hubble Space Telescope. The astronomer in charge had a novel idea. He wanted to use the expensive telescope in a totally unconventional way.

Instead of pointing Hubbles eye at nearby stars or distant formations, Robert Williams wanted to peer into the void. He aimed the massive telescope at one of the emptiest regions of the night sky. For ten days during Christmas of 1995, Hubble stared into the abyssseeking whatever light it could glean from the darkness. And it was total darkness.

Fellow astronomers didnt know if hed see much of anything. But Williams was rewardedand the entire world was struck by the awesome images our satellite returned. In that tiny patch of sky, the Hubble Deep Field showed thousands of lights. Each brilliant spot represented not a single star but an entire galaxy.

The discovery was absolutely incredible. But the unforgettable image did not satisfy our deep hunger for knowledge. It increased evermore and even more and reminded us how much we do not know about space; frankly, how much we do not know about life.

With this weeks NASA reauthorization, we continue progress on Hubbles successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. It is amazing. The Webb Telescope is set to launch next year. It will gaze back through time and space to the very first stars and the earliest galaxies in the universe. We can only imagine what incredible visions it will bring.

At a time when Washington is consumed with the daily debates of our Nation, I was proud that Congress came together overwhelmingly to reaffirm our Nations commitment to expanding the frontiers of knowledge.

NASAs greatest discoveries teach us many, many things. One lesson is the need to view old questions with fresh eyes. To have the courage to look for answers in places we have never looked before. To think in new ways because we have new information. Most of all, new discoveries remind us that, in America, anything is possible if we have the courage and wisdom to learn.

In the span of one lifetime, our Nation went from black and white pictures of the first airplanes, to beautiful images of the oldest galaxies, captured by a camera in outer space.

I am confident that if Americans can achieve these things, there is no problem we cannot solve. There is no challenge we cannot meet. There is no aim that is too high.

Whatever it takes and however long it will be, we are a Nation of problem solversand the future belongs to us.

We are truly a great place to be. I love America.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here.
North Korea's military said Tuesday it has never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia and has no plans to do so, accusing the United States of spreading "groundless" rumors aim...
Jason Sinquefield would give anything to spend one more moment with his brother.

Popular 18-year-old shot dead in Orlando park

Man's brother: I feel like I failed him

Police: Black-type SUV may have been involved

RELATED: 18-year-old shot, killed at Orlando park

With his head bowed and Khalyl M. Wilson on his mind, that moment came  while he crouched over the spot where his brother was murdered Sunday night in an Orlando park.

Thats my baby brother. Thats my blood baby brother. This aint no home boy, this aint no best friend. Thats my little brother," Sinquefield said.

Friends and family members stopped by Pleasant Valley Park all day Monday. Right now, theres a small memorial growing for Wilson, who was well known in his neighborhood.

According to Orlando Police, the 18-year-old was shot outside the park near Ivey Lane at about 7:15 p.m. Sunday. Its a place where Wilson and his friends from the neighborhood often played basketball.

I love my grandbabies," said Jacqueline McCastler, Wilson's grandmother. "Whoever did this to my grandson, you may hide from man, but you wont hide from God almighty, who I serve," she said.

McCastler was joined by Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill. Hill said she checks on the park weekly because she got the city to invest close to $300,000 to revitalize the space for the neighborhood.

It really is heartbreaking to think the very thing we wanted to do was reinvigorate this park and make it vibrant and make it a neighborhood park and someone was so reckless to come and take a life, Hill said.

According to Orange County Public Schools, Wilson previously attended but was not currently enrolled at Jones High School. However, Sinquefield said his brother planned on going back to school Monday, the first day back from spring break.

He didnt drop out of Jones. He was going to school today. This was (supposed to be) his first day back," Sinquefield said.

He said he wanted to get his grades together. He wanted to graduate. He just said on (Facebook) Live like three days ago. He wanted to graduate. He want to stop all the stuff he (was) doing," Sinquefield said.

Meanwhile, district leaders said grief counselors were at the school Monday, because so many students knew Wilson.

Detectives are following up with witnesses and processing evidence to identify a suspect in the slaying.

I wasnt here for my brother; that is what beats me up the most," Sinquefield said. ...I wasnt here. Thats where I feel like I failed him at," he said.

Police have not released many details about a possible shooter but did say a black-type SUV may be involved. If you know who shot and killed Wilson, the 18-year-old's family members are asking you to call Crimeline at 1-800-423 TIPS.
British politicians want the U.K. government to have access to apps that use end-to-end encryption, after the London attacker apparently used WhatsApp before the attack.

British investigators: London attacker used WhatsApp

WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption

Lawmakers want investigators to be able to access encrypted messages

Investigators said Khalid Masood sent a message in the popular messaging app just before the London attacks that can't be accessed by law enforcement because it was encrypted.

WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, and British Home Secretary Amber Rudd has taken serious issue with the company. She wants Facebook to allow investigators to access the attacker's account.

Rudd told the BBC in an interview:

"It used to be that people would steam-open envelopes or just listen in on phones when they wanted to find out what people were doing, legally, through warrants. But in this situation, we need to make sure that our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted WhatsApp."

WhatsApp has said before that the end-to-end encryption makes it impossible for third parties to view its users' conversations. That includes the company itself.

So now, officials are hoping WhatsApp will create some sort of back door for future investigations like this one.

British government officials said they've invited tech companies to a meeting to talk about encrypted messaging on Thursday.

Facebook hasn't commented yet on the issue.
Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas and the Pro Bono Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas played host Friday to lawyers and district judges from within a 100-mile radius for a continuing education seminar on family law and related topics. The training was held in the assembly room at the Hale County Justice Center. Welcoming participants to the Friday session are Rosa M. Price (left), Sylvia Chavez and Luisa Vigil, Equal Justice Volunteer Program coordinators for Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas offices in Lubbock, Plainview and Amarillo, respectively, along with William E. Marple of Fort Worth, director of pro bono and bar relations for Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas.
Massachusetts securities regulators fined San Antonio-based Investment Professionals Inc. $100,000 for allegedly using aggressive sales practices that led to the sale of unsuitable investment products to elderly investors.

The broker-dealer and investment advisers also was ordered by the Massachusetts Securities Division to offer restitution to four clients and to hire an independent compliance consultant to review the firms policies governing supervision of its financial consultants who are registered in Massachusetts.

The consultant also must review the firms policies addressing the sale of securities to customers over the age of 65 and its compliance with rules on noncash compensation and gifts.

IPI is pleased to have resolved the complaint brought forth by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Securities in November, the firm said in an emailed statement. IPI continues to remain focused on serving our communities and customers. It declined further comment.

In the consent order issued last week, IPI neither admitted nor denied the alleged violations of Massachusetts securities laws.

IPI partners with community banks and credit unions to offer investment services to the institutions customers. IPI has about 90,000 clients and manages more than $8.2 billion in assets.

Massachusetts securities regulators accused IPI in a November administrative complaint of using high-pressure sales contests to reward agents even though the contests violated the firms own policies.

In one contest dubbed the 6th Annual Sales Incentive Contest: Survive the Mountain and approved by CEO and President Jay McAnelly, IPI representatives could win a ski trip to Beaver Creek, Colorado, for achieving up to $150,000 in sales, according to the complaint and consent order.

The complaint said IPIs intense focus on revenues has led to other supervisory failures beyond the sales contests. In one example, the complaint cited a Massachusetts woman in her mid-80s who visited an Eastern Bank branch and was persuaded by an IPI agent to purchase a CD linked to the performance of a basket of stocks or other investments. The CD was scheduled to mature in six years.

The woman believed that the principal of her investment would be protected and did not understand that she would potentially have to hold the CD until maturity for that to be the case, according to the consent order.

This case highlights the dangers of (an aggressive ) sales culture that leaves older customers exposed to pressure to buy unsuitable investments, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvan said in a statement. This is especially true when the broker dealer is operating out of a community bank.

This marks IPIs latest run-in with regulators. Last month, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, an industry regulatory organization, fined the firm $125,000. FINRA concluded that IPI lacked a reasonable supervisory system to detect and prevent non-bona fide and pre-arranged municipal bond trades.

Last summer, FINRA censured and fined IPI $170,000 after finding the firm failed to supervise nine of its stockbrokers.

In both matters, IPI consented to the fine without admitting or denying FINRAs findings.

pdanner@express-news.net
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San Antonio's own "Supernatural" star Jared Padalecki recently welcomed a third child to his family.

Padalecki, a Madison High School graduate, and his co-star in the show and in life, Genevieve Cortese, now have a daughter named Odette Eliott Padalecki.

RELATED: Supernatural star, San Antonio native Jared Padalecki hung out at Pat O'Brien's Saturday

The two actors shared photos of the newborn on their respective social media pages, saying they were using the announcement to raise funds and awareness for Planned Parenthood and the Human Rights Campaign.

Baby girl Padalecki was born on St. Patrick's Day. She has two big brothers Tom, 4, and Shepherd, 2, according to E! News.

RELATED: 'Gilmore Girls' heartthrob Jared Padalecki expecting third child

The family currently lives in Austin, according to Cortese's Instagram account.

Padalecki's show, which premiered in 2005, is in its 12th season. He also recently starred in the Netflix revival of "Gilmore Girls."

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
McDonald's wants to ease the stress of STAAR tests with two days of free breakfast in the San Antonio area.

The fast food chain, which has offered a day of free breakfast for the past two years in conjunction with Texas' standardized test, has added a second day of free food this year, according to a news release from the company.
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The Massachusetts state Legislature hasn't forgotten the Houston Police Department's role in finding Tom Brady's stolen Super Bowl jersey.

State representative Harold Naughton will honor HPD Monday morning for its role in the jersey's recovery.

Naughton will present the commendation at 9 a.m. in the HPD headquarters at 1200 Travis to Chief Art Acevedo, who will accept the recognition on behalf of the department.

Naughton chairs the Massachusetts House of Representatives' Public Safety and Homeland Safety Committee. He is traveling through Houston this week.
One Fine Affair: Lindsey Lakes, 16536 Mueschke, Cypress. 7 p.m. Thursday. $50. 713-557-5732. Auction proceeds benefit REACH Unlimited, Inc., dedicated to providing support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Katy Sip 'n' Stroll: Villagio Town Center, 22764 Westheimer Parkway, Katy. 5-8 p.m. Saturday. $35, $65 VIP. 713-557-5732.

Sugar Land Wine & Food Affair: 445 Commerce Green, Sugar Land. April 6-9. $50 and up. 713-747-9463. sugarlandwineandfoodaffair.com.

"Second Chances" wine-tasting: AOC/The Texas Wine School, 2301 Portsmouth. 3-6 p.m. April 8. $60 or $100 for two. 713-248-6381 or cp@avvwine.com. Benefits the construction of new orphanages in India.

Raise Your Glass to CIS: Bay Oaks Country Club, 14545 Bay Oaks, 3-7 p.m. April 10. $75. 281-486-6698, RaiseYourGlasstoCIS.org. Benefits Communities In Schools-Bay Area, a dropout-prevention program.

Ongoing wine education: The Texas Wine School, 2301 Portsmouth. thetexaswineschool.com. 713-828-7767.

Weekly free tastings: Houston Wine Merchant, 2646 S. Shepherd. 5:30 p.m. Fridays and 2 p.m. Saturdays. 713-524-3397. French Country Wines, 2433 Bartlett. Noon-6 p.m. Saturdays. 713-993-9500. Vino and Vinyl, 3340 FM 1092, Suite 150, Missouri City. 2-4 p.m. Saturdays. 281-208-7453. Vine Wine Room, 12420 Memorial, 3 p.m. Saturdays. 713-463-8463.
Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Dear Carolyn:

What are your thoughts on wedding gifts when not invited to the wedding? A family member had a destination wedding six months ago. We were told they weren't having any guests but later learned several couple-friends of theirs accompanied them. They spent nearly eight months doing extensive renovations to their new home, and then sent out invitations to a cookout to come see their new digs. When we arrived, this "cookout" was fully catered, had valet parking attendants and had over a hundred guests. There was a gift table -- not everyone brought gifts -- but I would say there were 25 or so on the table.

I have heard through the grapevine that this family member is very upset that we didn't acknowledge her wedding "properly." We sent a card at the time and had a bottle of champagne delivered to their hotel room.

Have I missed something? Are understated, long-after-the-fact wedding receptions now a thing? It didn't occur to me that it was a gift-giving occasion as it was so long after the wedding and the invitation didn't mention the wedding. The wedding we were not invited to attend.

The word is this person is not speaking to me until I "make things right." We often go a month or two without contact so I don't know if we just haven't talked or if she is not talking to me. Should I clear the air or ignore?

-- Not Invited

Oh my goodness, ignore -- because that's the proper way to accept the gift of having a jerk drop voluntarily out of your life.

Since when do a card and champagne constitute a failure to acknowledge a wedding? One you were not invited to attend?

Maybe you need to get along with these people for the sake of the family, but if that's the case, then it's incumbent upon the couple to talk to you directly. Their choosing to have invisible hoops for you to jump through, and then to punish you silently for your failure to jump through them, conveniently keeps all the responsibility with them -- because technically you don't know anything about this.

Plus, the word of the grapevine is not only cowardly, be it on the part of the rumor-monger if it's not true, or on the bride's part if it is -- it's also not binding. Again, how can you be accountable for something of which you have no direct knowledge?

So treat the couple as you always have. That is, act as if nothing is wrong because you did nothing wrong, and let them come to you with any grievance themselves. If they act frosty to you, then act as surprised by that as you have every right to be. "You didn't even say hello to me. Is something wrong?"

Re: Bridezilla:

You don't even know alleged Bridezilla said this. Who knows? The gift table at the party may have been a relative's suggestion, as people always bring gifts to everything. As Carolyn said, I would ignore the busybody who took it upon him/herself and keep on truckin'.

-- Bridezilla's Mouthpiece
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The audience sat patiently as the first of more than 40 young pianists lined up in the wings of the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre Sunday afternoon ready to share their music with the world at the free concert, "Music is for Everyone."

Sarah Murphy, 44, stood backstage as her three children, Auden, 12, Atticus, 8 and Cecilia also 8, found their places and held their books filled with sheet music eager for the performance to begin.

Piano teacher Linda Camann looked over the line-up of compositions her students had selected as family members, friends and music lovers took their seats.

Murphy said every Saturday her kids give up other activities for piano practice with Camann.

"It means very much to my children," Murphy said. "My kids learn how to socialize positively and they learn patience."

The concert is in honor of the LGSM Foundation that Camann named after her mentor, Lillian Gertrude Sims McRitchie, 29 years ago, to help children with disabilities study music.

The free concert featured ensemble and solo performances on seven pianos by 40 beginning, intermediate and advanced students.

When Camann took the stage she told the audience she had some lovely children and adults who wanted to share their music and leave them with precious memories.

The youngsters then filed on stage and opened the concert singing, "This is It!" from the Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Show, followed by a series of songs that included, the theme from Star Wars, "Over the Rainbow," and "This Land is Your Land."

The piano teacher knows the obstacles some of her students have had to overcome, herself having contracted a virus at the age of 2 that paralyzed her. McRitchie taught Camann piano lessons for 11 years free of charge in Hobart, Indiana. And during her student's stays at the hospital, the teacher was by her side, lifting her spirits.

Years later, after reuniting with McRitchie, Camann started the foundation. Today Camann teaches San Antonio children with disabilities with the same love and spirit of her mentor McRitchie.

Thomas Pasquale, 18, mingled with friends, amid rounds of high fives, toward the end of the first part of the concert that included 35 songs. He taught the youngsters in the LGSM Sign Choir their rendition of Toy Story's "You've got a Friend in Me."

Cristina Kazmierczak, 22, played her favorite selection, "The Caisson Song," with her instructor and Camann's son, Mark Camann. Her song was in honor of her father, retired Army Lt. Col. Mark Kazmierczak and her brothers, Javier and Marky.

"It makes me happy," Cristina said, "and it gives me a lot of experience."

Her mother, Aida Kazmierczak, 57, said the instructors are great teachers, but even better people.

"They really put their heart and soul into what they do," she said. "You can see that the children appreciate what they're doing."
An all-out Selena fest took over South Texas for the 3rd Annual Fiesta de La Flor Festival last weekend.

The 2-day music festival brought out generations of fans, artists and celebrities like "Orange is The New Black" star Jackie Cruz to Corpus Christi's North Bayfront Park to celebrate the Queen of Tejano.
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Sunrise wasnt even a rumor as a bakers dozen guys gathered in the parking lot of St. Lukes Episcopal Church in Alamo Heights early  very early  one morning recently.

Theyd come for their regularly scheduled F3 Nation workout, a relatively new-to-San Antonio men-only outdoor boot camp that mixes exercise with brotherly (emphasis on bro) camaraderie and a pinch of mostly nondenominational spirituality.

Also present, one nervous FNG (friendly new guy in F3-speak), curious to see what all the fuss was about.

FNGs interest was piqued by his friend Steve (F3 Name: The Saint), whod been raving about the workout hed been doing three, sometimes four times a week since Christmas.

The 45-minute workout is brutal, The Saint warned, but its not a competition. Participants can make adjustments based on their fitness level and any physical shortcomings. Good news for those with bad backs and bum knees. No one, he assured, would be pushed beyond their limits.

There are plenty of boot camp workouts out there, if thats how you roll. But F3 is unusual for a couple of reasons:

First, all F3 workouts are free of charge. That means no gym contract to sign, no monthly credit card charges, no pledging your firstborn to cancel a membership.

And second, each workout is led by a different person, called the Q, who usually has no formal fitness training. So every session is different, based on each Qs various whims. (Also, if someone tells you theyre certified in F3, theyre lying.)

F3  the name stands for Fitness, Fellowship and Faith  launched on Jan. 1, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Led by founders Tim Whitmire and Dave Redding, the movement (its not really a company, both men still have full-time jobs) has since spread to more than 580 locations in 18 states, according to Whitmire.

If it was just a workout, people would get tired of it and stop coming, he said, explaining F3s success. Because leadership passes to someone new every day, you never know what youre going to be doing. The Qs like to innovate and top one another with their workouts.

For those who might wonder about the liabilities inherent in F3s everyones a leader, no ones in charge worldview, Whitmire says, We tell people that they have to follow their own will and use discretion when working out.

The disclaimer on the website is even more direct: The premises upon which F3 workouts are conducted are not owned or maintained by F3, it reads in part. F3 makes no representations of any kind regarding their safety.

In other words, if you show up and hurt yourself, its on you and you alone.

F3 made the leap to San Antonio in 2013 when Francisco Robelo moved here from Charlotte to take a job with USAA Federal Savings Bank. He and another North Carolina emigre soon conspired to launch an Alamo City branch.

For a couple of months, it was just the two of us in the St. Lukes parking lot, he said. But if you build it, they will come, and eventually we started getting neighbors, people from work and our kids friends dads.

Today, you can F3 every day but Sunday, either at St. Lukes or in the park at Jackson-Keller and McCullough.

But be warned: The exercises are difficult and include  based on the Q  everything from extensive calisthenics to running to push-ups, lunges and burpees.

Other than gloves to protect their hands, participants usually use nothing but their body weight and the nearby features (stairs, benches, inclines, etc.) to get an exhausting, but also exhilarating, workout.

Its exactly the type of interval training that a recent study found can actually slow the aging process on the cellular level. Published in the journal Cell Metabolism and reported in this newspaper, the study found that bursts of high-intensity exercise interspersed with short periods of rest can keep you younger, longer by triggering cells to produce more of the proteins that fuel them.

Over the years, F3 has developed its own language thats all but indecipherable to the uninitiated.

The websites guy-friendly lexicon lists hundreds of entries, from downpainment, the daily physical price of staying fit, and fartsack (the bed one must leave to go workout) to knocker upper (its a person who wakes up someone else to go work out) and Kevin Durant (someone who frequently strays to work out with other F3 groups).

All F3 members are also given their own F3 name, which usually refers to something unique about the person. A Marine member is Gomer (as in Pyle). Steve is The Saint because he works for a nonprofit and attends church regularly. And Robelo is called Madonna because hes from Argentina, which is where Eva Peron was first lady, and in the movie version of the musical of Evita, Madonna played the title role.

Names are bestowed during the post-workout COT, or Circle of Trust. On this morning, the still-friendly but no-longer-new guy was dubbed Paperboi (insisting on the alternative spelling), for what should be obvious reasons.

rmarini@express-news.net

Twitter: @RichardMarini
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DANBURY - A state plan to increase the credits needed to graduate high school by 25 percent would not be implemented until 2019 under legislation in Hartford that has every appearance of becoming law.

But for Danbury, which has the largest high school in the state, the two-year postponement of the stricter graduation requirements is not long enough.

Im disappointed, because I think this creates an unfunded mandate, said Sal Pascarella, the superintendent of the citys growing school district. In my case, we would need to add another nine to 12 teachers at a time of increasing enrollment, and I dont think that adding graduation requirements is the best way to spend our resources.

The bill in Hartford, which was unanimously approved by the Education Committee last week, is seen as a concession to critics who argued that stricter graduation requirements scheduled to take effect in the fall are rigid and onerous.

The bill would still require Connecticut high school seniors to have 25 credits at graduation instead of the current 20 credits. But it would give districts more flexibility to decide which courses would count toward graduation. The bill would also replace a requirement that seniors complete a capstone project with a less stringent standard, such as an internship.

The compromises and the extra two years to implement the tougher requirements were enough for lawmakers to approve the legislation for a vote.

It is not a perfect bill, but it is a step in the right direction, said Michael Ferguson a member of the Danbury school board, who also represents Danbury, New Fairfield and Ridgefield in the state House of Representatives.

Ferguson was one of 36 lawmakers on the bipartisan, bicameral Education Committee who approved the bill for a full Senate vote after hearing support for it from statewide groups and Connecticut Education Commissioner Dianna Wentzell.

The department strongly supports this, because it raises expectations for increased coursework for all students, Wentzell said in a prepared statement. It also provides students with the flexibility to develop their own individualized course pathways based on their interests and future plans.

The legislations proponents also say higher standards may help close the achievement gap between students in affluent districts and those in schools with fewer resources.

Is this going to close the achievement gap? Ferguson asked on Monday. I am not convinced yet; I fear it could almost make it bigger. But I also believe in strong standards and rigor.

Districts here and across the state have already started planning for the tougher graduation requirements.

In Newtown, for example, next years seniors will have to complete 23 credits to graduate. Shepaug Valley School in Washington has already adopted the 25-credit requirement. Elsewhere, such as Joel Barlow High School in Redding, college-bound students routinely graduate with 25 credits, administrators said.

Its no different in Danbury, Pascarella said.

We have a number of kids who are exceeding 25 credits - I just dont see the need to require it at this point for all students, Pascarella said. Having higher standards sounds good but no one is funding it, yet they are mandating it.

rryser@newstimes.com; 203-731-3342.
Juanita Vera never feels truly at ease among friends and family, and every time she meets a new acquaintance she wonders, 'Could you be the one?'

Her son's murderer is still out there somewhere, and ever since 2004 when he was killed, she wonders if someone close to her could be involved; smiling to her face and hiding the dark secret. Not many could relate to that feeling, and she keeps her fearful curiosity to herself most of the time.

But once a month in the basement of Grace United Methodist Church on Heights Boulevard, she can relax and talk with other people - parents, sisters and brothers of murder victims - who understand how she feels.

The Heights Chapter of the Parents of Murdered Children, an international organization based in Ohio, has met in the church since 1997. Its attendance ebbs and flows, said Andy Kahan, victims' rights advocate with the city of Houston, as families deal with the roller coaster of the criminal justice system. Some stop coming after they're loved one's killer is convicted, some become advocates and formally join the chapter. And some just keep coming, like Vera, because they don't know what else to do.

At last Tuesday night's meeting, they sat together at the "unsolved cases" table and listened to developments in other cases, drank coffee and shared pictures of their children.

The chapter not only serves as a grief support group, but also as a place for families to come and find help navigating a slow-moving and confusing court system they've been thrown into. Kahan has been the main resource for families ever since the group began. He's a former parole and probation officer and with the help of family of murder victims, he has worked to pass national legislation that prohibits murderers from profiting from their crimes. They're called "murderbilla" laws and they make it illegal for convicted murderers to make money on books about their crimes or from selling their personal effects (from poems and art to fingernails and hair) to those with a flare for the macabre.

As a victims' rights advocate, he and the other group members are busy in the coming days as April 2-8 is National Crime Victim's Rights Week. The national awareness campaign is sponsored through the U.S. Dept. of Justice, and members of POMC will be hosting several events throughout Houston.

This year, one mother will have a bit of extra comfort during the activities now that her daughter's killer is in jail after a highly-publicized and controversial trial.

Kay Renger's 39-year-old daughter, Brandy Renger, was murdered by her boyfriend in 2014. And although Jose Salas-Bustamente was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison in January of this year, the family suffered extra emotional trauma because of an unprecedented turn of events at the trial.

The defense attorney Grant Shiner, had Brandy's father removed from the courtroom after opening statements by telling Judge Jeannine Barr that he intended to call Dr. Everett Renger as a witness. This came as a shock to the Rengers and prosecutors as Everett was never subpoenaed and had no information on the case to offer. Kay knew from the beginning that she would take the witness stand, so she was aware she would be barred from hearing other testimony, but her husband's removal was something Kahan had never seen in his 30-year career in criminal justice.

Kahan and prosecutors tried to appeal to Judge Barr with motions to allow Mr. Renger back in the courtroom, but she denied all requests.

"They were using it as an excuse to get the family out of the courtroom so the jury wouldn't feel sorry for us when we cried, which we did," said Kay.

By the end of the trial, Shiner still had not called the victim's father to the stand.

"When the judge asked if the attorney would still be calling Everett to testify, in one simple word, he said, 'no'," said Kahan.

Mr. Renger wasn't allowed back in the courtroom until after resting arguments.

Throughout all of the drama, Juanita Vera and Ruth Marin-Eason, leader of the Heights chapter, were by Renger's side in the courtroom. They wore pins with pictures of their lost loved ones on their clothes and intercepted media for the family.

Kahan also attends parole hearings with families to help make sure the killers of their loved ones stay in prison as long as possible. This week, he informed the group about legislation that was just introduced in the Texas House by Representative Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston. House Bill 2120 would enable violent offenders to receive "good time credit" instead of having to serve at least half of their initial sentence before becoming eligible for parole. He urged them to call their local representatives and tell them to kill the bill. The group of about 10 people unanimously agreed they would be speaking out.

Kay Renger admits that without Kahan and other members of the POMC, she wouldn't have known what to do with the unexpected legal challenge, or with the media attention. And she'll keep coming to the meetings in the church basement because, just like Vera, it offers a chance to just be herself, and not pretend to be the person she was before her child was murdered.

"You just don't recover," said Renger. "I think this is one of the few places there are where I feel like myself and everyone understands your grief, and that's comforting."
Fort Bend Christian Academy teacher Robert Mirza is both an artist and linguist. Not only has he lived all over the globe, but he can speak, and therefore think, in seven languages. As a polyglot, Mirza has a deep appreciation of culture, aesthetics and the world as a whole.

"I started drawing with the concept of sharing an idea at age 6, and I knew the importance of learning a third language at age 7," Mirza said.

Mirza has lived in five countries including Egypt, Uruguay, Curacao, Holland and Guadeloupe, a French overseas territory. Each language, Mirza says, has expressions that do not exist in other languages. To elaborate his point, Mirza used the unique Arabic expression mahlesh which translates to "it is not the end of the world if that happens/do not worry, because there is nothing you can do about it."

Mahlesh translated into the languages Mirza speaks:

Spanish: Que se puede hacer? What can you do about it? As in, to accept destiny.

French: Qu'est-ce qu'on peut faire? Ca n'y fait rien. What can we do about it? It doesn't really matter.

Italian: Ma cosa si fa?/Non fa niente! What can we do about it?/It doesn't really matter!

Portuguese: Tanto faz/Nao e grave. It is the same/It is not that serious.

Papiamentu: Ta kiko nos por hasi?/ E no ta dje erg. What can we do about it?/It is not to worry about or not that bad.

Dutch: Niets eraan te doen. Nothing to do about it/Listen, that is not to worry about/Come on, it is not that bad.

Language, Mirza discovered, has an impact on the way people live and the choices they make-or perhaps vice versa. For example, a Dutch phrase he often heard was mag niet which means "it is not allowed," and there are assumptions in Dutch culture about what is mag niet.

"Holland is one of the countries in the world where people are the happiest," Mirza said. "There is a high sense of morality and universal sense of what you can do or not do morally speaking which might have bad consequences for society as a whole. I have witnessed firsthand comments like: 'If I fix my plumbing myself, then I would be partly to blame for unemployed plumbers.' Of course that is extreme thinking, but not uncommon way of thinking in a country with lots of social benefits for all its population."

Fond Memories of Curacao

Out of all the places he has lived or visited, Curacao is Mirza's favorite. During the Second World War, Curacao was the banking heart of Holland and the fueling station of the Allied Forces. Mirza's family were members of the Alliance Francaise of Curacao from 1968 to 2000. French culture was well-represented with activities throughout the year, especially on Bastille Day, a bustling occasion in which the whole island is aware of the festivities and people must make reservations far in advance.

"While in Curacao, chirping birds at the porch woke me up every day, as if I were inside a children's book. "If you are a friendly and open-minded person, you would enjoy living on a tiny island with 55 different nationalities. If after living in a place, natives embrace you and tell you that you became a local, as opposed to treating you like a stranger, the country becomes your home."

Nevertheless, Mirza cherishes all the countries he has experienced as each place has something extraordinary to offer.

"In Egypt, due to the fertility of the Nile, no fruit or vegetable I ever ate anywhere on Earth tasted as good as Egyptian fruits or vegetables. The hospitality in Egypt is something that is taken very seriously, and the host always spoils his or her guests."

In Holland, Mirza noticed the excellence of transportation.

"The busses in Holland leave and arrive exactly on time, not even a minute late. It is also exceptionally bike-friendly. I used to bike back and forth to college every day without fearing that a driver would ever hit me. Biking was a real pleasure, rain or shine, and the landscaping is like living inside a fairy tale. All trees look perfect, even the quantity and where they are placed. Street lighting is also impeccable, since Philips/Norelco/Magnavox is the country's light bulbs company, so you never bike in the dark."

Mirza commended Uruguay for its churrasco (beef), and the beautiful vacation spot, Punta del Este, known for La Mano, a sculpture of human fingers partially emerging from the sand at Brava Beach. His jovial nature is evident in his memories, as Mirza is capable of taking what many would deem annoying, such as a rooster crowing every morning in Guadeloupe, and illuminating the good - not needing an alarm clock to wake up at the Ecole Normal, a school where students are trained to be teachers.

Why Mirza Came to Houston

With such extraordinary and wonderful experiences abroad, many wonder why and how a man like Mirza ended up in Texas. The answer is simple-Mirza wanted to teach.

"It was 1979," he said. "Besides languages, I also loved teaching art and producing art."

Mirza has created many works of art inspired by his travels, including an oil painting of a Dutch windmill and another of a pontoon bridge in Curacao. He had a few options of schools where he could pursue his artistic endeavors.

"California seemed too expensive. Miami seemed dangerous. But at that time, Houston was and still is, a booming and friendly city," he said.

Just like his other homes, Mirza finds much to admire in the city of Houston.

"I like Houston for its cultural and religious diversity and its appreciation of art, language and international cuisine," he said. "I am also a fan of the Houston Symphonic Orchestra and the Houston Art Festival. This city is a place where you can be all you want to be, since I also succeeded as a fine artist."

Teaching at FBCA

Fort Bend Christian Academy students studying French admit that it is not an easy class, but they enjoy it nonetheless.

"Mr. Mirza is patient with all us, and we really appreciate his help," student Andrea Kohlenberg said.

Another student, Jose Venegas, said he admired Mr. Mirza's teaching style and how he is a humble and kind person who is always helping others.

"I like the way he teaches French by comparing it to art," Jose said. "I have improved my French because he encourages us to keep trying even if we are having trouble."

His relevant tidbits and inspiring anecdotes engage learners, and the FBCA community is thankful to have gifted educators like Mirza, but why did he choose to teach at a private, Christian school?

"It's like I was saying about the island of Curacao, with its transparent waters and way of making you feel like you belong there ..." he said. "FBCA has transparent people with the same noble goal of working as a team for the benefit of the students and following the example of Jesus Christ openly, without being shy or too quiet about it. Who wouldn't like to be part of an educational system where we celebrate the students, their present and future while at the same time we celebrate the joy of Christ?"

Mr. Mirza began teaching in the middle of the fall semester, taking over classes for the beloved Claude Boutin.

"I already spoke French proficiently, but after Monsieur Boutin passed away I was left with very little interaction with other people where I was speaking French," Kaden Lewis, French IV student said. "I also lost a little hope in learning the French language. However, Monsieur Mirza aided all of the students through that process while still giving us very good instruction in the language. I am grateful for him helping me regain the drive to continue learning the language. He has aided us in learning the language and thinking more deeply about it on a day-to-day basis."
History offers few moments like last week where a nation's future can be changed for the better. Given a choice between President Trump with more freedom for Americans and ObamaCare with more government, I chose to stand with President Trump and freedom.

I've fought seven long years to repeal ObamaCare and even longer to end using taxpayer funding for abortions at Planned Parenthood. My constituents in Texas told me they were upset to watch some Republicans in Congress celebrating alongside Nancy Pelosi and former President Obama after the bill's defeat.

The bill which I helped lead included a lifetime of Reagan-style conservative achievements, such as ending $1 trillion in harmful taxes on patients, families and local businesses; repealing over $1 trillion in federal spending; and finally stopping the government from forcing Americans to buy health care they can't afford and don't want.

The bill went further, though. It included the first reforms to the fastest growing entitlement in America, Medicaid. By giving states the flexibility to design Medicaid to fit the healthcare needs of each unique state and providing the option of a work requirement for able-bodied adults, this bill saved over $880 billion  a historic step toward financial soundness for America's budget.

It also took the first step toward more affordable health care by restoring state control and restoring the free market so my constituents in Texas have more choices and better plans. In contrast to ObamaCare which uses taxpayer dollars to fund over 1,000 insurance plans that include abortions, this bill expanded the Hyde amendment to ensure that the individual tax credits cannot be used for this controversial procedure.

Despite President Trump's personal engagement, the bill fell short of the 216 votes needed for passage. As a result, ObamaCare continues with its damaging taxes, mandates and too-expensive health care. It is a sinking ship and I worry that many Texans will be hurt when it goes under in the next few years.

***

President Trump is moving on and so are we. Sure, there will likely be a push for "show votes" from Republicans who sunk the bill to fully repeal ObamaCare, repeat the reconciliation bill from 2015 or replace it entirely. But everyone knows these are doomed to failure. They all require Democratic support. Anyone truly believe that will happen?

***

Despite this, I am not discouraged. Now we turn our focus to the first tax reform for America in a generation. I'm proud to lead that effort in Congress and look forward to working with President Trump to deliver on this promise.

Can you imagine a tax code so fair and simple nine out of 10 Americans will be able to file using a postcard system? And local businesses will enjoy the lowest tax rates in modern history so they can invest more in their workers, their business and their community.

After decades of watching America's manufacturing jobs and companies leave for China, Mexico, Ireland and Canada, why not watch those jobs return to America because Washington no longer gives huge tax breaks to foreign products over those "Made in America?"

Can you imagine America leapfrogging from 31st in the world for competitive tax codes into the top three best places on the planet for new jobs and investment? This is exciting.

U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, chairs the House Ways and Means Committee. Call his office at 936-441-5700.
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FAIRFIELD  A few months of surveillance proved worth it Friday when police snagged three men for passing bogus $100 bills at Victorias Secret.

Police had been watching the store since receiving reports of the use there of counterfeit bills. The merchandise bought with the fake money would then be returned to other Victorias Secret locations.

On Friday, prior to 5 p.m., one of the officers alerted the stores manager as to what they were doing, and, as luck would have it, she said a man in a blue hooded sweatshirt just used what she thought were fake $100 bills. Another officer spotted the suspect, later identified as Ismael Culzac, 18, crossing the street and carrying a pink and black bag from the store. There were two other men  Joseph Abankwa, 19, and Hayale Smtih, 19  waiting across the street.

The store manager said she did not call police when she received the $100 bills, which she said seemed to be a different size and felt different, because of store policy. The bills, police said, had no watermark, and several had the same serial number. The manager identified all three as having used the fake money in the store that afternoon.

Abankwa and Culzac were both charged with sixth-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit sixth-degree larceny, and first-degree forgery.

In addition to the forger charge, Smith was charged with fifth-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit fifth-degree larceny and interfering with a police officer because Smith initially gave police a false name.

All three were given bonds of $5,000, which Abankwa and Smith posted. All New York residents, the trio is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Bridgeport on April 7.

greilly@ctpost.com; @GreillyPost
Bill Condons hybrid live action/digital remake of the tale as old as time has sumptuous special effects and enhanced character backstories.

Set in rural France in 1740, it introduces brainy Belle (Emma Watson) whose academic father, Maurice (Kevin Kline), has been imprisoned in the Beasts labyrinthine castle.

Because he was once a spoiled young Prince, spurning pleas for assistance from an old lady/witch, the ghastly, horned Beast (Dan Stevens) has been cursed until he can find true love.

Eager to escape the confines of her provincial village and unwelcome romantic advances by boorish, boastful Gaston (Luke Evans), Belle offers to exchange places with her beloved father.

Welcomed by the Beasts anthropomorphic household, Belle meets Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson, warbling the title song), her son Chip (Nathan Mack), candelabra Lumiere (Ewan McGregor), mantel clock Cogsworth (Ian McKellen), feather-duster Plumette (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), Madame Garderobe (Audra MacDonald) and her harpsichord husband, Maestro Cadenza (Stanley Tucci).

Their lavishly dazzling, Busby Berkeley-like Be Our Guest musical number took six months of planning and 15 months to complete.

Transitioning from Harry Potters pal Hermione Granger to fabled Belle, Emma Watson exudes feisty cleverness, ingeniously inventing a laundry mechanism using a horse and a barrel.

Walking on lifts in a prosthetic muscle suit, Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) personifies the gruff yet intellectual Beast via performance capture and MOVA, a facial capture system.

While Beauty and the Beast bond over their shared love of literature, too much has been made of Gastons admiring sidekick LeFou (Josh Gad) being gay; its a subtle nuance, nothing more.

Adapted by Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) and Evan Spiliotopoulos (The Huntsman: Winters War), it reflects the contemporary social consciousness thats been raised since 1991, when Disneys animated version was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award.

Director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) and musicians Alan Menken have added four new songs, including the bittersweet ballad, How Does a Moment Last Forever.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Beauty and the Beast is an elegant, yet nostalgic 8. Its enchanting.
Albany

In this week's New York state government news, it's crunch time for lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the April 1 budget deadline approaches.

Key decisions are likely on taxes, increased college tuition assistance and Uber's upstate expansion.

Meanwhile, ethics and election reforms may not make it in the final budget, which lawmakers and Cuomo are now negotiating behind closed doors.

A look at what to expect:

Taxes

Cuomo, a Democrat, is proposing no significant changes to taxes, and wants to continue a phased-in middle-class tax cut. He also wants to keep tax rates on wealthy earners unchanged.

Senate Republicans want to reduce taxes on the highest incomes, but Assembly Democrats favor a tax increase.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio traveled to Albany on Wednesday to make a personal push for higher taxes on the wealthy, as well as his plan to allow the city to tax high-end real estate sales.

With the Senate firmly opposed, it's unlikely the Assembly plan will get much traction in negotiations. But with Cuomo opposed to reducing taxes on the rich, it's just as unlikely the Republican tax cut will survive.

What may get left out

Cuomo again proposed ethics reforms this year to combat Albany's chronic corruption problem. And again they appear to be languishing as the budget deadline nears.

Other proposals that would make it easier to register to vote and create early voting in an effort to boost turnout are also getting little attention in the final days of budget talks.

Government watchdog groups say lawmakers should tighten campaign finance rules, beef up enforcement and restrict the income lawmakers can earn from outside jobs. That last proposal has run into opposition in the Senate, where members say outside work gives lawmakers a broader perspective.

Democrats in the Assembly, meanwhile, have dismissed proposals to impose term limits on lawmakers or legislative leaders.

Senate Leader John Flanagan, a Long Island Republican, defended this year's inaction by saying that lawmakers have passed "very, very significant ethics reforms" in recent years.

College tuition

Cuomo is proposing to make tuition at state colleges and universities free for students from families making up to $125,000. The Senate and Assembly have competing plans, both of which will give some help to private school students as well.

With Cuomo having made this a priority for the year and both chambers agreeing on the need for action the prospects for some increased college tuition assistance is high.

Upstate Uber

Another year and there's another down-to-the-wire effort by Uber and Lyft to expand into upstate New York.

The two app-based ride-hailing services are now limited to the New York City area. For years they've sought state authorization to move into cities like Buffalo, Albany and Rochester. But under pressure from the taxi industry lawmakers have failed to act.

This year Uber and Lyft are hoping pressure from residents and business owners will work. The two companies note that upstate is now one of the largest areas in the country without their services.

Stay tuned

Two high-profile proposals could come down to the last minute.

Cuomo and Assembly Democrats want to end the state's practice of prosecuting 16- and 17-year-olds as adults, but the Senate has so far been cool to the idea.

Cuomo has pushed a plan to encourage local governments to share services to cut costs  but many lawmakers from both parties are critical of micromanaging cities and counties.
NEW CANAAN  A juvenile was seriously injured at a house party on Oenoke Ridge Road Saturday night, March 25.

New Canaan police are looking for information about a youth party where an unidentified male suffered serious injuries. The juvenile, who was taken to Norwalk Hospital, had been released from the hospital by Wednesday, March 29.

Police declined to provide further information about the incident, citing the ongoing investigation.

The incident was not explicitly listed on the police departments daily incident log, but the document included a heavily redacted item from late Saturday night. The incident, listed as a medical assist, appears to show that at least six emergency vehicles were dispatched to a call sometime between 10:30 p.m. and midnight.

Police redacted the address, time, vehicle number and call number.

New Canaan public school officials did not respond to multiple inquiries as to whether or not New Canaan students were involved or if the schools will also be investigating the incident.

Anyone with information about the party or the cause of the juveniles injuries can contact the New Canaan Police Investigative Section at 203-594-3523, or use the anonymous tip line at 203-594-3544 or the My PD App.
Political events

in the Bay Area

Rallies and protest events are a part of political life in the Bay Area. Heres a roundup of whats happening.

Tuesday

Rally aimed at Feinstein: A call for Sen. Dianne Feinstein not to strike compromises with the Trump administration. The event, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m, begins outside the Montgomery Street BART Station, 598 Market St., San Francisco, and end outside Feinsteins office, 1 Post St. For information: http://bit.ly/2njpqvN

Wednesday

Sanctuary panel: Panel talk on sanctuary cities, as well as stories of immigration challenges. The event featuring immigration attorneys and former members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors begins at 6:30 p.m., 3271 18th St., San Francisco.

Privacy meeting: Hosted by the Oakland Privacy Working Group to organize against the surveillance state, against Urban Shield and to advocate for privacy and surveillance regulation ordinances to be passed around the Bay Area. The event is from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Ave. in Oakland.

Thursday

Womens event: A happy hour and panel discussion featuring female entrepreneurs, Nevertheless, She Persisted: An Evening with Fearless Women. The event is from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at DoubleDutch, 350 Rhode Island St., Suite 375 in San Francisco. For information: http://bit.ly/2nxMB6e

Friday

Transgender Day event: The Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center will host a free event to commemorate Transgender Day of Visibility. The event will begins at 5:30 p.m. at SOMArts, 934 Brannan St. in San Francisco.

Sunday

Political event: Take Back America with U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, who will discuss the California Congressional picture and host a fair where attendees can connect with activist and advocacy groups. The event is from noon-3 p.m. in Fiesta Hall at the San Mateo County Event Center, 1346 Saratoga Drive, San Mateo. To pre-register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/take-back-america-tickets-32982865639

To list an event, email Sarah Ravani at sravani@sfchronicle.com.
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Special prosecutor Chris Downey will be able to add a third prosecutor to his team in order to argue the conspiracy statute in the Texas Open Meetings Act is constitutional and charges against County Judge Craig Doyal, Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley and political consultant Marc Davenport should stand.

Wharton County District Court Judge Randy Clapp, who is the visiting judge in the 221st state District Court in Montgomery County hearing the TOMA case because 221st Judge Lisa Michalk recused herself citing a conflict, ruled Monday that Downey could add a prosecutor.

Attorney Joe Larsen will join Downey and David Cunningham for the state's prosecution. Larsen, with Houston-based Sedgwick LLP, is a member of the Freedom of Information Foundation Board of Directors.

Larsen is a recipient of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas James Madison Award, which is presented to journalists, politicians, academics, attorneys and vigilant citizens to celebrate outstanding achievements or distinction in the areas of open government, freedom of information and other related First Amendment issues.

The constitutionality hearing will start at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Houston-based attorney Rusty Hardin said he did not object to the judge's decision.

Hardin filed a 20-page motion March 20 claiming the criminal conspiracy provisions of TOMA are "constitutionally overbroad," "vague and confusing" and violate free speech.

Attorneys Steve Jackson, who represents Davenport, and Doug Atkinson, who is representing Riley, filed motions that same week to join Hardin's motion on the constitutionality. Atkinson could not be reached before press time.

Downey, who was appointed by former 9th state District Court Judge Kelly Case as special prosecutor in the case in September 2015, said by adding Larsen to the team, he is protecting the state's interest.

"Joe is a well-known First Amendment lawyer," said Downey, adding he and Cunningham are criminal attorneys.

Doyal, Riley and Davenport face one count each of conspiracy to circumvent the Open Meetings Act. They, along with Precinct 4 Commissioner Jim Clark, were indicted on the charge June 24, 2016, stemming from negotiations in August 2015 to place a $280 million road bond on the November 2015 ballot.

However, last week, Clark worked out a deal to testify against the other three in exchange for his charge being dropped. His case, according to E. Tay Bond who is representing Clark, has been reset to Dec. 5.

The crime is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a maximum $500 fine. A guilty verdict or plea for the elected officials could mean "official misconduct" and removal from office.

According to the motion filed by Hardin, Section 551.143 of the act "is so broad and vague that it sweeps up vast amounts of perfectly appropriate, indeed essential, political speech within its ambit. Where a stiletto is needed, a blunderbuss is used."

Hardin also stated in the motion that the act has two competing interests, "the public's right to know about the workings of its governmental bodies and the need to ensure members of governmental bodies are informed and act efficiently."

Downey said he is confident in the outcome of the hearings and a ruling that the statute is constitutional.

"I'm comfortable with the constitutionality of this statute," Downey said. "But I do recognize the defenses' desire to air out their differences of opinion."

Jury pool

While a trial date won't be set until after Clapp makes a ruling on Doyal's motion to dismiss, Clapp is expected to make a decision on how the jury pool for the trial will be selected.

According to www.txcourts.gov, each county receives a list of potential jurors from the Secretary of State that consists of those individuals in the county who are registered to vote, hold a Texas driver's license or hold a Texas identification card. Citizens on the list are randomly selected and mailed a summons to report for jury service.

However, Montgomery County has an E-Jury Service process that allows those who receive a summons to reschedule their juror service for a specific week.

During the hearing Monday, Jackson and Atkinson said they have concerns about jurors coming from the E-Jury pool.

Jackson maintains that process will not produce a cross section of jurors in the county, adding most of those who use the service are South Montgomery County residents. He supports eliminating those jurors from the jury pool.

Downey said he would ask the judge not to eliminate those jurors.

"Nothing has been decided on that yet," Downey said. "I want to make sure that everyone that wants to appear as a juror in this case has the opportunity to serve."
The City of Willis is joining its Montgomery County neighbors by taking a stand against the state Legislature's property tax relief bill.

The City Council voted Tuesday to ask state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, to oppose Senate Bill 2, filed by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, "as a way to slow the growth of government and tax bills." It is co-authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe. The bill calls for a public vote if the rollback tax rate exceeds 4 percent growth, which would be reduced from 8 percent.
A prominent Montrose veterinarian accused of plotting an intricate murder-for-hire plot to kill her ex-husband has killed herself by jumping off her seventh-story condo Monday morning, according to law enforcement sources.

Veterinarian Valerie Busick McDaniel and her boyfriend, Leon Phillip Jacob, were arrested earlier this month after doling out $20,000 in cash and two pricey Cartier watches to an officer posing as a hitman, prosecutors alleged in court.
A man who drowned in the Guadalupe River Sunday has been identified, police announced Monday morning.

Maikol Castiblanco-Espinosa, 27, drowned after he apparently suffered a cramp, witnesses told police. Castiblanco-Espinosa was from Colombia.
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Two men arrested in less than a couple of days are facing murder charges for their alleged involvement in the death of a man whose body discovered with gunshot wounds in front of a Southwest Side home in January.

Johnny Ray Morales, 29, and Juan "Wero" Gonzales, 38, are accused of fatally shooting Marcelino Deleon, 42, who was found dead in a front yard with multiple gunshot wounds Jan. 30 at a residence in the 13800 block of South Loop 1604, according to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.

Morales was already in custody at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on a charge of felon in possession of a firearm, the department said in a press release.

RELATED: The Texas Mexican Mafia, explained

Deputies apprehended Gonzales at about 3:15 p.m. Monday near the intersection of Zarzamora and Murray streets. Details as to his involvement in the case were not immediately available, nor were they clear in Morales's affidavit.

There were two types of bullet cartridges at the scene, indicating that there were two weapons and two shooters involved in the murder, the document states.

Morales parents told investigators they saw Morales and Deleon sitting in a pickup truck parked in the front yard the night before the slaying. Morales was seen holding and playing around with a AK47 rifle, according to the affidavit. About 10:30 p.m., loud gunshots were heard and Morales already had fled the scene by the time his parents checked outside. Witnesses identified a blue SUV driving down the street at the time of the shooting.

Morales - known as Chon - denied involvement in the murder when he was brought in for questioning Feb. 1, the affidavit states. He later admitted his first statement was false after he was charged with felony possession of a firearm March 24, adding that he was there when the killing occurred but he did not shoot the victim. Two other people shot Deleon, he told detectives.

RELATED: Gang tattoos in the Bexar County Jail

Deleon allegedly was involved with drugs, the affidavit states. A few days before the slaying, Deleon was in possession of a large quantity of methamphetamine with the intention of selling the product. A confidential source told authorities that Morales planned on robbing Deleon for the drugs, which were split between the three men after the shooting.

The document states that the informant relayed a conversation with Morales, in which he said, I had to do what I had to do  my finger had to be on the trigger. Morales later added that he smoked (killed) the victim.

According to the affidavit, detectives learned from the informant that Morales was made a carnal (brother) of the Mexican Mafia for killing Deleon, who allegedly had cut ties with the mafia. One of the Mexican Mafias rules and conduct is to assault and or kill all dropouts, the document stated.

Gonzales was being processed through the Bexar County Magistrate's Office Monday. Murder is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison.

qramirez@express-news.net

Twitter: @quixem
Chris Greenberg/AP Photo

The San Antonio Express-News picked up five more awards Sunday, including another recognition for its breaking news coverage on the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in West Texas in 2016.

The Texas Associated Press Managing Editors joins the Headliners Foundation of Texas each year at a convention honoring outstanding journalism in 2016 by daily newspapers in the state.
Authorities recovered a body of a man in his 20's after he they say drowned in the Guadalupe River Sunday afternoon, according to a release from the New Braunfels Police Department.

Emergency personnel were dispatched to the banks of the Guadalupe River near the 700 block of Interstate 35 North at about 4:45 p.m., Sunday, for reports of a man who had not resurfaced from the river.
More than two dozen inmates escaped from a Mexican prison, authorities there confirmed March 23, the Associated Press reported.

A total of 29 inmates escaped through a 16-feet-deep tunnel stretching for roughly 131 feet dug underneath a prison in the northern border state Tamaulipas, according to Blog del Narco. The male inmates range in age from 22 to 45 years old and were in the jail for various crimes including vehicle theft, kidnapping, carrying explosives and murder, among others, according to the blog.
With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy, I dont know what makes someone a redneck. But, in the immigration debate, I have a pretty good idea of what makes someone a racist.

You wont learn it from listening to how the issue is discussed on conservative talk radio. Or as I call it: Immigration for Dummies.

For instance, many right-wing radio hosts are in denial and insist they have absolutely no idea how the GOP got labeled as racist. They dont deserve to be saddled with that title, the hosts say.

Lets get real. Republicans are always preaching to the rest of us about how we need to take responsibility for our actions. So its only fair that they own up to the offensive things theyve said and done over the years when it comes to immigrants  both legal and illegal.

Recently, a reader defended President Trump for dividing families through deportations and then put me on notice: Please dont respond to me if youre going to call me a racist.

That was not my plan. Generally speaking, the racist label fits if you cant talk about the immigration issue without describing immigrants by using a d-word: dangerous, defective, diseased, damaged or detrimental to society.

For example, there is nothing wrong with running for president and making border security a major part of your campaign.

But you might be a racist if you say something like: When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best.  Theyre sending people that have lots of problems, and theyre bringing those problems to us. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists.

A member of Congress is free to speculate about what the America of tomorrow will look like given changing demographics.

But you might be a racist if, like Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, you say that youre not worried about whites becoming a minority because Hispanics and the blacks will be fighting each other before that happens.

Its fine if, as a reader, you fire off an email to a Mexican-American columnist saying that Trump should deport every illegal immigrant.

But you might be a racist if you declare that you want these folks removed because Mexicans are such SCUMBAGS.

Its understandable that one could worry about the strain that immigration puts on our environment, resources, infrastructure, and programs.

But you might be a racist if you claim that Mexicans will destroy us just by being here.

It comes with the territory if you tell that columnist that you take exception to something he has written.

But you might be a racist if you tell him to get the (expletive) out of here and go back to your drug-infested thieves of the world.

Its acceptable if youre an elected official who is passionate about patching up a porous border.

But you might be a racist if you compare immigrants to cows, rats, dogs, grasshoppers, cockroaches or livestock.

Americans should be able to have a real discussion about whether too much immigration causes overpopulation.

But you might be a racist if you use insulting language about how the supposed promiscuity of Latinas leads to high reproductive rates.

Finally, its natural to get angry when horrendous crimes are committed by illegal immigrants who shouldnt even be in this country. The heartbreaking case of a 14-year-old girl in Rockville, Maryland, who was allegedly sexually assaulted by two older students who are here illegally is just one recent example.

But you might be a racist if you use tragedies like this to make sweeping generalizations about whole groups of people.

You dont get called a racist by accident. You have to put in the effort. Sadly, a lot of Americans pull it off.

ruben@rubennavarrette.com
MILFORD - A 61-year-old New Haven man has been arrested for following a man in the Connecticut Post mall and later brandishing a knife at him, police said.

Officer Joseph Dempsey said the incident happened around 8 p.m. Sunday at the Target store in the mall.
Four people aboard a single-engine Cessna plane are lucky to be alive after it crash landed in the Luunga area of Binga yesterday morning.

The engine of the plane, registration number ZSIZG a C210, which is believed to have left Kariba Airport on Wednesday morning ceased mid-air at Chibuyu in the Luunga area of Binga under chief Sinakatenge about 180km from Binga.

The plane was headed for Sijarira Forests on the South Western shores of Lake Kariba. Sijarira Forests are a hit with wilderness loving tourists as they offer game viewing, fishing and swimming opportunities.

They were rescued and transported to a camp in Sengwa for first aid before they were ferried by a boat to Rhino Camp and later transferred to a health facility in Kariba.

 Herald

Breaking News via Email
By Don Quijones, of Spain & Mexico, editor at Wolf Street. Originally published at Wolf Street

To be young, gifted, educated and Italian is no guarantee of financial security these days. As a new report by the Bruno Visentini Foundation shows, the average 20-year-old will have 18 years to wait before living independently  meaning, among other things, having a home, a steady income, and the ability to support a family. Thats almost twice as long as it took Italians who turned 20 in 2004.

A Worsening Trend

Eurostat statistics in October 2016 showed that less than a third of under-35s in Italy had left their parental home, a figure 20 percentage points lower than the European average. The trend is expected to worsen as the economy continues to struggle. Researchers said that for Italians who turn 20 in 2030, it will take an average of 28 years to be able to live independently. In other words, many of Italys children today wont have grown up until theyre nearing their 50s.

That raises an obvious question: if Italys future generation of workers are expected to struggle to support themselves and their children until theyre well into their forties, how will they possibly be able to support the burgeoning ranks of baby boomers reaching retirement age (66 years and seven months for men and 65 years and one month for women), let alone service the over 2 trillion of public debt the Italian government has accumulated (and which doesnt include the untold billions it hopes to splash out on saving the banks)?

The trend could also have major implications for Italys huge stock of non-performing loans, which, unless resolved soon, threatens to overwhelm the countrys banking system. If most young Italians are not financially independent, who will buy the foreclosed homes and other properties that will flood the market once the soured loans and mortgages are finally removed from banks balance sheets?

As happened in Spain and other crisis-hit countries, global private equity funds will probably pick up much of the slack by buying up huge tranches of foreclosed or unoccupied properties, as well as occupied social housing units, at knock-down prices, but whether theyll actually be able to rent the properties they buy or unload them at a profit is a whole other matter, what with most young Italians forced (or choosing) to stay at home with their parents.

At the Grim Edge of a Global Problem

Youth unemployment is a global problem that is already having a major impact on societies and their ability to finance their needs. Youth unemployment is a staggering 54% in Southern Africa. In Greece, its 46%, in Spain, 42%, in Italy, 40%, and Iran, 30%.

Averaged across OECD countries, 14.6% of all youth (some 40 million people) were so-called NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) in 2015. In Southern Europe the share was sharply higher, with between one-quarter and one-fifth of all young people out of work and not in education in Greece, Italy, and Spain.

In Italy the main reason why so few young Italians are financially independent is they cant afford it. Of the 15 western European nations ranked in the 2016 Global 50 Remuneration Planning Report, Italy boasted the lowest average salary for full-time jobs aimed at recent graduates: 27,400 a year. That compares to 83,600 in top-placed Switzerland, 51,400 a year in second-ranked Denmark, and 45,800 a year in Germany and Norway.

Even in Spain, a country that has broken the 20% unemployment barrier three times in the last 30 years and which has been described by one Spanish economics professor as the worst labor market on Earth, recent graduates can expect to take home 3,000 more a year than their Italian counterparts.

The 1,000-a-month Dream

For unskilled workers, in Spain, Italy and Greece, the jobs reality is even bleaker. In Spain ten years ago, mileurista  a term to denote someone earning 1,000 a month  was coined to highlight the plight of young workers with low-paid jobs that could never dream of owning their own flat. Today, with a youth unemployment rate of over 40%, becoming a milleurista has become something to aspire to.

The alternative is the eternal internship carousel. In the complete absence of any kind of inspection regime, young workers are being shifted from one internship contract to another where they put in full-time shifts day after day in exchange for little more than their lunch money and bus fare home. Few of them will ever get hired full-time, and those that are, are invariably given a short-term contract that, once expired, is replaced by yet another. According to the Spanish daily ABC; of the 1.7 million job contracts signed in December last year, over 92% were for temporary jobs.

Yet somehow Spains new generation of unemployed, underemployed, badly paid, or ni-nis (NEETs) will soon be expected to maintain over eight million pensioners, who are living longer than ever and are used to earning an average state pension of 906 a month, the second highest (as a percentage of final salary) in Europe after Greece. As Spanish economist Juan Torres Lopez writes, the idea that Spains youngest workers will be able to support the countrys swelling ranks of pensioners is risible, especially with Spains government pilfering the Social Security fund for other purposes like theres no tomorrow.

The same goes for Italy whose crisis, in many ways, has barely begun. As in Spain, many of the countrys most gifted young workers will continue to migrate to better performing economies such as Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. With the many programs offering study and work opportunities to young people abroad, such as Erasmus+, the choice is not so much whether to leave, but whether to stay, according to a report by Fondazione Migrantes.

For companies in Northern Europe, the mass exodus of young talent from the South means cheaper labor while the governments pick up the income tax. But for countries like Italy and Spain it represents a hemorrhage of talent and skill, much of which was developed with public funds, with no corresponding return. And in that manner, the fiscal health of economies in Europes South, already pushed to the limit, will continue to decline. By Don Quijones.

Italys predicament is a multi-headed Hydra that the Eurozone tries to ignore. Read Eurozone Whistles Past its Biggest Threat
'It wasn't meant to be': Chandler Smith comes up short in third Chandler Smith talks about what more was needed tonight and what could've been done differently as he puts a cap on the season.
Defense Contracting Innovation in State of Flux



By Brian E. Sweeney

Ash Carter, James Mattis

Over the last few years, both the Department of Defense and Congress have been pursuing innovation in defense-related technologies, processes or methods  including research and development  from a variety of sources and through a variety of procurement techniques and strategies.In the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law by then-President Barack Obama Dec. 23, Congress continued its expansion of acquisition authorities designed to promote contracting for defense innovation.At the same time, however, Congress also directed a significant reorganization of the office of the secretary of defense, abolishing the position of undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics and creating two new positions, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering and the undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, in order to further emphasize the need for defense innovation.Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a Nov. 30 statement declared that the NDAA firmly establishes innovation as a primary mission of the Department of Defense.At the same time, however, the NDAA put the brakes on outgoing Defense Secretary Ashton Carters fledgling Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental, or DIUx, which was created to target innovation efforts with commercial companies in Silicon Valley and elsewhere  pending further review of DIUxs activities in comparison to other organizations that are also pursuing defense innovation technologies.So while contracting for defense innovation has arrived under the law, it is not yet clear exactly who will be in charge of pursuing and procuring innovation, at least in the near term.While the outgoing Obama administration objected to the congressionally mandated reorganization and limits on DIUx, Secretary of Defense James Mattis has apparently embraced the reforms called for in the NDAA. In a Feb. 17 memorandum for the acting deputy secretary of defense, Mattis declared that he was firmly committed to addressing congressional concerns and aggressively exploring and implementing reforms to improve the departments ability to be innovative and responsive.Mattis also called for a recommendation on the designation of a chief innovation officer, and options for the treatment of innovation organizations within the department. In the coming months the department will reveal how it plans to implement and execute the new innovation authorities granted by Congress, and the organization changes will be effective Feb. 1, 2018.While DoDs internal structure and senior leadership roles will be changing, the acquisition reforms intended to spur further defense innovation have arrived, and are here to stay.In Section 213 of the NDAA, Congress made permanent the Defense Research and Development Rapid Innovation Program, which is intended to stimulate innovative technologies and acquisition processes in order to insert rapidly new technologies and capabilities primarily into major defense acquisition programs. The program is directed principally at small businesses participating in the Small Business Innovation Research program, the defense laboratories and other small or large businesses with innovative solutions.In May 2015, the Government Accountability Office said the program was making slow progress, although there was a high degree of interest from contractors, according to the report, DoD Rapid Innovation Program: Some Technologies Have Transitioned to Military Users, but Steps Can Be Taken to Improve Program Metrics and Outcomes.Perhaps the somewhat lengthy process noted by the GAO in the RIP program can be attributed to the fact that the program leads to the award of conventional government contracts that require adherence to the notoriously detailed Defense Department procurement regulations and processes. In Section 847 of the NDAA, Congress revised the definition of major defense acquisition program to exclude an acquisition program or project that is carried out using the Rapid Innovation Program.It remains to be seen whether the department can improve the program now that it is permanent and excluded from major defense program requirements.Meanwhile, a non-traditional defense contractor is now defined in the NDAA as an entity that has not, in the year preceding a solicitation, performed any contract or subcontract for the Defense Department that was subject to full coverage under the Cost Accounting Standards, which is often cited by commercial companies as the kind of complex, burdensome, expensive and bureaucratic government contract requirement that prevents commercial companies from wanting to enter into defense contracts in the first place. And while a review of the applicability of the standards is complex and beyond the scope of this article, contracts for commercial items are generally exempt.In the NDAA, Congress has called for the department to implement two different pilot programs for contracting with non-traditional firms and small businesses: one to acquire innovative commercial items, technologies and services using general solicitation competitive procedures, and the other for a program to prototype disruptive solutions that demonstrate new capabilities that could provide alternatives to existing acquisition programs and assets, according to the conference report accompanying the act.Innovation is defined in Section 879 as any technology process, or method that is new, or any application of the foregoing that is new, as of the date of the submission of the proposal. Contracts resulting from this five-year pilot program are to be fixed-price only, and notwithstanding the detailed and often difficult to apply laws and regulations for identifying items, technologies, and services as commercial items, the NDAA dictates that solutions acquired under the pilot program shall be treated as commercial items.Section 884 calls for the innovation prototyping program, with details to be presented in a plan to be submitted with the fiscal year 2018 budget, to be established within the departments of the Army, Navy, Air Force, as well as the Missile Defense Agency and Special Operations Command. Congress called for using broad agency announcements or other merit-based selection procedures and streamlined acquisition procedures leading to fixed-price contracts, and also specified the programs to be included, such as swarming of multiple air or underwater drones, integration of a laser into a weapons platform, and defense against hypersonic weapons.Despite its support for innovation initiatives in this and earlier NDAAs, Congress apparently disagreed with the pace, direction, success  or lack thereof  of DIUx and its implementation of the other transaction authority established permanently under Section 815 of the FY 2016 NDAA to enter into Other Transaction agreements for certain prototype projects involving non-traditional contractors and small businesses.In exercising its authority in the commercial tech sector, particularly in Silicon Valley, DIUx appeared to be making progress in engaging commercial companies with its special authorities, which are exempt from almost all procurement laws and regulations.In Section 222 of the 2017 act, however, Congress restricted DIUxs operations and maintenance funds, as well as its research, development, test and evaluation funds used to award other transaction authorities, pending a report from the department regarding congressional concerns over DIUxs organization, activities and relationship to other Defense entities involved in similar innovation activities.The tussle over DIUx shows that while everyone agrees innovation is needed and should be actively pursued, the Defense Department is not the only one in charge when it comes to the specific methods and approaches to be used in pursuing and capturing innovation.The new secretary and his team face a significant challenge to balance these forces while implementing a new organization and exercising the expanding authorities for contracting for defense innovation.Brian E. Sweeney is a special counsel in the Government Contracts, Investigations & International Trade practice group at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton. He is based in the firms San Francisco office and can be reached at bsweeney@sheppardmullin.com.

Topics: Defense Contracting, Defense Department
Marine Corps, Boeing Resurrect F/A-18 Fighters



By Jon Harper

Technicians work on an F/A-18 Super Hornet at Cecil Field.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  As the Navy and Marine Corps face dire readiness challenges in their tactical aviation fleets, Boeing is stepping up to add capabilities and longevity to older F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets.

More than 60 percent of the aircraft in the F/A-18 fleets are not flyable in their current state, said Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William Moran.

Were double where we should be in non-flyable aircraft, he said at a Senate Armed Services Committee readiness and management support subcommittee hearing in February.

The readiness challenges are being driven by high operating tempos and related maintenance backlogs; insufficient procurement of new aircraft; and delays in the F-35 joint strike fighter coming online. Navy depot capacity has also been diminished since sequestration hit in 2013, he noted.

Boeing is working to tackle the problem. The company is on contract to bring 22 legacy F/A-18C Hornets out of a U.S. military boneyard in the Arizona desert, and reconstitute and upgrade them so that they can rejoin the Marine Corps fleet. The effort is known as the C+ program.

When the U.S. military shrank in the years after the Cold War, a number of Hornets were mothballed at a storage facility at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.

Bill Maxwell, a former Marine aviator who now serves as Boeings senior manager of F/A-18 operations, had to fly one of the planes out to the boneyard where he expected it to rot in the desert indefinitely.

It was a sad deal, he said. I thought that I would never see these jets fly again.  [But] were bringing them out of the desert now and bringing these warfighting machines that still have life left in them to put them back out and hand them to a warfighter.

The C+ work is being performed at Boeings Cecil Field facilities in Jacksonville, Florida. During an exclusive tour of the facilities, Maxwell showed National Defense the first reconstituted aircraft from the boneyard.

This came in a year ago on a flat bed truck and right now its really close to a flyable state, he said. Were going to take it over to the other hangar here in the weeks ahead and then were going to do the upgrade to make the aircraft more capable than the standard C-variant.

It required two flat beds to transport it from Arizona. One carried the fuselage and the other moved the wings and the other components. When they arrived at Cecil Field, the equipment was unloaded with a crane and then rolled into one of the hangars for Boeing technicians to work on.

We pull everything apart, Maxwell said. We gut it and then we take a look at all these little points.  We get in there and make sure all the fatigues, the cracks, the corrosions are all good to go.

Then we replace all the old equipment that was in there. You have actuators for the hydraulic systems that are old and decayed. We pull those out and put new ones in.

Once the necessary fixes are made, the technicians then put the aircraft back together. After the fighter has been reconstituted, the plane is taken to another hangar for the C+ upgrade.

Once it comes in here then well do the tear down, said Brian Aheam, a senior avionics technician at Boeing. If its an electrical mod we start taking out all the old wiring and install all the new wiring.  With the structural mod well take out the old parts that need to come out and then drill up for all the new hardware that will be added to the aircraft.

For most of the Hornets, the reconstitution process is expected to last about a year. The C+ upgrade should take an additional six months or so, Maxwell said.

But Boeing believes it can shave three months off that timeline if it is authorized to do the reconstitution and upgrade efforts concurrently.

Why bother to put it all back together [first]  and then bring it back and tear them all down and put the new mod in? It just didnt make any sense, said Wayne Haight, Boeings C+ lead.

The Navy has been receptive to the idea of changing the process, Maxwell said.

We have planners in there right now trying to figure out  when is that a good time to transition from reconstitution into that C+ and do concurrent work to get this back to the customer quicker.

Improvements resulting from the upgrade include: a more advanced APG-73 radar; an AN/APX-111 combined interrogator/transponder to help identify friend and foe; an ALE-47 airborne countermeasure dispenser system to draw enemy fire away from the aircraft; and the multifunctional information distribution system to enhance situational awareness.

These are kind of quantum leaps for a lot of these older jets that come in here, Maxwell said. It will look like a modern fighter going out the door. Its a beautiful thing.

Boeing has already completed two modifications on fly-in C-model Hornets that were already out in the fleet to validate that the company could successfully perform the C+ upgrade.

The fleet squadron sent two aircraft down, Maxwell said. We pulled out all the old avionics and we put in brand new avionics to give it that modern warfighter [capability] which made it the C+ variant.

Maxwell views the program as a cost-effective way to augment the Marine Corps tactical aviation fleet.

Thats a good investment, he said. Instead of paying a huge price for a brand new one, how about upgrading an older one to a modern fighter that has years and years of service left?

As of press time, Naval Air Systems Command had not provided National Defense any cost information about the program.

Boeing is on contract for 30 C+ upgrades  22 Hornets from the boneyard in Arizona and eight jets that were already out in the fleet. Twelve are currently at the facility in Cecil Field waiting to be upgraded, Maxwell said.

Boeing is only projected to deliver one this year. But then a big wave of them should be coming out in 2018.  Youre going to see just a huge ramp-up of aircraft going out the door, he said.

Maxwell anticipates that all of the work on the C+ program will be completed in about three years unless more aircraft are added to the order.

Theres a bunch more out there in the boneyard, Maxwell said. If this is a successful program and they like it, they always have that pool to go back to.

In addition to upgrading older Hornets, the company is working to extend their service lives. A lot of the jets in the fleet are approaching 8,000 flight hours, Maxwell noted.

As part of the High Flight Hour program, the Defense Department asked Boeing to extend their service lives to 10,000 hours, he said.

We find out what needs to be replaced, the major structural upgrades to make it go. We slap it back on together and it goes back out to the fleet and gives it  another six years of life.

The process takes a year or two depending on the shape that the aircraft is in when it arrives at Cecil Field. The environment in which it was flown can have a major impact on the time required to complete the work. An aircraft that operated in a dry desert might be in better shape than one that operated at sea where exposure to salt-water particles can lead to corrosion, he said.

Maxwell suggested Boeing could further increase the Hornets service lives once the aircraft get close to 10,000 flight hours.

There may be opportunities to continue past 10,000 if the Navy and Marine Corps wanted to go down that path, he said. We could probably extend that.

Boeing is also working on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet at Cecil Field. About 15 aircraft come through for phase modifications each year. The process usually takes four to six months, Maxwell said.

Each jet might require different modifications depending on when it was originally produced and the technology inserted at the time.

There might be a structural mod. There may be an avionics mod. Whatever they want us to do, he said.

If corrosion or other problems are discovered, the company fixes them.

As the original equipment manufacturer, Boeing is well positioned for such work, Maxwell noted. We built the aircraft. We can pull our resources and people and materials to assist here.

The Navy has also tapped Boeing to do phase inspection to help out the overtaxed Fleet Readiness Center-Southeast depot. They asked us to come in as an enterprise because they were getting backed up with all the aircraft, he said.

About 30 Hornets and Super Hornets are expected to rotate through Boeings facilities at Cecil Field this year, according to Maxwell.

Meanwhile, Boeing is looking at ways to increase throughput so that aircraft can come in in larger numbers and go through the maintenance and modification processes faster.

The company is investing in new technologies to enhance its depot operations. For example, using lasers to scan for flaws on the aircraft can reduce the time required for technicians to complete such tasks.

Weve bought two of those laser arms, Maxwell said. Were also getting these other tools that  really reduce the man-hours and the turnaround time for these jets.

The firm is conducting data analytics to anticipate the condition that aircraft will be in when they arrive at Boeings facilities, and which parts will be needed to fix them. That enables the company to better prioritize which aircraft should be worked on soonest.

Lets focus on those jets we can get back to the fleet quicker, Maxwell said.Elsewhere, Boeing is gearing up to participate in a more intensive Super Hornet service life modification program for the Navy.

Moran has warned about a bow wave of Super Hornets that are nearly maxed out because they have been flown so hard in recent years.

The goal of the service life modification program is to enhance the longevity of the F/A-18E/Fs that are approaching 6,000 flight hours, and upgrade their capabilities.

That effort is expected to kick off next year, said Caroline Hutcheson, a Boeing spokeswoman.

Although Boeing is not yet under contract for the work, the company is already preparing, she said. We have two aircraft in St. Louis  two Super Hornets  that were kind of pulling apart and getting ahead of any lessons learned as best as possible.

Boeing will also incorporate lessons gleaned from the Hornet programs at Cecil Field, she noted. The company wants to make sure that when we start this service life modification we are well ahead of the curve, we know what to expect and were able to really move those through, she added.

The aerospace giant intends to increase the Super Hornets service lives to about 9,000 flight hours, she said. Company executives are also proposing to turn some of the aircraft into advanced Block 3 variants during the modification process, which would give the jets capabilities more on par with the most cutting-edge fighters such as the F-35.

We expect to essentially extend the life of and modernize the entire fleet of Super Hornets, Hutcheson said.

Maxwell said F/A-18s could still play an important role for the Navy and Marine Corps in the years ahead despite their age and the emergence of next-generation fighters.

The aircraft have a lot of service life, he said. Against the vast majority of the worlds air forces it can go out and beat them, no problem.

For a lot of the missions that are being conducted today such as the air campaign against the Islamic State, Hornets and Super Hornets can do the job just fine, he noted.

Its a workhorse aircraft, he said. Even with F-35s joining the fleet, you still need workhorses. And we turn that workhorse into a thoroughbred.

Topics: Air Power, Marine Corps News
JLTV Touted As Success, But Military Not Rushing to Buy



By Vivienne Machi

Joint light tactical vehicle

Photo: Oshkosh

A new armored truck designed to replace the Humvee is being praised as a model of procurement, but industry analysts and military officials say that the Army and Marine Corps are not buying joint light tactical vehicles fast enough to keep up with the services needs.



If there is any issue with the JLTV program currently, its that the Army and Marine Corps are buying the trucks too slowly, said retired Army Lt. Gen. Thomas Spoehr, who directs the Center for National Defense at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.



The program so far has progressed smoothly as the vehicles undergo testing to meet stringent troop protection and off-road mobility requirements, according to Army officials. But the service plans to stretch JLTV procurement over decades, which Spoehr called an inordinate amount of time.



Given the fiscal environment and the success of the vehicle so far, the services could buy more at a faster rate and cut the programs timeline down even further, he said. Typically when you buy things faster, you get a better price.



Army leaders have blamed a budget crunch for slowing down acquisitions of new vehicles like JLTV, and even if Congress agreed to boost Army funding as requested by the Trump administration, the top priority now is combat readiness. That means new programs can expect delays.



Service officials have said they would like to see vehicles purchased more quickly. Marine Corps Assistant Commandant Gen. Glenn Walters told the House Armed Services Committee at a hearing in February that the service is replacing its equipment too slowly.



For eight or 10 years, we have modernization programs in place to replace our old equipment, but theyre delivering over a 30-year timeframe. And were buying them at a minimum level, he said.



I have all kinds of needs for light tactical vehicles. Theyve been around for 20 years.  Were buying the joint light tactical vehicle at a very shallow rate, he added. It will take us 20 years to get there.



The Army-led program to replace the high mobility multi-wheeled vehicle, or the Humvee, is on a trajectory to remain on budget and on schedule, said Army Col. Shane Fullmer, project manager for the joint program office under PEO combat support and combat service support.



The Army plans to acquire about 55,000 trucks by the mid-2030s that would replace both services active-duty and reserve Humvee fleets. Two variants are planned: the four-seat combat tactical vehicle, which will support general purpose, heavy gun carrier and close-combat weapon carrier missions; and the two-seat combat support vehicle, supporting the utility/shelter carrier mission.



The JLTV is being manufactured by Oshkosh Defense and is in the low-rate initial production (LRIP) testing phase for the current contract to deliver about 5,000 vehicles, according to Fullmer. The $6.7 billion contract calls for just under 17,000 trucks, along with test support and fielding and maintenance services, with three years of LRIP production and five years of full-rate production, he said.



The Army plans to conduct another full and open competition around fiscal year 2023 to develop the next phase of vehicles, Fullmer added. The Defense Departments Competition in Contracting Act encourages the services to conduct competitions whenever possible, and department acquisition and regulatory guidance recommends limiting competitions to a certain amount of time, he noted.



And in the medium tactical vehicle space, the government owns the technical data, he added. That allows the service to potentially award the contract to a new bidder while maintaining the JLTV design.



We own the data required in order to own that competition, he said.



The trucks are being delivered to at least four different test sites: Yuma Proving Ground and the Electronics Proving Ground at Fort Huachuca, both in Arizona; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; and the Cold Regions Test Center at Fort Greely, Alaska.



Over 30 vehicles have been delivered since October, but the number increases every day, more or less, Fullmer said. About 100 production vehicles are expected to be provided to the Army and Marine Corps for testing during fiscal year 2017, at a rate of about 10 per month, according to the Army.



The trucks are undergoing reliability, transportability and network testing, which is expected to continue through the first quarter of fiscal year 2019, Fullmer said. Full-rate production should begin in November or December of 2019 ahead of fielding, and initial operating capability is expected for early to mid-2020, he added.



There is not much to distinguish between an Army version and a Marine Corps version, but there are small differences in communications and tactical needs, Fullmer said.



The strategy is to produce a base vehicle and add kits as necessary to support individual units or needs, he said.



The Army has also considered using the joint light tactical vehicle as an interim platform for its upcoming light reconnaissance vehicle program instead of procuring a new system. Scout formations are currently using Humvees for that mission, and we should replace those vehicles, Fullmer said. The Army is currently finalizing the acquisition strategy for those vehicles, but a number of the JLTVs carrier variants being built under the current contract will replace some scout Humvees, he added.



Jennifer Christiansen, Oshkosh vice president of global strategy and marketing, said the firepower and command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment required for the LRV program will easily integrate into the platform.



Oshkosh designed the JLTV to seamlessly integrate a full range of mission packages to serve both current and future needs  recognizing that our Army and Marine Corps customers must plan for future operations with many unknowns, she said in an email to National Defense.



The Air Force is reportedly considering acquiring joint light tactical vehicles for its security forces that protect missile launch facilities. Officials were not made available for interviews, but Christiansen said should the Air Force choose the vehicle, Oshkosh is confident that the JLTV platform provides superior performance, off-road mobility and protection for all services, including the Air Force.



The program has thus far avoided being plagued by significant budget increases or schedule delays.



The joint light tactical vehicles unit cost estimate has decreased since the contract with Oshkosh was established in 2015, according to Army documents. The services procurement justification book for fiscal year 2017 put the unit cost for the truck and associated training, equipment and test and evaluation costs at just over $321,000, down from about $491,000 in fiscal year 2015.



The JLTVs overall program cost estimate decreased by over 19 percent, or about $5.9 billion, from about $30 billion to under $25 billion according to the Defense Departments 2016 selected acquisition report. The trucks average procurement unit cost decreased by nearly 17 percent since the original cost projection in 2012, from about $399,000 to $333,000. The decrease was due to revised estimates of vehicle unit costs and installation kits, among other program efficiencies, the report said.



Fullmer said the office was able to save on those lifecycle costs by keeping requirements stable and focusing on affordability. Those projected savings have led to the Armys current estimate to finish fielding the vehicles by the mid-2030s, rather than the original target of 2040, he said.



The only major hiccup was a six-month delay in initial operating capability due to program disruption resulting from a 2015 bid protest by Lockheed Martin, according to a Congressional Research Service report.



As far as numbers, it is always possible that the Army could be forced to cut the number of trucks it purchases due to funding cuts or increased unit prices, but that doesnt seem to be the case here, said James Hasik, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.



Of course its possible, but I do think its unlikely, he said, adding that the JLTV is as close to being a beloved program as possible.



The platform is one of two important Army ground vehicle programs  the other being the armored multi-purpose vehicle program to replace the M113 armored personnel carrier and family of vehicles, he noted.



There are only two programs really that the Army has running right now that you can point and say  theyre doing something substantial in recapitalizing their fleet on the ground, he said.



The need for the JLTV really comes down to how the character of the conflict changed over the last several years, Fullmer said.



The Humvee, which first entered service in 1985, was once well suited to the U.S. militarys understanding of combat, Spoehr said.



The combat changed  there are no frontlines; everywhere is a frontline, he said. Improvised explosive devices kept going off and Humvees were relatively poor protection against IEDs.



All of the assumptions about the kinds of vehicles we needed were wrong, he added.



Spoehr, who worked on Army modernization and equipping programs while on active duty, said the service developed fragmentary protection kits to bolt armor onto the Humvees.



We went through nine versions of those, [and] even the final version couldnt overcome some of the limitations of the Humvee, he said.



The JLTV program began in 2005, and that lengthy engineering and development timeline is what enabled contractors to develop the vehicle the Army had been looking for, Hasik said.



It really did take them six years in engineering work to figure out how to do that, he said.



In the meantime, the services procured a variant of the mine- resistant ambush protected all-terrain vehicle called the M-ATV, also made by Oshkosh. It was procured under an emergency program, because the Army in particular needed smaller, lighter vehicles, Hasik said, noting that the M-ATV program was started after the joint light tactical vehicle program was already underway.



Thats kind of why the M-ATV wasnt procured in larger quantities, it was really meant to be a gap filler until JLTV was ready, he said.



The Army opted to continue to develop the joint light tactical vehicle because the MRAP fleet in general still lacked the needed off-road mobility because of its size and weight, and was less transportable than the new vehicle would be, Fullmer said.



The JLTV was always developed to balance those options, so you could provide very mobile, protected transportation while still giving operational commanders the ability to drive over any terrain needed, he said.



Another hint at the programs stability is the Armys willingness to dispose of its surplus Humvees as excess defense articles, Hasik said. They have been sending thousands in lots of places like Egypt and Iraq and Afghanistan, so they seem to be quite enthused about the JLTV as a Humvee replacement.



An armored Humvee is capable of protecting against small arms fire, artillery fragments and roadside bombs, but not landmines underneath the vehicle, Hasik said. Although its protective capabilities are now insufficient for the U.S. military, it could still suit the needs of many countries, he noted.



Spoehr said he was not worried about the JLTVs unit cost rising to a prohibitive cost for the Army.



I think Oshkosh is very happy to get this contract given how competitive the bid process was, so I believe costs will stay reasonable, he said.

Topics: Land Forces, Tactical Wheeled Vehicles
Military Not Taking Advantage Of New Commercial Satellites

ViaSat II satellite

Image: ViaSat

The commercial satellite industry, which the U.S. military relies heavily upon to communicate with its global forces, is launching systems that have throughputs that are orders of magnitude higher than any previous spacecraft.The Pentagon and the armed services, however, are unprepared to take advantage of the advances, both in the technology and in its business practices, industry representatives say.The typical aircraft carrier right now  this is 5,000 people on a ship  can receive 20 megabytes [per second] for the whole ship. Were doing 20 megabytes into the home for $99 per month, Rick Lober, vice president and general manager of Hughes Network Systems defense division, told National Defense.The $99-per-month price refers to the companys HughesNet consumer internet service, which takes advantage of economies of scale in its pricing, but the cost is not the point. Its the ability to send and receive large amounts of data. The military is woefully lagging in the infrastructure that can significantly boost the byte-per-second throughput, he said.Hughes, and its commercial communications satellite competitors, are in a decade-long process of swapping out their old analog spacecraft and refreshing them with next-generation digital systems that not only have much larger throughputs, but features such as steerable beams that can cover different regions if needed.Hughes has the Jupiter II, which it says is one of the highest throughput satellites orbiting the Earth today with a 220-gigabyte-per-second capacity. Jupiter III hasnt been announced yet, but will be another leap in technology, he said.Ken Peterman, general manager of government systems at ViaSat, said the companys ViaSat II system will have three times the capacity of all the prior ViaSat spacecraft combined. Its upcoming ViaSat III will have a terabyte-per-second of capacity. In the last eight years, the company has gone through three generations of satellite technology.What youre seeing is a remarkable technology trajectory from the commercial and private sector that is bringing wideband capacity faster than it has ever moved before, he said at a panel discussion at the Satellite 2017 conference in Washington, D.C.The so-called digital divide between the generations, which normally refers to the ability to take advantage of new computing technology, can also refer to bandwidth, Peterman suggested.High school students today are used to ubiquitous broadband connectivity. Their life, their thought processes and their behaviors are connected to their devices. Then they join the military.For the first time, they are bandwidth constrained. And sometimes not connected, he said. We can put a virtual doctor in an airplane to deal with an emergency. They deserve the same broadband speeds. They deserve the same access to telemedicine, he added.Lober said he has heard of some instances where sailors did not re-enlist citing a lack of connectivity.C-130s and C-17 cargo aircraft traveling outside the United States dont have good connectivity to the internet, he noted.You can probably get better connectivity on commercial airlines right now than what youre getting on some of these military planes, Lober said.Returning to the aircraft carrier, modern jet fighters such as the F-35 may need to download software upgrades as the ships are underway. Current speeds would take them all day to download, Lober noted.Intelsat General is in the process of launching a series of seven of its Epic high-throughput satellites. Two have reached orbit. By 2018, it expects to have global coverage, according to company press releases. The digital payload provides customers with unprecedented security and flexibility, enabling seamless access and the ability to shift capacity to match their usage needs in a particular region or timeframe, it said.Skot Butler, the companys president, said at the conference that every one of our Epic satellites that we launch has unique and additional capabilities and characteristics that the previous satellites [dont have].Along with a lack of compatible technology, the way the Pentagon purchases capacity on commercial communications satellites will soon be antiquated, the executives said.The industry has complained for more than a decade that the way the U.S. military buys satellite services from the private sector is inefficient and ultimately costs the taxpayers money. The Air Force and Navy operate broadband satellites, but they dont have anywhere near the capacity needed, especially in times of conflict.Even after operations in Iraq and Afghanistan declined, the demand for bandwidth remained insatiable, Lober said. As soon as the Air Force launches one of its Wideband Global SATCOM broadband enabled satellites, or the Navy one of its Mobile User Objective System satellites, they are at capacity.Our satellites are filling faster than we can get new ones up there, so why is the military any different? Lober asked.Longer-term leases of transponders, rather than buying capacity on the spot market as the military has, would result in better deals and allow industry to invest in technologies that the services need, they have argued.However, the new architectures will soon render that a moot point, the executives said. The practice of buying capacity on a transponder on a spacecraft is ill-suited for these new spacecraft.The architectures of these high-throughput satellites are really going toward a managed service type [business] model, Lober said.Such plans are not unknown to the military. Contractors working on performance-based logistics plans for aircraft, for example, dont bill the military for every task they complete, they guarantee a level of service and that the platforms will work a certain amount of time.Its not going to work in every case. There will be some battlefield applications where it wont, but a lot of the military network could be run off a managed services model, just as it has for regular telephone services, he said.Consumers buy 10-gigabyte plans. You dont go to the cell phone company and say, I want to buy 30 megahertz of spectrum and set up my own system and manage it, Lober said.Commercial customers are taking advantage of the new flexibility the current generation of satellites can offer, where data packages can be sent at a higher priority or lower priority. We do that all the time, he said. Steerable beams can move a transponders footprint  the area on Earth it covers  as needed.Peterman said managed services require the users to relinquish some control. Thats hard for them. So were in a transition period. But if you want those benefits, driving down the cost-per-byte, with more efficiencies and better economics and simple access to systems, all those sorts of things require that there is a trade that takes place between that control and achieving those benefits.Lober added: The idea that the military is going to buy a beam that covers a third of the Earth and set up their ground stations and their terminals  it will still be there, but there will be less of that type of bandwidth available in 10 years.Another business model that will soon come to an end, one official admitted, is buying satellite capacity employing the Defense Departments lowest-price, technically acceptable regime, which treated commercial satellite capacity as a commodity.Like pencils, one of the executives quipped.Peterman said lowest-price, technically acceptable was a terrible idea. Bandwidth truly is not a commodity. Vigorous competition among the providers already keeps cost down, he noted.Eron Miller, chief of the services division at the Defense Information Systems Agencys Comsatcom Center, one of the main buyers of commercial satellite capacity in the military, acknowledged that lowest-price, technically acceptable purchases were on their way out.LPTA served its purpose. But now with these newer, more capable satellites, its not just about buying a transponder and managing it ourselves, he said at the conference.The technology has evolved to the point where we have to take another look at it.As for the new satellites, Miller said: Its hard for the department to easily adapt to the way it does business because if we fail, if the mission fails, the results can be catastrophic.Some communications applications wont fit the new business models. DISA must figure out which ones will be appropriate.I believe that commercial does have that network reliability to support the DoD mission, but we have to convince the warfighter that when they need it, they dont have to have control of the network  that they can trust the network and can join thatmanaged service.That wasnt the case during last decades wars when DISA needed to get capacity to the services quickly.The department needs to know if surge capacity will be there or not. If its not certain that it will be, it may make long-term investments in new technologies that can help it link to the high throughput spacecraft.Our challenge is to make sure we understand enough about our requirements to leverage those opportunities. Our buzzword is efficiency, Miller said. Where capacity isnt required long-term, short-term leases still make sense.We should stop buying it all the same. We want to make sure we are investing or buying to meet the right requirement at the right time in the right theater so we dont have waste, he said.He acknowledged the military is lagging in technology that can take advantage of the efficiencies the commercial operators can provide.Once we buy it, we need better tools to apportion out the bandwidth to those who need it. Right now, we dont do that, Miller said.DISA also needs the means to understand and analyze usage profiles daily, or hourly, so we can right size our requirements and be more efficient.He told the executives: We need your help to understand the full capacity of what your new technology brings to bear so we can apply it.The Air Force, another major purchaser of commercial satellite capacity, is kicking off an analysis of alternatives for its satellite broadband needs as it looks ahead to what a new architecture might be following the completion of the Wideband Global SATCOM fleet.There are some who have advocated for the military to get out of running its own broadband satellite systems altogether, leaving it to commercial providers, so it can concentrate on military unique requirements such as highly protected EHF spacecraft, needed for high-intensity conflict and command and control in the event of nuclear war.Lober said the Air Force has been good about asking for industry input and has even allocated a small amount of money for companies to do some studies.There is still a feeling that they want to buy the bandwidth themselves, he said, although service officials are starting to get the message that the old way of doing business may come to an end.Simply knowing what our place is in that architecture  in that vision  will go a long way toward incentivizing commercial industry to take on some of those unique challenges, Lober added.

Topics: Space
Find the newest releases to watch from National Geographic on Disney+, including favourite documentary series and films Free Solo, The Rescue, Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth and The World According to Jeff Goldblum.
The price of the average three-bed semi in Co Tipperary has risen 0.4% to 141,750 in the last three months, according to a national survey carried out by Real Estate Alliance.

And average house prices in the county have risen by 9.2% over the past year, the survey has found.

The REA Average House Price Survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland's typical stock home, the three-bed semi, giving an up-to-date picture of the property market in towns and cities countrywide for the first three months of the year.

There is very little stock especially in good mature areas, and small rural areas outside Clonmel area are still not seeing increases, said John Stokes of REA Stokes & Quirke, Clonmel.

The market was slow to get going after Christmas, following the trend of last year, but we expect this to change in the second quarter, said Eoin Dillon of REA Eoin Dillon, Nenagh.

Supply is meeting the demand and low-priced properties are attracting strong interest, said Seamus Browne, REA Seamus Browne, Roscrea.

Overall, the average house price across the country has risen by 10.9% over the past 12 months  a marked increase on the 7.7% rise registered to the end of December 2016.

The average three-bed semi-detached in Dublin city now costs 404,167, a rise of 15,000 (3.9%) in the last three months and an increase of 12.8% over the past year, the Q1 REA Average House Price Index has found.

The easing of the Central Bank restriction on lending for first-time buyers has had an immediate effect on the market with a large rise in numbers at viewings and potential buyers with mortgage financing.

The biggest percentage increases over the past year came in the countrys smaller rural towns situated outside of Dublin, the commuter belt and the major cities.

Prices here rose by an average of 12.9% over the year, with a three-bed semi now costing 136,194  an increase of 3% in the past three months.

The commuter counties of Louth, Meath, Kildare, Wicklow, Carlow and Laois rebounded after a relatively static end to 2016 to rise by 2.9% in the past three months, with the average house appreciating by over 6,000 in the quarter.

Irelands major cities outside the capital experienced a 2.3% rise in the first quarter and 7.7% on the year, with the average semi now costing 305,000 in Cork (+3.4%), 132,000 in Galway (+2.1%) and 178,000 in Limerick (+0.6%).

There has been a recovery in bank lending, which has been reflected in the purchasing end, but the accelerated figures in the Dublin market particularly, show that we are moving into a vendors marketplace, said REA spokesperson Healy Hynes.

However, we need to look at these figures in relation to the market where stock levels are at their lowest nationwide since January 2007.

At a current average price of 136,194, and an annual compound rise of 12.9%, it will be 2021 at the earliest before it becomes economic to build outside the cities.
(Natural News) The Bundy Ranch trials are underway, having begun in February of this year. There have already been reports that federal court Judge Gloria Navarro, who is presiding over the case, has dealt several blows to the defense teams throughout the trial. She has allegedly given the prosecution favorable treatment regarding time expansion, granting them over five weeks to present their case. She has, however, refused to do the same for the defense, allowing the six defendants only one week to present their case.

For the upcoming trial of Cliven Bundy, owner of the ranch at the center of the case, Navarro has also refused to allow nationally renowned lawyer Larry Klayman to defend Bundy, whose trial is set to begin in May. Klayman, who is the founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch, is known for being steadfast in his litigation in support of mostly conservative-leaning and libertarian-leaning issues. As reported by the Las Vegas Review Journal, Navarro said she would not allow Klayman into the high-profile criminal case until he can give her proof that ethical disciplinary proceedings against him in Washington, D.C., have been resolved in his favor.

Judge Navarro has now taken her detest for the defense even further and imposed a rule stating that no copies of the U.S. Constitution were allowed in this Federal Courtroom.

According to Redoubt News:

Witnesses have told me that the U.S. Marshals have decided that they will no longer allow copies of the U.S. Constitution to be brought into the courthouse. They have even gone so far as to remove them from ladies purses to be discarded into the trash. It is not limited to just those that are showing from shirt pockets.

Defendant Eric Parker, who has consistently placed a copy of the Constitution in his pocket during these proceedings, was forced to remove it and told to keep it flat at the defendants table so the jury could not see it.

The jury cannot be allowed to even look at the Constitution!

Eric Parker, known during the standoff as The Man on the Bridge or The Bundy Ranch Sniper, has been adamant that this case will set a precedent regarding government overreach and constitutional rights. During an interview with Early Rising, the married father of two said, I believe in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. I believe that those are natural rights, God-given; that the Constitution only reaffirms them. I believe that without defending them, they dont truly exist. Having a copy of The Constitution in his pocket during trial no doubt reinforces the virtues of liberty, limited government, and the Constitutionally protected rights that he believes in. Now that symbol is being taken away. (RELATED: Get more news like this at Liberty.news.)

The Bundy Ranch Standoff, or the Battle of Bunker Hill, was a six-day standoff between armed ranchers and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials in April 2014. Bundy, a cattle rancher, had refused to pay federal fees after he allowed his cows to graze on so-called public lands. He vehemently disagrees with federal authorities, arguing that the property is where his ancestors first settled in the 1880s. In 1998, the BLM took Bundy to federal court, which ruled in favor of the BLM, and awarded them $1.2 million. Bundy has refused to pay the fees, and after years of failed negotiations, the BLM showed up to the ranch in an attempt to gather his cattle as payment for the outstanding fees. Bundy, with the help of several other supporters, including his sons, protested the takeover, which the prosecution has presented at trial to be an armed assault against the officers. During the event, the only person injured was one of Bundys sons, who was tasered by one of the officers.

A total of 19 people were arrested and jailed in connection with the standoff. Two pleaded guilty and accepted punishment for lesser charges while the remaining others, including Bundy and his sons, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, assault on a federal officer, obstruction of justice, and several other charges. If convicted of all charges, each defendant could face up to 101 years in prison. Follow more news about outrageous government tyranny at Tyranny.news.

Sources:

Guns.com

Eaglerising.com

Redoubtnews.com

Reviewjournal.com
(Natural News) In America, the companies that regularly advertise on mass media are usually the same ones that poison Americans with chemicals formulated into all forms of medicine, food and personal care products. Public relations firms, shill scientists, journalist hacks and the broadcast news clones read the corporate scripts word for word, as if some evidence-based research has been done to prove the safety and/or efficacy of the most lethal, disease- and disorder-causing products on the planet. One industry-funded, biotech and pharma front group particularly stands out as the leader of the pack of hucksters and charlatans, and they are known as the American Council on Science and Health, or ACSH. Their leader? Hes a known felon named Doctor Gilbert Ross, who served 4 years in prison for defrauding New Yorks Medicaid program.

The infamous quack doctor Ross also had his medical license revoked back in 1995 for personal misconduct. Ross just so happens to be the ring leader that attacked Dr. Ozs position with Columbia Medical Schools Department of Surgery, just after Oz exposed glyphosate on his show, covering the health risks of the cancer causing herbicide called Roundup.

The biggest science quacks on earth try to debunk anyone and everyone who exposes the US chemical-medical system and toxic GMOs

The number one way the mass media convinces tens of millions of Americans not to believe in natural medicine and organic food is through propaganda. That propaganda is focused on discrediting the pioneers who publish the truth about the corruption and outright deception carried out by pharma and biotech front groups like the ACSH. Negative PR groups like Ketchum and ACHS spread lies to smear critics of their for-profit poison industries, and they pay journalists to push their scripts as news so that they can all source each others fictional stories, pretending there is evidence to back up their propaganda.

Publishing a fake chart that ranks credible science journalism is nothing more than a sham by the shills of pharma and biotech to discredit damning science facts while pushing their own opinions as evidence based. The fake world consensus that GMOs, prescription medications, vaccines and chemotherapy are all 100% safe and effective 100% of the time is pseudoscience nonsense. In fact, its so bad that ACSH has to hire a convicted felon to anoint journalist whores to help him do his dirty work.

Fake science chart throws Natural News, Food Babe and InfoWars under the bus

An industry-funded propaganda piece was recently published to try to smear independent science media and bury the real science and truth media under a barrage of lies. Its another sad and futile attempt by fake news to call real news fake. The chart conveys the twisted biases of the hucksters who created it.

If evidence-based science wasnt mostly twisted, distorted and faked by corporations that pay off the FDA, EPA and the CDC, and if modern medicine wasnt steeped in making Americans sicker, then peer reviewed science wouldnt have such a bad name across independent media right now. The only prerequisite for mass medias publication of whats called evidence based news is nothing more than cash (usually via ad revenues).

Its important for anyone who wants to protect their health to realize that junk science is now crusading across the mass media disguised as evidence based science and real clear science. The question is is the fake science propaganda compelling enough to fool those who are better informed?

One thing is for sure; the woman who founded ACSH in 1978, Elizabeth Whelan, crusaded against what she called junk science back then. How befitting that everything they publish now is funded and scripted by Monsanto and Pharma giants who push cancer-causing chemicals and Alzheimer-causing poisons on Americans while calling it all evidence-based. In truth, Whelan wrote books promoting dangerous chemicals and additives in food while receiving huge amounts of ACSHs funding from none other than the insidious tobacco industry.

Whelans propaganda back then was not much different from the propaganda spread across mass media today. She authored a book called Panic in the Pantry to try to convince people that processed, toxic food was nothing to worry about. The book jacket cover told you to Eat your additives, theyre good for you. Sounds a lot like the commercial cigarette industry hiring doctors to tell Americans that cancer sticks were good for digestion. The lies are so pathetic and outrageous that if you repeat them enough, some people start believing them. Such is the credo of American Council on Science and Health  a poison industry front group that knowingly collects money to spread lies about the very people who try to protect humanity from cancer-causing poisons in food and medicine.

By the early 1980s, ACSHs donors included Dow, Monsanto, and petrochemical companies like Mobil and Chevron. If its poisonous, promote it as healthy!

After the crook Dr. Ross was released from prison, Whelan hired him right away to continue her junk science propaganda campaign. Now shes deadprobably from consuming her own toxic advice, come to think of it.

The easiest way to identify the crooks, liars and shills when it comes to toxic food and toxic medicine is to simply look at their donors and sponsors. ACSHs major donors and sponsors include McDonalds, Bayer, Syngenta, Pepsi, Monsanto and Bristol Myers Squibb. Who in their right mind would believe anything published by ACSH?

Sources for this article include:

Skepchick.org

NaturalNews.com

TruthWiki.org

MotherJones.com

SourceWatch.org

CDC.news
(Natural News) As Natural News founder/editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, has extensively reported, the Zika virus scare in which the mosquito-borne sickness was blamed for a rash of microcephalis among newborns, particularly in Brazil, was a manufactured hoax. But that isnt stopping U.S. officials from perpetuating the myth that a) its a real problem; and b) something needs to be done about it.

One of the methods chosen by American officials around the country is introducing genetically modified mosquitoes grown by British biotech firm Oxitec that are supposed to mate with Zika-carrying mosquitoes, causing their offspring to die early.

The Houston Chronicle reported that officials in Harris County, Texas, are considering introducing Oxitec genetically modified mosquitoes into the area and are currently negotiating with the British firm.

So far, there have been no actual trials involving GM mosquitoes in the United States. A planned trial in the Florida Keys last fall never materialized because residents there expressed concern about the genetic engineering, which led to local officials canceling a proposed trial there. (RELATED: Read The Zika Hoax Is About Population Control.)

Whats even more bizarre is that officials in Harris County, which is home to Houston, note there have been no documented cases of Zika virus being transmitted locally. In fact, the only Texas cases at all have been in Cameron County, which borders Mexico.

The Chronicle noted further:

Mustapha Debboun, director of the Harris County Mosquito Control Division, said working with Oxitec could provide another tool in the fight against Zika and other mosquito-borne illnesses. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which carry the Zika virus, dengue fever and chikungunya, among other deadly illnesses, are common in the Houston region.

But despite their presence, again  no cases of Zika in Houston.

A chief scientist at Oxitec, Deric Nimmo, has called the release of mosquitoes to control mosquitoes a big change in how officials deal with the virus. The company says it has conducted field trials in Brazil, Panama, and the Cayman Islands, and it says that the Aedes populations have been decreased by as much as 90 percent in those places.

But as Adams has noted, in places where there were an unusually high number of babies being born with microcephaly, the claim that they were being caused by the Zika virus never materialized:

Now, the Zika fraud has started to unravel as the Zika doomsday predictions failed to materialize. (How could the predictions be correct in the first place? It was all based on infectious disease quackery and viral voodoo.) Brazils Ministry of Health has launched an investigation into the cluster of babies born with brain defects linked to the Zika virus, after an expected explosion of cases across the country did not occur, reports The Globe and Mail (Canada).

It turns out that even though Zika-carrying mosquitoes spread across Brazil and infected untold millions of people, those infections never translated into neurodevelopmental birth defects (shrunken brains).

The Zika virus alone, in other words, isnt causing a wave of microcephaly, which is exactly what Ive been accurately telling everyone since day one.

The bulk of the cases of congenital Zika syndrome  fetal brain defects that sometimes cause microcephaly, or abnormally small skulls  remain clustered in the northeast region of the country, reported the Globe and Mail. (RELATED: Read The Top 10 Most Outrageous Science Hoaxes Of 2016.)

Nevertheless, American health officials are falling for the hype. Last August, the Food and Drug Administration was the federal agency that gave Oxitec permission to launch a field trial in Key Haven, a suburb of the Florida Keys, after stating that the introduction of tens of thousands of genetically modified Aedes mosquitoes would have no significant impact on human health, animal health or the environment. At the time, residents of Monroe County, Florida, approved a non-binding resolution to work with Oxitec, but the residents of Key Haven voted against the trial nearly 2-1 in November.

Now, however, it looks as though Harris County officials are going to be the latest U.S. officials to fall for the hoax. Check for updates to this story as it develops on Environ.news.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources:

NaturalNews.com

HoustonChronicle.com

TheGlobeAndMail.com
(Natural News) Farmers in Oregon could finally get a win in their fight against companies like Monsanto. House Bill 2739 is under consideration and, if passed, it would allow farmers and landowners to sue biotech patent holders like Monsanto for essentially trespassing on their property.

The House Bill 2739 summary states that it Allows cause of action against patent holder for genetically engineered organism present on land without permission of owner or lawful occupant. Defenders of the bill believe it is a step in the right direction to remedy problems caused by GMOs. Sandra Bishop of the Our Family Farms Coalition, which supports HB 2739, spoke to the East Oregonian website saying, This is not a wild legal grab. We will not be compensated for our angst. We will only be compensated for provable legal damages.

Contamination from GMOs can cause farmers to have dramatic economic losses. They run the risk of being rejected by export markets that have banned genetically modified organisms. GMO chemicals can also lead to highly resistant weeds and insects that are nearly impossible for farmers to eradicate, and are too time-consuming for them to manage. Farmers who own organic crops could be subjected to losing their organic certification if their produce becomes contaminated, which would diminish the premium earned on their product. As more markets are looking to carry non-GMO produce, farmers have the opportunity to meet that need and typically get paid a higher price for their product. But the difficulty in preventing contamination is a constant threat that they face. (RELATED: Get more news like this at GMO.news.)

For years Monsanto has bullied farmers when their GMO seeds ended up on the farmers land. While contamination can occur many different ways, by no fault of their own, farmers have been sued when unauthorized GMO crops show up in their fields. The companies that own the seed patents typically win these cases, leaving farmers with few options. This bill, if passed, would give power back to landowners who want to continue to have GMO-free farms.

Plaintiffs who decide to sue these companies could receive up to three times the amount of damages caused by the GMOs that harmed their land under the guidelines of HB 2739. Proponents of the bill find this solution to be fair because it now forces Monsanto, and companies like them, to take responsibility since they are the ones who profit from GMO patents. If they believe it will affect their bottom line, they may be more inclined to regulate the contamination. Supporters also note that finding the culprits will be fairly simple by using the genetic tests established when patents are approved.

There are some opponents to the bill of course, including farmers that depend on GMO seeds. They argue that pollination among similar crops go far beyond GMOs. Critics have also tried guilt-tripping supporters, making claims that the passing of this bill could result in seed companies refusing to introduce new innovative products in Oregon. According to the East Oregonian, Scott Dahlman, policy director of the Oregonians for Food and Shelter agribusiness group, stated that if companies face the threat of additional lawsuits, they will reconsider whether they sell things here.

This is not the only bill being brought forth in Oregon this year regarding GMO seed patent holders. House Bill 2469, if passed, would allow local governments to restrict their usage altogether.

Sources:

Eastoregonian.com

Gov.oregonlive.com

Gov.oregonlive.com

Fooddemocracynow.org

Farmaid.org
A doctor from Norfolk, Virginia claims that he had discovered a simple treatment that could cure sepsis, a deadly medical condition that can lead to shock and multiple organ failure.

Paul Marik, a critical care specialist at Eastern Virginia Medical School, published a paper detailing how he was able to cure sepsis using a mixture of vitamin C and steroids that are given intravenously.

Dr. Marik first stumbled upon the alleged cure when he was running the intensive care unit at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in January 2016. A 48-year-old woman was rushed to the hospital due to a severe case of sepsis.

"Her kidneys weren't working. Her lungs weren't working. She was going to die," said Marik, in a report from National Public Radio. "In a situation like this, you start thinking out of the box."

During that time, Marik remembered as study he read recently that treat septic patients with intravenous vitamin C. The study has some moderate success in treating sepsis so Marik decided to give it a try. However, Marik added a low dose of corticosteroids and thiamine to the intravenous vitamin C mix.

Marik was surprised when the patient was cured and fit to leave the hospital within two days after the injection. The doctor also tried the intravenous mix to two other patients with sepsis that he encountered and achieved similar results.

Since then, Marik has been treating septic patients with his intravenous mix. After he treated 50 patients, Marik decided to write a paper detailing his success. Published in the journal Chest, Marik's paper claimed that only four of the 50 patients he treated died in the hospital and all those deaths were caused by the underlying disease and not from the sepsis.

So far, Marik allegedly treated about 150 patients and only one of those died from sepsis. This is considered as a huge claim, considering the fact that about 300,000 of the million cases of sepsis in America die annually.

Despite the positive result of the new treatment, Marik, and some experts on sepsis, warn that other physicians should not try and imitate the treatment. They noted that the treatment is still in its preliminary stage and more research in controlled environment and higher population is necessary to prove the efficacy of the new treatment.
A woman from Texas got the shock of her life after finding what looks like teeth while eating some Barbacoa tacos from El Rincon Mexican Restaurant.

On March 19, Courtney Aguilar posted a picture on Facebook showing a strip of meat that looks like it's attached to some small teeth. The post has been deleted but you can see a screengrab here.

"When you order Barbacoa tacos but get teeth instead," Aguilar wrote in her post. She said that upon asking a waitress in El Rincon Mexican Restaurant about it, the server confirmed that they were "baby teeth."

The Texas restaurant was quick to respond to Aguilar's post, saying that what she found were not teeth but were cow lips, as per My San Antonio.

El Rincon clarified Aguilar's claim on a March 21 Facebook post. The restaurant said they buy their barbacoa pre-made from an FDA-approved vendor, but due to the incident, they will not continue doing business with them. The restaurant added that they will stop selling barbacoa tacos for the mean time until they find another vendor.

El Rincon's alleged vendor, Laxson, also spoke up regarding the issue.

We admit cow lips are not the most attractive food item and can resemble teeth. Unfortunately, it made its way into this customers dish," the company said in a statement sent to CBSN. Laxson further explained that cow lips are not traditionally part of a barbacoa but it's edible.

Meanwhile, El Rincon Mexican Restaurant has taken full responsibility of the recent incident, which has hit a major blow on them.

Our restaurant depends on our customers and our restaurant has been in business 26 years because of them so we do not take this lightly and hope to have barbacoa back on the menu soon," restaurant manager Roger Baza told CBSN. We are exploring all options to deliver the best possible product at a reasonable price."
So, orcas apparently have bad breath. It's okay, they can't help it; a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports revealed that the mix of bacteria the killer whale spews out is actually mostly the result of human contamination in their marine habitat.

According to a report from Phys Org, the study explored the role of infectious diseases on the decreasing population of the endangered Puget Sound orcas. The species have been endangered since 2005 with only 78 individuals now left in the wild. Some of the factors causing them problems are the lack of prey, pollution and disturbances from ships.

For the study, the team of researchers focused on killer whales in Washington state waters, collecting the droplets of waters that they exhale when they come to the surface. With samples collected over a four-year period, they were able to identify the array of bacteria and fungi in the orcas' breath.

Read Also: Scientists Explain the Mystery Behind Killer Whale's Menopause

Among the hodge-podge, healthy bacteria were observed. However, there were also a number of drug-resistant and potentially harmful ones such as salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus.

The scientists suggested that they are picking up the bacteria and fungi as they swim through urbanized waterways. Plenty of environmental stressors are present in these waters from human waste making its way from toilets to agricultural runoff.

Unfortunately, these could cause respiratory problems in orcas with weaker immune systems. Respiratory disease is a major concern with killer whales as scientists found over 40 percent of its population had some sort of infection in their lungs.

"These animals are subject to many stressors, which reduce the competence of their immune systems," co-author and marine mammal veterinarian Pete Schroeder explained.

However, it is still not certain if these microbes are definitely harmful to the giant orcas. Co-author Linda Rhodes pointed out that finding a potential pathogen in an animal doesn't necessarily mean it's sick.

Read Also: Bloodbath! Rare Video Shows Killer Whales Eating Baby Live Sharks in Monterey Bay
Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking conducted a conference in Hong Kong. But it's not what he discussed that made his speech interesting, but how he executed it. He appeared in front of the audience as a hologram, speaking from the other side of the world.

The event was initiated by NetDragon Websoft with the help of ARHT Media focused on creating digital human holograms. Some of their popular works are hologram figures of Tony Robbins. Although suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Hawking agreed to do the interview and spoke using his computer synthesizer and of course, through his hologram alter ego projected at the Hong Kong Science Park.

Hologram projection is not new; however, it is not yet widely used. Experts say that the technology that allows an individual to appear anywhere even simultaneously in many different locations is now gaining popularity.

Read Also: Astronaut Stephen Hawking? Physicist Will Travel to Space Aboard Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic

In the Hong Kong conference, professor Hawking answered inquiries about the possibility of life on Earth, his career and even his stand on the issue of Brexit.

A few weeks ago, Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson offered Professor Hawking a seat to a flight to space. He accepted the offer immediately citing the current administration and that he may no longer have a place in the U.S. During the conference, he expressed his disappointment as he mentioned that President Donald Trump as part of "right-wing successes" that might hinder scientific research.

"With Brexit and Trump... we are witnessing a global revolt against experts," the famous cosmologist also said

The audience also expressed their interest in his study on cosmology. The professor was also asked about climate change.

"The answers to these problems will come from science and technology," astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said during the conference.

Read Also: An Atheist at the Vatican, What Stephen Hawking Told Pope Francis [VIDEO]
Juno probe in Jupiter is relatively young compared to other NASA missions in space. It has already performed four flybys but it's just getting started. Juno is set to approach Jupiter again for the fifth time. The flyby is scheduled for March 27, less than nine months after the spacecraft entered the gas planet's orbit.

The spacecraft will approach Jupiter at 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers) on top of the planet's clouds at 4:52 a.m. on Monday morning. Juno is expected to collect new scientific data during the flyby.

Aboard Juno are various instruments that will allow the NASA spacecraft to gather images and other vital information about Jupiter during the course of the flyby. The new data will help explain other features of the planet that have been formerly observed. Former data shows that Jupiter's visible belts and zone stretch into the planet's interiors. Older Jupiter data also points to the fact that the planet's magnetic field is highly intricate, according to a report.

"This will be our fourth science pass -- the fifth close flyby of Jupiter of the mission -- and we are excited to see what new discoveries Juno will reveal," Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio said in a press release. "Every time we get near Jupiter's cloud tops, we learn new insights that help us understand this amazing giant planet."

Despite the fact that scientists are still analyzing the data gathered from the previous flybys of Juno, they were able to ascertain that the planet's incandescent auroras were produced by energetic particles that also suggest a complicated current system involving Jupiter's moon, Io.

Peer-reviewed scientific findings based on Juno's flybys might be released in the coming months. The Juno probe was launched in 2011 and had conquered Jupiter's orbit in 2016.

Surprisingly, though, the spacecraft's camera called the JunoCam is not part of the spacecraft scientific payload. This means that there are more enhanced equipment being used to gather information.

A report says that the JunoCam was placed in order to take the public along with the journey by providing compelling images from the mission.
A fire broke out Monday at a large apartment complex in Waltham, Massachusetts, destroying one building's roof.

No one was injured in the blaze at the Windsor Village Community, a complex on Hardy Pond, but police say most of the building that caught fire is a total loss.

Firefighters worked to prevent the blaze from spreading to other buildings in the complex.

Waltham Fire is working to determine the cause.
With less than a week before we turn the calendar to April, were still talking about wintry precipitation, freezing rain and snow. Welcome to spring in New England!

After a cold yet sunny start, clouds will thicken through our Sunday with a chance for a few showers into CT, western MA & southwestern VT. In some of those higher elevations (including the Berkshires), we could get some instances of a wintry mix. Otherwise, the rest of New England looks relatively quiet with highs ranging in the upper 30s to 40.

However, as we head into this evening, temperatures will slide into the lower 30s as showers continue to push through becoming more widespread into the early morning hours of the Monday morning commute. A Freezing Rain Advisory has already been issued ahead of these showers as the precipitation may freeze on contact, creating for a messy and icy morning commute from the Berkshire, to the Worcester Hills, to southern VT, and NH. These showers will change over to snow as it crosses into Maine where a Winter Weather Advisory has been issued. As far as snowfall accumulations for the northern half of Maine, expect 2-4 with locally higher amounts in the higher elevations. By the late morning hours, the rain/snow line slips northward, making it mostly rain by the mid-afternoon for most areas. The wintry mix will still likely be into northern NH, with snow into the Crown of Maine. High temperatures will reach into the mid to upper 40s for southern New England, but it will take most of the day to reach those numbers. We could see a few places in the 50s, but thats likely not until dinner time Monday evening. Speaking of dinner time Monday, the evening commute around Boston will likely still be soggy, but not nearly as slick as the morning commute. The showers will become scattered and clear from west to east by sunset with a few lingering showers at the Cape after sunset and some snow to freezing drizzle into northern Maine through midnight.

Monday night, with a few lingering showers along the Cape and the Crown of Maine, it will still remain cloudy with temperatures only dropping into the upper 30s south, lower 30s to 20s north. Tuesday starts dry and cloudy, but brings another pulse of precipitation by the later afternoon hours in western New England, spreading eastward through the afternoon and evening. These showers likely going to be rain as high temperatures reach into the 50s. Some of these showers could be heavy at times during the late evening.

Midweek brings some improvement to the weather and the end of the 10-day brings some consistent 50-degree highs, including for Opening Day for the Red Sox. Stay tuned for continued updates to your forecast.
A 53-year-old man was wounded after being shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Chicago's Belmont Cragin neighborhood on the Northwest Side Monday morning, according to police.

The shooting happened just before 6:20 a.m. in the 6100 block of West Grand, Chicago police said. Family identified the wounded man as Felix Torres. ICE said they were not initially at the residence to arrest Torres.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents were attempting to make an arrest when someone pointed a weapon at them, officials with the department said in a statement.

Chicago police said the agents were executing a federal enforcement initiative when the shooting took place.

The man was transported to an area hospital and listed in serious condition.

Family members of Torres claim he did not have a gun and is in the United States legally. His daughter, Carmen Torres, told NBC 5 the family was not told why agents were at the home Monday. She said her father was shot as three children, including a 5-month-old, stood nearby.

"My dad doesn't have any guns, my dad just went to see what's going on," Torres said. "He just opened the door and they just shot him."

Her family has leived legally at the home for nearly 30 years, she said.

Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said the raid "is exactly why the City of Chicago should refuse to collaborate with ICE."

"This guns blazing ICE raid deepens my resolve to organize my community so we can keep each other safe from the threat posed by ICE," Ramirez-Rosa said in a statement. "The City and State should not wait until another Chicagoan is shot by ICE to act on strengthening the Welcoming City Ordinance and passing the TRUST Act (HB 3099)."

Neighbor Gabriela Lucatero said her husband captured cellphone footage of authorities telling Felix Torres and other bystanders to get down on the ground.

"One of the cops was saying to come out with his hands up," she said.

The shooting remained under investigation by ICE as of Monday afternoon.
Police have found no evidence that the man who killed four people in London last week was associated with ISIS or al-Qaeda, a senior British counterterrorism officer said Monday.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu of the Metropolitan Police said Westminster attacker Khalid Masood clearly had "an interest in jihad," but police have no indication he discussed his attack plans with others.

Basu, who also serves as Britain's senior national coordinator for counterterrorism policing, said Wednesday's attack  in which Masood ran down pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge before fatally stabbing a policeman guarding Parliament  "appears to be based on low-sophistication, low-tech, low-cost techniques copied from other attacks."

Masood was shot dead by police after his deadly rampage, which police have revealed lasted just 82 seconds.

Police believe Masood  a 52-year-old Briton with convictions for violence who had spent several years in Saudi Arabia  acted alone, but are trying to determine whether others helped inspire or direct his actions.

Detectives on Monday continued to question a 30-year-old man arrested Sunday and a 58-year-old man arrested shortly after Wednesday's attack. Both were detained in the central England city of Birmingham, where Masood had recently lived.

Prime Minister Theresa May said last week that Masood was "a peripheral figure" in an investigation into violent extremism some years ago. But Basu said he was not a "subject of interest" for counterterrorism police or the intelligence services before last week's attack.

Masood was born Adrian Elms, but changed his name in 2005, suggesting a conversion to Islam.

His mother, Janet Ajao, said Monday she was "deeply shocked, saddened and numbed" by his murderous actions.

In a statement released through the police, Ajao said that "since discovering that it was my son that was responsible I have shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident."

Basu said there was no sign Masood was radicalized during one of his stints in prison, the last of which was in 2003.

"I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why," Basu said. "Most importantly, so do the victims and families."

As Basu appealed for anyone who spoke to Masood on the day of the attack to come forward, the British government repeated calls for tech companies to give police and intelligence services access to encrypted messages exchanged by terrorism suspects.

Masood used the messaging service WhatsApp just before he began his attack. Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Sunday that such services must not "provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other."

Tech companies have strongly resisted previous calls to create back-doors into encrypted messaging, arguing that to do so would compromise the secure communications underpinning everything from shopping to tax returns to online banking.

Rudd is due to hold a previously scheduled meeting with internet companies on Thursday.

Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman, James Slack, said tech firms "should be helping us more" to prevent terrorism.

"The ball is now in their court," he said.

Slack said that if agreement was not reached with the companies, the government "rules nothing out," including legislation.

Meanwhile, the families of the dead and injured set about the difficult task of going on with their lives.

The family of an American victim expressed gratitude Monday for the kindness of strangers as they insisted some good would come from the tragedy. A dozen members of Kurt W. Cochran's family gathered to face the media, sharing their shock and sense of loss.

Cochran, from Utah, was on the last day of a European trip celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary when he was killed on Westminster Bridge. Cochran's wife, Melissa, suffered a broken leg and rib and a cut head, but is steadily improving.

The family offered profuse thanks to first responders, British and American authorities and people who had sent notes, prayer and donations.

"Last night we were speaking as a family about all this, and it was unanimous that none of us harbor any ill will or harsh feelings towards this," said Sarah McFarland, Melissa Cochran's sister. "So we love our brother. We love what he brought to the world, and we feel like that this situation is going to bring many good things to the world."
Federal immigration agents rounded up about 26 undocumented people on probation as they showed up in Fort Worth Sunday morning to perform community service.

"I turn back around again and I saw the big coach bus and I said 'dude that's ICE,'" said Hector Rivera, one of the parolees on the bus.

More than two dozen undocumented immigrants are in federal custody after an ICE-led operation in Fort Worth.

It is believed to be one of the largest such sweeps in North Texas in recent memory and perhaps the first of undocumented immigrants who reported for court-ordered community service, like picking up trash along highways.

Those arrested were convicted of high-level misdemeanors or low-level felonies like drunk driving, theft and assault, said Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn.

An NBC 5 photographer saw an ICE bus and two vans pull up to the Tarrant County Work Release site on Cold Springs Road.

Most of those arrested could be seen being frisked as they were escorted onto the bus. One man was shackled.

"They were really nervous, 'oh my God,' 'oh my kid' and everything," said Rivera. "Some were saying 'oh we got to run.'"

Rivera said the men on board were desperate to get word to their families.

"One of the guys has a pen and we started writing phone numbers, 'hey call my wife,' 'call my dad,' I said 'OK, don't worry, I'll do it.' That's the least I can do," said Rivera.

Juan Herrera's brother Jaime, who has been in the country for nearly a decade and has three U.S.-born children, was arrested Sunday while following a court order.

"It's kind of weird, because the people who don't do it, still outside and the people who try to be straight and pay all the money back and everything, that's what happened," said Herrera.

ICE spokesman Carl Rusnock confirmed the operation, but declined to immediately provide any details.

"ICE officers are conducting ongoing immigration enforcement operations in North Texas," he said in an email. "No further details are available until the conclusion of this operation. ICE routinely conducts immigration enforcement operations locally and nationwide which help improve overall public safety by removing criminal aliens from our communities."

Waybourn said his office participated in the operation at ICE's request.

"This was totally initiated by ICE," he said. "They came to us and said, 'Listen, we reviewed the list (of names) and we suspect some of them are illegal aliens.' So we said, 'Whatever you need to do.'"

Waybourn said the families of those arrested had been notified.

Those arrested were taken to an ICE facility in Dallas where they will be processed and some possibly released, he said.

Waybourn campaigned on cracking down on undocumented immigrants, especially those convicted of crimes.

Soon after he took office in January, he applied to take part in a federal program that would train jailers to enforce immigration laws.

Immigration attorney Jaime Barron says the legal outcomes for the men will vary.

"It's just going to be a mixed bag, some people probably will find relief in the immigration court and some others might be forced to be deported," Barron said.

On Monday, family members showed up at ICE headquarters in Dallas to ask about their loved ones.

"Yeah I'm upset because I don't feel this is right," said Erica Savillon.

She married her husband Andy in December and he is still undocumented, she said.

He is from Honduras. She is American.

Erica Savillon said it's not fair her husband was rounded up when he was performing community service for a drunk driving conviction.

"I get it, if you do something wrong, pay for what you did," she said. "But he's trying to pay for that and he still gets taken away."

Activists said at least several of those detained could be released on bond as early as Tuesday, including Erica Savillon's husband.
With an eye toward Washington, leaders of a fractured and conflict-ridden Arab world hold their annual summit this week, seeking common positions and possible leverage as President Donald Trump weighs his approach toward the region.

From their hotel on the Dead Sea, they have a view of the Israeli-occupied West Bank on the opposite shore  a visual reminder of the stalled Palestinian quest for statehood, an issue that host Jordan says will take center stage this year.

Here is a look ahead.

WHO'S ATTENDING?

Jordan's King Abdullah II plays host. Key participants include King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. and Arab League envoy for Syria, are coming, along with U.S. and Russian envoys. The leadership summit is scheduled for Wednesday.

Syria's seat will remain empty. President Bashar Assad hasn't been invited to an Arab summit since his country was suspended from the 22-member Arab League in late 2011, several months after an uprising against him turned into a civil war.

PALESTINE ON THE HORIZON?

The leaders are to reaffirm a Saudi-led peace plan that offers Israel full relations with dozens of Arab and Muslim states in exchange for its withdrawal from lands captured in 1967. The Arab Peace Initiative, which would pave the way for a Palestinian state in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, was first proposed in 2002. This week, the summit is being asked to endorse the plan "as is," a request promoted by Abbas, who says reopening it to negotiations would further weaken the Palestinians.

Such a reaffirmation undercuts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's talk of "regional peace," in which Israeli-Arab normalization would precede a deal with the Palestinians. It would also remind Netanyahu and Trump, who in recent comments seemed to pull back from a two-state solution, that the Arab world backs that idea.

In previous summits, the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 and their chaotic aftermath overshadowed the Palestinian issue. This year, Jordan wants it high on the agenda. The stakes are high for the kingdom, which has a large Palestinian population and custodianship of a major Muslim shrine in contested Jerusalem.

"We firmly stand behind the Arab Peace Initiative," Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Momani said Sunday. "We want to establish the two-state solution. We want to bring justice to the Palestinian people."

EGYPT-SAUDI RAPPROCHEMENT?

The summit could offer an opportunity for Egypt and Saudi Arabia to defuse months of tensions, mainly over Syria.

Saudi Arabia is a leading supporter of the Syrian opposition, while Egypt, fearful of Islamic militants among the rebels' ranks, has pushed for a political solution that might keep Assad in power. Salman has also sought closer ties with Turkey and Qatar, which have tense relations with Egypt. On another contentious point, Saudi Arabia had hoped, in vain, that Egypt might contribute ground troops to a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

In October, the Saudis abruptly suspended oil aid to Egypt just days after Egypt backed a U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria drafted by Assad ally Russia. Under the initial oil deal, Saudi Arabia agreed in April 2016 to provide Egypt with 700,000 tons of fuel monthly for five years on easy repayment terms.

The shipments resumed several days ago, signaling possible rapprochement that could perhaps be sealed at the summit.

Amr Adly, a Cairo-based analyst at the Carnegie Middle East Center, said the two countries have different priorities, with Saudi Arabia focused on containing its main regional rival, Iran, while Egypt seeks to combat the Muslim Brotherhood, a region-wide movement that Cairo views as a terrorist group.

SYRIA, ANYONE?

Don't look to the summit for a new push to end the Syrian civil war.

Leaders remain divided over Assad's role, if any, in a possible political transition. Some argue that in shutting Assad out early on in the war, the Arab League created a vacuum that allowed non-Arab Russia, Iran and Turkey a greater say over an eventual solution. The trio now serves as guarantor of a shaky cease-fire between the Syrian government and the opposition, while U.N.-brokered talks in Geneva aim to coax them toward a political transition.

De Mistura, the international Syria envoy, said last week that he is not expecting breakthroughs in Geneva. He also urged Russia, Iran and Turkey to regain control of a "worrisome" situation on the ground in Syria, following repeated violations of a cease-fire reached in December.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said last week that the Trump administration is still working on its Syria strategy, but that the top goal in the region is to defeat the Islamic State group, which holds territory in Syria and Iraq. The U.S. has significantly widened its footprint in northern Syria in recent weeks, including airlifting allied Kurdish fighters ahead of a battle for Raqqa, the de facto IS capital.

Trump has promised closer cooperation with Russia, an unsettling prospect for the Arab world's staunchest Assad opponents.

WHAT ABOUT IRAN?

A Trump administration warning that it is putting Shiite Iran "on notice" has been welcomed by the Sunni Arab camp headed by Saudi Arabia. Tehran and Riyadh back opposite sides in the wars in Syria and Yemen, and a more aggressive U.S. stance toward Iran would presumably help the Saudis contain their regional archrival. As with Syria, Trump hasn't formulated a detailed Iran policy yet.

The summit might make do with a standard warning to Iran.

Momani, the Jordanian spokesman, said Sunday in response to a question from reporters that "any attempt to destabilize the Arab countries in any form, by deed or speech, is rejected and condemned in the strongest terms."
A spring-like weather pattern has returned to North Texas with plenty of humidity and a few showers. The rain will end overnight but there may be some fog to contend with Tuesday morning. There is a total lunar eclipse early Tuesday morning but clouds will likely hinder any viewing.

The mild and muggy pattern will continue through Thursday before a strong cold front arrives Thursday night. Highs will be in the upper 70s to low 80s Tuesday through Thursday. Once the front moves through our highs will be mostly in the 50s Friday into next week with lows in the 30s and 40s.

A spring-like weather pattern has returned to North Texas with plenty of humidity and a few showers. The rain will end overnight but there may be some fog to contend with Tuesday morning. There is a total lunar eclipse early Tuesday morning but clouds will likely hinder any viewing.

Stay informed during the severe weather season with our local news and weather app. Download NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth for Apple or Android and pick your alerts.

Latest Forecast

TONIGHT : Spotty evening showers, then mainly cloudy overnight with patchy fog and drizzle. Low: 66. Wind: SE 5-10 mph.

: Spotty evening showers, then mainly cloudy overnight with patchy fog and drizzle. Low: 66. Wind: SE 5-10 mph. ELECTION DAY: Mostly cloudy and warm. High: 81. Wind: S 10-15 mph.

Mostly cloudy and warm. High: 81. Wind: S 10-15 mph. WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy and warm. Low: 65. High: 81. Wind: S 10-15 mph.

Partly cloudy and warm. Low: 65. High: 81. Wind: S 10-15 mph. THURSDAY : Partly cloudy. Low: 65. High: 79. Wind: S 10-15 mph.

: Partly cloudy. Low: 65. High: 79. Wind: S 10-15 mph. VETERANS DAY : Partly sunny. Low 47. High: 60. Wind N 10-20 mph.

: Partly sunny. Low 47. High: 60. Wind N 10-20 mph. SATURDAY: Mostly sunny and cool. Low: 39. High: 57. Wind: NE 5-10 mph.

Mostly sunny and cool. Low: 39. High: 57. Wind: NE 5-10 mph. SUNDAY : Partly cloudy and cool. Low: 38. High: 58. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.

: Partly cloudy and cool. Low: 38. High: 58. Wind: SE 10-15 mph. MONDAY : Mostly cloudy and cool with a 20% chance of showers. Low: 42. High: 56. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.

: Mostly cloudy and cool with a 20% chance of showers. Low: 42. High: 56. Wind: SE 10-15 mph. TUESDAY : Mostly cloudy and cool with a 20% chance of showers. Low: 42. High: 52. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.

: Mostly cloudy and cool with a 20% chance of showers. Low: 42. High: 52. Wind: SE 10-15 mph. WEDNESDAY : Partly cloudy and cool. Low: 39. High: 52. Wind: N 10-15 mph.

: Partly cloudy and cool. Low: 39. High: 52. Wind: N 10-15 mph. THURSDAY: Mostly cloudy and cool. Low: 38. High: 52. Wind: NE 10-20 mph.

Weather Links
A Redlands man is accused of selling assault rifles, silencers, high-capacity magazines and ammunition to a convicted felon who told him he was shipping them to Mexico to be used in shootings, officials said.



Scott Everett Coyl, 28, was arrested at his home on Thursday after being charged in federal court with selling rifles without a license, according to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives news release.



A criminal complaint charges him with dealing firearms without a license, officials said. Coyl was free on $20,000 bond.



Authorities seized about 40 firearms, including three machine guns and eight silencers. They also seized more than 100 high-capacity magazines and ammunition, according to the news release.



An affidavit in support of the criminal complaint alleges Coyl sold five .223-caliber AR-type rifles  with no make or model markings, and no visible serial number  to a person he believed was a convicted felon and who told him that the purpose for the rifles was to send them to Mexico to be used in shootings.



"Despite learning this information, Coyl continued selling firearms to the individual," the news release said.



The affidavit alleges Coyl built AR-type rifles and sold weapons out of his garage.
What to Know Police say they thwarted a high school girl's imminent threat to bomb her high school and shoot people.

Nicole Cevario, 18, kept a diary with detailed plans on how she would attack Catoctin High School in Thurmont, Maryland, police say.

She will be charged with a crime once she is released from a hospital.

A female high school student had immediate plans to bomb her school in Frederick County, Maryland, and shoot students and teachers, police say.

Nicole Cevario, 18, stockpiled bomb-making materials and had a shotgun to attack Catoctin High School on April 5, the Frederick County Sheriff's Office said Monday. She wrote about her plans in detail in a diary her father found.

Police believe the diary entries were not empty threats, Sheriff Charles A. Jenkins said at a news conference.

"We felt this was going to be carried out. There is no doubt in our minds that we diverted a disaster up there," he said.

Cevario "had the means and equipment to have caused a significant life safety event at the school, police said in a statement.

Frederick County Sheriff's Office

Police learned of Cevario's plot after her father read her diary and called the school. Within hours, the honor student was pulled out of a classroom and involuntarily taken to a hospital for a psychological evaluation.

Police searched Cevario's home in Thurmont, Maryland, and found weapons and the diary. In the home, police say they found a 12-gauge shotgun with ammunition and bomb-making materials including pipes with end caps, shrapnel, fireworks, magnesium tape and fuse material. The gun and other items were purchased legally, police said.

In the diary, police say Cevario "spelled out a detailed shooting event that she planned to execute on a specific date in April," police said.

Officials later said that date was April 5. It was not immediately clear whether that date had any significance.

The diary showed the high schooler, who had been taking college classes in criminal justice, had been planning the attack for some time, police said. She compiled information on the school's emergency procedures and the school resource deputy on duty.

"The journal was very detailed, including a time line that revealed how she was going to execute the plot, and her expectations at each stage of the event," police said.

Officials say Cevario acted alone and never took a weapon or explosive device to the school. It was clear she had mental health issues, the sheriff's office said.

"Obviously, this was a student who needed some intervention and some help, and I think the silver lining is she's going to get the help she needs now," Frederick County Public Schools spokesman Michael Doerrer said.

The tip police received from Cevario's father may have saved lives, officials said.

"The Sheriffs Office is extremely appreciative of the parents actions in bringing this potentially deadly incident to the proper authoritys attention, promptly, so that a positive conclusion could be achieved," the statement said.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Maryand State Fire Marshal's bomb squad assisted the sheriff's office.

The school's principal assured parents that students are secure there.

"We keep our school safe, and we will continue to work together as a community to keep it safe," Principal Bernie Quesada said in a letter sent Monday.

Counselors were available at the school.

Once Cevario is released from the hospital, she will be charged with possession of explosive and incendiary material with intent to create a destructive device.

Law enforcement and school officials said they had no sign Cevario had any problem.

Anyone with information for police is asked to call 301-600-2583.
Authorities in the Florida Keys arrested a 26-year-old woman who allegedly stabbed her fiance after getting into an altercation with his parents.

Heather Evans was taken into custody and charged with multiple counts including aggravated battery and tampering with evidence for the Sunday night incident in Big Pine Key.

According to an arrest report, Monroe County deputies arrived at the home of the fiances parents around 10 p.m. and told them they had left the home of their son, Clifford Cease, after watching Evans punch him in the face. They said Evans later attacked them when they tried to intervene, causing the mother to need stitches for a head wound.

Moments after arriving, police got a call saying Evans had stabbed Cease during a fight. After arriving, deputies found Cease unresponsive with a wound to his side.

Evans said Cease was holding her down and choking her when she stabbed him, however deputies say her story changed over the course of their interview. Officers later found the knife used in the alleged attack outside, as Evans said she threw it out of the home so she wouldnt get in trouble.

Cease was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, where he died Monday evening. No word on what, if any, additional charges Evans will face.
A Bergen County sting netted 1,000 bags of heroin and the arrest of two alleged drug dealers who were purportedly running narcotics out of Paterson.

The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said authorities arrested Tony Crowe, 24, and Makia Reed, 22, last Thursday after an undercover operation.

They were allegedly carrying the heroin to distribute to what turned out to be an undercover officer.

They each face one count of possession with the intent to distribute. Information on lawyers for the two was not immediately available.
A dog was used as a drug mule for two New York men sending more than $1 million worth of heroin to John F. Kennedy Airport, the Queens District Attorney says.

The dog, a mixed-breed Shepherd-type, was employed to help the men hide ten bricks of heroin in the false bottom of a crate sent from Puerto Rico to JFK on March 24, district attorney Richard Brown says.

Its alleged that mans best friend was used in an attempt to smuggle drugs into the city," he said.

"But great police work led to the seizure of more than 10 kilograms of heroin concealed within a dog crate."

He said the men, Samuel Seabrooks, 35, of the Bronx, and Carlos Betancourt-Morales, 27, of Putnam County, were charged with drug possession and conspiracy.

The pair are accused of meeting up at a Bronx diner on Friday before taking separate cars to American Airlines Priority Parcel Services at JFK Airport.

Betancourt-Morales then went to sign for the dog -- and the heroin -- before he was stopped by police, officials say.

The next day a search warrant was executed on the crate, where the packages of heroin were discovered. The NYPD's Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad was also part of the bust.

Both defendants were arraigned Sunday night before Queens Criminal Court Judge Gia Morris.

Judge Morris set bail at $500,000 bond or $250,000 cash for each defendant. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.

The dog was given to the ASPCA, the district attorney's office said.

The DA's office initially said the dog was an Avi Labrador; it now says it appears to be a male Shepherd-type.
What to Know NYPD officer Richard Haste quit the force Sunday after he was found guilty in a departmental trial of using poor judgement in the shooting

The NYPD had sought to fire Haste, who was accused of not taking obvious steps to defuse the fatal standoff

Ramarley Graham's mother Constance Malcolm says she still has no real answers in her son's death

The mother of the unarmed black teenager shot to death by a white NYPD officer said Monday she was frustrated the officer quit instead of getting fired following a disciplinary trial in a case that sparked outrage over police use of deadly force against black men and boys.

Constance Malcolm said that despite begging the mayor and police officials, she still has no real answers in the 2012 death of her 18-year-old son Ramarley Graham, shot to death by Officer Richard Haste.

"Where's my son's justice? Where is the city of New York's justice for the people in our community?" she asked at a press conference. "I'm here to say Ramarley's life mattered."

Graham was killed inside the teen's own bathroom as his grandmother and little brother looked on in horror.

A police review board said the shooting was justified. But Haste was brought on departmental charges for demonstrating "poor judgment." He was accused of not taking obvious steps to defuse the fatal standoff. Administrative Judge Rosemarie Maldonado found on Friday that Haste should be fired. He quit Sunday.

Haste told a newspaper reporter outside his home Monday that Graham's family had every right to be upset, and he wanted to meet with them to tell them what happened. When asked at the press conference, Malcolm said she would not meet with him.

"I don't want to be sitting here and saying 'oh poor me.' That's not the case," Haste told a reporter for The Daily News. "I took this job, I understood the risks, I came on after all those cases you hear about. You just never think it's going to be you."

His attorney, Stuart London, told News 4 over the phone that Haste declined to take the department's offer of a 10-year pension. Haste will also not be allowed to carry a concealed weapon like other retired officers in the city, and he will not receive medical benefits from the department.

Malcolm and other activists demanded the firing of two other officers involved in the shooting and questioned why the shooting was considered justified. They blasted the NYPD and mayor's office for "allowing" Haste to resign, and for not being notified of the decision first.

NYPD is not allowed under state law to disclose police personnel records, though department officials have said they would notify the Graham family when a final decision was reached.

But Haste quit before the final decision. The findings had not yet been presented to Police Commissioner James O'Neill, who has the final say. According to a statement late Sunday, O'Neill agreed with the judge's findings.

In his testimony during the departmental trial, Haste recounted how he got out of his police van during a drug probe in Graham's Bronx neighborhood and followed the teenager, suspected on police radio chatter of having a gun, into his apartment building.

After Haste and his partner broke down the door of Graham's home, the officer said he saw Graham sidestep into a bathroom, and he leaned inside to face him. Haste testified that he yelled, "Show me your hands!" but Graham instead reached deeper into his pants and yelled obscenities.

"I thought I was about to be shot," Haste said. "I expected to be dead."

The 35-year-old officer initially faced a criminal manslaughter charge in the death, but the case was dismissed because of a procedural error. A new grand jury declined to indict, and federal prosecutors also declined to bring charges.

The teen's family settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the city for $3.9 million.

On Monday, Malcolm said she would continue to press to change police practices.

"Today it's my child. Tomorrow it could be yours," she said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect an emphasis Sessions placed during his press conference on U.S. Code 1373, which regulates exchange of information and cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agencies.

The Philadelphia Police Department budgeted $500,000 to outfit police recruits with bulletproof vests in the current fiscal year -- to be paid for through a federal grant.

Another $162,500 in federal money is slated to go toward the departments High Intensity Drug Traffic Area (HIDTA) investigations.

Two other grants for police will provide $1,450,000 to improve the quality of life in all neighborhoods and $934,000 for the salaries and benefits of 25 police officers.

The money in all four, listed in the city budget, are part of millions that the city of Philadelphia gets annually from the U.S. Department of Justice.

But Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday that those dollars are in jeopardy because of Philadelphias ongoing refusal to turn over information about undocumented immigrants to federal authorities. Additionally, the city, like dozens of others, does not honor what are known as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers. Mayor Jim Kenney and other city officials have argued that the detainers violate the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.

In a surprise press conference Monday at the White House, Sessions renewed a months-long threat by the Trump administration that sanctuary cities either comply with immigration laws or lose DOJ grants.

Im urging states and local jurisdictions to comply with these federal laws. Moreover, the Department of Justice will require that jurisdictions seeking or applying for Department of Justice grants certify compliance as a condition of receiving those rewards, Sessions said. Failure to remedy violations could result in withholding grants, termination of grants, and disbarment or ineligibility for future grants. The Department of Justice will also take all lawful steps to claw back any funds awarded.

He did not give a deadline for compliance.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is warning cities to stop harboring undocumented immigrants or lose funding and Philadelphia leaders are not backing down after that sanctuary city threat. NBC10s Matt DeLucia is in Center City with the details.

The DOJ gave $26 million in grants to Philadelphia in the 2015 fiscal year, which a city spokeswoman said was the most recent year in which a comprehensive total is available.

The Attorney Generals comments today are a direct attack on public safety, Kenney spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said. He is threatening to take away money from the police department for what amounts to nothing more than good police work. Undocumented residents and their family members are much less likely to call law enforcement when they are a witness to or a victim of a crime if they know that the police will turn them in to ICE. And if residents cant call the police, then it is extremely difficult to get criminals off the street. If we are forced to change Philadelphias policy on this, all of our residents will be less safe.

Sessions argued the exact opposite.

Such policies cannot continue. They make our nation less safe by putting dangerous criminals back on the street, he said.

Hitt indicated that Philadelphia is still weighing its options when it comes to detainers.

"Todays announcement did not present any issues we were not already evaluating, and we have very skilled outside counsel helping us evaluate what the real threats to funding are and what our legal options are," she said.
A man in a "Show Me Your Kitties" t-shirt turned a request for advice on what to purchase for a baby shower or house warming gift into a lewd act, police in Delaware said.

Dover police charged Marvin Wiggins, 56, with criminal trespass and multiple counts of disorderly conduct, lewdness and harassment after they say he touched himself inappropriately in front of women varying in ages inside several Dover area stores Thursday and Friday.

The Colonia, New Jersey man, wearing the "Kitties" shirt and sweatpants during each incident began the interactions by asking for gift advice before fondling himself through his clothing while asking women to look at his genitalia through his pants, police said.

The masturbating suspect struck at least three locations including Target, T.J. Maxx and Kohls stores, police Cpl. Mark Hoffman said. There were multiple victims at some locations.

After Dover police posted a victim-captured photo of the suspect holding a Target shopping cart, tips came in that led investigators to Wiggins, police said.

Investigators continued Monday to receive reports about Wiggins' alleged behavior. Hoffman urged victims of lewdness crimes to immediately report suspicious behavior to police since a lewd act can escalate into something more serious.

In this case, Wiggins never touched any victims, police said.

Wiggins remained jailed Monday on $6,500 bond, Hoffman said.

Dover police urged anyone with more information or who might have been victimized to give them a call at 302-736-7130.

[NATL] Adorable Zoo Babies: White Lion Cubs Nala and Simba Born in France
While they may disagree on several issues, a local Black Lives Matter group and Philadelphia's Fraternal Order of Police share a common belief when it comes to the city's top prosecutor Seth Williams. They both want to see him resign.

Take a Kodak moment, said Asa Khalif of Black Lives Matter Pennsylvania. This is probably the only time you will see Black Lives Matter and the FOP in total agreement."

A handful of Black Lives Matter PA protesters demonstrated outside of Democratic District Attorney Seth Williams office in Center City Monday morning.

Were beyond the stage of asking Seth Williams to resign, Khalif said. We are demanding for him to leave. We plan to block the doors of the office and we plan on blocking the streets. We want to send a clear message not only to Seth Williams but all politicians that you work for us.

Black Lives Matter joins several organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police, as well as politicians, including Mayor Jim Kenney, who are calling for Williams to step down after he was indicted on federal corruption charges.

"At a time when our citizens' trust in government is at an all-time low, it is disheartening to see yet another elected official give the public a reason not to trust us," said Kenney, a fellow Democrat. "That this comes at the head of our justice system is even more troubling."

The Fraternal Order of Police has had a contentious relationship with Williams and has also been vocal about wanting him gone.

Williams is accused of taking five-star Caribbean trips, free flights and $9,000 in cash from a businessman who sought help with a friend's criminal case. The man, whose company sold prepaid phone cards, also sought his help bypassing enhanced airport security during frequent overseas trips, authorities said.

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams faces charges of bribery, extortion and wire fraud, causing some to demand his resignation. NBC10s Pamela Osborne has details as well as who is expected to protest against Williams.

Williams also is accused of helping a gift-giving bar owner and his brother seek a liquor license despite the brother's criminal conviction and spending $20,000 meant for his mother's nursing home care.

The prosecutor also belatedly reported on ethics forms last year that he had accepted more than $160,000 in gifts or services from friends, including a new roof on his home, $21,000 in flights and a family stay in Key West, Florida, at the home of a city defense lawyer. The filings, which came after the FBI started investigating, cost him a record $62,000 in city fines. The federal investigation then spiraled, listing additional gifts that authorities said came with strings attached.

A local Black Lives Matter group, Phillys Fraternal Order of Police and Mayor Kenney are among the groups and politicians who are calling for the citys District Attorney Seth Williams to resign following the charges of bribery and extortion against him. NBC10s Aundrea Cline-Thomas speaks to a Black Lives Matter Pennsylvania member who says the group plans to protest outside...

Williams, who makes $175,000 a year in the top job, said he tried to keep his daughters in private school and their family home after his divorce. At the same time, he frequented cigar bars and private city clubs, and his love life made headlines when a girlfriend vandalized his city car outside his home.

Williams pleaded not guilty to federal bribery and extortion charges on Wednesday. He admitted he took more than $100,000 in luxury trips, gifts and cash while in office as he went through an expensive divorce. However, his lawyer vowed they would fight charges that he promised any legal breaks in return, a quid pro quo that would render the gifts bribes.

Defense lawyer Michael Diamondstein said pundits should avoid a rush to judgment. He did not say if Williams would resign.

"Simply because the government makes explosive allegations in a complaint doesn't mean they are going to prove it in a court of law," Diamondstein said after Wednesdays arraignment, as Williams ducked into a waiting car.

Williams, announcing last month that he would not run for a third term, had said he regretted "mistakes in my personal life and in my personal financial life.

Seven Democrats and a Republican are now running for his job.




About 40 to 45 refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and other countries who have relocated to eastern Pennsylvania in recent months met Monday at City Hall in Philadelphia at the behest of Councilman David Oh.

The purpose of the gathering was to let them know they are welcome, according to the councilmans spokesman, Matthew Pershe.

Man of the refugees who attended live in northeastern Pennsylvania, where a large community of Syrian Americans live, and Philadelphia, Pershe said.

Oh said in a release prior to the 10 a.m. event that a message he hoped the families would receive is that local government is here to help and to serve them.

This is a welcome party -- a chance to let our refugee community know that they are welcome, they are celebrated, and we are glad to have them in Philadelphia, Councilman Oh said.
Local leaders are heading to Mexico City to discuss several topics, including the more than 200 million gallons of sewage that spilled into the Tijuana River, contaminating Imperial Beachs waters last month.

Nearly 90 local government officials and business leaders will participate in the conference to strengthen ties between the U.S. and Mexico this weekend. The annual trip will be focused on trade.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer will meet with Tijuanas mayor. If we ourselves can do it together, San Diego's and Imperial Beach's mayor with Tijuana's mayor, I think that is a very good idea, Imperial Beach resident Laura Anderson says. They should work it out.

Imperial Beach resident Ruben Fernandez hopes the mayors can work to make sure these spills stop happening.

Very upset that they had to close the beach, especially coming from Tijuana, Fernandez tells NBC 7. Being born and raised in TJ, I feel ashamed that happened. Couldve been prevented.

The Department of Health lifted the most recent closure Sunday after water testing showed the area was safe for surfers and swimmers.

Since the beginning of the year Imperial Beach has been dealing with a series of closures due to raw sewage being dumped into the Tijuana River from south of the border.

Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina was unable to attend the conference due to illness.
A New York City man is in custody after Pennsylvania state police thwarted his plan to meet and rape an 11-year-old girl for the third time in Lehigh Valley, according to investigators.

Sandro Zhinin was arrested in Hanover Township Saturday. Police say they received a tip that the 33-year-old was traveling to Pennsylvania Saturday to meet the child before taking her to a hotel. Investigators then set up surveillance at the playground and Zhinin was taken into custody once he arrived, police said.

According to police, Zhinin had executed this plan twice before.

Police say that after Zhinin connected with the girl online, he met her at a playground on March 4, drove her to a hotel and sexually assaulted her. He then sexually assaulted her again one week later on March 11, police said.

Zhinin is being held on $500,000 bond. He will be charged with rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of a minor, and criminal use of a cellphone, according to state police.
A 19-year-old man is dead and another person is injured after a car accident that sent their vehicle airborne and struck the ceiling of a tunnel in Boston.

Massachusetts State Police say the car was headed east on Route 90 around 2:15 a.m. Sunday when it went into the air near exit 22. The crash tore down wires and cables in the tunnel. Investigators are still trying to determine how the car went flying.

Police say 19-year-old Yao Cao was driving the car, and was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening. Cao, originally from China, was a first-year student at Suffolk University.

Marisa Kelly, acting president of Suffolk University, issued a statement expressing her sympathy stating, The loss of such a young life is a tragedy beyond words. As a community we extend our deepest sympathies to Yaos family and to all those who knew and loved him. As you join me in mourning the tragic loss of one of our students, please know that my thoughts are with all of you in this very difficult time.

The crash is being investigated by State Police and Suffolk County Detectives, but authorities believe excessive speed and impairment played a role.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, and advocates for low-income Vermonters blasted President Donald Trump's budget proposal as potentially harmful to the most vulnerable in the state.

Leahy, the vice-chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, vowed to work to preserve funds that provide heating aid, weatherization assistance, and a wide variety of other services to roughly 50,000 low-income Vermonters served by community action agencies statewide.

"I vote no, no, no!" Leahy said in reference to the cuts to community block grants recently announced in President Trump's budget blueprint.

President Trump described the proposed cuts as "tough choices" and called them sensible and rational.

The White House wants to redirect $54-billion in reductions across many areas of federal government, using the money instead to boost defense spending.

In a letter signed by President Trump accompanying his budget blueprint, Trump said, "budget that puts America first must make the safety of our people its number one prioritybecause without safety, there can be no prosperity."

In calling the proposal "out-of-touch and shortsighted," Leahy offered several examples of how Vermonters would lose out on programs funded by community block grants.

Last year, Vermont received nearly $19 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program or LIHEAP funds, to help more than 21,000 households statewide, Leahy's office said.

The weatherization assistance program also aided upgrades to 900 Vermont homes last year, according to advocates who gathered Monday at the weatherization garage of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity or CVOEO in Colchester.

"This budget is like one amputation after another: not bringing health to the community, but cut after cut, loss after loss," said Jan Demers, the executive director of CVOEO.

Todd Alexander of Milton, a disabled veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, said he relied on CVOEO for emergency heating assistance when he lost work as a painter in 2008.

"They have no idea how tough it is here in Vermont to live," Alexander said of the drafters of President Trump's budget blueprint. "If it wasn't for that [heating assistance], the furnace wouldve been empty."

Leahy argued the priorities outlined in the White House's budget blueprint miss the mark when it comes to serving the needs of Americans.

"They want to spend $25-billion to build a wall," Leahy said. "Let's build roofs over people's heads. Wouldn't that be a better way to spend that money?"

As Leahy braces for the budget fight ahead, Todd Alexander is on a waiting list for new home insulation and other efficiency upgrades through CVOEOs weatherization program.

He hopes the resource can survive the red pens in Washington.

"Heat is a necessity, not a luxury," Alexander said.
A wild police chase ended in the arrest of a man wanted in connection to a drive-by shooting in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Police say they tried to pull over 24-year-old Igor Campos just after 5 p.m. He refused to stop and led police along a chase on Route 135. He crashed his car on Clinton Street and took cover in a development full of unfinished duplexes in Hopkinton. Guns were drawn as officers from multiple towns as well as a K-9 unit and the Massachusetts State Police airwing quickly arrived on scene to help.

"It was an active crime scene. There were about 20 cop cars all over from Ashland, Hopkinton, Southborough, the state and I want to say the sheriff department, said Karthik Ramanathan who witnessed the incident unfold.

Campos was taken out on a stretcher from an empty house under construction. He was seen with a bandage around his head and is being taken to the hospital for an evaluation.

Police have not provided any information on Campos condition or if any charges have been filed.
A Massachusetts man allegedly told his arresting officer "I work for the city" after he was stopped for suspected drunk driving, police said.

Chicopee police say they got a call Saturday evening about an erratic driver on Granby Road. When officers responded, they found the vehicle matching the report's description in an Arby's parking lot.

An officer noticed the driver, later identified as 48-year-old Joseph Breton Sr. of Chicopee, stumbling and almost falling in the parking lot when he got into his car again and drove out of the parking lot.

The officer, who saw this car cross double-solid lines three times, tried to get the driver to stop, and eventually radioed in that he wasn't stopping.

Eventually, the car stopped on a driveway on Granby Road, and the Breton got out of it, according to Chicopee police.

The officer told Breton to stop and stay where he was, when Breton allegedly yelled "I work for the city."

Breton tried to get back to his car, and officers at the scene noticed he smelled of alcohol.

He was arrested, and screamed obscenities at the officers on the way back to booking.

Breton was charged with operating under the influence, failing to stop for police, driving without an inspection sticker, violating motor vehicle rules and a marked lanes violation.

He's being held on $290 bail and is due in court Monday. It's not clear if he has an attorney.
A sex-offender was arrested on Sunday for breaking into a home in New Hampshire.

Officers responded to the home on Wheelwright Circle in Londonderry after reports of an unwanted male inside the home. A loud bang woke up a man and his wife while they were sleeping around 12:30 a.m. Police say the man went to investigate and found an unknown man standing next to a door that had been kicked in.

The two did not know each other, but had a brief conversation before the suspect allegedly assaulted the victim and tried to steal a jacket.

The man was later identified as William OReilly, a 26-year-old from Manchester. Police found O'Reilly in the driveway of the victims residence. Upon learning his identify, police discovered OReilly is a registered sex offender with the state of New Hampshire.

OReilly was placed under arrest and charged with burglary, simple assault, and possession of a controlled drug. He was held on $5,000 cash bail and will appear in Derry District Court on Monday.
Officials in Vermont are recommending residents take down their bird feeders April 1 to avoid attracting bears.

According to necn affiliate NBC 5, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department said bears will be coming out of hibernation and will be attracted to the food in bird feeders.

Pet food, grills and garbage can also attract bears.

Residents are reminded that purposefully feeding bears is illegal.


Norfolk centenarian was teen rebel and mission nurse

A former teenage rebel, who later became a pioneer missionary nurse in China and Malaysia, has just celebrated her 100th birthday in Norfolk. Mike Wiltshire reports.

I was a rebel and a tom-boy, expelled from two schools, recalls Mary Welander, who admits she was once a menace to family and friends, until she surprised everyone by becoming a convinced Christian at the age of 15. She went on to give a lifetime of heroic service to countless numbers of people in China, Malaysia and the UK.



Mary now lives at Eckling Grange, the Christian residential care home in Dereham. As a very sprightly 100-year-old, she says: I dont even use a wheelchair at home yet!



Mary is modest about her experiences, but they are remarkable: she has faced near-death in the Chinese revolution, lived by faith and laboured on amid terrorism in South-East Asia, delivered babies as a midwife, learned to pull out hundreds of decaying teeth, confronted a 21ft python, ministered to Chinese lepers, started prayer meetings, established churches, pioneered literature evangelism and Bible courses in nine countries, written life-changing books and, after 27 years in the tropics, moved back to the UK to encourage Christian work in the east of England.



Born on the family farm on Dartmoor on March 13, 1917, Mary is the daughter of a Swedish engineer, Sven Welander, and a devout English mother, Georgina.



Marys life was transformed after she came to faith in a profound conversion in 1932; There was a new love and loyalty surging through my heart, she said. The sun had begun to shine, especially on the first Easter after my conversion, when, reading the resurrection story, I felt the thrill at the personal message, Jesus said unto her, Mary!  (John 20:6).



Mary qualified as a State Registered Nurse just as World War One began, and became a staff nurse at a military hospital. A Christian magazine, entitled Chinas Millions, prompted her to apply to the China Inland Mission. Her call to the mission field was a tough test, as she finally knelt in tears at midnight, saying: Do as you like, Lord, I am all yours.



In 1945, Mary sailed to Bombay, India, crossed the nation by train, then flew to China via Burma.



Between medical clinics in remote areas of North-West China, Mary did intensive language studies in Mandarin, while attending to Chinese, Tibetan and Mongolese patients, and helping many lepers who feared for their lives as Communist forces began to suppress all expressions of faith.



Although facing great danger in the revolution, the missionaries laboured on until put under house-arrest. Then all possessions were seized and Mary, with others, was deported in 1951, travelling vast distances in an open lorry in freezing weather to Hong Kong.



They were dark days, but Mary is encouraged by the fact that the Chinese church has grown rapidly with, perhaps, more than 100 million Christians today, eclipsing the 86 million members of the ruling Communist Party in a nation that is technically atheist.



In 1952, Mary was on her way to Malaya (now Malaysia), a land then in the grip of a fierce jungle war with Communist terrorists. General Gerald Templar had been sent to assume control to win hearts and minds in a racially-divided community. Nicknamed The Tiger of Malaya, Templar especially looked for Mandarin speakers to serve among the marginalised Chinese  thus, people such as Mary were very welcome.



Much of Marys ministry in three areas  China, Malaysia and the UK  has involved great personal sacrifice. Mary says: I set out to love and laugh, mourn and weep with those who rejoiced or sorrowed. I became one with them as a sister in Christ among local fellow-believers.



After Mary retired from the Overseas Missionary Fellowship (formerly CIM), she saw England as her third mission field, starting Bible study groups and helping to plant and grow churches in rural areas such as Tydd Gote, near Wisbech, and Hitcham, between Hadleigh and Stowmarket.



Her long-time friend, Rosemary English, former JP and prominent Christian in Norwich, said: Marys work of church planting in rural East Anglia brought rewarding lessons in dependence on God and the discovery that age is no barrier.



Marys first book, I Was a Rebel, has been reprinted five time and has inspired many young people to Christian service. In the book, Mary, looking towards heaven, says her thrilling adventures are part of an unfinished symphony and concludes: The traditional ending is perfectly true  She lived happily ever after, because she will.



Pictured above is Mary Welander.


Netscape provides an excellent illustration as to how tech darlings come and go.

Netscape created and sold Navigator, the browser that essentially invented the World Wide Web. Prior to Netscape, the internet was mostly benefiting geeks and nerds. Netscape changed the world by transforming the internet into the mass-market, browser-powered online world we know and love today.

Netscapes original business model was to sell licenses for its Navigator browser. It was just over a year old when it had its IPO on Aug. 9, 1995. And in its first day of trading, the stock went from $28 to as high as $74.75, giving the company a value in the billions.

Other vendors recognized the potential of the browser and developed competitive applications. Microsoft created Internet Explorer and upped the ante by including it Windows 95.

Its hard to compete with free, so Netscape pivoted from browsers to web servers. Microsoft then developed and bundled (with NT Server) Internet Information Server (IIS), which offered similar yet faster web server functionality. To make a long story short, Netscape is no more.

Slack will follow Netscape's footsteps

Todays current darling is Team Chat provider Slack, and history is about to repeat itself.

Although Slack was not the first in this emerging space, it was the first to build momentum. Now, at about 4 years old, it has a valuation of about $3.8 billion. The company is still private, but reports show that its revenue is doubling regularly.

Here are six reasons why Slack will be the next Netscape.

1. Increased competition

Slack stood out among a sea of unknown startup alternatives, but those days are no longer. Over the past few years, many enterprise vendors have announced Slack-like services for Team Chat, including Cisco, Facebook, Microsoft, Google and IBM. They have name recognition, are enterprise savvy and have representation through multiple channels.

2. The game is changing

The Team Chat application is quickly evolving into an enterprise-wide play. Slack has done well with technical teams at companies of all sizes. However, it is not recognized as an enterprise-wide solution. Until recently, it didnt even offer an enterprise-wide service. Slacks Enterprise Grid solution was only launched last month.

Suddenly, Slack is competing in a much bigger pond as a smaller fish. It seems unlikely Slack can out innovate these larger enterprise vendors on their own turf.

3. Limited moat

Slack has built its service around persistent messaging and APIs, neither of which has significant barriers to imitation. Cisco Spark, for example, offers messaging and APIs but also offers integrated hardware (SparkBoard) and extensive expertise in audio, video and web conferencing.

Many of the unified communications (UC) companies such as RingCentral and Unify have blended their real-time expertise into their Team Chat applications. This is important because part of the value of these Team Chat applications is the consolidation of people (directories), content (shared files) and conversations (asynchronous messaging and real-time video and voice calls) into a single application.

Its the real-time communications aspect that has the highest barrier to entry. Many chat services are developing peer-to-peer communications, but integration with hardware endpoints and the public switched telephone network (PSTN) is an entirely different matter. The UC companies are rapidly developing messaging-centric additions to their solutions. For example, RingCentrals newest release of its Office service is centered around its Team Chat interface.

4. The power of the bundle

The Netscape parable demonstrates how Microsoft has used bundling in the past. The newest Team Chat application is Microsoft Teams, made generally available earlier this month. Microsoft is including (and enabling by default) Teams in its Office 365 business subscriptions for no additional charge. As impressive as Slacks 5 million daily active users is, it pales in comparison to Microsofts 85 million Office 365 users. That figure comes from its Q1-FY17 results, which also indicated 40 percent growth. Microsoft is on track to exceed 100 million subscribers in the first half of this year.

Its not just Microsoft. The UC vendors are bundling Team Chat with little to no extra cost. Google is including Hangouts Meet within its G-Suite offer. Cisco Spark will potentially disrupt itself by converging WebEx and Spark. According to Synergy research, WebEx held about 52.8 percent of the worldwide web conferencing as a service market.

5. No partner at the dance

Its not to say small, independent vendors cant succeed in the enterprise, as they often do. The problem for Slack is it seems just about every logical partner is developing its own type of Team Chat application. IBM released Watson Workplace, Salesforce has Chatter, Google recently announced Hangouts Chat, and even Facebook has its own version called Workplace by Facebook. Slack doesnt have a logical dance partner and will have to penetrate IT departments on its own.

6. The race to zero

The price of Team Chat is dropping quickly. In addition to bundled offerings, there are standalone offers such as Workplace by Facebook, which repurposes its consumer-facing code. Facebook charges enterprises as little as $1 per user per month (with the added bonus of virtually no training). Slacks Enterprise Grid is currently priced at $7 to $15 per user per month. It seems unlikely to drop, as it cant offer a broad bundle or reuse existing software.

Final Thoughts

Slack has a long, tumultuous and seemingly impossible journey ahead. The company has the DNA of a Silicon Valley startup that develops fun, quirky solutions for technical teams. This is the antighesis of what enterprise software buyers seek.

Slack is a highly innovative company that has unleashed a torrent of activity around collaboration. In many ways, Team Chat delivers what the UC industry has been promising for years. However, its an unfortunate realitya Netscape realitythat the pioneers often do not realize their entitled rewards.
A senior U.K. official is asking that law enforcement should be given access to encrypted messages on WhatsApp and similar services, a demand that is likely to fuel an ongoing debate over whether companies should create backdoors into their encryption technologies for investigators.

Khalid Masood, the terrorist who killed four people outside Parliament on Wednesday, had sent a message on WhatsApp a little before the attack, according to reports.

We need to make sure that organizations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, don't provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.

"It used to be that people would steam open envelopes or just listen in on phones when they wanted to find out what people were doing, legally, through warranty, she said But on this situation we need to make sure that our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted WhatsApp."

Rudd told Sky News that end-to-end encryption has its place, but it is not incompatible with providing a system for law enforcement agencies to have access to information with a warrant, if absolutely necessary.

The official is meeting with internet companies on Thursday to set up an industry board to also address the issue of the take down of terrorist content and propaganda on their platforms. The efforts by tech companies have been inadequate, despite an initiative announced last year, Rudd said.

WhatsApp, which was acquired by Facebook in 2014, encrypts end-to-end messages, voice and video calls between a sender and receiver that use WhatsApp client software released after March 31, 2016, using the Signal Protocol designed by Open Whisper Systems.

This end-to-end encryption protocol is designed to prevent third parties and WhatsApp from having plaintext access to messages or calls. Whats more, even if encryption keys from a users device are ever physically compromised, they cannot be used to go back in time to decrypt previously transmitted messages, according to the messaging platform.

Rudds demand for government access to encrypted messages on services like WhatsApp is an echo of a dispute in the U.S. last year between Apple and the FBI, which had asked for assistance from the company to unlock an iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the terrorists said to have been involved in an attack in December, 2015 in in San Bernardino, California.

If I was talking to [Apple CEO] Tim Cook, I would say to him this is something completely different, Rudd said.

Were not saying open up, we dont want to go into the cloud, we dont want to do all sorts of things like that, she added. But we do want them to recognize that they have a responsibility to engage with government, to engage with law enforcement agencies when there is a terrorist situation.

The government would do it all through carefully thought-through, legally covered arrangements, she said, while not ruling out other action to force companies to cooperate.

WhatsApp said in an emailed statement it was "horrified" by the attack in London and is cooperating with law enforcement as they continue their investigations.

Compelling companies to put backdoors into encrypted services would make millions of ordinary people less secure online, said Jim Killock, executive director of Open Rights Group, in a statement. We all rely on encryption to protect our ability to communicate, shop and bank safely."

The privacy and free speech advocacy group said it is right that technology companies should help the police and intelligence agencies with investigations into specific crimes or terrorist activity, where possible. This help should be requested through warrants and the process should be properly regulated and monitored, it added.
We will all miss his energy, his real passion for serving the communities here in West Berkshire and of course his friendship and humour.

Tributes are being paid to the leader of West Berkshire Council, Roger Croft, who has died from injuries sustained in a car crash last month.

Mr Croft had been visiting family in France with his wife Zelda when the crash occurred. Mrs Croft was killed in the accident and Mr Croft was being treated for serious injuries in a French hospital.

Sadly, Mr Croft succumbed to his injuries on Friday evening.

West Berkshire Council paid tribute to Mr Croft today (Monday).

The council's acting leader, Graham Jones (Con, Lambourn), said: When Roger got elected in 2011 we quickly realised he had a huge amount to offer and he rapidly progressed to be an Executive Member then to deputy leader and leader.

Whilst Roger got elected to West Berks Council after retirement he brought with him the zeal and energy of a much younger man but this was always tempered by lots of life experience on how to get things done.

"Whilst driving through his own ideas he was always willing to learn very quickly built up an extensive networks of contacts both in politics and across West Berkshire.

Across the council he had huge respect from colleagues for his leadership and dedication. He was above all else focused on the result and would it help the council tax payer? There is much of what I know he wanted to achieve left undone which we will finish in his memory.

Zelda's support was so important to him and they both became good friends. We will miss them both terribly.

Acting deputy leader Hilary Cole (Con, Chieveley) paid the following tribute

Councillor Hilary Cole, Acting Deputy Leader, has paid tribute to Roger Croft today. pic.twitter.com/KnBv2ed7Mm  West Berkshire (@WestBerkshire) March 27, 2017

Online tributes have been paid to Mr Croft.

So sad that my friend and leader of West Berks Council, Roger Croft, has died. It would be hard to find someone more decent or kind. RIP  Richard Benyon (@RichardBenyonMP) March 26, 2017

Devastated at the news that my co-councillor Roger Croft has passed away. A fine man, mentor and friend who will be sorely missed.  Rob Denton-Powell (@robdentonpowell) March 26, 2017

News of the death of Roger Croft has hit us all. He was an inspiring Leader, amazing man & great friend. Now reunited with his beloved Zelda  Emma Webster (@CllrEmmaWBC) March 26, 2017

Extremely sad news about the death of Cllr Roger Croft reaches us. We extend our thoughts and sympathies to his family and friends.  UNISON West Berks (@UNISONWestBerks) March 27, 2017

Very sad to hear of the death of councillor Roger Croft @LeaderWBC a kind and decent man. Our thoughts are with his loved ones.  Newbury Green Party (@newburygreens) March 26, 2017

Our condolences to all the West Berkshire staff and Council, and of course the family and friends of Cllr Roger Croft at his passing.  Newbury Labour (@newburyclp) March 27, 2017

Mr Croft was elected as a councillor for Thatcham South & Crookham ward in 2011 following a career in the IT industry.

He was appointed to the council's executive in 2012, dealing with issues including housing and strategy, performance, finance and broadband.

He became deputy leader in 2014 and was elected as council leader in November 2015.

Mr Jones will remain as acting leader supported by Mrs Cole. The council said that a new leader that a new leader will be elected in the coming months.

The council's chief executive, Nick Carter, said: I will remember Roger for his energy, drive and vision. He was the architect behind the current Council Strategy and at the time of his passing was playing a lead role in exploring a range of new income opportunities for the Council.

"He was also very proud of the Councils contract with Gigaclear which is currently bringing superfast broadband to the District.

"He worked at a great pace and could be difficult to keep up with such was his desire to get things done. We will all miss his energy, his real passion for serving the communities here in West Berkshire and of course his friendship and humour.

Newbury MP Richard Benyon said: "This is a tragedy for his family. His children have now lost both parents in tragic circumstances.

"It's doubly sad because Roger had planned to retire as leader of the council in a year or two in order to see more of his family."

He added: "Roger was a joy to work with - he was so very committed; determined and utterly unyielding in his desire to get the best for the people of West Berkshire.

"He managed to lead a large group of people with diverse opinions and different priorities and still remain popular with everyone."

Mr Benyon went on: "Personally, I'm feeling shattered by this sad news."
Gurbir Singh By

It was a strange exit for Rio Tinto. After years of developing the Bunder mines in Madhya Pradesh for commercial rough diamonds since 2004, the mining giant formally handed over the project to the state government on February 7. It had stopped mining operations last August.

Why did Rio Tinto pull out so abruptly after 12 years of prospecting and mining operations? The firms former Bunder project director Stefanie Loader had told this writer years ago that, by 2011, Rio Tinto had sunk Rs 185 crore in prospecting and other operations and that it was spending Rs 22 crore a month to bring the mine to commercial production.

A back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that by 2016, the mining giant had put in nearly Rs 1,200 crore into a Rs 2,200-crore project expected to deliver a commercial yield of 27.4 million carats of roughs.

With that kind of value, the Bunder mines would have catapulted MP among the top 10 diamond producing regions in the world.

In a statement that hides more than it says, Rio Tinto Copper & Diamonds chief executive Arnaud Soirat said in February: Our exit from Bunder is the latest example of Rio Tinto streamlining its asset portfolio. It simplifies our business, allowing us to focus on our world-class assets. We believe in the value and quality of the Bunder project and support its future development, and the best way to achieve that is to hand over the assets to the Government of Madhya Pradesh.

Real reasons

The real reasons probably are that years of environmental opposition and lack of state support made the project unviable for the mining group. Ecological impact was a genuine worry and the location of the Bunder mines near a Tiger wildlife corridor brewed opposition. A government study said five lakh trees may need to be cut if Rio Tintos open cast mining was accepted, and pressure was put on the company to adopt the less invasive but more expensive underground operation. A source from the group told Express: After all these years, we had not been able to get past the prospecting licence stage.

So, now what happens to the Bunder-Chattarpur mines? The current custodian of the project, the MP government, does not have the technology or the funds to pursue commercial production. There is also concern in the large Indian diamond polishing and exporting industry that Indias first big find of roughs has gone a-begging.

On the sidelines of a recent World Diamond Conference in Mumbai recently, Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council chairman Praveenshankar Pandya proposed to Russian deputy premier Yuri Trutnev that a 50:50 joint venture be set up between the Indian industry and Russian mining giant Alrosa to develop the Bunder mines.

But, will Alrosa step into the Bunder quicksand? And, what is the guarantee Alrosa will be able to cross the environmental minefields that hit Rio Tinto? Pandya was not forthcoming but told the Express that the reasons for the withdrawal of Rio Tinto were more complex than it seems.

The initial enthusiasm of the Australian giant and its sudden departure show the script for foreign investments is not clear. The recent exits of POSCO from

Odisha, or Arcelor Mittal from Jharkhand and Odisha, prove the environmental bye-laws are far from settled in the country; and attracting new investment in mining and heavy industry is going to get tougher as failures, like the Bunder project, sink in with the world community.

Deep crisis

The crisis is sharper if seen in the overall picture. India has emerged as a hub for high-quality cut and polished diamonds and is the largest exporter in the world. However, the international slowdown, especially the fall in demand from the US, has hit the gems industry hard.

In FY16, cut and polished diamond exports accounted for $20 billion, a steady fall from $25 billion in FY14 and $23 billion in FY15.

On the other hand, as a producer of roughs, India accounts for a negligible just Rs 5-10 crore annually from MPs Panna mines. Almost all the diamonds being processed in India are imported, 60 per cent or more through the hub of Belgium. Internationally, the mining of rough diamonds is getting tougher, and facing falling volumes.

No fresh mines have come on stream in the past 10 years, and the older mines such as Rio Tintos Diavik mines in Canada are coming close to the end of their life cycle.

A recent RBC Capital review estimated that a variety of factors including the growth of synthetic diamonds will bring down supplies from a high of 145 million carats in 2018, through a steady fall, to 105 million carats in 2030. This means tough times and higher prices of roughs for the local polishing and cutting industry.

It is no wonder there is urgency among local diamondtaires to encourage local sourcing of roughs. Both MP and Chhattisgarh are said to be rich in deposits. They have been pitching with big mining groups such as De Beers and Alrosa to begin prospecting in these states. But, given the experience of Rio Tinto and no viable prospecting policy, these multinational companies might not take the bait.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

It was a strange exit for Rio Tinto. After years of developing the Bunder mines in Madhya Pradesh for commercial rough diamonds since 2004, the mining giant formally handed over the project to the state government on February 7. It had stopped mining operations last August. Why did Rio Tinto pull out so abruptly after 12 years of prospecting and mining operations? The firms former Bunder project director Stefanie Loader had told this writer years ago that, by 2011, Rio Tinto had sunk Rs 185 crore in prospecting and other operations and that it was spending Rs 22 crore a month to bring the mine to commercial production. A back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that by 2016, the mining giant had put in nearly Rs 1,200 crore into a Rs 2,200-crore project expected to deliver a commercial yield of 27.4 million carats of roughs. With that kind of value, the Bunder mines would have catapulted MP among the top 10 diamond producing regions in the world. In a statement that hides more than it says, Rio Tinto Copper & Diamonds chief executive Arnaud Soirat said in February: Our exit from Bunder is the latest example of Rio Tinto streamlining its asset portfolio. It simplifies our business, allowing us to focus on our world-class assets. We believe in the value and quality of the Bunder project and support its future development, and the best way to achieve that is to hand over the assets to the Government of Madhya Pradesh. Real reasons The real reasons probably are that years of environmental opposition and lack of state support made the project unviable for the mining group. Ecological impact was a genuine worry and the location of the Bunder mines near a Tiger wildlife corridor brewed opposition. A government study said five lakh trees may need to be cut if Rio Tintos open cast mining was accepted, and pressure was put on the company to adopt the less invasive but more expensive underground operation. A source from the group told Express: After all these years, we had not been able to get past the prospecting licence stage. So, now what happens to the Bunder-Chattarpur mines? The current custodian of the project, the MP government, does not have the technology or the funds to pursue commercial production. There is also concern in the large Indian diamond polishing and exporting industry that Indias first big find of roughs has gone a-begging. On the sidelines of a recent World Diamond Conference in Mumbai recently, Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council chairman Praveenshankar Pandya proposed to Russian deputy premier Yuri Trutnev that a 50:50 joint venture be set up between the Indian industry and Russian mining giant Alrosa to develop the Bunder mines. But, will Alrosa step into the Bunder quicksand? And, what is the guarantee Alrosa will be able to cross the environmental minefields that hit Rio Tinto? Pandya was not forthcoming but told the Express that the reasons for the withdrawal of Rio Tinto were more complex than it seems. The initial enthusiasm of the Australian giant and its sudden departure show the script for foreign investments is not clear. The recent exits of POSCO from Odisha, or Arcelor Mittal from Jharkhand and Odisha, prove the environmental bye-laws are far from settled in the country; and attracting new investment in mining and heavy industry is going to get tougher as failures, like the Bunder project, sink in with the world community. Deep crisis The crisis is sharper if seen in the overall picture. India has emerged as a hub for high-quality cut and polished diamonds and is the largest exporter in the world. However, the international slowdown, especially the fall in demand from the US, has hit the gems industry hard. In FY16, cut and polished diamond exports accounted for $20 billion, a steady fall from $25 billion in FY14 and $23 billion in FY15. On the other hand, as a producer of roughs, India accounts for a negligible just Rs 5-10 crore annually from MPs Panna mines. Almost all the diamonds being processed in India are imported, 60 per cent or more through the hub of Belgium. Internationally, the mining of rough diamonds is getting tougher, and facing falling volumes. No fresh mines have come on stream in the past 10 years, and the older mines such as Rio Tintos Diavik mines in Canada are coming close to the end of their life cycle. A recent RBC Capital review estimated that a variety of factors including the growth of synthetic diamonds will bring down supplies from a high of 145 million carats in 2018, through a steady fall, to 105 million carats in 2030. This means tough times and higher prices of roughs for the local polishing and cutting industry. It is no wonder there is urgency among local diamondtaires to encourage local sourcing of roughs. Both MP and Chhattisgarh are said to be rich in deposits. They have been pitching with big mining groups such as De Beers and Alrosa to begin prospecting in these states. But, given the experience of Rio Tinto and no viable prospecting policy, these multinational companies might not take the bait. (The writer is a senior journalist)
Sangeeta Bora By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: The BBMP budget for 2017-18, presented on Saturday, has earmarked Rs 89.5 crore for restoration and development of lakes.

The Palike plans to take up these works based on the recommendations of the Justice N K Patil committee report which calls for accelerated efforts for surveying lake areas and removal of encroachments, protecting lake areas by fencing, stopping entry of sewage and clearing encroachments of rajakaluves (main canals) and branch canals among other measures.

The Palike has also set aside Rs 25 crore for development of 58 lakes that have been handed over to it by Bangalore Development Authority. Of the 56 lakes BBMP has developed, 18 have been handed over to local residents organisations for maintenance. But citizens question if enough is being done in time.

The frothing of Bellandur and Varthur lakes and the periodic fires are a result of years of neglect by civic agencies. There have been at least 13 previous incidents where dead fish have washed up on the lake shores. Most lakes in the city are heavily contaminated with sewage water or have been encroached upon, and in some cass, even both.

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has 31 lakes under its maintenance. BDA engineer-member P N Nayak said, We have an action plan in place for Bellandur Lake and we will kickstart the short-term measures soon. However, no such action plan has been formulated for other lakes yet.

Environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy, who was part of the panel, which studied Bellandur and Varthur lakes, said, BWSSB started connecting all their underground drainage pipes to lakes in 1970. The sewage which made its way into the lakes since then is now generating biomethane gas, grease and oily substances. I will not be surprised if other lakes too catch fire.

The government is clearly not serious about treating sewage waste. BBMP, BDA, BWSSB have been collecting money from people but where is it going? Moreover, there is no interaction between the different agencies, he said.

Lake activist Arbind Gupta said, The restoration work at Arekere Lake was taken up by the BDA, but it has come to a halt now. They said work could not continue due to sewage inflow and encroachments.

At Madiwala Lake, a major lake in south Bengaluru, sewage continues to flow into it. But, if the forest department is to be believed, all the issues will soon be addressed, he said.

A DPR was prepared to convert Madiwala Lake into a bio-diversity park. If this translates into reality, then it will become a beautiful place, Arvind added.

Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority too has approved a tender for Agara Lake rejuvenation and earthmovers are at work. On the other hand, there are many lakes which have been neglected despite requests from residents. Somasundarapalya Lake in HSR Layout is an example.

BENGALURU: The BBMP budget for 2017-18, presented on Saturday, has earmarked Rs 89.5 crore for restoration and development of lakes. The Palike plans to take up these works based on the recommendations of the Justice N K Patil committee report which calls for accelerated efforts for surveying lake areas and removal of encroachments, protecting lake areas by fencing, stopping entry of sewage and clearing encroachments of rajakaluves (main canals) and branch canals among other measures. The Palike has also set aside Rs 25 crore for development of 58 lakes that have been handed over to it by Bangalore Development Authority. Of the 56 lakes BBMP has developed, 18 have been handed over to local residents organisations for maintenance. But citizens question if enough is being done in time. The frothing of Bellandur and Varthur lakes and the periodic fires are a result of years of neglect by civic agencies. There have been at least 13 previous incidents where dead fish have washed up on the lake shores. Most lakes in the city are heavily contaminated with sewage water or have been encroached upon, and in some cass, even both. The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has 31 lakes under its maintenance. BDA engineer-member P N Nayak said, We have an action plan in place for Bellandur Lake and we will kickstart the short-term measures soon. However, no such action plan has been formulated for other lakes yet. Environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy, who was part of the panel, which studied Bellandur and Varthur lakes, said, BWSSB started connecting all their underground drainage pipes to lakes in 1970. The sewage which made its way into the lakes since then is now generating biomethane gas, grease and oily substances. I will not be surprised if other lakes too catch fire. The government is clearly not serious about treating sewage waste. BBMP, BDA, BWSSB have been collecting money from people but where is it going? Moreover, there is no interaction between the different agencies, he said. Lake activist Arbind Gupta said, The restoration work at Arekere Lake was taken up by the BDA, but it has come to a halt now. They said work could not continue due to sewage inflow and encroachments. At Madiwala Lake, a major lake in south Bengaluru, sewage continues to flow into it. But, if the forest department is to be believed, all the issues will soon be addressed, he said. A DPR was prepared to convert Madiwala Lake into a bio-diversity park. If this translates into reality, then it will become a beautiful place, Arvind added. Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority too has approved a tender for Agara Lake rejuvenation and earthmovers are at work. On the other hand, there are many lakes which have been neglected despite requests from residents. Somasundarapalya Lake in HSR Layout is an example.
K Shiva Shanker By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Is there an effort to sabotage the image of the State health department? Officials at the Gandhi General Hospital think so.

After a series of issues that rocked the health department, officials are now mulling a police investigation into the Saturdays incident at Gandhi General Hospital that has left the department red-faced.

In an unusual turn, officials of the health department now want to lodge a complaint with police over such an incident.

Officials in the department believe that the expired drugs being allegedly administered to children could be a purposeful act by some malicious people. Sources said that orders were issued to lodge a complaint with the police to learn more about the issue.

It might be lodged after inquiry into the issue is completed, sources said. The statement we want to know who did this was heard from doctors and officials in the department. Chilkalguda Police inspector K Srinivasulu said that no complaint had been lodged with them till Sunday night. However, police collected preliminary information on the medicines which were administered to the children and vials submitted by a person who alleged that expired drugs were administered.

Previous incidents

In December, father of a patient Sai Pravalika alleged that saline contaminated with foreign body was administered to his daughter. The father Bikshapathy alleged that he found an insect in the saline bottle administered to the child. However, officials from the department denied it.

Surprisingly, the department had alleged a sabotage in this case as well. The officials expressed concern with the incident on Sunday. Especially, since government hospitals in the State and Health minister C Laxma Reddy have had a host of issues to deal with in March.

In the recent past, ward boys have demanded money from a patient at Government General and Chest Hospital. A patient was forced to use a toy tricycle in Gandhi Hospital as he could not afford to pay the bribes demanded by the hospital staff. Since the Assembly was in session the matter is likely to be debated on Monday.

The department is on tenterhooks. Every time an issue breaks out, entire department goes into damage control mode. Meanwhile, Dr P Shravan Kumar has been appointed as the new superintendent of Gandhi Hospital.

HYDERABAD: Is there an effort to sabotage the image of the State health department? Officials at the Gandhi General Hospital think so. After a series of issues that rocked the health department, officials are now mulling a police investigation into the Saturdays incident at Gandhi General Hospital that has left the department red-faced. In an unusual turn, officials of the health department now want to lodge a complaint with police over such an incident. Officials in the department believe that the expired drugs being allegedly administered to children could be a purposeful act by some malicious people. Sources said that orders were issued to lodge a complaint with the police to learn more about the issue. It might be lodged after inquiry into the issue is completed, sources said. The statement we want to know who did this was heard from doctors and officials in the department. Chilkalguda Police inspector K Srinivasulu said that no complaint had been lodged with them till Sunday night. However, police collected preliminary information on the medicines which were administered to the children and vials submitted by a person who alleged that expired drugs were administered. Previous incidents In December, father of a patient Sai Pravalika alleged that saline contaminated with foreign body was administered to his daughter. The father Bikshapathy alleged that he found an insect in the saline bottle administered to the child. However, officials from the department denied it. Surprisingly, the department had alleged a sabotage in this case as well. The officials expressed concern with the incident on Sunday. Especially, since government hospitals in the State and Health minister C Laxma Reddy have had a host of issues to deal with in March. In the recent past, ward boys have demanded money from a patient at Government General and Chest Hospital. A patient was forced to use a toy tricycle in Gandhi Hospital as he could not afford to pay the bribes demanded by the hospital staff. Since the Assembly was in session the matter is likely to be debated on Monday. The department is on tenterhooks. Every time an issue breaks out, entire department goes into damage control mode. Meanwhile, Dr P Shravan Kumar has been appointed as the new superintendent of Gandhi Hospital.
MUMBAI: A scheduled telecast of Hollywood film "The Danish Girl" -- which tells the story of Lili Elbe, one of the first people who came out and went for gender reassignment surgery -- has been cancelled, channel Sony Le PLEX HD has announced.

According to a source in the know of developments, the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) objected to the film due to its sensitive storyline.

"The movie went to CBFC for clearance three months ago and they were sitting on it. And now they have cancelled the broadcast citing that the issue is very sensitive... CBFC has put a ban across channels, and now no other channel can also show the film," the source told IANS on condition of anonymity.

"The Danish Girl" was scheduled to be telecast on Sunday night on Sony Le PLEX HD, but a post from the channel's official Twitter handle gave out the news that it has been cancelled.

We know how much you wished to watch The Danish Girl this Sunday & regret the inconvenience caused. We thank you for your constant support. pic.twitter.com/eti2TAxBRV  Sony Le PLEX HD (@SonyLePLEXHD) March 24, 2017

The post read: "We regret to inform that Sony Le Plex HD is unable to telecast the much awaited television premiere of the internationally acclaimed award-winning film 'The Danish Girl' on March 26 as the necessary certification to enable telecast of the movie has not been received.

"We continue making all necessary efforts to secure the certification and will keep you informed of the future date of telecast. We thank you for your continuous support and understanding. Any inconvenience caused is regretted."

The Tom Hooper directorial is based on American author David Ebershoff's debut novel with the same name. With stars like Alicia Vikander and Eddie Redmayne as leads, the film talks about various emotions that Lili Elbe go through in the journey to find sexual identity.

The film, which released theatrically in India last year, had hit the right note with critical acclaim as well as a nod from The Academy in form of multiple Oscar nominations. Vikander won an Oscar in Best Supporting Actress category in 2016 for the film.

In an interview to IANS, Ebershoff had also said there is still a long way to go to erase the stigmas around transgenders and their position.

"If we see around 90 years ago or a century ago, it is remarkable when you think about today and how it feels for transgenders to express who they are and how they are meant to be.

"It has been a very difficult journey. Think of Lili, almost a 100 years ago, she chose a path for her, to tell the world who she was with no language to rely on or no role model to look up to... And yet when we think about it, there is so much progress to be made. It is a challenging experience for many people and there are many hurdles."

MUMBAI: A scheduled telecast of Hollywood film "The Danish Girl" -- which tells the story of Lili Elbe, one of the first people who came out and went for gender reassignment surgery -- has been cancelled, channel Sony Le PLEX HD has announced. According to a source in the know of developments, the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) objected to the film due to its sensitive storyline. "The movie went to CBFC for clearance three months ago and they were sitting on it. And now they have cancelled the broadcast citing that the issue is very sensitive... CBFC has put a ban across channels, and now no other channel can also show the film," the source told IANS on condition of anonymity. "The Danish Girl" was scheduled to be telecast on Sunday night on Sony Le PLEX HD, but a post from the channel's official Twitter handle gave out the news that it has been cancelled. We know how much you wished to watch The Danish Girl this Sunday & regret the inconvenience caused. We thank you for your constant support. pic.twitter.com/eti2TAxBRV  Sony Le PLEX HD (@SonyLePLEXHD) March 24, 2017 The post read: "We regret to inform that Sony Le Plex HD is unable to telecast the much awaited television premiere of the internationally acclaimed award-winning film 'The Danish Girl' on March 26 as the necessary certification to enable telecast of the movie has not been received. "We continue making all necessary efforts to secure the certification and will keep you informed of the future date of telecast. We thank you for your continuous support and understanding. Any inconvenience caused is regretted." The Tom Hooper directorial is based on American author David Ebershoff's debut novel with the same name. With stars like Alicia Vikander and Eddie Redmayne as leads, the film talks about various emotions that Lili Elbe go through in the journey to find sexual identity. The film, which released theatrically in India last year, had hit the right note with critical acclaim as well as a nod from The Academy in form of multiple Oscar nominations. Vikander won an Oscar in Best Supporting Actress category in 2016 for the film. In an interview to IANS, Ebershoff had also said there is still a long way to go to erase the stigmas around transgenders and their position. "If we see around 90 years ago or a century ago, it is remarkable when you think about today and how it feels for transgenders to express who they are and how they are meant to be. "It has been a very difficult journey. Think of Lili, almost a 100 years ago, she chose a path for her, to tell the world who she was with no language to rely on or no role model to look up to... And yet when we think about it, there is so much progress to be made. It is a challenging experience for many people and there are many hurdles."
NEW DELHI: About 7,000 employers were prosecuted between 2014 and 2016 for hiring child labourers and of them, 2200 were convicted, the Lok Sabha was informed today.



Out of the 6,920 prosecutions, the maximum of 966 were in Punjab. The state also saw a maximum of 731 convictions under the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act.



The law provides for complete prohibition on employment of children below 14 years of age in any occupation. It also prohibits employment of adolescents (14-18 years) in hazardous occupations.



Responding to supplementaries, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said the government is following a multi-pronged strategy for elimination of child labour including legislative measures, rehabilitation and provision of elementary education.

NEW DELHI: About 7,000 employers were prosecuted between 2014 and 2016 for hiring child labourers and of them, 2200 were convicted, the Lok Sabha was informed today. Out of the 6,920 prosecutions, the maximum of 966 were in Punjab. The state also saw a maximum of 731 convictions under the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act. The law provides for complete prohibition on employment of children below 14 years of age in any occupation. It also prohibits employment of adolescents (14-18 years) in hazardous occupations. Responding to supplementaries, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said the government is following a multi-pronged strategy for elimination of child labour including legislative measures, rehabilitation and provision of elementary education.
By PTI

JAIPUR: A 21-year-old Austrian tourist was allegedly molested by the owner of a massage parlour in Udaipur district of Rajasthan today. Acting swiftly on the woman's complaint, police arrested the 45-year-old owner on the charge of outraging her modesty.

"The woman's statement has been recorded. The accused has been arrested. The embassy will be apprised of the matter," Superintendent of Police of Udaipur Rajendra Prasad told PTI. The incident happened when the tourist had visited the massage parlour near Hanuman Ghat of the city.

The woman, in her complaint, alleged that the accused on the pretext of massage touched her with ill intentions, investigating officer in the case Ram Singh Chundawat told PTI. He said that the woman is a research scholar and has been staying in the city for the past three months.

JAIPUR: A 21-year-old Austrian tourist was allegedly molested by the owner of a massage parlour in Udaipur district of Rajasthan today. Acting swiftly on the woman's complaint, police arrested the 45-year-old owner on the charge of outraging her modesty. "The woman's statement has been recorded. The accused has been arrested. The embassy will be apprised of the matter," Superintendent of Police of Udaipur Rajendra Prasad told PTI. The incident happened when the tourist had visited the massage parlour near Hanuman Ghat of the city. The woman, in her complaint, alleged that the accused on the pretext of massage touched her with ill intentions, investigating officer in the case Ram Singh Chundawat told PTI. He said that the woman is a research scholar and has been staying in the city for the past three months.
R Anantha Subramanian By

Express News Service

If there is one law that causes the maximum discomfort to people in Indias borderlands, it is the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA as it is more popularly known. Any discussion on Jammu & Kashmir or the northeastern states normally ends up as a debate on whether AFSPA is draconian or justified. The Act gives sweeping powers to the armed forces in these regions to quell insurgency.

What is AFSPA?

Passed in 1958 by Parliament, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was initially imposed in the Northeastern region and Punjab to tackle insurgency in what are called disturbed areas. Most of these border Pakistan, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Where is AFSPA applicable?

AFSPA can be invoked anywhere the government certifies as a disturbed area due to differences or disputes between members of different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities.

What are the powers under AFSPA?

The Act gives absolute powers, in other words legal immunity, to Army personnel to crack down on insurgents in conflict areas. These powers include shooting to kill those believed to be acting against the Indian state. They can search and detain anyone on the mere basis of suspicion. The law assures them that there wont be any legal backlash for such actions. The law also allows the Army to launch targeted strikes in areas declared disturbed under the Act

How is AFSPA officially declared?

Section (3) of the Act empowers the governor of the state or union territory to issue a notification in The Gazette of India, following which the Centre can send armed forces to the state for civilian aid. The grey area, however, is whether the Union government sends the forces on its own or only after the Governors request.

A state government can also suggest if the Act needs to be in force, though it can be overturned by the Governor or the Centre.

AFSPA states

Jammu and Kashmir

Assam

Nagaland

Manipur (except the Imphal municipal area)

Arunachal Pradesh (Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts and a 20-km area bordering Assam)

Meghalaya (a 20-km belt bordering Assam)

How Tripura bested AFSPA

AFSPA was initially imposed in Tripura in 1997 when militancy was at its extreme. That the State shares an 856-km border with Bangladesh did not help the situation much. The National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) wanted the State to secede from the Union. However, almost two decades later, with the situation remaining calm and less reports of terrorist incidents, the Act was finally lifted on May 28, 2015. It was in force for 18 years. The proof of decline in terrorism and separatism is usually attributed to the high voter turnout in the 2014 Assembly polls, which witnessed 84% of voting. Though earlier also there were efforts to repeal the Act, voter anger seemed have nudged the government to lift it.

Question of alienation

The armed forces believe the AFSPA helps it in counter-insurgency operations effectively, but the local populace in the disturbed areas is usually alienated due to the incursive nature of the Act Manipur and AFSPA Deeming Manipur to be a disturbed area, the government imposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in the State in 1980.

Formed in 1949, the State has a long history of insurgency. The trouble that was rampant during the British rule intensified after Independence with at least 30 insurgent groups laying down different claims. Most of the rebel groups have their base in Myanmar.

Violence peaked during the 1990s with armed conflict among ethnic as well as infighting among the predominant Naga groups.

Where do the ultras get their funds?

They generate funds by imposing illegal taxes on National Highways in the State. Their other key fund source is drug trafficking.

What was the Malom Massacre?

Things came to a head on Nov. 2, 2000, when 10 civilians were killed by Assam Rifles personnel while waiting at a bus stop at Malom in the Imphal Valley. The security forces had opened fire indiscriminately after they heard an explosion which damaged one of the vehicles in their convoy. The deceased included a 62-year-old woman, a National Child Bravery Award winner and a a boy who was waiting to go to Imphal for his tuition. Later, 42 people were dragged out of their houses and severely beaten up by the personnel. The Army personnel had reportedly believed that they were being ambushed and thought the residents of Malom were protecting the insurgents.

That the security forces had the authority to shoot to kill on mere suspicion and conduct invasive searches, highlight the over-arching powers vested on them by the AFSPA.

Enter Irom Sharmila

Following the killings, activist Irom Chanu Sharmila, then 28, began a hunger strike demanding that the government repeal the draconian act. She was arrested and re-arrested several times over her 16-year-long hunger strike that she decided to finally end on August 9, 2016. However, even this superhuman effort by a woman of modest means who survived just on fluids given through the nasal passageway failed to make the government yield.

After she ended her hunger strike, Sharmila announced her intention to join politics and floated her own Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance party. She contested against what many believed to be a formidable opponent - erstwhile Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh.

Ironically, the worlds longest hunger strikers activism went in vain, as she got only about 90 votes in the recently-concluded Assembly election.

If there is one law that causes the maximum discomfort to people in Indias borderlands, it is the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA as it is more popularly known. Any discussion on Jammu & Kashmir or the northeastern states normally ends up as a debate on whether AFSPA is draconian or justified. The Act gives sweeping powers to the armed forces in these regions to quell insurgency. What is AFSPA? Passed in 1958 by Parliament, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was initially imposed in the Northeastern region and Punjab to tackle insurgency in what are called disturbed areas. Most of these border Pakistan, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Where is AFSPA applicable? AFSPA can be invoked anywhere the government certifies as a disturbed area due to differences or disputes between members of different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities. What are the powers under AFSPA? The Act gives absolute powers, in other words legal immunity, to Army personnel to crack down on insurgents in conflict areas. These powers include shooting to kill those believed to be acting against the Indian state. They can search and detain anyone on the mere basis of suspicion. The law assures them that there wont be any legal backlash for such actions. The law also allows the Army to launch targeted strikes in areas declared disturbed under the Act How is AFSPA officially declared? Section (3) of the Act empowers the governor of the state or union territory to issue a notification in The Gazette of India, following which the Centre can send armed forces to the state for civilian aid. The grey area, however, is whether the Union government sends the forces on its own or only after the Governors request. A state government can also suggest if the Act needs to be in force, though it can be overturned by the Governor or the Centre. AFSPA states Jammu and Kashmir Assam Nagaland Manipur (except the Imphal municipal area) Arunachal Pradesh (Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts and a 20-km area bordering Assam) Meghalaya (a 20-km belt bordering Assam) How Tripura bested AFSPA AFSPA was initially imposed in Tripura in 1997 when militancy was at its extreme. That the State shares an 856-km border with Bangladesh did not help the situation much. The National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) wanted the State to secede from the Union. However, almost two decades later, with the situation remaining calm and less reports of terrorist incidents, the Act was finally lifted on May 28, 2015. It was in force for 18 years. The proof of decline in terrorism and separatism is usually attributed to the high voter turnout in the 2014 Assembly polls, which witnessed 84% of voting. Though earlier also there were efforts to repeal the Act, voter anger seemed have nudged the government to lift it. Question of alienation The armed forces believe the AFSPA helps it in counter-insurgency operations effectively, but the local populace in the disturbed areas is usually alienated due to the incursive nature of the Act Manipur and AFSPA Deeming Manipur to be a disturbed area, the government imposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in the State in 1980. Formed in 1949, the State has a long history of insurgency. The trouble that was rampant during the British rule intensified after Independence with at least 30 insurgent groups laying down different claims. Most of the rebel groups have their base in Myanmar. Violence peaked during the 1990s with armed conflict among ethnic as well as infighting among the predominant Naga groups. Where do the ultras get their funds? They generate funds by imposing illegal taxes on National Highways in the State. Their other key fund source is drug trafficking. What was the Malom Massacre? Things came to a head on Nov. 2, 2000, when 10 civilians were killed by Assam Rifles personnel while waiting at a bus stop at Malom in the Imphal Valley. The security forces had opened fire indiscriminately after they heard an explosion which damaged one of the vehicles in their convoy. The deceased included a 62-year-old woman, a National Child Bravery Award winner and a a boy who was waiting to go to Imphal for his tuition. Later, 42 people were dragged out of their houses and severely beaten up by the personnel. The Army personnel had reportedly believed that they were being ambushed and thought the residents of Malom were protecting the insurgents. That the security forces had the authority to shoot to kill on mere suspicion and conduct invasive searches, highlight the over-arching powers vested on them by the AFSPA. Enter Irom Sharmila Following the killings, activist Irom Chanu Sharmila, then 28, began a hunger strike demanding that the government repeal the draconian act. She was arrested and re-arrested several times over her 16-year-long hunger strike that she decided to finally end on August 9, 2016. However, even this superhuman effort by a woman of modest means who survived just on fluids given through the nasal passageway failed to make the government yield. After she ended her hunger strike, Sharmila announced her intention to join politics and floated her own Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance party. She contested against what many believed to be a formidable opponent - erstwhile Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh. Ironically, the worlds longest hunger strikers activism went in vain, as she got only about 90 votes in the recently-concluded Assembly election.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre whether there is any alternative for the pellet guns.

The apex court also asked Union of India to file a reply in this regard within April 10.

The apex court was hearing the plea filed by Kashmir High Court Bar Association (KHBA) seeking direction in the use of pellet guns.

KHBA had earlier filed a petition in the top court alleging that the pellet guns are being 'misused'.

The case was filed in the wake of the several lives lost during last year unrest in the Kashmir Valley.

The division bench of the Supreme Court had, in December last year, admitted the petition for hearing and directed the Central Government to submit the report of the team of experts constituted on the use of pellet guns before the court.

Earlier in July 2016, the Centre constituted a team to recommend suitable replacement for the pellet guns.

A seven-member expert committee set up for exploring other possible alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons submitted its report to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi in August.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre whether there is any alternative for the pellet guns. The apex court also asked Union of India to file a reply in this regard within April 10. The apex court was hearing the plea filed by Kashmir High Court Bar Association (KHBA) seeking direction in the use of pellet guns. KHBA had earlier filed a petition in the top court alleging that the pellet guns are being 'misused'. The case was filed in the wake of the several lives lost during last year unrest in the Kashmir Valley. The division bench of the Supreme Court had, in December last year, admitted the petition for hearing and directed the Central Government to submit the report of the team of experts constituted on the use of pellet guns before the court. Earlier in July 2016, the Centre constituted a team to recommend suitable replacement for the pellet guns. A seven-member expert committee set up for exploring other possible alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons submitted its report to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi in August.
By Express News Service

PATNA: Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, the controversial MP from Madhepura in Bihar, was injured along with scores of supporters of his Jan Adhikar Party (JAP), when police caned them during their protest march to the Bihar Assembly on Monday.



Hundreds of workers of JAP, the one-year-and-a-half-old party formed by the MP after his expulsion from RJD in May 2015, attended a large rally in the State capital to protest the average 55 per cent hike in power tariff, as well as demand a CBI probe into the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) question paper leak case.

When police stopped the rally from nearing the State Assembly, where the budget session was in progress, JAP workers became violent and pelted stones at the police. This led them to use water cannons to disperse the crowd and when it failed, resorted to lathi charge, injuring nearly 40 workers.



Pappu Yadav, who was leading the rally was also injured and left the venue. He reached a local TV news channel office, where he claimed that more than 100 JAP workers were severely hurt and that nearly 200 others had gone missing from the venue. The MP, known for his provocative statements and constant attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his ally, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, also claimed that the State government had planned to have him killed.



Our workers heard two DSPs talking about the government order to have me killed right at the rally venue. Is this how a democracy functions? It is a citizens birthright to stage protests when democracy does not function properly, said the MP, who is also the husband of Congress MP Ranjeeta Ranjan, who represents Bihars Supaul constituency in the Lok Sabha.



Meanwhile, an FIR was lodged against Pappu Yadav and 14 workers of JAP for attacking police and trying to forcibly reach the prohibited zone of the State Assembly. But before a team of policemen reached the news channels office to arrest Yadav, he left for his residence in Patnas Mandiri along with scores of his supporters.



The cops and Yadav engaged in arguments for nearly an hour after the MP refused to be detained and demanded that police first get an arrest warrant issued against him from a court. The cops, led by DSP Shivli Nomani, displayed no eagerness to forcibly arrest the MP.



A doctor who examined Yadav said he had received grave injuries due to beating, and that his blood pressure had gone very high. Yadav, advised to take rest for a few days, said his party would organise a larger rally on April 14 to protest massive corruption and incompetence of the Nitish-Lalu government.

PATNA: Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, the controversial MP from Madhepura in Bihar, was injured along with scores of supporters of his Jan Adhikar Party (JAP), when police caned them during their protest march to the Bihar Assembly on Monday. Hundreds of workers of JAP, the one-year-and-a-half-old party formed by the MP after his expulsion from RJD in May 2015, attended a large rally in the State capital to protest the average 55 per cent hike in power tariff, as well as demand a CBI probe into the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) question paper leak case. When police stopped the rally from nearing the State Assembly, where the budget session was in progress, JAP workers became violent and pelted stones at the police. This led them to use water cannons to disperse the crowd and when it failed, resorted to lathi charge, injuring nearly 40 workers. Pappu Yadav, who was leading the rally was also injured and left the venue. He reached a local TV news channel office, where he claimed that more than 100 JAP workers were severely hurt and that nearly 200 others had gone missing from the venue. The MP, known for his provocative statements and constant attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his ally, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, also claimed that the State government had planned to have him killed. Our workers heard two DSPs talking about the government order to have me killed right at the rally venue. Is this how a democracy functions? It is a citizens birthright to stage protests when democracy does not function properly, said the MP, who is also the husband of Congress MP Ranjeeta Ranjan, who represents Bihars Supaul constituency in the Lok Sabha. Meanwhile, an FIR was lodged against Pappu Yadav and 14 workers of JAP for attacking police and trying to forcibly reach the prohibited zone of the State Assembly. But before a team of policemen reached the news channels office to arrest Yadav, he left for his residence in Patnas Mandiri along with scores of his supporters. The cops and Yadav engaged in arguments for nearly an hour after the MP refused to be detained and demanded that police first get an arrest warrant issued against him from a court. The cops, led by DSP Shivli Nomani, displayed no eagerness to forcibly arrest the MP. A doctor who examined Yadav said he had received grave injuries due to beating, and that his blood pressure had gone very high. Yadav, advised to take rest for a few days, said his party would organise a larger rally on April 14 to protest massive corruption and incompetence of the Nitish-Lalu government.
Namita Bajpai By

LUCKNOW: As he prepares to move from his Gorakhdham Math to the seat of power in Lucknow, Yogi Adityanath will leave a lot behind. Reputedly, his love for Nandini is supreme and non-negotiable. But the separation is not to last too long, for she will soon join him at 5, Kalidas Marg.

Nandini is Yogi Adityanaths favourite cow among the herd of 500 lodged in the gaushala of Gorakdham. Shes a 12-year-old red Sahiwal whom he reared since she was a newborn calf. Among the lore emanating from Gorakhpur since the 44-year-old bachelor became chief minister is the bon mot that he feeds Nandini himself without fail before dawn every day. Yogi wont touch of morsel until he has fed Nandini with his own hand. It is a part of his routine round the year through all seasons, says Sunil Rai, chief supervisor of the gaushala.

Volunteers at the math tell tender tales. As soon as Adityanath enters the cow shed, Nandini and the herd rush to him. Chhote Maharaj feeds her himself, showing her a lot of affection. When CM saab is away in Lucknow, the animals miss him. They may not be able to express themselves but they feel his absence, adds Virendra Singh, a volunteer.

Cow and nationalism

Cow love is not unique to chief ministers in the Hindi heartland; Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad kept heifers in their official residences, although Akhilesh Yadav himself was more a parrot lover. But for the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, cows are not just a nod to a caste tradition but the centerpiece of a brand of politics that his party is keen to pursue. It is a part of Adityanaths political identity, which was the reason he was chosen to drive the cultural nationalism project of the BJP. So, far from making the cows of Gorakhnath Math an odd aspect of his identity, Adityanath is revelling in bringing it front and centre.

Gau seva is an uncompromising part of Yogis daily routine and volunteers narrate it eagerly. The young holy mans day apparently begins at 3 am with a stiff regimen of pranayam and an elaborate pooja consisting of six sets of aartis in each of the 12 temples within the math. He then goes over to the gaushala to feed Nandini and the herd jaggery, wheat roti and milk while speaking lovingly to them.

Yogiji Nandini ko sabse adhik prem karte hain, says Man Mohammad, the caretaker of the gaushala.

The two-acre gaushala lodges several breeds including Gujarati, Nandinis Sahiwal, Desi and Gir. They prodcuce over a hundred litres of milk a day but not a drop of it is sole but used in the temples rituals and distributed as prasad among the devotees.

Muslim in the mix

Man Mohammad is the Muslim in the mix, living a life the cultural nationalism project would allow to the nations minorities. He is a devout Muslim and wears saffron like the other volunteers. He has been serving at the math since he was 10, having followed his Inayatullah into the service of Adityanaths precursors, Mahant Digvijaynath and Mahant Avidyanath.

Mohammad is a bachelor like the volunteers in the temple and is paid a nominal salary plus food and clothing. He offers namaz and follows Islamic practices and is loved for his love of the cows.

I cant think of going anywhere else. This is my home. Yogiji has given me ample love and a respectable life, says Man Mohammad.

So there you have it, a scale model of the project it is Adityanaths task to execute: the saint, the cow, and the loyal lieutenant.

LUCKNOW: As he prepares to move from his Gorakhdham Math to the seat of power in Lucknow, Yogi Adityanath will leave a lot behind. Reputedly, his love for Nandini is supreme and non-negotiable. But the separation is not to last too long, for she will soon join him at 5, Kalidas Marg. Nandini is Yogi Adityanaths favourite cow among the herd of 500 lodged in the gaushala of Gorakdham. Shes a 12-year-old red Sahiwal whom he reared since she was a newborn calf. Among the lore emanating from Gorakhpur since the 44-year-old bachelor became chief minister is the bon mot that he feeds Nandini himself without fail before dawn every day. Yogi wont touch of morsel until he has fed Nandini with his own hand. It is a part of his routine round the year through all seasons, says Sunil Rai, chief supervisor of the gaushala. Volunteers at the math tell tender tales. As soon as Adityanath enters the cow shed, Nandini and the herd rush to him. Chhote Maharaj feeds her himself, showing her a lot of affection. When CM saab is away in Lucknow, the animals miss him. They may not be able to express themselves but they feel his absence, adds Virendra Singh, a volunteer. Cow and nationalism Cow love is not unique to chief ministers in the Hindi heartland; Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad kept heifers in their official residences, although Akhilesh Yadav himself was more a parrot lover. But for the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, cows are not just a nod to a caste tradition but the centerpiece of a brand of politics that his party is keen to pursue. It is a part of Adityanaths political identity, which was the reason he was chosen to drive the cultural nationalism project of the BJP. So, far from making the cows of Gorakhnath Math an odd aspect of his identity, Adityanath is revelling in bringing it front and centre. Gau seva is an uncompromising part of Yogis daily routine and volunteers narrate it eagerly. The young holy mans day apparently begins at 3 am with a stiff regimen of pranayam and an elaborate pooja consisting of six sets of aartis in each of the 12 temples within the math. He then goes over to the gaushala to feed Nandini and the herd jaggery, wheat roti and milk while speaking lovingly to them. Yogiji Nandini ko sabse adhik prem karte hain, says Man Mohammad, the caretaker of the gaushala. The two-acre gaushala lodges several breeds including Gujarati, Nandinis Sahiwal, Desi and Gir. They prodcuce over a hundred litres of milk a day but not a drop of it is sole but used in the temples rituals and distributed as prasad among the devotees. Muslim in the mix Man Mohammad is the Muslim in the mix, living a life the cultural nationalism project would allow to the nations minorities. He is a devout Muslim and wears saffron like the other volunteers. He has been serving at the math since he was 10, having followed his Inayatullah into the service of Adityanaths precursors, Mahant Digvijaynath and Mahant Avidyanath. Mohammad is a bachelor like the volunteers in the temple and is paid a nominal salary plus food and clothing. He offers namaz and follows Islamic practices and is loved for his love of the cows. I cant think of going anywhere else. This is my home. Yogiji has given me ample love and a respectable life, says Man Mohammad. So there you have it, a scale model of the project it is Adityanaths task to execute: the saint, the cow, and the loyal lieutenant.
By PTI

AMRITSAR: A suspected Pakistani intruder was shot dead by the BSF long the International Border in Punjab today.

Officials said the incident was reported at 6:20 AM when Border Security Force personnel on-duty spotted some movement ahead of the fence at the IB near the Paharipur border post in Gurdaspur sector.

They said the suspected intruder was challenged repeatedly but he did not pay heed to it and hence was shot.

The area has been cordoned off and a search has been launched to retrieve the body and look for other possible suspects in the area, they said.

AMRITSAR: A suspected Pakistani intruder was shot dead by the BSF long the International Border in Punjab today. Officials said the incident was reported at 6:20 AM when Border Security Force personnel on-duty spotted some movement ahead of the fence at the IB near the Paharipur border post in Gurdaspur sector. They said the suspected intruder was challenged repeatedly but he did not pay heed to it and hence was shot. The area has been cordoned off and a search has been launched to retrieve the body and look for other possible suspects in the area, they said.
By PTI

MORADABAD: An Uttar Pradesh government official here was arrested for allegedly shooting dead a dog which had barked at him, police said.



59-year-old Vimal Dheer, an office superintendent in the SC/ST Welfare Department, was, however, released on interim bail by Station Officer Majhola police station yesterday.



A resident of Kanshiram Nagar here, Dheer was out for an evening walk on Saturday when the dog, belonging to Ashok Kumar, barked at him and he allegedly shoot the canine dead using his pistol, police said.



Kumar, who lives in the same neighbourhood, alleged that Dheer was a drunkard and "killed my innocent Great Dane for no reason".



A case was registered against him under IPC section 429 (mischief by killing or maiming cattle) at Majhola police station.



Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Yashveer Singh said the police has right to grant interim bail for a cognizable offense and so the accused was released.



However, his licenced pistol has been seized, the ASP added.



Dheer, who is set to retire on March 31, was currently posted in Bijnor district.



District Magistrate, Bijnor, Jagat Raj said, "This is not under my jurisdiction to terminate or suspend him (Dheer). But action will be taken by the appointing secretary in Lucknow. They will take cognizane of the matter."



MORADABAD: An Uttar Pradesh government official here was arrested for allegedly shooting dead a dog which had barked at him, police said. 59-year-old Vimal Dheer, an office superintendent in the SC/ST Welfare Department, was, however, released on interim bail by Station Officer Majhola police station yesterday. A resident of Kanshiram Nagar here, Dheer was out for an evening walk on Saturday when the dog, belonging to Ashok Kumar, barked at him and he allegedly shoot the canine dead using his pistol, police said. Kumar, who lives in the same neighbourhood, alleged that Dheer was a drunkard and "killed my innocent Great Dane for no reason". A case was registered against him under IPC section 429 (mischief by killing or maiming cattle) at Majhola police station. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Yashveer Singh said the police has right to grant interim bail for a cognizable offense and so the accused was released. However, his licenced pistol has been seized, the ASP added. Dheer, who is set to retire on March 31, was currently posted in Bijnor district. District Magistrate, Bijnor, Jagat Raj said, "This is not under my jurisdiction to terminate or suspend him (Dheer). But action will be taken by the appointing secretary in Lucknow. They will take cognizane of the matter."
By ANI

LUCKNOW: As the meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh went on an indefinite strike from today against the crackdown on illegal and mechanized slaughterhouses, they urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to fight for the nation and not for gosht.

Yogi Adityanath should fight for the nation, not for gosht. Many people are dying without food. It has created chaos. We will support Yogi ji in his fight against Pakistan. If he (Yogi Adityanath) fights for gosht, we will raise our voices, a meat seller told ANI.

Stating that all of them are facing trouble, another meat seller said all the labourers are disturbed with the present scenario.

Someone commits mistake and others pay for it. We have to earn our living. So many families are dependent on this. We all have become jobless now. There should be a solution to this, said another meat seller.

After coming to power, the Yogi Adityanath government has ordered closure of illegal slaughterhouses and strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling to fulfil a key electoral promise.

Adityanath earlier on Saturday said abattoirs operating legally will not be touched but action will be taken against those run illegally.

Warning the licensed slaughterhouses to comply as per rules, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minster earlier on Wednesday said that strict action would be taken against the illegal ones, adding that the main agenda of the government is to restore law and order in the state.

LUCKNOW: As the meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh went on an indefinite strike from today against the crackdown on illegal and mechanized slaughterhouses, they urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to fight for the nation and not for gosht. Yogi Adityanath should fight for the nation, not for gosht. Many people are dying without food. It has created chaos. We will support Yogi ji in his fight against Pakistan. If he (Yogi Adityanath) fights for gosht, we will raise our voices, a meat seller told ANI. Stating that all of them are facing trouble, another meat seller said all the labourers are disturbed with the present scenario. Someone commits mistake and others pay for it. We have to earn our living. So many families are dependent on this. We all have become jobless now. There should be a solution to this, said another meat seller. After coming to power, the Yogi Adityanath government has ordered closure of illegal slaughterhouses and strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling to fulfil a key electoral promise. Adityanath earlier on Saturday said abattoirs operating legally will not be touched but action will be taken against those run illegally. Warning the licensed slaughterhouses to comply as per rules, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minster earlier on Wednesday said that strict action would be taken against the illegal ones, adding that the main agenda of the government is to restore law and order in the state.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: AIMIM President and Lok Sabha member from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said the Uttar Pradesh government should give time to illegal abattoirs for regularisation instead of just recklessly sealing them.

"It is the fault of the previous Samajwadi Party government that did not regularise the slaughterhouses. Now, the government should give them time for regularisation instead of sealing them," Owaisi said outside Parliament.

According to him, not just the illegal abattoirs which were being sealed, but the legal ones also.

"If the government can give time to black money hoarders to declare their money and regularise it, why can't it give time to slaughterhouses for regularisation? It means they are targeting a particular community."

Owaisi said India's buffalo meat exports are valued at Rs 26,000 crore and around half of the exporting units are based in Uttar Pradesh.

"Such reckless step by the government will result in economic disruption. Does the government want to stop these exports? Around five to 10 lakh people will be rendered unemployed by this step," Owaisi said.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief said the government had no right to dictate what one should eat and what one should not.

He said the capacity of legal abattoirs should be enhanced to meet the demand.

NEW DELHI: AIMIM President and Lok Sabha member from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said the Uttar Pradesh government should give time to illegal abattoirs for regularisation instead of just recklessly sealing them. "It is the fault of the previous Samajwadi Party government that did not regularise the slaughterhouses. Now, the government should give them time for regularisation instead of sealing them," Owaisi said outside Parliament. According to him, not just the illegal abattoirs which were being sealed, but the legal ones also. "If the government can give time to black money hoarders to declare their money and regularise it, why can't it give time to slaughterhouses for regularisation? It means they are targeting a particular community." Owaisi said India's buffalo meat exports are valued at Rs 26,000 crore and around half of the exporting units are based in Uttar Pradesh. "Such reckless step by the government will result in economic disruption. Does the government want to stop these exports? Around five to 10 lakh people will be rendered unemployed by this step," Owaisi said. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief said the government had no right to dictate what one should eat and what one should not. He said the capacity of legal abattoirs should be enhanced to meet the demand.
Abhijit Mulye By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: IN whats perhaps a first-of-its-kind political development, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has been invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a dinner in New Delhi. Though the invitation is speculated to be part of the BJPs preparations for the Presidential election, it may also be aimed at straightening up the strained relationship between the ruling alliance in Maharashtra.

Representatives of all NDA partners are expected to attend the dinner, which is scheduled for March 29, a senior BJP minister said.

Though there has been no official word from the Sena camp regarding the invitation as yet, a senior party functionary said that Uddhav might honour the invitation as it has come directly from the Prime Minister. Generally, Union minister Anant Gite or Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Raut or Anil Desai represent the Shiv Sena at NDA meetings. If Uddhav Thackeray attends the dinner, it would be yet another first in the NDAs history.

After a thumping victory in Uttar Pradesh, the BJPs worries regarding gathering enough votes for its Presidential candidate have come down. The party is also eyeing support from the AIADMK and BJD. This means that the BJP wont have to depend on the Shiv Sena for its support in the Presidential election. Yet, they are being invited as they are our natural allies and also the oldest allies, said the BJP minister.

Interestingly, the Shiv Sena too has hardly ever toed the NDA line in the Presidential elections, except during the election of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. The Shiv Sena had backed UPA candidates Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee. Uddhav also had a meeting with Mukherjee recently.

Against this backdrop, the invitation to Uddhav for the NDA meet is being given more importance, said a BJP leader. Also, relations between the Shiv Sena and the BJP, which were strained during the 2014 Assembly elections in Maharashtra, hit a new low during the municipal polls.

It has been speculated since then that the Shiv Sena might pull out of the State government, forcing the BJP to go for mid-term polls.

These speculations intensified earlier this month when the Shiv Sena joined the opposition Congress and NCP over the demand for a crop loan waiver.

Though the Shiv Sena endorsed the State budget and appears to have shelved its demand for loan waiver for the time being, the BJP leadership might be wanting to ensure longevity of Shiv Senas support, said another BJP leader.

MUMBAI: IN whats perhaps a first-of-its-kind political development, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has been invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a dinner in New Delhi. Though the invitation is speculated to be part of the BJPs preparations for the Presidential election, it may also be aimed at straightening up the strained relationship between the ruling alliance in Maharashtra. Representatives of all NDA partners are expected to attend the dinner, which is scheduled for March 29, a senior BJP minister said. Though there has been no official word from the Sena camp regarding the invitation as yet, a senior party functionary said that Uddhav might honour the invitation as it has come directly from the Prime Minister. Generally, Union minister Anant Gite or Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Raut or Anil Desai represent the Shiv Sena at NDA meetings. If Uddhav Thackeray attends the dinner, it would be yet another first in the NDAs history. After a thumping victory in Uttar Pradesh, the BJPs worries regarding gathering enough votes for its Presidential candidate have come down. The party is also eyeing support from the AIADMK and BJD. This means that the BJP wont have to depend on the Shiv Sena for its support in the Presidential election. Yet, they are being invited as they are our natural allies and also the oldest allies, said the BJP minister. Interestingly, the Shiv Sena too has hardly ever toed the NDA line in the Presidential elections, except during the election of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. The Shiv Sena had backed UPA candidates Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee. Uddhav also had a meeting with Mukherjee recently. Against this backdrop, the invitation to Uddhav for the NDA meet is being given more importance, said a BJP leader. Also, relations between the Shiv Sena and the BJP, which were strained during the 2014 Assembly elections in Maharashtra, hit a new low during the municipal polls. It has been speculated since then that the Shiv Sena might pull out of the State government, forcing the BJP to go for mid-term polls. These speculations intensified earlier this month when the Shiv Sena joined the opposition Congress and NCP over the demand for a crop loan waiver. Though the Shiv Sena endorsed the State budget and appears to have shelved its demand for loan waiver for the time being, the BJP leadership might be wanting to ensure longevity of Shiv Senas support, said another BJP leader.
V Sudhish Pai By

In the process of interpretation and in deciding cases, judges, no doubt, make law. The power of the courts to determine what the law is, if unwritten, or what it means, if written, vests in them an authority which in effect, whether or not in form, is a law making one. This has always been recognised as part of the judicial power and is considered wholly legitimate.

Judges do and must legislate but they do so only interstitially. The law makers have put in place the major architectural features which judges preserve, adding only filigree. The limits for the judge are narrower, he legislates only between the gaps, he fills the open spaces in the law. Justice Cardozo perceptively observed, Judges have, of course, the power, though not the right, to ignore the mandate of a statute, and render judgement in spite of it. They have the power, though not the right, to travel beyond the walls of the interstices, the bounds set to judicial innovation by precedent and custom. Nonetheless, by that abuse of power, they violate the law.

Then you have judicial law making in constitutional interpretation and adjudication. By constitutional interpretation as in other areas, the court nudges the law a little forward. This again is on a case to case basis filling the gaps, carrying the law a little further. For instance, the concept of state in Article 12 was widened, Arts. 14 and 21 were interpreted breathing new life and content into them. Judicial review in the area of constitutional law or constitutional adjudication institutionalised a process which may be called judicial constitution making.

Done wisely and with necessary circumspection, this is both laudable and legitimate. But in the guise of interpretation, the court cannot seek to rewrite a provision, however tempting it may appear. Such instances are not wanting. The II Judges case and the NJAC case are telling examples.

Judicial legislation is primary law making by the judiciary. The most vexed question is whether the court can undertake primary legislative activity. In other words, can the judiciary make a law where none exists. How far is such exercise legitimate?

In Vishaka and the cases following, it was posited: That there are ample powers conferred by Art. 32 and Art.73 read with Art. 142 to make orders which have the effect of law by virtue of Art.141 and there is a mandate of Art.144 for all authorities to act in aid of the orders of the Supreme Court; that it is the duty of the executive to fill the vacuum by executive orders because its field is co-terminus with the legislature and where there is inaction even by the executive for whatever reason, the judiciary must step in, in exercise of its constitutional obligations to provide a solution till such time as the legislature enacts proper legislation to cover the field.

This reasoning for judicial legislation is a constitutional conundrum. There does not seem to be any source of power for the courts to undertake primary legislation and the proposition that when there is no law, the executive must step in and when the executive also does not act the judiciary should do so is tenuous. Executive power is coextensive with legislative power. If the field is unoccupied by law, it is open to the executive to fill the gap. But there is no warrant that by virtue of those provisions the court can step in and legislate. The argument that the larger power of the court to decide and pronounce upon the validity of a law includes the power to frame schemes and issue directions in the nature of legislation is equally untenable. There is no jurisprudential foundation for the exercise of such power.

This is typically the converse case of bills of attainder. Legislative determination of disputes/rights has been held to be illegal and impermissible. Ameerunnisa, Ram Prasad Narayan Sahi and Indira Gandhi are some of the telling cases. By the same logic and reasoning, judicial legislation which is judicial determination of policy and law is difficult to be sustained and justified jurisprudentially. When in pursuit of truth we are obliged to investigate the grounds of the law, it is plain that the mere statement and re-statement of a doctrine, the mere repetition of the cantilena of lawyers, cannot make it law unless it can be traced to some competent authority and if it be irreconcilable to some clear legal principle. This is the truth about judicial legislation which has also the effect of breaching many other constitutional limitations. Sometimes this also leaves many affected persons remediless.

Any support or justification for a constitutional adjudication and even more for judicial legislation will have to be premised on sound legal reasoning. It cannot be justified because it produces welcome and desirable results. For, then there will be no rules, but only passions. That marks off the line between judicial and legislative power.

Government is mans unending adventure and there should be some free play in the joints. No system is perfect. The actual unfolding of democracy and the working of a democratic constitution and institutions may suffer from inadequacies and imperfections. But all this cannot be sought to be addressed and redressed by judicial drafting or redrafting of legislative provisions.

Power is of an encroaching nature, wrote US President James Madison. That is true of all power, judicial power is no exception. The best and complete answer is the self-imposed discipline of enlightened judicial restraint. We have a right to expect this from that organ of the state which must define the limits of all branches including its own. In the field of constitutional law, the delicate balance between the various institutions is maintained to a large degree by the mutual respect which each institution has for the other. This is as much a prescription for the future as it was for the past, profound and relevant everywhere.

V Sudhish Pai

An expert on the Indian Constitution

Email: vsudhishpai@gmail.com

In the process of interpretation and in deciding cases, judges, no doubt, make law. The power of the courts to determine what the law is, if unwritten, or what it means, if written, vests in them an authority which in effect, whether or not in form, is a law making one. This has always been recognised as part of the judicial power and is considered wholly legitimate. Judges do and must legislate but they do so only interstitially. The law makers have put in place the major architectural features which judges preserve, adding only filigree. The limits for the judge are narrower, he legislates only between the gaps, he fills the open spaces in the law. Justice Cardozo perceptively observed, Judges have, of course, the power, though not the right, to ignore the mandate of a statute, and render judgement in spite of it. They have the power, though not the right, to travel beyond the walls of the interstices, the bounds set to judicial innovation by precedent and custom. Nonetheless, by that abuse of power, they violate the law. Then you have judicial law making in constitutional interpretation and adjudication. By constitutional interpretation as in other areas, the court nudges the law a little forward. This again is on a case to case basis filling the gaps, carrying the law a little further. For instance, the concept of state in Article 12 was widened, Arts. 14 and 21 were interpreted breathing new life and content into them. Judicial review in the area of constitutional law or constitutional adjudication institutionalised a process which may be called judicial constitution making. Done wisely and with necessary circumspection, this is both laudable and legitimate. But in the guise of interpretation, the court cannot seek to rewrite a provision, however tempting it may appear. Such instances are not wanting. The II Judges case and the NJAC case are telling examples. Judicial legislation is primary law making by the judiciary. The most vexed question is whether the court can undertake primary legislative activity. In other words, can the judiciary make a law where none exists. How far is such exercise legitimate? In Vishaka and the cases following, it was posited: That there are ample powers conferred by Art. 32 and Art.73 read with Art. 142 to make orders which have the effect of law by virtue of Art.141 and there is a mandate of Art.144 for all authorities to act in aid of the orders of the Supreme Court; that it is the duty of the executive to fill the vacuum by executive orders because its field is co-terminus with the legislature and where there is inaction even by the executive for whatever reason, the judiciary must step in, in exercise of its constitutional obligations to provide a solution till such time as the legislature enacts proper legislation to cover the field. This reasoning for judicial legislation is a constitutional conundrum. There does not seem to be any source of power for the courts to undertake primary legislation and the proposition that when there is no law, the executive must step in and when the executive also does not act the judiciary should do so is tenuous. Executive power is coextensive with legislative power. If the field is unoccupied by law, it is open to the executive to fill the gap. But there is no warrant that by virtue of those provisions the court can step in and legislate. The argument that the larger power of the court to decide and pronounce upon the validity of a law includes the power to frame schemes and issue directions in the nature of legislation is equally untenable. There is no jurisprudential foundation for the exercise of such power. This is typically the converse case of bills of attainder. Legislative determination of disputes/rights has been held to be illegal and impermissible. Ameerunnisa, Ram Prasad Narayan Sahi and Indira Gandhi are some of the telling cases. By the same logic and reasoning, judicial legislation which is judicial determination of policy and law is difficult to be sustained and justified jurisprudentially. When in pursuit of truth we are obliged to investigate the grounds of the law, it is plain that the mere statement and re-statement of a doctrine, the mere repetition of the cantilena of lawyers, cannot make it law unless it can be traced to some competent authority and if it be irreconcilable to some clear legal principle. This is the truth about judicial legislation which has also the effect of breaching many other constitutional limitations. Sometimes this also leaves many affected persons remediless. Any support or justification for a constitutional adjudication and even more for judicial legislation will have to be premised on sound legal reasoning. It cannot be justified because it produces welcome and desirable results. For, then there will be no rules, but only passions. That marks off the line between judicial and legislative power. Government is mans unending adventure and there should be some free play in the joints. No system is perfect. The actual unfolding of democracy and the working of a democratic constitution and institutions may suffer from inadequacies and imperfections. But all this cannot be sought to be addressed and redressed by judicial drafting or redrafting of legislative provisions. Power is of an encroaching nature, wrote US President James Madison. That is true of all power, judicial power is no exception. The best and complete answer is the self-imposed discipline of enlightened judicial restraint. We have a right to expect this from that organ of the state which must define the limits of all branches including its own. In the field of constitutional law, the delicate balance between the various institutions is maintained to a large degree by the mutual respect which each institution has for the other. This is as much a prescription for the future as it was for the past, profound and relevant everywhere. V Sudhish Pai An expert on the Indian Constitution Email: vsudhishpai@gmail.com
Vinod Mathew By

The Kinsey reports that came out in 1948 and 1953 on the sexual orientation of the American males and females well and truly set the cat among the pigeons and shred to pieces notions about what was normal sexual behaviour in the US. A good 70 years later, if one part of the world deserves a similar effort by a worthy descendant of Alfred Kinsey, it surely would be Kerala.

Unlike the authors of the Kinsey report who had to struggle to pin down men and women into various behavioural categories, those who decide to research the libido of the present-day Malayali would face a far easier task.

The data has already been put out by many newspapers and TV channels in the State over the past many months and all that needs to be done is come out with a few gripping Freudian, neo-Freudian and post-Freudian hypotheses and then go on to classify under each head the manifold sexual perversions that have tied up Malayalis in multiple knots.

Earlier, Malayalis had to wait long to come across a meaty sex scam. And when it finally came their way, the effort was to pin the scam down to a few known names, including politicians. The net quotient by way of a takeaway from the whole exercise was that such sex escapades were the sole domain of the privileged class, who alone were villains and at the receiving end were some hapless young girls who got ensnared by these villains.

But as we track these lurid journeys, for want of a better benchmark, right from the days of the Suryanelli scam in 1996, through the ice-cream parlour case that gave a ridiculously sinful nuance to even plain vanilla ice-cream, not to mention the flavoured ones, and then a parade of scams over the ensuing years, strangely, it always came with a political angle. For the outsider, looking in, it was as if Malayalis couldnt indulge in any activity without bringing in which political side he was on.

Try for size the Kothamangalam scam, followed a while later by Kiliroor, then by Varappuzha and Paravoor. Of course, the solar scam that began sowing seeds of doubt in the minds of people about the mandate they gave to the UDF government came with generous helpings of alleged sexual liaisons. It was as if an entire government was dancing to the tune of a libidinous orchestra.

And nobody can ignore how the balance at the hustings was tilted that little bit by the till then unsolved Perumbavoor case. Though the culprit came from the migrant labour, it did not stop the rumour mills from dishing out stories linking political leaders.

Over the past few months, the floodgates have been opened; what was till now a trickle, is now a virtual downpour. Its as if we now live in the la la land of perversion. Horrifying cases of sexual assaults from within the family, arraying father against daughter, grandfather against granddaughter, uncles against nieces and so on keep pouring out with sickening regularity. Some cases are so sick that the aggrieved parties withdraw cases against the culprits as they are either siblings or ones own progeny.

Speak to some of our leading psychiatrists and the refrain is singular in terms of identifying the major source of all evil  it is without doubt the free access to online pornography thats floating around, waiting for those with smartphones and sufficient Internet connectivity to tap down. Therefore, this transformation from the days of watching Adult content, along with others, in all probability in a cinema hall to a personalised viewing is without the knowledge of your near ones. Today, it is a dangerous cocktail where drugs and alcohol feed sexual perverts who crave to imitate the activities they see on screen.

When a 60-year-old man rapes a 90-year-old woman and when a 12-year-old boy fathers a child with a 17-year-old girl, the writing is clearly on the wall  there is something seriously wrong going on here. Each and every unit of society, starting with the family, needs to introspect on what our priorities are. And it certainly does not help when the rogues gallery is adorned by a fair share of priests, with a sprinkling of moulavis and poojaris thrown in, then the die has been cast. The very fact that priests expect the church to defend them speaks volumes. From Kottiyur to Muzhakunnu to Idukki, it is a relentless march of depravity that has descended on Kerala.

Now, a bit of statistics and a close look at a conspiracy theory thats been quietly doing the rounds for a while now. It is being argued that the spurt in child sexual abuse cases is not recent and that it goes back to 2013. The police certainly believe they are being given a raw deal by warring interest groups who want to settle scores using the Home Department, which is handled by the chief minister. For the last three years, at least three sexual abuse cases were being registered in the State each day, say top sources in the police. They cant digest why the media is suddenly going hyper with it.

Data with police reveals that the number of POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) cases has been on the rise, though. The number of cases registered stood at 1,002 in 2013, 1,380 in 2014, 1,569 in 2015 and 2,093 in 2016. At a micro-level, they say the month of January has always been bad. If there were 149 POCSO cases in January 2017, it was 174 in January 2016, 103 in January 2015 and 120 in January 2014. Yes numbers do matter. But there is a larger truth that goes beyond the numbers.

Just as one thought sex scandals had come off the VIP perch and had gravitated down to the level of your next door neighbour, comes Sundays shocker from Kerala transport minister A K Saseendran  a sleaze call between him and an unidentified lady, being aired by a TV channel. For a change, the accused politician paid the price as Saseendran quit office with immediate effect. Clearly, the time is rife for the people to wake up to this harsh reality. That it will spare nobody, unless you are on the guard. Always.

Vinod Mathew

Resident Editor, Kerala

vinodmathew@newindianexpress.com

The Kinsey reports that came out in 1948 and 1953 on the sexual orientation of the American males and females well and truly set the cat among the pigeons and shred to pieces notions about what was normal sexual behaviour in the US. A good 70 years later, if one part of the world deserves a similar effort by a worthy descendant of Alfred Kinsey, it surely would be Kerala. Unlike the authors of the Kinsey report who had to struggle to pin down men and women into various behavioural categories, those who decide to research the libido of the present-day Malayali would face a far easier task. The data has already been put out by many newspapers and TV channels in the State over the past many months and all that needs to be done is come out with a few gripping Freudian, neo-Freudian and post-Freudian hypotheses and then go on to classify under each head the manifold sexual perversions that have tied up Malayalis in multiple knots. Earlier, Malayalis had to wait long to come across a meaty sex scam. And when it finally came their way, the effort was to pin the scam down to a few known names, including politicians. The net quotient by way of a takeaway from the whole exercise was that such sex escapades were the sole domain of the privileged class, who alone were villains and at the receiving end were some hapless young girls who got ensnared by these villains. But as we track these lurid journeys, for want of a better benchmark, right from the days of the Suryanelli scam in 1996, through the ice-cream parlour case that gave a ridiculously sinful nuance to even plain vanilla ice-cream, not to mention the flavoured ones, and then a parade of scams over the ensuing years, strangely, it always came with a political angle. For the outsider, looking in, it was as if Malayalis couldnt indulge in any activity without bringing in which political side he was on. Try for size the Kothamangalam scam, followed a while later by Kiliroor, then by Varappuzha and Paravoor. Of course, the solar scam that began sowing seeds of doubt in the minds of people about the mandate they gave to the UDF government came with generous helpings of alleged sexual liaisons. It was as if an entire government was dancing to the tune of a libidinous orchestra. And nobody can ignore how the balance at the hustings was tilted that little bit by the till then unsolved Perumbavoor case. Though the culprit came from the migrant labour, it did not stop the rumour mills from dishing out stories linking political leaders. Over the past few months, the floodgates have been opened; what was till now a trickle, is now a virtual downpour. Its as if we now live in the la la land of perversion. Horrifying cases of sexual assaults from within the family, arraying father against daughter, grandfather against granddaughter, uncles against nieces and so on keep pouring out with sickening regularity. Some cases are so sick that the aggrieved parties withdraw cases against the culprits as they are either siblings or ones own progeny. Speak to some of our leading psychiatrists and the refrain is singular in terms of identifying the major source of all evil  it is without doubt the free access to online pornography thats floating around, waiting for those with smartphones and sufficient Internet connectivity to tap down. Therefore, this transformation from the days of watching Adult content, along with others, in all probability in a cinema hall to a personalised viewing is without the knowledge of your near ones. Today, it is a dangerous cocktail where drugs and alcohol feed sexual perverts who crave to imitate the activities they see on screen. When a 60-year-old man rapes a 90-year-old woman and when a 12-year-old boy fathers a child with a 17-year-old girl, the writing is clearly on the wall  there is something seriously wrong going on here. Each and every unit of society, starting with the family, needs to introspect on what our priorities are. And it certainly does not help when the rogues gallery is adorned by a fair share of priests, with a sprinkling of moulavis and poojaris thrown in, then the die has been cast. The very fact that priests expect the church to defend them speaks volumes. From Kottiyur to Muzhakunnu to Idukki, it is a relentless march of depravity that has descended on Kerala. Now, a bit of statistics and a close look at a conspiracy theory thats been quietly doing the rounds for a while now. It is being argued that the spurt in child sexual abuse cases is not recent and that it goes back to 2013. The police certainly believe they are being given a raw deal by warring interest groups who want to settle scores using the Home Department, which is handled by the chief minister. For the last three years, at least three sexual abuse cases were being registered in the State each day, say top sources in the police. They cant digest why the media is suddenly going hyper with it. Data with police reveals that the number of POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) cases has been on the rise, though. The number of cases registered stood at 1,002 in 2013, 1,380 in 2014, 1,569 in 2015 and 2,093 in 2016. At a micro-level, they say the month of January has always been bad. If there were 149 POCSO cases in January 2017, it was 174 in January 2016, 103 in January 2015 and 120 in January 2014. Yes numbers do matter. But there is a larger truth that goes beyond the numbers. Just as one thought sex scandals had come off the VIP perch and had gravitated down to the level of your next door neighbour, comes Sundays shocker from Kerala transport minister A K Saseendran  a sleaze call between him and an unidentified lady, being aired by a TV channel. For a change, the accused politician paid the price as Saseendran quit office with immediate effect. Clearly, the time is rife for the people to wake up to this harsh reality. That it will spare nobody, unless you are on the guard. Always. Vinod Mathew Resident Editor, Kerala vinodmathew@newindianexpress.com
Soli J Sorabjee By

One Arrogant Shiv Sena MP: Unruly Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was on Friday barred from flying by Air India (AI) and five other private airlines, a day after he repeatedly hit a 60-year-old AI staffer. The AI flight in question did not have a business class. When this was explained to Gaikwad, he got angry, abused, and worse, hit the on-duty AI officer 15 times with his slippers.

Gaikwad expressed no regret for his disgraceful behaviour. Political leaders cutting across the party lines condemned the incident and sought action. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she cannot take suo moto action and that she would take a call only if the case was brought to her notice in the House.

The general mood was well articulated by the AI staffer Sukumar when he said that police action must be taken. That is most important so that no one takes it as his birthright to assault a person on duty. Gaikwad has tarnished the image of his party, the Shiv Sena. It is hoped that Uddhav Thackeray takes appropriate action against Gaikwad and dispels the impression that Shiv Sena endorses Gaikwads goondagiri.

Ravindra Gaikwad (L); and Air India staffer Sukumar



It is believed by some that all airlines cannot impose a ban on Gaikwad from travelling in their flights. Why not? The ban is not imposed on prohibited discriminatory grounds of caste or religion or sex. It is imposed to ensure orderly behaviour of passengers and to protect the airlines officers in performance of their functions. I feel that the proper punishment the arrogant Gaikwad deserves is being beaten 15 times with slippers. That would be a lesson he would never forget.

Commendable Move to Decriminalise Suicide: The present provision in the Indian Penal Code to make attempt to commit suicide a crime is grotesque. I had an occasion to challenge its constitutionality in the Supreme Court, but the attempt was unsuccessful.

In this context, the Mental Health Care Bill, 2013, aimed at decriminalising attempted suicide and defining mental illness in a broader and more inclusive way was tabled in the Lok Sabha. The move is commendable.

The Bill recognises that suicide attempts are a cry for help and not for punitive penal action. A remarkable feature of the bill is that it allows people to choose someone who can take care of them or their method of treatment if they suffer mental illness in future. In other words, people suffering from mental illness will have the right to choose their mode of treatment by nominating representatives who will ensure that their choices are carried out.

The bill is progressive and is patient-centric and empowers the patient to provide for his or her mental healthcare. The purpose is to give treatment at community level. The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in August 2016. Seen as a reformist bill, it was hugely applauded on the social media. Once passed in the Lok Sabha, the new bill will replace the outdated Mental Health Act of 1987. This would repeal Section 309 of the IPC, which provided for year-long imprisonment for a failed suicide attempt. This legal notoriety will disappear.

Law Commission Report regarding Hate Speech: In a report on hate crimes submitted to the law ministry recently, the Law Commission has recommended introducing more provisions in the IPC and the Code of Criminal Procedure, widening the definition of incitement of violence. In the Law Commissions view, even speech that does not incite violence has the potential of marginalising a section of the society.

It has, therefore, suggested that the IPC be amended by adding a new provision regarding incitement to hatred. The proposal of the Law Commission deserves deep consideration.

It is essential to ensure that the proposed

amendment does not fall foul of the Supreme Courts 1962 judgment in Kedar Naths case, which upheld the provisions about sedition by reading them down to cover only speeches or writings which have the tendency to incite violence.

Two basic values are involved. The guarantee of free speech and expression and the requirement of an orderly society free from violence. Both these

views must be accommodated and a delicate balance struck.

solisorabjee@gmail.com

One Arrogant Shiv Sena MP: Unruly Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was on Friday barred from flying by Air India (AI) and five other private airlines, a day after he repeatedly hit a 60-year-old AI staffer. The AI flight in question did not have a business class. When this was explained to Gaikwad, he got angry, abused, and worse, hit the on-duty AI officer 15 times with his slippers. Gaikwad expressed no regret for his disgraceful behaviour. Political leaders cutting across the party lines condemned the incident and sought action. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she cannot take suo moto action and that she would take a call only if the case was brought to her notice in the House. The general mood was well articulated by the AI staffer Sukumar when he said that police action must be taken. That is most important so that no one takes it as his birthright to assault a person on duty. Gaikwad has tarnished the image of his party, the Shiv Sena. It is hoped that Uddhav Thackeray takes appropriate action against Gaikwad and dispels the impression that Shiv Sena endorses Gaikwads goondagiri. Ravindra Gaikwad (L); and Air India staffer Sukumar It is believed by some that all airlines cannot impose a ban on Gaikwad from travelling in their flights. Why not? The ban is not imposed on prohibited discriminatory grounds of caste or religion or sex. It is imposed to ensure orderly behaviour of passengers and to protect the airlines officers in performance of their functions. I feel that the proper punishment the arrogant Gaikwad deserves is being beaten 15 times with slippers. That would be a lesson he would never forget. Commendable Move to Decriminalise Suicide: The present provision in the Indian Penal Code to make attempt to commit suicide a crime is grotesque. I had an occasion to challenge its constitutionality in the Supreme Court, but the attempt was unsuccessful. In this context, the Mental Health Care Bill, 2013, aimed at decriminalising attempted suicide and defining mental illness in a broader and more inclusive way was tabled in the Lok Sabha. The move is commendable. The Bill recognises that suicide attempts are a cry for help and not for punitive penal action. A remarkable feature of the bill is that it allows people to choose someone who can take care of them or their method of treatment if they suffer mental illness in future. In other words, people suffering from mental illness will have the right to choose their mode of treatment by nominating representatives who will ensure that their choices are carried out. The bill is progressive and is patient-centric and empowers the patient to provide for his or her mental healthcare. The purpose is to give treatment at community level. The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in August 2016. Seen as a reformist bill, it was hugely applauded on the social media. Once passed in the Lok Sabha, the new bill will replace the outdated Mental Health Act of 1987. This would repeal Section 309 of the IPC, which provided for year-long imprisonment for a failed suicide attempt. This legal notoriety will disappear. Law Commission Report regarding Hate Speech: In a report on hate crimes submitted to the law ministry recently, the Law Commission has recommended introducing more provisions in the IPC and the Code of Criminal Procedure, widening the definition of incitement of violence. In the Law Commissions view, even speech that does not incite violence has the potential of marginalising a section of the society. It has, therefore, suggested that the IPC be amended by adding a new provision regarding incitement to hatred. The proposal of the Law Commission deserves deep consideration. It is essential to ensure that the proposed amendment does not fall foul of the Supreme Courts 1962 judgment in Kedar Naths case, which upheld the provisions about sedition by reading them down to cover only speeches or writings which have the tendency to incite violence. Two basic values are involved. The guarantee of free speech and expression and the requirement of an orderly society free from violence. Both these views must be accommodated and a delicate balance struck. solisorabjee@gmail.com
Days after a visit by Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met several senior officials in the Donald Trump administration during a four-day visit to Washington last week. These included US Defence Secretary Gen.(retd) James Mattis, Secretary of Homeland Security Gen. (retd) John Kelly, National Security Advisor Lt Gen. H R McMaster and two powerful Senators John McCain and Richard Burr.

Officially, these were described as courtesy calls aimed at reaffirming the growing bilateral ties. But sources in both the US and India said the meetings mostly revolved around countering terror, defence partnerships, the security situation in Afghanistan and South Asia as well as maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. According to insiders, issues like demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax also figured in some of the discussions, and while there was no specific discussion on Pakistan, Indians recalcitrant neighbour did figure in the context of terrorism in the region.

After their meeting on Friday, a US official said Doval and his US counterpart McMaster pledged to combat the full spectrum of terrorist threats. General Mattis, who hosted Doval at the Pentagon on Thursday, is reported to have applauded Indias efforts to promote stability and uphold international laws and principles in South Asia. Dovals visit assumes significance because despite the apparent bonhomie, India is reluctant to accede to two repeated US requests: One, to send troops to Afghanistan, and two, to agree to joint naval patrolling of the South China Seas. It does not want Afghanistan to become a proxy battleground for the India-Pakistan rivalry, although it does train Afghan officers. Similarly, although India does have maritime trade and other concerns like offshore mining projects with Vietnam, it does not want to get directly involved in what is essentially a face-off between the US and China.

Days after a visit by Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met several senior officials in the Donald Trump administration during a four-day visit to Washington last week. These included US Defence Secretary Gen.(retd) James Mattis, Secretary of Homeland Security Gen. (retd) John Kelly, National Security Advisor Lt Gen. H R McMaster and two powerful Senators John McCain and Richard Burr. Officially, these were described as courtesy calls aimed at reaffirming the growing bilateral ties. But sources in both the US and India said the meetings mostly revolved around countering terror, defence partnerships, the security situation in Afghanistan and South Asia as well as maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. According to insiders, issues like demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax also figured in some of the discussions, and while there was no specific discussion on Pakistan, Indians recalcitrant neighbour did figure in the context of terrorism in the region. After their meeting on Friday, a US official said Doval and his US counterpart McMaster pledged to combat the full spectrum of terrorist threats. General Mattis, who hosted Doval at the Pentagon on Thursday, is reported to have applauded Indias efforts to promote stability and uphold international laws and principles in South Asia. Dovals visit assumes significance because despite the apparent bonhomie, India is reluctant to accede to two repeated US requests: One, to send troops to Afghanistan, and two, to agree to joint naval patrolling of the South China Seas. It does not want Afghanistan to become a proxy battleground for the India-Pakistan rivalry, although it does train Afghan officers. Similarly, although India does have maritime trade and other concerns like offshore mining projects with Vietnam, it does not want to get directly involved in what is essentially a face-off between the US and China.
By Express News Service

ELURU: A swine flu case was reported in Narsapuram on Sunday. It is the first swine flu case in West Godavari district.

According to information, a 25-year-old man of Vemuladeevi village in Narsapuram mandal, was suffering from fever and cough for the past few days. His family members took him to a private doctor for treatment. Suspecting H1N1 flu virus symptoms, the doctor asked his family members to take him to either Rajahmundry or Vijayawada. He was admitted to a corporate hospital in Rajahmundry.

In the rapid influenza diagnostic tests, he tested swine flu positive. Soon after the diagnosis of swine flu, the doctors alerted the West Godavari district medical and health authorities about the outbreak of H1N1 virus.

A medical camp was set up at Vemuladeevi as a measure to combat the spread of swine flu. It is learnt that the affected man toured Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad for about 15 days. Soon after his return to Vemuladeevi five days ago, he developed fever and cough.

The medical and health authorities urged people not to get panic as all steps were taken to combat H1N1 flu.

ELURU: A swine flu case was reported in Narsapuram on Sunday. It is the first swine flu case in West Godavari district. According to information, a 25-year-old man of Vemuladeevi village in Narsapuram mandal, was suffering from fever and cough for the past few days. His family members took him to a private doctor for treatment. Suspecting H1N1 flu virus symptoms, the doctor asked his family members to take him to either Rajahmundry or Vijayawada. He was admitted to a corporate hospital in Rajahmundry. In the rapid influenza diagnostic tests, he tested swine flu positive. Soon after the diagnosis of swine flu, the doctors alerted the West Godavari district medical and health authorities about the outbreak of H1N1 virus. A medical camp was set up at Vemuladeevi as a measure to combat the spread of swine flu. It is learnt that the affected man toured Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad for about 15 days. Soon after his return to Vemuladeevi five days ago, he developed fever and cough. The medical and health authorities urged people not to get panic as all steps were taken to combat H1N1 flu.
Hemanth Kumar By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Even as BJP leaders are busy with a high-pitch campaign for the byelections in Nanjangud and Gundlupet, Congress and JD(S) have initiated moves to deliver a shock to the BJP in the Legislative Council. Plans are being drawn up to oust D H Shankaramurthy of BJP as Legislative Council chairman.

Shankaramurthy is occupying the seat with support from JD(S). Thanks to an earlier pact between BJP and JD(S), Marithibbe Gowda of JD(S) was made Deputy Chairman.

The ruling Congress, which is suffering frequent embarrassment in getting the crucial bills passed and during debates on important issues as it has no majority in the Upper House, is making a fresh bid to change the political equations by wooing JD(S).

For instance, it may be recalled that the BJP-JD(S) combine had foiled Siddaramaiah governments efforts to pass the Bill to divide BBMP into three or more smaller civic bodies.

The issue of dislodging Shankaramurthy came up for discussion during JD(S) MLC T A Saravanas meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday. The CM conveyed his inclination for a tie-up with JD(S) in the Legislative Council to counter BJP. He wants secular forces to come together, Saravana said.

He said JD(S) leaders will discuss the issue soon. The party will consider the overtures if Congress is ready to offer Chairmans post to JD(S). Senior JD(S) MLC Basavaraj Horatti is our choice for the post, he said.

BENGALURU: Even as BJP leaders are busy with a high-pitch campaign for the byelections in Nanjangud and Gundlupet, Congress and JD(S) have initiated moves to deliver a shock to the BJP in the Legislative Council. Plans are being drawn up to oust D H Shankaramurthy of BJP as Legislative Council chairman. Shankaramurthy is occupying the seat with support from JD(S). Thanks to an earlier pact between BJP and JD(S), Marithibbe Gowda of JD(S) was made Deputy Chairman. The ruling Congress, which is suffering frequent embarrassment in getting the crucial bills passed and during debates on important issues as it has no majority in the Upper House, is making a fresh bid to change the political equations by wooing JD(S). For instance, it may be recalled that the BJP-JD(S) combine had foiled Siddaramaiah governments efforts to pass the Bill to divide BBMP into three or more smaller civic bodies. The issue of dislodging Shankaramurthy came up for discussion during JD(S) MLC T A Saravanas meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday. The CM conveyed his inclination for a tie-up with JD(S) in the Legislative Council to counter BJP. He wants secular forces to come together, Saravana said. He said JD(S) leaders will discuss the issue soon. The party will consider the overtures if Congress is ready to offer Chairmans post to JD(S). Senior JD(S) MLC Basavaraj Horatti is our choice for the post, he said.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: National Congress Party (NCP) leader A K Saseendran, who resigned as the Transport Minister in the CPM-led LDG government in Kerala after a sleazy phone conversation was released on Sunday, met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Cliff House, the CMs official residence on Monday morning.



Saseendran quit from the Cabinet after an audio clip of a sexually explicit conversation allegedly between him and a woman was aired on a television channel.



Speaking to the media outside Cliff House here, Saseendran said that he had requested the Chief Minister to order a probe into the incident. "I have informed the Chief Minister that there is something unusual about the news and requested him to order a probe into the whole incident," Saseendran said.



"I do not want to comment on what type of investigation should be conducted. The State government will decide the nature of the probe that will take place," the NCP leader said.



Saseendran is one of the two legislators of LDF ally NCP in the State and represents the Elathur constituency of Kozhikode district. He is the second minister, after E P Jayarajan, to step down from the 10-month-old LDF government.

Jayarajan, who held the industries portfolio, resigned from the Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet in October last year over charges of nepotism and corruption. It was also alleged that he appointed his relatives to important positions in public sector companies that came under his ministry.



Jayarajans resignation after charges of corruption came as a shock to the then four-month old Pinarayi-led government that had promised to curb corruption in the State.

Meanwhile, NCP state leadership said that there was clear conspiracy behind the incident. Party state president Uzhavoor Vijayan told Express that the conspiracy angle would come out once the probe was conducted.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: National Congress Party (NCP) leader A K Saseendran, who resigned as the Transport Minister in the CPM-led LDG government in Kerala after a sleazy phone conversation was released on Sunday, met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Cliff House, the CMs official residence on Monday morning. Saseendran quit from the Cabinet after an audio clip of a sexually explicit conversation allegedly between him and a woman was aired on a television channel. Speaking to the media outside Cliff House here, Saseendran said that he had requested the Chief Minister to order a probe into the incident. "I have informed the Chief Minister that there is something unusual about the news and requested him to order a probe into the whole incident," Saseendran said. "I do not want to comment on what type of investigation should be conducted. The State government will decide the nature of the probe that will take place," the NCP leader said. Saseendran is one of the two legislators of LDF ally NCP in the State and represents the Elathur constituency of Kozhikode district. He is the second minister, after E P Jayarajan, to step down from the 10-month-old LDF government. Jayarajan, who held the industries portfolio, resigned from the Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet in October last year over charges of nepotism and corruption. It was also alleged that he appointed his relatives to important positions in public sector companies that came under his ministry. Jayarajans resignation after charges of corruption came as a shock to the then four-month old Pinarayi-led government that had promised to curb corruption in the State. Meanwhile, NCP state leadership said that there was clear conspiracy behind the incident. Party state president Uzhavoor Vijayan told Express that the conspiracy angle would come out once the probe was conducted.
When one takes a closer look at the sex scandals which rocked political sphere in the State, it can be noticed that most of them began with a motor accident. Another interesting coincidence is that four among those who were involved in similar scandals were transport ministers including, AK Saseendranthe latest one to join the bandwagon.

Also read: Kerala, a society where sex scandals are a daily affair



1. PT Chacko, 1964: Victim of moral policing

In February, while making its way through a procession, a car hit a pull cart at Peechi in central Kerala. The locals noticed a woman wearing a big bindi and dark goggles inside the car, which was driven by PT Chacko, who was handling the Home and Revenue portfolios then. Despite there being no proof of any sexual escapade and no clarity on the identity of the woman, all hell broke loose in the state. In the process, PT Chacko resigned. The promising political career of the first Opposition leader of the state ended abruptly when he succumbed to a heart attack on August 1, 1964 at the age of 49. His untimely death led to the formation of a political party, Kerala Congress, by his followers, the following year.



2. Kunhalikutty, 2004: A scandal that refuses to melt down

The Ice-cream parlour case is one of the biggest and most controversial cases of sexual exploitation, money and politics in Kerala. This sensational case was the focus of media mainly due to the involvement of Muslim League leader and former minister Kunhalikutty. In 2004, a 24-year-old woman, Rejina Fathima, met some journalists at the office of a leading Malayalam TV channel where she alleged Kunhalikutty of having had sex with her during his previous stint as a minister in

1991-96.

Kunhalikutty, who is the leader of the Legislative party and was elected as the national general secretary of the party, is seeking mandate to Lok Sabha from Malappuram in the upcoming bypolls.



3. A Neelalohithadasan Nadar, 1999: Misuse of the office

The three time minister and former MP was caught in the middle of a major scandal following allegations by two women bureaucrats, Nalini Netto and Prakriti Srivastava. A magistrate court in 2005 sentenced Nadar to three months of imprisonment and a compensation of Rs 50,000 for sexually harassing Nalini Netto, former transport secretary, at his chamber at the Assembly complex on December 21, 1999. Netto had sustained injuries on her lips and the right index finger in the melee, according to the charge sheet. He was sentenced to one year imprisonment by a court in Kozhikode in a similar case of sexual harassment raised by Prakriti Srivastava, in 2000.



In 2011 he was denied a ticket by the LDF following reservations raised by V S Achuthanandan over his reputation and subsequently, his wife Jameela Prakasam contested the elections and won the seat from Kovalam.



4. PJ Joseph, 2006: A fall from the sky

In a complaint against P J Joseph--chairman of Kerala Congress, an ally of the Left Democratic Front government--Lakshmi Gopakumar, a television personality alleged that Joseph misbehaved with her while they were travelling on a Chennai-Kochi flight on August 3, 2006. Joseph, then a minister in the LDF ministry, resigned following the allegations. Police registered a case under section 354 of the IPC and section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Sexual Harassment Act. Later, he was acquitted by a Chennai court. He continued his winning streak in polls and his party merged with the Kerala Congress (Mani) and he held the portfolios of Water resources in the next UDF ministry. He is a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly now.



5. P Sasi, 2010: Unhealthy practices

CPM had to expel P Sasi, former district secretary of Kannur and a powerful leader of the party, over allegations of sexual misconduct. Two complaints, one in writing and the second informally, were lodged against him. In the first case, the wife of a DYFI leader had accused Sasi of misbehaving with her. In the second, a former CPM State committee member had informally complained to then party State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan about sexual advances Sasi had made to his daughter.

Following the allegations, CPM Kannur district secretariat removed Sasi as CPM Kannur district secretary on December 13, 2010, and demoted him to

the Peralassery Keezhara branch committee. P Sasi is now practising as a lawyer.



6. Gopi Kottamurickal, 2012: Caught in the camera

Former CPM Ernakulam district secretary Gopi Kottamurikkal was expelled from the party after he was caught with a woman in a spy-cam operation allegedly by his rivals in the party. A party appointed committee found him guilty.

The former MLA, in a TV interview and later in a public meeting, alleged that he was framed by members of the Ernakulam district secretariat of the party. An inquiry committee found at least three of the party members guilty of involvement in creating evidence against Gopi Kottamurickal because of the factional rivalry within the district unit. Now he is back in the party and is an office bearer of a feeder organisation.



7. Rajmohan Unnithan, 2012: A mid night drama

Police picked up AICC member Rajmohan Unnithan and a 33-year-old woman, a former secretary of the Seva Dal in Manjeri around midnight after the locals surrounded a house and demanded their arrest. They were booked under the immoral trafficking act. A medical report certified there was no sexual contact between the two but the scandal broke at a time when the 58-year-old was planning a comeback in state politics. No Congress leader came out in support of Unnithan, who is also an actor and a leader known for his crowd - pulling oratory. Unnithan later became the chairman of the Kerala State Film Development Corporation and contested to the state Assembly unsuccessfully in 2016.



8. Ganesh Kumar, 2013: A soap opera

After a report on alleged domestic violence involving a minister appeared on a leading Malayalam daily, PC George--the chief whip--announced the name of the minister and identified him as the Kerala Congress (B) leader and Forest minister KB Ganesh Kumar.

Following this, Ganesh Kumars former wife Yamini Thankachi filed police complaint alleging physical abuse and torture for 14 years. Earlier, Ganesh Kumar had filed a divorce petition alleging that his wife beat him up. After the scandal caused embarrassment for the ruling coalition, he was made to resign in April 2013.

9. Solar scam,2013: A sun rise in the night

Though it came as a financial fraud, what remains in the public memory is

its sleaze element. The names of a number of leaders cutting across party lines,

especially from the Congress and the Kerala Congress were linked to Saritha S Nair, the con woman. What should have become a political discussion on impropriety or corruption, because the phones that were used belonged to CMs aides turned to be stories garnished with sexual innuendoes of the woman and the leaders. The state shamelessly discussed about the sex clips of the woman.



10. Jose Thettayil, 2013: Sinned against sinning

In June 2013, a news Channel aired visuals similar to porn movies. It contained images of the former transport minister Jose Thettayil and a 30-year-old woman in compromising position.

When one takes a closer look at the sex scandals which rocked political sphere in the State, it can be noticed that most of them began with a motor accident. Another interesting coincidence is that four among those who were involved in similar scandals were transport ministers including, AK Saseendranthe latest one to join the bandwagon. Also read: Kerala, a society where sex scandals are a daily affair1. PT Chacko, 1964: Victim of moral policing In February, while making its way through a procession, a car hit a pull cart at Peechi in central Kerala. The locals noticed a woman wearing a big bindi and dark goggles inside the car, which was driven by PT Chacko, who was handling the Home and Revenue portfolios then. Despite there being no proof of any sexual escapade and no clarity on the identity of the woman, all hell broke loose in the state. In the process, PT Chacko resigned. The promising political career of the first Opposition leader of the state ended abruptly when he succumbed to a heart attack on August 1, 1964 at the age of 49. His untimely death led to the formation of a political party, Kerala Congress, by his followers, the following year.2. Kunhalikutty, 2004: A scandal that refuses to melt down The Ice-cream parlour case is one of the biggest and most controversial cases of sexual exploitation, money and politics in Kerala. This sensational case was the focus of media mainly due to the involvement of Muslim League leader and former minister Kunhalikutty. In 2004, a 24-year-old woman, Rejina Fathima, met some journalists at the office of a leading Malayalam TV channel where she alleged Kunhalikutty of having had sex with her during his previous stint as a minister in 1991-96. Kunhalikutty, who is the leader of the Legislative party and was elected as the national general secretary of the party, is seeking mandate to Lok Sabha from Malappuram in the upcoming bypolls.3. A Neelalohithadasan Nadar, 1999: Misuse of the office The three time minister and former MP was caught in the middle of a major scandal following allegations by two women bureaucrats, Nalini Netto and Prakriti Srivastava. A magistrate court in 2005 sentenced Nadar to three months of imprisonment and a compensation of Rs 50,000 for sexually harassing Nalini Netto, former transport secretary, at his chamber at the Assembly complex on December 21, 1999. Netto had sustained injuries on her lips and the right index finger in the melee, according to the charge sheet. He was sentenced to one year imprisonment by a court in Kozhikode in a similar case of sexual harassment raised by Prakriti Srivastava, in 2000. In 2011 he was denied a ticket by the LDF following reservations raised by V S Achuthanandan over his reputation and subsequently, his wife Jameela Prakasam contested the elections and won the seat from Kovalam.4. PJ Joseph, 2006: A fall from the sky In a complaint against P J Joseph--chairman of Kerala Congress, an ally of the Left Democratic Front government--Lakshmi Gopakumar, a television personality alleged that Joseph misbehaved with her while they were travelling on a Chennai-Kochi flight on August 3, 2006. Joseph, then a minister in the LDF ministry, resigned following the allegations. Police registered a case under section 354 of the IPC and section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Sexual Harassment Act. Later, he was acquitted by a Chennai court. He continued his winning streak in polls and his party merged with the Kerala Congress (Mani) and he held the portfolios of Water resources in the next UDF ministry. He is a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly now.5. P Sasi, 2010: Unhealthy practices CPM had to expel P Sasi, former district secretary of Kannur and a powerful leader of the party, over allegations of sexual misconduct. Two complaints, one in writing and the second informally, were lodged against him. In the first case, the wife of a DYFI leader had accused Sasi of misbehaving with her. In the second, a former CPM State committee member had informally complained to then party State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan about sexual advances Sasi had made to his daughter. Following the allegations, CPM Kannur district secretariat removed Sasi as CPM Kannur district secretary on December 13, 2010, and demoted him to the Peralassery Keezhara branch committee. P Sasi is now practising as a lawyer.6. Gopi Kottamurickal, 2012: Caught in the camera Former CPM Ernakulam district secretary Gopi Kottamurikkal was expelled from the party after he was caught with a woman in a spy-cam operation allegedly by his rivals in the party. A party appointed committee found him guilty. The former MLA, in a TV interview and later in a public meeting, alleged that he was framed by members of the Ernakulam district secretariat of the party. An inquiry committee found at least three of the party members guilty of involvement in creating evidence against Gopi Kottamurickal because of the factional rivalry within the district unit. Now he is back in the party and is an office bearer of a feeder organisation.7. Rajmohan Unnithan, 2012: A mid night drama Police picked up AICC member Rajmohan Unnithan and a 33-year-old woman, a former secretary of the Seva Dal in Manjeri around midnight after the locals surrounded a house and demanded their arrest. They were booked under the immoral trafficking act. A medical report certified there was no sexual contact between the two but the scandal broke at a time when the 58-year-old was planning a comeback in state politics. No Congress leader came out in support of Unnithan, who is also an actor and a leader known for his crowd - pulling oratory. Unnithan later became the chairman of the Kerala State Film Development Corporation and contested to the state Assembly unsuccessfully in 2016.8. Ganesh Kumar, 2013: A soap opera After a report on alleged domestic violence involving a minister appeared on a leading Malayalam daily, PC George--the chief whip--announced the name of the minister and identified him as the Kerala Congress (B) leader and Forest minister KB Ganesh Kumar. Following this, Ganesh Kumars former wife Yamini Thankachi filed police complaint alleging physical abuse and torture for 14 years. Earlier, Ganesh Kumar had filed a divorce petition alleging that his wife beat him up. After the scandal caused embarrassment for the ruling coalition, he was made to resign in April 2013. 9. Solar scam,2013: A sun rise in the night Though it came as a financial fraud, what remains in the public memory is its sleaze element. The names of a number of leaders cutting across party lines, especially from the Congress and the Kerala Congress were linked to Saritha S Nair, the con woman. What should have become a political discussion on impropriety or corruption, because the phones that were used belonged to CMs aides turned to be stories garnished with sexual innuendoes of the woman and the leaders. The state shamelessly discussed about the sex clips of the woman.10. Jose Thettayil, 2013: Sinned against sinning In June 2013, a news Channel aired visuals similar to porn movies. It contained images of the former transport minister Jose Thettayil and a 30-year-old woman in compromising position.
Sushmitha Ramakrishnan By

Express News Service

Standing amidst one of the last paddy fields to be harvested this season, Chandra Sekar, a farmer, plucks a handful of rice bran from his field and crushes it to dust between his fingers. Ithu ellame pokki pochu, payiru varla (the rice has not formed, the bran is empty and the crop has failed), he sighs.

Sekar is not alone as a drought that has struck Tirunelveli has led to a major loss in agriculture and left the Thamirabharani bare.

Only 28,243 hectares of paddy fields yielded success out of the 83,300 hectares that make up 2016-17s annual target for harvest in the Thamirabharani basin. That means over 65 per cent of the crop failed. The river originates from the Pothigai hills in the Western Ghats and runs 125 km up till Gulf of Mannar and is the States only perennial river.

A field visit to the irrigation basin of the river bared the intense scarcity of water it suffers from what with most fields barren and water bodies empty.

Scared to sow seeds

My land has been empty for a year now. I am scared to sow rice as there is no water for irrigation, says Perumal Samy, a farmer of Mukoodal region in the district. While one half of his field is empty, the other half is dotted with withered plantain saplings. Rice is water intensive, so we moved to plantain. But even that has failed as plantain too loves water, he rues, adding that he is considering going for cash crop such as cotton, like many others in the village.

But the propects of growing cotton too are not bright.

About a mile from his field is another with dry and dark cotton stems. We planted cotton, as paddy and plantain failed. If we do not get proper rain in the next couple of weeks, we are in for a heavy loss, laments Mani Maaran, a farmer who owns a small field in the region that has black soil. Our fields are fed by wells like these, he says.The water bodies feeding the wells are not any wetter. There are 441 tanks in Thamirabharani basin and 703 in Chittar basin. There is no water in any of them, admits Tirunelveli Collector M Karunakaran.

Sand being scooped out from the river bed for separating white sand; daily wage labourers traversing through the dry river bed at Koonthankulam tank; and (inset) Chandra Sekar showing the dried paddy | Kamarasu M, K K Sundar

Hydrology of basin

It is a complex system of river-fed canals, canal-fed tanks, tank-fed ponds and wells that irrigate the river basin. The fields on the plains of Thamirabharani are irrigated by one or more of the five sources: borewells, wells, tanks and ponds, canals and water channels or the river itself. All lands are classified into either river system-fed or rain-fed.

The river has seven anaicuts that were built during the pre-colonial times. The eighth one, Srivaikundam was built during the British rule. Along with eight dams, the river branches into 11 canals and several other small channels that carry water to large tanks in different parts of the region. The tanks, ponds and wells that are not fed by the system are fed by rain. The rain-irrigated lands are called Vaanam paatha boomi (lands that directly depend on rain) in Tamil.

Highest deficit rainfall

The fields fed by rain are the worst affected. Rainfall data shows a sharp decline in 2016 as it is the year with the lowest rainfall in the last 20 years. The lack of rainfall has translated to a scanty flow of water in the river. The empty water tanks and ponds are speckled with new weeds of invasive species. Vast stretches of land that used to be water bodies are now barren.

Arumuga Konar (63) watches on as his herd of goats drinks water from a pond in the eight sq km wide Periyakulam in Vijayanarayanam area which irrigates over 10 villages. This tank used to provide water for villages up to four km from here. Now it does not have enough to supply even the ones on the bund slope, he says.

Indiscriminate sand mining

Seemai Karuvelam, Naattu Karuvelam, Erukku and other plants line the banks of the river. They grow in odd patches of sand mounds that look like a used-to-be islet, looking neatly cut.

They have left behind that part of the sand and have taken the clean white sand around it, says Barathi Murugan, an RTI activist who has been fighting to protect the river for over two decades now.

Standing on a bridge near Adhichanallur -- a popular archeological site -- he points to the stretch of Thamirabharani where the volume of water suddenly seems to be , which is why the fields near it are greener. It is this 1.5 km stretch that no sand miner has touched. They have their eyes and ears here all the time. Strangely, the river bed in this stretch is inaccessible for lorries and that is what has saved it so long. Once access route is built, we will have no power to save even this small stretch, he says.

Documented evidence showing the brutality the river bed faced stay neatly folded inside a small private library run by Kamarasu M, who has authored 41 books about Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Thamirabharani. In the name of desilting, they take the good sand away, leaving behind the bad in the river... They even broke a bund to facilitate lorry movement, he says, showing one among the innumerable pictures wherein a bright yellow JCB pours white sand into a heap within a square fence..

The white sand found in the river bed is the silt that is formed from breaking rocks. While it has higher water retention ability, the clayey soil beneath lets the water run off. Since Thamirabharani is relatively short running and is confined within two districts, the sand deposited has taken millions of years to form. But sand miners have taken 6 to 7 ft of the soil, leaving the river with very low retention, says Prof A G Murugesan, Head of Environmental Studies, Paramakalyani College, adding that most water that is not used for irrigation runs off as surplus due to the presence of clayey soil beneath the sand.

White sand also has purifying properties. While it filters impurities, it also hosts bacteria that regulates water quality. With the sand scooped out, the water that used to stay in the river for months, drains into the ocean within hours, he explains.

Plight of Papanasam dam

The seven dams built across the riverduring pre-colonial times were constructed with sand vents and sluices in a way that facilitates natural desilting during floods, says Nainar Kulasekaran (93), leader of Thamirabharani Pathugappu Peravai. Fondly called Thamirabharani Thaatha by the locals, this former journalist has been fighting against industrialisation of the river for 70 years now.

In his little house in Nattathi, the old man stumbles and sits next to a shelf that explodes with files and papers. He runs his fingers over yellow gunny bags with files containing RTI papers that he has filed over the years. He claims that 30 feet of the 40-ft deep Papanasam dam is filled with slush constricting the space available for fresh water. C Chandrasekaran, a former Tirunelveli district joint director for agriculture, who has spent nearly three decades understanding the Thamirabharani basin, agrees with Kulasekarans claim.

Need to ration water

Town dwellers, farmers and activists point fingers at the lack of desilting, mindless consumption by industries and rainfall deficit for the scarcity. I will not deny that industries contribute to the deficit. But the problem is also intertwined with lack of regulations in the Combined Water Supply Scheme , reasons Chandrasekaran.

The CWSS supplies water not only to Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi, but also to Nagercoil, Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar. Urging the government to regularise the use and measure the supply accurately, he says the river water supplied for public and industrial consumptions is put to unsubscribed uses. The public use the river water for washing and cleaning too. To prevent this, water should be rationed to communities in units based on number of members per household. Meters need to be installed in each hamlet. We cannot afford to use potable water indiscriminately, Chandrasekaran adds.

The canal system that runs complimentary to the river is designed in such a way that it lies at an altitude higher than the river. Water released at the dams would be supplied through the canals, instead of creating the need to pump water from the low altitude of the river. This altitude gradient has been affected following steps to increase the capacity of the canals. This, in turn, has reduced flow through the canals, he says.

Chandrasekaran has engineering solutions to combat the crisis, while Kulasekaran suggests something out of his survival instincts.

Paddy has borne the brunt of water scarcity. But millet needs just one spell of rain, Kulasekaran says. Of the 15,400 hectares of targeted millet harvest, over 13,000 hectares yielded success. Gone are the days where smart farming makes a difference. Agriculture needs variety for which consistent supply is essential. We may never see it until there is an active State intervention in restoring the river to its age old glory, he sighs, as he tucks the files and papers back into its place.

Lifeline of the south

The Thamirabarani, that originates in Pothigai hills in the Western Ghats, is a perennial river. It flows through Tirunelveli district and thereafter through Thoothukudi district and drains into the Bay of Bengal.

Fed by the North East and South West monsoons, the river whose width goes up to 320 m and depth 30 m at some points supplies drinking water to Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Virudhunagar districts. Besides 8 dams and 11 canals, Thamirabarani has to its credit 20 integrated drinking water projects, all managed by the TWAD Board.

Home to a plethora of freshwater living organisms such as carps, eels and snakehead fish, the river feeds tanks that attract over 35 species of birds including bar-headed geese, painted storks, sandpipers and ibis.

(With inputs from M Abdul Rabi & C Aruvel Raj)

Standing amidst one of the last paddy fields to be harvested this season, Chandra Sekar, a farmer, plucks a handful of rice bran from his field and crushes it to dust between his fingers. Ithu ellame pokki pochu, payiru varla (the rice has not formed, the bran is empty and the crop has failed), he sighs. Sekar is not alone as a drought that has struck Tirunelveli has led to a major loss in agriculture and left the Thamirabharani bare. Only 28,243 hectares of paddy fields yielded success out of the 83,300 hectares that make up 2016-17s annual target for harvest in the Thamirabharani basin. That means over 65 per cent of the crop failed. The river originates from the Pothigai hills in the Western Ghats and runs 125 km up till Gulf of Mannar and is the States only perennial river. A field visit to the irrigation basin of the river bared the intense scarcity of water it suffers from what with most fields barren and water bodies empty. Scared to sow seeds My land has been empty for a year now. I am scared to sow rice as there is no water for irrigation, says Perumal Samy, a farmer of Mukoodal region in the district. While one half of his field is empty, the other half is dotted with withered plantain saplings. Rice is water intensive, so we moved to plantain. But even that has failed as plantain too loves water, he rues, adding that he is considering going for cash crop such as cotton, like many others in the village. But the propects of growing cotton too are not bright. About a mile from his field is another with dry and dark cotton stems. We planted cotton, as paddy and plantain failed. If we do not get proper rain in the next couple of weeks, we are in for a heavy loss, laments Mani Maaran, a farmer who owns a small field in the region that has black soil. Our fields are fed by wells like these, he says.The water bodies feeding the wells are not any wetter. There are 441 tanks in Thamirabharani basin and 703 in Chittar basin. There is no water in any of them, admits Tirunelveli Collector M Karunakaran. Sand being scooped out from the river bed for separating white sand; daily wage labourers traversing through the dry river bed at Koonthankulam tank; and (inset) Chandra Sekar showing the dried paddy | Kamarasu M, K K SundarHydrology of basin It is a complex system of river-fed canals, canal-fed tanks, tank-fed ponds and wells that irrigate the river basin. The fields on the plains of Thamirabharani are irrigated by one or more of the five sources: borewells, wells, tanks and ponds, canals and water channels or the river itself. All lands are classified into either river system-fed or rain-fed. The river has seven anaicuts that were built during the pre-colonial times. The eighth one, Srivaikundam was built during the British rule. Along with eight dams, the river branches into 11 canals and several other small channels that carry water to large tanks in different parts of the region. The tanks, ponds and wells that are not fed by the system are fed by rain. The rain-irrigated lands are called Vaanam paatha boomi (lands that directly depend on rain) in Tamil. Highest deficit rainfall The fields fed by rain are the worst affected. Rainfall data shows a sharp decline in 2016 as it is the year with the lowest rainfall in the last 20 years. The lack of rainfall has translated to a scanty flow of water in the river. The empty water tanks and ponds are speckled with new weeds of invasive species. Vast stretches of land that used to be water bodies are now barren. Arumuga Konar (63) watches on as his herd of goats drinks water from a pond in the eight sq km wide Periyakulam in Vijayanarayanam area which irrigates over 10 villages. This tank used to provide water for villages up to four km from here. Now it does not have enough to supply even the ones on the bund slope, he says. Indiscriminate sand mining Seemai Karuvelam, Naattu Karuvelam, Erukku and other plants line the banks of the river. They grow in odd patches of sand mounds that look like a used-to-be islet, looking neatly cut. They have left behind that part of the sand and have taken the clean white sand around it, says Barathi Murugan, an RTI activist who has been fighting to protect the river for over two decades now. Standing on a bridge near Adhichanallur -- a popular archeological site -- he points to the stretch of Thamirabharani where the volume of water suddenly seems to be , which is why the fields near it are greener. It is this 1.5 km stretch that no sand miner has touched. They have their eyes and ears here all the time. Strangely, the river bed in this stretch is inaccessible for lorries and that is what has saved it so long. Once access route is built, we will have no power to save even this small stretch, he says. Documented evidence showing the brutality the river bed faced stay neatly folded inside a small private library run by Kamarasu M, who has authored 41 books about Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Thamirabharani. In the name of desilting, they take the good sand away, leaving behind the bad in the river... They even broke a bund to facilitate lorry movement, he says, showing one among the innumerable pictures wherein a bright yellow JCB pours white sand into a heap within a square fence.. The white sand found in the river bed is the silt that is formed from breaking rocks. While it has higher water retention ability, the clayey soil beneath lets the water run off. Since Thamirabharani is relatively short running and is confined within two districts, the sand deposited has taken millions of years to form. But sand miners have taken 6 to 7 ft of the soil, leaving the river with very low retention, says Prof A G Murugesan, Head of Environmental Studies, Paramakalyani College, adding that most water that is not used for irrigation runs off as surplus due to the presence of clayey soil beneath the sand. White sand also has purifying properties. While it filters impurities, it also hosts bacteria that regulates water quality. With the sand scooped out, the water that used to stay in the river for months, drains into the ocean within hours, he explains. Plight of Papanasam dam The seven dams built across the riverduring pre-colonial times were constructed with sand vents and sluices in a way that facilitates natural desilting during floods, says Nainar Kulasekaran (93), leader of Thamirabharani Pathugappu Peravai. Fondly called Thamirabharani Thaatha by the locals, this former journalist has been fighting against industrialisation of the river for 70 years now. In his little house in Nattathi, the old man stumbles and sits next to a shelf that explodes with files and papers. He runs his fingers over yellow gunny bags with files containing RTI papers that he has filed over the years. He claims that 30 feet of the 40-ft deep Papanasam dam is filled with slush constricting the space available for fresh water. C Chandrasekaran, a former Tirunelveli district joint director for agriculture, who has spent nearly three decades understanding the Thamirabharani basin, agrees with Kulasekarans claim. Need to ration water Town dwellers, farmers and activists point fingers at the lack of desilting, mindless consumption by industries and rainfall deficit for the scarcity. I will not deny that industries contribute to the deficit. But the problem is also intertwined with lack of regulations in the Combined Water Supply Scheme , reasons Chandrasekaran. The CWSS supplies water not only to Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi, but also to Nagercoil, Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar. Urging the government to regularise the use and measure the supply accurately, he says the river water supplied for public and industrial consumptions is put to unsubscribed uses. The public use the river water for washing and cleaning too. To prevent this, water should be rationed to communities in units based on number of members per household. Meters need to be installed in each hamlet. We cannot afford to use potable water indiscriminately, Chandrasekaran adds. The canal system that runs complimentary to the river is designed in such a way that it lies at an altitude higher than the river. Water released at the dams would be supplied through the canals, instead of creating the need to pump water from the low altitude of the river. This altitude gradient has been affected following steps to increase the capacity of the canals. This, in turn, has reduced flow through the canals, he says. Chandrasekaran has engineering solutions to combat the crisis, while Kulasekaran suggests something out of his survival instincts. Paddy has borne the brunt of water scarcity. But millet needs just one spell of rain, Kulasekaran says. Of the 15,400 hectares of targeted millet harvest, over 13,000 hectares yielded success. Gone are the days where smart farming makes a difference. Agriculture needs variety for which consistent supply is essential. We may never see it until there is an active State intervention in restoring the river to its age old glory, he sighs, as he tucks the files and papers back into its place. Lifeline of the south The Thamirabarani, that originates in Pothigai hills in the Western Ghats, is a perennial river. It flows through Tirunelveli district and thereafter through Thoothukudi district and drains into the Bay of Bengal. Fed by the North East and South West monsoons, the river whose width goes up to 320 m and depth 30 m at some points supplies drinking water to Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Virudhunagar districts. Besides 8 dams and 11 canals, Thamirabarani has to its credit 20 integrated drinking water projects, all managed by the TWAD Board. Home to a plethora of freshwater living organisms such as carps, eels and snakehead fish, the river feeds tanks that attract over 35 species of birds including bar-headed geese, painted storks, sandpipers and ibis. (With inputs from M Abdul Rabi & C Aruvel Raj)
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Crime Branch police to immediately arrest J Krishnamurthy (32), who claimed he was the biological son of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and Telugu veteran actor of yesteryear Shoban Babu, for attempting to play a fraud on the court by producing forged documents.

When the matter came up before Justice R Mahadevan on Monday, the inspector attached to Central Crime Branch produced a report in a sealed cover, as directed by the judge earlier on March 17. The report stated that the petitioner is the son of another couple Krishnamurthy and Vasanthamani of Erode.

He had purchased old stamp papers from vendor Subramanian and fabricated them by mentioning the name of former Chief Minister as Komalavalli alias Jayalalithaa as his mother. The petitioner has come to the court only with an ulterior motive, the report added.



Placing on record the report, the judge directed the CCB police to secure the petitioner forthwith and proceed against him in accordance with law and report to the court on April 10.



Originally, appearing as the party-in-person, Krishnamurthy had claimed in his petition that he was born to Jayalalithaa and Shoban Babu on February 15, 1985 in Bangalore. But later, due to difference of opinion his parents got separated and he was later given in adoption to a couple in Erode.



To substantiate his claim, he submitted a deed of adoption allegedly witnessed and signed by former Chief Minister M G Ramachandran. He also claimed that he was facing threats to his life from AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala and her relatives and prayed to the court to provide him security.



When the petition was taken up on March 17, the judge directed the police to verify the documents. He also had warned Krishnamurthy with dire consequences, including arrest, if the documents were fake. The judge also censured activist Traffic K R Ramaswamy, who accompanied the petitioner, but washed of his hands over the issue.

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Crime Branch police to immediately arrest J Krishnamurthy (32), who claimed he was the biological son of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and Telugu veteran actor of yesteryear Shoban Babu, for attempting to play a fraud on the court by producing forged documents. When the matter came up before Justice R Mahadevan on Monday, the inspector attached to Central Crime Branch produced a report in a sealed cover, as directed by the judge earlier on March 17. The report stated that the petitioner is the son of another couple Krishnamurthy and Vasanthamani of Erode. He had purchased old stamp papers from vendor Subramanian and fabricated them by mentioning the name of former Chief Minister as Komalavalli alias Jayalalithaa as his mother. The petitioner has come to the court only with an ulterior motive, the report added. Placing on record the report, the judge directed the CCB police to secure the petitioner forthwith and proceed against him in accordance with law and report to the court on April 10. Originally, appearing as the party-in-person, Krishnamurthy had claimed in his petition that he was born to Jayalalithaa and Shoban Babu on February 15, 1985 in Bangalore. But later, due to difference of opinion his parents got separated and he was later given in adoption to a couple in Erode. To substantiate his claim, he submitted a deed of adoption allegedly witnessed and signed by former Chief Minister M G Ramachandran. He also claimed that he was facing threats to his life from AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala and her relatives and prayed to the court to provide him security. When the petition was taken up on March 17, the judge directed the police to verify the documents. He also had warned Krishnamurthy with dire consequences, including arrest, if the documents were fake. The judge also censured activist Traffic K R Ramaswamy, who accompanied the petitioner, but washed of his hands over the issue.
By Express News Service

GODAVARIKHANI: BJP state president K Laxman demanded the State government to fulfill all the promises made by it to the coal workers of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) including jobs to dependents.

The BJP state chief said that his party had alloted three years time to the government to fulfill its promises, but it could no longer wait. BJP started political war against the government from Ramagundam coal belt area and it will continue to mount pressure to implement poll promises, he said.

On the coal workers issues like contract jobs, dependent jobs, health issues, ex-gratia and R&R package, BJP organised a regional public meeting in Godavarikhani on Sunday, in which party activists and coal workers from Peddapalli, Mancherial, Komuram Bheem, Bhupalpalli, Kothagudem and Khammam districts participated in large numbers.

Speaking at the meeting, Lakshman found fault with the government suspending five party MLAs from Assembly for raising public issues. He also demanded the implementation of wages approved by coal India high power committee for contract coal workers of SCCL. Free medical facility has to be provided to them and all the contract workers have to be regularised, he said.

He asked the government what steps it is going to take to keep its promises and ensure dependent jobs. On housing scheme, he said that irrespective of the state government, the union BJP government will initiate housing for eligible coal workers he promised.

The BJP is concentrating on coal belt area, after BJP MLA G Kishan Reddy visiting the area over the issues of coal workers and land oustees, according to sources. Within one month, BJP organised a massive meeting on the issues. Taking advantage of the recent High Court stay on dependent jobs, the BJP is mounting pressure on the government.

GODAVARIKHANI: BJP state president K Laxman demanded the State government to fulfill all the promises made by it to the coal workers of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) including jobs to dependents. The BJP state chief said that his party had alloted three years time to the government to fulfill its promises, but it could no longer wait. BJP started political war against the government from Ramagundam coal belt area and it will continue to mount pressure to implement poll promises, he said. On the coal workers issues like contract jobs, dependent jobs, health issues, ex-gratia and R&R package, BJP organised a regional public meeting in Godavarikhani on Sunday, in which party activists and coal workers from Peddapalli, Mancherial, Komuram Bheem, Bhupalpalli, Kothagudem and Khammam districts participated in large numbers. Speaking at the meeting, Lakshman found fault with the government suspending five party MLAs from Assembly for raising public issues. He also demanded the implementation of wages approved by coal India high power committee for contract coal workers of SCCL. Free medical facility has to be provided to them and all the contract workers have to be regularised, he said. He asked the government what steps it is going to take to keep its promises and ensure dependent jobs. On housing scheme, he said that irrespective of the state government, the union BJP government will initiate housing for eligible coal workers he promised. The BJP is concentrating on coal belt area, after BJP MLA G Kishan Reddy visiting the area over the issues of coal workers and land oustees, according to sources. Within one month, BJP organised a massive meeting on the issues. Taking advantage of the recent High Court stay on dependent jobs, the BJP is mounting pressure on the government.
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON: California Governor Jerry Brown likened President Donald Trump to a strongman whose goal of walling off the U.S.-Mexico border conjures other infamous barriers from the past.

"The wall, to me, is ominous. It reminds me too much of the Berlin Wall," Brown said during an interview broadcast Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

The pointed reference suggested that the president was, like the leaders of communist East Germany several decades ago, trying to restrict the movements of people on both sides, despite all they have in common.

"There's a lot of odor here of kind of a strongman," Brown told host Chuck Todd. "I think Americans ought to be very careful when we make radical changes like a 30-foot (9-meter) wall keeping some in and some out."

Trump made extending the walls that line parts of the nearly 2,000-mile (3,219-kilometer) border a central campaign pledge. Companies seeking to build the wall must soon submit concept papers for sloped barriers that are aesthetically pleasing on the U.S. side. It's still not clear how the administration would pay for the wall.

Brown said that although California would fight "very hard" against the wall, people should not expect a series of knee-jerk lawsuits.

"We'll be strategic. And we'll do the right human, and I would even say Christian, thing from my point of view," Brown said. "You don't treat human beings like that."

The governor disputed Trump's suggestion that immigration was a threat, casting it instead as an asset.

"Look around at many of our industries," he said, citing the state's multibillion-dollar agricultural sector and the technological hotbed of Silicon Valley. "Twenty-five percent of the people in California were foreign-born. This is our dynamism."

Brown, who visited the nation's capital last week to meet with federal officials, said he's willing to work with Trump and other Republicans on issues including immigration, health care and, especially, infrastructure.

He called a proposed rail project aimed at relieving traffic congestion between San Francisco and Silicon Valley "a real test" for the president. The plan is opposed by Republicans in California, the governor said.

"Here's a chance for President Trump to be above the political game. This is about infrastructure," Brown said. "Does he believe in a shovel-ready construction project that will create American jobs ... (and) ... is ready to go within a couple of months, or not?"

Asked what Trump could learn from Brown's predecessor, former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, he said the president could be better at picking his battles.

"Don't fight everybody," Brown advised Trump. "And you have to make more allies than enemies. It's simple. Politics is about addition, not subtraction."

Brown, who is in his fourth non-consecutive gubernatorial term and will turn 79 next month, said the role of national Democratic Party leader was open for the taking. But it won't be him, the governor said, because "I've run for every office and there's no more left."

WASHINGTON: California Governor Jerry Brown likened President Donald Trump to a strongman whose goal of walling off the U.S.-Mexico border conjures other infamous barriers from the past. "The wall, to me, is ominous. It reminds me too much of the Berlin Wall," Brown said during an interview broadcast Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." The pointed reference suggested that the president was, like the leaders of communist East Germany several decades ago, trying to restrict the movements of people on both sides, despite all they have in common. "There's a lot of odor here of kind of a strongman," Brown told host Chuck Todd. "I think Americans ought to be very careful when we make radical changes like a 30-foot (9-meter) wall keeping some in and some out." Trump made extending the walls that line parts of the nearly 2,000-mile (3,219-kilometer) border a central campaign pledge. Companies seeking to build the wall must soon submit concept papers for sloped barriers that are aesthetically pleasing on the U.S. side. It's still not clear how the administration would pay for the wall. Brown said that although California would fight "very hard" against the wall, people should not expect a series of knee-jerk lawsuits. "We'll be strategic. And we'll do the right human, and I would even say Christian, thing from my point of view," Brown said. "You don't treat human beings like that." The governor disputed Trump's suggestion that immigration was a threat, casting it instead as an asset. "Look around at many of our industries," he said, citing the state's multibillion-dollar agricultural sector and the technological hotbed of Silicon Valley. "Twenty-five percent of the people in California were foreign-born. This is our dynamism." Brown, who visited the nation's capital last week to meet with federal officials, said he's willing to work with Trump and other Republicans on issues including immigration, health care and, especially, infrastructure. He called a proposed rail project aimed at relieving traffic congestion between San Francisco and Silicon Valley "a real test" for the president. The plan is opposed by Republicans in California, the governor said. "Here's a chance for President Trump to be above the political game. This is about infrastructure," Brown said. "Does he believe in a shovel-ready construction project that will create American jobs ... (and) ... is ready to go within a couple of months, or not?" Asked what Trump could learn from Brown's predecessor, former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, he said the president could be better at picking his battles. "Don't fight everybody," Brown advised Trump. "And you have to make more allies than enemies. It's simple. Politics is about addition, not subtraction." Brown, who is in his fourth non-consecutive gubernatorial term and will turn 79 next month, said the role of national Democratic Party leader was open for the taking. But it won't be him, the governor said, because "I've run for every office and there's no more left."
Express News Service

COLOMBO: Indias National Security Advisor Ajit Dovals obsession with China led to Indias working for a regime in Sri Lanka in 2014, the island nations former Defense Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, told the Foreign Correspondents Association here on Monday.

He said that the Congress-led government had been very supportive of Sri Lanka as revealed in Choices, former Indian National Security Advisor (NSA) Shiv Shankar Menons very good book.

But as soon as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power and Ajit Doval became NSA, the China issue was brought to the fore. Gotabaya said that Doval had twice asked him to cancel the China-funded Colombo Port City project and take back the southern container terminal at the Colombo port from the Chinese.

Gotabaya said that China has been a bee in the bonnet for Doval since his early days in the intelligence service. While Menon looked at things as a diplomat, Doval looked at them as a intelligence man, the former Sri Lankan Defense Secretary said.

In this context he referred to the alleged visit of a Chinese nuclear submarine in November 2014 which created a flutter in India. Gotabaya blamed the Indian media for this.

Firstly, it was not a nuclear submarine, and secondly, it is not true that the visits by Chinese submarines were secrets, Gotabaya said. The Indian High Commissioner had been informed about the visits of the vessels, which were en route from East to the West and back. And these visits had taken place with prior permission from the Sri Lankan government. Colombo was aware of New Delhis sensitivities and had expressly stated that it will not allow Sri Lanka to be used against India, Gotabaya said. But still there were reservations in New Delhi.

Against this background Gotabaya said that he is intrigued by Indias silence over the present Sri Lankan governments handing over 80% of the shares in Hambantota port to a Chinese state owned company for 99 years. He wondered if India has anything up its sleeve. He described the transaction over Hambantota as dangerous.

Asked about the alleged US plan to rescue LTTE leader Prabhakaran along with the evacuation of the trapped civilians in the last two weeks of Eelam War IV, Gotabaya said that he was not sure if there was such a plan. But US Ambassador Robert Blake did tell him that the US would like to help evacuate the civilians but not Prabhakaran and the top LTTE leadership. But this was only a suggestion, Gotabaya added.

Asked why the ceasefire cum evacuation plan was not carried out, he said that there were some issues to consider: Would Prabhakaran allow it? Would India agree to it?

Further on US policy towards Sri Lanka, Gotabaya said that Ambassador Blake said that the US wanted to be seen to be helping the Sri Lankan war effort and for that he asked Sri Lanka to sign the Acquisition Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) to make its ports available for the US Department of Defense. Blake pointed out that many countries including India had signed it. The agreement was signed The US gave intelligence on the LTTEs floating armories which had a huge impact on the militants ability to function.

But US policies changed when Barack Obama became President in January 2009 with human rights activists like Samantha Power and Susan Rice holding key posts. The British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner came to Colombo ask for an end to the hostilities. This was because of the domestic electoral importance of the Tamil Diaspora, Gotabaya reasoned.

Their plea was negatived as President Rajapaksa and he had decided to fight to the finish. There was no going back from the objective of completely finishing the LTTE was to be achieved.

On allegations of huge casualties in the war, ranging from 40,000 to 150,000, Gotabaya said that empirical evidence does not support these figures. The government census department had done a survey which revealed a death toll of 7,000 to 8,000. UNICEF had done an independent survey which did not support the allegations. Even the UN has not officially put out the figure of 40,000 killed.

Data available with the World Food Program and the District Government Agents had indicated a population of 300,000 in the war zone out of which most crossed over to the government side and were lodged in camps.

Asked about forced disappearances, he said that the allegations need to be investigated, and for that, people need to give credible evidence and indentify the perpetrators, things which are lacking now.

He dismissed the claim of some people that they had handed over militants to the army but who are not heard of till date. In a chaotic situation which prevailed in the last stages, it is not possible for people to hand over anybody to the army peacefully, Gotabaya said.

On the issue of post war justice and accountability mechanisms Gotabaya said that if both sides rake up old wounds, the gap between the Tamils and the Sinhalese will only widen and there will be no reconciliation. If the Tamils talk of army atrocities, the Sinhalese can talk about the many killings and massacres done by the LTTE , and the two communities can never reconcile.

On the issue of releasing LTTE prisoners, he said that out of the 13,000 in custody, all except 274 ,who had cases against them, had been released.

On Sri Lanka co-sponsoring the resolution on it in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Gotabaya said that the present government has failed to make use of the changed political scenario in the US, with Donald Trump at the helm. Trump would have left Sri Lanka alone as he had pledged to make America to look inward rather than outward.

COLOMBO: Indias National Security Advisor Ajit Dovals obsession with China led to Indias working for a regime in Sri Lanka in 2014, the island nations former Defense Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, told the Foreign Correspondents Association here on Monday. He said that the Congress-led government had been very supportive of Sri Lanka as revealed in Choices, former Indian National Security Advisor (NSA) Shiv Shankar Menons very good book. But as soon as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power and Ajit Doval became NSA, the China issue was brought to the fore. Gotabaya said that Doval had twice asked him to cancel the China-funded Colombo Port City project and take back the southern container terminal at the Colombo port from the Chinese. Gotabaya said that China has been a bee in the bonnet for Doval since his early days in the intelligence service. While Menon looked at things as a diplomat, Doval looked at them as a intelligence man, the former Sri Lankan Defense Secretary said. In this context he referred to the alleged visit of a Chinese nuclear submarine in November 2014 which created a flutter in India. Gotabaya blamed the Indian media for this. Firstly, it was not a nuclear submarine, and secondly, it is not true that the visits by Chinese submarines were secrets, Gotabaya said. The Indian High Commissioner had been informed about the visits of the vessels, which were en route from East to the West and back. And these visits had taken place with prior permission from the Sri Lankan government. Colombo was aware of New Delhis sensitivities and had expressly stated that it will not allow Sri Lanka to be used against India, Gotabaya said. But still there were reservations in New Delhi. Against this background Gotabaya said that he is intrigued by Indias silence over the present Sri Lankan governments handing over 80% of the shares in Hambantota port to a Chinese state owned company for 99 years. He wondered if India has anything up its sleeve. He described the transaction over Hambantota as dangerous. Asked about the alleged US plan to rescue LTTE leader Prabhakaran along with the evacuation of the trapped civilians in the last two weeks of Eelam War IV, Gotabaya said that he was not sure if there was such a plan. But US Ambassador Robert Blake did tell him that the US would like to help evacuate the civilians but not Prabhakaran and the top LTTE leadership. But this was only a suggestion, Gotabaya added. Asked why the ceasefire cum evacuation plan was not carried out, he said that there were some issues to consider: Would Prabhakaran allow it? Would India agree to it? Further on US policy towards Sri Lanka, Gotabaya said that Ambassador Blake said that the US wanted to be seen to be helping the Sri Lankan war effort and for that he asked Sri Lanka to sign the Acquisition Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) to make its ports available for the US Department of Defense. Blake pointed out that many countries including India had signed it. The agreement was signed The US gave intelligence on the LTTEs floating armories which had a huge impact on the militants ability to function. But US policies changed when Barack Obama became President in January 2009 with human rights activists like Samantha Power and Susan Rice holding key posts. The British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner came to Colombo ask for an end to the hostilities. This was because of the domestic electoral importance of the Tamil Diaspora, Gotabaya reasoned. Their plea was negatived as President Rajapaksa and he had decided to fight to the finish. There was no going back from the objective of completely finishing the LTTE was to be achieved. On allegations of huge casualties in the war, ranging from 40,000 to 150,000, Gotabaya said that empirical evidence does not support these figures. The government census department had done a survey which revealed a death toll of 7,000 to 8,000. UNICEF had done an independent survey which did not support the allegations. Even the UN has not officially put out the figure of 40,000 killed. Data available with the World Food Program and the District Government Agents had indicated a population of 300,000 in the war zone out of which most crossed over to the government side and were lodged in camps. Asked about forced disappearances, he said that the allegations need to be investigated, and for that, people need to give credible evidence and indentify the perpetrators, things which are lacking now. He dismissed the claim of some people that they had handed over militants to the army but who are not heard of till date. In a chaotic situation which prevailed in the last stages, it is not possible for people to hand over anybody to the army peacefully, Gotabaya said. On the issue of post war justice and accountability mechanisms Gotabaya said that if both sides rake up old wounds, the gap between the Tamils and the Sinhalese will only widen and there will be no reconciliation. If the Tamils talk of army atrocities, the Sinhalese can talk about the many killings and massacres done by the LTTE , and the two communities can never reconcile. On the issue of releasing LTTE prisoners, he said that out of the 13,000 in custody, all except 274 ,who had cases against them, had been released. On Sri Lanka co-sponsoring the resolution on it in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Gotabaya said that the present government has failed to make use of the changed political scenario in the US, with Donald Trump at the helm. Trump would have left Sri Lanka alone as he had pledged to make America to look inward rather than outward.
By AFP

NEW YORK: Top British explorer Ranulph Fiennes and Solar Impulse pilot Bertrand Piccard are expressing fears about US President Donald Trump's moves to roll back environmental protections.

Their criticism was backed by actor Robert De Niro, who joined them late Saturday at the 113th dinner of The Explorers Club in New York, held every year to honor great adventurers in the presence of over 1,000 guests.

Fiennes -- who has been dubbed the world's greatest living explorer -- recalled his earliest expeditions to the Arctic.

"In the 1970s, we designed man-hauled sledges so that they were slightly waterproof in case there was a bit of water up there," the 73-year-old told AFP.

"By the mid-90s, we were designing canoes to be sledges... In the five years since I was last around, that area has got so that ski-planes won't even land," meaning their use in rescue missions is no longer possible, he explained.

"Trump has got to get around to the view that (Barack) Obama had, which is to encourage everything to vie against climate change, not to increase it."

Switzerland's Piccard, who received the club's medal for co-piloting the first round-the-globe trip in a solar plane, said the way to "Make America Great Again," as per Trump's campaign slogan, was to use "clean technologies."

"Today, the solutions (to climate change) are profitable. They create jobs, they make profit, they sustain growth and at the same time they protect the environment," he said.

Attending the dinner as an admirer of explorers, De Niro also denounced the new administration's attitude toward environmental issues.

"Every day brings news about how we're sprinting away from common sense and care for our planet," he said.

"In the last two weeks alone, we've seen America's leadership proposing... to deny the facts and dismiss the facts on climate change."

Trump on Friday gave final approval for the building of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, overriding environmental concerns in favor of boosting jobs and energy supply.

His proposed 2018 budget would also slash funding for science, health and environmental programs at home and abroad, sparking an outcry among experts who say the cuts would endanger the planet.

The blueprint must be approved by lawmakers before it can take effect.

NEW YORK: Top British explorer Ranulph Fiennes and Solar Impulse pilot Bertrand Piccard are expressing fears about US President Donald Trump's moves to roll back environmental protections. Their criticism was backed by actor Robert De Niro, who joined them late Saturday at the 113th dinner of The Explorers Club in New York, held every year to honor great adventurers in the presence of over 1,000 guests. Fiennes -- who has been dubbed the world's greatest living explorer -- recalled his earliest expeditions to the Arctic. "In the 1970s, we designed man-hauled sledges so that they were slightly waterproof in case there was a bit of water up there," the 73-year-old told AFP. "By the mid-90s, we were designing canoes to be sledges... In the five years since I was last around, that area has got so that ski-planes won't even land," meaning their use in rescue missions is no longer possible, he explained. "Trump has got to get around to the view that (Barack) Obama had, which is to encourage everything to vie against climate change, not to increase it." Switzerland's Piccard, who received the club's medal for co-piloting the first round-the-globe trip in a solar plane, said the way to "Make America Great Again," as per Trump's campaign slogan, was to use "clean technologies." "Today, the solutions (to climate change) are profitable. They create jobs, they make profit, they sustain growth and at the same time they protect the environment," he said. Attending the dinner as an admirer of explorers, De Niro also denounced the new administration's attitude toward environmental issues. "Every day brings news about how we're sprinting away from common sense and care for our planet," he said. "In the last two weeks alone, we've seen America's leadership proposing... to deny the facts and dismiss the facts on climate change." Trump on Friday gave final approval for the building of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, overriding environmental concerns in favor of boosting jobs and energy supply. His proposed 2018 budget would also slash funding for science, health and environmental programs at home and abroad, sparking an outcry among experts who say the cuts would endanger the planet. The blueprint must be approved by lawmakers before it can take effect.
By Associated Press

LONDON: Police have found no evidence that the man who killed four people in London last week was associated with the Islamic State group or al-Qaida, a senior British counterterrorism officer said Monday.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu of the Metropolitan Police said Westminster attacker Khalid Masood clearly had "an interest in jihad," but police have no indication he discussed his attack plans with others.

Basu, who also serves as Britain's senior national coordinator for counterterrorism policing, said Wednesday's attack  in which Masood ran down pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge before fatally stabbing a policeman guarding Parliament  "appears to be based on low-sophistication, low-tech, low-cost techniques copied from other attacks."

Masood was shot dead by police after his deadly rampage, which police have revealed lasted just 82 seconds.

Police believe Masood  a 52-year-old Briton with convictions for violence who had spent several years in Saudi Arabia  acted alone, but are trying to determine whether others helped inspire or direct his actions.

Detectives on Monday continued to question a 30-year-old man arrested Sunday and a 58-year-old man arrested shortly after Wednesday's attack. Both were detained in the central England city of Birmingham, where Masood had recently lived.

Prime Minister Theresa May said last week that Masood was "a peripheral figure" in an investigation into violent extremism some years ago. But Basu said he was not a "subject of interest" for counterterrorism police or the intelligence services before last week's attack.

Masood was born Adrian Elms, but changed his name in 2005, suggesting a conversion to Islam.

His mother, Janet Ajao, said Monday she was "deeply shocked, saddened and numbed" by his murderous actions.

In a statement released through the police, Ajao said that "since discovering that it was my son that was responsible I have shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident."

Basu said there was no sign Masood was radicalized during one of his stints in prison, the last of which was in 2003.

"I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why," Basu said. "Most importantly, so do the victims and families."

As Basu appealed for anyone who spoke to Masood on the day of the attack to come forward, the British government repeated calls for tech companies to give police and intelligence services access to encrypted messages exchanged by terrorism suspects.

Masood used the messaging service WhatsApp just before he began his attack. Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Sunday that such services must not "provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other."

Tech companies have strongly resisted previous calls to create back-doors into encrypted messaging, arguing that to do so would compromise the secure communications underpinning everything from shopping to tax returns to online banking.

Rudd is due to hold a previously scheduled meeting with internet companies on Thursday.

Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman, James Slack, said tech firms "should be helping us more" to prevent terrorism.

"The ball is now in their court," he said.

Slack said that if agreement was not reached with the companies, the government "rules nothing out," including legislation.

Meanwhile, the families of the dead and injured set about the difficult task of going on with their lives.

The family of an American victim expressed gratitude Monday for the kindness of strangers as they insisted some good would come from the tragedy. A dozen members of Kurt W. Cochran's family gathered to face the media, sharing their shock and sense of loss.

Cochran, from Utah, was on the last day of a European trip celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary when he was killed on Westminster Bridge. Cochran's wife, Melissa, suffered a broken leg and rib and a cut head, but is steadily improving.

The family offered profuse thanks to first responders, British and American authorities and people who had sent notes, prayer and donations.

"Last night we were speaking as a family about all this, and it was unanimous that none of us harbor any ill will or harsh feelings towards this," said Sarah McFarland, Melissa Cochran's sister. "So we love our brother. We love what he brought to the world, and we feel like that this situation is going to bring many good things to the world."

LONDON: Police have found no evidence that the man who killed four people in London last week was associated with the Islamic State group or al-Qaida, a senior British counterterrorism officer said Monday. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu of the Metropolitan Police said Westminster attacker Khalid Masood clearly had "an interest in jihad," but police have no indication he discussed his attack plans with others. Basu, who also serves as Britain's senior national coordinator for counterterrorism policing, said Wednesday's attack  in which Masood ran down pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge before fatally stabbing a policeman guarding Parliament  "appears to be based on low-sophistication, low-tech, low-cost techniques copied from other attacks." Masood was shot dead by police after his deadly rampage, which police have revealed lasted just 82 seconds. Police believe Masood  a 52-year-old Briton with convictions for violence who had spent several years in Saudi Arabia  acted alone, but are trying to determine whether others helped inspire or direct his actions. Detectives on Monday continued to question a 30-year-old man arrested Sunday and a 58-year-old man arrested shortly after Wednesday's attack. Both were detained in the central England city of Birmingham, where Masood had recently lived. Prime Minister Theresa May said last week that Masood was "a peripheral figure" in an investigation into violent extremism some years ago. But Basu said he was not a "subject of interest" for counterterrorism police or the intelligence services before last week's attack. Masood was born Adrian Elms, but changed his name in 2005, suggesting a conversion to Islam. His mother, Janet Ajao, said Monday she was "deeply shocked, saddened and numbed" by his murderous actions. In a statement released through the police, Ajao said that "since discovering that it was my son that was responsible I have shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident." Basu said there was no sign Masood was radicalized during one of his stints in prison, the last of which was in 2003. "I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why," Basu said. "Most importantly, so do the victims and families." As Basu appealed for anyone who spoke to Masood on the day of the attack to come forward, the British government repeated calls for tech companies to give police and intelligence services access to encrypted messages exchanged by terrorism suspects. Masood used the messaging service WhatsApp just before he began his attack. Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Sunday that such services must not "provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other." Tech companies have strongly resisted previous calls to create back-doors into encrypted messaging, arguing that to do so would compromise the secure communications underpinning everything from shopping to tax returns to online banking. Rudd is due to hold a previously scheduled meeting with internet companies on Thursday. Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman, James Slack, said tech firms "should be helping us more" to prevent terrorism. "The ball is now in their court," he said. Slack said that if agreement was not reached with the companies, the government "rules nothing out," including legislation. Meanwhile, the families of the dead and injured set about the difficult task of going on with their lives. The family of an American victim expressed gratitude Monday for the kindness of strangers as they insisted some good would come from the tragedy. A dozen members of Kurt W. Cochran's family gathered to face the media, sharing their shock and sense of loss. Cochran, from Utah, was on the last day of a European trip celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary when he was killed on Westminster Bridge. Cochran's wife, Melissa, suffered a broken leg and rib and a cut head, but is steadily improving. The family offered profuse thanks to first responders, British and American authorities and people who had sent notes, prayer and donations. "Last night we were speaking as a family about all this, and it was unanimous that none of us harbor any ill will or harsh feelings towards this," said Sarah McFarland, Melissa Cochran's sister. "So we love our brother. We love what he brought to the world, and we feel like that this situation is going to bring many good things to the world."
By Associated Press

JERUSALEM: Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, has deep business and personal ties to Israel that could raise questions about his ability to serve as an honest broker as he oversees the White House's Mideast peace efforts.

But some say these ties, which include a previously undisclosed real estate deal in New Jersey with a major Israeli insurer, may give Kushner a surprising advantage as he is expected to launch the first peace talks of the Trump era. Having the trust of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the thinking goes, could make Kushner well positioned to extract concessions from the hard-line Israeli leader.

Kushner's family real estate company has longstanding and ongoing deals with major Israeli financial institutions. These relationships, along with a personal friendship with Netanyahu and past links to the West Bank settler movement, could emerge as potential stumbling blocks by creating an appearance of bias.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. confirmed that it shares ownership and profits on a New Jersey apartment building with the Kushner Companies. Harel informed The Associated Press of the joint investment and said it had not previously announced it publicly. In addition, the Kushner Companies confirmed longstanding relationships with two major Israeli banks that have been investigated by U.S. authorities for allegedly helping wealthy clients evade U.S. taxes.

"Financial investments in Israel would seem to only further complicate conflicts of interest issues," said Larry Noble, senior director of regulatory programs and general counsel at Campaign Legal Center, a group that advocates for strong enforcement of campaign finance laws.

Jared Kushner headed the billion-dollar family firm before joining the White House as a senior adviser in January. As a condition to taking the job, Kushner has agreed to file a financial disclosure report and divest some holdings that could create a conflict of interest.

The Trump administration has faced repeated conflict of interest accusations since taking office. Although the billionaire real estate magnate says he's no longer managing his global financial interests, critics say these businesses still stand to profit from the prestige or policy decisions of the presidency. In addition, they note that Trump's children continue to manage many of these ventures, opening the door for the president to continue to wield his clout behind the scenes.

While Kushner's role in Mideast diplomacy remains unclear, Trump has said his son-in-law will work to "broker a Middle East peace deal."

Last week, Jason Greenblatt, a White House envoy who reports to Kushner, paid his first official visit to the region, holding a series of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials on what was billed as a listening tour to sound out the sides.

As the U.S. pushes forward, Kushner's family's business and personal ties to Israel have raised questions over his ability to mediate.

"Of course the Palestinians are not happy dealing with Jared Kushner ... but they have no other options," said Palestinian political analyst Jehad Harb. "Kushner and the whole new American team assigned to handle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict ... have very close ties with settlements (and) it's unlikely they are going to understand the Palestinian demand of dismantling most of the Jewish settlements, but the Palestinian Authority cannot say no at this stage."

Indeed, Palestinian officials appear very mindful about alienating the new U.S. administration with going public with grievances about a feared bias. And they seem genuinely relieved in recent weeks to be in contact with various U.S. envoys and at signs the administration is moving away from early positions that pleased Israeli nationalists, such as the notion of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The newly disclosed deal with Harel, one of Israel's biggest financial groups, was for a multifamily residential building in New Jersey with Kushner, the Israeli insurer said, adding that both companies continue to collect tenants' rent payments.

Harel would not say when the property was purchased, how much it cost or even give its address, though it said it was a "relatively small" investment. The company, which trades on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, managed some $50 billion in assets as of the end of 2015, according to its website.

Harel said it has also partnered with Kushner on a much larger deal: A consortium of lenders that provided some $50 million to the Chetrit Group and JDS Development, two New York real estate firms that are trying to build a 73-story residential tower that aims to be Brooklyn's tallest. The loan was repaid and "yielded a handsome profit," Harel said in a statement.

"As is known, Kushner (Companies) are experienced and knowledgeable with proven ability in deals in the rental property sector in general and in New Jersey specifically," Harel said.

A Kushner Companies spokeswoman, Risa Heller, said the loan for the Brooklyn project was paid off, but she declined to say if Jared Kushner has sold his interest in the New Jersey property. Jamie Gorelick, an attorney who has advised Kushner on conflict of interest matters, referred questions to Heller.

The Kushner Companies also confirmed having a "longstanding relationship" with two major Israeli banks, Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi, but wouldn't elaborate. Both banks declined to comment.

The Trump administration has inherited a Justice Department investigation into allegations that Bank Hapoalim helped American clients evade taxes, and the bank could reach a settlement in the case as early as this year. Bank Leumi also allegedly helped U.S. customers evade U.S. taxes from 2002-2010, and reached a settlement with the Justice Department in 2014 to pay $400 million to the U.S. government.

There is no evidence that Kushner Companies was connected to either investigation, and the Justice Department declined to comment.

White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not answer specific questions about Jared Kushner's ties to Israeli business partners. "Mr. Kushner will comply with financial disclosure and ethics requirements, including the obligation to recuse from particular matters involving specific parties if a reasonable person would question his impartiality," she said in an email statement.

Kushner is covered by government conflict of interest laws, so he is required to divest himself of any financial interests that may present a conflict and must not participate in any matter that has a direct effect on his financial holdings.

While Kushner has divested himself of some financial interests, the assets were put in a trust run by relatives, presenting the potential for a conflict of interest, said Noble, the campaign finance advocate.

He said the Justice Department investigation into Bank Hapoalim is "especially problematic" if Kushner or the White House in any way influence the inquiry.

Kushner's business ties are just one of the potential pitfalls to his diplomatic career.

Trump's son-in-law was also co-director of a family foundation that donated tens of thousands of dollars to Jewish settlement groups in the West Bank, according to U.S. tax records. The family also donated at least $298,600 to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, an organization that runs educational and cultural programs for Israeli soldiers, between 2010 and 2012, according to the tax records.

Palestinians and most of the international community consider Jewish settlements to be obstacles to peace because they are built on territory captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war that Palestinians want for a future state. The Palestinians also revile the Israeli military after decades of bloodshed.

Kushner and his family also have longstanding personal ties to Netanyahu. At a White House news conference last month, Netanyahu joked that he has known Kushner since he was a boy.

Zalman Shoval, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and co-chairman of an Israeli real estate fund that counts Kushner's father, Charles, among its backers, said he doesn't know Jared Kushner personally but thinks his affiliations to Israel will be helpful in peace negotiations.

"There's trust. When there's trust on one side, there can also be a more conciliatory attitude on that side," Shoval said.

Prominent Palestinian politician Jibril Rajoub told foreign reporters that Trump made clear to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a recent phone call that he was his "strategic partner" in making a "real and serious" peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

"There is very, very positive progress," Rajoub said.

JERUSALEM: Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, has deep business and personal ties to Israel that could raise questions about his ability to serve as an honest broker as he oversees the White House's Mideast peace efforts. But some say these ties, which include a previously undisclosed real estate deal in New Jersey with a major Israeli insurer, may give Kushner a surprising advantage as he is expected to launch the first peace talks of the Trump era. Having the trust of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the thinking goes, could make Kushner well positioned to extract concessions from the hard-line Israeli leader. Kushner's family real estate company has longstanding and ongoing deals with major Israeli financial institutions. These relationships, along with a personal friendship with Netanyahu and past links to the West Bank settler movement, could emerge as potential stumbling blocks by creating an appearance of bias. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. confirmed that it shares ownership and profits on a New Jersey apartment building with the Kushner Companies. Harel informed The Associated Press of the joint investment and said it had not previously announced it publicly. In addition, the Kushner Companies confirmed longstanding relationships with two major Israeli banks that have been investigated by U.S. authorities for allegedly helping wealthy clients evade U.S. taxes. "Financial investments in Israel would seem to only further complicate conflicts of interest issues," said Larry Noble, senior director of regulatory programs and general counsel at Campaign Legal Center, a group that advocates for strong enforcement of campaign finance laws. Jared Kushner headed the billion-dollar family firm before joining the White House as a senior adviser in January. As a condition to taking the job, Kushner has agreed to file a financial disclosure report and divest some holdings that could create a conflict of interest. The Trump administration has faced repeated conflict of interest accusations since taking office. Although the billionaire real estate magnate says he's no longer managing his global financial interests, critics say these businesses still stand to profit from the prestige or policy decisions of the presidency. In addition, they note that Trump's children continue to manage many of these ventures, opening the door for the president to continue to wield his clout behind the scenes. While Kushner's role in Mideast diplomacy remains unclear, Trump has said his son-in-law will work to "broker a Middle East peace deal." Last week, Jason Greenblatt, a White House envoy who reports to Kushner, paid his first official visit to the region, holding a series of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials on what was billed as a listening tour to sound out the sides. As the U.S. pushes forward, Kushner's family's business and personal ties to Israel have raised questions over his ability to mediate. "Of course the Palestinians are not happy dealing with Jared Kushner ... but they have no other options," said Palestinian political analyst Jehad Harb. "Kushner and the whole new American team assigned to handle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict ... have very close ties with settlements (and) it's unlikely they are going to understand the Palestinian demand of dismantling most of the Jewish settlements, but the Palestinian Authority cannot say no at this stage." Indeed, Palestinian officials appear very mindful about alienating the new U.S. administration with going public with grievances about a feared bias. And they seem genuinely relieved in recent weeks to be in contact with various U.S. envoys and at signs the administration is moving away from early positions that pleased Israeli nationalists, such as the notion of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The newly disclosed deal with Harel, one of Israel's biggest financial groups, was for a multifamily residential building in New Jersey with Kushner, the Israeli insurer said, adding that both companies continue to collect tenants' rent payments. Harel would not say when the property was purchased, how much it cost or even give its address, though it said it was a "relatively small" investment. The company, which trades on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, managed some $50 billion in assets as of the end of 2015, according to its website. Harel said it has also partnered with Kushner on a much larger deal: A consortium of lenders that provided some $50 million to the Chetrit Group and JDS Development, two New York real estate firms that are trying to build a 73-story residential tower that aims to be Brooklyn's tallest. The loan was repaid and "yielded a handsome profit," Harel said in a statement. "As is known, Kushner (Companies) are experienced and knowledgeable with proven ability in deals in the rental property sector in general and in New Jersey specifically," Harel said. A Kushner Companies spokeswoman, Risa Heller, said the loan for the Brooklyn project was paid off, but she declined to say if Jared Kushner has sold his interest in the New Jersey property. Jamie Gorelick, an attorney who has advised Kushner on conflict of interest matters, referred questions to Heller. The Kushner Companies also confirmed having a "longstanding relationship" with two major Israeli banks, Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi, but wouldn't elaborate. Both banks declined to comment. The Trump administration has inherited a Justice Department investigation into allegations that Bank Hapoalim helped American clients evade taxes, and the bank could reach a settlement in the case as early as this year. Bank Leumi also allegedly helped U.S. customers evade U.S. taxes from 2002-2010, and reached a settlement with the Justice Department in 2014 to pay $400 million to the U.S. government. There is no evidence that Kushner Companies was connected to either investigation, and the Justice Department declined to comment. White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not answer specific questions about Jared Kushner's ties to Israeli business partners. "Mr. Kushner will comply with financial disclosure and ethics requirements, including the obligation to recuse from particular matters involving specific parties if a reasonable person would question his impartiality," she said in an email statement. Kushner is covered by government conflict of interest laws, so he is required to divest himself of any financial interests that may present a conflict and must not participate in any matter that has a direct effect on his financial holdings. While Kushner has divested himself of some financial interests, the assets were put in a trust run by relatives, presenting the potential for a conflict of interest, said Noble, the campaign finance advocate. He said the Justice Department investigation into Bank Hapoalim is "especially problematic" if Kushner or the White House in any way influence the inquiry. Kushner's business ties are just one of the potential pitfalls to his diplomatic career. Trump's son-in-law was also co-director of a family foundation that donated tens of thousands of dollars to Jewish settlement groups in the West Bank, according to U.S. tax records. The family also donated at least $298,600 to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, an organization that runs educational and cultural programs for Israeli soldiers, between 2010 and 2012, according to the tax records. Palestinians and most of the international community consider Jewish settlements to be obstacles to peace because they are built on territory captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war that Palestinians want for a future state. The Palestinians also revile the Israeli military after decades of bloodshed. Kushner and his family also have longstanding personal ties to Netanyahu. At a White House news conference last month, Netanyahu joked that he has known Kushner since he was a boy. Zalman Shoval, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and co-chairman of an Israeli real estate fund that counts Kushner's father, Charles, among its backers, said he doesn't know Jared Kushner personally but thinks his affiliations to Israel will be helpful in peace negotiations. "There's trust. When there's trust on one side, there can also be a more conciliatory attitude on that side," Shoval said. Prominent Palestinian politician Jibril Rajoub told foreign reporters that Trump made clear to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a recent phone call that he was his "strategic partner" in making a "real and serious" peace between Israelis and Palestinians. "There is very, very positive progress," Rajoub said.
By Associated Press

NEW DELHI: The Bangladesh army said on Monday it has killed all four militants believed to have seized a building in an eastern city four days ago with a large cache of ammunition.

Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Fakhrul Ahsan said two bodies were found in the building in addition to six people, including two policemen, who were killed in explosions near the building earlier.

Ahsan said the army found a huge amount of explosives in the building. Two of the four insurgents who were killed had jackets lined with explosives on them.

Army and paramilitary troops had been trying since Friday to flush the militants out of building in the city of Sylhet.

The six killed Saturday died after a series of explosions took place on a road near an Islamic religious school and close to the building under siege.

At least 25 people were wounded in the attacks and 78 civilians rescued from the building after troops broke a section of the compound wall where the building is located the army spokesman said.

Several explosions occurred in the area, including a large blast Sunday afternoon. Police barred civilians, including journalists, from the area.

The gunbattle with suspected militants came after a man killed himself on Friday by detonating explosives near a police post on a busy road near the airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital. No one else was hurt.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Sylhet and Dhaka, according to the SITE Intelligence group, citing the Islamic State news agency Amaq. SITE monitors terror group activity online.

Bangladesh has experienced a renewed level of Islamic militancy in recent years.

Dozens of atheists, liberal writers, bloggers and publishers, as well as members of minority communities and foreigners, have been targeted and killed.

Last July, 17 foreigners were killed when five militants stormed a restaurant in Dhaka's upscale diplomatic zone.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.

But Bangladesh's government has consistently denied the presence of the militant group in the impoverished South Asian nation, and says the attacks are the work of local radical groups.

NEW DELHI: The Bangladesh army said on Monday it has killed all four militants believed to have seized a building in an eastern city four days ago with a large cache of ammunition. Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Fakhrul Ahsan said two bodies were found in the building in addition to six people, including two policemen, who were killed in explosions near the building earlier. Ahsan said the army found a huge amount of explosives in the building. Two of the four insurgents who were killed had jackets lined with explosives on them. Army and paramilitary troops had been trying since Friday to flush the militants out of building in the city of Sylhet. The six killed Saturday died after a series of explosions took place on a road near an Islamic religious school and close to the building under siege. At least 25 people were wounded in the attacks and 78 civilians rescued from the building after troops broke a section of the compound wall where the building is located the army spokesman said. Several explosions occurred in the area, including a large blast Sunday afternoon. Police barred civilians, including journalists, from the area. The gunbattle with suspected militants came after a man killed himself on Friday by detonating explosives near a police post on a busy road near the airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital. No one else was hurt. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Sylhet and Dhaka, according to the SITE Intelligence group, citing the Islamic State news agency Amaq. SITE monitors terror group activity online. Bangladesh has experienced a renewed level of Islamic militancy in recent years. Dozens of atheists, liberal writers, bloggers and publishers, as well as members of minority communities and foreigners, have been targeted and killed. Last July, 17 foreigners were killed when five militants stormed a restaurant in Dhaka's upscale diplomatic zone. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks. But Bangladesh's government has consistently denied the presence of the militant group in the impoverished South Asian nation, and says the attacks are the work of local radical groups.
By AFP

UNITED NATIONS: More than 100 countries are set to launch the first UN talks on a global nuclear weapons ban on Monday over objections from the major nuclear powers.

Some 123 UN members announced in October that they would launch the UN conference to negotiate a legally binding nuclear ban treaty, even as most of the world's declared and undeclared nuclear powers voted against the talks.

Britain, France, Israel, Russia and the United States voted no, while China, India and Pakistan abstained.

Even Japan -- the only country to have suffered atomic attacks, in 1945 -- voted against the talks, saying the lack of consensus over the negotiations could undermine progress on effective nuclear disarmament.

The countries leading the effort include Austria, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and Sweden. Hundreds of NGOs back their efforts.

They say the threat of nuclear disaster is growing thanks to mounting tensions fanned by North Korea's nuclear weapons program and an unpredictable new administration in Washington.

Supporters point to successful grassroots movements that led to the prohibition of landmines in 1997 and cluster munitions in 2008.

"I expect that this will take a long time, let's not be naive," Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said at the UN last week.

"But it's very important in these days when you see more of this rhetoric, and also sort of power demonstrations, including threatening to use nuclear weapons."

"Quite a high number of countries are actually interested in saying we have to break the deadlock that has been on this issue for so many years," she added. "So it's also the expression of frustration."

No progress has been made on nuclear disarmament in recent years despite commitments made by the major nuclear powers to work toward disarmament under the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), said Beatrice Fihn, director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, an international coalition of NGOs.

"There was disappointment with the Obama administration, which made some pledges, but then ignored most of them," she said. "And now there are raised worries with the new US president."

Then-president Barack Obama announced a drive in 2009 to reduce the role of nuclear weapons and eventually eliminate them.

But his administration strongly encouraged NATO allies to vote against this year's UN negotiations, saying a ban would obstruct cooperation to respond to nuclear threats from adversaries.

President Donald Trump threatened a nuclear arms race in a tweet shortly before he took office in January, saying "we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all."

However, with experience from the campaigns against cluster munitions and landmines, Fihn believes there's a "good chance" a treaty will be adopted, if not necessarily after the first phase of negotiations, which will end in July.

Even with the major nuclear powers boycotting the debate, a treaty would oblige them to revisit their policies sooner or later -- even if, like Russia and the United States, they're currently modernizing their nuclear weapons arsenal.

"Even if major (nuclear weapon) producers don't sign it, they have a big impact," Fihn said of global treaties. "Look at Russia denying using cluster bombs in Syria. Why? They did not sign (the cluster munition ban), but they know it's bad."

No major powers have commented on the start of the talks so far, although the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, is expected to issue a statement on the sidelines of opening day.

US and French representatives explained their countries' opposition in October citing a need to make progress in stages, without disturbing the current strategic balance of weapons or jeopardizing nuclear deterrence.

Fihn compares such arguments to the logic of chain smokers: "It's never the right time to quit."

"But with the multipolar world, lots of countries feel like they don't have to wait for the superpowers to act," she added.

UNITED NATIONS: More than 100 countries are set to launch the first UN talks on a global nuclear weapons ban on Monday over objections from the major nuclear powers. Some 123 UN members announced in October that they would launch the UN conference to negotiate a legally binding nuclear ban treaty, even as most of the world's declared and undeclared nuclear powers voted against the talks. Britain, France, Israel, Russia and the United States voted no, while China, India and Pakistan abstained. Even Japan -- the only country to have suffered atomic attacks, in 1945 -- voted against the talks, saying the lack of consensus over the negotiations could undermine progress on effective nuclear disarmament. The countries leading the effort include Austria, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and Sweden. Hundreds of NGOs back their efforts. They say the threat of nuclear disaster is growing thanks to mounting tensions fanned by North Korea's nuclear weapons program and an unpredictable new administration in Washington. Supporters point to successful grassroots movements that led to the prohibition of landmines in 1997 and cluster munitions in 2008. "I expect that this will take a long time, let's not be naive," Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said at the UN last week. "But it's very important in these days when you see more of this rhetoric, and also sort of power demonstrations, including threatening to use nuclear weapons." "Quite a high number of countries are actually interested in saying we have to break the deadlock that has been on this issue for so many years," she added. "So it's also the expression of frustration." No progress has been made on nuclear disarmament in recent years despite commitments made by the major nuclear powers to work toward disarmament under the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), said Beatrice Fihn, director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, an international coalition of NGOs. "There was disappointment with the Obama administration, which made some pledges, but then ignored most of them," she said. "And now there are raised worries with the new US president." Then-president Barack Obama announced a drive in 2009 to reduce the role of nuclear weapons and eventually eliminate them. But his administration strongly encouraged NATO allies to vote against this year's UN negotiations, saying a ban would obstruct cooperation to respond to nuclear threats from adversaries. President Donald Trump threatened a nuclear arms race in a tweet shortly before he took office in January, saying "we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all." However, with experience from the campaigns against cluster munitions and landmines, Fihn believes there's a "good chance" a treaty will be adopted, if not necessarily after the first phase of negotiations, which will end in July. Even with the major nuclear powers boycotting the debate, a treaty would oblige them to revisit their policies sooner or later -- even if, like Russia and the United States, they're currently modernizing their nuclear weapons arsenal. "Even if major (nuclear weapon) producers don't sign it, they have a big impact," Fihn said of global treaties. "Look at Russia denying using cluster bombs in Syria. Why? They did not sign (the cluster munition ban), but they know it's bad." No major powers have commented on the start of the talks so far, although the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, is expected to issue a statement on the sidelines of opening day. US and French representatives explained their countries' opposition in October citing a need to make progress in stages, without disturbing the current strategic balance of weapons or jeopardizing nuclear deterrence. Fihn compares such arguments to the logic of chain smokers: "It's never the right time to quit." "But with the multipolar world, lots of countries feel like they don't have to wait for the superpowers to act," she added.
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Gaikwad should have kept calm: Shiv Sena

Mumbai (Maharashtra) , Mar. 25 : Criticizing Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad for manhandling an Air India staff, the party on Saturday said the former should have kept calm and should not indulge into brawl.





(Posted on 25 March 2017, 1667868840 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/maharashtra-news.php  (Posted on 25 March 2017, 1667868840 173O212O198O32)

"What happened was wrong. He should have kept calm," Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told media here.However, party senior leader Manohar Joshi refrained from commenting on the controversy, saying that he would speak on it after listening to the both the versions."We will find out as to why this incident happened. I don't talk about anything without proper information and understanding. I would comment on it after knowing versions of both the side," Joshi told ANI.After being barred by all the airlines, Gaikwad took a train to Mumbai yesterday.Air India and six private airlines banned the 56-year-old MP from flying as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.The MP from Osmanabad in Maharashtra had yesterday downplayed reports suggesting that Air India is considering banning him from boarding its flights."I have the tickets, they can't blacklist me. I will board the Delhi-Pune Air India flight this evening. How can they not allow me?" he said."I will not apologise. It was not my fault, it was his fault. He should apologise. First ask him to apologise then we will see," Gaikwad told the media.Air India Duty Manager Sukumar, who was assaulted by Gaikwad, yesterday asserted that the elected representatives need to behave in a decent manner."I am not scared at all, either with Gaikwad or with the Shiv Sena. I have been serving public and have also faced many who get irritated on such issues. It's a common thing for me," he added.Earlier, the Centre also took cognizance of the incident and assured a thorough probe into the matter.
White families with kids live in less diverse areas

Washington D.C. [USA], Mar. 26 : White families with children typically live in less diverse areas than other racial groups, according to a recent study.





(Posted on 26 March 2017, 1667868841 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php  (Posted on 26 March 2017, 1667868841 173O212O198O32)

The study on racial segregation in 100 metropolitan areas found white families with children continue to live in predominantly white neighbourhoods, in part to send their children to predominantly white schools."Neighbourhood racial segregation has been in decline since the 1970s, but my findings show it declined more slowly among families with kids," said University of Southern California's Ann Owens."This means that children are surrounded by greater racial homogeneity in their neighbourhoods than adults," added Owens. "A lack of diversity could have a significant effect on the development of their racial attitudes and future education and employment."In neighbourhoods, housing and urban policies have been key for curbing segregation, she said. The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule of 2015, for example, reiterated the aims of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, requiring municipalities that receive federal housing funds to conduct fair housing assessments."The progress made in integrating neighbourhoods could be thwarted by policies or policymakers' efforts to dismantle these efforts," she said. "Because neighbourhood racial segregation remains higher among children than adults, children may face greater consequences of any rollbacks of support for fair housing policies."For the study, Owens estimated school-age children's exposure to white and minority children within neighbourhoods, and then compared it to adults' exposure. Owens also measured "evenness" - how whites, blacks, Latinos, Asian-Americans and others sort across neighbourhoods. Both measures of segregation indicate that children are more racially segregated between neighbourhoods than adults, with white children living in slightly more white neighbourhoods than white adults.School district boundaries are a key factor contributing to segregation among families with children. Owens found that neighbourhood racial segregation across the country appeared to be driven largely by white families with children who are choosing, consciously or not, to move to neighbourhoods and school districts with fewer minorities.Although segregation has declined overall, it remains a concern, Owens said, because segregation can be detrimental for child wellbeing. Scientific research has shown that low-income and minority children who grow up in segregated neighbourhoods and attend segregated schools have worse educational and economic outcomes than children in more integrated areas. High levels of residential segregation have been linked to lower levels of income mobility across generations.Among the 100 largest metropolitan areas, Los Angeles has one of the highest rates of segregation between white and Latino children, even after adjusting for the large Latino child population in Los Angeles, Owens said.In 2010, Latino children, on average, lived in Los Angeles neighbourhoods where 75 percent of the children in their neighbourhood were also Latino and 9 percent were white.White children lived in Los Angeles neighbourhoods where, on average, 32 percent of the children in their neighbourhood were Latino and 46 percent were white. The racial makeup of the neighbourhoods did not reflect Los Angeles County's demographic composition of 61 percent Latino and 17 percent white among school-age children."If segregation were not occurring, then all children would live in neighbourhoods and attend school in districts with this majority Latino, minority white ratio," Owens said.Owens said like the neighbourhoods, school districts in Los Angeles County also do not reflect the county's demographic makeup.Neighbourhood racial diversity is also influenced by the factors that families, with and without children, consider when selecting where to live. Families with children appear more concerned about what school district their neighbourhood is linked to, and they may even consider race as a factor, Owens said."White parents may be avoiding school districts where black and Latino children live because they use racial composition as a proxy for quality of a school and a neighbourhood," she said.Minority families may have different priorities in deciding where to live, Owens suggested as explanations for the differences between households."Black and Latino families have lower incomes on average than white families, and they face housing market discrimination that influences where they live, regardless of the high value that they may place on school options," Owens said.When choosing a house or apartment, minority families may prioritize safety, home or apartment amenities, and the home's proximity to child care and employment over schools or other considerations."Minority parents also may evaluate schools differently than white parents and prefer schools where their children are not the minority," Owens wrote."As long as neighborhoods are demarcated by school district boundaries limiting enrollment options, parents will take these boundaries into account when making residential choices, which may contribute to segregation between white and minority children," Owens wrote.The study is published in The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences.
Trump hits out at Freedom Caucus, conservatives for nixing ObamaCare overhaul

Washington D. C. [USA], Mar. 26 : U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday criticized conservative Republicans for nixing the party's ObamaCare overhaul plan, saying, Democrats are smiling because the conservatives saved the struggling health care law and Planned Parenthood.

Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 26, 2017





(Posted on 26 March 2017, 1667868842 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php  (Posted on 26 March 2017, 1667868842 173O212O198O32)

"Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!," Trump tweeted.On Friday, House Speaker Paul Ryan cancelled the final vote for the ObamaCare replacement bill, upon concluding he didn't have enough votes despite the chamber's GOP majority.The conservative groups The Heritage Foundation and the fiscally conservative Club for Growth group also opposed the overall plan, written by Ryan and his leadership team and backed by Trump, according to Fox News.Earlier, Vice-President Mike Pence said at a business event in Charleston, West Virginia that Trump is never going to stop fighting to keep his promises to the American people.
Kerala Minister resigned because he was guilty: BJP

New Delhi , March 27 : A day after Kerala Transport Minister A. K. Saseendran resigned from his post over obscene audio, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said that the former resignation indicated that he was guilty.





(Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868844 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/kerala-news.php  (Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868844 173O212O198O32)

"The Kerala Minister has resigned because I think he is guilty. I think we need to welcome such moves where leaders realise that the public is watching, the media is watching," BJP leader Shaina NC told ANI.This statement came after Saseendran on Sunday resigned following charges of sexual harassment.Saseendran resigned after an audio tape of alleged sexual harassment was aired on a regional channel."I am resigning on moral grounds. I am making it clear that all allegations charged on me is absolutely baseless. But I am now tendering resignation as it is not right on my path to continue in this position when an investigation is underway. It is up to the Chief Minister and government to investigate the matter and they can investigate with any agency. Also I don't want the government to be on the back foot," Saseendran said.Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the matter would be thoroughly probed.A Malayalam regional channel Mangalam has aired an audio tape of the conservation between Saseendran and a woman who approached him to submit a petition.In the tape, the minister allegedly speaks with sexual intention to the lady.The authenticity of the tape is not confirmed yet.
After Odisha, Chhattisgarh shamed! Relatives walk 14 km to carry injured to hospital

Dantewada (Chhattisgarh) , Mar. 27 : Incidents of utter apathy showing inconsideration of the people and government has time and again come to light but there has been no remedy.





(Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868845 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php  (Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868845 173O212O198O32)

First, it was Odisha where a man carried his wife's corpse on his shoulder as he was refused an ambulance.Since then, such incidents have frequently come to the fore, but to disappointment, nothing can be seen being done about it.One such incident of apathy has again come to light in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada where the Tribals of Lava village are still devoid of basic facilities.If an accident takes place in the village, the villagers carry the injured on a cot all the way to NMDC's Pariyojna Hospital, which is at a distance of 14 kilometres from the village.This was repeated when a victim had to be carried on a cot to the hospital by his relatives. Even after being assured by the hospital to provide an ambulance, the promise was later not fulfilled.The 40-year-old sustained injuries after he fell from a Salfi tree while trying to pluck out its fruits."There is no facility in the village. Neither can ambulance reach there nor any bus. Even when NMDC assured us an ambulance, there was no sign of it reaching there. Therefore, we had to carry him on a cot. Only promises are made, but never fulfilled" the victim's brother told ANI.In the name of facility, the NMDC has arranged for a shuttle bus which travels once a day from Kirundul and stops five kilometres before the destination due to no road connectivity.The villagers then had to carry their concerned relatives on foot all the way to the hospital.
PM Modi urges people to check new feature in NM app

New Delhi, Mar 27 : Speaking about a new feature in NM app, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged people to go through it.





(Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868846 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php  (Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868846 173O212O198O32)

Named Reflections, the section consists of several articles on various topics.The #Reflections section on the NM App has insightful articles on diverse issues. Do have a look. http://www.narendramodi.in/reflections , the Prime Ministers tweet read.
Indian man assaulted by Australian teenagers in Hobart

Hobart [Australia], Mar. 27 : An Indian nursing student and a part-time taxi driver Li Max Joy was reportedly attacked by a group of teenagers in Hobart, Australia over the weekend.





(Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868847 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/kerala-news.php  (Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868847 173O212O198O32)

Joy has been admitted to the Royal Hobart Hospital with deep wounds on his face and chest.The attack is being viewed as a racial attack, as Joy has alleged that the Australian teenagers abused him saying "You bloody black Indians" before attacking him.Joy, who hails from Kottayam, Kerala, said that a big boy amongst teenagers attacked him without any provocation and also racially abused him, adding that two others also joined him in the attack.He also asked India's External Affairs Ministry to intervene in the matter.The attack comes after a priest from Kerala, Tomy Kalathoor, was attacked inside a church in Melbourne last week.
Women in Garo hills chase their dreams

Shillong (Meghalaya) , Mar. 27 : Age is not a barrier for the self-reliant middle-aged women in Garo hills as they have set a benchmark for themselves when it comes to entrepreneurship development.





(Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868848 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php  (Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868848 173O212O198O32)

The women, all in their 50s, have been making artifacts from water hyacinth in a bid to bring about a change in their lives.These self-reliant and self sustained women have set a benchmark for others. These women, using Thai knowledge of weaving water hyacinth into beautiful hand woven artifacts, have formed a self-help group to ensure a better living for themselves."Earlier, we did not have any Self Help Group but we decided to form the group with a view that we would be able to help each other. With the formation of the group, we have taken up different activities for our livelihood. It has also made us feel secure in life," said Mimosa Marak, an elderly.The aquatic weed is now being used for creating beautiful artifacts, an art they learned during a 10-day training sponsored by the North East Community Resource Management Society for Upland Area (NERCORMP), a project funded by the Ministry of DoNER, Government of India.Their tremendous efforts and creativity has led to creation of various products such as bags, purses, hats, boxes, baskets among other items.Their power of unity and collective decision has led to enhance a better living not only for themselves but for their family as well."We were so ignorant. We weren't aware of our rights. Today, we approach different administration and government offices for various needs of our village," said another elderly Bernalis D. Sangma.The activities taken up by the group have made women in the village self-reliant and empowered. Today, they are taking part in decision-making process to bring about change and development in the village.It is noteworthy that in February last year the group had won the best award at the District Level Innovators Meet held at Ampati in South West Garo Hills.Their strong willpower and determination has made them realize their due rights and also empowered them to take decision in life independently."With the formation of the SHG, we have been able to work collectively and support our husband in generating sustainable income for the family," said another elderly Pilina Sangma.Such a venture by the women folks will go a long way in changing the mindset of the male dominated society and will help them realize their status and bring change and overall development in the society.
Sufi saint Tulbul Shah remembered for bringing silk to Kashmir

Sopore (Jammu and Kashmir) , Mar.27 : A large number of devotees recently gathered to pay obeisance to Sufi saint Tulbul Shah at his shrine in Sopore.





(Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868848 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php  (Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868848 173O212O198O32)

Tulbul Shah, who had arrived Kashmir during the era of Hazrat Bulbulshah via the Silk Route, brought Mulberry trees from Kashgar in China.He himself planted lakhs of Mulberry trees in the area. It was from here that Kashmiri silk acquired fame and greater preference over Chinese silk.Farooq Renzu Shah, the Chairman of the Kashmir Society International, said, "We had beaten China's silk industry and for two to three centuries, Kashmir remained unbeaten in silk production. Wherever you go Silk is being sold in the name of Kashmir. No matter it is produced in Amritsar in India or in Canada, but they write it as Kashmir. The silk's main source was this area, but lakhs of Mulberry trees were cut brutally and converted this region as desert".Shah and others planted a few Mulberry trees near the shrine as tribute to the Sufi saint.Shah said that the saint also blessed Kashmir with the largest reservoir Lake Wulur to ensure the maximum preservation of waters from the River Jhelum."We have to preserve our water reservoirs. We had trade roads, which have disappeared. We used to have major trade through silk route. And, it was due to this area. This was the actual destination of trade during the Indus civilization. This is the confluence of Walur and Jehlum, where many people from the world over wish to travel, but they fail to visit," Shah said.Thousands of Mulberry trees were destroyed due to negligence in the recent past. The Jammu and Kashmir government has plans to revive it by planting more mulberry trees as tribute to Tulbul Shah.
Shiv Sena calls airlines ban on Gaikwad 'illogical'

Mumbai (Maharashtra) , Mar. 27 : Coming out in support of party MP Ravindra Gaikwad by calling the airlines ban on him 'illogical', the Shiv Sena on Monday said that it looks like somebody is trying to defame party leaders.





(Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868848 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/maharashtra-news.php  (Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868848 173O212O198O32)

Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande told ANI, "It seems that somebody is behind this and trying to defame Shiv Sena leaders, because if Shiv Sena opposes something, it is twisted and presented in a different way to the country.""It is Illogical that the other four airlines have also put Gaikwad on a no-fly list. He is not a criminal. Gaikward is not some unruly passenger or doesn't have some track of such behaviour. The way he is being framed by the media, he is not a criminal. It seems that somebody is behind this and trying to defame Shiv Sena leaders," she added.Calling for a thorough inquiry in to the whole matter, she said, "We have said this before also that Shiv Sena doesn't subscribe to such behaviour by an elected representative. But at the same time, we have said that there should be a thorough inquiry into this whole matter as to what actually instigated him.many things are surfacing."The Shiv Sena has given a shutdown call in Maharashtra's Osmanabad in support of Gaikwad, who had assaulted an Air India staffer last week.The Shiv Sena is also likely to bring a privilege motion in the Parliament today over the issue of Gaikwad being put in 'no fly list' of all airlines.Air India and six private airlines banned the 56-year-old MP from flying as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.The Osmanabad MP after being blacklisted by the top airlines boarded a train to Mumbai earlier on Friday evening.The MP refrained from commenting further on the row and said Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray would speak on the matter.Earlier, the MP, while showing no regret for his action had said, "What is there to repent? I will not apologise. He (Sukumar) should come and apologise.then we will see."
Aadhaar-linked mid-day meal scheme to check malpractices: Javadekar

New Delhi , Mar. 27 : Hailing the government's move to link Aadhaar card with mid-day meal scheme, Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said it has been initiated to check malpractices and bring in transparency.





(Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868849 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php  (Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868849 173O212O198O32)

Javadekar said the motive is to ensure that children are not devoid of mid-day meal."We only want to check malpractices, the bogus registration of students and siphoning away funds of mid-day meal scheme," Javadekar told the media here.The HRD Minister said that a large number of beneficiaries already have the Aadhaar, adding facilities would be made to enroll the remaining students as well."We want to bring transparency and want children to get mid-day meal. But we don't want fraudulent activities to take place under its garb," he said."As far as mid-day meal and Aadhaar link is concerned, I have made clear in Parliament that no genuine student will be denied mid-day meal in any case, only on the ground that they don't have Aadhaar. We will give mid-day meal scheme to all students and also Aadhaar card to all students," he added.Javadekar further informed that there was no genuine student in the first instalment of inquiry but bogus students were registered."4,40,000 bogus students were identified who actually didn't exist but their names were registered," he said.The HRD ministry made the unique identification number mandatory earlier this month for the students in order to avail mid-day meal scheme.
Ola's connected car platform for ridesharing, Ola Play launches in Hyderabad

New Delhi , Mar 27 : Taxi aggregator Ola on Monday announced the launch of Ola Play, its connected car platform for ridesharing in Hyderabad.





(Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868850 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-india-news.php  (Posted on 27 March 2017, 1667868850 173O212O198O32)

Powered by proprietary in-car and cloud technologies from Ola, Ola Play brings advance car controls, choice of personalized content and a fully connected interactive experience for users on the move. Together with Hyderabad, Ola Play is now available in four cities in the country viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad.The average time spent by customers in a cab in Hyderabad is 40mins. Ola believes there are interesting opportunities ahead for how customers interact with the technology available in its cabs.Ola Play allows various partners like Apple Music, Sony LIV, AIB, Arre', Audio Compass, among others, to build a high quality interactive experience for users. Customers can enjoy the immersive Ola Play experience from their own devices or from the large screen devices mounted in-car, along with cars surround sound systems."We believe this will enhance the future of automobiles and the mobility experience for millions in the time to come for both customers and driver-partners. With Ola Play, we have brought onboard, some of the leading International and National content and technology partners, to build a platform that is highly interactive, contextual and intelligent, to offer a truly connected ride sharing experience to our customers," said Sr. Director and Head of Ola Play, Ankit Jain."With Hyderabad emerging as the preferred destination for several leading technology companies, the city demands a smart mobility solution to complement its growing infrastructure. With lakhs of working and business professionals looking to stay connected on the move, Prime as a category has become the most obvious solution for these commuters through its Auto WiFi connect feature. With the introduction of Ola Play on the Prime category, we are taking this experience several notches higher by enabling an unmatched in-cab experience," said Senior Director, Marketing Communication, Ola, Anand Subramanian.Ola launched its services in the city of Hyderabad in May 2014, and has over the years grown to become the preferred mode of transport for residents and tourists alike.Diverse mobility solutions including Micro, Mini, Auto-rickshaws, Prime, Rentals and Outstation, have effectively enabled seamless commuting experience and built last mile connectivity for the city.
Over 20 companies ready to partner India Post Payments Bank says Minister Manoj Sinha

New Delhi, Mar 27 : More than 20 companies are interested in collaborating with India Post Payments Bank, said Union Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha on Monday.





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He was replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha.The minister said that many companies have approached the Department of Posts for collaboration with India Post Payments Bank.He said that while the Department is in various stages of discussions with the companies, decision on formal partnerships will be taken after carefully evaluating the entire value proposition that they propose for the common man.The India Post Payments Bank had launched its two branches in Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and Ranchi (Jharkhand) onJan 30 this year with basic products and banking services in partnership with Punjab National Bank.Sinha also said that the Payments Banks are different from regular Banks in several fundamental ways as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines for Licensing of Payments Banks:Payment Banks are not allowed to undertake lending activities directly. It can accept demand deposits only that is savings and current accounts and will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of Rs. 100,000 (Rupees one lakh only) per individual customer.Payment Banks cannot accept Non Resident Indian (NRI) deposits.The Payment Banks cannot set up subsidiaries to undertake non banking financial services activities.The Ministers reply included a list of companies that have expressed interest in the scheme. Some of them are --YES Bank, Punjab National Bank, NABARD (National Bank For Agriculture Rural Development), HDFC Life (Housing Development Finance Corporation), Bajaj Allianz Life.Image: IndiaPost Twitter
Central government sanctions 101 new Integrated Cold Chain Projects

New Delhi, Mar 27 : The Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries announced on Monday that 101 new Integrated Cold Chain Projects, part of its National Cold Chain Grid, have been sanctioned.





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The National Cold Chain Grid has been drawn up so that all food producing hubs are connected to cold storage and processing industries.India is one of the largest food producers in the world and is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables; yet only 2.2% of the countrys fruits and vegetables are processed, the Ministry said.India requires affordable cold storages and cold chains at every food producing hub in the country. While existing cold storage plants are concentrated in few states and roughly 80 to 90% are used for potatoes, India has a long way to go, according to the ministry.The ministry had announced sanction of 30 Cold Chain Projects in May, 2015.On Monday, it announced the sanction of 101 new Integrated Cold Chain Projects spread across the country.These projects are for fruits and vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, marine, poultry, ready to eat/ready to cook sectors.The ministry said it is focusing on creating Cold Chain infrastructure by strategic planning, which will eventually form a Cold Chain Grid in the entire country.The scheme of Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure provides financial assistance up to Rs. 10 crore for entrepreneurs.These 101 new Integrated Cold chain projects will leverage total investment of Rs. 3100 crore for creation of modern infrastructure for the food processing sector. The total expected grant-in-aid to be released to these projects is Rs. 838 crore.The 101 new Cold chain Projects will create additional capacity of 2.76 lakh MT of Cold Storage/Controlled Atmosphere/Frozen Storage, 115 MT per hour of Individual Quick Freezing (IQF) capacity, 56 lakh litres per day of Milk Processing, 210 MT per batch of Blast Freezing and 629 Refrigerated/Insulated vehicles.The infrastructure will also reduce wastage of perishables, add value to the agricultural produce and create huge employment opportunities especially in rural areas, the ministry said.Image: MyGovIndia Twitter
Indian benchmark indices decline on Monday, Jaitley places GST Bill in Parliament

Mumbai, Mar 27 : The Indian market ended Monday on low key with BSE Sensex down 184.25 points at 29237.15 and NSE Nifty down 62.80 points at 9045.20.





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Weak global cues and poor performance by some index heavyweights were largely responsible for the decline, according to reports.Some of the key stocks that gained on Monday were SBI, Bank of Baroda, HDFC, Dr Reddys Labs, BHEL and ITC while Tata Steel, Idea Cellular, Reliance, Asian Paints, Coal India and Wipro declined.The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley placed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill 2017 in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The four bills that were placed were Central GST Bill, the Integrated GST Bill, the Union Territory GST Bill, and the GST (Compensation to States) Bill.
EC gives six more months to Congress to hold organisational polls

New Delhi , Mar. 27 : The Election Commission on Monday gave six more months' time to Congress to hold organisational polls, extending the June 30th deadline set for the organisational polls till 31st December.





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However, it said there will be no further extension beyond December this year.The poll body had earlier given an ultimatum to the Congress to complete the organisational polls by June 30th.Congress had written to the poll body asking more time for completing the organisational polls by six more months as there was very little time left to do so.AICC general Secretary Janardan Dwivedi in his letter, also contended that it was not possible to adhere to the Commission deadline as it went against the resolution of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), allowing Sonia Gandhi to continue till December as party President.The Congress party had also cited practical problems of updating its membership list to have a proper and meaningful election both at the central and state levels.
Smriti Irani inaugurated 33rd edition of India Carpet Expo at Pragati Maidan

New Delhi , Mar 27 : The 33rd Edition of India Carpet Expo, Organized by Carpet Export Promotion Council at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi was inaugurated today with lamp lighting by Minister of Textile, Smriti Irani in the august presence of Ajay Tamta, Minister of State for Textiles and Virender Singh, Member of Parliament, Bhadohi.





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The expo is organized under the aegis of Govt. of India with an aim to promote the Cultural Heritage and weaving skills of Indian hand-made Carpets and other floor coverings amongst the visiting overseas carpet buyers."We are very glad that CEPC organizes this Expo twice every year to promote Indian weavers worldwide. Every year Expo generates huge amount of business. We have everything handmade and hand weaved here, which is the major attraction to the foreign buyers," said, Minister of State for Textiles, Ajay Tamta.Virender Singh, M.P., Bhadohi said, "We are planning to provide special privileges to the shepherds for the first time, as they play a crucial role in the process of carpet manufacturing. Until now all the focus was only on the weavers and manufacturers, but now we hope for the upliftment of the shepherds as well."Mahavir Pratap Sharma, Chairman, CEPC said "India carpet expo is an ideal platform for International Carpet Buyers, Buying houses, buying Agents, Architects and Indian Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters to meet and establish long term business relationship. This exhibition is a crucial step towards taking Indian exports of Handmade carpet to much greater and newer heights. We have also set up a special theme pavilion wherein the experts of the industry are showcasing the process of carpet weaving through the concept of ergonomic and flexible tufting frame."Sharma further added that orders worth over thousand crore are expected to be executed. New fall-winter colors and designs are being showcased at the Carpet Expo.India Carpet Expo is one of the largest Handmade Carpet Fairs in Asia with a unique platform for the buyers to source the best handmade carpets, Rugs and other floor coverings under one roof. With the participation of over 305 exhibitors, it has become a popular destination worldwide on Handmade Carpets.A record number of 410 overseas carpet buyers from around 60 countries mainly Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, UK, USA etc. shall be visiting the Expo to generate business for this rural based cottage sector.It is the endeavor of the Council to provide exclusive business environment to the both carpet importers as well as manufacturer-exporters, which ultimately will benefit about two million weavers and artisans employed in this highly labour intensive rural based MSME cottage industry.
A new restaurant has plans to move into the former Carmella's Pizzeria
Reporter

Noelle McGee is a Danville-based reporter at The News-Gazette. Her email is nmcgee@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@n_mcgee).
Crohns disease is a condition that causes the lining of the gastrointestinal tract to become inflamed. Any part of the tract may be affected, although it usually occurs in the ileum (last part of small intestine) or the colon. The condition usually affects individuals between the ages of 15 and 40 and common symptoms include the following:

Diarrhea

Anemia

Abdominal pain

Weight loss

Fatigue

Blood in stool

Mucus in stool

Individuals with Crohns may experience long periods of remission, where they have no symptoms or only very mild symptoms. This may then be followed by a flare up where symptoms return and can be particularly severe. For some people, symptoms may be absent for the majority of their lives, while others have a chronic and severe form of the condition where symptoms persist and never resolve.

Related Stories Nutritive intervention could be an effective treatment method in maintaining human health

Crohns disease is named after the famous gastroenterologist, Dr. Burrill Crohn. It first became regarded as a medical condition when it was described by Crohn and colleagues in 1932. However, the first explanation of Crohns was given by Giovanni Battista Morgagni, an Italian physician who diagnosed a patient suffering from a debilitating and long-term disease that caused diarrhea.

Further instances were described by John Berg in 1898 and by Antoni Lesniowski in 1904. in 1913, Kennedy Dalziel also reported on the condition at a British Medical Association meeting and the paper was published in the BMJ.

Physicians examining patients with the condition could clearly see the inflammation in the digestive system and patients, especially young adults, who had the disease during the 1920s and 1930s usually experienced diarrhea, weight loss, and abdominal cramps.

In 1923, physicians identified 12 individuals at the Mt Sinai Hospital, New York, who also presented with these sorts of symptoms and in 1930, Dr, Crohn noticed that two of his patients had similar problems. In May 1932, Dr. Crohn and two colleagues presented an article on the condition Terminal Ileitis, in which they described the characteristics of Crohns disease to the American Medical Association (AMA).

The AMA then published the piece later the same year in JAMA, as a landmark paper entitled Regional Ileitis: A Pathologic and Chronic Entity. This happened to be a time when people in the field of medicine were particularly interested in novel discoveries.

In contrast to the 1913 BMJ paper by Dalziel, the paper by Dr. Crohn and colleagues was given significant recognition. Crohn happened to be the first author named on the paper (as a result of alphabetical order, rather than a reflection of contribution) and his name was used to refer to the disease itself after people read about the condition in a popular medical journal for the first time.

Further Reading
Scientists are reporting a test which can predict which patients are most at risk from aggressive prostate cancer, and whether they suffer an increased chance of treatment failure. This test, reported at the European Association of Urology conference in London, and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, may give men a better view on how to deal with their prostate cancer risk.

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer, killing almost 100,000 men each year in Europe. But it is not invariably fatal, in fact more men die with prostate cancer than of prostate cancer. Current screening methods, and in particular the well known PSA blood test, can identify prostate cancers, but are not good at identifying how dangerous they are or even whether they should be treated. This makes if difficult to identify which men with prostate cancer are at real risk and need rapid treatment, and which don't.

Prostate cancer is has a genetic component but it has until now been impossible to understand how aggressive the cancer might be Now a new multi-national study has discovered the basis of a simple blood test which can predict whether a man is susceptible to aggressive prostate cancer.

Recent years have seen extensive research on the genetics of prostate cancer, with over a hundred mutations identified, however most of these are only present in a small number of men. Recently there has been a particular focus on the "Kallikrein" region of chromosome 19. This is a group of 15 closely-linked genes which code for proteases - molecules which break down proteins. In fact, the well-known test for prostate cancer, the PSA test (Prostate Specific Antigen), is based on one of the Kallikrein genes, KLK3.

The researchers, led by Dr Alexandre R. Zlotta, of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute (Toronto, Canada) and Paul Boutros (Ontario Institute for Cancer Research) intensively searched for small single-point inherited mutations in the whole Kallikrein region, in a large group of 1858 men with aggressive prostate cancer (defined as having a Gleason score above 8). The men came from three independent groups, in Switzerland (part of the European Randomized Screening Study for Prostate Cancer, Pr Recker and Dr Kwiatkowski), Canada, and the USA. They were able to show that variants of the Kallikrein 6 gene were associated with more aggressive prostate cancer.

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"These genes are found in between 6 and 14% of men" said Alexandre Zlotta, "This makes it one of, if not the, most common genes yet found to be associated with aggressive prostate cancer. Even if we take the lower, 6% figure, then that means around 17m North American men and 22m European men carry these gene variants".

The KLK6 variants also independently predicted treatment failure after surgery or radiation for prostate cancer in a Canadian cohort of men from the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC).

Dr Zlotta said "We found that in those men with prostate cancer treated by surgery or radiation, who had these inherited gene variant mutations had a three-fold increase in the risk of treatment failure, which means that after treatment, they were three times more likely to have the cancer recurring than the rest of the population. This is really a quite significant increase in risk. Similarly men with these gene variants were three times more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer (Gleason 8 or more). To put this into context, around 10 to 15% of all prostate cancers are the aggressive prostate cancer we are dealing with here, but of course they lead to a greater mortality.

"What does this mean? Firstly the test has only just been developed - it's still science, rather than something which is generally available. So it needs to be further validated and costed. It should mean that if you have a high PSA level but are unsure about having a biopsy to confirm whether you have cancer, this test could help you decide. It also means that we can begin to look at better screening for those who are at risk, for example among those men with a family history. As the test is refined we may be able to move towards more intelligent prostate screening".

Prof Ros Eeles of The Institute of Cancer Research London commented:

"It is very important to try to identify markers of aggressive disease in prostate cancer patients as these will help us to target treatments to those most likely to benefit. Genetics is increasingly being brought into the management pathway and this result if validated will be important in adding to the algorithm of a panel of genetic variants which may be become part of routine testing in the coming years".

Source: European Association of Urology
An extra layer of fat won't provide a cushion against pain - in fact, obese people are more sensitive to pressure pain than those who are not overweight, and they are equally susceptible to extremes of hot and cold.

A new study, carried out at Leeds Beckett University, highlights the differences in pain response between different groups of people. The results could reinforce the argument for weight loss programmes being part of pain management plans for obese people suffering from chronic pain.

The team investigated 74 volunteers, categorised as obese, overweight or normal according to their body mass index (BMI) - a standard way of measuring if a person is at a healthy weight for their height.

Volunteers in each group had pressure, cold and heat applied to two different areas of the body. The first experiment tested the hand, at the base of the thumb, an area that has little body fat. The second measured responses near the waist, in an area where extra fat is stored. Volunteers were asked to report at what point the pressure, cold or heat first felt painful.

Each volunteer was also asked to report their experience of cold pain by putting their hands into icy water. Again, they were asked to report the point at which they felt pain.

In the obese group, volunteers reported feeling pain from pressures equivalent to around 4.3kg per square centimetre, while those in the group with normal BMI reported pain at about 8.6kg per square centimetre. Interestingly, the middle group, those classed as 'overweight', had a slightly higher pressure pain threshold than the 'normal' group, with pain being reported at 10kg per square centimetre.

In terms of response to hot and cold temperatures, there was no significant difference across any of the groups, when tested at the waist. Only a small increase in sensitivity was reported in tests on the hand, suggesting that an extra layer of fat is no protection against extreme temperatures.

"Obese people are more likely to experience pain from factors such as the mechanical impact of increased weight on joints than people with a normal BMI," explains Dr Osama Tashani, a senior research fellow at the Centre for Pain Research at Leeds Beckett University. "But our study suggests that even in areas of the body which are not bearing weight, obese people are more susceptible to pressure pain."

"The overweight group had the highest pressure pain threshold, which might be because there were more people in this group taking part in physical activities, which could also affect how a person feels pain," says Dr Tashani.

The results, published in the European Journal of Pain, show that obese people are likely to have the lowest pressure pain threshold - but it could also suggest that those with a low pressure pain threshold are more likely to become obese.

"It could be the case that a person who is more sensitive to pain is less likely to do physical activity and therefore more likely to gain weight and become obese," says Dr Tashani.

The team plan to carry out further research into the factors that make people more susceptible to pain. This includes examining the chemicals secreted by fatty tissues in the body which could affect the response of pain receptors.
An interview with Professor Cathryn Glazener conducted by April Cashin-Garbutt, MA (Cantab)

What does pelvic prolapse surgery using mesh or graft involve and how does it differ from the existing standard repair technique?

Women who have surgery for their prolapse have a 3 in 10 chance of needing at least one more operation, so the success rate is not great.

Gynecologists hoped that using non-absorbable synthetic mesh or biological graft material as a patch to reinforce their standard repairs, the success rate would get better.

This approach has worked very successfully for patients having hernia repairs while initial summaries of evidence seemed to show that it might work for women having prolapse surgery too.

Why is the use of mesh and graft in prolapse surgery a controversial topic?

However, some women have reported long-term health problems after prolapse surgery with mesh, and this has led to considerable medico-legal interest as well as several investigations by regulatory bodies.

The evidence for the benefits of using mesh or grafts was of poor quality or inconclusive until the publication of PROSPECT.

Can you please outline your recent research project comparing the outcome of pelvic organ prolapse repairs?

PROSPECT was a pragmatic, multicenter randomized controlled trial conducted in 35 centers across the UK. Women undergoing their first operation for prolapse were randomized to having a standard repair of the front or back wall of the vagina, or a repair reinforced by synthetic non-absorbable mesh, or a biological graft.

We measured the outcomes of surgery at 6 months and 1 and 2 years afterwards, mostly by asking women to fill in questionnaires about their symptoms and health. We also examined them at 1 year.

What were your main findings?

We found that, in contrast to previous research, women were just as likely to be cured after standard surgery as after the reinforced repairs. They were just as likely to have other symptoms such as bladder or sexual problems, and other adverse effects such as infection, bleeding or pain.

However, about 1 in 10 of the women who had mesh did have mesh exposure (when a, usually small, portion of the mesh becomes visible through the vaginal wall). Although not all women had symptoms, about half of those women needed a small operation to remove or bury the exposed mesh.

So there were no clear benefits from the use of mesh or graft over a standard repair in women having their first operation. However, synthetic mesh did result in some complications which posed extra risk.

Two other papers published on line in the Lancet on 21 December 2016 have drawn attention to other aspects of care for women with pelvic floor dysfunction.

Researchers from the Information Services Division have shown that long term results from mesh prolapse surgery are no better than from standard repair, echoing the PROSPECT findings (Morling et al; http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/onlineFirst).

Indeed their longer time span showed that women had increased risks of later complications as well as being more likely to need further prolapse or continence surgery.

The PrevProl study showed that pelvic floor exercises should be tried as a first line as they have been shown to reduce prolapse symptoms or prevent their progression, at least in the short term (Hagen et al; http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/onlineFirst). Women can also reduce risk factors for prolapse such as by treating obesity, heavy lifting and chronic cough.

Prevention and conservative treatment such as using pessaries can avert or delay surgery. However, if these fail, women should be reassured that if they do need surgery, they ought to go ahead with standard operations, while being aware of the risks and chance of failure.

Were you surprised by the results?

Yes, because the most rigorous summary of all previous RCTs on the use of mesh (most recently updated in February 2016, Maher et al) suggested that the use of non-absorbable mesh in prolapse surgery was better in terms of both anatomical cure and prolapse symptoms than surgery without mesh.

Our trial clearly showed that there was no difference in any of the outcomes measured. We did, however, provide reliable evidence to confirm the finding of no extra benefit from the use of biological grafts.

Maher C , Feiner B , Baessler K , Christmann-Schmid C , Haya N , Marjoribanks J . Transvaginal mesh or grafts compared with native tissue repair for vaginal prolapse . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016 , Issue 2 . Art. No.: CD012079. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012079

How do your findings compare to previous studies?

Our trial has reliably shown for the first time that women having their first prolapse operation do not benefit from the use of non-absorbable mesh, in contrast to the amalgamated results of all previous RCTs (Maher et al). We also provided reliable evidence that biological grafts do not help either.

What impact do you think your findings will have?

Women contemplating having their first prolapse operation can now be reliably counseled to avoid mesh inlays as these will not improve their chances of benefit from the operation. They may lead to unwanted side effects, some of which may require further surgery. Neither will they benefit from the use of biological grafts. Using either type of inlay is more expensive than standard surgery alone.

What further research is required?

We still need to find a way of making prolapse surgery work better, so that more women will be cured without needing further surgery for prolapse or side effects. The jury is still out on whether women having repeat surgery, or women at high risk of failure, may still benefit from mesh.

We also need to find acceptable alternatives to surgery which cure womens symptoms without exposing them to excess risk.

What do you think the future holds for pelvic prolapse surgery?

With an ageing population, more women than ever before will require prolapse surgery. Traditional surgery, however carried out, has a 30% chance of failure. We need to identify which women will benefit most, and which type of surgery works best.

It may be that some women have specific risk factors which make failure more likely. The risk of failure rises with each successive operation. Perhaps the best strategy is to try to avoid surgery (for example by the use of pelvic floor muscle training or pessaries) so that surgery is reserved for women for whom other treatments are unsuitable or when all else has failed.

Whichever route is chosen to treat women with prolapse, it is essential that they are counseled in a realistic and evidence-based way so that they can truly understand the risks and benefits of different approaches.

Where can readers find more information?

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/onlineFirst

About Professor Cathryn Glazener

Cathryn Glazener graduated in Medicine at Dundee University in 1979 After training in obstetrics and gynecology, she undertook research in infertility in Bristol, being awarded an MD for her thesis on management of unexplained infertility in 1984. She completed her postgraduate training in obstetrics and gynecology in Aberdeen, gaining MRCOG in 1986 and admitted as FRCOG in 2003.

She joined the Health Services Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, in 1988 as a Wellcome Health Services Research Training Fellow. In HSRU, she evaluated postnatal care for her PhD in 1999. This work led to a number of related randomized trials in incontinence, neonatology and postnatal support.

She became Reader in Health Services Research in 2006, and was awarded a Personal Chair in 2009. She was the Chief Investigator on several large multi-center randomized controlled trials in pelvic floor dysfunction including urinary and fecal incontinence, and prolapse; and a reviewer on a number of Cochrane reviews. She was also the Co-coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Incontinence Review Group until she retired in March 2016.
When going to the movies with a group of friends, one small action can make a big difference when it comes to being on the same page after the movie: eye contact. A simple conversation before the movie sets you up to be more in sync with your friends after the movie.

These findings come from an unlikely place -- not the lab, or even a movie theater, but a classroom. Using portable EEG to measure brain activity among groups of students, researchers were able to record from multiple people simultaneously to study social interactions in real life.

"The goal of our research is to understand the neurodynamics of real-world social interactions, and we used the classroom as a real-world social neuroscience lab," says Suzanne Dikker of NYU and Utrecht University, who is presenting this new research at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society (CNS) annual conference today. "The set-up we developed allows us investigate aspects of human social interaction that are difficult or even impossible to study in a canonical laboratory setting."

While Dikker's work focuses on brain synchrony, she is but one of a growing number of neuroscientists both taking their work to more naturalistic settings and using more multisensory stimuli. From classrooms to museums to the NICU, real-world settings are now possible with the advent of new neuroimaging techniques and advanced computational power, combined with a better understanding of the multisensory nature of our brains.

"The last 10 years are special in that they witnessed a confluence of advances in technology and in theoretical models that now are mature enough to take into consideration the full breadth of the complexity of the sensory environment and how we interact with it," says Pawel Matusz of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and chair of the CNS symposium on real-world neuroscience. Work in multiple settings is yielding unique insights into social interactions, attention, and neurodevelopment for the young and old alike.

Brains in sync

Conducting studies on brain synchrony - neural activity that is in sync among people - in real-world settings offers a great opportunity for new types of data, Dikker says. But with this opportunity comes a major challenge: adapting technologies and techniques for rapid deployment outside the lab. Most lab-grade neuroimaging equipment is expensive and not mobile. It is not possible, for example, to bring 10 fMRI scanners into a classroom or museum. Dikker and colleagues instead have adapted a low-grade EEG system for use in experiments, one that they can set up in only 5 minutes.

This adaptation comes with some sacrifices, she says. "It is unrealistic to expect the same level of data quality and experimental control from real-world neuroscience studies as we demand from laboratory experiments," Dikker says. "And we would never argue that efforts like ours move the field in a direction where the lab will become obsolete. Instead, we think of real-world research as a complementary approach that can inform, enrich, and inspire lab research, and vice versa."

In her latest work, Dikker and colleagues measured how much students are thinking about the same thing at the same time. They measured electrical brain activity with portable EEG and took survey data on social relationships and personality.

They found that the more a student felt part of the group, the more that student was engaged and in sync with the rest of the group. They also found that how much the students liked each other influenced brain synchrony during class - but, interestingly, it only mattered for those students who had eye contact at the beginning of class. "How much you like someone only matters if you have some actual interaction with that person," Dikker says.

In another study for which she will be presenting preliminary results at the CNS meeting, Dikker and colleagues measured brain synchrony in a museum installation. Collecting data from more than 2,000 people in the "Mutual Wave Machine," they also explored the role of eye contact in establishing synchrony.

An offshoot of a project with performance artist Marina Abramovic, the Mutual Wave Machine invites two people at a time to sit in a dome-like structure and gaze at each other while seeing a simplified visualization of their brain activity with lights all around them. They had to greatly simplify the EEG data being collected (using only canonical frequency bands) to come up with an intuitive way to visualize the neural activity. "There are only small light sources when your brainwaves are not in sync, and when your brainwaves are perfectly in sync, the dome fills up with light," Dikker says.

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They found that brain synchrony was higher for more empathetic individuals. Furthermore, people felt more connected and their brain activity was more in-sync with each other at the end of the experience than at the beginning. This occurred only for people who didn't know each other to start, however, and for those who were explicitly told that what they were seeing was feedback from the brain; some were not told.

The research has potential applications in therapeutic work -- for example, Dikker's team would like to test game-like neurofeedback in high-functioning autistic teens, to see if the method can help them respond better to social cues. But above those applications, the studies lay groundwork for future investigations to establish crosstalk between the lab and real world. For example, Dikker wants to further investigate in the lab what it is about eye contact that sets up the joint attention and brain synchrony.

Our multisensory brains

"Experiments that are conducted in naturalistic settings, such as those, for example, conducted by Suzanne Dikker, are informative as they explore new dimensions characterizing information processing in the real world," says Matusz of the University of Lausanne. "These technology-inspired neuroscientific investigations, using advanced signal processing methods, push the frontier on what we know about functional brain organization and the mind."

But he says that naturalistic studies should ideally be well-controlled lab experiments that aim to emulate the characteristics of information processing in everyday environments, while controlling for confounding factors. One of the most striking realizations of the past decade of work has been that information processing follows somewhat different principles than those established with traditional research involving just visual or just auditory stimuli.

"Information across different senses is exchanged and integrated at much earlier stages of brain processing than previously thought," Matusz says. "This has profound implications for our understanding of perception, attention, learning and memory processes."

For example, recognizing and finding a friend at a cocktail party full of people will be much easier if you not only see the person but also hear him/her. However, you will be also more easily distracted during this task than predicted by traditional models because multisensory objects are more distracting than just visual or auditory ones. A person next to you shouting and waving to someone else across the room, or someone bumping into you and saying sorry, will make it harder to locate your friend. These are tradeoffs that control our "selective attention" -- our ability to process important information and suppress distracting information -- in real-world environments.

In work being presented at the CNS meeting, Matusz's team used multisensory, audiovisual distractors to reveal that children can actually be less distracted than adults or older children. These results, published in Cognition in 2015, Matusz says "go against traditional models of brain and attention development, according to which there is a mature, adult state of attention that we gradually reach as we grow older from 'distractful youth.'"

In novel results building on that finding, he and colleagues explored how experience interacts with our selective attention as we grow. They asked young and adult participants to search for numerical digits, a category of objects where school-entering children are more familiar first with their sounds than their shapes. While the younger children benefited from having the audio, the sounds proved a distraction for the older children and adults. "These results echo recent voices in the neuroscience community suggesting that neuroscientific research provides meaningful knowledge when it is based on well-conceptualized studies of behavior," he says.

Clinically, this growing body of knowledge on the multisensory brain is opening novel avenues for addressing sensory and learning disorders. For example, in a collaborative project with Nathalie Maitre from Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio and Micah Murray from the University of Lausanne, Matusz worked with pre-term babies and their sense of touch. Every year, 15 million children worldwide are born prematurely, but the existing interventions are unclear in terms of their actual effects on sensory and brain processing. As published this month in Current Biology, the researchers recorded EEG in premature babies in the NICU and demonstrated a direct role of both negative and positive touch in shaping their somatosensory brain responses.
Bajaj Auto has said it has agreed with Japan's Kawasaki to end their decade-old alliance for sales and services in India from next month. The Pune-based company is focusing on its partnership with Austrian firm KTM, under which it has been converting its Probiking outlets, where Kawasaki motorcycles were also sold, into KTM dealerships.



"Kawasaki and Bajaj have mutually arrived at an amicable decision to end their alliance in India from April 1, 2017," Bajaj Auto President (Probiking) Amit Nandi said in a statement.



Consequently, Kawasaki motorcycles will be sold by India Kawasaki Motors Pvt Ltd  100 per cent subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Japan  through its dealer network. The unit was established in India in July 2010. It will also provide after sales service, including that for past customers.



"Bajaj and Kawasaki will continue to maintain their co-operative relationship across the rest of the world for current and future businesses," Nandi said. Bajaj Auto formed an alliance with Kawasaki for the sale and after sales service of Kawasaki motorcycles through its Probiking network in 2009.



"We have progressively converted our Probiking network to be KTM dealerships," Nandi said. The Bajaj-KTM partnership, launched its first co-developed product, the 200 Duke in 2012. He said over the last 5 years, KTM achieved a CAGR of 48 per cent and sales volume in 2016-17 is estimated at 37, 000 units.



"Now the Duke and RC models are being offered in five SKU's through the over 300 KTM dealerships in India. Going forward, Bajaj intends to focus on the KTM brand," Nandi said.


New Delhi: Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday pitched for petroleum products to be included in the purview of the Goods and Services Tax as the GST Bills were tabled in Parliament.



"We expect all petroleum products to be part of GST in a few days. We will push for that," Pradhan said at the contract signing ceremony here for winners of the auction of discovered small fields.



"States have concerns about what will happen to their service tax and VAT. But I believe that GST will be advantageous for states. We are confident that petroleum products will be under the GST regime," he said.



Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said last week that petroleum products, which will be within the purview of GST, slated to be implemented from July 1, would, however, continue to be taxed as per the current taxation regime until the GST Council agrees on applying GST to these products.



Pradhan also said India will soon launch the second round of auction of discovered oil and gas fields of state-run ONGC and Oil India.



"Discovered Small Fields (DSF) round-II is coming soon," he said.



The government on Monday signed contracts with 22 companies that won 31 contract areas in the recently concluded DSF round I auctions.



"It has been estimated that the indicative gross revenue over economic life would be approximately Rs 46,400 crore of which royalty collection and government's revenue share is expected to be around Rs 5,000 crore and Rs 9,300 crore, respectively," Pradhan said regarding the contracts signed.



As many as 46 contract areas designated for 67 discovered small fields across nine sedimentary basins were on offer under the DSF Bid Round 2016, bids for which came in from majors like Cairn India and Hindustan Oil Exploration Company, along with from five smaller foreign firms.



The government had put up for bidding for production under a new revenue sharing model these small fields originally discovered by state-run explorers Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) and Oil India. They, however, could not develop these because of their small size.



The auction was under the new Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) approved in March last year, which is based on a revenue-sharing model as opposed to cost-and-output-based norms earlier.
Switzerland has extended a ban on Brazilian meat to 21 processing plants from four as part of Europe-wide safety measures, Swiss authorities said on Sunday.



EU veterinary experts recommended reinforced checks on imports of meat from Brazil on Friday after an investigation began there into bribery of food inspectors.



Chief veterinary officers from the European Union's 28 member states met in Brussels to discuss an EU response to the scandal and the risk of rotten or contaminated meat entering the bloc.



"The extension of the ban is a response to European measures, aiming to prevent the meat from reaching European Union territory via Switzerland," a spokeswoman for Switzerland's food safety and veterinary office said.



Switzerland banned imports from four Brazilian meat processing facilities on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear how much meat Switzerland imports from Brazil.



European Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, responsible for health and food safety, will be in Brazil on Monday to discuss the issue with Brazil's agriculture minister.



China lifted a ban on imports of Brazilian meat on Saturday after Brazilian authorities clarified details of its investigation.


R'than: 20-yr-old girl burnt to death after allegedly protesting over cutting of trees in Jodhpur. Case being registered,probe on say police pic.twitter.com/ZV4AcadK1i

 ANI (@ANI_news) March 26, 2017

A 20-year-old woman was set ablaze in Pipda city after allegedly protesting against the cutting down of trees in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan.According to a media report, the incident took place on Sunday when the victim, Lalita, objected to the cutting down of trees in her farm for the construction of a road near the village. Following the protest, a group of villagers allegedly attacked her and set her on fire. She died on Monday morning, report added.Meanwhile, a complain has been filed against ten people, including the village head Ranveer Singh, in this connection.A police officer told ANI: "The sarpanch and other people poured petrol on her and burnt her alive. The body is in the mortuary. We will arrest the accused soon, after a fair investigation."
New Delhi: Over 721 academicians and experts including 51 Vice Chancellors of various central and state universities attended a two-day workshop organised by the RSS over the weekend hosted in the national capital.



The idea behind the event, as its all India organiser told press, was to brainstorm over how to make Indian education more oriented towards 'Bharatiya perspectives.'



Titled Gyan Sangam, the two-day national workshop was held by the RSS-backed initiative called Prajna Pravah whose main speaker on Sunday was the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.



According to the organisers the primary objective of the workshop was to create 'an academic ecosystem from Bharatiya perspectives' out of the government's ambit.



In the audience, among other senior academics of various institutions, was chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research chairman Y Sudershan Rao. Apart from Bhagwat senior RSS functionaries Sahkarvayah Krishna Gopal and Suresh Soni were present as well.



Speaking to an audience of senior academics, many of who hold senior chairs at several state and central universities of the country, Bhagwat spoke about non-governmental and autonomous Indic thinking," and said, "This is not the alternative but the real attempt to develop a Bharatiya perspective.



Speaking to the press, J Nandakumar, who heads Pranja Pravah, said there have been many education commission reports  right from Dr. S. Radhakrishnan to DS Kothari commission all which had stressed on one major point - absence of "Indian-ness from our education system."



"Our education was marked with the absence of Indian-ness. The centre of gravity of our education system shifted towards the west, he said. Nandakumar said that the two day event was held to allow the academics to brainstorm on how to bring the centre of gravity back to Indic thinking given that the main weakness of our system is that it is western.



He called this task an urgent one, which needs to be pursued without any government interference.



This is not the government work because our system of education was independent of government control. There was society taking care of it. This should be out of sarkari tantra, he said.

The event held over the weekend will be followed by many such programs that will be held in various other states in India.



Divided in three parts and there were parallel sessions where the academicians discussed content, contemporary trends and challenges in their respective discipline.



The expert sessions were on different themes  Cultural Onslaught was addressed by co-convenor of Swadeshi Jagran Manch S Gurumurthy, and chaired by the Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University Dr GC Tripathi.



The second session on Intellectual colonization was chaired by the former principal of Brihan Maharashtra Commerce College, Pune Anirudh Deshpande, Indologist Acharya Vamdev Shastri (David Frawley), and Dr Manohar Shinde, founder director Dharma Civilization Foundation USA. The last session Resurgence of Nationalism  East and West saw Professor VP Nanda of International Law Denver University with BK Kuthiala of MCRPV Bhopal.



The convenor of the program, Delhi University professor of Political Science, Prakash Singh, said, Our academic disciplines are leaning towards western education  to bring the change we have to create literature, change minds of people and society. We have to reach among the academics first, change their thinking to start with, students will come next.
Lucknow: The Madina hotel in Hussainganj area has been known for ages for its non-vegetarian menu. But on Monday, instead of Nihari and Mutton stew, the hotel was forced to sell daal and chaawal.



This happened because of a strike called by the meat shop owners to protest against the crackdown by municipal authorities against small and medium meat shops.



The order to shut down illegal slaughterhouses caused panic and angst among the people involved in business related to meat. Now, the situation is all set to worsen as vendors selling fish, chicken and mutton have also announced their support to the strike.



A rough estimate suggests that over 5000 meat shops will be closed during the strike.



Speaking to News18, Mohammed Rizwan Siddiqi, President of the Lucknow Chicken Committee said, "Our licences are not being renewed and we are harassed by the authorities unnecessarily. Also, new licences are not being issued which is beyond my understanding.



We are going on an indefinite strike from today (Monday). Although most of the meat shops in and around the city are already shut down since Friday, we requested all the meat sellers to sell their remaining stock by Friday night and join us in the strike from today, he added.



His shop in Azad Market in Indira Nagar was shuttered. All the nearby shops too are closed and the cages to keep the birds were all empty.



We have decided to intensify our strike from today. All shops will remain closed. Fish sellers too have joined us and are extending support to us. The crackdown on slaughterhouses has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people," Mubeen Qureshi, an official of the Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal, said.



The China Gate area near Lucknow Press Club which houses a dozen non-vegetarian selling shops wore a deserted look on Saturday. The shops usually crowded were nearly empty as they were not able to serve food items as per their menu. Owner of famous chain of restaurants, Arshi Jamal expressed his concern over the strike called by meat vendors.



He said, This strike has hit us badly, there are hardly any customers as we are not able to feed them with kebabs and other non-veg dishes. Lets hope the situation turns normal soon, else many people associated with the business will have to lose jobs.



Voicing similar sentiments over strike of meat vendors, owner of a famous restaurant located on Sapru Marg, Shoaib Farooq, said, Last night, we had a small gathering at our lounge and we had a hard time fulfilling the requirement. We could hardly manage 6 kg of chicken and that too as we were the regular customers. Today, we are just serving vegetarian food as there is no supply of chicken and mutton. This is making a direct impact on our day-to-day business.



Speaking to reporters in Lucknow on Monday, UP minister SN Singh said the government has issued no such order to shut down shops selling meat or eggs in the state. Singh also urged people not to believe 'rumours' being circulated on the social media.



Legal slaughterhouses should continue to follow regulations; action is being taken against illegal slaughterhouses only. Those who are on strike will be dealt strictly. Also, I would request authorities not to get over excited and take action only against illegal slaughterhouses. Questions should be asked why the licences were not renewed by Akhilesh Yadav government, he said.



Answering SN Singhs allegation, Samajwadi party leader and Yadavs close aide Sunil Singh Sajan said, The Bhartiya Janta Party is a jumla Party and now they are deflecting from the core agenda of development as they promised. SN Singh should know the fact that municipal corporation issues licence to these meat shops, and for many years the Lucknow Municipal Corporation is under BJPs belt. The present deputy CM of the state, who was then the mayor of Lucknow should answer these questions on licences and their renewal.



While the Akbari Gate locality of Old Lucknow area saw a few shops opening up to sell their remaining stock, many others decided not to open. As a repercussion, the prices of vegetables in many vegetable wholesale markets were soaring high on Saturday morning and if the meat shop strike is not taken back quickly then it could soar further up.



Buffalo meat is the cheapest meat available. Putting a complete ban on its sale will impact demand-supply ratio of chicken, meat, eggs, and vegetables and lead to steep prices escalation.



This trend clearly indicates that very soon non-vegetarian food may go out of reach of many non-vegetarian lovers.
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Police have said that Habib Mia - an alleged conspirator in the sensational 2005 Indian Institute of Science shooting in which an IIT Professor was shot dead - had no direct role in the attack.



A senior official of the city crime branch said Habib helped Shahabuddin escape to Bangladesh. And as of now, that's all they know. "After his interrogation, we couldn't get much from him. His role was limited to helping Shahabuddin flee to Bangladesh. And He got 800 rupees for the job".



A resident of Tripura, Habib had allegedly helped Noorullah Khan alias Shahabuddin flee, whom the police consider as the mastermind in this case. Shahabuddin, a Bengaluru resident, is learnt to have escaped from Bangladesh to Pakistan now.



Habib was arrested in a joint operation by the Bengaluru ATS crime branch, and Tripura police. Tripura police, after receiving a tip-off, alerted the Bengaluru ATS, leading to Habib's arrest.



Initially, the police suspected he had a major role to play in one of the most sensational terror attacks as this was the first time an AK-47 was used in a crime in Bengaluru.



Later, police identified the attackers as belonging to a cell of Lashkar-e-Toiba. So far six people have been convicted in the case. The police are on the lookout for several others.
In all, there are 4,000 such meat shops in and around Meerut city. According to officials, only around 250 of these have valid licences and these are set to expire soon. While most shops have been sealed, many have decided to shut on their own. This is either due to a fear of persecution or simply due to a lack of supply. This has come in the backdrop of the Yogi Adityanath governments move to act decisively against illegal slaughterhouses.

Many, such as former Meerut Mayor and Lok Sabha MP from 2004 to 2009 Haji Shahid Akhlaq, felt the government order against illegal abattoirs in the state has led to unwanted collateral damage. Akhlaq, who is also the chairman and MD of Al-Saqib Meat Exporters, said this was caused by overzealous officials eager to please the ruling party.

Imran Qureshi, son of veteran BSP leader Yaqub Qureshi and the Managing Director of Al-Faheem Meat Exports, says the worst of the impact has been on small-scale meat sellers.

Back at Meeruts Gudri Bazaar, an idle meat shop owner was contemplating a change of profession. Agar nahi mili permission toh karobar badlenge. Parchoon ki dukaan khol lenge (If I dont get permission, then I will have to change my trade. Maybe I will open a grocery shop)."

For frequent visitors, Kotla market near Meeruts iconic Ghantaghar would now seem unfamiliar territory.The market, lined with meat shops on either side, is almost unrecognisable. On any weekend day, the market would be flooded by customers, both Hindu and Muslims, milling around the 25 shops in the area to buy chicken and mutton. This Sunday, however, the market bore a deserted look. A few boys sat idly on the side of the streets and curtains were drawn over the shops.A man peaked out from behind a green curtain and called out, Janaab, chicken chahiye kya? (Sir, do you want chicken?) Bade ka milega kya? (Can I get buffalo meat anywhere?) this reporter asked. Poore Meerut mein bade ka meat kahin nahi milega (You wont find buffalo meat anywhere in Meerut), he replied.When asked why he was operating from behind a curtain, the shopkeeper said, We have been asked by the Nagar Nigam (Meerut Municipal Corporation) to draw curtains over our shop and discretely continue our work. We have a licence to sell chicken and mutton but it is expiring at by end of March. We dont know what will happen once the licence expires.The administration is in no mood to renew our licence.Not far from Ghantaghar is Meeruts Gudri Bazaar, a 300-year-old market. Legend has it that this was a favorite destination for British officers who wanted their livestock slaughtered.For 78-year-old Mohammed Asif, the present state governments attitude towards them is worse than that of the British. This market has existed for centuries and it has never been this empty on a Sunday. BJP governments have come in the past but nobody has been this draconian. In fact, we have a lot of respect for leaders like Rajnath Singh. There are eight members in our household and this is the only source of livelihood for us. How are we expected to live?A cattle transporter, on condition of anonymity, told News18, I used to transport 50 buffaloes a day to various abattoirs across the city and earned a small commission from it. It is a completely legitimate business. For the last week, I have had to stop my work. The problem is that farmers have completely stopped coming to the painth (cattle fairs).He added, A painth is usually held in rural areas, far from the city. Farmers say they would rather not bring cattle to the fair lest policemen stop them on the way and demand bribes. A bigger fear, though, is Hindutva outfits resorting to vigilante justice. There are horror stories in the hinterland about these groups raiding transporters and looting the cattle. A mans house near Gudri Bazaar was raided earlier this week on his daughters wedding day. They seized the buffalo he had got for the feast and arrested the man. There is complete panic among both buyers and sellers of meat.I have been on both sides of the table. I am one of the largest meat exporters in the region and I have also been in-charge of the civic body as Mayor. The problem is that officials dont even understand the difference between a slaughterhouse and other meat-related businesses. I own one integrated slaughterhouse and three meat processing plants.My slaughterhouse, for which all the paperwork is in place, has not been sealed but I had to shut it because there was no supply. However, the Meerut Development Authority (MDA) sealed my processing plants over flimsy excuses. They said I didnt get the map of the plant cleared. However, my plants came up before the area was even under the MDAs jurisdiction. The way some officials are acting is totally unconstitutional, he said.For many people, this is their only source of income. The BJP came to power on the promise of Sabka saath, sabka vikaas (Development for all). How can they condone a move that causes such large scale unemployment? Legal abattoirs employ lakhs across the state. My company owns one integrated slaughterhouse in Meerut. That alone employs 800 people directly and over 1,500 people, including contractors and transporters, depend on us for work.In Bulandshahr districts Khurja town, around 80 kms from Meerut, Faheemuddin Qureshi is in a state of shock. Four months ago, when he was hit by the demonetisation of high-value currency notes, he had to shut his slaughterhouse due to a lack of capital. This new development comes as double whammy for him.When I had to shut my business in November, after demonetisation, I thought I could never get back up on my feet again. I thought I was ruined. I suffered huge losses and all my workers had gone back to their villages in Bihar and Bengal. Once my cashflow got better, I started calling up my workers, around 400 of them, and asked them to come back. I convinced them that things were getting better. They came back and things were on track until Sunday. There is a meat supply crisis. Despite having all licences, I had to shut my business. Now my workers have started to go back. How will I ever convince them to come back? Will they believe me for a second time? he said.Bulandshahr District Magistrate (DM) AK Singh claimed they were trying to make things as smooth as possible for legal slaughterhouses and meat shops. He said: The problem is that many traders are not aware that the process for getting permissions has changed. Earlier, they had to get licences from the Nagar Palika. Three years ago, the rules changed and the Nagar Palika could only give No Objection Certificates (NOCs). The licences are now granted by the Food Safety Department. Most people have closed shop out of panic. I have repeatedly assured them that the government is only acting against illegal abattoirs and they need not worry. That is why we are trying to implement a single-window-clearance system for legitimate businesses. We will help them get back on track.A District Magistrate, posted in a key western UP district, told News18 on condition of anonymity, There is a lot of senseless crackdown happening everywhere in UP. A lot of local newspaper reporters are making matters worse by putting pressure on the administration. In my district, I want to follow the proper procedure because unless that is done, it will create needless panic. We will first see if standards are being met before pulling shutters everywhere. Officials cannot become activists. This is a matter of peoples livelihoods.However, the septuagenarian Asif interjects, An old dog cannot learn new tricks. Humare baap-daada humein yeh kaam sikha gaye aur humne apne bachchon ko yeh kaam sikhaya hai. Iske siwa humein aur kuch aata nahi (Our forefathers taught us this trade and we taught it to our children. We have no other skills). Besides, meat shops are the soul of Gudri Bazaar. Angrez bhi yahan se meat lekar jaya karte the (Even the British bought their meat from here). We cant kill the culture of a 300-year-old street market in one stroke.
: Despite massive protests by Shiv Sena workers and party leaders, the flight ban imposed on MP Ravindra Gaikwad by the major airlines of the country remains intact while the government seeks a "balanced approach" to solve the crisis.The government is working to change the CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement) as it currently does not have a provision to ban any passenger."The CAR on unruly passengers is silent on many issues. It has to be to be balanced. We are working on the CAR for unruly passengers. We need to have a balanced approach," said Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Civil Aviation Minister.Raising the issue of Gaikwad, Shiva Sena MPs told Speaker Sumitra Mahajan that Members of Parliament need to travel by air and there is no such rule which debars anyone except they pose a security threat. The Speaker agreed to them but asked them to wait and think of an alternative way as there is resentment in public.The Civil Aviation Minister held a meeting over the Gaekwad issue and discussed how long can the ban continue. Also, about the future no-fly rules and what's the procedure and steps involved. The meeting was attended by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Shiv Sena MPs too.Ravindra Gaikwad may move a privilege motion in Parliament against airlines after most private carriers blacklisted him by putting his name on a no fly list in support of Air India.A privilege motion is a notice by an MP against someone accused of breach of Parliamentary privileges, the rights and immunities which MPs enjoy. A privilege motion is granted precedence over ordinary business because it concerns matters of great importance or urgency.The Shiv Sena has come out in support of Gaikwad by enforcing a bandh in Osmanabad district in Maharashtra on Monday. Osmanabad is Gaikwads constituency. Shiv sainiks were seen forcing shops to down shutters in Omerga and Lohara talukas of the district.Air India and other domestic airlines have blacklisted Gaikwad, forcing him to travel by train. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), with Jet Airways, IndiGo, GoAir and Spicejet as members, has taken a "strong view of the incident" and decided to bar Gaikwad from flying.
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Monday decided to order a judicial probe into the circumstances leading to the resignation of a second minister from the cabinet, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.



Transport Minister AK Saseendran on Sunday resigned after an audio emerged in which he was heard having a lewd conversation with a woman on phone.



"Saseendran handed over his resignation and it was sent to Kerala Governor P Sathasivam on Sunday which was accepted," said Chief Minister Vijayan.



Saseendran was of the firm opinion that he would resign in the wake of the scandal, Vijayan said. "He did not want to sit in the chair while the probe is on."



"We decided to order a judicial probe and will finalise other details during Wednesday's cabinet meeting," the Chief Minister said.



A probe by a sitting judge has never materialised in Kerala, so the final decision on the nature of the probe would be taken by the cabinet and it includes the terms of reference, said Vijayan.



On Monday morning, Saseendran met Vijayan and reiterated that he did nothing wrong.



"I have told the Chief Minister that there are loose ends in the case made out against me and welcomed a probe into it. The Chief Minister will decide on the nature of the probe," Saseendran told the media.



Vijayan will be meeting Kerala Police chief Loknath Behra and Home Secretary Nalini Netto.



Meanwhile, the state unit of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) -- to which Saseendran belongs is supporting the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front -- is meeting on Tuesday to discuss the turn of events, state party President Uzhavoor Vijayan said.



"We will decide on what needs to be done as we have one more legislator, Thomas Chandy. We are an ally of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and hence we have a natural claim of getting a cabinet post," he said.



Saseendran is the second minister to resign since the LDF took office. In 2016, CPI-M strongman and Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan quit on charges of nepotism.


New Delhi: After Uttar Pradesh, the other big state which BJP is looking to return to power is Karnataka. This is the only Southern state that BJP has governed. The party leadership has already announced a 'Mission 150' and the state party president BS Yeddyurappa, who led the party to victory in 2008, claims getting 150 out of 224 won't be a difficult task.



Much of Yeddyurappa's confidence comes from the induction of Congress leader and former Union minister SM Krishna.



In this interview to News18, Yeddyurappa says Krishna, who joined the party five days ago, will get BJP 40 more seats.



He claims that after Krishna's entry into the party, several Congress leaders and MLAs have made a beeline to join the BJP.



The BJP party president who is also expected to be the party's Chief Ministerial candidate will turn 75 in February next year. The age at which, under Modi's leadership, the party discourages people to hold public offices. However, Yeddyurappa claims there is no doubt about him sitting on the CM's chair once the party comes to power in the state.



Excerpts from the interview



What has SM Krishna brought to the table through his entry into BJP?



SM Krishna has a very good image in Bangalore where he gave a lot of importance, during his time, to the development of IT services. Even one press conference by him will have an impact for the party across the state.



So I am going to request him to come to Gundlupet and also Nanganguru where by-polls will be held next month. Him campaigning at these places will only add to our tallies there.



For example, in Bengaluru we are going to win again extra 5-6 seats because of SM Krishna. Like this, his presence will have its effect in 40-42 other constituencies, that's my observation.



After Krishna have any other Congress leaders also approached you with offers to join the BJP.



A lot of Congress people are now approaching me. They say that they were just waiting for Krishna to come in. One by one, they will join our party.



Any big names?



I don't want to mention any names because two, three MLAs from Congress party are in the queue. I've told them that they will have to wait for another two to three months. After that they can resign and then join our party.



But we also understand that blindly taking on leaders from other parties may hamper our poll prospects also. Getting many leaders from outside can have an adverse effect on our party cadres also. I will take the view of the district leadership first and only then take the call.



Are you looking at any national role for SM Krishna?



He has told us openly that he isn't, at all, expecting anything. Neither will he be interested in fighting polls. I also had an hour-long interaction with him at his house where he said he's not expecting anything from the party.



All he wants is that he be respected. He's very happy with Modi government's performance. He told me that he was fed up with the Congress for the past two years, and that he was thinking to join some other party. Now he has made his choice.



But as far as his role and responsibilities are concerned, it is entirely up to the Prime Minister and our party president. Whatever decision they take on this, we'll agree.



But hadn't you and and even Narendra Modi criticised him for bungling up when he was MEA?



That is not the point. He is very much disappointed in the Congress party. Now that he has joined our party, we have gratefully and respectfully taken him on board.



He will be a major help in our campaigns in the coming by-polls and the assembly elections also. What role he plays will depend on him also.



How seriously are you looking at 'Mission 150'?



Already we have identified about 160-170 constituencies. And also one-by-one we have identified our candidates there. Maybe there is a good competition among our own cadre at one or two places. Accordingly, we will survey these places and also take opinions of the workers and people of the concerned constituencies.



And Amit Shah also has his own way of handling things. Take Uttar Pradesh, for instance. After consulting our party president we will take some decisions and as early as possible I want to finalise the list of candidates for 150 constituencies.



For the remaining 60-70 constituencies will get to good people and identify suitable candidates there. We are trying our level best. Our workers have been working very hard for the last one year which has strengthened our party.



So, is in-figthing in the BJP over?



There is no infighting. Our candidates will win all seats and they will work.



Sir, you will turn 75 next year. Are you sure that you will continue to be the CM face of BJP?



[LAUGHS] Modi ji and Amit Shah know about my age and my work. In the entire country, the only state where the party announced a Chief Ministerial candidate was Karnataka, and they made me the president of the party. They have announced that I will be the next chief minister. Question of age doesn't arise at all. After coming to know everything only they have given me this responsibility.



What will be the election issues?



It's too early to say anything, but Modi's achievement will be the main thing. Second, the failure of this state government and its corruption. Third, it is going to be about our governance in Karnataka. When we were in power for five years, people were most happy with our programme. All these things are there.
I have asked for a report from Government of Uttar Pradesh about the reported attack on African students in Noida.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 27, 2017

: Four Nigerian students on Monday sustained severe injuries after a group of locals attacked them in Pari Chowk, Noida. The incident occurred at 6 PM when a group, comprising hundreds of locals, held a protest demanding all Africans living in Greater Noida region vacate their rented houses immediately.The protest was triggered by the death of a class 12 student, who reportedly died of drug overdose, and five Nigerian students from the same neighbourhood were detained in connection with the case. The locals also claimed that the boy was seen spending time with these Nigerian students.However, the Nigerian students were released owing to the lack of evidence. Police have registered a case under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code in relation to today's incident and arrested five people.The locals had permission to protest, but suddenly, the situation spiralled out of control. Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took cognisance of the matter and sought a report. "I have asked for a report from Government of Uttar Pradesh about the reported attack on African students in Noida," Sushma tweeted.The Association of African Students in India claimed there had been multiple attacks on African students, and ten students so far had been targeted.
The Shiv Sena in Parliament on Monday objected to the flight ban on its MP Ravindra Gaikwad who had assaulted an Air India staffer but received no sympathy from Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju who said it is valid in the interests of passenger safety."DGCA has given the right to airlines to ban a passenger from flying if caught in a violent act. We cannot compromise the safety of passengers," Raju said in the Lok Sabha on Monday after Shiv Sena MP Anand Rao Adsul raised the issue in the House.In his reply to Adsul, Raju said that he did not, "even in my wildest dreams expect a member of Parliament to be caught in a violent act." He also added that an MP is also a passenger and that, "We cannot have an unequal importance given to an MP."Adsul in the Lok Sabha said it was not right to impose a flight ban on an MP when there was no such thing against popular TV host Kapil Sharma who reportedly created a ruckus on a flight from Sydney to Delhi.The Sena MP got support from Renuka Chaudhury of the Congress and Naresh Aggarwal of the Samajwadi Party who demanded Rajus resignation for backing a ban on a member of Parliament.Ravindra Gaikwad may move a privilege motion in Parliament against airlines after most private carriers blacklisted him by putting his name on a no fly list in support of Air India.A privilege motion is a notice by an MP against someone accused of breach of Parliamentary privileges, the rights and immunities which MPs enjoy. A privilege motion is granted precedence over ordinary business because it concerns matters of great importance or urgency.The Shiv Sena has come out in support of Gaikwad by enforcing a bandh in Osmanabad district in Maharashtra on Monday. Osmanabad is Gaikwads constituency. Shiv sainiks were seen forcing shops to down shutters in Omerga and Lohara talukas of the district.Air India and other domestic airlines have blacklisted Gaikwad, forcing him to travel by train. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), with Jet Airways, IndiGo, GoAir and Spicejet as members, has taken a "strong view of the incident and decided to bar Gaikwad from flying.Shaina NC of the BJP said the government would take action against Gaikwad. We have registered two cases, one for assault and another for flight take off delay. I am sure some action will be taken soon, she said. Shutting down shops is not a good idea. Even being an MP doesnt give right to anyone to misbehave, she added.
Uttar Pradesh Minister Siddharth Nath Singh backed the state governments decision to ban illegal slaughterhouses on Monday.Taking a strong stand, he said anything illegal in the country needs to be stopped even if it is a slaughterhouse.However, he clarified that governments stand is only against illegal slaughterhouses and there is nothing wrong with it.We have repeatedly said and are saying it again that this ban is against the illegal slaughterhouses and anything illegal has to be stopped, he said at a press conference.He added that UP government has been working well under the new Chief Minister and asked the government officers to respect the jurisdiction. Well be working like this under the new chief minister and I ask all the officers to do their job and not go to against the jurisdiction given by the government, he said.This comes after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Aditya Nath Yogi on Monday said abattoirs operating legally will not be touched but action will be taken against those run illegally. "The government will not touch those (abattoirs) which are operating as per the provisions of law and have a valid licence. But those that are violating the orders of the NGT and playing with the health of the public would not be spared...," he had said.
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Kapil Sharma became a national news after his mid-air feud with fellow comedian Sunil Grover came into light and was confirmed by both of them through their tweets. While Sunil Grover has apparently left The Kapil Sharma Show and is performing in Pune due to the humiliation faced by him, AIB has come to his rescue.The comedy group in their latest episode of On Air With AIB, has offered the talented Grover to join them and create some 'smart', funny content. The second season of On Air With AIB is in full swing and the casual avatar of our four beloved comedians is being appreciated by all, this smart plug-in for a post in the company is something really hilarious and smart at the same time.The appeal was made by Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya as they finished talking about fake news and its implications , in the latest episode. They didn't forget to give him a security insurance as well. (Oh..ohh)So will Rinku Bhabhi/ Dr Gulati shed his past and will make a move from mindless TV comedy to a witty online portal? Only time will tell. Right now we can't help but laugh out loud at this interesting job offer AIB just proposed to Grover. This is some another level industry poaching. What say?
Deepika Padukone photographed by Mark Bennington for the book Living The Dream : Life of the 'Bollywood' Actor

Kareena Kapoor photographed by Mark Bennington for the book Living The Dream : Life of the 'Bollywood' Actor. Image via Mark Bennington

Ranbir Kapoor photographed by Mark Bennington for the book Living The Dream : Life of the 'Bollywood' Actor. Image courtesy: Mark Bennington

Ranveer Singh photographed by Mark Bennington for the book Living The Dream : Life of the 'Bollywood' Actor. Image via Mark Bennington

Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah photographed by Mark Bennington for the book Living The Dream : Life of the 'Bollywood' Actor. Image via Mark Bennington

Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha photographed by Mark Bennington for the book Living The Dream : Life of the 'Bollywood' Actor.Image via Mark Bennington

Actor Abhay Deol captured by American photographer Mark Bennington

Photographer Mark Bennington thanks Shanoo Sharma and Guneet Monga for making the project happen.

Bollywood is regarded as the most glamourized industry. For laymen, the Hindi Film Industry is the place where stars are born, fame and success is attained to giddy heights. Which is why, most of us like to see Bollywood and its actors through rose tinted glasses and often overlook the hard work, the grime that the people of this industry go through. Which is why American Photographer Mark Benningtons coffee table book Living The Dream : Life of the 'Bollywood' Actor holds relevance. A visual story with 112 pictures of those who try to make it in the worlds largest film industry, Mark captures the other, more human side of the film industry. It is not just about stars but about the acting community at large and captures some fascinating, candid shots of struggling actors as well as superstars like Salman Khan and Vidya Balan.This book is not about stars, emphasized Mark in his interview to News18.com. It has got no hierarchy. It is about the acting community entirely.Mark came to Mumbai in 2010 first and was curious to know more about the acting community here. A chance meeting with producer Guneet Monga, whom Mark now considers a dear friends, opened doors to many stars and their work. I asked her if she could put me in touch with some actors. She said, I dont know too many stars but I do know a lot of actors. And so thats what she did. On my first trip to Mumbai, she put me touch with Huma Qureshi, Richa Chadha, Guarav Kapoor, Gaurav Gera- basically a lot of actors in the neighbourhood where I was staying.Mark spent two weeks in Mumbai during his first trip only to come to India 8 months later to work on this project. YRFs casting director Shanoo Sharma made him meet some very established stars and that set the ball rolling. I am thankful to both Guneet and Shanoo. Guneet Monga brought this book into existence and then Shanu sort of took it to another level. Without these two people this book would have never happened.Mark, who was an actor in Los Angeles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, was familiar with how an actors life is but he wanted to capture it on camera and show the real side of the actors through his book. When I came down here as a photojournalist and not as an actor, I wanted to know what life looked like for the acting community here. And I wanted to emphasize the acting community as a whole and not as stars and strugglers. This project is about acting community in totality.Marks images have Salman Khan interacting with fans in between a shot, Swara Bhaskar traveling on Mumbais local while reading scripts, Ranveer Singh getting ready during an award function and much more. Mark said that being friends with certain actors helped in getting the right shots. Because of the nature of his project he spent a lot of time interacting with actors. Some of the older stars I had set meetings with- they were the more established actors. But a lot who have featured in the book were friends of mine. We all hung out in the same circle. Swara, Huma, Richa- I spoke to them about their life, their work. So got to interact with them personally.When asked which actor left a lasting impression on him, Mark was hesitant to name one person. I think I enjoyed a lot with all those I spent time with. Salman did leave a lasting impression so did Ashwin Mushran. In fact, the other day Ashwin said he felt validated with this book, felt more included in the community. The book is about unity. What brings them together is this common dream, the idea.When asked how big Bollywood was in America, Mark said, It is not very big. Depends on where you go. If you are in a big city like New York, Los Angeles, you will find more Hindi cinema because of the NRI population living there. But in general, most Americans dont know much about this industry. Having said that with the emergence of Irrfan, Priyanka, Anil Kapoor  America is certainly craving more for Indian actors, I feel. There is a huge opportunity for Indian actors in the United States and there is such a dearth of good work being done now. So there is a lot of scope for Indian actors in America right now.While collating the book, Mark used quotes of actors to narrate their stories. Included quotes from people in the book instead of articulating of what happened in the discussions. I wanted to put the actors in their own words. That captured the lives better. That way its more delicious for the readers, I felt. I tried to give an insight on how the community functions. It brings out the unity of the community- the dream that they all have.Mark's book has been published by Harper Collins. For more images by the photographer, visit his official site.
Mumbai: A bandh call has been given by Shiv Sena in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra on Monday to protest against Air India.



Osmanabad is the constituency of controversial Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad.



Shiv sainiks were seen forcing shops to down shutters in Umarga and Lohara talukas of the district.



Gaikwad has been in the news for assaulting an Air India staffer after he was not upgraded to business class on a Pune to Delhi flight. Following the assault, Air India and other domestic airlines blacklisted Gaikwad, forcing him to take trains.



Despite this pressure, Shiv Sena continues to back Gaikwad. Gaikwad on Sunday claimed that he was asked by a top party leader not to speak with the media over the issue.







Threatening legal action against the national carrier, he said he has not gone into hiding and will be present in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.



Meanwhile, Shaina NC of the BJP said the government will take action against Gaikwad. The government have registered two cases, one for assault and another for flight take off delay. I am sure some action will be taken soon, she said.



Shutting down shops is not a good idea. Even being an MP doesnt give right to anyone to misbehave, she added.



Osmanabad SP Pankaj Deshmukh told CNN-News18, The bandh is limited to Umarga and Duhra the place where Gaikwad resides and from where he was an MLA earlier. The shopkeeper association has yesterday voluntarily agreed to shut their shops in support. We have not yet received any complaint regarding forced closing of shops.



Jitendra Shinde of the Shiv Sena defended the bandh and said, The ban was wrong. Our MP is 59 years old. He was treated badly.



Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena plans to move a privilege motion on Wednesday. Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant to CNN-News18, We will motion privilege motion in Parliament on Wednesday. Airlines do not have any right to blacklist a MP.
New Delhi: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday said the Congress and BJP reactions now to AAP's assurance to end house tax in Delhi are similar when his party promised free water and cheap electricity before the 2015 assembly polls.



"Before the assembly elections, they said it is not legally possible to reduce electricity tariff. They said the Delhi Jal Board will go broke if we gave away free water. Now they are saying the same thing about doing away with the house tax," Sisodia told reporters here.



He said just like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fulfilled most of its poll promises, including slashing electricity tariff by half and providing free water to every household, after winning 67 of the 70 assembly seats in February 2015 polls, it would abolish tax on residential property if it came to power in the three municipal corporations.



The elections to 272 wards in three Municipal Corporations are slated to be held on April 23.



"(Delhi Chief Minister Arvind) Kejriwal-ji made the announcement only after detailed analysis. While the BJP backtracks from its promises and forgets about them after elections, we have either already fulfilled our promises or are working to fulfil them," the Aam Aadmi Party leader said.



Sisodia said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress were worried about the move as they were running a tax collection racket and would lose out on commissions if the AAP implemented the move, "which will benefit lakhs of people".



"Citizen of Delhi are happy with the announcement. The reason why the BJP and the Congress are so unhappy is that they are connected to a web of agents who extort money in the name of getting house tax bills settled and assessed," he said.



On the opposition's claim that the house tax could be abolished only after the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, is amended in Parliament, Sisodia said the municipal corporations were empowered to make amendments themselves.



"Before 1993, the amendments were made by Parliament. But afterwards, many amendments have been made and none was done by Parliament, both during the Congress and BJP rule," he said.



Kejriwal on Saturday promised to abolish house tax if the AAP won the civic polls. He said tax on industrial and commercial premises will remain.



While BJP's Delhi unit President Manoj Tiwari termed the announcement "shameful", Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said the AAP has not yet fulfilled its promises of "free Wi-Fi and marshals in Delhi Transport Corporation buses".


New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government has cracked down only against illegal slaughterhouses and the drop in export of buffalo meat last fiscal was due to global factors, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.



Sitharaman also claimed in Lok Sabha that there was no negative impact on the export of any product due to demonetisation.



"What is being done in Uttar Pradesh is on illegal slaughter houses. We don't want anything illegal. The Chief Minister has also said that the action is only against illegal slaughter houses," she said during Question Hour replying to a supplementary asked by AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi.



The Minister said the drop of 8.87 per cent in buffalo meat export in 2015-16 in comparison to 2014-15 was due to various factors.



Sitharaman said China was not giving access to its markets to various Indian goods, including buffalo meat.



At this, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan remarked "don't slaughter only buffalo", provoking laughter in the House.



Replying to another supplementary, the Minister said there was no negative impact of demonetisation on exports.



"In fact, small and medium enterprises are keeping up their export. There is no negative impact on exports whatsoever," she said.



Sitharaman said the reason for slowdown in exports include fall in global demand and fall in commodity prices impacting the terms of trade of commodity exporters, fall in prices of petroleum crude resulting in consequent decline in prices as well as export realisations for petroleum products, which are major items of exports for India.



Other factors were that EU countries, which account for nearly 16 per cent of India's export, are facing problems of stagnation and deflation. China was also experiencing a slowdown, she said.



The recovery in the US has been moderate and uncertain in terms of sustainability, while there has been a fall in demand for precious goods like pearls, precious and semi-precious stones especially from oil producing countries.
"The ABPS has strongly condemned the extremist violence and the appeasement policy of the Bengal government," he said. The J-K RSS chief called upon the countrymen to create awareness against this "Jihadist violence and communal politics of the West Bengal government".

Singh also said 57,185 'shakhas' were currently being run at 36,729 places in India, besides 79,675 weekly meetings and monthly 'sangh mandali'.

: Jammu and Kashmir RSS chief Suchait Singh on Monday claimed the "footprints of terror elements" are increasing in West Bengal and accused the Mamata Banerjee government of "engineering terror violence" and "communal politics" in the state."We express concern over the increasing presence of 'Jihadist' elements in West Bengal, the policy of vote-bank appeasement being followed by the state government there and the shrinking population of Hindus in the state," he told reporters here.The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), at its Akhil Bhartiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) in Coimbatore, had discussed and passed a resolution expressing grave concern over the alleged rise in violence in West Bengal, Singh said.Referring to the attack on a police station, just 8-km from the Indo-Bangladesh border, in West Bengal's Malda district, he said the "increasing attacks against security forces is a grave danger to national security".Singh said, "Hardliner clerics have been issuing fatwas to incite violence, and Hindus have been attacked in several places in West Bengal."In the border areas, the growing presence of hardliners is forcing Hindu families to flee and they are also behind the fake currency, cow smuggling and illegal migration rackets, he alleged.The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in its probe into the Burdwan Bomb Blast case had found evidence of terror groups being active in several parts of West Bengal, he claimed."People under 45 years age make up for 90 per cent of the attendees at these meetings, of them 53 per cent are students," he said.Singh said in the last one year 1,04,256 Swayam Sevaks attended the seven-day 'Prathamik Shiksha Varg', the first step towards becoming an RSS volunteer.Prant Karywah Parshotam Dadiechi explained in brief the Sangh's working in J-K and 279 'shakhas' that were running at 180 places with 110 weekly meetings and 76 'mandali'.Dadiechi claimed around 45 people join the RSS online every month. More than 1,600 people from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions have joined the organisation in the last three years, he said.
Shiv Sena has raked up the ban flight ban imposed on its MP Ravindra Gaikwad by various Indian airlines for assaulting an Air India staffer in Parliament.

Earlier, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday introduced Inter-state goods bill in Parliament. Congress has opposed the move, saying that sufficient notice given to them was not given to them before the government introduced the bill.

Stay tuned for live updates:

Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here.
While the mood of the people is anti-Government, TTV Dinakaran is confident he will win with a huge margin. He adds: "After meeting the people of RK Nagar, I believe I'll win by a margin of more than 50,000 votes."

: With over 16 days to go for the RK Nagar by-polls, the Sasikala faction has released its manifesto -- the camp has promised to construct 57,000 houses in the constituency.TTV Dinakarakan, the AIADMK (Amma) candidate said: "There is land in the RK Nagar constituency. We have made a survey and we will be constructing 57,000 house if we win."The Sasikala camp has filed a complaint with the Election Commission accusing O. Panneerselvam's camp of manipulating the party (AIADMK) symbol and added that OPS faction's symbol will confuse the voters of RK Nagar."It is not acceptable to allow OPS camp to call their symbol as 'two electric poles.' Their symbol is very manipulative and hence we have filed a complaint urging EC to ensure that their symbol is changed," added TTV Dinakaran.It is going to be a multi-cornered contest and certainly a make or break situation for the Sasikala-led faction. All the candidates have started campaigning aggressively. Deepa Jayakumar, who is also contesting the RK Nagar by-polls, is given a 'boat symbol'.When it comes to elections in Tamil Nadu, it is not new that candidates distribute cash for votes. There have been reports that a few candidates have already started distributing cash at RK Nagar. TTV Dinakaran said: "I have heard that money is being distributed but I haven't seen anything as such."Voting for the RK Nagar by-polls is on April 12 and the counting is on April 15.
New Delhi: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on Monday demanded that all slaughterhouses, be it legal or illegal, should be shut down across the nation.



The benefit of these slaughterhouses being banned is that at least our children will get cows and buffaloes' milk," the former UP minister claimed, demanding an all-out ban on animal slaughter.



Azam Khans comments came after Yogi Adityanaths government in UP asked the police to act against illegal slaughterhouses in the state.



Khan also said that Muslims dont have to necessarily eat beef.



Speaking on UP governments policy of forming anti-Romeo squad, Azam said Muslim folks found in parks should be dealt with strictly.



I want strict actions to be taken even against Muslim brothers and sisters who are found in parks, Khan told ANI.



Azam supported the ban on illegal slaughterhouses by Adityanath government.
New Delhi: The CPI (M) in West Bengal is on a drive to remove nearly 30% of inactive party card holders at a time it's suffering a big erosion in its rank and file.



This was after the party internally assessed that a number of card holders were keeping themselves away from party activities after Mamata Banerjee led-TMC came to power in Bengal and because of BJP's massive gain in Lok Sabha elections.



Sources said the decision to weed out inactive card holders was taken in October at a party meet in Kolkata following which there was an "extra scrutiny" in January. "The process of removing these party cadre is almost done and the entire process will end on March 31," CPI (M) lawmaker Sujan Chakraborty told News18 over the phone.



The CPI (M) has over 2.65 lakh members in West Bengal. Yearly renewals of party membership is nothing new in CPI(M) and every year the party does away with nearly 10-15% inactive cadre, but it's the first time it's done on a such a big scale and after so much rigour.



"We have asked all party leaders and district committee members to be extra vigilant and careful while renewing membership of cadre. The scrutiny will be based on their performances, attendance in party activities, meetings, subscription of party booklet and whether they were engaged in anti-party activities or not. We want serious dedicated members," Chakraborty said.



"Removing non-serious card holders does not mean that our strength will be reduced in terms of numbers. We are giving memberships to new leaders, young people who want to join us. Ultimately our strength will be more or less even. The exact membership figure after removing non-serious leaders will be reflected soon," he said.



CPI (M) politburo member Md. Salim said, "All I can say that we have identified the challenges in Bengal. District-level political classes and new membership drives are underway to strengthen the party."



Expelled CPI (M) leader Abdur Rezzak Mollah, who joined Trinamool Congress in 2016, said, "There is nothing left in CPI (M) party. The party is finished and they will not be able to gain ground in Bengal. Instead of removing card holders, the party should immediately sack or remove senior party leaders who are doing nothing for the party. The senior leaders have now become defunct. They are the main problem in the party."



"The head should be removed first and not the tail, "Mollah, who was expelled from CPI (M) on February 24, 2014, said. Mollah is the minister for Food Processing Industry and Horticulture in West Bengal.



Sources said most of the complaints about such card holders came from South 24-Parganas, East Midnapore, Birbhum, Hooghly, North 24-Parganas.



BJP leaders in Bengal rubbished CPI (M)'s claim that the party will have more members after the process is over.



"No one is willing to join CPI (M). There is no future in the party. If you visit any party office it's only the banner and posters which are left," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.
Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli called for firm commitment to globalization during a meeting with corporate leaders on the sideline of Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference on Friday.

Global trade has been a strong driver for economic growth worldwide, and is an inevitable result of technology innovation, Zhang said.

"We can't stop our pace when faced with difficulty," said Zhang, vowing to fight any form of protectionism and promote free trade and investment.

The world economy is undergoing a shift and has to rely on reform and innovation to enhance international cooperation, Zhang added.

The commitment comes as China's GDP grew 6.7 percent last year, contributing to over 30 percent of global growth.

The vice-premier said he is confident in the Chinese economy. "The positive fundamentals haven't changed."

"We will spare no efforts in deepening reform, while pressing ahead coordinated development strategy and shifting government's role to ease burden on companies and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship."

The four-day Boao conference, themed "Globalization & Free Trade: The Asian Perspectives," is dedicated to championing a more inclusive globalization process through cooperation and dialogue.
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Aditya Nath Yogi has ordered strict action against the foodgrain and ration mafia, while directing the officials to submit reports of closed sugar mills in the state.



"The poor people must be issued ration cards, while stringent action be initiated against the food grain and ration mafia. The superintendents of police and district magistrates must act tough against these mafia through sustained campaigns," he said while chairing a review meeting of officials of Gorakhpur and Basti divisions here.



He directed the officials concerned to submit a report in the next 15 days on the revival of closed sugar mills and repair of those mills which were not functioning properly.



The Chief Minister asked the district magistrates to ensure that the benefits of the government schemes reach the needy.



Aditya Nath also batted for tough action on mining, forest and cattle mafias.



He directed the officials to settle the pending payments of sugarcane farmers in the next 15 days, and prepare a comprehensive strategy in the new sowing season.



The priest-turned-politician also drew the attention of the officials towards denotified tribes and asked them to conduct a survey to gauge whether the tribals have availed the state schemes.



"After the survey, the villages dominated by Van Tangiaa and Musahar (both denotified) should be declared 'revenue villages' so that basic facilities of education, health, drinking water, road, housing, electricity and government ration shops could be provided in these region," he said.



On a stern note, the Chief Minister said contracts for construction work should not be given to any criminal elements.



"If any pressure tactic is used by the criminal elements, it must be brought to the notice of the DMs and SPs immediately and FIRs be registered against these elements," he added.
(Image: winfuture.de)

Samsung will make its comeback on March 29, Wednesday with the launch of its Galaxy S8 smartphones after the recent Galaxy Note 7 global embarrassment. Also, not to forget the arrest of Samsung chief Jay Y. Lee CEO on bribery charges in South Korea.During the launch of Samsung Galaxy S3 Tab event at MWC 2017, Barcelona in February, the company got a 'not too pleasant' surprise when a Greenpeace activist almost took the centre stage to protest the exploding flagship Galaxy Note 7. So, the make or break Galaxy S8 launch will be more than just another flagship launch for Samsung.Samsung has mostly avoided uncomfortable questions on the failure of the flagship Galaxy Note 7 and has surely done very little to reassure that the Note 7 incident will not be repeated again.Of course, the company has released several advertisements to claim the improvements in the quality check department that they have introduced after the Note 7 fiasco. But will consumers trust another expensive flagship from Samsung with their money is something that will be interesting to see in the coming months.So, first things first, more than the spec sheet or futuristic design of the Galaxy S8, Samsung will have to dedicated time and effort during the launch to convince buyers that the Galaxy S8 will not explode.It would be interesting to see how Samsung actually presents the flagship Galaxy S8 series. Unless, the leak reports are grossly incorrect, there is seriously very little surprise left. Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones. The Galaxy S8 will house a 5.8-inch display powered by a 3,000mAh battery while the S8+ will offer a 6.2-inch screen with a 3,500mAh battery.Both the smartphones will feature curved displays with 18:9 aspect ratio, something which was introduced in the latest flagship LG G6. Also, both the S8 handsets will offer an almost be bezel-less design.The smartphone could be powered by Samsungs own voice assistant called Bixby which is similar to Google Assistant. Both the S8 and S8+ smartphones will offer iris recognition along with fingerprint scanners. A separate 3.7MP Iris camera sensor is including in the front beside the selfie camera.There will be two variants of the phones with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and Exynos 8895 SoCs. In India, Samsung will launch them with Exynos chipsets. The smartphones are expected to be powered by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage with support for microSD cards of up to 256GB. Rumours suggest that there could be a 6GB RAM variant as well.The Galaxy S8 and S8+ will come with a 12MP 'Dual Pixel' f/1.7 rear camera with OIS along with an 8MP front camera.The Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to be priced at Rs 57,000 in India while the S8+ variant could be priced as high as Rs 65,000.
The Moss Hotel & Lava Cove at Iceland's Blue Lagoon has its own private bathing area. (Photo courtesy: AFP Relaxnews/ Courtesy of Lava and Moss Hotel)

The Moss Hotel & Lava Cove in Iceland are due to open this fall. (Photo courtesy: AFP Relaxnews/ Courtesy of Lava and Moss Hotel)

Less than an hour's drive from the capital, Reykjavik, the Blue Lagoon is one of Iceland's most popular tourist attractions. As travel hotspot for many visitors, the site often crowded. However, a new luxury hotel and spa complex overlooking the Lagoon will soon offer visitors a haven of tranquility among the hustle and bustle.Iceland's Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa in the southwest of the country. The site attracts crowds of visitors every year given its exceptional character and stunning scenery. Set among a lava field, tourists flock to bathe in the Blue Lagoon's warm, milky-blue and mineral-rich waters, fed by the output of a nearby geothermal power plant. Particularly rich in silica and sulfur, the Lagoon is a hotspot for visitors in search of relaxation, and spa and wellness-based activities.The luxury hotel development responds to growing demand with high numbers of tourists now visiting the site. The hotel will be built into the volcanic landscape, boring into lava dating from 1226.The Moss Hotel and Lava Cove spa will be situated on the southwest side of the Blue Lagoon. The complex will offer visitors a peaceful haven thanks to a private extension of the Blue Lagoon, called the Lava Lagoon, filled with the same beneficial waters. The development will also feature an underground spa with a lava-rock-heated steam room for sweating out toxins, plus a fire pit and a sauna. Guests can also enjoy the mesmerizing sight and calming sounds of falling water trickling down a rocky wall.The hotel will feature 62 luxurious rooms, each with floor-to-ceiling windows offering stunning views over the natural landscape. Plus, there'll be plenty of spaces to relax and unwind, with lounge areas and a library.Guests will be able to sample a seven-course tasting menu at the Moss Restaurant, with views over the lagoon's milky waters, accompanied by fine vintages from a wine cellar built deep in the centuries-old lava.The Moss Hotel and Lava Cove spa are due to open this fall. Rooms are priced around 109,000 ISK (approx. $982) or 300,000 ISK (approx. $2,704) for a suite with private access to the Lava Lagoon.
A controversial ban on carry-on laptops and tablets on flights from the Middle East to the United States and Britain went into effect Saturday -- with less fanfare and frustration than expected.



From Dubai to Doha, passengers on dozens of flights checked in their electronic devices, many shrugging off the measure as yet another inconvenience of global travel.



"It's a rule. I follow the rules," said Rakan Mohammed, a Qatari national who flies from Doha to the US two to three times a year.



"The bigger problem for my family is the no smoking. On a long flight, they become restless after three hours."



At Dubai International, one of the world's busiest hubs, flag carrier Emirates dispatched staff to guide passengers through one of the most intense travel weekends of the year.



Around 1.1 million people are expected to pass through as the city marks UAE spring break, Dubai Airports said.



An estimated 260,000 travellers were expected each day from Friday through Monday. Dubai International Airport expects 89 million passengers this year.



Staff in red suits could be seen at the airport Saturday carrying signs explaining the electronics ban, ready to appease travellers with games and activities for children.



Government-owned Emirates, which operates 18 direct flights to the US daily, also began a service to enable passengers to use their electronic devices after check-in and until boarding.



Samuel Porter, who was travelling out of Dubai with his family, nonetheless decided to "avoid delays" at the airport by putting his laptop in the hold.



"The only issue is the kids. I have two kids and the iPad is always in their hands. Maybe they will watch a documentary and learn something useful this time", he told AFP.



The United States this week announced a ban on all electronics larger than a standard smartphone on board direct flights out of eight countries across the Middle East. US officials would not specify how long the ban will last, but Emirates told AFP that it had been instructed to enforce the measures until at least October 14.



The ban covers electronics sold at Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths told local radio earlier this week.



- Further disruption -



Adding to the disruption on Saturday, a number of flights out of Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports were delayed due to thunderstorms, including an Emirates flight to Houston.



Travellers using 10 airports across the Middle East and North Africa are subject to the ban.



Britain has also announced a parallel electronics ban, effective Saturday, targeting all flights out of Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Lebanon.



Royal Jordanian, which operates direct flights to London, New York, Detroit and Chicago, poked fun at the ban with a number of social media posts suggesting alternative in-flight activities, including doing "what we Jordanians do best... stare at each other!"



The bans have come under criticism for targeting majority-Muslim countries. The US ban in particular has raised eyebrows for covering airports from which US airlines do not operate direct flights.



But the United States and Britain have cited intelligence indicating passenger jets could be targeted with explosives planted in such devices.



Turkish airports began enforcing the ban Saturday, with national carrier Turkish Airlines offering a similar laptop stowage service to Emirates.



Abu Dhabi, home to UAE national carrier Etihad Airways, is one of the few international airports with a US Customs and Border Protection Facility, which processes immigration and customs inspections before departure.



But those flying to the US from Abu Dhabi will still need to check in their electronics, Etihad said.
1) A @united gate agent isn't letting girls in leggings get on flight from Denver to Minneapolis because spandex is not allowed?  Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

2) She's forcing them to change or put dresses on over leggings or they can't board. Since when does @united police women's clothing?  Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

United Airlines has been criticised on social media after it barred two girls from flying for wearing leggings.The incident happened on a flight from Denver to Minneapolis on Sunday morning, BBC quoted activist Shannon Watts as saying.A United gate agent was "forcing" the girls, one of them aged 10, to change their clothes or wear dresses over the leggings, Watts tweeted.United said the girls were travelling on a ticket that had a dress code.They were "United pass travellers", which are tickets for company employees or eligible dependents, it explained in a Twitter exchange on the issue.Shannon Watts, founder of the group Moms Demand Action for gun reforms, tweeted about what happened to five girls when they tried to board a flight at Denver airport.She said three of the girls were allowed to fly after putting dresses over the top of their clothing, but two were prevented from boarding.She slammed the airliner for its actions, asking: "Since when does United police women's clothing?".Although United has not officially commented on the incident, it did respond on Twitter by explaining the dress code requirement of its United pass travellers.Watts' tweets have been shared and responded to by thousands of users, including actress and activist Patricia Arquette.
London: The family of U.S. tourist Kurt Cochran who was killed in last week's assault on the British parliament said on Monday he would not have borne any ill feelings towards the attacker.



Cochran, 54, and his wife, Melissa, were in Europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary when they were mowed down on Westminster Bridge by a car driven by British man, Khalid Masood, who went on to fatally stab an unarmed policeman at the parliament building.



The couple from Utah had been due to return to the United States the day after the attack took place last Wednesday. Melissa remains in hospital where she is recovering from a cut to the head, a broken rib and badly injured leg.



"We know that Kurt wouldn't bear ill feelings towards anyone and we can draw strength as a family from that," Clint Payne, Cochran's brother-in-law, told a news conference at police headquarters, just yards from where the attack took place.



"His whole life was an example of focusing on the positive. Not pretending that negative things don't exist but not living our life in the negative - that's what we choose to do."



Cochran was one of four people killed in the assault, Britain's deadliest attack since the 2005 London underground bombings, and his family said they had since been overwhelmed by the "love of so many people" in London and around the world.



Celebrating their anniversary, the couple had left the U.S. for the first time to visit Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and parts of Britain before visiting London last week to see the neo-Gothic parliament building on the banks of the River Thames.



The couple, who had a recording studio business, were visiting Melissa Cochran's parents, who are missionaries in London for the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon church.



"They loved it here and Kurt repeatedly said that he felt like he was at home so thank you for that, thank you for being such good people," Melissa's father Dimmon Payne said.



Shantell Payne, Melissa's sister and one of 13 family members to attend the news conference, said it was "awful, horrible and gut wrenching" that the attack had been carried out in the name of religion, but that the family would focus on the positive's of Cochran's life.



"Were thankful in a sense that everyone can know what an amazing person he really was," she said.
UPDATE MONDAY: Police have identified a Moneta man who died after a two-vehicle crash Friday night in Bedford County.

William Stinson Cadd, 58, died at the scene of a crash that occurred at 9:21 p.m. on Diamond Hill Road just west of Moneta Road, according to a news release from Virginia State Police Sgt. Rick Garletts.

Cadd wasnt wearing his seat belt when the 2001 Ford Ranger he was driving struck a 1995 Chevrolet van, Garletts said.

James Robert Kirk, 26, also of Moneta, was driving the van and was taken to the hospital with injuries from the crash. He also was not wearing a seat belt, the release stated.

The Ranger was traveling west on Diamond Hill Road when it ran off the right side of the road, then overcorrected and crossed the center line into oncoming traffic. Trooper M. R. Heath is continuing to investigate the crash.

--Rachel Mahoney, The News & Advance

EARLIER: State police are investing a fiery crash that killed a Moneta man Friday night along Diamond Hill Road in Bedford County.

The driver of a 2001 Ford Ranger was traveling westbound about 9:20 p.m., when the truck went off the right side of the road. Police said the driver over corrected, lost control and struck a 1995 Chevrolet van head-on. The van rolled over and both vehicles caught fire.

The report did not identify the drivers nor say whether passengers were in either vehicle. The name of the Moneta man who died was being withheld pending notification. Trooper Michael Heath is investigating.

--Luanne Rife, The Roanoke Times
A federal workplace safety agency has cited the Salem VA Medical Center for a serious violation for allowing employees to be exposed to indoor mold, thereby creating unsafe and unhealthy working conditions.

OSHA inspections of Building 75 at the medical center, starting with an inspection on Dec. 20, determined "employees were exposed to the hazard of mold in work spaces and corridors" in the building.

According to an OSHA citation issued March 16, the exposure created a potential for the "onset of allergic reactions, asthma attacks and exacerbation or aggravation of allergies, asthma and other health conditions."

OSHA alleged that "the employer did not implement adequate measures to prevent active mold growth in the building."

On March 10, OSHA gave the center 30 days to respond with remediation to remove the mold.

The Salem VA Medical Center describes Building 75 as a non-patient building that serves as a wellness center.

Stanley Dutko, area director in Norfolk for OSHA, said the agency investigated after receiving a signed complaint about the mold from a current employee.

Brett Robbins, a spokesman for the Salem VA Medical Center, said Monday that the hospital has contracted with a company to perform the necessary remediation, which he said should be completed by April 5.

"Salem takes all reports of safety concerns seriously and will continue to provide a safe working environment for its veterans, visitors and employees," Robbins said in an email.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that indoor mold can cause respiratory infections and worsen illnesses such as asthma.

There are reports and also evidence that indoor mold and other hazards associated with water-damaged buildings can cause other health problems. But CDC has said there is no conclusive evidence that indoor mold is associated with a multitude of other health problems, such as pulmonary hemorrhage, memory loss and lack of energy.

Reporter Tiffany Stevens contributed to this report.
Matthew Shapiros monthly ritual used to involve making sure his bank account didnt exceed $2,000.

If it did, the 26-year-old Glen Allen resident risked losing his disability and health care benefits from the federal government.

Two thousand dollars isnt really a whole lot of anything, so people with disabilities were always sort of darned if you do, darned if you dont, said Shapiro, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant.

Quite honestly, thats why people with disabilities struggled.

But Virginia has created a program that now allows people with disabilities to save up to $14,000 a year in accounts managed by the same agency that oversees Virginia529, the college savings account program.

The new program, called ABLEnow, significantly increases the amount of money people receiving certain federal and state benefits may save without jeopardizing those benefits, said Mary Morris, CEO of ABLEnow and Virginia529.

Account holders can save up to $100,000 before losing any of their Social Security housing benefits and up to $500,000 total.

I think its going to be a real game-changer, but I think its going to take awhile (to grow the accounts), because to a large extent, were dealing with a population of people who have been forced to impoverish themselves in order to keep the federal benefits that they need to have to have any kind of quality of life, Morris said.

Virginia is among 18 states that have taken advantage of federal legislation passed in 2014  the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act  that allows them to start savings account programs for people with disabilities, Morris said.

Members of the General Assembly paved the way with legislation authorizing Virginia529 to create the program in 2015, Morris said. In 2016, the assembly added a state income tax deduction for contributions to ABLEnow accounts.

Virginias ABLEnow program started in December. Anyone with disabilities across the country can sign up for one of Virginias accounts, Morris said.

So far, about 1,200 accounts have been created totaling $1.5 million in assets. About 35 percent of those accounts are held by Virginia residents, Morris said. By comparison, Virginia529 manages $60 billion in assets for 2.4 million account holders, she said.

Morris expects growing the program to take a long time in part because people with disabilities often are extremely careful not to do anything that would risk losing their benefits.

She expects it will be a challenge to earn their trust.

Individuals with disabilities and their families often have spent considerable time and effort to establish access to important benefits and are fearful of losing them, she said.

... Awareness of the existence and benefits of ABLE disability savings accounts is still low, so the Virginia team is working to build awareness and overcome hesitancy that perhaps this benefit is too good to be true.

To qualify for an account, the onset of a disability has to have occurred before age 26.

Anyone who qualifies for Supplemental Security Income or Social Security disability insurance automatically is eligible for an ABLEnow account, Morris said. People with a qualifying physicians diagnosis also are eligible.

The money grows tax-free, just like in a 529 college savings plan, Morris said. The first $2,000 goes into a checking account, which can be spent on qualified expenses that maintain a persons health, independence or quality of life.

Anything saved beyond $2,000 can go into one of four investment accounts that earn interest and are based on how much risk the account holder is willing to take, Morris said.

Having a disability can cost a lot of money, from therapies and transportation to specialized equipment at work or at home, Shapiro said. His wheelchair alone was $32,000.

Shapiro, who graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2013 with a double major in interdisciplinary studies and sociology and a minor in psychology, said his new account has allowed him to expand his disability consulting business, 6 Wheels Consulting LLC.

Its a start and something that I think will help people a lot, Shapiro said of the ABLEnow accounts.

I dont know why it took so long. Its great to have a system in place to sort of help protect the disability population.
Chinese writer Xue Yiwen has been awarded Diversity Prize of the 19th Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival, organizers announce at a press conference. [Photo by Stephane Lavoie/China Daily]

With Shenzheners, his first book in English (translated from the Chinese by Darryl Sterk), Xue Yiwei has been awarded the Diversity Prize of the 19th Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival.

The news was announced on March 20, at the festival's opening press conference. This is the first time the high-profile festival has awarded a prize to a Chinese writer, for a work moreover in translation.

Since its publication last September, Xue Yiwei's collection of stories, originally well-received in China, has drawn a great deal of attention from Canadian readers.

Chinese writer Xue Yiwen has been awarded Diversity Prize of the 19th Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival, organizers announce at a press conference. [Photo by Stephane Lavoie/China Daily]

Related:

Traditional Chinese comic books highlight Paris Book Fair

Langfang gears up to host National Book Expo
Revisit the founding of the JSA and foreshadow its future in The New Golden Age #1 preview

And see what lies ahead in the future of the DC Universe
GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Heres why you can trust us.
Lessons from The Wine of Astonishment

In todays column, you will find one of my former students essays about The Wine of Astonishment.

My YTC students loved this novel narrated by Eva, a strong, supportive Baptist woman, who holds her family together during that time when the British had outlawed the Spiritual/Shouter Baptists. They could relate to the poverty, persecution and the need to be independent.

The Wine of Astonishment presents the Baptists struggles during that time from 1917 to 1951 when the British outlawed the religion. Eva relates how this religious persecution affects her village, starting with her husband, Bee, the leader of the Bonasse Baptist church. Bee, like all the other Baptists in the village, must weigh the cost of pursuing their religion.

The Baptists of Bonasse face persecution from the British and their own local politician, Ivan Morton. Colourful characters like Bolo the stickfighter, demonstrate the importance of religion and culture in keeping a village together. As the Baptists problems mount, Eva notes how the entire village struggles to survive.

Young people flee to the city hoping for jobs with the Americans.

Throughout the novel Eva never doubts that God doesnt give more than you can handle.

This historical novel will make you question how far you would go to stand up for the principles you believe in. This story of how culture and religion support and redeem us is a piece of history to be proud of as we head towards a holiday that symbolises our choice to worship freely.

Here is an essay by my former YTC student known as Ralph.

His essay is featured in my book Wishing for Wings.

Ralphs Essay Sometimes, like a mirror, I see my reflection looking back at me through pages behind a hard cover.

I was once told that through reading a book the journey of life becomes much easier because you establish who you really are after each page turned or your see different aspects of yourself.

Reading The Wine of Astonishment painted portraits that represented symbolic and realistic scenes of my life. One such scene is in the beginning and sadly in the ending of Wine of Astonishment.

The summary of events can be broken down simply like this: The church was hopeful and strong at one point in time, but challenged when faced with the added stress brought by the Government, law, other churches and their own selves.

These troubles all piled on top of each other becoming like lava trying to burst from a volcano.

So is my life, suffocating in the rubble of disappointment and failures, rejection, shame, ridicule, insults and oppression. In the darkness, each door that leads into light is entered and suddenly vanishes like vapour.

Hold on to the rope and it snaps. Yet they say fight. So I fight, fall, scream, fight, bleed, fight, give up and try, but fail until maybe the day Im set free.

The irony is, all this struggling has worn me down, and if I am set free, just like the church in Wine of Astonishment, my spirit would die leaving only a shell  like the church the wind could easily blow by without saying goodbye. The Wine of Astonishment is available in local book stores. It is now available on amazon.com as a kindle book as well.
Our hearts are heavy

Walcott, a globally recognised poet and playwright, died at his home in St Lucia on March 17. He was 87.

There was a private viewing of his body on Friday at the Lazarus Funeral Home by relatives and among those in attendance his nieces, Heather and Carrie Walcott, daughters of his late brother Roderick.

Well, our hearts are very heavy.

Again you know its a loss for us and this time its Uncle Derek. And Im sure hes impacted the world and all his talents. And we do hope that someone will carry the torch with regards to all his gifts that hes brought and shared with everyone, said Heather Walcott.

Asked whether they were thinking of how the government could honour him she replied that they are currently family based. We have a lot of private get-togethers so that were the strength for each other and were hoping thats enough and well take it from there based on what well do from this point forward. Carrie Walcott said they are very proud that Noble Laureate is extended not just with uncle Derek and dad, the late Roderick Walcott, but the cultural theme throughout the year has been so warmly embraced.

Whether its the creole festival (the annual Jounen Kw?y?l) and so forth. Its expanded that much and that is really a testament to this benchmark of culture from the Walcott family and onwards. So I think its well received and not only that, its so popular. St Lucian identity is so powerful nowadays, not just that the ones who (have passed) were carrying it so much further. Now its everyone feeling that culture and embracing our own identity which is wonderful.

That is the greatest legacy you can have for a country and those who started it. His daughter Anna Walcott said briefly he was a great father; he also has a son, Peter, and another daughter, Elizabeth.

On Friday people on the street were also feeling the loss of the iconic poet and playwright. Businessman Chris Jn Marie said they have lost a great icon locally, regionally and internationally and his work speaks for itself.

Going forward the youngsters coming up have an individual to look up to. We just a spot in the ocean but we are fortunate to have two Nobel laureates (the second is economist Sir Arthur Lewis), he said.

He pointed out that Walcott has been recognised by the State with a square named after him and the home where he was raised was renovated and made into an art museum.

So I guess going forward they will open it as a museum and show off his plays, his books, whatever. He also said that it is time for a statue to be built in his honour.

Dennis, a taxi driver, said that Walcott was out there raising the flag for St Lucia and I give him lots of credit for that.

Student Ian McLean, who attends Walcotts alma mater Saint Marys College, said:  it is a loss for the country. A great man has fallen. I dont think anybody could replace Sir Derek Walcott. He also agreed that a statue should be erected in his honour.

Walcott was buried Saturday at
Mrs Rowley: Too many women subjected to abuse

We see the reports on a daily basis in the newspapers. I am beginning to sound like a stuck record. Senseless violence against our women is now a national plague.

And it matters not who you are or where you come from. In some sectors of our society, it is simply that the abuse is suffered in silence.

We talk about women in the changing world of work, and assume that most women are working, she said.

Mrs Rowley was addressing the URPs International Womens Day (IWD) celebration at City Hall, Port-of-Spain.

She questioned whether a woman could hold down a job when she is persistently absent because she has to deal with being bruised and battered in the home because her man wants to show that he is the boss? Mrs Rowley also asked, Can a woman be alert in her job when half the night she is up rubbing the feet of her alcoholic man, and if she stops for a second, its licking for her? Can she be treated equally in the office when she is always late for work because while her man sleeps she has to be up by 3.30 am to go to the market to buy fresh chicken to cook before going to work since her husband doesnt eat frozen chicken? Can she be at ease in the office when the smell of dog mess he threw on her because she didnt clean it up stays in her nostrils? Can she think of equality on the job when on a daily basis he threatens to kill her and her children? She said many women live in fear.

Rowley encouraged the women in the audience not to let the circumstances of their lives, where they came from or how much money they have, prevent them from advancing themselves.

The way in which we think of ourselves has everything to do with what we do with our lives. When you succeed, not only do you clear the path for yourself but you clear the path for your children and their children.

Let your motivation come from the negative stigma that is placed on your community. The key is to have a positive outlook on life, prove your detractors wrong, she advised.

Rowley said it is hoped that by 2030 men and women will be treated equally, and in the workplace, they would be paid equally, would be given the same opportunities and would lead equally.

Education is our best chance for our future, not just for ourselves, but for our children, our family and the nation. We must all ensure that we are equipped to work. We must take advantage of the opportunities which are given to all of us. We must let our children take advantage of the opportunities.
Judge okays Piarco lotto machine

Justice Frank Seepersad ordered the AATT to allow the vendor, Shaffie Mohammed, to reopen his lotto booth in an injunction lawsuit which he filed against the AATT.

Mohammed, of Arima, had filed the lawsuit against the AATT claiming that he took over operation of a lotto booth from a tenant on the airports ground floor just after the old terminal building was condemned upon a construction of the new airport in 2001. Following the formal opening of the new airport, Mohammed stated in his lawsuit that he was in the process of transferring the lotto machine to a new space at the airport when he received a letter from the AATT.

It cited the section 20 regulation which states that no person shall at any place at the airport operate any gambling or gaming device.

The letter, however, admitted that the section 20 regulation was an outdated law because there are legal forms of gambling in Trinidad and Tobago which are controlled by the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB).

Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan and attorney Alvin Pariagsingh argued Mohammeds injunction before Justice Seepersad, in which they contended that the AATT ought not to have refused Mohammed to continue with operating a lotto machine based on the fact that it had allowed the previous operator to do so. Senior Counsel Elton Prescott represented the AATT.

Justice Seepersad stated that there was evidence which could lead a court to conclude that the AATT knew of the operation of a lotto machine since 1995, and permitted same despite the section 20 regulation. In fact, the judge added, the said lotto booth was advertised on the AATTs website.
Tom Brady Just Became

First NFL Player to Do This
A judge in northern Italy has triggered outrage after setting free an alleged rapist because the victim didn't scream. The woman said she tried to fend off her attacker, a colleague, by saying, "Stop it" and "Enough," but didn't cry out for help, the Washington Post reports. As a result, the judge called the woman's account "unlikely" and said the 2011 attack "did not exist," the BBC reports. He faulted her for not showing "adequate emotion that a violation of her person had to inspire in her." The woman said the man forced himself on her and threatened to withhold work if she didn't comply. She told the court that "sometimes saying no is enough," adding that "maybe I did not use the force and violence that in reality I should have used, but that is because" the man was "too strong." Now she faces a slander charge.

The defendant, 46, a Red Cross worker, maintained the two had consensual sex. The ruling has prompted the justice minister to demand an investigation. Lawmaker Annagrazia Calabria fumed that the "incomprehensible" decision left her "speechless," adding, "Certainly, you cannot punish the personal reaction of a woman terrified by what is happening to her." The Post notes that it's not the first controversial judgment in Italy involving sexual assault. In 1999, a high court famously threw out a rape conviction because the young victim wore tight jeans. (Ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi once said Italy was facing more rapes because its women were "so beautiful.")
United Airlines got embroiled in a social media controversy about leggings over the weekend. On Sunday, a gate agent in Denver refused to allow three girls to board a flight to Minneapolis because their leggings were deemed inappropriate, reports the New York Times. One of the three was able to board because her mom gave her a dress, but the other two, believed to be young teenagers, had to change and catch the next flight. The incident came to light when another passenger at the airport, Shannon Watts, tweeted about what was happening. After those tweets generated lots of anger online, United said that the girls were "pass riders," referring to relatives of United employees who fly for free on standby, and that dress code is stricter for such passengers.

"The passengers this morning were United pass riders who were not in compliance with our dress code policy for company benefit travel," it tweeted, per Fox 31 Denver. The explanation, however, did little to mollify the online ridicule and scorn being directed United's way. For example, author Dana Schwartz tweeted to women on Twitter to share stories of when they'd felt "embarrassed" or "sexualized" because of their outfits, and the responses came rolling in, reports Mashable. Actress Patricia Arquette also got involved, with a series of back-and-forth tweets with the airline. "Do U understand U have just made at least half UR customers very unhappy?" she wrote. The company's response: "We acknowledge the severity of the situation, are are looking into it." (Read more dress code stories.)
Elizabeth Thomas, the 15-year-old girl believed to have been abducted by teacher Tad Cummins two weeks ago, once hid from Cummins when he turned up at her workplace, her family says. One of the Thomas family's lawyers tells News 2 that, according to Elizabeth's father, she hid in the bathroom when the 50-year-old teacher visited the business and begged co-workers to tell him that she wasn't there. Investigators say they've uncovered emails that make it clear there was some kind of romantic connection between the pair, who posted cryptic messages on Instagram before they disappeared March 13, reports WHAS 11.

Maury County DA Brent Cooper says that instead of sending emails to each other, Cummins and Elizabeth would both use Cummins' school email account and leave messages to each other saved in the draft folder. "If you read them you would immediately recognize you are reading messages between two people who have a romantic interest in each other," Cooper says. NBC News reports that on Sunday, Thomas' family released a video of the girl in the hopes someone would recognize the girl's voice, and Cummins' wife, Jill, again urged him to turn himself in. "You know you can't hide forever," she said. "For your sake and for Beth's sake, please go to the police or please just drop Beth off somewhere safe." (Read more abduction stories.)
President Trump has a good relationship with Paul Ryan despite the American Health Care Act fiascoand despite a tweet from Trump urging people to watch Judge Jeanine on Fox, who called for Ryan to quit, aides to both men say. On Saturday night, host Jeanine Pirro opened her show, Justice With Judge Jeanine, by saying: "Paul Ryan needs to step down as speaker of the House. He failed to deliver the votes on his health care bill." She added that the bill failure was "not on President Trump," NBC News reports. "No one expected a businessman to completely understand the nuances, the complicated ins and outs of Washington and its legislative process," Pirro said.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said Sunday that the timing was "coincidental," and that Trump had only recommended the show "because he loves Judge Jeanine and he wanted to do Judge Jeanine a favor," CBS News reports. Priebus told Fox News Sunday that Trump thinks Ryan is doing a great job. A Ryan spokeswoman also said that Trump's tweet had nothing to do with the speaker. They talked for an hour Saturday, "and their relationship is stronger than ever right now," she said in a statement Sunday. Insiders tell the New York Times that Trump and Ryan discussed tax reform and their relationship seems intact, though some advisers want to take a hard look at Ryan's role in the bill's failure. (Read more Jeanine Pirro stories.)
Description

ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL, directed by Steve James and produced by Julie Goldman and Mark Mitten, tells the fascinating story of the governments decision to prosecute a small, immigrant-owned financial institution, while overlooking far more egregious behavior at much larger institutions. The Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York, were accused of mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. Abacus Federal became the only U.S. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The indictment and subsequent trial forced the Sung family to defend themselves and their banks legacy. The Sung family spent over ten million dollars in a five-year battle to save the family business, their honor and to stand up for their community.

Time: 88 minutes

Guest Speakers: Julie Goldman, Producer; Sean Lyness Assoc. Prod.; Jill and Vera Sung, bankers at Abacus Bank and Subjects in the Film!
Pakistan has started building a barrier along parts of one of the most rugged and dangerous border regions in the world: the 1,510-mile border with Afghanistan, which cuts the heartland of the Pashtun ethnic group in two. Pakistan says Taliban militants have been launching attacks across the border, a colonial-era boundary that Afghanistan has never officially recognized, the AP reports. Pakistan Army chief Gen. Qamar Bajwa visited tribal areas along the border Saturday and said construction of a fence is underway in some high-risk areas. A secure border is "in the "mutual interest of both brotherly countries who have given phenomenal sacrifices in war against terrorism," the general said.

Afghanistan, in turn, accuses Pakistan of sheltering militants from the Pashtun-dominated Taliban, but says building a fence is not the answer, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Pakistan needs to deny sanctuaries to terrorist groups, stop financing, training and helping them  that's something that would help stop terrorist attacks," said Afghan defense ministry spokesman Gen. Dawlat Waziri. Pakistan, which is building the fence in a tribal area where the country's laws don't fully apply, has already dug a trench hundreds of miles long along another section of the border with Afghanistan. The Financial Times notes that the number of border walls worldwide has surged to more than 70 in the years since 9/11. (Read more Afghan border stories.)
After the healthcare bill he championed hit a wall with conservative Republicans, President Trump might be looking for room to maneuver in the opposite direction. Trump's aides opened the door to working with moderate Democrats on healthcare and other issues over the weekend while Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer quickly offered to find common ground with Trump for repairing ObamaCare, the AP reports. Schumer said Trump "could have a different presidency" if he changesbut if he wants to work with Democrats, Trump will have to drop the attempt to repeal ObamaCare, and say no to "the Freedom Caucus and the hard-right special wealthy interests who are dominating his presidency."

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said Sunday that Trump was "disappointed" with "people he thought were loyal to him that weren't." "I think it's time for our folks to come together, and I also think it's time to potentially get a few moderate Democrats on board as well," he said. The Hill reports that amid the fallout from the healthcare failure, Rep. Ted Poe quit the House Freedom Caucus, which opposed the bill because members believed it didn't do enough to repeal ObamaCare. "We must come together to find solutions to move this country forward," the Texan said in a statement. "Saying 'no' is easy, leading is hard but that is what we were elected to do." (Trump lashed out at the caucus in a tweet Sunday.)
Adele fans who didn't catch her on her world tour that's winding down may be out of luck in the future. Adele told the audience during Sunday night's show in Auckland that "touring isn't something I'm good at" and she may not do it again. The New Zealand Herald has the full quote, and reports that she was crying: "Touring isn't something I'm good at ... applause makes me feel a bit vulnerable. I don't know if I will ever tour again. The only reason I've toured is you. I'm not sure if touring is my bag." The concert was Adele's last one before she formally finishes the tour in her hometown of London with four sold-out dates at Wembley Stadium this summer, reports the AP.

Adele sang through heavy rain in front of more than 40,000 fans at the outdoor show at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium. Photos show her in a drenched dress for part of the concert and also donning a pink poncho that she borrowed from a fan. She joked that she "just spent two hours in hair and makeup for nothing." The Herald notes that Adele called the tour "my greatest accomplishment in my career," and that might not be so far off: No other artist has sold out Mt Smart Stadium three times, the paper observes. (Read more Adele stories.)
A man has been arrested in a series of shootings in Sanford, Fla., that police say killed his girlfriend and injured her two young sons, her father, and two other people Monday, the Orlando Sentinel reports. A few hours before the 6am shooting, the suspect and his girlfriend were fighting at a gas station; she said he wouldn't return the keys to her home, while he said she had the keys to his vehicle. A police officer separated them; shortly after that, someone called police to report that the fight was continuing on the front lawn of a nearby home. An officer went to the house to talk to the couple, during which time someone else called police to report that the suspect, 31-year-old Allen Dion Cashe, had a gun. Since the officer couldn't find a gun, Cashe was allowed to leave, and the woman gave the officer a bag of Cashe's belongingsincluding a gun. Hours after that officer left, a shooting was reported at the house.

Police say the shootings inside the home left the woman, 35-year-old Latina Herring, dead, her father in critical condition, and her two boys, ages 7 and 8, hospitalized in critical and extremely critical condition. One of the boys is "fighting for his life," per a police spokesperson. After the shootings, Cashe allegedly ran off and opened fire at bystanders near a school bus stop; a man and a high school student were injured, but are in stable condition. A police officer who heard the second set of shootings followed Cashe and took him into custody at a nearby apartment complex; a gun was found in his vehicle. A neighbor says the woman who was killed got "messed up with the wrong people" when she recently got involved with Cashe, who has a criminal record. Cashe faces multiple charges including first-degree homicide, News 13 reports. (Read more Florida stories.)
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New Delhi:

Madhya Pradesh witnessed yet another horror show of healthcare, where dogs have eaten up the body of a woman aged 70 who went missing from a government hospital in Rajgarh on March 22. This is the fifth such incident recorded in the state in less than 10 months, and the second this year.

The reek drove some sanitation workers towards the gruesome remains of her body when they went looking for its source.

"Only her head and some upper body parts are left. The rest has been eaten up by animals", said Kotwali police station in-charge Mukesh Gaur on Sunday.

It is still not clear if she was alive when attacked by the animals. There were signs of the body being dragged five to seven feet through the undergrowth.

What adds to the dreadful event is that hospital authorities were apparently not aware about the absence Bishmillah Bai until they found what was left of her in the backyard of the campus on Sunday.

Read more: Resident doctors in Maharashtra call off their strike, resumes duties

An official described it as the most horrifying scene he had ever seen. "It was just a head and half the torso. Even that had been chewed up. It was gruesome. There wasn't much left for a post-mortem", he said, adding that she was identified from her purse and scraps of her sari and sweater.

According to the sources Bishmillah's grandson Md Nameem, 25, said she lived in Guna district's Kumbhraj village. "She came with us to Rajgarh on Urs and refused to go back, saying she wanted to stay here for a couple of days. When she didn't return home, we came back to look for her. We were searching for her even today when we got the call from police", he said.

Whatever was left of her bundled up in a small potli and handed to the family for last rites.The administration has ordered an investigation into the incident by the subdivisional magistrate.

Police say Bismillah was found lying on a road, unwell, on March 20. "She was immediately taken to the district hospital with the help of 108 Ambulance service. Hospital officials say that she was missing from March 22, but we were not informed. Today, her body parts were found on the hospital premises", Gaur said.

Bismillah was given bed No. 11 in the women's ward. She may have strolled out at night and been attacked by hungry dogs, say sources.

Police pointed out the professional incompetence of the hospital officials as they failed to trace the absence of a patient.

"How did she end up in the backyard of the ward where she was admitted? Why wasn't any information given to police after she went missing? And what did the authorities do to trace her? These are some of the aspects we are investigating", said Gaur.

Read more: Egypt's Hosni Mubarak freed from military hospital after six years in detention

According to the sources S Jadu, civil surgeon of the hospital, explained that when a patient goes missing it is noted in the register and reported to the resident medical officer but not police.

"She was admitted on March 20 and went missing on March 22. Today her remains were found", Jadu said. However, sources said that when a patient is admitted by police, it is crucial for the hospital to inform the cops if he/she goes missing.
New Delhi:

The Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover spat is one of the most discussed topic these days with speculations doing rounds about what lies ahead for The Kapil Sharma Show and the two actors. If reports are to be believed Sunil aka Dr Mashoor Gulati will continue to be a part of the show. With the latest report, it might be conjectured that the recent spat may well be an April Fool prank.

First an ugly spat in a flight between Kapil and Sunil was reported. Then there were reports that Sunil will be quitting the show following the tussle and will be replaced by Raju Srivastav. Also, Sunil Grover was missing from the recent episode, which added more fuel to the fire.

But interestingly, latest reports suggest that some source from the show says Raju Srivastav, Ehsaan Qureshi and Sunil Pal are not part of the show but they appeared in a special episode (as reported by ANI).

Who will replace Sunil Grover has been the talk of the town ever since the alleged fight between the two broke up. And now, reports are quoting a source as saying that Sunil Grover and others will still be a part of the show, well have to see when they are joining, shooting for the next episode.

Now, with the latest report about Sunil Grover making a re-entry in the show might raise eyebrows. Even after such an ugly spat in which Kapil allegedly abused Sunil, Ali Asgar, and Chandan Prabhakar both physically and verbally, why all these comedy stars are reportedly willing to continue to be a part of it? Is team Kapil planning to launch a new show? Is all this reported tussle an April Fool prank? Well, we can only wait and watch.

ALSO READ | SHOCKING! Kapil Sharma manhandles, abuses Sunil Grover on a flight

Here is everything you need to know about the Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover spat:

Sunil Grover breaks silence after the spat

Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Sunil has now said, I am very relaxed, very introspective, deep in thought about my future plansI am just watching all the tamasha thats going on. Its very entertaining.

ALSO READ | Sunil Grover aka Dr Mashoor Gulati to QUIT 'The Kapil Sharma Show'?

What all happened on the flight between Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover?

It all started when the entire crew of the Kapil Sharma Show was on board a flight from Melbourne to India. Kapil was reportedly drunk during the flight and went out of control. A person on the flight shared details with Hindustan Times about a brawl. Kapil reportedly abused all the crew members for having meals before him. Jab Maine Khana Shuru Nahi Kiya to Tum Logo Ne Kaise Le Liya Khana?

Humiliated with the behaviour of Kapil, they left their food plates half finished. But it did not end over here. When Sunil tried to calm him down, Kapil got more furious and said, Tum logon ko maine banaya hai. Sabka career khatam kar dunga. Tum TV waale kya samajhte ho? Sabko nikaal dunga main.

Kapil even taunted Sunil saying he had earlier left his show on Colors for a movie but the film turned out to be a big flop and he had no option than returning to Kapils show in order to save his career.

The brawl took an ugly turn when Kapil hurled a shoe at Sunil and started abusing him and other members saying he (Kapil) is the only real Mard in the show as all others dress like women.



Kapil Sharma apologises on Twitter

Kapil Sharma took it to Twitter to apologise to Sunil Grover as he wrote:

Paji sry if I hurt u unintentionally.u knw vry well how much I luv u. M also upset .love n regards always:)

Paji @WhoSunilGrover sry if I hurt u unintentionally.u knw vry well how much I luv u. M also upset .love n regards always:)  KAPIL (@KapilSharmaK9) March 20, 2017

Sunil Grover replies to Kapil Sharmas tweet:

Bha Ji! Yes, You hurt me deeply. We with you has been a learning experience. Just one advice start respecting human beings also apart from animals. All are not as successful as you are. All are not as talented as you are.

But if they all are talented like you, who will value you. So, have some gratitude towards their existence. And also, If someone is correcting you, dont abuse that person. Refrain from using foul language In front of women who had nothing to do with the stardom you carry, they are by chance just traveling with you.

ALSO READ | It's Kapil Sharma vs Sunil Grover again ! Five times when the comedian courted controversies

Thanks for making me realise it was your show and you have power to throw out anybody, anytime. You are the wittiest, and the best in your field. But dont act like a God. Take good care of yourself. Wish you lot more success and fame.
New Delhi :

This news would definitely not please to new Commissioner of Police Amulya Patnaik as the national capital has witnessed rise in the number of murders, attempts to murder, burglary and theft in the first quarter of 2017.

The Delhi Police data, however, showed that crimes against women have gone down with 376 registered rape cases as against the 406 in the first quarter of 2016.

In comparison to the corresponding period last year, murder and attempt to murder cases went up from 97 and 114 to 103 and 123 respectively till March 15, 2017.

Cases of crime against women witnessed a dip from 3,103 to 2,421. 630 cases of assault on women with an intent of molestation were registered as against last years 843, while the number of cases of outraging the modesty of a woman stood at 123 as against 196 till March 15, 2016.

687 cases of minor girls being abducted were reported as against 676 last year. The Delhi police data showed that the cases of abduction of women witnessed a sharp fall from 102 last year to 65 this year.

Cases of cruelty by husband and in-laws too recorded a steep decline from 849 to 506.

However, cases of dowry death and those registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act rose from 29 and 2 to 31 and 3 respectively.

The total number of cases registered under various heads, including heinous crimes, jumped from 36,781 in last years first quarter to 52,109 in 2017.

Robbery cases though witnessed a sharp fall from 1,197 last year to 683 this year. The number of snatching cases too decreased from 2,164 to 1,798.

Police officers claimed that better policing and patrolling resulted in the dip in robberies in the city.

The cases of kidnapping for ransom also registered a decline this year.

Cases of vehicle theft too witnessed a slight decrease in the first quarter of 2017. As compared to 7,911 last year, 7,811 cases of vehicle theft were registered this year.

The first quarter of 2017 also saw a sharp fall in the number of fatal accident cases. 345 of such cases were reported till March 15, 2016, which fell to 261 this year.

Other accident cases also saw a decrease from 1,224 in 2016 to 1,164 this year.

Also Read: Gursewak Singh, Khalistan Commando Force terrorist, arrested by Delhi Police Crime branch

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New Delhi :

The Delhi police crime branch on Monday recorded statements of 15 Air India persons in connection with assault case of a staff by Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad.

The police have recorded statements of 15 persons including the victim, Sukumar, who was allegedly thrashed by Osmanabad MP Ravindra Gaikwad a few days back.

The police have also sought details of the video and CCTV footage. DCP (crime branch) Ram Gopal Naik spearheaded the team that recorded the statements of 15 persons.

DCP (Crime Branch) Ram Gopal Naik at IGI Airport after recording statements of 15 persons in Air India assault case. pic.twitter.com/xVuPiaBEHi  ANI (@ANI_news) March 27, 2017

An FIR was registered against him on the basis of the complaint lodged by Air India for repeatedly hitting with sandals 62-year-old duty manager R Sukumar on a Pune-Delhi flight after it landed in Delhi over not being able to fly business class despite having boarded an all-economy flight.

Gaikwad had to left for Maharashtra by train after Air India, along with four other private airlines banned him from flying on their aircraft.

Reacting on the Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad brawl with Air India staff, party leader Sanjay Raut had said that he should have kept calm and should not have manhandled the staff.

"What happened was wrong. He should have kept calm," Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had told media.

Also Read | Hitting anybody can never be the culture of the Sena: Raut on AI staffer assault case

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New Delhi :

The Jammu and Kashmir police busted a module of Hizbul Mujahideen, and arrested six people in Kulgam district on Monday. The security officials recovered heavy arms and ammunition from the possession of militants.

On Sunday night, Suspected militants had attacked the ancestral residence of Jammu and Kashmir Minister Farooq Abdrabi in South Kashmir's Anantnag District, injuring one policeman.

The ultras had attacked the residence of Farooq Abdrabi, the Minister of State for Hajj and Waqf, at Dooru in Anantnag District and injured a policeman, a police official had said.

The militants had also taken away four service weapons from the guard room at Abdrabi's Residence at Dooru in Anantnag, a police official said.

J&K: Hizbul Mujahideen module busted by Police in Kulgam district; 6 arrested, arms & ammunition recovered. pic.twitter.com/MYzJHtMY3J  ANI (@ANI_news) March 27, 2017

The ultras had opened fire on the police personnel at the residence of the minister, resulting in injuries to two cops, he said.

The militants had escaped from the scene along with the service weapons of the cops.

Also Read: Protest over terrorists' killing in J&K: Congress cancels poll rally

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New Delhi:

Moinudheen Parakadavath, an IS terrorist of Kerala module, who was arrested by NIA team upon his deportation from Abu Dhabi on Feb 14 has revealed that a ''secret'' online group of IS members regularly discuss their targets in India and several Hindu leaders were on their radar.

They also had plans to attack Ahmadiyya mosques and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind to create ripples.

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and Ahmadiyya mosques have always criticised IS and they are of the views that IS does more harm to Islam than enemies of Islam.

According to reports, in one of the conversations in secret online group, `Bab Al Noor' of which Moinudheen too was a member, he said someone posted details of a Jamaat-e-Islami programme to be held in Kochi last year where Rahul Eashwar, a Hindu orator, was invited as a speaker.

Read More: UP police receives threat letters citing destruction of Purvanchal by 'Pakistan ISIS'

"One person suggested that we should target such events. I suggested that Kochi Jewish temple is also close to the venue. Someone suggested that we should use a bike to carry out the attack. But I suggested that we should use a tipper lorry for the attack," TOI quoted Moinudheen saying during his interrogation.

Moinudheen was arrested by Abu Dhabi authorities in December last year and sent to India in February.

Suggested Read: NIA probes 'Kill list' declared by IS targeting I-T engineers, ethical hackers

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New Delhi:

In a shot in the arm for the Bhartiya Janata Party and a setback for the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the civic polls in the national capital in April, AAP MLA Ved Prakash Satish on Monday resigned from the party to join the BJP.

According to Ved Prakash Satish, the AAP has failed to deliver on the promises it had made in the run up to the 2015 assembly elections.



He also said that he would resign from the assembly and other government-run bodies. I am going to give my resignation letter to the Assembly Speaker, he said.



Ved Prakash Satish joined the BJP on Monday in the presence of Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari at the partys Delhi unit office.

I was feeling suffocated in the AAP. They (AAP) have failed to deliver on the promises which they had made during assembly elections. There are around 35 MLAs in the AAP who are not happy with the party leadership, Ved Prakash said.

ALSO READ | Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal cancels Gujarat visit in view of MCD polls 2017



The Bhawana MLA said that in the constituency, no work has been done by the AAP government in the last two years.



He said there was discontent among the people over the AAP governments failure to address their grievances.

ALSO READ | AAP announces candidate list for Delhi MCD Elections 2017



The AAP has already a list of rebel MLAs which includes Devinder Sehrawat, Pankaj Pushkar and former minister Sandeep Kumar, he claimed.



(With inputs from PTI)

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Indore:

Senior VHP leader Acharya Dharmendra on Friday said the Narendra Modi government should bring a legislation in the Parliament to pave the way for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.



His demand comes in the wake of Supreme Court's recent suggestion of an out-of-court settlement over the Ayodhya dispute.



"The Parliament is the apex institution in the country to enact laws. The Centre should resolutely present a clear legislation in the Parliament to pave the way for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

It will also expose the people, who want to create hindrance in the construction of Ram temple," Acharya Dharmendra told reporters at the Press Club here.

ALSO READ | Time ripe to construct Ram temple in Ayodhya, says RSS leader E Chandrashekhar

"Behind the massive mandate that the BJP has got in the 2014 general elections and the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, one of the major reasons is Hindu community's strong expectation that a huge temple be built on the Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya...This should now be understood," he said.



"The apex court suggested to resolve this dispute through dialogue. But, whom should we hold dialogues with on this issue? Dialogue can be held with friends, people of similar thoughts and people of same level," he said.



Acharya Dharmendra said he does not consider Muslim Personal Law Board and Babri Masjid Action Committee as the stakeholders in this case.

ALSO READ | Babri issue: SC defers hearing by two weeks, asks all parties to file written submission



Expressing displeasure over the large export of beef from the country, he alleged that after Uttar Pradesh, illegal cow slaughter was taking place on a large scale in Gujarat. Cow slaughter is also happening in Chhattisgarh and Haryana, he alleged.

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Betul:

Asserting that all the people who live in Hindustan and who have respect for its traditions are Hindus, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said that although Muslims have a different way of performing prayers, they are Hindus by nationality.

'Whoever lives in Hindustan and has respect for its traditions, are all Hindus. Muslims may have different way of performing prayers, but their nationality is Hindu. All Hindus are accountable for Hindustan,' Bhagwat said while addressing Hindu Sammelan.

Across the world Indian society is known as Hindu. All Bharatiya (Indians) are Hindus and we all are one entity, he said.

Hindus should remain alert for the honour of the country, Bhagwat said adding, Across the globe it has been said that Bharat will become the world guru. In such a situation we are accountable for the country. It is necessary for Hindus to remain united and bury their differences.

'Our caste, sub-caste, rituals and language may be different, but the language of our hearts is one. Diversity in life is beautiful, but it should also have unity,' he said.

Urging people to take pledge to remain united, the RSS chief also asked them to conserve nature and perform such acts that will enhance the pride of the nation.

Stressing on social harmony, he said that if the differences among Hindus persist, then society will suffer, instead of becoming strong. The outside world is uniting, but it is not happening here in the country, Bhagwat remarked.

He called upon people to embrace all sections saying that it enhances the beauty of the society.

The function was also addressed by former Union Minister Satpal Maharaj, who laid emphasis on womens empowerment .

Earlier in the day, Bhagwat visited Betul district jail and paid tributes to second Sarsanghchalak of RSS late Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar alias Guruji.

Bhagwat visited barrack no. 1 of the district jail, where Golwalkar was detained for about three months in 1949, after the organisation was banned following Mahatma Gandhis assassination. RSS sah-sarkaryawah Suresh Soni, local MLA Hemant Khandelwal and other Sangh leaders accompanied Bhagwat.

However, the state Congress objected to Bhagwats visit while terming it as violation of jail manual and an effort to glorify the member of the then banned organisation.

BJP is trying to glorify Golwalkar, who was detained as a member of a banned organisation then. This is also a violation of jail manual. Only the family members, friends of a prisoner can visit the jail premises with prior permission of jail management, Congress spokesman K K Mishra said.

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New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order in connection with December 16 Nirbhaya gang rape case after hearing concluded over plea challenging death sentence of four death row convicts.

The convicts had approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi high court had sentenced capital punishment to all four accused in the case.

The four convicts Akshay, Pawan, Vijay and Mukesh had challenged the sentence after the Delhi high court found it was a rarest of the rare case. The case was placed before a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked Delhi's Tihar Jail superintendent to file a report regarding the conduct of the four death row convicts of the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder case in prison.

"In our considered opinion, the superintendent of jail should have filed the report with regard to the conduct of the accused persons since they are in custody for almost four years. That would have thrown light on their conduct.

"Let the report with regard to their conduct be filed by the Superintendent of Jail in a sealed cover in the Court on the next date of hearing," a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra had said.

Also Read | Nirbhaya fund: Mere 16 per cent of grant used in 3 three years since inception

Justice Dipak Misra had prima facie agreed with the contention of senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who is assisting it as the amicus curiae, that the provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), relating to sentencing of convicts, had not been followed in letter and spirit by the trial court in the case.

Also Read | 'Not done': Parents of December 16 gangrape victim slam govt over name of one-stop crisis centres for women

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Colombo:

Rajinikanth on Monday cancelled his visit to Sri Lanka where he was scheduled to hand over houses to displaced ethnic Tamils and this triggered protest as hundreds of people rallied in Jaffna to protest against Tamil Nadu politicians under whose pressure, the visit was called off.

Protestors belonging to different parties, including theTamil National Alliance (TNA), gathered near Jaffna's iconic Nallur Kovil. They held placards with slogans against the Tamil Nadu politicians.

The 66-year-old actor was scheduled to hand over the houses built by Lyca Group's Gnanam Foundation for displaced Tamils in the decades-old separatist war in northern Jaffna.

Also Read: Rajinikanth is a man with golden heart: Akshay Kumar

He had cancelled the visit following mounting opposition from Tamil Nadu politicians. Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and TamizhagaVazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) had urged the actor not go ahead with his two-day visit starting April 9 during which he was slated to hand over 150 houses.

The actor had said he took the decision after founders ofMarumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and VCK, Vaiko and Thol Thirumavalavan respectively, and TVK leader TVelmurugan asked him to consider withdrawing from the event.

Also Read: Superstar Rajinikanth presents homes to displaced Tamils

However, senior TNA leader Suresh Premachandran saidRajinikanth's visit was a corporate advertising effort to use the Lankan Tamil issue. Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa's son Namal, an opposition legislator, had slammed the Tamil Nadu politicians for forcing the actor to cancel his visit and asked what they have done to support Tamils in Lanka.

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Mumbai:

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Monday hailed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, saying the latter will be a good choice for President of India and he will make the country a Hindu Rashtra.



It is the highest post in the country. Somebody with a clean image should occupy it. We have heard Mohan Bhagwats name is being discussed for President.



If India has to be made a Hindu Rashtra, Bhagwat will be a good choice for President. But the decision (to support his candidature) will be taken by Uddhavji, he told reporters here.

On asking if he will attend the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi where the strategy for the presidential polls will be discussed, Raut said sumptuous food is cooked at Matoshree (Uddhav Thackerays residence in Mumbai) as well.

In the last two Presidential polls, Balasaheb (Thackeray) had gone against the flow and done what was in the interest of the nation. Even then, the Presidential candidates had come to Matoshree to discuss the elections, the Sena leader said.

ALSO READ | RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat: No one has right to judge others' patriotism

Those who want votes can come to Matoshree. We are ready for a dialogue. Sumptuous food is cooked at Matoshree as well, Raut said.

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New Delhi:

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad may be allowed to fly again soon after the Parliamentarians defended the unfazed leader which puts pressure on the government considering amendments in the rules, say sources.

Sources further added that Shiv Sena MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Union aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju in their respective chambers on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the Delhi police crime branch recorded statements of 15 Air India persons in connection with assault case of a staff by Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad.

The police have recorded statements of 15 persons including the victim, Sukumar, who was allegedly thrashed by Osmanabad MP Ravindra Gaikwad a few days back.

Also Read: SP leader Naresh Agrawal defends Ravindra Gaikwad in Rajya Sabha

The police have also sought details of the video and CCTV footage. DCP (crime branch) Ram Gopal Naik spearheaded the team that recorded the statements of 15 persons.

An FIR was registered against him on the basis of the complaint lodged by Air India for repeatedly hitting with sandals 62-year-old duty manager R Sukumar on a Pune-Delhi flight after it landed in Delhi over not being able to fly business class despite having boarded an all-economy flight.

Gaikwad had to left for Maharashtra by train after Air India, along with four other private airlines banned him from flying on their aircraft.

Also Read | Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad-Air India row: Delhi police records statements of 15 persons

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New Delhi:



Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad' supporters called for a bandh in Osmanabad district to protest his "humiliation" after he was accused of assaulting an Air India staffer in Delhi last week.

"We have called for the Osmanabad bandh to protest the humiliation of our leader by the airlines who have denied him flying rights," Sena district vice president Kamlakar Chavan told PTI over phone. "Is he a terrorist that he has been barred from flying by all airlines," Chavan said.



"The testimony of an air hostess on board that flight shows he (Gaikwad) was not at fault," he added.

"Considering its Gudi Padwa tomorrow, we have asked traders to observe the bandh (shut shops) only till 4 pm today to enable people to do festival shopping," Chavan said.



Meanwhile, Gaikwad has refused to reveal his whereabouts. "I cant tell you where I am right now. I am with my family members and I will celebrate Gudi Padwa with them before returning to Parliament on Wednesday morning," he said.

The Osmanabad MP said he is lying low on his partys instructions. "I have been asked to stay quiet," he added.On Friday, Gaikwad had boarded the August Kranti Express, which left for Mumbai from Hazrat Nizamuddin station at 4.50 PM but did not get down at the Mumbai Central station here as expected.

He is understood to have got dow at Vapi station in Gujarat, Sena sources had said on Saturday.

The 57-year-old MP had on Thursday allegedly abused and assaulted a 60-year-old duty manager of Air India R Sukumar with slippers for not being able to fly business class despite having boarded an all-economy Pune-New Delhi flight.

The official was repeatedly hit with sandals when he persuaded the MP to disembark after the plane landed at the IGI airport from Pune following which two FIRs were registered against him by the Delhi police on the basis of the complaint lodged by Air India.

Also, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has sought an explanation from him over the incident.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Twitter is buzzing with news alerts from India and rest of the world. Here are the latest updates from the micro-blogging site in one scroll:

#9:41 PM

Medical NGOs file legal challenge, hoping to clear the way for a low-cost generic version of drug for hepatitis C- AFPA

#9:32 PM

NATO reschedules key meeting of foreign ministers for Friday after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson _AFPA

#9:21 PM

Absolutely unacceptable, we'll have concrete action plan after discussing with states: HRD Min P Javadekar on recent mass cheating incidents- ANIA

#9:16 PM

Britain extends talks to end Northern Ireland stalemate- AFPA

#9:12 PM

We have complained to the EC. They are misusing the symbol allotted to them: A TTV Dinakaran on complaint filed against team OPS in EC today- ANIA

#9:02 PM

HomeMinistry to constitute an expert committee to suggest measures to strengthen safety, security of railway tracks & property: Official- PTIA

#8:46 PM

Husband of warden of state-run tribal welfare residential school arrested on charges of sexually harassing girl inmates- ANIA

#8:43 PM

WATCH: Shiv Sena's A Sawant says on Gaikwad case if you(Airline cos) are so concerned why Hurriyat leaders travel& Dawood went Pak by flight pic.twitter.com/C5sWz8rMXw a ANI (@ANI_news) March 27, 2017

#8:32 PM

Bikaner rape case stands fake, girl's father concocted charges: Rajasthan Minister

#8:11 PM

Goa govt grants 6-month extension (till Sep 30, 2017) to five off shore casinos to relocate from river Mandovi: Official- PTIA

#8:09 PM

EC concludes hearing, reserves order in office of profit case against 21 AAP MLAs- ANIA

#8:02 PM

A NATO confirms Rex Tillerson meeting Friday: statement- AFPA

#7:50 PM

Qatar says to invest A5 billion in UK over next 5 years- AFPA

#7:45 PM

Samajwadi Party elected Ram Govind Chaudhary as its Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh assembly -ANIA

#7:24 PM

#Watch Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut speaks on reports of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's name for the post of President pic.twitter.com/ydLzywsLsL a ANI (@ANI_news) March 27, 2017

#7:20 PM

PM Modi to join devotees in observing nine-day fast this Navratri

#7:05 PM

BJP Parliamentary Party meeting to be held tomorrow at 9.30 am

#6:55 PM

Women protested outside Niloufer Hospital over alleged rape of a 7 year-old girl. Victim has been admitted in Niloufer Hospital- ANIA

#6:46 PM

PM Narendra Modi has called Council of Ministers' meeting tomorrow, at 6.30 pm - ANIA

#6:38 PM

Mental Health Care Bill 2016 passed in Lok Sabha- ANIA

#6:36 PM

Annual Closing of Government Accounts: All agency banks & RBI Offices will remain open up to 6 pm on March 30 & up to 8 pm on March 31, 2017- ANIA

#5:49 PM

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been jailed for 15 days for resisting police orders -APA

#5:46 PM

Delhi police also asks details of the video and CCTV footage of Air India assault case - ANI

#5:45 PM

Deepa Jayakumar (J Jayalalithaa's niece) allotted 'boat symbol' by the EC. She is contesting in RK Nagar (Tamil Nadu) by-election - ANI

#5:40 PM

Delhi police crime branch records statements of 15 ppl including Sukumar(AI staff assaulted by ShivSena MP Gaikwad)in Air India assault case - ANI

#5:22 PM

If airline cos ban MP for slapping someone 2-3 times,then there are cases of Kapil Sharma&others,how many have you banned?-S Raut on Gaikwad- ANIA

#5:20 PM

A Uttarakhand Assembly introduces Lokayaukta Act- ANIA

#4:59 PM

Austrian woman allegedly molested in Udaipur, one detained by police.

#4:29 PM

J&K: Hizbul Mujahideen module busted by Police in Kulgam district; 6 arrested, arms & ammunition recovered. pic.twitter.com/MYzJHtMY3J a ANI (@ANI_news) March 27, 2017

#4:11 PM

4th Test, 3rd day: Australia all out on 137 runs; India need 106 runs to win the match and the series.- ANIA

#4:02 PM

EU clears $130 billion merger of US chemicals giants Dow and DuPont: statement- AFPA

#4:00 PM

EC extends deadline for Congress to conclude its organisational elections by six months, asks to conduct poll till December 31.- ANIA

#3:58 PM

Samajwadi Party coins new slogan for party- 'Aapki Cycle sadaa chalegi aapke naam se, fir pradesh ka dil jeetenge hum milkar apne kaam se'- ANI UPA

#3:50 PM

MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan declares ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh to kin of those killed in Jabalpur accident and Rs 50,00 to those injured.- ANIA

#3:49 PM

JNU student missing- Delhi Court defers pronouncement of order on students' plea against police move to conduct lie detector test for Mar 30- ANIA

#3:42 PM

Sensex dips by 184.25 points to end at 29,237.15. Nifty closes at 9,045.20- ANIA

#3:38 PM

Fateh Bahadur Singh sworn-in as protem speaker of UP Assembly.- ANIA

#3:33 PM

7 Year-old girl raped in Tandur Mandal, admitted in a hospital in Hyderabad, police registered case under POCSO act.- ANIA

#3:32 PM

Dec 16 Gangrape case: SC reserved judgement on appeals filed by 4convicts challenging Delhi HC order which had sentenced them to the gallows- ANIA

#3:25 PM

Triple Talaq case: All India Muslim Personal Law Board filed reply in SC stating that petition against Muslim Law Board is not maintainable.- ANIA

#3:10 PM

TTV Dinakaran files complaint with EC stating team OPS manipulating 'electric pole' symbol as twin leaves, confusing ppl during the campaign- ANI

#3:01 PM

Thiruvananthapuram: KSU manch protest cancellation of Secondary School Leaving Certificate maths examination, which'll now be on 30 March.- ANI



#2:50 PM

Kolkata to host the FIFA under-17 World Cup final match - ANI

#2:40 PM

All airlines have come together banning him (Ravindra Gaikwad), but its our fundamental right:Arvind Sawant, Shiv Sena after meeting LS Speaker - ANI

#2:30 PM

Regret attack on taxi driver of Indian origin in Hobart, who suffered minor injuries & was discharged - ANI

#02:25 PM

Raju Srivastav, Ehsaan Qureshi and Sunil Pal are not integrated in the show, it was a combi-special episode: Sources from Kapil Sharma Show - ANI

#02:20 PM

Justice R Mahadevan directs arrest of J Krishnamoorthy, who claimed to be J Jayalalithaa & Shoban Babu's son after perusing report by police - ANI

#02:11 PM

Pakistan arrests 100 Indian fishermen: Pak media - ANI

#02:05 PM

Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju also present in the meeting of Shiv Sena MPs and Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan- ANI

#02:00 PM

6 Shiv Sena MPs meeting speaker Sumitra Mahajan on issue of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad barred from travelling by air- ANI

#01:48 PM

Supreme Court today asked Centre whether there is any alternative for the pellet guns & Union of India has to file a reply within April 10- ANI

#01:45 PM

Film Certification appellate tribunal members to screen movie 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' today- ANI

#01:30 PM

Film Certification appellate tribunal members to screen movie 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' today- ANI

#01:27 PM

Supertech Emerald flat buyers case: Supreme Court says that it would hear the matter in August for final disposal.- ANI

#01:24 PM

Prep for this is in advance stage. With Aadhaar card hv been able to put a check on fake registration of students & misuse of funds: HRD Min- ANI

#12:45 PMA

Illogical that other 4 airlines also put R Gaikwad on a no-fly list. He is not a criminal: Manisha Kayande, Shiv Sena spokesperson- ANI



#12:44 PM

Unitech matter of giving flats to buyers-SC asks directors of Unitech real estate company to be present personally in court on 5 May & reply- ANI

#12:34 PM

According to Skymet Weather, Monsoon is likely to remain below normal for India in 2017- ANI

#12:13 AM

The Central Goods & Services Tax Bill, 2017 tabled in Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.- ANI

#12:12 AM

Fire is under control now. We are ascertaining the cause of fire.2 firemen have been injured: Mohd Akbar Dar, Dy Dir Fire&Emergency Services- ANI

#11:58 AM

Madhya Pradesh: Vehicle overturns on Jabalpur-Chargawan road, 12 dead and more than 20 injured- ANI

#11:57 AM

Issue of identifying minorities in J&K and benefits: SC bench issues notice to Centre & J&K, asked them to file a reply within four weeks- ANI

#11:44 AM

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 11:46AM - ANI

#11:39 AM

India Vs Australia Fourth test: India all out for 332, secure first innings lead of 32- ANI



#11:30 AM

Naresh Agrawal of the Samajwadi party in Rajya Sabha: Airlines banning Ravindra Gaikwad, just goes to show their 'dadagiri'- ANI

#11:03 AM

SC bench said the earlier interim order had not been violated since Aadhaar is not mandatory for getting various social welfare schemes

#11:00 AM

Supreme Court refused to give any date on the issue of making Aadhar mandatory, and said that it would hear the matter in due course of time

#10:52 AM

SC says " will hear the petition seeking direction for a thorough check into the alleged tampering issue of EVMs, likely after eight weeks"- ANI

#10:23 AM

All airlines banning him (Ravindra Gaikwad) is not right, will raise it in both houses and in zero hour too: Anandrao Adsul, Shiv Sena- ANI

#10:11 AM

Meat sellers shut their shops in protest against Uttar Pradesh Government's crackdown- ANI

#10:03 AM

Tamil Nadu: DRI seized 16.032 kgs of gold bars worth Rs 4,74,22,656 from Ramnad-Devakottai highway smuggled into India from Sri Lanka.- ANI

#10:03 AM

Madhya Pradesh: Vehicle overturns on Jabalpur-Chargawan road, two dead and more than 20 injured- ANI

#9:39 AM

Sukna(WB): All India synchronized elephant census commences in Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary. Census also to be conducted in 7 other states- ANI

#9:37 AM

Shiv Sena supporters hold bike rally in Maharashtra's Omerga in support of party MP Ravindra Gaikwad - ANI

#9:33 AM

Meat sellers shut their shops in protest against Uttar Pradesh Government's crackdown- ANI



#9:30 AM

1 car with 31 cartons of liquor 'For sale in Haryana' caught; 1 person arrested,said liquor was for use in MCD polls in Delhi: DCP Shahdara- ANI

#9:07 AM

8 dead after tourist bus met with an accident in Manipur's Senapati district - ANI

#9:06 AM

Lucknow: UP CM Yogi Adityanath to visit and inspect Gomti Riverfront at 11 am - ANI

#9:02 AM

Maharashtra: Shiv Sena gives a shutdown call in Osmanabad in support of Ravindra Gaikwad. He had assaulted an Air India employee on flight.- AM

#8:47 AM

Moradabad: Family seeks permission from police for use of Beef in a function;police denies permission, after ban on illegal slaughterhouses.- ANI

#8:44 AM

Shiv Sena likely to bring privilege motion over issue of party MP Ravindra Gaikwad being put in no fly list of all airlines- ANI

#7:17 AM

Supreme Court to continue hearing today plea filed by December 16 Nirbhaya gang rape convicts, challenging the Delhi HC's order

#7:14 AM

Supreme Court to hear plea filed by Kashmir High Court Bar Association seeking direction in the use of pellet guns, today.- ANI

#7:12 AM

Missing JNU student case: Patiala House Court to hear students' plea against police move to conduct lie detector test on them- ANI

#5:36 AM

Earthquake of magnitude 4.6 hit East Sikkim region at 03:12 today - ANI



A Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been jailed for 15 days for resisting police orders

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Jaipur :

In a terrible incident, a 21-year-old Austrian tourist was allegedly molested by the owner of a massage parlour near Hanuman Ghat in Udaipur district of Rajasthan.

Acting swiftly on the womans complaint, police arrested the 45-year-old owner on the charge of outraging her modesty.

The womans statement has been recorded. The accused has been arrested. The embassy will be apprised of the matter, Superintendent of Police of Udaipur Rajendra Prasad told.

The incident happened when the tourist had visited the massage parlour near Hanuman Ghat of the city.

The woman, in her complaint, alleged that the accused on the pretext of massage touched her with ill intentions, investigating officer in the case Ram Singh Chundawat told.

The police official said that the woman is a research scholar and has been staying in the city for the past three months.

Also Read: 'Khoon Bhari Maang' actress Sonu Walia gets molested, registers FIR

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New Delhi:

Parliament has started a crucial yet likely rocky week. Monday is slated for discussions on important money bills in both Houses but Opposition is likely to raise the issues related backward classes and Shiv Sena MP's ban from flying.

The government is likely to table supplementary goods and services tax legislations in Parliament on Monday. While Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be looking at consideration and return of Union Budget 2018 in Rajya Sabha.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena has decided to raise the issue of flying ban imposed on its MP R Gaikwad by airlines for attacking and Air India staffer.

"All airlines banning him (Ravindra Gaikwad) is not right, will raise it in both houses and in zero hour too," Anandrao Adsul, Shiv Sena said.

Here are the live updates

#2:50 PM: Hope a solution can be taken out through talks: Sumitra Mahajan, Lok Sabha speaker on airlines barring Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad



#2:50 PM: Kiski galti hui, kya hua wo alag baat hai. MP ko sadan mein aana hota hai,har baar train se nahi, kabhi plane se bhi aana hota hai:S Mahajan



#2:50 PM: All airlines have come together banning him(Ravindra Gaikwad),but its our fundamental right:Arvind Sawant,Shiv Sena after meeting LS Speaker

#2:10 PM: Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju also present in the meeting of Shiv Sena MPs and Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan



#2:10 PM: 6 Shiv Sena MPs meeting speaker Sumitra Mahajan on issue of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad barred from travelling by air

#2:00PM:GST Bill to be discussed in Lok Sabha on March 29







#12:50 PM: Illogical that other 4 airlines also put R Gaikwad on a no-fly list. He is not a criminal: Manisha Kayande, Shiv Sena spokesperson

#12:43 PM: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2PM

#12:30 PM: Even Kapil Sharma misbehaved on flight after getting drunk but no ban imposed on him: Anandrao Adsul of Shiv Sena, defends R.Gaikwad in LS



#12:30 PM: Rules are the same for everyone: Aviation Min Ashok Gajapati Raju in Lok Sabha on issue of ban imposed by airlines on Shiv Sena MP R.Gaikwad



#12:25 PM: We have good safety regulations but never in my dreams expected a Parl Member to be caught-Aviation Min Ashok Gajapati Raju in LS



#12:25 PM: Even Kapil Sharma misbehahed on flight after getting drunk but no ban imposed on him: Anandrao Adsul of Shiv Sena, defends R.Gaikwad in LS



#12:25 PM: Anandrao Adsul of Shiv Sena raises issue of ban imposed on R.Gaikwad by airlines in LS, says I hope you(Speaker) will raise it with govt



#12:17 PM: The Central Goods & Services Tax Bill, 2017 tabled in Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

#11:35 AM: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 11:46AM; House briefly after uproar over non-filling of vacancies in Commissions on minorities, SCs/STs and OBCs

#11:32 AM: Naresh Agrawal of the SP in Rajya Sabha: Airlines banning Ravindra Gaikwad (Shiv Sena), just goes to show their (airlines) 'dadagiri'



#11:09 AM: GST Bill needs to be passed in this session, we hope to introduce the bill soon. Looking forward to a consensus on the issue: Ananth Kumar



#10:50 AM: I have given notice in Rajya Sabha over VVIP culture issue that has come up, all MPs are not the same as shown: Rajni Patil, Congress



#10:20 AM: All airlines banning him (Ravindra Gaikwad) is not right, will raise it in both houses and in zero hour too: Anandrao Adsul, Shiv Sena

Read | Important bills to be tabled in Parliament today: GST in Lok Sabha, Budget 2017-18 in Rajya Sabha

Three GST bills in Lok Sabha

Sources said C-GST, I-GST, UT-GST and the compensation law are likely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha around noon and could be taken up for discussion as early as March 28.

Also, amendments to the excise and Customs Act to abolish various cess, as well as furnishing Bills for exports and imports under the new GST regime, will be placed before the House.

The Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha is likely to meet on Monday to decide on the duration of discussion on the Bills, the sources added.

According to the sources, the government is looking at the passage of the GST Bills in the Lower House by March 29 or latest by March 30.



Important bills to be tabled in Rajya Sabha on Monday

The Finance Bill, The Appropriation (Railways) Bill 2017 and The Appropriation (Railways) Number 2 Bill 2017 will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Monday for consideration and return.

The Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill on March 22 to give effect to the financial proposals of the Central Government for the financial year 2017-18.

In the bill, the government has capped cash transactions at two lakh rupees instead of three lakh rupees.

It is one of the important amendments introduced in the Bill.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had moved 40 amendments to the bill. The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016 will also come up for consideration and passage in Rajya Sabha.



Other important bills to be tabled in Lok Sabha

In the Lok Sabha, the Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016 and The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2016 will be taken up for consideration and passage. The Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Amendment) Bill, is also scheduled to be introduced in the Lok Sabha.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The Fully Indigenous cryogenic upper stage (final flight stage) is all set to be flagged off on March 27 from the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, Tirunelveli for integration in Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

Meanwhile, the heavy-lift GSLV Mk-III which is said to be the next generation launch vehicle of ISRO is capable and may place four-tonne class satellites in geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

The information about the development was confirmed by PV Venkitakrishnan, director, ISRO Propulsion Complex. He told that the Express that the cryogenic stage was fully integrated with the sub-systems and would be sent to Sriharikota next Monday. He also added that the other two stages -- liquid core stage (L110) and solid strap-on motors (S200) -- had reached Sriharikota and had been integrated.

Also Read: Kerala: ISRO commissions two major facilities at VSSC

Earlier, the cryogenic upper stage, code named C-25 D, passed the long duration endurance test for 640 seconds conducted at the Mahendragiri Propulsion Complex.

With this development, India is only the sixth nation who have mastered the complex cryogenic technology. ISRO has successfully ground tested its indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage for GSLV MkIII on January 25, 2017.

Also Read: ISRO plans two more GSLV missions after record-breaking launch of 104 satellites

The development of a cryogenic stage has a unique design challenges, with liquid Hydrogen stored at -253 deg C and liquid Oxygen stored at -195 deg C in its tanks. To store these cryogenic fluids, special multi-layer insulation is provided for the tanks and other structures.

The ISRO had planned to launch the heavy-lift vehicle carrying GSAT-19, a communication satellite, on April 20, but now the sources said the launch would take place only by May end or June first week.

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New Delhi:

One of the main attractions of Jamaica, Hellshire beach is a popular weekend getaway for people of Portmore and Kingston. What sets Hellshire apart from the other beaches in Jamaica is the quality and choice of seafood. It's a place where you can just lay back and 'lyme'- a local term for chill.



However, in recent years, tourists have abandoned Hellshire as it's beauty is fast disappearing. What once was a wide strip of sand in front of Aunt May's Fish Place has dispersed so quickly that Kingstonians find themselves digging through old photos to make sure their memories aren't playing tricks on them.



Kamilah Taylor, a 30-year-old US software engineer who grew up going to Hellshire was shocked when she visited the place last year. As in her memories she remembers the place with people riding horses and children playing on a wide expanse of beach and now it was all gone.

Read more: Trump to undo Obama's plan to subdue global warming, EPA chief says



To go from that to basically shops that look like they are on cliffs  it blew my mind how different it was. It was a totally different scene, said Taylor in a telephone interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.



According to the experts a combination of pollution and warmer temperatures linked to climate change have killed the once-thriving coral reefs offshore, allowing waves to pound the beach and wash away the sand.



Ive never seen anywhere along the Jamaican coast change so significantly. ... Its a domino effect starting with the death of the reef, said Mona Webber, a marine ecologist and director of the University of the West Indies Centre for Marine Sciences.



Vanishing Reef

Webber carried out her graduate work in the sea off Hellshire in the 1980s, studying the impact of pollution from Kingston harbor on the reef. Back then, as she used a small skiff to collect water samples along the reef, its structure was so dense that it could be a challenge not to bump into it.



But now the reef is completely gone, she said.



Hellshire sits downstream from Kingston harbor, where industrial and other wastes over decades made their way into the water. As the beachs popularity grew, it also suffered from water pollution created by bathers and fishermen who gutted fish in the water, Webber said.

Read more: Nation observes Earth Hour with enthusiasm; Know all about world's biggest environmental movement



Coral reefs cannot handle poor water quality. They really are affected by excess nutrients and algal overgrowth, Webber said. Studies in the 1990s showed that a big day out for Kingstonians at Hellshire led to algae doubling in the bay two to three days later, she said.



Climate change, which can cause rising sea temperatures and additional stress on coral, may have been the last nail in the coffin for the reef, Webber said. Once parts of the reef had weakened or died, other parts of it became more vulnerable to storms, she said.



Nehemiah Natty Thomson, 66, one of the locals and a long-time fisherman who now cooks up fish in one of the seaside restaurants, remember the hurricanes that slowly dismantled the reef.



Ivan, Gilbert, Dean  everyone come cut off a piece, Thomson said.



Parts of the dead reef remain offshore in a pile of coral rubble. Once the reef had been slowly swept away by hurricanes, it left the bay vulnerable, Webber said.



Once you lose your reef, the seagrass gets exposed to too much high wave action and then the beach itself is also compromised. All those systems help to hold the sand in place, Webber said, adding that the structures on Hellshire have cut the beach off from dunes that could replenish it.



The beach is gone and so are the tourists



Loss of one of the few free public beaches near the city is a loss for the fishermen and vendors, it is a threat to their livelihoods.



"There is definitely a decline in the number of people coming to Hellshire It's affecting business as well", said Glaston White, chairman of the Half Moon Bay Fisherman's Association, the non-profit group responsible for managing the beach.



May Byrou, who owns Aunt May's Fish Place, a long-popular beachfront seafood restaurant, estimates that her business is down 25 to 50 percent due to the disappearance of the beach.



For now, the Half Moon Bay Fishermen's Cooperative has tried to stem some of the erosion by putting in a groyne - a wall that extends from the beach out into the water. The cooperative is looking to raise funds do more recovery work, White said.



Some restaurant owners also have stacked sandbags and tires on the beach in hopes of shoring up the sand.



But Webber suggests one of the best solutions might be abandoning the beach entirely to let it recover  or at least restricting access.



"There is such a thing as carrying capacity", she said.



White said fishermen are coming to terms with that fact.



"They are aware that the time may come that we'll be asked to evacuate", he said.







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Washington:

In America's downtown Chicago a large number of Indian Americans turned up at the CNN office to protest against a documentary they alleged portrayed Hinduism in a negative light.

"The documentary aired by CNN portrayed Hinduism in a negative light. This is now what Hinduism is all about," said Bharat Barai, an eminent Indian-American from Chicago area who attended the peaceful protest against CNN in front of its Chicago office.

Braving light rain, several hundred Indian-Americans turned up for the protest rally. Barai alleged that the CNN documentary on Hinduism produced by special reporter Reza Aslan showed practices of five Aghori Bawas.

Also Read: US-based Hindu organisations demand apology from CNN

"This was his picture of Hinduism projected to the world on CNN," said a protest letter distributed on the occasion.

"The grotesque practices of five individuals have nothing to do with Hinduism, they are not part of any Hindu scriptures or Hindu teachings," Barai said.

Hindu American groups from across the country have held several protests against the CNN after the airing of the documentary on March 5, including New York, Washington, Houston, Atlanta, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

This was the largest protest so far. Vamsee Juluri, an Indian-American professor of Media studies at the University of San Francisco called the show"reckless, racist and dangerously anti-immigrant".

Pointing out several inaccuracies, mistranslations and mischaracterizations in the show he said, "It is ones adding reality that despite having had immigrants in America for so many decades now, a major news channel like CNN still cannot do better than the old Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom sort of story when it comes to India".

"Far from wanting to experience any spirituality within Hinduism, Reza Aslan seems to have gone to India only to confirm his Orientalist biases," said Chandrashekar Wagh from the Coalition Against Hinduphobia. In a statement posted on Facebook, Aslan said his documentary is not about Hinduism, but about Aghori, a mystical Hindu sect known for extreme rituals.

Aslan said there are people who are offended by the episode, especially when it comes to its treatment of such issues as caste discrimination, which remains a touchy subject for many Hindus in America.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Local author James Smith will discuss his memoir A Boys Life in the Baby Boom: True Tales From Small Town America at the Bethel Library from 7 to 8 p.m. April 12.

Smith grew up in Pittsford, N.Y., where his great-aunt, Una Hutchinson, founded the Pittsford Community Library. Smith, now retired, is a former managing editor of The News-Times. He is the winner of The Distinguished Writing Award from the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
Close to $400 million more funding for the Youth Employment Strategy

VANCOUVER, March 26, 2017 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada knows that the country's prosperity will increasingly depend on young Canadians getting the education and the experience they need to prepare for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Budget 2017 puts Canada's greatest strengthits skilled, talented, and creative peopleat the heart of a more innovative future economyone that will create middle class jobs today and tomorrow.

As the demands of the workplace change, so too must the education and skills that young workers bring to their jobs. The changes in the economyat home and around the worldpresent opportunities for the middle class and those working hard to join it.

Today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced that Budget 2017 will provide an additional $395.5 million over the next three years for the Youth Employment Strategy (YES), in addition to the Government of Canada's current investment of $330 million each year.

This brings the total new investment in the program to almost $900 million. In Budget 2016, the Government announced $339 million to create up to 35,000 additional positions under the Canada Summer Jobs program each year for three years. It also provided an additional $165.4 million in 2016-17 for the Youth Employment Strategy to create new positions under Skills Link, green jobs and heritage sector jobs.

This means that more than 33,000 vulnerable youth will be able to develop the skills they need to find work or go back to school. It means creating 15,000 new green jobs for young Canadians in sectors like agriculture and renewable energy. It also means over 1,600 new job opportunities for youth in organizations that celebrate Canadian heritage.

Minister Hajdu made the announcement today at the Robert Lee YMCA in Vancouver, British Columbia, which has been providing successful YES programming for many years. The YMCA is currently running two projects that train youth in soft skills like communication and organization, and give them paid work experience.

Minister Hajdu spoke about how Budget 2017 will:

Provide $221 million over five years, starting in 2017-18, to renew and expand funding for Mitacs, a not-for-profit organization that builds partnerships between industry and educational institutions, to help meet its goal of providing 10,000 work-integrated learning placements for post-secondary students and graduates each year.

over five years, starting in 2017-18, to renew and expand funding for Mitacs, a not-for-profit organization that builds partnerships between industry and educational institutions, to help meet its goal of providing 10,000 work-integrated learning placements for post-secondary students and graduates each year. Invest $50 million over two years, starting in 2017-18, to support a kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12) program to provide coding and digital skills education to more young Canadians. Funding will be allocated through a competitive process to digital skills training organizations.

Quotes

"Budget 2017 continues our plan to strengthen the middle classthe heart of Canada's economy. In an innovative economy with a job market that's changing fast, we're helping our young people develop the skills they'll need to find and keep good, well-paying jobs."

 The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour

"Each year, the YMCA of Greater Vancouver helps hundreds of young people gain the skills and confidence needed to find and keep a job. The YMCA is excited about being able to deliver employment programs such as those funded by the Youth Employment Strategy. Gainful employment is key for all young people to be able to reach their potential, and with funding for our youth employment programs, we will be able to help more young people get employment with the support of the Y community alongside it."

 Yael Drinkle, General Manager, Community Operations, YMCA of Greater Vancouver

Quick Facts

Each year the Government invests more than $330 million in YES to help young people gain the skills, abilities and work experience they need to find and maintain good employment.

in YES to help young people gain the skills, abilities and work experience they need to find and maintain good employment. Total funding for YES was increased by $278 million in 20162017, representing the largest investment since its launch in 1997.

in 20162017, representing the largest investment since its launch in 1997. Budget 2017 proposed an additional $395.5 million over three years for YES, starting in 201718.

over three years for YES, starting in 201718. Since 2005, YES has helped over 772,000 young Canadians get the training and work experience they need to enter the labour market.

Associated Links

Budget 2017

Youth Employment Strategy

Backgrounder

Youth Employment Strategy

The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) is the Government of Canada's commitment to help youth make a successful transition to the workplace. YES helps youth between the ages of 15 and 30 get the information and gain the skills, job experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition to the workforce. YES includes Skills Link, Career Focus and Summer Work Experience, and is delivered by 11 federal departments.

Summer Work Experience provides wage subsidies to employers to create summer employment for secondary and post-secondary students. The Summer Work Experience program includes Canada Summer Jobs.

provides wage subsidies to employers to create summer employment for secondary and post-secondary students. The Summer Work Experience program includes Canada Summer Jobs. Skills Link helps youth facing barriers to employmentincluding single parents, youth with disabilities, Indigenous youth, young newcomers and youth in rural and remote areasto develop employability skills and gain the experience they need to find a job or return to school.

helps youth facing barriers to employmentincluding single parents, youth with disabilities, Indigenous youth, young newcomers and youth in rural and remote areasto develop employability skills and gain the experience they need to find a job or return to school. Career Focus helps post-secondary graduates transition to the labour market through paid internships. It helps provide youth with the information and experience they need to make informed career decisions, find a job or pursue advanced studies.

Each year, the Government invests more than $330 million through the Youth Employment Strategy to help young people gain the skills and experience they need to find and keep good jobs.

In Budget 2016, the Government announced $339 million to create up to 35,000 additional positions under the Canada Summer Jobs program each year for three years. It also provided an additional $165.4 million in 201617 for the Youth Employment Strategy to create new positions under Skills Link, green jobs and heritage sector jobs.

To further expand employment opportunities for young Canadians, Budget 2017 proposes to provide an additional $395.5 million over three years, starting in 201718, for the Youth Employment Strategy.

These investments will help more than 33,000 vulnerable youth develop the skills they need to find work or go back to school; create 15,000 new green jobs for young Canadians; and provide over 1,600 new employment opportunities for youth in the heritage sector.

SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

For further information: For media enquiries, please contact: Matt Pascuzzo, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, P.C., M.P., Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, [email protected], 819-654-5613; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]; Follow us on Twitter
Negotiations to begin towards the joint resolution of longstanding treaty-related dispute

OTTAWA, March 27, 2017 The Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario and the seven Williams Treaties First Nations today marked a historic milestone in the spirit of reconciliation, by agreeing to work together toward a shared and just resolution of a longstanding treaty-related dispute.

The parties have agreed to a process to begin formal negotiations to reach a joint resolution of the Alderville litigation. Canada and Ontario have also recognized the pre-existing treaty harvesting rights of the Williams Treaties First Nations' members to hunt, trap, fish and gather for food, social and ceremonial purposes in certain areas covered by pre-Confederation treaties. While this is a key first step, much work remains to be done before a negotiated settlement can be reached.

The Williams Treaties were signed in 1923; over 90 years later, questions remain about the making, terms, interpretation and implementation of these treaties. The goal of these negotiations is to reach an enduring settlement that advances reconciliation with the First Nations for the benefit of everyone.

Quick Facts

The Williams Treaties First Nations are: Alderville First Nation, Beausoleil First Nation , Chippewas of Georgina Island , Chippewas of Rama , Curve Lake First Nation, Hiawatha First Nation and Mississaugas of Scugog Island .

, Chippewas of , Chippewas of , Curve Lake First Nation, Hiawatha First Nation and Mississaugas of . The Alderville litigation was filed by the seven First Nations in 1992 and went to trial in 2012.

litigation was filed by the seven First Nations in 1992 and went to trial in 2012. Ensuring the long-term sustainability of natural resources for future generations will be a key priority for all parties.

No one will lose their private property in this process.

Consultations with other Indigenous groups, municipalities and other stakeholders will be undertaken during the negotiations.

Quotes

"The Williams Treaties of 1923 form part of Canada's dark past between the Crown and Indigenous peoples. After well over two decades of seeking to formally engage the government on grievances relating to the Williams Treaties, the Chippewa and Mississauga signatories are now hopeful to create a new relationship with our Federal and Provincial counterparts that is based on honourable conduct, fairness, and good faith. We are cautious in our optimism, yet we are hopeful to honour our ancestors with a negotiated settlement that promotes cultural healing and continuity for the Seven Generations to come."

Chief Kelly LaRocca, Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, Portfolio Chief

Williams Treaties First Nations

"This is an historic opportunity to work together in a spirit of co-operation and partnership to settle a dispute that has been outstanding for far too long. Today, we are taking an important first step on a path of reconciliation to renew our relationship with the Williams Treaties First Nations. We are committed to charting our course together toward a fair, respectful and balanced solution for the benefit of the communities and all Canadians."

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, M.D., P.C., M.P.

Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs

"Our negotiations with the Williams Treaty First Nations will be the first step towards a renewed relationship, working together in the spirit of reconciliation. We are committed to working with Williams Treaties First Nations partners to give full effect to our treaty relationship and ensure that it is a modern and mutually beneficial one."

The Honourable David Zimmer

Ontario Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation

Related Products

Backgrounder: Negotiations with the Williams Treaties First Nations toward a Negotiated Resolution of the Alderville Litigation

Associated Links

Williams Treaties First Nations

Ontario Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation

Treaty Making in Canada

Backgrounder: Negotiations with the Williams Treaties First Nations toward a Negotiated Resolution of the Alderville Litigation

Choose a Topic

Overview

Looking back: Historic treaties and the Alderville litigation

A new beginning: Moving into negotiations

Harvesting rights: Then and now

Land-related settlements: A general overview

Looking Ahead: Toward a negotiated settlement

Overview

The Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario and the seven Williams Treaties First Nations are working together toward a negotiated settlement of the Alderville litigation. The seven First Nations are: Alderville First Nation, Beausoleil First Nation, Chippewas of Georgina Island, Chippewas of Rama, Curve Lake First Nation, Hiawatha First Nation and Mississaugas of Scugog Island.

Looking Back: Historic Treaties and the Alderville Litigation

The seven First Nations are signatories to various 18th and 19th century treaties that covered lands in different parts of south central Ontario. After these pre-Confederation treaties[1] were signed, the First Nations maintained that they continued to have an interest in other lands in central Ontario, known as their northern hunting grounds. These lands had not yet been addressed through treaty and were increasingly being subject to encroachment. To address these outstanding issues, new treaties (called the Williams Treaties) were signed between the seven First Nations and the Crown in 1923.

More than 90 years later, questions remain about the making, terms, interpretation and implementation of the Williams Treaties. In 1992, the seven First Nations filed litigation to seek a resolution of this longstanding dispute. The case, known as the Alderville litigation, went to trial in 2012.

In their litigation, the First Nations allege that the Crown breached its duties to them in the making and implementation of the Williams Treaties. In particular, the First Nations allege that they were not fairly compensated for their lands and should have received additional reserve lands at the time of treaty.

Harvesting rights are another key issue raised in the Alderville litigation. The First Nations maintain that the pre-Confederation treaties they signed with the Crown protected harvesting rights and that those rights were not affected by the Williams Treaties and continue to exist.

A New Beginning: Moving into Negotiations

In early 2016, Canada, Ontario and the seven First Nations began substantive exploratory discussions to see if they could find the common ground to negotiate a settlement of the Alderville litigation outside of the courts. A negotiated resolution achieved through co-operation and dialogue is preferable to litigation.

In February 2017, the parties agreed to a process to begin formal negotiations toward a negotiated settlement of the Alderville litigation and the court case was adjourned on March 27, 2017 on joint consent of the parties. Canada and Ontario have also recognized pre-existing treaty harvesting rights of the Williams Treaties First Nations' members to hunt, trap, fish and gather for food, social and ceremonial purposes in certain areas of pre-Confederation Treaties No. 5, 16, 18, 20 and 27-27 . These treaty harvesting rights are constitutionally protected.

While this is an important first step, negotiations are just getting underway and much remains to be done before a final settlement can be reached. This will include joint work to ensure an effective implementation of treaty harvesting rights as well as consultation with other Indigenous groups.

Harvesting Rights: Then and Now

In October 2012, based on evidence obtained and prepared for the trial, Canada and Ontario recognized on an interim basis, the treaty harvesting rights of the Williams Treaties First Nations in Treaty No. 20. Canada and Ontario have now formally recognized these rights, not only within Treaty No. 20, but also within certain areas covered by pre-Confederation Treaties No. 5, 16, 18 and 27-27 .

The parties will work together at the negotiating table to coordinate the implementation of the First Nations' treaty harvesting rights. These rights are subject to provincial and federal laws necessary for conservation, public health and public safety. Ensuring the long-term sustainability of natural resources for future generations are key priorities for all parties going forward.

Land-Related Settlements: A General Overview

Negotiated settlements in Ontario can involve both financial compensation and the transfer of Crown lands to be set aside as reserve lands for First Nations.

When Crown land is being considered as part of a negotiated settlement, a consultation process is conducted on the proposed Crown land to be transferred. This has included consultation with neighbouring Indigenous groups, municipalities, individuals, groups and members of the public whose interests may be affected.

No one will lose their private property in this process and access to private property is protected. Any private property land transaction is on a willing-seller/willing-buyer basis.

Looking Ahead: Toward a Negotiated Settlement

At this early stage in the process, it is too soon to speculate about what a future settlement might look like. Once the key elements have been agreed upon, negotiators for all parties will work together to develop a draft Settlement Agreement.

Members of the seven Williams Treaties First Nations will have the opportunity to vote on the proposed final agreement. Canada and Ontario will also have to conclude their own internal approvals processes. The settlement agreement will not be final until it is signed by all parties.

Canada, Ontario and the Williams Treaties First Nations are committed to working together in a spirit of partnership and collaboration to find a just and shared solution that respects the rights of Indigenous peoples and all Canadians. The recognition of the First Nations' constitutionally protected treaty harvesting rights to hunt, fish, trap and gather in certain pre-Confederation treaty areas for food, social and ceremonial purposes addresses a longstanding dispute between the parties. This is an important first step toward renewed relationships and reconciliation with the First Nations for the benefit of everyone.

____________________

1 Treaties that were signed between the Crown and First Nations before Canada became a country in 1867.

SOURCE Government of Canada

For further information: media may contact: Sabrina Williams, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, 613-697-8316; Media Relations, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, 819-953-1160; Blair Ostrom, Office of the Honourable David Zimmer, 416-314-6750; Flavia Mussio, Communications, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, 416-314-9455; Chief Kelly LaRocca, Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, Portfolio Chief, Williams Treaties First Nations, 905-985-3337
Launches user generated #StandForCanada digital mosaic in celebration of shared 150th birthday

TORONTO, March 27, 2017 /CNW/ - CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM) While Canada is often recognized by our iconic maple leaf (eh?) in celebration of the country's and CIBC's shared 150th, CIBC is asking people across the nation to help further shape and define our proud identity by socially sharing how they #StandForCanada.

Developed by the bank's innovation incubator, CIBC Live Labs, #StandForCanada is the first global digital mosaic on what it means to be Canadian. A proprietary aggregator collects user generated content (UGC) mentioning the hashtag, with the content appearing on https://standforcanada.cibc.com highlighting diverse voices from across the country.

Users can also leverage the platform to create personalized content by uploading a photo, submitting a "I Stand for" caption and then sharing with the hashtag on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, to showcase their Canadian pride.

"This digital time capsule allows everyone to be part of history so that future generations can reflect back on what we stand for today as a great nation," says Rob Assimakopoulos, Chief Marketing Officer, CIBC. "CIBC has innovated banking for its clients for 150 years, and we are proud to bring this interactive campaign to help Canadians discover the country's sentiment around our shared pride."

CIBC will take this collective social sentiment and share it back, showing the world what Canadians think and feel as they #StandForCanada. Whether in Winnipeg, Charlottetown or Iqaluit, a contributor's content may appear in CIBC's upcoming 150th marketing campaign.

"We are excited to help shape the narrative around our country's 150th birthday in a new way," adds Mr. Assimakopoulos. "By asking Canadians what they stand for, we are the authors of our country's own unique story."

Bringing #StandForCanada to life are key partnerships designed to help Canadians celebrate 150 this year, leading up to CIBC's birthday on May 15, on July 1, and beyond. From year-long Ottawa 2017 activations, to welcoming new Canadians at Citizenship Ceremonies alongside Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and now working with Parks Canada to offer free 2017 Discovery Passes at all CIBC Banking Centres, CIBC is showing the country how it will #StandForCanada in celebration of 150.

The #StandForCanada campaign is supported by a broadcast partnership with the CBC, a year-long social media campaign, digital and in-branch advertising and experiential activations.

Canadians can participate in #StandForCanada by joining the conversation on Twitter @CIBC, Facebook (www.facebook.com/CIBC) and Instagram @CIBCNow. To learn more about CIBC's proud history, download the CIBC150 App and discover new stories every week.

About CIBC

CIBC is a leading Canadian-based global financial institution with 11 million personal banking and business clients. Through our three major business units - Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Capital Markets - CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices across Canada with offices in the United States and around the world. Ongoing news releases and more information about CIBC can be found at www.cibc.com/ca/media-centre/ or by following on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/cibc), Twitter @CIBC, Facebook (www.facebook.com/CIBC) and Instagram @CIBCNow.

SOURCE CIBC

For further information: Olga Petrycki, Director of Public Relations, CIBC, 416-306-9760 or [email protected] OR Diana Spremo, Senior Communications Consultant, CIBC, 416-780-7485 or [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.cibc.com


The bank encourages Canadians to explore their country and show how they #StandForCanada

TORONTO, March 27, 2017 /CNW/ - CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM) is proud to announce that starting today through August 2017, Canadians and visitors to the country can now pick up a free Parks Canada 2017 Discovery Pass at any CIBC banking centre from coast-to-coast-to-coast.

The initiative to bring the outdoors to Canadians by offering an opportunity to explore all of Parks Canada's national locations, is thanks to a partnership between Parks Canada and CIBC in celebration of the bank's and the country's shared 150th birthday.

"We are delighted to be partnering with CIBC to distribute Parks Canada's 2017 Discovery Passes. With CIBC's reach, we can ensure that millions of Canadians have access to Parks Canada's treasured places. As we celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation, we invite Canadians to be inspired and captivated by the stories of the people and events that shaped the Canada of today. Canada's national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas enable Canadians to experience their rich history and heritage in a special way and will play a big part in the celebration of Canada 150," says Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada.

This partnership is part of CIBC's year-long celebration of its shared 150th birthday with Canada and an example of how the bank is helping people across the country demonstrate pride in their nation and show how they #StandForCanada.

"Our national parks and sites are among our country's greatest treasures. We are thrilled to offer Canadians easy access to free Discovery Passes so they can experience the sights and sounds of these beautiful locations as they celebrate Canada's 150th this summer," says Christina Kramer, CIBC Executive Vice President.

Founded in 1867, CIBC shares a longstanding history with Canada. As a proud Canadian company, it has contributed to shaping our nation into one of the best in the world, helping people prosper and businesses grow, as it builds the bank of the future.

In celebration of 150, CIBC is asking Canadians how they #StandForCanada by joining the conversation on Twitter @CIBC, Facebook (www.facebook.com/CIBC) and Instagram @CIBCNow. To learn more about CIBC's proud history, download the CIBC150 App and discover new stories every week.

About CIBC

CIBC is a leading Canadian-based global financial institution with 11 million personal banking and business clients. Through our three major business units - Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Capital Markets - CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices across Canada with offices in the United States and around the world. Ongoing news releases and more information about CIBC can be found at www.cibc.com/ca/media-centre/ or by following on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/cibc), Twitter @CIBC, Facebook (www.facebook.com/CIBC) and Instagram @CIBCNow.

SOURCE CIBC

For further information: Olga Petrycki, Director of Public Relations, CIBC, 416-306-9760 or [email protected]; Diana Spremo, Senior Communications Consultant, CIBC, 416-780-7485 or [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.cibc.com


WINNIPEG, March 24, 2017 /CNW/ - Investors Group is not proceeding at this time with proposed product changes including fund mergers and strategy adjustments.

"Recently announced proposals will not proceed until we can review the implications of the 2017 Federal Budget," said Todd Asman, Executive Vice-President, Products and Financial Planning.

The Federal Budget announcements include a provision to allow for mutual fund corporations to merge into separate unit trusts on a tax-deferred basis. Investors Group is reviewing the proposed product changes in light of the Budget announcement to ensure that the changes occur in a tax efficient manner.

Securityholder meetings

Securityholder meetings scheduled for May 18, 2017, at Investors Group's head office in Winnipeg will also not proceed.

This is not a solicitation to purchase securities of these funds. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual funds investments. Please read the prospectus of the mutual funds before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. These funds are distributed across Canada by Investors Group Financial Services Inc., (in Quebec, a financial services firm) and Investors Group Securities Inc. (in Quebec, a firm in financial planning).

Founded in 1926, Investors Group is a national leader in delivering personalized financial solutions to Canadians through a network of Consultants located across Canada. In addition to an exclusive family of mutual funds and other investment vehicles, Investors Group offers a wide range of insurance, securities, mortgage and other financial services. Investors Group is a member of the IGM Financial Inc. (TSX: IGM) group of companies.

TM This trademark is owned by IGM financial Inc. and licensed to its subsidiary corporations.

SOURCE Investors Group Financial Services Inc.

For further information: Ron Arnst, Investors Group, (204) 956-3364, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.investorsgroup.com


OTTAWA, March 27, 2017 /CNW/ - The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, will speak to the Mississauga Board of Trade about key elements of Budget 2017 and the next steps in the federal government's economic plan to support Canada's middle class. Minister Bains will also discuss how Budget 2017 will prepare Canadians for a rapidly changing economy.

Date: Tuesday, March 28, 2017



Time: 12:15 p.m.



Location: Mississauga Grand Banquet and Event Centre

35 Brunel Road

Mississauga, Ontario

Follow Minister Bains on Twitter: @MinisterISED

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

For further information: Karl W. Sasseville, Press Secretary, 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


OTTAWA, March 24, 2017 /CNW/ - Finance Minister Bill Morneau will meet with Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).

Following the meeting, the Minister will join SAIT President Dr. David Ross for a tour of SAIT facilities. The media are invited to tour SAIT along with the Minister.

A media availability will follow the tour.

Later in the day, the Minister will deliver remarks to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

Date and Time:

Monday, March 27

10:30 a.m. (local time)

Location:

Aldred center, main floor

1301 16th Ave NW

Calgary, AB

Calgary Chamber of Commerce

Date and Time:

Monday, March 27

12:30 p.m. (local time)

Location:

Hyatt Regency Calgary, Imperial Ballroom (3rd floor)

700 Centre Street South East

Calgary, AB

SOURCE Finance Canada

For further information: Media may contact: Annie Donolo, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Finance, [email protected], 613-769-7187; Media Relations, Department of Finance Canada, [email protected], 613-369-4000

Related Links

http://www.fin.gc.ca


Join special guests as they get active with Quidditch, rope skipping and many more activities

EDMONTON, March 27, 2017 /CNW/ - It's time to get moving more and sitting less! The ParticipACTION 150 Play List - the ultimate list of 150 physical activities that define us as Canadian - is coming to Edmonton with a family-friendly event to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation.

With help from a few special guests, attendees will have their hand at checking a few activities off the Play List, such as Quidditch (#30), Jump Rope (#35) and Stick Pull (#26).

The Edmonton event is one of 100 events taking place across Canada in 2017, challenging Canadians to try out as many activities on the list as possible. Edmontonians have already been busy checking over 15,375 activities off the list, with the most popular, so far, being: Walking (#19), Housework (#33), Snow Shoveling (#132), Fitness Activities (#114) and Dog Walking/Agility (#87).

We hope you will join us for this visually-appealing and unique photo opportunity as ParticipACTION leaps into high gear, inspiring Canadians to sit less and move more.

Canadians can visit www.participACTION.com/150 for more information, to sign up and win some great prizes!

WHO Samantha Trinier, ParticipACTION

Edmonton Aurors Quidditch Club, community Quidditch club

Connectivity Skippers, competitive skipping team

Bob Rusko, Edmonton Arts Council WHAT Photo opportunities: Members of the Edmonton Aurors Quidditch Club will take attendees through the basics of Quidditch, such as passing drills, beater battles, shooting and catching the snitch

Connectivity Skippers will showcase a variety of skipping demos along with inviting attendees to participate and try out the ropes Interview with ParticipACTION and special guests



WHERE Sir Winston Churchill Square 102 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 2C1



WHEN Wednesday, March 29, 2017



TIME 1  3 p.m. Note - the full event runs from 12  6 p.m.

About the ParticipACTION 150 Play List

To celebrate Canada's 150th birthday, ParticipACTION created the ParticipACTION 150 Play List - the ultimate list of all the physical activities that make us Canadian. Throughout 2017 every Canadian, in all communities, schools and workplaces from coast to coast to coast, will be challenged to complete as many physical activities on the list as possible, track their efforts online and earn rewards along the way. The ParticipACTION 150 Play List is a collaborative effort supported by the Government of Canada, premier corporate partners Manulife, Chevrolet and Shaw, the Government of B.C., the Government of Newfoundland & Labrador and national media partner Corus. To register or find out more, including details on more than 100 local ParticipACTION Play List events throughout 2017, please visit www.participACTION.com/150.

SOURCE ParticipACTION

For further information: To RSVP, pre-book an interview or for more information, please contact: Kaitlin Marrin, Hill + Knowlton, 416-413-4565, [email protected]
An elderly couple from Florida fell victim to an airline glitch that landed them in Upstate NY, about 520 miles from their destination in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Snowbirds Helen Wheeker, 96, and George Nobel, 89, were in wheelchairs at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport. They were mistakenly wheeled to the gate for an Allegiant flight to Ogdensburg in the North Country, Local 10 News in Florida reported.

It wasn't until they landed that they realized something was wrong.

Helen Wheeker and George Nobel.

"We had a typical day on the plane, reading, snacking and dozing," Wheeker said, explaining that they didn't notice any difference in the flight because it takes about the same amount of time.

When they landed, the captain came to their seats and explained the situation.

"The captain came and looked at us over the back of the chair and he says 'something terrible has happened' and I said, 'what?' And he said 'you're on the wrong plane' and I laughed," Wheeker told WOOD-TV.

According to a spokesman from the airline, a glitch in Allegiant Air's system meant the company couldn't read boarding passes, which otherwise would have prevented them from getting on the wrong flight, according to Local 10.

Wheeker, however, took the whole situation with good humor.

"I call this our most exciting adventure," Wheeker told WOOD-TV.

The Ogdensburg airport only offers flights to Albany and Florida, so rather than spending more time in Upstate NY, the couple flew back to Fort Lauderdale.

The flight was completely refunded, and the couple was rebooked for a flight on Saturday, according to Local 10.

"If it was New York City, well, that'd be cool," Wheeker said.

We think Ogdensburg is pretty cool too. They've got boat tours and wineries, great pizza, historic sites and more. Maybe next time, Helen and George.

Watch the video report below.
Patients in Norfolk with severe Sepsis were treated with intravenous vitamin C, hydrocortisone and thiamine. In 47 patients with sepsis treated in Norfolk Generals ICU, four died in 2016, an 8 percent mortality rate. Of those four, none died of sepsis but rather the conditions that led to sepsis in the first place. The previous year, 19 of 47 septic patients died, a 40 percent mortality rate. They have written up the study in the Journal Chest.

Doctor Marik wants there to be a comprehensive study, and he said that Stanford University has expressed some interest. But he said it will be difficult to fund because it uses drugs that have been on the market for decades: We are curing it for $60. No one will make any money off it.

Sepsis occurs in more than 1 million people a year in this country, with 28 to 50 percent dying, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The condition can stem from a variety of different ailments and has an overwhelming immune response to infection. Natural chemicals released in the body trigger widespread inflammation, which leads to blood clots and leaky vessels. That slows blood flow, damaging the organs by depriving them of nutrients and oxygen.

In the worst cases, blood pressure drops, the heart weakens and the patient goes into septic shock.

The cost to treat sepsis in the United States has been estimated at $20 billion a year in 2011.

Just as Marik pulled Vitamin C out of his bag to save the woman in January 2016, he pulls out these facts to sell his sepsis treatment to others.

He believes lives could be saved before a larger study is complete. Hes been traveling the country trying to find audiences of critical-care doctors to peddle the idea  Philadelphia, Charlottesville, Long Island, New York and, earlier this week, Seattle.

Hes gotten significant pushback from doctors who say its unethical to try before larger studies are done. But he responds that the use is within the limits of what the Vitamin C pharmaceutical label recommends.

Half think its cool and half think this is hooey nonsense. When something is too good to be true, people dont want to believe it.

Carlbom said since sepsis results from a lot of different conditions, it could be that the combo could help some more than others, and might even be detrimental to particular ailments.

Dr. Marik, who was born and educated in South Africa, is hardly a lightweight in the field. He has more than two decades of critical-care experience and has authored 400 medical journal articles and four books on critical care.

Lab work also confirms the result

Marik also took the step of having a researcher examine the idea in the lab. He reached out to John Catravas, who studies and teaches on the subject of bioelectrics at Old Dominion University.

Catravas has spent years researching lung function. Of special interest are the lungs endothelial cells, which form the linings of the blood vessels: When you have sepsis, the endothelial cells pull away from each other and allow fluid in the lungs.

He looked at the effect of the Vitamin C, then the steroid, then the two in combination.

It wasnt one or the other that was doing the trick, but both, almost as though one was holding the door open for the other to do its work in reducing inflammation.

It was a laboratory finding that supported what was happening in the clinical setting, which Marik included in the CHEST publication.

Journal Chest  Hydrocortisone, Vitamin C and Thiamine for the Treatment of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock: A Retrospective Before-After Study

Background

The global burden of sepsis is estimated as 15 to 19 million cases annually with a mortality rate approaching 60% in low income countries.

Methods

In this retrospective before-after clinical study, we compared the outcome and clinical course of consecutive septic patients treated with intravenous vitamin C, hydrocortisone and thiamine during a 7-month period (treatment group) compared to a control group treated in our ICU during the preceding 7 months. The primary outcome was hospital survival. A propensity score was generated to adjust the primary outcome.

Findings

There were 47 patients in both treatment and control groups with no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups. The hospital mortality was 8.5% (4 of 47) in the treatment group compared to 40.4% (19 of 47) in the control group. The propensity adjusted odds of mortality in the patients treated with the vitamin C protocol was 0.13. The SOFA score decreased in all patients in the treatment group with none developing progressive organ failure. Vasopressors were weaned off all patients in the treatment group, a mean of 18.3  9.8 hours after starting treatment with vitamin C protocol. The mean duration of vasopressor use was 54.9  28.4 hours in the control group.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that the early use of intravenous vitamin C, together with corticosteroids and thiamine may prove to be effective in preventing progressive organ dysfunction including acute kidney injury and reducing the mortality of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Additional studies are required to confirm these preliminary findings.
After the initial six weeks, the Abuja airport runway will still require another 18 weeks of upgrade, an official said on Sunday.

After the initial six weeks, the Abuja airport runway will still require another 18 weeks of upgrade, an official said on Sunday.According to a statement circulated to select journalists by the presidency, the 18 weeks upgrade would however, be carried out at night, meaning normal flight operations will continue during the day.The source also said the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has been working diligently to minimise the inconvenience caused by the closure.After the Abuja airport reopens for operations on April 19, upgrade works on the runway would continue for another 18 weeks, he said.This second phase of upgrade works on the runway will be carried out at night, with no disruption to flight schedules, the Presidency official further disclosed.The source added that a media tour to allow reporters observe and assess the progress of work on the Abuja airport runway repairs would hold this week.He added that the repair is about its mid-point on Wednesday.The committee had launched series of customer engagement initiatives to enable passengers and travellers affected by the closure of the Abuja airport get up-to-date information and updates.These include a Call Centre (open 7a.m to 10 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays), a website (AbujaAirportClosure.info), and a Twitter handle (@ABVClosure).The closure of the Abuja airport and subsequent use of the Kaduna airport has faced heavy criticism even as most foreign airlines stayed away rather than use the Kaduna airport.Last week, the House of Representativescondemned the arrangements made at the Kaduna airport saying the airport was unsafe and insecure,On Sunday, the presidency source also said the Federal Government Coordinating Committee overseeing the repairs of Abuja airport said over 43,000 passengers have passed through the Kaduna airport.The committee which also oversees the closure and relocation of passengers to Kaduna airport, the alternative to the Abuja airport, said that the figure was in respect of the first 11 days of operations in the exercise.The committee disclosed this in its latest data submitted to the presidency on the Abuja airports repair, closure and relocation.The presidential aide, who preferred not to be named, said the figure was more than the 41,000 passengers the Kaduna airport recorded in the entire first quarter of 2015, and the 21,000 in the first quarter of 2016.The source also disclosed that, during this period, about 10,000 passengers took advantage of the free bus shuttle, organised by the federal government to transport passengers between the Abuja and Kaduna airports.The free bus shuttle conveyed passengers between Abuja and Kaduna airports, starting at the Abuja airport at 6 oclock in the morning, and at the Kaduna Airport from 8 a.m.The shuttle takes 3 hours from airport to airport, and runs every 30 minutes, until the arrival of the last daily flight in Kaduna.The Shuttle is in addition to the federal governments free train service between Abuja and Kaduna.The two-and-half-hour Train Service departs Abujas Idu Station for Kaduna at 6 a.m., 11.55 a.m. and 5.45 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; and departs Kadunas Rigasa Station for Abuja at 9 a.m., 2.50 p.m. and 8.40 p.m., the source said.According to the source, the reconstruction at the Abuja airport is going according to schedule. He expressed optimism that the airport will reopen after six weeks as planned.The official is also involved in the presidential supervision of the airport closure and oversight.
The Muhammadu Buhari administration has become the first government to release N1tr for capital projects across the country in the history...

The Muhammadu Buhari administration has become the first government to release N1tr for capital projects across the country in the history of Nigeria.According to Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun, so far the Buhari administration has released N1trillion capital votes for federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) for the 2016 budget.The money was released for various projects including the commencement of the construction of a dual standard railway line that would link Lagos and Kano, rehabilitation of roads, expanding irrigation facilities to boost agriculture and the upgrading of aviation infrastructure throughout the country.An aggregate of N870, 055, 792, 283.00 billion was released to MDAs by February 2017 ending, with an additional release of N65, 393, 920, 000. Manual Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIEs) in February 2017 gulped N11, 179, 173, 711.42 and Manual AIEs worth N45, 804, 709, 077.20 was released on March 13, 2017."With the current stability in oil price and the return of normalcy in Niger Delta, I am sure we will do more this year (2017), she said.She made the revelation while speaking with members of the House of Representatives Tactical Committee on Recession in her office in Abuja.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has confirmed the authenticity of a memo he wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari last September re...

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has confirmed the authenticity of a memo he wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari last September recently published by online medium Sahara Reporters.Mr. El-Rufai had said in his memo that many Nigerians were not happy with the APC administration of Mr. Buhari. He said it was partly because the president had surrounded himself with clueless and inexperience persons, such as his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir Lawal.The Kaduna governor, in an interview with, however, denied leaking the 30-page memo to the press, saying those who did so had the 2019 election in mind.He also said he had written several memos to Mr. Buhari in the past.In the Memo, Mr. El-Rufai told Mr. Buhari that the APC administration has not only failed to manage expectations of a populace that expected overnight change but has failed to deliver even mundane matters of governance outside of our successes in fighting Boko Haram insurgency and corruption.He said the overall feeling even among the governing partys supporters was that the APC government was not doing well.In the interview published on Sunday, Mr. El-Rufai said, I have written several memos to the president. This is the first one that has leaked. I can state categorically that I did not leak it. If I did I would say so.I wrote the memo, its my own, I could make it public if I chose to, but I did not. It was a private communication and I cant understand the motives of those that leaked it. I dont know who leaked it. But who knows? In these days of Wikileaks, even if it is in your computer it can be hacked and taken out. I dont want to speculate on who leaked it or whatever, what I am surprised at is those that are attributing motives to the memo without even reading it.Mr. El-Rufai insisted that he had no bad motive in writing the memo and also denied saying the government had failed.Theres nowhere in the memo that I said the government has failed. Its our government; if it fails then I have failed too. But theres a lot going on. We are on the political terrain and I am the target of many people for reasons I may come to know later.But anyone that reads that memo will see that I did not intend it to be anything other than a private memo to the president.Secondly, my advice or analysis or opinions were based on what I believe to be the truth and what I think will advance the cause of the president. There is nothing in that memo that is advancing the interest of Nasir El-Rufai or even Kaduna State. Its about Nigeria, the presidents success and our party, he said.The Senator representing Kaduna Central in the Senate, Shehu Sani, had called on the leadership of the APC to punish Mr. El-Rufai for writing the memo and then leaking it to the media.Mr. El-Rufai said he knew that he would be misunderstood after writing it based on his past experience.As I said, I have been with the president since 2010, and anytime I write anything and he discusses it with his inner circle, they always say I am very ambitious.I have always been accused of having presidential ambition since 2007. I have suffered from these accusations. The late President Umaru Musa YarAdua exiled me because of it; former President Goodluck Jonathan tried to imprison me because everyone around him told him to keep me busy or I would contest against you in 2015, he said.
Local illegal refiners in the oil-producing communities maybe co-opted as shareholders in the Federal Governments proposed modular refi...

Local illegal refiners in the oil-producing communities maybe co-opted as shareholders in the Federal Governments proposed modular refineries, a presidency source has disclosed.The source who preferred to remain anonymous said the Presidency and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Agency (NSIA) are collaborating to realize the plan, in fulfilment of promises made by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo during his tour of the oil region, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari.The core of the plan is to integrate the illegal refiners, rather than a scorched-earth policy that seeks to eliminate the operations of such refiners.The source however explained that there were a number of significant hurdles to be crossed especially issues around the engineering and technical ramifications of such a conversion, besides figuring out the financial models that would be workable and profitable.At a meeting late last week at the Presidential Villa, issues around technical and engineering implications of how to integrate the refiners were discussed with industry experts and practitioners making presentations on how to implement the Buhari presidency modular refinery initiative said to have been first proposed by Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.At the meeting the experts reported that they have worked closely with the NNPC, Oil & Gas operators, owners of marginal fields, operators of refineries and various technical services providers to develop a workable system to develop this initiative, the source further disclosed.A modular refinery is a refinery made up of smaller and mobile parts-(skid-mounted)-that are more easily fabricated and can be more quickly transported to site. They come in different sizes with varying capacities normally lower capacity than conventional refineries with more elaborate and complex set-up.Under the plan being considered in the presidency, the Federal Government could supply crude to the local refineries at a reasonably considered price, as an incentive to stop the current practice whereby the illegal refiners vandalise and steal the crude.The source maintained that the new concept, when operational, would also prevent the environment degradation that the spills and damaged trunk lines have been causing.He said, the marginal field operators could also supply crude to the new modular refineries that would have the illegal refiners integrated.Another important component of the plan under consideration is to involve the current illegal refiners and their communities as shareholders while the NDDC and the NSIA will also hold substantial holdings/equity sufficient to make the smaller refineries operational as a business and a going concern.To facilitate effective community engagements, an MOU would be established under the plan with the affected communities determining the communities share, while the FG would supervise the implementation, which would be driven largely by industry operators and the communities, the source added.When contacted, Mr Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media & Publicity, Office of the Vice President, confirmed that a meeting was held last week on the issue adding that the Buhari presidency is actively working on all fronts to speedily deliver on its promise of a new vision, in the Niger Delta.
Yusuph Olaniyonu, special adviser on media to Senate President Bukola Saraki, says Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the Economic and Finan...





Yusuph Olaniyonu, special adviser on media to Senate President Bukola Saraki, says Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is cooking reports against his principal out of spite.The EFCC had leaked a report indicting Saraki and some of his aides of laundering N3.5bn Paris Club loan refund.But in a statement late Sunday night, Olaniyonu said Magu blames Saraki for the senates rejection of his appointment, hence he is fighting back to taint him.Let us first state that these allegations are not new. The EFCC had from the onset of its investigation into the Paris Club refund made attempts to drag in the name of Dr Saraki and we have promptly denied any such involvement of the senate president, he said.In fact, the EFCC itself came out to deny the report as it then said it had nothing to indict the senate president. The anti-graft agency said the investigation was still on-going then. Yet, as at that time it had all these information it is now dishing out.It is obvious that at this point when Mr Magu believes the senate president should be blamed for his failure to secure confirmation as chairman of EFCC by the senate, he would want to fight back by cooking up reports and masterminding its leakage. We maintain our stand that Dr Saraki has no direct or indirect link to the distribution of the NGF money. No money from the Paris Club refund was paid to Dr Saraki.Olaniyonu denied that Robert Mbonu, an associate of Saraki, whom the EFCC alleged held the proceeds of the unlawful activity, represented the senate president in any transaction with the Nigeria Governors Forum.In addressing the specifics of the allegation in the reports as we gathered from the press, EFCC believes that since the senate president has worked in the same organisation with Mr Robert Mbonu before, whatever transaction he is involved in should be linked to the Senate President in this era of mud-slinging and much-raking. We would like to say that Mr Mbonu is not representing Mr Saraki in any transaction he does with the NGF and no money from his company, Melrose, in his dealing with Nigeria Governors Forum came to Dr Saraki either directly or indirectly. And if the EFCC has any information to the contrary, we challenge them to make it public, he said.He also said no aide of Saraki acted on his behalf in any dealings with Mbonu.We state categorically that no aide of the senate president acted on Sarakis behalf in whatever they do with Mr Mbonu, he said.Again, If Melrose paid any money to a jeweller or any shop, that has nothing to do with the Senate President. We believe Melrose must have the necessary documentation in support of their transaction and we are sure the EFCC is aware of all these.In the same vein, if Melrose chose to invest in another company, that decision has nothing to do with the senate president and the act of drawing a link between Mbonu and Saraki can at best be only pure mischief.At this point, it should be noted that Xtract Energy Services Limited is a well known foreign exchange dealer with almost 15 years of existence in the market and the company is widely known to do business with many organisations in the country. The last time the Senate President patronised the company was on December 19, 2014 and we challenge Mr Magu and the EFCC to prove that the Senate President transacted any form of business with the foreign exchange dealer in the period of the payment of the Paris Club refund.Olaniyonu therefore called on Nigerians to view the EFCC report as Magus form of fighting back.We call on members of the public to view this concocted and leaked report as Mr Magus form of fighting back. The report has no truth in it. It should be noted that the senate president was not behind Magus failure to get confirmation from the senate. That was democracy in action. Dr Saraki is merely a presiding officer and first among equals. Dr Saraki did not in any way interfere with the confirmation process, he added.
Nigerian movie director, Jeta Amata and his ex-wife, actress Mbong Amata have linked up for a new movie.The couple were married for five years before they separated. According to rumours then, Jeta and Mbong didn't fight, they just decided to let each other go.Jeta met Mbong when she was only 16 years old in Calabar in 2001 during a movie audition. They started dating when she turned 18 two years later. In 2008, they welcomed a daughter, that same year, Jeta married Mbong.Mbong shared these new photos with him as they linked up for a new movie....She wrote;"Our beliefs made us 'good' people to each other but our behavior towards each other took it to a whole other level! Out here on set to support one of the best out of the continent of Africa... DirectorJetaAmata #friendlyexes #makepeacenotwar #theamericanking #comingsoon #setlife #filmmaker #losangeles #downtownla"
A Yola high court has granted bail to Bala Ngilari, former governor of Adamawa state, on health grounds, after he appealed against his rec...

A Yola high court has granted bail to Bala Ngilari, former governor of Adamawa state, on health grounds, after he appealed against his recent conviction.Ngilari was granted bail in the sum of N100 million with two sureties, who must deposit certificates of occupancy of landed property owned in Yola.Musa said the former governor would enjoy his bail pending the determination of his appeal.On March 6, Ngilari was sentenced to five years in prison, without an option of fine, for violating the public procurement act in the award of contract for the procurement of 25 vehicles.The vehicles, which were for commissioners, were purchased at the cost of N167 million.Musa, in his judgement, had declared that due process was not followed in the transaction.Ngilari, having appealed the sentence, went back to the same court that convicted him, and asked for bail, pending the determination of his appeal.Musa, after listening to arguments of counsel to Ngilari, Sam Olugunorisa (SAN), and that of EFCC, Abubakar Aliyu, in the motion for bail pending appeal, granted Ngilaris request.The bail plea was supported by a medical report on Ngilari, from Yola Prison, which indicated that the former governor had been under intensive medical management.The report, signed by John Bukar, a deputy comptroller in charge of health, stated that Ngilari had diabetes, hypertension and insomnia.It said Ngilari, who had been referred to Canada Specialist Hospital in Dubai, for evaluation and management, had blood pressure that was rising between 180/110 MMHG to 190/120 MMHG.
Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said the nation is gradually moving out of recession. He, however, warned that Nigerians must...

Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said the nation is gradually moving out of recession.He, however, warned that Nigerians must sustain the progress achieved so far.The governor noted that there may be retrogression, if the progress is not sustained.Ambode challenged governors to concentrate on their comparative advantages for self-sustainability instead of over dependence on the Federation Account.He noted that when states harnessed their resources, it will lessen the burden on the Federal Government and make them economically viable.He spoke while delivering the convocation lecture, entitled: Recession: Challenges and Recovery Prospects at the Wellspring University, Benin City, Edo State.Represented by Commissioner for Finance Akinyemi Ashade, the governor said the nation was plunged into recession because of the incessant vandalisation of oil facilities by militants and over concentration on crude oil as a major source of revenue.According to him, this was the direct consequence of significant economic headwinds following the adverse shock to the oil price that started since mid 2014 and more recently significant production shortages following pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta and because oil is the main revenue base of the government, the system went into comatose.The current focus on the centre for the economic sustenance of states is not sustainable.Each state or perhaps more appropriately region must figure out its own economic path by focusing on the areas it has comparative advantage and developing it.This calls for hard work and thinking outside the box.We cannot have a stable economy when the states are not independently viable. Luckily, we are blessed in this country where arguably every state is endowed with natural resources.Vice Chancellor Prof. Obi Ikediugwu urged the graduates to internalise what they have been taught.
Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to consider the release of the...

Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to consider the release of the self-acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.The governor attributed Nnamdi Kanus actions to youthful exuberance, and believes that his continued detention is a distraction.He added that some south east leaders are already coming together to make a case for his release and would caution his actions afterwards.The governor gave this explanation in Owerri at the sideline of an event at the Government House in Imo state.Recall that the Federal High Court in Abuja had fixed April 25, 2017 for ruling on bail application filed by the self-acclaimed leader and three others.
Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, on Sunday spoke about Governor Nasir El-Rufai's leaked memo to President Muhammadu Bu...

Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, on Sunday spoke about Governor Nasir El-Rufai's leaked memo to President Muhammadu Buhari.During his sermon on Sunday Bakare said I can never deny that I knew about the memo; I knew about it. I flew from Lagos to meet El-Rufai in Abuja to discuss the contents with President Buhari. There were just three of us at the meeting.The memo was an assessment of what was going on; where mistakes had been made and things were not going on well; and what could be done to move the country forward.It was not an attack on anybody or on the President but some sons of disobedience around President Buhari leaked the memo to Sahara Reporters to make it look as if it was meant to attack the President for their own selfish interests.Can you imagine that the memo was written in September last year and some people think that they could gain from that? Woe betide anyone who thinks he can further his interests by manipulating anything in this era.
National chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has threatened to arrest old staff of the party secretariat, if they failed to retur...

National chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has threatened to arrest old staff of the party secretariat, if they failed to return property in their possession in seven days.He also threatened legal action against those referring to the National Caretaker Committee, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, as a faction of the party, signalling a collapse of the truce brokered by chairman of the National Reconciliation Commission, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State.Sheriff, who noted that he had right as chairman of the party to employ staff, said in a statement signed, yesterday, by Deputy Chairman of the party, Dr. Cairo Ojougbo:We are preparing to complete state congresses where necessary and working hard towards our national convention. We will not be distracted from our set objective to return the party to the grassroots by inconsequential issues.We must prevent anybody with the agenda of killing the party, especially those who were brought to the party by those who have already decamped to other parties.We are giving seven days to these old staff, who still have the property of our party in their possession, to return them immediately, or we will be left with no other option than to hand them over to the police. Makarfi had in a statement by Prince Dayo Adeyeye, last week, reacted to the job vacancy issue, thus: We wish to state unequivocally that there are no vacancies for employment at the national secretariat of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).All the staff of the party, in line with the Establishment Manual, are intact and standing strong with all the organs of the PDP in its bid to salvage the party from destroyers. It is sad to note that Professor Wale Oladipo is ignorant on the workings of the PDP, the Establishment Manual and the position of the recent Appeal Court Judgment of February 17, 2017 which ordered the Party to revert to the Status of the Party before May 21st, 2016.The Publication is, therefore, a ploy by Senator Sheriff and his cohorts to disengage the Establishment Staff of the PDP for acting in line with their constitutional mandate and convictions. The vexatious publication is a cheap blackmail designed to intimidate our hardworking and highly principled staff.It belongs to the trash bin and should be ignored. Sheriff also said, by the pronouncement of the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, the Makarfi group was no longer in existence. He noted that an appeal was not a stay of execution, insisting that the Makarfi group was illegal. Makarfi should behave himself, he should not interfere in our business, because we are not interested in his private business.Any further careless statement from him will force us to reconsider our earlier peace agreement. We have already employed staff who are running the bureaucracy efficiently.If Makarfi so desires, he should keep the old staff, just as he is doing now. We have had enough and enough is enough of this, he said.Meanwhile, chairman of the caretaker committee of the party, Ahmed Makarfi, said, yesterday, that the latest threat by Ali Modu Sheriff to sue anybody who recognises the committee has shown that Sheriff and his group were not reliable.In a statement by the spokesman of the committee, Dayo Adeyeye, Makarfi said: Sheriff and his co travelers, especially Cairo Ojuogbo, were never men with whom one can reach any agreement. But we tagged along to avoid being accused of unnecessary intransigence.Since the leopard cannot change its spot, it is now very clear that no agreement or political solution can be reached with these bunch of people with huge integrity deficit.Cairo is a nonentity, an impostor and a rabble rouser in a non existent National Working Committee (NWC). Sheriff has no men to constitute an NWC with the required constitutional quorum. He therefore has to surround himself with the likes of Cairo who was neither elected or appointed to the Position.Cairos shameless public parade of himself as Deputy National Chairman is the worst case of impunity in the history of our great Party. His threat against our hard working staff should therefore be ignored and treated with utmost contempt coming from a lawless impostor. For the education of Sheriff and his cohorts, our Appeal at the Supreme Court is already on. To that extent, the position and status of the National Caretaker Committee remains completely unaltered. Since they cannot comprehend even very simple matters, we will use a simple analogy.If a governor loses at the election petitions tribunal and at the Court of Appeal, does he ceases to be a governor even when his appeal is pending before the Supreme Court? And would the civil servants then refuse to serve him? The position of the law is that he would remain the governor and all government employees will be expected to continue to service his government until otherwise determined by the Supreme Court. In the light of the above, we urge our loyal Party members and staff to ignore this latest rantings of the APC lackeys. We went out of our way few days ago to reach accommodation with them even when some of our top leaders had serious misgivings about any type of talk with them given their unreliability. We are happy that we have shown our goodwill and they too have demonstrated their bad faith he said.He added that the committee tried strenuously to reach Gov Dickson to report this infraction and deliberate violation of the truce agreement by the Sheriff Group but we were not able to get through to him.
The senate committee on ethics and privileges is currently grilling Senate President Bukola Saraki over the seizure of a sport utility veh...

The senate committee on ethics and privileges is currently grilling Senate President Bukola Saraki over the seizure of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) belonging to the senate.Officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) impounded the vehicle in January after discovering that the documents used in clearing it were forged.There have been allegations that the row of the senate with Hameed Ali, comptroller-general of customs, is as a result of the action of the agency.Dino Melaye, senator representing Kogi west, had earlier appeared before the committee over the issue of his certificate.Melaye was accused of not graduating from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and the panel summoned him alongside the vice-chancellor of ABU.
President Jacob Zuma of South Adrica on Monday ordered that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan return from an investor roadshow to Britain an...

President Jacob Zuma of South Adrica on Monday ordered that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan return from an investor roadshow to Britain and the U.S. because he did not give permission for the trip.Appointed in 2015 after a predecessors sudden sacking, Gordhan was in London for the first leg of a week-long non-deal investor roadshow in Britain and the U.S.Weak economic growth and tensions within the ruling party African National Congress (ANC) have put South Africas investment grade credit rating at risk.The rand fell as much as 1.7 per cent following the report, while bonds weakened sharply. Banking shares on the Johannesburg bourse fell more than 2 per cent.A government source said: they were told last night or this morning to come back the presidency did not give permission for the trip.The presidents office could not be reached for comment.Africas most industrialised economy escaped being downgraded to junk status last year.S and P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings both rank the sovereign one level above junk, while Moodys puts it two notches higher.Moodys, which put South Africa on negative watch in its latest review, is due to revisit that on April 7, followed by S and P at the beginning of June.Gordhans team on the trip to London, Boston and New York included deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas and Treasury director general Lungisa Fuzile, as well as business executives and union leaders.
On a daily basis, a pupil of Queens College, Yaba, is admitted in one general hospital or another in Lagos State.

On a daily basis, a pupil of Queens College, Yaba, is admitted in one general hospital or another in Lagos State.A parent, whose child had been admitted at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, for about a week, told our correspondent that no fewer than 15 pupils of the school were receiving treatment in LUTH.The parent and other parents with children in the school called on the Federal Government to recall a former principal of the school, Dr Lami Amodu, to face criminal charges for negligence and the death of two pupils of the school.Our correspondent had reported that many pupils of the school had diarrhoea after eating spaghetti and water, said to have been contaminated.A teacher in the school had disclosed to our correspondent that one-fourth of the school population was infected with diarrhoea and were initially admitted at the schools sickbay.Two pupils of the schoolVivian Osuiniyi and Bithia Itulua  were reported to have died after being taken away for proper treatments at home.The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, had released a statement, saying health records from the schools sickbay indicated that the illness started on January 16, 2017, adding that a total of 1,222 pupils presented themselves at the schools clinic on account of abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea.Idris had advised an indefinite suspension of academic activities in the school.The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, was reported to have asked the schools new principal, Mrs. Bola Are, to cease plans for the resumption of the school.It was, however, learnt that the schools Junior Secondary School three pupils and Senior Secondary School three pupils had been going to the school as day students because of their certificate exams.A parent, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone from LUTH on Thursday, said the decision was wrong, adding that some parents had been bringing their children from the school in their uniforms to LUTH.She said, My daughter did not show any symptom until about two weeks ago. We took her to a private clinic in our area, where she stayed for five days without any improvement.Then, we took her to a standard hospital where some consultants battled with the infection. After I had spent about N150,000, I was advised to take her to LUTH.In LUTH, I saw a lot of Queens College parents with their children. We were about 15 in number. Just yesterday, they brought a girl in school uniform. She was brought by her parents directly from the school. Unfortunately, while some of our children are struggling to survive, the school is trying to manage its reputation by lying that all is well.They are bringing pupils on a daily basis. The school authority and the Federal Ministry of Education are paying lip service to this unfolding incident.He said on the average, each admitted pupil spent two weeks in the hospital.On Friday, the parent sent a message to our correspondent that another child had been brought in her school uniform to LUTH.It was also learnt that the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, had instructed all federal hospitals to treat pupils of the school free of charge.A parent said one of the doctors attending to the children cautioned that pupils who had yet to show any sign of infection were more at risk.He said, We were told that the more the bacterial stays dormant in the body of the girls, the more dangerous it would be. There is a need for the school management to sensitise all the parents whose children have not fallen ill to take urgent action. It is dangerous for pupils to still be using that environment because the infection has not been isolated.A parent said many of the parents were of the opinion that the former principal of the school must be recalled and made to answer for the incident.He said, She was just transferred, which is wrong. She should be made to answer to what happened. She should be prosecuted for criminal negligence or manslaughter. The same principal bought a Ford Explorer Jeep. The Jeep is on the schools premises. This principal denied that anything happened, and the question is why? Somebody must pay for this.The Public Relations Officer of LUTH, Mr. Kelechi Otuneme, said he could not confirm the number of Queens College pupils in the hospital.He said, I dont have that case before me right now, so I cannot tell the frequency at which they bring in pupils and the number of those in the hospital. I will get back to you tomorrow (Monday).The President of the Old Students Association, Dr Frances Ajose, confirmed the development, adding that she was informed each time a new pupil took ill.She said, Of course I am aware. I am notified each time they (the pupils) are going to hospitals.Ajose, however, directed our correspondent to the state Commissioner for Health, Idris, saying he was the only one authorised to comment on the outbreak.A top official of Queens College, who begged not to be identified, said she had spoken with LUTH director and was informed many of the pupils had been discharged.I was told only five pupils are on admission. We are monitoring the situation. I have been praying for the pupils to return to school. The past principal really messed things up and I believe all other schools must have learnt from her mistake, she added.
The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has dismissed reports of illegal dealings regarding the release of the first batch of the Paris Club r...

The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has dismissed reports of illegal dealings regarding the release of the first batch of the Paris Club refund to state governments.It however confirmed that it hired consultants to facilitate the disbursement of her funds to the various state governments.In a statement signed by the Head of Media, Abulrazque B. Barkindo, the forum said it was not within its purview to determine how the consultants spend the money.The Forum said that the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria to release the second batch of the money was a confirmation of the confidence the President has on the governors.The statement reads: Our attention has been drawn to publications in the media which are believed to have emanated from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) about a purported report the anti-graft agency submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari, on March 10, 2016.The report is said to have indicted the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and imputed illegal dealings in the disbursement of the Paris Club refund payment to states of the federation as handled by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).While the NGF will not want to repeatedly join issues with the EFCC on the disbursement of the first tranche of the Paris Club refund, particularly after its officials have been interrogated by the anti-corruption agency and we provided all necessary and required details and documents regarding disbursement to states, including harmonizing the number of consultants and payment made to them, we are constrained to once again state the following for the benefit of members of the public:It is true that Melrose General Services Limited was one of the consultants that was duly engaged and documented to facilitate the disbursement of the Paris Club Refund. The consultant was also paid an amount commensurate to the services it provided, among other numerous consultants that were involved in the process.It is not in the NGFs purview to determine how Melrose or other consultants disburse or utilize the consultancy fee paid to them. The NGF should therefore not be dragged into how its suppliers, lawyers, contractors and consultants spend their legitimate incomes and revenues.It may interest the public to know that the NGF is still being inundated with claims from many other consultants from all over the country who had earlier been engaged and promised commission by the respective states.The NGF maintains its earlier position that it has done nothing illegal as far as the disbursement of the Paris Club Refund to states and the consultants are concerned. The Forum has all necessary approvals to act in the manner it did. Therefore, the misinformation in the media about the disbursement and insinuations being made concerning some Governors that are being mentioned is outright mischief.We will like to state that the approval for the release of the second tranche of the Paris Club refund by President Muhammadu Buhari is indicative of his Confidence in the NGF for the manner it handled the disbursement of the first tranche of the fund.The NGF would like to once again place it on record that it played an altruistic and patriotic role in ensuring that it aided, as directed, approved and authorized by the Presidency, Federal Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Debt Management Office (DMO) and all other necessary agencies of government, the disbursement of the funds to entities and individuals lawfully entitled to it. All approvals, authorization, terms of engagements and disbursement were properly documented and are verifiable by anyone, including the general public.
Explaining that the Igbos have shot themselves in the leg during the 1993 presidential elections, Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Pr...

Explaining that the Igbos have shot themselves in the leg during the 1993 presidential elections, Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Lagos state, Joe Igbokwe justified why an Igbo man is yet to be elected Nigeria's president.Igbokwe, making reference to 1993 elections, said the Igbos failed to queue behind the acclaimed winner, MKO Abiola.According to him, that single action pitched the Yoruba against them after the polls.He said the people of the region failed to realize that politics was not business and can never be equated with business, which they were only good at.Speaking with Vanguard, the APC chieftain believed that until Igbos woke up from the slumber, they would continue to lament and see the Presidential Villa from the mountain top.He said, Until the Igbo wake up from their slumber, they will not realise the need for cooperation. The 1993 presidential election provided the Igbo the opportunity to cement their relationship with the South-West because we needed to bridge that gap.The North was able to actualize the annulment of that election because the Igbo failed to stand with the Yoruba. It was only a few of us who stood with Abiola  myself, Ndubuisi Kanu, Payne Jackson  among others. When we put the issue before our people, they claimed that the Igbo had fought their own civil war and that it was the turn of the Yoruba to fight their own.I like the ruggedness of the Yoruba. While the Yoruba were confronting their issues, the Igbo were busy clapping and that is why we warned them that if with the sophistication of Yoruba leaders and this was happening to them, the Igbo werent safe.Asked if the Igbos have the hope of ruling Nigeria soon, Igbokwe said, they dont understand Nigerian politics and that is my problem with them. Nigerian politics is not business. After the demise of Yar Adua, what I expected the Igbo to do was to ask Jonathan to finish the four years of Yar Adua and allow the North to have their eight years.And by 2015, the President would have come to the South-East. They (Igbo) were cajoled with the belief that no one could defeat the incumbent.
Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, 74, to reveal the condition of his health after s...

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, 74, to reveal the condition of his health after spending nearly two months in Britain on medical leave.Soyinka, who spoke in an interview with AFP at Paris Book Fair weekend, also said indigenous people had a right to assert themselves as a distinct people, even within a political and geographical zone anywhere in the world. Hes ill, theres no question, and I wish for heavens sake that people in public positions would just be honest. Illness is part of our existence.Buhari owes it to the nation and I dont know why he and his advisors are being so coy about it, Soyinka said. Soyinka, who also noted that US President, Donald Trump, exploited latent xenophobia to reach the White House, said a people had a right to agitate for self-autonomy within a geographical expression.He was obviously reacting to the agitation for declaration of independent state of Biafra in the South East of Nigeria. He said: Its not the real estate for me that defines a nation or a people, no, its a history, a culture. What is a crime within an artificial entity like Nigeria? You have states being created which are not viable.Biafra unsuccessfully fought for independence in a brutal three-year civil war  during which Soyinka was imprisoned for nearly two years over allegations of espionage. Separatist sentiment has grown since the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, was arrested in October 2015, sparking bloody clashes with security forces.The military denied an allegation by Amnesty International in November that security agents killed some 150 Biafra protesters in the past year. Soyinka said: I cannot accept the notion that people have a right to kill other people because they want to assert their identity It it doesnt cost anything to recognise it.Ironically, IPOB threw its support behind Trumps presidential campaign in the belief he would recognise their independence movement. Soon after Britons voted to leave the European Union in a referendum last July, the group pushed for its own version of Brexit from Nigeria that it dubbed Biafrexit. He said President Donald Trump, exploited latent xenophobia to reach the White House, decrying the erection of walls, especially in peoples minds, anywhere in the world.He said: He played to a latent xenophobic streak which exists in all societies including mine, said Soyinka, who renounced his US green card upon Trumps victory in November over the Republicans anti-immigrant rhetoric. When I see that kind of conduct to gain power, Im completely revolted.Soyinka, who was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1986, said further: To me a horrible moment was to watch hundreds of thousands of people actually applauding when (Trump) uttered these sentiments during the election campaign. Im against the erection of walls, especially in peoples minds, the white-haired professor added. Ive never made any bones about it, whether its happening in Nigeria or elsewhere.Soyinka recalled when in 1983, faced with a steep drop in oil prices, the Nigerian government, to cover up all its problems, decided to expel aliens.Some two million undocumented immigrants  mainly from nearby Ghana  were given a few weeks to leave the west African country, whose economy is driven by vast oil resources.There were hordes of refugees in ramshackle lorries going back to their home countries. Ever since, the chequered jute bag used by travellers throughout west Africa has been known as the Ghana Must Go bag, Soyinka said.
LINWOOD -- A Mainland Regional High School student had a "kill list" and threatened to bomb the building, authorities said.

The student was pulled from class and brought to police headquarters where he was questioned, Linwood police said in a news release.

Police learned of the threat when other students notified school staff that they heard the student reference the list. Police said the student's parents were "supportive of the investigation," but no other information was released.

The school was not locked down, but parents were notified about the alleged threat via a phone calls, PressofAtlanticCity.com said.

No charges have been filed as of noon Monday, Capt. John Hamilton said. The incident is still being investigated.

Last month, an 11-year-old from nearby Egg Harbor Township was suspended for allegedly bringing a steak knife and a "kill list" to school.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
HAMMONTON -- A New Jersey man serving a 25-year sentence for beating a man unconscious and setting a car on fire to dispose of his body in Atlantic County had his appeal rejected by a state appeals court.

Denis Catania, 55. (NJ Dept. of Corrections)

Denis Catania, 55, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter in 2013 in the killing of Ross Heimlick.

Heimlick, 23, was having an affair with Catania's girlfriend, Diane Camacho, according to the court ruling.

Catania, Camacho and a third man, Damien Leo, lured Heimlick to a house in Camden County in September 2010 with the intention of assaulting him, the ruling said.

During a struggle, Heimlick was knocked unconscious and Catania believed he the man was dead. Heimlick's car was driven to Atlantic County and set ablaze, burning his body beyond recognition.

As investigators attempted to identify the body, Catania and Camacho moved to Florida. They later fled to the Caribbean and were arrested in Cuba in 2011 to face charges in the killing.

While Catania pleaded guilty after Leo and Camacho agreed to testify against him, he contended in his appeal that the search of his Florida residence by investigators was conducted illegally and his guilty plea was influenced by evidence that should have been suppressed.

The Appellate Division ruling issued Monday rejected those arguments and affirmed his conviction. Catania must serve more than 22 years before being eligible for parole.

Camacho is currently serving a nine year state prison sentence and Leo is serving an eight year sentence for their roles in the killing.

Rajeev Dhir may be reached at rdhir@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @googasmammoo. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
EGG HARBOR TWP -- President Donald Trump's budget proposal could have a significant effect on thousands of federal contractors and employees at an FAA technical center in South Jersey, according to a philly.com report.

The William J. Hughes Technical Center conducts research for air traffic safety and air traffic control. Trump's budget would seek to hand over air traffic control to a private entity.

The move could affect as many as 2,000 people at the tech center in Atlantic County, philly.com reported.

The budget plan does not call for any impact on air marshal training and TSA research facilities, both of which fall under the Department of Homeland Security's budget.

The center's director plans to testify at an April 4 meeting before a subcommittee, philly.com said.

Rajeev Dhir may be reached at rdhir@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @googasmammoo. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Women's healthcare was repeatedly mentioned Sunday afternoon at a women's history month celebration where six "trailblazing" women were given awards by U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) days after a replacement to the Affordable Care Act failed to get a vote.

Menendez, for the seventh year, distributed Evangelina Menendez Trailblazer Awards in honor of his late mother who came to the United States from Cuba in 1953 to improve her children's lives, he said. She died in 2009 after battling Alzheimer's.

The six award recipients were "remarkable" women from across the state who are distinct trailblazers, he said.

"They brighten our collective futures not just as New Jerseyans, but as Americans," Menendez said.

The auditorium at Montclair State University was at capacity for the event, with a crowd that frequently gave standing ovations and a loud round of applause at the mention of improving women's access to healthcare.

Menendez emotionally spoke about his mother, who he said has inspired him in his career to fight for the rights of others.

Menendez said Washington was not having productive conversations about how to improve the healthcare law, but that he would be "thrilled to have a real debate about how we can make it work better for our families," adding that he "will never apologize" for helping to write the ACA, which has helped insure millions of people, he said.

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, delivered the keynote speech and called Friday a "huge victory."

"Of course, Senator Menendez, I always believed if more members on Congress, could get pregnant we wouldn't be fighting them on Planned Parenthood, but we've got some work to do," Richards said.

Among those also honored were two public workers from Bergen County, and a group of women whose work ranges from advocacy to working with children. The honorees were:

Bergenfield Chief of Police Cathy Madalone, who became the first female police chief in Bergen County was she was sworn in two years ago. Madalone has received a number of awards and commendations in her 23-year career.

Argine Safari, a music teacher at Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale, who was chosen as the state's teacher of the year was also honored at the ceremony. Safari is an award-winning educator who has co-founded a nonprofit and established new vocal programs and classes at the high school.

Janeen M. Fillari, Command Chief Master Sergeant in N.J. Air National Guard, whose duties include overseeing the health, morale and professional development of the state's enlisted members in the National Guard.

Tawanda Jones, who is the founder of Camden Sophisticated Sisters, a nonprofit organization that aims to offer children of Camden discipline and motivation through a drill team.

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez who is believed to be the county's first female prosecutor and first prosecutor of Hispanic heritage in the county when she was sworn in two years ago.

Patricia Teffenhart, executive director of the N.J. Coalition Against Sexual Assault, an advocacy organization that represents the county's rape crisis centers and the Rutgers University Office of Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance.

Menendez made headlines last week when the Supreme Court announced it would not dismiss the federal indictment against him. He is accused of interfering with federal agencies to help a campaign donor and personal friend. Menendez is is up for re-election next year.

Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.
virtua-health-presser.jpg

Mike Kotzen, Virtua's executive vice president for population health management, speaks at a press conference at Virtua Voorhees Monday, March 27, 2017. Also pictured are Scott Kasper, center, Virtua's assistant vice president of EMS, and James Baliko, a Camden County resident who was treated by Virtua paramedics when he had a heart attack while bicycling.

(Rebecca Everett | For NJ.com)

VOORHEES TWP. -- Two Camden County freeholders have invited mayors to a meeting Tuesday to address allegedly subpar response times from the county's main advanced life support provider.

But that provider, Virtua Health, was not invited.

Tuesday's meeting will instead feature a presentation from Cooper Healthcare System, which Virtua Health officials fear is the freeholders' choice to replace them as the county's ALS provider.

Virtua Health held a press conference Monday to defend its emergency medical services, saying the county's planned meeting with Cooper instead of Virtua "reeks of backroom, political deal-making."

However, county spokesman Dan Keashen said that while Cooper does provide services in Camden City, it has no interest in doing so in the suburbs. He said Virtua Health CEO Richard Miller's claims that county officials are conspiring to cut Virtua out of the EMS business in Camden County "delusional."

"Mr. Miller must be having hallucinations and is obviously trying to distract from the service Virtua is providing," Keashen said.

It's not hard to see why Virtua officials might fear that the county would prefer Cooper to them. Cooper took over emergency medical services for Camden City last year because local and state politicians supported a fast-tracked law requiring a level 1 trauma hospital provide emergency services in Camden City. Cooper University Hospital is the only hospital that fits that description in the county.

That legislation came on the heels of a 2015 report that found that Virtua's ALS response time in the county exceeded an 8-minute benchmark about half the time.

Freeholder Louis Cappelli Jr. and Jonathan Young Sr. rehashed the findings in the invitations they extended to mayors to attend the meeting Tuesday, calling the response times in some communities "woefully inadequate" and a "life or death issue."

Asked why Virtua was not invited to the meeting and why its request to join has not been granted, Keashen said the county wants mayors to feel free to express their feelings on Virtua.

"We want a frank and honest conversation about any challenges with ALS response times with the leaders of each municipality in the county," he said.

A dozen Virtua Health emergency medical personnel attended the press conference at Virtua Voorhess Monday.

At the press conference Monday, Mike Kotzen, Virtua's executive vice president for population health management, said that the freeholders were fearmongering.

"We've received only positive feedback from the communities we serve," he said.

Virtua has provided ALS services in Camden and Burlington counties for 40 years, helping patients with more serious health problems, including heart attacks or strokes, which local basic life support ambulances do not have the training or equipment to handle.

Scott Kasper, Virtua's assistant vice president of EMS and chairman of the New Jersey EMS Council, pointed to the awards and recognitions the ambulance service has received, as well as its upgrades and expanded services in suburban Camden County.

Virtua's MedCom communications center can now use predictive analytics to tell where incidents are likely to occur, and also use real-time traffic data and driver behavior patterns to make sure that the ambulance routed to the call is the one that can get there the fastest.

He also said that Virtua has redeployed ambulances and paramedics from Camden City to the suburbs, increased paramedic hours at night and added a new ambulance.

In a statement Monday, Keashen noted that the 2015 county report found that response times were often higher than the 8-minute mark in Pine Hill, Winslow, Oaklyn, Gloucester City, Cherry Hill, Voorhees and Gloucester Township.

Kasper argued that the 8-minute benchmark is outdated -- set at a time before basic life support ambulances, which are likely to arrive first, had automated external defibrillators (AEDs) -- and that response times aren't what's most important.

Its paramedics have a 38 percent rate of resuscitating cardiac arrest victims. "That is a survival rate 36 percent higher than the national average," Kasper said.

It is also the only ALS service in the state allowed to administer anesthetic and paralytic medications without a doctor's order "because of our long track record of clinical excellence," Kasper said.

Kotzen said Virtua's 182 paramedics had just over 50,000 calls last year, and ended up treating patients at about half of those, since some only needed basic life support treatment or refused care.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Natalie Jones plays Heavenly Finley, the girl once in love with Chance Wayne. Her father, the viciously hateful Boss Finley, played by Greg Baber, has vowed to castrate Wayne if he ever returns.
In this 2012 file photo, Recovery School District Superintendent Patrick Dobard helps Quanisha Carter, 8, and Donta Jefferson, 5, onto the school bus at Orleans Avenue in New Orleans. Dobard kicked off the new school year by riding the bus with students and visiting schools on Aug. 6, 2012. (CATHERINE THRELKELD / THE TIMES-)
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.
The key talking points, match reports, highlights, injury and judiciary news from the weekend's Telstra Premiership action.

Rabbitohs v Roosters

The Roosters started strongly and rarely looked troubled against the Rabbitohs in wet conditions on Thursday night.

Injuries: Sam Burgess (concussion).

Judiciary: No charges.

Match report: Roosters dispose of sloppy Souths

Rabbitohs v Roosters: Five key points

WATCH: Match highlights





Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 4: Rabbitohs vs Roosters

Panthers v Knights

The Panthers ran riot and held the Knights out to record a big 40-0 win at Pepper Stadium on Friday night.

Injuries: No major injuries.

Judiciary: No charges.

Match report: Red-hot Panthers dominate Knights

Panthers v Knights: Five key points

WATCH: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 4: Panthers vs Knights

Broncos v Raiders

Jordan Kahu stepped up to kick the match-winning field goal in a tight tussle at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.

Injuries: Josh Hodgson (sternum).

Judiciary: Elliott Whitehead (grade two tripping).

Match report: Kahu field goal seals tight Broncos win

Broncos v Raiders: Five key points

WATCH: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 4: Broncos vs Raiders

Sea Eagles v Bulldogs

A Daly Cherry-Evans masterclass inspired the Sea Eagles to a crushing 36-0 win over the Bulldogs in an utterly one-sided contest at Lottoland.

Injuries: No major injuries.

Judiciary: Moses Mbye (grade one shoulder charge).

Match report: DCE Stars as Eagles crush Bulldogs

Sea Eagles v Bulldogs: Five key points

WATCH: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 4: Sea Eagles vs Bulldogs

Eels v Sharks

The long-awaited NRL return of James Segeyaro ended up being a quiet 20-minute cameo at the end of a dominant 20-6 win for his new club the Sharks over an incredibly sloppy and frantic Eels side.

Injuries: Wade Graham (lower leg).

Judiciary: No charges.

Match report: Sharks down error prone Eels

Eels v Sharks: Five key points

WATCH: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 4: Eels vs Sharks

Titans v Cowboys

Rampaging back-rower Coen Hess shrugged aside the absence of Jason Taumalolo and Matt Scott along with scores of Titans defenders to seal the Cowboys' 32-26 win over the Titans.

Injuries: No major injuries.

Judiciary: Ryan James (grade one shoulder charge).

Match report: Hess leads Cowboys to win

Titans v Cowboys: Five key points

WATCH: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 4: Titans vs Cowboys

Wests Tigers v Storm

Melbourne stormed back from an early 14-point deficit to extend their unbeaten start to the year with a gutsy 22-14 win over the Wests Tigers.

Injuries: Christian Welch (head), Joel Edwards (head), Luke Brooks (hamstring).

Judiciary: No charges.

Match report: Melbourne tame Tigers

Wests Tigers v Storm: Five key points

WATCH: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 4: Wests Tigers vs Storm

Dragons v Warriors

Outstanding performances from Paul Vaughan and Josh Dugan have guided St George Illawarra to a comfortable 26-12 victory over an error-riddled New Zealand Warriors.

Injuries: Kieran Foran (hamstring).

Judiciary: No charges.

Match report: Dragons too good for Warriors

Dragons v Warriors: Five key points

WATCH: Match highlights



Match Draw Widget

[2017] Telstra Premiership - Round 4: Dragons vs Warriors


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The Kankakee River in south Lake County could flood this week.

The National Weather Service in Chicago issued a warning that the river could flood in Lake and Newton Counties because of rainfall over the past 24 hours and another quarter inch of rain that's forecasted. The river stood at 8.4 feet Monday, just short of the 9 foot flood stage.

"Minor flooding is possible," the National Weather Service said in an alert. "Flood stage may be reached by Wednesday afternoon."

Lowland agricultural flooding could take place from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday morning, the National Weather Service warned. The flooding could take place by Shelby, a small town of about 500 residents in South Lake County.
GARY  At the start of the year, a group of criminal justice students at Indiana University Northwest began combing the internet for news articles that detailed police-involved shootings  plotting each incident on a U.S. map along the way.

Sounds easy enough, right?

If you stay up late at night on the weekends, and you actually get online and type in officer-involved shooting, you can barely record a (point on the map) and refresh before another one pops up, Zach Hall, a criminal justice major at IUN, explained. Its pretty interesting.

Since Jan.1, there have been 434 police-involved shootings where 268 people have been killed by police. Nearly four months into 2017 and 268 people have been killed by police (as of March 26), according to the mapping tool updated daily by Dr. Joseph Ferrandinos class to fulfill their senior capstone project requirement.

The Times of Northwest Indiana, in partnership with Ferrandino, agreed to host the map on the publication's website. The map can be found here: http://www.nwitimes.com/pdshootings.

Angela Okwei said her classmates' work differs from most other online databases. National news organizations, like the Washington Post, only track fatal police shootings of civilians, while pro-police organizations typically track all deaths of officers who die in the line of duty. The IUN map goes one step further by tracking all known police-involved shootings in which a civilian or an officer was injured or killed in 2017 across the United States.

People have their opinions and the media gives limited information, so its up to others to search out that information. It being in one place is very helpful for everyone to see all the correlations, Okwei said.

The mapping project tracks several factors, where available, including the race and name of the civilian, the name of the police officer, and the circumstances of the shooting. If body camera footage is available, students try to include that information, too. The IUN map also includes a layer of Washington Post 2015-2016 data.

Students also include information  like whether the suspect had a mental illness or disability, or was armed with a knife or firearm  from news articles to provide context. Okwei said she thinks the map suggests more investment should be made in mental illness and police training for de-escalating situations.

"It's very good for the police, and policy makers, to view it," Okwei said.

Of the 268 incidents in which a citizen died so far this year: 248 citizens were killed without officers being shot or killed, there are five incidents in which both the citizen and the officer were killed, and 15 incidents in which an officer was shot and a civilian was killed.

By comparison, 10 officers have been shot and killed by civilians. In all, there were another 161 police-involved shootings that did not result in death.

There have been 11 incidents in Indiana so far this year, including two in Gary. A retired Gary police captain was shot during a home invasion Feb. 21 and a police dog was shot Jan. 18 by a suspect during a traffic stop in Gary.

The issue of police use of force was thrust into the spotlight after the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Shortly after Browns death, a Washington Post analysis of records maintained by the FBI and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed police-involved fatal shootings were being widely under-reported across the country.

The FBI tracks some information about these cases, and until Congress passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act in 2014, local police departments were not legally required to report officer-involved shootings or civilian deaths while in police custody to the federal government. The FBI plans to launch a pilot program to report use-of-force statistics.

IUN student Jennifer Lankas, 21, said she was most surprised by the sheer volume of shootings. Students say they are learning that law enforcement are often thrust into intense situations while taking calls for a domestic disturbances sparked by family arguments, mental illness and violence in the home.

"I never realized how many shootings occurred each day. They are a lot of citizens being shot by police. But when you click on the point on the map, and read the news article, you see it's the citizens' fault," Lankas said.

The map has its limitations. It only includes incidents that have been reported, mainly by local newspapers or media outlets.

As of March 26, the students mapping project includes at least 175 incidents in which the citizens race was not reported. Where the data is known, suspects were white in 109 cases; black in 74 cases; Hispanic in 60 cases and Asian in one case. There were 14 other races.

A lot of our data isnt missing because were not looking. Its just not there," Ferrandino said.

Each incident has to meet certain criteria, often hashed out during classroom debates, Ferrandino said.

For example, there was debate about a police-involved shooting earlier this year in Gary. Blade, a Gary police dog, was shot in the line of duty as he assisted his partner during a traffic stop, Ferrandino said.

Ultimately, the students agreed Blade should be considered a sworn officer, he said.

Some of the IUN students keep tabs on shootings by signing up for news alerts and searching key terms online. Others pull directly from local news reports, police department websites and by reviewing online scrapping sites.

What students are finding is police are quick to release incident narratives and even a suspects identity and history, but are less forthcoming about an officers name, race and other details. The vast majority of police-involved shootings remain under investigation. In only three cases, officers have been charged with crimes. In 27 cases, the officer's actions have been determined as justified.

Charles Weaver, 25, one of Ferrandino's students at IUN, said the cases are more complex than black versus white or armed versus unarmed.

"That's the interesting thing about this project. There are some instances where the officers were justified to use their actions. Some were not," Weaver said. "And for the some that were not, they're still trying to find that story. Was this really justified? Some shootings that happened a couple of months ago, they're still discussing that."

Ferrandino said though he considers the map a constant work in progress, he hopes it serves as a conversation starter.

"If somebody in December had asked me about police shootings, I would have given an answer and it would have been totally wrong, Ferrandino said. I would have given my opinion as to what I thought was happening, but I wouldnt have had all the information. To be able to look at all of these incidents, where its occurring, what the circumstances were, and picturing it from both sides, youre a lot more informed.
INDIANAPOLIS  The Republican-controlled Senate Rules Committee revived legislation Monday taking the choice of state superintendent of public instruction away from Hoosier voters.

The full Senate now will act in coming days on House Bill 1005, sponsored by House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, that would replace the elected state superintendent with a governor-appointed secretary of education  a change sought by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.

A similar proposal, Senate Bill 179, was defeated 26-23 by the Senate on February 20.

Senate rules generally prohibit the language of a defeated measure, or any "substantially similar" language, from again being considered for the remainder of the legislative session.

However, the Rules Committee amended House Bill 1005 in such a way that the committee chairman, Senate President David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said made the legislation sufficiently different to be eligible for re-consideration by the Senate.

Those changes include moving the start date for an appointed education secretary to 2025, instead of 2021.

The secretary also would be required to be an Indiana resident for at least two years prior to his or her appointment and have extensive experience in education  neither of which were in the original House or Senate proposals.

"Our attorneys believe, and leadership believes on the Republican side, that this is a substantially different bill," Long said.

Committee Democrats repeatedly objected to Long's interpretation of the Senate's rules.

They insisted the changes merely were "window dressing," and the House-approved proposal should not be allowed to be considered by the Senate under any circumstances.

"No matter what the amendment says, it does the exact same thing that the Senate bill did...it moves the office of superintendent of public instruction from being an elected position to an appointed position," said Senate Democratic Leader Tim Lanane, D-Anderson.

Nevertheless, the committee voted, 8-4, along party lines, to advance the revised legislation to the full chamber.

Though state Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, did extract a promise from Long that if the measure ultimately passes and is sent to a House-Senate conference committee, it will not be allowed to go back to the House version with a 2021 start date and no qualification requirements.

"I think we have to keep this bill in the shape it is. Reverting backward I don't think can happen," Long said.

Afterward, Bosma admitted that he didn't particularly care for the changes made to his proposal, but said he understands the need to comply with Senate requirements.

He also did not rule out seeking to restore the 2021 start for an appointed education secretary at the earliest possible opportunity.

"Don't put off until tomorrow what you believe you can do today  that is an old political adage that I follow," he said.
Valparaiso University is renaming the University Writing Center after an alumna who donated $1 million to the school.

Valparaiso University alumni Judith Rockett Beumer and Richard Dick Beumer gave $1 million to the Judith L. Beumer Endowed Writing Program Fund and the Beumer College of Engineering Fund at the private Lutheran university. To honor them, Valpo will rename the writing center in the library the Judith L. Beumer Writing Center after the University Guild member who graduated with a degree in English and sociology.

The ability to present their thoughts and ideas in writing is essential for Valpo students to succeed in the classroom and, after graduating, in the workplace, Judy Beumer said. Dick and I are blessed to be able to establish an endowed fund in support of the Writing Center. We hope that the permanent source of funds will allow the program to help even more students strengthen their writing skills.

The writing center offers students help with assignments, workshops and other programs to sharpen their communication ability.

Judy and Dick Beumers support of Valpo aligns with the passion they hold for these two programs, and we are extremely thankful for their generosity, Valparaiso University President Mark Heckler said. As an English major, Judy knows the importance of literacy, language and communication in all that we do. We are honored that the Writing Center will carry her name. Dicks service to the university extends well past the 26 years he served on the Board. The endowed funds they have established will ensure they have a positive impact on the University in perpetuity.

Half of the donation will go toward the College of Engineering, which U.S. News & World Report ranked 13th nationally. The college offers degrees in bioengineering and civil, computer, electrical, mechanical and engineering.

Valparaiso University and the College of Engineering prepared me for a professional career that I could not have imagined was possible, said Dick Beumer, an emeritus member of the University Board of Directors who got a degree in electrical engineering. I hope that our support has the same impact on future students. If so, this is a wonderful investment.

The donations were pledged as part of Forever Valpo: The Campaign for Our Future, which has raised more than $152 million since it launched in September. The university hopes to raise $250 million for an endowment that would support scholarships, faculty development and other programs.
ELKHART, Ind.  The deaths of a northern Indiana couple whose bodies were found in a parked minivan near their home were a murder-suicide, authorities said Monday.

Coroners have ruled the death of Susana Alvarez, 31, a homicide and determined that Alberto Avelino, 38, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, the Elkhart County Sheriff's Office said. Alvarez, who also was shot once in the head, was in the vehicle's passenger seat when the bodies were found Saturday afternoon.

Capt. Jeff Siegel said in a news release that the gun used in both deaths was found in the minivan. The release did not mention a possible motive.

Alvarez and Avelino, of Elkhart, were in a relationship together and had five children, the release said.

The couple and their children lived in a mobile home on the city's west side, about two blocks from where their bodies were found. Friends and family became concerned when the couple hadn't been heard from since Friday evening, but Siegel said the sheriff's office had not received a missing persons report for them.

The couple's children put crosses in the ground during a vigil Sunday and left mementos nearby that included Goldfish snack crackers and a doll, The Elkhart Truth reported.

Elkhart County resident Delia Vazquez said a GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for the funeral and expenses related to the children, who are staying with relatives in the Elkhart area.
LONDON  Police have found no evidence that the man who killed four people in London last week was associated with the Islamic State group or al-Qaida, a senior British counterterrorism officer said Monday.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu of the Metropolitan Police said Westminster attacker Khalid Masood clearly had "an interest in jihad," but police have no indication he discussed his attack plans with others.

Basu, who also serves as Britain's senior national coordinator for counterterrorism policing, said Wednesday's attack  in which Masood ran down pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge before fatally stabbing a policeman guarding Parliament  "appears to be based on low-sophistication, low-tech, low-cost techniques copied from other attacks."

Masood was shot dead by police after his deadly rampage, which police have revealed lasted just 82 seconds.

Police believe Masood  a 52-year-old Briton with convictions for violence who had spent several years in Saudi Arabia  acted alone, but are trying to determine whether others helped inspire or direct his actions.

Detectives on Monday continued to question a 30-year-old man arrested Sunday and a 58-year-old man arrested shortly after Wednesday's attack. Both were detained in the central England city of Birmingham, where Masood had recently lived.

Prime Minister Theresa May said last week that Masood was "a peripheral figure" in an investigation into violent extremism some years ago. But Basu said he was not a "subject of interest" for counterterrorism police or the intelligence services before last week's attack.

Masood was born Adrian Elms, but changed his name in 2005, suggesting a conversion to Islam.

His mother, Janet Ajao, said Monday she was "deeply shocked, saddened and numbed" by his murderous actions.

In a statement released through the police, Ajao said that "since discovering that it was my son that was responsible I have shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident."

Basu said there was no sign Masood was radicalized during one of his stints in prison, the last of which was in 2003.

"I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why," Basu said. "Most importantly, so do the victims and families."

As Basu appealed for anyone who spoke to Masood on the day of the attack to come forward, the British government repeated calls for tech companies to give police and intelligence services access to encrypted messages exchanged by terrorism suspects.

Masood used the messaging service WhatsApp just before he began his attack. Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Sunday that such services must not "provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other."

Tech companies have strongly resisted previous calls to create back-doors into encrypted messaging, arguing that to do so would compromise the secure communications underpinning everything from shopping to tax returns to online banking.

Rudd is due to hold a previously scheduled meeting with internet companies on Thursday.

Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman, James Slack, said tech firms "should be helping us more" to prevent terrorism.

"The ball is now in their court," he said.

Slack said that if agreement was not reached with the companies, the government "rules nothing out," including legislation.

Meanwhile, the families of the dead and injured set about the difficult task of going on with their lives.

The family of an American victim expressed gratitude Monday for the kindness of strangers as they insisted some good would come from the tragedy. A dozen members of Kurt W. Cochran's family gathered to face the media, sharing their shock and sense of loss.

Cochran, from Utah, was on the last day of a European trip celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary when he was killed on Westminster Bridge. Cochran's wife, Melissa, suffered a broken leg and rib and a cut head, but is steadily improving.

The family offered profuse thanks to first responders, British and American authorities and people who had sent notes, prayer and donations.

"Last night we were speaking as a family about all this, and it was unanimous that none of us harbor any ill will or harsh feelings towards this," said Sarah McFarland, Melissa Cochran's sister. "So we love our brother. We love what he brought to the world, and we feel like that this situation is going to bring many good things to the world."

___

Jonathan Shenfield contributed to this story.
TEMPLE, Texas  A Temple cow and a police officer came head to head in an unusual chase scenario over the weekend.

Caught on the officers dash cam video, you can see the officer following the cow.

The cow then runs into an open fence. The officer followed behind and closed the fence to capture it, but the cow had other plans. It charges the officer and runs through the gate.

The runaway cow is still at large. It had escaped from a nearby veterinarian clinic.

Watch the video below or over at the Temple Police Department's Facebook.
State Sen. Tom Whatley is prepared to go to war over his bill to allow Opelika to expand its internet service.

The Auburn Republican has filed three bills in the Alabama Legislature that would allow Opelika Power Services (OPS), which is owned by the city, to operate its telecommunications service outside of Opelikas city limits.

This is a go-to-war bill to me, Whatley said.

Whatley said hes essentially focused on the one bill that limits OPS to Lee County. The other two bills would have allowed OPS to operate in the other counties that border Lee County.

A lot of people are against that bill, Whatley said. AT&T has hired 26 lobbyists to work against me on that bill. It really aggravates me because I have boiled one bill down to where it only allows Opelika to go into Lee County. It cuts out the other counties.

State Rep. Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn, has filed a similar bill in the Alabama House of Representatives.

I've figured if they've hired that many people to work against it, it must be a great bill, Lovvorn said at a town hall event Thursday in Smiths Station.

Lovvorn said he doesnt believe in big government, but citizens in Lee County are not being served.

If it doesn't make sense for a large corporation to go there, that's OK that's their choice, he said. But they don't have the right to tell, in my opinion with my bill, the city of Opelika they can't serve them either.

National attention

On top of lobbyists in Montgomery, the proposal has drawn attention from a national group, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.

The group, which says its a non-profit, non-partisan, has spoken out against municipal broadband along with other issues, such as ending congressional earmarks, postal reform, reducing government spending and having the U.S. withdraw from the Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits private actors from mining or settling celestial bodies like the Moon.

David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, said municipal broadband hasnt been able to compete with private industry and taxpayers end up with the bill for it.

It's costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars  billions when you add them all up  but they're not learning from their mistakes, Williams said. This isn't a core government function and let the private sector do it.

In Opelikas case, Williams said, the city hasnt used any taxpayer money but OPS customers are the citizens of Opelika.

If a private sector company fails, who cares, he said. It's their money, but if Opelika fails, then these electricity rate payers are on the hook for it.

Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller said he expects OPS to break even on the project in the next year.

It's a really tough education process because people go, 'Well a gig service is really cool. I want that, Williams said. But at what cost? As they drive down the road and hit the potholes they realize that government should be filling potholes and fixing the roads rather than in the cable television business or broadband business for that matter.

Fuller said Opelika began offering cable and internet services as a side benefit of upgrading its electric system to smart-grid technology, which is saving the system on electricity cost.

There is no competition if a person's not being served, Lovvorn said.

A local bill

For Whatley, the bill is a local bill.

In the Legislature, local bills are sent through a different process than normal bills and generally approved without debate if the local delegation from the affected area have approved.

I can't introduce it as a local bill because there's a general law that prohibits municipalities from going outside municipal limits, Whatley said. You have to do a general bill, which in this case has local applications.

If one senator objects to local bills, it could cause a slow-down in the Senate.

I'm going to have to take a lot harder look at all the local bills that are out there if this is deemed to not be a local bill, and I think that's only fair, Whatley said. I've heard other arguments, but I haven't found that made sense to me to where I wouldn't go to war on this bill.
Competition among the new taxi firms has turned hot, with many looking out of the box to stay ahead of their rivals, writes ABUBAKER MAYEMBA.



Things were looking up for Steven Mawanda. Through his taxi business, he easily paid his bills. Back then, when he joined the taxi business in 2011, he had the power to set the price. Depending on how desperate a customer was, Mawanda had the final say on how much he was willing to charge.

And then things took a lousy turn. The taxi business was hit with a new wave of players who were more organized and charged peanuts. The entry of Uber cut prices for taxi hires, pushing the likes of Mawanda to the fringes.

Many of our colleagues have left the special hire business because its no longer lucrative. For instance, going to Munyonyo requires Shs 10,000 fuel but Uber will take you there at Shs 12,000. We used to charge Shs 30,000 for that distance, he says, while resting in his special hire car, parked just opposite Christ the King church, waiting for a client.

A Uber taxi user

Now, with the likes of Mawanda struggling to keep up, the new taxis are turning the guns against each other, in almost a classic case of wolves devouring each other. After they combined to choke the old and disjointed car hire industry, the new players  Uber, Friendship, and Quick taxis  are engaged in a cut-throat competition defined by an aggressive price war.



TIGHT COMPETITION

The taxi fares among Uber, Friendship and Quick Taxi vary because all three use a different pricing structure, but there is no denying the fact that the companies are all in a race to the bottom in an attempt to offer the cheapest service.

While some fares are priced per minute, others are calculated per kilometre. Depending on the time of day, and the traffic jam, the modern taxi firms will claim to have the best service.

For example, while Quick Taxi charges Shs 200 per minute, a cheap fare by most measures, the fee suddenly looks high at the traffic rush hours. Uber, on the other hand, charges based on the distance, which looks cheaper. Uber factors in a fee for the traffic hold-up. While Uber looks cheap for a short distance, it is more expensive than the other players on a longer stretch, where there is no traffic.

The competition is mainly between Quick Taxi and Uber. In February, Uber slashed its prices to keep ahead of the chasing pack. The reduction came a few weeks after Quick Taxi launched an application that had nearly similar features such as Uber.



PLAYERS SPEAK

Begam Hafusa, the head marketing and public relations at Friendship, agrees that although there is some little competition, it doesnt affect them that much because their mode of operation is different from that of Quick Taxi and Uber. She notes that their pricing is not tricky as the others that have varying prices and so its easy to maintain clients since they can easily keep count of how much is charged.

Obviously we will have to look at our competitors and see how we can better a few things. We have to look at the leading competition, what do they have and what we have in similarity. Yeah the competition is there but we have our clients, says Hafusa.

Sophie Nsubuga, the public relations officer of Quick Taxi, agrees the competition is getting tighter.

Currently we are still trying to break through in the market. If we get comfortable in the market, we will do that for our clients in the future, she said. Reception is still low but we are trying to keep up with the pace.

The taxi firms are not haggling on the price, but over the drivers too. Each company is trying to offer the best returns for their drivers. While Quick Taxi drivers pay Shs 90,000 per day to the company, their counterparts at Friendship pay Shs 80,000.

Some drivers, however, had started complaining that they were not getting enough revenues to keep operating. Some of these complaints came as result of the drivers of the different firms comparing what they were getting before.

Uber, to calm tempers and also stave off the competition, has decided to reward its drivers more. The company has introduced bonuses for its drivers amidst the price cuts. They will now be getting Shs 15,000 every hour they are available online. Even when online but they fail to get a passenger, the company will still pay them Shs 15,000.



NEW INNOVATIONS

To stay ahead, the taxi companies are now offering new services, outside the usual drives. Since February, Kampala residents are able to receive nyama choma just by tapping on the UberChoma icon on their app. Uber drivers now deliver nyama choma from Chama Zone Bar and Grill to meat lovers within the city.

Friendship Taxi plans to enter into a partnership with Jumia Travel to help move clients, especially tourists, to tourism destinations such as wildlife parks, among others. The company also plans to introduce instant boarding, where a client can board any car without making a booking first.

One thing is certain, though; there are going to be more innovations coming through the taxi business and consumers will be spoilt for choice as the taxi companies tussle it out in the market.



abumay1988@gmail.com




The on-demand delivery sector continues to make it harder for couch potatoes to leave the house.

Within days of each other, Postmates and Instacart  major players in the ever-growing food delivery sector  have added alcohol to their menu of Southern California delivery services.

Instacart, which focuses on retail and grocery delivery, announced Monday a partnership with BevMo stores in Orange County. Delivery of wine, beer and spirits are available in Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, Ladera Ranch, Lake Forest, Rancho Santa Margarita, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Orange and Brea.

Instacart also recently expanded its partnership with Stater Bros. in Orange County. The supermarket also offers beer and wine delivery.

Instacarts announcement comes a week after Postmates added alcohol to its delivery services in Orange County, Long Beach, Sacramento and San Diego. The service, which promises delivery in less than 25 minutes, expands on a test launched January in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The two join DoorDash, which debuted doorstep delivery of alcohol last summer in Southern California. The Palo Alto-based company, a leader in the fast-growing restaurant meal delivery sector, provides alcohol delivery from 250 restaurants, breweries and liquor stores in Southern California.

While Instacart deliveries are limited to BevMo and Stater Bros., Postmates app-based program retrieves its craft beer, wine and spirits from local liquor stores. Because the network is large, Postmates guarantees delivery within 25 minutes  much faster than DoorDash.

We are able to do that because we strategically partnered with merchants that are in prime areas in the zone, Postmates spokeswoman April Conyers said.

On Friday night, the Register decided to put DoorDash, Postmates and Instacart to the test. (Since BevMo wasnt yet available on Instacart, we shopped at Stater Bros.) All orders were made at roughly the same time from the city of Orange.

Heres how they stacked up:

DoorDash: A Few Speed Bumps

Though DoorDash is a market leader in food delivery, speed almost always is an issue with this app-based program. We can forgive DoorDash for hour-long wait times because restaurant food must be prepared, packaged and delivered.

But a fetching a six-pack or a bottle of wine shouldnt take an hour.

Though DoorDash says its network of restaurants, breweries and liquor stores has doubled since it launched last year, my options in Orange were limited to seven restaurants, breweries and liquor stores. Delivery time estimates ranged from 47 to 59 minutes.

In reality, a liquor store delivery of three craft beer bottles took 59 minutes. The dasher or driver lost a few minutes because one of the beers was out of stock. The driver had to call me to ask me to choose an alternate options. Because he was unfamiliar with craft beer, he handed the phone to the liquor store clerk to update the order.

The dasher delivered the three bottles in a thin black liquor store bag pulled from an insulated DoorDash cooler.

Every delivery requires identification to ensure the buyer is 21 or older.

For DoorDash, my name had to be entered manually and the dasher had trouble spelling my legal last name (not Luna).

Getting frustrated, he handed me his phone to enter the rest of my drivers license information including date of birth and drivers license expiration date.

The delivery fee was $2.99, on top of a $3.36 service fee and a $2 tip. Tipping is optional, and is entered before delivery. (Note: A DoorDash spokesman said the company charges a delivery fee of either $2.99 or $6.99, depending on our relationship / negotiation with the merchant. On top of that, he said Orange County service fees are a flat 12 percent across all restaurants and stores. Fees in Los Angeles are slightly more competitive: delivery fees are either 99 cents, $2.99 or $5.99 with a flat 9 percent service fee.)

Postmates: Plenty of Choices, Speedy Delivery

At Postmates, the choices are vast.

Using the Drinks tab, customers shop by the type of beverage. Categories include imported beer, domestic beer, sparkling wine, red wines, white wines, brandy, gin, cognac, rum, tequila, vodka and whiskey.

Its a smart way to organize. However, I wish it had a craft beer tab, as I found myself swiping past domestic swill like Budweiser before finding a six-pack from craft beer specialist Lagunitas.

As promised, the delivery came in lickety-split time  19 minutes.

The driver asked to scan my drivers license, but the scanning app didnt work so entered my drivers license information manually. It took a few minutes. Unlike the DoorDash driver, he wasnt frazzled.

Delivery was free because I signed up for a free month trial. However, Postmates is offering free alcohol delivery for the next month. After that, deliveries are $2.99 for orders under $30, free for Unlimited subscribers with no minimum order or free for non-subscribers if they order $30 or more.

Beyond that, there were no other fees beyond the option to tip after the order is delivered. (I like that better than DoorDash, which forces you to tip before services are rendered.)

Instacart: No frills, Easy

Instacart is a local leader in grocery delivery sector so I expected the shopping experience on the app to be easy and it was.

The app is designed with storefronts for various merchants such as Costco, Stater Bros., Whole Foods Market and starting today BevMo in Orange County.

I went with Stater Bros. because it was the only store selling beer and wine on Friday. I selected the same six-pack of beer I ordered from Postmates, which was $2 less at $10.99.

Because I was a first-time user of Instacart, I was charged a penny for delivery.

As for taking my identification, Instacart was the easiest of the three. I just had to show my drivers license and provide an electronic signature.

My bill included a separate service fee of $1.10. The fee is 10 percent of total sales, and is earmarked for drivers. Tipping is part of the checkout, but you can also change the tip after delivery. Normal delivery charges for non-subscribers are $5.99 for orders of more than $35 and $9.99 for orders less than $35. (Instacart requires a minimum $10 purchase). Instacart Express members, who pay $149 a year, are not charged delivery fees.

Final Thoughts

Would I use any of these services again?

Probably, depending on the situation. My go-to first pick would be Postmates because they had a plethora of options and inexpensive fees compared to the others.

Though my choices were limited with DoorDash, the one liquor store in my area had a fantastic selection of craft beer. The company is testing delivery from select BevMo stores in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Hopefully, that experiment will expand to Orange County soon.

But DoorDash still has to work on reducing fees to compete with Postmates. (Note: In Los Angeles, delivery fees are either 99 cents, $2.99 or $5.99 with a flat 9 percent service fee.)

Instacart makes sense if youre buying alcohol with your groceries and if youre an Express member. Beyond that, it doesnt seem like a great value for spontaneous booze purchases.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump, looking for a flicker of hope after his Republican majority fell to pieces last week, predicted that the opposition party would eventually give in: I honestly believe the Democrats will come to us and say lets get together and get a great health care bill or plan, he said.

But Democrats will not be lending a hand anytime soon.

Invigorated by the Republican dysfunction that led to a stunningly swift collapse of the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and relieved that President Barack Obamas signature domestic accomplishment remains intact, Democrats are in their best position since their embarrassing loss in the November election.

While it is far too soon to suggest that the House Republican majority may be imperiled, Democrats are newly optimistic about picking up seats in 2018, hoping to ride a backlash against Trump. Seeing an opportunity, they say they will not throw Trump a political life preserver at what they sense could be the first turns of a downward spiral.

The presidents approval rating was already mired below 40 percent in some surveys, and is likely to remain low after the health bills failure. He has no prospects for legislative victories on the immediate horizon, given how complicated and time-consuming his next priority, an overhaul of the tax code, would be even for a more unified party.

And while his electoral success in states represented by Democrats in Congress had been thought to put such lawmakers in a vise between their party and their president, Trump demonstrated no ability to pick off centrist Democrats in his first significant legislative push. Democrats  red-state moderates and blue-state liberals alike  formed an unbroken front of opposition to the repeal-and-replace campaign<em>. </em>

Were not going to sacrifice our values for the sake of compromise, said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader. You think people from red states are going to be for tax reform with 98 percent of tax breaks going to the top 1 percent?

For Democrats, the task of remaining unified was made easier when Republicans decided to go it alone and hastily draft a bill that turned out to be deeply unpopular. But the health care skirmish was also more broadly instructive for a party still finding its footing now that it has lost both the White House and Congress: Being the party of no, it turns out, can pay dividends.

The unity we had internally, combined with the outside mobilization, really made this success possible, said Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the top House Democrat.

Both Schumer and Pelosi insist that they are open to working with Trump if he shifts to the middle and abandons Republican hard-liners. But while Democrats are loath to hold up Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, a fierce and calculating opponent, as a role model, his strategy as the Republican leader in denying Obama bipartisan support is plainly more alluring now.

You certainly saw the power of united Democratic resistance to the Trump agenda on Friday, said Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn. Theres no way you can explain the failure of that bill without the story of a united Democratic and progressive resistance.

Of course, much of the story revolves around the inability of the fractured Republican majority to reach a consensus. But while many Republican lawmakers were under pressure to oppose the health bill, Democratic members of Congress also felt the heat thanks to the new wave of activism in response to Trump.

Though the ability of Democrats to do much more than say no remains limited, their success in helping to thwart Trump will not only embolden them to confront him again  it will also inspire activists to push them to do whatever it takes to block his path.

Having tasted victory, the resistance forces will feel even more empowered to insist that Democrats continue withholding any cooperation and not granting Trump any victories when he is so wounded, said Brian Fallon, a Democratic strategist.

Still, this rising energy could create internal turbulence for Democrats if activists turn their attention to the next major showdown in Washington: the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch. The court battle has not yet engendered the same intensity among activists as the health care bill or Trumps executive orders on immigration. Some Democratic senators are uneasy about rejecting Gorsuch, preferring to save any fight for an opportunity by Trump to fill a seat now held by a liberal justice.

But the partys senators may now be pressed to take a more aggressive posture against Gorsuch, opposition that may not halt his confirmation but would force Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster for such nominations.

An infrastructure plan may be a safer harbor for Trump  a measure many in Washington are mystified that he did not try to pursue at the outset of his administration. But Schumer suggested that the president would find Democratic votes only if he defied his party and embraced a huge spending bill, rather than just offering tax incentives for companies to build roads, bridges and railways.

If hes only for tax breaks, it will just be a repeat of the health care debate, Schumer said.

To many Democrats and some Republicans, the resistance on health care was reminiscent of the 2005 clash over Social Security. President George W. Bush sought to overhaul a program covering millions of Americans but suffered a crippling loss when Democrats put up uniform opposition and Republicans backed away in fear of enduring political consequences.

There is one major difference, though. President Bush was at 58 percent, noted Pelosi, adding that Trump starts in a very different place.

But while Trumps weakness has Democrats hopeful of making electoral gains in the House, next years Senate map offers few opportunities and many hazards. In the House, Democrats need 24 seats to take back the chamber. That deficit could fall to 23  coincidentally, the number of Republican-held seats in districts that Hillary Clinton carried  if Democrats win a special election in Georgia.

Theres a storm thats going to hit Republicans in 2018, said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas. The only question is if it is going to be Category 2 or Category 5.

For now, though, Democrats stand to gain simply by standing back and abiding by the maxim of not getting in the way of an opponent who is damaging himself.

Our best shot at stopping the Republicans has always been to let them cannibalize themselves, and this proved that, Caitlin Legacki, a Democratic strategist, said of the health care fight.
GARDEN GROVE  A motorcyclist fatally injured when his motorcycle crashed with a car in Garden Grove on Friday was publicly identified Sunday by the Orange County Coroners Office as Eric Jacobs, 53, of Long Beach.

He died two hours after the 9:30 a.m. Friday crash on the eastbound 22 freeway at Euclid Street, the coroners office said.
WASHINGTON The head of the House Intelligence Committee said he met with a person on White House grounds to view secret intelligence documents that he used to bolster President Donald Trumps surveillance claims, as calls grew on Capitol Hill for an expanded probe into Russian meddling in the presidential race.

Representative Devin Nunes, a Republican from California, declined to identify his source, but said it was an intelligence official, not a White House staffer.

Nunes told Bloomberg Views Eli Lake that the meeting occurred on the White House grounds because it was the most convenient secure location with a computer connected to the system that included the reports, which are only distributed within the executive branch.

We dont have networked access to these kinds of reports in Congress, Nunes said.

The chairman said he has been hearing for several weeks about the existence of intelligence reports that contained details on Trumps transition team.

The reports included details about the Trump transition, meetings of Trump and senior advisers; they were distributed throughout the intelligence community and to the White House, Nunes said in the interview. In some cases, there was additional unmasking of Trump transition team officials.

Several congressional committees, as well as the FBI and the U.S. intelligence community, are investigating Russian meddling in the U.S. election, including the hacking and release of Democratic emails. For the House Intelligence Committee, that probe has expanded into the explosive question of whether anyone close to Trump abetted the effort. Paul Manafort, Trumps former campaign chairman, and veteran Republican operative Roger Stone offered Friday to testify before Nuness committee.

But questions about how Nunes received intelligence intercepts  that he described as routine, legal surveillance that picked up conversations with Trump aides during the transition  have raised new doubts about his panels ability to conduct a nonpartisan inquiry.

A Democrat on the panel said Monday that the disclosure that Nunes viewed the new documents on White House grounds  with no other panel members present  means that the existing inquiries arent sufficient.

The @realDonaldTrump @WhiteHouse is obstructing Congresss #RussianHacking investigation. Ind. Commission is only path to find the truth, said Representative Eric Stalwell, a Democrat from California who sits on the Intelligence Committee.

Nunes has declined to identify the source for this information, and hasnt shared the information yet with his Democratic colleagues on the panel.

The top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff of California, also blasted Nunes for briefing Trump directly on the information, one day after first viewing it.

My complaint with the chairman is taking whatever information he has to the White House, when the White House is the subject in a way of the investigation, he said Sunday on CBSs Face the Nation.

Last week, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer denied that the administration was involved in providing the intelligence to Nunes.

I dont know why he would brief the speaker and then come down here to brief us on something that we would have briefed him on, he told reporters. It doesnt really seem to make a ton of sense. So Im not aware of it, but it doesnt really pass the smell test.
SEOUL, South Korea  South Korean prosecutors said Monday that they were seeking to arrest former President Park Geun-hye on charges of bribery and abuse of power and other criminal charges.

Whether they can arrest Park, who was removed from office in a historic court ruling this month, will depend on whether the Seoul District Court will issue an arrest warrant. If arrested, Park would be the first former South Korean leader put behind bars since two former military dictators were imprisoned on corruption and mutiny charges in the mid-1990s.

On Monday, prosecutors formally asked the court for the warrant. It usually takes several days before the court studies evidence and decides whether an arrest warrant is justified.

Prosecutors have been discussing whether they have enough evidence to apply for an arrest warrant since they questioned her for more than 20 hours last week.

On Monday, prosecutors accused Park of conspiring with a longtime confidante, Choi Soon-sil, to collect tens of millions of dollars from big businesses, including more than $38 million in bribes from the South Korean electronics giant Samsung. Both Choi and Samsungs top executive, Lee Jae-yong, have been arrested and indicted on bribery and a number of other criminal charges.

When they indicted Choi and Lee, prosecutors had already identified Park as a criminal accomplice.

The suspect abused her power by using her tremendous status and authority as president to help collect funds from businesses, prosecutors said in a statement on Monday, explaining why they thought she needed to be arrested. Although there have been a number of pieces of evidence collected, the suspect has denied most of them and there is a danger of her destroying incriminating evidence if she is not arrested.

On Dec. 9, the National Assembly voted overwhelmingly to impeach Park on charges of corruption and abuse of power, and she was formally removed from office on March 10.

Park was the first South Korean leader to be forced from office in response to popular pressure since the countrys founding president, Syngman Rhee, fled into exile in Hawaii in 1960 after protests against his corrupt, authoritarian rule.

Since she took office in early 2013, Park had been dogged by allegations that Choi was influencing government affairs from the shadows  and using her connections with the president for personal gain. On Monday, Park was also accused of leaking secret government documents to Choi, who had no clearance for handling them, to help her influence state affairs for her personal gains.

Park has apologized repeatedly for the scandal.

But she has vehemently denied any legal wrongdoing, although most South Koreans consider her removal a crucial step toward ending what they see as corrupt ties between government and big business, a bane of South Koreas young democracy.
Remember the tragic yet heartwarming tale of Hachiko, the loyal Akita Inu who spent nine years waiting for his owner to return from work, not knowing that he had died of a brain hemorrhage? His legendary loyalty is now being emulated by Thor, a dog of the same breed, who goes on the same walk he and his departed owner used to go on, every day.

Every day, the people of Cacapava do Sud, a town in Brazils Rio Grande do Sul region witness a touching display of animal loyalty. In the morning, Thor, a white Akita Inu, takes to the streets, retracing the daily walk he and his owner used to take up until a year ago, when the 58-year-old man died. He stops at all the usual places his master used to spend time in, lets those who know him pet him on the head and even poses for pictures, before returning home to his adoptive family. Thats become his daily ritual for the last year or so.

Photo: Globo video screengrab

In December 2015, Thors owner, artist Claudio Cantarelli, died at the age of 58, and his faithful companion fell into a depression. Cantarellis family took care of Thor, but they didnt give him the same love and attention that his master used to. Seeing the miserable canine, Saionara Freitas, a neighbor of the Cantarellis, asked if she could take him in, and maybe help him get over the death of his owner.

I was already used to Thor, so I asked if I could take him, Freitas told Globo. He was sick and terribly sad.

But under the loving care of Saionara, Thor started getting better, and then, about a year ago, he started taking his daily walks, following the same route he had taken alongside his master for nearly a decade. In the morning I get up early, make his food and I open the gate for him to take the walks he was already accustomed to, Freotas says. Its like he is trying to overcome his longing, or waiting for his master to return, the woman adds.

He [Claudius] went for a walk every day. He was everyones friend, an artist. Now, Thor walks along the same route. I notice he always stops in the same places. Its impressive,  said Airton Oliveira, a hairstylist in Cacapava do Sud.

Photo: Globo video screengrab

Wherever he goes, Thor always receives love an affection. Everyone knows his story and is eager to make his loss more bearable. People stop to pet him, food and water bowls are always full at the shoe store he walks by every day, and some people even stop to take photos with the now famous dog.

After completing his walk and spending time outside the places his master used to spend time in, particularly the the lottery office, which he visited every day, Thor return to his new master, Saionara Freitas.

Photo: RBS TV

Ill tell you  I adore him, but Im also concerned. Im old, but Ill take good care of him, God willing, the old woman says.
With Easter just around the corner, Christians around the world are stocking up on eggs and dyes for the traditional egg dyeing. But while most of us have grown used to chemical dyes, some still prefer the natural approach, like boiling white eggs with onion skins. This is apparently very popular in Switzerland, where people actually pay for bags of onion peels selected specifically for egg dyeing.

Dyeing Easter eggs with onion skins is not a Swiss tradition. In fact, I remember my mother used to do it when I was little, taking differed plant leaves, and placing them on the eggs before wrapping them in a large onion skin, putting them in a sock and boiling them in a pot of water with more skins thrown in for a more intense coloring effect. But she used orange skins saved up for weeks in advance, instead of buying them from the supermarket, like some Swiss do nowadays.

Ukrainian newspaper The Observer recently published an article on the practice of selling packaged onion skins in Swiss supermarkets. They apparently received a series of pictures from readers who had recently traveled to the Solothurn canton of Switzerland and were surprised to find bags of skins on sale in several shops and supermarkets. They snapped some photos and asked their tour guide about them. Turns out onion skins are very popular around Easter.

The pictures published by The Observer show that a 85-gram bag of onion skins costs up to 2.80 Swiss francs ($2.84), which means that a kilogram goes for 33 francs ($33.5). Thats outrageously expensive considering that the same supermarket sells a pound of onions for just 2.80 francs. Granted, youre not going to get as much skins from them, but still

Easter is coming up and natural Easter egg dyeing is very popular in Switzerland, Inna, a Ukrainian tour guide living in Zurich told Gazeta.ua. Back home, we used to save onion skins for months leading up to Easter, but that doesnt happen in Switzerland, here it is considered junk, so the people buy it packaged, from the supermarket. They are luxury goods.

I know what youre thinking, if onions are cheaper than onion skins, why not just buy a few pounds of onions? You can cook with them and use the dried skins to dye eggs instead of throwing them away. It makes sense, but after doing a bit of research, I found that some Swiss just find the packaged onion peels more convenient.

In a 2014 article published in the Solothurner Zeitung, Susanne Stauffer, from Staad, in Solothurn, says that she prefers to buy packaged onion skins because it saves her the effort of washing the onion skins to remove any dirt. They come pre-washed and create a more intense coloring effect than regular onion skins.

So if youre looking for a lucrative business venture, turning trash into luxury goods just by packaging it seems like a good idea.
Patrick Jephson, former chief of staff to Princess Diana, and Mary Jo Jacobi, former US presidential advisor and former VP of communications at BP America during the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, will kick-off the Global PR Summit June 8-9 with a presentation on reputation management.

There will be presentations on data leaks by international PR guru Piers Schreiber from the UK, PR measurement by Thierry Nicolet from Schneider Electric in France, crisis communications by Liz Young from Sony Music, as well as presentations on influencer marketing and social media by Katie Morse from Nielsen, Lars Silberbauer from Lego and Sean Gardner, Forbes Magazines #1 Social Media Influencer.

An interactive workshop on crisis communications will be headed by internationally renowned crisis expert Donald Steel from the UK.

Discounted tickets are available until March 31st on the events website: www.thepworld.com/event/global-pr-summit-new-york

Use code PRNY15 to claim extra 15% discount.


What is Cultural Competency? BerlinRosen Shares Why Brands Need It Tue., Oct. 25, 2022 Americas consumers and employees have never been more mission-driven when it comes to the brands they support and where they choose to work. BerlinRosens Cultural Competency division offers guidance to organizations seeking to convey their values and impact.
Issues Arising from Fixed Charge Notices

Q & A

Section 103 of the Road Traffic Act 1961, as amended provides that where a member of An Garda Siochana has reasonable grounds for believing that a fixed charge offence is being or has been committed by a person;

a) If the member identifies the person, the member shall serve, or cause to be served, personally or by post, on the person a notice under this section.

How many Fixed Charge Notices have been issued by An Garda Siochana since the system was first introduced in 2006?

An Garda Siochana has issued over 10.5 million Fixed Charge Notices since 2006.

Since when did it become an FCN offence not to have an NCT certificate?

Failure to have an NCT Certificate became a fixed charge offence on 8th December 2014 and from that date on, no summons should have issued for failing to have an NCT Certificate unless the driver had firstly been issued with a fixed charge notice, and the fixed charge had not been paid.

When did this issue first come to light?

On the 6th February 2016, Garda Information Services Centre (GISC) became aware of an issue regarding the issuing of summonses for NCT and instructed their staff to cease creating summonses for the specific offence. An internal review commenced at GISC. In April 2016, a person appeared before court having previously been issued a summons for no NCT Certificate. It transpired that the person had already paid a Fixed Charge Notice. As a consequence An Garda Siochana commenced a preliminary review to establish how this had occurred.

What were the findings of the preliminary review?

An initial examination of records for the specific offence of Not having a valid NCT Certificate identified 759 cases where a person had paid an FCN and that person was subsequently summonsed to court. This examination was then expanded to include all fixed charge offences issued since the rollout of the FCPS system. This identified a total of 1,130 cases where summonses had been issued for offences where the FCN had already been paid.

What happened next?

A decision was made by Assistant Commissioner, Roads Policing and Major Event/Emergency Management, to conduct an extended review to establish if any other issues were arising in relation to the operation of the FCPS. This extended review was carried out in conjunction with Garda IT.

What did the extended review establish?

An examination of 830,687 summonses, issued between 1st January 2006 and 27th May 2016, identified a total of 146,865 summonses for persons who had committed offences brought before the courts incorrectly. This means the person was issued with the summons without being given an opportunity to pay an FCN.

How many people have been impacted by the Garda error?

In relation to 146,865 summonses, 14,700 cases resulted in a penalty being imposed by the courts. An Garda Siochana has undertaken to appeal those outcomes to the Circuit Court.

The main offences relating to the 146,865 summonses are set out below:

OFFENCES



Offence Description Total

Non Display Of TAX Disc (Use) 68664

Non Display Of Insurance Disc 42462

Use Vehicle without NCT 4511

Failing to Display L Plates 1000

Non Display Of Insurance Disc 6782

Driving Without Reasonable Consideration 5939

Failing To Stop For Garda 3658

Driving Past A Red Traffic Light 1903

Holding a Mobile Phone While Driving. 1217

Sub total 136136

Other offences: 10729

Total 146,865

An estimated 96% of the cases relate to persons that had multiple offences before the Court. The remaining 4% (estimated at 5,860) summonses relate to persons who were not before the Court for any other offence.



What remedy was put in place to address the issue?

As of the 15th July, 2016, an IT solution has been designed and rolled out which prevents summonses being created in these circumstances.



What other actions are being taken to rectify the matter?

An Garda Siochana has spoken to the DPP and the Court Services about how to address cases where a penalty has been imposed. We will be bringing these matters before the courts and requesting that the convictions are set aside. A dedicated team has been set up and we are liaising with the Court services to expedite this process.



An Garda Siochana is also writing to all of the people affected and explaining what happened and how we propose to rectify the situation. Any fines imposed will be reimbursed and all records involved will be corrected. We have also put in place a dedicated support helpline for anyone who has any queries or questions.

What advice does An Garda Siochana have for people impacted by the error?

All persons involved do not have to take any corrective action until they hear from us.



This was an error in the manner by which we processed these cases. We have identified it and have put an IT update in place to ensure it is not repeated. An Garda Siochana apologises to all of those people who were brought before the Courts without them being given an opportunity to pay a fixed charge notice. It is our mistake and we will rectify the matter.



TIMELINE OF EVENTS



 On the 6th February 2016, Garda Information Services Centre (GISC) became aware of an issue regarding the issuing summons for NCT and instructed their staff to cease creating summons for the offence of not having a valid NCT Certificate. Internal review begins at GISC.



 On 9th February 2016, GISC ceased creating summonses in respect of the offence of not having a valid NCT certificate.



 On the 26th April 2016, a summons was before Carrick-on-Shannon District Court where a person had been issued an FCN and paid it and a summons was subsequently issued (for the same incident) and was now before the Court in relation to the same offence [for not having a valid NCT Certificate]. A member brought this issue to the attention of GISC, which, in turn, brought it to the attention of Garda IT.



 On the 16th May 2016, a meeting was held at the Garda National Traffic Bureau (GNTB), Garda Headquarters. A decision was taken to conduct a review of NCT offences and work begins to identify any summonses then before the Courts. Instructions were issued for all such summonses to be withdrawn. A further instruction is also issued to have all cases, where no FCN had been issued, to have such cases withdrawn before the Court.



 On the 10th June 2016, the Secretary General, Department of Justice & Equality was notified.



 On the 10th June 2016, a Press Release is issued regarding the issue of NCT FCNs.



 On the 30th June 2016, the issue of NCT / FCNs is discussed with the Policing Authority.



 On the 4th July 2016, the advice of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is sought.



 On the 12th July 2016, DPP advises that the matters outlined must be rectified and acknowledges that work on pre-2104 incidents was on-going.



 On the 7th November, 2016 DPP formally advised in relation to the identified convictions and also advised a review of data 2006  2013 should be conducted .



 On the 9th March 2017, an update report is provided to the Department of Justice & Equality.



 On the same date, a report on the issue was provided to the Policing Authority.



 On the 10th March 2017, the DPP advises that the cases identified as having been dealt with before the Courts and which have had a conviction recorded must be appealed to the Circuit Court.



 On the 21st March 2017, the matter of FCNs is raised with the Policing Authority and AGS advises that a total of 146,865 summonses (period of 2006-2016) have (now) been identified as having been issued incorrectly and that 14,700 Court outcomes have to be addressed, by way of an appeals process to the Circuit Court.



 On the 23rd March 2017, a Press Conference is convened to advise the public of situation pertaining regarding Fixed Charge Notices and that the (14,700) convictions recorded are to be appealed by AGS to the Circuit Court. Persons affected will be written to by AGS.



Issues in respect of Garda Roadside Breath Test Figures

Q & A:

What is the background to the breath tests issue?

Roadside Breath Tests are conducted to indicate the presence of alcohol in the breath. The power to conduct Roadside Breath Tests at Mandatory Alcohol Testing Checkpoints is provided for by Section 10, Road Traffic Act 2010, as amended.

A member of the Garda Siochana, who is on duty at a checkpoint, may stop any vehicle at the checkpoint and, without prejudice to any other conferred on him or her by statute or at common law, may require a person in charge of the vehicle

to provide (by exhaling into an apparatus for indicating the presence of alcohol in the breath) a specimen of his or her breath;

The devices that we use are provided to An Garda Siochana by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety. The devices indicate the presence of alcohol in the breath.

Why was information withdrawn from the Garda website?

Following a review, An Garda Siochana decided to withdraw the data on the Garda Website relating to Roadside Breath Tests. The reason for this decision is that we have been provided with data by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety from their breath test device database and we have been unable to reconcile this with the figures displayed on the Garda Website.

Will any prosecutions or court outcomes be impacted as a result?

No prosecutions or Court outcomes will be impacted by this decision.

When were Gardai first made aware of this issue?

An Garda Siochana were first made aware of the issue on the 24th April 2014 when it was brought to our attention through anonymous correspondence received at the RSA which was then sent to the Minister for Transport.

In 2015, a review of traffic equipment and PULSE related data was conducted in the Southern Region in 2015. The results of the Southern Region review indicated that there were significant discrepancies in our data and a full review of breath test data across the entire organisation commenced in 2016.

What did the review establish?

The 2016 review was unable to reconcile the PULSE data and our paper-based breath test data - primarily due to significant gaps in the manually recorded breath test data. In February 2017, the Medical Bureau of Road Safety provided data from their breath test screening devices. From this data we were able to quantify data from October/November 2011 (when all of the Drager Breath Test Machines were brought back into the Medical Bureau of Road Safety for recalibration/dual calibration). Based on the data provided by the Medical Bureau and compared to data recorded on the Garda Pulse system, we were able to verify that there was a significant deficit between the data recorded on the PULSE System for Roadside Breath tests versus the number of breath test recorded on the apparatus used by the Medical Bureau for Road Safety. The difference between the data is:

Garda Siochana Pulse Data: 1,995,369

Medical Bureau of Road Safety Date: 1,058,157

How can the discrepancy be explained?

There is no one single reason that accounts for the discrepancy. The data pertains to an era when we did not record the specific counter-readings nor did we identify the specific device used for each checkpoint, the instruction for which issued on April, 2016. Over that period, over 1,200 devices were in use across 108 Garda Districts with no central recording process.

What did An Garda Siochana do to address the problem?

In 2016, An Garda Siochana put in place a new paper-based recording and verification process. More significantly, in November 2016, a new specific data recording IT upgrade was installed on the Garda PULSE system.

The net effect of the new IT upgrade was that personnel now have to record the serial number of the device used for each breath test plus the meter reading before and after the checkpoint was concluded. Data from the device is now used to verify the total number of breath test conducted at each checkpoint.

Is the data relating to 2016 and 2017 reliable?

Data for 2016/2107, average over a 365 day period, suggest that the data we have recorded on PULSE for 2016 is accurate, based on the data available to AGS from the Medical Bureau for Road Safety.

While An Garda Siochana is satisfied at this stage that the new processes that we have put in place in 2016 are working and that the 2016 data is solid, we will not publish the data until we are satisfied that the processes are robust enough and consistent enough to stand up to scrutiny. While the 2016/2017 data is reassuring we will continue to closely monitor the data. If we are satisfied that the data is accurate and solid at the end of 2017, we will consider publishing data that we can verify.

What else is being done to ensure roadside breath-tests are accurate?

The Medical Bureau for Road Safety are currently in the process of procuring new breath testing equipment which will have the capacity to automatically record data in relation to breath test. New equipment which is available in the marketplace has the capacity to record the time, GPS location, number of persons breath-tested and has the capacity to download the information automatically reducing the chances of errors occurring in the data.



TIMELINE OF EVENTS



What did we know? And how?



 Mandatory Alcohol Testing (MAT) at checkpoints was introduced in 2006.



 In 2009 An Garda Siochana started recording MAT Checkpoints on PULSE.



 The legislation currently governing MAT checkpoints is section 10, Road Traffic Act 2010.



 New alcohol limits in respect of specified drivers (Learners and Professional drivers, ie Taxi / HGV drivers) were created on the 28th October 2011. As a consequence all Medical Bureau of Road Safety screening devices had to be recalibrated. This was done during October and November 2011.



 On the 11th April 2014 Mr. Leo Varadkar TD, (then) Minister for Transport, wrote to the Commissioner advising of [anonymous] correspondence received from Mr. Gay Byrne, Chairman of the Road Safety Authority containing allegations in relation to the manner in which MAT checkpoints were being performed (in the West of Ireland). The letter also contained allegations in respect of the lack of enforcement of road traffic legislation.



 On the 24th April 2014 Assistant Commissioner, Western Region submitted a report in respect of Road Traffic enforcement in the Western Region. Assistant Commissioner Western Region further advised that the issues raised would be placed on the agenda for the next Regional Performance and Accountability Framework meeting.



 On the 12th May 2014 a comprehensive report in respect of the issues raised was submitted to the Department of Justice & Equality. The report advised of the roles and responsibilities of An Garda Siochana; the Garda Roads Policing Strategy; a background to MAT checkpoints; Road Traffic enforcement in Western Region; and other issues in respect of general policing. Mr. Varadkar TD was advised that a comprehensive report had been submitted to Department of Justice & Equality.



 On the 22nd August 2014, correspondence was received at the Garda National Traffic Bureau (GNTB) from the Medical Bureau of Road Safety in relation to the purchasing of consumables for the Drager (breath-testing) devices. (The Medical Bureau of Road Safety is responsible for the procurement, issue and maintenance of breath-testing devices for AGS).



 On the 8th January 2015 (further to the correspondence from Mr. Leo Varadkar) a further report issued to the Department of Justice & Equality, advising that all Garda Reserves in the Western Region had been spoken to and it was not possible to identify the author of correspondence (to the Road Safety Authority) and, in the absence of further information becoming available, it was not possible to progress matter.



 On the 7th March 2015 Assistant Commissioner, Traffic issued an instruction to all Divisional and District Officers to ensure mechanisms were put in place, if not already in place, to monitor the operation of MAT checkpoints within their respective Divisions & Districts.



 On the 20th July 2015 Assistant Commissioner, Traffic directed Superintendent Brennan, Garda National Traffic Bureau to chair a Working Group to examine the recording of equipment and data on PULSE (traffic-related matters).



 On the 11th November 2015 the Working Group submitted a report to Assistant Commissioner, Traffic, regarding the audit conducted in the Southern Region in respect of breath tests performed between 2009 and 2014. The audit identified a discrepancy of 17% between the number of breath-tests recorded on PULSE as having been conducted by AGS and the number of breath-tests recorded on the breath-testing devices.



 Over a five-year period, from 1st November, 2011 to 31st October, 2016, data recorded on PULSE indicates that An Garda Siochana performed a total of 1,995,369 roadside breath-tests at 373,274 checkpoints.



 On the 10th March 2017 the Medical Bureau of Road Safety provided data to An Garda Siochana regarding the recorded use of breath-testing devices for the same period (ie 1st November, 2011 to 31st October, 2016) on the basis of the information recorded from the devices issued. An analysis of that data indicates that 1,058,157 tests were recorded for the period under review.

Region PULSE Drager Data % Difference



DMR 375,265 223,759 +68%

Eastern 292,149 153,221 +91%

Northern 201,122 99,137 +103%

Sth East 332,463 127,291 +153%

Southern 514,673 304,491 +69%

Western 289,697 170,776 +70%

Total 1,995,369 1,061,381* +88%

* Slight variation between the date of this reading and previous reading supplied

It is advised that the amending legislation providing for specified drivers, with reduced permitted levels of alcohol, came into effect in November, 2011.

What did we do?



 On the 7th March 2015 Assistant Commissioner, Traffic issued an instruction to all Divisional and District Officers to ensure mechanisms were in place to monitor operation of MAT Checkpoints.



 On the 20th July 2015 Assistant Commissioner, Traffic directed Superintendent Brennan, Garda National Traffic Bureau to chair a Working Group to examine the recording of equipment and data on PULSE (traffic-related matters).



 On the 11th November 2015 the Working Group submitted a report to Assistant Commissioner, Traffic, regarding the audit conducted in the Southern Region in respect of breath tests performed between 2009 and 2014. The audit identified a discrepancy of 17% between the number of breath-tests recorded on PULSE as having been conducted by AGS and the number of breath-tests recorded on the breath-testing devices.



 On the 7th April 2016 new instruction issued in the form of a HQ Directive 23/16, entitled, Mandatory Alcohol Testing Checkpoints, Recording of Data. The instruction set out the procedures to be followed in respect of the completion of the MAT checkpoint Return Form and the recording on PULSE of the data pertaining to each MAT checkpoint. This was the first time we recorded the serial number and counter readings of screening devices on PULSE to verify the number of breath tests performed.



 On the 18th May 2016 an instruction issued to each Regional Assistant Commissioner in relation the governance of MAT checkpoints. Each Divisional Officer is now required to report the number of checkpoints, both scheduled and performed, and the reasons for any checkpoint being cancelled, at the Performance & Accountability Framework, chaired by the Regional Assistant Commissioner.



 On the 2nd June 2016, Assistant Commissioner, Traffic, directed a national audit in respect of MAT checkpoints and a caveat was placed on Garda website in respect of figures provided (on the website) relating to breath-testing.



 On the 8th June 2016 a report was submitted to the Department of Justice & Equality, advising that an issue had been identified regarding figures recorded for breath-testing carried out by members of AGS. The report further advised that an audit of MAT checkpoints had been conducted and completed in respect of the Southern Region, which had raised concerns as to the reliability (... veracity / authenticity) of data available to An Garda Siochana in relation to breath tests conducted and that a national audit was being commenced.



 In June 2016 the RSA were advised verbally that a national audit was to be conducted in respect of MAT Checkpoints and the methodology for same.



 On the 1st July 2016 the methodology for the national audit was provided to each Divisional Officer. The Audit was to cover the period from the 1st January 2009 to the 30th June 2016.



 On the 2nd November 2016 a revised HQ Directive 68/16 issued in relation to procedures to be followed in respect of the recording of MAT checkpoint data on PULSE (taking cognisance of a new PULSE IT Upgrade scheduled for 4th December 2016).



 On the 4th December 2016 an IT upgrade to the PULSE System created a number of new data fields. This included the recording of data in respect of screening devices and the counter readings before and after the MAT Checkpoint.

 On the 14th February 2017 the National audit was extended to cover the period from 1st July 2016 to the 31st December 2016.



 On the 24th February 2017 a sample of the data available in respect of screening device counter readings was received from the Medical Bureau of Road Safety.



 On the 28th February 2017 a meeting was held with Medical Bureau of Road Safety to identify if any additional data would be of assistance in respect of Audit being conducted.



 On the 8th March 2017 a request was submitted to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety seeking additional data in respect of Drager screening devices.



 On the 10th March 2017 additional data was received from the Medical Bureau of Road Safety.



 On the 21st March 2017 Policing Authority informed of the discrepancy in the data relating to breath tests.



 On the 23rd March 2017 AN Garda Siochana make public statement in respect of the discrepancy in the data relating to breath tests.

Why did it happen?



 An Garda Siochana was not accurately recording the measurement from the breath testing device prior to April 2016.



 There was no correlation between the roadside breath test returns entered on PULSE and the paper based returns that were captured as part of the monthly device test.

 Paper records in respect of these monthly device tests were not being retained by An Garda Siochana.



 Scheduled MAT Checkpoints were created on PULSE in advance. The outcome of the checkpoint was recorded after the event, sometimes days afterwards.



 Because of inadequate record keeping the updating of the MAT Checkpoints was based on estimated rather than factual returns.



 The instruction issued in 2011 that the Garda Professional Standards Unit was to include MAT Checkpoints as part of their examinations was not fully implemented.



 Based on 2016 data less than 50% of scheduled MAT Checkpoints are performed due to a variety of reasons.



 As a result of PULSE release 6.9 the reason for the cancelation of a scheduled MAT Checkpoint is now recorded on each PULSE Incident.



Ref. No. 314/17
Agricultural News

Oklahoma State Extension Says Over Sixteen Million Dollars in Losses to Agriculture as a Result of Northwest Oklahoma Fire Complex

The numbers have been crunched: the March 7 wildfires that ravaged parts of Beaver, Harper and Woodward counties had an economic impact exceeding $16 million.







"In Oklahoma, more than 310 thousand acres burned causing a wide variety of losses to livestock, pastures, hay, fences and facilities," said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension livestock marketing specialist. "Estimates of losses based on preliminary information currently available sum to a total of $14.6 million for cattle operations."







In addition, the Plum Thicket Sow Farm owned by Smithfield sustained losses of some 4,000 sows and an unknown number of weaning pigs. According to Smithfield officials, at least six sow barns were destroyed. Peel said hog farm losses of animals and facilities likely total $2 million dollars or more.







Estimated cattle industry losses in Oklahoma include:





$6.7 million for fence replacement and repair;



$3.5 million for livestock killed or destroyed as a result of the fire plus veterinary costs and reduced value of surviving injured animals;



$2.2 million for burned facilities and corrals;



$1.3 million for emergency feed; and



$920,000 for burned pasture and hay.







"These estimates are based in part on preliminary totals of some 3,000 head of cattle lost and more than 1,100 miles of fences impacted," Peel said. "The current totals do not include any estimates for equipment losses, meaning estimates may increase as a more comprehensive assessment of the losses is completed."







Although the losses incurred in the fires will have significant and long-lasting financial impacts on the operations and families affected, Peel said no significant market impacts on livestock prices are expected.







"The losses incurred are very personal, both in terms of those directly affected and the outpouring of support from volunteers," said Darrell McBee, Harper County Extension Office director and agricultural educator.







As the region's primary coordinator of relief efforts, McBee said help has been rushing in from individuals, groups and organizations from 30 states encompassing everything from much-needed hay to sustain surviving livestock, to milk replacer used to feed calves orphaned by the wildfires, to fencing supplies, bottled water and much more; not to mention providing actual on-site labor and equipment for hauling hay, bottle feeding calves and rebuilding fence lines.







"We took phone calls from more than 3,000 people during the first 10 days," McBee said. "The outpouring of support has really showcased that America really is an extended community when the need arises."







The Harper County Extension Office is part of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, a state agency administered by Oklahoma State University's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.







"Our Cooperative Extension staff and faculty from northwestern Oklahoma and across the state have been stalwarts, investing their time, expertise and hard work in meeting the needs of farmers and ranchers in the region affected by the fire," said Tom Coon, OSU vice president of agricultural programs and DASNR dean and director.







"Their dedication reminds us of the importance of having a network of county Extension offices across the state that are meeting needs on a recurring basis and can respond quickly to emergencies," he said.







Anyone wishing to make donations or seeking additional information about the relief effort should contact the Harper County Extension Office by phone at 580-735-2252.







Source- OSU Extension (with additional information added on Smithfield Hog Farm)









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Top Agricultural News
By summertime, the new Salvation Army building at 36th and Cuming Streets will no longer be in the shadow of its 110-year-old predecessor.

Demolition of the Lied Renaissance Center, formerly Methodist Midtown Hospital, began in mid-March and is expected to be completed by late June.

The last of its programs, including apartments for those transitioning out of homelessness and mental health crises, moved this month to the new $15 million, 70,000-square-foot building just north of the Renaissance Center. Construction on that facility began in fall 2015.

The campus on which it sits will be branded as Renaissance Village, but the name of the new facility wont be announced until a dedication ceremony Oct. 14. The land on which the former hospital now sits will be turned into a parking lot, expected to be completed by late fall.

The new center has 30 apartments for low-income residents, up from 20 at the Renaissance Center. Eight of those have three bedrooms, to accommodate larger families. Sixteen additional beds are for the Mental Health Respite program, a 28-day stay for adults transitioning back into the community after a psychiatric crisis. An additional 16 beds for that program are at another facility, at 3321 Fontenelle Blvd.

The new building also will house the organizations early childhood education program, called Early Head Start.

Though its less than half the size of the Renaissance Center, the new facility is a much better space for the residents and staff, said Maj. Greg Thompson, commander of the Armys Western Division, which encompasses Nebraska, South Dakota and central and western Iowa.

Even when we had several programs running out of it, (the Renaissance Center) was still an old, kind of creepy hospital, Thompson said.

Methodist Hospital sold the building to the Salvation Army for $1 in 1990. With more than 20 programs under one roof, it was the largest social services facility across all of the nations Salvation Army locations.

In 2010, faced with leaking pipes, asbestos problems and the lack of an overhead sprinkler system, the agency began discussing other options.

It just came down to the fact that building would be way cheaper than retrofitting a 110-year-old hospital, Thompson said.

That conversation grew into a $23.6 million capital campaign for the new building, demolition of the Renaissance Center and renovation of a former Walgreens store near 60th Street and the Northwest Radial. That location, called the Burrows Center, now houses the organizations food pantry as well as its other major material assistance programs, including distribution of clothing, household goods and summer fans.

The campaign raised more than $28 million, including $6.3 million in federal grants for programs serving low-income populations.

The Renaissance Center demolition is the final piece of the capital campaign. Workers have started inside, working from the top down.

Soon the new facility behind it will become visible from the road, as if its rising from the ashes of the old, Thompson said.

Thompson, who was born at Methodist Hospital, took one last walk in its hallways before the demo team came through.

Theres a little bit of melancholy here, but we know things have to move on.

Jeff Wibel, the Armys assistant divisional director of social services in Omaha, said theres symbolism in the fresh start.

Theres a greater sense of dignity in having this new space for our clients, he said. Its been a long process to get to this point, but we are excited to give them that.
Editor's note: This is the final part of a three-part series on how parents can help high school seniors prepare for the academic and personal challenges college will bring.

***

As a parent, you may feel like you hardly see your high school senior as it is. Between school, friends, clubs and perhaps work or sports, teenagers are busy. But for both teens and parents, the level of separation once students head to college can reach a whole new level. For many, it can be a tough adjustment socially.

A 2015 survey of incoming U.S. freshmen found about 80 percent were living in residence halls. In other words, theyre no longer at home and are mostly (at least at first) living among strangers. To help your high school senior prepare for this major upheaval in their social and emotional lives, here are three steps to take now:

Address the roommate situation

If your high schooler has already chosen a college, one of the first things to look at will be deciding where they will live  and who will be right there with them in a probably-tiny living space.

This is an important aspect of emotional health: Having a good roommate can nearly make or break that crucial first semester. A good one can help ease feelings of homesickness and the transition to campus life, while a bad one can be disruptive to the point of causing emotional stress. Discussing the options with your child early can help you find the best solution.

For instance, would it be a good option to room with a friend whos attending the same school? Or is playing the roommate lottery better for your childs situation? What kinds of ground rules will they want to set with a roommate to set the stage for a successful situation? How will they contribute to being a good roommate themselves?

Check out the campus social options

In a recent survey of first-year college students by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, most reported feeling lonely or homesick at least occasionally. Fortunately, several of those students are often able to find time for frequent visits or contact with home. But that may not be practical for everyone, and emotionally, it can be helpful for first-year students to make sure they get involved socially on campus early on.

What parents can do in advance is help check out the student groups their child may be interested in getting involved with on campus. Whether its Greek life, sports, service clubs or other organizations, student groups can be a great source for finding new friends  with whom students may even have more in common.

Instill confidence in your child to enjoy the college experience

Some students experience emotional stress over the worry about how their families will cope without them. Teens who contribute money to help support their families often reported feeling stress over the conflict between family responsibilities and schoolwork, according to the UCLA survey.

If your teen contributes to the household financially or in some other substantial way, like helping to care for younger siblings, you may need to find a plan now for filling that gap. Doing so as soon as you can will help put both of your minds at ease and allow your child to focus more on having a successful time at school. Youll want to make sure your child knows he or she has your full support to take advantage of a fulfilling college experience.

***

Lora Wegman is a contributing writer for Varsity Tutors, a live learning platform that connects students with personalized instruction to accelerate academic achievement.
Seward County sheriff's deputies seized more than 5 pounds of methamphetamines Friday after one of them stopped to help a motorist at a closed gas station along Interstate 80, the Sheriff's Office said.

A deputy was helping the motorist, a man from Arizona, when he received word from Omaha police about an active case they were working on involving the man and an Omaha woman, who was traveling with him in a separate vehicle, Chief Deputy Daniel Hejl said.

The man allowed deputies to search the vehicle, Hejl said, and they found the methamphetamines hidden inside. They also found smaller amounts of methamphetamines, for personal use, belonging to the woman, he said.

An investigation revealed that the two had picked up the narcotics in Scottsdale, Arizona, for delivery and distribution in Omaha, Hejl said. The two were arrested and jailed on suspicion of possession of controlled substances with the intent to deliver. Additional charges were pending.
Girls have the same level of interest in science as boys until they hit adolescence.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln sociologists who have studied the phenomenon say stereotyping and friendships may play major roles.

By surveying 444 middle-school students, the sociologists found that girls and boys have similar science comprehension and grades. But when asked about friends, boys and girls were more likely to consider boys as inclined toward science.

People have this image of a scientist in their mind, and a scientist is a white male, so if youre asked if your female friend is like that, the go-to answer is going to be no, said Robin Gauthier, a postdoctoral researcher and the studys lead author.

The study was published in February in the journal Social Sciences.

Harvard professor to speak at Creighton commencement

Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health, will speak at Creighton Universitys commencement ceremonies May 13.

Partners in Health is an international social justice and health organization that provides sustainable health care in developing countries.

Farmer is a professor at Harvard University, where he earned his medical degree and his doctorate of philosophy in medical anthropology.

A book by Farmer, AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame, was a guiding text on a 2016 Creighton faculty-led Programs Abroad trip to Haiti.

Clayton Anderson will talk, sign books at Wayne State

Astronaut Clayton Anderson will speak in Wayne State Colleges Ramsey Theatre at 10 a.m. April 7.

The Nebraska native was a member of the Expedition 15 crew and spent 152 days on the International Space Station, completing three spacewalks.

After the presentation he will sign copies of his book, The Ordinary Spaceman: From Boyhood Dreams to Astronaut, in the lobby of Ramsey Theatre. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.

For information about the presentation or book signing, email Activities@wsc.edu.

Andersons appearance is free and open to the public.
DES MOINES (AP)  The death of an Iowa teenager has led to finger-pointing at the Legislature, and its an indication of how much has changed in the 17 years since another death prompted a bipartisan inquiry and passage of legislation to protect children from abuse.

Five months after the death of 16-year-old Natalie Finn, Republican lawmakers have been split over whether to investigate her treatment.

The response was different after the January 2000 death of Shelby Duis, a 2-year-old from Spirit Lake. The case resulted in legislation that allows lawmakers to review confidential child abuse records. It eventually led to a tougher child endangerment law and a commitment from then-Gov. Tom Vilsack to spend millions more combating abuse.

Shelbys mother was convicted in her death.

In the Finn case, the West Des Moines teen died in October from what a medical examiner called denial of critical care. Prosecutors say the girl was starved and tortured by her parents, who have pleaded not guilty to charges related to her death. Although school administrators reported suspected abuse to officials, she wasnt removed from her home.

Sen. Matt McCoy, a Des Moines Democrat, has been seeking Senate oversight committee hearings about the matter, and he has criticized the panels Republican chairman for not organizing meetings. The lawmaker, Sen. Michael Breitbach, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

McCoy and other Democrats organized informal hearings, and Iowa Department of Human Services officials attended at least one. But department Director Charles Palmer recently declined to send agency staffers to a follow-up meeting. Gov. Terry Branstad has said McCoy is politicizing the girls death.

On Thursday, Republican Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, said he would hold hearings to examine child welfare services; but he also criticized McCoy, saying he had shared confidential information.

McCoy denied that and accused Branstad and Human Services of dodging questions about the agencys role in keeping track of Finn, who had been cared for through Iowas foster care and adoption program.

Sen. Bill Dotzler, a Waterloo Democrat, argued that ensuring that children are safe would require Human Services to hire more workers, which could be difficult as the state deals with budget shortfalls and Republicans look for ways to cut taxes.

After Kaufmanns announcement, Branstad spokesman Ben Hammes said in an email that the administration would support an effort by legislators to learn more about the states overall adoption, child welfare and foster care systems.

Copyright 2017 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
LINCOLN  Backers of a bill to end mandatory prison terms for most Nebraska drug offenders have enlisted some national name-brand conservatives to endorse their effort.

Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, co-wrote a recent opinion piece in support of the Nebraska legislation. More support came in a letter by Grover Norquist, who popularized the no-new-taxes pledge signed by all five members of Nebraskas congressional delegation and many other Republican office-holders.

Both argued that keeping mandatory minimums for felony drug offenders drives up prison costs while doing little to enhance public safety.

Given the undeniable costs and dubious benefits of mass, long-term incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders, the Nebraska Legislature should take steps to give judges more flexibility in sentencing those offenders, Norquist said in an open letter to senators that will be distributed Tuesday.

Some senators in the Nebraska Legislature hope the big names can help the bill defeat an expected filibuster in the second round of debate. Given that the bill advanced with the minimum of 25 votes on first round, its shaping up to be a very tough fight.

Leading the opposition to Legislative Bill 447 are Gov. Pete Ricketts and Attorney General Doug Peterson. They have allies within the Legislature, where several mostly conservative lawmakers argue it would be a mistake to lighten punishments on those caught with large quantities of heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine.

My primary concern is were not dealing with minor drug offenses, were talking about major drug crimes, said State Sen. Steve Halloran of Hastings.

As written, the priority bill of Omahas Sen. Ernie Chambers would have done away with nearly all mandatory minimum offenses currently in state law. But senators adopted an amendment that narrowed the scope to drug offenses. The amendment was proposed by Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, a freshman Republican from Elkhorn.

The issue is held up as an example of bipartisan criminal justice reform and is reminiscent of the death-penalty repeal from two years ago, another Chambers priority bill. Opposition to mandatory minimums, however, appears to appeal to more mainstream conservatives than ending executions.

Im not saying people shouldnt pay for their crimes, but I dont want to build another prison, Linehan said, referring to a roughly $260 million option for addressing Nebraskas severely overcrowded prison system.

Linehan, former chief of staff for former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and a member of the administration of President George W. Bush, said she knows Norquist from her time in Washington, D.C. She said Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion made the contact with Gingrich, who remains in the public spotlight as a conservative commentator despite resigning from office almost 20 years ago.

The opinion piece written by Gingrich uses the example of Leo Guthmiller, a Lincoln man sentenced to a mandatory 10-year term in federal prison for his minor role in a drug conspiracy. Guthmiller was a former meth addict who turned his life around and was working to support his family when he was convicted of introducing dealers to users back when he was a user himself.

While the example involved a federal case, Gingrich argued similar outcomes could occur in Nebraska courts. Current state law requires mandatory minimums of three or five years for those caught with dealer-level drug supplies.

Cases like Leo Guthmillers are also an example of the injustice of mandatory minimum sentencing, Gingrich wrote. The State Legislature can better balance the scales of justice while protecting Nebraskas taxpayers.

The commentary was co-written by Pat Nolan, director of the Center for Criminal Justice Reform at the American Conservative Union Foundation in Washington, D.C.

In an interview, Nolan said he voted for mandatory minimums while he was a member of the California State Assembly. But he gained a different perspective when he served 29 months in federal custody for accepting an illegal campaign contribution.

During his lockup, he said he met men serving mandatory terms for drug conspiracies. He described them as mules, not kingpins.

The kid in the bunk above me was doing 10 years, and he couldnt organize a two-car funeral procession, Nolan said. The actual amount of drugs he was convicted of was small.

Rather than turning soft on crime, Nolan and others say its about being smarter with penalties. It doesnt make sense to saddle taxpayers with the cost of incarcerating someone who could get or maintain employment and pay their debt with community service.

Prisons are for people were afraid of, Nolan said, not mad at.

Prosecutors vehemently oppose the Nebraska bill, saying it will lessen penalties for drug dealers who sell near schools or recruit kids to carry out the transactions, a common practice of gang members.

But supporters of the bill argue they would rather let judges decide sentences. If the facts of the case support leniency, the judge should have the ability to act accordingly. If the evidence dictates a long sentence, the bill does nothing to reduce the maximum terms.

Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, argued that Nebraska could save millions of dollars in prison expenses by passing the bill. But opponents dispute that ballpark estimate.

A fiscal analysis done after the bill was amended estimated that Nebraskas prison population would decrease by four to seven inmates starting in 2019 if the bill were passed. Such a decline would save the state between $38,000 and $67,000 annually.

Thats not super significant, said Halloran, who has already filed amendments to filibuster the bill.

Supporters of the legislation argue the fiscal analysis is low because it uses $9,600 to represent the annual cost of housing an inmate. A better estimate, one that factors in prison labor and maintenance expenses, puts the per-inmate cost above $30,000, they have said.

The bill has not yet been scheduled for the second of three rounds of debate.

Supporters will need at least 33 votes to defeat the filibuster, meaning they will have to convince at least some of the opponents to change their positions on the bill.
LINCOLN  A Gretna lawmaker is calling on the chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party to disclose the names of refugees who may have received voter registration forms.

State Sen. John Murante on Monday said a list of their names should be provided to county election officials so the names of any refugees who may have registered to vote can be removed from the rolls and any applications not yet received can be rejected.

Time is of the essence, and we need to make sure our voter registration rolls are clean, he said.

The voter registration forms, along with letters explaining what it means to be a Democrat, were included in care packages that the party donated to refugee resettlement groups.

Jane Kleeb, the Democratic Party leader, said no such list of refugees exists because the forms were removed from the packages before they were handed out.

The party donated about 50 baskets of items to Lutheran Family Services and the Refugee Empowerment Center. Both organizations have said they did not give out the voting materials.

I can give Sen. Murante a list of people who are sending me death threats, Kleeb said Monday.

Murante said that he did not know if any forms were submitted to county election officials by refugees and that he appreciates steps taken by organizations to remove the forms.

Still, he said, he has heard from numerous Nebraskans who are deeply concerned about voter fraud.

The people of Nebraska are watching, and we as a state need to take action, he said, noting the coming city elections in Omaha and Lincoln.

In a letter, Murante also asked Kleeb to contact refugees who may have received the forms and tell them that they are ineligible to vote.

Refugees who submit voter registration forms could face a felony charge, and anyone who aids, counsels, procures or advises a person to commit voter fraud also could face a felony, he said.

Kleeb maintained she committed no illegal act, noting that the form explained that only citizens are eligible to vote.

Its absolutely ludicrous, and it is a sad state of affairs that this is where the GOP is going right now, she said.

Murante, a Republican, chairs the Nebraska Legislatures Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, which deals with election and voter registration-related legislation.

His name also has been floated as a possible candidate to replace Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale, who isnt seeking re-election next year.
Two businesses near the Dundee Theater were damaged by flooding Saturday as a result of trench work and heavy rain.

CupCake Omaha owner Chris Janicek said his shop at 107 N. 50th St. received minimal damage, but the Legacy Art & Frame shop next door sustained more significant damage.

Janicek said it appears that trenches dug behind the businesses as part of the Dundee Theater renovation filled with rainwater.

The Dundee is being expanded by Film Streams following a donation of the property by the Sherwood Foundation.

Casey Logan, deputy director for Film Streams, said the contractor is working to remedy the situation.

We learned over the weekend about flooding following Friday nights rainstorm that unfortunately affected a couple of our neighbors, Logan said. Our contractor assures us they are working closely with the shop owners and will resolve any issues as quickly as possible.

The National Weather Service office in Valley said parts of Douglas County received more than an inch of rain Friday and Saturday.

On Saturday, Michael Heaton, the owner of the frame shop, surveyed the damage and took photos to document it.

Janicek and Heaton said they believe water flowed into their businesses as a result of digging by a construction company.

The contractors are redoing all the plumbing, and the rains came and filled up the trench behind us, Janicek said. When the trench filled up, the water began leaking through the foundation.

Once the contractors were notified of the damage, they arrived with shop vacs and workers to get rid of the water, Janicek said.

They did a great job, he said.
Emerson Craig may have thought he had the perfect plan to hide the killing of his wife.

Turns out he was wrong.

Craig, 62, was sentenced Monday to 20 to 60 years in prison for the murder of Heidi Craig, a woman remembered by others as someone who loved her children and like to sew, decorate and bake.

Heidi Craig, 52, was found dead April 26, 2014, on the couples property. She was a mother and grandmother and worked at Cabelas.

Her husband told authorities that she had been crushed by a hay bale while getting hay for the couples horses. An autopsy found that she hadnt suffered skeletal fractures consistent with being crushed by a hay bale, and that no hay was found in her trachea or airway, meaning she likely hadnt struggled to breathe under the hay bale.

A final autopsy Oct. 2, 2014, found that Heidi Craig died of blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxiation by strangulation.

Craig, of Maxwell, was initially charged with first-degree murder. He subsequently pleaded to second-degree murder, meaning he admitted to killing his wife, but it was not premeditated. As part of the plea agreement, Craig was to be sentenced to at least 20 years in prison, but prosecutors agreed not to ask for life in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Corey OBrien said Craigs attempt to cover up his crime exacerbated the challenges of the case. OBrien asked for a substantial sentence.

Craigs attorney, Amanda Speichert, said that Craig has maintained his love for his wife since her death and that he had no history of violent crimes. Craigs prior criminal history consists of a 1976 conviction for selling a controlled substance and theft convictions that were decades apart.

Lincoln County District Judge Donald Rowlands, however, said Craig had a high risk of reoffending. Rowlands sentenced Craig to 20 to 60 years in prison, with credit for 881 days served.

He should have gotten more time, said Kathy Thornton, who was Heidi Craigs supervisor at Cabelas.

Heidis best friend, Luellen Fisher, said she was glad its finally over.
An Omaha tribal police sergeant was killed Sunday morning in a crash on a state highway in northeast Nebraska.

Curtis Blackbird, 59, was responding to a call in Walthill, according to the Nebraska State Patrol. He was driving in dense fog on Nebraska Highway 94 in a work zone near Walthill when his vehicle struck a construction crane.

Sergeant Blackbird dedicated his life to serving his people. His loss is felt in every corner of our reservation and beyond, a statement on the Omaha Tribe of Nebraskas Facebook page said.

A cedar ceremony was held Monday by the Omaha Tribal Council.

Native American services are scheduled for noon Thursday in the gymnasium of the Omaha Nation School in Macy, said Tony Smith of Munderloh-Smith Funeral Home, which is handling the services.

Blackbirds survivors include his wife, Ardetta Morris Blackbird; sisters Betty and Beverly Blackbird; and two grandsons.

Walthill is in Thurston County, about 80 miles northwest of Omaha.
Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg returned to Macomb County, Michigan, last month to observe the latest twists in the tortured relationship between the Democratic Party and white working-class voters.

Macomb, just north of Detroit, is Michigans third-largest county and overwhelmingly white. Median household income is around $54,000, which nearly matches the national median.

Macomb gave Barack Obama a majority of its votes in 2008 and again in 2012. But in 2016, the county flipped, hard. Donald Trump won Macomb by 48,000 votes. He won the entire state of Michigan by only 12,000.

Greenberg conducted four focus groups in February with a total of 35 white voters without college degrees  Trumps base. As he wrote in his report, racist sentiment, Islamophobia and disdain for multiculturalism probably put many of these voters beyond the reach of Democratic appeals.

But those for whom race is not decisive wont necessarily be easy to lure back to the Democratic camp either, according to Greenbergs report.

These voters have not regretted their vote for Trump. There was no buyers remorse. . . . They are clear about why they voted for him and pray he keeps his promises and succeeds, Greenberg wrote. They accept Trumps version of the news and facts, and their reactions to videos of his press conferences and interviews reinforced that point.

Whether Trump, or anyone, can redeem these voters faith in the long run is a different, and difficult, question.

According to data compiled by the Detroit News, manufacturing jobs in Macomb dropped by half from 2000 to 2010, from 106,000 to 52,000. In 2015, the number stood at 62,000.

Abundant, high-paying blue- collar jobs (or strong industrial unions) seem highly unlikely to return despite Trumps promises. But that doesnt mean Trump will necessarily get the blame.

In an interview, Greenberg said Macomb voters seem prepared to give Trump a pass on results, possibly for a long time. Instead, theyll likely blame the Republican Congress for any disappointments. In the short term, you can see them pulling off Republicans very easily, Greenberg said, citing the midterm election in 2018.

Greenberg believes Trump may, however, prove vulnerable on GOP changes to Obamacare. If Republican legislation passes Congress, and Trump signs it, it will almost certainly reduce insurance coverage for millions while raising consumer costs.

The health care stuff is potentially damaging, Greenberg said. They think his promise is better insurance for less money.

Democrats are weighing whether voters like Greenbergs Macomb groups are worth pursuing, and at what cost. A February report from the liberal Center for American Progress pointed out that from 1980 to 2014, the percentage of the voting-age population with a college degree roughly doubled, from 15 percent to 30 percent.

College-educated whites accounted for two-thirds of the increase. As the electorate grows more educated, the white working class vote diminishes.

Meanwhile, three states  California, New Mexico and Texas  had a nonwhite majority in 2016. If demographic patterns hold, the CAP report stated, 18 more states will become majority-minority over the next 44 years.

The right populist movement is riding on demographic borrowed time, CAP senior fellow Ruy Teixeira wrote earlier this month. He added that the white non-college-educated share of voters declined by 19 percentage points just between the 1988 and 2012 presidential elections. Projections indicate that this groups share of voters should continue to decline by 2-3 points every presidential election for decades.

Greenberg doesnt believe that Democrats can rely on a diverse, more affluent, metro- centered coalition to produce reliable returns. Too many states are too rural and too white and will remain so for too long. It leaves you in a weak position, he said. Youre always going to struggle to control the Senate. My view is we need to do better with all groups.

Democrats, he maintains, under-perform with working-class voters of all races. Weve been losing working people, he said. Working-class white men, cut loose from the mediating influence and organizing power of a union, will be especially hard to reel in.

Trumps validation of sexism, racial animus and xenophobia may never produce high-paying jobs, but the Democrats multiculturalism hasnt, either. According to Greenberg, the people in his Macomb groups feel as if they are under siege, sometimes even in their own households, where their support for Trump has been attacked by members of their family or community.

They think theres a civil war in the country, Greenberg said. Having chosen Trumps side in the fight, they overlook his serial dishonesty, emotional imbalance, self-enrichment and broad-based incompetence. At least for now.

When we play his press conference, which the media was very derisive about, they listen, Greenberg said. And they trust him.
Kapil Sharma spotted in wheelchair at Mumbai airport, gets angry at paps who asked him if he was okay

AI to warn Kapil Sharma for misbehaving on flight

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

After telling Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Ravindra Gaikwad that he is no longer welcome on Indian flights, Air India is set to warn popular TV comedian, Kapil Sharma. The warning will be issued to Kapil Sharma after it was reported that he had behaved 'very' badly on an India-Australia flight.

Also read: Shiv Sena likely to seek privilege motion against MP Ravindra Gaikwad

Air India chief Ashwani Lohani has sought for a report on the incident. The warning will be issued this week. It is being drafted at the moment. Sharma was flying business class of a Melbourne-Delhi flight on March 16. Reports stated that he had had too many drinks and then started to misbehave.

He is also said to have used expletives against members of his crew. He was asked to calm down by the cabin crew. After calming down, he is alleged to have stood up again and hurled expletives at his team members. This time the pilot had to step in and warn the star.

OneIndia News
As Kerala govt sleeps, NIA unearths another IS plot to kill Hindu leaders

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Kerala has been witnessing several incidents in which Hindu leaders have been targeted. Several members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party have been killed in political violence. In this backdrop, the National Investigation Agency has learnt that a module inspired by the Islamic State had planned on wreck havoc and kill Hindu leaders in Kerala.

The details came up during the interrogations of Moinudheen Parakadavath, a resident of Kasargod. He was arrested for allegedly helping 22 persons leave the country and join the IS in Afghanistan.

He said during his questioning that several Hindu leaders were under their radar. He gave a specific reference to an event held in Kochi last year where activist Rahul Easwar was the speaker.

It was decided that the event had to be attacked. At first it was decided that a bike-borne bomber would be sent to the venue and told to blow himself up. However, it was later suggested that a tipper be deployed so that the damage is much more.

It must be recalled that using vehicles to stage attacks is very IS like. Similar instances have been reported in Nice, Berlin and very recently, London. The IS had issued a directive to its operatives to use unconventional weapons to strike at crowded places.

The accused spoke of other plots to target Jewish shrines in Kerala as well. "We had planned on striking as many places as possible. The idea was to create fear and panic in the minds of the people, he told the NIA. He stated that some of the persons who had left for Afghanistan would return after they are trained.

OneIndia News
Pastor Vijay Masih arrested in UP for illegally converting Hindus to Christianity

UP ATS picks up two more accused in Al-Qaeda radicalisation case

Crackdown on slaughterhouses leads to acute meat scarcity in UP

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Butcher shops wore a deserted look on Monday after sellers in Uttar Pradesh called for an indefinite strike against the crackdown by the state government on slaughterhouses.

The Association of Meat Traders called for shops to be shut, practically creating a meat supply crisis in several parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Shops in Azad market area, Qaiserbagh market in Lucknow, Atala in Allahabad and parts of Varanasi saw meat shops down shutters as early as Friday afternoon. The traders' association claims that crackdown on illegal slaughter houses has affected the livelihood of those who are dependent on them and the strike is in solidarity with them.

The police have been asked to keep strict vigil against cattle smuggling apart from identifying illegal slaughterhouses and meat shops.

Lucknow's iconic Tunday Kabab hit by meat scarcity A century-old iconic eatery in Lucknow, Tunday Kababi sparked off a social media debate after reports of it being shut down due to beef shortage surfaced. While many blamed the Uttar Pradesh government's crackdown on illegal slaughter houses for the eatery's distress, others countered the claim by sharing pictures of the eatery up and running as usual. One such social media post said that the shop was shut down for an hour on Wednesday due to delay in procuring raw material but was functioning as usual on Thursday. Speaking to the media on Thursday, the owner of Tunda Kababi said that there was a shortage of black buffalo meat and the shop was making do with chicken. Uttar Pradesh: Meat sellers in Kanpur protest against government's move to shut down illegal slaughterhouses. pic.twitter.com/OosCZDFYyy  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 27, 2017 Protest in Kanpur against govt crackdown Many meat vendors took to streets in Kanpur in protest against the government crackdown. When meat is not available how can we make Kebabs? People still come but go back disappointed: Marrat, a worker at Lucknow's Tunday Kababi pic.twitter.com/g74cMSwaUK  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 27, 2017 Tunday Kebab worker complains of meat shortage Lucknow's Tunday Kebab wore a deserted look due to the strike called by meat vendors against government action. Meat sellers shut their shops in protest against Uttar Pradesh Government's crackdown; visuals from Aminabad pic.twitter.com/VwlNTxVLfH  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 27, 2017 Deserted looks at meat outlets Meat outlets at many places were severely hit by scarcity due to protest by slaughter house workers. Shut down at slaughterhouses The traders' association claims that crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses has affected the livelihood of those who are dependent on them and the strike is in solidarity with them.

OneIndia News
Exodus continues for Congress: Another senior leader joins BJP in Karnataka

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

There seems to be no respite for the Congress. A week after S M Krishna, the seniormost leader of the Congress joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, another has followed his footsteps. This time, it is former Member of Parliament M Shivanna has decided to join the saffron party. He has indicated his decision to quit the Congress.

After holding talks with Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa, Shivanna has expressed his willingness to join the party. He would join the BJP along with his supporters.

Shivanna decided to join the BJP citing unhappiness with the Congress leadership. He said that veterans in the party were being neglected by the Congress. He said that nothing is right with the Congress today. The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee neglects senior leaders of the party he said.

He will now campaign for Srinivas Prasad, the Congressman who quit the party to join the BJP. Prasad is the BJP's candidate from Nanjangud which polls in April. Shivanna would also campaign for Niranjan Kumar of the BJP at Gundlupet.

Speaking about the prospects of the BJP in the two by-polls, Shivanna said that the wave is in favour of the BJP. He said that many more Congress leaders are set to join the BJP in Karnataka in the days to come.

OneIndia News
Two of Yogi's controversial decisions are also his most popular

Renew, commission new licences for slaughterhouses in UP says HC

What is behind crime spurt in UP?

UP: Family seeks permission for beef, cops approve only chicken

India

oi-Madhuri

Moradabad: The effects of closure of illegal slaughterhouses can be felt across the state. A family in Moradabad district on Monday sought a permission from the police for use of beef in a function. However, it was denied.

Moradabad:Family seeks permission from police for use of Beef in a function;police denies permission, after ban on illegal slaughterhouses. pic.twitter.com/SSnhQ32ni2  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 27, 2017

It is learnt that the family had asked permission for use of beef for their daughter's engagement, but were allowed to use only chicken.

[Crackdown on slaughterhouses: Meat sellers in UP on indefinite strike from today]

''We have got permission for use of chicken instead of beef in daughter's engagement function,'' said Sharfaraz who had approached the police.

Since Adityanath Yogi took charge as chief minister of the state with a vow to crack down on cattle smuggling many illegal slaughterhouses have been shut down. There were also reports of meat shops being set ablaze in Hathras.

Meanwhile, in Lucknow, protesting against the crackdown on slaughter houses the Chicken and Mutton Mandi Committee has called for an indefinite strike.

"We have decided to intensify our strike. All shops will remain closed. Fish sellers too have joined us and are extending support to us," Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal office bearer Mubeen Qureshi said.

On Sunday, three persons were also arrested for illegal slaughter after over 20 kg of meat was seized from their house at Madhavi village in Shamli district.

OneIndia News
For the wife of Siachen braveheart, Centre came to the rescue when K'taka govt failed

India

oi-Anusha

For well over a year, the Karnataka government had forgotten about the promise of a job made to Siachen braveheart Hanumanthappa Koppad's wife. OneIndia's campaign to remind the government of the unkept promises ultimately elicited a response, but from the Union government and not the state. The Karnataka government including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had claimed on national television that Mahadevi Koppad or any other family member would be offered a job by his government but a year on, no such offers were made. Compensation came in plenty, but the promise of a job was never fulfilled until the Centre stepped in.

[Read OneIndia.com's extensive coverage on Hanumanthappa Koppad HERE]

Following OneIndia's report on Mahadevi Koppad being denied a job, Union Minister for textiles Smriti Irani took note of the situation and offered the martyr's wife a job at Central Silk board's office in Hubli. After OneIndia's campaign, many people including Union Minister Maneka Gandhi reached out to Mahadevi to offer her a job. It was ultimately Irani's ministry that managed to secure a job of Mahadevi's liking in Hubli.

[OneIndia impact: Siachen braveheart Hanumanthappa Koppad's wife's day one at central silk board]

Siddaramaiah had promised Mahadevi a job, a site and land. He had also promised to name the Hubli main road after Hanumanthappa Koppad and install Koppad's statue in his village as a memorial. While the compensation in form of money and land has been given to the family, the dignity of a job was unnecessarily delayed for Mahadevi.

"Our local MLA has been extremely supportive. He has all the time and patience for a martyr's family. I understand that the government has a lot to take care of and I am not the only one. I am sure I will get an offer from them. I will wait,: Mahadevi had told OneIndia when we kickstarted the campaign and asked her why there was a delay in keeping up the promise made to her about the job.

She was willing to wait but the wait had become neverending. The Karnataka government had promised to dole out an offer letter to Mahadevi Koppad by end of March and there is no news of the same. It is in fact, the offer made by Irani's ministry that Koppad has accepted and has started work on Monday.

OneIndia News
How a 16-year-old-girl inspired Modi's Mann ki Baat

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Moved by an appeal by a 16-year-old from Dehradun, Prime Minister Narendra Modi included the girl's audio clip in the 30th edition of Mann ki Baat.

Modi in his address complimented Gayatri Singh who is from the Ajabpur Kala area in Dehradun. He said that she had raised concerns about a public problem. Gayatri had said that the River Rispana has turned into a garbage dumping place. He used the audio clip by the girl to draw peoples' attention towards cleanliness. He said that a clean India is necessary and that is why the Swachh Bharat campaign had been launched. "Gayatri's message must be an inspiration to all. Gayatri has a lot of anger towards pollution and every citizen must be angry about such issues. Only such an attitude would help achieve cleanliness," he said.

Gayatri in her audio clip blamed the people and government for polluting the river. "There is no proper arrangement made, and hence people throw garbage all over the place, she said. How can development take place unless and until someone initiates development in the region, she further added.

Gayatri was angered by the situation and recorded the clip. She, however, did not know how to send the message across. She then went to the Doordarshan office and recorded the message which was relayed directly to the prime minister who included it in the 30th edition of his Mann ki Baat.

OneIndia News
How IS plannned a Sunni-Shia divide in India

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Islamic State-inspired module that was busted recently tried to create a rift between the Sunnis and Shias. Several plans had been hatched to target Shia shrines in the country in a bid to create a deep divide, investigations have found.

The interrogation of Syed Mir Hussain, one of the members of the module busted in Uttar Pradesh has revealed that a plan was hatched to carry out a blast at the Waris Ali Shah dargah. The module members had also planned on murdering a leading Shia cleric in UP, investigations further revealed.

Hussain told the NIA that the plan had been hatched, but owing to heavy security arrangements, they had to postpone the plot. He said that he and the rest of the members had visited several places which had a dominant Shia population. "We wanted to target these places and create fear in the minds of the Shias," he told the NIA.

He also said that after the blasts they wanted to propagate the Sharia law and also implement it. "We held several meetings in this regard. We wanted not just to carry out blasts, but also murders of leading Shia leaders and clerics," he told interrogators.

The plan is in sync with what the IS has been propagating in both Syria and Iraq. The IS has directed its leaders to strike at Shia targets and implement the Sharia law. The birth of the IS is directly linked to the fight against the Shias across the world. After the US installed a Shia head in Iraq, the IS became stronger and vowed to overthrow the leadership. The IS believes that the Shias are non-believers and need to be wiped out from the earth.

OneIndia News
No one has guts...: Junior defence minister's reply to China question

Twitter down as several users report login issues on website

Talented, driven and great potential: President Putin is all praise for India and Indians

India, Russia discuss disarmament, non-proliferation

India

ians-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, March 27: India and Russia discussed a wide range of issues during the annual round of bilateral consultations on disarmament and non-proliferation held here, the External Affairs Ministry said on Monday.

The Russian team was led by Mikhail Ulyanov, Head of the Department of Non-Proliferation and Arms Control in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while Pankaj Sharma, Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs) in Ministry of External Affairs, led the Indian delegation.

"The consultations covered a broad spectrum of related issues on the international agenda including nuclear and WMD (weapons of mass destruction) terrorism, nuclear energy," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

"As part of the series of events to commemorate 70 years of India-Russia diplomatic relations, Ulyanov also delivered a lecture at the Foreign Service Institute, New Delhi on March 23 on the theme 'India-Russia Partnership and Prospects for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control'," it said.

Ulyanov visited India on March 23-24 for the annual consultations held alternatively in New Delhi and Moscow.

IANS
Will raise our climate ambitions but not under pressure: Javadekar

Now Ferraris and Lamborghinis can test in India: India gets Asias longest high speed track

Shouldn't worry about 2024, instead think of 2029 polls: Javadekar's advice to Opposition

Javadekar assures genuine students will get mid-day meal even if they don't have Aadhaar

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, March 27: HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that no genuine student will be denied mid-day meal for the lack of Aadhaar card.

Javadekar's comments came in wake of the Supreme Court's decision that Aadhaar cards cannot be made mandatory by the government and its agencies for extending benefits of social welfare schemes.

"No genuine student will be denied mid-day meal. We will give meals and also Aadhaar cards to students," he told reporters.

The Human Resource Development Ministry had earlier this month made an announcement that cook-cum-helpers working under the mid-day meal scheme as well as the student beneficiaries will now be required to have an Aadhaar card to avail the benefits.

The Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL), under the HRD Ministry, had also decided to give a window till June 30 to those who do not have an Aadhaar card.

However, after facing flak from opposition parties over the issue, the government had also stated that no one will be deprived of the benefits of subsidy schemes for the want of Aadhaar number and other identity proofs will be accepted.

The Supreme Court today made it clear that Aadhaar cards cannot be made mandatory by the government and its agencies for extending benefits of social welfare schemes.

A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justices D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul, however, said the government and its agencies cannot be stopped from seeking Aadhaar cards for non-welfare schemes like opening of bank accounts.

PTI
Jayalalithaa's self-proclaimed 'son' to be jailed

India

oi-Anusha

Justice R Mahadevan of the Madras high court ordered the arrest of a man who claimed to be late J Jayalalithaa's son. After perusing the report filed by the Inspector general of police, Crime branch, the judge said that Krishnamurthy, who had petitioned the court to acknowledge him as Jayalalithaa's son had cheated the court and forged documents.

"He has not only cheated the court but has also prepared forged documents," Justice Mahadevan said while directing the police to take appropriate action against him in accordance with law. Krishnamurthy had claimed to be the son of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa and Telugu actor Shoban Babu. He had produced documents of adoption to support his claims and photographs that clearly looked photoshopped to the court.

While pulling him up for wasting the court's time, Justice Mahadevan, during the previous hearing had asked for all documents to be verified. The report on the same was submitted in a sealed cover on Monday by the crime branch following which the judge ordered that the petitioner be arrested.

Krishnamurthy, a resident of Erode had claimed to be the biological son of Jayalalithaa and staked claim to her properties. He had petitioned the high court to recognise him as the legal heir of the former AIADMK chief.

OneIndia News
Will BJP be able to defeat Shibu Soren in his last election?

JMM writes to EC about Modi's visit before by-poll

India

ians-IANS

By Ians English

Ranchi, March 27: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha on Monday wrote to the Election Commission opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jharkhand just before the Littipara assembly by-poll on April 9.

Modi is scheduled to arrive in Sahebganj district and the lay foundation stone of a bridge over the Ganga river.

"PM Modi will lay foundation stone of the bridge on Ganga river, distribute one lakh mobile phones among women, distribute appointment letters to Pahadia tribe battalion and other things. Such activities are to lure the voters of Littipara assembly," JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya, who has also written to the EC, told reporters.

"We demand the EC should look into the issue to conduct free and fair poll. The Prime Minister's visit would make an impact and it should be rescheduled after the assembly by-poll," the JMM leader said.

Littipara assembly seat is the bastion of the JMM and the party has been winning the seat for the last 30 years.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Jharkhand is making efforts to make inroads into the JMM bastion in the by-poll.

IANS
Kerala: Judicial probe ordered in Ex-minister Saseendran case

India

oi-Anusha

The government on Monday announced ordered a judicial probe into the allegations against former Kerala minister A K Saseendran. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media that a judicial inquiry will be initiated to probe the matter after which further action will be initiated. Saseendran resigned on Sunday 'on moral grounds' after a tape of his alleged inappropriate conversation with a woman was made public.

Vijayan also added that the decision on who will head the probe committee will be taken during the next cabinet meet. Saseendran, who was Kerala's transport minister, resigned after a channel broadcast an audio clip allegedly containing conversation filled with sexual overtones between the minister and a woman. The audio was made public in the backdrop of Malappuram bypoll scheduled to take place on April 12.

Saseendran is the second minister to resign from the 10-month-old Vijayan cabinet. E P Jayarajan had also resigned from the industry portfolio. Saseendran, while announcing his resignation on Sunday had urged the chief minister to order a probe into the matter while maintaining that he was not guilty.

OneIndia News
Man held with 31 cartons of liquor ahead of MCD polls in Delhi

India

oi-Gulam Rabbani

Delhi: With just less than a month left for Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls, the police on Monday arrested a man with 31 cartons of liquor in a car during a check in the national capital. After the arrest, the man confessed to the Delhi police that the cartons were being brought for the use of MCD polls.

A senior police official said that political leaders might be involved in this incident.

He said that the man is taken into custody for further interrogation on a source of liquor cartons and other key issues.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party, oppositions Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress parties are gearing up for the upcoming MCD polls scheduled on April 22. Thre results will be out on April 25.

OneIndia News
More terrorists, lesser weapons: How Hizbul is overcoming this

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

There were three incidents of weapons snatching in Jammu and Kashmir in the past 24 hours. The incidents have caused a great deal of concern for the security agencies. While two incidents were reported at Budgam and Jammu, the third was at Dooru which is part of the Anantnag constituency which goes to polls on April 12.

In all three incidents, the terrorists snatched the rifles from police personnel and fled. In the Jammu incident, one terrorist was arrested while the other managed to flee with an AK-47 rifle.

Intelligence Bureau officials see a pattern and say that this trend has started since July 2016. This was a plan set up by the Hizbul Mujahideen and the same was announced through a video released by the outfit last year.

Officials, while raising concerns over such incidents say that the Hizbul Mujahideen has called for snatching of guns. During the unrest in the Valley, the recruitment of youth into the outfit had gone up threefold.

Officials say that due to the sudden rise in the recruitments, there is a shortage of weapons in the outfit and hence such incidents of weapon snatching are taking place. Such incidents are also planned with a view of embarrassing the security personnel, officials say.

Since July, militants have so far decamped with more than 60 service rifles. The Indian Army has expressed concern and says that it would be working closely with the local police who have been the targets of such incidents.

OneIndia News
SC to Centre: J&K will decide state's matter

India

ians-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, March 27: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Central and the Jammu and Kashmir governments to sit together to decide the issue of identification of religious and linguistic minorities and whether Muslims could be treated as a minority in the state.

Describing it a "very important issue", the bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice D.Y.Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul gave both the governments four weeks time to decide the contentious issue after the Central government said that it has decided to discuss the issue with the state.

The court order came on a PIL by Ankur Sharma who has contended that Muslims constituted 68 per cent of the state's population and thus were not a "minority" in the state.

As the PIL was taken up for hearing, a counsel appearing for J&K questioned it saying that it was only focused on the state.

At this, Chief Justice Khehar said: "Let us focus on J&K and then if need be it wiil be extended to other States."

Jammu and Kashmir government, in their response to the PIL, has contended that it was not the only state where the minority declared by the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) was a majority, citing the cases of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Punjab and Lakshadweep where minority as declared by the NCM was in majority.

It further contended that the expression "minority" that has been used in the Constitution's Articles 29 and 30 has not been defined.

The public interest litigation had contended that the benefits offered under the Prime Minister's 15-point guidelines for the welfare of minorities should go to religious and linguistic minorities in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sharma has also sought the setting up of a State minority commission in the J&K.

He as sought directions that the National Commission for Minorities Act may be amended to make it applicable to the state so that its minorities too could get benefits made available to religious minorities in other states.

The petitioner said the religious and linguistic minorities in Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of their lawful share in the central schemes for minorities since it was being siphoned off illegally and arbitrarily by people not entitled to it, and sought setting up of an expert committee under the direct supervision of the apex court to identity religious and linguistic minorities.

During the hearing of the PIL on July 12 last year, the court had refused to pass any interim order to block benefits of central schemes from being availed of by the Muslim majority in the northern state.

IAN
No fly-list rules in effect from today: Your guide to passenger ban on airlines

Shiv Sena likely to seek privilege motion against MP Ravindra Gaikwad

India

oi-Madhuri

His brazen act of assaulting an Air India employee and justifying it on camera may have shocked the nation but Shiv Sena on Monday said that it is likely to bring privilege motion over issue of MP Ravindra Gaikwad being put in no fly list of all airline.

Also read: AI to warn Kapil Sharma for misbehaving on flight

Shiv Sena supporters hold bike rally in Maharashtra's Omerga in support of party MP Ravindra Gaikwad pic.twitter.com/rrmC62fLVo  ANI (@ANI_news) March 27, 2017

Earlier on Monday, Shiv Sena gave a shutdown call in Umarga and Lohara Tahsil of Osmanabad district to protest against Air India.

The 57-year-old MP had on Thursday allegedly abused and assaulted a 60-year-old duty manager of Air India with slippers for not being able to fly business class despite having boarded an all-economy Pune-New Delhi flight.

Air India and five private airlines banned the Ravindra Gaikwad from flying as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.

Air India cancelled the MP's return ticket for the 4.15pm flight on Friday, but he booked an IndiGo flight through an agent. The private airline too cancelled the booking, forcing him to take the August Kranti Express. Gaikwad was reported to have left from Mumbai for his hometown Umarga in Osmanabad district by road and had taken the Pune route. However, Sena leaders in Osmanabad as well as the police there said they had no information about Gaikwad having returned to his hometown.

OneIndia News
Explained: Why did the ECI freeze the symbol of the Shiv Sena

Not just future of Sena but democracy at stake, says Uddhav

Shiv Sena likens Ravindra Gaikwad to Kapil Sharma, questions dual standards

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Amid discussion on the ban imposed by airlines on Ravindra Gaikwad in Lok Sabha, Shiv Sena MP Anandrao Adsul on Monday asked why a similar action was not taken against comedian Kapil Sharma, who had misbehaved on a Melbourne-Delhi flight after getting drunk.

Even Kapil Sharma misbehaved on flight after getting drunk but no ban imposed on him: Anandrao Adsul of Shiv Sena, defends R.Gaikwad in LS  ANI (@ANI_news) March 27, 2017

Gaikwad, who had assaulted an Air India staffer, was last week barred from flying on the Air India after which even Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir imposed a similar ban. Gaikwad remained unapologetic after his brazen assault and even the Shiv Sena refused to take any action against him.

The Sena, in fact, questioned the travel ban imposed by Federation of Indian Airlines.

Illogical that other 4 airlines also put R Gaikwad on a no-fly list. He is not a criminal: Manisha Kayande, Shiv Sena spokesperson pic.twitter.com/zuFt8ppGXP  ANI (@ANI_news) March 27, 2017

On the other hand, Sharma was flying business class of a Melbourne-Delhi flight on March 16. Reports stated that he had had too many drinks and then started to misbehave. He is also said to have used expletives against members of his crew.

[AI to warn Kapil Sharma for misbehaving on flight]

He was asked to calm down by the cabin crew. After calming down, he is alleged to have stood up again and hurled expletives at his team members.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, March 27, 2017, 14:01 [IST]
Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad to sue Air India

India

oi-Anusha

Forced to take a train to Pune after airlines decided to 'ground' him, Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Ravindra Gaikwad is all set to sue Air India. In a statement to India Today, Gaikwad announced his decision to sue the airline for putting him on the no-fly list and prompting other airlines to cancel his ticket.

Meanwhile, the issue of Gaikwad being forced to take a train kicked up a storm in Parliament. The Sena stood firmly by Gaikwad, while the latter remained defiant. The party alleged that it was illegal to ban an MP and demanded that the airline revoke the ban immediately.

[College teacher, politician and rowdy: Is this what Ravindra Gaikwad teaches?]

Two FIRs have been filed against Gaikwad but the party maintained that it was a result of 'media pressure' and demanded that FIRs also be filed based on the complaint of Gaikwad against Air India staff.

While a posse of Parliamentarians criticised the ban against Gaikwad including SP and Congress MPs, the civil aviation minister claimed that the DGCA has given airlines the authority to ban any unruly passenger and that the rule remains the same for everyone.

OneIndia News
Tell us your plan to tackle farmer suicides in 4 weeks: SC to Centre

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Union government to submit a detailed plan to tackle the issues of farmers' suicide across the country in four weeks and termed the matter as 'important and serious', said reports.

The apex court had on March 3 expressed grave concern over farmers' suicide due to indebtedness and crop failure and said it felt the government was going in a 'wrong direction' in tackling the real problem.

A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar had said that paying compensation to the families of such victims 'post-facto' was not the real solution.

"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," the bench had said on March 3.

[SC raps govt over farmers' suicide issue]

Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha, appearing for the Centre, had then told the bench that the government has initiated many schemes for farmers and the 2015 crop insurance scheme would drastically reduce such fateful incidents.

OneIndia News
True sabka saath, sabka vikas only if last man is benefited, says Bhagwat

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Mar 26: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday gave thumbs up to the Modi government's slogan of sabka saath, sabka vikas, but said its real test would be when the poorest of the poor get its benefits. He also stressed on the need to ensure that development and environment go hand in hand.

In an apparent message to the government, the RSS Sarsanghchalak said development of one section should not come at the cost of neglecting the other as "vikas" has to be a broad-based phenomenon. Delivering the 7th Nanaji Deshmukh memorial lecture here on indigenous model of development, Bhagwat said while India never attacks anyone, it is capable of defending itself.

Referring to the 'sabka saath, sabka vikas' slogan, he said it is a "religious" slogan, but religion in this case should not be confused with its "modern connotations" which make it a very tricky issue. He said religion is something which prompts a person to do his or her duty. He also said religion helps strike a balance so that everyone goes along together. He said the true test for the slogan would be when the fruits of development reach the last man in queue. He said Sangh visionary Deen Dayal Upadhyay, and Mahatma Gandhi talked of 'antodaya' or the development of the last person.

The RSS head also stressed on the need to have development and environment on the same page like "friends". His remarks on environment assume significance as the government has often stressed that environmental concerns and development projects have to go together.

Some activists have alleged that environment and ecology are being compromised for development. Bhagwat said, to get the fruits of development people have to put in hard work. Similarly, to win elections politicians have to work hard so that they have an impressive report card. He said people do not "press button" (of EVM) to vote without going through the work of politicians in the past five years.

The Sangh chief was also critical of developed nations, which according to him, had forced their model of development on the rest of the world. He said while Indian model of development based on its ethos and culture has been worth emulating, it has to be remastered after every few years based on circumstances. Senior journalist Rajat Sharma also spoke on the occasion and recalled how Deshmukh had made Jayaprakash Narayan join the students' movement in 1974.

PTI
Two men end lives in northwest Delhi

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Mar 26: Two men allegedly committed suicide in separate incidents in northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri and Netaji Subhash Place areas.

In the first incident, 34-year-old Ajay allegedly hanged himself at his house in Jahangirpuri on Sunday afternoon, police said. He was married and used to run a flower shop with his other family members, police said, adding the reason why he took the extreme step isn't known yet.

In the second incident, a man, in his 40s, allegedly jumped to death from the 11th floor of the D Mall in Netaji Subhash Place on Sunday evening. A call was received around 6.35 pm on Sunday about the incident, police said, adding the deceased hasn't been identified as yet.

PTI

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, March 27, 2017, 9:58 [IST]
UP BJP MLA Suresh Srivastava claims threat to life

India

pti-PTI

Lucknow, Mar 26: BJP MLA Suresh Srivastava from Lucknow West on Sunday claimed that stones were hurled at his house by a mob belonging to a particular section of the society, and that his life was at threat.

The police has upped the security of the legislator after receiving the complaint. "I was attacked by a mob. The stone pelters also injured a policeman who was on duty. Now that the police force has come, I feel the situation would normalise," Srivastava, a resident of Tikait Rai Colony, told.

The BJP MLA claimed that he was targeted as he contested against seven Muslim candidates, and emerged victorious. He also demanded that his security cover be upgraded. However, the police has ruled out the threat perception, saying that a crowd had gathered outside the residence of the MLA to meet him.

"I am at the MLA's residence. The situation is absolutely normal. We did get information that a crowd had gathered outside the MLA's house. They wanted to meet their MLA, but could not do so. This probably flared up the emotions," Senior Superintendent of Police (Lucknow) Manzil Saini said.

Condemning the incident, BJP leader Dilip Srivastava said, "The anti-social elements are trying to defame the state government as it has promised to make the state free from these elements by initiating stringent action against them."

PTI
BJP accuses AAP of siphoning off money meant for welfare of construction workers

UP meat row: BJP asserts crackdown only on 'illegal slaughterhouses'

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

With meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh calling for an indefinite strike against the crackdown on slaughterhouses, State Minister Siddharth Nath Singh on Monday said the government is acting only against 'illegal slaughterhouses'.

He urged people not to believe in rumours being spread on the social media, said reports.

Action being taken against illegal slaughterhouses only, legal slaughterhouses should continue to follow regulations: SN Singh, UP Minister pic.twitter.com/iMeT7f8ziL  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 27, 2017

No orders given by the govt. to close down shops selling Chicken&Eggs.Do not believe news of it going around on social media: SN Singh pic.twitter.com/Yc6AR8f4Cw  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 27, 2017

After Adityanath Yogi took over as the chief minister, he ordered the closure of illegal slaughterhouses and ensured a strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling.

This has lead to an acute shortage of meat across the state.

On Sunday, three persons were also arrested for illegal slaughter after over 20 kg of meat was seized from their house at Madhavi village in Shamli district.

Such was the impact that, Lucknow's famous Tunday Kababi and Rahim's have shifted to mutton and chicken dishes after buffalo meat became scarce.

[Crackdown on slaughterhouses: Meat sellers in UP on indefinite strike from today]

Shops in Azad market area, Qaiserbagh market in Lucknow, Atala in Allahabad and parts of Varanasi saw meat shops down shutters as early as Friday afternoon.

The traders' association claims that crackdown on illegal slaughter houses has impacted the livelihood of those who are dependent on them and the strike is in solidarity with them.

OneIndia News
Vyapam scam: Remove CM Shivraj, Cong writes to Modi

India

oi-PTI

Bhopal, Mar 27: Leader of the opposition in Madhya Pradesh assembly, Ajay Singh, on

Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remove Shivraj Singh Chouhan as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh in the wake of the CAG observations about the Vyapam scam.

A recently released report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, rapped the state government over the Vyapam scam.

The scam pertains to alleged irregularities in job recruitments and admissions by the state professional examination board, known by its Hindi name Vyapam.

"I have written a letter to the PM and urged him to remove Shivraj Singh Chouhan from the post of chief minister,l as the Vyapam scam took shape during his tenure. The CAG too has rapped the state government over it," the Congress leader told media persons.

The CAG has passed strictures against the Madhya Pradesh government for 'systematic subversion of rules' in appointment of director and controller of the scam-tainted professional examination board.

Singh alleged that 53 persons died and 55 FIRs were registered in connection with the scam. Nearly 2,500 persons were facing investigation by various agencies including the CBI.

Besides, 2,100 persons were arrested in connection with this massive admission and recruitment racket, he said.

"All this happened during the tenure of Chouhan as CM. He was in-charge of the state's medical education department when this occurred. The CM himself has admitted to the irregularities in 1,378 appointments made through Vyapam," he said.

He said, "Surprisingly, none of the investigating agency has summoned the chief minister to get details about the scam.

"When former prime minister Manmohan Singh could be summoned on grounds of being in-charge of coal ministry, why couldn't a chief minister be examined ?" he sought to know.

"Earlier, the then two chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh -- Uma Bharti and Babulal Gaur-- were removed by the top BJP leadership when issues against them were not even related to corruption, he said "Why is the BJP's top leadership going soft on Chouhan?" he wanted to know.

PTI
When Modi quoted the epic 'Jatayu' from Ramayana

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoted Jatayu, the epic character from Ramayana, while addressing a gathering in New Delhi on Sunday. He referred to the vulture who laid down its life while fighting terror.

"Terrorism has gripped the entire world and has thrown open a challenge to humanity. If we compare incidents mentioned in the Ramayana to the present day context, then Jatayu, was the first to fight terror," Modi said.

"Jatayu the vulture tried its best to save Sita when she was being kidnapped by Ravan, and sacrificed his life while fighting," Modi said.

"The fight by Jatayu gives us inspiration to take on terrorism," Modi said at the event. Jatayu died while trying to protect the dignity of a woman. He took on a strong man and laid down his life in the process and this gives a message to humanity," the prime minister said.

On Jatayu, Wikipedia says, " In the Epic Ramayana when Jatayu sees Ravana abducting Sita, he tries to rescue Sita from Ravana . Jatayu fought valiantly with Ravana, but as he was very old Ravana soon got the better of him. As Rama and Lakshmana chanced upon the stricken and dying Jatayu in their search for Sita, he informs them of the fight between him and Ravana and tells them that he had gone south.

OneIndia News
Will BJP consider RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's name for President of India

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Mohan Bhagwat is the Shiv Sena's choice for President of India. The Sena has asked the BJP to reconsider the name of the RSS chief as the next President.

[Here is how BJP will elect the next President of India]

Pranab Mukherjee is due to retire in July, following which the electoral college would elect the new President. The BJP and the NDA would need the support of the AIADMK and BJD to elect a President of its choice. It is still unclear whether the president would be a BJP choice or a consensus candidate.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is recently said to have suggested the name of L K Advani. The others in the race are Murli Manohar Joshi and Najma Hepthulla. The name of actor Amitabh Bachchan was also being proposed as a consensus candidate.

The Shiv Sena says that if the dream of a Hindu nation is to be fulfilled, then Bhagwat be made the President. The Sena also quoted the appointment of Adityanath Yogi who was made the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. He is a Hindu leader, the Shiv Sena says. Hence to make Bhagwat the President would help India realise its dream of being a Hindu nation, the Shiv Sena says.

OneIndia News
Adityanath Yogi orders crackdown on food grain, ration mafia

India

pti-PTI

Lucknow, Mar 26: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi on Sunday ordered strict action against the food grain and ration mafia, while directing the officials to submit reports of closed sugar mills in the state.

"The poor must be issued ration cards, while stringent action be initiated against the food grain and ration mafia. The superintendents of police and district magistrates must act tough against these mafia through sustained campaigns," he said while chairing a review meeting of officials of Gorakhpur and Basti divisions in Lucknow. He directed the officials concerned to submit a report in the next 15 days on the revival of closed sugar mills and repair of those mills which were not functioning properly.

The chief minister asked the district magistrates to ensure that the benefits of the government schemes reach the needy. Adityanath also batted for tough action on mining, forest and cattle mafias. He directed the officials to settle the pending payments of sugarcane farmers in the next 15 days, and prepare a comprehensive strategy in the new sowing season.

The priest-turned-politician also drew the attention of the officials towards denotified tribes and asked them to conduct a survey to gauge whether the tribals have availed the state schemes.

"After the survey, the villages dominated by Van Tangiaa and Musahar (both denotified) should be declared 'revenue villages', so that basic facilities of education, health, drinking water, road, housing, electricity and government ration shops could be provided in these regions," he said.

On a stern note, the chief minister said contracts for construction work should not be given to any criminal elements. "If any pressure tactic is used by the criminal elements, it must be brought to the notice of the DMs and SPs immediately and FIRs be registered against these elements," he added.

PTI
How Adityanath Yogis tough image precedes him

India

oi-Ratan Mani Lal

Nine days after its formation, the Adityanath Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh is giving signals that are difficult to decipher by the government machinery and the people alike. Perceived widely as being a Hindu hardliner, Adityanath has so far not given any statement or speech that indicates a tilt towards any community, and at the same time, the continued presence of the team of bureaucrats working on their previous positions since the Akhilesh Yadav regime is making officials wonder what lies in store for them.

Significantly, the Adityanath government has not held its first cabinet meeting so far, triggering speculation about what could be holding it back. During the election campaign, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed that the decision to waive farmers' loans would be announced in the first meeting of the cabinet in case a BJP government came to power.

[Is the apprehension in UP justified?]

Now that the BJP government is firmly in place with a massive majority, opposition parties are questioning the delay in holding a cabinet meeting. Adding to the speculation is a recent statement by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that the Centre would not provide funds for farmer loan wavier, and that the state of UP will have to make its own arrangements for the same.

Yogi in action mode

But, cabinet meeting or not, Adityanath seems to be working in an action mode, having paid surprise visits to rooms in the secretariat, the Hazratganj police station, the KG's Medical College, and a planned visit to the Gomti riverfront development area. In addition, he has ordered a crackdown on illegal slaughter-houses, gutkha, pan masala and polythene bags in government offices, and ordered officers and government workers to come to office on time. However, there is doubt whether there were specific orders for the much-publicised anti-eve teasing campaign which often acquired contours of moral policing.

[When Adityanath Yogi quoted the Spiderman 'mantra']

The chief minister himself had to clarify that the police would not harass couples and men-women walking or sitting at public places. Even on the slaughter-house closure issue, the chief minister has had to clarify that only illegal slaughterhouses have been closed and those having proper permission and licence can function normally. However, all slaughter-houses are lying closed for two days because of a strike by them, leading to a huge shortage of meat.

A hard task-master

More than Adityanath's specific orders, it is the apprehension of his ire that is causing tremors in the state administration. According to many officers working in the state secretariat, officers and employees have not yet been able to understand the chief minister's reaction to different situations, therefore they think it is better to be on the safe side. His image of being a hard task-master is also contributing to the precaution prevailing among government staff. Adityanath had himself said in his speech in Gorakhpur a day ago that those in the government should be ready to work for long hours to show results.

The style of functioning is indeed different, and so far the people seem to be welcoming it. However, those officers occupying key positions since the previous chief minister's tenure are not sure what lies ahead for them. Officers such as the chief secretary, principal secretaries for the department of information, public works department, irrigation, and some other key departments are continuing in their posts and expect to be transferred any day.

A big reshuffle on the cards?

Some officers who had been identified as being very close confidants of the former chief minister are also continuing in their posts. While this has evoked muted reactions from some BJP leaders, there is widespread expectation that a big reshuffle would be made after the appointment of the principal secretary to the chief minister.

It is also mentioned by some leaders in the party that major activity will begin with the start of the auspicious Navratri period from March 29. The oath-taking of newly-elected members of the Assembly is likely on March 30 and a pro-tem speaker has also been appointed. The chief minister is likely to shift to the official residence on Kalidas Marg after that day. Incidentally, changes desired by the chief minister are taking place in the official residence which had been purified with an elaborate ritual some days ago.

However, one place where the change is not yet reflected fully is the UP government's official website. Adityanath's profile has not yet been published on the website even though a photograph of the chief minister is placed. The message says "This page is Under Updation and shall be made available soon."

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, March 27, 2017, 18:19 [IST]
How Ajit Doval ensured US recognised India as a key partner in fighting terror

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The United States is extremely optimistic about its relations with India especially on issues such as counter-terrorism. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval engaged with officials at the highest levels to discuss a host of issues with the focus being counter-terrorism.

Highly-placed sources in Delhi say that the meeting with his counterpart H R McMaster and Defence Secretary James Mattis were fruitful. The US explained to Doval the recent orders by the Trump administration regarding the ban on laptops and electronic devices on US-bound flights from eight Muslim majority nations.

[Counter-terrorism: Decoding Ajit Doval's US visit]

Doval was told that the decision was taken to enhance security on flights. Doval visit was in continuation of the two phone calls between Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both leaders have vowed to fight the menace of terror together.

India has described the meetings as warm, positive and encouraging. Various issues -- both regional and global -- were discussed during the meetings. Doval impressed upon the US officials about the need for enhanced cooperation. Pakistan did not specifically come up for discussion. However, the country was discussed in the context of regional security.

Doval sought to understand the thinking in the US about both Pakistan and China. It was discussed in the broader context. The general feeling that Doval got was that the new administration in the US was concerned about the rising problem of terror in the region. The US has assured India of all support in the war against terror.

China too was discussed in a broader context. India got a better understanding of what the concerns of the US regarding China was. China's support to Pakistan is among the many concerns that the US has on this issue. Doval told his counterpart that the two greatest democracies must work together to combat the threat of terrorism.

OneIndia News
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Chandra Grahan 2022: Check the start and end timing of lunar eclipse in major cities

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India not participating in UN negotiations on banning nuclear weapons

International

ians-IANS

By Ians English

New York, March 27: India is not participating in the conference on negotiations for a total ban on nuclear weapons that began here Monday.

Diplomatic sources familiar with India's position said the decision to not participate in the meeting was taken independently by New Delhi taking into account the nation's own interests and that the Indian mission was closely monitoring the developments at the conference.

India was expected later this week to issue a comprehensive statement laying out its stance on the meeting that is officially called the Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading Towards their Total Elimination.

India abstained from voting on the General Assembly resolution last year that set up the conference.

Meanwhile, US' Permanent Representative Nikki Haley separately announced a boycott of the conference by western nuclear powers and 37 other countries.

Speaking to reporters outside the General Assembly chamber where the meeting was taking place, she cited the danger posed by the international outlaws who will not abide by any treaties or laws as a rationale for her country, France, Britain and the others to stay away from the negotiations on a legally binding treaty to ban all nuclear weapons.

"In this day and age we can't say honestly that we can protect our people by allowing the bad actors to have them," she said.

"We have to be realistic," she said. "Is there anyone that believes that North Korea would agree to a ban on nuclear weapons?"

In defiance of the UN, North Korea is developing nuclear weapons and missiles to launch them.

The US boycott under President Donald Trump follows the policy set by the Democratic Party administration of President Barack Obama, which opposed calling the conference.

While China and Pakistan abstained, Russia joined the western nuclear powers in voting against the resolution convening it.

Haley instead pitched the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the route to disarmament.

France's Deputy Permanent Representative Alexis Lamek said the NPT remains the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament efforts. A new treaty to ban all nuclear weapons will divide the parties to the NPT, he said.

British Permanent Representative Matthew Rycroft also backed that approach. He said that his country was for a step by step approach within existing multilateral system.

IANS
Imran Khan discharged from hospital, to resume long march from same point where he was shot

This cop from Pakistan became a millionaire overnight: Here is how

Pak illegally occupying Gilgit-Baltistan says UK parliament

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

In a major setback for Pakistan, the British parliament condemned Islamabad's announcement declaring Gilgit-Baltistan as its fifth frontier. A resolution was passed stating that the region is a legal and constitutional part of Jammu and Kashmir which has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947.

The motion that was tabled on March 23 was sponsored by the Conservative Party leader, Bob Blackman. It stated that Pakistan by making such an announcement is implying its attempt to annexe the already disputed area.

The motion read, "Gilgit-Baltistan is a legal and constitutional part of the state of Jammu & Kashmir, India, which is illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947, and where people are denied their fundamental rights including the right of freedom of expression."

It noted that attempts to change the demography of the region was in violation of the State Subject Ordinance and the 'forced and illegal construction' of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor further aggravated and interfered with the disputed territory.

OneIndia News
Watch: PM Modi arrives in UAE to offer condolences on former president Sheikh Khalifa's demise

Pakistani pardons 10 Indians who murdered his son in UAE

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Abu Dhabi, March 27: The family of a Pakistani man, allegedly murdered by 10 Indians in Abu Dhabi in 2015, has pardoned the convicts facing death sentence.

The father of the victim, Mohammad Farhan, appeared at the Al Ain appeals court and submitted a letter of consent to pardon the Indians, an Indian embassy official told Gulf News.

On behalf of the accused, an Indian charity deposited the blood money in the court and the case has been adjourned for further hearing on April 12, said Dinesh Kumar, an official at the embassy in Abu Dhabi.

"It is expected that the court may commute the death sentence," he said.

The Indian men, from Punjab, were convicted in October 2016 for killing Farhan during a brawl in 2015, said the report.

The blood money as compensation to the victim's family was arranged by Dubai-based Indian businessman S PS Oberoi, chairman of Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust.

Oberoi said his Pakistani manager travelled to Peshawar and spoke to the family and their relatives to secure the pardon.

He said the victim's father said he did not want 10 other Indian families to face the same tragic fate.

All the convicted young Indian men were from poor families and worked in the UAE's Al Ain city as plumbers, electricians, carpenters and masons, said the report.

Most were in their 20s and had paid huge sums to recruitment agents in India to secure a visa to reach the United Arab Emirates.

IANS
Ukraine grain deal: UN says shipments are still going out

Russia: Opposition leader arrested during anti-corruption protest

International

ians-IANS

By Ians English

Moscow, March 27: Russia's main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was arrested at an anti-corruption protest organised by him in Moscow on Sunday.

Thousands of people joined rallies nationwide, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev over corruption allegations, BBC reported.

At least 500 other protesters were detained in the capital and across the country.

In a tweet after his detention, Navalny urged fellow protesters to continue with the demonstration.

"Guys, I'm fine. No need to fight to get me out. Walk along Tverskaya (Moscow's main street). Our topic of the day is the fight against corruption," he said.

Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption blogger who heads Russia's Progress Party, called for the nationwide protests after he published reports claiming that Medvedev controlled mansions, yachts and vineyards -- a fortune that far exceeded his official salary.

Medvedev's spokeswoman called the allegations 'propagandistic attacks', but the Prime Minister himself has not commented on the claims.

In Moscow, protesters filled Pushkin square and some climbed the monument to poet Alexander Pushkin shouting 'impeachment'. Turnout was estimated to be between 7,000 and 8,000, according to police.

The police said 500 protesters had been arrested in the capital alone, but a rights group, OVD Info, put that numbers at atleast 700.

The Kremlin has not commented on the demonstrations.

Navalny became known as one of the leading critics of Putin and the ruling United Russia party during protests in 2011 against Putin's return to the presidency.

He announced his intention to run for President in 2018 against Vladimir Putin. But he was barred from doing so after being found guilty in a case he said was politicised.

IANS
Trump's son-in-law to be questioned over Russia ties

International

ians-IANS

By Ians English

Washington, March 27: US Senate investigators plan to question US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner as part of their broad inquiry into ties between Trump associates and Russian officials or others linked to the Kremlin, officials here said.

The White House Counsel's Office was informed that the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, wanted to question Kushner about meetings he arranged with Russian Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak, according to the government officials.

The meetings included a previously unreported sit-down with the head of Russia's state-owned development bank, reported the New York Times on Monday.

Till now, the White House had acknowledged only an early December meeting between Kislyak and Kushner, which occurred at Trump Tower and was also attended by former National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn.

Later that month, though, Kislyak requested a second meeting, which Kushner asked a deputy to attend in his stead, officials said.

At Kislyak's request, Kushner later met Sergey N. Gorkov, the chief of Vnesheconombank, which drew sanctions from the Obama administration after Russia under President Vladimir V. Putin annexed Crimea and began meddling in Ukraine.

White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks said that part of Kushner's role, as Trump's close adviser during the campaign and the transition, was to serve as a chief conduit to foreign governments and officials, and he met dozens of officials from a wide range of countries.

Kushner is the person closest to President Trump to be caught up in the Senate Intelligence Committee's probe so far, according to the New York Times report.

The news that he will be interviewed comes three days after Trump associates Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, and Carter Page sent letters to the House Intelligence Committee volunteering to be interviewed as part of the panel's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, the daily reported.

Stone, Manafort, and Page -- Trump's former campaign adviser, former campaign chairman, and foreign policy adviser, respectively -- have all denied that they helped facilitate any collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow during the election.

The inquiry into Kushner's dealings with Ambassador Kislyak may further complicate Trump's efforts to move past the Russia situation.

Last week, FBI Director James Comey confirmed in testimony to the Congress that his agency had begun a counter-intelligence investigation into Russian interference and whether any associates of Trump might have colluded with the Russian government.

IANS
UK: Attacker Khalid Masood used WhatsApp before unleashing Westminster terror

International

pti-PTI

London, Mar 26: Westminster Bridge attacker Khalid Masood sent a WhatsApp message that cannot be accessed because it was encrypted by the popular messaging service, a top British security official said on Sunday.

British press reports suggest Masood used the messaging service owned by Facebook just minutes before the Wednesday rampage that left three pedestrians and one police officer dead and dozens more wounded. As controversy swirled over the encrypted messages, the police made another arrest in Birmingham, England, where Masood had lived. The 30-year-old is one of two men now in custody over possible links to the attack. Neither has been charged or publicly named. Masood was shot dead on the grounds of Parliament.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd used appearances on BBC and Sky News to urge WhatsApp and other encrypted services to make their platforms accessible to intelligence services and police trying to carrying out lawful eavesdropping. "We need to make sure that organisations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, don't provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other," she said. Rudd did not provide any details about Masood's use of WhatsApp, saying only "this terrorist sent a WhatsApp message and it can't be accessed." But her call for a 'back door' system to allow authorities to retrieve information is likely to meet resistance from the tech industry, which has faced previous law enforcement demands for access to data after major attacks.

In the United States, Apple fought the FBI's request for the passcodes needed to unlock an iPhone that had been used by one of the perpetrators in the 2015 extremist attack in San Bernardino, California. The FBI initially claimed it could obtain the data only with Apple's help, but ultimately found another way to hack into the locked phone.

Masood drove a rented SUV into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before smashing it into Parliament's gates and rushing onto the grounds, where he fatally stabbed a policeman and was shot by other officers. A detailed police reconstruction has found the entire attack lasted 82 seconds.

The police is trying to pinpoint his motive and identify any possible accomplices, making the WhatsApp message a potential clue to his state of mind and his social media contacts. Rudd said attacks like Masood's would be easier to prevent if authorities could penetrate encrypted services after obtaining warrants similar to the ones used to listen in on telephone calls or, in snail mail days, to steam open letters and read their contents.

Without a change in the system, she said terrorists would be able to communicate with each other without fear of being overheard even in cases where a legal warrant has been obtained. Rudd also urged technology companies to do a better job at preventing the publication of material that promotes extremism. She plans to meet with firms Thursday about setting up an industry board that would take steps to make the web less useful to extremists.

PTI
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Global Applesauce Market 2017 by Manufacturers - Leahy Orchards, Charles & Alice, Kewpie, Manzana Products

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Global Applesauce Market 2017, presents a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Applesauce market globally, providing basic overview of Applesauce market including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure, Applesauce Market report provides development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. Applesauce market size, share and end users are analyzed as well as segment markets by types, applications and companies.Global market research report of Applesauce 2017 mainly focuses on Production, means the output of Applesauce and Revenue, means the sales value of Applesauce in market.Download sample report @Applesauce market research report studies Applesauce in Global market, Applesauce market report gives detail analysis of regions especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Global Applesauce market report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with their Business perspective which consist of Applesauce capacity, production, price, revenue and Applesauce market share for each manufacturer.Applesauce Market Research Report 2017 Covers the following Manufacturers.Materne (GoGo Squeez)Mott'sKnouse FoodsTreeTopJ.M. SmuckerLeahy OrchardsCharles & AliceKewpieManzana ProductsAndros FoodsSupervaluDuerrsVermont VillageEden FoodsGlobal Applesauce Market segment by Regions, Applesauce market report splits Global into several key Regions, with Applesauce production, Applesauce consumption, Applesauce revenue, Applesauce market share and growth rate of Applesauce in these regions, from 2011 to 2021. Applesauce Market report split by Produt type and Application, with Applesauce production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, according to Application Applesauce Market report focuses on consumption, market share and growth rate of Applesauce in each application.Applesauce Market Research Report Split by Type,SweetenedUnsweetenedAccess full report with TOC @Applesauce Market Research Report Split by Type ApplicationHome UseCommercialTable of ContentsGlobal Applesauce Market Research Report 20171 Applesauce Market Overview2 Global Applesauce Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Applesauce Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)4 Global Applesauce Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2012-2017)5 Global Applesauce Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Applesauce Market Analysis by Application7 Global Applesauce Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Applesauce Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Applesauce Market Forecast (2017-2022)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 AppendixMethodologyAnalyst IntroductionData SourceAbout Fior MarketsFior 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.Contact UsMark StoneSales Manager2566, Lincoln StreetPrinceton,New Jersey 08540USAPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
ILFORD GALERIE Creative Emulsion for Fine Art Photographers and Printers now available

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ILFORD Imaging Europe today launched their latest innovative addition to the GALERIE range.The new GALERIE Creative Emulsion offers fine art photographers and printers the opportunity to create truly unique looking prints on the paper of their choice.GALERIE Creative Emulsion is a water-based inkjet receiving solution that can be applied manually to a range of fine art, washi, cotton, or bamboo papers to create a bespoke look and feel to the final image.GALERIE Creative Emulsion comes in two blends (A and B) and can be used independently or they can be combined to enhance specific image or finish characteristics that the photographer or printer may want to accentuate.GALERIE Creative Emulsion Blend A will give good density and sharpness to the image without affecting the texture of the paper. Blend B offers greater sharpness and density to the print but may affect the final texture of the print depending on the paper selected. The Emulsions can be combined to enhance sharpness and density of the image and suggested blend ratios are available atArnoud Mekenkamp, Managing Director, ILFORD Imaging Europe explains, Today there are many different types of uncoated fine art, cotton, washi and bamboo papers on the market and the introduction of GALERIE Creative Emulsion allows photographers and fine art printers the ability to create an inkjet print using the paper of their choice.Mekenkamp continues We have created two blends of Creative Emulsion, which we have called A and B, as they can be used independently or can be combined together depending on the final look and finish of the print required. The printer can experiment with the blends in order to create a truly unique look and feel to their work. The inkjet coating solution is easy to apply and after drying is compatible with all photo quality inkjet printers in the market today.ILFORD GALERIE Creative Emulsion is available in 1 litre bottles. ILFORD have also launched the GALERIE Creative Emulsion coating bar that will be required to apply the coating. Details on how to blend and apply the Creative Emulsion coating are available at ilford.com.About ILFORDEstablished in 1879, ILFORD is one of the oldest photographic brands in the industry. With a history that spans over 135 years, ILFORD has been synonymous with professional quality from traditional analogue film and paper to providing inkjet paper for todays photo quality printers.The ILFORD brand is now owned as a joint venture between Chugai Photo Chemicals and CR Kennedy & Company. Both companies are extremely passionate about carrying the brand ethos forward and continuing to offer photographers the best photo quality inkjet products in the market.ILFORD Imaging Europe today launched their latest innovative addition to the GALERIE range.The new GALERIE Creative Emulsion offers fine art photographers and printers the opportunity to create truly unique looking prints on the paper of their choice.GALERIE Creative Emulsion is a water-based inkjet receiving solution that can be applied manually to a range of fine art, washi, cotton, or bamboo papers to create a bespoke look and feel to the final image.GALERIE Creative Emulsion comes in two blends (A and B) and can be used independently or they can be combined to enhance specific image or finish characteristics that the photographer or printer may want to accentuate.GALERIE Creative Emulsion Blend A will give good density and sharpness to the image without affecting the texture of the paper. Blend B offers greater sharpness and density to the print but may affect the final texture of the print depending on the paper selected. The Emulsions can be combined to enhance sharpness and density of the image and suggested blend ratios are available atArnoud Mekenkamp, Managing Director, ILFORD Imaging Europe explains, Today there are many different types of uncoated fine art, cotton, washi and bamboo papers on the market and the introduction of GALERIE Creative Emulsion allows photographers and fine art printers the ability to create an inkjet print using the paper of their choice.Mekenkamp continues We have created two blends of Creative Emulsion, which we have called A and B, as they can be used independently or can be combined together depending on the final look and finish of the print required. The printer can experiment with the blends in order to create a truly unique look and feel to their work. The inkjet coating solution is easy to apply and after drying is compatible with all photo quality inkjet printers in the market today.ILFORD GALERIE Creative Emulsion is available in 1 litre bottles. ILFORD have also launched the GALERIE Creative Emulsion coating bar that will be required to apply the coating. Details on how to blend and apply the Creative Emulsion coating are available at ilford.com.About ILFORDEstablished in 1879, ILFORD is one of the oldest photographic brands in the industry. With a history that spans over 135 years, ILFORD has been synonymous with professional quality from traditional analogue film and paper to providing inkjet paper for todays photo quality printers.The ILFORD brand is now owned as a joint venture between Chugai Photo Chemicals and CR Kennedy & Company. Both companies are extremely passionate about carrying the brand ethos forward and continuing to offer photographers the best photo quality inkjet products in the market.3DION/RGFSheldon S. NazareAm Schulberg 650858 Koln+49 (0) 151 125 80 888
Edupliance Tackles Form 941 for 2017 in New Webinar

Form 941

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Edupliance announces webinar titled, Form 941 Update 2017 that aims to update attendees over the new details around the updated Form 941 and how to properly complete it to avoid costly penalties and to avoid notices from the IRS. The webinar goes LIVE on Tuesday, April 4, from 01:00 PM to 02:00 PM, Eastern Time.The Form 941 is an essential form for all employers that pay employees and withhold federal and FICA (social security and Medicare) taxation. In recent years several changes to the 941 form has made it difficult to understand. The importance of reconciliation and completion of not only the Form 941 but Schedule B is becoming increasingly important for employers to avoid costly disputes with the IRS resulting in penalties.The 60-minute webinar will be conducted by Dayna Reum, who has been heavily involved in the payroll industry for over 17 years and is a Certified Payroll Professional through the American Payroll Association. She is currently the Payroll Tax and Garnishment Manager at PetSmart Inc.Webinar attendees will learn: 941 Basic Requirementso Reporting Requirementso 941 Due Dateso Electronic Filingo Signing Requirements Line by line review 2017 Updates Schedule B requirements and tips Reconciliation of Form 941 and W-2s at year end 941-x forms and how to deal with them IRS Notices, disputes and how to deal with themTo register for the webinar, visitMedia Inquiriessupport@edupliance.comEdupliance is an online information and compliance training provider which offers webinars (Live and On-Demand), DVDs and downloadable resources that cover concurrent topics pertaining to various industries. With an expert panel of guest speakers, Edupliance brings state-of-the-art virtual technology solutions and industry-leading training sessions that are easy to learn, easily accessible and cater to people with varied interests. Edupliance is privately held and located in Hillsboro, Oregon. For more information, visit101, 4660, NE Belknap Court, Hillsboro, Oregon 97124
Global Laptop Bag Market Manufacturers, Share, Trends and Forecast by 2022- Market Research Report 2017

Laptop Bag Market

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Laptop Bag MarketThe Laptop Bag market provides detailed market segment level data on the international market. The Laptop Bag market report addresses Industry Research, Sales, Share, Demand, forecast and growth patterns by company, regions and type or application from 2017 to 2022.Browse Detailed TOC, Tables, Figures, Charts and Companies Mentioned in Laptop Bag Market Research Report@Description:The Global and China Laptop Bag Market Research Report Forecast 2017-2021 is a valuable source of insightful data for business strategists. It provides the Laptop Bag industry overview with growth analysis and historical & futuristic cost, revenue, demand and supply data (as applicable). The research analysts provide an elaborate description of the value chain and its distributor analysis. This Laptop Bag market study provides comprehensive data which enhances the understanding, scope and application of this report.This report provides comprehensive analysis ofKey market segments and sub-segmentsEvolving market trends and dynamicsChanging supply and demand scenariosQuantifying market opportunities through market sizing and market forecastingTracking current trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive insightsOpportunity mapping in terms of technological breakthroughsGlobal and China Laptop Bag Market: Regional Segment AnalysisGlobalChinaThe Major players reported in the market include:SansoniteHighsierraTargusWengerBriggs & RileyMoshiSumdexDicotaKnomo...Global and China Laptop Bag Market: Product Segment AnalysisType 1Type 2Type 3Global and China Laptop Bag Market: Application Segment AnalysisApplication 1Application 2Application 3Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsSample Report Request of Laptop Bag Market Research Report@Table of ContentsChapter 1 Laptop Bag Market Overview1.1 Laptop Bag Definition1.2 Laptop Bag Classification and Application1.3 Laptop Bag Industry Chain1.4 Laptop Bag Industry OverviewChapter 2 Global and China Economic Impact on Laptop Bag Industry2.1 Global Macroeconomic Environment Analysis2.2 China Macroeconomic Environment AnalysisChapter 5 Global Laptop Bag Manufacturers Analysis5.1 Sansonite5.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors5.1.2 Product Type, Application and Specification5.1.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5.1.4 Business Overview5.2 Highsierra5.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors5.2.2 Product Type, Application and Specification5.2.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5.2.4 Business Overview5.3 Targus5.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors5.3.2 Product Type, Application and Specification5.3.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5.3.4 Business Overview5.4 Wenger5.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors5.4.2 Product Type, Application and Specification5.4.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5.4.4 Business Overview5.5 Briggs & Riley5.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors5.5.2 Product Type, Application and Specification5.5.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5.5.4 Business Overview5.6 Moshi5.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors5.6.2 Product Type, Application and Specification5.6.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5.6.4 Business Overview5.7 Sumdex5.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors5.7.2 Product Type, Application and Specification5.7.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5.7.4 Business Overview5.8 Dicota5.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors5.8.2 Product Type, Application and Specification5.8.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5.8.4 Business Overview5.9 Knomo5.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors5.9.2 Product Type, Application and Specification5.9.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5.9.4 Business OverviewChapter 6 Laptop Bag Manufacturing Cost Analysis6.1 Laptop Bag Key Raw Materials Analysis6.1.1 Key Raw Materials6.1.2 Price Trend of Key Raw Materials6.1.3 Key Suppliers of Raw Materials6.1.4 Market Concentration Rate of Raw Materials6.2 Proportion of Manufacturing Cost Structure6.2.1 Raw Materials6.2.2 Labor Cost6.2.3 Manufacturing Expenses6.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Laptop Bag..CONTINUEDAsk for Discount @CONTACT US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations and 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.Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers, Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune  411028, Maharashtra, India
Latest Cable Box Market Report  Global Industry Analysis, Development, Manufacturers, Share, Trends, Forecast To 2021

Cable Box Manufacturers

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Cable Box ManufacturersThe Cable Box Manufacturers provides detailed market segment level data on the international market. The Cable Box market report addresses Industry Research, Sales, Share, Demand, forecast and growth patterns by company, regions and type or application from 2017 to 2021.Browse Detailed TOC, Tables, Figures, Charts and Companies Mentioned in Cable Box Market Research Report@Description:The Global Cable Box Market Research Report Forecast 2017-2021 is a valuable source of insightful data for business strategists. It provides the Cable Box industry overview with growth analysis and historical & futuristic cost, revenue, demand and supply data (as applicable). The research analysts provide an elaborate description of the value chain and its distributor analysis. This Cable Box market study provides comprehensive data which enhances the understanding, scope and application of this report.This report provides comprehensive analysis ofKey market segments and sub-segmentsEvolving market trends and dynamicsChanging supply and demand scenariosQuantifying market opportunities through market sizing and market forecastingTracking current trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive insightsOpportunity mapping in terms of technological breakthroughsGlobal Cable Box Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaThe Major players reported in the market include:CiscoGeneral InstrumentsMagnavoxMotorolaPaceSamsungScientific AtlantaUnbranded/Genericcompany 9...Global Cable Box Market: Product Segment AnalysisAnalogHD DigitalStandard DigitalGlobal Cable Box Market: Application Segment AnalysisHotelHomeOtherReasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsSample Report Request of Cable Box Market Research Report@Table of ContentsChapter 1 Cable Box Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Cable Box1.2 Cable Box Market Segmentation by Type1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Cable Box by Type in 20151.2.1 Analog1.2.2 HD Digital1.2.3 Standard Digital1.3 Cable Box Market Segmentation by Application1.3.1 Cable Box Consumption Market Share by Application in 20151.3.2 Hotel1.3.3 Home1.3.4 Other1.4 Cable Box Market Segmentation by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Cable Box (2012-2021)Chapter 2 Global Economic Impact on Cable Box Industry2.1 Global Macroeconomic Environment Analysis2.1.1 Global Macroeconomic Analysis2.1.2 Global Macroeconomic Environment Development Trend2.2 Global Macroeconomic Environment Analysis by RegionsChapter 8 Global Cable Box Manufacturers Analysis8.1 Cisco8.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.1.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.1.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.1.4 Business Overview8.2 General Instruments8.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.2.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.2.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.2.4 Business Overview8.3 Magnavox8.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.3.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.3.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.3.4 Business Overview8.4 Motorola8.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.4.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.4.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.4.4 Business Overview8.5 Pace8.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.5.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.5.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.5.4 Business Overview8.6 Samsung8.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.6.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.6.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.6.4 Business Overview8.7 Scientific Atlanta8.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.7.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.7.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.7.4 Business Overview8.8 Unbranded/Generic8.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.8.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.8.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.8.4 Business Overview8.9 company 98.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.9.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.9.3 Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.9.4 Business OverviewChapter 9 Cable Box Manufacturing Cost Analysis9.1 Cable Box Key Raw Materials Analysis9.1.1 Key Raw Materials9.1.2 Price Trend of Key Raw Materials9.1.3 Key Suppliers of Raw Materials9.1.4 Market Concentration Rate of Raw Materials9.2 Proportion of Manufacturing Cost Structure9.2.1 Raw Materials9.2.2 Labor Cost9.2.3 Manufacturing Expenses9.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Cable Box..CONTINUEDAsk for Discount @CONTACT US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations and 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.Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers, Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune  411028, Maharashtra, India
Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market to Exceed US$ 4 Billion Globally by 2024

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New York, March 24: 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:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Enterprise Network Security 2017 Global Market Key Players  Cisco Systems, McAfee, Honeywell, IBM, Intel Security  Analysis and Forecast to 2022

Enterprise Network Security Market

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Enterprise Network Security Market 2017Wiseguyreports.Com Adds Enterprise Network Security Market -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Manufacturers, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2022 To Its Research Database.This report studies the global Enterprise Network Security market, analyzes and researches the Enterprise Network Security development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia.Request for Sample report @This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeCisco SystemsMcAfeeSiemensCyberArkHoneywellCyberconMaverickWaterfallSymantecTrend MicroWebsenseBarracuda NetworksBlue Coat SystemsCheck Point Software TechnologiesClearSwiftFireEyeFortinetIBMJuniperKaspersky LabSophosTripWireTrustwaveWebrootZscalerIntel SecurityEMCMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, Enterprise Network Security can be split intoBasic Network SecuritySystem SecurityData & Application SecurityOtherMarket segment by Application, Enterprise Network Security can be split intoIdentity and Access Management (IAM)Risk and Compliance ManagementEncryptionData Loss PreventionUnified Threat ManagementFirewallAntivirus and AntimalwareIDS/IPSSIEMTo get complete report visit@Key Points in Table of Content:Global Enterprise Network Security Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Enterprise Network Security1.1 Enterprise Network Security Market Overview1.1.1 Enterprise Network Security Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Enterprise Network Security 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 Enterprise Network Security Market by Type1.3.1 Basic Network Security1.3.2 System Security1.3.3 Data & Application Security1.3.4 Other1.4 Enterprise Network Security Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Identity and Access Management (IAM)1.4.2 Risk and Compliance Management1.4.3 Encryption1.4.4 Data Loss Prevention1.4.5 Unified Threat Management1.4.6 Firewall1.4.7 Antivirus and Antimalware1.4.8 IDS/IPS1.4.9 SIEM3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Cisco Systems3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Enterprise Network Security Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 McAfee3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Enterprise Network Security Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Siemens3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Enterprise Network Security Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 CyberArk3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Enterprise Network Security Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 Honeywell3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Enterprise Network Security Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Cybercon3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Enterprise Network Security Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 Maverick3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Enterprise Network Security Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 Waterfall3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Enterprise Network Security Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 Symantec3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Enterprise Network Security Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 Trend Micro3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Enterprise Network Security Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.10.5 Recent Developments3.11 Websense3.12 Barracuda Networks3.13 Blue Coat Systems3.14 Check Point Software Technologies3.15 ClearSwift3.16 FireEye3.17 Fortinet3.18 IBM3.19 Juniper3.20 Kaspersky Lab3.21 Sophos3.22 TripWire3.23 Trustwave3.24 Webroot3.25 Zscaler3.26 Intel Security3.27 EMC...Continued...Buy this report @Contact Us:NORAH TRENTSales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Follow on LinkedIn @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
Apheresis Market Worth US$ 3.5 Billion Globally by 2024

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New York, March 24: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Apheresis Market By Product Segment Analysis (Apheresis machine, Disposable apheresis kits); By Application Analysis (Renal diseases, Neurology, Hematology); By Procedure Analysis (Plasmapheresis, Leukapheresis, LDL-apheresis, Plateletpheresis, Erythrocytapheresis, Photopheresis); By Technology Analysis (Membrane Filtration, Centrifugation) and By Regional Analysis  Global Forecast by 2016  2024.How Big is the Global Apheresis Market?The apheresis market is expected to exceed more than US$ 3.5 billion by 2024 and will grow at a CAGR of more than 11.5% in the given forecast period.Browse Full Report:Inside the past few a long time, the clinical community all the world over has increasingly more engaged in the use of apheresis. In healing apheresis, an affected persons plasma or blood cellular elements are cut up and removed from the blood and changed through replacement plasma or substitute blood fluids. The rationale at the back of apheresis is that the strange substances or cells inside the affected persons blood are eliminated thru apheresis, thereby main to treatment or manipulate of the disease. Healing apheresis isnt a brand new utility, however its volume and scope has rapidly grown in the ultimate many years. At gift, apheresis is often prevalent as an acute healing method in a selection of illnesses, and millions of patients undergo the remedy every year. These days, apheresis is being evaluated as a remedy choice for a huge range of persistent sicknesses inclusive of rheumatoid arthritis, one of a kind sorts of most cancers, polyneuropathies, more than one sclerosis, and others.The major driving factors of Global Apheresis Market are as follows: Increasing number of platelet donors Development in the demand for plasma Reimbursement policiesThe restraining factors of Global Apheresis Market are as follows: Expensive therapy Need of donor availability and histocompatibility Risks related with apheresis Lack of highly skilled professionalsThe Apheresis market is segmented on the lines of its product, application, procedure and technology. Based on product segmentation it covers apheresis machine and disposable apheresis kits. Under application segmentation it covers renal diseases, neurology, hematology and others. The apheresis market is segmented on the lines of its procedure like plasmapheresis, leukapheresis, LDL-apheresis, plateletpheresis, erythrocytapheresis, photopheresis and others. Based on technology segmentation it covers membrane filtration and centrifugation. The apheresis market on geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geography 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.Request A Sample Report:This report provides:1) An overview of the Global Apheresis Market 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 Global Apheresis Market.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for Global Apheresis 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 Fresenius Kabi; Haemonetics; Terumo BCT; Therakos, Inc.; Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical Co Ltd; and B. Braun Melsungen AG. 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 Global Apheresis Market has been segmented as below:By Product Segment Analysis Apheresis machine Disposable apheresis kitsBy Application Analysis Renal diseases Neurology Hematology OthersBy Procedure Analysis Plasmapheresis Leukapheresis LDL-apheresis Plateletpheresis Erythrocytapheresis Photopheresis OthersBy Technology Analysis Membrane Filtration CentrifugationBy Regional Analysis North America Europe Asia-Pacific Rest of the WorldReasons to Buy this Report:1) Obtain the most up to date information available on all Global Apheresis Market.2) Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry.3) Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast of Global Apheresis Market data.4) Assess your competitors refining portfolio and its evolution.About MarketResearchEngineMarket 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 ContactContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Mellon Group of Companies and unblu set to revolutionize customer experience

www.unblu.com

www.mellongroup.com

www.mellon.com.pl

Mellon expands its portfolio of software solutions with the cutting edge live customer collaboration suite from unblu.Sarnen, Switzerland, March 23rd, 2017Mellon and unblu have partnered to bring the very latest in secure live engagement solutions and outstanding customer experience to banks and other organizations in the wider region where the two companies cooperate.As a renowned specialist in contact centre and customer experience technologies, Mellon together with the leading live engagement solutions vendor for financial services unblu, have formed a strategic partnership to leverage their expertise and solutions in helping their customers drive adoption of new initiatives throughout their region.With demand for compelling customer service growing daily, the ability to support and advise customers as personally as possible through digital channels and in real time is becoming a necessity. With the adoption of the unblu suite which offers liveview chat, co-browsing, collaboration, document sharing and video chat, lengthy and frustrating phone calls and time consuming trips to and from organizations will become a thing of the past.Mellons portfolio addresses the need for operational and business efficiency of organizations with strong consumer business, they are an excellent match for unblu and their established presence will enable us to seamlessly extend our capabilities into new regions, Luc Halidmann of unblu.Our partnership with unblu, a leader in customer collaboration software, underlines Mellons commitment to continuously support our clients by offering innovative solutions to transform their business, drive their digital transformation and deliver outstanding customer experiences, commented Nikos Kounoupas, Business Unit Manager at Mellon Technologies.The two companies invite you to join them for a Business Breakfast in Athens on the 3rd April at the Electra Metropolis Hotel from 9.30  12pm to learn more about the capabilities they can bring you together. To register please contact Mellon or unblu.About unblu:unblu helps the worlds leading banks deliver an in-person experience online. We provide highly secure collaboration software enabling banks to substantially enrich the digital experience of their clients. unblu's suite helps to increase revenue and efficiency while reducing costs and improving digital customer interaction. Clients using our technology have been able to cut customer support calls in half, achieve four times as many client meetings as in branches, increase customer satisfaction considerably and produce a 90% recommendation rate. unblu is helping to transform the future of online banking.About Mellon Group of CompaniesMellon is one of the largest IT companies in the Central and SE Europe, Cyprus, Turkey and Egypt. Mellons offering consists of solutions and services that facilitate customer interactions and transactions. Our offering addresses the needs of organizations with strong consumer business to operate more efficiently and competitively, representing international leading companies such as Genesys-Interactive Intelligence, Altitude Software, Ingenico, Gemalto, Diebold, Fiserv, NemoQ, Experian, Robur, THALES e-security, Matica Systems, LG, NEC etc. Mellon has been benchmarked and awarded by top international organizations including Europe's 500 Entrepreneurs for Growth, Best Workplaces, European Business Awards and Contact Center World Awards. For more information, visitandNicola Rosenthalunblu inc.Kernserstrasse 176060 SarnenSchweiz+41 (41) 511 27 11nicola.rosenthal@unblu.com
Neuromodulation Market Worth US$ 11 Billion Globally by 2022

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New York, March 24: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Neuromodulation Market By Technology Analysis (Internal neuromodulation, External neuromodulation); By Application Analysis (Chronic Pain Management, Tremor, Failed back syndrome, Epilepsy, Depression, Urinary and Fecal Incontinence, Dystonia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Gastroparesis, Migraine, Parkinsons disease); By Biomaterial Analysis (Polymeric Biomaterials, Metallic Biomaterials, Ceramic Biomaterials) and By Regional Analysis  Global Forecast by 2016  2022.How Big is the Global Neuromodulation Market?The Global Neuromodulation Market is expected to exceed more than US$ 11 Billion by 2022 and will grow at a CAGR of more than 11% in the given forecast period.Browse Full Research Report:Neurological disorders which include epilepsy, alzheimer disorder, cerebrovascular sicknesses, and Parkinsons disease have an effect on the critical and peripheral anxious machine. Bacterial, viral, and fungal infections also can reason neurological disorders. To manage such problems, neuromodulation is used; in which small electrodes generate electric most precise stimulation with the help of pulse generators to complement neurological activities in effected humans. The electrodes are normally located without delay within the mind or peripheral nerves or spinal twine while pulse mills are implanted within the pores and skin.The major driving factors of Global Neuromodulation Market are as follows: Increase in geriatric population Rise in awareness regarding the efficacy and safety of neurostimulator devices. Growing incidence of neurological diseasesThe restraining factors of Global Neuromodulation Market are as follows: Stringent approval policies Lack of trained healthcare professionalsThe Global Neuromodulation Market is segmented on the lines of its technology, application and biomaterial. Technology segmentation is further classified into internal neuromodulation and external neuromodulation. Based on internal neuromodulation segmentation it covers deep brain stimulation, spinal cord stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation, sacral nerve stimulation and other neuromodulation technologies. External neuromodulation is classified into transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Based on application segmentation it covers chronic pain management, tremor, failed back syndrome, epilepsy, depression, urinary and fecal incontinence, dystonia, obsessive compulsive, disorder, gastroparesis, migraine, parkinsons disease and other applications. Under biomaterial segmentation it covers polymeric biomaterials, metallic biomaterials and ceramic biomaterials. The Global Neuromodulation market on geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geography 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.Request A Sample Report:This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for Global Neuromodulation 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 2022.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for Global Neuromodulation Market.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for Global Neuromodulation 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 Medtronic plc, St. Jude Medical, Inc., LivaNova PLC, Boston Scientific Corporation, Aleva Neurotherapeutics SA, BioControl Medical, Bioness Inc., EnteroMedics Inc., Nevro Corporation and NeuroPace 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 our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Global Neuromodulation Market has been segmented as below:By Technology Analysis Internal neuromodulationo Deep Brain Stimulationo Spinal Cord Stimulationo Vagus Nerve Stimulationo Sacral Nerve Stimulationo Other Neuromodulation Technologies External neuromodulationo Transcranial Magnetic Stimulationo Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve StimulationBy Application Analysis Chronic Pain Management Tremor Failed back syndrome Epilepsy Depression Urinary and Fecal Incontinence Dystonia Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Gastroparesis Migraine Parkinsons disease Other ApplicationsBy Biomaterial Analysis Polymeric Biomaterials Metallic Biomaterials Ceramic BiomaterialsBy Regional Analysis North America Europe Asia-Pacific Rest of the WorldReasons to Buy this Report:1) Obtain the most up to date information available on all Global Neuromodulation Market.2) Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry.3) Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast of Global Neuromodulation Market data.4) Assess your competitors refining portfolio and its evolution.About MarketResearchEngineMarket 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 ContactContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Calcium Chloride Market to Reach US$ 1100 Million Globally by 2022

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New York, March 24: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Calcium Chloride Market - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2016 - 2022How Big is the Calcium Chloride Market?The calcium chloride market is expected to exceed more than US$ 1100 million by 2022; Growing at a CAGR of more than 4% in the given forecast period.Browse Full Report:Calcium chloride is one of the main stand chemicals present in market. It contains many properties which useful in many applications and it is used in many industries includes pharmaceutical, construction and food. Calcium chloride occurs as an unusual mineral which is manufactured by using many basic raw materials includes hydrochloric acid and limestone. It is formed as a byproduct of the lime stone hydrochloric process as well as solvay process. The useful of calcium chloride to reduce the temperature of water has led high demand in colder regions. Its used as a de-icing salt to get rid of snow and ice from roadways and sidewalks, therefore preventing accidents. Calcium chloride is additionally wont to increase the potency and production of recent oil and gas wells. Thus, demand for Calcium chloride is high within the oil and gas business.The major driving factors of calcium chloride market are as follows:Increasing requirement for food preservatives to increase demand for calcium chloride.Increasing demand for deicing salt supplements calcium chloride market.The restraining factors of calcium chloride market are as follows:Potential side effects of calcium chloride and regulations could slow down market growth.The calcium chloride market is segmented on the lines of its application and regional. Based on application segmentation the calcium chloride market covers construction, oil and gas, de icing and dust control and others such as food, medicine, etc. The calcium chloride 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 calcium chloride 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 2022.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for calcium chloride.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 Calcium chloride Market 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 BJ Services Company, Occidental Chemical Corporation (OxyChem), Qingdao Huadong Calcium Producing Co. Ltd., Solvay, Tangshan Sanyou Group, TETRA Chemicals (Tetra Technologies, Inc.), Tiger Calcium Services Inc., Ward Chemical, Weifang Haibin Chemical Co. Ltd., Weifang Taize Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., and Zirax Group. 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 Calcium Chloride Market has been segmented as below:By Application AnalysisConstructionOil and gasDe-icing and dust controlOthers (food, medicine, etc)By Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldReasons to Buy this Report:1) Obtain the most up to date information available on all calcium chloride.2) Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry.3) Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast of calcium chloride 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
Proton Therapy Market in Russia & Forecast, Reimbursement Policy, Patients Treated at Proton Therapy Centers- MRH

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The untapped market of proton therapy in Russia would be more than US$ 3 Billion during forecast period. IBA, the worlds leading provider of proton therapy solutions for the treatment of cancer, has started installation of the Cyclone 230 in 2016 for a new proton therapy center. The acceptance of the first treatment room is planned for the end of 2017. The proton therapy center in Dimitrovgrad will be IBAs first in the Russian Federation and is expected to treat up to 1,200 patients per year according to IBA.Request a Free Sample Report:Proton Therapy Market in Russia & Forecast, Reimbursement Policy, Patients Treated at Proton Therapy Centers provides a detailed assessment of the Proton Therapy Market in Russia. In this report we have studied the market in two parts a) Actual Market and b) Untapped Market. The report also talks about list of all operational and future Proton Therapy centers; Economics of proton therapy including reimbursement policies.a) Actual Market is the current market which is already presentb) Untapped Market is the market which can be achieved; but it has yet not been achieved due to demand and supply gap. At present only a few proton therapy centers are available that can treat a limited number of patients each year.?Key Questions Answered in the Report?What is the Proton Therapy Market in Russia & its growth potential in Future?What is the Untapped Proton Therapy Market in Russia and its Future?How many Proton Therapy Facilities are operating in Russia?How many Proton Therapy Facilities are in construction and planning phase?What is the number of people being treated in these Proton Therapy Centers yearly?Is Proton Therapy Treatment being covered in the Reimbursement policy of Russia?What are the sales of Proton Therapy Companies Globally (IBA, Varian, Elekta)?Browse Full Report with TOC:Key Companies CoveredIBA (Overview, Sales Analysis)Varian Medical Systems (Overview, Sales Analysis)Elekta (Overview, Sales Analysis)About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.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:LinkedIn:Facebook :
Global 3-wheel Electric Scooters Sales Market 2017 - Pride, Sunpex Technology, Shoprider, Karma Medical Products

http://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/33157/request-sample

https://goo.gl/AJUkG2

www.fiormarkets.com

www.9dimenreports.com

The report begins with a broad introduction of the 3-wheel Electric Scooters Sales market and then drills deeper into specific segments such as application, regional markets, end-users, policy analysis, value chain structure, and emerging trends. The 3-wheel Electric Scooters Sales market report makes a case for investments in particular regions based on a realistic view of their regulatory environment, manufacturing dynamics and availability of skills and resources. Also, recommendations are made based on regions and market segments that are not poised for appreciable growth in the near future.Download Sample Report @The 3-wheel Electric Scooters Sales market and its dynamics are evaluated using industry leading tools and techniques. A qualitative analysis forms a sizeable portion of the research efforts as well. With emerging changes on the horizon, the 3-wheel Electric Scooters Sales market is poised for certain important change. It is imperative that market players gear up for these changes. The report helps companiesboth new and establishedto identify white spaces and opportunities for growth in the 3-wheel Electric Scooters Sales market.The leading companies in the 3-wheel Electric Scooters Sales market are profiled to offer a complete overview of their growth strategies, financial standing, product and services pipeline, as well as recent collaborations and developments.The reports analysis is based on technical data and industry figures sourced from the most reputable databases. Other aspects that will prove especially beneficial to readers of the report are: investment feasibility analysis, recommendations for growth, investment return analysis, trends analysis, opportunity analysis, and SWOT analyses of competing companies. With the help of inputs and insights from technical and marketing experts, the report presents an objective assessment of the 3-wheel Electric Scooters Sales market.Access Full Report With TOC @A detailed segmentation evaluation of the 3-wheel Electric Scooters Sales market has been provided in the report. Detailed information about the key segments of the market and their growth prospects are available in the report. The detailed analysis of their sub-segments is also available in the report. The revenue forecasts and volume shares along with market estimates are available in the report. The competitive landscape of the market presented in the study profiles the most prominent players in the market.About Fior MarketsFior 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.Contact UsMark StoneSales Manager2566, Lincoln StreetPrinceton,New Jersey 08540USAPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Global Image Transducer Sales Market 2017 by Manufacturers - Melexis, Nikon, Sony Semiconductor Corp, Canon, Toshiba

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https://goo.gl/Hhcg9T

www.fiormarkets.com

www.9dimenreports.com

The report offers a holistic overview of the Image Transducer Market with the help of application segments and geographical regions that govern the market currently. Further, the report delves deep into the value chain of the Image Transducer market so as to emerge with information specific areas that hold high revenue-generating potential. With the Image Transducer market having undergone certain inherent shifts in the past decades, the report discusses how these changes will impact the future.Download Free Sample Report @Covering ManufacturersAptina Imaging Corp.OmniVision Technologies Inc.Samsung SemiconductorSony Semiconductor Corp.CanonEM MicroelectronicMelexisNikonON SemiconductorSiliconFile TechnologiesSK HynixSTMicroelectronivsToshibaMoreover, the report also provides a realistic picture of the state of both traditional and emerging markets. The advantages and disadvantages of investing in these markets are discussed at length in the Image Transducer market report. Companies in the Image Transducer market have realized that innovation is of utmost importance for sustained growth. In keeping with this pressing need for innovation, the report tracks latest developments and analysts have dedicated substantial efforts toward spotting new business opportunities.Access Full Report @Which application segments will perform well in the Image Transducer over the next few years? Which are the markets where companies should establish a presence? What are the restraints that will threaten growth rate? What are the forecasted growth rates for the Image Transducer market as a whole and for each segment within it? All of these questions are answered using industry-leading techniques and tools as well as a vast amount of qualitative research.The report further focuses on the leading industry players that will steer the course of the Image Transducer market through the forecast period. Each of these players is analyzed in detail so as to obtain details pertaining to their product/services, recent announcements and partnerships, investment strategies and so on. A detailed segmentation evaluation of the Image Transducer market has been provided in the report. Detailed information about the key segments of the market and their growth prospects are available in the report. The detailed analysis of their sub-segments is also available in the report. The revenue forecasts and volume shares along with market estimates are available in the report.Fior 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:Blog:
Stem Cells Market to Exceed US$ 297 Billion Globally by 2022

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Florida, March 27: Market Research Engine adds a new research study on the report, titled Global Stem Cells Market Analysis by Therapy, Application and Geography - Trends and Forecast, 2015 - 2022.The global stem cells market is expected to grow at an incredible CAGR of 25.5% from 2015 to 2022 and reach a market value of US$297 billion by 2022.Browse Full Report from here:The emergence of Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells as an alternative to ESCs (embryonic stem cells), growth of developing markets, and evolution of new stem cell therapies represent promising growth opportunities for leading players in this sector.Due to the increased funding from Government and Private sector and rising global awareness about stem cell therapies and research are the main factors which are driving this market. A surge in therapeutic research activities funded by governments across the world has immensely propelled the global stem cells market. However, the high cost of stem cell treatment and stringent government regulations against the harvesting of stem cells are expected to restrain the growth of the global stem cells market.This report will definitely help you make well informed decisions related to the stem cell market.The stem cell therapy market includes large number of players that are involved in development of stem cell therapies of the treatment of various diseases. Mesoblast Ltd. (Australia), Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (U.S.), Celgene Corporation (U.S.), and StemCells, Inc. (U.S.) are the key players involved in the development of stem cell therapies across the globe.Download Free Sample Report:Scope of the ReportThis market research report categorizes the stem cell therapy market into the following segments and sub-segments:By Mode of Therapy Allogeneic Stem Cell Therapy Marketo CVS Diseaseso CNS Diseaseso GIT diseaseso Eye Diseaseso Musculoskeletal Disorderso Metabolic Diseaseso Immune System Diseaseso Wounds and Injurieso Others Autologous Stem Cell Therapy Marketo GIT Diseaseso Musculoskeletal Disorderso CVS Diseaseso CNS Diseaseso Wounds and Injurieso OthersBy Therapeutic Applications Musculoskeletal Disorders Metabolic Diseases Immune System Diseases GIT Diseases Eye Diseases CVS Diseases CNS Diseases Wounds and Injuries OthersBy Geography North America Europe Asia-Pacific RoW (Rest of the World)About MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Website:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Meningococcal Vaccines Market - North America to Dominate the Market by 2022

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New York, March 27: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Meningococcal Vaccines Market By Type Analysis (Polysaccharide Vaccines, Conjugate Vaccines, Combination Vaccines, Men B Vaccines) and By Regional Analysis  Global Forecast by 2016 - 2022Meningococcal meningitis, otherwise called cerebrospinal meningitis, is brought on by Neisseria meningitides (Nm) microscopic organisms. It is an infectious disease of the layers encompassing the cerebrum and spinal line and transmits from individual to individual through respiratory beads. It can bring about serious cerebrum harm and is deadly in half of the cases if not treated at the right time; and can leave diligent neurological deformities in upwards of 10-15% of survivors.How Big is the Global Meningococcal Vaccines Market?The Global Meningococcal Vaccines Market is expected to exceed more than US$ 4.4 billion by 2022 and will grow at a CAGR of more than 12% in the given forecast period.Browse Full Report:The major driving factors of Global Meningococcal Vaccines Market are as follows: Reshaping global health and development by developing countries. NGOs (Non-Profit Organizations) playing an important role in Educating and making awareness through various activities conducted. Travel vaccines for meningococcal disease. Convenient public-private partnerships to support development of vaccines at low cost.The restraining factors of Global Meningococcal Vaccines Market are as follows: Divergentage groups and prescribed regimen for routine immunization, and unstable and dynamic epidemiology of meningococcal disease. To Support the cold chains to deliver vaccines this leads to high cost of vaccination.The Global Meningococcal Vaccines Market is segmented on the lines of its product, service, software, type and regional. Based on product segmentation it covers Polysaccharide Vaccines, by Brand Menomune, Mencevax, NmVac4, Others include Quadri Meningo, Bi Meningo, Fuether Conjugate Vaccines, by Brand includes Menactra, Menveo, NeisVac-C, Nimenrix, Meningitec, Menjugate, MenAfriVac, NmVac4-DT. Combination Vaccines Brands are as under, MenHibrix, Menitorix. In Men B Vaccines by brand covers Bexsero, Trumenba.The Global Meningococcal Vaccines 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 Global Meningococcal Vaccines Market 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 2022.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for Global Meningococcal Vaccines Market.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets on Global Meningococcal Vaccines 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 Pfizer, JN-International Medical Corporation, Novartis International AG, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Sanofi S.A. Inc., Serum Institute of India Ltd., Nuron Biotech. 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 Global Meningococcal Vaccines Market has been segmented as below:By Type Analysis Polysaccharide Vaccines, by BrandMenomuneMencevaxNmVac4OthersQuadri MeningoBi Meningo Conjugate Vaccines, by BrandMenactraMenveoNeisVac-CNimenrixMeningitecMenjugateMenAfriVacNmVac4-DT Combination Vaccines, by BrandMenHibrixMenitorix Men B Vaccines, by BrandBexseroTrumenbaBy Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldReasons to Buy this Report:1) Obtain the most up to date information available on all global Global Meningococcal Vaccines Market.2) Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry.3) Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast of Global Meningococcal Vaccines 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
Petroleum Coke Market to Reach US$ 26.0 Billion Globally by 2021

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New York, March 27: Marketresearchengine has released its latest research, Petroleum Coke Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014 - 2021 with latest market insights. Petroleum coke is a by-product of the oil refining process. As refineries worldwide seek to operate more efficiently and extract more gasoline and other high value fuels from each barrel of crude oil, a solid carbon material known as Petcoke is produced.Browse Full Report here:Petroleum coke can be further categorized into green coke or calcined coke. Green coke is the initial product obtained from the cracking and carbonization of the feedstock to produce a substance with high carbon hydrogen ratio. Green coke is further processed to produce calcined coke. Additional processing eliminates the volatile matter and increases its electrical conductivity.Uses of Petroleum CokePetroleum coke is typically used as a source of energy, or as a source of carbon for industrial applications. Fuel grade petcoke represents nearly 80 percent of worldwide production and is a source of fuel for cement kilns and electric power plants. Calcined petcoke has the highest carbon purity and is used to manufacture energy, as well as in the aluminum, graphite electrode, steel, titanium dioxide and other carbon consuming industries.The report analyzes two major segments in the petroleum coke market  fuel grade coke and calcined coke. The former is projected to remain the predominant segment globally because it is regarded as being more cost competitive than coal and natural gas. Petroleum coke has made significant inroads in the cement and power industry and has started giving competition to coal. Petroleum coke is an excellent, inexpensive product to blend with coal in traditional coal fired boilers.The report mentions and profiles the top companies that operate in the global petcoke market, namely BP Plc, Chevron Corporation, ExxonMobil Corporation, Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Valero Energy Corporation, Essar Oil Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Reliance Industries Limited.Download Free Sample Report:The global petcoke market is segmented as follows:Petroleum Coke Market: by Product Type Analysis Fuel Grade Coke Calcined CokePetroleum Coke Market: by End Use Segment Analysis Calcining Power Plants Cement Kilns Blast FurnacePetroleum Coke Market: by Regional Analysis North America Europe Asia Pacific Rest of the World (RoW)Scope of the Report: We provide latest information about all active and planned refineries. We Provides historical data from 2014 to 2015, and forecast period to 2020 Information on refining, by refinery and country Provides operator information for top active and planned refineries Latest developments and contracts related to petro refineries across different countries globally. Details of end use consumption of petroleum coke in major countries. Pricing scenario of petroleum coke in major countries.5 Reasons to Buy this Report: Obtain the most up to date information available on all active and planned refineries globally Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast refinery and unit capacity data Assess your competitors refining portfolio and its evolution. Gain valuable insights on the pricing scenario of petroleum coke industry.About MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Website:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Sales of Global LDPE Geomembrane

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LDPE Geomembrane Report by Material, Application, and Geography  Global Forecast to 2021 is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's 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 LDPE Geomembrane basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's 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 LDPE Geomembrane Market;3.) the North American LDPE Geomembrane Market;4.) the European LDPE Geomembrane Market;5.) market entry and investment feasibility;6.) the report conclusion.For Sample Report Request:Table Of Content:Chapter One LDPE Geomembrane Industry Overview1.1 LDPE Geomembrane Definition1.2 LDPE Geomembrane Classification Analysis1.2.1 LDPE Geomembrane Main Classification Analysis1.2.2 LDPE Geomembrane Main Classification Share Analysis1.3 LDPE Geomembrane Application Analysis1.3.1 LDPE Geomembrane Main Application Analysis1.3.2 LDPE Geomembrane Main Application Share Analysis1.4 LDPE Geomembrane Industry Chain Structure Analysis1.5 LDPE Geomembrane Industry Development Overview1.5.1 LDPE Geomembrane Product History Development Overview1.5.1 LDPE Geomembrane Product Market Development Overview1.6 LDPE Geomembrane Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.1 LDPE Geomembrane Global Import Market Analysis1.6.2 LDPE Geomembrane Global Export Market Analysis1.6.3 LDPE Geomembrane Global Main Region Market Analysis1.6.4 LDPE Geomembrane Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.5 LDPE Geomembrane Global Market Development Trend AnalysisChapter Two LDPE Geomembrane Up and Down Stream Industry Analysis2.1 Upstream Raw Materials Analysis2.1.1 Upstream Raw Materials Price Analysis2.1.2 Upstream Raw Materials Market Analysis2.1.3 Upstream Raw Materials Market Trend2.2 Down Stream Market Analysis2.1.1 Down Stream Market Analysis2.2.2 Down Stream Demand AnalysisAbout Us:We are a leading repository of market research reports and solutions from the top publishers and market research companies across globe, catering to various industries. This large collection of reports assists organizations in decision-making on aspects such as market entry strategies, market sizing, market share analysis, competitive analysis, product portfolio analysis andopportunity analysis among others. We also assist in determining the best suited and targeted report from our large repository of global reports, company-specific reports and country-level reports.Our custom research services help clients to meet specific market research requirements by coordinating with our esteemed research partners. Our experienced analysts are always available to cater to your queries pre- and post-purchase. We believe in providing best-in-class after-sales service to our clients and wish to build a long-term and a mutually fruitful relationship.Contact Us:Pune, Maharashtra - 411 014IndiaEmail: sales@reporthive.comCall: +1-312-604-7084
Membrane Separation Market : Water & wastewater sector to Grow at 11.1% CAGR by 2019

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European membrane market (largest in 2013) is expected to reach USD 13.8 billion in 2019, growing at a CAGR of 9.6%. In 2012 water & wastewater sector was the major end-user of membrane separation technology and is expected to increase at a CAGR of 11.1% during 2013-19. The membrane separation market is fragmented with several players in the market supplying membrane separation products to the end-users (water and wastewater, industrial and healthcare) in the market. Most of the companies produce different types of membrane products such as microfiltration, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis and sell them globally. Major companies operating globally and manufacturing all four products are Evoqua Water Technologies, Pall Corporation, Koch Membrane Systems Inc., Merck Millipore, Degremont SA, Dow Chemical Company, GEA Filtration, 3M Company, Nitto Denko Corporation and Veolia Environnement.Persistence Market Research Released New Market Report on Global Market Study on Membrane Separation: Water & Waste Water Segment to Witness Highest Growth by 2019, the global membrane separation market was valued at USD 19.0 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.8% from 2013 to 2019, to reach an estimated value of USD 39.2 billion in 2019.Request to view table of content @Mandatory government regulation and increasing demand for clean processed drinking water is propelling the water processing industry to provide the public with clean processed drinking water free of impurity. Providing growth opportunity for water treatment industry among which, Membrane separation technology is one of the most popular methods used for cleaning water. Mandatory adherence of certain environmental standards by the national government such as the Clean Water Act especially in areas with water scarcity have influenced the demand for better water treatment technology, including membrane separation technology. Shifting from chemical to physical treatments of water is also a major driver as chemical treatments are perceived as an environmentally unclean technology with associated disposal costs. Additional awareness of water scarcity has influenced the demand for water reuse in water stressed areas.A sample of this report is available upon request @Governments and municipal authorities are increasingly waking up to the effects of environmental degradation on the economy. Worldwide industrial expansion and growing population are propelling the demand for better water treatment technology, providing growth opportunity for the global market of membrane separation technology. Additionally, the oil and petroleum industry is well established in the gulf and European countries such as Italy and Germany which involve membrane separation technology for liquid separation. Expansion of such industry is expected to increase the overall demand for membrane separation technology. Membrane separation technology is bifurcated into four major processes, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis. Microfiltration dominates the market with more than 35% global market share in 2012. Whereas water & wastewater dominates the end-user market with 36% global market shares in 2012. The global membrane separation market grew from USD 19.0 billion in 2010 to USD 21.2 billion in 2013.Buy Now: You can now buy a single user license of the report @The final report customized as per your specific requirement will be sent to your e-mail id within 7-20 days, depending on the scope of the report.For more information, please e-mail us at sales@persistencemarketresearch.comAbout 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:
Africa Small Hydropower Market Industry Analysis Forecast 2016 - 2024

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Transparency Market Research states that the leading players in the Africa small hydropower market are Siemens AG, ESKOM Holdings, and Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers. As of 2015, these players held a dominant share of about 34% in the overall market due to a major stake in government projects. Product differentiation along with a high brand value will determine the success of players in the market in the coming years. The diverse competitive landscape in Africa small hydropower market is likely to be affected by the new entrants in the market. However, the new entrants will have to acquiring proprietary technology to make a mark, which will continue to be their toughest challenge in the near future.Browse Market Research Report @ :Zambia and Ghana to Drive Africa Small Hydropower MarketAccording to the research report, the capacity of the Africa small hydropower market is expected to reach 49,706.1 MW by 2024 from 9,752.9 MW in 2015. Between the years of 2016 and 2024, the overall of market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 19.2% due to the emerging countries that are working toward reducing their carbon footprint.Regionally, Zambia and Ghana are projected to dominate the Africa small hydropower market. The report indicates that Zambia small hydropower market will surge at a CAGR of 20% between 2016 and 2024 while Ghanas total capacity is expected to account for 10% of the overall market during the forecast period.Pressure to Reduce Carbon Emissions Ups Demand for Small HydropowerThe surging demand for small hydropower in Africa is attributable to the excessive pressure on the region to cut down on its carbon emissions. Despite this pressing need, the region continues to be in a great need for power as majority of the countries are still trying to find their footing in the world economics. Thus, the need to reconcile the problem of demand for energy and regulatory reforms that press for greener solutions has turned the regions focus toward small hydropower. Today, small hydropower holds an instrumental position in the renewable energy mix as they make no difference to the water flow. In addition, they do to lead to rise in temperature or contribute to depletion of oxygen levels in the water.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @ :The Africa small hydropower market is also expected to flourish in the coming years as its a reasonably affordable source of renewable energy. Several energy companies are investing in installing small hydropower capacities as it requires relatively low capital investment as compared to other renewable energy plants. Analysts project that the adoption of off-grid power generation is expected to become an emerging trend in the region as it is the most feasible way of solving the energy crisis problem. Thus, the installations of off-grid small hydropower plants in remote areas of Africa are expected to benefit the overall market.Lack of Technological Advancements and Adaptability to Hamper Market GrowthDespite the strong market drivers, the Africa small hydropower market faces a few restraints such as remote locations and paucity of technological adaptability in several countries. The regions energy sector is largely affected by the inaccessibility to basic technologies along with absence of infrastructure that will support the uptake. Collectively, these reasons are expected to hold back the growth of the Africa small hydropower market in the near future.Key segments of the Africa Small Hydropower MarketAfrica Small Hydropower Market: Country AnalysisGhanaNigeriaTanzaniaSouth AfricaMoroccoZambiaRest of AfricaAbout 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.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207
Emerging Global Residential Water Treatment Equipment Market to grow at a CAGR of 12.57% over 2015-2019

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Water treatment equipment helps in removing impurities found in water bodies. Sea water, groundwater, municipal water, and wastewater are treated using water treatment equipment. Given its huge benefits, water treatment equipment can be used to address the issue of water scarcity in various parts of the globe. Moreover, wastewater that is treated can be reused for other purposes, thereby preventing groundwater depletion.The global residential water treatment equipment market to grow at a CAGR of 12.57% over the period 2015-2019.Covered in this ReportThis report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global residential water treatment equipment market during the period 2015-2019. For calculating the market size and vendor share the report considers the revenue obtained from the sales of the residential water treatment equipment.Download Sample Copy Of This Report:Technavio's report, Global Residential Water Treatment Equipment Market 2015-2019, 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 in the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key Vendors3MEcoWater SystemsGE Water and Process TechnologiesKurita Water IndustriesPentairPhilipsOther Prominent VendorsBajaj ElectricalsBritaDuskinEcowaterElkenEureka ForbesKitz Micro FilterLGMitsubishi RayonOSGPanasonicParagon WaterPureResidential Water Treatment Equipment AmwaySafeThermaxTotoMarket DriverIncreased Pollution of WaterFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket ChallengePreference for Bottled WaterFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket TrendDevelopment of Standards and CodesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey Questions Answered in this ReportWhat will the market size be in 2019 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?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
Ambient Food Packaging Market - Evolving Industry Trends and key Insights by 2026

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Ambient food packaging refers to packing a food product in pasteurised and sterilized packs to increase its shelf life. Ambient food packing has become a trend in the food packaging industry and ambient food products are preferred by majority of the consumers over others. Increasing demand for having more empty space in chill cabinets calls for the adoption of the food packaging methods that can offer a better shelf life to the product even without a refrigerator. Demand for sustainable packaging material has become a new trend in the ambient food packaging industry.For more information on this report, fill the form @Ambient food packaging bestows extended shelf life to the food product as compared to the usual packaging methods and, thus, enables storing the product at room temperature. Additionally, it also makes use of high barrier sheets, which assure that certain important aspects related to food storage, such as safety of food stored inside, consumer convenience, and attractive design, are taken care of. All these supporting factors have led to the increased demand for ambient food packaging among food manufacturers globally.The ambient food packaging market can be classified on the basis of types of containers used, on the basis of food, and by packaging material. On the basis of containers used, the ambient food packaging is segmented into tray, pots, lids, cups, and bowls. On the basis of food, the ambient food packaging market is segmented into ready meals, baby foods, soups and sauces, seafood, fruits and vegetables, coffee, and pet food.Obtain Report Details @On the supply side, major players in the market have started offering services, such as blow moulding, injection moulding, and thermoforming, which has been leading to the additional demand for the packaging type.However, high level of processing required in case of ambient food packaging ultimately adds to the overall cost of packaging product, which poses as a potential threat for growth of the global ambient food packaging market.Main market for ambient food packaging lies in Asia Pacific, as demand for packaged food is increasing along with the growing population and rising disposable income levels of consumers in the region. The Asia Pacific market is anticipated to be followed by North America and Western Europe, as these markets account for the largest share of canned foods consumption across the globe. The Western Europe market is expected to be followed by South America, Eastern Europe, and Middle East & Africa markets. However, the global ambient food packaging market is still expected to be dominated by the emerging economies.Major players in ambient packaging market include FFP Packaging Solutions Ltd. (U.K), RPC Group (U.K), Amcor Limited (Australia), SIG Combiblog Obeikan (Switzerland), Tetra Pak (India) , Rexam (U.K), Bemis (U.S.), Mondi (South Africa), Ampac (U.S), Dupont (U.S.), Excelsior Technologies (India), KM Packaging (UK), and Marsden (US). These companies are continuously focused on inventing new packaging materials that can help prevent contamination of food products and extend their shelf life.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:
Sleeve Label Market - Global Industry Analysis, Growth, Trends and Forecast For 2016 - 2024

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The growing number of choices available for the customers for choosing products indirectly causing manufacturers difficulty in differentiating the product with competitors. Hence packaging especially sleeve labels play prominent role in product visibility. It also helps in improving the aesthetic appearance of product. This is primarily beneficial to the manufactures who want their products to be easily recognizable and attractive. The changing consumer habits and growing inclination towards packaged goods is estimated to be the key reason for the growth of global sleeve label packaging. The wide application sector such food and beverages, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, home care and personal care products and increasing product categories within the mentioned application sector are the factors which are estimated to affect the growth of the global sleeve label market.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @The major driver for the global sleeve label market is the growing demand for packaged food and beverages and rapidly increasing number of products in the packaged food segments. Growing inclination of consumers towards packaged foods and beverages is estimated to benefit the global sleeve label market. Another major driver for the global sleeve label market is the growing cosmetic and personal care industry. The desire for better personality and physical appearance are the major factors in the growth of the cosmetic and personal care market which is anticipated to drive the global sleeve label market. Pharmaceutical is also an important growth contributor in the global sleeve label market.The advantage such as better brand identity, improved product visual presence and superior marketing opportunity is estimated to drive the global sleeve label market. On the other hand global sleeve label market is becoming fragmented which is estimated to push the global sleeve label industry to operate under tough competition.The opportunity for the global sleeve label market lies in providing innovative solution for the manufactures. The sleeve market is estimated to have huge opportunities in producing recyclable products with low cost structure. The sleeve label market is estimated to have vast opportunity in digital sleeve labels.Browse Market Research Report @The global sleeve label market is segmented on the basis of type, application method, materials, end use sector and geography. On the basis of type the global sleeve label market is segmented into Shrink and stretch labels. The shrink sleeve label is estimated to lead the global sleeve label market due to its ease in application. Global sleeve label market is segmented on the basis of application method into Pressure Sensitive, Heat Transfer, In-Mold, Heat-Shrink & Stretch and Glue-Applied. On the basis of material the global sleeve label market is segmented into paper, plastic and others. On the basis of end use application sector the global sleeve label market is segmented into food and beverages, Cosmetics and personal care, Home Care, Industrial goods and others. The food and beverages end use sector is estimated to be the largest contributor in terms of value and volume for the global sleeve label market.On the basis of geography the global sleeve label market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Latin America. Europe is estimated to be the largest market for the global sleeve label market. Asia pacific followed by Europe is estimated to be the fastest growing market. The growing urban population and increasing per capita expenditure are estimate to be the major factors in the growth of Asia pacific sleeve label market. Followed by Asia Pacific, North America is estimated to grow in global sleeve label market. The rapidly growing economies in Middle East and Africa is also estimated to show a significant growth in the global sleeve label market.Some of the key players in the global sleeve label market are Avery Dennison Corporation., Accraply, Inc., TAGHLEEF INDUSTRIES GROUP, Bonset America Corporation, Eastman Chemical Company, Esko-Graphics bvba, Flint Group, CCL Industries, SleeveCo, Inc. and others.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:
Cosmetic and Perfume Glass Bottle Market - Growth Forecast Analysis by Manufacturers, Regions, Types and Applications to 2024

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The improved lifestyle coupled with increased disposable income and desire towards better personality are the prime reasons for growing demands of beauty products. The rapid growth in consumption and production of these products is evident that the look and feel of the packaging is also a considerable factor. Hence, manufacturers are highly focusing on better packaging solutions which gives customers a premium feel in a cost effective way. Quality packaging not only offer an attractive options for customers but it also maintain the quality and effectiveness of the product inside the bottle.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @The global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market is primarily driven by the growth in cosmetic and perfumery industry. The global cosmetic industry is forecasted to be of more than US $ 600 Bn by 2019. The growing aspirations of better physical appearance and beauty is anticipated to be the major driving factor for the cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market. The fierce competition in cosmetic industry is supposed to force the cosmetic and perfumery industry to choose innovative and better glass packaging solutions which is anticipated to be the driving factor for the global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market. The increased disposable income and growing inclusion of cosmetic and perfumery products into everyday grooming practices is projected to the driving factor for the global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market. On the other hand the growing use of plastic in cosmetic and perfumery packaging is anticipated to be the major restrain in the growth of the global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market.The opportunity of global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market lies in providing durable packaging solutions at cost effective especially in mid and low range perfume and cosmetic segments. Improving the product visibility and attractiveness is anticipated to be the major challenges for the global cosmetic and cosmetic and perfumery which can be perceived as an opportunity for the global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market by providing innovative packaging solutions.Obtain Report Details @The global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market is segmented on the basis of product into high-end cosmetic and perfumes, mid-range and low range. The mid-range cosmetic and perfumery market is anticipated to register the highest growth in global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market. By application the global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market is segmented into hair care, skin care, make-up, fragrances, bath and shower and others. Where skin care and fragrances is anticipated to be the major contributor of the global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market.On the basis of geography the global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Latin America. Europe is anticipated to be the largest market for global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market primarily driven by strong demand and higher consumption of cosmetic and perfumery products. Asia pacific is anticipated to be the second largest market for the global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market primarily driven by growing per capita income and increasing awareness of cosmetic and perfumery especially in rapidly growing urban population. The strong demand in Japan, India and China are the major contributing factors for the demand in Asia pacific region. The North America is also anticipated to contribute significantly in the global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market followed by Asia pacific. Middle East is also expected to contribute to the demand of global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market primarily due to rapid urbanization and rising expenditure on beauty care products.Some of the key players in the global cosmetic and perfume glass bottle market are Heinz-Glas Group Holding, SGD Group, ZIGNAGO VETRO S.p.A., Rockwood & Hines, Gerresheimer Group, Saverglass, Piramal Glass, Groupe Pochet and others.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:
Metal Cans and Glass Jars Market in India and Iran Industry Covering Its Application, Analysis, Size, Share, Growth & Trends 2017-2024

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ALBANY, NY, March 27, 2017 : Glass jars are used as packaging material for food and beverages. Glass containers offer various advantages such as chemical stability, reusability, and sterility. Glass is used to package food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Glass bottles and jars are available in various shapes, sizes, and colors. Metal cans are also preferred as packaging material. These cans are used to store various foods and beverages. Major food and beverage items stored in metal cans include fruits, vegetables, coffee, soup, and meat. Metal cans offer multiple advantages. Therefore, these are useful packaging materials. Metal cans help in long term preservation of food. Metal cans are 100% recyclable; these can be recycled repeatedly without losing strength. Increasing demand for canned food and high recycle rate are primarily estimated to drive the metal cans and glass jars market in India and Iran in the next few years. However, volatility in prices of raw materials and rising availability of alternatives are projected to hamper market growth during the forecast period. Product differentiation through high quality can graphics and consumer inclination toward glass as a mode of packaging are anticipated to offer growth opportunities to the metal cans and glass jars market in India and Iran market from 2016 to 2024.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @This report analyzes and forecasts the market for metal cans and glass jars in India and Iran. The metal cans market has been forecast based on volume (million units) and revenue (US$ Mn) from 2016 to 2024, considering 2015 as the base year. The glass jars market has been forecast based on volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) from 2016 to 2024, considering 2015 as the base year. The study includes drivers and restraints of the metal cans and glass jars market in India and Iran. It covers impact of these drivers and restraints on demand for metal cans and glass jars during the forecast period. The report also highlights the opportunities in the metal cans and glass jars market in India and Iran.The report includes a detailed value chain analysis, which provides a comprehensive view of the metal cans and glass jars market in India and Iran. Porters Five Forces model for the metal cans and glass jars market has also been included to help understand the competitive landscape. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, wherein applications are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate, and general attractiveness.The study provides a decisive view of the metal cans and glass jars market for food application in India and Iran by segmenting it in terms of applications such as preserved food, milk powder, pet food, and others. These segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends.In order to compile the research report, we conducted in-depth interviews and discussions with a number of key industry participants and opinion leaders. Primary research represents the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research. We reviewed key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents for competitive analysis and market understanding. Secondary research includes a search of recent trade, technical writing, Internet sources, and statistical data from government websites, trade associations, and agencies. This has proven to be the most reliable, effective, and successful approach for obtaining precise market data, capturing industry participants insights, and recognizing business opportunities.Secondary research sources that are typically referred to include, but are not limited to company websites, annual reports, financial reports, broker reports, investor presentations, SEC filings, Metal Containers Manufacturers Association in India, The European Container Glass Federation, Hindustan Tin Works Ltd., Hindustan National Glass & Industries Limited, internal and external proprietary databases, and relevant patent and regulatory databases such as ICIS, Hoovers, oneSOURCE, Factiva and Bloomberg, national government documents, statistical databases, trade journals, market reports, news articles, press releases, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market.We conduct primary interviews on an ongoing basis with industry participants and commentators to validate data and analysis. These help validate and strengthen secondary research findings. These also help develop the analysis teams expertise and market understanding.The report comprises profiles of major companies operating in the global and India and Iran metal cans and glass jars market. Key players profiled in the report include Ardagh Group, Ball Corporation, Crown Holdings Inc., Rexam PLC, Amcor Limited, Bormioli Rocco SpA, Gerresheimer AG, Heinz-Glas GmbH, Piramal Glass Limited, Saint-Gobain S.A., Vetropack Holding AG, Wiegand-Glas GmbH, Stolzle-Oberglas GmbH., Hindustan National Glass & Industries Limited (HNGIL), HSIL, Haldyn Glass Ltd., Shishe & Gaz Glass Manufacturing Co., Hamadan Glass Company, Crystal Iran Co., Hindustan Tin Works Ltd., Kaira Can Company Limited, Iran Ghouti, Tabriz Can Industries, and Farr Co. Ltd. Market players have been profiled in terms of attributes such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies, and recent developments.Make an Enquiry of this report @The report segments the metal cans and glass jars market in India and Iran as follows:India Glass Jars Market - Food Application AnalysisPreserved foodMilk powderPet foodOthers (Including confectioneries, snacks, etc.)India Metal Cans Market - Food Application AnalysisPreserved foodMilk powderPet foodOthers (Including confectioneries, snacks, etc.)Iran Glass Jars Market - Food Application AnalysisPreserved foodMilk powderPet foodOthers (Including confectioneries, snacks, etc.)Iran Metal Cans Market - Food Application AnalysisPreserved foodMilk powderPet foodOthers (Including confectioneries, snacks, etc.)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
2017 to 2022 Analysis and Forecast: Drinking Water Report on United States and Global Market

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SummaryOrbis Research Present's Drinking Water Report on United States and Global Market 2017 Industry Trend and Forecast 2022 enhances the decision making capabilities and helps to create an effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage.DescriptionThe Drinking Water Report on United States and Global market report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Drinking Water Report on United States and Global industry. This report evaluates the United States and Global market for "Drinking Water Report on United States and Global".The Drinking Water Report on United States and Global market report report provides complete analysis of the Drinking Water Report on United States and Global market by analysing all round market dynamics such as regional market opportunities, drivers, challenges, constraints, threats, and other market trends.The Drinking Water Report on United States and Global Market report contains latest Business Data resulting from various Research sources that helps Decision Makers to deliver a Distinctive and Trustworthy Analysis for Companys Growth.Get a PDF Sample of Drinking Water Report on United States and GlobalMarket report at:The Drinking Water Report on United States and Global Market Survey starts with Industry overview of Drinking Water Report on United States and Global Market covering Major Regions Status, Industry Chain Structure, Definitions and Specifications, with a detailed focus on Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis including Raw Material Suppliers, Equipment Suppliers and Manufacturing Process.In Next Part, the researchers has collected and presented information on Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis which comprises of Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source of Major Manufacturers in 2015.In following segment, with Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin, Business Region Distribution Analysis, Competition between various Company Profile has been given along with Product Pictures and Specifications in Drinking Water Report on United States and Global Industry Report.The Key Players Mentioned in Drinking Water Report on United States andGlobal Market Report are: Nestle Danone Fiji Coca Cola Roxane Pepsico Gerolsteiner Ferrarelle VOSS Hildon Icelandic Glacial Penta Mountain Valley Spring Water Suntory AJE Group Ty Nant Master Kong Nongfu Spring Wahaha CestbonPlace a Purchase Order for this Report at:The Drinking Water Report on United States and Global Industry Report is also a Great Source of Marketing Type Analysis consisting:1. Drinking Water Report on United States and Global Regional Marketing Type Analysis2. Drinking Water Report on United States and Global International Trade Type Analysis3. Traders or Distributors with Contact Information of Drinking Water Report on United States and Global by Regions4. Drinking Water Report on United States and Global Supply Chain AnalysisNo. of Report Pages: 131Got any Query? Feel free to ask us at:Lastly, the Report provides Development Trend Analysis for 2016-2021 years which will forecast Market Size (Volume and Value), Sales Price, Consumption Forecast, Market Trend (Product Type) and Market Trend (Application). Also the List of Major Consumers is analyzed and Contact Details are provided to easy communicating.Finally, the Report is concluded with Various Methodology, Analyst Introduction and Data SourcesOrbis 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; +9164101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:
The Cards And Payments Industry In Switzerland: Emerging Trends And Opportunities To 2020

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'The Cards and Payments Industry in Switzerland: Emerging Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Swiss cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including direct debits, check payments, payment cards and credit transfers during the review period (20112015).The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry, and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, and transaction values and volumes during the review period and over the forecast period (20162020). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including the market shares of issuers and schemes.The report brings together Timetrics research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers details of regulatory policy and recent changes in the regulatory structure.SummaryTimetrics 'The Cards and Payments Industry in Switzerland: Emerging Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Swiss cards and payments industry, including:Download Sample Copy Of This Report:Current and forecast values for each market in the Swiss cards and payments industry, including debit card, credit and charge cards.Detailed insights into payment instruments including direct debit, credit transfers, checks and payment cards. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.E-commerce market analysis.Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Swiss cards and payments industry.Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit, credit and charge cards.Comprehensive analysis of consumer attitudes and buying preferences for cards.The competitive landscape in the Swiss cards and payments industry.ScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Swiss cards and payments industry.It provides current values for the Swiss cards and payments industry for 2015, and forecast figures to 2020.It details the different demographic, economic, infrastructural and business drivers affecting the Swiss cards and payments industry.It outlines the current regulatory framework in the industry.It details marketing strategies used by various banks and other institutions.Browse More Telecommunications Market Research Reports:Reasons To BuyMake strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Swiss cards and payments industry and each market within it.Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Swiss cards and payments industry.Assess the competitive dynamics in the Swiss cards and payments industry.Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Switzerland.Gain insights into key regulations governing the Swiss cards and payments industry.Key HighlightsThe Swiss Competition Commission (Comco) lowered the interchange fees of Visa and MasterCard credit cards from August 1, 2015. Under the new regulation, the interchange fee for credit cards is capped at 0.70%; reduced from the existing 0.95%. The Comco is planning to further reduce it to 0.44% from August 1, 2017. According to Comco, the reduction in fees is expected to result in a saving of US$5262.3 million (CHF5060 million) annually for merchants. However, it is anticipated to have a major impact on the profitability of the card issuers over the forecast period (20162020). With a reduction in revenue, issuers are likely to cut down on card offerings and benefits for consumers.The uptake of alternative payments among Swiss consumers is gaining traction due to the availability of a number of options, such as PayPal and Sofort. Most recently, in July 2016, Apple launched its mobile payment (m-payment) service, Apple Pay, allowing consumers to make contactless m-payments and online payments. Prominent retailers accepting Apple Pay in Switzerland include Aldi, Avec, C&A, k kiosk, Mobile Zone, P&B, Spar and TopCC. In February 2016, SIX Payment Services Ltd, a Swiss card-based electronic payment transaction company, expanded the scope of its Paymit service, enabling users to make m-payments using QR codes. Similarly, PostFinance and MasterCard launched their respective digital wallets Twint and MasterPass in 2015. The entry of new payment solutions is likely to intensify competition in the Swiss alternative payments market.Contactless technology is gaining prominence among Swiss consumers, as banks, card issuers and technology providers are introducing this technology in their product offerings. According to the Swiss National Bank (SNB) the central bank of Switzerland, the number of contactless cards was 7.1 million in 2015, and this is expected double to reach 14.2 million by 2020, as banks and card issuers are keen on promoting contactless cards. All major banks in the country including UBS, Credit Suisse and PostFinance offer payment cards with a contactless functionality. To benefit from this trend, retailers such as IKEA, Jumbo, kkiosk, Coop, Migros and McDonalds are also accepting contactless payments.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
Europe Tele-Health Carts - Development Industry with History Report 2017

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"Europe Tele-Health Carts Market Report 2017" The Report covers current Industries Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-Notes:Sales, means the sales volume of Tele-Health CartsRevenue, means the sales value of Tele-Health CartsThis report studies sales (consumption) of Tele-Health Carts in Europe market, especially in Germany, UK, France, Russia, Italy, Benelux and Spain, focuses on top players in these countries, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in these Countries, coveringRubbermaidAMDGlobalmedAfhacanTangentErgotronGet Sample Report With TOC @EmersonPolycomAFCAviziaFangge Market Segment by Countries, this report splits Europe into several key Countries, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of Tele-Health Carts in these countries, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeGermanyFranceUKRussiaItalySpainBenelux Split by product type, with sales, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoType IType IIType III Split by application, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Tele-Health Carts in each application, can be divided intoApplication 1Application 2Application 3 Table of ContentsEurope Tele-Health Carts Market Report 20171 Tele-Health Carts Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Tele-Health Carts1.2 Classification of Tele-Health Carts1.2.1 Type I1.2.2 Type II1.2.3 Type III1.3 Application of Tele-Health Carts1.3.1 Application 11.3.2 Application 21.3.3 Application 31.4 Tele-Health Carts Market by Countries1.4.1 Germany Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 France Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.3 UK Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.4 Russia Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.5 Italy Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.6 Spain Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.7 Benelux Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.5 Europe Market Size (Value and Volume) of Tele-Health Carts (2011-2021)1.5.1 Europe Tele-Health Carts Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)1.5.2 Europe Tele-Health Carts Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)2 Europe Tele-Health Carts by Manufacturers, Type and Application2.1 Europe Tele-Health Carts Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1.1 Europe Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2017)2.1.2 Europe Tele-Health Carts Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2017)2.2 Europe Tele-Health Carts (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Europe Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Type (2011-2017)2.2.2 Europe Tele-Health Carts Revenue and Market Share by Type (2011-2017)2.3 Europe Tele-Health Carts (Volume and Value) by Countries2.3.1 Europe Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Countries (2011-2017)2.3.2 Europe Tele-Health Carts Revenue and Market Share by Countries (2011-2017)2.4 Europe Tele-Health Carts (Volume) by Application3 Germany Tele-Health Carts (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 Germany Tele-Health Carts Sales and Value (2011-2017)3.1.1 Germany Tele-Health Carts Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2017)3.1.2 Germany Tele-Health Carts Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2017)3.1.3 Germany Tele-Health Carts Sales Price Trend (2011-2017)3.2 Germany Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers3.3 Germany Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Type3.4 Germany Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Application4 France Tele-Health Carts (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 France Tele-Health Carts Sales and Value (2011-2017)4.1.1 France Tele-Health Carts Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2017)4.1.2 France Tele-Health Carts Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2017)4.1.4 France Tele-Health Carts Sales Price Trend (2011-2017)4.2 France Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers4.3 France Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Type4.4 France Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Application5 UK Tele-Health Carts (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5.1 UK Tele-Health Carts Sales and Value (2011-2017)5.1.1 UK Tele-Health Carts Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2017)5.1.2 UK Tele-Health Carts Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2017)5.1.5 UK Tele-Health Carts Sales Price Trend (2011-2017)5.2 UK Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers5.3 UK Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Type5.4 UK Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Application6 Russia Tele-Health Carts (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6.1 Russia Tele-Health Carts Sales and Value (2011-2017)6.1.1 Russia Tele-Health Carts Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2017)6.1.2 Russia Tele-Health Carts Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2017)6.1.6 Russia Tele-Health Carts Sales Price Trend (2011-2017)6.2 Russia Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers6.3 Russia Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by Type6.4 Russia Tele-Health Carts Sales and Market Share by ApplicationResearchMoz 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.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
United States Rocker Switches Sales Market Report 2021

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Qyresearchreports include new market research reportUnited States Rocker Switches Sales Market Report 2021 to its huge collection of research reports.This market intelligence report examines extensively the trends in the United States Rocker Switches market. It highlights the latest market state, the progress pattern in the previous years, and the prospects present for market participants in the near future. The research methods and tools employed in the achievement of this research publication are both secondary and primary. The market intelligence study also provides facts about the investments initiated by several organizations, institutions, government, and non-government authorities and regulatory bodies.Get Report Sample and Customization:The publication further presents a valuation of the facets that are likely to prevent or encourage the expansion of the United States Rocker Switches market. The United States Rocker Switches market has been examined scrupulously based on aspects such as application, technology, product, end user, and geographical segment. An examination has been carried out in the research report of the chief regional segments and their respective place and share in the Rocker Switches market. The estimated revenue and volume valuation of the United States market for Rocker Switches has also been stated in the study.An estimate of the market attractiveness and the level of competition that new entrants along with their new products are likely to offer to the experienced products and players has also been delivered in the market research publication. The market report also discusses the new expansions, the innovations, branding techniques, marketing approaches, and products of the chief players operational in the United States Rocker Switches market. The vendor landscape has been broadly scrutinized employing the Porters five forces and value chain analysis to deliver a strong conception of the market. The challenges and opportunities in the near future for the key participants have also been stressed upon in the research publication.Table of ContentsUnited States Rocker Switches Sales Market Report 20211 Rocker Switches Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Rocker Switches1.2 Classification of Rocker Switches1.2.1 Type I1.2.2 Type II1.2.3 Type III1.3 Applications of Rocker Switches1.3.1 COMMERCIAL1.3.2 RESIDENTIAL1.3.3 Application 31.4 USA Market Size (Value and Volume) of Rocker Switches (2011-2021)1.4.1 USA Rocker Switches Sales, Revenue and Price (2011-2021)1.4.2 USA Rocker Switches Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)1.4.3 USA Rocker Switches Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Browse Complete Report with TOC @2 USA Rocker Switches Competition by Manufacturers2.1 USA Rocker Switches Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 USA Rocker Switches Revenue and Share by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)3 USA Rocker Switches (Volume and Value) by Type3.1 USA Rocker Switches Sales and Market Share by Type (2011-2021)3.2 USA Rocker Switches Revenue and Market Share by Type (2011-2021)4 USA Rocker Switches (Volume) by Application5 USA Rocker Switches Manufacturers Analysis5.1 LEGRAND S.A.5.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors5.1.2 Rocker Switches Product Type and Technology5.1.2.1 Type I5.1.2.2 Type II5.1.3 Rocker Switches Sales, Revenue, Price of LEGRAND S.A. (2015 and 2016)Explore New Reports on Semiconductors market @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
Roger Dodd, partner at Spohrer & Dodd, has written a new book focused on depositions

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Jacksonville, Fla., March 23, 2017  Roger Dodd, partner in the law firm of Spohrer & Dodd, has co-authored a new book titled Cross-Examination for Depositions. Dodd wrote the book with his son, Matthew Dodd, founding partner of Dodd Law Firm, P.C. in Montana. The book is a guide for attorneys to maximize their effectiveness at depositions.Preparing a line of questioning that focuses on the theory of the case can give attorneys a major advantage before a deposition even begins, said Roger Dodd. Cases can be won or lost in the discovery state and the cross-examination of the deponents can be the deciding factor. Perfecting this cross-examination skill is essential for all litigators.Cross-Examination for Depositions is a guideline for attorneys. It offers advice for improving technique and provides numerous suggestions on how to deal with scenarios involving difficult witnesses. In their book, the authors emphasize constructive cross-examination, which is the use of the facts given by the opposing witness to build the cross-examiners theory of the case. Many times, a cross-examination will be merely an attack on the opposing counsels theory.Roger Dodd, one of the countrys top experts on cross examination, first introduced the constructive cross-examination technique in the book Cross-Examinations: Science and Techniques. He co-authored that book, which has become a best-seller, with Larry Pozner. Both books are available for purchase online atRoger Dodd frequently lectures and leads workshops for trial lawyers on improving cross-examination techniques to increase the benefits to clients. He said his single focus is helping as many clients as possible and if he can train trial attorneys to help their clients, he feels he has indirectly helped those people.Roger Dodd, a partner at Spohrer & Dodd, is also a partner at Dodd & Burnham, P.C. in Valdosta, GA and Dodd & Keundig in Park City, Utah. He is a board certified in civil trials and was board certified in criminal trials for more than 20 years. Much of his practice focuses on catastrophic personal injury, trucking cases, medical malpractice, aviation accidents and wrongful death. He has lectured and taught lawyers and judges in all 50 states, and multiple foreign countries. He is also a frequent guest and commentator on televisions programs. His TV and legal credits include CourtTV, TruTV, CNN, ABC, CBS, and cable TV.About Spohrer & DoddSpohrer & Dodd is an elite law firm comprised of seasoned trial attorneys, expert professionals and specialized staff. Their experience, diligence, and creativity allow them to help clients achieve positive legal outcomes in the most challenging and complex personal injury cases, which are often cases that other personal injury law firms are unwilling to undertake. Their team of board certified trial lawyers, attorneys and staff, the firm's intellectual and financial resources, and their network of specialized experts are dedicated to every case their Jacksonville law firm handles. For more information, visitSpohrer & Dodd701 W. Adams StreetJacksonville, FL 32204Media Contact: Kelly WhiteKelly.white@cfmedia.net
Agricultural Adjuvants Industry Trends and key Insights by 2024

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The extremely consolidated nature of the global agricultural adjuvants market allows very little space for new entrants. In 2015, the top three players in the market  Akzo Nobel N.V., Solvay, and Clariant  collectively held a share of 51.1%. All key players hold an especially high control over supplies of agricultural adjuvants in developed economies.According to a research report released by Transparency Market Research, the global agricultural adjuvants market holds a high level of competition for existing players due to the presence of advanced mechanisms that a lot of current players can make use of to scale up their production rates.Browse Market Research Report @On the other hand, the production rate of the market is extremely dependent on the availability of raw materials over any other factor, which is closely regulated by government agencies. This makes is difficult for new entrants to make their mark on the global agricultural adjuvants market. The global agricultural adjuvants market was calculated at US$2.36 bn at the end of 2015 and it is expected that the market will reach US$4.16 bn at the end of 2024. This revenue is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.6% within a forecast period from 2016 to 2024. By the end of 2015, the overall volume of the global agricultural adjuvants market had reached 757,570 kilo tons.Products Pushed to Shine as Farmers Try to Grow Better Crops in Lesser LandThe global agriculture industry is in a state of many quandaries. For one, the total area of farmable land that each country uses is reducing by at a regular rate. The smaller areas of land are caused due to growing industrialization and expansion of urban areas, which is a direct result of the increasing global population. To feed this increasing population, the agriculture system needs to overreach its current capacities to successfully provide enough food for the masses. As a result, farmers are expected to significantly improve their crop yield. This is the current leading factor augmenting the demand for agricultural adjuvants around the world, states a TMR analyst.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @The global agricultural adjuvants market is also being driven by the growing use of advanced techniques in precision farming. The use of modern technology to increase the precision with which farmers can obtain a high yield of crops is allowing for a better and more stable increase in the demand for agricultural adjuvants.Evolving GM Concepts a Direct Threat to Global Agricultural Adjuvants MarketOne of the leading factors hindering the growth in demand for agricultural adjuvants is the growing use of genetic modification in the field of agriculture. GM seeds especially are engineered to imbibe the qualities that are required to produce excellent crops that score well in yield quality and are also biologically resistant to the current types of pests and plant diseases. Over the coming years, research and development on GM seeds is expected to skyrocket, creating a drop in the overall demand growth of agricultural adjuvants.Currently, the global agricultural adjuvants market continues to be supported by the investments made by both government and private players. The number of investors as well as the total volume of investments is expected to continue increasing in the immediate future, providing key opportunities for existing players in the global agricultural adjuvants market, adds the analyst.Get Request For Discount On This Report @The information presented in this review is based on a Transparency Market Research report, titled, Report Title: Agricultural Adjuvants Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024.Key segments of the Global Agricultural Adjuvants MarketAgricultural Adjuvants Market: Product Type AnalysisActivatorsSurfactantsNon-ionicIonicOthersOil AdjuvantsPetroleum OilVegetable OilAmmonium fertilizersUtilityWetting Agents & SpreadersBuffering AgentsDrift Control & Foaming AgentsDefoaming & antifoaming AgentsOthersAbout 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.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, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog :
Law Enforcement & Firefighting Protective Clothing Fabrics Market Systems - Global Industry Analysis 2024

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The global law enforcement and firefighting protective clothing fabrics market in 2015 experienced the leadership of players such as TenCate, Milliken & Company, W.L. Gore and Associates, and National Safety Apparel. Their total share of around 35% of the global market shows a great deal of prominent for these players despite being a part of a highly fragmented market.According to a research report released by Transparency Market Research, the degree of competition within the global law enforcement and firefighting protective clothing fabrics market is expected to be high and remain high over the coming years. A large number of globally prominent players dominate multiple regions in the market, especially Europe and North America.Browse Market Research Report @Quality standards are extremely high in this market and all players are locked in competition to provide superior products. At the same time, large portions of the revenue from the otherwise fragmented market are taken up by the prominent players through brand popularity and the formation and maintenance of long-term contracts. The global law enforcement and firefighting protective clothing fabrics market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.5% within a forecast period from 2016 to 2024, in terms of value. In 2015, this market had checked in at US$954.6 mn and by the end of 2024, it is expected to reach US$1.67 bn.Military Bodies Up their Demand for Law Enforcement and Firefighting Protective Clothing FabricsDefense and military have always been the greater users of law enforcement and firefighting protective clothing fabrics over the years. It is, after all, military personnel who are consistently exposed to harmful environments and battle threats. To combat these situations, the military is always in need of the latest equipment, protective gear and clothing, and weapons to defend themselves and to succeed in their operations. The clothing therefore being a heavy influencer of how military personnel can act or react, governments have made significant investments towards utilizing advanced materials and production tech to optimize their defense sector, states a TMR analyst. The growing military sectors in several key countries is therefore, a primary driver of the global law enforcement and firefighting protective clothing fabrics market.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Cost Plays Heavy Hand against Global Law Enforcement and Firefighting Protective Clothing Fabrics MarketOne of the key factors restraining the global law enforcement and firefighting protective clothing fabrics market is the very high costs associated with these fabrics. In comparison to traditional material, these fabrics undergo a much more complicated and intense series of weaving, chemical additions, and regulation-mandated testing. Moreover, the leading technologies and software used in the global law enforcement and firefighting protective clothing fabrics market are all proprietary and very expensive, thus adding to an already high capital required to set up in this market, thus deterring new entrants from it. The global law enforcement and firefighting protective clothing fabrics market is also being stifled by the overall lack of support and enforcement of norms and regulations by the governments of emerging economies. Despite the presence of several standards and laws, many reasons make it difficult for these mandates to be efficiently enforced across nations. This scenario is expected to change over the coming years.In fact, it is the very emerging economies that are expected to become the leading providers of high-end opportunities in the global law enforcement and firefighting protective clothing fabrics market. Over the coming years, their expanding industrial infrastructure and defense sectors are bound to give rise to a solid set of growth opportunities for several players within this market, adds the analyst.Get Request For Discount On This Report @The information presented in this review is based on a Transparency Market Research report, titled, Law Enforcement and Firefighting Protective Clothing Fabrics Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024.Key segments of the Global Law Enforcement and Firefighting Protective Clothing Fabrics MarketLaw Enforcement and Firefighting Protective Clothing Fabrics Market: Application AnalysisPoliceFire ServiceTurnout GearWildlands GearStation WearAmbulance/EMTMilitaryOthersAbout 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.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, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog :
Roofing and Insulation Market : Fast-expanding Economies in Asia Pacific Boosting Growth, finds TMR

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Albany, New York, March 23, 2017: Fast depleting natural resources and a burgeoning world population have led to the popularity of energy-efficient buildings. As per a newly added report by Transparency Market Research, this has been the single-most important growth driver in the global market for roofing and insulation. The report, titled, Roofing and Insulation Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Trends and Forecast 20162024, states that the roofing and insulation plays an important role in heat and light management in a building and hence are drawing significant investments.Browse Market Research Report @The report also finds that the world economy picking up steam has led to higher spending capacity among people which in turn has also led to increased expenditure on roofing and insulation. Besides, the rising trend in developing economies to spend on home improvement on account of increasing disposable incomes of people has also proved beneficial to the market.The cyclical nature of the construction industry, on account of its fortunes being tied to that of the prevailing economic scenario, might however negatively impact the global market for roofing and insulation. Another factor posing a challenge to the market is the lack of knowledge, particularly in developing economies, about various function-specific insulation and roofing materials available in the market. Hence, buyers mostly use locally available less expensive roofing and insulation materials.From a geographical standpoint, the global market for insulation and roofing is dominated by Asia Pacific. Massive uptick in construction activities and home refurbishments and upgradations, primarily in the fast-expanding developing nations of India, China, and Malaysia has been powering the growth in the region. In fact, China is expected to emerge not just as a frontrunner in producing roofing and insulation materials but also a leader in consumption. Besides Asia Pacific, insulating materials are witnessing a steady upswing in demand in regions having extreme climatic conditions. Going forward, the Middle East market will create substantial opportunities for players.The market for roofing and insulation market in Europe and North America, having saturated their potential, are on the brink of maturing. This will egg companies to innovate in order to rekindle demand in crucial markets.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @The report finds the global market for roofing and insulation to be fragmented due to the presence of a copious number of local players. Rapid emergence of Chinese companies purveying products at ultra-competitive prices has put a downward pressure on prices in the market. Some of the prominent players profiled in the report are Fletcher Insulation, Lloyd Insulations, Waukegan Roofing Co., GAF, Reflectix Inc., Owens Corning, and Heritage Roofing.About UseTransparency 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.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, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Marine Fuel Injection System Market Forecasted To Reach USD 5.20 Billion CAGR Of 3.9%, Market Research Report- Global Forecast 2027

Global Marine Fuel

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Market SegmentsThe Marine Fuel Injection market can be segmented on the basis of power rating (0 HP2,000 HP, 2,000 HP10,000 HP, 10,000 HP20,000 HP, 20,000HP50,000 HP, 50,000 HP80,000 HP, Above 80,000 HP). On the basis of component it can be segmented on (Fuel Injector, Electronic Control Unit (ECU), Fuel Pump, Fuel Valves, Others).On the basis of application it can be segmented as (Commercial Vessels, Inland Waterways transport vessel, Offshore Support Vessels (OSV))Study Objectives of Marine Fuel InjectionTo provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next ten years of the various segments and sub-segments of the global Marine Fuel Injection marketTo provide insights about factors affecting the market growthTo Analyze the Marine Fuel Injection market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc.To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW)To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospectiveTo provide country level analysis of the market for segment by Type, Applications, End Users and its sub-segmentsTo provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the marketTo track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the global Marine Fuel Injection marketRequest a Sample Report @Market Synopsis of Marine Fuel InjectionSignificant Growth in the International sea trade, booming shipping industry and strict regulations regarding marine emission is expected to drive the demand for the Marine fuel injection market. The Marine Injection market is forecasted to reach USD 5.20 billion in the forecasted period at a CAGR of 3.9%.Regional Analysis of Marine Fuel InjectionAsia Pacific is expected to be the market which grows the fastest, mainly because of the increase in the inland waterways vessels and increased number of commercial vesse4ls which will give a substantial push to the Marine Fuel Injection Market. North America, Europe are also markets which can witness a significant growth also various developing countries provide great scope of development specially with the leading entities of the marine fuel injection trying to penetrate the developing economies.Key PlayersYanmar,Cummins Inc.,Liebherr International AG,Robert Bosch GmbH,Rolls-Royce Holding PLC,Caterpillar Inc.,AmericasNorth AmericaUSCanadaLatin AmericaBrowse Report Details @EuropeWestern EuropeGermanyFranceItalySpainU.KRest of Western EuropeEastern EuropeAsia PacificAsiaChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaRest of AsiaRequest Table of Contents for this Report @The Middle East& AfricaThe report for Marine Fuel Injection of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, 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.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.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 questionsIn 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 - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
North America Micro-Pump Market Is grow at a CAGR of 16.0% ( 2016-2027)

North America Micro-Pump Market

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Country wise Report of North America Micro-Pump Market from 2013 to 2027North 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+16468459312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Low Code Development Platform Market  A cutting-edge technology, industry survey and new business opportunities 2025

Global Low Code Development Platform Market, Low Code Development Platform Market Industry

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Low code development platform is a type of technology that creates apps through the configuration of functions instead of coding these functions. It reduces the amount of hand coding required and initial investment setup cost, thereby enabling the accelerated delivery of business applications. Low code development platforms rely on declarative development tools, which include domain languages, visual data modeling and flow diagramming instead of programming languages.If the tools suit the target applications, application development and delivery (AD&D) enterprises can develop custom apps faster with low code platforms than they can by using programming languages. Low code development platforms are accessible via low cost or free self-service offerings instead of the big upfront financial costs associated with enterprise software. Today companies are finding it difficult to survive with the unrelenting pace of disruptive innovation and fast-changing customer behavior. Services that deliver engaging, simple and convenient customer experiences are key to enterprise progress.A low code development platform provides just what is needed in the form of accelerated development of apps. The companies share the visually configuring new applications using low code development platforms which helps them speed up development and allows the business to provide feedback on resulting applications functionality. Low code development platforms are developed as a means to allow for the use of working applications and quick creation that can address the data needs of the organization.Obtain Report Details @Businesses have deployed computer widely across organizations as a result of the microcomputer revolution enabling widespread automation of business processes using a variety of software. The need for new applications for business processes and software automation places demands on software developers to create applications in minimum time and with minimum upfront cost, which is expected to drive the low code development platform market.However, security concerns about low code development platforms are growing, especially with those apps which use consumer data restraining the growth of the low code development platform market. Also there are a few myths related to the use of low code development platform solutions. These myths are that low code developments are not for pro developers and that they are for citizen developers only, as well as that low code development gets rid of the need for any programming.These myths are also hindering the growth of the low code development platform market. Software application developers are ramping up investments in development platforms, which support a wide range of app use cases, which is expected to create opportunities for the growth of the low code development platform market.Make an Enquiry @The global low code development platform market can be segmented on the basis of type, deployment model, enterprise size and region. On the basis of type, the low code development platform market can be segmented into general purpose platform, database app platform, mobile-fist app platform, process app platform and request handling platform segments. On the basis of deployment model, the low code development platform market can be classified into private cloud, public cloud and hybrid cloud. In terms of enterprise size the market can be segmented into small & medium enterprises and large enterprises. Geographically, the low code development platform market can be segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa (MEA) and South America.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.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.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:
Data Quality and Data Governance Solution Market Size, Strategy and Forecasts Worldwide to 2024

Global Data Quality and Data Governance Solution Market, Data Quality and Data Governance Solution Market Industry

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In the enterprise data management ecosystem, data quality is a broad term which refers to the quality, integrity, and consistency of data and/or process etc. Data quality also implies the degree of data accuracy and consistency. On the other hand, data governance focusses on the management of data assets by assigning authority, control, and responsibility of data and encompasses three key areas: people, process, and technology.Data quality and data governance are closely related and go hand in hand in the enterprise data management ecosystem. In todays competitive world, data quality and data governance practices is anticipated to evolve rapidly backed by growth in Master Data Management tools and technology. In recent years it is observed that enterprises with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) or customer relationship management (CRM) application have struggled owing to the absence of built-in data quality and data governance capabilities.The global data quality and data governance solutions market is anticipated to grow in the coming years as these solutions assists enterprises and professionals to address major challenges arising out of an enterprises applications and transactional data, data types and formats, data cleansing and validation, and hybrid environments. Furthermore, cloud, big data and machine learning is anticipated to push the demand for global data quality and data governance solutions.Obtain Report Details @However, factors such as ever changing policies and regulations, categorization of unstructured data, and inconsistent business semantics are anticipated to restrain the growth of the global data quality and data governance solution market.The global data quality and data governance solution market can be segmented on the basis of deployment model, business function, and industry verticals. Deployment model can be further segmented as on-premise and cloud based. Based on business function, the market can be classified into finance, information technology, legal, operations and others. On the basis of industry vertical, the global data quality and data governance solution market can be classified into Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), telecom and IT, healthcare, retail and e-commerce, healthcare, manufacturing, government and defense, energy and utilities, construction and engineering, and others (research, education, BPO, and travel & hospitality)Geographically, the global data quality and data governance solution market is segmented into Middle-East and Africa (MEA), Asia Pacific (APAC), North America, Europe, and South America.North America is expected to dominate the global data quality and data governance solution market during the forecast period 2017  2025, owing to large investments in cloud-based machine learning and Big Data technologies, and presence of large number of vendors in this region.Make an Enquiry @The Asia Pacific (APAC) region is anticipated to be the fastest-growing region for the global data quality and data governance solution market. The region is currently in its initial growth phase. The high growth rate in Asia Pacific is driven by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) demand for cost-effective data quality and data governance solutions.Europe is anticipated to contribute a significant share in the global data quality and data governance solution market after North America. Europe is also anticipated to witness a steady growth rate during the forecast period from 2017  2025.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.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.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:
Positive Displacement Segment Expected to Lead the Global Smart Water Meter Market During 2016 - 2025

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The global smart water meter market was valued at $839.6 million in 2015 and is expected to witness a CAGR of 11.1% during 2016  2025. Positive displacement smart water meters contributed the largest share to the global market in 2015. The global smart water meter market is growing with double digit CAGR owing to increasing demand for optimal use of water. The non-revenue water is one of the major challenges for the water utilities as well as governments. The surging water crisis further elevates the demand for a sustainable solution towards water management.Explore Full Report at:Smart metering enables a consumer to effectively utilize their meter as it increases their accessibility in several ways. The consumers can read their meter on demand. This facilitates the consumer to get the reading on effective date of change in premises. Smart metering has quick response for a given command as compared to traditional dumb meters, which also facilitates easy billing. Such advantages facilitates improved service incentive mechanism (SIM) score for a given water provider. The smart water meters also saves the cost of water utilities associated with manual checking of meter by the personnel visiting the consumer premises. These benefits associated with smart meters have been driving its market.Explore report sample at:The water companies in the U.K. have been experiencing losses of around 27% of the treated water due to inaccurate water network. This is driving them to replace their traditional water meters with the smart water meters. Thames Water Utilities in the U.K. has been aggressively investing in smart water meters. In the U.S., Rogers Water Utilities (RWU) is planning to completely replace its existing water meters with smart water meters by 2021. The Keystone Utility Systems in the U.S. through a contract with Sammamish Plateau Water is expected to install around 18,000 smart meters in the country by late 2016. According to the information from Smart Water Summit, around 80% of the water utilities in the U.S. have included the up gradation and repairs of their water infrastructure in their capital plans.Browse Related Research:Some of the key players operating in the global smart water meter market include Badger Meter, Itron, Landis+Gyr, Elster Group, Kamstrup, Aclara Technologies, Sensus, Neptune, Diehl and Acquiba.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
Americas Healthcare Human Resources (HR) Software Market information by Software Type, Deploymet, Organization Type, End Users  Forecast to 2021

Market Research Future Report

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Americas Healthcare Human Resources (HR) Software Market Forecast to 2021The report firstly introduced Americas Healthcare Human Resources (HR) Software Market including classification, application and industry chain overview; Then we deeply analyzed Americas growth forecast indicators by the as well as the regional market conditions that including the product price, profit, utilization, supply, demand and industry growth rate etc. In the end, the report introduced medical suction device market SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, market share analysis and competitive landscape, company profiles by analyzing the major players. It is a depth research study on Americas Healthcare Human Resources (HR) Software Market. We are thankful for the support and assistance from Americas Healthcare Human Resources (HR) Software Market chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews The report provides comprehensive view about the healthcare human resources (hr) software market.Request a Sample @The reports includes following segments:Software Type Core HR Workforce Management Compensation Management Recruiting Learning Management OthersDeployment On-Premise CloudOrganizations Type Medium Businesses Large Enterprises Small BusinessEnd Users Hospitals and Laboratories Pharmaceuticals and CROs OthersAccess Report Details @Americas Healthcare Human Resources (HR) Software Market report of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.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. 524/528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Hotel Business News and Analytics

Important! This article is written by orangesmile.com editors and is protected by copyright law. The article can only be re-used with a direct link to www.orangesmile.com

NEWS BLOCKS:

New Japan Inspired Culinary at Aman Hotels

Aman Hotels and Resorts, a Singapore-based hotelier, has launched a new culinary concept named Nama, which continues traditions of Japanese cuisine.



The name Nama actually comes from Aman written in reverse. At the same time, in Japanese nama means raw and that also unleashes struggle of Aman to update its gastronomic offers and add more Japan inspired experiences. After more than a year of development, the first Nama is scheduled to be added to Amanpuri, the companys hotel in Phuket. Within a year, Nama will debut at all hotels and resorts by Aman, and in each of them the menu will be slightly adjusted in accordance with locally produced ingredients.



Fresh and raw dishes, as well as classic Japanese delicacies, require ingredients of premium quality. According to Aman, they will import from Japan markets such as the famous Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo and will also purchase daily catches of local fishermen. The menu of Nama includes sushi, sashimi, nigiri sushi and some delicacies as Kobe Wagyu and Kobe Gyu steaks. The meat will be grilled directly on the tables and will be served together with Moshio mineral salt.



In order to create the atmosphere of minimalism and elegance, which are parts of the Japanese concept of beauty, restaurants design and staff uniforms will be made in a simple elegant manner in mostly neutral shades. The serving requires a separate mention. Special tableware was commissioned particularly for Nama. It includes shigaraki ware with special glazing, the recipe of which was developed in the 17th century, and oribe tableware that was developed in Japan yet in the 16th century.



Apart from the Phuket hotel, Nama will be soon available at Amanpulo hotel in the Philippines and Amanjena hotel in Morocco.

27.03.2017Stay in touch with the latest news of a worldwide hotel industry. All up-to-date analytics, reports , and news about hotel business trends on OrangeSmile.com.
Cole River Hatchery

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife released 50,000 spring chinook raised at Cole Rivers Hatchery last March in Trail. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had been prepared to put operation of the Rogue River hatchery out for competitive bid, but the agency now says the task should remain with the state agency.

(The Medford Mail Tribune via AP)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers now believes the complexities of running Cole Rivers Hatchery on the Rogue River, as well as its own contracting rules, mean the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife should retain operation of the hatchery.

Corps officials in Portland opted Friday to seek internal approval to enter into a "sole-source" agreement with ODFW to continue raising and releasing the 2.8 million salmon, steelhead and trout as mitigation for lost wild salmon and steelhead habitat from the building of Lost Creek and Applegate dams.

Operation of the hatchery was set to go out for competitive bidding this month. The Corps had planned to seek bids on separate one-year contracts for operating the hatchery, its fin-clipping operation and its so-called "fish health" program as it moved away from joint operating agreements with state agencies like ODFW to operate its hatcheries.

But that set up the possibility that one contractor could be directing another contractor, which is against Corps policy, said spokeswoman Michelle Helms in the Corps' Portland District office.

"Because of that, we need that to be one entity, and we believe ODFW is the only entity that can provide all of those services under one contract," Helms said.

The fin-clipping operation involves the hand clipping of adipose fins on spring chinook and steelhead by an ODFW crew to mark them as hatchery fish, which means they are available for anglers to keep under regular bag limits. The fish health program employs a fish pathologist to do tests for parasites before fish are released, as well as monthly exams for disease and parasites at the facility on the Rogue a mile downstream of Lost Creek dam.

Bruce McIntosh, ODFW's deputy fisheries chief, said he believes meetings with Corps officials as recently as last week led the officials to realize the investments and expertise needed to run Cole Rivers properly.

While the Corps owns the facilities, ODFW owns the equipment and provides the equivalent of 16.5 full-time employees.

"They really started to see the complexities of what they were trying to undertake," McIntosh said. "No one else has a marking trailer. Who's going to go out and buy a $2 million marking trailer?"

Rogue angling groups and ODFW biologists have expressed concerns that a private outfit would not have the expertise to raise the salmon, steelhead and trout promised by the Corps to sport and commercial fishing interests as ODFW has since Cole Rivers went online in 1973.

"For now, this is certainly very positive," McIntosh said. "I know I have a lot of staff relieved about this."

The Corps decided this year that it should move away from joint operating agreements with ODFW to run the hatcheries and initially announced plans in February to seek competitive bids to run Cole Rivers as well as six other Oregon hatcheries, including Bonneville Hatchery on the Columbia River.

Since then, the Corps determined its co-ownership of facilities at five of those hatcheries meant it was best to enter into an agreement with ODFW to operate them. However, Cole Rivers was still on track for public bidding because it was owned solely by the Corps and built solely on Corps property.

As it did with Bonneville and other Oregon hatcheries, the Corps will publish a notice of its intention to sole-source the Cole Rivers work before it formally asked Corps officials in Washington, D.C., for permission to enter into the Cole Rivers contract, Helms said.

Helms said her agency hoped to have that permission by the end of April. The Corps' current five-year operating agreement with ODFW for Cole Rivers ends June 30.

--Mark Freeman, Medford Mail Tribune
GORSUCH.JPG

Judge Neil Gorsuch testifies during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill last week.

( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

By Albert R. Hunt

Neil Gorsuch will have the support of all 52 Senate Republicans for confirmation to the Supreme Court. He also could win the votes of a half-dozen or so Democrats, and therein lies a problem for that party.

Unlike President Donald Trump's budget or the Republican health-care plan, which are so flawed that it's easy for all Democrats to oppose them, backing Gorsuch may have some political appeal for Democrats from conservative states. That has inflamed left-wing activists, who have threatened to oppose any Senate Democrat who supports Trump's Supreme Court nominee.

That category might include several incumbent senators who face competitive re-election races next year, such as West Virginia's Joe Manchin or North Dakota's Heidi Heitkamp.

They will be painted by Republican opponents next year as obstructionists. To counter that charge, it may be useful to be able to say that they voted for a Republican nominee, whom Democrats can't defeat anyway and who wouldn't change the ideological balance of the Supreme Court. Gorsuch would replace the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.

But energized liberal activists, still smarting over the way Republicans blocked President Barack Obama's court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, are threatening primary challenges next year against Democrats who don't oppose Gorsuch. Michael Moore, the left-wing filmmaker, warned Senate Democrats on Twitter that if they did not "filibuster and block" the Gorsuch nomination, "we will find a true progressive and primary u in next election."

Similar messages are being sent elsewhere: In Seattle, for example, a liberal blog this week called for pressuring Sen. Maria Cantwell to oppose Gorsuch in every way.

Abortion-rights advocates and some labor unions that have stopped short of threats have still cast the vote as a loyalty test.

The liberal wing wants party leaders to filibuster the Gorsuch nomination, which would put even more pressure on Democratic senators from conservative states. Much as the leaders would like to avoid what would probably be a futile gambit anyway -- Republicans could eliminate the filibuster if they didn't have 60 votes for confirmation -- urging from the left will make it hard to do.

For the leaders, disheartened after the drubbing they took in November, the outpouring of anti-Trump activism has been encouraging. Many of them consider it a mirror image of the Tea Party uprising eight years ago that energized a Republican comeback.

But they also remember that right-wing activists cost Republicans some Senate seats. In Delaware, for example, the self-described anti-masturbation activist Christine O'Donnell won a 2010 primary upset over a popular mainstream Republican and then lost the general election to Democrat Chris Coons. Republicans thus lost a golden opportunity to take the Senate seat vacated by Vice President Joe Biden. Similar right-wing primary victories hurt Republican prospects in Missouri and Indiana.

Some Democratic leaders, who are counting on retaining their Senate incumbents next year in an anti-Trump electoral wave, hope to be able to deflect anger over a Gorsuch confirmation vote. First, they can argue that it's not a key vote because it would be subsequent High Court nominations that would tilt the balance of the court.

They also want to focus attention on Trumpcare and the administration's proposed budget, both of which are unfriendly to voters in a number of conservative states where Trump did well and Democratic incumbent Senators are up for re-election. It's these issues, more than the Gorsuch vote, that they hope activists will focus on when lawmakers go home during the congressional recess early next month.

(c) 2017, Bloomberg View

Albert R. Hunt is a Bloomberg View columnist. He was the executive editor of Bloomberg News, before which he was a reporter, bureau chief and executive Washington editor at the Wall Street Journal.
burg_2.jpg

The Marion County Sheriff's Office has asked the public's help in finding a pickup truck and driver involved in a smash-and-grab theft north of Salem. Deputies believe a black Ford F150 twice rammed into the side of the Star Market at 9005 River Road Northeast around 3 a.m. Sunday.

(MCSO)

The Marion County Sheriff's Office has asked the public's help in finding a pickup truck and driver involved in a smash-and-grab theft north of Salem.

Deputies believe a black Ford F150 twice intentionally rammed into the side of the Star Market at 9005 River Road Northeast around 3 a.m. Sunday. The driver left with the store's ATM, deputies said. The business, located west of Interstate 5 on Brooklake Road, was left with a large, truck-size hole, deputies said in a news release.

Investigators believe the truck, which should have rear-end damage, is a 2004 to 2006 model with a leveling kit, running boards, black fender flares and black rims.

Later, a man entered the business and stole several packs of cigarettes, deputies said. Investigators don't know if the two thefts are connected.

Anyone with information is asked to call Deputy Garrett Olson at 503-983-5033.

-- Tony Hernandez

thernandez@oregonian.com

503-294-5928

@tonyhreports
SEATTLE -- A federal judge upheld a decision not to release a Mexican man arrested near Seattle, despite his participation in a program designed to protect those brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

Daniel Ramirez Medina

In the decision Friday, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said "many questions remain regarding the appropriateness of the government's conduct" in the arrest of 24-year-old Daniel Ramirez Medina. But the judge said he should challenge his detention in immigration court, a separate legal system run by the U.S. Justice Department.

The order upheld a previous decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Donohue.

Immigration agents arrested Ramirez Feb. 10 at a suburban apartment complex where they had gone to arrest his father, a previously deported felon. Agents said Ramirez acknowledged affiliating with gangs.

Ramirez, who is being held at a federal detention center in Tacoma, denies the claims. He has no criminal record and twice passed background checks to participate in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows people brought to the U.S. illegally as children to stay in the country and work.

Federal authorities said the arrest of Ramirez was routine.

However, it was one of several arrests that have left immigration activists fearing an erosion of protections under the DACA program.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Portland on Sunday arrested Francisco J. Rodriguez Dominguez, a DACA participant who was brought to the U.S. from Morelia, in Mexico's Michoacan state, at age 5.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon said in a written statement that last December, he entered a diversion program following a drunken driving arrest, and that he had attended all his court dates and required meetings.

"Despite Francisco's best efforts to make good on his mistake, ICE has taken the position that even a misdemeanor DUI eligible for diversion is enough to end DACA status," Andrea Williams, executive director of Causa Oregon, an Oregon immigrant rights organization, said in the statement. "This policy is tearing apart his family, our communities, and does nothing to keep us safer."

The federal agency did not immediately return an email seeking comment Monday.

About 750,000 immigrants have enrolled in the program since President Barack Obama instituted it in 2012.

Ramirez's lawyers have sought to keep his case out of federal immigration court, which they say is ill-equipped to handle his claims that his arrest violated his constitutional rights to due process and to be free from unreasonable seizure.

They have not challenged the deportation proceedings initiated by the government but have sought his release on constitutional grounds.

The judge noted that the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to detain people who are in the U.S. illegally during their deportation proceedings.

That means Ramirez would not be entitled to release even if the court found his rights were violated, Martinez said.

"He has placed himself in the tenuous position of arguing that his arrest and detention have violated his constitutional rights, while also asserting that he is not challenging the revocation of his DACA status or 'anything that has to do with the removal proceedings themselves,'" Martinez wrote.

The judge added that the case is unusual and he had sympathy for Ramirez's situation.

Ramirez' lawyers are disappointed that he remains in custody and are trying to determine how to win his release, Manny Rivera, a spokesman for the lawyers, said Monday.

Ramirez is originally from the city of La Paz in Mexico's Baja California Sur state.

-- The Associated Press
Logan Kitzhaber, 19, left a Lincoln County courtroom Monday morning to begin serving a seven-day jail sentence on charges stemming from a July 4th holiday accident that left one man seriously injured.

As part of the plea agreement, Kitzhaber, the son of former Gov. John Kitzhaber, pleaded guilty to assault in the third degree, assault in the fourth degree and driving under the influence of intoxicants. The state agreed to dismiss several other charges, including two additional counts of assault, reckless driving and two counts of recklessly endangering another person.

In addition to time served in the Lincoln County Jail, Kitzhaber faces five years of supervised probation, the loss of his driving privileges for five years, and drug and alcohol in-patient and out-patient rehabilitation treatment.

The intensive drug rehabilitation treatment Kitzhaber has already begun "leads me to believe you know this not going to be something you can undo overnight," said Circuit Court Judge Sheryl Bachart, noting that the defendant was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident but prescription drugs. "You may battle this addiction your whole life."

The DUII charge carries a mandatory two-day jail sentence, but Bachart imposed the longer sentence in hopes it will impress on Kitzhaber that he would never want to spend seven years in prison, the mandatory minimum for a vehicular manslaughter charge, she said. She also stipulated that he is not eligible for early release.

The accident occurred near Devils Lake Road when Kitzhaber, who was driving a 2008 Toyota Prius, attempted to pass another car and struck the side of a motorhome, flipping it on its side. Stanley Lyckman, 67, and Martha Lyckman, 63, of Port Angeles, Washington, were traveling in the 1988 motorhome.

In a statement read by Deputy District Attorney Kylie Andrisa, Martha Lyckman wrote of the long recovery her husband faced after the accident, which nearly cost him a leg.

The couple had embarked on the first extensive vacation of their lives when the accident occurred, Lyckman wrote. They had planned a summer of camping and hiking, but in an instant saw their joy turn to horror.

Stanley Lyckman spent a month in a Portland hospital. After his release, his injuries became infected and he had to return for another week, then developed a blood clot. At home, he was unable to walk, work or care for himself, and "despair took hold," she wrote.

"I worried that he would die," she wrote. "The past eight months have been about survival."

She also wrote of the financial burden it has caused and of her fear of driving since the accident. It remains unclear if Stanley Lyckman will be able to return to work.

Kitzhaber was flown to OHSU Hospital in Portland and released the next day. He had admitted drinking a beer at some point before embarking on the drive and said he smoked marijuana the night before, court records show.

Kitzhaber, appearing with defense attorney Ben Eder, told the court, "I am so very sorry ... I have learned how my actions can affect other people."

-- Lori Tobias

Special to The Oregonian/OregonLive
The European Commission on Monday granted conditional approval of the $130 billion merger between The Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont.

Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris announced plans for the companys merger with DuPont in December 2015. It would combine two of the biggest chemical companies in the country.

The combined company would be known as DowDuPont, which would then spin off into three separate, independent businesses within 18 to 24 months: Material Sciences, to stay headquartered in Midland, along with Agriculture and Specialty Products, to be based in Wilmington, Delaware.

Stockholders approved the merger in July 2016. The European Commission began its investigation around that time, but delayed a decision several times citing a need for more information from the companies.

The commission in a press release outlined three concerns during its review of the merger submitted by Dow and DuPont in original form:

1. The merger could deny Europeans the benefits of competition, specifically in the pesticides industry, and lead to higher prices for existing products or reduce choice.

2. The merger could reduce innovation for the future.

3. Both companies would have a larger share of the market for two petrochemical products, used, for example, to coat the surface of milk cartons or produce labels on plastic drink bottles.

Our job, as a competition authority, is to make sure a merger doesnt deny Europeans the benefits of competition. That is why we always look at what a merger would change  not just today but also tomorrow, the release states. We need to ensure that a merger does not lead to higher prices for existing products or reduce choice. But it is just as important to ensure that it does not reduce innovation for new and better products.

And in this case we had concerns in both of those areas.

The concerns meant we could not approve this merger in its original form.

We were only able to agree to it, because the companies offered to sell off a significant part of their business, to preserve effective competition, according to the release.

The companies agreed to sell all of DuPonts pesticides in the concerned areas.

Those products account for about half of the sales of DuPonts pesticide business. The sale includes all the assets you need to make and sell those products. This means that whoever buys those assets will be able to take DuPonts place on the market immediately, the release states.

Dow announced in February that it had reached an agreement to sell its global copolymer business to gain merger approval. Dow will sell two facilities in Spain and the U.S., and DuPont will sell its global research and development organization, news outlets reported.

This regulatory milestone is a significant step toward closing the merger transaction, Dow said in a statement. Longer term, the intended three-way split is expected to unlock even greater value for shareholders and customers and more opportunity for employees as each company will be a leader in attractive segments where global challenges are driving demand for their distinctive offerings.

Regulators worldwide continue to review the merger.

Howard Ungerleider, Dows chief financial officer, told the Daily News in late January that Dow has spent a lot of time in constructive dialogues with regulatory agencies in the U.S., Europe, Brazil and China, and that the company is confident in its ability to close the deal by the first half of this year.

Liveris shares that confidence.

Whatever it took to get from there to that finish line  fine. Im a big boy. We know how to get this done, Liveris said during a CNBC interview ( http://cnb.cx/2nKAuzZ ) last week at the China Development Forum 2017. This deal is phenomenal. When its day one I can look at it and say thats all memory, faded memory.
BLOOMINGTON  A Bloomington man seriously injured when his motorcycle collided with a school bus carrying Unit 5 students has filed a lawsuit against First Student and the bus driver, who he accuses of violating Illinois traffic laws.

Christopher Beck, 34, was southbound on Bunn Street on Oct. 17 when his motorcycle struck the front driver's side of the bus as it was making a right turn from Hazel Street.

The bus driver and students were not hurt in the 6:49 a.m. accident at the unmarked intersection on the city's southeast side.

The civil action seeks more than $50,000 from the First Student, the bus company that transports students under a contract with Unit 5, and the bus driver, Kellee Travis-Hughes, who the lawsuit contends had a legal obligation to yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic as she made the right turn at the intersection that does not have any stop signs.

A video of the crash, posted on pantagraph.com, was obtained by The Pantagraph via a Freedom of Information request filed with Unit 5.

Beck's lawyer, Terry Dodds, argues that state law requires a driver to yield when turning right at a "T" intersection onto a "preferential" or major thoroughfare. At the intersection where the accident occurred, Bunn Street is considered the main traffic artery, according to Dodds.

But after the crash, Beck was given tickets for reckless driving and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

The bus driver was not cited by McLean County Sheriff's deputies. Police reports indicate that witnesses told an officer the motorcycle driver's speed may have been a factor in the crash.

In the past 10 years, Beck has been cited for 13 traffic violations, including five speeding tickets, according to McLean County records.

As the employer of the driver, First Student is liable for her alleged negligence, claims the lawsuit filed in McLean County Circuit Court.

Chris Kemper, a spokesman for the Ohio bus firm, said Monday that "it's important to point out that as a result of the incident, the motorcyclist was cited by the police for high speed and unsafe driving. Our driver was not cited." The bus driver could not be reached for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Beck suffered injuries to his head, skull and back and numerous other parts of his body that were "bruised, contused, broken, ruptured, fractured, twisted, sprained, mashed, lacerated, abraded or otherwise injured."

Beck also suffers from emotional distress due to his injuries, said the lawsuit.

A Sept. 8 case management hearing is scheduled.
BLOOMINGTON  The City Council is expected Monday to award separate contracts to drill test wells at Lake Bloomington to connect to a possible new water supply and to repair the Linden Street bridge.

A public hearing on the city's proposed $213.8 million budget also will be conducted when the council meets in a regular voting session at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The council will consider awarding a $1.85 million contract to Layne Christensen Co. for the St. Peter Aquifer Test Wells 1 and 2 Project.

The Aurora-based contractor was the only bidder.

There were a couple of other companies interested in the project, but they did not have drilling rigs large enough to reach the depth to complete the wells, said Bloomington Water Director Bob Yehl.

"We estimate that the St. Peter Aquifer in the Lake Bloomington area is about 1,600 feet all the way down to 2,100 feet deep, meaning we expect to hit the top of the aquifer about 1,600 feet down and then it's around 500 feet in depth below that that we'll end our drilling," said Yehl.

Construction of the first test well is estimated to start in May or early summer on city-owned property next to the city's water treatment facility at the lake.

"We'll do one well to start with. We'll do some testing to determine the capacity and water quality," said Yehl. "That will lead us to know if we're going to do the second (well) or not proceed any further."

The $1.85 million contract includes the cost for drilling both wells, "but depending on how many feet of drilling at different depths and the work that they actually perform, that governs how much money they are paid under the contract terms," he added.

The city has been trying to solve two longstanding water supply issues: reducing high nitrate levels in drinking water at its two reservoirs, Lake Bloomington and Evergreen Lake; and establishing a supplemental water supply for use during periods of drought.

The city, Normal and McLean County, have talked on and off about tapping into the Mahomet Aquifer near the border of McLean and Tazewell counties, but the St. Peter Aquifer could be a cheaper alternative for Bloomington because it is closer to city, Yehl said.

The St. Peter Aquifer is part of a groundwater system that includes Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Other nearby communities that tap into the aquifer include Chenoa and Minonk.

The council also will consider accepting Stark Excavating Inc.'s bid of $1.48 million, which the city staff is recommending because it was the lowest of four bids submitted, to complete improvements for the Linden Street bridge over Sugar Creek.

Traffic is currently limited to the outer lanes of the four-lane bridge because of the deterioration of the deck superstructure, which is being replaced.

The city had estimated the project to cost $1.8 million. Construction is slated to begin in the spring and be completed before the end of the year.

In May 2015, the council approved expanding the bridge's span to accommodate a future Constitution Trail bicycle underpass along Sugar Creek.

There are currently no plans for the trail to be constructed, but the bridge is being widened to accommodate it in the future, said Bloomington Public Works Director Jim Karch.

The budget to be discussed at the hearing includes a 3 percent spending increase  about $6.2 million  that would be covered in part by drawing from various funds that have accumulated reserves, city officials said. The proposed budget includes $24 million in infrastructure spending and other capital projects, including $5 million for street resurfacing, according to Finance Director Patti-Lynn Silva.

The proposed $24 million expenditure represents the first year of projects to be completed under the city's proposed five-year capital improvements plan, according to City Manager David Hales. The council and city staff are still developing the list of projects to be included.

The general fund, which is the city's main operating fund and makes up 49 percent of the budget, is expected to increase less than 1 percent  $635,391  to $105.4 million.
We want to strengthen transatlantic relations as well as relations between Israel and Central Europe, head of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in Europe Simone Rodan-Benzaquen has told PAP.

On Monday AJC opened its office in the seat of Warsaw's POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. The 5th AJC office in Europe, it will also service the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia and Hungary.

Our goal was to reach the region, said Rodan-Benzaquen. We have chosen Poland as for obvious reasons it is in the centre of the region. It was also a central place for Judaism in the world, but also for American Jews who may return in Poland to the roots of Judaism, Rodan-Benzaquen told PAP explaining why AJC decided to locate its bureau in Warsaw.

AJC CEO David Harris pointed out that often times it quizzed many observers to see Jewish people developing much closer relations with Germany than with Poland. Remembering Jan Karski he suggested it was a good time to improve those relations.

In a special letter marking the opening of the office President Andrzej Duda wrote that Poland was pleased to welcome the organisation on Polish soil.

"I am glad to see that you chose the Polish capital for the place from which your activity will embrace the whole region", Duda wrote. He added that AJC's settlement in Poland coincided with the stationing of NATO troops in the country, and called the fact "symbolic" in light of AJC's onetime support of Poland's NATO membership.

US Ambassador in Poland Paul W. Jones called the AJC office in Warsaw another important symbol of the rebirth of Jewish culture in Poland and a symbol of Polish-US relations.

Israeli Ambassador Anna Azari said the AJC Warsaw office was "a feast for Poland, the US, Israel, and me personally".

The American Jewish Committee was founded in 1906 to protect the rights of Jews outside the US. The organisation's main seat is New York. (PAP)

mb/
Provocative Chinese artist Ai Weiwei announced one of his most ambitious artworks to date: "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors," an installation that will see the artist build more than 100 fences throughout New York City.

In partnership with the Public Art Fund, which commissioned the project to celebrate its 40th anniversary, Ai will install fences throughout the city's boroughs as a comment on the "retreat from the essential attitude of openness" he has witnessed in American politics this year. The title is also a reference to the classic Robert Frost poem Mending Wall.

"When the Berlin Wall fell, there were 11 countries with border fences and walls," Ai told the New York Times. "By 2016, that number had increased to 70. We are witnessing a rise in nationalism, an increase in the closure of borders, and an exclusionary attitude towards migrants and refugees, the victims of war and the casualties of globalization."

Locations for fences will include the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, the Cooper Union building and Doris C. Freedman Plaza in Manhattan.

"Ai Weiwei pours his heart and soul into art that asks big questions and is not constrained by artistic and social traditions," Mayor De Blasio's wife Chirlane McCray said in a statement. "He challenges us to think about the function and rationale for a common barrier. Given that the immigrant experience is at the core of what binds us as New Yorkers, the exhibition compels us to question the rhetoric and policies that seek to divide us."

The installation is set to be completed on October 12th of this year.

[h/t NYT]

Splash image via Ai Weiwei Studio
Reports have emerged that North Carolina's bathroom bill, which blocks the anti-discrimination law currently in place to protect LGBTQ rights in restrooms, is costing the state billions of dollars.

The Associated Press has estimated North Carolina will lose $3.76 million over the next 12 years after accessing public records and interviewing state officials. The AP notes companies are referencing the House Bill 2 (the one year-old prohibiting people from using public bathrooms if their identified gender is not the same as that recorded on their birth certificate) as a reason for relocation from North Carolina and tourism is also down as a result.

Many celebrities and large corporations have boycotted the state after the House Bill 2 was signed. Demi Lovato, Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam have all canceled their North Carolina shows and PayPal as well as Deutsche Bank have refrained from expanding their operations to the state.

Apparently 2,900 jobs and $196 million in revenue from conventions, concerts and sporting events has alreadly been lost because of the discriminatory law and allegedly many more companies will take measures to avoid any North Carolina controversy. The effect on state tourism has also been severe, with Durham Convention & Vistors Bureau CEO Shelly Green likening North Carolina to a "dumpster fire" that "nobody wants to go near."

Small towns are said to have been feeling the pinch the hardest, but now bigger North Carolinian cities are also beginning to experience the economic impact of the bill.



[h/t Jezebel]

Image via Flickr


On Friday, U.S. equity markets faltered in the wake of a failed attempt by the Trump administration to push through a new healthcare law. Meanwhile, early private estimates showed that economic growth was nearing a six-month low. This is in keeping with what is becoming something of a trend -- a soft GDP reading for the years first quarter.

Markets across Europe also felt the impact of events across the pond. However, in sharp contrast, estimates for the regions economic growth closed in on its highest level in six years. Given that domestic markets could face uncertainty in the wake of Trumps failure to push through crucial policy changes, investing in select European stocks looks like a prudent option at this point.

Eurozone Growth Nears 6-Year High

The latest reading of IHS Markits Flash PMI, considered to be an important indicator of the regions economic prospects, closed in on its highest level in six years for the month of March. The metric increased from Februarys reading of 56.0 to 56.7, the highest level experienced since Apr 2011. In doing so, it also exceeded most analyst estimates.

Additionally, flash readings for Germany and France, two of the regions largest economies also exceeded estimates to hit near-six-year peaks. According to IHS Markits chief business economist, this reading implies that first quarter GDP has increased by 0.6% on a quarterly basis. Taken together, these would be the highest readings witnessed since 2011s first quarter.

In contrast, Marchs IHS Markit flash reading for the U.S. was disappointing. The metric declined from last months reading of 54.2 to 53.4, substantially lower than economists estimates of 54.8.

Could Upcoming Elections Spoil the Party?

Other indicators of economic growth are also increasing, which lends weight to the argument that the regions economy is on a firm footing. An index of factory activity increased from 55.4 to 56.2 in March. Additionally, a key services index increased from 55.5 to 56.5. Each of these indicators are now at their highest levels in nearly six years and significantly above 50, which indicates expansion is taking place.

Story continues

However, the region now faces crucial political challenges in the form of upcoming elections in major member countries. The rise of ultra-nationalistic sentiment is being viewed by many commentators as a major threat to the regions economic prosperity.

But are these fears being overstated? In the Netherlands, the ruling Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) won the recent parliamentary election by securing 33 seats in the House of Representatives. The VVDs closest competitor, the Party of Freedom (PVV), secured around 20 seats in comparison. This result boosted sentiment, as PPV leader Geert Wilders had called for a Dutch referendum on the question of exiting the EU.

Meanwhile a recent poll in France shows that former banker and economy minister Emmanuel Macron is leading the presidential race with 29% votes. He is now well ahead of his immediate rival, National Front party leader Marine Le Pen, who has 19% of the votes. With voter sentiment moving toward Macron ahead of the much-awaited French presidential election starting on April 23, expectations of lower corporate and housing taxes are rising. Moreover, fears of Frances exit from the EU have subdued with Le Pens victory appearing unlikely. (Read: 3 Mutual Funds to Buy on Europe Elections & Economic Growth)

Our Choices

Fresh economic indicators provide conclusive evidence that the Eurozones economic situation has improved significantly. Also, the political situation is not as worrying as it seems at first glance and is unlikely to impede near-term growth. In contrast, the failure to push through a new healthcare law has led to questions about whether the new U.S. administration will be able to implement its economic agenda.

Adding European stocks to your portfolio looks like a smart option at this point. However, picking winning stocks may prove to be difficult.

This is where our VGM score comes in. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three scores. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners. However, it is important to keep in mind that each Style Score will carry a different weight while arriving at a VGM score.

ArcelorMittal MT is a Luxembourg-based steel and mining company.

ArcelorMittal has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a VGM Score of A. The company has expected earnings growth of 59.9% for the current year. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 2.5% over the last 30 days. The stock has returned 32.3% over the last six months, outperforming the Zacks Steel - Producers sector, which has gained 26.3% over the same period.

Telefonica S.A. TEF is a Madrid, Spain-based provider of fixed-line telephone services, wireless communications, Internet access, video and data transmission services.

Telefonica has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of A. The forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio for the current financial year (F1) is 13.50, lower than the industry average of 15.01. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 10.6% over the last 30 days. The stock has returned 7.1% over the last six months, outperforming the Zacks Diversified Communication Services sector, which has lost 3.1% over the same period.

Unilever N.V. UN is a Netherlands-based consumer products company.

Unilever has a VGM Score of B. The company has expected earnings growth of 7.9% for the current year. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 5.4% over the last 30 days. The stock has returned 8.1% over the last six months, outperforming the Zacks Soap And Cleaning Materials sector, which has gained 2.9% over the same period. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Telecom Italia S.p.A. TI is engaged principally in the communication sector and operates mainly in Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and South America. The company is based in Rome, Italy.

Telecom Italia has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a VGM Score of B. The company has expected earnings growth of 18% for the current year. The stock has a P/E (F1) of 9.11, lower than the industry average of 15.01. The stock has returned 6.3% over the last six months, outperforming the Zacks Diversified Communication Services sector, which has lost 3.1% over the same period.

Volkswagen AG VLKAY is a Wolfsburg, Germany-based automobile manufacturer.

Volkswagen has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of B. The company has expected earnings growth of 9% for the current year. The stock has a P/E (F1) of 8.05, lower than the industry average of 8.96. The stock has returned 5.6% over the last six months, outperforming the Zacks Automotive - Foreign sector, which has lost 3% over the same period.

Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017

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Who wouldn't? Last year's market-beating Top 10 portfolio produced 5 double-digit winners. For example, oil and natural gas giant Pioneer Natural Resources and First Republic Bank racked up stellar gains of +44.9% and +44.3% respectively. Now a brand-new list for 2017 has been hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. See the 2017 Top 10 right now>>



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After American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy revealed that the seventh season of his hit show would be based on the last presidential election (quite fitting), Sarah Paulson told the Hollywood Reporter that she'd like to take a crack at playing The Don.

Paulson, who recently won an Emmy for playing Marcia Clark in Ryan Murphy's other brilliant project, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, said, "I'd like to play Donald Trump. Why not? That's an acting challenge to be sure."

Murphy said in a February interview that it was a possibility the president would be a character in the new series, but that he might be a minor one.

"American Horror Story is going to be about the election that we just went through," Murphy told reporters. "And what I'm interested in doing is not just the obvious, single-minded point of view but rather express all sides of that equation. And then all of the stuff that I'm developing now is going to be about illuminating and highlighting people who don't have a voice in our culture -- people who are ignored by the current administration and who are afraid and feel terrorized that their lives are going to be taken away."

Paulson praised Murphy's innovative style and said the election-themed season would likely be more metaphorical than literal.

"Ryan has a very unique perspective on everything. Is there anything that he has put out into the world that hasn't been a sort of unique or inventive way to look at something that maybe some could say has been done before? He reinvents everything," Paulson said. "Whatever the angle he's going to take, it will be unique, which will make it new, which will make us interested and make our eyes and ears open probably in a way that we hadn't thought about."

Given the president's reaction to comedienne Melissa McCarthy's instantly iconic performance as Trump's hapless gum-swallowing press secretary Sean Spicer on SNL, we can only imagine how the image of a celebrated actress and LGBTQ icon playing himself would go over.

[h/t Hollywood Reporter]








Longtime buds Kendall Jenner and LOVE magazine have reunited again for another damn saucy vid, this time with the young model imitating forever queen of our hearts Marilyn Monroe.

Dressed in lingerie, pearls and of course, a diamond tiara, for a sweet two mins, Kendall lip syncs to Marilyn clips and shimmies around for a sweet two mins. It's pure magic.

The video comes as part of a larger shoot Kendall did for LOVE, throughout which she also channels the 50s siren. Kendall has already featured on two covers for the British magazine, as well as shooting multiple starlets for the publication.

See the video below.




United Airlines barred two teenage girls from boarding a flight from Denver to Minneapolis. The airline did not allow them because they wore leggings, the reason why the company received backlash and criticisms from many.

Many social media users took to Twitter to express their sentiments over the action of United Airlines. They said what the company did was wrong but the airline's spokesman, Jonathan Guerin, said the girls traveled under an employee travel pass, which allows relatives of employees to travel privileges not offered to ticketed passengers.

Due to the fact that they traveled under such pass, they had to follow a certain dress code. Under such dress code, travelers could not wear spandex pants. The girls agreed to change into clothing allowed by the airlines and flew on a later flight, NBC4i reported.

Ticketed passengers do not have to fly with the same dress code as those flying under employee travel pass. Ticketed passengers can wear leggings.

Some celebrities took to Twitter to comment on the incident. Patricia Arquette and Chrissy Teigen wrote different comments. Arquette questioned United Airlines why they did not allow the teenager girls to wear leggings on their first flight. Arquette added, "Who is your gate agent policing girls clothing? Was there something's strange about all these girls leggings? Do U understand U have just made at least half UR customers very unhappy?"

Teigen, on the other hand, said she flew on United Airlines in the past with no pants on as she wore a top as a dress. She said next time she has a flight on the airlines, she will wear only jeans and a scarf, E! News shared.

Many asked United Airlines to release the guidelines regarding the stricter dress code for those flying under employee travel pass but the company declined, saying it is an internal matter and cannot be made available to the public now. The identity of the teens involved remained unknown.
An act of kindness led to a stranger being one step closer to her dream of becoming a nurse. A man helped a female Popeye's employee to go back to school by raising funds for her online.

The man, identified as Don Carter from Kansas City in Missouri, waited for his dinner at the drive-thru window of the fast food. He then struck a conversation with the woman manning the window. The conversation suddenly touched on the subject of the Popeye's employee telling Carter she wanted to earn a degree.

Carter recounted, "I said, 'Oh, go back to school for what? 'Tbe a nurse,' [she said]. And I was like, 'What kind of nurse?' And she said 'It doesn't even matter.'" The man said he saw a spark and the potential in the employee. He then drove home and said while he ate his dinner, he could not stop thinking about the female employee, who's also from Kansas City, Missouri, and how he can help her.

The man did some research on the matter and found a certified nurse assistant license cost $1,500. Carter said he thought that was possible because he had more than 1,300 friends. He created a GoFundMe page for his project and asked 300 of his friends to donate $5 each, Cliq 2 Houston reported.

He then woke up the next morning and saw the donations surpassed the $1,500 goal. He raised more than $3,785 in total. Carter said a person taking the risk of doing something good for somebody else is where life has its joy. He added if people started to treat each other that way it would be a better place to live in, NBC4i shared.

Carter said the employee has no idea about the funding. He will tell her about it soon but he did not reveal any of his plans yet.
A North Carolina father was reportedly the suspect of the killings of his two daughters, one of whom is a newborn. Police arrested the man and charged him over the weekend.

Reports claimed the man, 30-year-old Tillman Freeman III, stabbed his daughters to death. He drove off with them a day earlier before the killings. Police charged him with two counts of first-degree murder.

The victims, four-day-old Genesis Freeman and two-year-old Serenity Freeman, were with their father before the killings. Police found their bodies at around 2 a.m. on Saturday inside a vehicle in the woods at Raeford and Aberdeen, Hoke County Sheriff Hubert Peterkin confirmed. He added the suspect stabbed the two kids multiple times with a hunting or a survivalist-type knife, NBC Los Angeles shared.

Before Freeman took his kids, he and his wife had a domestic dispute. Peterkin noted Freeman accused his wife of having an affair. Freeman's wife, who remained unidentified, was at a local hospital when he drove off with their kids but the police did not say why she was at a local hospital.

Police arrested Freeman on Friday after employees at a doctor's office said a suspicious-looking man stood in front of their building. Initially, they charged him only with child abuse and child endangerment when he did not say where his kids were. After authorities took him in, he told investigators during the interview he might have harmed his kids, ABC 7 reported.

The relatives of the husband and wife claimed Freeman is an abuser but they did not elaborate. The mother of the kids reportedly tried to take her own life after news broke about the death of her daughters. One of the relatives also said Freeman should suffer as much as his children suffered.

Freeman will appear in court this Monday. What do you think about the killings? Let us know your thoughts below.
Patently Apple posted a report in mid-February titled "Samsung Backtracks and is Reportedly Planning to Sell Refurbished Note 7 Smartphones in Q3." After the Note 7 disaster Samsung debated back and forth furiously in November as to whether they should refurbish their recalled units or scrap them. Early on the latter move was agreed upon, but another round of meetings weeks later had them reverse course. Today Reuters catches up that news.

Reuters reports that "Analysis from Samsung and independent researchers found no other problems in the Note 7 devices except the batteries, raising speculation that Samsung will recoup some of its losses by selling refurbished Note 7s. The company estimated a $5.5 billion profit hit over three quarters from the Note 7's troubles.

Samsung, which had sold 3.06 million Note 7s to consumers before taking the phones off the market, had not previously said what it plans to do with the recovered phones. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters in January that it was considering the possibility of selling refurbished versions of the device or reusing some parts from the recalled phones.

"Regarding the Galaxy Note 7 devices as refurbished phones or rental phones, applicability is dependent upon consultations with regulatory authorities and carriers as well as due consideration of local demand," Samsung said in a statement, adding the firm will pick the markets and release dates for refurbished Note 7s accordingly." The Reuters report didn't clarify as to when the refurbished Note 7's would be coming to market.

The decision to sell refurbished Note 7 devices could hurt Note 8 product sales later this year if sold in their top markets. However, our original report noted that Samsung would consider selling refurbished Note 7's in emerging markets such as Africa which could expand market share but not hurt their established markets. Samsung fans in the U.S. and Europe are likely to be out of luck, as Samsung wants you to buy the Note 8 at full price.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
Iran Denies It Harassed U.S. Warship Flotilla In Persian Gulf

03/27/17

Source: RFE/RL

Iran has denied claims by the United States that Iranian fast-attack boats were "harassing" warships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.





View of Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz



Iranian state news agency IRNA on March 25 quoted Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, as saying U.S. claims were based on false reports or "other intentions."



He said Washington would be responsible for any clashes in the key Persian Gulf oil shipping route and said U.S. forces "should change their behavior."



Nearly a third of the world's oil trade by sea passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been the scene of previous confrontations between the United States and Iran.







U.S. Navy commanders had accused Iran of harassing warships in the strait, warning it was jeopardizing international navigation and could lead to miscalculations and possible conflict.



Navy commanders said U.S. aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush on March 21 had confronted two groups of Iranian Navy fast-attack boats as it led a five-vessel flotilla through the Strait.



U.S. commanders said the carrier sent helicopter gunships to hover over the Iranian boats, but no shots were fired.



"What I don't like about that is they were in the middle of international transit waters...We had a right to be there as we were exercising freedom of navigation on our way into the Arabian Gulf," Rear Admiral Kenneth Whitesell told reports aboard the carrier.



It was the first time a U.S. carrier entered the Strait since President Donald Trump took office vowing to take a tougher U.S. stance against Iran.

Based on reporting by Reuters and IRNA
Iran's Supreme Leader Takes Fresh Shot At Gender Equality

03/27/17

By Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL

Designating women as goods & means of pleasure in western world, most probably, is among Zionists' plots to destroy human community.  Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) March 19, 2017

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is no fan of gender equality, which he routinely decries as a Western concept that damages women and distracts them from their vital roles as wives and mothers.

And again this week, at a speech on March 19 marking the birth of the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, Fatima Zahra, Khamenei doubled down, suggesting that Westerners themselves are having second thoughts.

"Today, Western thinkers and those who pursue issues such as gender equality regret the corruption that it has brought about," said the man who has the final say in religious and political matters in a country of 83 million people.

He even blasted gender equality as a "Zionist plot" aimed at corrupting women's role in society.

"Making women a commodity and an object of gratification in the Western world is most likely among the Zionist plots aiming to destroy society," Khamenei was also quoted as saying.

Women in Iran are denied equal rights before the law in divorce, child custody, inheritance, and other areas. A woman's testimony in court is considered to be half the value of a man's. Women need the permission of their father or husband to travel. And women are forced to cover their hair and body.

There are rare reports of women being sentenced to death by stoning, although it is unclear how many such sentences are carried out under Iran's opaque justice system.

Khamenei suggested that Western views of women used to be "more decent," "more prudent," and "more suitable" with "the nature of men and women."

"When you look at the literature in European countries in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was absolutely different from the 20th century," Khamenei said. He added that "it is obvious that there has been political work from the Zionist and the colonial system."

Khamenei went on to say that Iran's overwhelmingly male, clerically dominated establishment does not aim to keep women at home. Yet he added that, in his eyes, the roles of mother and wife are the most important a woman can play.

"The role a woman can play as a family member is in my view more important than all other roles that a woman can play," the Iranian leader said. "The question is whether a woman has the right to ruin her role as a mother and a wife because of all the good, interesting, and sweet [opportunities] that could be there for her outside the family environment."

Khamenei has said in the past that the effort to establish equality between men and women was "one of the biggest intellectual mistakes" of the Western world. "Why should a job that is masculine be given to a woman? What kind of honor is it for a woman to do a man's job?" he asked in a 2014 speech.





artwork by 12Petals Media Group



Iranian hard-liners routinely accuse women's rights champions of promoting "obsolete" feminist views and claim that such views and demands are anti-Islamic.

In December, the head of Iran's female Basij militia called the promotion of gender equality illegal and demanded that the country's powerful judiciary take action against people who speak out against gender discrimination.

Women's rights activists have been persecuted by the Iranian state through interrogation, arrest, and jail sentences. Many have been forced to leave the country.

Homa Hoodfar, a retired professor at Concordia University in Montreal known for her work on gender relations, was imprisoned in Iran last year for more than 100 days for what a state prosecutor called "dabbling in feminism and security matters."

Iran's lone Nobel laureate, lawyer and 2003 Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, now lives abroad following years of persecution for her work on human rights cases.

In a 2009 contribution to The Guardian, Ebadi noted that "despite the cultural, social and historical heritage of Iranian women, the Islamic republic has imposed discriminatory regulations against them."

She added, "The laws imposed on Iranian women are incompatible with their status and, consequently, the equality movement is very strong."



The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL




Net profit margin is a key metric for investors looking to garner maximum returns. The higher the net profit margin of a company, the better is its ability to convert revenues into profits.



Net Profit Margin = Net profit /Sales * 100.



In simple terms, net profit is the amount a company retains after deducting all costs, interest, depreciation, taxes and other expenses. In fact, net profit margin can turn out to be a potent point of reference to gauge the strength in a companys operations and cost-control measures.



Net margin helps investors assess the risks of investing in a company. Creditors also view it as a major factor in determining a companys ability to pay off debts.



Moreover, the strength in the metric not only attracts investors but also draws well-skilled employees who eventually add to the value of the business.



Moreover, a higher net profit margin as compared to peers lends a competitive edge.



Pros and Cons



Net profit margin helps investors gain clarity on a companys business model in terms of pricing policy, cost structure and manufacturing efficiency. Hence, a strong net profit margin is preferred by all classes of investors.



However, net profit margin as an investment criterion has its own share of pitfalls. The metric varies widely from industry to industry. While net income is a key metric for investment measurement in traditional industries, it is not that crucial for technology companies.



Moreover, the difference in accounting treatment of various items  especially non-cash expenses like depreciation and stock-based compensation  makes comparison a daunting task.



Further, for companies preferring to grow with debt instead of equity funding, higher interest expenses usually weigh on the net profit. In such cases, the measure is rendered ineffective for the analysis of a companys performance.



The Winning Strategy



A healthy net profit margin and solid EPS growth are the two most sought-after elements in a business model.



Apart from these, we have added a few other criteria to ensure maximum returns from this strategy.



Screening Parameters



Net Margin 12 months  Most Recent (%) greater than equal to 0: High net profit margin indicates solid profitability.



Percentage Change in EPS F(0)/(F-1) greater than equal to 0: It indicates earnings growth.



Average Broker Rating (1-5) equal to 1: A rating of #1 indicates brokers extreme bullishness on the prospects of the stock.



Zacks Rank equal to 1: In good markets or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) continue to outperform. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



VGM Score of A or B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of 'A' or 'B' when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy) offer the best upside potential.



Here are five of the nine stocks that qualified the screen:



Luxembourg-based Aperam APEMY is a renowned manufacturer and retailer of stainless, and specialty steel products. The stock has a VGM score of A. Moreover, 2017 earnings estimates increased by 5.7% to $3.88 per share over the last 60 days.



Notably, Aperams year-to-date return of 12.8% is better than the Zacks Steel industrys gain of 9.8%.



Hounslow, U.K.-based International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. ICAGY is a holding company for British Airways and Iberia. The stock has a VGM score of A. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 earnings has increased almost 6% to $1.77 per share over the last 60 days.



International Consolidated Airlines year-to-date return of 27.9% is higher than the Zacks Transportation-Airline industrys addition of 2.7%.



Los Angeles, CA-based j2 Global Inc. JCOM provides cloud-based communications and storage messaging services. The stock has a VGM score of B. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 2.46% in the trailing four quarters. Moreover, 2017 earnings estimate rose 8.1% to $5.59 per share over the last 60 days.



Notably, j2 Global gained 39.5% in the last one year, while the Zacks InternetSoftware industry increased 11.7%.



Chicago-based SP Plus Corporation SP provides professional parking, ground transportation, facility maintenance, security, and event logistics services to property owners and managers in all markets of the real estate industry. The stock has a VGM score of A. Last quarter, the company posted an average positive earnings surprise of 40.54%.



Moreover, 2017 earnings estimates increased 19.8% to $1.57 per share over the last 60 days. Notably, SP Plus one-year return of 43.2% is way better than the Zacks Consumer Services  Miscellaneous industrys decline of 14.4%.



Tokyo, Japan-based TDK Corporation TTDKY is a manufacturer and seller of electronic components. The stock has a VGM score of A. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 increased 12.7% to $11.18 per share over the last 60 days.

Story continues

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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks' portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.

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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
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Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan have introduced legislation to reform civil asset forfeiture, a practice by which law enforcement agencies seize the property and assets of individuals with minimal due process.

The practice has encouraged policing for profit, distorting the mission of police agencies toward revenue generation to the detriment of the property rights of Americans. Pauls and Walbergs bill should unite those concerned with upholding constitutional rights and justice more broadly.

The FAIR (Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration) Act, previously introduced by Paul in 2014, seeks to shore up the rights of Americans facing civil asset forfeiture proceedings and curb the perverse profit incentives which underline the practice.

The federal government has made it far too easy for government agencies to take and profit from the property of those who have not been convicted of a crime, said Paul. The FAIR Act will protect Americans Fifth Amendment rights from being infringed upon by ensuring that government agencies no longer profit from taking the property of U.S. citizens without due process.

Under current practices, federal agencies, often in partnership with state and local police departments, may seize a persons cash, home or vehicle simply upon the suspicion that such assets were connected to criminal activity. One need not even be charged or convicted of a crime to have personal assets permanently seized.

All the government needs to do is meet the relatively low standard of a preponderance of the evidence to prevail in court  while innocent owners have the burden of trying to prove their innocence and bearing the costs of legally opposing government authorities.

This has created a situation where the federal government has seized billions of dollars in assets under questionable circumstances. According to the Institute for Justice, from 2001 to 2014, the forfeiture funds of the Department of Justice and Treasury Department took in nearly $29 billion. This provides financial incentive to both federal agencies and state and local partners, who get a cut of the money through equitable sharing, to increasingly focus on cases with revenue-generating potential.

To ameliorate the litany of problems associated with civil asset forfeiture, the FAIR Act does a number of important things consistent with the values this nation was founded upon. Among other things, the FAIR Act removes the profit incentives involved by directing proceeds of federal civil asset forfeiture to the Treasurys General Fund to be used at the discretion of Congress, rather than federal agencies. Doing this also ends the practice of equitable sharing, thereby reducing the incentives of state and local law enforcement agencies to prioritize revenue-generation.

The current system disadvantages the innocent, who often lack the resources to take on the federal government. The FAIR Act seeks to restore the rights of innocent property owners, by requiring clear and convincing evidence of a persons guilt, rather than a mere preponderance of the evidence. The FAIR Act also provides indigent property owners counsel if they need it, no small issue considering the federal government has more than enough money and lawyers on hand to intimidate most Americans.

Civil asset forfeiture defies the very notion of limited, constitutionally restrained government. We encourage a bipartisan effort to rein in the abuses of civil asset forfeiture by working to pass the FAIR Act.
Twenty-four firefighters took about an hour and 15 minutes to contain a fire that broke out in a two-story home in Lake Elsinore Sunday, March 26.

The fire, reported 8:29 a.m. Sunday in the 33000 block of Tetterington Street, displaced an unspecified number of people, according to a Cal Fire/Riverside County fire news release.

The fire began in the basement of the dwelling and extended to the main living area, the news release states.

Fire officials called the American Red Cross to help the people who were displaced. No injuries were reported.
WASHINGTON  FBI Director James Comey has made public enough details about the bureau buying a tool to unlock an iPhone as part of a terrorism investigation that the agency should also release how much it cost, The Associated Press and two other news organizations said in court papers Monday.

The media companies said Comey has spoken at length and in detail about the FBIs purchase last year of a tool that enabled it to break into the work phone of Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the two shooters in the December 2015 San Bernardino, California, attack.

They told a judge that now that Comey has publicly offered a ballpark price that the FBI paid, and has spoken generally about the limitations of the tool, the bureau should be forced to provide the news organizations with the information they sought.

The AP, Vice Media LLC and Gannett, the parent company of USA Today, sued the FBI in September under the Freedom of Information Act, requesting details on how much the FBI paid, as well as the identity of the vendor.

While the FBI may have preferred that Comey not seek to justify the agencys purchase so publicly, by doing so he rendered the price subject to disclosure, lawyers for the media organizations said in the latest filing in the case.

The Justice Department in January provided some heavily redacted records from the transaction, but withheld critical details that the AP was seeking. The government argued that the information it withheld, if released, could be seized upon by hostile entities that could develop their own countermeasures and interfere with the FBIs intelligence gathering.

It also said in the court filing that disclosure would result in severe damage to the FBIs efforts to detect and apprehend violators of the United States national security and criminal laws through these very activities and methods.
The suspect and victim in a homicide that San Bernardino Police began investigating Sunday, March 26, have both been identified.

Julio Cesar Serrano, 42, showed up at a family members Los Angeles home about 1:40 p.m. and said that he had hurt his 45-year-old girlfriend, Martha Garcia, according to a news release from the San Bernardino Police Department.

The family member called Los Angeles Police, who notified San Bernardino authorities. When officers arrived at the trailer in the 1200 block of North Perris Street where Garcia was, they found her dead  clearly the victim of a homicide, the release said.

Officers believe the killing was triggered by a domestic violence incident, the release said.

At the time, Serrano was on parole for burglary and numerous prior arrests, the release said. He was wearing an ankle bracelet.

He was booked into the West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of murder, jail records show. Bail hasnt been made an option.
Importers and Exporters in Ghana have made a call on government to put in stringent measures at the ports to halt illegal fees charged by some port officials.



According to them, some port officials use unauthorized means to extort money from importers when clearing goods at the ports.



Government recently scrapped the one percent special import levy in the 2017 budget. This is among eight other taxes government has abolished.



In an interview with Citi Business News, Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, Samson Asaaki Awingobit said government should take immediate action to halt the illegal charges.



If Government has stated in the 2017 budget that some levies have been abolished and you go to the shipping line and there are certain charges termed as illegal charges then why did government decide to abolish certain taxes?, he asked.



If you compare the Ghanaian shipping charges with that of Nigeria and Togo you will first ask yourself what are these charges all about because if the central government is trying to reduce taxes and at the end of the day there is a mandatory deposit of 500 cedis because you are taking the shipping line container to go and deduct, then its a problem, he added.



Mr. Asaaki stated that that mandatory 500 cedis that is not refunded to an importer is illegal.



He appealed to government to do everything possible to enforce some of the tax cuts for the benefit of the economy.











Source: citi business news









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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(Adds OPEC compliance) LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Angola's state-run Sonangol has taken two cargoes out of its planned May exports in a move to boost its compliance with an OPEC deal to curb production, an oil trader familiar with Angolan loading plans said on Monday.

A revised loading programme showed the country's exports were now set at 1.61 million barrels per day (bpd) from 52 cargoes, down from 1.67 million bpd from 54 cargoes initially.

The source said the two cargo loadings removed and pushed into June were an end-month Dalia that was with Sonangol and a Cabinda that was set to load with ENI.

Under the deal with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other nations, Angola agreed to cut 78,000 bpd from a reference production level of 1.751 million bpd.

So far this year, Angola's production and exports have been well below the target but several fields are coming into production or ramping up, including Chevron's Mafumeira Sul and Eni's West Hub and East Hub projects.

Grade May cargoes BPD April cargoes BPD Cabinda 6 184,000 5 158,000 CLOV 5 161,000 6 190,000 Dalia 6 184,000 7 222,000 Girassol 4 129,000 4 133,000 Hungo 3 92,000 2 63,000 Kissanje 3 92,000 4 127,000 Mondo 2 61,000 2 63,000 Nemba 5 153,000 6 190,000 Pazflor 3 92,000 2 63,000 Plutonio 3 97,000 3 100,000 Saturno 6 184,000 5 158,000 Saxi 1 31,000 2 63,000 Sangos 2 61,000 2 63,000 Gimboa 1 31,000 0 0 Palanca 0 0 1 33,000 Olombendo 2 61,000 2 63,000 52 1,613,000 53 1,691,000 (Reporting by Libby George; editing by David Clarke)
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has indicated that the fastest way to resolve the issues of an economy that does not meet the needs of the people and of an alarming rate of unemployment lie in entrepreneurship, business and technology.



According to President Akufo-Addo, the country has not come to terms with the image of the entrepreneur in our country, adding that we seem unsure about the definition of what constitutes business.



Nonetheless, the President has noted that it is time to take entrepreneurship seriously, explaining that successful economies always depend on entrepreneurs running successful businesses.



President Akufo-Addo made this known when he delivered a speech at the International Conference on Entrepreneurship, Business and Technology (ICEBUT), organized by the Methodist University College Ghana, on Monday, March 27, 2017.



The President noted that it is in the interest of all stakeholders that those who set up ventures and take business risks are able to generate wealth, adding that this is the sector that must grow, for it is the sector that will provide the cure for our unemployment crisis.



It is for this reason that the President has assured that impediments, largely found in the public sector, which include petty corruption and excessive regulation, which demoralize businesses will be removed to ensure that the businesses grow.



The Asempa Budget, the President added, has shown that my government is serious about its part of the bargain and is committed to strengthening business and the private sector.



On the role of educational institutions, President Akufo-Addo noted that educational institutions would have to take a closer look at their curriculum content and the way they teach, and align it with present day realities, as the value of a university is measured by how easily its graduates find jobs.



The President also urged businesses to employ the use of technology in the running of their businesses as it formalizes their operations without much cost.



It is time to utilize them to the full, instead of the one-upmanship gadgets they tend to be currently. A smart phone can enable a market woman decide when the best time is to make the planned trip to the orange farm for her purchases, because she can see the state of the oranges from her home or office 200 kilometers away. That same smart phone would hold all the records of her previous transactions and enable her conduct her banking. The possibilities are endless and we have the opportunity to make rapid progress, with the aid of technology to create wealth, he said.



President Akufo-Addo also urged for the development of partnerships between industry and universities to ensure that the next generation of business leaders are appropriately trained. Our educational institutions need to know, at first hand, what is happening in industry and train their students accordingly. This is a fundamental imperative if we are to achieve best practice and create jobs. We ignore the teachings of two of the most powerful economies of our era, the German and the Chinese, to our cost.



To this end, President Akufo-Addo was glad to learn that the Methodist University College Ghana, through its Centre for Entrepreneurship Education, Research and Training (CEERT), has developed programmes aimed at developing skills for the business community, and creating entrepreneurial managers for corporate, as well as for individual businesses.



It is equally good to learn that the entrepreneurship training the University College offered national service personnel in the Brong Ahafo Region in 2014, as part of the Universitys social responsibility and extension services, is turning out to be a success.



I would want such a programme to be rolled out nationally to affect a greater number of service personnel. The new leadership of the National Service Scheme will be alerted to the potential of this programme, he said.





SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP, BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY (ICEBUT), 2017 ON MONDAY MARCH 27, 2017, AT THE MPLAZA HOTEL, ACCRA







I thank the Institute of Education & Entrepreneurship of the Methodist University College Ghana for the invitation to this conference.



I suspect it was an easy decision for the organizers to choose me as the person to do the formal opening. I can just hear the conversation at that meeting: lets ask President Akufo-Addo, he will have no choice but to accept this invitation. He talks passionately about entrepreneurship; he has announced Ghana is open for business; and he has appointed a Minister for Business Development, as well as a high powered Technology Minister. Then someone would have added, not a day goes by without this President saying something about the importance of the private sector. This is a conference tailor-made for him.



Well, need I say that it was an equally easy decision for me to accept your invitation? The two subjects of the economy and jobs dominated our recent elections. Indeed, they still dominate our every conversation and all our lives in Ghana today. No prizes, therefore, for guessing why I would be interested in a conference on entrepreneurship, business and technology.



I believe that we are all agreed now that we cannot continue on the business as usual path and hope to grow our economy to create the jobs we need. We must change the way our economy works, and we must change our attitudes to be able to grow the prosperous Ghana we all want. My team and I are of the firm belief that the fastest way to resolve these two interconnected problems of an economy that does not meet our needs and of an alarming rate of unemployment lies in the subject of your conference, that is entrepreneurship, business and technology.



Mr. Chairman, I do not preach any new gospel when I stress the importance of education, the importance of skills training, the importance of entrepreneurship, the importance of a credible legal framework within which businesses operate, and the importance of a change in attitude that enables our young people to take advantage of opportunities that arise within the economy.



I know I am in the midst of the already converted when it comes to emphasizing the need for education. The Methodist Church has a remarkable track record in the provision of education in our country. We have the Methodist Church to thank for some of the best second cycle institutions in Ghana, and I mention Mfantsipim School, Prempeh College, Wesley College and Wesley Girls High School as some of the more famous examples. I note that the Methodist University is already carving a distinctive niche within the ranks of tertiary institutions.



Mr Chairman, it is worth pointing out that, even though the primary focus of religion is the redemption of souls, the Christian churches have always emphasized the practical aspect of our lives as well, or at least they used to.



These days we are in danger of getting things out of balance and allowing our lives to be taken over completely by a narrow interpretation of religion. Hard work, cleanliness, respect for the law used to be important attributes of religiosity. Hard work, the preacher men used to tell us, paid dividends. We were urged to give unto Caesar, what was Caesars and to God, what was Gods. Miracles occurred, but they were not everyday occurrences. We were urged to work hard, and that was the basis of success.



Today, an increasing number of people seem to think that success in all fields of endeavor is dependent on miracles, and not hard work. We come to work and spend the first hour and more, not on the job we are paid to do, but on prayers; we go to all night prayers and come to work the next day tired and unfit for purpose. We take out a week for every funeral, and expect our businesses to thrive because we invoke the name of the Almighty.



Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am eternally grateful to the Almighty for his grace and favour that led to our winning the elections of December 7, but it would be unfair to discount the amount of very hard work that was put in by many, many people up and down the country. Doubtless, the fervent prayers we all sent up to the Almighty helped to deliver the results we so desired, but vigilance and dedication on the part of many unsung heroes counted a lot and should not be discounted. I mention this simply to make the point that there is the need to keep a proper balance at all times. As it says in Holy Scripture, A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.



Let me refer again to the Good Book, where it says, there is a time and place for everything. We cannot and should not continue to hide behind religiosity to indulge in the habits that have characterized our attitude to work. The churches and mosques have a critical role to play in the attitudinal change that I believe we need to build a new economy. This change starts at school, and with how our attitudes are tuned in the classroom towards the subjects we are taught, and the professions we are encouraged to pursue.



Mr Chairman, we have not come to terms about the image of the entrepreneur in our country. In much the same way, we seem unsure about the definition of what constitutes business.



It is not unusual to hear people say they are trying to do some business, whilst they look for a job. It is not unusual to hear some people say they are trying to do some farming, whilst they look for a job. Such a state of affairs and such a mindset cannot support a nation that wants to grow its economy and be prosperous.



The truth is that successful economies always depend on entrepreneurs running successful businesses. It is time to take entrepreneurship seriously, and there could not be a better forum to demonstrate this than at a conference such as this.



Mr Chairman, you have to ask and find answers to some difficult questions at this conference. How do we change the mindset of so many of us that have been conditioned only to look towards government as a source of employment? How do we change attitudes to accord the proper respect to farming and treat it as the business that it must be? How do we accord the respect that should be due the private sector and see it as the instrument of growth?



Something obviously went wrong when, within my lifetime, cocoa farmers went from being the rich and powerful people in our society, to being the poor and unappreciated. Something certainly went wrong when the most attractive job for our graduating classes from the universities is the customs. And it is a sign of how skewed our economy has become, when a customs official is able to build or purchase a house faster than a cocoa farmer. Indeed, while I am on that train of thought, why not bring the absurdity into much clearer focus? An official of COCOBOD is more likely to be richer and more respected than a cocoa farmer in this country, where cocoa still contributes the most significant part of our Gross Domestic Product.



Those, who take risks with their money and with their time and energies, have been neutered, and those, who opt for security of tenure now, have guaranteed riches as well. We have turned the economic orthodoxy upside down.



We, of course, need technocrats and public and government officials to run the bureaucracy. They should be well paid and the nation should be able to count on them to be honest and hardworking. We must have an efficient and competent civil service, public services as a whole, and the same would go for the legislature and the judiciary.



Those who work in these places should expect security of tenure. But they are not supposed to form the bulk of the workforce and that is not where the serious money is supposed to be made in this or any other country.



When the public service becomes attractive as a source of money making, then we must acknowledge to ourselves that we have things in the wrong order. It is in all our interests that those who set up ventures and take business risks are able to generate wealth. This is the sector that must grow, for it is the sector that will provide the cure for our unemployment crisis.



A business venture might employ three or twenty or four hundred people, but, if it flourishes, we can be sure that our aspirations for a prosperous Ghana are becoming a reality. Often, the public service has been an impediment, instead of a help to our would-be entrepreneurs. Petty corruption and excessive regulation weigh down and demoralize businesses. This administration is determined to remove such impediments and allow businesses to grow.



There is work to be done on all sides, if we are to achieve our goals; work by government, work by the educational institutions and work by the business community. I believe the recent budget has shown that my government is serious about its part of the bargain and is committed to strengthening business and the private sector.



The educational institutions would have to take a closer look at their curriculum content and the way they teach, and align it with present day realities. More and more these days across the globe, the value of a university is measured by how easily its graduates find jobs. This is a challenge that our own universities must face.



This is probably where technology comes in. There is no merit that I can see in persisting with old methods of doing things, when technology can ease the drudgery and tedium and allow time for innovation.



It also means that businesses can formalize their operations without much cost. The figures show that almost all adults in this country now have smart phones. It is time to utilize them to the full, instead of the one-upmanship gadgets they tend to be currently. A smart phone can enable a market woman decide when the best time is to make the planned trip to the orange farm for her purchases, because she can see the state of the oranges from her home or office 200 kilometers away. That same smart phone would hold all the records of her previous transactions and enable her conduct her banking. The possibilities are endless and we have the opportunity to make rapid progress, with the aid of technology to create wealth.



Mr. Chairman, it is also important to develop partnerships between industry and universities to ensure that the next generation of business leaders are appropriately trained. Our educational institutions need to know, at first hand, what is happening in industry and train their students accordingly. This is a fundamental imperative if we are to achieve best practice and create jobs. We ignore the teachings of two of the most powerful economies of our era, the German and the Chinese, to our cost.



I am glad to learn that the Methodist University College Ghana, through its Centre for Entrepreneurship Education, Research and Training (CEERT), has developed programmes aimed at developing skills for the business community, and creating entrepreneurial managers for corporate, as well as for individual businesses. It is equally good to learn that the entrepreneurship training the University College offered national service personnel in the Brong Ahafo Region in 2014, as part of the Universitys social responsibility and extension services, is turning out to be a success. I would want such a programme to be rolled out nationally to affect a greater number of service personnel. The new leadership of the National Service Scheme will be alerted to the potential of this programme.



Mr. Chairman, I look forward to the outcome of this conference and the policy proposals that would emerge from it. They should drive the development of businesses and promote opportunities for young people to venture into entrepreneurial endeavour in many different fields. I know that entrepreneurial talents abound within the youth of our country. They just need an appropriate framework for their talents to shine.



I thank you for your time and attention, and hope that your discussions will cover some of the issues I have raised. I look forward to receiving new ideas from this conference that will inspire government build an environment that is conducive for entrepreneurs, educational institutions and the business community.



I wish you fruitful deliberations and a successful conference.



It is now my pleasure to declare the first International Conference on Entrepreneurship, Business and Technology duly open.





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 appointment of Odeneho Nana Oppong, as Head of Transport at the Presidency has received massive endorsement by party supporters and associations in the Ashanti Region.



The former Regional Chairman of the Garages Association, who is also the founder of Nana Addo One Touch as well as Nana For President (NAFOP) has reportedly been appointed to take charge of transportation at the Jubilee House by His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo.



He will be responsible for all matters connected to transport and vehicles at the Presidency.



His appointment has however received massive applause from party bigwigs and associated groups who have described it as the step in the right direction.



Already, artisans and party supporters at Suame Magazine, where the appointee spent several years organizing and campaigning for the party, are in jubilant mood.



According to them, Nana Oppong's appointment is an indication that the President recognizes and rewards hardworking and loyalty.



Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the party, Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Chairman Wontumi, is also excited about the appointment.



He stated in an interview that NanaOppong's contribution towards the victory of the NPP was immeasurable, stressing that he is a perfect man for the position.



According to the NPP kingpin, Nana Oppong has the experience as someone who has worked several years in the transport industry, to effectively handle the position as the head of transport at the Presidency.

Source: modernghana









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 MAYOR of Accra, Mohammed Adjei Sowah has laid out his plans for addressing the perennial flooding within the metropolis, with a call on residents to desist from the act of dumping refuge into drains.



According to Mr. Adjei Sowah, residents of Accra should expect less flooding this year as the raining season sets in gradually, due to some major emergency dredging projects currently ongoing in some flood-prone areas of the city.



Mr. Adjei Sowah was addressing journalists when he embarked on an inspection tour of some drainage systems within the metropolis on Friday in the company of the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Ishmael Ashietey and some executives of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) as well as the National Disaster Management Organization.



A total of four drainage systems located at Kaneshie sub-metro, Sukura within the Ablekuma Central constituency, Osu, where dredging works are being carried out by Dredge Masters, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies, were inspected.



Dredge Masters was contracted recently by government to carry out emergency dredging of some drains in Accra.



Operations Manager of Dredge Masters, Sena Adiepena told DAILY GUIDE that a total of 22 drains are expected to be desilted within a period of about two months by Dredge Masters to prevent the recurrence of flooding as the raining season sets in.



The Mayor indicated that Once the desilting is going on we may have less floods but Ghanaians also should assure us that they will stop dumping refuge in the drains, they will also cover the sand in their communities so it will not run into the drains. So its a win-win situation. Once you help well also help you, he said.



In future, AMA will ensure the construction of proper drains that will be able to absorb the water that is generated in Accra in order to address the flood situation, according to him.



He disclosed that as part of my plans at the AMA, the Assembly is to consider alternative use of waste because oftentimes if the refuse collectors are unable to collect the waste, people then dump them into the drains.



Once we make waste to be something that generates cash also for individuals back home, I am sure that people will stop dumping them into the drains,



Commenting on the tour, the regional minister stated: It is a good exercise. This is exposing to us a lot of flaws in the drainage systems in the city. I believe when we get back, we will start talking to the AMA and other relevant authorities on how to look at these things once again.

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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Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh has instructed all Heads of Assisted Senior High Schools not to prevent any student from writing the ongoing WASSCE.



Hon. Opoku Prempeh ordered that no Headmaster/Headmistress is mandated to prevent the students from taking part in the examinations because they haven't paid school fees.



The practice of some heads of senior high schools (SHSs) collecting school fees for the second and the third terms from students preparing for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) still persists, contrary to the law.



Oftentimes a usual occurrence prior to and during the WASSCE, candidates are even sacked from the examination halls over unpaid school fees.



It is perhaps in this vein that the ministry asked school authorities to refrain from unauthorized means to collect fees from final year students



A statement signed by the Chief Director at the Ministry of Education, Enoch Cobbinah directed these Heads to "desist from collecting unapproved fees, particularly from Form Three students of the 2016/17 academic year".





Read full statement below:



PRESS RELEASE



PAYMENT OF FEES BY WASSCE FINAL YEAR STUDENTS



Following a dialogue between the Ghana Education Service and the National Executives of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), the Minister for Education has instructed all heads of schools NOT to prevent any student from writing the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) for non-payment of school fees.



The Minister directs that all heads of public senior high schools must desist from collecting unapproved fees, particularly from Form Three students of the 2016/17 academic year.



The Minister further directs that school heads must stick to the fees approved by the Ghana Education Service.



Parents and guardians must pay their wards' fees as approved by the GES.





Signed



Enoch Cobbinah



Chief Director

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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A Public interest Lawyer and Ghanas former High Commissioner to India, Sam Pee Yalley has dared the National Democratic Congress Allotey Jacobs to drop a purported bomb the latter claims is hanging around his chest.



The Central regional chairman of the NDC, Allotey Jacobs is reported to have said that there are lot of issues on his mind and that the party will collapse if he voiced them out.



According to Allotey Jacobs, the NDC in the last election had offended the partys supporters, many of whom, he said are angry and eager to vent their frustration about the partys defeat.



If I start talking, NDC will collapse. There is a bomb hanging on my chest, and if it falls, the party is doomed, Allotey Jacobs said in a radio interview.



Allotey Jacobs comment seems to have infuriated Sam Pee Yalley who wants the former to drop the said bomb or shut up forever.



Speaking Saturday on Radio Golds current affairs program, Alhaji and Alhaji, Sam Pee Yalley challenged Allotey Jacobs to pour out his frustrations.



Listen to Allotey Jacobs. What is he saying? He has bomb hanging on his chest. Let him release it. The NDC will not collapse, he stated.



He suggested that members of the NDC who are playing the blame game and pointing accusing fingers at each other could rather make lots of sense if they keep quiet.



He also bemoaned the situation whereby some leaders of the party have chosen to run to the media to vent their anger about the partys defeat.



He urged all aggrieved supporters to wait patiently for the Dr. Kwesi Botchway Committee to finish their work on possible causes of the NDCs unprecedented defeat in the 2016 presidential election.

Source: Radiogold905.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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Former Deputy Minister of Energy and Petroleum in the immediate past John Mahama-led administration, John Abdulai Jinapor says he is unaware of any committee tasked to probe the controversial AMERI Power Agreement.



A 17-member ministerial committee led by lawyer Philip Addison in their report published by The New Statesman" Newspaper concluded that the deal was not only grossly unfair to the interest of Ghana, but could also be considered as fraud.



Based on the observations of the Committee, it has recommended that Ameri Energy should be invited back to the negotiation table to rectify the anomalies in the agreement and for Government of Ghana to aim to claw back a substantial portion of the over US$150million commission.



In the event that Ameri Energy refuses to come to the negotiation table, the committee chairman recommends that the Government of Ghana should repudiate the Agreement on the grounds of fraud.



The Minister for Energy, Boakye Agyarko, inaugurated the 17-member Committee on February 01, 2017 to review, restructure and recommend areas for amendment of the BOOT Agreement.



However, John Abdulai Jinapor in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie disagrees with the committees report after describing it as inaccurate and political.



The paper that even published the report is affiliated to the NPP so you shouldnt be surprised because its a bit political and jaundiced. I am not aware of any committee and none of the committee members called me or my boss [Dr Kwabena Donkor] then for interrogations. I dont know where this report is coming from. Its inaccurate, he told host Kwesi Aboagye.





Below is The New Statement Newspaper publication



AMERI POWER DEAL FRAUDULENT - Addison committee calls for re-negotiation



A 17-member ministerial committee tasked to probe the controversial AMERI Power Agreement, questionably procured by the previous National Democratic Congress government through sole sourcing, has concluded that the deal was not only grossly unfair to the interest of Ghana, but could also be considered as fraud.



Based on the observations of the Committee, it has recommended that Ameri Energy should be invited back to the negotiation table to rectify the anomalies in the agreement and for Government of Ghana to aim to claw back a substantial portion of the over US$150million commission.

In the event that Ameri Energy refuses to come to the negotiation table, the committee, chaired by Philip Addisson, a private legal practitioner, recommends that the Government of Ghana should repudiate the Agreement on the grounds of fraud.



The Minister for Energy, Boakye Agyarko, inaugurated the 17-member Committee on February 01, 2017 to review, restructure and recommend areas for amendment of the BOOT Agreement.



The action was informed by issues raised by stakeholders and the citizenry in respect of the terms of the Agreement.



The Committee was tasked to re-examine the Agreement and make recommendations to the Minister and if need be, restructure the BOOT Agreement to ensure that the terms of the Agreement were in the best interest of Ghana.



The Committee reviewed the Agreement based on its technical, financial and legal merits/demerits and identified issues that should form the basis for re-negotiation with Ameri Energy.



It came to the notice of the Committee that the whole project was executed and financed by PPR, a Turkish registered company, at a price that was considerably lower than that agreed between the Government of Ghana and Ameri Energy, under the Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) Agreement.



Another significant recommendation of the Committee contained in its final report, a copy of which is in the possession of the Daily Statesman, is that henceforth no Power Purchasing Agreement should be entered into by any public utility unless it is as a result of a full competitive bidding process.



A revealing observation made by the committee is the fact that the Attorney Generals Department, then headed by Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, did not give a legal opinion on the deal.



No due diligence was carried out on Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Group LLC (Ameri Group), as well as Ameri Energy Power Equipment Trading LLC (Ameri Equipment). Consequently, Government has no information on the shareholders and directors on either company, the report said.



Moreover, the NDC government approved a wide exemption of taxes for Ameri and its third parties. Basically, Ameri and all its affiliates and sub-contractors and third parties are not liable to pay any form of tax whatsoever in the country.



In its failed bid to resolve the power crisis (dumsor), the NDC government entered into a BOOT agreement with Africa & Middle East Resources Investment Group LLC (Ameri Energy) on February 10, 2015 to help reduce the power supply deficit at the time.



The agreement was signed on the basis of emergency and was expected to be delivered within 90 days after the fulfillment of conditions precedent. However, the delay in implementing the BOOT Agreement defeated its classification as an emergency project, the report noted.



According to the report, Ameri Energy is making a commission in the sum of US$ 150 million over the five-year term of the Agreement. Additionally, the Agreement incorporates a variable charge of $0.005 cents per kilowatt hour which totals $16.6m.



While the rate is reasonable the total annual fixed figure of $16.6m is erroneous. Thus Ameris actual commission is significantly higher than US$150 million, the report noted, adding: these figures must be reconciled and renegotiated to reduce the overall financial obligation on GoG and render the Agreement more equitable.



Currently, under the BOOT Agreement, Ghana pays USD8.5million as take-or-pay charges on a monthly basis, irrespective of whether power is delivered or not, hence the committee recommending a review.



The report continued: Amendments to the Boot Agreement require parliamentary approval. The Addendum contains provisions that have significant impact on the project. One such provision is the assignment of the Agreement from Ameri Energy to Ameri Power Equipment Trading LLC. The failure to obtain parliamentary approval renders the Addendum void.



It added: The assignment from Ameri Group to Ameri Equipment was carried out without GOGs consent in spite of an express requirement to seek prior consent in the contract. Furthermore, the date of the Assignment precedes the addendum and yet the party that entered into the addendum is the Ameri Group.



The committee found out that the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Value for Money audit report did not highlight the key flaws with the project. It also did not state PWCs professional opinion on the financial viability of the project. The Committee noted that on the date the VFM was presented, the BOOT Agreement had already been signed.



Indeed, the Committee expressed deep concern about the PWC report, as most of the documentation reviewed for the report was not correctly interpreted nor were apples compared with apples.



Further, The wording of the Standby Letter of Credit (SBLC) established, differs significantly from that contained in the Agreement that went to Parliament. Secondly, the wording of the SBLC is too wide as it gives Ameri the opportunity to withdraw all $51million after collecting the required payments. There is no requirement to give notice to GOG before calling on the SBLC.



As it stands GoG is simply relying on Ameris goodwill not to draw on the SBLC because Ameri can, for example, call on the SBLC even when there is a genuine invoice dispute between the parties to the BOOT Agreement, the report added.



The report revealed that Ameri does not have any incentive to generate the full 230 MW contractual capacity and this is because the BOOT Agreement did not make provision for annual capacity adjustments with penalties in the payment of capacity charges on a pro rata basis in accordance with standard industry practice.



The report recalled that in 2014, Ghana experienced significant deficit in power generation, leading to nationwide load shedding. The Volta River Authority, on behalf of Government of Ghana signed a Letter of Intent with Ameri Energy, dated 23rd December, 2014 for the establishment of a rental of 300MW power generation facility to be located at Takoradi.



This was done on a sole-sourced basis after a meeting between former President John Dramani Mahama and the Crown Prince of Dubai.



In accordance with the terms of the LOI, the government was required to pay a fixed monthly charge of US$ 785,000 per mobile dual fuel aero-derivative gas turbine on a take or pay basis and a Variable Charge of US$0.005 per kilowatt-hour generated.



On January 5, 2015, Ameri Energy forwarded a revised proposal for a 5-year Build Operate-Transfer option for 250 MW fast track generation, with a new Fixed Monthly Charge of US$850,000. The target date for the full deployment of the units was end of first quarter 2015.



By a letter dated January 9, 2015, the VRA made reference to a proposal jointly submitted by Ameri Energy and APR Energy (with Ameri Energy as the developer and APR Energy as the EPC and O&M Contractor) at the request of the government.



It was agreed also that the power plant would be sited at Takoradi to utilize gas from the Jubilee field which at the time was being re-injected and adversely affecting crude oil Final Report 7 production. At the time, the existing thermal plant in Takoradi could not fully utilize the gas, hence the need to procure and install plants that could utilize the gas.



It will be recalled that in the early days of this year, executives of the Senior Staff Association of the Volta River Authority stormed the House of Parliament to demand the abrogation of the Ameri BOOT deal. The workers believed that the deal stinks and thus should be discontinued.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007









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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Ernesto Yeboah, a leading member of the Economic Fighters League and a Nkrumahist has slammed the Speaker of Parliament; Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye for his comments that, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is not the founder of Ghana. The former National Youth leader of the party says it is unfortunate how the NPP keeps distorting Ghanas history.



According to the Speaker, the independence struggle was not championed by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah alone and the glory of independence could therefore not be attributed to him alone.



Speaking at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) showing of a documentary of the political history of Ghana between 1844 and the Fourth Republican Constitution, where he condemned the current history curriculum which describes Nkrumah as founder of Ghana stressing that, the information is false and misleading.



We are not searching apparently about anything including our GDP, Tema Oil Refinery debts, vital statistics that are simple to ascertain in many parts of the world. And this has been an unfortunate part of our history so much so that, today we celebrate one founding father which is palpable false, we have founding fathers. Ill like to see Nkrumah celebrated by way of a holiday in his honour as the first President.



A president who had a lot of vision in terms of education, health, African unity and so many area of our national development but definitely not as the founder of this nation because it is palpably false. But Ernesto Yeboah asserted the NPP has lost focus.



The plight of taxi drivers, traders and every single Ghanaian should be what the NPP should focus on instead of wasting time on this needless brouhaha.



Our cedi is still depreciating, maternal and infant mortality is still high, the cost of utilities is still unbearable and fuel prices have hit the roof. Somebody should tell the NPP that their baseless claims wont put food on our table.



Mr. Yeboah stressed that the late leader and Ghanas first president is well known in Ghana and beyond by the rest of the world. He wondered why the NPP keeps wasting time attacking Dr. Nkrumah after assuming office some four months ago.



He quizzed: does this founder conversation put food on our tables? The NPP he indicated is wasting our time in these needless debates while our mothers die in labour and our youth roam hopelessly in search of non-existent jobs.



According to him, they wont take this insult from the NPP anymore adding: they were elected to resolve our problems and bring us economic freedom. But as we speak, it appears they have completely forgotten and are now pursuing useless things.



He described the Speaker as the chief propagandist of the ruling NPP. He is toeing the line the NPP. Prof. Oquaye is the chief propagandist in political affairs for the NPP. Ernesto Yeboah added, nothing can the change the fact that Dr. Kwame is the founder of Ghana.



It is a disgrace for the NPP to keep on engaging in this needless debateThe NPP is beginning to lose the goodwill that brought them to power.

Source: rainbowradioonline









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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Organisers of Ghana Music Awards UK have held a press conference to call for entries for this years Ghana Music Awards UK.



The conference, which was held on Thursday, March 23, 2017, at Starr UK multimedia in Croydon, was to officially set the platform for artistes to submit their works for consideration.



According to Nana Slick, the General manager, submitted works must be released between April 2016 to April 2017.



CEO of the Awards, Mr.Eric Nii Tetteh ( Alordia Promotions ) disclosed that the purpose of the awards is to focus on recognising the hard work of Ghanaian musicians.



He also revealed that this years awards will introduce further categories to acknowledge a wider section within the industry.



Tracy Frankevijle, the Client and Event Coordinator encouraged that companies and individuals to patronise this years event.



Ill urge that people get involved in this years event and also support to create global awareness, she said.



The Ghana Music Awards UK is an event which aims to recognise and celebrate the hard work and dedication of the various players in Ghanas music industry.



All interested stakeholders are encouraged to submit their works to [email protected] and ghanamusicawardsuk.com.



The 2017 Ghana Music Awards UK is scheduled for the 9th of September 2017 at the Splash Gourmont palace, London.









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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Tropical Cyclone Debbie is fast bearing down on the north Queensland coast, and more than 25,000 people living in the impact zone have been told they need to evacuate before midnight tonight.

Residents in low-lying areas are at risk of tidal wave-like inundation by storm swells that could reach up to 2.5m above the high tide mark.

Queensland Police Service Commissioner Ian Stewart told the ABC:

The range of inundation may be as much as 0.8 metres above highest astronomical tide [HAT] or worst case scenario 2.5 metres above HAT. Were asking people who can move out of those low-lying areas to move now. Dont wait until tomorrow, because you will not be able to move. Were asking people to take those precautions and move now.

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting Cyclone Debbie will hit land between Ayr and Cape Hillsborough, north of Mackay, as a category four  one category lower than the 2011 destructo-storm Yasi, but still powerful enough to do a lot of damage.

Debbie should make landfall at about 10am tomorrow morning. If youre in the affected region, we kindly suggest you get the fuck out of there, and be sure to help any neighbours who might need assistance also getting the fuck out of there.

Source: ABC.

Image: BOM.
A 30-year-old man from Birmingham in the UK has been arrested in relation to the attack in Westminster which left four people dead.

The Metropolitan Police said the man was being held on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. Another man arrested in Birmingham remains in custody. Khalid Masood, the 52-year-old who drove his car into a crowd of pedestrians before stabbing a police officer, was shot dead in the attack.





Twelve people in total have been arrested in relation to the attack. Nine of them were released without charge.





Scotland Yard have said theyre pretty sure Masood acted alone in the attack, but theyre keen to find out how he was inspired to do it and where he might have been exposed to inspiration. Theres little info on the ground as to exactly what these people are being arrested for.

There were revelations that Masoods phone connected to WhatsApp just prior to the attack, leading many British politicians and commentators to demand intelligence services be given more powers in relation to messaging apps. UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that balance was needed between the right to know and the right to privacy.

Source: BBC.

Photo: Getty Images.
A Japanese high school mountaineering club were caught in an avalanche just before 9:30am this morning, which killed eight and injured eight more.

The teenage students were participating in a mountaineering event in Tochigi, a prefecture north of Tokyo. The area had suffered unusually heavy snows this spring, and an avalanche warning was issued on Sunday.

Despite snowstorms heavy enough to prevent rescue helicopters from accessing the area, the students, all from Otawara High School in Tochigi, set out climbing from the local ski resort where the event was being held this morning. They had only receiving climbing instruction on Sunday.

Japan avalanche: Schoolchildren feared dead at ski resort north of Tokyo pic.twitter.com/X9IlDlrCnk  The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 27, 2017

The mountaineering event brought together about 60 students from seven different high schools. Today was to be the last day of climbing.

Our thoughts are with the victims families and classmates.

Source: New York Times.

Image: Mirror.
Cyclone Debbie has been upgraded to a severe category 3 system, as the latest satellite imagery shows the storm hammering down off Queenslands coast.





Latest satellite imagery shows Severe Tropical #CycloneDebbie intensifying as it moves towards the QLD coast https://t.co/DO9KX5WTyA pic.twitter.com/eyel3DU0nM  BOM Australia (@BOM_au) March 27, 2017

The cyclone has also turned deadly. One tourist has been killed in a car accident in the Whitsundays, with Queensland Police confirming severe weather was a factor.

Two others were taken to Proserpine Hospital with minor injuries.

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart has warned people from venturing out in the storm.

It is time to think very logically about your safety and the safety of your family, he said. But also, the safety of your neighbours, particularly if they are vulnerable people. I would ask people to really consider their actions.

Cyclone Debbie is forecast to make landfall between Ayr and Cape Hillborough, north of Mackay, on Tuesday morning, and is expected to intensify to a category 4 strength system.

The very destructive core of Debbie  as it has literally been described on the Bureau of Meteorology  is forecast to bring wind gusts of potentially up to 240km per hour in the centre of the system.

Photo: BOM / Twitter.
Today in news of animals living your dreams before you do, a Brisbane snake has managed a free trip to Auckland, New Zealand by stowing away in the wheel housing of a private jet.

The plucky serpent was clearly keen to be the first of its kind to tour Aotearoa, but its vacation was cut short almost immediately.

Biosecurity staff at the notoriously strict airport spotted the slithery tourist on the tarmac on Sunday, and kept it in a bucket until the NZ Ministry for Primary Industries could send in a snake handler.

Unfortunately for this and any other prospective reptilian sight-seers, the snake, believed to be a brown tree snake, was in pretty rough shape after several hours at altitude. Its most likely that it will be euthanised. RIP snekky; you only wanted to see the world 

Craig Hughes from the MPI told the media, somewhat threateningly:

We dont have a snake population in New Zealand. Biosecurity officials are doing their best to make sure it stays that way.

pictured: Craig Hughes warming up for his press conference

Let that be a warning to any other slitherers with big ideas: if youre keen on travelling, do it the old-fashioned way (get a big eagle to scoop you up in its talons).

Source: Stuff.co.nz.

Image: Twitter / @MPI_NZ.
CONTENT WARNING: This article contains graphic details of an incident alleged domestic violence and violence against women. If this topic could cause you distress of any kind, please be wary of continuing. If you would like to speak to someone about domestic violence, you can speak to the amazing people at 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).

The attack occurred shortly after 10am this morning at the Fountain Gate Shopping Centre in Narre Warren. The alleged attacker reportedly entered the Beauty and Brow Parlour, where the injured woman worked, and inflicted the assault that left the woman so badly injured she was reportedly unable to speak.

Employees of the store called security and police, who quickly arrived on the scene and arrested the alleged attacker. It is believed that the victim and accused are known to each other.

Hasan Zaman, the stores owner, described the chaotic scene, asserting that it could have been much worse had the attack not occurred in broad daylight.

She couldnt talk, she was badly beaten. I dont know what he was thinking, a normal person cannot do this  you cant beat people in this country. It was lucky it was in the shopping centre, we could take immediate action and he didnt run away.

Victoria Police confirmed they had apprehended a man in relation to the incident, and he was assisting police with their investigation.

They also confirmed that they believe the woman was struck with the axe multiple times. She was transported to hospital in a serious but stable condition with non-life threatening injuries to her upper body.

Police have requested that anyone with information regarding the attack contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Source: Herald Sun.

Photo: Estelle Griepink/Twitter.
Theres no end to public fascination with the 1996 murder of beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey: no matter how many documentaries are made on the unsolved crime, each one draws audiences big enough to justify another and another.





Netflixs already-acclaimed commission is up next, with the April release of so-called documentary hybrid Casting JonBenet, which follows actors auditioning for the roles of JonBenet, dad John, mum Patsy and brother Burke for a reenactment of the 6-year-olds death.

The Kitty Green-directed film is the product of 15 months spent eliciting responses, reflections and performances from actors in and around the Ramseys hometown of Boulder, Colorado., who shared their memories of the case and suspicions about who committed the heinous crime.

Its v. v. unsettling to watch little girls aged just five and six say things as weighty as: Do you know who killed JonBenet Ramsey? Combine that with a haunting rendition of Miss America playing over the top and youve got yourself a spinetingler.

Take a look at the first full-length trailer:

Casting JonBenet hits Netflix on April 28.

Photo: Netflix.
Australia is well acquainted with the story of Lee de Paauw, the 18-year-old Far North Queenslander who took it upon himself to badger a real, live crocodile in the interests of impressing a young woman. We lived. We laughed. We learned (except for de Paauw).





America? Not so much. As it so happens, their equivalent of FNQ  Florida, of course  cooks up enough in the way of alcohol-fuelled reptilian mishaps to keep the entire nation occupied.

Our inside man Ronny Chieng knows whats up though, and he used his spot as The Daily Shows international correspondent to inform our Seppo brethren of this most auspicious of Australian tales.

While he couched his bit with the typical ha ha, spiders schtick youve likely sat through a thousand times, he did explain what pisses me off is idiots like this are the reason people think Australia is dangerous.

Chieng reckoned my point is Australia can be dangerous, if youre a dumbass. But everywhere is dangerous if youre a dumbass. A car wash can be dangerous if youre a dumbass. To this, we say: true.

However, the bloke also managed to squeeze in some more specific Aussie wisdom. The young fella whose arm was nearly torn right off was fuelled by ten cups of goon, and it was up to Chieng to explain the most prototypical of bad decision-making Strayan beverages.

An an Australian, let me translate that for you. Goon is Australian for boxed wine, and ten cups is Australian for light refreshment.'

Grab some Fruity Lexia and scope it out below:

Source and photo: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah / Comedy Central.
Sydney soul/garage rock duo Polish Club are dropping a brand new album on March 31st, and weve gotta hand it to em: theyve got a super great promo shtick for the album.

The bands biggest cheerleader is the actual manager of the Polish Club in Ashfield, Lucian Romanowski  and theyve tapped him to promote Alright Already via a series of song teasers and general Polish banter on a hotline the band has set up. Check out the promo:

The number, in case you didnt have the patient or mental fortitude for a 9 second video, is (02) 9207 0647.

We spoke to guitarist and vocalist Novak, who said that despite his Polish heritage, hes not actually that plugged into it  so obviously he needed to amp it up to 11 for the new album:

I know almost nothing about Poland. My dad is technically from there, but I really have no idea about anything Polish. I barely know any words, let alone anything about the culture or history. I just love eating cabbage rolls and potato pancakes. So of course we decided to promote our album with the most Polish shit ever, involving the owner of the Polish Club in Ashfield and provoking a barrage of comments in Polish from random Poles who seem to have an awful lot to say about the Polish Club in Ashfield. Im going to go ahead and pretend all of those consonant-heavy Polish words translate to passionate support for our not-at-all Polish sound.

We also spoke to Lucian, who backed them to the very end. I think Polish Club have the right attitude and they are talented and creative. he said. They should watch the latest movie La La Land or Whiplash and learn something from it. Absolutely bang on.

Have a squiz at their latest single Come Party:

PRE-ORDER

https://PolishClub.lnk.to/AlrightAlready

TOUR DATES

http://polishclub.co/

Photo: Polish Club.
Going to Los Angeles would be a darn sight more fun if you didnt have to lock yourself in a flying aluminium tune of other peoples farts for a full half a day.

The long haul trip over the Pacific is a brutal slog at the best of times and can spit you out on the other side looking so haggard that your free passage through customs remains a constant mystery.

But while it might have been some 14-odd years since humans last boarded a supersonic passenger jet, a new technological development is not only set to cut the flight time to Hollywood in half, but all things being equal it could be up and running as soon as the early 2020s.

BOOM Supersonic has secured AU$43million in funding from a range of key wealthy tech and engineering backers to develop their XB-1 prototype; a supersonic passenger jet that could see you travel from Sydney to Los Angeles in just 6.45 hours.

The XB-1, which secured the funding a few days ago, will be able to make the trip from Tokyo to San Francisco in just on 5 hours. Itll also be able to skip from New York over to London in a mere 3.15 hours.

The plane is designed to be at least 30% more efficient than the old Concorde planes which ceased commercial operation in 2003. Using new technologies and advanced materials, the XB-1 is touted to not only travel faster than the Concorde, but it would reduce the impact of the loud and cumbersome sonic boom created by the vessel breaking the sound barrier. The plane is also set to fly higher than the Concorde did, tipped to top out at an altitude of around 60,000ft.

Better still, seats on the projected passenger jet would only set you back about as much as a standard business class fare on a current air carrier, meaning its not totally out of reach of the average punter. The company also asserts that budget tickets on the jet are also a possibility.

This current round of funding for the aircraft reportedly comes from wealthy tech bosses, astronauts, and engineers, all of whom have a vested interest in seeing the project succeed.

BOOM Supersonic boss Blake Scholl confirmed the funding  which forms part of the projected AUD$262million price tag the prospective project carries  in an announcement a few days ago.

Now we have all the pieces we need  technology, suppliers and capital  to go out and make some history and set some speed records.

The project remains on-going.

Source: The Sun.

Photo: Tom Cooper/Getty.
Earlier today, United Airlines painted itself into a PR disaster corner with a few badly-thought out tweets and an anti-leggings policy.

Essentially, three young girls were prevented from boarding a Denver to Minneapolis flight because they were wearing leggings, which is against the dress code required by passengers using staff travel perks. One girl, about ten, was allowed to board after she changed into a dress, but the others where unable to do so.

However, it took a while for that fact to come to light, and for a good deal of time there it looked like United Airlines were deciding that leggings  i.e. the comfiest item of clothing invented since the snuggie  were unacceptable travel wear.

Girls wearing LEGGINGS reportedly forced to change before @united would let them board and thisisUniteds response pic.twitter.com/KHJgau8tRE  Elizabeth Minkel (@elizabethminkel) March 26, 2017

Leggings have become a hot button topic in the last few years in regards to the policing on what is acceptable / not acceptable attire for women. (This is a conversation women have been having since fashion trends became a thing. In the 1800s it was ankle flashing, in the early 1900s it was one-piece bathing suits and in the 60s it was miniskirts.)

This latest drama with United Airlines has escalated to the point where celebs are weighing in, and now you have Sarah Silverman and Chrissy Teigen essentially boycotting the airline.

Sarah Silverman advised the company change its outdated dress codes for staff travel members.

Hey @united I fly a LOT. About to go on tour all April and changing all my @united flights to other airlines  Sarah Silverman (@SarahKSilverman) March 26, 2017

@SarahKSilverman The attire of the teenage pass travelers did not meet our policy for company benefit travel. ^KP  United (@united) March 26, 2017

I understand. I suggest u consider updating ur rules 4 friends & fam as they seem to apply mostly 2 females & are outdated. https://t.co/41chqN32Q0  Sarah Silverman (@SarahKSilverman) March 26, 2017

And Chrissy Teigen implied shell no longer be flying with the airline.

I have flown united before with literally no pants on. Just a top as a dress. Next time I will wear only jeans and a scarf.  christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 26, 2017

@chrissyteigen I think the girls were using employee passes, so there is a dress code because theyre representing the airline.  Alice (@NYC_mama) March 26, 2017

@NYC_mama honestly I dont really care. If I have an issue with a company, I stop giving them money. Like d&g. Easy peasy.  christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 26, 2017

@NYC_mama sorry I didnt mean for the dont care part to sound so aggressive. I literally meant I dont really care.  christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 26, 2017

@NYC_mama I dont need forced public apologies and takedowns. I just make a conscious effort to not support.  christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 26, 2017

United Airlines, meanwhile, has taken the extra step of publishing a blog post to ensure their paying customers that YOUR leggings are welcome (capitals our own).

We care about the way we present ourselves to you, our customers, as we believe that is part of the experience on board our flights. One of the benefits of working for an airline is that our employees are able to travel the world. Even better, they can extend this privilege to a select number of what we call pass riders. These are relatives or friends who also receive the benefit of free or heavily discounted air travel  on our airline as well as on airlines around the world where we have mutual agreements in place for employees and pass riders. When taking advantage of this benefit, all employees and pass riders are considered representatives of United. And like most companies, we have a dress code that we ask employees and pass riders to follow. The passengers this morning were United pass riders and not in compliance with our dress code for company benefit travel. We regularly remind our employees that when they place a family member or friend on a flight for free as a standby passenger, they need to follow our dress code. To our regular customers, your leggings are welcome.

Yeesh.

I fixed @Uniteds response in a few sentences. pic.twitter.com/aHP8dB194u  Ben Kuchera (@BenKuchera) March 26, 2017

Photo: Pierre Suu / Getty.
DailyFX.com -

Talking Points

Asian markets retreated as the withdrawal of a key US healthcare bill cast doubt on the Trump Administrations legislative power

The Dollar slipped too as rate-hike bets based on a pro-growth Trump program were pared

Chinese industrial profits surged as raw material prices recovered

Asian markets were mostly lower on Monday, following Wall Streets lead as doubts rose over US President Donald Trumps legislative ability. Republican leaders Friday pulled a key bill aimed at overhauling US healthcare.

Worries of policy gridlock on Capitol Hill, and the possible knock-on effects of that on global markets which expect a radical pro-growth agenda, sent the US Dollar lower too. The Nikkei slipped 1.4%, with a haven bid for the Yen weighing it down.

Toshiba slipped nearly 4% on local media reports that its troubled US subsidiary Westinghouse may file for bankruptcy on Tuesday. In Australia, the ASX 200 fell 0.2%, growth worries weighed on its plentiful raw-material names.

In Seoul ,the Kospi shed 0.5% after local prosecutors said that they would seek the arrest of President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached earlier this year after accusations of bribe-taking. Shares were just higher in Shanghai and just lower in Shenzhen, despite news that Chinese industrial profits rose 32% between January and February. The profit was mostly due to rises in the price of coal, steel and crude oil.

Hong Kong stocks fell following Sundays choice of pro-Beijing civil servant Carrie Lim as next chief executive of the territory.

Gold prices rose as the failure of that US AHCA healthcare bill saw rate-hike bets pared. Crude oil gained then fell. Hopes that major producers might extend their production cut into the second half of the year were dashed when they opted instead to review the matter next month.

The rest of the session will offer Germanys Ifo business sentiment survey. As for central bank speakers, Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans and European Central Bank chief economist Peter Praet, will take the stage in Madrid.

Story continues

Would you like to get live, interactive coverage of major, market-moving economic news? Try theDailyFX webinars.

--- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research

Contact and follow David on Twitter:@DavidCottleFX

.



original source

DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.

Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts from IG.
Rows of new enriched colony housing cages inside one of his hen barns on his egg farm in West Lincoln, Ont., on March 7, 2016. Some 17,000 hens and one rooster at Pelissero's egg farm in West Lincoln live in cages that may be the envy of most other hens in Canada. The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies says a new code of practice for egg farmers will help reduce the extreme stress suffered by egg-laying hens and give consumers some assurance about the term "cage-free." The National Farm Animal Care Council code calls for producers to work toward phasing out the use of small, cramped cages for hens over the next 15 years, and sets new care standards for the birds, the federation says. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power
Family members of U.S. tourist Kurt Cochran, who was killed in Wednesday's London attack, and his wife Melissa, who was injured, attend a press conference at New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police force, in London, Monday, March 27, 2017. British police say that two people remain in custody following last week's attack in London as messaging services face criticism for encrypted networks that allow attackers to communicate in secret.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Here, there, everywhere  why car washes seem to be on every corner
U.S. duties on biodiesel from Argentina, Indonesia to be setup

CHICAGO/NEW YORK

Petroleumworld.com 03 27 2017

U.S. biodiesel producers on Thursday asked the U.S. government to impose antidumping duties on imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia that it says have flooded the U.S. market and violated trade agreements.

The move by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) trade group comes after two years of tension between U.S. and foreign producers over soaring imports that the group says have threatened the profitability of domestic producers.

"Our goal is to create a level playing field to give markets, consumers and retailers access to the benefits of true and fair competition," NBB Chief Executive Officer Donnell Rehagen said in a statement.

The NBB filed its request with the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. International Trade Commission on behalf of U.S. biodiesel producers.

The Advanced Biofuels Association, a rival trade group, said the allegations of illegal dumping were untrue. The group includes Louis Dreyfus Co, which makes biodiesel in Argentina, and Wilmar International Ltd, a maker of biodiesel in Indonesia.

"The members of the Advanced Biofuels Association vehemently oppose this action and expect these petitions' rejections," Michael McAdams, president of the group, said in a statement.

The NBB has sought to stymie imports since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2015 allowed Argentine biodiesel imports to qualify for U.S. tax credits as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Total U.S. imports rose to a record 916 million gallons (3.5 billion liters) in 2016, according to U.S. government data published this week. Argentina represented about two-thirds of U.S. foreign imports, followed by Indonesia and Canada.

Total U.S. demand is 2 billion gallons for the fuel, made mostly from vegetable oils.

The NBB said biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia rose 464 percent from 2014 to 2016 due to "illegal trade activities."

The petition claims Argentine biodiesel is dumped at about 23 percent below market values and that Indonesian biodiesel is sold around 34 percent below. Dumping is aimed at gaining market share.

Should the Commerce Department agree with these claims, it would levy preliminary antidumping duties in these percentages on the imported products. Any duties would need to be upheld by the International Trade Commission and an affirmative ITC decision would lock them in place for five years.

CLAIMS DISPUTED

"In my local market, I have fuel blenders saying they can get Argentina biodiesel at 30 cents (per gallon) less than I can offer," said Zach Hamm, president of Triangle Biofuels Industries in North Carolina. Hamm said he has slowed operations at his 5 million gallon per year plant where he makes biodiesel from recycled cooking oil.

A NBB spokeswoman said the petition was in the works prior to the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has taken a protectionist stance on business practices.

Argentina's biodiesel association Carbio rebuffed the dumping accusations, saying the NBB used a definition of dumping that had been rejected by the World Trade Organization.

Argentina's Production Ministry, which includes the under-secretariat for international trade, noted that the request came from the private sector.

"It doesn't mean the government will apply the measure," Gaston Sandler, a spokesman for the ministry said.

The U.S. Department of Commerce and Argentina's agriculture and foreign ministries did not respond to requests for comment.

Oke Nurwan, Indonesia's director general of foreign trade, said in Jakarta that the world's top palm oil producer would "not be silent" on the matter, but would work with associations and businesses to address the issue.

"If the U.S. government approves the recommendation, the Indonesian government will cooperate and provide data required to prove that the producers' accusations are incorrect," Nurwan said via a text message.

He said Indonesia had taken a similar approach with European Union anti-dumping duties, which it is challenging via the WTO.

Futures for soyoil, used to make biodiesel, rose to a 2-1/2-week high on the Chicago Board of Trade as chatter about the petition swirled, before settling 0.30 cent lower at 33.22 cents per pound. Futures for palm oil, used for biodiesel production in Indonesia, fell about 2 percent to 2,771 ringgit, or $625.93 per tonne.


Philadelphia is ranked amongst the top 50 most dog-friendly cities in America. This comes as no surprise since the town is home to countless beautifully maintained parks for pets to enjoy. Were breaking down the best dog parks in Philly
Bill Gross , who was fired from Pimco four decades after he co-founded the investment firm, has settled his lawsuit against the company for just over $81 million, sources told CNBC on Monday. He also gets a "Founders Room" named after him at the company's Newport Beach headquarters, along with the launch of a "Bill Gross Award," according to a Pimco press release.

A lawyer representing the Pimco co-founder filed a request in California state court to dismiss the fund manager's suit over his 2014 departure from the company. All proceeds from the settlement will go to charity  to the Sue and Bill Gross foundation.

Gross sued Pimco in 2015, claiming his dismissal from the company was a breach of contract, and a breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Gross said at the time that he suffered damages in excess of $200 million.

"I knew I didn't have much to gain except for my self respect," Gross said on leaving Pimco. "I thought I was treated unfairly on the way out from Pimco. ... They fired me without really giving a reason for it. There was a small coup of individuals that threatened to resign if I didn't."

Pimco said in a statement Monday that it "recognizes the enormous contribution to its success made by Mr. Gross."

"Bill Gross has always been larger-than-life," Dan Ivascyn, Pimco's group chief investment officer, said. "He has a well-deserved stellar reputation as an investor and a philanthropist."

As part of the settlement, Pimco will name Gross  who left the company amid much confusion about his investment returns and what was claimed to be erratic behavior  as "Director Emeritus," according to Monday's press release.

After helping found the firm in 1971, Gross built it into one of the largest asset managers in the world.

"Pimco has always been family to me, and, like any family, sometimes there are disagreements," Gross said in a Monday press release. "I'm glad that we have had the opportunity to work through those ... I am honored to be included in their ranks and to know that Pimco is in capable hands."

Story continues

The first sentence of Gross' 2015 lawsuit said he was pushed out of the company by a "cabal" of Pimco managing directors who were "driven by a lust for power, greed, and a desire to improve their own financial position."

The suit also targeted Mohamed El-Erian , who was once in line to succeed Gross, and Dan Ivascyn, the man who succeeded Gross as Pimco's group chief investment officer. El-Erian is now the chief economic adviser at Allianz, which took over Pimco in 2000.

Gross is now a portfolio manager for Janus Capital Group's global unconstrained bond fund.

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South Philadelphia High School has the same challenges it always had: a large, needy student body with perhaps the city's highest concentration of special-education students, a high percentage of English-language learners, and a shoestring budget.

But things feel different at the school this year, principal Kimlime Chek-Taylor said. South Philadelphia is one of the city's initial nine community schools -- learning institutions with embedded social services and other supports.

Southern, as it's known, now has a city-funded community school coordinator, an employee to match student needs to available partnerships, another adult to keep the school's 568 teenagers on track. It has a new clothes closet, a food pantry, more after-school programs, and a focus on finding jobs for those who want them.

As a result, student attendance is up, Chek-Taylor said. The school's climate is better.

"Having the support from the mayor's office -- it just gives me a very different perspective when I come to work," Chek-Taylor said. "There's a sense of urgency. Being a community school just changes the perception of South Philadelphia High"

Mayor Kenney bet big on community schools, a concept started elsewhere and brought to Philadelphia this school year. He ran on a promise to bring 25 of them to the city in four years, and pledged $40 million over four years to fund them.

This year, the city has budgeted $3.75 million for Southern and the other community schools: Cramp, F.S. Edmonds, Gideon, Logan, and Southwark elementary schools; Tilden Middle School; and Dobbins and Kensington Health Sciences Academy high schools.

The program looks different at every school; community schools are driven by what the neighborhood and the school need. At Logan, for instance, the push is toward bringing in fresh fruits and vegetables and on shoring up safety for kids going to and from school; Southwark created mentorships and offers free physicals for students in partnership with the city Health Department.

Projections have about 9 percent of the city's controversial new sweetened-drinks tax funding community schools through 2021. (Prekindergarten programs, another major Kenney push, would get the lion's share of that tax money, about half. The rest would go to bolster Philadelphia's fund balance, spruce up its parks and recreation centers, and elsewhere.)

At Southern, the community school effort is spearheaded by Janelle Harper, whose enthusiasm for the work means she's sometimes text-messaging Chek-Taylor at 2 a.m. with another idea for how she might expand opportunities for students and families. She has become so central to the school that some kids call Chek-Taylor "principal" and Harper "community principal."

Junior Alayshia Bridges has attended Southern for three years, and the changes to her school this year are remarkable, she said. Harper is a resource, she said -- and things just feel different.

"We have this structure you can't get anywhere else," said Bridges, 16. "We have stuff to support you -- bookwise, clotheswise, everything."

Bridges helps organize the clothes closet, but she's also gotten items from it: two coats, some socks.

"It feels like family is helping you out," she said.

Kenney and other city and district officials toured Cincinnati's Oyler School as they built their vision for Philadelphia's community school model. Oyler has vision, medical, and dental clinics; a day-care center; and a mental-health center with five therapists. Southern and the other Philadelphia schools are a long way off from that.

But Otis Hackney, Kenney's chief education officer, warns that community schools will not fix every ill -- "this is not a light switch," he said -- but he sees enormous potential.

"This is a baseline," said Hackney. The vision is to fill Southern, the massive structure at Broad and Snyder, with services not just during the day, but at night, on the weekends, in the summer.

The program means much to Hackney. He was until 2015 Southern's principal himself. In a way, he inadvertently brought the model to Philadelphia.

"I didn't even know what a community school was," said Hackney. "We just needed partners because our kids had so many needs."

On Hackney's watch, South Philadelphia brought in after-school programs and mental-health services. Now there are even more: Freshmen have started mindfulness training. There is ballroom dancing, music and art programs, tutoring, and mentoring.

Harper, a former school therapist who worked for a private provider inside Philadelphia schools, started her job by chatting up everyone in the school, from students and teachers to cleaning staff. She knocked on doors, met with students and parents.

"I was in everybody's business," Harper said. "I said: 'Why are our kids not here on time? Why are their parents struggling?' "

She completed a needs assessment, and looked at what partners the school had, the work they did, and how effective they were. Data are a big part of the model -- at monthly meetings, Harper reviews with providers how the students they serve are doing.

"It's not just 'More is better,' " said Susan Gobreski, the city's director of community schools. "It's targeting resources. Sometimes you need to say, 'Are these the right partners?' "

Harper does the things Chek-Taylor would never have time for: chatting up new-business owners in the neighborhood, gauging their willingness to bring in student workers. Organizing a group interview for qualified students to land internships. Helping to launch the food bank, and the clothes closet.

The things Harper has been able to bring to Southern have made a difference already, Chek-Taylor said, but they dream bigger still: What about summer programs? What about a new kitchen to replace the badly undersized, outdated facility now home to the school's popular culinary program? They want to open the building for homework help, tutoring, mental-health services, job-placement training. Harper is always on the hunt for more mentors, for food and clothes donations.

"We're a block long," Harper said. "We should be doing a lot more for the community."

The program will expand, adding new schools in the fall, Gobreski said, though the court battle currently being waged by the sweetened-beverage industry means that fewer community schools than originally planned will come on line. The limited number of new community schools will be announced after City Council finalizes its budget.

By the numbers, South Philadelphia is struggling. It scored low -- just 6 out of 100 -- on the Philadelphia School District's School Performance Report, which evaluates such matters as test scores, climate, attendance, parent participation, and other measures.

But those who know it well say Southern is a good school, that moving schools that educate a large number of kids living in poverty takes a long time, and don't tell the whole story.

"When people talk about schools and how schools perform, what's not captured is some of the things we do," said Hackney. "We have literally saved a child's life. Changed a child's life. That's never captured in the SPR."

Being a community school will make that easier, he said.

And Mayor Kenney? On a recent visit, where he checked out the clothes closet, shook hands, and ate a feast prepared by the culinary students, he was all smiles.

"I think," he said, "it's a model school."
A former Philadelphia doctor hacked into the cell phone, email, and social media accounts of several former classmates at Burlington County's Delran High School, from which he graduated in 2005, and then made copies of their photos, authorities said.

Peter Grossman, 29, who lives in Center City, was charged with identity theft and invasion of privacy. He was previously a physician at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Officials there confirmed he was a former employee but would not offer further details Monday.

Grossman made digital copies of more than 2,000 photos  at times correctly guessing his former classmates' passwords by looking at information they had posted on social media, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said.

"This case presents an excellent warning concerning passwords, and why they must be complex in order to withstand attempts by hackers and anybody else to gain access to private accounts," Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi said. "Using the name of a child or some other known personal detail will often result in a password that is vulnerable to being hacked."

One of Grossman's former classmates alerted police in September that she had been hacked, and that several of her friends had similar concerns, the prosecutor's office said.

The office did not specify how it identified Grossman as a suspect, but said investigators searched his Philadelphia home and found the stolen images, which showed 25 different women. Authorities have identified 12 of the women, but are seeking to identify the rest.

Grossman was released after a recent hearing at Superior Court in Mount Holly, and his case will be presented to a grand jury, authorities said.

Anyone who has further information can call Delran Police at 856-461-4498, extension 149.
Tecumseh, OK, police officer Justin Terney was shot and killed during a foot pursuit. (Photo: Tecumseh PD/Facebook)

A Tecumseh, OK, police officer has died after being shot three times overnight in Pottawatomie County.

The officer, 22-year-old Justin Terney, was rushed to the Oklahoma University Medical Center in "serious, critical condition." He later died at the hospital.

Our departments need all the prayers we can get at this point. We got officers whos never experienced this, never been through anything like this, said J.R. Kidney, Assistant Police Chief for the Tecumseh Police Department.

According to police, Terney pulled over a car for a traffic stop at about 11:40 p.m. Sunday, and asked a man inside, later identified as Byron Shepard, to get out of the car. Terney began to pat down Shepard. That's when Shepard took off running toward the woods near Benson Park off Gordon Cooper.

Police said Shepard ran into a pasture, where he fired shots toward Terney, hitting him in the stomach. Terney fired back at Shepard, hitting him. Shepard is now hospitalized, KOCO TV reports.
A Wasilla, AK, man was shot and killed by troopers early Sunday after he led police on a high-speed chase and opened fire on a police dog, killing the animal, Alaska State Troopers said.

At 2:50 a.m. Sunday, troopers tried to make a traffic stop on a Subaru Legacy in Wasilla, according to a dispatch posted online.

The driver sped away, leading officers on a 45-minute chase that ended when troopers disabled the vehicle with spike strips, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

"The driver of the Subaru exited the vehicle, ignored commands from AST and attempted to flee," the dispatch said. When troopers deployed a K-9, the driver "turned and fired a handgun," killing the dog, troopers said. The troopers returned fire, critically wounding the suspect who died at the hospital.
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It seems reasonable to assume that some of Donald Trumps support groups are not necessarily thrilled that their hero is seemingly embroiled in a controversy involving his ties to a hostile foreign government. Most of his acolytes are probably not concerned at all because this is America and with Republicans running the government, they know the Ruskie sympathizer will emerge unscathed; Republican criminals always escape justice and Trump is no different.

There is one group that has been relatively silent on Trumps involvement with Russia and it is a fair bet they are celebrating that the attention on Trump-Russia is keeping their unconstitutional activities off the medias and Democrats radar; not that Democrats are necessarily concerned about the drive toward institutionalizing theocracy as the primary function of public education. Democrats, like the preponderance of the media, including liberal media, are terrified of confronting or even reporting on anything unconstitutional the religious right Republicans have in the works.

Although it is true religious Republicans have panted to make public education a theocratic endeavor for a few decades, it is probably true their efforts became paramount after a long-term studys results last year confirmed their worst nightmare.

Just about the time the presidential primaries were heating up last year, results reported by San Diego State University News Center verified what many other, shorter-termed surveys, polls and general observations had been recording for a decade. The results contradict assertions by evangelical conservatives that Americans are highly religious and detest secularism on general principles, but that is not necessarily why religious Republicans demand that god, Christianity, and bible ascend to a dominant role in public life, including public schools.

The General Special Survey between 1972 and 2014 found that there is a sharp decline in religious observance among Americans. The report noted Americans were five times less likely to pray, and roughly half as likely to believe in god, or say the Christian bible was divinely inspired. In fact, of the nearly 59,000 respondents queried, most say they dont even privately practice religion or describe themselves as spiritual. It is, in any universe, an acutely depressing downward trend for the religious right and confirmation that Americans support secularism in government precisely as the Founding Fathers intended in creating the U.S. Constitution.

That kind of news is likely what is driving the religious Republican efforts to force god-bible into public schools because they believe their godly mandate is to make the United States a godly Christian nation. In December there were reports of a policy manifesto from an influential Christian conservative group with ties to Trump and Ed Secretary Betsy DeVos calling for dismantling of the Education Department to facilitate putting god and bible in public classrooms.

The manifesto calls for all K-12 public schools to teach bible classes, post the Ten Commandments in plain sight, recognize and celebrate holidays from a Judeo-Christian perspective and abolish secular-based sex education materials from public schools facilities. The manifesto, Education Reform Report is the product of the Center for National Policy, a front for radical conservative Christians with close ties to DeVos and several top White House officials, including Trumps fascist master Steve Bannon. The reports demands can be summed up thus; the restoration of education in America that promotes religious schools and enshrine historic Judeo-Christian principles as the basis for instruction.

The radical Christian group laid down some assumptions to base the Department of Educations theocratic agenda such as:

All knowledge and facts have a source, a Creator; they are not self-existent. And that Religious neutrality is a myth perpetrated by secularists, and schools will develop training on philosophy of education for K-12 faculty based on historical Judeo-Christian philosophy of education.

Trumps choice to dismantle public education and replace it with theocratic indoctrination, Betsy DeVos said her goal is to use the full force of the Trump government to Confront the culture in ways that will continue to advance gods kingdom.

Over the past few years any number of pundits and commentators have claimed the religious right, like the Republican Party, is either suffering its death throes or already dead. Of course that may be every decent Americans wet dream, but it is not remotely true. What is true is that Americans are less religious, less Christian, and less likely to believe in an air-fairy controlling the universe. It is that truth that is driving the conservative Christian effort to make America more Christian and more godly by indoctrinating the next generation into accepting the idea that American education must proceed in accordance with historic Judeo-Christian principles without question and without choice.

Based on the study revealing that Americans are fleeing religion in droves, one can only assume that the radical Christian conservatives are thrilled that while the nation is mesmerized by the Trumps espionage problems, their effort to theocratize the public education system is going unnoticed.
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A criminal complaint has been filed against Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions accusing him of perjury and obstruction of justice.

The criminal complaint which was filed with the Inspector Generals Office and the Office of Professional Responsibility states, The criminal conduct described in this complaint relates to testimony and false statements about communications between Sessions and the Russian ambassador that were made by Sessions to the Senate Judiciary Committee. It also concerns Sessions acts of concealing his crimes, covering up his crimes, impeding the investigation his crimes, interfering with the prosecution of his crimes, conspiring to commit crimes and otherwise interfering with or impeding the proper administration of the Department of Justice.

The complainants are 23 residents of Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, California, and Vermont. The complainants are demanding a Special Counsel to investigate Sessions and the Russia scandal, numerous federal investigations, and an indictment of Sessions for violations of federal law.

The attorney for the complainants, attorney J. Whitfield Larrabee, said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, Attorney General Sessions is putting his own personal interest above the interest of the people of the United States by failing to resign. Because there are grounds not only to investigate but also to charge Sessions with several crimes, the integrity of the Department of Justice will be destroyed so long as Sessions remains in office. Prosecutors at the Department of Justice cannot properly investigate this matter while Sessions remains in office because of a natural reluctance to aggressively probe and prosecute the leader of their own Department. It is an inherent conflict of interest.

Larrabee continued, Under the regulations of the Department of Justice, the Deputy Attorney General must immediately appoint a Special Counsel to investigate evidence of criminal conduct by Attorney General Sessions.

Complaints such as this one are an example of concerned citizens using legal means to try to get an independent investigation into the Trump/Russia scandal.

With the House Intelligence Committee investigation looking compromised by chair Rep. Devin Nunes, citizens may not be able to trust or the Department of Justice to conduct the type of investigation that will be needed to get to the truth.

If the American people are going to save their democracy, they will have to do it themselves, and legal complaints are one method of fighting back.
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During an interview on MSNBC, Bill Kristol explained how the White House works and why House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Devin Nuness admission that he met his source at the White House is evidence of a Trump/Russia cover-up operation.

Video:

During an interview with MSNBCs Chris Jansing, Bill Kristol explained why Devin Nunes being on the White House grounds the day before he made his claim that Trump was spied on is a problem.

Kristol said, In terms of security, its just like the White House. You have to go through the east entrance or the southern entrance.You have to get cleared in by someone in the White House. So Devin Nunes can not just show up at the White House and say, Hey, Im chairman of a committee in the House, and Id to clear in someone, an outsider, to meet with me, Bill Kristol, because you have a nice room or even a secure room for me to meet in. What tells me is most likely, and obviously, I dont know this, but putting two and two together about how the White House works, Devin Nunes was meeting with someone on the White House staff, or someone cleared in by the White House staffI do believe the evidence is mounting up that Nunes got whatever information that he claims to have for his charges from the White House.

Bill Kristol is the founder and editor of the conservative Weekly Standard. This is not some liberal making partisan claims against the White House, so there appears to be a growing consensus that there is something suspicious about what Nunes is doing.

Kristol added that if Nunes got his info from the White House than the rush to brief the president, and the press conferences that the House Intelligence Committee chairman held were all PR.

What appears to have happened is that the White House fed Nunes information in an attempt to derail the House Intelligence Committee investigation. In other words, the White House tried to cover-up the Russia scandal by planting false information about Trump being spied on to get investigators off their trail.

The Executive Branch of the federal government is meddling in a Legislative Branch investigation of the White House. This scenario is the definition of a constitutional crisis.

Nunes couldnt have just been using a room at the White House. He was there for a reason, and that reason increasingly looks like an effort to kill the investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government during the 2016 election.
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At this juncture in Trumps America, it might be a chore to find an American who isnt aware that the corrupt businessman in the White House doesnt do anything if theres no money involved; either for himself or his friends. On Friday Trump issued the construction permit for the foreign corporation TransCanada to build a highly-destructive KeystoneXL tar sand pipeline across Americas heartland with the promise of creating massive numbers of jobs and guaranteeing American energy independence. Of course, like every utterance from Trumps nasty mouth, those reasons are blatant lies and it is not this authors opinion, it is a fact.

As some Americans are aware, the project will link the climate-destroying tar sands from Canada, much of which is owned by the Koch brothers, to oil refineries, also owned by the Kochs, en route to Texas for export to Asia and Russia. One of the companies that will profit immensely by Keystones construction is Secretary of State and Vladimir Putin loyalist Rex Tillersons company Exxon Mobil. Owners of the Republican Congress, Koch Industries will also profit because besides being the largest land owners of Canadian tar sands, the Kochs own refineries contracted to refine the Canadian tar into diesel oil which is in high demand in Russia and China.

None of the refined tar will be used in America and yet it is American land, water, and air that will be adversely affected to enrich the Koch brothers, foreign oil exporters, Rex Tillersons company Exxon, and a Russian oligarch-friendly with Donald Trump. It is the primary reason Trump issued a construction permit on Friday last and saying otherwise makes him a liar; particularly because he claims he did it to create tens-of-thousands of jobs.

Trump claimed Keystone pipeline will create a monumental number of jobs, but not anything remotely close to the fantasy number of over 28,000 jobs he claimed. According to the company contracted with the Canadian corporation TransCanada to actually build the pipeline, Cardno Entrix, the United States Department of State estimate of temporary construction jobs is virtually spot on. Cardno Entrix puts the number of temporary, seasonal construction jobs at between 5,000 and 6,000 for a maximum of two years, not 28,000. The number of permanent jobs created is a whopping 35, not 28,000 and it is worth reiterating that the figure was calculated by TransCanadas pipeline contractor Cardno Entrix.

One of the detriments of constructing the pipeline to enrich the Kochs and Trumps Russian oligarch friend are raising the price of fuel in America; diesel fuel that farmers and truckers depend on and gasoline all Americans use. The reality of raising fuel prices is not conjecture or this authors opinion, the pipelines foreign owner TransCanada reported that fuel prices for Americans will increase by 20 cents to 40 cents or more per gallon at the pump because the pipeline will drain off oil reserves along its route on its way to Russia and Asia via export from Texas ports.

According to a report produced by Research Director Emeritus Judy Dugan and independent energy analyst Tim Hamilton utilizing industry data, public records and company documents:

Keystone XL is not an economic benefit to Americans who will see higher gas prices and bear all the risks of the pipeline. The pipeline is being built through America, but not for Americans.

As the pipelines route passes directly over the Ogallala Aquifer that supplies drinking water to 2 million Americans and is the primary source of groundwater for 20 percent of Americas agriculture, the potential for environmental disaster is immense; and that doesnt include the game over for the climate warning by the Earths leading environmental scientists.

Oil pipelines are an incredibly more dangerous means of transport than by rail, a fact TransCanada is all too aware of. There have been several TransCanada pipeline breaks, spills, and leaks including one that spilled 12 times in one year. And, three years ago in Michigan, the Lakehead pipeline system ruptured leaving crews still struggling to clean up the mess because unlike regular crude, tar sand oil sinks and doesnt float. Those are indisputable scientific facts; not this authors opinion.

The dangers of the Keystone XL pipeline are immeasurable with no benefit to the American people whatsoever. Still, Trump approved the construction permit because there is big oil money involved and it is worth reiterating that every bit of that big oil money will go directly to the Koch brothers, Secretary of State Rex Tillersons company and Trumps Russian oligarch friend responsible for manufacturing the pipelines steel; despite Trumps pledge it would be made in America or the pipeline would not be built.

Even if Trump was an innately brilliant business mind, something 7 bankruptcies inform he is not, he would never make a decision to create a measly 35 permanent jobs with such a monumental risk to the American people. However, he is risking the environment, drinking, and agricultural water for 2 million Americans, guaranteeing higher fuel prices for American farmers, truckers, and drivers to enrich the Kochs, Secretary of State Rex Tillersons company, and his Russian oligarch friend. The only question that remains is how much wealth the Kochs, the Russians, and Rex Tillerson will skim off for Donald Trump because by now everyone and their pet hamster knows that Trump does nothing unless he personally profits.
Hungary Magyar Telekom appoints new Deputy CEO

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Hungarys Magyar Telekom has announced the appointment of a new Chief Human Resources Officer on Monday. She will start on 15 May.

Magyar Telekom has appointed Zsuzsanna Friedl as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) with effect from 15 May, 2017. Zsuzsanna Friedl will also become a member of Magyar Telekoms Management Committee.



Zsuzsanna Friedl (40) graduated from the College of Foreign Trade, Budapest with a B.Sc. in Business Management. She then embarked upon her professional career by joining General Electric within HR, gaining valuable experience from a wide range of assignments including operations, compensation, management of unions, recruitment and selection, M&A and eHR. From 2007 she worked at UPC Telecommunication as HR Director.
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Wal-Mart will open two new stores in South Carolina this year and could add four others, including a new Neighborhood Market in the Charleston region. AP/File
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
It looks like South Carolinas first early voting general election went off really well, with more than 600,000 casting votes early, mostly in person but some by absentee ballot. That blows away pre-Election Day voting from any year except 2020, when nearly a million voters took advantage of Read moreEditorial: It's your last chance to cast your vote. We help make sure you don't blow it.
HAVANA (AP)  Fidel Castro's government sent the Rev. Juan Francisco Naranjo to two years of work camp in the 1960s for preaching the Gospel in a Cuba where atheism was law and the faithful were viewed as suspect. For years, Naranjo's church was almost abandoned, with just a handful of people daring to attend services.

Naranjo died in 2000 but on a recent Sunday, his William Carey Baptist Church was packed and noisy. Government doctors treated disabled children at a clinic inside. A Bible study group discussed Scripture in one corner of the building before a service attended by 200 of the faithful.

"In the 1960s, the few brothers and sisters who came here had to hide their Bibles in brown-paper covers," said Esther Zulueta, a 57-year-old doctor. "It's night and day."

Trump administration officials have repeatedly said religious freedom is one of the key demands they will make of Cuba when they finish reviewing former President Barack Obama's opening with the island. The administration has never been more specific, but outside groups have accused Cuba of systematically repressing the island's growing ranks of evangelicals and other Protestants with acts including the seizure of hundreds of churches across the island, followed by the demolition of many.

An Associated Press examination has found a more complicated picture. Pastors and worshippers say Cuba is in the middle of a boom in evangelical worship, with tens of thousands of Cubans worshipping unmolested across the island each week.

While the government now recognizes freedom of religion, it doesn't grant the right to build churches or other religious structures. It has demolished a handful of churches in recent years, but allowed their members to continue meeting in makeshift home sanctuaries. And like the Roman Catholic Church, the island's dominant denomination, evangelical churches have begun providing social services once monopolized by the Communist government.

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"There's a revival of these churches, of the most diverse denominations in the country, and all of them are growing, not just in the number of members, but in their capacity to lead and act in society," said Presbyterian pastor Joel Ortega Dopica, president of Council of Churches of Cuba, an officially recognized association of 32 Protestant denominations. "There is religious freedom in Cuba."

Clergy and academics say Cuba's 11 million people include some 40,000 Methodists, 100,000 Baptists and 120,000 members of the Assemblies of God, which had roughly 10,000 members in the early 1990s, when Cuba began easing restrictions on public expressions of religious faith. The church council estimates there are about 25,000 evangelical and other Protestant houses of worship across the country. About 60 percent of the population is baptized Catholic, with many also following Afro-Cuban syncretic traditions such as Santeria.

Naranjo was part of that opening. After the work camp, he returned to a church whose worshippers were barred from many state jobs. A thaw began in 1984 when visiting American civil rights activist Jesse Jackson stunned Cuba by taking Fidel Castro to a Protestant church service. In 1990, Naranjo was among a group of pastors who met with Castro to push for a greater freedom, and his own church worked on building ties between religious groups and the Communist Party.

The opening culminated in the 1998 visit of Pope John Paul II, which led to new liberties for both Catholic and Protestant worshippers.

The Cuban constitution now recognizes freedom of religion, but the law is silent on the issue of church construction. In a system where the government has long monopolized public life, virtually all activities are presumed illegal unless the law says otherwise. Authorities in some areas have prohibited new churches, even as they allow worship in religious buildings erected before Cuba's 1959 revolution.

The London-based advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide issued a report alleging the Cuban government committed 2,380 violations of religious liberty in 2016, most linked to the declaration of 2,000 Assemblies of God churches as illegal, with 1,400 in process of confiscation. The group says it based that information on a source inside Cuba whom it would not name.

Juan Whitaker, the Assemblies of God's treasurer in Cuba, told The Associated Press this month that none of its churches had been declared illegal or were at risk of confiscation.

David Ellis, regional director for Latin America and Caribbean for world missions of the Missouri-based General Council of the Assemblies of God, told the AP, "We are in ongoing contact with the Cuba Assemblies of God leadership and they have not reported any churches being confiscated. Neither have they reported that churches have been threatened with confiscation."

Kiri Kankhwende, a spokeswoman for Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said its assessment hadn't changed and any statement to the contrary could be explained by official pressure on churches in Cuba.

Christian Solidarity has also cited the case of Juan Carlos Nunez, a minister in the Apostolic Movement in the eastern city of Las Tunas, while other religious freedom advocates have cited the case of Bernardo de Quesada, in the eastern city of Camaguey, as examples of religious persecution.

Both men told the AP that churches they built in the yards of their homes were demolished by the government because they were constructed without permits. Both continue leading services inside their homes, where hundreds of worshippers gather each week.

"They tolerate me, but they don't accept me," said de Quesada. "I'm not shutting up or leaving. We have passion and no one will stop us."

Nunez said he was sentenced to a year of house arrest after neighbors complained about speakers he set up to boost the sound of services in his home. He blamed the situation on the vague status of new churches in Cuban law.

"If there were a law on church activities, none of this would happen and everything would be clear," he said.

Even so, churches are working on projects that once would have been forbidden to them, including efforts on AIDS prevention, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, medicine distribution, training of farm workers and disaster relief.

"The Cuban authorities have understood the necessity of our presence and dialogue with the government, which still continues, even if we don't always agree," said the Rev. Dorilin Tito, a 38-year-old pastor at William Carey Baptist Church.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Weissenstein contributed to this report.

___

Andrea Rodriguez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP
The First Unitarian Universalist Church in Rochester is considering whether to declare itself a "sanctuary congregation," making it the first Rochester area church to reveal that it is actively exploring the option.

Such a designation, if approved by a vote of the 370-member church, would be a declaration of its intention to offer emergency haven for undocumented immigrants facing deportation. Similar discussions are occurring in churches across the state, including Red Wing, St. Cloud and Duluth, according to church and Christian leaders.

"Part of the reason we are doing this at all is to make the public aware that we  a faith institution  have objections to the way things are going with immigration law," said Phil Wheeler, one of a group of church members pushing for the declaration.

Last month, President Trump directed his administration to enforce the nation's immigration laws more aggressively, broadening the scope of people subject to arrest and deportation to include undocumented individuals who have not committed serious crimes.

Advocates say the sanctuary movement has been picking up steam in recent months in response to President Trump's election and a crackdown he ordered that could lead to many more deportations.

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Growing network

So far, a network of 28 churches have emerged in the state as either a sanctuary congregation or "sanctuary supporting." Most are in the Twin Cities, but a few are in Greater Minnesota cities. An equal number of churches in the state are said to be actively discussing the idea, officials say. So far, no Rochester area church has made such a declaration, but that could change.

Wheeler said a 14-member group has begun drafting a resolution that could make it Rochester's first sanctuary church. A vote by the full congregation could come as early as the end of April or as late as June. The Rev. Fritz Hudson, First Unitarian Universalist Church's interim minister, noted that three UU congregations in the Twin Cities have already declared themselves sanctuary congregations, "so we have good guidance from our colleagues up there."

The Rochester church's decision to consider such a declaration comes after representatives and leaders of 10 Rochester area churches gathered at Peace United Church of Christ March 16 to learn more about the sanctuary movement  and what it means to become a sanctuary church. The meeting was attended by the Rev. Grant Stevenson, a clergy organizer for ISAIAH, a Twin Cities faith-based group that has been spearheading the sanctuary movement in the state.

"We're convening a movement of the spirit that's out there," Stevenson said.

The Rev. Paul Bauch, senior pastor at the church that hosted the meeting, said the meeting was informational only.

"It wasn't even a discussion. It was just to get information only," Bauch said.

It's not entirely clear how many Rochester churches are actively considering becoming sanctuary congregations, but First Unitarian Universalist is reportedly not alone. At the meeting last week, it was evident from the comments that two other churches "were ready to move forward with this" and were further along than the UU church, officials say. People either declined to name them or didn't know which churches they were.

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Difficult discussions

Some churches are discovering that consensus isn't always easy or automatic. While some see such civil disobedience as consistent with what the gospel teaches, the discussions within these churches have revealed a diversity of opinion, including some that oppose the idea.

"I know there are congregations where people are really wanting to move in this direction. And they're surprised that it's a more difficult conversation than (they imagined)," Stevenson said.

Wheeler said he was unable to predict at this point how church members would react to the resolution. The draft will be presented to the social justice council on April 5. From there, it would go before the entire congregation. To pass, at least 60 percent of the members must vote, and of those, 60 percent must vote in favor of it.

Wheeler said he expects talks to focus on the risks the church will be undertaking if it becomes a sanctuary congregation, and when does unjust enforcement of the law justify civil disobedience.

"We're still exploring the ramifications," Wheeler said. "That's why I'm cautious. If it comes to vote tomorrow, I'll vote in favor, but I don't know if that's true of the majority of the church."

Historical precedent

Sanctuary movements come in waves. One of the last ones was in the 1980s. Back then it wasn't Mexicans who were seeking protection, but people from Central America. Such churches agree to provide housing for undocumented people under a deportation order or while they work out their legal issues.

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The protection afforded undocumented immigrants by churches is not something that is guaranteed by law. But it has been a practice generally observed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement division not to storm or invade "buildings of faith communities" for the purpose of apprehending such immigrants.

The First United Church of Christ in Northfield voted to declare itself a sanctuary church in December, a month after President Trump's election.

Senior Pastor Todd Lippert said the 450-member church has a long history of working on social justice issues. And as fears of mass deportation have risen, particularly among members of the city's Hispanic community, "we wanted to say, 'our church could be safe place (for those) who are facing that threat.'"

Lippert said the vote in support of a sanctuary declaration was "overwhelming." Many were animated by a desire to live up to the gospel, which calls upon people "to be caring for the widow, the orphan and the stranger in the land," Lippert said, quoting from the Bible. He noted that right before the vote, a church member stood up to tell the congregation that "this Christianity thing is coming to life for the first time for me,'" Lippert said.

"There was a strong feeling in the congregation that this was something that we should do," Lippert said.

Going public

He said the church has made a point of being very public about its decision. It contacted ISAIAH, which has been working to connect these churches into a network, to let them know it now was on the list.

Lippert said since the decision, a team of 10 to 12 members has been working to prepare the church to serve as host to an undocumented person. An all-purpose room has been converted into living quarters. Contacts have been cultivated with groups in Northfield "that are very closely connected with the Hispanic community." The church also has access to a network of immigration lawyers.

Despite the strong support in favor of sanctuary status, Lippert said he understands how such a discussion can create tensions in a church.

"Declaring sanctuary is a significant step," he said. "There are many churches that are really wrestling with this conversation now. Churches are bringing it up and talking about it."

The Rev. Thomas Parlette, minster of the First Presbyterian Church in Rochester, said he attended last week's meeting as someone wanting to learn more information about sanctuary congregations. A few people had approached him, curious about the effort and wanting to know more. Parlette said he will probably bring the topic up at a church committee to test interest in the idea.

"I bring up lost of things that people aren't necessarily interested in pursuing, so we'll see what happens," Parlette said. "I kind of have to go with what strikes a chord. And we do have lots of people who are very concerned about the way the wind is blowing in our country right now."
Today's Post Bulletin features a 20-page special report , "DMC: Transforming Rochester," that outlines the progress of the Destination Medical Center initiative over the past year and what to expect in 2017. It is part one of a two-part section on Destination Medical Center. Part 2, " DMC: Transforming the Region ," will be published April 3.

Here are six highlights of today's section:

1. Is Rochester really ready to become the "Silicon Valley of Medicine"? DMC figures to set the stage for the Med City to become a happening place for tech startups and entrepreneurs, but some veterans contend that the city has typically been very risk-averse. Minnesota Public Radio's Catharine Richert has the details.

2. Mayo Clinic's care mode is known across the globe. The challenge for DMC is to ensure the $6.5 billion project transforms the city in a complementary way, particularly downtown. The Heart of the City project takes aim at those issues, writes John Weiss.

3. Post Bulletin reporter Matt Stolle tracks media coverage of DMC since its inception. As metro developers have shown increasing interest in the expensive, transformative project, media coverage has followed.

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4. For better or for worse, the area around Saint Marys Hospital is preparing for major changes . The hospital itself recently announced a $217 million expansion, but the nearby $115 million Alatus development has faced intense scrutiny and criticism.

5. For a project that's expected to double Rochester's population by 2034 and significantly increase employment options downtown, transportation and parking becomes a priority. But will 16,000 new spaces be enough? Answer Man weighs in.

6. The old Chateau Theater has sat empty for more than a year, but it remains a prominent downtown venue. Is the $21.3 million renovation dream realistic? How about smart? The PB's Tom Weber checks in with key players in that debate.

You can find all of the articles from the special section on our DMC landing page .
After Cathy Murphy's gall bladder surgery, complications kept her in the hospital for three months.

Still dealing with health issues when her hospital stay ended, she was forced to quit her job for a small nonprofit and lost her insurance  an experience she called a "nightmare." She was thankful she could get insurance through Minnesota's health care exchange, but called the process overwhelming."

"I think the first time I got in the system it was a full-time job, just sitting on the phone all the time," she told a room of Rochester leaders and Sen. Al Franken, of her experience navigating the exchange and being forced to switch between health care providers and doctors.

Franken on Saturday paid a visit to Rochester's Minnesota BioBusiness Center to talk about regional health care innovation and some of the challenges that health care businesses and patients are having  just one day after a Republican attempt to overhaul the Affordable Care Act failed.

"What we want to do, in a bipartisan way, is to do everything we can to fix the pieces of the Affordable Care Act that aren't working well," Franken said, pointing to the exchanges and addressing the cost of pharmaceuticals as examples.

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Both were touched on during the discussion at Rochester Home Infusion, a Rochester business that started in 2014 and is housed in the BioBusiness Center. RIH provides at-home intravenous medications for patients, like Murphy, so that they can continue treatment in their own home. Their 14 employees work with patients from six states in the region.

Joselyn Raymundo, a pharmacist, and the president and founder of RIH, brought the care model to Rochester because she saw a void in the city's Destination Medical Center market. The business works not just to dispense medications, but also to monitor patients and their prescriptions when they've returned home in order to prevent re-hospitalization.

This saves patients, and the health care system, the major cost of re-hospitalization, Raymundo said.

But, one of the hurdles the 3-year-old business is facing is Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for prescription drugs. They don't cover the full cost of medications if a patient chooses the home infusion model, which forces many people to pay out-of-pocket if they want at-home care.

"Really the biggest gap here is that medicare does not pay the per diem amount," she said, adding the business needs to at least be able to cover the cost of supplies, compounding the medication and delivery.

The business became profitable about 8 months after its launch, said the company's CFO Sean McCauley, but the reimbursement has been their biggest hurdle.

Franken pointed to bills he's introduced in previous years to allow Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to bring down the cost, something President Trump has expressed support for.

Franken said he hopes that Congress is past trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and is now looking to make some of the parts that haven't worked so well work.

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The Republican health care bill "fell of its own weight," he said, "it wasn't a good bill."

Franken said his biggest priorities are creating more competition in the exchanges and working to cut prescription drug costs.

"We want to work to make ACA as functional as possible" he said.
For someone who's been a handyman since he could remember, it was tough for John Ravenhorst when medical issues forced him to give up his self-sufficiency.

After four months in the hospital with medical issues, John Ravenhorst came away with doctors ' orders to never lift more than 20 pounds again. So when help is offered, even though he might be reluctant to accept it, he's grateful.

"I'm used to doing just about anything and everything myself  I always have," Ravenhorst said. "It's hard to swallow your pride."

On Saturday, more than 20 plumbers with Local 6 Plumbers and Pipefitters hit Rochester, donated their time, to help about 20 low-income and elderly households with their water and plumbing needs. From leaky faucets, to installing new toilets, the team provided labor and materials for the fixes.

Ravenhorst's home was one of the stops, where plumbers replaced a leaky faucet and installed a new toilet.

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"It's good that there are outfits like this that are willing to help," Ravenhorst said.

For low-income families, and those living on a fixed income, things like a leaky faucet can unnecessarily drive up already difficult-to-pay-for utility bills.

Joe Moenck, lead organizer for Minnesota Pipefitters, was one of the plumbers helping out at Ravenhorst's home Saturday. He said utility bills aren't the only problem families experience with plumbing issues  those can also lead to mold or other household damage that are hazardous to a person's health.

"When we can curb the problem, with the plumbing issue, we can work on all those other things, too," Moenck said. "We as a plumber's union have the opportunity to really give back to people who need help."

Since 1994, union plumbers and contractors have assisted families throughout the state. They hold two events a year, "Water's Off" each spring, and "Heat's On" in the fall to inspect and prepare furnaces for the winter .

The event is coordinated by Three Rivers , a nonprofit human service organization, that coordinates energy assistance applications in Goodhue, Rice, Wabasha and Olmsted counties, said Lynette Stott, the program's coordinator.

Each year, Three Rivers works with about 3,000 households in Olmsted County, helping with energy usage and utility bills, to system repair and replacement. On Saturday, they were focused on the elderly in Rochester.

For some families, it's just a stop-gap while they're having a one-time financial crisis, Stott said. For others, it might be an essential part of paying their bills.

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But, funding for the program, through the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, is now uncertain. As President Trump's budget sits, the funding is zeroed out, Stott said. While she said she doesn't think the current version of the budget will make it through Congress, Three Rivers' future is uncertain after funding dries up in April.

"We are pretty concerned that this essential program for low-income families could be zeroed out by the president and Congress," she said.
First District Rep. Tim Walz is running for governor.

In an interview with the Post Bulletin this morning, Walz said that after months of considering a possible bid, he has decided to run in 2018. The Mankato Democrat said he believes he has shown during his years in Congress he can work across the aisle to get things done.

"I think now more than ever people are just wanting (government) to work. They are not looking for the partisanship. They are not looking for me to have all the answers, but they are certainly looking for me to bring people together to find those solutions that we all know are there," he said.

The congressman and his family are headed to St. Paul today to officially file the paperwork for his candidacy.

A crowded field

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Walz becomes the first Democrat from greater Minnesota to jump into the gubernatorial race. Three other DFLers have already announced their bids  St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, St. Paul Rep. Erin Murphy and State Auditor Rebecca Otto. A number of others are also considering a run, including Rochester DFL Rep. Tina Liebling and 8th District Rep. Rick Nolan.

Several Republicans are also mulling a bid for governor, including House Speaker Kurt Daudt, Republican Party Chairman Keith Downey and 2014 gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson. St. Cloud GOP activist Christopher William Chamberlin has announced he is running.

Walz said he doesn't buy into the argument that the needs of residents in rural areas and metro areas are at odds with each other. He said he will run a campaign focused on bringing Minnesotans together.

"This idea of dividing us, whether it be by economics, by race or by geography, that's the antithesis of what I'm talking about. The idea of one Minnesota is what has always made the state strong," he said.

University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs said Walz is the frontrunner in the governor's race at this point.

"Tim Walz is the strongest candidate who can both unify the metro area and be quite competitive in outstate," Jacobs said.

Walz's political career began with upset

Walz was born in West Point, Neb. He enlisted in the Army National Guard at age 17 and retired after 24 years, having achieved the rank of command sergeant major. After graduating from Chadron State College in Nebraska with a degree in social studies, Walz began teaching. He spent more than a decade teaching geography at Mankato West High School.

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His political career began in 2006 with an election night upset, defeating 1st District Republican Rep. Gil Gutknecht. During his time in Washington, D.C., Walz has focused heavily on veterans issues. He recently was elected lead Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Asked whether he will abide by the DFL endorsement process, Walz said, "I fully expect to win the endorsement. I can't say what the other candidates will do. Obviously, that's our goal at this time."

The congressman said he will spend the next few months traveling around the state introducing himself to voters. He said he expects to talk on the campaign trail about the importance of funding public schools and investing in critical transportation infrastructure.

"I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of Minnesotans," he said.

Open 1st District race

Walzs decision to run for governor throws open the race for the 1st Congressional District seat. The swing district runs along Minnesotas southern border from Wisconsin to South Dakota. Before Walzs decision to run for governor, the National Republican Congressional Committee had already announced it planned to target the seat ahead of the 2018 election.

Walz eked out a victory in November despite voters in his district overwhelmingly supporting Republican Donald Trump for president. Walz defeated Republican Jim Hagedorn by less than one percentage point.

Already running for the seat is Hagedorn, of Blue Earth. He is making his fourth bid for the seat after running in 2010, 2014 and 2016. The open race may inspire some other Republicans to jump into the race. Meanwhile, Walz said he is confident that Democrats can hold onto the seat. He expects some strong candidates to step forward.

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"I trust the people of the 1st District. I would argue they've chosen wisely six times in a row, and I anticipate they'll continue to do so," he said.

Jacobs said Democrats face a tough fight keeping Republicans from picking up the seat. He said it is possible if DFLers can keep it blue if they find a candidate similar to Walz who fits the district and if President Trump's approval ratings continue to sag heading into the 2018 midterms.

He added, "Midterm elections are often referendums on the party in the White House and Donald Trump's 40 percent approval rating could well drag on any Republican running in the first."
Legislation that would prohibit taxpayer dollars from being spent on a proposed high-speed rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities is chugging along in the Minnesota House.

The measure is part of House Republicans' tax bill . The legislation prohibits any public money from being spent on the passenger rail project. It also prohibits the use of eminent domain for the rail line and requires developers of projects that cost more than $1 billion to purchase environmental insurance.

Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, authored the bill. He said it makes sense to include the language in the Republican tax bill because it is about protecting taxpayers' interests.

"We need to give some certainty to the people of southern Minnesota and Minnesota generally that the pockets of Minnesotans are not going to be picked by this boondoggle," Drazkowski said.

Last year, the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Olmsted County suspended work on Zip Rail  a proposed publicly funded high-speed rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities. The plan was shelved due to a lack of funding. Meanwhile, a private company called North American High Speed Rail Group stepped forward expressing interest in building a $4.2 billion rail line connecting the two cities with private dollars. Those plans appear to have stalled with the North American High Speed Rail group's website suddenly disappearing and being replaced with a sparse site for a group called " Minnesota Corridor. " The rail group's strategist, Wendy Meadley  who had been the public face of the project  left the company last fall. She bought the web domain for the Minnesota Corridor site.

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While the rail funding ban is advancing in the House, it has gotten derailed in the Senate. The measure, sponsored by Red Wing GOP Sen. Mike Goggin, failed to be included in the Senate transportation finance bill.

Sen. Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, said he doesn't think it is good policy to put these sorts of prohibitions in state law, but he is not too concerned about the bill.

High-speed rail "is a long, long way from anything that is really serious in terms of a reality and so are we going to put into a bill something that's $4 billion away from reality? I don't think it's necessary to eliminate it from ever being considered," Senjem said.

Cities push back at Capitol

Several groups representing Minnesota cities recently sent a letter to legislative leaders raising concerns about more than two dozen bills they say would interfere with local decision making.

Representatives from the League of Minnesota Cities, the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities, Minnesota Association of Small Cities and the Municipal Legislative Commission sent the letter last week. They wrote that several bills are advancing that take power away from local governments and "we are very concerned about this trend and the effects of bills that could significantly hinder local officials from effectively acting to serve their local communities as they are expressly elected to do."

The letter cites legislation that would restrict cities' ability to set local ordinances, reduce Local Government Aid based on factors not related to the funding formula and allow citizens via reverse referendum to undo tax increases approved by city officials. Also included on a list of bills concerned to the League of Minnesota Cities is the Zip Rail funding ban bill.

The league is encouraging cities across the state to pass resolutions in support of local decision making.

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Liebling to announce run for governor?

Rep. Tina Liebling is slated to make an announcement about her political future at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Peace Plaza in downtown Rochester. Liebling has previously said she is seriously considering a run for governor. A Facebook event listing calls Sunday's event the "Believe in Minnesota Rally." It says Liebling will discuss economic opportunity, health care and education.

The Rochester Democrat was first elected to the Minnesota House in 2004. If she does decide to run, she will will join several other DFLers who have already tossed their hats in the ring. Others who have announced runs for governor are St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, St. Paul Rep. Erin Murphy and State Auditor Rebecca Otto. A number of other Democrats are also mulling a bid to replace DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. Meanwhile, only one Republican has announced plans to run  activist Christopher William Chamberlin. But several other GOPers are said to be considering a bid including House Speaker Kurt Daudt, Dellwood Rep. Matt Dean, and Republican Party Chairman Keith Downey  just to name a few.
Therese O'Connor spent more than six months looking for a Rochester apartment she could share with her mother.

She checked potential listings hourly and frequently found herself in line with 15 to 20 other apartment-seekers once a good listing was found.

"I found out what a cutthroat game it is when you are looking for an apartment," she said.

In June, she'll have been in her one-bedroom apartment in the Village on Third complex for two years. Since moving in, her mother has died, but O'Connor said she was happy in the apartment, which is in a complex built with the help of state tax credits. The tax credits mean it caters to a specific income range, frequently referred to as affordable or workplace housing.

By federal definition, affordable housing comes with payments that are no more than 30 percent of a household income. Olmsted County's median income is about $35,000, which makes anything higher than $875 per month outside the defined affordable limit for many single-income households.

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Village on Third, one of several apartment complexes built in association with developer Joe Weis' Joseph Development, seeks to fill the growing need for housing that is affordable to residents and families that don't meet income guidelines for subsidized housing but also don't earn enough to afford market-rate apartments, which carry average rents of $950 or more.

O'Connor, who is self-employed and works with clients suffering memory issues, said the income guidelines at Village on Third fit her needs, and the fact the apartment was wheelchair accessible, had large windows and other desired features made it ideal for her mother, who had told her she wouldn't move into anything she deemed unfit.

Tighter market

Today, O'Connor knows the market has gotten tighter, which raises concerns. Because of health issues, she's unable to work full time, but she'd prefer to make it on her own, rather than seek housing assistance. As a result, she believes she would be unable to find alternative housing in Rochester, if needed.

Dave Dunn, Olmsted County Housing and Redevelopment Authority executive director, acknowledges it would be a challenge. A 2014 Maxfield Research study indicated 246 new affordable housing units will be needed in Rochester each year through 2020, but development hasn't been keeping pace.

"If this isn't a crisis, I'd hate to see what one looks like," he said.

Weis, who has worked to bring eight complexes to the city with a total of 500 units, acknowledges it isn't enough.

"There hasn't been much of a dent made in the availability of affordable housing," he said, noting his company received support to build two complexes  the 49-unit Ashland Place and 58-unit The Meadows  in 2014 and others since then, but more is needed.

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Opening next for Weis is the 1st Avenue Flats apartment building at 400 First Ave. NW, which is expected to be full on opening day in April. With rents ranging from $860 to $1,050, 31 percent of the 68 planned units were claimed by March 3, according to Heather Barness, area manager for Velair Management, which oversees Weis' completed developments in Rochester.

Barness, who is overseeing efforts to fill 1st Avenue Flats, said the fact that units in affordable complexes are claimed before the doors open speaks volumes, showing a need for homes catering to households that earn wages ranging from $12 to $17 per hour.

Affordable guidelines

The use of state tax credits mean the apartments must follow income guidelines that cap what applicants earn, typically 60 percent of the local median income. At the same time, business guidelines require applicants to earn enough to cover monthly payments, said Sarah Kohler, director of property management for Veliar Property Management.

Osob Ahmed, who lives in a three-bedroom Village on Third apartment with her husband, Apdalla, and their four children, said the guidelines provide for a variety of hard-working neighbors.

She works as a part-time interpreter, and her husband works as a full-time tailor for Men's Wearhouse and operates his own business on the weekends. She said their busy schedules are the norm in the complex.

"Many people have two jobs," she said. "It depends on the positions."

O'Connor echoed the observation, noting she frequently sees her neighbors leave early in the morning and arrive home late in the evening because of long work schedules or multiple jobs.

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"You have a group of hard-working people who have to work their tails off just to pay the bills," she said.

More development

Other developers are starting to see the need. In 2015, Twin Cities real estate developers Bryan Koster and Dean Meier decided to renovate an existing 24-unit apartment building at 1609 10th St. SE.

Koster said they've spent the last year stabilizing building occupancy and now are looking for their next project.

"As a whole, the project was encouraging and has been a good experience so far," he said, noting the demand for apartments in the affordable range has made it worthwhile.

The need also is drawing interest from beyond the state's borders.

South Dakota-based Stencil Group plans to transform the site housing Wicked Moose Bar and Grill, 120 Eastgate Drive SE, into a four-story, 135-unit apartment building. When presented to the city council, plans called for 20 percent of the units to rent at market-rate and 80 percent to rent at rates affordable to people earning 60 percent of area median income.

Last month, Village Capital Corp., based in Indiana, received Rochester City Council support for potential tax-increment financing to assist in building a 208-unit apartment complex near the intersection of 375th Street and East River Road Northeast. Alison Birge, of Village Capital Corp., said it's the company's first endeavor in Rochester.

A Joseph Development project, Valleyhigh Flats at 3433 Kenosha Drive NW, also received approval for potential TIF support for a 60-unit apartment building.

Weis said the added interest isn't causing him to lose any sleep. He knows the need for affordable apartments will continue as the Destination Medical Center effort continues to grow.

Steve Borchardt, housing initiative director for Rochester Area Foundation, concurs, noting more than 99 percent of apartments in what is considered the affordable price range already are occupied. He's been working to help the community understand the housing crisis in recent years and says more conversations are needed.

Affordability gap

Borchardt points out 11 percent of Olmsted County households fall in an affordability gap between families that qualify for housing assistance and those who can afford market-rate rent. The gap is primarily filled with people earning between $35,000 and $50,000 per year, he said.

The gap means the affordable housing crisis hits some unexpected residents.

"People immediately associate affordable housing with all the negatives of being low income, and they associate affordable housing with the minimum wage," he said.

The former Olmsted County sheriff points out that the gap affects people who are perceived as being well-paid. He notes that police officers in their first four years easily can fall into the gap, as can teachers, medical technicians and some social workers.

In February, he told the Olmsted County HRA board that he's been working within the community to raise awareness of the need, but noted efforts are not gaining speed in the same way they did more than a decade ago, when First Homes was launched to address similar concerns.

HRA board member and Olmsted County Commissioner Jim Bier said it will take a continued effort to raise awareness of the issues. While a county tax levy is in place to provide some funding, he said more community support is needed.

"If we don't have buy-in from the community, we can talk all we want," he said.
There was a time when Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede famously said he would stand in front of the wrecking ball to block the destruction of the former Chateau Theatre building.

Such a dramatic action proved unnecessary when, in January 2016, the City of Rochester completed purchase of the Chateau for $6 million. Now, as chairman of the Chateau Theatre Re-Use Committee, the mayor is trying to guide the Chateau  once a cinema and vaudeville stage, later a bookstore  toward future use as a performing arts center.

"It's still the thing I have a passion for," Brede said of the Chateau project. "Hopefully it gets done sooner rather than later."

Then he added, "It would be nice to make some progress."

That's something nearly everyone can agree with: making progress on what some feel is one of the signature projects of the Destination Medical Center effort.

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Holding pattern

For now, the Chateau project is stalled, pending other downtown development plans.

"We're in a holding pattern," said Steven Schmidt, general manager of the city's music department and the city's staff liaison with the Chateau task force. "We're waiting to see where all the pieces fall downtown."

Plans and options for renovating the Chateau and financing its ongoing operation were presented last fall. The preferred plan at this point is the so-called Option E presented by Miller Dunwiddie Architects, the city's lead project coordinator.

Option E would, at a cost of $21.3 million, convert the Chateau to a 400-to-600-seat performance venue, complete with seats that can be raised or removed for certain types of events.

Brede listed other possibilities: The balcony could be used as a secondary space for international films or small performances; a coffee shop might operate in the building; there could be a space for smaller art exhibits.

"It would be a place where something is going on all the time," Brede said.

He was quick to add that a reopened Chateau would not compete with Mayo Civic Center, which is only blocks to the east and has recently undergone an extensive expansion.

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Balancing dreams, reality

All of the possibilities sound wonderful, but reality has a way of dousing dreams.

'I'm committed to working with the architects so we can come up with a design that works for all interested parties," Schmidt said.

However, he said, "It's very difficult to create a facility that will be all things to all users. It's difficult to operate a facility 24/7, 365 days."

The question, Schmidt said, is "How can we do successful events, not only from an artistic standpoint, but from an attendee standpoint? And it has to make economic sense. It's how we find the balance."

That delicate balance depends in part on making the Chateau available to both local and touring artists.

However, at least one group mentioned as a potential tenant, the Rochester Repertory Theatre, is not quite ready to jump on board. "I told the mayor, 'This might be ideal for some groups, but I don't know who it is," said Jeanne Skattum, co-founder of the Rep. "I don't see it being a viable thing for us."

Rental costs, too many seats, storage space, move-ins and move-outs, and who would operate lights and sound, were listed as concerns by Skattum.

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SHAKESPEARE, CONCERTS

On the other hand, Skattum, who is also a member of the board of the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, said that organization might be interested. "One of the things we've talked about is for the company to bring a show here," she said. "That size show might work in there."

Meanwhile, Schmidt said a 500-seat hall could be ideal for some of his department's Riverside Concerts offerings. "In terms of where the market is, 500 seats in the Chateau Theatre, as in Option E, is a sellout or near-sellout."

In the long run, Option E appears to be the best plan for the Chateau, Schmidt said.

"I'd like to see that option come to fruition," he said. "I'd like to see it operated as a public facility for the benefit for the local arts community. That means audiences as well as artists."

As for Brede, he's thrilled first of all that the Chateau is being preserved. As he joked, he can now avoid standing in front of a wrecking ball.

In all seriousness, though, Brede's passion for the Chateau project shows through when he starts talking about it.

"To me, the heart of the heart of the city is the Chateau," he said. "If it costs a little more, we ought to do it right. It is the crown jewel. You don't mess around with that. Let's take advantage of the fact it's here."

Then, he asked, "When can we open it?"
Our community's growth always has run parallel with Mayo Clinic's. History should repeat itself.

Mayo always has had a deep partnership with the larger community. When the tornado struck Rochester in 1883, there was no established hospital. The need to build one was obvious, but the task seemed a bit daunting and unrealistic. Led by the Sisters of St. Francis and Mother Alfred Moes, a communitywide effort pulled everyone together.

As the story goes, the commitment to build Saint Marys Hospital, which launched the growth of our community, happened with a handshake, along with a heavy dose of faith, hope and perseverance.

Because our Canadian Honker Restaurant is across the street from Saint Marys, we have the unique privilege to see not only the faces of patients and their families but also of people who live and work here. It's beautiful to see how the two coexist. I was truly humbled and honored when Mayo Clinic CEO Dr. John Noseworthy shared at the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting a tender story of how staff at Saint Marys came to us in response to a critically ill patient's request for a piece of pumpkin pie. That simple act led by the nurses and staff at Saint Marys engaged our staff, and it made a difference.

That story is one of many that happen each and every day that illustrate how our community works together.

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By definition, Destination Medical Center is our community's catalyst for continued prosperity, and our small businesses must be a driving force. We know many of the small business jobs needed for the future will come in the form of innovative entrepreneurs whose focus is on technological research and health care advancements. Those people may have been born here or in some other country. Let's remember many of the founders of Mayo Clinic were immigrants or the children of immigrants and came from outside our community. Diverse perspectives and experiences will provide important insight to care for patients, advance medical science and continue to grow our community.

Some wonder if thousands of new residents will change what we love about Rochester. As someone who was born and raised here, I can promise you: New people have been changing Rochester for the better forever. Dr. Mayo himself moved to Rochester. So if you like what you see, thank those who moved here years or decades ago.

Most important is the focus on repeating history and doing well by doing good. Mayo Clinic always has had a deep commitment to the humanity of its work. "The needs of the patients come first," patient welfare, altruism and teamwork are Mayo Clinic's primary values, and they have stood the test of time.

In an effort to paint the DMC vision, I think we've at times forgotten to tell humanity's side of the story, as this is the true reason to grow our community. Our humanity and values are what will bring us together and help clarify why we all need to work together to not only grow our community but to sustain it.

In this next phase of DMC, it is my hope the "people side" of our community's story will rise to the top and never will get lost. It's the stories about our businesses, government, communities of faith and our important nonprofits all coming together for the greater good. It's pumpkin pie and a whole lot more.

Dr. Mayo said to Mother Alfred that he thought Rochester was too small to support a hospital in 1883. Mother Alfred reassured the doctor, saying, "With our faith and hope and energy, it will succeed."

I'm with Mother Alfred and the vision set long ago for how our community can come together to support and sustain the growth of DMC. With our faith and hope and energy, it will succeed.

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Last week, government officials banned most carry-on electronic devices from U.S.-bound flights originating in more than a dozen Middle Eastern and African countries. The reason was due to an increase in terror threats.

No judges are stopping the ban on electronic devices. No states are suing because the law discriminates against predominantly Muslim countries. Most everyone accepts that our security agencies can look out for us when they perceive a real threat from certain countries.

Last year, a bomb disguised as a laptop computer damaged an aircraft taking off from the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

But just because we can successfully prevent terrorists from blowing up a bomb on their way to the United States, what have we accomplished if they, instead, engage in a terrorist attack once they get here?

The threat of terrorism is real. At last week's rally in Louisville, Ky., President Trump said we need to "keep these foreign terrorists from entering our country in the first place."

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But the week before, a federal judge in Hawaii, Derrick Watson, enjoined the administration from temporarily suspending entry from six countries. Watson, a district court judge appointed by President Barack Obama, said Trump's executive order was "motivated by anti-Muslim animus."

The judge's evidence of religious bias includes Trump's statement while signing the first travel ban. "I am establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States," he said. Trump also later said, "If the ban were announced with a one-week notice, the 'bad' would rush into our country during that week."

Can't Watson differentiate between wanting to ban all Muslims from entering the United States and trying to keep out "radical Islamic terrorists"? Doesn't it make rational sense that terrorists would try to enter the United States before new rules go into effect?

In Louisville, Trump expressed concerns about "the devastation at home from 9/11 to Boston to San Bernardino and many, many other places. We've seen attacks overseas in France, in Germany, in Belgium."

These aren't irrational fears.

Muslims have committed 39 of the worst 50 mass public shootings around the world from 1970 to January 2017  following the traditional FBI definition of shootings with four or more fatalities in a public place, and not in connection to another crime such as robbery. Number 16 on that global list took place last June in Orlando. That shooting, the worst in U.S. history, claimed 50 lives and 53 people were wounded.

Many people mistakenly believe that the United States is somehow unique in mass public shootings, but in fact the rest of the world is much more dangerous: 24 of the worst 25, and 45 of the worst 50, occurred abroad.

The recent ban on electronic devices is motivated by threats from Islamic militant groups such as al-Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaeda. In April 2015, that group shot to death 147 people at a university in Kenya. In September 2013, they fatally shot 63 and wounded 175 at a mall in Nairobi.

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A large number of devastating Muslim attacks in Russia and elsewhere have not been counted as mass public shootings because they relate to struggles over sovereignty. For instance, the 2004 Beslan school massacre was carried out by Muslims in the name of Chechen independence. It claimed 385 lives and injured 783.

Of course, guns are not the only tools of mass killing. A man in Nice, France, killed 86 people and injured more than 200 with a truck and a gun. An SUV and a knife were used in last week's attack in London that left four dead and wounded dozens.

Compared to the world at large, the United States is a haven. If you are worried about terrorists coming into the country, simply disarming them while they are on the plane will not be enough.
Michael Ledeen wonders whether President Trump has a strategy to win the global war. Michael discerns none.

Instead, he sees our enemies and adversaries making inroads, while the U.S. counters mostly with words and, in the case of Russia, the usual sanctions. What is our policy?

Its a surprisingly difficult question to answer. We say we want Iran out of Syria, but were in league with the Iranians in some battles. We want a closer relationship with Egypt, but Sisi clearly has his doubts, and is taking out insurance by working with Putin. We are rhetorically tough against North Korea (an intimate of Iran), and slap sanctions against those who help them, but there is as yet no sign that we understand were in a world war, nor that we have a global strategy capable of winning it.

What should our policy be? In Michaels view:

If we want to change the global battlefield, we are going to have to defeat the keystones of the enemy alliance. The best place to start is with Iran, and the best way to do it is politically, not military.

Our policy towards Iran seems very much up for grabs. Michael sees Gen. McMaster, the national security adviser, as reluctant, at least so far, to take on Iran militarily or politically.

On the other hand, the Washington Post reports that Defense Secretary Mattis has asked the White House to lift Obama-era restrictions on U.S. military support for the Persian Gulf states fighting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. In a memo this month to McMaster, Mattis said that limited support for Yemen operations being conducted by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates  including a planned Emirati offensive to retake a key Red Sea port  would help combat a common threat.

Post reporters Karen DeYoung and Missy Ryan explain:

Approval of the request would mark a significant policy shift. U.S. military activity in Yemen until now has been confined mainly to counterterrorism operations against al-Qaedas affiliate there, with limited indirect backing for gulf state efforts in a two-year-old war that has yielded significant civilian casualties. It would also be a clear signal of the administrations intention to move more aggressively against Iran. The Trump White House, in far stronger terms than its predecessor, has echoed Saudi and Emirati charges that Iran is training, arming and directing the Shiite Houthis in a proxy war to increase its regional clout against the Gulfs Sunni monarchies.

There appears to be serious resistance within the administration to becoming more deeply involved in Yemen. Among the concerns cited in the Post report are (1) that direct support for the anti-Houthi coalition would take too many resources away from the counterterrorism fight against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and a nascent Islamic State organization in Yemen and (2) that the Gulf States may not be capable of pulling off the proposed military operation, including holding and stabilizing any reclaimed area, without sucking in U.S. forces, and (3) that the offensive would further undermine stalemated efforts to negotiate an end to the war and make an already dire humanitarian situation worse.

The conflict in Yemen is part of a larger struggle between Sunni states like Saudi Arabia on the one hand and Iran, the Shiite power, on the other. The Obama administration tilted decidedly towards Iran.

The Trump administration wont do that, but the question is whether it will tilt decidedly towards the Sunni states or focus solely on defeating ISIS and al Qaeda, while staying mostly on the sidelines when it comes to other matters.

Two forces seem to be pulling the Trump administration towards at least seriously considering broader engagement. The first is Secretary Mattis, who lost troops in Iraq at the hands of Iranian forces. The second is a strong pro-Saudi lobby that may have made inroads with the Trump administration.

Pulling in the other direction, I imagine, is the presidents reluctance to become militarily engaged other than for purposes of defeating ISIS and al Qaeda, coupled with the bureaucracys bias against a dramatic reversal in policy.

I have no informed opinion about what the U.S. should do in Yemen. However, it strikes me that if, as a general matter, the U.S. does not take a strong stance in the broader regional power struggle, we risk the further erosion of our influence and the further increase of Russias. And it seems out of the question that we would again take Irans side.
A Make America Great Again march today in Huntington Beach, California turned violent when anti-Trump protesters, who were trying to block the march, used pepper spray against march participants. According to this report from the Orange County Register:

As the marchers, many in MAGA hats or carrying American flags, walked down the bike path from Pacific Coast Highway and Warner Avenue, about a dozen protesters wearing black masks formed a wall blocking them. The situation got ugly and lasted for about a half hour; after much yelling, shoving, pushing and punching, some protesters pepper-sprayed a group of marchers.

One of those sprayed was Jennifer Sterling, a march organizer.

Some of the marchers fought back. They chased a man with pepper spray. When they caught him, they punched and kicked him.

Protesters claim that pepper spray was used only because they were being pushed and shoved. However, some marchers dispute this account. From what I can tell, it is undisputed that protesters tried physically to block the march.

The local police arrested four people. According to the Orange County Register, three male protesters were charged with felony illegal use of pepper spray and one woman was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor assault and battery.

The protest was organized by the Socialist Party of America. One of its members claimed that the protest was intended to be peaceful. He said:

We were not about to start something when we are 10 people and they are a thousand. That would be suicidal.

But its disingenuous to claim you dont want to start something when you try to block a march. There is also a credibility problem when you wear black masks to a protest you say is supposed to be peaceful.

There have been anti-Trump marches all over in America. I havent seen reports of Trump supporters, with or without masks, trying to block them. It certainly didnt happen at the various marches here in Washington, D.C.

The anti-Trump group Indivisible OC 48 has the right line on protest activity. It stated:

Indivisible OC 48 believes that the most effective way to combat an agenda built on discrimination and divisiveness is to focus on our own positive and peaceful political actions, and not to engage in confrontations with other citizens exercising their rights to free speech.

I dont know which group is the outlier in the anti-Trump movement, Indivisible OC 48 or the Socialist Party of America. I do know that elements of the movement are enemies of free speech and of freedom generally.

UPDATE: I just learned from Dave Begley, our man in Omaha/Council Bluffs, that anti-Trump protesters behaved similarly at a pro-Trump rally in Omaha. Eight protesters were arrested on suspicion of crimes such as disorderly conduct, carrying a concealed weapon, unlawfully throwing fireworks, and committing acts tending to incite a riot.
Six years ago, retired Air Force officer Arnold Davis, a resident of Guam, tried to register to vote on a plebiscite regarding Guams future. His application was rejected and marked as void by the Guam Election Commission

Why? Because Guam banned residents from registering or voting unless they are Chamorro natives, which to the territorial government means people whose ancestors were original inhabitants of Guam. Chamorros constitute only about 36 percent of the islands present population.

Davis, a white man, is not Chamorro. Therefore, he was deemed ineligible to vote.

Denying Davis the right to vote because of his race and national origin is an obvious violation of the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. Yet, as Hans von Spakovsky notes, the Obama administration did not lift a finger on behalf of Davis. It neither filed suit against Guam nor intervened in support of the lawsuit filed on Davis behalf by our friend Christian Adams and the Center for Individual Rights. Instead, the Obama administration gave Guam $300,000 to help finance the plebiscite.

It took six years, but Davis right to vote has finally been upheld. Earlier this month, Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood ruled that Guams law limiting registration and voting to Native Inhabitants of the island is a violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. The judge, who originally had dismissed the case, finally recognized that the Constitution does not allow the government to exclude otherwise qualified voters in participating in an election where public issues are decided simply because those otherwise qualified voters do not have the correct ancestry or bloodline.

The Supreme Court has already ruled as much. Von Spakovsky points to Rice v. Cayetano, a case from 2000 that threw out a similar voting restriction enacted by Hawaii. It held that the Fifteenth Amendment prohibits all provisions denying or abridging the voting franchise of any citizen or class of citizens on the basis of race, and made clear that ancestry cannot be used as a proxy for race.

The government of Guam appears ready to resist Judge Tydingco-Gatewoods ruling, however. The governor has vowed to find a way to work around it, adding that when the judge says we cant  I say we can.

The governors defiance makes it essential that the Justice Department counteract any effort to subvert the judges ruling. Fortunately, we can have a good degree of confidence that, unlike the Obama Justice Department, the current DOJ will defend the right of members of all races and ethnic groups to vote.
On February 28, the New York Times magazine published a long, dark essay by left-winger Emily Bazelon on the prospects for President Trumps Department of Justiceor, as the Times headline put it, Department of Justification. The article, which focuses on Jeff Sessions, Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, isnt worth reading. It exemplifies the far-left hysteria with which we are all too familiar.

A prominent theme is that Republicans dont care about truth:

Why would the Trump administration paint a picture so starkly at odds with reality? Its simple: A vision of the nation besieged provides clear justification for policies that will advance Sessions, Bannon and Millers divisive nationalism.

So it must have been embarrassing when, this morning, the Times had to admit that Bazelons article included an important piece of fake news. This is todays correction:

An article on March 5 about the Department of Justice included outdated statistics. It is not the case that non-Muslim extremists have killed nearly twice as many Americans as radical Muslims since Sept. 11, 2001, according to the New America Foundation. That was true until the mass shootings in San Bernardino, Calif., and Orlando, Fla. Radical Muslims have now killed nearly twice as many Americans as non-Muslim extremists.

The original statistic was silly on several grounds. It started on the day after the September 11 Islamic terror attacks killed 3,000 Americans, which is absurd. And it depended on how a liberal group classified violence as extremist as opposed to merely criminal. But Bazelons citation of this old liberal chestnut was sadly out of date, and her statement was unquestionably false.

It is interesting that if you read the article as corrected, it is hard to tell where the error was. I think it must have been in this paragraph, the only one that mentions terrorism:

Why would the Trump administration paint a picture so starkly at odds with reality? Its simple: A vision of the nation besieged provides clear justification for policies that will advance Sessions, Bannon and Millers divisive nationalism. In the administrations early moves, we can already see the contours beginning to take shape. An executive order presented as an emergency measure to protect the country from terrorists winds up barring immigrants coming here to study or work from seven countries that have not been a source of terrorist attacks in the United States since Sept. 11. Another order refers to immigrants who pose a risk to public safety and then makes millions of the undocumented people in the country a priority for deportation. Impending catastrophe grants the president broad powers, and those powers are used broadly.

Bazelons fake news has been seamlessly airbrushed away, in a paragraph that begins by accusing the Trump administration of being starkly at odds with reality. Actually, despite the correction, the paragraph is still wrong. Bazelons statement that none of the seven countries covered by President Trumps original travel order has been a source of terrorist attackssince September 11a liberal canard that we have seen repeated many timesis false, too.

See, for example, Dahir Adan, a Somalian refugee born in a camp in Kenya who stabbed ten people at a shopping mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The Conservative Treehouse has a good summary of the connections of these seven countries to terrorist attacks in the U.S., which, thankfully, have generally been thwarted.

Dont hold your breath waiting for the Times to issue another fake news correction, however.
A joint committee of ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers has agreed to review the possible extension of a global pact to limit supplies by six months, the committee said on Sunday.

An earlier draft of the statement, Reuters news agency reports, had said the committee reports high level of conformity and recommends six-month extension.

But the final version said only that the committee had requested a technical group and for the OPEC Secretariat to review the oil market conditions and revert  in April, 2017 regarding the extension of the voluntary production adjustments.

Oil sector analysts said the lack of an immediate extension could drag on crude prices.

The dropping of the recommendation to extend cuts in favor of technical review committee is likely to lead to a lot of disappointment and potential further liquidation of long positions by money managers that will put downward pressure on oil prices, said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodities strategy at BNP Paribas in

London.

It was not immediately clear why the wording had been changed, although a senior industry source said the committee lacked the legal mandate to recommend an extension.



The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and rival oil-producing nations were meeting in Kuwait to review progress with their global pact to cut supplies.

OPEC and 11 other leading producers including Russia agreed in December to cut their combined output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of the year.

The original deal was to last six months, with the possibility of a six-month extension.

Any country has the freedom to say whether they do or they dont support (an extension). Unless we have

conformity with everybody, we cannot go ahead with the extension of the deal, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq said, adding that he hoped a decision would come by the end of April.

The oil ministerial committee expressed its satisfaction with the progress made towards full conformity with the voluntary production adjustments and encouraged all participating countries to press on towards 100 per cent conformity, the statement said.

Kuwaits oil minister said the market may return to balance by the third quarter of this year if producers comply fully with their production targets.

More has to be done. We need to see conformity across the board. We assured ourselves and the world that we would reach our adjustment to 100 percent conformity, Mr. Marzouq said.

The December accord, aimed at supporting the oil market, has lifted crude LCOc1 to more than $50 a barrel.

But the price gain has encouraged U.S. shale oil producers, which are not part of the pact, to boost output.

Compliance with the supply-cut deal was 94 percent in February among OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers combined.

Earlier in November 2016 when the oil-output cut deal was struck, Nigeria, alongside Iran and Libya, had been given special concessions.

Nigeria was recommended for exemption to enable it recover from the negative impact of incessant attacks on its oil facilities by armed militant groups in the Niger Delta region.

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The African Union, AU, on Monday condemned the ambush and killing of six aid workers in South Sudan.

The AU urged the armed actors in the conflict-hit nation to respect international humanitarian laws and give unconditional protection to aid workers.

We strongly condemn and denounce the killing of the six humanitarian actors who have come here to help the people and yet they have been killed, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Mahamat, told reporters in Juba.

The UN said Sunday that six aid workers were ambushed and killed over the weekend on a road linking the capital Juba to Pibor town in Boma State.

Mr. Mahamat concluded a two-day visit to South Sudan on Monday, his first visit to South Sudan since his assumption of office earlier this month.

He said that the August 2015 peace agreement remained the only hope ending violence in the East African nation, calling on the countrys warring parties to end warfare and stick to the implementation of the pact.

Mr. Mahamat further urged the South Sudanese government to ensure inclusivity for a national dialogue initiative called for by President Salva Kiir 2016.

The first and primary responsibility for the implementation of the peace agreement is for the parties themselves.

They have to get together and implement the agreement, but we have heard fighting between the parties.

Therefore, the AUs work and duty is to try to mend the fences, bring the parties together so that they can implement the agreement for wellbeing of the people of South Sudan.

There can only be political solution to the problem, Mr. Mahamat said.

South Sudans Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Martin Elia Lomoro, said the government would investigate the death of the aid workers.

In South Sudan, we have multiple armed groups, some of them are gangs and thieves who are lingering around the country and they have the same uniform as the SPLA, they have the guns as SPLA, and they can cause havoc in order to discredit the government, Mr. Lomoro said.

Our security agents are working to determine what actually happened before we can issue a statement on the matter, he said.

NAN reports that South Sudan rebels on Monday said the government should be held responsible for the killing of the aid workers.

The UN said South Sudan has become one of the most hostile environments for aid workers to operate in the world after outbreak of civil war in December 2013.

Some 79 aid workers have been killed since civil war erupted in 2013, with at least 12 aid workers killed this year alone.

A peace deal signed in August 2015 led to the formation of a transitional unity government in South Sudan, but was again shattered by fresh violence in July, 2016.

Tens of thousands of South Sudanese have been killed, with millions of others displaced and another 4.6 million left severely food insecure, since December 2013.

In February, the UN declared localised famine in parts of South Sudan, warning that some 100,000 people, nearly half of the population, are in dire need of food aid.

(Xinhua/NAN)

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Two teenage girls wearing leggings were barred from boarding a United Airlines flight on Sunday, a company spokesman said amid outrage on social media.

Jonathan Guerin, United airline spokesperson, said the two girls were barred because they did not meet a dress code for special pass travellers.



The two girls, who were travelling with a companion, would not have been turned away for wearing leggings had they been paying customers, Mr. Guerin added.

(The two girls) were instructed that they couldnt board until they corrected their outfit. They were fine with it and completely understood, Mr. Guerin said, adding that all three passengers missed the flight.

Reuters reports that it is unclear if they had boarded a later plane or made alternate travel arrangements.

Though the three passengers did not complain about their treatment, another traveler, Shannon Watts, who overheard the discussion touched off a firestorm on social media with a series of tweets describing a

policy she suggested was unfairly targeting women and girls.

This behaviour is sexist and sexualises young girls, Ms. Watts said on Twitter.

Not to mention that the families were mortified and inconvenienced, she added.

United air pass travelers are typically company employees or their friends or family members.

Ms. Watts tweets and Uniteds defense of it touched a raw nerve for many women and girls who have made leggings a staple in their wardrobes.

The popularity of leggings has sparked criticism that they are inappropriate attire under certain circumstances. Some schools have barred girls from wearing them to class.

Social media lit up with outrage against the policy and the airline for its response to the initial outcry.

United Airline later put out a statement titled: To our customers  Your leggings are welcome! that explained the policy for passholders in greater detail.

That policy also bars midriff-baring tops, attire that reveals undergarments or is designated as sleepwear or swimwear, mini-skirts, shorts that fall less than 3 inches above the knee or dirty or torn clothing.

Mr. Guerin conceded that the airline, in its initial response to the flap, could have done a better job of explaining the situation and countering apparently inaccurate information about the incident that appeared on Twitter.

Well definitely take something away from today, but well continue to engage with our customers (on social media), the United spokesperson said.

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Today, Dino Melaye, the senator representing Kogi West, appeared before the Ethics Committee of the Nigerian Senate for hearing on his certificate saga.

The vice chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was also at the hearing. And so also was Ali Ndume, the Borno senator who raised the point of order that triggered the hearing.

Here is an account of deliberations during the hearing as provided by the Twitter handle of the Senate, @NGRSenate.

UPDATE 1: 1.33pm: Senator @dino_melaye appears before Senate ethics committee on allegations he did not graduate from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

Senator @dino_melaye appears before Senate ethics committee on allegations he did not graduate from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 2: 1.34pm: Senator @dino_melaye admits under oath that he graduated from Ahmadu Bello University

Senator @dino_melaye admits under oath that he graduated from Ahmadu Bello University  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 3: 1.37pm: Sen @dino_melaye presents documents to ethics comm. Acceptance letter, acceptance of offer of admission, result from ABU, final year project

Sen @dino_melaye presents documents to ethics comm. Acceptance letter, acceptance of offer of admission, result from ABU, final year project  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 4: 1.38pm: Senator @dino_melaye said he officially changed his name from Daniel Melaye to Dino Melaye and he is ready to tender the affidavit

Senator @dino_melaye said he officially changed his name from Daniel Melaye to Dino Melaye and he is ready to tender the affidavit  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 5: 1.53pm: VC of ABU, Prof. Ibrahim Garba, being put on oath now.. says from records, @dino_melaye was a former student of ABU

VC of ABU, Prof. Ibrahim Garba, being put on oath now.. says from records, @dino_melaye was a former student of ABU  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 6: 1.54pm: Yes. From records, Dino formerly known as Daniel Jonah Melaye graduated from ABU. BA Geography statement by VC of Ahmad Bello University

Yes. From records, Dino formerly known as Daniel Jonah Melaye graduated from ABU. BA Geography statement by VC of Ahmad Bello University  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 7: 1.56pm: ABU VC reiterates that @dino_melaye graduated as Daniel Jonah Melaye. BA Geography Third Class, BA Geography in 2000.

ABU VC reiterates that @dino_melaye graduated as Daniel Jonah Melaye. BA Geography Third Class, BA Geography in 2000.  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 8: 1.57pm: Sen Urhoghide ask @dino_melaye where his original certificate is? Dino says, yet to collect certificate from ABU. Said he will collect it.

Sen Urhoghide ask @dino_melaye where his original certificate is? Dino says, yet to collect certificate from ABU. Said he will collect it.  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 9: 1.57pm: The VC of ABU is now before the Committee. VC Prof. Ibrahim Garba to testify on the legitimacy of Senator @dino_melaye as ABU graduate

The VC of ABU is now before the Committee. VC Prof. Ibrahim Garba to testify on the legitimacy of Senator @dino_melaye as ABU graduate  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 10: 1.59pm: Senator Ndume thanks the Committee. Says I did not petition. I only raised point of order on privilege

Senator Ndume thanks the Committee. Says I did not petition. I only raised point of order on privilege  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 11: 2.02pm: Ndume backtracks, Says he did not petition, raised point of order on privilege, decision to refer matter to Committee is that of the Senate.

Ndume backtracks, Says he did not petition, raised point of order on privilege, decision to refer matter to Committee is that of the Senate.  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 12: 2.04pm: Senator Ndume said he did not expect the matter to generate the hopla it has generated

Senator Ndume said he did not expect the matter to generate the hopla it has generated  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 13: 2.06pm: Sen Ndume said he didnt expect matter to generate hopla it generated, said he listened to VC & agrees with him that @dino_melaye graduated

Sen Ndume said he didnt expect matter to generate hopla it generated, said he listened to VC & agrees with him that @dino_melaye graduated  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 14: 2.09pm: Ndume was Asked if he did any due diligence before raising the matter on the floor as a privilege, Said he only raised the issue.

Ndume was Asked if he did any due diligence before raising the matter on the floor as a privilege, Said he only raised the issue.  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 15: 2.14pm: Senator Peter Nwoboshi asked did Senator Ndume see Dinos NYSC discharge certificate? Says wait let me read it. He reads. 2000 to 2001.

Senator Peter Nwoboshi asked did Senator Ndume see Dinos NYSC discharge certificate? Says wait let me read it. He reads. 2000 to 2001.  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 16: 2.19pm: since Dino has defended himself & the VC has concurred, and a copy of the NYSC certificate presented, Ndume says there is no big deal.

since Dino has defended himself & the VC has concurred, and a copy of the NYSC certificate presented, Ndume says there is no big deal.  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 17: 2.20pm: Senator NaAllah tells Senator Ndume that the Committee is being painstaking and Procedural to be able to produce a credible report

Senator NaAllah tells Senator Ndume that the Committee is being painstaking and Procedural to be able to produce a credible report  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 18: 2.21pm: Ethics Committee temporarily halts proceedings due to power failure. Says it wants its proceedings to be on record

Ethics Committee temporarily halts proceedings due to power failure. Says it wants its proceedings to be on record  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 19: 2.25pm: NaAllah ask if Ndume will go with Conclusion that allegations against Dino are false? Said only brought up to protect integrity of Senate

NaAllah ask if Ndume will go with Conclusion that allegations against Dino are false? Said only brought up to protect integrity of Senate  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 20: 2.29pm: Are you satisfied that integrity of Senate has not been affected?

Ndume: I am leaving satisfied that this committee has done a good job.

Are you satisfied that integrity of Senate has not been affected?

Ndume: I am leaving satisfied that this committee has done a good job. pic.twitter.com/CtjWsK3tWC  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 21: 2.47pm: Senator Ali Ndume stated that he relied only on what he read in the papers to raise a point of Order against @dino_melaye

Senator Ali Ndume stated that he relied only on what he read in the papers to raise a point of Order against @dino_melaye  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

UPDATE 22: 2.50pm: Senator Ali Ndume is hereby discharged and the Committee will compile and submit their report for further deliberations.

Senator Ali Ndume is hereby discharged and the Committee will compile and submit their report for further deliberations.  Nigerian Senate (@NGRSenate) March 27, 2017

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The leaked report of the State Security Service to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has vindicated the Senate on its repeated rejection of Ibrahim Magu as substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, its spokesperson said.

The SSS report, leaked on Friday, was a response to Mr. Malamis request that the security agency back its earlier allegations of integrity deficiency against Mr. Magu with documented evidence.

According to the report, the SSS dispatched 12 documents to Mr. Malami, including 11 that tried to link Mr. Magu with Mohammed Umar, a retired air commodore on trial for money laundering and illicit possession of firearms, and one on how he was severely reprimanded by the police after official documents of the EFCC were found in his private residence.

Based on the report, the Senate spokesperson, Aliyu Abdullahi, in a statement over the weekend, said the legislative body had vindicated.

Following several calls made to me today by journalists seeking my comments on the leaked report on Mr. Ibrahim Magu which was more damning than the one submitted to us, I can only say that myself and my colleagues have been vindicated, Mr. Abdullahi said.

The Senate had twice rejected Mr. Magus nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari. Last December, his rejection was announced after a Senate closed-door session, citing a security report from the SSS. But President Buhari re-nominated the acting EFCC Chairman and absolved him of culpability in respect of the SSS allegations.

But during his confirmation hearing, following the re-nomination, Mr. Magu had a below-par performance while another SSS report, reaffirming earlier position that he should not be confirmed because he is allegedly integrity-challenged, was raised by Dino Melaye. Therefore, the Senate declined confirmation.

From that report which is now public, it is obvious the DG SSS even tried to give Magu soft landing in the report that was sent to the Senate. The recent report is messier and shows that our decision not to confirm his nomination was right, the Senate spokesperson said.

We therefore call on all Nigerians to continue to have full confidence and trust on the Nigerian Senate as it discharges its responsibilities according to the letter and spirit of the Nigerian constitution.

In the letter to Mr. Malami, the SSS said: An officer appointed as Ag. Chairman of EFCC should by all means be one of impeccable credentials, with proven integrity and capacity to lead the nations fight against graft in high and low places. Thus far, it is evident from MAGUs antecedents that he is by no means that kind of

officer.

His relationship with Umar MOHAMMED which involved disclosure of very sensitive and classified official documents in his possession shows lack of professionalism and assails his integrity. Moreso, for an officer who was indicted and nearly dismissed six (6) years ago, to again be involved in similar circumstances, it is clear that MAGU is a perennial offender and cannot change.

Also worthy of note is the fact that MAGU exhibited a total lack of judgment where it matters most. He accepted to move into a tastily furnished accommodation without any scrutiny of how it was furnished. This is curious and speaks volumes of his personality.

But Mr. Magu responded to the allegations against him, refuting the allegations and saying the SSS is integrity-challenged.

In its report, the SSS also accused Mr. Magu of victimising a Stanley Lawson.

A further demonstration of MAGUs questionable credibility as an untainted anti-corruption official is his failed bid to settle personal scores with one Stanley Inye LAWSON by placing him on Security Watch Action. It was however discovered that LAWSON was actually working in the interest of the Federal Government and the Action was subsequently expunged.

A PREMIUM TIMES report, however, found that not only was Mr. Lawson linked to a fraudulent deal, he returned his share of the loot believed to have been stolen by former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

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The Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, is now at the National Assembly for the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition hearing investigating the certificate scandal involving Kogi State senator, Dino Melaye.

The Senate had last week tasked the committee chaired by Samuel Anyanwu, PDP-Imo, to investigate the allegation that Mr. Melaye, APC-Kogi, did not graduate from ABU as he claims in official documentations.

That Senates resolution followed a motion by former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, who said the scandal had made the Senate subject of public ridicule.

Mr. Melaye claims eight degrees, including two from Harvard University and London School of Economics and Political Science, but Sahara Reporters reported how the two schools debunked the Senators claims.

Mr. Melaye is also present at the hearing currently underway.

The ABU had turned down earlier media inquiries to confirm whether Mr. Melaye graduated from the school.

Contacted by PREMIUM TIMES last week, the schools management said it would only state its position if contacted by the Senate.

More to come.

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A former governor of Adamawa State, Bala Ngilari, who was jailed for corruption by the High Court in Yola has been granted bail.

Mr. Ngilari was convicted on March 6 for failing to adhere to the procurement laws of the state when he served as governor.

Justice Nathan Musa found the former governor guilty of four charges, and discharged him on one, which bordered on conspiracy.

The antigraft EFCC charged Mr. Ngilari and two others for giving N167 million contract without due process.

The judge discharged and acquitted former Secretary to the State Government, and the Commissioner of Finance, who were second and third defendants in the case.

In handing down his sentence, the judge said the law stipulated that the convict shall not be given an option of fine.

He sentenced the former governor to five years in prison, and said the convict is to serve his term in any prison of his choice.

Mr. Ngilari, however, appealed his conviction at the Court of Appeal.

Although he is supposed to remain in prison pending his appeal, he has now been granted bail on health grounds.

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Justice Nathan Musa of Yola High Court on Monday granted bail to Bala Ngilari, former Adamawa Governor, on health grounds, after he appealed against his recent conviction.

Mr. Ngilari was granted bail in the sum of N100 million with two sureties, who must deposit Certificates of Occupancy of landed property owned in Yola.

Mr. Musa said that the former governor would enjoy his bail pending the determination of his Appeal.

Justice Musa, on March 6, sentenced Mr. Ngilari to five years in prison, without an option of fine, for violating the Public Procurement Act in the award of contract for the procurement of 25 vehicles.

The vehicles, which were for commissioners, were purchased at the cost of N167 million.

Mr. Musa, in his judgement, had declared that due process was not followed in the transaction.

Mr. Ngilari, having appealed the sentence, went back to the same court that convicted him, and asked for bail, pending the determination of his Appeal.

Justice Musa, after listening to arguments of counsel to Mr. Ngilari, Sam Olugunorisa, and that of EFCC, Abubakar Aliyu, in the motion for bail pending appeal, granted Mr. Ngilaris request.

The bail plea was supported by a medical report on Mr. Ngilari, from Yola Prison, which indicated that the former governor had been under intensive medical management.

The report, signed by John Bukar, a Deputy Comptroller in charge of Health, stated that Mr. Ngilari had diabetes, hypertension and insomnia.

It said that Mr. Ngilari, who had been referred to Canada Specialist Hospital in Dubai, for evaluation and management, had blood pressure that was rising between 180/110 MMHG to 190/120 MMHG.

(NAN)

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A car dealer, Lanre Shittu, has absolved Senate President Bukola Saraki of any culpability in respect of the nearly N300 million bullet proof Range Rover imported with fake documents and seized by the Nigerian Customs Service.

Mr. Shittu appeared before the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges, tasked to investigate the car seizure scandal, on Monday, alongside the importer of the vehicle, Tokunbo Akindele, and Mr. Saraki.

Like Mr. Shittu, Mr. Akindele also testified, under oath, that the luxury vehicle was not imported for Mr. Saraki, but that it was originally procured in 2015 for use by oil firm, Oando.

Mr. Akindele, also a staff of Oando, said the company later reviewed its decision because we have alternative.

Mr. Shittu, Chief Executive of Lanre Shittu Motors, said he was then approached by Wale Tinubu, the Oando boss, in October 2016 for the consigning the car to his (Mr. Shittus) company.

He said, in respect of the car, his company had no deal with Mr. Saraki but the Senate, adding that he bided, following advert, and supplied the vehicle.

Both the dealer and the importer said it was in 2017 that they discovered the customs documents for the car were fake, blaming the NCS operatives instead.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on House Service, Mr. Gobir, told the investigative committee that the Senate bought vehicles from dealers, and dealers from importers.

He said the Senate President had nothing to do with the car or the fake documents.

Speaking at the hearing, Mr. Saraki said he was not a car dealer or importer, nor did he ask anybody to help him import the seized vehicle.

I did not import any vehicle. I did not ask anybody to import any vehicle on my behalf, said Mr. Saraki.

It is important that I clear my name, the documents are there and none of the documents are in my name.

He said the end user certificate showed whom the vehicle was imported for.

The members of the probe committee had put questions to the respondents  Messrs. Saraki, Shittu, Gobir and Akindele  on whether the Senate President had any link with the seized vehicle and the documents.

The committee chaired by Samuel Anyanwu resolved to adjourn hearing to Tuesday and that the NCS should be present to state its side in the matter.

Although Mr. Saraki may not have personally imported the vehicle, a National Assembly, Lagos liaison office document suggests it was procured as an official car of the senate president.

Mr. Saraki did not say on Monday who was meant to use the bullet proof car.

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said on Monday it had reached a final settlement with AITEO Group over an outstanding $202.4 million (about N62 billion) debt in respect of under-delivery of petroleum products under the crude swap contract between 2012 and 2014.

Under the crude swap deal by the NNPC during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, the NNPC allocated crude oil to trading companies in exchange for processed petroleum products. That deal was criticised by several analysts who argued that the oil firms were, in collusion with top public officials, cheating the Nigerian government. The government had said it embarked on the deal because, among others, the local refineries were not working optimally and so as to reduce cash payment for imported petrol.

On Monday, the NNPC spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu said following extensive reconciliation of records between their business transactions and subsequent agreement, AITEO Group paid in full all its outstanding indebtedness to all NNPC downstream entities totalling about $202.35 million.

Mr. Ughamadu said the amount included AITEOs share of the total $184 million indebtedness by three companies on crude swap obligations, which included Televeras Group of Companies and Ontario Oil Gas Ltd.

Although Televeras Group, at the end of negotiations with the NNPC, agreed pay an initial $17.2 million and $10 million subsequently, there was no earlier information on the offer by AITEO, which also agreed to settle its debt.

The NNPC spokesperson said on Monday that AITEOs agreement to settle the $202.4 million debt following its engagement with the NNPC on the issue was a demonstration of its cooperation and commitment towards a successful recovery process.

AITEO Energy owned by Benedict Peter and Francis Peter was one of the seven major Nigerian fuel importers identified by the Swiss non-governmental advocacy organization, the Berne Declaration, as the worst culprits in schemes employed by Nigerian and foreign fuel importers to swindle the country.



The report , published in November 2013 titled Swiss Traders Opaque Deals in Nigeria, described the schemes employed by Nigerian and foreign fuel importers, such as creating offshore subsidiaries referred to as letterbox companies, ship-to-ship transfer to create untraceable paperwork, payment of subsidy money to phantom and non-existing importers, and partnering with politically exposed fraudsters to defraud the country over $6.8 billion from 2009 and 2011.

The Lagos-based AITEO Energy, which is a subsidiary of Geneva-based Aiteo Suisse AG, was asked by the then Technical Committee on Payment of Fuel Subsidy to reimburse the Nigerian government over N578 million in subsidy fund it falsely collected.

The company was one of the three oil marketing firms whose offshore processing agreements were terminated on August 26, 2015 after the contract was found to have been ridden with corruption.

Mr. Ughamadu said as part of the debt recovery process, negotiations were still ongoing with the management of Ontario Oil & Gas Limited to make a formal commitment to settle all its outstanding debts under a crude oil swap contract that existed between 2012 and 2014.

Although Mr. Ughamadu told PREMIUM TIMES, Saturday, that the company, which was convicted recently for subsidy fraud, had offered its tank farm at Oghara in Delta state in lieu of the debt, he said the amount arrived at after the valuation of the facility was said to be far below an acceptable figure.

The NNPC spokesperson said the Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Maikanti Baru, has vowed to ensure that the ongoing recovery process was completed and all debts settled.

The Management of the Corporation under the leadership of Dr. Maikanti Baru is committed to ensuring transparency and adequate public information on the ongoing recovery effort. The Corporation shall continue to provide further update on the recovery process, he said.

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The letter used by the convicted former Adamawa governor, Bala Ngilari, to secure bail is fraudulent, an official has said.

The letter, which supposedly confirmed Mr. Ngilaris bad health situation, was the major one he presented to a Yola High Court and upon which the court granted him bail.

Justice Nathan Musa of the Yola High Court on Monday granted bail to Mr. Ngilari, currently in the prison for a five-year jail sentence.

The former governor has appealed against his conviction.

Peter Tenkwa, the Controller of Adamawa Command of the Nigerian Prison Service, NPS, told journalists on Monday in Yola that he was not aware of the letter and had communicated to the prison headquarters.

He said the headquarters directed him to issue a query to officials involved in the matter, including the Deputy Controller of Yola Prison, Abubakar Abaka, and a Superintendent of Prisons, John Bukar, in charge of health.

Nigeria Prison Service, as I stated, knows nothing about this letter; whoever wrote that letter is on his own. I have been directed to query the officers involved.

Mr. Tenkwa said that all he knew was that he got a letter dated March 23 from Adamawa Ministry of Justice on health facilities in Yola Prison where Mr. Ngilari was remanded and that after accessing the facilities, he replied to the letter, informing the ministry that the facilities were okay.

We have enough medical facilities to handle high profile inmates like Ngilari; we even received some supply of drugs on Friday, Tenkwa said.

Mr. Tenkwa, however, said that he had yet to get a release order from the court regarding Ngilaris bail, adding that whenever he received it, he would contact the service legal department before acting on it.

Also commenting on the issue, the Attorney-General of Adamawa and Commissioner for Justice, Bala Sanga, said the bail granted Mr. Ngilari was a disturbing development.

The chamber of attorney general is very worried and disturbed about this granting of bail pending appeal to our former governor; this is a legal remedy that is very rarely granted.

Mr. Sanga said that he was more disturbed that the letter acted on in granting the bail was not exhibited with the appellants application nor attached to the documents.

Technically what this means is that the letter was not even before the court.

So, the court, in my opinion, has no business relying on a document that was not before it to arrive at a decision.

Mr. Sanga said that the purported letter claiming that Ngilari was facing serious health problem was dated March 23, while the letter to the ministry from the prison service, which confirmed that the authorities had the necessary facilities to handle Mr. Ngilari, was dated March 24.

This is very scandalous, if indeed the prison says it did not issue the letter.

We intend not to file a complaint against whoever wrote that letter but to refer the matter to the police for prosecution because the court relied significantly on that letter to grant the bail, Mr. Sanga said.

Mr. Sanga said that the disease was not contagious hence the bail was unnecessary.

Justice Musa, on March 6, sentenced Mr. Ngilari to five years in prison, without an option of fine, for violating the Public Procurement Act in the award of contract for the procurement of 25 vehicles.

Mr. Ngilari was given an option to select a prison of his choice to serve the term.

(NAN)

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Women with disabilities, under the aegis of Cedar Seeds Foundation, have asked the Nigerian government to support the empowerment of women especially those with disabilities by passing and assenting to the Nigeria Disability Right Bill which is currently at the Senate.

Lois Aula, the Executive Director of the organisation, at a press conference on Monday in Abuja, called on the Senate to pass the proposed law which has scaled through second reading, to protect the rights of disabled people, especially women in the country.

Ms. Aula said for too long, women with disabilities had been sidelined, marginalised and left behind from development agenda even within the women folk.

We are tired, that is why we came up with the idea of creating an awareness to the general public on women disabilities issues by this press conference and awareness walk on Wednesday from Unity Fountain to the National Assembly here in Abuja.

People with disabilities are usually discriminated against within the society and women are mostly at the receiving end. It is usually double discrimination for women with disabilities because we have to face discrimination in the society as a woman and as a disabled person.

This makes it more difficult for us to perform within the society. This makes it extra effort. Women with disabilities have equal rights like any other human being, we have potentials, abilities, gifts, they are brilliant, intelligent and have what it takes to make it work for themselves and their families, she said.

Ms. Aula said Cedar Seed Foundation, Voice of Disability Initiative, Deaf Women Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Human Rights Commission and Potter Gallery are joining women all over the world and in particular in Nigeria to commemorate the International Womens Day and clamour for their voices to be heard.

The Executive Director said the NGO chose the sub theme Leave No One Behind because gender issues need to be mainstreamed and a lot of efforts and progress have been recorded at regional and international level towards achieving gender equality, empowering women and elevating them political, economically, socially and culturally.

Catherine Edeh, the first female deaf lawyer in Nigeria and founder of Voice of Disability Initiative, also an implementing partner of the awareness walk, said the walk is necessary to compel the Senate to pass the disability bill.

We dont have information about what is happening to the bill, all we know is that the bill has passed through second reading. The discontinuity and change in government has also been a detrimental factor. We used to follow up with the bill with the former clerk of the house, but now that the clerk has changed we dont really have any information any longer.

As a lawyer, I am really interested in the bill, we need to know what is happening as the government is holding our rights in their hands. I as a lawyer cannot practice because the law does not support us.

They need to sign the law as it is the only thing that can back us up in the society. Signing of the Bill will help our future and also assist our children, she said.

Helen Alase, also an implementing partner and FCT Chairperson for Deaf Women Association, Abuja said they were pushing for the passage of the Bill because it is the only way to help and protect women with disabilities.

I can remember an incident of a pregnant eight months deaf woman who couldnt communicate effectively with her doctors. In fact, when one of the doctors saw her, he said double trouble, which is double discrimination for her.

She eventually had medical complications which could have been avoided if there were proper communication facilities available for people with disabilities. That is why we are clamouring for quick interventions, she said.

Ms. Alase said the bill covers all the challenges faced by people with disabilities and will lessen the communication gap. She said disability is not a barrier and should not be treated as one.

All we are asking for is the opportunity and support and we will deliver exceedingly well as some of the women are doctors, nurses, lawyers, among others.

The bill will also encourage many physically challenged people to be useful in the society and reduce street beggars.

We are also using this month to lobby for the total elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls which come in various ways.

We want due legislation and assent on the Nigeria Disability Right Bill and other Bills intended to safeguard the rights of women and other disadvantaged groups, she said.

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The acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has denied owning any house or houses in the Maitama area of Abuja.

Reacting to a report captioned, Magu Under Fresh Probe over 2 Abuja Mansions, which appeared in The Sun Newspaper of March 25, the EFCC boss dismissed the story as a work of fiction and threatened legal action against the newspaper and the authors of the story.

The report, which appeared on page 9 of the newspaper, among others, claimed that Mr. Magu was being probed regarding the ownership of two mansions in the Maitama area of Abuja allegedly linked to his wife.

Relying on unnamed sources, the newspaper claimed that the houses being investigated are located in Danube Street, Maitama and Missouri Street, off Colorado Close, Ministers Hill. It added that the two houses were said to have been bought last year.

But Mr. Magu said neither himself nor his wife owned any property in Maitama. He urged Nigerians to disregard the report as false and designed by the authors to achieve motives that were obvious.

I dont have any mansion anywhere in Maitama. Would I have two mansions in Abuja yet choose to live in a rented apartment in the same community? The Sun can take over the properties if they have evidence that they belong to me or my wife, Mr. Magu said.

The acting chairman disclosed that he was taking legal action against the newspaper.

This is another calculated attempt to smear my reputation, Mr. Magu said. They may have gotten away with such false reports in the past but I will not let this go unchallenged. I have already briefed my lawyers to institute legal action against The Sun Newspaper.

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A Katsina Chief Magistrates Court has sentenced one Gambo Saeed to nine months imprisonment for insulting and defaming the character of Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State on social media.

Saeed resides in Muduru village in Mani Local Government Area of Katsina State.

The police prosecutor, Isa Liti, earlier told the court that Saeed was arraigned following complaints received from Mansur Ali Mashi, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Radio Monitoring.

Mashi said the accused person abused Masari and called him names on social media, Mr. Liti, an inspector, said.

He said the accused person posted on the media that it was Gov. Masari who influenced the impeachment of Speaker of Katsina State House of Assembly, Aliyu Muduru.

Mr. Liti said police arrested the accused person and arraigned him for intentional insult, defamation of the governors character and inciting disturbance.

The charges were in accordance with sections 399, 392 and 114 of the Penal Code.

He also explained that the accused person confessed to have committed the offences.

Delivering the judgment on Monday in Katsina, Chief Magistrate Abdu Ladan, said the court has found the accused person guilty of the said offences; each charge attracts three years imprisonment.

Mr. Ladan then sentenced the accused to nine months imprisonment without option of fine.

(NAN)

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Researchers working under the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture led Cassava Weed Management Project, IITA-CWMP, will this week share findings and recommendations on how to tackle weeds in cassava farming systems.

The sharing of research findings is part of activities marked for a week-long annual review and planning meeting and Steering Committee meeting scheduled to hold March 27-30, 2017 at IITA in Ibadan.

We are optimistic that the key findings from our research will help farmers to tackle the problem of weeds in cassava, with the view to having more yield, said the Project Leader of IITA-CWMP, Alfred Dixon, who is also a Director with IITA on Monday.

Declaring the meeting open, Kenton Dashiell, IITA Deputy Director General, Partnership for Delivery, said the goal of the project was to take off drudgery due to weeding in cassava farming systems.

I am happy that this meeting will share findings that will impact positively on weed control, Dashiell said.

Grown on about 7 million hectares, cassava is a major staple in Nigeria and it has transited from a food security crop to a cash crop. However, yield per ha of the root crop is about 8 tons per ha or less than half the amount realised on research stations. One of the major factors affecting the yield of cassava is weeds. Most of those involved in weeding are women and children, often times skipping classes to assist in weeding in Nigeria.

In 2014, the Cassava Weed Management Project was conceived to address the problem of weeds in cassava. The 5-year project which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is exploring diverse weeds control methods including the use of simple motorised implements, use of safe and environmentally friendly herbicides, and the use of best-bet agronomic practices.

This year, which is the fourth, researchers will make available findings of what has been done over the period.

Lawrence Kent of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said the findings of the project would contribute to improvement of cassava with positive impact on women and children who bear the burden of weeding in cassava.

Our major task in this meeting is to translate research findings into recommendations that farmers can use to improve cassava farming and their livelihoods, he said.

Mr. Dixon said the project is in an exciting phase.

This is an exciting time for us Because we are going to begin the sharing of new findings to farmers and farmers will begin to benefit, he said.

The IITA Cassava Weed Management Project is being implemented in Nigeria by IITA in partnership with the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, University of Agriculture Makurdi, and the state-based Agricultural Development Programs of Abia, Benue, Ogun, Oyo; and non-governmental organisations including the Justice Development and Peace Movement (JDPM) in Oyo and Abeokuta, and KOLPING in Abia.

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The Federal Government has concluded plans to borrow $6.1 billion from Chinese Exim Bank to complete all rail projects in the country by 2019.

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja.

According to a statement issued by Yetunde Sonaike, the Ministrys Director of Public Relations, Mr. Amaechi was said to have made this known during the Ministrys 2017 budget proposal defence at the National Assembly in Abuja.

Mr. Amaechi said that the Federal Government had targeted the construction of Lagos  Ibadan, Kano  Kaduna rail projects and the first phase of the Coastal Rail (Lagos-Calabar) in the 2017 budget.

He said that President Muhammadu Buhari insisted that all rail projects in the country that had been awarded by previous administrations must be resuscitated and completed on or before the December 2019.

Mr. Amaechi said that rail projects needed to be completed due to the economic importance of these projects and the benefits to be derived by the generality of Nigerians.

Our plan is to complete the rail projects in 2019.

Once our borrowing plan of $6.1 billion from the Chinese EXIM Bank is approved by the National Assembly, we will be able to access the loan from the Chinese Government and work will commence in earnest.

The 2017 total capital budget of the Federal Ministry of Transportation is N243.74 billion.

The 2016 total capital budget of the ministry was N171. 65 billion out of which N42 billion was released, representing 24.5 per cent, he said.

According to the minister, some vital projects for 2016 considered ongoing include the completion of the Mainline and Ancillary Facilities with Electric Power Supply, Freight Yards in Idu and Regasa.

He said the Locomotive Workshop, Rolling Stock Deport and provision of operational facilities for Abuja  Kaduna Rail line, remobilisation and resuscitation of the Central Rail line Project of Itakpe  Ajaokuta  Warri has also been captured in the 2017 budget for construction.

The minister said that the ministry will ensure that efforts are directed towards achieving a roadmap with the implementation and development of some key projects, such as infrastructural development through Airport Concession.

Establishment of National Carrier, Establishment of Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities, Development of Agro-Allied Cargo Infrastructure and Establishments of Leasing Company, Establishment of Aerospace University with the support of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) through Public Private Partnership (PPP).

The essential focus of the ministrys 2017 Budget is to provide effective and efficient means of transportation for the nation, thereby, contributing to national development.

The consequent effect of the implementation of this budget is to guarantee mass employment opportunities for Nigerians and to ensure wealth creation, more revenue generation and less pressure on the Nigerian roads, he said.

(NAN)

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The Sokoto State Police Command has confirmed the kidnap of two businessmen  Labbo Giyawa and Murtala Dantata  by unknown gunmen.

El-Mustapha Sani, the Commands spokesman, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sokoto on Monday that the two men were kidnapped at Giyawa, Goronyo Local Government Area of the state.

Mr. Sani said: I can confirm the abduction of the two businessmen on Sunday night, at around 10 p.m.

They were seized by some gun-wielding men, while they were reportedly sleeping in the frontage of their various houses.

They were said to have been taken to an unknown destination, but the police is suspecting that they were being held captive in the nearby Gundumi Forest, he said.

He said the kidnappers were yet to establish communication with either their families or the police.

Mr. Sani said the command had taken measures to ensure the safe rescue of the captives.

The police spokesman also confirmed the arrest of four gang leaders of street urchins at the Kwanni area of Sokoto on Monday.

Mr. Sani said the suspects were arrested following raids on their hideouts.

NAN reports that two local government officials in the state who were recently kidnapped were rescued from Gundumi Forest. (NAN)

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The death toll as a result of the meningitis epidemic in Sokoto State has now risen to 23, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The State Health Commissioner, Balarabe Kakale, confirmed the meningitis-related deaths on Monday in Dange town, headquarters of Dange/Shuni Local Government of the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kakale disclosed in continuation of the ongoing sensitization campaigns across the state.

Mr. Kakale gave an update on the state of high alert declared on the health sector by the Ministry since on March 20.

He stated that the deaths were recorded in the seven worst hit local governments areas of Kebbe, Bodinga, Rabah, Wamakko, Gada, Dange/Shuni and Tureta.

Mr. Kakale said: the state government had since on March 20, deployed no fewer than 15 medical teams, comprising more than 150 medical personnel.

They were deployed across the 23 local governments of the state, fully equipped with ambulances and provided with drugs, as well as medicament.

The emergency response teams are conducting house to house cases search, definition and management, both at home and the hospitals.

They have so far treated no fewer than 400 mixed cases of severe malaria and meningitis across the seven top-hit local governments.

Out of the 400 cases, 56 were confirmed in the laboratories to be cases of meningitis, out of which additional fatalities were recorded.

Mr. Kakale further noted that thousands of other cases were treated at the Primary Health Centres in the state.

The commissioner further disclosed that the state government was contemplating closing some public and private schools if the problem persisted.

We are hereby again intimating the people of the state that the cases of meningitis should not be linked to witchcraft or sorcery.

Rather, all suspected cases should be reported to the hospitals as the state government had stocked adequate drugs and medicament for the free treatment of the patients, he said.

Also speaking, the Chairman of Dange/Shuni local government, Mode Dan-Tasallah, commended the state government for swiftly swinging into action to control the epidemic.

In our own case we have also purchased additional drugs as well as deployed more health personnel and logistics, to complement the efforts of the state government, he added.

(NAN)

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No fewer than 2,000 local government workers in Imo State on Monday staged a protest against their sack by the state government at the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, secretariat in Owerri.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the affected workers from the 27 local government councils of the state, wore black attires and carried placards with various inscriptions.

NAN gathered that the state Local Government Service Commission had issued sack letters to the council staff, claiming that they were ghost workers.

Some of the sacked workers later marched to the commission accompanied by the Chairman, Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, Alloy Iwuanyanwu.

Ngozichukwu Chikwendu, the Chairman, National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, in Oru East, who spoke on behalf of the aggrieved workers, said that they received their sack letters on January 15, 2017.

He said since the letters were handed to them, they had been waiting for the state NULGE Chairman, Ucheghara Ndubuisi, and his Executive Council to act, to no avail.

Mr. Chikwendu said that they decided to take the protest to the NLC, their mother union, to address the situation.

We have been abandoned by state exco of NULGE and government has refused to pay us since they gave us letters tagging us `ghost workers.

He said that their demonstration became necessary to show that tagging them ghost workers was a misnomer.

Responding, the state Chairman of the NLC, Mr. Chilakpu, commended the affected workers for taking their destiny in their own hands.

It is very painful that the state government branded you people `ghost workers.

Mr. Chilakpu expressed regret that the state government decided to label some council workers ghost before the inauguration of a committee the governor planned to set up to investigate claim of ghost workers in Imo.

He said that the leadership of the organised labour had met with the governor over the issue and assured them that he had agreed to look into the matter.

He expressed surprise that before the committee could begin work, the Local Government Service Commission had begun to issue sack letters.

Mr. Chilakpu noted that governments action was alien to public service rules, insisting that there were laid down rules on how workers could be sacked.

My advice is that you go about your normal duties and as organised labour, we will continue to work for your welfare and this case is not different, he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Iwuanyanwu said that the purported sack was an act of victimisation.

Information available to us showed that the sacked workers were among the people who were paid double salaries from January to December 2016 but in their sincerity, they returned these cheques because they had been paid before.

It was those cheques they returned that the handlers of the verification took back to the ministry and tagged them ghost workers.

Mr. Iwuanyanwu promised the sacked workers that labour was pursuing the matter and would not allow the injustice to stand.

(NAN)

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The Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, has inaugurated a five-member judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the remote causes of the March 8 violence in Ile-Ife.

The development followed several calls from pan Yoruba groups such as Afenifere, the Afenifere Renewal Group, and the Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, to set up a commission of enquiry to unravel the facts behind the killings and wanton destruction of properties.

They had rejected the report of the police on the crisis and condemned what they termed the lopsided arrest of suspects in the crisis.

While inaugurating the commission in Osogbo on Saturday, Mr. Aregbesola said his administration would continue to promote peace in the state.

He also enjoined the panel to cooperate with the police and other security agencies in the process of unravelling those behind the mayhem.

The panel was given four weeks to turn in its report.

Members include Justice M.A Adeigbe who is the chairman, Bose Dawodu, Ismail Ajibade, the State Commissioner of Police, the State Director of DSS and Bisi Babalola who will act as the secretary.

The Governor charged the commission to investigate and determine the remote and immediate cause of the disturbance, identify the perpetrators and extent of involvement, determine the extent of injury suffered by any individual or group.

They were also mandated to recommend appropriate civil or criminal action to be taken against the perpetrators, make appropriate suggestions to the state government towards the prevention of future occurrence and also recommend appropriate monetary sum as compensation(s) for damages or injuries that may have been suffered by any individual or group of individuals.

You have four weeks to carry out this assignment, the governor said.

Mr. Aregbesola added that The report that small arms and light weapons were deployed freely during the crisis was disturbing and frightening.

It has implication for security of lives and property and the potential for more conflicts beyond the immediate theatre of war, if not nipped in the bud.

I want you to look into this. The sources and the current location of these arms and their custodians should be investigated and determined. They should all be recovered.

There are also reports that cultists who have no regard for human lives were recruited into the mayhem for a fee. This is most disheartening. Please investigate this and unearth the roles they played and let the law be applied without fear or favour.

I charge this commission to be courageous and fearless. Undertake this assignment with all seriousness and the fear of God. You should pursue the truth and not fear where it will lead to.

We want justice for all, like Martin Luther King Jr, once said, Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream, to the victims and the perpetrators alike, as I wish you success on this crucial assignment.

Mr. Aregbesola also warned against pre-empting the outcome of ongoing investigation of the crisis, saying it would be prejudicial to the efforts of the law enforcement agencies.

He said the violence was not an ethnic or religious one, but just an ugly development, a breach of public peace, masterminded by hoodlums and criminals which resulted into loss of lives and property.

Mr. Aregbesola called for cooperation and patience with the police and other law enforcement agencies until the outcome of the final investigation. He said the police and other agencies had assured of even handedness and that the rule of law would be strictly adhered to and allowed to prevail.

He said the opinion of those fanning the embers of discord between the Hausa and Yoruba should be disregarded, stressing that it was unwise and wicked for anybody to describe the violence in the Sabo area of Ile-Ife as a religious or tribal war.

In his response, Chairman of the judicial commission of enquiry, Mr. Adeigbe, who thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve the people of Osun, promised that the commission would discharge its job without fear or favour.

He said the commission would go all out to ensure that the real perpetrators of the dastardly act are brought to book and ensure that all warring factions are appeased.

Mr. Governor, I assure you that we will not let you and the people of Osun down, we will carry out this task you have given us to the best of our ability, he said.

Myself and my members will ensure that the perpetrators of the sad event which occurred at Ife are brought to book.

We will ensure that it doesnt happen again in Osun. We will do our job without fear or favour to anyone or group in the matter.

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The Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, on Monday accused Dangote Cement Company of neglecting its corporate social responsibility in the state.

He said this has led to a strained relationship between him and Aliko Dangote, the business mogul and President of the Dangote Group.

Mr. Amosun stated this at a press conference in his office in Abeokuta.

The Governor said trucks conveying products of the company were major contributors to the damage to roads in the state, which he said the company has refused to contribute to fixing.

Why I am against Dangote is that the heavy trucks of the company damage the roads. An example is Ilaro-Papalanto road. Is it the cars of our people that destroyed the roads? No! It is the heavy trucks of the company, he said.

He said Dangote Cement operating in Ibese/Ilaro axis of Ogun West Senatorial District had contributed to damaging some of the roads.

Mr. Amosun said rather than the company to contributing towards the repair of the roads, it has kept mute, although it is known to be making big money in the state.

The governor said the company should rise up to the challenges of social responsibility to the people of the state.

Mr. Amosun disclosed that the state government had concluded financial arrangements for contractors handling road projects to return to sites which they had abandoned due to lack of funds.

Virtually all roads under construction across the state were abandoned over a year ago, following paucity of funds from the government.

Mr. Amosun said he has mobilised the contractors from the Paris Club refund, vowing that no road project would be left uncompleted at the end of his administration.

We have mobilised our contractors back to sites. We shall ensure that all works are completed before we leave office. We are hopeful that Federal Government will give us another tranche of the Paris fund, he stated.

The governor also called on the federal government to cede more of its roads to state governments for rehabilitation and construction, noting that the federal government cannot do it alone.

We want federal government to cede all the federal roads in the state to the state government so as to repair them, Mr. Amosun stated.

He pointed out that most of the federal roads in the state had been neglected and were in deplorable conditions.

He named some of the roads as Sagamu/Ogijo, Lagos/ Abeokuta, Papalanto-interchange, Lafenwa-Ayetoro, Papalanto/Ilaro and Lagos/ Ibadan.

He said the state government spends about N400 million on federal roads every raining season to make the roads motorable, just as he also disclosed that the federal government was already owing the state N124 billion for repairing federal roads in the state.

We always use N400 million every raining season to intervene on these roads, we will appreciate if the federal government can cede the roads to us, we have the capacity to do the roads better than what they can do.

We realize we have two years to leave, Ogun standard is what we believe, we will continue to give our people the dividends of democracy. We have remobilised our contractors two weeks ago, they are now back on site, we will walk our talk.

Mr. Amosun said some of the roads which the contractors are about to return to work on are the Ilo-Awela road, Moshood Abiola way, OGTV road, Akute road, Atan Agbara road and Akangba/Ilese road. 

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A 23-year-old man, Adeoye Ikugbayigbe, has been arrested by the police in Ogun State for allegedly beheading a 72-year-old woman, Funmilayo Shada.

The police spokesperson in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, said the suspect committed the crime in Abigi community of the state.

He said the suspect was arrested following a report at the police headquarters in the area by the son of the woman, Ekundayo Shada.

Mr. Shada had told the police that he was on his way to the farm to see his mother on March 17 when he ran into the suspect holding a polythene bag.

He said the suspect on sighting him, dropped the polythene bag and took to his heels, a development which he said caused him curiosity. He said he ran to the farm but could not find his mother.

Mr. Shada said on returning to the polythene bag, he was shocked to see her severed head inside.

He said he immediately reported the incident to the police.

The police spokesperson said the Divisional Police Officer for Abigi, Komolafe Omoniyi, led detectives to the scene, combed the surrounding bush and finally arrested the suspect.

The police said Mr. Ikugbayigbe on interrogation confessed to the crime, claiming that he had been having a running battle with the deceased over a portion of land.

Mr. Oyeyemi said the severed head and the corpse had been deposited in the mortuary while the cutlass the suspect used was also recovered.

He said the state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, has ordered that the suspect be transferred to the homicide section of State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation.

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Slovenia is a very important element in the relations between the states of the Tree Seas initiative, Slovenia-visiting President Andrzej Duda told Monday a press conference in Ljubljana.

He also expressed conviction that first agreements between Poland and Slovenia concerning road infrastructure development would be signed in July.

President Duda said he had received a positive reply from the Slovenian President Borut Pahor in regard of the upcoming Warsaw's Three Seas states summit.

May be of interest to you Polish president starts visit to Slovenia

The Three Seas concept is aimed at bringing countries located between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas closer together. "This is a project that aims to strengthen economic cooperation between our countries by building transport and energy infrastructure between Central European countries, and in this context Slovenia on top with its Koprem port appears to be a very important element in these relations", said President Duda.

"I am convinced that the first agreements on infrastructure development will be concluded within the framework of these talks and these agreements will be sealed between entrepreneurs already in July at the Three Seas summit in Poland", added the President of the Republic of Poland.

Polands President Andrzej Duda and his Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor discussed a range of European issues on the meeting in Ljubljana on Monday.

"

There are certain elements in which Poland and Slovenia have different views and visions", but this is chiefly because "we are states that have different characteristics," Andrzej Duda said at a news conference.

He added that there are several fundamental issues in which Poland and Slovenia speak with one voice. "As countries that aspire to develop in the same way as Western European nations, we desire European unity, and we would also like to see Europe preserve its essential, elementary commonalities", President Duda said.

"We want to see those basic and elementary freedoms which are important to our citizens, preserved in Europe", he added.

Among these freedoms he mentioned the freedom of movement of persons, services, capital and goods, and among commonalities he listed the commonality of the budget, institutions and law.

Andrzej Duda also said that he had discussed migration issues with Borut Pahor.

"Here we see eye to eye on the co-operation of European countries, on the need for mutual support, on the need for solidarity in guarding the external borders of the EU", and on the need for the best functioning of the Schengen area, President Duda said.

We want Polish economy to be based on knowledge and this is the direction in which the Polish government is moving with its Responsible Development Plan, Andrzej Duda said Monday at a Polish-Slovenian Investment Forum in Ljubljana.

In his address to the forum Duda thanked all who had contributed to building Polish-Slovenian relations in past years, and stressed that ties between both countries based on "pure economic factors". In this context Duda remarked that Polish-Slovenian trade in 2016 came to EUR 1.3 billion, a 3.6-percent rise on the preceding year.

"

This not only shows that it (Polish-Slovenian trade) exists, but it shows an upward trend. This is very important for us as presidents, as state heads, because we would like this economic exchange to expand for the good of our countries and their citizens", Duda said. He added that today Poland's exports to Slovenia surpassed its imports from the country and noted that he would like to see the trade balance on a more even level.

Andrzej Duda also encouraged Slovenian enterprisers to invest in Poland, assuring that investment conditions were "good and offered very good prospects".

"Poland today is a country with stable growth and a stable government which will surely remain in power in the coming years. Poland has a stable economic situation and books continued economic growth, our GDP is getting bigger with every year and our unemployment is getting smaller from month to month", the Polish president said.

President Duda added that the Polish government was planning numerous reforms to improve the functioning of the economy, especially raise its innovativeness and effectiveness.

Referring to Poland's Responsible Development Plan authored by Development and Finance Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Duda said the plan aimed to boost Poland's production potential and make Poland a knowledge-based economy. "We want our production potential as a state and our possibilities as a society to be better used, for us to become a knowledge-based economy. This is the direction in which many undertaking by the Polish government are moving", President Duda declared.

The president also mentioned the Three Seas conception planned to strengthen ties between countries located on the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas. Andrzej Duda stressed that the concept aimed to create "new, much more effective infrastructural solutions" on Central Europe's North-South axis.

President Duda also reminded about a July-planned Three Seas summit in Poland.

Slovenian President Borut Pahor stressed that Slovenia and Poland were "two befriended countries with regulated political, economic, cultural and simply human relations", and remarked that both countries aided and complemented themselves.

Borut Pahor added that he and Andrzej Duda had prepared a joint statement on the future of the EU, in which both state leaders underscored the need to "reduce unpredictability" in the Community's development. (PAP)
We are pleased to welcome representatives of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) on Polish soil, President Andrzej Duda wrote in a letter to participants in a Monday gala opening the organisation's Warsaw office.

The office, AJC's fifth European mission, is located in the seat of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

"I am glad to see that you chose the Polish capital for the place from which your activity will embrace the whole region", Andrzej Duda wrote. He added that AJC's settlement in Poland coincided with the stationing of NATO troops in the country, and called the fact "symbolic" in light of AJC's onetime support of Poland's NATO membership.

The American Jewish Committee was founded in 1906 to protect the rights of Jews outside the US. The organisation's main seat is New York. (PAP)
Ride hailing app Grab is revving up online dating in Southeast Asia , teaming up with Tinder in hopes it leads to more users swiping right.

The promotional campaign marks the dating platform's first partnership in the region and features top social media influencers, from models to YouTube stars.

"This is about us bringing new experiences to our customers," said Cheryl Goh, Vice President of Marketing for Grab. "Users have an opportunity to ride with somebody who will widen their world view. It makes the normal ride a bit more interesting."

The "Meet Your Match" campaign, launching across five Southeast Asian countries including Singapore and Vietnam , integrates Grab and Tinder's social platforms. Users can view the profiles of featured Tinder personalities in the dating app, and swipe right to show interest in sharing a Grab ride with them. The ride-hailing company says matches will be selected at random depending on demand, with no guarantees of an actual Tinder ride.

If those influencers see love in the future after that first meet, passengers are treated to an all-day outing with their date, paid for by Tinder and Grab.

The limited promotion, is the latest marketing campaign for the Singapore-based ride-hailing company as it looks to cement its footprint in the region.

Since launching in Malaysia five years ago, Grab has garnered 70 percent market share with 36 million downloads, raising more than $1.4 billion in funding.

But, the regional leader faces fierce competition from U.S. rival Uber, as it aggressively moves in on a ridesharing market that's expected to grow to $13 billion by 2025, according to a study co-authored by Google.

"I can't comment on our competitors, but I can say on our front that we're very blessed our users are sticking to us," CEO Anthony Tan said in an interview with CNBC. "They see how local, how relevant we've become. We create very localized products that matter to them."

The partnership with Grab gives Tinder an opportunity to raise its profile as it looks to increase its presence in the region. While the app already has more than 50 million users in nearly 200 countries including Singapore, it has looked to shed its reputation as a hookup app by introducing new concepts. Last year, it launched Tinder Social, a feature that pairs groups of friends for social events.

Story continues

"Tinder is a platform for meeting new people," David Wyler, VP of Global Partnerships at Tinder, said in a statement. "We wanted to provide an opportunity for our users to connect with some of their favorite social media stars and still get to their next meeting on time."

The personalities featured in the campaign were selected by Grab and Tinder. They range from MMA fighter Peter Davis, who describes himself as "charismatic and talkative" on his profile, to Chinese Malaysian actress Sarah Lian, who counts "chocolate fudge ice cream and a great documentary" among her guilty pleasures.

The campaign has already launched in Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines . It will extend to Singapore and Indonesia next month.

Update: This story has been updated with an expanded explanation of the campaign's mechanics.
A pilot course that would certify students to fix airplanes at Atlantic City International Airport will not be ready by June, as some officials had hoped.

But the plan to start the aviation maintenance institute at the airport is still alive.

Atlantic County is working with the airport, along with Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, among others, to establish an 18-month certification program in aircraft maintenance at the airport.

The goal is to train and certify people in the area, creating aircraft maintenance and repair jobs locally. Ideally, large airlines that do business in Philadelphia, Newark and New York City would bring planes to the Atlantic City International Airport for repairs and routine maintenance.

Officials hope to have the program running by the end of the year.

This is a priority project, and were moving on it, said Howard Kyle, chief of staff to the Atlantic County Executive.

The idea stems from a report developed by Texas-based Angelou Economics that points to the aviation industry as a major target that could help revitalize the area, which for decades relied heavily on tourism as its major source of revenue and employment.

Kyle used Pittsburgh as an example of what officials are trying to do here to diversify the economy. After the steel industry no longer became Pittsburghs most stable industry, the city regrouped and became known for medicine and technology, Kyle said.

The aviation industry is a good fit for the county, because the William J. Hughes Technical Center, one of the nations premier air-transportation system laboratories, is located here, according to the report.

The Atlantic City airport is a major asset that remains underused. Kyle said the airport is a good fit for this aviation maintenance institute because the cost of operation is much lower than Philadelphia or New York, its in a good spot near the major cities and it has a large runway that can accommodate all kinds of planes.

The county still has several steps to take before the institute opens.

The hope is to have Vaughn College provide the curriculum, but not run the program. Kyle said the county is working with an outside program to provide instructors.

They also still need to get equipment the students can work on for practice.

Graduates of the aviation institute at Vaughn have found jobs at FedEx, American Airlines, Long Island Railroad and other companies.

None of this is easy; it takes a lot of work, Kyle said. We need to think diversity. We got into this mess because we relied on one industry for too long.
MAYS LANDING  Students attending Atlantic Cape Community College can apply for dual admissions with Rutgers-Camden under an agreement signed Monday by college officials.

Applicants to Atlantic Cape who register for the program would be granted automatic transfer to Rutgers-Camden after they complete their associate degree and maintain a minimum 3.0 grade point average. A 2.5 GPA is accepted for the Bachelor of Art in Business Administration program offered at the Atlantic Cape site.

Applicants to Rutgers-Camden from Atlantic or Cape May counties who do not qualify for immediate admission will be notified they could start at Atlantic Cape and transfer to Rutgers-Camden.

The program would allow students to attend classes at both the main campus in Camden and the Rutgers completion site at Atlantic Capes Mays Landing campus.

Rutgers-Camden Chancellor Phoebe Haddon said the school is proud to have a presence on the Atlantic Cape campus and wants to strengthen programs there.

We want to be a presence here is South Jersey, she said.

Jason Jankowski, manager of academic programs at the Rutgers-Camden site in Mays Landing, said between 250 and 300 students are working toward bachelor degrees there.

The site offers 10 degree programs, with classes both on site and online. The agreement does not apply for teacher preparation, social work, biomedical technology and nursing programs, which have separate transfer agreements.

Dual admission programs are becoming more popular as a way to reduce college costs and help more students obtain bachelors degrees. Atlantic Cape has a similar dual admissions program with Stockton University.

Atlantic Cape is excited about the opportunity to expand our partnership with Rutgers-Camden and provide local residents another cost-effective way to a baccalaureate degree, Atlantic Cape President Barbara Gaba said.
WILDWOOD  Its been nearly 40 years since a police dog patrolled the streets of this Doo Wop-style resort.

But last week, the citys Police Department officially welcomed Vera, a 2-year-old German shepherd, to the force.

We need a dog here, Chief Robert Regalbuto said in a statement. We need her on our streets, on our Boardwalk, on Pacific Avenue or anywhere where we have problems.

The department acquired the K-9 as part of an effort to crack down on drug crimes, police said.

We are trying to be very proactive, Mayor Ernie Troiano said.

Regalbuto said earlier this month his department executed 67 search warrants in 2016 and more than 22 of them were related to narcotics. Officers also made about 2,800 arrests, he said.

Theres no short-term fix for narcotics. You have to be out there every day, he said told members of the Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce during an event March 9.

The Police Department raised money to pay for Veras training and maintenance. Part of the funding came from the sale of hundreds of T-shirts and donations from local businesses.

We didnt have to come up with any money, Troiano said.

Among the top donors were Moreys Piers, the Greater Wildwood Elks Lodge and the Wawa store on Rio Grande Avenue, according to police.

In the past, the citys Police Department has had to rely on the Cape May County Sheriffs Office for K-9 assistance. Vera will aid officers, especially when the population spikes and various special events draw thousands of people in the summer, Troiano said.

The dog adds that extra level of protection, he said. Ill mess with a police officer before I mess with a dog.

Vera and her handler, Patrolman Chris Katz, wont hit the streets right away. The two will soon begin a 22-week training program that includes instruction on dealing with combative assailants, searching buildings and detecting narcotics.
VINELAND  The city is proposing a financial break for its military-serving residents while theyre deployed outside of the United States.

An ordinance set for introduction Tuesday would give those members of the military 5 percent discounts on their monthly electric and quarterly water bills.

The average monthly residential bill from the citys electric utility is $136. The average monthly residential bill from the water utility varies by meter size and water usage, but the minimum monthly charge for the two most common residential meters is $9.96 and $26.62.

Serving in the military and undergoing foreign deployment comes with a heavy burden and sacrifice which also affects their families and personal life, the ordinance states.

The mayor and City Council recognized the sacrifices of the men and women in our military and find it necessary to provide a benefit to assist those serving our country during their deployment to relieve some of their burdens of protecting our country and providing for the needs of their families in their absence, it continues.

City Council President Paul Spinelli said the city is opting to take the action at the urging of local residents.

Its the right thing to do, he said.

Spinelli said city officials arent sure how many residents are enlisted in the military, or how many could be deployed overseas.

However, he said discussions with the citys municipal utilities officials indicate the discount wont significantly impact their operations.

According to the ordinance, military members must be deployed out of the United States for more than 30 days. They must provide proof of local residency, and documents showing the date of deployment.

The city also allows for the discontinuation, in certain circumstances, of collections against unpaid utility bills during the deployment period. Those unpaid bills would have to be paid within of year of the military member returning from deployment.
A New Jersey appellate court has denied the appeal of a Philadelphia man who assaulted his girlfriends lover and left him to die in a burning car in Hammonton in 2010 and then fled to Cuba.

Denis Catania, 55, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in 2013 for killing 23-year-old Ross Heimlich of Camden. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Catania, of Voorhees, killed Heimlich because he was having an affair with his girlfriend, Diana Camacho, according to court documents.

In his appeal, Catania argued that his rights were violated when police took control of his house without probable cause and held it for seven hours until a search warrant was obtained. The appeal also asked for the case to be resentenced due to incorrect and unsupported findings on aggravating and mitigating factors.

The court dismissed all of his claims.

Catania and Camacho, along with Damien Leo, were charged with kidnapping Heimlich in Voorhees and then leaving his body burning inside a car in Hammonton.

Forensic scientists needed more than a month to identify Heimlich as the victim due to the condition of his body when firefighters finally extinguished his burning car about 3:30 the morning it was found on Linda Lane.

An autopsy showed Heimlich was struck in the head, and may have been alive when the car was set on fire.

Camacho and Leo pleaded guilty as well. Camacho was sentenced to nine years in prison and Leo was sentenced to eight.

Leo was arrested first. Catania and Camacho, then 27, fled the country but were finally apprehended in Cuba.
EGG HARBOR CITY  A vote to decide the second Democratic nominee for state Assembly will be held Tuesday night, nine days after the party failed to pick a candidate for the ticket with 2nd District incumbent Vince Mazzeo.

The vote, set for 5 to 8 p.m. at the Teamsters Local 331 building, is open only to delegates who voted at the Atlantic County Democratic Convention on March 19.

They will have the option of choosing from among Freeholder Ernest Coursey, Buena Vista Township Committeeman John Armato, former Mullica Township Committeewoman Barbara Rheault and former surrogate Jim Carney to run on the official ticket with Colin Bell, who is running for state Senate, and Mazzeo.

Mazzeo will not appear on the ballot because he crossed the 50 percent threshold needed to secure a nomination. No other candidate passed that threshold at the convention. Former Atlantic City Councilman Rizwan Malik is off the ballot because he was the lowest vote-getter.

Atlantic County Democratic Committee Chairman Mike Suleiman made it clear before the convention that he believes Armato gives the Democrats the best chance to win in November.

Democrats pick Mazzeo for Assembly ticket, delay vote on second nominee ATLANTIC CITY  Seven hours wasnt enough time for Atlantic County Democrats to answer the l

His endorsement upset the other candidates.

Shortly after the endorsement, Coursey announced he will appear on the ballot in the June primary regardless of the nomination.

Whoever gets the official party endorsement will join a race that could be one of the ugliest, and most expensive, in the state.

County Republicans, meanwhile, nominated Assemblyman Chris Brown for state Senate and Brigantine Councilman Vince Sera and former Margate Commissioner Brenda Taube for Assembly. The party also endorsed Kim Guadagno for governor.

The rhetoric between Democrats and Republicans has already started to heat up.

After the Republican convention, party Chairman Keith Davis called on Democrats to rescind their endorsement of Phil Murphy for governor because of his continued support for North Jersey casinos.

No Atlantic County political party should be endorsing any candidate for governor which supports North Jersey casinos, Davis said in a statement. If the Democratic Party is serious about creating and not killing jobs in our region, they will stand up for Atlantic County working families and retract their endorsement of Phil Murphy and North Jersey casinos.

Guadagno said she was against North Jersey casinos while speaking at the Republican convention Saturday, nearly five months after a measure to allow them was soundly defeated by New Jersey voters.

Although she never took a stand on North Jersey casinos, Suleiman accused Guadagno of supporting them.

How about the Republicans rescind their endorsement of Kim Guadagno, who not only supports North Jersey casinos but also supports Trumpcare, which would cause 42,000 Atlantic County residents to lose health insurance? Suleiman said in a statement. People who live in glass houses shouldnt throw stones.
Here kitty, kitty.

The problem: A resident of Secluded Lane in the Rio Grande section of Middle Township wrote to Public Eye complaining about more than 20 feral cats roaming the neighborhood. A pet owner and family man, the resident said the mean and nasty cats made him feel unsafe.

However, he explained the reason for the clowder of cats may be someone in the neighborhood providing food.

After calls to animal control, the resident took matters into his own hands, buying humane traps and catching cats himself.

The facts: Theres no doubt cat colonies in residential areas are an issue.

I will commend our Rio Grande resident for his humane actions and contacting the animal-friendly Public Eye.

Its important to distinguish what kind of cats you may be dealing with, because thats how you can solve your problem.

There is a difference between a feral cat and a stray cat. According to Alley Cat Allies, a national cat advocacy organization, a stray cat is a cat that has been socialized to people but may have lost its domestic home: runaways and lost or abandoned pets. Since the cats seem to roam freely and accept food put out by neighbors, they could be from a former indoor home.

Feral cats are not socialized and often live outdoors in colonies. What the resident calls a mean temperament may indicate these Rio Grande cats are wild and want to stay that way.

Animal control may not be the most effective way to solve this homeowners feline woes. Cape May County is a large area and other cases, such as rabid or diseased animals, take priority over feral cats. Animal control does, however, refer cases such as lost pets and feral cats to the county animal shelter.

Public Eye contacted Judy Davies-Dunhour, manager of the Cape May County Animal shelter. She said the shelter was aware of an ongoing cat population problem in that neighborhood. While his own efforts to trap the cats is OK, the Rio Grande resident should contact the shelter first to see how they can help.

The next step: The county animal shelter may be able to connect the resident with a volunteer to start a trap-neuter-release, or TNR, program.

TNR programs use humane traps to catch the cats, bring them to the Animal Alliance of Cape May County to be spayed or neutered, and if the cat isnt social enough to be adopted, it is released back to its outdoor colony. The younger a cat is caught, the better chance it has to become adoptable and find a nice home. If a cat is social enough to be adoptable, it will be placed in a shelter or rescue, where it will get an adorable head shot, before finding a forever home.

The county shelter and Animal Alliance work together on incoming animals. Davies-Dunhour said clinic days for spaying and neutering, health checks or vaccinations are held on Thursdays. The best time to trap a cat is Monday through Wednesday, said Davies-Dunhour, so youre not responsible for a caged cat for more than a few days.

March 20 marked the first day of spring, which for animal shelters means kitten season. Shelters will flooded with kittens from unspayed outdoor cats. So the sooner the resident can get these neighborhood cats fixed, the sooner his problem can be mitigated.

However, TNR can be a long process, and needs to be followed through, Davies-Dunhour said.

Place traps during daylight hours, leave food out only in the trap, and be sure to support your local shelter, rescues and TNR programs to help control the animal population.
Christian values lacking

I just have one simple question. Why is it that the Republicans in Congress are always putting forth plans that further enrich the already rich, while screwing the old, the poor and the sick? What kind of Christians are they?

Rosemary Celandine

Somers Point

Trump supporters need refresher on Constitution

I have read time and time again opinions of people who support President Trump. In fact I live in Cape May County and therefore am surrounded by those who are satisfied with the results of the November election.

That is fine; we all have a right to our beliefs and a right to express them. Those rights are what has prompted me to respond to the March 14 letter, Has the presidents back.

I think the author feels that alternative facts, innuendos, intimidation and discrimination are a part of the Constitution, for that seems to be all that is coming out of the White House. The author states that many anti-Trump letters and commentaries have been written by fearful idealistic utopian gurus.

May I say that an idealistic utopia is redundant as well as unattainable, but how wonderful would it be to have a government concerned about clean water and air, the reality that climate change does exist, and that all people should be afforded the same opportunities. We owe that to future generations.

In conclusion, I am not a guru, but I was a public school teacher for 33 years and the Constitution and Bill of Rights are integral parts of any curriculum. Seems that those who may need a refresher course in the rights provided in those documents are the ones whose school days ended years ago.

Nancy Sandman

Villas

Trump judged insane

It should be obvious to anyone who hasnt been in a drug-induced coma for the past six weeks that the American people have elected a president with serious mental and/or emotional problems. Never mind that Im not a psychiatrist. In my 72 years on Earth, Ive dealt with my fair share of wackos and I know one when I see one.

Trumps consistent lying shows he is, at some level, insane. I take issue with those who want to give Trump a chance. No, we must not. Trump must be resisted in any way possible.

People in South Jersey cant do much to resist Trump. But they could deny Trump one Republican vote in the House of Representatives. One vote out of 435 may or may not matter, but I believe that as voters wake up to what the Trump agenda is doing to them, many Republicans will be turned out in the mid-term elections and one vote could make all the difference.

The Democratic Party should come up with and fund a real candidate with the chops to take on and defeat Republican Rep. Frank LoBiondo in 2018.

Gus Schick

Millville

LoBiondo should explain

Whether people support or condemn President Donald Trump, implementation of new policies on immigration, rapprochement with Russia and defunding programs call for Rep. Frank LoBiondo to explain his position. His website is sketchy and searching for his votes is daunting.

LoBiondo should to tell his constituents his position on the presidents attack on the judiciary. New Jersey and federal judges are appointed based upon legal acumen, ethical standards and devotion to the law. What is his position when the president denigrates those who ensure the rule of law over the rule of the jungle? Regarding health care, many people do not know that the Affordable Care Act and Obamacare are the same.

The answer to fake news is real, clearly presented positions on important issues. LoBiondo should step up to the challenge to vanquish fake news by giving a weekly presentation.

Joseph J. Rodgers

Northfield
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.  He has a history of calling people disgusting names. He has made statements that were unprovable or flat-out false, and hes now at the center of what could be the biggest political scandal of the 21st century: the Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Roger Stone, who lives in Florida and was closely involved in Atlantic County politics for years, appeared in Boca Raton last week at a book signing and relished the spotlight.

Stone emphatically denied he colluded with Russians on behalf of Donald Trump or that Russia meddled in the U.S. election.

Folks, the idea that there was Russian influence to tip this election to Donald Trump is a bald-faced, blatant lie, he said. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded Russia did try to interfere in the presidential race.

Stone also portrayed himself as a victim and attempted to put his critics on the defensive.

This is the new McCarthyism, Stone declared about congressional leaders who want an investigation.

The political consultant had a long list of South Jersey clients, and enemies  and some who were both.

Stone worked for candidates for Atlantic City mayor and Atlantic County executive. Along with representing Trump, Stone also lobbied for the Casino Association of New Jersey, has owned a Margate vacation condo and long talked about plans to write a biography of Hap Farley, who spent 34 years as Atlantic Countys state senator.

Stone credits Farley as a major player in the 1968 presidential victory for Richard Nixon, a man Stone calls one of his heroes.

Former Stone clients include another longtime state senator from Atlantic County, Bill Gormley, and a former state assemblyman, Ed Kline.

A 1988 story in The Press of Atlantic City reported Gormleys campaigns paid Stone or firms he was involved with almost $370,000 between 1982 and 1987. But the two later had a bitter break amid charges Stone orchestrated campaigns to damage Gormley politically  apparently to help another Stone client in New Jersey, former Gov. Christie Whitman.

How your lawmakers voted HOUSE

The headline for that 1988 profile of the consultant: In the Art of Mudslinging, Roger Stone is Rembrandt.

Stone is in the news because of the investigations into Russian involvement in the election. Stone was in contact with Guccifer 2.0, which was involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee last year. And weeks before the hacked emails of Hillary Clinton campaign Chairman John Podesta were released, Stone ominously predicted on Twitter that Podesta would soon be in the barrel facing scrutiny.

Over the previous weekend, national news organizations reported the Senate Intelligence Committee asked Stone to preserve any documents that might pertain to his involvement with Russia and the election.

Stone spoke at a book-signing in Florida last week for 58 minutes, split evenly between remarks and answering audience questions. Parts of the speech were vintage Stone, offering conspiracy theories that could not be proven.

Around Christmas last year, he said, he was poisoned  possibly to shut him up when Senate Intelligence Committee leaders said they would investigate Russian election hacking. He said he had a fever higher than 100 degrees for 17 days, was hospitalized, became delusional and lost some of his hair.

He repeated a claim he has been making in recent days, that a hit-and-run accident last week in Pompano Beach involving a car in which he was riding may have been deliberate. He suggested the accident could have been part of a plot to prevent him from speaking what he says is the truth about Russia and the election. A Broward Sheriffs Office report  which said Stone had left the scene and was interviewed later  did not contain information to back up Stones claim.

Pardon me for being suspicious. At a minimum I find this extraordinarily suspicious, he said, adding he wants to testify before Congress. They better have these hearings before somebody kills me.

Press Staff Writer Martin DeAngelis contributed to this report.
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.




For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.



Rep. Charlie Dent on Sunday would not deny a report that President Donald Trump told the Pennsylvania Republican that he was "destroying the Republican Party."

In an interview on "Meet The Press," anchor Chuck Todd asked Dent to confirm a New York Times report that the president angrily said he would blame Dent for the failed Republican healthcare legislation  and if tax reform succumbed to a similar fate.

"I'm not going to deny that," Dent replied. "I listened very respectfully to what the president had to say. But my bottom line is this: This discussion has been far too much about artificial timelines, arbitrary deadlines, all to effect the baseline on tax reform. This conversation should be more about the people whose lives are going to be impacted by our decisions on their healthcare."

Republicans were forced to pull their healthcare plan on Friday after party leaders failed to successfully placate the most conservative members of the House while maintaining support from moderates like Dent.

During Sunday's interview, the congressman said Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan didn't adequately address concerns about the bill from GOP governors of states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

"They wanted to be part of this process," Dent said. "They were not brought in. I mean, those kinds of issues were very important to me, and to the people I represent and, frankly, to a lot of the members of Congress who are part of our center-right group, the Tuesday Group."

He added: "We're very concerned about the Medicaid changes. And so, yeah, I can hold my ground."

Since the bill's failure, the president has laid blame on a number of forces from the right and left that he claimed derailed the bill.

Trump blamed Democrats on Friday for refusing to support the bill, though Republicans made no serious attempt to court House Democrats.

Story continues

But in a tweet on Sunday, the president lashed out at the conservative House Freedom Caucus and conservative groups for refusing to support the bill.





Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!

 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 26, 2017

NOW WATCH: Obama's White House photographer has been trolling Trump on Instagram





More From Business Insider
-- Preparation for The Buyers Sourcing Event is in Full Swing

SHANGHAI, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Being the leading pharma focused event for domestic and international pharmaceutical companies in Asia, CPhI & P-MEC China, is organized by Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co.,Ltd. and China Medical and Health Import and Export Chamber of Commerce. CPhI & P-MEC China will continue to co-develop with the Chinese pharmaceutical industry and improve the international visibility and power of influence of pharmaceutical enterprises. With 16 years of "accumulated experience", the 2017 expo is predicted to attract more than 2800 companies to become its exhibitors, among which foreign companies from more than 20 countries and regions will also be included. The exhibition will gather many renowned pharmaceutical enterprises home and abroad, expand the sourcing channels for the buyers while building a one-stop pharma industrial trading platform for face-to-face business meetings, industrial information collecting and deep communication.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/481736/The_Opening_Ceremony.jpg

With The Strong Power of "Expo + Website"

Combining To Hold the 7th Buyer Sourcing Event

In 2017, [En-CPhI.CN] teams up with CPhI & ICSE China and P-MEC & InnoPack China again to roll out the 7th CPhI Buyers Sourcing Event. The event is a purchase matching service, which brings renowned overseas buyers to meet suppliers from China, aiming to help suppliers establish relationships with international buyers, understand the international market and capture effective business opportunities!

As one of the special events held annually onsite at CPhI & P-MEC China, Buyers Sourcing Event effectively draws buyers closer to suppliers through one-to-one and face-to-face meetings and drives both parties to close deals. Its high efficiency in terms of saving the time for the buyers is recognized by more and more domestic and overseas buyers.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/481737/Buyers_Group_Photo.jpg

New Idea New Opportunity -- All at CPhI Buyers Sourcing Event 2017

Already successfully held six times, having served nearly one thousand buyers, a matchmaking success rate close to 90% has been reached so far. There are four sourcing areas including APIs, Pharmaceutical Machines, Extracts and Facilities & Logistics in the sourcing event. Being backed by the strong power of dual supplier business teams [Exhibitions + Websites], please enjoy the precious matchmaking service supported by the professional sourcing teams, to shorten the sourcing process and easily improve efficiency while sourcing!

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/481738/Buyers_Sourcing_Event.jpg

Client Service Officer: Nico Li

Tel: 86-21-33392273

Email: Nico.Li@ubmsinoexpo.com

QQ: 2043898949

About 2017 Sourcing Event: http://www.en-cphi.cn/zt/matchmaking2017/

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/481739/QR_Code.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/475397/UBM_Purple_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co., Ltd.
LONDON, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Alert Cascade's flagship mass notification service has been shortlisted as a finalist in the 2017 Business Continuity Awards, hosted by CIR magazine. As one of only a handful of 100% UK owned and operated emergency notification providers, Alert Cascade has spent the last 18 months developing a new customer led interface, packed with new customer led features that work flexibly around the individual operating environments of different organisations.

Customers have been quick to praise the development work done, and to recognise the benefits it brings for them, with a leading global accountancy and business advisory firm commenting: "The Alert Cascade platform has continued to evolve, with the latest release providing a range of new features which have allowed us to streamline some of our existing processes. System administrators and team co-ordinators have mobile platform access via their web browsers eliminating the need for installing dedicated applications that would typically require multi-layered internal authorisation. Alert Cascade's innovative new features and continued development of their MNS platform ensure that our focus remains on communication during business critical events."

Russell Pearson, Director of Alert Cascade Limited comments: "Our philosophy has always been to deliver a platform that is based on what customers actually need in order to communicate easily and effectively during a business disruption. All mass communication solutions can deliver a two way voice call, email or SMS text message with a basic import and reports function; we're unique in the level of customer lead development work that we have carried out, and the decision that we made to implement a web application user interface based on our market research, rather than develop a traditional app that relies on a third party operating system. We really took the time to get to know the pain points for our customers, and to find ways to ease them. Not all of the feedback we received was about technical functionality - for many customers, it was as much about how to integrate a mass communication service with existing data gathering processes or operational procedures. Customers can now build their service to suit their own internal processes, removing one of the major stumbling blocks for implementing new emergency communication technology."

Now in their 19th year, the Business Continuity Awards are judged by an independent panel, and focus on innovative strategies within the business continuity, security, resilience and risk arena. Winners will be announced at the Business Continuity Awards Gala Dinner and Ceremony on 8th June 2017 at the prestigious London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square.

About Alert Cascade Limited:

Alert Cascade (alertcascade.co.uk) specialises in communication and collaboration solutions for business continuity, disaster recovery, crisis communications, operations management and the control room environment.

Alert Cascade is 100% UK owned and operated.

Alert Cascade's contingency and continuity solutions have been used successfully in the aftermath of the Westminster terror attack, during the 7/7 London bombings and for response, collaboration and recovery from factory fires, power failures, sever weather, IT disasters and numerous other incidents across EMEA.

terror attack, during the 7/7 bombings and for response, collaboration and recovery from factory fires, power failures, sever weather, IT disasters and numerous other incidents across EMEA. Over 200 customers worldwide are using Alert Cascade to protect their organisation and members of the public, including Sellafield Limited, Yorkshire Building Society, Biffa, Shell, BP, National Grid and BASF.

For more information about Alert Cascade's products and solutions, please contact the sales department: +44-0203-50-30-999 sales@alertcascade.co.uk



Contact: Emma Lane

Tel: +44-0203-50-30-999

Mobile: +44-07432-038607

Email: emma@alertcascade.co.uk

Website: http://www.alertcascade.co.uk



SOURCE Alert Cascade Limited
CAMBRIDGE, England and KARLSRUHE, Germany, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Structural chemistry's trusted crystallographic database providers join forces to provide single point access to all of the world's small molecule crystal data.

The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (The CCDC) and FIZ Karlsruhe - Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure (FIZ Karlsruhe) today announce the start of a joint development project that will deliver for the first time shared deposition and access services for crystallographic data across all domains of chemistry - including organic, inorganic and metal-organic structures. The resulting capability - to search over one million crystallographic structures and to deposit data for the CCDC's Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) and FIZ Karlsruhe's Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) and their underlying CIF depots at a single source - will benefit researchers and educators across the chemistry disciplines. Two of the chemistry domain's longest-established and most trusted data organisations are combining to deliver standardised and comprehensive access to every structure ever published, with all entries discoverable through links in publications and third party information sources. This development will be of particular interest to scientists whose research spans the boundaries between organic, inorganic and metal-organic chemistry, who will no longer need to be concerned about which database to address, clearing confusion about where the database borders lie.

The CSD is the world's repository of published organic and metal-organic crystallographic data, containing over 875,000 entries. The ICSD features more than 185,000 inorganic structures.

"As a researcher and educator at the boundary of these domains, I am particularly excited about the promise of this partnership, both for research and for education in several areas of chemistry, where I am sure it will lead to many insights which otherwise would have been missed," said Professor Paul Raithby, Head of Inorganic Chemistry at Bath University and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the CCDC. "The CCDC's considerable investment in new infrastructure to support data deposition and access has reduced the technology barriers to this project enormously, enabling a partnership which the structural chemistry community has long requested and which it sorely needs. We are very proud to be working with FIZ Karlsruhe to achieve this."

"The community will greatly benefit from the partnership agreed between FIZ Karlsruhe and the CCDC," emphasizes Sabine Brunger-Weilandt, President & CEO of FIZ Karlsruhe - Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure. "All organic and inorganic crystal structure data can be stored and made available through one central portal that is jointly operated by both partners. Thus, scientists can now more easily access the valuable information they need for their research."

Development work on the collaboration has already begun. The first outputs will be released throughout 2017 and will be accessible via http://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk and http://www.fiz-karlsruhe.de. The CSD and ICSD will continue to develop and be available independently from the CCDC and FIZ Karlsruhe, respectively.

The full version of this press release is available here: https://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/News/List/2017-03-27-alliance-reshapes-crystallography-data-access/

For more information, please contact:

Paul Davie, CCDC

Helmut Mueller, FIZ Karlsruhe

SOURCE CCDC and FIZ Karlsruhe
SAN FRANCISCO, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The global antipsychotic drugs market is expected to reach USD 14.4 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The continuous development of better next-generation products to overcome adverse effects and unwanted reactions of existing products is creating demand for newer products. This factor is anticipated to propel the market.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150105/723757 )

Rapid growth of antipsychotics can be attributed to the rising prevalence of psychosis and other mental disorders. Governments are focused on creating awareness regarding mental health and psychological illnesses, which is further anticipated to drive the demand for antipsychotics. Government bodies in collaboration with major players conduct social programs to break the stigma related to psychotic disorders that exists in the society.

Adverse effects of antipsychotics, such as insomnia, dry mouth, drowsiness, and blurred vision, are expected to affect the growth by decreasing the level of acceptance in patients. In addition, the possibility of dependency, habit formation, or addiction is affecting the adoption of these drugs.

Established brands such as, Zyprexa lost patent protection in October 2011, followed by Seroquel and Risperdal in 2012, which hampers the market growth for these drugs. Also, the entry of generic versions of these products slowed the growth of the already existing brands.

Browse full research report with TOC on "Antipsychotic Drugs Market By Drug Class (Haldo, Navane, Invega, Latuda, Seroquel, Risperdal, Zyprexa, Geodon, Abilify), By Application (Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, Dementia, Unipolar Depression) And Segment Forecasts, 2014 - 2025" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/antipsychotic-drugs-market

Further key findings from the report suggest:

The growing prevalence of mental disorders, increased investments on R&D, and rising awareness regarding these conditions are augmenting the growth of the market.

The first-generation of antipsychotics have serious adverse effects and are very rarely used, hence they hold negligible share in the market.

The second-generation segment of drugs accounted for the largest share in 2015 and are anticipated to further expand during the forecast period despite the adverse effects

As of January 2016 , the third-generation segment has only one approved product, Abilify. It has negligible adverse effects and is expected to be the fastest growing segment over the forecast period

, the third-generation segment has only one approved product, Abilify. It has negligible adverse effects and is expected to be the fastest growing segment over the forecast period In 2015, North America dominated the global space with the largest revenue share owing to rising prevalence of mental illnesses

dominated the global space with the largest revenue share owing to rising prevalence of mental illnesses Asia Pacific is expected to emerge as the fastest growing region during the forecast period, mainly due to growing social awareness regarding mental disorders and improving access to treatment

is expected to emerge as the fastest growing region during the forecast period, mainly due to growing social awareness regarding mental disorders and improving access to treatment Some of the major players in this market are Johnson & Johnson; Pfizer, Inc.; Eli Lilly & Co.; and Bristol-Myers Squibb

Browse related reports by Grand View Research:

Mouth Ulcers Treatment Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/mouth-ulcers-treatment-market

Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/hospital-acquired-disease-testing-market

Protein Engineering Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/protein-engineering-market

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/pharmaceutical-manufacturing-market

Grand View Research has segmented the antipsychotic drugs market by drug class, application, and region:

Antipsychotics Drug Class Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) First Generation Second Generation Third Generation

Antipsychotics Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) Schizophrenia Bipolar disorder Unipolar depression Dementia Others

Antipsychotics Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany UK Asia Pacific China Japan Latin America Mexico Brazil MEA South Africa



Read Our Blog: Antipsychotic Drugs Market: Development of new-generation drugs driving the market growth

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.
"The Hammond Unlimited was built out of the necessity to satisfy a community of bikers that appreciate diversity, technology, and functionality. The Unlimited will eliminate a lot of problems bikers face and help them enjoy their hobby like never before. We implore everyone to join in and take part in this great assignment, by supporting our Indiegogo campaign and spreading the word on social media," said Thomas Hammond, CEO.

The Hammond Unlimited is available in different colors and comes with a custom bag for proper packaging, easy mobility, and protection from weather elements. The e-bike has matching interphone bike speakers with voice command, compatible with any smartphone up to 20 feet away. It also has wireless rear signal lights and front head light. Hammond e-bike technology took bike security to another level by adding a hidden GPS tracker device. The GPS provides real-time tracking to absolute street address by SMS or online web tracking. Geo-fence capability sends you an SMS if your bike is disturbed or someone is trying to steal it. The new Hammond X5 3.5"x 4" Touch screen GPS bike computer combines competing, navigation and connecting all in one.

The prototypes are complete. The company is offering everyone to own this fantastic product by launching an Indiegogo campaign. Hammond e-books Technology is asking you to become a member of our family by supporting us. As a Hammond e-bike Technology family member, you are entitled to discounts ranging from 5% to 35% for life. We will treat you like family by adding you to our database and sending you personalized virtual birthday and holiday cards by email for every occasion. Our way of saying thank you and rewarding you back.

About Hammond eBike Technologies

Hammond eBike Technologies designs, manufactures, and distributes eBikes and other electronic products. In the past year, the company has established an amazing product line by creating relationships with engineers, product designers and manufacturers from around the world. For more information visit www.hammondebiketechnology.com and follow them on social media. You can also watch the YouTube video at https://youtu.be/IRZP2z_xGIY.

Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/482820/Hammond_eBike_Technology_bike_in_a_bag.jpg

Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/482821/Hammond_eBike_Technology_E_bike.jpg

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/471954/Hammond_eBike_Technology_logo_Logo.jpg

Related Links

http://www.hammondebiketechnology.com



SOURCE Hammond eBike Technology
LONDON, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Proventa International, a market intelligence consultancy for Life Sciences and Healthcare sectors, are pleased to announce the appointment of Richard Lingard as General Manager of Commercial Operations. The evolution of Proventa's information based products and services will be driven by Richard Lingard as he structures the company for sustained growth.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/481579/Proventa_International_Logo.jpg )



"I'm excited about joining Proventa International, their success is driven by high quality products and services," said Richard Lingard. "Proventa International are at the forefront of market intelligence consultancy to niche sectors in the Life Science industry. I look forward to developing their offerings for Life Sciences and Healthcare."

Co-Founder & Managing Director Louis Smikle added, "We are delighted to welcome Richard to Proventa International. His expertise in commercial operations, building teams and growing organisations profitably, will be valuable as we expand our geographical reach and capabilities in the Life Sciences and Healthcare sector."

Co-Founder & Managing Director Leo Codilla-Failma said: "Richard will be responsible for executing the company strategy as we are to expand our core business, and the scope of our organisation."

Richard Lingard brings significant management and industry experience having worked in the Life Sciences industry for two and a half decades supporting pharmaceutical organizations' drug discovery efforts. As a Director at Thomson Reuters (now Clarivate Analytics) initially for Europe, Middle East and Africa, then globally, he expanded sales, and routes to market. Richard's last role was at Dotmatics Limited, as the Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations, where he grew revenue & net profit margin significantly by expanding sales and operations in; North America, Europe, Asia and Japan. Richard Lingard has also held a number of other significant global commercial roles.

About Proventa International: A market intelligence consultancy specialising in the Life Science and Healthcare sectors, working with Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Academic Institutions worldwide. By creating a knowledge network of strategic executive partnerships, we are able to engage and bring true innovation through our global stakeholders, shortening timelines and helping to achieve their vision.

SOURCE Proventa International
AMSTERDAM, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Raiffeisen Bank, a member of Austrian Raiffeisen Group, has selected Backbase, the omni-channel digital banking market leader, to deliver its new digital omni-channel banking platform. Raiffeisen Bank in Romania serves over two million customers, of which 100,000 SMEs, 5,600 corporations and 1.9 million personal banking customers.

Backbase will play an important role in developing Raiffeisen Bank's next generation digital banking architecture, one which will support a seamless user experience for individuals, SMEs and corporates. A sleek mobile app for private individuals will be the first deliverable, closely followed by the web applications for both retail and corporate customers.

Raiffeisen Bank needed a partner that could take its banking platform to the next level by developing added functionalities and transforming it to become agile and flexible. Raiffeisen Bank wants to enhance the Customer Experience and deliver faster new innovative functionalities and features for its customers on digital channels, hence Backbase Omnichannel Banking Platform has been selected to support the bank in achieving these objectives. Both the visual editor and the modular widget architecture of Backbase will empower Raiffeisen Bank to make quick changes in a matter of days or weeks. The new platform will significantly increase agility and enable the bank to launch new features to market more rapidly.

"It was important for Raiffeisen Bank to upgrade its online systems in order to provide a seamless user experience for all of their clients, whether they be private individuals or corporates," said Jouk Pleiter, CEO of Backbase. "The Backbase omni-channel banking platform gives Raiffeisen Bank the business agility it needs to better serve the digital needs of its customer-base, whilst also empowering the bank with more flexibility and ownership over its platform. We're committed to make Raiffeisen Bank successful and will continuously expanding our presence in Central and Eastern Europe."

"Implementing Backbase's technology onto our platform will enable us to be more agile and adapt to the fast growing and shifting needs of our customers," says Bogdan Popa, Vicepresident Operations and IT of Raiffeisen Bank. "Our customers are at the forefront of everything we do, so improving both our online and mobile platforms were essential in enhancing their banking experience and customer journey."

About Backbase

https://www.backbase.com/about

About Raiffeisen Bank Romania

https://www.raiffeisen.ro/despre-noi/

SOURCE Backbase
The Philippine market is growing significantly with its neighbouring countries. According to the World Bank, the country's GDP is expected to grow 6.4% this year, compared to 5.8% last year. The strong economy resulted from various government projects, including roads and infrastructure construction, which directly affects security, fire and safety by increasing demands. Meanwhile, the government is expected to roll out smart or safe city projects where they could monitor the whole city including traffic situation and others.

With positive development on the market demand, the organiser, United Business Media (UBM) is encouraging manufacturers to take part in the premier edition of IFSEC Philippines. More than 150 world-renowned brands have already confirmed their appearance on the show floor, giving full-access to Philippine industry professionals and trade buyers to the latest technology available in the market.

IFSEC Philippines offers a free seminar for the visitors via IFSEC Technology Showcase. The seminar will feature industry experts and bellwethers addressing important topics such as "The state of the nation (safety and security in the Philippines)", "Business resiliency amidst a changing political, integrity and risk involvement", "Compliance on the data privacy act" and more.

Supported by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Philippines Society for Industrial Security (PSIS), Accommodation Establishment Security & Safety Coordinating (AESSCCI), Mall Security Management Association of the Philippines (MSMAP), Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), Philippine Association of Detective and Protective Agency Operators, Inc. (PADPAO), Asian Professional Security Association (APSA) Philippines Chapter and Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce Philippines (ANZCHAM), and sponsored by Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions Philippines, the premier edition of IFSEC Philippines is expected to attract more than 5,000 trade visitors and professionals from around the nation.

Visitors will enjoy a wide variety of product categories on the show floor. Some of the products available are CCTV (video surveillance), access control and biometrics, fire alarms/detection/protection, cybersecurity, drones, perimeter protection, physical security and other categories, showcasing world-renowned brands such as Nemtek, Allied Telesis, Assa Abloy, Axis Communications, ELID, Fairetech, Internet of Things, Microsoft, Zhejiang Dahua Technology, ZKteco and more!

With all elements and products of security, fire and safety available, IFSEC Philippines 2017 will be the best platform for end-users and channel partners to come together. This is the best opportunity for industry players to build network, meet face-to-face and create business opportunities with experts coming from all around the world.

For more information on IFSEC Philippines 2017, please log on to www.ifsec.events/philippines, contact us at +63-2-581-1915 or email Irma.merza@ubm.com, michael.blancas@ubm.com or Syamsul.razak@ubm.com.

We hope to see you at IFSEC Philippines 2017 from 3 to 5 May 2017 at the SMX Convention Centre.

Notes to editor:

About UBM Asia (www.ubmasia.com)

Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is the largest trade show organiser in Asia and the largest commercial organiser in China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global network of 30 offices and 1,300 staff in 24 major cities. We operate in 20 market sectors with 230 exhibitions and conferences, 23 trade publications, 20 online products for over 1,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world.

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/482219/ifsec_philippines_Logo.jpg

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/482229/UBM_logo_Logo.jpg

Related Links

http://www.ubmasia.com



SOURCE UBM Asia (Malaysia)
US Directors, Richard and Mary Bhullar buyout Paris, London, and Los Angeles branches

NEW YORK, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Worldnet International New York Directors Richard and Mary Bhullar complete the Management Buyout of the Worldnet International London, Paris and Los Angeles operations following the retirement of John Earthey, Director.

Brother and sister Richard and Mary Bhullar, originally from London, have successfully grown the US operation as the premium logistics company that delivers amazing customer service. They are excited to expand the reach and impact of the brand to the UK and Europe.

"It is very much business as usual for our clients and employees," says Richard Bhullar. "We will continue to deliver exceptional levels of service to our existing customers and expand into new industries. We are focusing on enhancing the customer communication, and service."

Worldnet International acts as a global logistics partner to its clients; providing tailored solutions to meet the shipping demands of their business. They have earned the reputation as the most reliable and caring logistics company servicing the fashion, media, and technology industries. Their dedicated staff is known for their friendliness, accuracy, knowledge and skill. Worldnet International handles each special shipment as if it were their own.

"We have lived and breathed Worldnet since its inception, and our customers and staff are our number one priority," says Mary Bhullar.

Mary & Richard are the ideal duo to take the Worldnet International brand to the next level, and they bring a wealth of experience that is bound to achieve tremendous heights.

About Worldnet International

Worldnet International is a premium logistics company that provides white glove services to the world's most cutting edge and innovative companies. Dedicated to wowing their clients since 1997, Worldnet International has earned the reputation as a company that cares; moving each shipment as if it were their own. As a guiding star to achieve operational excellence, team members practice the company core values. Today, more than 180 employees are helping build a company where the best people want to work. www.worldnet-intl.com

Worldnet International offers customizable shipping services for packages that must arrive safely and on time. They offer Next Flight Out, Same-Day, Next-Day and Standard shipping services to accommodate the needs of each client. Whether international or domestic, the Worldnet International team will get it there.

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/482016/Worldnet_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Worldnet International
CHARLOTTE, NC and CAMBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Mar 27, 2017) - KALEAO, an intellectual property and server solutions company, announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Tuangru, a data center management (DCM) platform for new and disruptive technologies. Tuangru, located in Vancouver, Canada, will be a distributor and value added reseller of KALEAO.

Tuangru is the latest addition to a growing list of strategic partners that KALEAO is building on to achieve new and improved levels of success in the market. Tuangru's DCM enables the procurement, deployment, monitoring and measurement of data center technologies all in one place. The company will provide KALEAO's customers with differentiating DCM capabilities and will streamline procurement processes via its on-line configuration system.

"At Tuangru we focus on delivering to customers the best and most appropriate solutions for their needs," commented Jad Jebara, President and CEO, Tuangru. "With a partner like KALEAO, we will continue to maintain our promise to customers, which is to provide them with innovative, reliable, cost-effective solutions capable of fulfilling their requirements and ultimately improving their bottom line."

KALEAO provides a new generation of enterprise and cloud computing by natively converging computation, storage, networking and virtualization into compact, energy efficient, transparent, integrated hardware and software solutions. KALEAO's KMAX was launched in Q4 of 2016. The platform removes the typical performance overhead when layering applications over a virtualized, hyperconverged platform, enabling appliance simplicity and the flexibility of a software-defined solution.

"I am very excited about our partnership and cooperation with Tuangru," said Michael Duhamel, Vice President of Sales, KALEAO. "This partnership is a recognition of the power of KALEAO's technological solution, KMAX, in the server appliance market. This partnership reinforces the strength and validity of KALEAO's KMAX server and appliance. With partners such as Tuangru, we will be able to support customers across North America and beyond."

About KALEAO:

KALEAO is spearheading the new generation of enterprise and cloud computing by natively converging computation, storage, networking and virtualization into compact, energy efficient, transparent, integrated hardware and software solutions. Its flagship product, KMAX, offers true converged infrastructure in an extremely compact, scalable and low power platform. KMAX provides all of the benefits of hyperconvergence with advanced software defined hardware and integrated appliance level web-scale application delivery and management platform. KMAX delivers more for less, enabling the effortless deployment and management of the services required across the cloud and modern business. Find out more about KMAX and KALEAO at www.kaleao.com

About Tuangru

Today's data center must scale, be agile and proactively cut costs to survive in the new era of big data, cloud, mobile and social. Tuangru is a Data Center Management (DCM) platform that allows operators to procure, deploy, monitor and measure data center technologies through their web browser. The company's founders include former executives of Peer 1 Hosting, a hosting service provider that was acquired in 2013 by Cogeco Communications Inc. for $635 million. Tuangru was recently named Deloitte's Technology Fast50 Companies-to-Watch in Canada. For more information, please visit www.tuangru.com.
PORTO, Portugal and HATFIELD, England, March 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

FOR EMEA MEDIA ONLY - NOT FOR SWISS/AUSTRIAN JOURNALISTS

Efficacy and safety/tolerability of once-daily eslicarbazepine acetate in the monotherapy setting demonstrated in a Phase III, double-blind, active-controlled trial[1],[2]

Bial and Eisai today announce that Zebinix (eslicarbazepine acetate) has received a positive opinion for use as a once-daily monotherapy to treat adults with newly-diagnosed focal onset epilepsy from The European Medicine Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).

Eslicarbazepine acetate is currently indicated in Europe as adjunctive therapy in adults, adolescents and children aged above 6 years, with partial-onset (focal) seizures with or without secondary generalisation.[3]

The CHMP based its decision on positive results from a Phase III study in a monotherapy setting which showed that eslicarbazepine acetate was proven to be non-inferior to controlled-release carbamazepine in patients with newly diagnosed focal onset seizures.[1],[4]

The Phase III, randomised, double-blind, active-controlled, non-inferiority study[1] (Study 311) compared once-daily eslicarbazepine acetate as monotherapy treatment for newly diagnosed adults with focal-onset seizures to twice-daily, controlled-release carbamazepine. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients seizure-free for the entire 26-week evaluation period.[1]

815 eligible patients were randomised for the trial. In the per-protocol (PP) population (n=785), seizure freedom rates with eslicarbazepine acetate were similar to those observed with controlled-release carbamazepine in eligible patients. The data show that 71.1% (n=276) of patients for eslicarbazepine acetate and 75.6% (n=300) of patients for controlled-release carbamazepine were seizure-free for six months or more, at the last evaluated dose (average risk difference -4.28%, 95% CI -10.3, 1.74%). The one-year seizure-freedom rate at the last evaluated dose was 64.7% (n=251) on eslicarbazepine acetate and 70.3% (n=279) on controlled-release carbamazepine (average risk difference: -5.46%; 95%CI: -11.88, 0.97%).[1]

"This CHMP decision, with the promise it brings of a new treatment option for patients is very welcome. Around 60 per cent of patients with epilepsy have focal seizures, and we also know that adherence to treatment is better with a once-daily monotherapy." explains Eugen Trinka, Professor and Chair of Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.

"This is important news for people with focal epilepsy who may now be able to benefit from a once-daily monotherapy treatment as soon as they are diagnosed. It is a relevant milestone in the development program of eslicarbazepine acetate and we are delighted that we may now be able to offer this treatment option for patients with focal epilepsy across Europe," comments Antonio Portela, CEO of Bial, Porto, Portugal.

A safety analysis[2] of the same study showed the side effects of eslicarbazepine acetate were mostly of mild intensity, and consistent with the known safety profile. Incidence rates of treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were similar but slightly higher in patients receiving controlled-release carbamazepine (77.7%) (n=320) versus eslicarbazepine acetate (75.3%) (n=302). Possibly-related TEAEs were also slightly higher at 49.5% (n=204) for controlled-release carbamazepine compared with 41.1% (n=165) for eslicarbazepine acetate, for serious possibly-related TEAEs (2.7% vs 2.0%) (n=11 vs n=8), and for TEAEs leading to withdrawal (18.0% vs 13.5%) (n=74 vs n=54). The most frequently reported possibly-related TEAEs for eslicarbazepine acetate were headache, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and somnolence.[2]

"This positive opinion from the CHMP reinforces Eisai's commitment to researching and developing neurological treatment options that have the potential to help people manage their condition. We are pleased that this decision means patients in Europe who experience epilepsy will have a broader range of treatment options available," comments Neil West, Vice President EMEA, Global Neurology Business Unit at Eisai.

The continued development of eslicarbazepine acetate underscores Bial's and Eisai's commitment to developing and delivering highly beneficial new treatments to help improve the lives of people with epilepsy.

Notes to Editors

About Zebinix (eslicarbazepine acetate)

Eslicarbazepine acetate is a voltage-gated sodium channel blocker. It selectively targets the slow inactivated state of the sodium ion channel (which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of epilepsy), preventing its return to the active state, and thereby reduces repetitive neuronal firing.[5] Further, eslicarbazepine acetate does not inhibit potassium efflux, which may reduce the potential for repetitive neuronal firings.[6] The efficacy of eslicarbazepine acetate was demonstrated in an initial proof-of-concept phase II study[7] and three subsequent phase III randomised, placebo controlled studies in 1,049 people with refractory partial onset seizures.[8],[9],[10]

Eslicarbazepine acetate is currently marketed in Europe and Russia by Bial and by Bial's licensee, Eisai Europe Limited, a European subsidiary of Eisai Co Ltd under the trade name Zebinix or Exalief. In the United States and Canada eslicarbazepine acetate (tradename Aptiom) is marketed by Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc under an exclusive license from Bial.

About Epilepsy

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions in the world, affecting approximately 6 million people in Europe, and an estimated 50 million people worldwide.[11] Epilepsy is a chronic disorder of the brain that affects people of all ages. It is characterised by abnormal discharges of neuronal activity which causes seizures. Seizures can vary in severity, from brief lapses of attention or jerking of muscles, to severe and prolonged convulsions. Depending on the seizure type, seizures may be limited to one part of the body, or may involve the whole body. Seizures can also vary in frequency from less than one per year, to several per day. Epilepsy has many possible causes but often the cause is unknown.

About Bial

Founded in 1924, BIAL's mission is to discover, develop and provide therapeutic solutions within the area of health. In recent decades, BIAL has strategically focused on quality, innovation and internationalization.

Bial is strongly committed to therapeutic innovation, investing more than 20 per cent of its turnover in Research and Development (R&D) every year.

Bial has established an ambitious R&D program centered on the neurosciences and cardiovascular system. The company expects to introduce more new medicines to the market in the next years, strengthening its international presence based in its own innovative medicines and accomplishing the company's purpose of "Caring for your Health."

For more information about Bial, please visit www.bial.com.

About Eisai Co Ltd

Eisai Co Ltd. is a leading global research and development-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. We define our corporate mission as "giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides," which we call our human health care (hhc) philosophy. With over 10,000 employees working across our global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to realise our hhc philosophy by delivering innovative products in multiple therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs, including Oncology and Neurology.

As a global pharmaceutical company, our mission extends to patients around the world through our investment and participation in partnership-based initiatives to improve access to medicines in developing and emerging countries.

For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit http://www.eisai.com

References

1. Ben-Menachem E, et al. Efficacy of eslicarbazepine acetate versus controlled-release carbamazepine as monotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed partial-onset seizures; European Congress on Epileptology 2016: Abstract #0002

2. Kowacs P, et al. Safety and tolerability of eslicarbazepine acetate as monotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed partial-onset seizures. Presented at EAN 2016; abstract #P32045

3. Zebinix (eslicarbazepine acetate) Summary of Product Characteristics. Available at: http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/EPAR_-_Product_Information/human/000988/WC500047225.pdf Accessed March 2017.

4. Trinka E, et al. Safety and tolerability of eslicarbazepine acetate as monotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed partial-onset seizures; European Congress on Epileptology 2016: Abstract #P615

5. Hebeisen S, et al. Eslicarbazepine and the enhancement of slow inactivation of voltage-gated sodium channels: a comparison with carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine and lacosamide. Neuropharmacology 2015; 89:122-35

6. Soares-da-Silva P, et al. Eslicarbazepine acetate for the treatment of focal epilepsy: an update on its proposed mechanisms of action. Pharmacol Res Perspect. 2015; 3:e00124

7. Elger C, et al. Eslicarbazepine acetate: A double-blind, add-on, placebo-controlled exploratory trial in adult patients with partial-onset seizures. Epilepsia 2007; 48:497-504

8. Elger C, et al. Efficacy and safety of eslicarbazepine acetate as adjunctive treatment in adults with refractory partial-onset seizures: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group phase III study. Epilepsia. 2009;50:454-63

9. Ben-Menachem E, et al. Eslicarbazepine acetate as adjunctive therapy in adult patients with partial epilepsy. Epilepsy Res. 2010;89(2-3):278-85

10. Gil-Nagel A, et al. Efficacy and safety of 800 and 1200 mg eslicarbazepine acetate as adjunctive treatment in adults with refractory partial-onset seizures. Acta Neurol Scand. 2009; 120:281-87

11. Epilepsy in the WHO European Region: Fostering Epilepsy Care in Europe. Available at: http://www.ibe-epilepsy.org/downloads/EURO%20Report%20160510.pdf Accessed March 2017

March 2017

Zebinix-EU0113

SOURCE Eisai
NAPERVILLE, Ill., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aasonn, a U.S.-based industry leader in transforming SAP HR systems, and Synchrony Global, a leading provider of cloud HCM solutions in the Asia-Pacific region, announced a strategic global partnership today.

The new alliance will allow Aasonn and Synchrony Global to develop and market their best-in-class cloud HCM solutions globally. Headquartered in Naperville, IL, Aasonn is the longest-standing SAP SuccessFactors partner and has worked with 2,000 SuccessFactors customers and counting. Based in Singapore with a global delivery center in Manila, Synchrony is an SAP Gold Partner in Asia-Pacific and was recently recognized at as the SAP SuccessFactors Partner of the Year for the APJ region.

"This strategic alliance gives us an unparalleled ability to extend our deep SuccessFactors expertise across the globe," said Salvatore Como, Global Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Aasonn. "Our customer base will now have access to a global portfolio that will transform their HR systems and create higher returns from their talent management investments."

Through the alliance, Aasonn gains presence in Asia, with Synchrony Global acting as a regional representative and delivery center, while Synchrony Global extends their partnership network further in the Americas.

"This partnership will result in a global reach and better customer support for the businesses we both serve," said Synchrony Global CEO Darcy Mark Lalonde. "As SAP SuccessFactors partners, Synchrony Global and Aasonn clients can be confident that our implementation capabilities reflect the highest quality HCM solutions and services available."

About Synchrony Global

Synchrony Global is a leading provider of innovative and transformational HR solutions and services to local, regional and global organizations across the world. Synchrony Global's services optimize HR services through innovative technology and robust high quality operational cloud services. The company's service delivery framework caters for the entire employee lifecycle from attract to hire to retire.

Synchrony Global is headquartered in Singapore, a global delivery center in Manila, and offices in Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. For more information, visit www.synchronyglobal.com.

About Aasonn

Aasonn provides cloud based human capital management and benefits services HR organizations can utilize to impact workforce competitive advantage and business performance. Aasonn's offerings comprise unmatched experience and best practice expertise with cloud-based implementation; full-service HR Operations with on-shore call centers; innovative self-service technologies for an enhanced employee experience; and actionable insights to optimize your workforce.

Aasonn is the industry leader in the transformation of SAP HR systems, processes and employee experience. For more information about Aasonn, visit www.aasonn.com or call (888) 718-1562.

For more information, Press Only:

JD Davis

VP, Global Marketing

[email protected]

SOURCE Aasonn

Related Links

http://www.aasonn.com


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- All Year Cooling, a local South Florida air conditioning installation and repair company is celebrating the beginning of spring with their latest Spring Savings and Cleaning Coupon. With all scheduled AC installations through March 27, 2017, All Year Cooling will help customers save up to $1,000 on their new units. With summer quickly approaching, the family owned company is helping South Florida customers stay cool with a brand new unit.

All Year Cooling offers a wide variety of AC units to choose from when considering a new installation. Some of their top brands include York, Trane, RUUD, and Goodman. President of All Year Cooling, Tommy Smith, says, "By offering these top brands, we can ensure a quality unit that will help our customers through the Florida heat for years to come."

With this latest coupon, All Year Cooling is offering customers up to $1,000 off their new AC unit that will be purchased with the scheduled installation. In order to receive this coupon, customers must schedule their installations before March 27, 2017 and it may not be combined with any other ongoing offers.

Established in 1973, All Year Cooling has completed over 150,000 air conditioner installations in South Florida. Their goal is to provide the consumer with the best overall value on new air conditioner installations, maintenance, and repairs. As a family-owned business, it's their mission to provide quality service and remain a trusted part of the South Florida community.

For more information on All Year Cooling, please visit their website or call 888-204-5554.

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE All Year Cooling

Related Links

http://www.allyearcooling.com


The acquisition of Abergel & Associates is BBG's second acquisition in the Western Region within the past year. In September, BBG acquired Denver-based Commercial Valuation Consultants.

Abergel & Associates was founded by the firm's CEO Michael Abergel, MAI. Abergel & Associates employs a group of professionals, with extensive expertise across all property types, who will also be joining BBG.

In his new role, Abergel will join the BBG team as Managing Director of the Los Angeles office. He will be responsible for overseeing the office's operations, creating new business opportunities, and quality control.

Prior to the founding of his firm in 1994, Abergel was a vice president at Koeppel, Tenner, Riguardi Inc. Earlier in his career, he held staff positions at American Appraisal Associates and Fuller Associates.

"Our acquisition of Abergel & Associates will play a vital strategic role in the continuing strong growth of BBG in the Western Region as well as nationally," said BBG CEO Chris Roach. "Michael has deservedly earned a reputation as one of the best minds in the business today, and we are extremely fortunate to have someone of his caliber join our company."

"I am thrilled to become part of BBG's team," Abergel said. "BBG is a fast-growing and highly recognized leader in the commercial real-estate valuation and appraisal industry. Our integration with BBG will create significant opportunities for BBG's expanding client base as well as for its employees."

About BBG

BBG is a leading independent national commercial real-estate valuation, advisory and assessment firm headquartered in Dallas with more than 20 offices in key US markets. BBG has achieved a reputation for personal attention, on-time delivery and deep expertise in multi-family, office, retail and industrial sectors. For more information about BBG, please visit www.bbgres.com.

Media Contact

Marc Weinstein

Ascent Communications

(908) 967-9958

[email protected]

SOURCE BBG

Related Links

http://www.bbgres.com


MILFORD, Conn., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bernoulli, the leader in real-time solutions for patient safety, announced that two prominent physicians will join the company as consultants to explore issues related to real-time healthcare delivery and increased patient safety.

Neil A. Halpern, MD, MCCM, FCCP, FACP, is Director of the Critical Care Center, Chief of the Critical Care Medicine Service and Medical Director of Respiratory Therapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center in New York. Dr. Halpern oversees a team of highly experienced doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, respiratory therapists, research and bedside nurses, and critical care programmers who help provide care for patients in MSK's adult medical-surgical intensive care unit (ICU).

Since 2000, he has co-chaired the hospital's Clinical Device and Product Evaluation Committee, and since 2014, the Alarm Committee at MSK. Between 2005 and 2007, he chaired the multidisciplinary ICU Design Committee that developed the plan and monitored the construction of MSK's 20-bed medical-surgical adult ICU, which opened in April 2007.

"There is a clear need in healthcare for greater connectivity, interoperability and comprehensive real-time data to support improved patient safety, enhanced care team collaboration and proactive clinical intervention," said Dr. Halpern. "I look forward to advising Bernoulli on the applications and services that will have the greatest impact."

Amar Setty, MD, is the CEO of AnesthesiaStat, a Baltimore-based anesthesia consulting and management company operated by practicing, Board Certified anesthesiologists. In addition to an active private practice, Dr. Setty serves as the immediate-Past President of the Maryland Society of Anesthesiologists, where he continues to be an advocate.

He is working to develop data-centric applications for patient-advocated, value-based care, ultrasound/video-based artificial intelligence for medical procedures, as well as an app for patient empowerment in chronic pain. He has a unique interest in the use of technology to improve the perioperative experience and is working to build a new system of surgical risk prediction and management. He hopes to improve the quality and care of patients before and after discharge.

"The complexity and exponential growth of patient-generated data in modern care settings can be overwhelming, and even act as a barrier to real-time patient care and interventions if not properly managed," said Dr. Setty. "I am excited to share my perspectives and experiences as a physician with Bernoulli to better facilitate the use of comprehensive real-time patient data to improve patient safety, quality and cost of care."

"Many of the challenges facing healthcare providers  including mitigating patient safety threats, embarking on value-based care initiatives, and streamlining clinical workflows  require comprehensive real-time data, surveillance and analytics," said Janet Dillione, CEO of Bernoulli. "Dr. Setty and Dr. Halpern's clinical expertise will help uncover valuable insights, enabling us to better align our solutions with the needs of hospitals and health systems."

About Bernoulli

Bernoulli is the leader in real-time solutions for patient safety, with more than 1,200 installed, operational systems. Bernoulli One is the market's only real-time, connected healthcare platform that combines comprehensive and vendor-neutral medical device integration with powerful middleware, clinical surveillance, telemedicine/virtual ICU, advanced alarm management, predictive analytics and robust distribution capabilities into ONE solution that empowers clinicians with tools to drive better patient safety, clinical outcomes, patient experience, and provider workflow. For more information about Bernoulli, visit www.bernoullihealth.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Visit our Resource Center to download case studies, white papers and articles.

Media contacts:

Matt Schlossberg

Amendola Communications for Bernoulli

(630) 935-9136

[email protected]

SOURCE Bernoulli

Related Links

http://www.bernoullihealth.com


VALENCIA, Calif., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bioness, Inc., the leading provider of cutting edge, clinically supported rehabilitation therapies, is pleased to announce that its StimRouter Neuromodulation System has received coverage from insurer Aetna Inc. effective March 8, 2017. With this coverage decision, Aetna considers the StimRouter medically necessary durable medical equipment (DME) for members with intractable neurogenic pain, also known as chronic pain of a peripheral nerve origin which the StimRouter is FDA cleared to treat.

Identified by patients as a severe and constant pain, intractable neurogenic pain is not relieved by traditional medical measures and largely treated with opioids. The StimRouter reduces pain by targeting the affected peripheral nerve and is a cost-effective and long-term alternative to immobilization, injections, and prescription opioids. With more than 23 million members, Aetna is the third largest private insurer in the United States and its decision to provide coverage of the StimRouter opens the door to a new treatment option for those members that are suffering from chronic peripheral nerve pain.

"Payers look at the long-term impact and cost effectiveness of devices closely when determining whether or not to extend coverage to members. Up until now patients suffering from intractable neurogenic pain have had limited treatment options and often had to pay for care that is considered experimental out of pocket," said Todd Cushman, President and CEO of Bioness. "We are very pleased that Aetna has recognized the value that the StimRouter and other peripherally implanted nerve stimulation systems bring to their members. Gaining coverage from payers has always been part of the StimRouter strategy and we believe this will support our efforts in attaining coverage from insurers."

Under Aetna's new policy, the StimRouter is considered medically necessary when members meet specific criteria. To learn more about these guidelines visit Aetna's website.

StimRouter was the first FDA cleared, minimally invasive, long-term, neuromodulation medical device indicated to treat chronic pain of a peripheral nerve origin. The StimRouter System received CE mark in February of 2014 and the patient-controlled medical device is an adjunct to other modes of therapy, and is being well received by patients and clinicians alike.

For more information on the StimRouter, please visit www.stimrouter.com.

About StimRouter Neuromodulation System

StimRouter is cleared by the FDA to treat chronic pain of peripheral nerve origin. StimRouter is a minimally invasive neuromodulation medical device consisting of a thin, implanted lead with conductive electrode, external pulse transmitter (EPT), and hand-held wireless patient programmer. Electrical signals are transmitted transdermally from the EPT through the electrode, down the lead to the target nerve. StimRouter is programmed at the direction of the physician to meet patient requirements but is controlled by the patient to address the patients specific, changing pain management needs.

About Bioness, Inc.

Bioness is the leading provider of innovative technologies helping people regain mobility and independence. Bioness solutions include implantable and external neuromodulation systems, robotic systems and software based therapy programs providing functional and therapeutic benefits for individuals affected by pain, central nervous system disorders and orthopedic injuries. Currently, Bioness offers six medical devices within its commercial portfolio which are distributed and sold on five continents and in over 25 countries worldwide. Bioness innovations have been implemented in the most prestigious and well-respected institutions around the globe with 17 of the top 20 rehabilitation hospitals in the United States currently using one or more Bioness solution. Bioness has a singular focus on aiding large, underserved customer groups with innovative, evidence-based solutions and we will continue to develop and make commercially available new products that address the growing and changing needs of our customers. Individual results vary. Consult with a qualified physician to determine if this product is right for you. Contraindications, adverse reactions and precautions are available online at www.bioness.com.

Bioness Contact

Greg Lockman

[email protected]

661.713.7468

StimRouter and Bioness are trademarks of Bioness, Inc. | www.bioness.com | Rx Only | Additional information about StimRouter can be found at www.stimrouter.com

SOURCE Bioness, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.bioness.com


"We're always looking to bring Boston Market guests new and intriguing flavor profiles that truly complement our signature rotisserie chicken," stated George Michel, (a.k.a. "The Big Chicken"), CEO at Boston Market. "We're eager to hear what our guests think of the new Sweet & Spicy Apple flavor and are excited to once again offer Parmesan Tuscan, as it was very popular among guests when we introduced it for a limited time in years past."

Available now through June 4 at participating locations nationwide, the new Sweet & Spicy Apple rotisserie chicken and Parmesan Tuscan rotisserie chicken meal choices include a Half Chicken, Quarter White or Three Piece Dark Individual Meals with two sides and cornbread. Parmesan Tuscan rotisserie chicken will also be available for catering orders.

Rebecca Davis, Executive Chef at Boston Market, added, "These flavor-filled offerings draw inspiration from sweet and spicy food trends and Italian cuisines and feature blended profiles that everyone will love. For those craving a twist on a classic rotisserie chicken meal, these premium sauces offer unique flavor combinations that pack a delightful punch."

Boston Market is also offering a variety of Easter meals that can be pre-ordered and picked up in participating restaurants from March 27  April 16. Guests can purchase a Ham Heat & Serve Easter Dinner for 12 starting at $9.16 per person or stop in on Easter Sunday  nearly all 459 Boston Market locations will be open  to enjoy a hand-carved, honey glazed ham meal with two sides, fresh-baked cornbread and a slice of apple pie for $11.99. For a full menu of Easter meal-solutions or to place an order, guests can visit www.bostonmarket.com .

As the preeminent leader in the rotisserie chicken movement for more than 30 years, Boston Market introduced its "Quality Guarantee" earlier this year that acts as a continued commitment to all guests that the Company will serve all natural and fresh, never frozen, whole chickens that are:

US-farm raised

Without added hormones or steroids

100 percent antibiotic-free*

MSG free

Gluten free

For additional information, visit BostonMarket.com or follow us @BostonMarket.

*As early as July of 2017, more than 75 percent of all Boston Market rotisserie chickens will be certified as raised without the use of antibiotics; 100 percent will be certified by the end of the first quarter in 2018.

About Boston Market

Boston Market Corporation, headquartered in Golden, Colorado, has given time back to busy families and individuals for 30 years with quality, home style meals at a convenient value in 459 U.S. locations. A staple on dinner tables, Boston Market prepares its fresh, never frozen, natural chicken in signature rotisserie ovens and features an extensive selection of home style sides and made-from-scratch cornbread. As one of the country's largest providers of catering services, Boston Market offers convenient, same-day orders and delivery for corporate and personal events of all sizes. For more information, visit the company's website at www.bostonmarket.com. For the latest news and deals, follow @bostonmarket on Twitter or join us on Facebook.

Media Contact

Seth Grugle, ICR

646-277-1200

[email protected]

SOURCE Boston Market Corporation

Related Links

http://www.bostonmarket.com


LOS ANGELES, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Champion Real Estate Company ("Champion") announced its latest value-add retail acquisition for $9.5m, with plans to revitalize and rebrand the existing collection of dilapidated retail buildings into a retail and residential mixed-use development named "BrickWorks".

The existing property includes 19,772 square feet of dated retail buildings on 36,049 square feet of land in the burgeoning neighborhood of Echo Park. Champion intends to repurpose and remodel the existing property to include an eclectic collection of distinctive restaurants and residential lofts.

"The property is sandwiched between upscale Silver Lake and Downtown Los Angeles in Echo Park, which was dubbed the 'Greatest Neighborhood in Los Angeles' by LA Weekly," states Garrett Champion, Senior Vice President of Champion. "Combined with its location just blocks from Dodger Stadium, BrickWorks will provide trendsetting food and beverage focused retail to an underserved sub market."

BrickWorks will boast over 200 linear feet of frontage along the heavily trafficked Sunset Boulevard and consist of approximately 15,000 square feet of prime retail space that will create a trendy food court-style collection of the latest eateries and restaurants.

"The acquisition of BrickWorks is consistent with Champion's strategy of acquiring properties at discounts in 'A' locations and we continue to focus on sourcing similar deals in surrounding neighborhoods," states Garrett.

Champion has over 30 years of experience developing retail in Los Angeles and helped pioneer the first vertical retail power centers such as Brentwood Place and the One Westside Shopping Center. Last year, Champion acquired Grand + Alosta in Glendora, CA, a former 80,000 square foot freestanding building that is currently being redeveloped into a specialty grocery center with Marshalls and Sprouts anchoring the project.

BrickWorks is located at 1485-1501 W. Sunset Blvd in Echo Park and was acquired by an affiliate of Champion.

About Champion Real Estate Company

Champion Real Estate Company was founded in 1987 by nationally recognized investor, developer and CEO, Bob Champion. Based in Los Angeles, Champion's strategy is to acquire infill properties in "A" locations within markets that are core, core adjacent, or gentrifying to core, and implement value accretive improvements. Champion acquires and develops multiple product types including multifamily, retail, office, mixed-use, adaptive re-use of industrial buildings and historical renovations. Since 1995, Champion has completed projects valued in excess of $1 billion. For more information, visit www.ChampionRealEstateCompany.com.

Press Contact:

Rebecca Binny

C: (310) 334 9942

[email protected]

SOURCE Champion Real Estate Company

Related Links

http://www.ChampionRealEstateCompany.com


SANTA ROSA, Calif., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Charles M. Schulz  Sonoma County Airport is celebrating its 10th anniversary of air service provided by Alaska Airlines today. This milestone marks the Airline's popular and convenient service that has carried nearly 2.25 million passengers on 38,000 flights to and from Sonoma County Airport. To celebrate, the Airport will offer cupcakes and giveaways to all.

Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport (STS)

The airport has been steadily adding flights and passengers since Alaska's arrival in 2007. The Airline has increased the number of daily flights on STS routes by 75%. The Airline averages up to nine flights per day, to and from STS. Alaska Airlines service now includes daily flights to Los Angeles (LAX), Portland (PDX), San Diego (SAN), Seattle (SEA) and Orange County (SNA). All routes utilize the 76-seat, Bombardier Q400, turboprop aircraft.

"Alaska Airlines has been a great partner for 10 years, providing our community air service up and down the West Coast to five key destinations. We are proud to offer Alaska Airlines to our passengers, and appreciate their loyalty in making all our routes successful. Thank you for being part of our community, and exciting future. Happy Anniversary!" said Chairwoman Shirlee Zane, Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.

"We are proud to offer Alaska Airlines and their Wine Flies Free program at Sonoma County Airport. Many passengers on a daily basis take advantage of this Wine Country offer, and we are pleased they continue to offer this unique benefit to our passengers," said Jon Stout, Airport Manager. "Including the cases of wine, Alaska Airlines has carried 59 million pounds of luggage for our community. Cheers to a job well done."

About Charles M. Schulz  Sonoma County Airport (STS)

The Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport (STS) is located in the heart of Wine Country, 55 miles north of the Golden Gate.

Offering a hassle-free experience with shorter lines, the Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport also features convenient ground transportation, easy and affordable parking, the Alaska Airlines Wine Flies Free program and the on-site Sky Lounge Steakhouse & Sushi Bar.

For additional airport information, visit: www.sonomacountyairport.org or follow Charles M. Schulz  Sonoma County Airport on Facebook and Twitter.

For further information, journalists are asked to contact Jon Stout at [email protected] or (707) 565-7243.

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com.

SOURCE Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport (STS)

Related Links

http://sonomacountyairport.org


Prior to joining Voya IM, Shaffer was the global head of Distribution at Credit Suisse Asset Management, having been promoted from a number of positions including the global head of Alternatives Distribution and the head of Distribution for the Americas. Prior to moving into asset management in 2012, Shaffer ran the Global Transition Management team at Credit Suisse. He previously held similar roles at Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley.

"Charlie brings a tremendous amount of institutional sales expertise across multiple asset classes including equities, fixed income and alternatives and I'm looking forward to him helping us continue to build our business," said Mathews. "Last quarter, Voya IM-generated net inflows were $1.6 billion. Charlie's mission will be to continue to build on this success as we work to expand our range of client solutions and optimize the effectiveness of our distribution channels."

Shaffer received a joint JD and MA degree from Duke University and graduated from Princeton University where he earned a Woodrow Wilson School Award while pursuing his BA degree in English.

Media Contact:

Kristopher Kagel

(212) 309-6568

[email protected]

About Voya Investment Management

A leading, active asset management firm, Voya Investment Management manages, as of December 31, 2016, more than $211 billion for affiliated and external institutions as well as individual investors. With 40 years of history in asset management, Voya Investment Management has the experience and resources to provide clients with investment solutions with an emphasis on equities, fixed income, and multi-asset strategies and solutions. Voya Investment Management was named in 2016 as a "Best Places to Work" by Pensions and Investments magazine. For more information, visit voyainvestments.com. Follow Voya Investment Management on Twitter @VoyaInvestments.

About Voya Financial

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), helps Americans plan, invest and protect their savings  to get ready to retire better. Serving the financial needs of approximately 13.6 million individual and institutional customers in the United States, Voya is a Fortune 500 company that had $11 billion in revenue in 2016. The company had $484 billion in total assets under management and administration as of Dec. 31, 2016. With a clear mission to make a secure financial future possible  one person, one family, one institution at a time  Voya's vision is to be America's Retirement Company. Certified as a "Great Place to Work" by the Great Place to Work Institute, Voya is equally committed to conducting business in a way that is socially, environmentally, economically and ethically responsible and has been recognized as one of the 2017 World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute, as well as one of the Top Green Companies in the U.S., by Newsweek magazine. For more information, visit voya.com. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook and Twitter @Voya

SOURCE Voya Investment Management

Related Links

https://www.voya.com


This new interface expands upon the recent release of the Clarity Connect cloud contact center and increases its global footprint. Clarity Connect's federated-delivery model enables clients to move their contact center to the cloud, regardless of whether they have Office 365 or Skype for Business (on-premises or fully hosted). This model is flexible and helps clients keep their cloud deployment options open. For example, clients could migrate some or all of their users to Office 365 now, or choose to migrate users in stages and have Clarity Connect seamlessly transition alongside them later.

"Moving the agent experience into the browser allows us to deliver a user experience that is tailored to the unique needs of the contact center," said Jon Rauschenberger, CTO of Clarity. "Although the web-based interface looks different than the traditional Skype for Business client, it's still natively powered by Skype for Business under the hood."

Andrew Bybee, group product manager for Skype for Business, Microsoft Corp. said, "We're pleased to see Clarity Connect enable Microsoft Office 365 customers get to the cloud. Clarity Connect's federated delivery model is an excellent way to leverage Skype for Business Online to provide an enhanced customer service offering across the globe."

Clarity Connect is now available in English, French, German and Croatian, with Spanish and other languages to be made available in the future. As a part of the launch, Clarity is partnering with Arkadin as the first partner to provide localized, cloud-hosted service on a global scale.

"We're excited to extend our long-term partnership with Clarity Connect to enable more businesses throughout the world and enjoy greater efficiencies in their contact center operations," said Thomas Valantin, Arkadin's Chief Commercial Officer. "Clarity Connect is an excellent complement to our global UCaaS offerings including Skype for Business and Microsoft Office 365."

About Clarity

Clarity, a Microsoft Gold partner and the developer for Clarity Connect, delivers premier products and solutions that leverage Lync and Skype for Business as a communication platform, which allow companies to significantly reduce costs and complexities within their IT environments.

Learn more at http://connect.claritycon.com.

About Arkadin

Arkadin is one of the largest and fastest growing Unified Communications and Collaboration Service Providers in the world. Our collection of market-leading audio/web/video conferencing and Unified Communications solutions enables enjoyable collaboration experiences that are essential to success in a digitally connected global workplace. As an NTT Communications company, our services are delivered in the cloud and backed by a cutting-edge infrastructure for premium service quality. Over 50,000 customers spanning the largest global enterprises to small businesses are supported locally in 19 languages through our network of 56 operations centers in 33 countries. For more information: http://www.arkadin.com.

Contact

Craig Reishus

Partner, Sales and Marketing

Clarity Consulting

(312) 863-3100

SOURCE Clarity

Related Links

http://connect.claritycon.com


ST. LOUIS, Mo., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Friday, March 24th, UnLock Our Jobs (UOJ), a coalition of business and industry organizations dedicated to supporting the U.S. economy through the advancement of environmentally friendly domestic maritime commerce, sent a letter to key Members of Congress urging funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to further support efforts undertaken by the State of Illinois to slow, stop and reverse the migration of Asian carp, an aquatic invasive species, through cost-effective measures.

In the letter, UOJ coalition members review the record of success that the GLRI has had in working with the State of Illinois to develop a range of strategies to control Asian carp, noting that these efforts have resulted in the removal of five million pounds of Asian carp from the Illinois River in the last five years  a 68% population decrease. Critically, the letter also highlights the importance of GLRI funding for non-structural options to address Asian carp migration, to achieve both effective environmental protection and preservation of vital navigation avenues for maritime commerce.

Lynn Muench, coordinator of the UnLock Our Jobs coalition and Senior Vice President  Regional Advocacy with The American Waterways Operators, stated:

"The organizations that comprise the UnLock Our Jobs coalition are committed to responsible stewardship of the environment on the waterways on which they operate and in the communities they serve. The work of the State of Illinois, in partnership with the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, has clearly demonstrated that it is possible to protect our waterways from Asian carp without the imposition of unworkable structural measures that would devastate maritime commerce, an industry that provides thousands of family-wage jobs and serves as a fundamental component of the U.S. economy. We are hopeful that Congress will recognize GLRI's track record for addressing Asian carp in a manner that is both environmentally responsible and economically sensible, and will fund its work accordingly."

The letter in its entirety can be viewed below.

March 24, 2017

UnLock Our Jobs (UOJ) is a coalition of business and industry organizations dedicated to supporting the U.S. economy through the advancement of environmentally friendly domestic maritime commerce. UOJ urges you to support funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which will continue to fund efforts undertaken by the State of Illinois to provide cost-effective activities to slow, stop and reverse the migration of Asian carp.

GLRI funding is administered by the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC), which has worked with the State of Illinois in developing near- and long-term strategies to control Asian carp. For example, with GLRI's assistance, the State of Illinois has removed five million pounds of Asian carp from the Illinois River in the last five years, reducing the population by 68%, and ensuring that the leading edge of the Asian carp population has not moved up river for 25 years. Illinois has also increased monitoring activities that have significantly advanced our scientific knowledge of the fish. This partnership of state and federal agencies, in collaboration with the private sector, has provided significant positive impacts for the nation.

Preventing the further movement of Asian carp does not hinge on any single lock, port, or waterway, but rather, on a comprehensive system-wide approach. GLRI funding for non-structural options such as netting, fishing and removal of the fish, scientific study, promotion of businesses that harvest Asian carp and other non-structural actions must be incentivized to protect both our environment and the vital maritime industry and its customers that fuel the national and global economy.

UOJ members continue to focus on protecting the environment with cost-effective, targeted actions that have a measurable rate of success and, with continued funding, will continue to improve efforts to eradicate Asian carp. ACRCC is a central and nationwide component in responding to the national issue of Asian carp, while contracting with states or businesses that possess the expertise to net, fish, remove, and harvest all four Asian carp species.

Continued robust work by the State of Illinois and states further downstream, along with continued scientific study and commercial harvesting, will ensure that Asian carp does not move further upstream. Now is the time to build on the ongoing efforts to improve the health of the waterways used for maritime commerce. Appropriate and targeted funding for GLRI will serve the nation's economy and environment.

Sincerely,

The UnLock Our Jobs Coalition

5R Enterprises, LLC American Commercial Barge Line LLC American Great Lakes Ports Association American River Transportation Co. Blessey Marine Services, Inc. Calumet River Fleeting, Inc. Canal Barge Company, Inc. Chemical Industry Council of Illinois CITGO Petroleum Corporation Economy Boat Store Hanson Material Service Illinois & Michigan Oil, LLC Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers Illinois Chamber of Commerce Illinois Corn Growers Association Illinois Farm Bureau Illinois Manufacturers' Association Illinois Marine Towing, Inc. Illinois Petroleum Council Illinois River Carriers Association Ingram Barge Company Inland Marine Service, Inc. Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals, Inc. JB Marine Service, Inc. Kindra Lake Towing, LP Kirby Corporation LeBeouf Bros. Towing, LLC Luhr Bros., Inc. Magnolia Marine Transport Company Marquette Transportation Company, Inc. Marquis Marine, Inc. Meredosia Terminals Merrill Marine Services, Inc. Middle River Marine, LLC Northwest Indiana Forum Ozinga Brothers Incorporated Passenger Vessel Association Ports of Indiana River Marine Enterprises, LLC SCF Marine Inc. Southern Towing Company, LLC The American Waterways Operators The Port of Milwaukee TPG Marines Enterprises, LLC Waterways Council, Inc. Wendella Sightseeing Boat Co., Inc.

SOURCE UnLock Our Jobs (UOJ)
ATLANTA, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporate Environments, a Georgia-based furniture and architectural solutions provider, announced today that it has been selected once again as a Top Workplace by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) and its partner, WorkplaceDynamics. The results are based solely on employee feedback regarding important aspects of workplace culture, such as connection, leadership and execution. The top organizations for 2017 were announced on March 21 at a special recognition event held at the Georgia Aquarium. Corporate Environments was the only furniture and architectural solutions provider among the honorees.

"We are excited to be recognized among the top companies in metropolitan Atlanta for the third year in a row," said Karen Hughes, President and Owner. "Employee engagement is a key factor that has driven our performance for over 30 years and we value input from all members of our team. The Top Workplace award aligns with this priority and our long-standing philosophy. We are presently undergoing a complete redesign of our showroom and studio which will further enhance our workplace once that initiative is completed later this year."

In addition to being honored as a Top Workplace by the AJC, Corporate Environments is certified by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and consistently ranks among the Top Office Furniture Dealers and the Top Women-Owned Firms in the Atlanta region according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Its strategic alliance with Knoll and DIRTT Environmental Solutions, along with other manufacturers, enables Corporate Environments to assist corporate, government and nonprofit clients as well as healthcare and educational institutions.

Visit www.corporateenvironments.com to learn more about Corporate Environments. You can also connect with Corporate Environments on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram.

About Corporate Environments

Headquartered in Atlanta, Corporate Environments of Georgia, Inc. is a leading furniture and architectural solutions provider with over 30 years of success in serving its clients. In addition to high-quality furnishings and architectural products that are impactful for our clients, the company provides a range of professional services, including technical furniture specification, effective project management and superior installation. Corporate Environments is fully committed to helping clients reach their greater potential by offering a consultative approach and creating tailored solutions based on their aesthetic and budgetary needs.

Media Contact:

Ashley Bagwell

1-404-679-8964

[email protected]

SOURCE Corporate Environments

Related Links

http://www.corporateenvironments.com


HOUSTON and TOKYO, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/-- CPaT Global, LLC (CPaT), the world's leading provider of distance learning solutions for airlines and the aviation industry has entered into a marketing partnership for the Asia Pacific Region with All Nippon Airways Trading Co., Ltd. (ANA Trading), the global leader in providing comprehensive training and support services to airlines around the world. This exclusive partnership will allow ANA Trading to market CPaT's world-leading airline E-Learning training products in the Asia-Pacific region.

ANA Trading will represent CPaT's distance learning solutions to airlines, flights schools, universities, and governments throughout the Asia-Pacific region. CPaT's products are an innovative addition to ANA Trading's full line of airline training and flight crew products including simulator training centers in Asia. CPaT will work closely with ANA Trading's sales team to serve clients collaboratively and develop enhanced products to meet the unique needs of the Asia-Pacific market.

Mr. Brian Bergeron, President of CPaT Global, states "CPaT is honored to be partnering with ANA Trading's prestigious and experienced marketing team. The Asia-Pacific region is the fastest growing and least served market in the world. The combination of CPaT products and ANA Trading's experience, relationships, and distribution will allow us to introduce new, innovative, and value-based solutions in this market for the first time generating improved training and safety results while simultaneously creating cost savings for our customers."

About CPaT Global

CPaT Global provides Aviation and Airline Distance Learning products and services for most transport category fleet types as well as a full catalog of specialty training and general subjects. Courses can be delivered both on-line and off-line on multiple platforms including iPad, PC, iOS, and Android Tablets. CPaT's customers include the world's premier Airlines, Airline Training Organizations, Governments, Corporate Flight Departments, Universities and Flight Training Academies. For further information on CPaT Global and their products and services, please visit their website at http://www.cpat.com.

About All Nippon Airways Trading Co., Ltd.

ANA Trading was established in 1970 to supply commodities and operate airport stores necessary for ANA's aircraft operations. ANA has diversified their businesses for more than 40 years. As an airline-affiliated trading company, ANA Trading has progressed to occupy a quintessential position in the industry. A motto in the operations and activities as a company is "Creating New Value for Customer Satisfaction." With this never-changing attitude toward customers, ANA Trading will expand their wings more than ever in the transforming business world. For more information, visit: https://www.anatc.com/en/.

Media Contact-

Capt. Gregory Darrow

CPaT Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Phone: 720-341-9357

[email protected]

SOURCE CPaT Global

Related Links

http://www.cpat.com


NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Direct Auto & Life Insurance customers should feel the love this April as the company launches its fourth annual Customer Appreciation Month celebration. Direct will honor policyholders with over $14,000 in sweepstakes prizes and in-store celebrations throughout its 13-state footprint.

April is also National Financial Literacy Month, and according to the National Capability Study on Fortune.com, nearly two-thirds of Americans can't pass a basic test of financial literacy. To encourage customers to establish and maintain healthy financial habits Direct will offer and reward policy reviews.

Daily throughout the month-long event each of the company's 400-plus store locations will host a celebration in honor of its customers. Many of Direct's local business partners will be on-hand for the celebrations, which will include a balloon pop for giveaways with every quote or policy review. The celebrations are free and open to the public. Check Direct's local store listings to find the location nearest you.

"Direct Auto & Life Insurance is excited to continue our tradition of celebrating Customer Appreciation Month," said Aaron Kuluk, Executive Vice President of Direct Auto & Life Insurance. "We want our customers to know that we respect them and we are grateful to their loyalty by giving back through sweepstakes, giveaways, policy reviews and community celebrations. They're not just our customers, they're part of our family and the reason for our company's existence."

Anyone is eligible for a chance to win a $500 gift card through Direct's Customer Appreciation Sweepstakes. Visit http://www.directappreciatesyou.com or stop by a local Direct store location between April 1 and April 29 to enter. Complete details, including official sweepstakes rules, can be found at http://www.directappreciatesyou.com.

Direct has been providing affordable auto insurance to customers for over 25 years. Since its founding in 1991, the company has rapidly expanded across the Southeast while offering low rates and great service, regardless of driving history. To learn more about Direct Auto & Life Insurance, contact your local Direct store, call 1-877-GO-DIRECT or visit http://www.directgeneral.com.

About Direct Auto & Life Insurance

The Direct Auto & Life Insurance operating subsidiaries are based in Nashville, Tenn., and provide non-standard automobile insurance, term life insurance and other consumer products and services primarily on a direct basis in the Southeastern United States. We market and sell our products and services under the Direct Auto & Life Insurance brand in over 400 retail store outlets, by phone through its call center and via the Internet.

Press Resources:

Direct Promotion URL: http://www.directappreciatesyou.com

Direct Promotion Hashtag: #DirectCares

Direct Corporate Website: http://www.directgeneral.com

Direct Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/DirectAutoIns

Direct Twitter Handle: @DirectAutoIns

1281 MURFREESBORO PIKE  NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37217  615-399-4700

SOURCE Direct Auto & Life Insurance

Related Links

http://www.directgeneral.com


CHARLESTOWN, Nevis, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Discovering Nevis this spring and summer is even sweeter, as United Airlines offers an automatic $300 discount on all of their non-stop New York/Newark (EWR) flights to St. Kitts Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport (SKB). With this automatic $300 discount on every ticket, flights start from as low as $736* roundtrip. Passengers need only to use the promo code SKB300 to receive the automatic discount when purchasing their tickets on united.com.

United offers weekly flights from New York/Newark to St. Kitts/Nevis on Saturdays, with flights just over four hours. Those outside of the New York tristate area can easily connect on United's network to 24 other US. Fly to St. Kitts and then enjoy a 7-minute ferry to Nevis.

Nevis hotels are offering enticing summer packages to sweeten the deal. Check the websites for package details, taxes and restrictions:

Four Seasons Nevis

Advance Purchase 30% Off package. Guests book at least 60 days in advance to receive 30% off the original room rate.

Live Large and Prosper luxury villa package entitles guests to 40% off on their villa rate with a three-month booking window for stays of 3 nights or longer and booked 7 days prior to arrival. www.fourseasons.com/nevis

Montpelier Plantation & Beach

Live Like a Local package includes premier room stays for $150 per night, with breakfast included. www.montpeliernevis.com

Golden Rock Inn

Stay 4 Pay 3 package gives a free night for a 4-night stay and Family Summertime package. www.goldenrocknevis.com

Nisbet Plantation Beach Club

Now offers a 30% discount on all rooms and suites year round, starting as low as $273 a night. www.nisbetplantation.com.

To learn more visit https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/content/deals/offers/Pages/flights-to-st-kitts.aspx.

*Book travel no later than May 27, 2017 for travel by July 8, 2017

SOURCE Nevis Tourism Authority
Company invites individual and institutional investors, as well as advisors, to log-on to view the presentation

LONDON, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dixons Carphone (LSE: DC, OTC: DXCPY) based in London and focused on specialist electrical and telecommunications retailer and services company, today announced that their March 23rd presentation from Mark Reynolds, Head of Investor Relations, is now available for on-demand viewing in the dbVIC Deutsche Bank American Depositary Receipt (ADR) Virtual Investor Conference.

LINK: http://tinyurl.com/dbVIC317post

Dixons Carphone's presentation will be available 24/7 for 90 days. Investors may download shareholder materials from the virtual trade booth in the Exhibits section of the event.

Recent Company Highlights

About Dixons Carphone

Dixons Carphone plc is Europe's leading specialist electrical and telecommunications retailer and services company, employing over 42,000 people in eleven countries.

Focused on helping customers navigate the connected world, Dixons Carphone offers a comprehensive range of electrical and mobile products, connectivity and expert after-sales services from the Geek Squad and Knowhow.

Dixons Carphone's primary brands include Carphone Warehouse and CurrysPCWorld in the UK & Ireland, Elkjp, Elkjp Phonehouse, Elgiganten, Elgiganten Phone House, Gigantti and Lefdal in the Nordic countries, Kotsovolos in Greece, Dixons Travel in a number of UK & Ireland airports and Phone House in Spain. Our key service brands include Knowhow in the UK, Ireland and the Nordics, and Geek Squad in the UK, Ireland and Spain.

Business-to-business (B2B) services are provided through Connected World Services, PC World Business and Carphone Warehouse Business. Connected World Services aims to leverage the Group's existing expertise, operating processes and technology to provide a range of services to businesses.

Dixons Carphone was voted 'Retailer of the Year' at the Retail Week Awards 2016.

Information on Dixons Carphone plc is available at www.dixonscarphone.com

SOURCE Dixons Carphone

Related Links

http://www.dixonscarphone.com


"We are pleased to become the sole owner of BFDS and IFDS U.K.," said Steve Hooley, Chairman, CEO and President of DST. "These businesses have always been strategically important to DST and we are confident that we can drive significant enhancements to the client experience and improve execution of key initiatives, while unlocking meaningful synergies and enhancing value to DST and its shareholders."

Hooley added, "We are also excited about our continuing joint venture relationship with State Street through IFDS L.P. to jointly operate the Canada, Ireland and Luxembourg entities. We believe the joint venture structure in these countries provides the competitive advantage of a best-in-market integrated solution required for off-shore and cross-border markets."

Mike Rogers, President of State Street said, "This decision involves an ownership change, not a service-level change for our clients. We will continue to work with DST as it offers transfer agency services for our clients globally. This decision will also allow us to continue to focus on our core competencies and further invest in areas where we can expand market share or add product and service capabilities for our clients."

In the US, DST's wholly-owned subsidiary will acquire State Street's ownership interest in BFDS by delivery to State Street of approximately 2.0 million shares of State Street common stock owned by DST for total consideration of $157.6 million in a non-taxable exchange under Section 355 of the Internal Revenue Code. BFDS is expected to contribute approximately $220 million of incremental operating revenue and $20 million of operating income to DST over the next twelve months before synergies, restructuring costs and amortization of the intangibles resulting from the acquisition. DST expects to achieve approximately $20 million of cost savings from the realization of synergies within the first 18 months and expects the transaction to be accretive to diluted earnings per share by $0.15 to $0.19 in the next twelve months before synergies, restructuring costs and amortization of intangibles.

In the U.K., DST's wholly-owned subsidiary will acquire the ownership interest in IFDS U.K. for total cash consideration of $175 million. The acquisition will be funded through cash on hand and DST's existing debt facilities. DST expects the consolidated IFDS U.K. businesses to contribute approximately $440 million of incremental annual operating revenues upon acquisition and $20 million of operating income before synergies, restructuring costs and amortization of intangibles over the next twelve months. DST expects the IFDS U.K. transaction to be accretive to diluted earnings per share by $0.18 to $0.22 in the next twelve months before synergies, restructuring costs and amortization of intangibles.

About DST

DST Systems, Inc. (NYSE: DST) is a leading provider of specialized technology, strategic advisory, and business operations outsourcing to the financial and healthcare industries. DST enables clients to transform complexity into strategic advantage by helping them continually stay ahead of and capitalize on ever-changing customer, business and regulatory requirements in the world's most demanding industries. For more information, visit the DST website at www.dstsystems.com.

About State Street

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is one of the world's leading providers of financial services to institutional investors, including investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With $29 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $2.47 trillion* in assets under management as of December 31, 2016, State Street operates in more than 100 geographic markets worldwide, including the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. For more information, visit State Street's website at www.statestreet.com

* Assets under management for State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) were $2.47 trillion as of December 31, 2016. AUM reflects approximately $30.62 billion (as of December 31, 2016) with respect to which State Street Global Markets, LLC (SSGM) serves as marketing agent; SSGM and SSGA are affiliated.

Investor Contacts:

John Riley

DST Chief Marketing Officer, Communications and Investor Relations

1-816-435-1000

Anthony Ostler

State Street Senior Vice President and Head of Investor Relations

1-617-664-3477

Media Contacts:

Laura M. Parsons

DST Global Public Relations

1-816-843-9087

[email protected]

Carolyn Cichon

State Street Corporation

1-617-664-8672

[email protected]

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain material presented in the press release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, (i) all statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future or that depend on future events, or (ii) statements about our future business plans and strategy and other statements that describe the Company's outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals, and any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Whenever used, words such as "may," "will," "would," "should," "potential," "strategy," "anticipates," "estimates," "expects," "project," "predict," "intends," "plans," "believes," "targets" and other terms of similar meaning are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are uncertain and to some extent unpredictable, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in, or reasonably inferred from, such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause results to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to, the risk factors and cautionary statements included in the Company's periodic and current reports (Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K) filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All such factors should be considered in evaluating any forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in this press release to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains financial information calculated other than in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") and may differ from the methods used by other companies. Such non-GAAP financial measures include operating income and diluted earnings per share excluding potential future savings from synergies, restructuring costs and amortization of intangibles. Management believes the exclusion of these items from the computation of operating income and diluted earnings per share provide meaningful supplemental information regarding future performance following the consummation of the transactions. These measures are used by DST management to evaluate our operations and are regularly presented to DST stockholders in connection with the issuance of quarterly earnings results. The Company has not reconciled non-GAAP operating income and diluted earnings per share to the relevant GAAP measure because it has not yet finalized the restructuring plans and have not completed the purchase accounting for the acquisitions and therefore are unable to forecast these items.

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SOURCE DST Systems, Inc.

Related Links

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ZURICH and LONDON and NEW YORK, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Egon Zehnder, the world's leadership advisory firm, today announced its 2016 financial results, reporting a 2.8% increase in global revenue to CHF 639.5 million versus CHF 622.3 million in 2015. At constant exchange rates, 2016 revenue increased by 3.6%.

Egon Zehnder's 2016 fiscal performance indicates sustained global growth, demonstrated by continued strength against the firm's core executive and Board search offerings, as well as an increase in leadership advisory solutions, including executive assessment and leadership development. The firm grew its consultant base to 440 worldwide, while the firm's global footprint remained steady with 69 offices across 41 countries.

"Our 2016 performance continues to be strong and we remain optimistic for the current year," stated Rajeev Vasudeva, Chief Executive Officer at Egon Zehnder. "Business leaders are grappling with increased complexity and are seeking integrated solutions across a suite of advisory, search and leadership development services," he noted. "We are responding by advising Boards and C-suite leaders on how they can advance great leadership in their organizations."

About Egon Zehnder

Since 1964, Egon Zehnder has been at the forefront of defining great leadership in the face of changing economic conditions and evolving business goals. With 440 consultants in 69 offices and 41 countries around the globe, we work closely with public and private corporations, family-owned enterprises and non-profit and government agencies to provide board advisory services, CEO search and leadership succession planning, executive search and assessment, and leadership development. For more information visit www.egonzehnder.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter .

SOURCE Egon Zehnder

Related Links

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DUBLIN, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- FLY Leasing Limited (NYSE: FLY) ("FLY"), a global leader in aircraft leasing, today announced that it will release its first quarter 2017 earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, May 11, 2017.

FLY's senior management will host a conference call and webcast with slide presentation to discuss these results at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday, May 11, 2017. Participants should dial +1 253-237-1145 (International) or 800-535-7056 (North America) and enter confirmation code 94532798. Please call at least five minutes early to allow for connection time.

A live webcast with slide presentation will be available on the Events page in the Investor Relations section of FLY's website at www.flyleasing.com. A webcast replay will be available on the company's website for one year.

About FLY

FLY is a global aircraft leasing company with a fleet of modern, high-demand and fuel-efficient commercial jet aircraft. FLY leases its aircraft under multi-year operating lease contracts to a diverse group of airlines throughout the world. FLY is managed and serviced by BBAM LP, a worldwide leader in aircraft lease management and financing. For more information visit www.flyleasing.com.

Contact:

Matt Dallas

FLY Leasing Limited

+1 203-769-5916

[email protected]

SOURCE FLY Leasing Limited

Related Links

http://www.flyleasing.com


ORLANDO, Fla., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- GENBAND, a leading provider of real-time communications solutions today announced that it has partnered with Vodafone Fiji to deploy a hosted solution that delivers next-generation cloud and UC services across the Pacific.

Designed as an upgrade to the Republic of Kiribati's fixed and mobile network infrastructure, the fully operational deployment leverages the GENBAND Application Server and Kandy Business Solutions for enhanced cloud-based applications. This hybrid offer enables Vodafone Fiji to deliver compelling hosted UC services via satellite links to Kiribati through local provider Amalgamated Telecoms Holdings Kiribati Limited (ATHKL).

"GENBAND has always been an innovative partner for us and this project is no exception," said Andrew Kumar, Vodafone Fiji CTO. "By deploying this new solution, we're empowering remote Pacific nations and their communities with access to advanced real-time contextual communications."

GENBAND is providing Vodafone Fiji with enhanced SIP Trunking services, voice over satellite, local media anchoring and PRI gateways. Vodafone Fiji leverages GENBAND's Application Server to deliver country-specific hosted billing from its Suva base while web collaboration, auto-attendant, voicemail and WebRTC applications are provided via Kandy Business Solutions.

Kiribati customers can access mobile, UC services or SIP Trunk connectivity via the prepaid system, acquiring only the services they need. This innovative billing model further extends cost efficiencies and leverages existing billing infrastructure investments. Additionally, ATHKL can now provide PBXs to corporate clients without investing in on-premises infrastructure, delivering greater flexibility and advanced features cost-effectively.

"Remote areas have been at a disadvantage when aiming to access next-generation services," said David O'Connor, GENBAND's Senior Vice President for APAC Sales. "Until now that access has required massive investment. This unprecedented solution is an important step forward in extending advanced capabilities to these underserved locations while providing a model for cost-efficient delivery of hosted UC solutions."

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. To learn more visit genband.com.

GENBAND, the GENBAND logo and icon are trademarks of GENBAND.

SOURCE GENBAND

Related Links

http://www.genband.com


SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to growing demand, General Cannabis (OTCQB: CANN), announced today that its security division, Iron Protection Group (IPG), the premier provider of protection services for the regulated cannabis industry, will begin offering its services in California. By opening an office in Sacramento, IPG will serve the largest regulated cannabis market in the world, now that the state voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults last November.

"The demand for security services in California is skyrocketing," said Hunter Garth, Managing Director of IPG. "As a known security leader in Colorado, we are now seeing a dramatic rise in security and transportation requests from companies throughout the state. By opening our first office in the state capital, we plan to fulfill a vital component of the regulated cannabis industry in this substantial market."

Glenn Weatherly, Iron Protection Group director of operations, will lead the company's California office. IPG, which is staffed primarily with United States military veterans, expects to continue that practice in California.

"We look forward to working with cultivators and dispensaries in California, as well as hiring veterans throughout the state," Weatherly said. "Through serving in these wars overseas and experiencing a true trial by fire, we have come to a place where our skills have been refined, honed, and highly specialized, and our passion for protection has become unparalleled."

IPG was established in 2014 and acquired by General Cannabis, headquartered in Denver, in March 2015.

"Iron Protection Group's entry into California is the first significant phase of our company's expansion in this growing market," said Robert Frichtel, Chief Executive Officer of General Cannabis. "Much of the regulated cannabis industry is now laser-focused on this huge market and we see vast opportunities to expand all our businesses and increase revenue as the industry grows exponentially in the state."

About Iron Protection Group

Iron Protection Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Cannabis. IPG provides security and training services to the regulated cannabis market. IPG encompasses all things related to protection, from training individuals in the art of manipulating a firearm, all the way to providing a personal security detail for any of your security needs.

IPG is managed and operated by combat veterans, of both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These highly trained individuals have the knowledge of how to keep each other safe and strive to bring that ability to our clients.

About General Cannabis

General Cannabis Corp. is the comprehensive resource for the highest quality service providers available to the regulated Cannabis Industry. We are a trusted partner to the cultivation, production and retail side of the cannabis business. We do this through a combination of strong operating divisions such as real estate, consulting, security, financing and the distribution of important infrastructure products to grow facilities and dispensaries. As a synergistic holding company, our subsidiaries are able to leverage the strengths of each other, as well as a larger balance sheet, to succeed. Our website address is www.generalcann.com.

Safe Harbor

This news release contains forward-looking statements which relate to future events or General Cannabis' future performance or financial condition. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words "believes," "should," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates" and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in General Cannabis' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. General Cannabis undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made herein.

SOURCE General Cannabis Corporation

Related Links

http://www.generalcann.com/


ATLANTA and DENVER, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Oniqua Intelligent MRO, a leading provider of maintenance spares and materials inventory optimization solutions for asset-intensive organizations, and ScottMadden, Inc., a general management consulting firm, today announced the launch of a global, cross-industry benchmarking survey focused on illuminating the landscape and challenges of inventory management and optimization. The survey will target supply chain and maintenance professionals in several industries, including electric and gas utilities; mining, metals processing, and fabrication; oil, gas, and petrochemicals; and suppliers/support services to these industries.

Scott Madden

"We understand from current experience and past benchmarking surveys that asset-intensive companies continue to struggle with optimizing their inventories, which includes having the right critical maintenance spares and materials in the right numbers, at the right location, at the right time, and at the right cost," said Steve Herrmann, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Oniqua. "This is a tall order for any business but especially challenging in the high-stakes industries of our clients. For asset-intensive companies, there simply isn't room to get this wrong. Poor service levels to maintenance organizations can have negative, even disastrous, effects on operations."

The 2017 Inventory Optimization Survey will build on the lessons gleaned from the last cross-industry benchmarking survey published by Oniqua and ScottMadden in 2013. From that analysis, the two companies discovered that most respondents named inventory optimization as an important or critical issue for senior management.

However, when asked about their primary performance metrics for measuring the optimization of their inventory, respondents' answers ranged greatly (from average stock-out duration to inventory turns ratio to line fill rate). This finding demonstrates that while most asset-intensive industry professionals agree that effective inventory optimization is a major goal, not everyone agrees on the best way to achieve it.

"We are going into this survey armed with a good understanding of asset-intensive inventory management, grounded in the results of our last global survey. This knowledge is informing how we structure our questions, how we target our industries and capture responses, and ultimately how we analyze our data," said Andy Flores, partner and supply chain practice leader at ScottMadden. "We're eager to offer fresh insights because we hope better information and analysis will ultimately help to move the needle when it comes to improving on the status quo."

The new survey will examine several topics related to inventory management and optimization, including:

Overarching views on the inventory landscape

Key challenges and opportunities in inventory optimization

Best practices in inventory management

Inventory visibility levels and segmentation

Processes for managing stocking levels

Safety stock level determination

Tools used to optimize inventory levels

Practices that integrate materials and asset management

"Industry leaders need new, relevant, and informative data to improve their strategic approach. Benchmarking data from industry peers is something our customers seek on a regular basis. When it comes to mastering the science of inventory optimization, learning from others faced with similar challenges will translate to better results," said Herrmann.

Individuals managing inventories in the utilities, mining, oil and gas, and manufacturing industriesas well as those who supply and serve those industriesare invited and encouraged to participate in the survey. All respondents will receive a set of survey results free of charge. Click here to participate or visit http://bit.ly/2nQOnjd.

About ScottMadden, Inc.

ScottMadden is the management consulting firm that does what it takes to get it done right. Our practice areas include Energy, Clean Tech & Sustainability, Corporate & Shared Services, and Grid Transformation. We deliver a broad array of consulting services ranging from strategic planning through implementation across many industries, business units, and functions. To learn more, visit www.scottmadden.com | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

About Oniqua

Oniqua provides Intelligent MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) capabilities that are transforming the way Oil & Gas, Mining, Utilities and Manufacturing companies manage their capital-intensive assets. Our unique cloud-based offering combines the world's most advanced MRO analytics technology with analyst services, consulting, master data cleansing and industry expertise to optimize the performance of materials management and operations & maintenance activities. Oniqua does the "heavy lifting" on behalf of customers so they can achieve rapid benefits in the form of reduced waste and costs, minimized risks, greater efficiencies and smarter decisions across their MRO operations. Oniqua is proud to serve many of the world's largest energy and resources companies, including ConocoPhillips, BP, Occidental (OXY), ADMA, BHP Billiton, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), American Electric Power (AEP), Nebraska Public Power District, Rio Tinto, Newmont Mining, Xstrata, and Freeport McMoRan and many others. To learn more, visit www.oniqua.com | LinkedIn

Oniqua is owned by international oilfield support services company ASCO. The company employs more than 2,500 people in four key regions, namely the Americas, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Australasia. The company currently has sales in excess of $1 billion. Through Oniqua and its other businesses, ASCO offers a wide range of services, including inventory and materials management, offshore supply base management, onshore oilfield support, environmental services, personnel and training, advisory and technical services, as well as fuel services. ASCO's global headquarters is based in Aberdeen. To learn more, visit www.ascoworld.com.

Media Contacts

ScottMadden, Inc.

Mary Tew

Senior Marketing Specialist

919-714-7628

[email protected]

Oniqua

Alisson Moore

Director of Marketing

303-525-5994

[email protected]

SOURCE Oniqua Intelligent MRO

Related Links

http://www.oniqua.com


OKLAHOMA CITY, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) and the U.S. Air Force this week announced a $243 million facility modernization project at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City that is expected to reduce energy consumption by 23 percent and save the base $20.5 million in energy and operational costs each year. It is the largest energy savings performance contract (ESPC) ever awarded by the Air Force. The project is a joint effort among Tinker, Honeywell, the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command and the Air Force Civil Engineer Center.

The project will focus on improvements to production facilities at the Oklahoma City - Air Logistics Complex (OC-ALC), which employs more than 9,000 people and is one of three air logistics complexes operated within the Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC), Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC). The work will be funded through a 21-year ESPC awarded to Honeywell by the Defense Logistics Agency Energy. The ESPC will enable the Air Force to fund upgrades using annual energy and operational savings that are guaranteed by Honeywell, eliminating the need for any upfront capital investment by the Air Force.

Once the project is complete, the improvements are anticipated to save the Air Logistics Complex more than $626 million in energy and operational costs over the life of the project. In the first year alone, the base is expected to save more than $6.7 million in energy expenses and $13.4 million in operational costs.

"We are honored to be home to the largest energy retrofit project in Air Force history," said Brig. Gen. Mark K. Johnson, OC-ALC commander. "This is a big milestone for Tinker Air Force Base and the Air Force in our journey to achieving operational efficiency, and we thank both the Secretary of the Air Force Leadership and Honeywell for making this achievement possible. In addition to increasing productivity, the improvements will also make us more competitive in the private sector for aircraft maintenance work through decreasing our energy costs."

The project focuses on upgrading infrastructure and industrial processes at the base's production facilities to make the buildings more energy and operationally efficient. The work includes:

Modernizing manufacturing lines to eliminate wasted ventilation and increase worker safety

Updating wastewater treatment systems to provide equipment control and alarm monitoring

Installing two new 2,000-ton chillers to increase the reliability of the cooling system

Upgrading paint booths to reduce energy used by the painting process

Decentralizing the steam heating plant with a distributed heat system to lower energy use

Installing more efficient LED lighting with wireless controls

Installing smart meters to more closely monitor and track building energy consumption

Additionally, Honeywell will integrate new buildings on the base into Tinker Air Force Base's existing Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator (EBI) building management system that manages and controls heating, cooling and metering equipment. After the upgrades are completed, Honeywell will provide ongoing maintenance and service to building systems.

"Beyond saving energy and lowering operating costs, this is an opportunity to modernize Tinker Air Force Base's industrial operations," said John Rajchert, president of Honeywell Building Solutions. "Honeywell is pleased to partner with the Air Force in this endeavor and help them achieve operational excellence through software, energy and industrial process upgrades. This project is not only a big win for Honeywell, but also for the U.S. government, military and taxpayers as we drive sustainability in our country by improving the infrastructure to boost operational and energy efficiency."

This latest project builds on previous Honeywell work at Tinker Air Force Base. To date, the base has reduced overall energy use by approximately 37 percent and saved approximately $12 million in annual energy and operating costs.

About Honeywell Home and Building Technologies

Honeywell Building Solutions is a part of Honeywell Home and Building Technologies (HBT), a global business with more than 44,000 employees worldwide. HBT is a leader in the Internet of Things (IoT) and creates products, software and technologies found in more than 150 million homes and 10 million buildings worldwide. We help homeowners stay connected and in control of their comfort, security and energy use. Commercial building owners and occupants use our technologies to ensure their facilities are safe, energy efficient, sustainable and productive. Our advanced metering hardware and software solutions help electricity, gas and water providers supply customers and communities more efficiently. For more news and information on Honeywell Home and Building Technologies, please visit http://www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 software-industrial company that delivers industry specific solutions that include aerospace and automotive products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes, and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help everything from aircraft, cars, homes and buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

SOURCE Honeywell

Related Links

http://buildingsolutions.honeywell.com


The strategic partnership will enable CR Group to tap into ICBC International's strong capital base and credit support and allow ICBC International to leverage CR Group's extensive experience in providing financial services to new economy enterprises. Under the agreement, both parties will share strategic insights and resources and set up a special fund to collaborate in four key business areas - corporate finance, asset management, capital markets and wealth management.

Lin Cong, Chairman of ICBC International, said, "As a licensed corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICBC, ICBC International, under The Belt and Road Initiative, has developed a formidable reputation in the Hong Kong capital markets, through the growth of our four lines of businesses - corporate finance, investment management, sales and trading and asset management. This framework agreement with CR Group elevates our relationship to a strategic level as we will enhance our cooperation in the areas of corporate finance, capital markets and wealth management. We will be sharing resources including our brand, client base, capital and sales network, and look forward to further developing a successful partnership with CR Group."

Fan Bao, Chairman and CEO of CR Group, said, "Through this strategic partnership, which covers key areas including cross-border transactions, asset management and other investment services, CR Group will enhance our ability to provide credit and capital support to our client base in Hong Kong and international markets. It also helps us strengthen our collaboration with other Chinese and international financial institutions, which is a critical strategic pillar in our goal to provide truly global services to our clients."

ICBC International is the sole overseas investment platform for ICBC and has a premier brand, an extensive client base, strong capital base and sales network. CR Group has extensive and strong client base in the new economy space and is the only Chinese-funded financial services firm licensed to provide full-service advisory and securities support in mainland China, Hong Kong and the United States.

About ICBC International

ICBC International Holdings Limited ("ICBC International") is the wholly-owned HK subsidiary of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited ("ICBC").

ICBC International is an HK-incorporated company that has wide exposure to onshore and offshore capital markets. Leveraging on the parent ICBC's premier brand, strong capital base, extensive client base and innovative financial products in China, it offers the PRC and overseas investment communities with a variety of quality financial services and products including sponsorship and underwriting, direct investment, securities sales and brokerage, asset management, bonds underwriting, merger & acquisition, restructuring advisory, top-up equity financing and placing, financial advisory, futures/derivatives, debt financing, market research and others.

ICBC International, the wholly-owned licensed platform of ICBC, has talented professionals and is led by a quality management team that has proven track records and global capital market experiences. The Company offers a variety of financial products and unique investor coverage. Riding on China's rapid economic growth and the emergence of RMB capital market, ICBC International is dedicated to be one of the top-tier institutions. By integrating with the ICBC group to unify its business operations, ICBC International can offer a full spectrum of quality financial products and services to achieve its mission - to create, win and develop together with clients.

About China Renaissance

China Renaissance Group is a leading financial institution providing a range of financial services, including private placement advisory, M&A advisory, securities underwriting, sales & trading, and investment management. The group is dedicated to serving new economy entrepreneurs with one-stop financial solutions in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and the United States.

China Renaissance maintains offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and New York, employing approximately 500 professionals. Since its establishment in 2004, China Renaissance has grown to become a top advisor and service provider to China's entrepreneurs and investors. As of December 2016, the group has completed more than 420 transactions with over USD 80 billion in total deal value.

For more information, please visit: www.chinarenaissance.com

For media enquiries, please contact:

ICBC International

Chen Cuiping(Hong Kong)

Tel: +852 26833835

Email: [email protected]

Cheng Shi(Hong Kong)

Tel: +852 26833231

Email: [email protected]

China Renaissance

Lexie Liang (Beijing)

China Renaissance

Tel: +86-10-8567-9988 ext. 8852

Email: [email protected]

Siobhan Zheng (Hong Kong)

Brunswick Group

Mobile: +852 91315202

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE China Renaissance Group

Related Links

http://www.chinarenaissance.com


BETHESDA, Md., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- ImMAGE Biotherapeutics (OTCMKTS: IMMG), an early-stage biotechnology company, announced today that its immunotherapy successfully passed early toxicology and efficacy studies. The company is harnessing the power of the immune system to target a specific protein, MAGE A, in an effort to find a better treatment for triple negative breast cancer.

After 4 weeks of treatment in transgenic mice, the lead candidate was able to show very little toxicity in a full toxicology report of various organs. Cytotoxic T-cells were removed from the mice to test the efficacy ex vivo to check for targeted response against MAGE-A positive cancer cells. There was a significant increase in cell death of MAGE-A positive tumor cells compared to MAGE-A negative tumor cells.

ImMAGE Biotherapeutics is in the process of conducting preclinical development and plans to file an IND in 2018 to start phase 1 clinical trials. ImMAGE Biotherapeutics targets to move the candidate into human trials in late 2018/early 2019.

"We are very satisfied with the early in vivo validation of our in vitro results. Both the efficacy and the low toxicity were what we were expecting, but it is good to the see the results reflect that," said Mahesh Narayanan, COO of ImMAGE Biotherapeutics. "If all goes well, we hope to be able to move the candidates to the next level of research in the next month."

The CSO of ImMAGE Biotherapeutics, Dr. Anton Dormer, noted "These results will help us move forward with our conversations with the FDA as well as prepare us to start our clinical trials next year. We will have to validate these results in GLP conditions using GMP-grade products before our IND filing."

About ImMAGE Biotherapeutics

ImMAGE Biotherapeutics Corp. (OTCMKTS: IMMG) was founded in 2015 to harness the power of the human immune system to treat cancer. The company, which has a presence in the Washington, DC and Philadelphia regions, is developing multiple viable candidates to treat triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and has progressed from in-vitro trials to animal testing. The immunotherapy market is expected to grow to $9 billion by 2022 and may be used in up to 60% of cases of advanced cancer. Learn more at www.immagebio.com.

SOURCE ImMAGE Biotherapeutics

Related Links

http://www.immagebio.com/


"It is not every day that one meets a genuine hero  a person who risks his life for another, and takes a bullet for a complete stranger. Ian Grillot is a man who reminds us of the promise of America and its greatness," said Jiten Agarwal, Chair of India House Houston's annual gala. India House is a community center built by Americans of Indian origin in the Greater Houston area to serve all who need help.

On behalf of the Indian-American community in Houston, India House recognized Ian's selfless act and has extended the community's gratitude to Ian Grillot by helping him to buy a house. Charlie Yalamanchili, a India House trustee, proposed the house purchase, and offered to match every dollar raised for this cause. With such generous support, India House raised $100,000. This initiative was strongly encouraged and supported by the Consul General of India in Houston, Dr. Anupam Ray.

Ian Grillot was the guest of honor at the annual India House Gala on March 25, 2017 in Houston. "Ian has given us an occasion to reaffirm a tie that binds us all as Americans, irrespective of where we come from," said Agarwal.

"I don't know if I could've lived with myself if I wouldn't have stopped or attempted to stop the shooter because that would've been completely devastating," Ian said. "I now have a very powerful message and if I can help empower people and spread hope and love, then why not? I am honored to be at India House that serves so many families from so many communities in the Houston area."

This extraordinary gesture of gratitude will leave a long-lasting message of how people from the land of Mahatma Gandhi respond to random acts of violence.

Contact: Pramod Kulkarni, Media Relations

Email: [email protected]

Tel: (713) 306 3620

SOURCE India House Houston

Related Links

http://www.indiahouseinc.org


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A total of 140 patients were enrolled in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted in 7 clinical centers in Russia. The main objective of the study was to assess efficacy, safety, and tolerability of SQ109 in combination with a standard regimen for MDR-TB treatment. Both the Intent to Treat (ITT) and Per Protocol (PP) patients treated with SQ109-containing regimens showed statistically significant improvement in clearance of lung bacteria.

"The sputum culture conversion rate (cessation of Mycobacteria excretion) of PP patients treated with SQ109 plus the standard regimen was 80%, significantly higher than patients treated with the standard regimen plus placebo (61%) by the end of 6 months of treatment," said Prof. Sergey Borisov, M.D., Deputy Director for Scientific and Clinical Work of Moscow City Research and Practical Center for Tuberculosis Control, principal study investigator, "Furthermore, SQ109 was both safe and well tolerated."

"We are delighted that Infectex has successfully completed this important study. SQ109 has the prospect of becoming both a part of a new tuberculosis regimen and a component of standard treatment," said Dr. Carol A. Nacy, CEO of Sequella.

"Now our goal is to bring the product to patients as soon as possible to increase the effectiveness of treatment and save thousands of lives of patients with tuberculosis not only in Russia, but also throughout the world," said Dmitry Popov, Managing Partner of MBVF.

About SQ109

SQ109 is a novel 1,2-ethylene diamine small molecule drug with 3 unique mechanisms of action that are distinct from all other antibiotics used for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). In laboratory studies, SQ109 demonstrated excellent activity against both drug susceptible and multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis, including extensively drug-resistant TB strains. SQ109 also enhanced activity of anti-tuberculosis drugs isoniazid, rifampicin, and bedaquiline and shortened by >30% the time required to cure mice of experimental TB. SQ109 could replace one or more of the current TB drugs, simplify therapy, and shorten current treatment time. Infectex, Ltd, licensed the rights to develop and commercialize SQ109 in the Russian Federation and Commonwealth of Independent States from Sequella, Inc., in 2011. SQ109 is currently under Sequella's US IND and completed three Phase 1 studies in the U.S. and two Phase 2 studies in drug-sensitive TB patients in Africa in addition to the Phase 2b-3 study in Russia.

About Infectex

Infectex (Moscow, Russia) is a biotechnology company founded in 2011 with the goal to develop and bring to the Russian market drugs for MDR-TB treatment. Currently the company is developing two anti-TB drugs, SQ109 and Q203. Infectex is a resident company of Skolkovo Innovation Center. http://www.infectex.com

About Sequella

Sequella (Rockville, MD) is a privately-held clinical stage anti-infectives company focused on commercializing novel treatments for antibiotic-resistant infectious diseases. The company has been in operation for 19 years and has drugs in Phase 2 clinical trials for gastritis (Helicobacter pylori) and TB and in IND-directed preclinical development for Clostridium difficile infections. Sequella leverages its global influence, R&D platforms, and infectious disease expertise to proactively address emerging health threats. Through focused execution, clear commercialization pathways, and strategic partnerships, Sequella intends to commercialize a broad product portfolio designed to treat global health threats with significant market opportunity. http://www.sequella.com

About Maxwell Biotech Venture Fund

Maxwell Biotech Venture Fund is the first Russian venture fund fully dedicated to investments in Life Sciences technologies. The fund has been created with participation of the Russian Venture Company. MBVF portfolio companies have nine innovative clinical stage drug candidates in development; four thereof are in late clinical stage of development. http://www.maxwellbiotech.com

SOURCE Maxwell Biotech Venture Fund
SHENZHEN, China, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

First US Investment Themed Historic Event in China

It was an US investment themed summit and drew a large number of people including industry elites from both China and the United States. which attracted the attention of both domestic and international media. Over 800 distinguished guests gathered in Shenzhen, China and enjoyed an extremely warm atmosphere.

Grand Opening

At the very beginning, Dr. Winner Xing, President of Worldway Immigration Group and Chairman of Invest in America Summit 2017, made the opening speech and delivered another important speech as well, which kicked off Invest in America Summit 2017. Dr. Winner Xing extended a warm welcome to all the participants and investors, aired opinions on investment situations in the US and further interpreted "2017  Year of the US Investment" put forward by Worldway Immigration Group at the beginning of the year and guided those investors to pay close attention to US investment.

Authorities of investment circles in China and the United States gathered at the event, discussing a new investment blueprint.

As a historic event influential to the investment industry of China and the United States, hundreds of important guests were invited to participate in this summit. They either delivered brilliant themed speeches, or conducted panel discussions, so as to interpret the US investment on all sorts of different levels and enable investors to gain practical information about US investment.

Invest in America Summit 2017 attracted famous entrepreneurs, economists, real estate developers as well as lawyers from the United States, including Mr. Craig Hall (President of Hall Group, a billionaire), Dr. Joseph J. Penbera (famous US economist), Mr. Scott M. Barrack (global top 5 real estate developer, President of Greater China for Colony North Star Fund), Mr. Eddie Fu (Deputy President of East West Bank), Mr. Eric Zhang (Chief Partner of Chen-Zhang Certified Public Accountants), Ms. Kate Kalmykov Kate (shareholder of Greenberg Traurig Law Firm, a top law firm), Mr. Nicolai Hinrichsen (Partner of Miller Mayer Law Firm, one of the Top 3 US immigration law firms). Their brilliant speeches brought down the house, presented the investors with authoritative and professional suggestions and information on US investment, caused a sensation and were erupted in applause.

In addition, many domestic experts in different fields made an appearance in this summit, including Mr. FENG Lun (founder of Milton Group and chairman of F&E) who has nearly 20 years' experience in the US investment, Mr. ZHONG Dajun (senior scholar in Chinese economic circles and well-known economic observer), Doctor LIU Penghui (chairman & CEO of DZS and famous specialist in international affairs), as well as Ms. Cathy Hu (Executive Vice President of Worldway Immigration Group). They detailed the current trend and characteristic of investment in US by analyzing typical cases from unique perspectives. Ms. Cathy Hu also presented the Chinese investors with many practical and authoritative suggestions on behalf of the Chinese professional immigration agency.

Looking forward to meeting you at the next summit hosted by Worldway

It is the largest and most prestigious US investment event in China, greatly motivating Sino-US investment industry in 2017. Attended by large numbers of reputable elites in numerous fields, this summit enabled Chinese investors to benefit from huge gains and value in regard to future US investment. It is predicted that Chinese people will be more enthusiastic about US investment, eventually resulting in a boom in US investment all over China.

As one of the Top 500 Asian brands and the leading agency of investment immigration, Worldway will shoulder the historical mission and responsibility of the leading investment immigration agency by virtue of its strength and public praise in the industry. In the future, it will provide more industry summits and professional suggestions for investors and offer better service to Chinese investors.

SOURCE Worldway (Beijing) Immigration Services Co., Ltd.
By Dominique Patton and Charlotte Greenfield

BEIJING/WELLINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - The deadly bird flu that's forced mass bird culls and roiled the global egg and poultry trade has spawned one unlikely success  New Zealand, a rare source of disease-free birds and supplier for China's voracious chicken consumption.

When Spain reported an outbreak of H5N8 bird flu last month, it left New Zealand as the only source, albeit a tiny one, of disease-free birds to replenish China's white-feathered broiler chicken stock.

China, the world's second-largest poultry consumer, relies on imports for its supply of white feather chicken, which are favoured by fast-food chains for their more rapid development and plumper meat, compared with yellow-feathered birds, which are native to China and generally sold retail.

New Zealand's live chicken exports to China soared more than ten-fold last year and analysts expect rapid growth again this year.

The world's major poultry companies are looking to take advantage of the Pacific island's clean credentials, which could create an upstream boon for local industry.

"Geography's a disadvantage from a freighting point of view, but it's a big advantage because we're not on the major flyways of any birds that are likely to carry the disease down here," said Brent Williams, general manager of Bromley Park Hatcheries, a New Zealand-based firm that raises pedigree stock for Cobb-Vantress.

Century-old Cobb, headquartered in Arkansas, is one of the world's top poultry breeders, selling pedigree "grandparent" day-old chicks to Chinese companies.

Cobb-Vantress is seeking approval to build new breeding facilities in New Zealand, said Clark Baird, media relations director at the firm, though he declined to reveal the location or production volumes targeted by the new plant.

Other major global poultry breeders which have operations in New Zealand include United States-based Aviagen, which raises great grandparent stock in the country to supply Asian markets with their offspring.

Story continues

Aviagen said it does not disclose information on its supply chain and production.

FALLING SHORT

It's luck of geography that means New Zealand is now the sole supplier of breeder birds to China.

Its isolated location away from birds' flight paths means it has escaped an outbreak of the deadly viruses that have spread around the globe in recent months.

However, it has always been a relative minnow in the live poultry export trade. Exports to China surged last year but to a mere NZ$9.8 million ($6.78 million).

In 2016, New Zealand sold about 200,000 packages of grandparent chicks to China, according to industry sources. The packages, typically containing around 170 day-old chicks, currently sell for about $28 each.

That compares with about 300,000 from Spain in 2016.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture in a report warns the island can't offset the loss in production from elsewhere, depleting China's breeder stock and cutting China's output of meat by 11 percent this year.

The department said China's lack of new grandparent breeding stock will be the "greatest obstacle" to increasing its poultry production, a problem for a country of 1.4 billion that has rapidly developed a hankering for fast food chicken.

Meanwhile, ongoing disruptions from China's main suppliers will only add to problems.

A recent outbreak of bird flu in Tennessee in the United States suggests that Beijing is unlikely to lift a ban imposed in 2015 due to bird flu.

Before that ban, the United State was China's top supplier, providing 90 percent of its white-bird grandparent stock.

There is also the risk that New Zealand loses its status as a pristine poultry producer.

David Fyfe, Asia business director at Hubbard Breeders, another producer of broiler chicken breeds, owned by France's Groupe Grimaud, warns it may be "just a matter of time" before New Zealand reports a case of avian influenza.

His firm has "no immediate plans" to set up a breeding operation there, he added.

For now, however, Pan Chenjun, an analyst at Rabobank, expects prices will be "strongly supported" by the fall in production in China. That might help offset the demand-side hit the industry has taken in recent years, with prices languishing at decade lows due to China's own bird flu outbreaks and overproduction.

And over the longer-term, higher prices could give a further boost to chicken exporters, like New Zealand.

(Reporting by Dominique Patton in BEIJING and Charlotte Greenfield in WELLINGTON; editing by Josephine Mason and Sam Holmes)
MONTREAL, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - IOU FINANCIAL INC. ("IOU" or "the Company"; TSX-V:IOU), a leading online lender to small businesses (IOUFinancial.com) has won a Gold Stevie Award in the Best Use of Technology in Customer Service in the 11th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

"At IOU Financial, we strive to leverage technology to provide a faster, more efficient process for our customers," said David Kennedy, IOU's Chief Financial Officer. "Our innovative technology has reduced the small business lending process from weeks or months to one that is not only easily completed online, but is funded within hours."

"Because of our paperless, online application, our merchants can receive funding in as little as 24 hours. This is crucial to small businesses ready to seize growth opportunities quickly," said Robert Gloer, IOU's President and Chief Operations Officer. "Time and time again, our customer feedback includes the appreciation of our speed and accessibility our online platform offers."

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 AwardsSM and International Business AwardsSM.

The awards were presented during a gala 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 preliminary 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 specialized judging committees determined the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging earlier this month. Finalists were determined by another 77 judges.

"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."

Details about the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and the list of Stevie winners in all categories are available at www.StevieAwards.com/sales.

About IOU Financial

IOU Financial provides small businesses throughout the U.S. and Canada access to the capital they need to seize growth opportunities quickly. Typical customers include medical and dental practices, grocery and retail stores, restaurant and hotel franchisees and e-commerce companies. In a unique approach to lending, the IOU Financial advanced, automated application and approval system accurately assesses applicants' financial realities, with an emphasis on day-to-day cash flow trends. It makes loans of up to US$150,000 to qualified U.S. applicants ($100,000 in Canada) within a few business days, with affordable charges favorable to cash-flow management. It's speed and transparency make IOU Financial a trusted alternative to banks. To learn more visit: www.ioufinancial.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.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of IOU including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory and shareholder approvals, the execution of definitive documentation and the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. IOU does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

The TSX-V has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE IOU Financial Inc.

Related Links

https://ioufinancial.com/en-ca/


KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kansas City Life Insurance Company (the "Company") announced today that Tracy W. Knapp, Senior Vice President, Finance and a member of the Board of Directors, has notified the Chairman of his intent to leave the Company and resign from the Board following the end of the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on April 20, 2017.

Mr. Knapp joined Kansas City Life in 1998 with the responsibility of developing a banking subsidiary. He was elected President and CEO of Generations Bank when it was chartered in July 2000 and served in that capacity until its sale in 2006. Mr. Knapp became Senior Vice President, Finance, and the Chief Financial Officer of Kansas City Life in 2002. He was elected to the Board of Directors that same year and has served on the Executive Committee.

President, CEO and Chairman of the Board R. Philip Bixby thanked Mr. Knapp for his service to the Company and his leadership through the years. "Tracy has provided strong financial leadership throughout his tenure with the Company. We wish him every success in his future endeavors."

Kansas City Life Insurance Company (OTCQX: KCLI) was established in 1895 and is based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Company's primary business is providing financial protection through the sale of life insurance and annuities. The Company operates in 49 states and the District of Columbia. For more information, please visit www.kclife.com.

SOURCE Kansas City Life Insurance Company

Related Links

http://www.kclife.com


ATHENS, Ga., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Monday, two roadside billboards sprouted up that posed a simple question: If Rep. Jody Hice stands with law enforcement officers, then why is he attacking their rights and threatening to take away their pensions?

On Monday, the American Federation of Government Employees Council of Prison Locals put up two roadside billboard ads in Athens, protesting newly introduced legislation by Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia. Eric Williams' father Don and mother Jean joined AFGE Council of Prison Locals at a press conference urging Congress to pass the Eric Williams Correctional Officer Protection Act.

On March 6, Hice introduced H.R. 1364, a bill that has since been met with heavy criticism from law enforcement officers and public servants across the country. If passed, the legislation would effectively end the ability of Federal Bureau of Prisons law enforcement officers to advocate for critical health and safety reforms and penalize those who work to ensure the safety of their colleagues. The bill also proposes the removal of a worker's retirement benefits if that employee representative exceeds, what Hice considers, a 'reasonable' number of official time hours.

"Rep. Hice's latest bill is further proof that working people in this country are under attack," said Council of Prison Locals President Eric Young. "The brave men and women who work in federal prisons and protect our communities deserve the right to representation."

"For Rep. Hice to propose legislation that takes back a correctional officers' earned pension and hinders our ability to make our prisons safer is despicable," Young added.

Hice's bill attacks what is known as 'official time,' an official duty status provided by the federal government to allow union representatives to represent their coworkers. Official time is often used to improve the workplace, like advocating for stab-proof vests and better officer to inmate ratios. It allows employee advocates to educate members of Congress about unsafe and unjust situations in the government workplace.

"On official time, my colleagues and I provided information about working conditions to lawmakers from both parties, this ultimately led them to pass the Eric Williams Correctional Officer Protection Act of 2016," said Young. "The law was named after a correctional officer who was murdered on the job. He was alone with 130 inmates, but only had handcuffs and a radio to protect himself."

"Because of our ability to use official time to educate lawmakers, correctional officers across the country are now equipped with pepper spray," Young said. "If passed, Rep. Hice's bill will make it more difficult for correctional workers and all advocates for safe and fair federal workplaces to report fraud, waste, and abuse to Congress."

"We're asking people to call their representative and tell them to vote 'No' on H.R. 1364, and hope that Congress will heed these calls and turn their focus on how to improve the safety of our prisons, not hurt the working people who keep them running," Young added.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 700,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

Related Links

http://www.afge.org


CONCORD, Calif., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lodgepole Fund No. I, LLC just closed out its seventh consecutive year of 10+ percent net returns, attributing its consistent performance to strong and experienced management and employees.

"This is the seventh consecutive year that Lodgepole Fund has earned a net return of over 10 percent for its Members," says John W. Simonse, President of LHJS Investments, LLC, and one of the Managing Members of Lodgepole Fund No. I, LLC.

Lodgepole Fund No. I, LLC has been providing construction and development loans to builders and developers in California since 2010

Simonse went on further to explain, "Most real estate loan investment funds return at most 6-7% net to their Members. The fact that Lodgepole Fund has returned over 10% for 7 years running is nothing short of extraordinary."

When asked how Lodgepole Fund was able to complete this feat, Mr. Simonse stated, "We have a very strong management team and a very strong staff who have been with us for over 10 years. What is really amazing is that over this time period we have also not had one foreclosure of a loan."

Asked how an individual could invest in Lodgepole Fund, Mr. Simonse stated, "Right now the Fund is closed to new Members. However, we will be looking to raise new capital this summer."

About Lodgepole Fund No. I, LLC

Lodgepole Fund No. I, LLC has been providing construction and development loans to builders and developers in California since 2010. Lodgepole specializes in providing construction loans for high-end residential homes.

About John W. Simonse

John Simonse has been actively involved in the development and investment in Real Estate in the San Francisco Bay Area for nearly 40 years. He has personally overseen the funding and management of over $1 billion in loans and development projects. Currently Mr. Simonse actively manages a portfolio with a value of over $200 million, which includes three real estate loan investment Funds.

Mr. Simonse graduated with highest honors from the United States Merchant Marine academy with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Marine Engineering. His father, Herman Simonse, was a renowned real estate developer in New Jersey, who just recently retired at the age of 86! John Simonse followed in his father's footsteps by buying his first property at the age of 20.

After graduation from the Academy, Mr. Simonse worked for the Department of Defense and was a lieutenant in the United States Naval reserve for 10 years from which he was honorably discharged. Mr. Simonse also worked in the U. S. Merchant Marines, where he sailed on cargo ships to over 65 countries and attained a United States Coast Guard license of Chief Engineer of Steam, Diesel, and Gas Turbine Engines of Unlimited Horsepower. After retiring from the Merchant Marines, Mr. Simonse concentrated in real estate and formed his first real estate Investment fund in 1999.

Mr. Simonse has been successfully managing real estate investment funds and development projects ever since. He currently resides in Danville, CA with his wife Annie and their brood of 6 children.

Contact:

John W. Simonse

Lodgepole Fund No., I, LLC

Phone: 925-603-0433

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://lhjsinvestments.info





SOURCE John Simonse

Related Links

http://lhjsinvestments.info


Today, mass timber technologies, including cross-laminated timber (CLT), nail laminated timber (NLT) and glued laminated timber (glulam), are gaining traction in the United States for mid-rise and tall wood structures. The publicly accessible and comprehensive reThink Wood Research Library will be frequently updated with the latest research on wood building products and systems worldwide, as well as demonstrate where research gaps currently exist.

"The future of mass timber in the U.S. is really starting to heat up," said Lucas Epp, head of engineering at StructureCraft. "In the next few years, there will be considerably more mass timber buildings built than we have today. The industry is starting to see that this type of construction is fast, cost effective and sustainable."

Wood buildings are durable and can be designed to last a lifetime. As documented in the reThink Wood Research Library, a growing body of research, real-life events and building code development continue to prove that mass timber structures can meet or exceed the most demanding design requirements. Wood is inherently ductile and substantially lighter than steel and concrete, making wood structures better equipped to withstand high wind and seismic forces, enabling its use in a wide range of building types.

Further highlighting the excitement around mass timber construction is the 2017 Mass Timber Conference, to be held March 28 -30, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. reThink Wood and other industry professionals will be in attendance to discuss the latest mass timber technologies and how professionals can increase the use of wood in mid-rise and tall buildings.

reThink Wood provides information and educational resources on designing with wood in a variety of applications for building professionals. reThink Wood's continuing education course, Mass Timber in North America, offers AIA and GBCI credits and information on how mass timber is evolving the possibilities of wood design. Additional wood building resources are available at reThinkWood.com.

About reThink Wood

reThink Wood represents North America's softwood lumber industry. We share a passion for wood and the forests it comes from. Our goal is to generate awareness and understanding of wood's advantages in the built environment. Join the reThink Wood community to make a difference for the future. Be part of the conversation to "rethink" wood use, address misperceptions and enhance awareness of wood's benefits and choices. Learn more at reThinkWood.com.

SOURCE reThink Wood

Related Links

http://www.reThinkWood.com


SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- McClatchy (NYSE: MNI) announced today Christian A. Hendricks, vice president for strategic initiatives, plans to retire from the company on November 30, 2017 after 25 years of service.

"Chris is a valued and respected leader at McClatchy and in the digital media industry," said Craig Forman, McClatchy president and CEO. "Chris has played an integral role in helping McClatchy transform into the digital media company it is today. We wish him and his family well as he embarks on a new life adventure."

Hendricks has contributed to the broader media industry through years of service on numerous industry-related boards. He currently serves as chairman of the Local Media Consortium and represents McClatchy investments in CareerBuilder, Moonlighting, Aggrego and Engage3.

"As I transition from the company, I want to thank McClatchy for the many opportunities it provided me through the years. It has been an honor and privilege to contribute to McClatchy's success. I am also grateful for having had the opportunity to work with so many talented McClatchy employees and industry colleagues during the past 25 years," said Hendricks.

Hendricks served as McClatchy's vice president of products, marketing and innovation from June 2015 through February of this year. He was the company's vice president for interactive media from June 1999 through June 2015. Prior to then, he served in operational management roles primarily focused on digital media.

About McClatchy:

McClatchy is a publisher of iconic brands such as the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star, The Sacramento Bee, The Charlotte Observer, The (Raleigh) News and Observer, and the (Fort Worth) Star-Telegram. McClatchy operates 30 media companies in 29 U.S. markets in 14 states, providing each of its communities with high-quality news and advertising services in a wide array of digital and print formats. McClatchy is headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI.

SOURCE McClatchy

Related Links

http://www.mcclatchy.com


BEIJING, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Meituan-Dianping has announced that its On-Demand Delivery business has become the first online delivery platform globally to reach more than ten million daily orders and deliveries per day. Established in late 2013, the delivery platform has grown at an exceptional pace and during the recent six months the volume of on-demand deliveries has doubled from five million to 10 million per day.

Meituan-Dianping is recognized in the industry as dominating the global on-demand delivery sector in terms of gross merchandise volume and daily order volume. According to QuestMobile, the leading internet big data research company, three of Meituan-Dianping's mobile applications  Meituan, Dianping, and Meituan Waimai  generated more than 57 million on-demand delivery monthly active users in the first half of 2016, having formed a strong local life services network with the strategic support of Tencent's WeChat and Mobile QQ's platforms.

"Our mission at Meituan-Dianping is to help consumers eat better and live better through quality services and products," said Mr. Puzhong Wang, Vice President of Meituan-Dianping and General Manager of the Company's On-Demand Delivery business unit. "We are heavily focused on providing a positive experience through each delivery, ensuring a safe, convenient, and fairly priced dining experience to all who use and rely on our services."

To manage the millions of orders coming in each day, Meituan-Dianping created and launched its proprietary "O2O Real-Time Logistic Dispatch System" which provides a "Super Brain" engine for all those involved in the supply and delivery chain.

With hundreds of millions of historical order data, billions of delivery routes traveled, and tens of millions of different kinds of customer and merchant data, Meituan-Dianping's dispatch system embraces big data analysis to generate the most efficient delivery route in less than 100 milliseconds. The "O2O Real-Time Logistic Dispatch System" gives Meituan-Dianping the power to complete a delivery within approximately 28 minutes on average.

"Our data shows that three out of every 10 Chinese consumers order food delivery. It has become the third most popular dining option, behind home-cooked meals and restaurant dining," continued Mr. Wang. "The speed of delivering these meals to our customers is of integral importance to Meituan-Dianping but we also place a deep focus in delivering a trustworthy experience through our high standards for food quality compliance. Partnering with local food safety authorities, we have developed strict food safety guidelines and systems, and monitor all merchants to ensure that each is abiding by our business ideals and commercial requirements."

In addition to speed of delivery and food safety, quality merchant relationships and a diversified offering serve as additional cornerstones to the Company's success in the sector. Meituan-Dianping has formed strategic partnerships with more than 50,000 restaurant chains through China, including KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Xibei, Jinbaiwan, Dayali, Meizhou Dongpo, Yoshinoya, and more. In addition to food and beverage, groceries, fresh fruit and vegetable, desserts, and flowers have also been made available on the Company's On-Demand Delivery platform. Recently, Meituan-Dianping also started an errands business to meet personalized user needs in more than 20 cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Changzhou, Jinan, Xiamen, and others.

About Meituan-Diangping

Meituan-Dianping is a world leading online-to-offline (O2O) local life service platform, connecting more than 240 million consumers and five million local merchants through a comprehensive array of e-commerce services and products.

The Company's platform aims to raise the dining experiences and improve overall standards of living for consumers through its dominant leadership in more than 200 service and product categories, including dining, on-demand delivery, hotel & travel, beauty, family & kids, and leisure in more than 2,800 cities and counties throughout China.

Utilizing technology and innovative products, Meituan-Dianping continues to empower local business and enhance consumers' lifestyle.

For enquiries, please contact:

Meituan-Dianping

Jane Zuo

Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

FTI Consulting, Inc.

Joanna Jiang

Phone: +86 10-8540-7118

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Meituan-Dianping
NEW YORK, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mizuho Americas today announced that it will host its first Energy Infrastructure Summit from April 2-4 at The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, California. The event will bring together a select group of leading energy C-suite executives and MLP management teams to address trends and corporate developments within the energy sector.

Led by Brian Zarahn, Mizuho Securities USA (MSUSA) MLP and Natural Gas equity research analyst, the three-day summit will include a thematic lunch panel on pressing issues and developments in energy infrastructure and allow for one-on-one executive meetings and networking. MSUSA Oil and Gas Exploration & Production equity research analyst Timothy Rezvan will join Zarahn on the panel to provide insight on the upstream sector.

"The depth of expertise of our equity team in energy allows us to provide this hands-on service to clients, and deliver access to timely, unique insight into the dynamic trends and developments shaping near- and long-term opportunities in the sector," said Matt DeSalvo, Head of Equities, Mizuho Americas.

The Energy Infrastructure Summit follows a handful of investor conferences hosted by Mizuho Americas over the past year. The inaugural Global Mizuho Investor Conference (MIC), NY was held in November 2016 and will again take place this December 4-5. The conference brings Mizuho's clients together with key decision-makers and executives across the energy, financials, healthcare, industrials, REITs, TMT, consumer and utilities sectors in a one-on-one setting.

For more information, please contact Mizuho Americas Corporate Access at [email protected].

About Mizuho Americas

Mizuho Americas is a leading financial institution comprising several legal entities, which together offer clients corporate and investment banking, financing, securities, treasury services, asset management, research and more. With professionals in offices throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Chile, Mizuho's operations in the Americas connect a broad client base of major corporations, financial institutions and public sector groups to local markets and a vast global network. Learn more at mizuhoamericas.com

Mizuho Americas is an integral part of the Japan-based Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: MFG). Mizuho Financial Group is one of the largest financial institutions in the world, offering comprehensive financial and strategic services including private banking and venture capital through its subsidiaries. The group has over 900 offices and 56,000 employees worldwide in nearly 40 countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and Asia. At the end of 2016, its total assets were $1.8 trillion. Learn more about Mizuho Financial Group at mizuho-fg.co.jp/english.

SOURCE Mizuho Americas
SEATTLE, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Modumetal, the leading developer and manufacturer of the class of metals materials known as nanolaminates, today announced that its CEO, Christina Lomasney, will present the company latest technical paper at CORROSION 2017, the world's largest corrosion conference and exposition. In the presentation, Modumetal will unveil findings from laboratory and field trials of its nanolaminated zinc-nickel alloy fasteners using a modified version of the ASTM D610 standards. Results demonstrate that Modumetal's nanolaminated material outperforms existing and emerging coating technologies in corrosion resistance across a variety of conditions, from the laboratory to the field.

Using its patented nano-lamination technology, Modumetal has demonstrated an entirely new class of metals and materials. In contrast to traditional heat-based production techniques, Modumetals are made using a patented, electrochemically controlled deposition process to produce bulk metals and metal coatings that yield superior performance characteristics. In this case, fasteners were coated in a zinc-based nanolaminate to enable significantly-improved corrosion resistance when compared to conventional galvanize, cadmium, zinc phosphate with poly-tetra fluoroethylene (PTFE) and other coating systems. In addition to extensive laboratory testing performed by DNV-GL, field trials of the product were independently carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard, ConocoPhillips and others. The company has made the fastener-coating product broadly available through online sales, with particularly compelling applications in offshore oil and gas operations.

"It's an honor to present our newest results in front of industry thought leaders and pioneers at CORROSION 2017," said Lomasney. "Pushing the bounds of innovation to build better infrastructure is crucial, both in the U.S. and abroad. By creating new production processes and materials to enhance corrosion resistance in various environments, we are doing our part to create lasting infrastructure for the future."

Modumetal is exhibiting at CORROSION 2017, at booth #2846. Members of the Modumetal team will be on site throughout the week to discuss both the findings from the paper and other advances in nanolaminated materials.

About Modumetal

Modumetal, Inc. of Seattle, WA, is pioneering the manufacture of a new class of nanolaminated metals with applications across a range of industries including energy, infrastructure, aerospace and automotive. Modumetal's patented manufacturing approach uses electricity, rather than heat, as its primary energy input, enabling near room temperature operations and unlocking unprecedented materials performance at competitive costs. Modumetal has established partnerships with leading oil and gas, aerospace and technology companies. The company's partners include organizations in the Middle East region, including Oman and Saudi Arabia, as well as stakeholders from Founders Fund, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Steel Dynamics and others. To learn more, please visit www.modumetal.com.

SOURCE Modumetal, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.modumetal.com


The infographic then introduces users to their individualized college shopper persona, such as the Career Climber or the Knowledge Nomad. Once they are matched, users can explore key insights on their concerns and additional questions they should consider when looking for the right college.

To explore the Rasmussen College Smart Shopper's Guide to Going Back to College and discover your college shopper persona, please visit: http://www.rasmussen.edu/resources/infographic-going-back-to-college-guide/.

"Today, more than ever, people have access to hundreds of resources or more when looking to make a large purchase or considering a big decision. Making a decision as life-changing as returning to college is no different," said Dwayne Bertotto, vice president of Admissions and Student Experience at Rasmussen College. "In fact, according to Google, 51 percent of prospective students spend over a year researching their college options. It is crucial prospective students weigh all of their options in order to find the right fit for them, whether they are just starting out or returning to finish a degree they previously started."

Rasmussen College commissioned this guide to address common concerns people may have about returning to college and to help streamline the decision-making process.

To share The Smart Shopper's Guide to Going Back to College and help others with their college search, click here.

To learn more about Rasmussen College, please visit http://www.rasmussen.edu/.

ABOUT RASMUSSEN COLLEGE:

Rasmussen College is a regionally accredited private college and Public Benefit Corporation that is dedicated to changing lives and the communities it serves through high-demand, and flexible educational programs. Since 1900, the College has been committed to academic innovation and providing a high standard of education while empowering students to pursue a college degree. Rasmussen College offers certificate and diploma programs through associate's, bachelor's and master's degree programs online and across its 22 Midwest and Florida campuses. A pioneer in online education, the College is helping lead advancements in innovations such as competency-based education and comprehensive student support services that help working adults advance their careers. The College is also committed to providing a positive impact on society through public service and a variety of community-based initiatives. For more information about Rasmussen College, please visit www.rasmussen.edu.

Contact: Molly Andersen

Phone: 952-844-5647

Mobile: 903-920-4366

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Rasmussen College

Related Links

http://www.rasmussen.edu


BEACHWOOD, Ohio, March 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- OMNOVA Solutions (NYSE: OMN) will hold its conference call to discuss first quarter 2017 results on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at 11:00am ET. The call will be hosted by OMNOVA Solutions' President and Chief Executive Officer Anne Noonan, and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Paul DeSantis. OMNOVA will release earnings before the market opens on March 29 for the quarter ending February 28, 2017.

The call will be webcast and participants may log on from OMNOVA's website at www.omnova.com. OMNOVA will archive the call on its website until noon ET, April 18, 2017. Or, to listen to a digitized telephone replay (1:00pm ET, March 29 until 11:59pm ET, April 18, 2017), callers should dial:

(USA) 800-475-6701, Access Code 420270

(Int'l) 320-365-3844, Access Code 420270

OMNOVA Solutions Inc. is a global innovator of performance-enhancing chemistries and surfaces used in products for a variety of commercial, industrial and residential applications. As a strategic business-to-business supplier, OMNOVA provides The Science in Better Brands, with emulsion polymers, specialty chemicals, and functional and decorative surfaces that deliver critical performance attributes to top brand-name, end-use products sold around the world. OMNOVA's sales for the last 12 months ended November 30, 2016, were $760 million. The Company has a global workforce of approximately 2,000. Visit OMNOVA Solutions on the internet at www.omnova.com.

SOURCE OMNOVA Solutions Inc.

Related Links

http://www.omnova.com


Day of Giving is the culmination of Jersey Mike's 7th Annual Month of Giving fundraising campaign in March, supporting nearly 150 local charities across the nation. Partners include schools, hospitals, youth organizations, food banks and more. For a list of participating restaurants and charity partners, please visit www.jerseymikes.com/mog/charities .

Last year's Month of Giving initiative raised more than $4 million for local charities nationwide and the company hopes to raise even more this year. (See new commercial)

As part of the campaign, Jersey Mike's, known for its authentic fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs, has collected donations from customers all month.

"On March 29, Day of Giving, we give to give by donating 100 percent of sales to our nearly 150 partner charities nationwide," said Peter Cancro, founder and CEO, Jersey Mike's. "The opportunities to give are all around us so please seek out your opportunity to give and make a difference in someone's life."

The more you order, the more Jersey Mike's gives. Proceeds from every single sale including subs, chips, drinks and catering orders go to the charities this Wednesday.

"Givingmaking a difference in someone's life" has been the mission of Jersey Mike's from the beginning. Since 2010, Jersey Mike's locations throughout the country have raised more than $20 million for worthy local charities and have distributed more than 1.5 million free sub sandwiches to help numerous causes.

For more information about Jersey Mike's Month of Giving, please visit: www.jerseymikes.com/mog

About Jersey Mike's

Jersey Mike's, a fast-casual sub sandwich franchise with more than 1,500 locations open and under development nationwide, believes that making a sub sandwich and making a difference can be one and the same. Jersey Mike's offers A Sub Above, serving authentic fresh sliced subs on freshly baked bread  the same recipe it started with in 1956  and is passionate about giving back to its local communities. For more information, please visit www.jerseymikes.com or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/jerseymikes) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/jerseymikes).

Contact: Kyle Potvin, [email protected], 917-838-4500

SOURCE Jersey Mike's Subs

Related Links

http://www.jerseymikes.com


Leveraging a cloud-based technology platform, the alliance aims to give insurers complete control over customer document creation processes across the policy lifecycle

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- OneShield Software (www.OneShield.com), a leading provider of core business software solutions to financial services companies and GhostDraft (www.GhostDraft.com), an innovator in document automation and customer communications, are pleased to announce they have formalized an alliance focused on driving implementation costs down while improving integration timeframes for joint customers.

"More and more insurers are adopting 'As-A-Service' offerings that increase the expectation of expedited implementation timeframes" said Liza Smith, SVP Global Sales and Marketing for OneShield. "This relationship allows us to provide end-to-end solutions, in the cloud, that help address traditional time-to-market implementation challenges."

OneShield's policy administration suite will leverage a pre-built integration framework to GhostDraft's comprehensive, cloud-based customer communications management solution (CCM). This enables clients to transform their customer experience with dynamic and responsive customer communication generation and management.

"We are thrilled OneShield chose us to offer their clients a more enhanced way to correspond and interact with customers," said Kurt Jackson, Executive Vice President of GhostDraft. "Our cloud-based system is scalable to meet the needs of all carriers, regardless of size, as well as expand throughout the enterprise."

The integration of GhostDraft with OneShield's solutions will give business users complete control over documents, empowering them to efficiently manage thousands of templates, simplify forms libraries and personalize correspondence management from a centralized system. For insurers in fast-paced environments, this helps ensure documents are created with consistent messaging and branding while delivering clear, relevant, and actionable customer communications.

About OneShield

OneShield Software delivers core business software solutions to the global insurance and broader financial services industry, deployed in the cloud or on premise. Our portfolio of standalone, subscription and cloud-based software products include enterprise-class policy management, billing, claims, rating, product configuration, business intelligence, and analytics solutions that leverage a tool-based open architecture and single data model platform to streamline your business. OneShield Software automates and simplifies the complexities of core systems with targeted solutions, seamless upgrades, collaborative implementations, and lower total cost of ownership.

With corporate headquarters in Marlborough, MA, and offices in India, Canada, and Australia, OneShield, Inc. has a total of 46 products in production across the P&C and Life insurance markets.

Ready to transform your business? It starts with a conversation. Connect with us at OneShield.com or call 774.348.1000.

About GhostDraft

GhostDraft transforms the customer experience with dynamic and responsive customer communication generation and management. Leveraging years of domain expertise, GhostDraft creates regulatory compliant documents so you can focus on key customer centric communication. Be a game changer - interconnect personalized customer communication with the ultimate customer experience to digitally transform your organization. With GhostDraft, you will love your documents. Visit GhostDraft.com or call 855.776.2016 to learn more.

SOURCE OneShield Software

Related Links

http://www.oneshield.com


BELLEVUE, Wash., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Paul Gauguin Cruises (www.pgcruises.com), operator of the highest-rated and longest continually sailing luxury cruise ship in the South Pacific, the m/s Paul Gauguin, debuts its new 2018 Voyages brochure featuring Tahiti, French Polynesia, and South Pacific itineraries.

The brochure presents sailings by The Gauguin, which offers an elegant yet casual ambiance, luxurious accommodations, gourmet dining, trademark Polynesian hospitality, and extraordinary all-inclusive value. Cruise itineraries, The Gauguin experience, adventures by land and sea, private retreats, dining venues, special guests, deck plans, and 2018 sailing schedule are also highlighted. To view the brochure online, please click here.

In 2018, Paul Gauguin Cruises will be the first cruise line to visit the port city of Vairao in Tahiti Iti, which is the smaller of two landmasses that comprise the island of Tahiti and offers a wild coastline, ancient petroglyphs, marae (temples), Polynesian culture, and surfing fame. Tahiti Iti is scheduled on 7-night Society Islands & Tahiti Iti voyages and a special sailing of the 10-night Society Islands & Tuamotus itinerary.

The Gauguin will also be showcasing its most sought-after itineraries in 2018: the 7-night Tahiti & the Society Islands, 10-night Society Islands & Tuamotus, 11-night Cook Islands & Society Islands, and 14-night Marquesas, Tuamotus & Society Islands.

Designed specifically to sail the pristine lagoons of these islands, The Gauguin provides an up-close, authentic experience of the South Seas. On all sailings, guests also receive complimentary access to Paul Gauguin Cruises' two exclusive retreats. Off the coast of Taha'a lies the islet of Motu Mahana, where guests can enjoy a day of watersports, Polynesian activities, a sumptuous barbecue feast, and cocktails from full and floating bars. In Bora Bora, guests can relax on a private, white-sand beach and enjoy refreshments, a game of volleyball, and snorkeling and paddleboarding in crystal-clear waters.

Again in 2018, Paul Gauguin Cruises' partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) offers two interactive, educational programs to enrich guests' experience. During the summer months and holiday season, Stewards of Nature is offered and invites children ages 7 to 17, as well as their families, to discover and value nature through hands-on interactive learning. The Wildlife Discovery Series is an onboard lecture program focusing on the environment and wildlife of our planet presented by some of the world's most fascinating conservationists, scientists, and oceanographers.

Paul Gauguin Cruises is offering savings of 50% off standard all-inclusive cruise fares on all 2018 voyages, plus included roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles. For a brochure, rates, or more information on Paul Gauguin Cruises, please contact a Travel Professional, call 800-848-6172, or visit www.pgcruises.com.

About Paul Gauguin Cruises

Owned by Pacific Beachcomber S.C., French Polynesia's leading luxury hotel and cruise operator, Paul Gauguin Cruises operates the 5+-star cruise ship, the 332-guest m/s Paul Gauguin, providing a deluxe cruise experience tailored to the unparalleled wonders of Tahiti, French Polynesia, Fiji, and the South Pacific. Paul Gauguin Cruises accolades include being voted #2 in the category of "Top Small Cruise Lines" in the Conde Nast Traveler 2016 Readers' Choice Awards and recognition on the publication's 2016 "Gold List." In addition, the line was voted by Travel + Leisure readers "#1 Small-Ship Cruise Line" and "#1 Small-Ship Cruise Line for Families" in the Travel + Leisure 2014 World's Best Awards. Recently, readers voted Paul Gauguin Cruises "#1 Midsize-Ship Ocean Cruise Line" in the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards 2016.

Media Contact:

Paul Gauguin Cruises

Vanessa Bloy, Director of Public Relations

(425) 440-6255

[email protected]

From Travel + Leisure, August 2016 2016 Time Inc. Affluent Media Group. Used under license. Travel + Leisure and Time Inc. Affluent Media Group are not affiliated with, and do not endorse products or services of Paul Gauguin Cruises.

SOURCE Paul Gauguin Cruises

Related Links

http://www.pgcruises.com


HARRISBURG, Pa., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, along with the Department of Community and Economic Development, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District Silver Jackets team, will host three regional flood proofing workshops across western Pennsylvania next month. The informational workshops are intended for the general public as well as local elected and community officials.

These events will give attendees an opportunity to learn about the different types of nonstructural flood proofing techniques from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Nonstructural Flood Proofing Committee. The discussion will include topics such as elevating buildings, wet and dry flood proofing and relocation/acquisition.

The times for all workshops will be the same at each location. An afternoon workshop will be conducted for community officials from 1 to 4:30 p.m.; the public is invited to attend an evening workshop session from 7 until 9 p.m.

Dates and locations are as follows:

April 4: Green Tree Municipal Building, 10 West Manilla Ave., Green Tree, PA 15220

April 5: Butler County EMA Office, 120 McCune Drive, Butler, PA 16001

April 6: Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive, Erie, PA 16505

While these events are free, attendance will be limited. To reserve a seat, email [email protected] with the location and session (community officials or public) you would like to attend.

Federal and state representatives will be on hand to discuss other floodplain management topics, such as the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Community Rating System (CRS). Continuing Education Credits are pending approval from ASFPM for floodplain managers who attend.

More information on flood proofing is available at the National Nonstructural Flood Proofing Committee website. For questions regarding the flood proofing workshop, please contact Michael Debes, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, at (412) 395-7327 or [email protected].

American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information: The meeting sites are accessible to persons with disabilities.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ruth Miller  717-651-2009 or [email protected]

SOURCE Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency

Related Links

http://www.state.pa.us/


DUBLIN, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Perrigo Company plc (NYSE; TASE: PRGO), a leading global provider of Quality Affordable Healthcare Products, today announced it has completed the divestiture of its rights to the royalty stream from global net sales of the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri (natalizumab) to RPI Finance Trust, an affiliate of Royalty Pharma ("RPI"). The transaction comprises a total consideration of $2.2 billion in cash and up to $650 million in royalties earned if global net sales of Tysabri meet specific thresholds in 2018 and 2020.

Perrigo's CEO John T. Hendrickson stated, "Today's announcement marks the successful outcome of our strategic alternatives process for the Tysabri royalty stream. This divestiture enables the Company to create additional flexibility for growth and maintain its investment grade commitment, while focusing on operational execution in our consumer-facing and Rx businesses. Completing this sale is a positive action step in our ongoing portfolio review. The Perrigo Board of Directors and I will continue to make decisions to create value and deliver on our mission of providing Quality, Affordable Healthcare Products to consumers around the globe."

Under the terms of the agreement, RPI will acquire all of Perrigo's rights to receive Tysabri royalty payments from and after January 1, 2017, which Perrigo has under an agreement with Biogen, Inc.

Perrigo will update its 2017 guidance after the Company files its 2016 Form 10-K with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Perrigo

Perrigo Company plc, a leading global healthcare company, delivers value to its customers and consumers by providing Quality Affordable Healthcare Products. Founded in 1887 as a packager of home remedies, Perrigo has built a unique business model that is best described as the convergence of a fast-moving consumer goods company, a high-quality pharmaceutical manufacturing organization and a world-class supply chain network. Perrigo is the world's largest manufacturer of over-the-counter ("OTC") healthcare products and supplier of infant formulas for the store brand market. The Company also is a leading provider of branded OTC products throughout Europe and the U.S., as well as a leading producer of "extended topical" prescription drugs. Perrigo, headquartered in Ireland, sells its products primarily in North America and Europe, as well as in other markets, including Australia, Israel and China. 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 completion of announced acquisitions or dispositions, the ability to execute and achieve the desired benefits of announced initiatives, and the timing, amount and cost of share repurchases. In addition, the Company may identify and be unable to remediate 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 be unable to regain 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


PENNSAUKEN, N.J., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Vology, the Managed IT Solutions Provider, is honored to announce that Vital Network Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vology, Inc. that provides international network support services representing some of the largest and most widely known corporate brands, has been named one of the Top Workplaces 2017  Small Companies, by Philly.com.

The Top Workplaces lists are based solely on results of an employee feedback survey administered by WorkplaceDynamics, LLC, a leading research firm that specializes in health and workplace improvement. Several aspects of workplace culture were measured, including Alignment, Execution and Connection, just to name a few.

"This recognition is a testament of our impeccable culture," said Barry Shevlin, CEO of Vology. "Thank you to the employees at Vital's regional office who completed the survey. This honor shows our dedication to providing an environment in which our employees would want to spend time every day. For years, Vology's Tampa Bay headquarters has received this same honor. But this award from Philly.com is reassurance that employees in our other markets are just as excited about where they work."

"The recognition of our team as a Top Workplace in the Philadelphia area is a true honor," said Keith Archibald, CTO of Vology. "This is an excellent validation of the team work and esprit de corps that is the essence of our company culture. Great companies are made up of great people, and we are blessed with an amazing team focused on serving our customers and the entire Philadelphia area community."

Philly.com recognized just 125 companies and organizations in the Delaware Valley as 2017's Top Workplaces in three categories.

"The Top Workplaces award is not a popularity contest. And oftentimes, people assume it's all about fancy perks and benefits," said Doug Claffey, CEO of WorkplaceDynamics. "But to be a Top Workplace, organizations must meet our strict standards for organizational health. And who better to ask about work life than the people who live the culture every day  the employees. Time and time again, our research has proven that what's most important to them is a strong belief in where the organization is headed, how it's going to get there, and the feeling that everyone is in it together."

The complete 2017 Top Workplaces list is featured online at www.Philly.com and www.TopWorkplaces.com

Follow Vology: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook

About Vology

Vology is a Managed IT Service Provider that currently monitors, manages and maintains more than 100,000 devices at more than 20,000 customer locations through its two geographically redundant, U.S.-based, 24/7/365 Network Operations Centers and its network of more than 2,000 field engineers across the continental United States. Vology, an Inc. 5000-ranked fastest growing private company for 11 consecutive years, is headquartered in Clearwater, Florida. Vology employs more than 400 people across the United States, 50 percent of whom are technical resources.

https://www.vology.com/

Company Contact:

Trent Brock

Vology

(727) 281-4536

[email protected]

About WorkplaceDynamics, LLC

Headquartered in Exton, Penn., WorkplaceDynamics specializes in employee feedback surveys and workplace improvement. This year alone, more than two million employees in over 6,000 organizations will participate in the Top Workplaces campaigna program it conducts in partnership with more than 40 prestigious media partners across the United States. Workplace Dynamics also provides consulting services to improve employee engagement and organizational health. WorkplaceDynamics is a founding B Corporation member, a coalition of organizations that are leading a global movement to redefine success in business by offering a positive vision of a better way to do business.

http://www.workplacedynamics.com

SOURCE Vology

Related Links

https://www.vology.com


SAN MATEO, Calif., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Phoenix Venture Partners LLC (PVP) announced today that it has officially closed its new flagship venture capital fund, PVP II LP. The Fund's limited partners are composed of sophisticated financial institutions, family offices, and leading multinational corporations (strategic investors). PVP II LP's strategic investors include a who's who of market leaders in their respective industries, including Pfizer Inc., 3M, Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW), Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN), Solvay Group S.A., Showa Denko K. K. (TSE:4004), and W. L. Gore & Associates.

As the leading venture capital firm focused on Advanced Materials, PVP is known by entrepreneurs and corporations globally. PVP forges deep partnerships with its strategic investors and works closely with them to identify attractive market opportunities.

Following on the PVP partners' successful track record, PVP II LP will focus exclusively on investing in start-ups developing breakthrough Advanced Materials innovations. As in its prior fund PVP I LP, PVP will work with a limited number of leading corporations from different value chain positions, geographies, and industries to identify industrial opportunities and to vet "best in class" start-up technologies. PVP's partners also work closely with entrepreneurs, leveraging their domain experience as successful inventors, founders, start-up operators, and C-level executives.

Dr. John T. Chen, Managing General Partner of PVP, commented, "We are pleased by the continued support we received from our existing LPs and strong interest in PVP II LP from new investors. The Fund is off to a great start, having already made several new investments."

Dr. Zachariah Jonasson, Managing General Partner of PVP added, "We are excited to be working with both the most innovative multinational corporations and entrepreneurs globally."

About Phoenix Venture Partners LLC



Phoenix Venture Partners LLC is a leading venture capital firm that invests in and partners with entrepreneurs to commercialize breakthrough Advanced Materials innovations. PVP's team has an unparalleled track record of founding, building and investing in successful Advanced Materials start-ups across multiple industrial application areas. The firm's investment strategy is flexible and predicated on assisting entrepreneurs with customer and supply chain partnerships, business development, as well as with strategic and operational support. PVP collaborates with a select set of forward-looking global corporations on business development and open innovation interests. PVP is based in the Silicon Valley with a satellite office in Seattle, WA. For additional information please visit our website at www.phoenix-vp.com.

SOURCE Phoenix Venture Partners LLC

Related Links

http://www.phoenix-vp.com


COARSEGOLD, Calif., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, Osceola Blackwood Ivory Gaming (OBIG) filed a complaint against the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians and the Chukchansi Economic Development Authority in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. While it is the Tribe's policy to not comment on pending litigation, the Tribe is confident this complaint has no merit and will be denied by the Court.

Since resolving the internal Tribal dispute at Chukchansi, numerous companies and individuals have surfaced claiming that they are owed money from the Tribe through previous actions by a different Council. Many of these claims are attempts by unscrupulous companies and individuals trying to cash in on the Tribe's current success. The Tribal government and our lawyers carefully review the legitimacy of each of these claims in order to determine whether they are an actual debt of the Tribe. After our lawyers reviewed the OBIG complaint, it is the Tribe's view that OBIG's lawsuit falls into the illegitimate category of claims against the Tribe.

OBIG was a vendor of the Casino, but they were well compensated for their services. Their lawsuit makes it clear that NOW OBIG wants more money than it was owed and paid; but we are a Tribal government, not an ATM.

This lawsuit is just another one in a series of unfounded and baseless demands made by OBIG and others to attempt to extort money from our Tribe. We will fight it through the courts and we will win.

Any questions regarding this lawsuit should be directed to the Tribe's attorney, John M. Peebles of Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP in Sacramento, California.

SOURCE Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians
NEW YORK, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network  it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/queryform

EXPERT ALERTS

Vision: The Most Critical Quality for Leading through Change

The (Not So) Difficult Role of Board Members

Activating Your Untapped Potential

The Importance of Data in Healthcare Insurance

Modernizing Health Insurance IT

Safety and Security in a Mobile Workforce

Zika and Travel Safety

MEDIA JOBS

Investigative Reporter  Southern Poverty Law Center

Reporter, Product Liability  Reuters

Deputy Editor  AccountingWEB

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

Four Tips: Taxes for Freelancers

12 Best Women's News Sites

The President and Press Freedom: Making the Case for Open Access to Government Information

-------------------------------------------------------------------

EXPERT ALERTS:

Vision: The Most Critical Quality for Leading through Change

Suzanne Bates

CEO

Bates

Boston, MA

"Organizations are facing uncertainty in the year ahead with political, regulatory and socio-economic changes. What kind of leadership is required to keep businesses moving forward through change? Our firm's research and data from over 1,200 global executives reveals that in times of change and challenge, one of the most important, but lowest rated qualities of leaders is Vision. These are among the facets of Executive Presence proven to enable leaders to engage, align, inspire, and drive execution. We can discuss how highly visionary leadership is correlated with success in building credibility and winning followership, and how demonstrating Vision goes beyond the ability to see trends, but to rally others around a credible vision of the future."

Bates is author of four best-selling business books: Speak Like a CEO: Secrets for Commanding Attention and Getting Results (2005), Motivate Like a CEO: Communicate Your Strategic Vision and Inspire People to Act (2008), Discover Your CEO Brand: Secrets to Embracing and Maximizing Your Unique Value as a Leader (2011), and All the Leader You Can Be: The Science of Achieving Extraordinary Executive Presence (2016).

Website: www.bates-communications.com

Media Contact: Meredith Courtney, [email protected]

The (Not So) Difficult Role of Board Members

Laura Otten

Director, Nonprofit Center & Founding Director

Nonprofit Center, La Salle University

Philadelphia, PA

"Board members either don't recognize or don't act with the knowledge that they, not the executive director, are at the top of the organizational chart. They don't realize that they have the responsibility not only to determine how dollars are spent, but also to ensure that those dollars are spent rationally and proportionately to the work, mission and overall budget of the organization. Considering that many board members do something quite similar in their daily lives in managing professional or personal budgets and making spending decisions, this task shouldn't be so difficult."

Otten is available to discuss nonprofits, leadership, governance, and management. She has over 30 years of experience as a consultant and instructor for nonprofits, and is known for her independent thinking and candid responses. Otten is the author of Women's Rights and the Law (Praeger, 1993), and her blog on The Nonprofit Center is read in more than 100 countries.

Website: lasallenonprofitcenter.org

Media Contact: Joan Mintz Ulmer, [email protected]

Activating Your Untapped Potential

Marco LeRoc

Entrepreneur, Speaker, Founder

Marco LeRoc & Co

If you find yourself struggling to live up to your own potential, you are not alone. A staggering 92% of people never reach the goals they set as New Year's resolutions -- let alone other life goals, according to a recent study. So, how can you set the foundation for your success in all areas of your life? LeRoc, a successful entrepreneur and former international student, has elevated living intentionally into an art form and wants to help others live their best possible lives. In order to transform weaknesses into personal success stories, he suggests turning your "What if" questions into "How?" Says LeRoc: "To be competitive, one needs to promote himself or herself. Start by taking a look at your personal brand. Google yourself and see what comes up. If not, someone else will!"

LeRoc recently published "Activate Your Untapped Potential," an essential growth-planning guide for anyone wanting to step out of their comfort zones and get out of their own way. He is an accomplished speaker with notable engagements, including Stanford University, Creighton University, University of Nebraska at Omaha, and many national conferences. Some of his most requested topics include: Turning Adversity into Advantage, How to Live Intentionally, Secrets to Achieving Your Goals, Why Making an Impact Matters, and Why Time Is Still Your Best Asset. He is based in Nebraska.

Website: http://www.marcoleroc.com

Contact: Penny Sansevieri, [email protected]

The Importance of Data in Healthcare Insurance

Syed Haider

Senior Architect

X by 2, LLC

Detroit, MI

It's important for healthcare payers and providers to understand and utilize the right data analytics and technology strategies. Says Haider: "In today's ultra-competitive health insurance landscape, the quality of one's data is akin to an information-based competitive advantage. That's because it's not just the data itself that provides actionable and profitable insights, it's also all the other ancillary costs embedded in poor data quality in an insurer."

Haider's work has been published in Health Data Management, Health IT Outcomes, and Insurance Networking News.

Website: http://xby2.com/

Media Contact: Audra Wait, [email protected]

Modernizing Health Insurance IT

Dave Packer

Principal

X by 2, LLC

When planning and implementing core insurance systems and strategic business applications, don't always take the easy route. Says Packer: "To fight the cultural and political instincts to take the easier modernization road, remember to keep the opposite in mind, at least as a mental exercise. For many insurers, that would mean honestly assessing how some of the simple yet effective tools in the IT toolbox are actually practiced. Good examples of this are IT disciplines like enterprise architecture and agile software development."

Packer's most recent work, "The Key to Modernization? Do the Opposite," was published in Insurance Technology Association Pro; he has also been published in Insurance Networking News, Tech Pro Research, and PropertyCasualty360.

Website: http://xby2.com/

Media Contact: Audra Wait, [email protected]

Safety and Security in a Mobile Workforce

Matthew Bradley

Regional Security Director, Americas

International SOS and Control Risks

The safety and security of employees travelling on business, as well as the overall mobile workforce, should be a top priority for businesses. Bradley is available to discuss these topics. Says Bradley: "The reality is there are risks everywhere in the world. Understanding what those risks are, and then taking appropriate precautions is the best way to support your staff, enable business growth and deliver on duty of care."

Bradley has more than 17 years of experience in physical and technical security, business continuity, health and safety, crisis management, fraud investigation and strategic analysis with twelve years of experience in Latin America with the CIA.

Website: www.internationalsos.com

Media Contact: Teresa Delaney, [email protected]

Zika and Travel Safety

Dr. Myles Druckman

SVP/Medical Director

International SOS

"It's important that companies understand how Zika and other evolving heath threats impact their staff that are stationed or traveling abroad," asserts Dr. Druckman, a leading expert in pandemic preparedness. "Zika-affected locations are expanding; especially in the 102 countries where the CDC has added or modified travel restrictions, and employees and their families should be aware of what the recommendations and restrictions are, and take them seriously."

Dr. Druckman is a World Economic Forum "Global Leader of Tomorrow," member of TED, and board member of WaterAid. His extensive international healthcare experience includes the development of western medical facilities in Beijing, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kiev. He also has experience consulting to major fortune 500 companies, and managing global emergencies.

Website: www.internationalsos.com

Media Contact: Teresa Delaney, [email protected]

****************

MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

Investigative Reporter  Southern Poverty Law Center

Reporter, Product Liability  Reuters

Deputy Editor  AccountingWEB

*****************

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

FOUR TIPS: TAXES FOR FREELANCERS. To the outside world, it would appear freelancing offers many advantages. But the reality is there's a ton of discipline that goes along with this lifestyle, and at no other time is this more apparent than tax season. http://bit.ly/2nnqMnf

12 BEST WOMEN'S NEWS SITES. With Women's History Month just about to wrap, here are some of our favorite news sites that inform on women, and keep women informed. http://bit.ly/2naeXjB

THE PRESIDENT AND PRESS FREEDOM: MAKING THE CASE FOR OPEN ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION. When it comes to covering government officials, there's one person who holds the key to access: The communications officer. Press secretaries and communications officers are the gatekeepers to their principals. Sometimes, they monitor interviews; they also may select those who will be handed a story. Access control isn't new, but the manner and tone in which it's being carried out in today's White House is different. http://bit.ly/2mZJa7B

****************

PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire.

SOURCE ProfNet

Related Links

http://www.profnet.com


(Adds details, background)

BEIRUT, March 27 (Reuters) - Lebanon's cabinet has approved the country's first budget since 2005, state news agency NNA reported on Monday, citing Information Minister Melhem Riachy and adding that further details would be released on Thursday.

The budget, which Riachy said envisages a reduction in the deficit, will not become law until it is also approved by the country's parliament. He said the cabinet approved the budget unanimously.

The government's failure to pass a budget for 12 years has been a result of crippling political differences between major power blocs after the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri.

Parliament's election of Michel Aoun as president in October ended a 2-1/2-year power vacuum and led to the formation of a new government in December with Hariri's son Saad al-Hariri as prime minister.

Lebanon's economy, already hampered by low investment and poor infrastructure, has been battered since 2011 by the war in Syria, its dominant neighbour, which has brought more than a million refugees, increasing the population by about a third.

An International Monetary Fund report warned in January that the country needed a "sustained and balanced fiscal adjustment", without which its public debt burden, already one of the highest in the world, would continue to rise.

Hariri said in an emailed statement that cabinet discussions that took place on Monday included a deficit target that was "substantially reduced".

The government has also been examining in a separate measure proposals for a rise in public sector pay scales, expected to cost about $800 million, and a range of new taxes.

(Reporting by Angus McDowall; Editing by Catherine Evans)
TSX: ELD NYSE: EGO

VANCOUVER, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Eldorado Gold Corporation will release its Q1 2017 Financial and Operational Results after the market closes on Thursday April 27, 2017 and will host a conference call on Friday April 28, 2017 at 8:30 am PT (11:30 AM ET). The call will be webcast and can be accessed at Eldorado Gold's website: www.eldoradogold.com

Conference Call Details Replay (available until May 12, 2017)



Date: Friday April 28, 2017 Toronto: 416 849 0833 Time: 8:30 am PT (11:30 am ET) Toll Free: 1 855 859 2056 Dial in: 647 427 7450 Pass code: 92644727 Toll free: 1 888 231 8191



About Eldorado Gold

Eldorado is a leading low cost gold producer with mining, development and exploration operations in Turkey, China, Greece, Romania, Serbia and Brazil. The Company's success to date is based on a low cost strategy, a highly skilled and dedicated workforce, safe and responsible operations, and long-term partnerships with the communities where it operates. Eldorado's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: ELD) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: EGO).

SOURCE Eldorado Gold Corporation
In its letter, Red Mountain references meetings and communications that they have had with the management and board of Deckers over the past two years with respect to Red Mountain's proposals to rationalize the Company's retail store network, streamline its brand portfolio, right-size its cost structure, optimize its balance sheet, and align its executive compensation with shareholder value creation. Red Mountain is now calling upon the board to explore a sale of the Company because they believe that the value of a sale to a strategic or financial buyer is substantially higher than the risk-adjusted value of the standalone operating plan announced by management on February 2, 2017. Red Mountain believes that a publicly announced sale process would address the full universe of potential buyers for the Company and restore shareholders' confidence that the board is acting in their best interests.

The full text of the letter can be found at:

http://files.newswire.ca/1405/Letter_to_Chairman.pdf

About Red Mountain Capital Partners LLC

Red Mountain was established in January 2005 by Willem Mesdag, a former partner at Goldman, Sachs & Co., to invest primarily in undervalued small cap companies and to enhance and realize shareholder value through active ownership. Red Mountain's approach to such investments is to actively engage with management teams and boards of directors in a constructive manner to unlock value for the benefit of all shareholders. Red Mountain partners have extensive experience and a successful track record of enhancing value at portfolio companies through a combination of refocusing strategy, improving operational execution, more efficiently allocating capital and upgrading corporate governance, and currently serve on the boards of five public companies in which Red Mountain's managed funds have substantial ownership stakes.

SOURCE Red Mountain Capital Partners LLC
WALTHAM, Mass., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rocket Software (www.rocketsoftware.com) today announced the addition of four senior members to its Waltham-based leadership team. This follows the company's announcement of Tom Brigiotta, the newest Senior Vice President and first-ever Chief Revenue Officer, in August 2016. Tom and his team are responsible for enhancing the company's relationships with thousands of customers and partners around the world. Tom's leadership team now includes:

Joe Martin , Regional Vice President of Sales in the Northeastern United States and Latin America  formerly Senior Director of Enterprise Sales at Kaspersky Lab and Enterprise Sales Manager at Sophos

, Regional Vice President of Sales in the and  formerly Senior Director of Enterprise Sales at Kaspersky Lab and Enterprise Sales Manager at Sophos Chip Salyards , Vice President of Sales Specialization, Sales Engineering, and Sales Enablement  formerly Senior Advisor for PROOF

, Vice President of Sales Specialization, Sales Engineering, and Sales Enablement  formerly Senior Advisor for PROOF Allen Schweitzer , Vice President of Inside Sales  formerly Advisor to Predictive HR

, Vice President of Inside Sales  formerly Advisor to Predictive HR Paul O'Brien , Vice President of Channel Sales  formerly RVP of Global Systems integrators at Hortonworks

"My leadership group and I couldn't be more excited about joining Rocket," says Brigiotta. "The company is about to celebrate its 27th anniversary, and after meeting many of our customers and partners over the last few months, I can say our future has never been brighter. With my team in place, I will be able to meet many more of you, and I'm confident the sales organization I've built reflects Rocket's core values and current size and growth trajectory."

About Rocket Software

Rocket Software (www.rocketsoftware.com) is a technology company that helps organizations in the IBM ecosystem build solutions that meet today's needs while extending the value of their technology investments for the future. Thousands of companies depend on Rocket to solve their most challenging business problems by helping them run their existing infrastructure and data, as well as extend those assets to take advantage of cloud, mobile, analytics, and other future innovations. Founded in 1990, Rocket is based in Waltham, Massachusetts with locations in Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Press Contact:

VerbFactory for Rocket Software

Richard Berman, 415-359-4906

[email protected]

SOURCE Rocket Software

Related Links

http://www.rocketsoftware.com


HEALDSBURG, Calif., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning on Monday, April 3, 2017, wine fans from across the United States will have the opportunity to enter online to be one of three Rodney Strong Vineyards Master Blenders. The winners will be randomly chosen to enjoy an exclusive, educational long weekend in Sonoma County with a guest.

The prize is a unique wine country experience with the Rodney Strong vineyard and winemaking teams. The weekend will kick off with exclusive behind-the-scenes vineyard tours with Winegrower Ryan Decker who will bring the winning pairs to vineyards and locations that visitors to Sonoma County rarely get to experience. Rodney Strong Winemaker Greg Morthole will lead winners through an in-depth understanding of the winemaking process at Rodney Strong, including the creation of our legendary Symmetry Meritage Red Blend. The trip will wrap up with the winners having the opportunity to take what they've learned and create their very own Meritage blend.

Accommodations will be at a four-diamond luxury hotel located in the heart of Healdsburg, just a few miles from the winery. The culinary experience is also something to look forward to. Winners will enjoy meals at some of the top restaurants in Sonoma County as well as ones prepared exclusively for them by Rodney Strong Chef Tara Wachtel using seasonal, locally sourced ingredients.

The Master Blender Sweepstakes is a great opportunity for Rodney Strong fans to learn about the winemaking process behind some of their favorite wines, all the while enjoying the beauty and culinary excellence of Sonoma County.

For more information and to enter the Master Blender Sweepstakes, please go to http://www.RodneyStrong.com/sweepstakes

Rodney Strong Vineyards is dedicated to crafting world-class wines that capture the essence of Sonoma County. Rodney Strong sustainably farms 14 estate vineyards and produces wines from Sonoma County's finest appellations  Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, Chalk Hill, Dry Creek Valley, Knights Valley, Petaluma Gap, and Sonoma Coast. The winery was founded in 1959 by Sonoma County wine pioneer Rodney D. Strong as the 13th bonded winery in the county. It was purchased by the Klein family, a fourth generation California farming family, in 1989. The company aspires to conserve and protect the environment in all its operations through sustainable practices, solar power, and fish friendly farming.

Rodney Strong Vineyards is located at 11455 Old Redwood Highway, off Highway 101 just south of the town of Healdsburg in Sonoma County. The winery is just one hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Learn more at www.RodneyStrong.com.

CONTACT Christopher O'Gorman

Director of Communications

707-433-0998

[email protected]

SOURCE Rodney Strong Vineyards

Related Links

http://www.rodneystrong.com


MANILA, Philippines, March 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The global leading security, fire and safety event portfolio, IFSEC, is expanding its platform to Southeast Asia's most emerging market, the Philippines, from 3-5 May 2017 at the SMX Convention Centre, Pasay City, Metro Manila. With the theme "Providing global innovation and expertise to the emerging security, fire and safety markets of the Philippines", this three-day event will be the best platform for industry players to converge.

The Philippine market is growing significantly with its neighbouring countries. According to the World Bank, the country's GDP is expected to grow 6.4% this year, compared to 5.8% last year. The strong economy resulted from various government projects, including roads and infrastructure construction, which directly affects security, fire and safety by increasing demands. Meanwhile, the government is expected to roll out smart or safe city projects where they could monitor the whole city including traffic situation and others.

With positive development on the market demand, the organiser, United Business Media (UBM) is encouraging manufacturers to take part in the premier edition of IFSEC Philippines. More than 150 world-renowned brands have already confirmed their appearance on the show floor, giving full-access to Philippine industry professionals and trade buyers to the latest technology available in the market.

IFSEC Philippines offers a free seminar for the visitors via IFSEC Technology Showcase. The seminar will feature industry experts and bellwethers addressing important topics such as "The state of the nation (safety and security in the Philippines)", "Business resiliency amidst a changing political, integrity and risk involvement", "Compliance on the data privacy act" and more.

Supported by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Philippines Society for Industrial Security (PSIS), Accommodation Establishment Security & Safety Coordinating (AESSCCI), Mall Security Management Association of the Philippines (MSMAP), Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), Philippine Association of Detective and Protective Agency Operators, Inc. (PADPAO), Asian Professional Security Association (APSA) Philippines Chapter and Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce Philippines (ANZCHAM), and sponsored by Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions Philippines, the premier edition of IFSEC Philippines is expected to attract more than 5,000 trade visitors and professionals from around the nation.

Visitors will enjoy a wide variety of product categories on the show floor. Some of the products available are CCTV (video surveillance), access control and biometrics, fire alarms/detection/protection, cybersecurity, drones, perimeter protection, physical security and other categories, showcasing world-renowned brands such as Nemtek, Allied Telesis, Assa Abloy, Axis Communications, ELID, Fairetech, Internet of Things, Microsoft, Zhejiang Dahua Technology, ZKteco and more!

With all elements and products of security, fire and safety available, IFSEC Philippines 2017 will be the best platform for end-users and channel partners to come together. This is the best opportunity for industry players to build network, meet face-to-face and create business opportunities with experts coming from all around the world.

For more information on IFSEC Philippines 2017, please log on to www.ifsec.events/philippines, contact us at +63-2-581-1915 or email [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].

We hope to see you at IFSEC Philippines 2017 from 3 to 5 May 2017 at the SMX Convention Centre.

Notes to editor:

About UBM Asia (www.ubmasia.com)

Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is the largest trade show organiser in Asia and the largest commercial organiser in China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global network of 30 offices and 1,300 staff in 24 major cities. We operate in 20 market sectors with 230 exhibitions and conferences, 23 trade publications, 20 online products for over 1,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world.

SOURCE UBM Asia (Malaysia)

Related Links

http://www.ubmasia.com


NEW YORK, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time in the media industry, Syracuse University professor Beth Egan and Pointlogic have created a state of the art communication-planning textbook, built in and around a live subscription to the strategic planning tool used by professionals in the US's largest communication planning agencies.

The online book, 'Media Planning Essentials', was launched during the Annual Conference of the American Academy of Advertising and was created to give students a hands-on insight into one of the most sophisticated strategic planning solutions available.

Reaching an agreement with Pointlogic in 2015, Beth Donnelly Egan, Advertising professor at Syracuse University, New York has incorporated Commspoint into her Communication planning course. In order to give students a hands-on approach of the overall communication planning process, Beth Egan has revised the book in 2016, including small assignments and projects. In this way, students will be able to make media planning decisions for specific clients and come up with a recommended channel mix, acquiring the skills of a media planner.

The updated textbook, 'Media Planning Essentials', was published in partnership with Stukent, a courseware company dedicated to higher education digital marketing. Together with the book, students can access a Commspoint license that lasts throughout the semester.

"At this moment, more than 50 clients in North America use Commspoint Influence. Therefore, this unique collaboration between Pointlogic and the academia is not only a gain for the students  who are the future media planners, but also for their potential employers."

"They will have a pool of skilled candidates with hands-on experience utilizing software that they've already incorporated into their internal media planning process," commented Jay Wofsy, Managing Director Pointlogic North America.

"This groundbreaking textbook is a first on many levels. It is the first advertising textbook that takes a digital-first approach to the overall communications planning process, leading students through to an optimal channel mix for clients marketing efforts. It is also the first online media text with bi-annual updates, which ensures the most up-to-date information on the constantly changing media landscape."

"Through an exclusive agreement with Pointlogic, A Nielsen Company, students get the unique opportunity to learn these concepts while gaining valuable experience with the Commspoint channel planner optimizer. As the leading channel planning optimizer used in the industry, this hands-on approach prepares students with the actual skills they will use on the job," commented Beth Egan, Associate Professor at Syracuse University.

Tim Foley, Managing Director of Pointlogic UK, concluded: "The cooperation with Syracuse is a unique opportunity to put the most powerful planning tool available today in the hands of tomorrow's generation of communication planners."

"It is a chance for them to begin to understand the interplay of power, reach and cost and to be immersed in the world of modern planning."

About Commspoint:

Pointlogic Commspoint is a strategic planning solution that helps brands and their agencies identify the optimal communication channel mix for their goods and services. The Commspoint system uses extensive consumer and media expert surveys, as well as the latest data analytics techniques to isolate the best contact points for clients' campaigns. Commspoint understands media capabilities, media usage probabilities, spot duplication patterns, reach and frequency, costs and more, which the software can translate into influence. In other words, brands can see how communications are changing behavior, preference and perceptions towards their product categories.

About Pointlogic, A Nielsen Company:

Pointlogic, A Nielsen Company, provides customised decision-support systems to improve marketing effectiveness. The products are backed by powerful analytical methods, extensive research and (big) data to enhance and enrich customers' marketing tools and processes. The combination of software and analytics allows customers to make more informed strategic and tactical business decisions, ultimately leading to greater ROI. Globally orientated, Pointlogic has product users in more than 80 countries around the globe and supports the decisions of large advertisers, media owners and media agencies, both on a tactical and strategic level. Together with Nielsen, Pointlogic delves deeper into the market to provide the key insights that businesses need to achieve campaign success.

Contact:

Jay Wofsy - Managing Director Pointlogic North America

Tel.: +1 212 683 2330

E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]

SOURCE Pointlogic

Related Links

http://www.pointlogic.com


PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Systemax Inc. (NYSE: SYX) today announced it has executed a definitive agreement with a management team backed by Hilco Capital Limited ("Hilco") to sell all of its unprofitable European Technology Products Group businesses. Systemax will retain its highly profitable operations in France. This action focuses the Company's ongoing operations on its profitable Industrial Products Group ("IPG") and France businesses. The sale transaction closed on Friday, March 24, 2017.

With the completion of this transaction, Systemax operates two highly successful, growing and profitable businesses: IPG, its North American MRO business operating primarily under the Global Industrial brand, and its France technology Value Added Reseller business operating primarily under the Inmac Wstore brand. During 2016 these ongoing businesses, inclusive of corporate charges, generated revenue of $1.1 billion and over $38 million in operating income. In 2016, IPG generated revenue of $715.6 million and operating income of $34.3 million, and the France business generated revenue of $417.2 million and operating income of $19.2 million.

Larry Reinhold, Chief Executive Officer, said, "In the past year we have significantly streamlined our Company by exiting non-strategic and underperforming operations, positioning us to focus on our profitable and growing business segments. IPG is a strong and growing business that has outperformed its industry sector in revenue growth for a number of years and has invested in substantial infrastructure to support future expansion. Our France business, which was our largest operation in Europe, is highly successful and has historically operated largely autonomously from our other European operations. It is a well-managed and valuable asset with leading market share, double digit revenue growth and strong bottom-line performance. We believe that we have found a good home for our former colleagues in Europe. We thank them for their efforts and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors. With a simplified and focused operating footprint and a strong cash position, we are well positioned to continue executing on our strategic plan and drive the performance and value of our businesses for our shareholders."

The businesses were sold on a cash-free, debt-free basis; proceeds were nominal. Systemax retained a small residual equity position in the sold operations and will provide transition services to Hilco for a limited period of time.

About Systemax Inc.

Systemax Inc. (www.systemax.com), sells industrial and technology products through a system of branded e-Commerce websites and relationship marketers in North America and France. The primary brands are Global Industrial and Inmac Wstore.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of that term in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). Additional written or oral forward looking statements may be made by the Company from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission or otherwise. Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are based on management's estimates, assumptions and projections and are not guarantees of future performance. The Company assumes no obligation to update these statements. Forward looking statements may include, but are not limited to, projections or estimates of revenue, income or loss, exit costs, cash flow needs and capital expenditures, statements regarding future operations, expansion or restructuring plans, including our recent exit from and winding down of our NATG operations, financing needs, compliance with financial covenants in loan agreements, plans relating to products or services of the Company, assessments of materiality, predictions of future events and the effects of pending and possible litigation, as well as assumptions relating to the foregoing. In addition, when used in this release, the words "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," and "plans" and variations thereof and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements.

Investor/Media Contacts:

Mike Smargiassi / Jenny Perales

Brainerd Communicators, Inc.

212-986-6667

[email protected] / [email protected]

SOURCE Systemax Inc.

Related Links

http://www.systemax.com


CHICAGO, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Technology Advisors Inc. (TAI), a consulting company specializing in CRM implementations and software integration, has been named an Elite North American SugarCRM partner for the 5th year running. Elite status is the highest tier in the SugarCRM partner program.

Technology Advisors is one of the only certified SugarCRM training centers in North America that also offers full-service SugarCRM consulting, integration services, implementation, and support. As an Elite partner, TAI must meet or exceed standards for technical proficiency and professional certification in Sugar products, and demonstrate consistent success implementing Sugar in hosted, on-premises, and private cloud environments.

"I am truly excited to once again be recognized as an Elite North American partner," says Sam Biardo, CEO of TAI. "We provide the complete SugarCRM experience for our customers through our training and focused services, and our continued development of vertical strategies and Sugar add-on products helps drive our success."

Technology Advisors Inc. (TAI) is a business software consulting company out of Chicago that specializes in custom software integrations and enterprise-level CRM projects. The company helps businesses in various industries select and implement CRM, marketing automation, business intelligence tools, customer service solutions and other business software. TAI is uniquely positioned to personalize CRMs through its internal team of developers who customize the platform for clients' individual needs. The company continues to expand its software offerings and development to create tailored software experiences for its customers.

About SugarCRM

SugarCRM enables businesses to create extraordinary customer relationships with the most innovative, flexible and affordable customer relationship management (CRM) solution on the market. Unlike traditional CRM solutions that focus primarily on management and reporting, Sugar empowers the individual, coordinating the actions of customer-facing employees and equipping them with the right information at the right time to transform the customer experience.

Media Contact:

Danine Pontarelli

Marketing Manager

Technology Advisors Inc.

[email protected]

847.655.3415

SOURCE Technology Advisors Inc.
SEOUL, South Korea, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Thinkfree, a Hancom company, announced today the availability of Thinkfree DocsConverter on AWS Marketplace. Built to meet the needs of a wide range of organizations - including cloud service providers and web-based solution providers - DocsConverter quickly converts Microsoft Office documents to formats suitable for viewing on the web - including PDF, HTML, TXT, JPG, and PNG formats. Thinkfree DocsConverter has simple APIs that can be easily called from existing web and mobile applications to enable instantly-viewable documents.

The popularity of solutions built on AWS is expanding, and web service developers and SaaS providers need easy way to implement document conversion from proprietary formats - such as .docx, .xlsx, or pptx - to formats that anyone could view instantly in a web browser. Custom document conversion systems could be built using commercial or open-source desktop applications, but such systems are neither designed nor optimized to run in a server environment with stability and scalability. Thinkfree DocsConverter provides AWS customers with the ability to implement document conversion capabilities - with full control over scalability and security - into their services and workplaces with single click.

"The availability of Thinkfree DocsConverter on AWS Marketplace is a big step towards the idea of universal access to information," says Bruno Lowagie, Chief Strategy Officer of Thinkfree. "Information that mobile ISVs and service providers want to share - both internally and externally - but that until now has been locked up in proprietary document formats can now be published quickly and easily for universal consumption."

"Thinkfree DocsConverter makes it easy for our customers and partners to incorporate Office document conversion functionality into their infrastructures and solutions," says Steve Koliha, AWS Marketplace and Catalog Services, Amazon Web Services, Inc. "The Thinkfree DocsConverter server is available for immediate purchase and deployment in Marketplace."

Adds Bruno, "With Thinkfree DocsConverter on AWS, all the headaches previously associated with custom conversion systems are gone. Click. Deploy. Publish. It's that easy."

Product Availability and Pricing

Thinkfree DocsConverter is available today through the AWS Marketplace. Pricing varies by subscription terms and the underlying AWS instance types one selects. Visit the Thinkfree DocsConverter page on AWS Marketplace for information about server configurations and pricing.

Thinkfree customers who have already licensed DocsConverter but who would like to apply that license within AWS can take advantage of a customizable "bring your own license" option. Visit the Thinkfree DocsConverter (BYOL) page for information on customized licensing and pricing.

For more information on Thinkfree, visit www.thinkfree.com.

About Thinkfree

Thinkfree, a global brand of Hancom, has its headquarter in Seongnam, South Korea. Thinkfree has global offices in the US, Belgium and Australia. With investment of Hancom, Inc., South Korea's leading productivity software provider, Thinkfree is continuously growing and developing its technologies.

Thinkfree and Thinkfree Office are registered trademarks of Hancom, Inc. All other trademarks and/or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Media Contact:

Edward S. Coloma

Thinkfree, Inc.

(408) 313-7583

Email Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Thinkfree

Related Links

http://www.thinkfree.com


(Repeats story from Friday)

* Islamic State has published no details of London attack

* Group's daily broadcast makes no mention of killings

* Online presence falls as it loses ground in Syria and Iraq

By Dominic Evans and Omar Fahmy

CAIRO, March 27 (Reuters) - The "Islamic State soldier" who killed four people in an attack on the British parliament may have been inspired by calls to arms against the West but the militant group has given no evidence yet that he acted on specific instructions.

British-born Muslim convert Khalid Masood mowed down pedestrians in his car and stabbed a policeman to death in a high-profile killing which echoed other deadly attacks in Europe claimed by the ultra-hardline Islamists.

Almost 24 hours after the killings the group issued a brief statement calling Masood one of its soldiers. But it offered no details to suggest that Islamic State's leadership - losing ground to enemies in Syria and Iraq - knew of his plans in advance.

That in itself does not rule out coordination between Masood and militants in the shrinking, self-styled caliphate. Islamic State frequently delays releasing video footage or other material showing the planning and implementation of operations.

But the nature of Wednesday's killings, carried out by a single assailant armed only with a hire car and a knife, matched a pattern of recent attacks which require no training, military expertise or outside guidance.

Islamic State spokesman Abu Mohammed al Adnani called on sympathisers across the world to carry out exactly those kind of attacks in an appeal issued when the group was at the peak of its power in late 2014.

"If you can kill a disbelieving American or European ... smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him down from a high place, or choke him, or poison him," said Adnani, who was killed in a U.S. air strike in Syria last August.

ISLAMIC STATE "SIGNATURE"

British counter-terrorism police say they are still trying to establish whether Masood, a criminal with militant links, acted alone, with support or under instruction of others.

Story continues

He had shown up on the periphery of previous terrorism investigations that brought him to the attention of Britain's MI5 spy agency, but the 52-year-old was not under investigation at the time of the attack.

Khaled Okasha, an Egyptian security analyst and former police officer, said Masood appeared to be the latest in a series of attackers he described as "sympathetic and loyal from afar" rather than central figures in Islamic State.

Those assailants are inspired by Islamic State's online campaigns, Okasha said, and often leave behind the Islamic State materials from which they drew their inspiration.

"So the operation has an Islamic State signature on it, and straight after the operation ... the Daesh (Islamic State) leadership in Syria put out a statement claiming responsibility" even though they may have had no advance knowledge, he said.

A French judicial source said last month that an Egyptian man who attacked soldiers with machetes at the Louvre museum in Paris told police he identified with the beliefs of Islamic State but had not received instructions from - or sworn allegiance to - the group.

That type of "lone wolf" attack contrasts with the November 2015 suicide assaults on Paris and bombings at Brussels airport and the metro four months later - waves of coordinated killings carried out by Syrian-trained militant cells.

Rita Katz, founder of the intelligence firm SITE which monitors Islamist militants, said there was no evidence yet that Masood had been in direct contact with Islamic State.

Shortly after the attack, Katz tweeted that some Islamic State supporters were celebrating. "However, unlike #Paris & #Brussels, no organised media campaign from #ISIS yet which may suggest no coordination w ISIS , if linked at all".

That may in part reflect the reduced activities of Islamic State and its sympathisers on social media - a decline which coincides with its territorial losses in Iraq and Syria.

The group's presence on Telegram, a social media network that had become its main platform for announcements and speeches, has tapered off recently.

The U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition estimates that its activity on Twitter has fallen by 45 percent since 2014, with 360,000 of the group's Twitter accounts suspended so far and new ones usually shut down within two days.

But even on the group's own media there has been little fanfare for an attack which struck at the heart of one of its main international enemies.

Friday's daily news broadcast on Islamic State's Albayan Radio, which carried reports of fighting in Mosul, Aleppo and the Egyptian Sinai peninsula, made no mention of the London attack or the group's claim of responsibility.

(Editing by Giles Elgood)
FREMONT, Calif., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Togo's Eateries, LLC, the West Coast's original, premium sandwich shop, is celebrating a new location in the San Francisco Bay Area town of Fremont. Togo's is now located at 44029 Osgood Rd., Fremont, CA 94539.

Togo's Fremont-Osgood will be open from 10am-8pm seven days a week. Guests can call 510-226-7100 or visit http://order.togos.com/ to place an order and skip the line. Delivery will be available throughout the local community. In addition, Togo's caters meetings and parties of any size with sandwich platters, box lunches, wraps and large salads.

Ali Navabpour, owner of Togo's Fremont-Osgood, has been a Togo's franchisee for more than 18 years. His other shop is located in Fremont at 35670 Fremont Boulevard. Both locations will focus on catering and delivery for local businesses.

"Togo's is excited to announce its newest restaurant in Fremont," said Tony Gioia, CEO at Togo's. "We're looking forward to sharing with the local community what other locations have been serving up for years: big, fresh and meaty sandwiches made with a smile."

Forty-five years ago, a young college student opened the first Togo's in a small shack near San Jose State University. With meaty portions and only the freshest ingredients, Togo's won a cult-like following and spread throughout California. Soon enough, Togo's became the "West Coast Original" for sandwich fanatics who crave fresh artisan breads, premium, hand-sliced meats, and freshly-scooped avocados. The company stands behind its world-famous #9 Hot Pastrami Sandwich with a money-back guarantee. The top selling #9 features premium Rose & Shore Pastrami made especially for Togo's and hand-sliced in the restaurants daily.

For the latest Togo's news, coupons and special offers, join the Togo's Sandwich Club or download the Togo's Tribe app. Also, be sure to follow Togo's on Twitter and Like them on Facebook to stay up to date on the latest promotions and restaurant openings.

About Togo's Eateries, LLC

Togo's was founded in 1971 by a young college student with a large appetite and little money looking to make sandwiches the way he liked them  big, fresh and meaty. Keeping in the spirit of the original, Togo's products are still made with only the highest quality ingredients; including fresh-baked Artisan breads, hand sliced premium pastrami, turkey and roast beef, as well as Hass avocados and a variety of cheeses. Togo's proprietary brand of old-fashioned Pastrami, 98 percent fat-free slow-roasted turkey, and their all natural chicken set the brand apart from other sandwich shops. With more than 240 locations open and under development throughout the West, Togo's is a franchise-based business that offers online ordering, delivery and catering services as well.

For more information, call 877.718.6467 or visit www.togosfranchise.com. For general information on Togo's Eateries, LLC, please visit www.togos.com.

SOURCE Togo's Eateries, LLC

Related Links

http://www.togos.com/


SEATTLE, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Online business education and career guide Top Management Degrees (http://www.topmanagementdegrees.com/) has published a ranking of the Top 10 Master's in Management Programs in Texas (http://www.topmanagementdegrees.com/rankings/best-management-masters-programs-tx/).

This Master's in Management ranking is based upon data collected on master's degree programs focused on management and leadership within the state of Texas. The US Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences' National Center for Educational Statistics lists 480 educational institutions in Texas. For this ranking, these were vetted according to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics, PayScale's Graduate School Salary Report, US News & World Report, and the Princeton Review. Master's programs were first identified based on their location and curriculum focus, and then ranked on their accreditation, affordability, average salary, and prestige.

Placing first in this ranking is Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas in Richardson, Texas. Ranking second is the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. In third place is the University-Commerce's College of Business at Texas A&M in the city of Commerce, Texas.

Other schools making the list include:

St. Edward's University Bill Munday School of Business - Austin, Texas

Our Lady of the Lake University School of Business and Leadership - San Antonio, Texas

Texas A&M University-Central Texas College of Business Administration - Killeen, Texas

Belhaven University School of Business Administration - Houston, Texas

Amberton University - Garland, Texas

Dallas Baptist University Graduate School of Business - Dallas, Texas

Southwestern Assemblies of God University Harrison Graduate School - Waxahachie, Texas

A Master's in Management degree program is an alternative to the Master's of Business Administration. "Much like the MBA, this degree focuses on general business management, but Master's in Management programs are willing to matriculate students with less professional experience," says Tammie Cagle, editor at Top Management Degrees. A Master's in Management degree program covers core curriculum in business and management topics that are relevant to today's global business world, but places greater emphasis upon the practical application of leadership rather than the statistical analysis of business. "This type of master's program," Cagle explains further, "can be advantageous for an organization wanting to support the professional development of a colleague while training them in the specific business processes of their own company." The schools in this regionally focused ranking offer programs that span a variety of emphasis, so students can compare and contrast programs according to their specific interest. Prospective students who are hoping to further their journey in the field of business will find this ranking useful as they go through this important decision-making process.

Top Management Degrees is an online resource for information about business and management education and careers. The site publishes rankings and reviews of top business and management degree programs, financial aid options for business students, career guides, and more.

Contact:

Tammie Cagle, editor

Top Management Degrees

(425) 440-0619

[email protected]

SOURCE Top Management Degrees

Related Links

http://www.topmanagementdegrees.com


ATLANTA, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tropical Smoothie Cafe, the leading fast casual cafe concept known for its better-for-you food and smoothies with a tropical twist, announced today plans for continued development in Colorado, targeting Denver, Colorado Springs and Centennial to expand its presence through franchise growth. Tropical Smoothie's aggressive growth strategy for Colorado is part of the brand's overall franchise development plans for this year, with three cafes currently open throughout the state.

Spearheading Tropical Smoothie's expansion throughout Colorado is husband-and-wife team Craig and Dianne LeMieux, area developers for the region. The LeMieuxs purchased area developer rights to the market in April 2016, along with two existing locations in Centennial. In addition to their development efforts in Colorado, Craig and Dianne are also Tropical Smoothie area developers in Michigan and Ohio. They currently have a total of 58 open locations throughout their markets, with an additional 39 cafes in development.

"Dianne and I have been with Tropical Smoothie Cafe for more than a decade, and it's our belief in the brand that drives us to continually expand our business," said Craig LeMieux. "We have not only seen tremendous success with the cafes we own and agreements we facilitate in Colorado, Michigan and Ohio, but also company-wide as the brand continues to report consecutive years of positive comp sales. There's a demand for the better-for-you options Tropical Smoothie provides for its customers, and we're eager to drive development forward, specifically in Colorado where there's a wealth of thriving communities chock-full with opportunity and potential we can tap into."

While Colorado is a priority development market for the LeMieuxs, they are also working toward expanding Tropical Smoothie's presence in Michigan and Ohio, specifically Battle Creek and Holland, Michigan, as well as the southwest and northern regions, and Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, as well as the northeast region.

"The LeMieuxs have become an integral part of Tropical Smoothie Cafe, making enormous strides in the last year by more than doubling their location count in their territories," said Mike Rotondo, CEO of Tropical Smoothie Cafe. "Craig and Dianne's commitment to our brand parallels their unwavering commitment to their team, as they consistently support their area cafes through construction, training, opening and beyond. They've embraced our system and we look forward to watching them catapult their Tropical Smoothie business to new heights as they set their sites on growing in Colorado."

Over the past three years, Tropical Smoothie Cafe has sold over 450 franchises nationwide. Growth efforts in Colorado were fueled by Tropical Smoothie Cafe's accelerated development plans in 2017. On the heels of one of the strongest years in the company's 20-year history, the award-winning brand successfully propelled its expansion and grew its presence in key markets nationwide, including Charleston, South Carolina; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Dallas, Texas; and Southern California.

This year, the food and smoothie franchise plans to open 100 restaurants nationwide and currently has franchise opportunities across the U.S. in markets such as Indianapolis, Nashville, Houston, Dallas, Cincinnati and Minneapolis, among others. By 2020, Tropical Smoothie Cafe plans to have 1,000 stores open across the U.S.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe is looking to add qualified franchisees to its growing brand. Candidates should have business experience; $125,000 in liquid assets and a minimum net worth of $350,000; and an initial investment of between $198,050 and $478,550. The healthier fast food franchise currently boasts an average unit volume (AUV) of more than $634,000  the highest in the company's 20-year history  with the top 50 percent reporting an AUV of more than $806,000.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe's aggressive franchise growth is backed by the entrepreneurs at the BIP Franchise Accelerator, a division of venture capital firm BIP Capital, which invested in the brand in 2010. BIP Capital has invested more than $250 million in emerging, high-growth brands across the franchising, software, and technology and consumer products industries. BIP Capital created the BIP Franchise Accelerator to leverage its leadership team's deep franchise experience to help emerging brands accelerate their growth. In addition to Tropical Smoothie Cafe, the BIP Franchise Accelerator's portfolio includes Tin Drum Asian Kitchen, which has grown to 11 locations in Georgia.

For more information about opening your own Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise, please visit www.tropicalsmoothiefranchise.com.

About Tropical Smoothie Cafe

Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2017, Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a fast-casual restaurant concept inspiring healthier lifestyles across the country, with over 550 locations nationwide. With snack and meal options for any time of day, Tropical Smoothie Cafe serves better-for-you smoothies, salads, wraps, sandwiches, and flatbreads. The rapidly growing franchise has received numerous accolades including being ranked on Entrepreneur's 2017 Franchise 500, 2016 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers and Shakers, Franchise Times' Top 200+ and Nation's Restaurant News' 2016 Top 200. Tropical Smoothie Cafe is seeking qualified franchisees to expand throughout the United States in markets such as Indianapolis, Nashville, Houston, Dallas, Cincinnati and Minneapolis, among others.

About the BIP Franchise Accelerator

The BIP Franchise Accelerator is a division of BIP Capital, an Atlanta-based venture capital firm with over $250 million invested in over 26 companies in emerging, high-growth brands across the franchising, software, technology and consumer products industries. BIP Capital created the BIP Franchise Accelerator to leverage its leadership team's deep franchise experience to help emerging brands accelerate their growth. The BIP Franchise Accelerator not only provides investment capital, but also uses proven strategies to help companies evolve into mature, thriving brands. From fast casual and QSR concepts to service brands and healthcare and education concepts, the BIP Franchise Accelerator has invested in emerging brands driven by people with an entrepreneurial spirit that have a great growth potential. Its current portfolio includes Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Tin Drum Asian Kitchen and BIP Franchise Finance. For more information on BIP Franchise Accelerator, visit www.bipfranchiseaccelerator.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Fish Consulting

Courtney Whelan

[email protected]

954-893-9150

SOURCE Tropical Smoothie Cafe

Related Links

http://www.tropicalsmoothiefranchise.com


NEW YORK, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cohen & Steers Real Estate Securities Fund (Class I: CSDIX) and Cohen & Steers Preferred Securities and Income Fund (Class I: CPXIX) have received 2017 Thomson Reuters Lipper Fund Awards for consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers. Lipper's proprietary performance-based methodology earned CSDIX the distinction for its risk-adjusted returns among funds in the Real Estate category during the 3-, 5- and 10-year periods ended December 31, 2016. CPXIX was singled out among its Flexible Income category peers for its risk-adjusted returns during the same 3- and 5-year periods.

"We are proud to once again be recognized for the industry-leading performance these funds have provided our clients," remarked Robert Steers, Chief Executive Officer of Cohen & Steers. "These accolades reflect the success of a comprehensive, unified investment process that underlies all of our specialized asset class strategies."

Mr. Steers added, "The ability to add value for investors through fundamental analysis and active portfolio management is the foundation of our business. While investors are gravitating to passive investments in core equity and fixed income, we believe active management in a select group of asset classes that have inefficient markets can deliver consistent value to our clients."

Thomas Bohjalian, head of U.S. real estate securities and portfolio manager of the Cohen & Steers Real Estate Securities Fund, noted, "The Fund has benefited from the depth of knowledge our dedicated team of REIT specialists have of local property markets and individual companies, as well as our disciplined approach to portfolio construction and risk management."

William Scapell, director of fixed income and portfolio manager of the Cohen & Steers Preferred Securities and Income Fund, said, "We are thrilled to earn Lipper's performance recognition. Our research-driven, active management approach and global reach in preferred securities has proven to be an effective formula for a complex market that's undergoing massive changes."

Please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of any Cohen & Steers fund carefully before investing. A summary prospectus and prospectus containing this and other information may be obtained, free of charge, by visiting cohenandsteers.com or by calling 800.330.7348. Please read the summary prospectus and prospectus carefully before investing.

Lipper Leader Ratings for Consistent Return. Lipper Leader ratings for Consistent Return reflect funds' historic returns, adjusted for volatility, relative to peers. Ratings for consistent return are computed for all Lipper classifications with five or more distinct portfolios and span both equity and fixed-income funds. The ratings are subject to change every month and are calculated for the following time periods: 3-year, 5-year, 10-year, and overall. The overall calculation is based on an equal-weighted average of percentile ranks for the Consistent Return metrics over 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods (if applicable). The highest 20% of funds in each classification are named Lipper Leaders for Consistent Return. The next 20% receive a rating of 4; the middle 20% are rated 3; the next 20% are rated 2, and the lowest 20% are rated 1.

A Lipper Leader for Consistent Return is a fund that has provided superior consistency and risk-adjusted returns when compared to a group of similar funds. Lipper Leaders for Consistent Return may be the best fit for investors who value a fund's year-to-year consistency relative to other funds in a particular peer group.

Investors are cautioned that some peer groups are inherently more volatile than others, and even Lipper Leaders for Consistent Return in the most volatile groups may not be well suited to shorter-term goals or less risk-tolerant investors.

Cohen & Steers Real Estate Securities Fund. The Fund is subject to special risk considerations similar to those associated with the direct ownership of real estate due to its policy of concentration in the securities of real estate companies. Real estate valuations may be subject to factors such as changing general and local economic, financial, competitive and environmental conditions. The Fund is classified as a "non-diversified" fund under the federal securities laws because it can invest in fewer individual companies than a diversified fund. However, the Fund must meet certain diversification requirements under the U.S. tax laws.

Cohen & Steers Preferred Securities and Income Fund. There are special risks associated with investing in the Fund. In general, the risks of investing in preferred securities are similar to those of investing in bonds, including credit risk and interest-rate risk. As nearly all preferred securities have issuer call options, call risk and reinvestment risk are also important considerations. In addition, investors face equity-like risks, such as deferral or omission of distributions, subordination to bonds and other more senior debt, and higher corporate governance risks with limited voting rights. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest. The value of these securities, like other investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. The Fund may invest in below-investment grade securities. Below-investment-grade securities or equivalent unrated securities generally involve greater volatility of price and risk of loss of income and principal, and may be more susceptible to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions than higher-grade securities.

Website: cohenandsteers.com

Symbol: (NYSE: CNS)

About Cohen & Steers. Cohen & Steers is a global investment manager specializing in liquid real assets, including real estate securities, listed infrastructure, commodities and natural resource equities, as well as preferred securities and other income solutions. Founded in 1986, the firm is headquartered in New York City, with offices in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seattle.

SOURCE Cohen & Steers

Related Links

http://cohenandsteers.com


These 6-night vacations are perfect for travelers looking for an affordable, yet luxurious, escape from it all. Travelers from Columbus and the surrounding areas will be able to take advantage of incredible deals on roundtrip airfare and all-inclusive bundles that combine air with a great resort.

Vacation Express' non-stop flights to Cancun are operated by VivaAerobus on A320 series aircraft, and flights to Punta Cana are operated by Swift Air, LLC. on a Boeing 737 aircraft. These value-packed flights enable travelers to sit back and relax while enjoying a complimentary non-alcoholic beverage and snack. Each traveler is permitted one free carry-on bag, and the option to upgrade to a money-saving deal. Upgrades start at only $20 for Preferred Seating or Elite Plus for $39 each way and can bundle options which include checked luggage for the best value.

Travelers can purchase roundtrip airfare, but most are booking 6-night packages with air and staying at all-inclusive resorts starting at $849* in Cancun and $799* in Punta Cana, with kids under 12 staying free at some resorts. Packages to both destinations can be booked online at VACATIONEXPRESS.com, by calling 1-800-309-4717 or through a local travel agent.

About John Glenn Columbus International Airport:

Centrally located in Ohio, John Glenn International is one of three airports operated by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority. Opened in 1929, the airport offers up to 150 daily departures to 34 destinations from Columbus, the 15th largest U.S. city. More than 7.3 million passengers traveled through the airport in 2016. Learn more at flycolumbus.com.

About Vacation Express:

Based in Atlanta, Vacation Express, part of Sunwing Travel Group, is a tour operator specializing in quality, affordable vacation packages to over 30 destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico and Costa Rica and most recently, Cuba! Now in business for over 25 years, Vacation Express is one of the country's largest and most trusted tour operators. Travelers looking for the most affordable, all-inclusive vacations may book Vacation Express' exclusive, non-stop packages through their travel agent, directly by phone seven days a week at 1-800-309-4717 or online at VACATIONEXPRESS.com. Exclusive charter flights are operated by Swift Air, LLC. and VivaAerobus. See operator/participant agreement for details.

Additional Notes: Kid's offer based on one child per full paying guest and offered on select departures only; qualifying ages and maximum number of kids vary by resort and apply to hotel cost only. Airfare, transfers & booking fees not included.*Flight only price based on lowest season travel. Package price reflects hotels that feature all-inclusive plans. Prices are per person, based on double occupancy. Advertised prices available for bookings made electronically or through your travel agent; small service fee of $10 applies when booking through Vacation Express Call Center. For full terms and conditions, hotel and description of all services, please refer to the Vacation Express 2017 Brochure, www.vacationexpress.com or call 1.800.309.4717. Vacation Express now accepts debit cards that offer the same consumer protection as credit cards. See operator/participant agreement for details. Public charter flights are operated by Swift Air, LLC. and VivaAerobus. All flights subject to DOT approval. Packages are limited and subject to change without prior notice. Airfares are per person, reflect lowest available airfare at time of printing, are subject to change and based upon availability of class of service. Mandatory $10 Tourist Card must be purchased upon arrival to Punta Cana and is not included in above airfare or package prices. Book by 3/29/17. Not responsible for errors or omissions. Registered Florida seller of travel no. St 38441. State of California Seller of Travel Certificate of Registration #2107538-40.

SOURCE Vacation Express
Americans Are Avoiding Certain Countries Due to Perceived Global Threats

NEW YORK, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey by international travel agency network Virtuoso has found travelers are avoiding certain worldwide destinations as a result of the uncertainty tied to specific countries and global regions. Virtuoso was one of the first travel organizations to introduce the term VUCA, which stands for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, as a means of describing the potential travel disruptions caused by geopolitical situations.

"The world is going through a transition where uncertainty is the new norm," says Matthew D. Upchurch, Chairman and CEO of Virtuoso. "Whether it's Brexit, the shifting political climate in the U.S., or the threat of terrorism or disease such as Zika, there seems to be only two certainties. First, we have no idea what we might wake up to find tomorrow because change happens fast. Two, and this is of utmost importance, travel is the best way to bring people together when isolation begins. At Virtuoso, we say borders divide, but travel unites. Never has it been more important to keep the ability to travel as a fundamental right."

Among the questions asked, Virtuoso surveyed its travel advisors globally to discover the impact of the Presidential Executive Order disallowing travelers from seven countries to enter the U.S. Although the order is not currently in effect, Virtuoso advisors report that it is still impacting clients' travel decisions. Among U.S.-based advisors, 10 percent say clients are changing travel plans due to a concern over anti-American sentiment. However, a much higher 40 percent say their clients are now avoiding certain destinations due to concerns over terrorism, including the Middle East, Europe and Africa, with Turkey and Egypt topping the list of countries. Instead, Americans are choosing to travel within their own country, as well as visit those perceived as safer, including Japan, Canada and New Zealand.

Forty-two percent of Virtuoso-affiliated travel advisors outside of the U.S. say their clients are avoiding travel to the United States due to factors including opposition to the country's foreign policy and concerns over obtaining visas. As an alternative, they are electing to travel to destinations such as Italy, Australia and the U.K. The majority of advisors anticipate the slowdown in travel to the U.S. will last three to six months.

For more information on Virtuoso, visit www.Virtuoso.com.

About Virtuoso

Virtuoso is the leading international travel agency network specializing in luxury and experiential travel. This by-invitation-only organization comprises over 770 travel agency partners with more than 15,200 elite travel advisors in 44 countries throughout North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Drawing upon its preferred relationships with 1,700 of the world's best hotels and resorts, cruise lines, airlines, tour companies and premier destinations, the network provides its upscale clientele with exclusive amenities, rare experiences and privileged access. More than (U.S.) $21.2 billion in annual travel sales makes Virtuoso a powerhouse in the luxury travel industry. For more information, visit www.virtuoso.com.

Media Contacts:

Misty Ewing Belles Lauren Wintemberg Managing Director, Global Public Relations Account Director Virtuoso Alice Marshall Public Relations Phone: 202.553.8817 Phone: 212.861.4031 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Virtuoso

Related Links

http://www.virtuoso.com


COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- White Castle, America's favorite family-owned hamburger chain for 96 years, announced today the launch of its monthlong fundraiser for Autism Speaks as part of its philanthropic Castle Shares initative. This is the ninth year White Castle has partnered with the nation's largest organization benefiting autism research and advocacy.

Throughout the month of April, which is designated as World Autism Month, White Castle will collect donations on behalf of Autism Speaks through the sales of $1, $3 and $5 puzzle pieces. Each purchase of an Autism Speaks puzzle piece comes with a coupon for one free Chicken Ring Slider for customers to use on a future visit.

"We are beyond proud to join our friends at Autism Speaks to raise awareness and much needed donations during World Autism Month," said Erin Shannon, Corporate Relations Manager at White Castle and member of the fourth generation of White Castle leadership. "Our commitment to supporting families who have been impacted by autism is a part of our company because it is a part of our lives. Our family, and the families of many of our team members, have experienced the effects of Autism."

In addition to the sale of Puzzle Pieces in White Castle restaurants, customers can support the cause by ordering Crave Cases online or through the mobile app. For every Crave Case ordered online or through the mobile app, $3 of the proceeds will be donated to Autism Speaks.

Cravers across the country purchasing White Castle retail products in grocery, club stores and convenience stores can help "Light It Up Blue" on social media as well. Each package of microwaveable sandwiches includes a special insert with a graphic image of a light bulb which can be colored blue and posted to social media with the hashtag #WC4Autism. White Castle will donate $5 to Autism Speaks for each post shared online, up to a maximum of $75,000.

Autism Speaks and White Castle have partnered together to "Light It Up Blue" for 9 years, raising over $5.8 million. Last year, White Castle Cravers and team members raised more than $850,000 for Autism Speaks by selling Puzzle Pieces throughout the five week campaign. This year the family-owned business is aiming high and hoping to surpass over $900,000 in contributions.

For more information, visit www.whitecastle.com.

About White Castle

White Castle, America's first fast-food hamburger chain based in Columbus, Ohio, has been making Bold Moves as a family-owned business for more than 95 years. The company was founded in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921, serving The Original Slider, made from 100 percent USDA inspected beef. Today White Castle owns and operates nearly 400 restaurants in 13 states. The pioneering original slider, Time Magazine's most influential burger of all time, is served alongside a menu of creatively crafted sliders and other tasty food options. White Castle's commitment to maintaining the highest quality products extends to the company owning and operating its own meat processing plants and bakeries as well as three frozen food processing plants. The retail division markets White Castle's famous fare in grocery, club stores, convenience stores, vending operations and concessions across the United States and in a growing number of international locations, including military base exchanges around the world.

Cravers on-the-go can access sweet deals and place a pick-up order any time in the official White Castle app. Download the app today from the iTunes App Store or Google Play. For more information on White Castle visit whitecastle.com.

About Castle Shares

By feeding hunger, hope and dreams, the White Castle family helps build strong, thriving, Craver communities through the Castle Shares program. Founder Billy Ingram believed in taking care of people and giving back to the community. His philosophy still remains a focus of the family-owned business today. White Castle donates $2.1 million every year to a variety of charities across the nation, including over $850,000 to Autism Speaks in 2016. The White Castle family supports more than 50 charities each year with volunteers, money and food donations.

SOURCE White Castle

Related Links

http://www.whitecastle.com


If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Colombo, March 22 : Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena left on Wednesday on an official visit to Russia, the President's office said.

President Sirisena is the first Sri Lankan leader to visit Russia since 1974, when then Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike visited Moscow, Xinhua news agency reported.

The visit takes place as both countries celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year, the Foreign Ministry said earlier.

During the visit, President Sirisena is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

The official discussions are expected to review progress made in the longstanding bilateral relationship, including the way forward to further promote trade and investment between the two countries.

Several bilateral agreements in the areas of fisheries, tourism, cultural and education cooperation, including cooperation in the science and technology sector, are scheduled to be signed.

In order to actively promote trade and business linkages between the two countries, a Sri Lanka-Russia Business Forum will be held in Moscow, and Sri Lanka will be represented by a delegation of the Sri Lanka Russia Business Council.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera and five other cabinet ministers are accompanying the President on the trip.
Washington, March 24 : Republican and Democrat lawmakers are demanding more information about connections between President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia, a media report said.

Their calls come after months of controversy surrounding one of Trump's longtime campaign advisers and top aide on security matters, CNN said in the report on Thursday.

Questions have swirled about the nature of his ties to Russia and whether he violated any restrictions on contacts with foreign officials.

Top Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight Committee sent individual letters to four Trump administration officials requesting any documents they have related to Flynn's communications with and payments from Russian, Turkish or other foreign sources.

"We are asking the Department of Defence and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and others to give us anything he has had to do with the Russian government and with Russians and others because he lied to us over and over again," Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland told CNN on Thursday.

In the incident that led to his ouster in February from the National Security Council, Flynn acknowledged misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of his communications with the Russian ambassador in Washington while Trump was still campaigning last year.

"We want to know what the President knew when he appointed him as security adviser," Cummings added.

Flynn had no comment regarding the committee's letters, according to his spokesman Price Floyd.

Cummings and committee chairman Jason Chaffetz of Utah have asked that each agency produce documents relating to Flynn's foreign contacts and payments, security clearance applications and other related documents between the time of his retirement in 2014 till now.

The committee has requested White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, FBI Director James Comey, Department of Defence Secretary James Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats to provide all documents by April 3.

Following initial reports in January that Flynn was in contact with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak and spoke to him about US sanctions, Vice President Mike Pence offered a robust defence of the incoming national security adviser, the CNN report said.

He said in nationally televised interviews that he had spoken with Flynn and that Flynn had ensured him he had not spoken about sanctions with the Russian ambassador.

The Justice Department, however, communicated to the White House that Flynn had misled administration officials.

Flynn wrote in his resignation letter that he had "inadvertently" briefed Pence and others in the White House with incomplete information about his contacts with Kislyak.
Washington, March 24 : At least six Secret Service employees are expected to face discipline over a security breach in which a man gained entry to White House grounds, a media report said.

On the evening of March 10, 26-year-old Jonathan Tran managed to jump multiple fences and was on White House grounds for more than 16 minutes before he was apprehended beneath President Donald Trump's bedroom windows. Trump was in the White House at the time.

A Secret Service official told CNN said the employees facing discipline include officers from the uniformed division as well as special agents.

The official said the Secret Service's Office of Professional Responsibility is expected to recommend specific discipline for each employee involved within the next two weeks.

Those recommendations will then be turned over to the agency's Office of Integrity to make a final determination.

Previously, the Secret Service said there were "lapses in security protocols" that allowed the fence jumping incident to occur and said immediate steps had been taken to fix them, the CNN report said.

The steps included additional officers at posts, technology enhancements and additional response.

Tran, was found carrying two cans of mace and a letter for Trump. He was released on his own personal recognizance on the condition he be fitted with a GPS tracking device.

He was allowed to go back to California but has to remain within 100 miles of his home in San Jose, stay away from the White House and remain in the US.

In a latest incident, a man drove up to the White House last week saying he had a bomb, and another man jumped over a bike rack in front of the White House.
Canberra, March 24 : Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday said his country is not seeking to militarise the South China Sea and its presence in the area is only to maintain freedom of navigation.

"China never has any intention to engage in militarisation in the South China Sea," the visiting premier said at a press conference following a meeting in Canberra with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

"Chinese islands and reefs are primarily for civilian purposes. If there is a certain amount of defence equipment or facilities, it is for maintaining the freedom of navigation and overflight," he added.

China has built numerous military facilities on islets in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety but whose sovereignty has been disputed by five other countries, leading to an escalation of multilateral tensions in the region, Efe news reported.

Li noted that China is the leading global exporter and its economy depends on free transit in this maritime area, through which around $5 billion worth of goods pass every year, and which contains rich fishing, gas and oil resources.

He stressed that it is the responsibility of all countries in the region to maintain peace in the South China Sea, which is disputed by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines, with the US having also increased its presence.

Li said China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are negotiating a code of conduct, an initiative that was praised by Turnbull.

The Australian leader also urged "all parties to refrain from taking any actions which would add to tensions, including actions of militarisation of disputed features".

Australia and the US have been concerned by the growing Chinese presence in the disputed seas, but Turnbull rejected as "incorrect" the view that Australia must take sides between Beijing and Washington.

China is Australia's biggest trading partner, with bilateral trade amounting to $150 billion.

At the press conference, Turnbull announced a series of new agreements to increase trade between the two countries, including China's decision to increase access to its market of frozen meat products.

The bilateral free trade agreement that came into force in 2015 had reduced tariffs on Australian beef products, but refrigerated meat did not have the same access to the Chinese market.

Li will continue his Australia visit to Sydney before leaving on Sunday for New Zealand.
New Delhi, March 24 : In an unprecedented step, Air India and all private carriers on Thursday refused to fly Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad for assaulting an airline employee.

But the Lok Sabha member from Osmanabad in Maharashtra remained defiant and refused to apologize for repeatedly beating and trying to push down Air India officer R. Sukumar from the aircraft on Thursday.

"Air India and member airlines have decided to ban this MP from flying on all our flights with immediate effect," the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) said in a statement.

"We believe that exemplary action should be taken in such incidents to protect employee morale and public safety," added FIA Associate Director Ujjwal Dey.

The Indian Commercial Pilots Association also sought an unconditional apology from Gaikwad and threatened to direct its members "not to operate any flight which has Gaikwad on board".

The Sena leader earlier vowed to fly back to Pune but Air India cancelled his ticket.

Besides Air India, the airlines which won't allow Gaikwad to fly as FIA members are IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Go Air. AirAsia and Vistara, which are not with FIA, joined them.

The decision was taken a day after Gaikwad thrashed Sukumar repeatedly with a slipper after he was forced to travel in economy class from Pune to Delhi despite holding a business class ticket.

Amid speculation that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had sought an explanation from Gaikwad, the MP dared Delhi Police to arrest him and also alleged that it was Sukumar who hit him first.

Air India has said it was examining the possibility of creating a 'no fly' list of unruly passengers.

It also lodged FIRs against Gaikwad -- for assaulting a shift manager and delaying a scheduled flight to Goa.

When Gaikwad refused to de-board, Sukumar said he first requested the MP in English to get off the plane but was told to speak in Hindi.

When he began to speak in Hindi, Gaikwad flared up and hit him with his slipper. All though Thursday, Gaikwad boasted how he hit the staffer with his slipper "25 times".

"I will not apologize. Why should I? It's not my mistake. They should apologize first, then (we) will see."

Gaikwad also shot off complaints to Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan demanding an inquiry into the incident.

FIA's Dey said: "We believe an assault on any one of our employees is an assault on all of us and on ordinary law abiding citizens of our country who work hard to earn a living."

Vistara said it was "in full solidarity" with Air India.

Gaikwad "will be barred from flying in any of our flights with immediate effect", it said. "Disruptive and abusive behaviour by passengers is a serious issue and cannot be tolerated."

AirAsia said it "does not tolerate abusive or unruly behaviour by passengers that puts the safety of other guests and crew members on board at risk".

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju added: "Politicians are not above law."
Washington, March 24 : US President Donald Trump on Friday authorised the construction of controversial Keystone XL pipeline across the US border, reversing one of the most controversial environmental policies of his predecessor Barack Obama, officials said.

Canadian company TransCanada announced it received the State Department permit to construct, operate and maintain the Keystone XL pipeline on the border between the US and Canada.

The company said that now it needs to receive an approval for the pipeline's route through Nebraska, a process that could take several more months, Politico reported.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer earlier said on Twitter that Trump would make an announcement on the pipeline at 10.15 a.m. (local time) Friday.

Just days after taking office, Trump set a 60-day deadline for the State Department to decide whether to issue the permit, which the Obama administration had rejected in 2015, citing environmental and climate concerns.

Trump had promised during his campaign he would approve the pipeline as part of a plan to boost US energy production, said the report.

Environmental groups had turned their campaign against the pipeline into rallying cry to fight climate change, sparking a years-long battle in Washington between the oil industry and greens.

In a statement, Trump's State Department said it had considered foreign policy implications of the decision, as well as the nation's energy security, and the environmental, cultural, and economic impacts.
Washington, March 25 : The US military is investigating whether it was responsible for the deaths of nearly 300 Syrian and Iraqi civilians in three different sets of airstrikes this month, a media report said.

Civilian casualties have been alleged in all three instances, but each situation is different and complex, CNN quoted a US defence official as saying on Friday.

So far, there is no indication of a breakdown in US military procedures governing airstrikes, the official said, and the US is not contemplating a pause in military operations.

The most severe incident involves western Mosul in Iraq.

The US military is trying to determine if sometime between March 17 and March 23, bombs dropped in the neighbourhoods of al Jadidah, al Amel and al Yarmouk by American warplanes resulted in the deaths of over 200 civilians.

The chairman of Nineveh Provincial Council in Iraq, Bashar al Kiki, told CNN: "Most of (those) killed are civilians, among them children and women."

The Iraqi official demanded an end to military operations in the area until civilians' safety can be guaranteed.

The incidents military officials are looking into are based largely on local reports and social media accounts of the strikes.

While in Syria, the US military has begun a formal investigation into a March 16 airstrike, where local reports said a mosque was struck and more than 40 people died.

For days the Pentagon said there were no civilian casualties in the March 16 incident, even as numerous social media reports showed images of bodies being carried out of the rubble.

However, the US has not ruled out the possibility that the Islamic State (IS) terror group was using civilians as human shields, but the defence official told CNN that there was an urgency to find out if Washington was responsible.

The Central Command was also reviewing an airstrike against a school building on Wednesday near Raqqa, Syria.

Local activists have said an airstrike may have killed more than 30 civilians seeking shelter there. The US was conducting strikes in the area, the defence official added.
Bogota, March 27 : Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has met FARC's top leader Rodrigo Londono to follow up on the implementation of the peace agreement between the two sides.

The meeting on Sunday took place in the department of Bolivar.

Santos on Twitter said they discussed crucial topics such as the disarmament process and the reincorporation of FARC guerrilla members into society.

"We revised advances in the disarmament timeline, ZVTN (zones of transition and normalization), reincorporation and regulatory issues," Santos said.

The President also said that delegations from the government and the FARC had met in Cartagena city this weekend to mark 100 days since the implementation of the peace process began.

"In these two days, the government and FARC have met to mark the implementation of the Peace Agreement. They gave me a report: it is progress," continued Santos.

Santos on Saturday said the FARC laying down their arms was a historic fact for Colombia, after over 50 years of war.
Washington, March 27 : Social media was again up in arms against a major airline in the US for not allowing two of its passengers to board the flight cos of dress code.

United Airlines has been criticised on social media after it barred two girls from flying for wearing leggings.

The incident happened on a flight from Denver to Minneapolis on Sunday morning, BBC quoted activist Shannon Watts as saying.

A United gate agent was "forcing" the girls, one of them aged 10, to change their clothes or wear dresses over the leggings, Watts tweeted.

United said the girls were travelling on a ticket that had a dress code.

They were "United pass travellers", which are tickets for company employees or eligible dependents, it explained in a Twitter exchange on the issue.

Shannon Watts, founder of the group Moms Demand Action for gun reforms, tweeted about what happened to five girls when they tried to board a flight at Denver airport.

She said three of the girls were allowed to fly after putting dresses over the top of their clothing, but two were prevented from boarding.

She slammed the airliner for its actions, asking: "Since when does United police women's clothing?".

Although United has not officially commented on the incident, it did respond on Twitter by explaining the dress code requirement of its United pass travellers.

Watts' tweets have been shared and responded to by thousands of users, including actress and activist Patricia Arquette.

-- With inputs from IANS
Manila, March 27 : Philippine security forces have rescued three more Malaysian sailors kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf terror group, said Malaysian officials on Monday.

The Eastern Security Command of Sabah confirmed to official news agency Bernama that the rescue of the hostages took place on Sunday night during a Philippine Army operation on the island of Jolo, Efe news reported.

Philippine marines rescued two other hostages on Thursday from the same island, while they were pursuing a group of between 20 to 30 rebels.

The five sailors were kidnapped in July when their boat was attacked near Lahad Datu by the terror group, which demanded around $2 million in ransom.

On Saturday Philippine security forces also released on Basilan island, north of Jolo, a freight ship captain abducted and taken hostage on Thursday.

Abu Sayyaf has kidnapped dozens of people, mostly the crew members of vessels, in the southwestern Philippines and northeastern Malaysia.

The group, which sympathises with the Islamic State (IS) terror group and uses ransom money to finance their activities, in February beheaded a German hostage after the ransom deadline expired.

Around 30 people, including foreigners of various nationalities, are still under the control of the terrorists.
New Delhi, March 27 : As a teenager when Fakhrul Islam, now Frank F. Islam, crossed the Atlantic in 1970 to realise his American dream, the "shining city upon a hill" opened all its doors for him, helping him become one of the most-celebrated Indian-American businessmen in the US.

But today Islam, 53, fears that the country may be heading to its "darkest" era with President Donald Trump's alleged discriminatory ban on immigrants and travellers from six Muslim-majority countries to protect the US from terrorist attacks.

The man from Azamgarh -- the Uttar Pradesh district with a large Muslim population that had once earned the the disreputable moniker of "Aatankgarh", the hub of terror in India -- still feels that America continues to be an inclusive society despite President Trump's efforts to stop immigrants from entering the US.

"Muslim ban was a wrong, shameful and unconstitutional move. This is not who we are. These are not the values of America. And this kind of ban represents (the) darkest and ugliest past of America. We don't want to go back to that past. We have entered into a dark chapter of America," Islam told IANS in a wide-ranging interview during a recent visit to India.

He said Trump has to realise that "35 per cent of the business in America, especially in the Silicon Valley, is from immigrants" who not only create wealth and also generate jobs for others.

"I still look at the brighter horizon. I have the sense of optimism and hope. We have to make sure that we can still create hopes, inspirations, and dreams in people, not anxiety, anger, and fear," the businessman-turned-philanthropist said, quoting English Puritan lawyer John Winthrop, who described the America he imagined as a "shining city upon a hill" when he founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in New England.

Notwithstanding the efforts of Trump, "who doesn't represent what America stands for", Islam said India needed to learn from the US how to give "opportunity to all to succeed".

"There are lots of tools and mechanisms available in America for entrepreneurs to succeed, realise their dreams. That is something India needs to (do) and incubate the new generation of entrepreneurs," he said, speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Start Up India, Stand Up India" scheme to boost entrepreneurship and encourage start-ups with jobs creation.

Islam's is an inspiring rags-to-riches story. A son of a peasant family, he got his education at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) before he moved to the US where he built a multi-million dollar IT empire. But he has not forgotten his "humble roots".

"I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, a business owner. Entrepreneurs are made not born. Look at me, my own personal journey of humble beginning, from humble roots in Azamgarh, I became one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the US.

"I started my own business, the QSS Group, in 1994. I was able to build the group from one employee to 3,000 employees with revenue of $300 million in 12 years," said Islam, who serves on a number boards and advisory councils, including the John F. Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, the US Institute of Peace, the Woodrow Wilson Center, and the Brookings Institution.

He also serves on various boards at more than half a dozen universities including Johns Hopkins, University, American University, and George Mason University.

Islam sold his business in 2007 for $700 million to start with his American wife The Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman Foundation that provides targeted financial assistance to civic, educational and artistic causes and groups.

The foundation built a $2 million management school at Islam's alma mater AMU that he inaugurated in February. The school, he hopes, "will create more Frank Islams, more entrepreneurs who can make differences to people's lives".

He said being a philanthropic and sharing what he got from the society "is the part of my life that is much more enjoyable than making any money that I have made all my life".

Sharing wealth is multiplying joy, he said about the culture that is still not in vogue in India.

"Americans have been very generous in helping humanity. I am guided by the words of President John F. Kennedy that 'to whom much is given, much is expected'. It is a part of American DNA. People like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have given billions of dollars to serve humanity.

"In India, it is a work in progress. It is good to build mosques, temples, and churches, but I should also say it is also important to invest in people. It is not (happening) in India as yet. You should build the same culture in India," said the author of "Working the Pivot Points: To Make America Work Again" (2013) and "Renewing the American Dream" (2010).

(Sarwar Kashani can be conacted at sarwar.k@ians.in)
Washington, March 27 : The US military has said that an airstrike in Iraq on March 17 corresponds to a site where 200 civilians died, but it is still assessing the validity of allegations of civilian casualties.

According to a task force statement on Saturday, an initial review of strike data said that "at the request of the Iraqi Security Forces the coalition struck IS (Islamic State) fighters on March 17, west Mosul, at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties".

A review of the March 17 operation was "underway to determine the facts surrounding this strike and the validity of the allegation of civilian casualties", ABC News cited the statement as saying.

The statement follows a military announcement that a review of whether any of the three airstrikes in Syria and Iraq over the past week were linked to reported deaths of hundreds of civilians.

In addition to the March 17 airstrike in western Mosul, the Central Command is reviewing a March 16 airstrike near a mosque in al-Jinnah, Syria.

According to US officials, the airstrike killed dozens of Al Qaeda militants gathered for a meeting near a mosque across the street.

They emphasized the mosque was not struck and the building was not affiliated with the mosque. However, locals said dozens of worshipers were killed in the strike and the targeted building was, in fact, a mosque.

The military was also reviewing an airstrike on March 20 on a school building outside Raqqa in Syria that killed dozens of civilians fleeing fighting.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike on the school killed 33 civilians.

The March 17 strike targeted three adjoining houses.

According to media reports, the IS may have used civilians as human shields to guard against airstrikes on the buildings.

According to the ABC, the Iraqi military's media operations centre has claimed that the IS was responsible for the civilian deaths.

Colonel Joseph Scrocca, a spokesman for the operation against the IS in Iraq, Syria and beyond, on Friday said the group has previously demonstrated disregard for civilians by "using human shields, and fighting from protected sites such as schools, hospitals and religious sites".

A Central Command statement on Saturday said the coalition "respects human life, which is why we are assisting our Iraqi partner forces in their effort to liberate their lands from the IS."

"Our goal has always been for zero civilian casualties, but the coalition will not abandon our commitment to Iraqi partners because of the IS's inhuman tactics terrorising civilians."

"Coalition forces comply with the Law of Armed Conflict and take all reasonable precautions during the planning and execution of airstrikes to reduce the risk of harm to civilians," the statement said.

The US-led coalition has conducted more than 19,000 airstrikes against the IS in Iraq and Syria since the summer of 2014.

According to the UN, hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped in areas under the IS control in western Mosul.

The UN said it was "profoundly concerned" over reports "of a high number of civilian casualties" in the city's Al Jadidah area.

There are about 600,000 civilians feared trapped in western Mosul, according to the International Organisation of Migration. Iraqi forces have regained control of the city's east, CNN reported.

Iraqi forces in March seized Mosul's main government building and bank from the IS and are now closing in on the historic Al Nuri mosque where the group's leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi first declared Islamic caliphate.
Mumbai, March 27 : Filmmaker Karan Johar, whose surrogate children Roohi and Yash were born almost 10 weeks before full term, says those who have premature babies must not get discouraged. He says with right kind of care, they can be nurtured towards normal growth.

Karan earlier this month announced that he has become a father of twins via surrogacy. The children have been under the care of Bhupendra Avasthi, Director, Surya Mother & Child Hospital, and Karan says they are "both on their way to a happy and healthy childhood".

Now as someone with a voice, he wants to reach out to people about the virtues of neonatal intensive care for premature children.

In a post shared on social media on Monday, Karan said: "Millions of preemies are born every year... but babies are resilient. With the right kind of care, they stand just as good a chance of survival as anyone else."

Karan said his children were born two months premature and were "worryingly underweight".

"My heart sank... Knowing that there were complications with my babies' birth owing to how soon it was, I was terrified. All I wanted to do was hold them and protect them but they needed to be in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). It was painful to see how tiny they were."

The filmmaker, known for his family dramas, has thanked the legal and medical teams for being his "strength and spine" during the process.

Karan's post has come in support of Surya Hospital's #SavePreemies campaign.

"Having a premature baby is something you don't expect to happen to you. The whole experience has ignited a passion in me to help premature babies get the best chance they can... to help those in anguish who want the best chance of survival for their early born babies," Karan said.

"Premature babies, when provided with the right kind of care, have just as good of a shot of making it, as babies born on time. If your baby is a preemie, don't be discouraged. Seek help... Don't lose faith, don't lose heart."

A celebrity's effort to highlight an issue can make a difference, says Avasthi.

"Premature babies are not fully equipped to deal with life in our world. Their little bodies still have underdeveloped parts that include the lungs, digestive system, immune system and skin."

"India needs many more NICU units for its 'preemies' where they can survive the first few days, weeks or months of life until they are strong enough to make it on their own," Avasthi told IANS.
New Delhi, March 27 : Shiv Sena MPs on Monday said the ban imposed by all airlines on fellow member Ravindra Gaikwad should be lifted but the government said airlines had the right to refuse a passenger.

The issue was raised by Sena member Anandrao Adsul in the Lok Sabha.

"There was some dispute, he had beaten an Air India staffer. I agree it is wrong. Air India has filed a police complaint and we will accept whatever the result is, that is not a problem," he said.

"The problem is all airlines have restricted him. The constitution says people can go anywhere in the country. If there is one incident and all airlines ban him, it is wrong," he said.

Adsul cited the example of actor Kapil Sharma who he alleged misbehaved with an airline staffer on a flight to Australia.

"He was not banned. But a person who represents people, and when the session is on, was banned."

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju said an MP was another passenger and violence of any kind on a flight can turn into a disaster.

He said airlines have been empowered to deny boarding to any passenger whose demeanour was not proper.

"An MP is also a passenger. Now that the MP has raised it, we can't have unequal treatment to people of different classes... We need to keep safety in mind, we can't compromise safety of airlines," Raju said.

Air India and all private carriers have refused to fly Gaikwad after he repeatedly hit an Air India employee with a slipper last week.
Washington, March 27 : A large contingent of Indian-Americans gathered outside the CNN office in Chicago after the channel aired a documentary that "tarnished" Hinduism, the media reported.

The protest held on Sunday was attended by over 600 Indian-Americans, the American Bazaar reported.

"We are here to protest against the show aired on CNN called 'Believer', directed by Reza Aslan. The community is outraged by the way he presented Hinduism. We are 2.5 million Hindus living in the country peacefully and projecting Hindus in a bad light was an evil work done by Aslan," said Shamkant Sheth, President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), Chicago.

"It is a gross mistake by CNN to broadcast this show. We had requested CNN not to broadcast this show, but they aired it."

"Raza Aslan, even though he claims to be religious, which he is not, just met a few people in Varanasi who are called 'Aghoris' (Hindu sadhus devoted to Lord Shiva). I just do not understand why he chose to show this when Hinduism has offered this world so many good things like yoga and spirituality," Sheth added.

A letter distributed during the protest said: "This was his (Aslan's) picture of Hinduism projected to the world on CNN."

The protest was organised to condemn and send a message to CNN to stop such programmes and to send positive messages about Hindus and Indians, the American Bazaar said.

According to the organisers, it was to highlight the beliefs and identity of the community, and also, its strengths to the mainstream media, and America, in general.

In one of his Facebook posts, Aslan said that his show is not about Hinduism but the Aghoris who follow extreme rituals.

He also said that the portrayal of sensitive issues such as caste discrimination in the documentary could have offended some people, including many Hindus in America.
Paris, March 27 : Eighteen right-wing activists were on Monday to stand trial in France over a series of offences by a neo-Nazi gang known as the White Wolves Klan, a media report said on Monday.

Among those due to appear in the court in Amiens city is "notorious" far-right activist Serge Ayoub, the BBC reported.

They face 35 charges, including armed violence, theft and attempted murder.

Ayoub was forced to disband two far-right groups he led after sympathisers were involved in a brawl in which a Left-wing activist died.

Several of those on trial for their role in the White Wolves Klan were linked to the groups banned in 2013 -- the Third Way and the Revolutionary Nationalist Youth.

According to prosecutors, the alleged offences took place between 2012 and 2014 and involved attacks on rival groups or former members trying to leave the gang.
Islamabad, March 27 : Facebook is heeding to Pakistan's request over blasphemous content from the social networking site and almost 85 per cent of such material has been taken down, an official said on Monday.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman informed a bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that a team of 25 people is searching sacrilegious material on social media, the News International reported.

According to the regulator, the PTA has initiated action against owners of 40 such pages.

The bench was informed this when it resumed the hearing of a petition filed against blasphemous content on social media.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui had earlier observed that the court would decide whether Facebook should be banned in Pakistan.

The court had directed the PTA to present a fresh report about the measures taken to stop the practice on social media.

"Facebook has now removed blasphemous material from its platform and the company is now acting on our request. It is our success that they are doing this as earlier the company was not even considering it a serious matter," he said.

The Interior Secretary apprised the court about the steps taken by the government in this regard. The law enforcement agencies have arrested three persons who were involved in this heinous crime, he said.

The government has formed an investigation committee. Almost 85 percent of blasphemous content has been removed, and shutting down Facebook is not the solution, he said.
Kolkata, March 27 : Sunshine on their shoulders, 30 bright young minds, notwithstanding their hearing-impairment, ambled up to the late 18th-century St. John's Church here on Monday, soaking in the history of the structure through sign-language in a unique heritage walk.

Rukhsana and her schoolmates from the city-based Ideal School For the Deaf, looked up in awe at the artwork around the church as their teachers explained its 230-year-old history through sign-language as part of the heritage walk for the hearing-impaired.

"The idea is to showcase the inclusivity of heritage structures. Heritage is meant for all and should be inclusive. Disabilities shouldn't be a barrier to access and experience heritage," Tathagata, archaeologist and co-founder of Heritage Walk Calcutta, told IANS about the initiative.

The event was curated and executed by the company in collaboration with the school under the Go Unesco 'Make Heritage Fun' umbrella.

Armed with special kits and visual aids (pictures of old Calcutta and the church, dates), the students from Classes 6 to 9, were taken around the church grounds, located smack in the middle of the city at Dalhousie.

As Tathagata elaborated about the "Black Hole of Calcutta" and Job Charnock's mausoleum, teacher Swati communicated the data through sign-language.

Charnock, a British trader, was considered to be the founder of Kolkata but in 2003 the Calcutta High Court ruled against it, saying Kolkata's existence is older than Charnock's landing.

The young visitors were particularly drawn to the 10 ft x 12 ft painting "The Last Supper" by German neo-classical painter Johann Zoffany, housed inside the church. They eagerly fired a volley of questions for their teachers and responded with hand gestures as they registered the fresh information.

"Our favourite thing about the church is the painting. We love the ambience. It is our first heritage walk and we want to do it again," Rukhsana and her classmates told IANS through sign-language that was translated by Swati.

To follow up on the walk, the students will be asked to interpret the church in their own way through paintings.

"The challenge is to simplify things for them. We have to break down the history and filter it down to the essentials so it is easy for them to absorb. The heritage walk and the paintings that they will later draw will help them retain the memory and the information they processed," added Swati.
Kolkata, March 27 : The All India Gem and Jewellery Trade Federation, which has proposed a 1.25 per cent tax rate on gems and jewellery products under the GST regime, is in dialogue with the government to resolve its concerns.

"Under Goods and Services (GST), what has been prescribed is the supply of goods. That means any movement of gem and jewellery products from one place to other will attract indirect tax," the Federation's former Chairman Bachhraj Bamalwa told reporters here on Monday.

"We have 10-15 movement in the manufacturing value chain. Artisans make jewellery for jewellers and there are movements for processing. If the tax is levied at every movement, it would create a problem," Bamalwa said.

The GST Council also decided that a business entity, including artisans who earn Rs 20 lakh annually as making charge, will have to register themselves in the GST.

"Such threshold limit would be problematic for the artisans. It would be cumbersome for them to comply with all the GST norms," Federation's Chairman Nitin Khandelwal said at its Preferred Manufacturers of India - Regional Networking Meet in the city.

"We have proposed 1.25 per cent tax rate for GST and we are continuously in dialogue with the government with regard to the rate. There will be chaos in the industry if the GST rate is fixed above our proposed rate. The rate is kept open as of now," Bamalwa said.

The GST Council had decided on four tax rates under GST -- 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent.

A cess would be further applicable on goods such as luxury cars, aerated drinks, pan masala and tobacco products. Khandelwal said the federation has so far met 17 finance ministers of different states, nine VAT commissioners, union revenue secretary and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

"They have assured us that our concerns will be taken care of," he said.

Khandelwal said that after the central government's drive for digital payment, about 75 per cent of transactions are now made in the digital mode while the rest is still cash-based.
Tokyo, March 27 : Japan's parliament on Monday enacted a record-high 97 trillion yen ($884 billion) budget for the fiscal 2017.

The enactment of the budget came amid heated discussions in parliament over a cut-price land deal scandal that implicates Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie, Xinhua news agency reported.

Japan's House of Councillors, dominated by Abe's ruling coalition, cleared the budget a month after the House of Representatives passed it.

According to the budget, the fiscal year starting from April 2017 will see a record-high 73.93 trillion yen earmarked for policy spending in the general account of the Japanese government.

Among the major outlays, spending on social security will rise to some 32.47 trillion yen, accounting for a third of the total budget as the Japanese society continues aging.

Defence spending will hit a record-high of 5.13 trillion yen, rising for the fifth straight year since Abe took office in 2012, causing concerns for Japan's neighbouring countries.

Debt serving expenses, including payment for interests, are to reach 23.5 trillion yen, accounting for 24.1 per cent of the total budget.

The government also expects to reduce its dependence on debt, though very slightly, to 35.3 per cent from the 35.6 per cent in the fiscal 2016 initial budget, with issuance of new bonds expected to fall to 34.37 trillion yen in fiscal 2017.
New Delhi, March 27 : Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to make Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM) - Kurnool an Institute of National Importance.

The Indian Institute of Information Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2017, will amend the Indian Institute of Information Technology Act, 2014.

The IIITDM - Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh) will be the fifth member as a centrally-funded IIIT.

Once it becomes an Institute of National Importance, IITDM will have power to award degrees to students.

The Indian Institutes of Information Technology Act, 2014, confers the status of Institutions of National Importance on the IIITs and also provides for matters connected with administering these IIITs.
Moscow, March 27 : Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has been jailed for 15 days for his role in mass anti-corruption protests in Moscow.

Navalny, who was arrested at a Sunday's demonstration, was sentenced by a court in Moscow on Monday afternoon for resisting police orders, the BBC reported.

The verdict was tweeted by his press secretary.

Navalny was one of hundreds of people who were detained across the country in connection with the rallies, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev over corruption allegations.

Responding to the protests, the Kremlin accused the opposition of encouraging lawbreaking and provoking violence. Some young people were paid to attend, a presidential spokesman said.

In a tweet after his detention, Navalny had urged fellow protesters to continue with the demonstration.

"Guys, I'm fine. No need to fight to get me out. Walk along Tverskaya (Moscow main street). Our topic of the day is the fight against corruption," he wroye (in Russian).

Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption blogger who heads Russia's Progress Party, called for the nationwide protests after he published reports claiming that Medvedev controlled mansions, yachts and vineyards -- a fortune that far outstripped his official salary.

Medvedev's spokeswoman called the allegations "propagandistic attacks", but the Prime Minister himself has not commented on the claims.

Thousands of demonstrators attended rallies in St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and several other cities, as well as in Moscow, said the report.

In Moscow, protesters filled Pushkin Square and some climbed the monument to poet Alexander Pushkin shouting "Impeachment". Turnout was estimated to be between 7,000 and 8,000, according to the police.

The police said 500 protesters were arrested in the capital alone, but a rights group, OVD Info, put that number at 700, at least.

The marches appeared to be the biggest since anti-government demonstrations in 2011/2012, the BBC reported.

Meanwhile, the US State Department "strongly condemned" the detention of hundreds of protesters throughout Russia, including of Navalny.

The European Union's diplomatic service demanded the release of demonstrators who were arrested during anti-corruption protests.

In a statement, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said the detained citizens, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny should be released as they had the right to gather peacefully and to free speech.

The head of the Council of Europe on Monday also urged Russian authorities to release the opposition protesters.

The arrests "raise issues under the European Convention on Human Rights," Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland said.
New Delhi, March 27 : The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Central government and Delhi Police to monitor and ensure that the emergency helpline number 100 becomes "more efficient and effective".

The direction of a division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal came on plea initiated by the court after "inconvenience" caused to Justice Vipin Sanghi, whose calls to the emergency helpline number 100 went unanswered.

The court disposed of the matter on the Home Ministrys' submission that preventive maintenance cycle of the technical infrastructure has been made more stringent and frequent. It also said feedback staff has been deputed round the clock in CPCR to make calls to telephone number from which calls made to CPCR are found to be abandoned.

The Delhi Police had said that they have taken several steps to streamline the system for improving the emergency helpline number.

Justice Sanghi, in a letter to Chief Justice Rohini, had narrated his "poor personal experience" of calling up the helpline on April 29 last year when he was on way to Vasant Kunj area of south Delhi to attend a wedding reception and was stuck in a traffic jam for about 40 minutes.
Jalpaiguri (West Bengal), March 27 : Welcoming the Supreme Court's order that Aadhar cannot be made mandatory for availing benefits under social welfare schemes, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday asserted the Centre has no right to impose its decision on people.

"We welcome the SC order on Aadhar card. Government cannot impose it (decision) on people. Centre cannot make Aadhar mandatory for social schemes," Banerjee said at the end of a tribal development council meeting here.

The Trinamool Congress supremo who is on a five-day tour to north Bengal, termed hindering poor people from participating in the 100-days work scheme "against the Constitutional norms".

"There is no such law. The 100-days work scheme is a Constitutional matter. If the poor are stopped from participating in the scheme because they do not have the Aadhar card, then that is against their rights," she said.

The apex court on Monday made it clear that the unique identification number - Aadhaar - can't be made mandatory for availing benefits under social welfare schemes.

Banerjee has also criticised the Centre's decision to make Aadhar mandatory for mid-day meal schemes.

Responding to the reports of frequent cases of child trafficking in various parts of the state including in north Bengal, Banerjee said no one involved in the child trafficking case will be spared.

Banerjee said she will declare Mirikh as a new subdivision on Thursday.
Hyderabad, March 27 : Telangan Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao Monday clarified that the proposal to hike quota for Muslims is not based on religion but on their socio-economic backwardness.

He told the state assembly that the Backward Classes Commission was looking into socio-economic conditions of Muslims and after the receipt of its report, a bill will be tabled to enhance the quota by "five to six percent".

He said the assembly would be adjourned sine die but not prorogued. "Another session will be convened in four to five days to discuss and pass the bills for increasing the quota for backward classes among minorities and the Scheduled Tribes," he said.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had promised in 2014 elections that the quota for Muslims in jobs and education will be increased from current 4 percent to 12 percent. It has also promised to hike the quota for tribals from 7.5 percent to 12 percent.

KCR, as the chief minister is popularly known, said the backwards among minorities were already classified as Backward Classes (E) and were availing the quota.

A committee headed by a former IAS officer last year conducted a survey of Muslims in the state and submitted a report to the government, recommending an increase in quota. The government asked the Backward Classes Commission to conduct another study.

However, the government's move is facing opposition from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which argued that there is no provision in the Constitution for providing quota on the basis of religion.

As the two bills will take the overall reservation in the state to beyond the upper limit of 50 percent, Chandrasekhar Rao said the government will approach both the Centre and the Supreme Court to allow the state to provide more than 50 percent reservation as was done for Tamil Nadu, where the overall quota was 69 percent.

"The social composition of newly created Telangana state is such that 90 percent of the population is weaker sections. We can't have a reservation limit of 50 percent," he said.

KCR agreed that there was a need to increase quota for backward classes and said the commission would be asked to conduct a comprehensive survey of socio-economic conditions of various BC communities and submit a report.
New Delhi, March 27 : It is time the Parliament revisited the Constitution's Article 110 in order to lift the veil of ambiguity from over the definition of a money bill, CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said on Monday.

"Time has come for us to revisit Section 3 of Article 110 of the Constitution which gives this right to Speaker of Lok Sabha to decide whether a bill is a money bill or not," Yechury said during a discussion on the Finance Bill 2017 in Rajya Sabha.

Article 110(1) defines what is a money bill and Article 110(2) what is not a money bill, but Article 110(3) holds if any question arises whether a bill is a money bill or not, "the decision of the Speaker of the House of the People thereon shall be final".

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary however contended that this right does not negate what has been said in Articles 110(1) and 110 (2) "but that is exactly what is happening today".

"This negation is allowing this sort of subterfuge and smuggling of non-tax proposals and changes into them into the Finance Bill whereby fundamental issues are going to be amended, enacted, legislated without the opinion and concurrence of this House. This is anti-constitutional," he said.

Yechury demanded that the upper House "must return the Finance Bill 2017 bill to Lok Sabha with a very serious concern saying you reconsider these aspects and non tax matters should be deleted from the bill".

He said that at least 40 new legislations were being "smuggled in" through the Fiance Bill.

"I think this is an effort to undermine the very institution of parliamentary democracy. By smuggling non-financial matters into the Finance Bill, defining it as a money bill thereby depriving the Rajya Sabha of its right to discuss these matters is actually undermining the entire Constitutional scheme of things," he said.

The BJP does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha and it is difficult for the government to win its backing for any contentious legislation.

However, the Rajya Sabha has no power to amend any money bill, and can only send it back to Lok Sabha for reconsideration with its suggestions which are not binding on the lower house.

The opposition has been alleging for some time now that the Narendra Modi government has been taking the money bill route as frequently as it can to evade the upper House where it is in minority.

"It is an unconstitutional Bill that has been brought. We are seeing the revival of the inspector raj of the worst form," said Yechury.

Yechury also strongly objected to the provision in the Bill that makes it compulsory to give Aadhaar for filing income tax return (ITR).

"Why are you saying today that Aadhaar is required for me to file my ITR? Why do I have my PAN card at all then?" he asked, adding that if the government wants to make Aadhaar compulsory, it should bring a straightforward bill saying as much.

"If you want to make it compulsory, bring a bill saying Aadhaar is compulsory. Why this subterfuge? Why do you want to smuggle it into the Finance Bill? Have the courage to bring a straightforward bill," Yechury said.

"This Aadhaar insistence is leading up to the creation of a surveillance state in India. It is violative of my fundamental right to liberty. My privacy is being violated by this Aadhaar. Anybody with my Aadhaar number can access all my details including financial and personal details," he said.
United Nations, March 27 : India is not participating in the conference on negotiations for a total ban on nuclear weapons that began here Monday.

Diplomatic sources familiar with India's position said the decision to not participate in the meeting was taken independently by New Delhi taking into account the nation's own interests and that the Indian mission was closely monitoring the developments at the conference.

India was expected later this week to issue a comprehensive statement laying out its stance on the meeting that is officially called the Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading Towards their Total Elimination.

India abstained from voting on the General Assembly resolution last year that set up the conference.

Meanwhile, US' Permanent Representative Nikki Haley separately announced a boycott of the conference by western nuclear powers and 37 other countries.

Speaking to reporters outside the General Assembly chamber where the meeting was taking place, she cited the danger posed by the international outlaws who will not abide by any treaties or laws as a rationale for her country, France, Britain and the others to stay away from the negotiations on a legally binding treaty to ban all nuclear weapons.

"In this day and age we can't say honestly that we can protect our people by allowing the bad actors to have them," she said.

"We have to be realistic," she said. "Is there anyone that believes that North Korea would agree to a ban on nuclear weapons?"

In defiance of the UN, North Korea is developing nuclear weapons and missiles to launch them.

The US boycott under President Donald Trump follows the policy set by the Democratic Party administration of President Barack Obama, which opposed calling the conference.

While China and Pakistan abstained, Russia joined the western nuclear powers in voting against the resolution convening it.

Haley instead pitched the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the route to disarmament.

France's Deputy Permanent Representative Alexis Lamek said the NPT remains the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament efforts. A new treaty to ban all nuclear weapons will divide the parties to the NPT, he said.

British Permanent Representative Matthew Rycroft also backed that approach. He said that his country was for a step by step approach within existing multilateral system.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)
Palermo (Italy), March 27 : Italian anti-mafia police arrested 21 people in Messina on Monday and impounded 10 million euros of assets in an operation against the Mangialupi clan's lucrative gambling racket in the port city.

Among those held were seven alleged Mangialupi members and 14 other suspects accused of drugs trafficking, extortion, robbery theft and illegal arms possession, police said.

Police seized 10 million euros of assets in Monday's operation including video slot-machine leasing and betting companies, a tobacco wholesaler, a luxury villa, 17 other properties, and a yacht.

The arrests were carried out by members of the Italian tax police's elite organised crime unit on the orders of Messina anti-mafia prosecutors.

The prosecutors also ordered three other suspects to report regularly to police as part of the operation.
Lampedusa (Italy), March 27 : A 32-year-old African was reunited with her four-year-old daughter on Monday after sending her to Europe aboard a migrant boat last year, allegedly to save her from female genital mutilation in her homeland.

Zanabou Camara, from Ivory Coast, had a tearful reunion with her daughter Oumoh at Palermo airport, where she arrived on a flight from Tunisia.

Camara described her reunion with Oumoh as "a miracle" and said she would have done anything to get her daughter back.

"I would have gone to the end of the earth to find my daughter. Being without her caused me enormous suffering," she told reporters.

"It is a miracle to see her again," Camara said, describing how she entrusted Oumoh to friend who crossed the Mediterranean with the child aboard a migrant boat from Tunisia to Lampedusa.

Camara made the tough decision because Oumoh was at risk of being infibulated in Ivory Coast, along with her 12-year-old cousin, she said.

Bureaucratic delays left Camara stranded in Tunisia for five months, during which time she said she only had contact with Oumoh a few times on Skype.

Maria Volpe, the police officer who liaised with the Ivorian embassy to obtain Camara's visa, and has had responsibility for Oumoh since her arrival in Italy, said the reunion was "the biggest gift I could ever have".

Camara will be granted formal custody of Oumoh when their relationship is confirmed by a DNA test.

She and Oumoh will meanwhile be assisted by a psychologist and workers from a Catholic charity and given shelter in the same community in Palermo where Oumoh has been living since her arrival from Lampedusa.
There is no debt ceiling crisis, at least for now

As Washington policymakers battle over President Donald Trump 's cornerstone economic initiatives, they won't have to worry about the U.S. becoming a global deadbeat  yet.

The debt ceiling deadline came and went earlier this month with little of the attendant fanfare that has become the norm in recent years. That's because the government was able to employ "extraordinary measures" at its disposal to give itself the cash it needs to operate.

Consequently, the U.S. has continued to meet its obligations to creditors while keeping the doors open to the business of government.

In essence, there are three funds the Treasury Department can work with to keep the U.S. from defaulting on its debts: the savings plan for federal employees, often called the G Fund; the Exchange Stabilization Fund that the government uses for its currency operations, and the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, or the main pension fund for federal workers.



The government can suspend investments in the G and ESF funds and use the savings to issue more debt that in turn is used to pay bills and keep operating. For the third fund, it can hold off on issuing new securities until the debt limit is raised.

There, of course, are limits to which the measures can be used, but they can keep things running for several months. Under current estimates, the Bipartisan Policy Center figures the debt ceiling won't become a problem again until October or November, while the Congressional Budget Office similarly estimates problems won't happen until sometime in autumn.

In 2015, the government, facing a similar refusal by Congress to extend the debt limit, was able to keep going until a suspension was approved that November.

U.S. government debt is broken into two categories: that which is held by the public, which includes Treasurys and other similar issuances, and intragovernmental holdings, or debt the government essentially owes itself through the shuffling of funds, as would occur in this case under the extraordinary measures provision.

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Total U.S. debt currently stands at $19.8 trillion, of which $14.3 trillion is owed by the public.





More From CNBC


Bobbie Collett Sutton, PhD, MD Medical Dir., Molecular Pathology, Blood Bank and Blood Donor Services The Medical Foundation; Darryl Irwin, PhD Sr Dir., Applications Development Agena Bioscience

Biopsies from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) generally produce small, heterogeneous samples with limited tumor content in a large background of normal or wild type cells. Despite considerable progress, analytical challenges remain to be resolved, such as the need for reliable detection of low abundance somatic mutations, particularly in small specimens with a low percentage of tumor cells.

In this webinar, speakers will address recent advances, which enable a limit of detection of 1% using iPLEX HS chemistry on the MassARRAY System. Attendees will learn how the iPLEX HS chemistry enables detection of mutations as low as 1% allele frequency from heterogeneous solid tumor samples.

Speakers will also share results from two recent clinical research studies, both of which utilized iPLEX HS Panels targeted for the detection of low abundance mutations from pulmonary adenocarcinoma and mCRC samples.

Agena Bioscience, the sponsor of this event, has selected two speakers for this event; Dr. Bobbie Collett Sutton, Medical Director of Molecular Pathology, Blood Bank Services, and Blood Donor Services at The Medical Foundation and Dr. Darryl Irwin, Senior Director of Applications Development at Agena Bioscience.

Sutton received her M.D. and Ph.D. from Indiana University. In addition to anatomic and clinical pathology she is board certified in Blood Banking and Transfusion Medicine, and Molecular Genetic Pathology. She joined The Medical Foundation in 2000 and serves as Medical Director of Blood Donor Services, Blood Bank Services, and Molecular Pathology.

Irwin earned a doctorate degree from the University of Queensland in Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing. He has been leading the Scientific Services and Applications Development operations at Agena Bioscience in Asia Pacific, and more recently in a global capacity, for 9 years. Previously, Irwin led the genotyping division at the Australian Genome Research Facility.

LabRoots will host the webinar April 26, 2017, beginning at 9:00 a.m. PT, 12:00 p.m. ET. To learn more about this event, read about the P.A.C.E. or Florida continuing education credits offered, and to register for free, click here.

ABOUT AGENA BIOSCIENCE

Agena Bioscience develops, manufactures, and supplies genetic analysis systems and reagents, including the MassARRAY System. The system is a highly sensitive, cost-effective, mass spectrometry-based platform for high-throughput genetic analysis, and is used globally in diverse research fields such as cancer profiling for solid tumors and liquid biopsies, inherited genetic disease testing, pharmacogenetics, agricultural genomics, and clinical research. In the United States, the MassARRAY System is intended for research use only, and not intended for use in diagnostic procedures.

ABOUT LABROOTS

LabRoots is the leading scientific social networking website and producer of educational virtual events and webinars. Contributing to the advancement of science through content sharing capabilities, LabRoots is a powerful advocate in amplifying global networks and communities. Founded in 2008, LabRoots emphasizes digital innovation in scientific collaboration and learning, and is a primary source for current scientific news, webinars, virtual conferences, and more. LabRoots has grown into the worlds largest series of virtual events within the Life Sciences and Clinical Diagnostics community.
East Commerce Solutions is set to exhibit at the annual Maine Restaurant & Lodging Expo located at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine on Wednesday, March 29th from 10 AM to 4 PM (booth #524). The premier expo is co-hosted by the Maine Restaurant Association and the Maine Innkeepers Association.

The states largest business-to-business, comprehensive trade show for the hospitality industry welcomes restaurant and lodging professionals and over 120 exhibiting companies; providing educational and networking opportunities for Maine's hospitality community.

We are excited to exhibit at the Maine Restaurant & Lodging Expo. Weve served the hospitality industry for many years and look forward to connecting with Maine business leaders, said Ed Medeiros, CEO of East Commerce Solutions. We will have representatives available to discuss the cost saving services and solutions we offer to the restaurant industry such as credit card processing, point of sale systems, gift and loyalty card programs, EMV capable processing, mobile processing and payroll services.

The annual expo attracts hundreds of industry professionals to one location and offers exhibitors meaningful sales opportunities in preparation for the years peak travel season.

To learn more about the Maine Restaurant & Lodging Expo, please visit http://www.mainerestaurant.com/mpage/Expo_Home.

About East Commerce Solutions, Inc.

East Commerce Solutions, Inc., is a merchant services provider based in East Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1994, East Commerce Solutions offers a variety of merchant services solutions including credit card processing, hardware for mobile, NFC and EMV capable processing, software and E-Commerce solutions, POS systems, gift card programs, cash advance programs for working capital, and payroll services. For additional information, visit East Commerce Solutions at http://www.eastcommercesolutions.com.
Paul A. Meissner, Senior Managing Partner of Carlson, Meissner, Hart & Hayslett, P.A. Much of the controversy over the use of these red light cameras is related to the way evidence of speeding or running a red light is verified and how the violation is served.

When the Florida Legislature convenes on March 7, 2017, the debate over red light cameras will resume. This time, discussions will include a recent report from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles that indicates crashes increase at intersections where red light cameras are installed.

According to the report, after the installation of red light cameras, crashes rose 10 percent at 148 intersections in 28 Florida cities and counties during the July 2012-April 2016 period, and rear-end crashes increased more than 11 percent. Accidents involving pedestrians and other non-motorists fell almost 20 percent, and crashes involving running a red light were down about 3 percent.

Floridas Legislature has considered bills to ban red light cameras over the past few years. Each of those bills has failed. This upcoming legislative session will consider two billsSB 178 and HB 6007 -- that call for the repeal of red light cameras in Florida by 2020.

The introduction of photographic automated enforcement systems  red light cameras  has added a new twist to defending against traffic tickets, said defense attorney Paul A. Meissner Jr. of Carlson, Meissner, Hart & Hayslett P.A. Much of the controversy over the use of these red light cameras is related to the way evidence of speeding or running a red light is verified and how the violation is served.

Red light cameras work by triggering the camera to take a photograph as a vehicle passes over a sensor in the intersection when the light is red. Photos of the vehicles front license plate and the driver are taken. A police officer is to check the photo of the driver against the drivers license photo of the vehicles registered owner before a citation is mailed to the vehicles registered owner.

If you receive a citation, the first step is to check the photographs to determine if the vehicle in the photo is your vehicle, and who was driving the car at the time the photograph was taken, continued Mr. Meissner. There are several issues to explore in defending a red light ticket, including circumstances where the driver was making a right turn.

The criminal defense lawyers at Carlson, Meissner, Hart & Hayslett P.A. have been serving the Tampa Bay area community for more than 45 years, and share more than 125 years of combined experience. Innovative practice and proven litigation skills make the firm Tampa Bays premier legal team, with a proven track record of success and a reputation for excellence. For more information, visit the firm website at http://www.CarlsonMeissner.com or contact the office directly at 877-728-9653.
The method of engineering vascular grafts that my research team at Wayne State University developed may lead to a profound difference in the way coronary heart disease is treated.

A research team led by Mai Lam, Ph.D., published a method to engineer scalable and customizable vascular grafts in JoVEs Video Journal, the worlds first peer-reviewed scientific video journal. The article demonstrates a method that may lead to new and improved ways of treating coronary artery disease (CAD). Lam is an assistant professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Cardiovascular Research Institute in the Wayne State University School of Medicine.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women worldwide, according to the American Heart Association's 2016 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update. Coronary artery disease occurs when plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. Over time, CAD can weaken the heart muscle and lead to heart failure and arrhythmias.

Current treatments for CAD frequently involve harvesting a patient's own blood vessels as graft material for bypass surgery. Frequently, ill patients do not have viable vessels to donate autologously. Even when patient blood vessels can be harvested, the donor site causes considerable additional harm and has a serious risk for infection.

While other methods exist for engineering vascular grafts, these methods are not easily scalable to produce grafts in the variety of sizes that clinicians need to treat individual patients. Lam's published video article demonstrates how engineered blood vessels can be readily manufactured in a variety of dimensions and lengths to meet the needs of the clinic and patient. An additional benefit of Lams method is that vascular grafts can be produced in two to three weeks, much faster than existing engineering techniques. In treating patients who are critically ill and in rapidly deteriorating health, this time discrepancy can make a significant difference in the patient outcome.

The method of engineering vascular grafts that my research team at Wayne State University developed may lead to a profound difference in the way coronary heart disease is treated, said Lam. In light of the potential impact this method may have in treating a global leading cause of death, we elected to publish our experiment in JoVE Video Journal so that clinicians around the world will have access to a video demonstration detailing how to replicate this important technique.

About JoVE

JoVE is the leading producer and publisher of video resources with the mission to increase productivity of research and education in science, medicine and engineering. Established in 2006, JoVE has produced over 6,000 video articles demonstrating experiments filmed in laboratories at top research institutions and delivered online to millions of scientists, educators and students worldwide. Today, JoVE subscribers include more than 1,000 universities, colleges, biotech and pharmaceutical companies, including leading institutions such as Harvard, MIT, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, University of Melbourne, University of Tokyo and Tsinghua University. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, JoVE maintains offices in the United States, Europe, India, and Australia. Please visit http://www.jove.com to learn more.
MultiPlan, Inc. announced they are accepting applications for their Rural Health Outreach Grant. The grant provides financial resources to hospitals serving rural areas to help them introduce or expand services, education, screenings and other programs aimed at improving the health of people in their communities. MultiPlan introduced the program in 1995 and this year will award grants of up to $7,500 each.

The Rural Health Outreach Grant is available to hospitals participating in one or more of MultiPlans healthcare provider networks including PHCS, MultiPlan, Beech Street, HealthEOS, and Texas True Choice, as well as the IHP, AMN, HMN and RAN networks. An application for the grant is posted in the Providers section of MultiPlans website at http://www.multiplan.com. Completed applications must be received by May 19, 2017. Grant recipients will be announced in June.

MultiPlan encourages hospitals applying for the grant to come up with innovative programs to serve the healthcare needs of people in their communities. Dr. Anthony Sposato, Corporate Medical Director for MultiPlan said, Despite changes and uncertainty in the healthcare industry, hospitals will always be challenged to find new ways to reach out to the people in their communities. We are proud that the MultiPlan Rural Health Outreach Grant helps them provide this important outreach.

MultiPlan has awarded over a half million dollars through the Rural Health Outreach Grant which has helped fund a wide variety of health services supporting the healthcare needs of patients from all age categories  from pediatric trauma programs to treating the behavioral health needs of the elderly. Information about grant recipients is available on the MultiPlan website. For questions about the grant, contact MultiPlan at rural(at)multiplan.com.

About MultiPlan

MultiPlan is committed to helping healthcare payers and providers manage the cost of care, improve their competitiveness and inspire positive change. Leveraging sophisticated technology, data analytics and a team rich with industry experience, the company interprets clients needs and customizes innovative solutions that combine its payment integrity, network-based and analytics-based services. MultiPlan is a trusted partner to over 900,000 healthcare providers nationwide and to 700 healthcare payers in the commercial health, property and casualty, and government markets with 68 million members using our networks. MultiPlan is owned by Hellman & Friedman and other investors. For more information, visit multiplan.com.
While it's not known what shape the Trump administration's promised tax cuts will take, one of the more prominent changes being discussed is a so-called border adjustment tax, which would impose a tax on imports into the United States while exports would be free to leave the country untaxed. The fundamental change to corporate tax laws, if a border tax is adopted, is that corporations would no longer pay tax on income but on the company's U.S. revenues. Exported goods would not be taxed, and imports could not be excluded from a company's revenues.

Imported oil, according to a new analysis, will account for 50% to 65% of all tax collections from a border tax, primarily because imports of some 8 million to 9 million barrels of oil a day would be taxed at a rate of 20%. If a barrel of oil costs $50, the tax alone on 8 million barrels is $80 million (a day) that would have to be paid in cash and not included in a company's cost of goods sold.

ALSO READ: What Now After Trump Administration OK for Keystone XL Pipeline?

The only way for a company caught in that bind to avoid massive losses would be to pass the cost increase along to its customers. A 20% tax on an oil company's cash flow would drive a 25% increase in the costs (think of it as a fee) of imported crude and refined products. According to a new paper by energy economist Philip K. Verleger Jr., "Domestic producers would realize a twenty-five percent increase in revenue at the same time if they could find US buyer."

Verleger notes that many U.S. refiners along the Gulf Coast prefer to import heavier crude varieties from Mexico, Canada and Venezuela rather than use domestically produced lighter oils because the refineries were built or modified several years ago to process the heavier crudes. So even though the United States will soon be "energy independent" on a net basis, imports of crude oil likely will remain high.

ALSO READ: If OPEC Extends Cuts Past June, Top Permian Stocks Could Run Hard

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There is good news for U.S. consumers here, Verleger writes:

[T]he US is expected to keep importing large volumes of heavy crudes, such as the oil produced in Canada or the Middle East, for these refiners. Meanwhile, greater US output would flow to other markets. The refiners would naturally seek to raise product prices. The nation's continued dependence on product imports as well as growing foreign demand for US products would likely make it possible to pass the [border adjustment tax] BAT's full effect through to consumers.

The other problem Verleger sees with the border tax is the notorious volatility of oil prices. In 2009, the U.S. Energy Information Administration expected crude prices to rise from $70 to $180 by 2025. The current estimate is a rise to $135 by 2025. The estimated average price of a barrel for the 10 years between 2016 and 2025 was $150 a barrel; that has since come down to $86 a barrel.

ALSO READ: Deutsche Bank Says Top Oilfield Services Stocks Set to Outperform

But the current price estimates could be just as far off the mark as the estimates made in 2009. Volatility breeds uncertainty, and, as Verleger notes in closing, "In this case, the Republicans propose to replace certainty with a high-stakes gamble on oil prices."

The full paper is available at Verleger's website.

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The International Institute for Analytics (IIA), has named Bill Franks as its Chief Analytics Officer (CAO). An accomplished analytics executive, Franks will join IIAs leadership team and oversee the continued growth of the research and advisory firms research agenda. In his new role, Franks will provide perspective on trends in the analytics and big data space and help clients understand how IIA can support their efforts and improve analytics performance. He will also help guide IIAs global community of analytics practitioners in determining the best strategy and path forward for their particular analytics journey.

Franks brings more than 20 years of experience practicing and leading analytics, most recently as CAO of Teradata. His work has spanned clients in a variety of industries for companies ranging in size from Fortune 100 companies to small nonprofit organizations.

He is the author of the book Taming the Big Data Tidal Wave. In the book, he applies his two decades of experience working with clients on large-scale analytics initiatives to outline what it takes to succeed in todays world of big data and analytics.

His second book The Analytics Revolution lays out how to move beyond using analytics to find important insights in data (both big and small) and into operationalizing those insights at scale to truly impact a business.

My focus has always been on translating complex analytics into terms that business users can understand and to then help an organization implement the results effectively within their processes. In this new role, Im excited to be able to continue working with clients to improve their analytic performance and I look forward to bringing that passion to IIA and our clients, said Bill Franks, IIA CAO.

Franks has been a faculty member of the International Institute for Analytics for the past six years and an active speaker who regularly presents at industry events. His blog, Analytics Matters, addresses the transformation required to make analytics a core component of business decisions.

We have enjoyed a terrific relationship with Bill over the past six years and have been very impressed with his deep analytics expertise. We are thrilled to officially welcome him to the executive team as IIAs CAO and share his frontline experience and analytics chops with our global community of analytics leaders and practitioners," said Jack Phillips, IIA Co-Founder and CEO.

Bill Franks was our top choice to fill this role and we are lucky to have him onboard. I look forward to working with Bill to further IIAs mission of improving the analytics performance of individuals, teams, and enterprises. His depth and range of experience will be a great asset to IIA and the global clients we serve, said Tom Davenport, IIA Co-Founder and Board Member.

Bill earned a Bachelors degree in Applied Statistics from Virginia Tech and a Masters degree in Applied Statistics from North Carolina State University. He lives in Atlanta, GA with his family and will work from both IIAs Portland headquarters and a new satellite office in Atlanta. You can learn more about Bill at http://www.bill-franks.com.

Franks joins IIA as of April 24 and will formally address attendees at IIAs semi-annual Analytics Symposium on October 11, 2017 in Chicago, IL.

About IIA

The International Institute for Analytics (IIA) is an independent research and advisory firm for organizations committed to accelerating their business through the power of analytics. Co-founded by Tom Davenport and CEO Jack Phillips, IIA works across a breadth of industries to uncover actionable insights from its global network of analytics practitioners, industry experts and faculty. IIAs research clients gain access to on-demand consulting, an extensive research library, faculty-moderated executive roundtables and expert network of practitioners. IIA also provides analytics assessments and training services designed to optimize performance in the new data economy. For more information about IIA, its services and how you can become a member visit http://www.iianalytics.com/.
C&S Wholesale Grocers is proud to announce a recent donation of nearly 700,000 cartons of shelf-stable milk to Feeding America food banks to support child nutrition programs. The milk will be distributed through School Pantry and BackPack programs operated by the local food bank.

C&S worked with local food banks in their markets to identify the most needed items. High-value, kid-friendly foods, like shelf-stable milk, were items repeatedly requested for use in the food banks child nutrition programs. Through School Pantry and BackPack programs, food banks are able to distribute kid-friendly food so that children in need can have access to nutritious food in the evenings and weekends.

The 8-ounce cartons of milk, 1% and chocolate, are fortified with Vitamins A and D and do not contain artificial growth hormones. The milk is shelf-stable because refrigeration is not typically available for BackPack and School Pantry program models

The following 24 food banks each received 25,000 cartons of milk to be distributed to schools in C&S communities that operate a BackPack or a School Pantry Program:

AL Montgomery Area Food Bank, Montgomery

CA Community Food Bank, Fresno

CA Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, Sacramento

CA Second Harvest Food Bank of San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties, Manteca

CT Foodshare, Bloomfield

FL Feeding America Tampa Bay, Tampa

FL Feeding Northeast Florida, Jacksonville

FL Feeding South Florida, Pembroke Park

FL Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, Orlando

HI Hawaii Foodbank, Honolulu

LA Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana, New Orleans

MD Maryland Food Bank, Baltimore

NJ Community Foodbank of New Jersey, Hillside

NY Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, Cornwall-on-Hudson

NY Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, Latham

PA Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, Harrisburg

PA Greater Berks Food Bank, Reading

PA Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley and NE Pennsylvania, Nazareth

PA Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania, Erie

SC Harvest Hope Food Bank, Greenville

SC Lowcountry Food Bank, Charleston

TX Houston Food Bank, Houston

TX North Texas Food Bank, Dallas

VT Vermont Foodbank, Brattleboro

Feeding America is committed to providing more nutritious food items to low-income families, said Nancy Curby, Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships & Operations. When children cant focus or learn in school because they are hungry, they are less likely to achieve academic success. We are so grateful to C&S Wholesale Grocers for their continued support and this donation of shelf-stable milk for our child nutrition programs.

Food is a prescription for health, said Debra Vizzi, President and CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. We and C&S are committed to providing healthy, nutritious food to the families we serve. The FoodBank is deeply appreciative of C&Ss donation of 25,000 cartons of milk. This milk will reach New Jersey children in need; giving them the necessary nutrients to grow and learn. Together, we are partnering to provide healthy food choices.

Additionally, C&Ss support for Feeding America included nutrition educational materials for food banks to share with schools for children and families.

ABOUT C&S WHOLESALE GROCERS, INC.

C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., based in Keene, NH, is the largest wholesale grocery supply company in the U.S. and the industry leader in supply chain innovation. Founded in 1918 as a supplier to independent grocery stores, C&S now services customers of all sizes, supplying more than 14,000 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases, and institutions with over 140,000 different products. To learn more, please visit http://cswg.com.

C&S community involvement programs support initiatives to fight hunger and to promote the health and enrichment of communities that are homes to the company's employees and facilities. To learn more, please visit http://community.cswg.com.

ABOUT FEEDING AMERICA

Feeding America is the nationwide network of 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. Together, they provide food to more than 46 million people through 60,000 food pantries and meal programs in communities across America. Feeding America also supports programs that improve food security among the people they serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit http://www.feedingamerica.org, find them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.
Actor and host, Rob Lowe, open a segment that discusses "tools for start-up businesses" on this enjoyable and informative episode of "Informed."

According to the Small Business Administration, firms that employed fewer than 500 workers - the definition of a small business - accounted for 22.9 million net new jobs between 1993 and 2014. Also, since the last recession, small firms created as much as 60 percent of the net new jobs from mid-2009 to the present day, with those who employ between 20 and 499 workers, leading job creation. Also, based on U.S Census Bureau statistics from 2011, small business firms were responsible for over 48 percent of private sector payrolls. Companies with less than 100 workers employed 34.3 percent of the American workforce, and those with less than 20 employees, over 17 percent.

With limited human resources, small budgets, and not enough hours in the day, small business owners face an uphill battle right from the beginning. New internet technologies, however, have provided start-ups with access to services previously out of financial reach. Rob Lowe will examine these points, and the many new tools for startup businesses, on this episode of "Informed."

The award-winning Public Television series Informed" features an experienced team of writers, editors, and producers. It is independently created for Public Television, and distributed to PBS member stations.
TripAdvisor, the worlds largest reviews website, announced their prestigious Travelers' Choice Award for 2017, and Locanda Dell Artista is deemed best B&B / Inn in Tuscany and 11th best in the World. Millions of reviews were factored in the creation of the ranking.

Locanda dell Artista is a boutique country inn located in the heart of Tuscany, Italy, near the ancient walled castle cities of San Gimignano, Poggibonsi, and Colle Val dElsa. Their luxury facilities provide a convenient location for their guests to tour all of the legendary beauty of the Tuscany region.

Multiple Oscar nominated film producer Baker Bloodworth and Cristian Rovetta, owner of a fashion accessory business in Bergamo, saw that there was not a comparable elegant boutique hotel within 20 miles of historic San Gimignano, Tuscany, and seized the opportunity to create their Locanda dell Artista. Now after 5 years and multiple facility expansions, this recognition by TripAdvisor comes at a good time for them.

When asked about receiving the award, Bloodworth said, Cristian, myself, and our staff are humbled and proud to receive this award for the second time, because we dedicate all our passion and energy to the well-being of our guests. Its the attention to every detail and warmth of our staff that sets Locanda dell Artista above the competition. Our many returning guests confirm that their stay at Locanda dell Artista was the best part of their holiday in Italy. Were really proud of that. He also stated: Our goal at Locanda dell Artista is to give each and every guest the same warm welcome and personal attention to ensure their holiday in Tuscany is as authentic and wonderful as it can be, and this vote of confidence by travelers worldwide on TripAdvisor confirms that what we are doing is right.

TripAdvisor, headquartered in Massachusetts, USA, claims to be the largest travel site in the world, with more than 60 million members and over 170 million reviews and opinions of hotels, restaurants, attractions and other travel-related businesses. The site is helpful to hotels like Locanda dell Artista in a variety of ways as they are one of the most highly trafficked sites for hotels and for reviews and information.

In its latest report, Luxury Hotels: Regional Search Strategies, New York-based brand consultancy L2 suggests upper upscale and luxury hotel brands should be looking to TripAdvisor more often than they are now.

TripAdvisor dominates in both SEO (organic searches) and SEM (paid searches) for accommodations online. L2 tested out 452 non-branded search terms during the month of January and found that TripAdvisor was on the first page for 99% of organic search results and 72% or paid search results on Google. TripAdvisor also occupies 7% of all organic real estate in brand term search, even when competing against the brands own sites (63%) and social media properties (16%). Within those brand term searches, these brands currently have the top TripAdvisor visibility: Jumeirah; Anantara; Hilton; Sofitel; and Omni Hotels & Resorts.

Hotels can partner with TripAdvisor in a number of ways, one being a strategic Instant Booking partnership, as Marriott has done. As it would with an Online Travel Agent (OTA), Marriott pays a commission to TripAdvisor for each room booked via the sites Instant Booking feature, and L2s report states this gives Marriott a fighting chance against OTAs on the site.

Hotels also improve their visibility within TripAdvisor by using popular keywords in descriptions for specific markets, investing in content for their property page, and improving guest review response rate and time spent on the platform. Their public awards essentially recognize excellence in the use of these strategies.

Hotels like Locanda dell Artista who are successful with Tripadvisor, will be able to take advantage of the new upcoming TripAdvisor Connect service later this year: a tool that will allow independent hotels to enjoy the same visibility on TripAdvisor as the big hotel chains and online agencies and significantly increase the number of direct bookings. With TripAdvisor Connect Locanda dell Artista will also have tools to analyze sales and will be able to send scheduled emails to their customers once they have left the establishment. Like this, they can encourage customers to write comments on Tripadvisor and improve their position in the ranking of hotels in their destination.

With this new service, TripAdvisor intends to give more chances to small hotels which demanded to have the same opportunities to receive direct bookings than the big chains. Now they can have the same visibility and control all their information from their management panel explains Julio Bruno, vice president of Global Sales and TripAdvisor for Business.

Receiving this lofty recognition from TripAdvisor serves as a powerful reminder to Locanda dell Artista (http://www.locandadellartista.com) that the bar is set high. Following their example, every hotel should remember that each new guest is as important as the last.
Consciousness is not all or none, but more like a dimmer switch and you can have more or less of it. This sliding scale is helpful in accommodating various riddles. If it is something that is quantitative, that is a gift for science.

Baroness Susan Greenfield has discussed the release of her new book entitled A Day in the Life of the Brain and presented it to a packed room of her fans at Kings Place, London. The sold-out event, chaired by Daniel Glaser, took place on the 2nd of March 2017, and was well-received by her fans, who shouted We love Susan.

Baroness Greenfield is an author, researcher and neuroscientist. She is founder of research company Neuro Bio, senior research fellow at Lincoln College Oxford and has thirty-two honorary degrees. She took her fans through the book, which follows a persons typical day from the perspective of what is happening in their brain from dawn to dusk. She described what happens to the brain during interaction with animals, especially dogs, and how consciousness changes in an urban vs. rural environment.

At the event, Susan said:

Consciousness is not all or none, but more like a dimmer switch and you can have more or less of it. This sliding scale is helpful in accommodating various riddles. If it is something that is quantitative, that is a gift for science.

In the book, A Day in the Life of the Brain, she tackles some of the most challenging aspects of not only psychiatry but also philosophy, examining the nature of human consciousness, and how this differs between humans and animals. Baroness Susan Greenfield also talked about neural networks and how these contribute to making people who they are, accounting for the fact that people lose brain cells, and gain brain cells but do not change in personality. The book is available to download from Amazon now.

Greenfield also announced at the event she has been received a $3 Million investment for her research into Alzheimers screening and treatment. She is developing a new patented method with the eventual potential for finding out if someone has Alzheimers even before the onset of symptoms by using a blood test. Alongside this, Susan Greenfield is developing a treatment which would aim to stop the progression of the disease. The screening and treatment combination could potentially bring an end to Alzheimers symptoms in those who have not yet developed the disease.

Alzheimers is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Every sixty-six seconds someone in the United States develops the disease. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined, according to Alzheimers information website Alz.org. Around the world, nearly 44 million people have Alzheimers or a related dementia and so Susans research could improve many lives. To find out more about Baroness Susan Greenfield and her latest research, visit the Neuro Bio website where new updates will be posted.
Remote Lands, the worlds leading ultra-luxe Asia travel designer, announces the expansion of their Aman Private Jet Journeys with three exciting new trips for fall 2017. In addition to the annual Aman Private Jet Expedition, which will highlight the new Aman in Shanghai, there will also be two brand-new Aman Wellness Journeys. The wellness trips, which are led by renowned specialists in disciplines including Pilates, yoga and body rolling, will incorporate daily wellness sessions and health-conscious meals in addition to exclusive cultural excursions. All three trips will fly just 16 guests across Asia on two Gulfstream G200 private jets where they will stay in Aman resorts in exotic Asian locations including China, Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka, Bali, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. All touring during the trips is private and each guest or couple will have their own private car, driver and guide for all airport transfers and touring, along with highly personalized and customizable itineraries. The entire group will come together each day for cocktail parties, meals and group wellness sessions with extraordinary people in special venues. Below is a summary of each new private jet journey and for more information, visit http://www.remotelands.com.

Aman Wellness Journey  September 18 - October 3, 2017

With wellness travel on the rise in recent years, in particularly in conjunction with adventure, this brand-new handcrafted itinerary was designed by Remote Lands and Aman to meet this growing trend. The 16-day itinerary will include stops in Bali and Java in Indonesia, followed by the Philippines and Vietnam, staying at five Aman properties including Amandari and Amankila in Bali, Amanjiwo in Borobudur, Amanpulo in Pamalican Island and Armanoi in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

The trip will be led by renowned wellness specialist Yamuna Zake, the woman behind the globally recognized Yamuna Body Rolling Method, who will provide intensive daily body rolling sessions at each Aman property along with inflight sessions during transit to work the joints and muscles. Guests will also be treated to health-conscious meals and cultural excursions. Among the itinerary highlights include learning how to cook traditional Indonesian and Filipino dishes from local experts; island-hopping over turquoise waters in the Philippines by private jet; taking a private snorkeling excursion to discover Indonesias abundant sea life; and catching unforgettable sunrises over Javas spiritual Borobudur monument. For the wellness sessions, guests will be provided with their own Yamuna kit of essential apparatus, which includes different sized balls for body rolling, and will learn the keystones of Yamunas method  breathing, footwork, yoga and Pilates-based movements. The journey is priced at $54,984 per person based on double occupancy, and $9,378 single supplement.

Aman Private Jet Expedition  October 8 - 24, 2017

Amans 2017 annual private jet journey will take travelers on an unforgettable adventure across Asia covering cities, mountains, jungles and beaches. The 17-day itinerary will include stops in China, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka, staying at eight luxury Aman properties in Shanghai, Lijiang, Thimphu, Paro, Alwar, Ranthambhore, Galle and Tangalle. The most notable of these properties is the Aman Shanghai, which is opening in September of this year and is the reason Shanghai has been added to the itinerary for the first time. The property is nestled within an idyllic historical village and represents a valuable act of cultural preservation as well as an opportunity for guests to experience a piece of Chinas deep rural history in close proximity to the countrys most cosmopolitan city.

The itinerary offers privileged experiences for guests including a riveting tour of Shanghais architecture and history with a leading expert; hiking up to the mystical Tigers Nest monastery in Bhutan; yoga in the ancient city ruins of Bhangarh in Alwar, India; tiger-spotting on a Royal Bengal Tiger safari in Ranthambore National Park; exploring the historic Galle fort built in 1588 by the Portuguese and overflowing with charming old colonial architecture; and a beach barbecue with fire dancing in Tangalle, Sri Lanka. The journey is priced at $64,888 per person based on double occupancy, and $23,000 single supplement.

Aman Wellness Journey  November 2-5, 2017

Remote Lands and Amans second wellness journey will take guests on a journey of exploration, discovery and wellness on private jets to some of Asias most historic countries. The trip will visit India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, with accommodations in five luxury Aman properties including Amanbagh in Alwar, India; Aman-i-Khas in Ranthambhore, India; Amangalla in Galle, Sri Lanka; Amanwella in Tangalle, Sri Lanka and Amanpuri in Phuket, Thailand.

The 14-day itinerary will be led by wellness specialists James DSilva, founder of the Garuda Pilates Method, and world-renowned yoga expert Eyal Chehanowski. Apart from daily morning and evening yoga and meditation classes to restore and reenergize guests physically and mentally, the trip will also incorporate cultural excursions such as exploring the Kingdom of Alwar, enclosed by sweeping hills and marble mountains; discovering the bountiful flora and fauna in Ranthambore National Park as well as the largest tiger population; immersion in the Ayurvedic lifestyle in Galle and Tangalle; and continued reflection, relaxation and wellness activities on the tropical island of Phuket. The journey is priced at $49,969 per person based on double occupancy, and $8,030 single supplement.

We are excited to continue our successful partnership with Aman and introduce these new private jet journeys, said Catherine Heald, Remote Lands co-founder and CEO. With health and wellness travel increasingly popular with our discerning clientele, and an important part of luxury travel, we wanted to incorporate this into our itineraries. By partnering with renowned wellness specialists, we continue our tradition of establishing relationships and access to privileged people and experiences.

To find out more about this and other future private jet journeys, visit http://www.remotelands.com or email amanprivatejet(at)remotelands.com.

About Remote Lands, Inc.

Remote Lands, Inc. creates highly personalized and unique, ultra-luxury holidays throughout Asia. Based in New York and Bangkok, the company specializes in extraordinary experiences that are difficult to arrange and require privileged access to important people and exclusive events, drawing upon Remote Lands relationships with remarkable people around Asia. Unparalleled service, creative itineraries and extreme attention to detail are what set Remote Lands apart.

Media Contacts:

Katie Barr Cornish / Emma Silverman

Eleven Six PR

Katie(at)elevensixpr.com / emma(at)elevensixpr.com

646-325-5894 / 647-780-0159
Dr. Stan Tatkin We train PACT therapists to find the root of the problem quickly and efficiently so that couples can restore their relationship to a secure-functioning condition as attentive and supportive partners for one another.

The Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT) Institute has announced Los Angeles PACT training sessions for May 5-7. The PACT Institute has trained more than 1,000 marriage and family therapists, social workers, counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists from all over the world in the PACT methodology. The training will take place at the Pepperdine University West LA Graduate Campus in Los Angeles.

A Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT), developed by Dr. Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT, is a fusion of attachment theory, developmental neuroscience, and arousal regulation. PACT has a reputation for effectively treating the most challenging couples. The method aims to promote secure-functioning relationships based on the principles of sensitivity, fairness, justice, collaboration and true mutuality. PACT specifically focuses on evoking experience for couples through social cues, movement exercises, conflict enactments, and other psychodramatic techniques.

The full training comprises three levels, spanning three years. The Level I (beginner) course is taught by the PACT core faculty. The Level II (advanced) and Level III (practicum) courses are taught by Dr. Tatkin. These courses are offered at various locations in the United States. Some levels are also available internationally. In Los Angeles, Lon Rankin, MA, LPCC, will conduct the Level I training. A sought-after PACT trained couple therapist, Mr. Rankin has a background in transpersonal psychology. He maintains a private practice in Santa Fe, NM and enjoys keeping current with the vast amounts of emerging neurobiology research and exploring the use of nonordinary states of consciousness for healing.

We train PACT therapists to find the root of the problem quickly and efficiently so that couples can restore their relationship to a secure-functioning condition as attentive and supportive partners for one another, explained The PACT Institutes founder, Dr. Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT, a best-selling author, therapist and researcher. The PACT Institutes faculty members are all highly skilled therapists with successful private practices and have undergone extensive PACT training with Dr. Tatkin.

About Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT

Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT, has a clinical practice as a couple therapist in Calabasas, CA, and is assistant clinical professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine. He and his wife, Tracey Boldemann-Tatkin, PhD, founded the PACT Institute and lead therapist training programs in cities across the United States and around the world. Tatkin is the author of three well-received books about relationshipsWired for Dating, Wired for Love, and Your Brain on Loveand is coauthor of Love and War in Intimate Relationships. Learn more about Dr. Tatkin at http://www.stantatkin.com.

About the PACT Institute

The PACT Institute is a leading global organization that offers trainings for clinical professionals in a method designed to help secure-functioning relationships flourish. The Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT) draws on more than three decades of research on developmental neuroscience, attachment theory, and arousal regulation. Since 2008, the PACT Institute has trained more than 1,000 practitioners across North America, Europe, and Australia and has expanded the training to three levels. PACT has gained a reputation for effectively treating even the most challenging couples. For more information visit: http://www.thepactinstitute.com.
It was very rewarding to share our products that have been retrofitted with compatibility for uniquely Japanese designs."

GRE Alpha recently completed a successful showing at the March 2017 Nikkei Messe Tokyo Big Sight Lighting Fair held in Tokyo, Japan. The event, one of the largest comprehensive lighting exhibitions in Japan, ran from March 7 to March 10.

The lighting fair was organized by the Japan Lighting Manufacturers Association and Nikkei, Inc and played host to 212 total exhibitors from 9 countries and regions, 712 total booths, and more than 70,000 visitors. This was GRE Alphas first year displaying at the lighting show.

It was a good event and generated a lot of interest, said Richard Fong, Executive Director at GRE Alpha. We networked with other companies and unveiled several new products for the Japan market.

GRE Alphas team gave demonstrations of products such as LED drivers and LED dimming modules. Products displayed in the companys booth included the PWM dimming module, Tunable White dimming module, phase dimmable LED driver, DALI dimming modules, and constant voltage LED drivers. New products for the Japanese market included the GRE Alpha PWM dimming module featuring compatibility with Matsushita products, and an introduction to the Japan product-friendly DALI and DMX dimming modules.

It was very rewarding to share our products that have been retrofitted with compatibility for uniquely Japanese designs, said Fong. There was increased interest in using smart lighting and dimming control. The emphasis of the Fair was more on human-centric lighting with ease of use rather than on efficiency. Our products offer both.

In addition to a successful showing at the Japan event, GRE Alpha is proud to announce the opening of its newest office location in Tokyo, Japan. The new office was launched to provide better support for Japanese customers. GRE Alpha also looks forward to taking part in the growth of the Japanese LED lighting market due to the expansion of new products and buildings in preparation for the summer 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

GRE Alpha looks forward to showcasing even more innovative LED products at future tradeshows and events, including the upcoming 2017 LIGHTFAIR International event in Philadelphia, PA, USA. The LFI conference and tradeshow will be held from May 9 to May 11, 2017.

We will be showcasing LED drivers specifically for grow lighting and horticultural lighting applications, said Fong. We will also be unveiling multi-mode dimming modules for SMART lightingsuch as our 7-in-1-dimming modulethat support multiple dimming functions.

For more information on GRE Alpha, or to contact a GRE Alpha service representative and schedule a one-on-one appointment with a technical expert, visit http://www.grealpha.com/contact.
Comm Solutions ranked #4 on Top Workplace list. We are extremely proud to be recognized for the 4th straight year as one of the Top Workplaces in Philadelphia, said Paul Black, CEO of Comm Solutions. Ranking in the Top Workplace list, especially #4, is an achievement that we strive for every year."

Comm Solutions has been awarded a 2017 Top Workplaces honor by Philly.com. The Top Workplaces lists are based solely on the results of an employee feedback survey administered by WorkplaceDynamics, LLC, a leading research firm that specializes in organizational health and workplace improvement. Several aspects of workplace culture were measured, including Alignment, Execution, and Connection, just to name a few.

The Top Workplaces award is not a popularity contest. And oftentimes, people assume its all about fancy perks and benefits. says Doug Claffey, CEO of WorkplaceDynamics. But to be a Top Workplace, organizations must meet our strict standards for organizational health. And who better to ask about work life than the people who live the culture every daythe employees. Time and time again, our research has proven that whats most important to them is a strong belief in where the organization is headed, how its going to get there, and the feeling that everyone is in it together." Claffey adds, Without this sense of connection, an organization doesnt have a shot at being named a Top Workplace.

We are extremely grateful and proud to be recognized for the fourth year in a row as one of the Top Workplaces in Philadelphia, said Paul Black, Chief Executive Officer of Comm Solutions. Ranking within the Top Workplace list, especially #4, is an achievement that Comm Solutions strives for every year. Our team is tremendously talented and enthusiastic about the continued growth and expansion of the company, and this award confirms the positive culture that we have created which provides the vital building blocks for delivering superior results to our customers.

Paul Black and John Black, President of Comm Solutions, were also presented with the Top Leadership Award. Paul Black shared Im humbled for my brother John and I to be recognized with the Top Leadership honor this year, especially because the Philadelphia area has a lot of great business leaders and the competition is fierce. Over time, we have really strived to develop a collaborative culture that brings out the best in our team. Our employees know that they are valued and that their ideas for improving how we do business are essential to our continued growth. I think everybody really enjoys being a part of that.

###

About Comm Solutions

Comm Solutions, an Optiv company, is an end-to-end technology solutions provider specializing in the design, development, deployment, and support of enterprise level solutions for security, infrastructure and storage in the corporate, education and healthcare markets. Our goal is to work with our clients to help them identify what is best for their architecture and the needs of their company.

Comm Solutions maintains excellent alliances with Best in Class technology vendors, to see a full list of our partners please visit our website. The highly skilled and certified specialists at Comm Solutions understand how to leverage these technologies to shorten deployment cycles. As advocates for clients, Comm Solutions strategically aligns their clients business and IT objectives to provide the best overall value and ROI on technology deployments.

About WorkplaceDynamics, LLC

Headquartered in Exton, PA, WorkplaceDynamics specializes in employee feedback surveys and workplace improvement. This year alone, more than two million employees in over 6,000 organizations will participate in the Top Workplaces campaigna program it conducts in partnership with more than 40 prestigious media partners across the United States. Workplace Dynamics also provides consulting services to improve employee engagement and organizational health. WorkplaceDynamics is a founding B Corporation member, a coalition of organizations that are leading a global movement to redefine success in business by offering a positive vision of a better way to do business.
Ibis Capital Logo The Safeguard and Grow Your Wealth event is part of Ibis commitment to bring relevant and timely information to the San Diego community by collaborating and engaging with other recognized experts

Ibis Capital, an independent wealth management firm for successful families seeking to achieve financial peace of mind, will host a discussion on April 27 at The Santaluz Club in North County, San Diego to provide clients and guests with insight into topics that influence their personal wealth. The Safeguard and Grow Your Wealth event is part of Ibis commitment to bring relevant and timely information to the San Diego community by collaborating and engaging with other recognized experts.

This year, the event will feature three expert keynote speakers: MG Properties President and CEO Mark Gleiberman; attorney Elizabeth L. Morgan, Owner of Elizabeth Morgan & Associates; and Ibis Capital CEO and CIO Robert Meyer.

Mark Gleibermans deep and varied financial background uniquely suits him to discuss current real estate trends and the management of a diversified personal finance portfolio. He founded MG Properties Group in 1992, and has overseen the acquisition, development and management of more than 100 multifamily properties totaling more than 20,000 units, with a value in excess of $3 billion. He has worked in senior financial management positions as a tax specialist, and was selected as a finalist for the 2006 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

We are thrilled to have Mark speak on a topic that impacts wealth in such a significant way, said Robert Meyer, CEO and CIO of Ibis Capital. Its imperative that we keep our knowledge up-to-date with the latest dynamics and trends to serve our clients through an integrated strategic view.

Elizabeth Morgan has provided creative legal and consultation services to the domestic and international family office and ultra-high-net-worth community for 29 years, specializing in domestic and international estate planning, domestic and international estate and tax law, and jurisdictional tax law.

Asset protection is a fairly narrow area of the law and few can call themselves experts in this area, but Elizabeth is one of them, Meyer said. Her compassionate yet assertive approach to law has helped families develop planning strategies that offer additional wealth protection. Like the team at Ibis Capital, she attributes her success to the strong relationships she builds with clients.

Meyer will discuss the impact of behavioral economics on intergenerational wealth, a revolutionary new concept in personal finance that is rooted in psychology sciences. Ibis combines decades of experience with a robust network of skilled collaborators to deliver integrated wealth management strategies. The firm provides expertise in asset management (including structured products and alternative investments), advanced planning strategies and retirement services, and leverages its network of professional collaborators to provide additional services when appropriate.

About Ibis Capital

Ibis Capital is an independent wealth management firm that offers a holistic financial planning approach to clients with additional services including advanced estate planning, tax mitigation strategies and behavioral economics. Its business model provides expanded solution offerings and the talented team required to offer top-tier service to choice clientele. Ibis Capital has approximately $350 million in assets under advisement and services approximately 95 clients, including high-net-worth families, middle market business owners, pension plans, endowments and foundations. For more information please visit http://www.ibiscapital.com or follow Ibis on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Ibis Capital and Stratos Wealth Partners do not provide legal or tax advice or services. Please consult your legal advisor regarding your specific situation.

Investment advice offered through Stratos Wealth Partners, Ltd., a registered investment advisor.

Ibis Capital and Stratos Wealth Partners are not affiliated with Elizabeth Morgan & Associates.

About Mark Gleiberman

Mr. Mark Gleiberman serves as the Chief Executive Officer of MG Properties Group. Mr. Gleiberman founded MG Properties Group in 1992. Mr. Gleiberman has overseen the acquisition, development and management of more than 100 multifamily properties totaling more than 20,000 units, with a value in excess of $3 billion. Prior to forming MG Properties, he was a tax specialist for five years with international accounting firms Ernst & Whinney and Touche Ross and worked for six years in senior financial management positions with Hybritech Incorporated and Solar Turbines Corporation. In 2006, he was selected as a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. He graduated with a degree in Business from Drexel University in 1979 and became a licensed Certified Public Accountant in 1981 and a California-licensed Real Estate Broker in 1990.

About Elizabeth L. Morgan

A frequent speaker and author, Elizabeth L. Morgan is Owner of Elizabeth Morgan & Associates, which provides the following legal and consulting services in the following areas: International Estate and Asset Protection Planning, Investment Portfolio Planning (Legal and Tax Matters), Domestic Estate Planning, Probate, Trust, and Estate Administration, Tax and Entity Planning, and Charitable Planning and Administration, Complex Structure Administration

Ms. Morgan holds a JD from the University of Texas School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Baylor University. A board certified estate planning attorney, she affiliates with the Texas Bar Association to stay on top of new trends in the legal field. Ms. Morgan has received numerous awards over her career. For example in recognition of her excellence over nearly three decades, Ms. Morgan earned a general AV preeminent award and a specific women's AV preeminent attorney rating from Martindale Hubbell.1

1 The Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings are an objective indicator of a lawyer's high ethical standards and professional ability. Attorneys receive a Peer Review Ratings based on evaluations by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada.
Bryn Wesch, Chief Financial Officer at Novus Medical Detox Center, discusses the possibility of taxes on prescription drugs. Opioid overprescribing and misuse has placed a growing financial burden on many states, so taxing the prescription medication at the root of the problem is a clever and fair solution.

From 1999 to 2015, the rate of U.S. drug overdose deaths soared 167%,(1) with opioids alone responsible for over 33,000 of the 52,404 drug-related deaths in 2015.(2) To combat the growing epidemic, California Assemblyman Kevin McCarty has sponsored Assembly Bill (AB) 1512, which proposes a tax on prescription opioids to fund drug rehabilitation and prevention services.(3) Novus Medical Detox Center, a leading Florida-based drug treatment facility, believes the move has the potential to reverse the opioid crisis and encourages other states to pursue similar legislation.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the age-adjusted U.S. drug overdose death rate climbed from 6.1 per 100,000 in 1999 to 16.3 in 2015more than 2.5 times higher.(1) Opioid-related overdose deaths jumped 15.5%, from 28,647 to 33,091, in a single year.(2) In California, 32 people per day are hospitalized from non-fatal overdoses and other opioid-related conditions; and in 2014, more than 2,000 Californians fatally overdosed on prescription opioids.(4)

These statistics led McCarty to propose a 1-cent per milligram surcharge on prescription opioids to be assessed on wholesalers, with the funds earmarked for drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs.(4) McCartys office projects the tax will raise tens of millions of dollars and that any impact on consumers would only be a few dollars per month.(3) Similar legislation has also been proposed in the U.S. Senate and in the state legislatures of Connecticut, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.(3, 4)

Opioid overprescribing and misuse has placed a growing financial burden on many states, so taxing the prescription medication at the root of the problem is a clever and fair solution, said Bryn Wesch, CFO of Novus Medical Detox Center. Increasing funding for prevention and education can help reduce the number of new and long-term opioid users, while expanding access to drug detox and rehab can help those struggling with opioid use disorders overcome their dependence.

Wesch believes proactive efforts and investments at the state level are essential to combat the U.S. opioid crisis, and she calls for more lawmakers to follow McCartys lead in sponsoring legislation designed to prevent and end opioid misuse and abuse. Researchers from Columbia University predicted that U.S. drug overdose deaths would peak in 2017 before declining to non-epidemic levels of about 6,000 per year by 2035; however, they emphasize that the epidemic wont end by itself and will require continuing public health interventions.(5)

Law enforcement and regulatory officials have finally begun taking a more compassionate approach to individuals with substance use disorders, creating an environment that is more conducive to getting them into detox, rehab and recovery, explained Wesch. The challenge has been securing funding to support drug treatment and detox programs for all those who need them, so McCartys tax proposal is a smart approach. And if patients are concerned about the rising cost of their opioid prescriptions, hopefully itll encourage them to explore the alternativesthere are plenty of safer options availableand to get the help they need to taper down from or off of their current medication.

For more information on Novus Medical Detox Center and its medically supervised drug treatment programs, visit http://www.novusdetox.com.

About Novus Medical Detox Center:

Novus Medical Detox Center has earned The Joint Commissions Gold Seal of Approval for Behavioral Health Care Accreditation as an inpatient medical detox facility. Licensed by the Florida Department of Children and Families, Novus provides safe, effective alcohol and drug treatment programs that are based on proven medical protocols and designed to minimize the discomfort of withdrawal. The facility is located on 3.25 acres in New Port Richey, Florida, in a tranquil, spa-like setting bordering protected conservation land. Intent on proving that detox doesnt have to be painful or degrading, Novus set out to transform the industry by bringing humanity into medical detox with individually customized treatment programs and 24/7 access to nursing care and withdrawal specialists. Today, Novus is renowned as a champion of industry standardization and a staunch advocate of patients fighting to overcome substance use disorders. Frequently recognized for its contributions to the industry and local community, Novus has become a regular source to media publications such as The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, and has ranked in the Tampa Bay Business Journals Fast 50, the Florida Business Journals Top 500 and the Inc. 5000 list of Americas fastest-growing companies. For more information on Novus medically supervised detox programs, visit http://novusdetox.com.

1. Hedegaard, Holly; Margaret Warner; and Arialdi M. Minino. Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 19992015; NCHS Data Brief; February 2017. cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db273.pdf

2. Rudd, Rose A.; Puja Seth; et al. Increases in Drug and Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths  United States, 20102015; Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; December 30, 2016. cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm655051e1.htm

3. Bollag, Sophia. California Lawmaker Proposes Tax on OxyContin, Other Opioids; U.S. News & World Report; March 1, 2017. usnews.com/news/best-states/california/articles/2017-03-01/california-lawmaker-proposes-tax-on-oxycontin-other-opioids

4. McCarty, Kevin. Assemblymember Kevin McCarty Announces Legislation to Tackle Californias Opioid Addiction Epidemic; March 1, 2017. a07.asmdc.org/press-releases/assemblymember-kevin-mccarty-announces-legislation-tackle-californias-opioid

5. Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health. The Downside of Taking Pills to Treat Chronic Pain; news story published January 6, 2015. mailman.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/drug-overdose-epidemic-recede-soon
JoTo PR CEO, Karla Jo Helms, talks about the signing of JoTo PR's new client, BathMasters, and the public perception of the construction industry. BathMasters has discovered the lost tech of bathroom installation and renovation, and its message is one of positive return on investment for homeowners.

Between 1947 and 2010, the construction industry eked out a grim 6% growth in its productivity compared to agriculture (1,510%) and manufacturing (760%). In fact, constructions productivity is lower today than it was in 1968. BathMasters, a Florida and Virginia-based plumbing, electrical and building contractor company, has aligned with JoTo PR to change the public perception of the industry and regain the trust of consumers.

Low productivity in construction today is the result of a multitude of factors. Although there are many large construction companies around the world, the industry also has plenty of smaller, less-productive firms. Contracts can become beset with disputes, and changes to the basic project specifications have unfortunately become the new norm. In many countries, the complex nature of regulation leads to loose controls and unethical practices. The balance of renovation and repairs to new builds in developed countries adds salt to the wound when worn infrastructure fails, crippling an area and contributing to low productivity.1

In the U.S., untrained, unscrupulous and unlicensed contractors prey on consumers, dragging down the reputation of good companies that take pride in their craftsmanship and workforce. BathMasters is working to bring needed change to the construction industry.

BathMasters was created to specialize in bathroom renovations. Experts in both custom tile and the highest quality acrylic bathrooms, the difference between BathMasters and others in the industry is twofold; each homeowners needs are at the center of every BathMasters professional estimate, and BathMasters utilizes fully-trained installers who are driven to install their bathrooms correctly the first time.

Co-founders and brothers Greg and David Norman stand behind their family-owned business. They recognized the need for trained craftsmen in the industry to rebuild the industrys reputation, pointed out Karla Jo Helms, CEO, Chief Evangelist and Anti-PR Strategist for JoTo PR. BathMasters has a rigorous training and internship program that focuses on creating master craftsmen and womena refreshing concept in the industry.

BathMasters is rapidly expanding to meet the demand of its customers, purchasing warehouse space in Tampa Bay, Florida, and bringing its 10 years of Virginia craftsmanship, A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, and expertise to a state that has suffered from a reputation for poor construction quality. BathMasters has discovered the lost tech of bathroom installation and renovation, and its message is one of positive return on investment for homeowners. JoTo PR has signed BathMasters as a client to help it spread the word, commented Helms.

Bathroom upgrades provide one of the greatest increases in home value, as well as enhancing key safety features. With thousands of custom bathrooms remodeled, BathMasters has become the premier choice for bathroom renovation needs. BathMasters is changing the face of the bathroom renovation industrybeginning with proper training, added Helms.

JoTo PR has a rich history in innovative business PR solutions, and provides services to national and international organizations. The firm is a pioneer in the PR industry, blending traditional PR expertise with high technology so as to harness the advantages of both worldstraditional and new. JoTo PR specializes in the healthcare, finance and technology sectors, but has worked for a variety of industries and non-profits, using a proprietary process to consistently find, relay and render to the media the information thats valuable to its clients respective industries.

About JoTo PR:

After doing marketing research on a cross-section majority of 5,000 CEOs of fast-growth trajectory companies and finding out exactly how they used PR, how they measure it and how they wanted the PR industry to be different, PR veteran and innovator Karla Jo Helms created JoTo PR and established its entire business model on those research findings. Astute in recognizing industry changes since its launch in 2009, JoTo PRs team utilizes newly established patterns to create timely PR campaigns comprising both traditional and the latest proven media methods. This unique skill enables JoTo PR to continue to increase the market share and improve return on investment (ROI) for its clients, year after yearbeating usual industry standards. Based in Tampa Bay, Florida, JoTo PR is an established international public relations agency. Today, all of JoTos processes are streamlined PR services that have become the hallmark of the JoTo PR name. For more information, visit JoTo PR online at http://www.jotopr.com.

About Karla Jo Helms:

Karla Jo Helms is the Chief Evangelist and Anti-PR Strategist for JoTo PR.

Karla Jo learned firsthand how unforgiving business can be when millions of dollars are on the lineand how the control of public opinion often determines whether one company is happily chosen or another is brutally rejected.

Being an alumna of crisis management, Karla Jo has worked with litigation attorneys, private investigators and the media to help restore companies of goodwill back into the good graces of public opinionKarla Jo operates on the ethic of getting it right the first time, not relying on second chances, and doing what it takes to excel.

Karla Jo has patterned her agency on the perfect balance of crisis management, entrepreneurial insight and proven public relations experience. Helms speaks globally on public relations, how the PR industry itself has lost its way and how, in the right hands, corporations can harness the power of PR to drive markets and impact market perception.

1. Woetzel, Jonathan, Sridhar, Mukund, and Mischke, Jan. The Construction Industry has a Productivity Problem and Heres How to Solve it. MarketWatch. 3 March 2017. Web.
Dan Quenneville knows that without God he would not be alive today. A survivor of molestation, abuse, and a murder plot against his life, Quenneville is a proponent in the power and strength of faith. Under the pen name Alter Pain, Quenneville shares how he was able to endure some of lifes most horrific experience using Gods guidance in The Heartest Story Finally Told: Jesuss Glory Divinely Bold.

The Heartest Story Finally Told is a raw and intense memoir that details the life and traumatic events Quenneville faced as a boy growing up in the church. With frank detail, Quenneville discusses his daunting childhoodwhich included sexual abuse, incest and murderas well as his steadfast Christian faith.

Readers get to witness my fear and feel my pain but they also get to see how Gods love transformed me into a warrior, Quenneville said. I believe I was called to share my story in such a real and honest manner, so that others may not feel ashamed of similar experiences. I also want to show that God never leaves our sides, even in the darkest hours.

His story is one of redemption and hope, demonstrating how ones past does not determine their future and how an unwavering faith in God can lead to a happy ending. For more information on the on the book and the author, please visit, http://www.HeartestStory.com.

The Heartest Story Finally Told: Jesuss Glory Divinely Bold

By Dan Quenneville: Alter Pain

ISBN: 9781512765199 (hardcover) 9781512765182 (softcover) 9781512765175 (e-book)

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Westbow Press

About the author

Dan Quenneville writes under the pen name Alter Pain in his first novel The Heartest Story Finally Told: Jesuss Glory Divinely Bold. Quenneville shares how he was guided through a troubled past by his love and faith in God. He now looks to share his story in hopes of inspiring other to open their hearts to God and move past the shame of prior traumas. He currently resides in Lebanon, Ohio working as the president of Process Pump and Seal, Inc., which sells and services pumps, sealing devices, and specialty chemical products.

###

Review Copies & Interview Requests:

LAVIDGE  Phoenix

Jacquelyn Brazzale

480 998 2600 x 569

jbrazzale(at)lavidge.com

General Inquiries:

LAVIDGE  Phoenix

Satara Williams

480-998-2600 x 586

swilliams(at)lavdige.com
Finicity, a leading provider of real-time financial data aggregation and insights, today announced the availability of new banking and lending solutions in the form of Verification of Income and Assets. These solutions are aimed at lenders looking to free up resources, improve accuracy and reduce fraud, all while giving borrowers a paper-free, hassle-free experience.

VoI and VoA are the first products to be delivered as part of a growing stable of credit decisioning solutions from Finicity that utilize consumer-permissioned transaction data. By using owner-permissioned data, lenders will be introduced to an entirely new segment of borrowers with thin credit files or no credit history at all. In addition to verification of income and assets, Finicity is currently developing other technologies that will propel the lending space forward in a digital age.

The income verification reports include such benefits as confirmation of up to 24 months of historical income, detailed transactions, historical and estimated future income streams, and account totals. The asset verification reports provide bank-validated insights into borrower assets and valuable information like underwriting factors that could affect credit decisioning.

Our credit decisioning products give lenders the freedom to access the data and information they need, quickly and efficiently, through easy to use APIs, said Finicity CEO Steve Smith. Ultimately, our goal is to provide better financial insights through a robust digital experience that allows both lenders and borrowers to make smarter financial decisions.

To enhance the consumer experience and assurance of report quality, Finicity has become a consumer reporting agency (CRA). As a CRA, Finicity follows FCRA regulations and allows borrowers to directly obtain information on reports or submit disputes. Consumers will soon be able to reach out to the company through its CRA Consumer Portal.

Finicity is currently piloting its asset verification report solution with Fannie Mae as a final step toward receiving Day 1 Certainty (TM) report supplier approval.

Account access and data quality are core to the Finicity solution. As a result, the company conducted an internal certification process to ensure that its bank APIs deliver the data required for verification reports. Through this program, Finicity will provide access to more than 80 percent of checking, savings and investment account types in the U.S.

This release comes on the heels of a major funding round of $42 million, led by Experian and announced in December 2016. The raised capital is largely dedicated to growing Finicitys Data Services division, including the expansion of its credit decisioning product line. Experian and Finicity also announced last week their partnership to digitize the lending experience, starting with asset and income verification services.

Finicity is attending the National Technology In Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo in Chicago, March 26-29. If youre interested in setting up a meeting at the show, email business.development@finicity.com. To stay up to date on all Finicity company and product announcements, visit the website at finicity.com.

# # #

About Finicity:

Finicity enables a financial data-sharing ecosystem that is secure, inclusive and innovative. Through its real-time financial data aggregation and insights platform, Finicity provides solutions for financial management, payments and credit decisioning. It is also leading the development and promotion of industry standards. The company has developed more than 16,000 bank integrations, with the vast majority through connections that provide access to formatted bank data, improving information access and accuracy. Finicity is the winner of API Worlds 2016 Finance API of the Year. To learn more and test-run the rock-solid API today, visit finicity.com.
Maria Plucinsky, CPA of Hunter Group CPA LLC Honored by Fair Lawn Council

Maria C. Plucinsky, CPA, a Director (Owner) of Bergen County-based CPA firm Hunter Group CPA LLC, has been honored as a Trailblazing Woman in Labor and Business by the Fair Lawn Mayor and Council. The proclamation, presented at the March regular borough council meeting by Mayor John Cosgrove and fellow council members, celebrates Womens History Month and represents the Boroughs participation in the National Womens History Projects 2017 theme honoring trailblazing women in labor and business.

American women have served as early leaders in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement, Mayor Cosgrove notes, adding that Women have played and continue to play a crucial economic, cultural and social role in every sphere of the life of the nation.

In honoring Maria Plucinsky, Mr. Cosgrove recognized her many business and civic achievements, including rising to the position of owner in a leading northern New Jersey CPA firm, a profession that is, as Mr. Cosgrove suggests, Still predominantly a male-dominant environment. In addition, he noted her nonprofit financial expertise, which has positively benefited the Fair Lawn Community Center as well as several other local nonprofit entities.

The firm is very proud of Maria and delighted to see this important recognition of her work, said Hunter Group co-managing director Kevin Hansen, CPA. She continues to serve as a key member of our management team as well as a mentor to the young staff and other emerging leaders in our profession, Hansen states.

Hunter Group CPA LLC is a full service Certified Public Accounting firm that serves closely-held, small to middle-market businesses that are entrepreneurially-managed or family operated enterprises. Established in 1956 in Paramus, the firm provides bookkeeping, tax preparation and auditing services, as well as accounting and consulting on a wide range of business and financial issues. Additionally, the firm provides audit services for non-profit organizations as well as audits for benefit plans, including 401(k) plans. Hunter Group also operates two affiliated companies, a financial planning and wealth management firm and a recruitment firm dedicated to placing financial professionals. To learn more, click http://www.thehuntergroup.com.
Canopy San Diego's office Were excited to have such a diverse Spring class of startups in our second cohort," said Jack Scatizzi, Managing Director of CSD.

Canopy San Diego, Southern California's premier seed-stage accelerator program for technology and business infrastructure companies that support the legal cannabis industry, is pleased to announce the launch of the Spring 2017 class. Canopy San Diego invests capital, mentorship, and services to accelerate the development of their portfolio companies.

The Canopy San Diego business accelerator consists of a 16-week cannabis-specific program that is designed to spur development and prepare the portfolio companies to raise outside capital upon graduation in late July.

Each company participating in the accelerator program is given office space for up to four employees at the Canopy San Diego offices, and receives at least $20,000 in seed capital with the opportunity for up to an additional $50,000 in follow-on funding prior to graduation. Most importantly, the companies are given access to mentors in virtually every aspect of business development, as well as access to serious investors interested in technology companies targeting the cannabis market. The Canopy San Diegos rigorous accelerator program and due diligence process helps potential investors make decisions about where to deploy larger amounts of capital.

Between Canopy San Diego and its partners at Canopy Boulder, the accelerator network has a combined portfolio of 64 companies.

The eight companies included in the Canopy San Diego spring cohort include:

Urban Labs is the first scalable cannabis laboratory to embrace the peer-to-peer economy. Turnkey technology and processes come together to de-skill a previously complex process into an affordable business opportunity for every entrepreneur. Founded by Tina Urban and Angel Stanz of San Diego, CA.

Traffic Roots is bringing digital display advertising to the cannabis industry. They help cannabis companies scale their digital advertising footprint by introducing a programmatic self-serve ad platform. Founded by Christian Valdez of San Diego, CA.

MJ Hybrid Solutions is a start-up training platform that fills the cannabis industry sales professional void to increase company profits and retain customer loyalty. Founded by Melissa Stapley of San Diego, CA.

EventHi is the world's first online ticketing and registration platform built for the cannabis industry. EventHi brings people together offline through a variety of events and social experiences in a cannabis-friendly online portal. Founded by Ali Fakhri, Kenneth Gabbara, and Samir Fakhri of San Diego, CA.

Verticann is the first turnkey vertical cannabis cultivation system developed for the commercial cannabis industry. VertiCann's innovative design reduces the cost of cannabis production by up to 50%, while increasing the canopy size by up to 500% when compared to traditional cultivation methods. Founded by Dominick Volpini and Seth Voiron of San Diego, CA.

Ripe Metrics is a Customer Experience Management system with analytics and marketing automation to help dispensaries maximize engagement and increase customer lifetime value. Founded by Aaron Davis and Ryan Friedrich of Oregon.

Collectif is a peer-to-peer social marketplace for cannabis-friendly accommodations and cannabis-inspired experiences. Their goal is to grow and strengthen the cannabis conscience community. Founded by Colton Cranston, Rachael Green, and Zac Blechman of San Diego, CA.

BudTendr is a mobile application that allows the purchase of medical marijuana from a mobile device through licensed dispensaries. Customers view dispensary menus and purchase products for pick up, skipping dispensary lines. Founded by Jake Crow and Darcy McQuaid of Toronto, Canada.

Were excited to have such a diverse cohort Spring class of startups, of companies in our second cohort that perfectly complements our Fall 2016 cohort, and gives our investors a balanced portfolio of early-stage cannabis tech companies, said Jack Scatizzi, Managing Director of Canopy San Diego. The founders come from a wide variety of backgrounds, each bringing their own experiences to what will be an incredibly dynamic class, said Jack Scatizzi, Managing Director of Canopy San Diego. . Its also great to see our hometown of San Diego so well represented in the class, with 6 of the 8 participating companies based here.

On March 29th, starting at 5pm PT, Canopy San Diego will host a launch party for the kick-off of its Spring 2017 class. The night will include special addresses from Dr. Dave Shubert from The Salk Institute and Kelley Grimes of the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County, as well as networking with investors, mentors, and entrepreneurs from the Canopy San Diego ecosystem and San Diego cannabis and entrepreneurial communities. Beer, wine and light appetizers will be provided, with all ticket proceeds going to the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County. Full details and tickets can be found here.

About Canopy San Diego

Canopy San Diego is Southern California's premier seed-stage accelerator program for technology and business infrastructure companies that support the legal cannabis industry. As an accelerator, Canopy San Diego invests cash, mentorship, and services in their portfolio companies to 'accelerate' each companys development. In return, they hold a 6-9.5% equity position in each company and their investors share in the success of the portfolio companies. As part of the greater Canopy ecosystem, along with business accelerators in Boulder and Berkeley, Canopy San Diego has a close partnership with The ArcView Group, which gives startups access to ArcViews network of over 600 investor members that have placed more than $91M million into 135 companies. Canopy San Diego does not invest in companies that directly grow or sell cannabis and its derivatives.
EXACOM, an industry leader in advanced communications recording solutions, is announcing the release of the HINDSIGHT G3, the next evolution of next generation recording. EXACOM has developed this latest version of the HINDSIGHT product to be more scalable, flexible and support more integrations and functionality than any previous versions. The new platform will be showcased at this years 2017 IWCE show in Las Vegas, NV.

The HINDSIGHT G3 is an innovative, multimedia recording platform that meets the demands of public safety, homeland security, defense, utilities, and transportation industries. The G3 provides next generation functionality for Audio, Video, Data and Text. More specifically, the G3 provides integrations for: P25 radio, NG 9-1-1, VoIP telephones, CAD systems, RoIP Consoles, Screen Capture as well as many other legacy communications. The new HINDSIGHT G3 user interface is powerful, efficient and intuitive. It allows for users to search for calls globally, research incidents, redact calls through G3 Studio, perform Quality Assurance assessments and so much moreall from one screen!

"The HINDSIGHT G3 was inspired by Public Safety users and designed for Critical Communications applications, explains Mark Woody, EXACOM Product Manager. "Building on the solid legacy capabilities of the HINDSIGHT G2 product line, we wanted to address updated functionality with a new powerful and intuitive user interface while offering advanced feature options such as Quality Assurance and Screen Capture/Recording, he continued. Both options provide users with powerful and dependable communications tools that support and protect the user community.

EXACOM will be demonstrating the new HINDSIGHT G3 software along with Quality Assurance and Screen Capture options in the EXACOM booth (#442) as well as at the Harris booth (#1329) at the 2017 IWCE in Las Vegas, March 28 -30. Please visit us to see how the new HINDSIGHT G3 can meet and exceed your needs!

About EXACOM

EXACOM, Inc., based in Concord, New Hampshire, is a leading manufacturer of communications recording solutions for public safety, government and DoD applications since 1986. EXACOM provides audio, video, data and text to 9-1-1 recording solutions for communications and dispatch centers in many countries, including some of the largest centers in the U.S. and Canada. EXACOMs solutions are designed to meet the demanding needs of todays complex, rapidly advancing and mission critical communications environments. EXACOM is now an employee owned company. For more information, visit: http://www.exacom.com.
Grow Healthy Vending LLC announced today that the company has entered a settlement agreement to resolve the pending litigation between itself and 1800 Vending DBA Healthy You Vending. (Civil No. 1:14-CV-00121-CW/ United States District Court for the District of Utah).

I am thrilled to announce that we have now reached a settlement agreement regarding the ongoing lawsuits between myself, my company and 1800 Vending DBA Healthy You Vending, I'm more than happy with the settlement of this dispute, said Chris Wyland, CEO of Grow Healthy Vending. With the resolution of the dispute, I now look forward to reallocating more time and resources on continuing the Grow tradition of creating successful healthy vending operators, Wyland continued.

As a leader in the healthy vending industry, Grow has built a reputation on quality and success. The company also recently instituted its Road Map To Success program. This program allows potential healthy vending operators the ability to focus their attention on making factual competitive comparisons in each market segment of a healthy vending providers offering.

Road Map To Success Competitive factors include:

Quality of Vending Machines

Size of Vending Machines

Capacity of Vending Machines

Customization of Vending Machines

Variety of product selections within Vending Machines

Type of product selections within the Vending Machine (snack, drink, entree, perishable)

Variety of equipment offered vs. Once size fits all mentality

Technology of equipment (Remote Monitoring & Route Management System)

Guaranteed Product Delivery System

Energy Efficiency of equipment

Warranty (Service & Parts) of equipment

Location Procurement (criteria and history)

National Support and Service Network

Origin of equipment manufacturing

History of company

Overall Cost of Equipment and Services

One of the biggest mistakes any potential healthy vending operator can make is to assume that all vending machines and services are created equal, Wyland added. There is no doubt that there are differences in business models, machines, support, and price between Grow and other healthy vending providers. By making one on one comparisons, potential operators are then able to make a logical decision as to what company is going to offer them the best opportunity at success. We believe that if these comparisons are made, Grow Healthy Vending comes out on top in every category.

We wish 1800 Vending/Healthy You Vending and Jeff Marsh the best of luck and look forward to a healthy competitive business atmosphere. In the end, the most important thing is that both companies are dedicated to offering healthier options through vending machines in an effort to change the way people eat."

As a family owned and operated company and an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating, Grow Healthy Vending has been a pioneer in the health vending industry since its inception. The company's continuing mission is to offer fresh, healthy snacks, drinks and food products through its machines in an effort to assist in fighting the national obesity epidemic.

About Grow Healthy Vending

Grow Healthy Vending, based in Irvine, CA, is North Americas leading healthy vending provider. As a pioneer in the healthy vending industry, the company offers a full line of affordable high quality American made equipment along with great locations and exceptional support. The industry leading Grow Healthy Vending Locations staff has successfully placed over 3500 healthy vending machines across the North America in locations such as schools, universities, hospitals, YMCA's and workplaces.
Stevie Kim with Bob Yang "Chengdu is the only wine fair where I meet people from the entire country. That is the proof that it is the true Mecca of trade business for wine professionals states Stevie Kim.

From the 19th to the 22nd of March 2017, Vinitaly International held Vinitaly Chengdu 2017 for the fourth consecutive year, and for the second time at the Shangri-La Hotel, on the occasion of the International Wine and Spirits Show, the off-site showcase of China Food and Drinks Fair for Wine and Spirits and one of the most important B2B events in the Chinese wine sector. Vinitaly Chengdu 2017 also marked the grand partnership between Vinitaly International and 1919, Chinas leading liquor supplier to foster new opportunities for Italian wine in China.

Offering four consecutive days of traditional B2B Walk Around Tasting, Masterclasses and the Vinitaly International Academy Executive Wine Seminars, Vinitaly Chengdu welcomed over 30,000 participants at the Shangri-La Hotel. With 44 exhibitors, and more than 400 labels at the showcase, the positive responses of the participants confirm the growing importance of the event in the Chinese market.

I was struck by the great attendance of the buyers throughout the four days, says Alessandro Mugnano, head of the import company Interprocom based in Shenzhen. This is the fourth year that my company participated in the Chengdu fair, but it is the first year in which we had an immediate and highly positive feedback. This feedback shows, at last, an increasing trend towards premium wines, which distances itself from the usual entry-level wines. Italian wines are a small but continuously growing phenomenon in this immense and complex market: by strengthening teamwork and increasing promotional activities, this growth can become exponential.

The positive reaction was also shared amongst the exhibitors that travelled from Italy. Annalisa De Dominicis, Export Manager for Velenosi happily explained, most of the visitors were distributors coming from all over the Chinese provinces, some small importers and wine lovers. The level of interest in Italian wine is growing and captures, in particular, people who are already working in the wine sector but who havent previously worked with Italian wine specifically.

Apart from the various B2B meetings, the ONAV China Master Classes and Vinitaly International Academy Executive Wine Seminars were highlights that stood out. The courses were completely sold out, showing the strong interest to further engage the world of Italian Wine. Marco Pizzoli, General Manager of Gruppo Italiano Vini in China states, We have registered and increased both the numbers but especially the quality of visitors this year. The educational activity with thematic wine tastings has proved to be very useful, and we must continue to strengthen it, as our future relies on good education.

Stevie Kim, Managing Director of Vinitaly International comments I am very satisfied with our Italian representation at Vinitaly Chengdu this year. After struggling and fine-tuning for four years, I think we have finally come to a good balance of solid representation of Italian wine both directly from Italy and as well as wine importers specialised in Italian wines. Furthermore, There are so many fairs in China, mostly clustered around Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou area. But if you look at them, as I go to most of then on a regular basis, I oftentimes meet the same 500 faces from the surrounding area. Chengdu is the only wine fair where I meet people from the entire country. That is the proof that it is the true Mecca of trade business for wine professionals continues Stevie Kim.

Vinitaly Chengdu 2017 also marked the new partnership between Vinitaly International and 1919, the giant of O2O liquor distributor in China. At the core of it, are also over 100 distributors orbiting around 1919.

On the agreement, Andrew Tan, the General Manager of 1919s purchasing subsidiary Shanghai 1919 Global procurement CO., LTD, comments: We chose Vinitaly International as our partner as they are the leaders of Italian wine in China. I can tell Vinitaly is always looking for innovative and useful tools to foster B2B connections. They were the first to set up the Italian wine pavilion during the International Wine and Spirits Show in Chengdu. This partnership with 1919 celebrates Vinitalys long-lasting commitment to Chengdu and we are looking forward to what future collaborations will bring.

The 1919 O2O platform numbers over 1,000 stores in 500 cities in China, being present in every Chinese province.1919 is the largest O2O open platform for wine and spirits and the third biggest liquor open platform next to Tmall and JD, attracting more than 1500 well-known brands (e.g Maotai, Wuliangye, Luzhou Laojiao and Penfolds) to join. In November 2015, 1919 announced its strategic merger with GJW.com.

To celebrate this new partnership, a luxurious Gala Dinner was held on the evening of March 20th at Intercontinental Hotel in Chengdu. The guests of honor; Italian wine producers and Chinese importers gathered together for specialty Chinese food.

Stevie Kim states, It is not by chance that 1919 originated from Chengdu, because of its long history linked to Baijiu production and the China Food and Drinks Fair for Wine and Spirits that marked its 96th edition this year. Nowadays, everyone is talking about the market place but 1919 are the true pioneers of offline to online. I visited their flagship store in Chengdu, and it is absolutely amazing. To think that they already have more than 1000 shops in 500 cities, it is mind-blogging. We really hope that wed can do something substantial in terms of Italian wine education with there support.

About:

Veronafiere is the leading organizer of trade shows in Italy including Vinitaly (http://www.vinitaly.com), the largest wine and spirits fair in the world. During its 50th edition Vinitaly counted more than 4,100 exhibitors on a 100,000+ square meter area and 130,000 visitors from 140 different countries. The next edition of the fair will take place on 9 - 12 April 2017. The premier event to Vinitaly, OperaWine (http://www.operawine.it) Finest Italian Wines: 100 Great Producers, will unite international wine professionals on April 8th in the heart of Verona, offering them the unique opportunity to discover and taste the wines of the 100 Best Italian Producers, as selected by Wine Spectator. Since 1998 Vinitaly International travels to several countries such as Russia, China, USA and Hong Kong thanks to its strategic arm abroad, Vinitaly International. In February 2014 Vinitaly International launched an educational project, the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) with the aim of divulging and broadcasting the excellence and diversity of Italian wine around the globe. VIA this year launched the second edition of its Certification Course and today counts 55 Italian Wine Ambassadors and 6 Italian Wine Experts.
Simple interface for the whole family ...there is nothing I want to do more, than to help my mom and others become less paralyzed by technology. - Ryan, an early backer

Tantiv4 this month launched its first product on Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform. With a week still to go, over 300 backers have funded 85% of the target.

FetchitGO provides a single view to control and trigger IoT devices, with 16 programmable buttons. Each button is customizable by the user, to trigger actions. Unlike other products available, FetchitGO can integrate with multiple ecosystems simultaneously, preventing vendor lock-in and enhancing the value for consumers. It also enables, through its use of data analytics and smartphone Apps, the ability to understand, predict and proactively trigger responses to consumer behavior.

This is a story best told in words of the backers of the product.

I'm 71 (this week) and suffering a number of health issues - so I am attempting to build a home automation system that supports my wife's and my limited physical abilities to live in 5000 sq ft home on 3 levels. So having automation to take up some of the slack is my first choice. Your product fills the spot of not needing to have my tablet or phone to get things done very nicely, said Mr. Levy Rivers, a backer. I have tasked my middle son and grandson to help me with the automation projects.

Currently, FetchitGO can be directly and simply utilized by users to control hundreds of devices like Philips Hue, Amazon Echo and Google Nest. FetchitGO operates via middleware services, supporting, among others, IFTTT and Node-RED. All this is available to the user with no additional programming or license fees.

"I just think it's an amazing idea, and the potential is enormous. I primarily only have Philips Hue bulbs in my house as smart devices. But the plan is to implement different devices along the way. So in terms of development, I'm just hoping it will speak to as many units as possible. But I don't know anything about the coding and all that stuff., said Mr. Alexandar Norsk, who backed FetchitGO on Kickstarter.

Mr. Ryan Witham, an early adopter, brought out the basic use case in a very succinct manner- ...and i can help you because there is nothing I want to do more, than to help my mom and others become less paralyzed by technology.

Mr. Alex Kah from Louisville talked about the STEM educational aspect of the project- First off I like the ability to configure repetitive home tasks in a central location outside of a smart phone. I also see it at a learning experience for my 8 year old daughter so we can configure the tasks together.

Mr. Swaroop Adusumili, COO, Tantiv4, explained the advantages of Simplicity, Open Interoperability and Integration, adding the reception and comments from our backers has been awesome. They fall in two broad categories; the first set is the early adopters who want to bring the fruit of their home automation labor to their other family members who are not into technology. The second set are the STEM parents, who look at the device as getting their kids started on programming in simplest and most impactful way. It is wonderful to get response from so many different places in the world including Singapore, UK, Denmark, Sweden, India, USA, and Canada.

FetchitGO on Kickstarter

Tantiv4, headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, is an early-stage startup dedicated to simplifying IoT technology use for the end-users.

# # #

For more information about this topic, please contact Lokesh Johri at +1 408 357 3759 or email at contact(at)tantiv4(dot)com.

FetchitGO is a trademark of Tantiv4 Inc. All other trademarks used are the property of their respective owners.
Past News Releases RSS

Livability.com has released its fourth-annual Top 100 Best Places to Live list. The new rankings are the culmination of months-long exclusive research into what factors most influence the livability of the United States small to mid-sized cities. More than 30 states are represented, from coast to coast.

The list is an exclusive, independent, editorial ranking by Livability.com. The research team was supported by a stellar advisory board of the leading academics, authors, policymakers and practitioners in the places space. This year, our team is proud to have collaborated with world-renowned urbanist Richard Florida and assistant clinical professor Steven Pedigo from the Initiative for Creativity and Innovation in Cities at NYU School of Professional Studies, our new data partners EMSI in shaping our methodology and the framework by which we rank the cities.

This years Top 100 Best Places to Live list includes many first-time cities, says Becky Henson, Livability spokesperson. The fact is that each one of these cities on the list are a best place to live. Our data experts scoured thousands of cities and data points to build a list that truly encompasses the things that make a place ideal.

More than 2,100 cities with populations between 20,000 and 350,000 were evaluated in this landmark study. Forty data points that were grouped into eight categories: economics, housing, amenities, infrastructure, demographics, social and civic capital, education and health care. The eight scores were weighted based on an exclusive survey conducted for Livability.com by Ipsos Public Affairs, a leading global market research firm. Respondents were asked about factors that make their communities better places to live, as well as the factors they would consider in selecting another city. Sources included the best public and private data available from organizations like the U.S. Census Bureau, Walk Score, GreatSchools.com and Esri.

The top 100 cities are featured on Livability.com, along with their LivScore and information about the qualities and amenities that helped them make the list.

###

About Livability.com:

Livability.com explores what makes small to mid-sized cities great places to live, work and visit. We examine issues related to livability such as walkability, cultural amenities, transportation, urban planning, and sustainability through exclusive research and discussions on our blog. We celebrate the accomplishments of these cities through our monthly top 10 lists, our annual ranking of livable cities, our rich photography and conversations with readers in social media. Livability.com is a division of Journal Communications, Inc.
This grant willhelp more low income and underserved populations improve their writing skills and grades.

Excelsior College, a private, nonprofit, online college in Albany, New York has secured a two-year, $300,000 grant from The Kresge Foundation to support the promotion and growth of its publicly available Online Writing Lab (OWL).

Pilot studies attest to our Online Writing Labs effectiveness in improving student writing skills, said Francesco Crocco, PhD, Director of the OWL. This grant will fund a systematic outreach plan and, ultimately, help more low income and underserved populations improve their writing skills and grades as they pursue a degree.

The grant will enable Excelsior and community college experts to present on the OWL at national conferences, conduct industry webinars on the topic of writing, and assist institutions with integrating the OWL into their curriculum.

Since launching in 2012, the Excelsior College OWL has earned a dozen industry awards and been adopted on more than 70 college and university campuses. An independent study found users of the OWL increased their final grades by 6.5 points compared to a control group.

Much of the OWLs success can be attributed to support from The Kresge Foundation Education Program, which promotes post-secondary access and success for low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students. The foundation awarded Excelsior a $639,000 grant in 2012 to fully integrate multimedia into the OWL to increase student engagement and increase academic success.

This grant deploys additional resources to ensure the OWL can realize its full potential for reaching thousands of students across the country, said Rebecca C. Villarreal, Program Officer, Education team, The Kresge Foundation. While the current users tend to be college students, the OWL and its resources could also be tremendously beneficial to high school students as they prepare for college application processes, placement tests, and transitions to college. Were proud to support this work.

-30-

Excelsior College

Excelsior College (excelsior.edu) is a regionally accredited, nonprofit online college focused on helping adults complete their degrees and advance their careers. The College contributes to the development of a diverse, educated, and career-ready society by valuing lifelong learning with an emphasis on serving individuals historically underrepresented in higher education. Founded in 1971, Excelsior meets students where they are - academically and geographically - removing obstacles to the educational goals of adults pursuing continuing education and degree completion. Our pillars include innovation, flexibility, academic excellence, and integrity. Learn more at excelsior.edu.

Kresge Foundation

The Kresge Foundation is a private, national foundation founded in 1924 that seeks to strengthen the building blocks of vibrant urban communities. Kresges Education grantmaking aims to increase postsecondary access and success for low-income, first generation, under-represented and under-prepared students by promoting pathways to and through college, and by building the capacity of postsecondary institutions whose primary mission is to serve low-income and under-represented students.
Larson Electronics Releases a 100 Watt LED Work Light for Industrial Applications This new LED work light is constructed with CREE LED units that have been chosen for their high lumen per watt ratio and extreme longevity Past News Releases RSS Larson Electronics Releases a...

Larson Electronics Releases New...

Larson Electronics Releases a 132...

Larson Electronics, a leading supplier in the industrial and commercial lighting industry, continues its commitment to providing high grade lighting equipment to specialty markets with the release of a 100 watt LED light bar for industrial use.

The IL-LED-10X2E-CPR LED light bar from Larson Electronics is designed for heavy equipment use in demanding, industrial work sites. This 100-watt light bar features ultra-bright CREE LEDs with a sturdy aluminum build featuring a spot beam configuration. The LED light bar is capable of emitting up to 8,000 lumens of light and operates on DC voltages ranging from 9 to 64 volts. The housing is made of aluminum, while the lens is constructed of polycarbonate. The LED work light includes a 20 harness terminated with a DT04-2S Deutsch connector with blunt cut ends. The unit is mounted using a U-bracket style trunnion mount, making vertical light direction adjustments easy to implement. This unit complies with CE, ROHS, and E4 standards and carries an IP67 waterproof rating providing the unit with complete protection from dust and water immersions up to three feet.

This new LED work light is constructed with CREE LED units that have been chosen for their high lumen per watt ratio and extreme longevity, said Rob Bresnahan, CEO of Larson Electronics. Constructed of durable aluminum housing, this unit is ideal for use in demanding, industrial work sites.

Larson Electronics carries an extensive line of LED light towers, portable power distributions, explosion proof lights for hazardous locations, portable work lights and industrial grade LED area lights. You can view Larson Electronics entire line of lighting by visiting them on the web at Larsonelectronics.com. You can also call 1-800-369-6671 to learn more about their products or call 1-214-616-6180 for international inquiries.
By providing comprehensive digital marketing solutions, we help our clients innovate to become the new leaders of the online marketplace. - Hafiz Muhammad Ali

Omnicore, a full-service digital marketing agency, is pleased to announce its expansion into Dubai, UAE, which now allows the company to centralize its presence in the Middle East. Businesses, startups and entrepreneurs in the region will now have access to premier digital marketing services and campaigns, which can be tailored to brands of any size in any industry. The comprehensive digital marketing solutions available from Omnicore.ae allow any brand or company to compete globally on the Web.

The companys services are not limited to Search Engine Optimization, which its beginnings are rooted in. Nonetheless, it is certainly capable of helping brands reach and stay at the top of search engine results pages. The latest SEO best practices, including technical website reviews and audits, competitive analyses, backlink building, and content development, are implemented with razor-sharp precision. Local SEO campaigns are driven by a team able to build comprehensive profiles on local directories and optimize content for local mobile users. A real-time reporting system provides transparency; clients can instantly see how local SEO services are working for them.

Results-Oriented, Data-Driven Digital Marketing Solutions.

Anchored by constant communication and complete transparency, Omnicores digital marketing team is flexible. It can tailor a strategy that works for the individual client business, based on an analysis of the clients business, its products and services, and current customer base. The most effective marketing channels are pursued on a case by case basis. From a team approach, the strategy will be adjusted until an effective solution is found. There are several other digital marketing services offered, beyond SEO and mobile content optimization, including:



Social Media: Omnicore does not limit social media marketing to just posting content on the clients Facebook, YouTube, or LinkedIn accounts. It creates a full strategy that focuses on social media engagement, so business clients in Dubai and beyond can maximize their online marketing campaigns. Starting with a strategic plan, the team will assess the latest industry trends to develop relevant copy, video, and images that engage the clients audience. Regular postings boost conversations and customer service. The team also keeps track of online conversations to direct its content marketing efforts. It focuses on paid social media advertising as well, to maximize client and brand exposure.

Content Marketing: Going by the mantra content is king, the companys team can boost visibility and website traffic with blog posts, whitepapers, e-books, and informative webpages. It brainstorms topics and chooses the most relevant types of content. In addition, the team manages a consistent content calendar that incorporates trending topics and promotes content on the platforms and publications the clients audience is most active on. Engaging, timely content is created using the latest industry techniques, so clients brands stand out.

PPC: The Omnicore team has the training and certification to provide strategic paid advertising services via Google AdWords. It also uses the power of social media to drive ad campaigns. These PPC campaigns target people who search for the clients products and services on the Web. The team can help boost clicks and conversions by creating engaging online ads. It provides expert Google AdWords management, so clients can take advantage of the globally dominating search engine. Customers also receive to-notch Facebook advertising, geographic targeting, and ongoing analysis and monitoring of online ad campaigns.

A Full-Service Digital Marketing Consultancy in Dubai

The local business market is competitive. Omnicores team knows how to refine an online marketing strategy and create a brand message that resonates across a business and its audience. It starts with a client companys current position, assessing the growth potential and competitiveness of the individual brand. The team can then develop a strategy that focuses on improvement, using all essential elements to develop brands, and meeting the clients business goals.

In a consultancy role, team members conduct market research, and develop detailed personas of customers to guide marketing campaigns. Each strategy is driven by research into market insights and other data. The first phase is to develop a strategy. However, the team doesnt stop there; it will provide ongoing support of clients digital marketing initiatives beyond the initial stages.

Omnicore: Giving Brands a Voice

The Omnicore team is equipped to define and develop distinctive brand identities, names, stories, and strategies, allowing clients, their products, and services to stand out. It can help with starting new brands or rebranding an existing product/service. Consulting services are available to align marketing and business goals. The team is also skilled at identifying effective logos, taglines, color schemes, imagery, and other aspects of brand identity. It works together with clients to develop guidelines, based on the core brand strategy, to ensure messaging remains consistent across all platforms and advertising channels. From messaging to visuals, Omnicore helps create a message that can resonate with all a clients target consumers.

Serving a Diverse and Growing Market

An office in Dubai gives Omnicore access to the multitude of businesses that have set up in one of the largest economic centers in the region. Dubai is quickly becoming a global market hub and is a center for trade and culture as well. The companys digital marketing services are now available to businesses in finance, industry, manufacturing, distribution and logistics, tourism, and other markets that are thriving and competing in the area. It now serves a premier international business center, allowing the firm to strive towards its own goals and those of its clients.

To learn more about Omnicore, its new Dubai office, and digital marketing services, go to https://omnicore.ae.

About Omnicore Agency DMCC

Omnicore is a leading digital marketing company serving businesses around the world. Starting with Search Engine Optimization, the company has grown to offer a comprehensive set of digital marketing solutions to brands of all sizes, in any industry. Each digital marketing campaign is tailored to the clients unique business needs. The Omnicore team receives continuing education and training, so it stays up-to-date on the latest technologies and trends. Data driven strategies are followed up by analysis and measurement to ensure SEO, PPC, content marketing, branding, and consulting efforts meet every clients goals and expectations. Omnicore is a part of OmnicoreGroup.

Omnicore Agency DMCC

DMCC Business Centre

Phone: +971 (0) 501505639

Email: info(at)omnicore.ae
Many individuals are concerned with how these new regulations could impact themselves and their families. Could they or a spouse suddenly be facing deportation? Will their status now be revoked should they be separated or divorced?

President Donald Trump signed his second executive order on March 6th regarding the topic of immigration, known colloquially as the travel ban, raising further questions over how this will impact individuals with various residency and citizenship statuses. Experienced family law attorney Brandon Bernstein, Esq. of The Law Offices of Brandon Bernstein discusses the potential impact on marriage, along with separation and divorce, as further areas that should be considered.

"Many individuals are concerned with how these new regulations could impact themselves and their families," says Brandon Bernstein, a four-time Super Lawyers Rising Star in the field of Maryland family law. "Could they or a spouse suddenly be facing deportation? Will their status now be revoked should they be separated or divorced, even if the marriage was in good faith? What if a loved one gets stuck in a different country and is blocked from traveling back to the United States?"

Fraudulent marriages to obtain citizenship have long been a topic of concern. In 2014, it was estimated that 250,000 foreign nationals gained U.S. citizenship through marriage each year. Of those, Homeland Security Investigations estimated that between 5 and 10 percent were fraudulent, a staggering number. Unfortunately, that puts even good faith marriages in a light of being potentially questioned. In the context of the current political climate then, it's likely that the issue becomes even more hotly debated and focused on.

Meanwhile, in December 2016, the New York Times also speculated that a spike in marriages was likely due to the impending administration change. This was seen to be not only for immigration status, but also for same sex marriages as well.

This indicates that individuals predicted that there could be future problems, and in the case of immigration, were looking to secure status before it was too late or could later be revoked. While there is no clear answer or solution yet as to how this will continue to shake out, it's something to remain vigilant of moving ahead.

Issues of immigration are handled on a federal basis, as the executive orders from President Trump show. However, family law and specific statutes regulating this are handled on the state level. It is therefore essential to not only stay abreast of the latest news nationally, but to look locally, too.

Anyone who may be facing a prospective issue in regards to immigration, and marriage or divorce, should seek qualified, experienced legal assistance. Maryland residents may visit BrandonBernsteinLaw.com for more information, or call Mr. Bernstein's office at 240.395.1418 to schedule a consultation .

About the Law Offices of Brandon Bernstein, LLC

The Law Offices of Brandon Bernstein, LLC is located in downtown Bethesda, and serves clients throughout the state as a divorce attorney in Maryland, covering a broad range of family law matters, and aggressively protecting the best interests of his clients at all times. He has been named a Maryland Rising Star by Super Lawyers for four consecutive years. The core pillars of his practice are Integrity, Experience, and Results. For a free attorney consultation, prospective clients can visit his website at BrandonBernsteinLaw.com, or call the office directly at 240.395.1418.
"Vantage Point works with broadband providers across the country. Webster-Calhoun's fiber buildout was organized, well-planned, efficient, and forward-looking. From start-to-finish, it was among the best FTTP projects we've seen." Past News Releases RSS Webster-Calhoun Cooperative...

Pick It March Mania Returns To...

Camouflage and wildlife decorated the stage and was the decor of the Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association (WCCTA) Annual Meeting held on March 14th at the Southeast Valley High School in Gowrie, Iowa.

The color scheme and decorations illustrated the theme of the meeting: Set Your Sights on Great Service. "We are all overwhelmed with marketing messages that say 'WE provide the best service, the best product, the best network. Every one of our competitors say the same thing. What makes Webster-Calhoun different was the message we highlighted during the annual meeting, states Marcie Boerner, Office Manager at WCCTA. WCCTA provides a utility type of service that is not always tangible. In the same way the customer doesn't always see behind the scenes, work that is done by the board, staff and management. Our staff aims to please, particularly following the cooperative philosophy of providing a service in the best interest of the members that use that service locally."

General Manager Daryl Carlson provided attendees with updates on WCCTA that showed a very strong balance sheet as a result of outside investments made by the board. Daryl noted that some small telcos are beginning to struggle. That gives WCCTA the opportunity to share management, expansions, merger, or acquisition opportunities as some companies are not as financially stable as WCCTA. You're starting to see examples of this throughout Iowa, was stressed by Daryl. This will not happen at WCCTA unless it is in the best interest of the members to do so."

Board President Alan Jacobson reiterated the fact that WCCTA is in a good financial position for acquiring or merging with other telcos and reviewed some of the steps taken in the last decade to achieve this. Progressive steps such as implementing Fiber to the Home over a number of years to avoid debt and outside investments in cellular markets and two other telephone companies.

The reflection of the message of the excellent condition of WCCTA was also expressed at the Iowa Communications Alliance annual meeting held in Des Moines. Here the keynote speaker, Dusty Johnson of Vantage Point Solutions, Mitchell, SD, called out several Iowa telcos that were excelling in different areas and noted WCCTA's strong network. "Vantage Point works with broadband providers across the country. Webster-Calhoun's fiber buildout was organized, well-planned, efficient, and forward-looking. From start-to-finish, it was among the best FTTP projects we've seen."

Election of officers was also held at the annual meeting. Results of the election were announced and all three incumbents remain on the board. Craig Fillman, Paton, District 1; Lynn Subbert, Churdan, District 2; Craig Larson, Vincent, District 3.

Attendees enjoyed refreshments and door prizes that included an assortment of TVs and camouflage items that tied in with the theme Set Your Sights on Great Service. Winners of door prizes were: Judy Warrick, Gowrie, 55" Smart TV; Jason McKenney, Somers, 49" TV; Amy Walrod, Moorland, 32" TV; Patrica Vladeff, Gowrie, 24" TV; Barb Tucker, Gowrie, 24" TV; Clint Van Kley, Farnhamville, For the Birds Gift Basket; Keith Streit, Gowrie, Camouflage Cooler Gift Basket; Joyce Gadbury, Knierim, Weather Station; Gene Schoon, Knierim (phone), Camouflage Bungee Chair.

Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association is located at 1106 Beek Street, Gowrie, IA 50543. It has a Fiber driven network and provides landline telephone, Internet and digital television service to the Iowa communities of Gowrie, Pilot Mound, Vincent, Thor, Churdan, Knierim, Somers, Barnum, Duncombe, Farnhamville, Badger, Clare, Moorland, Boxholm, Lanyon and Paton. Additional information is available online at http://www.wccta.com, by following along on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and at 515-352-3151. #ThisIsFortDodge
Booksellers from the Cape and Islands region of Massachusetts sparked a lively conversation at a March 24 gathering of the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA), asking the organization to consider pooling funds to support larger regional tours for authors who otherwise only read in major cities.

The idea, which came from Jeff Peters of East End Books Ptown in Provincetown, Mass., was one of the many discussed at NEIBAs All About the Books education program in Harvard Square. Peters said that publishers, when it comes to author tours, often overlook more sparsely populated areas. Fellow attendees shared past and current examples of ways that booksellers have tried to address the issue.

NEIBA executive director Steve Fischer suggested that Peters and fellow Cape booksellers draft a regional tour proposal for Patrick Daceys forthcoming novel The Outer Cape. The story follows the return of two sons to their childhood home, a village on Cape Cod. Fischer said the book is a natural fit for booksellers and readers in the area. Once drafted, the booksellers' proposal will then be shared with Dacey's publisher, Henry Holt & Co.

I intend to pursue it," Peters said. "This would be something that I think would help booksellers and authors."

Dacey appeared at a morning program that gave 10 veteran and first-time authors a few minutes to present their upcoming releases to over 100 booksellers. Authors included Estep Nagy, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, and Susan Tan.

The session closed with a rousing ovation for Dartmouth historian and president emeritus James Wright, whose Enduring Vietnam (St. Martin's/Dunne, April) draws on 160 interviews to tell the story of Vietnam War combat veterans and their families.

During the afternoon open forum, American Booksellers Association CEO Oren Teicher was upbeat on advocacy issues, noting Amazons decision last week to pay sales tax in all states. He urged members to step up their opposition to Amazon's use of tax credits.

Attendees also participated in a conversation on ways to make bookstores an inclusive place for dialogue and discovery. The ABA is conducting the sessions with its regional associations nationwide, and will present its findings later this year.
The U.K.-based New Internationalist Publishing, which has been an employee-owned cooperative for decades, earlier this month launched a crowdfunding campaign that allows contributors to be brought on as partial owners in the business. The endeavor has, to date, raised more than $446,000 from more than 1,600 investors. Among those who have contributed to the campaign are a few bold-faced names, such as actress Emma Thompson, novelist A.L. Kennedy, political columnist George Monbiot, and musician Jarvis Cocker.

Investors are asked to pay a minimum of $60 to purchase community shares in the company, which publishes fiction with social justice themes, nonfiction books on current affairs and a magazine about social and environmental issues. The 35-day crowdfunding campaign, which has a goal of $610,000, is called Buy Into a Better Story;" it began on March 1 and ends on April 6.

These shares are different from ordinary shares, sales and marketing manager Dan Raymond-Barker explained, They cant be transferred or sold. Investors have one vote, no matter how much they invest and, as co-owners, become stewards of New Internationalists mission into the future.

According to Raymond-Barker, the celebrity contributors were informed early on about the campaign and asked to participate "in whatever way they felt comfortable." These stars were also contacted because each has a relationship with the publisher. Thompson subscribes to the magazine; Monbiot has written columns for it; and Kennedy and Cocker have supported the house. Cocker, Raymond-Barker noted, "has even given us shout-outs during [performances]."

Investors will have voting rights over the charter governing the press editorial policy, and will also be invited to join New Internationalists new advisory board. The company projects that at a future date it will be able to pay interest and even, Raymond-Barker said, consider repayment of capital.

New Internationalist, which currently publishes about 20 titles each year, is confident it will hit its $610,000 goal and, with the money, hopes to, among other things, launch new imprints.

Founded in 1973 as a magazine that reported on global issues, New Internationalist expanded into publishing books in 1982. Now it also operates a mail-order division selling its books and magazines. Headquartered in Oxford, the company also has a Canadian office and distribution in the U.S. through Consortium.

We've been a workers' co-op for many years, so co-operative principles are in our DNA, Raymond-Barker said, It feels like a natural progression to go one step further and be co-owned by our readers and supporters. Having a multi-stakeholder co-op with ourselves as worker-members and ordinary people all over the world as investor-members seems like the best way to develop and thrive into the future.
WEST LAFAYATTE, Ind.  The sixth annual Purdue Ag Week, hosted by students and created to share information with the campus community about the importance of agriculture, will take place Monday (April 3) through (April 9) on the Purdue University campus.

This years theme is the classic Purdue Ag Week. After rebranding this past year, Ag Week will highlight all aspects of agriculture ranging from production agriculture to the role that community and technology can play in helping to reduce hunger.

I am most excited to see the thousands of students who will visit Purdue Memorial Mall throughout the week because they are genuinely interested in learning more about an industry that, unfortunately, is often taken for granted by much of the public, said Katie Carroll, Ag Week Task Force president and senior in agribusiness marketing and agricultural communication.

Purdue Ag Week consists of more than 20 events, each presented by College of Agriculture student organizations. Key events include:

* Milk Monday: During the event, which highlights the dairy industry, the Purdue Dairy Club will give away hundreds of grilled cheese sandwiches and cartons of milk. Milk Monday is 9:30 a.m. to noon Monday outside Class of 1950.

* Panel Discussion: Purdue College of Agriculture Dean Jay T. Akridge and DuPont Executive Vice President Jim Collins will discuss the state of the agriculture industry and how to prepare the next generation of leaders. The event is 3-4 p.m. Thursday (March 30) in Pfendler Hall, Room 241. A reception will be held beforehand from 2:30-3 p.m. on Leopolds Landing.

* Hammer Down Hunger: This meal-packing event, which is open to all students and campus organizations, has a goal of packing 70,000 meals to send to children in Haiti. It is from 5-9 p.m., April 4, on Memorial Mall.

* Burger Bash: The free lunch buffet line provides a meal while teaching students agricultural information about the parts of a hamburger. The lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., April 6, on Memorial Mall.

For more information about Ag Week, connect with the Purdue Ag Week Task Force on Facebook http://on.fb.me/1k0RLAF and Twitter https://twitter.com/PurdueAgWeek

Contact: Kathleen Jacobs, purdueagweekmedia@gmail.com, (260) 388-3876.

Agricultural Communications: (765) 494-8415;

Shari Finnell, Manager/Media Relations and Public Information, sfinnell@purdue.edu

Agriculture News Page
CHAMPAIGN (AP)  Police dogs hurt on the job in the Champaign area will soon be able to get an ambulance ride to a hospital along with emergency care on the way there.

Arrow Ambulance and the University of Illinois are teaming up to provide the ambulance ride to the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital, The News-Gazette reported.

Dr. Michael Smith, medical director of Carle Regional EMS and Arrow Ambulance, says a University of Illinois veterinarian will train Arrow Ambulance crew members in the basics of dog emergency medical response next month. The training will be offered to Arrow crews covering Champaign, Douglas and Vermilion counties, as well as parts of Piatt and Ford counties.

The training will be done by Dr. Maureen McMichael, head of emergency and critical care services at the veterinary hospital. Arrow Ambulance will then offer care and transport of dogs for free.

"We've always wanted to support the police dogs," Smith said. "But you don't want to step on the toes of veterinary medicine."

Chief Deputy Allen Jones at the Champaign County Sheriff's office says police dogs in the area are probably injured about as often as police officers.

"Injuries and things happen to them, just like our human officers," he said.

University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine spokeswoman Chris Beuoy said the veterinary hospital has treated nearly 60 police dogs from 16 counties in Illinois and Indiana over the past five years. She said they were treated for conditions such as tooth fractures, broken bones, bloat and gastrointestinal issues, disc problems, skin issues and a thorn in the foot.
MOLINE  Big projects now underway and planned for the future are expected to keep the city's growth going.

Mayor Scott Raes and Ray Forsythe, the city's planning and development director, gave Moline's State of the City address Monday afternoon at the iWireless Center. Mayor Raes spoke about the city's financial health and strengths. Both cited the many projects underway or planned in the city that are expected to increase Moline's prosperity.

"Moline's going to be a great place and an exciting place to see development in the coming years," Mayor Raes said.

He said state-centered projects  the Interstate 74 bridge replacement, the widening of John Deere Road, and the planned passenger rail complex  are among the high points for Moline because of the additional development they will encourage.

Demolition of the old bridge will free up a large chunk of riverfront land that the city is planning to develop. Several possibilities have been proposed, involving varying mixes of business and residential developments and green space.

"It will be a phenomenal structure in the heart of the Quad-Cities," Mr. Forsythe said.

John Deere Road is attractive because of the high volume of traffic, Mayor Raes said.

"Businesses want to be there," he said.

Mayor Raes and Mr. Forsythe also cited planned passenger rail service in downtown Moline along with a supporting development, The Q. The project will be both a public train station and a private hotel. It will include retail and event space.

Other projects named in the address included the city's planned expansion of its utility infrastructure to the south, and the North Slope Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade.

The city already has drinking-water infrastructure in place that it can expand to supply proposed residential development around the Quad City International Airport.

"We've figured out a plan to move residential development forward at warp speed," Mr. Forsythe said.

Plans for Moline's utilities also include becoming a regional distributor of drinking water by using its surplus to supply neighboring communities, he said.

The $44 million North Slope revamp is designed to improve efficiency using automation and up-to-date equipment. It also is designed to prevent or minimize overflows on River Drive during heavy rains.

The plant handles about 2 billion gallons of wastewater annually from the region of Moline that runs from Avenue of the Cities to the Mississippi River. North Slope also processes the sludge produced by the drinking-water plant near the Interstate 74 bridge.

"It's a state-of-the-art project that will save us a lot of dollars," Mayor Raes said.

Other projects Mr. Forsythe cited include Divvymed LLC's move to Moline, the planned renovation of downtown's 5th Avenue Building into a hotel, and the ongoing Dolan Commons project, a planned mixed-use development on Avenue of the Cities.

Of the city's financial status, Mayor Raes said it has maintained a rating in the Aa range with Moodys Investor Service for 13 years.

The city currently has a Aa3 rating, according to its website.

That is the fourth highest, according to Moody's website. Aa ratings indicate high quality and a low credit risk.

Another financial highlight: Moline drew in nearly 67 percent of the 2016 sales tax revenue in the Illinois Quad-Cities, about $19.2 million, according to data provided by the city.

Mayor Raes said the city's greatest financial challenge is its police and fire pensions, but that the city is in good shape. It is on track to have the pensions funded to 90 percent by 2040  a state requirement.

"We have a long-term funding plan," he said.
Fire department rescue boats have not yet found a person in the Mississippi who reportedly jumped from the Centennial Bridge into the river Saturday night.

Crews from the Davenport, Rock Island and Arsenal fire departments searched the area near the Centennial Bridge on Saturday night after receiving a report that a person with a bag jumped from near the middle of the bridge about 6:30 p.m., Davenport Fire District Chief Mike Carlsten said Sunday.

Three rescue boats went out first thing Sunday morning, including from the Arsenal, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Big River Dive Rescue, and searched the area unsuccessfully until about 5 p.m. Sunday, Chief Carlsten said.

He did not release information about the person who jumped and said a bag recovered from the water Saturday night was turned over to police.
COLONA  State Rep. Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, was honored Monday by a group of veterans on behalf of her late Vietnam-veteran father, as well as thanked for a bill she introduced to help aging veterans and other seniors.

The presentation took place as Rep. McCombie was holding "traveling office hours" with residents at Colona City Hall.

The local veterans presented her with a T-shirt commemorating the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, as well as a Vietnam service coin. Rep. McCombie's father, John "Jack" Reagan, served two tours of duty in Vietnam, beginning in 1967. He died in 2012.

Rep. McCombie was also thanked for her bill, introduced last month, that would raise the income limit for eligibility for the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption, which offers seniors a reduced property-tax bill.

If Rep. McCombie's bill is passed, the income limit for eligibility for the exemption will be raised from $55,000 to $60,000 for taxable years 2017 to 2020, and to $65,000 for taxable years 2021 and beyond. That would broaden the number of eligible seniors. Veterans in attendance said the change would restore the exemption to many who have lost it in recent years.

The bill, currently in the House's Property Tax Subcommittee, has 22 co-sponsors, including Rep. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, and Rep. Dan Swanson, R-Alpha.

State Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Rock Island, has pre-filed the bill in the Senate, Rep. McCombie said.

"We're thanking her for helping the veterans, and the seniors, and we're also honoring her father for being a Vietnam veteran," said Don DeLoose, 72, Silvis, an Army veteran.

"We just want to thank her. She's been so responsive to the veterans, and to the seniors," he added. "And there's a whole ton of us seniors. And you want to live a little bit longer, but you got to have money to live. And if you have to start paying $5,000 in (property) taxes instead of $3,000, you're not going to like it very much."

"It's just another little thing," Rep. McCombie said, after thanking the veterans. "I can't necessarily pass a budget, but if I can do something to help people in our district, then I'm doing my job to a degree."

Rep. McCombie said the higher income limit set in the bill isn't high enough to hurt cities and schools that depend on the taxes collected.

"I'm a real-estate appraiser so I understand  and also as a former mayor understand -- what assessed values do for communities and townships and our schools," she said, "and this was really a very conservative move, so it wouldn't really impact the bottom line to hurt municipalities and schools.

"And that's why I felt the 60 (thousand) and then the 65 (thousand) was better than some of those that might go all the way to 75,000. Because that really would have an impact."
LANSING, Mich. (AP)  The office and home of a Detroit-area state senator were searched Monday morning as part of a joint investigation involving the FBI and state police.

Michigan State Police spokeswoman Shanon Banner said in an email that search warrants were served at Sen. Bert Johnson's Lansing office and his Highland Park home. Details of the nature of the investigation were not immediately released.

The Associated Press left a message seeking comment from Johnson. The second-term Democrat represents the Senate's 2nd District, which includes Highland Park, Hamtramck, northeast Detroit, Harper Woods and the five Grosse Pointe communities.

The AP sent an email seeking FBI comment.

Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a Flint Democrat, said in a statement: "I take this situation very seriously and I will be monitoring it closely."

In 2015, a legal dispute in an Illinois courtroom over an unpaid political fundraising bill to the Chicago-based Paladin Political Group led to the issue of a bench warrant for Johnson's arrest. He disputed the amount owed.

In 2012, Johnson lost a five-person Democratic congressional primary won by longtime Rep. John Conyers Jr. He became Conyers' campaign manager in 2014, after which Conyers won a court fight to be placed on the ballot after Michigan election officials said he was ineligible because of problems with his nominating petitions.

Fred Woodhams, spokesman for the Michigan Secretary of State's Office, said Johnson owes $4,000 in fees for not filing three campaign-finance reports and submitting another one late.
Id like to address the elephant in the room. That elephant being the Republican Party and their refusal to represent the majority of their constituents. Lets begin with stricter gun control (something that would help lessen the fears parents have when sending their children off to school), 53% of Americans favor this (Pew Research) yet the elephant in the room refuses to consider any such thing. Over 70% of Americans want stricter background checks yet again; the elephant in the room refuses to represent them. 61% of Americans say abortion should be legal. Again, the elephant in the room pushes laws that do the opposite. 74% of Americans do not want social security reduced in any way. But the elephant in the room pushes to do just the opposite, cut social security. 63% of Americans now prefer Medicare for all, but the elephant in the room fights it with all its might. 67% of Americans feel more needs to be done to reduce climate change, but not the elephant in the room. The elephant sides with the fossil fuel industry claiming its not a big concern. Given these few statistics (there are more like them) its obvious that the Republican Party is the party of minority rule, quite the opposite of what our founding fathers envisioned. The Republican Party has become a power cult, not a party that represents the majority of Americans. Remember this while you mark your ballot in this midterm election. Save Democracy! Vote Democratic!
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.

6 hours ago
Passenger services on the 8.7km one-station extension from Fremont to Warm Springs began on March 25, with trains running to Daly City via Oakland and San Francisco.

The extension seeks to provide commuters with an alternative to the congested interstate highways 680 and 880, and the park-and ride station at Warm Springs has 2082 parking spaces, with 42 solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations.

Construction began in 2011 and the extension was originally due to open in 2014, but the project has suffered repeated delays.

Construction started on the 16.1km second phase of the Silicon Valley extension to Milpitas and Berryessa in 2012 and this section is due to open in 2018.

The 9.7km third phase will extend Bart services to Alum Rock, Downtown San Jose and Santa Clara, with an 8km tunnel under San Jose. Major construction is scheduled to start in 2018, with passenger services due to begin running in 2026.
The test train completed the 147km trip from Carmiel to Tel Aviv in around one-and-a-half hours.

The Shekels 2.6bn ($US 774m) line was constructed by Israel Roads and includes two 5km twin-bore tunnels, which are equipped with Sonneville slab track. This is the first slab track installation in Israel.

The line is due to open on September 20, the eve of Jewish New Year.

Katz says the ministry is working on the design of an extension from Carmiel to Kiryat-Shmona in the Upper Galilee near the Lebanese border.
The train will go on public display at stations on the Ostersund - Mora section of the route between March 29 and April 1.

The visit is part of the Inlandspendeln project, which seeks to demonstrate the potential for operating regular passenger services on part of the route, which is currently only used by tourist and freight trains.

Gredlj says it began discussing the project with Inland Railway at InnoTrans in Berlin last September.
One of Keith Creels first acts upon becoming Canadian Pacific CEO in February was a call to his counterpart at the union representing the railways train and engine (T&E) crews. It was time, CPs top brass hat told the Teamsters senior rail boss, to restore respect and fairness to the railroads treatment of its engineers and conductors.

Creels call to Teamsters Canada Rail Conference President Douglas Finnson signaled a unilateral ceasefire in the harsh disciplinary regime imposed by Hunter Harrison, Creels predecessor and erstwhile mentor in the art and science of precision railroading. Under Harrisons command, engineers and conductors were subject to battlefield justice in which the most trivial transgressions (urinating lineside at an unpopulated station stop was one) resulted in summary dismissal.

After his talk with the Teamsters president, Creel conveyed his change in attitude directly to the railways employees in a digital memo provided by CP to Railway Age on March 24. In the memo, the CP CEO conceded that the unforgiving disciplinary regime involved mistakes made in the remaking of CP from money-losing laggard to profit-maker.

Its not that we need to dwell on the hows and whys of the past, but I want the future to look different, Creel wrote to employees.

By the start of March, some 60 T&E crew members who had been dismissed under Harrison were awaiting arbitration in hope of getting their jobs back. Without waiting for the rulings, Creel has recalled about 10 of them and declared that he is personally reviewing the remaining cases.

While de-Harrisonificaction maybe too much a mouthful to catch on, Creels more forgiving disciplinary policy coincides with other moves that signal a desire to restore employee pride and public appreciation to a company whose history is intertwined with Canadas own.

In another early gesture, Creel returned the hardworking beaver and shield to the companys official heraldry. Harrison had dumped the poor national rodent for a barebones CP logotype, which he felt better represented the lean efficiency that marked scheduled freights, slimmed-down yard trackage and fewer, harder-worked locomotives.

Explained Marty Cej, CP Assistant Vice President for public affairs: After CP regained its rightful place in the industry, it was time to acknowledge the companys place in history and its role in driving the North American economy forward. Combining our bold modern CP logo mark with the heritage shield, CPs new logo renews Canadians and employees sense of pride in the company that connected a nation, and connected a nation to the rest of the world.

In this, Canadas sesquicentennial, Canadian Pacific is planning an as-yet-unannounced rolling event to celebrate the countrys 150th birthday. CP fans can only hope this means the re-emergence of its exquisite maroon, gray and black Empress steam locomotive, its fire dropped by Harrison but its running gear kept well-oiled and polished at the companys Ogden railyard and head office in Calgary. The 1930-vintage Hudson-class locomotive and its dedicated consist of heavyweight CP passenger cars starred in the 2011 IMAX movie Rocky Mountain Express.

The prospect of the worlds most beautiful locomotive returning to steam will cause foamers to drool unashamedly, but the more important reaction will be that of CP employees to Creels promise of a more humane workplace. Here is his remarkably candid memo in full:

A few days ago, I authorized the implementation of a new discipline process for all CP unionized employees. Its an important topic, so I want to take a few minutes to explain why and what it means.

First of all, context is important. As many of you know, a little over five and a half years ago, CP was a company in serious trouble. Our free cash flow was negative C$592 million, meaning about half a billion dollars more went out than came in. Our service and operating ratio were the worst in the business. Our credit rating was BBB, just above a junk rating. Clearly, the direction in which CP was headed was not sustainable.

This wasnt an accurate representation of you  our talented group of railroaders. You just needed the right plan and leadership so you could deliver the superior execution that you have now shown the world you are capable of.

But the transition was tough. When you are in survival mode you have to move quickly. When you do, you can make mistakes. We got most things right, as we can all see in the results, but not everything.

Thats why a few weeks ago, as one of my first acts as CEO, I asked my team to take another look at our discipline policy. Its not that we need to dwell on the hows and whys of the past, but I want the future to look different.

I view discipline as something I would rather not have to do but something I cannot avoid as part of my commitment to all employees. Simply put, we need people to do their jobs fully, to the best of their abilities and always, always safely. From a long history in this industry, I am absolutely passionate about this second point. This can be an unforgiving business and it is the short cut, the inattention to detail or the little unsafe act that can have the most terrible consequences. I would rather be tough on the issue with a person and ensure their safety than to visit a spouse to explain a tragic accident.

In this context, my view on discipline is meant to influence  change, if you will  the actions and behaviors that dont live up to our standards.

Some have made the case that in the instances where the person has made a first mistake and recognizes their error, perhaps lesser penalties than we have been applying could be used.

So, we are going to try a different approach. The details will be rolled out through your managers over the next few weeks. For the vast majority it wont directly affect you, as you wont be part of the discipline process.

For the cases where discipline needs to be applied, we are going to use more deferred suspensions instead of actuals. This means that if a person had a one-off bad day and doesnt have another event, there is no financial penalty. If an event of real concern happens again the discipline may also be applied along with anything appropriate for the new issue. Again, if there is no new offense, the penalty does not apply.

Furthermore, as part of this review, I am personally reviewing all outstanding terminations. I have already directed some reconsiderations. Not all cases can be eligible. Some infractions are so serious that, for the protection of all, there can be no second chance.

I would ask every CP employee to embrace this positive change with me. Lets be our brothers and sisters keepers and make sure that CP continues to build on its status among the very best in performance and safety.

I look forward to seeing you out on the property.
Brandon, Manitoba-based Cando Rail Services has appointed Canadian Pacific engineering department veteran Tim Yamashita as Vice-President of Engineering and Track Services, effective March 13. Yamashita is responsible for management of Candos design, construction and maintenance services.

Yamashita, a professional engineer who spent nearly 30 years at CP, has extensive experience in managing all facets of construction projects and maintenance, including rail terminals, pre-tripping facilities, track infrastructure and bridge works. At CP, he held various engineering positions, most recently as Senior Director Engineering Works-Systems, where he interfaced with field operations. In previous positions with CP, he had responsibilities ranging from project management to capital program development to supervising local engineering teams.

We are excited to have someone with Tims high level of technical, management and engineering experience join Cando, says Cando CEO Brian Cornick. He has an extensive management background in construction and rail projects, which fits in perfectly with Candos current business structure.

Cando Rail Services describes its Engineering and Track Services Division as a growing and dynamic business unit with approximately $25 million in revenues and 100 employees. Cando, established in 1978, is an employee-owned company that optimizes the bulk material supply chain for industry and Class I railways across North America. Candos goal is to provide a complete rail solution by offering individual services including industrial switching, material handling, logistics, terminal and transload services, engineering and track services, railcar storage, railcar repair and short line operations.

Operating at more than 25 sites across Canada and the U.S., Cando serves industries including automotive, manufacturing, fertilizer/potash, petroleum, grain and grain products, forest products and intermodal.
Canada 2017 federal budget commits to transit funding Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman , Editor, Railway Track & Structures; and Engineering Editor, Railway Age









Canada's federal 2017 budget continues the government's push toward public transit projects with the inclusion of CA$25 billion (US$18.7 billion) through various avenues.

Ottawa called the budget released March 22 the next step in the governments long-term plan to create jobs and strengthen the middle class.

The government continued its commitment to establish a new Canada Infrastructure Bank, which it describes as an an arms-length organization that will work with provincial, territorial, municipal, Indigenous and private sector investment partners to transform the way infrastructure is planned, funded and delivered in Canada.

The budget calls for the bank to invest at least CA$35 billion (US$26.1 billion) over 11 years, using loans, loan guarantees and equity investments. The government said it would soon introduce legislation to establish the infrastructure bank and begin the process to identify a CEO and chairperson of the Board of Directors with a goal of having the bank operational in late 2017.

The Canadian government also plans to invest CA$20.1 billion (US$14.9 billion) over 11 years on public transit projects through bilateral agreements with provinces and territories, with provincial and territorial allocations determined using a formula based on ridership (70 percent) and population (30 percent).

The government said it would work closely with provinces and territories to ensure the public dollars would be invested properly. Additionally, the budget calls for the infrastructure bank to invest at least CA$5 billion (US$3.74 billion) in public transit systems.

The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) said the 2017 federal budget solidified the federal governments long-term commitment to improving urban mobility in Canadian communities.

By committing to long-term and dedicated transit funding, this government has empowered transit agencies to plan for the infrastructure projects that their communities need today, and the projects they will need in the future, said Sue Connor, chair of CUTA and executive director of Brampton Transit. But funding is only part of the equation. Now all levels of government, the transit industry and the Canadian public must work together to ensure that this funding is utilized in a way that maximizes economic, environmental and social outcomes for Canadian communities.
Since negotiations concluded for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in late 2015, observers have argued that Asian policymakers would interpret failure of the pact as a sign of America's declining interest in the region or inability to assert leadership. Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned in 2015, Failing to get the TPP done will hurt the credibility and standing of the U.S., not just in Asia, but worldwide. Now that the U.S. has abandoned the pact, have the warnings proven prescient or overblown?

The TPP is a regional trade agreement involving the U.S. and 11 other Asian-Pacific countries that together comprise 40 percent of the world's economic output. The TPP's economic objectives included liberalization of trade in Asia, market reforms, and strengthened trade rules to support America's competitive industries and accord with the modern realities of digital commerce.

But the TPP also aimed to further the country's strategic interests in at least in three ways. First, U.S. leaders and strategists saw it as a way to strengthen the country's leadership in Asia by complementing its diplomatic and military power. Second, the TPP served as part of a broader effort to shore up an international order premised on market economics and liberal values. Third, the pact aimed to strengthen key partners; most notably Japan and Vietnam, by spurring badly needed domestic economic reforms and boosting growth.

The TPP thus served as an important component of the rebalance to Asia initiative. It also informed the U.S. approach to a rising China. By strengthening its leadership, bolstering its alliances and partnerships, and revitalizing an international order, Washington hoped to provide China strong incentives to integrate into and support a U.S.-led order.

America's withdrawal from the TPP in January 2017 marks a major blow to these ambitions.

Withdrawal from the TPP has exacerbated regional doubts about U.S. international leadership and of its role in Asia.

Several strategic consequences may already be observed. Because strategic effects, by nature, include many causes, one cannot attribute any of them solely to the TPP. However, withdrawal from the agreement has both contributed to, and reflected the following developments. Validating Prime Minister Lee's point, the withdrawal has exacerbated regional doubts about U.S. international leadership and of its role in Asia. To be clear, concern about Washington's commitment dogged the rebalance since it became clear that a fiscally strapped U.S., burdened with global woes, would only commit limited resources to the initiative.

Yet even more than U.S. military deployments, the TPP's fate powerfully communicated U.S. ambivalence about Asia, because the American people appeared to repudiate the trade deal by electing a president and congressional legislators opposed to it. Combined with fresh diplomatic tensions and the formal abandonment of the rebalance to Asia initiative, these developments have seriously strained the confidence of allies and partners. Sensing the concern, the Trump administration dispatched Secretary of Defense James Mattis, soon after taking office, to reassure the region.

A weakening of the U.S. leadership role has added to the deepening strategic rivalry between China and Japan.

Countries in Asia have responded to a wavering U.S. by seeking better terms with China while reaching out to its rivals, principally Japan. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, for example, has sought warmer relations with China while simultaneously stepping up ties with Japan. Hanoi has taken steps to stabilize ties with Beijing, while broadening its pursuit of markets through various bilateral free trade agreements to reduce its dependence on China. An emerging danger is that a less engaged U.S. could find itself in a passive position as flashpoints fester and regional actors drive events. A weakening of the U.S. leadership role has already added to the deepening strategic rivalry between China and Japan. Without strong U.S. leadership to mediate tensions, a long simmering enmity between the two Asian giants could explode into violence.

Another important consequence of the TPP's unraveling has been a further fracturing of the international order. Once again, the TPP's fate has both embodied and added to this trend. Symptomatic of this development, China and Russia have intensified criticism of longstanding international norms and values, a trend exacerbated by declining U.S. and European advocacy for democratic governance and human rights. Similarly, China has advanced rival institutions that duplicate in function Western-led institutions, but that reflect illiberal values. Indeed, China greeted the news of the U.S. withdrawal from TPP by advancing its own trade pact, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The TPP's failure also leaves unresolved the stalled state of international trade regimes.

In the dawning era of a contested international order, countries may agree on the importance of international laws, rules, and norms, but disagreements over how to define them threaten to render international disputes even more intractable and volatile. China, for example, has called for countries in Asia to adhere to international laws to resolve maritime disputes, but has reserved for itself the right to determine how those laws should be interpreted in Asia. The collapse of international support for the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea ruling on the South China Sea, once China made clear its opposition, illustrated well the fragility of such a contested international order.

A risk is growing that countries frustrated with an unresponsive Western-led international order will consider alternative institutions.

A risk is growing that countries frustrated with an unresponsive Western-led international order will consider alternative institutions, as China has, or be tempted to pursue more naked assertions of power to secure and protect their interests. Reflecting trends in Europe and elsewhere, the Trump administration has eschewed plans to reinvigorate the international order in favor of beefing up the country's military muscle and pursuing bilateral negotiations to protect the country's interests.

Trade policy features an unavoidable tension between diplomatic and domestic economic purposes. For all the potential strategic benefits, the trade deal would have probably resulted in at best, marginal gains in employment for American workers, although American companies would have likely benefited. Manageable in prosperous times, this tension can prove a major vulnerability in periods of slow growth.

The Brexit vote, election of Donald Trump, and rise of nationalist parties throughout Europe revealed the depths of frustration felt by working and middle classes disenchanted with the promises of economic globalization. A sense of that depth can be seen in the fact that 81 percent of American counties saw their peak incomes at least 15 years ago. Even if U.S. leaders had adopted the TPP, therefore, its legitimacy could well have faced repeated challenges. Until architects of regional trade agreements can more compellingly outline how domestic workers can prosper under such arrangements, future U.S. trade agreements could well face similar fates.

Timothy Heath is a senior international defense research analyst at the RAND Corporation and member of the Pardee RAND Graduate School faculty. He is the author of the book, China's New Governing Party Paradigm: Political Renewal and the Pursuit of National Rejuvenation.

This commentary originally appeared on The Cipher Brief on March 26, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
This commentary originally appeared in the opinion section of FoxNews.com.

After ISIS took control of Mosul in mid-2014, the extremist militant group closed the city's 990 schools ( PDF ), altered the curriculum to support its ideology, and then reopened the schools to push dogma over academic learning.

Suddenly, education in Iraq's second-largest city had been devastated from kindergarten through college.

East Mosul was liberated from ISIS in December, and the battle to liberate West Mosul has just begun, by Iraqi forces backed by U.S. airpower.

Efforts to stabilize Mosul afterward will need to include a plan to rebuild education in addition to restoring the city's damaged infrastructure.

During my recent visit to Iraq, many officials expressed this view, including an Iraqi general leading the part of the battle to retake West Mosul who said he believes an education strategy is as important as economic, political and security strategies for bringing stability and peace back to the city.

Students need to make up years of missed K-12 and university education, and ISIS indoctrination needs to be undone.

During the two-and-a-half-year reign of ISIS in Mosul, the ISIS curriculum ( PDF ) removed history, geography, literature and art from the classroom. It introduced jihad education for children as young as age 6 and illustrated textbooks with pictures of children wielding weapons. Arithmetic word problems asked students to calculate the number of explosives a factory could produce or how many people a suicide bomb could kill.

Public schooling had been free, but ISIS started charging tuition$10 to $20 a month, depending on the grade level.

That's a lot of money in Iraq.

Concerned about the costs and the lessons being imparted in the classroom, many parents stopped sending children to school.

In Mosul and other areas once occupied by ISIS, a million Iraqi children didn't go to school or were taught the ISIS curriculum.

Under ISIS, school attendance dropped precipitously. In Mosul and other areas once occupied by ISIS, a million Iraqi school children didn't go to school or were taught the ISIS curriculum.

On a recent visit to a camp that sheltered those who fled the battle to retake East Mosul, just 20 miles from the city, I interviewed several aid workers who spoke of children being traumatized, indoctrinated or both.

They described a child with recurring nightmares who had been forced by an ISIS fighter to witness a beheading and spoke of children wandering about the camps innocently singing pro-ISIS songs learned in school.

ISIS also indirectly damaged K-12 education in Iraq. When residents fled Mosul, tens of thousands were temporarily housed in school buildings in other parts of Iraq, which further disrupted education in those communities since it prevented classes from being held.

ISIS shut down Mosul's three universities, including Mosul University, known for its medical school and once considered one of the finest in the Middle East.

ISIS later reopened the university's departments of medicine and engineering, but kept shuttered departments that might challenge its ideology, such as philosophy and history. Professors with alleged ties to the West were executed, while others fled.

Eventually, ISIS turned some of the university's buildings into weapons factories and barracks for its fighters.

Coalition fighters have retaken Mosul University, in the eastern region of the city, from ISIS. But the campus has been destroyed by bombs during the battle and by ISIS fighters who torched its buildings, including the library that held many rare and important works. ISIS left behind calling cards in the form of booby traps.

A Mosul University engineering student who fled in 2014 told me she would never go back. She had been finishing up her degree at the university's temporary campus that faculty set up in the nearby city of Erbil. Like many in the country, she said she fears for her safety and does not see a future for herself in Iraq. Her goal is to leave the country.

Yet there are signs of hope. After East Mosul was retaken last month, 30 schools reopened and another 40 were being checked for safety. Together, they can accommodate 40,000 children.

Reversing the damage to K-12 and university education will require significant investment and effort.

Winning the military battle in Mosul and other parts of Iraq is only the beginning. Reversing the damage to K-12 and university education will require significant investment and effort. Taking care of the remaining population and helping them recover will be criticaland an education strategy will be central to that.

Based on my recent fieldwork in Iraq and related studies on education in Iraq and education of refugees, rebuilding the educational system in Mosul will require a number of steps that go beyond reopening and staffing schools.

Classrooms will need to be set up specifically for children who have missed several years of school so that they can start where they left off and catch up.

Mosul will need policies to help its children move past the years under ISIS, requiring an undoing of the indoctrination efforts through courses that teach human rights and tolerance for Iraq's diversity. And teachers will need training in how to deal with traumatized students.

The U.S. has invested significant funding in the military operation against ISIS. But keeping the peace in the long run will require creating conditions in which Iraqis can live normal lives. Investing in such an education plan should be a U.S. priority.

Public education can serve as a bridge to normalcy in Iraq. It also can help reduce sectarian tensions, provide children and youth the citizenship and professional skills needed for a fully functioning society, and help a generation manage the lingering trauma of war.

Shelly Culbertson is a policy researcher at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and has studied refugee education elsewhere in the Middle East. She is author of the book The Fires of Spring: A Post-Arab Spring Journey Through the Turbulent New Middle East (2016).

This commentary originally appeared on Fox News Channel on March 25, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Indications that Russia could intervene militarily in Libya's messy civil war are growing. If it does, the Trump White House will face a tangle of unpleasant choices with far-reaching consequences. Will the new U.S. administration acquiesce to Russia's strongman vision for the region, or push back against Russia's growing influence there?

For months, the Kremlin has sought to draw Libya's eastern potentate General Khalifa Hiftar into its orbit. Hiftar is currently the de facto leader of a bloc of eastern Libyan forces that oppose Libya's internationally recognized government in Tripoli, the so-called Government of National Accord. Negotiations between the two sides are going nowhere and rumors of a potential Hiftar offensive against the Tripoli government have been swirling for months.

Hiftar has been to Moscow and paid a visit to the Russian aircraft carrier Kuznetsov in the Mediterranean, during which he held a video call with Russian Defense Minister Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Then, last week, Moscow reportedly deployed troops to a base on Egypt's northern coast just 60 miles from the border crossing with Libya.

There are a few ways to interpret their latest move: It could just be posturing, part of a Russian hybrid warfare strategy aimed at influencing ongoing negotiations over Libya's future. But there are plenty of reasons to believe it may be the early phase of a Russian intervention.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is eager to underscore the challenges that U.S. pro-democracy interventions in the Middle East have faced and offer up an alternative Russian strategy that relies on authoritarian leaders that look a lot like Putin himself. The 2011 NATO intervention in Libya has long been a target of Kremlin criticism and the chance to portray Russia as Libya's savioras Russia has attempted to do in Syriamust be more than a little tempting for the Russian president.

The chance to portray Russia as Libya's savior must be more than a little tempting for Putin.

Closer ties to Libya would also offer Russia the chance to extend its reach further along the Mediterranean's southern littorali.e., NATO's southern flank. Russia could, for example, seek to deploy advanced anti-access, area-denial systems along the Libyan coast, significantly enlarging the anti-access bubble that it has already established in the Eastern Mediterranean with similar deployments in Syriaa bubble that was already raising significant concern with top U.S. military commanders a year ago.

Influence over Libya meanwhile offers Russia leverage over Europe when it comes to the challenge posed by the increasingly deadly central Mediterranean migration route, which begins in Libya.

Libya's high-quality crude is yet another reason for Moscow to throw its weight behind Hiftar. The Kremlin is fixated on the coming global competition for natural resources and the Russian oil and gas company, Rosneft, just signed a new agreement with Libya's National Oil Corporation in February. Despite a few recent setbacks, Hiftar controls a significant amount of Libya's oil infrastructure in the east and has influence over some western fields as well.

A Russian move into Libya would put the Trump team in an extremely tough spot.

A Russian move into Libya would put the Trump team in an extremely tough spot. The U.S. has invested time and energy in supporting the Tripoli government. Moreover, U.S. and allied special forces worked with Libyan militias aligned with Tripoli in a successful counterterrorism operation that ousted the Islamic State from the town of Sirte last year. Russian dominance in Libya could lead Italy to scuttle the sanctions regime the United States and European Union imposed on Russia on account of its annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014. A deeper Russian anti-access, area-denial pocket would meanwhile be a challenge for U.S. military operations in the region.

If Moscow backs a Hiftar move on Tripoli, would the U.S. step aside and let its Libyan partners get crushed by a Russian-backed force? Or would it try to take actionpotentially even militarilyto slow Hiftar down and give these allies a fighting chance of avoiding calamity?

It's not an easy choice.

Supporting the government in Tripoli would require at least some U.S. boots on the ground. A large U.S. deployment might deter a Russian intervention, but would likely meet very strong resistance within the U.S. A small-scale intervention would be more feasible, but even if U.S. advisors operated far from the front lines they would still be at risk should Russian warplanes support a Hiftar advanceas they have for forces loyal to the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria.

Moreover, overt action against a Russian ally would kill the broader U.S.-Russian reset that the White House still seems to want. True, the Trump administration has sent conflicting signals about its views on Russia, with some senior officials evincing near sympathy for Putin, while others clearly harbor deep suspicion. Nevertheless, going toe-to-toe with Russia in Libya would clearly put an end to the Putin-Trump attempt at reconciliation.

The risk, then, is that the U.S. and its allies would end up largely on the sidelines as Russia installs another strongman in the region, and extends its power along NATO's southern flank. This would be a tragic outcome to the story that began with such high hopes in 2011 and another boost to Putin's prestige.

Christopher S. Chivvis is associate director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center and Amanda Kadlec is a policy analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation.

This commentary originally appeared on Fortune on March 26, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Prosecutor demands compulsory treatment for Bolotnaya case defendant Panfilov

MOSCOW, March 27 (RAPSI)  Prosecutor has asked Moscow's Zamoskvoretsky District Court to send the Bolotnaya Square riot case defendant Maxim Panfilov to a specialized hospital for compulsory medical treatment, attorney Sergey Panchenko told RAPSI on Monday.

Defense in turn insisted on ambulatory treatment of Panfilov at the place of residence.

Sentencing of the defendant has been scheduled for March 29.

Earlier, the term of Panfilovs detention was extended until June 14, 2017.

On April 8, 2016, the Basmanny District Court in Moscow ordered the detention of Panfilov. The day before, he was charged with participation in mass riots and use of violence against a law enforcement officer. According to investigators, the accused snatched a helmet off a riot policemans head on May 6, 2012.

Investigators believe that Panfilov suffers from chronic personality disorder.

The march on Yakimanka Street and the rally on Bolotnaya Square in May 2012, both authorized by the officials, resulted in mass riots and clashes with the police. Dozens of people were injured, over 400 protesters were detained.

The riot organizers, Sergey Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhayev, were sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. Other participants received prison terms from suspended sentences to four years. Several defendants were pardoned; one was sent for compulsory mental treatment.

The convicts supporters believe that the riots were provoked by police.
Googles appeal in dispute with Russian antimonopoly watchdog to be reviewed on April 17

MOSCOW, March 27 (RAPSI)  The Moscow District Commercial Court has postponed hearings in legal dispute between Google and Russias Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) over corporations refusal to comply with the antimonopoly watchdogs ruling until April 17, RIA Novosti reported on Monday.

On February 28, deputy head of FAS legal directorate Larisa Vovkinskaya said that Google had proposed FAS to settle the dispute.

On January 17, Google Inc. filed an appeal against the Moscow Commercial Courts refusal to overrule the Federal Antimonopoly Services (FAS) decision.

The watchdog held that Google Ireland Ltd. and Google Inc. had violated anti-monopoly law by abusing their dominance on the Russian market of mobile applications.

The Moscow City Court dismissed a lawsuit against the watchdog in March 2016. The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals has upheld the ruling. In early August, FAS announced that it had fined Google 438 million rubles ($6.7 million) for violating administrative legislation.

On September 18, 2015, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) found Google guilty of violation the legislation.

On November 2, the watchdog fined the companies 500,000 rubles each for their failure to comply with its order.

On November 30, FAS announced that it had filed a lawsuit with a commercial court against Google, forcing it to follow the order.

Yet in September, Igor Artemyev, the Head of FAS, stated that the agency was ready to fine Google every two weeks if the company failed to comply with the order.

In case we see the process is dragged out, we will meet every two weeks to impose new fines on them for failing to comply with the order, Artemyev said. It will continue until the final victory [is achieved - ed.] and final court judgement [is passed - ed.], according to Artemyev.
Bill banning surrogacy reaches Russian lower house of parliament

MOSCOW, March 27 (RAPSI)  A bill introducing ban on surrogate maternity in Russia has been submitted to the State Duma, according to the database of the lower house of parliament.

Amendments are proposed to Russias Family Code and federal laws On Principles of Healthcare for Citizens of the Russian Federation and On Acts of Civil Status.

Under the bill drafted by senator Anton Belyakov, bearing and delivery of a child including premature birth by a contract signed by surrogate mothers and potential parents, whose sex cells were used for fertilization, must be prohibited because such agreements do not guarantee the fulfilment of contracting parties rights and responsibilities.

The ban will be introduced until new complex approach to the institute of surrogate maternity equally protecting rights and interests of children, surrogate mothers and perspective parents is developed in Russia, an explanatory note to the bill reads.

Surrogate motherhood is currently prohibited in Germany, Austria, Norway, Sweden, France. Such countries as UK, Israel and Switzerland have introduced severe restrictions including, among others, prohibition of surrogacy services for a fee.




Bill on using baby boxes in Russian regions submitted to State Duma

MOSCOW, March 27 (RAPSI)  A group of members of parliament submitted to the State Duma a bill that would authorize Russian regions to make autonomous decisions concerning the use of baby boxes, or incubators for parents who want to leave their newborn babies anonymously, according to the lower houses database.

Special incubators for leaving newborn children have been set up in several Russian regions. However, there is no legal regulation of using baby boxes. Safety requirements and operating procedure have not been fixed for such equipment in current legislation, the bills authors stated.

The draft law would entitle Russias territorial entities to establish by themselves if it is necessary to organize incubators for anonymous leaving babies taking into account cultural and other vernacular traditions. Regional authorities would be able to fix the number of baby boxes, their location and installation order, an explanatory note to the bill reads.

Under the bill, if a regions authorities do not think it proper to use baby boxes, they may not adopt the relevant legislation. Therefore, incubators for leaving newborn children would not be set up in that region.

Since 2012, baby boxes have come into use at hospitals and religious organizations in the Krasnodar, Perm, Kamchatka, and Stavropol Territories as well as in the Kaliningrad, Kursk, Leningrad, Moscow, Pskov and Sverdlovsk Regions.

In September 2015, Liberal Democratic Party member Vitaly Zolochevsky suggested a ban on baby boxes in Russia.

Irina Chirkova, a member of the State Duma Committee for Issues of Family, Women and Children, on the contrary, reportedly claimed that baby boxes must be legal in Russia so parents wont give up their children illegally.
There was bound to be a political commotion when the Trump administration released its 2018 budget. After all, it isn't every day that the White House proposes deep cuts in agency spending: for 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency would be down 31%; the State Department, 29%; the Department of Education, 14%; and the Department of Transportation, 13%.

Outrageous, screamed critics. Good programs are being gutted. Surely true. But some ineffective or unimportant programs would also be gutted. The reflexive horror from Congress and (yes) the media to spending cuts reveals a central cause of chronic budget deficits. There's a bipartisan unwillingness to answer this question: What is government for?

Once upon a time, before World War II, there was a strong consensus for limited government. In 1929, federal spending was 3% of gross domestic product; now it is 21%. Pay-as-you-go finance also enjoyed broad support. If more government was needed, it had to be covered by higher tax revenues. There was an "unwritten fiscal constitution," writes Bill White in his book, "America's Fiscal Constitution."

According to White, the government traditionally borrowed for only one of four reasons: war, starting with 1812; depression, starting with the Panic of 1819; geographic expansion (Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase); and preserving the union (the assumption of state debts after the Revolution). "For almost two centuries the president and Congress never planned to incur debt," White writes, "simply to reduce taxes or to pay for routine annual spending."

This gradually changed after World War II. The crucial break occurred in the early 1960s when President Kennedy accepted the advice of his economists that tax cuts would spur economic growth, although the budget was already in deficit. The assumption was that continuous strong economic growth would generate the higher tax revenues to pay for new programs.

We went from limited to open-ended government. Any group that could garner the votes got federal aid. Government operated a railroad (Amtrak), promoted "public" TV, subsidized farmers and much more. Spending discipline eroded. The trouble was that the central assumption  that rapid economic growth would automatically finance new government programs  was overoptimistic.

No matter. Consider the contrast between the last half of the 19th and 20th centuries. After Kennedy's conversion, the federal government ran deficits in every year from 1963 to 1997, except for one (1969). After the Civil War, the response was much different. The debt was a then-staggering $2.7 billion. White reports that the government ran surpluses in every year from 1866 to 1893.

We should revert to the budget's role as an exercise in political choice, not an instrument of economic policy. That doesn't mean ignoring economics and trying futilely to balance the budget during recessions. The late economist Herbert Stein argued that when the economy nears "full employment," the budget should near balance. This remains a good rule of thumb. Well, with the economy near full employment, the deficit exceeds $500 billion.

We need limited government not in the sense of smaller government  that's impossible  but in the sense of government that is focused and reflects agreed-upon boundaries. What jobs must government do? Who deserves benefits and why?

The standard Washington narrative blames Republicans for the budget stalemate because they reject higher taxes. This is a half-truth. Democrats have stymied candid discussion by ruling out cuts in benefits for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. These programs constitute more than half of present federal spending and two-thirds of growth through 2027, projects the Congressional Budget Office. Putting them off limits squeezes other programs, as Trump's budget makes clear.

Trump has offered some good and bad choices; but at least he has offered choices. We need to go further. Here's what we should do.

First, determine how much we need to spend on defense. (At 15% of the budget, it's too little now, in my view.)

Second, begin trimming programs for the elderly by gradually cutting benefits for the affluent and raising eligibility ages. Preserve most, though not all, of the safety net.

Third, eliminate  again gradually  marginal or ineffective programs, from Amtrak to farm subsidies to broadcasting grants. These cuts might not shrink government but would liberate funds for more important programs, such as research and defense.

Fourth, find a new tax (my candidate: a carbon tax) whose slow increase would close the considerable remaining deficits after spending cuts and increases.

The odds that Congress would pass anything like this are negligible. We have used government as a massive slush fund for whatever cause or interest seems popular. The carelessness is now woven into the social and political fabric. We need a leader who can shift public opinion and reconcile Americans to the need for choices, many unpopular. That person is nowhere in sight.
A series of polls released this week in Ecuador give ruling party candidate, Lenin Moreno, a lead ahead of the April 2 vote. The election will determine the fate of President Rafael Correa and his socialist policies.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/27/2017



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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.

Former contestant, Brandy Rusher , has reportedly been shot and is currently in the hospital in critical condition.Rusher, 32, was one of several people shot at an apartment complex in Houston, TX, on Sunday night, TMZ reported.Rusher is in the intensive care unit after the shooting, which reportedly killed two men. In addition to Rusher, three other people were also shot and injured.The incident occurred when a car drove up to the apartment complex and gunmen allegedly opened fire with a high-powered rifle.Law enforcement officials told the Daily Mail the shooting happened after the victims got into an argument with a resident at the Haverstock Hill apartments around 6:30PM. Three men then reportedly arrived in a white sedan and two of them got out and started arguing with the victims.One of the three men allegedly grabbed a semi-automatic rifle from the trunk of the car and started firing 15 to 18 shots at the victims, before fleeing the scene. One man was pronounced dead right at the scene, while another died later at the hospital.As for the four individuals who were shot but not killed -- Rusher, another woman, and two guys -- authorities told the Daily Mail they are in critical yet stable condition. One of the women was shot in the lower leg.The newspaper identified one of the victims as 33-year-old Christopher Beatty, and three of the targets are from the same family. Police are still searching for the suspects."[Brandy and her brother Wayne] were involved in a shooting but we don't know anything about it," Rusher's grandfather, 81, told E! News. "We would just like to keep the family in prayer."When she competed on Top Model in early 2005, Rusher was a 20-year-old cosmetology student from Houston, TX.Although Tyra Banks told Rusher she had a "great personality," the aspiring model was the third contestant eliminated from 's fourth season -- which aired on UPN at the time -- because of her "negative attitude."A representative for former Top Model judge Nole Marin told E! News, "Nole's heart goes out to Brandy and her family during this tragic time. While on the show, Nole says he remembers her shining personality and glowing smile. She is in his thoughts and is sending well wishes."
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The Republicans suffered a humiliating defeat on their proposal to cut taxes for the wealthy disguised as healthcare reform. But as the Trump administration has made clear, they are not about to give up on their tax cut plans.

But how will those tax cuts be financed? The Republicans health care reform plan would have delivered $600 billion in tax cuts, but with that option gone where will the money come from?

Related: In Defeat, Trump and Ryan Offer No Path Forward on Health Care

Republicans would like you to believe that tax cuts can be financed by reducing government waste, cutting foreign aid, and so on, or from the miraculous economic growth tax cuts bring about. The reality is that these types of cuts wont come anywhere close to covering budgetary cost of the tax cuts they have planned, and the hope that tax cuts will increase economic growth and hence tax revenue is undercut by the failure of tax cuts to stimulate economic growth during the Bush and Reagan administrations.

That will leave Republicans with two choices (assuming that health care reform is dead, as it appears to be). They can allow the national debt to expand substantially, by trillions if they make good on their tax cut promises, or they can cut entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. They could also give up on the tax cuts, but thats not going to happen.

But as Republicans in Congress contemplate trying to finance tax cuts for the wealthy with cuts to programs such as Social Security, they should realize that many of the same market failures that made health care reform so difficult also plague social insurance programs more generally. Theres a reason why government got involved in these markets in the first place.

Consider the individual mandate, a feature of Obamacare that Republicans have targeted for criticism. Social Security also has a mandate  if you report income to the government you have no choice but to pay Social Security taxesand the program wouldnt work without it.

Story continues

Related: Blind Trust in Donald Trump Could Be Costly

When people are left on their own to save for retirement, many people, despite the nagging feeling that they ought to be putting money away for the future, fail to do so. Immediate needs are more important. Taking care of family needs  just getting by each month  takes precedence over saving for the future.

But when people dont save anything and arrive at old age penniless, society wont let them be homeless and starve. Our social conscious will not allow that. However, the costs of giving people the basic necessities of life will be borne by society at large. Wouldnt it be better if people were mandated to contribute to their retirement during their younger, working years? Even if their contributions dont fully cover their retirement needs, isnt it better if they cover at least some of the costs? Thats what the mandate does. It ensures that a fraction of every paycheck is put away for the future.

Some people will save for retirement, but there are considerable uncertainties. Do I need to save enough to live into my 90s, or will less savings be enough? This type of uncertainty seems to be easily overcome by insurance markets. People contribute to a retirement fund, and those who are unlucky and have lifespans that are shorter than average fund those who are lucky enough to live longer. Smoothing these kinds of risks (in this case against running out of money in old age) is what insurance markets are supposed to do.

Heres the problem. Retirement insurance is a bad deal for people who have family histories or other reasons to believe that will not realize a typical lifespan (the average lifespan determines insurance premiums they would pay). If a large number of people who do not expect to realize an average lifespan drop out choosing instead to save on their own  they dont think they will need to save as much as insurance asks them to pay  premiums will have to rise since the insurance pool will be made up of people who are likely to live longer than average.

Related: When It Comes to Trumponomics, Economists Are on High Alert

But as premiums rise, more people conclude its a bad deal and drop out, premiums rise again causing even more people to drop out, and as this continues the market will eventually collapse leaving people no choice but to save for retirement on their own. But, for the reasons given above, leaving people to save for retirement on their own doesnt work. The only way to solve this problem is a mandate for everyone to contribute to a retirement fund, and that requires government to intervene in these markets.

As Republicans try to find a way to implement their tax cut plans without exploding the national debt, they will face the same problem they faced with health care. The only way to fund the tax cuts is to cut programs millions of people depend upon, programs that only government can provide. Cutting either Social Security or Medicare would have severe political repercussions.

Large tax cuts for the wealthy without a significantly increasing the debt is an impossible task.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
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Becoming partly cloudy after some evening light rain. Low near 50F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

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Of all the tremors to rock the start-up world of late -- Snapdeals layoffs, Stayzillas shutting down, Flipkarts frequent devaluations -- nothing will match the rumble at ShopClues for poignancy.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com.

Sandeep Aggarwal was quick to delete the Facebook posts in which he accused his wife, Radhika, of various things, of which the relevant one is that she blocked him out of ShopClues, the e-commerce marketplace they built together.

The rest should never really have been a part of public discussion.

It was one of those weak moments when I ended up using a public platform to vent out, says Sandeep.

He may not have heard the modern aphorism: dance like no one is watching, email like one day it may be read aloud in a deposition.

Imagine, then, how far a Facebook post can travel.

And Aggarwal made two, whose screenshots would be ensconced on the hard drives of journalists covering start-ups.

It was out of character for a person whose default response to a problem, honed during a decade of being a Wall Street analyst, is to open a spreadsheet and look at data.

Of all the tremors to rock the start-up world of late -- Snapdeals layoffs, Stayzillas shutting down, Flipkarts frequent devaluations -- nothing will match the rumble at ShopClues for poignancy.

For this is a story where the personal stakes are as high as the business interests and involves children: Radhika and Sandeeps two sons, aged 13 and seven.

Sure, ShopClues is valued at more than a billion dollars, mostly because it has tried to carve a special place for itself among the e-commerce marketplaces.

Its unofficial self-description is digital Karol Bagh, after the middle class shopping haven in west Delhi.

That involved getting a huge number of small traders on its network, and may have insulated the company from the fate that has befallen those that mirror Amazon.

No wonder, then, the ShopClues board moved swiftly to protect it from the battle that Sandeep, who claims to be the only genuine founder of the company, is waging against Radhika, who has chosen to keep a dignified silence. And those who have known the couple are dazed at the turn of events.

Radhika was 19 when she met Sandeep, a couple of years her senior, at a college in Indore. Till recently, he used to joke that he has known Radhika longer than her parents have.

Radhika is tall and has the crisp, refined manner of an Army child who has gone to a bunch of convent schools.

Sandeep, of medium height and build, is a wizard with numbers, which pepper his rapid-fire speech.

Growing up, Radhika was sure she will not marry someone from the armed forces; she had moved enough cities already. She wanted to settle down in one place and live there.



She got half of her wish.

She did not marry an Army man, but the one she did marry moved countries within a year of their wedding. And they kept moving cities every two years, until they came back to India in 2011 to set up ShopClues and live in Gurugram.

This was to be the settled life Radhika yearned for.

They raised $4 million in Series A funding in March 2012, when Nexus Venture came in as an early investor.

They raised another round, Series B, of $5 million in early 2013, when Helion came in and Nexus made a pro rata investment to preserve its equity percentage.

Then Sandeep got arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in San Jose, California, on charges of insider trading. He was later released on bail and came back to set up Droom, an online marketplace for cars and two-wheelers.



Meantime, Radhika and Sanjay Sethi, who became the CEO after Sandeep stepped down, took ShopClues from strength to strength.

Everyone thought Sandeep and Radhika will be the unique couple to have two highly-valued startups in the family. Few had an inkling they had been drifting apart for a while.

They will no doubt be able to tide over this crisis. All the three protagonists here are over 40 and seasoned pros.

The business may also be able to get over it. The board, led by its main investors -- Nexus, Helton, and Tiger Global -- has put its faith in Radhika and Sanjay.

Noting that ShopClues has grown 30 times, the board said: It is very disappointing to see an ex-founder, who disassociated from the company for his criminal wrongdoings, is now engaged in a personal vendetta on a public forum.

Now someone needs to speak up for protecting the children.
US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, newly elected co-chair of the influential Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, discusses her vision for US-India ties with Rediff.com's Monali Sarkar.

IMAGE: US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard at the first Diwali on Capitol Hill.

Photograph: Rediff.com

When the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans was established in 1993, the India-United States relationship had little going for it. It is a testament to how far that relationship has come -- and how pivotal the caucus has been in making it happen -- that today it is the second largest country-specific caucus in the US Congress.

The charge of leading the caucus into its 25th year now rests with US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawai'i, and US Congressman George Holding, a Republican from North Carolina.

While Holding has been a co-chair of the caucus since 2014, Gabbard was elected this month to succeed her Democratic Congressional colleague Dr Ami Bera, who was the first Indian-American co-chair of the caucus.

Gabbard, who is the first Hindu lawmaker in the US Congress, is also the first woman to be elected co-chair of this caucus.

In an exclusive interview with Rediff.com, the US Congresswoman shares her views on the legacy of the India caucus and her vision for it.

The Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans will turn 25 with you as co-chair. How do you view its legacy?

The legacy of the Caucus is best reflected in the progress of the US-India partnership. Since the US-India Caucus was established in 1993, it has played a key role in driving US-India bilateral relations moving forward.

With the 25-year anniversary coming up in 2018, we will continue to build upon this progress by strengthening US-India ties, empowering Indian Americans living in the US, and creating new opportunities for Americans and Indians to work together across industries, institutions, and borders.

You have been elected to this caucus at a time when the US and India have a respectable strategic partnership on many levels.

However -- unlike the past few administrations when the relationship was largely on an upward trajectory -- this is also a turbulent time vis-a-vis the Trump administration's relationship with India (the H-1B visa issue, and a likely clash on manufacturing) and Indian-Americans (the Kansas shooting and other hate crimes). How do you plan to handle it?

The bipartisan support behind the US-India Caucus is a testament to the importance of US-India relations and its ability to transcend partisan politics.

As co-chairs, Rep Holding and I are meeting with members of the Caucus as well as Indian-American leaders and organisations to discuss the Caucus's legislative agenda and goals in the 115th Congress.

Major areas of interest include strengthening mutually beneficial economic ties, building upon the existing US-India security framework and our shared fight against terrorism, and expanding foreign exchange student programs between the US and India, which have fallen far behind other comparable nations.

The recent rise of violence against Indians, Hindus, Sikhs, and other religious and ethnic minorities, is deeply concerning.

In the 115th Congress, we will continue our work to increase awareness and understanding across our communities, and urge the Department of Justice to investigate these horrific acts and address the rise of hate crimes across the country.

India has been trying to get America to see the H-1B visa issue from a purely trade and business perspective instead of an immigration perspective. Where does the caucus stand on this?

The caucus has not taken a formal position on this issue.

We need an immigration policy that both strengthens our American economy and workforce, and that recognizes the economic contributions that Indians and Indian Americans continue to make here in the US, without fear that a change in politics will put their business at risk or separate their family.

We cannot make blanketed cuts or limitations on immigration that do not take into account the broader economic and social impact for our country and for our friends around the world.

IMAGE: Tulsi Gabbard, who had volunteered for a 12-month deployment in Iraq and was promoted to major, with her Hawai'i Army National Guard unit in 2015. Photograph: Kind Courtesy Rep Tulsi Gabbard/Flickr

Late last year, the US finalized India's designation as a major defence partner. From your unique perspective as an Iraq veteran, a major in the Hawai'i Army National Guard and a Congresswoman, where do you see this partnership going in the next four years?

India is one of our most important geopolitical defence partners for the US.

Last year's National Defence Authorisation Act language provides a good foundation from which we can explore options to expand our security cooperation.

US Secretary of Defence (James) Mattis and Indian Defence Minister (Manohar) Parrikar (until March 13, 2017, when he resigned to take over as the chief minister of Goa) have agreed to continue to move forward with our bilateral defence relationship, a keystone of our overall strategic partnership.

A strong US-India defence partnership holds promise for long-term stability throughout the Asia-Pacific.

There has been much talk about having an F-16 manufacturing unit in India. But it is a proposition fraught with problems, including the 'America First' optics of the Trump administration as well as the issue of Pakistan's F-16 fleet. Do you see a way out of this?

President Trump's America First policy and Prime Minister Modi's Make in India policy are not mutually exclusive. Strong trade relations between the US and India are important and will bolster the economy of both our nations.

We should build on the US-India security cooperation that has been increasing over recent years.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has continued to allow terrorist organisations to not only operate within their borders, but to cross its borders unchecked into India, Afghanistan, and other nations.

Officials within the Pakistani government have also continued to provide tacit and overt support for terrorism.

In Congress, I've worked to cut back US assistance for Pakistan, particularly any military assistance, and increase pressure on Pakistan to stop these dangerous actions and break these ties.

I've also introduced the Stop Arming Terrorists Act, legislation that would stop the US government from using taxpayer dollars to directly or indirectly support groups who are allied with and supporting terrorist groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda.

If passed, this bill would make it illegal for the US government to provide support, funding, and weapons to any nation that has given or continues to support terrorists.

A bilateral investment treaty between US and India has been a long sought after goal. What are the chances of this coming to fruition now?

Our two nations have already pledged to increase annual trade from $100 billion to $500 billion by 2024. Regardless of the vehicle we choose to achieve this goal, we should do so in a way that is mutually beneficial for the economies of both countries.

Strong economic ties lay the foundation upon which our partnership can grow. This is why I pushed for Goa and Hawai'i to become sister states last year.

The people of our two nations have much in common and we should embrace every opportunity to share our cultures and ideas.

What kind of a global leadership role does the caucus envision for India on the economy and international security issues?

As an important economic and security partner with many common interests in the Asia-Pacific, we must work together with India to create stability around the world.

As one of the world's fastest growing economies, India is well positioned to become a key economic leader in the Asia-Pacific.

India's focus on its entrepreneurial community also shows promise. Start-ups have proven to be essential to innovation, job creation and economic growth in the 21st century. I'm sure there is much we can learn from one another in these areas.

IMAGE: Tulsi Gabbard was a part of a select committee of lawmakers that welcomed and escorted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the House Floor for his address to the joint session of the US Congress. Photograph: Kind courtesy Office of Rep Tulsi Gabbard

Where does the caucus now stand on India's demand for a permanent seat at the UNSC?

The caucus has not taken a formal position on this issue. However, we understand India's frustration with the pace of UN reforms. We have followed closely India's growing role in international organisations as India continues to solidify its place on the world stage.

Do not overlook the importance of having been elected to the Security Council seven times. As co-chair of the US-India Caucus, I will take every opportunity to point out the significant contributions India has made to global stability and peace over the years, and I look forward to continued engagement and dialogue on this important issue.

Considering this is a bipartisan caucus, how different or similar are the views on India and Indian Americans on the two sides of the aisle?

The US-India Caucus has long brought together people from different parties and different parts of the country to work together on strengthening relations between the US and India, and to better empower Indians living in the US.

In the 115th Congress, we will continue our work to increase awareness and understanding across our communities. We may agree on some things, disagree on others, but come together in this caucus around our unified interest in strengthening the US-India partnership.

What is your vision of the future of this caucus? How do you plan to grow its influence?

I am confident we will see continued growth in the US-India partnership and the Caucus.

As the second largest country-specific caucus in Congress, we have a great platform for carrying forward ideas and increasing awareness of the importance of our long standing friendship. There are some very engaged members on the Caucus and as new members are elected, more are interested in joining.

We are working with Rep Holding and other Caucus members on identifying the priorities for the caucus for the 115th Congress, and look forward to engaging with the community on furthering those priorities.

You are also the first woman co-chair, the first Hindu co-chair of the India Caucus. How does it feel to be in a US Congress with more women, more diversity than ever?

It's important that our government represent the diversity that exists within our country. I'm honoured to serve the people of Hawai'i and this country as we continue to try to bring about positive change in our service to them.

IMAGE: When Tulsi Gabbard visited India. Photographs: Kind courtesy Rep Tulsi Gabbard/Flickr

Tell us about your first trip to India. What were your big takeaways?

I was in India for the first time in December 2014, at the prime minister's invitation. I visited 7 cities over 3 weeks and met with a wide variety of people, from the highest government officials to the top industrialists, whose names most people will recognize to be entrepreneurs and start-ups to college students, to grade school students, to small business owners, to mid-size business owners, to farmers.

What struck me was the optimism and excitement that was felt across India, an understanding of the unique opportunity to change in a historic way and leverage technology and innovation to be able to empower people, even in the smallest and most rural villages.

Apart from your official duties, how much of India did you experience? What were your favourite memories of India?

On a very personal level, my visit to India was very fulfilling for me.

India has a great spiritual tradition to offer the world, and I was able to take some personal time near the end of my trip to go on a holy pilgrimage in Vrindavan, which was the spiritual highlight of my trip. I made many new friends there, and experienced the vibrant spirit of India and her people.

As we look at the challenges that exist around the world, and the opportunity that lies ahead for the US and India, I am reminded of the importance of the aloha spirit, working with one another in a way that is based on respect, love, and compassion.

While in India, I was honoured and inspired to follow in the footsteps of Martin Luther King by visiting Raj Ghat, the cremation site of Mahatma Gandhi.

The potency of love and aloha is the core message of both Dr King and Mahatma Gandhi.

The world today is in dire need of leaders who have such aloha spirit; servant-leaders who are motivated out of spiritual love to work in the spirit of karma yoga, or selfless service to others.

It is this aloha spirit, and cultivation of spiritual love, which motivates me in my work, and which can help us overcome our differences, and bring about real solutions to the many challenges we face.

You have criticised the Believer on CNN for its episode on the Aghoris. Reza Aslan, however, has said that his show will cover many beliefs on the fringes of the mainstream. In his second episode he met a doomsday cult leader, and has said he plans to also do episodes on evangelist Christianity, Vodou and Scientology.

Also, he did say the aghoris are only a sect of Hindus, that they are only a very small group of ascetics. He didn't seem to imply that he was speaking for Hinduism as a whole.

In light of this -- and the fact that the aghoris or the caste system he speaks of on this show do exist -- do you still view it as 'false reporting' or in anyway specifically intended to perpetuate stereotypes?

I think my position on the episode is quite clear through the statement I released.

The question for me is not whether Reza Aslan is going to show other religions in the same, disrespectful way that he showed Hinduism.

Today, when Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and many others are facing very real violence stemming from ignorance, it is the duty of people in the media such as Mr Aslan to eschew shocking and alarming viewers in the guise of educating them about religion.

You reference the caste system. Of course, caste-based discrimination is a very real problem in India and South Asia, but I also know, as a Hindu, that a caste system is not intrinsic to Sanatan Dharma.

Mr Aslan said the exact opposite. He made many similar errors and spread other misconceptions about karma and reincarnation that have really aggrieved the Hindu community.

My request to CNN and Mr Aslan, and Western media in general (including Hollywood movie-makers) is to sit down with Hindu Americans and discuss ways to portray Hinduism in a more accurate and respectful light.

In 2016 when I ran for re-election, my Republican opponent put out propaganda saying Hindus are cannibals and that a vote for me was a vote for Satan.

CNN's programme feeds into that kind of misunderstanding, fear and perverted stereotypes of Hinduism.

To my knowledge, CNN has still not responded in any way to the complaints the Hindu American Foundation and Hindu organisations and individuals have made.

I believe the reason for this is because if they were to apologise to Hindus like they should, they would also have to refrain from rebroadcasting the programme. They obviously don't want to do this, because it will cut into their profits.

Do you have an India bucket list in terms of places to visit, things to do, things to try?

I don't have a bucket list, but I do look forward to visiting again.
By Reem Shamseddine and Marwa Rashad JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia/RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's government has cut the income tax paid by national oil giant Saudi Aramco to smooth the company's initial public offer of shares next year, which is expected to be the world's largest equity sale. A royal decree on Monday, retroactive to Jan. 1, set a tax rate of 50 percent for the firm. Previously, Aramco had paid 85 percent tax, plus a 20 percent royalty levied at a different stage; the decree did not mention the royalty. The step appeared likely to reduce Aramco's tax burden by as much as tens of billions of dollars, which could make the firm much more attractive to private investors. Saudi authorities had been considering such a change for months, sources told Reuters. "The royal order is a milestone in setting the stage for the world's biggest IPO. I am sure there will be more such moves to follow in coming weeks and months," an oil industry executive said. "It shows the Saudi government is serious about the IPO of Saudi Aramco, and this is a very strong message to those who doubted that the government will follow through on taking Aramco public." The government aims to sell up to 5 percent of Aramco, listing the shares in Riyadh and at least one foreign exchange, to raise cash for investment in new industries, as the kingdom seeks to diversify its economy beyond oil exports in an era of cheap crude. Saudi officials have predicted the IPO will value the company at $2 trillion or more. Many private analysts have been sceptical, making estimates below $1 trillion, but a 50 percent tax rate could bring the offer closer to $2 trillion. This move carries strategic benefits for Saudi Arabia, its citizens and future generations, Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said in a statement about the tax cut. The government, which is struggling to close a budget deficit due to cheap oil that totalled $79 billion last year, obtains over 60 percent of its income from oil, so the tax change could affect its finances. However, analysts said the measure might not have a big impact since tax revenue was expected to be replaced by dividend payments from Aramco. The firm has not revealed its post-IPO dividend policy. Any tax revenue reductions applicable to hydrocarbon producers operating in the kingdom are replaced by stable dividend payments by government-owned companies, and other sources of revenue including profits resulting from investments, Jadaan said. He said in a later statement to Reuters that the 2017 state budget had been prepared with the tax change in mind, so government revenues and public services would not be affected. Industry executives have said the IPO will help Aramco, one of the country's most efficient state enterprises, expand its business in line with market principles and form partnerships with private-sector companies around the world. Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said in a statement that the tax cut would help Aramco develop by bringing the company in line with international benchmarks. (Writing by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Dale Hudson)
'They can't be tampered with because of the very nature of the machines -- they are standalone, and not networked.'

'Also, they can't be rigged because of the kind of custodial security they are subjected to during the election process.'

After electoral losses in recent assembly elections, leaders of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Aam Aadmi Party have alleged that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were tampered with. They also called for a return to the system of voting with ballot papers.

The Election Commission has rejected these allegations. V S Sampath, former chief election commissioner, speaks to Ranjita Ganesan about the efficacy of EVMs and the security measures followed by the Election Commission.

What do you make of the allegations that have been made? Can EVMs be rigged?

We have been using EVMs for quite some time now. They cannot be tampered with because of the very nature of the machines -- they are standalone, and not networked.

Also, they cannot be rigged because of the kind of custodial security they are subjected to during the election process.

Sometime in 2010 or so, a professor from the United States in collaboration with a man named Hari Prasad stole one machine, they planted a Bluetooth device on that, and they demonstrated on television that with the signals of mobile phone, results can be manipulated.

It was a crude attempt but we clearly told them and the entire country that EVMs used in elections are not available for just anyone to take.

Any electronic device if given to someone can be tampered with, but as far as EVMs used in Indian elections are concerned, they are always under the custody of the Election Commission.

If someone steals it, they will not be able to put it back in the election process.

Even in that case, they could only tinker with the display of machine, and not data.

And that was one machine -- how many such would have to be stolen to affect the result? It is not worth giving any credence to.

What are the safeguards used by the Election Commission?

Custodial security has been tightened. Until 2010, in the non-election season, there was no armed guard for machines, but now, even at non-elections times, there is armed security.

Various checks and seals are done. Technicians from EVM companies come and clean up any old data.

All this is done in the presence of political party representatives. They would ask representatives to test that it is clean and that recording is only according to new votes.

The machines and warehouses are then sealed again.

At the time of collection, when the names of candidate are put on the EVM, it is in the presence of candidates' representatives.

After a random procedure, machines are taken to different polling stations. Thirty minutes in advance, in the presence of political party representatives, another mock poll is done to demonstrate that the recording of votes is accurate.

Then, all mock data is erased, everything is sealed and ready for voting.

After polls also, seals are put on the buttons.

Even when accepting EVMs in counting halls, the seal is checked.

If it is not intact, it is not counted.

Had there been cases in your experience when the machines were not found intact?

The store rooms are sealed and fitted with closed circuit cameras so they are monitored 24/7.

In very rare cases, inadvertent tampering may occur -- for example, the seal may get broken while transporting a machine from hilly areas.

How have EVMs changed the election process? Have they made it safer, compared to the ballot paper days?

There were things like booth capturing 20, 30 years ago, where goondas can go to remote polling stations, get 500 ballot papers, stamp them and stuff them into ballot boxes. Because polling officers were scared, these incidents would go unreported.

With sheer force and goondaism, a candidate would win.

In EVMs, even if there is nobody in the polling station, if you voted with an EVM, a loud distinct sound would be heard 100 yards from the polling station.

Moreover, there is a minimum time taken for each vote to be recorded so 500 votes can't be recorded in 10 minutes or so.

It is not possible to capture a booth and cast votes.

What does the Election Commission do when such complaints surface?

At every stage, there are various safeguards so it is not something you can verify today and give a certificate.

The certificate cannot be given unless it is certain that a sanitised process was followed all through -- at the storage, constituency, polling and counting office levels.

But simply because an election was not according to your expectations, one cannot say there was tampering.

How does India's EVM system compare with election models elsewhere in the world?

Not many countries use EVMs. Among the ones that do, ours is one of the safest.

The only comparable nation is Brazil, where they use EVMs totally, and it is almost identical. They also believe in strong custodial security.
'There will be some issues of contention, especially on H1B visa and on trade policy.'

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale, chief of the Overseas Friends of Bharatiya Janata Party, tells Archis Mohan there might be hiccups in India-US relations during the Donald Trump administration, but by and large ties would be positive.

The recent electoral victories have made Prime Minister Narendra Modi's position in domestic politics so much more unassailable. How could this impact his foreign policy?

Modi has already put a significant stamp on his foreign policy agenda in the first half of his tenure, and now with these results it will definitely have a positive impact.

Already, the international press, and also rating agencies like Moody's, have reacted positively.

In the context of several changes in the global scenario and upcoming uncertainties in Europe, I think this domestic popular support for the PM will help us go from strength to strength.

Few leaders after Indira Gandhi have enjoyed such domestic popularity. Could this help the PM lead India to solve some of its more intractable problems with its neighbours, like the border dispute with China or relations with Pakistan?

I don't think we should club these issues together. With China, even though we have several differences, we are still talking a lot.

For example, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar last month visited China. India-China border talks are an ongoing process and remain uninterrupted despite changes in the regime in India.

So, we are hopeful that relations will be better despite some differences, for example on India's membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group or the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

As far as Pakistan is concerned, the ball is in Islamabad's court. It depends on how sincere they are in their anti-terrorist measures.

So, I guess these two, we need to delink.

How do you see India-US relations, particularly since you have been one of the key players in New Delhi's outreach to the Trump administration?

As our senior leader (BJP General Secretary) Ram Madhav recently wrote, India-US relations will be more transactional (under the current regime) than what these were during the previous regime (the Barack Obama administration), and we need to accept that change.

There will be some issues of contention, especially on H1B visa and on trade policy.

At the same time, there are new opportunities, for example, the US exiting the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which gives us more leeway to have bilateral negotiations with several countries, including the US.

Our defence cooperation is strong and that will continue with the Trump administration also.

There is bipartisan support in the US Congress on strong India-US relations. There might be some hiccups, but by and large things will move in a positive direction.

There is speculation that Shalabh Kumar or Ashley Tellis could be the next envoy to India of the US?

It is the prerogative of the US administration whom to appoint. I think both Kumar and Tellis understand India well.

We will welcome anyone who has a good understanding of the depth and breadth of India-US relations, irrespective of whether he is of Indian origin or not.

We have had US envoys of Indian origin, who were very successful, as also people who were not of Indian origin, like Robert D Blackwill and Senator (Daniel Patrick) Moynihan, who were extremely successful in building India-US relations.

The PM's Israel visit is much anticipated. You were recently in Israel. What are the expectations?

I have just been to Israel to attend one conference on the Diaspora, which was organised by the Israeli foreign office.

I also met policymakers in Israel and a large section of the India-Jewish Diaspora -- they are enthusiastic about the PM's visit.

It is a well-known fact that Benjamin Netanyahu, the PM of Israel, and Modiji have a good personal equation.

The Jewish community in general is positive towards Modiji and India. I think it will be a historic visit.

Will there be criticism of and a fallout on India-West Asia relations if the PM were not to visit Palestine?

It is not for me to say whether he will visit Palestine or not. It will be his considered decision.

But I think we have now built strong relations with all the major countries in West Asia, whether Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or Iran.

Even though these countries have conflicting interests within themselves, India has been deftly able to manage these equations and look out for furthering India's interests.

Whether the PM goes there or not, India-Palestine relations will remain strong.

Neighbourhood first was the narrative of the PM's first year of foreign policy. The focus in the second year was on the extended neighbourhood, in West Asia and South-east Asia. What will be the narrative next year?

I think the role of some of the multilateral bodies needs a relook.

There is the Non Aligned Movement, and there is uncertainty about its purpose.

There is also the Commonwealth, which needs to redefine its objectives in the post-Brexit era.

BRICS is also at a similar stage.

More nationalist and conservative leadership is emerging throughout the world.

The UK is going through a process of assessing its relations with the rest of Europe.

These are the issues we should focus upon.

Do you think the BJP, with its nationalist ideological base, might find any commonality with the nationalist leaderships emerging in the rest of the world?

Our nationalism is not exclusive.

In some cases in the rest of the world, it might be exclusive and therefore have some repercussions.

It is an evolving situation. But I don't see any commonality.

How is India preparing for a post-Brexit world?

The UK, at least in the next couple of years, would be too involved in conducting negotiations with the rest of Europe. We need to wait and watch the situation.

There are lots of people in Britain who say the situation would lead to increased interaction between the UK and India and open up newer avenues.

But the anti-immigration trend is not conducive to students going from India. Newer issues could emerge.

You have been at the helm of the OFBJP for nearly three years now. What have been the changes?

A major change was that in countries where the Indian Diaspora is present we started working on advocacy-related issues rather than simply managing events. That has been a major shift.

For example, just last fortnight the OFBJP and other community organisations demonstrated in front of the CNN Centre (CNN's headquarters) against their controversial and deplorable documentary film, Believer, which shows Hindu dharma in poor light.

We are doing such advocacy on other issues as well. After the Kansas attack on Indians, the OFBJP wrote to Senators and Congressmen.

We are doing such advocacy, which we weren't doing in the past, with more vigour, not just in the US, but also in Australia and other countries.

We are also encouraging -- and we plan to pursue this more aggressively in the months to come -- the Indian Diaspora to become part of Modiji's social programmes.

There is now a platform by the ministry of external affairs, the India Development Foundation through which the Diaspora can contribute financially to programmes like Swachh Bharat.

The good part is the IDF doesn't have any overheads, so 100 per cent of the money is allocated to the project and a completion certificate is sent to the donor.

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Political observers say except for a strong anti-incumbency sentiment, there is little that might go against the BJP.

Sohini Das and Vimukt Dave report.

It was at a cosy dinner on a summer evening at the Gujarat chief minister's bungalow in Gandhinagar that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is said to have asked Bharatiya Janata Party members in the state to ensure victory for the party in 150 seats in the assembly elections later this year.

The significance of 150?

It would break the Congress record of 149 seats in Gujarat under Madhavsinh Solanki's leadership in 1985.

After the spectacular win in the Uttar Pradesh polls, the BJP has turned its attention to Gujarat.

A win in the state is critical for reaffirming the BJP's performance in UP and Uttarakhand.

Speculation is rife that the BJP may consider advancing the dates of the assembly elections from December, so as to ride the UP victory wave. Sources close to the party leadership dismiss this speculation.

Both Modi and BJP President Amit Shah are known to have taken feedback from party leaders in the state on holding early elections. Neither leader has spoken clearly to state party leaders.

Political observers say that except for a strong anti-incumbency sentiment, there is little that might go against the BJP.

"Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mevani are the three faces of unrest and opposition in Gujarat," says a senior political observer.

"Alpesh has already tilted towards the BJP, Jignesh does not seem to have mass appeal while Hardik is increasingly being seen as fickle and lacking a concrete plan."

Sociologist and political analyst Vidyut Joshi predicts a win for the BJP, but adds that its tally might come down.

He says the party will clinch 110 seats out of the total 182. In 2012, the BJP had won 119 seats, the Congress 57 (final tally after by-elections).

"Anti-incumbency sentiment is strong; farmers and anganwadi workers are disillusioned to some extent," Joshi says. "There are compatibility issues between the chief minister and his deputy. Modi might send senior party leader Purushottam Rupala (the Union minister of state for agriculture) to take charge of Gujarat."

A dip-stick survey across districts in Gujarat shows that farmers are not satisfied with the BJP government.

Ramesh Bhoraniya, a cotton and groundnut farmer near Rajkot, says: "The government has not sided with us on minimum support price. It did not increase procurement."

Another farmer in the Saurashtra belt, a traditional BJP stronghold that was shaken up by the Patidar agitation, says that demonetisation has left them deprived of cash.

But farmers admit there is no option other than the BJP. "Opposition parties are hit by infighting," Bhoraniya says. "They cannot offer a stable government."

The Congress, on its part, has fastened its seat belt. The party is likely to announce a youth employment scheme. "We will invite applications from the youth," Gujarat Congress chief Bharat Sinh Solanki says.

"We are planning to offer an unemployment allowance. For postgraduates the amount will be Rs 4,000 a month, for graduates Rs 3,500 and Rs 3,000 for higher secondary pass-outs," he adds.

The Congress is trying to woo urban voters this time. "We won only four out of 68 seats in the urban areas last time," Solanki told Business Standard in an interview earlier this year.

"So, we have to increase our share to at least 50 per cent there. We are targeting 34 seats. We will sweep the rural areas, barring a few seats."

The party made a comeback in the 2015 panchayat elections, winning 22 out of 31 panchayats. In the 2010 polls, it had won only one seat.

Modi has asked party men to step out of their offices in the state capital and start reaching out to the masses.

Lack of mass connect cost the BJP a majority in Goa. From 21 seats in the previous elections, it was reduced to 13 this time. The party did form the government, but with support from allies.

In Gujarat, the BJP is trying to reach out to all sections of society. The message from Delhi is not to isolate any community, rather to try and build bridges with the Patidars.

Demographically, Muslim voters make up 10 per cent of the electorate in Gujarat; the remaining 90 per cent are Hindus.

Of them, around seven per cent are Dalits, around 20 per cent Patidars, 14 per cent tribals and the rest belong to Other Backward Classes.

The OBC vote would be crucial.

Thakor's outfit, the Gujarat Kshatriya Thakor Sena, has started witnessing cracks.

Around 1,000 members resigned in Banaskantha district in February, accusing Thakore of using them to nurture his own political ambitions.

"Many see Thakor as the BJP's B-team, and that he will tone down his protests at just the right time," says an observer.

Surat, with its diamond merchants, is considered the deciding factor in the Gujarat elections. It is still reeling from the after-effects of the Patidar agitation.

This is the soft spot the BJP's opponents are targeting.

But traders, like farmers, say they have little option. "We have no other choice but to go with the BJP as it can offer a stable government," says a cotton trader based in Kadi.

Hardik Patel has a different take. "The current government is overconfident," he says. "Whether assembly elections happen now or later, the people of Gujarat are not happy with the BJP. This is sure to go against them."

While he has no plan at present to contest the assembly elections, he adds he will nonetheless try to gauge the mood of the people.

"The BJP has won in the state with the support of the Patidar community," Patel says. "We will not participate in the elections, but there are only two parties -- the BJP and the Congress. We will support those who work for the youth, farmers, women and development."

Sources in the Congress say Patel might side with them.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to his right, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel to his left, releases water from dam gates in Jamnagar, Gujarat, August 30, 2016. Photograph: Press Information Bureau
'This Finance Bill cannot go this way. It should be challenged. '

'This bill should be rejected and sent back to Lok Sabha for a relook. All non tax matters should be deleted.'

The Opposition on Monday charged the government with trying to promote crony capitalism, creating fear by giving unbridled power to taxmen, trying to snoop into peoples lives through increased use of Aadhaar through the provisions of the Finance Bill.

Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Left, lambasted the government for not making enough provisions for creation of jobs through the rural employment guarantee scheme or to have farm loan waivers to check the growing number of farmers suicide.

Initiating a discussion on the 2017 Finance Bill, Congress leader Kapil Sibal lashed out at the government claiming it had failed to generate jobs or provide support to farmers and its jumlas and promises have remained hollow.

He also questioned the move to use Aadhaar for filing tax returns, saying it amounted to snooping into peoples lives and the prime minister and the finance minister had earlier raised concern over the use of the unique identity number when the Bharatiya Janata Party was in opposition.

Taking a dig at the BJP-led dispensation, he said some people in this government may have the experience in snooping and added that this also showed BJPs double talk.

For the government, development only means the development of its communal agenda, Sibal claimed, adding that he saw at least six disturbing trends which reflected the mindset of this government.

Referring to crony capitalism, the Congress leader said the government has done away with the cap on contributions that companies could make to political parties.

Now these companies dont even need to disclose this amount or the identity of the beneficiary even to their shareholders, he said, claiming that these provisions were included to ensure that the party in power gets unabated funding for national, state or even civic elections.

Observing that there were several companies competing for contracts against which there are proceedings or which need restructuring, Sibal alleged that the governments motive was merely to see that they contribute to the kitty of the ruling party.

You are playing with the economic fabric of the country and you talk about transparency, he asserted.

Alleging that a provision to amend the Companies Act was surreptiously brought in the garb of the Finance Bill, he said this was done by the government so that the Rajya Sabha, where it does not have a majority, will not be able to object to it. This amounts to muffling the voice of the Upper House, Sibal said.

Referring to the provision putting a maximum limit of Rs 2000 on cash contributions to political parties, Sibal said this issue fell in the domain of electoral reforms, but has been made part of a money bill, as the government does not want the Rajya Sabha to have a say.

Sibal also accused the government of giving unbridled power to tax authorities through the provisions of the Finance Bill, saying the tax authorities can now carry out search or seizure without divulging the reason to believe to the assessee.

He said the political opponents could be targeted through this provision and they may not get respite from any appellate body and possibly even from the higher courts. And you will have a field day, the Congress leader said.

He claimed that the government had sought to create an atmosphere of fear in the minds of business people as Income Tax officers will now not need to disclose the reason to suspect. Is this the transparency, accountability or acche din (good days) you had promised, Sibal asked.

The Finance Bill has also sought to merge several tribunals like the AERA with TDSAT which was a matter of policy. And the government, by including it in the Finance Bill, was evading Rajya Sabha, he said, adding it was brought in the Lok Sabha too at the last minute to avoid debate.

He also alleged that the government was trying to appropriate the powers of judiciary by keeping the rights of appointments to these tribunals.

Sibal, a senior lawyer, said another provision related to granting powers to IT officers to carry out raids and attach assets for six months as provisional attachment, alleging that these provisions were only meant to exploit businesses and extort money.

Through yet another provision in the Finance Bill, the government has brought in a provision that surveys could be carried out on charitable institutions, which could also be used to harass political opponents.

He said the government was trying to foist all these changes through the Finance Bill in the Rajya Sabha so that there is no debate on them.

Questioning the linking of Aadhaar with tax filing, Sibal said even the Supreme Court had said that Aadhar was not mandatory, but the government does not seem to be bothered about it. The only explanation for such things could be the arrogance of power, he claimed.

He said that while Aadhaar was aimed at ensuring that the targeted subsidies reach the beneficiaries. But now it appears that it could be used to access all information about an individual. We are not living in a police state, he said.

Sibal warned Jaitley that the Bill he had presented would not stand scrutiny in court and get rejected as he questioned the procedures followed. He asked the minister why he wanted to go down in history as a person who had violated tradition and muffled the voice of the Upper House.

The Congress leader claimed that the government was not even maintaining constitutional proprieties. What harm would have come been if there was a debate, he asked.

Sibal also attacked the Modi government saying it had not been able to take care of the farmers interests and claimed that in UP, waiver of farmers loans was promised before elections but now the finance minister was backing out.

Observing that instead of a promised 2 crore jobs, only 1.50 lakh have been generated, he asked how is the prime minister able to sleep?

He also hit out at Jaitley alleging he had said that out of 125 crore people in the country, only 3 crore paid taxes, implying that the people of the country were dishonest.

Citing census data, he said if you remove the figures of urban and rural poor, of women and very young population who dont pay taxes, the figure one arrives at is around 3 crore. And you tell all the people that they are dishonest?

The Congress leader referred to the recent assembly polls including in UP and said that the BJP may have become politically victorious, it was not a victory of its policies.

Demonetisation has not won but demonisation has, he said.

He said the independence of the media was also being affected as media houses, which had other businesses under the provisions, were falling into the grip of the ruling dispensation.

Participating in the debate, Naresh Agarwal of the SP said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was in the House, had earlier said that GDP growth will slowdown by 2 percentage points due to the impact of demonetisation.

He alleged that the governments conduct was whimsical as it was bringing in several major changes like merging tribunals, amending Airport Authority law, Electricity Act and other legislations under the garb of money bill without giving approval of the Rajya Sabha.

He said allocations have been made and new schemes were being implemented, but there are problems with actual implementation of programmes on the ground.

This is the first government which has brought the slogan Amiri Hatao (Eradicate Prosperity). We are used to a slogans of Eradicate Poverty. ... Instead of blaming people for non-compliance of tax laws, we should find a remedy to problems. Goldsmiths went on strike for 42 days, Agarwal said, criticising the government for giving unnecessary wide discretion and powers to the tax officials.

He demanded that the 7th Pay Commission for the defence personnel should be implemented and criticised the government for not taking steps to implement one rank, one pension.

Cautioning the government for not agreeing to farm loan waivers for all states, the SP member said if this happens, there would be protests in other big states also like Maharashtra as there have been many instances of farmers suicide in other provinces.

He also lamented that the government was not doing enough for MGNREGA and should do something constructive to create employment in the country.

Countering the allegations of the opposition, BJPs Bhupender Yadav said the government has brought Bankruptcy and Insolvency bill, which the other parties ruling for decades could not do.

He also spoke of the governments announcement for spending Rs 20,000 crore on irrigation, saying only 46 per cent of land is irrigated in the country.

He also commended the government decision on demonetisation and the steps to encourage digital payments for bringing in transparency in the system.

Sukhendu Shekhar Roy of the Trinamool Congress said the government was doing a bypass surgery of legislative process by bringing in various non-finance matters in the garb of the Finance Bill.

Attacking the government over the proposed amendments listed under the Finance Bill, he said it reflected the totalitarian attitude of the ruling party.

Speaking on amendments, he said enormous power were being given to the IT department, while the appellate system was being curtailed. Unflinching power is being given to the income tax authorities.. this is the situation... shameful situation, Roy said.

For the last 70 years, no such provisions were allowed but now due to the whims and fancies of the ruling party, such powers are being given to the IT department, he said, adding I condemn it. I oppose it.

Earlier it used to be inspector Raj and now it will be raid-seize-attach raj, he said. He also termed the amendment to merge various tribunals as unimaginable.

Terming the Finance Bill as finance bully, Sitaram Yechury of the Communist Party of India-Marxist said it has also been cleared by the Lok Sabha in a hurry.

By smuggling in non-financial matters in the Finance Bill, the government is undermining the entire Constitution, the CPI-M leader said.

Yechury said there have been references to Goebbels and Himmler, but the current government had put all of them to shame in the way they were undermining the parliamentary system. This bill should be rejected and sent back to Lok Sabha for a relook. All non tax matters should be deleted.

He said making Aadhaar card mandatory was a violation of fundamental right of privacy. What are you reducing this Republic of India to, he asked, as he opposed the amendments to alter the Companies Act and merger of various tribunals.

BSPs Satish Chandra Misra said various amendments proposed under the Finance Bill should have been brought separately so that the members could have discussed in issues in detail. He agreed with Yechury and said the Finance Bill should be sent back to the Lok Sabha for reconsideration.

Misra said changes in the political funding law have been proposed to favour the ruling party, while attacking the government for failure to provide jobs to the youth.

You said in 2014 that employment will be provided to around 2 crore people. Leave aside the fresh employment, you have on the other hand taken away jobs, the BSP MP said.

He attacked the government on several other issues including the validity of Jan Dhan accounts and introduction of various cesses in the taxation system.

CPIs D Raja charged the government with adopting unconstitutional means for passage of the Finance Bill and may laws were being amended through this Bill.

He said the government was not concerned about farmers distress and was giving concessions to corporates. This government is for Corporates ka Saath, Corporates Ka Vikas that I a can make out from this proposal, Raja said while listing out various proposals benefitting corporates such as cut in corporate tax.

He demanded that the government should release the names of defaulters responsible for non-performing assets of state-run banks.

Raja expressed concern over farmers distress and reports of their suicide and wanted to know the governments response to deal with the situation. You do not have any concern for farmers. What are you doing for farmers, he asked.

The CPI leader also demanded that the reservation policy should be extended to private sector, saying this was the need of the hour as the government was privatising public sector companies.

This Finance Bill cannot go this way. It should be challenged. The Upper House has a responsibility to tell the government that it cannot take this route, he added.

Raja also spoke about atrocities against Dalits and minorities in the name of beef.

T Subirami Reddy of the Congress said the government was amending various laws through Finance Bill and this has never happened.

He expressed concern over decline in industrial growth and exports as well as unemployment and bank NPAs.

Reddy said the government must infuse capital into banks and support distressed sectors like steel.

V Vijaysai Reddy of the YSR-Congress said genuine shareholders could suffer losses if the companies adopt unfair means in providing political donations.

Talking about the provision regarding any cash receipts above the prescribed limit would be liable to tax, he asked the government to clarify in the Finance Bill that cash withdrawal from banks would not be liable to tax.
Police on Monday claimed to have busted a module of the Hizbul Mujahideen by arresting seven suspected terrorists in Kashmir who were allegedly tasked to disrupt the upcoming Lok Sabha bypolls.

The arrests were made in south Kashmirs Kulgam district ahead of bypolls in Anantnag and Srinagar due in April.

We have busted a module of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen militant organisation by arresting seven militants, Senior Superintendent of Police, Kulgam, Shridhar Patil told reporters.

He said the district police received a specific intelligence input on March 21 that the terrorist outfit has constituted a module to carry out attacks on security forces and disrupt the election process.

The self-styled district commander of the outfit Altaf Dar alias Al-Kachroo and Towseef Sheikh alias Mossad had constituted the module for allegedly disrupting the elections.

We registered a case on the basis of this information and during investigation it was found that Zubar Ahmad Badar, a resident of Nai-Basti in Qaimoh area of the district, was the king-pin of this module. He was subsequently arrested, Patil said.

The SSP said a pistol, three bullets and two AK-47 magazines were recovered from Badars possession. During his questioning, we came to know about his associates and among them till now six have been arrested and we expect more arrests, he added.

The police officer said the main aim of the module was to target security forces during the elections and they had even made a failed attempt in Bijbehara area of Anantnag on March 19.

The arrest of these persons and recoveries made is a big achievement for us especially because of the elections, the official said. He also claimed that Hizbul Mujahideen was

trying to recruit new people

The by-elections to Srinagar and Anantnag Lok Sabha constituencies are to be held on April 9 and April 12, respectively.

On 4 July, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who represented Anantnag in Lok Sabha, resigned, following her election to the Legislative assembly. The Srinagar parliamentary constituency seat fell vacant in September after Peoples Democratic Party leader Tariq Hamid Karra resigned from the party as well as Lok Sabha.
Police on Monday said the man behind the terror attack outside the British Parliament last week had an interest in jihad but theres no evidence he was part of the Islamic State group, which had claimed him as its soldier.

IMAGE: Floral tributes are tied to a lampost on Westminster Bridge following the attack in Westminster earlier in the week, in central London. Photograph: Neil Hall/Reuters

The Scotland Yards Indian-origin deputy assistant commissioner, Neil Basu, in a statement said Khalid Masoods attack had echoes of the rhetoric of the Islamic State but no evidence at this stage suggests he was linked to the group.

His attack method appears to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of IS leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians, but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others, he said.

There is no evidence that Masood was radicalised in prison in 2003, as has been suggested; this is pure speculation at this time. Whilst I have found no evidence of an association with IS or Al Qaeda, there is clearly an interest in jihad.

Basu added there has been much speculation about who Masood was in contact with immediately prior to the attack and his communications that day remain a line of enquiry and called on the public to report if they heard from him on March 22, the day of the attack.

I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why. Most importantly, so do the victims and families, he said.

Basus statement came as Masoods mother expressed her shock at the attack. Janet Ajao said she had shed many tears for the people caught up in this horrendous incident.

I wish to make it absolutely clear, so there can be no doubt, I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity, she said in reference to her son, 52-year-old Masood, born Adrian Russell Ajao before he converted to Islam.

Masood was shot dead by security officials after he ploughed through pedestrians and fatally stabbed a policeman just outside the British parliament on Wednesday.

Four people were killed and dozens more injured.
The Babri Masjid Action Committee on Sunday said that an out-of-court settlement of the Ayodhya dispute was not possible with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the helm of affairs.

"With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the helm of affairs, there is no hope that justice will prevail with the Muslims. Both of them have been Bharatiya Janata Party workers and supporters of Ram temple movement," BMAC Convenor Zafaryab Jilani said after a meeting of its office bearers in Lucknow.

Earlier the prime ministers used to be "neutral" on the contentious issue, he said.

Jilani said that the solution to the Babri Masjid title suit can be arrived only through the Supreme Court.

The BMAC meeting was held against the backdrop of the apex court recently asking parties involved to sit together and arrive at a consensus on the issue, which has been dragging on for decades.

"Efforts were made in the past for out-of-court settlement, but proved to be futile," Jilani told the meeting.

The BMAC office bearers were also of the view that if the Chief Justice of India or any other judge took an initiative to find a solution to the issue, the Muslims would certainly support the move.

"We are ready if he (CJI) nominates a team for hearing the matter. But out-of-court settlement is not possible. If the SC passes an order in this regard, we will look at it," Jilani had said on March 21, the day the apex court had observed that the matter was "sensitive and sentimental and it is best to settle it amicably."

Jilani had earlier said that going by his experience of last three decades, he feels that the matter cannot be settled outside the court and referred to unsuccessful negotiation attempts made during the tenures of former Prime Ministers Chandrashekhar and P V Narasimha Rao.

"Let them hear us, we are prepared. But we are not ready for out of court settlement," he said.

"In 1986, talks started between the then Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamkoti and President Muslim Personal Law Board Ali Miyan Nadvi but it failed.

"Later in 1990, Prime Minister Chandrashekhar, Uttar Pradesh P Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat talked but no results came. PM Narasimha Rao also constituted a committee and attempts of talks were made through Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahai but in 1992 the mosque was demolished," he said.

He said that after the demolition, the then Muslim Personal Law Board President Rabe Hasan Nadvi had sought a written proposal from Shankaracharya of Kanchi in which he said Muslims should leave claim on three mosques, which was not acceptable.

The ruling BJP at the Centre has, however, welcomed the apex court's suggestion, insisting that the parties to the case should keep in mind its "sensitivity", while the Congress has been guarded in its response, saying there should be a "consensus-based" solution or the SC adjudicate the matter on merit.

Adityanath has said that aggrieved parties must sit together to resolve the matter. Terming the Supreme Court's observation as a "solid" one, he had said, "It is a welcome step."
Heavily-armed commandos neutralised all four well-trained Islamist terrorists, including a woman, who were holed up in a building, during four days of siege that saw powerful blasts claimed by the Islamic State that killed six people in Bangladeshs northeastern Sylhet city.

Weve found four bodies inside the building. All are with suicide vests, Brigadier General Mohammad Fakhrul Ahsan told reporters at a news briefing on the fourth day of the security siege of the five-storey building Atia Mahal.

Our intelligence earlier suggested four militants, one being a woman, were inside the building...So we assume that no militant was alive anymore, he said.

He, however, said the Operation Twilight has not ended.

Sylhet-based 17 Infantry Divisions Major General Anwarul Momen is leading the operation, assisted by polices SWAT and counter-terrorism units.

Of the four terrorists, two including a woman were killed on Monday, Ahsan said, adding that the bodies of female terrorist and one man were handed over to police but two others were inside as they were wired or surrounded by explosives.

The army is planning how to recover the bodies, he said.

The slain terrorists were yet not identified. However, officials had earlier indicated that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh chief Musa could be inside the building.

The neo-JMB, said to be inclined to the Islamic State, was behind the July 1 terror attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed.

The militants we found were well-trained, Ahsan said.

Our operation will take some more time. We will proceed with instructions from our superiors.

The building is very risky as a huge cache of explosives including improvised explosive devices have been found scattered inside its premises, he said, adding that the building will collapse if all these were to explode.

The development came shortly after Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told reporters in Dhaka that the commandos could wrap up their ongoing assault anytime after neutralising the militants.

We expect the operation to end anytime, defeating the militants there, he said, adding that the para-commandos proceeded slowly to minimise casualties at the scene.

Earlier, fire broke out at the building occupied by the terrorists. Large gusts of smoke were seen coming out of the ground floor around 3:40 pm (local time). Fire fighters rushed to the scene and controlled the flames.

Army quickly moved in from the rear preparing for what it seemed like another assault, it said.

Around noon, the army used megaphones to ask the terrorists, who were holed up in the building, to surrender. However, there was no response from the other side.

After a relative lull since Sunday night, sporadic gunfire and explosions were heard this morning from the building.

The military operation was launched after a suicide bomber on Friday night blew himself up at the international airport in Dhaka in an attack claimed by the Islamic State. It came a week after an identical attack on a Rapid Action Battalion camp in Dhaka.

Authorities called out commandos on Saturday morning, two days after a security siege to the building.

On Saturday evening, two powerful bombs ripped through a crowd near the building, killing six people, two being police officers and injuring about 50, including two army officers.

Rlite Rapid Action Battalion Intelligence Wing chief Lt Col Abul Kalam was seriously wounded in blasts and flown to Dhaka for treatment. He was later flown to Singapore.

The attacks were carried out by the extremists from outside who were mixed up with onlookers, police said.

Hours later the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its propaganda news agency Amaq.

Home Minister Khan, however, rejected the IS claim, saying that there was no presence of any foreign terrorist group in the country.

The encounter continued into Sunday, when army commandos shot dead two militants at the building.

The commandos located the militants wearing suicide vests on the ground floor of the building and shot them dead.

The militants were equipped with small arms, explosives and grenades and laid out booby traps at different corners of the building, slowing down the military operation.

The commandos earlier evacuated 78 ordinary residents including children from the building.

Meanwhile, residents who lived in the building said they were virtually taken hostage by terrorists who warned them of bombs implanted on their way out. The commandos brought them out from the top of the building making their way there from the rooftop of an adjacent structure.

Bangladesh has been witnessing a spate of attacks on secular activists, foreigners and religious minorities since 2013. The country launched a massive crackdown on militants specially after the Dhaka cafe attack.
More than 100 Indian fishermen were arrested and 19 of their boats seized on Sunday by Pakistan for allegedly fishing in their territorial waters off Gujarat coast, Pakistani officials and a fishermen association in India said.

Pakistan Maritime Security Agency arrested the fishermen and seized the boats off Jakhau coast in Kutch district.

A PMSA spokesman confirmed that the fishermen and the boats had been handed over to the local police for further action. The fishermen would be presented in a court on Monday and from there the judicial magistrate would send them to jail as per the procedure, according to a police official.

"We have become used to this routine now as these Indian fishermen get arrested illegally fishing in our waters every month or so," the official said.

Earlier, India's National Fishworkers' Forum secretary Manish Lodhari said, "We have learnt that more than 100 fishermen who were on board around 18 fishing boats were apprehended by the PMSA near the international maritime boundary line off Jakhau coast on Saturday."

"The fishermen who escaped (the arrest) have informed us about this," he said.

The PMSA had earlier this month also apprehended 115 fishermen and seized 19 boats.

This development came after the Indian Coast Guard captured nine Pakistani nationals along with a fishing boat in the same area off Jakhau coast on Friday.

In March, the PMSA has in separate incidents arrested nearly 225 fishermen along with three dozen boats, according to Lodhari.

Last month, the BSF had apprehended four abandoned Pakistani fishing boats near Sir Creek in Kutch district, while on January 27, the Pakistani maritime agency had arrested 60 Indian fishermen and seized 10 boats.

Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other's waters.

However, at times India and Pakistan have released them as a goodwill gesture to the other country. On January 5, some 219 Indian fishermen were released by Pakistan after 220 of them were released on December 25 last year.

Images used for representation purposes only
Parliament on Monday passed a bill that seeks to decriminalise suicide attempt by mentally ill people and provides for the right to better healthcare for people suffering from mental illness.

The Mental Healthcare Bill also has a provision to protect and restore the property right of the mentally ill people, Health Minister J P Nadda said in the Lok Sabha, just before it was passed by the House by a voice vote.

All the amendments moved by the opposition members were defeated.

The Rajya Sabha had passed it in August last year with 134 official amendments.

The bill provides for decriminalising suicide attempt by mentally ill persons by making it non-punishable under the Indian Penal Code.

It also focuses on community-based treatment and provides for special treatment for women.

The bill seeks to ensure health-care, treatment and rehabilitation of persons with mental illness in a manner that does not intrude on their rights and dignity.

While replying to a debate on the bill, Nadda described it as a patient-centric measure and said there was a need to empower the patients so that they could secure proper treatment.

The legislation has been brought after wider consultations with the stakeholders, he said.

There were consultations at the regional level, as well at the Centre. After consultations with the stakeholders the bill was sent to the Standing Committee and post amendments it came to Rajya Sabha.

Most of the suggestions of the Standing Committee were accepted by the government, the health minister said.

Around 29 members participated in the discussion and almost all of them extended support to the bill.

Stating that the 1987 Mental Act was institutionalised, the minister said that in the present bill, instead of the institution, the focus was on the community.

The bill is a progressive legislation and intends to take care of everyone in case of any exigency, he said.

Describing the bill as historic, the health minister said with the support of all, we can develop the mental health services.

There was a need to take care of the health and hygiene of the patients, he said, adding the right of a child with his/her mother will also be maintained.

Sterilisation would not be conducted on a person who is mentally ill, Nadda said, describing it as an insane and inhuman act.

If the need arises, he said, National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences would be extended.

Responding to concerns expressed by some members over the safety of doctors in the wake of assault on a medico in Maharashtra recently by relatives of a patient, the health minister said instructions have been sent to the states that security of doctors should be ensured.

With regard to the issue raised by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on the inclusion of role model, the health minister said there was no need to include it in the bill.

However, he said, the government will definitely look at it at its own level.

Earlier, members cutting across the political spectrum supported the Metal Health Care Bill.

Nationalist Congress Party Supriya Sule said the Standing Committee has walked an extra mile to incorporate the suggestions of all stake holders.

Biju Janata Dals Bhartruhari Mahtab said this legislation is the only bill which received 124 amendments and almost all have been accepted by the government.

Highlighting the shortage of medics and paremedics, BJP member Heena Gavit said there are only 4500 doctors specialised in mental health when the requirement was 12,500 and 3000 nurses per one lakh patients having mental disorders.

She rued that the country does not have any Phd seat for research in mental health. She said there should be a proper mechanism to take consent of patients for their treatment and they should not be treated as an experimental animals.

Sule wanted to know what would happen to the child after he/she turns the prescribed age.

Mahtab, along with Gavit and Sule, noted that the budget for the mental healthcare is abysmally low.

Sule also demanded inclusion of drug addiction and alcholism into the category of mental disease.

Supporting the legislation, Ravindra Babu of the Telugu Desam Party said, This was one of the finest legislation in last three years, but it mostly focuses on schizophrenia.

K Vishweshwar Reddy of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi said while the earlier laws on mental health were regulation centric, the new bill is patient-centric.

Referring to Nobel prize winning mathematician John Nash, a patient of schizophrenia, who made fundamental contributions to game theory, Reddy said, at least he had support of his family. The movie A Beautiful Mind was based on his character.

Although he had severe disabilities, he also had other capabilities, he said.

The TRS MP said the bill should have taken care of property of patients suffering from mental health as cruel relatives may exploit them under this pretext.

Supporting the legislation, Ratna Dey of the Trinamool Congress demanded stringent punishment for doctors who falsify mental health cases.

Communist Party of India-Marxists P K Sreemathi Teacher said the government should ensure that a mentally ill patient, after treatment, is accepted by the society and the people.

Besides, she said, free treatment for such kind of patient should be allowed.

Bansi Lal Mahto of the Bharatiya Janata Party suggested that ayurvedic clinics

should be equipped to treat mentally ill people as this traditional method has precription for treatment of such diseases.

Jai Prakash Narain Yadav of the RJD there is a need to specify rehabilitation policy since the bill is silent about the exact modalities.

The government should look at providing conducive environment for mentally ill people after the treatment and suitable employment opportunity should be ensured.

Indian National Lok Dals Dushyant Chautala said the level of stress is rising in the society and it is necessary to provide medical attention to the people suffering from mental disorder and depression.

He said that just like AIDS patients are give insurance cover, insurance cover with low premium should be provided to people with mental disorder as well.

What the bill states >> The bill provides for decriminalising suicide attempt by mentally ill persons >> A person with mental illness will have the right to make an advance directive that states how he she wants to be treated for the illness and nominate a representative >> Free treatment for a mentally ill person if he/she is homeless or belongs to Below Poverty Line category >> A person with mental illness shall have the right to confidentiality in respect of his mental health, mental healthcare, treatment and physical healthcare >> The Bill empowers the government to set-up Central Mental Health Authority at national-level and State Mental Health Authority in every State. Every mental health institute and mental health practitioners including clinical psychologists, mental health nurses and psychiatric social workers will have to be registered with this authority >> A person with mental illness shall not be subjected to electro-convulsive therapy without the use of muscle relaxants and anaesthesia. Also, electro-convulsive therapy will not be performed for minors >> They shall not be chained in any manner or form whatsoever under any circumstances >> A person with mental illness shall not be subjected to seclusion or solitary confinement. Physical restraint may only be used, if necessary

Image used for representational purposes only.
An Indian-origin man who was assaulted by a group of teenagers in Australia in an alleged hate attack has said that the racial mood is changing in the country and it could stem from the Trump effect.

Li Max Joy, who is pursuing a nursing course and working as a part time taxi driver in North Hobart in Tasmania, alleged that five people including a girl hurled racial abuses like you bloody black Indians at him and assaulted him up at the McDonalds restaurant.

However, the Australian High Commission in New Delhi said that whether the attack was racially-based or not will be investigated.

The 33-year-old who hails from Kerala said the increasing racial hostility could stem from the Donald Trump effect, the Advertiser newspaper reported.

The racial mood is definitely changing. It is continuous now. Many other drivers have been abused but not everyone reports it to the police, he said.

Joy said that he has been living in Hobart for eight years with his family and also narrated another such incident that happened with him a week ago.

Last week in Glenorchy, I was waiting for a fare when a primary-school aged boy put water in his mouth and then came over to the car window and spat it out on me, Joy said.

Expressing regret over the incident, an Australian High Commission spokesperson said the government attaches great importance to the safety and security of everyone who resides in Australia.

We regret the attack on taxi driver of Indian origin in Hobart which occurred over the weekend. We understand he suffered minor injuries and has been discharged from Royal Hobart Hospital.

We place great importance on the safety and security of everyone who resides in Australia, including our Indian community, the statement said.

It said, The matter is current and under investigation by Tasmania Police. Tasmania Police takes all assaults seriously. We understand that whether the assault was racially based will be a component of the investigation facts.

The attack on Joy came a week after an Indian-origin Catholic priest was stabbed in the neck at a church in Melbourne by a man who called him unqualified to say mass as he was an Indian.

The issue, meanwhile, raised in the Lok Sabha on Monday by the Congress which sought the prime ministers intervention in ensuring the safety of large Indian population in Australia.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the safety of overseas Indians was a matter of priority for the government and it will not leave any stone unturned in ensuring their safety.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Congress MP K C Venugopal said such attacks were on the rise in Australia.

Venugopal said it was a racial attack as the assaulters had hurled abuses like you bloody black Indians at him.

Li Max Joy was racially abused. It is a serious issue ... The government there is not making serious attempts to catch those involved in the assault, he alleged.

Replying to his contentions, Kumar said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj takes up cases involving Indians with authorities of foreign governments and that safety of overseas Indians was a matter of priority for the government.

It is a matter of serious concern...we are with the overseas Indians. We will leave no stone unturned to ensure safety of Indians abroad, said Kumar.

Venugopal also raised the stabbing of the Indian-origin priest in Melbourne and demanded a strong response by India to such incidents. He said these were not stray incidents.

Since Donald Trump won the Presidential election, there has been a dramatic uptick in hate crimes and racist incidents in the United States.

Last month, a 32-year-old Indian engineer was killed and another Indian man was injured after a Navy veteran yelling get out of my country and terrorist opened fire on them at a bar in Kansas City in an apparent racially motivated hate crime.

Representative image. Photograph: Mark Kauzlarich/Reuters


The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its verdict on the appeals filed by four death row convicts in the December 16, 2012 gang rape and murder case which shook the countrys conscience.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra asked the parties concerned to file their written submissions within a week.

During the arguments, senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Delhi Police, told the bench that these convicts had brutalised the young woman and they deserved to be awarded death penalty.

The offence committed by them (convicts) attracts death penalty. They have not given any mitigating circumstances which could warrant reduction of the sentence from death penalty which was awarded to them, he told the bench also comprising Justices R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan.

However, senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae in the matter, told the bench that the option of awarding jail term for the whole life to these convicts may also be considered

Advocates A P Singh and M L Sharma, who are representing the four convicts, argued that considering their family background and young age, death penalty should not be given to them.

The convicts -- Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Kumar Singh -- have approached the Supreme Court against the Delhi high courts order which had confirmed the death penalty awarded to them by the trial court.

The 23-year-old paramedic was brutally assaulted and raped by six persons in a moving bus in south Delhi and thrown out of the vehicle with her male friend on the night of December 16, 2012. She had died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.

On February 3, the apex court bench prima facie agreed with the contention of Ramachandran that the provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure, relating to sentencing of convicts, has not been followed in letter and spirit by the trial court.

It was submitted that section 235 of the CrPC provides that an accused, in the event of conviction, would be heard by on the question of sentencing individually before the trial

judge passes the order awarding punishment.

The bench had then mulled ways to rectify the apparent error and said there are two modes -- either the case be remanded back to the trial court to pass a fresh order on the sentence or the apex court itself hears this aspect of the matter afresh.

The trial court had awarded death penalty to the four convicts. Prime accused Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in his cell in Tihar jail in March 2013 and proceedings against him were abated.

Earlier also, the court had asked the convicts to file their response detailing mitigating circumstances on the issue of sentencing.

The convicts had approached the apex court against the high courts March 13, 2014 verdict which had observed that their offence fell in the rarest of the rare category and had upheld the death sentence awarded to them by the trial court.
In 2014, the prime minister criticised the communication gap between DRDO scientists, who remained ensconced in their laboratories, and the soldiers on the borders, says Ajai Shukla.

In 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the annual awards ceremony of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, he jolted the self-congratulatory annual function by insisting on timely delivery and innovation.

Criticising what he termed the DRDO's 'chalta hai' (lackadaisical) attitude, Modi placed it under a scanner that led, in early 2015, to the exit of Avinash Chander, the then DRDO chief.

Two-and-a-half years later, that reformist impulse has vanished, with the Bharatiya Janata Party no longer demanding performance from a DRDO that functions much as it did in 2014.

On Friday, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, distributing annual awards to DRDO, expressed happiness that 'the DRDO is becoming an important instrument in the effort for self-reliance.'

This effusive praise came even though none of the three 'indigenous products' handed over to the navy on Friday were path-breaking developments.

The USHUS-2 submarine sonar system was only an improvement on the USHUS-1 that was fitted a decade ago in the navy's Kilo-class submarines.

Similarly, the 'ring laser gyroscope' based navigation system has also been around for years.

Given this modest delivery, it appears incongruous that Jaitley awarded 15 DRDO scientists with the 'Scientist of the Year' award.

"The DRDO cannot treat incremental improvements to its own systems as breakthrough triumphs. Continuous improvement should be a matter of routine for DRDO systems," says a serving navy admiral.

Nor is the navy impressed by Myanmar's order for $37.9 million worth of DRDO's advanced lightweight torpedoes (TAL).

It is hardly a secret the TAL is modelled on the A244S lightweight torpedo that the Italian company, WASS, supplied the Indian Navy.

In 2014, Modi had tellingly criticised the communication gap between scientists, who remained ensconced in their laboratories, and the soldiers on the borders.

The PM wondered why DRDO could not deliver simple but crucial items in a soldier's personal gear, bringing down the weight of a water bottle from 300 g to 150 g, or developing lighter boots to reduce fatigue.

Yet, with the soldier's personal gear as cumbersome and poorly designed as ever, Jaitley lauded 'The role of those (scientists) who remain faceless and work in some important field.'

In 2014, Modi had suggested DRDO empower younger scientists, starting with manning five of its 52 laboratories exclusively with scientists under 35 years of age.

Yet, only lip service is paid to empowering younger scientists.

The PM had also criticised DRDO's endemic time delays in delivering equipment. He directed that, instead of re-inventing the wheel by designing indigenous versions of equipment already in service in advanced militaries, DRDO should develop futuristic equipment before advanced countries did so.

Yet, the bulk of what DRDO works on -- such as the Tejas fighter, unmanned aerial vehicles, warship systems, artillery guns, the Arjun tank etc -- all constitute equipment that has been in service worldwide for decades.

DRDO chief S Christopher claimed that the defence ministry had cleared orders of DRDO equipment worth Rs 2.56 lakh crore; with Rs 1 lakh crore worth of orders cleared in the last two years alone.

In fact, 'clearing' a procurement is a preliminary step of the acquisition process, with the majority of clearances never actually resulting in an order being contracted.

MUST READ defence features in the RELATED LINKS below.

IMAGE: A DRDO exhibit at the Make In India event in Mumbai last year. Photograph: Uday Kuckian for Rediff.com
Meat sellers, especially mutton vendors, on Monday kept their shops closed on the first day of their indefinite strike against the state-wide crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughter houses.

Reports from several districts said goat meat was not easily available, even as chicken was being sold in few shops.

In Lucknow, most of the shops selling mutton downed their shutters. They, however, sold chicken, eggs and fish after Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh clarified that action was being taken only against the illegal abattoirs.

We are acting only against illegal abattoirs. Licensed slaughter houses are requested to stick to the norms, he told reporters, while making it clear that no orders have been issued to take any action against any shop selling chicken, fish or eggs.

The licensed slaughter houses should comply with the norms mentioned in the licence. No orders have been issued to take any action against any shop selling chicken, fish or eggs. They need not to fear, he clarified.

He directed the officials that they should not act in over-enthusiasm nor should they overstep their jurisdiction.

When contacted, Lucknow Municipal Corporation Chief Veterinary Officer A K Rao said, Within the municipal limits, there are 330 meat shops.

A rough estimate suggests that there could be around 5,000 meat shops in the capital operating from shanties and huts.

The China Gate area near Lucknow Press Club, which houses a dozen shops selling non-vegetarian items, wore a deserted look as they were not able to serve food as per their menu.

The Akbari Gate locality of Old Lucknow area saw a few shops opening to sell their remaining stock, while many others decided not to open.

The Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal intensified its strike, threatening that there was no question of calling it off.

We are on strike and all the meat shops (mutton) were closed today. There is no question of the strike being called off anytime soon. It will go on indefinitely, Mubin Qureshi, an office bearer of the mandal, said.

The meat sellers are worried over the crackdown on slaughter houses, which has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people, he said.

In eastern UP, shortage of meat, especially mutton, was reported from various places.

In Ballia, people experienced shortage of chicken and fish as well. However, licensed shops were allowed to sell meat in Allahabad and Bahraich. Sale of fish and eggs was normal.

Jhansi witnessed non-availability of mutton. Even chicken and fish connoisseurs could get these items only at a few outlets. A number of shops selling mutton remained closed throughout the day.

In Agra, the stock of the non-vegetarian raw food items declined rapidly during the day. No sale of mutton has been reported, while people were purchasing fish and eggs.

After taking over, the Adityanath government has ordered closure of illegal slaughter houses and strict enforcement of the ban on cow smuggling to fulfil a key electoral promise.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar has set up committees in each district headed by the district magistrate and comprising 10 officials each. The committee is visiting every slaughter house to see if they are being run legally and submitting a report every day.

The chief minister had on Saturday said that abattoirs operating legally will not be touched, but action will be taken against those running illegally.

The government will not touch those (abattoirs) which are operating as per the law and have a valid licence. But those violating the orders of the National Green Tribunal and compromising health of the public will not be spared, he had said.

As the mutton traders were up in arms against the government order, UP Health Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh sought to clear the confusion, saying the government was acting only against the illegal abattoirs.

We are acting only against illegal abattoirs. Licensed slaughter houses are requested to stick to the norms, he told reporters.

The licensed slaughter houses should comply with the norms mentioned in the licence. No orders have been issued to take any action against any shop selling chicken, fish or eggs. They need not to fear, Singh clarified.

Though sale of fish and poultry items eased a bit after his clarification, mutton sellers kept their shutters down throughout the day.

Singh said, One of the norms mentioned in the licence is installation of CCTV cameras on the premises of the slaughter house. If this norm is not complied with, then instead of ordering the closure of the slaughter house, a notice may be issued to its owner, and he be instructed to take necessary remedial steps within a specific time frame.

He also directed the officials that they should not act in over-enthusiasm nor they should overstep their jurisdiction.

Noting that the National Green Tribunal had insisted on closure of illegal slaughter houses, he said, The NGT had in 2015 observed that illegal slaughter houses are a concern for the environment, while insisting on their closure. However, the previous government did not do anything to ensure the closure of these illegal abattoirs.

Singh said propaganda has been launched through various social media platforms, especially by those who do not agree to our ideology. Please do not fall prey to the propaganda.

On whether the state government is open to holding talks with the meat sellers, the minister said, So far, no delegation of meat sellers has approached us.

They are most welcome to meet us and convey their point of view. We would meet them with an open mind, but will not allow illegal things, he added.

Representative image only.
How did Sudarshan Shetty, curator of the Kochi Muziris Biennale, decide what gets to be part of the show and what doesn't?

Anjuli Bhargava finds out.

IMAGE: Sudarshan Shetty, curator and artistic director of the Kochi Muziris Biennale 2016. Photograph: Kind courtesy kochimuzirisbiennale.org

For the last four days that I have wandered around various locations that house the art installations at the Kochi art biennale, I have been eager to get into the head of the man who chose the artworks.

How does he decide what gets to be part of the show and what doesn't?

In a show as energetic, experiential and esoteric as his, what comprises good work and what doesn't?

I finally catch up with him, the curator of biennale 2016, artist and sculptor Sudarshan Shetty, at the quaint Solar Cafe in Fort Kochi.

The cafe is more like a dhaba, with rustic benches that can be shared with fellow travellers.

We manage to get a table for ourselves that protrudes out on to the extremely noisy and crowded street below.

I strain to catch the words of the soft-spoken man sitting in front of me, as speeding auto-rickshaws and car horns from below threaten to drown him out.

The third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale began in December 2016 and is expected to cross 600,000 visitors from around the world over a three-and-a-half month period (December 12, 2016, to March 29, 2017).

IMAGE: 'You have to have an objective distance from your own practice as an artist when you judge other's works," says Sudarshan Shetty. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com

I had met Shetty at Aspinwall, one of the 12 venues where 80 per cent of the art installations this year are housed, and we had seen some artwork together. So by the time we reach our lunch venue, I am beyond the polite niceties. I get straight to the point.

"How do you choose what gets in and what doesn't?" I begin.

This, to me, is the biggest question.

What I have seen and imbibed for four days now is both thrilling and baffling. In a world full of art expressions, how does he make the final choice?

One, by first locating the art in various corners of the world.

Shetty has been travelling non-stop -- ever since he was selected to curate this edition in August 2015 -- and has visited 24 cities across the world and in India in the last 18 months.

While all expenses are paid for, the curator does his bit -- his contribution to the biennale -- gratis.

We order two vegetarian thalis. He orders a ginger lime and I a fresh juice.

IMAGE: Shetty's curatorial note, explaining the inspiration behind the Kochi Biennale 2016. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com

Shetty says he kept himself outside the space of what is typically expected in a biennale.

He started with a lot of conversations with people outside the art world and that gave him new ideas and ways to look at work even within the sphere of art.

The first person he invited was Raul Zurita, a Chilean poet (the Sea of Pain at Aspinwall), not someone you would expect at an art festival, conventionally speaking. That's probably why you might feel baffled at the sheer breadth of what qualifies as art at the festival.

The final choices are based on a chain of events -- "a very organic kind of process".

"The idea is to see these works not as postulations within a single narrative, but to create multiple narratives that blend with each other. This is another big challenge," he adds.

I look so blank he tries again.

The biennale -- titled 'Forming in the pupil of the eye' -- has an ancient theme at its core, he explains.

When a sage opens his eye to the world, he assimilates the multiplicity of the world into that one single vision.

And the eye being the only reflective surface in the body, it reflects back what it sees. So it's a two-way process.

"Selection is always subjective from an objective distance," he explains. "You have to have an objective distance from your own practice as an artist when you judge other's works. Yet, there's no way to avoid the interests or the personality of the artist from coming into the show."

IMAGE: Shetty's installation at the first Kochi Biennale. It was titled I Know Nothing Of The End.

Built in three pits, it questioned the notion of constantly building memorials.

'To what extent can these memories be true to living people is anybody's guess?' he explained.

Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com

Does anyone -- the trustees or organisers of the festival -- have the power to veto what he chooses or rejects?

No, he has the last word.

From the time he is chosen till the end of the biennale, the curator is the boss, a position that's "fast on expiry," he jokes (expiry being the last date of the biennale).

Our thalis appear and demand attention.

There is an array of vegetables, some brown rice, papad and pickle and a large bucket of sambar and buttermilk to be shared.

There is no cutlery on offer so we eat with our hands -- something that comes naturally to him, though I am quite sloppy. We dig in.

I have some answers -- if not all -- so I move to the journey of his life.

Shetty was born in Mangalore (now Mangaluru), but he grew up in a chawl in Mumbai's Dadar where he lived with his parents -- his father was a folk artiste -- and four sisters.

At his father's insistence the five children were educated in a Kannada medium school -- something they resented because all the other children they knew went to English medium schools.

That, however, helped open up the rich world of Kannada literature and poetry to them, the value of which he can see today.

He did odd jobs -- working with a tattoo artist, doing illustrations, painting hoardings -- to finance his studies.

After finishing school, Shetty got a commerce degree from Mumbai's K J Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce, though commerce was hardly his thing.

"I never really wanted to do a degree in commerce but an art school seemed the preserve of a certain economic class to which I didn't belong," says Shetty.

Eventually, his heart won over his head and Shetty enrolled at the Sir J J School of Art for a diploma in fine arts.

IMAGE: Shetty is flanked by biennale director Krishnamachari Bose and director of programmes Riyas Komu. Photograph: Kind courtesy kochimuzirisbiennale.org

Life for an artist is never smooth sailing.

After his diploma, he stayed in Mumbai for two years but didn't find a place to work out of. He moved to the Kanoria Centre for Arts in Ahmedabad and worked there for three-and-a-half years. He worked on sculptures, experimenting with materials.

A commissioned assignment brought him to Delhi, where he lived for five years. His 1995 show in the city, Paper Moon, did quite well.

"Did you sell everything you exhibited at Paper Moon?" I ask, trying to get to the bottom of how he managed financially.

Never have I met someone so unconcerned with the practicalities of life as this man.

At Paper Moon, he sold nothing.

"You need to sell, but what do you do if no one buys?" he asks, adding that it took 18 years after he finished his arts diploma to sell his first piece of work.

Along the way, he got married (in 2005) and has a four-year-old child.

How does one survive, I ask.

"That's a miracle," he says.

Those days were different and friends helped each other. Having a home to go back to also helped.

The fact that his father was an artiste (and therefore knew the value of his work) helped -- there was never any pressure on him to earn money.

"There were never any expectations -- that freed me in a way."

IMAGE: A quick conversation with Shashi Tharoor after Shetty was announced as curator of the 2016 biennale. Photograph: Kind courtesy kochimuzirisbiennale.org

The freedom allowed him to pursue his creative instincts and develop as an artist.

To an extent, staying outside the world of commercial art is a conscious decision since, once you are in it, you are also dictated by it.

To my conventional mind, 18 years with no steady income is a rather long miracle, but Shetty is unfazed.

He never felt constrained or worried about survival as he had been managing from the time he was a child.

Despite having little, he feels his life has been rich. "I know a lot of rich people today who are much poorer."

Frugality probably runs in his veins as the choice of venue shows: Our lunch bill is Rs 470 and the food is delicious.

Paper Moon gave him greater access to the art world. "Till then, I was quite unknown," but the show got some media attention and he started to get some commissioned work.

Today, Shetty has exhibited all over the world and owns two studios in Mumbai -- one in Chembur, the other in Vikhroli (both in north-east Mumbai).

It is evident commercial success has followed him rather than the other way round.

The angst and anxiety to do "something more" drives him and for that he's grateful.

That's what keeps the artist in him -- and in anyone -- alive.
Two years on, Yemen conflict targets children, food trucks and even fishermen's boats - UN

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 24 March 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Two years on, Yemen conflict targets children, food trucks and even fishermen's boats - UN, 24 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8c16e4.html [accessed 8 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 conflict in Yemen is raging, the United Nations human rights chief today warned, urging those fighting to work towards a ceasefire and to allow humanitarian aid to get through to millions of people in need.

The violent deaths of refugees fleeing yet another war, of fishermen, of families in marketplaces  this is what the conflict in Yemen looks like two years after it beganutterly terrible, with little apparent regard for civilian lives and infrastructure, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said.

In the past month alone, at least 106 civilians were killed, mostly by air strikes and shelling from war ships, the High Commissioner's Office (OHCHR) said in a press release.

Of particular concern is fighting in and around Al Hudaydah, which has left thousands of civilians trapped and blocked deliveries of humanitarian aid, as was the case last month in the port city of Al Mokha in the hard-hit Taizz Governorate.

One of the worst incidents there was on 10 March, when a ship carrying at least 70 people was shot by what appeared to be an Apache helicopter overhead, killing at least 33 people and severely wounding 29 others, including children.

OHCHR also reported at least four incidents of fishermen being targeted by missiles and airstrikes.

Meanwhile, the Popular Committees affiliated with the Houthis and former President Saleh have continued to encircle densely populated areas in Taizz Governorate, preventing civilians from leaving and restricting humanitarian access to Taizz city, according to OHCHR.

Two years of wanton violence and bloodshed, thousands of deaths and millions of people desperate for their basic rights to food, water, health and security  enough is enough, Mr. Zeid said ahead of the infamous 26 March anniversary.

I urge all parties to the conflict, and those with influence, to work urgently towards a full ceasefire to bring this disastrous conflict to an end, and to facilitate rather than block the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The UN High Commissioner has also called for an international, independent investigative body to look into hundreds of reports of serious violations in the country.
Child rights must be at the centre of Syria peace talks  UNICEF

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 24 March 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Child rights must be at the centre of Syria peace talks  UNICEF, 24 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8c2864.html [accessed 8 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.

Those participating the intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva must put the rights of children at the centre of all their deliberations as children throughout the Middle Eastern country continue to come under attack, a senior United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) official has said.

Those meeting in Geneva this week should put the rights of children at the centre of all their deliberations  the right of every boy and girl to be protected, the right to receive life-saving humanitarian assistance no matter where they are and the right to an education, UNICEF Regional Director Geert Cappelaere said in a said issued yesterday, ahead of the resumption of the Geneva talks.

Citing reports that Wednesday's attack on a school in Ar-Raqqa which is sheltering internally displaced families has killed 53 civilians including 12 children, he said the international community once again failed the children of Syria. We have been failing them for more than 2,200 days already, he added.

We have been failing them for more than 2,200 days already

UNICEF reminds all parties engaged militarily in Syria that it is their responsibility to protect and safeguard the lives of children and their families. Civilian infrastructure including schools and hospitals should be protected, no matter who controls the area, Mr. Cappelaere said.

He said that children are being deprived of their basic right to life and denied their right to an education.

All parties to the conflict and those with influence must redouble their efforts to find a political solution to end a conflict that is leaving nothing but death and destruction in its path, he said.
Hoping to build with 'incremental, constructive steps'  UN envoy for Syria

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 25 March 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Hoping to build with 'incremental, constructive steps'  UN envoy for Syria , 25 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8c3274.html [accessed 8 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.

Speaking to the media in Geneva yesterday, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria said that he is not expecting miracles, breakthroughs or breakdowns but is hoping to build on the previous rounds of talks on the war-ravaged country with some incremental, constructive steps.

"All invitees and delegations who were present here [...] are feeling that it was worth it to come and all came. None of them has threatened to leave [...] which is a sign of maturity and of responsibility particularly in difficult moments like this one," said UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura at a media stakeout at the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG), yesterday.

Underscoring the importance attached to the fifth round of the talks, Mr. de Mistura added that he has been particularly attentive, trying to engage with and having support from all the regional players, interlocutors and stakeholders.

He further mentioned that the discussions that took place earlier in Riyadh (capital of Saudi Arabia), Moscow (Russia) and Ankara (Turkey) conveyed a strong feeling of the need to build on the fourth round of the Geneva talks, which took place from 23 February to 3 March.

"Hence, our expectation and the stronger suggestion to the guarantors of the Astana process that they do retake the situation in hand and that hopefully there will be new Astana meeting as soon as possible in order to control the situation which at the moment is worrisome," added the UN Special Envoy.

He also informed the media that the meeting yesterday focused into substance and that the agenda had been established and strongly supported by the Security Council.

Mr. De Mistura further noted that given the importance of the current round of intra-Syrian talks and in view of the tensions within the country, he would be travelling to Syria to meet with members of the Arab League as well as bilateral meetings on the situation.

"Meanwhile the talks will continue under the chairmanship of Ambassador Ramzy [Ezzeldin Ramzy, the Deputy Special Envoy for Syria,] but I felt it was important to engage as many regional players as possible and they all happen to be in one room," said the UN Special Envoy.
UN envoy calls for urgent measures to protect ceasefire in Syria

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 25 March 2017 Cite as UN News Service, UN envoy calls for urgent measures to protect ceasefire in Syria, 25 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8c38d4.html [accessed 8 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.

Voicing deep concern over recent escalation of fighting in Syria, the United Nations Special Envoy for the country has urged Iran, Russia and Turkey to undertake urgent efforts to uphold the ceasefire which has been in effect since late December last year.

Growing violations in recent days are undermining the ceasefire regime addressed through the Astana meetings, with significant negative consequences for the safety of Syrian civilians, humanitarian access and the momentum of the political process, said UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura.

According to a note to correspondents issued today, Mr. de Mistura sent letters to the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran - as the three guarantor-States of the ceasefire - to undertake urgent efforts to uphold it.

These appeals were also brought to the attention of Russia and the United States as the Co-Chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), the note added.

The ceasefire came into effect on 30 December last year, but recent fighting in capital Damascus, Hama and elsewhere in Syria have put it under strain.

Also in the note, Mr. de Mistura noted that joint efforts of Iran, Russia and Turkey to guarantee the ceasefire are indispensable for improving the conditions on the ground and contributing to an environment conducive for a productive political progress.
Hundreds of thousands trapped in Mosul with 'worst yet to come'  UN agency

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 24 March 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Hundreds of thousands trapped in Mosul with 'worst yet to come'  UN agency, 24 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8c4964.html [accessed 8 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 estimated 400,000 Iraqi civilians are trapped in Mosul's Old City as fighting intensifies and people continue to flee, the United Nations refugee agency representative today warned.

Speaking by phone, Mr. Geddo said the fighting in the west has been more intense than in the less densely populated east of the city, where the battle ended in January.

People are stuck between a rock and a hard place, he added. There's fighting shelling, bombing.

When people try to flee, extremists shoot them. Some have tried to leave during prayers or under cover of fog at first light  but were killed, Mr. Geddo said.

Meanwhile, life in the Old City is becoming impossible with a lack of food, clean water or fuel, Mr. Geddo said.

Meeting with civilians at the UNHCR transit and reception centre at Hammam al-Alil, outside of the city centre, Mr. Geddo said the number of people moving through has surged in recent days with up to 12,000 people arriving daily.

Some 340,000 people have been displaced since the fighting in Mosul started last October. Of those, about 72,000 have returned home.

VIDEO: Desperate to flee fighting, thousands of displaced Iraqis from west Mosul are arriving in Hammam al-Alil camp, a few kilometres south of the city. Many spend their first night in a reception centre awaiting their tents. Others are transferred to nearby camps to reunite with other family members. Credit: UNHCR

The UN representative called on all those fighting to allow civilians to leave areas of conflict for safer zones, and no one should be forced to come back home.

Liberating Mosul is necessary but not sufficient, Mr. Geddo said. We equally have to get it right with the protection of civilians and in the humanitarian response.
Jordan: Bar Entry or Arrest Sudan's Bashir

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 26 March 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Jordan: Bar Entry or Arrest Sudan's Bashir , 26 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8c5304.html [accessed 8 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.

Al-Bashir has been a fugitive from the International Criminal Court (ICC) since 2009. He is the subject of two ICC arrest warrants, issued in 2009 and 2010, related to his alleged role in Sudan's abusive counterinsurgency campaign in Darfur. The charges are for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

"Jordan would be defying its international obligations as an ICC member if it allows al-Bashir to visit without arresting him," said Elise Keppler, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch. "Welcoming an ICC fugitive would undermine the Jordanian government's recent efforts to strengthen the country's rule of law."

A visit by al-Bashir would be the first time Jordan had welcomed an ICC fugitive. Human Rights Watch wrote to Jordanian authorities about the potential visit but have yet to receive a response.

Jordan's King Abdullah II in February accepted sweeping recommendations by a royal committee to reform the country's criminal justice system. If carried out, these measures would be a major step for human rights in Jordan. But a failure by Jordan to uphold its international obligations as a party to the Rome Statue of the ICC would be at odds with these efforts, Human Rights Watch said.

Allowing al-Bashir's visit would also be a reversal of Jordan's historical support for the ICC. In 2015, Ahmed al-Mufleh, Jordan's ambassador to The Hague, said that Jordan "will continue to confirm its support of the International Criminal Court because of its firm conviction over the essential role of the court in achieving international justice and halting impunity from punishment."

"Jordan is not the first country to face a possible al-Bashir visit," said Keppler. "But most ICC members have avoided letting him in."

Since 2009, some ICC members, such as Botswana and Denmark, have affirmatively signaled that al-Bashir risked arrest if he entered their territory, and he has not traveled there. Others have relocated or rescheduled meetings or asked Sudan to send other representatives.

In 2012, Malawi opted to relocate an African Union summit in light of the AU's insistence that al-Bashir should be allowed to attend the meeting if it took place in Malawi as scheduled. In October 2010, an international development meeting scheduled for Kenya was relocated to Ethiopia to avoid a visit by al-Bashir. In other instances, al-Bashir cancelled anticipated visits  to Central African Republic and Zambia  amid calls for his arrest.

As an ICC suspect, the Sudanese president should appear before the ICC, where he would receive the full range of protections under international law for people accused of crimes.

"Jordan's government has a chance to demonstrate its credibility on accountability and support for justice for victims of mass atrocities by avoiding an al-Bashir visit," Keppler said. "Al-Bashir belongs in The Hague appearing before the ICC."

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Rwanda: Come clean about fate of missing activist Illuminee Iragena

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 26 March 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Rwanda: Come clean about fate of missing activist Illuminee Iragena, 26 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8c58b4.html [accessed 8 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 year after her sudden and suspicious disappearance, the Rwandan authorities must reveal the fate of nurse and opposition activist Illuminee Iragena, Amnesty International said today.

Illuminee Iragena, a member of the unregistered opposition political party United Democratic Forces (FDU-Inkingi), went missing on 26 March 2016 on her way to work as a nurse at the King Faisal Hospital in the country's capital Kigali.

"Sources close to the case believe that Illuminee was tortured and died in custody, but have no official information on her fate," said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region.

"For her friends and family members, not knowing Illuminee's fate must be agonizing. One year on, we're calling for the Rwandan authorities to come clean about what has happened to her."

Illuminee Iragena's family reported her disappearance to the police, but never received an official response. Worried by the lack of information on her situation, Amnesty International and other organizations also sent queries to the government that went unanswered. The authorities have so far failed to confirm whether or not they are holding her.

If she is in detention, her whereabouts should be immediately revealed and she should be charged or released. If she has died, the circumstances of her death must be promptly and thoroughly investigated and the authorities should make public the outcome of any such investigation.

The government should share information on any investigations or attempts to locate her.

Illuminee Iragena stood as a candidate in the 2008 legislative elections for the Social Democratic Party. Her husband, Martin Ntavuka, is the former FDU-Inkingi representative for Kigali. They have both previously been detained in connection with their political activities.

Another FDU-Inkingi member, Leonille Gasengayire, was arrested on 26 March 2016, the same day as Illuminee Iragena's disappearance. She was released after three days but then re-arrested in August and charged with inciting insurrection. She was acquitted and released on 23 March.

Both women regularly visited FDU-Inkingi party leader, Victoire Ingabire, who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for conspiracy to harm the authorities using terrorism and minimizing the 1994 genocide.

"There have been a number of recent cases of disappearances and this sets a worrying stage for the upcoming presidential elections in August," said Sarah Jackson.

"The failure of the authorities to provide answers contributes to the chilling environment for the political opposition in Rwanda."

Background/

Illuminee Iragena is just one of a string of people who have disappeared:

Violette Uwamahoro, wife of an activist in the banned Rwandan National Congress, went missing on 14 February and was later revealed to have been detained incommunicado for two weeks.

John Ndabarasa, a radio journalist reappeared in Kigali on 6 March after having been missing since 7 August 2016.

Jean Damascene Munyeshyaka, national organizing secretary of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, went missing on 27 June 2014. His fate was never ascertained.

The government has committed to set up a desk under the Rwanda National Police to investigate cases of enforced disappearances, but no information is available on its status.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Belarus: Vicious crackdown on peaceful protests mars 'Freedom Day'

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 27 March 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Belarus: Vicious crackdown on peaceful protests mars 'Freedom Day', 27 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8c5f24.html [accessed 8 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.

Belarusian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all those arrested before and during peaceful protests and end their vicious crackdown against demonstrators, Amnesty International said after dozens of 'Freedom Day' demonstrators were violently arrested and human rights observers detained.

Amnesty International's monitors witnessed the arrest of dozens of peaceful protesters at demonstrations in Minsk, and saw instances of excessive use of force by the police. They did not witness a single incident of violence on the part of demonstrators. These arrests followed the preventative arrest of prominent civil society leaders and opposition figures and detention of around 60 human rights observers.

"Freedom Day proves this year more than ever, how little genuine freedom the people of Belarus have. We have seen peaceful protesters viciously beaten on the streets of Minsk today and an elderly woman knocked to the ground by riot police," said Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International.

"Rather than allow people to exercise their right to peacefully protest the Belarusian authorities have once again resorted to authoritarian tactics: banning demonstrations, preventatively detaining human rights monitors and arbitrarily arresting protesters. This vicious crackdown against freedom of expression and peaceful assembly must stop and those arrested must be immediately and unconditionally released."

Background

Amnesty International's monitors personally witnessed the detention of over 20 individuals on Independence Avenue near the Academy of Sciences building. They witnessed one elderly woman being knocked to the ground by riot police before being arrested.

On Saturday morning, police raided the offices of the prominent human rights group Vyasna and briefly detained around 60 people.

The wave of peaceful street protests began in Belarus in mid-February after hundreds of thousands of Belarusians received tax bills under a Presidential Decree aimed at ending "social parasitism"  effectively, a tax on the unemployed.

On 21 March, President Lukashenka accused "Western" organizations of financing the protests in order to instigate "scuffles and bloodshed" in the country. He also stated that some 20 "fighters" had been detained for "preparing armed provocations" on 25 March.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Mexico: "Open season" on journalists as third reporter killed in a month

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 24 March 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Mexico: "Open season" on journalists as third reporter killed in a month, 24 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8e0264.html [accessed 8 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 killing of the third journalist in a month in Mexico raises new alarms about the state of free expression in the country, said Amnesty International.

Miroslava Breach, a reporter for La Jornada and el Norte de Juarez, was shot dead while she was in her car outside her home in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. Miroslava was known for reporting on issues including organised crime and drug trafficking.

"In Mexico a 'war' is raging against journalists. The country has turned into a no-go zone for anyone brave enough to talk about issues including the increasing power of organised crime and the collusion of these groups with the authorities," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

"Journalism should not be a life threatening profession. Instead of looking the other way and ignoring this bloodshed, the Mexican authorities must take concrete measures to protect journalists and anyone daring to talk about the country's ills. This crime should be urgently investigated and those responsible, brought to justice."

According to the organization Article 19, more than 103 media workers have been killed in Mexico since 2000, with 11 in 2016 alone. Reporters Without Borders said that in 2016, Mexico was the third deadliest country for journalists in the world, only behind Syria and Afghanistan.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
UNHCR brings relief to desperate Yemenis displaced by war

Publisher UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Author Adem Shaqiri Publication Date 24 March 2017 Cite as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNHCR brings relief to desperate Yemenis displaced by war, 24 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8e1374.html [accessed 8 November 2022]

Driven from her home by fighting, 80-year-old Yemeni grandmother Maryam is currently living in the open with her family of 10 in the port city of Mokha on the Red Sea coast.

"We left our homes about two months ago when the fighting started, and we have been on the move since then," she told staff with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. "It is very hard to settle anywhere because of the conflict. Now we have no food and we live on the street."

Thousands of displaced Yemenis like Maryam are currently struggling to survive without access to adequate water, sanitation or shelter in Mokha, where fighting between combatants in the country's two-year conflict has raged since late January.

This week UNHCR succeeded in delivering life-saving aid to the area, following weeks of intense negotiations for access to Taizz governorate due to the heavy fighting. Some 3,400 people in Mokha affected by the conflict were given essentials including mattresses, blankets, kitchen sets and wash buckets.

Field staff reported that many of the displaced were living in desperate conditions lacking basic sanitation, and sharing limited resources with host communities, UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh told a news briefing in Geneva today.

"Families are living out in the open with only trees for shelter, and many said this week was the first time they had received humanitarian assistance other than food," Saltmarsh told reporters at the Palais des Nations.

"It is very hard to settle anywhere because of the conflict. Now we have no food and we live on the street."

Two years since the start of the conflict, there are 2 million people displaced across the country, with a further 1 million having returned to their homes but still requiring humanitarian assistance. Worryingly, 84 per cent of those forced from their homes have now been displaced for more than a year.

Western Taizz governorate has been a flashpoint in the conflict over the past two months, with 48,000 people displaced from the area in the last six weeks. As well as Mokha, UNHCR has negotiated access to six other districts within Taizz, and will reach more than 42,000 individuals with emergency assistance in the coming weeks in Dhubab, Al Wazi'iyah, Mawza, Al Ma'afer, Maqbanah and Mawiyah.

Despite new and prolonged waves of displacement in Yemen, humanitarian agencies including UNHCR remain massively underfunded. UNHCR's financial appeal to respond to urgent humanitarian needs in Yemen is currently only 10 per cent funded.

Tamer, a six-year-old boy who was displaced from Mokha to a nearby village with his family, summed up the bleak situation facing so many in Yemen. "We left our home 10 days ago because of the fighting. Now we live under a tree in the village."
UN HRC: Mandate of Special Rapporteur on Iran extended with increased support

Publisher Article 19 Publication Date 24 March 2017 Cite as Article 19, UN HRC: Mandate of Special Rapporteur on Iran extended with increased support, 24 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8e2e34.html [accessed 8 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.

ARTICLE 19 welcomes the adoption by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) of a resolution to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, at its 34th Session in Geneva.

"The adoption of this resolution and extension of the Special Rapporteur's mandate is crucial to keeping sustained international attention on the concerning situation for human rights and particularly freedom of expression in Iran," said Thomas Hughes, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19. "Iran must fully cooperate with the Special Rapporteur, including by ensuring her full and unhindered access to the country", Hughes added.

The resolution (HRC/res/34/L.17) was introduced by Sweden, together with the Moldova, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the United States of America. The resolution was technical in nature, focused solely on extending the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran by one year.

Venezuela called for a vote on the resolution; 22 States on the 47-seat Human Rights Council voted in favour of the resolution, 12 States voted against, and 13 States abstained.[1] This shows increased international support for the mandate on previous years.[2]

ARTICLE 19 joined 40 other civil society organisations to advocate for the mandate's renewal in an open letter to States, published on 16 March 2017. In her first report to the HRC as Special Rapporteur, Asma Jahangir has highlighted that the freedom of expression situation in Iran remains dire.

In an interactive dialogue with the HRC on 13 March 2017, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the increased crackdown on journalists and social media users in anticipation of Presidential elections, scheduled for 19 May. The Special Rapporteur confirmed that at least 24 journalists, bloggers, and social media activists are behind bars in Iran as result of their peaceful activities. Their convictions, including for crimes under the Islamic Penal Code such as insult and blasphemy, the dissemination of 'propaganda against the State', spreading false rumours or lies, and creating "anxiety and unease in the public's mind", violate international human rights law.

In the last year, the Iranian government has intensified its efforts to restrict the rights to freedom of expression and privacy online. As the Special Rapporteur notes, of 5 million websites blocked, the top 500 relate to the arts, social issues, the news, and popular culture.

ARTICLE 19 is further concerned by reports of government sponsored hacking against individuals exercising their rights. Security researchers have uncovered practices such as the use of malware to target journalists, and the hijacking of Telegram accounts, and other sophisticated strategies to attack Iranians exercising their rights online, creating a climate of fear in online communities within and outside Iran.

ARTICLE 19 is alarmed by the fact that arbitrary arrests, detentions and harassment against women's rights activists have intensified since the February 2016 Parliamentary elections, in particular against those associated with the Campaign for Changing the Male Dominated Face of Parliament and the Feminist School.

In light of these negative developments, it is welcome that a greater number of States supported the extension of the mandate by one year. At the same time, we are disappointed that a number of States with strong commitments to human rights either voted against the resolution, including India, Indonesia, and Kenya, or abstained, including Brazil, Tunisia, and South Africa.

"Unfortunately, despite Iran's increased diplomatic engagement internationally, the domestic reality for freedom of expression has not changed and remains heavily restricted. It is disappointing that Brazil, explaining their concerns at the present situation and welcoming Iran's increased engagement with the Special Rapporteur, nevertheless refused to support the extension of the mandate," said Hughes.

"The increased support for the Special Rapporteur sends an essential message from the international community ahead of the coming Presidential elections in Iran; whatever the outcome, any new government must commit to reverse the deteriorating situation for freedom of expression, including by cooperating with Asma Jahangir," Hughes concluded.

ARTICLE 19 looks forward to continuing our work with the Special Rapporteur on Iran. The dire situation for freedom of expression in Iran, highlighted by the Special Rapporteur as well as during the country's last Universal Periodic Review, only serves to demonstrate why continued independent expert scrutiny on the country is needed now more than ever.

[1] The following HRC Member States voted yes: Albania; Belgium; Botswana; Croatia; El Salvador; Germany; Hungary; Japan; Latvia; Netherlands; Panama; Paraguay; Portugal; Qatar; Republic of Korea; Rwanda; Saudi Arabia; Slovenia; Switzerland; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and the United States of America; the following voted no: Bangladesh; Bolivia; Burundi; China; Cuba; Egypt; India; Indonesia; Iraq; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Venezuela; the following abstained: Brazil; Congo; Cote d'Ivoire; Ecuador; Ethiopia; Georgia; Ghana; Mongolia; Nigeria; Philippines; South Africa; Togo; Tunisia.

[2] In 2016, HRC resolution 31/19 on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran was also voted; 20 States voted in favour; 15 States voted against; 11 States abstained, and one State was absent.

Copyright notice: Copyright ARTICLE 19
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.
Kenya: Journalist assaulted and injured by police officers

Publisher Article 19 Publication Date 27 March 2017 Cite as Article 19, Kenya: Journalist assaulted and injured by police officers, 27 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8e4334.html [accessed 8 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.

ARTICLE 19 is dismayed by the brutal assault of Isaiah Gwengi, a journalist working with the Standard Media Group in Siaya County, at the hands of Police Officers. Gwengi, who was doing a story on police brutality and harassment in the County, was arrested while interviewing human rights activist Robert Ochieng on the evening of 22 March in Usenge.

The journalist and his companion sustained severe head and body injuries inflicted by 7 Police Officers who allegedly confiscated their phones, arbitrarily detained them, and beat, stripped, and taunted them.

"We strongly condemn any brutality against journalists, especially by police officers whose duty is to protect. We call upon the authorities, specifically the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), to immediately investigate this case, including allegations of torture, and bring those responsible to justice. We also urge the police to thoroughly complete all pending investigations of attacks against journalists and ensure that justice is achieved for victims," said Henry Mania, Director of ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa.

ARTICLE 19 commends efforts by the Media Council of Kenya and the Kenya Union of Journalists, who intervened and managed to secure the journalist and his companion's release. We urge the media community to work together in continuing to promote and defend freedom and independence of the media.

Article 33, 34 and 35 of the Constitution safeguard Kenya's freedom of expression, free and independent media and access to information. The state and every organ of the state has an obligation to respect, protect, and promote the rights and fundamental freedoms in the Constitution, including freedom and independence of the media.

Article 34(2) emphasises that the State shall not exercise control over or interfere with any person engaged in broadcasting, the production or circulation of any publication or the dissemination of information by any medium; or penalise any person for any opinion or view or the content of any broadcast, publication or dissemination. As much as the law requires the Government not to interfere with the work of the media.

However, journalists in Kenya are increasingly experiencing first-hand how these rights are being restricted, and it is becoming virtually impossible for them to carry out their legitimate profession. They face serious challenges in the course of their work, with State actors contributing to an increasing number of threats, incidents of harassment and intimidation as well as legal and personal attacks.

ARTICLE 19 condemns the police's continued harassment and intimidation of journalists and human rights defenders, and calls upon the National Police Service, the National Police Service Commission, the Independent Police Oversight Authority and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to ensure that this incident and others like it are thoroughly investigated and that those responsible are prosecuted.

Copyright notice: Copyright ARTICLE 19
ANNAPOLIS, MD--(Marketwired - Mar 27, 2017) - Solar Wind Energy Tower, Inc. (OTC: SWET) (the "Company"), the innovator and creator behind the Solar Wind Downdraft Tower structures capable of producing abundant, inexpensive electricity to meet the world's increasing demand, announced today that SWET has issued the following business update.

The Downdraft Tower project in San Luis, AZ is being managed and developed by Arizona Green Power LLC (AGP) which is owned and controlled by SWET for the benefit of SWET shareholders.

There are a few minority interest holders in AGP currently owning less than 8% of AGP. AGP is working with SWET's expert consultants and engineers finalizing the convergence of downdraft winds into the tunnels surrounding the base of the Tower. Optimizing this design is an important engineering and design task. The number of tunnels, their diameter and the length of the tunnels necessary to maximize the efficiency of the multiple turbine energy extraction system directly impacts the total project capital cost.

Management has always used conservative assumptions, (tallest Tower height, longest tunnels, and maximum number of tunnels). Maximizing the conditions predicted the highest construction and highest maintenance cost projections. As these studies near completion, management is now confident that our original estimates were in fact very conservative. As we complete the due diligence process we will continue to provide updates on the projects.

SWET has been supporting the development efforts of a company in Kenya pursuing the exclusive license rights from SWET to develop two downdraft Towers in Kenya, Africa. The SWET business model is to license our technology to developers, utilities, sovereign nations to bring our solution to market. The model includes a license fee, development fees during construction and an ongoing annual Royalty fee based on kWh output from the project for 20-25 years. The development group in Kenya has agreed to the fees and structure and is diligently pursuing site approval and the required Power Purchase Agreement and documents necessary to move forward. Although SWET's management is working with and supporting this effort on a weekly basis, the success of the project is in the hands of the Kenya developer. Activation of the license agreement requires the upfront license fee payment from the developer. We will continue to provide updates on the Kenya Tower(s) project.

Story continues

SWET has pursued a project in Mexico just across the border from the AGP project in Arizona. The owner of the site on which SWET had an option to purchase has died and that site is no longer available. Our CEO has made a number of trips to Mexico in support of this project and remains in contact with the local development authority. We have received assurances that the local authorities still support the Tower project and will again assist in locating a new site, extend the previous commitments for a water supply agreement and provide the needed entitlements to support a new site. Management has informed the Mexican authorities that as soon as the final design and pricing comes in on the Arizona project we will again revisit San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico in pursuit of a Tower solution for them.

Finally, one of our Teaming Partners is seeking possible ways to repurpose abandoned tall chimneys and stacks rather than tear them down. They have explored solutions such as mounting solar panels on the chimneys and stacks which proved not to be feasible. We were posed the question of whether or not our Tower solution could possibly serve as a retrofit solution to repurpose abandoned stacks. Our consultants have been working with us since late last fall and we have decided to pursue the possible benefit of applying our technology to this potential repurposing opportunity. SWET has formed a new affiliated company, Solar RePurposing Systems LLC, to offer this retrofit solution and potentially benefit our shareholders. SWET owns 90% of this new company and the new company has retained the expertise of an industry consultant to advise and direct us into this market and introduce us to potential Teaming Members. We will continue to provide updates on this potential market opportunity.

About Solar Wind Energy Tower, Inc.

Founded in 2010, Solar Wind Energy Tower, Inc., and its wholly owned commercializing subsidiary, Solar Wind Energy, Inc., is the inventor of the patented Solar Wind Downdraft Tower, which uses state of the art technologies and construction systems to produce abundant, inexpensive electricity, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Company's core objective and focus is to become a leading enabler of clean, efficient renewable energy to world communities, at a reasonable cost, without the destructive residuals of fossil fuels, while continuing to generate innovative technological solutions to meet tomorrow's electrical power needs.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.solarwindenergytower.com,

https://www.facebook.com/solarwindenergytower

https://twitter.com/SWETower

https://www.arizonagreenpower.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements included in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements". Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties such as competitive factors, technological development, market demand and the Company's ability to obtain new contracts and accurately estimate revenues, if any, due to variability in size, scope and duration of projects, and internal issues in the sponsoring client. Further information on potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results, can be found in the Company's various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Afghan Forces' Unexpected Win: The Killing of Qari Saifullah Akhter

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Farhan Zahid Publication Date 24 March 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 6 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Afghan Forces' Unexpected Win: The Killing of Qari Saifullah Akhter, 24 March 2017, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 6, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8f13b4.html [accessed 8 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 death in a clash with Afghan forces of long-time Pakistani jihadist Qari Saifullah Akhter, the emir of Pakistan's Harkat ul Jihad e Islami, is both a surprising victory for Afghanistan's security forces and an indication of the Taliban leadership's recent attempts to rebuild frayed links with al-Qaeda amid Afghanistan's on-going conflict.

Akhter, 58 and widely respected in the jihadist circles of Pakistan and Afghanistan as a veteran of 40-years of jihad, was killed by Afghan security forces in the Birmil district of Paktika province in January (Newsline, February 20). He was reportedly fighting alongside the Afghan Taliban, apparently having recently relocated to the country.

As well as a setback for the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Islamist terrorist groups, his death in rural Afghanistan comes as something of a surprise since, according to earlier reports, he had been enjoying a comfortable retirement in Pakistan, where he ran a madrasa near Islamabad. [1]

Veteran of Jihad

Akhter began his jihadist career at a time when few Pakistanis, even Pakistani Islamists, were considering armed conflict. He was a graduate of the notorious Jamaia Uloom ul Islamia madrasa in Binori Town, Karachi and a protege of Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, the madrasas' principal and considered the "godfather" of Pakistani jihadists. At the time, jihadist movements in Pakistan required Shamzai's blessings to launch their tanzeemat (organizations). Even Mullah Omar, the Afghan Taliban's supreme leader, is believed to have considered Shamzai as a mentor.

Akhter was a pioneer of jihadist organizations in Pakistan. In 1981, he and two other students from the madrasa  Fazal ur Rehman Khalil and Irshad Ahmad  founded Harkat ul Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI), an Islamist jihadi movement with roots in Pakistani Deobandi sects. Khalil would later split with Akhter, establishing Harkat ul Mujahedeen, a splinter group of HuJI, and go on to become a co-signatory with al-Qaeda's Osama Bin Laden on a fatwa against "Jews and Crusaders" in 1998.

In the wake of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, HuJI had the blessing of Shamzai, along with seed money provided by Islamist charity organizations then working to promote Afghan jihad in Pakistan. Today it has the distinction of being the only Islamist terrorist organization of Pakistani origins to have operations in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. [2]

Akhter, in collusion with rogue Islamist military officers, was even part of the failed Islamist coup, known as Operation Khilafat, aimed at toppling the government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1995. [3]

Regional Network

Apart from his strong jihadist credentials in Pakistan, Akhter was one of only a small number of militants to develop an early rapport with the Afghan Taliban. During the Taliban's rule of Afghanistan, between 1996 and 2001, he became an advisor to Mullah Omar and served as a judge in Kabul. His HuJI organization even supplemented Afghan Taliban forces with a contingent of Pakistani foot soldiers to aid the group's conquest of northern Afghanistan.

Akhter used his Taliban influence to help develop al-Qaeda-Taliban relations. When al-Qaeda provided fighters from its non-Afghan Brigade 055 to aid Taliban forces in fighting against Northern Alliance forces, it was on Akhter's advice.

After the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, the HuJI leader was seen fleeing with Mullah Omar on his motorcycle in the suburb of Kandahar. [4] Despite reports he was killed fleeing Afghanistan, he later resurfaced in Pakistan but remained aloof from public gatherings and talks.

Return to Afghanistan

Akhter's recent reemergence in Afghanistan, fighting alongside Taliban forces, provoked some excitement in the jihadist world, as well as confusion among the authorities. According to an Afghan government statement, Akhter was overseeing a "terrorist hub" in the Bagram and Reshkor regions of Kabul province. It is likely the Taliban hoped to use his influence to build alliances and boost morale ahead of the upcoming spring fighting season.

Afghan officials created confusion and generated further speculations about Akhter's presence in Afghanistan because they first announced his death in a clash with Afghan military in Birmil district of Paktika province, but five weeks later claimed he was killed in a raid in Nawa district of Ghazni province (Nation, January 10; Geo News, January 10).

Since Akhter served as a go-between for al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban while Afghanistan was under Taliban rule, it is possible he was in the country to reconcile the two Islamist militant forces as part of a broader strategy before the start of spring and the beginning of a new fighting season. The recent divisions in the Afghan Taliban, following the death of former leader Mullah Mansoor Akhter in 2016, could have prompted the group to call on him. Afghanistan's Taliban-led insurgency is not monolithic and its leadership's promises that the Afghan government will soon fall increasingly appear overblown to its supporters. It may be the Taliban hoped to capitalize on Akhter's veteran status since  at the age of 58, it is unlikely he was there to fight.

Akhter may have hoped that the emergence of Islamic State's Khurasan chapter in Afghanistan, which has been unsettling for both the Taliban and al-Qaeda, could improve ties damaged in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and more tightly knit the two together.

The development also comes amid a recent shift in Afghan politics that has seen a peace agreement between the government and the veteran Hizb-e-Islami militia leader Gulbaden Hekmatyar. Hekmatyar's move to join the political establishment was a blow to the Taliban. Bringing in Akhter was perhaps a move by the Taliban to show the group can still claim broad support from the jihadist community.

Taliban Leadership Divided

Afghanistan is likely to see an increase in violence as the spring fighting season begins, with the 2017 fighting season set to test the Afghan government and security forces. In that context, Akhter and his HuJI could have been a boon to the Taliban and his death may prove something of a pre-emptive victory of Afghan security forces, albeit an unexpected one.

Akhter was a seasoned jihadist who had fought against the Soviets in the 1980s. His return from retirement to the war zone of Afghanistan appears to be a dramatic development and is perhaps indicative of attempts by the Afghan Taliban's leadership to rebuild and strengthen damaged links with al-Qaeda.

That in itself could be a desperate move, given divisions within the group's leadership. If so, the Afghan government should act quickly and seize the opportunity to break the back of the Islamist insurgency.

NOTES

[1] Author interview with Azaz Syed, Islamabad-based senior journalist (February 18, 2017)

[2] Further information on the group can be found on the South Asia Terrorism portal (here); see also Asia Times Online (December 10, 2004

[3] Benazir Bhutto makes reference to this in her book Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West, Simon and Schuster (New York: 2008)

[4] Carlotta Gall, The Wrong Enemy: America in Afghanistan 2001-2014, Penguin Publishers (London: 2014)

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Armenia and Azerbaijan: What Do They Seek From the EU?

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Rahim Rahimov Publication Date 24 March 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 40 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Armenia and Azerbaijan: What Do They Seek From the EU?, 24 March 2017, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 40, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8f2174.html [accessed 8 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

Azerbaijan and the European Union launched negotiations on a strategic partnership agreement, on February 7, 2017 (Azertag, February 6; Azernews, February 14). Whereas Armenia concluded negotiations with the European bloc on a comprehensive and expanded partnership agreement, on February 27 (ArmenPress, Lragir.am, February 27). Both countries had earlier failed to reach an Association Agreement (AA) with the EU. Armenia and Azerbaijan are technically at war with each other over the territory of Karabakh. So why are they concurrently pursuing closer ties with Europe, and what do they hope to gain?

The Armenia-EU agreement is expected to be signed this year, possibly as early as May (Asbarez.com, February 27). Armenia's motives for reprising its relations with the EU appear to be driven by two key issues.

First, by announcing the agreement ahead of the looming April 2 parliamentary elections, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan wants to soothe popular anger over the worsening domestic socio-economic situation and appease the rising pro-Western mood in the country. The government is also trying to change the narrative that Armenia has become Russia's vassal, which has completely distanced itself from the West (1in.am, October 16, 2015; Cacianalyst.org, September 30, 2015; Epress.am, March 21, 2014). The elections will be the first since the constitutional amendments of 2017 that have restructured the country from a presidential to a parliamentary republic. The amendments are viewed as serving incumbent President Sargsyan's plan to maintain power as prime minister. In the meantime, domestic tensions in Armenia are rising. Recent armed incidents involving parliamentary candidates of the ruling and opposition parties are just a case in point (Panorama.am, Regnum, March 14, 2017; FaktInfo, Radio Azatutyun, March 15).

Second, by making the agreement, Yerevan intends to remind Moscow of its significance. Over the past year, particularly after the deadly April 2016 clashes with Azerbaijan in Karabakh, significant swathes of Armenian society have become disillusioned with Russia (see EDM, May 18, 2016). Furthermore, Armenia's diplomatic failure to rally support from its allies within the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), particularly from Belarus and Kazakhstan (see EDM, February 15, 2017), is another factor driving Yerevan to upgrade its relations with the EU. Sargsyan publicly criticized the CSTO during his recent visit to Russia, where he met with his counterpart, Vladimir Putin (Radio Azatutyun, March 14; Radio Azatutyun, March 15). This meeting was designed to seek the Kremlin's blessing for Yerevan's agreement with Brussels.

Indeed, it was following a meeting with Putin on September 3, 2013, that President Sargsyan initially abandoned the AA to join the Russia-led Customs Union and then the EEU (Arovat.am, February 27, 2016). He recently stated that the 2013 decision was motivated by the fact that "otherwise Armenia would pay for Russian energy supplies at world market prices" (Eurasia Daily, March 3, 2017). But Yerevan's eventual choice of the EEU was due less to economic considerations than by its overwhelming dependence on Moscow due to the Karabakh conflict, according to Armenian expert Sergey Minasyan. He has described Armenia's new agreement with the EU as a "light version" of the AA (Analitikaua.net, March 2).

President Sargsyan has suggested that the new agreement is not much different from the 2013 AA. But in fact, the agreement is substantially lower profile and drastically different because it lacks any free-trade component due to Armenia's obligations under the EEU. Moreover, the country's memberships in the EEU and CSTO effectively bar serious European integration perspectives for Armenia. The full text of the agreement has not yet been made public, and the details remain unspecified (JAMnews, March 13). This allows Yerevan, in the meantime, to sell the domestic audience on the importance of the new agreement, which is likely to be little more than a rhetorical upgrade of existing Armenian-EU relations.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has also recently addressed why his country refused to sign an Association Agreement with the EU in 2015. Speaking on a panel at the 2017 Munich Security Conference, he described the AA offered by Brussels as a "unilateral instruction list." His remarks highlighted Baku's unwillingness to compromise the country's sovereignty in any way or risk damaging relations with Russia. Second, President Aliyev said that the agreement lacked precise wording in support of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. This contrasts with the association agreements extended to Moldova and Georgia, in which the EU unambiguously affirmed those countries' territorial integrity (President.az, February 18). Though declining the AA, Baku agreed to sign an individual strategic partnership agreement with the EU instead (Azertag, February 11). Brussels has approved this offer, but complicated negotiations on the new agreement lie ahead. "With one third of [EU] member states we already have documents signed or adopted on strategic partnership. This is a good basis for [a] future agreement between [the] EU and Azerbaijan," Aliyev stated during a recent meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk, in Brussels (President.az, February 6).

Azerbaijan's renewed overtures to Europe are designed to act as a counterweight to Armenia's ties with the EU, as well as to insure Baku in case of a possible deterioration of relations with Moscow. One approach for Azerbaijan to pursue is to build ties with the EU that are only as close but not necessarily any closer than Armenia's-particularly on matters sensitive to Russia. Baku pointedly began its talks with the EU only as Yerevan was concluding its negotiations. This enabled Baku to take into account the scope of the Armenia-EU deal before signing its own agreement with Brussels.

An additional factor that likely affected the timing of the Azerbaijan-EU individual strategic partnership agreement has been Baku's belief that this document would facilitate the implementation of its more than $40 billion Southern Gas Corridor project to deliver natural gas from the Caspian basin to European consumers (Regionplus, February 15; Azvizion.az, February 7). Nevertheless, Aliyev has ruled out Azerbaijan's economic integration with any union for the time being-clearly implying both the EU and the EEU. Therefore, Baku's new agreement with Brussels will likely also ultimately lack a free-trade component, thus making it considerably lower profile compared to an AA.

Due to the Karabakh conflict, the Russian factor is crucial to both Armenia's and Azerbaijan's (re)shaping of their relations with the EU. Therefore, their negotiations with Brussels will be carried out with an eye to appeasing Moscow rather than seeking a genuine upgrade in relations with Europe. And Brussels' ambiguity over the Karabakh conflict has unintentionally been amplifying this trend.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Institutionalized 'Warlordism': Syria's National Defense Force

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Chris Zambelis Publication Date 24 March 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 6 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Institutionalized 'Warlordism': Syria's National Defense Force, 24 March 2017, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 6, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8f2e54.html [accessed 8 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.

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As Syria's civil war enters its sixth year, the balance of the conflict has tilted toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's Baathist regime. Bolstered by its international and regional allies, the regime is touting numerous territorial gains - including the reassertion of its authority over eastern Aleppo in December 2016 - as a sign of its resurgence, in contrast to the armed opposition's dwindling prospects.

The strategic implications of the regime's return to eastern Aleppo are profound. It consolidates its presence in Syria's most populous city, a pre-war economic and industrial hub. It also reinforces the regime's control over Syria's five largest population centers - Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, Hama and Latakia - solidifying its position in a large expanse of territory across central and western Syria, from where it draws most of its support (al-Akhbar [Beirut], December 23, 2016; Syrian Arab News Agency [Damascus], December 22, 2016).

Russia, Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraq have also provided vital support to the Syrian government, including coordinating with Syrian forces during their military offensive to recapture eastern Aleppo, and fighting alongside Syrian forces on other fronts. Iran and Iraq in particular have helped to facilitate an influx of Shia militias to strengthen Baathist forces on the ground.

In contrast, the contribution of loyalist Syrian militias in ensuring regime survival has been treated as an afterthought. In this context, the role of the multitude of irregular militias that operate under the auspices of the Quwat al-Difaa al-Watani (National Defense Force, NDF) in helping to preserve the Baathist regime merits consideration. In light of ongoing diplomacy to bring about a ceasefire, the present and future role of the NDF and other heavily armed and battle-hardened loyalist paramilitaries will become increasingly relevant to the debate over Syria's future (al-Jazeera [Doha] February 15).

Rise of the Militias

A wave of defections among the conscription-based Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the security services in the days that followed the spring 2011 uprising - compounded in later years by losses sustained over six years of heavy fighting and a dwindling conscript pool of military-age males - provoked a shift in the regime's counterinsurgency strategy.

The regime organized local militias, known as al-Lijaan al-Shabiyya (Popular Committees), along with other irregular formations with the intention of augmenting the ranks of the SAA and other security forces. These would protect areas that were viewed as loyalist or otherwise neutral during the conflict. Generally equipped with light arms and two-way radios, they organized checkpoints and provided an overt security presence (Terrorism Monitor, May 2, 2013; al-Mayadeen [Beirut], October 28, 2012; SyriaNews.info [Damascus], October 23, 2012; al-Akhbar, October 23, 2012).

The NDF, established in 2012, represented the regime's attempt to more formally unify these disparate Popular Committees. It has since evolved into a crucial auxiliary force, alongside the regular conscription-based SAA and other armed bodies (Day Press [Damascus], January 18, 2013; YouTube, January 9, 2013).

The NDF has figured prominently in a wide array of military operations across Syria. Its detractors frequently associate it with the loyalist shabiha (ghosts) criminal gangs deployed by the regime during the earliest days of the uprising to confront opposition demonstrators. Despite its significant Sunni Arab contingent, represented in both its command and rank-and-file, the NDF is also often described as a sectarian militia dominated by Alawites and other Syrian minorities (al-Monitor, March 14, 2014; al-Riyadh [Riyadh], April 22, 2013).

External Influence

The NDF is often compared to Iran's Basij (Mobilization) militia, a claim repeated by Iranian officials (akhbaralaan.net [Dubai], August 8, 2015; Dezful Emrooz [Dezful], March 2, 2015). Indeed, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) is cited as having been instrumental in the Baathist regime's decision to raise loyalist militias.

Iran has provided the NDF with critical training and operational support. However, while elements of unconventional warfare - including military advisory and training, counterinsurgency and foreign internal defense operations - are central to its mission, claims that the IRGC-QF essentially controls the NDF without regard for Damascus are overstated (al-Monitor, November 20, 2015). Lebanon's Hezbollah is also sometimes credited as being behind the NDF.

Notwithstanding the roles the IRGC-QF and Hezbollah played in strengthening the NDF, the Syrian regime's decision to raise and deploy loyalist militias drawn from the civilian population is not unprecedented. During Syria's 1976-1982 Muslim Brotherhood-led insurrection, the government organized a host of civilian-led militias from among Baath Party loyalists and other civilian cadres. The resort to state-organized militias by embattled governments is a common feature of civil wars and insurgencies.

The NDF and the turn toward "militiafication" represents the regime's efforts to transform the command and organizational structures of its military in response to the corruption, disunity and indiscipline associated with the SAA (Syrian Observer, February 17). The formation in 2013 of elite units attached to the SAA, such as the Tiger Forces and Desert Hawks, is likewise emblematic of the government's goal of reorganizing its military structures (al-Masdar News [United Arab Emirates], June 4, 2016).

The establishment of the Fourth Assault Corps in October 2015, followed by the Fifth Assault Corps in November 2016, has been described as an attempt to introduce into the military attributes of the NDF - particularly its volunteer-driven nature in contrast to the conscription-based structures typical of the SAA. They are also seen as a way to incorporate Russian and Iranian irregular warfare doctrine into Syrian military practice (Syria Deeply, January 7; al-Jazeera, November 30, 2016).

Additionally, they may also reflect plans to further disaggregate Syria's military power to better insulate Assad from a potential coup directed from the armed forces, a longstanding fear of authoritarian regimes and, in particular, the Baathist hierarchy surrounding Assad.

Some reports have suggested that the NDF will be disbanded and integrated into the Fourth Assault Corps (al-Hayat [London], October 11, 2015). The formation of the Local Defense Force, an Aleppo-based umbrella of loyalist militias, along with the Baath Brigades, Popular Army and a host of other factions - including Palestinian-led militias organized in Palestinian refugee camps - further illustrates the regime's reliance on paramilitary detachments (Enab Baladi [Darayya], Feburary 21; Etana [Damascus], 2014; al-Monitor, November 20, 2013).

Encouraging Local Support

The NDF's utility to the regime exceeds beyond the military. It serves as a vehicle for mobilizing the population to ensure loyalty and cultivate support among vulnerable communities caught between competing opposition currents. The NDF provides the regime with a means through which to project its influence in areas where its presence and legitimacy have been undermined or eliminated. In military terms, the NDF acts as a firewall against territorial advances by the armed opposition.

The reliance on locally-recruited cadres also strengthens the regime's intelligence and overall situational awareness about developments on the ground. In this regard, the employment of the NDF and other loyalist Syrian militias is reminiscent of doctrinal counterinsurgency campaigns.

In organizational and operational terms, the NDF has been integrated into the Syrian security apparatus. This is the case even as NDF elements appear to have retained much of their independence and flexibility, a notable development given the regime's highly-centralized and despotic nature.

Equally important, the localized NDF may prove an attractive alternative for disaffected insurgents. For example, the NDF is being positioned as a crucial element of the regime's efforts to entice members of the armed opposition to lay down their arms and rejoin the fold (al-Hayat, February 16; Syrian Arab News Agency, January 9). The regime has reportedly offered armed opposition factions the option of remaining mobilized, albeit under NDF auspices, in areas where they hold sway as part of its broader of amnesty (Zaman al-Wasl [Qamishli], December 10, 2016).

The regime has employed the NDF and other militia formations to reconcile with or otherwise co-opt Sunni Arab tribes fighting on behalf of the regime against the so-called Islamic State (IS) and other armed opposition forces. As the conflict progresses, the NDF is likely to remain central to Assad's objective of returning all of Syria to government control (Syrian Arab News Agency, January 9).

Cadres and Operations

The NDF is estimated to be composed of between 90,000 to 100,000 members, although a precise assessment of its membership is difficult to gauge (al-Yaum [Dammam], September 25, 2015). Like its Popular Committees predecessor, the NDF has often been associated with Syria's religious and ethnic minority communities - including the Alawites, Christians, Druze and Armenians - in contrast to the regular Syrian army and other conventional force structures, which draw most of their rank and file from Syria's majority Sunni Arab population.

While an accurate estimate of its demographic composition is difficult to ascertain, labeling the NDF a sectarian organization would be inaccurate. The generally localized characteristics of its recruitment base suggest that NDF detachments organized on the neighborhood, village, town, city and provincial levels will tend to reflect the demographic composition of their surroundings. For example, NDF formations in locations populated mostly by Sunni, Druze or Christians will likely reflect their respective Sunni, Druze or Christian constituencies. Similarly, NDF formations based in areas that are diverse in terms of their religious and ethnic makeup will likewise reflect these peculiarities.

By contrast, the armed opposition is essentially a Sunni Arab-dominated enterprise. At the same time, however, Sunni Arabs, particularly urban dwellers and members of the middle and merchant classes, constitute a critical part of the regime's support base. Influential Sunni clans, including the notorious Berri clan, which is implicated in organized crime and a host of abuses in Aleppo on behalf of the regime, are also well represented in the NDF (Orient News [Dubai], July 27, 2013). Sunnis who may be motivated by fear of the armed opposition (as opposed to partisan loyalty to Assad) are also reflected in the NDF. The NDF's diversity is revealed in its inclusion of women, who even take active security and combat roles (Press TV [Tehran], November 2013).

The NDF offers prospective recruits numerous advantages. Membership offers a steady salary, substantially higher than that earned by SAA conscripts. It is a welcome prospect considering the absence of viable employment opportunities. NDF recruits are also lured by assurances they will be deployed near or around their homes on a part-time basis, as opposed to extended deployments in distant fronts, while the opportunities to participate in more complex operations yield the potential for higher salaries.

NDF recruits are also enticed by the prospect of having their military conscription requirements satisfied in what is widely viewed as a more favorable scenario. Indeed, many SAA members abandoned their posts in favor of joining the NDF (al-Yaum September 25, 2015; Syria Deeply, June 25, 2015).

NDF members undergo both basic and specialized military training and are provided with uniforms and weapons (al-Manar [Beirut], February 4, 2013). The organizational dynamic between the NDF and the SAA and other regular armed bodies is hard to determine. Some accounts report that the NDF operates under SAA orders, receiving intelligence and other tactical and operational guidance. In other instances, Hezbollah and Iranian factions may train and command particular NDF cadres (al-Hayat, January 9; The Wall Will Fall, September 16, 2015).

Abuse Claims

While the NDF is portrayed as a vehicle of national service, a message that resonates with many Syrians, it also encompasses a patron-client relationship with the regime, a relationship that the regime actively encourages. This dynamic can be seen in its links to loyalist businessmen, a number of whom have been accused of organizing, financing and even leading NDF detachments. One such is Sami Aubrey.

An Aleppo-based businessman who, among other things, owned a chain of amusement parks, Aubrey commands the NDF's Aleppo contingent. He is accused of utilizing the NDF and other militias to protect and expand his own business interests and perpetrate other abuses. Members of Aubrey's extended family, such as the local construction magnate Muhammed Jammoul, have also been accused of abuses in Aleppo (eqtsad.net, May 4, 2016; Alsouria.net [Syria] May 1, 2016; Arabi21.com [London], March 1, 2016).

The NDF has likewise attracted a sizeable criminal component that is exploiting the conflict for purposes of personal gain, while many NDF detachments serve as hired guns for criminal enterprises that are thriving amid the chaos of war.

Baathist and sympathetic information outlets, including traditional and social media platforms, extol the NDF's performance on the battlefield alongside the SAA, Hezbollah and other Syrian armed units such as the Tiger Forces and Desert Hawks. Doing so elevates the NDF's profile and legitimacy. NDF casualties are likewise eulogized as heroes and martyrs alongside other regular forces in official announcements.

The NDF boasts an extensive presence online, operating multiple official websites as well as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts that are frequently updated with timely reports from various battlefronts and political news. Localized NDF formations often operate their own social media platforms, such as those operated by NDF forces in Aleppo, Baniyas, Homs, Hama and Hasaka.

The NDF's official Telegram instant messaging application allows users to contact the organization securely and at one point the NDF even boasted its own cyberwarfare and hacker collective modelled after the Syrian Electronic Army.

Post-Conflict Prospects

While the Baathist regime struggles to portray an image of unity between the NDF and other security structures, the reality on the ground presents a far more complex picture. Clashes between NDF detachments and the regular Syrian security forces are a regular occurrence (Alsouria.net, January 4, 2016; Deirezzor24 [Syria], December 24, 2016; Syria Direct, April 30, 2015). Tensions between the NDF and Lebanese Hezbollah have also resulted in internecine fighting between allies (al-Jazeera, January 25, 2015).

As is often typical of the behavior of irregular detachments in civil wars, localized militias operating under NDF auspices have been implicated in abuses including trafficking, extortion, armed robbery, murder, looting and abductions-for-ransom (Democratic Republic Studies Center [Paris], September 2015).

Militias operating under NDF auspices have clashed with each other in what amount to battles over turf and war spoils, while NDF militia commanders have carved out lucrative fiefdoms in the neighborhoods and towns where they hold sway. The government has largely turned a blind eye to these activities, in exchange for continued loyalty, but in doing so has entrenched a climate of warlordism that will be difficult to rein in following any potential peace agreement (al-Monitor, August 24, 2015).

Foreign actors such as the IRGC-QF and Lebanese Hezbollah will likely act to preserve their influence in any post-conflict scenario - Iran has already called for the implementation of a peace accord modeled after Lebanon's Taif Agreement that would, among other things, legitimize existing militias (al-Hayat, August 24, 2015).

The NDF has become central to Assad's survival strategy, but while it officially operates under the regime's control, its localized character has created new centers of authority and local powerbrokers. These are unlikely to easily relinquish their influence when the conflict is finally over and will present a serious challenge for any post-conflict demilitarization, demobilization and reintegration programs.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Why Islamic State Has Failed to Expand in Yemen

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Michael Horton Publication Date 24 March 2017 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Why Islamic State Has Failed to Expand in Yemen, 24 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8f4de4.html [accessed 8 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.

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Conditions in Yemen appear to be ideal for the expansion of an insurgent organization like Islamic State (IS). All the normal vectors for the spread of the virus of militant Salafism are present: grinding poverty; rampant youth unemployment; a weak and most often non-existent government; and thriving dark networks that traffic in everything from weapons to people. The Saudi-led and U.S.-backed war has exacerbated all of these and made what was already fertile ground for militant Salafism far more conducive to its growth.

So why has IS failed to gain a significant foothold in Yemen? First and foremost, it is competing with what is al-Qaeda's most agile and adaptive franchise  al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Second, the uncompromising and extreme interpretation of Islam that the IS leadership embraces is largely alien to the vast majority of Yemenis. Even those Yemenis whose views fall toward the radical end of the spectrum are unlikely to support the bloody tactics employed by IS. Third, the group's top-down authoritarian approach to leadership and governance is an anathema to much of Yemeni society, which values collaborative leadership and a respect for traditional forms of governance.

AQAP vs Islamic State

The existence of IS in Yemen dates to the fall of 2014 when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi acknowledged that fighters in Yemen had pledged baya (a formal oath of allegiance) to him. At the time, IS was rapidly expanding across Iraq and Syria and was at the height of its popularity among militant Salafists. At the same time, AQAP was under intense pressure from Houthi and Yemeni Army forces. Beginning in November 2014, a number of mid-level AQAP operatives defected to IS in Yemen (al-Monitor, November 30, 2015). In March 2015, IS carried out its first attacks in Yemen by targeting two mosques in the capital of Sanaa (al-Jazeera, March 21, 2105). It justified the bombings by stating that the mosques were Zaydi Shia mosques used by the Houthis. In fact, the mosques  as with the vast majority of mosques in Yemen  were used by both Zaiydis and Shafi Sunnis.

The attack on the mosques was an attempt by IS to exacerbate sectarian tensions in Yemen, a tried and tested strategy that it used with considerable success in Syria and Iraq. However, in Yemen, the strategy has not worked nearly so well. This is because sectarian tensions between Zaydi Shia  a branch of Shia Islam that is closer to Sunni Islam than the Twelver Shia that predominate in Iran  and Shafi Sunnis have been exaggerated. Rather than enabling IS in Yemen to gain more recruits and support, the attacks cost it much of the limited support it had within Yemen's community of militant Salafists.

In 2015, IS enjoyed some success in Yemen's Hadramawt governorate, where it engaged in several battles with AQAP. However, the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which began on March 26, 2015, put pressure on the Houthis and allowed AQAP to go on the offensive across southern Yemen. AQAP captured the Yemeni port city of al-Mukalla in April 2015, where it seized large sums of money and vast stores of weapons (Yemen Times, April 6, 2015). From this point forward, AQAP was resurgent and IS, which had only just begun to gain a foothold in Yemen, was on the defensive.

During 2015 and 2016, IS continued to launch attacks on primarily civilian targets in urban environments, including its two most recent and most deadly attacks on retired and active duty Yemeni soldiers waiting to collect pensions and salaries in Aden. AQAP condemned the attacks, which collectively killed more than 100 people, and criticized IS' excessive use of violence (al-Arabiya, December 18, 2016).

AQAP's criticism is notable because it shows the group has learned to moderate its own behavior and realizes that such violence will undermine IS in Yemen. AQAP, more than many of the other al-Qaeda franchises, is extremely agile and continually demonstrates a willingness to learn from its mistakes. In 2013, AQAP apologized to the Yemeni people for its own attack on a military hospital in Sanaa in which 52 people were killed (al-Jazeera, December 22, 2013). Since then, AQAP has been more strategic about the targets it attacks.

Stirring up Local Tensions

In addition to being mindful of public opinion when selecting targets, AQAP has learned that its survival is contingent on gaining the support  or at least avoiding angering  of the tribal communities that live in AQAP's areas of operation. To this end, AQAP has modified its approach and has mostly tempered its radicalism by adopting what can be called a gradualist policy. This policy means that AQAP works to gradually and carefully impose its will on those communities that it wants to govern.

In 2012, AQAP suffered one of its most severe defeats at the hands of tribesmen in Shabwa and Abyan. It had tried to impose its hardline understanding of Islamic law and to usurp the authority of the area's tribal leadership. In response, the tribesmen formed militias and, with the help of the Yemeni Army and careful U.S. support, forced AQAP to flee the area.

IS' even more extreme interpretation of Islam, and the indiscriminate violence that such an interpretation justifies, means that IS will find little lasting support in Yemen. Unlike AQAP, it is unlikely that IS will moderate its ideology or tactics. To do so would be to lose much of its raison d'etre. IS in Yemen's primary critique of AQAP is that the organization is too moderate and not "Islamic" enough.

It is also unlikely that IS in Yemen will adopt a more collaborative approach to governance. Its ideology and its small size in Yemen both militate against such a shift. The group will not do as AQAP has learned to do and work within existing structures of tribal governance. Its insistence on recreating an imagined caliphate does not allow for compromise. The extreme nature of IS' views limit its viability within Yemen where top-down authority is neither traditional nor acceptable to most.

Additionally, IS continues to use a number of foreigners as operatives which, as AQAP discovered, is problematic in Yemen. Yemenis are loathe to submit to the authority of non-Yemenis, much less the Somalis that IS in Yemen favors.

It has taken years for AQAP to learn how to effectively operate in a Yemeni context  or rather contexts, since Yemen's socio-cultural environments are highly variable. In addition to years of experience in Yemen and a tradition of learning and adapting, AQAP is now better funded and better armed than it has ever been.

Bringing an End to IS in Yemen

AQAP has effectively and efficiently used its windfall from the war in Yemen to grow its organization and refine its capabilities. One part of its organization that AQAP has focused on expanding is its intelligence wing. In this respect, AQAP has learned a great deal from its fellow al-Qaeda affiliate, the Somalia based al-Shabaab.

Early on in its development, al-Shabaab focused on creating a formidable intelligence apparatus, the Aminyat, which has helped the group manage its relations, often violently, with Somalia's fractious clans. It has also helped al-Shabaab penetrate and largely neutralize the IS in Somalia.

IS in Yemen is a small but porous organization that does not possess the kind of skilled operatives that AQAP does. It is likely that AQAP's own intelligence wing has thoroughly penetrated the group.

IS in Yemen's future is far from certain. As IS in Iraq and Syria comes under increasing pressure, there will be more harm done to the already damaged Islamic State brand. The very tactics  extreme violence, top-down authority and a focus on exacerbating sectarian tensions  that allowed IS to expand in Iraq and Syria will limit its expansion in Yemen.

In all likelihood, much of IS in Yemen's organization will eventually either be co-opted or eliminated by AQAP.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Mali: al-Qaeda Alliance a Warning to Islamic State

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Alexander Sehmer Publication Date 24 March 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 6 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Mali: al-Qaeda Alliance a Warning to Islamic State, 24 March 2017, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 6, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8f5484.html [accessed 8 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.

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An attack on a Malian military base in Boulikessi that left 11 soldiers dead has been claimed by the newly formed jihadist alliance Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, led by the Ansar Dine chief Iyad Ag Ghali. Although initial reports attributed the March 5 attack to Ansarul Islam, Ghali's group later claimed responsibility in a statement to the Mauritanian Nouakchott News Agency (MaliJet, March 10; RFI, March 10).

The attack came just days after the formation of the new group, which brings together some of Mali's main jihadist players under the al-Qaeda umbrella and boosts the groups local standing relative to jihadist rival Islamic State (IS).

Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, or "Support for Islam and Muslims", is an alliance between Ghali's Ansar Dine with al-Mourabitoun, led by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's (AQIM) Sahara division (AfricaNews, March 3). Also part of the new alliance is Amadou Koufa, the founder of the Macina Liberation Front.

Koufa appeared alongside Ghali and AQIM officials, including Yahya Abu al-Hammam, in a video on March 2 pledging allegiance to al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri and announcing the merger (Jeune Afrique, March 2). Although a long-time acquaintance of Ghali, having fought with him in Timbuktu in 2012, Koufa appeared to have fallen out with the Ansar Dine leader last year and was reportedly toying with the idea of joining IS (Maliweb, January 5).

Clearly he has since been tempted back to the al-Qaeda fold. That may have something to do with putting Ghali, a Tuareg militant who has for years battled the Malian government, in overall charge. In doing so, al-Qaeda has brought its factions together under a local leader, highlighting an operational difference with IS, which frequently favors placing foreigners in leadership roles.

As well as their personal ties, Ghali's leadership was likely a draw for Koufa, whose own group is a Fulani jihadist movement that is as concerned with defending Fulani herding communities as it is with the spread of sharia.

The new alliance does little to simplify the fractured landscape of non-state actors in Mali (see Terrorism Monitor, January 27). However, it does help consolidate al-Qaeda's influence in the region. Ghali, who founded the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Azawad in the 1980s, has a certain political legitimacy as well as appeal to Tuareg groups outside Mali.

There was already coordination between the groups, but the alliance is also something of a warning from al-Qaeda to IS that the group intends to keep the Sahel firmly within its zone of influence.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Yemen: Two Years of Conflict Leaves AQAP Stronger

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Alexander Sehmer Publication Date 24 March 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 6 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Yemen: Two Years of Conflict Leaves AQAP Stronger, 24 March 2017, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 6, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8f5a34.html [accessed 8 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

Fighters with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have staged a series of attacks on United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed forces in Yemen's south, just days after a sustained U.S. aerial bombardment. The attacks highlight the continued resilience of AQAP amid a Saudi-led campaign to roll back Houthi advances and reinstate the government of Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi that is now more than two years old. The campaign has failed to reduce the perceived Houthi threat to Saudi Arabia and has instead strengthened AQAP.

The group's recent attacks targeted the Hadrami Elite Forces, a pro-government force open only to local Hadrami fighters. According to reports on social media, the group fired grad rockets at a checkpoint in al-Ghabar district on March 10 and attacked a camp in al-Dhilaah on March 15.

These were the first attacks in the wake of a five-day campaign of U.S. airstrikes against AQAP targets in Abyan, al-Baida and Shabwa provinces (Gulf Today, March 7). AQAP leader Saad Atif was thought to be present in Shabwa at the time of the bombing raids (Yemen Times, March 3). Meanwhile, another AQAP leader, Qasim Khalil, and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Yasir al-Silmi were among those killed (Asharq al-Awsat, March 10).

Despite the air raids, AQAP is little diminished in Yemen; instead, the country's ongoing conflict has served to strengthen it. The group's resources  bolstered by its capture of al-Mukalla in April 2015  and its greater willingness to engage with the local population, has put it far ahead of rival jihadists Islamic State in Yemen (as Michael Horton explores in this issue of Terrorism Monitor, March 24).

Following its attacks on the Hadrami Elite Forces, AQAP played on that local goodwill in a statement on Telegram on March 16, stating "the sons of the honorable Hadramiyah tribes are not our adversaries nor are they our targets," and calling on Hadramawt tribes to withdraw support for UAE-backed forces (SITE, March 17).

The UAE along with anti-Houthi militias seized control of the Yemeni port of Aden from Houthi fighters in mid-2015 (al-Jazeera, July 23, 2015). That has been one of the few clear successes of the Saudi-led coalition's operations in Yemen. There have been few others since. Instead, aid organizations warn of a massive humanitarian crisis, with 60 percent of Yemen's population facing food insecurity (New Arab, 23 March). With Hodeida, Yemen's largest commercial port, under a Saudi-led blockade and the Saudi closure of Sanaa airport also hampering relief efforts, the situation is unlikely to change.

Instead the conflict is rumbling on, with AQAP proving to be the main beneficiary.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Yemen: ICRC strongly condemns civilian ship attack, calls for immediate investigation

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 17 March 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Yemen: ICRC strongly condemns civilian ship attack, calls for immediate investigation, 17 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8faa44.html [accessed 8 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 International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is shocked by last night's attack on a civilian ship carrying around 150 passengers, including women and children, near the port of Hodeida.

The attack left 33 dead and 29 wounded, while other passengers are either still missing or in the care of local authorities. ICRC staff arrived at the port this morning to help survivors and give support to local hospitals.

"It was a heartbreaking scene. I saw many men, women and children either killed or horribly wounded," said the ICRC's Eric Christopher Wyss at the scene. "Survivors told us that many of the passengers were refugees from Somalia or Yemen, fleeing conflict."

The circumstances surrounding the attack are still not clear. But according to international humanitarian law, civilians must not be attacked and warring parties must do everything feasible to verify that targets are military objectives. They must also take all possible measures to search for, collect and evacuate the wounded, sick and shipwrecked.

"We strongly condemn this attack and deplore such a tragic loss of life," said the ICRC's director of operations, Dominik Stillhart. "These people were themselves fleeing conflict, in search of safety and a better life. We call on the warring parties to conduct an immediate investigation into what happened."

The wounded were transferred to hospitals in Hodeida. The ICRC recently provided medical supplies and medicine to local health facilities following a recent increase in fighting.
Stronger cooperation crucial to ensure sustainable refugee response in Greece  UNHCR

Publisher UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Publication Date 27 March 2017 Cite as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Stronger cooperation crucial to ensure sustainable refugee response in Greece  UNHCR, 27 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8fd8b4.html [accessed 8 November 2022]

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, said today that joint efforts and strengthened cooperation are crucial to improving the situation for asylum-seekers and refugees in Greece and issued eight recommendations* to help ensure a sustainable refugee response in the country.

"UNHCR is fully engaged in finding lasting solutions in Greece together with the responsible authorities and the European Union. I very much hope that the coming months will pave the way for further improvement," said Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

"The situation in Greece can be managed. It requires moving from the current emergency response to a sustainable system, where asylum-seekers and refugees access the adequate care, support and solution they need," he said. "But to achieve this, firm commitment is needed on all sides," he added.

Improving reception conditions is a priority. This would require as agreed with the Greek Government providing more accommodation opportunities in urban areas such as additional apartments, the upgrade of some government-run refugee sites, and ensuring that all unsuitable sites are quickly closed.

Progress in reception conditions will also help prevent and fight sexual and gender based violence, to which many vulnerable asylum-seekers, including women and children, are exposed in the sites. UNHCR continues to support the establishment of proper identification, referral and support systems for victims, including legal, medical and psychosocial care and safe houses.

Over the past months, UNHCR has supported the Greek government in finding alternatives for a number of sites that were unsuitable. UNHCR stands ready to build on its accommodation scheme in particular with municipalities, which has so far benefitted over 27,000 asylum-seekers, helping to restore normalcy to their lives and paving the way for the social integration of those refugees who will remain in Greece.

UNHCR also calls for more attention to the specific needs of unaccompanied and separated children. Additional capacity is needed to ensure they receive specialized support and care, with their best interest at the centre of any decision. Only two thirds of the 2,100 unaccompanied and separated children officially registered in Greece are hosted in shelters or spaces adapted to their needs, with UNHCR providing more than half of the existing places. UNHCR also strongly hopes that the draft law on guardianship can be adopted and implemented as soon as possible.

The registration and processing of asylum claims is critical both on the islands and on the mainland. UNHCR recommends in particular to the Greek Asylum Service, in cooperation with the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), to work out a plan of the necessary capacity for the registration and processing of asylum claims, both on the islands and on the mainland, in a reasonable timeframe.

More attention is needed to the length and quality of the asylum procedures and reception conditions on the islands, said the High Commissioner. "This will allow for more and faster transfers to the mainland and prevent sites on the islands from falling back into the dire conditions and the overcrowding we have witnessed in the past months," he added, noting that UNHCR supported some 7,000 of the more than 10,000 transfers organized since June 2016.

"Let's be clear: Greece alone cannot solve the situation on the islands. UNHCR will continue to assist but strong support from EU Member States will also be crucial," said Grandi, who also renewed his call to the Greek government for clear coordination structures, with well-defined roles and responsibilities for all actors.

UNHCR also insisted on the need to return people found not to be in need of international protection in dignity to their countries of origin. This is a critical part of any effective asylum system, as well as being essential to its credibility.

"Accelerating the pace and number of people relocated from Greece to other European countries or reunited with their families is also key to move the situation forward. More solidarity and responsibility sharing among across Europe is needed," said the High Commissioner. As of 20 March, only 10,000 asylum-seekers had left Greece for other European countries.

UNHCR also called for more opportunities to facilitate refugee integration. "The time has come to invest in the self-reliance of asylum-seekers and local integration of refugees in Greece, so that they can better contribute to their host society," said Grandi.

The increased use of cash-based assistance, with eligible families being given a debit card charged with a fixed amount of money every month, to be used to cover their basic needs, such as complementary food or clothes, will be a useful tool in this regard, he noted. More refugee children should get a chance to attend regular schools, and all refugees should get better access to social welfare services, language and orientation courses, vocational training and job placement programmes.
Ukraine: Experts discuss identification of mortal remains in armed conflict and other emergencies

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 21 March 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Ukraine: Experts discuss identification of mortal remains in armed conflict and other emergencies, 21 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d8fe844.html [accessed 8 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.

A three-day seminar on identifying dead bodies in armed conflict and other emergencies got underway today, organized by the ICRC in cooperation with Ukraine's National Association of Forensic Experts. The aim of the seminar is to improve the exhumation and identification of mortal remains in Ukraine, and to strengthen the country's network of forensic experts.

"The Donbass conflict has resulted in a large number of unidentified bodies, both soldiers and civilians," said Alain Aeschlimann, the head of the ICRC delegation in Ukraine. "This seminar will give officials and forensic experts the opportunity to hear about the latest practices being used around the world in dead-body management and identification. The idea is to improve their practical skills, thereby speeding up the identification process in Ukraine. This will make a real difference to people whose relatives are missing. Finally getting answers about their loved ones' fate means they can grieve at last."

The seminar is bringing together experts from the Medical Legal Bureau of the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, the Investigations Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Scientific and Research Institute of the Security Service and the Civic-Military Cooperation Directorate of the Armed Forces, as well as ICRC forensic experts.

The participants will be discussing the process of searching for, retrieving, examining and identifying human remains. There will be interactive sessions and practical exercises in Disaster Victim Identification, with an emphasis on handling complex cases and adopting a multidisciplinary and inter-institutional approach. The participants will also share their experiences of using forensic genetics, including the practical aspects of DNA analysis, to identify human remains.

Over a thousand people are still missing as a result of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. With many bodies still unidentified, hundreds of people still do not know what happened to their loved ones. The ICRC is working with the authorities to improve their working methods and equip them to cope with this challenge.
South Korean prosecutors said on Monday they will seek a detention warrant for ousted President Park Geun-hye, who has been accused of taking bribes from big businesses.

Park, 65, became South Korea's first democratically elected president to be removed from office when a constitutional court upheld her parliamentary impeachment this month. Park denies any wrong doing.



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Zimbabwe: Mental health patients benefit from improved living conditions

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 23 March 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Zimbabwe: Mental health patients benefit from improved living conditions, 23 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d9003c4.html [accessed 8 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.

More than 300 mental health patients, practitioners and prison staff at Mlondolozi Prison are benefitting from refurbished facilities that enable a more conducive environment for psychiatric treatment, social rehabilitation and preparation for reintegration.

The improved facilities were commissioned by the Minister of State in the Office of the Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Hon. Clifford Sibanda, at a ceremony at Mlondolzi Prison on 23 March.

The renovations included transforming the family visit area to enable more contact between mental health patients and their families during visits. The changes also place offices and spaces for engagement between mental health practitioners and patients at the centre of the prison.

"Regular contact between mental health patients and their families plays a key role in providing patients with the support they need and preparing them for social reintegration," said Placidia Vavirai, an ICRC water and sanitation engineer.

This pilot project was initiated by the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at Mlondolozi Prison due to the unique needs of mental health patients. Extensive works were carried out by ZPCS artisans and ICRC engineers to improve space, ventilation and natural lighting within mental health patients' cells. The works also rehabilitated water and sanitation facilities at the prison, increased the space available for rehabilitation activities, and upgraded kitchens to improve cooking capacity and save energy.

"To ensure that future repairs and maintenance can be carried out at the same standard, ICRC engineers worked closely with ZPCS artisans over 18 months," said Thomas Merkelbach, Head of the ICRC Delegation in Zimbabwe. "We look forward to similar best practices on rehabilitation and space management in prisons being considered and adopted by the ZPCS elsewhere in Zimbabwe."

The ICRC has been visiting inmates in Zimbabwe since 2009. In cooperation with prison authorities, it regularly visits prisons to monitor treatment and conditions of detention. The ICRC supports efforts by the prison authorities to improve the productivity of prison farms, rehabilitate critical infrastructure and monitor the health care of inmates.
Why there's no need to panic on UN peacekeeping cuts

Publisher IRIN Publication Date 24 March 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Samuel Oakford Cite as IRIN, Why there's no need to panic on UN peacekeeping cuts, 24 March 2017, Samuel Oakford, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d90c7a4.html [accessed 8 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.

Fears are growing that the UN will be forced to drastically cut peacekeeping missions at President Donald Trump's behest. Fortunately, it's a lot more complicated than that. First, Trump has to get his proposed budget through the US Congress and then, even if he does, where and when to cut the presence of blue helmets around the globe relies on tricky diplomatic manoeuvring and careful navigation of the UN's bureaucratic roadblocks.

The current UN peacekeeping budget, for the year ending 30 June, 2017, is $7.78 billion. The US provides 28.57 percent of this budget, followed by China and Japan at around 10 percent, then Germany, France, and the UK.

The budget officially proposed by the Trump administration would significantly reduce financing to the State Department, international aid, and the financing of international organisations, including the UN. The so-called "skinny" budget contains only a few lines that directly reference peacekeeping. Namely, the US "would not contribute more than 25 percent for UN peacekeeping costs".

However, the US Congress already caps American's peacekeeping assessment level at 25 percent. To meet its marginally higher existing obligations, that cap must be waived every year. "Trump is not creating this - it exists already," pointed out Paul D. Williams, associate professor of international affairs at George Washington University.

Recent reports suggest that the Trump administration wants to cut far deeper than the 25 percent ceiling, ripping as much as 40 percent from the $2.2 billion annual US contribution. A decrease from 28.57 percent to under 25 percent amounts to around $280 million. Incidentally, this is almost precisely the figure a 2014/15 UN Board of Auditors' report identified as the total amount funded but not being spent by missions. A 40 percent cut would take roughly $1 billion from the UN's peacekeeping budget and reduce the US share, at existing levels, to more like 17-18 percent.

The UN has often faced threats from American politicians, but this time the White House has telegraphed a clear intent to follow through on its promises: "We're absolutely reducing funding to the UN and to various foreign aid programmes," said Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director.

"We should look at all 16 of them," US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said at her confirmation hearing, referring to the number of blue-helmet missions around the world (14 are funded through the assessed peacekeeping budget). Haley will chair a 6 April meeting at the UN Security Council about the future of those peacekeeping missions. A letter she sent to Council members asks: "are current missions still 'fit for purpose?'"

"Council members are encouraged to review missions and identify areas where mandates no longer match political realities and propose alternatives or paths towards restructuring to bring missions more in line with achievable outcomes," wrote the US mission. The letter, obtained by IRIN, asks many of the same questions already being posed by Council members - what to do "where there is no political process to support"; how to guard against mission creep; or whether it is "advisable, or even possible, to operate a mision without the strategic consent of the host government".

Even if a far larger proposed cut does emerge when Trump's more detailed budget is released in May, the reality is that it is Congress that ultimately decides the budget, not the White House. Many Republicans already balked at the proposed cuts, especially at the State Department, and the president is already locked in a major congressional battle over healthcare reform.

"I do not anticipate that Congress will approve the UN-related provisions in the president's budget without major revisions," Peter Yeo of the UN Foundation told IRIN. "There are many congressional champions who appreciate peacekeeping, and want to ensure full-funding."

Experts reserve their deepest concern for reductions in US financing to other UN programming, including UNICEF. "I think the proposed cuts to the UN's humanitarian, climate and human rights work will have a far more negative impact," said Cedric de Coning, senior research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

No one knows exactly how things will play out at this stage. For one, the White House has yet to even brief Congress on its budget proposals for the State Department.

"Depending on how all this shakes out, the cuts could end up being quite enormous across the various agencies and the UN itself," Bathsheba Crocker, assistant secretary of international organisation affairs at the State Department during President Barack Obama's administration, told IRIN. "I think we all need to be girding ourselves for that possibility."

But when it comes to peacekeeping, the US cannot pick and choose which missions it wants to fund.

What each member state owes as a portion of the peacekeeping budget is determined every three years. The US share, like that of other countries, won't be renegotiated until late 2018. That means that if the US cuts funding to 25 percent of the peacekeeping budget - regardless of what the total budget is - it will be in arrears for the first time in nearly a decade, according to the UN Foundation.

America's own federal budget won't be passed for nearly a year. The UN's peacekeeping budget, meanwhile, will be renewed at the beginning of July. "This cycle is rarely aligned with the Security Council mandate" of each peacekeeping mission, the UN's website notes.

"This is an attack on an institution based on prejudice and ignorance."

All of these built in lags - at times criticised as roadblocks to simplifying UN bureaucracy - could now serve as buffers. New UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has already committed himself to deep reforms and will look to carefully decide how and where best to trim.

Some Security Council diplomats say there is room to make missions work better, and that could mean some cuts in funding - though such efforts may now be associated with the White House, where top officials have shown contempt for the UN as an institution. "There is an opportunity to have a tougher approach with the UN on where they spend their money, using money as an incentive for reform," insisted one non-American Security Council diplomat. If the US approves deep funding cuts without a parallel re-assessment at the UN, diplomats may be less sympathetic.

US reviews of peacekeeping missions, noted de Coning, "will probably prompt the UN Secretariat to also do its own internal reviews, and other member states, especially those in the Security Council, will also need to form their own opinions, and have a basis for doing so."

"This is not necessarily a bad thing. It is always good to be under pressure to review your goals, objectives, effectiveness, and efficiencies," he added. "The proposed cut to 25 percent will be politically symbolically important for the US, but the real reduction in costs would come from pressure to bring down the overall $8 billion budget."

Others point to the fact that peacekeeping is hugely cost effective for countries like the US. As one recent analysis points out, the US pays $2.1 million every year for each servicemember deployed in a war zone; the equivalent figure for a deployed UN peacekeeper is $24,500.

"I think this budget proposal reveals this administration's slash-and-burn approach to the UN is ideological," said Williams. "It is not the product of a thoughtful review process carried out and then implemented to find sensible reforms. This is an attack on an institution based on prejudice and ignorance."

"Such cuts would mean the UN Security Council would not be able to achieve a range of objectives it authorised in the name of maintaining international peace and security," he added.

But several missions were already in the process of shutting down or transitioning to a smaller footprint, so efficiencies can also be made, even if they don't make the kind of dent in spending that the White House appears intent on achieving.

"There are actually quite a lot of straightforward ways to shrink the peacekeeping budget by reasonably high amounts in the next several years," said Richard Gowan, an associate fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations who focuses on the UN.
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By Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government wants a Chinese company to agree to cut its stake in a strategic port project by up to a quarter, as part of a renegotiation aimed at blunting public and political opposition to the deal. After signing an agreement in December, state-run China Merchants Port Holdings had been expected to pay $1.12 billion for a 99-year lease on an 80 percent stake in Sri Lanka's southern Hambantota port - part of Beijing's ambitious plans to create a modern-day "Silk Road" across Asia. But the deal - and the Chinese investment that Sri Lanka needs to ease a mounting debt crisis - has been delayed by legal and political obstacles on a related project: the development of a nearby 15,000-acre industrial zone. In a draft agreement seen by Reuters, the Chinese firm would still hold a majority in the port, but would agree to divest up to a 20 percent stake to a Sri Lankan company after 10 years. China has already spent almost $2 billion on Hambantota, mostly on the port close to the busy East-West shipping route and on a new airport. It plans to spend much more. The industrial zone and the port are expected to bring in more than $6 billion in five years. The amended deal comes after the project was delayed amid protests by trade unions, landowners and political opposition led by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and some current coalition government ministers. In January, hundreds of protesters refused to vacate their land and clashed with police at the opening of the industrial zone - the first violent opposition to Chinese investment in Sri Lanka. "There were some concerns about ownership. We were able to negotiate with the Chinese company successfully," said Ranga Kalansooriya, head of the government's Information Department. "The Chinese firm said they want the controlling share... even if it was 51 percent." Officials from China Merchants Port were not available for comment outside regular business hours, but a person familiar with the deal, who did not want to be identified as nothing has yet been announced publicly, said the Chinese firm has been informed of the stake reduction. Sri Lanka needs to unlock the port development so it can begin to earn revenue which can be used to repay debts. Last week, Sri Lanka's central bank governor said money coming in from the Chinese deal was crucial for boosting the island nation's reserves. Sri Lanka is battling a twin debt and balance of payments crisis - partly due to heavy commercial loans mainly from China to revitalise war-hit infrastructure, and the flow of money out of the country as foreign investors sold government securities in the wake of U.S. Federal Reserve monetary tightening. (Editing by Rupam Jain and Ian Geoghegan)
Lebanon: Activist Charged for Facebook Post Criticizing Politicians

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 27 March 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Lebanon: Activist Charged for Facebook Post Criticizing Politicians, 27 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d91e9f4.html [accessed 8 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.

Amhaz's lawyer and family told Human Rights Watch that he was detained on March 21, and transferred to Lebanon's cybercrimes bureau, apparently for a February Facebook post in which he criticized Lebanon's president, prime minister, and speaker of parliament. The lawyer said that authorities interrogated Amhaz without a lawyer present, and the general prosecutor charged him under articles 383, 384, and 386 of Lebanon's penal code, which criminalize criticism of public officials. He remains in jail and faces up to two years in prison if convicted.

"Lebanese authorities have established a troubling pattern of arresting and charging those who criticize government officials," said Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities should free Ahmad Amhaz and drop the charges against him, and parliament should repeal vague and overbroad laws that criminalize free speech."

Amhaz, who participated in protests against a waste crisis in Beirut in 2015, is scheduled to appear on March 27, before an investigative judge, who will decide whether to release him. Seven human rights and media organizations issued a statement on March 24, condemning Amhaz's arrest, and calling on Lebanon to repeal laws criminalizing defamation and criticism of public officials.

Lebanon's constitution guarantees freedom of expression "within the limits established by law." But the Lebanese penal code criminalizes libel and defamation against public officials and authorizes imprisonment of up to one year in such cases. Article 384 of the penal code authorizes imprisonment of six months to two years for insulting the president, the flag, or the national emblem.

Laws that allow imprisonment in response to criticism of individuals or government officials are incompatible with Lebanon's international obligations to protect freedom of expression. Such laws are a disproportionate and unnecessary response to the need to protect reputations, and they chill freedom of expression. In addition, "libel," "defamation," and "insult" are not well-defined in Lebanese law, and such vague and broadly worded provisions can be used to quell criticism of the actions or policies of government officials.

The UN Human Rights Committee, which interprets the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has held that "harassment, intimidation or stigmatization of a person, including arrest, detention, trial or imprisonment for reasons of the opinions they may hold, constitutes a violation" of the covenant, which Lebanon ratified in 1972. The committee has stated its disapproval of laws that criminalize insulting the head of state or national symbols. It has made clear that "in circumstances of public debate concerning public figures in the political domain and public institutions, the value placed by the Covenant upon uninhibited expression is particularly high."

Local and international human rights organizations have long documented Lebanon's use of libel and defamation laws to penalize lawyers, journalists, and activists for opinions and statements that are protected under international human rights law. In December 2016, Lebanese authorities arrested Bassel al-Amine, a 21-year-old journalism student, for a critical Facebook post.

The Skeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom found in a 2016 report that Lebanese defamation laws were being used for "targeting activists and dissidents and  intimidating online journalists, bloggers and Internet users from speaking about certain subjects, thus paving the way for self-censorship and the chilling of speech."

In October 2015, MARCH, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization working on freedom of expression, created a hotline, promising legal support to anyone summoned by Lebanon's cybercrimes bureau for online expression.

The proliferation of such prosecutions and the threat of arrest reflect an urgent need for Lebanon's parliament to remove criminal sanctions for libel, defamation, and criticism of public officials and symbols.

"Arresting someone for criticizing leading politicians serves no legitimate purpose but does undermine free speech in Lebanon," Fakih said. "Lebanese authorities should guarantee the right to freedom of expression rather than attempting to quash criticism."

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
DR Congo: No Word on Missing UN Team

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 25 March 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, DR Congo: No Word on Missing UN Team, 25 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d91fbf4.html [accessed 8 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 Democratic Republic of Congo government should fully cooperate with United Nations efforts to locate a UN Group of Experts team that has been missing since March 12, 2017, in Kasai Central province, Human Rights Watch said today.

Those missing are Michael Sharp, an American; Zaida Catalan, a Swede; Betu Tshintela, a Congolese interpreter; Isaac Kabuayi, a driver; and two unidentified motorbike drivers. They were investigating widespread human rights abuses near the remote village of Bunkonde, south of the provincial capital, Kananga.

"We are extremely worried about the missing UN team," said Ida Sawyer, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The Congolese government should cooperate fully with the UN and other international investigators to do all they can to bring the team back safely."

On March 13, the Congolese government announced that Sharp and Catalan had "fallen into the hands of unidentified negative forces," but has provided no additional information.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUSCO, deployed Uruguayan peacekeepers and Tanzanian special forces on a search and rescue operation for the missing people. These efforts have suffered from a lack of cooperation from the Congolese government.

On March 18, MONUSCO expressed "serious concern over restrictions placed on its freedom of movement by security forces in Kananga," which "restrict the ability of the Mission to exercise its mandate."

This is the first time that UN experts have been reported missing in Congo, Human Rights Watch said. It is also the first recorded disappearance or abduction of international workers in the Kasai provinces, a region that until recently had been largely peaceful, unlike eastern Congo, which has long been embattled by dozens of armed groups.

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Resolution CM/ResCMN(2017)1 on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by Finland

Publisher Council of Europe: Committee of Ministers Publication Date 15 March 2017 Citation / Document Symbol CM/ResCMN(2017)1 Cite as Council of Europe: Committee of Ministers, Resolution CM/ResCMN(2017)1 on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by Finland, 15 March 2017, CM/ResCMN(2017)1, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d920be4.html [accessed 8 November 2022] Comments (Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 15 March 2017 at the 1281st meeting of the Ministers' Deputies) 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 Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Articles 24 to 26 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (hereinafter referred to as "the Framework Convention"),

Having regard to Resolution Res(97)10 of 17 September 1997 setting out rules adopted by the Committee of Ministers on the monitoring arrangements under Articles 24 to 26 of the Framework Convention;

Having regard to the voting rule adopted in the context of adopting Resolution Res(97)10;[1]

Having regard to the instrument of ratification submitted by Finland on 3 October 1997;

Recalling that the Government of Finland transmitted its State report in respect of the fourth monitoring cycle under the Framework Convention on 27 January 2015;

Having examined the Advisory Committee's fourth opinion adopted on 24 February 2016;

Adopts the following conclusions in respect of Finland:

The authorities are invited to take account of the observations and recommendations contained in Sections I and II of the Advisory Committee's Fourth Opinion. In particular, they should take the following measures to improve further the implementation of the Framework Convention:

Recommendations for immediate action[2]

 Engage in a constructive and high-level dialogue with the Sami people, possibly in a government-led platform, to ensure that the interests of all parties are adequately addressed both in national legislation and through the ratification of the ILO Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples; strengthen the knowledge of the Sami languages, maintain and develop the cultural identities of the Sami in the Homeland while targeting also Sami living outside of the Homeland;

 Intensify efforts to adopt and implement the Action Plan related to the 2012 Strategy for the National Languages of Finland in order to guarantee that the knowledge, visibility and presence of the Swedish language is maintained in education, in the administration, in the labour force and in the public at large;

 Defuse the climate of increasing interethnic prejudice and tension by stepping up efforts to combat all forms of intolerance, racism, xenophobia and hate speech, in particular in social media; promptly condemn all instances of racism and ethnic hostility in public discourse; raise public awareness of the legal remedies available against hate crime and hate speech; strengthen the role of law enforcement and the judiciary to detect and sanction hate speech and hate-motivated offences; raise the level of recruitment of persons belonging to minorities in the police.

Further recommendations[3]

 Facilitate the expression of multiple identity and language affiliations in population registries; collect disaggregated equality data as a means of adopting and implementing effective minority protection and equality promotion policies; take the steps necessary to guarantee the registration of Sami names respecting the language diacritic signs in public registries, passports and other public documents;

 Provide adequate political and financial support to the Office of the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman to enable it effectively to pursue its well-established role of protecting minorities within its broader mandate;

 Earmark resources to continue implementing the National Roma Action Plan;[4] foster equal opportunities for access to education for the Roma, in particular as regards equal access to upper secondary and higher education by providing incentives to municipalities; focus on adult education and employment, including by reducing discrimination as regards access to the labour market;

 Intensify efforts to ensure that first language access to social welfare and health services is adequately available, in particular in Swedish and Sami, and that any administrative reforms guarantee the linguistic rights of persons belonging to minorities;

 Continue to support effective access to education in the Sami languages in the Homeland, and develop additional opportunities in the rest of the country's territory where Sami children are present in substantial numbers and if there is sufficient demand;

 Ensure that, while respecting the decentralisation of education, the newly developed curricula at local level and the textbooks reflect appropriately ethnic diversity and the historical presence of all minorities in Finland; and that teachers are effectively trained in accommodating diversity and promoting intercultural respect in the classroom;

 Provide for an effective and inclusive channel of communication, consultation and influence on the decision-making process by all minority groups, in particular Russian and Karelian speakers, within the existing consultation mechanisms; engage in dialogue with minority linguistic groups, including Estonian speakers to the extent to which they express an interest in being protected under the Framework Convention;

 Enhance the opportunities for persons belonging to national minorities to participate in public affairs as well as for their recruitment into public service, in particular law enforcement and the judiciary at central and local levels, so as to send a clear message that diversity is valued in Finnish society; strive to eliminate discrimination in the labour market against persons belonging to national minorities, including Russians.

[1] In the context of adopting Resolution Res(97)10 on 17 September 1997, the Committee of Ministers also adopted the following rule: "Decisions pursuant to Articles 24.1 and 25.2 of the Framework Convention shall be considered to be adopted if two-thirds of the representatives of the Contracting Parties casting a vote, including a majority of the representatives of the Contracting Parties entitled to sit on the Committee of Ministers, vote in favour".

[2] The recommendations below are listed in the order of the corresponding articles of the Framework Convention.

[3] The recommendations below are listed in the order of the corresponding articles of the Framework Convention.

[4] The terms "Roma and Travellers" are being used at the Council of Europe to encompass the wide diversity of the groups covered by the work of the Council of Europe in this field: on the one hand a) Roma, Sinti/Manush, Cale, Kaale, Romanichals, Boyash/Rudari; b) Balkan Egyptians (Egyptians and Ashkali); c) Eastern groups (Dom, Lom and Abdal); and, on the other hand, groups such as Travellers, Yenish, and the populations designated under the administrative term "Gens du voyage", as well as persons who identify themselves as Gypsies.
Kurdish journalist killed in northern Iraq

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 24 March 2017 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Kurdish journalist killed in northern Iraq, 24 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58d921a74.html [accessed 8 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) deplores Kurdish journalist Nuzhian Arhan's death on 22 March from the gunshot injury she sustained while covering fighting in northern Iraq three weeks ago.

Aged 30, Tuba Akylmaz, known professionally as Nuzhian Arhan, was a Turkish citizen. She worked for Sujin, a feminist news website, and for RojNews, a news agency that supports Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

She was hit in the head by sniper fire on 3 March in the mainly Yazidi city of Sinjar, where she was covering clashes between forces affiliated to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the YBS, a Yazidi militia allied with PKK.

She died in a hospital in Al-Hasakah, in northern Syria, where she had been taken for treatment of her injuries.

"As the toll of journalists killed while covering the conflict in Iraq continues to rise, we call on the Iraqi forces to ensure the safety of the reporters who risk their lives to cover the fighting," said Alexandra El Khazen, the head of RSF's Middle East desk. "Under no circumstances should these reporters be at the front line of the fighting or in areas likely to have been mined."

According to Sujin, the sniper fire hitting the journalist came from the KDP forces. Two other journalists with Cira TV, a Kurdish channel, were also injured the same day.

Nuzhian Arhan is the second journalist to be killed in Iraq since the start of the year. The first was Shifa Zikri Ibrahim, a Kurdish reporter for Rudaw TV who was known professionally as Shifa Gardi. Aged 30, she was killed by the blast of an improvised explosive device in a road in Al-Mamun, a western suburb of Mosul, on 25 February. Her cameraman, Yunis Mustafa, survived the explosion.

Iraq is ranked 158th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index.
El Dorado Hills, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 03/27/2017 --This month, the iPCR product received vendor level certification from the state of Illinois for submission of EMS data in the NEMSIS v3 format. Forte Holdings, Inc. performed the necessary testing on behalf of their client base in Illinois to achieve this certification.



What does this mean for the Illinois client base using iPCR? A secure portal is now available for them to submit EMS data in the NEMSIS v3 format in real time. Agency level testing will no longer be required. This will be an on-going certification process that Forte Holdings will perform as needed for the Illinois client base. iPCR is an ALS and BLS total solution for on scene and transport patient care. It quickly and easily allows documentation of patient interaction; generation of thorough, error free reports, all the while reducing hospital turnaround time. The iPCR product provides complete control, and allows the focus to stay on what's most important, patient care. For more information regarding the iPCR product, please contact Pamela Lopez.



About Forte Holdings, Inc.

Forte Holdings, Inc. is a leading provider of health-care software solutions in the United States. For over 10 years, the company has combined technological expertise with input from medical workers to develop software that supports and improves patient care and administrative processes within the healthcare industry. The company's ePCR product -- iPCR -- addresses the needs of specific medical workers, from first responders to private practitioners. iPCR is designed as an application that makes patient-care reporting quick, simple and accurate for firefighter and emergency medical services. The software is Gold-certified by the National Emergency Medical Services Information System and interfaces with both PCs and Macs.



CORPORATE INFO:

Pamela Lopez

Project Specialist

Forte Holdings, Inc.

5137 Golden Foothill Pkwy, Ste 110 El Dorado Hills, CA 95762

Monday - Friday (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST)

P: 800-456-2622 extension 2055

F: 509-756-1435

E: plopez@forteholdings.com

Please note that this press release has been revised from its original content.
South Bend, IN -- (ReleaseWire) -- 03/27/2017 --Gathering the attention of devoted followers worldwide, SaveLeSEA.com has reached a milestone. Live for a few short months, the platform boasts over 41k page views from concerned supporters calling for the preservation of Dr. Lester Sumrall's body of work. Known to Christians worldwide as a symbol of integrity, compassion, and grit, Dr. Lester Sumrall left an unmatched legacy. A legacy, some say now, is in jeopardy at the hands of impropriety. This is stated on the informative website founded by the deceased minister's grandson and namesake, Lester Sumrall. With allegations of fraud and financial elder abuse by board members, as well as the blatant atheistic writings of the ministry's current CEO, the website calls for full accountability and transparency. Under particular scrutiny, and the focus of a pending lawsuit is the ministry's board of directors past and present. These directors include former CEO, Pete Sumrall, its current leader Drew Sumrall, and David Ernest Sumrall, Pastor of Cathedral of Praise in Manila, Philippines.



Now with the Office of the Indiana Attorney General who has opened an investigation into the allegations, SaveLeSEA.com continues its battle cry. Grabbing the attention of concerned followers in 117 countries, the website points to the destruction of his grandfather's life's work. Informatively, the site published an open letter to the Christian community that has shed light on the alleged hidden activities of the board of directors. These activities, dating back to 2003, could endanger the organization's tax exemption status and have thus received media attention.



Sumrall said of his disheartening concerns, "This boils down to corporate malfeasance and gross negligence. This pattern of mismanagement from LeSEA's board appears to continue to this day. It can't be ignored that the current board is quickly and quietly liquidating charity assets. If my grandfather knew that his ministry was being pilfered by family members who boast their belief in atheism, communism, and egalitarianism he would be beside himself. I take it as my personal responsibility to speak for him and move his followers to action in light of these events. Events that have put me directly in the line of fire."



Sumrall goes on to state that Drew Sumrall, the ministry's current leader, as of March 24th, 2017, has attempted to blatantly deceive donors and hide his stated beliefs from his deleted blog and widely-ignored book that are contrary to the mission of LeSEA Ministries. Though the book is reported to have sold less than 60 copies over all, it exposes his worldview that has enflamed supporters to continue to call for his resignation from LeSEA.



During his 66 years of ministry Dr. Lester Sumrall traveled to 119 nations, inspiring millions by sharing his Christian faith through his books, broadcasts and humanitarian efforts. SaveLeSEA spokesman, Lester Sumrall said "I must take a stand! I cannot sit idly by and allow the current leadership of LeSEA to hijack my grandfather's entire life's work and legacy of faith."



For more information visit SaveLeSEA.com.



About SaveLeSEA.com

SaveLeSEA.com is a website founded by the grandson of Dr. Lester Sumrall specifically to save his grandfather's life's work and legacy. Dr. Sumrall was the founder of LeSEA Ministries.



About LeSEA Ministries

LeSEA Ministries is a multi-faceted Christian charity that works in publishing, television, and radio broadcasting. The ministry also serves thousands worldwide through its disaster relief efforts.



Contact:

Lester Sumrall

Director, SaveLeSEA.com

pray@savelesea.com

574-707-7070



Website: www.SaveLeSEA.com



Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/savelesea

https://www.twitter.com/savelesea
Voting on Tuesday? Check here to get the information you need
China has claimed big gains in energy efficiency for 2016 despite coal and steel production that covered cities in smog during the second half of the year.

Official figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) have offered a murky mix of partial data, unexplained results and apparent discrepancies in accounting for the country's energy use in a year of lower economic growth.

In its statistical communique released this month during China's annual legislative sessions, the NBS said that energy use per unit of gross domestic product dropped by a substantial 5 percent last year, although several key indicators rose.

The measure of energy intensity fell almost as much as the 5.6-percent improvement recorded for 2015. But electricity consumption increased by 5 percent in 2016 compared with a much weaker gain of 0.9 percent a year before, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).

The numbers pose a puzzling question with several implications for China's economy and the environment.

How could the country have made such an advance in energy efficiency at a time when power consumption climbed by such a large amount and GDP grew by 6.7 percent, the slowest pace in 26 years?

Other energy figures from the NBS may only add to the mystery.

According to the official data, consumption of crude oil also rose 5 percent and natural gas increased 8 percent, but coal use fell 4.7 percent in a big decline for China's main fuel.

The reported reduction in coal use for the third year in a row has been hailed by environmentalists, raising hopes that consumption may have peaked in 2013.

On March 17, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) credited China's reduction in coal demand for helping to avoid an increase in global greenhouse gas emissions for the third consecutive year.

China's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell 1 percent in 2016, while U.S. emissions were down by 3 percent, the IEA said.

The major drop in coal consumption accounts for China's official calculation that total energy use rose by only 1.4 percent, far less than GDP, allowing the NBS to claim greater efficiency.

Source of confusion

But the coal numbers by themselves have been a source of questions and confusion.

In reporting the percentages for coal, oil and gas, the NBS has provided no actual tonnage or volume figures, making the rates impossible to check or compare.

In an analysis, the environmental group Greenpeace cited conflicting readings of the data on China's low-quality coal.

While the NBS reported a 4.7-percent drop in coal use based on undisclosed tonnage, it also claimed that coal's share of total energy use fell from 64 percent in 2015 to 62 percent last year.

The share numbers imply that coal consumption fell 1.3 percent based on the energy content of the fuel rather than physical tonnage, Greenpeace calculated.

"The difference can be due to either a major improvement in coal quality or data discrepancies," the Greenpeace analysis said.

The NBS has not explained why it reported percentage figures without the tonnage or volume details.

The uncertainty casts doubt over the validity of the efficiency figures.

The NBS estimates may also be in conflict with what actually happened in the coal market last year.

Government agencies have acknowledged missteps in pursuing cuts in coal production overcapacity too aggressively last year, leading to sudden shortages and a price spike before the winter heating season began.

After berating coal companies for moving too slowly on closing excess mining capacity, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) reversed course and authorized more production as supplies ran low and prices climbed by more than 70 percent.

Similar moves in the steel industry spurred smelters to restart idled production as price incentives took hold, adding to coal demand and urban smog.

While the effects on market prices and air quality were evident, official reports of coal production and consumption continued to show declines.

A study released by Greenpeace's East Asia affiliate in February found that publicized cuts in the steel industry included previously-closed plants. Production capacity actually rose as smelters reopened to profit from higher prices, the study said.

Inspectors from the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) and the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) have reported numerous violations by manufacturers operating in spite of shutdown orders.

A Chinese worker sorts coal on a conveyor belt near a coal mine in Datong, northern China's Shanxi province, Nov. 20, 2015. Credit: AFP Doubts about estimates

Although actual coal use is hard to quantify from such anecdotal evidence, the reports also raise doubts about NBS estimates that coal production last year fell by a whopping 9.4 percent.

If production had declined at double the rate of the drop in consumption, it would imply much tighter supplies.

China energy experts have been unable to substantiate the official figures.

"Those coal consumption numbers certainly don't make sense on the surface, and I'm not completely sure how to interpret them," said David Fridley, staff scientist for the China Energy Group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.

"Nor can I account for the source of the decline. Cement, steel and thermal power were all up in 2016, and they were the main sources of decline in 2015," said Fridley by email.



Fridley noted that the NBS communique is a "flash," or early, estimate and may be subject to revisions.



He also suggested that coal consumption could have fallen in sectors and uses such as district heating that have yet to be reported, although the frequency of winter smog alerts argues otherwise.



"I guess the only thing for certain is that China reported another year of coal consumption declineperiod," said Fridley.



In its statement on CO2 emissions, the IEA cited switching from coal to gas in China's industrial and buildings sector, as well as increases in the share of renewables, gas and nuclear energy in power generation.



Despite uncertainties about the official coal estimates, there seems to be little doubt that China improved its energy efficiency last year. The only question is how much.



China has made annual efficiency gains for at least two decades as part of structural economic trends.



Despite the spike in coal and steel in the second half of last year, growth rates for the service sector outstripped those of the more energy intensive industrial sector.



Last year, the service sector accounted for 51.6 percent of China's GDP, up 1.4 percentage points from 2015, while manufacturing contributed 39.8 percent, the NBS said.



While heavy industry used more than four times as much power as the service sector, its consumption rose only 2.6 percent last year compared with an 11.2-percent increase for services, according to NEA data.



"Part of the savings comes from continued structural shift," Fridley said.



At a recent Washington meeting sponsored by China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, an energy expert from London-based consultancy IHS Markit said declines in intensity have been forecast for the long term.



The trend is likely to continue through 2040, said Zhou Xi Zhou, senior director of the company's power, gas, renewables and coal group.
Authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou have prevented a top Chinese academic currently based at an Australian university from returning home, citing "national security" concerns.



University of Technology Sydney associate professor Feng Chongyi was stopped from boarding his flight from China to Australia on Friday and Saturday, the Associated Press quoted Feng's lawyer, Chen Jinxue, as saying.



Feng, a permanent resident of Australia, had been on a three-week research trip examining a recent crackdown on human rights by President Xi Jinping.



Chen said the travel ban on Feng, who remains a Chinese national, could be linked to his investigation of a nationwide police operation targeting human rights lawyers, law firms and activists that began in July 2015.



He said Feng is still being questioned by state security police at his hotel in Guangzhou.



"The relevant departments are still talking with him, arranging to have further 'chats' with him," Chen told RFA on Monday. "This started yesterday and went on for two or three hours, and this morning they talked again for more than two hours."



He said police had declined to give a specific instance of Feng's having "endangered state security," adding that Feng hasn't been formally detained or arrested so far.



Earlier, Chen told AP that police had asked Feng to provide a list of people he met with during his trip, and details of the information they gave him.



But speaking to RFA, he said Feng was "not authorized to discuss" the interviews with anyone else.



He said it was still unclear if or when Feng would be allowed to leave China.



"I suspect that this has to do with his investigations into ... the situation of human rights lawyers in China, especially the mass detentions that took place since July 2015," Chen said.



He declined to name any lawyers visited by Feng, however, for fear of compromising them.



Followed through China



Fellow rights lawyer Liu Hao told RFA that Feng had entered China on March 4.



"He got off the plane in Guangzhou, this is what he told me, and went to his family home in Hainan at first," Liu said. "Then he went from Hainan to Beijing, and from Beijing to Tianjin, Hangzhou and Kunming, where he had a 'chat' with [certain officials]."



"He was then tailed after his arrival in Guangzhou, by people who had followed him all the way from Kunming," Liu said.



Feng was detained during a five-day trade-boosting visit to Australia by premier Li Keqiang, who left the country on Sunday.



The use of national security concerns to detain lawyers, rights activists, or simply to prevent Chinese passport-holders from leaving the country has become increasingly common under Xi's administration.



The University of Technology Sydney said Feng had contacted his employer to say that he is "fine," also a common occurrence when dissidents or peaceful activists are held for questioning by police.



"UTS has been in regular contact with Dr. Feng, who has assured the University that he is fine," the university said in a statement on Monday, adding that Feng "is currently unable to leave China, for reasons we do not yet understand."



It said Feng still enjoys "freedom of movement in China and freedom of communications."



'Forbidden zones'



Xia Ming, political science professor at the College of Staten Island in New York, said he had become friends with Feng after meeting him at a number of international academic conferences.



He said the ruling Chinese Communist Party has recently narrowed its view of what constitutes acceptable academic research, affecting scholarly activities in the country.



"The Chinese government has begun to shift its bottom line," Xia said. "That means that academics don't really know exactly where it lies now."



"There are some areas of academic study that used not to be forbidden zones, which are off limits now," he said, describing Feng as a patriot who had deliberately hung onto his Chinese passport out of loyalty.



But he said his friend's political ideas were likely too much to stomach for the current regime.



"Feng has always wanted China to move in the direction of democracy and constitutional government," Xia said. "But the current Chinese leadership definitely doesn't agree."



Feng also had a research interest in the political ideology of late disgraced reformist premiers Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang, he said.



"Feng has been very prolific in publishing research [in this area], and this has also probably angered the Chinese government," Xia said.



Reported by Wong Lok-to for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Gao Shan for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Nine prominent figures of Hong Kong's 2014 Occupy Central pro-democracy movement were summoned by police to face criminal charges more than two years after the event, amid fears of a politicized "purge" aimed at discouraging further popular protests.



Just a day after Beijing's preferred candidate Carrie Lam was picked to fill the city's top job in July, the three initiators of the 79-day civil disobedience movementprofessors Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man and reverend Chu Yiu-mingwere called in to Wanchai police station to face "public nuisance" charges.



Tai told a crowd of hundreds of supporters outside the police station, many of whom carried the yellow umbrellas that became an icon of the movement, that he had been prepared for the move.



"We haven't given up the fight for real universal suffrage," Tai said. "Neither have we given up on the spirit of peace and love and nonviolent resistance."



"No matter what happens, whether we are charged, arrested, whatever, we won't give up on those two things," he said.



Former student federation leaders Tommy Cheung and Eason Chung, former Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Wing-tat, League of Social Democrats vice-chairman Raphael Wong, and lawmakers Tanya Chan and Shiu Ka-chun also reported to police on Monday.



Raphael Wong called for unity among supporters of the various pro-democracy groups and politicians in Hong Kong.



"I predicted during the Umbrella movement that this day might come back," Wong said. "But here I am, and here are our supporters. Are we afraid of being locked up? No, we're not."



"I will be going in there [to the police station] without fear."



Deep divisions



Meanwhile, barrister-turned-lawmaker Tanya Chan said a total of nine people had been called in to face "public nuisance" or "incitement to create a public nuisance" charges, which carry a maximum jail term of seven years, with initial hearings expected at the Eastern district court on Thursday,



She hit out at chief executive-elect Carrie Lam, who promised in her victory speech to heal divisions in Hong Kong society after the Occupy movement failed to deliver fully democratic elections in 2017.



"Those divisions were already running pretty deep," Chan said. "Now, to add to them, there has been a calculated decision to bring charges against a group of people today, the day after Carrie Lam was elected."



"I think that will make it even more difficult for Carrie Lam to implement her policies in future," she said.



Lam played down any suggestion of a link between her election win and the police charges.



"The work of charging people is carried out independently by the department of justice, and it is not for me to interfere with that independent work, whether I am a chief executive-elect, or even after I have taken office," she told reporters on Monday during a walkabout tour of the city.



Asked how she planned to heal divisions while going after former democracy protesters, Lam replied: "I don't think this is what's happening. Everybody knows that healing divisions doesn't entail undermining the rule of law."



'Legitimate, reasonable'



But lawmaker Starry Lee, who chairs the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), appeared to ignore the presumption of innocence, saying that "it is legitimate and reasonable that those who have broken the law should face criminal charges."



"I believe that everyone knows that Hong Kong has an independent judiciary, which has been protected as one of our core values," Lee said.



Earlier, Mabel Au, spokeswoman for Amnesty International in Hong Kong, said the renewed charges for former demonstrators are part of an ongoing attack on the city's traditional freedoms of speech and association, enshrined in a Sino-British agreement over the 1997 handover.



"This vindictiveness shows contempt for well-established freedoms in Hong Kong and will only lead to more political tensions," Au told the Hong Kong Free Press on Monday.



"The authorities have had years to consider these cases, she said. [This] raises serious questions as to whether political manoeuverings were a factor in the decision to bring charges now."



Umbrella Movement



The Occupy Central, or Umbrella, Movement for fully democratic elections rejected Beijing's insistence that any move to universal suffrage in the city must include the vetting of candidates by its supporters, and called for "real universal suffrage."



At its height, hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the city's streets in protest, using umbrellas to protect themselves from sun, rain, and pepper spray, and giving the Umbrella Movement its nickname.



But the movement ended with no political victory, and amid accusations from the ruling Chinese Communist Party that the protests were being orchestrated by "hostile foreign forces" behind the scenes.



The fresh charges come after student leaders Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, and Alex Chow were found guilty of public order offenses last July for their role in the occupation of a cordoned-off public space at the start of the movement.



Wong and Chow were convicted of "unlawful assembly" after they climbed into the fenced-off area outside government headquarters on the night of Sept. 26, 2014, at the start of a 79-day civil disobedience campaign for universal suffrage.



They were handed suspended and community service sentences that were later challenged by prosecutors in the former British colony.



Following reports of intense, behind-the-scenes political pressure from the ruling Chinese Communist Party, prosecutors requested that the court jail the trio immediately, but their request was rejected.



Joshua Wong told RFA on Monday that the crackdown shows Lam is likely to take Hong Kong in a direction even more to Beijing's liking.



"I think that [President] Xi Jinping and Carrie Lam are both agreed in taking a hard line with Hong Kong," he said.



But he said that pro-democracy activists and politicians won't give up.



"This is an opportunity to wage an even greater campaign of resistance," he said.



Reported by Lam Kwok-lap for RFA's Cantonese Service and by Wang Siwei for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.




Faced with a worsening trade environment owing to international sanctions, North Korea has reduced the target figure for earnings of foreign cash by its trade workers sent abroad, but even these lower figures are proving hard to achieve, sources say.



Targets have now been adjusted down by as much as 15 percent, sources say.



But even though the yearly target figure has been reduced, overseas trade workers complain that the trade environment is so bad that it is difficult to earn even the adjusted amounts, a source living in a Chinese border city told RFAs Korean Service.



North Korean authorities have acknowledged it is hard now for their workers to earn foreign money because of United Nations and international community sanctions on North Korea, the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Most North Korean trade workers sent abroad did not achieve their target figure last year, the source said.



The authorities have taken these circumstances into consideration and have decided to adjust the target figure. Otherwise, there may be various side effects, such as defections, if the authorities continue to order such impractical tasks.



The families of North Korean trade workers sent abroad are often held hostage inside the isolated country to discourage defections embarrassing to the regime, sources told RFA in earlier reports.



The numbers of workers sent abroad have also now been scaled down to prevent unnecessary competition among the different North Korean trade groups and their employees sent to earn foreign money, the source said.



'Some don't care'



Also speaking to RFA, a source familiar with trade issues on the border with China said that North Korean workers sent abroad often find it hard now even to meet their own living expenses.



Some dont care about achieving their target figure, and are prepared to be summoned home [for punishment] because they gave up on their goals, the source said, also speaking on condition he not be named.



Only a small number of such workers have earned their full quota in support of a plan to purchase fertilizers for North Korean farms, the source said, adding that trade workers have now also been tasked with providing funds for construction of a sightseeing railway on North Koreas Baekdu Mountain.



So they are being troubled with this as well, he said.



Economic cooperation between North and South Korea, both formally at the Kaesong Industrial Park and in less official arrangements, has meanwhile completely stopped, further reducing earnings of foreign cash, sources say.



Formerly viewed as a symbol of cooperation between the two halves of the divided Korean peninsula, Kaesong was closed in February 2016 after North Korea ordered all South Koreans out of the complex, seized South Korean assets there, and declared the area under military control.



The move came a day after South Korea announced it was pulling out of Kaesong in retaliation for North Korean nuclear and long-range missile tests earlier in the year.



Reported by Joonho Kim for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Soo Min Jo. Written in English by Richard Finney.




At a customs point in Dandong, China, North Korean women prepare to travel home across the border, Dec. 13, 2012.

North Koreans crossing the border to work in Chinese businesses are facing stepped-up restrictions in the wake of strengthened U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear test, sources said.

Chinese authorities have often turned a blind eye to North Korean black-market labor along their common border area, but sources this week cited cases of officials denying re-entry to a group of North Korean workers and warning a Chinese employer against hiring illegal immigrants.

The reports come on the heels of last weeks decision by Beijing, Pyongyangs top ally, to back a U.N. Security Council resolution tightening financial restrictions and other sanctions on North Korea in response to Pyongyangs defiant February nuclear test.

China sought "full implementation" of the new resolution amid indications that it is getting more impatient with Pyongyangs defiant behavior.

Sources could not say whether the clampdown ordered by Beijing on North Korean workers was a direct result of the sanctions, but they indicated the migrants were facing greater scrutiny from local authorities.

Not allowed in

A source in China said this week that a group of North Koreans who had worked at a factory in the border city of Donggang on short-term visas, which require them to return home every month, had been barred from re-entry.

Some North Korean workers who worked in a clothing factory in Donggang city, Liaoning province, had gone back to North Korea because the factory didnt have enough work for them.

After that they tried to go into China again, but the local government denied their re-entry, the source told RFAs Korean Service, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Twenty miles (30 kilometers) north of Donggang in the larger border city of Dandong, a restaurant owner said authorities had come by his business searching for illegal North Korean employees.

Recently, an official came and checked out whether North Koreans are working or not. Also, he warned me not to hire illegal workers.

I think the official is pointing out North Koreans who came to China illegally to make money, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Rules and regulations

Under Chinese regulations, businesses must receive permission in advance to hire North Koreans, and the migrants may not make up more than 20 percent of their employees.

Only companies in clothing, software, and food processing industries are allowed to employ them.

In order to work in China, North Koreans are required to obtain a work visa and permission from Chinese provincial authorities.

But many of the North Koreans employed by Chinese businesses do so without applying for visas from China, instead getting a "government affairs" visa issued by North Korea which requires them to return to North Korea every 30 days.

Going back and forth once a month, they provide a cheap source of labor to Chinese businesses and bring their earnings back to their impoverished home country.

Patience thinning

China has condemned North Korea for conducting the nuclear test, as well as for threatening pre-emptive nuclear strikes against the United States and South Korea and announcing it had nullified the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War.

U.N. Security Council diplomats said the success of the new sanctions will depend on the willingness of China to enforce them more strictly than it has in the past.

On Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama pressed Chinas newly elected President Xi Jinping on the need to coordinate to ensure Pyongyang meets its denuclearization obligations.

China has come under fire from international human rights groups for its policy of treating North Koreans who cross the border into the country as illegal economic migrants rather than as refugees, and for sometimes deporting groups of them back to North Korea.

Last year, Chinas Economic Observer journal reported that most North Korean workers in the country had entered illegally.

North Korean workers are divided into those who are officially dispatched workers, relative visitors, and illegal entrants. The percentage of illegal entrants is the highest among the three types, it said.

Reported by Joon Ho Kim for RFA's Korean Service. Translated by Goeun Yu. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Myanmar police and Salingyi township officials hold a press conference on a clash between protesting villagers and police in the town of Letpadaung, northwestern Myanmar's Sagaing region, March 27, 2017.

Myanmar authorities have charged 50 farmers with assault, illegal assembly, illegal demonstration, and destruction of state property for blocking the road to the controversial Chinese-run Letpadaung copper mine in the countrys northwestern Sagaing region, a police officer said Monday.

We have charged them under Penal Code Section 333, Section 143, and Section 19 for assaulting police who were on duty, illegal assembly, and illegal demonstrating, said Htay Win, a police officer in Salingyi township where the mine is located.

As many as 10 villagers and six police officers were injured on March 24 during a clash when police fired rubber bullets at locals who were blocking the access road in protest against Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd.

The villagers confronted police in the area and were told to disperse, but refused to do so.

Local residents frequently prevent trucks from entering and leaving the premises to express their frustration that the company has not yet given them land they were supposed to receive as compensation for damage from the construction of the project to the villagers crops and to their economic well-being.

Residents have also accused the companys trucks of knocking down people and cows and said they want drivers who work for the firm to be more responsible and use other routes to access the mine.

In response to the March 24 incident, township authorities issued an order banning local villagers from forming assemblies of more than five people, blocking the road, and carrying swords, machetes, slingshots, and inflammable materials.

Local residents have heavily criticized the Chinese operators of the mine for expropriating land without providing them adequate compensation and damaging the environment.

Reported by Thiri Min Zin for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Myanmars military chief on Monday called Rohingya Muslims illegal immigrants and defended a recent crackdown on the minority group in the northern part of Rakhine state that led to the deaths of an estimated 1,000 people and the exodus of more than 77,000 Rohingya.

The four-month security clearance operation began last October following deadly attacks on border guard stations that were later blamed on Rohingya militants. Rohingya who escaped to neighboring Bangladesh have accused security forces of indiscriminate killings, arson, torture, and rape.

We have already let the world know that we dont have Rohingya in our country, said Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the countrys defense forces, according to Reuters.

The Bengalis in Rakhine state are not Myanmar citizens and they are just people who come and stay in the country, he said, using a derogatory term for the Rohingya and repeating a view that, although not fact-based, is widely shared in his country.

We have a duty to do what we should do, according to law, and we also have a duty to protect our sovereignty when it is harmed by political, religious and racial problems in the country, he told a crowd that had gathered in the capital Naypyidaw to celebrate Armed Forces Day.

Rights groups and the international community have criticized Myanmar for denying citizenship and access to basic services to the more than 1.1 million Rohingya who live in Rakhine state because they are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Colonial records from Britain, which once ruled Myanmar, show Rohingya living in the region for hundreds of years.

Communal violence with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in 2012 left more than 200 people dead and displaced about 140,000 Rohingya who were forced to live in appalling conditions in internally displaced persons camps.

Six-point principles for peace

Min Aung Hlaings speech comes just three days after the United Nations Human Rights Council agreed to send an international fact-finding mission to investigate human rights violations in the Southeast Asian nation, and in particular in northern Rakhine state.

Myanmar has said it will not cooperate with the U.N. mission.

It also comes as the Myanmar government under de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to end decades of civil war between various ethnic armed groups and the military and forge peace in the fragmented country.

The government had planned to hold the second round of its peace negotiations, known as the 21st-century Panglong Conference, this month. The timetable for the talks has been postponed several times since the meetings began last year.

During his speech in Naypyidaw, Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmars armed forces will continue to follow the governments lead in its efforts to forge nationwide peace, while maintaining its six-point principles for peace. The policy requires all ethnic militias that have signed a nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) with the government to abide by Myanmars military-drafted 2008 constitution.

The constitution, which was enacted when a military junta ruled the country, guarantees that military officers receive a quarter of the seats in parliament and gives the commander-in-chief control over appointees in the defense, home affairs, and border affairs ministries.

Reported by Kyaw Thu for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
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Russian police dispersed demonstrators in downtown Moscow and arrested the anticorruption rally organizer, opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, on March 26. Navalny called for protests in cities across Russia to condemn corruption after his anticorruption foundation published an investigation into property owned by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Russia and abroad. (RFE/RL's Russian Service)
Over the past five years, Iranian officials and state media have touted the "indigenous" ingenuity in the Islamic republic's mass-produced Mohajer-6 combat drone, which Russia has deployed in its war against Ukraine.

But a new investigation by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, has found that electronic components underpinning Tehran's production of the Mohajer-6 are far from homegrown.



The Mohajer-6 drones contain components produced by companies from the United States and the European Union, both of which have sanctions restricting the export to Iran of such technology that can be used for both civilian and military purposes  dual-use technology.

The presence of these components in the Mohajer-6 does not mean their producers are in violation of U.S. or EU sanctions, and RFE/RL does not have evidence that this is the case.

The investigation also found Mohajer-6 components produced in China, including a real-time mini-camera made by a Hong Kong firm that said it was "very sorry" that its products were being used in war.

At least one major foreign-produced component of the Mohajer-6 has previously been identified by reporters in a Mohajer-6 recovered from the battlefield by the Ukrainian military: an engine made by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products.

But Ukrainian intelligence assesses that the Iranian combat drone contains components from nearly three dozen different technology companies based in North America, the EU, Japan, and Taiwan, the Schemes investigation has found. A majority of these companies are based in the United States.



A Schemes reporter who personally inspected the foreign-made drone parts identified components produced by at least 15 of these manufacturers.

These include parts made by the U.S. technology firm Texas Instruments, which said in a statement that it does not sell into Russia or Iran and complies with applicable laws and regulations.

To identify these components, Schemes reporters examined parts of the Mohajer-6 drone that the Ukrainian military shot down over the Black Sea near the Mykolayiv region coastal town of Ochakiv. They also reviewed Ukrainian intelligence records on the sources of these components.

The drone also contains a microchip bearing the logo of a California technology company and a thermal-imaging camera that Ukrainian intelligence says may have been produced by a firm based in Oregon or China.

Both Western officials and experts on illicit technology transfers say Iran has built a broad, global procurement network using front companies and other proxies in third countries to obtain dual-use technology from the United States and the EU.

"Exporters will look at the request coming from the [United Arab Emirates] or another third country, and they'll think that they're selling to an end user based there, when really the end user is in Iran," Daniel Salisbury, a senior research fellow with the Department of War Studies at King's College London, told RFE/RL.

In September, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions specifically targeting Iranian companies that Washington links to the production and transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia for deployment in its war on Ukraine. Fighting rages with no sign of an end more than eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked invasion on February 24.

"Non-Iranian, non-Russian entities should also exercise great caution to avoid supporting either the development of Iranian UAVs or their transfer, or sale of any military equipment to Russia for use against Ukraine," U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement announcing the sanctions.

Chinese Cameras, California Chips

Development of the Mohajer-6, the latest model in a series of drones Tehran has used since the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, began in 2017, while mass production began the following year. During a ceremony commemorating the Islamic Revolution, then-Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said that the new tactical drone could perform surveillance, reconnaissance, as well as help destroy targets.

Hatami extolled what he described as the drones domestic design, a portrayal echoed in later reports by Iranian media.

"The homegrown drone was made through cooperation among the army, Defense Ministry, and Quds Aviation Industries," the English-language Tehran Times quoted an Iranian military official as saying in July 2019.

The dismantling of the Mohajer-6 drone recovered by the Ukrainian military shows that the UAV is packed with foreign components.

One of these parts is a bright-orange real-time mini-camera produced by the Hong Kong-based company RunCam Technology. Documents seen by Schemes show that Ukrainian intelligence has also identified RunCam as the producer of the camera, which likely assists in remote guidance of the drone.

Founded in 2013, RunCam is involved in the development and production of so-called "first-person-view" real-time cameras. "Our users are our friends," the company's website states. The site says that RunCam has two authorized Iranian dealers.

Reached by Schemes for comment about the use of its camera in the Iranian drone deployed by Russia in its war on Ukraine, RunCam said in an e-mailed response: "We are very sorry to know that RunCam's products were used in warfare. RunCam is specialized in producing products for model aircraft hobby. We never contact any customer related to military."

The provenance of the Mohajer-6 drone-s thermal-imaging camera is more difficult to determine. A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reviewed by Schemes indicates it could be the Ventus Hot model produced by Sierra-Olympic Technologies, based in the U.S. state of Oregon, but that it also resembles a cheaper analog available for sale by the Chinese company Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology.

Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology said in an e-mailed statement that the company did not "have any business with Iran," because "it will affect our business." The company said it specializes in marine services and is not involved in manufacturing. It also said that it did not have a single successful order for its online advertisement of the thermal-imaging camera resembling the one recovered from the Iranian drone.

Sierra-Olympic Technologies did not respond to a request for comment on the possible use of its thermal-imaging cameras in Iranian combat drones in time for publication.

Microchips recovered from the drone also featured the logos of the California-based company Linear Technology Corporation and its parent company, the Massachusetts-based semiconductor company Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). ADI did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment on the possible use of its technology in the Iranian combat drone.

Schemes reporters also observed among the components of the Iranian drone a voltage step-down converter produced by Texas Instruments. The company said in an e-mailed statement that it "does not sell into Russia, Belarus, or Iran."

"TI complies with applicable laws and regulations in the countries where we operate, and does not support or condone the use of our products in applications they weren't designed for," Texas Instruments said.

Schemes reporters also saw several components produced by the California-based technology manufacturer Xilinx, whose parent company is the multinational semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), also based in California.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, one of these Xilinx components was integrated into a video data-link module located in the wing of the Mohajer-6 that helped carry out attack missions.

"This module transmits information from the board to the missile head. That is, guidance for the missile. With the help of this module, it was possible to guide the missile to the target," a Ukrainian military intelligence representative told Schemes.

AMD did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

'No Authorization'

Previous media reports about the components of the Mohajer-6 drone, including by CNN, have shown evidence that its engine was produced by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, whose parent company is the Quebec-based Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP).

The Canadian company responded to the reports on October 21, saying in a statement that it "has not authorized and has not given any authorization to its distributors to supply military UAV manufacturers in Iran or Russia."

"As soon as we were made aware of this situation, we started an investigation to determine the source of the engines," BRP said. .

But Schemes reporters found that the authorized Rotax distributor listed on the Austrian manufacturer's website advertised itself as a Rotax aircraft engines distributor for Iran as recently as December 2020.

The distributor, the Italian company Luciano Sorlini S.p.a., has posted multiple magazine advertisements on its websites in which it describes itself as a Rotax distributor for numerous countries. Prior to January 2021, Iran was listed among these countries.

The Rotax website also lists a Tehran-based company -- MahtaWing -- as an official service center for its engines. The company, known in Persian as Mahtabal, conducts repairs of Rotax engines, including the Rotax 912 iS, the engine that was found in the Mohajer-6 combat drone recovered in Ukraine.

BRP said in an e-mailed statement on November 4 that while Luciano Sorlini S.p.a. is the appointed distributor of Rotax aircraft engines in Iran, "since 2019, no Rotax engines have been sold in Iran, and we will not sell any engines to Iran moving forward."

The Canadian company said it had "internal controls" that "significantly" restrict the sale of its products for military purposes.

"For example, the sale of any BRP product to operators with any military activity in Iran, Turkey, and Russia is strictly prohibited," BRP said. "We conduct our business in compliance with all EU, Canadian, and U.S. applicable regulations."

BRP described the Iranian company MahtaWing as a "local service center" that "offers maintenance services for previously sold aircraft engines."

Shahriar Siami of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Mar 27, 2017) - Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation (TNX.TO)(NYSE MKT:TRX) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that the reported Tanzania Gold Export Ban does not apply to the Company. The export ban applies to companies which ship concentrate out of the United Republic of Tanzania. The concentrate cannot be weighed and measured for the purposes of tax revenues in Tanzania since it is in the form of concentrate which may or may not be fungible. The Company does not produce nor ship concentrate. The Company produces gold dore for shipment. Gold dore is able to be assayed, weighed and measured prior to export so that the Tanzanian tax revenues are assessable and able to be determined prior to export.

"The government of Tanzania is able to test the purity of the gold dore and therefore able to assess any taxes due prior to export." stated James E. Sinclair, Executive Chairman. "We don't export gold concentrate which is unable to be assayed for purity. Our gold export is in the form of dore, which is easily assayed for purity. The government of Tanzania can test our gold dore to determine any taxes due, prior to export. Therefore, the Company is not part of the gold export ban. We intend to continue the dore process with the completion of our new plant. We are not part of this ban. The Company produced and plans to continue producing gold in the form of dore" Sinclair concluded.

Dore is a bar of gold which Tanzanian inspectors can easily determine its weight and purity. The taxes are assessed by Ministry officials who determine exactly what is due at the point of pour, and a 4% levy is assessed and immediately due. Once Tanzanian taxes are assessed and paid, the dore gold is placed in officially sealed containers. Dore bars are placed in a helicopter directly in line of sight from the gold room under the Company's armed guards and watchful eyes of government inspectors. Upon placement in the helicopter, the gold dore is insured at 100% of market value on its transport to the Company's refinery in Zurich, Switzerland.

Story continues

ABOUT TANZANIAN ROYALTY EXPLORATION CORPORATION:

Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation is a mineral resource company, which engages in the acquisition, exploration and extraction of gold and other natural resources in the United Republic of Tanzania, Africa. The Company, after successfully exploring for Gold has identified three development projects, Buckreef, Kigosi, and Itetemia. In early 2016 in conjunction with our first gold pour, the Company was deemed a commercial gold producer by the Tanzanian Government. The Company is presently focused on its Buckreef Gold Project located in North central Tanzania.

Further information can be found in the Company's 43-101 reports, which can be viewed together with other reports and updates on the Company homepage at: www.TanzanianRoyalty.com

Respectfully Submitted,

James E. Sinclair, Executive Chairman

Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation

The Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE Amex Equities 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.
MINSK -- Three days after he went missing ahead of a large antigovernment rally, Belarusian opposition leader Mikalay Statkevich has been released from what he said was a KGB jail and returned home.

Speaking with RFE/RL and other reporters at his apartment in Minsk on March 27, Statkevich vowed to continue organizing protests against authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Statkevich is a former presidential candidate who spent nearly five years in prison after protests that followed a 2010 election that Lukashenka's critics said was rigged.

He went missing early on March 25, hours before thousands of people took to the streets in Minsk for an annual Freedom Day march that was met with a violent police crackdown.

Statkevich had been set to co-lead the march. Instead, he said, he was detained by officers of the KGB security service and taken to a detention center, where he was questioned and told that he faced charges that he had been plotting terrorist attacks across Belarus since 2011.

He laughed as he recounted the experience, saying that the KGB must have forgotten that he was in jail from December 2010 to August 2015.

The KGB denied on March 26 that Statkevich was in its custody, and no public announcement of charges against him has been issued.

Statkevich said that most likely Belarusian authorities did not want to draw Western criticism by holding him further.

Activists say dozens of people were detained during the rally on March 25 as well as on March 26, when police clamped down to prevent people from attending a protest in central Minsk.

Hundreds more had been detained since March 1 as the government sought to end a series of protests against a controversial tax on the unemployed in the economically struggling former Soviet republic.

Some have been released, with or without a fine, while some have been sentenced to jail terms of up to 25 days.

'Imposing Fear'

Statkevich expressed the hope that all those detained would be freed, reasoning that Lukashenka cannot afford to alienate the West too much.

"The Belarusian government is keen to preserve ties with the West, otherwise Russia will smash Belarus," he said.

Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014 and involvement in a deadly three-year-old conflict in eastern Ukraine has increased fears that Moscow might have designs on Belarus, which also lies between Russia and NATO nations.

Statkevich said the government's current internal policy can be defined as "imposing fear" without sentencing opponents to long prison terms, as Minsk is interested in "normalizing " its ties with the European Union and the United States.

Statkevich said he would continue opposing the authorities and demonstrating in the street.

"The government is cracking down on protests with one hand, but with another hand it is creating such protests through its own policies," Statkevich said.

Statkevich and another former presidential candidate and opposition leader, Uladzimer Nyaklyaeu, had said publicly that they would lead the opposition march in Minsk on March 25.

Nyaklyaeu was detained by police on March 24 in the western city of Brest as he came from Poland en route to Minsk. He was later hospitalized and was unable to attend the march, but has since been discharged.
So, now we know that Aleksei Navalny has a national network.

This weekend, he demonstrated that he can put people on the streets in the thousands, not just in Moscow and St. Petersburg but in scores of cities across Russia, as well.

He even put people on the streets in Daghestan. Think about that for a minute.

We also know that Navalny isn't going away anytime soon.

Every time Vladimir Putin's regime tries to suppress him and marginalize him, he seems to come back stronger.

He's become the Kremlin's Freddy Krueger with a Twitter feed and a YouTube channel.

Now we know there is a strong reservoir of discontent with an autocratic regime and a kleptocratic elite that has been in power far too long.

Russians, it appears, are not immune to the antiestablishment wave that has been sweeping the West in recent years.

And now we know that as living standards fall, the issue of corruption has taken on a broad and deep resonance.

In good economic times, Russians are willing to put up with a kleptocratic elite. In bad economic times, not so much.

This weekend's protests, which were larger than anybody expected and the largest Russia has seen since 2012, came on the 17th anniversary of Putin's first election as president.

The Kremlin is seeking to turn Putin's election to a fourth term into the coronation of an emperor.

But Navalny is determined to spoil that script by stirring up a rebellion below the decks.

And he seems to be turning into a greater threat to this regime than anybody realized.

Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.
U.S. officials acknowledged that coalition forces in Iraq were behind a Mosul air strike on March 17 in which residents say more than 200 civilians may have been killed.

A statement by the U.S.-led coalition on March 25 said the strike came at the request of Iraqi security forces to target fighters and equipment of the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

Coalition officials, while not confirming the deaths, said the strike in western Mosul was at "the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties." It did not specify which coalition nation carried out the strike.

The statement followed a decision on March 25 by Iraqi forces to pause in their campaign to recapture western Mosul because of the high rate of civilian casualties, a move possibly motivated by the incident.

What happened that night in Mosul al-Jadida district remains unclear.

Residents say a coalition air strike blasted a truck filled with explosives, which detonated an explosion that collapsed buildings packed with families.

Following the reports, U.S. military officials said they were unsure whether American forces were behind the attack.

They said an investigation had been started to determine the facts surrounding the strike and the claims of civilian casualties.

Abdul Sattar al-Habbo, the Mosul official supervising rescue efforts, said 240 bodies had been pulled from the rubble of the buildings.

U.S.-backed forces are providing air support for Iraqi government troops fighting IS militants in western Mosul, the last stronghold of the extremists in the country.

An estimated 650,000 to 800,000 civilians are mixed with some 2,000 insurgents in western Mosul.

The Mosul offensive began in October. Government forces declared eastern Mosul "liberated" from IS fighters in January.

The offensive against Islamic State in more densely populated western Mosul began in late January.

IS fighters, who seized large swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory in 2014, are now being pressed on two fronts -- in Mosul and Raqqa, their last stronghold and so-called capital in Syria.

With reporting by Reuters and AP
ASTANA -- Preliminary hearings were held in the trial of a Jehovah's Witness charged with inciting interethnic enmity on March 27 in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.

Teimur Akhmedov, 60, was arrested in January for what the Committee for National Security (KNB) said propagating ideas that "disrupt interreligious and interethnic concord" in the country.

Akhmedov pleaded not guilty.

His lawyers, Natalya Kononenko and Vitaly Kuznetsov, requested that the judge release their client while the trial is held because he is undergoing treatment for cancer.

The judge rejected the motion and scheduled the trial to begin on April 6.

If found guilty, Akhmedov faces up to 10 years in prison.

In 2015, a court in Astana sentenced an active member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Yqylas Qabduaqasov, to seven years of restricted freedom, which is similar to a suspended sentence with parole-like restrictions. But a higher court toughened the punishment that December, sentencing him to two years in prison.
A U.S.-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance in northern Syria says it has driven Islamic State (IS) militants out of a strategic air base that was the site of an IS massacre in 2014.

"The Syrian Democratic Forces have full control of Tabqa military airport, and operations to clear and demine are under way in order to secure the airport fully," Talal Sello, a spokesman for the alliance, told AFP on March 26.

The airport could now be used as a launching pad for an assault on nearby Tabqa dam, which is held by IS fighters.

The militants warned on March 26 that the dam could burst after air strikes by coalition warplanes.

Coalition officials denied the IS claim and said SDF fighters had control of a spillway north of the dam that can be used to alleviate pressure on the dam if need be."

The United Nations has warned of catastrophic flooding in Syria from the Tabqa dam from possible deliberate sabotage by IS and damage from coalition air strikes.

U.S. planes and special forces have provided air and ground support to the SDF fighters, who are moving closer to an assault on the IS capital of Raqqa, about 40 kilometers from the dam.

The Kurdish-Arab alliance is attempting to encircle Raqqa, the last IS stronghold in Syria, before assaulting the city.

At some points, they are as close as eight kilometers from the city, although most forces are 18 to 29 kilometers away, officials said.

The Tabqa air base was captured by militants from the Syrian government in August 2014.

IS, which has been blamed for multiple human rights atrocities, immediately announced it had killed about 200 government soldiers at the base and then distributed a video of the killings.

IS fighters, who seized large swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014, are now being pressed on two fronts -- around Raqqa and in Mosul, their last stronghold and so-called capital in Iraq.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since its conflict began in March 2011 with antigovernment protests.

With reporting by AP and AFP
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 the country's 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 agreed 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 Washington'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
OPEC and several nonmember oil producers meeting in Kuwait say they have agreed to review whether an agreement to cut supplies should be extended by six months.

A statement on March 26 said a joint committee had requested the OPEC Secretariat to review market conditions and report in April whether the voluntary production cuts should be extended.

OPEC and 11 other leading producers, including Russia, in December agreed to cut combined output by about 1.8 million barrels a day in the first six months of the year in the hopes of pushing up global oil prices.

Analysts said the lack of a solid decision to extend the cuts could bring oil prices down.

Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said it was too early to say whether there would be an extension. But he said the accord was working well and that participants were committed to 100 percent compliance.

Oil prices peaked at over $100 a barrel in mid-2014, before sinking below $30 in early 2016.

After the December agreement, crude prices edged up to above $50 a barrel. They are now around $48.

The United States is not a part of the agreement.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
MOSCOW -- In spontaneity and sprawl, the weekend protests across Russia were reminiscent of large anti-Kremlin rallies in 2011-2012 that were followed by a steady tightening of government control over the political landscape.



But one thing sets the two apart: the striking preponderance of young protesters in their late teens and early twenties -- a generation that includes many who have only ever known life under Vladimir Putin.



In Moscow on March 26, as police seized protesters from the crowds, young people whistled and chanted "defenders of thieves" and "you can't arrest us all!" On the city's central Puskhin Square, a couple of teenagers were photographed perched upon a lamp post eluding riot police.

Some came wearing green face paint -- a nod to the attack on opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, who was sprayed with green antiseptic last week. Others brought rubber ducks and sneakers to the rally, alluding to key allegations contained in Navalny's March 2 report on alleged massive corruption by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.



"I'm not scared," said Oleg Stepanov, a 24-year-old Moscow-based activist for Navalny who protested on March 26 and said he would take part in more rallies even though many of his friends were detained.



"If we don't change anything, then there is no future," said Stepanov, who added that his friends remain in police custody 24 hours later. "I think the young people who came out yesterday for the first time are precisely the people who want to believe in their future, a future stolen by the current authorities."

The surge in opposition activity by members of this generation suggests Navalny has struck a chord with a demographic raised and schooled under Putin -- and which has largely been seen as apolitical, or outright pro-Kremlin.



Navalny, a 40-year-old lawyer and anticorruption campaigner, announced in December that he would run for president next year despite being barred by a recent conviction on what he calls trumped up charges. He is seeking to elevate his profile nationwide by opening campaign offices across the country, hoping he can strong-arm the Kremlin into allowing him to compete, lest Putin appear weak.



Youth Calls



There were no figures available for the ages of protesters on March 26, but the youthfulness of the crowd on the streets was widely noted by newspapers with headlines like "Youth Calls," "New Wave," and "School Years Of Protest."



The Kommersant business daily estimated "almost half" were schoolchildren or university students, while Stepanov and other Navalny activists rejected the notion of throngs of schoolchildren, saying that between 40 and 60 percent were between the ages of 18 and 25.



Ksenia Fadeyeva, the 25-year-old head of Navalny's election campaign headquarters in the Siberian city of Tomsk -- where organizers boasted a turnout of 1,500 -- told RFE/RL that the lion's share of demonstrators there were between these ages.



"There were a lot of young people, but it's wrong to say they were all schoolchildren," Fadeyeva said. "There were schoolchildren, but it was mainly students who came to our action, as it was across the country."



Likewise, there were no official statistics indicating the ages of those detained, though an unnamed source told Interfax that 46 of the detainees in Moscow were younger than 18 -- legally minors -- and added that they were later handed over to their parents.

Political analysts and opposition activists pointed to several reasons for the surge in youth support for Navalny, ranging from the way members of the younger generation get their news to concerns about their future.



Fadeyeva said young people are less likely to be taken in by Kremlin messaging because they are less interested in state-controlled traditional media.

"In general, I think it's because young people don't watch television. Few of my peers watch TV. People younger than me, less than 25 years old, they practically don't watch it. They get their information online, and the Internet is comparatively free," she said.



Navalny, who is largely ignored by state media, has been forced to bypass traditional outlets by using social networks, circulating his investigations online and in video format, as he did with his investigation into Medvedev.

WATCH: Aleksei Navalny's Report On Dmitry Medvedev

Stepanov echoed Fadeyeva's sentiment.



"It was mainly young people [at the rallies], because young people cope better with the Internet. Young people saw the investigation [into Medvedev]. It has garnered approximately 15 million views. If the information had entered the mass media, not only young people would have come," he said.



In comments to the independent television station Dozhd (TV Rain), Yekaterina Shulman, a prominent political analyst, said that Navalny's image has connected with the younger generation.

"This is a leader who is capable of speaking with them. There is person who they are going out onto the street for," she said.



Shulman also said that young people are frustrated at what they see as meager career prospects and a system in which the best way to get a job is through nepotism or by joining state-backed youth movements.



'Paid Protesters'



The Kremlin on March 27 denounced the protests -- which had a larger arrest count that any rallies in recent memory -- as a "provocation" by the opposition and praised the "absolutely top professionalism" of the police.



The demonstrations, which brought tens of thousands out across the country even though authorities refused to grant permits for many of them, marked the most substantial opposition turnout since the crackdown on protesters at Moscow's Bolotnaya Square in May 2012.



In comments to RFE/RL's Russian Service, Vladimir Solovey, a prominent political analyst, said that the surge in youth activism is significant.



"When young people come out, it follows that we should expect that events will develop along radical lines. In all political crises, including in revolutionary ones, the youth are always the ignition and the avant-garde. That they have come out now in Russia indicates a radicalization of the situation," Solovey said.

Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told Russian news agencies on March 27 that teenagers had been offered "financial rewards" in exchange for getting arrested, although he did not offer evidence.



The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into hooliganism and claimed that not only teenagers, but people of all ages, were offered money in exchange for participating in the protests.



'We Discuss Politics At School'



Alyona, a schoolgirl who has just turned 17 and whose surname has been omitted for ethical reasons, told RFE/RL that she attended the rally by chance when she happened to be walking past. She said she was detained and released at 4 a.m. on March 27.



She said she was detained for holding a placard she found at the protest calling for Medvedev to officially respond to the allegations contained in Navalny's report. The placard read "I'm still waiting for a response" and featured a picture of Zhdun, a cartoon character popularized in an Internet meme.



She said she is sympathetic to the opposition. "I can't say that I'm on their side, but I believe the opposition pursues the correct goal. In general, I think they're good and I support them," she said.



"We discuss politics at school," she added. "There are a lot of liberal-minded people among my peers, but also many who think that the current authorities are competent and good. It's about fifty-fifty, although many people don't really care what happens."
Russian truck drivers have begun a new series of protests against a state road tax that they say is onerous and ineffective.

Andrei Bazhutin, head of the United Truckers of Russia trade body and an organizer of the national protest, was detained in St. Petersburg on March 27.

He was accused of driving without a license and could face 15 days of administrative detention.

There were reports of protests in Moscow, Tatarstan, the North Caucasus, Karelia, and elsewhere.

Bazhutin was quoted by Gazeta.ru as saying the full scale of the demonstrations will not be known until March 29, but organizers expect at least 10,000 truckers to participate.

The protests could include blocking highways or refusing to ship consumer goods.

The Platon road-tax system was imposed in 2015, sparking a wave of protests by truckers.

The government at that time agreed with the truckers to delay the full implementation of the tax. The tax rate is scheduled to increase by 25 percent in April.

Platon is managed by a company owned by a son of Arkady Rotenberg, an oligarch who was once President Vladimir Putin's judo sparring partner.

Based on reporting by Meduza, Gazeta.ru, and Ekho Moskvy


* Trump has threatened to "cancel" Paris Agreement

* Pullout could make it easier for other nations to shape pact

* By staying, Trump would have veto on future decisions

* GRAPHIC: Temperatures rising http://tmsnrt.rs/2fTjA1w

By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle

OSLO, March 27 (Reuters) - A 2015 global pact for fighting climate change will benefit in some ways at least if U.S. President Donald Trump carries out a threat to pull out, backers say, in a shift from gloom about the fate of a deal that took two decades to negotiate.

The Paris Agreement requires consensus for all decisions, meaning the withdrawal of a recalcitrant United States would make it easier for emitters such as China and the European Union to design details of a trillion-dollar shift from fossil fuels.

Trump has called man-made climate change a hoax and made a so-far unfulfilled campaign pledge to "cancel" the agreement, saying he wants to promote the domestic fossil fuel industry.

In a step to undo environmental regulations introduced under former President Barack Obama, Trump will sign an order on Tuesday aimed at making it easier for companies to produce energy in the United States.

"There will be some advantages for other countries and there will also be extraordinary disadvantages," if the U.S. ends up quitting Paris, said Christiana Figueres, an architect of the agreement who was the U.N.'s climate chief in Paris.

"It's not a black and white scenario," she said.

She said the ideal outcome, both for the United States and other nations, was for Washington to stay and make deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. There were better investment prospects for renewable energies such as solar power than coal, she added.

The fear has long been that a pullout of the world's top economy would drain other nations' willingness to cut greenhouse gas emissions under an agreement ratified by nations as diverse as China, Saudi Arabia and African countries.

But there is an emerging rival view that Paris might be better off.

Story continues

ACHILLES HEEL

"The Achilles heel of the Paris Agreement is that it's built on consensus," said Johan Rockstrom, director of the Stockholm Resilience Center at Stockholm University.

"It's very difficult to have a negative giant in the room" able to obstruct all decisions, he said, adding that he had swung in recent weeks to reckon that a U.S. pullout would be better overall from an earlier view that it would be a "big failure".

The Paris Agreement has few binding obligations. It lets all nations set their own goals for fighting climate change and has no penalties for non-compliance.

Governments have set a 2018 deadline to work out a rule book for the Paris Agreement, filling in details, for instance, of how nations will report and monitor their curbs on emissions.

Maldives Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim - chair of the Alliance of Small Island States whose members fear they are at risk from rising sea levels - urged continued U.S. participation in Paris.

"The closer you look at it, the clearer it becomes that it (the Paris Agreement) also promotes important strategic, economic, and security benefits as well," he said.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg also said it would be better for the United States to stay. "But I don't think that it's the end of the Paris Agreement if the United States decides to leave," she said.

Oliver Geden, of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, disagreed. A U.S. withdrawal would badly undermine the Paris Agreement and any decisions would be largely irrelevant without the world's biggest economy, he said. "The momentum could fade away pretty soon," he predicted.

Still, almost 200 nations agreed after Trump's election in November that the world had an "urgent duty" to combat an "alarming and unprecedented" rate of global warming.

"The pace and scale of change already underway in the global economy is remarkable and irreversible," said Stephanie Pfeifer, head of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, a forum with 18 trillion euros ($20 trillion) in assets under management.

"Renewables have already overtaken coal as a global power source, electric vehicles are the growth segment of the auto industry and jobs are being created very rapidly in clean energy," she said.

The U.S. target under Paris, set by Obama, is to cut emissions by between 26 and 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 as part of global efforts to avert more downpours, droughts, heatwaves and floods.

Trump's pro-coal policies are likely to make U.S. emissions cuts less ambitious.

By staying in the Paris Agreement, Trump would also undermine a demand in its Article 4 that successive national climate plans have to be ever deeper cuts. A U.S. pullout would make it easier for backers to argue that the principle has not been violated.

The Paris Agreement sets an over-riding goal of limiting global warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. The United Nations says that current pledges are insufficient to meet that goal. ($1 = 0.9179 euros)

(editing by David Stamp)
Separate military maneuvers -- one involving Tajik and U.S. forces and the other Tajik and Russian troops -- are due to begin in Tajikistan on March 27.

The Tajik-U.S. exercises will be conducted by the U.S. Defense Department and Tajikistan's security forces until April 7. They were announced by the U.S. Embassy on March 20.

Embassy officials told RFE/RL on March 27 that some 150 Americans and 100 Tajik personnel are taking part in the maneuvers, which will focus on fighting transnational terrorism.

Three days after the U.S. Embassy's announcement, media reports quoted Tajik defense officials as saying that 50,000 Tajik troops and some 2,000 Russian military personnel will hold military exercises in Tajikistan from March 27-31.

On March 25, Russia's Central Military Region said several military planes were brought to Tajikistan from Russia's Kant military base in neighboring Kyrgyzstan to take part in the maneuvers.

A representative of the Russian military in Tajikistan told RFE/RL on March 27 that the Tajik-Russian maneuvers had been planned for months.

He said the exercises will be held in Tajikistan's southern Khatlon region.

Russia has some 7,000 troops in Tajikistan, making it Moscow's largest military contingent abroad.
ON MY MIND

One weekend. Two countries. Two nationwide protests. And two crackdowns.

This weekend's demonstrations in Russia and Belarus illustrate that autocratic countries are not immune to the antiestablishment wave that has swept the democratic West in recent years.

And the heavy-handed tactics used by Vladimir Putin and Alyaksandr Lukashenka illustrate that their respective regimes take the threat of a popular uprising seriously.

Moscow and Minsk both understand that these protests are different from past demonstrations because they are driven not by politics but by economics: declining living standards in Belarus and corruption in Russia.

And when people are protesting over pocketbook issues, they tend to be more persistent, more determined, and less fearful than those demonstrating for abstract political principles.

So both regimes will continue to crack down. But protests like these will continue nonetheless.

2017 is shaping up to be a year of showdowns in both Russia and Belarus.

IN THE NEWS

Anticorruption activist Aleksei Navalny has been taken to a Moscow court one day after the anticorruption activist was detained by police along with hundreds of other demonstrators at protests held in dozens of Russian cities.

Belarusian opposition leader Mikalay Statkevich, who was missing for three days, is at home.

Iranian President Hassan Rohani is beginning a two-day visit to Russia today. He is scheduled to meet with President Vladimir Putin tomorrow.

OPEC, and several nonmember oil producers including Russia, met in Kuwait and said they have agreed to review whether an agreement to cut supplies should be extended by six months.

Emergency officials said two trains collided in the central Russian region of Bashkortostan, killing at least three people.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry said a military helicopter crashed in the eastern Donbas region, killing five people aboard.

Official results in Bulgaria have given the pro-Western party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov victory in national parliamentary elections, and the pro-Russia Socialists have conceded defeat.

LATEST POWER VERTICAL PODCAST

In case you missed it, this week's Power Vertical Podcast, Follow The Money, took a deep dive into the new report on Russian money laundering by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

NEW POWER VERTICAL BRIEFING

And this week's Power Vertical Briefing looks at the fallout from this weekend's protests in Russia and Belarus.

WHAT I'M READING

The Woman In The Photo

Meduza tells the story of the well-dressed woman in the iconic photo from Sunday's protest. It turns out she was just walking home from McDonald's with her mother when police grabbed her.

The Kids On The Street

In Republic.ru, Dmitry Travin looks at how young people are changing the face of Russian protests.

Dreams Of Empire

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin also has an op-ed in The Guardian in which he argues that "Putins desire for a new Russian empire wont stop with Ukraine."

The House That Putin Built

In an op-ed for The Guardian, Dmitry Trenin, director of the Moscow Carnegie Center, writes that "Russia is the house that Putin built -- and he'll never abandon it."

"By co-opting the masses against the elite, the president has shaped a country to echo his values and grievances. And now hes working to secure his legacy," Trenin writes.

The Pivot From Europe

In Intersection magazine, Anton Barbashin looks at Russia's pivot away from Europe, which is turning it into "a resource appendage of China."

The Case For A Cyber National Guard

In Real Clear Defense, Daniel Goure, a vice president of the Lexington Institute, argues for the establishment of a Cyber National Guard.

Photos And Lessons From The Belarusian Street

BelarusFeed has a photo essay on this weekend's protests and crackdown in Belarus.

And Euromaidan Press offers five takeaways from the Belarusian protests.

An Assassination And A Message

In his column for Bloomberg, political commentator Leonid Bershidsky writes that the assassination of former State Duma Deputy Denis Voronenkov "sends a chilling message."

The Literary Lenin

Tariq Ali, author of the forthcoming book The Dilemmas Of Lenin: Terrorism, War, Empire, Love, Revolution writes in The Guardian that the Bolshevik leader's love of literature helped shape the Russian revolution.

The Literary Surkov

It appears that Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov is about to publish a new book (under his preferred pen name, Natan Dubovitsky), describing how Putin is forced from power in 2024.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed into law controversial amendments to the country's anticorruption legislation requiring representatives of nongovernmental organizations to file assets declarations.

Poroshenko on March 27 signed the amendments, which also relieve military officers of the obligation to file such declarations.

Poroshenko said the measure acknowledges "the necessity of taking into account the interests of hundreds of thousands of servicemen who currently defend Ukraine from Russian aggression."

Earlier, British Ambassador to Ukraine Judith Gough described the reporting requirement for NGOs as "a serious step back" for Ukraine that could "limit NGOs' capacity" and "expose them to pressure."

The reporting requirement for NGOs takes effect in 2018, and Poroshenko agreed to create a working group with NGO representatives to discuss its implementation.

In a meeting with NGOs in Kyiv on March 27, Poroshenko expressed his support for their efforts to fight corruption and said any political pressure or restrictions on their activity was inadmissible.

Based on reporting by the Kyiv Post and UNIAN
A Russian court has ordered opposition leader and anticorruption activist Aleksei Navalny to be jailed for 15 days for disobeying police, one day after he was arrested near the site of a demonstration in central Moscow.

The March 27 ruling comes after an earlier decision by the court to fine Navalny 20,000 rubles ($350) for organizing what the authorities say was an illegal protest in the Russian capital on March 26.

Navalny was detained on that date as he made his way to an anticorruption demonstration that he had called on people to attend in Moscow.

The government says the protest was illegal because city authorities had not granted permission for a march and rally in the center of the city, and that it led to violations of public order. Navalny disputes that, saying that it was legal.

Police also detained hundreds of other demonstrators at anticorruption protests that were attended by thousands of people in dozens of cities nationwide in the largest such rallies since 2012.

A day after the anticorruption protests, the Kremlin lashed out.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on March 27 that many of the protests the previous day were illegal and that organizers had "provoked" participants into "illegal activity."

Peskov also claimed that children had been promised "rewards" for taking part. The same day, Russia's Investigative Committee opened a probe into possible payments to demonstrators -- "not only youths, but to other participants as well."

Peskov pointed out that the authorities in Moscow declined to give Navalny permission to hold a march and rally at a central location and proposed alternate sites on the outskirts of the city.

Navalny contends that there were no grounds for the government to refuse permission, and that the alternate sites were offered later than is required by law.

A total of tens of thousands of people took part in the demonstrations on March 26, and a group called OVD-Info says more than 1,000 were detained in Moscow alone.

OVD-Info said on March 27 that most of those detained had been released but that at least 120 remained in custody.

Moscow police said 500 people had been detained.

The United States and the European Union have condemned the mass arrests of protesters in Russia and called for their prompt release.

The U.S. State Department said Washington was "troubled" by Navalny's detention.

"We call on the government of Russia to immediately release all peaceful protesters," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement issued on March 26.

"Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values," Toner said.

The EU also called on Russia to allow people "basic freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly."

Speaking in Moscow on March 27, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the West of applying a "double standard" regarding protests in Russia.

He said international law recognizes "freedom of speech and the right for gatherings, as well as exceptions when it concerns state security and the moral well-being of society."

The nongovernmental organization Amnesty International issued a statement saying that Navalny "and all the peaceful protesters detained after the mass demonstrationsmust be immediately released."

The statement said the detentions demonstrate the Russian government's "profound disdain for the right to freedom of expression and assembly."

The rallies followed a report released by Navalny's Anticorruption Foundation (FBK) accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of using charities and NGOs to collect donations from tycoons and state banks and using the funds to buy expensive assets.

According to accounts from the court hearing on March 27, Navalny at one point called for Medvedev to testify.

He also critized the judge, Alesya Orekhova, accusing her of behaving like a rude teenager.

"Your honor, I have a 15-year-old daughter. When she is wrong, she starts taking back -- like you are doing," a person with the Twitter handle Vladlen Los quoted Navalny as saying.

Navalny was detained as he emerged with supporters from a subway station on March 26 in central Moscow.

Navalny helped lead a series of major protests in 2011-12 that were sparked by anger over evidence of widespread fraud in parliamentary elections and dismay at Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency after a stint as prime minister.

Posting on Twitter from his cell after he was detained, Navalny wrote he was "proud" of the protesters and said the arrests were "understandable."

"The thieves defend themselves this way. But you cannot arrest everyone who is against corruption. There are millions of us," he wrote.

In a tweet on March 27, Navalny said that 13 employees of his foundation remained in police custody after they were detained when the group's office in Moscow was searched on March 26 by law-enforcement authorities.

"The office was robbed: They took away absolutely all the equipment," Navalny wrote.

Russia's Interfax news agency said 130 people were arrested in St. Petersburg.

The size of the March 26 protests was remarkable because they were unauthorized. Recent laws have tightened criminal punishment for protests that are not permitted by city authorities.

Navalny announced in December that he would run for president next March, when Putin is widely expected to seek a new six-year term.

Russian authorities have said Navalny will be barred from the ballot if a conviction on charges of financial crimes is upheld on appeal. But he has pushed ahead with his campaign.

Navalny has said the two previous convictions in two separate cases were politically motivated punishment for his opposition to Putin.

With reporting by Mediazona and rapsinews.ru
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump looks up while hosting a House and Senate leadership lunch at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

The FBI is now investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to undermine Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

The timeline of major, game-changing events that unfolded in the final months of the election coincided with several allegations of conspiracy and misconduct between several Trump associates and Russia, laid out in a dossier compiled by veteran spy Christopher Steele.

Questions remain about whether the events  such as the change in the GOP platform on Ukraine and the release of hacked DNC emails  were coordinated with the Russians to maximize the damaging effects on Hillary Clinton's campaign.

The FBI is now examining whether members of President Donald Trump's campaign team colluded with Russian officials to undermine Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.

The probe into Trump's ties to Russia are part of the bureau's broader investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, FBI Director James Comey confirmed during a House Intelligence Committee hearing last Monday.

CNN reported on Wednesday that the FBI has information to suggest that the Trump campaign "communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton's campaign."

Suggestions of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the election appear to line up with the timeline of claims made in an explosive but unverified dossier presented by top US intelligence officials to President Donald Trump and senior lawmakers in January that is being increasingly substantiated.

The document includes details about an alleged quid-pro-quo in which Russia agreed to leak the hacked Democratic National Committee emails to WikiLeaks in exchange for the Trump campaign sidelining Russian aggression in Ukraine as a campaign issue. It also alleges that Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, managed the communication between Russia and the campaign.

Story continues

Recent revelations about Manafort's ties to Russia placed him at the center of a media firestorm last Wednesday, when the AP reported that he was paid $10 million in the mid-2000's to lobby on behalf of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska in a way that would "greatly benefit" Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At least five other Trump associates  Jeff Sessions, Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, Carter Page, and JD Gordon  are now reported to have met with Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, in the latter half of 2016 as Russia was allegedly attempting to sway the outcome of the election in Trump's favor. They have been asked to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, and preserve any relevant documents, about contact they may have made with Russians during the election.

Flynn, Page, and Kislyak were named in the dossier as being complicit in the alleged collusion. On Friday, Page, Paul Manafort, and Roger Stone volunteered to be interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Russia's election-related meddling.

Comparing Steele's reports, which were written between June and December of last year, with events that unfolded just before and after the election reveals a series of coincidences that adds to questions surrounding Russia's interference in the election  and who knew about it.

June-July

June July

Carter Page, an early foreign policy adviser to Trump, visits Moscow, the GOP platform is changed, top Trump surrogate then-Sen. Jeff Sessions meets Russia's US ambassador Sergey Kislyak, WikiLeaks publishes hacked DNC emails, and the FBI opens its investigation into Russia's interference.

Dossier allegations

June 20, 2016: The dossier alleges that Trump had been cultivated by Russian officials "for at least five years," that the Kremlin had compromising material related to "sexually perverted acts" Trump performed at a Moscow Ritz Carlton, and that Trump's inner circle was accepting a regular flow of intelligence from the Kremlin on Hillary Clinton.

The flow of intelligence is being facilitated by Paul Manafort, then Trump's campaign manager, who is using Carter Page as a "liaison" between the campaign and the Kremlin, the dossier says.

Actual events

July 7, 2016: Carter Page, who served as an adviser "on key transactions" for Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom, travels to Moscow to speak at the New Economic School. There, he gives a speech that is heavily critical of US foreign policy. He stays in Russia for approximately three days.

Dossier allegations

July 19, 2016: A Russian source close to Igor Sechin, the president of Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft, "confided the details of a recent secret meeting" between Sechin and Trump campaign adviser Carter Page while Page was in Moscow in early July.

Sechin "raised with Page the issues of future bilateral energy cooperation and prospects for an associated move to lift Ukraine-related western sanctions against Russia."

Actual events

July 11, 2016: GOP platform week kicks off, one week before the start of the Republican National Convention. An amendment to the Republican Party's draft policy on Ukraine proposing that the GOP commit to sending "lethal weapons" to the Ukrainian army to fend off Russian aggression is softened to "provide appropriate assistance."

July 22, 2016: WikiLeaks publishes the first set of hacked DNC emails, one day before the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Philadelphia.

Dossier allegations

The Trump campaign "agreed to sideline Russian intervention in Ukraine as a campaign issue" in return for Russia leaking the DNC emails to WikiLeaks. The reason for using WikiLeaks was "plausible deniability, and the operation had been done with the full knowledge and support of Trump and senior members of his campaign team."

Actual events

July 19, 2016: Then-Senator Jeff Sessions, along with two Trump campaign advisers JD Gordon and Carter Page, meet Russia's ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak at the Global Partners in Diplomacy event staged by the Heritage Foundation. Much of the discussion focused on Russia's incursions into Ukraine and Georgia, according to delegate Victor Ashe.

July 27, 2016: Donald Trump holds a press conference in which he asks Russian hackers to "find the 30,000 [Hillary Clinton] emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.

July 31, 2016: Jeff Sessions, who said in 2015 that the west has to "unify against Russia," goes on CNN and characterizes US relationship with Russia as a "cycle of hostility" that needs to be resolved.

Late July, 2016: The FBI opens its investigation into Russia's interference in the election, and the Trump campaign's possible role in it.

August

august

Paul Manafort resigns amid negative press about his work in Ukraine, and Roger Stone  a top Trump confidant and early campaign adviser  predicts that Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, will "soon" be targeted.

Dossier allegations

July 31, 2016: Steele writes that the Kremlin has more intelligence on Clinton and her campaign but doesn't know when it will be released.

August 5, 2016: The chief of Putins administration, Sergei Ivanov, expresses doubts about the "black PR" campaign being run by Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, in favor of Trump and against Clinton. Says it's been managed like "an elephant in a china shop" and advises Kremlin to now "sit tight and deny everything," but advises Putin that pro-Trump operation will ultimately be successful.

Actual events

August 5, 2016: Roger Stone writes in Breitbart that "a hacker who goes by the name of Guccifer 2.0," and not the Russians, hacked into the DNC and fed the documents to WikiLeaks.

August 12, 2016: "Guccifer 2.0" releases files purportedly stolen in a cyberattack on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Guccifer 2.0's Twitter account is briefly suspended. When it is reinstated, Roger Stone begins a private Twitter conversation with the alleged hacker. Experts soon link Guccifer 2.0 back to Russia and conclude the so-called hacker is the product of a Russian disinformation campaign.

August 14, 2016: The New York Times reports new details about Trump campaign manager Manafort's involvement with Ukraine. The paper reported that Ukraine leader Yanukovych's pro-Russia political party had earmarked $12.7 million for Manafort for his work between 2007-2012. Manafort has said he never collected the payments.

August 15, 2016: Sergei Ivanov, the chief of Putins administration who expressed doubts about how the Trump-Russia collaboration was being carried out, is unexpectedly fired by Putin.

Dossier allegations

August 10, 2016: Steele writes that a "Kremlin official involved in US relations" commented in early August that the Kremlin had been trying to build sympathy for Russia in the US by funding several political figures' trips to Moscow, including Michael Flynn and Carter Page. The trips were "successful in terms of perceived outcomes," the official said.

August 15, 2016: Ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia in 2014, tells Putin that he's been funneling "kickback payments" to Paul Manafort. Manafort, who had advised Yanukovych and his pro-Russia political party from 2007-2012, was Trump's campaign manager at the time.

Yanukovych "sought to reassure" Putin that "there was no documentary trail left behind which could provide clear evidence" of the payments. Putin and other Kremlin officials remained skeptical of Yanukovych's assurances and feared the payments "remained a point of potential political vulnerability."

Actual events

August 19, 2016: Manafort resigns as Trump's campaign manager after denying that he ever collected any payments that had been earmarked for him in Ukraine.

August 21, 2016: Roger Stone tweets a prediction about Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta. Trust me, it will soon the [sic] Podesta's time in the barrel. #CrookedHillary

September

September

Trump says he'll "take" Putin's "compliments," Sessions meets privately with Kislyak, and Carter Page takes a "leave of absence."

Dossier allegations

September 14, 2016: A Kremlin official "confirms from direct knowledge" that Russia's US ambassador Sergey Kislyak had been aware of the Kremlin's interference in the US election, and had "urged caution and the potential negative impact on Russia from the operation/s."

The official says the Kremlin has further kompromat on Clinton that it plans to release via "plausibly deniable" channels  aka WikiLeaks  after Russia's mid-September legislative elections. But a growing train of thought inside the Kremlin is that Russia could still make Clinton look "weak" and "stupid" without needing to release more of her emails. It's decided that Putin himself will have final say over whether further Clinton kompromat is disseminated.

Steele writes another dispatch dated September 14, 2016 detailing the relationship between Putin and Russian oligarchs who control Russia's Alfa Bank.

Actual events

September 7, 2016: NBC's Matt Lauer confronts Trump about his praise of Putin. Trump replies, "Well, I think when he calls me brilliant, Ill take the compliment, OK?"

September 8, 2016: Jeff Sessions and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak meet privately in Sessions' office. An administration official tells NBC in early March  when news of the meeting breaks  that "election-related news" was likely discussed.

September 26, 2016: Carter Page takes a "leave of absence" from the Trump campaign after a Yahoo News report alleges that Igor Sechin offered him the brokerage of a 19% stake in Rosneft.

October

Oct Nov 1

Roger Stone tweets foreshadow WikiLeaks' release of John Podesta emails, Obama publicly accuses Russia of hacking Democrats, and the FBI examines computer server activity between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank.

Dossier allegations

October 12, 2016: Control over the anti-Clinton black PR had passed from the MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to the FSB (Federal Security Service, successor to KGB) then into the Presidential Administration (PA) as it gained momentum.

But "buyer's remorse set in" as Podesta's emails proved less damaging to the Clinton campaign than Russia had expected. Russians injected further anti-Clinton material into WikiLeaks pipeline "which will continue to surface, but best material already in the public domain."

Actual events

October 1, 2016: Roger Stone tweets that Wednesday @HillaryClinton is done."

October 3, 2016: Stone tweets that he has "total confidence that @wikileaks and my hero Julian Assange will educate the American people soon #LockHerUp."

October 5, 2016: Stone tweets Payload coming. #Lockthemup."

October 7, 2016: WikiLeaks publishes the first batch of emails hacked from Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's inbox  one hour after an Access Hollywood video surfaces of Trump making lewd remarks about women, threatening to derail his campaign.

October 7, 2016: The Obama administration officially, and publicly, accuses Russia of "directing the recent compromises of e-mails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations" to affect the US election.

October 12, 2016: Stone admits to having "back-channel communication with Assange" through a mutual friend who "travels back and forth from the United States and London."



August-October 2016: The FBI, as part of a counter-intelligence task force established by the CIA, investigates computer server activity between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank.

November-January

A Russian oligarch shows up in North Carolina while Trump is there campaigning, Trump wins the election, Rosneft signs a massive deal, Carter Page travels to Moscow again, Obama issues new sanctions over Russian hacking, and Trump's lawyer entertains a backchannel peace plan for Ukraine.

Actual events

November 3, 2016: Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev flies into Charlotte, North Carolina on his private plane. Trump's plane lands on the tarmac minutes later and parks next to Rybolovlev, whose plane stays in Charlotte for 22 hours afterward. Trump rallies in nearby Concord, NC.

November 8, 2016: Donald Trump wins a dramatic and unexpected victory in the presidential election.

December

December 7, 2016: Rosneft signs a deal to sell 19.5% of shares, or roughly $11 billion, to the multinational commodity trader Glencore Plc and Qatar's state-owned wealth fund.

December 8, 2016: Carter Page travels to Moscow to "meet with some of the top managers" of Rosneft, he told reporters at the time.

December 29, 2016: Obama issues new sanctions against Russia, calling Moscow's "malicious cyber-enabled activities" a "national emergency" aimed at undermining democratic processes. Thirty-five Russian diplomats are expelled from the US. Top Trump adviser and soon-to-be national security adviser Michael Flynn is recorded speaking with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, about the new sanctions and reassures him that the Trump administration will re-evaluate them.

December 30, 2016: Putin announces, unexpectedly and out of character, that Russia will not retaliate against the US for the new sanctions. Says he will wait to see how US-Russian relations develop under the Trump administration before planning any further steps." Trump tweets Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!"

January Feb

January 10, 2017: Top US intelligence officials, including FBI Director James Comey and former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, brief President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump on the existence of Steele's dossier.

January 19, 2017: The New York times reports that "intercepted communications" between Trump associates and Russians are being investigated as part of the FBI's inquiry into Russia's election meddling.

January 27, 2017: Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, meets with Russian-American businessman Felix Sater and Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Artemenko at a Manhattan hotel to discuss a backchannel "peace plan" for Russia and Ukraine. The plan, which was reportedly delivered to then-national security adviser Michael Flynn, involved lifting sanctions on Russia in return for Moscow withdrawing its support for pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.

February-March

Michael Flynn resigns as national security adviser over his conversations with Kislyak, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recuses himself from Russia-related investigations, and the FBI announces it's been investigating the Trump campaign's role in Russia's election interference.

Actual events

February 13, 2017: Michael Flynn resigns as national security adviser after reports emerge that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Sergey Kislyak.

March

March 2, 2017: Attorney General Jeff Sessions recuses himself from the investigation into whether the Trump campaign communicated with Russia after The Washington Post reports that he spoke with Kislyak twice during the election. Sessions had said in his confirmation hearing that he did not have any contact with any Russian officials during the election.

March 4, 2017: Trump tweets, without presenting evidence, that Obama had Trump Tower's "wires tapped" during the presidential campaign.

March 15, 2017: The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes of California, says the committee had not found any evidence to support Trump's wiretapping claim.

March 20, 2017: FBI Director James Comey says during a House Intelligence Committee hearing that he has "no evidence" to support Trump's wiretapping claim, and confirms that an investigation into Russia's election-related meddling includes an examination of contacts between Trump associates and Russia during the campaign.

NOW WATCH: A reporter asked Spicer if hes confident that no one in the White House is a foreign agent





More From Business Insider


Richmond-based mens clothing company Collared Greens Inc. is partnering with the charity Save-A-Suit to collect gently worn suits, blazers, dress shirts, dress pants, tops, shoes and other attire for veterans during April.

We are always looking for ways to work with veterans organizations and ... Save-A-Suit is absolutely a perfect fit, said Mason Antrim, CEO of Collared Greens.

Collared Greens will be collecting items at its flagship location at 5707 Grove Ave. Save-A-Suit assists veterans transitioning to civilian careers and college graduates.

Collared Greens also will donate ties and bow-ties from its signature American Made collection to complement the donated suit items. In addition, the company will donate 10 percent of the profits of store sales during April to Save-A-Suit.
CancerLINC netted more than $50,000 from this years handbag auction, Its in the Bag.

Handbag designer Thaddeus DuBois and his family from Syracuse, Ind., were among the more than 200 participants.

Four of DuBois handcrafted handbags brought more than $4,000 in the live and silent auctions. Three autographed handbags from Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker brought in $1,500.

We were so excited that Thaddeus and his family could join LINC this year, CancerLINC Executive Director Denise Kranich said. He has been donating handbags to our event since 2008. ... This is the first year we have raised over $50,000, and the money will go a long way to help Greater Richmond cancer patients and their families.

CancerLINC provides cancer patients with education, assistance and referral to legal, financial and community resources so that the nonmedical effects of cancer do not create crisis situations.

Philanthropy group assists area housing effort

River City Givers, Richmonds newest womens philanthropy group, has made its first local donation  $4,400 to The Maggie Walker Community Land Trust.

With 44 current members and the goal of reaching 100, River City Givers donates $100 per person each quarter to a charity voted on by members.

To be able to gift $4,400 after our first meeting was pretty amazing, said Angie Strickland, River City Givers co-founder. We are thrilled to support such a great cause and look forward to growing our membership so we can make an even bigger impact in our community.

The Maggie Walker Community Land Trust was formed to preserve housing affordability for low- and moderate-income families, starting with plans for four homes in the Church Hill area. Funding from the River City Givers will be used for education and outreach.

The Maggie Walker Community Land Trust is profoundly grateful for the generosity of the River City Givers and honored that we are the first nonprofit to receive their support, said Laura Lafayette, chairman of the land trusts board of directors. We are pleased that they recognize the value of creating affordable housing opportunities throughout our region.

Anthem HealthKeepers Plus assists 4 Richmond schools

Anthem HealthKeepers Plus has donated school supplies worth about $10,000 and a $1,000 check to be split evenly between Broad Rock, George Mason, Swansboro and Woodville elementary schools in Richmond.

Supplies include a drawstring backpack; a pencil pouch with pencils, erasers, sharpener, ruler, tissues and wipes; and a dental kit provided by the Smiles for Children program managed by DentaQuest.

Anthem partnered with Northstar Career Academy, which specializes in vocational training and job placement for young adults with disabilities, to have students help assemble the backpacks, school supplies and dental kits.

Worthy of note

The inaugural

Mend, Heal and Carry On

fundraising event raised $21,905 for the

Childrens Hospital Foundation Heart Center

at Childrens Hospital of Richmond at VCU

. Established in 2014 by Childrens Hospital Foundation with a pledge of $28 million over 10 years, the heart center offers services ranging from fetal cardiology and interventional cardiac catheterization to surgery and transplant.

Virginia Veteran and Family Support

received $15,500 from

McDonalds Family Restaurants of Greater Richmond

as the result of a monthlong program when the restaurants donated 10 cents to the organization from every apple pie sold at each of the 71 area McDonalds locations.

Jacobs Chance

 which organizes athletic, fitness and social programs for young people with disabilities  has received two recent donations.

Movement Mortgage Inc.

provided $13,000 for its social and wellness programs. The

Reeves Foundation

awarded a $10,500 Quality of Life Grant for athletic equipment, including items for accommodating special athletes.
MADISONWhen you arrive at Hebron Lutheran Church, you are immediately struck by the notion that it would be difficult to find a prettier setting for a church. Or anything, for that matter.

The gleaming house of worship sits in the foothills of Madison County, surrounded by patchwork fields, stands of trees, and mountains in the distances. Country roads meander through the scene. Even a river  the Robinson and assorted streams  runs through it.

Isnt it awesome? said Hebrons pastor, the Rev. Patricia Covington.

At Hebron, the beauty is accompanied by a healthy measure of history.

The church is celebrating its 300th anniversary this spring, a milestone that neatly coincides with this years commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther hanging his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle church, launching the Protestant Reformation.

I think they planned that very well, Covington with a laugh.

The church believes it is the oldest Lutheran worshipping community in the South  the congregation organized in 1717, and the church building was constructed in 1740  and that its building is the oldest in continuous use as a Lutheran church in the United States. It also is said to be one of four surviving wooden churches from Virginias Colonial heritage.

Just so visitors are aware Hebron has a seriously old tale to tell, three stiles remain outside the church. Stiles are wooden structures that enabled worshippers to dismount from horseback or horse-drawn carriage, then step over the fence that once surrounded the church and into the churchyard. The fence is long gone, but the story remains.

Hebron will officially celebrate its 300th on April 30 with a special service and festivities, though it seems to appreciate its notable heritage all days.

Photographer Bob Brown and I arrived last week for a visit and were greeted in the churchyard by Bill Price and Dave Allen, members of the churchs leadership council. Price, 71, grew up in the church, and Allen described himself as a new member. He came in 1990.

Price has the added distinction of being chairman of the 300th anniversary committee.

What he didnt have, though, as it turned out, was the key to the church.

So he quickly telephoned Judy Ann Fray, also a member of council, who lives nearby. In a few minutes, she drove up.

Hi there, Im Judy Ann Fray. Im chairman of the historical committee, she introduced herself. That doesnt mean I know everything.

But you have the key? I asked.

I have the key, she replied.

She led us into the church, a lovely though elegantly plain structure. Its a white frame building  constructed no doubt with wood harvested from the forest the settlers found when they arrived in the 1700s  with no steeple and no stained-glass windows, niceties that might have seemed extravagant to a community of German immigrants.

Price said with a smile that you might say the Germans who founded the church were prudent and frugal.

Fray said theres another way to look at the lack of fancy colored glass. Its so wonderful to have the outside in, she said.

However, the church is hardly austere. An itinerant Italian artist painted the plastered ceiling, which looks like a richly textured carpet from the floor. The loft at the back of the church is home to a Tannenberg pipe organ, installed in 1802 and restored in recent years.

The organ, built by Pennsylvanian David Tannenberg and delivered by ox cart, is one of only nine Tannenberg organs still in existence, according to church officials, and the only one that remains in its original location.

***

By the time the church founders reached the splendor of the Robinson River valley, they must have been grateful not just for the beauty but simply to have arrived at a destination they had sought for so long.

They had left Germany, headed for what would become America, but were waylaid in London. Fray said the story goes that once in England, their travel plans changed  the voyage they thought they were destined for didnt happen and they had to find a new way to the New World. They remained in London for an extended period, becoming a community and establishing their faith community there.

Sailing from England in 1717, they wound up coming to Virginia as indentured servants of royal Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood, arriving as the second wave of German immigrants brought here to work in iron mining in what is now Spotsylvania County, according to the Germanna Foundation, which preserves the heritage of the earliest organized settlements of Germans in Colonial Virginia.

Beginning in 1725, according to the foundation, the Germans moved to what was then the Western frontier: the Robinson River valley, where land was divided among the families. After church leaders returned to Europe to raise money, the church was eventually constructed in 1740. Later, the first school for German-speaking colonists started at Hebron.

Church members are proud that on a snowy day in January 1789, a political debate featuring two future presidents, James Madison and James Monroe, was held at the church. The men discussed the newly adopted U.S. Constitution as they competed for a seat in Congress. Madison won the election the following month.

The church has a membership in the range of 150, Covington said, though many do not live in the area any longer but still consider it their home church. The typical weekly attendance is between 40 and 75, she said, with more at Christmas and Easter.

The 300th anniversary, Covington said, is a very big deal.

Its a historical thing, but it has religious significance, said Covington, who has served as pastor at Hebron for five years and is retiring in June. What were really celebrating is the faithfulness of God, that God has been with this congregation for 300 years. Its been operating for 300 years, and God hasnt gone anywhere. People have come and people have gone, and it goes on.

It has to be a God thing because if it was a human thing, she said with a laugh, it wouldnt have worked.

Hebron lives in the hearts of its congregation, many of whom descend from the original families that founded the place, Covington said.

The attachment is natural and obvious: Their forefathers came here and worshipped here, and lived and died here, she said.

But the deep feelings run through others, too.

Fray, 71, came to Madison as a recent college graduate almost 50 years ago, a trainee in the Virginia Cooperative Extension. She married a church member and never left.

I cannot leave, Fray said of the church. Its just part of my life.

She took us to the organ loft where she sat and played Abide With Me and then Kumbaya, so we could hear the Tannenberg fill the sanctuary.

The people mean a lot, but this building means a lot, she said. It binds the people together  in their faith in God.

One of the responsibilities that we as members of this congregation have is to keep it going and to keep it in good condition. That was in the thank-you letters that were written to the people in Europe who gave contributions to this congregation back in the 1700s.
Sometimes, when theyre perfectly safe, it can feel like the nightmare is happening all over again.

Sexual and domestic violence victims suddenly experience the fight, flight or freeze reaction that overcame them during the traumatic event  or events  they experienced, even if it happened decades before.

It can be really easy to switch back into survival mode even when the danger is over if a trigger that reminds you of that memory  something you see or smell that reminds you  switches it back on, and leads to flashbacks and panic attacks, said Katie Copty, director of counseling and advocacy with Safe Harbor.

But Coptys ability to help, and the ability of dozens of other counselors in the Richmond area, could be seriously threatened in the future as the existence of several federal grants and funding streams remains uncertain.

Several nonprofit organizations in the Richmond area that provide support to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence benefited from a boost in federal and state funding last year, including Safe Harbor in Henrico County and the YWCA Richmond, located downtown.

But President Donald Trumps administrations view of those grants and funding streams has been, at best, lukewarm and, at worst, abrasive, as national reports have shown he and his team are interested in cutting a substantial portion of grants. His attorney general, Jeff Sessions, in the past voted against a vital source of funds for many victim services organizations.

With a quarter of our funding coming in from the federal government for our domestic and sexual violence services, any cuts to that funding would be a significant loss for us, said Linda Tissiere, the YWCAs CEO.

That could be crippling both to the agency and to the people who need those services the most.

***

Safe Harbor and the YWCA benefited last year from a boost in federal funding through the Victims of Crime Act  or VOCA  fund. VOCA was created in 1984 and is funded through penalties paid by criminal offenders, not tax dollars. Periodically, Congress will vote to distribute funds to the states for victim services.

The fund is massive. In 2012 alone, $2.795 billion was deposited into it. Congress allowed for a substantial amount of money to be released to states in 2015, and Virginias Department of Criminal Justice Services received $50 million, which then doled it out to various organizations.

Were so thankful, but were afraid that that big chunk of money will look appealing for other things, said Cathy Easter, Safe Harbors CEO.

Trump only vaguely references VOCA in his budget, and Easter noted that its hard to know what his intentions are.

But to further worry organizations that offer services to survivors, several national publications in January reported that Trumps team is considering eliminating 25 grants controlled by the U.S. Department of Justices Office on Violence Against Women.

The grants were created by the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. In 2013, when the act was up for reauthorization, Sessions  who is now in charge of the Department of Justice  voted against it.

In 2016, several Virginia municipalities and the Department of Criminal Justice Services received more than $8 million through Office on Violence Against Women grants.

Safe Harbor receives about $11,000 through the Sexual Assault Services Program, which is administered through the DCJS and was created by the Office on Violence Against Women.

Half of Safe Harbors nearly $1.5 million annual budget comes from federal grants, while 14 percent comes from state grants, Easter said.

About 25 percent of the YWCAs annual budget of about $3.32 million comes from federal funding, Tissiere said.

Safe Harbor and the YWCA offer their services free of charge, which is vital if they are truly going to be able to serve survivors, Tissiere said.

With domestic violence, for example, one way that an abuser can control and wield power with a survivor is to limit their access to money, she said. If we lose the federal money, it would be very difficult for us to make up that loss.

Last year, Safe Harbor helped 1,400 clients through counseling and case management, along with its court and shelter programs. That does not include its community programs and outreach.

During its 2015-16 fiscal year, the YWCA Richmond received about 4,900 calls through the Greater Richmond Regional Hotline, which it runs for all the sexual and domestic violence agencies in the central Virginia region.

The organization also had close to 450 hospital accompaniment calls for survivors in emergency rooms, rapidly rehoused about 175 adults and children into permanent housing, and provided close to 3,000 hours of counseling.

Tissiere pointed out that no organization providing services to victims of sexual and domestic violence operates alone.

The YWCA is part of a regional collaborative, and we partner with all of our sister agencies, all the way from the Tri-Cities area out to New Kent, Goochland, Hanover and everywhere in between, she said.

No one agency can possibly cover that geographic range with the number of survivors that come to each of us, and its just critically important that all of us are able to maintain the quality and quantity of services we provide.

***

When Copty started her work with Safe Harbor about four years ago  and before the organization received its boost in federal and state grants  the organization had a wait list for its services of about 6 to 8 weeks.

That was a problem, especially in the field we work in, having to get the folks who are in crisis in sooner. But everybody who reaches out for services here really does need it, she said.

In past years, Easter said, Safe Harbor received about $79,000 a year through the VOCA fund, administered through the DCJS. For the current fiscal year, its funding increased to more than $443,000.

Prior to that, we had a very limited staff, and they were putting in a lot of extra hours, she said.

With the boost, she said, her organization has added two counselors, a court advocate and a case manager for its emergency shelter to help clients with their educational aspirations as well as job and housing searches.

Since then, the wait list has shrunk to about two weeks, Copty said. And the organization has enhanced training for its counselors as well. Right now, they are receiving training in EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.

Its a type of therapy that helps to process traumatic memories, Copty said. If they have experienced a sexual assault, it can often feel like that memory is still happening in the present or the danger is still there, through flashbacks, memories and nightmares. EMDR helps to process the memory and file it away in a sort of filing cabinet so its not still there in the present.

Earlier this year, Safe Harbor opened a new shelter devoted to victims of human trafficking, thanks to a $500,000, three-year grant from the Department of Criminal Justice Services.

About 600,000 to 800,000 people  mostly women  are trafficked across international borders every year, and some are trafficked in central Virginia, as the Interstate I-95/64 corridor makes the area easy to access.

That corridor has led to a significant amount of trafficking in the Richmond area, Easter said.

I think theres, throughout the country, a shocking lack of awareness of what is going on in peoples own backyards, she added. If (trafficking victims) were released and truly didnt have anything else to fall back on, then they often ended up back with their traffickers and they would just disappear.

And even if the DCJS grant and other federal and state funding streams go away, Safe Harbor will not let the shelter close.

Its our goal in the next three years to be able to make up that money if that grant goes away, Easter said. Its going to be a stretch, but we need to be positioned to be ready.
Ashland has nabbed a longtime Hanover County worker to look after the towns checkbook.

Felix Stevens will begin as Ashlands finance director on April 17. Stevens is taking the job after 12 years with the Hanover County Treasurers Office, most recently as the deputy treasurer for collections.

Ashlands former finance director, Joshua Farrar, was hired in January to be Ashlands town manager.

Ashlands finance director is tasked with overseeing the towns money and taking care of its financial reporting. Stevens salary for the job will be $73,634, according to Farrar, who had the final say on Stevens hiring.

Stevens said he is excited to use the skills and knowledge he has honed in Hanover to benefit Ashland, where he has lived for about 12 years.

This will be like a five-minute walk to work, Stevens said. I just love working with the town.

Stevens, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has sat on Ashlands Planning Commission since 2010. He will be stepping down from the Planning Commission, and a replacement is being sought.

Farrar said there is nothing legally requiring Stevens to step down, but Ashland wanted to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest.

We want to make sure we maintain the highest ethics here, Farrar said.

Farrar said there were 15 applicants to be Ashlands finance director. Stevens experience working in Virginia with the same accounting software that Ashland uses was attractive to Farrar.

He is known in the state and respected in the state for training for that software, Farrar said of Stevens.

Ashland Vice Mayor James D. Murray said Stevens is known for being thoughtful and meticulous.
Chesterfield police are looking for man accused of using stolen credit cards in several Virginia localities.

According to police, Toney Martin Thomas usually targets elderly women who leave their purses unattended in grocery stores. Once he takes a purse, he uses credit cards found inside at stores nearby or gives them to associates to use.

Thomas is wanted by at least seven law-enforcement agencies in Northern and Central Virginia, police said.

Thomas, whose last known address was in Washington, is black, in his early 50s, about 5-foot-8 and usually has a well-groomed mustache and beard.

Anyone with information about Thomas' whereabouts is asked to contact Chesterfield/Colonial Heights Crime Solvers by calling at (804) 748-0660, visiting www.crimesolvers.net or texting the code WATSON plus the tip to 274637**.
A pattern in Chesterfield and Henrico counties of suspending black students with disabilities at a disproportionately high rate has triggered a response from the state.

In the 2014-15 school year, a Chesterfield African-American student with disabilities was nearly four times more likely to be suspended long-term compared with other students with disabilities. During that period, Henricos African-American students with disabilities were 6.7 times more likely to be suspended long-term.

The pattern has persisted and worsened over time, leading the Virginia Department of Education to issue a mandate to several localities.

Chesterfield, Henrico and Richmond are among seven Virginia school districts mandated to set aside federal money received under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act this year.

Richmond was cited because for three years the citys African-American students with disabilities have remained at least three times more likely to be identified as having other health impairment than other students with disabilities.

The state defines other health impairment as limited strength, vitality or alertness.

Julie McConnell, an attorney who runs the Childrens Defense Clinic at the University of Richmond, said that during the past six years, most of her clients from Chesterfield have shared similar characteristics.

The vast majority are African-American students, or students with disabilities. And they have been pushed out of school for such offenses as fighting or possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Its an unfortunate pattern we see. Its very troubling, McConnell said.

The mandates also come as the state is facing what the Legal Aid Justice Center called a suspension crisis, according to a May 2016 report from the JustChildren Program within the Justice Center.

Unfortunately, I wasnt surprised, Rachael Deane, an attorney with the JustChildren Program, said of Chesterfields situation.

We know that Virginia schools across the commonwealth issue a huge number of suspensions each year. There is an overuse in general among all public schools to use suspension and expulsion to handle student behavior.

Chesterfield was one locality in the report with what Deane called huge disparities in suspended students with disabilities and African-American students, though she was encouraged by how Chesterfield plans to respond to the mandate.

***

The Justice Center says research shows students excluded from school are more likely to fail class, drop out, have mental health problems and end up in the court system.

Schools do not necessarily fare better. According to the Justice Center report, schools with high suspension rates generally have less satisfactory climate ratings and lower test scores and graduation rates.

And there is no evidence to suggest that suspension and expulsion deter misconduct or improve school safety, the report adds.

Yet the states schools have relied heavily on the practice.

In the 2014-15 school year, Virginia schools issued 126,000 out-of-school suspensions to about 70,000 students. Most of those were for nonviolent behavior such as classroom or campus disruption and disproportionately fell to male students, African-American students and students with disabilities, according to the Justice Center report that analyzed data reported by the state.

Chesterfield and Henricos mandate means that African-American students with disabilities remained at least three times more likely to be suspended long-term than other students with disabilities for three consecutive years. In addition, that rate of suspension trended upward during that time.

This is the first time the mandate has applied to Chesterfield, but its not the first time the county has been cited for disparities related to suspensions of students with disabilities.

From 2004 to 2015, Chesterfield was marked for such disparity six times, according to the countys annual education reports filed to the state.

***

The mandate will cause Chesterfields intervention to increase significantly, with school leaders pulling from strategies both McConnell and Deane called effective.

Chesterfield schools plan to spend $1.78 million to address the pattern next school year. The amount is much higher than what the county has set aside voluntarily in recent years. The state sets parameters for how the money can be used.

Chesterfield Superintendent James F. Lane has proposed additional full-time positions, expanding a social and emotional learning curriculum, and implementing a remedial study skills program at four of the middle schools.

Richmond plans to spend $895,647 to reduce its over-identification in special education by putting the money toward academic and behavior supports for at-risk general education students in kindergarten through third grade.

Henrico reduced the overall number of out-of-school suspensions for students with disabilities and African-American students from 2011 to 2016, school data show. But gaps remain.

The county plans to use the money to increase social and emotional supports within the schools.

Henrico has revised its code of conduct, extended day programs, and added professional development for staff in such topics as trauma-informed care, cultural competency and mental health.

At some schools, the county also has installed what officials call preventive programs such as social emotional support teams, behavior intervention services and behavior support teams.

***

In Chesterfield, the proposed positions add layers of intervention for students and focus on relationship-building, inclusion, addressing trauma and developing empathy.

An equity coordinator would get at the root causes for the disparity, Lane said.

Its not that people are racist. Thats too easy, McConnell said. There are implicit biases and a lack of understanding.

If a child doesnt act like your child, its harder for people to understand. Theres so much work that needs to be done so that people dont negatively act toward these kids.

Lane also calls for intervention training specialists focused on restorative practices, a strategy very effective in the research.

Using restorative practices means disciplining students in a nonpunitive way, by focusing on repairing harm done and engaging everyone involved rather than excluding the misbehaving student.

In a classroom, it can mean an offender, victim and facilitator as well as staff, family or other students all sit in a circle. The dialogue focuses on what harm was done, with the offender taking responsibility, then developing a plan for how everyone will contribute to repairing the harm.

Intervention specialists trained in trauma-informed care are becoming increasingly important in Chesterfields school system, Lane said.

Were hearing of a lot of students, especially those new to our country, that are coming to us with some significant issues as they transition into the community, frankly with some traumatic experiences in their past, he said.

Were hearing from ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teachers, that really trauma-informed care is needed to support behavior work in our school division.

An added six social workers would mean that every Chesterfield building could have a psychologist or social worker in the school every other day.

Samantha Hollins, Chesterfields director of special education, said the added staff members would blend work between addressing teacher responses to student behavior as well as laying down consistent behavior expectations for students.

Who is responsible to make sure that we arent just adding things on top of things that arent going well? School Board member Carrie E. Coyner asked during a Feb. 14 discussion on the topic. Clearly, we are where we are today because not everything has been effective, and were hoping that these tools are.

Coyner said that when the schools started having conversations about social and emotional learning, an inventory of existing services showed that many things were not working. She referred a request for additional comment to the school spokesperson.

Lane said an added five behavioral intervention specialists will tailor services to what the schools need and institutionalize the training. These specialists will be key to ensuring each school has a voice as the changes are made.

Deane with JustChildren said she was heartened by Chesterfields proposal, which aligned with several recommendations in the JustChildren report.

But she wished there was more money for professional development and training for all staff members. She also called on state lawmakers to do more to curb the use of suspensions and expulsions.
A formula for peace in the Middle East may boil down to widespread acknowledgment of a basic truth: Life would be better for everyone if the fighting ended.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Nobel Peace Prize-winning Egyptian law scholar and diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei shared a stage for the first time Saturday at The Richmond Forum at the Altria Theater to tackle the topic of Peace in the Middle East: Prospects and Roadblocks.

I think we lost our way, to be fair and objective, for 70 years, ElBaradei said in an interview before the discussion began. Somehow we lost the big picture that eventually war, violence is not a solution. Eventually we need to live together, and the benefit of peace is tremendous. As Prime Minister Barak has said, we need to show people the benefits that peace will yield. ... I think thats key  to show people that not only the leaders will get together, but there is a peace dividend if you live together and work together.

Barak and ElBaradei agreed that one of the most effective ways for the United States to encourage peace and combat terrorism is to remain a moral beacon for the rest of the world, as Barak phrased it.

It is the moral authority that really should continue to provide vision, guidance and a role model, ElBaradei followed. What really attracts the rest of the world to you, you are a model of how the world should be, a microcosm of the world. If you lose that, everybody is going to lose.

In Israel, Barak said, people have become a bit cynical after the many times that peace efforts have stalled. Oh, there will always be some talk, but it cannot be done, they are tempted to say.

If an equitable solution for Israelis and Palestinians cannot be designed, it will be a tragedy for Israel, Barak said. Under a one-state solution with Israel in control of areas claimed by Palestinians, Israel would likely become a single state with a kind of segregation for Palestinians or a state with a Palestinian majority and probably a permanent civil war, he said.

Barak said hes encouraged that President Donald Trump seems to be really focused on striking a deal.

ElBaradei said hes not sure that Trump will put in the time or effort necessary to reach a peace agreement in the Middle East.

Barak sometimes offered a joke to bolster his point, and he even recommended it as a way to combat Islamic extremism. Fight them with jokes, he said. Instead of 72 virgins awaiting an Islamic martyr at the pearly gates, tell them theyll find 72 Virginians, he said.

More seriously, he said, the short term will require a military solution that must be led by Muslims. They cannot be defeated by crusaders, Barak said, though cooperation on intelligence and air support can be critical.

We should have no illusions. They will not disappear, he said. There is no shortage of these organizations.

On Irans nuclear program, Barak said he is deeply suspicious that Iran is hoping to join North Korea and Pakistan as rogue nations that have nuclear capability. The world should consider what would trigger new sanctions or surgical military strikes, he said.

ElBaradei said Arabs have the same suspicions about an Israeli nuclear program. He sees Irans determination to pursue nuclear energy as an outgrowth of oppression, occupation and humiliation. The Iranian nuclear program started when the world ganged up against Iran, he said.

The solution is a new system so that everyone in the Middle East feels secure, ElBaradei said.

We need a regional system where everybody feels they belong ... to have an environment that produces moderates. Being moderate doesnt get you anywhere right now. People dont have enough to eat. They dont have freedom to speak. They are losing their sense of humanity.

After Barak was elected prime minister of Israel in 1999, he ordered the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon, ending an 18-year occupation. His peace proposals at the Camp David negotiations with the Palestinians in 2000 are still widely considered a blueprint for ending the conflict.
CHARLOTTESVILLE  Award-winning actor Bryan Cranston spoke to hundreds of people Sunday at John Paul Jones Arena for the third annual University of Virginia Presidents Speaker Series for the Arts.

Whether it was about his passion for good storytelling and the arts, his time as the iconic Walter White from Breaking Bad or the importance that hard work has had in his life, Cranston and moderator Mark Johnson, an Academy Award-winning producer and U.Va. alumnus, kept the conversation moving throughout the afternoon.

Cranston is also the author of the best-seller A Life in Parts, a memoir that touches on many of the subjects he talked about Sunday.

Cranston was introduced to the audience by Jody Kielbasa, provost for the arts at U.Va., and by a pre-recorded video from Teresa Sullivan, president of the university.

Bryan has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an actor, Sullivan said, before she listed Cranstons award wins and nominations and a film montage highlighting important moments in his career.Throughout the conversation with Johnson, Cranston talked about some of those pivotal moments in his life  childhood memories, landing his role in Breaking Bad and his belief in staying busy to be successful.

Johnson asked Cranston how he has been able to commit to four very strong, but different characters  Walter White, Hal in Malcolm in the Middle, the title character in Trumbo and his portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson in All the Way  that he has become best known for.

I know your work very well, and a lot of other ones, but I think of those four as really, really defining performances, Johnson said.

Cranston said a lot of it has to do with whether the story associated with those characters resonates with him.

When you read a script and you have an offer to do something, rely on your instincts, he said. You know when youre reading a great book and you cant wait to get back to reading that book, and its like a treat. Well, opening up the next episode of Breaking Bad was like a treat.

Johnson later called Cranston one of the hardest-working people in show business, and asked him how hes able to do it all, including acting, writing and directing.

For Cranston, its about a lifelong commitment to hard work, as well as his perseverance in not giving up his pursuit of acting in the early days of his career.

My message to anyone whos thinking of a career in the arts, do not attempt that unless you love it, he said. Unless you feel like you would do it for free for the rest of your life, thats what you have to be willing to do. You have to be willing to devote your life to it.

Johnson asked Cranston about what he sees as the role of the artist in education.

Well, I think, and maybe the broader question is: What does art mean to a society? Cranston said. And I think that a society that doesnt embrace and nurture art in all forms, that society is not enlightened and will eventually wither and die.

Cranston wasnt the only person who spoke to advocate for the arts and speak to its importance in society and education. Kielbasa said theres no way to measure what kind of an impact the arts have on the lives of students every day.

In many ways, the arts define who we are as a people, and our freedom of expression is a reflection of who we are to the rest of the world, he said. The impact of the arts was particularly important here at the university, dating all the way back to Thomas Jefferson, who ardently and famously advocated for the value of culture for students here and everywhere.

As he was about to leave the stage, Cranston left the applauding crowd with one more message.
Bucket list

Many baby boomers want to travel in retirement and often have a bucket list of destinations. A recent AARP survey of 889 baby boomers found that they are planning a variety of domestic and international trips over the next five years. Here are the places baby boomers say they most want to visit.

Hawaii

The beautiful beaches and relaxed island lifestyle draw many people to Hawaii. The 50th state is on the bucket list of 18 percent of baby boomers planning domestic trips. A trip to Hawaii is a more popular travel goal than any other state.

Australia

The most popular overseas trip idea is Australia, with 13 percent of baby boomers having this county on their international bucket list. The unique wildlife and natural beauty of the area, as well as the ease of visiting a country where English is spoken, make this a country many people want to visit in retirement.

Italy

Imagine spending your retirement lingering over food and wine at Italian restaurants. Perhaps you could then burn off the extra calories visiting Italy's many historic sites. Some 12 percent of boomers planning international trips are hoping to visit Italy.

Alaska

Many boomers (12 percent) have America's largest and northernmost state on their domestic bucket list. Retirees could choose to relax with some fishing or a cruise, or adventure to visit glaciers and mountains. You'll have plenty of daylight for sightseeing during the long summer days.

U.K. and Ireland

You don't need to know any foreign languages to visit these popular tourist destinations. You can enjoy the city delights of London and Dublin or venture to the picturesque villages. Many baby boomers (11 percent) are hoping to visit the U.K., Ireland or both.

France

France is known for its delicious cuisine, iconic fashion and sophisticated culture. Some 10 percent of baby boomers are hoping to sample French culinary pleasures, visit Paris's iconic landmarks or revel in the relaxed pace of life in the countryside.

Story continues

California

A visit to the majestic redwoods, the Golden Gate Bridge, Hollywood or other California sites graces the bucket list of 8 percent of retirees. Accommodations in San Francisco or Los Angeles can be quite expensive, but a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway or a day at a public beach often comes free of charge.

Arizona

Whether it's a visit to the Grand Canyon or spending a mild winter by the pool, 8 percent of boomers would like to visit Arizona. This state, and especially Yuma, is one of the sunniest places in the world, and many retirees spend their winters here.

Nevada

Many retirees are planning a trip to Las Vegas for the casinos and nightlife (7 percent). But don't neglect the area's surrounding beauty. When you tire of gambling and buffets, consider a visit to Red Rock Canyon or Lake Mead.

New York

Some of the nation's most impressive shows, museums, food and buildings can all be found in New York City. You can relax with a walk through Central Park or simply stare up at the collection of skyscrapers and bridges. Some 7 percent of boomers are planning a retirement trip to take in these urban delights.

The Caribbean

There are few things that invoke a feeling of relaxation better than picturing yourself sitting in a beach chair on a Caribbean island, with no responsibilities other than adjusting your umbrella and ordering your next cold drink. Some baby boomers (7 percent) are counting the days until their next visit to a Caribbean isle.





More From US News & World Report


March 21 was National Agriculture Day. We regret that we overlooked the observance, as we suspect most folks did. It should be a day that the entire nation shows its appreciation to the 2 percent of Americans who work the land.

Worldwide, the U.S. ranks third in food production, just below China and India. However, while those two nations raise food primarily to feed their own populations of 1.3 billion each, America feeds the world. The nation has dominated the food export market for a very long time. In 2015, U.S. food exports totaled about $149 billion  nearly twice that of second place Brazils $79 billion.

Nowhere else is food produced with anything close to the efficiency of American farmers. The 922 million acres of American farmland produce a vast array of food including corn, wheat, soybeans, and beef.

As we recognize those Americans who feed us, our thoughts and prayers go out to the farmers and ranchers in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. In what may be the greatest natural disaster not being reported, devastating wildfires in the past months have cost them more than 1 million acres of farmland, miles of fences, and hundreds of thousands of livestock. Some ranchers have lost as much as 80 percent of their cattle herds.

State and local agriculture offices and farm bureaus are doing what they can. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has made $6 million in aid available to assist in recovery efforts. (It wont go far.) Much more is needed  and farmers across the nation have pitched in to help. From Colorado to Michigan to Ohio, farmers are sending caravans of hay, feed, seed, milk for orphaned calves, and even livestock to the affected areas. One family from Washington County, Iowa, donated an entire semi-trailer of their own hay stock.

Last Monday, Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe visited ranchers in his state, promising relief and help. But noticeably absent in the desolated area is the president. For farmers and ranchers in the affected three states, all of which voted Republican in the 2016 election, President Trumps silence is deeply upsetting. This is the country that elected Donald Trump, rancher Garth Gardiner told The New York Times, I think hed be doing himself a favor to come out and visit us.
By Ben Campbell, Pierce Homer and John Moeser

In the depths of recession, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development created a loan guarantee program designed to stimulate and effectively subsidize apartment construction. The 221(d)(4) program allows taxpayers  not developers  to backstop loans for apartment construction. Perhaps this program made sense during a recession, but not today in Richmond, where the federal HUD program would subsidize a large, risky development that would crowd neighborhood schools, degrade civil rights and Civil War history, and overburden our roads and stormwater facilities.

Even worse, the project would impose costs on local taxpayers for schools, roads, and stormwater upgrades. The City Council Land Use Subcommittee recognized the potential for this cost-shifting and is asking the city administration to better estimate these local government costs and neighborhood impacts. The full City Council will vote on that study tonight.

The proposed Canopy at Ginter Park is a huge suburban apartment complex similar to what is seen from I-95 or in the outer suburbs. It would drop an initial 300 apartments into the middle of the Sherwood Park and Ginter Park neighborhoods, with the potential at full buildout for an additional 800 units on adjacent land, making it the densest development in the entire city.

Subsidized by a HUD 221(d)(4) loan guarantee, the project would cause the following problems that the city, not the private developer, would have to address:

The first phase would add 60 to 170 new students to at-capacity Holton Elementary, requiring three to five trailers, and three to five additional instructional staff, plus supportive services. The full buildout of the Canopy site would be nearly three times as intense, and likely require major capital investments or radical attendance zone changes for Holton Elementary.

The HUD subsidy would allow the Canopy project to compete against longstanding middle-income apartments on Chamberlayne Avenue, and undermine the slow but steady improvement in that corridor.

HUD would be subsidizing a private development that buries both Civil War and civil rights history, prompting a finding of adverse historical impacts by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

HUD would be inducing a private development that will require transportation and stormwater upgrades  with 100 percent of those costs borne by city taxpayers.

While the surrounding neighborhoods are contesting a zoning loophole that may or may not allow this project to happen, HUD is barreling ahead with public hearings and an apparent zeal to backstop this speculative Canopy project, a project that undermines larger HUD objectives in the Chamberlayne Avenue corridor and that imposes significant costs on city taxpayers and surrounding neighborhoods.

The loan has been opposed in writing by City Council President Chris Hilbert, council member Kim Gray, and former council member Charles Samuel.

Why do we have a federal program that subsidizes private developers, hurts existing moderate-income apartments, and imposes significant capital and operating costs on our school, transportation and stormwater systems?

This federal subsidy would hurt  not help  the collective Northside neighborhoods.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Sue Klebold has been asked the same question, over and over, for nearly 18 years: How could you not know?

Its a question shes been asking herself, too, over and over, since April 20, 1999  the day her son Dylan carried out the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.

For longer than her youngest son was alive, Klebold has lived with the devastating grief and humiliation of being tied to the Columbine High School killings, the Colorado shooting that took the lives of 12 students, one teacher and perpetrators Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris.

Their actions on that day opened national dialogues on gun control, bullying and mental illness, but for Sue Klebold, the horrors of that day have reshaped her very existence.

Klebold has molded her new reality into becoming a voice for the advancement of mental health awareness and advocacy. That voice manifested itself in her memoir, A Mothers Reckoning, published last year.

On Sunday afternoon, Klebold took the stage of the University of Virginias Culbreth Theatre for a sold-out presentation as part of the Virginia Festival of the Book.

Its sometimes hard to know where to begin when I speak with people, Klebold started, saying that shes been keenly aware that someone in any audience may have lost someone because of what Dylan did.

Im sorry if my son has caused you pain, Klebold told Sundays crowd. If theres anyone in here, forgive me, please, for raising someone who would do something so terrible.

Like many others, Klebold also wonders whether there were signs that shed missed. According to his mother, Dylan Klebold had been a gifted young man, and the kind of kid who makes you feel like youre being a good parent, she said.

Although his grades began to slack in high school, Dylan had friends, did production for school plays and had an adept interest in computers. The weekend before the shooting, hed gone to prom with a classmate, traveling there in a limo with a group of friends.

You can imagine my disconnect, Klebold said Sunday.

In the months following the shooting, Klebold still clung to the idea that her sons involvement might have been some sort of mistake. After all, hed been involved in theater  might this be some sort of prank? Perhaps it started as a performance and things got out of control, she recalls considering.

It wasnt until six months later, when she was able to read a police report of the incident, that Klebold was able to accept what had happened.

While she acknowledges that some people find it offensive to say, Klebold still views her sons death as a suicide. In the months after it happened, Klebold found notes stuffed in her sons notebook that indicated that he was in agony. Dylan wouldnt have co-created his horrendous plan had he not resolutely intended to die, she reasons.

Klebold understands now that underlying all of her sons agony was undiagnosed mental illness. The tragedy has had a resounding emotional toll on the schools teachers and students, on the first responders to the scene, on the Columbine community at large and so many others; its a pain that doesnt go away, she said.

Its not just the [one] day; its the ripples, Klebold said.

For years, Klebold dealt with the pain and humiliation as best she could while suffering from newfound bouts of depression and panic attacks. Slowly, she has felt herself shifting to a survivor as she undertakes mental health advocacy work.

Still, there is always a piece of me that blames myself, she said. If she could go back and change things, Klebold said that she would try to make an environment where he could talk, and I would just listen.

Had she been a better listener, she said, Dylan might have been willing to share his internal strife, rather than bottle it up.

As parents, we believe it is our job to help our kids feel better, Klebold said. I think our more important job is to just help them feel.

But things dont happen in a vacuum, she said. Dylan had direct interactions with the criminal justice system, the school system and the health care system before the shooting, none of which seemed able to detect what he was planning. Therein lies room for improvement, so long as those systems are willing to take mental health care reform more seriously, she said.

Sitting in the front row for her presentation was state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, who suffered his own family tragedy in 2013 when his mentally ill son, Austin Gus Deeds, stabbed his father multiple times before taking his own life.

Its incredibly difficult to try and make sense out of the senseless, Deeds said. What she can talk about is our negligence with respect to the way we care for mental illness and those who have it, and our failure in the past to address that.

Deeds, an outspoken proponent of reforming the states mental health care system, said mental illness often gets short shrift compared with other medical maladies, despite the fact that mental illness affects nearly every family in some respect.

More than 50 percent of people with problems go more than 10 years from the onset of those problems until they get treatment, and thats unacceptable, Deeds said. We have to reduce the stigma and we also have to invest, as a nation and a state, in care for the mentally ill.
Two years after the end of the Civil War, emancipated slaves came together in prayer and founded First Baptist Church of Salem.

Church members suffered through Reconstruction, endured the rise of Jim Crow and stood firm through the civil rights movement, the Rev. Lance Franklin reminded congregants at a joyful service celebrating how far the church has come in the 150 years since.

Were mindful of their work and their diligence and their long-suffering, and Lord, we know that we stand on their shoulders, Franklin prayed. We ask that you continue to bless us, that we continue to lift hymns and praise you.

Pews were full Sunday and shaking with applause and exclamations of praise that echoed through the sanctuary off South Broad Street.

The Rev. Dwight Steele, who left his usual post at Pilgrim Baptist Church to guest minister the First Baptist congregation, said the choirs energy made him want to run through the church.

Yall are back there kicking it up, Steele said.

The Psalms are full of stories of gladness, of believers rejoicing and even trembling with a sense of awe and wonder, Steele preached. He urged the First Baptist congregants to embrace the feeling  which they did, their gladness barely contained.

How do you demonstrate gladness? Steele asked rhetorically.

Right now, a congregant answered from the pews. Amen, another said.

The churchs sesquicentennial celebration was a long time coming. Plans for the event began last year, and a month of festivities culminated Sunday with Steeles guest sermon and luncheon.

The original church grew from a prayer service held in members homes. Early congregants were brave souls, Louise Braxton noted, forming their church not very far from the site of the Souths defeat at Appomattox and the Confederacys capitol in Richmond.

Only people fortified by faith and inspired by vision would attempt such a feat, Braxton told congregants in a reflection during the service.

This anniversary was the first major one to be celebrated in the churchs new sanctuary, christened six years ago to replace the steepled, white clapboard original. Sundays service drew visitors from far beyond Salem, many who came to honor the church in which they were brought up.

Henry Bellinger came for the day from Maryland, wanting to bear witness to the anniversary of the church where he and his children were baptized. Bellinger, 79, said that in his youth, First Baptist was our base. He moved away from Salem after returning from service in Vietnam but has kept close with First Baptist congregants and friends over the years.

It was just home, Bellinger said.

A lot has changed since Margaret Vineyards family of 12 joined the church when she was a child, but change is good, she said. The 69-year-old raised her own sons in the church as well, teaching Sunday school, gathering flowers for the sanctuary like her mother did and helping prepare meals like Sundays along the way.

The teenagers she once taught, in the old house that stood next door to the church before it was replaced with an education center and fellowship hall, now are all grown.

Now I look around and theyre grown up and have families of their own, Vineyard said.

Three things have sustained the church through the years, said the Rev. Melton Johnson, the churchs pastor for the past 12 years.

Commitment to God, commitment to the word and commitment to humanity, Johnson said. Those will be the things that sustain the church another 150 years, he said.

Anita Campbell, the churchs choir director, said she prayed a lot before Sundays service. She wanted the choirs hymns to be just right for the circumstances.

From the chancel, Campbell jumped and sang with gusto, leading the choir through hymns that brought congregants to their feet, arms outstretched.

Run and tell em about Jesus, Campbell sang. You oughta run! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

That the church still stands is evidence of Gods grace, Franklin said.

If all you can say is, mmm, hes been good to me, you oughta run and tell, Franklin implored the congregation. Run, and tell them the good news.
By Elena Fabrichnaya, Steve Holland and Patricia Zengerle MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Russian bank under Western economic sanctions over Russia's incursion into Ukraine disclosed on Monday that its executives had met Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a top White House adviser, during the 2016 election campaign. A U.S. Senate committee investigating suspected Russian interference in the election wants to interview Trump associates, including Kushner, 36, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and has agreed to testify. Kushner previously acknowledged meeting the Russian ambassador to Washington last December and only on Monday did it emerge that executives of Russian state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) had talks with Kushner during a bank roadshow last year. The bank said in an emailed statement that as part of its preparing a new strategy, its executives met representatives of financial institutes in Europe, Asia and America. It said roadshow meetings took place "with a number of representatives of the largest banks and business establishments of the United States, including Jared Kushner, the head of Kushner Companies." VEB declined to say where the meetings took place or the dates. There was no immediate comment from Kushner. Allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russian actors were behind hacking of senior Democratic Party operatives and spreading disinformation linger over Trump's young presidency. Democrats charge the Russians wanted to tilt the election toward the Republican, a claim dismissed by Trump. Russia denies the allegations. But there has been no doubt that the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, developed contacts among the Trump team. Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign on Feb. 13 after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with Kislyak and misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations. U.S. officials said that after meeting with Russian Kislyak at Trump Tower last December, a meeting also attended by Flynn, Kushner met later in December with Sergei Gorkov, chairman of Vnesheconombank. White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed the meetings, saying nothing of consequence was discussed. Gorkov was appointed head of VEB in early 2016 by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He graduated from the Federal Security Service, or FSB, Russias internal security agency. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Merit for Services to the Fatherland, according to the bank's website. According to two congressional staffers, some Senate investigators want to question Kushner and Flynn about whether they discussed with Gorkov or other Russian officials or financial executives the possibility of investing in 666 Fifth Avenue in New York or other Kushner Co or Trump properties if the new administration lifted the sanctions. VEB, aside from being under sanctions, has been grappling with bad debt after financing politically expedient projects such as construction for the Sochi Winter Olympics. It received 150 billion roubles ($2.6 billion) in support from the Russian budget in 2016, when its senior management was sacked and replaced by a team of executives from Russia's biggest lender Sberbank. In an article posted on Dec. 18, Forbes estimated that Jared Kushner, his brother Josh and his parents, Charles and Seryl, have a fortune of at least $1.8 billion, more than half of which Forbes estimates is held in real estate. Forbes did not provide a specific estimate for Jared Kushners net worth on his own. FOREIGN CONTACTS On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that Kushner is willing to testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by U.S. Senator Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican. Throughout the campaign and the transition, Jared served as the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials ... and so, given this role, he volunteered to speak with Chairman Burr's committee," Spicer told reporters at his daily briefing. The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate panel also said Kushner had agreed to be interviewed but no date had yet been scheduled. Simply meeting with representatives of a U.S.-sanctioned entity is not a violation of sanctions or against the law. Evgeny Buryakov, 41, a Russian citizen who worked at Vnesheconombank and whom U.S. authorities accused of posing as a banker while participating in a New York spy ring, pleaded guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge on Friday. Buryakov admitted in federal court in Manhattan to acting as an agent for the Russian government without notifying U.S. authorities. He was prosecuted by the office of the U.S. attorney in Manhattan under Preet Bharara, who was among several chief prosecutors fired or asked to resign earlier this month by the new administration. CLASSIFIED INFORMATION Also on Monday, a mystery rooted in Trump's claim that he was wiretapped by then President Barack Obama during the election campaign deepened with the disclosure that a top congressional Republican reviewed classified information on the White House grounds about potential surveillance of some Trump campaign associates. U.S. Representative Devin Nunes, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, visited the White House the night before he announced on Wednesday that he had information that indicated some Trump associates may have been subjected to some level of intelligence activity before Trump took office on Jan. 20. Democrats have said Nunes, who was a member of Trump's transition team, can no longer run a credible investigation of Russian hacking, the U.S. election and any potential involvement by Trump associates. Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi last week called Nunes "a willing stooge of Trump." Nunes spokesman Jack Langer said in a statement that 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." White House spokesman Spicer did not shed any light on who at the White House helped Nunes gain access to a secure location. It was the latest twist in a saga that began on March 4 when Trump said on Twitter without providing evidence that he "just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory." FBI Director James Comey told Congress last Monday he had seen no evidence to support the claim. (Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Polina Devitt in Moscow and Patricia Zengerle, Steve Holland, Mark Hosenball, John Walcott, Arshad Mohammed and Warren Strobel in Washington; editing by Yara Bayoumy and Grant McCool)
Several residents said their concerns with the park began worsening a few months ago following the sale of the property to a firm with ties to a hedge fund that has gained notoriety in recent years over its purchase  and attempted purchases  of a number of newspapers across the country.
By Andrew Chung and Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a bid by government contractor Leidos Inc to fend off an investor lawsuit alleging it omitted and misstated key information in securities filings over its role in a troubled New York City payroll contract.

Investors led by the Indiana Public Retirement System filed suit in New York federal court in 2012 alleging Virginia-based Leidos, formerly known as SAIC, had not disclosed its liability for employee fraud in connection with SAIC's work, beginning in 2001, building a computerized payroll system for New York City.

A kickback scheme that occurred during the project led to fraud charges against two SAIC employees. One pleaded guilty and the other was convicted at trial. The company paid more than $500 million in fines as a result of a 2012 settlement.

The retirement fund alleged that SAIC did not disclose its liability related to the fraud in filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission until June 2011, months after the scheme began to unravel. It also alleged SAIC made misstatements over its internal controls and commitment to ethics.

In particular, the retirement fund said Leidos had to note the dispute in describing any known trends or uncertainties that could have a material impact on sales or operations. Leidos said the city contract was not material to its operations as a whole.

A federal judge in 2014 dismissed the lawsuit, saying its claims were not adequately supported by facts or evidence. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed part of that ruling last year, allowing the suit to go ahead.

Leidos appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that SEC rules do not compel the kind of disclosure the appeals court's decision requires. What the company disclosed was not misleading, it said.

The lower court ruling has led to a spike in lawsuits, the company said.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments and decide the case in its next term, which starts in October.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)
Imagine an automobile market, in which cars do not become obsolete and are not being disposed of for half a century. Every year, we see millions of new vehicles coming off assembly lines, but all those produced earlier are still on the market, their features are unchanged and they are bought and sold. Obviously, such a market is doomed - the steadily growing mass of goods will weigh on the price until it turns out to be below the prime cost and the manufacturer will be ruined. In what way is this pattern different from the modern market of natural diamonds? In the same way as a diamond cut, for example, by Smolensks Kristall in 1967 is different from a diamond cut there yesterday. That is, in no way at all.

Historically, the creation of new consumers was no less important for the diamond industry than the search for and development of new diamond deposits - this was a necessary condition for the existence and prosperity of the market. But the destruction of mining for noble opal in Europe, the magic transformation of Japan into Consumer No. 2, the Eternity Ring Programme for Soviet diamonds and other glorious milestones in the formation of fresh consumer armies led to a situation where consumers are left today with a large amount of accumulated diamond goods on their hands. According to Blue Niles experts, their estimated value exceeds a trillion U.S. dollars. And thanks to the efforts of all stakeholders operating in the "diamond pipeline" this figure is continuously growing. Clothing and accessories are used to go out of fashion, gadgets and cars get morally and technically obsolete and only "diamonds are forever." The legendary advertising slogan is slowly but surely turning into an evil joke - diamonds are indeed eternal, they do not age and do not deteriorate. They return to the market.

Today, no one knows for sure the volume of the secondary diamond market. But everyone understands the fact that the problem exists and it is very serious. Otherwise, De Beers would not start the U.S. Diamond Reselling Insight Program and would not create the International Institute of Diamond Valuation (IIDV). Nevertheless, all publicly-accessible forecasts for rough and polished diamond markets persistently continue to ignore the existence of a huge (and continuously growing) "producer." The reason is simple - no one knows how to measure it.

In other luxury markets, the secondary turnover is a subject of close attention and analysis. Take, for example, the market of silverware. According to the Silver Institute, demand for this product in 2015 was 62.9 million ounces. And 28.5 million ounces of table silver was recycled in that same year. And this is just what went into refining, without taking into account the inventories of antique and second-hand stores, as well as online trading platforms, which sell used table silver. It can be said with confidence that more than half of the supply in the table silver market is provided by the secondary market.

But if he population is parting with family silver on such a scale, why should we think that it does otherwise with diamonds? Where are today the American matrons who received "Eternity Rings" graced with 25 diamonds for a silver wedding anniversary, say, as far back as 1965? Is it really true that the heirs of their late grandmother are feeling greater piety to her diamonds than to her table silver? Its hardly so - while the operational statistics of refineries are relatively easy to access, it should be said that no jeweler, diamond dealer and retailer will bother his customer with details as to where the diamonds for his or hers new jewelry piece were sourced from.

Our one-year-long monitoring of prices displayed on online trading platforms proved that diamonds set in second-hand jewelry mass-produced in 1960-1990 are sold on average at 50% of the price of similar stones registered in the Rapaport Diamond Report. Exactly the same price ratio is true for the table silver market  vintage items mass-produced in 1960-1990 are sold at half the price of modern goods. So, the hypothesis that the secondary market makes at least one half of the polished market can be considered operational.

Favorable (for diamond producers) price forecasts continue to be underpinned by the thesis saying the world's mineral reserves are depleting. This idea was voiced for the first time ten years ago in an interview with Academician Nikolay Pokhilenko taken by the author of this article. The academician was right - there have not been any new large diamond discoveries since then. However, at that time the capacity of the secondary market, and even more so the reaction of this "deposit" to global downturns was not discussed. Meanwhile, if this factor is taken into account, diamond pricing prospects appear to be far from rosy. And it is not only due to the banal pressure on the market exerted by the bulk of goods accumulated over a century of industrial diamond production.

The mass consumer is wary of using things that have ever belonged to another person. "Bad aura" and "bad energy" are very common phobias, which sellers of vintage and antiques often have to deal with. But is the consumer guaranteed that a diamond in a new jewelry piece he is buying today in a boutique is not taken from the secondary market? There is no such guarantee. What is the probability that this stone was not mined yesterday, but in 1935, 1951 or, for example, in 1970? This probability is not defined and you can only discuss whether it is great or not. But there is no doubt that it is not zero! Would the consumer like to have a stone produced in South Africa at the time of apartheid or by Savimbis militants in Angola? Or maybe this stone once belonged to a victim of the Holocaust?

It is very much likely that the secondary diamond market has gained a critical mass, both in terms of goods and information. It is rather surprising that the apologists of diamond synthetics do not yet use its deadly potential. "Child labor," "ecology" and "blood diamonds" are a common explosive, but the "bad aura" is a nuclear charge. At one time, the market of noble opals was rooted away in favor of diamonds with the help of a similar "bomb" (misfortunes brought by stones). And maybe the next turn of the spiral is already close by.

Sergey Goryainov, Rough&Polished




The Antwerp Diamond Trade Fair (ADTF) enjoys broad industry support as a key annual event for the international jewelry community.

The invitation to the ADTF can be obtained directly from the organizers, on the recommendation of one of the participants, or through registration on the website of the fair.

The sponsor of the ADTF is the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC).

Thierry Polakiewicz, Member of the Organizing Committee told about the major features of the ADTF, called BrilliANT in an interview to Rough&Polished.

How did the Antwerp Diamond Trade Fair come into being?

The first edition of the Antwerp Diamond Trade Fair was held in 2010. The idea for the fair was the result of a few brainstorming sessions of a group of entrepreneurial diamantaires.

The sessions began in 2008, at the very bottom of the market. We understood that for Antwerp to gain visibility and to attract buyers we needed to bring them to Antwerp.

Of course, many Antwerp-based diamantaires participate in the diamond pavilions at shows in Hong Kong, Switzerland, Las Vegas and other as well. But while exhibiting at these shows is important, it does not bring buyers to Antwerp itself.

You see, exhibiting at an international tradeshow, with thousands of booths in one big space show is like showing a luxury car in a car show. The car is set on a revolving platter, you can open the door, maybe sit behind the wheel for a moment, but not much more.

On the other hand, by coming to Antwerp, you get to look under the hood, test drive the proverbial car, and really get to know its potential and power. Therefore, by bringing buyers to Antwerp, we offer them an introduction to the diamond capital of the world, where many thousands of diamantaires, from all over the world, have offices and offer an unmatched choice of diamonds for sale. During the BrilliAnt Fair, close to 95 exhibitors are showing their goods at the visitors. But since the show takes place inside the Antwerp diamond quarter, the doors of all offices are also open to them.

Who are the main participants of BrilliANT?

As I said earlier, we have about 95 exhibitors who exhibit their goods in the hall of the Antwerp Diamond Bourse and the Diamond Club of Antwerp. The show is laid out elegantly on the trading halls floors. Were also allocating space to international diamond firms who wish to exhibit at our fair.

How successful were previous sessions of BrilliANT?

We have had good years and also some difficult ones, just like the diamond business in general. Were fortunate to have a strong body of exhibitors who believe in the fair and understand the power of its unique concept. The results can be gaged throughout the business year with visitors who came to the fair coming back for more business. Mind you, they come back Antwerp because we have given them the first introduction and given them a roadmap of the quarter. Once they have been here, they come back, know where to go and with whom they want to do business. In that sense, BrilliAnt-the ADTF opens the door to buyers by giving them a key to the quarter and the city.

Are there clients from Russia?

Certainly, the Moscow Diamond Bourse, a small bourse whose members are mostly retailers, brings a delegation of retail jewellers almost every year. But we also have many Russian buyers who come under their own steam and flag. We believe that Russia has enormous potential as a consumer market. You have a long time, brilliant and impressive jewellery tradition in your country and with the economy improving, we will see quality diamond and diamond jewellery sales grow. It helps to be optimistic in this business!

Are you planning to hold BrilliANT sessions outside Antwerp?

If youre asking if we are setting up shows outside the quarter, the answer is no. After all, it makes no sense whatsoever to have a show in Antwerp or anywhere in Belgium outside the quarter, be it three kilometers away or a thousand. Once youre in a non-descript exhibition hall, you could be anywhere.

Most Antwerp companies participate in Antwerp Pavilions that are coordinated by the marketing department of the Antwerp World Damond Centre (AWDC), our industrys umbrella organization. They meet their clients at those events, but can only show what they have taken with them. This is not so at BrilliANT. There, exhibitors can supply visitors whatever they have in their safes and stocks. Thats a big and most important difference.

Could you imagine that one day synthetic diamonds will be exposed for sale at BrillANT?

Let me state that we have nothing against synthetic diamonds. They are a legitimate product and can be sold when disclose properly. Unfortunately, we have seen a lot of problems with exactly that issue, i.e. the non-disclosure of synthetic diamonds. This is the reason we rather would not see them on the trading floor of BrillANT. I believe the hype around these synthetics will soon die down. The price levels will drop and if we wish to learn something from our colleagues in the colored gemstone business, who have been dealing with synthetic counterparts of their leading natural gemstones more than century, it is that synthetic gemstones, even if they look like a million dollars, are sold for peanut prices. I just read a quote somewhere by your own Maxim Shkadov, who runs Russias largest cutting plant in Smolensk and is immediate past president of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA). He was asked, years ago, by a reporter what he thought of synthetic diamonds. His deadpan answer was: I dont know, but what woman would want synthetic love?

How do you feel about the state of the world diamond industry?

The days you could sit back and wait for buyers to come to you are long over. You need to be proactive, find a niche, give top quality service, form downstream partnerships, and so forth. I see a lot of younger people doing exactly that. And thats why Antwerp has a future. Not only because of its power as a rough diamond distribution centre but also because were constantly looking to innovate and meet the markets challenges.

Do you think the current prices are fair?

Would we like to make twenty percent profit on each sale? Sure! But that is not the case. Margins are razor thin and as long as the pipeline does not change its structure, with the miners and suppliers finally taking some of the financing brunt upon themselves, this will remain so. Therefore, I refer back to my answer above: were not selling only diamonds. Were selling service, quality, originality, design, innovation, ingenuity, etc. Those who do not define their own niche, will not survive.

Alex Shishlo, Editor of the Rough&Polished European Bureau in Brussels
Rio Tinto chairman Jan du Plessis has informed the board that he intends to retire as chairman after the completion of an orderly succession process.

Planning for chair succession by the Rio Tinto board commenced in June 2016 after the announcement of the appointment of Jean-Sebastien Jacques as chief executive. Rio Tinto senior independent director John Varley is leading the process to appoint a new chairman. A successor is expected to be announced before the end of 2017 with Jan du Plessis retiring as chairman by no later than the 2018 annual general meeting in Australia.

Jan du Plessis said When we announced the appointment of Jean-Sebastien as chief executive a year ago, I committed to the board to serve as chairman for another two years, as part of a planned leadership transition. Todays announcement is the next step in that plan. I remain committed to leading the board until I stand down, supporting the management team and ensuring an orderly handover to my successor.

It has been a great privilege to chair Rio Tinto over the past eight years, during which time I have worked with some outstanding people across the business. The company has withstood the challenges of a cyclical industry and performed well. We have a robust balance sheet and a strong management team, led by an impressive chief executive in Jean-Sebastien Jacques.

The BT Group plc has announced that Jan du Plessis will join their board as a non-executive director on 1 June 2017 and become chairman of BT with effect from 1 November 2017.



Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished




Sotheby's said it will next month auction a 59,60 ct, mixed cut diamond known as "The Pink Star", three years since it was sold, but the buyer defaulted.

The diamond was initially mined by De Beers in 1999 as a 132,5 ct rough diamond before being cut and polished.

Reuters reports that the diamond could fetch a record $60 million, which was less than $83-million that the New York-based diamond cutter Isaac Wolf had snatched it for in November 2013.

Sothebys said the pink diamond was the largest Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ever graded by the Geological Institute of America (GIA), but was still small enough to fit onto a ring.

"The extraordinary size of this 59,60 ct diamond, paired with its richness of colour, surpasses any known pink diamond record in history," chairperson of Sotheby's Jewellery Division, David Bennett was quoted as saying.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS) and Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE), a subsidiary of DMCC, have announced that TAGS will organise six international rough diamond tenders at the DDE in Almas Tower during 2017, with a view to hosting more in 2018.

They said that members, miners and traders can participate by distributing and selling their goods through these tenders in a secure, transparent and regulated environment.

The sales platform developed by the partners will enable suppliers with smaller production to present goods alongside those with larger production and benefit from the wider market exposure typical of larger sales events. Larger producers will similarly benefit from the increased interest arising from the inclusion of complementary goods. Buyers will be able to maximise the value of their viewing time with exposure to a wider range of goods, TAGS and DDE said.

Gautam Sashittal, Chief Executive Officer, DMCC, said, Dubai has fast developed into one of the worlds top three diamond trading hubs, and the Dubai Diamond Exchange has been instrumental in achieving this growth. As a key market maker for rough diamonds we welcome strong partnerships like these, and wish TAGS every success in connecting markets and industry participants here in Dubai.

Mike Aggett  General Manager TAGS, said, We have assembled a team that harnesses a broad range of capabilities and know-how covering the full range of services required to execute these types of international rough diamond tenders, and believe that the ability to offer buying opportunities of consistent and regular productions in a convenient and professional environment, will benefit both buyers and producers alike. We very much look forward to working with our valued customers going forward.



Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished




It all starts with stones - it is they that give impetus, determine the image and embodiment Maxim Selikhov is the founder of the SelikhoV Diamonds brand launched in 2006, and the company manufactures unique handmade jewellery with rare high-quality gemstones. He is also known as a collector of unique and large-size jewellery stones who considers...

Our technologies  CVD machines and growing technology  are game changers, asserts Arnaud Flambeau, Executive Chairman, 2DOT4 Diamonds LLC Arnaud Flambeau is the Executive Chairman of 2DOT4 Diamonds LLC, Dubai, a fully integrated lab-grown diamonds company. The Company provides rough 'as grown' diamonds, in-house polished IGI certified loose polished diamonds and high-quality...

Stargems brings the DaVinci system to Botswana Stargems, which was founded by Shailesh Javeri in 1981, has diversified into manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing and tendering or auctioning of diamonds and diamond jewellery.

It is also one of the leading players in the manufacturing, wholesaling...

Coloured diamonds are the best investment option if anyone would like to invest in diamonds Dr Sergio Calqueiro, the President and Managing Director of the Dubai-based Foz Gold & Diamonds Trading has been dealing in polished diamonds, gold, Import & Export, International trade and development for the past six-plus years. Sergio is also the...
The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) held last week a workshop in Basel, Switzerland, on the proposed changes to the RJC Standards, with a focus on the Chain-of-Custody. Hosted by Anne-Marie Fleury, the RJC Standards & Impacts Director and Peter Dawkins, the RJC's Assurance and Standards Coordinator, the workshop was attended by over 20 stakeholders who held a dynamic and an engaged discussion and provided valuable technical knowledge and industry insight on the topics raised, RJC reported.

Luxury watch and jewellery trade fair, Baselworld 2017 kicked off on Thursday 23 March with the RJC industry panel session on the program for the first day of the show. RJC members, industry experts and various other stakeholders gathered at the Basel Congress Centre to hear the latest update from the RJC as well as the latest developments on the EU Regulation on Conflict Minerals, presented by guest speaker, Ruth Crowell, CEO of LBMA. A panel of industry experts took to the stage to talk about responsible gemstone sourcing best practices and shared great insights with the audience on how they approach supply chain integrity and ethical sourcing business practices.



Alex Shishlo, Editor of the Rough&Polished European Bureau in Brussels




Ontario is making it easier for commuters and families to get around York Region and the Greater Toronto Area with the construction of a new GO station at Highway 404 and Bloomington Road.

The new station will extend the Richmond Hill GO rail line north from the current terminus at Gormley GO Station, and will offer commuters living in Aurora and Whitchurch-Stouffville convenient access to GO Transit service.

The station will be fully-accessible and include a 765-space parking structure, charging for electric vehicles, heated shelters, a platform snowmelt system, a kiss & ride area and a covered six-bay bus loop. An additional 253 parking spaces will be available in a surface lot. The station will have rooftop solar panels and incorporate environmentally responsible building design (LEED Gold) to reduce impact on the surrounding ecosystem.

The new GO station at Bloomington Road is scheduled to open in 2019. The cost to build the station is approximately CA$82.4 million (US$61.59 million) and the project is expected to support approximately 200 jobs.
Business confidence data from Germany is due on Monday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 4.00 am ET, Germany's Ifo sentiment survey results are due. The business confidence index is seen rising to 111.1 in March from 111 in February.

In the meantime, the European Central Bank is slated to release M3 money supply data. Economists forecast euro area M3 to grow 4.9 percent year-on-year in February, the same pace of growth as seen in January.

Italy's statistical office Istat is scheduled to issue business and consumer sentiment survey results for March.

At 8.30 am ET, Turkey's capacity utilization rate for March is due. The capacity utilization rate in February was 81.8 percent.

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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.
A United Airlines gate agent barred two teenage girls from boarding a flight on Sunday for wearing leggings, noting that they failed to meet a dress code for special pass travelers.

Meanwhile, another girl wearing leggings was asked to change before boarding the flight from Denver to Minneapolis, reports said.

Following a backlash on social media, United spokesman Jonathan Guerin responded that the two girls traveling with a companion would not have been turned away for wearing leggings if they were paying customers.

All three passengers reportedly missed the flight.

The three passengers did not make any complains, while Shannon Watts, another traveler who overheard the discussions, revealed the incident in a series of tweets.

Watts, who was at a gate at Denver International Airport, said on Twitter, "She's forcing them to change or put dresses on over leggings or they can't board. Since when does @united police women's clothing?"

Responding to tweets, United tweeted that "United shall have the right to refuse passengers who are not properly clothed via our Contract of Carriage. This is left to the discretion of the agents."

According to airline's passenger contract, the airline can refuse to let a passenger board if the passenger is "barefoot or not properly clothed," for the safety of all passengers and crew members.

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Business News
Systemax Inc. (SYX) announced early Monday that it agreed to sell all of its unprofitable European Technology Products Group businesses.

Systemax has risen sharply in early trade this morning and is currently higher by 1.85 at $9.05. The stock has surged to a 2 1/2 week high and has re-crossed its 50 and 200-day moving averages.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
US President Donald Trump will sign a new executive order this week, which will revoke his predecessor's policy aimed at curbing global warming.

This was disclosed by Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, in a weekend interview.

The Clean Power Plan, introduced by the Obama administration in 2015, restricts greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired U.S. power plants.

The environmental regulation is under judicial review after coal-friendly Republican-led states and more than 100 companies challenged it.

Talking on ABC's "This Week" Sunday, Pruitt made it clear that Trump plans to bring back coal-mining jobs and bring down electricity rates for consumers.

The Paris climate accord, an international agreement signed in Paris in late 2015, is unfair to the U.S., according to him.

It benefited China and India, despite being the world's leading producers of carbon dioxide like the US, he added.

The former Oklahoma attorney general blamed the Obama administration for following "a very anti-fossil fuel strategy."

Scott Pruitt was nominated as the Environmental Protection Agency's administrator by Trump when he was serving as Oklahoma Attorney General.

"The American people are tired of seeing billions of dollars drained from our due to unnecessary EPA regulations," Pruitt said in a statement on his namination.

An outspoken critic of Obama's climate change policies, Pruitt is skeptical of widely-accepted greenhouse gas science.

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Political News
DST Systems Inc. (DST) said that it agreed to acquire State Street Corp.'s (STT) ownership interest in the Boston Financial Data Services, Inc. or "BFDS" joint venture and the International Financial Data Services Limited or "IFDS U.K." joint venture in the UK.

BFDS provides innovative shareholder recordkeeping, intermediary and investor services, and regulatory compliance solutions to financial services clients in the United States.

IFDS U.K. is an investor and policy holder administrative services and provider to the collective funds, insurance, and retirement industries.

Following completion of these acquisitions, DST will own 100% of the equity interests in both BFDS and IFDS U.K. DST and State Street will continue to service offshore and cross-border in Canada, Ireland and Luxembourg through the 50/50 joint venture International Financial Data Services, L.P. or "IFDS L.P.". The IFDS U.K. acquisition has closed and the BFDS acquisition is expected to close within the next several days.

In the US, DST's wholly-owned subsidiary will acquire State Street's ownership interest in BFDS by delivery to State Street of approximately 2.0 million shares of State Street common stock owned by DST for total consideration of $157.6 million in a non-taxable exchange under Section 355 of the Internal Revenue Code.

BFDS is expected to contribute approximately $220 million of incremental operating revenue and $20 million of operating income to DST over the next twelve months before synergies, restructuring costs and amortization of the intangibles resulting from the acquisition.

DST expects to achieve approximately $20 million of cost savings from the realization of synergies within the first 18 months and expects the transaction to be accretive to diluted earnings per share by $0.15 to $0.19 in the next twelve months before synergies, restructuring costs and amortization of intangibles.

In the U.K., DST's wholly-owned subsidiary will acquire the ownership interest in IFDS U.K. for total cash consideration of $175 million. The acquisition will be funded through cash on hand and DST's existing debt facilities.

DST expects the consolidated IFDS U.K. businesses to contribute approximately $440 million of incremental annual operating revenues upon acquisition and $20 million of operating income before synergies, restructuring costs and amortization of intangibles over the next twelve months.

DST expects the IFDS U.K. transaction to be accretive to diluted earnings per share by $0.18 to $0.22 in the next twelve months before synergies, restructuring costs and amortization of intangibles.

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Business News
The British government has started putting pressure on Facebook to allow government agencies access to Whatsapp messages in order to counter terrorism.

In a Sunday appearance on BBC's Andrew Marr show, U.K. Secretary of State Amber Rudd said the end-to-end encryption capabilities of messaging tools like WhatsApp are "completely unacceptable."

According to a report published on the Daily Mail last week, Khalid Masood was active on Whatsapp just two minutes before he attacked London that killed four people.

Amber Rudd will reportedly meet representatives from Google, Facebook and Twitter this week to talk about access to digitally encrypted messages.

"We need to make sure that organizations like WhatsApp don't provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with one another," Rudd said on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday. "It used to be that people would steam open envelopes or just listen in on phones [...] but in this situation we need to make sure our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted WhatsApp."

The fight between governments and tech companies have been going around for a couple of years. In 2015, the US government demanded Apple to de-encrypt an iPhone belonging to one of the shooters of the San Bernardino attack. The government even filed a lawsuit against the iPhone maker. In Brazil, Whatsapp executives have been arrested as well the service has been blocked several times for not cooperate with police investigations.

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Business News
The Swiss stock market ended the first session of the new trading week with a small loss. Cyclical and financial stocks were under pressure Monday, but the defensive heavyweights provided some support to the market. Traders had their first opportunity to react to the failure of a Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.

House Republican leaders decided to withdraw the bill amid indications of a lack of support late last Friday. The inability to advance the bill has cast doubt on U.S. President Trump's ability to deliver on promises of increased infrastructure spending, tax cuts and deregulation.

The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.22 percent Monday and finished at 8,554.54. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.49 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.27 percent.

Givaudan was among the weakest performing stocks Monday, with a loss of 2.1 percent. Shares of Galenica dropped 2.1 percent. The company provided further details on its planned separation late Friday.

Among the cyclicals, LafargeHolcim and Dufry both weakened by 1.2 percent and Adecco surrendered 1.1 percent. Swatch and Richemont each lost 0.9 percent. The watch companies retreated after some comments made by Richemont's Johann Rupert over the weekend.

Zurich Insurance declined 1.8 percent. There were some reports in the Italian press about a capital increase, but the company rejected them.

UBS decreased 0.6 percent, but Credit Suisse gained 0.5 percent.

Among the index heavyweights, Nestle rose 0.3 percent and Novartis added 0.2 percent. Shares of Roche ended the session unchanged. Jefferies affirmed its "Hold" rating on shares of Nestle.

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Market Analysis
WOW Air, Iceland's low cost airlines, Monday announced that it will begin service between Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Iceland's Keflavik Airport on July 13.

The airlines have started selling tickets beginning Monday for $99. The service between O'Hare and Keflavik will be offered four times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

For $149, passengers can travel to 23 other cities, including London, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Berlin.

WOW already offers transatlantic service from a number of U.S. cities including New York, Pittsburgh, Boston and Washington, D.C., as well as western cities including San Francisco.

"The addition of Chicago to WOW air's growing list of destinations is part of our ongoing strategy to deliver even greater flexibility and convenience to our passengers, with more connections from North America to Europe via our Iceland hub," said Skuli Mogensen, founder and CEO of WOW air. "We're excited to partner with O'Hare International Airport, the third busiest airport in the United States, to bring our promise of affordable transatlantic travel to the Midwest."

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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U20 womens lead pack negotiates the first log obstacle about 1km into their championship race. #iaafkampala2017 A post shared by Michael Scott (@urimiscott) on Mar 26, 2017 at 2:39pm PDT

The senior womens race was five laps of the 2000 meter course. The hot, humid conditions affected all in the field. But, the truth is, we witnessed one of the most dominating performances in World Cross Country history. Kenyan women went 1-6 in Kampala, and the performances of the Kenyan women mimicked their Kenyan Trials performances. Irene Cheptai, Lilian Kasait, Faith Kipyegon and Alice Aprot lead in a pack of four. Agnes Tirop and Hyvin Kiyeng were the chase pack. The race did not vary much over the laps, until 500 meters, when, Irene Cheptai made the rush for the win, and held on for the victory, running 31:57. Alice Aprot took the silver, running 32:01 and Lilian Kasait finished in bronze, running 32:11. Kenyan women went 1-6, scoring TEN! Ethiopia was second in 45, Bahrain was third in 59. In fourth was Uganda at 68, and in fifth was the United States in 90.

US women fared quite well, with Aliphine Tuliamuk in 15th, Stephanie Bruce in 22, Natosha Rogers, 23, Sarah Pagano, 30, Elaine Balouris, 48, and Emily Pritt, 74. Fine performances by US senior women!

The truth is this. For decades, running media have spoken wistfully about the Kenyan male athletes, and how dominant they are, and that is true. Although now, there is some competition nd that is good! It is my contention, that Kenyan women may be superior in talent to the men. The womens cross country team was comprised in Kampala of the finest runners in the country of Kenya. Those runners went to the front, and raced to their limits. And for us, track fans, it was, a thing of beauty.

@natosha_rogers @elainabalouris @stephrothstein work together at the #iaafkampala2017 senior womens race. A post shared by Michael Scott (@urimiscott) on Mar 26, 2017 at 2:48pm PDT
United Airlines has been criticised on social media after it barred two girls from flying for wearing leggings.

The incident happened on a flight from Denver to Minneapolis on Sunday morning, BBC quoted activist Shannon Watts as saying.



A United gate agent was "forcing" the girls, one of them aged 10, to change their clothes or wear dresses over the leggings, Watts tweeted.



United said the girls were travelling on a ticket that had a dress code.



They were "United pass travellers", which are tickets for company employees or eligible dependents, it explained in a Twitter exchange on the issue.



Shannon Watts, founder of the group Moms Demand Action for gun reforms, tweeted about what happened to five girls when they tried to board a flight at Denver airport.



She said three of the girls were allowed to fly after putting dresses over the top of their clothing, but two were prevented from boarding.



She slammed the airliner for its actions, asking: "Since when does United police women's clothing?".



Although United has not officially commented on the incident, it did respond on Twitter by explaining the dress code requirement of its United pass travellers.



Watts' tweets have been shared and responded to by thousands of users, including actress and activist Patricia Arquette.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), which will replace the current CBEC, will become operational from June 1 in preparation for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, an official source said.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is presently the top policy-making forum for indirect taxes in the country.



"The CBIC will become operational from June 1. There will be no need for different commissionerates for service tax, central excise and others. There will be only one body -- Commissionerate for GST," a CBEC source told media.



An internal letter from the Directorate General of Human Resource Development said the notification on the CBIC will be issued in the first week of May, ahead of the July 1 rollout date for GST.



The CBIC will have 21 zones, 101 GST taxpayer services commissionerates comprising 15 sub-commissionerates, 768 divisions, 3,969 ranges, 49 audit commissionerates and 50 appeals commissionerates.



"The reorganised formations will become operational from June 1," according to the internal order.



The report on reorganisation of the CBEC field formations to ensure a smooth transition to the GST regime was approved by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley last week.



"The zones, GST taxpayer services commissionerates and sub-commissionerates, audit and appeal commissionerates and the number of divisions and ranges to be formed under each state/union territory, have been approved by the competent authority," the order stated.



"Reorganisation of field formations will be required primarily for three reasons. Firstly, the job profile of current service tax and excise officials will undergo a change. Secondly, new taxpayers, that is, traders will now come under ambit of CBIC. And thirdly, geographical distribution of taxpayers will alter as more taxpayers are likely to be registered in metro cities," GST expert Pritam Mahure told media.





The CBEC is taking all requisite steps to ensure that the administrative machinery is geared up to address these challenges in the GST regime, he said.



"For smooth transition to the GST, the government is taking pro-active measures. This order is an evidence that the government is not only ready from information technology perspective but also on the administration front. It appears that the government is diving deep into minute details to ensure that the GST is a success," Jigar Doshi, partner in chartered accountancy firm Sudit K. Parekh & Co, told media.



"Given this, it is high time for the industries to look forward to the GST as a reality and take measures to ensure that they are not affected by metamorphic reform of the GST," he said.
Chinese technology major Xiaomi's founder Lei Jun on Monday said India was one of the important markets for the company and it aims to create 20,000 jobs in the next three years.

In his address at the Economic Times Global Business Summit 2017, Lei said that the company has made major strides in a very short time.

He also spoke about China's "Internet Plus" policy which "the Chinese premier started in 2015".

"Internet plus action plan is a new form of economic plan where internet is integrated with traditional industries encouraging to the spirit of excellence in these industries and drive economic growth," he said, adding the policy elevates internet to become the most important engine of growth for China's economy and Xiaomi is one of the companies to adopt it.

Earlier on Monday, Lei said after its success in the online market in India, the company wants to take its offline presence much higher by increasing its market share to 50 per cent of Xiaomi's total sales.

Xiaomi's current portfolio in India reveals that about 90 per cent of its sales are from online channels, while less than 10 per cent is offline.

As of today, Xiaomi ships its products to around 14,000 pin codes -- close to 40 per cent of the country's total -- every single week.

"This clearly highlights our presence in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. As we increase our focus on offline sales, we will further increase our penetration in these markets," Xiaomi Vice President and Xiaomi India Managing Director Manu Jain told IANS.

"We are now present in more than 8,500 stores via our innovative offline distribution network. Last year was indeed a great year and we achieved several milestones while building our India story," he added.

According to analyst firm IDC, Xiaomi India has become the number one selling smartphone brand in the online market, with about 29.3 per cent share.

Xiaomi entered India in July 2014 and last year, logged $1 billion in revenue in the country.

After entering India, the company opened its first plant in August 2015 and by March 2016, over 75 per cent of its phones were being manufactured in India.

However, on Monday, Lei announced that more than 95 per cent of Xiaomi smartphones sold in India are made in India.

Riding on its success, last week Xiaomi announced its second manufacturing unit in partnership with Taiwanese electronics major Foxconn in Andhra Pradesh.

Xiaomi will now have a combined production capacity of one phone per second during operational hours.

The plant has also helped create employment for more than 5,000 people from over 100 surrounding villages. More than 90 per cent of the workforce employed are women.

Earlier this year, Xiaomi slipped to fourth spot in China as the demand for its smartphones declined 22 per cent annually -- eventually taking it to seventh spot in the global smartphone ranking with a 16 per cent drop in sales.
Militants attacked the ancestral home of a ruling PDP minister late on Sunday night in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir and decamped with four weapons of security guards, police said in Srinagar on Monday.

"Militants attacked the home of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Minister Farooq Andrabi in Dooru area of Anantnag district late last evening.



"Guards posted at the minister's ancestral home retaliated the militant fire. Firing exchanges continued for some time resulting in injuries to two security guards.



"Militants managed to decamp with four service rifles of the security guards," police said.



A massive manhunt was launched to trace the militants.



Injured security guards were shifted to hospital.

"The minister was not at his ancestral home when the attack took place," police added.



An AK-47 rifle was snatched by three persons from a police constable in Jammu on Saturday.



Police said two persons involved in the Jammu weapon snatching incident had been arrested while the third was still at large along with the snatched weapon.
A Pakistani intruder was shot dead on Monday by security forces while trying to enter Indian Punjab through the Gurdaspur sector, an official said.

The troops at the border outpost Paharipur shot the intruder around 6.20 a.m., Border Security Force spokesperson Shubhendu Bhardwaj told media.



"The intruder was challenged repeatedly, but he did not pay any heed. The area has been cordoned off and a search is on," he added.
Farooq Abdullah has been an instant crowd-puller in the past. But the "Tiger is back" image he has been trying to generate has failed to ignite the magic he was once famous for.

Farooq Abdullah has always enthused Kashmiris -- be it through his playboy image or as an inheritor of the nearly century-old political legacy of his father, the legendary Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.



"Yes, for nostalgia sake, I may vote for him. He is the seniormost mainstream politician in (Jammu and) Kashmir and has been, well, not worse than others."



These words of a voter in north Kashmir's Ganderbal district may sum up the current victory chances of the 79-year-old former Chief Minister. But they are a testimony to the huge beating the "Tiger" has taken in Kashmir over the years.



A political heavyweight, Farooq Abdullah is the joint candidate of the National Conference and the Congress party against a comparatively lesser known Nazir Ahmad Khan of the state's ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).



Abdullah is out to avenge his defeat of 2014 from the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency by PDP's Tariq Hameed Karra. Luckily for Abdullah, Karra is now campaigning for him.



Karra joined the Congress after he resigned from Parliament and the PDP last year. His resignation forced the present by-poll in the Srinagar-Budgam parliamentary constituency.



Although the election campaign ends in less than two weeks, poll-related activities are highly subdued.



The odd campaign review meeting inside a highly fortified party headquarters or so-called "workers meetings" at party offices where iron gates guarded by the security forces forbid "public entry" is all that is so far seen in Srinagar, Ganderbal and Budgam districts.



But people do know that voting is scheduled for April 9.



"The very fact that people are talking of a 'fight' between PDP's Khan and Abdullah indicates the thin ice on which the National Conference leader is standing," said a voter from Beerwah, the area from where the PDP candidate hails.



Beerwah is represented in the 87-member state assembly by Abdullah's son and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.



So far, the PDP candidate has not held a single public meeting in Srinagar or Ganderbal although press releases are issued almost daily "highlighting workers meetings" in these districts.



An intelligence officer told media that the Srinagar-Budgam election is not about who wins or loses.



"It is, from the security point of view, a question of how many voters exercise their democratic right," said the officer.



The government has requested 250 additional companies of paramilitary forces from the central government to secure these elections.



The militant threats apart, the average Kashmiri is not enthused by the poll campaign. This is the main reason for the highly muted campaign. The separatists have called for a boycott of the election.





The by-election is being held hardly four months since last year's summer unrest ended with 94 people dead and several thousand injured. Nearly 150 of the injured are facing prospects of permanent blindness due to pellet gun injuries.



The National Conference has pockets of influence in areas which might not be seriously impacted by the boycott calls.



The eight assembly segments in Srinagar district have witnessed the lowest voter turnout since the armed violence started in Kashmir in early 1990s.



But rural voting segments like Khansahib, Beerwah, Chrar-e-Sharief, Kangan and Ganderbal are likely to vote although the overall percentage of voter turnout would be known only in the evening of April 9.



Over 1,327,000 people are eligible to vote in the districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal and Budgam. The result will be known on April 15.
Only illegal slaughter houses are being shut in Uttar Pradesh and there cannot be a difference of opinion that they should be shut, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.

During Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said the export of buffalo meat had gone down and China was not allowing the import of Indian buffalo meat.



Replying to the supplementary question, Sitharaman said: "What is being done in Uttar Pradesh is about illegal slaughter houses. I think even the honourable member would not want illegal slaughter houses to function.



"The Chief Minister (Adityanath Yogi) has been clear (that) he is talking about illegal slaughter houses. There cannot be a difference of opinion here," she said.



About China not allowing import of Indian buffalo meat, the minister said there were many other goods as well for which the Chinese market was not accessible.



He said the central government was in talks with Beijing on this.



The minister also denied that demonetisation had any affect on exports.





Responding to a question by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Sitharaman said the decline in export had been visible for the last few years due to the global economic situation.



"Decline in export happened during 2014-15, 2015-16. If you look at month on month export data, the position is improving.



"The impact of demonetisation is not found on exports," the minister said, adding the decline had been there for some years, much before the November 8 note ban.
The Shiv Sena on Monday urged the Modi government to consider RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the post of Indian President.

In a surprise statement, Sena MP and Saamana Executive Editor Sanjay Raut said the National Democratic Alliance - of which Sena is a member - and the BJP in particular should think of the RSS Sarsanghchalak if it wanted to fulfil its dream of achieving a "Hindu Rashtra".



"This has been discussed in our party. Even Sena President Uddhav Thackeray is of the opinion that for making India a 'Hindu Rashtra', Bhagwat should be made the President," Raut told mediapersons.



He said a staunch Hindu nationalist like Modi was the Prime Minister and another Hindutva proponent, Yogi Adityanath, had become Chief Minister of India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh.





"He (Bhagwat) is a strong leader, staunch nationalist, has a deep knowledge of the Constituition. So if the BJP wants to make India a 'Hindu Rashtra', his name must be considered. He is the most suitable candidate," Raut said.



Born in Chandrapur in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, Bhagwat, 66, has headed the RSS since March 2009.



The presidential election is due in July.
The AAP on Monday approached the Election Commission over alleged EVM tampering in Punjab and demanded that slips generated by VVPAT machines be matched with the election result.

After meeting Election Commission officials, AAP leader Raghav Chadha told reporters that the party's preliminary analysis of booth level voting pattern showed that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were tampered with.



"There were many polling booths where the number of votes the party received were fewer than the count of AAP supporters in the area. They (supporters) are ready to file affidavits in court stating that they voted for the AAP," Chadha said.



The Aam Aadmi Party leader said if the EVMs were tampered with, then it was a violation of the fundamental rights. He said the people were losing faith in the electoral process.



"To reinforce people's faith in electoral process, we demand that wherever VVPAT (Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail) machines were used in Punjab, the election results in those booths be tallied with the paper trail generated by EVMs," he said.



Chadha added that many developed nations in the West gave up EVMs to conduct elections by paper ballot as they believed EVMs were vulnerable to tampering.



"We hope that the Election Commission would take cognizance of the matter and would appropriately respond to our plea," he said.



After the Congress won the Punjab assembly election with 38.4 per cent vote share and the AAP got only 23.5 per cent of votes, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that EVMs may have been tampered with, resulting in 20-25 per cent of AAP votes getting transferred to the SAD-BJP alliance which got 30.5 per cent of votes.





Kejriwal had then said that there were numerous booths where his party got only "two, three or four" votes though the number of its activists and family members were in dozens.



He demanded that in 32 of the 117 constituencies where VVPAT system was installed, the results should be tallied with the paper trail generated by the EVMs.
None of the ministers in the Narendra Modi government are engaged in any private business, and all are "committed" to government work, parliament was told on Monday.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi dismissed the allegation made by Samajwadi Party's Rajya Sabha member Naresh Agrawal that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and other ministers were busy doing their personal business while being part of the council of ministers.



"It's factually wrong. All ministers are committed to their assigned work," he said.
The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its verdict on appeals by four accused in December 16, 2012 Delhi gang rape case challenging the Delhi High Court verdict upholding their death sentence.

A bench of Justice Dipak Misra, Justice R.Banumathi and Justice Ashok Bhushan reserved the verdict after hearing the matter that was spread almost a year.



Accused Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur had moved the top court challenging the high court's March 13, 2014 verdict upholding their death sentences.





The Supreme Court had stayed the death sentence on Mukesh and Pawan on March 15, 2014 and that of Sharma and Thakur on June 3, 2014.



Hearing on the appeals by the four against the High Court order upholding their death sentence had commenced on April 4, 2016.



The four, Ram Singh and a juvenile were accused of gang rape and assault on a 23-year-old paramedical student inside a private bus.



The juvenile accused has since been released after completing mandatory probation period in remand home, while Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide while in incarceration.



The victim and her friend were thrown out of the bus after the crime and she died of grave intestinal injuries on December 29, 2012 at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital.



The apex court, while commencing its hearing, had said that "Let us hear the case as if fresh case is being raised" as the accused had contended that the high court was in a hurry to decide their appeals the moment they moved it against the trial court order.



While upholding the conviction and death sentence, the High Court had said: "Society's abhorrence to atrocious crimes perpetrated upon innocent and helpless victims has resulted in the death penalty being retained on the statute book to remind such criminals that human life is very precious and one who dares to take the life of others must lose his own life."
Police investigating the Westminster attack said on Monday that they have found no evidence that killer Khalid Masood had any links with radical Islamist groups such as ISIS or Al Qaeda.

In a briefing at New Scotland Yard, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, senior national coordinator for UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said there was also no evidence that Masood had been radicalised while serving a jail term in a British prison, Xinhua news agency reported.

Basu said there has been much speculation about who Masood was in contact with prior to the attack last week which left four people, including a London police officer dead, and dozens more injured. Masood was shot dead by police at the Houses of Parliament.

Basu added: "Masood's communications that day are a main line of enquiry. If you heard from him on March 22, please come forward now, the information you have may prove important to establishing his state of mind.

"His attack method appears to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of IS leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians, but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others.

"There is no evidence that Masood was radicalised in prison in 2003, as has been suggested; this is pure speculation at this time. Whilst I have found no evidence of an association with IS (the Islamic State) or AQ (Al Qaeda), there is clearly an interest in jihad."

Basu repeated the request to the public for their help, specifically to those who knew or talked to Masood in the months, weeks and days leading up to the attack.

"We are tracing these people, but I would ask you all to voluntarily come forward and help our investigation," said Basu.

Police said the attacker changed his name to Khalid Masood in 2005.

"His last criminal offence was 2003 and he was not a current subject of interest or part of the current domestic or international threat picture for either the security service or Counter Terrorism Policing.

"I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why. Most importantly, so do the victims and families," added Basu.

On last Wednesday, Khalid Masood, 52, drove a car through crowds of pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing three: Aysha Frade, a 43-year-old British national of Spanish origin, Kurt Cochran, an American tourist whose wife was injured in the attack, and Leslie Rhodes.

A police officer was also fatally stabbed by Masood, who was later shot dead by police.
A dinner invitation for Monday night sent out by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for members of both houses of the Bihar legislature seems to have divided the opposition state BJP -- one group ready to attend and another favouring giving it a go-by.

While Leader of Opposition Prem Kumar and senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav said no to dinner diplomacy, former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi made it clear that he will attend the dinner at the Chief Minister's official residence here.

It was learnt that Sushil Kumar Modi and over a dozen BJP legislators will attend.

Initially, the BJP decided that all its Bihar legislators will attend the dinner, while recalling with anguish how Nitish Kumar had withdrawn a dinner invite for BJP leaders in 2010 during the party's National Executive meet attended by the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and party veteran L.K. Advani here.

Prem Kumar told the media he will not attend the dinner to protest against lathicharge on agitating contractual teachers and Asha workers and others during the ongoing assembly session.

"I have decided to not attend the dinner to protest ruthless dealing with agitating teachers and others," he said.

Former minister Nand Kishore Yadav also announced he will not attend the dinner.

"BJP legislators close to Prem Kumar and Yadav may boycott the dinner," a BJP leader close to Yadav said.
Jharkhand legislators may get a hike in salary and other facilities if the recommendation of an assembly committee is accepted by the government.

The assembly committee, headed by ruling BJP legislator Radha Krishna Kishore, has submitted a detailed report to the state assembly regarding hike in the salaries of the legislators, Ministers and the Chief Minister.

Sources in the state assembly revealed that if the recommendation of the committee is accepted, then there will be quantum jump in the salary of legislators.

The assembly committee was formed by Speaker Dinesh Oraon at the demand of legislators during the budget session.

"We can't reveal the recommendation. Several suggestions and information came to us. In Jharkhand, the Chief Minister salary is less than the Chief Secretary's. Legislators are above many officials in protocol.

"The responsibility of legislature is much more than that of the executive. All such considerations have been taken into account in the recommendation" told Radha Krishna Kishore, who headed the committee, to IANS.

Last time the salaries of Jharkhand legislators, ministers and Chief Minister saw a significant hike was in 2015.

Following the 2015 hike, under the revised pay structure, the Chief Minister is now getting Rs 24.60 lakh per annum. And while Cabinet ministers get Rs 21.60 lakh per annum, the legislators get a higher sum of Rs 21.64 lakh per annum.

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A 28-year-old woman has been burnt alive in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district because she opposed felling of trees on her farm, the police said.

Lalita had an altercation with villagers on Saturday as she protested cutting of trees for widening a road along her farm near Pipad town, a police official told media.



In an FIR report, her family said the quarrel became so ugly that some villagers poured petrol on her and set her afire.



According to the police, Lalita died from her injuries while being treated at a government hospital in Jodhpur.

"Prima facie it does not appear a case of being burnt by villagers and it seems the quarrel was not on felling of trees but pathway," a police official said.



An investigation has been launched into the incident. "If need be, we will arrest the culprits soon," the official said.
Russia's main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was arrested at an anti-corruption protest he organised in Moscow on Sunday.

Thousands of people joined rallies nationwide, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev over corruption allegations, media reported.



At least 500 other protesters were detained in the capital and across the country.



In a tweet after his detention, Navalny urged fellow protesters to continue with the demonstration.



"Guys, I'm fine. No need to fight to get me out. Walk along Tverskaya (Moscow main street). Our topic of the day is the fight against corruption," he said (in Russian).



Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption blogger who heads Russia's Progress Party, called for the nationwide protests after he published reports claiming that Medvedev controlled mansions, yachts and vineyards -- a fortune that far outstripped his official salary.



Medvedev's spokeswoman called the allegations "propagandistic attacks", but the Prime Minister himself has not commented on the claims.



In Moscow, protesters filled Pushkin square and some climbed the monument to poet Alexander Pushkin shouting "impeachment". Turnout was estimated to be between 7,000 and 8,000, according to police.

The police said 500 protesters had been arrested in the capital alone, but a rights group, OVD Info, put that number at at least 700.



TV pictures showed demonstrators chanting "Down with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin!", "Russia without Putin!" and "Putin is a thief!".



The marches appeared to be the biggest since anti-government demonstrations in 2011/2012, media added.



Demonstrations were also held in Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and several other cities, where arrests had also been reported.



Navalny became known as one of the leading critics of Putin and the ruling United Russia party during protests in 2011 against Putin's return to the presidency.



He announced his intention to run for President in 2018 against Vladimir Putin. But he is barred from doing so after being found guilty in a case he said was politicised.
Seven school students and a teacher were killed when they were hit by an avalanche on a Japanese ski resort on Monday, local authorities said.

More than 60 students and teachers from seven high schools were taking part in a springtime climbing event in Japan's Tochigi prefecture when the avalanche occurred, the local media reported.

The avalanche was believed to have occurred around 9:20 a.m. (local time) on the upper side of one of the slopes at the Nasu Onsen Family Ski Resort. At least 40 persons were injured in the accident, reported Xinhua news agency.

Hours before the accident, the local meteorological agency issued an alert that avalanches were possible, according to reports.

Local government authorities asked for the assistance of the Self-Defence Forces to help with relief and rescue operations.

Seven students and a teacher were found with no vital signs after the avalanche. They were sent to a hospital and were confirmed dead on Monday evening.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke of the disaster in Parliament, saying officials were "making every effort to respond to the disaster".

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How to watch KU basketball's season-opener against Omaha

The defending national champions open their season Monday. Here's how you can watch Kansas' game against Omaha.
San Joses director of aviation will take the top job at the San Diego International Airport.

Kimberly Becker, who has been with the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport since 1995, will start as the CEO of San Diegos airport May 1, the airport authority announced Monday.

Becker, 53, replaces Thella Bowens, who is retiring Friday.

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Becker said she plans to work with the authority to oversee its new Customs and Border Protection facility to handle the growth in international arrivals, work on the plan to replace the 50-year-old Terminal 1 and get out in the community to hear what the public wants.

I looked at this organization for quite a few years, Becker said of San Diego. I felt like it was a very good match for the things I have experienced and future growth for my own personal career.

She said she plans to ask locals what routes they want most and continue to get more airlines to come to San Diego.

The airport has been expanding its international nonstop service to include flights to London, Tokyo, Frankfurt and Zurich.

In San Jose, Becker oversaw an increase in flights and routes, fiscal stability of the airport and 187 employees.

Becker will earn a base salary of $280,000 a year, up to nearly $320,000 with benefits. In San Jose, she earned $212,359 in base pay in 2015, said government salary tracker Transparent California. Bowens salary and benefits totaled nearly $380,000 in 2015, according to information provided by the state controllers office for 2015.

April Boling, the airport authoritys chairwoman, said up to 20 candidates were interviewed in face-to-face interviews during a three-month search.

We interviewed a lot of very well-qualified people, Boling said. Ultimately, we were looking for someone with a collaborative leadership style, someone willing to work with the community.

Angela Shafer-Payne, the authoritys vice president of planning and operations, will be interim CEO until Becker starts.

Becker previously worked at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and the Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank. She holds a bachelors degree in business administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a masters of business administration in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

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phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar

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Airport Authority CEO retiring
The recent Marines United scandal, where male Marines systematically targeted and harassed fellow female Marines online, has garnered indignation among many members of Congress. Yet their attention has initially been focused at punishment for perpetrators and technology, not the root causes for such inexcusable behavior.

Over the last few weeks, the Senate Armed Services and House Armed Services committees held hearings that largely revolved around how and where the perpetrators acted -- not on why they acted so grossly.

As Rep. Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo) rightly pointed out during one hearing, neither the social media platforms nor the policies governing their use are at the core of this problem. The problem is deeply rooted inculture.

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Social media platforms have only shown us what service women have long known, which is that something is rotten in the Marine Corps and the broader military culture.

The Service Womens Action Network has been beating this drum since 2009, shining a spotlight on military sexual assault, hosting conferences on the continuum of harm, and pushing to eliminate exclusionary gender-based policies that harm service women.

Congress and the military must address deep seated cultural problems, not simply demand that perpetrators be punished and social media policies be updated.

Marine Corps leaders cannot afford to continue to deny that a systemic cultural problem exists. To better equip them to implement the organizational changes necessary to improve professionalism in the Corps, we are recommending the five following actions to create a Better Marine Corps:

1. Integrate boot camp

The Marine Corps is the only service that segregates men and women during initial entry training. While segregated boot camp does expose female recruits to female leaders, it also prevents them from learning from male drill instructors, many of whom have significant combat experience. It also means that they dont learn to compete with or bond with male peers, and vice versa.

Most importantly, as a direct result of gender bias and segregated training, female recruits have historically been held to lower expectations for performance, resulting in misconceptions about their capabilities and below average results across every graduation requirement category.

Segregation also imprints the belief in male recruits that females are the other and enables male drill instructors and recruits to believe that females enjoy an easier boot camp experience. This is a dangerous practice that damages group cohesion and fosters demeaning stereotypes of female Marines. This process is detailed by a Marine Corps veteran in a recent New York Times article.

2. Recruit more women

The Marine Corps has by far the fewest number of servicewomen of any of the Services. Women Marines make up less than 8 percent of the Marine Corps which puts women in a token minority status.

Token groups are frequently the target of negative actions on the part of other group members. The Marine Corps practice of segregated boot camp contributes to an artificially low number of women in the Marine Corps.

The smaller size of the female recruit squad bays in the only battalion dedicated to training female Marines, compared to those in the male recruit training battalions, results in an artificial cap on the number of women who can be trained to be Marines each year.

3. Open all units and occupations

Although all occupations and units are now technically open to women, no women officers have yet successfully completed training for the infantry, armor or assault amphibian vehicle occupations.

Only three enlisted women have been allowed to serve as infantry Marines, in a single infantry battalion. By comparison the Army has made considerably more progress integrating women into the new jobs and units.

The Marine Corps has not made any attempt to revise its recruiting and training strategies to attract women to ground combat jobs, and the systemic cultural problems in the Marines prevent many qualified women from pursuing them.

Until women are present in all units and jobs in the Marine Corps, it will be difficult for the service to eliminate stereotypes and misogynistic behavior.

4. Provide a whistleblower hotline for Marines

Many Marines are afraid to censor the behavior of their peers for fear of themselves becoming a target. Male Marines who have called out unprofessional behavior have themselves become the target of these groups.

A hotline would help the Corps honestly embrace the full scope of its challenge and it would provide a safe space for Marines to report bad peer behavior.

5. Hold Marines accountable for unprofessional behavior

This must include Marines at every level. It cant begin and end with the junior enlisted Marines who bought into and participated in a culture that was established for them beginning at recruit training.

Instead, the leadership must ask hard questions about the culture of the Marine Corps, to include why no women officers have completed infantry, armor or amphibious assault vehicle training when women in the Army are qualifying in infantry and armor occupations and as Army Rangers.

Ellen Haring is director of the Service Womens Institute at the Service Womens Action Network. She is a West Point graduate, a retired Army colonel and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

Due to a submission error, an earlier version listed Kate Hendricks Thomas as co-author. However, the appropriate author attribution is to Haring alone.
The Afghanistan district that cost dozens of San Diego Marines their lives is now in Taliban hands again. But was it strategic retreat or a heavy blow to the NATO effort there?

The opium-rich Sangin region of southern Afghanistan was overrun by Taliban troops late last week. The Taliban is celebrating it as a victory in the now 16-year-old war.

But NATO and U.S. officials say they had planned for months to move a headquarters post a few miles away after Sangins civic center was badly deteriorated after many battles.

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And, they say, anything of value was destroyed before Afghan soldiers left. U.S. aircraft were used to transfer Afghan personnel to the new location.

Headquarters Resolute Support statement on #Sangin: "The only thing they left to the Taliban is rubble and dirt" pic.twitter.com/diS4Qt6rQh  Resolute Support (@ResoluteSupport) March 23, 2017

There is nothing left in the old district center except dirt and rubble, U.S. officials said.

Some observers are calling that spin. An analysis in The Long War Journal called that description of events not credible.

The group Terror Monitor said the Taliban released an infographic listing of an inventory of goods it captured as the spoils of war.

Theres no question that the anti-Taliban campaign known as Operation Resolute Support has seen mixed results.

Security in Afghanistan has been deteriorating since U.S. force levels dropped from a high of 100,000 in 2011 to the current size of roughly 9,000, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Welcome to The Intel, a blog examining the hot military news of the day

Russia is also attempting to exert its influence.

Russia will continue to establish itself as the dominant broker of peace in Afghanistan in order to gain leverage over the U.S. and NATO, the same institute concluded in an update on Afghanistan last week.

Sangin is hallowed ground for some Camp Pendleton Marine veterans, after they bled to wrest it from the Taliban starting in 2010.

Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment took over there in 2010 as the American surge revved up in that country.

Some 50 U.S. Marines were mortally wounded in Sangin in part due to aggressive use of roadside bombs by the Taliban.

Half died with Camp Pendletons Darkhorse 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, the first Marine unit to serve a full seven-month tour in Sangin during the surge.

More than 200 of the battalion were seriously injured, in what was thought to be the worst casualty rate to that time for a unit its size during the Afghan war.

The British also paid a heavy price in the years just before.

As some lamented in the British press recently, Sangin accounted for a third of that nations dead in Afghanistan at the time.

Tragic. So much British and American human treasure expended in Sangin. https://t.co/L5YuqYanlO  David Bober (@mrdavidboberesq) March 23, 2017

Others in the West, including academics, expressed dismay and raised the question of whether this war will ever conclude.

So many valiant efforts made there, and so many lives lost, and yet #Sangin has now fallen to the #Taliban. What a terrible, endless war.  Michael Kugelman (@MichaelKugelman) March 23, 2017

Military Videos  On Now D-Day paratrooper from Coronado jumps again in France  at age 96 On Now Remembering war's fallen, one name at a time On Now In Ramona, an airplane and an aviator provide living lessons on World War II 1:43 On Now Video: Navy's newest vessel sails into San Diego and a new future in surface warfare On Now Video: U.S. Navy files homicide charges over warship collisions On Now Stopping Marine hazing On Now Video: U.S. Navy Air Crew Grounded After Creating Vulgar Sky Drawing On Now Navy says Asia Pacific ship collisions were avoidable On Now Hundreds of recruits get sick at Marine boot camp On Now Cutler Dawson Talks Navy Federal

jen.steele@sduniontribune.com

Facebook: U-T Military

Twitter: @jensteeley
With Donald Trumps presidency creating a rift in U.S.-Mexico relations, dozens of San Diegans and bajacalifornianos are joining forces this week in Mexicos capital, aiming to showcase their strong bilateral relationship and win support for border projects.

Close to 90 people are making the trek from the border to Mexico City for three days of meetings with high-level Mexican officials that begin Monday. They carry a common message: that neither Trumps plans for a fortified border wall and nor his call to re-negotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement will change the fact that Tijuana and San Diego are intensely inter-dependent on many fronts.

The delegation led by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce includes the mayors of San Diego and Tijuana. Also on the roster are business leaders, customs brokers, logistics experts, real estate developers, and others seeking to maintain strong cross-border ties even amid strains at the national level.

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The issues they champion are at once local and international in nature: trade, tourism, tech jobs, plans for a cross-border railroad and a new border crossing, the need for resources to fortify sewage collection in Tijuana and prevent cross-border flows.

We see the critical need for collaboration, said Paola Avila, the chambers vice president of international business affairs, one of the trips organizers. Members of the delegation share that same vision, no matter what party they belong to, no matter the level of government they serve, or if theyre in the private sector or the public sector.

Business and political leaders in the San Diego-Baja California region have for years touted their strong ties. Earlier this month, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum pledged to continue working together through a renewed memorandum of understanding.

But for all the collaboration, the two communities are divided by an international border, and solving local problems often means gaining resources and support from the U.S. and Mexican federal governments. Thus the the twice-a-year chamber lobbying trips  in the spring to Mexico City and in the fall to Washington D.C.  allowing Tijuana and San Diego to speak with a common voice as they present their demands.

This trip is the first since Trump has been in the White House, and participants say that has changed the flavor of the gathering.

The presidents plans to build a wall along the entire border  and statements that he intends to charge Mexico for the cost  has caused anger in Mexico. The presidents calls for a border tax and the renegotiation of the NAFTA have created uncertainty over the future  and generated a measure of anxiety among border leaders.

Certainly there is a new level of urgency that they feel right now, said Chris Wilson, deputy director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. There is no doubt that people feel there is a lot on the line right now in the U.S.-Mexico relationship.

Mayor Gastelum, interviewed Sunday morning on the flight down from Tijuana, said the aim of this weeks Mexico City trip is mainly to send a very clear message that the Tijuana-San Diego mega-region can work together well.

Showcasing the unity can demonstrate the importance of both economic and cultural ties, and regardless of whats said outside our cities, we are building bridges to strengthen that relationship, he said.

Groups represented on the chamber trip include the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce, Smart Border Coalition, Tijuana Innovadora, Tijuana Economic Development Council, San Diego Port Tenants Association and the Sportfishing Association of Southern California. Also on the trip are representatives of state and local government agencies: the cities of Tijuana, San Diego, Ensenada, Imperial Beach, Coronado, the Port of San Diego, the California Department of Transportation.

The Union-Tribune asked four participants to share whats on their mind as they prepare for the meetings.

Frank Carrillo, president and CEO of SIMNSA Health Plan, a Mexican company licensed in the United States that sees 1,000 patients a day in Tijuana and Mexicali. Carrillo said he has been on every chamber trip to Mexico City.

The first thing is to bring a message of unity, said Carrillo. A message that we here in this region believe in bridges, not walls, that we do not agree with the policies of the White House.

SIMNSA patients are primarily U.S. residents who come to Tijuana and Mexicali for treatment, 70 percent of them insured. Carrillo worries that Trumps statements and policies could bring a backlash against those who visit Mexico.

The message to the Mexican government is that they must not adopt the mentality of Mr. Trump that were beginning to see in some. Rather than making it easier for Americans to visit us, theyre beginning to make it more difficult, said Carrillo, who was born in Mexico but came to the United States as a child.

Mexico needs to know that we are united, that we are with them, that we are not against them, said Carrillo. Its a message thats badly needed, much more so in Mexico City, theyre not as close as we are here. They need the reassurance they are not in this thing alone.

Eduardo Acosta, president of the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce.

A major issue for the chamber is the planned Otay Mesa East crossing, a commercial and passenger port of entry that would be the first tolled crossing on the California-Mexico border. The project is precedent-setting on several levels, and is being planned jointly by the U.S. and Mexican federal governments.

For Acosta, the trip to Mexico City is a chance to get up to date on what is happened in Mexico at the federal level. I want to know if they are on the same page as the U.S. government, he said.

Acosta also wants to hear first-hand from Mexican officials about NAFTA. Will it be updated, upgraded, will it be canceled overnight? asked Acosta. I would like to see where Mexico is with that.

Acosta, a customs broker, said he found reassurance from U.S. officials during a recent trip to Washington, D.C. The political people, theyre surprised were so worried about NAFTA and the border, Acosta said. They say, NAFTAs not going to change overnight, its going to be a transition thing, Acosta said. My take is, OK, Mexican government, thats what I saw in Washington two weeks ago. Are you guys on the same page?

Adriana Eguia, executive director Tijuana Economic Development Corporation (DEITAC).

Eguias group focuses on attracting foreign direct investment to the city. NAFTA needs to be refurbished, said Eguia, who currently is more concerned about the effects of Trumps plan to lower U.S. corporate taxes from 35 percent to as low as 15 percent. What would be the strategy of the Mexican government if that goes through? she wondered.

DEITAC is also seeking support in Mexico City for an initiative to draw high-skilled foreign workers to Tijuana  focusing on people that U.S. companies have been wanting to hire, but who have been unsuccessful in obtaining a limited number H1B visas for these workers.

DEITAC proposes allowing them to work for those same companies from Tijuana, bringing a new pool of talent to the city.

This offers the possibility to bring in direct investment, but in another mode, Eguia said.

Kenia Zamarripa, director of marketing and international affairs at Sportfishing Association of California.

Maintaining strong lines of communication with federal officials in Mexico City is critical for the association, she said. Its members are commercial fishing tour operators in southern California whose clients often want to cross into Mexican waters  and that requires compliance with Mexican regulations.

The groups previous efforts have led to a change in policy by Mexican immigration officials, allowing U.S. fishing groups to obtain tourist visas online rather than being forced to stop at a Mexican port before they head the Coronado Islands or other popular Mexican fishing areas off the Baja California coast.

But the group has faced a new challenge since last December, when Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto established a new biosphere reserve off the coast the Baja California that includes the Coronado Islands and Todos Santos Island, a famed surfing spot off of Ensenada. Fishing in the protected areas requires a special license, and association members are concerned about the additional cost and paperwork.

Traveling with a large bi-national national delegation has helped raise the associations profile, and win the attention of high-level officials, Zamarripa said.

Without that they might see us as a little group that has this need, that its not that important, she said. By us going as a group, they can see how big this is.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibble
The bandshell at Pomonas Ganesha Park is a cozy spot where an acting troupe might perform Shakespeare on a summer night.

But on a brisk January morning, four tents held center stage  nestled around a rusted, 55-gallon drum still warm from a bonfire the night before.

By mid-morning, people stirred and tents came down. A young woman growled at the outreach worker who ventured near.

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The scene reflected one days uneasy equilibrium in the homelessness drama roiling the eastern Los Angeles County city of 150,000.

While Los Angeles city and county attempt to conquer the problem with billions of dollars in new taxes for thousands of permanent supportive housing units, Pomona has taken a different tack.

Officials agreed after months of soul-searching on a comprehensive strategy that gives as much weight to enforcement as assistance. And the city is moving swiftly to remove an obstacle to that enforcement  its failure to offer people living on its streets a place to sleep or store their belongings.

Even before the final vote, Pomona built nearly 400 steel lockers  one for every homeless person in the city. Officials then approved the comprehensive plan, as well as $1.7 million to buy land for a temporary shelter with 175 beds.

Los Angeles officials have all but dismissed the idea of new temporary shelters in favor of permanent housing coupled with support services, calling it a more humane and likely more successful strategy for keeping people off the streets.

In Pomona, the political discourse has leaned more toward concern for residents and merchants.

Many more people are speaking out on behalf of the homeless than for the residents. Its not fair.  Councilman Rubio R. Gonzalez

Though I want to be compassionate for the homeless as much as I can, who is speaking out for the residents, the voters, the taxpayers? Councilman Rubio R. Gonzalez said before voting to approve the homeless plan. Many more people are speaking out on behalf of the homeless than for the residents. Its not fair.

While Pomonas plan nods to best practices and housing first, it leaves no doubt that the temporary shelter is key to resuming enforcement of anti-camping laws that were put on hold as the result of a lawsuit.

That can take place once the city has provided a sufficient number of shelter beds  because there will be a viable option to living in places not meant for human habitation, the plan says.

Exactly how it will be enforced is still uncertain.

Councilman Robert S. Torres pressed in vain for clarification before voting to approve the shelter.

So there will be folks who will go to the parks and inform them? Torres asked Asst. City Atty. Andrew L. Jared. Im hoping that by approving this we can literally have folks there encouraging them to take advantage of that.

Jared, in an interview, said, Our intent is to eliminate people living on the streets.

He said he will soon propose revisions to ensure that city ordinances prohibiting camping and storage of property in public do not violate the civil rights of homeless people.

Case law has said that you cannot enforce that law unless there is, in fact, a place to go, Jared said. We will be creating that place to go and modernizing our no camping, living, sleeping on the street ordinance in order to ensure that unsheltered homelessness is dealt with in Pomona.

The debate is layered over Pomonas long record of providing homeless services that are absent elsewhere.

It is the only city in its immediate area with a homeless coordinator  a position established in 2003. Since 1990s it has used federal Housing and Urban Development grants to lease permanent housing for the chronically homeless.

Pomona also contracts with the nonprofit group Volunteers of America to do homeless outreach and operate a winter shelter in the state-owned armory building downtown.

L.A. finally has the money to fight homelessness. Heres how architecture can help the cause 

Church groups pass out food daily and argue at City Council meetings for a humanitarian approach to street people.

Still, increasing numbers of homeless people have camped in the central business district and in Ganesha Park.

Responding to constituent concerns, the police and public works departments had made a practice of clearing away encampments, causing the occupants to scatter.

::

The tension between compassion and compulsion came into sharp focus last spring.

The L.A. pro bono law firm Public Counsel sued on behalf of several Pomona street dwellers, alleging that their personal property, including identification and medications, had been unlawfully seized.

In a settlement, the city agreed to stop taking homeless peoples items until it could provide temporary storage. It also agreed to suspend enforcement of its anti-camping ordinance until it could provide a shelter bed for every homeless resident.

The bureaucracy responded quickly.

While neighborhood opposition stalled similar plans in Los Angeles, Pomona public works crews assembled the 60-gallon lockers in recycled shipping containers adjacent to the winter shelter.

The city resumed cleanups after the lockers opened early in December. A sweep of Commercial Street, two blocks west of City Hall, netted five tons of refuse and ousted dozens of street dwellers.

Acting Public Works Director Meg McWade said the goal was not to force people out, but basically to help people travel lightly  help them understand if they are going to live this lifestyle how do they pare down to the 60 gallons?

In January, the City Council took up the comprehensive plan, titled A Way Home.

It invoked Mother Teresa and embraced a lofty mission: We are a compassionate and caring community that wants to take action to assist those living outside and in unstable housing.

It also acknowledged community angst, citing as one of its primary goals to balance the needs and rights of homeless persons and the larger community.

The plan was greeted with raw emotion.

Homeowners complained that the downtown cleanup had pushed more people into Ganesha Park, where their bonfires were visible at night.

Downtown business owners complained of homeless people sleeping in their doorways and scaring customers away.

Others argued that the citys generosity had prompted neighboring towns to send their homeless people to services in Pomona.

Youve created a magnet, planning commissioner Tomas Ursua said at a public meeting. If you do something and the other cities have not done it, youve set yourself up to be overrun.

Gonzalez, a teacher who was elected to the City Council in November, said homelessness was constituents top issue during the campaign.

I do not consider the homeless people my family, Gonzalez said. I dont know them. Theyre not from here. Some are. Some are not. The majority are not.

But Councilwoman Ginna Escobar, an activities assistant at Inland Valley Care and Rehabilitation Center in Pomona, was sympathetic.

I dont want to just help people who are homeless who are from Pomona, said Escobar, who was elected in 2010. Id rather help anyone who feels safe coming to our city, or feels they have the ability to come to our city because we are helping people.

Two weeks after approving A Way Home, the council approved a site plan for the shelter.

City officials plan to offer comprehensive services at the site, and amenities including an off-leash dog park and a kitchen where charitable groups can distribute their donations.

Everything there will be oriented to getting people into permanent housing, said Benita DeFrank, the citys neighborhood services director.

DeFrank outlined a plan to get the shelter running quickly by erecting a steel-ribbed tent on the 2.61-acre parcel in the citys eastern industrial area.

But the hope of opening by the end of March, when the winter shelter closes, has proved illusory. Now the goal is December, DeFrank said.

::

A few days after the site plan vote, Reggie Clark of Volunteers of America was in Ganesha Park one chilly morning, spreading the word about the storage lockers.

Venice residents fight over homeless housing project  and character of the neighborhood 

Hey, you all know about my lockers, right? Clark shouted into the bandshell. Any of you guys using my lockers?

A woman, nearly weeping, told him she had lost everything in the recent cleanup  her clothes, her shampoo, her hairbrush.

He tried to persuade the woman to go to the winter shelter, telling her, You can get some clothes, you can get some shampoo, you can get some brushes for your hair.

She protested she had no transportation. Outreach worker Bruce Chico handed her two bus passes.

Chico said the woman had refused shelter before.

She wouldnt do it, he said.

A few days later, police and public works employees cleared all the tent dwellers from the park.

As spring approached, the park was still a hangout for homeless people. On a warm March afternoon, about a dozen sat in small groups in the picnic area.

But the bandshell was empty, and the steel drum was gone. No tents were in sight.

doug.smith@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATDoug

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Wei-En Tan is on a mission to get Americans to empathize with their immigrant neighbors through an art blog that tells the stories of drivers she meets on Uber, Lyft or taxi rides.

The 37-year-old San Diegan started the blog, called Riding Up Front, as a personal exercise to better connect to people. Now shes repurposed it to help alleviate the fear that she believes many feel toward immigrants in todays political climate.

I know the stories Ive heard on a ride somewhere have changed me, Tan said. If I could change the mind of one person, I think that would be a win for me.

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One story on the blog tells of a Jamaican woman who is in the Marine Corps in San Diego and drives for Lyft as a side job.

The woman, given the pseudonym Aurora in the story, tells Tan that she only sleeps about four hours a night and cooks for her husband and 3-year-old daughter in addition to working the two jobs.

Aurora says shes going to teach her daughter how to work hard and save money.

Most of all, Im gonna teach my girl how to love. And love hard, Aurora says to Tan.

She was one of the most determined people I knew, Tan said. The biggest lesson I took from her was to try and be as positive as possible. She was doing a lot more than me, and there I was complaining about how exhausted I was from sitting around in an office talking.

Tan, who lives in University Heights, travels a lot for her work as vice president of MACH Energy, a San Francisco-based company that helps large buildings manage their energy usage. That means she often uses the ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft, she said.

When she tasked herself with learning to better relate to other people emotionally, she said, those driving her around were the first people she connected to. She started sitting in the passenger seat next to her drivers and trying to engage with them in conversations.

Their stories stuck with her so much that she began to share them on a private blog with her friends.

Tan said she has never considered herself an activist, but after Donald Trump became president she said she felt she needed to take action against what she saw as a growing hostility toward immigrants.

She realized many of the stories on her private blog were about immigrants, and she decided to use the platform to try to change negative perceptions of immigrants.

Tan came to the U.S. as a student about 20 years ago from Singapore and became a U.S. citizen about two years ago.

She is a certified commercial pilot and flight instructor for planes and helicopters. Shes taught a lot of Americans how to fly, she said with pride.

Her flying experience helped her connect with the driver in one of her favorite stories. Her blog calls him Siraj.

Siraj, who drives Tan around Denver, tells her that he has always wanted to fly. His family has told him when he was a kid that it would be impossible, that white guys wouldnt let him fly, the story says.

He tells Tan knowing that she has learned to fly inspires him.

If you can do it, why not me? he says.

Tan encourages him and helps him find an airport near his house where he can learn.

She said she doesnt know what happened to him, but the memory of their connection stays with her.

Tan has now turned the Riding Up Front Art Blog into a nonprofit. Its website offers a way for people to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union, International Rescue Committee and American Immigration Council.

Those helping Tan with producing and maintaining the blog are all volunteers. Artists illustrated the stories for free.

Its been really heartening to have peoples support in this and know that Im not crazy in thinking that Im bringing some worth to society, Tan said.

Tan said shes been yelled at on the street twice, once about three years ago and once since the election, for not looking American. They told her to go back home to China, she said.

Im not even a citizen of China. I was never a citizen of China, Tan said. Theres so much hatred and so much ignorance that unless you belong to a certain stereotype of what American is supposed to be then you cant be, and I dont like this.

Many of the immigrants I know and many of the refugees I know are very productive, very admirable people and are just as American as somebody who owns a white-picket fence house in Tennessee, Tan added.

She said she hopes the stories in her blog help those who havent encountered immigrants in their daily lives understand that immigrants are people with the same goals and values as anyone else.

Were not here to bomb you. Were not terrorists, Tan said. Were not here to take your jobs away.

Tan believes in small acts to make bigger changes, she said. She calls Riding Up Front her small act.

kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate
A wave of unsanctioned rallies swept across Russia on Sunday to protest corruption in the government of President Vladimir Putin, in a nationwide show of defiance not seen in years, one the Kremlin had tried in vain to prevent with bans and warnings.

Too angry to be cowed, they poured into the street, fed up with their countrys wide-reaching corruption and a government unwilling, or unable, to stop it. Police responded with barricades, tear gas and mass arrests in cities across Russia.

By Sunday evening, riot police in body armor and helmets had hauled in more than 700 demonstrators in central Moscow, as the crowd, numbering in the tens of thousands, cheered, whistled and chanted, Shame! Shame!

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As twilight approached, protesters in the city clashed with police, and at least one officer was hospitalized with head trauma, the Meduza news agency reported.

One of the first detained in Moscow was the chief architect of the rallies, Alexei Navalny, who called on people to protest in the wake of his allegations that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has amassed vineyards, luxury yachts and lavish mansions worth more than $1 billion.

One of Navalnys associates tweeted that he was told he could face charges of extremism for broadcasting the rally illegally. If that is the case, a lot of people are going to be in trouble: Thousands of iPhones recorded as police closed off central Moscows Pushkin Square, lined major streets and hauled anyone carrying signs into large buses. Also among the detained was American Alec Luhn, an accredited reporter for the Guardian; he was later released.

A man with a sign that read We Found Your Money and depicted drawings of the luxury boats and estates mentioned in Navalnys report was carried off by police seconds after he took the sign out.

This is all about corruption. Everyone here knows that all of our leaders are thieves, said Vitaly Kerzunov, a protester who had come to Moscow from Belgorod, about 400 miles to the south. He wanted to take out his own poster, wrapped in a black plastic bag, but he feared arrest.

Fear was one thing authorities were counting on to keep people away. On Friday, senior Russian police official Alexander Gorovoi warned that authorities would bear no responsibility for any possible negative consequences for people who did show up. Putins spokesman said that even telling people to come to the rallies was illegal.

Instead, the demonstrations appear to amount to the largest coordinated protests in Russia since the street rallies that broke out in 2011 and 2012 after a parliamentary election that opposition leaders decried as fraudulent. Back then, Putin accused Hillary Clinton, secretary of state at the time, of inciting the protests.

The U.S. State Department condemned Sundays detentions, saying in a statement that detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values. It added that the United States will monitor this situation, and we call on the government of Russia to immediately release all peaceful protesters.

State-run Russian television was silent on the matter. But images posted on social media sites such as Twitter suggested that sizable rallies were underway across the country, and unofficial news agencies such as the Riga-based Meduza carried extensive updates.

The privately owned Interfax news agency reported on rallies across Siberia and in Russias Far East, where it said two dozen protesters had been detained. The agency cited police as saying that about 7,000 protesters gathered in Moscow, but the crowd, which lined Moscows main artery, Tverskaya Street, on both sidewalks for more than a mile and crammed the spacious Pushkin Square, appeared to be much larger than that.

For some time, the protesters blocked the street until Interior Ministry troops in combat gear pushed them off. An irritant gas similar to tear gas was discharged; police later reported that someone in the crowd discharged it. For about an hour after the rally began, a voice on a loudspeaker asked protesters who came out on this spring Sunday to go express their will as citizens at a park away from the city center.

Later, as scores of riot police filled the square, the message became more strident. You are participants in an unsanctioned demonstration, the voice intoned. Consider the consequences.

Protesters responded by the thousands in the 21st-century way: They bombarded officers with selfies and videos. One grim-faced lieutenant in urban camouflage cracked a grin as he told The Washington Post, I must have been photographed 1,000 times today. No, wait; much more than that. Then he posed for another.

The Moscow protest presented an odd juxtaposition of anger and an outdoor party. High school-age young people danced and laughed at the long lines of police as the crowd cheered, then led everyone in a chant: You cant jail us all!

When a young man held up a pair of yellow rubber ducks  a reference to a detail in Navalnys report that ducks have their own house at one of the lavish estates allegedly owned by Medvedev  he was immediately dragged off.

Shame, shame! screamed the young people. Shame! a small group of pensioners chimed in.

Official Moscow has dismissed Navalny, who has said he will run for president in 2018, as a widely reviled nuisance whose allegations are an attention-grabbing stunt. Putin, who almost certainly will run for reelection, is hoping for a landslide to validate his past six years of authoritarian rule, a time in which the Russian economy has slid but the country has asserted itself militarily in Syria and Ukraine.

One of the slogans for Sundays rallies is No one showed up, a reference to the dismissal by authorities of Navalnys popular support.

A young Moscow couple, who gave only their first names, Alexei and Olga, had brought their 1-year-old daughter, Agata.

We wanted the leaders to see that were here, Alexei said. And we had no one to leave her with.Navalny, who emerged as an anti-corruption whistleblower and took a leading role in the street protests that accompanied Putins 2012 return to the presidency, has been the target of fraud and embezzlement probes he says are politically motivated. In 2013, he was convicted of siphoning money off a lumber sale, a verdict that the European Court of Human Rights declared prejudicial, saying that Navalny and his co-defendant were denied the right to a fair trial.

In November, Russias Supreme Court declared a retrial, and Navalny was convicted of embezzlement and handed a five-year suspended sentence in February, which by Russian law would prevent him from running for president.

Filipov writes for The Washington Post.
A 24-year-old woman is suspected of being drunk and driving the wrong way onto the Coronado bridge, causing a chain reaction crash that seriously injured another driver early Monday.

The woman, in a Ford Fusion, drove onto the bridge headed east out of Coronado, but in westbound lanes, about 4:05 a.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Jake Sanchez said. Soon after, she crashed head-on into a Ford F-150.

Another westbound driver in a Dodge Ram then slammed into the crashed pickup.

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A CHP officer who was parked at the Coronado entrance to the bridge spotted the wrong-way driver and took off after her, but wasnt able to prevent the crash, Sanchez said.

The wrong-way Fusion driver, identified as Briana Rall of San Diego, suffered moderate injuries, while the 49-year-old woman in the F-150 suffered major injuries. The 27-year-old San Diego man in the Dodge wasnt seriously hurt.

All three were taken to UC San Diego Medical Center, Sanchez said.

Rall will be arrested on felony DUI charges when she is released from the hospital.

The collision closed the bridge in both directions, snarling traffic for morning commuters. All lanes reopened shortly before 6 a.m.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com
A man who was stabbed in both arms during a fight at an Encanto trolley station grabbed a knife of his own and went after his attacker Sunday, police said.

The fight broke out at the station on Akins Avenue near 62nd Street about 4:55 p.m., police Officer John Buttle said.

One man stabbed the other twice before hopping into a white Honda that was waiting in the parking lot, Buttle said. But as the car was pulling away, the injured man grabbed a knife from his girlfriend and chased after the vehicle.

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He caught up and is suspected of stabbing the woman behind the wheel in the arm. She was later treated at a hospital, but denied any involvement in the incident, police said.

The stabbed man was also taken to a hospital with injuries that werent life-threatening. The incident is under investigation.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com

UPDATES:

March 27, 2017, 12:40 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details.
Facing a backlog that has pushed even routine public-records requests to three months or longer, the San Diego Unified School District will begin posting documents on the internet as they are released.

In a memo to district managers last week, district lawyers said the change is part of an ongoing effort to reduce response times and increase transparency.

As the next step in our work, beginning May 1, 2017, we will be uploading the bulk of the documents we have provided in response to Public Records Act requests, and the associated requests, into the library on BoardDocs, General Counsel Andra Donovan wrote Thursday. This will allow the public to freely access the requests we have received and the documents provided in response.

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BoardDocs is a web-based portal operated by Emerald Data Solutions, a Georgia company that posts documents on behalf of 2,000-plus public agencies and other organizations. The San Diego Unified School District has uploaded board agendas, staff reports and other records on the website for years.

The change comes after complaints that San Diego Unified too often fails to comply with provisions of the state open-records law that require public agencies to respond to requests within 10 days.

District officials blamed the backlog on limited resources and the practice of answering requests in the order they are received, meaning simple requests often must wait while district lawyers respond to more complicated ones.

The district plans exceptions to the public posting process in cases in which sensitive student or employee information was not fully redacted, the memo states.

For example, documents we may have provided to a parent would not be redacted to protect the privacy of the child, the note states.

Facing a lawsuit from parent activist Sally Smith, the district recently opened up public access to an employee web page where policies and other district communications were posted, as well. The action was part of a settlement of the lawsuit, although officials said they planned to open up access anyway.

Watchdog Videos On Now Sexual misconduct accusers worry deputy is being protected 6:16 On Now City funded $2-million waterfront bathroom 1:26 On Now Public water district charges customer for legal work, response to records request On Now Video: Tiny homes won't be reused amid housing, homeless crisis On Now Attorney General seeks documentation for Miss Middle East On Now Rep. Hunter probe covers possible fraud On Now Video: SDG&E delaying solar credit for some low-income housing tenants On Now Video: Former San Diego Junior Theatre teacher sentenced for sex with teen girl 0:24 On Now Video: Shelter volunteers believe they were fired for finding a dog a home 0:49 On Now McKamey Manor is leaving San Diego 3:35

jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald
At a tense time in U.S.-Mexico relations, the visit to Mexico City of a delegation of nearly 90 people from the binational San Diego-Tijuana region is a powerful sign of the regions determination to weather any storm started by President Donald Trumps new administration. Led by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, the delegation includes San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum. Its members are meeting with top officials of the Mexican federal government to get updates on Tijuana-area projects that could affect regional commerce and to lobby for more helpful improvements.

Trumps plan to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and his interest in a border tax could play havoc with the regional economy. But if leaders on both sides of the border work together, theres a chance any damage could be minimized.

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Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: UTOpinion
Demonstrations against the Russian government over the weekend brought tens of thousands of people to the streets in cities across the country and led to hundreds of arrests.

It was the biggest show of defiance in Russia since 2012, according to the Associated Press, which reported that "almost all of Sundays rallies were unsanctioned. Estimates of the number of people arrested in the nations capital city of Moscow ranged from 500 to 800 as protesters voiced frustration over perceived corruption in President Vladimir Putin s government.

Images and video from the protests quickly spread on social media.

The resistance was apparently organized by Aleksei Navalny, one of the most well-known opponents of Putin. Navalny himself was arrested while walking to a demonstration in Moscow and handed a 15-day jail sentence. Navalny recently announced a bid to run for president of Russia in 2018.

"A time will come when we'll put them on trial too  and that time it will be fair, he tweeted from court.

Navalny released a report just weeks earlier pointing to lavish spending and an expensive lifestyle of Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev .

Russias government accused the protesters of encouraging lawbreaking and even  and this might sound familiar to Americans  said some young people were paid to attend, according to the BBC.

American politicians are already weighing in on the Russian demonstrations. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, expressed outrage at the treatment of the protesters.

"Putins thugocracy is on full display, said a statement Sasse shared on Sunday. The United States government cannot be silent about Russias crackdown on peaceful protesters. Free speech is what were all about and Americans expect our leaders to call out thugs who trample the basic human rights of speech, press, assembly, and protest."

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, criticized Putin and the Russian government in a similar statement.

"Today's protest shows that corruption, propaganda, and thinly veiled oppression are a weak foundation for a government - even one led by a man as ruthless as Vladimir Putin."

The U.S. State Department also criticized Russia following the protests.

"Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values, said Mark Toner, acting spokesman for the State Department. We were troubled to hear of the arrest of opposition figure Alexei Navalny upon arrival at the demonstration, as well as the police raids on the anti-corruption organization he heads."

No comment on the protests had been made by President Donald Trump by mid-day on Monday.

Did the protests make major waves in Russia? Its hard to tell.

One pro-government analyst told The Washington Post that the opposition scored a serious success.

One 36-year-old man who participated told The New York Times that he thinks nothing will change but that he still wanted to show that another Russia still exists.

With the complicated relations between the U.S. and Russia in recent months, what do you think about the protests? Do you think they will continue?

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin
United Airlines found itself in a tights spot on Sunday and was still facing a backlash on Monday after two teenage girls were barred from boarding a flight because they were wearing leggings.

The company has been defending its passenger dress code policy from criticism on Twitter since a high-profile Twitter user shared that the girls spandex was at issue.

On Monday, Delta and others kept piling on. Here's what happened.

Watts, who has tens of thousands of Twitter followers, is the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and on Sunday she unleashed a storm of criticism against United on Twitter, helping the anecdote and anger over it go viral as the social media platform exploded with complaints.

Due to the vagueness of the policy  which attempts to spell out whats considered to be properly clothed  celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen, Sarah Silverman and William Shatner sent their Twitter missives that contributed to the story going viral.

On Sunday, United Airlines tried to end the public relations fiasco by clarifying that the incident with the two teenage girls involved a tighter dress code policy for pass travelers  travelers who are relatives or friends of United employees who may fly for free or at a discount, as NPR explained.

On Monday, the company did more damage control, releasing a statement to clarify that flight-paying customers were welcome to wear leggings.

Let us take a moment to explain todays news, the United statement said. The passengers [Sunday] morning were United pass riders and not in compliance with our dress code for company benefit travel. We regularly remind our employees that when they place a family member or friend on a flight for free as a standby passenger, they need to follow our dress code.

To our regular customers, your leggings are welcome.

Was that enough to calm the rough waters of social media? Maybe. It also prompted a second wave of trolling, though.

Delta Airlines tweeted a wink to its customers, telling them that leggings are welcomed on its flights.

Even former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee couldnt resist the opportunity to join in on the trolling. And he was not alone, as others shared photos of what they planned to wear on their next United flight.

At the end of the day, some people did come to United Airlines defense. In fact, The New York Daily News pointed out that other airlines have similar dress code policies in place  Delta actually bans excessively dirty or vulgar clothing.

Much ado about nothing? Share your thoughts with me.

Have some thoughts to share?

Join me in a conversation: Shoot me a private email with your thoughts or ideas on a different approach to this story. As always, you can also send us a tweet.

Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @RunGomez
Two women and a man were found shot to death in a Riverside County home Wednesday, and investigators suspect a double murder-suicide that resulted from a conflict over one of the womens will.

The older womans adult son discovered the bodies at the house in a quiet residential neighborhood of Cathedral City, police Lt. Charles Robinson said.

The woman and her adult daughter were shot to death in a bed, Robinson said. In another bedroom, the body of the older womans common-law husband was discovered with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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A note containing an apparent confession and a handgun were found near the mans body, Robinson said.

The woman had been recently diagnosed with a terminal illness, and her common-law husband was upset over her plans to divide her assets after her death, according to investigators.

It looks like the motive was just anger based on who gets what, Robinson told the Desert Sun newspaper.

The daughter was visiting from Florida to help put her mothers affairs in order, he said.

Authorities believe the shootings occurred within 36 hours.

The shooter and the victims, whose names were not released, ranged in age from their early 40s to early 60s.

Cathedral City police have not investigated any homicides so far this year, according to the Desert Sun. Four people were killed there last year.
An actor turns a dilapidated, inner-city mosque into a theater in just a few days. A 20-year-old buckles down on his studies at a historically black college after his mother dies of cancer. A community organizer decides his plan to create thousands of green jobs is too modest and enlarges it twenty-fold.

Barack Obamas election to the White House is the very realization of what so many black fathers have told their sons to aspire to for years, even if often it was just a confidence-booster, not meant to be taken literally. And long before he wrapped up the contest, his candidacy had driven these three black men and others to actions they say they might not have taken without his example.

Jeff Obafemi Carr, who had been a successful actor in New York, was debating whether to return there or stay in Nashville, where he wanted to turn a run-down mosque into Nashvilles first black theater in a century. It was an ambitious and daunting idea considering that some in the neighborhood figured the building would wind up as a liquor store or a thrift shop.

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Then the 41-year-old remembered a conversation he had with Obama during an Ohio campaign stop. The then-Democratic nominee encouraged him to keep working on his project.

He told me that were going to make a big change for the country with my help, Carr recalled.

When Carr returned from that event, he put his plan in motion. With the help of community volunteers, donated time from professional builders and materials from corporations, Carr set a date for construction and built the Amun Ra Theatre. Its first major performance will be next month with Gem of the Ocean, by American playwright August Wilson.

Throughout the process, Carr said he and the workers repeated Obamas slogan: Yes we can. Now the theaters Web site proclaims, Yes, We Did!

Justin Bowers, a junior at historically black Oakwood University in Huntsville, Ala., was thinking about dropping out after his mother died of cancer two years ago at age 48.

It was a lot of stress, Bowers said. I was struggling. It was really hard.

A friend pointed out Obamas perseverance after the president-elect lost his 53-year-old mother to cancer. Bowers said the story motivated him to stay in school and study harder to honor his mom.

I know she would have wanted me to press on with my life regardless of what adversities might come, said Bowers, 20, who is majoring in accounting and marketing. Thats just how I was raised. And clearly, thats how Barack was raised.

Van Jones, 40, founded Green For All, a national program that seeks to create clean energy jobs. His Oakland, Calif.,-based program, which employs 25 people and has an operating budget of $4.5 million, was instrumental in passing a portion of a national energy bill, called the Green Jobs Act. It will use up to $125 million to train 30,000 people in jobs such as installing solar panels and retrofitting buildings to make them more environmentally friendly.

With Obamas election, Jones decided to shop a $33 billion proposal before Congress that would hire about 600,000 over the next two years for similar work.

I wouldnt have believed in myself enough to come forward with an idea that bold, Jones said. But now, youve got somebody whos up there, whos telling people, Lets be bold.

The ceiling has come off. We can dream of ... bringing new technologies and new jobs into communities that have been left behind. Yes we can.

Obamas historic run has provided ammunition for black fathers, too, who can point to it in motivating the next generation of black men. Will Rodgers, a communications manager at an electric company in Tampa, Fla., said he takes every opportunity to talk to his 12-year-old son about Obama and how our nation has transformed.

I want him to understand the gravity of whats happened, said Rodgers, who boasts of having been a conservative Republican who never voted for a Democrat for president until Obama.

He can really be anything he wants to, even president of the United States.



On the Net:

Amun Ra Theatre: https://tinyurl.com/a48z7y

Green for All: https://www.greenforall.org
A mathematical model of how natural and social systems collapse when they reach their tipping point suggests how signs of stability in the short-term can give a false sense of security.



Tipping points  loosely defined as the point at which systems transition from one stable state to another  have been the subject of much scientific study for ocean, atmospheric, ecological and economic systems, among others. A tipping point is reached when restoration of a dynamic system is not possible by reversing the trend that caused its collapse.



We need to be very careful when the first symptoms of impairment appear, because not all of them can be reversed. Luiz Ibere Caldas, co-author

A new study aims to give a better understanding of what happens when a plant or animal species reaches a tipping point after which it will inevitably disappear. It also helps to understand other natural and social phenomena such as depletion of water resources or the financial crash of institutions.



It was published in Scientific Reports journal (February 2017) as part of postdoctoral research, supported by FAPESP, by Everton Santos Medeiros, a researcher of University of Sao Paulo Physics Institute.



According to Medeiros, the main contribution of the research is to show how in certain cyclical phenomena the transition to a tipping point can be masked by the dynamics of the system itself.



For instance, an endangered species is doomed to inevitably disappear when it crosses its tipping point. However, individuals within that species may continue existing and reproducing in nature even for a short time after that point is reached. This transitory effect hides the fact that in the long-term, the species will be extinguished, Medeiros told FAPESPs newsletter.

This means that although a tipping point is set to bring irreversible change, due to a residual effect the system appears to keep its original characteristics in a transition phase that masks the transformation which has already occurred.Extinction of an animal species, depletion of a water reservoir, melting of a big glacier  they all follow this pattern: when the tipping point is reached, damage will be irreversible, Medeiros said.But in real life it is difficult to say whether or not a tipping point has been reached, according to professor Luiz Ibere Caldas, co-author of the article and supervisor of Medeiros research.For example, can we recover the Atlantic rainforest in the Sao Paolo-Santos region or have we lost it inevitably? As there is still much vegetation in this area, it seems we can recover it with some initiative to remedy the damage. But is this really the case? Or is this leftover vegetation just a transitory effect unable to reverse the forests collapse ? he asked.Medeiros studied this type of transition by creating a model to simulate tipping points through a simple differential equation.The lesson we have drawn from our study is that we need to be very careful when the first symptoms of impairment appear, because not all of them can be reversed, Caldas concluded.Taken from a newsletter by FAPESP, a SciDev.Net donor, and edited by our Latin America and the Caribbean desk
[NAIROBI] This years UN World Day to Combat Desertification will be celebrated on 17 June and the UN has launched a programme to combat land degradation to help create jobs and boost food security.

Africa has some of the most degraded lands in the world, and is only second to Asia in land degradation globally, experts say.

Our land. Our home. Our Future, is the slogan of this years UN World Day to Combat Desertification, according to a statement from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) released last month (9 February).

Monique Barbut, UN top advisor on combatting desertification and drought, says land is a timeless tool for creating wealth, but explains that there is no silver bullet to fixing land degradation everywhere.

Investment in restoration of degraded lands is critical in enhancing household food and income security. Oliver Wasonga, University of Nairobi

The solution depends a lot on a diagnosis of the local soil and climatic conditions, which can vary a lot even within short distances, Barbut tells SciDev.Net.

Barbut notes in the statement: This year, let us engage in a campaign to re-invest in rural lands and unleash their massive job-creating potential, from Burkina Faso, which will host the global observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification, Chile and China, to Italy, Mexico, St Lucia and Ukraine.

Batio Bassiere, minister of Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change of Burkina Faso, adds: Since the early 1980s, we have been rehabilitating degraded land by building on our traditional techniques such as the Zai or adopting new techniques that work, such as farmer-managed natural regeneration. We intend to be land degradation neutral by 2030.

Pablo Munoz, a programme officer of UNCCDs global mechanism, told SciDev.Net in an interview this month (7 March) that land degradation costs Africa about US$ 65 billion annually, around five per cent of its gross domestic product. Globally, the cost of land degradation is estimated at about US$295 billion annually.

Sasha Alexander, a policy officer of UNCCD, explains that land degradation increases rural families chances of facing hunger and reduces rain water seeping into the ground, which diminishes the ability of fresh groundwater to replenish rivers, lakes and wells.

According to Oliver Wasonga, a dryland ecology and pastoral livelihoods specialist at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, there is little investment in sustainable land management, especially in the drylands and yet many communities living in rural Africa increasingly lose their livelihoods due to loss of land productivity resulting from land degradation.

Investment in restoration of degraded lands is critical in enhancing household food and income security, especially for the majority of Africas rural populace that rely almost entirely on natural resources for their livelihoods, he tells SciDev.Net, adding that sustainable land management is key to tackling poverty and achieving sustainable development goals

According to Wasonga, who is a senior lecturer, the UN World Day to Combat Desertification has value only if it can be used to showcase success stories that may motivate land users, decision makers, development agencies, and private investors to engage in sustainable land management (SLM) practices.

Wasonga says that desertification affects around 45 per cent of the continents land area. He calls on African governments to develop policies that promote sustainable land management, and specifically those aimed at restoration of degraded lands.

Involvement of land users or the communities is key to success of any attempt to promote SLM and restoration of degraded lands. Such approaches should seek integration of low-cost customary practices that are familiar to the communities, Wasonga explains.

There is also need to sensitise and motivate private sector to invest in SLM, says Wasonga. Payment for ecosystem services should be promoted as way of giving incentives to communities to use land in a sustainable manner.



This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.
Recreational marijuana legalization is the advocate of the lawmakers in Illinois. This happens after the legalization of marijuana was submitted for recreational use.

In a report published by Chicago Reader, the Illinois State Capitol's recreational marijuana advocates filed the said legalization for recreational use. More so, there are bills being proposed legalizing the use of marijuana for people who are 21 years old and older.

Aside from the permission of purchasing the recreational marijuana, the said age range are allowed to possess and even grow marijuana in their home at limited amounts of pot. Also, the bill will let people have their business licensed for the growing and marketing of the weed.

Meanwhile, according to Chicago Tribune, the bill to regulate marijuana has a higher probability of receiving negative feedbacks and no vote up until next year. Even though the proposed bill would impose the tax for the recreational marijuana at a rate of $50 per ounce in wholesale with additional 6.25 percent sales tax, this is not enough to convince other legislators for approval.

On the other hand, if the proposed bill of legalizing the use of recreational marijuana will be approved, people will be allowed to possess a maximum of 28 grams per pot. based on the previous sales in Colorado, the Illinois is expected to acquire a fund of $350 million up to $700 million per year.

However, one of the leading opposition for the bill is the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police group. The organization believes that allowing people to use the recreational marijuana and contain it would be a treat to public and safety as well as it will cause a possibility of enforcement problems.

Senator Heather Steans and Representative Kelly Cassidy are the co-sponsors of the bill to legalize recreational marijuana, they are as well Democrats from the North Side. Both Cassidy and Steans are pushing not to have voted but to hold hearings and claim feedbacks from the other members of the legislation. " If we bring this out in the open, we can generate revenue legally rather than for the black market," Steans said.
With the debut of the 2017 Honda Civic Type R in March, the production of the upcoming car is reported to be revealed at the 2017 AutoCon event. Honda noted of this update through a press release, letting fans know of the car debut to occur in the convention that started on March 26 in Los Angeles. At 4 p.m. PT, the car will hit the stage for the audience.

Honda was reported to update on the release of the car and its production details at the 2017 AutoCon event exclusively. AutoCon has been known for its conventions related to automotive fans for over seven years now. It has held a number of events at various locations such as Miami, New York City, Seattle, New Jersey, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

AutoCon runs with the objective to develop an optimistic approach towards spreading and sharing knowledge on common interests related to automotive industries, the official website reports. The 2017 Honda Civic Type R can have a promising debut through this event. It is where extraordinary vehicles are featured by various automakers. Further discussions on the future of the debuting vehicles is also a goal of this annual convention.

2017 Honda Civic Type R: An Insight Under The Hood

The debuting 2017 Honda Civic Type R features a 2.0-liter DOHC, turbocharged and direct-injected i-VTEC 4-cylinder in-line engine that produces 306hp at 6,500 rotations per minute, according to Digital Trends. The powerful engine is supported by 295Nm torque. With a six-speed manual transmission gearbox, the sedan is reportedly going to be Honda's most powerful and fastest vehicle yet for the U.S. market.

Honda is reportedly noting to offer the vehicle in a range of around $30,000. Meanwhile, the 2017 Honda Civic Type R will also be making an appearance at the New York International Auto Show on April 12, 2017.
New Jersey -- A public health initiative had hospitals carrying out newborn infants in simple cardboard boxes as a way to reduce sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The initiative, which started in New Jersey in January, has since been practiced by 3,800 parents.

According to the Boise State Public Radio, SIDS killed around 3,700 babies in the United States in 2015. These boxes double not only as cribs but as care packages full of newborn baby necessities as well. New Jersey is the first state to adapt the program that began as "baby boxes" in Finland.

Dr. Kathryn McCans of Cooper University Health Care in Candem, New Jersey, explained the necessity of these boxes, which she emphasized are not safer than a crib. However, she does admit that these boxes meet all the recommendations for safe sleep.

Dr. McCans explained that the program is meant to decrease sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID), which are compromised of SIDS and other sleep-related deaths in infants. Sleep-related deaths also include suffocation under pillows and blankets, strangulation or even entrapment.

The baby boxes are supposed to promote safe sleep environment. Dr. McCans said that while many parents seem to think beautiful cribs are the best for their babies, in reality, little is needed for safe sleep. Pillows, bumpers, blankets and even stuffed animals can be dangerous to newborns.

The U.S. version of the baby box is slightly different than its Finnish model, though. According to NPR, Finland's maternity package is given by the government to expectant mothers during their prenatal checkup. Inside the box are clothing, blankets and other important baby supplies.

In New Jersey, it is not a prenatal incentive but rather a message of safety post-partum. Since it started, New Jersey already distributed approximately 17,000 boxes. Earlier this month, Ohio also made baby boxes available to all families with newborns and had since distributed 6,000 boxes. Joining these states in their fight to decrease the number of SIDS fatalities is Alabama, which aims to distribute 60,000 boxes for the newborns.
Coral reefs have been dying slowly over the past few years, with the biggest bleachings occurring just recently. However, it seems that despite what scientists already know about global warming, they did not expect just how much of an impact it has on the aquatic ecosystem.

As noted by San Diego Jewish World, climate change is killing the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Terry Hughes of the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies said that it is viewed by the people to be the cause of coral bleaching, which has already been experienced by the Australian coral reef for already 20 years.

A study published in Scientific Reports noted that as a result of moderate ocean warming, 40 percent of corals in a remote reef in the South China Sea died. With the help of studies that analyzed the bleaching history from cores of living corals, the researchers also found the event is most severe and massive in the last 40 years.

The Pacific El Nino in June 2015, for instance, showed the open ocean around the Dongsha Atoll reef in the South China Sea to be about two degrees warmer than usual, with the water above the reef said to be even hotter. Without the monsoon winds that moved the water around to maintain temperature, nearly half the corals died within a few weeks.

Popular Science reported that global warming can jeopardize the ecosystems of coral reefs. Increased temperatures expel the symbiotic algae living in their cells. Once corals lose these algae, which photosynthesize and provide energy for them, they become bleached, starved and will eventually die.

While scientists already have some idea on how high the temperature has to be to cause these corals to die in large scales, human practices can either help these ecosystems thrive or be contributing factors to faster bleaching. The Paris Climate Treaty already imposed an aspirational goal that keeps temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius. This emphasized the urgent need to reduce CO2 emissions to slow ocean warming, or reverse it if possible.

Mark Eakin of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Watch noted that coral reefs need as much help as they can, as the global bleaching event that has been going on since June 2014 is still ongoing. Moreover, such severity affects more than just the oceans around the world.
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Organised by Seatrade, hosted by the Port of Lisbon Authority (APL), and supported by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and MedCruise, the event will take place in September 19-21, 2018 and feature a showcase exhibition, conference and a full social and networking programme.

As a leading platform for discussion and debate on issues confronting the Mediterranean's cruise market, the conference forms an integral part of Seatrade Cruise Med.

Previous editions of Seatrade Cruise Med have attracted a large number of delegates inclduing cruise line executives representing over 30 brands.

Portugals Minister of the Sea, Ana Paula Vitorino, said: 'Portugal is increasingly affirmed as an important and renowned player in the world cruise sector with both the country as a whole and the city of Lisbon benefiting from the economic impact of cruise ship calls.'

A sentiment agreed by the president of APL, Lidia Sequira: 'To host this prestigious event is recognition of the work we have been doing in the cruise sector for many years.

'The hope is that this event will give an important boost to the local and national economy of this sector, especially now that Lisbon is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to welcome all the cruise ships and their guests.'

Lisbon is expected 330 cruise calls and around 520,000 passengers in 2017.
Singapores bunker market has continued to see strong demand, and we may still consider further expansion of our assets when the opportunity arises, Wong KC, cfo of Wee Tiong Group, told Seatrade Maritime News.

The port of Singapore sold 4.46m tonnes of bunkers in January 2016, up 7.2% year-on-year, according to figures from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

Wee Tiong has locked its bunker tankers into mostly short term charter terms for operations in Singapores bunker market, where demand levels have remained strong. The company will focus on chartering out its bunker tankers rather than transform into a physical bunker supplier.

In November 2016, Wee Tiong concluded the acquisition of 11 bunker tankers from the now-defunct bunker supplier Searights Maritime Services. The company, with its core business in rice and sugar commodity trading, has divested into the marine fuels sector with the ownership of bunker tankers.

It is a natural part of business expansion for us. For the past five to six years general commodities prices have not been doing very well. Hence, we acted on the opportunity to enter the marine business when oil prices crashed, and we were in a position to buy Searights assets at very competitive prices, Wong explained.

Wong said that the company does not rule out becoming an accredited bunker supplier in Singapore, but the short to medium term goals are to generate sustainable returns for its capital investments before making fresh investments to establish bunker trading and barging operations.

The addition of 11 bunker tankers from Searights brings Wee Tiongs fleet to 17, as it already has six bunker tankers acquired earlier from a Malaysia-based bunker player Victory Supply. But four of those ships are currently deployed in Malaysias Port Klang.

We had been an asset light company prior to buying the ships from Searights. With our long term view that oil prices will rise from current levels, coupled with continuing healthy bunker demand in Singapore, we anticipate profitable returns from our bunker tanker chartering business, Wong said.
A team of researchers in Sweden successfully implanted 3D-bioprinted human cartilage into mice, a development that could eventually yield medical solutions like complete, bespoke replacements for human noses or ears - skin included.

The researchers printed a hydrogel of nanocellulose mixed with human-derived cartilage cells, then surgically implanted the structures into mice. Once implanted, new blood vessels formed within the printed cartilage.

"This is the first time anyone has printed human-derived cartilage cells, implanted them in an animal model and induced them to grow," said Dr. Paul Gatenholm, professor of biopolymer technology at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Gatenholm stressed the goal of the research is to eventually develop new solutions for real-life medical applications, including reconstructive surgery.

"This is not a party trick," he said. "We're looking for new technology to repair the body."

Damaged cartilage has a limited ability to heal itself. Existing options for replacing human ears or noses lost due to accidents or other trauma are extremely limited, Gatenholm said.

"Normally, cartilage tissue is taken from the patient's rib, and this surgery is painful and difficult," he said.

Eventually, 3D printed cartilage structures for noses or ears may be combined with 3D-printed human skin to form the basis of completely artificial replacement body parts, Gatenholm said.

RELATED: A Global Network of Volunteers Is Making 3D-Printed Prosthetic Hands for Kids

Gatenholm said he and his colleagues are already working on solutions for 3D printing human skin. In January, another group of scientists in Spain presented a prototype for a 3D printer that can create functional human skin.

But one problem with creating 3D-printed noses or ears for real human patients is that the new appendages would take a significant amount of time to harden, Gatenholm said.

"The cartilage takes about a month before it grows," Gatenholm said. "So if you put on a new ear, and then you slept on it, it would be deformed."

For now, one possible solution might be to encase the replacement appendage in supportive external bandages until it has time to harden. Advanced techniques in 3D printing may eventually produce appendages with structures that harden faster.

Gatenholm and his team, which hailed from both the Chalmers University of Technology and Sahlgrenska Academy, used a 3D bioprinter manufactured by the Gothenburg-based startup Cellink. Their study was published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open.

WATCH: Bionic Suits Are Real And They're Transforming Everyday Life
Press Release

March 27, 2017 SUMMER JOBS UNDER GOVT PROGRAM NOT JUST FOR STUDENTS BUT FOR OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH TOO - ANGARA Senator Sonny Angara is encouraging out-of-school youth to take advantage of the new law that included them among the beneficiaries of the government's Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES), which provides short-term job opportunities to help them pursue and continue their education. "Higit na nangangailangan ng tulong ang ating mga out-of-school youth para makabalik sa pag-aaral. Pinalawak natin ang sakop ng batas para mas mabigyan sila ng oportunidad na mag-apply sa trabaho para kumita at matustusan ang kanilang pagbabalik-eskwela," said Angara, who sponsored the new SPES law that was enacted in August last year. Republic Act 10917 aims to strengthen the government's employment program for students to include not only poor but deserving students, but also out-of-school youth, dependents of displaced workers, and would-be displaced workers due to business closures or work stoppages, or natural calamities, who intend to enroll in any secondary, tertiary or technical-vocational institutions. The SPES was instituted in 1992 under RA 7323, and was amended by RA 9547 in 2009. It aims to help poor but deserving students in pursuing their education by encouraging establishments and government agencies to employ them during summer and Christmas vacations. To strengthen the program, the new law mandates that out-of-school youth and those enrolled in the tertiary, vocational or technical education may be employed at any time of the year. High school students, on the other hand, shall be employed only during summer and/or Christmas vacations. Angara, vice chairman of the Senate labor committee, explained that RA 10917 further raised the age limit of the program's beneficiaries from 15-25 years old to 15-30 years old, and extended the SPES employment period from 52 days to 78 days or three months. To qualify, the combined net income of the beneficiary's parents, including his/her own income, if any, should not exceed the latest annual regional poverty threshold level for a family of six. Sixty percent of the salary of the beneficiaries will be paid by the employer, while the remaining 40 percent will be shouldered by the government, both to be paid in cash. Such salary will be used for the students' tuition fees and other education-related expenses including their daily allowance for food and transportation in going to school. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said the department has allocated some P798 million for the employment of 100,000 to 120,000 students and out-of-school youth this summer break. According to DOLE, beneficiaries were usually hired as food service crews, customer touch points, office clerks, gasoline attendants, cashiers, sales ladies, promodizers, as well as in clerical, encoding, messengerial, computer and programming jobs. "We expanded the law's coverage and lengthened its duration para mas maraming makinabang na kabataan, lalo na iyong mga napilitang tumigil sa pag-aaral dahil gipit sa buhay ang kanilang pamilya. Hinihimok natin sila na gawing makabuluhan ang summer break at tulungan ang kanilang mga magulang na mag-ipon para sa kanilang pag-aaral," Angara said.
Press Release

March 27, 2017 PREGNANT WOMEN HOLD "BUNTIS CONGRESS," CALL FOR PASSAGE OF EXPANDED MATERNITY LEAVE LAW In a bid to sustain the momentum for the passage of a law that will double the number of paid maternity leave days of women, more than a hundred expectant mothers in Barangay Commonwealth, Quezon City held a "Buntis Congress" on Monday to call on the government to implement a modern and progressive maternity leave policy. The pregnant women, led by Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros, Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, Rep. Sol Aragones, Vice Chair of House of Representatives Committee on Women and Gender Equality and Akbayan Partylist Rep. Tom Villarin, urged the Duterte administration to grant all female workers, regardless of civil status or legitimacy of her child, 120 days maternity leave with pay and an option to extend it for another 30 days without pay. They also wanted 30 days to be allotted to their husbands and/or alternate caregivers. "Long overdue" Hontiveros, who is also the Chair of the Senate Committee on Women, said that an enhanced maternity leave policy at par with international standards and which can truly address the physical, mental and economic burden of pregnancy is long overdue. "We need a new maternity leave policy that will provide adequate paid maternity leave days for working mothers to fully recover from childbirth, properly care for their child and establish a stronger mother-child bond through breastfeeding," she said. "Not an extended vacation" Hontiveros also explained that the passage of an expanded maternity leave law does not mean a vacation for mothers. "Hindi bakasyon ang hinihingi ng mga nanay at kababaihan kundi pagkilala sa kanilang natatanging papel bilang tagapagdala ng buhay sa mundong ito. We want women to have the chance to take care of their children and their health and well-being without worrying about the economic costs of being away from employment," Hontiveros said. It was reported that the Senate under Hontiveros' leadership as Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women has already passed on third and final reading the Expanded Maternity Leave Law of 2017. However, the measure's counterpart bill in the House of Representatives is still waiting approval from its members. The Buntis Congress was organized by the offices of Hontiveros and Belmonte in partnership with the Department of Health (DoH)-National Capital Region, Senate Gender and Development Focal Point, House Committee on Women and Gender Equality and Akbayan Women. It provided free medical services for pregnant women such as pre-natal checkup, ultrasound, laboratory examination, dental health care and counselling. A Lamaze session was also conducted. It is the first in a series of Buntis Congresses that will take place in different parts of the country to actively campaign for the passage of the Expanded Maternity Leave Bill.
Legarda Hails Teofilo Garcia, GAMABA Tabungaw-Maker

Senator Loren Legarda hailed the talent and contribution to heritage preservation of Teofilo Garcia, Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) awardee who is celebrating his birthday today, March 27.

"I send my warmest birthday greetings to our National Living Treasure, Teofilo Garcia, and salute him for his exceptional talent in making tabungaw or gourd casque and his dedication to preserve heritage. He makes tabungaw with excellent quality yet he never stops innovating. He continues to explore ways on how to improve his craft and I am honored to be a recipient of his masterpiece," said Legarda, a staunch advocate of heritage preservation.

Garcia, who is from Sabulod, San Quintin, Abra, was hailed as a National Living Treasure or GAMABA in 2012 for his efforts in keeping the traditional tabungaw-making alive.

He learned how to make gourd casques when he was 15 years old and did not stop innovating and exploring materials and techniques that would make the tabungaw more sturdy and last longer.

It is said that a well-made tabungaw can last up to three to four generations, especially with proper care. The ones made by Garcia are among the best that farmers need to own only one at a time.
More than 300 people rallied at Albany High School on Sunday morning in a show of solidarity after it became public last week that a group of students had created a racist Instagram account targeting black students and a black staff member.

At noon, the crowd held hands, stretched itself in a single line as far as it could around the high school, and began to chant Albany for all in unison. It was a simple but meaningful act, said Laurie Roberts, one of the parents who had helped organize the event.

I really hope this is a starting point for our whole community, she said. Coming together like this is a good way to start the healing process.

Details of what the images in the account depicted were limited  neither the Albany Police Department nor school officials would describe them in detail. Roberts, however, said one of the images showed a black doll alongside images of a Ku Klux Klan member, a torch and a noose. Other images on the account included photographs of specific students at the school. There are more than 1,200 students at Albany High School, less than 5 percent of them black, according to district records.

After the show of support, participants listened as parents of some of the students who were targeted spoke about what had happened. Its a shame this had to happen to have us show up, Delisa Branch-Nealy, the mother of one of the students, told the crowd. Lets just keep moving forward in a positive direction. Im so happy you all came out.

School and district officials also spoke at the rally, including Superintendent Val Williams. This is our call to action, she said. We are an inclusive community.

Though she wouldnt go into detail about what sort of discipline the students who created the account would face, Williams did promise the crowd there would be consequences.

Everybody interviewed expressed surprise that this sort of racism and bullying would happen in Albany, a small town and tight-knit community.

We have a big problem here we didnt know about, said Dorothe Piluso, another one of the events organizers. She has two daughters who have graduated from the high school and a son who is about to start there soon. Not only had this shaken her, but she said shed also heard students had been suspended weeks earlier for anti-Semitic actions, though Principal Jeff Anderson said he couldnt comment on that. This is not OK in our community.

Students at Albany High seemed similarly stunned to hear about the racist Instagram account. Everybodys sort of had it on their mind, said sophomore Ezra Mander.

Its really important that we stand up to this and show that this isnt what we believe in, added sophomore Mateo Rodriguez. This is a lesson for everybody that its not cool to be a bystander during something like this.

Ryan Kost is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkost@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @RyanKost
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Courtesy Bryce Foster Show More Show Less



Two horses made a sudden break for freedom from a Contra Costa County stable Monday morning, galloping through suburban streets before making a wrong turn onto Interstate 680.

The straying steeds trotted through the streets of Alamo just after 7 a.m. for around 20 minutes, said Officer Rick Rohrback of the California Highway Patrols Contra Costa County division.
Three people were killed and a fourth was missing after an early morning fire Monday ripped through a large transitional housing building in West Oakland where fire inspectors had found 11 glaring safety violations just three days earlier.

As friends and neighbors awaited identifications of the dead, public records revealed the city had responded to numerous complaints about the building at 2551 San Pablo Ave. The records again raised questions about city property inspections in the wake of Decembers catastrophic Ghost Ship fire, which killed 36 people.

Following a Feb. 25 referral for a fire safety inspection at the building by the Fire Department, the Oakland Fire Prevention Bureau said it could not get inside.

It took a second request March 18 before inspectors finally gained access on Friday. Once inside, inspectors said they found the 11 flagrant violations, including units lacking smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, a malfunctioning sprinkler system and a series of extension cords.

Under Oakland fire code, property owners have 30 days to correct such violations, a spokeswoman for the city said. There were 27 days left when the roof of the three-story building erupted in flames just after 5:30 a.m. Monday, sending heavy smoke into the dawn sky.

Firefighters rescued at least 15 people who had been trapped in the building, some who knotted sheets into makeshift ropes and lowered themselves from third-floor windows.

Ed Silva, a Red Cross official, said more than 100 people were displaced by the fire, including 60 to 80 who were tenants as well as dozens of squatters. They were taken to a shelter at the West Oakland Youth Center.

Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County coroner, said late Monday that three people had died, including Edwarn Anderson, 64, who lived in the building. Battalion Chief Erik Logan of the Oakland Fire Department said four people were hospitalized, some with smoke inhalation, but were expected to be released Monday night.

Residents said a church deacon and a woman who had recently moved into the building were among the dead.

The building has been the source of complaints about living conditions for years. City records show tenants had filed 20 complaints over the past 10 years, citing rodent infestations, lack of heat and garbage collection, mold and mildew, and urine and feces on the floors. Attorneys for residents said squatters had taken over the third floor.

City inspectors agreed with a complaint from Urojas Community Services, the master tenant, which alleged deferred maintenance. The organization, which runs transitional housing and social service programs, was embroiled in a dispute over evictions that started just days after the Ghost Ship fire.

After the latest complaint Feb. 23, inspectors with the citys planning and building departments inspected the property Feb. 28 and March 3, they said. A follow-up was scheduled April 18.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf released a statement expressing her condolences to the victims and their families. I want to offer my deepest sympathies to the families who have been hurt and displaced by this tragic fire, she said, and to the loved ones of the victims whose lives we know were lost.

Residents of the building that burned Monday and their attorney, James Cook, said the landlord, Keith Kim, had issued eviction notices in December to dozens of residents living on the first two floors of the building. Residents said they were told the Ghost Ship fire was the reason for the evictions.

Attorneys for the residents have been battling the eviction effort since then, employing a mediator and Oakland City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney to help settle the dispute. McElhaney did not return calls seeking comment, nor did Kim.

Cook provided a March 17 letter giving Urojas Community Services a 30-day eviction notice. Under California law, businesses may be evicted with such notices without cause. Cook contended that it was obvious people were living in the building and should have been subject to the more stringent process of residential evictions.

Documents filed in Alameda County Superior Court recount a February incident in which Kim purportedly led a group of men into the building in an attempt to evict residents, prompting two to request restraining orders against Kim.

One of the tenants, Gail Harbin, alleged that Kim and the other men went into the building on three occasions and changed tenants locks, told them not to pay rent to Urojas Community Services, and forcibly removed items from peoples apartments and threw them onto the street. Harbin said the men threatened violence if anyone sought to intervene.

Cook said he visited the building early this year during a rainstorm and witnessed exposed wiring and water pouring through leaks and flowing down the floor like a river. There were overflowing toilets and people living two or three to a room, he said.

They were terrible conditions, he said. Uninhabitable really.

Asia Wade, 32, who had been living in the building since July, said she filed a complaint with the city the first week she moved in, but nothing changed.

It was like rats, roaches, bed bugs. I had black mold underneath my kitchen sink. The floor was sunken in, she said. They never ever repaired it.

Emails provided by Cook suggest the city was well aware of the conditions and that McElhaney was trying to negotiate a deal for residents to voluntarily move out so the building could be rehabilitated. That agreement apparently fell apart.

In the Ghost Ship disaster, Oakland faces criticism that it failed to take action against the owner and operator of the underground warehouse despite a number of warning signs.

Prior to the blaze, city police officers had been told the warehouse was illegally occupied and had responded to complaints about unpermitted raves. Building inspectors had responded to complaints about the warehouse, which was a maze of electrical cords, makeshift stairs and sleeping areas. And Oaklands now-retired fire chief, Teresa Deloach Reed, said days after the fire that her department was not aware that the Ghost Ship existed.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The cause of Mondays fire remained under investigation. Residents said it was started by an unattended candle, but Logan, the battalion chief, did not confirm that. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting in the investigation, he said.

Logan said the firefight had been difficult. Firefighters, he said, thought they saw a body on the second floor when they entered the building but couldnt reach the person before flames and heavy smoke caused them to pull out of the building.

Fantazhia LaTonda, 44, one of the evacuated residents, sat nearly a block away from the fire huddled under blankets with her boyfriend, watching her home go up in flames. She had moved into the building two weeks ago.

She said the first and second floors housed a drug rehabilitation center. LaTonda lived in an apartment on the third floor, next door to where she said the fire started.

I woke up to get a snack, and I went to lay back down and I looked out the window and I saw sparks and I kept hearing crackling, she said.

She and her boyfriend tried to open the door of their room, but she said the handles were too hot to touch. They opened the curtains of their window and began waving outside to get the attention of the firefighters.

I was scared. I thought I was going to die, LaTonda said.

The firefighters grabbed them through the window and pulled them onto the fire escape, she said. Now, she said, everything she owns is gone.

I was worried we weren't going to get out, she said. Just burning. That's not the way I want to die.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Trisha Thadani, Cynthia Dizikes and Joaquin Palomino contributed to this story.

Sarah Ravani, Michael Cabanatuan and Michael Bodley are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com, mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com, mbodley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani @ctuan @michael_bodley

How to help

Anyone wishing to help fire victims should visit the Red Cross website at www.redcross.org. Check the option Home Fire Relief and note in the comments that the gift is earmarked for services to support families impacted by the 2551 San Pablo Ave./Mead Ave. fire in Oakland.
A successful wrongful-termination suit against San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herreras office by a former deputy could cost the taxpayers $9 million when all the bills are counted.

And that estimate would be fairly conservative, said Joanne Hoepers attorney, Therese Cannata, following a trial that ended recently with a San Francisco jury awarding the dismissed deputy city attorney $2 million.

Hoeper asserted that she was shown the door by Herrera in 2012 for exposing kickbacks to fellow staffers who approved $10 million in allegedly unwarranted claims for tree-damaged sewer lines.

Herreras office said Hoepers allegations had been independently reviewed and found baseless, and that it was was her costly and scorched-earth approach to the law that led to her dismissal.

City attorneys spokesman John Cote said, We are all surprised and disappointed with the jurys verdict. We take our responsibilities to our client and to the public seriously.

He declined to say how much the city spent to defend his boss  telling us the amount is protected by attorney-client privilege while the legal matter is pending  and its still going on.

Both sides expect to make post-trial motions, and city attorney is considering an appeal.

Its not over until its over, said John Keker, the lead attorney representing the city attorneys office.

Keker, whose clients have included Lance Armstrong and George Lucas, doesnt come cheap. He was one of three $850-an-hour partners from the Keker, Van Nest and Peters law firm who represented the city during the trial.

While Kekers crew isnt saying how much it spent, Hoepers lawyers put their rivals tab at $1.5 million during the trial and $2.5 million for prep work.

Cannata estimated her teams costs at $2.5 million, which shell ask a court to have the city pay. Add in the $2 million judgment and $600,000 that Hoeper will seek in back pay, and it all comes to more than $9 million.

We contest those numbers, and think the post-trial proceedings will result in lower figures, Cote said.

He said the city had hoped to settle out of court, but that Hoeper had sought $6 million  which the city attorney considered unreasonable.

Some cases you have to take to trial, Cote said.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross
Combing Fortune magazines list of 50 top world leaders found some reasons for Bay Area neighbors to be proud. Locals include Federal Reserve System board chair Janet Yellen, Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky, Tesla and SpaceXs Elon Musk, and Salesforce founder/chairman/CEO Marc Benioff.

Perusing the list, I also discovered someone apparently equally powerful, but less widely known: Ohood Al Roumi, who was appointed the United Arab Emirates minister of happiness about a year ago. Research reveals that Al Roumis father is a politician; shes the holder of an MBA.

The job description, promoting happiness in the UAE, seems a little vague. But the title is delightful, and even useful. If we had one of those in the United States, we would know what to engrave on the nameplate on Ivanka Trumps desk.

Riffing on White House press secretary Sean Spicers assertion  in refusing to answer a question at a briefing last week  that a journalist had already asked a question and it was one-question Friday, New Yorker humorist James Folta envisioned other daily gimmicks.

On Charades Monday, for instance, Pool reporters will only be allowed to ask questions in the form of charades, he wrote, and must exclusively use their hands and bodies to express themselves. On Backward Wednesday, Spicer asks the questions and reporters answer. On Wacky-Hats Thursday, the pool reporter with the craziest hat will be invited to a briefing with Spicer while being pelted with office supplies by Steve Bannon. No questions about Russia, taxes, intelligence, health care, foreign policy or whether Spicer has been crying recently.

Button worn by a volunteer at Monet: The Early Years show at the Legion of Honor: Show me the Monet! Its wearer told Adda Dada that this prized button is passed around among them.

Despite the rush to tofu, seitan and the new Impossible Burger  as described by The Chronicles Jonathan Kauffman  some folks are sticking to the real thing. Lynne Newhouse Segal was shopping at the Golden Gate Meat Co. in the Ferry Building when another customer told her, This is my Neiman Marcus.

At the intermission of Sensorium at the San Francisco Ballet on Tuesday, March 21, audience members were asked to tweet their experiences with the hashtag #momentofjoy. The tweets were then projected live onto a screen onstage. The one that received the loudest applause, reports Shinji Eshima: No Tweets from Trump tonight!

The tuition-free De Marillac Academy, a Catholic middle school next door to St. Boniface Catholic Church and across the street and down the block from St. Anthonys in the Tenderloin, had a fundraiser at the St. Francis Hotel recently. The event raised almost $900,000, more than $150,000 than it had at previous annual events. The school opened in 2001 with 19 students; it now serves 119 fourth- to eighth-graders, all below the poverty line. In addition to education, the Academy provides a range of services for students and their families, including crisis intervention and counseling.

Linda Carucci noticed a Nextdoor listing offering a free mattress, which was described as very, very comfortable, used for five years until we needed a queen. One neighbor had responded: Hi, Jennifer. I dont need a mattress, but after reading your post, I think you may be onto something. ... Maybe what the whole country needs is a queen.

In other royal news and speculation, Indian Prince Yuvraj Shri Manvendra Singhji Raghubir Singhji Sahib (probably the longest boldface name ever to appear in this space) hosted a fundraising reception March 20 at Beaux in the Castro. The prince, who is Indias first openly gay royal, was raising money for the first LGBT Center in India, which will be on the site of one of his familys old palaces.

His coming-out, in 2006, caused major family friction, to say the least, but the prince told David Perry in an interview at the event that he and his father have reconciled. His mother, however, has disowned him. Of course, shes the queen, said the prince. I dont think she likes having another queen around. Almost $5,000 was raised.

Upon learning that Carey Perloff was planning to leave her job as artistic director of the American Conservatory Theater at the end of the 2017-18 season, her lawyer daughter, Alexandra Perloff-Giles, asked, But where will you go in the morning? Her song-producer son, Nicholas Perloff-Giles, said, Oh, man, the freelance life is amazing. Youre going to love it.

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, (415) 777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik

Public Eavesdropping

This looks like everything we are trying to get rid of.
Federal Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trumps Supreme Court nominee, moves a step closer to Senate confirmation this week, and Democrats, despite their threat of a filibuster, have virtually no chance to stop him.

After a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week marked by the Democratic minoritys futile efforts to unearth Gorsuchs views on past or future legal issues, the committee is prepared to send his nomination to the Senate floor on a party-line vote.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York roused his partys base by announcing late in the week that Democrats would filibuster the nomination, raising the threshold needed for approval from 51 to 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate.

Most of his cohorts plan to join him, including Californias junior senator, Kamala Harris, who agreed with a radio interviewer March 9 that Democrats should force supporters to produce 60 votes. Harris senior colleague, Dianne Feinstein, has been publicly noncommittal about a filibuster, but made her opposition to Gorsuch clear during the committee hearing.

But Republicans, who control the Senate 52-48, have a ready response: whats called the nuclear option, which would repeal the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees and allow confirmation by a majority vote. A Democrat-controlled Senate used the nuclear option for all other federal court positions in 2013, and Republican leaders, with Trumps encouragement, have said theyll do whatever it takes to get Gorsuch confirmed.

Filibuster is a weird strategy to me, said Rory Little, a law professor at UC Hastings in San Francisco and a former Supreme Court law clerk. If youre a Democrat, you would like to keep the filibuster rule in place for Supreme Court nominees. ... If they block Gorsuch, and Im not sure how, (Trump) will just nominate somebody else, almost certainly someone who is more conservative.

But Erwin Chemerinsky, the law school dean at UC Irvine, said Democrats have nothing to lose by using every tool available to contest the nomination.

If Trump gets another Supreme Court vacancy to fill while his party controls the Senate, are Republicans less likely to use the nuclear option then? Chemerinsky asked. If theyd be doing it anyway, Democrats should stand up for what they believe in.

If confirmed, Gorsuch, a federal appeals court judge and former Justice Department attorney in President George W. Bushs administration, would succeed Justice Antonin Scalia, the courts most outspoken conservative, who died in February 2016.

Democrats  notably Feinstein, the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee  are still seething over Republican leaders unprecedented refusal to hold hearings for President Barack Obamas choice to succeed Scalia, appeals court Judge Merrick Garland.

Gorsuch lived up to his reputation as affable, articulate and knowledgeable at the committee hearing and presented few openings for Democrats. But Feinstein and others were able to shed some light on lesser-known aspects of his record.

In one exchange, Feinstein pressed Gorsuch about his actions as a Justice Department lawyer in 2005, when Congress passed a law prohibiting cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of U.S. prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.

Gorsuch proposed that then-President Bush issue a statement that the measure, which the president planned to sign, merely reflected the administrations current practices, which included the near-drowning technique known as waterboarding; Bush wound up signing a more combative statement, drafted by other attorneys, suggesting he wouldnt be bound by the restrictions. A year later, he appointed Gorsuch to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

Doesnt it mean that ... you were condoning waterboarding? Feinstein asked, referring to the statement Gorsuch had suggested. She also cited a 2005 Justice Department memo asking Gorsuch whether the administrations aggressive interrogation had yielded useful intelligence. Gorsuchs handwritten reply was simply Yes.

Gorsuch told Feinstein he had been acting as a lawyer for a client, not an advocate of interrogation policies.

Feinstein also asked him whether he agreed with past rulings by the courts conservative majority on workplace issues, including one that made it harder for women to sue for wage discrimination and another that toughened the standard for proving age discrimination.

Gorsuch, who fended off numerous questions during the hearing about his views, replied that he couldnt even discuss past cases because the issues might arise again.

You have been very much able to avoid any specificity like no one I have ever seen before, Feinstein told him.

Gorsuch actually gave some specific responses, telling one senator he would have walked out the door if Trump, during their prenomination interview, had asked for a commitment to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion. But several legal analysts agreed with Feinsteins overall assessment.

We learned hes very smart, hes very articulate, and he wont answer questions about his views on legal issues, Chemerinsky said. Most recent candidates, including Chief Justice John Roberts, have been somewhat more forthcoming, Chemerinsky said, and Gorsuchs approach really makes the hearing meaningless.

Gorsuch assiduously avoided saying anything, said Pamela Karlan, a Stanford law professor and former Justice Department attorney in Obamas administration. Even when the nominee appeared to be declaring his independence from Trump by telling a senator that no man is above the law, Karlan said, The question is, wheres the law?

But John Yoo, a UC Berkeley law professor and former Justice Department attorney in the George W. Bush administration, said Gorsuch had merely followed standard practice for Supreme Court candidates.

The more a nominee says, the more ammunition she applies to her opponents, Yoo and Saikrishna Prakash, a University of Virginia law professor, said Friday in an article for Fox News. They said Democrats have tried to Bork Gorsuch  referring to the Senates rejection in 1987 of Supreme Court candidate Robert Bork, who expressed some of his conservative views at his confirmation hearing  but Gorsuch outsmarted them.

Feinstein has refused to say how she will vote, but her statements during the hearing left little doubt.

While a reasonable, mainstream conservative would be acceptable, she said, Gorsuch has called for an end to judicial deference to regulatory agencies that safeguard the health and safety of our food supply, our water, our medicines. And although he has not ruled in an abortion case, she said, his observations on human life in a book on euthanasia have been widely interpreted as a sign he would vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade  a goal that Trump has said his nominees would automatically fulfill.

Asked about the abortion ruling during the hearing, Gorsuch declined to take a position.

Harris, who is not a Judiciary Committee member, had been less outspoken about the nomination until Friday, when she set forth her views in an opinion piece in The Chronicle.

She cited several opinions Gorsuch had written as a judge  allowing a corporation to deny contraceptive coverage to women for religious reasons, upholding a companys firing of a trucker who drove off to seek help in bitterly cold weather, affirming a universitys refusal to extend the medical leave of a cancer-stricken professor  as reasons to oppose his nomination.

Gorsuch has shown he is willing to favor corporations over the American people, Harris said.

Yoo and Prakash, in their column Friday, countered that Democrats had failed to make a case against Gorsuch and had chosen to play to the peanut gallery of left-wing activist groups.

Schumers call for a filibuster signals the success, not the failure of Gorsuchs nomination, they wrote. If Democrats had made any progress in attacking Gorsuchs qualifications, record, or judicial philosophy, they could persuade their Republican colleagues to reject Gorsuch.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
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A downed power line brought BART to a near standstill Monday, leaving morning commuters on both sides of the bay stranded without service for more than an hour.

The rush-hour hitch began about 8:30 a.m. when a car crashed into a power pole near the West Oakland Station, sending electrified wires onto the tracks, officials said. Service through the Transbay Tube was shut down in both directions until shortly before 10 a.m., when Pacific Gas and Electric and fire department crews cleared the rail line.

For many East Bay riders, the first sign that something was wrong was when the doors of the trains failed to close and the cars sat idle. Then came the crackle of the trains public-address speakers and the announcement from the conductor that service into San Francisco was suspended.

Commuters at the MacArthur Station in Oakland flooded the station as trains failed to depart. Lyft and Uber prices surged 200 percent to more than $65 for a ride to the Financial District in San Francisco. Lines for AC Transit buses snaked around three city blocks.

Ive never seen a public transportation system this confusing, said Stephanie Garcia, who is from Southern California and visiting friends on her spring break. This is ridiculous.

She tapped a few buttons on her phone, trying to connect with the Lyft driver picking her up. Then the ride dropped.

Now I have to order a second car, she sighed.

BART trains began running through the Transbay Tube again around 9:45 a.m.

The incident occurred just as BART was recovering from delays caused by a trespasser walking on the tracks near the Bay Fair Station in San Leandro, officials said.

The trespasser, reported just after 7 a.m., briefly stopped all trains going through the station before BART police removed the person from the tracks, officials said. There were no reports of injuries.

Back at the MacArthur Station, Miki Nielsen stood at the corner and watched for her friends car. It was just after 9 a.m., and her class at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts would begin in less than an hour. She said she relies on public transportation to get from her home in Vacaville to San Francisco.

Some are just going home. Others banded together for a cab, she said. I phoned a friend.

Jeff Goss, 52, an attorney visiting from Los Angeles, arrived at Powell Station, headed for Lafayette, and started plotting his options.

I was about to go up and get an Uber or Lyft if it was going to be long, he said.

Then came the announcement that service was about to resume, saving him some money.

It would have been a lot to take Uber to Lafayette, he said.

Chronicle staff writer

Michael Cabanatuan

contributed to this report.

Kurtis Alexander and Lizzie Johnson are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com, ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KurtisAlexander, @lizziejohnsonnn
Chip Moore, the CEO of 4&20 Blackbirds, a cannabis delivery company, exemplifies the equity applicant Oaklands cannabis ordinance is supposed to help.

But Moore, who is black, hasnt seen anything but obstacles in his effort to build a legitimate business.

The delays in Oaklands enactment of its permit system for pot businesses have chased away investors, Moore told me. Because the Oakland City Council cant get its act together, he hasnt felt comfortable purchasing a warehouse. And without a place to operate, Moore says he wont even be eligible for an equity permit.

So this is how the council is creating equity in a multibillion-dollar industry: by making it incredibly difficult for someone like Moore to get off the ground.

Im baffled and appalled.

So is Moore.

To me, these council members  they dont have an appreciation for what it takes to get a cannabis business up and running, Moore, 41, said. We have a dedicated group of owners and investors who take a risk every day they wake up to build something here in Oakland.

I think Oakland has forgotten about that commitment. They asked us to come here.

Oakland, which became the first city in the U.S. to issue a permit for a medical cannabis dispensary in 2004, acted like a carnival barker  Step right up!  and lured cannabis business owners to participate in the citys marijuana gold rush.

But when it came time for the council to lay down the rules, Councilwoman Desley Brooks turned the process into a circus. Her push for equity  reparations for people of color disproportionately affected by marijuana arrests and convictions  has gridlocked the process without an explanation of how her plan will keep black and brown people from being nudged out of the cannabis business.

If you go to a City Council meeting, youll see dozens of equity supporters, many of whom dont have an interest in opening a cannabis business, holding posters and passing out flyers while demanding ownership. Ive asked people who have spoken at meetings before whether theyll be seeking an equity permit  only to be told that it doesnt matter because the system is broken.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

They think small cannabis businesses just generate all this cash, Moore said. Unfortunately, that is not the real case, because we have to keep preparing for a future that is uncertain and unstable.

An incomplete equity plan wont fix anything. What the council has done thus far will bottleneck the permit process. Theyve set it up to fail.

Now, once again theres a delay. This time its because the council removed the requirement that general or equity applicants had to prove they had lived in Oakland for at least the past three years. The residency amendment, introduced as a late-night addition this month, has stalled the laws implementation for several more weeks.

Oakland has until January to process permits for all of its cannabis businesses, because state agencies wont issue licenses to businesses without a local permit. To ensure that they are in line to get a permit, businesses have started looking outside of Oakland.

Moore, a Berkeley resident, can only guess what will impede his path next. We talked at Luckyduck Bicycle Cafe as people came in for cups of coffee and minor bike repairs. We were joined by three of his associates.

4&20 Blackbirds promotes cannabis culture in Oakland. Its clientele includes street artists, musicians, chefs, motorcycle clubs, tattoo artists and barbers  the people making Oakland a cool place to live, work and play.

How does the team keep from getting discouraged when it has to adjust to a new threat to its business just about every week?

We are Oakland, Moore said. Were representing something that could be lost by 2018.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr. appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Email: otaylor@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @otisrtaylorjr
San Franciscans emotions these days are roiling  over the new occupant of the White House, stratospheric housing prices, unending homeless tent encampments and constant BART meltdowns. But, hey, in the joyful column: Opening Day at AT&T Park is just two weeks away.

Fortunately for this emotional city, two of its residents are among the worlds foremost experts on emotions. At the behest of their good friend the Dalai Lama (seriously), Paul Ekman and his daughter, Eve Ekman, have created an Atlas of Emotions to help people figure out just what emotion theyre feeling in an attempt to determine what triggered it and what they can do about it. Theyll discuss their new atlas at the Exploratorium on Thursday.

One of my favorite aspects of San Francisco is just how many innovative, whip-smart experts live dotted all over the city  so many we havent even heard of some of them and come to take the citys collective genius for granted. Any one of them would be a superstar in Peoria, but here, theyre just part of the crowd.

Somehow, Id never come across Paul Ekman, a professor emeritus in psychology at UCSF whos best known for his research on decoding the emotions behind the tiniest facial expressions and gestures. In 2009, Time magazine named him one of the worlds 100 most influential people, and in 2014, the Archives of Scientific Psychology ranked him the 15th-most-influential psychologist of the 21st century.

Ekman was the inspiration behind the main character in the now-defunct Fox television show Lie to Me and advised Pixar on creating the five emotions  joy, fear, disgust, anger and sadness  that live inside a girls head in the movie Inside Out.

The 83-year-old lives on the 25th floor of a Financial District apartment building with sweeping views of Coit Tower and the Bay Bridge. He and his wife, Mary Ann Mason, a UC Berkeley professor specializing in family law, have two children: Tom, 44, a teacher in Mexico, and Eve, 37, a post-doctoral fellow at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine who specializes in reducing stress and burnout.

Eve Ekman is a rising star in the study of emotions herself, having seen all of them in her previous work as a social worker in San Francisco General Hospitals emergency room.

On a recent morning, the two sat in Paul Ekmans living room to discuss the Atlas of Emotions. The senior Ekman wore bright red Nike sneakers and a black sport coat with gold buttons, his cane perched across his lap. His daughter sported big earrings and a tattoo reading Frisco on her inner ankle.

Paul Ekman credits his daughter, who was active in the Free Tibet movement in the 1990s, with persuading him to participate in a meeting of the Dalai Lamas Mind and Life Institute in 2000.

I thought this Dalai Lama business was just another one of the Bay Area fads, he said with a laugh. But now the two men are close friends. Asked to describe the Dalai Lama, Paul Ekman said, irreverent as hell.

In 2014, the Dalai Lama commissioned the Ekmans to develop the Atlas of Emotions, an online guide to human emotions that has the goal of helping people achieve peace and happiness outside of religion.

Its not to get rid of emotion  emotions are at the center of life, Paul Ekman said. But we need a map of emotions if we want to get to a calm state of mind.

Eve Ekman gave the example of a friend not calling when she says she will. Its easy to jump to anger, sadness or fear that she doesnt like you anymore  or jump back decades to when your brother always left you out. But the friend may be busy or sick or simply forgot, and remaining calm about the missed call is surely the best way to go.

Its recognizing your own role in your emotional response, Eve Ekman said. Its watching our own mind and noticing our perceptions instead of treating emotions as hard, fixed realities.

Sometimes, though, the initial emotion is appropriate and constructive. Paul Ekman pointed to the citys homeless problem, which doesnt seem to get any better despite all the effort and money spent on it.

You can be so upset about the homeless on the streets of San Francisco when the temperature goes below 30 degrees that you decide you need to spend time doing something about it, he said.

The atlas describes the same five emotions as those devised for Inside Out and provides a wide array of emotions within those from least severe to most severe.

For example, fear goes from trepidation to terror, with explanations for everything in between. It then describes all the actions one might take, from freezing to screaming. It discusses triggers for those fears  some are universal, such as a threat to personal safety, while others are learned, such as a fear of public speaking.

The atlas also discusses moods, which are related but more long-lasting than a quick emotion and dont have clear triggers. Anxiety is related to fear, but is usually not prompted by one episode, such as having to address a large crowd. The atlas ends with a discussion of calmness, an ideal baseline, it says, in which emotions arise when triggered and then recede.

Paul Ekman said the work has helped him in his own life to lessen his propensity for regrettable angry episodes.

Fact check? Eve Ekman interjected, looking at her mother.

Well, hes gotten a lot better, her mother said.

I never hit anybody after grammar school, but I used to be fairly assaultive, even in my writing, Paul Ekman said.

Paul Ekman said humans are the only species that can think about emotions theyve already had, such as puzzling over why you got so mad at your spouse yesterday. Humans are also the only species capable of having emotions about emotions, like being frustrated that you got so angry.

Emotions are not only the juice of life, but they should be able to help you, not be problematic for you, he continued.

Its something to remember  and strive for  next time youre stuck on BART.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Tuesdays and Fridays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter@ hknightsf

In person, on video

Paul Ekman and Eve Ekman will discuss their Atlas of Emotions at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Exploratorium. They will be joined by Eric Rodenbeck, founder of Stamen Design, who helped design the atlas. RSVP required. Email: reserve@exploratorium.edu or call (415) 528-4444 and select option 5.

To see a Chronicle video of Eve Ekman discussing empathy when seeing homeless people in San Francisco, go to: http://bit.ly/2oauyjS.
If President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., had paid attention to Mitt Romney, they could have avoided the fiasco of their now dead and unmourned health care bill. They would not now face a situation in which both of them are being blamed because they deserve to be. And the Republican Party would not be engulfed in a festival of recriminations.

I speak here of the Romney who, in 2006 as governor of Massachusetts, saw governments job as coming up with business-friendly solutions to problems the market couldnt solve on its own. Believe it or not, Republicans once upon a time believed in more than tax cuts and deregulation.

And so Romney worked with Democrats to pass the Massachusetts health care plan, which, he explained, was entirely within his partys philosophical wheelhouse: The Republican approach is to say, You know what? Everybody should have insurance. They should pay what they can afford to pay. If they need help, we will be there to help them, but no more free ride.

Yes, requiring everyone to buy health insurance on the private market and providing adequate subsidies so lower-income citizens could afford it really was a conservative idea. It was an alternative to liberal calls for a government-run single-payer system.

The mandate was seen not as oppressive, but as an endorsement of personal responsibility. If you can be required to buy car insurance (because everybody is at risk of getting into an accident), why not require people to buy health insurance (because everybody is at risk of getting sick)? But because health coverage is financially out of reach for so many, the fair thing is to ask them to pay what they can and have government fill in the rest.

The debacle that was Trumpcare, a.k.a. Ryancare, is a reminder that conservatism has gone haywire. It has abandoned trying to solve social problems, except for offering free-market bromides as if they were solutions.

There are many reasons the Republicans health proposal failed (beyond the fact that it was an awful mess of a bill). They include Trumps breathtaking contempt for policymaking, to the point where, as Tim Alberta recounted in Politico, the president used a barnyard epithet to deride the serious and thoughtful policy questions put to him by a group of House Republicans.

Trump once again revealed himself to be a fraud who really doesnt give a damn about the lives of those who voted for him. As recently as January, he told the Washington Post: Were going to have insurance for everybody. There was a philosophy in some circles that if you cant pay for it, you dont get it. Thats not going to happen with us. But then Trump fought for a bill that would have done just what he said he wouldnt by throwing 24 million Americans off health insurance.

This is Ryans mess, too. He was equally unconcerned about the suffering his bill might create. He thought he could slap together old ideas pulled off the GOP policy shelf and not face any pushback from his colleagues.

And there was the inspiring citizen mobilization that forced Republican legislators to confront the reality that millions of Americans have benefited from a law that Ryan, Trump and company, with a stunning indifference to fact, falsely insist is a failure. Trumps opponents learned that they can win. This will only energize them more.

But the bills collapse was, finally, testimony to the emptiness of conservative ideology. Romney himself, remember, had to play down his greatest achievement because President Barack Obama had the nerve to learn from the Massachusetts experience: The Affordable Care Act is rooted in the principles and policies of Romneycare. To win the 2012 presidential nomination, Romney could not afford to be seen as the progenitor of Obamacare because conservatism now has to oppose even the affirmative uses of government it once endorsed.

Democrats can celebrate, but they cannot be complacent. They will have to expose and fight any efforts by the Trump administration to sabotage the Affordable Care Act through regulation. They should propose a package of improvements to make the ACA work better and dare Trump  and the dozen or so non-right-wing Republicans who helped block the Trump-Ryan bill  to join them.

But above all, the GOP needs an appointment with its conscience. In every other wealthy democracy, conservative parties think its heartless to leave any of their citizens without health insurance. Do Republicans really want to be the meanest conservatives in the world?

 2017, Washington Post Writers Group

Email: ejdionne@washpost.com Twitter: @EJDionne
Despite intense negotiations with the Republican caucus, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., failed to secure the votes he needed to pass his health care bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with a stripped-down national health insurance plan.

Ryan pulled the bill from the House floor Friday.

Im really proud of the bill that we produced, said Ryan in a news conference Friday. Ryan spoke highly of President Trumps effort to get the bill passed and said, The worst is yet to come with Obamacare.

The bills failure is a significant setback for both Ryan and Trumps fledgling administration.

Ryans bill, known as the American Health Care Act, met opposition from both moderate and conservative Republicans.

Centrist Republicans were concerned about the impact of the bill on their constituents. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that Ryans bill would have caused about 24 million Americans to lose coverage by 2026.

Meanwhile, the most conservative Republicans argued that Ryans bill didnt do enough to roll back the Affordable Care Act. The American Health Care Act kept some of the Affordable Care Acts most popular provisions, like requiring insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions.

No Democrats in Congress said they were willing to vote for the bill.

It was also unpopular with the public. In a March 23 Quinnipiac University poll, 56 percent of registered American voters disapproved of the bill and just 17 percent supported it. Twenty-six percent were undecided.

There are no guarantees about what happens next.

Trump has indicated a desire to move on from health care as an issue for this session of Congress. His administration has other priorities, like tax cuts and infrastructure, that will likely prove easier to pass. Many members of Congress agree.

But some members have promised their constituents for years that they would repeal the Affordable Care Act. Its going to be difficult for them to ask angry voters in their home districts for their re-election votes after failing to deliver on a central campaign promise. So there may well be another Republican effort to remake health care this year.

There may be a Democratic effort to work on health care, too. The Affordable Care Act isnt perfect. The party that creates an effective package to increase plan affordability and protect coverage will win the esteem of voters  as long as it plays the politics right.
On Aug. 6, 1991, my family left the Soviet Union to escape anti-Semitism. America welcomed us as refugees.

We condensed our former lives into three suitcases, handmade by my father. For myself, I was allowed to bring along three toys: a stuffed dog, a cloud-pillow and a tiny naked doll I named Poopsyik.

Only 6 years old, I remember how magical America felt to all of us  like a dream, a wonderful fairyland. I remember my first taste of exotic fruit  a banana  as we drove from the airport to our new home. I remember how astonished I was after visiting a Big Lots department store. Id never seen so many beautiful things available in my whole life!

When my school placed me in kindergarten instead of first grade, I felt so insulted  I thought, just because I couldnt speak the language, doesnt mean Im stupid! But most of all, I remember the kindness and generosity that so many people, so many communities, and so many organizations showed to me and my family.

We resettled in America with the help of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which helped facilitate our entire emigration process. The Greensboro Jewish Federation in Greensboro, N.C., helped us rebuild our lives. We were given our very own apartment and car, as well as an allowance for a few weeks as we adapted to our new home, integrated into our new country. Volunteer dentists and doctors provided us with medical and dental care, something that was unaffordable to us in the Soviet Union.

When I think back, the whole process seems incredibly overwhelming, but mostly, I feel so much kindness and gratitude toward the many individuals and families who helped us. The people who smiled at us, who volunteered to teach us English, who invited us for dinner and shared their holiday celebrations with us. The people who gave us their clothing and home goods, who drove us around, who provided our medical care, and who treated us to a dessert or a movie. So much help, so much effort, dedicated to our little family of refugees.

Now, as a citizen and after enjoying the education, the prosperity, the opportunities of the United States for decades, I think of myself as an American. Its difficult to understand what this all means  to be an American, to be an immigrant, to be a refugee  in a political climate so hostile to this group of people.

What would our lives look like if we were todays refugees instead of yesterdays? If Russia was on the list of banned countries and if Jews were seen as terrorist threats? America gave a 6-year-old girl a great gift.

I intend to pay that gift forward.

Bela Fishbeyn is the executive managing editor of the American Journal of Bioethics, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics.
The morning before her play, Apocalypse, Please, was set to premiere, Noelle Vinas is sipping coffee and talking theater in downtown San Francisco. Her voice, she explains, was too strangely hoarse for the chorus as a kid  so she found a home in theater.

Theater is the kind of place that accepts everybody, she says. Then she catches herself. At least high school theater is.

The implication was pretty clear: Maybe theater, the grown-up sort that happens in front of big audiences with big budgets, could be a little bit more like the high school sort.

That sentiment is at the heart of most all of the work Vinas is doing with the stage. She is attempting to transform an institution that can be insular and exclusive into one where anybody (in the broadest sense) feels comfortable.

In Apocalypse, Please,  a play about an Iranian American programmer who is accused of using cell phones to kill millions in a terrorist plot  Vinas and her partner and co-creator Kevin Vincenti have pulled in people from a wide variety of backgrounds. And not strictly in terms of race or gender identity (though that is true, too), but also in terms of professional backgrounds. The cast and crew are made up of people who have day jobs in business, computer engineering and graphic design. The idea, Vinas says, is that a production is stronger and the audience is more engaged when you have as diverse a crew as possible.

In theater, Vinas says, we say were being inclusive, we say were involving people. But we dont include collaborators in the room that dont have crazy long resumes. We dont include people in the room who maybe are amateurs and want to dabble in this and could give their whole souls to it and make something completely revolutionary.

Vinas is a relative newcomer to the Bay Area theater scene, though she is hardly an outsider. In a couple short years, she has carved out a considerable place for herself. Aside from the premiere of Apocalypse, Please, she is producing for a competition at PianoFight called ShortLived, she is set to act in Shotgun Players The Black Rider, and she just became a resident playwright with the Playwrights Foundation.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Leah Millis/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Leah Millis/The Chronicle Show More Show Less



She has also found a place on the board of TheatreFirst, a company in Berkeley, that has dedicated itself to a socially progressive theater space. (Vinas, for her part, immigrated to the U.S. when she was 4 years old, an experience that meant she always felt otherish.)

Whether she is aware of it or not  I certainly wont make that assumption  Noelle is creating Noelle Inc. right now, Jon Tracy, the artistic director of TheatreFirst, wrote in an email. Shes proven in a short time that she can do anything but will only put her time into what she believes in.

Rob Ready, the artistic director at PianoFight, the theater where Apocalypse, Please is playing, put it even more succinctly. Shes kicking ass and taking names.

But if you ask Vinas  who, at 25, says pretty plainly that she gets so much done because I just dont do a lot of things other people my age do  it has taken her too long to get here. I always want things to happen faster than they can.

Indeed, her pursuit of a career in theater was sidelined for a couple of years. In 2013, a week after she graduated from college with plans to pursue playwriting and acting, her father was diagnosed with stage four cancer. He was 49 at the time. After some deliberation and angst, I packed up my stuff and moved home. Home specifically meant her parents basement.

Along with helping her mom out, she began teaching theater at a high school that was just 4 miles away from the one she had gone to. Only it was completely different. It was night and day. Most of the students  70 percent, she says  were on free and reduced lunch. The high school she had gone to had way more privileges and resources and they were just 4 miles apart.

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

She would spend two years doing that work, and during her time there she helped integrate the program she was teaching with another that was set up specifically for students who didnt speak English as their first language. All of this added more fire to her interest in diversifying theater. I wanted to move here and do theater with people who werent normally involved in or invited into theater.

After her contract was up, Vinas set her sights on San Francisco, digitally networking so that when she arrived, she had already established connections. Vincenti, who has a background in business and works for a tech startup, had known Vinas from some years back. He started working on Apocalypse, Please with her when she moved to San Francisco and watched as she made space for herself in the city.

Vincenti remembers hearing somebody describe her as the Swiss army knife of theater, and it rang true. She has such a theater acumen, passion and ability to do so many things so well, he says. Shes producing, shes a playwright, shes acting in a play. Thats a lot of things to be doing. I dont think shes ever had an empty slate.

Ryan Kost is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkost@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @RyanKost

Apocalypse, Please: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Runs through April 1. $30. PianoFight, 144 Taylor St., S.F. www.pianofight.com
The demonstration was large but peaceful - 2,000 flag-waving supporters of President Donald Trump walking and chanting along Bolsa Chica State Beach in California.

Then, they caught sight of the counterprotesters.

The melee that followed Saturday was captured in a profanity-filled video that quickly spread across the nation - a violent episode among dozens of peaceful demonstrations across the country.

When the California scuffle was over, two people had minor injuries that didn't require medical attention, Capt. Kevin Pearsall of the California State Parks told the Associated Press. Three people were arrested and charged with using illegal pepper spray; a fourth was charged with assault and battery.

The video detailed the violence: One man was held down to the ground and punched and hit in the face with pepper spray. Later, another man was hit over the head again and again with a "Make America Great Again" sign.

"I hit him five times with the flag over his head," said Travis Guenther, calling it retaliation because the man allegedly had used pepper spray on Guenther's wife. He could be seen yelling at the man while being detained by law enforcement officials.

According to Los Angeles ABC-affiliate KABC, the rally started around noon. It was one of several planned across the country in support of Trump.

But a group of counterprotesters - some were from the local socialist party, according to KABC - decided to form a human wall, blocking the larger mass.

The video makes it hard to see what sparked individual violent incidents. At one point, two men began punching each other. A woman was hit in the face in the scuffle, further angering people. As that was going on, someone released a mist of pepper spray, and people in the dense crowd started coughing and rubbing their eyes.

Then, the mood of the rally soured, according to the video. Someone spied a counterprotester and yelled, "Get him." Two men tackled him to the ground, one throwing fists, another spraying mace.

As the counterprotesters backed cautiously away from the larger crowd, a man taunts them, "You can't run. You can't hide."

According to the Los Angeles Times, the counterdemonstrators were overwhelmed by hundreds of Trump supporters. They told a Times reporter that they used pepper spray only after they were shoved and punched by members of the rival group.

Despite all the violence, there were also scenes of unity, according to news reports. Some protesters and Trump supporters were seen having civil discussions after the arrest, and even hugging.
The whales are back, in full force.

More than 66 gray whales were spotted off Point Reyes on Saturday, the most so far this season.

National Park Service staff counted the migrating whales from the Point Reyes Lighthouse.

The enormous pod was heading north on its annual journey from winter breeding grounds in Baja California, Mexico, to the Arctic. The migration will continue through May, with the end of April being the peak time for mother/calf pairs.

(Note: The second video is from a whale-watching cruise March 22 off Fort Bragg, Calif.)
Nine current and former employees at Mission Beach Cafe in San Francisco have sued the popular breakfast and brunch restaurant over what they claim are a host of labor violations over the last four years.

The workers, who filed suit Monday in San Francisco Superior Court, allege that Mission Beachs management routinely issued paychecks late and failed to properly compensate employees for the hours they worked. They also alleged that many paychecks bounced when employees tried to cash them.

Every client has a story about a paycheck bouncing and being without their wages for several days or weeks, said Carole Vigne, one of the lawyers representing the workers and the director of the Wage Protection Program at Legal Aid at Work, which provides free legal services for low-income individuals.

One client wasnt paid his wages that he earned in October until mid-December, Vigne said, adding that paying employees late was a common practice at the cafe, which is at 14th and Guerrero streets. Things have gotten to the point where the workers cant handle the instability any more.

Bill Clarke, who manages Mission Beach Cafe, said he had only heard about the suit Monday and did not comment.

The restaurant industry is particularly susceptible to lawsuits over wages, given its high turnover rate, spotty oversight by government agencies and the overall lack of emphasis and resources that some owners put toward compliance with labor laws, according to Vigne.

A lot of restaurants dont invest in having a human resources department. They dont have the money to have an attorney counseling them on what the law actually is. It takes a lot of engagement and enforcement to keep employers accountable to the law, and without that check-and-balance system, restaurants are able to get away with a lot, Vigne said.

Last month, Tacolicious, a Bay Area Mexican restaurant chain, agreed to pay $900,000 to settle similar claims brought by a group of employees. The owners blamed its payroll problems on loose record-keeping in the wake of its rapid expansion in recent years.

Anna Kirsch, an attorney at the Womens Employment Rights Clinic who is representing the restaurant workers alongside Vigne, said the suit covers alleged wage and hour violations that date back to 2013. The lawyers say theyve been negotiating with the restaurant for months to try to resolve the workers complaints, but conditions did not improve.

Vigne and Kirsch are still evaluating possible claims and alleged violations, so they could not estimate how much money theyll be seeking from the restaurant.

The workers lawyers are not currently seeking class-action status for the case, but theyre not ruling out that possibility, should more workers come forward. Kirsch said many other employees may have the same circumstances.

Six plaintiffs are servers, one of whom no longer works at the restaurant. The others suing are a former sous chef, a barista and a busser.

The seven workers still at the restaurant say they will continue to work there as their case progresses. According to their attorneys, the employees remain committed to the success of the restaurant, and are suing as a way to make their workplace better, in addition to recouping the pay they say theyre owed.

The workers want people to keep frequenting the business, they want customers to come and support them and the work they do, Kirsch said. They dont want to drive people away.

Dylan Germick, one of the workers bringing the suit and a server at Mission Beach Cafe since 2007, said that employees at the restaurant have been receiving paychecks with increasing irregularity for years. Germick said that Clarke, the restaurants manager, had recently taken to issuing handwritten payroll checks, rather than rely on a third-party processor, as he had previously done.

Germick said that while it would likely be awkward as hell to continue working as the lawsuit hangs over the restaurant, he said doing so was a way for him and his colleagues to demonstrate their commitment to improving their conditions.

It feels good to work there to show that were not doing this to make a money grab or take (Clarke) down. Were here because we love this place and, in our own way, we love Bill and we want to make sure this is done right, Germick said.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twiter: @dominicfracassa
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California is still grasping toward what State Treasurer John Chiang on Monday called the best imperfect solution for a fully functioning cannabis marketplace before recreational marijuana becomes available for sale next year.

One of the biggest questions is how California will grapple with federal laws that largely deny marijuana businesses access to bank accounts.

The Cannabis Banking Working Group, a panel convened by Chiang in December, met at Oakland City Hall on Monday. The effort aims at collecting input from regulators, financial institutions and cannabis businesses about how to resolve the legal tensions surrounding banking for Californias marijuana industry.

The perfect solution comes with the decriminalization of marijuana by the federal government. That seems highly unlikely in the near term, Chiang said.

Legalizing recreational marijuana in California next year will give rise to a industry with more than $7 billion in projected annual sales.

But most banks, credit card processors and other financial institutions refuse to do business with the cannabis industry, as marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Among other regulations, holding accounts for a marijuana business could subject banks to federal money-laundering laws, which are designed to prevent the generation of income from illegal sources.

Last month, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that the country should expect greater enforcement of federal law with respect to recreational pot. His remarks deepened anxieties about the divergence between Washington and states that have legalized recreational marijuana use.

As a result, without access to many banking or money transfer services, dispensaries and other organizations are forced to do business in cash.

Virtually in every area, banking impedes us, said Larry Thacker, the CEO of Caliva, a dispensary in San Jose, who spoke before the panel Monday. We cannot deposit cash into our bank because we would have to lie about the source of those funds. We do not accept credit cards. Were at an operating disadvantage against many of our competitors out there, and against every other normalized business.

Cannabis businesses must also pay their taxes in cash.

People come in with backpacks full of cash, said Joe DeVries, assistant to the Oakland city administrator. Not only is it unsafe, but it takes a lot more time to count. We have to hire additional staff.

The banking group also heard from John Vardaman, a former Department of Justice attorney who helped craft whats known as the Cole memo, meant to guide banks on how to serve marijuana businesses without violating federal law.

Despite its intentions, the memo, released in 2013, has not inspired widespread confidence among banks that theyll be shielded from prosecution. But Vardaman, who spent much of his time Monday defending the document, urged the working group to use it as a foundation for state cannabis banking regulations.

Vardaman also cited remarks made by Attorney General Jeff Sessions this month, in which he said the Cole memo is largely valid and that the federal government does not have the resources to initiate nationwide raids of cannabis businesses.

Any time you hear Attorney General Sessions invoke the words limited federal resources in the context of marijuana, that is a nod to the underlying rationale of the Cole memo, Vardaman said.

The question remains whether marijuana-related businesses will have access to bank accounts or be forced to operate in the largest black market since Prohibition, he said.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
SACRAMENTO  The four people killed last week in a quiet neighborhood include a woman and her two children, authorities said Sunday.

The victims are Angelique Vasquez, 45; her daughter, Mia Vasquez, 14; her son, Alvin Vasquez, 11; and Ashley Coleman, 21, according to the Sacramento County coroners office.

Detectives did not immediately know what relationship Coleman, who was from San Francisco, had to the Vasquez family, Sacramento Officer Matthew McPhail said.

Police found the victims Thursday when they broke into a single-story home in Sacramento after a relative reported that something might be wrong. Investigators treated the entire house as evidence, McPhail said.

Authorities arrested Salvador Vasquez-Oliva, 56, on suspicion of homicide after finding him in San Francisco, about 90 miles away from the killings. They have not named a motive or said what relationship he has to the dead. Police have not said when or how the victims were killed.

Police said Vasquez-Oliva is from Sacramento, but records show he also is associated with an apartment near the University of San Francisco, six blocks from where police found him.

There was no answer at the door Friday, though a light was on inside.

A former co-worker described Angelique Vasquez as a devoted mother.

I loved her free spirit and the way she spoke about her children. She loved them so much, said Sheila Stewart, who met Vasquez seven years ago in the human resources department of Californias Employment Development Department.

Vasquez had split with her husband in the past, Stewart said.

She didnt really talk about him, at least not to me, she said Friday. I know they had problems like any relationship but never heard any stories of physical abuse.

Vasquez-Oliva also worked for the Employment Development Department, which administers the states unemployment checks. Agency officials said Vasquez-Oliva had worked as an office technician since 2014.

Sgt. Bryce Heinlein said Thursday that the killings dont appear to be random.

It was not immediately known if Vasquez-Oliva has an attorney. He was being held in the Sacramento County Jail, Heinlein said.

Christopher Weber and Amanda Lee Myers are Associated Press writers.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press

The family of a former FBI agent who went missing in Iran a decade ago on an unauthorized CIA assignment has filed a lawsuit against the Islamic Republic, accusing it of using cold, cynical and false denials to torture his loved ones.

The lawsuit by Robert Levinsons family in federal court comes years after the last hostage photos and video of the 69-year-old investigator surfaced in emails they say were sent by Iran so the country would not be held responsible for his ultimate fate. The lawsuit also describes offers by Iran to arrange for his release in exchange for concessions, including the return of a Revolutionary Guard general who defected to the West.
RALEIGH, N.C.  Despite Republican assurances that North Carolinas bathroom bill isnt hurting the economy, the law limiting LGBT protections will cost the state more than $3.76 billion in lost business over a dozen years, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Over the past year, North Carolina has suffered financial hits ranging from scuttled plans for a PayPal facility that would have added an estimated $2.66 billion to the states economy to a canceled Ringo Starr concert that deprived a towns amphitheater of about $33,000 in revenue. The blows have landed in the states biggest cities as well as towns surrounding its flagship university, and from the mountains to the coast.

The AP analysis  compiled through interviews and public records requests  represents the largest reckoning yet of how much the law, passed one year ago, could cost the state. The law excludes gender identity and sexual orientation from statewide antidiscrimination protections, and requires transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates in many public buildings.

Still, APs tally probably underestimates the laws true costs. The count includes only data obtained from businesses and government officials regarding projects that canceled or relocated because of HB2. A business project was counted only if AP determined through public records or interviews that HB2 was why it pulled out.

The AP also tallied the losses of dozens of conventions, sporting events and concerts through figures from local officials. The AP didnt attempt to quantify anecdotal reports that lacked hard numbers, or forecast the loss of future conventions.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan  who leads the largest company based in North Carolina  said he has spoken privately to business leaders who took projects elsewhere because of the controversy, and he fears more decisions like that are being made quietly.

Companies are moving to other places, because they dont face an issue that they face here, he told a World Affairs Council of Charlotte luncheon last month.

Other measures show North Carolina has a healthy economy. By quarterly gross domestic product, the federal government said, North Carolina had the nations 10th fastest-growing economy six months after the law passed. The vast majority of large companies with existing North Carolina operations have made no public moves to financially penalize the state.

HB2 supporters say its costs are tiny compared with an economy estimated at more than $500 billion per year, roughly the size of Swedens. They say theyre willing to absorb those costs if the law prevents predators from posing as transgender people to commit assaults in restrooms  acts the laws detractors say are entirely imagined.

All told, the state will have missed out on more than $3.76 billion by the end of 2028. The losses are based on projects that already went elsewhere  so the money wont be recouped even if the law is struck down in court or repealed.

Emery P. Dalesio and Jonathan Drew are Associated Press writers.
WEST HARWICH, Mass.  Police in Massachusetts served a sixth-grader with no-trespass orders after neighbors grew wary of the girl cutting through their properties to get to and from her school bus stop.

The mother of 11-year-old Autumn Blanchard told the Cape Cod Times her daughter received three no-trespass notices from the Harwich Police Department on March 2. Krystal Blanchard said she was unaware neighbors had an issue until the police arrived at her door. She questioned why she wasnt informed by the neighbors or school officials, who also knew about the problem.

I am beyond distressed by this situation, she said. I cant imagine why it had to go to this level. Someone should have spoken to me.

Blanchard said she wonders if the fact her family is new to the area and she and her daughter have brightly colored hair may be causing neighbors to discriminate against them. The mother has pink hair and piercings while her daughters hair has multiple colors.

Thats the only thing I can think of, which I think is ridiculous, said Blanchard, who contends Autumn is a nice, polite kid.

Harwich Police Chief David Guillemette blamed a breakdown in communication for the situation. He said police should have met first with the mother to discuss her daughters trespassing.

I would have preferred it would have been handled with more tact, he said.

Autumn said the cut-through shortened her walk to and from the bus stop, adding how she just wanted to get home and be warm inside my house.

But one neighbor said she was previously sued because a girl fell in her yard and became concerned when she saw Autumn climbing over debris from a fallen tree.

A police report noted how neighbors asked Autumn to walk around on the street and she ignores their wishes.

According to the notices, Autumn could be arrested and fined up to $100, imprisoned up to 30 days or both, if she steps onto the properties listed in the orders.
Big Maple Leaf' $1-million coin stolen from Berlin museum

A huge $1-million Canadian gold coin, known as the Big Maple Leaf, was stolen from a museum in Berlin early Monday morning.The coin, which is made of pure gold bullion and weighs 100 kg, had been on display at the Bode Museum in the German capital.According to a police press release, authorities were first alerted to the theft just after 4 am, when a security guard called the police.Police later found a ladder abandoned on the railway tracks near the local train station. The investigation continues.On its website, Berlin State Museums describes itself as a true paradise for all coin enthusiasts, with 500,000 objects making it one of the largest coin collections in the world.In a statement, Michael Eissenhauer, Director General of the Berlin State Museums said theft is the worst news a museum director can receive.We are shocked that the burglars overcame our security systems, which have been successfully protecting our objects for many years, said Eissenhauer. The perpetrators have done a great deal of damage and we are glad that no one was injured.The Royal Canadian Mint began selling the huge Big Maple Leaf coins in 2007, to promote its new line of 99999 pure 1 oz Gold Maple Leaf bullion coins.The coin has a hand-polished maple leaf design by artist and senior engraver Stan Witten on one side, and a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by artist Susanna Blunt on the other.And with a diameter of 53 cm and 3 cm thick, the Big Maple Leaf was certified the biggest coin in the world at the time by Guinness World Records.So far, five Big Maple Leaf coins have been bought by investors from Canada and overseas, according to the Royal Canadian Mint website.Although the coin has a face value of $1 million, due to the high purity of the gold used to make the coin, its actual value is reported to be up to $4.5 million.Note  the release and statement were both in German, and have been translated roughly here.
PLATTSMOUTH  Two men who committed drug offenses in Cass County learned Monday morning that they would each spend several years on probation.

Weatherford, Texas, resident Colton C. Pfeifer, 19, and Weeping Water resident Tyler J. Wipf, 33, appeared in Cass County District Court for sentencing hearings. Both entered into plea agreements with the state in their cases.

Pfeifer appeared before the court in the first case. The former Plattsmouth resident pled guilty in January to one Class IV felony charge of possession of controlled substance-lorazepam. The state dismissed two additional Class IV felony drug charges in exchange for the plea.

A Cass County Sheriffs Office deputy noticed a vehicle parked on River Road near Tobacco Island in rural Cass County at 12:43 a.m. May 5. The deputy was suspicious about the car due to the late hour and decided to investigate.

The deputy soon smelled an odor of marijuana and saw several people inside the car. Pfeifer was in the front-passenger seat at the time. He tried to place a container under his seat when he saw the deputy approaching.

Deputy County Attorney Steven Sunde told the court Monday that the deputy discovered multiple items inside the car. The items included 50 lorazepam tablets, a digital scale and a large quantity of marijuana.

Sunde said Pfeifer had been on probation at the time of the incident. He was placed on probation in 2015 for refusing to submit to a chemical breath test.

Sunde said the state would recommend a new term of probation for Pfeifer as part of the plea bargain. He said he hoped a stricter probation would help Pfeifer steer his life away from drugs in the future.

This is a young man who needs to be monitored closely, Sunde said. He does have many good qualities. He is a person who is worthy of this court trying to help.

Defense attorney Julie Bear said her client had benefited from moving to Texas last year. She said Pfeifer was working as a plumbers apprentice there and was forming healthier relationships with co-workers and new friends.

Judge Michael Smith ordered Pfeifer to serve 36 months on probation. Pfeifer must pay a $500 fine by Aug. 1 and complete a chemical dependency evaluation. He must submit to random tests and searches, complete a cognitive behavior therapy program and abstain from all alcohol and drugs. He must also participate in a 12-step substance abuse rehabilitation program.

Wipf appeared before the court in the second case. He pled guilty in January to one Class I misdemeanor charge of attempted possession of controlled substance-methamphetamine. The state agreed to reduce its original felony-level charge in exchange for the plea.

A Cass County Sheriffs Office deputy stopped a car on July 13 after noticing the driver had an active warrant. Wipf was a passenger in the car at the time.

The deputy received permission to search the vehicle and located a methamphetamine pipe and several baggies that contained .0943 grams of the drug. Wipf admitted to authorities that he had smoked the drug with the driver in the car.

Deputy County Attorney Richard Fedde told the court the state was not opposed to a term of probation. He said Wipf had maintained a fairly light criminal record since 2008. He also said probation could help Wipf with substance abuse treatment services.

Smith ordered Wipf to serve 24 months on probation. Wipf must complete a chemical dependency evaluation within 30 days, pay all court costs by July 1 and complete 40 hours of community service within two years. He must also complete a cognitive behavior therapy program and participate in a 12-step substance abuse rehabilitation program.
One person was injured in what appears to be a drunk driving incident that shut down a major road in El Cerrito this evening, according to police.

Police said officers responded to San Pablo Avenue just south of Moeser Lane shortly after 5 p.m. on reports of a vehicle that had collided with a pedestrian.

Upon arrival, officers found one person laying in the street along with three other vehicles that were involved in the incident.

According to police, officers determined the person lying in the street was not a pedestrian that had been hit, but rather a passenger in one of the vehicles that had been ejected in the accident.

The injured person was transported to a hospital via air ambulance with several broken bones. They are expected to survive, according to police.

Officers conducted a DUI investigation on the 20-year-old driver of the vehicle where the passenger was ejected. He was subsequently arrested and taken to the El Cerrito Police Department on suspicion of driving under the influence.

San Pablo Avenue between Burlingame and Waldo Avenues was shut down for several hours as officers conducted investigations and crews worked to clear the scene.

The incident is still under investigation and anyone with information is encouraged to contact the El Cerrito police at (510) 233-1214.
The victim suffered unspeakable trauma  she was horrifically beaten, emotionally tormented and thought she was going to die.

On Monday morning, the man behind these acts was sentenced by Judge Geoffrey Hall in Dodge County District Court to spend the next six years in the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.

In early February, Jacob L. Booze, 27, pleaded no-contest and was found guilty of strangulation and false imprisonment, both Class IIIA felonies. Prior to an amended information, Booze was originally charged with second-degree domestic assault, false imprisonment, strangulation and making terroristic threats.

In Dodge County District Court Monday, Judge Hall honored a joint agreement made between Dodge County Deputy Attorney Erica Carr and the defense saying that Booze would serve back-to-back  consecutive  sentences of three years, illustrating the severity of his crimes.

Under the Good Time Law of Nebraska, with all possible good time Booze would serve 1  on each charge, meaning he could be eligible for release in three years.

A warrantless arrest affidavit containing case details show that the victim went out with a friend on the evening of Oct. 31, 2016, and when she returned home in the very early hours of Nov. 1, 2016, Booze was intoxicated, enraged and jealous.

The victim and defendant had been involved with one another for approximately 4 months, an arrest report says, and there allegedly had been prior instances of verbal and physical altercations.

In a fit of rage, Booze strangled the victim, suffocated her and physically assaulted her by stomping on her face. He also threatened her with a metal bar removed from a bathroom shower. An arrest report says that Booze verbally threatened to take her life.

The victim eventually managed to escape when Booze was momentarily distracted while searching through her phone. Following the attack, the victim was treated in Fremont Health Medical Centers emergency department. The victims face was fractured and her features were unrecognizable because of the extent of damage, the arrest affidavit shows.

Booze was kept at Lincolns NDCS Diagnostic and Evaluation Center prior to sentencing.
Reading some of the news coverage this weekend, one might get the impression that Donald Trump's failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act is akin to Woodrow Wilson not getting the League of Nations ratified. In other words, a fatal blow to his presidency. That's hooey.

Health care is a siren song that has seduced many presidents since Harry Truman called for a national insurance program in 1945. Bill Clinton, for instance, spent far more political capital on the issue than Trump during his first year as president. His party also controlled both chambers of Congress, and he too failed spectacularly. But Clinton bounced back and won reelection.

Liberals mock Trump as ineffective at their own peril. Yes, it's easy to joke about how Trump said during the campaign that he'd win so much people would get tired of winning. Both of his travel bans have been blocked - for now. An active FBI investigation into his associates is a big gray cloud over the White House. The president himself falsely accused his predecessor of wiretapping him. His first national security adviser registered as a foreign agent after being fired for not being honest about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. His attorney general, at best, misled Congress under oath.

Despite the chaos and the growing credibility gap, Trump is systematically succeeding in his quest to "deconstruct the administrative state," as his chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon puts it. He's pursued the most aggressive regulatory rollback since Ronald Reagan, especially on environmental issues, with a series of bills and executive orders. He's placed devoted ideologues into perches from which they can stop aggressively enforcing laws that conservatives don't like. By not filling certain posts, he's ensuring that certain government functions will simply not be performed. His budget proposal spotlighted his desire to make as much of the federal bureaucracy as possible wither on the vine.

Trump has been using executive orders to tie the hands of rule makers. He put in place a regulatory freeze during his first hours, mandated that two regulations be repealed for every new one that goes on the books and ordered a top-to-bottom review of the government with an eye toward shrinking it.

Any day now, Trump is expected to sign an executive order aimed at undoing Obama's Clean Power Plan and end a moratorium on federal-land coal mining. This would ensure that the U.S. does not meet its commitments under the Paris climate agreement.

The administration is also preparing new executive orders to re-examine all 14 U.S. free trade agreements, including NAFTA, and the president could start to sign some of them this week.

Trump plans to unveil a new White House office on Monday with sweeping authority to overhaul the federal bureaucracyand, potentially, privatize some government functions. "The Office of American Innovation, to be led by Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, will operate as its own nimble power center within the West Wing and will report directly to Trump," Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker report. "Viewed internally as a SWAT team of strategic consultants, the office will be staffed by former business executives and is designed to . . . create a lasting legacy for a president still searching for signature achievements. . . . Kushner's team is being formalized just as the Trump administration is proposing sweeping budget cuts across many departments, and members said they would help find efficiencies."

Kushner's ambitions are grand: "At least to start, the team plans to focus its attention on re-imagining Veterans Affairs; modernizing the technology and data infrastructure of every federal department and agency; remodeling workforce-training programs; and developing 'transformative projects' under the banner of Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure plan, such as providing broadband Internet service to every American. In some cases, the office could direct that government functions be privatized, or that existing contracts be awarded to new bidders."

The Congressional Review Act had only been used once since it passed in 1996 to get rid of a regulation.

Trump has already used it three times since February to kill regulations put into effect by the Obama administration: He eliminated the Interior Department's stream protection rule, which barred coal-mining companies from conducting any activities that could permanently pollute streams and other sources of drinking water. He killed an SEC rule requiring oil and mining companies to disclose payments to foreign governments. And he made it easier for the mentally ill to get guns by blocking the Social Security Administration from turning over certain data to the FBI.

Seven more bills to undo Obama regulations have passed both chambers of Congress and will soon be signed by the president. Among them: Rolling back worker safety regulations to track and reduce workplace injuries and deaths, reducing disclosure requirements for federal contractors and abolishing a rule that restricted certain kinds of hunting, such as trapping and aerial shooting, inside national wildlife refuges in Alaska.

Several more are in the pipeline. The Republican Senate last Thursday voted to repeal rules aimed at protecting consumers' online data from Internet providers. Once the House passes the measure, and the president signs it, it will be vastly easier for broadband companies to sell and share your personal usage information for advertising purposes.

He can't pass legislation to repeal Obamacare, but Trump is weakening the pillars of the health care system from the inside so that he can blame Democrats for future problems. Although Paul Ryan acknowledged Friday that "Obamacare is the law of the land," its survival or collapse in practical terms now rests with decisions that are in the president's hands.

On his first night in office, the president directed federal agencies to ease the regulatory burden that the ACA has placed on consumers, the health-care industry and health-care providers. "So far, the main action stemming from that directive is a move by the Internal Revenue Service to process Americans' tax refunds even if they fail to submit proof that they are insured, as the ACA requires," the Post reported.

There are other steps the administration could take: "A major one would be to end cost-sharing subsidies the law provides to lower- and middle-income people with marketplace plans to help pay their deductibles and co-pays," the Post report noted "Another question is how the administration will handle the next enrollment season for ACA health plans, which will begin in November. The end of the most recent season coincided with Trump's first days in office, and the new administration yanked some advertising meant to encourage sign-ups. . . . While a set of federal essential health benefits, required of health plans sold to individuals and small businesses, will now remain in law, federal health officials could narrow what they require, limiting prescription drugs, for instance, or the number of visits allowed for mental-health treatment or physical therapy. . . . The administration also could take advantage of a part of the ACA that, starting this year, lets health officials give states broad latitude to carry out the law's goals."

Personnel is policy, and Trump has appointed several people who openly oppose the missions of the agencies they lead. "If you look at these Cabinet nominees, they were selected for a reason, and that is deconstruction," Bannon explained at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Scott Pruitt, for example, spent six years suing the Environmental Protection Agency as Oklahoma's attorney general. Now he's running it. He's already done a great deal to narrow the scope of the agency's mission and halted inquiries launched by his predecessor. Soon after getting confirmed, for instance, he told operators of oil and gas wells that they could ignore the agency's previous requests for information about their equipment's emissions of methane.

Now the White House is taking active steps to starve the bureaucracy of its lifeblood: money and staff. He called for slashing the EPA's budget by 31 percent, the biggest cut of any federal agency, in addition to eliminating a fifth of its workforce. Efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes are among the more than 50 programs that would be eliminated. (Denise Luo and Tim Meko prepared several visualizations of the impacts such cuts would have on the environment.)

Sometimes who you don't hire is just as important as who you do. Trump recently told Fox News that he will not fill all the vacancies he's entitled to. He explained that not moving to populate the cabinet departments is a feature, not a bug, of his administration. "When I see a story about 'Donald Trump didn't fill hundreds and hundreds of jobs,' it's because, in many cases, we don't want to fill those jobs," the president acknowledged. "Many of those jobs I don't want to fill." Those unstaffed jobs will be chokepoints to block action by the administrative state.

Trump's biggest donors, who have been briefed on his theory of the case, are giving him a very long leash because they are playing the long game. "The atmosphere was buoyant at a conference held by the conservative Heartland Institute last week at a downtown Washington hotel, where speakers denounced climate science as rigged and jubilantly touted deep cuts Trump is seeking to make to the Environmental Protection Agency," the Post reported. "Front and center during the two-day gathering were New York hedge fund executive Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah Mercer, Republican mega-donors who with their former political adviser (Bannon) helped finance an alternative media ecosystem that amplified Trump's populist themes during last year's campaign."

The Heartland Institute embraces views that have long been considered outlier positions by the scientific community. In 2012, the group paid for a Chicago billboard that read, "I still believe in Global Warming. Do you?" alongside a picture of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. The Mercers have given this group more than $5 million in recent years.

Half a dozen Trump transition officials and administration advisers attended the gathering, including Myron Ebell, director of energy and global warming policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who headed Trump's EPA transition team. Ebell, who disputes the scientific consensus that humans are driving the warming of the planet, received Heartland's "Speaks Truth to Power Award."

"Many of the people who are now prominent in the Trump administration attended our conferences, even spoke at our conferences, read our publications," Heartland Institute President Joseph Bast told The Post. "I think we're seeing the fruit of a decade of hard work on this issue."

Most importantly of all, Neil Gorsuch is poised to secure a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court. Bannon said the president has chosen his appointees with the deconstruction of the administrative state in mind. Nowhere is that more obvious than on the high court.

It is notable that Bannon made his declaration of "deconstruction" during a Q&A with Matt Schlapp, president of the American Conservative Union. Gorsuch, a political operator whose mom ran the EPA under Ronald Reagan, wrote an email to Schlapp right after the 2004 election. He had just volunteered to help George W. Bush in Ohio. "What a magnificent result for the country," Gorsuch told Schlapp, who was Bush's political director. "For me personally, the experience was invigorating and a great deal of fun. . . . While I've spent considerable time trying to help the cause on a volunteer basis in various roles, I concluded that I'd really like to be a full-time member of the team." Gorsuch sent Schlapp a list of jobs he'd be "competent to handle." He wound up getting a plum appointment in the Justice Department, and then Bush appointed him to the 10th Circuit.

From the bench, Gorsuch has dependably advanced "the cause." The most distinctive part of his jurisprudence, which helped ensure his spot on every conservative group's shortlist, is his opposition to what's called "Chevron deference." In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled that judges should generally defer to administrative agencies' interpretations of federal law in cases where the law may be "ambiguous" and the agency's position seems "reasonable." Even Antonin Scalia bought into this standard. But Gorsuch denounces it as "a judge-made doctrine for the abdication of the judicial duty."

This is one of the reasons Republicans are willing to use the nuclear option, changing the rules of the Senate, to get him confirmed with fewer than 60 votes. They are confident he will facilitate a major rollback of the regulatory state over the next 30 to 40 years, which would be a major part of Trump's legacy as president.

Progressive outside groups may come to regret not organizing more in opposition to Gorsuch. Betsy DeVos will have only a very small fraction of the impact that Gorsuch will on the trajectory of this country, yet the liberal grassroots mobilized against her nomination to be secretary of education by what felt like a factor of 10. There were literally empty seats at the back of the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing room last week.
1 Aid workers killed: The death toll from an attack on aid workers in South Sudan rose to seven Monday. David Kim Choop was driving a vehicle when he and six aid workers were ambushed and attacked Saturday. The four South Sudanese and three Kenyans worked for a local nongovernmental organization and were attacked while delivering food from Juba, the capital, to Pibor. At least 79 aid workers have been killed since South Sudans civil war began in 2013, according to the U.N.

2 Britain attack: A senior counterterrorism officer said Monday that investigators have found no evidence Westminster attacker Khalid Masood was associated with the Islamic State group or al Qaeda. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said Masood clearly had an interest in jihad, but police have no evidence he discussed his attack with others. The attack last week in which Masood used an SUV and knives to kill four people in London appears to be based on low-sophistication, low-tech, low-cost techniques copied from other attacks, Basu said in a statement.
BEIRUT  U.S.-backed forces in northern Syria paused military operations near a dam held by the Islamic State group on Monday to allow engineers to fix any problems after conflicting reports about its stability.

The decision by the Syrian Democratic Forces came a day after contradictory reports over whether civilians had begun evacuating the nearby city of Raqqa  the extremists de facto capital  due to concerns about the Tabqa dam on the Euphrates River.

Some activist groups opposed to the Islamic State group have said residents are seeking higher ground, fearing the collapse of the dam could cause severe flooding, while others said people were remaining in place. Conflicting reports are common in areas controlled by Islamic State, which bans independent media.

The SDF, a U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led force, has been fighting the militants in the area since Friday in an attempt to capture the dam, one of the main sources of electricity in northern Syria.

The SDF said in a statement that the cease-fire expired at 5 p.m. local time, after their engineers inspected the structure and found no faults. Photos credited to an embedded freelance journalist indicated they had just inspected the dams spillway, which is on SDF-controled territory. The main dam structure and the gates lie 2.5 miles away and are still held by militants.

The SDF said the request for a cease-fire was made by the dams administrators, without specifying whether they were part of the Syrian government or Islamic State, which operates a quasi-state in the areas under its control.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said technicians inside Islamic State-held Tabqa did not reach the dam during the cease-fire, to reactivate its main power controls. There was no explanation given.

The engineer Ahmad Farhat, who oversaw the mechanical administration of the dam, said it is equipped with the necessary precautions for its own protection, but there needs to be technical personnel on site to engage them. He spoke with the Associated Press from the rebel-held northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.

Engineer Aboud al Haj Aboud, who was the head of the electricity division of the dam, said on social media that if indeed the control room is malfunctioning and the gates of the dam cannot be opened, it will still take at least a month for the waters being held back by the dam to overflow the top of the structure.

The U.S.-led coalition said it is taking every precaution to ensure the integrity of the dam. To our knowledge, the dam has not been structurally damaged, it said on its Twitter account.

Bassem Mroue is an Associated Press writer.
Until now, the White House had acknowledged only an early December meeting between Mr. Kislyak and Mr. Kushner... Later that month, though, Mr. Kislyak requested a second meeting, which Mr. Kushner asked a deputy to attend in his stead, officials said. At Mr. Kislyak's request, Mr. Kushner later met with Sergey N. Gorkov, the chief of Vnesheconombank, which the United States placed on its sanctions list after President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia annexed Crimea and began meddling in Ukraine.

As you may recall, Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, was one of the members of the Trump administration who had a secret meeting with Russian envoy Sergey Kislyak. Kushner's meeting with Kislyak was taken with disgraced National Security Advisor Michael Flynn: It was the December meeting for which Kislyak was seemingly snuck in through a secondary entrance in order to evade press attention.Now, according to a new report in the New York Times , the Senate Intelligence Committee would like to have a chat with Kushner "about meetings he arranged with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak," after it was discovered that Kushner had a second, undisclosed meeting with Kislyak.Vnesheconombank is Russia's state-owned economic development bank, "whose supervisory board is controlled by members of Mr. Putin's government, including Prime Minister Dimitri A. Medvedev."Naturally, I was curious to find out what ties Vnesheconombank may have to other members of the Trump administration, and I found this article from January 2010, innocuously headlined: " Russians circle Ukraine group ."It's a story about how Vnesheconombank financed a takeover of one of Ukraine's struggling steel groups, right in the middle of a Ukrainian election.Ruben Vardanian, the chair of Troika Dialog, a Moscow investment bank which was the financial advisor on the deal, is quoted as saying: "The deal is aimed at realising a strategy of consolidating metals assets across the territory of the [former Soviet Union] and could potentially lead to an expansion of cooperation between Russia and Ukraine.""Cooperation" is an interesting word. The piece also notes: "Analysts said the deal is also evidence of Russia's bid to expand its industrial grip over former Soviet Union countries."Guess who won that election a month later? The pro-Putin Viktor Yanukovych. The same Viktor Yanukovych for whom both Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and Sanders chief strategist Tad Devine worked. In fact, Manafort and Devine were consultants for Yanukovych during that election.So, seven years ago, a Russian state-owned bank announced a month before a Ukrainian election that it would finance a deal that stood to influence the outcome of that election. The candidate who won had on his campaign staff a man who would go on to become the campaign chair of a U.S. president, whose son-in-law is now under investigation because of a secret meeting with the chief of that bank.Meanwhile, that same U.S. president has been silent as Russia bears down on Ukraine Maybe all of that is a coincidence. Maybe it's not.
In 2015, an EPA-appointed decision-making committee turned down CRPs application to mine phosphate nodules - a source of an essential ingredient of manufactured fertiliser - on a remote section of the Chatham Rise in New Zealands Exclusive Economic Zone, the vast offshore area that has been subject to an environmental consenting regime only since 2012. Over the course of the process it invoiced Chatham Rock Phosphate for $2.7 million for costs incurred.

The EPA issued monthly invoices, which were paid until December 2014. John Shackleton, representing CRP, told the High Court in Wellington any charges must be lawful and the costs must be "actual and reasonable." He said CRP stopped paying after it questioned the size of some of the invoices and alleged there was a lack of detail. In response to a question from Justice Karen Clark, he said the EPA had provided initial estimates, but in some cases the invoices were double the size of the estimate. Of the total amount, about $800,000 has not yet been paid.

In this latest round to go before the Court, Shackleton said CRP has identified several costs it considered to be "unreasonable," including about $92,000 spent on a half-day hearing in the Chatham Islands. It would have been far cheaper and more efficient to fly the submitters to Wellington, he said.

Shackleton said a review of the EPA's charging decisions had questioned "certain lawfulness" of at least some of the charges. Among other things, he said the charges did not comply with existing regulation, something that must be considered an "error of law."

According to Shackleton, some of the costs should have been met by a parliamentary appropriation, specifically earmarked for marine consent processes in the 2014-15 year, and are therefore unlawful. He said the EPA's argument that Cabinet papers indicate its costs were to be recovered in full from the applicant and that no appropriation was intended to be made by parliament to cover costs incurred in marine consent applications is invalid as the regulation trumps the Cabinet papers and indicates otherwise.

The EPA is expected to make its submission later today or Tuesday. The hearing is expected to be wrapped up late Tuesday.

In March the company announced that Chatham Rock Phosphate Ltd - formally Antipodes Gold - completed the acquisition of the remaining 7 percent of the issued shares of Chatham Rock Phosphate. The new Chatham Rock Phosphate is listed in both New Zealand and Canada, with its primary listing being on the TSXV in Canada. According to its website, it last traded at 50 Canadian cents and 55 New Zealand cents.

The company is also still studying the possibility of resubmitting its application to mine phosphate nodules but "theres still a huge amount to do for a second application" managing director Chris Castle said in a March update to shareholders.

Chatham Rock Phosphate argued in the High Court that a bill from Environmental Protection Authority for costs incurred during its marine consent hearing in 2015 were unreasonable and should have been partly met by funds available to the Crown entity.
New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English and China Premier Li Keqiang signed off a series of cooperation deals spanning trade, customs, travel and climate change and confirmed commencement of official talks on an upgrade to the nine-year old free-trade agreement between the two countries.

The Chinese premier, who is leading a delegation of senior ministers, government officials and businesspeople, met English at Premier House in Wellington today. At the end of the meeting, English said official talks to upgrade the existing FTA between the nations will start on April 25 with a goal of building on the deal that's seen two-way trade triple to $23 billion since it came into force in 2008.

"The agreement to commence negotiations also confirms the commitment of both countries to open trade and economic growth," English said in a statement. "Trade openness and strong ties in the region are critical to New Zealands economic growth, prosperity, and job creation."

The meeting also saw 21 other agreements signed, including a six-month trial for 10 local meat processors to sell chilled meat to China for the first time, mutual recognition of trusted exporters to speed up the customs process, a new air services agreement to increase the number of flights between the countries, and the adoption of a climate change action plan.

The trade-focused initiatives signed today will allow: a six-month period for chilled beef, goat and sheep meat into China and provides an export plan for Chinese onions into New Zealand; customs cooperation for trusted exporters to be in place from July this year; an e-commerce arrangement to set high-level principles for more cooperation between the nations; and a memorandum of arrangement to find a way to draw New Zealand into China's Belt and Road regional trade strategy.

The agreements come after English launched New Zealand's refreshed trade strategy to 2030, with the government set to inject $91.3 million over the next four years to beef up the ability to negotiate new free trade deals, get more out of existing ones, and break down non-tariff barriers that have become increasingly popular as a form of protectionism.

The climate change and environmental initiatives signed today seek to increase cooperation between the nations to meet their international obligations as China starts rolling out its own emissions trading scheme, introduces joint research efforts focusing on freshwater quality, which is a major issue in China, promote sustainable fishing in the Pacific, and to create a framework for the nations to coordinate their regional aid and development efforts.

The air services agreement will immediately lift the weekly flight cap to 59 from 49, with a further 11 flights pending talks later in the year, while Chinese multiple-entry visas into New Zealand have been extended to five years from three years and Chinese passport holders will be allowed to use SmartGate entry. The two countries have declared 2019 as an official year of China-New Zealand tourism.

Two agricultural initiatives signed today will see a new joint programme focused on animal health and a new research arrangement on biosecurity and plant protection.

Other agreements signed include the renewal of an existing education programme, a New Zealand-China mayoral forum to be held in Wellington in December this year, a new plan to cooperate on science and technology, a joint 'blue skies' science health research collaboration, and a renewal of an arrangement on intellectual property cooperation.

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NEW DELHI: itel Mobile, part of Chinese mobile manufacturer Transsion Holdings, on Monday strengthened its 4G portfolio and launched 4G VoLTE-enabled smartphone Wish A41 for Rs 5,840.

The device features 'Multiple Account' apps and 'SmartKey'.

'Multiple Account' allows users to log in with two different accounts on popular social media apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.

The 'SmartKey' feature enables them to conveniently perform functions such as taking screenshots and taking pictures with a single click.

"Wish A41 perfectly exemplifies our long-term vision of making high-speed internet connectivity a tangible reality for all Indians. We are confident that Wish A41 will receive great market traction in the industry," itel Mobile India CEO Sudhir Kumar said in a statement.

Wish A41 is powered by a 1.3 GHz Quad-core processor with 1GB RAM. It has an internal storage of 8GB, which can be expanded up to 32GB.

The device comes with a 5-inch screen. Wish A41 runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and comes with a 2,400mAh battery. It has a 5MP autofocus rear camera and 2MP front shooter with flash.

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HYDERABAD: Aiming to expand its footprint in international markets, city-based construction equipment manufacturer Puzzolana group today entered into a pact with Tata International.



Prakash Pai, Managing Director, Puzzolana Group and Len J Brand, Executive Director & Head, Distribution Vertical, Tata International, announced the tie-up and signed the MoU here in this regard, according to a release.

As part of this agreement Tata International will be the distribution partner of Puzzolana for its crushing and screening business in the African Continent.



"The opportunity in Africa through this tie-up is worth USD 10 billion. Currently the value of (overall) exports by Puzzolana is just 7 per cent and we would like to ramp up the same with right partners like Tata and the company's vision 2025 is (to reach) 50 per cent through exports," Pai said.



"We are market leaders in India with an approximate 60 per cent market share and now our products will get the necessary fillip abroad, across various geographies of Africa, Middle East, South East Asia and both South and North America," Pai said.



Brand said "This is the foundation stone in the Tata-Puzzolana partnership and we look forward to combining our industry knowledge with Puzzolana's product range to offer a 'one-stop-shop' for infra and mining customers."



Abhijeet Pai, president, Puzzolana Group said, "We have plans to acquire a company in US and are looking at growing inorganically there, we are in discussions and may close the deal in the next six months. We are also open for acquisition globally, if the situation demands."



"As the infrastructure business in Africa is growing, we aim to capture sizeable business there in the next three years. We intend to focus on 120-600 TPH capacity of crushing plant and track plant of 250 TPH in the sector of infrastructure, road and mining," Ananth Pai, Joint Managing Director, Puzzolana Group said.



Puzzolana Group, a pioneer in infra machinery manufacturing offers comprehensive solutions across design, manufacture, supply, installation and commissioning of Crushing & Screening Plants on turnkey basis.



The Company has in-house foundries in Telangana and Karnataka, producing about 36000 tons annual capacity of Steel Castings, the release added.

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NEW DELHI: Spectranet, the optical fibre broadband service provider, plans to invest about 100 crore over the next 18 months to strengthen its presence in multiple cities it operates in.



The company has, however, ruled out a listing in the next 3-5 years as it seeks to maintain its focus on "growing and building the business".



"We are looking to invest 100 crore in 18 months for building connectivity and in access infrastructure. We will expand within the cities that we are already present in...The money will be invested in going into more areas, being able to connect more customers, both business and residential," Udit Mehrotra, CEO of Spectranet told PTI.



The investment would also be infused into network upgrades and laying down more fibre. The entire expenditure would be supported from the company's internal accruals and debt, he added.



"Obviously as more and more customers use 100 Mbps and beyond, we need to continue to invest in upgrading our infrastructure within the city and in our core locations," he said.



Over the last one year, the company has focused closely on customers' likes and preferences.



"We have been looking at how we are going to deliver excellent quality of experience. Now, that we have understood customer preferences, the next 18 months will go into taking that experience to more and more customers and in execution of our strategy," he said.



Asked if the company plans to go public in near future, Mehrotra said, "At this juncture, we are not planning to go to the market to raise equity. Listing is not even on our mind right now."



"The current broadband market in our country is still a small market, although the numbers are set to grow faster. What is more important for us is, that of the total broadband connections, hardly anything is on fibre. So, we are focused right now on growing and building our business, given the opportunity. These are growing years for us," he said.



With headquarters in Gurgaon, the company's fibre network presence is currently spread across eight major cities including Delhi, Noida, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and Pune.

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I ran at Olympic speed for a bus but missed it, so I had to pretend that I always go jogging in a business suit and I ended up a sweaty mess a kilometre from the transport hub.

I hate travel. Once at an airport I was chased by R2-D2, and he had a gun. This is not a joke. Terminal three of the international airport at Shenzhen in southern China has a face-recognising robot wandering around. It looks like the robot in "Star Wars", but rather than making cute, bird-like warbles, it has face-recognition cameras and a Taser gun to zap you with.

Suddenly all the pieces this columnist has written poking fun at the authorities flashed before his eyes. Run for it? No. It goes at 18 km an hour, a speed that humans cannot reach even in taxis, thanks to traffic jams.

In several places in Beijing, the toilets have facial recognition. A wall-mounted machine looks at you, decides if you are human, and then releases a measly 60 cm of toilet paper. It then puts you on an internal No More Toilet Paper blacklist for nine minutes. No one can be bothered to wait such an inordinately long time, roughly the length of a Hollywood marriage.

"Toilet paper usage has fallen dramatically," the Beijing press announced. This is a bit like that old joke: "My dog doesn't eat meat." "How come?" "I don't give him any."

In Russia, people claim to have put Facebook-style face recognition software on phones, so that you can instantly find out anyone's name. This would be good news for me, as I forget everyone's name, my wife and children included. On the downside, an unscrupulous stranger could use it to find out my details and then pretend to be the fruit of my loins. "Hi, I'm one of your children, please pay my school fees, I'll take the money in cash now, thanks, mate, I mean, daddy."

At the moment, it is only available in one language, so keep a wary eye out for people with Russian accents claiming to be your offspring.

My techie friends say that the next iPhone will recognise its owner's face and switch itself on. I'm going to programme mine to respond in the voice of the female computer (whose name is just "Computer") in "Star Trek": "Ah, Master, you have entered the room. You are looking so manly, as always." I'll programme it to shiver with delight as I pick it up.

They also told me that the robot household assistant called Alexa has been tweaked so it will now answer to the word "Computer", just like on "Star Trek". Sad people with no lives will dress up as Mr Spock or Captain Kirk and pretend they are living in a "Star Trek" fantasy. (But I'm going to wait until my family members are out.)

At Beijing fried chicken shops, the face-recognition robot looks at you, guesses how old you are, and then offers "appropriate" meals. Young people are offered fried chicken and cola, older ones are offered soybean milk and porridge.

Next boom industry: Face transplants. Me first.

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NEW DELHI: A two-day G-20 working group meeting, with inclusive global growth on top of the agenda, will get underway in Varanasi this week from March 28, an Indian official said on Sunday.

"In the forthcoming meeting in Varanasi, the G-20 Framework Working Group (FWG) will discuss the current global economic situation as well as deliberate on the policy options that countries can pursue to counter the important development challenges," said a Finance Ministry statement here.

"One important focus of this meeting will be to deliberate on the inclusive growth agenda of G-20 and to formulate a framework that will enable countries to help frame country specific inclusive growth policies," it said.

The Framework Working Group is one of the core groups of the G-20 - the group of 19 nations and the European Union that deliberates on global economic issues and other key developmental challenges.

The third meeting under the G-20 German presidency is being co-hosted by the Department of Economic Affairs and the Reserve Bank of India in Varanasi on March 28-29, the statement added.

The earlier two meetings under the German presidency were held in Berlin in December 2016 and Riyadh in February 2017.

India, along with Canada, has been co-chairing this group, and since the inception of the FWG in 2009, this is the fourth occasion India is hosting this meeting.

"The mandate of FWG is to deliberate on the challenges facing the global economy and the policy options that countries can use to address these challenges," the statement said.

Previously, India had hosted the G-20 FWG meetings at Neemrana in 2012, in Goa in 2014, and in Kerala in 2015.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Ed Wiseman is stepping down from his post at Historic Richmond Town, he announced Monday.

"Despite the many challenges, I have enjoyed every moment at Historic Richmond Town these past nine years," said the Executive Director and CEO of the living history village. "It is time to move on and take on new and different projects and adventures. I am grateful to the board, staff and volunteers for their dedication and support."

Wiseman's departure is effective immediately.

"Historic Richmond Town is extremely grateful for Ed's vision and contributions," said board president Kevin Fisher. "From signature events including Uncorked, All American Drive-In and the BBQ & Chili Cookoffs, to dealing with the ravages of Superstorm Sandy, Ed was devoted to the mission. We wish him well."

Borough historian and writer Barnett Shepherd will serve as interim director and help in the national search for a new Executive Director and CEO. Marketing Director Frank Saulle will continue to oversee the planning and coordination of upcoming spring events.

Upon hearing of Wiseman's departure, Borough President James Oddo declared him a "fantastic partner" to Borough Hall.

"I wish him the best in his future endeavors and look forward to the possibility of a continued partnership with him in whatever future opportunities he might take on," Oddo said, adding that he aims to "build a productive relationship with the new leadership of HRT as we had with Ed."

According to HistoricRichmondTown.org, Wiseman secured more than "$12 million in funding for wonderful projects " at 411 Clarke Ave.

The Richmond resident also is the winner of eight Emmy awards -- and 20 nominations -- for directing and producing TV projects such as the long-running PBS series, "Reading Rainbow."

MORE ABOUT THE VENUE

HRT was founded as the Staten Island Historical Society in 1856. The living history village's official mission is to "create opportunities for the public to explore the diversity of the American experience from the colonial period to the present."

In the mid-20th century, the Staten Island Historical Society embarked on an ambitious project to collect, preserve and interpret the material culture of our region. The result evokes 350 years of history and culture. That complex includes NYC's oldest continuously working family farm and two other historic sites -- including one of the oldest original houses in the country. More than 100,000 people visit the site each year to enjoy tours, education programs, museum exhibits and special events like the Richmond County Fair, Tavern Concerts Series, NYC BBQ and chili festivals, Uncorked! Food & Wine Fest and more.

As S.I.'s largest and oldest cultural institution, HRT possesses some of the most celebrated and storied historical items of American history. There are more than 130,000 artifacts, photographs, and archival collections dating back to the 17th century. The total number of individual objects or bits and pieces of history in our care is close to a million! At the center of our collections are original historic structures dating back as far as the 1660s.

HRT is an independent nonprofit cultural institution of the City of New York, which owns a portion of the land and structures that the museum manages. That portion is part of NYC Parks. The City supports part of the museum's operations with public funds from the Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York City Council and the Historic House Trust. The Staten Island Historical Society also receives support from the Staten Island Borough President, New York State Department of Education, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Office of the Borough President, and private contributions from corporations, foundations and friends -- like you!

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - As Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature wrestle over his proposal to make tuition free for middle class students at public colleges, Republican Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis on Monday took another stab at getting support for her years-old proposal to expand the state's existing tuition assistance program, or TAP, as an alternative to Cuomo's proposal that excludes private schools.

Earlier this year, Cuomo proposed giving free tuition to New York's public colleges for families earning up to $100,000 beginning in fall 2017, increasing the threshold to $110,000 in 2018 and $125,000 in 2019.

The proposal is for tuition only -- it doesn't cover room and board, and other expenses, like transportation and books.

That plan has several shortcomings, opponents argue, including that students attending private colleges would lose out.

Cuomo's budget proposal would offer TAP only to students who attend colleges that have tuition increases below $500 or the annual increase in the Higher Education Price Index, whichever is greater.

Cuomo is also threatening to cut off direct institutional, or Bundy Aid, to colleges that exceed the increase maximum.

This could hurt private colleges, which tend to be large employers and economic drivers in their communities.

Private college administrators and other opponents of the plan cite studies that show those institutions will see a significant drop in enrollment, with more students attending public colleges that may be unable to accommodate the large increase.

They argue Cuomo's plan would limit choice for students and create an uneven playing field, making it hard for private colleges to compete with the free tuition at state schools.

Eligible students at private colleges could still get TAP funding but Cuomo's plan calls for an extra $163 million to be used to cover the remaining tuition costs for students at public colleges.

Calling the governor's proposal "socialism," Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn) doesn't believe the government should hand out a free college education, she said Monday morning at Wagner College.

Instead, expanding the TAP program would help more people afford college, she and Dr. Richard Guarasci, president of Wagner College, and Dr. James O'Keefe, vice provost of St. John's University, Staten Island campus, agreed.

First introduced in 2014, Malliotakis' bill would increase the income cap for TAP from the current $80,000 to $100,000, making more people eligible. She would be OK with expanding that to $125,000 given the governor's proposal.

The maximum annual award would increase from the current $5,165 to $6,470, the current SUNY tuition.

That would have the same effect as providing free tuition to CUNY/SUNY schools for people who qualify, while still allowing students at private colleges to get state aid.

Malliotakis also wants to bring back TAP for graduate students, a funding stream that was eliminated in 2010.

While she didn't mention it Monday, Malliotakis has often tied her TAP proposal to debate over tuition assistance for undocumented immigrants. She has argued that TAP should be expanded to cover more legal New York state residents before covering undocumented students.

The Republican assemblywoman noted the TAP income cap hasn't increased since 2000, a fact that is "shocking because everything else has increased, cost of living, tuition," she said. "TAP is so important to so many middle class families."

Malliotakis is hoping her proposal will be included in the state budget that's being negotiated with a Friday deadline.

A member of the minority party in a house controlled by Democrats, Malliotakis is heartened by support for her bill in the Senate by Staten Island's two state senators, Andrew Lanza, a member of the Republican majority, and Diane Savino, a member of the Independent Democratic Conference.

Assembly Republican Minority Leader Brian Kolb supports a GOP alternative to Cuomo's proposal.

"This is the final push," Mallotakis said.

In New York, private colleges confer a slim majority of bachelor's degrees, while the vast majority of master's and doctoral degrees come from private institutions.

"The governor's proposal really discriminated against private institutions," Guarasci said. "It didn't do anything for private institutions, in fact we're at a horrible disadvantage."

More than 80,000 private college students receive state aid in New York.

O'Keefe said of TAP, "This money is essential to our students and to our university and to our mission."

Cuomo's office didn't respond to a request for comment.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The "Outerbridge Cowboy" will be riding off into the sunset without his horses.

Tod (Doc) Mishler, 80, on Monday pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a non-criminal violation, nine months after he rode across the Outerbridge Crossing on horseback, with a second horse in tow, sparking controversy which ultimately led to his arrest on charges of animal cruelty.

Authorities alleged the animals were dehydrated, had bleeding sores caused by the saddle and had not been regularly examined by a veterinarian.

"My client wants to say, 'happy trails' to New York," Richard Luthmann, Mishler's lawyer, told Criminal Court Judge Raymond L. Rodriguez.

As per the plea, Mishler received a one-year conditional discharge and signed a forfeiture agreement giving title of the two horses -- Hope II and Charity II -- to the NYPD.

The upstate Ulster Park resident is also barred from possessing horses in New York for the next two years.

"If I caused anybody any harm, please forgive me," Mishler told the court. "It's been a learning experience. I just wish everyone peace and unity."

The bearded, long-haired defendant was garbed in his typical western outfit of a dark vest, pink bandanna, bright blue shirt and buckskin jacket. His white cowboy hat, covered in plastic due to the rain, was placed on a seat in the audience.

Outside court, Luthmann said his client has dropped the $50 million civil lawsuit he filed last year against the district attorney's office, NYPD, Parks Department and the city itself.

"We think this is probably the morally correct thing to do," Luthmann said, referring to his client's plea. "We can't see the district attorney's office expend any more resources for a full hearing and a full trial ... whereby there's so much problems with heroin on this Island and children dying of heroin."

In a statement, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon said, "When Mr. Mishler first rode into Staten Island, his two horses, Hope II and Charity, suffered from painful bleeding sores and showed serious signs of dehydration. I am proud to say that today both of these horses are fully recovered and have been placed under the care and supervision of trained professionals at facilities capable of meeting their everyday needs."

"Thanks to the dedicated work by the NYPD, ASPCA and this office's Animal Cruelty Prosecution Unit, led by Assistant District Atttorney Jane Grinberg, Hope and Charity can now look forward to enjoying full and healthy lives," said McMahon.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - In the months leading up to Congress' expected vote to repeal and replace Obamacare, groups of protesters gathered outside both of Rep. Daniel Donovan district offices, pressuring him to vote "no."

While those vocal groups were elated, not only that Donovan planned to vote against it, but that the Republican majority in the House of Representatives didn't have enough votes, a quieter group of constituents felt great disappointment.

Jessica Gaudioso of Bulls Head is approaching 50 and had never voted before November.

"I voted Republican down the ballot because I wanted a change, especially on health care," she said.

She owns a small business and pays $1,302 per month for an insurance policy for herself and her college-aged daughter.

On top of her mortgage and college tuition, it's a big strain on her paycheck.

She was hoping President Donald Trump's and Donovan's promise to fix health care would come to fruition last week.

"I want everyone to have insurance ... but there's got to be a way to make it more affordable to everyone, not just the top and bottom," she said.

Disliking some of the components of the failed Republican proposal, the American Health Care Act, she understands why one would want to vote against it but that doesn't make it easier for her to pay her insurance.

Critical of Donovan, Gaudioso said, "This was not the ideal plan, and I get that. But if health care [policy] doesn't get replaced, I would strongly consider not voting for him again."

The congressman has argued for an Obamacare repeal because of its unaffordable premiums and deductibles. But he was persuaded to oppose it because of Medicaid cuts, excluding New Yorkers from tax credits and more, noting he didn't want to see people without employer-provided insurance lose coverage.

"When he was so adamant, I just wanted him to think about another group of people on this Island, the people in the middle class who voted for him," Gaudioso said. "We can't have the middle class carrying the burden for everyone and it just feels that way."

Before it was clear the bill didn't have enough support among both conservative and moderate Republicans to pass, Cathy Calhoun reacted with sadness at Donovan's plan to vote against it.

"This is terrible news," she said, adding she hoped the congressman would reconsider his decision.

"We have to do something to repeal and replace the ACA, which is a dismal failure," she said. "This bill looks good and a fair replacement. Time is ticking and Congress can't play games."

Bobby Zahn, a former Tea Party member who fought to get on the Conservative county committee and who runs the politically conservative group The Red Borough, has been criticizing Donovan since he announced his intended vote.

"The thing I'm the most disappointed about in my congressman is how poor a job he did transitioning from a majority congressman with an opposition president to a majority congressman with a friendly president," he said.

Donovan should have been able to leverage his position in the majority to get what he wanted in the bill, instead of vowing to vote against it, Zahn argued.

"I don't understand how a congressman in the majority can get the short end of the stick when it comes to being left out of the Collins/Faso amendment," he said. "Donovan's inability to get along with the majority delegation is going to cost Staten Islanders ... We would do better with a Democrat."

Donovan opposed the GOP bill in part because an amendment proposed by upstate Congressmen Chris Collins and John Faso would have excluded all counties in the state except New York City from paying their share of Medicaid.

The state would have had to pick up the tab for $2.3 billion in Medicaid costs, setting up potential tax breaks in those counties.

"Congressman Donovan's decision to vote no on the AHCA as currently written should not be mistaken for a change in his commitment to reform Obamacare," a Donovan spokesperson said. "There are many heartbreaking stories like Jessica's that prove the system is broken. Unfortunately, the way this bill was written would not have solved the problem of rising premiums, high deductibles and enormous copays. For that reason, many members from across the political spectrum had problems with it. The congressman has not given up on health care reform and will continue working with leadership and the White House to come up with a better bill that truly provides for affordable, quality care for New Yorkers."
The GOP elite's shady foreign ties

Donald Trump, right, stands with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani during a campaign rally, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, in Greenville, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) ORG XMIT: NCEV131

(Evan Vucci)

An Iranian-Turkish gold dealer hired two confidants of President Donald Trump to help defend him against U.S. charges of using his network of companies to circumvent federal sanctions on Iran.

Former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey were retained by a team representing Reza Zarrab. The lawyers won't be taking part in the trial, Zarrab's attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said in a court filing. Zarrab had pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial in New York in October.

Giuliani was an outspoken Trump supporter during the election campaign, while Mukasey helped advise the president and was part of a team Giuliani said was drafted to legally implement a Muslim ban that Trump had promised. That led to an executive order restricting travel to the U.S. from seven mostly Muslim countries.

The hiring of Giuliani and Mukasey may present a conflict of interest because their firms, Greenberg Traurig and Debevoise & Plimpton, also represent some of the banks alleged to be victims in Zarrab's case, prosecutors said in court documents disclosing the lawyers' involvement. The prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman to hold a hearing to ensure that Zarrab is fully aware of the ramifications of such conflicts.

Brafman said a hearing isn't required because no lawyers from the two firms will have any involvement in trial preparations or the trial. Giuliani's and Mukasey's role won't require "any appearance" in court, he said.

Mukasey declined to comment on his role in the defense.

Mukasey's son Marc has been rumored as a leading candidate to succeed former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who was fired earlier this month after refusing to step down. Bharara brought the charges last year against Zarrab, whose arrest roiled relations between Turkey and the U.S.

Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn was a paid representative of the Turkish government. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had come out in support of Zarrab, saying be broached the subject of the gold-dealer's arrest with former Vice President Joe Biden in September.

Zarrab, owner and operator of Royal Holdings A.S., is accused of using his multibillion-dollar network of companies in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to induce U.S. banks to launder hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions that violated international sanctions against Iran. He was arrested in Miami in March 2016 after arriving in the U.S. for a family trip to Disney World and remains in detention.

Zarrab was a key figure in a 2013 scandal, in which Turkish prosecutors accused him of bribing the country's cabinet ministers in a gold-trading operation worth at least $12 billion, a charge he denied. Erdogan called the investigation a coup attempt, and all charges against Zarrab and members of his administration were eventually dropped.

Prosecutors raised a similar conflict for other members of Zarrab's defense team earlier this year, including former Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh and former Solicitor General Paul Clement. Berman last month allowed their firm, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, to stay on the case.















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It was once awarded the best bottle shop in Australia - and now Canberra will have two of them.

Fyshwick boutique bottle shop Plonk is opening a second store at the Belconnen Markets.

Plonk is opening a second store at Belconnen.

Owner Anthony Young said that like the original, the new store will have a huge range of beers, ciders, wine and spirits. All of the staff taste all of the wines themselves, so are very handy with a suggestion, and there will also be in-store wine tastings.

It will be the first foray on the northside for the bottle shop. Plonk initially opened in the laneway in Manuka before making the move to the Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets almost a decade ago, first in a smaller shop before moving into its current space.
The Wall Street Journal reported that its proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, has sold his $US125 million ($164 million) investment in scandal-ridden blood testing group Theranos for just $US1.

According to the report, Murdoch did not join other prominent investors who collectively put $US600 million into the company in 2015 and have been given additional shares in return for a promise not to sue the company or its founder and chief executive, Elizabeth Holmes.

While Murdoch will apparently receive some upside if the company recovers from its various setbacks - which include investigations by regulators and lawsuits by investors - the report does not say whether he is retaining the right to sue the company.

The only thing Murdoch has gained from his Theranos investment, besides a harsh lesson on why he should stick to media investments, is a tax loss that will help cushion the tax bill that will be coming this year.
After 10 years of enduring health insurance premium price hikes, the Hannah family of Elermore Vale in Newcastle is on the verge of dumping their policy.

Alisha and Patrick Hannah, who have had three daughters in that time, are struggling to live within their budget, despite downgrading to a "basic" level of hospital cover and cancelling their extras cover.

The upcoming, government-approved premium hike of 4.9 per cent makes them feel "nervous and sick".

"The cost keeps going up and we can't afford it because our budget can only stretch by so much and we're not seeing the value," says Ms Hannah, who works part-time in administration.
Bunnings, Foxtel and Caltex have joined the cascading global advertiser boycott of YouTube, as Australian companies lose faith in the Google-owned video platform's ability to isolate their brands from bigoted and extremist content.

Vodafone, Nestle, Holden and Kia have also temporarily suspended all advertising from YouTube because it was appearing alongside offensive videos. It follows boycotts by a string of global companies, highlighting the poor levels of control Google has over its content and the risk posed to brands choosing to advertise on it.

Pay TV provider Foxtel said on Monday that it had become concerned about how Google was promoting its brand after learning of a Foxtel pre-roll video ad running on a page that publishes anti-Semitic material.

"Therefore, we have made the decision to suspend our advertising on YouTube until we are assured that the situation is resolved," a Foxtel spokesman said.
If you are a premium brand like, say, Qantas or BMW, do you want your advertising placed alongside a granny-falling-over-exposing her knickers video or  worse  a rant from a sexist or racist zealot or even ISIS?

Undoubtedly not.

But brands being able to protect themselves from being associated with content that's image-damaging is increasingly difficult  thanks to the world of Google-inspired programmatic advertising.

Australian advertisers are waking up to the issue and in the past week alone. Holden and Kia have pulled ads from Google-owned YouTube, as have Vodafone and Nestle. And many others are double-checking where their advertising is appearing, and talking to their media buyers.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Premier Li Keqiang of China at Parliament House on Friday. Credit:Andrew Meares In this line of thinking, where Australia should shut up and live in fear of China, we were surely in line to receive not just a kicking but a triple kicking. Because Australia last week signed a letter, together with 10 other nations including Canada, Japan, Germany and Britain, asking China to stop torturing human rights lawyers. And, at the same time, the Turnbull government had rejected a Chinese overture to join its signature infrastructure plan. The Beijing government wanted Australia's northern development plans to come under the rubric of its ambitious "One Belt, One Road" initiative, but was rebuffed. But, in the event, there was no kicking. Quite the contrary.

Even as the China's Foreign Affairs Ministry was going through the rhetorical motions, other arms of the Chinese government were preparing valuable concessions to Australia. In the days before Li's arrival, China's Commerce Ministry announced the indefinite delay of tough new regulations on some e-commerce imports. The share prices of Australian beneficiaries surged. Dairy exporter a2 Milk was up by 5 per cent, supplement firm Blackmores by 13 per cent and infant formula producer Bellamy's by 16 per cent. Next, Li announced a change to access for Australian beef exports worth about $400 million a year. This concession was not made to any other beef supplying country. And, in a decision that could have far bigger implications, Li agreed to bring forward a review of access to services markets under the China-Australia free trade agreement (Chafta).

This is where we have some key advantages in health, finance, aged care, design. Already, Australia generates from China a third of its $20 billion annual exports of education. The two governments had not been scheduled to even explore the possibility of talking about expanding services trade till the end of this year. That's now accelerated dramatically. Why bouquets, not brickbats, for Australia? Two simple reasons. One, China has been accelerating every aspect of its engagement with Australia for years now because Australia is useful to its long-term needs. Two, China sees an historic opportunity to hasten the end of US military and strategic domination of the Asia-Pacific. This opportunity is a gift straight from Donald Trump.

Central to breaking US dominance is the breaking of the US alliance system. Australia is a vital part of that system. China is charming Australia in the hope of luring it out of America's sphere. Does this mean China will never try to kick Australia? It does not. Look at South Korea. Even now, when China is playing nice to pull other countries into its orbit, it is giving South Korea a painful kicking. First, China waged a charm offensive on Seoul. But after a few years the South Koreans saw though it. China had no intention of restraining its rogue ally, North Korea. Even as Pyongyang barrels towards building nuclear missiles. So South Korea turned to its ally, the US, for help.

South Korea, with American help, is today installing a defensive system to intercept incoming missiles, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system. China claims that this system will also allow South Korea a glimpse into their territory. Why do they care? Because it would blunt China's power to threaten South Korea in future So Beijing has turned off the charm and turned on the anger. It has imposed undeclared economic sanctions on Seoul. The targets so far? So-called K-culture  South Korea's burgeoning exports of music, TV and film  and tourism. Services trade, in other words. The pain is spreading across South Korea. A survey by the Korea International Trade Association last week found that 57 per cent of companies polled were suffering. This is the possible future for any country doing business with China. And Australia needs to be prepared for it.

An exceptionally useful new book braces Australia for its Chinese future. China Matters is written by two China experts who've adopted Australia as home, Linda Jakobson, originally a Finn, and Bates Gill, an American. This brisk book is a realistic introduction to China today, neither romantic nor rabid. Australia's economic relationship with China has flourished, they observe, "but this flourishing relationship also gives ... China the increased ability to threaten and use economic coercion in its relations with Australia. "Australian political leaders and the broader public need to be aware of the pronounced intertwining of security and economic interests with China [and] the ways in which Chinese can exercise economic hard power." In short, today's profitable concessions from China are tomorrow's painful points of coercion.
Like a virus it spreads, often slowly and unnoticed at first, but before long it can infect the entire system, overcoming the often weak immune system that is democratic government.

It is corruption and the potential exists everywhere for it to establish itself and begin spreading.

No government or political system is immune, but there are measures that can be put in place to help protect against it.

So it is to be welcomed that the territory government has been finally willing to start the discussion on an anti-corruption body, if somewhat lacking in initial enthusiasm.
Most parents can remember the subtle mix of excitement and anxiety accompanying the choice of their babys name  it will follow the child his or her entire life. But the effect could be even more significant. In research recently published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, our research team shows that the stereotype that a given society has of a first name can influence the way people look.

In eight studies, we found participants shown ID-style photos of people theyd never met were able to recognise the first name of the depicted person well above the chance level. For example, lets say you live in North America and are shown a picture of a woman whose name is Emily (you arent given this information). Below her image four possible first names are listed: Claire, Deborah, Emily and Melissa. Assuming the first names are equally common in North America in/around the year that the person was born, study participants should pick the correct name approximately 25 per cent of the time  in other words, by chance. What we found is that participants typically choose the depicted persons true first name 35 to 40 per cent of the time. In other words, there is something about an Emily thatjust looks like an Emily.

People are often able to correctly guess the name of a person they have never met. Credit:Stocksy

If an Emily really does look like an Emily, even a computer should be able to guess her true name. And that is what we find, across dozens of names. We had a computer analyse almost 100,000 ID portraits of French people. Across the board, the computer was able to recognise the persons true first name above the rate of pure chance. In fact, the computer was even able to produce a heat map for each name, a face with the features that betray a person carrying that name shown in warm colours. Here are a few examples of womens names from our study:
Young people are being ignored by politicians. Did you know there is no Minister for Youth? The national peak body for young people in Australia (AYAC) has been defunded? And National Youth Week will not be continuing past this year? What is going on?

There is a huge need across Australia for a federal government that supports young people to reach our potential through social, economic and civic engagement. But when young people are silenced and don't have dedicated representation in government, their needs and rights are overlooked. Let's not forget the experiences of young people in the Don Dale detention centre. Or in institutions subjecting children to sexual abuse. Or those whose financial assistance was reduced or who were accused of fraud by the Department of Human Services.

Jackson Ross, 21, is calling on the government to reinstate the Minister for Youth.

Cuts to successful youth employment programs, the loss of millions of dollars from emergency accommodation and housing, from domestic violence services, as well as the loss of funding to peak organisations like the national peak for young people, have dramatically affected the way young Australian's participate in the community.

NAPLAN results and educational achievement are falling, youth unemployment rates have failed to recover since the 1990s, more than 40 per cent of Australian's homeless population are under 25, and one in four young people experience mental health issues. These figures provide a snapshot of what is really happening for young Australians today.
A Turnbull government plan to quietly ratify the China-Australia extradition treaty has collapsed, with mounting opposition from the Coalition backbench and Labor's decision to oppose the treaty causing the government to withdraw it from Parliament.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten rang Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday morning at 8.40am to inform him Labor's shadow cabinet had decided on Monday night it would not support ratification of the extradition treaty.

At 8.50am, Mr Turnbull rang Mr Shorten and told him he would pull the treaty, a humiliating backdown for the Prime Minister that comes just days after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Australia.

The decision has forced the Turnbull government into damage control, with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop confirming the government had pulled the treaty for now and that she would pursue an agreement from the ALP over the deal in the future.
Incoming ABC chairman Justin Milne says he has deep respect for Malcolm Turnbull but his longstanding friendship with the Prime Minister will have "zero impact" on his role at the public broadcaster.

In an interview with Fairfax Media the telecommunications veteran said he would reduce his board appointments but would continue to serve on the board overseeing the rollout of the National Broadband Network. He also flagged that supercomputers capable of analysing huge amounts of data could be used in the future to assess the ABC's coverage for bias.

Mr Milne, who replaces former NSW chief justice James Spigelman, got to know Mr Turnbull when he ran OzEmail, the internet service provider Mr Turnbull co-founded.

The pair became friends and Mr Turnbull appointed Mr Milne, who also ran Bigpond and MSN, to the NBN board in 2013.
Treasurer Scott Morrison with a lump of coal during Question Time. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Some interesting polling from the Fairfax-IPSOS poll on what voters think of the Turnbull government's sudden re-embrace of coal. [Philip Coorey/Financial Review] While Adam Gartrell reports the energy industry believes Turnbull's pricing review will show there's no price gouging taking place. [Fairfax] Wayne Swan wants the auditor general to go over the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund now the conservatives have signalled it could be used to loan Indian company Adani $1 billion for a rail link and back a so-called "clean coal" plant in Rockhampton. [Laura Tingle/Financial Review] So much for the silent-majority. 78 per cent of voters polled on the changes to 18c say they support the law as is. Although that is a ten per cent decline over three years. [Matthew Knott/Fairfax]

Julie Bishop's plan to ratify an extradition treaty with China appears doomed with Liberals threatening to sink the idea, despite her personal intervention with MPs. [James Massola and Amy Remenkis/Fairfax] Tony Abbott and Julie Bishop walk the streets after enjoying some Yum Cha in China Town in 2013. Credit:dsewell@oculi.com.au And that's without the intervention of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, not the foreign minister's biggest fan by any means, who is following the lead of Conservative Senator Cory Bernardi in opposing the treaty. [Greg Sheridan/The Australian] The Tax Office says there were "bureaucratic whispers" that Attorney-General George Brandis might issue a directive stopping the ATO from intervening in a High Court case relating to the failed Bell Group of companies. A parliamentary committee is investigating whether Brandis struck a secret deal with the former conservative government in WA that would have allowed WA to leapfrog the ATO. [Michaelia Whitbourn/Fairfax] Daniel Flitton has a very interesting story about infighting surrounding Malcolm Turnbull's son-in-law James Brown who, according to a previous report, is being groomed for preselection in the PM's seat of Wentworth.

Brown has clashed with Tom Switzer, a respected Liberal commentator who used to work for Brendan Nelson and who lost the leadership to Turnbull in 2008. [Fairfax] 3. Kushner in the spotlight White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner. Credit:AP Donald Trump's son-in-law has been asked to overhaul the bureaucracy to make it run more like a business. "Innovation" is a buzzword of businessmen-turned-politicians but should be used with caution. [Jeremy Diamond/CNN] One lesson for Trump in his humiliating Obamacare defeat is that politics is distinct from business and with good reason. If you go back and look at many of the complaints levelled against Turnbull in 2009 when the party decided he was an incompetent leader, you will see he was often accused of trying to run the Liberal party like a business.

That was not a compliment, if you were in any doubt. Politics is about the art of persuasion, not just the art of the deal and crafty strategic boardroom politics does not always translate when your opponents in the battle of ideas are replaced with populists, the public and your own sceptical colleagues. But the bigger story surrounding Jared Kushner is the New York Times report that he is due to be questioned about his own interactions with the Russian Ambassador. Kushner is the closest advisor to the President to be questioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee. [Fairfax] 4. May's United Brexit Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Glasgow. Credit:WPA Pool

Britain's two most formidable women have met in Scotland but avoided talking about the proverbial elephant - independence. In a way it wasn't necessary. Theresa May's speech in public earlier on Monday said clearly to Nicola Sturgeon what she might have wanted to say in private. May, fiercely resisting Sturgeon's push for a second referendum for Scottish independence, said that she wants Brexit to lead to a "more united nation." [BBC] 5. Russia's protests "just the start" Alexei Navalny has been jailed for 15 days for Sunday's massive protests - the largest demonstrations in Putin's Russia since 2011/12. But the opposition leader says the demonstrations, in which 1,000 were arrested, is just the beginning ahead of presidential elections in due in March 2018. [Bloomberg]

6. Mosul Residents carry the bodies of several people killed during fights between Iraq security forces and Islamic State on the western side of Mosul. Credit:AP Coalition-backed Iraqi forces are within a few hundred metres of recapturing the al Nuri mosque where Islamic States declared teh caliphate three years ago. "Once the mosque falls this is the end of the Caliphate," a federal police sniper told Reuters. But the US airstrike which killed possibly 200 citizens has caused a rethink about how to reclaim Old City. [Patrick Markey]
Ivanka Trump has enlisted the services of Australian fashion stylist Cat Williams to help her dress for her controversial, unspecified new role to her father, US President Donald Trump.

The First Daughter, 35, is working with Williams, a former Vogue Australia fashion associate and Harper's Bazaar fashion assistant, who is now based in New York.

Williams attended Abbotsleigh, a private all girls school on the Upper North Shore of Sydney until 2004. She has certificate in fashion business from FBI Fashion College and a bachelors degree in arts from the University of Sydney.

Most recently, she has worked with top Hollywood fashion stylist Micaela Erlanger, who has the likes of Lupita Nyong'o, Meryl Streep and Michelle Dockery on her books. According to the Hollywood Reporter, she left Erlanger to work for herself.
When authorities decide that an area of the city is not safe, the usual response is more lighting, CCTV cameras, and police. But what if there are more subtle indicators of safety in the environment that they are missing?

This is a question being asked by a team of researchers from the Monash University XYX Lab who are collaborating with Plan International Australia to identify and illuminate why women and young girls often feel unsafe in Australian urban spaces.

Degraves Street in Melbourne was declared to be a "happy" space for women. Credit:Craig Sillitoe CSZ

Late last year, Plan International launched a campaign asking young women and girls in Melbourne to engage with a web-based interactive map Free to Be and, over a three month period, comment on how safe and welcome spaces in the city made them feel.

They did so by dropping pins on the interactive, geo-locative map of Melbourne and suburbs. In total, 1,318 pins were dropped by around 1000 women  either green ones (marking happy places) or red ones (marking sad).
Nobody cares about your smooth, glitch-and-accident-free holiday stories. They're boring. Bring on the disasters and schadenfreude kicks to produce a fascinated audience. So this is an unhappy travel story about how you can lose thousands of dollars by trying to save tens.

It is a story of a double shafting, first by a dodgy online travel agency, then by an expensive, "reputable" travel insurance company. Yes, yet another case of the full insurance premium not resulting in full coverage, but first it's a warning not to trust third-rate foreign online travel agencies masquerading as Australian operations.

You don't want to be under-insured when travelling as you can get caught with new expenses when things go wrong. Credit:Rodrigo Abd

The "com.au" at the end of an URL doesn't mean a thing when you're really giving your money to and placing your trust in an entity registered in The Netherlands (ie. a tax haven) and operating out of a call centre in India, an entity such as BudgetAir.com.au or any of its many online variations. The following traveller's tale is fully documented and comes from a reliable source I'll call Gulliver to spare embarrassment.

To save a few dollars, Gulliver Googled and Kayaked and Skyscannered to find the cheapest route for an August holiday that finished with flying to Sydney from Havana. A wiser traveller might have wondered when the computer said BudgetAir.com.au for Air China CA880 from Havana to Montreal on Monday, August 22, connecting with Air Canada to LA for the Qantas flight home that night, but Gully booked and paid for it on May 17.
Thousands of institutions have been implicated in allegations of child sexual abuse, according to new data released by a royal commission.

As the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse commences its final public hearing, chairman Justice Peter McClellan has urged child protection reform and proper redress for victims.

The $500 million inquiry is Australia's longest royal commission, starting in 2013 and due to finish with a final report to the federal government in December.

In his opening remarks to the hearing, Justice McClellan said governments and institutions needed to focus on redress and regulatory changes, "designed to ensure that so far as possible no child is abused in an institutional context in the future".
A former NSW Police officer has been caught allegedly supplying kilograms of cocaine and advising organised criminals on how to fly under the radar of law enforcement.

David Redshaw, 32, was a general duties officer with the force before his departure about six years ago.

Police search the Vy Vy Garden Cafe in Canley Heights following Thi Lan Phuong Pham's arrest. Credit:NSW Police Media

In the past two weeks he had registered two businesses in his name, one for labour hire and the other for private investigations.

But those ventures look to be short-lived following his arrest in a sweeping organised crime sting that uncovered more than 15 kilograms of drugs, 10 firearms and a booby-trapped gun safe.
The Berejiklian government's council merger policy is again in disarray after a proposed merger of two Sydney councils was thrown out by the NSW Court of Appeal, enlivening the hopes of other councils with legal challenges still before the courts.

The court ruled on Monday that Ku-ring-gai Council was denied procedural fairness before its proposed merger with Hornsby Council, in part because a consultant's report into the merger was kept secret from the public and from the official asked to investigate the merger.

The decision has been cheered by those Sydney councils still fighting against amalgamation, and which were angered when Premier Gladys Berejiklian decided to scrap further forced mergers in the regions but proceed with Sydney mergers.

A spokesperson for Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton said the government was considering the implications of Monday's decision, but confirmed it was determined to push ahead with the merger "given the clear benefits it will have for the local communities".
Cleaner than a bus and cheaper than light rail, track-free trams could be shuttling passengers along Parramatta Road within the next five years.

Track-free trams? Yes, that's what they're calling them. And the Inner West Council is pushing the idea as a solution to the transport woes of the Parramatta Road.

The Inner West Council wants track-free trams, like the one pictured, to carry commuters along Parramatta Road.

In fact, four councils in Sydney's inner west are supporting the notion, which they see as a potential "game changing" public transport option to be introduced concurrently with the WestConnex motorway.

"There have been more than a dozen plans to transform Parramatta Road over the years  and they have all failed due the lack of commitment to a real public transport solution," said the administrator of the Inner West Council, Richard Pearson.
A group of European backpackers who came to Bowen to do farm work are among those taking shelter at the town's high school as Cyclone Debbie barrels towards the Queensland coast.

Two-thousand residents of Bowen have been told to evacuate, with fears the category 4 tropical cyclone will bring a devastating tidal surge to the region.

The backpackers, from England, Germany, France and Finland, said they felt relieved to be taking shelter at the high school.

"We're feeling a bit better now we're here," one of them said.
"If the building starts to break up, protect yourself with mattresses, rugs etc under strong table or hold onto a solid fixture," Queensland Ambulance said on Twitter. Sugar cane grower Paul Villis: "The wind and rain doesn't do it much good but we are pretty lucky sugar cane is resilient stuff." Credit:Brian Cassey One resident, 17-year old Courtney Thoroughgood, said fierce winds and heavy rain was battering her home in Bowen and it was the "most terrifying" experience of her life. She said she wished she had evacuated, with the worst yet to come. Shane Borg is just one of a handful of residents who have refused to be evacuated from the idyllic but vulnerable beach suburb of Ayr. Credit:Brian Cassey

"On Sunday we had the police advise us to evacuate but we have pets and had no where to go," she told Fairfax Media by phone at around 2.30am, local time. "What I'm experiencing now is completely terrifying. It is absolutely the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced and the worst has yet to come unfortunately." North Queensland is bracing for tropical cyclone Debbie. Credit:NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team "Every minute you can hear the wind intensify. It just rumbles through the house. "You can try to imagine what it would be like, but it is unimaginable. You would never truly understand the power and sheer terror until unfortunately you are stuck in the middle of it."

Steve Siltanen waits out Cyclone Debbie in the Ayr Cyclone Shelter. Credit:Jorge Branco People living in low-lying areas in Mackay were urged to evacuate on Monday afternoon due to a predicted storm surge of up to 2.5 metres, with up to 25,000 people affected and residents told to prepare for flooding. Police Commissioner Ian Stewart urged people to drive to the conditions while getting out of the Mackay area, and also take care of their neighbours. Backpackers at the Ayr Cyclone Shelter brace for Cyclone Debbie's arrival. Credit:Jorge Branco "That's the Queensland, the Australian way," he said.

A 31-year-old woman died in a car crash at Cannon Valley, near Proserpine, about 8am on Monday, with the incident linked to weather. Wendell, William, Faith, Tarita and Rochelle at the Ayr Cyclone Shelter. Credit:Jorge Branco Residents in the Midge Point, Whitsunday, Burdekin, Cungulla and Cleveland Palms areas have also been told to evacuate. People living on Palm Island were advised to stay inside their homes from sunset until emergency services advised the weather was clear. Danella Noah, Tyrell and Elizabeth wait for the cyclone in the Ayr Cyclone Shelter. Credit:Jorge Branco

Widespread daily rainfall totals of 150-250mm, with isolated falls of 500mm, were expected to lead to major river flooding over a broad area next week. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk informed the public during an 8pm update the Bureau of Meteorology had categorised the cyclone a category 4 in intensity. "Don't expect us to come and get you": Townsville mayor Jenny Hill has warned residents who have chosen to remain in danger's path. Credit:Jorge Branco "The residents of Bowen at this stage would feel a big impact from this cyclone," she said earlier in the day. "I would rather take these precautionary measures now than have people's lives put at risk."

Steve Siltanen, who lived through Cyclone Larry in Innisfail, was bunkered down in the Ayr Cyclone Shelter, dreading what would become of his low-set, old, beachside home. During Larry's ferocious power, a tree blew through his window, and a gas bottle into his hallway even though neither he nor his neighbours had gas. "It was scary. The noise, just like jet engines," he said. "... the power of the wind was so bad, once the roof come off, everything was flying past." The 52-year-old Alva Beach resident, his partner and child, were praying they would avoid a repeat, as the cyclone turned further south, away from Ayr.

Danella Noah was almost as concerned about the old house in the Rita Island evacuation zone where her grandmother had lived since she was a teenager. "I'm pretty scared," she said. "I don't know what will happen and what will Ayr look like after it." Australian Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin said Defence was well-positioned to provide immediate assistance to communities within the storm zone, in co-ordination with state and local disaster management authorities, if requested. As a precaution, HMAS Choules left Sydney on Monday for Queensland, with two Navy MRH90 helicopters deployed to Oakey.

Air Force aircraft in Townsville, Amberley and Darwin were also on standby to deliver essential supplies and equipment. More than 800 energy workers were on standby to help restore power when flood waters receded and the debris was cleared, with crews deployed from the Ipswich area on Monday. Experts said the biggest threat from cyclones, such as Debbie, was typically huge storm surges that could inundate low-lying coastal regions, rather than the winds. "More people have historically died from storm surges than the wind damage," Jonathan Nott, a specialist in extreme weather at James Cook University. "[Yasi] literally swept houses ... off their foundations and they were totally gone," Professor Nott said. "Others were destroyed."

The cyclone was expected to make landfall several hours after the 9.45am high tide timing at Bowen, according to the weather bureau, which could intensify the storm's impact. Taxi drivers in Townsville, Mackay, the Whitsundays, Burdekin and Ayr offered to evacuate residents for free. Police door-knocking Cungulla and Cape Cleveland, about 40 minutes south of Townsville, were telling residents to leave but not forcing them out. They suggested fewer than one in five residents had elected to stay. Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said authorities could not force people to leave.

"If people choose to remain in harm's way and something happens, don't expect us to come and get you," she said. Bowen residents were bracing themselves for what they said would be the worst cyclone to hit the town since the 1950s, with thousands of people told to evacuate. Bowen has a population of about 10,000 but space for only 800 in its cyclone shelter, prompting a warning for residents in flood-prone areas to leave the region before Cyclone Debbie crossed the coast. Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Andrew Willcox said people who could not leave should stay with friends or family in "high, dry places". More than 100 schools were closed along the coast and shopfronts were being boarded up and filled with sandbags.

Mackay and Townsville airports have been closed. In Bowen, Graham Wilson spray painted his white picket fence with a message for Cyclone Debbie: "Cyclone Debbie bring it on Bowen is not a pussy town do your best you got". Mr Wilson said he painted the sign to lift people's spirits. "It's basically to put a smile on people's faces. Bowen's a lot bigger than Cyclone Debbie, so give us what you've got," he said. But Mr Wilson, who has lived in Bowen for 40 years, said he did not want to sound unconcerned as the town would likely sustain serious damage.

"We have not had a cyclone like this since '58," he said. Stefan Seyffer and Vincent White helped other residents fill sandbags and said many people living in evacuation zones were choosing to stay because of their pets. "We've got an elderly lady living next door so we'll stay to help," Mr Seyffer said. YouTube user Aussie Mechand Tech Junkies has been livestreaming Debbie from his Midge Point residence. He began streaming at 4pm and will continue until the storm is over or the power cuts out.
Brisbane ratepayers will continue to foot the bill for Brisbane City Council's IT contract blow-out with the latest expense coming in at more than $7 million.

The council has been working to renegotiate its $122 million, 10-year contract with Technology One, which was to replace 13 existing systems with a new "local government systems program" by the middle of this year.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has revealed $7.1 million worth of contracts have been awarded as part of the review into the IT systems replacement project. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk revealed in January the renegotiation of the contract could have a cost blow-out of about $60 million.

At Tuesday's council meeting the payments listed for February contracts will be revealed and include:
San Francisco: As Uber grapples with accusations of sexism, Lyft is making more moves to position itself as the feel-good ride hailing company to consumers who may not be familiar with the smaller rival.

Lyft announced Sunday that it would soon be rolling out Round Up & Donate, an opt-in app feature that allows riders to automatically route rounded-up ride charges to charity.

Lyft currently operates in 300 US cities, compared with Uber that is in 600 cities. Credit:Bloomberg

"We'll be launching with one charity, then on-boarding more with a focus on being unique in each of our communities," Lyft vice-president of marketing Melissa Waters told USA TODAY. She declined to name the debut charity.

Lyft currently operates in 300 US cities. Uber is in nearly 600 cities and more than 80 counties. Lyft's value is pegged at US$7 billion while Uber's is ten times that.
On the day her brother, Zachary Bryant, sustained fatal injuries in the Bourke Street attack, two-year-old Zara became her parents' miracle baby.

The toddler's parents said she was thrown 150 metres into the air, but survived.

Her parents, Matthew Bryant and Nawwar Hassan Bryant, have told Channel Nine's A Current Affair it was "a miracle" that the toddler had survived being hit by the car.

"[We] can't even describe how amazing it is to us," Mr Bryant said.
A 45-year-old Clyde North man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly attacking his estranged wife with an axe at a Melbourne shopping centre on Monday.

The man is facing nine charges, including attempted murder and intentionally causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence. He was denied bail in an out-of-sessions hearing at Narre Warren police station on Monday night.

The shop at Fountain Gate shopping centre where the woman was allegedly attacked. Credit:Eddie Jim

Outside the police station, Detective Senior Constable Brad Coller said police would allege the man had the axe with him before he entered the shopping centre, and was carrying it inside a shopping bag.

He said the man had asked for bail during the hearing, but the bail justice had refused and remanded him in custody to front Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Fire has reportedly caused more than a million dollars damage to a school in the southern suburbs of Perth.

Emergency service crews were called to Atwell College just after before 3am on Monday morning.

Firefighters have managed to put out the blaze which was believed to have started to in the library.

The cause of the fire is unknown but it's understood the blaze if being treated as suspicious.
Driving through a red light is bad enough, not to mention potentially deadly. But driving through a red light directly in front of a marked police car is even worse.

Police have released footage of the moment a Perth driver did just that.

The footage, which was captured by a fixed speed and red light camera, shows a small white vehicle in the left lane and a marked police car in the right lane at a set of traffic lights.

Despite the lights being red, the white car takes off slowly through the intersection but luckily no other cars are coming the other way.
An Australian woman has died at a luxury seaside villa in Bali, after Indonesian police say she consumed more than a bottle of vodka.

Friends and family members are paying tribute to Summa Simmonds, 38, who died at the luxury Peppers Seminyak resort on Sunday night.

Indonesian police claim Ms Simmonds, from Cairns in Far North Queensland, had consumed a "whole bottle of vodka" - or around 21 drinks - before having six more shots later in the evening.

Badung Police Precinct Chief Budi Setiawan said when Ms Simmonds went to her villa she began vomiting.
"The casualties, particularly women and children, are very high." Dr Walker said the facility would provide trauma care, maternity and paediatric services. "People are still giving birth," he said. "It's a city of 1.2 million people and life goes on, despite the horrors unfolding around them. "Our mission is not just to provide these services but to build capacity.

"Our aim is to get this up and running and slowly give it back to the Iraqi people so they have a facility they can call their own, staff, manage and run. "We see this not just as a humanitarian project, but as part of rebuilding the health spine in northern Iraq." A former Australian Army officer, Dr Walker said security was paramount. "The first thought we had was that if we can't ensure the security of our personnel, we won't deploy," he said. "We've taken every step possible to make sure there's personal protection of our staff.

"There are Iraqi forces between us and the frontline, which is comforting. "It's not for the fainthearted, but the people going are well aware of the risks and we'll do everything we can to assure their protection. "We accept the risk, understand the risk and work to mitigate the risk." Dr Walker said improvised explosive devices posed one of the biggest threats. "The facility is completely self contained and when people arrive they will stay for the duration of their deployment [4-6 weeks rotation]," he said.

"We're keeping any movement of vehicles to an absolute minimum to reduce the risk. Once they arrive, that's where they stay." Victorian nurse Vesna Courtot is on her second overseas mission, her first in a war zone. She went to West Africa with Aspen Medical in 2014-15 during the Ebola outbreak. "When I told my family and friends I was heading to a conflict zone their responses ranged from support to some questioning my sanity," she said. "The dreadful situation for the people of Mosul has been unfolding before our eyes over the past weeks and as a nurse it is difficult not to want to help no matter what the environment is like. "I'm expecting to deal with mass casualties including burns, orthopaedic injuries and surgical emergencies.

"I am also expecting an opportunity to learn from Iraqi healthcare professionals who have been dealing with this day-in-day-out for years." Head nurse Taryn Anderson also worked in Sierra Leone on the Ebola response. "The morale is high even though living standards are austere, but we do know that every medical facility around us is working to their full capacity and beyond so we expect to be busy," she said. "We look forward to sharing ideas, collaborating and learning from our experienced Iraqi colleagues and hope that we can leave behind a hospital that provides a western standard of care that they can be proud of." Mr Keys said staff were assessed for their psychological suitability.
Washington: From the perspective of impartiality, one of the problems with Congress investigating Russia's meddling in the US election and whether President Trump's circle had anything to do with it is Congress itself.

Congressional investigations have a higher threshold of impartiality to meet than, say, an independent investigation outside of the confines of Congress.

In recent days, Representatives Devin Nunes, the Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee, is making it very hard for his committee to meet those standards of impartiality.

On Monday, Washington learned that Nunes, a Trump ally, was on White House grounds viewing classified information related to the president's evidence-less claim that former president Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the campaign. A day later, Nunes announced he had information that revealed the president's conversations during the campaign may have been caught up in a broader, unrelated intelligence net.
A Chinese academic stopped from returning to Australia has refused to undergo a lie detector test for China's secret police, one of his friends claims.

John Hugh said Chongyi Feng, an associate professor in China studies at the University of Technology, Sydney, refused the request by China's National Safety Bureau after they began questioning him last week.

UTS professor Chongyi Feng has been detained in China. Credit:UTS

Dr Feng was stopped from returning to Australia while trying to board a flight in Guangzhou on Friday and Saturday.

Mr Hugh said the UTS academic was initially questioned in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in China's south-west, last Monday.
PHILIPSBURG:--- On Thursday, March 23rd the partnership between the Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) and the local non-profit foundation Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) was strengthened by the signing of the collaborative agreement to promote sustainable tourism through the Blue Flag and Green Key eco-label awards.

The event was held at Holland House Beach Hotel in Philipsburg, the newest Green Key awarded site for Sint Maarten, in anticipation of the official Green Key Award ceremony and sustainability expo which acknowledges the exceptional efforts of the awardees, being in the forefront of sustainable tourism for the hotel industry. The event, to be held in May, will also award Princess Heights Luxury Boutique Condo Hotel for its third consecutive year as a Green Key Hotel.

Both parties were excited to finalize the long-awaited agreement which highlights the dedication, support, and advocacy for the Green Key and Blue Flag programs amongst tourism businesses in St. Maarten.

The Collaboration agreement was signed by Mr. Rueben J. Thompson, EPIC Executive Board Treasurer, and Paul J. Henriquez, SHTA Executive Board and was witnessed by Fleur Hermanides, Executive Board member of EPIC and project manager of SXM DOET and Wyb Meijer, SHTA Executive Director.

EPIC has been working for many years to further develop sustainable tourism for Sint Maarten and SHTA has been a key partner in that effort. We appreciate the vision and concern of SHTA in committing to promoting best practices among its members and their customers. To really stand out from the crowd, St. Maarten can offer not just the standard Caribbean sun, sand, and sea, but an environmentally-responsible experience that guests can feel proud to support, further building their ties to the island" noted the President of EPIC, Natalia Collier.

The SHTA Board Member Paul Henriquez commented: This collaboration represents the effort of the SHTA to support and promote sustainability amongst its members and to work with EPIC towards making the environment of St. Maarten a better place for the community.

Environmental Protection in the Caribbean is the National Operator for the international Green Key award for accommodations and restaurants and international Blue Flag award for marinas, boats, and beaches, which is managed globally by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). Any business interested in learning more about applying for the award programs can visit www.epicislands.org or contact EPICs Eco-label Coordinator, Ms. Elisa Oldani at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on 554-0742.

The SHTA, the largest business representative on the island, is dedicated to bringing quality to all aspects of life on St. Maarten by promoting sustainable economic development for its members in cooperation with the social partners and the creation of a fair marketplace. For more information, please contact the SHTA office: 542-0108, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit our website www.shta.com
MULLET BAY:--- On Saturday March 25th, 2017 at approximately 4:00pm two men who went swimming at Mullet Bay beach were reported missing. The seas were quite rough and according to witnesses one of the men was calling for help while swimming. The other had gone to help and shortly after they disappeared under the water. They were not seen since and are suspected to have drowned. The Coast Guard carried out an intensive search until late in the evening hours to try to locate the victims to no avail. Family members of the victims were informed of the situation. The missing persons were identified as Samuel Blaise (22) and Jeef Stephane (22).

On Sunday March 26th, 2017 at approximately 1:30pm while the Coast Guard continued the search for the missing persons a sea bather encountered the bodies of the victims. The Coast Guard was immediately informed and went on to remove the bodies from the water. The bodies were taken to the Coast Guard Building in Simpson Bay where Dr. Mercuur pronounced the death of the victims and stated that the cause of death was drowning. Detectives and Forensic Department were also on the scene.

KPSM Police Report
St. Martin marks history with two political parties in opposition.

MARIGOT:--- The voter's turnout in the second round of the territorial council election remained low on Sunday even though the three political parties that contested the elections pleaded with voters to go out and cast their votes. Of the 20285 voters that are registered to vote only 9,166 persons voted a mere 45.2%. Of that amount, 8857 were valid votes, with 166 blank votes and 183 invalid votes.

Team Daniel Gibbs 2017 captured 5,696 votes. The orange and green party won in each of the 19 polling stations. Coming in second was the Alliance for Hope, Justice, and Prosperity led by Loui Mussington and Jules Charville with 2,139 votes while MVP led by Alain Richardson captured 1,022 votes. With these scores, there will be two opposition parties for the next five-year term.

Team Gibbs 2017 gathered more votes in the second round which gave him an astounding victory Sunday night. It's clear that the people of St. Martin wanted a change, mostly the population seems to be disgusted and has partially given up as life is not getting better for them. St. Martin opted to become a Collectivity 10 years ago and while many politicians promised to make changes to the Organic Law which does not fit the island's landscape none of those politicians did not deliver what they promised. One of the things businesses and local entrepreneurs are looking forward to is the reduction in taxes, more job opportunities, and an overhaul in the economic sector.

Second Vice President Guillaume Arnell gave out the preliminary results around 10 pm in the absence of President Aline Hanson who did not show up on Sunday due to her health conditions. Arnell asked the people of St. Martin to keep the President in their hearts and reminded them that President Hanson did what she could with the means that were given to her. He thanked the people for the peaceful election process and his colleagues in politics for a fair and clean campaign.

Alain Richardson of MVP in his remarks reminded the people that it has been 4 years he was not in office and even though he does not know how many seats his party will get, he promised to work in the interest of the people and his country from the opposition benches. Richardson also sent out a word of thank you to President Hanson whom he said they have in prayers.

Loui Mussington from Alliance for Hope, Justice, and Prosperity did the right thing by joining hands to contest the second round of the election. Mussington and Charville said that they will work forcefully in the interest of the people from the opposition benches. They also made clear that there is a lot of work to be done for the country.

Supporters of TEAM DANIEL GIBBS 2017 converged at the Collectivity of St. Martin Sunday night when it became clear that the party they supported came out victorious with a very large margin over the two other parties that contested the second round of the territorial council election.

As Gibbs took the stage with his team, his supporters could not hold their breath, they began to scream and rejoicing over their victory. Gibbs thanked his supporters and close relatives including his wife and immediate family. He also reminded the people that St. Martin is the Friendly Island with 120 nationalities and its both French and Dutch. The incoming President assured his supporters that his team is ready to work, they were waiting for this victory. He promised to deliver to the people what he promised them on the campaign trail. Gibbs said while his team is ready to work and he will welcome anyone with open arms that are ready and willing to work in the best interest of St. Martin, after all, it is about St. Martin they all want to work for and the people of this island.

Gibbs became emotional when he had to refer to President Aline Hanson his former teacher and colleague. He called on his supporters to keep her in their heart and thoughts as she is not well. Daniel Gibbs almost shed tears as he spoke of President Hanson, however, he quickly pulled himself together and continued with his remarks mostly thanking his supporters and letting them know that he and his team could not have done it without them and their supporters.



Click here to view photos of the 2nd round of the Territorial Election 2017
POINTE BLANCHE:---- MSC Armonia made its inaugural call last week and was welcomed by Port St. Maarten representatives where the official plaque and welcome pleasantries were exchanged.

The Captain, crew, and passengers were welcomed to the destination by Port St. Maarten Management representative Hector Peters on behalf of the Government and the Port.

MSC Armonia is the oldest ship in the MSC Cruises fleet, built in 2001 for the former Festival Cruises. The vessel started to sail under MSC in 2004. The ship underwent refurbishment in 2014-2015.

MSC Cruises, a Swiss-based worlds largest privately-owned cruise line, grew by 800 per cent since 2004, and carried 1.67 million guests in 2014, reported strong financial results with a turnover of 1.5 billion Euro.

MSC Armonia during the summer time caters to mostly European passengers, mainly from Italian, French, Spanish, and German-speaking countries. During the winter months, MSC attracts cruise passengers from the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia as well as a number of Europeans.

The ship carries 2,065 passengers; 760 crew; has 12 decks; and a gross tonnage of 65,542.

MSC Cruises is one of the cruise lines that have been growing its fleet. The cruise line employs 15,000 staff members around the world and is present in 45 countries.

MSC Cruises has a fleet of 12 ships. In 2014 MSC launched an investment plan to support the second phase of growth and in April 2016, the cruise line ordered additional vessels for a total investment of nine billion Euros for up to 11-new next-generation ships which will come into service starting in 2017 to 2026 making the cruise line the third largest.

MSC Cruises is the first global cruise line brand to develop an investment plan of this length and magnitude, spanning a horizon of over 10 years, from 2014 through 2026.

MSC Cruises is the 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, China and Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Oman.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Over the past year, Social & Health Insurances SZV has recognized an increase in the need of medical referrals abroad for Neurology, Neurosurgery and Urology. Given the demand for continued care of SZV insured, SZV has made arrangements with Health City Cayman Islands (HCCI) to provide consultation and treatment for its insured with pending appointments for these specialties. The first group of insured will travel on Wednesday March 29th to the Cayman Islands for consultation and treatment.

We trust that this agreement with Health City Cayman Islands is an alternative that will not only reduce the waiting time but foremost offer quality care. It is imperative that our new general hospital becomes a reality; the medical referral abroad process continues to be a challenge that effects our insured, the funds and remains a logistical struggle. Thirty million guilders per year is being spent on referrals abroad. The new general hospital will not just be a facility, but it will allow us to house the medical care our people need close to home, improve recovery time and ease the financial burden of the funds managed by SZV.  Glen A. Carty, Director SZV

Medical referrals abroad are facilitated by SZV for its insured when the required medical care is not available locally. Health City Cayman Islands is currently not in the Medical Referrals Abroad Network of destinations for SZV insured. Patients scheduled for treatment to this hospital have been selected based on pending appointment requests dating back from October 2016 to February 2017 for Neurology, Neurosurgery and Urology only. This arrangement with Health City Cayman will alleviate the waiting time for SZV insured and offer an alternative to the current network of international specialists contracted with SZV, addressing the current increase in demand.

SZV continues to strive for affordable quality care within its Medical Referrals Abroad network of medical providers, seeking the best available care for its insured. Persons seeking information on the medical referral process of SZV can find this on the website www.szv.sx.
Global nonprofit dedicated to creating positive change through music and arts education

In the summer of 2007, South Africa was selected as the nation to establish the first Playing For Change Foundation school, launching the vision of globally linked programs uniting the world through the universal language of music.

In 2017, the global nonprofit organization celebrates its10th Anniversary by embarking on a slate of activities to advance its mission with the goal of raising $1 million to support free music education programs around the world.

The alliance today consists of 14 music schools and programs have been created in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, Mali, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Morocco, Mexico, Argentina and Thailand. More than 1,200 young people attend free classes in dance, instruments, languages and musical theory, all taught by qualified local teachers.

A newly elected officers of the Board of Directors brings the anniversary year expertise across the music and philanthropic spectrum: Whitney Kroenke, president and PFC co-founder, Gail Leibowitz, vice president, Raan Williams, treasurer and LisaBeth Weber, secretary, serving with board members Mark Johnson, PFC co-founder, Alan Eccel, Greg Johnson, Jessica Estrella Priego, Melissa Torre, Seema Tikare, Ella Windsor, Tom Chauncey, Linda Chauncey, Stacie Freasier and Rasha Said Khawaja.

"Having co-founded the Playing For Change Foundation ten years ago, I am thrilled to be returning in a leadership position with this new and dynamic Board of Directors," Whitney Kroenke said. "Through the development and support of music and arts education, we are excited to continue to spread the message of unity, hope and joy utilizing the universal language of the heart: music."

Among the anniversary-year initiatives is the launch this spring of the innovative Sister-Schools for Change Program, bridging like-spirited schools, several in the United States, with foundation school sites.

On September 23, Playing For Change Day will unite the world in song with hundreds of simultaneously performances in over 50 nations.

An official Presenting Sponsor of PFC Day has been secured in the partnership with nana music, inc., the free application enabling users to share musical experiences worldwide. "The power of music feeds our imagination, stimulates creativity, enriches people's minds and adds harmony to life," said Akinori Fumihara, CEO of nana music, inc. "We want to create the chance to let people all over the world feel this power of music, and that is why we feel greatly honored for this partnership with the PFC Foundation who shares this common vision with us."

The 10th Anniversary celebration includes a Los Angeles-based special event to raise awareness and resources, being planned for the fall, while monthly throughout 2017 the foundation is profiling and highlighting its programs with inspirational testimonials and impactful videos.

Playing For Change Foundation was established in 2007, providing music education in areas that are culturally rich yet economically challenged. Children in countries around the world, from Africa, Latin America to Southeast Asia, attend free classes in music, dance and languages, taught by qualified local music teachers and led by regional administrators. Students learn about their own cultural traditions while employing technology to connect and share experiences with others around the world.

The Playing For Change movement has since attracted hundreds of global artists including Sara Bareilles, Jimmy Buffett, Bono, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Ziggy Marley, Keb Mo and Keith Richards, in addition to street musicians from 47 countries who have participated in PFC video recordings. http://www.playingforchange.org
The turkeys are less pagan and more paranoid

A Boston man named Davis was on his way to work Monday when he saw a preternatural ritual: a group of wild turkeys marching in a circle around a dead cat.

"I've got three dogs and four fish tanks at home... I enjoy nature, I enjoy wildlife," says Jonathan Davis of Randolph, Massachusetts, who filmed the scene on his phone on March 2. "It's not every day you see something like that."

Once Davis posted his footage to Twitter, it went viral. Davis and others noted the incident's apparent resemblance to a ritual.

But in all likelihood, the turkeys are less pagan and more paranoid: In a phone interview with National Geographic, wildlife biologist Tom Hughes of the National Wild Turkey Federation attributed the turkeys' behavior to a combination of curiosity and fear.

"My guess is they are puzzled by the strange behavior of the dead or dying cat," says Hughes, "[and wanted] to get a better look, without getting too close." The result, he says, is a circle of turkeys-mostly females-all eyeing the potential predator's carcass, but none of them wanting to get any closer.

Turkeys' instinct to follow the flock probably compounded the circling. University of Mississippi biologist Richard Buchholz said that he has seen similar behavior in birds of the family Phasianidae, which includes turkeys, pheasants, and chickens. These birds chase after the tails of those in front of them, as a way to keep a flock together.

But he also points out that not so long ago, seeing a single wild turkey in Massachusetts, not to mention several in a circle, would have been surprising.

Wild turkeys circling a dead cat in the middle of the road

In precolonial North America, it's thought at at least 10 million wild turkeys roamed the continent. But European colonies brought with them unchecked hunting and habitat loss, which decimated turkey numbers. By the late 1700s, wild turkeys were effectively extirpated from New England, and by 1874, Hughes says that wild turkeys were extinct in Massachusetts.

The turkey's decline reached its peak in the 1930s, when the U.S. population of turkeys had fallen to about 200,000 individuals, 2 percent of its precolonial level.

In 1918, the last known Carolina parakeet died in Ohio's Cincinnati Zoo, four years after the last known passenger pigeon died in the very same cage. So people at the time wanted to avoid the loss of another avian species.

In response, a coalition of sportsmen, conservationists, and state and federal wildlife officials have worked for decades to boost turkey numbers, largely through hunting regulations, a decline in subsistence hunting, and the trap-and-transfer of wild turkeys to new habitats.
Claim: A female mortuary worker was arrested after becoming pregnant by one of the corpses she was preparing for burial. Rating: About this rating Labeled Satire

Advertisment:

On 11 November 2010, the Dead Serious News web site published an article positing that a female mortuary worker had become pregnant after engaging in a sex act with a deceased male:

A 38 year old female mortuary worker is being held on $250,000 bond after becoming pregnant by one of her clients  a dead man. The alleged crime took place at the Mourning Glory Mortuary just outside of Lexington, Missouri. Police have charged Felicity Marmaduke with desecration of the dead and necrophilia. According to a statement made to police by Marmaduke, the alleged victim experienced a post mortem erection while being bathed. Being alone, Marmaduke straddled the dead man and proceeded have sex with him. Much to her surprise, the alleged victim came to orgasm after several minutes. A few weeks later, Marmaduke had a positive pregnancy test while receiving a routine medical exam. Upon telling her doctor the circumstances leading to the conception, the police were notified. Marmaduke was arrested without incident at her dilapidated trailer home a few blocks from the mortuary.

Although the news media occasionally report real cases of workers or interlopers at mortuaries/cemeteries attempting to engage in sex with bodies of the deceased, this item about a female mortuary worker's becoming pregnant through such an activity is not one of them. It was a spoof from the Dead Serious News site, whose "About" page notes that "Dead Serious News is a satirical website that is updated on an irregular basis. With the exception of the names of public figures, all names are fictional."

In October 2016, the World News Daily Report fake news site recycled this story for a similar article:
The Book of Century Sentence to Give a Picture of Chinese Culture, Western Culture

Posted by Publisher Hardware

The Book of Century Sentence will be giving a picture of Chinese culture, Western culture and Islam for the greater satisfaction of the readers.

The aim of the author, Xu Xue Chun, is to instill to the minds of the present generation the commentaries on these countries.

The book is mainly consisted of three parts; commentary on China, commentary on Islam, and commentary on Western and other countries that will influence the political development and layout of China and the rest of the world.

Highlighted in the first part is the commentary on China as it analyzes the political phenomena of Chinese. All other significant things involved include subconscious, human consciousness, origin of Chinese culture and culture. The opinions included were based from the perspective of an ordinary worker and his aim to change the political environment in China.

Extreme remarks are presented by the author but these are as well deleted. These could somehow make a big difference on public opinion and affect the political direction of China. These could also ignite the interest of readers who unknowingly believe other things.

In regard with the commentary on Western and other countries, the emphasis is more on advancement as the very reason of their existence. Nevertheless, just like other countries, irreparable deficiencies are also common in the countries. These are completely revealed and these must be properly handled to avoid terrible things from happening.

XLIBRIS published this book in paperback format on the 17th day of October 2016. In its product dimension of 6x2x9 inches and in its English language, it can become the favorite of readers. The following subjects discussed in the book are appropriate to be known by people around the world.

It is expected that more people will be interested in buying the book of Century Sentence for their greater awareness of Chineses accusation against the world.

If you are interested to know more about the book, feel free to visit this link https://goo.gl/DbOjWp

Media Contact:

Contact Person: Xu Xue Chun

Address: Shanghai, China

E-mail: aaamary9@gmail.com

Website: https://goo.gl/DbOjWp
Knorr-Bremse sets the stage for growth

Posted by Publisher Internet

 Acquisition of seven companies triggered to drive further expansion of systems competence in both fields of business

 Income before taxes totaled EUR 829 million (2015: EUR 977 million)

 Market position enhanced in every region

 High level of investment boosts capacity for innovation

 Orders on the books surge ahead to EUR 4.15 billion (2015: EUR 3.82 billion)

In fiscal 2016, Knorr-Bremse set the stage for growth. To this end, the company initiated seven acquisitions, the majority of which were also successfully concluded by year-end. In addition, the leading manufacturer of braking systems and provider of additional subsystems for rail and commercial vehicles again kept investments far higher than depreciation and maintained expenditures for research and development (R&D) at their existing high level. All of these measures targeted the expansion of the company?s systems portfolio and the strengthening of its global market position and innovative capabilities.

Following on from record sales in the previous year, in fiscal 2016 sales showed a marketled downturn of 5.8% to EUR 5.49 billion (2015: EUR 5.83 billion). Adjusted for foreign exchange effects at actual prior-year rates, the decline in sales was just 1.9%. The main reasons for the downturn were weaker performances by the rail vehicle market in China, the rail freight sector, and the commercial vehicle market in North America. As a result of the drop in revenues, income before taxes fell to EUR 829 million (2015: EUR 977 million). Net income stood at EUR 550 million (2015: EUR 645 million), which equates to a return on sales of 10.0% (2015: 11.1%). Incoming orders were 1.0% up at EUR 5.72 billion (2015: EUR 5.67 billion). Orders on the books showed a clear 8.6% rise to EUR 4.15 billion (2015: EUR 3.82 billion).

?In a phase marked by a market-led slowdown in growth, we were able to further strengthen our position in the various regions and gear our Group increasingly to the generation of sustainable and profitable growth in the years ahead,? explains Klaus Deller, Chairman of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG and responsible for the Rail Vehicle Systems division. ?The acquisitions alone open up additional sales potential of approximately EUR 1 billion. With the opening of the new Development Center at our Munich plant, we are also in a position to successfully shape the major topics of the future in our industry, such as system connectivity, automated driving, digitalization, and energy efficiency,? Deller added.

Acquisitions strengthen rail and commercial vehicle business

In the rail vehicle sector, Knorr-Bremse expanded its product range through the acquisition of the rail vehicle activities of friction material manufacturer TMD Friction and of the outstanding shares in the ICER Rail joint venture. With the acquisition of the Electrical Systems business unit (henceforth KiepeElectric) from Vossloh AG, Knorr-Bremse is adding advanced drive technologies to its portfolio, particularly for metros, light rail vehicles, and regional rail networks, but also for electrically powered commercial vehicles.

The acquisitions of the UK-based GT Group and of the TRS transmission components business for on-highway commercial vehicles of Bosch in Japan open up additional growth opportunities in the commercial vehicle sector. With the acquisition of tedrive (henceforth: SteeringSystems) Knorr-Bremse has accessed the steering business and thereby also met one of the main preconditions for providing customers with an integrated longitudinal and lateral guidance system for automated driving from a single source.

Early in September 2016, Knorr-Bremse also submitted an offer for the listed automotive supplier Haldex of Sweden. The aim here is to join forces with Haldex to expand the product portfolio particularly in the trailer brake and air suspension systems segment and actively drive forward the development of system solutions for automated and/or autonomous driving for truck-trailer combinations. The acquisition is subject to approval by the anti-trust authorities in the USA and the EU. Knorr-Bremse has already reached important milestones in this respect and is sparing no effort to drive progress in the clearance process.

High investment in R&D to safeguard the future

To safeguard its future and build on its market position, in the past financial year Knorr-Bremse invested a total of EUR 195 million (2015: EUR 210 million). Investments again easily outpaced depreciation which declined to EUR 179 million (2015: EUR 199 million). In 2016, investment activity focused primarily on the expansion of the Budapest plant; machines and equipment related to the introduction of new product generations; the new facility of the company?s French rail subsidiary in Tinqueux near Reims; and equipment for the new Development Center in Munich.

Total expenditure on research and development and customer-specific development modifications amounted to EUR 328 million in 2016 (2015: EUR 347 million), which as in the previous year was equivalent to 6.0% of sales. This high level paves the way for Knorr-Bremse to actively shape the industry?s key future topics. The primary focus of R&D work was on smart sub-system connectivity and increasing digitalization in the rail sector, as well as on boosting the efficiency of commercial vehicle diesel engines, and on predevelopment projects in the field of autonomous driving.

Number of employees at German plants rises to 5,044

At year-end 2016, the Knorr-Bremse Group employed a total of 24,565 persons (22,221 excluding HR leasing). This equates to a year-on-year increase of 1.2% (2.0% excluding HR leasing). The European region employed 57.2% of the Group workforce: a higher percentage than in the previous year (53.0%). The proportion of the Group workforce in the Americas stood at 18.0% (2015: 19.7%) and in Asia/Australia at 24.8% (2015: 27.3%). At the six German plants in Aldersbach, Berlin, Dresden, Holzkirchen, Munich, and Schwieberdingen the number of employees at year-end increased to 5,044 including HR leasing (2015: 4,742).

Development of business by division

The Rail Vehicle Systems division posted sales of EUR 2.99 billion in 2016 (2015: EUR 3.34 billion). The development of sales revenues reflects the sharp drop in demand for high-speed trains in China and a cyclic slowdown in the freight car and locomotive business in North America. Knorr-Bremse was able to partly offset the decline in sales through further expansion of its commuter rail and/or RailServices business in these markets.

At EUR 2.52 billion, sales at the Commercial Vehicle Systems division were slightly up on the previous year (2015: EUR 2.49 billion). The truck and trailer business in Europe and Asia, and in China in particular, showed positive development and offset the cyclic market downturn in North America.

Long-term major orders boost position in the various regions

In the Europe/Africa region, sales climbed 4.2% to EUR 2.73 billion (2015: EUR 2.62 billion) in what was a generally stable market for rail and commercial vehicles. The Rail Vehicle Systems division was able to maintain its strong market position, not least by securing nu merous major orders such as for the entrance systems for 445 double-deck cars ordered from Bombardier by Belgian rail operator SNCB, or for the upgrade of the braking systems in a total of 222 cars for Budapest Metro. The Commercial Vehicle Systems division?s achievements included building on its leading market position in the brake control segment. In the Americas, sales declined to EUR 1.22 billion (2015: EUR 1.43 billion). This represents a downturn of 14.9%. Nevertheless, Knorr-Bremse was able to secure substantial orders in the commercial vehicle sector: By way of example, International Truck became the first US manufacturer to install the most advanced driver assistance system, Bendix Wingman Advanced, as standard in its new LT truck series. Bendix also concluded critical longterm agreements with multiple commercial vehicle manufacturers.

In South America, against the backdrop of the continuing economic crisis in Brazil, no positive impetus was forthcoming in either the rail vehicle or the commercial vehicle sector. Consequently, winning a long-term order from South America?s largest rail logistics operator, RUMO/ALL was all the more gratifying. This will involve Knorr-Bremse upgrading some 8,500 cars for the transportation of sugar cane by installing new, efficient brake equipment. Knorr-Bremse is also to have exclusive responsibility for maintaining the brakes over the next 15 years.

In the Asia/Australia region, sales were down 13.1% to EUR 1.55 billion (2015: EUR 1.78 billion). This was primarily due to weaker demand for high-speed trains and locomotives in China. The commercial vehicle business, by contrast, made particularly good progress. Knorr-Bremse won a major order from India, where the Company is to supply the braking systems for 800 double locomotives belonging to state rail operator Indian Railways. The package also includes responsibility for servicing the brakes in 250 of the 800 double locomotives for a minimum of 13 years.

Knorr-Bremse helps people in need

Knorr-Bremse practices corporate social responsibility. Its social commitment is based on two pillars: Knorr-Bremse Global Care e.V. and Knorr-Bremse Local Care. As an independent charitable organization, Global Care supports people in need all over the world and in fiscal 2016 received EUR 1.92 million in funding from Knorr-Bremse. This enabled Global Care to reach out and help 52,000 people in need. Local Care covers all the local community activities of employees at Knorr-Bremse sites around the world.

Heading into fiscal 2017 with optimism

For fiscal 2017, Knorr-Bremse is anticipating a highly volatile market environment, owing to major geopolitical uncertainties as well as declining investment activity in important regions of the world. Overall, Knorr-Bremse expects to see moderate global economic growth. For the Rail Vehicle Systems division, Knorr-Bremse is forecasting largely stable development of the OE market in all regions, accompanied by growth in RailServices. For the Commercial Vehicle Systems division, Knorr-Bremse anticipates moderate global market growth.

?Despite the ongoing uncertainties in the market environment, we will adhere rigorously to our chosen course toward sustainable and profitable growth in 2017 and continue to invest at a level above the industry average in the best interests of our customers,? states Klaus Deller. ?Advances in automated driving, electrification and digitalization are transforming our industry,? Deller adds. ?Knorr-Bremse will play an active part in shaping this transformation by driving forward the connectivity and integration of our systems and by continuously expanding our portfolio through acquisitions. This way, in the future we will remain the first choice partner for vehicle manufacturers and operators alike.?







Knorr-Bremse is the leading manufacturer of braking systems and supplier of additional sub-systems for rail and commercial vehicles, with sales totaling approximately EUR 5.5 billion in 2016. In 30 countries, some 25,000 employees develop, manufacture, and service braking, entrance, control, and energy supply systems, HVAC and driver assistance systems, as well as steering systems, and powertrain and transmission control solutions. As a technology leader, through its products the company has been making a decisive contribution to greater safety by road and rail since 1905. Every day, more than one billion people around the world put their trust in systems made by Knorr-Bremse.
AVST Presents Skype for Business Hosted Deployment at Enterprise Connect

Posted by Publisher Software

ORLANDO, FL  (Marketwired)  03/27/17   Enterprises considering deploying Skype for Business have a choice of premise, hosted, cloud, and hybrid options. This week at , (AVST) presents a successful case study of a Skype for Business hosted deployment. The session is titled Skype for Business in 600 Retail Locations: Lessons Learned in a Hyperscale Cloud Environment.

In the session, AVST CTO Tom Minifie and Time2Market Managing Director Hugh Oakes will examine the capabilities and implementation considerations for a seamless Skype for Business hosted service. Minifie and Oakes will share practical lessons from a real-life customer deploying Skype for Business across more than 600 retail locations. The session will take place in room Sun C, from 2:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. Topics include:

Keys to success with a hosted Skype for Business voice solution

Lessons learned from moving voice applications to a hosted Skype for Business environment

How to save costs and increase service levels with Skype for Business

For businesses looking to deploy Skype for Business as a full or partial PBX replacement, AVSTs integrates into multiple-PBX environments. CX-E addresses key compliance and security requirements, and offers essential communications applications  all designed to enrich Skype for Business deployments  including:

Skype for Business integration with existing PBX

Informal Call Center for Skype for Business

Secure Voice Messaging for Skype for Business

Complex Call Routing/Automated Attendant for Skype for Business

Mobile Client for Skype for Business

Personal Assistant for Skype for Business

CX-E assists in Skype for Business adoption, and facilitates a seamless migration at a comfortable and logical pace, noted Minifie. At Enterprise Connect, we look forward to sharing Skype for Business choices  premise to cloud  and how customers can successfully navigate their transition to Skype for Business.

To learn more about AVSTs integration with Skype for Business, visit or booth #1113 at Enterprise Connect.

With more than 35 years of continuous innovation, Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST) is a trusted developer of software-based, enterprise-class Unified Communications (UC) solutions.

Our mission is to design, deliver and support communications solutions that transform the productivity of individual workers, teams and enterprises while leveraging the value of their existing and evolving IT infrastructure.

Thousands of businesses worldwide rely on AVSTs advanced voice, mobility, team communications, and business process UC solutions to meet their mission-critical communications requirements. The world-class interoperability and flexibility of AVSTs UC platform, provides a future-proofed bridge to their digital future.

Headquartered in Orange County, California, AVST maintains facilities in Seattle, Washington, Victoria B.C., Canada, the United Kingdom, and has remote sales offices throughout the United States. AVSTs UC solutions are sold and supported worldwide by an extensive network of resellers and OEM partners. To learn more about AVST, our products and partners, please visit or you can follow us at , or .

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Stephanie Olsen

Lages & Associates

(949) 453-8080
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Susan and Ervin set a wedding date

After losing their first loves, Susan and Ervin have found each other and have found love again. They are planning on a Dec. 30 wedding.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Mainly clear. Low around 60F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low around 60F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.
A public-private partnership led by the company Technical Solutions Management aims to manufacture the spacecraft fuel plutonium-238, to supplement the production efforts already underway at the U.S. Department of Energy (shown here).

The production of nuclear spacecraft fuel, currently a dwindling resource, could go into overdrive in the early 2020s.

A public-private partnership led by a company called Technical Solutions Management (TSM) aims to start generating usable amounts of plutonium-238 (Pu-238)  the material that powers deep-space explorers such as NASA's Curiosity Mars rover and New Horizons Pluto probe  by 2022 or so.

This newly unveiled project would complement, not supplant, the Pu-238 production efforts currently underway at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), said TSM CEO Billy Shipp. [US Makes Plutonium-238 for Deep-Space Exploration (Video)]

TSM's work "could establish a redundancy in the production of plutonium; it could potentially increase capacity, if the [NASA] missions needed increased capacity, and as a result, it could minimize the programmatic risk overall to the space program," Shipp, a former director of the DOE's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (now known as the Idaho National Laboratory, or INL), told Space.com.

Nuclear-powered exploration

Pu-238 is the key ingredient in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which convert, into electricity, the heat produced by the radioactive stuff when it naturally decays into uranium-234.

Most of NASA's iconic planetary-exploration missions over the decades have depended on RTGs, including the twin Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes, the Viking 1 and Viking 2 Mars landers, and the Cassini Saturn orbiter.

The United States used to produce the Pu-238 needed for such spacecraft at the DOE's Savannah River Site in South Carolina, as an offshoot of the facility's weapons work. (Pu-238 is not a bomb-making material, but its close cousin Pu-239 is.)

That production line ceased in 1988, as the Cold War wound down. The U.S. began buying Pu-238 from Russia in 1992 but received its last shipment from Moscow in 2010. Since then, the U.S. stockpile has been shrinking; NASA's allocation is now down to about 77 lbs. (35 kilograms), only half of which is usable in its current state, agency officials have said (though the rest could conceivably be brought up to grade by blending it with newly produced Pu-238).

NASA's current RTG design, known as the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, requires 10.6 lbs. (4.8 kg) of Pu-238. So, currently, the U.S. has enough Pu-238 to power just three or four more deep-space missions. [Nuclear Generators Power NASA Deep-Space Probes (Infographic)]

Pu-238 restart  times two?

But efforts to avoid a nuclear-fuel shortage are underway.

The DOE recently started a new Pu-238 production program, which manufactured a 1.8-ounce (50 grams) sample of the stuff at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee in late 2015. If everything goes according to plan, this pipeline should begin churning out the amount that NASA has requested  3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) of Pu-238 every year  by 2023, DOE officials have said.

TSM's production would supplement that of the DOE , Shipp said.

The company publicly unveiled its plans a few weeks ago, at the Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space 2017 conference in Orlando, Florida, but the project has been in the works for several years.

"We have done this project very quietly, because we simply didn't want to have any kind of public pronouncements until we had a confidence level that organizations of this caliber could stand behind," Shipp said.

For more than 50 years, NASA's robotic deep space probes have carried nuclear batteries. See how they work here (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor)

The organizations he referred to are the key partners in the new Pu-238 production effort: Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), the DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and Ontario Power Generation (OPG), a corporation owned by the Ontario government.

Here's how it will work. PNNL has developed new technology for producing "targets" made of neptunium-237, Shipp said. These targets will be shipped to CNL's Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario, where they will be assembled into reactor bundles. These bundles will then go to OPG's Darlington reactor, where they will be irradiated to generate plutonium-238. Then, the bundles will head back to CNL for disassembly and chemical processing. (The DOE's plutonium pipeline is similarly complex, involving ORNL, INL and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.)

OPG reactors already generate cobalt-60, which is used to sterilize surgical and medical equipment. So commercial isotope production is not a foreign concept, Shipp said.

"There are no known showstoppers in this, so we're highly confident from both a regulatory base as well as a technical base that this will go forward," he said.

Indeed, the ball is rolling on the project, which is managed by TSM. (TSM also licensed the PNNL technology.) Two neptunium-237 targets have been built, and they were put into a CNL reactor for qualification purposes this month, Shipp said. One target will stay in for 90 days, and the other will remain for 300 days, he added.

The next phase of the project  which the team aims to start toward the end of this year, if it can raise enough funding  involves qualification of the reactor bundles. Then, the project will develop and demonstrate an overall "flow sheet" of Pu-238 production from start to finish, Shipp said.

If everything goes according to plan, the TSM-led effort could be in production as early as 2022. The process is designed to make 11 lbs. (5 kg) of Pu-238 per year, though yields could nearly double if the customer desired, Shipp said.

That customer would likely be the DOE (and, by extension, NASA), he said, primarily because the neptunium-237 needed to make the targets comes from the U.S. federal government. Shipp also anticipates collaborating with the DOE to some degree on an overall manufacturing strategy.

"Our desire is to have a fully integrated plutonium-238 mission for DOE that we're just a part of," he said.

In addition to making the Pu-238 production system more robust, the TSM-led effort could help the nation rebuild its nuclear-fuel stockpile, potentially enabling increased planetary exploration down the road, Shipp added.

"Our space program is a dynamic program," Shipp said. "We stand really ready to assist the program in how it may evolve." [NASA's 10 Greatest Science Missions]

Talking to NASA

Shipp said his team has discussed its plans with NASA informally. Official discussions should begin soon, he added; the group plans to submit a funding proposal to the DOE and NASA to help pay for Phase 2 of its project (qualification of the bundles).

Assuming the current DOE manufacturing effort proceeds as planned, NASA won't face a Pu-238 shortage anytime soon, said David Schurr, deputy director of the space agency's Planetary Science division.

"That's clearly enough through 2030," Schurr told Space.com. (He declined to forecast any further into the future, saying not enough is known yet about NASA's post-2030 plans.)

Schurr voiced theoretical support for adding another player to the Pu-238 pipeline: "Having other reactor sources is a good thing," he said. But he stressed that the DOE, not NASA, is in charge of plutonium production and will therefore have chief responsibility for assessing any proposal by the TSM group.

"At the end of the day, I'm looking for inexpensive ways to get my job done," Schurr said. "So if DOE says they like it, then I'm interested."

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
Artist's impression of a "baby" Milky Way-like galaxy in the early universe with a bright quasar shining through the galaxy's surrounding halo of hydrogen gas. Those halos move far beyond the galaxy's star-forming disks, new research suggested.

Astronomers are seeing what Earth's own galaxy looked like in its youth by scanning the skies for some of the oldest objects in the universe.

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a large radio observatory in Chile, researchers have taken "baby pictures" of Milky Way-like galaxies when their star formation was just beginning to accelerate. At that time, the universe was nearly two billion years old. Since light moves at a finite speed, looking deep into the universe also means looking back in time, and these young galaxies are about 12 billion light-years away from Earth. The cosmos itself is about 13.8 billion years old.

Looking at two of the ancient galaxies in infrared wavelengths, the researchers saw that very early in the galaxies' development, they had what look like extended discs of hydrogen gas that far outpaced the smaller, star-forming regions within. These galaxies also already had rotating discs of gas and dust, and were forming stars at a relatively rapid pace: up to 100 solar masses (the mass of Earth's sun) per year. [Galactic Evolution: How ;Galaxies are Classified by Type (Infographic)]

Officially designated ALMA J081740.86+135138.2 and ALMA J120110.26+211756.2, the galaxies were observed using light from two quasars in the background. Quasars are supermassive black holes surrounded by bright accretion discs, and are themselves thought to be the centers of particularly active galaxies.

A background quasar 12.5 billion light-years away from Earth shines near a young Milky Way-like galaxy 12 billion light-years away in this image that combines infrared observations from ALMA and optical observations from the Keck Observatory. ALMA spotted the galaxy's ionized carbon (green) and dusty star-forming disk (blue), and the color of the quasar indicates it's shining through a massive halo of gas  extending much further from the galaxy than the galaxies' star-forming dust. (Image credit: M. Neeleman/J. Xavier Prochaska/Keck Observatory/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO))

Usually, seeing ordinary galaxies when they are in front of a quasar is difficult, because quasars are blazingly bright and a young galaxy is relatively faint, the researchers said in a statement. But using ALMA, the astronomers were able to see the infrared light from the galaxies' ionized carbon shining on its own, and also hydrogen silhouetted in the shine of the quasars. The carbon, which emits light at a wavelength of 158 micrometers (the far infrared), marked the structure of each galaxy, while emissions of infrared light from dust showed regions where stars were being born, according to the study.

The glowing carbon also offered another clue to the galaxies' structure, because its position was offset from the hydrogen gases that the astronomers initially saw, as revealed by the quasars' shine. That means that the galaxies' gases extend far from the dense carbon regions, suggesting each galaxy has a large halo of hydrogen encircling it, the researchers said.

Looking at the foreground objects that a shining background quasar could reveal, "we had expected we would see faint emissions right on top of the quasar, and instead we saw bright galaxies at large separations from the quasar," J. Xavier Prochaska, an astrophysicist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and co-author on the new study, said in a statement.

Artist's impression of a "baby" Milky Way-like galaxy in the early universe with a bright quasar shining through the galaxy's surrounding halo of hydrogen gas. Those halos move far beyond the galaxy's star-forming disks, new research suggested. (Image credit: A. Angelich/NRAO/AUI/NSF)

The data also showed that the young galaxies have already begun rotating, which is a hallmark of spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, the study said.

The effort to find such early stage galaxies began in 2003, when Prochaska first worked on the idea of using the spectra of quasars, the wavelengths of light they emit, to reveal those of galaxies in the foreground. Such arrangements are called damped Lyman-alpha systems, because the hydrogen gas blocks certain wavelengths of light from the quasar, revealing the gas's presence and extent.

"ALMA has solved a decades-old question on galaxy formation," Chris Carilli, an astronomer with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, New Mexico and a co-author of the new study, said in another statement. "We now know that at least some very early galaxies have halos that are much more extended than previously considered," he said, adding that these halos "may represent the future material for galaxy growth."

The new work was detailed Friday (March 24) in the journal Science.

You can follow us on Twitter at @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Original story on Space.com.
Meet Vector Space Systems

Vector Space Systems

Vector Space aims to begin launching its microsatellite-lofting rockets from Launch Complex 46 at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in 2018. Take a look at the company's novel commercial launch plan in pictures in our gallery here.

This image: Artist's illustration of a Vector rocket lifting off. The two-stage version of the Vector-R is 45 feet (14 meters) tall and is designed to loft payloads weighing up to 140 lbs. (64 kilograms) to low-Earth orbit, at a cost of about $1.5 million per launch.

Vector in Space

Vector Space Systems

Artist's concept of a Vector rocket's second stage in space.

Vector Rocket's Nose Cone

Vector Space Systems

Cutaway view of a Vector rocket's nose cone and the cubesats inside.

Vector Shipping Box

Vector Space Systems

A Vector Space shipping box.

Nose Cone and Shipping Box

Vector Space Systems

Cutaway rendering of a nose cone and cubesat payloads inside a shipping box.

Nose Cone with Cubesats

Vector Space Systems

View of a Vector Space nose cone and cubesat payloads.

Vector's Electric Third Stage

Vector Space Systems

Artist's illustration of a Vector Space rocket's electric third stage, with cubesat deployer.

Vector First Stage Test-fire (1)

Vector Space Systems

Static-fire test of a Vector rocket first-stage engine on Dec. 8, 2016.

Vector First Stage Test-fire (2)

Vector Space Systems

Another image of the Dec. 8, 2016 test-fire of a Vector first-stage engine.

Vector First Stage Test-fire (3)

Vector Space Systems

Another view of the test-firing on Dec. 8, 2016.

Vector Second Stage Test-fire

Vector Space Systems

Photo of a second-stage engine test on June 9, 2016.
Optimization

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Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools.
Dad: The wall will keep the criminals out. Look, I have no problem with people coming into this country, but they have to do it the right way. What is it about the word "illegal" that people don't understand? Trump is just enforcing the law. And, anyway, wasn't it Obama who was referred to as "deporter in chief?" That drives me nuts -- Obama does something, and the press doesn't bat an eye. But when Trump does the same thing, the press is all over him! Trump can't take a crap without the press crying foul!

Me: So, you feel there is a double standard?

Dad: Absolutely! Typical liberal media bias! The press spends too much time focusing on what he's doing wrong. Instead of focusing on policies, they cry about how much time he spends at Mar-a-Lago.

Me: Someone needs to hold him accountable and to discern the truth from his lies. That is the press' job. A free press, recently vilified by Trump as the "enemy of the people" -- a statement which, by the way, even your favorite conservative station, Fox News, objected to -- is an essential pillar of democracy.

Dad: Their job is to report the news - not to promote conspiracy theories or push their own agenda. Trump's first major speech before Congress was excellent. He was professional and presidential, but all the liberal media could do was criticize him. They never give him a chance.

Me: The media's role should be that of a watch dog. The Washington Post broke the story about Trump's military adviser, Mike Flynn, and his communications with the Russians, which he lied about. That could have resulted in a serious breach of security. As someone who is concerned with national security this should really concern you.

Dad: If the stories are true then, yes, that is a problem.

Me: If? THAT is the problem: There are so many "alternative facts" swirling around right now that the truth is hard to discern.

Dad: What I do know is that people have been hit hard at home. They are out of work and can't afford the basics anymore. They knew they would get more of the same if they elected another Democrat. And they are so fed up that they are willing to take a chance on a narcissistic ass like Trump.

Me: Do these people honestly think they will be better off now? Given his campaign promise to "drain the swamp," I could imagine they are now upset that he is hiring the wealthy business elite.

Dad: Oh, come on. You are just like the press complaining that his cabinet is filled with millionaires and bankers. Obviously, they didn't get to where they are now by being stupid. He's surrounded himself with good people and he's going to listen to them.

Me: Like who? Steve Bannon? An alt-right racist hell bent on destroying the government? When he surrounds himself with people like that, it emboldens those who are racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, xenophobic, etc., and the result is the spike in hate crimes across the U.S. that we have seen recently. These are the "good" people around him?

Dad: There are always a few bad eggs in every bunch. All I know is that after eight years of Obama, our enemies don't respect us and our friends don't believe us. Trump is going to spend money to build our military. And the whole world is safer when the U.S. is in charge.

Me: I'm not so sure about that, Dad. If things escalate, Europe could be the battlefield. And Trump has left Europe unsure about his commitment to NATO. With Trump at the helm, Europe is feeling quite vulnerable.

Dad: Let's just see what happens. Change is tough. Maybe I will agree with you a year from now. But for God's sake, just give him a chance.

Me: I'm just afraid of the amount of damage he will do by the time you agree with me.

Dad: That is not what I consider giving him a chance!
Shaheed El Hafed, March 27, 2017 (SPS) - The Council of Ministers condemned the negative role taken by some memebrs of the UN Security Council to undermine peace and security efforts in the region by supporting the Moroccan colonial thesis and providing protection for the military occupation of Western Sahara.

In a statement issued Sunday at the end of its meeting under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, the Council of Ministers stressed "that these parties are the same parties that are trying to evade the judgment of the European Court of Justice to continue plundering the natural resources of Western Sahara ".

On the other hand, the Council of Ministers hailed the resistance and steadfastness of the heroes of the Gdeim Izik Group in confronting the enemy and making the court of the occupation a tribune to defend the Saharawi cause. (SPS)

062/090/TRA




London, 27 March 2017 (SPS) - Last Thursday, 23 March, a group of unemployed individuals demonstrated pacifically in El Aaiun, in the Occupied Territories in Western Sahara. In view of the brutal repression with which the Moroccan forces responded to the demonstrators, Adala UK demands that the Moroccan authorities carry a complete, impartial and independent investigation of the human rights abuses committed and that all liable individuals are brought to justice.

The protests started in the early afternoon when a group of 200 people gathered to protest against the marginalisation and denial of the right to a decent job by the Moroccan authorities.

The work situation in the Occupied Territories is particularly hard for the Sahrawi citizens, as workstations created by the Moroccan government are always allocated to Moroccan citizens, both settlers and individuals who come from the Moroccan cities.

Demonstrators also protested against the empty promises the Moroccan government has made: over two years ago the Government promised to assign them the new 1000 workstations set up in the occupied territories, but they were eventually granted to Moroccan settlers and citizens. (SPS)

062/090
Dakar (Senegal), 27 March 2017 (SPS) - Saharawi Foreign Ministers Mohamed Salem Ould Salek said Morocco has once again failed to prevent the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) from taking part in the African Union-United Nations partnership conference, to take place in Dakar.

The Saharawi policy chief told reporters after the postponement of Dakar's meeting that "Morocco has once again failed to prevent the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic from taking part (in an international conference as an AU member) after its failure in Malabo Summit."

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) confirmed Sunday the postponement of the African Union-United Nations partnership conference that was due to be held in Dakar.

The ECA has taken the decision after it received the legal opinion of the African Union Commission, which refutes Morocco's allegations and backs the position of the Saharawi Republic.

The UN Economic Commission for Africa received legal arguments from AU Commission and most African bodies that support the participation of the Saharawi Republic as a full member of the African Union. (SPS)

062/090/700
Because of compulsory changes to the scheme by the European Commission, it is proposed that hill farmers and crofters in Scotlands most fragile and remote areas will receive a parachute payment in 2018 of 80% of their LFASS payment rate. Changes are required as EU Rural Development Regulations do not permit the continuation of the scheme unchanged after this year.

Speaking ahead of next weeks hill farming summit, Mr Ewing said:

LFASS is vital for our rural economy and remote communities, providing support to more than 11,000 farmers and crofters. That is why we continued with the scheme, even when the UK Government stopped it. And it is why we are continuing with LFASS until 2018 to provide stability of funding and support for our farmers and crofters.

However, EU rules do not allow us to continue with LFASS unchanged from next year. That is why, having looked at all options, and to provide as much financial stability as possible during these uncertain times, I intend to introduce parachute payments for 2018. I am also actively consulting with stakeholders on how farmers and crofters in the Less Favourable Areas can access other support available under existing SRDP schemes, along with supporting priorities such as new entrants.

Unfortunately I am unable to give farmers and crofters assurance on LFASS from 2019 as, despite repeated requests, the UK Government has still not guaranteed that the scheme will be funded in 2019. I have therefore once again written to the UK Government seeking assurance over LFASS 2019 and also the 190 million in external convergence uplift as a matter of urgency.
The event was aimed at those who may soon commence their own peatland restoration project as well as those looking to gather more information on how a project can be made to work, including funding sources and practical advice.

The day got off to a great start with the arrival of the breakfast rolls that were kindly supplied by Savills. David Fyffe, Scottish Land & Estates NE Regional Chairman welcomed those present and gave a brief introduction. He was followed by Malcolm Hay, owner of Edinglassie who delivered a presentation on his project, how it worked, was funded and the lessons learned during the process. There then followed a brief presentation by Emma Goodyear, IUCN UK Peatland Programme Project Manager and Jillian Hoy, Peatland Code Co-ordinator who gave an overview of the work of the Programme and discussed possible funding sources, including the SRDP, the Governments Peatland Action fund administered by SNH and the Peatland Code which levers in private finance.

Despite the forecast being for heavy rain the sun shone during our time on the hill. It was very windy which made sure we all stayed alert. Malcom gave us a short tour of the sites he has restored. He initially showed us an area where grips had been filled in. The change was remarkable, with no trace of the previous grips visible after only 2 years. He had chosen to fill them completely with peat material from the site itself, rather than use peat plugs or plastic piling to block the drains at strategic points. This was a belt and braces approach, but the remarkable results were evident. Emma then led a discussion on grip blocking techniques more generally, calling on her technical expertise and experience from similar projects elsewhere.
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The First United Methodist Church will be hosting an information session to teach immigrants their basic rights during an encounter with with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday April 1.

The forum at the church at 1114 Hope Street will include immigration lawyers to offer advice and answer questions. The forum is hosted in partnership with Connecticut Students For a Dream. For more information call 203-324-1323.
WESTPORT  A Bridgewater consultant is facing cybercrime charges after being accused of stealing confidential documents from the company, police said.

In November 2016, Westport police began investigating the theft of confidential Bridgewater IT configuration documents from Bridgewater Associates. The company suspected 24-year-old Sankaranarayan Subramanian, a Hamden man who was working onsite for an outside consulting firm, of stealing the documents.
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STAMFORD  As three city police officers were promoted to the rank of sergeant on Monday, Chief Jon Fontneau offered them a piece of advice.

Be acceptable and continue to treat people as you would like to be treated, Fontneau said. There is an old Indian proverb, to give dignity to a man is above all things. Its a real simple philosophy. Your actions will always speak louder than your words.

In a ceremony that nearly filled the lobby of the Stamford Government Center, Brendan Phillips, Sean Boeger and Brian Butler received their sergeant stripes.

Public Safety Director Ted Jankowski, a retired deputy chief of the New York Fire Department, pointed to retired FDNY Deputy Chief Kevin Butler for providing positive encouragement during his career in New York.

Kevin Butler, who is Brian Butlers uncle, attended the ceremony with other family members.

How you lead, and how your carry yourself in your new position will impact those under your command for a lifetime, Jankowski told the three new sergeants.

Mayor David Martin congratulated Phillips, Boeger and Butler and thanked their families for supporting them.

Good luck to you in your new role as sergeant and to make the department finer still. We know we have made a good decision and congratulations for what you have done, Martin said.

Phillips, 32, a 10-year veteran, said it was very exciting to get his stripes.

Its a new beginning that you work toward and a good challenge. I look forward to learning the new position. The whole job is always challenging, said Phillips, who was a patrol officer after spending more than five years in the Narcotics and Organized Crime squad.

Boeger, 41, who is the departments previous union president, said he was also looking forward to his new role.

For the past six years, Boeger has been an investigator in one of the departments three major crimes squads and will celebrate his 20th anniversary on the job in June.

Im hoping to help other officers and new officers, to take them under my wing and give them the sort of help Ive had over the years, said Boeger, whose 93-year-old grandfather, Ralph Giordano, was supposed to pin his badge on, but couldnt make the ceremony because he was ill.

I think its fantastic. Im very proud of him and he is always doing things to make me proud, said Boegers mother, Nancy Giordano.

Her sons immediate superior, Sgt. Chris DiCarlo, said it will be difficult to replace Boeger in the detective bureau.

He has been an excellent investigator, probably my best investigator that I have had in the past five years, DiCarlo said.

Butler, 42, celebrated his 20th year with the department in December. Butlers brother, Sean, and uncle, Patrick, both members of the police department in Jersey City, N.J., were among those who attended the ceremony.

Butler, who has spent the past four-plus years as an investigator in the Youth Bureau, said he was anxious to get started in his new position.

Im excited for the new challenge and Im looking forward to my new role in the police department, said Butler, whose great-grandfather was a police officer.

Sean Butler said his older brother guided him toward a life in blue.

Its amazing, he said. It is a great accomplishment. Im very proud of him.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com;
T he boss sat in the car park, hyperventilating over the perilous future of his company and his life-threatening throat cancer. Inside, his staff were writing jokes. Its the kind of dark, tragi-comic plotline seen on Reggie Perrin-esque sitcoms  but for Jimmy Mulville, it was a reality.

Its a decade this year since the Liverpudlian brought his TV comedy-hit factory Hat Trick back from the brink after a private-equity deal, fighting off illness simultaneously. I would sit in the car park, quaking with fear. The business was crippled with debt, not selling any shows, Mulville says of those dark days.

Now hes notched up revenues of 36 million (up 20%), with Outnumbered and Episodes helping the coffers. Creating expensive half-hour TV is not an easy task. If critics dont like a comedy, its like youve pissed on their carpet, he reflects. People see music and comedy as the emotional soundtracks to their life. They take it to heart.

Theres been plenty of emotion in Mulvilles career. The radio-turned-TV producer masterminded Hat Trick with then-girlfriend Denise ODonoghue (and comedian Rory McGrath) while working together on Who Dares Wins. They married, created Whose Line Is It Anyway? for TV (the first UK show sold to America), Have I Got News For You (HIGNFY), Father Ted. Sold a stake. Divorced (theyre still mates) and saved the business in a deal with ITV.

Its no wonder the TV execs life  which included a breakdown while in rehab in the Eighties (he no longer drinks), and presidency of the Cambridge Footlights drama troupe  made fascinating listening on Desert Island Discs. (He chose Bowie, Squeeze, two Beatles, naturally.)

He reluctantly gave up his boyhood dream of becoming an actor in his thirties. The dressing-up was fun. But it was nagging at me that I wasnt doing enough with my life, says the Evertonian, sitting under a menacing picture of The Godfathers Don Corleone in his office.

Mulville recounts the companys nadir, shortly after selling 49% to private-equity firm Kleinwort Capital (now August Equity) on the back of a Nineties boom. Effectively, we paid off the mortgage on the house and put a massive 23 million debt on the business. They thought we would buy businesses but other companies were concerned by our debts.

Terse meetings with Barclays suits followed, in which hed be quizzed, ridiculously, on which shows were going to be hits. I said you should pray every night I dont die in my sleep, otherwise youre not going to get your money back, Mulville laughs.

David Young, founder of Eggheads maker 12 Yard Productions, eventually rode to the rescue, ultimately helping sell the combined businesses to ITV for up to 35 million in 2007. We drew a line under it and started again, and asked ourselves what we wanted to see on TV. We got ourselves into a situation where we were setting out trying to make shows to pay down debt. Now, we make quality TV for profit  in that order.

That quality is evidenced all around Hat Tricks Camden digs. Veteran comedy-writing king Andy Hamilton (Drop the Dead Donkey, Outnumbered) shambles around, humming, making coffee, on-set snaps adorn the walls and the sparkly jacket worn by Father Teds eponymous hero hangs outside Mulvilles office.

Hat Tricks landmark show remains HIGNFY, now running for 26 years. They rode out a terrible pilot (Alan Yentob took a gamble, he said to me do you know how to fix it? Yes, I lied) to create an enduring format. Brexit has ensured the show receives pelters from Corbynistas and Right-wingers in equal measure, spurring Mulville on. Its more than a decade since he had to sack former host Angus Deayton, and theres no ill will. Id love him to come back as a guest host, he says. Now HIGNFYs satirical younger brother Revolting is making waves, hurling jibes at politicians.

Mulville also excitedly describes Hat Tricks latest bonkers creation, a gameshow-cum-sitcom set in an eccentric general store and hosted by Noel Edmonds, who pitched it over lunch. I raise an eyebrow. It might take the audience three or four episodes to get it, Mulville admits wryly.

Hes also manoeuvring a new chapter in the firms history, creating a joint venture with Line of Duty writer Jed Mercurio to expand its drama output and take advantage of the worldwide content boom that is spurring the growth of Netflix et al.

An adaptation of HG Wells The Time Machine is on the way for Sky. Drama is the soup du jour, he says. My goal for this year is to grow in China, selling shows via intermediaries.

Could we have HIGNFY in North Korea? Kim Jong-un could host a state-sponsored one! I think it might last about five minutes.
P epper the robot was not playing ball at the Royal Society last week. As part of conglomerate Tatas innovation evening, the notion of a woman-meets-machine interview was scuppered because of too much background noise, leaving the Institute of Ideas Claire Fox to quiz mere mortals on the rise of robots instead.

It was a reminder that while artificial intelligence may take over the world one day, human brainpower still comes in handy as minor glitches are ironed out. For how much longer will that be the case? Headlines screamed the other day that 30% of UK jobs could be at risk of automation within 15 years. Retail, transport and manufacturing will bear the brunt of the revolution, the PwC prediction ran.

A bleak assessment of this forecast might fret over the inevitably widening pay gap between those at the top and bottom of society. A FTSE 100 business leader recently tried to make the case to me for disproportionately higher executive pay because technology was amplifying decisions he took in the boardroom far more than it did on the shop floor.

That suggests he isnt so focused on boosting productivity at all levels of his organisation, much less rewarding it.

Such a stance is borne out in poor business investment data. Too few firms are bulk-buying machines that promise to drive up productivity and enable the UK to compete globally. The low-skilled will be safely employed a while longer, especially if Eastern European migrants desert the country post-Brexit. Just dont expect much wage growth.

Actually, the impact of workplace advances is unpredictable, or else everyone armed with a BlackBerry, and later an iPhone, would be fulfilling John Maynard Keynes dream of a 15-hour week by now. PwC is one of the accounting firms trying to work out if blockchain technology, which can monitor transactions in real time, will render traditional labour-intensive company audits obsolete. Bean-counting veterans note that after the last big change when personal computers flooded the office a generation ago, staff numbers actually went up.

So take with a pinch of salt the McKinsey forecast that driverless cars will save commuters one billion hours a day. No longer having to grip the steering wheel might mean they can play Candy Crush on the way to the office but equally they might just come under pressure to start working sooner.

And for every taxi driver and courier role that is eliminated, some jobs will be created in hi-tech areas such as co-ordinating so many autonomous vehicles  a kind of road-based air traffic control.

To have carried on working through industrialisation and deindustrialisation, two phases when the machines took over and then took flight to lower-cost centres, humans must be resourceful. Without getting into a row over the quality of modern UK employment, its quantity  at the highest since comparable records began in 1971  is indisputable.

What is clear from the potential of machine learning is that human learning must shape up to be able to get the best from it.

In its State of the Nation report last week, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) called for more focus on upskilling and reskilling those mid-career, not just concentrating on the digitally-literate next generation who have a decade spent on Facebook under their belt before entering the world of work.

ICE even suggested that the hated apprenticeship levy  conceived as a way of forcing industry to invest in the workers of the future  could be spent on existing staff instead of new arrivals.

Before worried parents reading this thrust an iPad into their toddlers hands, they might consider a book first. Our education system, now giving a nod to essential technical and vocational skills with the advent of T-levels, still has much to do in the early years. More than 200,000 children  a third of all pupils  a year leave English primary schools unable to read to the expected standard. What hope do they have of keeping pace?

More reassuringly, innovation agency Nesta found that 24% of the UKs workforce is occupied in creative employment  compared with 21% in the US  with an obvious skew higher in London, thanks to the army of artists, architects and web designers.

These roles are likely to be more resistant to computerisation because they feature complex problem-solving.

Nesta has called for the creation of one million new creative jobs by 2030, not to insulate the UK from the rise of machines but to capitalise on it. Of its five recommendations to get there, the most recognisable is not forcing students to make a strict choice between the arts and sciences.

Equip the workforce of the future to think smarter. That way we can welcome the robots, not fear them.
B ritains biggest trade union today condemned the use of one-hour contracts by banking behemoth Santander for hundreds of staff.

Some 10% of Santanders 3700 UK customer service advisers are on one-hour contracts, which guarantee staff just one hour of work per month  a twist on controversial zero-hour contracts.

The banks job ads state: Youll be guaranteed and paid for at least one hour per month/12 hours per year. Additional hours will vary according to branch requirements and will most likely be a mix of pre-arranged and short-notice cover, so flexibility around hours and location is essential.

TUC general secretary Frances OGrady said: These so-called one hour contracts are just zero-hours contracts by another name  allow[ing] bosses to treat workers like disposable labour. If youre on one you have no guarantee of work from one day to another, and if you put a foot wrong you can be let go in a heartbeat.

"Some bosses would do well to put as much energy into treating their staff well as they do in inventing new contracts that chip away at their rights at work.

But Linda Rolph, General Secretary of the Advance Trade Union, said: On-call contracts for customer service advisors have been a feature in Abbey and then Santander over many years. They should not be confused with zero-hours contracts... These arrangements are ideal for students and colleagues such as maternity leavers wanting to continue to use their experience but without committing to regular fixed hours. Many On Call staff in our experience take on additional hours when it is right for them.

A spokesman for Santander  advertised by Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill (pictured)  said staff received full employment rights with no obligation to accept additional hours or exclusivity.
A story is told of when the late newspaper columnist Alan Watkins was being sued by Michael Meacher, a Labour politician whom Mr Watkins had affronted by identifying him as middle-class. In court, Meachers barrister pulled him up sternly: You laugh, Mr Watkins. Are you not aware that this is a very serious matter? To which Watkins, immemorially, replied with a guffaw: No it isnt!

What you might call the Watkins Defence is an invaluable resource and seldom more needed than in considering the Westminster attack. The Home Secretary flails against end-to-end encryption as if the existence of any technology that prevents governmental surveillance of private conversation (one thinks, wistfully, of ye olde-fashioned whisper in the ear) is an accomplice to terrorism. Newspapers thunder on their front pages against the irresponsibility of Google for allowing anyone with an internet connection access to the information that cars can be used to run people over and that knives can be used for stabbing. Were told that the killers fruity-looking daughter, posing in a low-cut top, defied her fathers ideology. And we get a Lilliputian face-off between Katie Hopkins and Phillip Schofield  the former maintaining that our country is cowed, divided and terrified; the latter that walking across Westminster Bridge proves that the terrorists will never win.

At heart, all these responses have in common that they take Khalid Masood  the vicious crack-smoking wingnut formerly known as Adrian Elms of Tunbridge Wells  seriously. I want, with Watkins, to say: no. This is not a serious matter. Not at all. Of course, to those who lost their lives and those who loved them it could not be more serious  there are human agonies here. But in terms of how it affects public policy, in terms of how afraid we should all be, in terms of what it means for immigration or multiculturalism or Islamic radicalisation, it could not be more trivial.

If anything, we should regard it as an encouragement. Theres a certain base level in the war on terror below which we cannot reasonably expect to be protected. We hope that police and security services will be able to disrupt organised networks of attackers. We hope that they would be able to prevent those who wish us harm from getting access to explosives or firearms. The evidence suggests that most of the time they do. But we cannot reasonably expect the best organised security services in the world to prevent a random crackpot from driving a car on the pavement or stabbing a policeman.

This attack was well below that base level. This wasnt a terrorist spectacular. It was a terrorist pathetic. Here was terrorism, so to speak, on the bones of its arse. It barely clears the bar of terrorist attack at all. Those head-hacking bandwagon-jumpers Islamic State have claimed it for the brand, but evidence of any sort of organisation, ideology or co-ordination at work is sketchy at best.

Like it or not, we will always be vulnerable to individual nutcases. There are no lessons to be learnt, and there are no policy moves to be made. It was a horrible eruption of vicious criminal nonsense, and we should bury our dead, spit on the attackers grave and get on with getting on.

Police release new image of Westminster terror attacker

Red noses and red faces at the Beeb

The post-mortem on Red Nose Day has come in, and its not pretty. According to reports, the profanity and disorganisation of the annual festival of mirth-free good-cause clowning has given offence. Red Face Night for the BBC, said one piece complaining of an evening punctuated by vulgarity and technical glitches.

Well at least it has given us this sentence: Another technical error occurred during a televised version of Radio 1s Innuendo Bingo starring the stand-up comedian Joel Dommett, who recently came second in Im a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, and the radio presenter Chris Stark. Those few, choice words seem thrillingly to encapsulate everything that is so lovable about British crapness. I could read them over and over again. Long live Red Nose Day.

New mum Cheryl ranks with Elvis

Cheryl, 33, formerly Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, formerly Cheryl Cole, nee Cheryl Tweedy, has given birth to a baby boy with her 23-year-old partner Liam Payne. The couple shared a touching picture of the new arrival on Instagram, and were rightly deluged with congratulations.

Whats more, the couple have said that in order to protect their sons privacy they wont be selling any photographs of him whatever. Hes not for sale, they say  and are reported to have turned down a number of lucrative magazine deals for photoshoots. Good on them.

I was intrigued by the reporting of the whole story, though. Am I late in noticing that Cheryl has altogether ditched her surname? You wouldnt know, from the news stories, that she ever had one, let alone three. She enters the superstar pantheon of those known only by one name (Bono, Madonna, Elvis, Napoleon and Jesus being notable instances). That deserves a little celebration of its own. Any fool can be a parent. But theres no more select elite than the no-surname club.

California dreamin for Ukip bad boys

Category error of the week is surely the news that the self-styled Bad Boys of Brexit are turning their attention to the status of California. Arron Banks and Nigel Farage are just back from the US having reportedly drummed up a million dollars towards a referendum hoping to divide the state between its Democrat-voting coastal cities and its Republican east.

What on earth, you might reasonably wonder, do a couple of Home Counties spivs running a tinpot UK populist movement have to do with California? Your guess, friends, is as good as mine. But, yknow, because its there?

It shows quite some chutzpah for people so adamant about foreigners poking their noses into sovereign UK business to take such a liberal view of UK citizens doing just that in the United States. But were living in post-ideological times. If you dont like my principles, as a wise man said, I have others.
N ew movie The Lost City of Z celebrates the life and particularly the death of British explorer Colonel Percival Fawcett, who disappeared while searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon in the 1920s.

Watch the movie and you might come away impressed by the dedication and perseverance of Fawcett. He is portrayed as a misty-eyed and misty-voiced romantic, inspired by Kiplings poem to Go and look behind the ranges - Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go! The movie is played out as one long elegy, with accompanying strings.

But the reality is rather different. The distinguished historian of the Amazon, John Hemming, has described Fawcett as having ugly racist notions about the Native Americans. Fawcett described one tribe he encountered as large, hairy men, with exceptionally long arms, and with forehead sloping back from pronounced eye ridges  men of a very primitive kind villainous savages great apelike brutes who looked as if they had scarcely evolved beyond the level of beasts.

Nor is the argument that he was just of his time admissible. There were plenty of contemporary explorers of the Amazon who recognised the qualities of the indigenous people. Theodore Roosevelt , no less, before he became president, had been impressed by precisely the same Indian tribe of Nambiquara.

Hemming has described Fawcett as a Nietzchean explorer, who sprouted eugenic gibberish and was obsessed with the exotic and the occult. Later explorers have found him something of an embarrassment. He is not listed in most of the official anthologies of exploration. If anything, he is thought of as the Lord Lucan of the exploring world, whose most dramatic achievement was to get himself lost.

For he never found anything of particular value. First sent to Bolivia and Brazil to do map surveying work in 1906, seconded from his duties as a British officer, he returned in 1914 after having heard stories about a huge ruined city said to have been seen by Portuguese bandits north of Minas Gerais in 1743. Even by the standards of South America, that is old and second-hand information, from an unreliable source.

The Lost City of Z, in pictures 1 /6 The Lost City of Z, in pictures

But his potential sponsors at the Royal Geographical Society lapped it up. This was an age of heroic exploration, when the poles had just been reached and Machu Picchu discovered. Fawcett received the financial backing to pursue the glory that he had never found in his military career. He talked evocatively of ruins incomparably older than those in Egypt. Naming it as the lost city of Z showed his flair for publicity  and no wonder Hollywood has finally come calling, even if they have taken a century to do so.

After a series of inconclusive expeditions - one lasted just a few days before his horse died and he turned back - he set off in 1925 with his 21-year-old son, Jack, who was desperate to accompany his father. Fawcett himself was now 58 and aware that he might only have one last shot left at the main chance.

He disappeared in the Xingu, together with his young son and another companion. It caused a public outcry and journalistic sensation. A series of expeditions were mounted to try to find him. As with Lord Lucan, occasional sightings of a lone white man somewhere in the jungle - even if thousands of miles from where Fawcett had last been seen - were enough of an excuse for editors of the day to raise the story again.

What most likely happened to Fawcett - not something you will learn from the movie - has been painstakingly recreated by John Hemming and the documentary maker Adrian Cowell. It seems that Fawcetts racism led him into dangerous attitudes to the Indians, risking both his own life and that of his son. He recognised that tribes could be naturally hospitable; but failed to recognise that they also expected any visitors to be equally liberal.

Previous and current expeditions to the Amazon would always take quantities of presents. Fawcett did not, while still availing himself of anything the Indians could give him. Moreover George Dyott, the leader of one of the expeditions sent to find Fawcett after his disappearance, was told by Indians that Fawcett had broken an unwritten rule of forest travel. He had seen two canoes moored up on the back and simply taken them. Naturally the Nahukwa, whose canoes had been stolen, did not react well.

TODO: define component type brightcove

Likewise when Fawcett shot a duck - and much is made in the movie of his prowess as a marksman - he refused to share it with his Indian helpers. He also struck a young Indian boy who was playing with his knife. As Hemming remarks, striking an Indian in anger is a deep insult. The Xingu Indians are infuriated by any aggression against a child, since they are deeply affectionate parents And native hunters invariably share out their game.

Brazilian anthropologists the Villas Boa brothers - legendary in Amazonia for their longstanding work protecting the Indians - commented that Fawcett was the victim, as anyone else would have been, of the harshness and lack of tact that all recognised in him.

So why is none of this in the movie? The original book, by David Grann, was much more intelligent and nuanced, as one would expect from a staff writer on the New Yorker. But everything has gone wrong in its clumsy adaptation for the screen by director James Gray, who has written his own script and then filmed it with great reverence - almost always a mistake. There are some real clunkers in the dialogue:

We are thinking of sending you to Bolivia.

In South America?

Well, yes, of course, its the Bolivia in South America, which other one did you think he was talking about! This is comic book stuff. Every line is either signposted or signalled. Guffaws erupted around me in the preview theatre when for the very first shot of Fawcett in the jungle we see a snake slithering between his legs. Nor does Charlie Hunnams leaden depiction of Fawcett help. He plays the character as if everything he says are his last words - which over a lengthy 140 minute movie, makes the whole experience feel like the longest dying pause in history.

The only virtue of this lumpen behemoth of a film is if it draws attention to the unfolding discoveries in the Amazon at the moment. For although Fawcett may have done so for all the wrong grandstanding reasons, his suspicion that there may have been earlier civilisations in the Amazon has proved to be correct.

The problem in the past was that, for obvious reasons, while great Andean civilisations like the Incas could build in stone - and so Machu Picchu, for instance, has been magnificently preserved - in the Amazon, the only available material was wood; however grandiose the civilisation, it naturally rotted away. Yet recent archaeological techniques have revealed how pre-Columbian tribes successfully converted the shallow topsoil of the rainforest into rich black earth - and has given credence to the early accounts by conquistadors of great civilisations they glimpsed when floating down the Amazon.

There is a fascinating movie to be made about exploration in the Amazon. This isnt it. Anyone wanting more illumination should see the Oscar-nominated Embrace Of The Serpent which came out last year, made by South Americans and with a silverine, elegant charm to which Lost City of Z can only aspire.

And anyone heading out to a London dinner-party this evening should perhaps remember to take a reciprocal bottle or face the consequences. While those going to see the movie in its opening week may need sleeping tablets, resilient buttocks - and a healthy dose of scepticism.

Hugh Thomson has led many expeditions to Peru, as recounted in his book The White Rock: An Exploration of the Inca Heartland. He won the inaugural Wainwright Prize for The Green Road into the Trees. A sequel, One Man and a Mule, is published by Preface Random House this June. @Hugh_Author
F rom my office window in Parliament I look down on Westminster Bridge and the pavement outside, which is covered in flowers. Its a painful reminder of how a normal Wednesday afternoon turned suddenly into a day of horror and loss for ordinary Londoners and for one extraordinary police officer.

I can imagine the frantic reaction inside government. The Cobra situation room, packed with senior ministers, police officers and security officials, poring over the intelligence reports.

I know what it must have been like because I sat in many such meetings. I remember the immense pressure that ministers are under to reassure the public that everything is being done to keep them safe.

Thats why I have some sympathy for Amber Rudd, who yesterday attacked internet companies, especially WhatsApps use of encryption technology. Shes a new Home Secretary, confronted with this situation for the first time. Shes right, of course, that internet companies have a vital role in helping the police and the security services. And I share her obvious irritation when the industry reacts slowly to matters of public concern, like the recent furore over the placement of adverts next to extremist content.

But thats where my sympathy runs out. Because Rudds proposals to end encryption as we know it are undeliverable and are not going to make London any safer.

Amber Rudd on WhatsApp - social media giants must do more in terror fight

First, the police have confirmed that Khalid Masood acted alone. There is no indication that he had any accomplices or that he used encrypted services to plan his brutal attack. He wasnt under surveillance. There had been no request to read his messages. Second, while encryption undoubtedly makes the authorities job harder, you cant ban your way to a better solution.

Rudd criticised WhatsApp and companies such as Apple for offering end-to-end encryption. Encryption technology renders a message completely private and unreadable by anyone who might want to intercept it in transit, whether thats a hacker, a police officer, or a foreign spy. The only people who can read the message are the sender and the recipient. Even the company that provides the service cannot pry into your messages.

While this is obviously reassuring for anyone who worries about their privacy online  opinion polls suggest that many people are  it undoubtedly poses a dilemma for the security services too. While the authorities can ask to see a suspects messages, encryption means that the company simply doesnt have them.

Surely it cant be right that there are safe spaces where terrorists can communicate in secret? I agree. Who wouldnt? But the reality is more complicated. The only reason the police know that Khalid Masood sent a WhatsApp message minutes before last weeks attack is that they have his phone. That tells you something important. If you want to read a suspects messages, you have to get into their handset. The security services can do that, either by getting hold of the phone or hacking into it. Its not easy, but its possible and perfectly legal.

But the Government isnt content with this. It wants to go further and order the companies concerned to use weaker forms of encryption, or face being blocked in the UK.

Weve been here before. Powers that could have been used to force companies to remove end-to-end encryption have been on the statute book since 2000, but have never been used. David Cameron railed against end-to-end encryption in a speech in January 2015. Nothing happened. Why?

First and foremost because were talking about a useful technology. Businesses rely on it to prevent cyber crime and to reassure customers that their data is secure. Its used in everything from banking to online shopping.

David Davis was heavily critical of Camerons plans. Writing in 2015, before he took up his current Cabinet position, he said: Such a move would have had devastating consequences for all financial transactions and online commerce, not to mention the security of all personal data. Its consequences for the City do not bear thinking about.

The second reason is that a ban would be impossible to enforce unless we took the dramatic step of cutting the UK off from the rest of the internet. End-to-end encrypted messaging services arent limited to WhatsApp and iMessage. The technology is essentially free and used by thousands of companies around the world. The Government might try to bar one or two of the big players from the UK but people would simply access other identical services in other countries. Thats the nature of the internet.

The only way to put a stop to end-to-end encryption would be to erect a Chinese-style great firewall, cutting the UK off from the rest of the internet and creating a national internet instead. That would be grossly damaging to our economy and to our civil liberties. Yet that is the logical conclusion of Amber Rudds statements.

So the Government is once again raising expectations that cannot be satisfied. Thats not to say there isnt a problem  there clearly is  but the solution is more subtle and less headline-grabbing than ministers would like.

Intelligence agencies have long been in an arms race with technology. As I saw for myself in government, our agencies are extraordinarily smart at finding new covert technological solutions to new challenges. The solution isnt to try to turn the clock back; its to call on the ingenuity of the boffins at GCHQ.

'A ban would be impossible to enforce unless we took the dramatic step of cutting the UK off from the rest of the internet'

Politicians often grasp for analogies from the physical world when talking about the internet. Amber Rudd spoke yesterday of the days when spies would steam open envelopes.

But the truth is there is no neat analogy for end-to-end encryption. Theres a postman but no post office. There is an envelope, but when you steam it open the message is a jumble of meaningless characters.

Amber Rudd will quickly realise that shes not only on a collision course with the tech companies, but also with an invention that cant be uninvented.

The safety of Londoners depends on her taking a more sensible approach.
A terrific feat of art and engineering opens at Tate Britain tomorrow. Hanging from the ceiling of the Duveen Galleries, the three neo-classical halls that are the spine of the building, is an extraordinary constellation of neon sculptures: huge lines, loops, arcs and lozenges of white light.

When I visit, the artist Cerith Wyn Evans is watching the progress of this huge and complex work. I meet him in the north Duveen gallery beneath this luminous drawing in space. Nearby, technicians are busily attaching neon forms to long electrical cables dangling from the ceiling, each one carefully numbered and marked in a diagram on the floor.

Seen en masse from a distance the neons look tangled, but as you walk below them they separate and form patterns, implying movement. They are based on the notation of steps in Noh, a tightly codified traditional form of dance from Japan. Forms in Space by Light (in Time), as the work is called, is spectacular; many visitors will quickly reach for their smartphones. But they might find it difficult to capture.

Ive tried to do something which is hard to photograph, Wyn Evans tells me in a musical Welsh accent. Everything is trafficked through social media and, before you know it, itll be around the world. Thats just the nature of producing visual art these days, especially something which is  dare I say it without sounding arrogant  photogenic in the way that this piece is. But he wanted to make the work so that nothing could match being in the space of the piece, here and now.

The artist: Cerith Wyn Evans at Tate Britain / EPA

Wyn Evans, 59, knows the Duveens and Tate Britain better than most. For my 12th birthday, my dad brought me as a treat from Wales, so we know exactly how long it was since I first walked in here, he says. And, precocious as I must have been at the time  it seems mad to think of it now, that a 12-year-old could think it  I really wanted to see the Mark Rothkos. The Abstract Expressionists paintings were like pop stars for me, he says.

Art became Wyn Evanss life, and several years later he moved from his home in Llanelli to study at Central Saint Martins college in Charing Cross Road. He arrived amid a dramatic rupture in the capitals history, when punk was exploding; the Sex Pistols had played their first, infamous gig at Saint Martins the previous year. It was the most wonderful place to be, slap-bang in the middle of all of it. At the time, you just felt like the cat whod got the cream, because at lunchtime youd go to the pub on the corner and thered be Sid Vicious getting pissed.

As the punk scene died and New Romanticism emerged, Wyn Evans became a significant figure in the gay scene around the Blitz club and Taboo, the haunts of a new breed of artists and performers, such as the dancer Michael Clark, pop star Boy George and the artist and film director Derek Jarman. By now a film-maker himself, he helped picture this landmark moment in British queer culture, capturing the subversive performances of Leigh Bowery and working as an assistant on Jarmans films, while also beginning to find his own voice.

Today, Wyn Evans retains some of the flamboyance that defined New Romanticism  hes dressed in a beautiful, red-brown Buddhist robe from Tibet with a jade silk scarf. If I dont get laughed at by children in the street, I feel as if Im not dressed properly. And you can get away with murder if someone thinks youre a holy man.

One view of his Tate neon installation is as a kind of shrine  it takes the Duveen Galleries literally. Because its temple architecture, actually. So its looking at this idea of re-inaugurating its temple-like qualities. A major influence on Wyn Evanss thinking was Marcel Duchamp, the father of conceptual art. Three neon sculptures in the central Octagon gallery directly quote forms in Duchamps seminal work the Large Glass (1915-23), of which Tate owns a version.

Duchamp took these shapes from opticians eye charts and cryptically called them Oculist Witnesses. He was fascinated, like many modern artists, by the idea of a fourth dimension.

Visually quoting Duchamp also has a political aspect to it, he explains. I voted very much Remain Especially since we are in the epicentre of somewhere that is branding itself as Tate Britain. What does Britain mean? And what are we about to step into? Because Marcel Duchamp left France to move to America, and in a sense there needs to be the free movement of people in relation to the free movement of ideas.

He is aware of the complexities of these multiple references. He admits that he must have been a real pain in the arse to the people at the Tate who are charged with explaining the work to the public. My tendency is that Id rather bamboozle people than just undersell them their intelligence, he says. He was knocked for six in one conversation where he was told that what people want is snackable content.

Its bloody Alan Partridge, its beyond the pale, this toe-curlingly embarrassing analogy of food with the idea of information. Like you really are so grotesque that you have to pick in some horribly anorexic way around what you choose to communicate to another person.

He wants to allow viewers the space to think, to spend some time where youre not worrying about whether youre consuming it or whether youre really getting it, and rushing over to the label on the wall in order for it to tell you exactly.

Perhaps a good starting point is to think of the installation as a vast neon star map; the work is called Forms in Space by Light (in Time), after all. These footsteps in the sky, this drawing in space, was somehow an attempt to consider that theres this vast, universal time that is also the backdrop to all of this, Wyn Evans says. It does have these aspirations to think really, really big, to think cosmically. I thought, If you are going to be given a really big gig, why hold back?

Cerith Wyn Evanss Forms in Space by Light (in Time) is at Tate Britain, SW1 (020 7887 8888; tate.org.uk) from tomorrow until August 20.
W hen Douglas Carswell, MP for Clacton, abandoned Ukip in a shock manoeuvre on Saturday, the Right-wing group lost its entire parliamentary party in one fell swoop. No wonder, then, that its most visible members screeched betrayal. Nigel Farage claimed Carswell was never in Ukip (contradicting his own previous description of Carswells association with the party as a marriage made in heaven). Paul Nuttall, Ukips current leader, claimed that Carswell had been about be sacked. Arron Banks, who co-founded Leave EU and bankrolled Ukip but was suspended from the party earlier this month, tweeted yesterday that Carswell was: borderline autistic with mental illness.

Carswell is unmoved. He describes himself as luxuriating in a state of Zen-like euphoria ever since his side was victorious in the EU referendum in June, a state only heightened by his well-planned abandonment, and possible annihilation of Ukip.

Perhaps its no wonder he has little loyalty to Ukip. It was just over two years ago, in August 2014, that the maverick Eurosceptic backbencher defected to Farages party, in a move that rocked the Conservatives. For Carswell, Ukip was merely a legitimate means to an end  the end being Brexit: Leaving the European Union has consistently been the lone star around which everything has orbited, he says. I wanted Britain to leave the European Union. I correctly understood that in order to force David Cameron into giving us a referendum, it was necessary to join Ukip  to make sure the right people ran the right sort of campaign. It was essential to make sure that Ukip didnt run the referendum campaign and there are obviously going to be people in Ukip who are going to be cross about that. But Im not  we won the referendum.

Farage now claims that Carswell was working against Ukip all along. If the central charge against me is that I dont have a Britains-gone-to-the-dogs Eurosceptism, Im guilty as charged. I would say that optimistic approach was rather vindicated on June 23. Can you imagine if the other lot won that referendum campaign?

Carswell claims he arbitrarily chose Saturday to announce his resignation. This claim seems unlikely to be true given that Saturday was when tens of thousands of protesters gathered in London to March for Europe, an event that was distracted by Carswells bombshell.

Hed made the announcement via email to his 20,000 constituents, and then on his blog. He hasnt spoken to Nuttall, who is said to have found out about the defection through a text on a friends phone, or to Farage since before that by-election we lost. Not the Stoke one  the one before that. All I would have been doing is giving them a heads-up. Already one or two people tried to invent myths that I was about to be pushed before I jumped, which is utter nonsense. Imagine if I had picked up the phone and said, Oh Im going to make this announcement. Do you think they would have taken it passively? Of course they would have spun it. They spun it afterwards as much as they could.

Ukip: Nuttall and Carswell at odds over MP's resignation

Because of Carswells resignation, he has spoken to the Standard twice in the past five days. The first time was on Wednesday morning in his office in Westminster. He was on cloud nine, noting that it was exactly a week before Article 50 was due to be triggered. He was still in Ukip then, but playfully made a point of referring to Farage at all times as Sir Nigel  one of the key reasons the two are said to have fallen out is that Carswell apparently refused to lobby for Farages longed-for knighthood. An hour after the interview, 52-year-old Khalid Masood killed four people outside Parliament, including a police officer, before being shot dead. The response of Ukipers Farage and Nuttall has been controversial. In an interview with Fox News, Farage blamed the attack on multiculturalism.

Yesterday, Carswell spoke about Ukip members reactions. Essential to being a shock jock is that you are shocking, so I think we might take with a pinch of salt some of the things that people say. The charge that Farage has been given too much airtime is a contentious but very valid point, he says. I hope that when people select someone to speak on an issue, they might think carefully who it is theyre inviting to come and comment. He suggests that perhaps with the new technology we should learn to all press our mute buttons. Maybe with the social media revolution we need to be a little bit more discerning as to who we listen to. Theres a lot of noise out there.

Nigel Farage and Douglas Carswel / David Tett/LNP/REX/Shutterstock

Carswell isnt the only one deserting the Ukip ship. Some 3.8 million people made the move to Ukip at the last general election. I think were seeing many people making the same journey Im making. I think Im right in saying most of our county councillors in the east of England are not standing again. A lot of this is linked to the realisation that our job is done.

This coming Wednesday will be the best day of my political life, theres going to be a very long, warm afterglow. Londoners, who mostly voted to remain, are unlikely to share his joy, which led him, last year, to post a tweet suggesting Britain should declare June 23 Independence Day a national holiday. Will London be celebrating? No. I say this with reverence to your readers  the last thing we want to do on June the 23 or this Wednesday is do anything that looks like gloating. The referendum was divisive. People need to come together and I think to have a June 23 celebration would hinder that.

Hes not going to force a by-election in Clacton because (read the small print) hes not actually changing political parties. Farage wants to force a vote in the constituency but Carswell is relaxed. Ive literally had thousands of responses, and with the exception of a tiny handful they are overwhelmingly supportive. Will Banks follow through on his pledge to stand against him? Is he a member of Ukip these days? I dont know. For whom would he stand?

Douglas Carswell quits Ukip: A look back at his time in the party

Will Carswell go back to the Conservatives? Im not going to rejoin the Conservatives  Id need to call a by-election, my wife [Clementine] would kill me and my constituents wouldnt be too happy. I used to think that we needed to fix politics by having the right people as the right ministers. But I now think we need far-reaching revolutionary change. Because at the moment politics is Tweedledee versus Tweedledum. Theres no real accountability of those who make public policy to the public.

So will he stand as an independent? No. Never? Well who knows whats coming. A new party, then? Someone at Conservative Home was saying today that the old political order is back in charge. Well, actually, no they arent. The referendum shows that there is a new politics and its not going to go away. Carswells new book, Rebel, is all about that  its cover shows a red clenched fist.

Crucial to understanding Carswell is to realise that he sees himself as a revolutionary. I want to overturn many of the established orthodoxies, he says. Vote Leave created a pop-up party, using the internet to mobilise people in parts of the country where political parties had been redundant for decades. Should traditional parties be worried? Goodness, yes... Theres a huge opportunity out there for the right sort of insurgency.

What about his accountability? If, after Brexit, Britain falls apart, are we going to be able to hold its chief architect to account? Absolutely. I was one of Vote Leave and I have been pushing for this for all my adult life. If it goes well  please dont regard me as a leader, please regard me as a small player in a big game  Im very, very happy to defend it. I think its going to be the most extraordinary improvement in our democracy and our economy.

Resignation: MP Douglas Carswell leaves a television studio in central London / REUTERS

People who write him off underestimate the drive that his ideological aspirations give him, which he shares with quite a few members of the Leave campaign, many of whom have, like him, fallen away once Brexit was achieved. For months the cavalry didnt arrive and there was this wonderful day when suddenly Boris and Michael and all the rest of them declared and we thought, Thank goodness!. But wed already tried to put in place a sort of army for them to lead. For Carswell, and many like him, Brexit itself is but a means to an end: a new libertarian world order.

He is confident about Theresa May and commends David Davis on his performance before the Commons Brexit Committee. Hes happy that the automatic right of freedom of movement of people will come to an end and foresees a seasonal workers scheme and something similar for the construction industry.

Carswell says he is confident about Theresa May / Matt Writtle

Hes unconcerned by the announcement by Goldman Sachs that it is going to relocate 600 jobs to the Continent. Lets wait and see. I suspect that in 10 or 20 years the City of Londons gravity of the financial centre will be even greater. He claims, but cant prove, that there has been a sea change in attitudes among businesses, who see the opportunity for business in the rest of the world.

What about holidays, will Britons be able to go Spain without a visa? I think there will be deal that will allow the free movement of workers, he says. No queues at Dover? I dont think its going to happen. Weve done quite a lot of homework on it and weve come up with some really thought-through ideas. It would be wonderful if people could focus on the fact that there are actually some very straightforward answers to some of these issues.

It would be wonderful if Carswell could give some straightforward answers too. He deals not in certainties but visions. One of the extraordinary facts of leaving the EU is to trigger a huge democratic discussion about how things could be different, he says.

Farage is unhappy and destined to remain so. Let me put it this way, weve won. Why the grumpiness, why the anger? Im pleased as punch. Why are there still so many angry people at the top of Ukip then? I think there are one or two people whove never forgiven me for winning my seat. And a measure of jealousy? Can I tell you a little secret? I dont really think about it. Were out of the European Union. Ever since June 23 I walk to work with a spring in my step. If there are some people who are grumpy, Im sorry, I dont really think about them.

Follow Stefanie Marsh on Twitter: @MarshStefanie

Rebel: How to Overthrow the Emerging Oligarchy is published by Head of Zeus, 18.99
A driver who lost control of his car and crashed into pedestrians outside a north London pub was fleeing the scene of an attempted mugging, it has emerged.

The Metropolitan Police said they were called to the scene of a mugging in nearby Cross Street, five minutes before the violent smash in Islington on Saturday night.

A teenage driver sent drinkers flying "like dominoes" when he lost control on a bend and slammed into the crowd outside the Old Queens Head on Essex Road.

Witnesses today said it was a miracle no-one was killed in the crash.

The crash has been referred to the Mets professional standards agency, the Directorate of Professional Standards, for review as a matter of routine.

Emergency response: Police on the scene of the crash in Islington / Shulem Stern/Twitter

Four youths were arrested at the scene. A fifth male was arrested last night.

One knife was found on the pavement and a second was retrieved following a search of the car.

The suspects have been arrested on charges including suspicion of GBH with intent, robbery and possession of blades.

One pub-goer said: I was at the back of the queue with my friends when the car came screeching round the corner at about 50mph, coming straight for me.

I pushed over the barriers and fell to the floor as the car smashed into three people in front of me. They were knocked over like dominoes.

Everyone was screaming as the driver then drove off."

A neighbour told the Standard she screech of tyres before running out onto her balcony to see three people being swept off their feet.

She said: One of them got stuck and the car just dragged them along the ground.

Several people were injured after a car ploughed into pedestrians in Essex Road, Islington / Shulem Stern/Twitter

There was one police car there behind the car the whole time. It looked as if it was being chased.

The car came to a stop and I just remember some young looking lads get out and run.

Everyone was running, people were jumping over fences and hiding behind walls to get away.

I remember all the guys splitting, none of them ran together, Not even a minute later police cars came from every direction, there were around five or six ambulances and so many more police cars.

After around five minutes they pulled the person out from under the car. She was just covered in blood, they carefully got her on to the stretcher and took her away.

Pub owner Steve Ball told the Standard: The whole thing was over in a flash. The car was obviously going at speed when it hit the pavement.

I got there very quickly after the incident. The police were already there so they must have got there in seconds.

Superintendent Peter Gardner said: This is a complicated incident involving a number of suspects. We are continuing to question those we have detained and are appealing for information and witnesses to piece together the events of the evening.

I would like to praise the actions of our officers who dealt with a traumatic incident and displayed remarkable courage and professionalism.

Witnesses can contact Central North Area CID via 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org
Since the end of funnel week, we have been busy debating various bills. We had several visitors to the capitol, took a couple of groups to the dome to view Des Moines from the top of the capitol, and met with county officials and economic development people, while they were in Des Moines for meetings.

Last week, House Republicans passed one of the strongest protections of Iowans Second Amendment rights in years. The bill allows parents to teach their children proper handgun safety, under direct supervision, when they think it is best. This bill also allows Iowans to defend themselves in the event of danger and removes the duty to retreat.

The Election Integrity and Modernization bill will make changes to the election process, including voter verification, which will make it easier to vote, harder to cheat and ensure no one is turned away.

House Files 564 and 565 provide schools with more flexibility, allowing locally elected officials to utilize unused funds which are typically reserved for specific purposes. These bills recognize no two school districts are exactly alike and will allow each school district to better meet the specific needs of their students and teachers.

Two other bills aimed at Iowas children passed the house. House File 215 extends insurance coverage for children with autism and ensures access to programs with proven, positive outcomes in the childs development. The other bill, House File 296 protects kids by keeping deadly synthetic drugs off the streets and making it easier to prosecute sellers of those drugs.

A bill to create a state wide minimum wage was passed. I believe in local control, but a patchwork of minimum wages from county to county and even within a county does not make sense for Iowa.

On Thursday afternoon, the Workers Compensation Reform bill (House File 518) passed the house. I did not support the original bill, but with the amendment added, I think this will be a good bill for employers and employees. The amendment to the bill addresses the concerns we heard from workers and employers at a public hearing, forums, and emails. The amendment adds retraining (community college program) for an employee with a shoulder injury that prohibits him/her from returning to work and deleted the age and predominant factor clauses.

The Revenue Estimating Conference lowered revenue projections for FY 17 by $131 million. With only a few months left in this fiscal year, Governor Branstad has recommended using the Cash Reserve account to make up the budget shortfall. I believe this and continued review of tax credits will be the topics of conversation over the next couple of weeks.

Please contact me anytime you have questions or concerns. Jane.bloomingdale@legis.iowa.gov.

Rep. Jane Bloomingdale, R-Northwood, District 51
A young man was rushed to hospital after being stabbed in broad daylight outside a Tesco Express in south-west London.

The victim, aged in his 20s, is thought to have been knifed by another male after an argument broke out on Garratt Lane in Earlsfield.

Police officers and paramedics were called to the scene at 5.40pm on Sunday.

The victim was taken to a south London hospital for treatment but police today revealed that his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

The road was cordoned off and pictures from the scene showed police vehicles blocking traffic while officers investigated the crime scene.

Officers from Wandsworth CID are appealing for witnesses and information which could help them track down the alleged knifeman. There have not yet been any arrests.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Wandsworth CID via 101 - you can also tweet @MetCC with information. Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
T he family of American tourist Kurt Cochran killed in the Westminster terror attack today spoke of their sadness at his death.

In a statement from the family of Mr Cochran and his wife Melissa, who who suffered a broken leg and rib as well as a cut head in the atrocity, they also spoke of the outpouring of love and generosity from people in Britain and the States.

Speaking at Scotland Yard, just yards from the scene of the attack, the family said Melissa was steadily improving.

The couple, from Utah, were enjoying the final day of a trip of a lifetime to celebrate their 25th anniversary when they were caught up in the attack.

Mr Cochran, 54, who had his own recording studio, was killed when by Khalid Masoods 4X4 car and his wife was also struck and injured.

The statement said: This has been a humbling and difficult experience, but weve felt the love of so many people during these past several days.

London Terror Attack Floral Tributes at Westminster - 27 March 2017 1 /16 London Terror Attack Floral Tributes at Westminster - 27 March 2017 Hero MP Tobias Ellwood looks over the flowers left in tribute to the victims of the attack in Westminster Jeremy Selwyn He paused at the solemn scene in Parliament Square this morning Jeremy Selwyn Flowers from Prime Minister Theresa May amongst tributes to the victims of the Westminster terrorist attack outside the Palace of Westminster Jeremy Selwyn Two school children look at the floral tributes Jeremy Selwyn A woman observes the flowers pinned to the Carriage Gates where the attack took place Jeremy Selwyn Outpouring of support: flowers at the scene of the attack in Westminster Jeremy Selwyn Three police officers stand in front of the floral tributes Jeremy Selwyn A female police officer pays her respects at the scene Jeremy Selwyn A woman in jogging attire stops to remember the victims of the attack Jeremy Selwyn A man looks at floral tributes to the victims of the Westminster terrorist attack outside the Palace of Westminster Lauren Hurley/PA Police officers stand in front of the floral tributes Jeremy Selwyn Labour MP Hilary Benn passes floral tributes to the victims of the Westminster terrorist attack outside the Palace of Westminster Lauren Hurley/PA

It has been a tender experience for our family to be together with Melissa here. Her health is steadily improving and she has been strengthened by the presence of her family. She is so grateful for the outpouring of love and generosity.

Our family is so grateful for the first responders, the medical personnel, the assistance of government agencies in the United States and Great Britain along with the generosity and assistance of Delta Airlines in arranging for our travel to and from London.

So many people have been so kind, and we are deeply touched by their goodness and generosity. Your notes, prayers, donations and love have helped us so much.

The most difficult part of all of this is that Kurt is no longer with us, and we miss him terribly. He was an amazing individual who loved everyone and tried to make the world a better place.

"He left a legacy of generosity and service that continues to inspire us. We are deeply saddened to lose him but are grateful that the world is coming to know him and be inspired by him. Thank you for your many stories that have touched our family and helped us remember and celebrate his life.

Mr Cochran was killed on Westminster Bridge along with Aysha Frade and Leslie Rhodes. Khalid Masood then stabbed police officer Keith Palmer to death outside Parliament.
A mother-of-nine and her nephew became innocent victims of a "vendetta of violence" when they were shot dead in their north west London home, a court has heard.

Annie Ekofo, 53, and psychology student Bervil Ekofo, 21, were allegedly killed by Obina Ezeoke at their flat in East Finchley, on September 15 last year.

Silent "assassin" Ezeoke is accused of shooting Mr Ekofo in the head at point-blank range as he slept, then killed his aunt when she came out to investigate, the Old Bailey heard.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Mark Heywood QC said the alleged killer crept noiselessly into the home and shot Mr Efoko in a case of mistaken identity.

He added: "At first, none of the six people sleeping inside heard anything. Almost all were still asleep.

"The killer moved to his left and into a bedroom. There ahead of him was a young man, sleeping on a thin mattress on the floor under a duvet.

East Finchley Shooting 1 /17 East Finchley Shooting Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, where found dead with gunshot wounds Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, were found dead with gunshot wounds. Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, were found dead with gunshot wounds. Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, were found dead with gunshot wounds. Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, were found dead with gunshot wounds. Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, where found dead with gunshot wounds. Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, were found dead with gunshot wounds. Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA The bodies of Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, are removed from flats in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London after they were found dead with gunshot wounds. Victim Bervil Ekofo pictured with his mother Maymie Botamba. PA Distraught onlookers at the scene in East Finchley. Lucy Young Shooting: Police at the scene of the incident on Elmhurst Crescent. @miliremersaro Forensics attend the scene at Elmhurst Crescent. Lucy Young The flats in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London. Francesca Gosling/PA

"For the killer, this was as good a target as he could expect, a young man of the house of just the right age.

"He crept forward, gun in hand. He raised the muzzle and placed it almost against the back of the sleeping dreadlocked head.

"And then, with a deliberation and purpose that was as much cowardly as it was murderous, he pulled the trigger."

After he had unleashed "hell" on the household, the mother of the family came into the hall dressed only in her underwear, jurors were told.

Following his dreams: Beverly was described as a hard working student / Met Police

Instead of waving his revolver to scare her off, the killer raised the barrel and pulled the trigger for a second time, the court heard.

Mr Heywood said: "The Crown's case is that the cowardly killer is this defendant, Obina Ezeoke.

"He went there quite deliberately with a gun to attack and kill one of the young men of the family, one of those in their teens, as part of a vendetta of violence.

"His hate was such that he did not falter when confronted by a second person - he simply took her life as well.

Victim: Annie Ekofo died along with her nephew

"In fact, both lives were innocent. The young man he killed was a cousin, visiting at short notice, for one night only."

The court heard that a young granddaughter found Mrs Ekofo lying on the floor in just her underwear and with blood on her chest.

She cried out: "There's something wrong with Grandma."

Other members of the family alerted emergency services and tried to help Mrs Ekofo, who appeared to have a pulse and was trying to breathe.

It was only later that Mr Ekofo was found lying face down on the floor with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.

Both were pronounced dead within minutes just after 7am.

The prosecutor told jurors there was no doubt the execution-style killings amounted to murder but the "core question" would be whether Ezeoke was involved.

Ezeoke, previously of Cambridge Heath, east London, denies two counts of murder.

The trial continues.

Additional reporting by Press Association.
P olice have launched a fresh appeal a year after two men were left seriously injured when a BMW ploughed into them in an alleged hit-and-run.

Shocking CCTV footage shows the car stopped by the side of Upton Lane in Newham, to allow a passenger to get inside.

The car pulls away before appearing to brake as it hits the two men, who are thrown onto the bonnet before falling into the road. The car then speeds off.

One of the victims, aged 50, suffered several broken bones and still does not have full use of his right arm, Scotland Yard said.

Police have launched a fresh appeal a year after the horrific crash / Met Police

The second man, 52, suffered a cardiac arrest.

Both have been released from hospital but their treatment is ongoing.

Police are trying to locate the driver and possible passengers of a Renault Megane which was driving behind the BMW at the time of the crash.

Detective Constable Stephen Field from Newham CID said: "Both victims suffered extensive injuries, which they are still recovering from now.

We know there was a Renault Megane which was driving directly behind at the time of the collision.

The driver or anyone travelling in that vehicle may have vital information that can help us trace who was responsible."

The incident happened on Sunday, March 27 last year, at about 10.30pm.

Any witnesses or anyone with any information about the collision is asked to call Detective Constable Stephen Field at Newham CID on 0208 217 5085 or police on 101 or via Twitter @MetCC.

To give information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-uk.org.
A man has been jailed for 21 years for abusing teenage boys he met and groomed using the CB radio network more than 30 years ago.

Trevor Franklin, 61, was convicted of 11 charges of non-recent child sexual abuse after a three-week trial at the Inner London Crown Court.

He was found guilty of raping a teenage boy and indecently assaulting three other children between 1985 and 1993.

Officers in the Mets Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Abuse Command (SOECA) began an investigation in early 2015 after one of the victims told an officer at Surrey Police about the sexual abuse he had suffered.

Three of the boys, aged between 11 and 15 years old, came into contact with Franklin through the use of CB radios.

The victims all described how Franklin, who was aged in his late 20s and 30s at the time of the offences, befriended them and invited them to his home.

He also took the boys on trips in his car and gave them alcohol and cigarettes.

PC Luke Pressling, of the Mets Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Abuse Command, said: Franklin is a predatory paedophile who abused the trust of four boys he had befriended.

I would like to commend the courage of the four men who reported the offences to police and gave evidence in court.

Although no prison sentence can ever make up for the physical and psychological damage caused by the appalling abuse they suffered, I hope the long sentence given to Franklin gives them some form of closure.

This case highlights that, no matter the length of time that has passed, the public should feel reassured that we will thoroughly investigate all historic sexual offences and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

Franklin, of Mayplace Road East, Bexleyheath, was convicted of two charges of rape and eight charges of indecent assault on boys under the age of 16.
P olice are hunting four men after a 16-year-old boy was ambushed and stabbed in front of terrified Tube commuters in north-west London.

Emergency services rushed to the scene after members of the public reported a fight on a staircase at Queensbury station.

The boy was with a group of friends when they were targeted by a group of four men. He was stabbed once.

British Transport Police and Met Police officers attended, as well as paramedics who treated the victim before taking him to hospital.

Police want to speak to four men after the incident / BTP

The station was closed for about five hours as forensic investigators combed the scene for evidence.

No arrests have been made in connection with the incident, which happened at about 12.45pm on Thursday February 9.

Police have appealed after the incident at Queensbury Tube station

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Dean Percival, said: Our investigation into this nasty assault continues and we are now in a position to release CCTV images of four men we would like to speak with.

Station stabbing: A fight broke out Queensbury station / Dipz Patel/Facebook

I believe they each could possess vital information which may help our enquiries.

Thankfully, the victims stab wounds were not serious and he was discharged from hospital later the same day. Despite this, the violent and shocking nature of this unprovoked assault means we will continue to track those individuals who targeted this victim.

Queensbury Station stabbing

I am very keen to hear from anyone who was in the station at the time or who witnessed a group of men running away from Queensbury station just before 1pm.

Please get in touch as your information could be vital to our investigation.

Violent assaults such as this are thankfully uncommon, but when they do occur we will use all available evidence to find those responsible and bring them before the courts.

Anyone with any information is asked to text BTP on 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 261 of 08/02/2017. Or, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A row has erupted over a Met Police risk assessment form which critics claim leads to grime and R&B artists' shows being targeted because of "race".

Premises and event owners who want to hold events in many areas in the UK can be asked to complete a Form 696.

According to the BBC, Culture Minister Matt Hancock will raise concerns with Mayor Sadiq Khan about the use of the form in London.

Grime artists told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme that information passed on via the form has led to the cancellation of their gigs at the last minute.

Last year rapper Giggs, who had his tour cancelled in 2010 following police advice, called for police to work more closely with grime acts to stop shows being cancelled.

Artist P Money described the form as a race thing, saying he had been removed from gig line-ups on account of information passed on via the form.

P Money told the Victoria Derbyshire show the form was a "race thing"

He said: "It's been happening for so many years that now we kind of know, it's just our scene. They [police] target grime a lot, they just blame a lot of things on grime.

"We know they're just trying to shut down grime, because if it was anything else they wouldn't have this issue.

He added: "If, for example, Ed Sheeran had a show and a fight broke out, he's not going to do a 696 on his next arena tour.

"A fight still might have broken out though, but they don't look at it like that. They just think, 'Oh it's different for them.'

"Why is it different? There's fights everywhere, there's situations everywhere at all types of shows, all types of things, whether its punk, rock, hip hop, pop, whatever."

Form 696 asks for the names, stage names, addresses and phone numbers of all promoters and artists at an event.

Two questions asking for the ethnic make-up of the audience and the music genre being played at an event were removed from the original Met Police form in 2009 following complaints it was racist.

The Met Police denies the form targets certain genres of music.

A spokesman told the Standard: Some events can be problematic and in some cases have resulted in serious violence and disorder.

To assist in managing events of this type, the Metropolitan Police Service currently uses a system that allows premises and event owners who want to hold events, or use an outside promoter, to submit an event assessment form 696 to police.

He added that the process is voluntary except for events held at premises where there is a license condition stipulating a Form 696 must be filled out  for example when serious public disorder has occurred at the venue.

He said: The form does not target any particular group nor does it ask for the genre of music, event type, age range or demographic of the customers who attend.

The form aims to ensure event owners provide a safe working and leisure environment for all those attending events and promotions - this includes musicians, performers, staff and customers.

A City Hall spokesman said: Our priority is to keep Londoners safe and support a vibrant night time economy, and this means ensuring that all performances have the most appropriate security and safety plans in place.

We have supported a number of events that bring together the Met, music venues, and promoters to try to improve the understanding of when and how risk assessment form 696 should be used. In the majority of cases, the use of these forms is voluntary and it is very rare for the police to assess a planned event as high risk.
T he mother of a teenager stabbed to death outside a primary school has called on his killer to break his four-year silence on the reason for the attack.

Champion Ganda was just 17 when he was stabbed 11 times in the head, chest, arms and legs by drug dealer Amani Lynch in a street fight near Sandringham Primary School in Forest Gate in May 2013.

The teenager from Harold Hill, a talented rapper under the name Chrome and a former Arsenal youth trainee, was fatally wounded and collapsed in the street.

Lynch was sentenced to 14 years in youth detention on Friday after being found guilty of manslaughter but cleared of murder.

Police at the scene where Champion Ganda was killed

Champions mother Peguy Kato-Sweye spoke of the devastation her family has suffered and asked Lynch to explain what he did.

I have so many unanswered questions as to why this boy took my son from me, including what gave you the right to kill Champion the way you did.

What issues towards Champion were so big that it was worth taking away his life and taking away a loving son, brother, and grandson? she said in a victim impact statement.

Killer: Amani Lynch

Passing sentence at the Old Bailey, Judge Wendy Joseph QC said Lynch had shown an utter lack of understanding of what he had done.

She also criticised his behaviour during the trial, when he was seen grinning in the dock and joking around just yards away from Champions grieving relatives.

Prosecutor Simon Denison QC said Lynch was a hardened gang member who has 15 previous convictions, including seven drug crimes, two assaults, and he was caught with a knife in 2013.

He committed a further offence of drug dealing while on bail.

Lynch, of Canning Town, was also found guilty of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm on Champions friend Shaquille Davis.
C omplaints plummeted and job applications soared at a London hospital trust after it allowed TV cameras behind the scenes to witness the reality of life in the NHS.

Bosses at Imperial College Healthcare believe groundbreaking BBC2 series Hospital helped educate patients about the daily challenge of coping with soaring demand on limited resources.

The documentary made front-page headlines when A&E medics revealed they were firefighting every single day as the NHS endured the worst winter crisis in its history.

Watched by 2.5 million viewers per episode, it was described by critics as extraordinary and brilliant and brave. It showed how despite financial challenges Imperials doctors were able to perform amazing work such as heart surgery on a 98-year-old man.

Filming on a four-part second series, to be shown this summer, began last week. It will focus on mental health and social care.

Michelle Dixon, Imperials director of communications, said that after the progamme there was a big drop in the number of complaints from patients relating to clinical care.

At the same time, there was a 50 per cent increase in job applications from people wanting to join the trust, which runs five hospitals including St Marys in Paddington and Charing Cross in Hammersmith. Ms Dixon believes the series helped people appreciate that decisions to delay an operation were very clinically driven and in the best interest of all patients. Non-urgent operations were postponed to enable emergency cases to be prioritised.

The proportion of complaints about clinical issues really dropped, from about 75 per cent of complaints to 15 per cent, Ms Dixon said.

One thing we are looking at is how does this [documentary] help us communicate and engage with people? Is it when people understand more about what is going on? They might be unfortunate in waiting a long time for an operation. They may understand beds are under pressure, so they may not complain about certain things. We dont know whether its good or bad but something seemed to happen in the period the documentary went out.

The series also highlighted the cost of treating foreign patients, showing one case in which a Nigerian woman ran up a bill of more than 330,000, which she was unable to pay, when she went into labour prematurely with quadruplets on a flight home via London after being turned away from the US.

Ms Dixon said: A lot of the stories that were used to make wider points were not told in a simplistic or sensationalist way. It didnt try to put a spin on it. It told it like it is. We didnt think we had anything to hide.

It was interesting to see how much appetite there was [among viewers] for explaining things.@RossLydall
D ozens of fire fighters battled a huge house fire near a Tube station in north London on Monday evening.

Six fire engines and 35 firefighters were called out to tackle the blaze close to Chalk Farm Underground station, in Camden.

Flames ripped through a three-storey terraced house in Prince of Wales Road, close to Maitland Park Road, just after 7.30pm.

Dramatic footage posted on social media showed smoke billow over residential roads as flames tore through the top of the building.

Thick smoke: Clouds billowed over north London streets

The road was taped off for three hours while fire crews dealt with the fire which destroyed the first and second floors of the house, along with the roof, London Fire Brigade said.

A spokeswoman confirmed the Brigade was called to Prince of Wales Road to reports of house fire at 7.32pm.

Huge blaze: Flames ripped through a terraced house / Chantal Da Silva

Detectives are treating the fire as suspicious, Scotland Yard confirmed.

A spokesman added: There are no reports of any injured parties at this time.

At this early stage the fire is being treated as suspicious pending further investigation.

Station Manager Lee Walker said: "When I arrived on the scene there were flames coming out of the first and second floor windows of the property, the roof was also well alight.

The fire was under control by 10.30pm.
H eavily armed police stood guard as the Palace of Westminster gates re-opened for the first time today.

The Carriage Gates, stormed by fanatic Khalid Masood last Wednesday, were manned this morning by five apparently unarmed officers, who chatted to tourists and passers-by.

Immediately behind stood two armed officers while more armed patrols were in New Palace Yard, where Pc Keith Palmer died, and other parts of the Parliamentary estate.

Outside the gates, a wall of flowers has built up in recent days. Many of the displays pay tribute to Pc Palmer, 48, stabbed trying to stop Masood entering Parliament.

The increased police presence at Parliament today / Jeremy Selwyn

The terrorist, who had mown down 50 people on Westminster Bridge, was shot dead inside New Palace Yard by one of Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallons personal protection team.

One of the tributes at the gates reads: Dear Keith, RIP, you are a true hero! Our thoughts are with your family & friends.

Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood, who tried desperately to save Pc Palmers life, was among the thousands of people who read messages left with hundreds of bouquets of flowers on Parliament Square.

The gate was closed off with additional armed officers on duty / Jeremy Selwyn

One of them, from the Prime Minister, read: With deepest condolences for those who lost their lives as a result of this evil and cowardly attack. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families.a

The family of Pc Palmer visited the spot where he died on Saturday.

Today MPs and peers stepped up demands for security to be bolstered at Westminster amid reports that a table-top war game of a full-blown terrorist attack on Parliament, with four assailants with automatic weapons, could have left many MPs and other people on the premises dead.

Former Met Police commander Lord Paddick tweeted: We need to protect unarmed officers at perimeter.

Sniffer dogs on patrol at the scene of the attack / Jeremy Selwyn

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry suggested barriers should be put up to seal off part of the estate if a terror strike took place and that messages on how to respond could be broadcast by Tannoy.

She told BBC radios The Westminster Hour: There was confusion. And the truth is there are a lot of people who arent MPs and they dont have access to emails, and the visitors, and everybody else, they didnt know what was going on and they didnt have that form of communication.

"We have to think about a communication system that works for everybody.

A row continued to rage today over the encrypted messaging service WhatsApp, for potentially allowing terrorists to communicate undetected.

London Terror Attack Floral Tributes at Westminster - 27 March 2017 1 /16 London Terror Attack Floral Tributes at Westminster - 27 March 2017 Hero MP Tobias Ellwood looks over the flowers left in tribute to the victims of the attack in Westminster Jeremy Selwyn He paused at the solemn scene in Parliament Square this morning Jeremy Selwyn Flowers from Prime Minister Theresa May amongst tributes to the victims of the Westminster terrorist attack outside the Palace of Westminster Jeremy Selwyn Two school children look at the floral tributes Jeremy Selwyn A woman observes the flowers pinned to the Carriage Gates where the attack took place Jeremy Selwyn Outpouring of support: flowers at the scene of the attack in Westminster Jeremy Selwyn Three police officers stand in front of the floral tributes Jeremy Selwyn A female police officer pays her respects at the scene Jeremy Selwyn A woman in jogging attire stops to remember the victims of the attack Jeremy Selwyn A man looks at floral tributes to the victims of the Westminster terrorist attack outside the Palace of Westminster Lauren Hurley/PA Police officers stand in front of the floral tributes Jeremy Selwyn Labour MP Hilary Benn passes floral tributes to the victims of the Westminster terrorist attack outside the Palace of Westminster Lauren Hurley/PA

Masood is understood to have used the app moments before embarking on his 82-second killing spree, in which he mowed down tourists and workers on Westminster Bridge in a rented 4x4.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd called for encrypted networks to build back doors into their systems so security services can access terrorists messages during investigations.

Two men today remained in custody over the Westminster attack. Masoods most recent partner, Rohey Hydara, and a 32-year-old woman have been released after their arrest last week.

Counter-terror detectives believe the killer acted alone on the day but are still trying to establish if he had help in planning the attack.

In other developments:

MI5 is thought to have investigated Masoods links with four al Qaeda-inspired terrorists who admitted plotting a bomb attack on a Territorial Army base in Luton.

Masood may have been influenced by the teachings of jailed Islamic State supporter Anjem Choudary while he was living in Luton.

More details were revealed about the killers family.

Last week Theresa May confirmed that Masood had been investigated by the security services several years ago for links to violent extremism.

He was dismissed as a peripheral figure. It is thought the fitness fanatic may have come into contact with a gang of four extremists from Luton who were later jailed in 2013 for plotting attacks in the UK.

Masood, then called Adrian Ajao, lived less than a mile from one of the conspirators in 2010 and may have attended the same gym as the gang.

The fanatic taught English at the time and one colleague told The Times he once asked about the group Al-Muhajiroun, a banned extremist group run by Choudary, who was jailed last year for supporting IS.

Further details emerged today of the different paths followed by Masoods two daughters.

While his youngest Teegan Harvey, now 18, refused to convert to Islam and had a private education before attending sixth form at Tunbridge Wells Girls Grammar School, the eldest, Andi, 24, converted to Islam six years ago.

She is said to have followed her father to Birmingham, where he lived recently. Neighbours say she wears Islamic dress and covers her face in public.

Teegan still lives with her mother Jane Harvey, 48, a successful businesswoman, at their home in Tunbridge Wells. She first met Masood in the early Nineties, when he was known as Adrian Elms, and they settled in Northiam, near Rye in East Sussex. While there Masood was jailed after slashing a mans face with a knife and after his release from prison left his wife and two children to live in Eastbourne.

Yesterday a 30-year-old man was arrested in Birmingham on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts, making him the 12th person to be held over the attack.

Another man, 58, also arrested in Birmingham, remains in custody.

Officers have carried out 15 searches at various addresses in east London, south London, Brighton, Surrey, Carmarthenshire, Birmingham and Manchester.

Masoods victims included US tourist Kurt Cochran, who died, and his wife Melissa, who was badly hurt. Aysha Frade, believed to be a 43-year-old married mother of two, also died, along with retired window cleaner Leslie Rhodes. Dozens of other people were injured.
H ero MP Tobias Ellwood this morning paid quiet tribute to the victims of the horrific terror attack in Westminster.

Mr Ellwood was pictured bloodied at the scene of last week's attack after trying in vain to save the life of stabbed PC Keith Palmer.

He stopped in Parliament Square this morning and paused to look over the sea of flowers left in tribute to PC Palmer and the three others who died.

A growing sea of floral tributes has been left outside Parliament and along Westminster Bridge in the days after the attack.

MP Tobias Ellwood looks over a sea of flowers in Parliament Square on Monday / JEREMY SELWYN

Mr Ellwood has said he is "heartbroken" after his efforts to save PC Palmer failed.

Westminster attack: Londoners share messages of unity

Terrorist Khalid Masood was shot dead by police at the scene of the attack on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Ellwood gave PC Keith Palmer mouth to mouth resuscitation in a desperate attempt to save his life / JEREMY SELWYN

The 50-year-old MP rushed towards gunfire and was pictured with blood on his face and clothes as he frantically tried to give PC Palmer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

He said he was just doing what he was trained to do as he praised the "humbling" and "overwhelming" messages of support from the policing fraternity.

Caught up in the attack: Tobias Ellwood MP tries to save PC Keith Palmer outside the Palace of Westminster / Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

The Bournemouth East MP said in a statement last week: "I am heartbroken that I could not do more for Pc Keith Palmer who gave his life in holding the line against terrorism and defending democracy.

I shall be writing to the family of PC Palmer to offer my sincere condolences.

Mr Ellwood has been invited to join the Privy Council for his heroics / JEREMY SELWYN

"I'm deeply humbled and overwhelmed by the messages of support, especially from the policing fraternity, which I now realise is as close knit as the military's in supporting its own.

Westminster floral tributes 1 /9 Westminster floral tributes Floral tributes were left by well-wishers in Westminster REUTERS Floral tributes were left by well-wishers in Westminster REUTERS Floral tributes were left by well-wishers in Westminster REUTERS Floral tributes were left by well-wishers in Westminster REUTERS Floral tributes were left by well-wishers in Westminster REUTERS Floral tributes were left by well-wishers in Westminster REUTERS Floral tributes were left by well-wishers in Westminster REUTERS

"I played only a small part that day, doing what I was taught to do, and am honoured to have been invited to join the Privy Council afterwards.

"It is right that we concentrate our thoughts on the victims as we stand side by side to protect all that we hold dear, including our precious values and way of life which will always prevail."

MP Tobias Ellwood shakes hands with an armed officer after his efforts to save PC Palmer / Getty

Prime Minister Theresa May hailed the efforts of Mr Ellwood, telling Parliament after the attack: We will remember the extraordinary efforts to save the life of PC Keith Palmer, including those by my Right Honorable friend the member for Bournemouth East."

Meanwhile MPs across all parties praised him, with Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron saying: "He was utterly heroic, pure and simple.

"He went above and beyond and did all he could to save a police officer."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Our thanks and gratitude go to the police and emergency services who responded so bravely, and to those - including the MP Tobias Ellwood - who went to the aid of the injured and dying."

Two days after the attack Mr Ellwood was warmly greeted by the colleagues of PC Palmer as he arrived for work, and was pictured shaking hands with an armed officer.

Former Army soldier Tony Davis, who joined Mr Ellwood's desperate attempts to save PC Palmer, said: "The MP did a tremendous job and I can't really commend the air doctor enough.

"They were very professional."

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Masood killed three others - Kurt Cochran, Aysha Frade and Leslie Rhodes - in his rampage as he ran down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge.

After launching a knife attack on PC Palmer, Masood was shot down by armed police. He later died.
T he terrorist who killed four people and left many injured in last weeks Westminster attack has been called a Jekyll and Hyde character by a former friend.

In a special edition of BBC Panorama, broadcast on Monday evening, killer Khalid Masoods ex-friend Fred Lawrence described how his friend could quickly switch from cool to violent.

The half-hour programme included witness accounts to piece together how the incident unfolded and delve into Kent-born Masoods past.

Fred Lawrence, who knew Masood while living in Sussex, said: One minute he was cool, the next minute he was violent. He was like Jekyll and Hyde.

Mr Lawrence added that he thought Masood, 52, was a troubled man.

Attack: The scene outside Parliament on Wednesday. / Stefan Rousseau/PA

He said I dont like myself, Mr Lawrence told the BBC programme. I dont like my skin. Im not in the right body.

He was troubled in himself.

Masood lived in the village of Northiam with his partner and their two daughters when he was known by Mr Lawrence.

He was jailed in 2000 after slashing the face of local pub landlord Piers Nott.

Officers investigating the horror attack said today there is no evidence that Masood discussed his planned attack with anyone else or was directed by IS or al-Qaeda.

Masood ploughed a car into people walking along Westminster Bridge before stabbing a police officer to death outside Parliament.

Four people, including the PC, died and many others were injured. 13 people remain in hospital.
D ozens of emergency workers are at the scene of a bus crash in south east London after a woman was injured.

Emergency services were called at 6.45pm on Monday to reports a female pedestrian had been hit by a bus near the Odeon cinema in north Greenwich.

The woman was rushed to a hospital in east London, police said.

Witnesses at the scene in Southern Way, near the junction with Bugsbys Way, reported seeing ambulances everywhere and the road blocked.

A photo shows a large crowd of emergency service workers gathered around the front of the bus as a group of people watch on from on the other side of the road.

Witness James Dawes said on social media: Major accident by Odeon near North Greenwich. No buses getting through. Avoid area for now.

Local Labour councillor in the Greenwich borough, Chris Lloyd, said: Terribly sorry to hear of the accident involving a bus near North Greenwich Odeon this eve.

Distressing. My thoughts go out to all involved.

A spokesman for the Met said: Police were called at 6.45pm to reports of a bus in collision with a female pedestrian.

Shes been taken to an east London hospital.

Her injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
S adiq Khan has criticised the Governments Right to Rent policy, claiming it puts yet another barrier in the way of Londoners trying to find a home.

The Mayor warned that the scheme, introduced last year to clamp down on illegal immigrants renting properties, created the very real risk that black and minority ethnic (BME) Londoners who had a right to be here could be discriminated against.

The rules force landlords to conduct checks, usually by looking at a passport or visa, on all new tenants to ensure they have the right to rent property here.

Landlords who fail to do so risk a fine of up to 3,000 for each tenant.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and housing charity Shelter have both raised concerns over the scheme. Their research found that 51 per cent of landlords surveyed said it would make them less likely to consider letting to foreign nationals.

The official landlords code of practice states that it is unlawful to discriminate on grounds of race. The JCWI research also found that 58 per cent of British BME tenants without a passport were turned down or ignored.

Mr Khan said: It is clear that if Londoners from all backgrounds are going to be a part of our successful city we need to make sure they can access houses in the capital

I fear that the Governments Right to Rent initiative has put yet another barrier in many Londoners way. I am concerned that it presents the very real risk that people who have a legal right to be in this country including British citizens from BME communities will be discriminated against in the rental market.

The Mayor backed calls for a social letting agency.

Sarah Teather, director of Jesuit Refugee Service UK, said that legislating to make those without immigration status homeless was a kind of toxic act.

A Home Office spokesman said the Right to Rent scheme deterred people from staying in the UK when they had no right to do so, adding there was no evidence that the scheme itself caused discrimination.
B ritain today urged European nations to unite and force internet bosses to clean up extremist content.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd planned to raise concerns highlighted by the Westminster terror attack during a summit of interior ministers from the European Union.

Ms Rudd was expected to say that internet service providers, who supply online connections, were just as important in preventing terrorist propaganda and manuals being circulated as social media giants, who publish the content.

She was expected to intervene in a pre-planned discussion about the internet, and stress that cleaning up sites such as YouTube and Facebook was a challenge that no country could accomplish alone.

A source said Ms Rudds focus was not on new laws to ban content but instead on ways to get firms to take down extremist material more quickly. She would push the need to work together on stopping people who want to do us harm using the internet and social media to do so.

Attacking internet companies: Home Secretary Amber Rudd at a vigil in Trafalgar Square on Thursday / PA Wire

The spotlight turned on social media in the wake of last weeks attacks, with sites accused of failing to take down extremist content, such as beheading videos and terrorist manuals, quickly enough.

Scotland Yard is investigating whether online material helped to radicalise attacker Khalid Masood. Detailed advice on how to use vehicles to kill and maim people was among material found online.

Encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp have also faced criticism for potentially allowing terrorists to communicate undetected. Masood is reported to have used the app seconds before he began his attack.

Ms Rudd has called for the encrypted networks to allow the security services to access terrorists messages. But her call for access was branded draconian by former Met deputy assistant commissioner Lord Paddick, who said: The real question is, could lives have been saved in London last week if end-to-end encryption had been banned? All the evidence suggests that the answer is no.

Amber Rudd on WhatsApp - social media giants must do more in terror fight

Wellwishers have raised nearly 1 million for Masoods victims, including more than 730,000 for the family of Pc Keith Palmer. There have been calls for JustGiving to waive its five per cent fee on the fund, which is set to earn the site 36,000.
C ompanies that are courting chaos by failing to protect themselves against cyber attacks may lose out on Government contracts, a minister warned today.

Culture Minister Matt Hancock announced stricter rules for Government suppliers at a London conference on the threat posed by cyber criminals and terrorists.

If youre not concentrating on cyber, you are courting chaos, the minister said. Whitehall will strengthen a requirement for suppliers to have completed a Cyber Essentials scheme, he said, and encouraged to ensure their own supply chains comply with the gold standard.

A report by the Institute of Directors found that many firms are aware of the threat - but do not know how to safeguard themselves or report security breaches.

Four in 10 did not know which law-enforcement agency to inform if they were victims of on-line fraud. Only 28 per cent actually informed the police.

IoD director-general Stephen Martin said: Business leaders are still putting cyber security on the back burner. The results, even for small and medium-sized businesses, could be catastrophic.
T he EU chief leading the Brexit negotiations has painted a bleak picture of an undoubtedly worse off Britain if the two sides cannot agree a deal.

Writing two days ahead of Theresa Mays expected triggering of Article 50, Michel Barnier said failure in the talks would lead to severe disruption at airports and long queues for tourists and lorry drivers at Dover.

In an article in the Financial Times he also warned business would be hit by disruption of supply chains that could even include the suspension of nuclear material to Britain, which gets around a fifth of its energy from nuclear reactors.

The 66-year-old Frenchman, a former European Commissioner, insisted the remaining 27 member states would find it easier to adjust as they would still benefit from the single market, the customs union and 60 trade deals with other countries.

He also said that the first phase of negotiations would be dominated by three significant uncertanties that need to be resolved before talks on a trade deal can begin.

Firstly, the rights of the 3.2 million EU citizens in living in the UK and the 1.2 million British born residents of Europe. Mr Barnier said EU negotiators were ready to discuss this issue from day one.

Secondly, the need for Britain to honour its commitments to the European budget, and third, ensuring that peace and dialogue in Northern Ireland are not weakened.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she did not recognise Mr Barniers apocalyptic description of Britain without a Brexit deal.

Speaking on the BBCs Andrew Marr Show, she said: I mean lets face it, the UK Government, the UK economy is doing rather well now, much better than some of us thought previously and the world economy is doing well and the British people are entering into it.

Confident: Home Secretary Amber Rudd / REUTERS

Today shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer said the Prime Minister must face down Brexiteers who want to drag Britain away from Europe during the up-coming EU negotiations.

He accused the Conservatives of breaking into two factions - one of which is willing Britain to leave the EU with no deal.

Mr Starmer said: I think that theres undoubtedly two camps in the Conservative Party.

The reason that those who campaigned hardest to leave the EU did so...is not just because they dislike the EU, its because ideologically they believe in deregulation, in lower taxation and stripping away of employment social protections to create a different economic and political model. They have been in a minority for some time. My concern is the influence they now have. 

He made his remarks as he unveiled Labours six tests ahead of Brexit on economic, security and immigration based standards.

Without certainty the deal meets his tests, he said Labour would block it in the Commons.

UKIP also outlined their own six rules including full control over fishing rights, complete Brexit by 2020 and leaving the single market and customs union.

Dominic Raab MP, member of the Committee on Exiting the European Union, said: Labours attempts to lay conditions and delays are all about containing divisions in the Labour Party, but are utterly out of touch with the values and wishes of ordinary working people.

Theresa May was set to meet Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland today, two days before she triggers the UKs divorce process from the European Union.

The Prime Ministers trip north of the border also came a day before the Scottish Parliament is expected to pass a vote in favour of seeking a new Scottish independence referendum.

SNP shadow leader of the Commons, Peter Wishart, told BBC radio that the Scots deserve a gold standard referendum with Government backing.

He urged Mrs May to agree to a date, adding: She said not now, what we need to hear from her is when.
T heresa May has met with Nicola Sturgeon as she prepares to formally trigger Brexit on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister and Scotlands First Minster came face to face at a hotel in Glasgow for around an hour on Monday.

The pairs discussion came the day before the Scottish Parliament is set to vote in favour of calls for a second independence referendum and two days before the British government begin the Brexit process.

Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon met at a hotel in Glasgow for around an hour.

It follows a series of talks between UK ministers and those from the devolved nations over the UK's approach to leaving the EU.

Scottish ministers say there has been no clarity over how Scotland's interests will be represented as Article 50 is triggered, and the role the Scottish Government will play in negotiations.

Ahead of the meeting, Mrs May said her position will not change on Ms Sturgeon's call for a second independence referendum by spring 2019.

She would not be drawn on whether a vote could take place further into the future, restating her view that "now is not the time" for another ballot.

The First Minister wants the powers to hold a referendum between autumn 2018 and spring 2019, when she says the UK's Brexit deal will become clear.

Mrs May said a vote during that time frame would be "unfair" to the Scottish people.

"My position is very simple and it hasn't changed," she said. "It is that now is not the time to be talking about a second independence referendum and that's for a couple of reasons.

"First of all, now is the point when we are triggering Article 50, we're starting negotiations for leaving the European Union. Now is the time when we should be pulling together, not hanging apart. Pulling together to make sure we get the best possible deal for the whole of the UK.

"Also I think it would be unfair on the people of Scotland to ask them to make a significant decision until all the facts were known, at a point where nobody knows what the situation is going to be.

"My position isn't going to change, which is that now is not the time to be talking about a second independence referendum.
A t least eight high school students are feared dead after an avalanche struck a ski resort in Japan.

More than 30 people are thought to have been injured as well after the tragedy occurred near the Nasu Osen family resort, 120km north of Tokyo.

About 70 people, including students and teachers from various schools, were reportedly enjoying a springtime climbing session at the time.

Eight students were found with no vital signs while a further three are still missing hours later, according to Japans Kyodo news agency.

Tragedy: Eight high school students were feared dead on Monday / AFP/Getty Images

The heavy snowfall and bad weather have hampered rescue efforts since the avalanche hit at 9.20am on Monday (12.20am GMT). Local reports state that rescue helicopters have been unable to reach the scene.

Avalanche warnings had been in effect after the region around the town of Nasu, home to several ski resorts, received heavy snow over the past two days.

More than 30cm of fresh snow has fallen on the area since Monday.

Japans chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said the government was working quickly to confirm details of the tragedy.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is seeking information from a political opposition research firm.

Grassley is continuing to dig into the origins of a dossier that made controversial but unsubstantiated allegations about President Donald Trump.

Grassley's office announced Monday that he had sent the letter to a company called Fusion GPS asking a series of questions.

Earlier this month, Grassley had contacted the FBI seeking information from the agency after The Washington Post reported last fall the bureau had agreed to pay a former spy who had compiled the dossier to continue his work.

The payments were never made, the Post reported, but Grassley said the agreement was still troubling. The former spy was hired by Fusion, at first at the behest of a Republican critic, according to reports. Later, Democratic allies of Hillary Clinton's paid for the work.

In the new letter, dated Friday, Grassley asked a series of questions about arrangements between Fusion and its clients  as well as about the company's contacts with the FBI. Among the questions: whether any of Fusion's clients suggested that the dossier be supplied to the FBI.

"When political opposition research becomes the basis for law enforcement or intelligence efforts, it raises substantial questions about the independence of law enforcement and intelligence from politics. The Committee requires additional information to evaluate this situation," Grassley wrote in the letter. He asked for a reply by April 7.

The senator's letter comes amid an FBI investigation into Russia's influence on the U.S. presidential election.

In January, U.S. intelligence agencies concluded the Russians meddled in the election and had a preference for Trump. But the former director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said the dossier, which contained allegations regarding Trump campaign contacts with Russian operatives, did not contribute to its conclusion.

The intelligence agencies' report contained no evidence of collusion with the Trump campaign, and the president has dismissed the story of Russian influence as "fake news."
T wo men have been arrested after a packed escalator suddenly jolted into reverse, leaving at least 18 people injured.

The horrifying moment was captured on film in shocking scenes at Langham Place mall in Hong Kong.

One of those hurt is in a serious condition in hospital with a head injury, authorities said.

Video showed the escalator, one of Hong Kongs largest, suddenly changing direction and appearing to speed up on Saturday afternoon.

Horrifying: The escalator sped up and started going in reverse

The footage showed people tumbling down into one another, leaving some of them piled up at the bottom.

One witness sold the South China Morning Post: I heard people screaming ... the escalator was going down but the speed accelerated.

People started to panic ... and some fell down.

Engineer Charles Wong told the paper that the escalators auxiliary brakes should have started up once the main brakes failed.

The huge escalator links the fourth and eighth floors of the popular mall.
A n airline is facing a huge backlash on social media after two girls were barred from boarding their flight because they were wearing leggings.

Passenger Shannon Watts said the incident took place on a United Airlines flight from Denver to Minneapolis on Sunday.

Ms Watts, a political activist, said a group of girls, including a 10-year-old, were targeted by airline staff and forced to wear dresses over the top of their leggings or change their clothes.

She said three girls were allowed to board after putting on dresses but a further two could not get on the plane.

United has since said the girls were United pass travellers, a ticket for employees and their dependents who are eligible for discounted travel but have to abide by a dress code.

United: The airline has faced a row over leggings / Reuters

That includes female passengers not wearing "form-fitting lycra/spandex tops, pants and dresses, plus midriff-baring tops, mini-skirts, or shorts that fall less than 3 inches above the knee.

But Ms Watts tweeted: 3 girls inspected for wearing perfectly acceptable leggings.

2 not allowed to board. I don't care what kind of passengers they were.

She went on: This behavior is sexist and sexualizes young girls.

Not to mention that the families were mortified and inconvenienced.

As the mother of 4 daughters who live and travel in yoga pants, I'd like to know how many boys @United has penalized for the same reason.

Her tweets caused an outcry on social media, with model Chrissy Teigen writing: "I have flown united before with literally no pants on.

Just a top as a dress. Next time I will wear only jeans and a top.

Actress Patricia Arquette complained: Leggings are the business attire for 10 year olds. Their business is being children.

Writer Charles Clymer chimed in: I'll bet my life savings that a grown man in yoga pants--let alone a boy--on a traveler's pass wouldn't have been denied entry.

A United Airlines spokesman said: When taking advantage of this benefit, all employees and pass riders are considered representatives of United.

And like most companies, we have a dress code that we ask employees and pass riders to follow."

The airline said the girls would not have been turned away for wearing leggings had they been paying customers.

It's Twitter account later posted: "To our customersyour leggings are welcome!"
C uba Gooding Jr sparked outrage when he lifted up Sarah Paulson's dress on stage at the annual PaleyFest in Los Angeles.

The actor, 49, hiked up his co-stars dress in front of hundreds of people at a screening for season six of the hit FX show American Horror Story.

Gooding Jr made the bizarre move as Paulson, 42, welcomed Kathy Bates on to the stage.

As she embraced Bates, Gooding Jr lifted up her dress to expose her legs to the crowd, causing Paulson to shriek and spin around.

Shock: Sarah Paulson looked surprised at Cuba Gooding Jr.'s move / Frazer Harrison/Getty

Although the move didnt appear to bother Paulson, Twitter users lashed out at Gooding Jr after a clip of the incident was shared online.

He was branded disrespectful by some while others called for the media to give him a black out.

One user tweeted: Cuba disrespectfully lifted Sarah's dress in front of thousands of people and cameras.

Another wrote: How would @cubagoodingjr react if a man walked up to his daughter, Piper and lifted her dress up behind her back? #itsneverok.

A third posted: It turns out Cuba Gooding Jr is a d******* who has no respect for women. He had absolutely no right to lift Sarah Paulson's dress like it.

Standard Online has contacted representatives for Paulson and Gooding Jr for comment.
DES MOINES  Some opponents of traffic enforcement devices like red light and speed cameras have taken a if you cant ban 'em, regulate 'em attitude to a Senate-passed bill now in the House Transportation Committee.

After leading a successful effort four years ago to persuade the House to pass legislation banning the cameras, Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, now sees regulation as the best option.

Ive come to realize that curtailing them is better if I cant ban them, he said Monday.

Senate File 220 must win House Transportation Committee approval this week to remain eligible this year.

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, said the 59-member GOP caucus has not discussed the bill this year.

The House had discussions over the last many years about this issue, she said. There are many opinions. We havent caucused so I dont know where  especially our new members  are on that topic.

Transportation Committee Chairman Gary Carlson, R-Muscatine, and Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Marion, a member of a subcommittee that will have a hearing on the bill, are among the new members who werent in the House when it voted to ban the cameras.

Neither of them have counted votes on the committee or in the full House, but think there is support  perhaps grudgingly  for the bill.

Even if they want to see them go away, I think they want to see them regulated, Hinson said. Its a good step because if we do nothing, its the status quo.

Rep. Greg Heartsill, R-Melcher-Dallas, wants to see the devices go away and expects hell try to amend SF 220 back to the original ban. He had hoped the bill would have been assigned to the Judiciary Committee, as it was in the Senate, and he would be the subcommittee chairman.

I dont believe the Transportation Committee chairman is receptive to a ban, Heartsill said.

He isnt sure if a majority of House members support a ban, either. He thinks the House is divided into four factions  those who want a ban; those who oppose a ban; those who want to ban red light but not speed cameras; and those who want to ban speed but not red-light cameras.

SF 220 would place stricter regulations on the devices to curb concerns associated with the 79 cameras statewide.

The Senate amended a bill that would have banned the cameras with what Sen. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan, called a commonsense, logical approach.

That approach would keep in place systems that promote safety and protect law officers in dangerous enforcement situations.

It would subject fixed and mobile camera deployments to state approval in high-crash, high-risk highway locations and direct profits from tickets they issue to infrastructure improvements and public safety efforts within the jurisdictions.

It also would require signage at approved camera locations, justification reports, weekly calibration of the monitoring equipment and police review of citations issued.

It also caps civil penalties so they do not exceed the existing fine schedule for speeding violations under state law and would grandfather cameras at locations approved by the state Department of Transportation before Jan. 1 of this year.

Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, said the changes would not eliminate abuses by local communities using the cameras to generate revenue or address concerns from citizens about due process.

He said cameras operating in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Muscatine, Sioux City, Windsor Heights and Polk County generated $13.6 million in revenue last year.
The White House may be moving on to tax reform the aftermath of last Friday's health care defeat, but Iowa Republicans say they aren't abandoning their effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Rep. Rod Blum, R-Iowa, who opposed the alternative proposed by the House GOP leadership, said Monday that finding a solution still is a priority.

"This is not dead. It's not going away. It continues to be our priority," said Blum, who represents Iowa's 1st Congressional District.

Blum was on a conference call Monday with Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, both Iowa Republicans, in which the three briefed reporters after a meeting with Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney about getting support for Iowa flood projects.

The decision to pull the health care legislation without a vote was a defeat for House Speaker Paul Ryan, as well as President Donald Trump, who had pushed for the bill.

The president said during the campaign that repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, would be an early priority. But with the White House now moving to focus on reforming the nation's tax code, it appears repeal efforts will have to wait.

On the conference call, Blum said he has been told the president will come back to the issue when the House comes to an agreement. He also noted Democrats under President Barack Obama took a longer period of time to pass the Affordable Care Act.

"For us to try to do this in 18 days, I think, was too quick," he said.

For his part, Grassley said that "you don't really move beyond" health care because something needs to be done about the current law and rising premiums in the individual marketplace.

Ernst did not address the issue on the call, but in a statement later, she said "while the House did not advance a bill, we all must continue to work together to promote affordable, patient-centered health care solutions that work for Iowans." She said it should be done "thoughtfully and carefully."

The bill failed last week after House GOP leadership could not garner enough support within its caucus for its alternative to the Affordable Care Act, which it called the American Health Care Act.

In Iowa, Blum and Rep. David Young, R-Iowa, both said they opposed the legislation. In a statement last Friday after the bill was pulled, Young praised the president and House leaders.

"Great leaders know when to pause a journey down a path that isnt working and see the opportunity and optimism in starting over," he said.

Multiple news outlets reported last week that a Super PAC aligned with Ryan had yanked support for Young after he declared his opposition to the bill.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, had said that he would support the Republican bill. On Friday afternoon, he tweeted his support for legislation that would simply repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Students who are selected for the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) program are students who not only come to America to learn but also might bring a different perspective of their country to the United States.

Nicolas Ng, of Singapore, told a group of Gering High School students on March 24 that his country is smaller than Scotts Bluff County but has a population of over 5 million. Leo Aribal, of Philippines, said that students in his country might not move to classes in the day but the teachers will just move to where they teach during the day.

In a presentation on March 23 at First Presbyterian Church in Scottsbluff, the students shared information about their culture, such as what ethnicities are in their country, popular festivals and other things, such as what people will wear or eat.

Cassidy Cooper, program coordinator for YSEALI, said the program was started by the State Department and brings students and leaders from the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The students study themes of civic engagement, economic development and issues with the environment.

The students are at the University of Nebraska- Omaha four of five weeks in they are in the United States to study items that involve civic engagement and leadership. They also experience and understand some of American culture, which is part of the reason in traveling to the Panhandle.

Cooper said the students also traveled to western Nebraska to learn about the rural component of civic engagement. The students met with some community organizations on March 23 to learn about what community engagement is from a rural standpoint.

I want them to take away that even if there are people who say, Its the middle of nowhere, there are hard-working people here and everyone is just as interested in making life better for everybody, Cooper said.

Cooper said she wanted students to grasp that it is just as important to do good in a rural setting and that they shouldnt focus on what they can do in bigger cities.

I know I can learn so many things because this is a developed country and where I live is a developing country, Leo Aribal, of the Philippines, said about visiting the United States.

Kien Doan, or Harry, of Vietnam, is in one of the most prestigious and career programs in his country. It is the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity- Vietnam.

Since he was there, he had internship opportunities presented to him. He did an internship at Ernst and Young which he said is one the biggest accounting organizations in the world.

I came here to learn about leadership and civic engagement so I can apply it to my social projects to help my country, Kien Doan, of Vietnam, said.

He graduated from Vietnam National University and said the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity program lasts for three months and the main activities are getting an internship, community service projects, and a lot of career talks through a speaker series.

This program is my second life-changing experience, Doan said about YSEALI.

Pavat Akarapremakun, from Thailand, said the culture is very different from where he lives because people respect each other and arent judgmental as they are in Thailand.

During their visit, the students also stay in American homes and learn about the family dynamic as well as what some cultural things that families do. The students stayed with host families for a few nights while they were in the Panhandle.

I love them so much. We had very deep conversations about religion, politics, about war, and philosophy, and they expanded my vision, Akarapremakun said.

He said the family dynamic is different from Thailand because in the country, there is still a lot of hierarchy in the family.

You have to listen to your mother, you have to listen to your father. But in American society the mother and father respect the children as well, Akarapremakun said.

He said parents respecting childrens issues is a good thing.
Using Chromebooks he obtained through grants, Martin McAndrew is helping a generation of Gering elementary students create relationships around the world. McAndrews own experiences living and working overseas gives students a new perspective on life through a pen pal program, they are meeting children just like them without having to leave their classrooms.

As the districts Elementary Library Media Specialist, McAndrew is helping his students get an international education. Through a worldwide program, his students are communicating to children in classrooms in other countries to connect and learn about each other. After talking to students at a school in India, McAndrews students know all about Indian festivals and other world religions. Teachers and students in India wanted to learn about western Nebraskans in return.

They wrote and wanted to hear about our festivals, Christmas, snowstorms, he said.

Not only is the program fun, McAndrew made it a computer activity and a language arts activity. Students also have pen pals in Shanghai and Louisiana.

McAndrew is an advocate of seeing things in practice. He has traveled to Nepal to see Hinduism in action and Tibet to see the form of Buddhism practiced there.

This love of learning about other cultures saw him teach at the Japanese Studies Exchange Program at the University of Nebraska-Omaha in a program that was an extension of the Hiroshima College of Foreign Languages program. He also spent 13 years in China.

It began in 1985 when he heard a Youth with a Mission presentation. He was studying in Omaha and thought of working in Africa. China was far in the back of his mind.

McAndrew had an elementary education and library degree and was taking graduate courses in linguistics. A friend told him the ticket overseas was to teach ESL, or English as a Second Language.

In 1989, McAndrew met a woman from the International Student office when she was recruiting people to be language partners at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Through her influence, he was recruited to take the place of an ELL (English Language Learner) teacher/lecturer in Nanchang, China.

McAndrew was nervous about accepting the position. He discussed the situation with a man he knew from Shanghai and a visiting professor from China, who had told McAndrew six months earlier he should go to China and teach.

He became an English language partner and agreed to fill in for six months as a lecturer.

I stayed for two and half years, he said. I came back one more year to finish my masters.

With degrees in sdult education and minors in ESL, McAndrew wanted to go back to China.

McAndrews interest in linguistics and international studies seemed like he was always destined to live overseas.

Its something in your blood, he said.

At the end of 1996, he was at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the dean of the international studies program told McAndrew she wanted him to go to work in a partnership with a school there.

He returned to China in 1997 for a second teaching stint in Changsha.

He and his wife, RoAnn, were already spending time together. They married in 2000. RoAnn worked at the American embassy in Beijing. He was employed by a private company with a company school. The owners eventually expanded to Beijing and McAndrew joined them, teaching in Beijing for three years.

In 2002, they adopted their daughter, Mercy, in Nanchang. Sophia was adopted in Changsha in 2004. McAndrew doesnt know the real reason why either girl was given up for adoption.

The one child policy is probably part of it, but we dont know, he said. But they had enough love in their hearts they left the girls where they could be found.

RoAnns connection at the embassy made the adoption process a smooth one.

If you work for the government, it looks better in China, McAndrew said. We had heard people had difficulties, but it took four months once we got our applications in.

Even before they were married, McAndrew thought of adoption. He was a pantomime and visited an orphanage in Nanchang to perform magic, pantomime and sing.

It was fun and the kids just so needed it, he said. I ended up bringing out a few Chinese and American friends.

When he left Nanchang, those friends continued the visits.

They looked at it as a ministry to go, he said.

McAndrew said the Chinese have everything organized when it comes to orphans and adoptions. They are careful to make sure the adopted child is healthy.

We found it was more trouble and had more red tape on the American side, he said.

Teaching in China was fun for McAndrew. He worked with people from all over the world. The work was good. There were opportunities for travel. China was stable.

I knew teachers who taught in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and they hated it, especially the women, he said. They cant go off the compound and if they do, they had to be covered.

He enjoyed his life in China, but, for several years, McAndrew thought about returning to America. He had been in China for a decade. RoAnn agreed they should move back and see how things went.

McAndrew had teaching experience in Nebraska. He received several offers, but western Nebraska intrigued the couple.

I had been out here and liked it, he said. I thought, Lets go for this one.

After returning to America, McAndrew regretted they didnt stay in China so they could have seen the Olympics in Beijing. He also regrets his daughters no longer speak Chinese.

The McAndrews have spent time in Denver each year celebrating the Chinese New Year. Though the girls were disinterested for a while, there is a renewed desire to learn more about China and the world around them.

When Mercy learned about a cyclone in Bangladesh, she remembered their friends from there. Sophia, Mercy and RoAnn spent time this year putting up decorations at home for the Chinese New Year. Sophia and Mercy want to return to China to learn more.

The girls are so interested, maybe we will take them over on a trip, he said.

In different times, youre proud of different things and McAndrew can point to specific things hes been proud to be a part of or has accomplished. He has had the chance internationally and be a global person. Hes in the Gideon Ministry. Hes overjoyed at the work with his students and how they are becoming global, too.

Im pretty proud of starting this international program communicating with students in Pakistan and India, he said.

McAndrew takes pride in teaching children through storytelling and making connections about the world with them. He and RoAnn know, if they had to, they could leave the country again. The culmination of their experiences have prepared them for anything.

It gives you a feeling of confidence, he said. We could live anywhere.

When he moved to Gering nine and a half years ago, he wanted to bring an international consciousness to his students.

When I taught maps skills, when youre teaching that, youre teaching more than just how to use maps, he said. Youre teaching culture.
The US strongly condemns the detention of the hundreds of peaceful protesters, observers on human rights and journalists in Russia, reads a message published on Monday on the US Embassy in Bucharest Facebook page.

The diplomatic mission's message also refers to a statement of Department of State Spokesman Mark Toner.

"Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values," said Toner, adding that the Russian people, same as the people worldwide, deserves a transparent governance that can be made accountable, equal treatment in front of the law and the possibility to exercise their rights without fear of oppresion.

The Moscow police announced the detention of about 500 persons in an unauthorised meeting convened by Opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who was also detained. According to OVD-Info organisation, specialising in monitoring protests, there are at least 933 persons in the capital and other tens in the province. In Sankt Petersburg, where about 4,000 protesters gathered on Sunday, there have been performed over 130 arrests, according to Interfax agency, cited by AFP.

agerpres.
CLEAR LAKE | A group of preschoolers touring the Clear Lake Arts Center Friday helped Clear Lake's mayor sign the organization's birthday card.

Mayor Nelson Crabb has stopped by the Arts Center, 17 S. Fourth St., to sign the Great Big Birthday Card on display in the Anne T. Riley Gallery.

While there, he ran into Janese Hand's Sunset View preschool class, who was on a tour. They offered suggestions for what color marker Crabb should use and what he should write -- "happy birthday to the best Art Center in the whole world."

The birthday card has been on display since March.

It has been 40 years since a 21-person group began the Clear Lake Arts Center, according to Clear Lake Arts Center Executive Director Paula Hanus, and 10 years since the Arts Center opened.

"We're so proud of this facility and all we have accomplished," she said in a news release.

The community can sign the card during regular business hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

 Ashley Miller
Syngenta Chief Executive Officer Erik Fyrwald sees the imminent $43 billion Chinese takeover of the Swiss company as a timely moment to gain a powerful benefactor just as a host of antitrust reviews trigger an abundance of acquisition opportunities.

The next few years will see billions of dollars in acquisition opportunities, and Fyrwald said he's interested in looking at assets that could come to market as part of a tie-up between Bayer and Monsanto, as this opportunity won't come around again.

"The majors will have consolidated, so I think in the future there'll be more bolt-on-type deals of smaller companies that fill gaps where there are fewer overlaps and competitive concerns," Fyrwald said in an interview in Brussels on Monday. China National Chemical is in the final stages of acquiring Syngenta.

Mergers and acquisitions are reshaping the agrochemical and genetically-modified seeds industry, with Dow Chemical's planned merger with DuPont on Monday getting the go-ahead from European regulators in return for asset sales. Bayer plans to take over Monsanto, and Syngenta said it's particularly interested in any seeds assets, Fyrwald said.

"We'll have the firepower, the financial strength to continue to invest in our business and make acquisitions that make sense," Fyrwald said, adding the company would have an investment grade balance sheet after the takeover. "If you look in the next one to five years, there'll be billions of dollars of opportunity for us."

BASF SE is also considering making a bid for any Bayer assets, which could be worth as much as $2.5 billion. Bayer is expected to sell canola, cottonseed and herbicide businesses, as well as a genetically modified crop technology, to get the green light for its $66 billion merger with Monsanto.

Bolt-on acquisitions in the agrochemical space will probably target companies with a few active ingredients to complement the broader portfolios of larger players, according to analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Repeated delays in the examination of the deal, which has involved authorities on four continents, have pushed back the expected closing date, keeping investors on tenterhooks. Remedies supplied to the European Union in the case of ChemChina's takeover of Syngenta should be sufficient and the deal should close by the end of June, Fyrwald said.

"From a remedy standpoint, we're going through the specifics of those issues and we expect approval" in the near term, Fyrwald said. Shares in the Basel, Switzerland-based company fell 0.6 percent to trade at 434.60 francs as of 3:20 p.m. in Zurich.

ChemChina is planning to sell $10 billion of preferred shares of a unit to help fund its record acquisition of Syngenta, people familiar with the matter said in July. ChemChina's financing will be finalized by the close of the deal, and Syngenta has been told the equity portion is currently being worked on, Fyrwald said.

"I have been reassured, we have been reassured, our chairman has been reassured that it will be in place after the close, that it's being worked out," Fyrwald said, declining to give further details. A representative for ChemChina could not immediately be reached for comment outside of business hours.
Dog whisperer Cesar Millan and son and sidekick Andre work with local dogs in an episode of "Dog Nation" airing at 8 p.m. Friday, March 24, on Nat Geo Wild.

In the episode, taped here last fall and titled "Meet Me in St. Louis," the two work with Serendipity German Shepherd Dog Rescue with a puppy mill rescue named Bruce Wayne that is anxious and fearful around people.

Missouri won't look good as the episode declares the state the puppy mill capital of the country. "Bruce Waynes story is sadly a common one," the release says. "The Millans take this opportunity to meet with some local heroes who have been fighting puppy mill abuse in the state."

In addition, the Millans help a shepherd mix named Roxie whose owner died suddenly, leaving the dog with extreme separation anxiety.
CLEAR LAKE | Darrold Mohr of Clear Lake left Buena Vista College during his final semester to enlist in the Army during the Korean War.

It was early 1951 and the news from Korea "didn't sound good," said Mohr, now 86.

After basic training and specialized training as an engineer, the Ayshire native was sent to an Army administrative school in Japan to learn about Army procedure. He also taught there.

Mohr, who would later become a math teacher and a principal, said that's when he became interested in education as a career.

"I thoroughly enjoyed teaching," he said.

In late 1951, Mohr received orders to go to Korea, where he would remain for the next 12 months.

He was assigned to 10th Corps Headquarters Co., which he described as being "in the middle of nowhere."

His assignment was in the orders section. He typed many orders for personnel coming to Korea for assignment and for those rotating home.

The compound was "a beehive of activity," Mohr said, noting he met a lot of different people from generals to enlisted personnel.

Everyone worked seven days a week, with an occasional Sunday off.

The most difficult part about the war was being so far from home for the first time, he said. Letters were the only form of communication he had with his family.

The winters were extremely cold and the summers were hot, he said.

The compound was about 20 miles from the front line, so they could hear the artillery.

Morh said he was glad to return home after 18 months overseas.

He finished his college education and got married.

Mohr's career in education lasted 37 years. He taught junior and senior high school math in Ringsted, Estherville, Fort Dodge, Humboldt, Jefferson and finally Ventura.

Mohr, who received a master's degree from the University of Northern Iowa, also served as a school principal in Humboldt and Jefferson.

Mohr and his wife, Joyce, moved to Clear Lake in 1977 so he could accept the teaching job at Ventura. He retired from teaching after 16 years there.

Joyce opened the Mohr for Her store in Clear Lake after she retired from her own career as an elementary teacher. She ran the store for the next 20 years.

Joyce died in 2009.

Mohr, who was raised on a farm, said going to Korea was "a real awakening for me."

"I was very happy to be a part of this," he said. "I never regretted my time in the service."
ST. LOUIS  A home health care worker from St. Louis County pleaded guilty to federal charges Monday and admitted defrauding elderly people in the area, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

DeJanay Noldon, 27, worked as a certified nurse's assistant caregiver at a Webster Groves company that provides home health care for the elderly, prosecutors said. She used a nursing home resident's personal information to open lines of credit that she used to pay her own bills, make purchases in stores and online and pay bills for relatives and friends, prosecutors said.

She also tried to loot the resident's savings, they said.

In all, Noldon victimized 13 elderly people and six financial institutions, creating a loss of roughly $30,000, prosecutors said.

Noldon pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Monday to one count each of mail fraud and identity theft. She is scheduled to be sentenced June 27.

A mug shot of Noldon was not immediately available.
CLEAR LAKE | A Clear Lake man armed himself with a "hatchet style hand-axe" after assaulting his girlfriend late Sunday, documents say.

Rusty Thorngren, 28, of Clear Lake, was arrested Sunday on a felony count of going armed with intent, two misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief and misdemeanor domestic violence.

He was initially arrested for suspicion of domestic violence.

Thorngren assaulted his girlfriend, used an expandable metal baton to damage her car and then walked toward her carrying an axe as well as the baton, according to court documents.

The woman fled to a nearby apartment building.

Police say this happened about 7:20 p.m. in the 600 block of 12th Avenue North in Clear Lake.

After his arrest, Thorngren allegedly kicked out the driver's side window of a squad car and damaged another police vehicle.

There was about $500 damage to the police vehicle.
MASON CITY | Three masked men who broke into a Mason City home and robbed a resident on Monday are being sought by police.

Investigators say the incident was reported shortly after noon at a home on the 1000 block of East State Street.

A man who lived in the home told police he answered a knock at the door to find the three men, who then entered his home, according to a Mason City Police Department statement.

He told police that one of the masked men held him down while others searched his home.

Police say they took a small safe containing money.

The resident of the home was taken by private vehicle to a local hospital.

No one else was home at the time of the incident.

A description of the men's clothing, physical characteristics or the type of masks they were wearing was not released.

Investigations could not immediately be reached Monday afternoon for additional details.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Mason City police at 641-421-3636.
A RAISED armed police profile on the streets of Stratford-upon-Avon is a response to the Westminster attack last Wednesday but not as a result of any specific terrorist threat.

Warwickshire Police said: Additional reassurance and community engagement patrols have taken place since the events in Westminster last week and we continue to regularly review all of our security measures to ensure we are doing all we can to keep local residents safe.

We would like to reassure the public that there is no intelligence to suggest any specific threat to Warwickshire and that these actions are a precaution.
James Hartley with Charlotte Bean, 9, and Annabelle Froud, 10.

An imaginative author is hoping to use the magic of Shakespeares Schoolroom to inspire local schoolchildren to take an interest in creative writing and the Bard.

James Hartleys new novel, The Invisible Hand: Shakespeares Moon Act I, follows the time travelling adventures of two teenage boarding school pupils, wrapped up in the story of Macbeth.

Earlier this month James hosted a special creative writing taster workshop at Stratfords Guildhall, during which pupils were invited to take part in a competition with a very special prize.

Older pupils will be able to submit entries for a short story competition, whilst younger ones will draw scenes from Shakespeares plays.

The winning entries will win another workshop from James for their whole class, but just as importantly, the author has promised to include the winning pupils as characters in his next book.

He intends to write another four novels in the series, each based around a different Shakespeare play.

James visit is part of a project called Creative Will, which is intended to nurture creativity in local schoolchildren.

James said: I want to use the inspiration that is in this building to encourage the children to take an interest in creative writing. I thought the children were fantastic at the taster workshop, really engaged and imaginative, they always come up with new and different ideas. Childrens imaginations are endless.

I believe passionately in the power of creativity, which can help children in so many different ways with their learning. And there is no stronger influence on the craft of storytelling and language than the legacy of Shakespeare. For young minds we need to make Shakespeare relevant, approaching it with the same energy and passion that the Bard himself had. Im very excited to be working with Shakespeares Schoolroom, which as a writer and English teacher is one of the most exciting places to visit imaginable.

Sarah Jervis Hill, from Shakespeares Schoolroom & Guildhall, added: We want to bring to life the inspiration that has lived and breathed in the Schoolroom for hundreds of years and rekindle the magic from when Shakespeare not only attended school here, but also had his first professional theatrical experiences. Well be doing this through a programme for children called Creative Will, which hopes to nurture and develop creativity in lots of different ways.
A Pakistani man has pardoned 10 Indians convicted of murdering his son in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in 2015, BBC Urdu reported.

According to Sharia law in the United Arab Emirates, if murder charges against the accused are proved, they have to be sentenced to death.

However, if the families of the accused and the petitioner reach an agreement and the petitioner forgives the accused, the case is considered settled.

An Abu Dhabi court had given the victim's father, Muhammad Riaz, the leeway to decide if he wanted to forgive the accused in exchange for blood money.

Riaz decided to pardon the accused, but it is up to the court to reconsider if the death penalty should be implemented.

Riaz travelled from Peshawar with his family and friends to forgive the accused and arrange the pardon. He has submitted an application to the court, which will decide on the matter by April 12, 2017.

"Losing my child was my bad fortune; but If I didn't forgive these young men, what would have happened?" Riaz told BBC Urdu. "I appeal to the youth to stay out of fights, keep to their business and work to make their countries and parents proud."

"I may have forgiven these 10, but it was God who really saved them," Riaz added.

The convicts hail from Indian Punjab and had come to the UAE to seek better work opportunities.

The arrangements for the blood money settlement were made by SP Singh Oberoi, a Dubai-based businessman of Indian origin. He heads an NGO which deals with prisoners' issues.

"We called Muhammad Riaz from Pakistan three days ago and somehow managed to convince him," Oberoi said. "According to the Shariah court's law, we have deposited 200,000 Emirati dirhams as blood money."

Oberoi has in the past saved 88 individuals, including five Pakistani youth, from the death penalty.
Ban on loose cigarette sales may backfire By Don Jayalath Many smokers are switching to Beedis, smuggling on the rise View(s): View(s):

S

moking is harmful to your health, period. Even a 15-year-old boy knows this. So is alcohol, so is chewing betel. So is overeating, so is excessive intake of sugar, so is starch, one can even die of drinking too much water. There are so many things which are harmful to us and yet we continue to pursue these things. This is called human weakness. Some 300,000 people are engaged in the legal tobacco trade and there are an estimated 3.5 million smokers in Sri Lanka. Cannot the Government understand their plight and their feelings?

No government in the world has yet been able to make people good by legislation.

The recent proposal to prohibit the sale of cigarettes in singles and to force people to buy packets is one of those pieces of legislation in the same vein.

The sale of cigarettes in Sri Lanka is in singles or twos and threes. Rarely do people buy them in packets, given the lowest priced packet of cigarettes costs around Rs. 600.00. By making it harder and harder for the consumers to reach for a cigarette, smokers are shifting to Beedis. While cigarettes sales have undoubtedly fallen, the Beedi sales have increased phenomenally. This has not made consumers to cut down on cigarettes. Instead, a shift to other means has taken place. As is obvious, this means that health wise no improvement has taken place but a turn for the worse. The tobacco industry is doing much Research & Development to make smoking less harmful, while the Beedi industry has no quality controls whatsoever. The macabre graphics on each packet has not affected tobacco sales, as shown by findings all over the world.

Newspaper reports indicate that the recent hike in cigarettes prices has increased the inflow of smugged cigarettes. One must bear in mind that only a minuscule number of these (one in ten) detections are made of the actual incidents of smuggling. I must also point out that the manufacture of counterfeit cigarettes has also increased proportionately. The Governments moves are only making the situation worse by turning a legal trade into an illegal one. As is inevitable the Excise Duties will decrease, with smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes taking their place instead of the legal trade. People will always find the means to circumvent these unenforceable laws and courts will be engulfed by unnecessary cases.

The opportunity for corruption is also increased among the enforcers of these laws and over-zealous officials are bound to bring many small-time traders to court and further clog up the legal system. Organised crime will also rise as in the 1930s Prohibition Era in the United States and more recently in India. These are laws which will eventually end up like the Poya day weekend where we found our country sleeping while the rest of the world was awake.

The Governments coffers are most replenished by the sale of alcohol and tobacco. As the sales of tobacco drop, the Government stands to lose by 50 to 70 billion rupees while, as was shown, no good has come to society at large.

More than all this, I want to enjoy my innocent pleasure without the Government telling me how many cigarettes I should buy at any given time.

We are walking into a trap where the underworld will take over the tobacco business and a Mafia of sorts will be created, like during the 1930s Prohibition Era in the United States or more recently in India. The Government now stands warned and governments have fallen on much smaller issues. I remember a time when the Ceylon Tobacco Company (the monopoly on manufacture and sale of tobacco products in Sri Lanka) went on strike, it ended with cigarettes having to be imported from India and break-ins and even murders took place due to the shortage thus created.

From a cigarette smoking society to a Beedi smoking one! Is this what the Yahapalanaya wants to create. There are far more insidious matters at stake, which may not be discussed now, but will certainly come to light if such laws are put into action.
MASON CITY | City Administrator Brent Trout said Monday talks have begun between Gatehouse Capital and city officials on Gatehouse's hotel proposal.

The proposal includes building hotel in the south parking lot of Southbridge Mall and connect it via skywalk to The Music Man Square, where a conference center and ballroom would be added. The museum would be moved and reduced in size.

The Gatehouse plan replaces one by G8 Development of San Diego in the city's application for state funding to help with a $36 million downtown renovation plan.

The city is seeking up to $10 million in state funding through the Iowa Reinvestment Act to help pay for a project that also includes a music pavilion, parking ramp, mixed-use building and ice arena/multipurpose center.

A state requirement is $10 million in private investment, which the hotel fulfills. Mason City has been pre-approved for a little more than $7 milion in state funding and is awaiting final approval.

G8 Development owner Philip Chodur had a development agreement with the city to build a hotel in the parking lot west of City Hall. When Chodur missed three deadlines last year to start construction, the city found him in default.

Earlier this year, city officials sent out requests for qualifications for anyone interested in building a hotel. It received two responses -- one from Chodur, the other from Gatehouse. At its March 21 meeting, the City Council chose to begin discussions with Gatehouse.

The switch to Gatehouse means the city will be asking the Iowa Economic Development Authority to consider some changes in the proposal for the state funds.

Trout said the city will request:

Changing its hotel developer and hotel location.

Eliminating the downtown parking garage, which was proposed by Chodur.

Adding renovation of The Music Man Square and building, the skywalk and new museum.

Amending boundaries of the reinvestment district to include The Music Man Square.

Also, the city will discuss whether the IEDA will allow the mixed-use building, also proposed by Chodur, to be removed as a component of the project.

A referendum on the ice arena is Aug. 1.

A group of citizens, who secured enough signatures to call for the referendum, is concerned about the city's plan to use up to $18.5 million in bonds to pay for it.

Trout said it is essential for voters to approve the bond issue for the city to receive the state funding. Without state funding, the project collapses.

Upon learning of the council's decision to go with Gatehouse, Chodur said he will build a hotel within 200 feet of Gatehouse's proposed hotel location.

In January, he purchased on contract the lots formerly housing Mechanical Air Systems, directly south of Gatehouse's proposed site.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. | Mason City Interim Superintendent Mike Penca has been selected as superintendent of Flagstaff Unified School District.

The districts governing board announced Saturday it had entered into negotiations with Penca, 43, who was one of two finalists interviewed by the board, staff and students in Flagstaff Wednesday.

Pencas one-year, $163,000 contract in Mason City expires June 30. He expects to start July 3 in Flagstaff.

Im honored for this new opportunity, look forward to some new adventures for my wife, my family and I, both professionally and personally, Penca said Monday. Its a big change  Im excited for new learning and new challenges.

Penca said he and his family visited Flagstaff during a trip to the Grand Canyon 10 years ago, and were attracted to the beauty of the community and what it offered.

I said, 'When I retire, I want to live here, he said.

Penca  who has worked in Mason City for 22 years as a teacher, principal and administrator -- said he is grateful the School Board chose him to be Mason Citys leader the past year.

He was promoted last June following the departure of former superintendent Anita Micich and was a finalist this winter for the permanent job, which was offered to Dave Versteeg, who has been superintendent of Montezuma Schools in southeastern Iowa for a decade.

Without that experience, I wouldnt be in the position Im in now, Penca said. Im well-prepared for the next new challenge.

Located among mountains and Ponderosa pine forests, Flagstaff has about 70,000 residents.

FUSD has about 10,000 students, 1,200 employees and 15 schools, one of which is a trilingual magnet school offering a Navajo Immersion Language Program as well as Spanish-English bilingual program. In comparison, Mason City has more than 3,700 students and 600 staff members.

While were different in landscape  they have mountains and we have flat and cornfields  a lot of things are the same, Penca said. They have quality teachers working with kids and are very big into STEM education and technology, like we have been.

Penca said there is more competition for education in Arizona through charter schools and vouchers. At FUSD, that means magnet programs, an AP academy, outdoor learning and bilingual education.

While he expected to stay in Mason City much longer, Penca said North Iowa will remain a special place for his family.

Mason City has been our home for over 20 years, he said. It will always be a special place, and well return to visit family and friends.

His wife, Kristine, a longtime Mason City educator currently teaching fifth grade at Lincoln Intermediate, plans to continue her career in Arizona.

She was impressed by how much they love their schools, programs, teachers and kids, Penca said. It will be a great place for her to work, as well.

Penca beat out the other finalist, Frank Chiapetti, who was the superintendent of Gallup McKinley County Schools in New Mexico.

Current FUSD Interim Superintendent Dave Dirksen was not included in the list of finalists by a 3-2 vote of the governing board.
The New Zealand Transport Agency is inviting people to have their say on a shortlist of ideas to make State Highway 2 between Waihi and Tauranga safer and more reliable.

People will have the chance to review the shortlist and also their say on proposed improvements at series of Community Information Days in Katikati, Waihi and Omokoroa, starting March 30.

The shortlist of options has been developed following community information days held in July 2016. More than 800 people attended these and talked to us about their concerns and what they would like to see changed, says NZTA highways manager Niclas Johansson.

Following those events, workshops and meetings were held with key stakeholders such as the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, iwi partners, freight groups, emergency services and the Avocado and Kiwifruit industry to capture their insights and ideas.

The shortlist includes many ideas from these groups and the communities along the highway.

Niclas says NZTA staff will be available to talk through the shortlist of options for SH2 which it believes will support planned growth and make this stretch of road safer and more reliable.

These information days are a chance for people to review the shortlist and speak to the project team about the options being considered. The Transport Agency understands how important this stretch of road is to those that live and travel along it.

We encourage people to come along and ask questions, give feedback and meet the team that will be working to improve this highway over the coming years.

Information about the Katikati Bypass and progress on the Tauranga Northern Link will also be available at the open days, adds Niclas.

NZTA COMMUNITY INFORMATION DAYS:
A Mount Maunganui woman who drove into three people, killing two and seriously injuring the third has been sentenced to prison.

Nicole Marie Reynolds, 40, was sentenced to three years and six months when she appeared in the District Court at Tauranga this afternoon.

The sentencing comes after she had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of drug impaired driving causing death and one charge of drug impaired driving causing injury at SH29 Maungatapu on July 29 last year.

She told police she didnt know she had hit someone until her windscreen smashed.

A blood test found Reynolds was driving under the influence of methadone, a Class B drug, and the class C drugs Lorazepam and Clonazepam.

A witness told police Reynolds vehicle was swerving within its lane and travelling at 85km/h in the 100km/h zone shortly before she struck the people who were changing a flat tyre.

The impact of the crash killed Kenny McCrae, 52, and Leigh Antoinette Rhodes, 60.

Leigh was standing near the rear of the vehicle waving a white wheel cover to alert traffic to the two men changing the rear tyre.

Reynolds struck Leigh, throwing her 30 metres from where she was standing and then struck Kenny, and Leighs partner Lance Carter.

Leigh died a short time later and Kenny died at the scene.

Judge Ingram says under New Zealand law as set down by Parliament Reynolds has accepted responsibility, and expressed remorse for her decision to drive under the influence of drugs. She pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and has no previous convictions.

Reynolds had finished work and was travelling at about 85km/h in a 100km/h zone on SH 29A. Her vehicle was seen weaving in the lane before she struck the people on the side of the road.

She said at the scene that she was unaware she had hit anyone until her windsreen shattered.

What was clear was that you were affected by something, says Judge Ingram. A blood test found Reynolds was driving under the influence of methadone, Lorazepam and Clonazepam. Reynolds is on the methadone programme.

On an alcohol scale the Judge says he views the sentencing situation similarly to a high level drink driving sentencing.

Hes heard all too many victim impact statements on the impacts the deaths have on the families of the victims.

Every death is an appalling tragedy for the families of those involved, says the judge.

The charge has a ten year maximum but the sentence is not a weighing of the cost of a life, says the judge.

Reynolds is also disqualified from driving for five years.
MetService forecasters are watching a complex low pressure system over the country, which has been delivering significant rainfall to the upper North Island.

The low is expected to move southeast and away from the North Island by Wednesday, as a welcome ridge of high pressure builds over New Zealand from the Tasman Sea.

The warm, humid air over the country brings the risk of thunderstorms accompanied by localised heavy rain to many inland North Island areas this afternoon and evening, while today the risk becomes confined to Bay of Plenty, Taupo and the Gisborne Ranges.

High humidity over eastern parts of the country will bring extensive low cloud and patchy drizzle tonight and into Tuesday, with sea fog likely in onshore flows around the coast from Marlborough and Wellington through to Wairarapa and southern Hawkes Bay.

"The good news is that a ridge of high pressure makes its way onto the South Island from the Tasman Sea on Wednesday, then moves north over the North Island on Thursday, says MetService Meteorologist Andy Best.

Temperatures are expected to stay relatively mild over the country this week for this time of year, with Westland seeing highs in the low-20s while the Canterbury Plains and much of the North Island experience highs in the mid-20s.

Looking further ahead, an area of low pressure approaches the west coast of the South Island on Friday, although at present there is uncertainty as to its position.

Forecasts for the weekend will be updated with the development of this system as the week progresses.

Keep up to date with the latest forecasts and any watches/warnings at metservice.com or on mobile devices at m.metservice.com. You can also follow our updates on MetService TV, at MetService New Zealand on Facebook, @metservice and @MetServiceWARN on Twitter and at blog.metservice.com
Customs Minister Nicky Wagner is welcoming a commitment to help strengthen Fijis border security.

New Zealand Customs will provide support and training for the transformation of Fijis Revenue and Customs Authority through an almost $1 million development plan funded by the New Zealand Aid programme.

The plan will improve border security by supporting organisational and staff development, regulatory and policy reform as well as stakeholder engagement, Ms Wagner says.

Pacific countries can be targets for transnational crime, including drug smuggling, money laundering and being used as a transhipment point, so any effort to improve border controls makes the wider region safer.

The plan builds on other projects with Fiji in recent years, including the introduction of detector dogs and leadership training. Programme is also funding border capacity building work in Samoa and the Cook Islands.

SOURCE: Office of Nicky Wagner
Yes, we need to keep it under control

No, we need to learn to live with it
The 2017 Malaga Film Festival reached its climax on Saturday evening, with the long-awaited presentation of the festival's distinctive 'biznaga' trophy to local actor Antonio Banderas at the closing award ceremony.

The Cervantes theatre erupted into a lengthy applause as one of the country's most accomplished actors approached the stage, where he accepted the honourary award from his "best friend and brother", Francisco Javier Dominguez Bandera.

Francisco paid homage to his brother's abilities as an actor, writer, producer and director but also described him as an "exceptional person." He added that Antonio, surprisingly, finds public speaking difficult. However, the actor's honest and amusing speech, which moved the audience, would suggest the opposite.

Earlier that day, in what may have been his most personal press conference to date, Antonio had spoken openly and emotionally about his recent heart attack and how grateful he is for his ever-loyal fans in Malaga and his "dreamlike" career. On accepting the award, he reiterated these sentiments. The actor thanked the festival for helping to promote his work over the last twenty years. In addition, he praised Malaga itself, saying he was "proud" of the city's recent cultural evolution and hinted that he would be returning to the city more often to direct and even swap the silver screen for the stage.

The ceremony closed with the awarding of the Golden Biznaga for Best Spanish Film to Verano 1993.
Spaniards brought their financial crisis upon themselves by spending too much money on booze and women. As much was hinted at by Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem when interviewed at a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels on Monday. The Dutch economy minister was speaking with the German newspaper Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung about the importance of solidarity within the EU when he said, "As a Social Democrat, I attribute exceptional importance to solidarity. But you have obligations. You cannot spend all the money on drinks and women and then ask for help." Hilarious, no?

The remarks were interpreted as being directed at the EU's troubled southern members and caused outrage amongst MEPs. Portuguese foreign minister Santos Silva has even called upon Dijsselbloem to resign his position as boss of the Eurogroup, saying the Dutch politician's statement proved he had zero understanding of the financial turmoil recently endured in Portugal, nor of the recession that Spain has only just exited.

Dijsselbloem has been given plenty of opportunity to apologise for his bar-room banter, but he refuses. The Dutch finance minister insists that he was only reiterating the importance of obeying Brussels' deficit and credit limits and of the "solidarity" that is so crucial to the EU project. Spain does indeed have a dismal track record here: Rajoy's Popular Party government has failed to meet EU budgetary targets every year it's been in power. And the fact that some of its most senior bankers and politicians (think Rodrigo Rato and the late Rita Barbera) are said to have been living illegally-funded lives of luxury during Spain's crisis makes Dijsselbloem's remarks less preposterous than they seem at first.

Nevertheless, they render his position as president of the Eurogroup even more unstable than it became after the Netherlands' general election on March 15th. Dijsselbloem's centre-left party lost a lot of support in a national vote that splintered the country's parliament much as Spain's did in December 2015; the Dutch politician is now only a caretaking economy minister until a coalition government is formed. He might lose his position altogether when it is, which would technically make him ineligible to apply for a third term as Eurogroup president in January, when his tenancy of the position expires.

Rumours have been circulating that Spanish economy minister Luis de Guindos might take Dijsselbloem's place, finally landing a job he lost to the Dutch politician in 2015. De Guindos, interestingly, was not among those who condemned Dijsselbloem for his alternative theory of the Spanish recession: was he quietly celebrating his rival's blunder instead? When asked by reporters this week if he had his eye on the Eurogroup's presidency, the smooth-tongued Spaniard said he wasn't even thinking about the matter, quickly adding "at the moment".
SIOUX CITY  Kim Weaver again plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, for his congressional seat.

Weaver, a Democrat from Sheldon, announced her decision on the MSNBC program AM Joy early Sunday morning. When Joy Reid, the shows host, asked Weaver if she planned to run again, she responded:

I do. Im all in. The official paperwork should be landing on the FECs desk tomorrow.

Five months ago, Weaver was soundly defeated by King, who captured 61.2 percent of the vote to secure his eighth two-year term to Congress. King represents Iowas 4th Congressional District, an area where Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 70,000 voters.

Earlier this month, Weaver, 52, told the Journal she was considering running against King again. As she was exploring her options, Weaver received nearly $140,000 in donations from more than 5,400 people, many of whom she said were angry about a recent controversial tweet by King.

While on the show, Weaver also confirmed she has raised more money in the last two weeks than she did in her entire previous campaign, where she raised a little less than $160,000.

Although Weaver is the only Democratic candidate who is officially challenging King so far, Dirk Deam, an Iowa State University political science professor, also is exploring a potential run.
CLEVELAND, N.Y. -- An Oswego County man is facing sex offense charges after deputies claim he raped a young girl, the Oswego County Sheriff's Office announced today.

Shane Desjardins

Shane Desjardins, 39, of Old North Raod, Cleveland, was charged Friday with second-degree rape, a felony; second-degree criminal sex act, a felony; and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

Deputies arrested Desjardins after an investigation into an incident that happened from March 2014 to March 2017, officials said.

During that time, Desjardins is accused of forcing a girl under the age of 15 to have sexual contact with him, deputies said. The incident happened in a residence in the Village of Cleveland.

Desjardins was arraigned in the Town of Scriba Court and remanded to the Oswego County Jail on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in the Town of Constantia Court on April 10.
Update at 9:15 p.m.: The Cicero Fire Department has confirmed the fire Sunday night was at Rogers Auto Service, 8830 Brewerton Road, Cicero.

CICERO, N.Y. -- Several fire departments in the northern Onondaga County suburbs are battling a fire at a Cicero business Sunday night.

Cicero, Brewerton, Clay, North Syracuse and Mattydale volunteer firefighters, Cicero police and NAVAC ambulance crews were among those at the scene of the fire on Brewerton Road, also known as U.S. Route 11 in Cicero. Bridgeport and South Bay fire departments are standing by at Cicero's fire station, firefighters said.

The fire was reported at 6:39 p.m. on Brewerton Road, between McKinley and Sneller roads, according to Onondaga County 911's website.

On the Cicero Fire Department's Facebook page, a volunteer firefighter wrote that the fire was at NAPA Auto Parts on Brewerton Road. However, on the Onondaga County Fire's Facebook page, those who commented said the fire was near NAPA.

Onondaga County 911 could not be reached for comment, however its website now states the fire is at Rogers Auto Sales on Brewerton Road, 3.9 miles from NAPA Auto Parts. Rogers Auto Sales is located at 8830 Brewerton Road, near Sneller Road.

Shortly after 8 p.m., the Cicero Fire Department posted on its Facebook page that the fire was in the 8800 block of Brewerton Road.

Firefighters at the scene reported the fire had been extinguished at 7:40 p.m., about one hour after the initial call, according to unofficial police scanner reports. Firefighters remain at the scene.

Check back for updates.

The Cicero Fire Department is currently operating with Mutual Companies on a Commercial Structure Fire in the 8800 block... Posted by Cicero Fire Department on Sunday, March 26, 2017

Cicero Fire Department 03/26/17 18:39 FIRE Industrial / Commercial BREWERTON RD TCI MCKINLEY RD & SNELLER RD Posted by Onondaga County Fire on Sunday, March 26, 2017
177701160

North Syracuse Central School District notified families this morning that a threat was made on social media.

(OceanFishing)

NORTH SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- North Syracuse Superintendent Annette Speach said the district waited until this morning to inform the community about a threat made on social media Sunday night in order to give police time to investigate.

"Although the situation unfolded late Sunday evening, we needed to allow the police to conduct their investigation before communicating a potentially inaccurate message to the community," Speach said in a letter to parents and guardians. The letter was also sent to the media.

The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office conducted an investigation overnight into fears a student was going to shoot others at North Syracuse Junior High School, the office stated. Those fears were determined to be unfounded, and no one is in danger, said Sgt. Jon Seeber, a sheriff's office spokesman.

A junior high school student made a post on Instagram that others took as a threat, Seeber said. The student posted a picture of a gun and captioned it "fight me now," he said.

The post, which drew the attention of North Syracuse district students and students in neighboring districts, did not mention the school or make any direct suggestion that the student intended to harm anyone, Speach said. The investigation included a visit to the home of the student, she said.

A statement was released this morning as soon as district officials were made aware of the outcome of the investigation, Speach said in the letter. The district also posted a message about the incident to parents on Facebook at 7:22 a.m.

Several parents took to social media to express disappointment with the level of communication about the incident and frustration that the community was not notified before the start of the school day.

Speach said the sheriff's department and the district concluded its investigation prior to any students arriving at school.

"While these situations are frightening and stressful, we are fortunate to have a community that is so in tune with its students," Speach said in her letter.
OSWEGO, N.Y. -- An Oswego man stole a vehicle from a car dealership and crashed it almost immediately, according to the Oswego City Police.

Craig C. Dickens

Craig C. Dickens, 42, of East Sixth Street in Oswego, broke into a car dealership along Syracuse Avenue/East Third Street on March 16, said Capt. David Lizotte, a spokesman for the police department.

Dickens did not work at the dealership, Lizotte said. Police think he got into the building by breaking through one of the doors between 10 and 11 p.m.

Once inside, Dickens stole keys to a 2008 Pontiac G6 and drove it off the lot, Lizotte said.

Authorities responded quickly and found the vehicle at about 11:10 p.m. off the road near Bunner and Maple streets, Lizotte said.

Police found Dickens' cellphone inside the stolen vehicle, Lizotte said. When authorities contacted him, Dickens voluntarily turned himself in, he said.

Dickens was charged Tuesday with third-degree grand larceny, a felony; fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony; third-degree criminal mischief, a felony; third-degree burglary, a felony; and petit larceny and unauthorized use of a vehicle, both misdemeanors.

He was arraigned and remanded to Oswego County Jail without bail, Lizotte said. He is due back in court April 4.

Dickens had been on parole for a third-degree burglary charge, according to Department of Corrections and Community Supervision records. He was released from Orleans Correctonal Facility in August 2014.
IMG_20170322_200551819_HDR

Syracuse area high school actresses rehearsing "SLUT: The Play" in Syracuse.

(provided photo)

Syracuse, N.Y. - What does it mean if you call yourself a slut. Are you reclaiming the word and your sexuality? Or are you participating in your own oppression?

A play, put on by teen actresses from high schools in and around Syracuse next month, examines that question and invites audiences to talk about it after.

"SLUT: The Play," by Katie Capiello, is about Joey Del Marco, a 16-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by three male friends after the four of them shared a bottle of vodka. In the play, her family and friends blame her for what happened.

Del Marco and her friends are part of a dance team they call "The Slut Squad." Does that make her responsible for her own sexual assault, the play asks in a culture where "she was asking for it" is still offered as rationale for rape and sexual assault.

In Syracuse, the production was the idea of Melanie Harrison, an arts enrichment teacher at Porter Elementary School in Syracuse and a teaching fellow at the Red House. Harrison saw the play when she was living in New York City and decided to put it on here as a combination of performance and activism. The production is being paid for through a CNY Arts Decentralization grant, Harrison said.

After each performance, there will be a talk-back with the audience about sexual assault and rape culture. Counselors from Vera House will be at each performance.

Harrison said the teen actresses have been having their own discussions with her about sexual assault and slut-shaming. They decided, on their own, to sign pledges that they wouldn't use the word "slut" any more.

"Even if there's some brief empowerment or liberation in using that word ... the damage outweighs it," Harrison said.

The cast includes teens from Nottingham, Corcoran, East Syracuse, Fayetteville-Manlius, Jamesville-DeWitt, Cazenovia, Solvay and Liverpool high schools.

The performances:

Sunday, April 2, 7 p.m.: Red House Arts Center

Monday, April 3, 7 p.m.: Jewish Community Center of Syracuse

Tuesday, April 4, 6 p.m.: Southwest Community Center

Wednesday, April 5, 7 p.m.: Community Folk Art Center

Friday, April 7, 5:30 p.m.: YWCA of Syracuse and Central New York

Marnie Eisenstadt writes about people, life and culture in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2246
Mexico Child Migrants

The federal government has awarded the Cayuga Centers in Auburn a $44 million grant to care for unaccompanied refugee children. In this June 19, 2014 photo, young Central American migrants traveling together play cards on a parked boxcar as they wait for a northbound freight train at the station in Arriaga, Chiapas state, Mexico.

(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Auburn, N.Y.-- The U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement has awarded the Cayuga Centers a nearly $44 million grant to care for unaccompanied refugee children, the office said last week.



The grant is on a three-year funding cycle and will disbursed on a quarterly basis, the office said. About $11 million of the grant has already been released, the office said.



Cayuga Centers, headquartered in Auburn, said it has become the largest provider of transitional foster homes for Central American children taken into custody while crossing the nation's southern border.

By law, the federal government must make sure such children are properly cared for.

The grant expands an initial 2014 agreement for $8.4 million, that also paid $15 million in each of the next two years from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The federal government at the time was scrambling to deal with some 57,000 unaccompanied minors who have crossed the Mexican border.



The new grant, renewable for up to three years, will provide care for 600 children in New York City, the organization said.



"Many of these children have family members in the U.S. and are fleeing dangers in their home countries. That includes violence, gang warfare, sex trafficking, and forced labor," said Edward Myers Hayes, president and CEO of Cayuga Centers.



Providing care for these children is an outgrowth of Cayuga Centers' Treatment Family Foster Care programs in Central New York, New York City, Palm Beach County, Fla., and Delaware. Cayuga Centers modified this treatment-focused approach to care for the Central American children, he said.



"We felt matching those children with highly trained, Spanish-speaking adults in New York City would meet their health and emotional needs," said Hayes. "With a bilingual staff of nearly 400 and several locations in South Harlem and the Bronx, these children receive care, tutoring and support and live in a family home and sleep in their own bed as we locate someone the children know and can be trusted to care for them as their applications to remain in the United States are considered."



Cayuga Centers' short-term, transitional program includes physical and mental health screenings and matches them with trained Spanish-speaking foster families. They attend an agency-operated learning center, which introduces them to American-style classrooms and teaches U.S. cultural skills and values.



Clinicians complete a mental health assessment and give the children trauma-focused therapy. Case managers conduct background checks and other screenings to qualify family members to eventually sponsor the children. The children are transported after an average 22 days to federally approved sponsors.



Placing children in foster homes as opposed to institutions creates safety for these children who are escaping a great deal of violence and trauma, said Melinda Jimenez, the vice president for the Cayuga Centers program.



The agency has received a second federal contract to start long-term foster care for youth who do not have sponsors but can't be deported because their lives may be in danger in their home country. This grant is for 12 foster homes.



"Our recent growth with our Unaccompanied Children program complements the increased work we are doing with both NYC's Administration for Children's Services in Treatment Foster Care, and increased home-based services we are doing for Cayuga County Department of Social Services," Hayes said.



"As we grow, we remain committed to Auburn as our corporate headquarters," Hayes says. "This new growth means we now have 86 positions supporting national operations. We could locate those staff members anywhere, but we choose to house them in Auburn. From this location we are poised to seek new opportunities and to mobilize quickly."



The expansion in foster beds requires an increase in staff of 91 positions, including clinicians, case managers, teachers, teacher aides, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, youth transportation specialists, skills trainers and case aides. At the same time, agency support staff for IT, HR, and finance will increase to provide the infrastructure to undergird the growth, the agency said.



Cayuga Centers was founded in 1852 as the Cayuga Asylum for Destitute Children. It changed its name in 2011 to Cayuga Centers.

The agency serves children and families throughout New York state, Palm Beach County, Florida, and Delaware, offering a variety of programs, residential and foster care treatment, and services for persons with developmental disabilities. It has 700 workers and a $65 million annual budget, the agency said.

Contact Charley Hannagan anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2161.
Waterloo, N.Y. -- The real-life murder of Malcolm "Bruce" Kellogg in 1991 in Seneca County sounded like the plot of a made-for-television movie, as indeed it would later become.



Kellogg, 43, was fatally shot on June 9, 1991 while he slept on a couch in his family's cottage on Cayuga Lake near Romulus.



His wife, Laurie Kellogg, then 26, plotted the murder. She drove four teens the 200 miles from the couple's home near Harrisburg, Pa. to the cottage where an 18-year-old boy who wanted to be her lover shot Bruce Kellogg four times before jumping back into the pickup truck and driving away.



The five were quickly caught.



For two weeks at the end of June 1992, the Kellogg murder trial with its lurid testimony of affairs, abuse and murder-for-hire plots dominated the news in Central New York and Central Pennsylvania. The quaint courthouse in Waterloo was packed with spectators and journalists roamed the village's streets seeking comment on the trial from the locals.



"This is the biggest thing I think to ever hit Waterloo. I'd say we got a lot of attention when the new canal went through (in 1914), but otherwise we're a real quiet bunch," Ruth Semtner, the Waterloo village historian, said at the time of the trial.

Flash forward 25 years. A Manhattan judge Thursday ordered New York to release Laurie Kellogg, now 52, who was serving 25 years to life in state prison for the murder of her husband.



Supreme Court Justice Arthur F. Engoron said Laurie Kellogg has been an exemplary inmate during her time in prison. "Any further time would be cruel, if not unusual punishment," he wrote in his decision.

Judge orders NY to free Laurie Kellogg, a woman who got teen to kill her husband



The parole board - which had denied granting Laurie Kellogg's release - is reviewing the judge's ruling to decide whether the state will challenge it or not, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.



If nothing changes, Laurie Kellogg will be free in a month.



The story of the Kellogg murder was featured on the true crime shows "Hard Copy" and "A Current Affair." It was written about in the London tabloids and People magazine.

ABC produced a movie about the murder "Lies of the Heart: The Story of Laurie Kellogg" starring Jennie Garth as Laurie and Gregory Harrison as Bruce Kellogg.

It's a story about a woman who said she was in an abusive marriage, a boy who loved her and the teens who wanted to help her out.



At her trial, Laurie Kellogg recounted a childhood in which her father sexually abused her, masturbated in front of her and introduced her to pornography and sex toys. Her father physically and mentally abused her mother, she said.



Her parents divorced, and her mother remarried a gambler. The family was nomadic and by the time she was a teen, she was living in a trailer park near a race track in Grantville, Pa.



In 11th grade, she met Bruce Kellogg, a married man and the father of two, in a Grantville bar. She was 16 and he was 33. They began an affair.



In October 1981, she had a fight with her mother and moved in with Bruce Kellogg. He divorced his first wife in 1987, with the couple sharing custody of their son and daughter. Bruce married Laurie and the couple lived in a gray cape cod in a Harrisburg, Pa. suburb.



Bruce Kellogg had grown up on a farm in Cayuga County and was a successful customer service supervisor for a heating and air conditioning company. Laurie Kellogg went to community college and to the Pennsylvania State University graduating with a degree in elementary education. The couple had two small sons.



To some neighbors, Bruce Kellogg appeared to be a loving husband and father and Laurie Kellogg appeared to be a wonderful homemaker, caring for her two sons, as well as the neighbor children.



Others, however, saw a darker side.

Several defense witnesses testified at the trial that they saw Laurie Kellogg with a black eye, a gash on her head, bite marks and bruises that she said were the result of her husband's abuse. She told friends that her husband sodomized her and put a gun in her mouth. She told Denver McDowell - the teen who would ultimately fatally shoot Bruce Kellogg - that her husband raped her.

She testified that she was planning to leave her husband after finding out that he had molested two teenage girls.



Bruce Kellogg's relatives said they never saw signs of abuse on Laurie Kellogg and have previously spoke against her release.



Laurie Kellogg had a dark side too that came out in court.

She admitted in testimony that she had an affair with a man she met in a bar.



Neighbors said Laurie Kellogg allowed teens to hang out in the couple's home and would go with them to a local skating rink. At the rink, Laurie Kellogg stood out for her tight jeans, skimpy shirts and high boots, and for her age, the manager said. The average patron was 14, while Laurie was 26.



"Laurie Kellogg wanted out, " said the then Seneca County District Attorney Dennis F. Bender. "She wanted out of her marriage and she decided the most drastic way was the best way. She wanted Bruce dead."



Witnesses at her trial testified that Laurie Kellogg plotted for weeks to get rid of her husband. Two men testified that they were offered $1,000 to kill Bruce Kellogg. Another man testified he heard Laurie Kellogg offer $1,000 to kill her husband.



Denver McDowell, then 19, told jurors he loved Laurie Kellogg. She had earlier asked him to kill her husband, and became angry when he didn't do it, McDowell said in court.



That fateful weekend of June 8 and 9 1991, Bruce Kellogg left his wife and children in Harrisburg to go to the Romulus cottage. Laurie Kellogg sent her two sons to their grandmother, and allowed her step-daughter to sleep over at a friend's house even though she had been grounded.



That Saturday night Laurie Kellogg went to the roller rink with the teens. She allowed other teens to go back to her house and hang out all night.



Then she drove, McDowell, Nicole Pappas, 16, Kristi Mullins, 15, and Charles Sebelist, 16, to the cottage. They drank wine coolers and liquor on the trip, and McDowell said he took LSD.



Laurie Kellogg stopped the vehicle several times to allow him to vomit, McDowell testified. He told her he wanted to back out of the murder, but she refused, he said.



When they arrived at the cottage on Sunday June 9, 1991, McDowell jumped out and ran inside with Bruce Kellogg's .41 Magnum Smith & Wesson and pumped four shots into the gun's owner as he slept on a couch.



Laurie Kellogg told the jury that she had not planned the murder. She wanted to talk to her husband the day he was murdered, but the teens, and especially McDowell, believing that Bruce had abused teenage girls, had other ideas.



On the way back to Harrisburg, McDowell threw the gun in Cayuta Creek, 30 miles south of the cottage in Schuyler County. At 2 p.m. that Sunday, a Pennsylvania man swimming in the creek found the gun and turned it over to sheriff's deputies.



Some 90 minutes later neighbors in Romulus found Bruce Kellogg's body.



Monday, Mullins, Pappas and Sebelist went to school.



By Tuesday morning, Laurie Kellogg and the teens were under arrest.



Seneca County jurors convicted Laurie Kellogg of murder and other charges after a 13-day trial.

At her sentencing, protesters from a battered women's shelter wore pink and purple pins and waved signs to show their support for Laurie Kellogg. A judge sentenced her to 25 years to life.



McDowell, who never got to consummate his relationship with Laurie Kellogg, pleaded guilty to murder. He testified against her. A judge sentenced him to 50 years to life for the murder, but an appeals court lowered the sentence to 25 years to life.



The other teens also pleaded guilty and were sentenced to shorter prison sentences.

The Manhattan judge's decision last week calls for Laurie Kellogg to be released within 30 days. McDowell remains incarcerated at a prison near Utica. His next chance to get out is a parole hearing in February 2018.

Contact Charley Hannagan anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2161.
Paul Ryan,Greg Walden,Kevin McCarthy

House Speaker Paul Ryan, center, joins Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., right, and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., left, to unveil the American Health Care Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 7, 2017. The proposal failed to gain enough support and was pulled Friday, March 25, 2017, minutes before a scheduled vote on the measure. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

(Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON -- Upstate New York voters strongly support Obamacare, and opposed last week's effort by Republicans in Congress to repeal the law, according to a new Siena College poll released this morning.

By a large margin, Upstate voters support keeping and improving the Affordable Care Act (60-37 percent), President Obama's 2010 health care law, the poll found.

Statewide, the poll shows the law is even more popular. Registered voters in New York support Obamacare (67-30 percent) and would like to see the law improved rather than replaced, as the Republican-controlled Congress attempted and failed to do last week.

Steve Greenberg, a spokesman for the Siena College Research Institute, said the poll found voters believe the Affordable Care Act has helped them access healthcare and buy affordable health insurance.

"They also strongly believe it has helped the cost of health care and the ability to see a doctor of choice," Greenberg said.

But the picture is less rosy when voters were asked their opinion about the law's impact on the ability to operate a small business in New York state. About 49 percent of respondents said the law hurt that ability, compared to 29 percent who said it helped.

When asked about the GOP replacement plan that was abruptly pulled from the House floor on Friday, 56 percent of New York voters said they opposed the GOP's American Health Care Act. Only 25 percent of voters supported the bill.

The poll of 791 registered voters in New York was conducted by telephone between March 19 and Thursday, the day Congress was initially due to vote on the Obamacare repeal bill. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
Dog Meat Rescue

A crate holding two puppies rescued from a South Korean dog meat farm are loaded onto an animal transport vehicle near Kennedy Airport by Animal Haven Director of Operations Mantat Wong, left, and volunteer Nicole Smith Sunday, March 26, 2017, in the Queens borough of New York.

(Andrew Kelly | AP)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Forty-six dogs were flown to New York from South Korea after being rescued at a farm where they were to be slaughtered for human consumption, animal advocates said Sunday.

The Humane Society International is responsible for saving the dogs that were fed barely enough to survive.

The animals arrived at Kennedy International Airport late Saturday and were headed to emergency shelters in New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania on Sunday.

The farm in Goyang, a city just north of Seoul, "was more like a dungeon, where there's very little light, little to no ventilation, so the stench of ammonia would bring tears to your eyes when you walk through," said Kelly O'Meara, who oversees the society's companion animal-related international projects. "You'd see eyes peering at you, but it was hard to actually see the dogs themselves in the dark."

An estimated 17,000 other such farms still operate in South Korea, said O'Meara. However, she said, it's a diminishing industry in a society where demand for dog meat has been plummeting. Meat from about 2 million dogs still is eaten there each year.

In the United States, the rescued dogs will be available for adoption after the shelters evaluate their behavior and medical needs and make sure each one is ready for a new life in someone's home.

In South Korea, O'Meara said, the dogs receive no veterinary care of any kind.

"They either get through it or they die in their cage and they receive just enough food to get by," she said.

At the seven farms from which the Humane Society rescued more than 800 dogs since 2015, those to be slaughtered included both mixed breed dogs and purebred ones -- from a Chihuahua and a Maltese to various spaniels and a Saint Bernard.

A German shorthaired pointer and a miniature pinscher came from the latest farm.

The Washington-based Humane Society International, which relies on private donations, deals directly with farmers to close down and demolish dog meat businesses and help owners financially to transition to other work.

The animals must be taken abroad, O'Meara said, because they're generally not wanted in South Korea as pets or companion dogs. Some had been abandoned pets, and others were raised to be sold as pets but given to the meat industry if that failed.
An Upstate NY couple has been charged with child endangerment after leaving their three children alone on a bench while they went to work at a mall.

Jean Seide and Bilaine Seint-Just

Jean Seide, 39, and Bilaine Seint-Just, 36, both of Rochester, left their 8-year-old, 6-year-old and 1-month-old children in the employee access hallway at Eastview Mall in Victor, the Ontario County Sheriff's Office told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

The children were reported to mall security, and deputies came to collect the children and alert Child Protective Services.

Seide and Seint-Just were each charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, which is a misdemeanor. They were each issued appearance tickets for Victor Town Court.

Watch the WHEC-TV video report below.
TOWN OF WALLKILL -- Town police Friday arrested a Middletown man, a William Carter Elementary parent, accused of phoning in a threat to school staff that he was going to blow up the school.

Police said they were called to Carter Elementary shortly before 8 a.m., responding to a bomb threat. School staff told police an irate parent had threatened to blow up the school, which is located at 435 East Main St. in the Town of Wallkill in the Hudson Valley.

Police: Man arrested for bomb threat at Middletown schoolhttps://t.co/3ohIgEDRFB  News12HV (@News12HV) March 25, 2017

Police said an investigation led detectives to Kendell Thomas, 35, who was arrested and charged with making a terroristic threat, a felony.

Thomas was arraigned in Wallkill Town Court before Justice Peter Green and released on personal recognizance. He is due to return to Wallkill Town Court on Wednesday.
Sean Hannity, Ted Koppel

Fox News host Sean Hannity appears on "CBS Sunday Morning" with Ted Koppel.

(CBS News video still)

Syracuse University alumnus Ted Koppel is not afraid to say what he thinks.

The legendary television journalist told Sean Hannity that he's "bad for America" -- along with other opinion talk show hosts "in the long haul."

The Fox News host accused Koppel of cynicism, arguing that Americans are "somewhat intelligent and that they know the difference between an opinion show and a news show... You think I'm bad for America?"

"Yeah," Koppel replied.

"Really?" Hannity asked. "That's sad, Ted. That's sad."

"No, you know why? Because you're very good at what you do," Koppel explained. "You have attracted people who are determined that ideology is more important than facts."

The interview aired during a "CBS Sunday Morning" piece entitled "A Polarized America," focusing on the political divide across the U.S. During the segment, Koppel said Hannity "promoted Donald Trump and a highly partisan agenda" on Fox News.

"I think liberalism must be defeated. Socialism must be defeated in a political sense," Hannity said while complaining about "angry snowflakes" and accusing the media of being "out to destroy the president."

President Donald Trump has frequently appeared on "Hannity" and other Fox News programs. On Saturday, he encouraged his supporters to watch the network's "Justice With Judge Jeanine," in which host Jeanine Pirro called for House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) to step down, blaming him for the failure of the American Health Care Act, the proposed Obamacare replacement also known as "Trumpcare."

Trump has accused other media outlets, meanwhile, of being fake news and Hannity joined the chorus Sunday while complaining about the "sad" Koppel interview.

"Fake 'edited' news. I did about a 45 minute interview with CBS. They ran less than 2. Why did Ted cut out my many examples of media bias?" Hannity wrote on Twitter. "I gave a example after example of why I say 'journalism is dead.' I also gave many examples of how liberalism has failed."

Hannity demanded CBS "release the Unedited 45 minute interview so people can see the BS games you play in the edit room. I dare you!"

Koppel, a 1960 SU graduate and WAER Radio Hall of Famer, did not respond to Hannity's tweets. The 77-year-old newsman hosted "Nightline" from 1980 to 2005 and currently works as a special contributor to "CBS News Sunday Morning."
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One could just feel the reaction from across Nebraska: not again.

This was after another prison disturbance earlier this month left two inmates dead at the Tecumseh State Prison.

Inmates started fires and numerous inmates were injured in the disturbance, with two left dead.

This came less than two years after a riot at the same Tecumseh prison caused $2 million in damage and threatened staff members. Two inmates were also killed in the nine-hour takeover of the prison in 2015.

It is clear that something is going on at the Tecumseh prison that state corrections officials just can't get a handle on.

Union officials have said that low wages and no reward for experience create constant turnover among prison staff, leaving inexperienced guards to handle difficult situations. They also point to short staffing and mandatory overtime leading to problems. There are currently 53 job vacancies at the prison.

Whatever the reasons, the state must do something to fix the situation at Tecumseh. Four deaths in two years is unacceptable.

Most of the state has been patient with Corrections Director Scott Frakes and Gov. Pete Ricketts. They inherited a terrible situation. The prisons are greatly overcrowded, staffing is a problem and corrections officials were miscalculating release dates.

Frakes has fixed the release dates miscalculations, but changes to state law have not had a significant impact on prison populations. Prison officials said changes made after the 2015 disturbance kept the recent riot from spreading. That is good and it is important that staff members were kept safe.

Ricketts also has asked the Legislature for $95 million in additional funds to hire more prison officers for Tecumseh and other prisons. In addition, the governor is seeking the building of a new inmate treatment center that will help ease overcrowding. Nebraska prisons are holding about 1,900 more inmates than they were designed to house.

Despite the lean budget times, the Legislature must address the prison needs. More funding for more guards and better pay for experienced staff is badly needed at Tecumseh and the other prisons. It can't wait for another year.

Lawmakers and corrections officials also should examine what it is about the Tecumseh facility that is leading to the deadly riots. Tecumseh is about an hour's drive away from Omaha and Lincoln, which makes it more difficult to attract staff. However, other states have prisons in isolated locations and deal with it without any problems.

Is there a configuration at Tecumseh or a way that prisoners are grouped that is leading to problems? Is there a problem with the schedule? Or have the prisoners just become emboldened by the past disturbances and the talk of an inexperienced staff?

Whatever it is, state officials need to get to the bottom of it for the safety of the prison staff and of inmates. Nebraskans don't want to say "not again" one more time.

This editorial appeared in the March 16 edition of the The Grand Island (Nebraska) Independent.
What I think is amazing about all of the massive data breaches we hear about is that we know most are not reported. In other words, for every email, customer record, or financial theft in the news, there likely are hundreds that remain in the shadows.

This problem is huge and yet another incident came to light last week. A clever Lithuanian individual was able to pull a whopping US$100 million from a bunch of unnamed Internet companies using a combination of phishing tactics and fake vendors spread across a multitude of companies.

It apparently wasnt a state-level or even organized crime-level attack, which should make you wonder how many billions hostile states and actual criminal organizations are stealing from you daily. You and I are the victims, because this activity raises costs that we pay.

The good news is that companies that no longer wish to be targets can take advantage of three broadly used technologies to stop this activity: blockchain, Inky and Varonis.

Ill explain and then close with my product of the week: the Lenovo X1 Carbon, which may be the best business laptop currently in market.

Frauds Aftereffects

The Lithuanian attack brought back memories of one of my most embarrassing moments during my stint running an audit team. Shortly after we completed the audit, someone else discovered that an employee in an area wed audited had embezzled thousands from the company, and I felt personally responsible for missing it.

My boss pointed out that my team had caught the control exposure that made the theft possible, and that it simply had not shown up in our sample of vendors. Still, I was embarrassed personally and always have felt I could have done better.

When these things hit, they affect everyone up line from them. They can be incredibly hard to catch, but I think it is well worth making the effort. Being connected to something like this can follow your career, even if you had no way of catching or stopping it.

Blockchain to the Rescue

The best solution for combating false vendors likely is blockchain technology, which is why IBM has been so successful with financial institutions implementing it broadly. Developed around the digital currency bitcoin, it is a way to ensure transactions without financial institutions. It provides a robust multilevel transaction assurance process that is incredibly difficult to break.

This doesnt mean a state or very powerful criminal organization couldnt breach it  with enough resources, anything is possible. Short of that, however, it represents the most robust and secure trust system currently in market.

If the victim companies in the Lithuanian breach had used blockchain, the attacker likely would have chosen other firms to attack.

Everledger currently uses blockchain to ensure diamond transactions and eliminate conflict diamonds, which fund some of the most brutal wars and nastiest crimes in the world. It may be the strongest weapon currently available to eliminate this kind of crime.

The use of blockchain is evolving to ensure art and other high-value transactions as well, in both the personal and public markets.

Email Security Guard

When there is a unique exposure, a unique company often steps up to address it. Phishing, particularly spearphishing, is at the heart of many data breaches.

One of the biggest I personally ran into was a case of a criminal organization that was able to capture critical identity information of each of a targeted companys execs over the course of a year. It then used that data to convince all of the companys employees to send in their own financial ID credentials in order to commit identity theft at massive scale.

I see cases like this all the time now  sad stories of people who believe they got a request from their boss, CFO, or even CEO for confidential information. A duped individual supplies it, and then finds out it was a fake note and he or she is now at the heart of an IP theft case as the one who breached policy. Careers often dont survive mistakes like this.

Inky is a relatively new email service that focuses on identity validation. Every employee has a unique key, and if the email doesnt have that key it isnt from that employee. You immediately can see that the email that seemed to come from the CEO didnt. Rather than becoming a key portion of the problem and possibly ending your career, you can flag the email to security and be part of the solution.

At some point, I expect every email system will have some kind of identity validation built into it, but right not the only one I know that does is Inky.

Whos Minding Access?

From the DNC email breach to this latest one, the problem in part has been that there was no in-depth monitoring of systems or access. When there is a breach, there is an unusual event taking place  but if you have no invasive way to monitor activity and aggressively limit access, you simply dont have the capability to catch a breach when it occurs.

At some point during this latest breach, new vendors were being added at an unusual rate. The system should have flagged that as an anomaly, even though different purchasing agents likely were adding them. Such a flag could have resulted in identification of a breach in progress, before the millions were lost. That is why tools like Varonis, which can monitor access and alert system administrators of anomalies are a critical part of the tool kit that successful CSOs use to make sure their firms arent breached.

Wrapping Up

There are tools to prevent the kinds of financial and intellectual property breaches that have damaged companies and elections. At some point, boards need to start asking if these tools are in place to make sure the firms they oversee arent being negligent with regard to information and financial security.

As customers, we may want to start checking to see if the firms we trust to manage our own finances are well secured, because identity theft is a really nasty problem to fix  as is getting back money that was pulled from our bank accounts illicitly.

Until then, just be aware there are tools that can make both our companies and ourselves far safer. More of us may want to be pointing these out so that were not included in the next set of victims.

The best laptop for me may not be the best laptop for you, but Ill bet the Lenovo X1 Carbon comes close. There are four things that stand out for a notebook used for work: light carry weight, because I already put too much crap in my backpack; good keyboard/touchpad; damage resistant, because I dont want something that looks older than I do; and really good battery life, because I dont want to fight or look for plugs on planes or in conferences.

The Lenovo X1 Carbon currently does the best job of hitting all those points. It weighs slightly less than two and a half pounds and is just a little more than half an inch thick, which puts it close to large tablet territory. Along with many others who have used it, I think it has the best keyboard currently in any laptop. The ThinkPad black coating has proven to be one of the most durable for decades. Finally, its battery has lasted around 16 hours in tests, which means it is working when you need it to work.

Lenovos ThinkPad X1Carbon

There are few laptops from anyone, let alone in this weight class, that do anywhere near as well. By the way, another nice thing that is suddenly showing up in a number of laptops is a USB-C charging port, so if you need a charger and there is anyone else with a USB-C laptop charger, you arent screwed. I actually think a USB-C port should be a requirement for every laptop going forward, so we arent forced out of our offices by a growing pile of useless chargers that dont fit our laptops.

Granted, it isnt a 2-in-1, but given how few of us use 2-in-1s in tablet mode? I really dont think many would miss that feature. In addition, it doesnt have a touchscreen, which can get a tad annoying if you are used to using one. The one real downside for me is the lack of a GPU, so I cant play good games on it.

However, if you add a GPU youll gain weight and lose battery life  which even for me sometimes isnt a good tradeoff. (I find Im mostly gaming on a desktop machine at home these days, anyway.)

At just under $1,152, the Lenovo X1 Carbon is no cheap date. (Note: Personally, Id buy up to the $1,300 version with the fingerprint scanner  they have really improved over the years  but it currently is sold out.) If you want what is likely the best workhorse laptop for school or business, there is to my knowledge none better, which is why the Lenovo X1 Carbon is my product of the week.
As is so often the case in the aftermath of such incidents, the London terror attack last Wednesday has led to renewed calls by politicians for law enforcement to have backdoor access to encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp.

Khalid Masood, who killed four people in Westminster, reportedly connected to WhatsApp not long before the attack took place, though it's unclear whether he sent any messages.

Speaking on BBC One's Andrew Marr show, UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: "We need to make sure that organizations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, don't provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other."

"It used to be that people would steam open envelopes or just listen in on phones when they wanted to find out what people were doing, legally, through warranty," she said "But on this situation we need to make sure that our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted WhatsApp."

Facebook-owned WhatsApp finished its rollout of end-to-end encryption in April last year. It followed Apple's battle with the FBI over the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, which resulted in the government agency reportedly handing over $1.3 million to professional gray hat hackers, who unlocked the handset using a zero-day exploit.

Most people, including Tim Cook, disagree with the idea of governments having backdoor access to our communications, but Rudd called on the Apple CEO directly to do something about the issue: "I would ask Tim Cook to think again about other ways of helping us work out how we can get into the situations like WhatsApp on the Apple phone."

The Home Secretary is set to meet with technology firms this week. While the setting up of an industry board to tackle online hate speech, propaganda, and recruitment will be the main topic on the agenda, the subject of backdoor access to encrypted services will also be discussed.

Rudd isn't calling for a total ban on encryption. She told Sky News: "End-to-end encryption has a place. Cybersecurity is really important and getting it wrong costs the economy and costs people money, so I support end-to-end encryption."

WhatsApp said it was "horrified at the attack" and was co-operating with the investigation.

In the wake of the 2015 Paris attacks, a number of governments and intelligence agencies around the world called for weakened encryption or backdoor access. The Information Technology Industry Council issued a statement opposing such actions.
Following a narrow win in the Senate last week, the US House of Representatives will vote on Tuesday to repeal the FCC's online privacy rules. The bill was passed in the Senate along a Republican party-line vote. If H. J. Res. 86 passes the House, President Trump is expected to sign it as well.

The bill protects consumers and their online presence. If repealed, ISPs will be able to sell your browsing history and other personal information to whoever they want. Another clause in the repeal states that the FCC will not be able to adopt "substantially similar" rules in the future. To put it simply, ISPs will sell your online information without your permission, you won't be able to stop them, and future legislation to protect you again won't come easy.

While this is a win for large telecom companies thanks to their friends in Congress, it is a major blow to personal rights and privacy advocates. If you find out a website or business is selling your personal information for profit, it's easy for you to not go there again. With ISPs, it's much harder.

The current bill (which is new and not scheduled to be in effect until December 4, 2017) offers the strongest protection to consumers. The FCC would require ISPs to inform customers about what type of data is collected, how it is used, and with whom it is shared. ISPs would have to explicitly obtain a customer's permission to use or share personal information like health data, browsing history, and Social Security numbers. Customers must be able to easily opt-out of any information sharing with the ISP. On the security side, providers must promptly notify customers and law enforcement officials of any breach and take steps to keep data secure.

These all sound like no-brainers, but ISPs have been unhappy with them for years.

These legal changes originate from the FCC's decision to reclassify home and mobile ISPs as common carriers. This allowed the FCC to impose net neutrality rules, but it also stripped the Federal Trade Commission's authority over ISPs, including those about violating customers' privacy.

The laws hold ISPs to more stringent regulations than other web corporations like Google, known as "edge" companies. What isn't easy to understand is how repealing the regulations would benefit anyone other than the ISPs themselves. Google and other edge companies only know your information if you opt to use their services. ISPs on the other hand know everything you do since all of your traffic is directed through them, and depending on where you live, you may not get more than one or two ISPs to choose from.

When voters showed that they didn't want the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, Congress responded and the vote didn't pass. A VPN company recently purchased a full page New York Times ad opposing the bill (see below).

The ETF has a simple page detailing your rights and what would go away if the bill was passed. They, along with Free Press also have forms you can send to your representative to show your support for keeping the current protections.

Editor's Note: The story has been updated to include an important omission. FCC's privacy rules and the current bill that may be repealed is not yet into effect. Years prior consumers were protected to an extent because carriers were still under control of the Federal Trade Commission. For a detailed read on the full effects of the bill, repeal and a little history on how the rules have changed go to this article on Ars Technica.
A smartphone is enough to assess male fertility. Just as women tests pregnancy with an in-home test kit, men can measure their index of fertility from sperm count and motility while sitting at home with a smartphone and getting the semen analysis with 97 percent accuracy.

Developed by Harvard researchers, the test uses a smartphone app and 3D-printed optical accessory to play out the video to see the sample sperm cells.

The results are analyzed by computer algorithms on the basis of video evidence, and analysis is offered to highlight the right percentage of fast swimming sperms.

The Android app takes one-second videos at the rate of 30 frames per second, with each frame analyzed for sperm count and motility.

The researchers have hailed the innovation as a paradigm shift in assessing male infertility in a cost-effective and most convenient way.

Despite such technological high tides, when it comes to fertility, there are rituals and customs rooted in traditions that seek to propitiate powers beyond the control of humans. Fertility rites essentially seek new birth and divine cure for infertility.

Fertility Rites As Alternative To Reproductive Medicine

Mainstream medicine has its own way of treating infertility and never encourages spells and ceremonies that appeal to the all-powerful and supernatural forces. According to science, such practices will not improve the chances of becoming pregnant or making a woman pregnant.

In many cultures, fertility rites are indispensable in treating infertility beyond medical solutions.

Fertility rites may look weird and outdated, but men and women embrace them as the homage to the sexual energy and reproduction.

According to sociologists, most fertility rituals date back to pagan practices as ceremonies to improve the chances of conception.

Ultimately, the right or wrong of a fertility ritual hinges on the individual's belief system. Such beliefs are associated with practices in cultures and are high in symbolism and ceremonies loaded with awe-inspiring materials, sounds, and practices.

Symbolism In World's Fertility Rites

In simple terms, fertility rites propitiate the forces of reproduction and birth. The Columbia Encyclopedia defines "rites" as a way of appealing to the forces of nature that are beyond human control.

Fertility deities come in myriad forms and are soaked in different rituals rooted in mythologies.

Associated with conception, fertility, pregnancy, and birth, there will be a fertility deity piously appeased through fire, phallic symbols, animals, flowers, and prayers. The incantations, dances, and chants add to the symbolic cycle of life or a way to seek higher guidance.

 Cornish Bronze Statue: Myths concerning conception and new life are linked to Cornish Bronze Age monument known as the Crick Stone for more than 4,500 years, where the monument will bless with a progeny any woman who crosses the stone seven times.

 Victor Noir Grave, France: The statue of Victor Noir at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery boosts fertility, as the aspiring woman only need to kiss the statue on its lips, submit a flower in his hat, and touch his trousers.

 Hot Coals, China: In China, grooms carry his newlywed wife over burning coals while entering the home as a way of ensuring fertility.

 Dorset Giant: The Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset boosts fertility, as folklore says that a woman who sleeps on the naked figure will become pregnant.

 Miracle Chair, Italy: Naples "miracle chair" has women queuing up to sit on the chair to receive the blessing of motherhood while pictures of babies adorn the walls.

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California is taking matters into their own hands when they voted Friday to keep their stricter auto emission standards despite the Trump administration's loose hold on the matter. Thanks to the state's longstanding waiver under the Clean Air Act, California has made their boldest move yet in their resistance to Trump's policies.

'Assault On The American Auto Industry'

Just last week, the president vowed to loosen the regulations on auto emissions that held the auto industry firm on following strict emission standards. The said regulations were enacted by the Obama administration in order to cut down the carbon emissions fuelling climate change and thereby following through with the country's commitment to an international agreement.

In a single move, the president achieved two things: repeal an Obama-era regulation and show the administration's stand on climate change. The president is, of course, firm that the move was to create new jobs and support the auto industry fully, stating that "The assault on the American auto industry is over."

The Rebellion

It is very likely because of this that California's Air Resources Board thought it fit to make the bold move of defying the regulations completely. Because of their long standing waiver under the EPA's Clean Air Act, California has the ability to write its own clean air standards that can even be followed by other states that wish to adopt them.

Though the EPA 's new head has been under fire for his statements and stand about climate change and environmental protection, there is no denying that in this matter, California has the upper hand unless the White House opts to revoke the waiver  something that could lead to a messy legal battle similar to what happened when President George W. Bush attempted to challenge the waiver.

As of now, the EPA is upholding the waiver, which allows other states to follow California's strict clean air ruling:

"The Clean Air Act allows other states to adopt California's motor vehicle emission standards under section 177. Section 177 requires, among other things, that such standards be identical to the California standards for which a waiver has been granted. States are not required to seek EPA approval under the terms of section 177."

Business Matters

The auto industry has been held by the stricter rules, which is probably why the president finds the need to loosen its hold on them if the industry should prosper again. The industry, however, could find themselves in a sticky situation because they have mentioned how the market for electric and hybrid vehicles has been flat of late.

Still, California remains to be the biggest auto market in the country, and major states including New York and Washington D.C. are currently following California's standards, which makes for 130 million possible buyers in the United States.

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NASA is mulling high-speed laser-based space internet to bolster communications between spacecraft and Earth during future missions to the Mars, moon, and beyond.

Named as LCRD (Laser Communications Relay Demonstration), the project will be using laser-based high-speed sky internet for space communications including higher data transfer rates and enhanced astronaut communications.

The LCRD will be launched in 2019, which, according to NASA has already passed decision point review and is in the test stage of development.

"LCRD is the next step in implementing NASA's vision of using optical communications for both near-Earth and deep space missions," said Steve Jurczyk, head of the LCRD project and NASA's associate administrator for Space Technology Mission Directorate.

Claiming that LCRD would revolutionize space communications, Jurczyk said NASA is also partnering with other institutions including MIT Lincoln Labs and the U.S. Air Force.

Why Laser Is Better Than Radio Frequency Waves

Under the new technology, use of laser communications will involve data encoded on a beam of light that will be transmitted to Earth terminals from the spacecraft.

NASA says the technology is "10 to 100 times better" than traditional radio frequency communication with the added advantage being the smaller size.

Given that laser communication systems are smaller, production of spacecraft communication mechanisms in lower weight and power requirements will be a positive change.

According to Don Cornwell, director of the Advanced Communication division, LCRD can operate for many years and NASA will be optimizing the disruptive new technology.

Cornwell also added that a laser terminal is getting ready for the International Space Station that will use LCRD for data transmission from the station to the ground at gigabit-per-second data rates.

LCRD Project Methodology

NASA will be putting LCRD into a geosynchronous orbit that will function between two to five years where the payload will comprise a space switching unit binding two identical optical terminals working as data router. The laser modems at ground terminals will translate the digital data into the laser, RF signals, and vice versa.

The precursor to LCRD was the Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD) that went aboard the Lunar Atmosphere Dust and Environment Explorer.

In 2013, LLCD showed that high-data-rate laser communications are possible beyond low-Earth orbit.

It is expected that LCRD will offer better reliability of the technology and test the capabilities in varied environmental conditions.

NASA Mars Human Mission And Significance Of LCRD

NASA's effort to introduce laser-based data transfer coincides with President Donald Trump's authorization of $19.5 billion funding for NASA.

It has been the first authorization bill for NASA in seven years. The bill, along with the budget blueprint by President Trump will buffer NASA from any finding cut unlike the guillotine faced by many other science agencies.

For NASA, Mars human mission by the 2030s will be a long-term goal with funding open for building the Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule required for the mission.

"It's been a long time since a bill like this has been signed reaffirming our national commitment to the core mission of NASA, human space exploration, space science and technology," President Trump said.

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Following a car accident involving one of its self-driving cars, Uber is officially pulling out its autonomous testing program in Arizona, in addition to pausing its Pittsburgh test bed. This is the latest for a company currently facing a diverse set of controversies: from workplace sexism to Kalanick's perceived lack of leadership to pressing accounts of its noxious office culture.

Uber's Self-Driving Car Crashes

In a photo first posted on Twitter, one of Uber's autonomous Volvos is shown half-capsized, on its side, beside another car with dents and smashed windows in what looks to be a high-impact crash in Tempe, Arizona.

A spokeswoman from Uber validated the incident, adding that Uber is officially halting self-driving tests in Arizona and pushing pause on Pittsburgh operations until it finishes an investigation regarding the incident.

As Bloomberg reports, Uber's self-driving Volvo holds no responsibility for the accident, and that there were no injuries whatsoever, according to Josie Montenegro, a Tempe police information officer. Apparently, another car failed to yield for Uber's Volvo, causing it to pivot on its side.

Furthermore, there was a person behind the wheel, according to Montenegro. It is, however, still to be determined whether at the time of the incident, the driver had operated the vehicle or had surrendered it to Uber's self-driving technology. There were no backseat passengers inside the vehicle, an Uber spokeswoman confirmed.

Uber commenced its self-driving efforts in Pittsburgh last year, soon broadening the test bed to include Arizona. The program was set in place to determine the viability and feasibility of a potential self-driving fleet of cars integrating into Uber's main ride-hailing service. It was also a way for Uber to demonstrate how far along in this type technology it was, which is crucial in the simmering plight of self-driving development. Its similar program in San Francisco, however, was banned by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Uber vs. Waymo

It isn't going well for Uber's self-driving front, however. Just recently, Otto, an Uber unit, was challenged by Waymo, Google's proprietary self-driving division that's also in the middle of testing autonomous vehicles, for allegedly stealing designs and blueprints for its self-driving technology.

Uber's Other Controversies

When compared with Waymo, Uber's recent Arizona incident looks problematic, looking at the number of incidents tied to each alone. Waymo, in more than 2 million miles accrued from public road tests, only involved minor incidents, Bloomberg reports.

The incident also adds to Uber's growing list of publicized scandals. First to kick this continued narrative into gear was Uber's perceived exploitation of Trump's now-blocked Immigration ban, wherein Uber turned off surge pricing of its cars within proximity to a location where cab drivers were protesting against the ban. The incident prompted the #DeleteUber campaign, in which Uber users withdrew themselves from the ride-hailing service.

But the following calm that washed over the campaign was short-lived; another controversy brought it back into the fore. It was thanks to Susan Fowler, a former Uber engineer, who detailed the grave instances of downplayed, ignored, and bypassed sexual harassment inside Uber.

As if that wasn't enough to invoke a public outcry, this month, the New York Times also reported that Uber leveraged a tool called "Greyball" to help its drivers evade enforcement in cities where Uber operations are deemed illegal.

Travis Kalanick, Uber's CEO, also publicly admitted that he needed leadership help, following a video of him, published by Bloomberg, arguing heatedly with an Uber driver, who complained that Uber's business decisions, while helping passengers gravitate to Uber further, hurt the drivers.

Uber's troubles are also accompanied a number of high-profile exits recently: Jeff Jones, who was the company's president; Ed Baker, product and growth VP; and Amit Singhal, senior VP of engineering, over previously undisclosed instances of sexual harassment at his former employer, Google.

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Samsung is preparing to strike what is likely among the very final nails in the coffin for the Galaxy Note 7, the smartphone that caused a massive controversy for the South Korean company due to its exploding batteries.

The nearing end of the Galaxy Note 7 debacle will be largely welcomed by Samsung, the reputation of which was largely negatively impacted in the United States due to the issue.

Samsung To Disable Remaining Galaxy Note 7 Units

According to Yonhap News, Samsung will launch a mandatory software update within the week in South Korea that will disable the remaining units of the Galaxy Note 7 in the hands of consumers, who have been too stubborn to have the explosive smartphone replaced.

Specifically, the software update will prevent the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from holding a charge. This will prevent customers who still have the device from using it once its current charge runs out. Customers will also not be able to use the Galaxy Note 7 unless they install the mandatory update.

Samsung claims that 97 percent of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold in South Korea have been returned to the company. However, the 3 percent not yet retrieved by Samsung still translate to thousands of potentially explosive devices that are still out in the streets and in homes.

It is not clear why Samsung is only releasing the update in South Korea now, but what is even more baffling is why customers are willing to hold on to a device that can potentially burst into flames, no matter how powerful its specifications and features are.

The move was already made by Samsung in the United States starting December of last year, with the update that disables charging for the Galaxy Note 7 rolled out in different dates by the carriers operating the country. Verizon initially went against Samsung's shutdown update, as it was planned to be rolled out during the height of the holiday travel season, but the company eventually succumbed and agreed to launch the update, albeit later than the other carriers.

Samsung Looks To Bounce Back From Galaxy Note 7 Fiasco

Customers who held on to their Galaxy Note 7 devices will not have to wait long before the arrival of a suitable replacement though, as Samsung is preparing to officially unveil the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus on March 29.

It has been previously reported that the Galaxy Note 7 debacle will not have as bad of an impact as previously thought on the sales of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, with the finding coming from a survey launched by marketing group Fluent. According to the results of the survey, 63 percent of current owners of Samsung smartphones will not be influenced by the exploding Galaxy Note 7 in their decision on whether or not to buy the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus.

However, the survey also found that 89 percent of current iPhone owners will purchase the next iPhone model, while a high 58 percent of current Samsung smartphone owners are thinking of buying an iPhone as their next smartphone instead of another Samsung model.

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Ticks are usually a bigger scourge in the warmer months as humans and pets alike spend more time outdoors and have a greater chance of bringing home these insects. But given a warm February, ticks appear to get an early head start this year, even when spring has just begun.

Along with an earlier, worse tick season is a foreseen greater prevalence of Lyme disease and other tick-borne conditions in different regions.

Early Arrival Of Tick Season

"Spring is the worst time because the nymphs come out, and the nymphs versus an adult are very small, and they can bite you, but they are just much, much harder to see," Dr. Christopher Grace, infectious disease specialist at the University of Vermont Medical Center, told WCAX.

Lyme disease, among the most common kinds of vector-borne diseases in the country, has made an early appearance in the East Coast. And experts pointed to climate change for the dangerous trend.

According to Dr. John Aucott, who heads the Johns Hopkins Rheumatology Lyme Disease Research Center in Baltimore, June and July are the usual months when Lyme disease arrives. During this window, the ticks  still at an undeveloped phase  can move from a wild host to dogs and humans.

Climate events such as rising temperatures are deemed one of the strongest reasons behind the reproduction of mice, which are home for the disease-carrying Borrelia burgdorferi, the tick spreading infections to humans.

The cutting down of trees, too, appear to result in fragmented forests, which feed into conditions supporting the multiplication of mice.

Ticks, the tiny eight-legged creatures feeding on blood, are also now living year-round since the last couple of years.

Ive seen more ticks on dogs in the last two and a half years than I have in the last 15 years of practice. Theyre really becoming a hazard, said veterinarian Clayton Greenway, citing climate change and urban expansion as factors behind their increase in numbers.

Not Just Lyme

In the last half-century, scientists found at least a dozen new tick-borne conditions. Theres anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and a Lyme-similar bacterium in the Northeast, while the Midwest deals with concerns like Lyme-like Heartland virus and Bourbon virus.

The South is documented to be battling Southern tick-associated rash illness, while the West has detected a new kind of spotted fever.

Powassan virus, which was named after a Canadian town and discovered in 1958, is particularly concerning for experts given its a deadly one transmitted by the local blacklegged tick. It attacks the brain, swells it up, and leads to a 50 percent likelihood of permanent neurological damage even upon recovery.

How To Stay Protected

One can implement ways to address tick bites properly or prevent them in the first place, as well as spot Lyme disease early on.

People affected with Lyme suffer from locally erupting rashes, swollen knees, and facial paralysis. It is a difficult disease to treat and, when left untreated, may trigger severe conditions such as memory loss, chronic arthritis, and irregularities in heart rhythm.

When removing a tick during a bite, it is important to leave the creatures body intact. Avoid squeezing it or lighting a match under its body. Afterward, you may take a picture of the tick and send it to the TickEncounter Resource Center for identification.

If you are living in a high-risk area, visit a doctor if you see the notable red rash showing up. It may not be the same famous shape all the time; it could also be normal-looking that continues to grow.

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The discovery of the gravitational wave is hailed as among the most important breakthroughs of 2016 not only because it validated Albert Einstein's prediction. It also launched a new branch of science that offers scientists a new way to study and unveil the mysteries of the universe.

Astronomers in particular can now investigate the objects and phenomena that are cloaked from view because of the discovery of gravitational waves.

It appears that scientists are not disappointed by how gravitational waves can shed more light on the events that happen in the cosmos. Just over a year after researchers from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory publicly announced that they had made their first observations of gravitational waves, astronomers found another evidence of the power of the phenomenon in influencing events in the universe.

Gravitational Wave Behind Supermassive Black Hole Kicked From Its Home Galaxy

On March 24, NASA revealed that scientists have found a supermassive black hole that was kicked out of the center of a distant galaxy. Researchers think that a gravitational wave is behind the phenomenon.

Researchers estimate the the energy needed to expel the black hole from the center of its galactic home is equivalent to 100 million supernovas simultaneously exploding.

Scientists think that the most plausible explanation for this amount of energy produced is that the black hole was pushed by gravitational waves unleashed when two hefty black holes merged at the center of the host galaxy.

Based on visible evidence and theoretical work, researchers came up with a possible scenario of how the black hole was expelled from its home. The researchers' theory posits that as the two galaxies merged, their black holes settled into the central region of the newly formed elliptical galaxy.

Gravitational waves were flung out as the black holes swirled around each other and as the two objects got closer to each other over time, these objects radiated away gravitational energy.

If the two black holes do not have the same rotation rate and mass, the emitted gravitational waves would move strongly along one direction. The objects would stop producing gravitational waves once they merge, but the newly fused black hole recoiled in the opposite direction of the strongest gravitational waves and then got jettisoned.

Not all black hole mergers produce imbalanced gravitational waves that can propel a black hole in the opposite direction. Scientists think it is fortunate that NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured this event.

Supermassive Black Holes Can Merge

If the interpretation of the researchers is proven correct, the observation could offer strong evidence that supermassive black holes can merge. It also backs up the optimistic idea that gravitational waves can shed light on mysterious events in the universe.

"The gravitational waves that are detectible by LIGO will be caused by some of the most energetic events in the universe - colliding black holes, exploding stars, and even the birth of the universe itself," LIGO said. "Detecting and analyzing the information carried by gravitational waves will allow us to observe the universe in a way never before possible."

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Nokia 150 Dual SIM Feature Phone Now Available Online For Rs 2,059 | TechTree.com

HMD Global had announced, back in December 2016, the first set of Nokia branded phones, the Nokia 150 and Nokia 150 Dual SIM, which were then announced to be available for purchase in India during the first quarter of 2017.

Now, it looks like the Nokia 150 Dual SIM feature phone has been spotted online on e-commerce portals including Amazon India and Flipkart for a price tag of Rs 2,059. However, the phone is available in both Black and White color options on Flipkart, while Amazon India is selling only Black variant.

Speaking about the specifications of the device, it comes with a polycarbonate shell, along with a 2.4 inch QVGA display and a 1,020 mAh battery. The phone runs on Nokia Series 30+ operating system, while users can play Snake Xenzia game that is expected to come pre-loaded with the device.

Other features of Nokia 150 Dual SIM phone include MP3 Player, FM Radio. Bluetooth v3.0 with SLAM, VGA Camera with LED Flash, and as the name itself suggests, dual-SIM support.

Having said this, it is also worth noting that other phones unveiled during the MWC 2017 under the Nokia brand are said to be going on sale in the country during Q2 this year. Also, if you are waiting for the remake of the legendary Nokia 3310, do keep in mind that the device is expected to be launched ahead of Nokia Android phones.

TAGS: Nokia
Todays world of mobile devices, tablets, and smartphones has introduced an interesting layer of complexity for IT departments in businesses everywhere. Employees often own and are familiar with their own technological devices, presenting both an opportunity and a challenge for employershow can you control the use of these devices without eliminating them entirely?

The go-to solution is to create a custom bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy, which outlines exactly how and why employees home devices may be used for work or for network applications.

While theres no single correct way to design and implement a BYOD policy, there are some staple features youll need to include if you want to preserve your security and maximize your teams efficiency.

Must-Haves for BYOD

These are some of the most important features of your BYOD policy:

1. Mobile device management (MDM) software. As System ID explains, MDM software is an IT security application solution where the company can manage, monitor and secure devices that access the companys network applications. If youre going to have multiple mobile devices on your network at any point in time, its good to know whos using whatand how theyre using it. Its a good way to enforce the policies you set and keep a closer eye on any unauthorized activity to prevent security breaches before they happen.

2. Device security. More than a third of all smartphone owners dont use a password to secure their personal devices, a basic security step that should be necessary for any device that contains sensitive company information. At a minimum, your employees should be required to secure their devices when not in use. You may also require employees to change their passwords regularly, or protect those devices in other ways.

3. IT department role specifications. Are you going to be responsible for employees devices in any way? Some employers may partially or fully compensate employees for any home devices they use to accomplish their professional responsibilities. But what happens if an app cant be installed on a device, or if something goes wrong with the device? Will your IT department be responsible for fixing it? Your BYOD policy needs to explain this.

4. Ownership of apps and data. Your employees devices are going to have both personal and professional apps and data on them. On a traditional work device, anything on the device is fully and exclusively owned by the company (in most cases), but this rule cant apply to a device thats also permissibly used for personal applications. How are you going to specify which apps and data are owned by the company? This is a tricky regulation to navigate, but its important to proactively specify these rules.

5. Apps to allow or disallow. Employees will be using your network on their personal devices, and for the most part, theyll be using work apps while at work, but are there any apps that wont be allowed? For example, if youre using a VPN tunnel, would you allow an employee to post something to their personal Facebook account? Be specific here to avoid any trouble.

6. Acceptable use ambiguities. Acceptable use policies will have a lot in common with BYOD policies, but there will still be some differences to iron out. According to the Infosec Institute, Frequently, there will be a list with prohibited activities. It is important to remember that at the heart of the AUP as a regulatory document is the concept of respect and ethical use. For example, your AUP may prohibit the exchange of personal messages or inappropriate material on company devices, but what if an employee uses an acceptable personal device and a corporate network to exchange private information? Does this constitute a violation of either policy, and if so, which one? Again, this is a tricky area to navigate, but the further ahead you think here, the better.

7. Basic security standards. Youll also want to make sure all your employees are up-to-date with basic security standardsand thats useful even if you dont have a BYOD policy. For example, make sure your employees know how and when to connect to a network securely, how to set and maintain strong passwords, and how to avoid scams like phishing, which could instantly compromise your network.

Enforcing and Revising Your Policy

Because BYOD is still new, youll likely encounter some situations you werent fully prepared for. When they come up, take the opportunity to clarify new rules and regulations, and update your staff accordingly. Chances are, your BYOD policy will evolve significantly in its first few years, so remain flexible and be patient to find the best combination of rules to enforce. Eventually, youll be able to balance the advantages and disadvantages of BYOD so your employees remain productive and your network remains secure.

Edited by Alicia Young
Board member Linda Rudolfsen Myklebust has informed the Board of Directors in Spectrum ASA that she will resign from the company's Board of Directors with immediate effect. The resignation is due to the fact that Mrs. Myklebust will be taking up the position as General Counsel in the Shearwater GeoServices Group in Bergen.

For further information, please contact:



Henning Olset; CFO

Email: Henning.Olset@Spectrumgeo.com

Mobile phone: +47 922 66948

About Spectrum

Spectrum provides innovative Multi-Client seismic surveys and seismic imaging services to the global oil and gas industry from offices in Norway, the UK, USA, Brazil, Egypt, Australia, Indonesia and Singapore. Spectrum designs, acquires and processes seismic data to deliver high quality solutions through its dedicated and experienced workforce. Spectrum holds the world's largest library of Multi-Client 2D marine seismic data and a significant amount of 3D seismic. The company's strategy focuses on both the major, established hydrocarbon- producing regions of the world as well as key frontier areas identified by our experienced team of geoscientists. The Spectrum library of Multi-Client data contains projects from many of the foremost oil producing regions of the world. These include new acquisition, reprocessing and interpretation reports.
RESTON Va., March 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STG Group, Inc. (OTCQB:STGG), a leading provider of mission-critical technology, cyber, and data solutions to the U.S. Government, announced today that Dale Davis, Chief Integration Officer, will be retiring from the Company effective April 3, 2017. We expect Mr. Davis will be available in an advisory capacity to assist STG as needed with strategic initiatives.



As the Chief Integration Officer, Mr. Davis was responsible for design and implementation of post-merger restructuring and functional best practices. He was also directly responsible for oversight of the Companys Business Development and Marketing efforts prior to the appointment of Paul Rempfer as Senior Vice President for Business Development, and assisted in handling Investor Relations for the Company.

President and COO of STG, Phil Lacombe, said, We are grateful for the substantial contributions that Dale has made to STG during his service at the Company. His efforts have been instrumental in guiding the Company toward new opportunities and future growth, and maintaining our commitment to supporting the national security missions of our customers."

About STG

STG Group, Inc. is a leading provider of mission-critical technology, cyber and data solutions to more than 50 US Federal Agencies. Applying decades of experience, the company works to ensure the security of the digital domain, the effectiveness of complex IT systems and the delivery of quality intelligence to decision makers. STG is a Washington Technology Top 100 Company. Visit STG at www.stg.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties concerning STG, STGs expected financial performance, as well as STGs strategic and operational plans. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Terms such as anticipate, believe, continue, could, estimate, expect, intend, may, might, plan, possible, potential, predict, should, would and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Actual events or results may differ materially from those described in this press release due to a number of risks and uncertainties. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks relating to the potential liquidity and trading of our securities, and the size of our addressable markets and the amount of U.S. government spending on private contractors. In addition, please refer to risks described in the Risk Factors in STGs Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and filed with the SEC. Please also refer to the other documents that STG filed with the SEC on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. The filings by STG identify and address other important factors that could cause its financial and operational results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements set forth in this press release. STG is under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results.
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It seems like a no brainer  high school students earning up to a year of college credit, which means big savings for students, families and the state.

Students who do so have a year under their belt at a pricey four-year college or, perhaps, halfway to an associate degree at a community or technical college.

"Is it something we want to support? The answer is yes," Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Rallo said.

However, state leaders are encountering lots of obstacles in the push to expand a practice called dual enrollment, which allows high school students to get credit on both their high school and college transcripts for the same course.

The state Board of Regents, after a months-long study, pledged to hunt ways to make the courses a bigger part of Louisiana's education landscape.

State lawmakers are asking questions.

Last year, the Legislature approved a resolution by state Rep. Chris Broadwater, R-Hammond, that asked state school leaders what is keeping more students from enrolling.

Students certainly have the time, according to figures compiled by the state Department of Education.

Figures show 46.5 percent of public high school seniors do not take a full courseload, with lots of students wrapping up their week by noon Friday. But costs of the extra courses, who pays for them, who teaches them and where they are taught are just a few of the hurdles in the way of expansion.

"The issue comes down to funding," said state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, the author of the bill last year that sparked the sweeping study by the state Board of Regents.

"It is funding and how do you deliver the best product."

Broadwater agreed.

"There is an old political saying," Broadwater said. "The answer is money. What is the question? That is one of the challenges we have."

Public and private students took part in more than 47,000 dual enrollments in 2015-16, according to the latest figures available.

Enrollment was about evenly divided between the state's 14 public universities and 15 community colleges.

That translates into roughly 20,000 high school students, state Superintendent of Education John White said.

But roughly 45,000 high school students meet the Regents' criteria to take the classes.

"It is probably fair to say we are not fully taking advantage of the number of kids who would be interested in dual enrollment and the number of kids who are going to college and could use those credits," White said.

One of the concerns is what students pay.

In some cases, there is no charge. Other schools charge $300 per courses in schools.

Tuition can be up to $800, depending on agreements between schools and colleges.

One out of five students in dual enrollment is charged by the school system, according to data from the state Department of Education.

That alone raises questions.

"It is a tricky issue when parents are paying for courses in public education," White said.

How the product is delivered, as Hewitt said, is another sticking point.

Rallo said the best way to teach students is at a college or for college faculty to do the instruction in the high school.

Access to colleges is an issue, especially for students in rural areas.

Distance learning is a third option.

So are high school teachers doing the work, but that raises questions on whether academic rigor is ensured.

Just because they have taught algebra for 20 years and have a master's degree does not mean high school teachers can handle a college course, Rallo said.

Whether public schools or higher education should handle the costs is another dispute.

The state is spending about $3.7 billion this year for public schools and roughly $1 billion for colleges and universities, including TOPS.

Hewitt said higher education officials question why the state spends lots of money on full-time students who are less than full time.

However, high school teachers expect more money to handle college-level classes. "So there is the issue of stipends," she said.

The state's sputtering in its dual enrollment efforts is similar to Advanced Placement, which also allows high school students to earn college credit.

Despite a five-year push for a big expansion of AP, the state ranks near the bottom among states in the percentage of students who qualify.

Dual enrollment also has more traction elsewhere.

White said Ohio allows students to overlap their senior year of high school and freshman year of college.

"This is stuff that other states are doing," he said.

Broadwater said the regents' policy of encouraging students to earn college credit is on the mark. "It does not solve the problem of who is going to pay for this," he noted.

On the bright side, the key funding source for dual enrollment could be in for an increase, despite another year of state budget problems.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, despite some pushback from school groups, has proposed spending an additional $10 million per year on dual enrollment.

"It allows the students to take more rigorous high school courses and earn college credit, which enables them to graduate from college sooner and thereby reduces their overall school costs for their families and the state," Edwards said in a statement.

"As we work toward stabilizing our budget problems during the upcoming legislative session, this is an investment in our children and Louisiana that pays for itself many times over," he said.

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 

Whether the governor's proposal happens will play out during the 2017 regular legislative session, which begins April 10.

"That is a bold and strong statement," Broadwater said of the plan.

State education leaders applauded the proposal, with a caution.

Rallo said that, if the $10 million wins final approval, his guess is that "another $10 million would do it."

White made a similar point.

"It is a step in the right direction, but it is not the whole journey," he said. "That is going to have to come through some bigger agreement."
In a move that stunned state education leaders, a plan to provide high speed internet access to school districts statewide has died because of a lack of interest from local educators, officials said Monday.

The state Board of Regents offered to make the upgrade happen, at no cost to districts, through the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative.

However, only 11 of the state's 69 school districts signed up by the March 23 deadline.

Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Rallo, in a letter, said that level of support "is far below the critical mass needed to proceed with the initiative."

"Due to the school districts' apparent lack of interest, BoR (Board of Regents) has determined that the proposal is no longer valid," Rallo said.

In an interview, Rallo was asked why local educators passed on a seemingly no-strings-attached offer. "I cannot answer the question," he said.

The idea behind the plan was this: the state already has a network  LONI  used by colleges and universities. The regents offered to use it as a consortium applicant on behalf of any school district that sought the "e-rate" discounts. The reduced cost is meant for schools and libraries. It would have allowed high-speed internet capabilities to rural school districts that have limited access.

Richard Lipsey, who lives in Baton Rouge and is chairman of the Board of Regents, said he, too, is baffled.

"It looked like a slam-dunk to me," Lipsey said.

Rallo's letter was sent to Hollis Milton, president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents.

Resilient West Feliciana superintendent heads state group Barely nine months ago, West Feliciana Parish school district Superintendent Hollis Milton, 

Milton, who is superintendent of the West Feliciana Parish School District, said his district was one of the 11 that signed up.

"As superintendent in West Feliciana, I saw the benefit of the partnership," Milton said in an email. "However, the timeline and the amount of questions regarding e-rate played against the initiative gaining traction statewide."

Scott Richard, executive director of the Louisiana School Boards Association, said part of the problem stemmed from poor communications.

"As with any proposal of this magnitude, lack of detailed info and the level of uncertainity at the federal level regarding funding streams that local districts receive directly likely factored into apprehension," Richard said in an emailed statement.

"Also, a short deadline by the Board of Regents requesting a definitive level of commitment from districts also likely caused districts to pause," he said.

"Hopefully, the initiative can be revisited with better communications among stakeholders."

The Louisiana School Boards Association was involved in presentations on the regents' plan.

School systems face a freeze in basic state aid for public schools for the 2017-18 school year, a recurring theme amid state budget problems.

However, Regents officials said the offer carried no financial obligations for local school districts. The regents' goal was to build a statewide, K-12 network that school districts would own.

It could become reality, they said, by leveraging the state's 10 percent match to obtain 90 percent in federal funding for construction expenses.

The entire project carried a pricetag of about $85 million.

Rallo noted that he met with Milton and members of the superintendents' organization in Alexandria in January and New Orleans in February to spell out details.

"Further, we have had numerous, lengthy correspondence to address any concerns raised by school districts," Rallo said in his letter. "Notwithstanding these efforts, we do not have the requisite level of participation to go forward at this time."

State Superintendent of Education John White, who attended the meeting in Alexandria, said what local school districts were offered "was on a par with the system that colleges have today."

"This was the broadband highway," White said. "This was going to be world-class cable that would allow speed in schools previously unheard of so that kids could process content at a rate faster than anything that most schools have ever imagined."

How to finance similar efforts has sparked controversy for years.

The initial work involves putting down miles of fiber optic cable needed for broadband internet services.

A push to do so in rural areas, through a federal grant, died in 2011 amid opposition from then-Gov. Bobby Jindal.

White noted that, unlike the earlier episode, this one was backed by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

"Given the governor's support, given what happened in the last administration, it is very disappointing that people would walk away from it," White said.

The Governor's Office declined comment.

Lipsey said the death of the plan is especially puzzling since some school districts, especially in northeast Louisiana, lack any kind of internet access.

"I just don't understand it," he said. "There was no hidden agenda."

State Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, former chairman of the Senate Education Committee, has pushed the issue of internet access in schools for years.

Appel, now a rank-and-file member of the committee, called the regents' officer "manna from heaven."

"To me it is unfathomable," Appel said of the lack of interest. "It's insanity. I don't get it."
One of the groups pushing for criminal justice reform in Louisiana is the Pelican Institute of Public Policy, led until his early death of cancer by Kevin Kane of New Orleans. But the work goes on, and the conservative group continues to push for wide-ranging changes in sentencing, rehabilitation and probation and parole practices.

A strong start in reform began with the list of proposals of the Justice Reinvestment Task Force appointed by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

But it is a long list, 21 changes in law and practice that involve all parts of the system, from how prosecutors charge offenders, what crimes merit long-term imprisonment and who is eligible for parole under specific circumstances.

The release of these recommendations is just the beginning, the Pelican Institute commented, and we agree. It will take continued efforts by the diverse coalition of business leaders, liberal and conservative policy groups and officials in the criminal justice system who have worked on the task force report.

Not all officials are on board. An example includes the district attorneys, who are skeptical of some changes. One of the proposals would change the window of time for which some prior crimes by an offender would count toward the longer sentences  often, very long sentences  mandated for habitual offenders.

If such ideas sound a bit technical, they can be, and the concerns of district attorneys and other officials who work in public safety and corrections will now be part of a larger public discussion, including in the Legislature that convenes next month.

While some of the task force recommendations are consensus items, long experience with the complex nature of crime and punishment in Louisiana makes us wary of predicting early success. But the task force, headed by Corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc, has made a very good start toward changes.

As the governor has repeatedly said, per capita Louisiana has a significantly higher number of its people behind bars than other states. That has to change, although we believe that all involved want to reduce those numbers without harming the overall goals of the system: public safety and the rehabilitation and re-entry into society of offenders.

We have a lot of people locked up, and only a small percentage are truly lifers, in the sense that they will never be released. Louisiana doesnt have a great track record in helping offenders get jobs and become contributing citizens after their sentences are over.

Let the debate begin, but we hope to see this year a significant part of these new proposals enacted into law, and over time making a dent into Louisianas bloated prison population.
Ex-N.O. bondsman refuses plea deal in 'apparently God driven' decision; his own lawyer calls it 'foolish'

Ex-N.O. bondsman refuses plea deal in 'apparently God driven' decision; his own lawyer calls it 'foolish'
The trial of two Comancheros accused of firing bullets at a rival bikie in a drive-by shooting began on Monday in the ACT Supreme Court.

Prosecutors contend that about 9.45pm on March 12, 2015, Lihai Vimahi, 23, and Daniel Grech, 27, together shot at a house in Kambah, and about 15 minutes later shot at a house in Stirling.

The scene of the shooting in Stirling in March 2015. Credit:Jeffrey Chan

At the Stirling house, it's alleged bullets shot from the car struck the rival bikie, who was at the time sitting on the porch having a cigarette.

The man crawled back into the house through the shattered glass screen doors, telling his partner "I've been shot, I've been shot".
Home prices in Australia's biggest cities have jumped 3.7 per cent since the start of the year with the proportion of settled auctions on the rise as well.

Sydney has led the charge, with prices there jumping 5.3 per cent since January 1, according to the latest data from CoreLogic.

The median house price in Sydney is $950,000, while the median unit price hit $740,000.

Melbourne residential property prices have risen 4.4 per cent since the start of this year, with the median house price at $710,000 and the unit price at $525,000.
Do you work like a nomad  travel from place to place for your job? The Australian Taxation Office has its eye on itinerant workers claiming travel and other expenses they are not entitled to.

Taxpayers generally cannot count their home as a workplace unless they carry out itinerant work  that is if they have shifting places of work.

In a case this month, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal denied a Queensland farm worker Glen Walker almost $30,000 in expenses for meals, groceries and accommodation over two financial years.

The taxpayer had claimed he was an itinerant farm worker  that travel is an inherent part of his work, and consequently he was entitled to deductions for his travel, accommodation, meals, groceries and mobile phone and internet services, while on circuit.
An overwhelming majority of Australians oppose legalising speech that "offends, insults or humiliates" on the basis of race, according to a new Fairfax-Ipsos poll that underscores the political danger the Turnbull government faces in softening the nation's race-hate laws.

As the Senate prepares to vote on amendments to section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act later this week, the poll of 1400 voters shows 78 per cent of Australians believe it should be unlawful to offend, insult or humiliate someone on the basis of their race or ethnicity.

The government has proposed removing these words from the act and instead making it unlawful to intimidate or harass someone on the basis of race.

The poll shows support for amending section 18C has increased by 10 percentage points since 2014, suggesting the high-profile Queensland University of Technology and Bill Leak cases have undermined support for the law.
Two Australian children face being separated from their parents after the Turnbull government made final moves to deport the couple back to Fiji.

Assistant Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has declined to intervene in the case of the Prasad family, despite Jasmita, 15, and her brother Jasneel, 12, being Australian citizens who would be forced to uproot from school in suburban Sydney and move to a village in Fiji they have never visited if the family is to remain together.

The ethnic Indian family has been living in Australia for nearly 17 years and all three Prasad children were born at Randwick Women's Hospital. Three-year-old Jashwin is not yet an Australian citizen.

Jasmita, who attends Randwick Girls' High School, and Jasneel, who is at Mascot Public School, have Australian passports and the family's migration agent has warned the government it could knowingly be sending two Australians to a life of poverty and possibly homelessness in Fiji.
Ten people are being monitored for tuberculosis after a Sydney man with TB was misdiagnosed with asthma and lung cancer for several months before he received appropriate treatment.

But health authorities have moved to allay fears over the reported TB scare, declaring it is not an "outbreak".

After several visits to a GP over three months a 23-year-old man was referred to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in October, where tests identified slightly drug-resistant TB, News Corp reported on Monday.

NSW Health director of communicable diseases Dr Vicky Sheppeard was adamant: "There was not an outbreak of Tuberculosis (TB) in October in Sydney".
A heroic truck driver and his son went after a sledgehammer-wielding offender who allegedly rammed and then attempted to loot a 7/11 in Melbourne's west earlier this month.

About 2am on March 16 a man allegedly ram-raided the doors of the West Footscray convenience store with a white vehicle, before arming himself with a sledgehammer and a crowbar, smashing the shop's glass doors and prying his way inside.

A terrified employee ran to the back of the shop as the offender jumped behind the counter and attempted to smash open the cash register, CCTV footage obtained by Seven News shows.

Before he was able to open the cash register, a truck driver wearing an orange fluoro vest ran after him and attempted to hit him with a crowbar from the opposite side of the counter.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has vowed that he can work positively with Liberal state president Michael Kroger at next year's Victorian election, despite publicly backing party stalwart Peter Reith to replace him.

Mr Kroger will remain president after no other candidate was found to replace Mr Reith who suffered a stroke last week.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy says he can work with Michael Kroger. Credit:Paul Jeffers

The situation is tough for Mr Guy as he openly backed Mr Reith  as did the majority of his parliamentary colleagues. The presidential tussle was to be decided on April Fools Day and had split Liberal MPs at federal level.

"We've just got to focus and get on track for an election in 19 months time," Mr Guy said.
The government has a new weapon in the war against mobile phone zombies taking over the city streets  flashing lights embedded in the footpath.

Four sets of flashing, tactile markers have been installed at the corner of Swanston Street and Little Collins Street, one of the busiest intersections in Melbourne's CBD for foot traffic.

The markers are there for a one-year trial and it is hoped that they will reduce the number of collisions between pedestrians and vehicles.

If results are positive, the illuminated markings will be installed at other busy intersections in the city.
Thousands of asylum seekers who were detained on Christmas Island will no longer be able to jointly sue the Commonwealth for false imprisonment, with a Supreme Court judge halting a class action against the federal government.

The class action was launched in 2014 on behalf of a now nine-year-old Iranian girl referred to as AS, who was detained for almost a year in total on Christmas Island, against then-immigration minister Scott Morrison and the Commonwealth.

The Iranian girl and her family arrived on Christmas Island in 2013.

The girl arrived by boat with her parents on Christmas Island in 2013.

Her lawyers said that during her months in detention she developed a dental infection, a stammer, separation anxiety and would wet her bed. She and her family have been living in the community on a temporary bridging visa since January 2015.
An ambulance leaves Fountain Gate shopping centre car park on March 27. Credit:Seven News He said the incident could have been even worse had she not been at work. "It was lucky it was in the shopping centre, we could take immediate action and he didn't run away." Police have cordoned off part of the shopping centre, including Yd. clothing. Credit:Seven News A worker at a nearby store said she heard screams and ran towards the parlour, along with staff from other businesses.

"He was still there but he wasn't hitting her or anything," she said. The weapon was described as more of a hatchet than an axe. A spokeswoman for the centre confirmed the attack happened there on Monday. It is believed to have occurred near a beauty parlour on level one. She said police had established a crime scene and cordoned off an area. The rest of the shopping centre was trading as normal, the spokeswoman said. Six stores remain cordoned off.

"Westfield is working with police. Police were at the scene very quickly and have cordoned off an area. I'll leave it to them to comment further on this incident," she said. A man by the name of Trevor told 3AW he came down the escalator just moments after the attack. He said a man had chased the woman into the beauty salon. "It seems as though a guy chased a woman into a nail store, at the lower levels of Fountain Gate," Trevor said. "I had just come down the escalators a moment after it, so there was a bit of pandemonium there until security and the other police got on site. "I only saw the lady, she was lying on the floor of the nail salon, there was security and there was police. Police were apprehending the male, who they had chased into the store.

"She was on the floor and there was a bit of blood." Trevor said he was then ushered into the storeroom at the back of the Apple Store. "I was in the Apple store, just up from where the attack happened. "Everyone closed their doors, everyone was told to lock down and we were moved into the storeroom of the Apple store until they were given the go ahead.

"All the Apple managers came out, closed the glass doors and moved everyone straight to the back, into the storeroom." Trevor said that, as he was leaving, he noticed a man had been taken into police custody and placed in the back of a police vehicle. He said police had acted quickly, as there were "quite a few police" already at the shopping centre. "They've since blocked off that section of the shopping centre and they're trying to keep as many people away as possible," he said.
An alleged aspiring Islamic State fighter accused of murdering his young wife in front of their three children will stand trial in Melbourne.

He allegedly gouged out her right eye, removed two of her fingers, and dumped her body in bushes.

Their children, aged two, four and six at the time, witnessed their mother's June 2016 murder, police court documents say.

Her body was found by a jogger trussed in plastic wrap, a quilt and electrical tape.

On Monday, the man entered a plea of not guilty and was ordered to stand trial in the Victorian Supreme Court, with first directions on March 30.
A test of Western Australia's raw sewage revealed some of the highest recorded levels of methylamphetamine consumption in Australia.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission released the first National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program report on Sunday, and found WA had far exceeded the national 'average' of ice use.

Wastewater tests showed WA has the highest level of meth use in the country.

The analysis tested for methamphetamine, or ice, and 12 other illicit and licit substances including cocaine, MDMA, tobacco and alcohol at 51 sites across the country, with four undisclosed sites named in WA.

According to the report, the national average of daily meth consumption is around one dose per 28 people. The report quantified a dose as "the average amount of compound consumed in one go, [for example] in one cigarette".
This week, superstar comedian Dave Chappelle made his big return with two new Netflix specials, The Age of Spin and Deep in the Heart of Texas. Chappelles comeback has been building steadily over the past few years: He performed well-received gigs at Radio City Music Hall in 2015 and hosted Saturday Night Live in November 2016, and it all seemed to be the lead-up to Chappelles triumphant return to the spotlight. When it was announced that the man behind Chappelles Show would be returning via Netflix, the public was understandably giddy with anticipation.

Chappelle returned to a much different comedy landscape than the one of his TV shows heyday. I had to watch Key & Peele do my show every night! Chappelle declares in disdain at one point in The Age of Spin, calling out the comedy duo who followed his hit show with their own popular sketch series on Comedy Central. When Chappelles Show premiered in 2003, there hadnt been a popular black sketch series since In Living Colors cancellation in 1994. Also, stand-up comedy series HBOs Def Comedy Jam hadnt aired since 1997 and BETs Comic View was sputtering in popularity. Three years removed from Chris Rocks critically acclaimed (and short-lived) talk show, there was a void for a sharp black comedic voice and Chappelle neatly filled it.

But in 2017, Chappelle no longer occupies an exclusive space.

As the new age of Trump-aggrandized anxiety takes firm hold, black satirical voices hold a particular cachet in popular culture. The great benefit of this not being 2003 is that there isnt just a singular Dave Chappelletheres Jordan Peele, Issa Rae, Donald Glover, and Jerrod Carmichael. Theres SNLers like Leslie Jones, Kenan Thompson, and Sasheer Zamata. Theres Jessica Williams and Trevor Noah. Do any of these voices represent any definitive, singular point of view? Not at all. And thats something to build on.

A lot of black people dont fuck with me like they used to, Chappelle acknowledged relatively early on in The Age of Spin. My own actions drew a wedge between me and the community I hold so dear.

Chappelle was leading in to a joke about him skipping a Flint, Michigan, water benefit to go to the Oscars, but he could have just as easily been discussing the past week and the criticism following the release of his Netflix specials. The comics jokes went directly at police shootings, his own insecurities in the wake of the success, and popularity of guys like Kevin Hart and Key & Peele, and his marriage. But Chappelle is drawing fire for jokes aimed at the LGBTQ communityjokes that often traded in divisiveness and transphobia.

With Trump in office and Saturday Night Live having a field day lampooning him and his cronies on a weekly basis, the expectations for a singular comedic voice to cut through the fog with wit and anger led to Chappelles return being welcomed by those with fond memories of his hit showmany of whom werent as aware of his classic comedy specials. I laughed at Chappelle for years. And many times during his new specials, Chappelle is funny. But too many times, hes punching down, a stern Gen X comic elder scoffing at a millennial world. Hey it happens.

As it stands, Chappelle not occupying that singular place any longer could mean that black comedy has a stronger foothold. With growing platforms for aforementioned artists like Rae and Peele, the kind of cultural grip that a Chappelle or a Chris Rock enjoyed 15 years ago doesnt exist, and as he moves through his forties and fifties, the Gen X straight black man is less centered as the defining perspective for Black America. Those voices are getting younger, and more varied. And more empathetic. Jerrod Carmichael and Issa Rae have both tackled LGBTQ stories on their shows without pandering or the sort of backhanded condolences Chappelle offered between his punchlines. More comedy featuring marginalized people reminds everyone of our own privilege; that should be a goal for anyone who values comedys ability to subvert. Amplifying those voices to speak for themselves would be an even better step in the right direction.

My favorite comedy moments involve those who have been pushed to the fringes using their humor to skewer the machinations that put them there. Robert Townsends Hollywood Shuffle turned 30 on March 20, and it remains one of the most astute satires of Tinseltown racism ever put to film. Most of the jokes, written by Townsend and Keenan Ivory Wayans, poke fun at stereotypes and even get in digs at Eddie Murphy, who Townsend would direct in Eddie Murphy Rawreleased just months later. Theres a need for satirical voicesespecially right nowand comedy cant ever be preoccupied with inoffensiveness if it wants to cut through bullshit, but that doesnt give us license to mute criticism when comedy wallows in toxic mentalities. Many of the rebuffs of Chappelle critics have been along the lines of comedy is supposed to be uncomfortable and gay people are proving that they dont want equalitythey want special treatment. Great comedy exposes uncomfortable truths, and in that respect, Chappelle is as astute as hes always been. But when that comedy targets marginalized groups and trades in the very stereotypes that have led to violence against those groups, its just punching down. Chappelles line about a trans woman friend wanting to go to the club to trick niggas into fuckin us is the worst.

Murphys Raw concert film would draw criticism for homophobic jokesechoing criticism Murphy had faced after similar remarks and jokes about HIV/AIDS in his 1983 Delirious special. The contrast between Townsend and Murphy, two mainstays of 80s black comedy, illustrates a difference between effective satire and oppressive bigotry: One movie featured a Hollywood underdog shooting holes in the system; the other highlighted a preening superstar wallowing in easy laughs by targeting an oft-maligned group from which he assumed thered be no significant repercussions.

Popular lampooners and funnymen like Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Seth MacFarlane and Louis C.K. all trade on the edginess of homophobia and racism in their comedy. I was born in 1967, so I grew up in the 70s. So Im not racistbut I do have mild racism, C.K. joked during his SNL monologue in 2015.

It was a very racist decade, and people said racist things all the time and nobody got offended. The only time someone got offended when you said something racist is when they would say, Hey! You interrupted me! I was saying something racist!

Acknowledging ones own bigotry can make for uneasy laughs, but its not novel or insightful in and of itself. There has to be some sort of shredding of the idea as a fallacy, or else it rings as a shrugged-off endorsement of specific hate as just a human foible to live with. Peeles Get Out successfully analogizes white liberal racism in a horror movie context, which makes for as much humor as it does chills. In a myriad of obvious and subtle ways, he spoofs everything from appropriation to fetishizing, and it works because his targets enjoy societal privilege. When its the other way around, you have to be very careful not to actively participate in standing on the other persons neck. Blackface was once regularly acceptable humor in the United States, but this isnt 1923; topical art cant be presented in the same context as if no cultural shifts have occurred over the decades. Even at our most nostalgia-driven, art still doesnt exist in a vacuum.

Additionally, art that trades on pushing buttons shouldnt be defended as if it is benign. Comedy like Chappelles cant be divorced from its most problematic moments; its wrongheaded to revise history by pretending now-revered legends like Richard Pryor werent ever controversial in their heyday. So much of those icons legend was forged in controversy, and sometimes the controversy was completely justified. You shouldnt have to pretend they were infallible to defend a contemporary stars transgressions.

So dont feel obligated to defend Dave Chappelle. Hes not some returning hero or the voice of a generation. His voice is his own and whether or not his perspective changes is no ones responsibility but his. And there are other voices. Donald Glovers Atlanta was one of the success stories of 2016; the rapper/actor delivered a hit series with its own unique feel, comedic quirks and sharp focus. Glovers show seems to embody the current Black comedy wave: less preoccupied with pleasing everyone and finely attuned to a post-Ferguson perspective. Empathy isnt political correctnessawareness has and should affect our art. With the current administration, Black comedy is such a necessary tool for countering the popular narrative. We should welcome the broadening of its scope, still hold accountable the older voices and always celebrate the variety of newer ones.
A court-appointed investigator has found that the United States Attorneys Office for Kansas is in possession of hundreds of phone and video recordings of communications between attorneys and their clients, inmates at a privately run prison facility in Leavenworth.

At least 700 attorneys are believed to have been recorded without their knowledge, the investigators report submitted to a federal court said. Last week Special Master David Cohen asked to expand his probe to determine whether prosecutors regularly listened to and compiled attorney-client conversations. Already, 227 phone call recordings and at least 30 videos of attorney-client meetings have been discovered in the U.S. Attorneys Office in Kansas City.

The U.S. Attorneys Office declined to comment for this story.

Prosecutors obtained recordings of the conversations with the help of the private-prison company that runs Leavenworth, CoreCivic, and the company that provides communications services there, Securus Technologies. Both companies have been sued several times in the past for violating the constitutional rights of inmates by recording calls between them and their attorneys. (CoreCivic did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Securus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

The systematic recordings were discovered by a defense attorney who was recorded speaking with her client about the governments case against a drug ring inside the prison.

Jackie Rokusek told The Daily Beast she was called to the U.S. Attorneys office in Kansas City last August, where she said she was told by prosecutors that they had video evidence of her providing her client with confidential information about a drug ring case. Rokusek was given a computer and she watched the video, then she says she accidentally clicked on another file. A window opened, and a video showing another attorney meeting with their client at Leavenworth played. Stunned, Rokusek immediately went to the Federal Public Defenders office in Kansas City and told them what shed found.

Law enforcement had been listening to inmates talk to their accomplices outside the prison for months, and prosecutors had built a strong case around the evidence gained from those calls. The allegations were detailed in an April affidavit filed by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. A drug dealer named Lorenzo Black supplied drugs to a prison guard, Anthony Aiono, who smuggled the drugs into the prison and gave them to the head of the drug ring, a violent inmate named Karl Carter. The drugs would then go to another inmate, Stephen Rowlette, before being distributed to paying prisoners. In the final six weeks of the investigation, nearly $15,000 had been deposited into Carters account.

With thousands of phone calls and a confession from Aiono, law enforcement and prosecutors had more than enough evidence to file charges against Aiono, Black, Carter, Rowlette, and several others.

Special Agent Jeff Stokes of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation filed his affidavit on April 9, 2016. U.S.A vs. Black was officially underway in Judge Julie Robinsons Kansas City courtroom.

***

It was an inmate with secondary involvement in the Black case who would soon be responsible for shifting its focus from the drug ring to the recording of attorney-client conversations.

Inmate Richard Dertinger was named as a non-indicted co-conspirator in the Black case, and has been convicted for his involvement in a separate synthetic marijuana operation inside Leavenworth. During Dertingers meeting with his attorney, Jackie Rokusek, prosecutors believed she provided him with confidential information regarding the Black casean alleged conflict of interest that the U.S. Attorneys office thought would force Rokusek to recuse herself from Dertingers synthetic marijuana case. Several sources close to the Black case who spoke to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity said prosecutors wanted Rokusek off Dertingers case because she is a feared lawyer.

Rokusek said prosecutors planned to show her video in which she allegedly provided Dertinger with the confidential information during their meeting at Leavenworth under the belief she would recuse herself from the case. It backfired.

Critics of prosecutors in the U.S. Attorneys office say that, not only should they never have watched and listened to conversations between attorneys and their inmate clients, but that as soon as those recordings came into their possession, defense attorneys like Rokusek should have been immediately informed. Such conversations are privileged, said Peter Joy, a law professor at Washington University who testified in the August hearing that addressed the Rokusek video.

It is like a dealer at a casino having a secret camera to look at the players cards, said Joy. Just like that would be cheating at a casino and lead to the dealer always winning, intruding into the confidential communications of clients and lawyers takes away the promise of a fair trial.

***

The Black case isnt the first time that CoreCivic and Securus have been accused of violating inmates constitutional rights. The revelation that the two companies had recorded and stored massive quantities of inmate phone calls came only after someone hacked Securus in 2015 and released 70,000 recordings to The Intercept, which found some 14,000 attorney-client conversations in the database.

At Leavenworth, CoreCivics head of security told an investigator with the Federal Public Defenders office that cameras in meeting rooms there did not record attorney-client conversations, according to the investigators testimony at a hearing regarding the Rokusek video. When pressed, CoreCivic eventually admitted that it had been recording attorneys and their clients in meeting rooms at Leavenworthand storing those videos for 30 dayssince 2008, according to an investigator with the Federal Public Defenders office.

For a 12-week period in 2016, any attorney that met with a clienteven those who were not involved with the drug ringhad their meetings recorded on video, the investigator found.

***

CoreCivics stock was plummeting six months ago following a Justice Department order that called for the federal government to stop using private prisons, but the companys outlookand its stock pricehave been invigorated with the election of Donald Trump. The companys hopes were raised even further when Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded an Obama-era directive to end the use of private companies to run federal prisons.

That was the icing on the cake for CoreCivic, which already saw hope for its bottom line with Trumps promises to lock up large numbers of illegal immigrants, thereby filling CoreCivic facilities, many of which house immigrants and refugees, to capacity and perhaps beyond.

Accusations that CoreCivic violated inmates constitutional rights by recording conversations with their lawyers are the mildest of allegations compared with some of the other lawsuits the company has recently been involved in.

Understaffingto the point of dangerous conditions that have claimed the lives of both inmates and staffis a major theme at CoreCivic facilities. A federal jury in Idaho found CoreCivic regularly understaffed a prison there, partly resulting in a mass attempted murder in which eight men were stabbed dozens of times by rival gang members, according to the lawsuit filed on the inmates behalf. Incredibly, all of the inmates lived. CoreCivic wasnt required to pay any fines as a result of a judges decision, which came down in February.

As for Leavenworth, it is portrayed as a fairly lawless place in the affidavit filed by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in the Black case. Not only was Aiono smuggling drugs into the prison, he is also accused of providing a knife to Karl Carter, the leader of the drug ring. (Carter is accused in the affidavit of stabbing two men in Leavenworth, but it isnt known if the weapon he used was the one given to him by Aiono.) The drug ring itself was alleged to have operated partly from a 12-step recovery program inside the prison. Despite having to pass through security to get into the area where the programs meetings were held, members of the drug ring had little trouble getting their product past guards.

Informants told law enforcement that 90 percent of the time, when metal detectors went off, guards stopped no one, according to the Black affidavit. One guard is accused by law enforcement of purposefully turning a blind eye toward the sale of drugs, as well as their open and frequent use.

Its not an impressive facility, said a source close to the Black case.

***

Mike Warner is not surprised about the allegations that have come out of the Black case. From 2010 to 2013, Warner was the first assistant U.S. attorney in the District of Kansas, serving directly under former U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom. What Warner saw in his time in the Kansas City office is in line with Rokuseks allegations of heavy-handed practices there.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Warner voiced strong disagreement with prosecution practices in the Kansas City office, where he said there exists a culture immune from supervision.

Prosecutors are supposed to be ministers of justice, exclusively concerned with matters of fairness and due process. The polar opposite is a win at all costs mentality or a self righteous ends justifies the means approach, Warner told The Daily Beast. Further, one of the most fundamental things prosecutors must do is make sure a defendants constitutional rights are protected.

The investigation conducted by Cohen, who was appointed by Judge Robinson to conduct his investigation, has been restricted to the practice of listening to and storing recordings only as it relates to the Black case. It is now up to Robinson to decide whether to allow Cohen to expand the investigation to see if what happened in the Black case has occurred in other cases. Warren and others believe its appropriate for Cohen to expand the probe into a pattern-and-practice investigation.

I cannot fathom how an office acquired such a high volume of Sixth Amendment materials whether unwittingly or not, Warner said. I also cannot imagine this situation being dismissed without a full and complete investigation either by the Special Master or other federal investigative entity about how something like this occurred or why the U.S. Attorney didnt know what was going on in his own office.

In his final report, released last week, Cohen recommended continuing his investigation while noting that it would likely back up his tentative conclusion that prosecutors were not regularly viewing videos of attorney-client meetings. The most important focus of the investigation, though, would be determining how, why, and when the U.S. attorneys office obtained phone call recordings of inmates at Leavenworthsomething that Cohen hasnt yet been asked to determine by Judge Robinson.

Cohen wrote that he was optimistic that further investigation will lay to rest any suspicions on the part of defense attorneys in Kansas and the Western District of Missouri that prosecutors are playing with a stacked deck of privileged communications. Warner, however, was skeptical of the reports effectiveness at answering whether prosecutors regularly listened to attorney-client communications.

For reasons unknown, the report also ignored the deliberate use of those materials against [Rokusek], Warner said. Nonetheless, Im hopeful the Special Master will continue his investigation as alluded in the reports conclusion. Maybe then widely reported abusive practices will actually be addressed.
A guard at the Rikers Island prison complex in New York City cuffed an inmates hands behind his back and punched him in the face three times, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court this week. The inmate had asked the guard for help recovering items that had fallen before the alleged assault. The officer then allegedly tried to cover up the assault.

The officer, Rodiny Calypso, faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Calypso took an inmate to the shower area of a Rikers housing facility on Feb. 27, 2014, according to the criminal complaint. At the time, the mans hands were handcuffed behind his back and he posed no danger to Calypso or any other correction officer or inmate, the document states. But Calypso allegedly opened the stall door and punched the man.

Calypso then followed [the inmate] into the shower stall and continued to assault him as [the inmate] was still rear-cuffed and unable to defend himself, the complaint adds.

The complaint says that other corrections officers tried cover up the alleged assault. In an allegedly falsified report justifying the use of force, Calypso claimed that the inmate violently broke free from his escort hold. A surveillance video shows that Calypso initiated the encounter and that [the inmate] did not attempt to violently break free from Calypsos escort hold, and that the inmate did not try to spit on Calypso, contrary to the guards claims, according to the complaint.

The allegedly falsified use of force report also claims that the inmate at one point pinned Calypso to the shower wallanother claim contradicted by the video. In fact, Calypso put [the inmate] in a headlock and punched him several times in the head and subsequently repeatedly elbowed [the inmate] in the head from behind, the complaint said.

The elbowing occurred while the inmate was restrained by another officer, according to the complaint.

But its the details of how that situation allegedly came to be that offer insightful details. Calypso and the inmate in question had supposedly never crossed paths before the day of the alleged assault. The inmate asked Calypso to retrieve some items that had fallen out of the showers cuffing port for him. Calypso initially declined to do so and [the inmate] grew irritated, at several points asking Calypso why he was afraid of him, the complaint said.

Calypso finally got the items and went to talk to someone else. At that point, the inmate claims, he heard Calypso saying something about a PBA, or personal body alarma move that calls in the Probe Team for an emergency.

Then Calypso allegedly opened the shower door and began his assault on the inmate.

The FBI agent writing the complaint said Calypsos previous account of the incident to a Bronx grand jury differed significantly from the video evidence. And, Agent Michael Weniger added, the shirt the inmate allegedly spat onone of the provocations cited by Calypsowas not preserved as evidence.

The 38-year-old Calypso has been a corrections officer for 13 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He said he graduated from CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2004.

My client welcomes the opportunity to address these allegations in court, Calypsos attorney, Joey Jackson, told The Daily Beast. The Corrections Officers Benevolent Association did not return a request for comment.

Calypso may be the latest Rikers corrections officer accused of misconduct, but he is certainly not the first. New York Citys most infamous jail has been plagued by accusations of abuse, poor management, and inhumane conditions. Perhaps most famously, Kalief Browder, who was arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack at age 16, was imprisoned on the island for three years without trial, and committed suicide at age 22, just two years after being released.

A 2014 report by former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, looked at whether adolescents are subject to excessive and unnecessary use of force at the jail. Rikers is a dangerous place for adolescents, it concluded, and said that corrections officers created a systematic and pervasive pattern and practice of utilizing unnecessary and excessive force against adolescent inmates.

Last year, a corrections officer named Nicole Bartley was charged with sexually assaulting an inmateand conspiracy to bring him weed. I was in love with him. He used me and played me for a fool, she claimed. Female inmates have also lodged complaints of sexual assault against male guards at the jail.

Other corrections officers have recently been arrested for a contraband smuggling ring. And in December, a former Rikers guard was convicted for his role in the 2012 beating death of an inmate.

As the evidence at trial established, [Brian] Coll killed [Ronald] Spear by repeatedly kicking him in the head as he lay restrained on the ground, telling him before he died not to forget who did this to him, Bharara said.
Kim Kardashians mother Kris Jenner believes the spirit of her deceased husband, Robert, sought to warn Kim Kardashian that she was about to be attacked by a gang of armed robbers by activating the alarm on her BlackBerry right before she was robbed in October.

Kris was seen floating the unlikely theory about possible communication via cellphones from beyond the grave in Sunday nights vintage episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, which was entitled Aftermath and dealt with the familys responses to the brutal raid in Paris in which Kim was robbed of millions of dollars in jewels.

The Kardashian matriarch is shown raising the subject of an intervention from the spirit world while driving home with her daughter Khloe from a TV interview with Ellen DeGeneres in which she talked about the incident.

Right before she was robbed, Kims BlackBerry alarm went off, and it had never gone off. So maybe that was a warning for Kim? she speculated.

In another series of scenes, Kim vehemently denied allegations that the Paris robbery was fake or an inside job, and slamming critics who victim-blamed her. Kardashian came in for considerable and deeply unfair criticism at the time of the robbery from those who argued that her ostentatious flaunting of her gigantic engagement ring on social media had incited the robbers or contributed to their targeting of her.

There have been reports that the gang who invaded her Paris apartment were shouting Ring! Ring! as they rifled through Kims belongings looking for items of value.

It just really sucks when youre getting judged by the whole world, she said.

Her sister Khloe chimed in: It doesnt matter if people think its fake. Thats obviously crazy To have a gun held to your head and not knowing whats going to happen to you thats going to fuck you up.

Kim admitted to her family that she had been suffering from sleeplessness and flashbacks following the terrifying incident which saw her bound, gagged, and thrown into a bathtub.

She said, by way of example, that she had freaked out when her husband Kanye West came home late from a concert at 3 a.m., the same time the robbery happened.

Kim was fleeced of millions of dollars worth of jewels in the terrifying episode in Paris in October, which was the biggest robbery of an individual in France for more than 20 years.
On Wednesday, the Honorable John Adams, Vice-President of the United States, arrived in this city, reported the National Gazettethe intellectual biweekly of the nations then-capital, Philadelphiaon Saturday Dec. 8, 1792, and on Thursday took his seat as President of the Senate.

A reader is hard-pressed to find another paragraph in the whole two years of the National Gazettes life that spoke of John Adams in a similarly polite fashion.

Instead, month after month, the National Gazette blasted Adams with insults, mockery, invective, distortion, and deeply educated character assassinationall vastly superior in mean-spirited firepower to anything we witness or invoke in modern political discourse.
MOSCOW  On Monday morning hundreds of Russians across the country awaited their hearings in court. After the biggest protests in years against Russian President Vladimir Putin, the country was watching a massive crackdown. Some called it Putins revenge.

Mass detentions, fines, or incarceration were the Kremlins response to the series of anti-corruption demonstrations which had rolled through 82 Russian cities on Sunday.

In Moscow alone, Aleksei Navalny, the organizer of the nation-wide protest movement, was quickly sentenced to 15 days behind bars, but there were 1,300 other detainees in the Russian capital as well, including 46 teenagers. Many people were injured by club-swinging police.

Lawyers and volunteers of a Moscow NGO, or nongovernmental organization, Russia Behind Bars, spent Sunday night and all of Monday providing free legal assistance for detainees of all ages, including many teenagers and their parents.

In every police bus with 20 to 30 seats there were at least three too four underage detainees, Olga Romanova, director of Russia Behind Bars, told The Daily Beast. We were amazed at how many 16 to 17 year olds ended up at police stationsa unique number of new faces took part in this protest.

Romanova explained that any of the detainees could be accused of a serious crime, as one of the policemen was seriously injured at Sunday rally in Moscow.

It was astonishing to see that in spite of the serious threat, all the parents we have dealt with in the last 24 hours shared the oppositions ideas, some even said that they felt proud of their childrens courage.

Many parents were worried, however. "Our deepest concern is that more teens could participate in anti-government protests, be used as cannon fodder, detainedthat their lives can be ruined," says Yelena, the mother of a 17-year-old daughter.

"This is a chain reaction among 16 to 17 year old guys who are passionately excited about the idea of hanging out," said Alexander, the Moscow parent of a 16-year-old. "Navalny should go to jail for not telling school children that it was dangerous to take part in the illegal actions."

But the movement has tapped into precisely the kind of media that idealistic teens may find hard to resist. The opposition movement surged in popularity after Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation revealed in a slick video details of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedevs multiple luxurious real estates around the country. According to the report, Medvedev profited corruptly from various companies both in Russia and abroad, and Medvedev did not deny Navalnys claim. The investigative video report went viral and made many Russians angry, including those who have never known a Russia not ruled by Putin and his acolyte Medvedev.

Navalny, who was Putins rival in the last presidential elections, said in court that he was happy to see so many schoolchildren joining the anti-corruption movement against the thieves and liars in power.

A new generation is born that cannot be threatened, Navalny told the courtroom on Monday morning.

The Kremlin claimed that the opposition had promised underage protesters cash if they got arrested. The Daily Beast interviewed several young protesters who said they did not take part in the protest for money, but because they were fed up with the failing system of the Russian state and its rampant corruption.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted that the Kremlin respected peoples civic positions, including their right to voice opposition.

We cant express the same respect to those who consciously misled peopleand who consciously did it yesterdayand provoked illegal actions, Peskov said.

In Nizhny Novgorod, where up to 400 protesters joined the protests, which were prohibited by the government, police registered the parents of five teenagers for failing their parental responsibilities and allowing their children to take part.

Police did not detain 18-year-old university student Maksim Goncharov at the rally. On Monday afternoon, the young Muscovite arrived at the steps of Tverskoy district court to express his support for the arrested opposition leader Navalny, and his belief in Navalnys courtroom declarations.

Goncharov was standing with a sign that said: We believe when two policemen grabbed the student of linguistics by his arms and dragged him into a police vehicle.

It took two and a half hours for police finally to let Goncharovs attorney and his mother, Vera Goncharova, fill in the paperwork. A court employee asked the attorney: What was your client detained for?

That was the key question, which Goncharova said she had no answer for. You must know better [than I] why you detained this innocent young man and kept him at the police station for hours, Goncharova told the official.

It was an emotional day for the attorney. Several young people felt sick at police stations; one of my clients almost suffered shock without a timely insulin shot for diabetes.

Dozens of protesters reportedly were detained in the Northern Caucasus republic of Dagestan. Several hundred people came out to a peaceful rally to demonstrate against the overwhelming, choking corruption, especially against police corruption, human rights defender Magomed Shamilov told The Daily Beast. Several police trucks and busses arrived. Police quickly grabbed about 50 to 60 journalists and random people in front of our eyes.

If in Moscow there were many attorneys ready to provide free legal assistance for detainees, in the provinces people were waiting for days for their hearings without knowing how to defend their rights or who might help them to do it.

Even those who were released on Monday were still in danger of prosecutions, well-respected human rights defender and dissident Zoya Svetova told The Daily Beast.

Nobody can guarantee that a month or two from now investigators would not return and summon some of the released protesters, said Svetova, who has had long experience observing such cases. After watching the videos of the riot, detainees could be accused of injuring the hospitalized policeman and that is a serious crime that could be punished with a life sentence, the human rights defender added.

On Sunday night, unknown men raided Navalnys office at the Anti-Corruption Foundation and took away several computers, without any explanations. More than a dozen of Navalnys associates spent that night at a police station.

This is Putins revenge to Navalny, Svetova told The Daily Beast.

There were many reasons why the Kremlins leader could be angry with his foe. For many years Navalny has been addressing Russias president as Putin the Thief.

Navalnys foundation investigated and accused of corruption President Putins closest friends and allies.

And now the Kremlin will most probably let Navalny go after 15 days, but they will sentence several protesters for long jail terms to undermine Navalnys authority, Svetova predicted.
Last Thursday afternoon, while the Republican health care bill was unraveling, I went to a memorial service. Robert Nordhaus isnt a name youre likely to know, and if I just told you in the usual journalistic shorthand that he was a Washington lawyer and insider, it wouldnt interest you very much. But he and the group of people he spent his life working with were people of extraordinary intelligence and vision and dedication, and last Thursday was one hell of an interesting day to reflect on their contributions to this country and on how ideas about public service have changed over four decades.

Nord, who passed away on Christmas Eve of prostate cancer at age 79, was an energy lawyer. I knew him because my sister, Susan, is an energy lawyer, too, and Bob gave her her first legal job in Washington back in the 1970s after they chanced to run into each other on the then spanking-new Metro. They were later law partners.

Im no great expert on the area, but I know this much. The 1970s witnessed two momentous developments in the energy field: the dawn of the environmental movement, and the OPEC-embargo-sparked energy crisis of 1973. Up to this point, Americans didnt give a thought to their energy consumption or to the planet. Gas cost around 30 or 35 cents a gallon in 1970, which according to this government chart would be about $1.70 today, and had increased only incrementally for the previous 20 years. People drove huge cars and cranked up the heat. Corporations could do pretty much what they wanted to the water and the air, and of course no one considered things like the environmental impacts of new development.

This meant that the 1970s was the first decade in the history of the United States when the federal government really had to grapple deeply with energy policy and thus develop an environmental policy. And Bob Nordhaus and a handful of othersnotably Charles Curtis, another of my sisters mentors and the first head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission after it was created in 1977were the people who did it. (My sister, if I may toot the family horn a bit, played an important part in this history as well.)

Bobwhose brother, incidentally, is the eminent Yale economist Bill Nordhauswrote much of the key legislation of the era. I trust most of you know that members of Congress, when they say they wrote legislation, dont mean they actually wrote the language. Aides and lawyers do that.

So I was astonished as I listened to the speakers at his service list the laws he authored. The bill that made cars more fuel efficient in 1975. The Clean Air Act amendments of 1970 that expanded the EPAs watch over polluters. The 1969 law requiring environmental impact statements. Outside of the energy area, he wrote the law creating the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the ERISA pension act of 1974. He even wrote the law allowing drivers to turn right on red, and the legislation that gave us Woodsy the Owl (remember give a hoot, dont pollute?). And a lot more.

Of course, that makes Bob Nordhaus an American villain to many conservatives. Whatever. He and Charlie Curtis and their contemporaries were in fact a group of highly dedicated public servants who took public policy and legislation seriously. They leaned liberal, certainly, but they were pragmatists who were dedicated to balanced outcomes and who understood their responsibilities in both concrete and broader historical terms.

Bob worked on the Hill at a time when Congress cared and could marshal the bipartisan will to provide for the General Welfare, Charlie emailed me after the event. You never hear much talk about that fundamental constitutional responsibility these days, but our founders believed they were creating a federal government that was not just simply representative of various constituencies. The Congress that served in the 1970s and got us through stagflation and the energy crises believed it.

The service was held at an Episcopal church near the Library of Congress. Afterward we headed to the Tune Inn, which had been a favorite of the old gang back in the day. I left the Tune around 6:30 and turned on the news in my car. Our current Congress was making a mockery of policy. What was already a shoddy and cruel health-care bill was being turned into an even more draconian and punitive document to buy off the votes of radical extremists who clearly believe that the Congress in which they serve has no business helping citizens get health coverage in any way, shape, or form. And it was all being touted by a duplicitous speaker who called it freedom, and an out-of-his-depth president who obviously didnt understand the first thing about it.

It was a jarring experience, and the contrast made me value my relationships with these fine people even moreeven as it made me sadder and madder about what was unfolding a few blocks away from us that very night. When they pulled the bill the next day, it revealed how woefully ill-prepared to govern these people are. It wasnt always this way.
Last week I heard a story that broke my heart. It was about a little boy called Josue, just 3 years old, who had spent more than half his life in a detention center. He had learned to walk and talk there, and probably has no memories of freedom.

Why would a toddler be detained like this? This is a question for the Department of Homeland Security. Because Josue, and many other children and adults, are being held here in the United States while their applications for permanent residency are processed.

Josues mother, Teresa, decided to seek asylum in the U.S. after fleeing kidnapping threats and physical assault in Honduras. Fifteen months ago, I was in Teresas shoes. I lived in El Salvador, where gangs and organized crime feed one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

My life was filled with violence. When the physical and sexual abuse I had been suffering at the hands of my partner became too much, I took my two kids and went to live with a relative. It was the wrong decision. Within a few weeks the relative, who is involved with gangs, was also beating and abusing us. I received death threats from local gang members who were believed to have killed people before. I knew I had to get out.

I have relatives in New York and I planned to stay with them while my application for asylum in the U.S. was processed. I decided to leave my children in El Salvador until I could make the necessary arrangements to bring them here legallyI thought this would be a few months at most.

But my plans went horribly wrong. I was detained at the border by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and spent 450 days in Prarieland Detention Center. Those months seemed endless, and I missed my children terribly. Still, I knew that if I had brought them with me, they too would have been detained in this dark place.

I used to think that prisons were for criminals. Now I know that things are not so simple. I was kept in detention for 15 months simply for seeking asylum, which it was my legal right to do. I have no criminal record, so I could not understand why I was treated like I was dangerous, why my wrists and ankles were shackled, or why I was frequently prevented from speaking to my family, and denied access to a lawyer.

In February of this year, after more than a year in detention, I had a seizure and collapsed. I was diagnosed with a tumor on my pituitary gland and spent 12 days in hospital. This condition is life-threatening, so I was astonished when I was returned to Prarieland and given nothing more than Tylenol to treat my symptoms. I felt dizzy and faint and suffered from nosebleeds, terrible headaches and convulsions, not to mention the terror of not knowing if I was going to see my children again. I was taken to my medical appointments in shackles, where I had to wait for an interpreter to be called so I could understand what the doctor was telling me about my conditionall while in the presence of two prison guards.

My story is one of many. Last week I was released on parole, and I am resting with my family in New York. I am weak and tired, but most of all I feel let down. This is not what I thought the U.S. would be like. From El Salvador, I had always imagined it as a place of sanctuary, a country committed to human rights and equality. This was not what I experienced.

Still, I consider myself one of the lucky ones. There many people, including children, seeking asylum here who are instead held still in detention centers and the policies proposed by the new administration are likely to make that number soar.

Most of those detained asylum seekers fled horrific violence in countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Its not only unconscionable to detain vulnerable people like thisits illegal. Under U.S. and international law, the U.S. government is supposed to use detention of asylum seekers only as a last resort, not to automatically detain people while their claims are processedhowever long that takes.

I hope that I can start rebuilding my life in the U.S. I hope that my children can come here safely and legally, and that we can be a family again. As much as all this, I hope that the government will change its cruel practice of detaining asylum seekers, and step up to its commitment to protect them.
Amid all the scandal and drama surrounding the House Intelligence Committees investigation into Russia, the Congressional body that comes out looking best is the silent Senate.

The Senate Intelligence Committee will have its time in the spotlight this week as it holds its first open hearings on prior Russian active measures and influence operations in the world. The panel has been essentially quiet on the progress of its investigation since it was announced in January.

The investigation has remained bipartisan, with members of both parties continuing to support the ongoing probe, and without any of the bickering that has characterized the Houses efforts.

This is the most important thing that Ive ever done in my public life, said Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the panel, on NBCs Meet the Press Sunday. We know that the Russians massively interfered in our elections And we have the series of people that are very closely affiliated with the president whove had extensive ties with Russia.

In response to a tweet about the need for an independent commission to investigate Russian interference in the U.S. elections, Republican Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, pledged that his panel would fill that need.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is conducting a bipartisan investigation that will earn the countrys confidence, Cornyn wrote.

On Thursday the committee will hear testimony from two panels, which include former NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander and other experts on Russian influence campaigns.

Meanwhile, the House Intelligence Committee investigation continues to reel after its independence and credibility were badly undercut last week.

A divisive hearing with the FBI director led to the revelation that the bureau was undertaking an ongoing investigation into ties between Trump associates and Russia. Committee Chairman, Republican Devin Nunes , held a shocking press conference in which he announced that Trump transition officials were incidentally surveilled, and then briefed the White House before his own committee.

This committee was doing its best work when Nunes and [top Democrat Rep. Adam] Schiff were working together and giving joint press conferences, Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democratic member of the committee, told The Daily Beast. Mr. Nunes took an off-ramp from this investigation to conduct his own intelligence service and without giving it to the committee, took it over to the president Mr. Nunes needs to find an on-ramp back to this investigation.

Trey Gowdy, a Republican on the committee, said that he thought the health of the committee was fine, but that he preferred that the probe continue in private, rather than in open hearings.

I want you and your viewers to ask themselves, Why are we satisfied with every other facet of culture having serious investigations done confidentially? The grand jury. Judges meeting with attorneys. Police officers interviewing suspects, Gowdy said on CBS Face the Nation. All of that is done confidentially and we are more than satisfied with those investigations. And yet when it comes to Congress, we think we ought to have a public hearing. One hundred times, those two witnesses [the FBI and NSA directors who testified last Monday] said they could not answer the question in that setting. Why in the hell would we go back to that setting if the witnesses cant answer the questions?

The House committee appears to be tilting toward that view. Nunes said late last week that his panel was indefinitely postponing a previously agreed-upon public hearing with national security officials, in favor of a closed hearing with the FBI and NSA directors.

Perhaps that is something the White House didnt want to see, Schiff said Sunday on CBS. I cant otherwise account for why we would have this abrupt cancellation of a hearing that both the chair and I had committed to doing.

In a role reversal, this week the House probe will meet behind closed doors, while the Senate probe will have its time in the sun.
1

Cheney: Russia Meddling Might Be Act of War

AND HE WOULD KNOW
Trumps Gift to China

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NEW YORK  US President Donald Trumps protectionist threats against China have spurred much concern. If he follows through on his promises and, say, officially labels China a currency manipulator or imposes higher import tariffs, the short-run consequences  including a trade war  could be serious. But, in the longer term, a turn toward protectionism by the United States could well be a blessing in disguise for China.

There is no doubt that China is going through a difficult phase in its development. After three decades of double-digit GDP growth  an achievement with few historical parallels  the pace of Chinas economic expansion has slowed markedly. The combination of rising labor costs and weaker demand for Chinese exports has reduced Chinas annual GDP growth to 6.9% in 2015 and 6.7% last year. The Chinese government has now lowered its growth target for 2016-2020 to 6.5-7%.

This is still a respectable pace; but it is not the best China could do. As Justin Yifu Lin and Wing Thye Woo have noted, in 1951, when Japans per capita income relative to that of the US was the same as Chinas is today, Japan was experiencing sustained growth of 9.2%.

One impediment to such growth for China is a heavy debt burden. A stress-test analysis by the McKinsey Global Institute found that if China continued to pursue its debt- and investment-led growth model, the ratio of nonperforming loans could rise from 1.7% today (according to official figures) to 15% in just two years. That said, the risk of NPLs is not news to the Peoples Bank of China, which will, the evidence suggests, take steps to mitigate it.

Unfortunately, debt isnt Chinas only problem. Its dominance in global exports  the main engine of its growth in recent decades  has eroded. Indias trade-to-GDP ratio overtook Chinas last year. And, while labor productivity is rising steadily in China, it remains less than 30% of advanced-country levels.

Given these challenges, it may seem strange to assert that China may now be on the verge of ascending to a new level of global influence. But, because of Trumps policy approach, China has a new and important opportunity to do just that.

While trade and capital flows require regulation, openness, on balance, does vastly more good than harm. Trumps neo-protectionist policies  which aim to limit the flow of goods, services, and people to the US  are rooted in nothing other than myopic xenophobia. In the end, this will isolate the US far more than China or Mexico.

History bears this out. On the eve of World War I, Argentina was among the worlds wealthiest countries, behind the US, but ahead of Germany. Since then, Argentinas economy has deteriorated substantially for two reasons: inadequate investment in education (a mistake that Trump may also make) and heightened protectionism.

The rise of nationalism in the 1920s culminated in 1930, when far-right nationalist forces overthrew Argentinas government. The new government  which was bitterly opposed to liberalism, not to mention foreigners  raised tariffs sharply in several sectors. On average, import tariffs rose from 16.7% in 1930 to 28.7% in 1933. Jobs in traditional sectors were saved, but productivity declined. Today, Argentina is not even among the top 50 economies worldwide.

So Trumps policy approach can be expected to do great damage to the US economy and have far-reaching implications, given Americas prominent global role. But self-imposed economic isolation, combined with an inward-looking America first foreign-policy approach, will also create space for other countries  including China, India, and Mexico  to increase their own international clout.

Consider Trumps withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the mega-regional trade deal involving 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, but not China. The TPP certainly had its flaws  not least that it would have conferred disproportionate and unfair benefits on large corporations. But it had plenty of redeeming qualities, and was being celebrated in countries like Malaysia and Vietnam for the access it would give to the US market.

Now that the rug beneath these countries feet has been pulled out, China can lend a helping hand. Already, China has boosted its regional investments considerably, including through its one belt, one road initiative. Without the TPP facilitating capital flows among its member countries, China is likely to overtake the US as the largest source of foreign direct investment for the ASEAN countries.

China is also seeking to deepen its economic ties with TPP signatories Australia and New Zealand.

Likewise, China has seized the opportunity afforded by Trumps ill-conceived plan to build a wall on the US border with Mexico to reach out to Americas southern neighbor. Just over a month after Trumps election, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi met with Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu, pledging to deepen diplomatic ties and increase flight connections and trade. China is already Brazils top trading partner. It can now aim for the same position in Mexico, and perhaps all of Latin America.

As Trump adopts increasingly closed-minded and xenophobic rhetoric, Chinese President Xi Jinping is toning down his nationalist language and sounding increasingly like a global statesman. China, he seems to recognize, now faces the chance not just to achieve another round of economic expansion, but also to secure a far more prominent role in global decision-making and policy.
One of Mayor Bill de Blasio's big pre-election moves involves launching a greatly expanded city ferry service this summer, and last week the first new ferry began its long voyage from the Gulf Coast to New York. The maiden voyage did not begin auspiciously, howeverthe ferry got stuck in the mud. In Florida. Is this a metaphor?

The Times reports that ferryboat Hull 200 started its voyage to the city from its home shipyard on the Gulf Coast last week. The company operating the service, Hornblower Cruises and Events, decided it would be easier to cut across the Florida peninsula instead of going around it. Unfortunately, Florida is a giant sinkhole full of alligators and Carl Hiaasen characters, and on Friday the boat hit a mound of mud somewhere near the Everglades.

The boat was only lodged in there for a couple of hours, and the issue only set the mission back by a day or two. We tried, acting ferry captain James Caspers told the Times. It cost us a day or two and a little excitement.

The inaugural ferry is expected to reach us sometime next month, assuming it doesn't hit any more mudbanks. Meanwhile, it appears all the ferries will have to take the long journey around Florida to get up here, adding extra travel time for the 19-boat fleet. Hornblower says the service will still launch this summerit's expected to service commuters in Far Rockaway, South Brooklyn, and Astoria this year, and will expand to the Upper East Side, Soundview, and the Lower East Side in 2018. The city is spending $325 million on the project; rides will cost only $2.75-a-pop.
Last year South Africa's bountiful Wild Coast saw the assassination of Sikhosiphi Rhadebe, activist against proposed dune mining on his homeland. The commemoration of Rhadebe who went by the name Bozooka coincided with this year's Human Rights day. At least 500 people came to stand together in solidarity to call for an end to violence under the glaring sun of the Wild Coast far off the tarred national roads.

Saluting the deceased Rhadebe, leader of the Amadiba Crisis Committee, gun shots were fired in the air giving a vivid demonstration of the sound of death that was heard on the Wild Coast a year ago. Mark Caruso, CEO of the company that applied for a permit for titanium mining on the Wild Coast had (according to local media) previously bragged in an internal email: "I am enlivened by [the] opportunity to grind all resistance to my presence."

Violence and mining do not meet spontaneously - they are uncanny bedfellows.

Acclaimed mining scholar Anthony Bebbington calls the choice communities are facing when mining companies approach "Faustian in the extreme". Companies offer compensation (mostly money) for multiple forms of dispossessions; namely dispossession of "land, territory, landscape and natural resources". According to Bebbington no matter if mining is to go ahead or not it will irrevocably divide communities over the question. Defying the notion of win-win situations invoked by mining companies' global examples show that mine-affected communities typically lose while a class of investors, CEOs and some local managers wine and dine on the generous revenues.

Blockadia in the making?

But as the Wild Coast people testify quite a number of activists are not shying away to take on mining Goliaths. Environmental justice activists are putting themselves in the frontlines of a global battle that Naomi Klein calls "Blockadia" - a new conflict zone "cropping up with increasing frequency and intensity wherever extractive projects are attempting to dig and drill, whether for open-pit mines, or gas fracking, or tar sands oil pipelines." The struggle of Standing Rock is a case in point where indigenous activists faced the heavily armoured police.

But media attention to extractive struggles is rarely that persistent. And even in cases in which the media reports diligently from these conflict zones, time seems to be on the side of mining companies and oil firms. If extractive operations face resistance the nature of mineral resources allows companies to change strategies and come back when resistance is at its weakest.

Death toll of mining

The imbalance of resource also plays to the hands of companies as they have the means to bring delinquents on their side. In an academic paper entitled Conflict and Astroturfing in Niyamgiri, which is very instructive beyond the confines of academia, Romy Kraemer and others tell the story of a young tribal activist who received global attention for his fight against bauxide mining in India. In the cause of the struggle however the company manages to buy the activist out and provide him with a scholarship away from his native land. This is a rather peaceful case if one considers how many violent conflicts are reported around extraction worldwide. Ken Saro-Wiwa who died in the struggle against Shell as well as environmental justice activist Berta Caceres from Honduras paid with their lives for their vocal oppositions. Their names, just as much as Sikhosiphi Rhadebe's, echo in the struggles against exploitative extractivism of today.
New research by the University of Exeter shows that increased surface ocean temperatures during the strong 2016 El Nino led to a major coral die-off event in the Maldives, and that this has caused reef growth rates to collapse. They also found that the rates at which some reefs species, in particular parrotfish, are eroding the reefs had increased following this coral die-off event.

Similar magnitudes of coral death have been reported on many other reefs in the region, including on the northern Great Barrier Reef, suggesting similar impacts may be very widespread.

Professor Chris Perry and Dr Kyle Morgan, of the University of Exeter's Geography department, studied the impact of the 2016 El Nino event at sites in the southern Maldives and found that the event had not only caused widespread coral bleaching, a phenomenon whereby corals expel their photosynthesising algae when stressed by high temperatures, but that this had also led to extensive coral death in all shallow water reef habitats examined.

"A very major concern now is how quickly these reefs might recover. Recovery from similar past disturbances in the Maldives have taken 10-15 years, but major bleaching events are predicted to become far more frequent than this. If this is the case it could lead to long-term loss of reef growth and so limit the coastal protection and habitat services these reefs presently provide," Professor Perry said.

"The most alarming aspect of this coral die-off event is that it has led to a rapid and very large decline in the growth rate of the reefs. This in turn has major implications not only for the capacity of these reefs to match any increases in sea-level, but is also likely to lead to a loss of the surface structure of the reefs that is so critical for supporting fish species diversity and abundance."

Coral reefs are formed by the accumulation of coral skeletons (made of calcium carbonate) that builds up over 100's to 1000's of years, forming the complex structures that support a huge diversity of marine life. The so-called carbonate budget' of a reef, which represents the balance between the rate at which this carbonate is produced by corals and the rate at which it is removed (by biological or physical erosion or chemical dissolution), influences the development of these structures and how fast a reef can grow.

The effect these combined factors was a major decline in the carbonate budgets of these reefs, with an average reduction of 157%. Before the warming event, the reefs had been in a period of rapid growth, but after the period of higher sea temperatures a negative carbonate budget was recorded at all sites. Put simply, the structure of these reefs is now eroding at a faster rate that it is growing. Based on past studies the researchers suggest that given the severity of the bleaching impacts it may take 10 to 15 years for full recovery to occur.

The extent of the 2016 bleaching, which also affected reefs in other parts of the Indian Ocean and Pacific, was so severe that it was subsequently named the Third Global Coral Bleaching Event'.

Dr Kyle Morgan said: "Coral reefs provide a wealth of benefits. They are vital habitats, essential for a vast number of species and they are also important for tourism and food provision. The reduction in carbonate budget threatens these benefits and may well also lead to the structural collapse of reefs. The key issue to consider now is whether, and when, these reefs will recover, both ecologically and in terms of their growth. Based on past trajectories, we predict recovery will take at least a decade, however it all depends on the extent of future warming events and climate change."

University of Exeter scientists warned there could be further rises in sea temperatures owing to global warming with potentially devastating effects on coral reefs.

Professor Mat Collins, an expert in climate modelling at the University of Exeter, said: "We expect El Nino variability to continue into the future which, when combined with rising temperatures due to global warming, means we will see unprecedented sea temperatures and increasing incidence of coral bleaching."

More information:

Bleaching drives collapse in reef carbonate budgets and reef growth potential on southern Maldives reefs is published in Scientific Reports (http://www.nature.com/articles/srep40581)
You wouldnt fire someone because they complained to you about sexual harassment at work. For starters, that would violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

But, Title VIIs anti-retaliation provisions are much broader than that.

Title VII prohibits employers from retaliating against an employees who oppose unlawful harassment or participate in an employers internal investigation into the underlying complaint.

Just ask an Alabama company that recently settled a retaliation case with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $70,000. Here are the details from the EEOCs press release:

Rite Way employed Mekeva Tennort to perform janitorial duties at Biloxi Junior High School. In August 2011, Tennort gave a statement to supervisors investigating a sexual harassment complaint by another employee. The Commission alleged that, soon afterward, Rite Way gave Tennort several written warnings about untrue supposed performance issues, and then fired her based on these unfounded accusations.  Preserving access to the legal system remains a national priority for the EEOC, said Delner Franklin-Thomas, director of the EEOCs Birmingham District Office. This settlement demonstrates the Commissions ongoing commitment to protect employees who participate in workplace investigations from illegal retaliation.

Now, what if, after giving a statement to the company, the witness actually has performance issues? Can you write the witness up? Can you fire the witness? Yes and yes. But, consider the following:

Did the performance issues precede the witness statement? Was the witness written up then too? Were those prior performance issues documented in any way? Did you counsel the witnesses?

Are you writing up/disciplining other employees for similar performance issues?

If you have a progressive discipline (or other similar) policy, are you following it?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, pause and ask yourself why  especially if the decisionmaker is aware of the investigation. (Maybe, you have an out if the decisionmaker isnt aware that the employee was a witness in a harassment investigation, because that person would lack retaliatory motive).

Otherwise, tread carefully. Remember, retaliation is the number one box checked on an EEOC charge of discrimination.
What issue do Iowa voters most often say is critical? You might be surprised
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NORWALK  Local health care officials say a proposal that would give a tax credit to hospitals that provide beds for opioid addiction treatment is well intentioned, but too vague.

The sentiment of the bill is great but the key question is what does the bed mean and, frankly, inpatient beds are just a small piece of the puzzle in taking care of people with opioid addiction. Its only the beginning, said Dr. Katherine Michael, the medical director of community behavioral health at the Western Connecticut Health Network, which includes Norwalk, Danbury and New Milford hospitals.

Michael said hospital staff will admit patients who need to go through a medically managed detox, but that much of the treatment needed for a lasting effect happens outside of the hospital in residential and outpatient settings.

The bulk of the treatment happens after detox or when starting maintenance treatment, Michael said. Patients need a lot of support during that phase so inpatient hospital beds really arent the answer  and hospital beds are an expensive place to do opiate detox. There are specialized residential programs that do this more efficiently and patients can stay longer.

State House Republican Leader Themis Klarides, who introduced the proposed bill with her sister, Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria, R-Seymour, said on Friday that they are both open to conversations about the proposal.

The proposed bill calls for the creation of a pilot program that would allow a credit against the hospital tax  which is the subject of an ongoing legal challenge by the Connecticut Hospital Association  if hospitals make beds available for those suffering from opioid addiction.

We certainly understand its one piece of the puzzle, but we are in such dire circumstances so we really have to look at it one piece at a time, Klarides said. We thought it was one step forward in helping people with opioid addiction, while at the same time helping the hospitals that have been victimized for years and years.

But Michael said the proposed tax credit is a pretty convoluted way to provide the service.

It needs to be straightforward when you are treating substance abuse issues, she said. You need to have a nimble process and the ability to get people into treatment when theyre ready to go  I think its an attempt to try to ameliorate some of the losses from the tax but its probably not the way I would go about implementing a comprehensive opioid program.

The tax was adopted as a way for the state to secure matching federal grants that would then be redistributed back to the hospitals. In 2012, the hospitals paid about $350 million in taxes and received about $400 million in state and federal funds.

But this fiscal year, the hospitals will be taxed $556 million and receive $118 million. Last year, the hospitals were taxed $556.1 million and received $164.3 million.

In 2015, the Connecticut Hospital Association asked the state to stop collecting the tax, saying it was illegal and unconstitutional. Last September, state officials rejected their claim, and about two months later, CHA asked a state Superior Court to throw out the hospital tax.

The Connecticut Hospital Association has submitted testimony in support of the proposed bill.

The concept is enticing to hospitals, given our ongoing efforts to address the opioid epidemic and our persistent advocacy for relief from the hospital tax, the testimony said.

The hospital association wrote that it does have some practical concerns.

According to the hospital associations testimony, hospitals seeking additional licensed beds for opioid treatment would need to demonstrate that they meet a clear public need, as well as other criteria mandated under current law. The association recommended that the state implement an expedited procedure or an emergency measure allowing hospitals to redeploy or create new licensed beds for addiction treatment services.

In addition to adopting the proposed bill, the hospital association also asked the state to maintain state-operated treatment facilities, fund adequately substance use treatment programs and continue to work with hospitals to match bed availability with patient need.
Everyone needs a little change in their lives from time to time -- even science legend Stephen Hawking. After decades of communicating via a computerized speech synthesizer, Hawking recently auditioned A-list actors and leaders around the world to temporarily update his voice.

Related: Stephen Hawking Says Humans Have 1,000 Years Left on Earth

From Liam Neeson to Lin-Manuel Miranda to Bill Gates, some of the worlds most successful people competed for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

As the video below shows, Hawking was ruthless in his reviews of the audition tapes. In Gatess video, the Microsoft co-founder exclaims, I mean, who wouldnt want to sound like me! Hawkings response? Not a chance!

Even Eddie Redmayne, who played Hawking in the biopic The Theory of Everything, auditioned for the role. Redmayne jokingly asked, So  what is it? Like a sequel?

Hawking wasnt sold on Taken star Neeson, either, even though Neeson explained to the professor, Surely its got to be me. Listen to my voice. Its deep, its sexy, its got a tinge of  physics.

Related: Stephen Hawking: The Obesity Epidemic Is a Problem 'Beyond My Understanding'

Hawking went on to reject various other members of the Hollywood elite, with criticisms such as, its not looking good and Id sound like an idiot if that was my voice, before selecting one of the worlds most recognizable British voices -- Michael Caine.

Caine stood onstage at an event for Comic Reliefs biannual Red Nose Day fundraiser and spoke on behalf of Hawking. The audition videos promoted Red Nose Day, which aims to help struggling people in countries around the world.

Related:

Watch Stephen Hawking Audition A-List Actors to Be His New Voice

Stephen Hawking: The Obesity Epidemic Is a Problem 'Beyond My Understanding'

"Solo nos quedan mil anos en la Tierra": Stephen Hawking



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Adam Armstrong knows there is a stigma among veterans and active-duty military personnel about receiving mental health services. He hopes a $10,000 grant received by Lutheran Family Services At Ease program will help eliminate the stigma.

Armstrong, At Ease program specialist, said the statewide program provides peer support and behavioral health therapy for veterans, active-duty military personnel and their loved ones. The program helps mend the lives of those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health struggles.

He said the program is "100 percent free and confidential."

On Monday, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska awarded the At Ease program a $10,000 Fearless Grant at the Lutheran Family Services office at 1811 Second St., Suite 440. At Ease received the grant due to its focus on "different yet vital (mental health) services to veterans and students," according to a press release from Blue Cross.

"This grant is a prime example of how were investing in health and well-being in communities across the state," said Marjorie Maas, director of corporate social responsibility for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska.

Ruth Henneman, vice president of development for Lutheran Family Services, said she was "very thrilled" to receive a Fearless Grant and thanked Blue Cross for investing in the care Lutheran Family Services provides through the At Ease program.

"We just really want to thank (Blue Cross) because we would not be able to have this program if it was not for private contributions," she said.

Armstrong said that, as veteran himself, he smiles anytime he sees support for veterans, active-duty military and their families.

"It is really about reaching out and doing something for the population. Thats what these funds will do," he said. "I would like to thank Blue Cross for presenting this to us. We will treat these dollars with the utmost respect to do the greatest good we possibly can. We have the responsibility to go out and serve our population in the best way we possibly can."

Mayor Jeremy Jensen was present at Mondays event and thanked Blue Cross for its support of At Ease.

"It is a big honor for us (city of Grand Island)," he said. "It is really a huge asset to have Adam here working in this type of program."

Jensen said mental health issues are often neglected.

Henneman noted that 40 percent of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have PTSD or other mental health issues.

Steve Smith of Kearney said he has been involved with At Ease for "a little more than a year," and it has impacted his life in a positive way.

"It started out with family issues," he said. "I had a lifelong friend that I lost who was a veteran who committed suicide. It really impacted me, and I needed some help. I turned to the At Ease program and got the fellowship there. The fellowship has been wonderful. The guys involved with it sit down, talk with other veterans and hear their stories. Ive met some really quality people through it."

Armstrong said people interested in the At Ease program and its services can contact him at (308) 850-6101 or AArmstrong@LFSneb.org.
Heartland Lutheran Principal Tim Leech said about 350 tickets were purchased in advance for Sunday evenings Red and Blue Banquet and Auction, the schools annual fundraiser for the school which is celebrating its 17 anniversary this school year.

Thats up a little bit from last year, said Leech, who estimated that an additional 50 to 70 people attended the Red and Blue silent auction but did not stay for the 6 p.m. banquet.

The silent auction portion of the fundraiser started at 3 when doors to the high school opened on Sunday, with the live auction scheduled to start at 7. Before last years Red and Blue event, Heartland Lutherans then principal Curtis Wudtke said that the annual event raises about 15 percent of the schools operating expenses for the year.

As has become tradition, the Miracle Corn would be the final item up for bid as part of Sunday evenings live auction. That tradition started when Alvin Kolwalski III donated a number of bushels of corn for the live auction. To everyones surprise, the initial winning bidder returned the corn so it could be auctioned off again to raise more money for Heartland Lutheran. Numerous subsequent bidders did the same thing, until the bidding was finally stopped.

That tradition has continued at every Red and Blue Banquet and Auction since then to help pay for the schools annual operating expenses.

However, bidding for Sundays bidding Miracle Corn veered a little off tradition because all proceeds from the sale of the Miracle Corn were designated to help start the schools new robotics program that will begin during the 2017-18 school year.

Leech said he did not expect that bidding on the Miracle Corn would be enough to cover the full start-up cost of the program, which he estimated would be between $20,000 and $25,000. He said the school is also writing a grant application for the robotics program. Proceeds from the Miracle Corn would provide the match portion for the grant that the school hopes to receive.

He noted the robotics program will be both a curricular and extracurricular activity during the 2017-18 school year.

Well have a robotics class and there also will be a club that people can be in. The kids who are in the club will be the ones who travel to competitions, he said.

Leech said that Heartland Lutheran High School teacher Chris Olsen, who ran a very successful robotics program at Seattle, will be the teacher and club sponsor for the schools new robotics program.

Olsen said that robotics will be part of an upgrade of the schools science program, which will be putting more emphasis on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) areas, including robotics.

The $20,000 to $25,000 represents the upfront costs of getting the robotics program started during its first several years at Heartland Lutheran.

We want to have that amount before we launch or at least the commitment for that amount, said Olsen, who noted that Heartland Lutheran does not want to get two years into its robotics program and then find it cannot keep it going.

Leech had said that about $5,000 to $6,000 of the total amount would be allocated for dues and entry fees for the competitions, with Olsen noting that the organization that runs the robotics competition is FIRST or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

Olsen said that the balance of the startup costs will be used for tools and equipment, as well as materials for building. Each year, FIRST publishes a new set of specifications that detail the tasks that years robot is expected to perform.

You cant keep trying to update the same robot. They make it different every year, he said.

You perform as part of a team against another team so there is some strategic value in choosing partners that complement your abilities or hide your weaknesses, Olsen said.

While he was interested in having a good fundraiser for the robotics program, he also was interested in the overall fundraising efforts for Heartland Lutheran.

Olsen noted that in addition to teaching physics and music at the school, he also teaches computers. That made him perfect to be the data entry person for both the silent auction and live Sundays Red and Blue.

He said that after both the silent and live auctions ended on Sunday evening, his job would be to use his computer skills to make sure the checkout process for the winning bidders of all the various items in both auctions will go quickly and smoothly. But that did not mean he was resting during the early portion of the Red and Blue.

Prior to the start of the banquet, Olsen said, his job was entering walk-ups, which are those people who had not pre-purchased tickets that would allow them to enter bids during the Red and Blues silent and live auctions.
The 2017 Nebraska State Fair Volunteer Appreciation Kickoff will be at 5:30 p.m. May 8 at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center.

In addition to honoring those who earned milestones last year, there will be announcements about the volunteer program and attendees will learn about plans for the 2017 Nebraska State Fair.

This is the eighth year that the State Fair will be in Grand Island, and the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce has been coordinating the State Fair Volunteer Program since the relocation. Last year, more than 1,000 volunteers contributed more than 17,000 hours to make the fairgoers experiences positive ones.

Chamber Volunteer and Program Coordinator Kim Pederson said she is excited to kick off the volunteer season with this event.

Computers will be available at this event to register for volunteer positions at the State Fair, and the volunteer website will also go live on May 8. To register for volunteer positions after this event, visit statefairvolunteer.org to register online. Paper applications are also available at gichamber.com or at the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Nebraska State Fair Volunteer Program is sponsored by Fonner Park, the chamber, Grand Island Area Economic Development Corp., Grand Island Convention and Visitors Bureau, the State Fair, Nebraska State Fair 1868 Foundation and the Principal Financial Group.

For more information, contact the chamber at kpederson@gichamber.com or (308) 382-9210.
The state of Nebraska is clearly facing fiscal challenges. During these times, the Legislature is required to balance the budget by adding taxes, cutting spending or using other management tools. There are no easy choices.

Conservative states like ours generally focus on scaling back on spending. But that approach can cause significant disruption for education, where 80 percent of budgets are directed toward people. And when it comes to higher education, cuts in state funding often result in new taxes in the form of tuition increases for students and families, who are working hard to pay for a college degree.

Fortunately for Nebraskans, a conservative policy was adopted in the mid-1980s whereby, during profitable economic times, money is systematically placed in a rainy-day fund. The fund provides for fiscal restraint in good times and, in bad times, is available to fill the short-term gaps that result from lower revenue. Its for all practical purposes a shock absorber to keep a steady flow of funds available for vital state functions and it allows us to smooth out the impact of the ups and downs that are part of the normal economic cycle.

In other words, Nebraska policymakers had the foresight to create a financial policy to save money for times of fiscal stress, when its needed.

Its needed now.

The rainy-day fund was never designed as extra money for operations. Rather, its purpose is to fill the gaps of funding when we experience downturns. This fund is the appropriate management tool to use in these times: Not for new programs or expansion of existing programs, but to protect the state from cutting already lean budgets.

The University of Nebraska is a good example of why the rainy-day fund was created. The fund should be used to prevent quick and potentially damaging budget cuts at the university that would impact jobs, programs and services that benefit the entire state. And using the rainy-day fund could help prevent double-digit tuition increases that the university would have to consider under the appropriations package currently being proposed. We know from past experience what happens when the university increases tuition by double digits. Students are driven away and it takes years to regain the losses in enrollment. At a time when Nebraskas workforce demands more college graduates  not fewer  thats the wrong approach for our state.

The University of Nebraska should not and does not expect to be granted new money in tough economic times. The universitys leadership understands that they will need to make budget cuts and theyve laid out a comprehensive approach for doing so. These cuts are going to cause pain. And tuition will certainly have to be part of the solution. But students and families should not have to pay significantly higher taxes in the form of double-digit tuition increases. And we should not allow the academic quality of our only public university to suffer in the long term because of a temporary slowdown of the economy.

The Legislature was wise to create a conservative management tool to help our state navigate periods of fiscal stress. Now the Legislature would be wise to use the rainy-day fund as it considers Nebraskas current budget situation and particularly its effect on the University of Nebraska, an economic development engine that, together with the private sector, drives our state.

This is the time to create funding stability, through responsible use of the rainy-day fund, for the University of Nebraska, its 53,000 students, and the people across the state it serves.
Accessing health care is a challenge for many Americans. For rural residents, the stakes are even higher. On average, rural counties tend to be older, lower-income and have less choice when it comes to providers and insurers.

This Thursday, seven years to the day after the signing of the Affordable Care Act, the House is set to vote on its replacement. The American Health Care Act is presented as the long-awaited solution to our health care woes. However, it is clear that under this proposal, access to health care coverage is repositioned in a manner that will leave rural Americans much worse off.

We can look into our own backyard to see why.

Covering much of rural Central and Western Nebraska, the Third Congressional District has a median age of 40.4 years. The population in this district is more than six years older than the median age of constituents in the Second Congressional District, which primarily encompasses Omaha. There is also a $10,000 variance in median incomes between the districts, with the rural district earning less.

Under the current system, subsidies or tax credits for the purchase of health care coverage are issued on the basis of age, income and local costs for coverage. This is important in rural Nebraska, where health costs are higher and access to care is lower.

In contrast, the proposed plan fails to take differences in costs and access into account. Instead, it relies solely on the basis of age, with those between ages 50 and 64 receiving the greatest tax credit.

Under current law, insurers can only charge older enrollees up to three times as much as those who are younger. The new proposal makes it possible to charge older Americans up to five times as much.

In other words, if you are older, your health insurance will cost more. A lot more.

As a result, this revised tax credit system will not allow older Americans to purchase adequate coverage. This is strikingly evident in 28 rural Nebraska counties where estimations figure those age 60 and older and earning $30,000 or less will see a decrease of nearly $13,000 in tax credits. The remaining credit will do little to afford these low-income older rural adults the opportunity to purchase sufficient coverage to meet preventative and maintenance care needs, and many will simply forgo coverage.

The direct loss of coverage will also be a concern for Nebraskans currently enrolled in Medicaid.

The American Health Care Act seeks to move Medicaid to a per-capita cap system. This revised system would eliminate the federal governments match of the program and instead shift a greater responsibility to the state. Because spending is capped based on 2016 enrollment, this removes our ability to adapt to population changes, development of new drugs, or a health crisis.

Inevitably, this restructuring of Medicaid would prompt the state to enact changes in eligibility despite need. By 2026, it is anticipated that 38,000 Nebraskans would lose Medicaid coverage. Of those who will lose coverage, 32,000 would be children and the disabled. This would only increase the number of uninsured rural Nebraskans and exacerbate barriers to health care coverage.

Gaining access to health care coverage in rural areas already has its inevitable challenges. Exorbitant costs with less coverage should not be added. As the House approaches this vote, further consideration must be given to the rural populations that have been overlooked in the construction of the American Health Care Act.
Election Day 2022: The stakes are high with all eyes on Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania voters on Election Day will make decisions that could reshape the future of both the commonwealth and nation.
Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton awarded a proclamation to the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority at SIUE for its 100th anniversary at Tuesday nights City Council meeting.

Following the sororitys 100-year anniversary, the organization hosted a sisterhood event on the weekend of March 24 through March 26, consisting of a reaffirmation ritual, a formal dinner and a brunch.

As stated in a memo sent to Patton, the organizations motto is, Esse Quam Videri, which is Latin for To be rather than seem to be, whichdrives (the sororitys) promise to always make a positive impact on (the) community.

Patton addressed the Council and members of the sorority who were in attendance, announcing his support.

I, therefore, Hal Patton, proclaim March 24  26 2017 as Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority celebration weekend and hereby call upon our citizens of Edwardsville, Illinois to render support to members of this organization and make themselves aware of the Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority, whose members are providing meaningful service to the women across North America, Patton said.

President of the Delta Phi Epsilon Gamma Alpha Chapter Ashley Farthing also approached the Council and said the sorority appreciates the citys support and recognition.

We were founded on March 17 of 1917, so last Friday did mark our 100-year centennial. We were very excited; its something that doesnt always happen and different universities across the country are celebrating over the course of the next couple of weeks, thinking about and making sure that we are honoring the founders that started it a hundred years ago. We do provide community service and support several philanthropic partners nationally and locally, Farthing said. We thank you very much for your proclamation.

For more information about the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority at SIUE, visit SIUEs website at www.siue.edu and search, Delta Phi Epsilon.
The Edwardsville City Council approved three recommendations from the Public Services Committee at last weeks meeting.

The first approval was an IDOT resolution for the maintenance of streets and highways under the Illinois Highway Code in the amount of $560,000. This will allocate Motor Fuel Tax Funds (MFT) for the purchase of materials to maintain the streets and alleys within the city. The MFT funds are also used to reimburse the General Fund for labor and equipment expenses.

The next item was a supplemental resolution for improvement by Municipality under the Illinois Highway Code, appropriating MFT funds for construction engineering of Schwarz Street. Oates Associates will be performing the construction inspection on-site.

This resolution was followed by the approval of construction engineering services with Oates Associates, Inc. for Schwarz Street for a resurfacing contract in the amount of $82,200.

All three motions were approved unanimously.

Next was a license to conduct a raffle for St. Boniface Church with chances to be sold Friday, March 24  Saturday, May 27.

The motion was approved unanimously.

Next on the agenda was the recommendation of approval for a change order by the Public Safety Committee. The change order is with the L. Wolf Company for the SIUE campus fire station in the increased amount of $17,999.

The increase in the change order was due to unforeseen site conditions.

Director of Public Works Eric Williams said there are still a few more change orders to come down the pipeline for this project.

We have a couple more we are working onthere are five to six other items we are working on right now. There will be some more increase coming. Its going to be less than this. The remaining amount is going to be less than this total, Williams said.

Were probably less than $15,000 total, he added.

Discussion came to a close and the motion passed unanimously by Council members.

The Administrative and Community Service Committee recommended the approval of an ordinance annexing 5.58 acres of property owned by First Presbyterian Church. The property owner requested the annexation to connect to the citys sewer and water mains as the development of the site continues.

With none opposed, the motion passed unanimously.

Last was three items forwarded from the RASE Board for approval: Edwardsville Education Associations Prop E Rally at City Park at 9 a.m., Saturday, March 25; the EHS Key Club Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 8 at City Park and the Edwardsville Rotary Clubs annual Rotary Criterium on Saturday, Aug. 19 on the downtown streets.

All items were approved unanimously.

The next City Council meeting will take place at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 4 at City Hall. All meetings are open to the public.
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Linkedin Eddy Leks (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017

Land reform has been much talked about lately, but not everyone understands what it really means. The term is interesting because it is related to what is really needed to be revised in our existing agrarian field.

When talking about agrarian reform, it is not only about land aspects but also has a wider scope, such as water, forestry and other natural resources. Some experts often refer to it as land reform instead of agrarian reform, and this could limit its meaning to be just about land.

Boedi Harsono, as one of the supporters of land reform terminology, states that land reform consists of restructuring ownership and control of land and its legal relationships related to land utilization.

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Linkedin Andreas Nathaniel Marbun (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017

Indonesia has been regulating criminal liability for corporate entities since the implementation of Emergency Act No. 7/ 1955 on Economic Criminal Offenses, although the very first technical statutory provision in this legal area was only enacted at the end of last December by the Supreme Court.

So it is no wonder that during this time, innumerable criminal cases involving corporate entities have rarely seemed to penalize the corporation itself.

First of all, a big thanks to the Supreme Court for their remarkable initiative so that law enforcers will have a clearer understanding of how to investigate, prosecute and execute sentences imposed on companies that have committed crimes.

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Travelers coming and going at Helena Regional Airport will be able to find their Uber driver where other curbside transportation options are found.

The online car service company that allows people to summon drivers with a cellphone app recently signed an agreement with the airport allowing its drivers to use the same facilities available to taxis and shuttle services, said Jeff Wadekamper, Helena Regional Airport director.

A $25 fee is charged for each month that the agreement is in effect, which is the same thats paid by others that serve the airport, Wadekamper said.

I appreciate their willingness to do this, he added.

Having a use agreement with the company also ensures that Uber drivers operating at Helenas airport have liability insurance, Wadekamper stated in an email.

An Uber representative in Seattle agreed to the airports conditions, he said.

"We're working with the Helena airport to streamline the pick-up and drop off experience there for riders and drivers, Brian Gebhardt, general manager for Uber Montana wrote in an email response to questions.

We've seen strong growth among both riders and drivers since we launched in Montana, including in Helena, Gebhardt noted.

We've been really enthusiastically received. Currently we have hundreds of drivers across the state and are seeing thousands of rides per week.

A company spokesman said Uber does not provide detailed numbers for competitive reasons.

Our focus now is on bringing additional riders and drivers onto the platform, which we're doing by incentivizing driver and rider referrals and via targeted advertising. People simply sharing their great experiences via word of mouth also helps grow our business," Gebhardt added.

Among Montana cities being served by the company are Billings and Bozeman, according to the companys website.

Uber also recently concluded an agreement with the airport that serves Bozeman, Wadekamper said.

In addition to being advised of the agreement with Uber, the airport authority was told by Wadekamper that pledges amounting to $72,000 had been received toward the $100,000 thats needed to apply for a federal grant to expand local air service.

A second fundraising effort is also underway to collect $25,000 of pledges that would be used to help market the new route.

So far, the airport has received $10,000 in pledges, Wadekamper said.

Airport authority commissioners plan to seek $500,000 through the U.S. Department of Transportation Small Community Air Service Development Program that would be used to ensure Alaska Airlines wouldnt lose money if it agreed to provide service between Helena and Portland, Oregon.

A 20 percent match for that money is needed.

Portland is the second-most popular destination for those on flights from Helena. Having service to that city would also provide travelers from Helena additional access to Seattle through Alaska Airlines flights between the two cities, Wadekamper has said.

Specifics on what days and at what times a Portland flight could operate from Helena, should Alaska Airlines be agreeable and both local fundraising and the grant application be successful, have yet to be discussed.

Service could begin with flights on only a few days each week to better gauge interest, Wadekamper explained previously.

Helena had a second daily Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle until it was discontinued in August 2015. The flight arrived from Seattle late at night and returned early the next morning, providing a convenient link for commuters and travelers who were connecting to other flights from Seattle.

The late-night return flight allowed those who commuted to Seattle for work to return home the same day.

In last years application for the federal funds, airport officials raised more than $50,000 in pledges and had hoped to see Alaska Airlines restore its second daily flight linking Helena with Seattle.

Although the airport failed to receive the funding, it saw that grants were awarded to airports seeking new routes, according to Wadekamper.

The federal grant program provided the airport with a $450,000 grant in 2008 that was matched with $62,000 in local funds. The money was used to court service by United Airlines.

That effort won service to Denver that continues today, according to Wadekamper who has said that on average 89 percent of the seats on that flight were filled in 2016. Passenger numbers in 2016 reflected a 4.8 percent increase from those in 2015.
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Linkedin Chew Hui Min (The Straits Times/Asia News Network)  Mon, March 27, 2017

A dramatic cloud formation that looks like a roiling sheet of grey is the latest addition to the International Cloud Atlas.

This is the World Meteorological Organisation's international guide to the classification of clouds and other weather phenomena which it has published since 1896.

On World Meteorological Day which fell on Thursday (March 23), the weather organization published the latest edition.

The new cloud, together with a few other classifications, have been included in the authoritative tome on clouds - updated for the first time in 30 years. The atlas is also available online for the first time.

Here's a look at Asperitas and some other unusual cloud forms:

1. Rough skies - Asperitas

The cloud's name is derived from the Latin word for "roughness". The Britain-based Cloud Appreciation Society first proposed the addition a few years after it was recorded in Iowa in 2006.

The society said: "It is a classic example of citizen science, in which observations by the general public, enabled by the technology of smartphones and the Internet, have influenced the development of this most official of classification systems."

The newly added asperitas cloud is described in the atlas as having "waves in the cloud base, either smooth or dappled", looking up at the clouds can seem like " viewing a roughened sea surface from below".

Read also: Let there be light: German scientists test 'artificial sun'

2. Cloud on a roll - Volutus

Volutus simply means "roll" in Latin, and before it took on this official classification, such clouds were commonly known as roll clouds.

It is described in the atlas as a " long, horizontal, detached, tube-shaped cloud mass, often appearing to roll slowly about a horizontal axis".

Morning glories are a species of volutus where a few roll clouds are seen in parallel, forming a spectacular sight.

A post shared by Chris P (@bighoits) on Mar 20, 2017 at 7:14pm PDT

Read also: A camping stove that can also recharge your gadgets

3. The wave and the hole - Fluctus & Cavum

These two distinctly shaped clouds have also been added to the atlas.

The fluctus is a wave formation on the top of the cloud due to wind shear. The atlas says it is "relatively short-lived". They were known as Kelvin-Helmholtz waves.

The cavum is more about the absence of cloud - a large hole commonly known as a fallstreak hole or hole-punch cloud.

4. Aircraft traces - Cirrus homogenitus

That is the new name for contrails or condensation/vapour trails left by aircraft. It only applies if the trail lasts for at least 10 minutes, says the atlas.

Contrails spotted over Denton, UK, by Nicky Clarke (Member 17,856) #cloudappreciation #cloudspotting #cloudspotterapp #clouds #cloud #contrail A post shared by The Cloud Appreciation Society (@cloudappsoc) on Feb 9, 2017 at 11:05pm PST

5. Cloud bust - Mamma

In Latin, "mamma" means breast or udder. These refer to hanging globules, like udders, under a variety of clouds.

Read also: Cool facts about 7 Earth-size planets circling single star

6. Cloud fall - Cataractagenitus

These appear near large waterfalls, giving the falls a mystical quality.The clouds condense as water is broken up into spray by the falls.

Cataractagenitus appear near large waterfalls.(World Meteorological Organisation via The Straits Times/File)

7. Ominous clouds - Cumulonimbus, shelf clouds

Cumulus clouds are the cottony, generic fluff we drew as kids. Tag "nimbus", or rainy, and you get the infamous thunderstorm cloud that many Singapore residents know means a wet day ahead.

These stacks can grow to a height of between 8 and 12 km. When a few come together, they can look quite threatening.

Shelf clouds, which are wedge-shaped and low hanging, can be scary looking. It can form just ahead of a storm or or a cold front.

Storm clouds looming over the Marina Bay area. (The Straits Times/File)

Sydney opera house with shelf cloud & lightning is the best one I've seen yet. #australiawx pic.twitter.com/fz8VT5q9Pv  Julie (@wxjoules) March 5, 2014

Sources: World Meteorological Organisation, Cloud Appreciation Society, Meteorological Service Singapore

This article appeared on The Straits Times newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
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Linkedin Jessicha Valentina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017 11:35 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde671e07 1 People Google,doodle,#doodle,Google-Doodle,Ibu-Sud,Children-songs,#song,#songs,song,music,#music Free

Saridjah Niung Bintang Soedibjo, popularly known as Ibu Sud (Mrs. Sud), was known as the composer of songs for kindergarten-aged children, such as Hai Becak (Hi Pedicab), Desaku (My Village), Dengar Katak Bernyanyi (Lets Hear the Frog Sing), and more.

To honor Ibu Sud, Google Indonesia celebrated her birthday through its homepage doodle on Sunday.

The doodle displays Ibu Sud singing and three children listening to her. Once the doodle is clicked, users will be brought to the Google search page related to Ibu Sud.

Read also: Twain children's story, recently discovered, coming in fall

Today, we celebrate Saridjah Niung Bintang Soedibjos artistic contributions on what would have been her 109th birthday, Google wrote on its doodles page.

Born in Sukabumi, West Java, Ibu Sud was also recognized as a teacher, radio announcer, playwright and batik artist. She produced songs during the Dutch colonial era, Japanese occupation as well as after Indonesia gained its independence. In addition to childrens songs, Ibu Sud also composed some patriotic tunes, such as Berkibarlah Benderaku (Fly My Flag).

Ibu Sud passed away in 1993 at the age of 85. (asw)
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Linkedin Alfred Bayle (Inquirer.net/Asia News Network)  Mon, March 27, 2017

A recent tweet has confirmed that the new line of Nokia smartphones has been planned to be released on the global market.

Rather than as an announcement, the tweet was posted in response to a Twitter user who asked about a release in the United States of the new Nokia android smartphones.

These new smartphones were unveiled at the Mobile World Congress last month: the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6. Each features a version of Android Nougat that is as close to vanilla as possible. This means there will also be no pre-loaded third-party apps or UI customisations and regular security updates. Rather than as an announcement, the tweet was posted in response to a Twitter user who asked about a release in the United States of the new Nokia android smartphones. (Nokia Mobile on Twitter via Inquirer.net/File) Read also: Samsung Galaxy S8 photo leaked, phone looks smaller than S7 Edge The Nokia 6 is the largest of the devices with its 5.5-inch display. Under the hood, its equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It has a 16-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel shooter in the front. Color variations include copper, silver, blue and matte black. The Verge reports that the SRP starts at $242. The new Nokia phones are designed and distributed by HMD Global, the company that currently holds the license for Nokia for mobile devices.

Topics : Nokia smartphone Android

This article appeared on the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
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Linkedin A. Kurniawan Ulung (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017 09:38 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde66f6fb 4 Books Indonesian-writer,sapardi-djoko-darmono,pingkan-melipat-jarak,hujan-di-bulan-juni Free

No one can deny that Sapardi Djoko Damono is the pioneer of lyrical poetry in Indonesia and one of the countrys greatest poets.

His works have been re-published multiple times, shining a light for literature lovers of any age.

To celebrate his work, writers and artists paid tribute to the retired professor of the University of Indonesia at the Bentara Budaya Jakarta cultural institute in South Jakarta on March 22, a day after World Poetry Day.

That evening, literary enthusiasts gathered to also celebrate the legends 77th birthday, which is being marked with the launch of his seven books. The seven books comprise a new novel, Pingkan Melipat Jarak (Pingkan Folds Distance), and six old poetry books that are re-published by Gramedia. These poetry books are Ada Berita Apa Hari Ini, Den Sastro? (Whats the News Today, Den Sastro?), Ayat-Ayat Api (Verses of Fire), Duka-Mu Abadi (Your Eternal Sorrow), Kolam (Pond), Namaku Sita (My Name is Sita), and Sutradara itu Menghapus Dialog Kita (That Director Erases Our Dialogue).

We are so proud to be re-publishing the works of one of the countrys greatest poets. We got Sapardis trust to relaunch his six poetry books, Gramedia senior editor Mirna Yulistianti said.

Prior to these six books, Gramedia re-published his masterpiece, poetry book Hujan Bulan Juni (Rain in June), last year, as a coloring book for adults with the help of noted illustrators Beng Rahadian and Cecil Mariani.

Read also: Putting some color into poetry

Wearing his signature newsboy cap and khaki corduroy, Sapardi said he was over the moon that Gramedia was re-publishing his old works.

But, when asked about the book he liked the most, he jokingly answered, I have yet to write it.

Since he was a senior high school student in Surakarta, Central Java, he has authored over 30 books. In 1969, when he was 29, he released his first work, Duka-Mu Abadi.

Since then, he has become one of the countrys productive writers, inundating the local literary scene with his great poems from year to year since the late 1960s.

In recognition of his works, he has received a number of awards, ranging from the Jakarta Arts Council Literary Award in 1984, the Southeast Asia (SEA) Write Award in 1986 to Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa Literary Awards in 2004.

For award-winning poet Joko Pinurbo, Sapardis works are not only unique but also influential.

I am also inspired by his works. If we read them, the words he uses are simple, but their meanings are actually complex and deep, he said. There will be more young people who fall in love with literature because of his works.

Sapardis beautiful words in his poems have inspired many musicians, such as pianist Ananda Sukarlan and composer Dwiki Dharmawan, to make musical compositions.

Read also: 12 Indonesian books you should add to your reading list

This year, the novel version of Hujan Bulan Juni has also been adapted into a movie under the baton of director Hestu Saputra and scriptwriter Titien Wattimena.

This proves that literature is not just about a group of letters on book pages. It can be anything  comics, pictures, films and songs, Sapardi said.

However, for the movie project, Sapardi says that he will not intervene in the filmmaking process of Hujan Bulan Juni.

Titien, who wrote screenplay adapted from Ilana Tans bestselling novel Winter in Tokyo in 2015, said that she had already completed the script for Hujan Bulan Juni the movie and the production would start in April.

I am so nervous. But, since the beginning, Pak Sapardi has trusted us. I hope that the movie will not disappoint him, she said.

Read also: Five heart-wrenching spoken word poets

Sapardi hopes the re-publication of his works into different media will motivate young people, who are passionate about writing, to not easily give up on learning.

Now, people can use the internet to look for information. Young people have to really utilize this technology to learn, he said.

Sapardi may have retired since 2005 from his work as a lecturer at the University of Indonesia, but, when it comes to writing, the word pension is not in his dictionary. For him, writing is not only about passion. It is a way of life. I want to keep writing until I die, he said.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017 13:21 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde675ede 4 Business transportation-ministry,ride-hailing-application,Regulations,Competition,Budi-Karya-Sumadi Free

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has stressed that both ride-hailing apps and conventional taxi companies have to be ready to compete fairly to ease tension among drivers of both transportation modes as clashes were frequently occurring in many regions.

He said the revision of Transportation Ministerial Regulation No. 32/2016 on non-route public transportation (taxi) 1 is to regulate fair competition between the two groups.

You (ride-hailing apps companies) must not take all the business. You have to be ready to fairly share the cake, Budi said as reported by tribunnews.com on Monday.

(Read also: Ride-hailing apps given until August to abide by rules)

He said current practices of ride-hailing apps were not fair to conventional taxi companies as the operators of the former could decide the fares  reducing the rates to attract passengers during the normal time, but increasing them during the peak hours.

There is no fair competition. Therefore, we are regulating it, he added.

The new regulations include deciding a service fare floor and ceiling and fleet quota for ride-sharing app partners. The floor fare for the services will ensure the safety of consumers and reduce "fare wars. Meanwhile, a fare ceiling is intended to protect consumers from extreme ride-hailing app fare surges during peak hours.

Major ride-hailing appsGo-Jek, Grab Indonesia and Uber have strongly opposed some of the proposed points, such as pricing and fleet quota, which they consider having no relation whatsoever to safety, according to their joint statement last Friday.

Although the regulation will be effective from next month, but the government will only start punishing violators in August. (bbn)
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Linkedin Eddy Marek Leks (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27 2017

Land reform has been much talked about lately, but not everyone understands what it really means. The term is interesting because it is related to what is really needed to be revised in our existing agrarian field.

When talking about agrarian reform, it is not only about land aspects but also has a wider scope, such as water, forestry and other natural resources. Some experts often refer to it as land reform instead of agrarian reform, and this could limit its meaning to be just about land.

Boedi Harsono, as one of the supporters of land reform terminology, states that land reform consists of restructuring ownership and control of land and its legal relationships related to land utilization.

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Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu and Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Medan  Mon, March 27 2017

After years of struggle, Opung Putra Lumbangaol, 61, breathed a sigh of relief last year when the government granted the customary forest to the people of Pandumaan and Sipituhuta villages, Humbang Hasundutan regency, North Sumatra, the place where she has lived her whole life.

The woman, who chooses to be called the grandmother of her grandson rather than use her own name, a common custom of Batak people, said the forest, 5,172 hectares wide, was under the concession of pulp and paper firm PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) before the government returned it to the villagers.

The land is one of nine customary forest areas, amounting to 13,100 ha, that was returned to its people by President Joko Jokowi Widodos administration on Dec. 30. The acknowledgment of customary forests is one of several initiatives by the government to support its agrarian reform and social forestry policies.

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Linkedin News Desk (Associated Press) Berlin, Germany  Mon, March 27, 2017

Germany says it will keep calling for access to a German-Turkish journalist detained in Istanbul since January on charges of terrorist propaganda and incitement to hatred.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters in Berlin on Monday that "everyone involved, including in Turkey, knows that the emblematic case of Deniz Yucel has great political and symbolic importance for German-Turkish relations."

He acknowledged that since Yucel is also a Turkish citizen, Turkey has no obligation to grant Germany consular access, but said Turkey's prime minister had said German diplomats would be allowed to visit him.

Schaefer said: "We won't stop demanding what we've been promised. But Turkey is a sovereign state that, whether we like it or not, has the right to allow this or not."
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017 10:24 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde67035c 1 Business agrarian-reform,Darmin-nasution,sofyan-djalil,Regulations Free

President Joko Jokowi will issue in the coming weeks a presidential regulation on land distribution as part of his administrations agrarian reform program to improve the welfare of farmers, Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said on Sunday.

The presidential regulation is one of several rules that will be the legal basis of the land reform program, the minister said.

We need to have a legal basis for any release of land, which will be subject of the agrarian reform, said Darmin as reported by kontan.co.id, adding that other rules include organization of land reform and the role of the local government.

(Read also: Government slows plan to impose taxes for idle land)

As part of the land reform program, the government plans to legalize or to certify 4.5 million hectares of land and to redistribute 4.5 million hectares of forest land. Clusters of land will be distributed to groups of people.

The land to be distributed may be unused land with the status of land for business use (HGU) and other unused land, said Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister and National Land Body head Sofyan A. Djalil. (bbn)
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017 16:31 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde67ffd6 1 Business Huawei,ICT-internships,China,Indonesian-students Free

The local subsidiary of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has launched a transfer of knowledge program called Program SmartGen for 2,000 students from seven Indonesian universities to allow them to learn information and communications technology (ICT) through various subprograms in China this year.

"We want to inspire them to develop ICT in various sectors, not just in communications but also healthcare, transportation and other sectors," Huawei Indonesia CEO Liu Haosheng told The Jakarta Post after the launch on Monday.

(Read also: Huawei takes over 16% shares in Bakrie Telecom through bond conversion)

The subprograms include Seeds for the Future two-week internship programs at Huawei offices in China, a three-month internship program at Huawei Indonesia called Student Internship, and Smart Campus Consultancy, which helps universities develop Smart Campus initiatives with expert support.

The seven participating universities are the University of Indonesia, Bandung Institute of Technology, Gadjah Mada University, Telkom University, Diponegoro University, Padjajaran University and Ten November Institute of Technology.

Before the launch of this program, the company had given more than 1,000 university students similar opportunities every year since 2009.

Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara added that the program should also allow students to meet with Chinese regulators to learn about policies that support the development of the ICT sector. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017 09:59 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde66f8df 1 National aceh,mysterious,forest Free

A Banda Aceh-based motor trail community was touring inside a local forest in Indonesias westernmost province when the rider in the lead suddenly fell off his bike due to something on the trail in front of him.

He was shocked by the appearance of a human-like figure suddenly coming out from the woods carrying a wooden stick.

In the video, the mysterious figure looked like a human being but shorter in size, tribunnews.com reported.

The bald-topless figure stopped for a while before running off really fast, leaving the group behind. Other riders tried to chase it, while the camera stayed on, but alas, the figure ran into the shrub and disappeared into the middle of the forest.

The video, uploaded by Youtube account Fredography on March 22, has gone viral and garnered more than 1 million viewers as of Sunday evening.

Many people left comments on the video, sharing theories about the mysterious figure.

There were some who suspected the figure to be a member of the Mante tribe, an ethnic group that is one of Acehs urban legends told and passed down the generations about the origins of modern-day Aceh people. However, there has not been any scientific expeditions to establish the presence of the tribe.

Local online news websites also picked up the story sparking online debates and discussion over the mysterious sighting.

Topics : aceh mysterious forest
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017 13:44 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde676852 1 National war-on-drugs,shoot-on-site,police,narcotics,drug-trafficking,Jokowi-administration,Joko-Widodo Free

Following the declaration of a war on drugs by President Joko Jokowi Widodo, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) is continuing its harsh approach of hunting down drug dealers with orders to shoot any who resist arrest.

BNN spokesperson Ricky Yanuarfi said that even with the Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics, which already takes a very firm stance toward drug dealing, when BNN officers lives are in danger, they have to "finish off drug dealers.

Ricky said disarming drug traffickers was not enough because they are highly trained and equipped with firearms as sophisticated as the agencys. When they get shot, they still resist. That is why we must be more assertive. In the end, what do we do when our officers are shot dead? he said on Saturday.

(Read also: Indonesias war on drugs takes deadly turn)

So far in 2017, BNN claims they have shot eight people, including two in North Sumatra and another two in Jakarta, who are all part of a drug syndicate.

Ricky added that in a situation where 1 kilogram of drugs could kill five people, BNN wanted to reverse the human rights discourse. When 30 kilograms [of narcotics] are distributed, imagine how many children are affected. he said in defense of the agencys policy.

The agencys stance has been compared to Philippine President Dutertes notorious extrajudicial killings. Ricky, however, said Dutertes plan was to track down drug dealers and shoot them based on the data. Were different because even if theyre not on our records, if they resist arrest, well finish them off, he said. (dis/wit)
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Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017 20:41 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde684c97 1 Business biodiesel,the-US,anti-dumping,Indonesia,protest Free

Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita has said the government has already submitted a complaint to the WTO over a petition issued by the US Department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commission to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of biodiesel from Indonesia.

Of course we feel that this is a disadvantage for us. We have already lodged our complaints with the WTO, he said at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jakarta on Monday.

The petition to apply such duties in the US was submitted by the US-based National Biodiesel Board (NBB). The NBB has followed the European Union (EU), which in 2013 increased duties from 8.8 percent to 20.5 percent for Indonesian producers and between 22 percent and 25.7 percent for Argentine producers, to apply for five years in both cases.

(Read also: Multilateral trade preferred over bilateral, plurilateral: WTO)

Indonesia sold US$982.52 million worth of biodiesel to the 28 member bloc in 2012, a year before the duties were erected. Sales dropped to about half in 2013 after the tariffs were imposed.

Meanwhile, Indonesias annual biodiesel exports to the US surged by 117 percent in the 2014-2016 period to 350,176 tons of biodiesel per year, or 93.75 percent of Indonesias total biodiesel exports last year. (bbn)
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Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017 15:01 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde67b667 1 Business Jokowi,economy,Sri-Mulyani,Darmin-nasution,prediction Free

President Joko Jokowi Widodo has expressed his optimism that Indonesia will become the worlds fourth largest economy by 2045.

He said the predication was based on calculations made by the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister, the Finance Ministry and the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas).

Based on our calculations, Indonesia will be the fourth largest economy in the world. I believe these calculations because they were made by economic experts. Who doubts Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Darmin Nasution? he said on Monday, referring to his finance minister and coordinating economic minister, respectively.

(Read also: Jokowi targets 6.1 economic growth in 2018)

These are all world-class economists. I am not the one who did the calculations.

Jokowi said his Cabinets calculations showed that by 2045, by which point Indonesia will have reached its 100th year of independence, Indonesia will have a population of 309 million people, economic growth of 6 percent and gross domestic product of US$9.1 trillion.

Furthermore, Indonesias income per capita is predicted to reach $29,000. (bbn)
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Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017

President Joko Jokowi Widodos call for religious leaders and politicians not to mix religion and party politics has received a skeptical response from some quarters, with the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) dismissing the statement as the promotion of secularism in an otherwise religious country.

Faced with worsening sectarian tension in the lead-up to the runoff round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election, President Jokowi warned over the weekend that mixing religion and politics was dangerous as it could lead to divisions within society.

[The two] should be separate so people can know what is religion and what is politics, Jokowi said during the unveiling of a monument to the birthplace of Islam Nusantara (Islam in the Archipelago) in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, on Friday.

Responding to the statement, MUI deputy secretary general Tengku Zulkarnain said that in making the statement, Jokowi was promoting liberal values of a type that should prevail only in western countries and that the organization would oppose any efforts to promote them.

Thats secularism. We havent yet convened a meeting to respond to it but I am sure [all MUI members] will oppose and criticize it, Tengku told The Jakarta Post.

In 2005, the MUI issued an edict outlawing secularism, pluralism and liberalism, considering them to be western values that were not compatible with Indonesian society. Last year, the organization also issued an edict stating that Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Ahok Purnama blasphemed against the Quran after suggesting that Muslim leaders had duped voters by using a verse in the Quran that instructs the faithful only to vote for Muslim candidates. Ahok is currently standing trial for the alleged blasphemy.

In recent months sectarian tension has risen, especially in Jakarta, where the stakes in the gubernatorial election are so high. Many observers regard the Jakarta election as the harbinger of things to come in the 2019 presidential election.

In an unprecedented move against Ahok and his supporters, a number of Muslim clerics have launched a campaign to deny proper burial rites to deceased Muslims who had voted for Ahok, a Christian of Chinese descent, in the election.

Contacted separately, Sohibul Iman, the chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which backs Ahoks rival, Anies Baswedan, in the Jakarta election, said Jokowis statement ignored the Islamic character of the country and its history.

Sohibul claimed that the countrys struggle for independence from colonial rule had been motivated by religion and it was religious values that lay at the nations foundation.

I suspect the statement reflects his incomprehension and his inability to manage diversity in this country. The fact is that tension has risen during his time in office, Sohibul told the Post.

The PKS chairman said Jokowis call for a separation of faith and politics could in fact increase tension.

I wish the President would think wisely before making such a sensitive statement [] this could create more tension, Sohibul said.

Meanwhile, the deputy chairman of the countrys largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Maksum Machfoedz, said he backed Jokowis call, insisting that it was dangerous to drag religion into what he called transactional politics.

He said religious leaders should take the high road and remain aloof from electoral politics, maintaining that religion should only be used to inspire political leaders and the public in general to do good.

NU has opted to stay away from promoting political interests, Maksum said.

NU and Muhammadiyah, the countrys second-largest Islamic organization, have been the champions of a moderate version of Islam in the country while allowing political parties that have their roots in their organizations, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN), respectively, to engage in politics.
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Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017 18:31 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde682203 1 Business tax,tax-amnesty Free

With less than a week left before the submission deadline, the Finance Ministrys Directorate General of Taxation has received 6.2 million annual tax return forms (SPTs), a relatively small number compared to the 20 million individual and institutional taxpayers who are subject to the annual SPT filing.

Tax authority spokesperson Hestu Yoga Saksama said the figure was from last week, also just days before the submission deadline and the end of the governments tax amnesty program on March 31.

As for institutional taxpayers, the tax authority requires them to submit their SPTs before April 30.

Indonesia implements a self-assessment taxation regime, whereby the government relies on the information provided by taxpayers on their returns.

Some 5 million out of the total 6.2 million SPTs have been [submitted] via e-filing [electronic filing], Yoga said as quoted by Kompas.com on Sunday.

(Read also: Indonesia scrambles in tax amnesty final countdown)

Poor compliance among Indonesian taxpayers has been a core problem for many years.

Out of 32.9 million taxpayers in Indonesia, more than 29 million of them are subject to the annual SPT filing. However, only 12.6 million actually file their SPTs, data from the tax authority shows.

Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis (CITA) executive director Yustinus Prastowo said the tax office should anticipate a deluge of SPT submissions that could trigger a failure in its IT system due to over-capacity in the final days of March, as seen in previous years.

This is because SPT submissions this year run parallel with the tax amnesty program, he said. (hwa)
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Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam  Mon, March 27, 2017 07:26 2052 a291276806121264c0bd211cde669f54 4 National Navy,Batam,smuggling,boat Free

The Indonesian Navys Tanjung Pinang Western Fleet Quick Response unit apprehended two vessels allegedly attempting to smuggle fuel and cigarettes from Singapore to the border areas in separate operations over the weekend.

The Tanjung Pinang Navy Commander Commodore S. Irawan said the two Indonesian-flagged vessels did not have any relation to one another but were arrested on the same day.

The arrest was the result of an intelligence operation. We caught the vessels when they were making a transaction of the boats cargo on the sea, he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

(Read also: Indonesian Navy trains ex-pirates to grow seaweed)

The Navy reportedly caught the vessel Mega Sari with 430,000 cigarettes without an excise band from Singapore. Reportedly, the Navy personnel moved in when the vessels crew members were moving the various brands of cigarettes to three other boats that were to bring the cigarettes to Meranti, Karimun and Batam islands.

In another arrest, the team seized 290 tons of illegal fuel, which the Navy suspects was to be transferred to other boats in the middle of the sea, Irawan added.

He said that the two boats had allegedly violated the 2006 Customs and Excise Law and the 2008 Shipping Law. The team will cooperate with police and the Customs and Excise Office to handle the case.

The boats, along with the helmsmen and their crews, have been brought to the Navy headquarters in Tanjung Pinang. (rin)

Topics : Navy Batam smuggling boat
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Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017 10:37 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde6708fc 1 National Joko-Widodo,Abdurraman-Wahid,Gus-Dur,Luhut-Binsar-Pandjaitan,presidency,President-aide Free

A funny moment occurred when Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan visited the National Awakening Partys (PKB) headquarters in Central Jakarta to give a speech in a training program for the partys politicians on Sunday.

PKB chairman Muhaimin Iskandar praised the political dexterity of Luhut, who is among the closest aides of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. He said that if Luhut had possessed it earlier he could've prevented the downfall of PKB founder and former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

The late Gus Dur, an old friend of Luhut who also appointed him to his Cabinet, was impeached by the House of Representatives in 2001 in the wake of corruption allegations surrounding the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).

Imagine if Pak Luhuts political prowess had come at the time when Gus Dur was still president, he would not have been impeached, Muhaimin said, triggering laughter among the more than 150 people participating in the training, including Luhut.

(Read also: Radicalism has dangerous effect on economy)

The retired Army general replied by jokingly raising his fist toward Muhaimin who was speaking at the podium.

Pak Luhuts power came out only recently. Just like a hero [in movies] who wins at last, Muhaimin said.

That left only us [PKB] defending Gus Dur, which succeeded in keeping him in power for 22 months. But, thats not bad, he added, triggering more laughter.

Luhut served as industry and trade minister when Gus Dur was in office from October 1999 to July 2001. (wit)
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017 12:33 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde673d62 1 Business startup,coffee,palm-oil,farmer,assistance Free

After assisting cocoa farmers with global price data, tracing of sales and sustainable farming practices since 2013, tech start-up Koltiva will expand its coverage this year by creating software for coffee and palm oil farmers this year.

We are going to aim for new sectors. They are coffee and oil palm, Koltiva CEO Ainu Rofiq told The Jakarta Post, adding that his firm would cooperate with large firms in the sectors that had already been involved in partnerships with farmers.

Established in 2013, the start-up began creating software for the CocoaTrace program, involving business-oriented foundation Swisscontact, agro giant Cargill and food maker Mondelez International to provide cocoa farmers with global price information.

(Read also: Start-ups breathe life into agriculture sector)

Koltiva also introduced an effective replanting system to increase farmers productivity and help them sell their products at a fair price.

Each farmer has an ID card with a barcode, through which the buyer [Cargill] can track the sales of the farmers so the end processor [Mondelez, who buys cocoa from Cargill] knows where and how the raw materials were planted and sold, Rofiq explained.

With the system, Koltiva has helped 82,000 cocoa farmers, mainly in Southeast Sulawesi and aims to reach 150,000 cocoa farmers by 2020. Each farmer owns a farm a maximum of 2.5 hectares in size. (bbn)
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Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 27, 2017

Indonesias human rights groups are bringing the countrys controversial capital punishment into the global spotlight after demands to abolish it back home had fallen on deaf ears.

Several civil society organizations are set to present the problems revolving around the practice of the death penalty in the country when Indonesias human rights records are reviewed during the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Councils (UNHRC) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva in May.

UPR is the UNs quadrennial assembly, which aims to examine the performance of all members in protecting and upholding human rights in their respective countries. The UNHRC will gather governments and rights groups of all member countries in order to collect comprehensive information for review. The upcoming meeting is the third cycle of meetings, which will result in recommendations to each country.

Civil society groups, such as the Institute for Criminal Justice (ICJR), the Community Legal Aid Institute (LBH Masyarakat), Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), Imparsial, the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), the Association for International Human Rights Reporting Standards (FIHRRST) and the IndonesianLegalResourcesCenter (ILRC) have prepared a joint report that was submitted recently to the UNHRC.

The report by the rights groups lambasted the government, as well as the House of Representatives for maintaining the death penalty in the Criminal Code (KUHP) that is currently under ongoing processes of amendments at the House.

The revision bill actually softens the governments stance on the death penalty, stipulating that it serves as a special and alternative punishment. Articles 89 through 91 of the draft regulate the conditions and procedures for death row convicts to have punishments reduced to life imprisonment. Article 89, for example, states that the death penalty should be the last option taken to protect the public. Article 91 further elaborates that convicts may have their sentence reduced if they behave well during their imprisonment. The bill however has yet to define the guidelines of assessment and the determining authority.

The joint report highlights one core problem: on governments persistence in implementing capital punishment when the countrys judicial system is still marred with rampant corruption.

The groups also cite lack of access to legal aid, interpreters and consular representatives on top of unfair and improper legal procedures faced by inmates. One of the groups, the legal think tank ICJR mentioned that it found at least 11 out of 47 death row convicts who were not accompanied during preliminary examinations. This includes, among oth- ers, Indonesian Merri Utami and Pakistani Zulfikar Ali, who are on death row for drug trafficking allegations.

Ricky Gunawan, the director of LBH Masyarakat, said the aforementioned concerns included foreign nationals Zulfikar and the Philippines Mary Jane Veloso.

Veloso was sentenced to death in 2010 for smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin in a suitcase to Indonesia. She was spared from execution in 2015 in the 11th hour after a woman came forward in her home country to admit that she had duped Veloso into smuggling drugs into Indonesia. Meanwhile, Zulfikar escaped last years execution. He was sentenced to death in 2005 for possessing 350 grams of heroin.

President Joko Jokowi Widodos administration had so far executed 18 death row drug convicts.

The inclusion of the death penalty in the KUHP is not yet final as lawmakers and the government are still discussing the matter. The deliberation has taken place for 572 days.

So far, the majority of political factions at the House have agreed to maintain capital punishment, excluding the Democratic Party.

Making it an alternative punishment is a compromise to accommodate different opinions and values regarding the death penalty, lawmaker Arsul Sani, a member of a working committee assigned to deliberate the bill, said.

The Human Rights and Humanity director at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Dicky Komar. said the government had engaged all relevant parties including civil society in preparing the report set to be presented in the UPRs session.
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Linkedin Annabelle Liang (Associated Press) Singapore  Mon, March 27, 2017

French President Francois Hollande said Monday that European countries can fight protectionism in trade and other forms by standing united and reaching out to Asia.

Speaking at a lecture in Singapore, where he is on a two-day state visit, Hollande singled out the government of President Donald Trump.

"The U.S. again made a number of decisions and made some choices that will have an impact on its own economy and on the rest of the world," Hollande said, addressing the audience in French.

"We must explain what the closing of borders is all about, what building a wall, what unfair and migratory policies mean. It cannot be the strengthening of a nation at the detriment of (others)," he said. "It is indeed a battle, to a large extent a political battle, but we have a lot of arguments to win."

In March, the world's top economic powers dropped a pledge to fully oppose trade protectionism at the Group of 20 meeting in Germany, amid pushback from the U.S. government.

A statement issued by the group said that countries "are working to strengthen the contribution of trade" to their economies. By comparison, last year's meeting called on them to resist "all forms" of protectionism.

Hollande said Monday that "temptation" of an inward approach "could hit big countries, big democracies. It could exist in entire continents."

To counter that, "countries must sign trade agreements, which we did, between Europe and Singapore and between Europe and ASEAN," he said. ASEAN, short for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a 10-nation bloc that operates by consensus.

France and Singapore signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership in 2012 to strengthen ties in areas such as trade and investment, defense and space technology.

On Monday, the two countries pledged to ramp up collaboration in sectors such as space technology, smart cities planning and biomedical sciences.

Last year, their bilateral trade was valued at 16 billion Singapore dollars ($11.5 billion). France was Singapore's second-biggest trading partner in the European Union.

"Singapore and France share a common vision of a world that embraces openness, multilateralism, globalization and the rule of law," said Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. "We all share common challenges, but the solutions are not to be found from turning inwards."

Hollande leaves for Malaysia on Tuesday.
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Linkedin News Desk (Associated Press) Denver, United States  Mon, March 27, 2017 15:56 2051 a291276806121264c0bd211cde67e609 2 News teenagers,teens,flight,United-Airlines,#flights,travel,#travel,#traveling,travel-ban Free

Two teenage girls were barred by a gate agent from boarding a United Airlines flight from Denver to Minneapolis on Sunday because they were wearing leggings, according to a spokesman for the airline.

The girls, whose ages were not specified, were not allowed onto the morning flight because they were traveling under an employee travel pass that includes a dress code, United spokesman Jonathan Guerin said.

The dress code bars pass travelers from wearing spandex or Lycra pants such as leggings. The teenagers agreed to change their clothing and take a later flight, Guerin said, but the airline's actions sparked a quick backlash on Twitter.

(Read also: These are the best- and worst-performing airlines in the world)

Activist Shannon Watts of Denver tweeted that she witnessed Sunday's events and questioned United's decision to police women's clothing.

Watts said the girl's father was allowed to board while wearing shorts and called the airline's policy sexist.

Regularly ticketed passengers are not subject to the same dress code and can wear leggings, Guerin said. But the airline was standing by its policy for pass travelers because they are essentially representing the company, he said.

"We would ask the same of pass riders who were wearing flip-flops or who were wearing clothing that revealed their undergarments or torn, tattered jeans," Guerin said.
Two years after the deadly explosion on 2nd Avenue, theres word that the property owner might be preparing to sell. If the two lots, now vacant, are sold, lawyers feel it could be difficult to collect settlements for the victims. The owner, Maria Hrynenko, has been charged with manslaughter and is awaiting trial. [New York Post]

A cop has filed a $15 million sex harassment suit against her sargeant at the 7th Precinct. [New York Post]

The artist, Ai Weiwei, launches his next big exhibition this coming fall, building fences throughout New York City. One location will be the Essex Street Market. Inspired by the international migration crisis and tense sociopolitical battles surrounding the issue in the United States and worldwide, the artist has conceived of this ambitious, multi-site project as a way of transforming the metal wire security fence into a powerful artistic symbol. [Art Fix Daily]

The Lowline will be holding a public workshop tonight at Seward Park High School. Its an opportunity for community members to discuss what theyd like to see as part of the underground park in the old Delancey Street trolley terminal. More info on our Calendar page.
MISSOULA -- Most people havent experienced all the effects that climate change is having on Montanas waterways, but fly-fishing guides and outfitters, who are out nearly every day, say they have seen serious negative impacts on the fragile ecosystem in the past decade.

They've seen more dead fish than usual, due to things like drastically higher summer and fall water temperatures. They've noticed reduced winter snowpack that melts earlier than usual and leads to bone-dry creeks in August.

They've noticed non-native species like brown trout invading areas as bull trout populations decline due to warming waters. And they've seen the expansion of parasites and diseases that kill off tens of thousands of fish, which harms the fly-fishing and tourism industries.

And of course, they have been affected by earlier hoot owl fishing closures on more and more bodies of water.

These are just some of the topics discussed at a meeting last week at the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks headquarters in Missoula with the local chapter of the National Wildlife Federation and more than a dozen local fishing guides. Their goal was to talk about how climate change is affecting Montanas outdoor recreation industry, which generates roughly $6 billion in annual spending every year in the state.

Currently, theres a lot of threats to our fisheries in relation to climate change, said Alec Underwood, the Montana Wildlife Federations climate change outreach assistant. In todays society, we often think about whats going to happen next week, next month or next year, but looking to the future is important. I want kids to have the same opportunities to fish as I did.

Chris Clancy, a longtime fisheries biologist with FWP, gave a presentation about how he and his colleagues have documented an alarming increase in the number of nonnative brown trout in the upper reaches of tributaries that feed into the Bitterroot River, places where native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout are on the decline because of higher average stream temperatures.

Temperatures are getting hotter across the region, especially over the last 30 years, Clancy said. That affects streamflows. Weve observed trends for August flows for the Northern Rockies. Streams have experienced a 21 percent average decline during August in this portion of the country. Were seeing low flows in August largely because of climate change. The snowpack doesnt last as long. Its declining in April where it used to not decline, and there is more frequent flooding in winter or early spring.

The effect goes beyond fly-fishing guides and trout. In 2014, the FWP documented $907 million in angling-related expenditures in Montana. Of that, $64 million was spent in Missoula County. Fishing draws tourists here and is a major source of economic activity, according to Underwood.

The guiding and outfitting community is an important part of our economy, Underwood said.

He said the meeting was held in part to connect younger guides with more veteran guides who have seen more changes over their lifetimes. Underwood wanted to have the group brainstorm ideas to see how they can increase public discourse on the issue, and work together to find solutions.

Were at a crossroads, said longtime Bozeman fishing guide Sean Blaine. This isnt business as usual. Ive seen a lot of changes. We are at an inflection point in our industry. Were in an industry with declining resources and increasing numbers. We are the gatekeepers. We are the spokespeople for our industry.

Clancy and Underwood showed a series of slides that illustrated data collected by hydrologists, biologists and other scientists in the region over the last several decades. The message was clear, according to Underwood.

Across the West theres a serious trend of declining snowpack and that ultimately leads to a change in stream discharge, Underwood said. Last year, we thought we were doing fine with the snowpack, but we had some of the earliest hoot owl closures weve ever had and on the most water bodies weve ever had, 22. There is less discharge later in the summer, and that leads to higher temperatures.

Clancy said the debate over whether climate change is real or is caused by humans should be over.

Its not bunk, he said. Thats just a political argument, not a scientific one.

He said that a 2010 National Academy of Scientists study showed that 908 climate scientists who have 20 or more published papers on the subject  97 percent  are convinced by the evidence of human-induced climate change.

Some people think brown trout expansion is cool, but from a native fish standpoint its not so cool, he said. Bull trout populations are pulling back as brown trout expand. The data seems to indicate that browns are just filling a niche because bull trout cant tolerate water temperatures over about 60 degrees. Bull trout by far, more than any other trout species, need cold water to thrive.

Clancy said he and his staff have found brown trout in streams the past few years where theyve never been recorded before.

They are getting up into areas and invading areas that are native fish strongholds, Clancy said. And forest fires are increasing water temperatures.

Eddy Olwell, a longtime fishing guide in the Bitterroot, said the issue isnt a lost cause. He said fishing guides can help by working on habitat restoration projects to increase the amount of vegetation covering streams to reduce water temperatures in the summer. He said guides also have to be careful not to fish lower stretches of river on hot days and to use barbless hooks.

People are not aware of the risks and threats facing our resources and we need to do a better job of that, he said. I see a lot of guides who dont get the connection between the health of resources and the health of the rivers. We have to pressure our peers and get them involved.

Underwood said that fighting climate change should be a nonpartisan issue, and he urged everyone with a stake in the outdoor recreation industry to call their senators or congressmen when they make a stupid decision.

There may be threats, but together we can make change happen, he said. You guys are important. You have a strong voice and influence.
Some of the worlds most famous buildings turned their lights out for an hour this weekend to mark Earth Hour  an event to raise awareness about climate change, and one that can make a significant difference to carbon monoxide pollution for the hour it takes place.

Around the world people switched off their lights between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on Saturday, while some of the worlds most famous landmarks did the same.

Numerous London buildings went dark, while the Eiffel Tower, the Brandenburg Gate and many others joined in on the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) initiative that started in Sydney 10 years ago.

1. Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster

(David Jensen/PA)

2. Tower Bridge

(Dominic Lipinski/PA)

3. The London Eye

(David Jensen/PA)

4. Harrods

(Tim Griffiths/Harrods/PA)

5. La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

6. The Kremlin

(Denis Tyrin/AP)

6. The Brandenburg Gate

(Markus Schreiber/AP)

7. The Eiffel Tower

8. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai

(Rajanish Kakade/AP)

9. The temple of the Parthenon, Athens

(Yorgos Karahalis/AP)

10. The Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur

(Daniel Chan/AP)
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As cities and counties around the state worry about how they will pay for adding employees to handle the extra work generated from the passage of a victims-rights amendment to the Constitution last fall, officials called on the Legislature to pass a bill that would give police officers, courts and others guidelines on how to implement Marsys Law.

Though many who testified on House Bill 600, carried by Rep. Frank Garner, R-Kalispell, are concerned about how Marsys Law will affect local governments, they say some sort of legislative action is needed to clarify how they proceed going forward.

While Marsys Law can be seen as a positive step toward treating crime victims with care and respect, it also raises questions with the community and the professionals that will be tasked with carrying out these new rights, Garner said Monday before the House Judiciary Committee. Its important we have something to pass this session to ensure uniform application of the Constitutional rights and provide statutory guidance.

The committee did not take immediate action on the bill Monday.

Marsy's Law was passed as Constitutional Initiative 116 by voters last November. It creates a new section of the state constitution and includes 18 rights for crime victims, including the right to refuse interviews and to be notified of all steps of the legal process.

The bill would give the Department of Justice the ability to write standard language that would appear on "Marsy's cards" that are now required to be handed out to victims. It also clarifies the duties of a police officer to notify a victim of his or her rights. Under Marsys Law, victims could include those related to the direct victim of a crime, but the bill would require officers to focus notification efforts on the direct victim.

The bill would also define the crimes covered under Marsys Law to include homicides, assaults, sexual assaults, certain discrimination laws, elder abuse, abuse of the developmentally disabled, child labor laws and securities fraud.

In addition, the legislation would clarify that Marsy's Law applies only to people in the common sense, not other legal entities such as corporations. It would also dictate victims could chose to opt out of receiving information on their case if it goes forward, as well as decline services such as counseling. Courts would decide when victim information would be shared as part of the legal proceedings.

Sarah Sexe, the city attorney for Great Falls, said that while Marsys Law is well-intended, it carries unexpected costs and requirements and that the initiative language was overly broad and ambiguous.

It has already cost the city of Great Falls $90,000 to implement so far, including hiring additional prosecutor staff. Municipal court judges and the police department have indicated they would need additional staff.

Rich McLane, deputy chief of police in Bozeman, said his community is working to follow Marsys Law even though it does not take effect until the summer, but some of the requirements are still murky.

This will help us get a clear roadmap, a clear defiition, so that we can hit the ground July 1 with our best foot forward.

Anna Saverud, the domestic violence prosecutor for the City of Bozeman, said the city has been working to follow Marsys Law since last November, but it still needs more guidance.

This is really uncharted territory for all of us in the criminal justice system, she said. This is not a perfect bill but its a step in the right direction. While there are still a lot of questions outstanding, we think this is a good start.

But Chuck Denowh, who was the sponsor of the initiative and runs the organization Marsys Law for All, said the bill is in conflict with the intent of Marsys Law and runs contrary to the language of the initiative.

This is a departure from the intent of the initiative and dilutes the rights of Montanns, Denowh said. Marsys Law does not say only some victims have Constitutionally protected rights. The language is clear. It refers to all victims of crimes.

Marty Lambert, the Gallatin County attorney, said that Marsys Law cant be fixed by the Legislature.

Its largely going to be up to the courts to sort out what all this means, Lambert said. The voters have given us our marching orders.
Serving with the U.S. 7th Fleet of Operations, Ensign Warren Markowsky of Wyandotte has been featured in a U.S. Navy press release, displaying his knowledge of different parts of an M16 rifle to Lt. j.g. Katelyn Richards, from Narragansett, R.I.

Markowsky is aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer, which is on a regularly scheduled Western Pacific deployment with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led initiative to extend U.S. 3rd Fleet command and control functions into the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike groups have routinely patrolled the Indo-Asia-Pacific for more than 70 years.
Montana should not adopt a ban on so-called sanctuary cities because it would harm local governments and flies in the face of what the U.S. stands for, opponents of legislation in Helena said Monday.

Legislators held a hearing on a bill that would make it illegal for cities and towns to ignore requests from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to detain people who have been arrested and are believed to be in the country illegally.

House Bill 611, carried by Rep. Derek Skees, R-Lakeside, comes with steep financial punishments to cities and counties -- including cutting off almost all money from the state as well as fines of $10,000 for every five-day period local governments are in violation of the law.

Kelly Lynch, with the Montana League of Cities and Towns, said the price tag associated with asking Montana law enforcement to enforce federal law would undermine public safety.

These are really increased costs you're asking local governments to spend, she said.

Skees said the bill is about illegal immigrants who break the law.

We all know that sanctuary cities are a vehicle by which people who are breaking the law and are not citizens are allowed to break the law and find sanctuary from that law in places that are called sanctuary cities, he said.

Skees said he wanted harsh financial penalties to hold cities and counties accountable, but pointed out the bill doesnt cut off funds for schools or necessary law enforcement operations.

SK Rossi, the director of advocacy and policy for ACLU of Montana, called the term "sanctuary cities'' a misnomer, saying that cities arent giving people who are in the country illegally a place to hide, but are choosing not to spend their own resources to hold people in jail when federal agents ask them to.

This bill is mostly just a civil liability for local governments, she said. It has no real purpose and will actually do more harm than good in your communities.

David Andersen, president of the Montana Association of Christians, said his grandfather came to Montana from Cornwall to mine copper and noted the state has flourished under the leadership of immigrants, referencing the statue outside the Capitol of Thomas Meagher, who came from Ireland and was a territorial governor in 1865 and 1866.

Andersen said Montana and the U.S. were founded on the idea that people who came here and worked hard could succeed.

We have a bill that would actually punish cities for trying to make that happen, Andersen said, adding the bill shows what can happen to a whole culture when it begins to become paranoid and opposed to outsiders.

No one spoke in support of the bill and the House Judiciary Committee, which heard the bill, took no action Monday.

Montana has no cities, towns or counties that have adopted sanctuary city policies, though the town of Bozeman briefly flirted with the idea. Gov. Steve Bullock and former Gov. Brian Schweitzer, both Democrats, have previously vetoed bills similar to Skees.
HAMILTON  An empty can of Fosters beer in a plastic bag hangs from a barb on Roy Capps fence.

If you want to boil down Capps years of frustration over the unregulated public use of his familys land next to the Bitterroot River, on this day there may not be a better example than that one single inanimate object.

Capp shakes his head slowly in disgust as he points to it.

That just shows the disrespect that people have for this place, he said. Theres no garbage can here. No one is taking care of this place. No one cares how it looks or whats left behind.

This place is the site that hundreds  maybe even thousands  of people use as a fishing access site, beachfront and trailhead every year.

Located immediately downstream from the bridge crossing the Bitterroot River west of Stevensville, the area is often packed full with vehicles and boat trailers during the peak fishing season.

Nearly every one of those is parked on the property that the Capp family has owned since the 1970s.

Over the past year, the family has been in negotiations with the city of Stevensville and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for a land exchange. The Capps have offered 3.6 acres of land they own just below the bridge and another 1.5 acres in town for 8 acres of park land owned by the town of Stevensville.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has agreed to build a new parking area and pit toilet on land currently owned by the Capps if the exchange goes through.

The land swap proposal has its detractors. Some dont want the city to give up any of the 24 acres it owns just downstream from the Capp property.

Recently, the two governmental entities opted to take a hard look at the potential of creating a new fishing access at other locations, including one directly across the river from the Capp property.

That property is owned by the Montana Department of Transportation and Ravalli County.

FWPs fishing access site program manager Rory Zarling said that site would require removing about a foot or so of soil to make a boat launch possible.

The group also looked at the potential of building a new boat launch on the park property already owned by town. The challenge there is the area is in the floodplain, which would create its own set of challenges.

We are somewhat cautious about bulldozing a road into that type of habitat, Zarling said. In order to get a loop, we have the road close to the waters edge. Any time you build a road next to the river, you dont know how stable it will be for the long term.

The challenge for everyone involved with the process is time.

This years fishing season is going to start in earnest very soon.

When Capp drove through his property Friday morning, there were already a number of vehicles there and rafts filled with fishermen at the waters edge.

Capp said his family isnt willing to let the process continue on forever.

Weve been talking about this same proposal since at least 1995, Capp said. Weve been trying to address this issue since the town made that area into a park.

Capps wife, Laurie, said the family would be fine if the town opted to build the fishing access site on the other side of the river or on its own land.

That wouldnt hurt us at all, she said.

But the couple said the city has to make up its mind soon or they will be forced to close their land off to the public.

Ill shut if off, Capp said. Its time for them to make a decision. This has been going on long enough. Its become a community access site on private property.

That fact opens the Capp family to a variety of liability concerns beyond the frustration of the continued degradation of the site.

Capp said he can easily see down into the park from his ranch. When hes called to report trespass violations or other concerns, he said local and county law enforcement have been slow to respond. For a man with a combined 30 years of law enforcement experience as both a civilian and with the U.S. Armys special forces, that lack of security is discouraging.

If I call the police to come to the property, I get a text that says Ill look into it, Capp said. And then I dont even get a call back. Thats what we have deal with here.

On Friday, Capp walked around the parking lot at the towns park to point out the obscene graffiti painted on signs and the building that once housed a bathroom. He watched a man head down the trail with his two unleashed dogs.

The sign right there says that all dogs are supposed to be a leash, he said. They are not taking care of what they already own.

Not long ago, Capp said he spotted a dog running in his field adjacent to the city park. When he confronted its owner about not having his dog under control, Capp said the man swore at him.

I was on my own land when that happened, he said. This isnt the good old days when people helped each other out. The people we are dealing with here are different.

In Capps mind, gaining that additional 8 acres at the far end of the town park will provide him with a little bit more of a buffer from the public. It will also cut down on the size of the land that needs to be patrolled.

Ive taken great pride in caring for this ranch, Capp said. You wont find any bailing twine or other trash on my property and then I see that Foster's can hanging from my fence. It just infuriates me. People dont respect the fact that this is private land.
Rollover results in passenger being injured after being enjected

The highway patrol and Watertown Fire Rescue responded to a rollover accident on Saturday. Passenger was thrown from the vehicle, sustaining injuries.
"Im a firm believer in not being greedy and giving what you can when you can."
Officials from New Delhi and Seoul will meet in New Delhi on Thursday to discuss ways to expand economic and financial cooperation, South Korean Finance Ministry said on Monday.

The working-level talks will be lead by Jin Seung-ho, Finance Ministry Director, Yonhap news agency reported.

Among the top agendas to be discussed is the $10 billion Seoul-New Delhi financial programme aimed at developing the subcontinent's infrastructure, which was agreed at the bilateral summit meeting in 2015, said the ministry.

India is South Korea's eighth-largest trading partner with its exports to New Delhi hitting $11.6 billion last year.


Tracking negative global cues, domestic equity markets closed Mondays trading session in the negative zone with metal shares declining the most.

The Sensex at the BSE closed 184 points or 0.63 per cent down at 29,237 and the Nifty at the NSE ended 63 points or 0.69 per cent lower at 9,045.

In the broader markets, BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices slipped 0.3 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively.

All the BSE sectoral indices, except Consumer Durables index, closed in the negative zone with Metal index leading the declines, down 2.6 per cent. Oil & Gas (down 1 per cent), Telecom (down 0.9 per cent) and Healthcare (0.8 per cent) indices were other notable losers. Consumer Durables index gained 0.9 per cent.

On Friday, the BSE Sensex had closed 165 points or 0.56 per cent higher at 29,332 and the NSE Nifty had closed 56 points or 0.62 per cent up at 9,086.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: SBI (up 1.1 per cent), Power Grid (up 1.4 per cent), HDFC (up 0.9 per cent), Dr Reddys Labs (up 0.8 per cent) and ITC (up 0.4 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: Tata Steel (down 3.2 per cent), Reliance Industries (down 2.8 per cent), Asian Paints (down 2.1 per cent), Coal India (down 2.1 per cent) and Sun Pharma (down 1.9 per cent).

All the Asian markets traded in the negative zone. Japans Nikkei 225 index plummeted 1.5 per cent, Singapores Straits Times Index plunged 0.5 per cent, Hong Kongs Hang Seng lost 0.7 per cent each, Koreas KOSPI shed 0.6 per cent, and Chinas Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1 per cent.

European markets were also trading with declines, CAC 40, FTSE 100 and DAX index indices lost 0.3 per cent, 0.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively.

Back home, the Rupee was trading 33 paise higher at 65.08 against the US Dollar.
With the advent of digital India, the country education system is undergoing a huge revolution. Traditional classrooms are fast getting replaced with digital or smart classes as they are popularly known. According to a recent survey report by the UK-India Business Council, India is the second largest e-learning market globally after the United States.

The recent penetration of internet-based technology is due to the rapid increase of low-cost hand-held devices and smartphones among the younger population giving them access to learning tools, online material, and training providers. This has paved the way to a more sophisticated and flexible kind of learning through virtual classrooms where the students dont just learn but also engage by practicing, experiencing, and sharing their knowledge on a virtual environment.

A survey says that there are over 20,000 education-based mobile apps and virtual learning programmes available online and about 3, 50,000 ebooks got downloaded from iBooks within the first three days of its launch.

There has been a big debate on the effectiveness of such virtual classrooms and its efficiency in imparting knowledge to the students. However, it has been observed by many that a collaborative learning pattern is superior to traditional classroom teaching as it paves the way for meaningful discussions and active interactions. This style of learning and functioning greatly impacts their ability to cope with the corporate culture prevalent in the companies once they start working.

With the increase in technology, blackboards are getting replaced by projectors to display content from hand-held devices. This saves a lot of time and effort put in by the teachers and also gives them access to a wide range of material they can use to explain the concepts in a more simplistic and engaging way. Students can now navigate through an assortment of tools and media to interact and understand effectively, thus contributing to a shared learning environment. This atmosphere is more positive and engaging with more students coming forward with their opinions and views on topics. Such classrooms are more student-centric and have scope for elaborate discussions and on-the-spot feedback from both the teachers and the students.

Unlike the traditional learning methods, these digital classrooms go beyond textual knowledge and promote out-of-the-box thinking. They prepare the students to think beyond bookish learning and enable them to effectively compete in a global environment. Digital classrooms solve a lot of administrative glitches which would otherwise hamper the learning process. Some of the benefits include:

n Unrestricted classroom timing

Digital learning is a more flexible solution which provides the students with 24/7 tutoring availability and online materials making it easier to learn at their convenience. This is not possible in the traditional classrooms which have strict time schedules with limited scope for discussions and doubt clearing sessions. One can choose to extend or curtail a specific subject timing and focus on one at a time without having to worry about time. They can thus learn at their own free will and pace, making the learning process more interesting and engaging.

n Learning on-the-go

This is the best part of a digital classroom. Students can now choose to study from anywhere and can get unlimited access to digital material without having to actually sit in a classroom environment. The entire curriculum is made flexible and portable making the learning process less burdening. One need not carry heavy and bulky books everywhere before exams to study, thanks to all the virtual books and study materials made available to them. Students can now even catch up on any missed sessions or revise a topic again through the downloadable content and class notes made available virtually.

n Detailed learning process

The interactive and engaging virtual content enables the students to understand the concepts more clearly and focus better. As a result, they have better retention power and dont require mugging the concepts prior to exams. Virtual classrooms enable them to learn both through the auditory and visual process making learning more fun and interesting.

n Virtual guidance and

learning support

Through digital classrooms, students can get enhanced external guidance and virtual support round the clock for effective learning and resolution of queries making the learning process effective. One can connect with subject experts and counsellors anytime to seek guidance. It also enables vocabulary enhancement and better understanding of concepts and theories.

Learning can be both progressive and fun with digital technology. Though this is in its preliminary phase in India, it has shown tremendous scope and demand among the students making it the best learning mode made available to them, by far. When considering the vast population of students and the considerably low number of quality teachers in India, digital classrooms is the best solution one can think of to curb the increasing challenge of empowering and making learning an engaging and interactive experience.

(THE WRITER IS CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, HELLOCLASS)
It is not an uncommon feeling of nostalgia coupled with sadness amongst most B-School students who shall be stepping out of the colleges, ready to face the corporate life and take up the responsibilities that lie ahead. I am no exception. As the saga of an MBA comes to an end in many students lives, all one can think of is the two years well spent, the fun and pressures, the tough times of placements, the cases that weve solved together, the projects, competitions and what not. Its not until the very end that reality strikes hard. Most of us wont be students again and will be taking up managerial roles in leading organisations and shall be striving to be change masters and thought leaders.

The last one week at a B-school (MDI Gurgaon in my case) will be dedicated to reminiscing these moments. It does not matter whether we still have examinations left, projects to do and assignments to submit. Because in a weeks time, every aspect of student life comes to an end (unless one has plans of pursuing some form of further education). A month before the D-day, its a feeling of achievement because, in general, thats the time when everyone gets placed and in the mood for celebration for its hard work culminating into a worthy placement. Many students are a part of the various clubs and committees that keep the college atmosphere vibrant, active and ever-happening.

While it is time for us to leave the college, it is definitely our responsibility to hand over the reins to able hands and preserve the values, the learning and the culture. The last few days do get well spent through selections, interviews and discussions about inducting prospective and handling the responsibilities. It is true to every word that a B-School never sleeps. On the final day, I am very sure that every graduating student would have thought about the song in the movie 3 Idiots: Give me another chance, I wanna grow up once again for every student will surely want to be a part of such a fun-filled, ever-learning atmosphere for the rest of his/her life.

Having said this, some students do have further aspirations. There are students who wish to be civil servants and have been working diligently to crack the UPSC examinations. There are some who want to study law and thereby practice corporate law or become legal consultants. There are some who want to go for a double MBA, some who want to startup their own ventures. There are some who want to add certifications such as six-sigma certification, digital marketing, etc, to their quiver and look to enhancing their market value.

THE WRITER IS A STUDENT OF PGPM (2015-2017), MDI GURGAON
Acclaimed actor Irrfan Khan is shooting in Georgia for his upcoming film Hindi Medium.

"Hello from GeorgiaHindi Medium song shoot," Irrfan tweeted.

Also starring Pakistani star Saba Qamar, Hindi Medium narrates the love story of a young couple from Delhi's Chandni Chowk.

The film is is directed by Saket Chaudhary, and has been described as a light-hearted romantic film about a young couple in Chandni Chowk, who aspire to move into society's upper crust.

Presented by T-Series and Maddock films, the movie has been produced by Dinesh Vijan and Bhushan Kumar.
A night alone in the wild amidst thunderstorms and wildlife, landing up in a billionaires home in Switzerland, sharing rides with a Korean scooterist, relishing Naga food in Croatia, strangers kindness and the curiosity of Balkan kids these were the memoirs of Sievituo Solos journey on a bamboo cycle to Europe and the USA, says a report in the Dimapur-based Morung Express.

Riding on his self-made bamboo cycle, Solo for 210 days in 24 countries covered 13,000 km from May 2016 to January 2017. He is now back to his Project 72 Hours. Sharing his experiences on his fourth expedition he said, The whole point of the journey was to bring back something and educate and share the knowledge with our people. His first three expeditions with Ruokuo Kire began with a tour of Nagaland in 2011, followed by South Asia and India in 2013, and South-east Asia in 2014-15.

The bamboo cycle, which he learned to build from Manipur, was redesigned and restructured by Richard Belho and together with the team of Project 72 Hours they built the bike. To undertake the journey, Solo partnered with Zynorique, Dream Corp, NBRC, IDBI bank, Project 72 Hours and the Nagaland government which helped him in obtaining his visa.

The people in Europe could not believe that the cycle was made of bamboo. In his first journey his impression was that world outside has hardly heard of Nagaland and Nagas. He said We Nagas take so much pride in our hospitality, but in actuality ours is just another hospitality. The hospitality he experienced in foreign countries was something real and heart-warming. He narrated how even strangers welcomed him in their homes, and offered food, lodging, essentials and some even offered money. He said outside people take care of public property and do not waste time on candy crush.

He mentioned how on occasions he experienced fear especially the time when he was off road in Croatia, and landed up in the wild with no human in sight except wild animals. His next trip will be through Africa.
US President Donald Trump on Monday called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and congratulated him on his recent electoral success, the White House said.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that Trump congratulated Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on their electoral victories.

The White House said the leaders spoke by phone.

"The president spoke with German Chancellor Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Modi earlier today to congratulate them on their parties' success in recent elections," Spicer said.

Following the elections held in five states that begun on February 4 and ended on March 9 after polling was rescheduled in some constituencies, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party formed the government in four states: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

It, however, lost Punjab to main rival Congress in the results announced on March 11.

Anchored mainly by Modi and his aide Amit Shah, the BJP juggernaut rolled on in Uttar Pradesh and in the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand, bagging three-fourth majority.

The BJP returned to power in the politically-crucial state of UP after a gap of 15 years during which regional parties such as the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party held sway.

Goa and Manipur had hung assemblies after the polls, but the BJP managed to form the government with support from other regional parties.

The elections in the five states had turned into a virtual referendum on Modi's popularity following his much-debated decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.

Previously, Modi and Trump talked by phone on January 24, when they had resolved to stand "shoulder-to-shoulder" in the global fight against terrorism and for defence and security.

According to a White House statement then, Trump had "emphasised that the US considers India a true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world."

The two leaders had exchanged invitations for visits.

"President Trump looked forward to hosting Prime Minister Modi in the US later this year," the statement had said.

Prime Minister Modi was the fifth foreign leader Trump had spoken to on phone after he was sworn-in as the US president on January 20. He had by then spoken to British Prime Minister Theresa May, Canada's Justin Trudeau, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

After his surprise victory in the November 8 elections in the US, Modi was among the first world leaders to congratulate Trump. And during the gruelling election campaign, India and Israel were the two prominent countries Trump spoke of strengthening ties if he were to become the president.
In the wake of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad attacking an AI staffer, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju on Monday expressed deep concern and said violence of any kind can be a disaster for airlines.

"Violence of any kind can be a disaster for airlines," the Union minister said in his speech in Lok Sabha.

" Rules are the same for everyone and never in my wildest dream thought that an MP will get caught in such an incident," he added.

Air India has lodged two FIRs against the MP  one, for assaulting their staff member and the other, for forcibly holding the flight and delaying it for 40 minutes.

Gaikwad was on Friday barred from flying by four private Indian carriers after he assaulted an Air India staffer. IndiGo, too, on Friday said in a statement that it will support any move which bars unruly passengers from flying.

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad on Thursday repeatedly hit a 60-year-old Air India officer with sandal over being unable to travel business class despite having insisted on boarding an all-economy flight.
Joao Da Camara, Ambassador of Portugal to India, joined his countrys Foreign Ministry in 1984 and served in different capacities in various parts of the world.A graduate in law from the Faculty of Human Science at the Catholic University of Portugal,he was Ambassador to Zimbabwe and Angola before arriving in Delhi in 2015. In this interview with Ashok Tutejaat the Embassy in New Delhi,he spoke about the outcomes of the visit of Prime Minister Antonio Costa to India in January and the increasing cooperation between the two countries. Excerpts:

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa was in India in January. What do you see as the highlights of his visit?

First of all,the visit marked the resumption of relationship that was not moving too much and was not very expressive.It [the visit] gave a new impetus.Now we have a plan, objective and commitment to the relationship from both sides at the highest level.

What is the nature of defence relationship between India and Portugal?

It was one of the items included in the Prime Minister's agenda during the visit.This relationship has two main areas: business in military goods and materials and close relationship between our armed forces. An MoU was signed to allow continued relationship between the ministries of defence and the armed forces. The MoU includes everything,including joint military exercises and collaboration between the Army,Navy and Air Force. The visit of the Prime Minister enabled the signing of the MoU. It forms the broader policy for this relationship.

India is keen to join the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) as a full-fledged member.Does your country support our candidature?

We look at India's case with a lot of sympathy. We would very much like consensus to be formed over India's membership. We would certainly support it.

What is Portugal's view on the expansion of the UN Security Council with the possible inclusion of countries like India?

We are one of the first supporters of India's candidature together with the candidatures of Brazil and one African country.We feel very strongly about it.

Portugal is a key member of the European Union (EU).Why has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and EU still not fructified despite almost a decade of negotiations?

At the moment,there are no negotiations going on between the two sides over the FTA. I hope both sides resume negotiations at the earliest. There is will on both sides to resume these negotiationsThe manifestation of that desire is there. There are other priorities also on both sides. The time of India-EU FTA has not arrived yet but I hope it will arrive soon.

How do you think India and Portugal can promote people-to-people contacts?

Tourism would be an ideal way to promote people-to-people contacts. We should also promote all types of exchanges both officially and unofficially. We have been having growing number of Indian tourists to Portugal and growing number of Portuguese tourists to India.That encourages us but the numbers are still not expressive and meaningful.

Are you taking any meaningful steps to promote tourism from India?

Our Deputy Minister for Tourism was in India two weeks back and made lots of contacts in this direction. India is a fantastic market. More and more Indians are travelling abroad. We want to capture some of that growing market. Portugal is a very 'fashionable' tourist destination.
Manipurs first BJP chief minister, N Biren Singh, who was sworn in last week has already earned a feather in his cap by persuading the pro-NSCN(IM), Manipur-based United Naga Council to lift its 139-day economic blockade (the longest so far) of the states two vital lifelines the 214-km Dimapur-Kohima-Imphal highway and the 219-km Silchar-Imphal Road.

The chief minister is also proud that he was able to achieve this before the Prime Ministers electoral commitment of clearing the two highways within five days of the installation of a BJP government. The chief minister was left with little choice but to end the blockade as Manipur High Court in its 7 March ruling had declared it illegal and observed, The persons/organisations responsible for the blockade of the national highways, have violated the fundamental rights of the citizens to satisfy their own political wishes at the cost of the miseries of the people, and it is not in the interest of the state.

The end of the blockade was due anyway because before the assembly elections there was some sort of understanding and BJP-Naga bonhomie was all too clear. Not for nothing was the venue for the tripartite talks, involving the Union home minister and state government officials, the Naga-majority Senapati district headquarters (46 km from Imphal) which happens to be the NSCN(IM)s stronghold in Manipur and where the people lent support for Greater Nagaland. The UNCs two top leaders, who were under judicial custody since December, were freed.

Before the election the Centre showed little interest in helping out the outgoing Congress government. It could have at least approached the NSCN(IM) leadership to interfere but it conveniently steered clear for fear of jeopardising the ongoing Naga peace talks. The Union home ministry sent 4,000 para-military personnel and when Ibobi could not break the blockade he was blamed.

The BJP leaders could not have been unaware that such an exercise in the past had never worked. Now the big question is, will the 139-day blockbuster be the last one? People who resort to blockades must ask themselves whether starving citizens to achieve their aspirations is ethical. The ordeals of the people of Imphal valley are likely to become unbearable once the cry for greater Nagaland gains stridency. There has to be an end to the no-holds-barred intimidation of the travelling public and truck drivers keeping in mind that the Dimapur-Imphal-Moreh road is part of the Asian highway, vital for the success of the now renamed Act East Policy. The Centre must involve itself.
Afghanistan, India and Pakistan are three states, intrinsically linked, facing varying levels of militancy. Each country blames the other for supporting groups inimical to it. Politically the nations have grown so apart that resolution of any crisis appears unlikely. The summer is yet to set in, passes yet to reopen, movement of militants across borders still to commence in earnest; thus probably a violent period is ahead for security agencies and

people.

Afghanistan is rattled by militants belonging to some eight groups, the most prominent being the Taliban and the ISIS. The summer offensive launched by the Taliban in 2016 was the worst in Afghanistans history as casualties  civil and military  were high. The Taliban hierarchy is based in Quetta, Pakistan. The area that it controls in rural Afghanistan increased marginally in 2016 as compared to previous years. As a prelude to its 2017 summer offensive, the Taliban captured the opium rich Sangin district of Helmand Province last week.

The ISIS has begun expanding its footprint and along the way has inducted fighters of the Pakistan Taliban (TTP). While it has launched few open operations, it has announced its enlarged presence by suicide attacks in crowded areas and by targeting remote military posts. Afghanistan blames Pakistan for harbouring and supporting the Taliban.

Pakistan on the other hand, faces the brunt of terror strikes spearheaded by the TTP and its breakaway factions. The ISIS has also established a foothold and claimed responsibility for suicide attacks on minority communities. The crescendo against the strikes rose to such levels that the army was compelled to deploy artillery and air power on the Afghan border to destroy terror camps near and in Afghanistan. Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, the latest in a series of operations against terror groups was launched in February across the country. It shut its borders with Afghanistan, pushed back Afghan refugees and launched air and artillery barrages across the border. It has announced its intention to fence its border with Afghanistan, an action which may not be effective considering Indias experience with border fencing.

Pakistan always accuses India and Afghanistan of acting in concert to destabilize the country. While the groups are based in Afghanistan, direct support by Afghan intelligence agencies has never been proved. Similarly, Indian support to the groups remains a conjecture by Pakistan without any proof.

India faces militancy mainly in Kashmir and to a more controlled extent in the North-east, with Kashmir being openly supported by the Pakistani deep state. It also has the tacit support of separatists in Kashmir, who continue to incite the population against the Indian state. The past summer was a violent one in the valley, after the encounter killing of local militant leader Burhan Wani. It resulted in more than 80 local youth joining the militancy, the largest in the recent past. India has proof of Pakistani involvement in Kashmir.

Supporting terror groups in neighbouring countries of the region is of national interest and linked to national strategy, hence unlikely to be easily discarded. Pakistan has always considered Afghanistan as its strategic backyard and thus seeks a pro-Pak government in the country. With US and Indian involvement in Afghanistan, the local government is unlikely to change its policy. The present government did attempt a truce; however because of Pakistans continued support to the Taliban, Ashraf Ghani was forced to switch allegiance to India. For Pakistan, gaining Kashmir appears to have become the sole purpose of its survival as a nation state. Four wars (including Kargil) and no success has compelled it to adopt a policy of bleeding India with a thousand cuts. Hence its support to the so-called Good Terror groups.

For India and Afghanistan, it is simply a case of payback. Terror can only be answered with terror. Whether support is direct, moral, financial or material, it matters little. It is only when the sponsor of terror faces it and bleeds that lessons will possibly be learnt. Thus amongst nations in the region, Pakistan and Afghanistan are worst hit. Pressure mounts within Pakistan as minorities are attacked and suicide bombers tear internal security apart. But no lessons are learnt. Support to terror groups continues.

The coming months are likely to be tough for the three countries. The Taliban summer offensive would commence in Afghanistan, post its winter restructuring, compelling the Trump administration to re-evaluate its Afghan strategy. Whether the US increases deployment or leaves it to the Afghan security forces to handle, time will tell. Pakistan would see a quantum increase in strikes, as the weather makes movement easier. TTP and the ISIS are likely to join hands to challenge the authority of the state.

Pakistans army would be stretched to the limits, ensuring security of the CPEC and battling terror groups. Indian security forces would also brace for a violent summer, as the opening of the passes would result in an increased inflow of militants. The valley is again likely to be up in arms as civilian casualties mount when locals attempt to interfere in security

operations.

Terrorism in the region is internally sponsored by nations against each other. Ironically, each country feels supporting terror groups operating in the neighbourhood gives it strategic leverage. However, with passage of time, relations have deteriorated to levels where rapprochement appears unlikely. While India battles militancy in just one part, the other two countries face terror strikes across their length and breadth. Ultimately, it is the population which suffers and development remains hampered, as selfish leaders sponsor terror groups solely to control and retain power.

Terror groups which were once assets are now liabilities as any action contemplated to rein them in is likely to fail and compel them to turn inwards. There is almost no choice for sponsor nations, unless self-realization sets in and concerted action is taken. This is unlikely, considering increased differences and powerful terror groups. Hence all that can be expected is a violent summer with enhanced casualties across the region.

(The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army)
The Chief Justice of India has suggested that he can act as a mediator in the pending Babari Masjid demolition case. The expression of concern is a little odd as it comes at the instance of an inter-meddler, and without the parties being present in Court. No wonder the suggestion on negotiations towards a muual settlement has caused a flutter in the political roost. In my opinion, the Babari Masjid demolition case is not a matter that can be settled through a compromise. This case has constitutional implications. The Constitution states clearly that India is a secular republic.

I was in Geneva attending the UN Human Rights Commission meeting when I was informed that the Babari Masjid had been demolished. On television, I watched the gory spectacle of BJP stormtroopers climbing up the walls of the Masjid and breaking it down. The party Chief Minister, Kalyan Singhs assurance to the Supreme Court that he would take steps to prevent the demolition was belied. The Supreme Court by a majority just accepted his apology instead of sending him to jail for contempt of court. But this was a relatively minor issue compared to the ominous conspiracy of the Congress Prime Minister, Narasimha Rao, who suddenly became inaccessible to senior journalists, his Home Secretary and even his colleagues.

I feel ashamed to admit the complicity of the judiciary, which despite the injunction since 1949 to bar people from entering the area did not proceed against the public. Even the higher judiciary did not intervene; rather, it seemed to ignore the trespass.

The magnitude of the danger should have been grasped by all parties. The battle for secularism should have been reflected in the determination to nip the canker of communalism in the bud. As it turned out, nothing was done.

At that point of time, I had made a public statement , saying that the Government should have announced December 6 as a National Repentance Day when people will fast and pray for the unity and welfare of all communities. But the non-BJP parties analysed the situation as merely a law and order problem and thus acquiesced in this dastardly action.

Whatever the history of the controversy, all parties let the matter be referred to Allahabad High Court. Both sides were aggrieved with its decision. The BJP is insisting that it will build a temple on the site where the Masjid undoubtedly stood for over 500 years. The Muslims cannot obviously agree to a shameful compromise on the sanctity of the Masjid. The matter is before the Supreme Court; it cannot avoid a decision which may not make everyone happy. It is its constitutional duty and it has no other option.

Going by precedents, the case in favour of Muslims is invincible. I say this on the precedence of the Shahidganj Masjid case in Lahore. It was decided by the Privy Council in 1940. The Supreme Court need not decide on the merits of the argument whether Babari Masjid stood where the Ram Temple once existed. This is of no consequence as it is not relevant to the judiciarys ultimate decision.

It is obvious to the meanest intelligence that it is impossible to prove that the birthplace of Lord Ram was beneath the Masjid . It may be a matter of faith, genuine or contrived, but that is no proof. Nor for that matter can it ever be cited as a legal ground to take away the land from the mosque.

If the finding is that the mosque was not built on Rams birthplace, then the Muslims can get the land back. They will be free to use it in any way, including the construction of the mosque.

Alternatively even if it is assumed that there was a temple on the land of Babari Masjid, the suit filed by the VHP/RSS has to be dismissed. Admittedly, Babari Masjid existed for over 500 years, till it was demolished by the activists of the VHP/RSS on 6 December 1992. From the legal perspective, the Sangh Parivar would have no right even if a temple had been demolished to build the Babari Masjid. I say this in view of the precedent of the case of Shahidganj Masjid. There was a mosque dating back to 1722. But by 1762, the shrine came under Sikh rule and was used as a gurdwara. It was only in 1935 that a suit was filed claiming the building was a mosque and should be returned to the Muslims.

The Privy Council observed that their Lordships have every sympathy with a religious sentiment which would ascribe sanctity and inviolability to a place of worship. However, they cannot under the Limitation Act accept the contention that such a building cannot be possessed adversely. The property now in question, having been possessed by Sikhs, was adversely given to the waqf and to all interests thereunder for more than 12 years. The right of the mutawali (caretaker) to take possession for the purposes of the waqf came to an end under the Limitation Act.

On a parity of reasoning, even if a temple existed prior to the construction of the Masjid 500 years ago, the suit by the Hindu outfits like Nirmal Akhara VHP / BJP etc lacks basis.

There is another reason why in such a situation, the suit will fail because in common law, even a rightful heir, if he kills his ancestor, forfeits his right of inheritance. In the Masjid case too there was a murder most foul, and hence the killer cannot be allowed to take the benefit of his own dastardly deeds, whatever the factual position may be.

Of course, it is the privilege of the Chief Justice of India to constitute the Bench. With respect, I submit that it might be more reassuring if a Bench of seven or nine judges hears the appeal.

(The writer is retired Chief Justice, Delhi High Court)
By seizing the strategically located Sangin district, with a population of less than 100,000, Taliban insurgents have gained control of more than 50 per cent of southern Helmand province. The town has literally been a major killing field for British, US and Afghan soldiers over the past 16 years of war in Afghanistan.

A vital supply route for security personnel stationed in the provincial capital Lashkargah, Sangin has been the scene of brazen Taliban attacks for the last eight months or so. Straddling a scorched desert and a lush river valley that Nato commanders once described as a green zone, Sangin fell to the Taliban as a result of a predawn assault on Thursday.

The ragtag Afghan forces  fatigued, outgunned and short of ammunition and food  took to their heels. As TV channels around the world screened images of audacious fighters marauding through the district centre and police headquarters, a patently clueless Ministry of Defence in Kabul characterised the security forces meek surrender of the major urban space as a tactical retreat.

Sangins collapse, which the US military has euphemistically called the repositioning of the district centre, represents the culmination of a ferocious offensive that has been deadlier than the battles for any of the countrys other 400 districts. Following the 2013 security transition from NATO to local forces, hundreds of Afghan soldiers and policemen have died defending the district.

After capturing Sangin, where the international fraternity has invested heavily, the Taliban are now better positioned to coordinate their operations in Helmand and Kandahar, the groups spiritual base. Seen in this context, abandoning Sangin will turn out to be a costly mistake. Although the American-led coalition bombed the area to destroy strategic assets, the fighters were able to seize some of the vehicles, weapons and equipment abandoned by the soldiers.

While ensconced in Sangin, the emboldened militants will obviously step up their recruitment drive and mobility north of the embattled province, known as Afghanistans drug capital. Helmand accounts for more than 50 per cent of the total opium production within the country. The rebels, posing more like godfathers than a government-in-waiting, generate much of their revenue from the narcotics trade  worth roughly $3 billion a year. In what looks like icing on the cake, the Taliban also recruit from the large pool of labourers, mostly young men, who converge on Helmand during the opium harvest season.

Come spring, the Taliban lay down their arms to work as daily wagers on lush green poppy fields in Sangin and other districts of Helmand. Additionally, the guerrillas collect a 10 per cent tax (ushr) on opium produce. Growers, however, cannot summon the courage to say that Islam orders the distribution of ushr to the needy, not warriors.

Buffeted by increasing unemployment and poverty, many of those coming in from all over the country tend to become willing hires for the militant movement. Heavy rainfall, cancellation of annual eradication campaigns and perennial violence betoken a greater income for the Taliban and a higher opium yield in Helmand this year.

Illustrative of Talibans rising control in the chaotic south, the fall of Sangin will bust the morale of Afghan forces and their Nato partners, who are now more focused on training than combat. Again, this tactical shift afforded the insurgents a good opportunity to escalate their armed struggle.

In Sangin, which has changed hands several times since 2001, many British and American service members, just like their Afghan counterparts, have lost their lives. More than 100 of the 456 British fatalities in Afghanistan over the past 16 years have occurred in this restive city.

British troops, moving into Helmand in 2006, failed to deliver on their oft-repeated promise of bringing security, good governance and reconstruction to the province. Their failure came in for a lot of flak from ex-president Hamid Karzai and senior US military commanders in Afghanistan.

Thousands of US Marines ventured into Sangin, Nawa, Garmser, Marjah, Khanshin and Nawzad districts in 2010; at least 20 were killed in Sangin within the first three months of deployment. Ironically enough, the city is still mired in a whole host of problems, including misgovernance and corruption.

Government officials, who are supposed to crack down on poppy cultivation, are allegedly complicit in the opium trade. As if competing with the militants for cash, government servants help farmers cultivate and harvest the illicit crop. There is enough reason to believe the drug business has become institutionalised in Sangin and other parts of Helmand.

As things stand, one can safely predict an escalation of air and ground offensives in Sangin and, indeed, throughout the province. If the Taliban retains control of the district  a tough challenge  the fighting is bound to spill over into neighbouring Kandahar.

Dawn/ANN.


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DECATUR  A plan to legalize marijuana is not exactly high on the to-do list for local lawmakers and law enforcement, but their constituents may be more ready to roll with the idea.

A plan is being floated that would make Illinois the ninth state in the country to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

The proposal would allow residents 21 and older to possess, grow or buy up to 1 ounce (28 grams) of marijuana and license businesses to sell marijuana products subject to regulation.

Supporters say it would help fill Illinois' multibillion-dollar budget hole with $350 million to $700 million in new tax revenue, while detractors worry about social costs.

Mixed public opinion

If you look at Colorado and the other places, its worked, said Katie Witry, a 22-year-old Millikin Student from Aurora. And our state is really bad off money-wise, so its a win-win for everyone.

Kye Ramos, a 19-year-old Millikin student from Chicago, said he has seen first-hand the benefits of marijuana. Along with doing a class research project on the subject, Ramos said his father, a disabled veteran, has used marijuana to treat his post traumatic stress disorder.

Its helped him out a lot, and I know its helped out a lot of other people, too, he said.

But the societal cost is not lost on Christl Smalley.

The 55-year-old Decatur resident said shes OK with medical marijuana, but worries about the effects legalization could have with those already battling problems with alcohol or other drugs. In addition, Smalley was not trusting of the state to make good use of the potential revenue.

I dont think it would help the state financially, the state would find a way to waste that money, too, she said.

Statewide, residents seem to have joined the rest of the nation in becoming more accepting of legal marijuana.

A poll released Monday by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale showed 66 percent of Illinois residents support or strongly support legalization of recreational marijuana if it is taxed and regulated like alcohol. Of those in support, 45 percent said they strongly support legalization.

Only 31 percent of voters oppose or strongly oppose and 3 percent answered otherwise.

Support drops outside the Chicago and collar county area, as 54 percent of downstate voters supported or strongly supported legalization. 43 percent of downstate voters either oppose or strongly oppose legalization, while 3 percent either did not know or refused to answer.

The poll was conducted from March 4 to 11 with 1,000 randomly selected registered voters and a margin for error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Law enforcement wary

The idea of medical marijuana for the chronically ill is appealing for Macon County Sheriff Thomas Schneider and Decatur Police Chief Jim Getz.

It's less so for legal recreational use.

Schneider was frank in his opposition to legalization, saying he has heard of problems from law enforcement colleagues in Colorado. Specifically, his concern is with possible illegal growing operations and an increase in impaired driving arrests.

We've seen a trend where in some months we have more drug-impaired drivers than alcohol-impaired driver Schneider said. It's problematic to public safety when people drive on marijuana thinking it's harmless but they are seriously impaired.

Getz was less forceful than Schneider when asked about legalization, saying he hopes state lawmakers do their research on the issue and not make any rushed decisions.

I think they really need to do their homework before they pass the legislation, Getz said. This is not something they should take lightly. This is something that needs to be investigated.

The points are similar to those made by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, which also opposes the measure. Its associate director, Ed Wojcicki, told The Associated Press that legalization would be "an enforcement nightmare."

Colorado law enforcement have publicly said they have struggled at times to keep up with enforcing the laws of the state, which has the highest rate of youth marijuana use in the nation, according to the most recent data available from a federal drug-use survey.

The numbers are not all dour for Colorado though, as the states Department of Public Safety report showed a 6 percent decrease in the violent crime rate statewide from 2009 to 2014. In addition, Denver experienced a 2.2 percent decrease in violent crime rates and an 8.9 percent reduction in property crime offenses, according to research from the Drug Policy Alliance.

Lawmakers reluctant

Local lawmakers asked about the proposal showed little enthusiasm for going forward with legalization.

State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, described himself as "old-fashioned" with his opposition to legalization, feeling it acts as a gateway drug to harder, illegal substances.

I think it raises more problems than it could possibly answer, he said. With legalization, I dont agree with it at all.

However, Mitchell did say he would be open to some decriminalization in relation to marijuana.

State Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, expressed similar sentiments about marijuana being a gateway drug, saying that legalization would increase the rate of homelessness and poverty as well as put a financial strain on social services who help people with addiction.

Youre going to have ill effects with legalization, especially if Illinois is the only Midwestern state to do this, Righter said.

State Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, said in an unrelated conference call Monday morning that he has not yet taken a stance on the matter, focusing most of his attention on school funding and a "grand bargain" budget bill.

He did say he hopes the proposed plan starts a dialogue among lawmakers about legalization and that more information comes out in the coming months during hearings.

I think were in the initial stages here, and Im not going to reject or accept any proposal at this time, Manar said. What I want to do is what I also do, I want to hear the pros and cons of both sides of the issue, and I want to make an educated decision.

State Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, was unavailable for comment Monday due to a death in the family, according to a spokeswoman from her office.

State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, could not be reached for comment.

The plan has been sponsored by state Rep. Kelly Cassidy and state Sen. Heather Steans, both Democrats from Chicago.

Cassidy said with Illinois own budget woes, as well as the economic boost and increased tax revenue seen in other states that have legalized marijuana, it was at least worth having the discussion.

But both agreed pitch could be a tough sell. They plan to have conversations with lawmakers, interest groups and the public this spring but won't move legislation forward in the current session.

For Righter, the conversation about legalization has to be about more than just revenue.

Is it in the best interest of the people, especially young people, for government to say, Hey, this is OK as long as you got the money to pay the tax? said Righter. I dont think thats the right message to send.

All lawmakers contacted said they have heard little from constituents on the matter, though Righter said he has generally heard concerns about the impact of legalization on younger residents.

Even if the plan does get through the General Assembly, the outlook that Gov. Bruce Rauner would sign it into law is murky at best.

During an appearance last week on a Chicago radio station, Rauner said his friends have told him stories about addiction problems in Colorado, adding he was skeptical on legalizing without more "thoughtful" analysis.

I'm not a believer that legalizing more drugs will help our society, so Im not philosophically enthusiastic about it, but Im also open to what actually works to make life better to people, he said.

The state may not have much wiggle room with the federal government, anyway.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in February that his department is reviewing an Obama administration memo that gave states flexibility in passing marijuana laws.
BLUE MOUND  In God We Trust, the official motto of the United States for more than half a century, has found its way onto a police cruiser in the small village of Blue Mound.

Although that kind of adornment might stir up controversy in some quarters, it has not met with any opposition thus far in the farming community of about 1,000 residents.

The village owns the police vehicle, a 2017 Ford Explorer, and also pays for the services of a deputy of the Macon County Sheriff's Department, as the result of an agreement signed in 2015.

Last summer, while the nation was experiencing turmoil as a result of shootings of police officers, police-involved shootings and numerous demonstrations, Blue Mound Village President Ken Ervin had the idea to place the nation's motto on the vehicle. He had seen a photo of a police vehicle, somewhere out west, which displayed the well-known phrase.

I liked the idea, Ervin said. I called Sheriff Tom Schneider. I asked him if it would be all right to put it on the car.

He responded by saying he not only liked the idea, but would like to see the slogan put on all the county's police vehicles, except that it would not be financially feasible.

It was discovered that there would be no cost to add In God We Trust just to the Blue Mound vehicle, because the work would be included in the general painting of the vehicle to add police markings.

Ervin said he was especially moved because of the shootings of many officers throughout the nation.

I thought it was a good reason to show our support for all the fallen police officers, said Ervin, who is completing his first term as village president this year and running for re-election April 4. I feel that our nation needs to get a little closer to God. We have been moving away from that.

"I feel sorry for anyone that gets killed. I think it would be uplifting for a family member or friend of a fallen police officer to see this.

When Ervin brought the proposition to the village board, it was unanimously approved, 6-0. Because he only votes in tie-breaking situations, he did not vote on it. He has never had to vote during his term.

Ervin, a Methodist, has been pleased at the response from residents.

Everyone in Blue Mound has supported it, he said. Not one person has said anything against it. We have had other deputies who have praised it, said they wanted it on their squad cars, too. In my book every squad car should have it on there, whether it is state or city or county.

Schneider said he thinks it's a great idea to include the motto on the cruiser.

'In God We Trust,' I support 100 percent, Schneider said, adding that he would love to emblazon each of the sheriff's vehicles with the phrase. Right now, with the budget constraints it would cost too much money. I have to decide I can't do it at this time.

"Our great nation was founded on this great principle. I applaud the village president for the decision to move forward and have it placed on the car.

Sheriff's Lt. Jon Butts said there are no legal reasons to prevent a police agency from placing the nation's motto on a government vehicle.

It conveys a message of caring, compassion, trust, Butts said. I know it's only words on a squad car, but it means people can also trust the officer who drives it, trust in the system.

The words represent an acknowledgement of divine protection for the officer in the vehicle.

It's more than just words on the car. It's our belief, Butts said. I think it's important to have that to send a very positive message to people of all faiths.

Anne Byard, a resident of Blue Mound for most of her life, said she sees absolutely nothing wrong with having the slogan put on the police car.

It's nice to know that our governing people are putting their trust in God, too, said Byard, who was born and raised in the village, spending some years away while her late husband served in the military.

The person who spends the most time with the vehicle is deputy Matthew Jedlicka, who took over as the officer covering Blue Mound on Feb. 1.

Jedlicka, a deputy since 2004, said he naturally liked the motto on the vehicle, because he is a member of a Catholic parish in Decatur who believes that God plays a key role in his life.

I think it's pretty special that they decided to do that, Jedlicka said. I wasn't part of that decision. I will take all the help I can get.

He said people don't talk to him about the motto on his vehicle, but he thinks it resonates with them because of the kind of community that they have.

It's a town that has welcomed me with open arms. A lot of people have treated me well, treated me like family, Jedlicka said. The residents of Blue Mound, when they see those four words on the back of the car, I think it resonates with them.
BY Harout Ekmanian

"There are certain moments in life when, after sustaining the hardest blows that fate has in store for him, and when he realizes that things cant get any worse, a man can summon up such strength from the depths of his being that he becomes invincible."  Raffi (1835-1888).

Yerkire yerkir chi and chi kareli are two of the most common phrases that would probably start stinging your ears after a couple of months of living in Yerevan. The first phrase means this country is not a country and the second one its not possible.

These phrases might even start visiting you in your nightmares as large choreographed spectacles in which the tens or hundreds of people youve met or talked with are involved, effacing their own identities to form an enormous representation of the standard and accepted average Joe in Yerevan. This spectacle echoes down to smaller instances  taxi drivers, customer service, public employees, beer buddies, the land itself chants these phrases. An Alien arriving in the country would conclude that its people have nothing left to lose.

But isnt nothing also subject to interpretation?

The parliamentary election campaign in Armenia started with a clear violation of laws by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) by hanging larger than life campaign posters in downtown Yerevan two days before the official start of the campaigning period. One would ask what is the meaning of not waiting two more days. Would it really convince more people to vote for them? We will come to that in the coming lines.

The RPA, keen on representing a refurbished image, featured young and more educated figures in the top ten of its candidates list and tried as much as possible to push notorious oligarchs to the back of the list without being able to do completely without them, as the latter have an essential power in reaping votes in their respective zones of influence across the country. Speaking of which, these very individuals and their primitive forms of rallying are proving counterproductive to the partys intent on presenting a better image of itself. That also makes us question the real aim of the RPA.

The RPA campaign motto is Security and Progress, often printed with a large image of the president of the party and the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan greeting soldiers parading with arms and flags, as the bearer and custodian of the motto-formula. Be that as it may, Serzh Sargsyan has already lost at both pillars of the campaign motto.

In April 2016, for the first time since the independence of Armenia and the victory of Karabakh War, during his tenure, the Armenian side lost border territories to Azerbaijan. The president who appeared on press conferences to Armenian journalists barely twice before, has been in a extremely indefensible situation that he preferred to speak about the losses on the presidential plane with handpicked loyalist journalists with scripted questions, like Artak Aleksanyan of ArmNews TV (owned by Sargsyans son in law), and Gegham Manukyan of Yerkir Media TV (ARF Dashnaktsutyun), a longtime government coalition partner of the Republican Party and largely discredited as a puppet opposition group.

President Sargsyan speaking to handpicked loyalist journalists aboard his plane on May 17, 2016.

Regarding progress, since Sargsyan assumed the presidency in spring 2008, GDP growth has fallen from +6.9% in 2008 to +3.0% in 2015, according to data from the National Statistical Service of Armenia. Prime Minister Karapetyan, in spite of not being on the Republican Partys candidates list because of lack of eligibility (not meeting the legally required period of residency), is also featured widely on campaign posters representing a pillar of the progress promised by the RPA, thus, together with Sargsyan making up the Republican cannon.

The newbie Republican Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, mildly accepted by many in Armenia, is heading campaign rallies in towns and villages across the country, talking with people and listening to their questions and concerns, usually dressed in fashionable business casual attire, as opposed to other politicians in the post-soviet country. While his party comrades like Araqel Movsisyan (aka Shmays), trying to imitate a similar strategy, broke the internet (and the electoral code) in Armenia with the video of his rally in the village of Tsaghkalandj, telling the dissatisfied people Ill call that lad to fix this road for you and this is now my zone... The whole village should vote for me, and in return getting their blessings. Another notorious oligarch is Mihran Poghosyan, tainted with Panama papers offshore bank account scandals in April 2016 when he was still Armenias Chief Compulsory Enforcement Officer. In one of his rallies in Yerevans Qanaqer-Zeytun district, a traumatized mother of a fallen soldier was arranged to show up on the stage to thank and praise the former Major General of Justice Poghosyan. The event was largely criticized by critical media outlets as an ugly exploitation of war heroes, however, it led to a very little public debate. There have been also cases where a RPA village mayor, party members, sympathizers, and even high ranking police officers, were engaged in beating and firing on other political competitors. This cacophony of voices by the elite republicans rarely result in a solid public reaction, leading one to suspect that all of this were normalized long ago for the majority of the people.

But, in fact, almost all the people are pretending. The myths and promises by the Republican Party candidates and campaigners are not usually believed even by those enforcing their repetition, be they the prime minister, police heads, village mayors, local strongmen, or school directors.

The Republicans are investing so much money and effort in leading this campaign which, on the face of it, plainly doesnt work if we assume that the people have nothing left to lose. However, their real aim is not to convince but undermine the public space. The fact that the Republicans are able to use the national broadcaster, universities, schools, kindergartens, and almost every state institution to trumpet their absurdities under the tunes of their infamous campaign song, and to force people to applaud them like infants, is itself a demonstration and establisher of power. It humiliates the people. It proves them dishonest whenever they speak. This corrupts not only the public realm, but the private too. It debases language itself. Parents would praise the president or the local oligarch in front of their kids so the children would repeat the right sentiments outdoors, thereby avoiding disastrous attention.

For the majority of the people who adapted to this style, words and campaigns mean nothing much. No statement could be trusted. Freedom, democracy, transparency and accountability do not relate to their average lives. Just outside of the 2 KM diameter central Yerevan, in rural Armenia where votes, and fates, are bought and sold like a commodity, politics and policy remain the domain of the powerful and their henchmen. Its a vicious cycle that guarantees the self-perpetuation of the Republican henchmen in power. It is in this environment that conspiracy theories flourished  some favoring the ruling Republican elite and some targeting it, but all adding to the collective impotence. A culture of hypocrisy and opportunism set in. The most cunning and sycophantic prospered in politics, business, academia, and almost every sphere. It seems that the people have nothing left to lose.

But in reality, there is still something important not to be lost, and hence that is the reason why the political elite in power are not sitting back passively.

In spite of everything, there are still some tiny shreds of foolish resistance, in the words of Raffi, that is left among the people and within the people.

We have seen the manifestations of it during protests in the past summers since 2012 and on. Its not too big, but its too precious to lose. Too costly and painfully unrepairable. If that is broken too, the change that likely wont be allowed to come through the ballots, wont come from the streets either; never.

Top Photo: Protesters shout as they gather at Republic Square in Yerevan, Armenia, July 25, 2016 (Sasna Dzrer Incident)

Harout Ekmanian writes for Hetq about human rights, politics, international affairs and other issues.
Russia's main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was arrested at an anti-corruption protest he organised in Moscow on Sunday.

Thousands of people joined rallies nationwide, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev over corruption allegations, BBC reported.

At least 500 other protesters were detained in the capital and across the country.

In a tweet after his detention, Navalny urged fellow protesters to continue with the demonstration.

"Guys, I'm fine. No need to fight to get me out. Walk along Tverskaya (Moscow main street). Our topic of the day is the fight against corruption," he said (in Russian).

Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption blogger who heads Russia's Progress Party, called for the nationwide protests after he published reports claiming that Medvedev controlled mansions, yachts and vineyardsa fortune that far outstripped his official salary.

Medvedev's spokeswoman called the allegations "propagandistic attacks", but the prime minister himself has not commented on the claims.

In Moscow, protesters filled Pushkin square and some climbed the monument to poet Alexander Pushkin shouting "impeachment". Turnout was estimated to be between 7,000 and 8,000, according to police.

The police said 500 protesters had been arrested in the capital alone, but a rights group, OVD Info, put that number at at least 700.

TV pictures showed demonstrators chanting "Down with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin!", "Russia without Putin!" and "Putin is a thief!".

The marches appeared to be the biggest since anti-government demonstrations in 2011/2012, BBC added.

Demonstrations were also held in Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and several other cities, where arrests had also been reported.

Navalny became known as one of the leading critics of Putin and the ruling United Russia party during protests in 2011 against Putin's return to the presidency.

He announced his intention to run for President in 2018 against Vladimir Putin. But he is barred from doing so after being found guilty in a case he said was politicised.
Almost two years ago, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh began its intensive programme to integrate all castes, particularly the dalits, into the Hindu mainstream. From hailing B.R. Ambedkar as a Hindu icon to running the campaign one well, one temple, one crematorium for all castes, the RSSs massive efforts helped the BJP win the election in Uttar Pradesh. Now, the ideological fountainhead of the party is focusing on extending its influence in the east and south India, the two regions where the saffron party is too lean.

This was the message filtering out at the end of the annual meet of the RSS in Coimbatore in March. The focus would again be samajik samrasta (social harmony). The RSS has also set a target of having its shakhas in two lakh places, especially in rural India, by 2025its centenary year. General secretary Suresh Bhayyaji Joshi told the delegates that the number of shakhas had increased from 56,859 to 57,233 since last year. Despite that increase, there has been a slight dip in the number of places where these shakhas have been formed36,729 as compared to 36,867 places in 2016.

Holding its annual meeting in Tamil Nadu, a first in its history, signalled the RSSs strategy to target states that have been under strong regional influences. Former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, who died last December, had kept a tight leash on the sanghs expansion plans in the state. In January, for the first time in 16 years, the RSS was able to hold a march in Chennai. The RSS work has been focused on expanding its reach in the rural areas and among the marginalised communities, the dalits and the scheduled tribes. Special programmes are lined up in villages along the states 776 roads throughout the year. It has held functions focused on the youth since last October. In January, Swami Vivekanandas birthday was celebrated in these villages. So far, it has covered 1,268 villages along 418 state roads. Likewise, its two-day campaign in Nagercoil last year had 2,628 child swayamsevaks from 426 areas, while its Bharat Mata Poojan was held at 2,043 places, which saw more than 1.55 lakh children, women and youth. In May, the RSS has planned to set up bal sanskar kendra (childrens culture centres) in villages.

During the annual meet, the RSS leadership singled out the governments of West Bengal and Kerala, where, it said, its members were being attacked because it was growing fast. In Kerala, the RSS is focusing on the youth, particularly students in professional and higher educational institutes. It began holding meetings with students from outside Kerala, in which 274 members participated. They, in turn, set up contact with 238 of 450 colleges across the state in the last one year. In all, 43 meetings were held, which culminated in a two-day camp in Ernakulam last year where more than 1,200 students participated.

The purpose of the [annual] meet was not only [to discuss] our expansion in south India, but also to look at [our] reach across the country, RSS spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya told THE WEEK. Now, we have presence in 40 per cent of 55,000 mandals in the country. Our effort is to focus on training bal swayamsevaks, college going students and IT professionals who are joining us.

In West Bengal, the RSS has been critical of the Mamata Banerjee government. At the annual meeting, it passed a resolution expressing grave concern over the unabated rise in violence by jihadi elements in the state.

Hindus were being attacked by fundamentalist elements at several places, said Dattatreya Hosable, joint general secretary of the RSS. On the one hand, the state government is threatening to close down schools that are instilling the spirit of patriotism. On the other, it is turning a blind eye to thousands of institutions like the notorious Simulia madrassa where jihadi and fundamentalist training is being imparted.

As the sangh works among different communities and social groups in order to strengthen the Hindu identity, the BJP is usually its main beneficiary politically, which was evident in states like Uttar Pradesh. The BJPs focus will now shift to Gujarathome to both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shahwhere elections are due in December. The state had faced agitations by the Patel community, demanding reservations, and dalits following harassment by cow vigilantes. So, the RSS has been focusing on maintaining social harmony here. The sangh has set up a 15-member committee in all the cities and tehsils of the state for holding social harmony sammellans. Two state-level programmes were held, said Joshi at the annual meet. In future, we hope such meetings will be held at all places.
This week Mordechai Frankel made headlines after launching a Chesed Fund crowdfunding campaign. With just five days remaining until his wedding, the chassan and kallah are reportedly both living in a state of extreme poverty. The fund was launched in hopes of covering their basic needs.

Those with an eye for details have also noted that Frankel was also the subject of international news this time last year, when he was injured in the horrific 402 Egged bus accident. His wife at the time was killed in the crash. Israeli television showed emotional footage of wheelchair-bound Frankel, released by the hospital to attend the funeral services.

Since the campaigns launch, donors from around the world have contributed, in hopes of giving this young man and his bride a new and joyful start.

Notable gedolim from the Eidah Chareidis have also publicly issued statements of support, standing behind the validity of the fund and the urgency of the need. As the clock ticks closer to the couples wedding date, the world looks on in hopes that they will not begin life in poverty, particularly after all of the suffering they have already endured.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has famously declared himself not a big media press access person, isnt alone in President Donald Trumps Cabinet. But its too early to call him a trendsetter, either.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transportation Secretary Elaine Cho, both with extensive private sector backgrounds, have similarly been press-averse at the beginning of their tenures. Others seem to be following the leads of predecessors. In some cases, its just too early to tell.

Tillersons decision not to make room for reporters on the plane for his first major overseas trip earlier this month drew scrutiny because his job is generally considered the most important in the Cabinet and theres a rich tradition of secretaries of state keeping the public informed of foreign policy objectives. Hes had little visibility so far and the plane decision is more than symbolic; many of his predecessors and their staffs used that time to answer reporters questions.

In an interview with the one journalist allowed on the trip, from the right-leaning web site Independent Journal Review, Tillerson said he personally doesnt need media attention.

I understand its important to get the message of what were doing out, the former Exxon Mobil CEO said, but I also think theres only a purpose in getting the message out when theres something to be done.

With attention paid to Trumps declaration of some media organizations as enemies of the American people, and reporters jousting with White House press secretary Sean Spicer a near-daily television event, access to Cabinet-level officials can be overlooked.

Precisely because they dont get as much attention, its important for journalists to understand and explain the work being done, said Nikki Usher, a professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University.

These offices have tremendous power and most people dont know what goes on in there, she said.

Cabinet secretaries with a private sector background need to understand that they now work on behalf of the people, who have a right to know what these officials are doing in their names, she said.

Corporate folks are used to not having to account for any kind of public conversations or talk to reporters with the exception of crisis communications or quarterly earnings calls with assessments of the health of their corporations, Usher said. Theyre used to being insulated.

The billionaire philanthropist DeVos background is more private sector than public. She was the chairman of Michigans Republican Party and her husband is the co-founder of Amway. Her lack of education background and support of school choice made her the most controversial Cabinet pick, and she needed the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Mike Pence to be confirmed.

Perhaps as a result, shes not been shy about avoiding the media.

The department did not announce it when she visited her first school as education secretary. Reporters showed up anyway, tipped by advocacy organizations, but were not allowed in the school. DeVos does not take reporters questions after speeches and her few interviews were with conservative news outlets. Her public schedule is often not released ahead of time.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has both a public and private sector background, as a banker, former Labor Secretary, director of the Peace Corps and CEO of United Way. She hasnt held a meeting or news conference with reporters since her Jan. 31 Senate confirmation, and hasnt spoken to reporters following public appearances.

Ray LaHood and Anthony Foxx, the two transportation secretaries under former President Barack Obama, met frequently with reporters.

How the Trump appointees interpret their boss attacks on the press will be watched closely. The press is not the enemy, said Peter Cook, a former reporter and spokesman for the Department of Defense during the Obama administration.

Its also common for top executives in many fields, for reasons of ego or message control, to keep a tight rein on underlings. Requests to speak to agency heads in the administration of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, have to go through the governors office.

Heres how some of the other Cabinet offices have been working:

 Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and other senior defense and military leaders continue to take media contingents with them overseas. Mattis and the others hold media availabilities on the trips, although Mattis has not yet gone to the Pentagon briefing room.

Trumps Homeland Security Department has operated the way others have in the early stages. Its Immigration and Customs Enforcement branch uses Twitter to defend enforcement actions; under Obama, the feed was largely confined to news releases.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs manager, took reporters on his plane to the Group of 20 meeting with finance officials in Germany earlier this month. Hes done interviews with business news networks, the Wall Street Journal and the news site Axios.

 The Justice Department under Jeff Sessions, a U.S. senator before his appointment, has handled media interactions much like prior administrations. Sessions public events are disclosed ahead of time to reporters, and he usually takes questions afterward. He appeared before reporters on the most significant day of his tenure, when he recused himself from any investigation into Russias influence on the presidential election.

 Former presidential candidates Rick Perry, the new energy secretary, and Ben Carson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, also are accustomed to dealing with the media. It remains to be seen how being used to  or needing  media attention will play into their new roles.

Trump imposed a media blackout on the Environmental Protection Agency after taking office that has since been lifted. Top administrator Scott Pruitt has generally tightened media access, although he made news in a CNBC interview this month when he questioned the scientific consensus that human activity is the primary driver of climate change.

(AP)
Following her recent success in changing the ultra-libertarian hashkafa of newly-appointed justice, Justice Minister (Bayit Yehudi) Ayelet Shakeds next hurdle is the appointment of a new president of the court.

Current President Miriam Naor is stepping down in October and the question remains, who will replace her? Shaked is opposed to the slot being handed over based on seniority and is in no rush to fill the slot. Naor however sees things differently and she want the next session of the appointment committee to include a vote for Justice Esther Hayut as the new president.

According to the Yediot Achronot report, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) refused Supreme Court Chief Justice Miriam Naors request to include in upcoming Judicial Selection Committees meetings the vote for Esther Hayut as the new Supreme Court Chief Justice.

Shaked feels the main consideration should be judicial performance. Naor feels this is detrimental because it may suggest to justices to rule in line with a certain political agenda towards receiving the post, insisting the seniority method is preferred. She also feels the appointment should be expeditious to enable her to prepare her replacement before stepping down.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Israel Electric Company has disconnected five buildings in the chareidi area of the city, apparently due to lines running to the Shabbos generator across building rooftops.

The disconnect impacted residents of Hurkonus, Shammai, HaAmoraim and Tannaim Streets on Rova 7, impacting over 500 people. The cut off occurred on Monday morning 29 Adar at 11:30AM.

Residents turned to Israel Electric Company officials, reaching southern district manager Bentzion Michaeli. It was explained to them the problem was the generator lines were running across rooftops, posing a safety hazard.

The residents explained this is not unusual, citing it is found in chareidi areas nationwide, questioning why they were being signaled out. As of Monday afternoon, despite efforts, they were still without electricity. Deputy Minister Meir Porush was contacted and is involved, but at the time of this report, the electricity has not been restored. Electric company officials explain the regulations are the same nationwide and generator lines cannot run across the rooftops as is the case.

As for the claim from residents that they did not receive advanced notice of the cutoff, utility company officials insist they were notified, albeit some time ago.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Health Minister Yaakov Litzman on Monday 29 Adar joined the voice of the opposition, those who do not approve of the Peleg protests around the country. Litzman told Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) that the protests are not subordinate to Gedolei Yisrael as they should be.

The minister told radio host Razi Barkai that it is individuals and not us. Rabbosai, understand, they are not us. These people are not subordinate to our Gedolei Yisrael or our Torah so nothing will help.

Barkai asked Is the address Rav Auerbach, to which Litzman stated Dont know. Why must I respond to this? Because they are religious. What occurred occurred. It is not our tzibur, its not my tzibur. You can ask Yariv Levin about it if you wish. It is not connected to me. if you observe mitzvos you understand this is not connected to us.

Barkai added However, I do not hear condemnation from you, to which Litzman added I state unequivocally, this is not our way! A small number are doing this and one mustnt blame or stain all for this.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Speaking to thousands of pro-Israel activists, Vice President Mike Pence said the United States is still considering moving the US Embassy in Israel  an action expected to be met with strong opposition in the Arab world.

After decades of simply talking about it, the President of the United States is giving serious consideration to moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Pence told the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Sunday. The pro-Israel lobby, popularly known as AIPAC, is holding the event in Washington.

The embassy promise was a mainstay of President Trumps campaign speeches, but the administration backed off making the move immediately once it took office.

In the interim, the new US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who is expected to be sworn in this week, is initially expected to live and work out of Jerusalem.

During a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month, President Trump said, Id love to see that happen. Were looking at it very, very strongly. Were looking at it with great care.

While Congress passed a law to move the embassy in 1995, Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama all signed waivers to suspend it. The current waiver, signed by President Obama, expires June 1.

The Palestine Liberation Organization has said it will revoke its recognition of Israel if the embassy is moved.

Under no circumstances shall we recognize Israel (with the) United States saying east Jerusalem is annexed, PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erakat told CNN in January.

Erakat said that by moving its embassy, the United States would be insinuating that the two-state solution to reaching a Mideast peace deal was dead.

Saying he and President Trump always will stand without apology for Israel and that the United States will never compromise its safety and security, Pence also gave the supportive crowd what it wanted to hear regarding Iran and its nuclear ambitions.

America will no longer tolerate Irans efforts to destabilize the region and jeopardize Israels security. The ayatollahs in Tehran openly admit their desire to wipe Israel off the map and drive its people into the sea. For decades, Iran has funneled weapons and cash to terrorists in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip. Theyve gone to great lengths to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, he said.

Due to the disastrous end of nuclear-related sanctions under the Iran deal, they now have additional resources to devote to sowing chaos and imperiling Israel. So let me be clear, under President Donald Trump, the United States of America will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. This is our solemn promise to you, to Israel, and to the world.

Pence said Trump is also invested in finding an equitable and just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He mentioned how the administrations special representative on peace negotiations, Jason Greenblatt, had visited Israel and the territories a few weeks ago. Last week, the United States hosted an Israeli delegation in Washington.

(AP)
Israeli citizen Fadel Tzaber Knaneh, 25, a resident of Yafia/Nazareth, was arrested, on 2 March 2017, in a joint Shin Bet Israel Police operation in the wake of information according to which he had been in contact with Islamic State (IS) activists.

It should be noted that Knanehs brother, Muhammad Knaneh, left for Syria in 2014, joined IS and was killed in combat.

The Shin Bet investigation revealed that Knaneh, an ideological supporter of IS, was in contact with his brother prior to the latters death and with Israeli citizen Muhammad Keilani, who is currently serving as an IS fighter in Syria or Iraq.

During 2016, Keilani notified Knaneh regarding his brothers death in combat.

In March 2017, Keilani requested Knanehs assistance in transferring funds from Israel to Iraq for the formers use, with the assistance of a Jenin moneychanger. As per Keilanis instructions, and despite his status as an IS terrorist, Knaneh carried out the transaction.

The Shin Bet media messages adds The Shin Bet views with utmost gravity contacts between Israeli citizens and terrorist elements and believes that they severely threaten the security of the State of Israel and the peace of its citizens. Transferring funds to terrorists abroad abets the perpetration of attacks; therefore, the Shin Bet will continue to use all means at its disposal to counter this threat and deal with those involved to the fullest extent of the law.

The State Attorney on Monday 29 Adar), in the Northern District Court in Nazareth, filed an indictment against Fadel Knaneh.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
President Reuven Rivlin announced he is rejecting a request for early release by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Olmert was hoping the president would accept his request for immediate release from prison.

In his response, President Rivlin mentions the difficulties of one who was atop of the pyramid and has now fallen to his present status. He also acknowledges the significant contribution made by Olmert to Israeli society during a long career. However, explains the president, he is compelled to consider the conviction handed down by the court and the sentence handed down against the former prime minister.

The power of pardon of the President of the State is not an appeal to the court, and therefore, as stated, there is no room to grant an amnesty request by way of immediate release from prison writes the president in his response.

Mr. Rivlin reminds the former prime minister that he will have his chance before a parole board where he may ask to remove one-third of his term after paying his debt to society.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The Senate Intelligence Committee will reportedly question Jared Kushner as part of its probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

The committee wants to question Kushner, President Trumps son-in-law and one of his close advisers, about meetings he arranged with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, The New York Times reported.

According to the Times, the White House Counsels office was told this month about the panels request.

The White House has previously acknowledged a December meeting at Trump Tower between Kushner, Kislyak and former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Discussions at that meeting reportedly focused on the potential of better relations between the U.S. and Russia.

The Times reported that Kislyak had requested a second meeting and Kushner sent a deputy in his place. Kislyak requested that meeting to deliver a message, White House spokesperson Hope Hicks said. During that meeting, the Russian ambassador said he wanted Kushner to meet with Sergey Gorkov, the chief of Vnesheconombank.

Kushner met with Gorkov at a later date.

It really wasnt much of a conversation, Hicks said.

Hicks told the Times that nothing of significance was discussed.

Hicks added that Kushner had met with dozens of foreign officials and noted he is open to speaking with Senate investigators.

He isnt trying to hide anything, she said.

Last week, FBI Director James Comey confirmed the bureau is investigating Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, including an links or coordination between members of Trumps campaign and Moscow.

(AP)
By Julie Ahn

On Tuesday, The Hudson County Jewish Business Alliance (http://www.hcjba.com/) presented the Gold Coast Real Estate Conference in Jersey City, which featured prominent government officials and business executives.

The HCJBA, founded and directed by David Rosenberg in 2015, is a unique and influential networking tool that provides its members with opportunities to forge relationships not only with other business executives, but also with top NJ officials and legislative leaders. Moreover, it is HCJBAs goal to highlight North Jersey as an illustrious, flourishing place to live.

The conference started with a bustling networking session, and continued with two informative panel discussions. Miles Berger, Chairman and CEO of the Berger Organization, the events emcee, introduced and welcomed all panelists. The event began with passionate opening remarks by event Chair Kevin Cummings, president and CEO of Investors Bank, who spoke of the county he grew up in: There is clearly a great resurgence and a re-awakening here all along the Hudson County waterfront. As someone who was born up here, I cant help but remember that this area was once mostly a landscape of deserted factories, abandoned piers, and neglected brownstones. I can say with a lot of pride today the Gold Coast has shed that second-fiddled status. Hudson County is now the most magnetic county in the Golden State.

Moderated by Bruce Rosenthal, KPMG Founding Dean of Saint Peters School of Business, the first panel included distinguished government officials who discussed Development and Transportation along the Gold Coast. The theme of this panel can be summed up in one word: Expansion.

John C. Leon, the Senior Director of Government and Community Relations at NJ Transit commented that they are in the process of expanding the Hudson County light-rail to Bergen County, and Jack Buchsbaum, the Deputy Chief Engineer of NY and NJs Port Authority, also commented that the PATH, too, would be expanding its service. Their new capital program includes more frequent service and purchasing another 15 cars. Marcos Vigil, Deputy Mayor of Jersey City, discussed ways to incentivize developers to expand to areas outside of Jersey City. Joseph Demarco, Business administrator of Bayonne, offered his vision of real estate in Bayonne: Bayonne will stay and maintain one and two family homes where people know their neighbors. We will also keep our sky. However, Bayonne wants also to balance the development of the empty warehouses in the city with maintaining a steadfast hold on the identity of their city.

The second panel featured esteemed real estate developers in the region, and was moderated by Joseph Javits, chief lending officer of BCB Bank. Perry Lee, Principal and Director of Acquisitions of Margules Properties, Michael Goldstein, the Managing Director of the KABR Group, were part of this conversation, as well as John Fio Rito, Founder of Point Capital Development, discussed the challenges of transforming neighborhoods in Hudson County, as well as successful and unique ways of incentivizing millennials to move from Manhattan to New Jersey  from amenities to interior design; however, the panelists collectively agreed that New Jerseys greatest incentive is price: Price is King.

With the immense success of the first Gold Coast Real Estate Conference, it is clear that the HCJBA will continue to grow in its influence and continue to improve the life of New Jerseys residents. For more information, contact [email protected].


In an unusual move, the Hamas regime in Gaza announced it was closing the crossing to southern Israel following the assassination of military commander Mazen Fuqaha on Friday night. The closure also prohibits Gaza fisherman from heading out to sea. The Rafiach Crossing to Egypt is also shut. Hence, the only crossing that remained operational on Sunday morning as Kerem Shalom, which is for goods and not people.

The closure is viewed as a move intended to prevent the assassins from making an escape from Gaza. Hamas blames Israel for the assassination of the senior commander, who was shot numerous times at close range.

Hamas leaders are also suspicious of the Salafi group for possibly having perpetrated the assassination and in fact, there are also fear the assassin came from within the Hamas infrastructure. Hamas during recent months has arrested hundreds of Salafi members, who are affiliated with ISIS. Hamas also arrested and blamed Salafi fighters for rocket fire into Israel and the assassination may be a retaliatory move by the Salafi.

In the reverse, in order to pass from Israel back to Gaza, one passes the Erez Crossing controlled by Israel following by the 55 Crossing controlled by the Gaza Crossings Authority and finally, the 44 Crossing manned and controlled Hamas troops.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Polling and data company YouGov saw half-year revenues and profits climb as it benefited from the recent US election and growing demand for its consumer data services.

The Aim-listed company, which offers polling services and provides big companies like KFC and RBS with consumer data, said its US election polling for CBS News made it significantly more visible in the US.

Shares in the company were 0.5 per cent, or 1.5p lower at 261p in morning trading.

Profits boost: YouGov said its US elections national poll had an error of 1.4% on the final margin

The results report comes with UK polling companies under fire after failing to predict Brexit, but YouGov said its US election polls had a 1.4 per cent margin of error, which was within the expected standard and more accurate than other pollsters.

Pre-tax profits for the six months to the end of January rose 27 per cent to 6.3million, while group revenues rose 24 per cent to 51.4million, YouGov said.

The groups data and services division, which saw its share of total revenue rise to 43 per cent, reported a 39 per cent rise in revenues to 22million over the period.

The data division comprises YouGov BrandIndex, which provides big groups like Bank of America and fast-food chain Subway with data about how consumers perceive their brands, and YouGov Profiles, which provides segmentation data to the likes of RBS and Vodafone owner Telefonica UK.

YouGov said it continued to invest in these divisions as data products have a higher profit margin than custom research as the reports produced can be sold to multiple clients while costs are incurred only once.

Chief executive Stephan Shakespeare said: We are investing in technology, constantly improving the scope and depth of our data and leveraging our highly sophisticated core data engine, YouGov Cube.

This focus has helped us continue to outperform the market and it is enabling YouGov to expand in new markets and become a powerful global data and analytics brand.

The company, which has 32 offices in 21 countries, said US revenues climbed by 29 per cent and UK revenues rose by 8 per cent as custom research grew by 13 per cent.

It said custom research revenues jumped 15 per cent to 29.6million, with operating profits rising 26 per cent to 3.5million.

Big clients: YouGov provides consumer intelligence to companies like RBS, Telefonica UK and Viacom

Mr Shakespeare hailed a significant increase in profitability, which he said outperformed the market.

This performance has been driven by the continued strong growth in our subscription-based data products and our fast turnaround data services, he added.

This progress has been complemented by steady margin improvements in the more traditional custom research services.

Shakespeare said trading in the second half had started positively and was in line with expectations.
Northern grocer Booths is venturing further afield  into Malaysia.

Dubbed the 'Waitrose of the North', the 170-year-old family business has gained a foothold in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria.

But rather than try to entice middle-class shoppers with shops in the Home Counties, Booths has teamed up with Hong Kong-listed Dairy Farm.

It will ship 40 product lines, including jams, chutneys and puddings, to 19 shops across Malaysia.

Chairman Edwin Booth, a fifth-generation Booth, told the Daily Telegraph: 'It's the heritage that gives people over there reassurance, particularly when it comes to food.'

Booths is also keen to get its food into homes in the South, perhaps through a deal with a distributor but not by opening more stores.

The chain reported its best ever sales over Christmas  breaking the 10million barrier in Christmas week for the first time.

Champagne sales rocketed 28 per cent, port sales were up 12 per cent and salmon soared 126 per cent.
Leading shareholders in have called on Tesco bosses to abandon a 3.7billion merger with wholesaler Booker.

Fund giant Schroders, the grocer's third biggest shareholder, and US asset manager Artisan Partners have both delivered a stinging rebuke about the potential deal.

According to Schroders, the high price being paid for Booker will destroy value for Tesco shareholders  and it wants others to speak out.

It is not the first time Tesco has come up against opposition for the mega-deal, which would create a food distribution giant responsible for 53.2billion of annual sales.

Weeks before the deal was announced, the grocer's non-executive director Richard Cousins surprisingly resigned.

At the time little explanation was offered, but it was later revealed Cousins, who is chief executive of food group Compass, was opposed to the merger.

He was seen as key in helping the firm trim down the bloated business. But after discovering that Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis wanted to spend billions expanding again, he quit the board.

Now, in the latest attack, Schroders has written a letter  seen by the Daily Mail  to Tesco chairman John Allen urging him to pull out of the merger.

'All management teams believe that their acquisitions will create value,' it said. 'However, there is compelling academic and empirical evidence that, on average, acquisitions destroy value for acquiring shareholders.

'The high price being paid for Booker makes the destruction of value even more likely [than in an average deal].'

Tesco also said it had agreement from the whole board, however Nick Kirrage, Schroders' fund manager, pointed towards Cousins' departure, and said: 'Clearly it didn't.

'We can imagine how difficult it was for Cousins to resign, surrounded by very senior peers. We would give Richard a huge amount of credit for letting his conscience be his guide.

'Tesco is paying an incredibly high price for the acquisition. History suggests the majority of all acquisitions that go ahead, despite all the optimism, fail to create value for the business. Paying 23 times the peak profit of Booker is too high a price.'

In the merger the firms say that with more buying power, they will be able to get better prices for their customers.

But it will push Tesco back into the restaurant market, just after the supermarket giant sold the Giraffe restaurant chain and the Euphorium bakery business.

Daniel O'Keefe, who manages Artisan's global value funds, told the Financial Times: 'The company basically imploded before Dave Lewis began a journey of simplifying, refocusing on the UK.

'We just don't understand, in a business as fragile as retail, why on earth would we risk distracting ourselves from that huge goal.'

The broadside by Schroders and Artisan Partners makes the Tesco and Booker deal the latest take-over bid to be put under scrutiny.

Tomorrow the 21billion German takeover of the London Stock Exchange by the Deutsche Boerse is likely to collapse.

Last night Tesco did not respond to requests for comment.
The Government should ban estate agents from offering potential buyers in-house financial services, according to an independent organisation that supports buyers and sellers.

Many estate agents across Britain earn extra commission by recommending a mortgage broker, conveyancer or solicitor to a buyer, but the Homeowners Alliance warns the practice is being 'routinely abused in the interest of profit.'

It told This is Money it believes there is a clear conflict of interest in estate agents offering in-house services for buyers.

This is because there is a risk the agent will encourage the seller to accept an offer from someone who has agreed to use their in-house services in order to maximise profits.

Maximising profits: By offering in-house financial services to buyers, the lines become blurred, Paula Higgins of the Homeowners Alliance argues

Paula Higgins, chief executive of the Homeowners Alliance, says: 'Estate agents are instructed by - and thereby work for - the seller.

'Yet by offering financial services such as mortgages to clients the line between whose side they're on becomes blurred.

'Invariably, it seems they are acting in their own best interests rather than either parties.'

The organisation warns that it is not a small sideline business operated by one or two agents.

It says it is a huge problem that has been going on for years  and is launching a campaign to make the Government take action, in the interest of both buyers and sellers.

Paula adds: 'Buyers who speak to in house brokers also end up giving detailed financial information to the estate agent that can totally undermine their own negotiating position.

'If the estate agent arranging your mortgage knows you can in theory afford as much as 270,000, you are not going to be able to dig your heels in arguing that you can only afford 260,000.

FINANCIAL SERVICES Last year, we answered an 'ask an expert' question from a reader who was feeling pressured into using financial services from an estate agent. They got in a bidding war with another potential buyers - and the estate agent told the reader that the other bidder was using its financial services, which our reader took as a thinly veiled threat. Have you suffered from a similar problem? Let us know: lee.boyce@thisisimoney.co.uk

'Meanwhile sellers can lose out because estate agents have an incentive to give preferential treatment to buyers who use their services, rather than the buyer who offers the best price.'

The rules around in-house services are outlined in the Estate Agents Act 1979, which is enforced by National Trading Standards Estate Agent's Team of Powys County Council.

Paula argues that this small team in Wales needs to be beefed up to make sure estate agents have an incentive to fully respect the law.

The Homeowners Alliance also says the only part that is illegal is agents not passing on offers to the seller if the prospective buyer doesn't use one of the in-house services.

The rules state agents 'must not discriminate against potential buyers because they don't want, or might refuse, to take services from you or a connected person.'

This means agents must not 'refuse to provide information about a property to these buyers, take longer to send property information to these buyers, compared to others or set additional requirements, as a condition of passing on an offer.'

Paula adds: 'What happens when the agent does pass on offer but hints that another potential buyer may be more suitable - perhaps because they seem more likely to follow through with the move or are more financially stable (when in fact they've simply lined the agent's pockets by using their in-house mortgage broker)?

'This is incredibly difficult to legislate and - even more so - to prove.'

Furthermore, the organisation adds that if a buyer was to go to one of the three different property ombudsmen, they don't have the power to impose punitive fines on an estate agent to stop them breaking the law again.

Nor does the National Trading Standards Estate Agent's Team.

Paula Higgins: The chief executive of the Homeowners Alliances believes changes are needed

Examples of estate agents who have been fined because of sneaky in-house financial services practices are very few and far between  and Paula believes this is because most people don't bother complaining.

Recently, there was a report in the Metro newspaper about one agent who created a 'Premium Buyers List' of potential house hunters who are taking out a mortgage with them, who then get the details of the properties before anyone else.

Paula adds: 'We're calling for in-house services for buyers to be banned.

'There are too many examples of buyers - desperate to buy the property they've fallen in love with - feeling they have to use the agent's in house broker.

'Most estate agents get paid to refer customers but might not employ them in-house. The big firms/chains employ their own network of mortgage advisers.

'The smaller firms might have a referral arrangement with companies so they get a fee if they recommend a solicitor or mortgage adviser. These can vary widely as good local agents used to refer to the solicitors who were good at their job.

'We have no issue with estate agencies offering in-house services to their sellers. This is simply a smart business move in order to increase revenue.

'It is when services are offered to a buyer, namely mortgage services, that the water gets murky. It is clear there is a conflict of interest.'

Mark Hayward, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents Propertymark says: 'We do not support this.

'It is unethical for an agent to give an unfair advantage to a consumer just because they are using their recommended in-house financial services.

'While agents have an obligation to assess the capability of a prospective purchaser to proceed, there are rules put in place to prevent these instances of bad practice, such as the 1979 Estate Agents' Act.

'Under this act, all offers must be referred to the seller regardless of whether or not additional services are going to be used.

'It is therefore important to speak-up if you suspect you have been penalised as there are practices in place that can bring justice to the matter.'




"The HoseMaster is the funniest satirist writing about wine in the world today."



--Karen MacNeil













--Terry Theise









HoseMaster

HoseMaster

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--Robert Parker





"...With sometimes crude analogies and occasional droppings of f-bombs, Washam cleverly uses satire to expose the underbelly of the wine business. It's often hilarious stuff as long as you're not the one being lampooned.



Washam takes no prisoners in skewering all that is silly, stupid, frustrating and pretentious about wine, and his favorite targets are other bloggers and writers. No one is immune."



-- Linda Murphy in "Vineyard and Winery Management"









-- JancisRobinson.com





"

Hosemaster of Wine

First: Im not sure if there is anyone better at cutting through the confidence trick that is often intrinsic to the business of wine.

Second: in a world where offending people appears to border on the illegal, the Hosemaster piles in. No one is safe."

--Joss Fowler "Vinolent.com"







"As serious as the world of wine is, it does allow time for humor. Each Monday and Thursday, Ron Washam customarily posts a commentary on his needling wine blog HoseMaster of Wine . Washam, a former sommelier and comedy writer  he might say they are closely related  is the most opinionated, humorous and ribald observer in the wine world. His body of work is irreverent and remorseless. Its almost always satire and parody, though he occasionally drifts into straight commentary, sometimes even with tasting notes. This past year, one of his posts was named the best of the year in the Wine Blog Awards. His success has spawned several imitations, which in their awkwardness show just how difficult satire is."



--Mike Dunne, Sacramento Bee





Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/21/6089630/dunne-on-wine-wine-blogs-and-bloggers.html#storylink=cpy





"Please let this guy write the scripts for Saturday Night Live which has gotten so lame...his newest "wisdom" is worth an Emmy....I wonder if he is the genius behind all those Hitler/Parker,etc. clips? No one else is remotely as funny or as talented.And the wine world sure needs someone to poke fun at all the nonsense and phoney/baloney unsufferable crap out there."



--Robert Parker





"

Washam uses his own blog, HoseMaster of Wine , to skewer the industry in general and wine blogs in particular. If your mouse scoots to your browser's close box while reading a wine blog, Washam may be the blogger for you."



-- San Francisco Chronicle



"Ron Washam, former sommelier, is easily the most bitingly funny blogger/wine writer that we have ever come across. He is an equal opportunity crusader who pillories big wineries and amateur bloggers alike, as well as everything and everyone in between...One needs a sense of humor and a tolerance for earthiness to enjoy reading The Hosemaster . We must have both because this guy deserves a wider audience, in our humble opinion."





--Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine

--Steve Heimoff





"This site should carry a warning label. It's sort of a Dave Barry/George Carlin approach to wine. The Hosemaster (real name Ron Washam) skewers fellow bloggers and industry savants with glee, while offering hilarious wine guides such as his Honest Guide to Grapes...

--Paul Gregutt, Seattle Times

"Washam is a skilled wine judge (I have judged with him) who is willing to judge wine double blind, in public . To my knowledge, Parker does not do this and never has. So Ron's credentials are in place, and so is his sense of the absurd."

--Dan Berger, VintageExperiences





"...I consider Ron a

talented writer and Ive long been an admirer of his scathing wit..."

--1WineDude

"And if any free sites think they can conquer the world, theres always the Hosemaster

to take em down a notch."

--Tyler Colman "Dr. Vino"

--Jo Diaz "Juicy Tales by Jo Diaz"





"I must say you are an idiot. I've never liked you. I have no idea why people find you funny."

--Reign of Terroir

--Will Lyons (WSJ) on Twitter







--Levi Dalton on Twitter

very
THE opening of Lufafa Gold Mine and now the Bulembu mine in the name of exploiting asbestos dumps, should be triggering alarm bells across the nation at the wake of experiences of Salgaocars exploitation of iron ore dumps at the old Ngwenya Iron Ore Mine.

Following the commissioning of the Lufafa gold mining operations a year or so ago, Kobolondo Mining has recently been licensed to rehabilitate the formerly Bulembu Havelock Asbestos Mine asbestos dumps.

Like Salgaocar Swaziland, Kobolondo Minings shareholding is split into 25 per cent each between government and iNgwenyama in trust for the Swazi nation and the other half is held by private investors behind the venture.

It is common cause that the Salgaocar venture disintegrated acrimoniously culminating with a civil court case, by the companys boss Shanmuga Rethenam, in Canada over a E120 million debt that involved the impounding of a then private jet  in the midst of the court case the aircraft became State property - that must have caused some embarrassment to government. As I see it, given the turn of events apropos Salgaocar, any new mining venture in the Kingdom of eSwatini should have been preceded by an intensive interrogation of the Salgaocar experience.

The importance of such an exercise cannot be overemphasised given reports that the country could have been robbed hundreds of millions of emalangeni in lost revenue. To date government has not taken the nation into its confidence about the revenue it earned from that venture except consequently slapping Salgaocar boss Rethenam with a E4 billion criminal suit ostensibly for lost revenue, a matter that is still pending if ever it will see the light of day  assuming that was governments intention, which is doubtful.



In the middle of the court battle in Canada over the State aircraft, cloak and dagger dealings emerged that did not augur well for the leadership of the country. It emerged from that court case that government, specifically the PM, had not been candid to the nation about the origins of the aircraft.



Ironically, government had been warned about Salgaocar when it went to bed with the company. This was in respect to the companys track record in India where its licence had been revoked and it - including its executives and some Cabinet ministers - was criminally prosecuted for stealing minerals it had not been licensed to exploit. Governments explanation, at the wake of Cabinet ministers being gifted with expensive top of the range tablets, was to insult the intellect of the Swazi nation by saying the Salgaocar it had licenced to exploit the iron ore dumps at Ngwenya was a local company that had nothing to do with that which previously operated in India. Besides the fact that Rethenam was conferred diplomatic status and provided with police escort  an act that reduced this country into a banana republic - Salgaocars Ngwenya operations were mired in controversy, especially the high security and secrecy. Viewed from the backdrop that massive amounts of gold had been discovered during the life of the iron ore min, such behavior was bound to raise suspicions from discerning citizens.

This raised the question why a simple exploitation of iron ore dumps should be secretive and a high security operation when the mining of iron ore itself had no such security. Could it be Salgaocar was exploiting and exporting more than the iron ore dumps? If it was, was this done with the full knowledge of those charged with leading this country? If not what measures have been put in place to ensure that this never happens again?



As I see it, what has emerged from the shambles of the Salgaocar experience is that the Kingdoms prevailing mining regime is neither favourable to the nation nor a catalyst to spurring economic development. Like the rest of Africa, as the Kingdom of eSwatini is not reflective of its mineral wealth hence a majority of the people, approximately 64 per cent, are slaves to grinding poverty while the majority of the youth, including university graduates, are without gainful employment.



Perhaps the obtaining mining regime is deliberate given the frailties of the obtaining political order but in the remote event that it is accidental, there is an urgent need to reform same as in yesterday.



In fact opening new mining operations while the legal and policy framework is as disastrous as it is was ill advised. Indeed the obtaining regime informing the exploitation of minerals in the Kingdom of eSwatini is confirmatory to the narrative of this being a fiefdom in which the ordinary folk are second class citizens good for serving the socially and politically mighty first class land owners.



Then there is the narrative of beneficiation to which just about every African leader has, at one time or the other, paid lip service.

But on the ground there is little that is being done to engender a conducive policy environment and practical implementation strategies. Instead what is abroad are African leaders enriching themselves at the expense of their people.


SITEKI  A female inyanga has been left compromised after her consultation room was burnt to ashes and muti worth over E10 000 was destroyed.



The consultation room (indumba) is one of four houses that have been gutted by fire at popular traditional healer, Siphiwe Maziyas homestead.This has had adverse implications to Maziyas traditional healing practice, following that all her traditional medicine and other equipment were burnt.



According to Maziya, the traditional medicine that was burnt is worth over E10 000.

She said the fire also burnt tinhlolo, the bones which are used by traditional healers to make predictions or to uncover the cause(s) of certain things. She revealed that these bones cost not less than E3 000.



The burning of the indumba crippled me because Im now struggling to work efficiently as I am not fully equipped, she stated.

She said the destroying of the indumba was an indication that the burning of houses at her homestead was deliberate and was aimed at sabotaging her.



However, despite the burning of the indumba Maziya continues to attend to clients.

She now uses another house (rondavel) as a consultation room.



While she was showing this reporter around the houses which were gutted by fire, people were seen arriving to seek her services.

What was noted is that the traditional healers homestead has been destroyed within a space of four months.



The damage that has been caused by the fire, since the first house was burnt in December last year, is estimated to be over E200 000.
MANZINI  Pastor Sikhumbuzo Shongwes wife Jabu assisting her husband take off his shoes in preparation for bed after she presented him with gifts. (R) PROUD DAD: Bishop Nash Shongwe showing off his gifts. (Pics: Bongiwe Dlamini)

MBABANE  A beautiful wife does not come cheap. A lavish wedding ceremony was not the end of it for Pastor Sikhumbuzo Shongwe and his wife Jabu Nkonyane.

On the second day of their union, the bride showered the Shongwe family with gifts. Jabu said the total cost of the gifts summed up to E100 000.



The new Mrs Shongwe first gave her mother-in-law a blanket for what is known as kucela inkhonto. Bishop Nash Shongwes wife, Zanele was the first to receive gifts. In addition to the inkhonto blanket, her daughter- in-law also gave her a purple blanket with a matching head scarf, comforter, an 18-litre Defy microwave and a serving tray.

To show appreciation for the gifts, the bishops wife mimicked sleeping under the presented blankets.The new Mrs Shongwe also presented her sisters and brothers-in-law. When Bishop Nash was presented with a blanket, a tray, an electric kettle and a blender, he stood up from his seat and jokingly told spectators that they should leave as the days work was done. After the announcement, he went back to his seat and took his presents and put them on his head.
MBABANE  A trip to the pharmacy could be similar to a game of Russian roulette.



This is because chalk is now being sold over the counter by certain pharmacies under the guise of medical drugs.

According to the Director of Health Services, Dr Vusi Magagula, in a bid to protect the citizenry from illicit counterfeit drugs that swarm local pharmacies, the Ministry of Health partnered with the International Police (Interpol) to raid local pharmacies and confiscate fake drugs.



The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines counterfeit medicine as one which is deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source. Both branded and generic products are faked.



In some parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, more than 30 per cent of the medicines on sale can be fake, notes the organisation.

Dr Magagula said the issue of counterfeit drugs in the country was so severe that most tablets or pills were fake. This, he said, contributed to many deaths every year and could also have a more collateral effect, as patients may develop immunity to genuine treatment for certain diseases, like tuberculosis.



In some of the raids, we discovered that chalk was sculpted such that it passed out to be a drug and was sold to the gullible public, Dr Magagula said.

He noted that the syndicate managing the counterfeit pharmaceuticals was devious and had the technical know-how to shape a piece of chalk or some flour or starch into a tablet or pill.

Dr Magagula further said labelling and packaging was often imitated to perfection.
MBABANE  Senate President Gelane Zwane has cleared the air regarding recent news that she had been kidnapped



Zwane explained that she was not kidnapped but the person who notified the police about this did not have information about her travel to South Africa for a medical check-up.



Zwane, in an interview yesterday, said she was feeling better and was back in the country after being taken to South Africa for medical scrutiny.

The acting Chief of KoNtshingila noted that her husband was not aware with whom she had travelled last week to hospital.

They did not know who I was with when going to South Africa; otherwise I am fine and back in the country, she said.



Fears of Zwanes disapearance ripped her family last week Tuesday such that her husband, Mike Zwane, reported to the police that his wife had been kidnapped. This assertion resulted in the police investigating the allegation.



With a chuckle, Zwane informed this publication that she was suffering from old age. In vernacular she said: Kugula kwekuguga nje mntfwanami kepha sengiluleme.



It is well documented that Zwane has not been her usual self since 2015. Last year, she missed a better part of Senate sittings and resurfaced towards the end of the year. During this lengthy break, Senate Deputy President Ngomuyayona Gamedze was at the helm of Senate proceedings.

Meanwhile, last week Thursday, the acting prime minister, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Paul Dlamini, said Cabinet was aware that Zwane had been rushed to South Africa for a medical examination.



The DPM said the Minister of Health, Sibongile Simelane, reported to Cabinet about Zwanes state of health.

However, he noted that an ailment of a person was confidential; hence minimal details could be shared other than to acknowledge that the Senate President had been sent to the neighbouring republic for examination.
PIGGS PEAK  A half empty class of pupils, with those present exhibiting signs of being fatigued and sleepy, is what teachers are confronted with on a daily basis.



All this is as a result of a high paying job of trimming and harvesting dagga, wich makes it difficult for some pupils to concentrate in class or attend school.

The pupils are forced to work overnight in dagga fields and then report for school in the morning, something which has resulted in most of them either literally sleeping while classes are ongoing or failing to attend school at all.



Dagga harvesting is ongoing around northern Hhohho but it has come with the high price of making pupils choose between attending class or earning as much as E70 per day or more, depending on the work done.



Working in dagga fields is so lucrative that some pupils have been known to vanish from school, never to return while working for drug lords.

This publication investigated at least four schools in which this is said to be happening. Some of the head teachers were also interviewed in the schools regarding the dagga harvesting by pupils.



As early as 9am, teachers are confronted with pupils taking a nap.

Girls and boys are hired for the purpose of trimming the dagga during harvest time. This work also involves preparing the dagga in readiness to dry it before it is sealed then smuggled out of the country.

The dagga grown in Swaziland is referred to as the Swazi Gold and finds its way to countries as far as India, the USA and even Europe. Overseas, Swazi Gold can fetch as much as 200 times more than what Swazis sell it for.
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By Gina Martinez

State Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing) has helped add $3 million in funding to the New York State Assembly budget to assist dry cleaners and nail salons.

Kim spearheaded the funding inclusion, called the Financial Assistance to Business program, and said he and the rest of the Assembly will ensure the allocation will be in the final 2017 state budget. He is encouraging the state Senate and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to do the same.

This is a great start to uplifting two industries that have faced insurmountable challenges these last few years, Kim said. It will help almost 10,000 family-owned small businesses dealing with unreachable mandates and exorbitant fines.

Members of the Korean American Association of Greater New York, the Chinese American Nail Salon Association, the Korean American Dry Cleaners Association of New York, and the Korean American Nail Salon Association went to the state capital Tuesday to advocate for the program. The Legislature and governor will spend the next few weeks negotiating the final 2017 Budget.

Kim has been outspoken in his support for nail salon owners and has worked with them to ensure regulations do not drive them out of business.

In February 2015 a New York Times article exposed the poor working conditions in nail salons across New York City, including Flushing. The article claimed nail salon workers faced racism, abuse, were paid well below the minimum wage and sometimes were forced to work for no pay. The response to the article was widespread outrage and in May 2015 Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced legislation to protect the rights of nail salon workers. Measures included paying workers back wages, requiring all manicurists to wear gloves and publicly post signs informing workers of their rights in multiple languages.

By October 2016 all new nail salons were required to have ventilation systems. Existing nail salons were given five years to install the ventilation systems. According to Cuomo, the regulation is intended to protect workers and customers from inhaling harmful fumes, but Kim at the time spoke out against the legislation, saying the economic impact of the mandate were too severe.

Our industry is still recovering from the damage done by the unilateral mandates and targeted enforcement of the past few years, said Peter Yu, president of the Chinese Nail Salon Association of East America. The members of our association and I are truly thankful to Assemblyman Kim, who has consistently advocated on behalf of small businesses. It is my hope that this allocation will make it past the final budget and reach the many neighborhood stores who truly need help.
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By Mark Hallum

The Queens Village Republican Club held its annual Lincoln Dinner on Sunday night, honoring the president who freed the slaves for the 142nd year in a row. But a set of quotes falsely attributed to Abraham Lincoln himself managed to find its way into an address delivered to the hundreds in attendance by City Council candidate Joseph Concannon.

The list of 10 guidelines recited by Concannon has been printed on a gold page with the headline Abraham Lincolns Ten Guidelines and featured in a booklet produced by the Queens Village Republican Club for about 15 years, Concannon said.

But it turns out, the guidelines were penned by the Rev. William John Henry Boetcker around 1916 and not the 16th president, The list titled The Ten Cannots by most accounts itemizes a series of philosophies on social change. According to Snopes, PolitiFact and other fact-checking websites, it is unclear when Boetckers work was confused with the words of Lincoln. But Edward Steers wrote in his book, Lincoln Legends: Myths, Hoaxes, and Confabulations Associated with our Greatest President, that the confusion may have started when The Ten Cannots was printed on the back of a leaflet about Lincoln and not attributed to Boetcker.

The American Presidency Project, a website run by two professors at UC Santa Barbara who digitize and catalogue the contemporary work of every American president in history in an easy-to-use database, shows no record of the The Ten Cannots.

You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer, Concannon recited before the attendees gathered Sunday in the ballroom of Antuns at 96-43 Springfield Blvd. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

When questioned about the validity of the quote, Concannon did not dispute its authenticity and was struck by the notion it could be false. He said the list of guidelines are at the very heart of what Queens Village Republicans believe and adhere to regardless of whether or not Lincoln was the originator of the words.

This is who are, Concannon said. We subscribe to this. This isnt something we pulled out of the Lincoln archives. Its been in our journal for about 15 years. So the origin of it at this point we really dont know, but it is who we are and its what we feel passionately about  the principles of our party and who believe we are today.

Among the speakers and attendees were Republican candidates for mayor of New York, Paul Massey, a real estate executive; former player for the New York Jets Michel Faulkner; and Gristedes Foods CEO John Catsimatidis.

Bob Holden, the president of the Juniper Park Civic Association and a leader in the fight against the use of hotels as homeless shelters, was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Queens Village Republicans despite the fact he is a longtime Democrat. Holden made headlines last year fighting the Maspeth Holiday Inn homeless shelter and his opposition to Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D-Maspeth), who lost her re-election bid after a lack of involvement on the issue.

I dont care if youre a Democrat or a Republican, if you dont do right by the neighborhood, were not going to get along, Holden said.
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By Patrick Donachie

School staff will not allow federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into New York City public schools or provide them with any information unless it is absolutely required by law, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.

With these updated guidelines, we are reinforcing the fact that a school is a safe and protected location, de Blasio said. We will not allow ICE agents to threaten that protection, disrupt classes or take any action that would be detrimental to our students, whose safety is our No. 1 concern. We are a city of immigrants and we  along with many other cities across the nation  intend to stay that way.

The new protocols came as New York City participated in the U.S. Conference of Mayors Cities Day of Immigration Action, which intended to show support for immigrants living in urban areas throughout the country. In guidance sent to DOE principals, the city stressed that current ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy limits agency actions at sensitive locations, which includes schools.

Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), the chair of the Councils Education Committee, said the updated protocols offer clarity in the midst of an anxious period for school staff and immigrant students.

Thanks to these new trainings, teachers and staff will be equipped with the knowledge they need to care for our children, he said. We must never allow the misuse and abuse of federal immigration law enforcement to rob our young people of a quality education.

If an ICE agent seeks to gain access to a school, however, the DOE said principals should meet them at the school safety agent desk, inquire about all identification and any documentation the agent may have, and advise the agent that until the school gets advice from DOE legal counsel, the agent must wait outside the facility.

In the protocol, the DOE stressed that ICE and other federal agents could enter schools facilities with a warrant, but it depends upon the scope of the warrant and whether it was properly issued, and agents should not enter until legal counsel has reviewed the court order. ICE agents could also enter schools under exigent circumstances, or with consent, but the DOE made clear that would not be forthcoming.

DOE does not consent to non-local law enforcement accessing school facilities in any circumstances, and principals and other school personnel may not give consent, the guidelines read.

The Immigrant Affairs office will also partner with NYC Health + Hospitals in order to host a number of forums on the health care rights of immigrants, including how immigrants can access care and what services are available regardless of immigration status. A forum in Queens will be held next March 29, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the NYC Health + Hospitals Elmhurst Hospital Center, located at 79-01 Broadway.
Beaver County identifies mail-in voters with undated ballots

Anyone on the list should visit the Beaver County elections office by 8 p.m. Tuesday to make the necessary corrections.
WILTON -- An early-morning fire on Monday destroyed a mobile home and displaced three adults and three children.

Wilton Fire Chief Scott Brackett said the call for the fire at 21 Nichols Road came in about 3:12 a.m. When his crew arrived, the fire, which started in a back addition, had spread through the roof.
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WATERFORD - Albert Manwaring took his 10- and 12-year-old kids to school Monday morning and returned home to frantic neighbors who said their apartment building was on fire.

His girlfriend managed to save their Chihuahua-pug mix and two guinea pigs but a cat was still missing, Manwaring said. All the tools he needs to run his maintenance business were destroyed.

"I don't know if I'm going to have the money to replace it all," Manwaring said. "My business is just me and I run it to support my family."

The three-alarm fire destroyed home for seven adults and four children, all of whom safely escaped the 15 Washington Ave. building, fire officials said. Volunteer organizations will help them find shelter.

Dozens of firefighters spent more than three hours pouring water on the blaze, which sent brown and white pungent smoke billowing over the village.

Resident Heath Doty woke to the sound of fire alarms. After getting his wife, their 3-year-old son and a pet cat safely outside, Doty said he ran back inside to alert his neighbors.

Black smoke was seeping from the door of a downstairs apartment's when he knocked and pulled a woman to safety, he said.

Crews quickly searched the home when the fire was reported at 8:30 a.m but, less than an hour later, engine horns blared to warn firefighters to get out of the unsafe structure.

Smoke engulfed the two-story, wood-frame home, even as firefighters doused the building with six hoses from the outside. The fire forced police to close Washington Avenue.

By 10:30 a.m. flames were shooting from the roof and out the eaves. Firefighters went through countless oxygen tanks as they used chainsaws to open walls for water and ventilation.

Saratoga County fire investigators and Waterford police were on scene to probe what sparked the fire. The cause has not yet been determined.

The blaze attracted more than a dozen onlookers, who ventured out of nearby homes to watch the fire fight. Crews kept the inquisitive public back by taping off the area around the burning building.

Longtime Waterford residents said the building was decades old and was once a corner store.
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It was May 15, 1930, when a group of young nurses assembled beside an old Boeing transport to make aviation history as the first airline stewardesses in the United States.

San Francisco Chronicle archive photos show most of the historic women (seen in the first two photos above), when they reunited in San Francisco in 1965 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of flight stewardess service.

The original stewardess team flew a San Francisco to Chicago route on United Airlines. The women were Margaret Arnott, Inez Keller, Cornelia Peterman-Tyson, Harriet Iden, Jessie Carter, Ella Crawford, Ellen Church-Marshall and Alva Johnson.

One of the six, Church-Marshall, helped the stewardess role become a reality. Steve Stimpson, a retired United Airlines executive, seized her idea and pushed it into action. Church-Marshall was teaching at San Francisco's French Hospital (now part of Kaiser Permanente) and taking flying lessons when the idea came to her.

She mentioned her idea to Stimpson, a one-time executive of United's predecessor, Boeing Air Transport, who then sent a wire to his boss in Cheyenne, Wyoming, suggesting " 'not flapper-type girls' but graduate nurses with some horse sense."

An industry profession ensued, and stewardess style has made headlines since. One of the more outlandish examples we found in the Chronicle archives was a Sept. 1, 1967, report of flight attendants wearing disposable paper mini dresses on British airline BOAC's Caribbean flights. The short-sleeved shifts were "splashed with purple and cerise flowers" and were discarded in a bin marked "paper towels" after each flight. The cost of each dress was 28 cents. (You can see one of the dresses in the gallery above.)

About 35,000 flight attendants, no longer required to be registered nurses, flew for U.S. domestic airlines by 1970, according to San Francisco Chronicle archives.

According to the Justia Law site, Celio Diaz Jr., a man from Miami who wanted to be a flight attendant, challenged the policy of hiring women only in Diaz v. Pan American World Airways. By the time the suit was settled, in 1971, Diaz was then too old to be hired as a flight attendant. But the ruling opened the door for thousands of others.

According to the site Femininity in Flight, A History of Flight Attendants, in 1968, the EEOC declared age restrictions on flight attendants' employment to be illegal. Originally female flight attendants were fired if they reached age 32 or 35 depending on the airline, were fired if they exceeded weight regulations, and were required to be single upon hiring and fired if they got married.

One of the original eight stewardesses, Peterman-Tyson, survived two serious plane crashes during her career one at Kimball, Nebraska, in 1930, and one at Eugene, Oregon, in 1933. The one in Eugene involved a Ford tri-motor, which crashed on take-off, killing the pilot and co-pilot. The mayor at that time, John F. Shelley, proclaimed the day "Airline Stewardess Day" in their honor.

Of the original stewardesses not in attendance at the 1965 San Francisco reunion, Johnson, was killed in a car crash and Crawford, a San Francisco resident, was simply listed as "unable to attend," in Chronicle archives.

To see how flight attendant uniforms have transformed over the years, click through the gallery above.

Bob Bragman is a producer for SFGATE. His writing reflects his love of the Bay Area, in addition to his passion for vintage pop culture, ephemera and vernacular photographs. To see more of his content, please click here.
QUEENSBURY -- Three Delaware residents were arrested on felony drug charges, including possessing cocaine and prescription drugs, early Saturday, the Warren County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies stopped a vehicle for traffic violations at 1:25 a.m. on State Route 149 near Bay Road, Investigator Ralph Barrett said.
GUILDERLAND -- Farnsworth Middle School is closing early Monday due to a water main break.

The school posted on its website that students will be dismissed at 11:35 a.m. All after-school and evening activities are canceled.

Aubrey Kammler, spokeswoman for the district, said the main line leading out to the roadway in front of the school broke.

With no water in the school, she said, the district had to close.

"They'll be able to get that fixed up while (students) are safely out," she said.

She anticipates the school will reopen Tuesday.
Dan Balilty

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is directing state police to investigate the distribution of fliers expressing white supremacist views that were found earlier this week in the driveways of more than a dozen homes in Lewiston.

"These messages contradict all that we stand for as New Yorkers," Cuomo said in a statement issued Saturday. "I am directing the State Police to work with local law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation to find those responsible for distributing these repugnant fliers and determine whether this act is connected to any bias-related incident in the state."
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New York

The latest in a string of brutality cases against Rikers Island guards has added fuel to a growing debate on whether New York City's notoriously violent jail complex has become so dysfunctional it should be shut down.

At least 35 staff members at Rikers have faced criminal charges in the past three years, including 13 for assault or attempted assault. Federal prosecutors have also charged more than a half dozen Rikers guards with violating inmates' civil rights through excessive force, smuggling drugs and other charges since 2014.

"Rikers Island is one of these long-term injustices and abuses that every New Yorker should be outraged about," said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "The situation is intolerable."

Inmate activists have for more than a year argued that shutting down the sprawling, 10-jail complex on the East River is the only solution for a cycle of abuses that include violence by guards and gang members, mistreatment of the mentally ill and juveniles and unjustly long detention for minor offenders.

"If you are a New Yorker who cares about the soul of the criminal justice system, you know that Rikers is the belly of the beast," said Glenn Martin, founder of the nonprofit group JustLeadershipUSA, which seeks to decrease the number of Americans behind bars.

Among the other arguments for closing Rikers is that the island facility near La Guardia Airport  accessible only by a narrow bridge  is too isolated, cutting off inmates from the outside world in a way that hinders oversight and rehabilitation.

Daily populations at Rikers have recently been falling below the 15,000 capacity listed on a city website  averaging less than 10,000  a trend city officials attribute to reducing detention for those charged with misdemeanor drug possession. Advocates say that makes it viable to dismantle Rikers and replace it with a combination of new and expanded existing jails in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Cost estimates have reached as high as $10 billion.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has stuck to his position that reforms and improvements at Rikers are both the least costly and most practical approach.

A 2015 settlement of civil litigation over pervasive brutality at Rikers imposed various changes, including the addition of thousands of surveillance cameras, stricter policies on use of force and the appointment of a federal monitor to oversee conditions.
THE ISSUE:

The state spends billions on economic development but gains are unclear.

THE STAKES:

Can the state develop a program that better demands and measures success?

More Information To comment: tuletters@timesunion.com or at http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion See More Collapse

---

There are two ways to look at the upstate job growth that, despite upward of $8.6 billion a year in state and local government spending, has remained anemic: It could have been better, and it could have been worse.

By that we mean, yes, 2.7 percent job growth over the last six years is hard to call satisfactory, especially compared with a national average of 11 percent. So certainly we'd all want New York to do better, if it could.

It's also possible, though, that the number would have been even worse if no money had been put into economic development. Nor can we say whether all that investment will yet bear more substantial fruit.

The governor and lawmakers can point to some significant successes, such at the GlobalFoundries plant in Malta, lured here with the help of $1.2 billion in subsidies and now employing more than 3,800 people.

Beyond the big splashes, however, lies a sobering statistic: Most of the 47,500 net new jobs in New York under Gov. Andrew Cuomo haven't been in education or high tech, but in the low-wage retail, restaurant and bar sectors  42,000 jobs in all. That's not a formula for broad prosperity.

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It is stating the obvious to say there is no magic bullet here, but there are some obvious things that need to be done which, for some reason, have not been. Earlier this month, the New York City Citizens Budget Commission offered a blueprint for improving the state's economic development programs, and it's as sensible as it is self-apparent.

It includes a single state and local "uniform economic development budget" to get the full picture of the efforts under way and how much taxpayers are spending, including things not now included, like tax breaks and the multibillion subsidy of upstate nuclear power plants that will come out of a new fee on electricity bills.

The CBC also recommends standardizing how performance is measured in all economic development programs; a "Database of Deals" so people can see the money that's out there, how it's being spent, who's getting it, what the goals are and whether they're being met. It suggests withholding benefits until after goals have been met to make economic development less speculative and these projects harder for developers and other businesses to walk away from; and sunset dates on these programs to insure their effectiveness is regularly reviewed.

And it should go without saying that the emphasis should be on real new jobs, not moving jobs around regions or the state.

So, as Mr. Cuomo and lawmakers work to finalize a state budget by April 1  one in which the governor wants to raise spending on economic development by $644 million and add $1.5 billion in future tax credits  they need to bear in mind both ways of looking at the numbers. The lackluster employment results demand New York get a better handle on whether it is getting enough bang for the buck  and how it can make that bang bigger.
March 27, 2017

Complaints on social media can spell disaster for any business. Customers put a great deal of stock into online reviews, mentions and ratings, and a negative review or complaint can quickly drive prospective customers to a competitor. Thankfully, social media also provides the channels and opportunities to turn a complaint into a positive customer interaction, benefiting businesses, customers and future prospects while resolving potential issues.





According to a recent infographic from customer service support specialists Provide Support, a semi-formal interaction on social media is likely

to increase a customers spend by anywhere from 20 to 40 percent. Thats pretty significant, which is why social media is steadily becoming a major factor in business marketing and customer interaction strategies. At the same time, a public complaint can escalate quickly if left unchecked, which is why businesses need to be quick and savvy, turning social media complaints into positive customer interactions.

Provide Support finds that a whopping $41 billion is lost each year by U.S. companies due to poor customer service. And while 80 percent of companies believe they offer superior customer service, only 8 percent of customers feel the same way. Even so, customers who receive a positive response via social media are not only likely to spend more money with a company, but 48 percent of them will share their positive experience on social media.

Clearly, businesses need to harness the social media opportunity and head off complaints before they become problematic. Provide Support offers 10 steps to providing superior customer care and support on social media, beginning with always responding to customers. All comments must be taken seriously, and businesses would do well to reply in a polite tone. Amazingly, 70 percent of customer complaints go unanswered on Twitter (News - Alert), pushing customers away  the opposite of engagement. Businesses can prioritize social media messages by using the tag feature on Sprout Social, helping them to save time and prioritize issues appropriately.

Businesses would do well to respond to social media messages within an hour. Social media is fast paced, and customers respect a timely response; so, at a minimum, companies should acknowledge the message and assure customers they are looking into it. Another simple way to engage on social media is to address customers by name and use your own name in responding, adding a personalized touch to the interaction. Social media agents can also retweet or share positive responses and resolved issues, promoting a positive image among their entire customer base. At the other end of the spectrum, they can take messages private when things become sensitive, minimizing negative exposure while still addressing individual customer issues and concerns.

Other important guidelines for social media customer interaction include monitoring brand names and responding even if a business or brand is not mentioned directly. There are plenty of social media tools to aid in this endeavor, and its a great and proactive way to remain active on social media. Businesses can also look for opportunities to follow up with articles and FAQs based on popular queries and concerns, taking a proactive approach to customer service and resolution. Social media agents should most definitely avoid engaging with trolls, who should be easy to spot and ignore. Finally, social media impact can be measured using tools and analytics like Sprout (News - Alert) Social, which can track engagement rates and response times.

By having a solid social media strategy in place, businesses can take advantage of its myriad benefits while addressing and heading off complaints before they negatively impact businesses and their brands.

Edited by Alicia Young
[March 27, 2017] Cook Medical Receives Indiana Governor's Half Century Business Award

Today Governor Eric Holcomb honored Cook Medical as a 2017 recipient of the Governor's Half Century Business Award at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. This award is in recognition of the fact that for more than 50 years, Cook has been working to make Indiana a better place - not just for employees, but also for the communities it calls home. "As Cook has grown over the years, so has our impact on the state of Indiana," said Pete Yonkman, president of Cook Medical and Cook Group. "But our impact goes well beyond jobs. Our renovation of historic buildings has helped revitalize entire communities, and our partnerships with universities across the state are helping pave the way for the next generation of Indiana leaders and innovators. These are just some of the ways Cook has shown our ongoing commitment to being a vital part of Indiana's past, present, and future." The Governor's Half Century Business Award celebrates more than just a company's longevity. While a company must have had its base in Indiana since it was founded and had continuous operations in the state for more than 50 years, this alone isn't enough. An honoree must have also demonstrated a lasting commitment to serving the community. And since Cook Medical's founding in 1963, a key part of the business philosophy has been a dedication to giving back to the communitiesin which it's established. Today, Cook employs more than 7,000 people throughout the state.



"We're proud to be recognized by Governor Holcomb for more than 50 years of contributions to the state, and we're even more excited about what we can help achieve in the next 50 years," Yonkman continued. "This award gives us the chance to reflect on that responsibility, and to thank all of our employees for their part in helping us earn this recognition. All of the positive contributions Cook has made - in Indiana and beyond - would be impossible without the hard work and dedication of thousands of current and former employees." About Cook Medical

Since 1963 Cook Medical has worked closely with physicians to develop technologies that eliminate the need for open surgery. Today we are combining medical devices, biologic materials and cellular therapies to help the world's healthcare systems deliver better outcomes more efficiently. We have always remained family owned so that we have the freedom to focus on what we care about: patients, our employees and our communities. Find out more at www.cookmedical.com, and for the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170327005907/en/

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[March 27, 2017] Gray Announces Proposed Addition To Senior Credit Facility Term Loan

ATLANTA, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Gray Television, Inc. ("Gray," "we," "us" or "our") (NYSE: GTN and GTN.A) announced today that it is proposing, subject to market and other conditions, to add on $85 million to its existing term loan under its current senior credit facility (the "Senior Credit Facility"). The proposed addition to our existing term loan would be used to fund our previously announced acquisition of two television stations from Diversified Communications ("Diversified") and other general corporate purposes. We anticipate the terms of the proposed term loan addition will be essentially the same as our existing term loan. On February 16, 2017, we announced that we had reached an agreement with Diversified to acquire WABI (CBS/CW) in the Bangor, Maine market (DMA 156) and WCJB (ABC/CW) in the Gainesville, Florida market (DMA 161) for a total purchase price of $85 million. The transaction represents an attractive purchase price multiple of less than 7.0 times expected blended 2016-2017 pro forma broadcast cash flow, including expected synergies. Subject to receipt of regulatory and other approvals, we expect the transaction will close in the second quarter of 2017. On February 6, 2017, we announced that we anticipate receiving $90.8 million in proceeds resulting from the Federal Communication Commission's recently completed reverse auction for broadcast spectrum. The anticipated proceeds reflec the FCC's acceptance of one or more bids placed by Gray during the auction to modify and/or surrender spectrum used by certain of our television stations. We anticipate that the proceeds will be received by Gray in the second or third quarter of 2017. Due to prior planning in connection with our recently completed acquisitions, we anticipate that we will be able to defer any associated taxes on a long-term basis.



About Gray: Gray currently owns and/or operates 100 television stations across 54 television markets that collectively broadcast over 200 program streams including 101 channels affiliated with the CBS Network, the NBC Network, the ABC Network and the FOX Network. Our portfolio includes the number-one and/or number-two ranked television station operations in essentially all of our markets, which collectively cover approximately 10.1 percent of total United States television households.

Cautionary Statements for Purposes of the "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the federal securities laws. These "forward-looking statements" are not statements of historical facts, and may include, among other things, statements regarding our current expectations and beliefs of the proposed add-on to our Senior Credit Facility term loan, pending acquisitions, results of the FCC spectrum auction, the impact of recently completed transactions, future expenses and other future events. Actual results are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from the current expectations and beliefs discussed in this press release. All information set forth in this release is as of the date of this release. We do not intend, and undertake no duty, to update this information to reflect future events or circumstances. Information about certain potential factors that could affect our business and financial results and cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements are included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and may be contained in reports subsequently filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. www.gray.tv To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gray-announces-proposed-addition-to-senior-credit-facility-term-loan-300425581.html SOURCE Gray Television, Inc.

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[March 26, 2017] Mitsubishi Electric SOCIO-ROOTS Fund Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO:6503) announced today that the Mitsubishi Electric SOCIO-ROOTS (News - Alert) Fund, a charitable in-house undertaking through which the company matches employee donations, will celebrate its 25th anniversary this April. Since its establishment, the fund has donated a cumulative 1.2 billion yen, or roughly US$ 12 million, in cumulative donations, to about 1,900 social-welfare organizations in Japan. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the fund will conduct commemorative fundraising activities covering all Mitsubishi (News - Alert) Electric business locations during the fiscal year that starts in this April. The Mitsubishi Electric SOCIO-ROOTS Fund was established in April 1992 to support employee donations to worthy causes in society. Open to all company personnel in Japan, the program encourages employees nationwide to contribute to activities rooted in local communities.



At the request of employees, donations have supported victims of several natural disasters in Japan, including the 2004 Chuetsu Earthquake, the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the 2014 Hiroshima landslide disaster. Most recently, more than 62.8 million yen has been donated to help victims of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. Support for recovery initiatives following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake has included ongoing donations to organizations that provide mental health services to children who lost loved ones and safe playgrounds to replace parks and schoolyards that have been repurposed for temporary housing and other uses. Cumulative donations to such organizations will reach 133 million yen, or roughly US$ 1.3 million, in the current fiscal year that ends this March. The SOCIO-ROOTS Fund has become Mitsubishi Electric's (News - Alert) signature initiative in the field of social welfare. Going forward, the fund aims to support worthy causes aligned with evolving trends in global society, such as the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN General Assembly held in September 2015.

The full document on Mitsubishi Electric's financial results can be accessed at the following link: www.MitsubishiElectric.com/news View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170326005078/en/

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[March 26, 2017] LabNetwork Integrates with Reaxys to Offer Seamless Experience from Chemistry Research to Purchase

SHANGHAI and BOSTON, March 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- LabNetwork, WuXi AppTec's global chemistry ecommerce platform company, today announced a new collaboration with Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. LabNetwork's nearly four million commercially available discovery and research compounds will now be directly available to users of Reaxys, Elsevier's premier chemistry database. The enhanced functionality means chemical companies and researchers, while using Reaxys, will also have access to both LabNetwork product availability and price information as a standard feature. The implementation deepens WuXi's integration with chemists' research and discovery workflows and expands exposure to WuXi ecommerce through LabNetwork. Through the integration chemical companies and researchers can now enjoy product quality assurance that is guaranteed by WuXi, greater transparency over supply chains, and lower costs for a range of vital compounds on Reaxys. Researchers will also reap the advantages of a wider selection as LabNetwork sources compounds from more than 2,000 suppliers across the globe. Finally, the integration means that researchers will be able to easily compare the cost of buying a compound versus making it internally, allowing them to save time, accelerate research and better allocate budget resources. "We are always looking for ways to support our customers to become more efficient and successful in their research," commented Dr. Thibault Geoui, Senior Director for Chemistry Solutions at Elsevier. "This integration with LabNetwork streamlines a process that thousands of researchers undertake many times a day. Speeding up these activities helps companies' commercialize their own compounds faster, meaning that customers in rapidly developing markets, such as China, will benefit in particular. Not only because they will have peace of mind about the quality of the product they are investing in, but by boosting exports as well as iproving in-country R&D."



Dr. Xuanjia Peng, Head of LabNetwork, commented, "We're excited to work with Elsevier, a world leading research tool in the chemistry and life science industries, to better serve the global research community with more cost effective research chemicals to lower research cost. LabNetwork is committed to provide researchers across the world with unprecedented access to LabNetwork's commercially available compounds from a broad range of quality sources." About WuXi AppTec

WuXi AppTec is a leading global pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and medical device open-access capability and technology platform company with global operations. As an innovation-driven and customer-focused company, WuXi AppTec provides a broad and integrated portfolio of services to help our worldwide customers and partners shorten the discovery and development time and lower the cost of drug and medical device R&D through cost-effective and efficient solutions. With its industry-leading capabilities in small molecule R&D and manufacturing, biologics R&D and manufacturing, cell therapy and gene therapy R&D and manufacturing, medical device testing, and molecular testing and genomics, WuXi platform is enabling more than 3,000 innovative collaborators from more than 30 countries to bring innovative healthcare products to patients, and to fulfill WuXi's dream that "every drug can be made and every disease can be treated." Please visit http://www.wuxiapptec.com

About LabNetwork

LabNetwork, a wholly owned subsidiary of WuXi AppTec, is a global eCommerce platform with the vision of connecting suppliers and buyers of research products. Backed by WuXi AppTec's expertise in R&D, sourcing, quality control, warehousing and logistics, LabNetwork brings trusted, novel, and high-quality compounds from WuXi's global network of qualified providers to the chemistry and research communities worldwide. Our mission is to enable scientists anywhere in the world to leverage the LabNetwork platform to conduct their research more efficiently and cost effectively. For more information, please visit: http://www.LabNetwork.com About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions -- among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey -- and publishes over 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and more than 35,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com About Reaxys

Reaxys contains over 240 years of unparalleled chemistry content, including: 105 million organic, inorganic and organometallic compounds, 41 million chemical reactions, 500 million published experimental facts, 16,000 chemistry related periodicals, and six indexing sources for a cross-disciplinary view of chemistry. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/labnetwork-integrates-with-reaxys-to-offer-seamless-experience-from-chemistry-research-to-purchase-300429433.html SOURCE WuXi AppTec

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Kitakyushu City & Shimonoseki City to Launch Net Video on Japan's Kanmon Strait

On Monday, March 27, 2017, the Kitakyushu City and Shimonoseki City released a new internet video aimed at attracting more visitors to the Kanmon area. The Kanmon Strait is a narrow body of water that runs between Moji in Kyushu and Shimonoseki in Honshu, and is one of Japan's three fastest tidal currents, ranking just behind Naruto and Kurushima straits. Due to the influence of ebb and flow of water bodies on adjacent sides, the current of Kanmon Strait changes direction four times in a single day.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170326005070/en/





Kanmon area promotional video: "Monster of the Strait" Episode (Graphic: Business Wire)

The new video convincingly portrays the grandeur and extraordinary power of Kanmon Strait, as an enormous sea monster emerging near it attempts to attack the city, but is instead swallowed up in the strait's powerful whirlpool.

Through the video, the Kitakyushu City and Shimonoseki City aim to increase awareness of the appeal of the Kanmon to potential visitors from all corners of the globe-regardless of domestic or abroad-and to serve as a branding effort that will encourage more people to visit the area.

For images to publish with this release:

Please download accompanying images from the link below.

https://goo.gl/9tR4cq

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170326005070/en/
[March 27, 2017] MDxHealth Epigenetic Biomarkers Identify Men at Increased Risk of Prostate Cancer Recurrence

NEWS RELEASE / REGULATED INFORMATION / INSIDE INFORMATION

ABSTRACT #490, POSTER SESSION 36 Data presented at EAU 2017 shows potential to improve personalized treatment IRVINE, CA, and HERSTAL, BELGIUM - 07:00 CET, March 27, 2017 - MDxHealth SA (Euronext: MDXH.BR) today announced that results from a prospective study demonstrate that biomarkers from its ConfirmMDx for Prostate Cancer test could help urologists monitor therapy response to improve the personalized treatment of castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).1 CRPC is an aggressive form of the disease that doesn't respond to traditional, hormone deprivation therapies. The study findings were presented at the 2017 European Association of Urology (EAU) Annual Congress in London, England. Researchers from Radboud University Medical Center and Ghent University found that men with CRPC (n=47) had higher concentrations of plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA - fragments floating outside of cells in the bloodstream), and higher levels of methylation of the biomarkers detected by the ConfirmMDx for Prostate Cancer test, versus a control group (n=30) of healthy people.1 DNA methylation, used by cells to control gene expression and hypermethylation of specific genes, is a hallmark of many cancers and has been shown to predict cancer progression. "The prognosis for men with CRPC is poor, with median survival times ranging from 9 to 22 months," said Prof. Dr. Jack Schalken, study investigator and Research Director, Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Urology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. "The identification of reliable biomarkers for CRPC will ultimately help urologists to more effectively stratify patients in this population to receive the treatment that will provide the greatest potential for extending life." In this study, the median levels of cfDNA of men with CRPC were significantly higher than in the age-matched controls and men <35 years of age (p<0.01).1 Hypermethylation of GSTP1 was observed in 91% of men with CRPC at baseline, prior to treatment initiation, and significantly higher than in both male control groups (p<0.02).1/sup> Methylated APC was also higher in men with CRPC at baseline versus the control group (p<0.01).1 Patients were stratified into four groups to assess overall survival according to cfDNA concentration at baseline and GSTP1/APC response to treatment with chemotherapy, abiraterone or enzalutamide. The group with both samples below the median had significantly less prostate cancer-related deaths (p<0.02).1



"MDxHealth's research collaborations help us to discover new applications for biomarkers to expand our portfolio of molecular diagnostics for uro-oncology," said Dr. Jan Groen, CEO of MDxHealth. "This study is another strategic milestone in our ongoing development of liquid biopsy products to help urologists detect prostate cancer recurrence and assess treatment response." 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: Hendriks R, et al. (2017) Cell free DNA methylation markers as predictors of treatment response and prognosis for castration-resistant prostate cancer. European Association of Urology (EAU) Annual Meeting. Abstract #490. 26 March 2017. 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/5a858919-f024-4bf6-afc2-24c545af38a0

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[March 27, 2017] Nokia malware report reveals new all-time high in mobile device infections and major IoT device security vulnerabilities

Mobile device malware infection rates increased steadily in 2016, reaching an all-time high

Smartphones hit hardest: infections rose nearly 400 percent in 2016, and accounted for 85 percent of all mobile device infections in the second half of 2016

Massive Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks revealed urgent need for improved Internet of Things (IoT) device security 27 March 2017 Espoo, Finland - Nokia today issued its latest Threat Intelligence Report, revealing a new all-time high in mobile device malware infections, a sharp increase in compromised smartphones and major IoT device security vulnerabilities. Issued twice per year, the Nokia Threat Intelligence Report examines general trends and statistics for infections in devices connected through mobile and fixed networks around the world. The latest report revealed a steady increase in mobile device infections throughout 2016, with malware striking 1.35 percent of all mobile devices in October - the highest level seen since reporting started in 2012. The report also revealed a surge of nearly 400 percent in smartphone malware attacks in 2016. Smartphones were the most-targeted devices in the second half of the year, accounting for 85 percent of all mobile device infections. While Android(TM)-based smartphones and tablets continued to be the primary targets, reflecting the prevalence of the operating system worldwide, iOS-based devices also suffered attacks in the second half of the year, primarily by Spyphone surveillance software that tracks users' calls, text messages, social media applications, web searches, GPS locations and other activities. The Threat Intelligence Report also exposed major vulnerabilities in the rapidly expanding universe of IoT devices, underscoring the need for the industry to re-evaluate its IoT deployment strategies to ensure these devices are securely configured, managed and monitored. Kevin McNamee, head of the Nokia Threat Intelligence Lab, said: "The security of IoT devices has become a major concern. The Mirai botnet attacks last year demonstrated how thousands of unsecured IoT devices could easily be hijacked to launch crippling DDoS attacks. As the number and types of IoT devices continue to proliferate, the risks will only increase. Nokia's network-based security can help address this growing threat by detecting activity before a DDoS attack occurs, enabling service providers to take corrective actions that mitigate the impact." Key findings of the latest Nokia Threat Intelligence Report include: Mobile device infection rate continues to climb: The overall infection rate increased 63 percent in the second half of 2016, cmpared to the first half of the year.

The overall infection rate increased 63 percent in the second half of 2016, cmpared to the first half of the year. New all-time high: The mobile device infection rate rose steadily throughout 2016, reaching 1.35 percent in October (vs. 1.06 percent in April 2016) - the highest level recorded since the study started in 2012.

The mobile device infection rate rose steadily throughout 2016, reaching 1.35 percent in October (vs. 1.06 percent in April 2016) - the highest level recorded since the study started in 2012. Smartphones the top target: Smartphones were the top malware targets by far, accounting for 85 percent of all mobile device infections in the second half of 2016. Smartphone infections increased 83 percent during this period compared to the first half of the year (0.90 percent vs 0.49 percent), and increased nearly 400 percent in 2016.

Smartphones were the top malware targets by far, accounting for 85 percent of all mobile device infections in the second half of 2016. Smartphone infections increased 83 percent during this period compared to the first half of the year (0.90 percent vs 0.49 percent), and increased nearly 400 percent in 2016. Major IoT device vulnerabilities: In late 2016, the Mirai botnet assembled an army of compromised IoT devices to launch three of the largest DDoS attacks in history, including an assault that took down many high-profile web services. These attacks underscored the urgent requirement for more robust security capabilities to protect IoT devices from future attacks and exploitation.

In late 2016, the Mirai botnet assembled an army of compromised IoT devices to launch three of the largest DDoS attacks in history, including an assault that took down many high-profile web services. These attacks underscored the urgent requirement for more robust security capabilities to protect IoT devices from future attacks and exploitation. Malware seeks a bite out of Apple: Android-based devices continue to be the primary target for malware attacks (81 percent). However, iOS and other mobile devices were also targeted in the second half of the year (4 percent).

Android-based devices continue to be the primary target for malware attacks (81 percent). However, iOS and other mobile devices were also targeted in the second half of the year (4 percent). Decrease in Windows/PC infections: Windows/PC systems accounted for 15 percent of malware infections in the second half of 2016, down from 22 percent in the first half of the year.

Windows/PC systems accounted for 15 percent of malware infections in the second half of 2016, down from 22 percent in the first half of the year. Fixed network infections continue decline: The monthly infection rate in residential fixed broadband networks averaged 10.7 percent in the second half of 2016, down from 12 percent in the first half, and down from 11 percent in late 2015. While moderate threat level adware activity decreased in the second half of 2016, high-level threats (e.g., bots, rootkits, keyloggers and banking Trojans) remained steady at approximately six percent.



Nokia NetGuard Endpoint Security (NES) network-based anti-malware solution. NES analyzes traffic patterns from within service provider networks for evidence of malware infections in more than 100 million devices worldwide, including mobile phones, laptops, notepads and a broad range of IoT devices. NES is much more efficient than traditional antivirus software, as it cannot be disabled and protects mobile and fixed network devices without requiring any on-board security software. It enables service providers to deliver superior protection while providing valuable insights to better manage and maintain the security of their networks.

Resources Nokia Threat Intelligence Report - H2 2016

Website: Nokia NetGuard Endpoint Security Connect with Nokia: Subscribe to receive information on specific areas of interest

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Glassdoor About the Nokia Threat Intelligence Lab The Nokia Threat Intelligence Lab focuses on the behavior of malware network communications to develop detection rules that identify infections based on command and control communication and other network behavior. This approach enables the detection of malware in the service provider's network, and the detection rules developed form the foundation of Nokia's NetGuard product suite. 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 Android is a trademark of Google Inc.; IOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. and other countries; Apple is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Media Enquiries:

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Phone: +358 10 448 4900

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[March 27, 2017] A new project for Quebec entrepreneur Olivier Primeau will mark the first Canadian collaboration by JACK & JONES

MONTREAL, March 27, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - The next few months will be very busy for the successful young entrepreneur Olivier Primeau. In addition to managing the BeachClub, which he acquired in 2015 with his father and brother, the ambitious thirtysomething will embark on a new business project. Guided by his ambition and his audacity, he will launch his energy into the men's fashion industry, with an exclusive clothing collection in partnership with Danish brand ORIGINALS by JACK & JONES. Beach Day Every Day from head to toe Olivier Primeau wants the Beachclub vibe to become a day-to-day life style. This is why he is teamed up with the ORIGINALS by JACK & JONES team to create a new clothing collection for men: Beach Day Every Day By JACK & JONES. ''We are excited to pursue our collaboration with Olivier and to partner with him on this project of a new lifestyle collection of clothing,'' says Bernard Bruneau, Retail Manager for JACK & JONES in Canada. For the Danish company, this is the first collaboration of its kind with a Canadian or a Quebecer. ''It is a wonderful opportunity for us to highlight our local market by working directly with a hometown personality, while keeping the Danish roots of the brand,'' says Genevieve Nault, Wholesale Sales Manager for JACK & JONES in Canada. Involved in all parts of the project, Primeau is making sure that the final product will be vibrant, young and very current, reflecting the vibe of the Pointe-Calumet Beachclub. In all, the collection includes some forty pieces, including t-shirts, tank tops, caps, bags, shorts and sweatshirts, all offered in differents summer prints and colours inspired by the casua and colourful style of the influencer.



The Beach Day Every Day By JACK & JONES collection will be available on May 8th, 2017 in approximately forty JACK & JONES retail stores and around thirty Hudson's Bay locations across Canada. The clothing will also be available online at jack-jones.ca and beachdayeveryday.co. "The King of Snapchat" has fast become a social media icon with more than 150 million impressions, in addition to 8 million views on Facebook and 400 000 page views on olivierprimeau.com. To stay in the know about Olivier Primeau's projects, follow him on Instagram (oli_beachclub), Facebook (oliprimeau), Snapchat (oliprime) and on his personal website olivierprimeau.com.

You can also follow JACK & JONES on Instagram (jackandjones_canada) and Facebook (jackandjonescanada). About BESTSELLER BESTSELLER is a family-owned clothing and accessories company founded in Denmark in 1975 by Merete Bech Povlsen and Troels Holch Povlsen. BESTSELLER offers trendy clothes for women, men, teenagers and children through more than 20 different brands including JACK & JONES, VERO MODA, ONLY, NOISY MAY, and many more. BESTSELLER brands are sold in more than 70 markets across Europe, the Middle East, Canada, India and globally through e-commerce. BESTSELLER operates more than 3,000 stores in 38 countries and its products are sold in nearly 15,000 independent stores and large-scale stores. About ORIGINALS BY JACK & JONES ORIGINALS by JACK & JONES is a sub-brand of JACK & JONES, one of Europe's leading men's fashion brands with more than 1,000 stores in 38 countries. In Canada, JACK & JONES has more than 45 retail stores and can be found in most major retailers and a variety of independent boutiques. ORIGINALS by JACK & JONES is inspired by indie pop and urban culture. The style is vibrant and easy going and references are drawn from everything that influences the current trends. With the aspiration to be first movers, ORIGINALS by JACK & JONES is bold and daring, not afraid to stand out from the crowd. The brand provides hip and high quality products in a mix of colours and styles, giving everyone the possibility to customize an individual look. ORIGINALS by JACK & JONES provides a full range of items suitable for hip guys who are creative in their styling. The collection is driven by trends and emphasizes colourful items like printed T-shirts, casual shirts, sweatshirts and five-pocket jeans. SOURCE BESTSELLER

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[March 27, 2017] Vive X Announces Second Batch Of Companies To Join Global Accelerator Program

SHENZHEN, China and SAN FRANCISCO, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Vive X, HTC Vive's global accelerator program today announced the second batch of companies chosen to receive funding and support to grow the Virtual Reality ecosystem. Over thirty new companies across San Francisco, Beijing, Shenzhen and Taipei have been selected to participate in the program with the goal of building and advancing the global VR and AR ecosystem. "Vive X works with the most promising VR/AR companies to advance innovation and move the whole industry forward," said Marc Metis, Global Head of Vive X. "We're continuing to invest in and support the development of foundational platform services and hardware advancements, as well as expanding areas like enterprise, commerce, education, health, social, and eSports." This is the second batch of companies in the global program. In less than one year, Vive X has gone from being a startup itself to investing in more than sixty companies globally, making it one of the leading VR investors in the world. The unmatched support of Vive X ensures that these companies are provided with all the tools necessary to successfully create the next wave of VR content, services, platforms and hardware. Vive X operates under a service-oriented philosophy and seeks to build relationships and act as partners with its companies and alumni. Many of the companies are more advanced than typically seen in accelerators, though choose to join Vive X for strategic reasons. In addition, the company is also opening Vive X in Israel, and currently looking for applications in that market. To find out more information on submitting and application to Vive X, please visit: https://www.vive.com/us/vivex. The companies included in Vive X Batch 2 are: San Francisco cognitiveVR provides 3D spatial analytics and user feedback tools for VR/AR, enabling organizations to quickly and easily display analytics on their users' sessions and collect deep metrics on user behavior and feedback.

provides 3D spatial analytics and user feedback tools for VR/AR, enabling organizations to quickly and easily display analytics on their users' sessions and collect deep metrics on user behavior and feedback. Construct Studio is a bilingual independent studio dedicated to creating interactive narrative experiences for VR. Construct has recently created their first interactive VR narrative "The Price of Freedom", based on the real events of CIA mind control program Project MK Ultra.

is a bilingual independent studio dedicated to creating interactive narrative experiences for VR. Construct has recently created their first interactive VR narrative "The Price of Freedom", based on the real events of CIA mind control program Project MK Ultra. Created by founders of Phosphor Games, the studio behind the worldwide hit VR shooter 'The Brookhaven Experiment', Forbidden Mechanism was formed with the single-minded passion to create the greatest competitive online multiplayer shooter for VR.

was formed with the single-minded passion to create the greatest competitive online multiplayer shooter for VR. HyperfairVR is a SaaS web-based social VR solution for enterprises. It allows businesses to self-build and easily customize their own branded VR environment, and quickly publish to multiple platforms to engage with customers and employees in VR via avatars.

is a SaaS web-based social VR solution for enterprises. It allows businesses to self-build and easily customize their own branded VR environment, and quickly publish to multiple platforms to engage with customers and employees in VR via avatars. Limitless is a cloud-based platform that aims to make it easier to create VR content. Using the Limitless VR Creative Environment, creators can animate characters directly in VR using motion controls, simplifying the animation process for newcomers and professionals alike.

is a cloud-based platform that aims to make it easier to create VR content. Using the Limitless VR Creative Environment, creators can animate characters directly in VR using motion controls, simplifying the animation process for newcomers and professionals alike. Mindesk developed the first immersive interface for commercial CAD software in the world. With Mindesk, engineers, architects and designers can build their models naturally in VR, while collaborating in real time in the cloud.

developed the first immersive interface for commercial CAD software in the world. With Mindesk, engineers, architects and designers can build their models naturally in VR, while collaborating in real time in the cloud. Realiteer develops and distributes immersive and evidence-based programs in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), which has been clinically shown to treat substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. It is working closely with world-class academic researchers to design and build these programs.

develops and distributes immersive and evidence-based programs in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), which has been clinically shown to treat substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. It is working closely with world-class academic researchers to design and build these programs. The Rogue Initiative is a new VR and Digital Media content studio, creating AAA cinematic interactive entertainment. The Rogue Initiative collaboraes with established Hollywood talent to co-create and co-own new intellectual property in VR that can be further developed into various franchises.

is a new VR and Digital Media content studio, creating AAA cinematic interactive entertainment. The Rogue Initiative collaboraes with established talent to co-create and co-own new intellectual property in VR that can be further developed into various franchises. Subdream is a social VR gaming studio founded by serial gaming entrepreneur Jikhan Jung. Subdream plans on releasing quality multiplayer games that can be played at VR arcades and at home.

is a social VR gaming studio founded by serial gaming entrepreneur Jikhan Jung. Subdream plans on releasing quality multiplayer games that can be played at VR arcades and at home. Vertebrae is a native advertising platform for VR and AR. The headset-agnostic tech stack connects advertisers with developers and publishers to deliver immersive, native VR/AR/360 video advertising experiences.



Beijing Mint Muse develops immersive audio technology and innovations, providing market-leading capture devices, immersive audio workstations, rendering SDKs and live broadcasting solutions for the VR community.

develops immersive audio technology and innovations, providing market-leading capture devices, immersive audio workstations, rendering SDKs and live broadcasting solutions for the VR community. Hexa is changing the way we experience our planet by making it easy to create and scale 3D content. Hexa automatically converts 2D photos into 3D assets and enable online retailers to create virtual equivalents of their collections and display them online.

is changing the way we experience our planet by making it easy to create and scale 3D content. Hexa automatically converts 2D photos into 3D assets and enable online retailers to create virtual equivalents of their collections and display them online. Vito , a pioneering VR education game studio, inherits the philosophy of Ge Wu Zhi Zhi , which encourages learning through exploration. Its series of original content includes Nature and Science discovery, Historical and Social stories, and Physical environment simulations.

, a pioneering VR education game studio, inherits the philosophy of , which encourages learning through exploration. Its series of original content includes Nature and Science discovery, Historical and Social stories, and Physical environment simulations. Invrse Reality aims to fuse physical and virtual reality. Our unique interface design and touch input will bring meaningful user experiences to your fingertips.

aims to fuse physical and virtual reality. Our unique interface design and touch input will bring meaningful user experiences to your fingertips. PlusOne is an AR + AI startup creating interactive intelligent human holograms which can be used by enterprises to train their employees to interact more effectively with customers.

is an AR + AI startup creating interactive intelligent human holograms which can be used by enterprises to train their employees to interact more effectively with customers. Multiverse is a world-class VR studio founded by game industry veterans from places like Wevr, Disney, Riot, Ubisoft, Com2us, and CJ E&M. Multiverse is poised to create industry-defining content and help bring VR to the masses. Multiverse's previous game, Reveries: Dream Flight, is one of the highest-rated VR games worldwide, and a top selling title on the Oculus Store.

is a world-class VR studio founded by game industry veterans from places like Wevr, Disney, Riot, Ubisoft, Com2us, and CJ E&M. Multiverse is poised to create industry-defining content and help bring VR to the masses. Multiverse's previous game, Reveries: Dream Flight, is one of the highest-rated VR games worldwide, and a top selling title on the Oculus Store. Red Accent is a game creator with a strong track record developing games for console, PC and mobile. Red Accent is currently working on sports and adventure titles and is based out of Shanghai and San Francisco .

is a game creator with a strong track record developing games for console, PC and mobile. Red Accent is currently working on sports and adventure titles and is based out of and . Byond is a cloud-based VR publishing platform empowering brands, media companies and agencies to create their own personalized interactive universe in VR. Using Byond's tools, VR applications can be easily created and published across all platforms.

is a cloud-based VR publishing platform empowering brands, media companies and agencies to create their own personalized interactive universe in VR. Using Byond's tools, VR applications can be easily created and published across all platforms. OVA's StellarX it's the best tool out there for non-programmers to develop their own VR environments in VRand through simple grab-and-drop creation. Shenzhen

Transmind offers more than just a fun multiplayer game. Players can assume different identities in a virtual world and socialize with others, while watching videos, playing games, casually chatting, and even finding their significant others.

offers more than just a fun multiplayer game. Players can assume different identities in a virtual world and socialize with others, while watching videos, playing games, casually chatting, and even finding their significant others. Aurora AR 's goal is to be the leader in augmented reality glass optics and device design. Our first product is a 135-degree field of view augmented reality glass that works under daylight, and is cost-effective for consumers.

's goal is to be the leader in augmented reality glass optics and device design. Our first product is a 135-degree field of view augmented reality glass that works under daylight, and is cost-effective for consumers. Kiwi Technology specializes in providing consumer products with detecting and tracking technology through an RGB camera, along with 3D graphics and visual effects. KiwiFace mobile and VR SDK have been widely adopted by over a dozen major live-streaming/short video/VR products, reaching hundreds of million devices by the first half of 2017.

specializes in providing consumer products with detecting and tracking technology through an RGB camera, along with 3D graphics and visual effects. KiwiFace mobile and VR SDK have been widely adopted by over a dozen major live-streaming/short video/VR products, reaching hundreds of million devices by the first half of 2017. Shengda provides VR solutions and training for vocational and K-12 education to replace hazardous experiment/training for employees, such as working with high- voltage engines in electrical vehicles. Shengda also helps local governments build up VR education centers in Shenzhen , Sichuan , Chongqing , and Jilin .

provides VR solutions and training for vocational and K-12 education to replace hazardous experiment/training for employees, such as working with high- voltage engines in electrical vehicles. Shengda also helps local governments build up VR education centers in , , , and . Brokencolors builds and integrates head-based sensing technologies that bring the users' gaze, facial expressions, and mindsets into the virtual world. Our sensing technologies are creating a more immersive experience for VR users.

builds and integrates head-based sensing technologies that bring the users' gaze, facial expressions, and mindsets into the virtual world. Our sensing technologies are creating a more immersive experience for VR users. bHaptics enables users to enjoy VR with visual, auditory, and haptic feedback. Our distinguished haptic devices and haptic authoring software are the ideal solution for conveniently adding appropriate haptic feedback to various VR content.

enables users to enjoy VR with visual, auditory, and haptic feedback. Our distinguished haptic devices and haptic authoring software are the ideal solution for conveniently adding appropriate haptic feedback to various VR content. SoccerDream is a VR football training technology that helps clubs and academies make their players smarter, and keep them highly motivated, just as the world's top clubs do. Taipei Opaque Space is a premier developer of consumer and simulation VR experiences. Opaque Space is developing the acclaimed VR game Earthlight and collaborating with NASA to develop VR training tools for the next generation of astronauts.

is a premier developer of consumer and simulation VR experiences. Opaque Space is developing the acclaimed VR game Earthlight and collaborating with NASA to develop VR training tools for the next generation of astronauts. Snobal builds VR Tools for business. Our VR Tools empower organizations to easily create, manage and analyze their virtual reality environments, whether for design, collaboration or stakeholder engagement.

builds VR Tools for business. Our VR Tools empower organizations to easily create, manage and analyze their virtual reality environments, whether for design, collaboration or stakeholder engagement. Memora is a global leading 360-degree camera manufacturer that provides a new way to communicate and archive moments in 360VR and AI.

is a global leading 360-degree camera manufacturer that provides a new way to communicate and archive moments in 360VR and AI. Xikaku develops AR technology for applications in industrial and medical fields. Our first product, the X-Visor, is an analysis and visualization system allowing factory personnel do precise and efficient machine inspection using an overlay of real-time sensor data. Our systems provide a platform to dramatically enhance the capabilities and skills of human resources in mission critical applications.

develops AR technology for applications in industrial and medical fields. Our first product, the X-Visor, is an analysis and visualization system allowing factory personnel do precise and efficient machine inspection using an overlay of real-time sensor data. Our systems provide a platform to dramatically enhance the capabilities and skills of human resources in mission critical applications. Appnori Inc. is a sports-focused VR game development company, developing games such as baseball and table tennis, which can be enjoyed by all users regardless of age.

is a sports-focused VR game development company, developing games such as baseball and table tennis, which can be enjoyed by all users regardless of age. VRANI 's goal is to provide VR's fantastic experiences to users by focusing on interactive VR characters. Through four core-playing experiences, Easy-Play, Extreme-Play, Interactive-Play and Multi-Play, we create fun and easy casual VR content.

's goal is to provide VR's fantastic experiences to users by focusing on interactive VR characters. Through four core-playing experiences, Easy-Play, Extreme-Play, Interactive-Play and Multi-Play, we create fun and easy casual VR content. TEGway is a manufacturer of flexible thermoelectric device (F-TED). TEGway developed the world's first high performance F-TED. Based on F-TED technology, TEGway is introducing "ThermoReal" solution which enables players to feel temperature and pain in the game/VR/AR environment. About HTC VIVE

VIVE is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality platform developed by HTC and Valve for total immersion in virtual worlds. Designed from the ground up for room-scale VR and true-to-life interactions, VIVE delivers on the promise of VR with game-changing technology and best-in-class content. VIVE has been recognized with over 65 awards and wide critical acclaim since its unveiling in 2015. For more information, visit www.VIVE.com. HTC, the HTC logo are the trademarks of HTC Corporation. All other names of companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vive-x-announces-second-batch-of-companies-to-join-global-accelerator-program-300429309.html SOURCE HTC Vive

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[March 27, 2017] Frost & Sullivan Identifies the 2017 Global Blockchain Startup Map

LONDON, March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The blockchain ecosystem made great leaps forward in 2016, with dozens of new companies, funding rounds and partnerships making headlines. Using Outlier Ventures' Blockchain Ecosystem Tracker with over 1200 listed blockchain startups, Frost & Sullivan and Outlier Ventures have evaluated the market and mapped 130 major blockchain startups into their key activity areas. "We are still at the beginning of a long journey for blockchain startups. Investment in 2016 reached an all-time high of over $500 million, bringing total investment in blockchain technology startups to $1.5 billion," said Vijay Michalik, Digital Transformation Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "While the technology's ecosystem is still in its early phases, 2016 saw a clear progression away from cryptocurrency towards generalized financial services and enterprise infrastructure. The technology is also making new inroads into vertical industries like energy, healtcare and the automotive sector."



Lawrence Lundy, Head of Research & Partnerships at Outlier Ventures noted: "Blockchains and distributed ledger technologies have seen high levels of interest and exploration from corporates in 2016. As the hype calms down, the next year should see real-world commercial deployments in specific value-add applications." To find out more on the 2017 Global Blockchain Startup Map, or to schedule an interview, please contact Anna Zanchi, Corporate Communications: [email protected]

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. About Outlier Ventures Ltd

Outlier Ventures is Europe's first dedicated blockchain venture builder. It services Outlier Capital LLP, Europe's first blockchain venture fund, developing, supporting and growing its joint ventures with entrepreneurs, academic institutions, start-ups and corporate venturing arms. For more information visit: https://outlierventures.io/ Contacts:

Anna Zanchi

Corporate Communications  Frost & Sullivan, Europe

P: +39.02.4851 6133

E: [email protected]

http://ww2.frost.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/frost--sullivan-identifies-the-2017-global-blockchain-startup-map-300429540.html SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

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[March 27, 2017] Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Awarded Investment Certificate in Vietnam

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB:KBLB) (Company), the leading developer of spider silk based fibers, announced today that it has just been awarded an Investment Certificate for the production of high technology silk in Vietnams Quang Nam province. Kim Thompson receives Investment Certificate at Quang Nam Vietnam Investment Conference.



Kim Thompson with Vietnam Investment Certificate for Kraig Labs



Kraig Labs CEO, Kim Thompson and COO, Jon Rice with the Company's recently awarded Vietnam Investment Certificate







//www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7c230223-69db-4576-a3e4-8500fefc755a //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f4270bea-47a5-4294-ade1-d4a7ed9fe068

//www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/71d215d0-a16b-4e07-ab4d-c3bb98aff146 The Investment Certificate was issued to the Company during the March 26, 2017 Quang Nam Investment Conference, which was attended by Vietnams Prime Minister and numerous high level central government officials, including the ministers of all relevant governmental departments, as well as high level officials from Quang Nam province, including the Chairman and key provincial officials. Representing Kraig Labs at the meeting were the Companys CEO and Founder, Kim Thompson, and COO, Jon Rice. It was an honor to receive this award on stage from the Chairman in front of the Prime Minister, said Thompson. This is a huge step forward in our plans to expand production on a large scale. We look forward to the opportunity to revitalize silk production, using high technology, in an area of the world with a strong history of quality silks and textiles. This Investment Certificate award was the necessary and final step before the Company seeks central government approval for the expansion of Kraig Labs business. The Companys efforts to secure that final approval are well underway. I would like to personally thank the Chairman and his staff for working so closely with us to finalize the Investment Certificate, stated Rice. While this is a momentous occasion for Kraig Biocraft Laboratories and our shareholders, it is also a turning point in the commercialization of advanced fibers. The Investment Conference is receiving significant media coverage in Vietnam, including several English language media outlets. To view the most recent edition of Kraigs Spider Sense quarterly newsletter and/or to sign up for Company alerts, please go to www.KraigLabs.com/newsletter About Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (www.KraigLabs.com), a fully reporting biotechnology company is the leading developer of genetically engineered spider silk based fiber technologies. The Company has achieved a series of scientific breakthroughs in the area of spider silk technology with implications for the global textile industry. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information Statements in this press release about the Companys future and expectations other than historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are made on the basis of managements current views and assumptions. As a result, there can be no assurance that managements expectations will necessarily come to pass. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as believes, plans, expects, anticipates, foresees, estimated, hopes, if, develops, researching, research, pilot, potential, could or other words or phrases of similar import. Forward looking statements include descriptions of the Companys business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions and goals. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Ben Hansel, Hansel Capital, LLC (720) 288-8495 [email protected]

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[March 27, 2017] BIOPHYTIS opens the first clinical centers in Europe and starts the recruitment of sarcopenic patients for SARA-OBS study

PARIS, March 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIOPHYTIS (Alternext Paris:ALBPS), a biotechnology company specialized in the development of drug candidates to treat ageing diseases, announced that the first clinical centers leading the observational study SARA-OBS have opened in Europe and started the recruitment of patients. These patients, diagnosed with sarcopenia, could later be treated with drug candidate Sarconeos in the phase 2b clinical trial SARA-INT.

The first clinical centers have opened and started the screening of patients with sarcopenia in Belgium, (Liege, Prof. Bruyere, Liege University), in France (Toulouse, Profs. Vellas & Rolland, Gerontopole). It will soon start in Italy (Roma, Profs. Donini & Gnessi, La Sapienza University). Regulatory approvals to start SARA-OBS study in these countries have been granted in 2016. Two clinical centers in the USA (Boston, Prof. Fielding, Tufts University School of Medecine ; Gainesville, Prof. Pahor, Institute on Aging, College of Medecine, University of Florida) should open and start recruitment in the coming weeks once final regulatory approval is received, being acknowledged that the clinical design of SARA-OBS study has already been approved by the American regulatory authority. A total of 300 patients with sarcopenia will be recruited in 8 clinical centers for the SARA-OBS study. Those sarcopenic patients will constitute the basic patient population for the phase 2b SARA-INT study. Stanislas Veillet, CEO of BIOPHYTIS, stated: We are pleased to announce that the first clinical centers have opened for the SARA-OBS study in Europe. We will open two new clinical centers in the US in the coming weeks, once final approval is granted. The network of leading clinicians that we have gathered in the past months, at the cutting edge of science in Sarcopenia research, is key for the success of the Phase 2b SARA-INT clinical study. SARA-OBS is a 6-months clinical observational study, conducted in over 300 sarcopenia patients, that will monitor multiple parameters of disease severity and progression. Sarcopenic patients will be monitored for 6 months. For this purpose the e-health SARA-data platform has been designed and implemented for collecting both qualitative and quantitative data data. This unique and flexible tool provides proprietary and standardized data via remotely connected devices and allows secure communication and continuous data collection from home. Patients mobility and muscular quality will be assessed, based on the following criteria: 6-minute walk test, muscle strength (grip test), physical performance (SPPB test), body composition and plasmatic parameters. Data from SARA-OBS will proide a better characterization of sarcopenic patients that will be later enrolled in a Phase 2b study, SARA-INT.



The phase 2b of SARA-INT will be initiated 6 months after the enrollment of the first patient in the SARA-OBS study. Patients in the SARA-OBS study will ultimately be enrolled in the phase 2b study of SARA-INT, when consent is given and necessary authorizations are granted. ABOUT SARCONEOS: Sarconeos is the first representative of a new class of drug candidates, based on the activation of the MAS receptor (major player of the renin-angiotensin system) stimulating anabolism in the muscle, inhibitor of myostatin and favoring muscle mass development in animal models of muscular dystrophies. Sarconeos is developed in the treatment of sarcopenia, an age-related degeneration of skeletal muscle and strength, leading to a loss of mobility in elderly people. This new pathology, for which no medical treatment currently exists, was first described in 1993 and just entered the WHO International Classification of Diseases (M62.84), affects more than 50 million people worldwide.

About BIOPHYTIS:

BIOPHYTIS SA (www.biophytis.com), founded in 2006, develops drug candidates targeting diseases of aging. Using its technology and know-how, BIOPHYTIS has begun clinical development of innovative therapeutics to restore the muscular and visual functions in diseases with significant unmet medical need. Specifically, the company is advancing two lead products into mid-stage clinical testing next year: Sarconeos (BIO101) to treat sarcopenic obesity and Macuneos (BIO201) to treat dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The company was founded in partnership with researchers at the UPMC (Pierre and Marie Curie University) and also collaborates with scientists at the Institute of Myology, and the Vision Institute. BIOPHYTIS is listed on the Alternext market of Euronext Paris (ALBPS; ISIN: FR0012816825). For more information: http://www.biophytis.com Follow us on Twitter @biophytis BIOPHYTIS is eligible for the SMEs scheme Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. For a discussion of risks and uncertainties which could cause the Company's actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements to differ from those contained in the forward looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors (Facteurs de Risque) section of the Listing Prospectus upon the admission of Companys shares for trading on the regulated market Alternext of Euronext Paris filed with the AMF, which is available on the AMF website (www.amf-france.org) or on BIOPHYTIS website (www.biophytis.com). This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe to shares in BIOPHYTIS in any country. Items in this press release may contain forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties. The Companys actual results could differ substantially from those anticipated in these statements owing to various risk factors which are described in the Companys prospectus. This press release has been prepared in 5 both French and English. In the event of any differences between the two texts, the French language version shall supersede. BIOPHYTIS

Stanislas VEILLET

CEO

[email protected]

Tel : +33 (0) 1 41 83 66 00 Citigate Dewe Rogerson

International media

Laurence BAULT/Antoine DENRY

[email protected] / [email protected]

Tel : +33 (0)1 53 32 84 78

Mob : +33(0)6 64 12 53 61 LifeSci Advisors

Chris MAGGOS

Managing Director, Europe

[email protected]

Tel : +41 79 367 6254

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[March 27, 2017] Cellceutix Reports Very Encouraging Interim Analysis of Phase 2 Drug Candidate Brilacidin for Severe Oral Mucositis (OM) in Head and Neck Cancer Patients; High Potential for Preventative Treatment

BEVERLY, Mass., March 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cellceutix Corporation, (OTCQB:CTIX) (the Company), today presented positive results from the Company's ongoing randomized, double-blind Phase 2 study of Brilacidin in the prevention and control of Oral Mucositis (OM) in patients receiving chemoradiation for treatment of Head and Neck Cancer. In a preliminary interim analysis, a marked reduction in incidence of Severe OM (WHO Grade > 3) was observed in patients treated with Brilacidin who received at least 55 Gy cumulative units of radiation. Study results, complementing favorable data released last week in the treatment of Ulcerative Proctitis/Proctosigmoiditis with Brilacidin, further establish Brilacidin as a novel anti-inflammatory drug candidate with potentially broad applications.

Presented below is information on Cellceutixs clinical trial of Brilacidin for OM, including preliminary Interim Analysis of 19 patients (9 administered Brilacidin; 10 administered placebo) who have reached or passed the planned visit at the end of 5 weeks on study, and received a cumulative radiation dose of at least 55 Gy. STUDY DESIGN CTIX-BRI-205 is a Phase 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the safety and efficacy of Brilacidin as an oral rinse in preventing and controlling OM in patients receiving chemoradiation therapy for Head and Neck Cancer. The study is anticipated to enroll approximately 60 patients in the United States, 30 each to Brilacidin treatment or to placebo (water). Brilacidin (45 mg/15 ml oral rinse -- swish and spit) is administered 3 times daily across 7 weeks (49 days). Pharmacokinetics of Brilacidin are to be evaluated if there is measurable systemic exposure (from drug concentrations in plasma). The Brilacidin OM trial uses a World Health Organization (WHO) OM Grading Scale, a common measurement tool in assessing the presence and severity of OM, as defined below. WHO Scale for OM Grade 0 = None

Grade 1 = Erythema and Mouth Pain Soreness; no Ulceration/Pseudomembrane formation

Mouth Pain Soreness; no Ulceration/Pseudomembrane formation Grade 2 = Ulceration/Pseudomembrane formation; solid diet

Grade 3 = Ulceration/Pseudomembrane formation; liquid diet

Grade 4 = Ulceration/Pseudomembrane formation; not able to tolerate a solid or liquid diet (except enough liquid for medication) Primary Endpoints of the Brilacidin OM trial are: Incidence of Severe OM (WHO Grade > 3) experienced during radiation therapy (across 7 weeks) by patients with Head and Neck Cancer receiving a cumulative radiation dose of at least 55 Gy in the course of their chemoradiation treatment

3) experienced during radiation therapy (across 7 weeks) by patients with Head and Neck Cancer receiving a cumulative radiation dose of at least 55 Gy in the course of their chemoradiation treatment Safety and Tolerability of Brilacidin A Secondary Endpoint included in the Interim Analysis is: Duration of Severe OM (WHO Grade > 3) Pharmacokinetics of Brilacidin is determined from: Brilacidin concentrations in plasma INTERIM ANALYSIS Preliminary efficacy and safety data from 19 patients who met the criteria for evaluation were reviewed. To be included, patients needed to have reached or passed the planned visit at the end of 5 weeks on study, and have received a cumulative radiation dose of at least 55 Gy. Patients receiving Brilacidin, as compared to patients on placebo, showed a markedly reduced rate of Severe OM (WHO Grade > 3). Additionally, Brilacidin was generally safe and well-tolerated. Primary Efficacy Results Incidence of Severe OM (WHO Grade > 3) Active Arm (Brilacidin): 2 of 9 patients (22.2 percent)

Control Arm (Placebo): 7 of 10 patients (70 percent) Secondary Efficacy Results Duration of Severe OM (WHO Grade > 3) Active Arm (Brilacidin): Mean 10.5 days (Range 3 to 18 days; 2 patients)

Control Arm (Placebo): Mean 14 days (Range 3 to 39 days; 7 patients) Safety and Tolerability Profile



Brilacidin administered as an oral rinse was generally well-tolerated by patients

Safety findings were typical for patients with Head and Neck Cancer being treated with chemoradiation; no treatment group differences were apparent on vital signs and clinical laboratory safety tests

Six patients (2 in Active Arm, 4 in Control Arm) experienced at least one adverse event categorized as serious. Nine Serious Adverse Events (SAEs) were reported for these 6 patients, and all were classified by the Investigator as Not Related to study drug

Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events (TEAEs) Majority of the TEAEs reported (Active Arm, 164 TEAEs; Control Arm, 143 TEAEs) were related to chemoradiation or the underlying study indication No TEAEs were classified as Likely Related or Definitely Related to study treatment

Pharmacokinetics Plasma samples from 6 patients treated with Brilacidin were analyzed and all concentrations of Brilacidin were below the lower limit of quantification (i.e., < 10 ng/mL) These interim results suggest the potential for an even greater effective therapeutic response as formulation and dosing is further optimized, commented Arthur P. Bertolino, MD, PhD, MBA, President and Chief Medical Officer at Cellceutix. There currently is no existing preventative treatment available for OM patients in this population, with only limited therapies focusing on symptom relief. Already under Fast Track designation, should Brilacidin earn FDA approval for the treatment of Oral Mucositis, countless patients may no longer have to suffer from this horribly debilitating condition as a side effect of cancer treatment. The use of Brilacidin to prevent the onset of OM could even lead to an entirely new standard of care in this area as we strive to bring this drug to market.

Cellceutix, over the past months, has added additional clinical sites to this study. Completion of the clinical trial is expected before year-end. Alerts: Sign-up for Cellceutix email alerts is available at: www.cellceutix.com/email-alerts About Brilacidin Brilacidin is Cellceutixs lead drug candidate in its defensin mimetic franchise. Modeled after Host Defense Proteins (HDPs), the front-line of defense in the immune system, it is a small, non-peptidic, synthetic molecule that kills pathogens swiftly and thoroughly. Just as importantly, Brilacidin also functions in a robust immunomodulatory capacity, lessening inflammation and promoting healing. Due to its unique properties, Cellceutix is studying Brilacidins effect on oral mucositis (under Fast Track designation) and on ulcerative proctitis/proctosigmoiditis (UP/UPS) in Phase 2 trials. Additional trials of Brilacidin are planned in other conditions, including: hidradenitis suppurativa and acne. Brilacidin is also being developed under FDAs Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) designation as an antibacterial product for Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections (ABSSSI) -- qualifying it for Fast Track and possible Priority FDA Review and a potential extra 5 years of United States market exclusivity upon drug approval. Learn more here:

http://www.cellceutix.com/brilacidin-1/ About Oral Mucositis Oral Mucositis (OM) is a frequent, painful and debilitating complication of chemoradiation commonly manifesting in the treatment of head and neck tumors. Characterized by inflammation and ulceration, patients suffering from OM are often unable to speak or eat (requiring the insertion of a feeding tube) and more susceptible to bacterial infections, with severe cases leading to hospitalization, with increased treatment costs of up to $25,000. Affecting over 500,000 people in the United States, there currently are no approved medications for the prevention of OM in this population, with only limited palliative care options available. Worldwide, the potential market for OM is expected to exceed $1 billion in the next few years. For more information on the CTIX-BRI-205 Phase 2 study, please visit:

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02324335 About Cellceutix Headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, Cellceutix is a publicly-traded company under the symbol CTIX. Cellceutix is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies in multiple diseases. Cellceutix believes it has a world-class portfolio of first-in-class lead drug candidates and is now advancing them toward market approval, while actively seeking strategic partnerships. Cellceutixs psoriasis drug candidate Prurisol completed a Phase 2 trial and Cellceutix recently launched a Phase 2b study. Prurisol is a small molecule that acts through immune modulation and PRINS reduction. Cellceutixs anti-cancer drug Kevetrin successfully concluded a Phase 1 clinical trial at Harvard Cancer Centers Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Cellceutix has commenced a Phase 2 study. In the laboratory, Kevetrin has shown to induce activation of p53, often referred to as the Guardian Angel Gene due to its crucial role in controlling cell mutations. Cellceutix is in a Phase 2 clinical trial with its novel compound Brilacidin-OM for the prevention of oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer. Brilacidin-OM, a defensin mimetic compound, has shown in an animal model to reduce the occurrence of severe ulcerative oral mucositis by more than 94% compared to placebo. Cellceutixs lead antibiotic, Brilacidin, has completed a Phase 2b trial for Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infection, or ABSSSI. Top-line data have shown a single dose of Brilacidin to deliver comparable clinical outcomes to the FDA-approved seven-day dosing regimen of daptomycin. Brilacidin has the potential to be a single-dose therapy for certain multi-drug resistant bacteria (superbugs). In an ongoing Phase 2 open label Proof-of-Concept trial, favorable interim results have been observed in the first two cohorts of patients treated with Brilacidin for Ulcerative Proctitis/Ulcerative Proctosigmoiditis (UP/UPS), two types of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Cellceutix has formed research collaborations with world-renowned research institutions in the United States and Europe, including MD Anderson Cancer Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and the University of Bologna. More information is available on the Cellceutix web site at www.cellceutix.com. Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including statements concerning projected timelines for the initiation and completion of clinical trials, our future drug development plans, other statements regarding future product developments, including with respect to specific indications, and any other statements which are other than statements of historical fact. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause Cellceutixs actual results and experience to differ materially from anticipated results and expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements. Cellceutix has in some cases identified forward-looking statements by using words such as anticipates, believes, hopes, estimates, looks, expects, plans, intends, goal, potential, may, suggest, and similar expressions. Among other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements are Cellceutixs need for, and the availability of, substantial capital in the future to fund its operations and research and development; including the amount and timing of the sale of shares of common stock to Aspire Capital; the fact that Cellceutixs compounds may not successfully complete pre-clinical or clinical testing, or be granted regulatory approval to be sold and marketed in the United States or elsewhere. A more complete description of these risk factors is included in Cellceutixs filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Cellceutix undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to any such forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by applicable law or regulation. INVESTOR AND MEDIA CONTACT Cellceutix Corporation Leo Ehrlich [email protected]

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[March 27, 2017] Puerto Rico's Top Distributor Upgrades to Voxware's VMS for Real-Time Visibility and Performance Management

Voxware, a leading provider of cloud-based voice solutions, announced today Puerto Rico Supplies Group (PRSG) has upgraded its distribution center to Voxware's (News - Alert) Voice Management Suite. With the new system in place, PRSG has improved the efficiency of its workforce and given its warehouse supervisors real-time visibility into its distribution operations. Carlos Falcon, Distribution Center Director for Puerto Rico Supplies Group will talk about the successes PRSG has realized by working with Voxware and the importance of efficiency and accuracy in distribution operations at ProMat 2017 on Monday, April 3 (11:15AM, Theater B). "We live and die by our productivity," explains Falcon. "Operating at high levels of efficiency is how we deliver our customers a superior experience. Before using Voxware, we didn't have the real-time data we needed to identify productivity issues as they were happening. With Voxware in place, we can see clearly and immediately the factors impacting productivity and that helps us make the timely adjustments needed to operate at peak efficiency," he added. Seen by many as one of the most innovative and technologically-advanced companies of its kind in Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Supplies began using voice technology in its warehouses in 2010. They quickly realized the benefits of voice and wanted to further drive productivity improvements by implementing a voice-driven replenishment workflow, but were unable to get the project started with their previous vendor. Additionally, their voice hardware was being discontinued, forcing a large capital expense to replace the hardware should they stay wth their previous vendor.



Fortunately for PRSG, Voxware was able to address both needs. Replenishment is a core business process in the warehouse and Voxware VMS Replenishment ensures the right products are available at the right time. The new replenishment workflow allows the picker to directly report shorts automatically and assign replenishment for an item to move up the priority list when necessary. Additionally, because Voxware allows customers to pay on a subscription basis, PRSG was able to implement Voxware without a substantial upfront capital investment. The subscription also includes the most up-to-date version of Zebra hardware, which meant PRSG eliminated the need for an expensive out-of-pocket hardware replacement. "We make it a priority to understand the unique opportunities and goals every organization we work with is looking to achieve," said Keith Phillips, President and CEO, Voxware. "For Puerto Rico Supplies, we were able to demonstrate real value with our unique VMS offering to solve their challenges. We are the only voice provider giving its customers real-time visibility into their operations as a standard feature and our subscription service guarantees access to the latest hardware without having to make costly investments."

Since PRSG's item selectors were already accustomed to using voice, the transition to Voxware's solution was seamless while also offering improvements over their old system. Instead of having to complete labels by hand, Voxware enables team members to print labels with the company number and route number already in place to save time and eliminate a manual task. For ProMat 2017 attendees, Falcon will be presenting, "Exceeding Expectations For Efficiency and Accuracy in Distribution Operations," on Monday, April 3 at 11:15AM in Theater B. The session will be recorded and available for viewing after May 1, 2017 by visiting www.promatshow.com. Falcon will also host two sessions in Voxware's booth S3667 on Monday, April 3 at 4pm and Tuesday, April 4 at 10AM. About Voxware Voxware helps organizations with teams who are on the move to more effectively receive, act on, and communicate information critical to their work. Our hands-free voice solutions enable employees to safely and accurately speed through tasks, thereby boosting operational productivity and improving customer experiences. What's more, Voxware easily adapts to changes in technology and processes, enabling organizations to quickly address shifting demands without disruptions to the operation. Our innovative approach to voice communication has proven to help our customers increase profitability by cutting costs and enhancing brand loyalty. For more information, please visit www.voxware.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170327005642/en/

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[March 27, 2017] Chubb to Provide Complimentary Identity Management Services to Help Protect Its Canadian Personal Lines Customers

TORONTO, March 27, 2017 /CNW/ -- Chubb has partnered with CyberScout, identity management and data theft service experts, to offer a broad array of identity management services to all Masterpiece homeowners customers in Canada on a fully complimentary basis. "With over 26% of Canadians falling victim to identity fraud and almost 7% being victims of identity theft, we wanted to further our commitment to preserving our clients' well-being and way of life by offering a resource to combat these threats," said Paul Johnstone, Senior Vice President for Chubb Personal Risk Services, Canada. "Now, through CyberScout, our customers will have access to the tools, resources and industry leading experts to help prevent and if needed, resolve these situations as quickly as possible." CyberScout services provides Chubb Masterpiece customers with help in three areas; identity theft recovery, defence and education. Chubb customers now have direct access to highly experienced fraud specialists.These services go hand in hand with Chubb's broad personal liability and identity fraud product and service capabilities. Additional information on Chubb'spersonal insurance and service offerings can be found at: https://www2.chubb.com/ca-en/individuals-families/policyholder-services.aspx





www.chubbidtheft.ca. About CyberScout

As the industry leader for over 13 years, CyberScout has been setting the gold standard for identity and data defense services  from proactive protection and education to successful resolution. Formerly IDT911, CyberScout combines boots-on-the-ground experience with high-touch personal service to help commercial clients and individuals minimize risk and maximize recovery. To learn more, visit www.cyberscout.com.

About Chubb

Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: chubb.com. Chubb Insurance Company of Canada has offices in Toronto, Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver and provides its products and services through licensed insurance brokers across Canada. For additional information, visit: chubb.com/ca. SOURCE Chubb

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[March 27, 2017] Velocity Zoom Analytics Key in Seamless JD Edwards Upgrade for Knife River

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Velocity Technology Solutions Inc., the global leader in enterprise application cloud managed services, announced completion of a seamless JD Edwards Simplified Upgrade for long-time customer Knife River, one of the nations largest construction materials and contracting companies. The upgrade was completed in record time due to the actionable insights of the Velocity Zoom analytics modules, key components of Velocitys Cloud Application Management Platform (VCAMP)TM.

Leveraging VCAMP, Velocity Zoom delivered critical real-time data to both the Knife River and Velocity implementation teams, not only allowing for a fast, efficient and seamless upgrade to JD Edwards 9.2 but also delivering a fully optimized platform in the process. Velocity was not only knowledgeable about the JD Edwards upgrade, they were also able to make strategic recommendations about our entire JDE environment, said Michael Longtin, Director of Information Technology at Knife River. They were always very professional, quick to respond, and extremely helpful over the entire project. The data captured and communicated by Velocity Zooms analytics was key to the successful upgrade, says Judithe Kennedy, Senior Vice President of the JD Edwards line of business at Velocity. We were able to quickly and efficiently optimize Knife Rivers applications because of the actionable data our platform provided. We delivered better, enhanced application environments that allowed the company to immediately take advantage of the new tools and funtionality offered within the new JD Edwards 9.2.



To hear more about Velocitys solution for Knife River, attend our COLLABORATE17 session: Keeping JD Edwards Current to Leverage New Innovation, April 4, 2017, 4:15PM-5:15PM PDT. To see how Velocity Zoom can enhance your upgrade to JD Edwards, contact us, or call 1.888.430.9252, for your demo.

About Velocity Technology Solutions

Velocity Technology Solutions (www.VelocityCloud.com), a global enterprise application cloud services leader since 2003, delivers secure, fully managed environments spanning virtual private, public and hybrid clouds. The company's portfolio includes application-focused cloud managed services, professional services, and analytics-driven cloud software services. Velocity's expertise in managing leading ERP applications, leveraging the patent pending Velocity Cloud Application Management Platform (VCAMP), gives customers required availability, security, visibility and control at a reduced total cost of ownership. Velocity is headquartered in Charlotte, NC, with facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. Velocity is a portfolio company of Silver Lake Sumeru, a global leader with private equity investments in leading, growth-oriented technology companies. For additional information on the firm and its entire portfolio, visit www.silverlake.com. About Knife River:

Knife River is one of the nations largest construction materials and contracting companies. Based in Bismarck, North Dakota, the company employs over 5,000 people across 15 states during the height of the construction season. Knife River is proud to be a safety leader, proud to be American-owned and proud to be Building a Strong America. See more about Knife River, and find your nearest Knife River location, at www.kniferiver.com. Contact Information: Romy Ribitzky Marketing Director Velocity Technology Solutions 704-593-3429 [email protected]

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PAR Technology Corporation to Present at Sidoti & Company's Spring 2017 Convention

PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE: PAR) today announced that Bryan A. Menar, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, will present a Corporate overview at Sidoti & Company's Spring 2017 Convention to be held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York, New York, on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. ET.

PAR is a leading global provider of point of sale (POS) and workforce efficiency solutions to the restaurant and retail industries, and also provides the Federal Government with innovative information management solutions through advanced technology and professional services.

To access the webcast, please go to http://wsw.com/webcast/sidotico3/par or visit the Investor section at PAR's website www.partech.com/investors.







ABOUT PAR TECHNOLOGY

PAR Technology Corporation's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PAR. PAR's Hospitality segment has been a leading provider of restaurant and retail technology for more than 35 years. PAR offers technology solutions for the full spectrum of restaurant operations, from large chain and independent table service restaurants to international quick service chains. Products from PAR also can be found in retailers, cinemas, cruise lines, stadiums and food service companies. PAR's Government Business is a leader in providing computer-based system design, engineering and technical services to the Department of Defense and various federal agencies. For more information visit http://www.partech.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170327005905/en/
[March 27, 2017] Sunshine Capital, Inc. Announces That DIBCOIN Has Been Approved To Trade On the Livecoin Exchange

HOLLYWOOD, Fla., March 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunshine Capital, Inc. (Pink Sheets: SCNP) today announces that DIBCOIN, has been approved for trading on the Livecoin platform (LIVECOIN.net). DIBCOIN will commence trading on April 3, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. (EST/EDT). "We are about to make history," stated Adam Petty, President and CEO of Sunshine Capital, Inc. "Once DIBCOIN starts trading on the Live Coin Exchange, it automatically gives Sunshine Capital, Inc. a massive amount of liquid assets. Having DIBCOIN trading on the Livecoin exchange is the first step in implementing our business plan." Livecoin is the fourth largest global cryptocurrency exchange. It is a convenient and affordable service for purchasing and selling DIBCOIN and other cryptocurrencies. Its multilingual platform features an intuitive, simple interface for beginners and lots of useful features for experienced traders. In addition to the user-friendly exchange, Livecoin issues free debit cards to all traders on the platform. These cards can be used for swift withdrawal of cash from the platform without having to wait for the wire transfer or settlement through other payment channels. Also all user funds on Livecoin's exchange are stored in "cold storage" for additional safety and security for the users.



"In months, we have done something that takes other companies years to achieve!" exclaimed Honson Luma, Vice President of Sunshine Capital, Inc. "What the investment world needs to understand is that for every penny DIBCOIN trades at, it gives our Company approximately $40 Million Dollars in liquid assets. So, a single penny should increase Sunshine Capital, Inc.'s book value approximately $2.35 a share." Sunshine Capital, Inc. currently holds approximately 4 Billion DIBCOINS in its portfolio. The Company intends to prove that DIBCOIN can be used as a dollar substitute to purchase real world assets. In addition, we will prove that DIBCOIN is a currency, accepted at points of sale across the internet and at retail establishments across the globe.

The private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking information made on the company's behalf. All statements, other than statements of historical facts which address the company's expectations of sources of capital or which express the company's expectation for the future with respect to financial performance or operating strategies, can be identified as forward-looking statements. Such statements made by the company are based on knowledge of the environment in which it operates, but because of the factors previously listed, as well as other factors beyond control of the company, actual results may differ materially from the expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements. MEDIA CONTACT:

Adam Petty

Sunshine Capital, Inc.

[email protected]

(954) 703-2538 *IMAGE for media: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/17-0327s2p-dibcoin-300dpi.jpg To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunshine-capital-inc-announces-that-dibcoin-has-been-approved-to-trade-on-the-livecoin-exchange-300429764.html SOURCE Sunshine Capital, Inc.

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[March 27, 2017] Revcontent Becomes Largest Content Recommendation Network in Terms of Reach, According to Quantcast

Revcontent announces its growth to the largest content recommendation network. According to Quantcast, Revcontent reaches 97% of US households, putting their reach just behind Google and Facebook (News - Alert). This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170327006255/en/ Revcontent becomes the largest content recommendation network in the world, according to Quantcast (News - Alert). (Graphic: Business Wire) In early 2016, Revcontent set the goal to become the largest content recommendation network within the next 12 months. Through a commitment to consistent innovation, multiple strategic partnerships, and a mission of people-driven content, Revcontent was able to scale and grow to become the largest content recommendation network in the world. John Lemp, CEO and Founder at Revcontent, said, "Our team set a goal about a year ago t be the largest content recommendation network within the next 12 months. For us to have that officially proven by Quantcast is a humbling achievement and a true testament to our culture and a belief in fast failure."



Since the start of the year, Revcontent announced their acquisition of Silicon Valley tech company, Rover, on TechCrunch, Forbes, The Huffington Post (News - Alert), MediaPost, and more. Revcontent's acquisition of Rover brings 3X the granularity of Facebook to Revcontent's advanced personalization learning. Revcontent also announced partnerships with The Atlantic, Forbes, Reuters (News - Alert), and more and launched the first publisher referral program for content recommendation. Additionally, last year, Revcontent acquired the largest content recommendation network in Europe, cementing a physical UK presence and acquiring key strategic relationships. Just this month, they also announced the opening of a Mumbai, India office. About Revcontent:

Revcontent is the world's fastest growing content recommendation network, powering 250 billion content recommendations per month. Revcontent partners with the largest media brands in the world such as Forbes, Newsweek, The Atlantic, International Business Times, and more. Founded by John Lemp, Revcontent's headquarters lies in Sarasota, Florida with global offices including Mumbai, India; London; San Diego, San Francisco, New York, and more coming soon. Revcontent reaches 97% of US households, according to Quantcast, and has been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, Fox News, and more. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170327006255/en/

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State Debate: Failure of health care bill not a win for Dems, insists one blogger as others comment on the results
Election day information: voting times, polling centers and races

Residents will have their final chance to cast votes in local races on Nov. 8, including seats on both the NLCS and MCS boards and Sheriff.
Quick Question: Do you plan to vote in the April 4 election?
HTC announced the second batch of companies joining its Vive X accelerator program. The companies hail from San Francisco, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Taipei and focus on different aspects of hardware and software development for VR and AR. HTC also said that the Vive X program will expand to Israel.

To say that HTC is raring to fund the next big thing in VR and AR would be an understatement. Vive X debuted in August 2016 with $100 million to invest in companies experimenting with VR and AR. Almost three dozen companies signed on between August 2016 and October 2016, when HTC announced that it was looking to support even more companies, and just a few months later the accelerator program has already signed on 60 startups.

Here's how the company described its goal in today's announcement (opens in new tab):

We work with the most promising VR/AR companies to advance innovation and move the whole industry forward. Were continuing to invest in and support the development of foundational platform services and hardware advancements, as well as expanding areas like enterprise, commerce, education, health, social, and eSports.

The companies joining Vive X run the gamut. Construct Studio is creating a VR experience called The Price of Freedom based on the CIA's mind-control-focused Project MK Ultra. Realiteer is working on cognitive behavior therapy programs to help treat depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and other mental health problems. And Limitless is developing the Limitless VR Creative Environment to let you create VR experiences while you're in VR.

Those are just some of the companies joining Vive X from San Francisco. Aurora AR in Shenzhen is working on glass optics and device design for AR, PlusOne in Beijing is developing artificial intelligence for AR that will help companies train employees to interact with customers, and TEGway is making flexible thermoelectric devices that are supposed to let you feel temperatures and pain within VR and AR experiences. (Don't sign us up for that one.)

You can find the full list of startups joining Vive X in this batch in HTC's announcement. Many others are focused on VR gaming, helping enterprise companies adopt XR, and the like. We expect to learn more about them as they go through the accelerator program. And, as if that weren't enough, we also expect to see more announcements from HTC regarding the Vive VR HMD and all the peripherals and content the company is making for it.
Hate speech directed at the Islamic community should not be ignored, FBI and other federal officials told about 50 members of the Islamic Center of Johnson County at a forum Saturday. Special Agent Heith Janke , who heads the FBI hate crime squad, said first and foremost if someone ever feels unsafe, they should leave.
Two in serious condition after double shooting Police are investigating after two people arrived at the hospital with gunshot wounds.

Two people cling to life as the level of local violence continues to increase . . .
Cash is going on trial in Chippewa County Court. The exact amount of $11,301 is listed as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the county.

Suing money to win a forfeiture is a tactic, seldom used, by the county in drug-related cases.

The county in the suit filed Thursday by Assistant District Attorney Roy La Barton Gay says the cash was seized and is thought to be the property of Heather Benson and Christopher Gehler. The lawsuit said all interested parties need to show cause why the money shouldnt be forfeited to the county.

The money was seized Feb. 22 after the West Central Drug Task Force used a search warrant for Bensons residence on West Front Street in Cadott.

The task force believed the residence was being used as a drug trafficking place where methamphetamine and other controlled substances were being sold.

The county is maintaining the cash seized is drug related contraband thats subject to being forfeited.

La Barton Gay said that he is considering charging Gehler in the incident.

Benson, 33, is charged with seven counts, including: possession with intent to deliver meth-party to a crime; possession with intent to deliver narcotics-party to a crime; possession with intent to deliver Schedule IV drugs-party to a crime; possess with intent to deliver a prescription drug; possession of a controlled substance second offense; possession of a controlled substance-party to a crime; and possession of drug paraphernalia-party to a crime.

According to the criminal complaint against Benson:

A confidential informant told an investigator that he had bought three ounces of meth from Gehler.

Benson and a man were inside the Cadott residence when authorities used a search warrant. Benson said Gehler was in a Minnesota jail.

The man inside the residence said he was friends with Gehler and that Gehler and Benson were distributing a significant amount of meth.

He said Gehler would travel to the Minneapolis area every three days and was usually purchasing 20 pounds of methamphetamine to be brought back to the residence in Cadott.

The man said Gehler and Benson would distribute the meth between themselves. Gehler would distribute the drug around the Cadott and Eau Claire areas, while Benson focused on Dunn County, with some of the meth being distributed to northern Wisconsin as well as La Crosse.

The man said he had witnessed Benson selling meth to one person on three to four occasions, with the transactions usually being one to two ounces.

Besides the money, 636.3 grams (1.4 pounds) of meth was found at the residence.

A large assortment of drug paraphernalia was found in the residence, along with items with the presence of marijuana and 25 OxyContin pills. Other pills were found, along with 3.6 grams of psilocybin mushroom.

Benson is scheduled to next appear before Judge Steve Gibbs at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 18.
Super Dave: Cant we all just get along..Nope, not yet anyway.

Conflict, conflict, continuous conflict, hits the news day in and day out. A group of Californians wanted to have a little rally yesterday supporting our president that numbered in the thousands. To be a very peaceful event till 30 or so people showed up and attacked them with not only physical violence but as well using pepper spray. It appears that a group of people were running around the Plaza area last night shooting guns once again. In Cincinnati Ohio at a bar another gunman for whatever reason decided to unload and start shooting at everybody there. These incidents are not only happening in America. Just the other day, in London, a person went I will say nuts and started attacking people with a knife. We may never know the real reason why the person did it because they were so filled with hate they probably dont even really know why . . .The reason we have so much conflict I think in our country is that everybodys trying to tell everybody else how they should live and that their ideas are better than everybody elses idea. Let those same people enter into political office and first thing you know its all out of control and destroying us all. But this didnt start just here in America alone, this started way back when humans were able to start thinking, forming ideas and discovered that by picking up a stick or a rock they could kill or destroy any other human who disagreed with them. Humanity was built upon being a member of a gang. I will use the word gang because thats what you call a group of people who gather together with one belief. Sure you can call their groups tribes but gangs seems a more proper choice. People from the dinosaur era didnt have churches they didnt worship a God, the person who came along and created that style of life hadnt been born yet. All of our choices of religion were all created from the actions of one person. Now the reason we have so many different ideas on religion and cultures is that from the beginning of time humans have not even tried to get along or agreed on religion. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news but were never going to get along and thats a fact unless people wake the hell up. So how do we solve this age-old problem?The very first settlers to America were not the Pilgrims as our history books would like you to believe they were, another group settled on down around North Carolina but they didnt last very long because another group come along and kill them all because of their views of religious freedom. Religion has killed more people than any war ever has and if youre going to blame anybody for killing somebody why not blame God. But who is God? Who is the real God? Thats a question been asked many times and nobody has ever came up with the answer. I have my own opinions about the Bible, God and religion. While I will not force my attitudes or views upon you I will respect your views as long as you do not try and force them upon me. People have an insane fixation with trying to tell everybody else that their religion or that their beliefs are the best. In fact right now as I speak there are those trying to get into our country that would possibly kill you where you stand in honor of their God. As of now Im not impressed with any religion nor would I feel the need to kill you over yours. One only has to spend a decent amount of time in studying religion to understand what its really all about. But religion beliefs and the operating of an government should never be sleeping in the same bed.In society there is always going to be the gang element. Its just a fact of life groups of people are going to gather in groups where they all share the same thought. And theres nothing wrong with that scenario. When it becomes wrong is when your gang sets out to abuse or to inflict harm on the other gangs. Are some gangs better than other gangs, you have to say yes to that question because thats been proven time and time again and there will always be gangs who feel sucking off the lifeblood of other gangs is how you go through life. Why should they work, theyll just steal what they need from the gang down the street. They might go kill all the members of those gangs down the street and take over their land because their cherry trees grow better than their cherry trees, so they go take it away from them. Other gangs will never ever improve themselves because they continue to live in the past and cannot build for the future. They blame their actions on the actions of others long dead and gone that were in another gang. There will always be rich gangs, there will always be poor gangs, as well as gangs whose wealth is somewhere in between. Just because youre a member of one gang does not mean you cannot join another gang. If youre in a poor gang and wish to be in a rich gang all you have to do is work at making yourself able to join the rich gang.But no matter what gang youre a part of, all gangs have to learn to respect one another and in the past history of this whole big earth that has never happened.So how do we get along in America? My first suggestion would be to get rid of the gang mentality, by first starting with our political operations. First off, if youre a politician youre just a politician. Do away with this Democrat, Republican, Hocus-Pocus -type parties and just have the American Political Coalition. Have politicians who dont have liberal or conservative views but just have plain ole simple common sense views. Build a country that operates for the good of the people and for all of the people in an equal way. Equal does not mean all will always be winners. Thats just an impossible pie in the sky dream that will never come true and decent common sense thinking is all thats needed for that subject. Now Im sure a lot of you think thats impossible but in fact its very much a reality and the groundwork, the basic foundation for a strong and prosperous country. Common sense lines of thinking will always be victorious over self-serving greedy political parties and their cronies. I cannot think or remember the last election I participated in where I really voted for someone I wanted to see in office. Sadly as it is to say most times Im simply casting a vote attempting to keep someone out of office. Before we can repair America we have to come together. We the people have to take positive strides to fixing our country and making it a safe and wonderful place to live. One very important thing has not been happening for a very long time. America was built with the groundwork for the people to be able to vote on the things they wanted or didnt want. Sadly that has fallen by the sidelines. People dont really voted anymore for whatever reason I cannot understand how anyone can justify not voting in an election. They have made it so simple for people to cast a vote now. There is no reason why our country cannot show at election time in excess of 90% of the people who are residents casting a vote. Low voter turn outs right there tells me while most people in America will tell you they really care while theyre proving by not voting they dont give a damn.Elections are being held in Kansas City in nine days on some important issues. I have seen a lot of discussion on the matter for those things on the ballot but will the people really get out and let their voices be heard? Will the residents of Kansas City take the first step to destroy the gang in city hall that is choking the life out of this city? Will Kansas City band together as a gang and rid itself of the gangs that are trying to destroy life as it was once known in this city? Only the residents of Kansas City can save Kansas City from the bad gang elements that are taking over this town. On Tue April 4th you will get your first chance in starting the rebuilding of Kansas City. I think there are some good people who would seek office in elections if they really thought the people for the good of things were really behind them.##################
THANKS TO KICK-ASS TKC TIPSTERS FOR CALLING OUT THE KANSAS CITY STREETCAR COMPRESSOR ISSUES THREATENING TOY TRAIN BRAKES!!!





"We have the exact same streetcar as Cincinnati so I find it hard to believe that ours aren't experiencing similar problems. Particularly because I've been on the streetcar when it was raining and it was having trouble braking. Lo and behold, it's raining this morning and the streetcar service is being supplemented with buses, and the explanation is the streetcar is having "maintenance issues"





"It's time journalists in KC get to the bottom of this. Tom Gerend assured me that he is aware of problems with streetcars in other cities but I had to ask him about it. Why has KCRTA not issued a statement about this prior to a random citizen inquiring about it? Whoever runs the @kcstreetcar Twitter account says the compressors are fine, but I think we deserve proof of that. What is the maintenance issue that has crippled #kcstreetcar service this rainy Monday morning and how can we be reassured that the streetcar can adequately brake?"

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of. . . Kansas City streetcar supporters can never say that they weren't warned about treacherous toy train problems which threaten the safety of local residents on downtown streets.To wit . . .Here's the word based on difficulties with the KCMO design documented by better news outlets along with behind the scenes advocacy brought to lightby ourHere's the word:Developing . . .
CHECK KANSAS CITY TAX FIGHTERS READY TO DO BATTLE AGAINST GO BOND SUPPORTERS IN THE LAST DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION!!!

TAXATION WITHOUT SPECIFICATION! Prepare to vote NOW!

NO MORE TAXATION WITHOUT SPECIFICATION!

First and foremostas we prepare more good stuff today and offer a peek at the fight ahead . . .Better still . . .Here's their battle roar against the newspaper and the local corporate elite for Monday morning . . .Buckle up! Just a few days left before the election where voting taxpayers will be asked to write City Hall a check for $800,000,000 on the 1-2-3 Go Bond (TAX) election. If it passes, it will set up NEW ADDITIONAL TAXES to your already existing property and personal property taxes. The specific projects mentioned on the Citys schedule A are not binding thus if we pass the 1-2-3-GO BOND TAX, we will add $800,000,000 to the citys debt with no firm specifics as to where that money will go. Thus TAXATION WITHOUT SPECIFICATION! Also if it passes, we could free up all the taxes being collected currently to be used for any project. The current taxes do not go away. Remember this is an additional NEW TAX on your property and personal property. Your home, cars, boats, RVs, trailers, motorcycles, etc. will all see additional taxes. These taxes will last for 40 years at least.What would be wrong with presenting a complete package to the voters up front? Why does City Hall wait till the last minute and give us limited specifics on projects? Then they call us CAVE men when ask questions or challenge their position. The City Council was arguing about the $800,000,000 GO Bond Additional Tax Package the morning they voted to put it on the ballot. They did not have the wording worked out nor the specifics until just before time to vote.Now in todays Sundays paper, we have two councilpersons, Justus and Shields, spending the money before we even vote. They are working on an ordinance to decide who gets sidewalks first but the ordinance will not be finalized before we vote on April 4th. We need too pass the 1-2-3- GO Bond Tax first before they can give us the details. "You have to vote on it to find out whats in it ! This is not the way to run a railroad.CFRG says NO MORE.. We need to STOP TAXATION WITHOUT SPECIFICATION!! Is this the election we send City Hall a clear message.. If you want to increase our taxes, we need to know specifically what you are going to do with the money. Whats wrong with that? Its our money! How upset will some voters be if some of the money for buildings as mentioned in question 3 on the 1-2-3 GO Bond Tax goes to the proposed downtown hotel?Today the Kansas City Star, our main stream media outlet, endorses the NEW TAX questions 1-2-3-4 on the ballot. However they do issue caveats Some have called for City Officials to release a more specific set of proposals and a detailed timetable. (did not happen) The plan is not perfect but it deserves to pass and Were concerned that the project list lacks details and oversight of the money seems loose. What kind of an endorsement is that? The Star is encouraging "TAXATION WITHOUT SPECIFICATION. Lets stop it now! Does anyone ever think of curtailing spending and living within our budget??Prepare now to VOTE on Tuesday, April 4th. Grab your friends and neighbors, mom, dad, grandparents, etc. If this is a low turnout, we need for that turn out to be a majority of PATRIOTS ready to stand up and tell City HallCitizens for Responsible Government############You decide . . .
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, has celebrated the launch of Panin Dubai Syariah Bank in Indonesia.



Following regulatory approvals in 2015, Dubai Islamic Bank acquired almost 40 per cent in PT Bank Panin Syariah Tbk, which has been rebranded to Panin Dubai Syariah Bank (PDSB) as part of the deal, marking DIBs first entry into the Asia-Pacific region.



The event was held in the presence of DIB Group CEO Dr Adnan Chilwan; key local officials including Muliaman D Hadad, chief commissioner OJK, Dr KH Maruf Amin, chief of the Indonesia Ulama Council, Hamlim Alamsyah, chief commissioner of Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation, and senior management from both organisations.



The newly rebranded bank offers Islamic banking services in Indonesia. With a total population of 200 million, 95 per cent of which are Muslim, and its Sharia compliant banking market expected to grow from 3 per cent to 11 per cent by 2020, Islamic finance will be a defining pillar of Indonesias growth in the years ahead, said the statement.



Dr Chilwan said: This acquisition is an important milestone for DIB. As the worlds first fully-fledged Islamic bank, we not only established a new banking model four decades ago, but also took on the responsibility to grow and develop the global Islamic finance market. One way we are doing this is through strategic partnerships and Bank Panin is a perfect partner for us in the Asia-Pacific region. As an established player with years of experience and local market knowledge, Bank Panin will enable us to progress our vision for Islamic finance in Indonesia and across the region. Looking ahead, we will execute our strategy in Panin Dubai Syariah Bank just as we have consistently done over the past forty years in the UAE and in our other key international markets, and are confident that this partnership will ultimately get us one step closer to making Sharia compliant banking the norm, rather than an alternative to conventional banking, around the world.



DIB has experience of doing business in Indonesia on key Sharia compliant transactions including the 2015 Garuda Airlines structuring for its $500 million five-year sukuk offering. This sukuk issuance was a significant milestone for the development of Islamic finance capital markets and re-enforced investor confidence in the Indonesian market. DIBs activities in Indonesia have also been further witnessed by its substantial investment in Gol and its entities, with over $500 million on its proprietary book held to maturity, the statement said.



True to its reputation as the leading performer in the UAE market over the years, in 2016, DIB reported a net profit of Dh4.05 billion, a significant increase of 6 per cent per cent compared to Dh3.83 billion in 2015. It was DIBs highest ever profit, depicting robust profitability growth despite a challenging economic environment.

Following a revised strategy in 2016, the banks Pakistan operations, saw its profits double, the focus now is to get Indonesia and Kenya launched to play their part in contributing to the progression of Islamic finance, a core ambition for the bank. - TradeArabia News Service
The Saudi government is presently working on development projects worth more than SR1.8 billion ($480 million) at Al Leith and Adham in the western region, said a report.



The ongoing projects in Al Leith include the construction of transformer station besides the building, repair and expansion of major roads and setting up of a social security office and technical college, reported Arab News.



Prince Khalid Al Faisal, the adviser to King Salman and governor of Makkah Region, visited the project sites to study their progress, it stated.



In Adham, Prince Khalid reviewed recent development projects, which included the asphalting, lighting, flood-prevention works, and the establishment of public facilities and playgrounds, it added.
Alargan, a leading real estate company based in Kuwait, has reported revenues of KD26.8 million ($88.4 million) for 2016, marking an increase of 37 per cent compared to KD19.5 million ($64.3 million) the prevous year.



Announcing the 2016 results, the Kuwaiti real estate firm said its net profit for the year stood at KD1.8 million in comparison to a net profit of KD16.7 million, while its earnings per share (EPS) was 7.09 fils for the year ending in December over 65.32 fils the year before.



The increase in operational earnings were driven by the performance of the companys core income-generating assets, advancements in new developments and strong sales of residential units, as well as yields generated from real estate investments in prime locations in the world, it stated.



Commenting on the performance, Khaled Al Mashaan, the chief executive and vice chairman of the board of directors of Alargan International Real Estate Company, said: "Despite a significant increase in our operational earnings, our bottom line in 2016 shows a decrease in comparison to the previous year because of an exceptional one-time gain of KD26.2 million from a divestment that was accounted for in 2015."



"Putting the one-time gain aside, operating profit increased in 2016 to KD2.95 million in comparison to a KD7.07 loss in 2015. Expenses decreased by 14 per cent from KD29.1 million in 2015 to KD25.1 million in 2016," he added.



Impressed with the results, the board of directors has recommended the distribution of 10 per cent cash dividends of the share nominal value (10 fils per share).



Al Mashaan said the company continued to deliver on its 2015 strategy which focuses on improving the performance of its core income-generating assets while operating through a combined developer and investor business model in an aim to deliver a sustainable business that adds value to shareholders, and provides life-enhancing and sustainable solutions in the region.



Alargans high-profile resort and commercial developments continued to generate stable revenues from rents and leasing in Kuwait and Bahrain, he stated.



According to him, the company has completed procedures to start leasing in its Alargan Business Park located in the Free Trade Zone, an area expected to boom with businesses following the completed transfer of the areas management, and permissions provided to local investors and foreign investments bullishly supported.

Developments in Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman continued to advance and sales of housing units under development in Bahrain and Oman saw a strong growth during the year, he noted.



"Our most significant mixed-use and residential developments in 2016 were without a doubt the Al Waha and Telal Al Qurm projects in Oman which received great acclaims last year and saw the delivery of the first residential phase in Telal Al Qurm," remarked Al Mashaan.



"The new residential phases of our Jeyoun community in Bahrain followed in the success of ARGAN Village. Our commercial developments in Kuwait continue to attract demand thanks to the unique experiences they provide to visitors," he said.



Operating in a combined developer and investor model, Alargan has investment in the real estate sector in stable prime locations in Europe, the US and the UK to generate regular income and provide the opportunity for capital appreciation derived from asset values at exit, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Dubai government has awarded contracts worth Dh1.2 billion ($327 million) for construction of the 7th Interchange on Sheikh Zayed Road, as well as the Al Yalayis and Al Asayel roads in the emirate, said a report.



The two projects, approved by Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will enhance the link between Sheikh Zayed Road and both Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road, reported state news agency Wam.



It will also ease the traffic flow on Sheikh Zayed Road by diverting inbound traffic from Abu Dhabi on Sheikh Zayed Road to Al Yalayis Road and on to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road, it stated.



Commenting on the project, Mattar Al Tayer, the director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said: "The 7th Interchange on Sheikh Zayed Road will be built at a cost of about Dh393 million ($107 million. It encompasses the construction of a four-lane bridge branching out of Al Yalayis Road into two bridges of two lanes each."



"The first one is bound for Abu Dhabi and the other one leads to Dubai Road and from there to Jebel Ali Free Zone and Port. It also includes improving the right-side turn to offer three lanes stretching out of Sheikh Zayed Road to Al Yalayis Road in the East, and two lanes from Al Yalayis Road to Sheikh Zayed Road in the direction of Dubai," explained Al Tayer.



The RTA, he said, will also construct Al Asayel Road, which will extend 5 km to link with Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), Jumeirah Islands, and Emirates Hills. The total cost of the two roads is about Dh792 million ($216 million).



The project also includes the construction of side roads with capacities ranging from three to six lanes in each direction to link adjacent intersections and ensure the movement of traffic from and to Al Asayel Road and First Al Khail Road, said the Wam report.



Works in the project include the construction of two flyovers fitted with light signals. The Etihad Rail Project has been taken into consideration in the project planning, it added.
A new technology that will make the Mitral heart valve repair surgery, faster, easier and done with greater precision has been invented by a Dubai Hospital doctor, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) announced on Monday.



Named the Safadi Stich by its inventor Dr Faouzi Safadi, consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Dubai Hospital, this reproducible technique could be an efficient alternative to any other method of measurement for Artificial Mitral Chord, opening the door to a higher practice of Mitral repair.



I have invented a unique artificial chord for Mitral Repair with a specific sliding stitch named the Safadi Stitch, providing an easy, fast and accurate sizing of Chordal length, essential for an effective and durable repair, said Dr Safadi.



Dr Safadi said this reproducible technique could be an efficient alternative to any other method of measurement for Artificial Mitral Chord, adding that it will be also very helpful for robotic and minimal invasive cardiac surgery.



Dr Safadi explained that the Mitral valve is located between the pumping chamber of the heart called the left atrium and the final pumping chamber of the heart called the left ventricle.



The mitral valve makes sure that the blood keeps moving forward through the heart. You may need surgery on your mitral valve if the mitral valve is prolapsed (ruptured or elongated valve chords), so the mitral valve become too loose. In this case the blood tends to flows backward when this occurs, he said.



Dr Safadi said the Safadi Stich has received substantial attention in the region and the world, as it was presented at the annual congress of Saudi Heart Association held recently in Riyadh, as well as different participations are considered in imminent international meetings.



He added that more than 50 interventions of Mitral repair applying the Safadi Stitch have been implemented in UAE, Italy and Belgium, where he along with specialised surgeons such as Prof Mattia Glauber, head of cardiothoracic surgery at St. Ambrogio Hospital, Gruppo San Donato, Milan-Italy; Dr Alaaddine Yilmaz, head of minimally invasive cardiac surgery division at Jessa Hospital, Hasselt-Belgium; established the first coordinating team between the three centres.



The preliminary results are very encouraging and promising to develop and extend this technology globally, Dr Safadi.



Dr Safadi said in the last few years the concept of valve repair instead of replacement has emerged and expanded gradually and he hopes that his invention will leave a notable mark in the field of Mirtal Valve repair surgery. - TradeArabia News Service


Batelco, Bahrains leading ICT business solutions provider, has enhanced its business services by introducing Sophos' wireless security appliance as part of its extensive portfolio.



Sophos and Batelco earlier signed a platinum partnership agreement at Gitex 2016.



The Sophos wireless firewall solution is designed to meet the specific requirements of small businesses. It supports a multitude of virtual access points that create independent, segregated networks in the same physical area for separate teams such as sales, marketing, guest users, and more. It also offers secure authentication and prevents rogue clients from connecting to networks, said a Batelco statement.

The wireless networks in organisations face big risks of information theft due to their inability to trace users, especially guest users within the network. Additionally, lack of IT security staff and limited budgets can make it difficult for the small business segment to find security solutions that are adequate, cost-effective and easy to manage. Furthermore, organizations with distributed networks, remote and branch offices, especially in sectors such as retail stores, logistics and transportation, and utility distribution centres, demand mobility within the network and need network security, secure remote access, and secure Wi-Fi for walk-in customers, it said.

The solution based on Sophos patented Layer 8 technology, allows administrators to apply user identity-based security policies to gain visibility over user activity and also manage Guest Internet access in the network, it added.

The Sophos wireless security appliance is designed for small and branch offices to offer secure Wi-Fi on par with wired security. It enables a leaner Wi-Fi security infrastructure to organisations by replacing both Wi-Fi router and firewall with a single appliance. For remote offices with limited connectivity options, the solution also offers 3G/4G USB support.

Batelco Bahrain CEO Eng Muna Al Hashemi said Batelco is constantly on the quest to expand its cyber security services portfolio in order to support the increasing requirements for organisations of all sizes.



Our aim is to provide relevant security solutions for Bahrains businesses whether home or small businesses or large enterprises. Better network security ensures peace of mind and a more efficiently run operation, Eng Al Hashemi said.



Sophos VP MEA Harish Chib said: "As Bahrain moves towards a new technology era, there has been great demand for innovative, easy-to-deploy and cost-effective security solutions by SMBs in the market. The inclusion of this Sophos solution by Batelco will be beneficial to SMBs as it will strengthen their IT infrastructure and build a secure environment that combats complex and sophisticated threats.  TradeArabia News Service
A 15-year-old boy charged last year with attempted first-degree intentional homicide pleaded no contest Monday to two lesser charges under a plea agreement that keeps his case in adult court.

Mark A. Parks Jr., who was 14 when he was charged in the Aug. 19 shooting of a 17-year-old boy, could remain in custody until he turns 18, under a plea agreement presented to Dane County Circuit Judge Rhonda Lanford.

As part of the agreement, his lawyers, state Assistant Public Defenders Diana Van Rybroek and Ben Gonring, agreed not to seek a waiver of Parks case into juvenile court. Because of the attempted homicide charge, Parks was charged in August as an adult after initially appearing in juvenile court.

The attempted homicide charge was dismissed as part of the agreement.

Dane County Assistant District Attorneys Rachel Sattler and Andy Miller can ask that Lanford sentence Parks to remain in custody until his 18th birthday, under the agreement. Parks lawyers can seek less time in confinement. There is no recommendation in the agreement about the time that Parks would have to spend under supervision following his release from custody.

Keeping Parks confined only until his 18th birthday would ensure that he serves his time only in juvenile facilities, not in the adult correctional system. Since his arrest in August, Parks has been kept at the Dane County Juvenile Reception Center under cash bail.

Sentencing could be in about two months, after a pre-sentence investigation is done by the state Department of Corrections.

According to a criminal complaint, the 17-year-old victim told police that he had arranged to buy marijuana from someone calling himself Savage. He went to Aldo Leopold Park, on Madisons South Side, and found Savage, but when he walked up, Savage pulled out a revolver, pointed it at the boys head and ordered him to turn over everything he had.

The boy said he pushed the revolver away from his head and began running. As he ran, he told police, he was shot three times but still managed to get home. The shots cost him his gallbladder, and his small intestine, colon, pancreas and liver were damaged.

Police determined later that Savage was Parks.

After Parks appeared in court in late August, his case was slowed while his attorneys decided whether to seek to have Parks case returned to juvenile court. The case finally made it to the preliminary hearing stage Monday, when Parks formally waived his right to the hearing and entered his no-contest pleas.
Acwa Power, a Saudi-based developer, owner and operator of independent power generation and water desalination plants, and Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) have signed a sale and purchase agreement for an eight per cent effective stake in Shuqaiq Independent Water and Power Project (Shuqaiq IWPP) in Saudi Arabia.



Shuqaiq IWPP is one of Acwa Powers early greenfield developments in Saudi Arabia.



Located on the western shores of Saudi Arabia, 130 km north of Jazan, the plant has a capacity to generate 850 MW of power and 212,000 cu m of desalinated water per day.



The project achieved financial close in 2007 and started commercial operations in 2011. It has a 20-year power and water purchase agreement with Water and Electricity Company, Saudi Arabia.



As per the deal, Apicorp will buy a 13.33 per cent equity stake in Shuqaiq International Water Company (SIWEC), thereby giving it an eight per cent effective stake in Shuqaiq IWPP, said the statement from Acwa.



Headquartered in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Apicorp was set up in 1975 to foster the development of the Arab worlds oil and gas industries. It is owned by the 10 member states of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (Oapec). It also operates a banking unit in Bahrain.



Prior to this transaction, Acwa Power had a 40 per cent effective share in the project, after having acquired a six per cent effective stake in 2014 from Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan, to add to its original 34 per cent stake in the project.



This transaction complements the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a co-investment initiative signed by Apicorp and Acwa Power in 2014, suggesting close collaboration in various projects in the fields of power generation and water desalination across the core geographies of Saudi-based power plant developer.



Commenting on the deal, Dr Raed Al Rayes, the deputy chief executive and general manager of Apicorp, said: "Shuqaiq IWPP ranks among the major developments in Saudi Arabias water and power sector and makes significant contributions to meeting the countrys rising demands in this field."



"We are proud to support Acwa Power in their growth plans through this transaction, which enhances and diversifies at the same time our equity portfolio by increasing exposure to the power generation sector that has stable profit rates and low risk," stated Dr Al Rayes.



"We look forward to working with our partners at Shuqaiq IWPP and to developing similar partnerships with companies in the same sector," he added.



Rajit Nanda, the chief investment officer of Acwa Power, said: "This transaction is a reflection of the confidence that our partners have in Acwa Power, and in the way we develop, build and operate our assets."



Apicorp, he stated, has been a valued partner for many years, and this transaction capitalises on the alignment of the business objectives of the duo.



Kashif Rana, the chief financial officer of Acwa Power, said this transaction is a result of its evolving portfolio and corporate finance strategy.



"We are focusing on ensuring that our portfolio carries an optimum risk-return profile, while having a balance sheet that being efficient capital-structure wise will also support our growth plans," he added.



With an investment value in excess of $30 billion, Acwa Power has a major presence in 11 countries including in the Middle East and North Africa, Southern Africa and South East Asia regions.-TradeArabia News Service
With a view to further streamline and rationalise the existing visa fee regime, Government of India has proposed various changes in the existing visa fee structure for foreign visitors travelling to India, including Omanis.



According to a statement from the Indian Embassy in Muscat, there has been a growing interest amongst the people of Oman for travelling to India for tourism, business, leisure and medical treatment, which is reflected in the fact that the Embassy of India, Muscat, issued over 95,000 visas in 2016 and it has already issued over 20,000 visas in first two months of 2017.



In order to increase the number of medical tourists to India and to project India as a preferred medical destination due to its world class medical facilities, the Indian government has decided to reduce the Medical Visa fee as compared to Tourist Visa fee. From April 1, Medical Visa applicants will have to pay RO30.9 ($79.9) for a visa valid up to 6 months and RO46.3 ($119.8) for visa valid up to one year.



The Embassy of India, Muscat, has taken steps to boost medical tourism to India, including fast processing of Medical Visa applications and opening of a separate counter at BLS Visa Application Centre for receiving applications for Medical Visas.



The recent decision to reduce Medical Visa fee as compared to Tourist Visa fee will greatly benefit the patients and their attendants. All Omani nationals, who want to visit India to avail world class medical treatment at competitive costs, are requested to travel to India on Medical Visa only and not on tourism or any other visa, the Embassy said.



Further, with a view to facilitating visits by businesspersons to India including businesspersons from Oman, the Indian government has decided to issue, from April 1, Business Visa valid up to one year at a fee of RO46.3 ($119.8).



Businesspersons, with strong and long-standing business relations with India, who are required to travel to India frequently at a short notice, will be offered Business Visa valid up to 5 years at RO96.3 ($249.3).



Further, the government has revised the Tourist Visa fee to RO38.6 ($99.9) for visa valid up to one year and RO77.1 ($199.5)for visa valid up to 5 years.



Entry Visa fee for the people going for training or other purposes will be RO30.9 ($79.9) for Entry Visa valid up to 6 months while RO46.3 fee will be for visa valid from 6 months to one year.



Further, a fee of RO77.1 ($199.5) will be charged for Entry Visa for duration ranging from one year to 5 years.



The revised visa fees will be charged from April 1 and do not include the contribution of RO1 ($2.5) to ICWF and visa application processing charges of RO1.65 ($4.27) levied by BLS. - TradeArabia News Service
Champion surfer Kai Lenny and adventure filmmaker Alison Teal would like to see the first ever statewide beach clean-up in Hawaii on March 25 to March 31 in Oahu especially in Kauai, the Big Island, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai, reports say. The Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii and The 5 Gyres Institute have announced the clean-up event and would like to "inspire local communities to care for their coastlines through hands-on beach cleanups."

The groups said they're attempting to do something gnarly at the moment and were happy to know that none other than famed surfer Lenny would join the project.

The initiative would have prioritized Hawaii's "dirtiest beaches" to educate people in keeping their coastlines clean. There is to attempt a "crazy" Hawaii cleanup in one week and invites locals, visitors and even tourists to join their campaign against pollution. According to Travel and Leisure, Lenny is doing it "to protect his home state's beloved beaches."

Cigarette butts, plastics, and styrofoams are among the most common littered items in Hawaii, Huffingpost reports. In 2015 alone, there were about 5,000 cigarette butts, 3,426 pieces of plastic and 1,386 pieces of foam collected at the beaches of Oahu, Kauai, and Big Island. At the same time, it had authorities driven to create a bill that would protect Hawaii's beaches from getting dirtied.

On February 25 this year, Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii and the Wanderlust Festival also cleaned up Oahu's most polluted coastline but would like to continue doing it as it proves to be followed up.

Lenny will visit each channel of the Hawaiian Islands with stops and cleanups around Hawaii's dirtiest beaches to raise awareness on the issue of the beaches and prevent plastics from entering the ocean.

For more information, visit the Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii's page.

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
TreeHugger used to be all about incremental steps you could take to reduce your carbon footprint, but most of our readers have changed their lightbulbs by now and we totally gave up on clotheslines. The problems we face are so huge that it almost was surprising to see the article in the New York Times titled What You Can Do About Climate Change, talking about turning down your thermostat or driving more slowly. I was not alone:

But then I noticed who the authors were: Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle, who have been quoted on TreeHugger many times; Michael Sivak is a research professor and Brandon Schoettle is a project manager at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. They follow the industry and produce the reports on fuel economy that Mike and I have been covering for years, the source of stories about how people are driving further, buying bigger SUVs, or that fuel efficiency is dropping. They even predict that self-driving cars will increase traffic.

It is actually all a very clever bait and switch, to show how important fuel efficiency really is. They note that all the small steps will help,

But none would come close to doing as much as driving a fuel-efficient vehicle. If vehicles averaged 31 miles per gallon, according to our research, the United States could reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 5 percent. Improving fuel economy carries particular salience after the Trump administration announced this month that it would re-examine the progressively more stringent Obama-era fuel economy standards for vehicles in model years 2022 to 2025.



That is their real agenda and message: that improving auto efficiency is "the most efficient way to help the planet." Except that it really isn't:

Actually, Sivak and Schoettle get this, writing:

Changing how much we drive is not easy; it often requires a major change in lifestyle, like moving closer to work or making more frequent use of public transportation, which often takes longer and is less convenient than driving. It is much easier to buy a more fuel-efficient vehicle; cars with fuel economy much better than the new-vehicle average of 25 m.p.g. are widely available.

However instead of even doing that, people are buying SUVs and pickup trucks because they cost the same to gas up as a tiny car did a few years ago when gas was expensive. Which brings us back to Sivak and Schoettle's agenda, which is making the case for the regulating of fuel economy, which the EPA is now looking at gutting:

Significant increases in fuel-economy standards for all vehicles, but especially for pickups and S.U.V.s, are even more important when relatively low gas prices motivate buyers to choose larger vehicles over smaller ones.

The Times article has a good list of things people should do, some transportation related (slow down, keep your tires filled, fly less) and

-In our homes (turn down the thermostat, change your bulbs, although seriously, "Replace one of every five incandescent light bulbs with LEDs." is just lame, change them all)

-and how we eat (less meat, less waste, less food: "Reduce food consumption by 2 percent, roughly 48 fewer calories for many people. A miniature box of raisins is 42 calories.") They might have added "ride a bike or walk more."

credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Department of Energy

 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Department of Energy

All those little incremental steps fade to insignificance when you look at the big picture, where our carbon is coming from, the single biggest source being that big honking green bar of petroleum powering transportation. That's why we don't just need better cars, we have to get people out of gasoline powered cars if we are going to make any real difference. But Sivak and Schoettle are right; the last thing we should be doing is scrapping or weakening the fuel efficiency standards.
MOUNT PLEASANT  A group home in Mount Pleasant is under investigation after a 20-year-old resident with a mental disability entered a neighbor's home, uninvited, at least twice.

That neighbor, Shanda Hess, describes it another way.

"It was a home invasion, bottom line," Hess said. "I don't feel safe in my home."

The latest incident occurred on March 11, at about 1:30 p.m. at a house near an Alpha Homes of Wisconsin, Inc. group home in the 2100 block of Sutton Drive. Hess said the man charged through her unlocked front door.

"I screamed. I didn't know if he was going to attack us. I ran outside barefoot," Hess said.

Her friend Robert Holbus, inside, described what the man did next.

"He grabbed an empty pot of coffee to try to drink it. He was moving quick and erratically," Holbus said.

Then, according to the police report, the man opened a 2-liter bottle of soda.

"He opened it and tried to chug it. He was dumping it all over himself and all over the house. He was squirting it," Holbus said. "I bear-hugged him and forced him out the door."

Hess called police, but said she did not file charges because the man is autistic.

Hess said the same man entered her house last May in a similar incident, coming in through the back door unannounced. Out of sympathy for the man Hess said, she did not call police for that incident.

When Holbus took the man back to the group home, the front door was open and the caretaker was reportedly asleep in front of the television with an alarm of some sort sounding.

"I woke him up and he started apologizing," Holbus said. "He offered to replace the soda."

Police investigating

Mount Pleasant Police Chief Tim Zarzecki said his department has launched an investigation, along with the Racine County Adult Protective Services.

"We're concerned and committed to finding a way to solve this," Zarzecki said.

"We're working with (Racine County) and Alpha Homes to try and prevent this from happening again, and to get to the bottom of why this keeps happening. Because we feel it puts not only the patient, or resident, at risk but it alarms our homeowners in the village when they wander into their house."

Zarzecki said he's concerned about the young man's care.

"I think the workers in the home have a responsibility to make sure the person in the home is properly cared, in my opinion, also includes not leaving the house unattended. There is a responsibility on the caretaker of the home to make sure things like this don't happen. They need to put whatever measures that they are allowed to do," Zarzecki said.

Group home response

Mike Bannon, an attorney from DeMark, Kolbe & Brodek who represents Racine-based Alpha Homes, Inc. owner Dave Duffeck, said the worker on duty during the March incident was alone with the man at the group home as the other residents were away with another caregiver on an outing.

"He failed to follow certain policies which allowed this to occur," Bannon said. "That particular employee has suffered discipline in relationship to that."

Bannon declined to elaborate on what the discipline entailed.

Bannon said his client has offered to pay for any damages, including cleaning Hess's house.

"We want to be a good neighbor and we certainly want to make sure we've done everything possible to address any harm or damage that they may have suffered," Bannon said of Alpha Homes of Wisconsin, Inc, which operates about 20 group homes.

Calls for service

According to Mount Pleasant Police, in the past year the group home has had a half-dozen calls for service for rescue calls as well as things like an open door, theft, civil trouble and a "mental subject."

Bannon does not see the calls for service as a disruption in the neighborhood and defends staff for calling for help.

"It's not surprising that there is numerous calls," Bannon said. "You have to understand that if our staff is instructed that if anything out of the norm occurs, their first call should be to 911. We certainly are not trying to hide anything and we want to make sure everything is properly contained."

While Hess expresses sympathy for the disabled man, she is traumatized by the intrusions and worried about the future.

"I am sure it will happen again," Hess said. "The owner of the group home told me the man is nonviolent. How am I supposed to know that?

"I'm terrified. It's like I have PTSD. I freak out when people come to the door. I don't want to live here anymore. I want them out of the neighborhood."

State inspection

Alpha Homes are some of more than 200 group homes located in Racine County.

Designated as adult family homes in Wisconsin, group homes can have up to four residents in need of long-term care for physical and or mental disabilities, which may require some nursing care.

Since 2007, group homes are no longer licensed by Racine County but are regulated by the state Department of Health Services, which conducts periodic inspections and can shut down a home for deficiencies. DHS conducts background checks on workers, can order drug and mental evaluations for employees and ban from employment workers who abuse residents.

Dan Idzikowski, executive director of Disability Rights Wisconsin, the states designated protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities, said neighborhood group homes help the disabled.

"We want people to live in the community; that is where people should be. That's where people should be able to interact with the community. But they need quality support," Idzikowski said.

Idzikowski said the personal-care industry is facing systematic problems that affect quality of care.

"One of the difficulties is the system where people are not receiving wages, benefits or training," Idzikowski said. "There is high turnover, and lack of attention to the values of the work, in terms of insuring that individuals with disabilities exercise their right to interact in the community and live a high-quality life,"

Hess filed a complaint with DHS as well as the Village of Mount Pleasant.

Inspections

After the March 11 incident, Bannon confirmed an inspection of the group home was initiated.

"A lot of these inspections will occur with these various HMOs (health maintenance organizations) that represent the various consumers. Each house is inspected by the state on a yearly basis," Bannon said.

Elizabeth Goodsitt, a spokeswoman for DHS, would not confirm if an investigation is underway after the complaint, but did confirm that the group home has not been inspected by the agency  what it calls a compliance survey  in more than three years. Goodsitt blamed the agency's workload.

"It is DHS policy to survey (group homes) within two years of the preceding compliance survey. While the agency goal is to conduct surveys at least every two years, workload priorities are managed to ensure that complaints are investigated first," Goodsitt said.

Goodsitt said DHS has 36 inspectors for all of the state's licensed community-based residential facilities, adult day care programs, residential care apartment complexes and group homes, which it calls adult family homes.

Outcome unclear

Zarzecki said it's doubtful a case could be made against the intruder for criminal behavior.

"In this case, there did not appear to be intent for the person to do actually any damage or harm, based on their cognitive or physical disability. The officers felt that was the best approach at the time," Zarzecki said.

Zarzecki credits the responding officer's training on autism and crisis intervention training for de-escalating the situation.

"We have a responsibility to make sure the resident is cared for in a proper manner in regards to their disability or condition," Zarzecki said. "And to make sure the homeowners in the village are safe as well, and don't have to worry about someone coming into their home and threatening them, or appear to be threatening them, or get into their home."

Zarzecki encourages anyone living near a group home to call police if they need to.

"Neighbors should always feel free to reach out to us," Zarzecki said. "If they see anything suspicious, out of the ordinary, or they don't feel the residents of the group home are being taken care of, they should call us to investigate."

Hess said she is considering a civil suit against Alpha Homes of Wisconsin, Inc.
UPDATE:

4 & 20 Bakery & Cafe was closed for six days as the business tried to absorb the death of its baker, manager and co-owner, Mandy Putney. The business is now just open on weekends for the time being, co-founder Scott Spilger said.

Spilger said the cafe lost some staff and is in the process of hiring more employees. Other staff members need time to learn new roles, he said. Right now, he doesn't have enough employees to be open every day. He said he's hoping to get back to seven days as soon as possible.

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4 & 20 Bakery & Cafe by East High School is closed for the time being as the business absorbs the death of its baker, manager and co-owner.

Mandy Puntney died Saturday after a brief illness, her mother said. She was 36.

Puntney developed all of the bakery's recipes, and the bakery items will continue to be made from her recipe book by another baker who has been working at the shop for a couple months, Linda Puntney said.

Mandy Puntney had bronchitis, then an intestinal flu that was really intense for about two weeks, her mother said. She died from gastrointestinal bleeding, she said.

Linda Puntney called her daughter "the light of her life" and said she will miss her sunny attitude and ability to find joy in simple things, as well as her love of people and all things nature.

"I'll miss that she was my best friend," said Linda Puntney who talked to her daughter several times a day. "And I won't hear her happy voice any more."

A celebration of Mandy's life will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Cress Funeral & Cremation Services, 3325 E. Washington Ave.

"It's going to be a Mandy happy time," Linda Puntney said.

Scott Spilger and Evan Dannells opened 4 & 20 Bakery & Cafe in January 2012 at 306 N. Fourth St., behind East High School, with Puntney as their baker.

Dannells, who is also executive chef at Lucille and Merchant, calls Puntney a co-owner.

"She was the soul of 4 & 20," said Dannells, who is still "technically" one of the cafe's owners, but hasn't been involved on a day-to-day basis in almost two years.

"Scott and I helped her build it, but it was always hers. She stained the tables, she made the menu. Everything great about that place is a direct reflection of her love of food and our community.

"I was just along for the ride for a little bit," he said.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

A BCom first-year student reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his house in Sector 20 on Monday evening.

Police sources said the victim had been identified as Munish Kumar (18). A suicide note was found in which the victim stated that no one should be blamed for the extreme step. He asked his father for forgiveness.

The sources said the police received information about the suicide around 6.45 pm, following which policemen reached the spot. The victim was rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, where he died later.

The body has been kept at the mortuary and the autopsy will be conducted on Tuesday.

The sources said the victim was pursuing BCom from Government College, Panchkula. A police official said they were trying to ascertain the reason behind the suicide.

Inquest proceedings have been initiated in the matter at the Sector 19 police station.
Nayantara Sahgal

Men have gone to war since time began, for conquest, for plunder, for glory, for keeping muscles trim and adrenalin flowing. In the Hindu caste system which divided people and conferred status according to their occupations, the warrior ranked second highest in the hierarchy of caste. War is central to our epics. Go to war is the message. From bows and arrows to swords and shields, from hand- to-hand combat to war on horseback, the strategy of war has graduated to tanks and bombs. And, finally, the power to wipe out cities and human beings by the million with a single bomb that did not only banish life from the face of the earth, but ensured that those left alive would die of disease or be killed by radiation. After this memorable step forward in the art of annihilation, a privileged club of nuclear membership reigned supreme. But the split atom was not the ultimate achievement of modern warfare. It went further, from the atom bomb to the hydrogen bomb. At the same time, chemical weapons of mass destruction  napalm and other scientifically tested improvements  made sure of the certainty of killing or maiming those on whom these were lavished. And the last century has consecrated what is known as the arms race. It has given its blessing to the ongoing manufacture of arsenals yet undreamed of. All nations are in the race.

This then is war. A young woman of wisdom beyond her 20 years has spoken out against war and been reviled, abused and threatened with rape and worse. These assaults on Gurmehar Kaur have shown us the continuing popularity of war among those who have targeted her, and the mentality that has floated up like scum to the surface in the warlike activities that are reported daily in the newspapers. Here are some that we read about: One, in a village in Bareilly, a Hindu group has ordered the Muslim villagers to get out. If they have not left the village by the year's end they will face consequences. Two, cow rakshaks laid siege to a hotel in Jaipur that was falsely rumoured to be serving beef. The manager was beaten and man-handled while the police watched. The FIR filed by the police said unknown persons had trespassed. The sadhvi who led the violence was not mentioned. It may be recalled that a blacksmith called Mohammed Akhlaq was lynched in Dadri on a similar manufactured rumour. His family is now being declared guilty and his murderers have been cleared as victims of the crime. Three, meats shops and slaughterhouses across Uttar Pradesh have been sealed for many and various reasons, none of them clear. Three of these have been ransacked and burnt. Four, the attack on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film, Padmavati, the vandalising of film sets and the order to cut out scenes from it, has been very thoroughly carried out twice over at different locations. Five, the continuing onslaught against the freedom to speak, think, and function as an academic institution should, is an on-going tragedy as the ABVP and other vigilante enthusiasts batter their way into university premises to prevent scheduled events from taking place. Six, vicious and violent attacks on writers continue.

When a nation turns upon itself, when it persecutes and kills its own citizens with abandon, when it declares that its own people are foreigners or enemies of the state, this is a situation known as civil war. We now see Indians turning upon Indians in methodically targeted ways, in some cases with guns or whatever crude weapons they can lay hands on, in some cases with black paint, in some cases with the simple device of numbers known as a mob. Today we are in a state of civil war. The most unwinnable wars in history have been the combination of civil and religious war and this is the twin ammunition in use in India today. The futility, absurdity and inanity of religious war should by now be a long-established fact since God is one whom we worship in different ways, and in no time past, present or future will the human race give up the sacred right to worship in its chosen way. Whether men have been broken on the wheel or on the rack, or burnt alive at the stake, no form of torture has succeeded in making them deny the god they worship or the way they worship. In India this belief in the sanctity of one's own religion is integral to the fact of being Indian, in a land whose Constitution has given us the right to live, love, eat and worship as we choose. The unholy war being waged on our multi-religious civilisation needs to come to terms with this basic truth. But we have seen that it is not coming to terms with it because it is in the mood for religious war.

Has no political leader ever tried to reverse the inevitability of war? One did, an Englishman called Tony Benn (born Anthony Wedgwood Benn) of Britain's Labour Party, who proposed unilateral disarmament decades ago. It was a prospect unheard of and unacceptable to his contemporaries. Instead Labour went on to choose a trigger-happy leader, Tony Blair, who along with his partner George Bush illegally invaded Iraq and laid waste a prosperous sovereign nation because its dictator was about to change the terms on which he traded oil. The legacy of the Bush-Blair criminality is chaos in West Asia. And Bush and Blair have yet to be tried as war criminals.

True religion has given birth to great song, great poetry, and the great ideal of the brotherhood of man. There is no one today to proclaim this ideal, no Gandhi who went unarmed to the killing field of Noakhali and brought peace by his mere presence, no Nehru's voice for peace in a savagely armed post-war world. It is for citizens to defend the heritage of equal citizenship bequeathed to us by our founding fathers and to ensure that religion remains a private affair if incidents like those cited above are not to become daily unchecked outrages.

As a practitioner of yoga for many years, I have been taught that a cardinal principle on the spiritual path is non-violence. No one who advocates violence is a yogi so permit me to refer to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh as Shri Adityanath. He is a practical politician of long political experience, and one who has kept four key ministries in his own charge along with control of some two dozen other departments, and therefore must be well aware of what goes on in every corner of the state he now rules. What is happening in Uttar Pradesh is taking place under his watch, a sign that Hindutva is on the warpath. Why else would the Muslims in a Bareilly village be ordered on pain of death to leave? Is it possible that the Hindu neighbours they have lived with all their lives have delivered this barbaric ultimatum? Or, as is more likely, is this another case of roving vigilante enthusiasm that consigns these defenceless Indian citizens and their families to a wilderness of fear and desperation? Shall we stay silent and watch?

Nayantara Sahgal is an eminent novelist.
In his remarks at the Panjab University convocation last Saturday, Vice-President Hamid Ansari did well to caution against dark clouds over academic freedom. A few days earlier President Pranab Mukherjee had spoken against fostering of the intolerant Indian because the country has been a bastion of free speech and expression since ancient times. Both dignitaries felt compelled to voice their disquiet over the near-continuous cycle of police crackdown, violence and unrest in some of the countrys leading universities since the new government weakened the fence separating religion from the state. It began with state-approved vigilantism on the streets against inter-religious marriages and cow slaughter. The dominant social and political perch of the self-anointed watchdogs ensured their extra-legal efforts to impose a social code were not countered vigorously enough.

But the response was energetic and forceful when the same ploy of imposing all-enveloping conformism was attempted in universities. Despite its shortcomings, the Indian education system has allowed the socio-economically disadvantaged, the intellectual dissenter and the firebrand agitationist the space to flourish. Without this enabling atmosphere in universities, Cabinet Ministers Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Venkaiah Naidu would not have earned their political spurs by active opposition to the then Congress government. At that time, the states response was based on the narrow consideration of preserving the government in power.

The motive behind the assault on academic freedom this time is qualitatively different from the suppression of the 1970s. The intent now is to impose everlasting, lock-step conformity with half-baked conventions of political Hindutva on both the faculty and the students. Anyone who falls out of line  Gurmeher, Kanhaiya or Nivedita Menon  will be mercilessly pilloried as a lesson to others. The Vice-President recognised the danger when he said: Strong intellectual work can only be done in an atmosphere where scholars feel free to take risks and challenge conventions. Clinical psychology has confirmed that countries have paid a steep price for muzzling dissent. The unintended consequence of forcibly foisting a homogeneous, blanket worldview has often sent nations into civil turmoil. Some never recovered. The two wise men of Indian politics were cautioning against such an eventuality.
The Union Finance has got away with changes to 40 laws without MPs, barring a few, noticing them or raising their voice against such unilateralism. Passing or changing laws without debate weakens the parliamentary institution and democracy, and fuels autocratic tendencies. The Speaker allowing the unethical clubbing of non-money law amendments with the Finance Bill 2017 was bad enough; doing it at the eleventh hour was clever but ugly. Jaitley would not have been that easily successful had Indias parliamentarians been half as awake, alert and assertive as their counterparts in the US who have forced an all-powerful President to withdraw a healthcare Bill meant to replace Obamacare.

Apart from flouting the Supreme Court order on Aadhaar and putting to risk of theft or misuse the personal data of citizens, the government has introduced a last-minute amendment that empowers tax officials to search and seize anyones property if they have reason to believe, or are satisfied, that for the purpose of protecting the interest of revenue, it is necessary to do so. They need not disclose or explain to anyone -- even the appellate tribunal  the reason for the raid. Worse, the law applies retrospectively1962 onwards. In post-1975 cases property can be confiscated. Another amendment seeks to remove the limits imposed on companies donating to political parties. It will delete the provision requiring them to disclose donations. In one stroke corporate funding of politicians has been made anonymous by a government that insists on citizens transparency in financial transactions.

Yet another objectionable amendment attempts to wind up, merge or overhaul tribunals which take up for adjudication subjects previously handled by the Supreme Court. Set up by various Acts of Parliament, these tribunals will come under the Centre, which will fix terms for the appointment and removal of their chairpersons and members. Post Emergency tools meant to whittle down the judiciarys independence, tribunals will now be under Central control. Being made part of the Finance Bill means these amendments with far-reaching consequences will get passed without scrutiny either by Parliament or its standing committees.
Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rewari, March 27

Even as the government agencies are yet to start procurement of mustard in the state, over 48,000 quintals of the crop have so far been sold to private buyers below the minimum support price (MSP) in the local grain market since March 15.

Sources said a considerable hike in the arrival of mustard was witnessed in the grain market on Monday following an assurance by the state government about starting procurement within one or two days. But farmers faced disappointment as they had to sell their produce at price much less than the MSP.

Over 8,000 quintals of mustard arrived in the market today, which is over 25 per cent higher than the total arrival registered on Saturday. Though the state authority has sought the details about arrival of mustard per day and the rates at which the crop is being bought by private buyers, no information about procurement by the state agencies has been received yet, said Satya Prakash, Secretary, District Agriculture and Marketing Board.

He said there was a bumper arrival of mustard this season. Nearly 13,000 quintals of the produce had reached the market till March 25 last year while the figure stood at 40,668 quintals this season. The arrival was likely to increase considerably in the coming days.

Satya Prakash admitted that private buyers were purchasing mustard at a price Rs 200-300 below the MSP, which had been fixed at Rs 3,700 per quintal. While 2 lakh quintals of mustard had reached the market last season, the quantity was likely to cross 3 lakh quintals this season.

It is unfortunate that over 48,000 quintals of mustard have so far been sold at price much below the MSP due to failure of the state government in starting procurement. The government should compensate farmers for the loss they have incurred by selling their produce below the MSP, said Ram Kishan Mehlawat, state secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS).

Meanwhile, various social organisations, including Gramin Bharat, Rashtriya Nav Chetna Manch and Sewa Bharti, extended their support to the farmers staging indefinite dharna under the aegis of the BKS outside the Mini-Secretariat here for the past five days.

Ved Prakash Vidrohi, chief of Gramin Bharat, asked the government to initiate mustard procurement immediately.
Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Bhiwani, March 27

Mustard farmers under the banner of the All-India Kisan Sabha staged a protest here today and demanded procurement of their produce by government agencies.

We are forced to sell off our produce at rates lower than the MSP. Officials have no control on arhtiyas who are turning us away for quoting the MSP during procurement, alleged the farmers.

Master Sher Singh, state president of the sabha, said farmers were being looted by private procurement agencies and arhtiyas. It is the laxity on part of the government officials that farmers are being cheated by these unscrupulous elements, he alleged.

Yogesh Kumar, market supervisor, told mediapersons that the mustard produce arriving in the market had moisture content.
Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

In an apparent damage-control mode, the Haryana Government has assured the Punjab and Haryana High Court of its full cooperation to the Claims Commission in processing 425 claims.

The assurance is significant as the Claims Commission appointed by the Haryana Government is looking at the previous reservation rows as well; and has asked all SPs and DCs to produce videos, other recordings, besides relevant material with them or with private or public sources.

As the case came up for resumed hearing before Justice Rajan Guptas Bench, an additional affidavit by Nitin Kumar Yadav, Secretary, Home Department, Haryana, was placed on record

Referring to the affidavit, Haryana Additional Advocate-General Lokesh Sinhal submitted that 425 claims had been received by the commission, which were under process. He further submitted that various authorities shall extend full cooperation to the commission to ensure that there is no impediment in its proceedings

The commissions move to muster recordings and other relevant material is aimed at pinpointing damages; and to establish a nexus with actual perpetrators of crime and damage as well as the organisers of event giving rise to the liability on account of agitation in 2010, 2011, and 2012 which resulted in disruption of road and rail traffic, besides large-scale damage to public and private property

The High Court was earlier told that the commissioner had also sought from the authorities concerned the names of actual culprits and the perpetrators of crime with their specific role. Copies of the investigation report in respect of pending claims had also been asked for.

Another affidavit placed before the Bench on an earlier date of hearing had added that two public notices were issued regarding damages during the row. In response to the second notice, 416 claims were received in all, including 348 claims already received.

The High Court had earlier asked Haryana to abide by the Supreme Court directions for initiating preventive measures and providing teeth to the investigation while assessing loss or damages to public and private property.

The directions came ontwo petitions filed in public interest. In one of the petitions, Ludhiana-based non-government organisation Anti-Corruption Federation of India had sought directions to the state and other respondents to appoint a claims commissioner to assess the loss and recover it from the culprits, including the organisers of the Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti.
Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

Farmers across the state are a worried lot as the increase in day temperature is likely to hit yield of their wheat crop.

Harvesting of wheat ideally starts on Baisakhi festival that falls on April 14 and farmers fear that steep rise in days temperature these days is likely to lead to early maturing of the grains and hence lesser yield.

Wheat is sown on nearly 25 lakh hectares out of 33 lakh hectares under the rabi crop this year.

Farmers were expecting a bumper crop before the day temperature started showing upward trends from March 21 when the maximum temperature crossed 30 degree Celsius for the first time after winters.

The day temperature has since been on the rise and according to weathermen it is likely to cross 40 degree Celsius on Tuesday.

Rain and dip in temperature in January have raised hopes of bumper crop this year and all was going well till the day temperature started showing a sudden surge a week ago, said Gurjeet Singh Mann, a progressive farmer from Kirpal Patti village in Sirsa district.

He said a slight lower temperature for a few more days would have provided a little more duration to the crop to mature and hence weightier grains.

Now, the grains would mature earlier than normal schedule and would be of smaller in size, affecting the overall yield of the crop adversely, he added.

Lower temperature in March had resulted in bumper crop of wheat in 2012, Mann recalled.

Dr Suresh Kumar Gahlawat, Additional Director, Agriculture Department, however, brushed aside the apprehensions and said the temperature was conducive for a good crop.

Wheat is already in maturity stage and needs a few days of warm weather before harvesting, he emphasised.

Gahlawat said that the Agriculture Department was rather expecting a bumper crop of wheat this time.
Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 27

Enraged over the participation of ruling party MLAs in the debate on cut motion on the Health and Family Welfare department, opposition BJP today staged a walk out in the Vidhan Sabha.

The BJP legislators staged a walk out in protest against Congress legislators being allowed to take part in the debate. We have decided to stage a walk out as it is against the house rules to allow ruling party MLAs to take part in the debate on cut motions, said Suresh Bhardwaj, Chief Whip of the BJP. He added that this was a tactic by the government and the minister to avoid giving the reply.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Kaul Singh Thakur said he would reply to the cut motion only when the Opposition is in the house. Even though he was asked by Speaker BBL Butail to give his reply, he said he would do so only in the presence of the BJP members.

Earlier initiating the debate on the cut motion on Health and Family Welfare department moved by the BJP members, Mahender Singh said the health service in the state were in shambles as a total of 10,091 posts of doctor and other paramedical staff were vacant. Despite the Centre giving liberal assistance for setting of medical colleges, trauma centre, cancer care and under other projects, the state had failed to make proper use of it, he said.

Participating in the debate Maheshwar Singh said the huge vacancies of doctors, nurses and other staff in hospitals was affecting health services, especially in remote and rural areas. Suresh Bhardwaj said the state had no health policy and expansion of health institutions was futile in the absence of adequate staff. There is no faculty for the three medical colleges and in a bid to make the new medical colleges functional, services at Indira Gandhi Medical College were getting affected, he regretted.

Rajiv Bindal, Baldev Tomar and Govind Sharma also pointed out the shortcomings in the healthcare, forcing people to go to the PGI and other heath institutions outside the state. Kuldeep Kumar, Kishori Lal and Ram Kumar lauded the steps taken by the government in providing better healthcare to the people and strengthening the network of health institutions even in the remote and rural areas.
Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 27

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to look for an alternative to pellet guns used by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir where hundreds of youngsters have suffered serious injuries during protests that broke out after the killing of Hizbul Mujahedeen terrorist Burhan Wani in July 2016.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, however, agreed with Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi's submission that the nature of weapons used by security forces could not be judicially determined.

It said the alternative weapon and strategy for its use could be tested at four-five selected places where protests were frequently held as it could help to reduce casualties to a great extent.

This way 90 per cent of the problem could be dealt with, it added.

The Attorney General  who submitted a sealed cover report on the issue only to the court  said it was just an interim report prepared in October last and it was still being examined by security experts.

The court asked him to come up with further suggestions in two weeks time and posted the matter for April 10.

Expressing concern over the death of youngsters, it told Rohatgi: "Go by our spirit".

The top court's suggestion came during hearing on a petition filed by Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association (Kashmir) against an order of the state high court refusing to ban use of pellet guns.

On behalf of the petitioner, senior counsel Zafar Shah told the bench that youngsters were being hit by pellet guns and many of them have lost their eyes.

He said 50 people had died and 300 partially or totally blinded besides injuries caused to a large number of people due to use of pellet guns. "Four thousand more pellet guns have been imported," Shah added.

He said pellet guns were not being used in any other state and Kashmir was being singled out.

"It wasn't used in Haryana where so much violence and damage to property took place," he said.

Shah suggested that instead of targeting the entire crowd by pellet guns, rifles could be used against selected protestors resorting to violence.

"Are you saying that the security forces should use actual guns?" the Bench asked.

As Shah answered in the affirmative, the Attorney General disapproved of the use of actual guns.

Rohatgi said it was difficult to distinguish between young and adult protestors as a boy of 16, 17 or 18 years has the same built and they were all there with muffled faces.

"It is not a simple protest.... Like lawyers marching from the Delhi High Court to the Supreme Court...There are anti-national protests...Protesters are often used as shield by militants to attack security forces," Rohatgi said, adding they were being aided and instigates by a neighbouring country.

"I am not justifying the casualties. But that's the situation there," he said.

Rohatgi drew the court's attention to the number of attacks on CRPF, which stood at 1522 between July 8  the day Burhan Wani was killed and August 11, 2016.

On behalf of Jammu and Kashmir government, Advocate General Jahangir Iqbal Gabi said pellet guns were being used as the last resort to contain mob violence.

Gani said in 35 days between July 8 and August 11 last year 3,777 policemen were injured and two of them died due to mob violence.

At one point the Bench suggested that parents of the boys indulging in violence during protests should be acted against.

"Why don't you take action against parents of these children?" the Bench asked.

It gave the analogy of a minor taking out his father's car and mowing down five people. "Can the father escape liability?" it asked.

But the Attorney General said: "If we start acting against parents then it will create an upheaval".

He said a 17 or 18-year-old boy was not under the complete control of his parents.
Russ Heilman says his 94-year-old mother-in-law, Ethel Klein, has for several years been enrolled in a federal program that cuts her phone bill in half.

Then she got a letter in January from her phone company, AT&T, saying that as of April, the company will no longer participate in the program in her area. She could switch to a provider that still does, Heilman said, but that would jeopardize her ability to use a phone at all.

It appeared to be quite a pickle, but after a few inquires from SOS, Klein will at least have $111 and six months to figure it out.

Klein, of Wauwatosa, was getting the Lifeline credit, which is aimed at making sure low-income people can have basic phone service. Klein is eligible because she also qualifies for the state Homestead tax credit, Heilman said. The Homestead credit is aimed at aiding low-income homeowners. Heilman, of McFarland, said Lifeline cut Kleins bill from about $35 to about $18.50.

Elise Nelson, communications and legislative director for the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, confirmed that AT&T had scaled back its participation in the Lifeline program.

While this will affect the Lifeline subsidy of many of these customers, those subscribers will still receive regular, full-cost offerings from AT&T and may access the service (and subsidies) of other providers in AT&T wire centers (territories), where there are always at least nine and in some instances, as many as 18 other providers offering Lifeline, she said.

She suggested Klein opt for one of those other providers  say, North American Local.

Heilman said the problem with switching from AT&T is that his mother-in-law is hard of hearing and relies on a captioning service to use the phone, and the service needs a copper wire connection.

And who is the only provider with copper wires? he asked. AT&T, of course.

North American could be used for an Internet-based captioning service, but that solution did not seem viable because of the cost of an internet connection and a new phone, he said.

SOS reported Kleins problem to AT&T officials just after 9 a.m. on Wednesday. There were exchanges of relevant information through the day and by just after 4 p.m., Heilman was saying he had just received a phone call from the company.

The company offered Klein a $111 credit over six months, Heilman said. Plus, they are sending info on a low-cost AT&T web connection, and about a PSC voucher program that may help in the procurement of a web-based phone.

In essence, we now have a few months to determine if we can work out a viable solution, he said. This is a good thing.

SOS agrees.
Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 27

The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to look for an alternative to pellet guns in Jammu and Kashmir where hundreds of youngsters have suffered serious injuries during various protests since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in July last year.

A three-Judge Bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar, however, agreed with Attorney General Mukul Rohatgis submission that the nature of weapons used by the forces could not be judicially determined.

It said the alternative weapon and strategy for its use could be tested at four or five places where protests were frequently held.

The Attorney General, who submitted a sealed cover report to the court, said the interim report prepared in October last was still being examined by security experts. The court asked him to come up with further suggestions in four weeks. Expressing concern over the death of youngsters, the court told Rohatgi, Go by our spirit. The suggestion came during a hearing on a petition by the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association (Kashmir) against an order of the state High Court, refusing to ban the use of pellet guns.

Senior counsel Zafar Shah told the Bench that many a young boy had lost an eye. Fifty persons had died and 300 had been partially or totally blinded. Pointing out that 4,000 more pellet guns have been imported, Shah said pellet guns were not being used in any other state, save Kashmir. It wasnt used in Haryana where so much violence and damage to property took place, he said.

Shah suggested that instead of targeting the crowd by pellet guns, rifles could be used against selected protesters resorting to violence. Are you saying that the security forces should use actual guns, the Bench asked. As Shah answered in the affirmative, the Attorney General disapproved of the use of actual guns.

Rohatgi said it was difficult to distinguish between young and adult protesters. It is not a simple protest... There are anti-national protests...Protesters are often used as shield by militants to attack security forces. I am not justifying the casualties. But thats the situation there, he said.

Rohatgi drew the courts attention to the 1,522 attacks on the CRPF between July 8, the day Wani was killed, and August 11, 2016. On behalf of Jammu and Kashmir, Advocate General Jahangir Iqbal Gabi said pellet guns were being used as the last resort to contain mob violence, pointing out that between July 8 and August 11 last year, 3,777 policemen had been injured and two had died in mob violence. At one point the Bench suggested that parents of the boys indulging in violence be acted against.

Why dont you take action against the parents of these children, the Bench asked. But the Attorney General said, If we start acting against parents, it will create an upheaval. He said a 17 or 18-year-old boy was not under the complete control of his parents.
Srinagar, March 27

Police on Monday claimed to have busted a module of the Hizbul Mujahideen by arresting seven suspected militants in Kashmir who were allegedly tasked to disrupt the upcoming Lok Sabha bypolls.

The arrests were made in south Kashmir's Kulgam district, 70 kms off here, ahead of bypolls in Anantnag and Srinagar due in April.

"We have busted a module of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen militant organisation by arresting seven militants," Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kulgam, Shridhar Patil told reporters today.

He said the district police received a specific intelligence input on March 21 that the militant outfit has constituted a module to carry out attacks on security forces and disrupt the election process.

The district commander of the outfit, Altaf Dar alias Al-Kachroo, and Towseef Sheikh alias Mossad had constituted the module for allegedly disrupting the elections.

"We registered a case on the basis of this information and during investigation it was found that Zubar Ahmad Badar, a resident of Nai-Basti in Qaimoh area of the district, was the king-pin of this module. He was subsequently arrested," Patil said.

The SSP said a pistol, three bullets and two AK-47 magazines were recovered from Badar's possession. "During his questioning, we came to know about his associates and among them till now six have been arrested and we expect more arrests," he added.

The police officer said the main aim of the module was to target security forces during the elections and they had even made a failed attempt in Bijbehara area of Anantnag on March 19.

"The arrest of these persons and recoveries made is a big achievement for us especially because of the elections," the official said. He also claimed that Hizbul Mujahideen was trying to recruit new people"

The by-elections to Srinagar and Anantnag Lok Sabha constituencies are to be held on April 9 and April 12, respectively.

On 4 July, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who represented Anantnag in Lok Sabha, resigned, following her election to the Legislative Assembly. The Srinagar parliamentary constituency seat fell vacant in September after PDP leader Tariq Hamid Karra resigned from the party as well as Lok Sabha. PTI
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 26

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called upon all Indians to take digital transaction to the next level and participate in the movement of building New India.

Modi was addressing the 30th edition of his Mann Ki Baat radio programme, also his first after the BJPs recent landslide victory in the politically crucial UP poll.

The PM, however, began his address by greeting the people of Bangladesh on their Independence Day. They won a historic war against injustice. India will always stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Bangladesh. Together, we shall keep working towards peace and security in our region, he said.

Though he did not directly mention about his partys historic victory in UP and Uttarakhand, the PM brought up the concept of New India. New India manifests the strength and skills of 125 crore Indians, who will create a bhavya and divya Bharat. The desires of 125 crore Indians to transform the country and become the foundation of New India will be fulfilled, he said.

Urging people to join in big way to make India a cashless society by adopting various modes of digital transaction, Modi said, My dear countrymen, we must take our fight against black money and corruption to the next level We should contribute towards ensuring reduced use of cash in currency notes.

We are marking 100 years of Champaran Satyagraha. And this was one of the earliest Gandhian mass movements in India. He returned to India and in two years he went to Bihar and what he did inspired the whole nation, he said. Talking about Swachh Bharat and food wastage, Modi said, People of India are getting angry as far as dirt is concerned and this is a welcome sign. It is encouraging to see we are making cleanliness an integral part of our lives and ensuring a clean India. Wastage of food is unfortunate. I know of several youngsters who are using technology and helping prevent it.

The PM also spoke about mental health and depression and the increase in maternity leave for working women from 12 to 26 weeks.

Mentions Bhagat Singh, Jallianwala

Noting that 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar impacted Bhagat Singh deeply, the PM said the event changed the course of his life. On March 23, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru attained martyrdom. The then British government was so scared of these patriotic souls that their executions were advanced by a day and that too were done secretly. They lived and died for our nation. It would be impossible to express in words the story of their supreme sacrifice.
Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 26

No politician has been named in the over 1,500-page report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to look into the Punjab drugs scandal. The report has been prepared after an investigation lasting more than 17 months during which the data record of dozens of phones and personal computers of top 20 smugglers was analysed. Thirteen of them were questioned afresh.

The SIT, formed during the Akali-BJP regime, submitted its report to a Mohali court last week after the Congress government assumed power in Punjab. Significantly, the Congress had in its manifesto promised to end the drug menace within four weeks of coming to power.

The SIT has found enough evidence for further prosecution of 13 of the 20 alleged smugglers, but is mum on one. The cases of six others can be pursued only after their arrest. Phone calls and computer data point towards a well-coordinated, inter-connected drug cartel. Important evidence may have been lost as phone companies keep data records only for a year.

Nevertheless, the SIT has traced conversations between certain smugglers who interacted through code names. Besides Punjab, drugs were being smuggled into Gujarat cities, Hyderabad and abroad.

A large network transported drugs like ephedrine and methamphetamine in expensive SUVs using fake VIP numbers and documents.

On October 10, 2015, the High Court had, while disposing of a bunch of petitions by the accused smugglers, ordered that an SIT be formed for re-examination, re-consideration and further investigation of the organised drugs racket. It had said there was an unexplained silence on efforts made after 2013-14 to nab the drug traffickers and there were several gaps in the existing investigation reports, whether deliberate or otherwise.

List of accused smugglers

Satinder Dhama of Panchkula

Baljinder Singh, alias Sonu, of Kathu Nangal, Amritsar

Former Punjab DSP Jagdish Singh, alias Bhola, of Mohali

Former Punjab sub-inspector Sarabjit Singh, alias Saba, of Kathu Nangal, Amritsar

Jagjit Singh Chahal of Romana Chak, Amritsar

Maninder Singh Aulakh, alias Bittu, of Vairo Ke, Amritsar

Deep Singh, alias Deepu, of Pkula

Paramjit Singh, alias Pamma, of Kathu Nangal, Amritsar

Paramjit Singh Chahal of Romana Chak, Amritsar

Surjit Singh of Swarup Nagar, Delhi

Harminder Singh of Jalandhar, resident of Patel Nagar, Delhi

Devinder Singh, alias Happy, from Bathinda

Anil Chawan, alias Ravi, of Goa

Those on the run
Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

The Indian Air Forces second airbase for operating airborne early warning and control systems (AEW&CS) aircraft that has come up at the Bhisiana Air Force Station near Bathinda in Punjab is ready for operations.

The infrastructural and support facilities built up at the airbase by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the AEW&CS are complete and the new complex within the airbase is expected to be handed over to the Air Force next month, IAF sources said.

The base will house indigenous AEW&CS developed by the DRDO, which is christened Netra and was showcased at the Republic Day Parade as well as the Aero India show earlier this year. A fighter, unmanned aerial vehicle and a missile squadron are also based at Bhisiana. The other IAF base to operate AEW&CS is Agra, home to the A-50 AWACS, which are Israeli Phalcon systems integrated with a modified Russian IL-76 heavy-lift aircraft.

The DRDOs Bengaluru-based Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS) has developed three such systems that are mounted on the Brazilian Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft. Two of the aircraft would be based at Bhisiana while the third will remain positioned at the CABS for research and development, sources said.

Another six such systems are reported to have been ordered, with the IAFs total requirement in this category projected at 20 platfroms.

AWACS are force multipliers and can cover a huge swath of airspace, look deep into the enemy territory and detect enemy aircraft and missiles right from the launch phase, besides intercepting communication signals. Their flying altitude gives them an advantage over ground-based radar and they can provide a real time battlefield picture to commanders for decision making and counter air operations.

At present, the IAF has three A-50s with another two in the pipeline. The DRDO has also launched a new project to build larger and more capable AWACS than the Netra. Initially, two such AWACS aircraft will be developed, with four more to follow subsequently. The IAF is also looking at western platforms like the Boring 767 and Airbus 330 for future planes. China and Pakistan also operate different types of AEW&CS.
Yash Goyal

Jaipur, March 27

A 22-year-old girl was allegedly burnt alive after she along with family members protested over a road passing through her fields for which removal of trees was underway at Hariya-Dhana village of Jodhpurs Borunda Tehsil on Saturday afternoon.

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Seriously burnt Lalita was rushed to a government hospital in Jodhpur where she succumbed on Sunday morning, SP Rural HK Mahavar said today.

The victims brother, Vidhyadhar, has lodged an FIR with the Borunda police station alleging that his sister was set on fire after a group of people, including employees and Sarpanch of Panchayat Samiti, poured petrol like liquid on her and set her ablaze near their farm.

In his FIR, the brother mentioned eight names, including that of Sarpanch and Patwari as main accused.

A case under Sections 147, 149, 323, 447 and 302 of the IPC has been lodged.

The girls body was handed over to her relatives after post-mortem last evening.

Meanwhile, IG Jodhpur Range Hawa Singh Ghumariya told The Tribune that the case was being examined and prima facie it looked like the girl had committed suicide over the dispute of road passing through her farm land.

He said workers and two JCB machines were deployed for the task and one machine was being operated by the victims brother.

The investigation is on and will take a few days to clear the cause that led to her death, the IGP said.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 27

The Opposition in Rajya Sabha is making a concerted effort to amend the Finance Bill flagging objections to move by the government incorporating several amendments, including linking Aadhaar to tax work, altering rules to set up tribunals and relaxing company law to remove ceiling on companies to make anonymous political donation.

Members in the Opposition are seeking to bring in amendments when the Bill is taken up for consideration to be returned to the Lok Sabha tomorrow. Since House does not have to power to legislate on financial matters, amendment at best amplifies objections which the Lok Sabha can accept or reject.

Attacking the Narendra Modi government for bringing about changes in the Finance Bill by including clauses that have nothing to do with finance, the Opposition tore into the provisions suggesting it was time to revisit clause 3 of Article 110 that rests final authority with the Speaker in determining the nature of the Bill.

Speaker after speaker, starting with Kapil Sibal, Naresh Aggarwal and Sitaram Yechury charged the government with bringing in elements in the Finance Bill giving unbridled power to tax authorities, and place ordinary people under surveillance of the data holder.

Sibal questioned the move to use Aadhaar for filing tax returns, saying it amounted to snooping into peoples lives. He said the PM and the Finance Minister, when the BJP was in opposition, raised concern over the use of the unique identity number. Yechury said the move could lead to surveillance by the state into everyday affairs of individuals and that reel life situation in movies such as Enemies of the State or Matrix could play out in real life.

Stating the government was promoting crony capitalism, Sibal said the government has done away with the cap on contributions that companies could make to political parties. Now these companies dont even need to disclose this amount or the identity of the beneficiary even to their shareholders, he said, claiming that these provisions were included to ensure that the party in power gets unabated funding for national, state or even civic elections.

Members also questioned move to change the Companies Act by including it in the Finance Bill since it does not have majority in the Rajya Sabha. Naresh Aggarwal (SP) demanded implementation of the 7th Pay Commission for the defence personnel.
Abu Dhabi, March 27

The family of a Pakistani man, allegedly murdered by 10 Indians in Abu Dhabi in 2015, has pardoned the convicts facing death sentence.

The father of the victim, Mohammad Farhan, appeared in the Al Ain Appeals Court and submitted a letter of consent to pardon the Indians, an Indian Embassy official told the Gulf News.

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On behalf of the accused, an Indian charity deposited the blood money in the court and the case has been adjourned for further hearing on April 12, said Dinesh Kumar, an official at the embassy in Abu Dhabi.

It is expected that the court may commute the death sentence, he said.

The Indian men, from Punjab, were convicted in October 2016 for killing Farhan during a brawl in 2015, said the report.

The blood money as compensation to the victims family was arranged by Dubai-based Indian businessman S.P.S. Oberoi, chairman of Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust.

Oberoi said his Pakistani manager travelled to Peshawar and spoke to the family and their relatives to secure the pardon.

He said the victims father said he did not want 10 other Indian families to face the same tragic fate.

All the convicted young Indian men were from poor families and worked in the UAEs Al Ain city as plumbers, electricians, carpenters and masons, said the report.

Most were in their 20s and had paid huge sums to recruitment agents in India to secure a visa to reach the United Arab Emirates.  IANS
Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

The Punjab Cabinet today fixed the retirement age for the post of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) Chairman-cum-MD at 60, paving the way for the immediate removal of KD Chaudhri, the incumbent chairman, who turned 65 on February 8. The earlier Parkash Singh Badal government, extending the retirement age to 67, had given Chaudhri three extensions.

After the Cabinet meeting today, Power Minister Rana Gurjeet Singh said it had been decided to appoint A Venu Prasad, Principal Secretary, Power, as CMD, PSPCL. Sources said henceforth, the post would remain with an IAS officer, preferably one who had worked in the power sector before.

This, however, could lead to heartburn among technocrats, who have for years been demanding that they be appointed to posts requiring technical expertise.

The Cabinet included the streams of civil engineering, electronics and communication engineering, instrumentation engineering and information technology in the basic qualifications required for the post. Also, experience with the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) would be counted.

The Cabinet also agreed to enact a law on appointing law officers in the office of the Advocate General. The purpose is to streamline the appointment of Senior Additional AG, Additional AG, Senior Deputy AG, Deputy AG and Assistant AG and to bring transparency in the functioning of the office.

The Punjab Law Officers (Engagement) Act, 2017 Bill will be tabled in the current session of the Vidhan Sabha to put in place a mechanism for engaging law officers in the Advocate Generals office purely on merit, as per the directions of the Supreme Court and the High Court.

So far, it has been the CMs discretion to appoint law officers. Mostly relatives of politicians, bureaucrats and other influential persons would occupy such posts.
KV Prasad

Oh! You are from Ludhiana, greets this young couple ever so often during their travels in India. No, no we are from Lithuania, they explain, but phonetically the country is mistaken in India for the industrial town in Punjab.

Such conversation continues to add flavour to life for both Ambassador Laimonas Talat-Kelpsa and his wife Alina Taluntyte in India, equally at home with spicy food.

At months short of 40, Ambassador Talat-Kelpsa is surely one of the youngest diplomats to head a mission in New Delhi and is among the few old hands here since 2013 with an expanding portfolio to include Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

India-Lithuania connection is deep, according to the Ambassador, and central to it is the link to Sanskrit, a language with which Lithuanian shares many words. For instance, back home they say Dievas when appealing to God; Labas while wishing each other wealth and prosperity; Sapnas for dreams and visions; or Ugnis for fire. As a measure of the age-old ties, last year the Ambassador presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a specially published Sanskrit-Lithuanian dictionary.

The belief is their national language Lithuanian originates from Sanskrit and is the closest surviving sister of Sanskrit in Europe. As a mark of first documented contact in 1625 with India, a memorial stone was unveiled in old Goa a couple of summers ago, the Ambassador told The Tribune.

In1992, India established diplomatic ties with Lithuania, now part of the European Union, after the breakup of the erstwhile Soviet Union. Since his posting as the second ambassador to India, Talat-Kelpsas endeavour is to re-establish those ties.

In 2015, Lithuania unveiled a statute in Rusne of Mahatma Gandhi and his close Lithuanian-born Jewish friend Hermann Kallenbach. The Lithuanians view it as a monument to celebrate friendship of two individuals and two nations.

With a view to expand the study of Lithuania, last year a Centre for Baltic Culture and Studies was inaugurated at Dev Sanskriti University, Hardwar, the first of its kind in South Asia and 48th Centre worldwide where Lithuanian studies can be conducted.

When not on diplomatic work, Alina and her husband enjoy travelling in Delhi in the ubiquitous auto-rickshaws and are familiar with its infamous faulty metres. Initially they were not sure of being charged the correct fare but now do not need any map to negotiate the city lanes and bylanes, including old Delhi, to know what the ride costs. Yet the warmth of Delhi denizens was most pronounced when the neighbourhood grocer and vegetable vendor offered credit when notebandi affected everyone.

Alina, a journalist by training, is refraining from reporting aware of the sensitivity of being an Ambassadors wife but does not rule out doing a book later. For the present, she often becomes a tour guide, taking relatives and friends from Lithuania on frequent trips to Agra, Jaipur, Gwalior, Orcha; and nurses fond memories of Amritsar sojourn, its food and the Retreat at Attari-Wagah border.
This morning on the business news a man said we were due for a tradeable correction of consequence. Recognizing a call for action when I hear one, I immediately reviewed our portfolio of firewood and chickens. Barring avian flu or weasels, it appears we will be able to fry eggs well into spring. Beyond that Im in the same boat with the rest of you losers.

I recently returned from a gigantic book festival in Tucson, Arizona, where for two days it was possible to act as if snow plows and dead batteries didnt exist and informed, thoughtful discussions of literature outside the academy were commonplace. Lest I overdo it I should reveal that I used some of my microphone time to describe the remarkable physics generated by a sneezing cow. In short, were talking organic rear-end ballistics, and as with any form of artillery, you would do well to seek cover. As for the old farmer who told me, Cows dont sneeze, they cough, he is correct as bovines go, but in terms of humor he missed the point.

The bookish Tucson crowd was happy to be among books but there was a thread of tension running throughout that was not so subtly tied to the state of the nation, a nation hatched, after all, by those oft-cited Founding Fathers who, before wrapping themselves in the flag, wrapped themselves in literature and philosophy  both currently facing the future as a grape faces a steamroller.

Or so it can feel. But in the lovely cocoon of the festival we strode around with bound paper under our arms and in our tote bags (if you sewed together all the tote bags generated by book festivals, public radio, and the conference industry in general you could stitch up a sunbrella sufficient to reverse global warming) enjoying the idea that humans are tenacious in many different ways. The headlines were dominated by large-font capital letters, but we were down in the footnotes, where you will still find strength and resolve and the seeds of new voices bound to sprout up and split foundations crumbling in part through main force but mostly the dead weight of presumption.

Despite claims of exceptionalism, there is a point  I am paraphrasing all the history books here  when every society bites itself in the butt. Time will tell if we are there, or if we can open our jaws wide enough, and what if it is so? Down there in the desert I welcomed the opportunity to diversify the portfolio of my head and heart with voices of all styles, tenor, and heritage, each of them essential to my future no matter the future.

Outside my Tucson hotel room door there stood a saguaro. If ever there was a simple way to remind a cheesehead that he is outside the state lines, a saguaro is it. This one  and millions of others nearby  stand because at some point it was decided the bulldozers should stop and the saguaros should stay. This was an artistic decision. The economic merits were debatable, but without question it produced a correction of consequence. So it is they still publish books; so it is we still read them.
Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

Upset over the cancellation of the motion of thanks on the Governors Address and not scheduling the Question Hour, AAP along with its alliance partner the Lok Insaaf Party  staged a walkout from the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on the second day of the session today.

The election to the Speaker was in progress when Opposition MLAs walked out.

Led by Leader of Opposition HS Phoolka, AAP MLAs raised slogans on the dictatorial attitude of the Congress government to suppress the voice of the Opposition.

Phoolka later said the party agreed with the choice of the Congress to propose Rana KP Singhs name for the post of the Speaker. We are playing the role of a constructive Opposition by supporting the government on several matters. The government, however, is denying us the opportunity to speak in the House. So, we walked out.

He said AAP had today sought a discussion on pertinent matters such as the silence of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on a politicians role in the drugs scandal, a clean chit by the police to Jaswinder Singh Jugnu  a close aide of a Congress minister  in connection with illegal stocking of liquor, arbitrary charging of fees by private schools and snapping of power supply to water pumps in villages.

Phoolka has written to the Speaker, citing Article 176(2) of the Constitution related to the discussion on the Governors Address. The Article mandates that time should be allotted for discussion on the Address by moving the motion of thanks, but the Congress government has denied it, he said.

The AAP leader questioned why the first schedule of the Vidhan Sabha mentioned the discussion and motion of thanks, and withdrawn later? The Congress government had, in its first session in 2002, flouted the rules by denying discussion to the Opposition. Then, the Akalis had not raised the point. But we are not their friends, Phoolka added.

AAP chief whip Sukhpal Khaira took on SAD-BJP MLAs, saying their pre-poll friendship with the Congress continued as the Akalis did not object to the denial of discussion in the House.

Lok Insaaf Party MLAs Balwinder Bains and Simarjit Singh Bains said the government was running away from discussion as it had no answer to the way it awarded Cabinet rank to advisers, among other matters.

3 MLAs seek call attention motion

Three AAP MLAs have submitted applications to Speaker Rana KP Singh for call attention motion to be taken on March 29, the last day of the session.

AAP womens wing head Baljinder Kaur has sought discussion on exorbitant fees charged by private schools. Sunam MLA Aman Arora wants attention of the House on the scarcity of water in villages after the government disconnected power supply to water pumps.

Bathinda Rural MLA Rupinder Kaur Ruby wants discussion on a Congress worker getting a clean chit by the police in connection with illegal stocking of liquor.

Its regrettable: Capt

Chandigarh: Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday termed as regrettable the decision of AAP to walk out of the Assembly during the election of the Speaker. Addressing the House after the walkout, Capt Amarinder said it was an unfortunate incident. The main Opposition party should uphold the dignity of the House instead of indulging in cheap dharna politics, he said. The AAP walkout triggered a wave of reactions from the Treasury benches, with several party leaders following the Chief Minister in castigating AAP for its disruptive act. TNS

AAP gets new, bigger office

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accepted a new office in the Assembly. House officials allotted a bigger room as demanded by the party. Leader of Opposition HS Phoolka held a meeting with party MLAs in the new office on Monday. He said the matter of the seating arrangement was still unsolved. The party wants that MLAs of its alliance partners  the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP)  be seated with them. On the second day of the session on Monday, the two LIP MLAs sat with AAP MLAs without official approval.
Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

In the Amritsar jail even after the completion of over 10-year sentence in a drugs case, two sisters from Pakistan will finally be able to get in touch with their families back home over the phone.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed Fatima Bibi and Mumtaz to call up their family for the payment of a fine of Rs 2 lakh each imposed on them. The order comes with a rider: The duo will make the call under the jail staffs supervision to ensure that they dont contact any anti-India/terrorist group.

The order by Justice MMS Bedi rings in a new chapter as Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails can send or receive letters, but are not allowed to make calls back home.

The right of life and liberty as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution may not be applicable to the petitioners, but these are basic human rights, recognised at the international level, Justice Bedi ruled, while allowing their plea.

An application submitted to the High Court by the sisters was treated as a writ petition, before the Bench was told that they were proceeded against on the basis of a complaint under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Amritsar custom cases police station.

They sought permission to talk to their family in Pakistan, but the request was resisted. The states stand, reflected in a letter placed before the Bench by counsel Varun Issar, was that Pakistani prisoners were not allowed to call up their family on the cell phone/landline, but could communicate through the Pakistan High Commission officials via consular access. They could also write through the Prisons Department. Since some Pakistani prisoners had links with anti-India/terrorist groups, the possibility of misusing the liberty could not be ruled out, the Bench was told.

Justice Bedi asserted that the petitioners were lodged in the jail only for their inability to pay the fine. The petitioners can be permitted to speak to their family over cell/landline phones under the strict supervision and vigilance of a gazetted officer of the jail concerned The communication can be permitted with parallel hearing facility to a responsible officer deputed by the Punjab DGP (Prisons), he added.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

The Punjab cabinet on Monday decided to take up the matter of settlement of the legacy accounts regarding the pending Cash Credit Limit (CCL) with the Centre, RBI and SBI, on priority basis.

A decision to this effect was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh here.

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The meeting decided to take up the CCL issue with the Centre as well as the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of India, in larger public interest and in view of the states financial situation.

Disclosing this after the meeting, an official spokesperson said the Punjab government, which had inherited a huge debt legacy from the previous Akali government, would actively pursue the issue with the Centre.

The Chief Minister last week had met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely to seek immediate authorisation and release of the Rs 20,683-crore CCL from the Centre for smooth and timely wheat procurement in the state. The procurement of wheat in the state is slated to begin on April 1.

At its meeting, the cabinet also approved supplementary grants for 2016-17 to be presented before the state Assembly during the ongoing session. The cabinet also cleared the proposal for seeking Vote-on-Account for 2017-18 in the Vidhan Sabha.

The supplementary grants and Vote-on-Account are scheduled to be presented before the House on March 29.
Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

Finance Minister Manpreet Badal today said the Vidhan Sabha needed to restore the glory of the House in the decision-making process that was largely being handled by the Executive (Cabinet and Chief Ministers office) these days. He was speaking in the Punjab Assembly here today.

He said, Principally speaking, the executive is answerable to the legislature. However, for the past 30-40 years, the legislature slowly weaned away from playing its expected role. With no active MLA participation in the work of assigned committees and later scrutiny of the AG reports, the MLAs have become mere signatories to the prepared proceedings.

Manpreet said, I have sought from the Speaker that majority participation be ensured, particularly the Oppositions, for a collective decision-making process. The functioning of the committees need to be made more accountable. Action on the AG audit reports needs to be ensured by the concerned MLAs, seeking explanation from the names associated with loopholes in the reports.

Agreeing to the opinion of the Finance Minister, BJP MLA Som Paraksh said, The issue of involving the entire House in decision-making was very valid because the Cabinet, more often than not, took decisions which demanded a fair discussion in the House. It is the House that represents the voice of people and not the office of the CM and the Cabinet alone.

He said, The Congress government will have to be careful in distinguishing the subjects that merited only a Cabinet discussion and those which needed a discussion in the House. For example, the Cabinet last week decided that MLAs will be not be made any payments for foreign trips. Such issues, by merit, were required to be tabled in the House before any decision.

Speaking in context of the AAP staging a walkout even before the election of the Speaker, Amritsar MLA Navjot Sidhu said At least let the government begin its innings. We will all work together for the welfare of Punjab.
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 27

There was uproar in the city on Monday morning after torn Gutka Sahibs were spotted lying near a garbage dump in Noorwala Road area.

Some residents who were heading to Gurdwara Sri Sukhmani Sahib in the Anandpuri area of Noorwala Road noticed torn pages of Gutka Sahib scattered out of a carry bag lying near a garbage dump in the street.

When they picked up the bag, they found more torn pages. The devotees checked the torn pages and found that the bag contained five Gutka Sahibs.

The devotees collected all the pages in the bag and went to the gurdwara.

Granthi of the gurdwara, Sukhwinder Singh, announced the sacrilege of the Gutka Sahibs. All the devotees present went to the house, outside of which the Gutka Sahibs were found.

The house owners reportedly expressed ignorance and pointed that the tenant, Harpreet Singh, had shifted nearby two days back.

All of them went searching for the tenant, Harpreet, 26, who admitted that the Gutka Sahibs had been torn by his children, who are toddlers, in ignorance.

He was taken to the gurdwara, where he was handed over to the police.

Jodhewal police station SHO Gurwinder Singh said the accused has been booked under the IPC Section 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).

Further investigation about the intent and reason for the incident is being carried out, he added.
Fights between friends are a common thing. In a competitive world when every actor is trying to outdo each other, they are likely to drift apart. What follows is, fans of the two defending their favourite stars, badmouthing the rival and a lot more. Heres taking a look at few of such celebrity fights

Not funny anymore

The latest celebrity fight that has left everyone shocked is the brawl between televisions favourite comedians Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover on a plane when Kapil got drunk and abused Sunil. While the initial reports said that the host of The Kapil Sharma Show manhandled Sunil too, it was also discovered that Kapil actually hurled a shoe at Sunil. After which Sunil Grover along with other actors left the show. The episode that was aired on Saturday night has garnered a lot of dislikes and no support from fans.

Split wide open

Kajol and Karan Johar were best of pals for over two decades, so much so that Karan never released any movie of his without a guest appearance from Kajol, calling her his lucky charm. The first signs of the rift were noticed when Karan Johars Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was set to release at the same day as Ajay Devgns Shivaay. While these two continue with bitterness in their friendship, fans were ready to give their opinions. Some say they both should join hands again, while a few feel its Ajay Devgn who is responsible for the break-up.

King versus Bhai

The ruling Khans of Bollywood first came into focus with their off screen fight following the controversies surrounding Sallus then girlfriend Aishwarya. She was the lead in SRKs movie Chalte Chalte, but had to back out because of the ruckus created by Salman. Another issue occurred when the violent verbal exchange almost turned physical, during Katrina Kaifs birthday party. Post this, the actors did not talk to each other for years and their fans also got divided into two camps. There were hate posts on social media and comparisons were made between both actors by fans on their every film release.

Race to the top

It all started when Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra went to Hollywood to explore their careers. Although the stories of their friendship were going strong and they even featured together in Bajirao Mastani, the competition between the two was evident. From who is a better actor, to who dances well, fans were divided in choosing their favourites. Red carpet as well as appearances on international chat shows were compared and trolled on social media.

Love hate relationship

Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut allegedly started dating when they were working together on Krrish 3. Hrithik was still married to Sussanne but the marriage was apparently troubled. However, once Kangana realized that Hrithik had no plans to divorce his wife, Kangana put a stop. Later the drama started and the issue was dragged to the court over apparent Kanganas desperate mails to Hrithik. What followed as expected was social media bashing by fans.
AN important but neglected question of interest to womens education was brought to notice on the occasion of the prize-distribution to girls of the Crosthwaite Girls High School, Allahabad, by the Secretary of the School Committee. He said the majority of the girls were between 6 and 12 years of age and very few girls remained in the school after 12. But the course prescribed by the Education Department required a girl to study for 12 long years to pass Matriculation or School Final Examination. Assuming that a child began to attend school in her 8th year of age and was regular in studies through her teens, she could in her 18th year pass the Matriculation examination.
IT is worth ascertaining whether the institution of purdah prevalent in India except the Deccan has more opponents among the women or the men. The discussion on the proposal to set apart a park for the exclusive use of purdah ladies in Calcutta showed that men raised serious objections and said the ladies would not use the park. On the other hand, many educated ladies have stated that women nowadays do not like the restraints this custom imposes on them and like some relief. Commenting on the subject, the Empire writes: An amazing factor in the case is that for the majority of the inhabitants  the Hindus  the observance of the purdah is not a religious custom. It is merely a relic of the bad old days for which no justification is to be found in any doctrine or sacred book. The Hindu woman condemned to the purdah is suffering not because of any religion belief but purely through the obstinate conservatism of the old school.
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 27

A delegation led by the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kishore Upadhyay met family members of forest inspector Pahalwan Singh, who was crushed to death by mining mafias in Ramnagar, Udham Singh Nagar, a few days ago. Congressmen expressed grief over his death.

The delegation members visited the spot where he was crushed to death and demanded immediate action into the case.

Earlier, Upadhyay wrote a letter to Chief Minister TS Rawat on March 24 demanding strict action against mining mafias. He said the government should order a probe into the brutal death of Pahalwan Singh.

Upadhyay said the deceased was the only bread winner of his family and he was crushed to death under a tractor trolley by mining mafias on March 24. Upadhyay alleged that mining mafias were supported by political leaders, which was surely a matter of concern.

He expressed concern that instead of taking action against corrupt government officials, the BJP-led state government had taken action against Forest Department officials. Upadhyay said the government should draft a policy to check corruption. He demanded a government job for Singhs son Major Singh.
Moscow, March 27

Russia's main Opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was arrested at an anti-corruption protest he organised here on Sunday.

Thousands of people joined rallies nationwide, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev over corruption allegations, BBC reported.

At least 500 other protesters were detained in the capital and across the country.

In a tweet after his detention, Navalny urged fellow protesters to continue with the demonstration.

"Guys, I'm fine. No need to fight to get me out. Walk along Tverskaya (Moscow main street). Our topic of the day is the fight against corruption," he said (in Russian).

Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption blogger who heads Russia's Progress Party, called for the nationwide protests after he published reports claiming that Medvedev controlled mansions, yachts and vineyards -- a fortune that far outstripped his official salary.

Medvedev's spokeswoman called the allegations "propagandistic attacks", but the Prime Minister himself has not commented on the claims.

In Moscow, protesters filled Pushkin square and some climbed the monument to poet Alexander Pushkin shouting "impeachment". Turnout was estimated to be between 7,000 and 8,000, according to police.

The police said 500 protesters had been arrested in the capital alone, but a rights group, OVD Info, put that number at at least 700.

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TV pictures showed demonstrators chanting "Down with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin!", "Russia without Putin!" and "Putin is a thief!".

The marches appeared to be the biggest since anti-government demonstrations in 2011/2012, BBC added.

Demonstrations were also held in Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and several other cities, where arrests had also been reported.

Navalny became known as one of the leading critics of Putin and the ruling United Russia party during protests in 2011 against Putin's return to the presidency.

IANS
Police arrested a man early Saturday after they say he forced entry through a locked door at a Downtown Madison hospital and battered a nurse.

The incident occurred at about 2:40 a.m. Saturday at Select Specialty Hospital, 801 Braxton Place, according to a release from the Madison Police Department.

Police arrested Michael R. Jarocki, 24, of Oshkosh, on possible charges of battery, damage to property and disorderly conduct.

Police say an intruder, after forcing entry to the hospital, threatened a nurse and placed his hands on the nurse's neck.

There was a struggle between Jarocki and the victim, police say. The two wrestled on the floor before a security guard arrived and put Jarocki in handcuffs.

Police said it was unclear why Jarocki forced entry into the hospital, although the victim, who suffered an elbow injury, said he could smell alcohol on his breath.
Dhaka, March 7

Bangladesh army said on Monday that it had neutralised all four Islamist militants, including a woman, who were holed up in a building after four days of siege in the northeastern Sylhet city, even as the 'Operation Twilight' continued to secure the site.

"We've found four bodies inside the building. All are with suicide vests," Brig General Mohammad Fakhrul Ahsan told reporters at a news briefing at the end of the fourth day of the security siege of the five-storey building 'Atia Mahal'.

"Our intelligence earlier suggested four militants, one being a woman, were inside the building...So we assume that no militant was alive anymore," Ahsan said.

He, however, said the 'Operation Twilight' has not ended.

The army is planning how to recover the bodies of the militants from the building, he said.

Ten persons, including four militants, have been killed in the operation that lasted for four days in this city, about 236 km from the capital Dhaka.

the identity of the slain militants were not established.

However, officials had earlier indicated that Jamaat-ul- Mujahideen Bangladesh chief Musa could be inside the building.

The neo-JMB, said to be inclined to the Islamic State, was behind the July 1 terror attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed.

The building is very risky as a huge cache of explosives including improvised explosive devices have been found scattered inside its premises, he said, adding that "the building will collapse if all these were to explode".

Of the four militants, two including a woman were killed today, he said.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal had said earlier in the day that commandos could wrap up their assault any time.

"We expect the operation to end anytime, defeating the militants there," he said, adding that the para-commandos "proceeded slowly to minimise casualties" at the scene.

Earlier, fire broke out at the building occupied by the Islamist militants. Large gusts of smoke were seen coming out of the ground floor around 3:40 pm (local time). Fire fighters rushed to the scene and controlled the flames.

Army quickly moved in from the rear preparing for what it seemed like another assault, it said.

Around noon, the army used megaphones to ask the militants, who were holed up in the building, to surrender.

However, there was no response from the other side.

After a relative lull since last night, sporadic gunfire and explosions were heard this morning from the building.

Locals said they could hear burst of automatic weapons and explosions once again after 6 am (local time).

Security was beefed up in the area and police restricted public movement in 2 sq km of the hideout.

Army commandos shot dead two militants at the building yesterday, a day after six people were killed and 50 injured on Friday in blasts claimed by the Islamic State outside the hideout.

The commandos located the militants wearing suicide vests on the ground floor of the building and shot them dead.

The militants were equipped with small arms, explosives and grenades and laid out booby traps at different corners of the building, slowing down the military operation.

The operation was launched after a suicide bomber on Friday night blew himself up at the international airport in Dhaka in an attack claimed by the Islamic State. It came a week after an identical attack on a RAB camp in Dhaka.

On Saturday, two powerful bombs ripped through a crowd near the hideout, killing six people, two being police officers and injuring about 50, including two army officers currently serving the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion.

The attacks were carried out by the extremists from outside, visibly being mixed up with onlookers, police said.

Hours later the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its propaganda news agency 'Amaq'.

Home Minister Khan, however, rejected the Islamic State claim, saying that there was no presence of any foreign terrorist group in the country.

Meanwhile, residents who lived in the building said they were virtually taken hostage by militants who warned them of bombs implanted on their way out. The commandos brought them out from the top of the building making their way there from the rooftop of an adjacent structure.

Bangladesh has been witnessing a spate of attacks on secular activists, foreigners and religious minorities since 2013. The country launched a massive crackdown on militants especially after the Dhaka cafe attack. PTI
Wellington, March 27

China and New Zealand ramped up their cooperation on Monday, pledging to expand their existing free trade agreement into what visiting Premier Li Keqiang called Chinas most advanced with a developed country.

The two governments also promised to work together on a Chinese trade and business expansion strategy that Beijing calls One Belt, One Road.

In Wellington, Li signed nine pacts with New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English, who said talks to upgrade their free trade agreement (FTA) - in effect since 2008 - would begin on April 25.

The upgrade would produce an arrangement of the most advanced level between the nations and the first of its kind between China and a developed country, Li said.

In a column published on Monday in the New Zealand Herald, headlined To New Zealand, with love, Li wrote that rising international instability and uncertainty have made it all the more important for China and New Zealand to work together to turn challenges into opportunities.

New Zealand depends heavily on exports, and Lis remarks echoed those by English and New Zealand central bank governor, Graeme Wheeler, who have warned that possible disruptions of global trade is the biggest threat to prosperity.

One Belt summit

English said Paul Goldsmith, New Zealands regulatory reform and innovation minister, would attend a One Belt, One Road summit in Beijing in May.

New Zealand was the first Western country to sign an FTA with China and the first to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) after which it helped usher in the United Kingdom and Australia.

China is the New Zealands second biggest trade partner, after Australia, which Li visited last week.

Despite agreements on areas from e-commerce to chilled goat exports, thornier issues emerged during Lis talks with English.

They discussed the South China Sea and English acknowledged the topic was sensitive, though he said he did not think it would affect the rest of their relationship.

China has drawn criticism for large-scale building in the disputed waterways of the South China Sea.

Li took issue with a local journalists question on whether allegations of steel dumping could impact the trade relationship, a spat that English and his predecessor John Key have tried to play down.

English said there were no talks about the imports.

Li said China is reducing steel production and exports only a modest amount to New Zealand. He added that while half of Chinas dairy imports come from New Zealand, Beijing has not accused New Zealand of dumping them.  Reuters
Dane County Sup. Dave de Felice announced Monday that he was retiring from the board effective immediately.

In a statement, de Felice said he had back surgery in November, but health issues remain a consideration.

Its best for me and my constituents to make this decision now, de Felice said.

De Felice was elected to the board in 2004 and represented the 16th District on the Far East Side of Madison and the town of Blooming Grove.

His term on the board was set to expire next year.

A special election will be held to fill the vacant seat at an upcoming date to be determined, Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said.

De Felice helped form a neighborhood association and spearheaded the HomE Loan Program, (HELP), which provides low-interest reverse mortgage loans to qualified applicants.

A self-described liberal who hates taxes, de Felice was a vocal critic of what he saw as unnecessary government spending.

Yet, de Felice staunchly supported spending on social programs and services, including funding for mental health and efforts to help the homeless.

After losing his wife, Gay, to suicide in 2006, de Felice became a voice on behalf of suicide prevention.

De Felice led a fight against what he saw as excessive fees the county charged inmates to make phone calls from the county jail. He also advocated for collective bargaining rights, animal rights and environmental causes.

During my 13 years in office, my top priority has been maintaining the unique quality of life in Dane County, de Felice said.

Those who live here are fortunate to have many dedicated elected officials and employees in local government. It has been my privilege to serve among them, he said.
Eight writers, including three from Madison and one from Spring Green, have won Wisconsin Writers Awards for work published in 2016, the Council for Wisconsin Writers has announced.

Paula Dail of Spring Green won the Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award for "Mother Nature's Daughters: 21st Century Women Farmers."

Catherine Jagoe of Madison won the Edna Meudt Poetry Book Award for "Bloodroot."

Rachel Davidson Leigh of Madison won the Tofte/Wright Childrens Literature Award for "Hold."

Liz Wyckoff of Madison won the Zona Gale Award for Short Fiction for the story Like This, Like That."

The council will award each winner $500 and a weeklong writing residency at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point. Awards will be presented at the council's annual banquet May 13 in Milwaukee.

More information about the contest and the council is at www.wiswriters.org.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Members of the Oklahoma House got a budget update from agencies Thursday as lawmakers wrapped up the first half of the session.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Charles McCall said he has come up with a plan to fund teacher pay raises, but the plan will remain a secret for now.

The budget meetings were a chance to tell lawmakers how the agencies have handled budget cuts so far, but also gave officials another chance to present dire results of a hypothetical 14.5 percent spending cut.

House budget staff requested the hypothetical scenario almost three weeks ago.

In the House Health Committee, agency directors talked about their wish list items; things that they could do if they were given more money to operate. Committee Chair Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, said he also asked them to show what a 5 percent, 10 percent and 15 percent cut would look like.

It was just an opportunity for me to communicate information back to committee members. I tried to make it very clear that I dont think this is where were going to end up, Caldwell said. The impact is going to be pretty significant. To have an honest conversation, you have to start somewhere.
OKLAHOMA CITY  The Oklahoma Senate last week passed bills that would let the public vote on making dramatic changes to the judiciary.

The upper chamber also sent the House a bill that would let people vote on making it more difficult for courts to toss out bills that previously were deemed to violate the single-subject rule of the state Constitution.

Senate Joint Resolution 43, by Sen. Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, passed by a vote of 37-8.

Currently, the Judicial Nominating Commission screens applicants for judicial posts and forwards three names to the governor, who makes the appointment. Senate confirmation is not required.

Senate Joint Resolution 43 would let the governor nominate candidates to fill vacancies and require the Senate to confirm or deny the appointment. The Judicial Nominating Commission would rate nominees as qualified or not qualified, according to the measure.

John Williams, Oklahoma Bar Association executive director, said the qualifications are already laid out. He said the measure would reduce the role of the Judicial Nominating Commission to strictly clerical.

Senate Joint Resolution 44, also by Sykes, would let voters decide to change the Oklahoma Constitution. The measure passed by a vote of 38-7.

Under the proposal, the Judicial Nominating Commission would forward five names instead of three to the governor. The governor could reject the five and ask for five more names, according to the proposal.

Williams said the measure is also problematic. The governor could ask certain people to apply for the job. Under the measure, the governor could keep rejecting the recommendations until the governor received the name he or she supported, Williams said.

Another area of concern is that the Senate could tell the governor that only its selected candidate would be approved, Williams said.

Williams said the proposed changes are not new, adding that he has spent a long time fighting them.

It has been his experience that the proposals are generated by people who were not happy with a specific court decision or because a bill was struck down as unconstitutional, he said.

In recent years, the courts have struck down several bills that made it more difficult for a woman to obtain an abortion, lawsuit reform legislation and measures making changes to the workers compensation system.

These reforms are a measured approach to help restore the balance of power among the three, co-equal branches of government in Oklahoma, Senate Pro Tem Mike Schulz, R-Altus, said in a statement after the measures were approved. Too many times, weve seen the judiciary extend beyond its constitutional role and instead take on the role of a super-legislator.

Lawmakers and the governor are elected by voters and should have more authority and responsibility in judicial appointments, he said.

Some of the abortion bills were authored by Sen. Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City. The bills were found unconstitutional on the grounds they violated the single subject rule, also known as logrolling.

Logrolling is the practice of writing a bill that addresses more than one issue so that a legislator or voter is forced to assent to an unfavorable provision to secure passage of a favorable one or, conversely, is forced to vote against a favorable provision to ensure that an unfavorable provision is not enacted.

Treat is the author of Senate Joint Resolution 40 that would let voters decide whether or not to broaden the criteria in the analysis of the single-subject rule. The measure passed by a vote of 38-5.

Currently, the law says that bills shall embrace one subject. Treats measure says they shall embrace either one general subject, or one comprehensive subject.

Treat said he became concerned about the judicial application of the single-subject rule before entering office. The decisions handed down on abortion bills with his name on them were also a factor, he said.

He said that he supports the concept that lawmakers should not put a bunch of disjointed and unrelated proposals in a bill. He said the measure does not do away with the single-subject rule.

It would make it more difficult for the court to throw out a bill based on the personal whims and policy preferences, Treat said.

All three of the measures must secure approval in the House and do not require the governors signature.
If you thought the clamp-down on National Security Agency telephone spying was over, think again.

A whole host of government programs are available to local, state and federal authorities that expose who you are, where youre traveling, who youre meeting with and what youre saying.

These programs are conducted under the cloak of secrecy. Ostensibly, theyre used to target individuals under surveillance for sound reasons.

Unfortunately, the equipment cant tell the good guys from the bad guys, so many individuals may be unwittingly caught up in its web.

As reported by KXTV in Sacramento, California, and other news organizations, one such government surveillance program is called Stingray.

This program simulates a cellphone tower and tricks nearby mobile phones into connecting to it, rather than standard commercial towers. The system collects the cellular telephone number, incoming or outgoing status, number dialed, and the date, time, location and duration of the call.

Another federal program called Triggerfish, when combined with Stingray, exposes the actual content of the cellphone conversations. It allows law enforcement agencies to intercept up to 60,000 different cellular conversations over a targeted area. Add a few more features and it can be used as a phone listening device to hear oral exchanges even when the phone is thought to be turned off. All of this equipment is so mobile it can be located in planes, cars and boats.

There is also related equipment that can track the location of a cellphone  which is not really hard to do even with commercial equipment.

But heres one you probably never thought of: tracking without a cellphone.

Cameras at street intersections take pictures of a license plate when a car goes through a red light. But they also take pictures of everyones license plate, digitize them and make it possible to track the movement of every car. Add to that facial recognition software used in conjunction with security cameras in stores or on the street, and a person can also be tracked on foot.

Federal agencies have tried to meddle with public requests for information on Stingray. When the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California submitted a Freedom of Information Acts request to the Department of Justice on the use of StingRay, it ignored the request.

ARS Technica reported in 2015 that a new Department of Homeland Security policy comes after federal agencies, most notably the FBI, have tried to tightly control information about Stingrays for years. The FBI and the Harris Corp., one of the primary manufacturers of the devices, had refused to answer specific questions.

Unfortunately, when Stingray passes itself off as a legitimate cell tower, it can jam associated commercial networks when signal levels become alike at fringe areas.

The device is used by the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency, Secret Service, National Security Agency, U.S. Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Homeland Security; police and the list goes on.

In 2014, CNET reported that police in Florida have offered a startling excuse for having used a controversial Stingray cellphone tracking gadget more than 200 times without telling a judge.

The polices excuse for not informing the judge was the devices manufacturer made them sign a non-disclosure agreement that they say prevented them from telling the courts. The revelation came during an appeal of a 2008 sexual battery case in Tallahassee.

U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, has introduced a bill in Congress that would prohibit government agencies from using Stingray type simulators without a warrant in most circumstances.

U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, have asked the Department of Homeland Security to enact a policy on cell phone surveillance devices, such as Stingrays, but the request has gone nowhere.
A number of Television executives have taken the opportunity to congratulate those involved in their productions that have attracted Logie nominations on the weekend.

ABC led the field with 41 nominations  the most ever by any network  across viewer and jury-voted categories.

David Anderson, ABC Director of Television, said: The ABC is committed to be the independent source of Australian conversations, stories and culture, so to receive a record-breaking number of nominations across so many categories is something for everyone to be proud of.

Id like to congratulate the hard work, professionalism and creativity of everyone in ABCs TV and News teams, the talent in front of and behind the cameras, our fantastic production partners and the ongoing major support from Australias funding bodies.

Foxtel attracted 19 nominations, mostly across its local drama slate.

Foxtel Executive Director of Television Brian Walsh said, These 19 nominations from across the platform for the TV Week Logie Awards have been earned by the talented creative team we have at Foxtel, as well as the quality actors, actresses and presenters weve been fortunate enough to work with in producing these television programs. To see returning seasons of Wentworth, A Place To Call Home, Gogglebox Australia, and Selling Houses Australia continue to pull in the nominations makes me very proud of our local content, and cements the resonance our shows have amongst our viewers and their ever-growing fan bases.

Matchbox Pictures nabbed 9 nominations for its scripted productions.

Chris Oliver-Taylor Managing Director, Matchbox Pictures, said: Its really wonderful for a number of our shows to be recognised  I congratulate the creative teams behind these and every one of our shows. Matchbox is very fortunate to work with some of the greatest Australian talent, and we are thrilled that programs driven by Tony Ayres, Penny Chapman, Amanda Higgs, Rebecca Gibney, Richard Bell and Beth Frey have been acknowledge by our peers.
Melissa George has denied she made comments about Australia some years ago, in which it was reported she preferred to spend time in France or the US than her home country.

Speaking to Kyle and Jackie O today, she said, I never said that at all, and I let it go and it got huge. We were laughing. I never said anything negative about my country.

It was all swapped around and put in the wrong context. People know me. I find light in sad situations and thats what happened.

But you know I think its obvious that Id much rather be having a Chardonnay in Perth or eating a vegemite sandwich than having a croissant in Paris.

So you just let that go? That wasnt a quote of yours but just something that sort of got away from you? Jackie O asked.

Oh gosh yeah, absolutely. But I know that thats the way it works, Ive been doing it 20 years and I know that certain things get said and people can perceive whats written in the way that they want to, George replied.

Last week Fairfax journalist Christine Sams, who authored the original George interview, wrote how she regretted that the article had attracted such negativity for George over the subsequent years. Sams also admits she egged George on when it was clear she was angry about a Seven interview with Larry Emdur & Kylie Gillies, who had asked her about her Home and Away fame.

.she was clearly keen to vent her frustration about it to someone. It probably didnt help, either, that about five minutes into our chat, I too was asking her about the Angel role, which had made her a household name, Sams writes.

If Im honest, at the time, her reaction felt comical. In many ways, as journalists are trained to do, I egged her on with further questions, not quite believing the unedited verbal spray she was having at the other end. As someone who has interviewed countless local and international celebrities over the years  most of them media-trained to within an inch of their life  it is very rare to hear a high-profile actor going off script.

But there is no denial that the comments were made, regardless of the context.

Melissa Georges quote today has now thrown the whole sorry saga back into the spotlight, because she is effectively suggesting the quote was manufactured or refashioned.

Oddly, last week on Sunday Night Melissa George also claimed responsibility for her comments.

I know Ive said before I would rather be in France. I know I did not nice things to my country, she told Steve Pennells.

I was in a bad space and I know there will be people writing in saying Ha ha and Watch what you wish for. I understand all of that and I take full responsibility for that.

In a follow-up message last night, amid her publicised family dispute, she told Sunday Night, I love you all, I love my country.
Sunrise is headed to the USA next week for a five-day mystery tour in which viewers will vote for the destinations from a shortlist.

The team will have less than 24 hours to move between locations in Hawaii, California, Nevada, Texas and Southern States.

This is the experience of a lifetime  and all the power is in the viewers hands, said Executive Producer, Michael Pell. They tell us where they want to go, and we take them there. Our viewers have always shaped the show, so we cant wait to see what they come up with this time for Sunrises greatest challenge yet.

This is a massive trip to take on, Im a bit nervous but very excited. I cant wait to see where the viewers send us! said Samantha Armytage.

I love an adventurous school trip; its a chance for us to hang out for a week. Even more, I love that its all up to the viewers, said David Koch.

We really wont know til 8am each day which city we are flying to. Weve got a little side bet going on where we think viewers will pick, added Natalie Barr.

A lottery of 15 destinations and we dont know where we will be going  its all up to our viewers! Thats a bit scary but I cant wait! said Mark Beretta

I used to love Choose Your Own Adventure books and this feels like a real life version of that, added Edwina Bartholomew.

This is going to be an outrageous adventure. Its a week of mystery flights. Bring it on! said Sam Mac.

To vote for the daily locations head to: www.sunrisemysterytour.com

5:30am weekdays on Seven.

This will be another television world-first attempt for Sunrise. No other live television program has ever attempted a broadcast of this magnitude. And theres more: this time Sunrise is giving four lucky viewers the chance to come along for the ride.

So, where will it be? Waikiki, LA or New Orleans? Buckle up! Each day will be a new adventure decided by Sunrise viewers and our cameras will capture every minute behind-the-scenes.
Its a scene youve seen a hundred times.

The angry rabble advances on the jail, meaning to seize the prisoner and hang him from the nearest tree. The sheriff, a lone defender of the rule of law, stands them off, refusing to give in to the mobs demand for extralegal justice.

Granted, no one is storming the Orange County, Florida, lockup where Markeith Loyd sits waiting for trial on charges of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend and an Orlando police officer.

But in at least one respect, what is happening in central Florida mirrors that movie cliche absolutely.

The mob wants blood. Somebody has told them no. And they are not happy about it.

Chief among the unhappy is the governor, Rick Scott. In a stunning move, he recently removed State Attorney Aramis Ayala from the case after she announced she would not seek the death penalty against Loyd  or any other defendant.

It was an exercise of brute executive force alarming enough that last week nearly 140 legal professionals signed their names to a letter declaring themselves deeply troubled by it. Donna Coker of the University of Miami School of Law, Gerald Kogan, former chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, Karl Racine, attorney general of Washington, D.C., and Gil Garcetti, former Los Angeles County district attorney, are among those accusing the governor of an action that infringes on the vitally important independence of prosecutors (and) exceeds your authority.

Scott, they said, has set a dangerous precedent. The governor picking and choosing how criminal cases are prosecuted, charged or handled in local matters is troubling as a matter of policy and practice.

People will want to make this a referendum on the heinousness of Loyds alleged crime. It isnt.

People will also want to make this a referendum on the death penalty. It isnt that, either.

Ayala, yes, has a philosophical opposition to capital punishment. Many of us do. It is worth noting, though, that a number of her defenders support the death penalty and disagree with her decision. Yet they are still in her corner.

Because death is not the issue here. No, the issue is whether we shall have law or the mob.

The tenor of the latter may be inferred from a Facebook post by a Seminole County bureaucrat who wrote that Ayala should be tarred and feathered if not hung from a tree for her refusal. Stan McCullars, who later deleted that post, was placed on administrative leave and ultimately resigned. Given that Ayala is the first African-American state attorney in Florida history, his threat carries a terrible resonance.

Its arguably more noteworthy, however, for what it says about the mind of the mob. They want  no, they demand  blood and they will not be denied. Which is human, maybe even understandable. But its also inimical to justice.

Thats why we construct the machinery of law, to temper and constrain the passions of the moment. We trade the visceral satisfaction of ripping the limbs off some accused child rapist for rules that protect us  particularly the wrongly accused among us  from just that sort of misguided rage.

Ayala is an elected official. If the voters dislike her decision, they have the means to hold her accountable for it. Instead, the governor imposes his office, supersedes her will and tramples on the separation of powers.

Those who cant see beyond their own fury are surely pleased. The rest of us can only be appalled.

The law exists to protect us from the mob. But thats hard to do when the governor is leading it.
The Perezs made a modest, comfortable living as produce and bread vendors in a tough suburb of El Salvadors capital. All of their children studied into secondary school  and some even into university  as the matriarch, 71-year-old Maria Luz Perez watched her family legacy stretch on.

All of my family  my parents, my grandparents, my great grandparents  were born and died in El Salvador, she says, and then shakes her head. But that all ended over a US$5,000 extortion.

It all began in mid-2015, when one of Maria Luzs sons-in-law received a demand for a cash payment, the so-called war tax imposed by El Salvadors brutal street gangs. He could not pay, so they murdered him.

We were living like animals, locked in the house, only ever opening the door to run out and get food."

The next threat fell on her daughter, 42-year-old Sandra Felicitas Perez. The price to keep her family and business safe: US$5,000, an impossible sum. Sandra, her husband and her three teenage children were terrified.

We were living like animals, locked in the house, only ever opening the door to run out and get food, she says.

After a few weeks living in siege-like conditions, her 19-year-old daughter, Maria Luz  namesake of her grandmother  braved it out to the familys shop. She was in her first year of college but still insisted on helping the family business. The gang was waiting, and as soon as she stepped out, they coldly shot the pretty, young girl inside the store.

Mexico: A fresh start after fleeing El Salvador's gangs (Cinthya Chavez, camera/ Herminia Fernandez, producer)

When I heard, it destroyed my life, says Sandra, pulling up a picture on her mobile phone of Maria Luz with her two brothers, all wearing goofy smiles. Two days later, we buried her and then fled. I knew if we didnt leave they would kill us all.

In July 2015, with just a few pieces of clothing and as much cash as they could get together, they headed north for Mexico with Sandras younger sister, Carla, and her two teenage daughters.

"Two days later, we buried her and then fled. I knew if we didnt leave they would kill us all.

By this time, the extortions and threats had rippled out through the Perez family. Sandras nephew and his family of four had fled weeks earlier and were already applying for asylum in Mexico. And still the killings mounted.

At just 14, Maria Luzs favourite grandson, Rodolfo Antonio, was gunned down by a gang member who wanted his Puma sneakers. Three months later, the eighth graders mother, Sara del Carmen, was shot by the same gang.

Now, the 17 surviving members of the Perez family all live on the same block in a small town in southern Mexico. Thanks in part to financial support from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, each branch of the family is able to afford its own little house.

Maria holds a photo of her daughter Sara, who was killed by a gang at age 27.  UNHCR/Daniele Volpe

The young grandson of Ana Ruth Perez.  UNHCR/Daniele Volpe

Ana accompanies her grandsons to school.  UNHCR/Daniele Volpe

Ana sits with her teenage niece and two granddaughters.  UNHCR/Daniele Volpe

Maria looks at family photos in her room in southern Mexico. The dress hanging on the wall belonged to her great-granddaughter, Maria Luz, who was killed by a gang member in El Salvador.  UNHCR/Daniele Volpe

Ana's husband, Pablo, 58, works in a repair shop.  UNHCR/Daniele Volpe

The Perezs are among a growing number of people from Central America seeking refuge in Mexico from the street gangs or maras, transnational criminal organizations whose rackets range from drug dealing, extortion and robbery to rape and murder.

UNHCR expects asylum applications in Mexico to more than double in 2017 to over 20,000. And many, like the Perez family, are increasingly leaving in large family groups.

Were seeing more and more large families requesting asylum in Mexico, says Mark Manly, UNHCRs representative in Mexico. Were working to make sure these family units can stay together and support each other through the traumatizing dislocations from their homes.

The transition to Mexico has been painful for Maria Luz. She suffers from an array of health problems: she can barely see, her knees are swollen to the size of small melons, and she has high blood pressure and heart problems.

Were working to make sure these family units can stay together and support each other."

But she is surviving  what remains of the Perez family is  because they are together.

I take care of my mother because all of her conditions make life very difficult, says Ana Ruth, another of Maria Luzs daughters. I also care for the kids and grandkids when others in the family go out to work.

They help each other out and make what money they can to survive. Maria Luzs daughter Carla works 12-hour shifts at a tortilla shop, where she earns just US$5 per day. Sandra runs a small shop out of her house and daily profits fluctuate around the same level. Ana Ruths husband, Pablo, makes US$10 per day working for a local mechanic. He was able to get his two sons-in-law and his nephew jobs at the repair shop too.

You feel safer being with your family, says Sandra. She reaches out to grab her son Jose, her only living child. He is working at the repair shop and hopes to one day to attend university in Mexico.

I want others to know us as people who tried hard, who gave it our all, he says. He bursts into tears. Thats how we can honour our family who died.
Acclaimed British actor David Morrissey has been announced as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador following his recent trip to Lebanon.  Paul Wu

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is delighted to announce the appointment of internationally acclaimed British actor David Morrissey as a Goodwill Ambassador. The announcement comes after more than three years of support from the actor for UNHCR.

Star of The Missing and The Walking Dead, David Morrissey has just returned from a trip with UNHCR to Lebanon, the country hosting the highest number of Syrian refugees per capita in the world. During his trip, he took part in drama workshops for young Syrians and Lebanese and met with refugee families due to be resettled to the UK.

Morrissey said: The Syrians Ive met want nothing more than to return home. But most dont have anything to go back to. Their homes and entire villages have been destroyed.

Most of the refugees Ive met are living in real hardship: in abandoned shopping malls, in derelict buildings or under canvas. Ive met parents whose children are working during the night in whatever job they can find so the families can afford to buy food and medicine.

Many people fled to Lebanon thinking they would be here only a month or two, but Syria has now been at war for six years. They cant carry on living like this.

Thats why its so important for the international community to show solidarity with Lebanon, and for countries like the UK to offer resettlement to the most vulnerable refugees.

I met two families with young children who are being resettled to London next week. Theyre both really happy that they can restart their lives somewhere safe, where the children can go to school. Theyre very keen to learn English, to work, to get to know their new neighbours and to integrate.

David visited Lebanon's Bekaa Valley to meets Syrians awaiting resettlement to the UK. Originally from Homs, Talal, Maha and their son Hisham have been in Lebanon for five years since fleeing bombings in Syria. They are looking forward to building a new life in Britain.  Paul Wu

The families I met dont have to risk their childrens lives crossing the Mediterranean, because they have a safe legal route to come through resettlement. And thats thanks to the generosity and support of people and local authorities in the UK.

So people can make a difference to the lives of Syrian refugees, by telling their MPs and local councillors that they want to welcome refugees where they live.

Now is not the time to turn our backs on Syrian refugees. Its not the time to put up barriers to those who need protection.

"Now is not the time to turn our backs on Syrian refugees. Its not the time to put up barriers to those who need protection.

The announcement of David Morrissey as a Goodwill Ambassador comes after more than three years of support from the actor for UNHCR. He has travelled with the organisation to meet refugees living in Jordan and in Greece. He has also supported a number of fundraising initiatives, and in September last year addressed the Refugees Welcome rally in Parliament Square.

Goodwill Ambassadors play a vital role in creating better public understanding and support for refugees, says UNHCRs Representative to the UK Gonzalo Vargas Llosa. David has been a strong advocate of UNHCR and the refugee cause over a number of years and were delighted that hes joining us as a Goodwill Ambassador.

"David has been a strong advocate of UNHCR and the refugee cause over a number of years and were delighted that hes joining us as a Goodwill Ambassador.

Lebanon is a country hosting more than a million refugees  thats 20% of the population. Approximately 80% of the refugees registered with UNHCR are women and children and 59% are under the age of 18. Around 70% of refugee households currently live below the national poverty line of less than $3.84 per person per day, and more than half live in extreme poverty at less than $2.9 per person per day.

David stands with Hiba and her daughters Lamis and Aseel outside their makeshift dwelling in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon.  Paul Wu

Over half of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon live in substandard shelters, such as unfinished buildings, garages, tents and animal sheds. UNHCR provides monthly cash assistance to families most in need, helps with medical costs, community support services for some of the most isolated including older people and the LGBTI community, provides winter payments to help refugees cover additional needs such as fuel and blankets during the colder months, legal advice and resettlement of the most vulnerable refugees. Only 9% of UNHCRs budget requirements for the Syria crisis in Lebanon has been met so far for 2017.
Many recognised refugees employed in the hospitality, construction and small business sectors in South Africa, fear the employ '60 percent South African rule', will expose them to victimisation and harassment.  Pumla Rulashe

Pretoria, South Africa - Prepping for the lunch time rush is a welcome distraction for Max Birindwa,* a restaurant manager at one of Pretorias favourite eateries. He is one of several refugees employed at the popular chain store in an equally well-liked shopping mall in South Africas capital.

Many South Africans would assume that he is one of the thousands of foreign nationals employed in the hospitality, construction and mining sectors, which have been accused of widespread non-compliance with legislation stipulating that at least 60% of their staff comprise South African citizens.

This has given rise to serious concern from individuals, communities and Government, particularly the Department of Home Affairs, which is to embark on a mass inspection of businesses countrywide to ensure they complied.

Birindwa fortunately, is a holder of a Section 24 Permit, written recognition of refugee status by the Department of Home Affairs, which allows him to remain in South Africa for a specified period of two years during which time he is authorized to work and study.

He is confident that with proof of compliance with South African legislation on his status as a refugee, he has nothing to worry about, should the Home Affairs inspections approach the business he manages.

His major worry is rather the actions of those South Africans, who are not aware of the permit, the protection and rights it affords him and other recognised refugees.

Birindwa arrived in South Africa in 2002, after fleeing forced military conscription in Bukavu, his home in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Through long stretches of unemployment and menial jobs, six months into his arrival in South Africa, Birindwa decided to do things right.

My grasp of spoken English was almost non-existent and I honestly couldnt expect to be gainfully employed, when I couldnt communicate or understand what was being said to me.

Six months later and with new-found confidence now that he could speak and understand English better, he readily became a waiter at a popular restaurant.

What people dont understand is as waiters we dont earn a salary but a 2% commission and tips so by virtue of being employed in this sector does not guarantee a salary at the end of the month, he explains. Because I was the new employee at the restaurant, I was given a section that drew very few customers. It was so I could practice my skills at getting clients not only to eat but to return to the restaurant again through the service I gave.

That first month, Birindwa earned only 500 rands around (USD 37), which forced him to resign in disappointment.

I couldnt pay rent nor the utilities, let alone groceries for the month. I was very discouraged!

Fortunately, the camaraderie and brotherhood amongst his fellow DR Congolese helped him stay afloat financially, although they made it clear that he had to pursue other avenues of employment no matter the circumstance.

Through a series of part-time waiter jobs, which he grew to love, Birindwa honed his craft and skills to professional standards. He learnt how to address customers, the importance of presenting a menu that would to guarantee orders, how to anticipate the expectations of his customers and to proactively ensure the cleanliness and the attraction of his station. Nothing was too much trouble to satisfy the customer.

Birindwas professionalism soon gained the attention of his manager.

He told me about emails he had received from customers happy with my service, explains Birindwa. This for me was the ultimate commendation and when he offered me training to be a manager, I didnt hesitate.

Birindwa excitement at managing one of the restaurants in 2013 however, was short-lived, when he realised that the staff he supervised resented him for being a foreign national in a position they believed was the sole preserve of South Africans.

This hit me very hard because with the backing of my Section 24 Permit, I assumed that they would understand the right I have to work, he says.

As he endured his staffs disrespect and insubordination, relations reached the point of no return, when they beat him for giving a latecomer a dressing down.

I left the restaurant in an ambulance and was admitted to Kalafong Hospital in Atteridgeville Township, where I was kept under observation for the night, he recalls. I opened a case of assault with the police and three of them were arrested. When I started receiving threatening telephone calls from people I did not know, I resigned from the position and abandoned the case.

The attack on Birindwa left him disillusioned, defeated and in living in despair.

I stayed at home for two years doing menial jobs again, because I was so traumatised by what happened to me.

The cost of living and the responsibility of raising a family with three children under the age of ten, however forced Birindwa back to the formal job sector and the supervisor who trained him to become a manager, in search of a another position in the restaurant chain. Fortunately, Birindwas professionalism had stood him in good stead and soon enough, he was despatched to manage an outlet in another shopping centre.

For the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the governments pronouncements on the 60/40 South African/migrant employment ratio should be undertaken with a robust public education campaign to inform employers, employees and the general public that the right to work and study for recognised refugees is enshrined in the Refugees Act and spelt out in the Section 24 Permit.

As the Government has made it clear that foreign nationals are welcome in South Africa, it is incumbent upon them to ensure that its citizens understand this, says Sharon Cooper, the Regional Representative of the UN Refugee Agency. Efforts to promote tolerance and genuine social cohesion require strong government leadership and as UNHCR, we commit to be a part of those initiatives to the best of our ability. Im also confident that many human rights advocates stand ready to work with the government in making social cohesion a living reality.

This is welcome news for Birindwa, who hopes that comprehensive public education will be rolled out sooner than later.

The resentment against foreign nationals in general irrespective of ones legal status in the country, persists and with the recent pronouncements by the Department of Home Affairs, is bound to intensify. Unfortunately, I and thousands of others will continue to live in fear, not knowing what to expect and when, even though our refugee permits clearly state that we have the right to work in South Africa.

*Name changed for protection reasons
Researchers at the University of Michigan announced last week that they have found a way to utilize thin layers of silver that can be used as a durable and flexible mobile touch screens.

Silver, as we know it, tarnishes with air exposure. However, researchers at the University of Michigan have found a way to prevent tarnishing and air exposure by combining silver with a tiny amount of aluminum. They then proceeded to produce the new material at only seven nanometers thick.

The process of combining silver with six-percent of aluminum made it possible to produce exceptionally thin and smooth layers of silver. To make the thin material transparent, they applied an anti-reflective coating to make one thin metal layer 92.4 percent transparent.

The thinnest layer of silver can revolutionize touch screen displays tremendously. The team claims that the silver coating enabled light to be guided roughly 10 times quicker than other metal waveguides. Accordingly, this property could make the silver film useful for boosting computing power while reducing power consumption.

According to L. JayGuo, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, the need to use silver to replace touch screen panels silver becomes known due to one material, indium tin oxide. It has dominated the transparent conductor market since day one.

However, due to demand, it is projected to be more expensive as the demand for touch screens increases; accordingly, there are relatively few sources of indium, according to Guo. The new discovery could make silver a worthy successor.

Additionally, the thin silver films offer two more tricks aside from its use as transparent conductors for touch screens, it has to do with silver's unparalleled ability to transport visible and infrared light waves along its surface. The light waves shrink and travel as what is called "plasmon polaritons," allowing information to travel in optical rather than electronic form for faster data transfer.

The research described in the paper "High-performance Doped Silver Films: Overcoming Fundamental Material Limits for Nanophotonic Applications," is published in the journal Advanced Materials. The National Science Foundation and the Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation supported the study. Currently, the University of Michigan team has applied for patent and currently looking for commercial partners to bring the invention to market.
The lungs were only known for breathing. But a new study from University of California San Francisco reveals that it does more than that. Researchers found out that the bone marrow isn't the only part of the body responsible for blood production, but the lungs also perform this function.

Scientists should acknowledge that there are still a lot of things they need to discover, even in the human body. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, announced in January that the lungs have a hidden feature that is involved in blood production, IFL Science reported. The researchers found that the lungs new function involves producing over half of the body's platelets.

The platelets bind blood together preventing wounds from bleeding out. Platelets are also involved in the blood circulation of the body. This means the lungs are not just for breathing, but also for keeping the optimal performance of the cardiovascular system.

It has been a long standing knowledge that blood production only happens in the bone marrow during hematpoiesis. Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco discovered the new function of the lungs by studying how platelets circulate in the lungs of a living mice, Tech Times reported. They did this by modifying the mice, making its platelets glow green.

Although the experiments are carried out on mice, the organs of these little critters closely resembles that of a human being. Through the procedure the scientists used, they saw that the platelets travel back and forth between the lungs and the marrow.

UCSF professor of medicine Mark Looney said that their finding brings a new light to how scientists view the lungs. They found that the lungs aren't just for respiration, but also plays a vital role in the blood, he said. He added that "studying abroad" in various organs is common in stem cell education.
President Trump's budget proposal will be having a negative impact most on students and researchers. The administration will be cutting funds for the Department of Education by 13.5 percent or about $9.2 billion.

The proposed budget will reduce or cut funding for over 20 departmental programs. It suggested the removal of $2.4 billion in grants for teacher training and $1.2 billion in funding for after-school programs.

Harvard University spokesperson David J. Cameron said that the budget represents a "significant retreat" from the federal government's partnership with research universities. This has resulted to the improvement in the nation's economy and public health.

It was previously reported that this will have a negative impact on large, urban districts like Cleveland. The Ohio city's public schools have relied on a stable, rising pool of federal money to help poor students gain access to education as well as children with special needs, which could prove to be challenging with the budget.

VOA News noted that the budget cuts proposed by the administration would affect students and researchers worldwide. The proposal would cut about $9 billion from the Department of Education spending, which is about 13.5 percent.

The Education Department would see cuts in programs that help low-income and disabled students prepare for college, teacher training programs and community learning centers which provide enrichment and tutoring programs. It would also cut a grant program that helps poor American university students.

Michael Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), wrote a letter to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget saying that the agency was grateful for President Trump "personal involvement" in the support of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). However, he said that details of the budget have sparked worry about the president's commitment to do more for these schools, which might lead to it being unfulfilled.

Lomax added that 55,000 HBCU students would be affected by the removal of the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. Reductions to work-study programs and other federal spending could also affect an additional 26,000 students.
Another great spring break idea is to get a limo from Limo Find and go on a road trip. A lot of college students are excited for spring break. It's the best time to reward themselves with some R&R after giving their best during their classes.

There are a lot of spring break destinations that won't break a student's budget. Europe seems like a pretty expensive place to go for spring break but it does provide free things for students on spring break to do without breaking the bank.

There are also other ways to enjoy spring break without leaving the city. Students can catch up on sleep and stay at home doing nothing all day, go out and pursue their hobbies as well as read new books.

Another great spring break idea is to go on a road trip. Teen Vogue noted that road trips provide a chance for students to soak in their surroundings and experience new parts of the country.

Moreover, road trips do not require that much planning. The publication shared three destinations that students can check out this spring break 2017.

Adventures on Deserts and Canyons

This is ideal for those from Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico or Arizona. The total trip cost is expected to be only nearly $400 with a $45 to $65 gas budget.

Adventurous students can go to Kanarraville Falls which offers a unique hike and proceed to another hike at Angel's Landing. Third stop would be at rock formation, Thor's Hammer, and go for more rock formations at Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon.

Adventures on the Pacific Coast Highway

Students can also opt to ride along the Pacific Coast Highway on the west coast. Gas expense is estimated to be about $75 to $100, with the total trip cost at $422.

First stop would be at the Point Bonita Lighthouse and followed by the Bixby Creek Bridge and McWay Falls. Hearst Castle is also another interesting destination for a road trip.

Adventures at New England

The East Coast has history, nature and culture all in one. This trip is ideal for those leaving from Maine, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania or Connecticut. The gas expense is about $40 to $60 and the trip costs about $474.

Students can go to Cape Neddick Lighthouse, the Breakers Mansion, the Mark Twain House & Musuem, Bash Bish Falls State Park and Hildene - The Lincoln Family Home.
March 27 2017

The Glasgow Institute of Architects has teamed up with community arts body the Stove Network to launch an ideas contest for Dumfriess Midsteeple Quarter - a bid to elicit potential solutions to breathe new life into its High Street.Architects, landscape architects, urban designers and other professionals a bring redundant upper floors back into use as housing while encouraging new tenants to set up shop in ground floor retail units following transfer of ownership of an historic row of properties, referred to as the Bakers Oven, to Stove.In their competition brief the GIA stated : The Midsteeple Quarter competition is first and foremost an ideas competition to envisage an innovative new approach to town centre living and being. The goal of the Stove Network is to see the high street re-energised and repopulated, contributing inclusively to the local community and economy.The competition is looking for innovative yet practical solutions with regards to the building fabric of the Bakers Oven, a conscious solution to a sustainable energy strategy with a people-centred focus and a vision for the Quarter.An open day for entrants will be staged on 22 April, ahead of a submissions deadline on 15 May - with the top three proposals to find favour with the judges placed on display in Dumfries and Glasgow this summer.
UTSA affirms commitment to addressing sexual assault and misconduct involving college students

(March 24, 2017) -- As colleges and universities across the United States grapple with the issue of sexual assault and misconduct on campus, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is addressing the matter head on.

UTSA first recognized more than a decade ago that intimate and interpersonal violence was a national issue that warranted a proactive and multi-faceted approach to ensure the well being of students. As a result, it became one of the first Texas universities to incorporate sexual assault reporting and investigations into its Title IX policies and to develop a comprehensive series of education, training and awareness initiatives aimed at decreasing the prevalence of sexual misconduct and sexual assault on and off campus. The university currently provides more than 40 initiatives and educational events for faculty, staff and students.

Most recently, UTSA collaborated with the University of Texas System in the first in a series of student surveys exploring the prevalence of sexual harassment, stalking, dating violence, domestic violence, and unwanted sexual contact on UT System campuses. The survey, Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments (CLASE), was released today.

"Every student at every university deserves a safe environment where they can learn, discover and grow," said UTSA Interim President Pedro Reyes. "UTSA has a long-standing commitment to confronting this profound issue and we will continue to use every resource available to us to ensure the well-being of our students."

CULTIVATING LEARNING AND SAFE ENVIRONMENTS

The CLASE report is the most comprehensive survey of sexual assault and misconduct ever undertaken by an institution of higher education. Thirteen of the UT System's 14 institutions participated in the survey of students' personal experiences, perceptions and awareness of sexual misconduct. More than 28,000 students from UT System institutions responded to the survey, including 3,385 UTSA students.

Students were asked to self-report their experiences in five key areas and may have responded in more than one category.

"As unacceptable as sexual assault and sexual harassment are, it is equally unacceptable to be silent on these issues. We intend to shed light on sexual misconduct and take meaningful steps to protect our students on and off campus," said Reyes. "There will be zero tolerance at UTSA."

In response to the findings of the CLASE survey, Reyes has called for the immediate formation of a campus task force, comprised of faculty, staff and students, to assess the effectiveness of the university's current 40-plus programs, and to identify the need for new programs or approaches to reduce incidence rates and increase reporting rates. Reyes has also charged the task force with ensuring that initiatives are integrated into daily campus life to reinforce appropriate behaviors and raise awareness of programs and support services offered to victims.

UTSA has already identified additional priority and long-term action items that complement existing initiatives and further build a comprehensive array of training, education and awareness resources.

Because many students who experience sexual harassment or sexual assault do not seek help and the support they need to recover, UTSA is developing counseling programs designed to eliminate the stigma associated with victimization and to encourage reporting.

To address sexual misconduct and sexual assault among the university's LGBTQ students, UTSA has implemented the ALLY anti-discrimination program, which trains faculty, staff and students to serve as advocates for LGBTQ students in creating safe and welcoming environments.

Collaborating with the UTSA Office of International Programs, the university is developing Title IX and Campus SaVE training programs in multiple languages to aid in international student education and awareness.

Additionally, the university will participate in a second CLASE survey, conducted in conjunction with the UT System, in 2018.

BACKGROUND ON UTSA INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS

UTSA began providing training programs to faculty, staff and students on sexual harassment in 2006. Since then, more than 40 unique educational initiatives and large-scale events have been developed to raise awareness of and prevent sexual misconduct and sexual assault, encourage greater reporting of incidents and teach students how alcohol and drugs can impair decision-making.

The development of these initiatives has been further fueled by a series of proactive climate studies that began in 2008. UTSA now conducts student surveys annually to understand the scope and prevalence of intimate and interpersonal violence and students' perception of their safety.

In April 2011, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights published a "Dear Colleague" letter requiring colleges and universities across the nation to include sexual assault in their Title IX policies and procedures. UTSA promptly responded by developing employee training to address the new requirement, and by May 2012, had conducted training for its police department officers and staff, student affairs staff, tenured and tenure-track faculty members, and all students designated for the purposes of reporting as "responsible employees."

By September 2012, all remaining UTSA offices were fully integrated to address and support Title IX sexual assault reports.

Since that time, UTSA has added Title IX training to its New Employee Orientation and developed online Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (SaVE) training for all faculty and staff as part of its annual compliance requirement. More recently, in 2015, UTSA became the first UT System institution to provide online sexual assault education training mandated by Texas HB 699 to incoming freshmen and transfer students.

Today, UTSA students, faculty and staff members regularly collaborate to offer and evaluate prevention and deterrence programs, and to promote the importance of working together as a community to prevent crime. One of the university's largest student initiatives is Sex Signals, a sexual assault prevention program that helps students understand the difference between coercion and consent. Other initiatives include Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Call to Action Day, which are offered each April, and Take Back the Night, offered each fall.

More information about UTSA's education, training and awareness programs is available at www.utsa.edu/safecampus.

-------------------------------

Read President Reyes' message to students.

Read President Reyes' message to faculty and staff.
Award-Winning Author Timothy Egan to Speak at UW April 18

Author Timothy Egan will speak Tuesday, April 18, at 1:30 p.m. in the University of Wyoming Union Ballroom. (Lisa Howe Verhovek Photo)

Timothy Egan, an acclaimed writer and chronicler of the West, will speak Tuesday, April 18, at 1:30 p.m. in the University of Wyoming Union Ballroom.

His presentation is free and open to the public, and will be followed with a book signing. The University Store will sell books at the event. No audio or video recordings or flash photography will be permitted.

Egans presentation, part of the UW Libraries Development Boards annual author event, is funded by the McMurry-Spieles Endowment for Library Excellence. Members of the development board will host a dinner with Egan at 6 p.m. To make a reservation, go to http://wyoalumni.uwyo.edu/timothyegan by Tuesday, April 11.

Those attending the afternoon talk are encouraged to arrive early to allow time for parking and seating. UW Transit and Parking Services will provide complimentary parking in the Wyoming Union parking lot from noon-3 p.m., and free shuttle service will be available the afternoon of the talk. For more information about campus parking and shuttle services, visit www.uwyo.edu/tps.

Egan is an award-winning author of eight books. His talk at UW will focus on his most recent book, The Immortal Irishman: Thomas Francis Meagher and the Invention of Irish America, a New York Times best-seller. The book chronicles the life of Meagher, a 19th century Irish rebel who was banished to a Tasmanian prison colony, escaped to America, led the Irish Brigade from New York during the Civil War and served as territorial governor of Montana.

The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America, another New York Times best-seller, is the story of the nations biggest wildfire. It won a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award and a Washington State Book Award. The book was the inspiration for a documentary, also titled The Big Burn, which aired on PBSs The American Experience in 2014.

Egans The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl is a National Book Award winner. Walter Cronkite called Egans account of the nations worst environmental disaster cant-put-it-down history. Egan was featured prominently in Ken Burns 2012 film, The Dust Bowl.

Among his other books are Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis; The Good Rain: Across Time and Terrain in the Pacific Northwest; and The Winemakers Daughter, a novel.

In addition to writing books, Egan writes an online opinion column for the New York Times. He previously worked as one of the newspapers national correspondents, roaming the West. In 2001, he was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team of reporters that wrote the series How Race is Lived in America.

A graduate of the University of Washington, Egan also holds honorary degrees from Whitman College, Willamette University, Lewis and Clark College, and Western Washington University.

For more information about Egans presentation, call Rosanne Latimer at (307) 766-3279 or email rlatimer@uwyo.edu.
Phillips Receives UWs Agnes Milstead Distinguished Librarianship Award

Lori Phillips, associate dean of the University of Wyoming Libraries, is the recipient of UWs 2017 Agnes Milstead Distinguished Librarianship Award. (Meredith Wells Photo)

Lori Phillips, associate dean of the University of Wyoming Libraries, is the recipient of UWs 2017 Agnes Milstead Distinguished Librarianship Award.

The late Agnes Milstead, a former professor of education and library science at UW, established the prestigious award in 1993 to recognize significant contributions to the UW Libraries in scholarship, program development, teaching, fundraising and professional achievements.

Phillips has worked in a variety of roles at the libraries for more than 25 years, serving as a librarian, teacher, mentor, colleague and administrator. She served as interim dean of UW Libraries from July 2015-June 2016.

Phillips was one of the developers of the first TIP: Tutorial for Info Power that was taken by thousands of students as part of the universitys information literacy requirement. She has overseen strategic planning and reorganization of services or staff to accommodate initiatives or reductions in workforce. She is a strong supporter of professional development for both faculty and staff.

What I appreciate about Lori, from my own perspectives at UW Libraries, is her selfless service on behalf of this organization, says David Kruger, senior librarian.

Maggie Farrell, former dean of UW Libraries, wrote in her nomination letter, Throughout her Wyoming career, Lori has sought to improve services to advance university priorities and initiatives. Within the libraries, Lori oversaw the expansion of the digital program, including the creation of the scholarly communication program. These cutting-edge developments provided visibility to unique UW research and collections advancing the research of faculty.

Phillips has provided leadership for statewide initiatives, including training and promotion of health science information. She also has taken on the role of leading the Legislative Committee for the Wyoming Library Association.

On the national level, Phillips has advanced librarianship as a leader in library ethics, working with the Association of College Research Libraries and the American Library Association committees to provide training and information on library values that guide her profession.

Such is Loris career that she works hard, usually behind the scenes, without regard for personal recognition. Lori models the best of Agnes Milstead: a passion for librarianship, a high regard for her colleagues, an unrelenting focus and a strong work ethic, Farrell added in her letter.

Phillips earned a masters degree in library and information science from the University of Arizona and a bachelors degree in history from UW.
UW Williams Conservatory Starts You Fund Campaign

The University of Wyoming Williams Conservatory recently launched a You Fund campaign to raise money for facility improvements and some plant replacement. (UW Photo)

The University of Wyoming Williams Conservatory recently launched a You Fund campaign to raise money for facility improvements and some plant replacement.

The goal is to raise $1,650 or more by April 15 for the construction of two large indoor succulent and cacti beds, and for the purchase of replacement succulent plants, says Meredith Pratt, conservatory manager.

Custom-built indoor beds would provide a more natural and aesthetic display, and would include plant information signs for self-guided tours.

Conservatory staff members would like to purchase succulent plants to replace those they have used repeatedly for outreach activities with small groups. When educating visitors about different types of plant reproduction, they harvest leaves from the succulents so that adults and children can take them home to try to grow a plant.

Any additional money raised from the campaign will go toward creating more workshops that will be available for the community throughout the year, Pratt says.

Housed within the Department of Botany, the Williams Conservatory is located adjacent to the Aven Nelson Building. Since opening in 1994, the conservatory has served as a center of education, research and outreach for UW students, faculty and staff members, Laramie community members and other visitors.

From the second we walked into the conservatory, you could hear the students say, Wow, look at that! or Woo, this is cool! To every teacher, that is music to our ears, says Janelle Still, lower elementary teacher at Laramie Montessori School.

The conservatory also provides a tranquil environment for the community.

We have two bistro tables with chairs and encourage individuals to use them for studying, meeting with friends or taking a moment for themselves during a hectic day in a warm, tropical environment, Pratt says.

The conservatory is open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

For more information about the fundraising campaign, visit www.uwyo.edu/youfund.
You're not alone if you have next to nothing saved for retirement. But that doesn't mean you're in good company.

Almost one-quarter of workers said they and their spouse combined have less than $1,000 saved for retirement, according to a report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Nearly half of everyone surveyed said they had less than $25,000.

Sure, $25,000 can sound like a lot. But it's a reasonable goal to have that much stashed away by the time you're 30 years old.

Someone in their early 30s earning $50,000 a year should have about $30,000 saved, according to one calculator. This it totally doable if that person has been saving 10% of their income annually, which is the rule-of-thumb suggested by many financial planners.

But more than one-third of those surveyed said they're saving less than that.

When it's time to retire, most people believe they'll need at least $500,000. (Though, 41% couldn't even guess how much their nest egg should be.)

There's one big difference between those who are on track and those who aren't. Most of those workers who said they've saved less than $1,000 don't have access to a savings account like a 401(k) at work.

There are roughly 55 million workers in the U.S. who don't have access to an employer-sponsored plan. To try to help those Americans, President Obama launched a program called the myRA. It's a starter retirement account that's similar to a Roth IRA and sponsored by the federal government. But you can only save up to $15,000 in the myRA, and you can't invest that money in a diversified portfolio -- only in a set of conservative investments.

Some states are also looking to offer retirement accounts which would automatically deduct money from workers' paychecks. Oregon was supposed to launch an auto-IRA program this year, but it could be held up if Congress rolls back an Obama-era rule that paved the way for these state-sponsored programs.

Despite what looks like a lack of preparedness, 60% of people surveyed said they were confident they'll have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement.
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Sixteen Vance senior airmen graduated with Airman Leadership School Class 17-D during a ceremony held March 21 in the Vance Club.

Senior Airman Kibby Anglin, 71st Operations Support Squadron, received the John Levitow Award, the highest award presented at every enlisted level of professional military education.

The Levitow Award is given in memory of Sgt. John Levitow, an enlisted Air Force Medal of Honor recipient during the Vietnam War.



Senior Airman Brian Boarman, 71st OSS, received the Commandant's Award for making the most significant contribution to the overall success of the class.



Senior Airman Anthony Franklin, 71st OSS, earned the Sharp Image Award for maintaining the best adherence to Air Force uniform standards throughout the class.



Senior Airman Sammantha Jones, 71st Comptroller Squadron, was named the Distinguished Graduate for placing in the top 10 percent of the class for achievement and performance.



Senior Airman Jacob Pratt, 71st OSS, received the Academic Excellence Award for maintaining the highest academic standing.



Also graduating with Class 17-D were Senior Airmen Kyle Cyr, 71st OSS; Nicholas Eckstrom, 71st OSS; Jose Fernandez, 71st Security Forces Squadron; Martin Garland, 71st SFS; Roderick Jones, 71st SFS; James Kincaid, 71st OSS; Ebony Littlefield, 5th Flying Training Squadron; Joshua Locke, 71st OSS; Karson Schaechterle, 71st OSS; Roger Shaw, 71st SFS; and Darryl Williams, 71st SFS.
The Vietnamese government recently decided to lift the foreign ownership cap on Vietnamese banks. Will this move boost the appeal of domestic lenders, especially regarding possible mergers between foreign and Vietnamese banks?

In general, foreign investors prefer majority ownership, as many have experienced the disadvantage of minority holdings. Lifting the foreign ownership limit is thus a milestone development and one of the strategic steps to attract foreign investors to tap into the strong potential of Vietnams banking industry.

There are many untouched market segments in Vietnam that foreign investors can explore. While there have been some recent developments in the sector, banking penetration in Vietnam is still much lower than the regional norm. It is estimated that only 20 per cent of the Vietnamese population has a bank account.

If foreign investors choose to pour capital into Vietnam, they can either take over a Vietnamese bank or open a foreign-owned bank here. How they evaluate each option very much depends on their own objective and strategy, but the question boils down to whether they want to build or use.

I have talked to some foreign investors who are interested in taking over an existing Vietnamese bank. This way, they will own the banks existing branch network and relationships, which will accelerate their presence in the market.

Basel II gives the industry-wide stability investors crave Photo: Le Toan

Regarding possible takeovers of Vietnamese banks by foreigners, do you think investors are interested in buying struggling lenders? What is your advice for foreigners who wish to conduct mergers and acquisitions in Vietnam?

Of course, foreign investors will face numerous challenges and risks when buying weak Vietnamese banks. On the other hand, overseas buyers can immediately take advantage of the struggling banks network, existing customer portfolio, operating systems, and so on.

In general, experienced investors see opportunities in any issue, thus a good one will be able pick out a struggling bank that has potential.

My advice for interested foreigners is that they must have local understanding. Banking in Vietnam is highly sensitive, especially during the restructuring process, which can become complex in terms of finance, legality, tax, commercial aspects, operations, macro-economic stability, and more. Furthermore, it is also very important to gain support from the government, especially the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

Recently, a major deal between a local bank and a foreign investor was postponed, possibly due to price disagreements. What can we learn from this incident?

If we go into details, that unfortunate delay was due to a number of issues beyond price negotiation. That includes timing, expected market trend, and integration matters.

There are a couple of lessons we can learn from this incident. Most importantly, there are various expectations from different stakeholders involved in any deal. When these expectations arent met, the deal falls through. Lenders should take into account the various expectations from these stakeholders before initiating the deal.

Many foreigners are wary of Vietnams chronic problem with non-performing loans (NPL). In your opinion, have Vietnamese banks overcome their bad debt issues? Can Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) fulfil its role as a debt buyer when there is no debt market?

It has been nearly a year since the banking industry managed to reduce the NPL ratio to under 3 per cent. We can draw two conclusions from this figure:

First, Vietnamese lenders have worked hard to improve their credit risk management practice to minimise new NPLs. Second, the legacy is still haunting banks, nevertheless. Nearly VND280 trillion ($12.2 billion) of debts sold to VAMC are waiting to be resolved. Banks still need to put a lot of effort into recovering those bad debts, with support from the government and SBV.

By quarantining bad debts, VAMC has played a very important role in reducing the NPL ratio. It helps lenders temporarily park sour loans in a safe place, and successful banks can generate more income.

Honestly, it is not fair to expect VAMC alone, or any other single entity, to be the magic wand that wipes out bad debts for the entire economy. VAMC needs direction and support from the government, together with integrated efforts from banks, borrowers, government agencies, foreign investors, and more related parties.

One problem is the lack of a debt market, which can only be built if the commodity is traded easily. At the moment, the majority of debts here come from dead property projects that need significant regulatory support before they can be freely traded.

Looking out to other countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, and even the United States have experienced credit crises before. Each country has its own solution, and we could learn from their initiatives. VAMC is a great example of what weve learned so far.

However, there will be no one-size-fit-all solution. What we should do is take lessons from each country to create our own customised solution for Vietnam.

Some Vietnamese lenders are trying out Basel II. What challenges do you think they need to overcome to qualify for this standard? How can Basel II help Vietnams banking industry?

The first challenge for local banks to adopt Basel II by 2018 is resources, such as funds for implementation projects and human resources.

Second, its also challenging to obtain clear guidance from regulators. I believe Basel II guidance must be tailored by local central banks to fit their local banking entities.

Third, domestic banks may not meet the minimum Basel II requirement of 8 per cent for capital adequacy. Theres a strong growth in risky assets, and its difficult to raise more funds  especially Tier 1 capital  while Tier 2 capital from long-term debts is capped at 50 per cent of Tier 1 capital.

Some board members may think that Basel is just a compliance project. However, banking operations will be much safer if Basel II is strictly followed. The standard will help improve capital efficiency, resource allocations, returns, and overall transparency of Vietnamese lenders.

Regarding transparency, Pillar 3 of Basel II emphasises information disclosure to improve comparability and consistency. In-depth information, such as a risk profile and a risk management policy, will allow the market to better assess each domestic bank.
As one of the creators of a foundation for industry on the Dinh Vu Peninsula, what do you think about the development of DVIZ/Deep C in the last 20 years?

These 20 years have been a journey of efforts, perseverance, and success. At the time that we first initiated the concept of DVIZ/Deep C, very few people believed in our vision. The zone at that time was full of swamps and fish farms. However, the area was envisaged as a strategic location with convenient transportation links.

With the enormous effort, determination, and expertise of the whole team, and strong support from the city of Haiphong, a multi-industry industrial zone with a reliable utilities system was created.

We were confident in our concept of land development. We have also witnessed the advantages that the zone can bring to our tenants. Investors can enjoy the convenience of transportation by sea, by road, by rail, and by air. The Dinh Vu/Deep C Industrial Zones now rank among the best industrial zones in the north of Vietnam. We have attracted 70-plus projects from different countries with a total investment of over $3 billion.

The Deep C Industrial Cluster is DVIZ/Deep Cs 3,000ha vision for northern Vietnam

What is your ambition in Vietnam?

Thanks to the success of the first Dinh Vu Industrial Zone [Deep C I], we have rapidly expanded to the south of Dinh Vu [Deep C II] and Cat Hai Island [Deep C III], next to Lach Huyen Deep Sea Port, adding another 1,000 hectares of industrial land to Haiphong.

The group commits to a long-term vision in Vietnam. We are not only developing industrial zones in one city, but also expanding to 1,500-plus hectares in the neighbouring province of Quang Ninh. Together, all these developments will form a Deep C Industrial Cluster of over 3,000ha in northern Vietnam.

We have also started investing in green energy for the sustainable development of Vietnam. These include projects in wind-powered water desalination in the Mekong Delta and Haiphong, pioneering solar energy in northern Vietnam, and waste-to-energy modules in Dinh Vu and Uong Bi. We are also looking at developing inland waterway ports in Hanoi and the northern province of Hai Duong that divert truck deliveries to a safer and more ecological route by sea.

Filip Martens, our former general director and chairman, would be very glad that his big dream is now coming through in Vietnam. Filip Martens and Marc Stordiau have been fighting since the 1990s to push the concept of electricity-producing windmills in Europe and were actually the pioneers of European wind power generation. Their common project C Power is a kind of twin brother of Deep C - and soon, Deep C Power will come to Haiphong.

From your success, would you like to send any message to international investors?

Vietnam has a lot of potential for investors and a lot more room for new development. That said, doing business in Vietnam is different and certain adaptations are needed. However, I see great passion and the will to work hard in the Vietnamese people, which will allow the country and its investment projects to go very far.
According to the Vietnam representative of the investor, Enfinity submitted to the committee the report on the progress of the project including the detailed installation plan for wind turbines on March 20.

Four days later the Ninh Thuan Department of Planning and Investment issued an invitation to the company to meet on March 28 so that the two parties can review all the issues related to the project.

"Enfinity has been actively carrying out all the procedures with the highest commitment in order to carry out the project according to the plan and progress stated in its latest report," the representative told VIR this morning.

Previously, the article "Ninh Thuan gives ultimatum to Enfinity" posted on vir.com.vn on March 23 stated that the company failed to meet the March 20 deadline, by which it was required to submit the detailed installation plan for wind turbines, including their location, to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment and the Ninh Thuan Peoples Committee. This information is incorrect, because in fact the company had submitted all these documents to the province on that day.

In addition, the article said that the Ninh Thuan People's Committee will grant Enfinity one more week to submit a renewed and feasible implementation plan for approval. Actually the one week time is aimed for the meeting and discussion between Enfinity and the local authorities on the project details.

Updates of the project will then follow on vir.com.vn.
The ground breaking ceremony of THACO-Mazda automobile manufacturing plant, March 26, 2017,Photo: VGP/Quang Hieu

THACOs CEO Tran Ba Duong announced the project has a total area of 35 hectares including over 12 hectares of workshop and will come into operation in April, 2018.

Thanks to technology transfered and assistance provided by Mazda (Japan), this will become the most modern one of this kind of Mazda in particular and automobile assembling in ASEAN.

It has a designed capacity of 100,000 cars per year and robots controlling 70% of assembly work.

Mr. Duong hailed the project as an initial model of cooperation between THACO and Chu Lai Open Economic Zone.

Addressing the event, PM Phuc stressed the importance of the automobile industry. Accordingly, the PM had already proposed the National Assembly pass favorable policies in favor of Vietnamese automobile industry development. In the world, other countries with over 50 million population had the automobile industry. Meanwhile, Viet Nam has a population of nearly 100 million .

The PM lauded the cooperation between THACO and Mazda, calling upon the Japanese manufacture to transfer technologies of automobile spare part production to the Vietnamese producer.

The Government would create every favorable way for the automobile industry to thrive in the future, affirmed PM Phuc.

The Ministry of Finance was assigned to research overall policies on car imports in line with Viet Nams commitments to international laws in order to protect the domestic production.
The decree will make sure less buyers get their fingers burnt

Among the big projects to be launched is An Khanh New City Developments sale of its first phase this quarter. The mega $2 billion project is developed by South Koreas Posco E&C and Vietnams Vinaconex, located in Hanois Hoai Duc district, along the Thang Long Boulevard.

Scheduled for completion in 2013, the city is expected to supply 6,440 apartments, equivalent to 392,319 square metres of accommodation, enough for 30,000 people.

Even though Hoa Phat Group, the investor in a more than 1,000 apartment Mandarin Garden in Cau Giay districts Tran Duy Hung road, refused to release its launching time, real estate experts predicted the project would be soon launched.

At the beginning of this month the CT7D, located in Le Van Luong street and invested by Nam Cuong Group and the FLC Landmark Tower of FLC Group will also be launched, with a total of 200 units and prices ranging from VND23 million ($1,200) to VND28 million ($1,470) per square metre.

In Gia Lam district, over the Red River, the second lot of Rung Co Residentials belonging to the Eco Park is also being launched, with around 1,500 apartment units.

In addition, Victoria Van Phu, Star City, Diamond Tower and Song Da City View will also add apartments to the mix.

Real estate consultant CBRE Vietnam expected that there would be 3,000 units in Hanoi launched this quarter, compared to 1,950 units in the third quarter. There were more than 4,600 units launched in the second quarter.

This decline, according to CBRE Vietnam, could be due to the Decree 71, effective on August 8, 2010 providing guidance on the Housing Law, which caps the proportion of units sold via capital contribution contracts at 20 per cent with the remaining 80 per cent sold on transaction floors.

This decree, CBRE Vietnam said, had put a pressure on developers with low financial capabilities and enhanced market transparency.

However, CBRE Vietnam executive director Richard Leech said new project launches would continue trending towards more affordable options.

With the opening and improvement of major infrastructure routes, the capitals western and southern districts are attracting new residents with easier access for commuting into the core urban districts, Leech said.

He said that the Decree 71 was expected to benefit the market by enhancing transparency, placing pressures on developers with low financial capabilities, lessening the threat of price bubbles and limiting speculative forces.

Tran Nhu Trung, Savills Vietnam associate director, said the Decree 71 had showed off its advantages to clearly regulate five types of mobilising capital investment. However, Trung said the procedures to implement Decree 71 were still complicated and wasted customers time and energy.

The more simple it [decree] regulates, the more it is practical in the real life, Trung said.
The Netherlands is known as one of the worlds most prestigious traders, a reputation rooted in one of the earliest developed maritime industries. What would you say is the most notable strength of the modern Dutch maritime industry?

The maritime industry in the Netherlands started in the 16th century, and had a peak when Dutch naval entrepreneurs operated the worlds largest fleet and established the worlds first multinational company. To this day, the country is still operating Europes largest inland shipping fleet, with world-leading manufacturers of high-end yachts and special vessels.

The maritime sector  and shipbuilding in particular  is highly competitive on a global scale. In order for the Dutch maritime sector to survive and stay a relevant player in this field, there has been a continuous drive to innovate, apply, and develop advanced technologies, and to develop niche markets and market specialisation. Currently the Netherlands caters for high-end markets with high value-added products and niche markets with special vessels.

The group of suppliers to the offshore [maritime] industry and specialised research-and-development institutes are key elements that allow for providing high levels of expertise, exceptional craftsmanship, and research-based innovation. The maritime cluster generates 3.5 per cent of the total GDP of the Netherlands. Around 12,000 maritime companies create $24 billion in added value, with employment amounting to some 265,000 jobs.

The world leading Dutch maritime industry is looking to establish greater co-operation with Vietnam

What have the Netherlands and Vietnam co-operated on so far?

Economic relations between Vietnam and the Netherlands go back a long way, during which ships and shipbuilding were always at the centre. Today, the Netherlands is Vietnams largest EU investor and second-largest EU trading partner. Our collaboration has a strong focus on agriculture and water, with strategic partnership arrangements between our governments on these topics. Other sectors include logistics and aviation, maritime, and port development.

In the maritime sector we have seen a strong partnership develop with Damen Shipyards starting its shipbuilding activities in Vietnam. Damen has strong engagements, with a Vietnamese shipyard as its joint venture partner and other Vietnamese shipyards as partners and suppliers.

The presence of Damen in Vietnam has attracted many Dutch suppliers to settle in Vietnam as well. This has resulted in a Dutch cluster of companies in Haiphong that is directly and indirectly related to the maritime sector.

What expectations do you have for this business mission in particular?

In this business mission we want the companies to experience Vietnam as an open economy that has a lot to offer to the Dutch. The favourable geographical position and the local know-how in shipbuilding can make Vietnam a regional hub for export. And therefore, more and more Dutch maritime companies have found this market promising, not just to sell equipment to Vietnamese shipyards, but also to establish or expand their production facilities.

Two prime examples of co-operation between the Netherlands and Vietnam will be introduced  Damen Song Cam Shipyard and Winel Vietnam in Haiphong  that will bring the positive perspective to life. Connected to the bi-annual INMEX exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City, the mission is expected to bring Dutch businesses closer to their potential partners in Vietnam, laying a sound basis for future collaboration, and luring the contact to contract process.
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to journalists at the Oval Office of the White House after the AHCA health care bill was pulled before a vote in Washington, U.S. March 24, 2017.

Speaking on ABC's Sunday talk show "This Week," Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said rolling back Obama's 2015 Clean Power Plan would bring back coal jobs.

"The past administration had a very anti-fossil fuel strategy," he said. "So this is a promise (Trump) is keeping to the American people to say that we can put people back to work."

Told by ABC host George Stephanopolous that most coal-job losses took place a decade ago under Obama's predecessor George W. Bush - as natural gas increasingly replaced coal - Pruitt dismissed concerns that Trump had made a promise he can't keep.

"It will bring back manufacturing jobs across the country, coal jobs across the country," he said of the president's forthcoming order.

"For too long over the last several years, we have accepted a narrative that if you're pro-growth, pro-jobs, you're anti-environment," he added, accusing the Obama administration of making "efforts to kill jobs across this country through the clean power plan."

He said Trump's order would also lower electricity rates for Americans.

Supporters of the Clean Power Plan say it would help create thousands of clean-energy jobs.

A known fossil-fuel ally, Pruitt's appointment to head the EPA - an agency he repeatedly sued as a state attorney general - has been deeply contentious.

Earlier this month, the climate change skeptic said he believes carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming, as scientists have said for decades.

Trump's action comes as the Clean Power Plan rule has been on hold since last year while a federal appeals court considers a challenge by coal-friendly Republican-governed states and more than 100 companies.

Trump's proposed federal budget unveiled earlier this month already envisioned ending funding for the plan along with a number of other programs aimed at combating climate change.

Trump's order - along with his promise to reverse rules about vehicle emissions - would make it impossible for the United States to reach its commitments under the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

But Pruitt criticized the accord as a "bad deal."

"This is an effort to undo the unlawful approach the previous administration engaged in," he said of Trump's executive order, "and to do it right going forward with the mindset of being pro-growth and pro-environment."

He called Obama's emissions rules "counter-helpful to the environment."

As attorney general for Oklahoma, the 48-year-old Republican filed or joined in more than a dozen law suits to block key EPA rules, siding with industry executives and activists seeking to roll back various regulations on pollution, clean air and clean water.
The Interior Ministry has called on the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party to change its campaign slogan ahead of local elections scheduled for June.

The government claims the slogan violates the spirit of the constitution and election laws.

In a letter to the CNRP on March 22, Interior Minister Sar Kheng said the slogan, which calls for commune chiefs who serve the party to be replaced by those who serve the people, goes against the spirit of multiparty democracy, without elaborating.

Kheng added that he hoped the CNRP would act responsibly.

Khieu Sopheak, Interior Ministry spokesman, declined to explain how the slogan put the party in breach of the law.

Its not the decision of the Interior Ministry. It depends on the law of Cambodia, he said.

The slogan was devised at an extraordinary party conference held in early March, the legality of which the government is also disputing because under the CNRPs internal rules, which are not legally binding, it should wait 18 months after the resignation of a president before holding a congress.

Sam Rainsy, the former president, stepped down in February, making way for the former deputy president, Kem Sokha, to assume the role.

We have no rights or power to force the [party] to change it [the slogan], Sopheak said. We are only telling them and applauding them for their wrongdoing. Its not a national affair.

Despite Sopheaks comments, the government has threatened to take the CNRP to court if it does not change its campaign slogan and reverse its leadership election.

Yim Sovann, CNRP spokesman, declined to comment on Khengs letter, saying he would wait for a meeting with officials later this month before entering the fray.

Hang Puthea, National Election Committee spokesman, said the body did not currently have jurisdiction over the party slogan.

If we get a complaint from a party, the NEC will consider it, he said.
Officials will meet with opposition leaders in late March to discuss the Cambodia National Rescue Partys recent selection of Kem Sokha to replace its former leader, Sam Rainsy.

Sokhas selection at an extraordinary party congress held on March 2 was opposed by the government, which claims the CNRP breached its party rules in scheduling the congress.

The Interior Ministry on March 22 issued a statement claiming the CNRP internal rules mandate an 18-month waiting period before the selection of a new leader, although it did not explain why this discrepancy was of relevance to the government as the rules are not legally binding.

Rainsy, the former leader, resigned in February amid legal pressure.

Khieu Sopheak, Interior Ministry spokesman, said the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party and the government could file a lawsuit against the CNRP if it was found that the selection of Sokha was inconsistent with party policy.

CNRP representatives could not be reached for comment.

The government is also arguing that the CNRP must change its election slogan, which was also determined at the congress and calls for commune chiefs who serve the party to be replaced with candidates who serve the people.

The government contends that the slogan is incitement.
Prosecutors in South Korea Monday requested an arrest warrant for impeached former President Park Geun-hye on charges related to the alleged multimillion-dollar bribery scandal that forced her from office.

Park was ousted from office for allegedly colluding with her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil to extort Korean conglomerates to donate over $69 million to two dubious foundations. Choi was alleged to have a cult-like influence over President Park and access to classified documents, even though she had no official government role.

The prosecution team within the Ministry of Justice, which has been investigating the presidential scandal, released a statement announcing the arrest warrant request for Park.

The case is very grave as the suspect has showed actions of abuse of power, such as collecting bribes from companies using the president's position of power and authority, and infringed upon the freedom of management of companies, and leaked important official secrets, the statement said.

The Seoul Central District Court has said it will rule Thursday on whether to grant an arrest warrant later this week.

Park was immune from any criminal prosecution while in office. Prior to being forced from office, she refused to cooperate with an independent counsel investigation and declined to speak in her own defense during a Constitution Court trial that ultimately upheld the National Assembly impeachment vote.

A new presidential election is scheduled for May 9.

In its ruling, the court noted the impeachment trial was focused, not on Parks criminal guilt or innocence, but on the legitimacy of the National Assembly action to oust the president.

The justices also admonished Park and her defense team for being uncooperative and evasive in the investigations and attempting to prevent the legislature from acting as a check and balance on executive power.

Rule of law

As a private citizen facing a possible criminal indictment, Park will now be afforded all the protections under the law, including a presumption of innocence that did not apply to the impeachment process, and will require the prosecution to present substantial proof to support its charges.

The former president apologized on a number of occasions for any possible misconduct by those around her, but has denied that she was personally involved in any wrongdoings.

After the court upheld the impeachment, Park agreed to cooperate with the criminal investigation, and last week was interrogated by prosecutors for 14 hours.

Prosecutors also expressed concern in their Monday statement that Park may have destroyed evidence.

Prosecutors had tried to raid the presidential Blue House while Park was still living there, but were denied entry due to the presidents immunity protection and because officials claimed the presidential office is a national security facility.

The prosecution is expected to directly tie Park to the case against Samsung Group vice chairman Lee Jae-yong. Lee and other company officials were indicted for donating $37.19 million to the Choi run foundations in exchange for government help on an important merger for the company. They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Choi and a number of presidential aides are facing similar charges and prison terms for their roles in the influence peddling scandal. Choi also denies she committed any any wrongdoing.

Mixed reaction

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea released a statement Monday calling the arrest warrant request, a historic decision.

Arrest of this suspect is unavoidable and obvious. We think the prosecution fully considered and made a (just) decision, the Democratic Party statement said.

The Democratic Party also reprimanded Park for not publicly accepting the impeachment ruling as legitimate and for not urging her supporters to abide by the decision of the courts.

Parks conservative political party, the Liberty Korea Party, sounded resigned to her likely indictment in a short statement released Monday.

We understand that the prosecution made the decision according to law and principle, but it is regrettable as we would like that investigation (to continue) without (Parks possible) detention, said the Liberty Party statement.

While Park is the first democratically elected president of South Korea to be impeached, she will not be the first to be indicted, if the court approves the prosecutions arrest warrant request.

Former President Roh Moo-hyun successfully fought off an impeachment motion, but after leaving office he was charged with bribery and tax evasion over allegations he and other family members had taken million of dollars from a wealthy shoe manufacturer.

Reportedly distraught over the corruption scandal, Roh later committed suicide.
Russian protesters have demonstrated by the thousands in cities across the country in support of a call by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny for accountability among Russia's elite. More than 100 people were detained around Moscows Pushkin square, including Navalny, for protesting without permission. VOA's Daniel Schearf reports from the protest in Moscow.
Hong Kong police on Monday told at least nine organizers of 2014's pro-democracy demonstrations they will face charges, protest leaders said, an ominous sign just a day after a new Beijing-backed leader was chosen, vowing to unite society.

The move, which has already provoked anger and disbelief among democrats, heightened political tension in the Chinese-ruled city, with a protest rally to be held outside police headquarters in the Wanchai bar district on Monday night.

Former chief secretary Carrie Lam was chosen by a 1,200-person committee to lead the city, pledging in her victory speech to unite political divisions that have hindered policy-making and legislative work.

But the timing of the telephone calls, almost 2 years after the protests brought parts of the city to a standstill for months, is unlikely to help heal wounds.

Sociology professor Chan Kin-man, one of the core protest leaders, said police told him he would be charged with three crimes, including participating and inciting others to participate in "public nuisance".

"I am already mentally prepared for this, but I am very worried about Hong Kong's future," Chan told Reuters.

It wasn't immediately clear why authorities had waited so long to pursue the charges. The police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Asked by reporters about the timing, Lam said she couldn't intervene with prosecutions carried out by the administration of incumbent leader Leung Chun-ying.

"I made it very clear that I want to unite society and bridge the divide that has been causing us concern, but all these actions should not compromise the rule of law in Hong Kong and also the independent prosecution process that I have just mentioned," said Lam, who will take office on July 1. Chan, however, disputed this.

"The message is strong. Carrie Lam said she wanted to mend the society, but the message we got today is prosecution. I don't see how the society's cracks can be mended," Chan told Reuters.

Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997, with the promise of a high degree of autonomy and other freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, but Communist Party rulers in Beijing never hid their anger at the protests which they deemed illegal.

Lawmaker Tanya Chan said at least nine protest leaders including herself received calls from the police notifying them of their charges.

Another protest leader, University of Hong Kong law professor, Benny Tai, confirmed to Reuters by text he had been contacted by police.

Lam met with incumbent leader Leung Chun-ying earlier on Monday. They shook hands and both expressed confidence in a "smooth and effective" leadership transition.

Lam was Leung's deputy as chief secretary for the past five years and is known as a tough, though competent administrator.

The next few months will be critical for Leung and Lam, with Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to pay a visit on July 1 to celebrate Hong Kong's 20th anniversary of the handover, with large protests expected.

Part of the public mistrust towards Lam stems from her close working relationship with the staunchly pro-Beijing Leung, who protesters say ordered the firing of tear gas on protesters in 2014.

Balance

All of Hong Kong's three other post-handover leaders have struggled to balance the demands of China's stability-obsessed Communist Party leaders, with the wish of many residents to preserve the global financial hub's liberal values and rule of law that have long underpinned its economic success.

"She has been elected pretty much solely on the support of Beijing," said political scientist Ma Ngok.

"If that's the case, she might have a lot of debts that she has to repay to her supporters in Beijing."

Student activist Joshua Wong, 20, one of the leaders of the student-led "Umbrella Movement" protests in 2014, said last week Lam's victory was "a nightmare" for Hong Kong.

"Theoretically, the chief executive is a bridge between the central government and the Hong Kong people," he said. "But Lam will be a tilted bridge. She will only tell us what Beijing wants and won't reflect what the people want to the communist regime."
Unidentified assailants took the lives of six aid workers in South Sudan on Saturday, the highest number killed in a single incident since South Sudan's conflict began in December 2013, according to the United Nations.

Working for a local NGO called GREDO, they were killed in the Magri area of Central Equatoria State, as they traveled from South Sudan's capital, Juba, to the town of Pibor.

GREDO program director Jaffar Mbugua told VOA's South Sudan in Focus that a seventh person riding with the convoy  a man who had hitched a ride so he could seek construction work  was also killed.

A spokesperson for the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirmed a seventh person had died.

Motive no so obvious

Jerry Farrell, the South Sudan representative of Catholic Relief Services, says he does not believe aid groups are being politically targeted. Instead, he says they are likely singled out for the same reasons that perceived wealthy individuals would be.

Because NGOs have Land Cruisers and very often have Thurayas, or satellite phones, often are carrying cash to the field to pay vendors and pay staff, they are being targeted for those reasons by criminals, said Farrell.

But Ken Isaacs, the vice president of programs and government relations at U.S.-based charity Samaritan's Purse, hesitates to comment on motive.

There is a lot of nuances and I just know from my own experience doing this for 30 years that it is premature right now to make any speculation about it, but it rarely is as simple as it appears on the surface, said Isaacs.

South Sudan's government told VOA's Daybreak Africa that opposition forces loyal to former First Vice President Riek Machar are responsible for the deaths.

Contacted by VOA, the deputy military spokesman for the opposition SPLA-IO said the area where the incident took place is under the control of the government and allied militia groups.

Aid Groups Vow to Continue Work

Samaritan's Purse had 15 staff members abducted in Mayendit in mid-March by an independent armed faction, but all were rescued shortly thereafter. Isaacs says the weekend's attack will cause his group to operate at heightened alert.

So it does not cause us to hesitate, it makes our resolve stronger, but it also makes us more cautious, said Isaacs. So we will put certain measures into place, about how we move, when we move, how many vehicles are in a convoy, how many meters distance can be between them, it will affect our movements all over the country.

The attack also will not prevent the International Committee of the Red Cross from delivering aid to South Sudan, says spokesman Jason Straziuso.

This extremely tragic incident is at the top of our attention right now. It has added to the latest of the security concerns in South Sudan, said Straziuso. But at the same time, given how we operate, because we mostly travel through the air, to carry our personnel, this is not likely to affect our operations, our food assistance, or our medical assistance. We are going to be able to continue this because of the way we travel.

Resolve strengthened

Ferrell of Catholic Relief Services says the killings have only strengthened the resolve of NGOs working in South Sudan.

We are doubling down, said Farrell. No, I think that is the case for everyone. It is very, very sad, but everyone is more determined to help people who are in desperate need of assistance.

Save the Children provided a statement that while humanitarians will continue to do all that is possible to alleviate suffering and save lives, the fact remains that unless the guns fall silent, the humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate.

Entirely unacceptable

The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, Eugene Owusu, said At a time when humanitarian needs have reached unprecedented levels, it is entirely unacceptable that those who are trying to help are being attacked and killed.

South Sudan's Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission has asked monitors of the country's shaky 2015 ceasefire agreement to investigate the incident.

The United Nations says since December 2013, at least 79 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan, including 12 this year.
Amnesty International has called on the Turkish government to stop its crackdown on the media and release imprisoned journalists in the country.

Turkey now jails more journalists than any other country. One third of all imprisoned journalists in the world are being held in Turkish prisons, said a statement by the human rights advocacy group.

This crackdown must end. Journalists must be allowed to do their jobs, because journalism is not a crime, the statement added.

In the wake of last years failed coup attempt, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has responded with a rigorous crackdown on those who were deemed involved. In the process, tens of thousands of teachers and civil servants were fired.

Besides many military officers, journalists and activists have also been imprisoned.

The Turkish government has been defensive of its actions, but many in the international community accuse it of using the military coup attempt as a tool to target opponents and suppress human rights in the country.

Earlier this month, U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner addressed the issue.

We urge Turkey to respect and ensure freedom of expression, fair trail guarantees, judicial independence and other essential freedoms. We also firmly believe in freedom of expression and that any freedom of expression, including for speech and the media  and that includes also speech that some may find controversial or uncomfortable  only strengthens a democracy and it needs to be protected," Toner said.

Despite continued criticism from the international community, Turkey continues to target journalists.

Utku Cakirozer, a Turkish Parliament member from the Republican People's Party, told VOA that as a result of the governments crackdown on journalists, 90 percent of the media is now under government control.

All international reports are saying that Turkey is the worst country in the area of press freedom, Cakirozer said. Many journalists have no jobs. There is a climate of fear in Turkey.

Cakirozer added there are 153 journalists held in Turkish prisons.

Nina Ognianova, program coordinator for Europe and Central Asia for the Committee to Protect Journalists, expressed concerns over the situation of press freedom in Turkey.

Turkeys international partners must press the countrys leaders on the issue of press freedom and freedom of expression as a matter of urgency, she said.

Ognianova added that if the crackdown continued, Turkey would soon lose its independent media.

Turkeys crackdown on the press threatens to destroy any remnants of critical independent media in the country to devastating effects not only for Turkey, but also for Turkeys international partners, Ognianova said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly has threatened to end his country's refugee deal with the European Union, as relations continue to plummet. However, such a move may not be in Ankara's interests.

Since last year's deal, the flood of refugees and migrants entering Greece and Bulgaria from Turkey has fallen to a trickle.

Under the Readmission Agreement, Ankara accepts migrants and refugees who have entered EU countries illegally from Turkish territory, in exchange for Europe accepting vetted refugees from Turkey, along with billions of dollars of EU aid.

"Punishing the entire Europe by unleashing a flood of Syrian refugees on them, it would be a massive step," warned political consultant Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners.

Yesilada added that the effects of such a move would be magnified, given much of Europe is in an election cycle: "It would completely change the European election dynamics, and taking such a massive step sounds like a major bluff to me."

The consequences of ending the deal would be considerable.

"Since the deal, the dying, drownings in the Aegean Sea has dropped dramatically, while we've seen the deadliest year ever in the central Mediterranean off the coast of Libya," said Gerald Knaus, one of the architects of the deal and the head of the European Stability Initiative research group.

Along with the trauma, analysts suggest a renewed exodus would deal another hammer blow to the tourism industry centered on the Aegean Sea.

Self-interest may be the most important factor in the agreement's survival. Although the European Union has failed to deliver on visa-free travel to Europe for Turks, a key part of the bargain for Ankara, the readmission agreement remains important for Turkey.

"This is a knife that cuts both ways, you know," said political columnist Semih Idiz of Al-Monitor website. "This is a mistake from the beginning in negotiating this deal. It turned into a bartering situation. You give us the visas, and we will give you this and that sort of thing, but the fact is there are three million refugees in Turkey and this is a problem for Turkey, as well. And it's going to need help to cope with this. It's going to need help in terms of the social side. It's going to need help in terms of the security side, and it's going to need help with the economic-burden side."

EU aid

Ankara claims the cost of the refugees is in excess of $10 billion. Turkish political leaders have long complained about the lack of support they've received from their allies, in particular Europe. But despite some shortcomings, including the failure to deliver on visa-free travel, Knaus of European Stability Initiative says the European Union is now delivering on other aspects of the agreement.

"It's the biggest humanitarian effort to support refugees in a third country that the EU has ever made. With the promise of two to three billion euros [$3.25 billion], and 1.5 billion [$1.6 billion] already contracted," Knaus said. "For this, Turkey had to commit to take back refugees from the Greek Islands, and so far the Greek asylum service has sent only 80 people a month  a total of 918 people in 12 months. And, in return, the EU has taken 4,000 Syrians from Turkey. So what would Turkey gain from withdrawing from the agreement?"

Along with its material and financial gains, the refugee deal remains one of the few ties between Ankara and the European Union. With Turkey increasingly at odds with many of its neighbors, as well as difficulties with both Washington and Moscow, observers suggest the threat of diplomatic isolation will likely make Ankara step back from tearing up the refugee agreement.

"This is one few, and certainly important, leverage that Ankara has over the EU," said Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar of Carnegie Europe Institute.

But Ulgen offered a caveat, warning that despite the benefits, Ankara could be trapped by its rhetoric and forced to act even if it's not in its interests.

"We have been hearing recurring threats from Ankara over the past few months, so it must be taken seriously, especially if the EU starts to harden its stance toward Turkey," Ulgen said.

"The aggressive rhetoric we've seen from Ankara toward the EU, especially in the last few weeks, the tensions within Turkey, the human rights problems ... all of this has made it very difficult to maintain the level of trust needed to solve problems, even when there are mutual interests," Knaus said. "On the refugee issue, it is the one area where the EU and Turkey, because they both have an interest in the EU, help to improve conditions for refugees in Turkey. Turkey is helping the EU to stop the Aegean turning into a deadly sea again. They both managed to work together. It's just to be hoped that basic level of trust can be maintained."
Bangladeshi security forces appeared to gain the upper hand Monday in a four-day siege with heavily-armed militants reportedly backed by the Islamic State group in northeastern Sylhet city.

Since Friday, 12 people, including two policemen and four suspected militants, have been killed and 50 others injured in ongoing battles and bomb explosions, authorities say.

Police have used armored vehicles and fired bullets and tear gas in an attempt to end the standoff with militants holed up in a building and armed with guns, explosives and suicide vests.

"They threw grenades, exploded explosives and fired from inside," said police Brig. Gen. Fakhrul Ahsan. "They are well-trained and have thrown back the grenades we lobbed at them."

By late Monday, Bangladeshi media reported the building was cleared of armed assailants.

"We don't believe anyone else is inside," Ahsan told reporters.

Police were carefully combing the building, as it is booby-trapped with "many bombs," Ahsan said. He added that more than 75 civilians were evacuated from the building and the army was proceeding carefully to avoid civilian casualties.

"There is a large hold of explosives in the militants' den and the operation is continuing," he said.

The standoff began after a series of attacks throughout the country, including a suicide bombing on Friday when a man killed himself by detonating explosives near a police post on a busy road near the airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital.

IS claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to the SITE Intelligence group, citing the Islamic State news agency Amaq. SITE monitors terror group activity online.

Growing threats

Bangladesh is facing growing domestic threats from a variety of militant and extremist groups, including IS and al-Qaida affiliates. Terror attacks in recent months have killed at least 70 Bangladeshis and some foreigners.

The Bangladeshi government has been denying that IS has a presence in the country, but analysts say some local militant groups receive support from IS and operate on its behalf in the country.

"For two attacks to happen in the same week and to have them claimed so quickly is a clear indication that there is an IS network in the country," Amarnath Amarasingam, an analyst at George Washington University's Program on Extremism, told VOA.

"Even as the politicians deny the existence of IS, it seems law enforcement is behaving like there is, in fact, something to worry about," Amarasingam said.

IS in the last year has claimed responsibility for several attacks, including the fatal shooting of Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella, 50, in Dhaka and an attack on a Bangladesh-based Italian pastor, Piero Parolari. IS also claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a Shi'ite procession in the capital last year that killed two people and wounded dozens.

Zillur Rahman Khan, a professor emeritus from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and an expert in militancy in Bangladesh, told VOA that two former army majors who were dismissed by the army for "questionable activities" have been acting on behalf of IS in Bangladesh.

One of the officers was killed in a police operation earlier this year, according to Khan. The other officer remains at large, Khan said, and is directing IS-related activities.
A Belarusian human rights group says more than 1,000 people have been arrested for weekend protests in the former Soviet Republic and that about 150 of them have been sentenced to jail terms of up to 25 days.

Opponents of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko held unsanctioned demonstrations Saturday in Minsk, the capital, and other Belarusian cities, at which arrests were widespread. Other arrests took place in Minsk on Sunday when demonstrators demanded to know the detainees' whereabouts.



Authorities have made no comment on the arrests.



Vladimir Lobkovich of the Vesna human rights group on Monday called the sentencings a "judicial conveyor.''



The weekend demonstrations were part of an unusually persistent wave of anti-government protests in the former Soviet republic.
Islamic State propagandists are seeking to capitalize on last week's terror attack in London, which left five people dead and 40 injured, by flooding YouTube with hundreds of violent recruitment videos.

The online propaganda offensive comes as Britain demands social media companies scrub their sites of jihadist postings.

Amber Rudd, the country's interior minister, has vowed to "call time" on internet firms allowing terrorists "a place to hide" and has summoned some of the leading social media companies, including Facebook and Twitter, for what is being dubbed by British officials as "showdown talks" later this week.

Rudd says she is determined to stop extremists "using social media as their platform" for recruitment and for operational needs.

Britain's security services are in a standoff with WhatsApp, which has refused to allow them access to the encrypted message the London attacker sent three minutes before he used an SUV to mow down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and stabbed to death a policeman outside the House of Commons.

British security services are powerless to read that final message, which might cast light on whether the attack was a "lone wolf" or one aided and directed by others. Police investigators believe the terrorist acted alone and have seen no evidence that he was associated with IS or al-Qaida.

WhatsApp, which has a billion users worldwide, employs "end to end encryption" for messages, which the company says prevents even its own technicians from reading people's messages.

Officials want voluntary action

Rudd and other government ministers have launched a media onslaught, saying they are considering legislation to require online companies to take down extremist material. They argue this wouldn't be necessary if the companies recognized their community responsibilities.

Rudd told the BBC that Facebook, Google and other companies should understand they are not just technology businesses, but also publishing platforms. "We have to have a situation where we can have our security services get into the terrorists' communications," she argued. "There should be no place for terrorists to hide."

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson joined in the condemnation of social media and online companies. "I think it's disgusting," he told The Sunday Times. "They need to stop just making money out of prurient violent material."

At a security conference last week in the United States, Johnson called for action.

"We are going to have to engage not just militarily, but also to stop the stuff on the internet that is corrupting and polluting so many people," he said. "This is something that the internet companies and social media companies need to think about. They need to do more to take that stuff off their media  the incitements, the information about how to become a terrorist, the radicalizing sermons and messages. That needs to come down."

Recruiting criminals

The furor over extremist use of the internet was fueled Monday by front-page articles in the Times and Daily Mail newspapers highlighting the IS propaganda videos posted on YouTube since last Wednesday's slaughter in the British capital. The high-definition videos, some of which contained references to the London attack, include gory scenes of beheadings and "caliphate violence" carried out by child adherents of the terror group.

U.S. and European officials have long complained online companies are, in effect, aiding and abetting terrorism. A year ago in January, much of the U.S. national security leadership of the Obama administration sat down with Silicon Valley chiefs to discuss jihadist use of the internet to recruit and radicalize people and plot attacks.

Also last year, British spy chief, Robert Hannigan, singled out messaging apps as especially worrisome for the security services, saying they had become "the command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals  precisely because they are highly encrypted."

Some cooperation

After initial resistance to complaints from Western governments, Facebook, Google and Twitter have in recent months been more cooperative with authorities and have removed large amounts of extremist material. Twitter said in the second half of 2016 it suspended 376,890 accounts for violations related to promotion of terrorism.

But some services have resisted providing governments with encryption keys, or so-called back doors.

Apple has developed encryption keys that message users can use that are not possessed by the company. Apple's chief executive, Timothy Cook, argued last year, "If you put a key under the mat for the cops, a burglar can find it, too."

Silicon Valley chiefs say they fear violations of privacy and their priority is their customers, not national security, an argument that has resonated since former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed the extent of electronic surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies.

Last year, WhatsApp was blocked several times in Brazil for failing to hand over information relating to criminal investigations.

Messages sent on a rival service by Telegram are also encrypted, but after bad publicity and immense pressure from Western governments, the company does provide a backdoor for security and law-enforcement agencies.

Not that access to encrypted communications always helps.

Sunday, it emerged that German police knew the Christmas market attacker in Berlin who drove a truck into a crowd of shoppers was planning a suicide attack. Police had intercepted his Telegram messages nine months before the attack.

A police recommendation that he be deported was declined by state government prosecutors because they feared the courts would reject the request.
Britain's Northern Ireland minister must decide whether to call another election, return to direct British rule of the province or give parties more time after talks to form a new regional government failed.

Northern Ireland's parties had until Monday at 1500 GMT to form a new power-sharing government but all said a deal would not be reached after making little progress on a range of issues deeply dividing the two main nationalist and unionist parties.

The failure to restore the province's administration after its collapse in January prolongs a period of political paralysis just as Britain starts talks to leave the European Union that will determine Northern Ireland's political and economic future.



"We regret very much that there wasn't sufficient progress made but I think we will return to these issues whenever we get the space to do so," Conor Murphy, a senior member of Northern Ireland's largest nationalist party, Sinn Fein, told BBC Radio.

Murphy said Britain's Northern Ireland Minister James Brokenshire told the parties he would make a statement in the British parliament on Tuesday. A spokeswoman for Brokenshire had no immediate comment on the timeline.

By law, Brokenshire must go the polls again in "a reasonable time" once the three weeks of post-election talks elapse.

Analysts think he could announce fresh elections  the third in a year  but not set a date in a bid to provide extra time.

Both the British and Irish governments have repeatedly said they are against decision-making being taken back to London for the first time since 2007.

Sinn Fein effectively ended the talks on Sunday when they said agreement could not be reached in disputed issues including funding services for Irish language speakers, gay rights and inquiries into deaths during Northern Ireland's three decades of sectarian violence.

The two largest parties blamed each other for the collapse.

The Democratic Unionist Party's (DUP) deputy leader Nigel Dodds said his pro-British party believed Sinn Fein were never serious about getting the executive up and running and "played for time."

Sinn Fein surged to within one seat of the DUP at the March 2 election to deny pro-British unionist politicians a majority in the regional assembly for the first time since Ireland was partitioned in 1921.

The election success has emboldened Sinn Fein in increasing calls for its ultimate goal  a referendum to leave the United Kingdom and unite the island of Ireland.

"This was the worst talks process I have ever been engaged in, we didn't even have a round table discussion. It just makes you wonder what the overall tactic of Sinn Fein is," said Tom Elliott of the smaller Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).
Representatives of victims of a deadly clash between Mexican police and a teachers union last summer have escalated their calls for justice, briefly seizing a tollbooth on a Mexican highway, demanding a meeting with Mexicos top law enforcement official and seeking help from the U.S.-based Organization of American States.

Last weeks moves stem from a June 19 conflict in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Eight people were killed and 100 others wounded when members of the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE) blocked state roads to protest mandatory teacher evaluations  part of a package of education reforms  and some union members arrests. Protesters at one site threw Molotov cocktails and rocks, and, as the Associated Press reported witnessing, at least one riot police officer responded with gunfire.

Since then, "we havent seen any significant progress" on an investigation, Ambrosio Hernandez Santiago said Thursday, according to El Informador, an independent news organization in Guadalajara Jalisco. The teacher, union member and president of the Committee of Victims of Asuncion Nochixtlan  named for the community where the confrontation occurred  also was quoted as saying there had been "no significant advances such as medical care" for people injured during the fracas.

Hernandez offered that as explanation for the committee taking control of a tollbooth on the Oaxaca-Cuacnopalan highway for hours Thursday. He said members would "intensify our demonstrations" until they could meet with Mexicos attorney general, Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, and get an assurance of justice. He expressed dissatisfaction with several meetings with lower-level authorities.

Trading blame

Government and union officials have traded accusations about the June incident, according to the AP. A Oaxaca state prosecutor said the dead were all civilians but not teachers; a federal police chief said the protest involved "radical groups."

The teachers union disagreed with that label, blaming the violence on police infiltrators and saying that 20 people had gone missing. More broadly, federal prosecutors contend union leaders have run an illegal network to finance protests and profit personally. Mexican unions often control teacher hiring and firing.

Last weeks tollbooth takeover follows what Hernandez and others allege have been efforts to intimidate the June 19 victims and their supporters.

On March 6, the committee issued a statement asserting that the previous night, Hernandez and another union member had been ambushed and shot at by unknown assailants while driving on a state road.

The committee accused "the state" of direct responsibility for "attempted murder" and also claimed that, in separate incidents, police in civilian clothing had "harassed and persecuted" June 19 victims and supporters. It called for an investigation, punishment for those responsible, and "freedom and security for our [committee] colleagues and relatives of the victims."

Official promises accountability

An official with the Mexican attorney generals office, speaking about a related matter last week at a Washington meeting of the OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, said his office was working on legislation "to break the chains of impunity."

Robert Campa, undersecretary for human rights, said the measure would hold culprits accountable for forced disappearances. He was discussing the 2014 case of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College who went missing in Guerrero state, Oaxacas western neighbor. An independent group of investigators last spring accused Mexicos government of blocking its probe.

Oaxacas elected ombudsman for human rights, Arturo Peimbert Calvo, also addressed the commission in Washington. He complained that "a series of attacks, persecutions and harassment  have forced us to seek protective measures in the United States."

In an interview Tuesday with VOA, Peimbert said that, unlike with the Ayotzinapa students, in the teachers union case the "aggression of the police forces against civil society has been fully documented." He also said that, though more than 6,000 pages of testimony and 180 hours of video evidence had been collected, he worried that authorities wanted to keep the case out of the spotlight.

Peimbert made the trip to Washington "to create alliances that allow us to make the subject visible and give voice to those who have no voice and who are victims of this serious aggression," he said, adding it was "very dangerous for victims in Oaxaca."

Concerns about violence

On Friday, the human rights advocacy group Washington Office on Latin America expressed concern about increased violence in Mexico directed at human rights advocates and journalists.

In a statement, it decried attacks against Hernandez and several others. It urged Mexican authorities to "implement immediate action to avoid attacks," to "recognize the important mission of journalists and defenders of human rights in Mexico and to assure that these cases dont end in impunity."

Journalists covering the conflict in Oaxaca state have been harassed and threatened, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

In an unrelated incident, Mexican reporter Miroslava Breach was shot dead outside her garage Thursday in the northern state of Chihuahua. A reporter for La Jornada, she was the third journalist to be killed in Mexico this month.
Child marriage has soared in Yemen as families struggle to feed their children amid a conflict that has left the country on the brink of famine, the U.N. children's agency said Monday.

More than two-thirds of girls in Yemen are married off before they reach 18, compared to half of girls before the conflict escalated, UNICEF said in a report to mark the second anniversary of the war.

It said parents struggling with deepening poverty were increasingly marrying off their daughters to reduce costs and the number of mouths to feed or because they believed a husband's family could offer better protection.

Around 80 percent of families in Yemen are in debt or are borrowing money to feed their children, the agency said.

Dowry payments  paid by the husband's family in Yemen  are an additional incentive for poor parents to marry off daughters early, it added.

There is no minimum age of marriage in Yemen, where campaigners say girls are sometimes wed at eight or nine. Some die from rape injuries or childbirth complications after becoming pregnant before their bodies are fully developed.

Yemen's hunger crisis follows two years of civil war pitting the Iran-allied Houthi group against a Saudi-backed coalition, which has caused economic collapse and severely restricted food and fuel imports.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict and around 3 million people have fled their homes, although some are now returning.

Early marriage is especially common in Al Hudaydah, Hajjah and Ibb governorates that host large numbers of uprooted people, UNICEF said.

"One of the first casualties when families are displaced and lose their incomes is girls," UNICEF's spokesman in Yemen, Rajat Madhok, told Reuters.

Initial results from a new UNICEF study on child marriage suggest around 44 percent of girls and women are married under the age of 15 in some parts of Yemen.

Bilkis, 16, told researchers that life had become unbearable after she was married at 13.

"I was a child who was not mentally and physically able to be a wife," the report quoted her as saying. "I was warned not to do anything that children do. Through the window, I could watch other children play."

Child marriage not only endangers girls' lives but deprives them of education and opportunities, and increases the risk of domestic and sexual violence, campaigners say.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet traveled to Haiti on Monday for talks with government and U.N. officials weeks before the start of her country's announced withdrawal of military peacekeepers.



Bachelet's stop included meetings with President Jovenel Moise, the U.N. special envoy to Haiti and the nearly 400 Chileans currently serving in the U.N. stabilization mission.



Chile's government announced last year it would begin withdrawing its peacekeepers, and Bachelet's office now says the gradual pullout will begin April 15.



That is the same day the U.N. Security Council is due to decide the future of the U.N. stabilization mission in Haiti, which was established after a 2004 rebellion ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is recommending the U.N. peacekeeping mission as a whole wrap up with the departure of all 2,370 military personnel by Oct. 15. Troops come from 19 countries.



The U.N. chief said a successor smaller peacekeeping operation should be established in Haiti to continue to support police training, political stability, good governance, electoral reform, the rule of law and human rights.



Bachelet told Chilean troops based in the northern city of Cap-Haitien that her government believes it has succeeded in realizing the goals set at the start of the stabilization mission some 13 years ago.



"It is time, therefore, to refocus our strategy,'' she said.



Bachelet also visited a Port-au-Prince school for girls rebuilt by Chile after Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake.



She was scheduled to depart for a flight to Geneva on Monday evening.
An academic at an Australian university has been prevented by Chinese authorities from returning to Sydney because he's suspected of endangering national security, his lawyer said Sunday.

Border officials at an airport in the southern city of Guangzhou refused to let Feng Chongyi, an associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney, catch his flight home on Friday and Saturday, according to Feng's lawyer, Chen Jinxue.

"He has no way of leaving China right now," Chen said.

Officials have not said why they suspect Feng of "endangering national security," Chen said, but it could be related to his research on human rights lawyers. Feng had been wrapping up a three-week trip researching that topic.

State security officials met with Feng at his hotel in Guangzhou and asked him during a two-hour conversation who he met with in China and in Australia in the course of his research, Chen said.

Chinese authorities have staged a wide-reaching crackdown on human rights lawyers across the country since July 2015, accusing such attorneys of being a threat to national security.

The chief justice said earlier this month that convictions of a prominent defense attorney and his associates caught up in the crackdown were among the country's top legal achievements last year. Others have also been arrested and accused of subversion or endangering state security.

Rights groups and Western governments including the U.S. have urged China to release the activists and lawyers detained in the crackdown, while critics have said the campaign is aimed at silencing opponents of the ruling Communist Party.

Feng had been studying the crackdown closely, Chen said.

China's Ministry of Public Security and authorities in Guangzhou did not respond to repeated calls and faxed requests for comment.

Feng is a permanent resident in Australia but had entered China on his Chinese passport, Chen said. This implies that in this case, Chinese authorities regard Feng as a Chinese citizen and therefore not entitled to Australian consular support.

However, the academic is not being formally detained and has not been arrested, his lawyer said.

The incident comes as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang wrapped up a five-day trip to Australia, where the two countries sought to boost trade ties. Li was scheduled to fly to New Zealand on Sunday.
The Associated Press used dozens of interviews and multiple public records requests to determine that North Carolina's "bathroom bill'' will cost the state more than $3.76 billion in lost business over a dozen years.

This is how the largest elements were compiled and used:



PAYPAL



A state Commerce Department analysis shows officials expected a planned Charlotte PayPal operations center to contribute more than $200 million annually to the state's gross domestic product  an overall measure of the economy. By the end of 2028, the state expected PayPal to have added more than $2.66 billion overall to the state economy, according to the March 2, 2016, analysis.



But shortly after House Bill 2 was enacted, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman announced the company was backing out of the 400-job plan because of the law.



The fiscal cost-benefit analysis model has been used for more than a decade when the state offers major discretionary tax breaks to attract jobs. The Job Development Investment Grant program can provide incentives for up to 12 years under state law  so the analyses are often done for that length of time. A recent annual report on the incentive program shows it's not uncommon for the state to estimate that a company could add billions to the economy over the grant's life.



DEUTSCHE BANK



Using the same model, the Commerce Department estimated that a Deutsche Bank project in Cary would pump about $47 million annually into the economy once fully staffed at 250 jobs in 2017. The September 2015 analysis predicted a total impact of about $543 million by the end of 2027. But the company announced it was halting plans because of the law.



COSTAR



The AP used figures from North Carolina and Virginia to conclude that CoStar's decision not to put its facility in Charlotte will cost North Carolina at least $250 million.



When CoStar announced in October 2016 that it had picked Virginia for a research center employing 732 people, that state said the project's economic impact would be $250 million based on payroll, capital investments and other factors. That number is consistent with planning documents from North Carolina that projected the company to bring the same number of jobs _ average salary, around $57,000. State economic planners expected a capital investment of $24 million, so its impact would've exceeded $250 million in the first half-dozen years.



Officials said they didn't run the wider-ranging 12-year analysis that was used for Deutsche Bank and Paypal.



CoStar's CEO had recommended Charlotte to his board and was preparing for final negotiations for a site there when the board backed out because of negative publicity over the law, according to a September 2016 email exchange between Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and city officials.



VOXPRO



The AP analysis valued Voxpro's decision not to come to the state at about $52 million based on figures from North Carolina and an interview with the CEO.



The company was in negotiations to bring hundreds of call-center jobs to the Raleigh area, but chose not to because of the law, founder and CEO Dan Kiely said in an interview. The company chose Athens, Georgia; Kiely said the company will employ 500 there.



North Carolina's Commerce Department projected annual wages around $29,000 for 2016-20. The project was expected to create 230 jobs in the last quarter of 2016, according to state documents. The AP used 230 jobs over three months for its 2016 calculations, and the same headcount for 2017.



Kiely said the company would have ramped up hiring in 2017 to bring 500 jobs to the North Carolina site. The AP used the 500-job figure for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020; that's consistent with the company's expectation for staffing to reach 500 workers at the Georgia site before 2020.



North Carolina officials said they didn't run the wider-ranging, 12-year analysis that was used for Deutsche Bank and Paypal.



ADIDAS



The AP used figures from North Carolina and Georgia to compute a value of about $67 million for the decision by Adidas not to choose North Carolina for a factory.



The shoe and apparel company was considering a High Point site and visited about a week before the law passed, according to state economic development emails. They show that soon after the law passed, a top Adidas executive sought a meeting with Commerce Secretary John Skvarla to discuss the law's implications. By late June, North Carolina Economic Development Partnership recruiter Evan Stone bemoaned that the company's ``site location decision is imminent, and High Point was the preferred site but is being rejected solely on the basis of recent legislation.''



The AP calculation started with North Carolina officials' estimate that Adidas would've made a capital investment of $35 million, according to emails. To estimate yearly payroll, the AP used the 160 jobs it's bringing to Georgia with an average salary of about $40,000. That payroll number was multiplied by five years _ a time period commonly used for projections during early rounds of negotiations with state officials.



North Carolina officials said they didn't run the wider-ranging 12-year analysis that was used for Deutsche Bank and PayPal.



SPORTS, CONVENTIONS, CONCERTS



The AP conducted more than a dozen interviews and email exchanges with tourism officials and planners to determine the state lost more than $196 million from sporting events, conventions, concerts and other events. Cities researched include: Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Manteo, Wilmington, Durham and Fayetteville.
As East Africa struggles through a drought, scientists say climate change may be making the situation worse as a warming planet may be altering the weather patterns that bring rain to the region.

In Somalia, the rains failed late last year. And the rains before that were meager. Livestock have died. Crops have failed.

Famine threatens Somalia for the second time this decade.

While drought is not uncommon in this dry region, it has gotten worse, Chris Funk, a climate scientist at the University of California at Santa Barbara, said.

"What we've seen over, say, the last 35 years is that the rainfall during what's called the long rains in East Africa has declined substantially," Funk said.

He added the explanation may lie in an atmospheric cycle that links East Africa and the Pacific Ocean.

WATCH: Experts: Climate change may be making drought worse

Warm, wet air rises over the western Pacific, causing rain over Southeast Asia.

On the other side of the cycle, dry air descends over East Africa. That is why not much rain falls here even in normal years.

But when the western Pacific is warmer, it pushes the whole system harder: more rain over Southeast Asia, and more dry air descending on East Africa.

More dry air means more drought.

And Funk said the ocean is getting warmer.

"The warming over the western Pacific appears to be pretty much directly related to increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," he said.

Research shows that in the past, a warmer ocean meant a drier East Africa. But Funk says it is not entirely clear whether the current drying trend will continue.

"One of the things making it hard to look into the future is the fact that the story told by the global climate models, the climate change models, is pretty much the exact opposite of what we're seeing in East Africa," Funk said.

The models predict it should be getting wetter. But experts increasingly think the models may be flawed in this area.

Funk and others are working on it.

The short term is more clear. The western Pacific is still warmer than average. Which means the forecast is for a third season of disappointing rains.
France voiced concern on Monday at bans on anti-corruption demonstrations in Russia and the detention of hundreds of protesters and it urged Moscow to respect its international commitments on freedom of expression.

"This situation causes deep concern in France," a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.

"Freedoms of protest, meeting, association and expression are fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Russian constitution and the international commitments which Russia has subscribed to. We call on the Russian authorities to respect these commitments," he said.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was among hundreds of protesters detained across Russia on Sunday, after thousands took to the streets to demonstrate against corruption and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

A court on Monday sentenced Navalny to 15 days in prison, saying he had disobeyed a police officer.

The Kremlin said on Friday that plans for the central Moscow protest, which the city's authorities had rejected, were illegal.

It rejected calls on Monday from the United States and the European Union to release detained protesters and accused organizers of paying teenagers to attend.
Quiet on the set! Surrounded by militant training sites on uprooted Jewish settlement lands, the first movie set in the Gaza Strip is growing, depicting the history-rich, volatile alleyways of Jerusalem's Old City.

The set is the latest effort by the al-Aqsa channel, run by Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers, to kick-start its drama production in the territory and release another series slated to air in the month of Ramadan.

In Gaza, filming footage of Jerusalem and other central locations from the conflict is a challenge.

Gaza's population of about 2 million live in mostly cramped conditions in the coastal sandy territory compared to the rugged mountain terrain of the West Bank, so crews have struggled to film the twisting ancient alleyways of Jerusalem's Old City. And that is how the idea to create a set depicting Jerusalem was born.

The fate of Jerusalem is an emotional issue at the heart of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel captured east Jerusalem, home to the Old City with its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 war. Palestinians want the territory for their future state.

Much of the wave of Palestinian attacks that erupted in 2015 originated from tensions surrounding the most sensitive holy site in Jerusalem's Old City.

The hilltop compound is revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, where the two biblical Jewish Temples stood and is the most sacred place in Judaism. It is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the gold-topped Dome of the Rock, the third-holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

Mohammed Thoraya, the channel's manager, described how the Old City was depicted on set. "We brought something simple of the wall decorations there and - thank God - we could simulate something small of what is there," he said.

On a recent day, actors divided into two groups. One portraying ultra-Orthodox Jews and the other Arab residents of Jerusalem trying to prevent the Jews from entering the holy site compound that is still under construction.

Clashes were staged, and actors playing Israeli policemen in riot gear and wielding M16 assault rifles struggled with those depicting the Arabs. Occasionally, an actor would smile or forget their lines, prompting the director to reshoot the scene, sometimes over 10 times. Actors are paid between $US 4 and $US 9 a day.

The series being filmed is set to be aired in the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins in late May this year. It's the fifth such production by the al-Aqsa channel. Some watchdogs have considered previous productions of the channel anti-Semitic. Hamas is sworn to the destruction of the Jewish state. After winning the 2006 legislative elections, Hamas seized Gaza from forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in bloody street battles in 2007, and has since fought three wars with Israel.

The series, Heaven's Gate, shows "the steadfastness of Jerusalemites and their sticking to their land and properties in the face of Zionist settlement," said the director, Zouhir al-Efrengi.

Most of the film crew has never been to Jerusalem. They secured footage of Jerusalem and the West Bank separately.

The location features an alleyway, cafe and homes with green doors. Boards painted brown simulate the ancient stone of Jerusalem's Old City's walls.

Thoraya, the manager, said an expansion of the location would see building al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. It will also be open for visitors "and those who long for Jerusalem."

For three months, the crew has been spending 15 to 18 hours daily shooting. "I cried when I first came here and saw it," said Ali Nasman, 32, an actor in the film "It ignited the nostalgia of Jerusalem from when I was a child."

Producers would not reveal production costs, but cranes and some expensive state-of-the-art cameras were deployed.
Nine Hong Kong activists were informed Monday that they will be arrested for their involvement in the student protests of the Umbrella Movement of 2014 and charged with creating a public nuisance.

The news of their pending arrests comes one day after veteran civil servant Carrie Lam was selected by a pro-China election committee to become Hong Kong's first female chief executive.

Democracy activists are concerned about Lam's win and her pro-China tendencies. They are leery of China's growing interference in Hong Kong and fearful of losing the former British colony's "one country, two systems" formula that guarantees Hong Kong wide-ranging freedoms.

Lam said Sunday Hong Kong "is suffering from quite a serious divisiveness and has accumulated a lot of frustrations." She said her "priority will be to heal the divide."

Activist Raphael Wong told the French news agency, AFP, he had been notified he would receive the public nuisance charge for his role in the protests.

"As Carrie Lam talks about unity, they are saying you don't need it," Wong said.

Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan, also notified about the public nuisance charge that carries a maximum seven-year sentence, said the timing undermines Lam's unity pledge. She also described the move as a "death kiss" from outgoing chief executive Leung Chun-ying who steps down in July.

Others targeted for arrest include university professors, former student leaders, and current and former pro-democracy lawmakers.

Tens of thousands of student protesters took to the streets in 2014 in what became known as the Umbrella Movement to demand full democracy for Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's chief is elected by a committee of 1,200 that includes tycoons and lawmakers, leaving millions of residents unable to vote for their leader.

The 59-year-old Lam's victory with 777 votes was no surprise since Beijing had lobbied heavily for her. She was Hong Kong's number two official before Sunday's vote.
Ivanka Trump is planning a trip to Germany to attend a summit on the economic empowerment of women, a senior administration official says.



The first daughter was invited by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during Merkel's recent White House visit, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss details of the trip by name and requested anonymity.



The W20 summit, a women-focused effort within the Group of 20 countries, will be in Berlin in late April. Ivanka Trump's plans are still being worked out, but she hopes to study successful apprenticeship programs during her visit.



Ivanka Trump wrote on Twitter Sunday night: "Looking forward to promoting the role of women in the economy and the future of our workforce globally.''





President Donald Trump spoke about the plans during a roundtable meeting with women small business owners Monday. He praised his daughter's efforts on economic policies for women, saying "She'll be working on similar issues with Chancellor Merkel. That will be very exciting for you.''

Merkel and Ivanka Trump spent time together when Merkel visited the White House to meet with President Donald Trump. At the request of German officials, the first daughter helped arrange a meeting between American and German business leaders to discuss vocational training.



The meeting marked the second time foreign leaders reached out to Ivanka Trump to coordinate an economic conversation. During Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit last month, she helped organize a meeting on economic development opportunities for women. That came together at the suggestion of Trudeau's office.



Ivanka Trump has been discussing job training opportunities with CEOS for some time, starting with meetings she held before her father took office. She has also pledged to work on expanding economic opportunities for women.



The first daughter is seen as a rising power in the young administration. She is getting an office in the West Wing, a security clearance and government-issued electronic devices even though she is not an official employee.



She is relinquishing control of her lifestyle brand, but is retaining ownership. Ivanka Trump also has pledged to voluntarily comply with all ethics rules that apply to employees. Still, ethics experts have raised concerns that by not becoming an official employee, she could skirt transparency and ethical provisions.
More than 30 al-Shabab fighters were killed when African Union and Somali forces attacked two of the armed group's bases in southern Jubaland, according to Somali and Kenyan officials.

Mohamed Ahmed Hersi, a deputy commander with the Jubaland administration, said al-Shabab weapons were also destroyed in the "surprise" attacks that began Saturday and continued Sunday near Badhadhe.

"We killed at least 33 al-Shabab militants and destroyed vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns," Hersi told VOA's Somali Service. "I have seen the dead bodies of the 33 militants with my eyes."

A separate statement by Kenya's Defense Force said 31 al-Shabab militants were killed during the attacks, and IEDs, 11 AK-47 rifles and 634 rounds of ammunition were seized.

In the statement to the media, KDF spokesperson Joseph Owuoth said the operation was launched after AU and Somali forces received intelligence from reliable sources.

"The intelligence-led operation was executed by air and ground assets. Ground troops were supported by attack helicopters and artillery fire to access the terrorists' base and the two command and logistics bases 17 kilometers from Siraria near Hola Wajeer," Owuoth said.

On March 18, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta made a surprise visit to Dhobley in southern Somalia, where the Kenyan solders serving in the AU force, known as AMISOM, have a major base.

Kenya first sent soldiers into Somalia in October 2011 after a series of tourist kidnappings along the border. The troops were moved farther into Somalia after the Kenyans were formally integrated into AMISOM in February 2012.

Al-Shabab has inflicted heavy casualties on the Kenyans at times. In January 2016, al-Shabab overran a Kenyan base near the town of El Adde and said it killed more than 100 soldiers. The Kenyan government refused to give casualty figures.

In January, the militants said they killed at least 66 soldiers in a single attack on a Kenyan military camp in Lower Juba, some 18 kilometers from the Kenyan border.

But a Kenyan military spokesman said at the time that nine soldiers were killed.

After meeting last week with Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed in Nairobi, Kenyatta said his troops will only leave war-torn Somalia after the threat of terror is eliminated.
Driving around the hallowed grounds at Vicksburg National Military Park in the state of Mississippi reminded National Parks traveler Mikah Meyer of another famous battlefield: Gettysburg, in Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War and where President Abraham Lincoln gave his immortal "Gettysburg Address."

Gettysburg of the south

Having lived in Maryland before this trip, which is very close to Gettysburg -- one of the most popular battlefields to visit -- I heard people often talk about Vicksburg as kind of a similar experience... just in the South, Mikah said.

Tour Vicksburg National Military Park:

Like Gettysburg, Vicksburg is a large battlefield site, with licensed national park guides who cheerfully help visitors navigate the grounds.

Mikah, whos on a mission to visit all of the more than 400 sites within the National Park Service, says he felt lucky to have had "one of their best guides, David Maggio, who accompanied Mikah during his drive around the battlefield to explain the significance of the site.

Vicksburg is the key!

As the National Park Service explains it, at the time of the Civil War, the Mississippi River was the single most important economic feature of the continent -- the very lifeblood of America. Upon the secession of the southern states, Confederate forces closed the river to navigation, which threatened to strangle northern commercial interests.

President Abraham Lincoln told his civilian and military leaders, "See what a lot of land these fellows hold, of which Vicksburg is the key! The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket..."

47 day siege

Historians say the battle that took place at Vicksburg between the Union (northern) and Confederate (southern) armies was a turning point in America's civil war.

It was actually a 47 day siege, Mikah explained. The Union was trying to control access of the entire Mississippi River so the only thing stopping them from having a complete shipping route was this last Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg.

Aware that the Union army was planning to take Vicksburg, the Confederates built a perimeter around the entire city, so that when the Union came the defenders would have more of a buffer zone. They were fortified so well, apparently, that despite various attacks, General Ulysses S. Grant and his soldiers were never able to penetrate them.

War tactics

So rather than beat them, they (Union Army) just laid siege to their fortifications for 47 days until they ran out of food and ran out of clean water, Mikah explained. There were examples of everything from General Grant throwing dead animals in the creeks that supplied them water so that it would spoil their water and poison them to kind of really starve and dehydrate them into giving up, which they eventually did after 47 days.

The National Park Service states that Vicksburgs surrender on July 4, 1863, coupled with the fall of Port Hudson, Louisiana a few days later, divided the South, and gave the North undisputed control of the Mississippi River, thus providing President Lincoln with the highly coveted key to victory.

Today, Vicksburg National Cemetery, spread out across 47 hectares (116 acres), holds the remains of 17,000 Union soldiers. The first national cemeteries established by Congress in 1862 were to provide a burial place for "soldiers who shall die in the service of the country," so that applied only to Union troops.

Confederate dead from the Vicksburg campaign, originally buried behind Confederate lines, were re-interred in the Vicksburg City Cemetery, in an area called "Soldiers' Rest." Approximately 5,000 Confederates have been re-interred there, of which 1,600 are identified.

Historic accuracy

Mikah observed that the battlefield is an extremely well laid-out park and very historically accurate because it was turned into a park in the 1800s, so when they were creating it, they had soldiers from both the Union and the Confederate fill out maps, and basically put markings where their unit was.

So as you drive around now, there's a stone marker in every single place that there was a unit.

There are also many stone monuments where those units were and every state that had people in the battle also built a memorial, so you have these really gorgeous memorials that are set up all around the perimeter of this battle, Mikah added.

Visiting Vicksburg, was a very unique experience, Mikah said, and thus far, one of the most interesting and most well-told battles of the Civil War that he's seen.

Mikah invites you to learn more about his travels across America by visiting his website, Facebook and Instagram.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reiterating the importance of Israeli and American cooperation in the battle against what he called "militant Islam" in the Middle East, saying the two countries must stand together to ensure "light triumphs over darkness and hope triumphs over despair."

He also emphasized the importance of preventing Iran "from ever developing nuclear weapons.

Speaking Monday via satellite to the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Netanyahu called on the United States to "vanquish" the so-called Islamic State group and build alliances with moderate Muslims to make sure IS does not return.

"We must ensure that the forces of militant Islam are defeated," Netanyahu said, adding that Iran can not be allowed to "drag humanity away from the promise of a bright future to the misery of a dark past."

He thanked President Donald Trump for his vocal support of Israel and U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley for boycotting a U.N. standing agenda item that requires the Human Rights Council to debate Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians, the only one of its kind.

"Israel wouldn't be the country it is today without the steadfast support of the United States of America," he said.

Netanyahu pointed to Israeli aid in Africa, intelligence shared with foreign governments and natural disaster relief rendered by the country to illustrate Israel's contributions to the world.

"In this battle between modernity and medievalism, more and more countries realize that Israel is on their side," he said.

A day earlier, Vice President Mike Pence said the Trump administration "has put Iran on notice," and will not tolerate Iranian efforts to "destabilize the region and jeopardize Israel's security."

Pence said U.S. commitment to Israel is "non-negotiable," and that President Trump is committed to finding a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

He also said the president is seriously considering moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Such a move could gravely impair peace efforts, with Palestinians viewing East Jerusalem as the capital of their state under a two-state solution.

Netanyahu called on Palestinian leaders to recognize the Israeli state and work on a peace deal. He said common dangers faced by Israel and its Arab neighbors offer a "rare opportunity" to work towards a more safe and prosperous future.

"We teach peace to our children and it's time for the Palestinian authorities to do the same. It must stop teaching hatred, it must stop paying terrorists, it must stop denying our legitimacy and our history," he said.

Pence also reiterated the administration's opposition of the deal the U.S. and five other nations struck with Iran during the administration of former President Barrack Obama to curb the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

The vice president criticized what he called the "disastrous end" of economic sanctions that were put in place amid allegations Iran was working to develop nuclear weapons, which Iran has denied.

The AIPAC conference opened just days after a bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators introduced legislation calling for new sanctions against the Islamic Republic, targeting Tehran's ballistic missile testing and its alleged support of terrorism.

Outside the conference venue, several hundred protesters from the anti-Israeli occupation group "Minot" marched, some of them carrying placards and banners denouncing Israel's occupation of the West Bank.

One banner read, "Jews Won't be Free Until Palestinians Are. Reject AIPAC, reject Occupation."
U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law and key adviser, Jared Kushner, has agreed to be questioned as part of a Senate investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election, according to the White House.

Kushner is the closest Trump ally to be questioned so far by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating ties between Trump associates and Russian officials.

The Senate committee wants to know more about Kushner's two December meetings with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, according to The New York Times, which first reported the story.

The Times also says senators are interested in Kushner's previously unreported meeting with the head of Vnesheconombank, a Russian state-owned development bank that the U.S. had placed under sanctions following Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

A White House spokesman told the paper that Kushner's meetings were not unusual, noting that his role during the campaign and transition required him to regularly meet with foreign officials, including Russians.

U.S. intelligence officials have concluded the Russian government was behind a campaign to influence the U.S. election by hacking Democratic Party groups and releasing the information to help benefit Trump. Moscow denies the allegations.

Last week, FBI director James Comey publicly confirmed an investigation into Russian interference in the election and whether associates of the president helped coordinate those efforts.

Several Trump associates are said to be under scrutiny by the FBI, including Trump's former campaign chair Paul Manafort, former adviser Carter Page, and Trump's longtime confidante Roger Stone.

Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was also forced to step down after misleading White House officials over the nature of his phone calls with Ambassador Kislyak.
A court in Russia sentenced opposition leader and anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny on Monday to 15 days in jail for resisting police and fined him 20,000 rubles, about $350, for organizing what authorities said was an illegal, mass protest in Moscow.

Navalny rejected official claims that the demonstration Sunday afternoon, part of the biggest unsanctioned anti-government protests in years, was illegal.

"In accordance with a decision made by the Russian Constitutional Court, in the event of denial or if no alternative locations were proposed three days prior, we were supposed to go to the initial place. The legal requirements were observed 100 percent," the state news agency TASS quoted Navalny as telling the court.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said Moscow authorities offered two alternative sites to the organizers, according to the Interfax news agency. "Those sites were rejected. In actual fact, people were deliberately dragged to unauthorized locations. Of course, one cannot agree with that," he said.

Peskov called the protesters provocateurs looking to incite violence and accused organizers of exploiting children, claiming many were paid to attend but citing no evidence.

Navalnys lawyer said they would appeal the sentence.

WATCH: Schearf report on Sunday demonstration



Massive Protests

Organizers said the demonstrations Sunday against corruption took place in more than 80 cities across Russia.

They were the largest unsanctioned anti-government protests in Russia since 2011-2012 rallies over voter fraud and President Vladimir Putins return to the presidency.

The demonstrations took place on the 17th anniversary of the first time Putin was elected president.

Hundreds of peaceful protesters were detained in Moscow, some brutally dragged to the ground just for holding signs criticizing authorities and corruption.

Navalny was detained as he arrived at the protest on central Moscows Tverskaya Street near Pushkin Square. Some observers and journalists were also reportedly detained.

Washington has "strongly condemned" the detention of protesters, including Navalny.

"Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values," acting U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

He said the U.S. is "troubled" by the arrest of Navalny, who has announced plans to run for president in the 2018 election.

Turning point?

Yesterday's event may be a turning point for Russia's political situation because it shows that the mood in Russian society is changing and people are ready to protest, said Boris Kagarlitsky, director of the Institute for Globalization Studies and Social Movements. It also shows that a new generation of protesters emerged that did not participate in the protests of 2011-2012 which does not identify itself with any Russia's political or dominant ideologies.

A large number of the protesters were younger Russians of university age. Some analysts say this could indicate the Kremlin and political elite are losing touch with the younger generation.

The events will motivate authorities to be more attentive to young people, particularly to teenagers and their communication in the Internet, said Mikhail Chernysh, deputy director of the Institute of Sociology. At the same time, I guess that the authorities base their judgment on the fact that young people are not very important for the electoral process because of their sheer number. They are much smaller than other age groups. Older people are more numerous and more active as an electoral agent. Unlike young people, they provide for the turnout and thereby make more impact.

The demonstrations were sparked by Navalnys investigation of alleged corruption by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Navalnys Fund to Fight Corruption released a YouTube video investigation into property allegedly owned by Medvedev that went viral and has been viewed over 11 million times.

In court Monday, Navalny demanded Medvedev be brought in for questioning. Medvedev has yet to comment on the allegations.

Another interesting change is that the protests started in provincial cities earlier than the ones in Moscow and the number of people [protesting] in the provincial cities was unprecedented, said Kagarlitsky. These events show that the people are really tired not only of corruption but also of a broader spectrum of economic and social problems.

Navalny defiantly told reporters at the courthouse Monday he would call people to the streets again, saying authorities could detain thousands but not tens of thousands or millions.
President Donald Trump's aides opened the door to working with moderate Democrats on health care and other issues while Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer quickly offered to find common ground with Trump for repairing former President Barack Obama's health care law.

Schumer said Sunday that Trump must be willing to drop attempts to repeal his predecessor's signature achievement, warning that Trump was destined to "lose again" on other parts of his agenda if he remained beholden to conservative Republicans.

Trump initially focused the blame for the failure on Democrats and predicted a dire future for the current law. But on Sunday he turned his criticism toward conservative lawmakers for the failure of the Republican bill, complaining on Twitter: "Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!"

The Freedom Caucus is a hard-right group of more than 30 GOP House members who were largely responsible for blocking the bill to undo the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare."

The bill was pulled from the House floor Friday in a humiliating political defeat for the president, having lacked support from conservative Republicans, some moderate Republicans and Democrats.

In additional fallout from the jarring setback, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said he was leaving the caucus. Poe tweeted Friday that some lawmakers "would've voted against the 10 Commandments."

"We must come together to find solutions to move this country forward," Poe said Sunday in a written statement. "Saying `no' is easy, leading is hard but that is what we were elected to do."

On Sunday, Trump aides made clear that the president could seek support from moderate Democrats on upcoming legislative battles ranging from the budget and tax cuts to health care, leaving open the possibility he could revisit health care legislation. Whether he would work to repair Obama's law was a big question.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus scolded conservative Republicans, explaining that Trump had felt "disappointed" with a "number of people he thought were loyal to him that weren't."

"It's time for the party to start governing," Priebus said. "I think it's time for our folks to come together, and I also think it's time to potentially get a few moderate Democrats on board as well."

As he ponders his next steps, Trump faces decisions on whether to back administrative changes to fix Obama's health care law or undermine it as prices for insurance plans rise in many markets. Over the weekend, the president tweeted a promise of achieving a ``great healthcare plan'' because Obamacare will "explode."

Priebus did not answer directly regarding Trump's choice, saying that fixes to the health law will have to come legislatively and he wants to ensure "people don't get left behind."

"I don't think the president is closing the door on anything," he said.

Schumer, a New York Democrat, suggested that "if he changes, he could have a different presidency."

"But he's going to have to tell the Freedom Caucus and the hard-right special wealthy interests who are dominating his presidency ... he can't work with them, and we'll certainly look at his proposals," Schumer said.

Their comments came after another day of finger-pointing among Republicans, both subtle and otherwise. On Saturday, Trump urged Americans in a tweet to watch Judge Jeanine Pirro's program on Fox News that night. She led her show by calling for House Speaker Paul Ryan to resign, blaming him for the defeat of the bill in the Republican-controlled chamber.

Priebus described the two events as "coincidental," insisting that Trump was helping out a friend by plugging her show and no "preplanning" occurred.

"He doesn't blame Paul Ryan," Priebus said. "In fact, he thought Paul Ryan worked really hard. He enjoys his relationship with Paul Ryan, thinks that Paul Ryan is a great speaker of the House."

Priebus said Trump was looking ahead for now at debate over the budget and a tax plan, which he said would include a border adjustment tax and middle-class tax cuts.

"It's more or less a warning shot that we are willing to talk to anyone. We always have been," he said. "I think more so now than ever, it's time for both parties to come together and get to real reforms in this country."

Congressman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chairman of the Freedom Caucus, acknowledged he was doing a lot of "self-critiquing" after the health care defeat. He insisted the GOP overhaul effort was not over and that he regretted not spending more time with moderate Republicans and Democrats "to find some consensus."

Priebus spoke on Fox News Sunday, and Schumer and Meadows appeared on ABC's This Week.
The Senate Judiciary Committee delayed action on President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, as Democrats continued to fume over Republicans' refusal to consider former President Barack Obama's pick for the same vacancy, created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia more than a year ago.

Democrats exercised their right Monday to put off committee debate and a vote on Gorsuch for one week as partisan divides deepened on the appellate judge and the possibility appeared to grow of a showdown that could trigger a historic change in Senate rules.

The committee's top Democrat, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, noted that much had transpired since Scalia died in February of last year, adding, "I'm not sure if the majority [Republicans] understands or, if they do understand, cares."

Feinstein said Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, was highly qualified but couldn't get a hearing when Republicans insisted that no high court nominee be considered during the heat of a presidential election campaign. She then read a long list of justices stretching back to George Washington's presidency who were confirmed in the final year of a presidential term.

"If one is going to look at precedent, one has to look at this piece of paper," Feinstein said, holding up the list. "You can imagine, perhaps, on our side [Democrats], the depth of feeling that came about during this period of time [since Scalia's death]  and yet the decision was made that President Obama would be denied [the nominating rights of] his fourth year [of his second term]."

The committee's chairman, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, sat next to Feinstein but did not respond. At the start of the meeting, he praised Gorsuch as a worthy addition to the Supreme Court.

"We all knew how qualified the judge is," Grassley said. "His resume speaks for itself. But last week [during the confirmation hearings] we got to see up close how thoughtful, how articulate and how humble he is. He's clearly deeply committed to being a fair and impartial judge."

In refusing to consider Garland, Republicans have repeatedly quoted former Vice President Joe Biden who, as a Democratic senator in 1992, argued against filling any Supreme Court vacancy that might arise in the final year of the George H. W. Bush presidency. No such vacancy arose and Biden's words were never acted upon, but Republicans have since argued that Biden's admonition created a precedent for the Senate to follow.

A steady stream of Democrats has announced opposition to Gorsuch since last week's confirmation hearings, most notably Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who announced his caucus' intention to require three-fifth's backing for a final vote on the nomination in the full chamber, likely next month.

Should Democrats follow through, Republicans, who control 52 seats in the 100-member Senate, would need eight Democrats to join them to advance Gorsuch. Or, as the majority, Republicans could change Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees, allowing Gorsuch and all who follow to be confirmed by simple majority votes.

A rules change has been called "the nuclear option," as it would alter the very nature of the Senate, a body that historically has afforded the minority party the ability to thwart or delay the will of the majority.

Democrats themselves changed the rules in 2013 when they controlled the chamber, eliminating the filibuster for all presidential nominees other than Supreme Court picks. In doing so, they facilitated the confirmation of Obama's nominees, which Republicans continually filibustered at the time.

That change in rules has made it easier for Republicans to confirm Trump's cabinet picks to date.
Serbia is committed to European Union membership but it will work hard to improve relations with its traditional ally Russia, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told Reuters ahead of a presidential election Sunday.

The poll will test the popularity of Vucic, a frontrunner in the race, as well as his center-right Serbian Progressive Party, economic reforms and a bid to bring the country closer to the EU.

"Serbia is on the European path and that is our strategic goal. We want our society to be modeled after most developed Western European countries," Vucic said.

But he said he would work hard as president to maintain good relations with fellow Christian Orthodox Russia, as well.

Powers in Serbia are strictly divided between the president and prime minister. Under the constitution, the president signs bills into laws, commands the military, presides over the national security council and represents country abroad, but economic and foreign policy is in the hands of the prime minister.

Serbia, which in the 1990s was seen as the pariah of Western Balkans for its central role in wars that followed the collapse of Yugoslavia, expects to complete negotiations on EU membership by 2019.

Many Serbs remain skeptical about joining the bloc and view Western European countries as outspoken advocates of the 1999 NATO bombing to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians in the former province of Kosovo, in which thousands of civilians had been killed.

"We have to show ordinary people what are we doing together [with the EU]," said Vucic, once a firebrand nationalist. "We have to show concrete roads and concrete projects."

The West sees integration of Western Balkan countries as a way to stabilize a region recovering from a decade of wars and economic turmoil.

Russia opposes the integration of Western Balkan countries, including Serbia, into NATO and the EU and is trying to extend its influence.

On Monday, Vucic traveled to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin for talks on trade and military cooperation.

Last year, Russia donated six MIG-29 fighter jets, and Vucic said he now plans to negotiate a purchase of surface-to-air missiles with Putin.

"We are also discussing economic cooperation with Russia, we would like to attract more investors," Vucic said, adding investors could profit on trade deals with EU member states.

Vucic said his country is also looking to build economic cooperation with China. He said he expected a Chinese private company to start flights between Beijing and Belgrade.
Hollywood actress Shailene Woodley has reached a plea deal that calls for no jail time over her involvement in protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota.



The "Divergent'' star was among 27 activists arrested Oct. 10. She livestreamed her arrest on Facebook.



Woodley initially pleaded not guilty to criminal trespass and engaging in a riot, misdemeanors carrying a maximum punishment of a month in jail and a $1,500 fine.



She signed a court document Friday agreeing to plead guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct, serve one year of unsupervised probation and forfeit $500 bond. The agreement is awaiting a judge's approval. Woodley was scheduled to stand trial this Friday.



Opponents of the $3.8 billion pipeline worry about potential environmental damage. About 750 protesters have been arrested since August.


U.N. officials say six humanitarian aid workers were ambushed and killed in South Sudan.

The officials said the workers were killed Saturday as they traveled in a convoy from the capital, Juba, to the the eastern town of Pibor.

"I am appalled and outraged by the heinous murder...," Eugene Owusu, the top U.N. humanitarian official in South Sudan said. "At a time when humanitarian needs have reached unprecedented levels, it is entirely unacceptable that those who are trying to help are being attacked and killed."

The U.N. says the killings represent the highest number of aid workers killed in a single incident since the country's civil war began in December 2013. Twelve aid workers have been killed this year in South Sudan and 79 have been killed since the civil war began.

The U.N. refugee agency reports 1.6 million South Sudanese have fled to neighboring countries to escape famine, fighting and drought, making South Sudan the worlds fastest-growing refugee crisis.

The U.N. refugee agency calls the rate of displacement from South Sudan alarming, placing an impossible burden on the region.

South Sudans civil war has displaced more than 3.5 million people both inside and outside the country. The United Nations reports 4.8 million people inside the country are going hungry, with 100,000 facing famine.
Taiwan is pursuing a two-pronged upgrade to its armed forces as people on the island worry about recent shows of force by powerful rival China during a political stalemate.

Last week, the Taiwanese navy signed a memorandum of understanding with two local companies to develop submarines over the next four years. Construction of the vehicles, ideal for warfare against a stronger adversary, could reach $85.8 million, though the final price is not set, the defense ministry spokesman said.

Taiwans ambition to design its own submarines stems partly from Chinas pressure against other governments to avoid selling the island any arms.

Last week the Taiwan president called the submarine project the most challenging aspect of a broader plan to foster an independent local defense industry, per a local media report.

Taiwan now operates two Dutch-designed Hai Lung submarines, bought in the early 1980s, and two Guppy II-class submarines dating back to 1946. China has the worlds third most powerful armed forces overall, with Taiwan in 19th place, according to the GlobalFirePower.com database.

The navy has not fixed on a number of submarines to develop as part of the agreement signed Tuesday, the defense ministry spokesman said.

Because in the past, Taiwan has the technology to build boats, we hope to make use of this domestic industry, said senior Taiwan legislator Lee Chun-yi. We hope we can use the construction (of submarines) to encourage domestic industries, and theres a definite help for Taiwans defense sector.

Taiwan looks to the US

Separately, U.S. President Donald Trump may approve a sale of advanced weapons to Taiwan in the first half of the year according to media reports from Washington.

Without speaking to any specific cases, we can say that under long-standing U.S. policy, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are ... based on an assessment of Taiwans defense needs, said Sonia Urbom, spokesperson for The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which unofficially represents U.S. interests in Taipei.

Defensive arms are helpful for Taiwans security, Lee said. We hope for them and welcome them. We also all hope the United States can have a closer military dialogue and that the United States will approve this package as soon as possible and let Taiwan process it as soon as possible.

Taiwan defense ministry spokesman Chen Chung-chi said Monday the government would urge Washington to make the arms sale.

December arms deal blocked

The administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama stopped an arms sale to Taiwan in December. Some analysts expect Trump at least to unblock it. The United States may sell advanced rocket systems and anti-ship missiles to Taiwan in the next package, news reports from Washington say.

I wouldnt necessarily characterize it as urgency, said Ross Feingold, Taipei-based analyst with an American political consultancy. The time has come to make a decision and the Obama Administration decided to punt, and now the Trump Administration is following up in a reasonable and appropriate time frame.

A better question would be whats going to come next because we are simply approving things that were on the table and under discussion already, he said.

Chinese officials fume when other countries, especially the United States, sell weapons to Taiwan. Taiwan is looking to Trump because he risked Chinas anger by speaking to Tsai by phone in December and his staff has taken a tough line against Beijings military expansion at sea.

China temporarily cut off some exchanges with the United States in 2010 when Obama approved a $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan. After Washington announced a $1.83 billion package in 2015, China formally protested to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Some see Obamas decision to stop an arms deal in December as a goodwill gesture toward China, and say approval by Trump would risk China calling off any cooperation with the United States on containing North Korea.

Shaken by aircraft cruise

People in Taiwan have been particularly on guard since the Liaoning aircraft carrier, the only ship of its type in the Chinese navy, sailed around Taiwan in December and January. Taiwan is just 160 kilometers away from China at its nearest point.

This month China flew 13 aircraft east of Taiwan, near Okinawa. Taiwans defense ministry is also watching as Beijing builds military infrastructure in the disputed South China Sea.

China is doing some activities in the South China Sea recently, and even though theyre not always directed toward Taiwan, in the Pacific region its stronger and stronger, so people in Taiwan feel that without the ability to resist we will be diminished in terms of bargaining position, said Ku Chung-hua, a standing board member in the Taipei-based political action group Citizens Congress Watch.

Taiwan frets because the Communist leadership claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island despite opinion polls showing most Taiwanese oppose Chinas goal of eventual unification. The two sides talked regularly from 2008 to 2015 but stopped after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen took office last year.

Tsai takes a more guarded view of relations with China than her predecessor and Beijing is seen using military displays as well as diplomatic and economic measures to pressure Taiwan back into talks. China has not renounced the use of force, if needed, to reunify with the island.

US arms package

Taiwans parliament would need to allocate money separately for a U.S. arms package, but the China threat is marshaling public support in favor, analysts say. The existing military budget for this year comes to $10.24 billion, or 2.05 percent of the Taiwan GDP.

With the cross-Strait situation not only stagnant, but in some respects deteriorating, this is as good a time as any both to garner domestic support within Taiwan to purchase weapons and to hope for a sympathetic ear in Washington, said Alan Romberg, East Asia Program director with American think tank The Stimson Center.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Monday the Justice Determent will withdraw grant funds from local jurisdictions that do not comply with immigration laws.

At a White House briefing, the nation's top law enforcement official said sanctuary jurisdictions endanger lives of "every American" and put the whole community at risk.

Today, I'm urging states and local jurisdictions to comply with these federal laws including 8 USC Section 1373. Moreover, the Department of Justice will require that jurisdictions seeking or applying for Department of Justice (DOJ) grants to certify compliance with 1373 as a condition of receiving those awards, Sessions said.

WATCH: Sessions threatens cutting funds to sanctuary cities



Section 1373 requires that federal, state, and local government entities cooperate with immigration officials regarding an individual's citizenship and immigration status.

Sanctuary jurisdictions, which include 600 sanctuary cities and counties, as well as some states according to the National Immigration Law Center, are jurisdictions that choose not to inform immigration officials when certain undocumented immigrants are released from official custody. Most often these are immigrants who were charged with or convicted of minor crimes.

In the current fiscal year, Sessions said, DOJ anticipates awarding more than $4.1 billion in law enforcement grants. He strongly urged states, cities and counties to consider carefully the harm they are doing to their citizens by refusing to enforce our immigration laws and to rethink these policies.

When cities and states refuse to help enforce immigration laws, our nation is less safe. Failure to deport aliens who are convicted of criminal offenses puts whole communities at risk  especially immigrant communities in the very sanctuary jurisdictions that seek to protect the perpetrators, he said.



These policies, he said, include refusing to detain known felons under federal detainer request. A detainer request is a request that local law enforcement hold on to individuals who U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says are subject to deportation.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week issued a report showing that in the week of Jan. 28 to Feb, 3 more than "200 instances of jurisdictions refusing to honor ICE detainer requests with respect to individuals charged or convicted of a serious crime," Sessions said.

Local law enforcement

But police chiefs have voiced their concern over some of the Trump administration's policies when it comes to detainers.

Law enforcement authorities say cutting federal funding to force local policies to change is troubling and the notion that police do not cooperate with ICE is wrong.

J. Thomas Manger, president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, told VOA in a recent interview that police agencies cooperate with ICE in many areas, but they do not want to engage in civil immigration enforcement or act on detainer requests without a warrant.

Other than that there is cooperation on dealing with drugs, gangs, human trafficking and arresting immigrants who have committed crimes, Manger said.

Manger is the police chief of Montgomery County, Maryland, a populous area adjacent to Washington, D.C., which is not a sanctuary county but has some sanctuary policies. Recently a 14-year old was reportedly raped by two undocumented immigrants  Henry E. Sanchez Milian, 18, and Jose O. Montano, 17  enrolled in public school after moving to the United States illegally from Central America.

Sessions did not directly answer a reporter's question if anyone from the DOJ had spoken about the rape case with any Montgomery County official, but urged people in the state of Maryland to oppose any sanctuary legislation. Maryland is currently considering adopting sanctuary status.

Less likely to commit crimes

Alex Nowrasteh, immigration policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute, which advocates more liberal immigration laws, said several studies have concluded that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes that people born in the United States.

Nowrasteh's research called "Criminal Immigrants: Their Numbers, Demographics, and Countries of Origin" shows that Illegal immigrants are 44 percent less likely to be incarcerated than natives. Legal immigrants are 69 percent less likely to be incarcerated than natives.

And the places that they move to in the United States, you typically see crime declines in those areas, Nowrasteh told VOA.

The Sentencing Project in its report, Immigration and Public Safety, published this month, documents that increased immigration may be responsible for a drop in crime.

The violent crime rate began to fall in the mid-1990s, and by 2014 it was half of its 1990 level, at 362 offenses per 100,000 residents, the lobbying group writes. By that year, the foreign-born population had more than doubled, reaching 42.2 million people [including 11.1 million undocumented people].

But in the White House briefing Sessions cited the 2015 killing in San Francisco of Kathryn Steinle. Her killer had reportedly been convicted of crimes and deported numerous times. Yet, he was able to enter United States illegally.

The American people want and deserve a lawful system of immigration that keeps us safe, and one that serves the national interests. This expectation is reasonable, just, and our government has the duty to meet it and we will meet it, he said.
On March 2, a suspected U.S. drone strike inside Pakistan killed two Taliban militants in the country's tribal region  the first drone attack in the country since Donald Trump became president.

The strike ended a nine-month pause in the CIA's long-running drone war in Pakistan, raising expectations that the Trump administration will increase the targeted killings of militants in the Pakistani tribal areas. But with the administration focused on defeating the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, few expect a large expansion in the Pakistan drone campaign, let alone a return to 2010 when the U.S. carried out a record 122 drone strikes in Pakistan.

Instead, many experts see a more modest escalation even as strikes elsewhere pick up more dramatically.

"I'd expect the campaign to be escalated at some point and probably get back to somewhere at the levels of the middle to the height of the Obama administration," said Bill Roggio, editor of the Long War Journal at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington.

Drone use under Obama, Bush

A Pentagon spokesman said the U.S. military was not responsible for the March 2 strike in Pakistan. The CIA declined to comment.

Until the Obama administration began releasing information about drone strikes last year as it handed over the program to the Pentagon, the campaign in Pakistan was shrouded in secrecy. But investigations carried out by the New America Foundation, the London-based Center for Investigative Journalism and others documented a massive escalation in Pakistan strikes.

Under former President George W. Bush, the U.S. carried out 48 strikes to kill "high-value targets" among al-Qaida and the Taliban, the New America Foundation reported. President Barack Obama's administration, however, made the use of drones a centerpiece of its anti-terror strategy as it drew down U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. New America Foundation data indicate the U.S. carried out at least 354 drone strikes in Pakistan under Obama, killing as many as 2,700 militants.

The last known Pakistan drone strike during the Obama administration came last May when a missile killed Taliban leader Mullah Mansour in Balochistan province. By then, drone strikes had declined sharply from their 2010 peak, and no others were reported until March 2.

Several explanations have been offered for the pause. For one, the strike on Mullah Mansour crossed a Pakistani red line on drone attacks outside the country's tribal areas, drawing the ire of Islamabad, which had long privately endorsed U.S. drone strikes while publicly condemning them, said Brian Williams, author of Predators: the CIA's Drone War on al Qaeda and a professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Also, with the rise of IS in 2014, the U.S. began shifting its focus  and drone assets  to Iraq and Syria. In addition, there was a dwindling list of militant targets in Pakistan as drone strikes decimated their ranks and a Pakistani Army offensive pushed the remainder into neighboring Afghanistan.

'Result of success'

"It was the result of success," Williams said. "The drones were very successful in degrading and destroying al-Qaida Central."

While Obama approved seven times as many drone strikes as his predecessor, he also put in place stringent limits on their use. Among those measures there was a centralized White House approval system for drone strikes, which required "near certainty" on the part of military commanders that a strike would not cause large numbers of civilian casualties.

Now, as the Trump administration ramps up counter-terrorism efforts, it has sought to reverse some of those rules, making it easier for the military and the CIA to conduct drone strikes. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that the Trump administration has restored the CIA's authority to use drones while the New York Times reported that Trump has approved the Pentagon's request to declare parts of Yemen "areas of active hostilities."

The result has been a spike in reported airstrikes, by both drones and manned aircraft. In one five-day period starting in late February, the U.S. carried out 40 strikes against al-Qaida targets in Yemen, according to the Pentagon, which did not indicate how many were by drones. And in Iraq, the U.S. is investigating reports that a series of airstrikes on March 17 killed more than 100 civilians in western Mosul's Old City.

Although drone strikes fell in Pakistan in recent years, in Afghanistan the number of airstrikes  manned and unmanned  has risen sharply over the past two years. As of Thursday, the U.S. military carried out 374 airstrikes in Afghanistan this year, compared with 1,071 strikes in all of last year, said Captain William Salvin, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism recorded approximately 235 strikes in 2015.

'Target rich' area

While Salvin would not break down the data to show the number of drone strikes, anecdotal evidence suggests that an increasing number are conducted by unmanned aircraft.

"My assumption is that there are a lot of them that are carried out by drones," said Williams.

Roggio of the Long War Journal said Afghanistan and Pakistan remain a "target rich" region, with dozens of terrorist groups operating in the two neighboring countries. But to be effective, a drone program must maintain a high operational tempo, he said.

"If you're just plinking at them and conducting a couple of strikes a month killing a senior leader every now and then, these groups have a capacity to replace them," he said. "If you want to do targeted killings against jihadist groups, then you'd better be prepared to conduct hundreds upon hundreds, if not thousands of strikes a year, to go after these groups."

In Afghanistan and Pakistan, drone operations are primarily flown out of bases in Jalalabad and Kandahar. At their peak, from 2008 to 2010, as many as 28 drones were deployed in Afghanistan, said Williams, adding that the number has declined in recent years. Salvin would not disclose the number for security reasons.
President Donald Trump says that empowering and promoting women in business are priorities in his administration.



In a round-table discussion, the president is telling a group of female business owners that his team will work on barriers women face. He says the administration is also trying to make childcare more affordable and accessible.



WATCH: Trump's comments during roundtable discussion

The gathering comes on the first work day since the Republican-led plan to repeal and replace the nation's health care law was pulled before a House vote, a major setback for the Trump administration.



The White House is trying to focus this week on another campaign priority: creating jobs and economic issues.
The World Health Organization and U.N. children's fund are spearheading a massive immunization campaign across Africa to rid the continent of the last vestiges of polio.

Tens of thousands of health workers will fan out across 13 central and western African countries to vaccinate more than 116 million children under age five against the crippling disease.

The U.N. agencies report more than 190,000 volunteers, traveling on foot or bicycle, will go house to house across all cities, towns, and villages in 13 countries to vaccinate every child under age five against polio.



The synchronized vaccination campaign, one of the largest ever conducted in Africa, will run from March 25-28. Director of Polio Eradication at the World Health Organization Michel Zaffran said children must be immunized in a short span of time to raise childhood immunity to polio across the continent.



"The synchronization of this immunization campaign is needed to rapidly strengthen protection," he said. "If all children are vaccinated at the same time or around the same time in a very short period of time, the virus cannot find anywhere to hide."

In August 2016, four children were paralyzed by polio in Borno State, in northeast Nigeria, which has been under attack by Boko Haram militants for several years. It was the first time in more than two years that polio was detected in Africa.



Governments in the Lake Chad basin declared a public health emergency and a vaccination campaign was conducted. Zaffran said there has been no case of polio since the last one was detected on August 21.



Nevertheless, he told VOA there is concern the polio virus still may be circulating in this area because of the humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by political instability and conflict. He said health workers are operating under very dangerous and difficult circumstances.



"We cannot be sure that some of our vaccinators or health workers cannot be collateral damages of suicide bombing, which is not directly attacking the vaccination site," he said. "This has not been the target of these insurgents, but there could actually be hurt because of the proximity of the events."



The African countries will be declared polio free if no case of polio is detected in the next three years.That will bring the goal of global polio eradication very near as only five cases of polio remain in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters pressing an offensive against Islamic State extremists in northern Syria have temporarily suspended operations near the country's largest dam to allow experts to conduct safety inspections of the massive structure.

The Tabqa dam is located on the Euphrates river about 40 kilometers upstream from Islamic State's de facto capital, Raqqa. Jihadists have controlled the facility and a nearby airbase since 2014.

The temporary stand down Monday by the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces came a day after retreating jihadists warned on social media that the 4-kilometer-long hydroelectric dam was at risk of collapse from rising waters and recent coalition airstrikes.

The United Nations has warned that such a collapse would likely cause massive flooding in Raqqa and the downstream city of Deir Ezzor, located about 150 kilometers from the Iraq border.

The Kurdish news agency Rudaw quoted local sources as saying the dam was out of service on Sunday after its power station was damaged.

For their part, SDF officials say they believe the dam is structurally sound, while denying that it was hit by airstrikes.

An SDF spokeswoman attached to Raqqa operations, in a statement quoted Monday by Rudaw, accused jihadists of using the dam warning as a means of spreading terror among civilians. Cihan Shekh Ahmed also said the dam continues to provide electricity.

A U.S. coalition statement on Twitter also said it saw "no imminent danger" to the dam.

In related developments, coalition authorities say SDF fighters have gained full control of an airbase near the dam.

The capture of the facility on Sunday came four days after coalition aircraft ferried hundreds of Arab Syrian Kurdish fighters of the SDF behind enemy lines at Tabqa to open a new front in the push toward Raqqa.

The SDF cut the main road out of Raqqa earlier this month, as the largely Syrian Arab militia closed in on the IS stronghold from the west, north and east.

U.S. troops took part in that operation, providing cover fire with artillery and airstrikes. But a coalition spokesman, speaking last week, declined to say whether U.S. advisors were on the ground.

Earlier this month, U.S. officials told Rudaw that many Islamic State fighters have already withdrawn from Raqqa, moving southwestward in the Euphrates River valley toward Deir Ezzor and onward into Iraq.
The United States has "strongly condemned" the detention of hundreds of protesters throughout Russia Sunday, including the country's opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.

Tens of thousands of Russians demonstrated in cities across the country in support of a call by Navalny for accountability among Russia's elite.

OVD-Info, an organization that monitors Russian political repression, said on its website that more than 1,000 people were arrested in the Moscow demonstrations alone.

That number has not been independently confirmed and state news agency TASS cited Moscow police as saying they made about 500 arrests, including Navalny.

He was detained while walking from a subway station to join the rally at Moscow's iconic Pushkin Square.

Reports from the scene say police put him in a truck that was surrounded by hundreds of protesters. The crowd briefly tried to block it from driving off, shouting "Shame!" and "Let him out!"

"Guys, I am all right, go on along Tverskaya," Navalny tweeted from the van, referring to Moscow's main central street.

"Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values," acting U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

He said the U.S. is "troubled" by the arrest of Navalny, who has announced plans to run for president in the 2018 election.

The protests appear to be the largest coordinated outpouring of dissatisfaction since the massive 2011-2012 demonstrations following a fraud-tainted parliamentary election.

"This is an important event! We came here to express our position as citizens," said one protester who just gave her first name as Alina. "We came to remain citizens of our country."

"By my presence here, I stand against the corruption of the incumbent power," said another protester who only gave his first name as Maxim. "The authorities do not feel like talking to their people, they communicate only through force-applying methods."

Navalny, a Kremlin critic, called the demonstrations after his Foundation for Fighting Corruption released a detailed report earlier this month accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of amassing a collection of mansions, yachts and vineyards through a shadowy network of non-profit organizations.

The report has been viewed over 11 million times on YouTube.

There was scant coverage of the demonstrations on Russia's official media. A short report on TASS said a police officer was injured during an "unauthorized" rally in Moscow.

Navalny said on his official website that 99 Russian cities planned to protest, but that in 72 of them local authorities did not give permission.

Navalny has been rallying supporters in major Russian cities in recent weeks.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has famously declared himself "not a big media press access person," isn't alone in President Donald Trump's Cabinet. But it's too early to call him a trendsetter, either.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transportation Secretary Elaine Cho, both with extensive private sector backgrounds, have similarly been press-averse at the beginning of their tenures. Others seem to be following the leads of predecessors. In some cases, it's just too early to tell.

Tillerson's decision not to make room for reporters on the plane for his first major overseas trip earlier this month drew scrutiny because his job is generally considered the most important in the Cabinet and there's a rich tradition of secretaries of state keeping the public informed of foreign policy objectives. He's had little visibility so far and the plane decision is more than symbolic; many of his predecessors and their staffs used that time to answer reporters' questions.

In an interview with the one journalist allowed on the trip, from the right-leaning web site Independent Journal Review, Tillerson said he personally doesn't need media attention.

"I understand it's important to get the message of what we're doing out," the former Exxon Mobil CEO said, "but I also think there's only a purpose in getting the message out when there's something to be done."

With attention paid to Trump's declaration of some media organizations as enemies of the American people, and reporters' jousting with White House press secretary Sean Spicer a near-daily television event, access to Cabinet-level officials can be overlooked.

Precisely because they don't get as much attention, it's important for journalists to understand and explain the work being done, said Nikki Usher, a professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University.

"These offices have tremendous power and most people don't know what goes on in there," she said.

Cabinet secretaries with a private sector background need to understand that they now work on behalf of the people, who have a right to know what these officials are doing in their names, she said.

"Corporate folks are used to not having to account for any kind of public conversations or talk to reporters with the exception of crisis communications or quarterly earnings calls with assessments of the health of their corporations," Usher said. They're used to being insulated.

The billionaire philanthropist DeVos' background is more private sector than public. She was the chairman of Michigan's Republican Party and her husband is the co-founder of Amway. Her lack of education background and support of school choice made her the most controversial Cabinet pick, and she needed the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Mike Pence to be confirmed.

Perhaps as a result, she's not been shy about avoiding the media.

The department did not announce it when she visited her first school as education secretary. Reporters showed up anyway, tipped by advocacy organizations, but were not allowed in the school. DeVos does not take reporters' questions after speeches and her few interviews were with conservative news outlets. Her public schedule is often not released ahead of time.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has both a public and private sector background, as a banker, former Labor Secretary, director of the Peace Corps and CEO of United Way. She hasn't held a meeting or news conference with reporters since her Jan. 31 Senate confirmation, and hasn't spoken to reporters following public appearances.

Ray LaHood and Anthony Foxx, the two transportation secretaries under former President Barack Obama, met frequently with reporters.

How the Trump appointees interpret their boss' attacks on the press will be watched closely. "The press is not the enemy," said Peter Cook, a former reporter and spokesman for the Department of Defense during the Obama administration.

It's also common for top executives in many fields, for reasons of ego or message control, to keep a tight rein on underlings. Requests to speak to agency heads in the administration of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, have to go through the governor's office.

Here's how some of the other Cabinet offices have been working:

- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and other senior defense and military leaders continue to take media contingents with them overseas. Mattis and the others hold media availabilities on the trips, although Mattis has not yet gone to the Pentagon briefing room.

-Trump's Homeland Security Department has operated the way others have in the early stages. Its Immigration and Customs Enforcement branch uses Twitter to defend enforcement actions; under Obama, the feed was largely confined to news releases.

-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs manager, took reporters on his plane to the Group of 20 meeting with finance officials in Germany earlier this month. He's done interviews with business news networks, the Wall Street Journal and the news site Axios.

- The Justice Department under Jeff Sessions, a U.S. senator before his appointment, has handled media interactions much like prior administrations. Sessions' public events are disclosed ahead of time to reporters, and he usually takes questions afterward. He appeared before reporters on the most significant day of his tenure, when he recused himself from any investigation into Russia's influence on the presidential election.

- Former presidential candidates Rick Perry, the new energy secretary, and Ben Carson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, also are accustomed to dealing with the media. It remains to be seen how being used to - or needing - media attention will play into their new roles.

-Trump imposed a media blackout on the Environmental Protection Agency after taking office that has since been lifted. Top administrator Scott Pruitt has generally tightened media access, although he made news in a CNBC interview this month when he questioned the scientific consensus that human activity is the primary driver of climate change.
A High Court judge has ruled that Jestina Mukoko has the right to sue former State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa, Brigadier General Asher Walter Tapfumaneyi, and Zimbabwe Republic Polices Chief Superintendent Peter Magwenzi in their personal capacities following her abduction and torture in 2008.

According to Mukoko, Justice Nyaradzo Munangati-Manongwa made the ruling on Monday following strong resistance from the respondents, cited by the human rights activist in a $220,000 lawsuit.

Mukoko is represented by lawyer Beatrice Mutetwa.

Lawyers from the Attorney Generals Civil Division Office, who are representing Mutasa, who is now one of the leaders of the opposition Zimbabwe People First party, Brigadier Tapfumaneyi and Chief Superintendent Magwenzi had objected in having their clients cited in their personal capacity.

They wanted them to be cited only in their official capacity.

The lawyers argued that the trio should not have been cited as respondents in their personal capacity as they were acting in their official capacity.

However, Mukoko through her lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) opposed the States application and argued that no one is employed in his or her official capacity to commit heinous crimes such as torture and therefore Mutasa, Tapfumaneyi and Magwenzi could not have been acting in their official capacity when they violated Mukokos fundamental rights.

TORTURED

Mukoko was abducted from her Norton home and held incommunicado for almost one month in December 2008. During the period that she was in incommunicado detention, Mukoko, the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, which monitors and documents human rights violations, was repeatedly tortured by being assaulted, being forced to kneel on sharp gravel and subjected to psychological torture.

She was also deprived access to lawyers and was only delivered to the police blindfolded on December 22, 2008, after vigorous campaigns by her family, and civil society groups such as ZLHR, where she was then slapped with criminal charges of plotting to unseat President Robert Mugabes government.

In 2009, the human rights campaigner filed a $220 000 lawsuit against four cabinet ministers including Mutasa, who at the time of her abduction served as State Security, Lands and Land Reform Minister, Co-Ministers of Home Affairs Kembo Mohadi and Giles Mutsekwa, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri, Chief Superintendent Magwenzi of the ZRP Serious Frauds Squad, Attorney General of Zimbabwe and Brigadier Tapfumaneyi for damages she suffered after she was abducted and held incommunicado and tortured for three weeks at various locations by state security agents.

This was after the Supreme Court in September 2009 granted a stay of prosecution on charges of banditry and terrorism which she faced after ruling that several of her fundamental rights were violated when she was abducted, tortured and held incommunicado.

Mutasa, who was fired from President Robert Mugabes Zanu PF party in 2015 and now serves as one of the leaders of Zimbabwe People First party, defended the actions of the abductors and refused to divulge their identities, indicating that they had abducted Mukoko in fulfilment of their national duties.

GRACE MUGABE

In a related development, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) says it is disappointed about the demolition of homes by police in Mazowe reportedly at the instigation of the First Lady Grace Mugabe.

The demolitions and evictions targeting 143 families that are currently happening at Arnold Farm in Mazowe in the rain constitute a gross deprivation of the families, including children, of their shelter and a serious disruption of their lives.

It is worrying that about 83 homes have already been destroyed meaning that hundreds of people have been internally displaced.

In 2015, about 700 people were evicted in the same area under similar circumstances allegedly at the instigation of the First Lady.

ZimRights considers the pulling down of poor peoples homes without providing alternative accommodation in the rain, which has caused a big number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Mazowe, as being a gross human rights violation.

VIOLATION OF CONSTITUTION

It is even more disturbing that this is not the first time that mass evictions of people in Mazowe have happened at the alleged instigation of the First Lady apparently without a court order as required by the Constitution in Section 74.

ZimRights calls for the mass removals in Mazowe to stop as long as immediate alternative and sustainable shelter has not been provided for the families. If a court order has not been given, the First Lady should submit herself to the law and seek the court clearance first, in order to guarantee the constitutional freedom of the families from arbitrary eviction.

ZimRights said it is also important that poor people, especially those living at the farms, must have equal access to land as the amassing of land by a few people endangers the principles of social and economic justice.

There was no immediate reaction from Mrs. Mugabe.
Gibraltar Mental Welfare Society Holds Public Meeting

The Gibraltar Mental Welfare Society will be holding a public meeting on Monday 3rd April, at the John Mackintosh Hall. The Society invites service users, family of service users, and anybody else who has an interest in mental health, to attend.

The aim of the meeting is to get as much feedback as possible about the experiences of people regarding the provision in place for those with mental health problems.

This would include provision in the new facility OV, and services in the community at large.

"This will help us to continue the process of recording the community's views on relevant matters, and to see whether any improvements have been noted since our last survey in 2015. We are interested in establishing what individuals feel is working well about the present system, and how they would like its provision enhanced. We urge people to come and discuss the matter openly so that we can move forward on this front."

The meeting will be held in the Charles Hunt room, at 6pm.
'Summer Nights' go on Tour

Gibraltar Cultural Services, on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, have announced that this years Summer Nights events will be going on tour around Gibraltar.

Gibraltar Cultural Services is working very closely with GibMedia, who were the successful tenderer, and it is envisaged that the events will take place in Chatham Counterguard, Governors Parade, John Mackintosh Square, Casemates Square and Ocean Village.

The idea will allow regeneration of different areas in town, as well as better sharing out of the event with local establishments in other areas.

The 2017 Summer Nights will take place every Thursday and Saturday as from Thursday 13th July to Saturday 12th August 2017.

More information on the programme of events will be made available in due course.
Gibraltar Drama Festival Results

At the Gala Night of the Gibraltar Drama Festival held at the Inces Hall Theatre on Saturday 25th March 2017, the Adjudicator, Chris Jaeger MBE GODA, reached the following decision on the Awards:

ADJUDICATORS AWARD was awarded to Maisy Crunden from Medway Youth Theatre for her playwriting, directing and acting in Daryl and Stacey and Fragments.

BEST SET PRESENTATION was awarded to Trafalgar Theatre Group for their production Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons.

BEST TECHNICAL PRESENTATION was awarded to Santos Productions for their production of Forgive Me Father.

BEST YOUTH SUPPORTING ACTOR went to Michael Porter, from The White Light Company Juniors, for his performance as Inner Voice in Wheels.

BEST YOUTH SUPPORTING ACTRESS went to Tiana Cartwright, from GAMPA Juniors, for her performance as Super Model in School Dayze.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR went to Errol Flynn, from Rock Theatre, for his performance as Joe in The Waxen Man.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS went to Rosie Stannard, from Medway Youth Theatre, for her performance as Sticky in Daryl and Stacey.

BEST YOUTH ACTRESS went to Carmen Anderson, from Westside School, for her performance as Lily Morgan in Living with Lady Macbeth.



BEST YOUTH ACTOR went to William Menez, from GAMPA Teens, for his performance as William Carlisle in Punk Rock.

BEST ACTRESS went to Erica McGrail, from Trafalgar Theatre Group, for her performance as Bernadette in Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons.

BEST ACTOR went to Tim Seed, from Trafalgar Theatre Group, for his performance as Oliver in Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons.

BEST DIRECTOR was awarded to Daniel Strain-Webber for his production of Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons.

BEST ORIGINAL SCRIPT was awarded to Julian Felice for his script The Amazing Angel-Man.

BEST PLAY was awarded to Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons presented by Trafalgar Theatre Group.

The presentation of awards was carried out by the Minister for Education, the Hon Dr John Cortes MP.
World Autism Day 2017  Launch of Further Inclusive Cinema Screenings

Inclusive Cinema Screenings will be launched on 2 April 2017 to commemorate World Autism Day and, will thereafter be available at noon on the first Sunday of every month.

This new initiative commences with the screening of the new film Beauty and the Beast (PG Cert) on Sunday 2 April. The second sensory screening will be held on Sunday 7 May with the showing of A Dogs Purpose (PG Cert). Further details may be obtained by contacting Leisure Cinema on 200722725 or 20041933 or on www.leisurecinemas.com

Inclusive Cinema Screenings are screenings to which a number of adjustments are introduced to reduce over-stimulation and thereby create a welcoming place for people with autism and dementia to enjoy films with their families, friends and carers. Lights are left low, sound is turned down, there are no trailers or advertisements unless embedded in the film and there is freedom to move around and sit wherever individuals like.

Leisure Cinemas will make available, at no charge, a seat for the accompanying adult of the person with autism on the basis that the accompanying person is able to provide appropriate assistance.

The Minister for Equality, Samantha Sacramento said, Being inclusive of people with disabilities is not just about making facilities accessible to individuals with physical disabilities or limited mobility, it is also about welcoming those with sensory or learning disabilities.

The introduction of this scheme by Leisure Cinemas is one of the ways a cinema can make reasonable adjustments for disabled guests. For people on the autism spectrum, it is important to allow them to be in a comfortable, low-stress environment where they can simply be themselves. Sensory screenings act as a judgment-free zone where people with autism are allowed to move around, make noise and act in ways that could otherwise be regarded as disruptive. Sensory-sensitive screenings can, because of their relaxed environment, benefit more than just people with autism. Relaxed screenings can also be beneficial to individuals with learning disabilities, movement disorders, young children and their families, as well as those with neurological conditions like Tourette syndrome and those in the early stages of dementia."

The Minister concluded by adding that the Ministry of Equality was very grateful for the continued commitment by Leisure Cinemas to a community inclusive of people with disabilities and was eager to see other organisations in the private sector introducing initiatives which also promote inclusion.

Odette Benatar, Director of Leisure Cinemas said "This initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to bringing the Cinema experience to the whole of our community. I sincerely hope it proves successful in providing enjoyment to all."
Environment Hosts Underwater Photography Presentation

The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Climate Change will be hosting an underwater photography presentation together with marine photography giants INON. The presentation will be held on Friday 31st March at 1900hrs at The Gibraltar University.

Entry is free although participants will have the opportunity to make donations upon entry, the proceeds of which will go to the Gibraltar Nautilus Project.

Steve Warren (INON UK) is a co-developer of the INON UK underwater photography course and a contributing author to Martin Edges The Underwater Photographer, regarded as one of the best underwater text books currently available and is co-producer of the Visions in the Sea underwater photography festivals. He has been a guest speaker on underwater photography at the London, Birmingham and Irish dive shows.

The Departments scientific diving team will also be taking this opportunity to further their data collection capabilities by embarking on a joint underwater photography training programme with INON UK. The team continue to monitor our underwater environment and their research is being used to support marine protection policy.
Tobacco Arrests

On 17th March 2017 Customs Officers engaged in Operation Bayview, an ongoing anti-smuggling Tobacco Operation targeting the Eastside, kept surveillance of a residential address in Glacis Estate that was suspected of being used for the illegal storage, and subsequent distribution, of cigarettes smuggled from the area of eastern beach.

At approximately 9pm Officers noticed suspicious movements in the area of the dwelling and deployed mobile patrol units.

A search of the immediate area surrounding the suspect address resulted in the location of a vehicle loaded with 200 cartons of cigarettes with a retail value of 4000.

Officers proceeded to the residential address from where the cigarettes had been seen to be originating. The tenant, a local male in his late twenties, was cautioned and arrested for the illegal possession and storage of the cigarettes.

A search of the premises produced a further 1300 cartons of cigarettes with a retail value of approximately 26,000.

Investigations are ongoing and HM Customs have not ruled out further arrests.
The third episode of whats shaping up to be the best season of American Crime is a heartbreaking hour about people on the edge of existence. We hear a young man nearly brag about how many times hes died from drug overdoses. We hear another teenager speak about almost being killed by a john. We watch a woman realize her husband has a different moral code when it comes to the value of human life. And we see a man get closer to the truth about his sons likely death at the hands of a monster.

Episode Three opens with the startling scene of a woman being raped in the fields where shes forced to work by her boss, Diego (Clayton Cardenas). We later learn that these fields are sometimes referred to as The Green Motel and that the women who struggle every day in these harsh conditions are basically treated as property by their employers. The episode subtly ties two story arcs together, bringing the conditions in the fields where Coy Henson (Connor Jessup) works into the narrative of Luis Salazar (Benito Martinez), who is looking for his son. After those opening images, Coy spots the rapist zipping up his pants. He goes back to work.

So does Shae (Ana Mulvoy-Ten), whos essentially working for the shelter where she lives for room and board, scrubbing kitchens and taking drug tests. Shae is struggling to find herself this episode, but she realizes she has more of an ally in Kimara (Regina King) than she may have first expected. It starts with her opening up in group therapy, after listening to another former prostitutes story of being beaten nearly to death. Her story isnt the traditional TV confessional, though. She doesnt have a breakthrough as much as free-flow talk about Billy, her pimp, whos now in jail. She seems almost nostalgic for a life she cant have with him, raising the child with whom she is now pregnant. Its a beautifully character-driven moment of the kind we dont often see on network TV.

It didnt dawn on me until this episode whats likely to happen next in the saga of Shae and Kimara. We cut from a scene of Shae talking about her pregnancy to one of Kimara learning she wont be assisted in her search for a sperm donor. It seems likely that Kimara will end up adopting Shaes child, or at least helping her through the pregnancy. I could be wrong, but Kimara desperately wants to be a mother and Shae does not. Later in the episode, Kimara discovers that Shae has stolen a phone, which shes not allowed to have in the shelter. But Shae doesnt want to contact someone  she wants to use the camera to capture the world around her. Kimara gives it back to her, strengthening their bond as she tells her to hide it well.

Parenthood is also a theme in Luiss arc, as hes fueled by the need to know what happened to his son. His investigation leads him to a man who remembers seeing him on another farm. Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to not know where your son is or what happened to him and constantly meet people who saw him but dont know why hes disappeared? Luis has to know something is tragically wrong, but he needs answers. His journey will lead him to Coy, Diego, and Isaac (Richard Cabral) after he meets a young woman who tells him that Teo made her laugh in the fields. The bosses didnt like that and one of them, who bears a resemblance to Diego, went to rape her. Teo stepped in and was dragged off, never to be seen again.

Before Luis and Coys arcs fully intersect, we see exactly how much violence and abuse trickles downhill in this world. Isaac seems like a genuine person, trying to encourage Coy to work harder in the fields. In one of the episodes best scenes, Coy speaks about the first time he overdosed, and the fear that comes with dropping into a space in which you put yourself without being able to get out. Isaacs response is interesting: He notes that his people (and other minorities) arent usually saved when they overdose. Even this far down the social ladder, racial politics come into play. No one was there to turn death into a future anecdote when drugs were tearing up minority communities.

In one of the episodes final scenes, Coy learns just how close he is to the edge of existence. Diego has had enough  possibly because he saw Coy in the Green Motel, possibly just because hes an abusive asshole and wants to teach both Coy and Isaac a lesson. He yells at Coy for his basket not being full, knocking it to the ground and kicking it over every time that Coy tries to fill it again. After Coy gets a backhand that knocks him to the ground, he turns his rage on Isaac, someone he considers a friend. He yells at him and marches off, but you dont leave what is essentially slavery. Isaac drives after him, jumps out of his truck, and in a long shot from a distance, we see Isaac brutally beating Coy. In one particularly awful moment, he takes a running start before kicking him. Workers fill the fore of the frame, including Luis, who walks toward the camera, angrily, knowing that this is probably where his son died. This might even be how it happened.

While that horror goes down, Jeannette Hesby (Felicity Huffman) continues her quest for awareness. In last weeks episode, she learned more about the deaths of over a dozen people on her husbands farm, and shes increasingly frustrated by how little is being done about it. Carson (Dallas Roberts) seems just to want his wife to shut up, but she may have found a friend and ally in her brother-in-law J.D. (Tim DeKay), a man clearly rattled by years of cover-ups on Hesby Farms. The episode ends with the two of them at a meeting, and a crucial line for the entire series: What you cant do is be ignorant.

Other Notes

 The performances this week may have been the most universally impressive in whats been a ensemble-driven show since episode one. The minute you think you know who the MVP is this season, someone else steals an episode. Felicity Huffman, Benito Martinez, Connor Jessup, Regina King  theyre all so perfectly in-the-moment, building characters instead of just selling messages.

 Could these stories be happening on different timelines? We havent seen much interaction from the Coy-Isaac-Luis arc with the Jeanette-J.D.-Hesby arc. (We saw Luis witness the aftermath of an incident before learning about the fire, but that could have been a different incident.) Or even Kimara-Shae. What if these arcs arent simultaneous? Just a thought as to how that would play dramatically. Well see.

 Last week, I suggested that it would be nice if American Crime regulars like Timothy Hutton and Lili Taylor were incorporated into this season. Good news: They will be appearing soon.
For the past few episodes, Pete has taken it in the shins. His wife left him for another man. He got kicked out of his home. Hes been sleeping on strangers couches. He has faced one humiliating experience after another. Sure, that group of Japanese tourists saved his ego that one time, but that was a minor victory, something to keep him going until the next days batch of embarrassment. In this weeks episode, Pete finally succeeds  and all he needed was a small push from a kind soul.

Warm-Up isnt a great episode of television, let alone a great episode of Crashing, but it features the best scene in the series so far. Heres the setup: Sarah Silverman offers Pete a place to stay in her enormous home after she learns that Pete is de facto homeless and makes no income. She gets him a potential job as a warm-up comic  a.k.a. the guy who pumps up the crowd at live tapings  at The Rachael Ray Show, but Pete quickly learns that hell basically be an understudy for their main guy (played by Allan Havey, whom you might recognize as Lou Avery on Mad Men). Its not a great job, and it doesnt guarantee employment, but because Pete is Pete, hes excited about the opportunity anyway.

Except the main warm-up guy is a bitter, intense maniac whos done the job for way too long and takes his rage out on anyone around him. Hes furious before he even knows why Pete is in the studio, and then when he finds out, he goes ballistic, talking about how hes digging his own grave and threatening Pete not to steal any of his material. Nobody owns, Whos from far away? Pete counters. Nobody owns, Any birthdays here? These are free for everyone!

A long-time comic and character actor, Havey excels in this role and steals every moment hes onscreen. Kudos to Holmes for basically getting out of the way any time Havey goes on a rant. However, his small bursts of fury about the Rachael Ray crowd or Petes presence on set are nothing compared to his full-blown meltdown at the crowd. After being asked to do five more minutes of time as the crew fixes some technical difficulties, Havey just unleashes years of pent-up bile at the unsuspecting audience, turning it into a rant about lazy Americans, parental responsibilities, and consumerism. Its a specific type of comedians rant that Crashing absolutely nails and there may not be a better person to perform such a tirade than Havey, whose character builds from a place of disappointment to full-blown rage. You know when I said youre a great audience? he says before hes carted off-set by security. I lied. Youre a shitty audience. And Gwen? Nobody gives a fuck about your birthday.

Now, its Petes time to shine. Hes basically shoved in front of the crowd to win back the audience, and it comes as no surprise that he kills. With his winning, nonconfrontational personality and generally silly charm, hes a perfect match for a daytime cooking-show audience that just wants free Kit Kat bars and a chance to mildly dance to a well-worn beat. He briefly comments on Haveys rant (I feel like Dad just yelled at us on the way to Disneyland!) before pushing good vibes onto the audience, who quickly accepts him as the lovable guy he is. As a result of his efforts, he acquires the job and finally has a steady source of income.

Its a shame that the rest of the episode never rises above the level of filler. As tight and specific as that great Rachael Ray scene is, every other scene in Warm-Up feels humdrum and dull  not actively terrible or anything, but never compelling either. Though Silverman does a damn good job playing her charming self, and her housemates Steve Agee and Dave Juskow are occasionally delightful, there are still too many throwaway moments in an episode thats a mere 28 minutes long. Its sweet to see Sarah encourage Pete to leave her home and treat himself to a hotel room with an actual bed, and the podcast scene with Lange had some good wisecracks (You were thinking about centerpieces while you were getting a blow job?), but other than that, the episode leaves a lot to be desired.

Six episodes into Crashing, it still remains a frequently frustrating watch. Not because it hasnt reached its potential, but because it has shown that potential and still falls back on lazy scenes that dont accomplish much. Give me a well-constructed episode like Barking that has a clear beginning, middle, and end rather than an episode like Warm-Up that has one phenomenal scene and a bunch of others that dont match up. Its tough, but as Silverman says while shes teaching Pete how to smoke pot, you eventually need to stop talking about the high and just exist. Crashing needs to just exist.

Stray Jokes

 Jermaine Fowlers character kicks Pete out of his apartment at the beginning of the episode, telling him that his cousin is coming to town. When his other roommate asks if Pete bought his lie, Fowler responds simply, I do not care.

 When Sarah asks if Pete is homeless, he says, Not all those who wander are lost, which is both a great response and a definitive answer to that question.

 Havey screams at the Rachael Ray stage manager to tell him if there are any surprises in the crowd: Copy this down: Tell me when there are people in the crowd who have a disability or are from fuckin Spain!

 What are you doing here? Learning about secrets of cinnamon?! Go home! Read a goddamn book. Spend some time with your children!
Photo: Columbia Pictures

Keeping with Spider-Man: Homecomings theme of showing the wall-crawler as a regular teen, his antagonist Vulture will be a regular bad guy. When hes not donning the Vultures wings, Michael Keatons Adrian Toomes is a blue-collar guy who runs a salvaging company, according to USA Today. Hes been on cleanup duty in New York to manage the destruction after superhero battles, until an organization founded by Tony Stark takes over his contract. The controversy gives Toomes business beef with Stark, co-producer Eric Hauserman Carroll told USA Today, and Keatons character sort of becomes the dark Tony Stark. Director Jon Watts said making Adrian Toomes a normal villain without powers or millions of dollars was inspired by John C. Reillys Guardians of the Galaxy character. I like the idea that in these huge movies, you pick out one extra and youre like, What does he think of all this? Watts said. Sometimes these movies are so casual about just destroying whole cities and incredible things happen and everyones like, Eh, whatever. If that really happened, it would be amazing and change everything.

The salvaging-job twist also gives the Vulture a chance to dig through other characters post-battle leftovers. Its a really great starting point for the villains to have the Vulture picking over the stuff and finding the valuable exotic elements and having the Tinkerer [Michael Chernus] assemble into something that could be used, Watts said. With a villain with government-contract troubles and no superpowers, finally Spider-Man can address the economic anxieties of the working-class white man.


Woodley. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Last October, Shailene Woodley was arrested at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in North Dakota and charged with criminal trespassing and engaging in a riot. Since that time she has pleaded not guilty, written a letter for Time explaining why she was protesting, and starred as the only character who would protest the Dakota Access Pipeline in HBOs hit drama Big Little Lies. Today, seemingly a whole lifetime since the incident, Woodleys legal drama is reportedly close to being resolved. While her original charges could have sent her to jail for up to a month and cost her a $1,500 fine, the actress legal team submitted a court document at the end of last week in which she pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in lieu of the two other misdemeanor charges, which, pending the judges approval, will result in one year of unsupervised probation. No jail time for Shai!
Dave Davies. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Sundance

With his aggressive, distorted guitar riffs for the Kinks, Dave Davies changed a lot of lives, as his playing on British Invasion hits like You Really Got Me helped open the path from rock toward punk and metal. Hes also deeply affected people in ways that have nothing to do with music: Davies  who recently turned 70 and has a lovely and reflective new album recorded with his son Russ, Open Road, out March 31  is a prolific New Age writer and teacher. And, for very personal reasons, he knows an awful lot about UFOs.

Davies shared some of his supernatural experiences  with and without the Kinks  from a sofa at the Gibson guitar showroom in midtown Manhattan, where was taking a break from rehearsals in advance of a tour that begins April 6 in Milwaukee.

I know youre open to the idea of reincarnation. Assuming you come back around for another go, would you want to live life as a rock star again?

[Long pause.] Thats something to think about, isnt it? Rock star, I dont know, but when I come around again, I would hate if music wasnt part of my existence. But who knows what will happen? Life can be an adventure if you let it. You have to choose to ignore the forces that try and put all these rules on you: where you can park, how you spend your day, what to do with your money. Are all these rules here to help us or tie us into knots?

You and your brother Ray are some of rocks most infamously combative siblings. Did your problems with him make you at all hesitant to work with your son on the new album? Being in business with your family isnt easy.

No, I wasnt hesitant at all. Me and Russ have worked together before and it went beautifully. One of those projects was a mix of science fiction and strange spiritual ideas. Im writing a screenplay for that now. Im also trying to turn it into a theatrical piece and take it one the road, but its hard to find the time and money.

Whats it about?

Its about two lovers. The woman is on another planet and the main guy is a disillusioned cop whos a bit of a drunk. It takes place in a futuristic New York where the whole city is run by crime. These two people know each other from past lives, and the guy keeps having dreams with this woman in them where shes singing to him from her planet  shes a mystic-witch type. Its complicated, but its basically about the two of them trying to connect with each other.

Is it based on any experiences youve had? Youve claimed to have seen UFOs, right?

Yeah, I have. Ive had several experiences seeing UFOs. It was really interesting. I saw them in north Devon in England  lights and zigzags in the skies. Then when I started to dig deeper into my experience, I understood I was also getting communications  psychic impressions  from aliens.

How did you know it was aliens and not just you having a brain blip or something?

Im sure there are many people in the world who can explain it better than I can. You have an experience with a UFO, and you keep those feelings, and then it gets into your subconscious and super-conscious. When I investigated what those feelings could be, when I got really into ufology, I couldve sworn I was having connections with the Dog Star, with Sirius. Sirius has very deep connections with Earth. Over time, theres been contact that developed into  did you ever see the film Harvey?

Yeah. Thats the one where Jimmy Stewart has an imaginary human-sized rabbit friend.

Maybe this extraterrestrial intelligence is my rabbit. Im part Irish, and in Irish folktales there are elementals called pookas that communicate with people. There are all sorts of phenomena about consciousness that we cant quite explain but that give us wisdom and guidance.

Does your pooka or alien intelligence have any thoughts about whether or not theres ever going to be a new Kinks album?

Good question! Come back to Earth, Dave! Come back to the ground! Me and Ray are getting on a lot better now than we have in the past. We always talk about doing things together, but I dont know. Were old men now for Christs sake. We worked on a few demos not that long ago and maybe well turn those into an album. I dont want to say much more about it now and talk myself into any corners. If I get a special feeling like I did when Ray wrote that riff for Sunny Afternoon, itll be a sign we should maybe do new Kinks music.

What does Ray think about your interest in spiritualism and UFOs?

He gives me a hard time about everything. The funny thing is that Ray is a very psychic person. It runs in our family. My mom had so much wisdom. Sometimes Im just waking up from sleeping and I can swear I hear Rays thinking  his ideas and songs. Hes very sensitive. When he and I used to walk into the studio, wed never really have to communicate verbally. I actually found it difficult when I started playing with other musicians because they wouldnt know what I was thinking. Id be feeling, Why dont they just know what to do? [Laughs.] Life is strange and just gets stranger.

Does the government know about aliens?

[Nods.]

But theyre covering it up?

Im not going to say anything about this.

Do you think its possible that our belief in things like pookas and UFOs and New Age spiritualism are metaphors weve unconsciously come up with to try and provide a framework for understanding the experience of our lives?

My pooka, my Harvey, is my inner light. I know it exists. It happens a lot that people get irritated when I talk about these things. Nowadays people are much more open-minded, but in the early 80s when I first started talking about these things people thought Id gone round the bend. Probably I had. I think we try to pretend we all know what were doing, when none of us know what were doing. Nobody really knows anything. But that shouldnt prevent us from looking for answers.

Did you have a single revelation or experience that made you believe in esoterica?

I had several. A spiritual journey isnt one thing, its peaks and valleys. When I had my first kind of nervous breakdown at the end of the 60s, start of the 70s, I did not feel right about anything.

What caused the breakdown?

It was too much drugs and drinking  the same old rock-and-roll story. My whole system was out of balance. I was like a one-legged man trying to hop through life. Then I discovered yoga and astrology and I liked how they helped me to see that maybe were all part of a more cosmic story than the one I was living. Science knows all about this, about alpha waves and such, but it just chops everything up into such small pieces that you never get a sense of the whole. Its a vast subject were talking about.

Can you share a specific revelation youve had?

I had a spectacular one in 1982. It was an out-of-body experience with myself and an inner-body-experience with other intelligences. It was as real as you and me sitting here talking. Probably more real.

What information did they give you?

Its hard to describe. A lot of the information I was given came through sense of smell. Smell is a language. Why do we get inspired by the smell of jasmine? Because it speaks to us.

Does someone with your interests have much to say about politics right now? Or does that seem like mundane earthly foolishness?

I dont touch on politics. Im not a political person. [Long pause.] Im not going to say it.

Say it.

Say what Im not going to say?

Yeah.

Politics rules the world in this age, but I dont think politics works. If the systems rigged, I dont think politics are the solution to our problems. There are other ways to learn from each other and help each other without all this confrontation. Why are we in competition with each other? We need to transcend that.

There was a New York Times article recently about how Steve Bannon and these far-right thinkers are into the fascist writer Julius Evola, who was deeply into the occult. It reminded me of how Himmler and some of the Nazi leadership were also fascinated with occult and magic.

Oh, yes.

On the off chance that some of the new wave of neo-Nazis and alt-right bozos are into magic rituals, is there any good magic we can use against them?

I cant speak to exactly what youre asking about, but Ill say this: Know your enemy. Sometimes, its important to know about things like black magic in order to know what to do about it. Its necessary to go through darkness to find out about ourselves. But if someone wants to bring someone else down, thats entering into Darth Vader territory  the dark side. There is no great secret to doing good. Everything is energy, were all magicians. It seems pretty obvious to me that you can choose the good over the evil. Its all about balance: left and right, dark and light. Bringing these things into harmony will result in positive energy. And dont forget we all have aspects of male and female.

Like how everyone is born with nipples?

Yeah. We overcomplicate things because we get fearful and confrontational. These are all vast subjects youre bringing up. Do you know the answers to all these questions?

Nope.

Neither do I. Thats the fun part.

Whats the best Kinks guitar riff?

Obviously You Really Got Me was an immense turning point for us and for a lot of people. There was nothing like that on the radio before. One of my favorites though is Powerman. I came up with all the riffs on that, the chromatic up and down. I played that song recently when I was listening to some old Kinks stuff and thought, Thats really good. We did all right, didnt we?

This interview has been edited and condensed.
Leguizamo in action. Photo: Joan Marcus

When a plays title is Latin History for Morons, you may not want to be one of the title characters. Nevertheless, thats what you are in John Leguizamos new stand-up-act-posing-as-a-theater-piece, which opened at the Public tonight. If thats not very flattering, the show suggests, you should just get over it; Professor Leguizamo has something to teach.

Nominally, its about the accomplishments of the Latin peoples in the Americas, from the Mayans to the Taino to the Aztecs to the Inca to Sonia Sotomayor to Pitbull the rapper. Their stories are told, and often inhabited, with the same manic and sometimes grating ingenuity that Leguizamo has brought to all his shows, including Ghetto Klown and Spic-o-Rama. At 52, though, the Colombian-born, Queens-raised performer doesnt mind letting you know that the exertions cost him more than when he started, in his 20s. He styles himself differently, too, in academic tweeds and an Irwin Corey haircut; onstage around him, in a very minimal production directed by his longtime collaborator Tony Taccone, there is little scenery besides books and a blackboard. These get quite a workout.

The conceit is slim, and not really meant to be believable: When Leguizamos eighth-grade son is bullied by a racist classmate, Dad decides to fortify him with some Latin pride. But it turns out that Dad doesnt know much more than tomatoes, potatoes, chocolate, and gold to be proud about, so he starts reading up. We in the audience are supposedly the beneficiaries of his research, though for many of us morons, only a few details will be news. You begin to suspect that Leguizamos professed ignorance of his heritage is merely a ploy to justify retailing it, and to get at something else in the process. As Dad keeps derailing his sons class favorite hero project with new suggestions from his own investigations, one of those something elses emerges. Latin History for Morons is a secret comedy about bad parenting.

Admittedly, thats a witty idea, and the family material is certainly more laugh-out-loud than the extermination of the Taino. (Jokes in the history portion of the 90-minute monologue are of the Columbus was the Donald Trump of the Old World variety.) On the other hand, the bossiness of his Jewish wife (the lowest high-maintenance woman I know) and the blase hostility of his daughter, who removes her headphones only to deliver zingers, will not strike anyone as novel. What makes it work is Leguizamos brilliance as a vocal and physical mimic: He gets at characters from both the inside and the outside at once. If only he got at himself that way! But except when tossing off a salsa or a merengue  hes exceptionally expressive in his many dance breaks  hes tedious imitating his own fecklessness. You never believe it. Rather, in those moments you start to crave another dose of his better alter egos, like the patrician shrink who keeps referring to his ghet-to rage as if the word itself were infested.

Then its back to the pie charts and chalk dust and readings from Howard Zinn. But even though theres nothing very surprising about Latin History for Morons  from its nightclubby introduction to its final, mild switcheroo  a powerful, unlikely theme does start to emerge. That theme is shame. All of the great Latin empires Leguizamo tries to sell to his son were eventually losers, the boy complains: wiped out by Europeans or colonists or the diseases they brought with them. Even those who survived did so by collaborating with the enemy. What kind of heroes are they? Leguizamos burden, suggested but not really fulfilled, is to find a way to look at a history of great loss and still be proud. Or to question the idea of ethnic pride in the first place. A better version of Latin History for Morons might address those ideas more directly, but this one at least turns them into a good joke. Honey, Im sorry, lifes gonna fuck you sometimes, he tells his son, whose bully is relentless. And I dont know, you just have to keep changing positions until it feels good.

Latin History for Morons is at the Public Theater through April 23.
In the first trailer for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Frances McDormand plays the grieving mother of a murdered girl who fights against police inaction by putting up three billboards calling law enforcement out. With a cast rounded out by Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell, the film looks like meaty stuff, but, under the directorial eye of Martin McDonagh, it is also profane as fuck. A sample line, with McDormand outlining the battle ahead: This didnt put an end to shit, you fucking retard; this is just the fucking start. Why dont you put that on your Good Morning Missouri fucking wake up broadcast, bitch? Yeah, cant put that on a billboard. Or can we 


The city of Waco will accept applications through April 20 for the 2017-18 Waco Youth Council.

All area students who will be in high school in the fall of 2017 and who live in the city limits of Waco are eligible.

For applications, email Earl Stinnett earls@ci.waco.tx.us. Applications also are available in high school counselors offices.

For more information, call Stinnett at 750-8018.

Alzheimers education

The Alzheimers Association will kick off its 2017 Education Series at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the Heart of Texas Area Agency on Aging, 1514 S. New Road.

Dr. Jacob Brindle, owner of Heart of Texas Physical Therapy, will present Dizziness, Vertigo and Alzheimers Disease: Finding the Right Balance.

Snacks will be provided.

The program is free, but reservations are requested.

For reservations, call Christine Schroeder-Morren at 753-7722.

MCC hosts Career Fair

McLennan Community College will hold its fifth annual Career Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the MCC Conference Center, 4601 N. 19th St.

Dozens of employers will be on hand to offer internships, as well as long-term employment at Waco-area companies.

The fair is free and open to the public but is geared for students or graduates of MCC and the Tarleton and Texas Tech Waco programs.

Job seekers should bring several copies of their resumes.

For more information, call 299-8882.

CASA info session

CASA McLennan and Hill Counties will host an informational session from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the CASA offices, 2223 Austin Ave., Suite D, for anyone looking to volunteer to make a difference in a childs life.

CASA recruits, trains and gives support to everyday people who act as volunteer advocates for children who have suffered abuse and/or neglect and found themselves in foster care.

For more information, call Mindi Masten at 304-7982 or email her at mmasten@casaforeverychild.org.

Genealogical society

The Central Texas Genealogical Society will meet at 7 p.m. Monday in the meeting room at West Waco Library, 5301 Bosque Blvd.

Kelly Zrubek, Granger Brethern Church archivist, Czech translator and former Czech Queen of Oklahoma, will be the guest speaker.

Topics will include media formats, paper and electronic; how to establish a shared website; and tools, techniques and strategies in dealing with information overload.

For more information, email brenda1160@yahoo.com.
Beyond the window shopping, bright lights and slick tiles of Richland Mall, Judy Haugs favorite spot in Waco also serves as a place of healing, hope and community support system.

The 72-year-old Haug has been a mall walker since she was 42, and for the last 30 years she rarely misses a morning walk down the halls of Lake Air Mall before it closed, and now strides through Richland Mall in Waco.

A second-generation walker, she started when the doctor recommended she might want to start walking to keep her blood pressure down. With the fact that her father had high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels also, the idea wasnt something she could ignore and she followed her fathers footsteps, she said.

(The people here) tell me all the time, I inspire them, Haug said. That makes me feel wonderful, to think Im an inspiration to anybody. Theyre all so friendly, and like I say, were a loving family out here.

When Haug started, she could easily race around the mall, doing six laps a day. Now, with the loss of one her eyes and scoliosis causing her spine to curve, shes down to four. But she can still outpace nearly everyone she meets, she said while power-walking down a mall ramp last week.

Haug apologized for having to look down at the ground as she walked, and said the only time she slows down is to say hello to a friend or new walker. As if on cue, a woman came up from behind her, chimed beep beep, beep beep, laughed and urged Haug to keep talking so she could outlap her.

They tease me, because I do walk fast, and they like it when I slow down and talk to somebody, because theres a bunch of them out here and they have different names for me: Speedy, The Flash and all these different, cute little names, Haug said. One called me a roadrunner one time, so what I do now when I come up on him is I go, Beep beep. 

Cancer diagnosis

Thirteen years ago this month, Haug was diagnosed with cancer, she said. The mall served almost as a rehab facility after she lost her left eye to the cancer and had several major surgeries, she said. Afterward, she returned to the mall to learn how to walk up and down the ramps and steps again because of her impaired vision, she said.

Ive been re-diagnosed with cancer again, but its true, coming out here  even with some side effects Ive been having  it just energizes me, Haug said. And (it helps) being with people who care about me, and who have asked about my treatments and all.

With two friends, Jackie Rhodes and Sherry Edenfield, at her side, Haug glanced around the mall and said the people shes met throughout the years have become her walking family. Edenfield and Rhodes have been walking with Haug for five years now, and they grew close with Haug quickly, they said.

The sisters have seen Haug walk straight through her health issues, with a little sass and one lap at a time, they said. Though they cant recall how they met, they know Haug approached them first because she says good morning to everybody, they said. If she didnt visit with everyone she met, she could probably make those six rounds, they laughed.

Judys like the mayor here, and I dont know if thats the right term. She kind of just knows whats going on here about everybody, in a very friendly and caring way, Rhodes said. We stay caught up with everybody through Judy.

It would be easy for somebody to be nosy and prying, but shes not that way at all, Edenfield interjected. Not a bit.

Haug couldnt say how many friends shes made during her mall-walking career because she hasnt stopped long enough to think about it, but shes seen them come and go. Shes seen them pass on and shes seen them last only long enough to avoid Texas weather when its too cold or too hot, she said.

And its not just the ups and downs of the track they follow that keep them connected. Often, the bond is formed by comparing symptoms and ailments, said Charlie Payne, who chuckled as he sat on a mall bench and propped his cane up nearby. Hes been walking at Richland Mall since 2001, he said.

We just started talking about this, that and the other, and just became friends, Payne said. We like to give each other a hard time.

Paynes neighbor, Kelly McNiel, also started walking the mall in 2010 with Haug after he was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which makes it difficult to breathe, McNiel said. Haug is a reminder to McNiel just how important it is to keep going day after day, he said.

Its my lungs. Smoked too long and finally got short of breath, McNiel said. I push myself, and its essential for me to have exercise each day. It makes me feel good. I think I thought I was going to beat it, but Im not going to beat it, you know what I mean? It becomes an addiction, once you start walking.

Haug even brought her husband, Wayne Haug, in on the fun. He only does three laps, though, and they seldom walk side-by-side, he said. They enter the mall near J.C. Penney, he tells her to have a nice walk and sends her on her way, he said.

I had to coerce him. When he retired, I got him out here. He started walking around the neighborhood a little bit, and I said, No, thats not safe,  Judy Haug said. I said, You need to come out to the mall. He was real reluctant, but he has made so many friends out here and he enjoys coming out here. He had a little bit of high cholesterol, and now his cholesterol is good. I said, You could thank me, anytime. 

Married more than 50 years

Wayne Haug told the story a little differently, though. His wife told him he either had the choice of walking or going back to work, so he decided hed get out and walk, he said. That was three years ago, and hes observed his wife flit from one person to the other like a small bird, chirping along every inch of the way. Theyve been married more than 50 years, and the morning walk has just been one of those things husbands and wives do, even if he doesnt get to talk to her much, he said.

She seems like she just knows everybody, and everybody knows her. Shes been out here since it opened, and itd be a good idea if they dubbed her mayor of the mall. Shes kind of bossy with me, so what can I say, he laughed. Shed make a good one, all right. Shes very determined, and when she wants to do something, she does it. I havent figured out how she does it. Her strides arent that long, but she can move.

The mall keeps her focused on other things beyond her own health issues, and shell walk whether theres rain, sleet, snow or ice, Wayne Haug said. On the few days Judy Haug might miss, for the occasional doctors appointment or family event, shes a little antsier than usual around the house, he said.

But the next day, shes right back at it, like its her own version of a cup of coffee, he said. And the stigma that comes with mall walking, or whats often known as an old persons form of exercise, doesnt phase her a bit either, she said.

We know about each others spouses, our children, our grandchildren. We know them by name, even though weve never met them, and we care about each other, Judy Haug said. If somebodys not here, we know why. We share each others aches and pains. Weve got all kinds of people out here. Whether its a hip replacement, knee replacement or someone with a walker, we just care about each other.
WAHOO  Wahoo Public Schools will again open the opportunity to community members to hear firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors.

Two Holocaust survivors will share their stories March 29 at the Performance-Learning Center at Wahoo High School.

Sonia Warsawskis testimony will begin at 10 a.m. and Robbie Waismans at 1:30 p.m. Each presentation will last approximately one hour, followed by 30 minutes for audience questions.

Wahoo Middle and High School students will attend one of the presentations, but community members are invited to attend one or both.

Wahoo Media Director/Distance Learning Coordinator David Privett said the event, which the school has held annually since 2012, is an invaluable experience to students and community members alike.

Its a great learning opportunity for anyone, he said. Its good for students to take advantage of the opportunity while they have it.

At 17 years old, Warsawski and her family were forced into the ghetto by the Germans. She watched her mother disappear behind gas chamber doors and was transported between various concentration camps before being liberated by the British.

Now in her 90s, Warsawski is one of the last remaining Holocaust survi-

vors in Kansas City and the subject of the 2016 documentary, Big Sonia.

Waisman and his sister, Leah, were the only survivors of their family. Their parents and four siblings were all murdered.

At 10 years old, Waisman was a slave laborer in a German munitions factory, before being sent to a concentration camp. In 1945 he was liberated by the American army. He is one of the subjects of the 2002 documentary The Boys of Buchenwald.

Privett said the testimony

is a powerful experience.

Theres moments in the presentation you couldnt hear a pin drop, he said. Its one thing for teachers to tell the students about it from a textbook, but another to hear a firsthand account of the hell people went through at the concentration camp.

Area schools have been invited to attend one of the sessions. High schools all across the state will also have the opportunity to experience the presentations through

videoconferencing technology.

The event is co-sponsored by the Institute for Holocaust Education in Omaha and Nebraska Educational Service Unit 2.

The Institute for Holocaust Educations goal is to ensure the tragedy and history of the Holocaust is remembered. The organization provides educational resources, workshops, survivor testimony and integrated arts programming to students, educators and the public.

IHE Executive Director Liz Feldstern said the program allows students to meet individuals that endured the atrocities of WWII and the Holocaust.

They have a face to connect to that history, she said. Learning about this period of history, and other genocides as well, becomes much more personal and powerful. Our hope is that by studying the past and the human stories of the past  students will be better able and more motivated to take action against the many forms of injustice that still take place in the world.
Why is it that one of the world's top five energy exporters can barely keep the lights on? That's not as much of a contradiction as it sounds.

After all, the interests of a country's energy exporters and its domestic consumers are fundamentally opposed. Exporters want high fuel prices to ensure the best profit margin. Households and businesses want cheaper electricity bills.

Between those two poles something's got to give, so it's left to government -- which typically depends on the first group for revenue, and the second for votes -- to divide the baby.

In Australia, the result has been dysfunction. Bitter divisions over resource taxation and climate policy have contributed to a turnover of five prime ministers in the past seven years.
Women that do break through that glass ceiling often face the insinuation that they are the "token woman"  there as a gesture, not on merit. Let me disavow you of that belief today. It's simple statistics. Imagine a society split evenly by gender and run by a committee of six people. Imagine, too, it is possible to know the talent level of every member of that society and that talent is equally distributed between men and women. Let's use IQ points as a crude indicator of talent, although real talent may be averaged across many traits.

Let's also assume the chosen measure of talent is, in fact, the best indicator of an individual's likelihood of making optimal decisions to maximise the wellbeing of that society. How should we select the committee to best run this society? The first step would be to line up all the individuals in society and rank them by talent. Because talent is evenly distributed among sexes, the top qualified man and top woman would each have the same IQ, let's say 160. The second top man and woman would also have the same IQ, let's say 150. The third top man and woman would have an IQ of 140, and so forth, in similarly spaced descending IQ points. It's easy to see that, under these conditions, the most talented committee possible would comprise the top three men (with IQs of 160, 150 and 140) and the top three women (IQs 160, 150, 140), giving an average IQ of 150  the highest possible of any potential combination. Imagine another committee composed of the top five men (IQs 160, 150, 140, 130, 120) and the top woman (IQ 160). This committee  which so resembles many committees today  would have a much lower average IQ of 143.

Clearly the decisions made by this second committee would be inferior to the decisions made by the first, negatively affecting society's total wellbeing. But how should we view the woman in the second scenario? Is she a token? Far from it. Aside from one other man, who is her equal, the lone woman is the smartest person in the room. Indeed, her male colleagues have, on average, an inferior IQ of 140, compared to her 160. Maybe you don't trust that the selection process is rigorous enough, and the woman is picked not on merit, but by gender. But why would you have any more confidence that such a faulty selection would be better at identifying talented men? Maybe the pool of talented women is small. But it will always be possible to pick the top woman of the bunch.

Maybe your criteria for talent is not an abstract measure like IQ, but a personality trait which helps with a particular business, like aggression to seal a deal or big muscles to lift heavy things. That may be true for some physical jobs, but when it comes to the intellectual pursuits of business and politics, mental agility is key. And much of those skills are learnt on the job. Clearly, the unequal distribution of men and women in key decision-making roles in our society is sub-optimal. The Reserve Bank's first female chief economist, Luci Ellis, launched a new Women in Economics Network last week, which is seeking to highlight the severe lack of women in this most influential profession. Of economics professors in Australia's leading eight universities, just one in 10 is female. "Nobody can seriously believe that 90 per cent of the talent in economics is male, no one can seriously believe that 90 or 80 per cent of brainy people in the world are male," Dr Ellis said.

"No one would agree with that stated blindly, so how did we end up with these patterns?" It all comes back to that social conditioning, of course, and the unconscious and negative biases women face as a result. Studies have found that in experiments where a woman speaks about a third of the time, and men two thirds, such conversations are deemed by observers  both men and women  to be equally balanced. If the woman speaks 50 per cent of the time, she is seen to dominate the conversation. And she is seen this way by both men AND women. If we want optimal decision-making for all members of our society, we're going to have to  both men and women  work hard to fight against our internal biases. If anything, when we see a lone female on a board, or on a panel, we need to retrain our brains not to dismiss her, but marvel at her abilities and even preference her opinions.
Donald Trump is proposing a $54 billion increase in US defence spending. He says this is needed to ramp up the fight against ISIS. His Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has also suggested the US may take pre-emptive military action against North Korea. On these and other fronts, the President is laying down a more aggressive and interventionist military policy than his predecessor.

This poses great challenges for Australia given our record of following the US to war. Australian governments have long sought to obtain US protection by acquiescing to such requests, including by taking part in the Korean, Vietnam and Iraq wars.

What should Malcolm Turnbull do if he receives a call seeking our involvement in an ill-conceived foreign conflict?

It remains to be seen whether Australia will provide the same support to President Trump. What should Malcolm Turnbull do if he receives a call seeking our involvement in an ill-conceived foreign conflict? Unlike other nations, we are ill-prepared for such a request. This is because we have yet to come to terms with our involvement in the last major US-led war, that in Iraqi from 2003.

Australia's position stands in sharp contrast to that of the UK. The UK has struggled for years to come to grips with the decision of Prime Minister Tony Blair to commit UK forces in support of the US in Iraq. Debate in the UK has been long and bitter, causing later UK Prime Minister David Cameron to say that trust in politics could only be restored if members of Parliament, rather than the Prime Minister, have the final say over whether to go to war.
Emergency services in Canberra received 24 calls for help on Monday night as a thunderstorm heading east dissipated.

The calls to ACT SES were from the city's north overnight but no major damage had been reported.

Monday night's storm had mostly died out by the time it reached Canberra. Credit:Graham Tidy

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jake Phillips said the storm was connected with a larger band heading west to east, towards the coast.

"You guys were actually spared the worst of it," Mr Phillips said.
The Victorian government has rejected a proposal by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce that would see the federal government open up protected forests for logging, to save the Gippsland-based Heyfield timber mill.

Mr Joyce had also suggested the endangered status of the Leadbeater's possum, which is currently listed as critically endangered and is native to the logging-affected area, could be reviewed to save the mill.

The mill, slated for closure in September 2018, is owned by Australian Sustainable Hardwoods. It employs 250 people in the area, with downstream jobs estimated at up to 7000.

The Nationals leader said the future of the mill - the largest in Australia - and the livelihoods of staff and the wider Victorian forest industry, deserved greater consideration by the Victorian government.
More voters back the Turnbull government's $50 billion plan to cut company taxes than oppose it, in findings the Coalition will seize on ahead of a decisive Senate vote this week.

But Australians are sceptical that cutting penalty rates on Sundays will mean more businesses will open, while three-quarters of voters believe real estate tax concessions should be cut or left alone.

The company-tax-cut findings, contained in an exclusive Fairfax-Ipsos poll, will give heart to the federal government as it negotiates with the crossbench to try to pass the centrepiece of its 2016 budget a 10-year plan to reduce the tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent by 2026-27.

The government is likely to secure support for a cut for companies with a turnover of up to $10 million from the Nick Xenophon Team; One Nation and other Senate crossbenchers have indicated they could move up to $50 million.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is threatening to hold the government's $50 billion corporate tax cut plan to ransom, saying her party will withhold their crucial Senate crossbench votes until the Queensland sugar dispute is resolved.

The challenge in the final sitting week before the budget follows Monday's Fairfax-Ipsos poll showing 44 per cent support for the tax cuts, a 10-year plan to reduce the big business tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent by 2026-27.

The plan was a centrepiece of Coalition's 2016 budget and re-election campaign.

Senator Hanson restated her threat on Monday to not vote for any legislation before Parliament until the government resolved a three-year crisis over sugarcane supply contracts in Queensland's Burdekin region, south of Townsville.
When Malcolm Turnbull invoked the sacred scripture of Aussie nation building a couple of weeks ago, it was supposed to be politically a sure thing.

By announcing that the government would build an extension of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, he was doing more than helping to fix the national energy supply

The Snowy for a new generation  dubbed Snowy 2.0  would surely stir the imagination of a listless electorate.

"So this is a game-changing announcement," said Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg. He even resorted to the "i" word. It was "iconic", he said, and "I think it should be welcomed by all Australians".
Time for me to wrap up. What happened?

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced an inquiry into power prices ;

announced an ; it will be conducted by the consumer watchdog , the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission;

, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission; but the opposition wanted to talk about penalty rates ;

wanted to talk about ; every question it asked in question time was on that topic; and

was on that topic; and One Nation's new senator, Peter Georgiou, has been sworn in.

My thanks to Andrew Meares and Alex Ellinghausen for their beautiful work and to you for reading and commenting.

You can follow me on Facebook.

Alex, Andrew and I will be back in the morning. Until then, enjoy your evening.
Benedict Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter have become parents for the second time, according to reports.

The Sherlock actor and his theatre director spouse are reported to have welcomed a son on March 3 at London's private Portland Hospital.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter announced they were expecting their second child at the premiere of Doctor Strange last October. Credit:Getty

The Mail on Sunday claimed the couple have named their new addition Hal Auden.

He appears to be names after the poet, WH Auden, with Hal a nod to Shakespeare, as the playwright used the name Prince Hal to portray a younger version of Henry V in his works.
Channel Seven titled an interview with Pete Evans: "Grilling", however what viewers were served was an entree to his upcoming movie.

The chef, who is the face of one of the network's most successful franchises  My Kitchen Rules  appeared on Sunday Night to dissect his Paleo lifestyle and his controversial thoughts on fluoride, dairy and sunscreen.

He told reporter Alex Cullen he agreed to participate in the segment "to share the truth".

Instead viewers were treated to little more than a 20-minute promotion for his commercial ventures like MKR, his speaking tours and cookbooks (both the published ones and the baby Paleo baby cookbook that was pulped after it recommended feeding infants bone broth as a baby formula).
Young teachers are entering classrooms with inadequate computer skills, with the NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes calling for improvements in teaching courses at NSW universities.

Mr Stokes said graduate teachers should be entering classrooms with a level of "digital literacy" beyond an understanding of email, Google and Facebook.

"Parents need to be assured that teachers entering the classroom for the first time are up to the challenge of equipping 21st century students with the technological skills to succeed in an increasingly digital world," he said. "Skills like coding are increasingly sought after across professions and industries."

The Digital Literacy Skills and Learning Report, released on Monday, made a number of recommendations to improve the standard of digital literacy  using technology to find information, solve problems and complete tasks  among new teachers, and said: "The digitalisation of the workplace, society and communications cannot be argued."
UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Facebook's WhatsApp messaging system should open its encryption to security services and urged online companies to be more aggressive in shutting down sites exploited by terrorists.

After newspapers disclosed that Khalid Masood, who killed four people in London last week, had used WhatsApp shortly before he began his attack, Rudd identified the company as needing to do more to help fight terrorism.

Governments and security agencies are facing an uphill struggle to keep up with new technology. Credit:Bloomberg

"It's completely unacceptable" that messages can't be opened, Rudd told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday. "We need to make sure that our intelligence services have the ability to get into encrypted services like WhatsApp."

Since the attack, government ministers have berated online companies for taking inadequate steps to stop the spread of hate messages. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Rudd said the internet is "serving as a conduit, inciting and inspiring violence, and spreading extremist ideology." Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told the Sunday Times that "They need to stop just making money out of prurient violent material."
Washington: The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to interview President Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner as part of a sweeping investigation into potential links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

Mr Kushner - who was expected to be announced on Monday as the head of a new White House innovation office - volunteered to be interviewed by the committee, according to a White House official, making him the fourth member of Mr Trump's campaign operation to come forward in the past week offering to speak with congressional investigators.

A Senate source confirmed that the interview had been offered, but said that it would not be scheduled until the committee "has received any documents or information necessary to ensure that the meeting is productive for all sides."

According to a senior Republican congressional official, committee Chairman Richard Burr, spoke with the White House counsel "some weeks ago" to warn that the committee would be seeking to speak with administration officials, including Mr Kushner. The White House indicated to the committee over the weekend that Mr Kushner would be willing to participate.
This photograph of Adrian Ajao in around 1979 or 1980 when he was 15 or 16 years old. Sixty miles away, London was its usual bustling mix of workers and tourists. In Westminster, Parliament was sitting, with a morning of debates preceding the highlight of the week, Prime Minister's Questions. Among those looking forward to PMQs was 19-year-old politics student Travis Frain, who was on an "ideal" day out touring the Palace of Westminster with university friends. Walking wounded: A man is treated by emergency services near Westminster Bridge. Credit:Getty Images Across the river, Spanish teacher Aysha Frade was in the middle of lessons at DLD College near Waterloo Station. Westminster Bridge was bustling with tourists, taking pictures of each other with Big Ben behind them.

For Ajao, the bridge and Parliament itself - or rather the people using them - amounted to only one thing: targets. Khalid Masood is treated by emergency services outside the Houses of Parliament London. Credit:PS Despite his personable demeanour, Ajao, who was born Adrian Elms to a white mother and black father before his mother married and changed his name to Adrian Ajao, had a history of criminal convictions for violence and had twice been jailed. He converted to Islam and changed his name to Khalid Masood, coming to the attention of MI5 when he started mixing with known extremists. Far older than the average jihadi, he had slipped off the radar and was assumed not to present a danger to the public. CCTV camera captured the moment Andreea Cristea fell into the Thames.

As Ajao drove towards London, Pc Keith Palmer was beginning his shift guarding Carriage Gates, the vehicle entrance to Parliament, where at 2pm he posed for a picture with American tourist Staci Martin. By 2.35pm Aysha Frade had left work at DLD College to walk across Westminster Bridge on her way to pick up her two daughters from school. Aysha Frade, 43, was killed on Westminster Bridge. Credit:Facebook Meanwhile at 2.37pm, Ajao was pausing to send a final message to someone via the mobile messaging service Whatsapp. Whom he was messaging, and the content of the message, has not yet been released by the police, but it is likely to be a vital clue in the hunt for accomplices. However, police are expected to have difficulty accessing the contents, which were encrypted, and cybersecurity experts say they will have to employ their own hackers.

British MP Tobias Ellwood, centre, helps paramedics try to revive the stabbed officer. Credit:PA It was just after 2.40pm that Ajao, in the grey Hyundai Tucson four-wheel drive appeared on the eastern approach to the bridge, two large kitchen knives by his side. He mounted the pavement, reaching more than 65 km/h, and would take 30 seconds to cross the 228-metre span of the bridge. More than 40 people would be killed or injured in those few seconds, mercilessly mown down as they walked across one of the capital's busiest river crossings. A police officer is led away by a colleague at the scene. Credit:AP Americans Kurt and Melissa Cochran, on the last day of a holiday in London to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, were just about to cross the bridge. Musician Mr Cochran, 54, was hit by the car and thrown on to a walkway 4.5 metres below which led to the river bank, becoming the first fatality.

As he lay on his side, one leg clearly broken and with blood seeping on to the paving stones, passers-by ran to his aid, the first of the day's many heroes. A member of the public is treated by emergency services near Westminster Bridge after the attack. Credit:Getty Melissa Cochran, 46, had also been hit by Ajao's car and suffered injuries including a broken leg and rib. She appeared to have been thrown to one side, hitting a postcard stand on the corner of the bridge and the riverbank. A photograph of her lying on the pavement, bloodied postcards scattered around her as she stared, terrified, into a camera lens while a woman in a long grey coat knelt and held her head, would become one of the most haunting images of the day. People stand near a crashed car and an injured person lying on the ground, right, on Bridge Street near the Houses of Parliament in London on Wednesday. Credit:AP

Ajao was only just beginning two minutes of carnage. Pressing the accelerator hard down and staying on the pavement, he drove at murderous speed, as CCTV footage later showed. As well as Britons, the pedestrians skittled by his car included four South Koreans, three French children, two Romanians, two Greeks and one each from Germany, Poland, Ireland, Italy, China and America. Three of them were police officers on their way back from a bravery award ceremony. Tributes in Parliament Square for the those who lost their lives in the attack. Credit:PA Pc Kris Aves, 35, who had been honoured for his "exceptional" work as a family liaison officer, suffered "life-changing injuries" that later required eight hours of surgery. Speaking from his bedside, Pc Aves' family said he had been "full of pride". His colleague Pc Roger Smith, aged in his early 50s, also suffered leg injuries that required surgery, while Pc Bradley Bryant escaped with minor injuries.

Westminster attacker Khalid Masood sent an ecrypted What's App message moments before his attack. Credit:AP A group of French schoolchildren from Lycee Saint-Joseph de Concarneau in Brittany were on a school trip to London when Ajao's car bore down on them. One of them, called Thomas, suffered a head injury and fractured legs. The children, aged 15 to 16, were all later taken to hospital. Thomas's mother said: "My husband and I thought he was dead. After an hour we were told he was injured. It felt like an extremely long time." Travis Frain, fresh from watching Prime Minister's Questions, was walking across Westminster Bridge when he was hit and went over the bonnet of the Hyundai. Despite suffering a fractured leg, fractured left arm, two broken fingers and flesh wounds, he still managed to call his mother Angela as he lay in pain to say: "Mum I'm safe." Keith Palmer, the police officer who was killed during the attack on the Houses of Parliament in London. Credit:Metropolitan Police Francisco Lopes, 26, from Portugal, suffered leg and hand injuries when he was hit by the car. He said: "He started to move towards the pavement and started to just take out the people that were in front of the car, so, when I realised this, the car was literally just about one metre away, so I had no time to get out of the way."

Further along the bridge, Mrs Frade was about to become the second person to lose their life. She was hit by Ajao's car and thrown under the wheels of a bus, dying at the scene. Around 30 metres further along the bridge, Ajao's speeding car closed in on Romanian architect Andreea Cristea and her fiance Andrei Burnaz. They were in London to celebrate Mr Burnaz's 33rd birthday and to buy a wedding dress. Mr Burnaz's foot was crushed by the car and his 29-year-old girlfriend was badly injured as the vehicle forced her over the side of the bridge into the River Thames nine metres below. Mr Burnaz screamed down to boats below for someone to save her, and as Miss Cristea bobbed to the surface, face down and apparently unconscious, the captain of a pleasure boat tried to pull her onboard with a boat hook after she passed under the bridge. The crew of the City Cruises boat were unable to get her out of the water, but stopped the boat and held her fast to the side to stop her being swept downstream until a nearby fire service boat which was on an exercise pulled up alongside and rescued her. Next to be hit was a group of South Korean tourists, four of whom are still in hospital, then a man dressed in a business suit who was pictured lying on the pavement with one shoe off, blood pooling around his ankle.

Elsewhere on the bridge, pest controller Keith Chapman, 61, was on his way to carry out some work at St Thomas's Hospital when he was thrown up in the air and his leg "smashed to pieces". Another of those hit was retired window cleaner Leslie Rhodes, 75, from Streatham, south London, described as a "lovely man who would do anything for anybody" by neighbours. For many years he cleaned the windows at Chartwell, Sir Winston Churchill's former home in Kent. Mr Rhodes suffered catastrophic injuries and died in hospital the following day when life support was withdrawn. On the bridge, Ajao jerked the steering wheel to the right to avoid hitting a concrete barrier at the western end of the pavement built to protect pedestrians. He appeared to lose control of the car, veering to the left, back on to the pavement on the other side of the concrete barrier, hitting two more pedestrians before crashing into railings around the perimeter of parliament. Rick Longley was walking towards Westminster Underground station, opposite the scene of the crash, when he heard a loud bang just before 2.41pm, followed by a scream. Ajao had got out of the car with his two knives, and ran around the corner into Parliament Square. Around a dozen people, running for their lives in front of him, made for the sanctuary of Parliament's New Palace Yard, getting in through an open vehicle gate manned by two unarmed officers.

One of them was Pc Palmer, 48. Mr Longley said: "A guy came past my right shoulder with a big knife and just started plunging it into the policeman." As Pc Palmer staggered away, Ajao headed towards the door of the ancient Westminster Hall. Sitting in a ministerial car a few yards away, the Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon's police protection officer had seen the stabbing and was quickest to react. Striding towards Ajao, he waited until he was 6ft away from the terrorist, raised his pistol and shot him three times in the chest. Among those who witnessed the attack on Pc Palmer was Tobias Ellwood, the Foreign Office minister and former soldier. He tried to staunch the blood, and when he could find no pulse he tried to keep the officer alive with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions. A few yards away, policemen tried to save the life of Ajao while simultaneously stripping him to check he was not wearing a suicide bomb or concealing another device. The terrorist's bare legs kicked in agony before he became still and unconscious. Inside the House of Commons, there was further drama. The Prime Minister and other MPs were in the voting lobbies, voting on new pensions legislation, when armed police burst in, guns raised, splintering the wooden doors. Over their walkie talkies, colleagues were shouting "there's been a bomb, there's been a bomb!".

At 2.45pm the sitting in the House of Commons was suspended. MPs were locked in the chamber and told to stay there, but Mrs May was whisked away by her protection officers to her silver Jaguar parked outside in Speaker's Yard. Mobile phone footage showed the Prime Minister briefly walking the wrong way before being ushered to the car as an officer shouts: "Get in the car!" Another member of her security detail shouted for his car keys, the tension of the moment abundantly clear. Mrs May had to be driven along a service road that runs the length of Parliament, emerging at the opposite end to New Palace Yard before being taken through back streets to Number 10. An air ambulance landed in Parliament Square and its paramedics ran to take over the life-saving efforts. Moments later, two ambulances drove in through the gates. One of them took Ajao to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The other waited to take Pc Palmer to an operating theatre, but he never made it as far as the ambulance.

As Tobias Ellwood stood slumped with exhaustion, Pc Palmer's blood smeared on his face, hands and cuffs, Pc Palmer was pronounced dead at the spot where he lay. The hero officer will be remembered permanently at the National Memorial Arboretum, Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced yesterday. Police confirmed that the attack lasted 82 seconds. Deputy assistant commissioner Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for UK counter terrorism policing, said: "We still believe that Masood acted alone on the day and there is no information or intelligence to suggest there are further attacks planned. Loading "We must all accept that there is a possibility we will never understand why he did this. That understanding may have died with him."
On Friday, 24 March 2017, the United Nations Security Council (UN SC) unanimously adopted UN SC Resolution 2347/2017 on the protection of cultural heritage in the event of armed conflicts. This Resolution has been described as historic by UN Security Council Member States. Having witnessed the unprecedented level of looting and destruction of the cultural property, in particular in light of the shocking events in Syria, Iraq, Mali and other countries, the global community expressed its commitment to work together to prevent these heinous acts through this Security Council Resolution.

The WCOs instruments and tools, such the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System and the WCO ARCHEO platform, as well as the importance of Customs contribution to addressing this issue have been highlighted in the text of the Resolution. The role of the WCO along with other international organizations, such as UNESCO, UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and INTERPOL is underlined in the context of developing cooperation and activities to support the Member States in the implementation of this Resolution. The Resolution expresses strong concern regarding links between the activities of terrorists and organised criminal groups. In some cases, these criminal activities go beyond trafficking of cultural objects to include illegal revenues and financial flows as well as money laundering, bribery and corruption.

"The unanimous adoption of this UN Security Council Resolution is a testament to the gravity of the problem related to pillaging, destruction, and illicit trafficking of cultural objects, particularly in conflict zones. The Resolution acknowledges the important role the WCO and its Member Administrations play in countering this threat. The WCO remains fully committed to assist its Members in the implementation of the Resolution as well as continue cooperating with UNESCO, INTERPOL, UNODC and other partners for coordinated and effective action", said the WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya.

During the last two years the WCO has undertaken a number of activities designed to raise awareness on the role of Customs in the prevention of illicit trafficking of cultural objects, resulting in the adoption of the Resolution by the WCO Council in 2016 that addresses this matter. The WCO maintains the ARCHEO platform, a specialised communication tool that brings together representatives of different law enforcement agencies, relevant Ministries and experts. Its primary purpose is to maximize efficient and effective enforcement in this area. A specialised training curriculum for Customs officers is being developed and will be coupled with the deployment of operational activities in this field in order to address capacity building needs in this critical domain.
WSU Film Screening Examines Rental Restrictions after Incarceration

March 27, 2017

OGDEN, Utah  Weber State Universitys Engaged Learning Series will host the premiere screening of the documentary NOT FOR RENT! that examines the obstacles ex-felons face searching for housing after release from incarceration, April 5 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. in the Shepherd Union Wildcat Theater. The event and accompanying lunch are free, but seating is limited. Participants must register at notforrentfilm.com.

The film highlights several individuals with felony convictions as they discuss the stumbling blocks theyve encountered attempting to find a place to live. Strict rental policies can affect individuals for decades. One subject of the film, Tonia, continues to struggle to find housing after a felony conviction almost 30 years ago.

In addition to the film, the event includes a question-and-answer session with film director Matt Duhamel; House Minority Leader Brian King, D-Salt Lake City; Molly Prince, Utah Prisoner Advocate Network president; Anna Brower, ACLU of Utah strategic communications manager.

Duhamel began producing NOT FOR RENT! in response to his own difficulties finding housing as an ex-felon.

I know Im not alone. Millions of ex-felons in this country, along with their families, are fighting for fair and adequate rental housing, Duhamel said. I wanted to produce a film that spoke to this issue that is rarely talked about.

Monica Williams, WSU criminal justice assistant professor who is interviewed in the film, stresses the importance of stable housing for everyone in the community.

Some cities have enacted Good Landlord programs that bar landlords from renting to ex-felons, Williams said. This means that when individuals with a felony record get out of prison, they have a very hard time finding a place to live. Stable housing is very important for successful reintegration into society. Not having a place to live can increase a persons chances of reoffending, so barring landlords from renting to ex-felons can actually decrease public safety.

The film is part of the 2016-17 Engaged Learning Series sponsored by WSUs Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL). Melissa Hall, CCEL executive director, said this years theme has focused on privilege.

The series has provided an avenue for discussion, reflection and action, Williams said. The series has included documentaries, expert panels, shared stories, art exhibits and a number of other events to allow participants to critically examine and discuss privilege  a topic that is often ignored, but has major societal costs.

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By West Kentucky Star Staff Mar. 27, 2017 | 09:03 AM | MAYFIELD, KY

A littering complaint Sunday led to a Mayfield man's arrest on drug charges.

According to the Mayfield Police Department, officers were dispatched to the area of AAA Storage in reference to two people dumping trash out of a vehicle behind the buildings. When police arrived, they found a vehicle with two people inside.

After a discussion with police, the two occupants gathered the items in question and left the scene. Police then learned that one of the occupants had thrown an item out the window prior to their arrival. Police searched the area and found a quantity of packaged methamphetamine.

Later one of the occupants, Steven Beasley, returned to the area to retrieve the discarded drugs, and was placed under arrest. According to police, Beasley was found in possession of approximately $2,100 in cash, which they seized.

Beasley was charged with trafficking methamphetamine, tampering with physical evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was lodged in the Graves County Jail.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Mar. 26, 2017 | MURRAY, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Mar. 26, 2017 | 11:02 PM | MURRAY, KY

A Murray man was arrested Saturday on two active warrants, and additional drug charges.



The Calloway County Sheriff's Office says deputies went to a home on Kathy Drive to arrest 29-year-old Ray Caldwell on active warrants. Upon arrival deputies identified themselves and the front door was opened by the property renter. Deputies said Caldwell attempted to get out the back door, but was greeted by two deputies. Caldwell then slammed and locked the door, but deputies breached it.



Two deputies then came in the front door and detained two other people inside the home. Deputies said they found a small amount of meth on Caldwell during a pat down. A search of the home reportedly revealed marijuana and drug paraphernalia.



Caldwell was arrested on two active warrants and was additionally charged with possession of meth, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest. He was booked into the Calloway County Detention Center.
Hyderabad: The fate of nearly 1,400 liquor shops and bars in Telangana located within 500 metres from national and state highways is likely to be known on Monday when the Supreme Court takes up a series of petitions filed by the Centre, state governments and the owners of liquor shops and bars.

The apex court had in December 2016 ruled that all such bars and liquor shops should be closed by March 31. However, several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court seeking relaxations, which have been listed for a hearing on March 27.

The state government and the owners of liquor shops and bars are in a fix as the March 31 deadline to implement the SC order on the highways is just four days away.

They are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the petitions in the Supreme Court on Monday. Officials and shop owners are worried over the future course of action if the apex court postpones the case to a later date.

The excise department has already communicated that it would seal the shops and bars, which are functioning in contravention of the Supreme Court order from April 1.

While liquor shop owners are a worried lot, the excise department is playing safe by seeking undertakings from owners that they will find alternative locations from April 1 thereby ensuring that the government need not return licence fee to owners.

In its judgement, the Supreme Court held liquor shops near highways to be a prime reason for fatalities caused by drunken driving and ordered the states against renewing the licence after its expiry on March 31.

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, however, face a peculiar situation as the licence of liquor shops and bars is valid till September-end. So they contend that the order about the renewal of licences doesnt apply as the licence are valid for a period beyond March 31.

The owners will suffer losses for the balance six-month period if they fail to find alternate locations. This is totally unfair on the part of excise officials. They are stating that all our existing stocks would be seized and shops locked from April 1, if there are no extension orders from the Supreme Court. They have collected licence fee from us, but they are refusing to return it in case our shops are closed from April 1 by taking forcible undertakings. They are trying to put blame on us for not finding alternative locations since December last, when the SC gave highway liquor ban orders, said D. Venkateshwar Rao, president, TS wine shop dealers association.

In his advice to the Kerala government, meanwhile, attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi had reportedly said that the Supreme Courts order doesnt apply to bars and restaurants which served alcohol.

He had reportedly said that since bars, restaurants and pubs served liquor to customers there itself, these could not be equated with liquor shops, where people buy liquor and consume it on the highways, potentially causing mishaps.
"Nathan Nicholson groomed his sons to become pimps in a family sex trafficking operation. Nicholson used the twins, Tyrelle Lockett and Myrelle Lockett, to recruit minor girls from Chicago-area malls by promising them money for going on dates," the FBI report says.

Once the girls expressed interest, Nicholson brought them to an abandoned house, photographed them partially clothed, and then tested them by requiring them to have sex with the twins. Soon thereafter Nicholson and his sons caused the girls to perform commercial sex acts for money, with Nicholson keeping the proceeds.

The twins also recruited their own girls and young women, and expanded their prostitution business by finding victims outside of Chicago. The brothers traveled to Indiana several times to bring victims, including minors, to Chicago to work for them. The twins forcibly brought one woman from Minnesota to Nicholsons home in Chicago, but she managed to escape and call the police.

Nicholson, 45, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last year to one count of sex trafficking of a minor. U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow on Tuesday sentenced Nicholson to 16 years and eight months, and ordered him to pay $68,400 to two victims.

Tyrelle Lockett, 24, of Chicago Heights, and Myrelle Lockett, 24, of Chicago Heights, each pleaded guilty last year to one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in prostitution. Judge Lefkow last Wednesday sentenced Tyrelle Lockett to 17 years and eight months, and ordered him to pay $9,050 to three victims. Judge Lefkow on Thursday sentenced Myrelle Lockett to 17 years and eight months, and ordered him to pay $75,600 to one victim.

The sentencings were announced by Joel R. Levin, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart. Valuable assistance was provided by the Indianapolis Office of the FBI, Cook County States Attorneys Office, Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force, Chicago Police Department, Alsip Police Department, Dolton Police Department, Calumet Park Police Department, Lansing Police Department, Muncie, Ind., Police Department, and Rochester, Minn., Police Department.

Four of the defendants victims testified at the sentencing hearings. They described their ordeals of how the defendants coerced them into prostitution.

The length and breadth of defendants conduct, which was driven by his greed and perverse sexual desires, affected numerous victims, inflicted violence on others, and sexually exploited minors and otherwise vulnerable victims, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Renai S. Rodney and Shoba Pillay argued in the governments sentencing memorandum in Tyrelle Locketts case. The ripple effects of his conduct will be felt for years to come.
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This article was published 27/03/2017 (2051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If the rocket Elon Musks SpaceX expects to launch this week looks familiar, thats because it is.

The Falcon 9 rocket slated to take off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., has flown before, marking the first time Space Exploration Technologies Corp. will refly one of the 14-storey boosters it recovered from past missions.

The reused rocket will ferry a communications satellite into orbit for Luxembourg-based SES SA, SpaceXs first commercial customer, and signals a leap forward in Musks 15-year quest to drive down launch costs and eventually create a human colony on Mars.

Tim Shortt / Florida Today / The Associated Press A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center, as seen from Viera, Fla., on March 16.

This is a Wright Brothers moment for space, said Phil Larson, a former space policy adviser to former U.S. president Barack Obama who worked for SpaceX and is now at the University of Colorado.

Its as important as the first plane taking off and landing and taking off again.

The rocket originally flew in April 2016 before landing successfully on an unmanned drone ship bobbing in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX has recovered eight rockets in total: three by land and five by sea.

The first rocket that was recovered is a huge source of pride and is now installed in front of the companys headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif.

The satellite industry needs more launch vehicles, and we need more access to space, SESs chief technology officer Martin Halliwell said in an interview.

Rockets that can be flown, recovered and relaunched again help enormously. This is a hugely important milestone.

  

Once derided as a crazy idea, rocket reusability is now seen as key to making space travel affordable.

Blue Origin LLC, the space exploration company founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, is working on New Glenn, a rocket with a reusable first stage thats targeting its first flight in 2020.

Parts of the space shuttle boosters were refurbishable, but no company has pulled off the rapid reusability SpaceX is targeting to lower launch costs, Larson said.

Recovering and refurbishing the used rocket booster reflying this week took SpaceX roughly four months, president Gwynne Shotwell said on a panel at an industry conference in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

Eventually, that turnaround time will drop to a single day as the company aims to refly rockets much in the way airplanes operate today.

I think Elons given us 24 hours, maybe, to get done what we need to get done, and its not a million people around a rocket scurrying like a beehive or an anthill, Shotwell said.

That vehicle needs to be designed to be reflown right away.

  

The cost of a Falcon 9 launch is roughly US$62 million, according to SpaceXs website, with modest discounts available for contractually committed, multi-launch purchases. SES, which has flown with SpaceX twice before, was the first commercial satellite operator to launch with the company back in 2013.

The SES satellite taking flight next week will enhance coverage for Latin America. The company has contracted with SpaceX for four additional missions, according to Halliwell.

We wont discuss the exact price, but we got a certain discount for being the first in line, Halliwell said.

SpaceX, founded by Musk in 2002, builds the Falcon 9 as well as the rockets Merlin engines in-house, taking a Silicon Valley approach to constant improvements and a tight collaboration between design and manufacturing.

Musk has brought in executives from other industries to promote innovation. Andy Lambert, SpaceXs vice president of production, previously spent more than a decade at BMW.

  

SpaceX has a US$1.6-billion contract with NASA to resupply the International Space Station and a second pact valued at as much as US$2.6 billion to transport crews to the orbiting lab.

The company was recently awarded its second contract to fly missions for the U.S. Air Force and plans to send two private citizens on a trip around the moon late next year.

The reused rocket was first flown on April 8 with the CRS-8 mission, a cargo resupply mission to the space station.

If the launch goes off without a hitch  and the rocket booster is once again recovered on the drone ship  SES will get its own piece of space flight history as a memento.

Gwynne has promised us parts of the rocket, Halliwell said. We want them for the SES board room.

 Bloomberg News
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This article was published 27/03/2017 (2051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Families who were supposed to be routinely monitored by Child and Family Services workers sometimes went months or years without a single visit, and in other cases, files were closed without the agency addressing the problems families faced, a report obtained by the Free Press shows.

The special investigation report was done by the Manitoba childrens advocate over a two-year period from March 2012 to March 2014, to look at services provided by the Island Lake First Nations Family Services agency to the families of 14 children who died.

The 14 children died from 2009 to 2013, within a year of having an open file with the agency. None of the children was in care at the time of their deaths. Four died of suicide, six died in accidents, including two drownings, two died of infections and two of sudden unexplained infant death.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Manitoba Children's Advocate Darlene MacDonald

Childrens advocate Darlene MacDonald wrote in the report that examining the services the children and their families received together, rather than in individual investigations, would be more helpful to understanding the communities they lived in and to address systemic issues affecting the agency.

The 136-page report looks at the case files of all 14 children. It uncovered significant gaps in services, the lack of followup care, and in many cases a lack of any programs to address the high rates of alcoholism, drug abuse and domestic violence the families faced.

In one case, a child and his family were supposed to be monitored daily, but staff had no contact with them for more than a year before the child died of an infection.

In another case, a mom asked for assistance for her suicidal daughter, but she never received it. The daughter took her own life a few months later.

The report was given to the former minister of family services more than three years ago but wasnt made public. In addition to the gaps in service and lack of followup, the report documented the high rates of substance abuse and family violence in the four communities served by the agency.

Power struggle exacerbates problems

Now, the agency is in further turmoil because of a power struggle between the communitys chiefs and the northern child welfare authority.

On March 23, the First Nations of Northern Manitoba Child and Family Services Authority and the board of directors of the Island Lake First Nations Family Services agency signed an agreement to co-manage the agency. Two co-executive directors will be appointed by the end of the week. The agreement comes a month after the chiefs of the four communities in the Island Lake region ordered the board to suspend the agencys executive director and conduct a review of the administration within 30 days. The chiefs are not part of the agreement, which is to remain in place for a minimum of six months.

In a news release, the northern authority says the co-management agreement includes a plan to address everything from service provision to fiscal management. A work plan will be developed within 30 days and the co-managers will provide monthly progress reports to both the authority and the board.

Its believed complaints from community members about the executive director overhauling the agency led to the chiefs order. The suspended executive director was hired in November 2015, and since then a number of agency staff were let go and the rate of apprehension of children in the communities went up.

Manitoba Families Minister Scott Fielding told the Free Press Friday he has been assured all the children are safe.

There is a review going forward looking at the scenarios brought up, he said.

It is unclear what role the report by the childrens advocate played in any of the latest problems.

Childrens advocate Darlene MacDonald was livid the report was leaked to the Free Press.

Child death reports are strictly confidential because the death of a child should not carry an assumption that the public has a right to examine the histories of each family affected by such tragedy, she wrote in a statement.

Heavy caseloads, lack of training

The Free Press is not revealing information that would identify the families. The children ranged in age from infancy to late teens. In all but one of the 14 cases, substance abuse was among the reasons child welfare workers got involved. Domestic violence was a problem in at least six of the families, and housing concerns were named as a reason for intervention in at least four files.

The report concluded workers had heavy caseloads, and a lack of training made providing services difficult. In some of the offices  the agency had one in each of the four communities and one in Winnipeg  workers cited operating in crisis mode. Some carried caseloads in excess of 40 families.

The 2014 inquiry report into the 2005 slaying of Phoenix Sinclair recommended workers oversee no more than 20 files at a time. The five-year old was killed by her mother and stepdad after she had been returned to them by social workers. Her case launched an inquiry into Manitobas child welfare system.

The childrens advocate report into the Island Lake agency notes there were significant challenges to providing services to families. There was a lack of programming to address domestic violence and alcohol and drug abuse. In many cases, workers said parents were sent to Winnipeg to undergo alcohol treatment but would relapse immediately upon returning to their northern homes.

Programs that included cultural teachings were far better, but there was little funding to expand them.

Case-management issues, such as gaps in service or lack of followup, occurred in 11 of the 14 files.

Sometimes children were taken from their parents and returned without any effort to address the reasons they had been apprehended. Another family was told CFS would monitor them but then had no contact with any CFS worker for more than two years. Their file was closed and nothing in the file suggests the family received any services to address the substance abuse that caused the agency to get involved.

MacDonald wrote in the report there was nothing in any of the files to indicate effective intervention to address domestic violence took place.

MacDonald made nine recommendations. She told the Free Press Friday that six have been completed and three are in progress. The recommendations include developing strategies to address substance abuse, family violence and suicide in the communities, a safe sleep strategy so parents get information to prevent crib deaths, and more provincial money to add workers and cut down on case files.

The report notes agency workers were being trained to improve their skills, and new workers were hired in many of the offices to reduce caseloads.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 26/03/2017 (2052 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Female artists and their supporters filled a Main Street art studio over the weekend, bidding on art and binging on fancy cupcakes Sunday.

The 13th annual Over the Top art auction and cupcake party is the spring fundraiser for the charity Mentoring Artists for Womens Art, a mainstay in the citys arts community. Its billed as a fantastic mix of art and mayhem, sugary goodness and fun.

It was packed with people and buzzing like a beehive.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS There were 165 different pieces of art people could bid on Sunday at MAWA's annual art auction.

I like the opportunity to support womens art. And the free cupcakes, said Finn McMahon, as she chatted with sociology professor Susan Prentice next to a sun-lit section of the studio near the front door.

I like the community aspect of the event. I just bumped into one of my former students and it gave me a chance to catch up. Its an occasion people might not otherwise have to spend time in each others company, added Prentice, whos with the University of Manitoba.

Every year, the event attracts many of the citys female professionals, writers and publicists, drawing them together with 100 or so artists and a smaller collection of art collectors. Typically, 400 people attend Over The Top at MAWA, located at 611 Main St.

This year, there were at least that many who streamed in over the weekend. The event started with initial bidding Friday evening, picked up again Saturday afternoon and ended Sunday. In 2015, for instance, the event raised $33,000, about 12 per cent of the non-profit organizations annual budget.

As for the cupcakes, volunteers deftly moved through a never-ending stream of people, holding trays filled with baked goods at shoulder height to safely make their way through the crowd. Not that any tray would have found the space to clatter to the floor if there had been an accident.

There were dozens of trays passed out, with more than 1,000 frosted confections baked by volunteers or donated by bakeries; some in fancy printed wrappers, others adorned with elaborate icing tops.

Oh my God, one woman said as one tray was lowered carefully for her selection.

The walls were as crowded with artwork as the floor was with people.

My daughter-in-law has a piece in the other room, so of course I came to see it, and to support female artists in Winnipeg. There are some really interesting pieces here, she said, Donna Milliken, who had to lean in to be heard over the background chatter.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Volunteer Ann Rivera, a local artist and member of MAWA sets out fresh cupcakes at a packed house of art lovers Sunday.

Artists, meanwhile, used their studio privileges to set reserved bids on their pieces. The minimum bids ranged from $50 to $500.

We have 165 artworks donated from across Manitoba and some of them are from across Canada, said studio co-executive director Dana Kletke.

At three it becomes a bidding frenzy, Kletke chuckled.

Each lot is sorted based on colour, or theme, so its like an exhibition, and it looks good. It showcases the art in a really nice way.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

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This article was published 27/03/2017 (2051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Many housing providers and advocates have been celebrating the housing commitments released in the federal budget, which promises $11.2 billion in funding over 11 years. As one advocate put it to me: Its better than anything we saw during the Harper years. Maybe so, but keep in mind that estimates of getting only a fraction of Canadians out of core housing need (300,000 of 1.5 million people) would cost about $2 billion per year. The housing commitments of this budget cannot keep pace with need, which is the outcome of successive governments letting our social housing system atrophy.

One thing that is clear about housing in Canada: the scope of the housing affordability crisis is vast.

What we do see in the budget are some much-needed band-aids for those people with the highest level of housing needs: the homeless and urban indigenous renters, and a short-term commitment to rent-geared-to-income (RGI) housing.

Lets look specifically at social housing  housing for the most vulnerable or the poorest of the poor  the people who cannot afford affordable housing. These are the folks who are at the highest risk for homelessness or may float in and out of it. They need housing that is geared to their income.

There has been a net loss of RGI units over the past 20 years and this budget offers an immediate commitment to continue to provide short-term funding, worth about $4 billion above the $11.2-billion commitment.

Short-term is the key phrase. When the budget document says what it means by preserving the affordability of social housing, the federal budget 2017 specifically focuses on providing funding to social housing providers as they transition to more sustainable operating models.

This is jargon. Sustainable operating models can only mean shifting to a mix of market-, affordable- and social-rates: the idea being that by doing so, social housing providers start to generate an internal subsidy, which then funds a proper social housing  RGI  unit.

Some social housing providers have been successful in making such a transition. But lets be clear: when that transition is made, it equals fewer RGI units. Setting aside the massive issue of a net loss of RGI units across Canada, the belief in a mixed model approach, even among some housing providers, also defies real-life geography.

A social housing provider with a three-storey brick walk-up in West Broadway may be able to transition to a mixed model, with some renters paying market rent, others affordable (i.e. at cost), with the subsidy for RGI units generated through the market- and affordable-renters. However, many social housing providers are not in desirable, up and coming neighbourhoods such as West Broadway, nor do their buildings have attractive features such as brick exteriors and crown molding. Will social housing providers in Winnipegs North End or apartment buildings with an esthetic that screams utilitarian social housing attract at-market renters? The transition will be possible for some, but not for others.

As a matter of policy, we might also ask: Is it fair that your 30 neighbours subsidize your RGI unit? Such an approach to social housing means that the cost is not simply downloaded to provinces or even municipalities  which is what we saw in the 1990s  but to addresses. Will social housing be provided on the backs of those accessing affordable housing? This is a real scenario.

Because of this, my fear is the federal budget offers a short-term investment, but signals a gentle-slope exit from federal RGI housing altogether.

Tyler Pearce is an economic geographer and social housing advocate. She is currently chair of Right to Housings Federal Working Group.
Opinion

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The federal government recently released its 2017 budget, and organizations that work in international development are complaining there was no increase in foreign aid.

Oh well, you may say. We send too much money overseas already. Better we spent it at home on Canadas needs.

Lets pull that apart a bit to look at how much Canada spends on foreign aid and what we get for it.

SUBMITTED Jim Cornelius, executive director of Canadian Foodgrains Bank, distributes food in Burkina Faso in 2012.

Take a $100 bill, cash it in for 100 loonies, then change one of those into quarters. Set aside one of those 25-cent pieces. Thats about how much Canada allocates to foreign aid: 0.28 per cent of our gross national income (GNI), which is a measure of the size of the economy.

Thats near the bottom of Canadas performance over the past 50 years, and only about half as much as the average of other countries with similar economies. Britains aid is 0.71 per cent of GNI and Germanys is 0.52 per cent.

The Trudeau government talks about Canada as a leader on global issues, a country that is re-engaging with the world in a productive way and making meaningful contributions to solving global challenges.

Yet despite a healthy economy at home, Canada is stingy when it comes to actual investments. Our track record was poor last year, and there is no sign of improvement in the 2017 budget.

Why should we support foreign aid anyway? What good does it do?

Thats a question we deal with every day at Canadian Foodgrains Bank, and we dont have to look far to find answers.

Humanitarian aid enables people to get through crises to rebuild their lives. The Foodgrains Bank is helping hundreds of thousands of people in Syria and neighbouring countries. At a time when they have fled from their homes, and their lives are in turmoil, we are helping them meet the basic need for food.

The need for humanitarian aid has never been greater, especially with famine or near-famine conditions in Yemen and three African countries.

Development aid enables people to improve their lives. Farming is the most common occupation for the poorest people in the world, so it makes sense to invest in small-scale agriculture.

On a visit to east Africa last year, I met farmers who are part of Mbuvo Commercial Village. Six years ago, they werent able to grow enough to feed their families. Now, with help from a Canadian aid program, they are growing more than they need and have invested their surplus in a small food-processing facility powered by solar panels. Of the 400 farmers who are part of the Mbuvo Commercial Village, two-thirds are women and many are widows. They told me how hard it was for widows to earn a living in their male-dominated society, making them especially proud of their accomplishments at Mbuvo.

Aid is not just a selfless act to improve lives. It is also in Canadas best interest.

For example, in 2013, despite pleas from the United Nations and aid groups, the horror of the Syrian crisis was on the radar of few Canadians.

A Canadian reporter asked a Foodgrains Bank partner working in the Middle East why Canadians should care. He responded that first, the conflict was creating chaos in the region and allowing terrorist groups to flourish. Second, it was only a matter of time before war-affected people started showing up on Canadas doorstep.

Four years later, we know the Islamic State group poses a threat to global security, and Canada has welcomed tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.

Thinking we can safely ignore the Zika virus in South America or severe droughts in east Africa because there is no immediate effect in Canada is like saying, Your end of the lifeboat is sinking. We can see you flailing around, but because were still dry, were not going to help.

In late 2016, Canadian members of Parliament on two multi-party committees (finance and foreign affairs) recommended big increases in aid.

They recognized Canadas future stability and prosperity are intertwined with the rest of the worlds, and the few coins we currently contribute to foreign aid are not enough.

Paul Hagerman is the director of public policy at the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
Opinion

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This article was published 27/03/2017 (2051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Since 9/11, liberals have consistently targeted conservatives as the main perpetrators of Islamophobia; however, what is often forgotten are the ways in which left-wing commentators contribute to the same fearmongering stereotypes.

No one personifies the anti-Muslim left more than comedian and television producer Bill Maher, the host of Real Time with Bill Maher. First, Maher is often guilty of making sweeping generalizations. For instance, he believes there is a connecting tissue of intolerance and brutality that binds 1.6 billion Muslims to terrorist groups such as the Islamic State group (IS). Empirical evidence, however, suggests otherwise.

Recent surveys found most people in countries that have significant Muslim populations have an unfavourable view of IS, including virtually all respondents in Lebanon, 94 per cent in Jordan and 84 per cent in the Palestinian territories.

JANET VAN HAM / HBO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Bill Maher, host of Real Time with Bill Maher, depicts Muslims as dangerous and uncivilized.

Fond of depicting Muslims as inherently dangerous and uncivilized, Maher admitted during an interview with journalist Charlie Rose that most Muslim people in the world do condone violence just for what you think. As political satirist Stephen Colbert would say, Maher is being truthy in this regard.

In a 2016 Environics poll, only one per cent of Canadian Muslims believe that many or most Muslims in Canada support violent extremism. Globally speaking, Muslims overwhelmingly reject suicide bombings and other forms of violence against civilians in the name of Islam. Studies conducted by the Pew Research Centre found that Muslims view such extremism as rarely or never justified, including 96 per cent in both Bosnia-Herzegovina and Azerbaijan, 92 per cent in Indonesia and 91 per cent in Iraq.

Mahers lack of rigour was also apparent when he labelled female genital mutilation an Islamic problem. Religious scholar Reza Aslan informed CNN news that not only was genital mutilation not an issue in Muslim-majority states outside of Africa, but that the African countries in question  Ethiopia and Eritrea  were predominantly Christian. When Aslan referred to the demographically challenged Maher as not very sophisticated in the way that he thinks, he was being generous.

Maher even takes pride in resorting to polemics.

He consistently categorizes Islam as different from, and decidedly worse than, other religions. Although Islam, Judaism and Christianity are all rooted in a common ancestor  the patriarch Abraham  and even though all monotheistic religions subscribe to the core values of love, charity and compassion, Maher emphatically rejects these common bonds: This idea that somehow we do share values that all religions are alike is bullshit, and we need to call it bullshit.

As well, Maher relies heavily on conspiracy theories, the kind of paranoia usually associated with the far right.

Worried over the Islamization of Europe and its effect on human rights, he senses the stealth takeover of the United States by Muslim newcomers: Free speech, we see, is not something they always agree with. And often their attitude is, Were biding our time until you will do things our way. 

Maher keeps insisting hes not prejudging Muslims, yet the more he defends the indefensible, the more he sounds like the regressive leftists he smugly looks down upon, the people who dont quite get it about being liberals in the world. As a matter fact, they do get it. Its Maher whos confused.

When a recent op-ed in Al Jazeera made reference to Maher and his ilk as those who talk with fake authority and false familiarity, it was exposing the limitations of liberal ideologues. In other words, when it comes to revealing the truth about Islam, Maher and his enablers are living in a bubble.

In his relentless crusade against the infidel, Maher continues to provide a platform for the anti-Muslim left, but he may want to take a long, hard look in the mirror. His worldview of Islam is a shiny reflection of the neoconservative mindset he so easily dismisses as close-minded, uninformed and arrogant.

Stuart Chambers teaches in the faculties of arts and social sciences at the University of Ottawa.

schamber@uottawa.ca
Opinion

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This article was published 27/03/2017 (2051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Andrew Potter case at McGill University is indicative of the pressure universities are feeling across the country to kowtow to political correctness. It results in the erosion of academic freedom and also an erosion of free thought  in the one place that these values should be sacrosanct.

Mr. Potter was the director of the Institute for the Study of Canada at McGill University in Montreal. He wrote a piece last Monday that appeared online for Macleans magazine. He suggested that 300 motorists being stranded overnight on a major Montreal highway following an epic snowstorm in mid-March demonstrated the cracks in the provinces civil society. He wrote that compared with the rest of the country, Quebec is an almost pathologically alienated and low-trust society. His argument relied on statistics from Statistics Canada as well as his own personal anecdotes.

The response was quick. By Wednesday, Mr. Potter had resigned his position but is staying on as an associate professor for the remainder of this contract with the university. McGill Universitys official Twitter account read: The views expressed by @JAndrewPotter in the @MacleansMag article do not represent those of #McGill.

PAUL CHIASSON / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILEs McGill University campus

Quebec politicians condemned Mr. Potters opinions, including Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, who said it painted a negative portrait of the province based on prejudices. Macleans sources say McGill endured such intense backlash over Potters Macleans piece that the university left him only two choices: resign or be fired. Sources also say that numerous high-profile figures have contacted McGill since Monday to express their personal displeasure with the column.

So much for academic freedom. So much for free thought. So much for free speech.

But McGill is not the first university to pull this kind of stunt.

Recall the University of Calgary, which dumped longtime provocateur and libertarian Tom Flanagan in 2013 after he said that he has no sympathy for child molesters, but I do have some grave doubts about putting people in jail because of their taste in pictures.

He went on to say that no one is harmed by child pornography. He was fired by the CBC and drummed out of the university.

There are other signs free speech is being hampered at universities. Wilfrid Laurier University criminology students invited one of Jian Ghomeshis lawyers, Danielle Robitaille, to speak about the role of the defence lawyers in the criminal justice system in mid-March. Students complained, saying Ms. Robitaille perpetuated stereotypes about sexual assault and her appearance would further harm victims. Ms. Robitaille cancelled. David Haskell, who teaches at Laurier, said: When you shut down the ability of someone to come and give an idea that you may not be comfortable with, critical thinking cant develop. I want people to ask her hard questions. But I want her to be able to respond.

The opportunity is now lost. What a failure.

This is the environment created when funding to universities either from private donors and parents or from the public purse becomes tenuous, and the chill created for academics diminishes us all.
In 2015, DuPage voters elected three Clean Slate candidates, promising and committed to urgently needed reforms. To date in 2017, we've delivered proven results to ensure that the College of DuPage reflects your voice and your values. We are very aware that there remains more important work to do.

There are three open seats in the next College of DuPage election on April 4. To continue our needed reforms, we need a Clean Slate 2.0. We now need candidates devoted to securing the existing reforms; focusing on securing COD's future; and restoring COD to its position as the preeminent community college in the nation.

The candidates we support for the three open seats are: for the 2 year term, Alan Bennett (unopposed), and for the 6 year term, Christine Fenne and Taso Triantafillos, who appear in the ballot positions 1 and 2.

You can remember them by the initials of their first names: A, C, T, and we guarantee you, they absolutely intend to ACT.

All three candidates share a common goal of continuing college reforms underway; securing accreditation by achieving full compliance with both the HLC and Illinois Inspector General report issued to the college, pursuing best practices, and emphasizing an institutional culture of acting according to the highest ethical standards.

We also support these three candidates because Alan, Christine and Taso have diverse backgrounds and complementary talents, which will bring tremendous and practical assets to the Board.

Alan Bennett brings decades of experience in higher education planning and institutional research; as a former municipal trustee; a Lombard resident; and has a vested interest in COD being there for his grandchildren. Alan is keen to identify more ways COD can assist with workforce development.

Christine Fenne is the President of the Wheaton Public Library; an account executive; married to a COD alum; and wants COD to be at the top when, in six years, her first child graduates high school. She is passionate about COD's academics and outreach efforts.

Taso Triantafillos has served on the Addison District 4 School Board; is a cyber-security business owner; married, and has four children who likewise may be future COD alums. His technology background will be invaluable as we identify further areas where we can innovate to bring educational value to all of our students.

Alan, Christine and Taso are dedicated to keeping tuition affordable; balanced public budgets; and ethical operations. Each has an unblemished history of professionalism and devotion to public education, academics and learning. All three have unique ideas on ways to help the members of our district succeed in a way that is consistent with COD's values, vision and purpose. Their shared commitment is to at all times "act in the best interests of this institution". Repeating: all times.

Our current Board and the College have put forth a tremendous amount of time and energy since April 2015 to move the institution in a positive direction. A new energy and forward momentum can be felt on our campus. We appreciate that these candidates are committed to putting in the time and hard work to continue to lead the way and keep COD in a good place.

Accountability is liberating! We will continue to work hard to continue earning your valued trust. On April 4, Alan, Christine and Taso will need your vote. They will definitely have ours.
Winona

Friday

5:22 p.m.  Emily Louise Noldin, 22, Green Bay, Wis., was cited for failure to stop at a stop sign after her vehicle crossed in front of, and was hit by a car at the intersection of Eighth and Hamilton streets.

Saturday

12:07 a.m.  Logan Veronica Van Veldhuizen, 21, Minnieska, was cited for fourth degree drunken driving after she was stopped for a suspended object at Fifth and Center streets with a preliminary blood alcohol of .13.

9:43 p.m.  Charges of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance were referred against Lora Lynn Persky, 35, Gladwin, Mich., and Joshua Matthew Dirks, Welcome, after being stopped near Mankato Avenue and Riverbend Drive. Dirks was also cited for possession of drug paraphernalia, and had 5.3 grams of what tested positive for methamphetamine in addition to a meth pipe and marijuana pipe.

11:47 p.m.  Emily Nicole Yeiter, 20, La Crescent, was cited for underage possession of alcohol and speeding after being pulled over near Sarnia and Huff streets for going 38 miles per hour.

Sunday

12:40 a.m.  A 17-year-old St. Charles woman was cited for possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia after being stopped for a suspended object in the window near Sixth and Sioux streets.

1:05 a.m.  Brandon Patrick Cortin, 22, Winona, was cited for public urination near Sixth and Johnson streets.

1:50 a.m.  Steven Henderson, 24, Rochester, was cited for driving after revocation and obstructing legal process after being stopped for a loud muffler and refusing to cooperate with police near the intersection of Tenth and Vila streets.

12:40 p.m.  Travis John Woxland, 32, Winona, was cited for the abuse of toxic substances after inhaling compressed air on the 100 block of Main Street.

1:53 p.m.  Jack Charles Cluver, 29, Winona, was cited for theft by shoplifting at Walmart.

9:42 p.m.  Charges of first-degree drunken driving and first-degree test refusal were referred against Joshua Michael Sandberg, 21, Mondovi, who was also cited for not having a Minnesota license and not having insurance. Sandberg and a passenger were found asleep in a running car with two flat tires in Levee Park, and his preliminary blood alcohol was .21.

Sunday

1:27 a.m.  Mark Anthony Eggerson, Dover, 32, was cited for fleeing an officer on foot and possession of a small amount of marijuana after running after police recognized him and found that he had a warrant for his arrest.

1:35 a.m.  Charges of third-degree test refusal and fourth-degree drunken driving were referred against Tanya Sherise McCain after being stopped near the intersection of Tenth and Liberty streets. McCain was also cited for possession of a small amount of marijuana.
WASHINGTON  Sorry, poor people of America. Republicans are quietly sealing all the exits on the poverty trap.

Its a four-part process, in which officials at all levels of government are taking part:

First, reduce poor womens access to the reproductive services they need to prevent unintended pregnancies, so they have less control over when, and with whom, they have children.

Second, make it harder for any unexpectedly expecting women to have abortions.

Third, make the adoption process more expensive, reducing incentives for other families to adopt the babies resulting from these unplanned pregnancies. (Yes, amazingly, Republicans plan to do this.)

Finally, cut the services these involuntarily growing low-income families rely on to help support and care for their children, and to move up in the world.

Lets take a walk through the policies that constitute this poverty-prolonging policy four-step, shall we?

It begins with House Republicans American Health Care Act, which would eliminate all federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Federal dollars are already barred from being used for abortions; the AHCA would prevent federal funds from being used for any other Planned Parenthood service, too. This is unfortunate, given that Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of contraceptive care for poor women in the country. Some of its patients would be able to find other providers of reliable, effective contraception, but many wouldnt. In more than 100 counties, Planned Parenthood is the only clinic providing publicly supported contraceptive services to poor women, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

In its analysis of the health care bill, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that about 15 percent of people who live in areas without other clinics or medical practitioners serving low-income populations would lose access to care  leading to more unintended pregnancies.

Now consider that at the state level, Republican officials have been aggressively curbing access to abortion by banning the procedure after 20 weeks, imposing impossible-to-meet regulatory and licensing requirements on providers, and implementing waiting periods. As a result, the women who do get pregnant without planning to will be less likely to terminate their pregnancies, even if they are not interested in having a baby. (Incidentally, Medicaid would pay for many of these births; the CBOs Trumpcare analysis estimated that eliminating Planned Parenthood funding for just a year would leave Medicaid on the hook for several thousand additional births.)

What options do these women have, then?

Pro-life conservatives often urge women seeking abortions to consider adoption instead. But under the House Republicans tax plan, adoptions would get more expensive.

You read that right.

The House leaderships A Better Way blueprint calls for dramatically cutting tax rates, especially for the rich. It partly pays for these cuts by eliminating some credits and deductions. Among those set to go? The adoption tax credit.

Adopting a child can be enormously expensive, running into tens of thousands of dollars. This tax credit was designed to offset some of those costs, up to $13,460 per child, though the credit phases out for higher earners. In 2014, about 74,000 families claimed the credit, costing the government about $355 million, according to Internal Revenue Service data.

For context, the mortgage-interest deduction, which the Republican tax-reform plan would preserve, will cost the federal government about $69 billion this year  about 200 times as much.

I doubt Republicans have anything against adoptive parents; in fact, one of the architects of the House tax plan, Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, is himself an adoptive parent (though at a recent speech, he noted that he did not qualify for the adoption tax credit because his family was in the wrong tax bracket). Promoting adoption is just not their priority, pro-life rhetoric to the contrary.

In any case, whatever Republicans intentions, the elimination of this tax credit would mean that at least on the margin, women who became pregnant accidentally would have fewer options.

Which leads us, finally, to President Trumps newly released budget.

Trumps budget would dramatically slash the social safety net, especially services for poor families. It would cut housing and energy subsidies for low-income households, as well as after-school, before-school and summer programs that millions of parents depend on. Moreover, it would decimate many of the programs that low-income parents and children rely on to climb out of poverty, including job training, college assistance and community banking.

Thus the cumulative effect of Republicans family policies: force poor people to have more children than they want or believe they can afford, then tell them and their children that theyre on their own.

So much for family values.
Columbus School District voters will elect two School Board members from a field of four candidates in the April 4 election.

Candidates include Cindy Damm, Julie Hajewski, Mark Campbell and Kelly Crombie. The Columbus Journal asked each of the candidates to submit a 500-600 word statement, telling readers about their backgrounds and explaining why they are running.

Mark Campbell

Address: N4301 County Road TT, Columbus

About the candidate:

I am originally from Michigan, but moved to Wisconsin in 1979. I received a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Kelly and I were married in 2000 and moved to our current home in the Town of Elba in 2002.

I worked in public child welfare from 1988 until my retirement in 2011. I started my career in Washington County investigating reports of child maltreatment. Within a few years I accepted a position with the Calumet County Health and Human Services Department as their centralized access supervisor. I next accepted a position as the child abuse and neglect and juvenile justice supervisor for the Sheboygan County Health and Human Services Department. Finally, I accepted the position as the child welfare director for the Department of Health and Family Services, Division of Children and Family Services in 2000, where I remained until my retirement in 2011. As an aside, I contracted with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Human Ecology from 2012 through 2013. I developed and coordinated a leadership seminar in public child welfare for health and human service directors throughout the state.

As state director of three different bureaus from 2000 until 2011, I was responsible for the oversight and management of numerous state and federal programs. These programs included child protective services, foster care, special needs adoption, adoption search, child fatality reviews, and child protective services quality services reviews. The federal block grant programs included domestic violence prevention, anti poverty grants, family support and preservation and child abuse prevention and treatment programs. I was also responsible for the development and oversight of legislation associated with these program areas.

Ive sat on numerous statewide boards during my career, and I was adjunct faculty at both the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Lakeland University.

I believe that I have had a successful career in public child welfare, but I want to be very careful not to embellish or elevate these accomplishments. My success and that of the public child welfare system under my tenure, was not even remotely possible without the commitment, sacrifice, hard work and dedication of the numerous public servants that I was honored to be associated with.

Why he is running:

I have always been concerned and care about the quality of the lives of children and families in our communities. I have watched the steady and rapid growth of poverty, untreated mental health and substance abuse, domestic violence, and homelessness in our state. While at the same time watched the relentless reduction of resources available to deal with these issues.

As a result, the number of children coming to school emotionally unprepared to focus on their education continues to grow. Many times the resulting behavioral problems divert educator time and resources away from teaching.

I was intrigued when I reviewed the priorities identified in the Legacy event that was held last October. The effort the community is prepared to invest in the future of the Columbus School District has motivated me to get actively involved.

Our community has recognized the issues they believe are necessary to prepare our children for the future. These are ambitious goals -- priorities that require careful planning and oversight. I believe my experience, education and training would be especially useful in guiding the Columbus School Board as it begins this journey.
Columbus School District voters will elect two School Board members from a field of four candidates in the April 4 election.

Candidates include Cindy Damm, Julie Hajewski, Mark Campbell and Kelly Crombie. The Columbus Journal asked each of the candidates to submit a 500-600 word statement, telling readers about their backgrounds and explaining why they are running.

Cindy Damm

Address: W1860 Weiner Road, Columbus

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve on the School Board for the last three years. It has truly been a privilege to work on behalf of all students, staff, and the community. School Board hasnt always been an easy job to learn or to do, but one that I have committed to doing the best I can to ensure that the Columbus School District provides a great education for all students, a great place to work for all employees, and strives to respect the values of the whole community.

Last fall, the school board and superintendent hosted Launching a Legacy, a 3-day event where community members gathered to establish priorities for the school district looking forward to the year 2030. The event brought together a great cross-section of the community including new residents and life-timers, parents and grandparents, business owners, representatives of community organizations, staff, and students. If re-elected, I look forward to ensuring that progress is made on these community-established priorities, and that they remain central in the districts decision-making.

After working 15 years in corporate America, I joined my husband, Matt, on our 180-cow dairy farm. You may know us as the hosts of the kindergarten field trip to the farm. For the last 10 years, we have thoroughly enjoyed providing this opportunity to Columbus students. Professionally, I participate in the Emerging Leaders program of our milk cooperative, Dairy Farmers of America, and serve as a voting delegate for our district. Matt and I have four children, ranging in age from fourth grade to college freshman.

Each of my kids has very different interests, talents, and personalities. I am a graduate of a private, liberal arts college. My husband attended Farm & Industry Short Course. My daughter is at UW-River Falls. My son is a high school junior and considering his options. Our different paths after high school have given me the appreciation that every student needs an education that is a foundation for success in wherever life takes them. Every student is different and we must be mindful that their post-high school paths are also different. Options may include full-time employment, job training or trade apprenticeship programs, military service, technical school, or a private or public university. From age 4 until high school graduation, we are helping to grow productive, successful adults.

Being on the school board requires the ability to evaluate information and decisions with many considerations. Not only do we have to keep all current and future students in mind, but we have to be respectful of the impacts to our staff and the community, now and later. Im a natural analyst, always looking for comparisons, cost and benefits, and longer-term impact of a decision or situation. The ability to consider the bigger picture and its effect is critical to the continued success of our school district.

We will vote for two candidates on April 4. I appreciate your consideration.
Dane County towns that want to opt out of county zoning decisions now have that option, thanks to a law passed by the state Legislature last year. As Republican lawmakers seek to streamline that process with another bill, some town officials feel the organization representing them has been too zealous in its advocacy.

Dane County is the only county in the state in which towns can opt out of county zoning, as a result of a bill authored by Rep. Keith Ripp, R-Lodi, and signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker in 2016. Under that law, towns can withdraw if residents approve the move through a referendum or a vote by residents at an annual town meeting.

On Tuesday, a state Assembly committee will consider changes and amendments to a bill that proponents say would streamline that process by modifying the requirements for certain towns to withdraw from county zoning. A proposed amendment would restore the ability of town residents, or "electors," to vote on a decision to opt out either at a town meeting with a notice of 30 days or by a referendum  a provision omitted from an earlier draft of the bill.

The bill would still only apply to Dane County. Dane and Milwaukee counties are the only two above the 485,000 population threshold set in the bill, and Milwaukee County does not have any towns. Towns are municipalities that govern all parts of the state not incorporated in cities and villages. Simply stated, zoning stipulates which parts of a municipality  town, village, city, county  can be developed for housing or manufacturing and which land is reserved for farming.

The Dane County Towns Association has actively pushed for the ability of towns to opt out of county zoning, arguing that county supervisors representing districts in cities have too much influence over the process. Mark Hazelbaker, who represents the DCTA as legal counsel, listed two big reasons for the organization's advocacy.

One is to get towns the option from getting out from under a county system that regularly goes through and has regularly gone through politically-driven cycles where town residents wind up being treated arbitrarily and cruelly at times, Hazelbaker said.

The second is there are towns in Dane County, which have a desire to pursue more diverse development strategies, Hazelbaker said. The county is not a good partner for towns that would like to have some residential development, some commercial development.

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi opposed the original opt-out bill and maintains that the county needs to be able to manage growth within its borders. Requiring towns wishing to opt out to hold a vote of residents prevented the heavy influence of a small number of interested parties on the small town boards.

No one is saying there shouldn't be development, but development needs to occur in a way thats not just helter skelter based on the whims of any particular developer, Parisi said.

Since the opt-out bill was approved, seven of Dane Countys 33 towns have expressed interest in managing their own zoning, including the towns of Blue Mounds, Springfield, Berry, Bristol, Middleton, Westport and Sun Prairie.

Town of Sun Prairie Chair Lyle Updike said he feels confident in the land use plan the town adopted in 2002 and said the town needs to develop to make up for the tax base lost through annexation by the city of Sun Prairie.

The primary action in my experience in observing the county board is to not preserve farmland but to basically deny economic development in rural areas, Updike said. I think the attitude of many people in the cities is preserving farmland reserved for annexation and see it as an interim step.

The town of Sun Prairie will vote in April on the town board's recommendation to opt out.

In March of last year, Dane County sued the DCTA to protect its tax levy and alleged that the association incorrectly communicated to its members that a portion of the countys tax levy used for zoning can be shifted to towns.

However, a judge threw out the lawsuit in July, leaving the county with nearly $11,000 in legal fees and no determination.

Not all towns on board with association

Since the zoning opt-out bill was signed into law last year, some towns argue the DCTA has become a one-issue organization and does not represent their interests.

The group spent a total of $48,617.61 and about 1,099 hours on lobbying efforts in 2015-16. From July 2015 to June 2016, the DCTA spent 462 hours  42 percent  of the groups lobbying efforts on the original opt-out measure, according to the Wisconsin Ethics Commissions Eye on Lobbying.

Hazelbaker said the DCTA used some reserve funds to pay for retaining a lobbyist and other lobbying expenses come from town dues, which range from about $1,000 to $2,500 annually per town.

Town of Cross Plains Chair Greg Hyers said his town stopped paying dues to the DCTA because of a philosophical difference in zoning and the DCTAs effort to push for the bill and hire a lobbyist. He said the town does not plan to rejoin as long as breaking from county zoning is the focus of the association.

Its one thing if they volunteer their time, Hyer said. I didnt think it was a wise use of town money.

Hyer said he does not believe it is in towns best interests to handle their own zoning, partly due to the costs involved.

Why would the town of Cross Plains give up this longstanding set of advice we get from the county and support for both the rules and enforcement of the rules and go with some sort of new system? Hyer said.

Mick Klein Kennedy, a supervisor on the town of Perrys board, said the town is also questioning its membership renewal with the DCTA due to a lack of communication with towns about the new legislation. He said he also disagrees with the amount of attention dedicated to the opt-out bills.

They have become a one-issue association, and it has strained our towns relationship with them, he said.

Town of Primrose Supervisor Martha Gibson agrees.

I dont think a lot of towns think the DCTA fairly represents the towns of Dane County, Gibson said.

She pointed to DCTA director Tim Roehl, a realtor who is a board member in the town of Middleton. She argued he has dominated DCTA action on development issues.

Roehl did not respond to requests for comment and deferred questions to Hazelbaker. Both Roehl and Hazelbaker are authorized lobbyists with the DCTA and have donated campaign funds to Ripp, the opt-out bills author.

Hazelbaker said every organization makes priority decisions and advocating for towns to have the ability to withdraw from county zoning is a matter of town survival by giving property owners alternatives to annexation.

He acknowledged the state of tension among the towns due to this issue and the "long, difficult, contentious and exhausting" process, but stressed that the DCTA has assisted every town in Dane County.

No, were not doing this just to help the developer, Hazelbaker said. Were doing this to help the towns, to help everybody.

He summed up the situation by addressing the ultimate argument among regional planners in this part of the state.

The reason people build things in Dane County is because theres growth in Dane County, Hazelbaker continued. The question is, is it going to be built in a town or in land that was a town?
The staff of River Haven Homeless Shelter is again in the uncharacteristic position of stepping into the limelight, or rather, taking over the limelight, for the spring production of the Harmony for the Homeless Concert.

I think theyve done it just about every year  certainly since Ive been here, said Portage Center for the Arts Executive Director Heidi Royal.

The concert April 8 will feature Mike Powers & Company, who Royal described as having been involved in productions for years and years. Powers is a frequent performer for arts openings and his wife, Holly, is a trustee of the organization.

He has done this in past for us, I think four or five times now, said River Haven case manager Cindy LeGrand. Its kind of an ongoing thing, which is awesome. It is a pleasure to have them, well put it that way.

Revenue from the show goes toward operations of River Havens two shelters in downtown Portage  one for families and one for men. Budgeting for the organization is from a base of donations, LeGrand said.

In December the US Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a $23 million grant to combat homelessness in Wisconsin through the Continuum of Care program. Since the announcement LeGrand has not heard anything about funds for the Portage area, but in any case is not counting on that in future plans.

It would go by so fast because there are so many shelters here in the state that it will be divided up really quickly, said LeGrand.

The shelter does benefit from appreciated grant funds, she explained, but those do not add up to the salary of one full-time staff member.

But the needs for homelessness have increased, LeGrand said. We have to make the public aware that this is not just a fluke and it is going to go away. It is not going away and we need to work with individuals and we need to help them and guide them to resources.

One reminder of this came with the Jan. 25 regional point-in-time homeless survey, organized by the Central Wisconsin Community Action Council with LeGrand and a contingent of volunteers including students, teachers, health and human services professionals and law enforcement going out one night to find and attempt to survey those they find who appear to be without a home.

The survey of Adams, Juneau, Columbia, Dodge and Sauk Counties turned up 78 people who were sheltered, but homeless, which includes emergency housing in motels and warming stations. Another 10 were found to be unsheltered, with the survey coinciding with a snowstorm.

There was a lot of snow and I think that brought people in to the shelters and the park benches, said CWCAC Housing Director Wendy Scheider, who said the conditions made for mixed results, with fresh snow making it easier to tell what someone has been doing based on tracks or a lack thereof.

Portage is a rarity among cities of its kind in Wisconsin, having homeless shelters available, with others including Safe Harbor in Reedsburg and Hope House in Baraboo, though both of those specifically aimed toward female clients.

The Harmony for the Homeless Concert is River Havens show, though a collaborative effort.

For tickets people can call the Chamber of Commerce, or they are also at the Portage Center for the Arts, said LeGrand. And if anyone would like to sponsor the event, they should call me, I have the sponsor sheets and if they want to donate, that would be awesome. Just keep in mind, its for a good cause.

Those interested can contact LeGrand at River Haven Shelter at 608-742-7687.
Drivers making their way to Portage from Wisconsin Dells are now welcomed by the Portage Family Skate Park since the groups Highway 16 billboard went up earlier this month.

I just think that this is a long time coming. I worked in the school district and I signed their petitions way back, like 20 years ago, when they thought there should be a skate park and nothing developed, said Rita Briant, owner of Prairie Flower Beads in Portage. And when it came along that I could contribute a little bit, I jumped on the idea  its a needed thing.

Briants store has come forward as the most prominent of the groups sponsors, sharing space on the board that asks passersby to support expansion of the park. The store is also sharing space to offer Portage Family Skate Park T-shirts and Portage Warrior skateboard decks, with funds going toward phases two and three of the project.

This billboard says to those businesses and those corporate sponsors out there that small, big, everybody is coming together for this project, said Portage Family Skate Park President Kyle Little. We would like to have it completed all in one shot  each phase is an additional $130,000 and were looking at $260,000 with a little buffer room. Weve already raised $20,000 and we keep plugging along.

As well as seeing the skate park in regular use, Little said he has been impressed by the success of the project in community ownership. That is part in terms of financial support, but over the past year of the parks operation, seeing patrons taking care of the park, cleaning up trash that has been left behind, and even shoveling snow in the past months when it turned warm enough for skating.

The Portage Family Skate Park continues expansion efforts from both directions, looking for private donations, sponsorships and volunteers, while also pushing to get both phases of expansion on the citys agenda. Along with public support from the Portage Common Council making a significant contribution to the parks development, the park has also become part of the citys Parks and Recreation Department programming.

Skateboard basics is going to be a real thing and it is going to be offered in the spring and summertime, said Little. And we have a board member  Andrew Taminga  who is going to be teaching children from 5 to 10 years old and we already have people signed up for it.

I love it. I love seeing all the kids out there, said Briant. Theyre sharing  the big kids sit down, the little kids are skating; the big kids are skating and the little kids sit down. They are sharing and so far there havent been any problems. And I cant wait for the other two phases to be built. Then there will be more room for all of them to skate at once.

Whether it is tourism, or whether it is new businesses coming to Portage, or new families  we have families from across Wisconsin. The skate park has brought them to Portage, said Little. We all contribute to the city in our different ways, but were here to stay.
Former Wits Vice-Chancellor addresses Faculty of Science graduates

Prof. Loyiso Nongxa, former Vice-Chancellor of Wits today delivered the keynote address at the Faculty of Science graduation ceremony.

Prof. Nongxa is a mathematics scholar who held the post of Vice-Chancellor and Principal at Wits for 10 years.

He made history in 1982 when he became South Africas first African Rhodes Scholar to graduate from Oxford University with a doctoral degree in mathematics. Hailing from the Eastern Cape, Professor Nongxa completed his undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of Fort Hare before going to Oxford.

On his return to South Africa, he lectured at the University of Lesotho and at the University of Natal before joining the University of the Western Cape (UWC), where he served as the Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences. He joined Wits University two years later as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and in June 2003 was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University.

Over the past few decades, Prof. Nongxa has actively participated in transforming the higher education landscape in South Africa. He is well versed in the management of higher education institutions and has served on numerous university Councils. He served as a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University and the University of Illinois and as a Visiting Researcher at the University of Colorado, the University of Hawaii, the University of Connecticut and Baylor University in the United States, amongst others.,

Prof. Nongxa serves on numerous boards and committees related to science and technology, and higher education. He is the Founding Director of the Centre for Mathematical and Computational Sciences and serves as the Chairperson of the Board of the National Research Foundation. He has also initiated several signature talent, equity and transformation programmes.

Prof. Nongxas research passion still lies in mathematics and he is both a member of the South African Mathematical Society and the American Mathematical Society.
Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers. It also offers investment and wealth advisory services; digital investing services; financial services and solutions; and investment management, and trust and custody services. In addition, the company provides life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and annuity products; creditor and travel insurance to bank customers; and reinsurance solutions. Further, it offers client's debt and equity capital-raising services, as well as loan origination and syndication, and treasury management; strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and recapitalizations, as well as valuation and fairness opinions; and trade finance, risk mitigation, and other operating services. Additionally, the company provides research and access to markets for institutional, corporate, and retail clients; trading solutions that include debt, foreign exchange, interest rate, credit, equity, securitization and commodities; new product development and origination services, as well as risk management advice and services to hedge against fluctuations; and funding and liquidity management services to its clients. It operates through approximately 900 bank branches and 3,300 automated banking machines in Canada and the United States. Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
Longtime director of residence life retiring as mentor, role model

On duty Deb Boykin has served as a student staff member, live-in professional and full-time administrator with William & Mary residence life. Photo by Stephen Salpukas

Fitting tribute A collage of name tags on the bulletin board outside William & Mary's residence life office pays tribute to the retiring Deb Boykin. Photo by Stephen Salpukas Photo - of - Hide Caption

In 38 years working in residence life at William & Mary, staying current has been the challenge and the fun for Deb Boykin 76, M.Ed. 82.

Not a single part of whats new or can be improved did she want to pass her by.

Boykin will retire as associate vice president for student affairs and director of residence life this summer, moving into the next phase of a life rooted in Williamsburg and anchored by family and the university community. She will take with her a careers worth of knowledge about meeting the needs of students living on campus, having served as the departments director since 1992.

I always like to think that everything that I do touches students directly or indirectly, Boykin said.

She is quick to point out she doesnt do it alone, and works with a big staff of people who are responsible for all the various aspects of residence life, which when done right arent even noticed. She brings the perspective of having been a student staff member, live-in professional and full-time administrator in her many years in residence life at the university.

After graduating from W&M and living in the Boston area with her husband for a couple years, they returned to Williamsburg, and she said she knew this was where she was going to be. But doing the same thing over and over again, year after year didnt appeal to her.

So she honed in on professional organizations from statewide to international as a way to keep up with trends, find ideas that might work and constantly improve residential life for students. Her office walls are dotted with awards from the various groups, and in 2013 the Virginia Association of College and University Housing Officers renamed its highest award the Deb Boykin Outstanding Professional Award.

Several years ago she was selected for two consecutive years to teach officials in colleges and universities in South Africa how to run residence halls.

Boykin said the boredom of not constantly evolving would be uncomfortable for her. She tells people she has never had a boring day in her job, though some challenging days dealing with a crisis such as a hurricane or fire she would have rather been bored.

So Im always looking for changes and yes, I do sometimes think I push people to see what else is out there, she said. What are some other schools doing? Or what will work for us here thats different?

Thats where I get my energy, from that. I thrive on kind of exploring, thinking and trying to do some different things.

Leading by example

Boykin has served as a mentor and role model for numerous colleagues at W&M and beyond. In addition to her energetic approach to work, taking time for herself for health and fitness and her dedication to her husband and two daughters set an example.

People talk about work-life balance now, but she was about that decades ago, said Chris Durden, the longtime director of housing operations who has worked for Boykin for all of his 28 years at W&M.

She always encouraged us to do that and to take that time out because youll be more effective in the long run.

Working as part of a group and collaborating with people are among the things she said shell miss most about her job. She points to a recent day where she spent a morning meeting working with an excited group on plans for a residence hall renovation, and the entire afternoon putting heads together with others on a message to be sent out to the campus community regarding water testing.

So when bad things happen, Ive never felt that it was me that had to solve it, Boykin said. Everythings done here with support up and down. And thats, again, sort of exhilarating.

She particularly enjoys doing the budget because she gets to set priorities for the upcoming year. Working as part of a group  whether her own staff, the larger department or campus-wide commitments  has made her thrive as well.

I credit any success I have had in this position to my early role model, mentor and friend Sam Sadler, Boykin said, referring to the former W&M vice president for student affairs. He really taught me how to be a caring student affairs professional.

Colleagues speak of Boykin in terms of an inspiring boss and trusted confidant.

Shes pushed me when I needed to be pushed, Durden said. Shes thanked me when I needed to be thanked. Shes been a great, supportive supervisor who brings out the best in the people around her.

Ginger Ambler, W&M vice president for student affairs, was an undergraduate resident assistant and Boykin assistant director of residence life when they first met.

Now, as one of my senior staff colleagues leading the Division of Student Affairs, Deb continues to be a professional mentor to me, Ambler said. The truth is, she has been a rock and an inspiration for our whole division. Hers is ever a steady, wise and collaborative voice, not only at the student affairs leadership table, but also in a host of university-level leadership roles shes played.

I will forever be grateful for Debs experience, her perspective and her profound love of W&M and our students.

Boykin maintains close relationships with people shes worked with, and they continue to turn to her for everything from professional help to personal advice, according to Dana Anderson-Radcliffe, an administrative assistant in residence life who has worked with Boykin for 16 years.

She is an institution that stands alone, Anderson-Radcliffe said. There is always that one supervisor youll remember, and for me and many of her colleagues, Deb is the one.

Boykin has invested vast amounts of time, resources and money to allow her staff to learn and succeed, according to Terry Fassanella, an area director for several residence halls who is among the numerous W&M housing staff members actively involved in professional organizations.

Time for the next phase

Boykin, who recently received a proclamation for her service from one of the organizations, said she knew it was time to move to the next phase of her life. She and her husband  a teacher  welcomed their first grandchild in October and will have time to travel, visit family and pursue activities in the community.

Her passions are diversity, womens issues, the environment and voter equality. She also plans to add more yoga and Pilates to what has been a lifelong commitment to physical fitness.

She will look for a new purpose in this phase, going forward from knowing that her purpose at work was to provide students with a safe, secure feeling of belonging in their residential environments. The job is mostly managing a big staff of people, and making sure they feel empowered and know what their job is, she said.

I think somewhere along the line Ive mastered that, hopefully, Boykin said. And have always felt like I have good relationships with the people that are my direct reports, and that that made them be able to go and do the good work for our students. Because nothing happens in a vacuum.




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With Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt looking on, Woonsocket Chief of Police, Thomas Oates, addresses his fellow officers during the accreditation ceremony.
UK limits Cavendish Fluor contract to 2019

27 March 2017

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The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has decided to terminate its contract with Cavendish Fluor Partnership (CFP) for the management and decommissioning of 12 redundant Magnox sites, including two research sites. In a written ministerial statement to the House of Commons today, Energy Secretary Greg Clark said there is a big difference between the contract with CFP and the work that is required. Clark also announced that the NDA had settled outstanding litigation claims against it by Energy Solutions and Bechtel.

CFP is a joint venture between the British firm Cavendish Nuclear, a subsidiary of Babcock International, and the US company Fluor Inc. The sites affected by the contract, together with the Calder Hall reactor on the Sellafield site, formed the UK's first fleet of nuclear power plants. CFP won the 14-year contract in September 2014 in a 6.1 billion ($7.7 billion) tender the NDA started in April 2012. This decision was approved by the then Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Treasury.

"CFP started work on the Magnox estate on 1 September 2014. There then started a process to ensure that the scope of the contract assumed in the 2012 tender matched the actual status of the decommissioning to be done on each site - a process known as consolidation," Clark said. "It has become clear to the NDA through this consolidation process that there is a significant mismatch between the work that was specified in the contract as tendered in 2012 and awarded in 2014, and the work that actually needs to be done."

The NDA Board has concluded that the scale of the additional work required "would amount to a material change to the specification" on which bidders were invited in 2012 to tender, Clark said. The NDA Board has decided therefore that it should exercise its right to terminate the contract on two-years' notice. The contract will be terminated in September 2019, after five years rather than its full term of 14 years, Clark said, adding that CFP had agreed to this.

"Dealing safely with the UK's nuclear legacy is fundamental and non-negotiable. It is important to emphasise that this termination is no reflection on the performance of Cavendish Nuclear or Fluor, and work on decommissioning at all the sites will continue with the management of CFP for a further two and a half years," Clark said.

During this period, the NDA will establish arrangements for "a replacement contracting structure" to be put in place when the current contract ends. This work will be led by David Peattie, who took over as CEO of the NDA on 1 March.

The decision to terminate the contract requires the consent of the energy secretary, the chief secretary to the Treasury and the accounting officer of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which Clark heads. "That consent has been given," Clark said. "We have a responsibility to ensure that the NDA's decisions reflect its legal obligations, including under procurement law, that further risks to taxpayers' money are contained and that robust arrangements are put in place to deliver this essential decommissioning program," he added.

Settlements agreed



Clark also told the House of Commons that the NDA had settled outstanding litigation claims against it by Energy Solutions and Bechtel, in relation to the 2014 Magnox contract award. The NDA was found by the High Court in its judgment of 29 July 2016 to have wrongly decided the outcome of the procurement process. As part of the settlements, NDA has withdrawn its appeal against the judgment.

Clark said: "While these settlements were made without admission of liability on either side, it is clear that this 2012 tender process, which was for a value of up to 6.1 billion, was flawed. The NDA has agreed settlement payments with Energy Solutions of 76.5 million, plus 8.5 million of costs, and with Bechtel of $14.8 million, plus costs of around 462,000  approximately 12.5 million in total."

Clark also said he was establishing today an independent inquiry, led by Steve Holliday, the former CEO of National Grid, "into the conduct of the 2012 procurement process and the reasons why the 2014 contract proved unsustainable".

"This was a defective procurement, with significant financial consequences, and I am determined that the reasons for it should be exposed and understood; that those responsible should properly be held to account; and that it should never happen again," Clark said.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Russia starts to build MBIR vessel

27 March 2017

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AEM-Technology has started the manufacture of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for MBIR  the multipurpose sodium-cooled fast neutron research reactor that is under construction at the site of the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (NIIAR) at Dmitrovgrad, which is in Russia's Ulyanovsk region. AEM-Technology is part of Atomenergomash, itself a subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

The upper part of the reactor vessel for MBIR (Image: AEM-Technology)



The MBIR is a 150 MWt, sodium-cooled fast reactor and will have a design life of up to 50 years. It will be a multi-loop research reactor capable of testing lead, lead-bismuth and gas coolants, and running on MOX (mixed uranium and plutonium oxide) fuel. NIIAR intends to set up on-site closed fuel cycle facilities for the MBIR, using pyrochemical reprocessing it has developed at pilot scale.

AEM Technology said today that work on welding the upper part of the RPV had started at the production site of heavy machine-building company Atommash, which is another Rosatom subsidiary.

The completed RPV will weigh 83 tonnes, be more than 12 metres long and be 4 metres in diameter, according to the company statement. AEM-Technology will produce a total of 14 pieces of equipment and supporting structures for MBIR, weighing more than 360 tonnes, it added.

"MBIR will demonstrate our company's technological ability," Vitaly Shishov, head of production at AEM-Technology's Volgodonsk site, said in the same company statement. "MBIR is a fundamentally new project that presents us with serious work to do," he said, "both in terms of the quality of the equipment and in the organisation of our production operations."

AEM Technology has said previously that construction of the demonstration reactor should be completed by 2020.

Rosatom launched a tender for the design, manufacture and supply of the components in late December 2013. AEM-Technology was awarded the contract to supply the RPV and its cap, together with the core internals for the sodium-cooled MBIR. The vessel will be enclosed within a safety container in case of sodium loss.

The MBIR project is to be open to foreign collaboration, in connection with the International Atomic Energy Agency's International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO).

The MBIR will replace the BOR-60 experimental fast reactor that has been in operation at NIIAR's site since 1969.

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IAEA helps Tajikistan remediation preparations

27 March 2017

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An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert team is preparing independent cost estimates to help Tajikistan plan the remediation of uranium legacy sites in the north of the country.

Tailings pond at Degmay, Tajikistan (Image: M Roberts/IAEA)



The team from the IAEA's Coordination Group for Uranium Legacy Sites (CGULS) spent just under two weeks visiting legacy sites, including exposed tailings bodies and remnants of uranium mills and other infrastructure, at Map 1-9, Degmay (Digmai) and Taboshar. The visit was supported by the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Agency of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan - the country's nuclear regulator - and site operator State Enterprise Tajredmet.

Tajikistan is implementing a work program to place an interim cover on open uranium tailings facilities in Degmay, to reduce dust hazards to the surrounding communities and the environment. The CGULS team is now preparing independent indicative cost estimates that will help the country plan for such remediation work.

Central Asia was an important uranium-producing region in the former Soviet Union, leading to a large accumulation of radioactive contaminated material at mines in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and in waste dumps and tailing sites. Uranium mining ceased in Tajikistan in 1992, and most of the other countries' mines had closed by 1995, but very little remediation of mines or tailings facilities was carried out.

The government of Tajikistan in 2014 resolved to rehabilitate legacy tailings by 2024. In 2015, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) at the request of the European Commission set up the Environmental Remediation Account for Central Asia to finance the remediation of sites in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan identified as "high priority". The European Commission provided an initial 8 million ($9 milliion) in funding. Earlier this year, the bank signed framework agreements with the Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, a precondition for the implementation of projects under the fund.

CGULS works in close cooperation with Central Asian states, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, the European Commission and the EBRD. "Together, we are working to remediate and establish safe regulatory control of these sites, which are the legacy of uranium production activities carried out from the 1950s to the 1990s," IAEA waste safety specialist Michelle Roberts said.

Information collected from the visit, together with that from a similar visit to Kyrgyzstan in October last year, will support the development of a strategic plan for the remediation of uranium legacy sites in Central Asia. The plan will be used by the EBRD to secure pledges for the Environmental Remediation Account.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Colorado Waterfalls were mostly nestled amongst the majestic Rocky Mountains where numerous peaks topped 14,000ft. While it wasnt surprising to find waterfalls in this state, for one reason or another, they were among the last waterfalls that we had a chance to visit when it came to exploring them within the American Southwest states of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico.

Nevertheless, we finally did have our opportunities to explore the Rocky Mountain state and its waterfalls, and that was when the Colorados mountainous scenery grew on us with each passing day that wed spend enjoying the outdoors. Indeed, like the Eastern Sierra mountains in California (forming the spine of that state), the famous Rocky Mountains defined pretty much the Continental Divide from Canada all the way south to New Mexico though this mountain range really dominated the state of Colorado.

And with its snow-capped peaks, its not surprising to see that indeed plenty of waterfalls could be found here. So far, as you can see from the waterfall map above, weve seen a handful of the states best waterfalls. However, were always keen to visit more of them as more opportunities may arise.

So have a look at our waterfall writeups from the Rocky Mountain state (which contain detailed descriptions, directions, maps, photographs, videos, nearby attractions to the waterfall of interest, and more. See if even just this humble sampling may inspire you to experience that Rocky Mountain high that attract Nature lovers like us.
Bound woman (illustration)

By: Emily Lewis WorldWideWeirdNews.com

An illegal immigrant tried to harm a woman who helped him for three days, following his unlawful entry into the United States, according to police in Texas.

U.S. Border Patrol agents and Dimmit County Sheriffas deputies apprehended the man suspected of kidnapping the woman who gave the suspect food and water for three days.

On Wednesday, Carrizo Springs Station Border Patrol agents responded to a call for assistance from the Dimmit County Sheriffas Office, who had received a report of a woman walking along FM 1917 with her hands bound with rope.

The woman explained that she had been providing food and water to a man behind her house for three days. Without warning, the man grabbed the woman, bound her feet and hands, and forced her into her car.

When the man tried to start the vehicle, the woman was able to escape.

Border Patrol agents and Dimmit County Sheriffas deputies responded to the scene of the attempted abduction and found foot signs of the individual, leading away from the house.

After tracking the individual for some time with the use of Border Patrol and Dimmit County canines, officials encountered an unresponsive person matching the assailantas description lying in the brush.

A trained Border Patrol Emergency Medical Technician treated the unresponsive subject and transported him to the hospital, where it was determined by doctors the subject had been faking his condition.

The woman who had been assaulted was able to identify the subject as the man who tried to kidnap her. Border Patrol agents were able to determine the subject was in the country illegally.

The subject was charged by the Dimmit County Sheriffs Office with burglary of a habitation with intent to commit a felony and aggravated kidnapping.

The subject faces immigration proceedings upon conclusion of the charges against him. He is currently being held at the Dimmit County jail without bail.
Robert Marks and Lyntell Washington

By: Mason White WorldWideWeirdNews.com

(Scroll down for video) A pregnant teacher was found dead one week after her daughter was seen walking alone on the streets.

Police in Louisiana, arrested 39-year-old Robert Marks after the body of his colleague and lover, 40-year-old Lyntell Washington, was discovered in Baton Rouge.

Washington, who was pregnant and a mother of one child, was once named aTeacher of the Year.a

She was reported missing after her 3-year-old daughter, Darillle, was spotted walking alone near her car, which had blood stains inside, but she was nowhere to be found.

The girl told police that aMr. Robbiea hurt her mother near a dark lake and she was anow sleeping.a

Investigators believe the two, who worked at Brookstown Middle Magnet Academy, were having an affair,

and Marks feared that his wife would find out that he got Washington pregnant and therefore, he fatally shot her.

Detectives said that Marks took the child with him for a while before leaving her alone in a parking lot.

When she was found, Washington had to be identified by her dental records, police said.

Marks has already been charged with aggravated kidnapping and child desertion. Now that the body was found, Marks faces additional charges of murder and feticide.

He is being held without bond.
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
Woman wearing leggings (illustration)

By: Alexis Bell WorldWideWeirdNews.com

(Scroll down for video) People are angry after learning that United Airlines banned girls from boarding a flight for wearing yoga pants.

The incident unfolded on Sunday, on a flight from Denver, Colorado, to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The founder of Moms Demand Action, Shannon Watts, witnessed the incident and wrote about it on Twitter.

As the two girls and their companion were about to board the plane, an employee told them that they would have to change their outfits.

The employee explained to the three customers that girls cannot board flights wearing leggings. The two girls decided not to change their clothes, and were barred from the flight.

Watts criticized the airlineas policy as being discriminatory against women as leggings and yoga pants are extremely popular these days.

However, a spokesperson for United said that the airline has a right to block those with inappropriate clothing from flights.

aA @united gate agent isnat letting girls in leggings get on flight from Denver to Minneapolis because spandex is not allowed?a Watts wrote on Twitter.

aSheas forcing them to change or put dresses on over their leggings or they canat board. Since when does @united police womenas clothing?a She also wrote.

United responded to Watts: aWe have the right to refuse transport for passengers who are barefoot or not properly clothed.a

Watts added: aA 10-year-old girl in gray leggings. She looked normal and appropriate. Apparently @united is policing the clothing of women and girls.a
Heidi McKinney

By: Alexis Bell WorldWideWeirdNews.com

(Scroll down for video) A woman pleaded guilty to sexually abusing another woman on an airplane.

The woman of Oregon, was accused of touching the breasts and private parts of another woman without her consent on a flight to Portland, on Sunday night, police said.

26-year-old Heidi McKinney was initially indicted on a charge of abusive sexual contact, but she pleaded guilty on Friday to a felony assault charge.

The incident took place on Alaska Airlines Flight 621 from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Portland International Airport.

Portland police said that McKinney fondled the woman as the plane was in Oregon airspace. The other woman told a flight attendant that McKinney touched her without her consent.

Police were contacted and they boarded the aircraft to arrest McKinney. Police did not say if alcohol played a role in the sexual assault.

Assistant US Attorney Ravi Sinha said that McKinney amade contact with victims body, and she also made a series of profane and lewd statements to the victim.a

McKinney faces up to 10 years in prison or a $250,000 fine. However, according to her plea deal, Sinha and defense attorney Lisa Ludwig will ask the judge to sentence her to three years probation.
Nude men and women at Auschwitz death camp

By: William Martin WorldWideWeirdNews.com

A group of people were detained at the Auschwitz death camp after they stripped naked and slaughtered a sheep at the entrance of the former Nazi site, according to police in Poland.

Oswiecim police said that they have arrested 11 people after the men and women were seen standing naked while holding up a sign that read: alove.a

Police confirmed that the 11 people, aged between 20 and 27, came from Poland, Belarus, and Germany, in order to hold a protest against war crimes.

When the men and women began to strip naked, a security guard at the scene told the to get dressed. The protesters refused, and used a drone to record themselves standing naked and then slaughtering a sheep.

A spokesperson for the Auschwitz memorial, condemned the stunt, saying that using the aArbeit Macht Freia sign in videos to score political points is reprehensible.

All 11 suspects were arrested and charged with desecrating a memorial site. If convicted, they all face a large fine.
It has long been understood that the transition from economies based on hunting and gathering, in which humans are dependent on the inherent productivity of nature to provide food and organic raw materials, to ones based on agriculture, the systematic cultivation of domesticated plants and rearing of domesticated animals, was one of the most critical steps in human cultural evolution. Generally termed the Agricultural Revolution, this development laid the basis for an expandable food supply, surplus production, growing populations, an increasingly complex division of labor, and, eventually class society and civilization.

Although archaeologists and other researchers have devoted much effort to understanding the origins of agriculture, key questions remain unanswered. Early evidence of agriculturedomesticated (i.e., genetically modified) plants and animals and the technology for their cultivation, husbandry, storage and processinggenerally dates to the period following the end of the Pleistocene epoch, roughly 12,000 years ago.

When compared to the time frame for the existence of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens), about 200,000 years, the development of agriculture and all that followed occurred in a relative blink of an eye. This raises the question of why humans, with effectively the same mental and physical capabilities as at present, took so long to make this development.

A recently reported discovery of 23,000-year-old stone tools used to harvest cereal grains suggests that the kinds of subsistence adaptations that ultimately lead to full-fledged agriculture were being developed thousands of years earlier than had previously been documented.

The discovery, reported in the journal PLOS ONE, by authors Iris Groman-Yaroslavski, Ehud Weiss, and Dani Nadel, was made at the Ohalo II archaeological site located on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. The find consists of five flint blades that bear a gloss on their edges characteristic of use in cutting grasses. This gloss, also called sickle sheen, is found on tools from later sites definitely associated with agriculture, where cereal grains (which are grasses) such as wheat were cultivated and harvested. Sickle sheen is the result of silica crystals in plants, particularly cereals, rubbing off on a tools working edge.

Other wear patterns indicate that the tools were used in two modeshand-held and hafted into a handle. In later times, compound sickles were made by embedding a series of flint blades into the edge of a long wooden or bone tool, resembling the form of later metal sickles, resulting in a more efficient harvesting implement.

Comparison via microscopic examination with the results from experimentally replicated tools indicates that these blades were used to harvest plants in which the seeds had not yet fully ripened, indicating that the users knew that fully ripened seeds would be fragile and thus fall to the ground, making effective harvesting impossible. These were wild plants. Domesticated plants are bred to prevent the seeds from falling.

The significance of the discovery at the Ohalo II site is twofold. First, the age of the site demonstrates that cereal harvesting, at some level of intensity, was occurring at least 8,000 years earlier than the previous known evidence of such activity on a consistent basis, in a culture called the Natufian, and 12,000 years before evidence of Early Neolithic sedentary farming communities in places such as modern day Iraq.

Second, other evidence from the Ohalo II site indicates that, aside from an apparently limited amount of wild cereal harvesting, the economy of this community was based on hunting, fishing, and gathering of a range of wild plant foods. Cereal harvesting would, therefore, appear to have been but one component of the groups overall subsistence economy. Other reports of early sites with blades bearing sickle sheen have previously been made, but these artifacts are few and widely scattered, and the use damage on the tools generally slight, indicated limited use. The data from Ohalo II is the strongest evidence yet found of this activity at such an early date.

In addition to the sickle sheen on blades, the Ohalo II site also yielded grinding tools used to process cereal grains, including traces of wheat, barley, and oats, all of which were later domesticated.

Collectively, the finds at Ohalo II plus the trace indications from other sites, pose the key questionhow and why, over the subsequent 8,000 years, did a radical shift occur in which this one component of the overall subsistence strategy gained such significance in the economies of this region? This is the same question that is posed in all the other centers of early agricultureSoutheast Asia (rice) and Mesoamerica (maize).

As the authors of the PLOS ONE article point out, evidence of the use of cereal grains as food substantially predates that from Ohalo II. Indications of their consumption have been found at a Middle Paleolithic site in Israel and at an Upper Paleolithic site in Europe. Therefore, humans had known about this food source for a very long time and their agricultural use did not represent a sudden discovery.

The development of agriculture was not the overnight adoption of radically new food sources, but rather a shift from the use of a range of resources to the increasing emphasis on a few plant and/or animal species already on the menu, on which humans focused greater amounts of time, energy, and technological innovation. This focus would have initially included various kinds of tending to encourage the proliferation of the favored species (such as the setting of fires to clear brush and promote the growth of grasses), and the development of new technologies to enhance the efficiency of harvesting, processing, and storage. This also involved selective breeding, intentional or unintentional, that, over time, resulted in genetic changes making the target species more productive and easily manipulated (e.g., seeds not falling when ripe so they can be harvested).

The critical question is, in reality, not so much how but why did this occur. After many tens of thousands of years of existence based on a hunting and gathering economy, why did humans independently in a number of different areas around the world and using a variety of plant and animal species, shift, over the course of only a few thousand years, to an agriculturally based economy?

The apparent correlation between the development of agriculture and the end of the Pleistocene (the Ice Age), roughly 12,000 years ago, suggests that one key factor may have been climate change. The presence of massive continental ice sheets tended to stabilize climate, a phenomenon known as Pleistocene Equability. Under such conditions, wild food resources on which humans relied would have tended to be relatively reliable and predictable, both seasonally and year to year, promoting stability in human adaptations.

The end of the Pleistocene was marked by rapid global warming and abrupt climatic fluctuations, including a sharp, temporary reversion to colder conditions known as the Younger Dryas (approximately 12,900 to 11,700 years ago). This increased variability and greater seasonality persisted into the new geologic period, the Holocene, in which we are still living. Under such conditions, the reliability of naturally occurring food resources would have been markedly reduced. As one apparent consequence, many large mammal species which had existed for millions of years, like mammoths and giant ground sloths, some of which were hunted by humans, suddenly became extinct.

In areas where such climatic instability was pronounced, humans too would have been under stress. Instead of relying solely on natures bounty, one coping strategy would have been to focus on food species whose abundance and reliability could be rendered more stable by human intervention (i.e., the expenditure of labor and the development of new or enhanced technology). Mammals such as sheep, goats, and pigs, birds such as chickens, and cereal grains, such as wheat, maize, and rice, as well as a variety of other species became the focus of human attention.

As humans became more reliant on these targeted species, they made increasing investments of labor in improving technology and infrastructure to promote the success of this new economic system. Increased sedentism (larger and more permanent villages), larger population sizes, increased territoriality and social divisions based on economic class were among the consequences. This process, once begun, was self-re-enforcing. The larger populations that could be supported by agriculture as opposed to hunting and gathering meant that there was no going back without severe consequences.

The newly reported discovery from the Ohalo II enriches our understanding of the development of agriculture, and supports the view that it does not represent a eureka moment, a flash of discovery, but rather was the culmination of a long process of material adaptations and the dialectical interaction of a variety of natural and cultural factors, which ultimately led to a qualitative change in the ways in which humans interacted with the environment and each other, resulting in a whole range of revolutionary consequences. It also demonstrates the wealth of information that can be obtained through the use of sophisticated techniques such as microscopic use-wear analysis.
Early this month, a 32-year-old rigger, Tim Macpherson, was crushed to death on a wharf construction project at Barangaroo, a tourist hot spot on the Sydney harbour and adjoining the citys business district (CBD).

Macpherson was working on a barge at the Barangaroo ferry hub site when an unsecured metal and concrete header beam, sitting across two pylons, was knocked by another header beam being lifted by a crane. The unsecured beam fell onto his head and upper torso.

Macpherson died at the site, leaving behind his pregnant wife, Ashleigh, and two-year-old-son, Jack. The young couple had just bought their first home in Maitland, an approximately two-hour commute to the Sydney ferry work site. He began working on the project six months before the fatal accident.

According to official figures, 29 workers were killed in industrial accidents in Australia between January and March 1 this year. Macpherson, who died on March 1, is the seventh construction worker to have lost his life in building site accidents during this period or almost one fatality per week in the industry.

Ten workers have died in the transport, postal and warehousing sector, four in agriculture, forestry and fishing, three in electricity, gas, water and waste, one in manufacturing, one in public administration and safety, one in accommodation and food services and two in arts and recreation.

The Barangaroo ferry hub construction is a $57.5 million New South Wales (NSW) government project, designed to facilitate access to a new upmarket restaurant and retail strip and a multi-million dollar casino still under construction. The project includes three ferry wharves, with fully accessible pontoons, seated waiting areas, weather protection and service information, and a predicted average daily throughput of 60,000 people.

The work has been contracted out to McConnell Dowell, an Australian building contractor with an annual turnover of over $2 billion. The project is running behind schedule and was due to be opened in late 2016.

Safe Work NSW is currently investigating the tragedy and there will be a NSW Coroners inquiry. While few details have been released about this accident, numerous questions are posed.

Was the contractor increasing pressure on workers to increase productivity and complete the job? How thorough was the training that Macpherson was given? Why was a metal header beam, resting on two pylons, unsecured? Why was Macpherson in the vicinity of an area where heavy lifting was being carried out?

Was there a muster point providing a clear safety area on the barge, and if so, was it kept clear? It has been noted that another barge, 200 metres to the north, had a muster point that was obstructed by two pylon covers. Was the barge large enough to accommodate this type of operation?

These questions need to be answered as construction workers continue to die on the job. Builders and developers, seeking to maximise profits are demanding quicker completions, cutting basic safety standards and increasingly employing larger numbers of youth and untrained workers.

The ferry hub site and the multi-storey adjoining Barangaroo projectthe largest urban construction site in Australiahas a history of workplace safety failures.

 In April, 2012, asbestos was discovered in one part of the Barangaroo site, resulting in a temporary closure after belated quarantining and removal. There have been 13 other asbestos discoveries since construction began.

 January, 2014, a 23-year-old Aboriginal man plunged 30 metres to his death from a scaffold after participating in an eight week off-site training course. He had been employed as a trainee scaffolder on a two-week contract and apparently was left to wander around unsupervised. Lendlease the principal contractor was paid federal government grants to take on the young worker under the Koori Job Ready Program.

 March 2014, a large fire broke out at the site. It took fire crews from 20 stations and personnel from hazardous material (HAZMAT) 24 hours to extinguish the blaze.

 August 8, 2015 a worker aged in his 40s, suffered critical injuries at the site when a pallet of scaffolding weighing around one tonne fell off a forklift onto him.

In August last year the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) revealed that Lendleases Barangaroo project had one of the highest rates of reportable workplace incidents in NSW. Over 120 incidents were reported between 2014 and 2016, including workers exposed to live electrical wiring, explosions, crushed body parts and numerous near-misses from falling objects.

Lendlease claimed that the ABC report, which was obtained through a freedom of information request, was an indication of the companys stringent reportage and the high priority it placed on workplace safety. This was rejected by a former Lendlease environmental health and safety manager.

The health and safety manager told the ABC that Lendleases attitude towards safety was an absolute disgrace and that workers were bullied into not reporting incidents to safety regulators and internal management.

To hide industrial accidents internally, he said means that the companys incident and injury statistics are kept as low as possible, which helps for future tenders  On a number of occasions we were instructed by some of the most senior level people within the project itself to do our best to hide things, not report the little stuff.

Paul Keating from the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) told reporters that he and another MUA official had attempted to inspect the site in November 2016. The union, he said, had been told that the barge being used on site failed to comply with maritime standards.

Keating said that that he was met with opposition from the contractor, McConnell Dowell, in assessing the site, after which I contacted Roads and Maritime Services to find out whether the vessel was up to standard  These companies refuse our right of entry even when we raise these issues of safety with them.

No action, however, was taken either by the MUA or the construction industry unions and, once again, the official concerns about lax safety standards have only come to light after a worker has died.

The conditions which has led to growing numbers of industrial accidents on Australian building sites and in other industries, in fact, are a result of union-brokered agreements that have slashed construction costs, driven up productivity and undermined work safety. The unions, which heavily invest their members superannuation funds in the construction industry, defend the profit system and have a commercial interest in preventing any action that delays building projects.

The author also recommends:



Teenager killed on Australian building site

[17 January 2017]



What the Royal Commission into Australias trade unions revealed

Part Four: The CFMEUs training organisations and charities

[6 June 2016]




The WSWS Autoworker Newsletter is holding a call-in conference meeting, "The UAW's betrayal at Caterpillar: The case for rank-and-file committees" on Wednesday, March 29 at 7:00 pm, Central Time (8:00 pm EDT). To participte, call 213-416-1560 in the US or 438-800-2937 in Canada and enter PIN 581991086#.

On Sunday, some 5,000 Caterpillar workers in Illinois and Pennsylvania were forced by the United Auto Workers (UAW) to vote on a six-year sellout contract proposal, while only being given misleading highlights of the deal three days before. The UAWworking on behalf of the multibillion dollar corporationcoordinated an information blackout with the company throughout negotiations, seeking to keep concealed the painful concessions they were preparing.

Reporters from the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter spoke to Caterpillar workers in Peoria, Illinois, on Sunday, distributing hundreds of leaflets urging workers to vote no. The overwhelming majority of workers expressed their contempt for the UAW-brokered deal and stated they would vote it down.

I dont really trust the highlights we got, said Perry, a logistics worker with 10 years at Caterpillar. We got these highlights only on Thursday and a lot of people didnt get to read it till this weekend.

They pushed our vote day back twice. They pushed it back and then they didnt have the contract. We should have at least a week to study the contract. I dont trust the highlights the UAW gave us. Theres always stuff in the contract we are going to have questions about.

Scott, a second-tier worker with 12 years at Caterpillar, also expressed his hostility to the deal. Over the course of the contract, I still will not make full money, he said. I will have been there 18 years. It shows that the company and the union dont care about us. On a union scale, we should be making $36 an hour and instead we will only be making $21.50 an hour. Caterpillar is basically screwing us. They have made billions and billions of dollars and they used to say they were the company that cares. They dont care about us. They only care about lining their own pockets.

The UAW doesnt represent us. Theres a lot of opposition and many people said they would vote no, but theres a lot of crookedness with the union. They may stuff the ballots with a yes, vote. I heard they may have done some of this with the auto and Deere votes too. They voted down the contract and they still got the same rotten contract. During the Q&A before the vote, when we asked them questions, they just danced around and never really answered our questions.

Rachel started working before the 2005 contract and expressed her hatred of the two-tier wage system. How do we still have two tiers? she asked. I started here right before the UAW and Caterpillar brought in the two-tier system. When I stepped foot in the doors, I thought Id be making a certain amount once I got full time and thats when they went two-tier. Ive been working next to people who make more money than me for the last 13 years and Im sick of it. The UAW doesnt even represent us anymore.

Caterpillar likes to hire new people right before contract time because they are too scared to stand up for themselves and to strike if necessary. They try to frighten younger and newer workers. But Ill never be happy on a contract until we are all paid the same with cost-of-living adjustments added there on up.

Rich chimed in, Ive worked here over 16 years. We used to get free insurance. Thats gone and now we pay so much out of pocket. Im first-tier and I think its unfair to everyone that we even have tiers. Caterpillar is a multibillion dollar company. Why cant they increase the base rate to $30 dollars an hour or more? The next generation has nothing to look forward to. They want to take back what workers made in the 60s and 70s and 80s. We also have two parties in the government that lie to us and the one percent keeps making money. I dont trust any of our politicians.

The UAW carried out a news blackout and we had a one-hour meeting before the snap vote. I mean, how disingenuous can that be? asked Darren, a worker of 22 years. I cant trust whats going to be on that contract. They seem to be doing here what they did with the Big Three auto contract and with Deere.

If the past contracts are any indicator, this one cant be any good. Several people have commented that probably 90 percent of us will vote against it but it will still pass with like 50 percent. If Deere is any indication, it will probably be passed. Itll be interesting if the local will acknowledge the no votes or not. Even if we vote no they will just probably send us back the same crappy contract. I mean this exactly, step by step, is what they did with John Deere.

Ive been on the shop floor for more than 22 years. I think the idea of building rank-and-file committees is the only way to go. I dont know the first idea about how to go about it, but I agree. I dont know if I could stand in front of people and talk about it. The UAW said the union and the company are in agreement. Who are they talking about? Us? We are the rank-and-file.

I really appreciate the World Socialist Web Site and your articles. Its like the anti-FOX News and anti-CNN for me.

Echoing a widespread suspicion of the ballot counting by UAW representatives, Charles said, I noticed they had one little table set up at the end of where we get our ballots for an envelope. We had to stop and get an envelope, and they werent telling everyone this. But when you get to the ballot box, it says ballots with envelopes only, so theyre probably not even going to count most of the votes, because everyone was just stuffing their ballots in.

Marcus, a Caterpillar worker for 15 years, commented on the contract highlights, Its not really highlights, its a manipulation of words to convince those who dont know any better. Its more or less the same status quo, just reworded.

Pointing out the ruthless character of Caterpillar, he said, As far as the last contract was concerned, it was a matter of, from my standpoint, we had a leg to stand on, because the 98 contract was really very fuzzy as to giving details whether or not it was saving your job. And once you realized that you still had a job, you were just happy that you were still there.

This last one, I was at Mossville, and they had all of us who were safe sit in the bleachers. It was the coldest thing Ive ever seen, they walked everybody out in front of us, all 700 of them who werent getting their jobs back, in front of our faces, while we sat there. I never felt more guiltyyet still relieved at the fact Im still there.

Regarding the role of the UAW, he said, Well, theyre not here, so that tells you what you need right there. The way I look at it is, the UAW is Caterpillar. They dont even wear union T-shirts anymore, they wear polos. My union steward goes fishing with my supervisor. That tells you something. That happened across the entire spectrum. With the IAM (International Association of Machinists) in Joliet too. The poor people of Aurora, their plant is closing. They sat there before all of us and said their bargaining committee approved this.

Dan, a Caterpillar worker with 20 years, spoke to the losses workers have suffered. He said, All Ive done is lost. I cannot think of one thing Ive gained. The role of the UAW? Im baffled to be honest with you. I wasnt affected by two tierbut I voted no. I do not understand that. Here we are 20 years, and we havent really gained anything.
Last week, the Observer ran an exclusive based on a secret recording of Jon Lansman, the founder of Momentum. Momentum is the grassroots organisation that backed Jeremy Corbyns two successful challenges for Labour Party leadership.

In McCarthyite tones, the Sunday sister paper of the Guardian presented the recording as proof of a hard-left plot by Momentum to take over the Labour Party, by winning the affiliation of the Unite union and the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

Lansman told supporters that he expects Unite, along with the CWU, to affiliate to Momentum if Len McCluskey wins his battle for re-election as Unite general secretary. McCluskey faces a challenge from Gerard Coyne, who is supported by the Labour right wing.

Speculation that UniteLabours largest donoris preparing to give money, as well as organisational support, to Momentum would alarm critics of the Labour leader, the Observer wrote, who worry that  left-wing activists and some Unite insiders are laying plans to deselect them in a mass purge before the next election.

The article cited Labour deputy leader Tom Watson condemning Lansmans plans as proof of entryism and a secret left-wing plot to take control of the Labour party, as well as organise in the [trade unions] GMB and Unison.

I warned last year of entryism and no one can now doubt that threat is a real one, Watson said. For Unite to affiliate to Momentum it would require the approval of its executive committee. I hope Len McCluskey hasnt made promises without clearing them through the democratic structures of our union.

The entire article is a stitch-up. Lansman was speaking publicly, so there was no reason to covertly tape him. The hype about a secret recording that the newspaper then leaked was solely to suit its portrayal of factional intrigue. As for his comments about the potential of union affiliation to Momentum, there is nothing in the ruleseither of that organisation or Unitewhich forbids such a link-up, the prospect of which, moreover, was entirely speculative on Lansmans part.

The Observers exclusive was manufactured to provide a pretext for the Labour right to repeat their charges of a left-wing plot so as to insist on preserving their own domination over the party.

Watson thundered that Lansmans plan, if successful, will destroy the Labour Party as an electoral force. So you have to be stopped. Taking to the airwaves, he questioned whether Corbyn knew of the secret plan between Lansman and McCluskey to take control of the Labour Party. It appeared to have the tacit approval of the leadership, he claimed, although it was not clear what Corbyn knows and doesnt know.

Vowing to demand answers, he said: I regard this is a battle for the future existence of the Labour party.

McCluskey has been a key backer of Corbyn, so Labours right wing regard the prospect of his defeat as general secretary as a staging post in the moves against the Labour leader himself.

Coyne joined Watson in denouncing This shocking revelation [that] reveals a secret hard-left plot by Len McCluskey to seize control of the Labour party in perpetuity using cash taken from hard-working members of Unite.

McCluskey said the claims were a complete fabrication and there are no plans to fund anybody. He had not met Jon Lansmanthere have been no secret meetings with anybody about Momentum, he said, accusing Watson, his former close friend and flat mate, of a deliberate attempt to sensationalise something in order to influence the outcome of the general secretary election of Unite.

The depiction of McCluskey and Momentum as hard-left is false. As head of Unite, Britains largest union, McCluskey has done his utmost to stifle and suppress any offensive by workers against the austerity measures imposed by successive Labour, Liberal and Conservative governments. He fears, however, that the Blairite right will succeed in alienating the working class entirely from Labour altogether, which is why he backed Corbyn as necessary for salvaging the party.

Lansmans establishing of Momentum was similarly aimed at trying to prop up Labours right-wing husk. Indeed, having supported Corbyns two leadership challenges, Lansman closed the organisation down in January as proof of his commitment to the Labour apparatus. Utilising claims of a Trotskyist and extremist plot as his justification, and without any prior discussion, Lansman liquidated Momentums structures and drew up a new constitution stipulating that people would only be allowed to join if they are a member of the Labour Party and no other political party.

As the World Socialist Web Site explained, The Lansman faction has carried out a purge of the pseudo-left more ruthless than that of the Labour right during its moves against Corbyns supporters.

The real exclusive in the Lansman recording was his acknowledgement that this purge was ordered by Corbyn and McDonnell. The pair had personally asked him [Lansman] to exclude members of the Socialist Party (the successor to the Militant Tendency) from Momentum owing to the embarrassment they were causing, the Observer reported.

Lansman explained to his audience that he had rewritten Momentums rules to ensure that only Labour members could join as the price for getting Unite and other unions backing. It was important to require Labour Party membership in the rules.  It was important, for example, for Unite, he said. Thats why we introduced those bits. It was to get Unite.

Lansman also made clear that Momentum was getting ready for Corbyns departure as party leader. Blaming the man at the top for Labours defeat in the Copeland by-election last month, he said, Ensuring that when Jeremy ceases to be leader, and at some point he will cease to be leader, I hope at a time of his own choosing, we have a fair election where candidates who have support among the membership can get on the ballot paper and we will be able to vote for them.

Lansman was referring to efforts by Momentum and others to ensure party rules that currently require leadership candidates to get the backing of at least 15 percent of MPs be changed to 5 percent. His statements underscore that the Labour left accepts that Corbyn must go, but want to try to ensure a fairer playing field in the resulting leadership contest. Even this is considered beyond the pale by the Labour right.

Corbyns response has been yet another call for party unity. Claiming that the row was the result of high spirits, he penned a joint statement with Watson stating that after a robust and constructive discussion, the shadow cabinet agreed on the need to strengthen party unity.

While Corbyn and Watson recognised the right of groups across the spectrum of Labours broad church to discuss their views and try to influence the party so long as they operate within the rules, they stressed that the leadership represents the whole party and not any one strand within it.

This filthy operation against rank-and-file members, by Momentum, Corbyn, his Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and Watson et al, has only drawn the pseudo-left closer to Labour.

Earlier this month, the Socialist Workers Party announced that it had suspended its membership of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC)a coalition between the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, the Socialist Party (SP) and the SWP.

TUSC was supposedly founded to provide an alternative to Labour. It largely abandoned this approach following Corbyns election and, in January, it reluctantly committed to stand some candidates against Labour in Mays local authority elections, on a selective basis.

This was too much for the SWP, which complained that it is a barrier to united front work with Labour people. Our small electoral united front would make it harder to achieve a larger united front with the Labour left. The SWP explained it had called for a vote for Labour in last months by-elections even though the partys candidates were from the right.
Tens of thousands demonstrated in London Saturday at a Unite for Europe protest. The march was called by representatives of the ruling elite who support Britain remaining in the European Union (EU) with continuing access to the Single Market.

An anti-Brexit march, which was attended by around 1,500 and called by the pro-EU Young European Movement, was held in Edinburgh city centre. It was addressed by pro-EU figures, including Scottish National Party (SNP) MPs Tommy Sheppard and Joanna Cherry, Alex Cole-Hamilton, a Liberal Democrats Member of the Scottish Parliament and Green MSP Ross Greer.

The London March was held just five days before Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May triggers the Article 50 legislation, beginning the process of the UK exiting the EU.

The march assembled at Park Lane, before passing through Trafalgar Square and ending at Parliament Square. Those in attendance were mainly middle class layers. A large contingent carried blue and yellow EU flags, with many carrying homemade placards adorned with a wide array of pro-EU statements.

Among those addressing the rally were Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron and his predecessor Nick Clegg; Alastair Campbell, the main spin doctor of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair; David Lammy, the Labour MP for the London constituency of Tottenham; several Labour Members of the European Parliament; and Jonathan Bartley, the Green Party co-leader.

The date of the march was chosen to coincide with the commemoration by EU leaders in Rome of the 60th anniversary of the 1957 Treaty of Rome that launched attempts to integrate capitalist Europe. Leaders of the other 27 member states gathered in the Italian capital, absent any representative from the UK.

While many of those attendingincluding a sizable number of young peopletook part based on genuine concerns over the economic and political impact of Brexit, including the danger of the growth of nationalism and xenophobia, the platform offered no progressive alternative. Indeed, the fact that the event was overseen by Alastair Campbell serves as a devastating exposure of its right-wing, pro-capitalist credentials. Campbells master, Blair, recently launched his Institute for Global Change after calling for the pro-EU movement to to rise up and fight Brexit at any cost. He is reportedly sinking 8 million of his vast ill-gotten fortune into the campaign.

To all intents and purposes, Blair may have well been addressing the audience. Campbell played a critical role in manufacturing the lies that Blair used to launch his illegal 2003 invasion of Iraq and is himself an unindicted war criminal. In all essentials, his speech to the rally was an amalgam of all Blairs recent statements on Brexit.

The Remain camp of the ruling elitejust as much as the Leave factionpromulgates a nationalist agenda. Hence, the organisers made sure that the backdrop to the speakers stage was a massive EU flag, with a British Union flag prominently draped over the microphone stand. Referring to the British flag, Campbell held it before the audience and said, Its fantastic to see all these European flags but the flag I really care about is this one, and its the direction that Britains going in and its the direction that we have got to change, so thats what today is about.

He continued, Dont let anyone tell you that what we are doing is not patriotic. There is nothing more patriotic than thinking that your country is taking a wrong turn and youre determined to do something to stop it.

Campbell said of Brexit, When you see a car heading toward a cliff, you dont keep driving. ... I know I am in a minority in thinking Brexit can be stopped, but Im not in a minority in thinking that it should be.

The pro-Remain Labour right wing mounted an unsuccessful coup against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn following the Brexit vote last June, on the basis that he was not sufficiently pro-EU and was facilitating Brexit. In his speech, Campbell warned, Weve got to pursue Jeremy Corbyn to change his mind [over allowing Brexit to be triggered].

This echoed Blairs denunciation of Corbyn earlier this month, whose leadership had meant that The Labour Party is the facilitator of Brexit.

Britains right-wing media endorsed the Leave campaign, including the Sun, owned by billionaire oligarch Rupert Murdoch. Campbell stated, The media in this country is a right-wing cartel of tax-dodgers and tax exiles who pretend to speak for their readers when they speak for themselves and their own vested interest.

The brass neck required to make such a statement is staggering. Campbell has spent most of his life advocating for these same right-wing forces. With the exception of Blair himself, he is most associated with cosying up to and winning the support of Murdoch for his and Blairs New Labour agenda in the lead-up to their 1997 general election victory.

Last week it was announced that Campbell would become editor at large for the New European, a pro-Remain newspaper set up in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum and which has become a mouthpiece for Blair. The New European distributed 1,800 placards at the protest.

Labour MP Lammy continued the theme stating, In democracies, people are always allowed to change their minds. Over the coming months and years we will fight. Nigel Farage [former UK Independence Party leader and co-leader of Leave campaign] wouldnt give up. Labour needs to rediscover its mojo, and quickly.

Farron, whose Liberal Democrats are committed to holding a second referendum on Brexit, stated that the Remain movement had to win support for a referendum on the deal [the May government finalises with the EU], to change the direction of the debate and to change the direction of our country.

Because the central criteria by which they evaluate Brexit is the extent to which it damages the interests of British capitalism, the platform were unable to utter a single word of truth about the EU. Rather than a bastion of free movement and progressive values, as promoted by the platform, the leaders of the bloc have spent the last decade impoverishing millions via brutal austerity measures and imposing a Fortress Europe, made up of razor wire and concrete walls to keep out desperate refugees, who are forced to flee the consequences of imperialist wars waged by the US, Britain and Europe.

The demonstration was followed Sunday by the pro-EU Observer trailing what it described as a major policy speech that Labours Brexit spokesman, Keir Starmer, is to make today. It said Starmer will set out six tests for May and EU leaders to meet, including a requirement that any agreement delivers the exact same benefits as the UK enjoys from being inside the single market and customs union.
On Saturday, European Union (EU) heads of state met in Rome, celebrating 60 years of the 1957 Treaty of Rome that founded the European Economic Community, in an exercise designed to highlight the continuing unity of continental Europe despite Britains vote to leave the EU last June.

In the event, the summit highlighted instead the growing international conflicts and class tensions that are tearing the EU apart. The 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome could very well be its last. Amid growing concerns that France could elect a neo-fascist president in May and then leave both the EU and the euro currency, leading European officials of all political stripes pointed to the rising danger of war and collapse of Europe. Nonetheless, none of the EU leaders can formulate a clear plan to avoid plunging into the abyss.

Thousands of Italian troops put central Rome on lock-down over the weekend amid official fears of mass protests against the EU, whose austerity policies have devastated Italy. Moreover, differences between EU, Polish, and Greek officials forced EU officials to water down the final communique, to avoid the humiliation of having it repudiated by EU member states.

Polands far-right Law and Justice (PiS) government opposed references to the formation of a two-speed Europe, split between wealthier countries and a periphery of southern or eastern states. The EU has threatened to suspend Polands EU voting rights over the PiS attempts to emasculate the judiciary, amid a bitter struggle for influence between Berlin, London and Washington in Poland. The PiS apparently feared calls for a two-speed EU would be used to marginalize it.

The Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) government in Greece briefly demanded that the draft communique contain provisions on social rights and on handing back power to national parliaments. This was apparently a temporary tactic by Syriza, which faces strikes of port and public sector workers against it in Greece, as well as EU threats to withhold loans to Greece unless it accelerates its austerity measures against the population.

In the event, the communique that was adopted epitomized the EUs response to Brexit: the EU is trying to survive as a coalition of nationalist, anti-immigrant regimes held together by aspirations to become an aggressive military bloc rivaling the United States.

On military policy, it called for a stronger Europe, creating a more competitive and integrated defence industry and strengthening [the EUs] common security and defence. It also called for continuing EU anti-immigrant policieswhich have seen thousands drown in the Mediterranean, as millions flee imperialist wars in Africa and the Middle Eastso that EU external borders are secured, with an efficient, responsible and sustainable migration policy.

Perhaps most significantly, the EU signaled that it would move away from trying to secure unanimous agreement on policy among EU member states. While the formal endorsement of a two-speed Europe arrangement was eliminated at Polands insistence, it was replaced with a vague proposal to act together, at different paces and intensity where necessary, while moving in the same direction.

However euphemistically formulated, the adoption of a two-speed Europe policy marks a major step in the disintegration of the EU, with vast and unforeseeable implications.

The limited post-World War II integration of capitalist Europe was the European bourgeoisies response to fascism and two world wars that had claimed tens of millions of lives, leveled much of the continent, and discredited capitalism in Europe. Prosperity from increased trade within Europe was intended to fend off the political challenge posed in the working class by communism, exemplified in the continued existence of the USSR. At the same time, the bourgeoisie saw the pursuit of a united European policy, financed with US aid, as critical to avoiding new wars in Europe.

The preamble to the 1957 Treaty of Rome signed by Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg reflects this long-abandoned strategy. Calling for ever closer union among the peoples of Europe, it pledges to ensure the economic and social progress ... by common action to eliminate the barriers which divide Europe and the constant improvement of the living and working conditions of European people.

Since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 and the EUs establishment in 1992 in the Maastricht Treaty, the EU has repudiated these conceptions. The NATO wars in the Balkans in the 1990s and above all the latest war drive against Russia, after the announcement of German re-militarization in 2014, went hand with accelerating austerity measures targeting basic social rights won by the working class in previous decades of struggle.

These took the sharpest form in Western Europe with EU austerity measures imposed after the 2008 Wall Street crash that devastated Greece and led to threats to expel Greece from the euro zone.

Deep political shocks are exposing the underlying bankruptcy of the EU and the unviability of attempts to unify Europe on a capitalist basis. With Brexit and the coming to power in Washington of the Trump administration, which has denounced the EU as a tool of German domination, the crisis of the EU has reached a new level of intensity. Even those sections of the European still defending the EU now aim to divide Europe in order to sideline, or even expel from the EU, those European countries that they see as an obstacle to their plans for war and austerity.

Significantly, while figures from all sides are warning of war, no one is trying to articulate a policy to maintain European unity and halt the rapid drive towards war. Instead, the gloomiest predictions prevail. Last week, pro-EU French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron predicted an era of war and pledged to bring back the draft in France, before enthusiastically endorsing a two-speed Europe proposal and declaring his alignment on Berlin.

Several EU heads of state met prior to the summit with Pope Francis, who declared that Europe faces a vacuum of values.  When a body loses its sense of direction and is no longer able to look ahead, it experiences a regression and, in the long run, risks dying.

Prior to the summit, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker gave an interview to the Financial Times of London to denounce the Trump administration and warn of war in the Balkans. He called Trumps support for Brexit and Trumps calls for other countries to leave the EU in order to escape German domination annoying and surprising.

I told the [US] vice-president [Mike Pence], Do not say that, do not invite others to leave, because if the European Union collapses, you will have a new war in the western Balkans, Juncker said. He added that the prospect of EU membership was one of the few elements preventing a new war in the Balkans: If we leave them aloneBosnia Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, Macedonia, Albania, all those countrieswe will have war again.

In the UK, leading pro-EU Conservative Michael Heseltine issued a denunciation of Brexit, warning that it would only pave the way for German domination of Europe.

Heseltine said, Our ability to speak for the Commonwealth within Europe has come to an end. The Americans will shift their focus of interest to Germany. And if I can put it to you, for someone like myself, it was in 1933, the year of my birth, that Hitler was democratically elected in Germany. He unleashed the most horrendous war. This country played a unique role in securing his defeat. So Germany lost the war. Weve just handed them the opportunity to win the peace. I find that quite unacceptable.

The UK Independence Party asked if Heseltine had lost his marbles and called his statements extraordinary. If I was German I would be deeply offended, a UKIP official said. I never realised the purpose of Britains membership of the EU was to stop German domination of Europe.
Prominent Indian and Sri Lankan film directors, Rahul Roy and Prasanna Vithanage, have declared their support for the campaign to free 13 Maruti Suzuki workers who were condemned to life imprisonment. An international campaign and online petition drive have been launched by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) and the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS).

The workers were convicted by an Indian court on March 10 on trumped-up murder charges following a years-long vendetta by the police and judicial authorities against militant workers at the Maruti Suzuki factory in Manesar, near Delhi. The railroading of these workers, who include the entire 12-member executive of the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union (MSWU), has been carried out with the full backing of the Congress Party and the ruling Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Eighteen other workers, also victims of this cruel frame-up, have been sentenced for three to five years on lesser charges.

Rahul Roy is the director of The Factory, a 132-minute documentary film on the protracted struggle of the Maruti Suzuki workers against the Japan-based multinational car giant and the company controlled union. The film reveals the brutal conditions Indian autoworkers face, including the hated contract labor system, and is a damning exposure of the crude frame-up by company and state officials and the courts. The film also sensitively provides a voice to the genuinely heroic workers and their families who are the targets of the persecution.

Roys other films include When Four Friends Meet, Majma, The City Beautiful and Till We meet Again. His films, including The Factory, have been screened at many international festivals and won awards.

Enthusiastic about the ICFI campaign to release the convicted workers, Roy earlier wrote to our correspondent, I have signed the petition [of the ICFI] and forwarded it on Facebook too. Thank you for sending the links. I will spread the word.

Below we publish Roys statement:

The 13 workers convicted by a court in India of murder and imprisoned for life are political prisoners. Their crime being, setting up of a union after a successful struggle that lasted almost a year, bringing in new ideas of union activism to the Manesar industrial belt like occupying the factory, forging a unity between contract and permanent workers and foregrounding the demand of regularization of contract workers, creating a leadership chain that went down to the last worker in the plant and thereby being in a position to constantly challenge and control the production process. These are the crimes that make them prisoners of a system that now knows only one way of dealing with workers, criminalizing each and every attempt through solidarity to reclaim the right to be human in a production apparatus that sees them as nothing but extensions of machines. Their fight is our fight and it is a political fight to decriminalize the organising of workers.

In Solidarity,

Rahul Roy

Prasanna Vithanage in his statement declared, This is a frame-up. I oppose this injustice.

Vithanage is the director of award winning films, including Death on a Full Moon Day (Purahanda Kaluwara) [1997] and August Sun (Ira Madiyama) [2003] and With You, Without You (Oba Nathuwa, Oba Ekka), [2013] that dealt with Sri Lankan governments 30-year civil war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

In a statement to the WSWS Vithanage said:

This is a frame-up. I oppose this injustice and fully support the campaign led by ICFI for the release of the 13 Maruti Suzuki workers. My heart goes with their families who have suffered for long years.

I am a regular reader of the WSWS and through it I have followed the developments of the Gurgaon- Manesar Maruti Suzuki workers struggle from the days of July-August 2012. I also have collaborated with Rahul Roy, the film maker who produced the documentary The Factory in India. We all appreciated the principled fight waged by the WSWS in defending the fundamental rights of the Suzuki workers against the despicable witch-hunt of the company, carried out with the tacit support of the Haryana state government that unleashed police violence to brutally suppress the workers.

This is a reactionary phenomenon we can see today in every capitalist country and I wholeheartedly agree with the position of the ICFI that the need of the hour is to build the internationalist unity of the working class to defeat this repressive force on a global scale.

Prasanna Vithanage

The ICFI and the WSWS urge workers, young people and all supporters of basic democratic rights to demand the release of the framed workers and make their case known as widely as possible. Sign and circulate the petition to demand their immediate freedom.
A few weeks before the French presidential elections, French Guyana is paralyzed by a general strike. Strikes and road blockades have been ongoing for a week in this French overseas department in South America, bordering Brazil, based on demands on health, education, economy, security and housing.

Protests by health care, transport and energy workers are demanding jobs, pay increases and improvements to the quality of public services. After a week of strikes and demonstrations, largely launched independently of the union bureaucracy, the 37 unions gathered in the Union of Guyanese Workers (UTG) union federation voted to hold a general strike starting today.

At the same time, significant protest movements are mobilizing farmers and agricultural labourers in solidarity with the workers. In recent days, they have set up dozens of roadblocks that control strategic intersections in several cities, including the entrances to the cities of Cayenne, Kourou, Remire-Montjoly and Saint-Laurent du Maroni.

A dozen roadblocks and strike action are paralyzing the Cayenne airport. A Paris-Cayenne Air France flight had to head back to Paris after four hours flight time when the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) radioed that it could not land in Cayenne airport due to a shortage of staff.

Striking electricity workers, Kourou hospital workers, and workers of the Endel corporation have blockaded the entrance to the Guyana space centre in Kourou. They were thus able to prevent the launching of the Ariane 5 rocket, the heart of Guyanas economy, scheduled for March 21. Due to a social movement, it was impossible to carry out the transfer operations of the launcher of the Final Assembly Structure (BAF) towards the launch area scheduled for today, Ariane-Space declared in a statement.

Strikers also blocked the commercial port, the local authorities, the police prefecture and major roadways. Farmers are blockading the Agricultural Directorates buildings. Guyanas schools, junior high schools and high schools have been closed by the authorities until further notice. University students are reportedly joining the protests.

The strike reflects deep social anger that is building among workers and oppressed social layers after five years of austerity under the Socialist Party (PS) government of President Francois Hollande. In this department of 200,000 people, 22 percent of workers (18,000 people) are jobless. Youth aged 15 to 24, who make up 46 percent of the unemployed, are the worst hit.

Speaking to France-Info, Senator for Guyana Antoine Karam said there was in Guyana more insecurity than in the major cities inside France itself. He added, nearly 30 percent of the population does not have access to either drinkable water or to electricity, but on the other hand we have a space station.

He also pointed to murder, and armed robbery in Guyana, claiming, People will carry out murder for 20 euros, a jewel or a mobile phone.

Guyanese people underscored their deep disappointment with the Hollande administration and the French government. Hollande promised a Pact for the Future of Guyana, which is still not signed.

Maud, 29, a teacher at Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, told RMC: Everyone has had it. People feel that no one ever talks about them, but that the situation is truly catastrophic. The Guyanese people have the impression that they have been abandoned by metropolitan France. They do not feel they are treated equally as compared to other departments.

A month before the presidential elections, which are taking place amid explosive social anger in France, the PS government will seek to rapidly end the strike in the overseas department, before it triggers solidarity protests and strikes inside metropolitan France.

On Saturday, the PS government sent an inter-ministerial mission composed of high-ranking administrators to try to find a compromise.

I call for healing, I call for calm, I call for dialogue, because nothing can ever be built through disorder and confrontation, declared French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. We have taken measures so that dialogue can begin in Guyana, and so that we can take the measures that should be taken as quickly as possible.

Speaking to AFP, Overseas Territories Minister Ericka Bareigts called for the ending of the blockades: The situation is still tense. We do not have unscheduled blockades, but the situation remains complicated. She said the inter-ministerial mission should examine protesters demands in the short and medium term.

Workers in struggle can give no confidence either to Hollandes ministers or to the union bureaucracies negotiating with them. A class gulf separates the trade unions from the workers. Far from leading the struggle, the unions called a strike a week after the movement had begun, posturing as a friend of the movement all the better to strangle it. All the unions fear a confrontation between the working class in Guyana and across France and the deeply unpopular PS government, which the unions defend.

The delegation from Paris will try to make the smallest possible concessions to end the movement with proposals for a few administrative measures. At the same time, the security forces will try to penetrate and intervene in the movement to sow demoralization and stir up divisions, and possibly to provoke fights in order to justify police repression.

As the protests began, members of the newly created 500 Brothers collective marched in the streets of Cayenne, dressed in black and wearing ski masks. This organization, whose identity is not clearly established, advances right-wing demands for a struggle against delinquency and advocates the eradication of squatters and maintaining a unit of mobile military police as back-up. Their spokesman is Mickael Mancee, whom several press reports have described as a policemen currently available for service.

If we did not shock people, no one would ever have heard anything about us, Mancee replied to a question from journalists who were comparing his organization to a paramilitary militia. Speaking to Vice News, Mancee said, A dead thief is a thief who does not steal anymore and threatened that if petty criminals want war, we will wage it.

Aiming to end the movement, the PS government plans to rely on the unions to do what is needed to isolate and ultimately strangle the strike, possibly after extended negotiations. Despite the enormous social anger against austerity and the state of emergency in mainland France, the Guyanese unions are not calling for solidarity actions from workers there. They are doing everything they can to isolate strikers in Guyana, block a political struggle against Hollande, and thus force workers to accept the result of their negotiations with the PS.

This offers nothing to the workers, who can only defend their interests by taking their struggle out of the hands of the unions. Unemployment and poverty are not temporary ills due to administrative mismanagement, but the result of the bankruptcy of capitalism after a decade of deep economic crisis and of the PS reactionary policies. The only way forward is to appeal on a socialist and revolutionary perspective to the working class, both in France and across Latin America, for support and solidarity action in a struggle against the PS government.
As part of President Trumps recent executive order on immigration, the Trump administration is taking several measures to put pressure on so-called sanctuary cities, those that allow undocumented immigrants to reside and avoid deportation. In addition to threatening to withhold federal funding from sanctuary jurisdictions, the Trump administration had Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) compile and publish a list of jurisdictions that limit cooperation with ICE.

ICEs published report has information on which jails have denied ICE detainer requestsessentially requests to hold suspected undocumented immigrants in jail pending a transfer to ICE custodyand which jurisdictions have had any restrictive policy whatsoever regarding cooperation with ICE.

The ICE report carries the warning: ICE field offices have been instructed to resume issuing detainers on all removable aliens in a LEAs [Law Enforcement Agency] custody regardless of prior non-cooperation. As a result, the number of issued detainers will increase over the next several reporting periods (emphasis in original).

In parallel with the growing rift within the establishment, centered over questions of foreign policy, a division is emerging between different sections of police forces and is crystalizing over the question of sanctuary cities. In California this is coming to a head over a proposed state bill called the California Values Act. If passed, it would essentially make California a sanctuary state.

Since 1979, a rule called Special Order 40, written by then police chief Daryl Gates, has been the cornerstone of Los Angeles police policy on undocumented immigrants. The rule prohibits officers from asking about the immigration status of detainees, and forbids LAPD from making arrests based solely on immigration status. It does not forbid the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from working with federal police altogether, which they regularly do. The order has been pointed to as a microcosm of how the California Values Act might function.

Special Order 40s self-declared intent is to improve police relations with the immigrant community to make it easier for them to report crimes. The Los Angeles Times recently described the bill as a policing tool, not an immigration policy. LAPD chief Charlie Beck has claimed that reports of sexual assault from Latinos has dropped 25 percent since the ICE raids last month because immigrants are less willing to go to the police for help. Through the pretext of building police trust, the driving concern among the elite is the economic disruption that would come from a significant deportation of its workforce.

According to the Public Policy Institute of California, about 10 percent of the states workforceor 1.75 million workersconsists of undocumented immigrants. In certain sectors, such as textiles and agriculture, this number is considerably higher. Especially in these areas, police collaboration with ICE and a subsequent massive escalation of deportations would disrupt the otherwise regular operations of capitalist exploitation. Other major cities have adopted similar policies for largely the same considerations.

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti has defended both Special Order 40 and the California Values Act on the grounds that the ICE raids since Trumps inauguration have already begun to have an impact on economic life. He voiced concern over a drop in participation in civic life in the immigrant community and added that there may be an economic impact from immigrants less willing to work.

At the same time, there are real fears that stirring up social discontent among the working class could provoke genuine opposition. Unions such as the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) are attempting to contain and, if needed, suppress working class opposition, while presenting themselves as friends to immigrants. At a Thursday demonstration held in tandem with the Service Employees International Union in support of the California Values Act, NDLON director Pablo Alvarado said that the point of their protest was to appeal to the LA County Sheriff for support, saying, I think we will be able to touch his heart and mind.

While the ICE spokespersons have opposed the California Values Act, some California police, most prominently LAPD chief Charlie Beck, have supported it. Other California police officials, such as LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell and Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, have objected to this approach, calling for closer work with ICE. Sheriffs are in charge of county prisons, meaning they receive federal funding that was recently threatened by the Trump administrations executive orders. That is, if their jurisdictions are declared to be sanctuary jurisdictions, they may lose their funding.

Hutchens took a particularly reactionary position opposing the legislation, saying, What, in effect, this would do is say we could not talk to ICE about who is in our custody, and we cannot tell them when someone is going to be released. Then, they get released to the street, and I am talking about violent, convicted felons.

The attitude of ICE toward non-cooperative jurisdictions has taken on more and more hostile language. Claude Arnold, the previous head of the ICE branch in Los Angeles, recently implied that the bill forces sheriffs and police departments to harbor aliensa federal crime. In other words, if the bill were passed, then those departments complying with it could be criminally charged.

Whether its the unions, the police, or the Democratic Party calling for sanctuary city legislation, the one commonality of their defense is that it is justified by economic or security issues. They are all opposed to making an appeal for the basic democratic rights of the working class, as that stands in the way of their class interests. For them, sanctuary cities are the mechanism through which capitalist relations can best be maintained, and through which the working class can be best exploited.

Neither ICE nor state or local police are concerned about the fate of immigrants, much less the democratic and social rights of the working class as a whole. While ICE has been more infamous in recent news, police departments around the country have been militarizing for the better part of the last two decades. A confrontation with the working class is being prepared at the highest levels of the establishment. On this question, there is no fundamental disagreement between various police forces. Should such a confrontation become imminent, they would rapidly settle their differences.
World Socialist Web Site reporters interviewed some of those attending the London demonstration, called by the Unite for Europe organisation. Socialist Equality Party members and supporters distributed copies of the statement, No to British nationalism and the European Union! A socialist response to Brexit at the protest.

Claudia, who came to England more than 20 years ago and is now a university lecturer in Luton, said, Until June 23rd [the date of last years Brexit referendum] I never felt foreign. But now the atmosphere has changed. I have noticed that if I speak Italian with my daughter some people will start looking at us.

I was angry I couldnt vote in the Brexit referendum. That is because I do not have British nationality or residency. But I have paid taxes for over 20 years and done everything I was supposed to do. I will absolutely not apply for nationality or residency now. I was a European going to live in another European country. Now the government has changed the rules. They will have to use a tank if they want to get me out.

I dont agree with the European Union stopping immigrants coming into Europe. The answer is not to create more borders, but to break down borders. I am worried about the growth of right-wing parties in Italy and everywhere. I just hope normal society prevails.

Claudias teenage daughter, Miriam, said, I believe we should stay in the EU. People are becoming more divided and there is danger of more conflicts happening. The EU was created to stop something like the Second World War happening again. If it breaks up, countries will become more isolated and are bound to take action to protect themselves.

Richard, a cancer research scientist, explained that the UK received billions in research funding from the EU and a lot of scientists rely on it for their jobs and livelihoods. He said, Its not just about looking after ourselves, though. So much research is done at a European and international level. It is a collaborative effort across the globe. We should be breaking down barriers, not creating new ones.

If there is a criticism to be made of the EU and science, it is the way the EU is liberalising and privatising everything. That is leading to unnecessary competition, secrecy and fraud. Private companies tend to cut staff, wages and corners in terms of safety.

That sort of thing generally happens across workplaces and is why I think so many people voted to leave the EU. I have done quite well out of the EU and have an interesting life, thanks to it. But the poorer off in society have been the victims of all this liberalisation and privatisation while they see the top dogs getting all the benefits.

After the rally, trainee accountant Ellie said she had come along because she was hoping to find some opposition to the rising tide of right-wing, anti-immigrant sentiment. The trouble is we see the stage draped in Union Jacks [British flag] here and to hear the speakers talking about defending British and European values makes me sick.

Youve got Alastair Campbell [Tony Blairs spin doctor] speaking  he was in a Labour government that lied to start the Iraq War and then Nick Clegg [former Liberal Democrats leader] who promised to abolish tuition fees and then increased them when he came to power [in the 2010 Conservative/Liberal Democrats coalition] and I started university. I do not have any confidence in those people.

I think the organisers today called the march to stop people getting demoralised. But the stuff the speakers said was very confusing. Some said we have to accept the referendum, which I agree with. Others said there is a chance of reversing Brexit or even having a second referendum. And then a couple of them going all slushy about how much they love the EU and its civilising values.

I only voted Remain because the Leave people were so disgusting. But I think your idea of a boycott was a good one in retrospect. I wish I had known about it earlier. I agree with you that Remain and Leave was a fight between different wings of big business and ordinary people did not have a real choice. The finance houses and stock exchanges decide whats going on whether wed stayed in the EU or now we are coming out.

The author also recommends:

For an active boycott of the Brexit referendum!

[29 February 2016]
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is embroiled in a widening scandal over his alleged involvement with a private elementary school project in Osaka by Moritomo Gakuen, an extreme-right educational organisation. The allegations, which also involve Abes wife Akie, have contributed to falling opinion polls for Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) government.

In sworn testimony to the Japanese parliament last Thursday, Moritomo Gakuen head Yasunori Kagoike added further fuel to the controversy swirling around Abe. He confirmed he received a sizeable donation for the school from Abe via Akie in September 2015. She said please, this is from Shinzo Abe, and gave me an envelope with 1 million yen ($US9,000) in it, he said.

Abe flatly denied making a donation. However, Kagoike declared: Abes wife apparently says she doesnt remember this at all, but since this was a matter of honour to us, I remember it quite vividly. Akie was named as honorary principal of the school until she abruptly resigned after the scandal broke.

Whether or not money changed hands, Abe and his wife are clearly in sympathy with Moritomo Gakuens curriculum and methods. While the school project has been shelved, the organisation already operates a kindergarten in Osaka in which young children are required to recite the Imperial Rescript on Educationa 19th century edict issued by the Emperor calling for loyalty and filial piety and hailing the glory of the Japanese empire. The school has been accused of sending a letter to parents expressing hatred toward Koreans and Chinese.

The alleged donation is not strictly illegal, but the controversy first erupted in February over allegations that government influence was enabling Moritomo Gakuen to purchase land for the new school at a fraction of its worth. Kagoike testified in parliament last week he believed some sort of political intervention took place as the process began to move more rapidly after he began asking for assistance.

Kagoike later told the media he believed finance ministry officials, whom he did not name, helped in the sale, but he did not think Abe was directly involved. His organisation bought the land for 134 million yen (about $1.2 million) or about one seventh of its assessed valuesupposedly discounted to cover waste disposal costs. Kagoike defended the discount, claiming it needed a lot of money to take out the household waste in the land and replace it with good soil.

The scandal has drawn in other political figures close to Abe, providing a glimpse of the network of right-wing nationalist organisations connected to his government. Defence Minister Tomomi Inada was forced to apologise to parliament and retract a statement that she had never represented Moritomo Gakuen in court. As a lawyer, Inada appeared in court on its behalf in 2004, and defended other extremist organisations in high-profile cases.

Three other politicianstwo from the LDP and one from the ultra-nationalist Nippon Ishindenied assisting Moritomo Gakuen after being named in parliament last week. In Osaka, the organisation asked the prefectural government to relax the restrictions on setting up private schools, which was granted in April 2013 when Ichiro Matsui, a close political ally of Abe, was governor.

Abe and the overwhelming majority of his cabinet, including Defence Minister Inada, are members of Nippon Kaigi, an extreme nationalist organisation that seeks to re-establish Japan as a proud nation. It promotes the necessity for a strong military, the writing of the constitution to remove restrictions on the armed forces and patriotic education, whitewashing the crimes of Japanese militarism in the 1930s and 1940s.

Moritomo Gakuen head Kagoike was a member of Nippon Kaigi but claims to have left in 2011. He boasted that the school he planned to establish would be the first Shinto primary school in Japan with a shrine housed on the grounds. The organisation claimed the shrine would help connect the school and the roots of our country. Shintoism was the state religion of the pre-World War II militarist regime in Japan that revered the emperor as a god.

The Imperial Rescript on Education was a key element of this militarist ideology, read in schools and enshrined alongside a portrait of the emperor until after the war. The document refers to the people of Japan not as citizens but subjects of the emperor and declares: Should an emergency arise, muster your courage under a cause and dedicate yourselves to the good of the Imperial state.

During the post-war US occupation of Japan, the parliament officially repudiated the rescript as incompatible with the countrys democratic constitution. Successive governments have held that the imperial edict was invalidated by the adoption of the Fundamental Law on Education. The promotion of the rescript is part and parcel of efforts by government-linked organisations such as Moritomo Gakuen and Nippon Kaigi to whip up patriotism and militarism.

Since coming to power in 2012, Abe has taken significant steps to remilitarise Japan. These include boosting the military budget, removing constitutional constraints on collective self-defencethat is, participating in US-led warsand establishing a US-style National Security Council to centralise military strategy, planning and operations in the prime ministers office (see: Japanese imperialism rearms).

Abe has also encouraged an ideological offensive designed to cover up the past crimes of Japanese imperialism and stir up militarism, particularly among young people. Significantly, Defence Minister Inada has repeatedly defended the use of the imperial rescript in schools. Asked about it in parliament in February, she declared: I dont agree with the education ministry saying that theres a problem having students memorise the rescript by heart.

The revival of Japanese militarism is another sign of the deepening crisis of Japanese and global capitalism, which is fuelling geo-political tensions and the drive to war. The Abe governments determination to rearm reflects the sentiment in ruling circles that Japanese imperialism must be able to use all means, including military, to prosecute its economic and strategic interests against its rivals.
With virtually no public discussion, the US Senate voted Thursday to repeal a set of internet privacy regulations passed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last October.

If passed by the House of Representatives and signed into law by President Donald Trump, the legislation will allow internet service providers such as AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner and Verizon to sell private communications information to the advertising industry and any other buyers, unimpeded by any sort of regulatory oversight.

The repeal was passed by the Senate using powers outlined in the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which gives Congress the authority to eliminate rules and guidelines passed by federal agencies before they go into effect. The use of the CRA will also prevent the FCC from passing substantially similar regulations in the future, essentially giving these companies free reign in regards to the data they collect from their users.

While the CRA had only been used once before 2017, early in the George W. Bush era, it has been used multiple times by the new Congress and the Trump administration to attack other federal regulations.

The FCC ruling, set to go into effect at the end of this year, requires companies that provide internet access to receive explicit consent from their customers in order to use and share any personal information they collect, including things like financial information, browsing history and location. It would also allow customers to revoke their permission for companies to use what was deemed non-personal information, such as the level or types of service a given individual receives.

In theory, the ruling was designed to uphold the idea of net neutrality, that no company should have the capability to dictate what users do on the internet or to use information collected by virtue of supplying internet access for profits. However, the exceptions clause put in by the FCC was vague enough to make the measure largely toothless. In addition, without intimate access to each companys own infrastructure, the FCC has no way to monitor and enforce what policies it adopted.

Despite this, however, the regulations were denounced by groups like the Direct Marketing Association and others in the media and advertising business for stifling growth opportunities in these various industries. They claim that since websites like Google and Facebook already collect consumer data and use it to generate advertising revenue that other telecommunications companies should be able to do the same.

Rather than being a democratic demand, this is an attempt by what were once largely phone or television companies to cash in on the revenue stream that companies like Google and Facebook make through targeted advertising. For example, Google made $17.3 billion in revenue in 2015, of which $15.5 billion was from advertising sales.

The reason Google, along with Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms have made such huge amounts of money from advertising is that they are able to take the information they collect about a persons online habits and generate ads that target said persons interests. While the algorithms that make targeted ads are not always correct, they are far more lucrative than serving the same ads to everyone and the algorithms are constantly being improved.

A company like Comcast, however, has an advantage that a website like Google does not. Google is only able to collect data when a person is using a Google device (like an Android or Chromebook) or using an internet browser. In contrast, Comcast is able to collect every bit of someones internet activity. This includes if someone is using an email client, logging on to a private network, playing an online video game, getting updates to programs or operating systems, using an instant messenger and the myriad other ways people use the internet.

Moreover, Comcast also provides phone, television and even home security services. Phone calls can be recorded, and voicemails are recorded, stored and converted into text. Television viewing habits are noted. It is even possible, with the sort of data Comcast collects, to figure out someones work schedule. Given that it is likely that the FCC rules will be fully struck down, these companies will be able to sell all of this information, allowing advertisers to escalate targeted advertising from internet browsing to television and beyond.

What will happen to all this information if one of these companies is hacked? The amount of information they are poised to start selling is even more invasive and private than what is collected by Google, et. al. What are the guarantees that this information will not be compromised or leaked and exposed for all to see?

More importantly, however, is the relationship between these companies and the state. As exposed by the Snowden revelations, organizations like the National Security Administration collect internet traffic both by tapping into the physical infrastructure of the internet as well as asking the various Silicon Valley companies to share the data they collect. Once the FCC ruling is struck down, the US intelligence agencies will have access to even more ways to spy on the population.

Of course, such invasive surveillance by the US government could already be occurring, though the leaks of the past five years have not yet indicated this. However, knowing the history and relationships between these companies and the US government, such collusion is no doubt at least being planned as the alliance between corporations and the state strengthens.
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at New York University denounces the decision by the Student Activities Board (SAB) to reject our appeal for club status. The rejection is an act of political censorship attacking the democratic right of students at NYU to form an IYSSE club.

The rejection of the appeal comes after SAB denied the IYSSEs application several weeks ago, telling the IYSSE to appeal without providing any reasons for the initial rejection. This was the second rejection in consecutive semestersthe SAB rejected the IYSSEs initial application and appeal last semester as well.

Julie Corbett, the Vice Chair of Development for the SAB, wrote a perfunctory email to the IYSSE announcing the rejection of the appeal on March 24: The Development Committee took the following into consideration while reviewing your application: the impact and community your organization would provide for NYU students; the sustainability of your mission statement in past and potential programming; and sustainability in your membership and outreach.

There is no indication from this letter that the SAB even reviewed the appeal, let alone seriously considered it. The IYSSEs appeal included detailed arguments disproving the reasons listed in Corbetts letter.

The IYSSE responded to the SABs rejection of its application last semester by launching a campaign for club status that has drawn support from students and faculty across the university. As part of the Spring 2017 application, the IYSSE exceeded all stated criteria for club status by submitting over 400 signatures, demonstrating interest on campus through meetings and rallies that were attended by NYU students, and receiving numerous statements of support from NYU faculty.

In denying the IYSSEs appeal this semester, the SAB did not even bother to go through the formality of organizing a meeting to present its reasons, as it did last semester.

Corbett wrote further that the SAB is limited by both the amount of physical and financial resources available. This is false. NYU is awash in cash, charging students $75,000 a year in tuition, room and board, yet claiming that these students do not have the right to form clubs and access the many rooms available to hold meetings.

The SAB and NYU administration are opposed to allowing a socialist, anti-war student group from representing the political interests of the working class on campus. As the IYSSE wrote in its appeal, By rejecting the IYSSE, the SAB is preventing students from hearing an independent Marxist perspective on current events at a time when millions of young people across the country are looking for an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans.

NYU is thoroughly integrated into the political and business establishment. The universitys board of trustees includes an array of financial speculators with political ties. The board includes Larry Fink, the chairman and chief executive of the worlds largest asset-managing firm, BlackRock, and a longtime Democrat, and John Paulson, a hedge fund manager and economic advisor to Donald Trump.

The students on the SAB have their own political ties to the Democratic Party. They are not neutral arbiters in determining what impact the IYSSE would provide for NYU students.

Corbett, who authored the rejection letter, participated in Obamas reelection campaign in 2012. She told the IYSSE last semester that its club application places too heavy an emphasis on opposition to war, and she has publicly expressed her support for NATO on social media. Student Senate President Ryan Thomas (who is not technically a member of the SAB) worked for Hillary Clintons failed 2016 presidential campaign before broadcasting his recent employment with the New York Times. He boasted on a public social media account that he is officially part of the corporate media establishment.

SAB member Joseph Onwughalu worked for investment bank Brown Brothers Harriman, while Rose Liu has campaigned for Democratic Party politicians and also lists her support for Hillary Clinton on public social media. Andrea Ng worked for J.P. Morgan and Citibank and also supports Hillary Clinton on social media.

The SAB has ignored repeated IYSSE requests for more information on the club application decision-making process. In January, following the rejection of the IYSSEs initial application for club status, the IYSSE requested all minutes be provided to the club president in order to prove there was no overt bias against the group. The SAB denied the request.

The repeated rejection of the IYSSE by the SAB is in violation of the NYUs Code of Ethical Conduct that specifies that all members of the university are expected to consider and avoid, not only an actual conflict but also, the appearance of a conflict of interest.

With or without the approval of the SAB and university administration, the IYSSE will continue to fight for a Marxist political perspective on campus and orient the most serious section of the students towards building a revolutionary socialist movement in the working class.
The US-led coalition has admitted that its forces carried out the March 17 air strike in Mosulostensibly against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fightersthat slaughtered as many as 200 civilians, including numerous children. The admission was only made in the face of evidence provided by survivors to Iraqi journalists, whose accounts were reported by sections of the Western press.

The massacre is being described as possibly the largest single death toll inflicted by a coalition air strike since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The grim reality, however, is that very little is known about the impact of the assault on Mosul, which the Iraqi government began last October under pressure from the Obama administration. Coverage of the offensive has been heavily censored and marked by a propaganda-like character. Almost universally, the fighting has been portrayed as a heroic battle by Iraqi forces against the barbaric ISIS. Little attention has been given to the fate of hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city.

News of the March 17 carnage began filtering out as the Trump administrations Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and representatives of 62 other countries gloated in Washington over the success of their campaign for the lasting defeat of ISIS. A March 22 statement cynically declared that the Global Coalition against ISIS underscored the need for safeguarding civilians and applauded the Iraqi government for protecting civilians in conflict zones.

In fact, in February, the Trump administration let it be known it would sharply escalate the onslaught on Mosul in order to end the fightingregardless of how many innocent lives were claimed. Unnamed US officials told the Wall Street Journal plans included loosening battlefield restrictions to ease rules designed to minimize civilian casualties.

Such plans have clearly been put into effect. The intensity of air attacks has risen dramatically in recent weeks as Iraqi forces pushed into the western suburbs of the city still held by ISIS fighters. According to the Pentagon, close to 1,400 separate munitions were unleashed over two weeks. In a detailed account, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday that US pilots describe dozens of strike aircraft circling high above west Mosul, waiting their turn to drop a bomb.

On the weekend, US military representatives announced that hundreds more American ground troops, from the 82nd Airborne Division, were being sent to advise and assist Iraqi government forces in Mosul. One of the primary roles of such advisors is calling in air strikes, drone attacks and artillery bombardments.

The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights reported last weekend it has eyewitness accounts of 3,846 civilian deaths since the assault into western Mosul began in February. It has reports of 10,000 residential homes being destroyed. Every day, thousands of terrified and starving civilians risk their lives to flee through the battle lines to escape the city. The number of refugees has soared to well over 200,000, with more than 10,000 new displaced persons arriving most days. Aid agencies are overwhelmed and warn they will not be able to care for the estimated 400,000 people still hiding out in the citys ISIS-held areas.

Every effort is being made to conceal from the American and world population the savage consequences of US-led military operations in the Middle East. A feature of American media coverage on the weekend was the paucity of commentary on the air strike and broader humanitarian catastrophe in Mosul, compared with the immense attention paid to the atrocity committed in London by a lone British-born extremist.

To the extent Mosul was mentioned, attempts were made to shift responsibility for the carnage to ISIS. US Republican Senator Tom Cotton declared on CBS News: Ultimately, though, the blame lays with the Islamic State. They are the savages that are fighting from civilian locations, like apartment buildings, homes, mosques, hospitals, schools and so forth. The blame does not lay with coalition pilots or with Iraqi forces.

The hypocrisy of the American ruling elite knows no limits. Barely months ago, every report of civilian casualties caused by the Russian and Syrian government assault on the US-backed rebel forces in the city of Aleppo was declared a war crime and accompanied by demands for an immediate ceasefire. In Mosul, even greater civilian deaths are dismissed as unfortunate and no reason to slow, let alone stop, the offensive.

The latest assertions by the US and its allies continue the deceit surrounding the assault on Mosul and other cities that fell under the control of ISIS in 2014. The supposed war against ISIS has been marked by the flagrant collective punishment of the civilian populations where ISIS established influence. In the first months of 2016, most of the western Iraqi cities of Ramadi and Fallujah were reduced to rubble to liberate them. The same policy has guided the attack on Mosul.

Above all, the political and media establishment attempt to conceal the fact that the very emergence of ISIS is the direct outcome of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, followed by the destruction of Libya and the proxy war the US and its allies sponsored in Syria.

From 2003 on, the conscious policy of the US occupation force in Iraq was to divide and weaken resistance by stoking sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shiite communities, which ultimately led in 20062007 to a murderous civil war and the deaths of tens of thousands. Millions were displaced from their homes as entire suburbs and cities were cleansed by death squads from one sect or the other.

ISISa movement based on the most reactionary interpretation of Sunni Islamgained a following by claiming it would defend Sunnis from repression by the Shiite-dominated and US-backed government in Baghdad. It gained its strength not in Iraq, however, but in Syria. From 2012, it benefited from the support given by the US, the European powers, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies to Sunni-based militias fighting the Iranian- and Russian-backed government of President Bashar al-Assad. Utilising the bases, weapons and personnel it gained in Syria, ISIS crossed into Iraq in 2013, taking the western Anbar region and capturing Mosul in June 2014.

The ruthless campaign against ISIS flows from US imperialisms determination to retain its tenuous grip over Iraq against any challenge. For 25 years, successive American administrations have used brutal wars and intrigues to assert US dominance over the oil-rich Middle East, at the cost of millions of lives and incalculable human sufferingespecially in Iraq.

The stark truth, however, is that the assault on Mosul coincides with the escalation of US attempts to assert dominance in other regions of the globe, against far more significant rivals than a poorly-armed Islamist movement.

In Asia, the talk of military action against North Korea has dramatically increased over recent weeks. Conflicts with China are simmering, not only over the Korean Peninsula, but the South China Sea, Taiwan and the Trump administrations threats of trade war. The Russian regime is increasingly alarmed by the hysteria directed in Washington against it and the provocative military build-up by the US and its NATO allies on its borders. At the same time, underlying tensions are emerging between the US and its historic competitors for global dominance, such as Germany and Japan.

Workers around the world must combine the clear and unambiguous defence of the oppressed people of Iraq, and other countries targeted by great power interventions, with the most determined and active struggle against the descent of world capitalism toward open conflict between nuclear-armed or potentially nuclear-armed states.
A strike by 1,300 workers at the Cerro Verde mine, Perus largest copper mine, has entered its third week, continuing in defiance of a government decree declaring the action illegal.

On March 10 the Cerro Verde workers called a one-week strike demanding a bigger share of the the mines profits, which have been low for the last two years, better family health care benefits and the inclusion of workers in the investigation of work-related accidents.

Within the first week of strike, the governments Labor Regional Management declared it illegal because the union didnt submit the dispute to the judiciary. The decree allows the owner, the US-based transnational mining company Freeport-McMoRan, to fire workers indiscriminately.

The communique declaring the strike illegal was dated March 13. But on March 11, the government entity presented its decision to the company, while waiting one more day to tell the striking workers.

This maneuver gave the company a one-day heads-up to hold discussions with the union leadership before the official announcement to the rank-and-file, a clear attempt to negotiate a settlement without the authorization of the striking workers.

But miners responded to the governments outlawing of their walkout by turning it into an indefinite strike, while issuing calls for the nationwide miners union to call out all miners in a united strike against the government and the capitalist owners. Miners at the Milpo, Buenaventura, El Brocal, Simsa, Minera Raura and Shougang Hierro Peru mines have all staged strikes over the past 12 months.

The decision to call the indefinite strike in the event of the government outlawing their action had been taken by the workers when they began the one-week walkout.

With a 22 percent share of annual national copper production, Cerro Verde is Perus biggest producer of the mineral. Its main shareholder is the Phoenix-based Freeport McMoRan (FMCG)reportedly the largest publicly traded copper producerwith the Japanese Sumitomo Metal Mining and the Peruvian Buenaventura company, of the powerful Benavides family, also owning substantial shares.

According to Bloomberg News, the Cerro Verde mine produced 500,000 tons of copper in 2016, more than double its 2015 output due to an expansion in its operations. In 2016 it also extracted gold and molybdenum.

FMCG has a worldwide presence and a world of troubles as result of the five-year slump in the price of copper that forced down the companys profits and left it unable to meet contractual requirements in its operations in Indonesia, Congo and Zambia. In August 2016, a Chilean miner died at Freeports El Abra copper mine after an accident at its acid unloading terminal, forcing a halt to some operations, Reuters reported.

There has been a recent rebound of copper prices which is attributed to strikes at Chiles Escondida mine and Indonesias Grasberg mine, the worlds largest and second-largest copper mines. The financial markets have also apparently factored in President Donald Trumps campaign promises to rebuild American infrastructure. Since Trump won the presidency, the price of copper has recovered 7 percent.

At Cerro Verde, which is located in 50 kms from Arequipa, Perus second largest city, the company has sent in strike-breakers and contract workers to operate key areas of the mine, according to Bloomberg, but it is only producing half as much as usual.

The union has asked the company to stop production during the strike and charged that the strike-breakers and contractors are being forced to work exhausting 12-hour shifts on jobs for which they are untrained and are operating heavy machinery, violating the the companys own health and safety rules.

During the first week of strike, two strikebreakers who worked on contract died. According to Reuters the machinist Winston Arratea Ale (27) died yesterday morning in the interior of the ammonium nitrate plant  Apparently, an electric belt cut his left arm and injured other parts of his body. Then, Frank Axel Cohen Ruiz died and Basilio Olazabal was hurt in another accident that is being investigated.

A union representative declared to the Arequipa online journal El Buho that Olazabal has been threatened with criminal charges by the company, which is trying to frame him up for the other workers death. But Olazabal declared to the police that the order to operate in a dangerous area came from the top executives in the company, despite warnings from the workers.

According to the Peruvian daily La Republica: The miners spouses came out to protest yesterday and threatened to go with their children. An average of 100 women protested against what they considered was an abuse from Cerro Verde.

They are not giving the full work insurance to our husbands, they dont pay overtime work, they dont recognize rights and on top of that they cannot complain because they get fired, said one of the protesters, Carmen Julia Alarcon.

According to Cerro Verde union leader, Zenon Mujicaa senior bureaucrat in the Federacion Nacional de Trabajadores Mineros, Metalurgicos y Siderurgicos del Peru (FNTMMSP)all miners in the country face similar attacks on wages and benefits.

Similar struggles have unfolded elsewhere in Latin America. According to a Reuters report Thursday, The strike at Chiles La Escondida, the worlds largest copper mine, is ending after 43 days, when workers decided to invoke a rarely used legal provision that allows them to extend their old contract, the union said on Thursday. The move followed another failure of talks between the union and the multinational mining firm BHP Billiton. The miners will keep their benefits, but forfeit their demand for higher pay.

The workers said they would present their decision to the government on Friday and return to work on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The struggles of the Cerro Verde and La Escondida miners were very similar. Both are the largest copper producers in their respective countries, capable of moving world copper prices. Both are owned by large multinationals, and both launched indefinite strikes due to their being forced to bear the burden of falling copper prices on the world market. And in both strikes, the corporations brought in strike-breakers.

The nationally-based union bureaucracies in Chile and Peru, however, did nothing to bring the struggles of these two powerful sections of the world mining workforce together, even as the transnational mining companies very consciously attempt to pit one section of workers against another.

In the meantime, the decision to outlaw the strike by the Peruvian government of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK), a former Wall Street banker, has only served to even further discredit his administration, which unfailingly sides with foreign investors in placing the burden of the world economic crisis on the shoulders of the working class.

During the first week of the Cerro Verde strike, PPKs government was working on new rules that aim to turn around the three-year slump in mining investment by eliminating permit requirements for exploration projects, the energy and mines minister told Reuters on Monday.

In 2014, the government of President Ollanta Humala came to an agreement with Cerro Verde exempting the mining company from paying taxes until 2028. But once the US company started operations in new fields that were not covered by the government agreementproduction of the primary Sulphide Flotation Plantthe Peruvian tax entity, SUNAT, came to the conclusion that Cerro Verde owed 286 million nuevos soles (US$88 million). The total amount rose to 800 million nuevos soles (US$246 million) based on legal charges before the Peruvian judiciary.

While the demand for a nationwide strike to defend wages and basic rights raised by the Cerro Verde miners enjoys substantial popular support, the mine union leadership has no intention of leading a serious struggle against the government and the mining conglomerates.

The historic record of trade union and communal protest leaders in the southern region of Peru, especially in the mining sector, has been one of consistent betrayal. In July 2015, during the Tia Maria mining conflict, the WSWS reported the release of an audiotape in which a man identified as Tambo Valley Defense Front director Jose Pepe Julio Gutierrez is heard soliciting a US$1.5 million bribe to be split three ways between himself, Dean Valdivias Mayor Jaime de la Cruz and Tambo valley farmers board president Jesus Cornejo. The revelation effectively halted the ongoing struggle of the Tia Maria workers and peasants.

Union leaders in other industriesespecially in constructionare engaged in corruption schemes, charging cupos (kickbacks for protection to construction companies) and engaging in a war for contracts using hitmen to eliminate rival union leaders.

The Federacion Nacional de Trabajadores Mineros, Metalurgicos y Siderurgicos del Peru (FNTMMSP) bases itself on an explicitly national-syndicalist program that is oriented to the bourgeois government of Peru. In order to defeat transnational corporations in the epoch of globalization, what is required is the unity of all workers employed by the same industry regardless of nationality. The struggle of the Cerro Verde miners in Peru must be joined with those of miners in Indonesia, Congo, Zambia, Chile and the United States in a common battle against the transnational mining companies and the profit system.
Waving goodbye to cheering crowds in New York, and parting with promises to bring down the Provisional Government and stop the war, Trotsky sets sail for Russia via Oslo aboard a Norwegian liner. Lenin remains stranded in Switzerland, where he is feverishly working to shape Bolshevik policy in Petrograd from afar.

In Petrograd itself, the Bolshevik Party is in turmoil. In Lenins absence, a right-wing minority of senior party figures led by Muranov, Kamenev and Stalin are attempting to reorient the party on a pro-government, pro-war basis. After Kamenev publishes an article supporting the continued prosecution of the war by the Provisional Government, the lower ranks of the Bolshevik Party respond furiously with calls for his expulsion.

The imperialist slaughter throughout Europe grinds on, and millions have already perished. American imperialism is now poised to intervene, mobilizing hundreds of thousands more men to hurl into the bloodbath. All eyes are turned to the old tsarist capital, where the only hope for peace has begun to glimmer.

New York, March 27 (March 14, O.S.): Trotsky sets sail for Europe

Trotsky, along with his wife and comrade Natalia and their two sons, Sergei and Lyova, depart New York City aboard the Norwegian liner Kristianiafjord, destined for Oslo. From there, Trotsky intends to travel by train across Sweden and Finland to Petrograd.

Hundreds of supporters arrive to see Trotsky off at the pier. Rain fell in torrents, remembered German-American socialist Ludwig Lore. When Trotsky arrived he was lifted on the shoulders of his admirers to the top of a huge packing box and with his beaming face and happy smile he bade a last farewell.

But Trotsky has been monitored for weeks by agents of the British intelligence service, who fear that his return to Russia will precipitate a new revolution and remove Russia from the war. In dispatches to London, the British agents promote the lie that Trotsky is a recipient of German money and part of a Jewish plot, an idea promoted by British agent Casimir Pilenas, a former member of the Tsarist Okhrana, and his associate Boris Brasol. The latter, now in New York, had prosecuted the notorious blood libel case against Jewish factory owner Menahem Mendel in Kiev in 1913. Next year, in 1918, Pilenas and Brasol will promote the English-language translation of the Tsarist anti-Semitic forgery, Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

On the basis of such bogus allegations, the British military stops the Kristianiafjord from departing Halifax, Nova Scotia, after a scheduled stop on March 30. Trotsky and his Russian fellow travelers are interrogated by British authorities under Captain O.M. Makins. My relations to internal Russian politics [are] not at present under the control of the British naval police, Trotsky responds.

Germany, March 27: Government announces drastic cuts in food rations

Government authorities announce that further reductions of food rations will take effect on April 15. Bread is to be reduced to 170 grams per day, potatoes to 2,500 grams per week. In addition, adults are entitled to receive only 80 grams of butter, 250 grams of meat, 180 grams of sugar and half an egg per week. Additional allowances for youth and heavy laborers are either to be wiped out completely or to be substantially cut. However, there is not even enough food to provide for the allocated rations. Women can get hold of them, if at all, only after standing in lines for many hours.

Due to the British naval blockade, about a third of agrarian produce that had been imported before the war is now missing. In early 1917, the US stopped the clandestine trade to Germany that had been channeled through neutral states. Meanwhile, the harvests in Germany yield ever poorer results, as the chemical industry uses most of the nitrogen available for the production of ammunition, rather than fertilizer.

Along with the news about the revolutionary developments in Russia, these cuts in rations will within a few days trigger the first major mass strike movement since the beginning of the war.

Spain, March 27: UGT and CNT unions call for a general strike

The two largest unions in Spain, the General Union of Workers (UGT), aligned with the Socialist Party, and the anarcho-syndicalist National Confederation of Labor (CNT), publish a joint manifesto calling for a general strike for an indefinite period, without a specific date. The documents from the Workers Assembly that day protest the growing hunger and tragedy and demand fundamental changes to the system that guarantee the people a minimum of dignified life conditions and the development of its emancipating activities.

Even after working 10 or more unregulated hours each day, workers living standards have been undermined by the soaring prices for food and rent, chiefly as a result of the war in Europe. The price index more than doubled between 1913 and 1917, while salaries had only increased 25 percent. The government of Prime Minister Count of Romanones, backed by King Alfonso XIII, is entering a deep crisis. It has sought to implement cuts in the military while fearing that troops will not be reliable in the effort to quash strikes.

By 1916, the peasantry had begun to occupy estates and burn crops in protest. Miners in Asturias and construction workers in Barcelona and rail workers nationally went on strike. The pressure from workers led the UGT and the CNT to participate in more joint actions and eventually carry out a one-day general strike on December 18, 1916, with thousands of workers protesting across the country.

Petrograd, March 28 (March 15, O.S.): Right-wing minority in the Bolshevik Party promotes defensism

A right-wing minority within the Bolsheviks Petrograd organizationwhich includes Lev Kamenev, Joseph Stalin, and Matvei Muranovtakes advantage of Lenins absence to advance a pro-war, pro-government line.

A double breach of party discipline occurs on March 28 (March 15 O.S.), with the appearance of a lead article authored by Kamenev in the Bolshevik newspaper, Pravda. In addition to the articles diversion from party policy, Kamenevs name had been banned from appearing in bylines in the paper after he testified in the trial of Bolshevik Duma deputies in 1915, trying to ingratiate himself with the court.

The March 28 issue of Pravda states, If the democratic forces in Germany and Austria pay no heed to our voice, then we shall defend our fatherland to the last drop of our blood.

When one army stands opposed to another army, no policy could be more absurd than the policy of proposing that one of them should lay down arms and go home, Kamenev wrote. The people will remain intrepidly at their post, answering bullet with bullet and shell with shell. This is beyond dispute. We must not allow any disorganization of the armed forces of the revolution.

The conduct of the Muranov-Stalin-Kamenev group provokes an uproar within the party. At a meeting of the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee in Petrograd on March 28, a leading Bolshevik from Moscow demands to know why Kamenevs name was in the paper at all. Kamenevs article is repudiated in a vote at the meeting. Pravdas entire editorial board is replaced.

On March 31, Kamenev convinces the Petersburg Committee of the party to adopt a policy of support for the Provisional Government. Intense turmoil within the party continues over the coming days, with rank-and-file Bolsheviks demanding the expulsion from the party of Kamenev and everyone responsible for his article.

Petrograd, March 29 (March 16 OS): Provisional Government recognizes Polish independence

The Provisional Government issues a declaration vaguely acknowledging the right of Poland to independence and calling for a free military alliance between an independent Poland and free Russia. The partition of Poland between the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire formed a key component of the restorationist order in Europe following the French Revolution.

The Marxist movement had put the demand for Polish independence on its banner as early as 1847. In 1905, the revolution in the Russian Empire found two of its most powerful strongholds in Warsaw and Lodz, and Rosa Luxemburgs Social Democratic Party of the Kingdom of Poland. When the Provisional Government acknowledged Polish independence, it could tap into deep-rooted sympathies among the Russian masses for the democratic strivings of the long-oppressed Polish working population.

However, the political motives of the Provisional Government, which ignored the national aspirations of virtually all other oppressed nationalities in the Empire, were not democratic. In World War I, the Polish Question emerged as one of the issues in the fight over control of Europe between the imperialist powers.

Polands three partitioning powers fought on opposing sides of the barricades, turning the country into one of the wars central battlefields. The socioeconomic infrastructure of all parts of Poland was destroyed, millions were displaced, wounded or killed.

Exploiting the plight of the population in Poland, US President Woodrow Wilson issued a decree in December 1915 introducing a day of aid for the Polish people. In 1916, the relief effort for Poland became one of the main preoccupations of the US State Department. Concerned by the efforts of the US government, Germany and Austria rushed to be the first to recognize Polish independence: In the so called Two Emperors Manifesto of November 1916, they recognized an independent Kingdom of Poland. The Manifesto also provided for the formation of a Polish army that was to be put under the control of the German High Command.

Thus, the Provisional Governments declaration essentially aimed at gaining the support of the Polish elites, which had been strengthened and encouraged by the US and the German declarations, to find in them an ally against the Central Powers. It said: The Polish state, united with Russia in a free union, will be a firm bulwark against the pressure of the central powers against Slavdom. Moreover, the nominal independence of Poland remained a vague prospect. It was to be decided upon by a Constituent Assembly yet to be convened in Russia.

Berlin, March 29: Centrist group asks government for peace effort

The Social Democratic Working Group (SAG), a faction in the Reichstag (parliament) that had been expelled from the right-wing leadership of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1916, introduces a resolution to the Reichstag entreating (ersucht) the imperial government of his Majesty, Emperor Wilhelm II, to undertake a peace effort. It also entreats for the submission of a bill according to which future declarations of war and peace treaties would require the approval of the Reichstag. Furthermore, the resolution asks for bills to realize certain domestic reforms.

Pacifist leaders of the SAG such as Karl Kautsky, Eduard Bernstein, Paul Dittmann, Hugo Haase, and Georg Ledebour are concerned about the growing radicalization of the war-tired working masses both at home and in the trenches. Their program of action, as they themselves call the resolution for the Reichstag, is designed to channel the opposition to the war back into a parliamentary direction and thereby prevent a revolutionary development.

Rosa Luxemburg sharply polemicizes against the groups policies in the Spartacus Letter No. 5 from May 1917: The SAG has responded to the Russian Revolution by putting forward an entirely new action program, including a long list of terribly radical requests which they want to present to the Reichstag. Theyve left nothing out! Virtually the entire party program has been written off and now it is to be submitted to the House 

So that is of the greatest importance at this hour: To issue appeals to the Reichstag?! To this Reichstag of the imperialist Mamluk guard! 

And this sickly theory of  substituting the parliamentary struggle for the revolution is being preached to the workers at just the moment when the question of peace and the entire future of international socialism depends on the German working class finally ridding itself of the fatal infatuation of official German social democracy which has been instilled in it for decades: namely, the dogma that in Germany everything that is elsewhere won on the revolutionary path, is attainable on the floor of parliament through the wagging tongues of the Reichstag deputies!

Stockholm, March 29: Swedish prime minister resigns

Swedish Prime Minister Hjalmar Hammarskjold tenders his resignation, resulting in the collapse of his non-party, conservative government, which was loyal to the King and in power since February 1914. Hammarskjold pursued a policy of neutrality during the war, including a retention of trade ties with Germany. This provoked opposition from those who saw his stance as pro-German, particularly after he refused to sanction a trade deal with Britain negotiated by Marcus Wallenberg, brother of Foreign Minister Knut Wallenberg.

While the refusal of the trade deal triggers the governments collapse, it takes place under conditions of mounting social tensions. Prices for basic foodstuffs have risen by 20 percent due to the lack of imports, provoking unrest among workers, many of whom refer to Hammarskjolds administration as the Hungerskjoold government. Within weeks of Hammarskjolds departure, food riots break out in a number of cities, and in June a large crowd will gather at the Swedish parliament to protest the food crisis.

Kiel, March 31 (March 18 O.S.): 26,000 striking shipyard workers demand peace

At the largest marine shipyards in the port city of Kiel, located in the north of Germany, 26,000 workers stop work and march to the city center. Workers that head the demonstration demand immediate peace on their banners. It is the first major strike demonstration by thousands of workers that focuses on this political demand. The Deputy General Command of the IXth Army Corps, stationed in the city, comments on the protest with a mixture of anger and concern: The wind has carried the seed of weed [from Russia] here and it has, as many definite signs indicate, already started to blossom!

Copenhagen, March 31: Denmark hands over West Indies to US

US propaganda film on the transfer of the West Indies to the US

The United States formally takes possession of the Danish West Indies for the sum of $25 million in gold coin ($1.4 billion in gold coin in 2017) and renames them the US Virgin Islands. The deal for the islands of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix is based on a treaty negotiated between the two nations in 1915-16.

The islands are acquired by the US as a means of guarding the Panama Canal and to prevent the possibility that Germany might acquire them. The sum paid for the islands is comparatively small given the vast profits US imperialism is making as arms supplier and financier of the Allies in World War I.

Also this Week: German and Russian soldiers fraternize in the trenches

The German conscript Dominik Richert describes in his memoirs the response of the soldiers at the German-Russian front to the news about the February Revolution:

The whole battalion was standing in a circle around the commander: Soldiers, he began, the war on this front has basically come to an end. A revolution has erupted in Russia. The Tsar is overthrown. The garrison of St. Petersburg, 30,000 men, has joined the revolutionaries. We were listening, with our mouths wide open, then were allowed to return to our quarters. We discussed all sorts of possible and impossible suppositions [] Almost everybody was excited that life in the trenches would now soon be over.

In the last week of March, military discipline is disintegrating on both sides of the German-Russian front. Individual soldiers and entire battalions are determined that the war must now come to an end. On various occasions, Russian and German soldiers fraternize in the trenches, while a wave of desertions begins in the Russian army.

Also this week: Important exhibition of Painter-Gravers of America opens in New York

The first annual exhibition of the Painter-Gravers of America presents work by such distinguished figures as George Bellows, John Sloan, Childe Hassam, Edward Hopper, Albert Sterner, Jerome Myers, Anne Goldthwaite and Boardman Robinson.

The New York Times review notes, One room is dedicated exclusively to the lithographs. Here George Bellows is seen in his role as social commentator. Some one has compared him to Hogarth, and he is like the great Londoner in his passion for the scenes of city life. Bellows contributed many drawings and prints to The Masses, the socialist journal.

One of the lithographs that draws attention is Serbian Refugees by the Canadian-born Robinson. Another radical, Robinson had traveled to Eastern Europe along with journalist John Reed in 1915 to see the consequences of the war. The two collaborated on The War in Eastern Europe (1916). Robinson subsequently lost his job with the New York Tribune because of his anti-war views. After The Masses was suppressed under the Espionage Act, Robinson went on to work on The Liberator and The New Masses, working with editor Max Eastman.

Also this week: African American composer, musician Scott Joplin dies at 49

Maple Leaf Rag played by Joshua Rifkin

Ragtime composer and pianist Scott Joplin died in New York City at the age of 49. He had been suffering from dementia paralytica, a result of having contracted syphillis. Though poor and living in relative obscurity at the time of his death, he left behind more than 40 original ragtime compositions, one ballet and two operas, only one of which, Treemonisha, survives today.

While doubts remain about its accuracy, Joplins birthdate is frequently given as November 24, 1868. The future composer grew up in northeast Texas. His father, a farm worker and folk musician, had been born into slavery in North Carolina. His mother, a domestic worker, was born free in Kentucky.

From late adolescence through his teenage years, Joplin was mentored by German immigrant and professor of music, Julius Weiss. Weiss provided the young Joplin with free piano lessons and classes in music theory over a five-year period. The two forged a lifelong bond.

The heavily syncopated style developed by Joplin provided American popular music with a distinct rhythmic sensibility. It became a vital ingredient in the development of jazz and blues. Joplins work experienced a major revival in the 1970s with the appearance of an important album by pianist Joshua Rifkin, Scott Joplin: Piano Rags (1970).
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Police have arrested a 72-year-old Georgia man in Tallahassee after they said he responded to a fake ad, thinking that he was talking to a 14-year-old girl.

Tallahassee Police said that Willie Eugene Dean was arrested as part of Operation Cupid's Arrow, an undercover operation hosted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, on Sunday.

According to a probable cause document, investigators first made contact with Dean in the beginning of February.

The document said that he responded to an fake advertisement on a website. They said that based on the ad, the user was directed to contact "the child" at an undercover email address. It was also clear that "the child" users were communicating with was a 14-year-old female child.

Dean reached out on the ad, sending several messages before a response was sent on February 23. When asked for his age, Dean lied, saying that he was 34.

On the same date, Dean was sent a response stating that he was talking to a 14-year-old. He responded that he didn't have a problem with it.

Over February and March, Dean continued communication with "the child."

On March 8, Dean discussed traveling to Tallahassee on March 11 to meet with "the child", telling her that she would need to be away from home for three or four hours.

On March 11, Dean told "the child" that he had arrived in town but was nervous he was going to be contacted by law enforcement. Further communication revealed that Dean had not actually arrived in Tallahassee due to being nervous, but indicated that he could travel to meet "the child" on another day.

Communication continued until Dean agreed to meet "the child" on Saturday (March 25). Through text messages, he said that he had arrived around 3:30 p.m., stating that he was at the Wal-Mart on North Monroe Street.

Later in the evening, Dean was told that "the child" was leaving him to meet and would be at the Burger King on North Monroe Street.

When police arrived, they saw Dean standing at the front of the restaurant looking around as if anticipating someone.

Dean was arrested and faces charges related to soliciting minors online.
Yakima Police respond to reports of shots fired at 6th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Yakima, Wash., March 26, 2017. (KAITLIN BAIN / Yakima Herald-Republic)
The mystery of who made the threats against Jewish institutions and schools around the world was solved thanks to close cooperation between the FBI and its cyber attache in Israel and the Israel Policefrom the initial intelligence information to the global investigation and the arrest of an Israeli suspect.

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The cooperation between the Israel Police and the FBI was so tight that the American cyber attachein addition to the agency's regular representative in Israelclosely accompanied the preparations for the arrest at the Israeli cyber unit last week and the subsequent questioning of the suspect. She was not permitted to be present in the interrogation room, so she remained in a separate room where she received information on the suspect's questioning, suggested lines of inquiry and asked for clarifications.

Talks between Israeli and American representatives have raised the possibility that the young suspect will be extradited to serve his sentence in the United States, as most of the offenses were committed there.

The suspect in court. It was clear to the FBI from the very beginning that the threats originated in Israel (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

An American source familiar with the details of the investigation told Yedioth Ahronoth on Friday that over the past two and a half months, in an effort to help the investigation, the FBI deployed a network of virtual secret agents, professionally known as avatars, who have been active in the DarkNet, where the young Ashkelon resident operated. These are false virtual entities that the FBI has been keeping active for several years now in the dark area of the Webwhere hackers, criminals and terrorists can be foundto make them appear authentic.

It was clear to the FBI from the very beginning that the threats originated in Israel. According to FBI officials, the suspect, who may or may not have cooperated with someone, made clumsy attempts to conceal the origin of his IP address. The suspect, it seems, got all his knowledge from online discussion forums and from writing numerous questions, including how to hide the origin of a virtual address, how to use a broadband antenna to access WiFi networks, and other questions about security procedures.

The American source stresses that there has been a rise in anti-Semitic attacks and threats in the US in the past year unrelated to the hackers actions. The arrest and the information that has been collected do not relate to all the complaints filed by Jewish organizations, and definitely not to the acts of vandalism in Jewish cemeteries across the country. In addition, the FBI has detected a rise in the violent racist discourse on social media.

According to the source, the FBI has no intention of changing the evacuation procedures of educational and public institutions in case of bomb threats, in spite of what has been discovered. It was clear to us even before the arrest that these are usually false alarms, but we have no intention of taking a risk.

Police investigators in Israel are looking into a number of possible motives for the hackers actions: From psychological issues, through a childish search for a boost to his ego, to a political motive. The political motive is less likely, as the investigation began following threats on schools in New Zealand, which paralyzed the educational system there but had nothing to do with Jewish institutions.

A hypothesis raised by the police is that the suspect was mad about not being drafted into the IDF and tried to restore his pride by taking revenge on a country systemany system, of any country.

Sources in the Israel Police, meanwhile, have argued that in light of the fact that a criminal who is not very sophisticated managed to cause so much damage, the police should be given the authority to collect cyber intelligence like the Shin Bet and the Mossad.
The number of Israeli settlers living in the West Bank has soared by nearly one-quarter over the past five years to over 420,000 people, a prominent settler leader said Sunday, presenting new population figures that he said put to rest the internationally backed idea of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

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Yaakov Katz issued his report as the Israeli government is locked in negotiations with the Trump administration over understandings that are expected to include some curbs on settlement construction.

"We are talking about a situation that is unchangeable," he said Sunday. "It's very important to know the numbers, and the numbers are growing."

According to Katz, the settler population hit 420,899 on January 1, up 3.6 percent from 406,332 people a year earlier and a 23-percent increase from 342,414 at the beginning of 2012.

Settlement south of Hebron (Photo: AFP)

Katz said the numbers were based on data from the Interior Ministry that have not yet been made public. The ministry, which oversees the country's population registry, had no comment. But Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group, said the numbers appeared reasonable.

The figures are being published on a new website sponsored by Bet El Institutions, a settler organization that counts members of President Donald Trump's inner circle among its supporters.

Katz's figures did not include settlement construction in east Jerusalem, where more than 200,000 Israelis now live. Altogether, he said the population growthwhich is nearly double the 2-percent nationwide rate of annual population growthmeans the settlements are "irreversible," he said.

"Whatever Angela Merkel or Trump or anybody else is thinking about, it belongs to the past, not to the future," he said.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Six-Day-War. The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future independent state.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, leading to the takeover of the territory by the Islamic terrorist group Hamas two years later. Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade over Gaza since then. Israel says the policy is needed to prevent Hamas from building up its arsenal of weapons. Critics condemn it as collective punishment.

For the past two decades, the international community has overwhelmingly backed the idea of a two-state solution as the best way of reaching peace in the region and rejected Israeli settlements as obstacles to peace.

Without an independent Palestinian state, the thinking goes, Israel will remain in control over millions of Palestinians who do not have equal rights, forcing it to choose between its Jewish and democratic character.

Just weeks before Trump took office, the UN Security Council passed a resolution declaring settlements illegal.

Ahmad Majdalani, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Palestinian independence is the only way to peace and remains a possibility, despite settler efforts to derail it.

"The two-state solution was possible yesterday and today and at any time. The two-state solution is not the problem," he said. "Settlements are."

Ofra settlement (Photo: Topview)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is dominated by pro-settler hard-liners who oppose Palestinian statehood on either security or religious grounds.

After years of clashes with President Barack Obama, Israeli hardliners have welcomed the election of Trump, who they perceive as being far more sympathetic to their cause.

Trump's platform made no mention of a Palestinian state. And during the campaign, he vowed to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a stance welcomed by Israel and opposed by the Palestinians, and signaled that he would be more tolerant of settlement construction.

But since taking office, he appears to have backpedaled. He seems to be in no rush to move the embassy, and during a White House meeting with Netanyahu last month, he urged restraint on Israeli settlement construction. He also has left the door open to a two-state solution.

A Trump envoy, Jason Greenblatt, visited the region earlier this month for introductory talks with Israelis and Palestinians. He has been working with the Israelis on a series of understandings that would limit at least some settlement construction in hopes of restarting peace talks.

Speaking to his Cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said there was still no agreement. "I will not go into details," he said. "Our talks with the White House are continuing. I hope they will conclude quickly."

Katz, widely known by his nickname "Ketzeleh," is one of the founders and most prominent figures in the West Bank settler movement. He is a former member of parliament and led a hard-line nationalist party.

Bet El is a religious settlement north of Jerusalem. Katz's organization sponsors a well-known Jewish seminary and "Arutz Sheva," a pro-settler news agency.

Official US records show that its donors have included the family foundation of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and confidant; David Friedman, his new ambassador to Israel; and Trump himself.

Friedman, a former fund-raiser for the Bet El Institutions, was narrowly confirmed last week as ambassador after a tough battle that included fierce opposition from dovish Jewish American groups.

Katz expressed faith that Trump would remain supportive and described the new ambassador as a "great American patriot."

"The American people will be very proud of him," he said.
DUBAI - Bahrain is alleging a 14-member group backed by Iran planned assassinations in the island kingdom.

The Interior Ministry issued a statement early Monday that said 11 members of the group "are suspected of receiving overseas military training under the supervision of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah in Iraq."

It said police had arrested 14 suspects in raids that saw officers seize weapons and explosives. It said the group's two leaders were abroad in Iran.

Iran's government had no immediate comment.
WASHINGTON - US Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday revived talk of the possibility the United States may move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying President Donald Trump was seriously considering the matter.

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During the 2016 US presidential campaign , Trump's team spoke often about moving the US embassy to Jerusalem. But since taking office, the contentious issue appears to have moved to the backburner

Pence speaking at AIPAC

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"After decades of simply talking about it, the president of the United States is giving serious consideration to moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem," Pence said in a speech to the influential, pro-Israel US lobbying group AIPAC.

Israel regards Jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible capital and wants all countries to base their embassies there, though Israeli politicians also understand that moving the US embassy there could be destabilizing.

US Vice President Mike Pence speaking at AIPAC (Photo: AP)

The relocation is strongly opposed by many US allies as the Palestinians also claim the city as their capital.

The final status of Jerusalem is supposed to be determined via direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

If the United States were to relocate its embassy, it would be seen as an explicit recognition of Jerusalem belonging to Israel, potentially pre-determining the outcome of eventual peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

The US Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed Trump's pick to be ambassador to Israel , David Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer allied with the Israeli right, who favors moving the US embassy to Jerusalem
Hamas decided on Monday to ease its self-imposed blockade on Gaza, allowing three ministers in the Palestinian unity government, families of security prisoners, and patients in need of medical treatment in Israel to leave the strip.

The Hamas Interior Ministry said, however, that men aged 15-45 are still barred from leaving.
ZURICH - Swiss prosecutors are investigating whether a protest sign calling for the killing of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan violated laws against inciting violence, police said on Monday.

People demonstrating in Bern on Saturday against plans to extend Erdogan's powers held up a sign reading "Kill Erdogan with his own weapons" and pictured a pistol aimed at his head.

Turkey's foreign ministry summoned Swiss diplomats in Ankara, demanding legal action against people at the rally, which drew thousands including Kurdish demonstrators.

Erdogan himself, who has accused Germany and the Netherlands of Nazi-style tactics for preventing rallies supporting his proposed new powers - which are due to be put to a referendum next month - said Switzerland had gone even further.

"Their leftist parties and the terrorists ... have come together and carried out a march ... In the Swiss parliament, they hang my picture with a gun to my head," he said.
An Israeli couple living in the United States was killed in a car accident on Saturday night in Florida, leaving behind an eight-year-old girl.

Benny and Tsafrit Binyamin, 42 and 41, were returning from a night out in Broward County with a friend, who was driving. The accident happened right as they were turning towards home.

The two were killed on the spot, while the driver was taken to the hospital in moderate condition. Police suspects she was driving under the influence of alcohol.

The Foreign Ministry is working to get Tsafrit's father an emergency visa to the US so he could attend the funeral.
MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) said Monday that while his party was against going to early elections , it would not be a stumbling block should Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make good on his threat.

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There have been widening fissures between Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon over the fate of the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and the new Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC), the latter of which the prime minister seeks to close down

Netanyahu has threatened to go to early elections if the dispute is not resolved, a move the vast majority of government ministers and coalition members oppose

Netanyahu and Gafni (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

"We don't believe elections are the right thing (at this time)," Gafni said during a meeting at the Knesset's Finance Committee, which he chairs. "We believe that a country like ours, which is facing such great challenges and difficult problems, going to elections over the IBA and IPBC would be irresponsible."

However, he stressed that the ultra-Orthodox parties would not be the one to pose obstacles to the move. "We don't fear it and if needed, we'll turn to the voters again. We have no problem going to elections, it might even benefit us," he said.

MK Roy Folkman of Kahlon's Kulanu party was outraged by Gafni's statements. "You are not pawns that you go to elections if you're told to. There's no reason to have elections every two years. The IPBC is no reason. Your responsibility is to stick to what you said, that you would not support unnecessary elections," he said.

Gafni's comments were in response to claims from the ruling Likud party that the ultra-Orthodox parties are against going to elections because they fear they would find themselves out of the next government.

During a coalition party leaders meeting on Sunday, Shas leader Aryeh Deri, UTJ leader Yaakov Litzman and MK Gafni threatened to take any possible step against going to elections at this time.

Litzman and Deri proposed that all of the ministers left the room so Netanyahu and Kahlon could resolve the crisis between them. The two were left alone and discussed the fate of the IPBC for 15 minutes.

Later that evening, Netanyahu invited Kahlon for another meeting, but it also failed to bear fruit as the two sides remained entrenched in their positions.

Senior officials in the Likud, who are involved in the negotiations between the two sides, said the closing of the IPBC has now become Netanyahu's main condition. Meanwhile, Kahlon has committed not to allow the closure of the state-funded broadcaster.

In private conversations, the prime minister said no changes can be made to the IPBC, and insisted that it must be closed.

He instructed the government's legal advisors to examine the possibility of calling the Knesset in for a special session during its hiatus to pass legislation that would bring to the IPBC's demise before it starts airing on April 30.

Despite the difficulties, sources close to Netanyahu and Kahlon have stressed that the two politicians were still open for compromise.
President Reuven Rivlin decided on Monday to reject a request for pardon by former prime minister Ehud Olmert.

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In a statement from the President's Residence, Rivlin clarified that the special circumstances Olmert has brought up in his pardon requestincluding his change in status and the credit he deserves for serving for many years in the highest positions in Israel and contributing to the State of Israel and its securitywere also considered by the court before sentencing him.

"The president's authority to grant pardons cannot be used as an appeal of the court's ruling. Therefore, the president did not find it appropriate to grant a pardon by way of an immediate release from prison," the statement continued.

Olmert going on furlough from prison (Photo: Tal Shachar)

Olmert could petition for early release from the parole board after serving two thirds of his sentence. Should the parole board decide to grant Olmert early release, the president will commute Olmert's sentence and reduce it by a third.

Olmert, who was convicted of bribery, fraudulently obtaining benefits and obstruction of justice, started serving his 27-months sentence in February 2016 and is expected to be released in the summer of 2018.

Olmert's legal woes

Talansky affair: Olmert was found guilty of taking hundreds of thousands of shekels for private use while serving as economy minister. Most of this money came from businessman Morris Talansky. The former prime minister didn't report the money to the state comptroller as required by law, and he was found guilty of graft in aggravating circumstances, fraud and breach of trust. He was sentenced to eight months in prison.

The Investment Center affair: This involved Olmert granting favors in his capacity as a minister to his confidant Uri Messer despite a conflict of interest. Olmert was convicted in 2012 and received a suspended sentence only. The state appealed the leniency of the sentence, but the Supreme Court rejected it.

Rishon Tours affair: This case entailed allegations that Olmert was double and triple-billing trips abroad sponsored by Jewish institutions, and either pocketed the difference or financed trips for relatives. In 2012, Olmert was acquitted of any wrongdoing.

Holyland Affair: Investigations found that during his tenure as mayor of Jerusalem, Olmert accepted bribes to overlook building codes for the construction of the Holyland buildings in the capital.

He was convicted of receiving NIS 560,000 ($160,000 US) in bribes. He was acquitted of two other charges of bribery. The judge rejected Olmert's version of events, declaring that he had lied to the court. The Tel Aviv district court sentenced him to six years in jail, but following his appeal his sentence was reduced to 18 months.
MADRID - A Spanish National Court judge has ordered an investigation into the alleged role of nine Syrian officials in the disappearance and execution of a man in 2013, in the first criminal case accepted by a European court against President Bashar Assad's regime.

Investigative magistrate Eloy Velasco said Monday the nine could be charged with terrorism and forced disappearance.

The case is built around the 2013 arbitrary detention, disappearance, torture and execution of a truck driver in Damascus. The complaint was filed last month by the driver's sister, a Spanish national.

Velasco is investigating it under Spain's principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows prosecution of crimes outside of the country only if there is a Spanish victim. In Monday's acceptance of the case, Velasco considers the sister as the victim.
WARSAW - The American Jewish Committee, a global Jewish advocacy organization, is celebrating the opening of a new Central Europe office.

The AJC, a 111-year-old organization based in New York, has a long history of engagement in the region. It was the first Jewish organization to call for recognizing German unification after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it supported Central and Eastern European nations as they worked to become democracies and join the European Union and NATO.

The organization is committed to supporting democracies in the belief that open, tolerant societies provide greater security to Jews and other minorities.

The office is based in Warsaw and will work in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

The group is holding a gala celebration Monday evening in Warsaw.
The Israel Police on Monday arrested more than 20 Jewish ultra-Orthodox suspected sex offenders whose alleged crimes were known to their insular communities but concealed from the authorities.

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The arrests followed an undercover investigation in the ultra-Orthodox communities, which tend to shun secular society and live according to strict religious teachings.

The 22 men, aged 20 to 60 and from communities in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh and ultra-Orthodox West Bank settlement Beitar Ilit, allegedly committed sex crimes against women, youths and children from their communities over the past two years, police said.

Suspects arrested in early morning raid (Photo: Israel Police)

Members of the communities, acting under the auspices of the rabbinical leadership, investigated the crimes and their alleged perpetrators, and would conduct internal processes which determined what the suspects must do in order to keep the affair from reaching the police, a statement read.

"In most cases, the suspects were ordered to seek some kind of treatment from within the community," police said, while "dozens of victims did not receive the necessary treatment."

The cases were documented using small notepads, displayed by police in a video they distributed about the operation and the arrests.

In Jerusalem, members of the suspects' communities tried to prevent the arrests, yelling at officers and stoning them, shattering windows on two police cars, police said.

Police car damaged in protests against the arrests (Photo: Israel Police)

Exposing the system of internal hearings and arresting the suspects would prevent further cases of sexual assault and enable those already victimized to be helped, police said.

A police spokeswoman told AFP that none of the people involved in documenting and concealing the felonies had been arrested at this stage.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews represent about 10 percent of the Israeli population and live in compliance with a strict interpretation of Jewish laws.

The more extreme groups from the sector do not accept the authority of the secular institutions of government and do their best to avoid its law enforcement and judicial systems, relying on religious doctrine and rabbinical authorities instead.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders also wield significant political influence and have often played the role of kingmaker in Israeli politics.
BEIRUT -- The Tabqa Euphrates dam is not damaged or malfunctioning and engineers inspected its operations fully, said Jihan Sheikh Ahmed, spokeswoman for the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces' campaign to capture Raqqa from ISIS.

The SDF is fighting to capture the dam, about 40 km upstream of Raqqa, from the jihadist group, which said on Sunday that it was at risk of collapse, causing the US-backed militia to pause its assault to give access to engineers.
WASHINGTONIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he looks forward to welcoming new US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman to Israel "and especially to Jerusalem."

Netanyahu is addressing the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerful Israel lobby group. He's alluding to the Trump administration's deliberations about whether to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in line with Israel's longstanding wishes.

As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump promised to move the embassy, but now says he's examining the issue closely. Friedman is expected to work at least partially out of Jerusalem, where he has a home.

Netanyahu didn't mention his government's dialogue with the Trump administration about limiting settlement construction. He spoke Monday by video feed from Jerusalem.
Some 240 eleventh-grade students from Jerusalems Boyer High School have discovered an original and rewarding way of reducing their travel costs to Poland: Working for an entire week on archeological excavations at Ramat Beit Shemesh, far from their computers and air-conditioned classrooms.

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The students are involved in unearthing exciting archeological finds at the site. In recent months, the remains of a Jewish settlement dating to the Second Temple period have been found to include an extensive complex of ritual baths and underground hiding refuges.

The excavations are being carried out with funding provided by the Ministry of Construction and Housing prior to the building of a new residential neighborhood in Ramat Beit Shemesh, in cooperation with the Israel Antiquities Authority and with the participation of pre-army course cadets.

Boyer High School students participating in the archaeological excavation at Ramat Bet Shemesh. (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority)



The settlement, whose ancient name is unknown, has so far yielded eight ritual baths, cisterns, and hiding refuges, along with rock-hewn industrial installations. The houses themselves have not survived and their stones were taken to construct buildings in later periods.

Excavation director Sarah Hirshberg in one of the ritual baths unearthed. (Photo: Assaf Peretz, courtesy of the IAA)

According to Sarah Hirshberg, Shua Kisilevitz and Sarah Levevi-Eilat, excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, The settlements extraordinary significance lies in its imposing array of private ritual baths, which were incorporated in the residential buildings. Each household had its own ritual bath and a cistern. Some of the baths uncovered are simple and others are more complex and include an otzar, or collecting basin, into which the rainwater would drain. It is interesting to note that the local inhabitants adhered strictly to the rules regarding purity and impurity.

Underneath the dwellings and rock-hewn installations, another surprising discovery was unearthed, dating to the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt (second century CE)a winding labyrinth of hiding refuges connected to sophisticated and elaborate complexes. In some of the underground complexes, the rebels breached a cistern to provide those in hiding with access to water. One of the caves also yielded intact ceramic jars and cooking pots that were probably used by the rebels. The finds show that the settlement continued to exist even after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.

Aerial view. (Photo: Emil Aladjem, courtesy of the IAA)

Minister of Construction and Housing, Yoav Galant: Past and present are coming together in a city that has known division and now lives in harmony. We will soon be signing a roof agreement with Bet Shemesh to ensure future development. There is nothing more positive than the fact that students learning about the attempt to annihilate their people are involved in strengthening our ties with Israel and remembering the generations of the past.

Israel Antiquities Authority Director Israel Hasson said, Youth delegation visits to Poland are a way of raising awareness of our history as a people and strengthening values of commitment and mutual responsibility, but it is no secret that travel costs are high and some find them difficult to finance. As part of the Israel Antiquities Authoritys activities aimed at making young people more aware of their roots, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, we invite schools to participate in the excavations and in this way significantly reduce travel costs. As well as learning about their heritage, the students are thus already learning valuable lessons about giving and mutual responsibility in Israel.

According to Dudi Shokef, director of the Poland delegations program for the Ministry of Education, The aim of this initiative is to impart the heritage of the past to Israeli students by integrating them into a valuable educational project, such as excavating an archaeological site. He believes that participating in an archeological dig, which involves the actual unearthing of archeological finds, can help forge an emotional and experiential connection with the past and its heritage, developing a sense of belonging to the land and an awareness of the importance of preserving its antiquities.

(Photo: Courtesy of IAA)

According to Dafna Menashe Baruch, Principal of Boyer High School This unique project, which connects the countrys past and Israels heritage with Holocaust studies and the journey to Poland, provides students with an educational experience in which they are exploring and investigating. By stepping outside the classroom and working in the field on an archaeological dig, students are exposed to many different worlds of knowledge; in addition to working with their hands, they get to know about a fascinating field of research. This is a great privilege and an unforgettable experience and we are full of appreciation and thanks to the staff of the Israel Antiquities Authority and to its director for initiating this valuable educational program that connects the past with the present.

ritual baths discovered. (Photo: Assaf Peretz, courtesy of the IAA)

According to Shelly Kozlovich, a student at Boyer High School, Its fantastic that we, Israeli students in the twenty-first century, are getting the opportunity to find out about the country and are unearthing a Jewish settlement from 2000 years ago with our own hands. With the money were making, well pay for our trip to Poland and learn there about the Holocaustan event that had a huge influence on Israels establishment. Its a great way of closing a circle.

According to Dr. Amit Shadman, the IAA district archaeologist for Judah, In consultation with the Ministry of Construction and Housing, we have decided that the excavations will be followed by the sites preservation and development as an archaeological site in the heart of the new neighborhood.

The hiding complexes from the Bar Kokhba period yielded pottery jars and cooking pots that were probably used by the rebels

Background information on ritual baths: In antiquity, Judaism was already unique in its strict adherence to bodily cleanliness, as commanded in the Bible: And bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean (Leviticus 14:9). The act of bathing for purification purposes is also referred to in Hebrew as tvila, or immersion. During the Hasmonean period (second century BCE) there was an increased emphasis on observing purity (ritual purity was widespread in IsraelTosefta, Tractate Shabbat 1:14) and a detailed code of religious laws was compiled to implement the biblical commandments in everyday life. It was during this period that special water installations, or ritual baths, began to be used for immersion.

The ritual bath is a water installation that is unique to the people of Israel. In order to fulfill their religious and spiritual purpose and cleanse a person of any impurities, the baths were installed according to Jewish religious rules. The bath has to be hewn in the bedrock or connected to the ground; it must be sealed so that its water will not seep out; and only rainwater or spring water must be used, as opposed to drawn water.
SANAA -- Yemeni security officials say a suicide bomber likely from al-Qaida has attacked a government building in the southern Lahj province, killing five soldiers and wounding ten, including civilians.

They say the Monday attack in the provincial capital, al-Houta, could have been worse, but that guards managed to shoot the attacker before he drove his explosives-laden vehicle inside the building.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to brief journalists.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech Monday afternoon in Washington DC via satellite to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Washington's largest pro-Israel lobby.

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At the beginning of his speech, Netanyahu welcomed the new American Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.

Netanyahu's speech to AIPAC ()

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"I look forward to welcoming you to Israel with open arms, especially in Jerusalem," said Netanyahu. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, Israel has no better friend than America and America has no better friend than Israel. For the security of both Israel and the United States, we must ensure the forces of militant Islam are defeated."

Netanyahu kept security and radical Islam on the agenda, saying, "We won't let them drag humanity away from the promise of a bright future to the misery of a dark past."

Photo: AP

Using radical Islam as a pivot point, Netanyahu reiterated his stance toward Iran, saying that Iran "must be prevented from developing nuclear weapons. The cooperation between us means dealing with Iran's aggression."

Elaborating on the relationship between the US and Israel, Netanyahu was particularly praising of President Trump and his administration.

"I would like to thank President Trump for his great support of Israel and I would like to thank Vice President Pence for the warm words he delivered here last night. The American administration is showing its commitment to Israel by turning words into policy and you can see it in the actions of Ambassador Haley at the UN."

Photo: AP

Toward the end of his speech, Netanyahu turned his attention to the Palestinians, Israel's other moderate Arab neighbors and the prospects for peace.

Israels hand, and my hand, is extended to all our neighbors in peace, Netanyahu stated. We teach peace to our children and its time the Palestinian Authority do the same. It must stop teaching hatred to its children. It must stop paying terrorists. It must stop denying our legitimacy and our history. It must, above all, once and for all, recognize the Jewish state.

Israel is committed to working with President Trump to advance peace with the Palestinians and with all our neighbors, he continued. I believe that the common dangers faced by Israel and many of our Arab neighbors now offer a rare opportunity to build bridges towards a better futurea future more prosperous, more secure and more peaceful. And to achieve that, Israel will stand ever vigilant, never compromising on our security, always ready to defend ourselves.

(Translated and edited by Fred Goldberg)
LONDON -- Child marriage has soared in Yemen as families struggle to feed their children amid a conflict that has left the country on the brink of famine, the U.N. children's agency said on Monday.

More than two thirds of girls in Yemen are married off before they reach 18, compared to half of girls before the conflict escalated, UNICEF said in a report to mark the second anniversary of the war.

It said parents struggling with deepening poverty were increasingly marrying off their daughters to reduce costs and the number of mouths to feed or because they believed a husband's family could offer better protection.

Around 80 percent of families in Yemen are in debt or are borrowing money to feed their children, the agency said.
Haaretz reported on Thursday that during one of the conversations between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Arnon Mozes, Netanyahu said he was interested in keeping Bayit Yehudi as small as possible after the elections, and Mozes allegedly said he had it covered.

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Naftali Bennett, leader of Bayit Hayehudi said in response: "This is the last thing I would think of, it's an unpleasant feeling."

(Photo: Emil Salman)

"It's very unpleasant, it's very unpleasant to realize that a prime minister is asking a publisher to run a series of articles against Bayit Yehudi, and in return, Israel Hayom will be shut down or something like that," Bennett said to Army Radio. "I know the police are investigating the matter and I will definitely be happy to receive the information."

According to the report, "Mozes presented Netanyahu with an offer: an article in the media outlet he owns, in which Bennett would be attacked." Sources in Haaretz estimated that the supposed article was published on Ynet.

"In real time, I didnt understand where all these articles were coming from, which were completely bogus. Now, everything is coming together, and its not right," Bennett added. "A prime minister should not be ordering a series of articles from a newspaper publisher against one of the parties and in exchange for closing a newspaper. I was surprised."

Likud said in response: "It is very strange that those who actively pushed to shut down a newspaper in Israel and garnered a coddling coverage from Yedioth Ahronoth and Ynet, which continues to this day, while completely disregarding the right-wing voters, are again preaching morality to the prime minister. Its pure hypocrisy and pathetic self-righteousness that no one is buying.

(Translated and edited by N. Elias)
A report by the Israeli Foreign Ministry found that thousands of Chinese Muslims are fighting in the ranks of jihadi organizations in Syria. China is very concerned about their return and their influence on the security of its citizens and its worldwide interests, which is why they have recently increased their involvement in Syria, and have pushed to strengthen their ties with the Assad regime.

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Traditionally, China attributed little importance to Syria, but current circumstances are changing the situation. The report of one of Israel's three intelligence assessment bodies, along with Military Intelligence and the Mossad, stated, "The arrival of tens of thousands of Chinese citizens fighting and living in the country raises the need for monitoring them. China is interested in as much data that can be collected on them, and it is our understanding that they would prefer to liquidate them on Syrian soil, in order to prevent their return to their region."

Chinese jihadists singing: 'I am a Jihad warrior'

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In order to achieve these goals, China has to be assisted by those who are active in the field and with which it has friendly relations: Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime.

The Chinese who fight in Syria are members of the Muslim Uyghur minority, a Sunni minority that speaks in a Turkish dialect and mainly resides in the northwestern province of Xinjiang.

President Assad has recently said that Syrian and Chinese intelligence officials are working together to fight the Uyghurs in Syria, who entered through Turkeyand accused Turkey of the crisis.

A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China is ready to cooperate with relevant parties, including Syria, to combat the cross-border activities of the Uyghurs.

In addition, China is interested in getting involved in Syria's reconstruction whenever it becomes possible. Assad himself has also said that many Chinese experts are already in Syria, helping with the rebuilding.

According to the Israeli report, the Chinese have made great efforts to put a stop to the illegal departure of Uyghurs from the country, but despite the blocking of the shortest route through Pakistan, tens of thousands of Uyghurs have fled through the southern border and crossed a winding route to reach Turkey.

In order to fund the trip, Uyghur families have sold their possessions in Xinjiang. Thanks to their Turkish origin, Turkey helps those who want to reach its territorywhich creates tension between Ankara and Beijing.

In June 2013, the TIP (Turkistan Islamic Party) began distributing videos of its fighters in Syria, who called for jihad. The TIP is a separatist Uyghur organization operating mainly outside the borders of China, and the videos have led to a significant increase in the number of Uyghur fighters in the last three years.

According to the Israeli report, 3,000 Uyghurs are fighting in the ranks of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the al-Qaeda branch in Syria (formerly known as the al-Nursa Front), and several hundred fighters in ISIS. China estimates the number of fighters to be around 5,000. Many Uyghur families have settled in villages in Syria, making the Uyghur fighters even more determined to defend the area.

In the early years, China made a point of not choosing a side in the war in Syria, but in mid-2015, a change of direction was becoming evident. Chinese delegations, including military delegations, began arriving in Damascus to expand aid to Syria. The Chinese Ministry of Defense announced over the summer that it would help train personnel in Syria, in addition to providing humanitarian aid.

"Russia's military involvement in favor of the Assad regime and the change in the power balance on the ground led China to recognize that the regime's chances of survival had considerably improved, and therefore, it would be appropriate to strengthen its relations with the regime, taking into account the day after scenario. (But there is also personal gain) as the Assad regime can also provide China with significant information about its citizens fighting within his territories, determined the report.

The author of the report stated that the main threat to China is not the return of Uyghurs to China, but rather the activities of Uyghur terrorists operating against Chinese targets outside China.

(Translated and edited by N. Elias)
Last week, a special delegation from Christians United for Israel (CUFI) visited the headquarters of United Hatzalah (UH) in Jerusalem to learn about Hatzalahs lifesaving, all-volunteer, emergency medical services (EMS) model, and to see firsthand how the Hatzalah model is uniting the peoples of Israel in the joint cause of saving lives.

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Randy Neal, the Western Regional Coordinator for CUFI, spoke about why this visit was important to the group. We have a number of pastors here from different states and different denominations. A lot of them are not familiar with Israel and most of them have never been to Israel before. I have had the occasion and privilege to learn about United Hatzalah and I believe that the organization encapsulates the heart of Israel. I really believe that that the nobility and purity of the mission that allows life to trump all of the other things that go on here, it transcends races, cultures, religions, bringing Jews, Muslims, and Christians together for something that is a common denominator.

Outside of United Hatzalah headquarters

"Whether that is saving ones kid or grandmother or spouse, it brings everyone together. As much as I love the organization, it is important for these pastors to get a glimpse of the real spirit of Israel. It is important for them to see what really makes the top of the priority list of the people and the nation, and I think that United Hatzalah embodies that.

During the visit, the delegation of some 30 pastors representing communities from across the Northwestern United States, including 3 leaders from the Crow Nation, had the opportunity to tour United Hatzalahs command center and look at the advanced technology which allows the organization to form a country-wide network of coverage. The group also got to meet volunteers from across the spectrum of the Israeli population. Among the volunteers that met with the pastors were a religious Muslim Arab, a religious Jewish female paramedic who lives in Judea, a secular Jewish EMT, and an EMT who immigrated from North America.

In addition to hearing the first-hand rescue stories of the volunteers and learning how they work togetherregardless of differencesto provide Israel with the fastest, lifesaving, EMS response time anywhere in the world, the delegation also spent time with Eli Beer, the Founder and President of Hatzalah. Beer explained the history of the organization and how the model is being adopted by communities outside of Israel today.

The pastors learning about United Hatzalahs life saving and inclusive model

Neal added that in particular, the leaders of the Crow Nation were looking forward to learning about the activities of the organization. When the Crow Leaders learned about the organization they were very intrigued and looked forward to coming here and learning more about it because they have a nation of 14,000 people over a vast area and the emergency response time for emergencies in their area is very problematic and dangerous. They were looking forward to learning about this and exploring the application of such a model in their own communities.

Neal added that he is looking forward to continued cooperation between United Hatzalah and CUFI.

After the visit, Beer said, We are excited to work with CUFI and to share our life-saving model with people from different communities all over the world. Our model has already been implemented in 10 countries around the globe. I believe that what we have developed here is not only meant to save lives in Israel but can and should be used to save the lives of others all over the world. Following the model of pre-ambulatory response and treatment that we have developed here, and have applied to serve people of all faiths and backgrounds, the same model can be used by people of different faiths and religions all over the world. No matter who you are, or what you believe, we all believe in the same principle that life is precious and worth saving. We are happy to teach and train others as to how we go about saving people here in Israel in the hopes that they will take what they have learned and apply it in their own communities.

Christians United for Israel is a national grassroots movement of 3.4 million Christians focused on the support of Israel. United Hatzalah is a community-based, volunteer, EMS organization that provide free medical treatment to all residents of Israel. It has transformed medical first response in Israel via its inclusive model that provides EMS response to emergencies with an average response time of three minutes. Today, this model is being adopted by communities around the world.
Beidar Cho, ABS demography director, said that in the year ending 30 September 2016, NOM increased by nearly 9%, adding 193,200 people to the Australian population.

This is in contrast to the declines of NOM of over 10 per cent experienced during 2014 and early 2015, she said. But the current growth of NOM is well short of the record during 2009, when over 300,000 people were added to the population.

Compared with last year, Queensland had the fastest growing NOM, rising by 19%. NSW and Victoria remain popular destinations for migrants, growing by 11% and 13% respectively. Tasmania was the only other state or territory to see an increase of NOM compared to last year, rising by 9%.

Overall, Australias population grew by 348,700 people, reaching 24.2m by the end of September 2016, according to the ABS.

NOM added 193,200 people to the population, and accounted for 55% of the countrys total population growth.

NOM is fueling the demand for property

The continued surge in NOM is fueling demand for residential property, said Martin North, principal at Digital Finance Analytics.

New arrivals will be looking for homes near good schools, universities, and places of employment. Theyll also be drawn to suburbs with great infrastructure, well-established amenities, and strong local support groups.

On the other hand, migrants may be daunted by the price of homes in some of the big cities, as theyre becoming more unaffordable.

The price of homes in key cities across Australia increased by 11.7% in the 12 months to February 2017, according to the latest data from CoreLogic. Moreover, since the end of 2008, combined capital city home values have increased by 66.2%.

Fortunately, not every capital city is experiencing soaring prices. While this is certainly the case in Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra (up 18.4%, 13.1%, and 10.4% respectively in the last 12 months), cities like Perth and Darwin have seen values decline. The rises have also been much smaller in Brisbane, Adelaide, and Hobart.

It is really important to note that the housing affordability challenges are largely a Sydney and Melbourne phenomena, said Cameron Kusher, head of research at CoreLogic. The popularity of Sydney and Melbourne mean that prices in these cities are going to be substantially higher due to growing populations, strong demand for investment property, and a shortage of supply.

The substantial increase in the population of the two largest states [i.e. NSW and Victoria] has fuelled increasing demand for housing. Especially when you consider that 51.8% of New South Wales population growth over the period and 62.6% of Victoria population growth has come from either net overseas or net interstate migration, Kusher said.

Related stories:

Supply Shortage Drives Record Property Demand In Australia

NSW Excerpt From The 2017 March Market Report
Washington: A large contingent of Indian-Americans gathered outside the CNN office in Chicago after the channel aired a documentary that "tarnished" Hinduism, the media reported.

The protest held on Sunday was attended by over 600 Indian-Americans, the American Bazaar reported.

"We are here to protest against the show aired on CNN called `Believer`, directed by Reza Aslan. The community is outraged by the way he presented Hinduism. We are 2.5 million Hindus living in the country peacefully and projecting Hindus in a bad light was an evil work done by Aslan," said Shamkant Sheth, President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), Chicago.

"It is a gross mistake by CNN to broadcast this show. We had requested CNN not to broadcast this show, but they aired it."

"Raza Aslan, even though he claims to be religious, which he is not, just met a few people in Varanasi who are called `Aghoris` (Hindu sadhus devoted to Lord Shiva). I just do not understand why he chose to show this when Hinduism has offered this world so many good things like yoga and spirituality," Sheth added.

A letter distributed during the protest said: "This was his (Aslan`s) picture of Hinduism projected to the world on CNN."

The protest was organised to condemn and send a message to CNN to stop such programmes and to send positive messages about Hindus and Indians, the American Bazaar said.

According to the organisers, it was to highlight the beliefs and identity of the community, and also, its strengths to the mainstream media, and America, in general.

In one of his Facebook posts, Aslan said that his show is not about Hinduism but the Aghoris who follow extreme rituals.

He also said that the portrayal of sensitive issues such as caste discrimination in the documentary could have offended some people, including many Hindus in America.
Kathmandu: Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', who is on a six-day visit to China, held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday.



Prachanda later called the meeting with Xi "fruitful" and said "this kind of high-level meeting has added a new dimension to Nepal-China ties", according to a statement published on the Prime Minister's website.



Describing his discussions with Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing as "exciting, open and clear", Prachanda said he received a positive response from the Chinese President on all the issues he raised, reported the Kathmandu Post.



"Apart from the positive response, the Chinese President talked about Nepal's political stability, development, prosperity and infrastructure development," said the Prime Minister on the website.



Prachanda also asked Xi to reopen the Tatopani border point, a major trading point between Nepal and China, which was closed following the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.



In response, the Chinese President told the Nepal Prime Minister that China was serious about opening Tatopani and other border points, The Himalayan Times reported.



Both the leaders also discussed the construction of a railway line in Nepal with Chinese investment.



Xi also pledged 9 million yuan ($1,308,800) aid to Nepal for the local level elections scheduled for May 14.



Besides, both the sides agreed to cooperate more in jointly building the Belt and Road project.



Both sides are expected to promote cooperation in connectivity, free trade arrangements, agriculture, industrial capacity, energy and post-disaster reconstruction, taking advantage of the opportunity provided by jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.



Prachanda, who embarked on the China visit on March 24, is scheduled to return home on March 29.


Islamabad: Pakistan has begun building a fence on its disputed 2,500 km (1,500 mile) border with Afghanistan to prevent incursions by militants, Pakistan`s army chief said, in a move likely to further strain relations between the two countries.

Pakistan has blamed Pakistani Taliban militants it says are based on Afghan soil for a spate of attacks at home in recent months, urging Kabul to eradicate "sanctuaries" for militants.

Citing the attacks, Islamabad earlier this month temporarily shut the main crossing points along the colonial-era Durand Line border, drawn up in 1893 and rejected by Afghanistan.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa said initial fencing will focus on "high threat zones" of Bajaur and Mohmand agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which border eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar.

"Additional technical surveillance means are also being deployed along the border besides regular air surveillance," the military said in a statement over the weekend, citing Bajwa.

There was no immediate comment from Afghan authorities.

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have been tense in recent years, with both countries accusing each other of not doing enough to tackle Pakistani and Afghan Taliban militants.

Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye to Afghan Taliban commanders on its soil and even of supporting the militant group, something Islamabad denies.

Bajwa said Pakistan was working on plans to "evolve a bilateral security mechanism" with Afghanistan.

"A better managed, secure and peaceful border is in mutual interest of both brotherly countries who have given phenomenal sacrifices in war against terrorism," Bajwa added.

Pakistan has long harboured ambitions to seal its border, which is largely unpatrolled and mountainous for large chunks.

In 2007, the military said it was fencing and mining a 35 km (22 miles) stretch of border in the North Waziristan region of FATA to prevent militants crisscrossing the rugged terrain.

Efforts to establish a more permanent presence on the disputed frontier have angered Kabul. Last year, Pakistan`s attempt to build a barrier on the main Torkham crossing ended in brief cross-border skirmishes.

In recent weeks at least two US drone strikes have targeted Pakistani militants on the Afghan side of the frontier.
New Delhi: The first quarter of 2017 under new Commissioner of Police Amulya Patnaik has seen an increase in the number of murders, attempts to murder, burglary and theft in the national capital.

The Delhi Police data, however, showed that crimes against women have gone down with 376 registered rape cases as against the 406 in the first quarter of 2016.

In comparison to the corresponding period last year, murder and attempt to murder cases went up from 97 and 114 to 103 and 123 respectively till March 15, 2017.

Cases of crime against women witnessed a dip from 3,103 to 2,421. 630 cases of assault on women with an intent of molestation were registered as against last year's 843, while the number of cases of outraging the modesty of a woman stood at 123 as against 196 till March 15, 2016.

687 cases of minor girls being abducted were reported as against 676 last year. The cases of abduction of women witnessed a sharp fall from 102 last year to 65 this year.

Cases of cruelty by husband and in-laws too recorded a steep decline from 849 to 506.

However, cases of dowry death and those registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act rose from 29 and 2 to 31 and 3 respectively.

The total number of cases registered under various heads, including heinous crimes, jumped from 36,781 in last year's first quarter to 52,109 in 2017.

Robbery cases though witnessed a sharp fall from 1,197 last year to 683 this year. The number of snatching cases too decreased from 2,164 to 1,798.

Police officers claimed that better policing and patrolling resulted in the dip in robberies in the city.

The cases of kidnapping for ransom also registered a decline this year.

Cases of vehicle theft too witnessed a slight decrease in the first quarter of 2017. As compared to 7,911 last year, 7,811 cases of vehicle theft were registered this year.

The first quarter of 2017 also saw a sharp fall in the number of fatal accident cases. 345 of such cases were reported till March 15, 2016, which fell to 261 this year.

Other accident cases also saw a decrease from 1,224 in 2016 to 1,164 this year.
New Delhi: The Delhi Police Crime Branch on Monday recorded statements of 15 people including the Air India staffer who was assaulted by Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad.

The Police has also sought details of the video and the CCTV footage of the assault case.

DCP (Crime Branch) Ram Gopal Naik recorded the statements at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.

Earlier, in a stunning revelation, an Air India air hostess told ANI that Gaikwad almost threw the airlines staff member Sukumar down the ladder even though he didn`t want to.

Without revealing her identity, she told that Gaikwad was only trying to build pressure on senior officials. "I don`t think he (Gaikwad) wanted to throw Mr Sukumar down the ladder, he was trying to build pressure on senior officials," she said.

Meanwhile, the Centre has defended the Airlines` ban on Gaikwad saying that "the rules are the same for everyone."

"We have good safety regulations but never in my dreams expected an MP to be caught (doing this). Violence of any kind can be a disaster for airlines," civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said in the Lok Sabha.

Meanwhile, coming out in support of party MP Ravindra Gaikwad by calling the airlines ban on him `illogical`, the Shiv Sena said that it looks like somebody is trying to defame party leaders.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande told ANI, "It seems that somebody is behind this and trying to defame Shiv Sena leaders, because if Shiv Sena opposes something, it is twisted and presented in a different way to the country."

"It is Illogical that the other four airlines have also put Gaikwad on a no-fly list. He is not a criminal. Gaikward is not some unruly passenger or doesn`t have some track of such behaviour. The way he is being framed by the media, he is not a criminal. It seems that somebody is behind this and trying to defame Shiv Sena leaders," she added.

Calling for a thorough inquiry in to the whole matter, she said, "We have said this before also that Shiv Sena doesn`t subscribe to such behaviour by an elected representative. But at the same time, we have said that there should be a thorough inquiry into this whole matter as to what actually instigated him.many things are surfacing."

The Shiv Sena has given a shutdown call in Maharashtra`s Osmanabad in support of Gaikwad, who had assaulted an Air India staffer last week.

Air India and six private airlines banned the 56-year-old MP from flying as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.

The Osmanabad MP after being blacklisted by the top airlines boarded a train to Mumbai earlier on Friday evening.Earlier, the MP, while showing no regret for his action had said, "What is there to repent? I will not apologise. He (Sukumar) should come and apologise.then we will see."
New Delhi: The Centre will have a greater share of the residual amount in the compensation fund at the end of the 5-year period as the GST Bill now provides for equal sharing of the amount as against the earlier formula which favoured states.

According to the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Bill, as introduced in the Lok Sabha today, they will receive provisional compensation bi-monthly from the Centre for loss of revenue from implementation of GST. The draft law had provided for payment of compensation every quarter.

Tweaking the provision of the draft, which was made public in November 2016, the GST Compensation Bill said that "any residual amount left in the Compensation Fund after five year compensation period shall be shared equally between the centre and the states".

As per the earlier draft, any excess amount after the end of five year tenure in the 'GST Compensation Fund' were to be divided between Centre and states as per the specified formula under which 50 percent of the excess amount was to be devolved between Centre and States as per statute.

The remaining 50 percent would have to be given to the states in the ratio of their total revenues from SGST in the last year of the transition period.

The bill, as cleared by the GST Council, has simplified the structure for sharing of the residual amount in the Compensation Fund.

The GST Council, comprising Union Finance Minister and state representatives, had decided to set up a compensation fund by levying cess on demerit and luxury goods. The proceeds from the fund would be utilised to compensate the states for revenue loss in the initial five years of GST roll out, which is likely from July 1.

The bill also provides for audit of accounts relating to Compensation Fund by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Also the final adjustment of compensation to be paid to the states would be done after audit of accounts of the year by the CAG.

The Bill also stipulates that the base year for calculating the revenue of a state would be 2015-16 and a secular growth rate of 14 per cent would be used for calculating the revenue of each state in the first five years of implementation of GST.

The loss of revenue to a state will be the difference between the actual realisation to a state under Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime and the tax revenue it would have got under the old indirect tax regime after considering a 14 per cent increase over the base year of 2015-16.

It also provides that in case of the 11 special category states, the revenue foregone on account of exemption of taxes granted by states shall be counted towards the definition of revenue for the base year 2015-16.

The revenues of states that were not credited to the Consolidated Fund of the states but were directly devolved to "mandi" or "municipalities" would also be included in the definition of 'revenue subsumed', the bill said.
New Delhi: Starting April 1, several rules will change from Railways, to SBI to vehicles norms  newer rules will be implemented which can impact your life.

Let's know how these new rules will impact you

Railway Vikalp scheme

From April 1, waitlisted passengers can avail the opportunity of travelling in premier trains like Rajdhani or Shatabdi even if they have booked tickets in other mail or express trains for the same destination.

As of now, the scheme will be available in online bookings and later extended to counters.

Under this scheme, waitlisted passengers can get confirmed berths in the next alternate train if they opt for it while booking their tickets. There would be no extra charges or any refund provided for the difference of fares.

'Vikalp' envisages to utilise vacant berths in premier trains, including Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, and special service such as Humsafar and Suvidha trains in all major routes across the country with no extra cost to passengers.

Any waitlisted passenger who has booked ticket online earlier can avail the new scheme now by opting for alternate trains through the IRCTC ticketing site.

As per the scheme, passengers opting for 'Vikalp' scheme while booking tickets will get SMS alert on his/her mobile phone about confirmed accommodation in the next train running on the route.

The name of the passenger, who has been provided berth in the alternative train will not figure in the waitlisted charts of the original train. A separate list of passengers transferred in alternative train will be provided along with the confirmed charts.



SBI ATM transaction and Minimum balance

SBI has decided to levy penalty on non-maintenance of minimum balance, which the bank plans to hike manifold from April 1.

However, the government has asked SBI to reconsider its decision to levy penalty on non-maintenance of minimum balance.

The country's largest lender has announced imposing penalty ranging from Rs 20-100 on non-maintenance of Minimum Average Balance (MAB) in savings bank accounts from April 1. The penalty is as high as Rs 500 in case of current accounts.

The penalty for breach of MAB is being reintroduced after a gap of five years.

SBI has also imposed restrictions on withdrawals of cash from its branches as well as ATMs. These will attract charges after certain specified limits.

Some private banks, like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, have started charging a minimum amount of Rs 150 per transaction for cash deposits and withdrawals beyond four free transactions in a month

New Emmission Norm

The automobile industry is fully geared up to commence production of vehicles compliant with BS-IV emission norms from April 1 across the country.

Implementation of BS-IV norms pan-India had been delayed due to 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.

The Indian auto industry will also be the first in the world to leapfrog from BS-IV to BS-VI emission norms by 2020.

Cash transactions limit

Government has decided cap cash transactions at Rs 2 lakh instead of Rs 3 lakh as provided in the Budget. The Cash transactions limit will come to effect from April 1.

A penalty of equal amount would be levied in case of violation of the provision.

The measure  an extension of the central governments November 8 decision to invalidate old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000  is part of the central governments proposed ban on cash transactions of over Rs 3 lakh that was mooted in Budget 2017-18 to stop future generations of unaccounted money from flowing into the financial system.
New Delhi: Amid a debate on the need to scrutinise the content of textbooks being prescribed in schools, the HRD Ministry has expressed its inability to evaluate the quality of textbooks of private publishers.

"There is no mechanism to evaluate the quality of textbooks of private publishers. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has no mandate to prescribe or recommend the textbooks of private publishers in its affiliated schools," Minister of State for HRD, Upendra Kushwaha, said in response to a written question in Lok Sabha.

"The government is very firm on promoting NCERT textbooks in CBSE schools," he added.

The comments by the minister come at a time when education experts are raising the issue of lack of scrutiny of the curriculum taught to children.

Excerpts from a Class IV environmental science textbook that suggested students to "kill a kitten" as part of an experiment had gone viral on social media, forcing the publisher to withdraw it from the market last month.

In another recent incident, a Class 12 Sociology book cited "ugliness" and physical disability of a girl as reasons behind the dowry issue prevalent in the country.
New Delhi: The Nagaland Zoological Park, which is home to a wide range of animals, birds and reptiles, is emerging as one of the biodiversity hotspots in the entire north-east region.

The zoo, located 6 kms away from the township of Dimapur, is also home to the majestic Bengal Tiger and the great Indian hornbill that has remained a major attraction for many visitors, who throng the park to get an overview of the wildlife species.

The northeastern province of Nagaland, blessed with favorable climate and a rich biodiversity, has immense potential to attract tourists from all across the globe.

The topography area is gentle rolling plateau with low lying area ideal for ranging species of birds and animals.

Besides, conserving the endangered species of animals and birds, the zoo was established to inculcate and develop a sense of caring towards flora and fauna.

"This zoo has an area of 176 hectares which is one of the best in the northeast region and we received about 50- 60,000 visitors in a year from the neighboring states and from the mainland and roughly around 100 overseas of international visitors during the month of January and December," said Sentichuba Aier, Director of Nagaland Zoological Park.

"The zoo is in the conceptual stage and as soon as the funds are available we will be able to provide all kind of facilities for the people of Nagaland as well as for neighboring districts of Assam," Aier added.

The zoo in the past few years drew attention of biodiversity scholars and observers from within and outside the state.

The resonances of the various species of animal engulf the streets and give the visitors an insight into the mystical beauty of the wildlife abode.

Presently, the zoo hosts a wide range of animals, birds and reptiles like the barking deer, leopard, Himalayan black bear, owls, eagles etc, thereby attracting a large number of tourists.

"We also have programmes for the introduction of `Macow`, which is a giant size parrot which comes from South America and also we have plan to introduce wolves as well as Indian fox which are very rare animals. Many jackals are available in the region but there is no availability of Indian red fox so these are some of the rare animals," said Aier.

The sight of the rare species of Hoolock Gibbons in the park attracts tourists from all across the region as well as from other parts as well.Therefore, efforts are being made by the authorities of the park to elevate the park with world class facilities so that in the near future this biodiversity hotspot sets a benchmark in the tourism sector of the region.

The park, inaugurated in August 2008, is recognized as one of the mini zoo under the Central Zoo Authority.

The visitor timings of the zoo are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on all weekdays except Monday.

(With ANI inputs)
Ahmedabad: Quota agitation leader Hardik Patel and 12 of his supporters could not surrender in a police station in a rioting case on Monday as the investigating officer was out of station.

Patel had on Sunday announced that he along with 12 others, who were named in the FIR, will surrender before the City Crime Branch on Monday in connection with the rioting and arson case.

He was also supposed to appear before the crime branch on Monday as part of his bail condition in the sedition case registered here.

"As part of his bail condition, he was supposed to appear before us every Monday. Since Ramol police had also registered a case against him recently, which was later transferred to the crime branch, Hardik asked us to arrest him and others.

"However, since the IO of that case is out of station, we told them that we will do it later," Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) B C Solanki said.

On March 20, Ramol police lodged a rioting and arson case against Hardik and 59 other Patel quota agitators for creating ruckus outside the house of BJP corporator from Vastral in the city, Paresh Patel.

Ramol police have arrested 13 persons till date in connection with that case. Later, the probe was transferred to City Crime Branch, said Police Inspector of Ramol, Paresh Solanki.

While coming out of crime branch office after signing the register, Hardik told mediapersons that he will not get intimidated by such "new cases" filed against him.

"The government can not stop me from raising my voice by filing such new cases or putting me behind bars again. My fight will continue.

"Even if the BJP wins the upcoming Assembly polls, our fight for reservation will continue," said Hardik who is facing sedition cases in Ahmedabad and Surat.

As per the condition put by the Gujarat High Court while granting him bail in the cases in July last year, he needs to appear before Ahmedabad crime branch and Surat crime branch once every week.
Delhi: After stupendous success in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, where the party won 325 seats along with its allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) next big challenge is the state of Gujarat.

The party has already launched its election slogan - 'UP mein 325, Gujarat mein 150' - for the state.

"An initial list of BJP campaigners has been drawn and Yogi Adityanath will be one of the star campaigners," state BJP president Jitu Vaghani was quoted as saying by Ahmedabad Mirror.

State party spokesperson Bharat Pandya added that the UP CM campaigning in Gujarat would help the party immensely.



He said, "Yogi ji's work as CM is being discussed and appreciated not just at the national level but even at the international level. So, his coming to Gujarat for campaigning will definitely help the BJP."



Pandya said UP is the largest state in the country in terms of population and developments there have massive impact in all other states.



The BJP spokesperson, however, was quick to add that there was no replacement of PM. "Ever since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, it has been a matter of pride for people in Gujarat and for us. 'Modi wave' itself is enough," Pandya said, as per IANS.

On March 24, PM Modi had held a meeting with MPs from his home state and had asked them to work overtime as public servants to fulfill people's expectations.

Besides MPs from Gujarat, parliamentarians from Goa, Rajasthan, Daman and Diu and Andaman and Nicobar islands were also present in the informal meeting with the PM over breakfast at his residence in the national capital.

"Modi ji asked MPs to work overtime to fulfil expectations of the people and told them to make people aware about various initiatives taken by the Centre for public welfare," an MP, who was present at the meeting, had said, as per PTI.

Later in a statement, the BJP had said that the Prime Minister has requested MPs to use digital platforms for doing transactions and also connect with social media to reach out to the people.BJP had said that the Prime Minister has requested MPs to use digital platforms for doing transactions and also connect with social media to reach out to the people.

PM Modi had also told MPs that they should spread the message among people about the Centre's welfare schemes.

MPs had also apprised the PM about development works in their respective constituencies.

Besides PM Modi, senior party leader LK Advani, Shah and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar were also present at the meeting.

Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani, who is party MP from Gujarat, had also attended the meeting.

The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for the last 19 years.

They currently have 123 seats in the 182-member Assembly.

The other contenders in the fray are the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party.

The Congress has been out of power in the state since last 25 years.

Elections are scheduled to be held in Gujarat later this year.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: With closure of illegal slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh becoming a hot topic of discussion in the political arena, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday, raised the issue of China not allowing import of Indian buffalo meat.

While speaking in the Lok Sabha, the Hyderabad MP said, Export of buffalo meat is approximately 26684.22 crores and there has been a negative growth of 8.87 percent. So I would ask the minister concerned as to why China is not allowing Indian meat to be imported and what steps the Centre is taking to sort out the issue.

"Out of 60 odds export units, nearly out of which 38 are in UP, and many are being closed. Is the government really concerned about it?" Asaduddin asked.

In an attempt to corner the government over banning of illegal slaughter houses in UP, the AIMIM chief sought an answer whether the Centre wants to promote export of buffalo meat or not.

Giving reply to Owaisi's query, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge) Nirmala Sitharaman said only illegal slaughter houses are being asked to shut down.

Further clearing the doubts of the AIMIM chief, Sitharaman stated that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has categorically stated that the UP administration is only acting against illegal meat shops.

To the question on China, the BJP leader said, Not only buffalo meat, but Beijing doesn't allows many other Indian items to be imported into the country.

The government is in touch with Chinese authorities on the particular issue so that legitimate export items from India find access in China, Sitharaman said.
New Delhi: Amid a crackdown by the Yogi Adityanath government on slaughterhouses in UP, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, Monday, demanded that there should be a nationwide ban on the slaughter of animals, including cows.

Cow slaughter should be banned across the country. Why is it so that it is legal in states like Kerala and West Bengal but not in other states, Khan said, adding that there should be uniformity in laws governing such issues in the country.

Questioning the logic behind the UP government's intention to allow legal slaughterhouses to function, Khan said, So it means that it is ok if animals are butchered in legal slaughterhouses and not ok when they meet the same fate at an illegal place.

UP meat sellers go on indefinite strike; govt says crackdown only against illegal slaughterhouses

This legal, illegal thing should stop. All slaughterhouses should be shut. No animal should be slaughtered, he said.

Khan mentioned the sensitivity of communities like Jains to suggest that chicken and goat should also not be butchered in the country.

The SP strongman went to give advice to Muslims to stop eating meat.

Yogi Adityanath's crackdown on slaughterhouses: 'Only police, administration can act against illegal abattoirs'

"It is not mandated in Islam that Muslims should eat meat. Ulema should appeal to the people that they should stop eating meat, Khan said.
New Delhi: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Monday sought the Supreme Court to dismiss all petitions challenging triple talaq, halala and polygamy.

Questioning the jurisdiction of the court on the cases, the AIMPLB opposed the PILs filed on triple talaq stating that petition against Muslim Law Board is not maintainable'.

The court has fixed the next hearing on the matter on March 30, according to media reports.

Over a million Muslims from across India, have called for the end of controversial divorce practice of triple talaq.

A petition started by the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), an Islamic organisation affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), calling for the abolition of triple talaq, has received signatures of more over a million Muslims from across India with women in majority.

Several women have filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of the triple talaq practice.

While calling for the ban of triple talaq, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently termed it as a "pernicious social practice" that has been "banned or restricted" in many Islamic countries.

Earlier this month, Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Muslim women voted for the BJP during the just concluded Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections because the party had raised the issue of triple talaq.

The top court has been urged to spell out whether practice of 'talaq-e-bidat', 'nikah halala' and polygamy were compatible with India's obligations under the international treaties and covenants to which it is a signatory.

The government had cited the instances of changes in marriage laws in Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The Centre also urged the court to examine whether Article 25 (1) was subject to Part III of the Constitution spelling out the Fundamental Rights, particularly the right to equality before law and protection of life and personal liberty.

'Nikah halala' means a man cannot remarry a woman after triple talaq unless she has already consummated her marriage with another man and then her new husband dies or divorces her.

Ministry of Law and Justice had referred to constitutional principles like gender equality, secularism, international covenants, religious practices and marital law prevalent in various Islamic countries.

Responding to a batch of petitions including the one filed by Shayaro Bano challenging the validity of such practices among Muslims, the Centre had first dealt with the right of gender equality under the Constitution.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board, however, had rubbished the stand taken by the Narendra Modi government that the apex court should re-look these practices as they are violative of fundamental rights like gender equality and the ethos of secularism, a key part of the basic structure of the Constitution.

Another prominent Islamic organisation Jamiat Ulema-i- Hind had told the court there is no scope for interference with the Muslim Personal Law in which triple talaq, 'nikah halala' and polygamy are well rooted and stand on much higher pedestal as compared to other customs.

Triple talaq is an Islamic practice where a man can divorce his wife by saying "talaq," the Arabic word for divorce, three times.
New Delhi: In a much-needed reprieve to the Congress Party, the Election Commission on Monday extended the deadline to conclude its internal elections to December 31.

The Commission had earlier set the deadline till June 30, 2017.

The extension comes after the party requested the Commission for more time.

"The Election Commission has allowed our plea for extension of six months in holding organisational elections and has granted time till December this year, against its earlier deadline of June 30," PTI quoted AICC general Secretary Janardan Dwivedi as saying.

In the recent past, many senior party leaders had expressed the need for a major structural shake-up in the party to boost morale of the party cadres following repeated defeats in the elections.

The call for change has been amplified after the party's recent drubbing in the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The change could also mean its vice-president Rahul Gandhi might be elevated to the post of party president.

He said the Congress had written to the poll body for granting more time to the party for completing the process of holding organisational polls by six more months as there was very little time left for the same.

Dwivedi also said that it was not possible to adhere to the EC deadline since it went against the resolution of the Congress Working Committee, allowing Sonia Gandhi to continue till December 31, 2017. The party had also cited problems like updating its membership list etc. as reasons for asking more time.

As per its constitution, the Congress was to hold its five-yearly internal polls in 2015, but it has since been delaying due to various reasons.
New Delhi: India and Russia discussed a wide range of issues during the annual round of bilateral consultations on disarmament and non-proliferation held here, the External Affairs Ministry said on Monday.



The Russian team was led by Mikhail Ulyanov, Head of the Department of Non-Proliferation and Arms Control in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while Pankaj Sharma, Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs) in Ministry of External Affairs, led the Indian delegation.



"The consultations covered a broad spectrum of related issues on the international agenda including nuclear and WMD (weapons of mass destruction) terrorism, nuclear energy," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.



"As part of the series of events to commemorate 70 years of India-Russia diplomatic relations, Ulyanov also delivered a lecture at the Foreign Service Institute, New Delhi on March 23 on the theme 'India-Russia Partnership and Prospects for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control'," it said.



Ulyanov visited India on March 23-24 for the annual consultations held alternatively in New Delhi and Moscow.
New Delhi: Shiv Sena MPs on Monday said the ban imposed by all airlines on fellow member Ravindra Gaikwad should be lifted but the government said airlines had the right to refuse a passenger.



The issue was raised by Sena member Anandrao Adsul in the Lok Sabha.



"There was some dispute, he had beaten an Air India staffer. I agree it is wrong. Air India has filed a police complaint and we will accept whatever the result is, that is not a problem," he said.



"The problem is all airlines have restricted him. The constitution says people can go anywhere in the country. If there is one incident and all airlines ban him, it is wrong," he said.



Adsul cited the example of actor Kapil Sharma who he alleged misbehaved with an airline staffer on a flight to Australia.



"He was not banned. But a person who represents people, and when the session is on, was banned."



Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju said an MP was another passenger and violence of any kind on a flight can turn into a disaster.



He said airlines have been empowered to deny boarding to any passenger whose demeanour was not proper.



"An MP is also a passenger. Now that the MP has raised it, we can't have unequal treatment to people of different classes... We need to keep safety in mind, we can't compromise safety of airlines," Raju said.



Air India and all private carriers have refused to fly Gaikwad after he repeatedly hit an Air India employee with a slipper last week.


New Delhi: An additional 20,000 paramilitary personnel will be dispatched to Jammu and Kashmir for deployment during the forthcoming bypolls in Srinagar and Anantnag Lok Sabha seats.

"We are planning to send 200 companies of paramilitary forces to Jammu and Kashmir for election duties. These forces are in addition to those already deployed for law and order duties," a Home Ministry official said.

A company of paramilitary force comprises of around 100 personnel.

Bypolls to Srinagar and Anantnag Lok Sabha seats will be held on April 9 and 12 respectively.

Kashmir continuous to be on edge following several violent incidents in recent past. Yesterday, two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed when they tried to ambush a police party that included three officers of the rank of superintendent of police in south Kashmir's Pulwama district.

The top police officers of the district were returning after a meeting with the chief election officer in connection with the forthcoming bypolls to two Lok Sabha seats of Anantnag and Srinagar.
Bhopal: In the fifth such instance of healthcare horror in Madhya Pradesh, a mauled body of a patient, eaten by a dog, was found in the premises of a government hospital.

The deceased was said to be missing from the hospital since last few days and what adds to the horror is that hospital authorities were unaware that she was missing from her yard until they found the remains of her dead body.

According to a TOI report, the stray dogs ate up the body of a 70-year-old woman, Bismillah Khan, who had went missing from the hospital on March 22.

It was only after the sanitation workers of the hospital discovered an intolerable stench which led them to the site where the body was left in a mutilated condition.

According to an India.com source, "It was just a head and half a torso" and the hospital authorities identified the deceased from her purse and scraps of her clothes.

Civil surgeon Dr S Yadu said "The body was spotted by the cleaning staff owing to the intolerable stench emanating from it."

"With the body being in extremely bad shape, its autopsy was conducted at the spot where it was found", he was quoted by New Indian Express.
Bhopal: Leader of the Opposition in Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Ajay Singh, on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remove Shivraj Singh Chouhan as chief minister in the wake of the CAG observations about the Vyapam scam.

A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), released recently, rapped the state government over the Vyapam scam.

The scam pertains to alleged irregularities in job recruitments and admissions by the state professional Examination Board, known by its Hindi name Vyapam.

"I have written a letter to PM and urging him that Shivraj Singh Chouhan be removed from the post of chief minister as Vyapam scam took shape during his tenure. The CAG too has rapped the state government over it," the Congress leader told reporters here.

The CAG has passed strictures against the Madhya Pradesh government for "systematic subversion of rules" in appointment of director and controller of the scam-tainted professional examination board.

Singh alleged that 53 persons died and 55 FIRs were registered in connection with the scam. Nearly 2,500 persons were facing investigation by various agencies including the CBI.

Besides, 2,100 persons were arrested in connection with this massive admission and recruitment racket, he said.

"All this happened during the tenure of Chouhan as CM. He was incharge of the state's medical education department when this occurred. The CM himself has admitted to the irregularities in 1,378 appointments made through Vyapam," he said.

Leader of Opposition said, "Surprisingly, none of the investigating agency has summoned the chief minister to get details about the scam.

"When former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could be summoned on ground of being incharge of coal ministry, why a chief minister can't be examined ?", he sought to know.

Earlier two chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh -- Uma Bharti and Babulal Gaur-- were removed by the top BJP leadership when issues against them were not even related to corruption, he said.

"Why BJP's top leadership is going soft on Chouhan?" he wanted to know.
New Delhi: Shiv Sena MPs on Monday said the ban imposed by all airlines on fellow member Ravindra Gaikwad should be lifted but the government said airlines had the right to refuse a passenger.



The issue was raised by Sena member Anandrao Adsul in the Lok Sabha.



"There was some dispute, he had beaten an Air India staffer. I agree it is wrong. Air India has filed a police complaint and we will accept whatever the result is, that is not a problem," he said.



"The problem is all airlines have restricted him. The constitution says people can go anywhere in the country. If there is one incident and all airlines ban him, it is wrong," he said.



Adsul cited the example of actor Kapil Sharma who he alleged misbehaved with an airline staffer on a flight to Australia.



"He was not banned. But a person who represents people, and when the session is on, was banned."



Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju said an MP was another passenger and violence of any kind on a flight can turn into a disaster.



He said airlines have been empowered to deny boarding to any passenger whose demeanour was not proper.



"An MP is also a passenger. Now that the MP has raised it, we can`t have unequal treatment to people of different classes... We need to keep safety in mind, we can`t compromise safety of airlines," Raju said.



Air India and all private carriers have refused to fly Gaikwad after he repeatedly hit an Air India employee with a slipper last week.
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Monday urged the Modi government to consider RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the post of Indian President.

In a surprise statement, Sena MP and Saamana Executive Editor Sanjay Raut said the National Democratic Alliance - of which Sena is a member - and the BJP in particular should think of the RSS Sarsanghchalak if it wanted to fulfil its dream of achieving a "Hindu Rashtra".

"This has been discussed in our party. Even Sena President Uddhav Thackeray is of the opinion that for making India a `Hindu Rashtra`, Bhagwat should be made the President," Raut told mediapersons.

He said a staunch Hindu nationalist like Modi was the Prime Minister and another Hindutva proponent, Yogi Adityanath, had become Chief Minister of India`s most populous state Uttar Pradesh.

"He (Bhagwat) is a strong leader, staunch nationalist, has a deep knowledge of the Constituition. So if the BJP wants to make India a `Hindu Rashtra`, his name must be considered. He is the most suitable candidate," Raut said.

Born in Chandrapur in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, Bhagwat, 66, has headed the RSS since March 2009.

The presidential election is due in July.
Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clarified on Monday that ban on cow slaughter would not be imposed in three Northeastern states which go to polls next year if the party comes to power.

Ban on cow slaughter like the one in UP wont take effect in Nagaland if our party comes to power next year. The reality here is very different and our central leaders are aware of that, Nagaland BJP chief Visasolie Lhoungu told Hindustan Times.

On the other hand, BJPs Meghalaya unit general secretary David Kharsati issued a statement blaming groups with vested interest for spreading rumours.

Meghalaya BJP chief Shibun Lyngdoh was quoted as saying by the Daily, Even in UP, action is being taken on slaughter houses operating without proper license. While there would be no ban on cow slaughter, we would like the government to ensure killing and sale of animals is done legally and in a hygienic manner.

Lhoungu also said, We are in BJP because of the partys development agenda. The partys position is improving and more and more people are joining. Things look bright for next year.

Also Read - Azam Khan demand ban on cow slaughter across India, says Muslims should stop eating beef

And Mizoram's BJP president JV Hluna said, as per HT, There would be no ban on cow slaughter in Mizoram and other states in the region where there is a majority Christian population.

Christian majority in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland widely consume beef.

Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today that only illegal slaughter houses are being shut in Uttar Pradesh and there cannot be a difference of opinion that they should be shut.



Replying to the supplementary question, Sitharaman said, "What is being done in Uttar Pradesh is about illegal slaughter houses. I think even the honourable member would not want illegal slaughter houses to function. The Chief Minister (Adityanath Yogi) has been clear (that) he is talking about illegal slaughter houses. There cannot be a difference of opinion here," as per IANS.

The UP government also said today that it was acting only against the illegal abattoirs.

"We are acting only against illegal abattoirs. Licenced slaughter houses are requested to stick to the norms," Health Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh told reporters.

"The licenced slaughter houses should comply with the norms mentioned in the licence and need not to fear," he said.

"No orders have been issued to take any action against any shop selling chicken, fish or eggs. They need not to fear," Singh clarified, as per PTI.

He directed the officials that they should not act in over-enthusiasm nor they should overstep their jurisdiction.

Noting that the National Green Tribunal had insisted on closure of illegal slaughter houses, Singh said, "The NGT had in 2015 observed that illegal slaughter houses are a concern for the environment, while insisting on their closure. However, the previous government did not do anything to ensure the closure of these illegal abattoirs."

Incidentally, meat sellers across the state today went on an indefinite strike against the crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses.



(With Agency inputs)
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday ordered a Crime Branch probe into a Facebook post that showed pictures of over 100 girl students with derogatory remarks.



Patnaik also ordered strict action against those responsible for the incident involving the students of the Rama Devi (RD) Women`s University here.



The direction for a Crime Branch probe came after students of various colleges met the Chief Minister here on Monday.



"Aarohi Creations misused the picture of girl students on social media. Three days have passed but the authorities are unable to arrest the accused. So we met the Chief Minister," said a Rama Devi university student.



The photographs of over 100 students of the varsity were posted on Aarohi Creations` Facebook page with objectionable caption "sex contest".



Several students had filed a complaint with the Commissionerate Police here.
Mumbai: Star comedian Kapil Sharma may get a warning from Air India after he created a scene on flight in an inebriated state a couple of weeks back, a report suggests.

According to a report in Times of India, the national carrier may warn Sharma for the alleged ruckus he created on flight while returning from Melbourne on March 16. Sharma landed in controversy after he allegedly hurled abuses at his colleague Sunil Grover. It was also being reported that Sharma hit him with a shoe.

The Cabin crew and the passengers tried to intervene to calm him down. He however, reportedly apologised to the crew.

AI chief Ashwani Lohani had reportedly sought a report the ruckus but the exact nature of the warning is not known yet.

However, it is likely to be issued this week.

This comes in the wake of a similar nuisance that was created by Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad who was barred from flying the airline after he physically assaulted a duty bound employee.
New Delhi: After the rumoured mid-flight brawl, the friendly equation between Sunil Grover and Kapil Sharma has gone kaput. The ace comedian, who is famous for essaying characters like Dr Mashoor Gulati and Rinku Bhabhi, recently spoke about the controversy and stated he is thinking deeply about his future plans.

He finds the whole situation pretty amusing. I am very relaxed, very introspective, deep in thought about my future plansI am just watching all the tamasha thats going on. Its very entertaining, BollywoodHungama quoted Sunil as saying.

However, it is still not sure whether or not he will be returning to 'The Kapil Sharma Show'. But, his presence is definitely being missed by the viewers.

The whole controversy began when Sunil was reportedly abused verbally and physically by Kapil, who was then in an inebriated state. Sharma and his team were returning from Australia when the incident took place on flight. Soon after the issue made headlines, the 'Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon' actor took to Twitter to apologise to Sunil.

However, Sunil replied by posting a heartfelt message online. He asked Kapil to 'start respecting human beings also apart from animals'.
New Delhi: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday said the government will seek information on the alleged rape case of a minor by eight teachers in Rajasthan's Bikaner.

"We got this information. It is a heinous crime. We (will) try to seek information on (the case)," the Minister of State for Home Affairs told reporters outside Parliament.

A 13-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped in April 2015 and an FIR registered against the teachers after her father recently gave a complaint to the local Superintendent of Police.

Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria, however, had raised questions over the delay on part of the family in reporting the case.

Taking cognisance of the alleged rape case, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had also decided to write to the local Superintendent of Police and the District Magistrate to seek details on the matter.

Local police had recently visited the private school and recorded the statements of some locals.
Chennai: The Madras High Court, Monday, came down hard on a man, who claimed to be the 'secret son' of former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa.

Justice R Mahadevan directed the arrest of Erode resident J Krishnamoorthy saying that he not only cheated the court but also prepared forged documents.

Krishamoorthy had moved the court seeking help to declare him as Jayalalithaa's son and hence the legal owner of all her properties.

He claimed that he was born to Jayalalithaa and late Telugu actor Shoban Babu. Krishnamoorthy had submitted a set of documents, last week, to strengthen his claim.

However, the learned judge had suspected that they were forged and had asked the police to investigate the genuineness of the documents.

"... Even if the documents are placed before an LKG student, he will say that they are fabricated documents. You attached a photo available in public domain. Do you think anyone can just walk in and initiate PIL proceedings?," the judge had said last week.

The police in their report, submitted to the court, confirmed the suspicion.

Taking into consideration the report, Justice Mahadevan directed the police to take appropriate action against Krishnamoorthy in accordance with law.

Krishnamoorthy had claimed that he was born in 1985 and that a year later he was given in adoption to the family of Erode-based Vasanthamani, who allegedly worked in former chief minister M G Ramachandran's household in the late 1980s.

According to the petitioner, the 'adoption deed' which had photographs and signatures of Jayalalithaa, Shoban Babu and Vasanthamani on the rear, had the signature of MG Ramachandran as 'witnesses' to adoption.

Referring to this, the judge said the late chief minister MG Ramachandran was not able to move even his hand around the time the document was allegedly prepared.
Lucknow: After the massive defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party has coined a new slogan for party.

The SP's new slogan is - "Aapki 'cycle' sadaa chalegi aapke naam se, fir pradesh ka dil jeetenge hum milkar apne kaam se" (Your cycle will always run in your name, we will win the heart of the state by our work.)

Meanwhile, on Merch 25, Akhilesh Yadav, who took over as the party's national president on January 1 after a bitter split, had convened the meeting of the executive, which both SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and senior leader Azam Khan gave a miss.

Mulayam is a member in his capacity as former national president and patron of the party and Khan is a member in his capacity as national general secretary.

Following a bitter feud between the father and the son, Akhilesh had snatched reins of the party from Mulayam and their fight also reached the Election Commission.

Mulayam, who has since been given the role of party mentor, had openly criticised the Samajwadi-Congress alliance and was virtually absent from the campaign too.

Later, Akhilesh had said that they would start a membership drive from April 15 and the election of the national president would ill be completed before September 30.

BJP got 312 seats in the 403-member Assembly in the elections.

Its allies Apna Dal(S) and SBSP bagged nine seats and four seats, respectively, taking the total tally of the combine to 325.

On the other hand, the SP won 47 seats while its ally the Congress got 7 seats.

The BSP won just 19 seats, finishing a dismal third.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Only illegal slaughter houses are being shut in Uttar Pradesh and there cannot be a difference of opinion that they should be shut, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.

During Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said the export of buffalo meat had gone down and China was not allowing the import of Indian buffalo meat.

Replying to the supplementary question, Sitharaman said: "What is being done in Uttar Pradesh is about illegal slaughter houses. I think even the honourable member would not want illegal slaughter houses to function.honourable member would not want illegal slaughter houses to function.

"The Chief Minister (Adityanath Yogi) has been clear (that) he is talking about illegal slaughter houses. There cannot be a difference of opinion here," she said.

About China not allowing import of Indian buffalo meat, the minister said there were many other goods as well for which the Chinese market was not accessible.

He said the central government was in talks with Beijing on this.

The minister also denied that demonetisation had any affect on exports.

Responding to a question by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Sitharaman said the decline in export had been visible for the last few years due to the global economic situation.

"Decline in export happened during 2014-15, 2015-16. If you look at month on month export data, the position is improving.
Lucknow/New Delhi: Even as thousands of meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh shut shops for an indefinite period from Monday, the BJP-led government clarified that the crackdown was directed only against illegal slaughterhouses.

"The move aims to ensure health safety of the people by ensuring safe and clean meat to them", state Cabinet minister Shrikant Sharma said.

"Our government is going by the rule book and following the orders of Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal. The action is against only illegal slaughter houses. As far as meat shop owners are concerned, I would suggest that rather than go on strike, it's better that they follow the rules," Sharma added, as per PTI.

On the other hand, UP Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh said in state capital Lucknow that those who have licences need not worry, and urged civil and police officials "not to be overexcited" while imposing the ban, which was promised by the BJP in its state election manifesto.



The BJP had vowed to shut down all illegal slaughterhouses and place curbs on all mechanical abattoirs in the state.



The minister said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in line with the party poll manifesto, had sought action "only against illegal slaughterhouses".



"Abattoirs operating legally will not be touched," he stressed.

Meat sellers, especially mutton vendors, today kept their shops closed on the first day of their indefinite strike against the statewide crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughter houses.

Also Read - Azam Khan demands ban on cow slaughter across India, says Muslims should stop eating beef

They alleged that police were raiding the shops and forcing the closure of their establishments despite having valid licences.



They said the ban on slaughterhouses has caused a shortage in meat supply across the state, as thousands of meat sellers have been forced to shut their shops in an air of uncertainty over the state government policy.



"We have decided to intensify our strike. All (meat) shops will remain closed. The crackdown on slaughterhouses has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people," Mubeen Qureshi of the Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal told reporters.



In Noida, the national capital's suburb in UP, meat shops were open but many sellers said their daily income has fallen nearly by half due to the crackdown on slaughterhouses.



"I have sold only half of (meat) what I would sell normally," Chand Qureshi, a meat seller in Shahberi market of Noida Extension, told IANS.

Also Read - Asaduddin Owaisi asks Centre to clarify policy on buffalo meat export, Nirmala Sitharaman gives apt reply



He said meat shops at some other places like in Ghaziabad were asked to put up curtains on shop fronts.



In Delhi, the issue was raised in Parliament by AIMIM President and Lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi, who asked the state government to give time to illegal abattoirs for regularisation instead of just recklessly closing them down.

Replying to a related question from Owaisi, Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "What is being done in Uttar Pradesh is about illegal slaughterhouses. I think even the honourable member (Owaisi) would not want illegal slaughterhouses to function. There cannot be a difference of opinion here."



The Hyderabad MP also raised the issue of the decrease in the export of buffalo meat, which is mostly supplied from UP that houses 38 of the 72 government-approved abattoirs across the country.

There are no records of illegal slaughterhouses available officially. However, according to industry insiders, there could be an estimated 140 abattoirs and over 50,000 meat shops that don't have permission to operate.

(With Agency inputs)
Yangon: Myanmar`s army chief defended a military crackdown in Rakhine State on Monday after the UN pledged to probe claims security forces carried out a campaign of killing and torture against Rohingya Muslims there.

Almost 75,000 people from the persecuted minority have escaped to Bangladesh after the military launched operations in the north of the restive state to find Rohingya militants who raided police border posts in October.

UN investigators believe security forces may have committed crimes against humanity. Last week the UN Human Rights Council agreed to dispatch an independent international fact-finding mission, with a view to "ensuring full accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims".

Myanmar has long faced criticism for its treatment of the more than one million Rohingya who live in Rakhine State, who are rejected as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh or "Bengalis" despite many living there for generations.

Speaking to crowds assembled in the capital for armed forces day, army chief Min Aung Hlaing on Monday defended the military campaign.

"The Bengalis in Rakhine State are not the Myanmar nationalities but the immigrants," he said, according to an official translation.

"The terrorist attacks which took place in October 2016 resulted in the political interferences."

Myanmar`s civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi has meanwhile rebuffed the UN probe, saying any international fact-finding mission "would do more to inflame, rather than resolve, the issues at this time".

The country`s powerful military until recently ruled Myanmar with an iron fist and built up a notorious reputation for rights abuses, especially when conducting operations against restive ethnic insurgents.

Almost all Rohingya are denied citizenship and forced to live in apartheid-like conditions, while tens of thousands of them have been confined to dire camps since violence drove them from their homes in 2012.

This month a commission led by former UN chief Kofi Annan to resolve issues in Rakhine recommended the camps be closed and said restrictions on freedom of movement should be lifted.
Melbourne: Police in Australia's Tasmania state today said they have launched a probe into the assault on an Indian-origin man to assess whether it was a racially- motivated incident.

Li Max Joy, who is pursuing a nursing course and working as a part-time taxi driver in Australia, alleged that five people including a girl hurled racial abuses like "you bloody black Indians" at him and assaulted him up at the McDonald's restaurant at North Hobart in the state.

In a statement, the police said they have spoken to a number of witnesses and were following a particular line of inquiry in relation to the offender.

"The complainant will be kept informed of the status of the investigation as it progresses," police said.

"Tasmania Police take all assaults seriously, and whether the assault was racially based will be a component of the investigative facts," it noted.

The 33-year-old victim said that the teenagers had been arguing with the McDonald's staff when he reached the fast food centre, but turned their anger on him when they noticed him.

Joy was admitted to Royal Hobart Hospital with deep wounds. He was later discharged from hospital and he reported the incident to police.
Male: The Maldives opposition on Monday began impeachment proceedings against the parliamentary speaker in an attempt to destabilise the president after allying with his powerful half-brother -- the former strongman leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

The move came a day after the exiled opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed announced plans to take control of the 85-member Majlis, or parliament, in a unity pact with Gayoom.

The alliance marks an extraordinary turnaround for Gayoom. He is still nominally the leader of President Abdulla Yameen`s ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) despite falling out with his half-brother.

On Sunday Gayoom appealed to members of the PPM to break ranks with the president and vote with the opposition on Monday to remove the speaker, Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed.

"In order to enable Majlis to fulfil its mandate in a democratic manner, I appeal to all MPs to vote NO to Maseeh tomorrow. Nation First!" Gayoom tweeted on Sunday night.

Gayoom retains influence over the party he once led, but it is unclear whether it will be strong enough to secure the impeachment, which would give the opposition more control over the legislative agenda.

Nasheed lives in exile in London after he was convicted on terrorism charges widely seen as politically motivated. He became the Maldives` first democratically elected president in 2008 but was narrowly defeated in 2013 elections by Yameen.

Last month he said he would return to the troubled Indian Ocean nation to run in 2018 presidential elections.

The Maldives constitution bars Nasheed from being a candidate because of the controversial 2015 criminal conviction.

But if his party can secure the support of enough lawmakers to win control of parliament, it might be able to overturn the law under which he was convicted, allowing him to return.

Yameen has presided over a major crackdown on political dissent in the nation of 340,000 that has raised fears over its stability and dented its image as an island tourism paradise.

Almost all key opposition leaders and a number of ruling party dissidents have either been jailed or fled into exile since Yameen took office in a controversial run-off election against Nasheed.

Gayoom, who ruled the country for three decades before he was ousted in 2008, has agreed to work with the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party to free those convicted of politically motivated charges.

"If we succeed, as we expect to, the president will be reduced to a lame duck and will have to carry out reforms and reverse the anti-democratic measures he has introduced," Nasheed told AFP during a visit to neighbouring Sri Lanka on Sunday.

He said the objective was to strengthen democratic institutions and ensure that 2018 elections are free and fair.
London: A group of Muslim women stood on Westminster Bridge in a show of solidarity with victims of last week's terror attack outside the British Parliament that killed four people.

The group, who said they were wearing blue as a symbol of hope, stood holding hands for five minutes on the Westminster Bridge as the Big Ben struck 4 p.m. on Sunday, The Telegraph reported.

People from a range of backgrounds joined the event, organised by Women's March On London.

Three civilians were killed and many more were injured after a lone attacker, Khalid Masood, sped along the bridge before storming the parliamentary estate and stabbing to death a police officer on March 22.

Masood was shot dead by police.

"The feeling of what happened here on Wednesday was really strong," Fariha Khan from Surbiton said.

"We thought of the ordinary people who were here and were mowed down, standing here like this, it was very overwhelming."

She said the women wanted to add to the condemnation of the violent attack and stand defiant in the face of terrorism.

"When an attack happens in London, it is an attack on me," The Telegraph quoted Sarah Waseem from Surrey as saying.

So far, 12 people have been arrested in relation to the attack, CNN reported.

The latest was a 30-year-old man who was detained on Sunday in Birmingham "on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts" , the Metropolitan Police said.

Nine people arrested earlier have been released.
Abu Dhabi: The family of a Pakistani man, allegedly murdered by 10 Indians in Abu Dhabi in 2015, has pardoned the convicts facing death sentence.

The father of the victim, Mohammad Farhan, appeared in the Al Ain Appeals Court and submitted a letter of consent to pardon the Indians, an Indian Embassy official told the Gulf News.

On behalf of the accused, an Indian charity deposited the blood money in the court and the case has been adjourned for further hearing on April 12, said Dinesh Kumar, an official at the embassy in Abu Dhabi.

"It is expected that the court may commute the death sentence," he said.

The Indian men, from Punjab, were convicted in October 2016 for killing Farhan during a brawl in 2015, said the report.

The blood money as compensation to the victim's family was arranged by Dubai-based Indian businessman S.P.S. Oberoi, chairman of Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust.

Oberoi said his Pakistani manager travelled to Peshawar and spoke to the family and their relatives to secure the pardon.

He said the victim's father said he did not want 10 other Indian families to face the same tragic fate.

All the convicted young Indian men were from poor families and worked in the UAE's Al Ain city as plumbers, electricians, carpenters and masons, said the report.

Most were in their 20s and had paid huge sums to recruitment agents in India to secure a visa to reach the United Arab Emirates.
United Nations: More than 100 countries are set to launch the first UN talks on a global nuclear weapons ban today over objections from the major nuclear powers.

Some 123 UN members announced in October that they would launch the UN conference to negotiate a legally binding nuclear ban treaty, even as most of the world's declared and undeclared nuclear powers voted against the talks.

Britain, France, Israel, Russia and the United States voted no, while China, India and Pakistan abstained.

Even Japan -- the only country to have suffered atomic attacks, in 1945 -- voted against the talks, saying the lack of consensus over the negotiations could undermine progress on effective nuclear disarmament.

The countries leading the effort include Austria, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and Sweden. Hundreds of NGOs back their efforts.

They say the threat of nuclear disaster is growing thanks to mounting tensions fanned by North Korea's nuclear weapons program and an unpredictable new administration in Washington.

Supporters point to successful grassroots movements that led to the prohibition of landmines in 1997 and cluster munitions in 2008.

"I expect that this will take a long time, let's not be naive," Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said at the UN last week.

"But it's very important in these days when you see more of this rhetoric, and also sort of power demonstrations, including threatening to use nuclear weapons."

"Quite a high number of countries are actually interested in saying we have to break the deadlock that has been on this issue for so many years," she added. "So it's also the expression of frustration."

No progress has been made on nuclear disarmament in recent years despite commitments made by the major nuclear powers to work toward disarmament under the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), said Beatrice Fihn, director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, an international coalition of NGOs.

"There was disappointment with the Obama administration, which made some pledges, but then ignored most of them," she said. "And now there are raised worries with the new US president."

Then-president Barack Obama announced a drive in 2009 to reduce the role of nuclear weapons and eventually eliminate them.

But his administration strongly encouraged NATO allies to vote against this year's UN negotiations, saying a ban would obstruct cooperation to respond to nuclear threats from adversaries.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. Excavation-clearing works began for the first time in the Persian Upper Mosque, which is located in Shushi, Artsakh.

The restoration project of the mosque was made by the Revival of eastern historic legacy foundation.

Marat Shahramanyan, director of the State Service of Historic Environment Protection SNCO told ARMENPRESS the excavation will last for 20-25 days.

These studies will enable to make the restoration works of the monument more accurately, he said.

According to Shahramanyan, the excavation is carried out by Nzdeh Yeranyans team.

There was no need for foreign experts for excavating the monument. This monument was damaged by both the war and weather conditions, he added.

The Upper Mosque of Shushi was built in 1883 by the project of Iranian architect Karbeli sefi Khan. During Soviet years the mosque operated as a historic-archaeological museum.

Almost 5000 historic and cultural monuments are registered in Artsakh, with preservation zones active for 700.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. In the past 24 hours Azerbaijani forces made over 40 ceasefire breaches in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact, the defense ministry of Artsakh told ARMENPRESS.

The ministry said on March 26 and overnight March 27 Azerbaijani forces fired more than 340 shots at Artsakh positions from various caliber weapons.

The Defense Army maintains full control in the frontline and carry on with their service normally, the Artsakh defense ministry said in a statement.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of transportation, communication and information technologies says snowfalls are currently observed along the roads of the Aparan, Abovyan, Hrazdan, Sevan and Ashotsk regions.

Clearing works are underway.

The ministry told ARMENPRESS all highways/roads of interstate and republican significance are open for traffic.

Notice  Information as of 09:30.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. A protest against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government has been organized in Switzerland, Deutsche Welle reports.

The number of the protesters reached a couple of thousands in Bern, where they called on Turkey to maintain freedoms and democracy in the country.

The protesters displayed a big poster, portraying the Turkish President with a handgun drawn near his head. The poster had the following writing: Kill Erdogan with his own weapons.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. Germanys Green Party Co-chairman Cem Ozdemir called on Turks living in Germany to vote for no in Turkeys constitutional referendum due date April 16, Demkrathaber.net reported.

President Erdogan presents himself as a savior, but in reality he is in clash with Europe, Ozdemir said, adding that the atmosphere of fear in Turkey already reached Germany.

Dont be afraid, go to vote. We, as a Green party, are with you, he said, stating that they have always supported and continue supporting modern and democratic Turkeys membership to the European Union.

We have always wanted independent, economically powerful Turkey which will be wanted for all citizens. We have dreamed of a Turkey which will be respected by the whole world. All these are possible only in case of respect towards democracy, human rights, freedom of thought and freedom of media. Please, say no to Erdogans constitutional changes. Support Turkeys future, peaceful co-existence of Turkey and Europe, Cem Ozdemir said.

Constitutional referendum is scheduled on April 16 in Turkey. Under the constitutional changes, the country transforms into a presidential system. The number of MPs will reach 600 from 550. MPs can be elected at the age of 18 instead of 25. The elections of the parliament and the president will be held every 5 years on the same day.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. World Theater Day is celebrated annually on March 27 worldwide.

It was celebrated for the first time in France, and later spread globally.

On this occasion ARMENPRESS correspondent talked to representatives of the theater sphere.

According to Armen Elbakyan, artistic director of the Sundukyan national academic theater, theater is the small model of the world, which presents reality through arts.

The audience frees themselves from the surrounding chaos by coming to the theater. Unfortunately, during the present days, not only in Armenia but also globally the times arent theatrical, because time flies very quickly and the playwrights dont manage to walk along with it, he said.

According to him, the most important figure in the theater is the poet, the author. The theater will improve the situation when the plays will reflect the pulse of time, he said.

Theater is a lifestyle; its my life with all its manifestations. The theater is mine, I am the theaters, actor Tigran Nersisyan says.

He said he sees a positive growth in the theatrical sphere in the past years, however there are many things to do.

The improvement and development of theatrical art is linked with the situation of our country, our society, and if the social issues are solved, theater will develop as well, he said.

Theater director Hrachya Gasparyan says theater is his life, the joy, pleasure, the sphere for which he was born.

Everyday when going to work I am happy and I dont imagine myself without theater. In my opinion theater is a phenomena which makes the people noble, ambitious, interesting, he said.

World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI). It is celebrated annually on the 27th March by ITI Centres and the international theatre community. Various national and international theatre events are organized to mark this occasion. One of the most important of these is the circulation of the World Theatre Day International Message through which at the invitation of ITI, a figure of world stature shares his or her reflections on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace. The first World Theatre Day International Message was written by Jean Cocteau (France) in 1962. It was first in Helsinki, and then in Vienna at the 9th World Congress of the ITI in June 1961 that President Arvi Kivimaa proposed on behalf of the Finnish Centre of the International Theatre Institute that a World Theatre Day be instituted. The proposal, backed by the Scandinavian centres, was carried with acclamation.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. Former defense minister Seyran Ohanyan, leader of the Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian bloc, commented on media reports on his arrest.

During a briefing on March 27 the ex-defense minister denied the reports, labeling them disinformation.

During the campaign I dont have that much time to pay attention to such everyday issues and intrigues. Such reports are disinformation. I walk in Armenia, I am within serious political processes. If such information existed, at least someone from the legal field would comment on it, Ohanyan said.

He added that he is a new person in politics, however he was able to rapidly adapt to reality and form a team of decent and patriotic people, with whom he sees the prospects of continuing his political path.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. Raffi Hovhannisyan, president of the Heritage party and member of the Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian bloc, denies reports that he intends to leave politics and Armenia.

These reports on me intending to leave the country, politics or restore my US citizenship are false. To say the least its false, Hovhannisyan said.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. Newly appointed Ambassador of New Zealand to Armenia (residence in Moscow) Ian Alexander Hill on March 27 presented the copy of his credentials to Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, press service of the MFA told Armenpress.

Welcoming the Ambassador in Yerevan, FM Nalbandian said Armenia attaches importance to the development of relations with New Zealand in various spheres, and wished the Ambassador success in his important mission.

Ambassador Hill thanked for the wishes, stating that the Government of New Zealand is highly interested in developing mutually beneficial partnership with Armenia, and he will make additional efforts on this path.

The sides also discussed steps aimed at developing mutual cooperation at bilateral and multilateral formats. In this context they attached importance to holding regular consultations between the Foreign Ministries, establishing inter-parliamentary mutual partnership, developing legal framework, boosting trade-economic ties, mainly in agricultural field.

Edward Nalbandian said the small but active Armenian community of New Zealand can play a key role in developing the bilateral cooperation.

At the request of the guest, Nalbandian presented Armenias main foreign policy priorities, as well as the countrys approaches on regional and international issues and their solution ways.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of education and science says it is focusing on the materials (recordings of directors of 114 educational institutions) by Union of informed citizens NGO, which was published in several media outlets.

Lusine Margaryan, spokeswoman of the education and science ministry, said on Facebook acting minister, deputy minister Manuk Mkrtchyan tasked the directors of the high schools which were included in the list to present clarifications as soon as possible.

At the same time a new notification has been sent to all governors and the City Hall of Yerevan regarding ruling out the involvement of educational institutions from political processes.

Minister of education and science Levon Mkrtchyan is currently on vacation with the purpose of taking part in the campaign. Back on February 22 Levon Mkrtchyan addressed Armenias Governors and the Yerevan Mayor, proposing to set strict supervision in order for representatives of educational institutions to get involved in campaign works strictly within the framework of the law, she said.

On March 24, the Union of informed citizens NGO published a list of directors of 114 schools and kindergartens and the recordings to conversations, stating they are campaigning in favor of the ruling party  RPA.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. The observation mission of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) published an interim report on the preparation works of Armenias upcoming parliamentary election, reports Armenpress.

The report says the CIS observation mission received an invitation to observe the parliamentary election from Armenias Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan. The observation delegation is comprised of 172 members. The delegation includes representatives from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. The missions works are coordinated by their headquarters which was formed in Yerevan. 20 of observers are long-term.

The CIS observation mission launched the monitoring of election campaign on March 14. The mission acts with a principle of not interfering in Armenias domestic life based on fundamental principles of international law.

The observation mission representatives discussed the election campaign process with the representatives of the Parliament, the MFA, Central Electoral Commission, the Prosecutor Generals Office, the Police, Justice Ministry, Public TV and Radio National Commission. The observers also had meetings with the representatives of the Republican Party of Armenia, Free democrats party, Armenian revival party, Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanyan and Yelk blocs, as well as OSCE/ODIHR observation mission.

The missions headquarters regularly provides information to mass media. The missions delegation stated that all necessary conditions exist for CIS observers to monitoring the preparation works of the election.

The observation missions headquarters asked the CEC, the Prosecutor Generals Office, the Administrative Court, the Police to provide a chance to get acquainted with the citizens applications and complaint-letters related to violations of electoral process.

The observation mission continues following the election campaign process and will release final assessments on election monitoring in a summary document.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. On March 27 newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of New Zealand to Armenia (residence in Moscow) Ian Alexander Hill presented his credentials to President Serzh Sargsyan, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

The President congratulated the Ambassador on his appointment and wished him success in the development of bilateral relations, stating that Armenia attaches importance to the development of comprehensive relations with New Zealand.

The sides agreed that despite the geographical distance, especially in the current technological circumstances, the existing potential of productive cooperation is much more than the current level of relations between the two states.

Serzh Sargsyan said this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and New Zealand which obliges to revalue the relations and make joint efforts for transferring them to a new qualitative level.

In his turn Ambassador Ian Alexander Hill thanked the President for the reception and said he will do everything possible to contribute to the development of relations between Armenia and New Zealand.

During the meeting the possibilities and prospects on expanding the bilateral mutual partnership at various spheres were discussed.








YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. The change of the Presidents administration of the USA has had no influence on the US position on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, acting OSCE Minsk Group American Co-Chair Richard Hoagland told the reporters on March 27 in Yerevan.

Yes, we have a new administration in Washington, but I assure that our position remains unchanged. We remain committed to the Minsk Group Co-chairmanship format of the conflict settlement and are ready to work with all the sides to find a peaceful solution, Armenpress reports Hoagland saying.

He added that he closely cooperates with the French and Russian Co-chairs. We spend hour together discussing all the details and minor issues. There are no acute disagreements between us and the same goes for the leaderships of our countries. Even if our countries may have disagreements over some other issues, this is the issue over which we have a very good cooperation, the acting American Co-chair concluded.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. Permanent Representative of the Republic of Artsakh to the USA Robert Avetisyan received on March 27 a group of students of the Political Science Department of the Clemson University of the U.S. State of South Carolina and their scientific director, lecturer of the same University Professor Vladimir Matic, Armenpress was informed from the press service of MFA Artsakh.

The Permanent Representative of Artsakh briefed the participants on the history of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict and the current stage of its settlement process, as well as the developments taking place in Artsakh and in the region.

At the end of the meeting, Robert Avetisyan answered numerous questions of the participants related to the settlement of the conflict and the Artsakh-Diaspora relations, as well as the state-building process and economic situation in Artsakh.
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. An improved version of the previous plans on peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict is put on the negotiation table, acting OSCE Minsk Group American Co-Chair Richard Hoagland told the reporters on March 27 in Yerevan. There have been different plans during years and the one currently put on the table is the improved and amended version of the previous plans. Is this a copy of the previous plans? No. This one observes new ways, new solutions which can be acceptable for the conflicting sides, Armenpress reports Hoagland saying.

He added that he cannot disclose the details of the plan since the conflicting sides have still to work on some specific points. He added that in diplomacy all the cards should not be disclosed like in playing cards. When there is a plan some of its points may need amendments. That is why we do not speak about all the details in advance, the American Co-chair said.

Richard Hoagland noted that the foreign ministers of the conflicting parties are still to meet to prepare the meeting of the presidents. He added that when the presidents meet they can address the issues of non-agreement and reach a win-win situation.

The acting OSCE Minsk Group American Co-Chair mentioned that they know very well where that plan comes from, but they do not call it a Lavrov plan. We call it conflict settlement plan-proposal, put on the diplomatic table, Hoagland concluded.
SAN FRANCISCO  Falcon Studios Group director Nick Foxx takes fans behind-the-scenes of a Hot House shoot in Depths of Focus.

The cast of Depths of Focus includes Falcon Studios Group A-Team Exclusives Austin Wolf, Sean Zevran, and Johnny V, plus hunky fan favorites Micah Brandt, Gabriel Cross, Alexander Volkov, Jacob Taylor, Jordan Boss, and Derek Bolt. All the behind-the-scenes action is now available for download and on DVD at the Falcon Studios Group Store.

Photographer Austin Wolf and his production assistant Gabriel Cross nail their photoshoot with Alexander Volkov, then nail each other in a three way. Production assistants Jacob Taylor and Jordan Boss use their break from set to start some steamy action of their own. Sean Zevran gets fitted for his photo shoot by Derek Bolt, but Zevran quickly find himself fitting his cock deep in Dereks ass. Models Micah Brandt and Johnny V wrap their photo shoot, but its not long before they're also wrapped in heated offset fucking.

As hot as it is watching porn, making it is even hotter, says director Nick Foxx. With Depths of Focus, I wanted to give everyone a little bit of a taste for what its like to have the best job in the world: mine!

Depths of Focus is a special treat for porn fans; a look 'behind the curtain' to see how your favorite films are made, says Falcon Studios Group President Tim Valenti. Nick and the cast did an awesome job capturing the excitement, fun, and intense action that you see when youre in the room surrounded by hot, horny men ready to cum.

For DVD wholesale purchasing, contact Jose Mineros at [email protected]
BALTIMORE, MD.This morning, tribute is being paid to a longtime stalwart of the adult industry. Morton Hyatt, owner of adult distribution company Komar, passed away yesterday. The Baltimore-based company closed its doors in February after more than 50 years in business, following Hyatts retirement due to personal and medical reasons.

Services are being held this morning at Beth Tfiloh Cemetery in Owings Mill, Maryland. The family will be sitting shiva through Thursday evening.

Friends and family members shared their memories of Hyatt on the memorial page hosted by Sol Levinson & Bros. Funeral Services, painting a portrait of a man who donated his time and energy to his community.

One of his signature contributions was the annual Turkey Trot event, which began more than 30 years ago when Hyatt was diagnosed with Crohns disease. An avid runner, he decided to turn his running group into a fund-raising powerhouse. The first Trot raised $300 for the charity. By 2013 it had grown to 1,500 participants who raised more than $46,000. The money was donated to Johns Hopkins Hospital and University of Maryland Medical System to assist in the search for a cure. To date the event has raised more than $950,000 for the cause.

Komar was a major player in the adult industry, from its beginnings in the magazine pack market to eventually widening its reach into adult novelties, magazines, DVDs and lingerie.

Hyatt joined Komar as a partner in the 1980s, and then bought out original owner Sam Boltansky in the 2000s. In 2015, the company moved to a 100,000-square-foot headquarters in the historic mill section of Baltimore.

Hyatt is survived by wife Harriet Hyatt; children Helen Turner and Adrianne Foreman; sister Susan Gillick; and grandchildren Daniel Turner, Seth Goldstein and Alexandra Goldstein.

The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 1500 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 200, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266. Or donations can be made online.
LEVEL and Wow Air are both offering rock-bottom fares from the US to Europe this summer.

At a time when major airlines are hiking up airfare for the summer rush, several low-cost carriers are offering rock-bottom prices for long haul flights.

On Monday, Icelandic discount carrier Wow Air announced that a new route from Chicagos OHare International Airport to Reykjavik will open on July 13. This is the 10th destination in North America for the airline, which already operates in nine US cities including Newark, Los Angeles and Miami. One-way tickets for the new route debuted at $99, and for an additional $149, travelers can connect to one of 23 other cities like London, Paris or Amsterdam.

Wow has been building its presence as a low-cost carrier with competitive base rates since 2011, but the field is widening fast.

On March 17, Level Airlines burst onto the scene, promoting one-way tickets from the US to Europe for an impressive $149. While flights wont start until June, tickets can be purchased now from Barcelona to Los Angeles (June 1), San Francisco (June 2), Punta Cana (June 10) and Buenos Aires (June 17). After announcing these rock-bottom prices, Levels website had issues processing requests, and managed to sell 52,000 tickets in just 24 hours.

Level was launched by the International Airlines Group (IAG), which is the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Vueling. For them, offering a low-cost option provides more options to the growing number of consumers willing to fly on a no-frills airline.

Long-haul, low-cost is a segment of the market that will experience significant growth and that we can operate profitably, IAG said in an email to Yahoo Finance. Level complements our current portfolio of airlines and further diversifies our existing customer base.

Travelers may have to pay for hot meals when flying on a low-cost carrier. (Getty)

Being a part of the IAG network is one of the reasons Level is able to offer such competitive fares. For now, travelers can only book flights out of Barcelona, which is the home base for Vueling. This allows Level flights to feed into Vuelings extensive network that currently includes more than 100 destinations around the world. While the new airline does have two new Airbus A330 aircraft, initial flights will be operated by Iberias flight and cabin crew.

Story continues

Level ticket costs include space in the overhead compartment, but customers have to pay additional fees to check a bag. Airlines typically provide a blanket, pillow, drinks and a hot meal on long-haul flights, but travelers will have to pay for these add-ons when flying on Level.

Also churning out cheap tickets is Norwegian Air, which last month announced that it will offer one-way transatlantic tickets for $64. The new routes take travelers from small regional airports in the Northeast, to small regional airports in cities like Dublin and the UK, requiring some logistical maneuvering to get to your final destination. Still, the tickets are cheap, and will be available from July through October.

Major US carriers like United, Delta and American Airlines havent announced plans to launch their own low-cost carriers, but they have introduced lower-fare options for cost-conscious travelers. All three airlines offer a basic economy option, which allows fliers to take advantage of cheaper fares if they follow certain restrictions, like forgoing seat selection and not putting a bag in the overhead bin. That said, Delta did start a no-frills airline in 1996 called Delta Express, and shut it down in 2003.

Brittany is a reporter at Yahoo Finance.

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Photo credit: Twitter / @Kir_kamil

From Esquire

Fearful guests fled the Bellagio hotel-casino complex in Las Vegas, Nevada, after armed robbers broke into a high-end jewelry store shortly after midnight local time on Friday night.

It appears that there may have been a shooting @ the Bellagio

Hotel tonight. Many folks including me ran out in a panic. - Ama Arthur-Asmah (@Ama_A_Asmah) March 25, 2017

Twitter user @Kir_kamil, who witnessed the scene, tweeted a picture of one of the armed suspects standing by the entrance of the store wearing a pig mask. The witness said the person in the mask was arrested.

"He was screaming at people, pointing his gun, making sure that anyone who was close just got away," the witness told the New York Daily News.

Literally just witnessed an armed robber in a pig mask at a Rolex store at the Bellagio & then his arrest #bellagio #vegas #rolex #robbery pic.twitter.com/m53T6bHS2z - K (@0pp1las) March 25, 2017

In a statement, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed the robbery, stating that three people were involved while one was arrested. "It is believed at least one suspect fired shots inside the store," the LVMPD said in a statement. "Initial reports indicated there was an active shooter, however that proved to be false."

Currently investigating burglary at @bellagio. Initial reports indicated there was an active shooter which was false. NO injuries. - LVMPD (@LVMPD) March 25, 2017

The robbers reportedly used sledgehammers to smash the windows of the store as guests hid under casino tables and scrambled for the exits. The hotel was briefly put on lockdown.

Story continues

Twitter users posted videos of the chaotic scene outside the hotel, with police cars swarming the area.

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President Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner will head a new White House office focused on innovation. Source: AP

On Monday, President Donald Trump will announce a new White House office led by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner that will be charged with reforming aspects of the federal government using lessons from the business world.

The office will be called the White House Office of American Innovation, and it follows up on the Trump campaigns assertion that the country be run by more like a businesswith Trump should as its CEO, putting the executive back in the executive branch. According to the Washington Post, which first broke the news on Sunday, the office will be like a SWAT team of strategic consultants, and will be staffed with former business executives.

Joining Kushner to advise are a cast of the tech worlds usual suspects, including Apples (AAPL) Tim Cook, Microsofts (MSFT) Bill Gates, Salesforces (CRM) Marc Benioff, and Teslas (TSLA) Elon Musk, many of whom could see their companies products implemented as solutions, as technology and data are of particular interest to the new office. About 100 others are involved as well.

The agency will be staffed full-time by aides Chris Liddell and Reed Cordish. Liddell has had roles at Microsoft, International Paper, and General Motors, according to the Wall Street Journal. Cordish has worked as a real estate developer and his family is close to the Trumps. Gary Cohn and Dina Powell, two ex-Goldman Sachs (GS) executives who are now director of the National Economic Council and deputy national security advisor, respectively, will be contributing.

By looping in tech giants like Gates, Cook, Musk, and Benioff, Kushner hopes to utilize these present and former tech CEOs for their experience in software that has shaped business and individuals workflow, productivity, payments, and many other activities. Trump is putting faith in the ability of modern technology and innovation to solve the problems of bureaucracy, and the group will first look at modernizing IT and in particular the Veterans Administration. Before assuming his present role, Kushner worked as a real estate investor, running his familys company, and was publisher of the New York Observer.

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Reached for comment, a Gates Foundation spokesperson told Yahoo Finance, Bill was briefed on the creation of the office during his meeting with administration staff last week. We look forward to learning more about the goals and priorities of the office, and how they fit into the administrations policy and budgetary priorities.

In a statement to Yahoo Finance, a Salesforce spokesperson said, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff doesnt have a formal role in the Trump Administration but offers his thoughts and ideas when they are sought on topics on which he can be helpful. He recently suggested a moonshot of 5 million apprenticeships by 2020 at a recent White House roundtable on workforce development with President Trump, German Chancellor Merkel and a few other CEOs.

Requests for comment from Cook, and Musk went unanswered.

The timing of this initiative is curious; it comes on the same day as reports that Kushner has volunteered to speak with the Senate Intelligence Committee over meetings between Russia and members of the Trump campaign and a Russian banks acknowledgement that Kushner had met with the bank in 2016. Monday, It also comes just after Trump attempted and failed to use his dealmaking skills to cajole an unwilling legislature to pass an unpopular bill replacing Obamacare. As the former CEO and owner of a private family company, Trumps previous position could not have been more unilateral or executive, requiring far less oversight and cooperation than the office of the president of even CEOs of public companies with shareholders and boards.

The vote or Im gonna come after you approach, which Trump used unsuccessfully on Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), may not be the type of business leadership that can work in Washington, but the pivot to new tactics like management consulting has the potential to produce results through more achievable wins in the realms of technology and streamlining a bureaucracy.

The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens, Kushner, who is officially senior advisor to the president, told the Post.

Benioff told the Post that Kushner does remind me of a lot of the young, scrappy entrepreneurs that I invest in in their 30s. But it may be tricky to lead a suite of chief executives used to leading themselves. To make matters trickier, the group, which is proud of its lack of government experience, will be auditing a government about which they must learn and master.

In my experience: Jared will give people who have experience in an industry hes never worked in advice re: how to do their jobs, tweeted Elizabeth Spiers, who worked under Jared Kushner as editor-in-chief of the New York Observer from 2011 to 2012. And I appreciate the value of fresh eyes but you generally dont assign a layman heart surgery bc you need a fresh perspective.

Updated 4:53 p.m.: A statement from the Gates Foundation added.

Updated 3/27: A statement from Salesforce added.

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.

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bull and bear 16-9

Volatility has been picking up lately, and it looks like the Trump rally is starting to slow down.

Almost everybody, including bearish investor Prem Watsa, has been bullish on the markets after Trump?s win. The Trump Administration is pro-business, and he?s determined to give the American economy a boost through corporate tax cuts, deregulation policies, and incentives to keep jobs in America.

Sure, Trump has the potential to send the markets higher, but what if he can?t deliver on the things he?s promised? The markets are ridiculously optimistic, and anything short of fantastic news could send the markets tumbling. All of the easy profits have been made, and things could start to get bumpy from here.

It?s been a growing trend to dump defensive stocks in favour of cyclical ones. Many pundits are recommending this strategy since the U.S. economy is getting stronger, and as a result, the markets are going to skyrocket. I?m not a fan of this strategy because I?m a contrarian investor. You shouldn?t dump you defensive stocks just because it?s the trend.

All of a sudden, many investors have turned bullish, and many have been making greedy decisions, like dumping defensive stocks for cyclical ones. I?m sure you?re familiar with Warren Buffett?s famous quote: ??be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.? I think it?s time to start following this piece of advice from the great Oracle.

We?re in the late stages of a bull market, so a stock market correction could be on the horizon. The bull market may still have legs, but it?s always important to have an insurance policy in case the markets decide to take a major tumble.

Just because the U.S. economy is strengthening doesn?t mean you should go all-in on cyclical stocks. This is an incredibly risky strategy that could lead to you losing your shirt once the tides suddenly change.

Unfortunately, many pundits have been recommending this strategy to investors of late. Sure, it might be time to buy a few more cyclical stocks, but this doesn?t mean you should forget about defensive stocks, as they?re an essential part of a diversified portfolio. I favour defensive stocks right now, because the excessive bullishness will inevitably fade, and investors will flock back to defensive stocks once everyone becomes fearful again.

Story continues

I believe there?s huge value to be had in the defensive sector right now. Many stocks in that sector have been beaten up simply because of the re-allocation of cash to riskier names. Pick up shares of wonderful defensive businesses such as Alimentation Couche Tard Inc. (TSX:ATD.B) and Loblaw Companies Limited (TSX:L) because they?re undervalued right now and will be favourable once investors dump their cyclical stocks for defensive ones again.

Don?t get caught in the hype of this Trump-fuelled market.

Stay smart. Stay hungry. Stay Foolish.

Six "pro" strategies for today's highly uncertain market

Motley Fool Canada's $250,000-real-money-portfolio service, Motley Fool Pro, is currently closed to new members. But lead advisor Jim Gillies is doing something special for investors who are worried about the market and where it will head in 2017.

He's revealing the six strategies he uses in Pro to help members guardrail their portfolios and make money in up, down, and sideways markets.

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 owns shares of Alimentation Couche Tard Inc. and Loblaw Companies Limited. Alimentation Couche Tard is a recommendation of Stock Advisor Canada.

Six "pro" strategies for today's highly uncertain market

Motley Fool Canada's $250,000-real-money-portfolio service, Motley Fool Pro, is currently closed to new members. But lead advisor Jim Gillies is doing something special for investors who are worried about the market and where it will head in 2017.

He's revealing the six strategies he uses in Pro to help members guardrail their portfolios and make money in up, down, and sideways markets.

For a limited time you can download this "Pro 2017 Survival Guide" free of charge by simply clicking here.

Fool contributor Joey Frenette owns shares of Alimentation Couche Tard Inc. and Loblaw Companies Limited. Alimentation Couche Tard is a recommendation of Stock Advisor Canada.
cash-money-16-9

Several months ago, shares of North West Company Inc. (TSX:NWC) sat somewhere between $24 and $26. Additionally, the dividend yield, at the lower levels, represented a yield around the 5% mark.

The good news for investors is, sometimes things go as planned. Investors choosing to purchase shares at the $25 mark received the 5% yield and have also benefited from capital appreciation that has followed the security over the past several months.

Shares of this grocer, which operates stores in remote parts of Canada and Alaska, have risen to a price in excess of $31, and investors are now able to obtain a yield of barely 4% on new investments.

Although investors have experienced fantastic news, this news translates to bad news for potential investors. Those who chose not to take the plunge missed the 25% increase in value and the dividends that have been paid over the past several months. The bad news for those not holding the stock is that buying now might not be the best idea.

Currently, North West Company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share. The dividend has not been increased in some time; instead, the company has used all free cash to fund an acquisition which will allow for higher future growth and better economies of scale. At current levels, the hope is, obviously, for a dividend increase in the coming quarters.

Since the investing process is never an easy one, when an investment works out, it is important to be happy with the result and be happy for others. While some will wonder if they should attempt to jump on a moving train, the reality is, once another investor brags about a great investment, the time to invest has, in almost all cases, passed.

The question astute investors need to ask themselves is, ?How do I find the next great opportunity??

When looking at companies with consistent dividend yields, investors have the option of looking at the dividend yields and payout ratios at any time to establish if an investment is worth making.

Story continues

A number of Canadian companies offer dividend yields that have been higher in recent memory, signalling a current high stock price. While investors mostly understand the difference between high and low yields, the importance of the dividend-payout ratio should never be underappreciated.

In the case of North West Company, the dividend-payout ratio was close to 80% for the past fiscal year and almost 84% for the year before. With a traditionally high payout ratio, the company may just be putting itself in position for continued growth with a new acquisition to reach better economies of scale.

While getting paid is nice, getting a raise is even better. With this name, investors may have the opportunity for a pay raise at a later time.

First Brexit... then Trump... Now, it's time for Pro...

To help investors like you navigate this historically uncertain -- yet high-flying -- market and prepare for an inevitable downturn, we're re-opening our Motley Fool Pro Canada service to a select few new members for a short time.

To discover how Pro Canada could help you to increase your upside potential... reduce your downside risk... and earn paycheque-like income in the process, simply click here -- before the small number of spots we have left are all gone!

More reading

Fool contributor Ryan Goldsman has no position in any stocks mentioned.

First Brexit... then Trump... Now, it's time for Pro...

To help investors like you navigate this historically uncertain -- yet high-flying -- market and prepare for an inevitable downturn, we're re-opening our Motley Fool Pro Canada service to a select few new members for a short time.

To discover how Pro Canada could help you to increase your upside potential... reduce your downside risk... and earn paycheque-like income in the process, simply click here -- before the small number of spots we have left are all gone!

Fool contributor Ryan Goldsman has no position in any stocks mentioned.
FILE PHOTO - A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

By Kentaro Hamada and Taro Fuse

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp (:6502.T) wants its U.S nuclear unit to file for Chapter 11 protection from creditors as early as Tuesday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, seeking a quick ringfencing of losses before the Japanese parent's financial year ends.

While a Westinghouse bankruptcy filing would help limit future losses for Toshiba, it still falls far short of drawing a line under its problems.

Any filing would trigger complex negotiations between Toshiba, the nuclear unit and creditors, and could embroil the U.S and Japanese governments given the scale of the collapse and U.S. state loan guarantees for new reactors. A worry for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is that a bankruptcy would give President Donald Trump cause to criticize Japanese firms operating in the United States.

"Westinghouse is a major employer and nuclear industry company with ongoing nuclear new build projects in two different states, one of which is supported by U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantees," said George Borovas, the global head of nuclear at law firm Shearman & Sterling.

The future of Toshiba and Westinghouse has already been raised in bilateral talks, with Japan's Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko agreeing to share information on developments during talks in Washington with his U.S. counterparts Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

The source said Toshiba is keen on a Tuesday filing as it would prefer to avoid a day close to a shareholders meeting on Thursday that will seek approval for the sale of its prized memory chip unit.

"A March 28 filing is one proposal. The thinking is that it would great if we could pull that off but whether it goes that well or not, is another issue," said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and declined to be identified.

The Japanese conglomerate wants to avoid upsetting investors as it seeks to sell more than half of its chips unit and gain funds that would allow it to remain viable as it absorbs losses at Westinghouse.

Story continues

Toshiba on Monday reiterated a previous statement that it was premature to comment on a potential bankruptcy.

The company's main lenders, including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (:8316.T) and Mizuho Bank Ltd (:8411.T) may also balk at a Tuesday filing. They favor an even more cautious approach to shareholders, said a financial source familiar with the matter.

"Lenders are aware that Toshiba wants to file by the end of the month, but if possible would like to see it after the meeting," the source said.

Separate sources with knowledge of the matter said last Friday Toshiba had informed its main banks that it was planning a March 31 filing for Westinghouse.

Toshiba shares closed down 2.1 percent.

$9 BILLION CHARGE

A Chapter 11 filing for Westinghouse would be decided by the U.S. unit's board and would not require approval by Toshiba's shareholders, It could increase charges related to the unit to 1 trillion yen ($9 billion) from a publicly flagged 712.5 billion yen estimate, sources have said.

While that would be a much bigger-than-expected hit in the short-term, it could limit the risk of future losses at two U.S. nuclear projects in Georgia and South Carolina.

The power plants Westinghouse is building are called the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station in Fairfield County, South Carolina and the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Burke County, Georgia. Scana Corp (NYSE:SCG - News) and Santee Cooper own the plants in South Carolina, and Georgia Power leads a consortium that commissioned the Georgia plants.

In any Westinghouse bankruptcy, the utility companies would be among the largest creditors of the developer, owed the work that has yet to be completed and potential penalties, sources have said.

The Nikkei business daily reported on Monday that Toshiba has asked South Korea's Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) (KSE:015760.KS - News) to sponsor its Westinghouse bankruptcy reorganization.

A Seoul-based KEPCO spokesman said that no request had been made.

(Additonal reporting by Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo and Jane Chung in Seoul)
FILE PHOTO - A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Westinghouse Electric Co, the U.S. nuclear unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp (:6502.T), could file for bankruptcy protection as early as Tuesday and is seeking support from South Korea's Korea Electric Power Corp (KSE:015760.KS - News), the Nikkei said on Monday.

A Chapter 11 filing could help Toshiba limit damage from losses at Westinghouse, the report by the Japanese business daily said, without citing sources for its information.

Sources told Reuters on Friday that Toshiba had told its main banks it planned to have Westinghouse file for bankruptcy on Friday, expanding charges related to the U.S. unit this business year to around 1 trillion yen ($9 billion) from its publicly flagged estimate of 712.5 billion yen.

Nikkei said the Westinghouse board would meet as early as Tuesday to decide on a Chapter 11 petition, which it could file the same day. It said the U.S. firm had asked Korea Electric Power Corp, also known as Kepco, to be its sponsor in its bankruptcy reorganization.

Toshiba officials could not be reached outside office hours. Officials answering Kepco's phone said they had no information on the report, referring questions to the press office, which could not be reached outside office hours.

(Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Andrew Hay)
An Air Canada flight headed for Shanghai was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after taking off from Trudeau airport on Saturday.

Passengers onboard flight AC017 reported hearing unusual sounds as the plane pulled away from the tarmac.

"Already a few moments after take off, we knew something wasn't working right," said Josh Jacobs, a Boston resident who was on the flight.

"But the captain intervened quickly and made an announcement, which avoided panic."

Officials with the airline said a warning light came on in the cockpit of the Boeing 787. The crew, following emergency procedures, shut down the engine, dumped fuel and contacted emergency teams on the ground.

Jacobs captured an image of the fuel dump on his phone.

The emergency landing was executed without incident, the airline said. 

"Our technical team will proceed with an inspection of the engine to determine the cause of the incident," said Isabelle Arthur, a spokesperson for Air Canada.

There were 213 passengers onboard the flight. Air Canada arranged for them to continue to Shanghai on Saturday evening.
ROME (Reuters) - Humanitarian ships rescued almost 1,200 migrants who were crossing the Mediterranean Sea at the weekend on an array of small, tightly packed boats, Doctors Without Borders said on Sunday. A young woman was found unconscious on one of the vessels and later died, the group said. Some 412 people were crammed onto a single wooden boat, while the others were picked up from huge inflatable dinghies, which had set sail from the coast of Libya. The weekend rescues mean that about 22,000 mainly African migrants have been picked up heading to Italy so far this year, while around 520 have died trying to make the crossing. An Italian prosecutor said last week that humanitarian ships operating off Libya were undermining the fight against people smugglers and opening a corridor that is ultimately leading to more migrant deaths. The chief prosecutor of the Sicilian port city of Catania, Carmelo Zuccaro, said he also suspected that there may be direct communication between Libya-based smugglers and members of charity-operated rescue vessels. Non-governmental organizations deny any wrongdoing, saying they are simply looking to save lives, but they are facing criticism in Italy, which has taken in about half a million migrants since the start of 2014. A parliamentarian with the right-wing Northern League party on Sunday accused the NGOs of acting as a "taxi service", bringing migrants straight to Italy rather than to closer nations, such as Tunisia and Malta. "If the government does not decide to put a brake on these NGO boats, we will find ourselves overrun by tens of thousands of African immigrants by the end of the year," lawmaker Paolo Grimoldi said. Migrants who have come this year have told of increasing violence and brutality in Libya, where rival factions battle for power and people smugglers operate with impunity since the 2011 overthrow of former leader Muammar Gaddafi. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by David Goodman)
MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine troops have rescued three Malaysians held captive by Abu Sayyaf rebels, the military said on Monday, the second such operation in four days as security forces step up offensives against the notorious Islamist group. The three men were kidnapped from a ship eight months ago, and their rescue means no other Malaysians are currently held hostage as two others were rescued at sea last week. The military said the three Malaysians were rescued on Jolo island in the southern Philippines on Sunday but gave no details of the operation. Abu Sayyaf has its roots in separatism and but engages mostly in banditry. It has proven a formidable opponent for the Philippine military, with its small, agile and well-equipped network entrenched in the jungles of two southern islands, from which they prey on slow cargo boats. It has gained a reputation as one of the world's most brutal groups, delivering on its promises to behead hostages for whom ransom is not paid before a deadline. Among its victims in the past eight months was a German and two Canadians. Netherlands, Indonesian, Filipino and Japanese citizens are among those still held. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana recently described Abu Sayyaf's kidnappings as a national embarrassment. The government is concerned hardliners in the group have been in contact with extremists in the Middle East with a view to setting up Islamic State cells in the restive south of the vast archipelago nation. (Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
By Mfuneko Toyana and Sujata Rao JOHANNESBURG/LONDON (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma asked Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan on Monday to return home "immediately" from an investor roadshow abroad, reviving talk of a cabinet reshuffle and unnerving investors who see Gordhan as an emblem of stability. The rand fell more than 3 percent against the dollar, its biggest one day fall since Nov. 10, South African bonds tumbled and banking shares slid more than 3 percent after Zuma's office said Gordhan had been recalled. It did not give a reason, but a government source said the presidency had not given permission for the trip. The decision comes a day before a court is due to rule on a request by Gordhan for a declaratory judgment that he cannot interfere with decisions by banks to cut ties with businesses owned by the Gupta brothers, who are friends of Zuma. "Zuma has instructed the Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan, and Deputy Minister Mcebisi Jonas to cancel the international investment promotion roadshow to the United Kingdom and the United States and return to South Africa immediately," a statement from the president's office said. Business executives and union leaders had accompanied Gordhan to London to woo potential investors for whom he is a reassuring figure given South Africa's weak economic growth and tensions within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) that have put its investment-grade credit rating at risk. Fraud charges brought against Gordhan and then dropped last year, prompting accusations of a political "witch-hunt", badly rattled financial markets, as did rumors before last month's budget speech that he might be moved from the Treasury. Speaking in London, Gordhan -- who the Treasury said will return to South Africa on Tuesday -- said he was "just asked to come back". Asked if he expected a cabinet reshuffle, Gordhan said: "That's the boss's prerogative." Koon Chow, emerging debt strategist at Swiss asset manager UBP, said Gordhan was jovial and relaxed at Monday's roadshow. "He knows investors like him and he likes us," said Chow. Asked why he was being called back to South Africa, "he said 'I do what my boss tells me'", Chow added. UNCERTAINTY The main opposition Democratic Alliance said the decision to recall Gordhan "is so bizarre that it appears, at best, calculated to humiliate the minister or, at worst, to suggest that the minister is about to be fired". The ruling ANC meanwhile said the decision had not been discussed at its weekend meeting. South Africa's banking industry association said Zuma's order risked a sovereign credit rating downgrade, while the cost of insuring South African government debt against default hit its highest level in nearly seven weeks. Jabulane Mabuza, head of Business Unity South Africa and chairman of Telkom, who was with Gordhan in London, said in a text message: "At this point only presidency can give clarity on the why." Mabuza said Gordhan and his team had met about 60 asset managers in London and had planned to meet some 200 investors with a total $10 trillion in assets under management during the non-deal roadshow. Gordhan first served as finance minister from 2009 to 2014 and was reappointed by Zuma in December 2015 to calm markets spooked by the president's decision to replace respected finance minister Nhlanhla Nene with a little-known politician. But South African media reports suggest Zuma and Gordhan have an uneasy relationship, though the president has denied suggestions he is "at war" with his finance minister. "I believe today could be a test of the water to undertake a reshuffle," said Peter Attard Montalto, an emerging markets analyst at Nomura in London. Some pundits say Gordhan is the target of political pressure from a faction allied to Zuma, which has criticized his plans to rein in government spending as the economy stagnates and also rapped his running of the tax agency. Gordhan has wrangled for months with the head of the agency. MARKET MOVES A Pretoria court is due to hear on Tuesday Gordhan's request for a declaratory judgment that he cannot interfere with decisions by South Africa's major banks to cut their ties with businesses owned by the three Indian-born Gupta brothers. Gordhan has said the brothers have repeatedly asked him to intervene to have their accounts reopened. Allegations that the Guptas wielded undue influence over Zuma were investigated last year by the Public Protector, a constitutionally mandated anti-corruption watchdog. Zuma has said the Guptas are his friends, but denies anything improper about the relationship. Africa's most industrialized economy faces credit rating reviews in April and June that could see it slip into "junk" territory because of sluggish growth and political uncertainty. "Today's market moves underline the importance of Mr. Gordhan to investor confidence in South Africa," Capital Economics Africa economist John Ashbourne said in a note. "And even if the minister is not removed, today's events show that President Zuma is totally unconcerned with the effect that his often erratic policymaking style has on markets." (Additional reporting by Ed Cropley, Ed Stoddard, Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Joe Brock in Johannesburg, Wendell Roelf in Cape Town, Marc Jones and Karin Strohecker in London; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Catherine Evans)
By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - Rebels said on Monday the South Sudan government should be held responsible for the killing of six aid workers, the deadliest single assault on humanitarian staff in a three-year-old civil war. The government said it was too early to say who was behind Saturday's ambush. A U.N. official said on Monday it could amount to a war crime. The six were ambushed as they were traveling from the capital Juba towards the town of Pibor, the United Nations said, through remote territory largely under government control but fought over by both sides and plagued by militias and other armed groups. The United Nations said the six were Kenyans and South Sudanese who worked for the non-governmental Grassroots Empowerment and Development Organization. It called on those in positions of power in South Sudan to stop the violence. It will be counterproductive at this stage for anybody to rush for judgment without first allowing the truth to be established," Akol Paul Kordit, deputy minister of information, told Reuters in Juba. Rebel fighters loyal to former vice president Riek Machar said the government should be held accountable as the killings took place on its territory. "We don't have forces in that area. Instead it's the government forces and militias who control that area," said the spokesman for the rebel SPLM-IO forces, Lam Paul Gabriel. U.N. humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke said in Geneva the killings could constitute a war crime and must be investigated and prosecuted. "They are not traveling with escorts, or things like that, they are aid workers, they come unarmed themselves, essentially they have only their humanitarian principles to hold up as a shield," Laerke told Reuters TV. "All these parties to this conflict must understand that they are providing aid in a neutral, impartial, independent manner, regardless of the areas that are under control of the various parties to the factions. "They have only one goal, and that is to provide life-saving relief to people who are in desperate need." Pibor is the main town in Boma state, a vast underdeveloped territory bordering Ethiopia rocked by violence between competing clans this month. At least 79 aid workers have been killed since President Salva Kiir's government forces clashed with Machar's men in December 2013. A long-running rivalry between the two men has split the country along ethnic lines. U.N. monitors have found Kiir's government mainly to blame for the catastrophe in a country which, in less than six years of independence, has collapsed into a chaotic ethnic war, an epidemic of rape and famine. (Additional reporting by Marina Depetris in Geneva; Writing by Clement Uwiringiyimana and Tom Miles; Editing by Andrew Roche)
Strategic Directions | Feature

An Open Invitation to Innovation: Lone Star College-University Park

A Q&A with Christina Robinson

From its founding in 2012 with an "Invitation 2 Innovate" (i2i), to the premier this week of a new conference on open innovation, Lone Star College-University Park has innovation in its DNA. It's the newest of seven community colleges that make up Lone Star College, and it has a clearly articulated plan to be a leader in innovation. Here, CT speaks with Lone Star College-University Park's chief strategist for innovation and research.

"How can we establish partnerships and collaborations that will allow us to keep our enduring goal of offering students the best possible learning experiences  while we innovate and find our place in new models of education?"  Christina Robinson

Mary Grush: I've read that Lone Star College-University Park was founded in 2012 with an "Invitation 2 Innovate" (i2i). Why is innovation important to your institution, and how did the focus on i2i come about?

Christina Robinson: The founding of Lone Star College-University Park as an accredited institution was indeed in 2012, but its mission actually came into being back in 2009, with a vision to remake a large office complex that had once been Compaq Computer Corporation's world headquarters into a new college.

Our planners envisioned a new type of college, built on their "Mall of America for education and careers" concept: a single place where students can get any type or level of education they need.

Our chancellor at the time obtained the massive, 1.2 million square-foot University Park facility (eight buildings), promising the greater north Houston community we serve that we would reimagine the focus of Lone Star College based on innovation, starting with this new, University Park location.

Grush: How was i2i put into practice at your institution?

Robinson: We wanted the University Park college to be a model for the 21st century. So, we planned for affordable access to quality education and focused on industry partnerships, on encouraging entrepreneurship, and on building community. All of these things together shaped the culture of innovation we have today. Innovation truly is in our DNA.

The innovations originally envisioned by our planners and partners are in place today at Lone Star College-University Park, and the college continues to build on its i2i foundation. Through partnerships with universities and the community, the college offers unique and diverse programs, from an early learning academy  starting with preschool  to an on-site high school, to advanced degree programs all the way through the doctoral level. Working in partnership with our local industries, we have a corporate college onsite that provides customized workforce programs. Bold programs such as these carry the college's mission of service to the community to new heights and provide a network of opportunities for everyone.

Faculty, staff, and students connect with our partners and leverage an array of resources not typically found at community colleges. And technology is, as usual, an important part of innovation. An innovation grant provided by our chancellor has allowed us to work with technology vendors to create a cutting-edge Innovation Room loaded with the latest technology tools, from virtual reality, to augmented reality, to 3D printing, and much more. Everyone is invited to use these tools as they consider their own innovative ideas.
Security Advisory -- And how to catch integer overflows with template metaprogramming

kentonv on

As the installation page has always stated, I do not yet recommend using Capn Protos C++ library for handling possibly-malicious input, and will not recommend it until it undergoes a formal security review. That said, security is obviously a high priority for the project. The security of Capn Proto is in fact essential to the security of Sandstorm.io, Capn Protos parent project, in which sandboxed apps communicate with each other and the platform via Capn Proto RPC.

A few days ago, the first major security bugs were found in Capn Proto C++  two by security guru Ben Laurie and one by myself during subsequent review (see below). You can read details about each bug in our new security advisories directory:

I have backported the fixes to the last two release branches  0.5 and 0.4:

Release 0.5.1.1: source, win32

Release 0.4.1.1: source

Note that we added a nano component to the version number (rather than use 0.5.2/0.4.2) to indicate that this release is ABI-compatible with the previous release. If you are linking Capn Proto as a shared library, you only need to update the library, not re-compile your app.

To be clear, the first two bugs affect only the C++ implementation of Capn Proto; implementations in other languages are likely safe. The third bug probably affects all languages, and as of this writing only the C++ implementation (and wrappers around it) is fixed. However, this third bug is not as serious as the other two.

Preventative Measures

It is our policy that any time a security problem is found, we will not only fix the problem, but also implement new measures to prevent the class of problems from occurring again. To that end, heres what were doing doing to avoid problems like these in the future:

A fuzz test of each pointer type has been added to the standard unit test suite. We will additionally add fuzz testing with American Fuzzy Lop to our extended test suite. In parallel, we will extend our use of template metaprogramming for compile-time unit analysis (kj::Quantity in kj/units.h) to also cover overflow detection (by tracking the maximum size of an integer value across arithmetic expressions and raising an error when it overflows). More on this below. We will continue to require that all tests (including the new fuzz test) run cleanly under Valgrind before each release. We will commission a professional security review before any 1.0 release. Until that time, we continue to recommend against using Capn Proto to interpret data from potentially-malicious sources.

I am pleased to report that measures 1, 2, and 3 all detected both integer overflow/underflow problems, and AFL additionally detected the CPU amplification problem.

Integer Overflow is Hard

Integer overflow is a nasty problem.

In the past, C and C++ code has been plagued by buffer overrun bugs, but these days, systems engineers have mostly learned to avoid them by simply never using static-sized buffers for dynamically-sized content. If we dont see proof that a buffer is the size of the content were putting in it, our spidey sense kicks in.

But developing a similar sense for integer overflow is hard. We do arithmetic in code all the time, and the vast majority of it isnt an issue. The few places where overflow can happen all too easily go unnoticed.

And by the way, integer overflow affects many memory-safe languages too! Java and C# dont protect against overflow. Python does, using slow arbitrary-precision integers. JavaScript doesnt use integers, and is instead succeptible to loss-of-precision bugs, which can have similar (but more subtle) consequences.

While writing Capn Proto, I made sure to think carefully about overflow and managed to correct for it most of the time. On learning that I missed a case, I immediately feared that I might have missed many more, and wondered how I might go about systematically finding them.

Fuzz testing  e.g. using American Fuzzy Lop  is one approach, and is indeed how Ben found the two bugs he reported. As mentioned above, we will make AFL part of our release process in the future. However, AFL cannot really prove anything  it can only try lots of possibilities. I want my compiler to refuse to compile arithmetic which might overflow.

Proving Safety Through Template Metaprogramming

C++ Template Metaprogramming is powerful  many would say too powerful. As it turns out, its powerful enough to do what we want.

I defined a new type:

template < uint64_t maxN , typename T > class Guarded { // Wraps T (a basic integer type) and statically guarantees // that the value can be no more than `maxN` and no less than // zero. static_assert ( maxN <= T ( kj :: maxValue ), "possible overflow detected" ); // If maxN is not representable in type T, we can no longer // guarantee no overflows. public : // ... template < uint64_t otherMax , typename OtherT > inline constexpr Guarded ( const Guarded < otherMax , OtherT >& other ) : value ( other . value ) { // You cannot construct a Guarded from another Guarded // with a higher maximum. static_assert ( otherMax <= maxN , "possible overflow detected" ); } // ... template < uint64_t otherMax , typename otherT > inline constexpr Guarded < guardedAdd < maxN , otherMax > (), decltype ( T () + otherT ()) > operator + ( const Guarded < otherMax , otherT >& other ) const { // Addition operator also computes the new maximum. // (`guardedAdd` is a constexpr template that adds two // constants while detecting overflow.) return Guarded < guardedAdd < maxN , otherMax > (), decltype ( T () + otherT ()) > ( value + other . value , unsafe ); } // ... private : T value ; };

So, a Guarded<10, int> represents a int which is statically guaranteed to hold a non-negative value no greater than 10. If you add a Guarded<10, int> to Guarded<15, int> , the result is a Guarded<25, int> . If you try to initialize a Guarded<10, int> from a Guarded<25, int> , youll trigger a static_assert  the compiler will complain. You can, however, initialize a Guarded<25, int> from a Guarded<10, int> with no problem.

Moreover, because all of Guarded s operators are inline and constexpr , a good optimizing compiler will be able to optimize Guarded down to the underlying primitive integer type. So, in theory, using Guarded has no runtime overhead. (I have not yet verified that real compilers get this right, but I suspect they do.)

Of course, the full implementation is considerably more complicated than this. The code has not been merged into the Capn Proto tree yet as we need to do more analysis to make sure it has no negative impact. For now, you can find it in the overflow-safe branch, specifically in the second half of kj/units.h. (This header also contains metaprogramming for compile-time unit analysis, which Capn Proto has been using since its first release.)

Results

I switched Capn Protos core pointer validation code ( capnp/layout.c++ ) over to Guarded . In the process, I found:

Several overflows that could be triggered by the application calling methods with invalid parameters, but not by a remote attacker providing invalid message data. We will change the code to check these in the future, but they are not critical security problems.

The overflow that Ben had already reported (2015-03-02-0). I had intentionally left this unfixed during my analysis to verify that Guarded would catch it.

would catch it. One otherwise-undiscovered integer underflow (2015-03-02-1).

Based on these results, I conclude that Guarded is in fact effective at finding overflow bugs, and that such bugs are thankfully not endemic in Capn Protos code.

With that said, it does not seem practical to change every integer throughout the Capn Proto codebase to use Guarded  using it in the API would create too much confusion and cognitive overhead for users, and would force application code to be more verbose. Therefore, this approach unfortunately will not be able to find all integer overflows throughout the entire library, but fortunately the most sensitive parts are covered in layout.c++ .

Why dont programming languages do this?

Anything that can be implemented in C++ templates can obviously be implemented by the compiler directly. So, why have so many languages settled for either modular arithmetic or slow arbitrary-precision integers?

Languages could even do something which my templates cannot: allow me to declare relations between variables. For example, I would like to be able to declare an integer whose value is less than the size of some array. Then I know that the integer is a safe index for the array, without any run-time check.

Obviously, Im not the first to think of this. Dependent types have been researched for decades, but we have yet to see a practical language supporting them. Apparently, something about them is complicated, even though the rules look like they should be simple enough from where Im standing.

Some day, I would like to design a language that gets this right. But for the moment, I remain focused on Sandstorm.io. Hopefully someone will beat me to it. Hint hint.
MONDAY, March 27, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Millions of Americans battle bothersome nighttime conditions, such as sleep apnea or the need to get up frequently to urinate.

Now, new research suggests that treating the former condition with CPAP "mask" therapy might also help ease the latter.

"This is the first study to show the true incidence of nocturia -- peeing at night -- in patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea. It's also the first study to show the size of the effect of positive pressure mask treatment [CPAP] in patients with obstructive sleep apnea on their nocturia symptoms," said lead researcher Sajjad Rahnama'i, of Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

Rahnama'i presented his team's findings Sunday at the European Association of Urology (EAU) annual meeting in London.

One U.S. apnea expert who reviewed the new findings said apnea and nighttime overactive bladder often go together.

"No one is certain why this association occurs, although there are plausible theories," said Dr. Alan Mensch, chief of pulmonary medicine at Plainview Hospital in Plainview, N.Y.

"It is known that untreated sleep apnea patients produce a larger urine volume at night," he said. Also, the oxygen depletion that occurs in episodes of sleep apnea stimulate blood flow to the kidneys, Mensch said, and simply being awakened may also make people more aware of the need to pee.

Whatever the cause, Mensch said research shows that almost one-third of men aged 60 and older are bothered by nocturia.

Could treating sleep apnea lower that number? To find out, the Dutch researchers tracked outcomes for 256 people who were treated for obstructive sleep apnea with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). In this therapy, patients receive a constant stream of air through a mask, which helps prevent their airways from collapsing during sleep.

Before starting CPAP, 69 percent of the patients had to get up more than once a night to urinate, Rahnama'i's team noted.

However, after starting CPAP, nighttime pee breaks were reduced in nearly two-thirds of those patients. For example, 32 of the 77 patients who previously got up twice a night to pee could go the whole night without doing so after they started on CPAP, the researchers explained in an EAU news release.

EAU spokesman Marcus Drake said, "It may seem surprising that breathing problems can cause excessive urine production while asleep, but actually the problem is very real. To have a study showing the link, and the potential benefits of therapy, may help establish the treatment into routine clinical practice."

Dr. Manish Vira is vice chair of urologic research at the Arthur Smith Institute for Urology in Lake Success, N.Y. Reviewing the findings, he stressed that although they are promising, "several different medical conditions" can cause nocturia besides sleep apnea.

So, for some patients, CPAP may ease sleep apnea -- but leave those nighttime pee breaks unchanged, Vira said.

And another expert pointed out that nocturia can sometimes be a useful diagnostic tool for apnea.

Dr. Steven Feinsilver directs the Center for Sleep Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. He said that the need to void frequently each night "may be a clue to look for sleep apnea, particularly in older adults with no obvious kidney or prostate problem."

Feinsilver added, "I have on many occasions seen older men who were treated for prostate enlargement because of nocturia symptoms without improvement, until the sleep problem was addressed."

Because the new findings were presented at a medical meeting, they should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The National Sleep Foundation has more on nocturia.
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Istanbul court orders release, pending trial, of at least 19 journalists

Istanbuls 25th Court for Serious Crimes today ordered the release, pending trial, of at least 19 journalists imprisoned in direct relation for their work following the July 2016 failed military coup, according to news reports. The court did not drop any charges against the journalists, who had been imprisoned awaiting trial for roughly eight months. They will now be required to check in with local police and are still banned from foreign travel. The journalists released by Istanbuls 25th Court for Serious Crimes today, and their outlets, are:

Abdullah Klc (Meydan)

Ahmet Memis (Haberdar/Rotahaber)

Ali Akkus (Zaman)

Atilla Tas (Meydan)

Bayram Kaya (Yeni Hayat)

Bunyamin Koseli (Aksiyon)

Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu (Aksiyon)

Cihan Acar (Bugun)

Cuma Ulus (Millet)

Habip Guler (Zaman)

Halil Ibrahim Balta (Zaman, Yarna Baks)

Hanm Busra Erdal (Zaman, Yeni Hayat)

Huseyin Aydn (Cihan News Agency)

Muhammet Sait Kuloglu (SubuoHaber.com)

Murat Aksoy (Yeni Hayat)

Mustafa Erkan Acar (Cihan News Agency)

Oguz Usluer (Haberturk)

Yakup Cetin (Zaman)

Yetkin Yldz (AktifHaber.com)

Court orders six journalists released pending trial

A court in the Turkeys southern Mediterranean city of Antalya today ordered six journalists accused of being followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulenwhom the government accuses of maintaining a terrorist organization and parallel state structure (FETO/PDY) within Turkey that it says masterminded a failed military coup in July 2016released pending the conclusion of their trial, the local news website Antalya Korfez reported yesterday.

According to that report, the court released former Zaman newspaper reporters Tuncer Cetinkaya, Kenan Bas, and Omer Ozdemir; former Cihan News Agency and Zaman reporter Cihat Unal; former Cihan News Agency reporter Serhat Seftali; and Olgun Matur, owner of the news website Bizim Antalya. A local politician and his son were also released pending trial.

All those released are on probation and are banned from foreign travel until their trial concludes. The trial is scheduled to begin April 11, according to media reports.

Of the 22 defendants in the trial, 11 have been imprisoned pending trial since July 2016.

Columnist acquitted of terrorism charges

Istanbuls 24th Court for Serious Crimes today acquitted veteran journalist Hasan Cemal, now a columnist for the news website T24, of the charge of propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization in a series of articles he wrote about the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in 2013, T24 reported today. The court took into account that the political climate was different in 2013, when the government was still in peace talks with the PKK.

Reporter jailed in eastern Turkey pending terrorism trial

A night court in Turkeys eastern city of Van ordered Dihaber reporter Selman Keles jailed pending trial on charges of being a member of a [terrorist] organization in the early hours of this morning, his employer reported. Keles has been in custody since March 20.

Newspaper editor joins dozens of Kurdish prisoners in hunger strike

Inan Kzlkaya, who faces multiple life sentences in more than 100 terrorism trials for the coverage of the shuttered newspaper Ozgur Gundem during the time he was the newspapers responsible news editor, is among dozens of ethnic Kurdish prisonersincluding Selahattin Demirtas, the co-chair of the legal, pro-Kurdish, opposition Peoples Democratic Party (HDP)in launching a hunger strike to protest their continued imprisonment, the news website Ozguruz reported today. The hunger strikes have continued for a month prisons across Turkey, and are spreading, according to news reports. Those on hunger strike are demanding an end to the isolation of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the outlawed PKK, and his fellow prisoners, for the resumption of peace talks, an end to alleged human rights violations in prisons, and an end to the demolition of ethnic-Kurdish villages.

[March 31, 2017]

Eight journalists at official news agency investigated for terrorism

Security officers are investigating eight reporters from the state Anadolu News Agency on suspicion they are followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom the government accuses of maintaining a terrorist organization and parallel state structure (FETO, as the government calls it) in Turkey it blames for the failed July 2016 military coup, according to media reports. The Ihlas News Agency (IHA) reported that the journalists were suspected of being FETO members for having the Bylock application, which investigators say FETO members use in an effort to communicate privately. Police detained the eight Anadolu reportersidentified in press reports only by their initials SP, IY, YD, TK, AD, YK, AK and HOfor questioning, but released some after interrogation, reports said, without elaborating.

Official news agency reporter files terrorism charges against investigative journalist

A journalist at the official Anadolu News Agency filed a criminal complaint against award-winning Cumhuriyet newspaper investigative journalist Ahmet Sk accusing him of propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization and threatening the state in his social media posts, Cumhuriyet reported yesterday. Sk was jailed in December 2016 on similar charges, CPJ reported at the time.

Cumhuriyet reporter Kemal Goktas saw the complaint, tried to reach the reporter, whom Cumhuriyet identified only by the initials KK, but the government news agency reporter did not offer a comment.

Jailed Die Welt correspondent appeals to Constitutional Court

Lawyers for Deniz Yucel, Turkey correspondent for the German newspaper Die Welt, having exhausted their appeals before Istanbul courts, appealed to the Constitutional Court to release their client, Cumhuriyet reported yesterday.

Lawyers argue that their clients imprisonment violates his constitutional rights to physical integrity, personal freedom, a fair trial, presumption of innocence, freedom of communication, and freedom of speech.

Constitutional Court overturns libel conviction

Turkeys Constitutional Court overturned a lower courts 2014 conviction of Orhan Pala, editor of the financial news website Borsa Gundem, on charges of libel, the court said in a press release announcing the verdict yesterday.

Pala had been sentenced to two suspended sentences of two months and 27 days each for a 2012 report on the pasts of two businessmen who brought criminal libel complaints against Pala. Borsa Gundems lawyers had produced documents to support the allegations in the article and had told the lower court that the businessmen escaped fraud charges by virtue of the statute of limitations only.

The Constitutional Court found that the lower court had not taken into account exculpating evidence and ruled that a prison sentence for a press crime contradicts constitutional guarantees of free speech and freedom of the press.

[March 30, 2017]

Actress, director convicted of terrorism charges after showing solidarity with newspaper

Istanbuls 22nd Court for Serious Crimes yesterday sentenced actress Julide Kural and writer and director Ilham Batr to 15 months in prison on charges of propagandizing for a terrorist organization in connection with their participation in a campaign that saw dozens of prominent Turkish journalists, intellectuals, and celebrities act as the co-editor of Ozgur Gundem for a day to protest authorities relentless judicial harassment of the newspaper, Bianet reported. The court suspended both sentences on condition the offense was not repeated. Kural was also fined for 6,000 Turkish lira (US $1,647) for publishing the statements of a [terrorist] organization.

Journalist detained in eastern Turkey

Police in Turkeys eastern province of Van today detained Nismiye Guler, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish news website Gazete Sujin, as she was researching a story, her employer reported. Police said she was wanted for a testimony and took her to the police station of Vans Gevas District, the report said, without elaborating.

Trial of 29 journalists continues in Istanbul

Istanbuls 25th Court for Serious Crimes today heard testimony for the third day in the trial of 29 journalists accused of being followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom the government accuses of maintaining a terrorist organization and parallel state structure that it claims orchestrated a failed military coup in July 2016. The court was in session at the time of publication.

CPJ attended the second day of hearings yesterday. In that session, Emre Soncan, a former reporter for the shuttered newspaper Zaman; Cuma Ulus, a former reporter for the shuttered daily Millet; Gokce Frat Culhaoglu, a politician and the editor of Turksolu magazine; Habip Guler, a former reporter for Zaman; Halil Ibrahim Balta, a former reporter for the daily newspapers Zaman and Yarna Baks; Hanm Busra Erdal, a former reporter for the daily newspapers Zaman and Yeni Hayat testified. All denied all charges against them and petitioned to be released pending the conclusion of the trial.

Writer and journalist detained in Ankara

Police in Ankara yesterday detained writer and journalist Rojin Akn, the daily newspaper Evrensel reported. Prosecutors asked that she be jailed pending trial on terrorism charges for her interviews, photographs, and social media posts on Rojava, a predominantly ethnic-Kurdish region of Syria now governed by the Democratic Union Party (PYD). The court instead ordered her released on probation, according to a later report from the Etkin News Agency (ETHA).

[March 29, 2017]

Court bans reporting on labor strike

Istanbuls First Court for Penal Peace today banned reporting on a planned labor strike of employees of Akbank, one of Turkeys largest private banks, the leftist news website sendika.org reported today. The government ordered Akbank employees to postpone their strike for 60 days, the newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reported on March 21.

The court banned publication of a newspaper ad published in the pro-government newspaper Sabah by BANKSIS, the trade union representing Akbank employees, and banned similar ads or reporting on the strike until it begins.

Sendika.org reported that the court found that the ad was liable to damage the banks reputation.

Die Welt correspondent still denied consular visits

Deniz Yucel, the Turkey correspondent for the German newspaper Die Welt who has been jailed since February 14, still has not been allowed access to a German consular official, the Turkish service of Deutsche Welle reported today. Yucel is a dual citizen of Turkey and Germany. In a press conference in Berlin yesterday, a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry told reporters that Turkeys refusal to let German consular officials visit the journalist contradicted verbal assurances the Turkish government had given the Germans.

Police confiscate journalists phones, cameras

Police in the Corlu district of Turkeys northwestern province of Tekirdag yesterday briefly detained Bengisu Komurcu and Pelin Lacin, both reporters for the pro-Kurdish news website Gazete Sujin, their employer reported yesterday. Gazete Sujin reported that police detained the two women after police received a call about their photographing public buildings. Police released them after a few hours, but confiscated their phones and cameras for further inspection, the report said.

Terrorism trial of 29 journalists continues in Istanbul

The trial of 29 journalists and media workers accused of belonging to what the government calls the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization (FETO) resumed at Istanbuls 25th Court for Serious Crimes today. The Committee to Protect Journalists attended. Yesterday the court rejected defense lawyers request for the judge to be replaced because the same judge had ordered the defendants jailed pending trial.

The news websites Bianet and Art Gercek reported that Ahmet Memis, news coordinator for the news website Rotahaber; Abdullah Klc, a columnist for Meydan newspaper, formerly with Zaman and Radikal newspapers and Haberturk TV; Atilla Tas, a Meydan columnist and former pop singer; Ali Akkus, former editor of the newspaper Zaman; and Bayram Kaya, a journalist for Zaman, all denied the terrorism charges against them yesterday and stressed that they did nothing but practice journalism and exercise their right to free speech.

[March 28, 2017]

Trial for 29 journalists begins

The trial of 29 journalists and media workers, including Abdullah Klc, began in Istanbul today. Hearings were still in session at the time of publication.

Court jails journalist pending terrorism trial

A court in Turkeys eastern province of Van on March 25 ordered Ayhan Demir, owner of the local Caldran News Agency, jailed pending trial on terrorism charges for his post to social media, the news website Dihaber reported. Police arrested Demir on March 20 from his home in the Caldran district of Van. The journalist is held in Van Prison, according to the report.

Prosecutors ban reporting police shooting

Prosecutors yesterday banned reporting news regarding polices fatal shooting of a young man during Nowruz celebrations in the Baglar district of the southeastern Diyarbakr province last week, according to news reports. Authorities first claimed the victim, Kemal Kurkut, was a suicide bomber, but photographs subsequently published on the internet appear to show Kurkut shirtless and surrounded by police before his death. Two police officers suspended following the incident.

[March 27, 2017]
President Trumps skinny budgetwhich would shift $54 billion in non-defense discretionary spending over to defensehas been unfairly savaged for allegedly eviscerating the social safety net. Headlines such as How Trump's Budget Cuts Could Hurt Low-Income Americans (CNN) and If Youre a Poor Person in America, Trumps Budget is Not For You (Washington Post), were accompanied by a New York Times editorial describing the budget as a sadistic attempt to impose pain for pains sake.

Such headlines may lead people to wonder just how deeply President Trumps budget proposal would cut federal anti-poverty spending below current levels: Ten percent? Twenty percent? More?

The answer is: zero.

The federal government classifies its programs by functional codes. Anti-poverty programs primarily consist of functions 604 (housing aid), 605 (food aid), 609 (cash and related aid), and the portion of function 551 (health care) that includes Medicaid, CHIP, and ObamaCare. This limited definition surely undercounts anti-poverty spending by excluding education, job training, and community development programs that target low-income families, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars spent by state and local governments to alleviate poverty.

Yet even under this strict definition, Washington will spend $783 billion on anti-poverty programs this year, and is scheduled to spend $804 billion next year. In the (highly unlikely) event that every cut proposed by President Trump is enacted, it would merely reduce next years spending level to approximately $798 billion. So instead of expanding 2.7 percent next year, the anti-poverty budget would expand by 1.9 percent. Only in Washington could 1.9 percent growth be portrayed as slashing the safety net.

Federal anti-poverty spending has rapidly escalated for fifty years, regardless of the party controlling Washington. Its share of the federal budget has expanded from 6 percent under President Nixon, to 9 percent under Presidents Carter and Reagan, 10 percent under President George H.W. Bush, 14 percent under President Clinton, and 16 percent under President George W. Bush.

Under President Obama, the recession, subsequent stimulus law, and enactment of ObamaCare pushed anti-poverty spending up to 19 percent of the federal budget  a level that President Trumps proposal would trim by just 0.2 percentage points. This level would still exceed that of any modern President, including most of President Obamas tenure.

In the context of such rapid growthfrom $416 billion a decade ago, to $783 billion this year, to a projected $1,146 billion a decade from noweliminating $6 billion is less than one percent of todays budget.

A typical example of spending growth is the SNAP program (formerly food stamps). Since 2000, Congress has expanded program eligibility to the point that a 37 percent increase in the number of poor Americans was followed by a 148 percent increase in the number of SNAP recipients. Accordingly, federal SNAP spending has soared from $18 billion in 2000, to $35 billion in 2007 before the recession, to $77 billion today. Of course, any proposal to pare back even a small fraction of this expansion is portrayed  literally  as a scheme to starve Americans to death.

This apocalyptic rhetoric is nothing new. When the House of Representatives passed a 2005 budget reconciliation bill that merely trimmed the average annual growth rate of entitlement spending from 5.75 percent to 5.61 percent, a New York Times editorial attacked the bill and its architects with terms like abominable, outrageous, madness, mean-spirited ideological, mayhem slashing and  pot, meet kettle  over-the-top.

Just imagine the reaction had Congress reduced the spending growth rate all the way down to 5.5 percent.

Cutting any federal program looks worse when viewed in isolation because it feeds the assumption that its beneficiaries will be left helpless. In reality, Washington runs hundreds of overlapping anti-poverty programs, including 160 housing programs, 21 programs for the homeless, and 18 food aid programs (state and local governments also add their own programs). Eliminating or consolidating one program leaves its caseload eligible for other programs, many of which have statutory flexibility to redirect funds to new populations should the need arise.

For example, the largest anti-poverty program termination proposed by the President  the $3 billion Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) can be partially replaced by states using the highly-flexible $16 billion TANF grant program, which is not always fully spent by the recipient states anyway.

Another example of broad-based funding alternatives is the private Meals on Wheels program for low-income seniors. Its local groups are primarily funded by a combination of private organizations, state and local governments, and federal funding from the Older Americans Act (which is not targeted for cuts). Yet because some local programs may receive a small amount of funding from the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, the Presidents proposal to terminate the wasteful CDBG was attacked by reporters and activists as essentially terminating Meals on Wheels. Yet any CDBG reforms would have minimal impact on Meals on Wheels, and Congress could choose to retain the very small portion of CDBG funding for this organization.

The vast majority of anti-poverty spending comes from entitlement programs that were not even addressed in the Presidents budget proposal. Critics accusing the President of trying to gut the safety net are misrepresenting his proposal, and stirring up unnecessary panic and fear for families.

Brian Riedl is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on twitter @Brian_Riedl.

Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, E21 delivers a short email that includes E21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the E21 Morning Ebrief.
- Actor Chike Bryan is dead

- He suffered stroke while in a friend's car after receiving a call from home

- Bryan underwent kidney transplant in 2014 after former president Goodluck Jonathan donated N10m

- His death comes barely two weeks after the death of Prince James Uche

Nollywood actor Chike Bryan Nnamani is dead

Death has again snatched another Nollywood actor, Chike Bryan Nnamani.

Bryan who was an actor and former president of Scriptwriters Guild of Nigeria (SGN) died on Saturday, March 25, 2017. His death is coming barely two weeks after the death of veteran actor Prince James Uche, died of kidney failure.

Bryan was diagnosed with chronic renal failure in July 2013 and underwent regular dialysis at Igando General Hospital, Lagos. He had a successful kidney transplant in June 2014, after ex-President Goodluck Jonathan donated N10 million for his treatment abroad through the Actors Guild Nigeria president Ibinabo Fiberesima.

He, however, died three years after he survived the kidney transplant in India.

His close friend and colleague, Mac Collins Chidebe broke the news of his death on Facebook on Saturday, March 25 narrating what led to his death. He wrote:

READ ALSO: See this cute throwback photo of Uche Jombo and her husband

Chike Bryan before and after he was hit by kidney related ailment

I never knew we could be close; never expected to weep for a friend who turned out to be a buddy. A guy who held no grudge, malice or hate in his good heart against another.

Today, he's no more. His bit is done here on earth. I will always remember him. A guy I have worked so closely with in almost 10 months. Suddenly he disappear from my life. Death, O death, why?

He woke up this morning hale and hearty. He had breakfast at a friend's and was on his way to the office. As he was driving down in the friend's car he received phone call from home about some happenings, there he lost his cool.

Afterwards, the friend asked him to calm down no matter what but it was too late. My buddy, the one I call CBN, his initials, suddenly developed stroke, throwing up nonstop in the friend's car.

Praying fervently for him, our friend made a turn and drove on neck break speed to his house where he picked his wife and rushed him to the hospital where he was admitted but later referred to to LASUTH in Ikeja.

On getting to LASUTH, the wife was told the hospital could not admit him for lack of bed space. For almost 5 hours my buddy was hanging on to dear life without treatment. How callous can some medical personnel be! An emergency case was treated with so much nonchalance.

So much grief, sorrow, and tears in his home. CBN left behind a young wife and 5 lovely kids. I pray God to give the family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.

Perpetual light shine upon him O' Lord.

I shall truly miss you CBN. Sleep in the bosom of the Lord.

Adieu Chike Bryan Nnamani.

READ ALSO: Teen actress Regina Daniels shows off figure in new photos

Some of his greatest movie projects include A Million Madness, Magic Cap and Polygamy.

Meanwhile, Tinsel actor Victor Olaotans two legs is reportedly being threatened by amputation following the accident he had on October 31, 2016 along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

Vulcanizer presumed dead in the Ile Ife crisis spoke to Legit.ng that he is alive. Watch his survival story below:

Source: Legit.ng
Srinagar, Mar 27 (IBNS): Suspected militants attacked the house of the Minister of State for Hajj and Auquaf, Farooq Andrabi, a leader of the ruling Peopleas Democratic Party (PDP), in the south Kashmiras Anantnag district, injuring one policeman.

The incident took place on Sunday night.

According to reports, the suspected militants attacked the ancestral residence of the minister at Dooru in Anantnag District and injured a policeman.

When militants opened fire on party, they forced their way in the house of minister and took away four rifles of the security guards, senior police officer told IBNS.

He further said during the brief gunfight one policeman was injured, who was taken to a hospital in Srinagar for treatment.

Speaking to IBNS, Farooq Ahmad Andrabi said, "I was not present at the time of attack."




By Carolyn Cohn, James Davey and Rachel Armstrong LONDON (Reuters) - Two of Tesco's biggest shareholders have called on the supermarket group to withdraw its 3.7 billion pound ($4.7 billion) agreed offer for wholesaler Booker , potentially casting doubt on the deal's progress. Schroder Investment Management and Artisan Partners, Tesco's third and fourth largest investors with stakes of 4.49 and 4.48 percent respectively, both said on Monday they were against the transaction. In a letter to Tesco Chairman John Allan, Schroders fund manager Nick Kirrage and the asset manager's global head of stewardship Jessica Ground called on investors who share their view to speak out against the deal announced on Jan. 27. "All management teams believe that their acquisitions will create value. However, there is compelling academic and empirical evidence that, on average, acquisitions destroy value for acquiring shareholders," they wrote in the letter, seen by Reuters. "We believe that the high price being paid for Booker makes the destruction of value even more likely." No comment from Tesco was immediately available. Daniel O'Keefe, lead portfolio manager of Artisan's Global Value funds, told Reuters buying Booker was a distraction for Tesco's management and a risk not worth taking. "Booker is a new business for Tesco, it's going to involve a lot of distraction for management, unforeseen risk, and unforeseen issues," he said. O'Keefe said Artisan had expressed its concern over the merits of the deal to Tesco management. "They are still in favour of the transaction, we're not," he said. The stances of Schroders and Artisan were first reported by the Financial Times. Richard Cousins, CEO of Compass , the world's biggest catering firm, resigned as Tesco's senior independent director on Jan. 3 because he did not support the deal. "This demonstration of integrity delivers a powerful message about his concerns around the merits of the deal," said Schroders. By buying Booker, Tesco is looking to increase its exposure to Britain's 85 billion pound "out of home" food market, including cafes, restaurants and takeaways, which is growing at a greater pace than the 110 billion pounds "eat at home" market. Share prices in both companies rose sharply when the deal was announced. However, Tesco's shares have since fallen on concerns the deal faces a lengthy competition investigation. Tesco shares are down 8 percent so far this year while Booker's are up 14 percent. Though Tesco and Booker maintain they have a compelling competition case the deal is expected to face intense scrutiny from Britain's antitrust authorities as it will add to Tesco's more than 28 percent share of the overall UK grocery market and, more specifically, its influence in the convenience, confectionery and tobacco markets.
HAMILTON, Bermuda, March 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) leads an industry delegation to Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru this week to host executive forums on the value of Bermuda-based captive insurance.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bd7eb51f-e522-4362-a074-7d1f7b7c48ae

The regional outreach includes meetings with prospects and service providers who want to learn more about Bermudas captive insurance solution and ways to access the islands powerful re/insurance market. The forums, geared to financial executives, risk managers and family-office advisers, will be held Tuesday, March 28 at the Ritz-Carlton Santiago and Thursday, March 30 at the Westin Lima Hotel & Convention Center.

Bermuda has seen encouraging interest from the Latin American market, with the establishment of three new Latin captive insurers out of Chile, Colombia and Mexico in 2016, noted Jereme Ramsay, BDA Business Development Manager for the risk sector. Our delegation will continue to educate industry partners in the region and look to connect businesses with our local stakeholders. This collaboration between Bermudas public/private sector significantly enhances opportunities for new business leads for our captive insurance market.

Bermuda-based industry participants in the roadshow include: Janita Burke of Estera Services; Andres Carmona of Marsh; Alejandra Castano of JLT Insurance Management; Daniel Message of EY; and Giulianna Molero Solari of PwC. In addition, the delegation features regional partners Andres Alcalde and Juan Pablo Cuartas of Marsh; consultant Eduardo Escaffi; Rodrigo Hernandez of PwC; Jose Ignacio Lathrop and Juan Felipe Londono of JLT; Khaled Luyo of KPMG; and Alvaro Ortiz of Charles Taylor.

Chile and Peru are home to many large and medium-sized corporations with sophisticated risk managers and an excellent understanding of their insurance risk, said Janita Burke, Client Director for Estera. These entities can benefit from establishing and operating a Bermuda captivea risk-management tool that has been highly beneficial to their counterpart corporations in the United States for decades. Along with my fellow industry colleagues, I hope to convey the virtues of Bermuda and demonstrate how a Bermuda-based captive could be profitable to their business.

Scheduled to run 911:30 am both days, the forums will feature two sessions: the first, Captive Solutions & Strategies, explains what a captive insurer is, a captives structure, key reasons to set up a captive, along with common risks insured, citing several case studies. A second session focuses on regulatory, tax and legal frameworks and includes two case studies. Interested parties in the region can register here: Santiago Forum or Lima Forum

I am honoured to be part of this initiative to promote insurance captives as powerful vehicles for comprehensive risk coverage and financial efficiency, said Alejandra Castano, Account Manager for JLT. Well be highlighting Bermuda as the leading domicile in captive insurance services, and our Bermuda professionals will be able to provide valuable information based on their deep industry experience.

Bermudas captive insurance market is the global leader, with close to 800 companies generating more than $55 billion in annual gross written premiums. The presence of commercial insurance and reinsurance companies on the island allows captive owners and operators to access open-market underwriting capacity not found in other captive domiciles, making Bermuda a one-stop-shop. Notably, captives are also increasingly popular tools for wealth preservation and succession planning for HNWIs and family offices.

CONNECTING BUSINESS

The BDA encourages direct investment and helps companies start up, re-locate or expand their operations in our premier jurisdiction. An independent, public-private partnership, we connect you to industry professionals, regulatory officials, and key contacts in the Bermuda government to assist domicile decisions. Our goal? To make doing business in Bermuda smooth and beneficial
English Danish

Silkeborg, 2017-03-27 08:47 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This is to give notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting of Jyske Bank A/S, which will be held on Thursday 20 April 2017, at 10.00 a.m. at Vestergade 8-16, 8600 Silkeborg, Denmark.

At the Annual General Meeting held on 21 March 2017, the motions to amend the Articles of Association were adopted. However, the members in general meeting with a right to vote represented less than 90% of the share capital, wherefore the final adoption of the amendments to the Articles of Association is subject to adoption at an Extraordinary General Meeting.

The AGENDA for consideration and final adoption:

1 Consideration of motions proposed by the Supervisory Board: 1 Reduction of Jyske Bank's nominal share capital by DKK 58,809,550, or 5,880,955 shares of a nominal value of DKK 10 from DKK 950,399,990 to DKK 891,590,440. With reference to S.188(1) of the Danish Companies Act we point out that the capital reduction takes place through cancellation of previously acquired own shares acquired by Jyske Bank in accordance with authorisation from members in general meeting. Hence, the capital reduction is spent on payment of capital owners.



If the motion is adopted, the company's holding of own shares will be reduced by 5,880,955 shares of a nominal value of DKK 10. These shares have been bought back at a total amount of

DKK 1,749,999,269 which implies that apart from the nominal capital reduction a total amount of DKK 1,691,189,719 has been paid to the capital owners in connection with the buy-backs. The capital reduction took place at a share premium since it was at 297.57 for each share of a nominal amount of DKK 10, corresponding to the average price at which the shares have been bought back.



In consequence of the above, the following amendments to the Articles of Association are proposed:

Art.2 to be amended to the effect that the Banks nominal share capital be DKK 891,590,440 distributed on 89,159,044 shares.

2 The authority set out in Art. 4(2) of the Articles of Association to expire on 1 March 2022 instead of 1 March 2019.

3 The authority set out in Art. 4(3) of the Articles of Association to expire on 1 March 2022 instead of 1 March 2019.

4 In connection with the proposed amendments to the Articles of Association, the Supervisory Board proposes that the members in general meeting authorise the Supervisory Board to make such amendments as may be required by the Danish Business Authority in connection with registration of the Articles of Association.

Reference to Jyske Bank's website for further information

Where in this notice of an extraordinary general meeting reference is made to Jyske Bank's website for further information, this link can be used: investor.jyskebank.com/investorrelations.

The size of the share capital and the voting rights of the shareholders

Jyske Bank's share capital is DKK 950,399,990, comprising shares at a face value of DKK 10. Each share amount of DKK 10 shall carry one vote, provided always that 4,000 votes are the highest number of votes any one shareholder may cast on his own behalf. Voting rights can only be exercised by shareholders or their proxies. For the voting right of a share to be exercised, the share shall be registered in the name of the holder in the Bank's register of shareholders not later than on the day of registration, which is 13 April 2017, or the title to such share shall be notified and documented to the Bank within that same time limit.

Proxy and postal vote

Shareholders may as from 29 March to 12 April 2017 give voting instructions, appoint Jyske Bank's Supervisory Board or a third party as proxy either electronically or by means of the Power of Attorney form.

Shareholders may attend the General Meeting by proxy and cast their votes by proxy.

In addition, shareholders may as from 29 March to 19 April 2017, at 10.00 a.m. cast postal votes either electronically or by means of a form.

Proxies may be appointed or postal votes may be cast electronically at the Investor Portal via Jyske Bank's website. A form for the appointment of proxies or for casting postal votes is available at one of Jyske Bank's branches or can be downloaded from Jyske Bank's website. Where the form is used, please forward the completed and signed form either by post to VP Investor Services A/S, Weidekampsgade 14, DK-2300 Copenhagen S or by email to vp@vp.dk. The form must reach VP Investor Services A/S by the above-mentioned deadlines, and proxies must have been appointed or postal votes must have been cast electronically by the same deadlines.

Custodian bank

Jyske Banks shareholders may choose Jyske Bank A/S as their custodian bank in order to exercise their financial rights through Jyske Bank A/S.

Questions from shareholders

Shareholders may ask questions in writing about the items of the agenda or the Banks financial position. Please send questions to Jyske Bank A/S, Juridisk Afdeling, Vestergade 8-16, DK-8600 Silkeborg or by email to Juridisk@jyskebank.dk. Questions and answers will be presented at the general meeting. At the General Meeting, the management will also answer questions from the shareholders about matters of importance for the financial situation of the Bank and questions for consideration at the General Meeting.

Additional information

The following documents can be downloaded from jyskebank.dk or can be ordered from Jyske Banks branches from 29 March 2017:

1. Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting.

2. The total number of shares and voting rights at the date of the notice.

3. The agenda and the full wording of motions, including the proposed amendments to the Articles of Association.

4. The forms to be used when voting by proxy or by postal vote.

Admission card

Shareholders who wish to attend the General Meeting and cast their votes must acquire an admission card. Admission cards for the General Meeting can be ordered at the Investor Portal via Jyske Bank's website or from any of Jyske Bank's branches from 29 March 2017 and must be ordered by Friday 12 April 2017 at the latest.

Jyske Bank will, as was the case in connection with the Annual General Meeting, send admission cards via email. Therefore, you must register you email address at InvestorPortalen when you order your admission card. After registration, you will receive an electronic admission card which you may simply show on your smart phone or tablet when you attend the general meeting. Unless you have appointed a proxy you will receive your voting card upon presentation of your admission card. If, when you order your admission card, you do not choose to receive this via email, you will instead receive it by post.

For the sake of good order, we point out that no refreshments can be expected to be served at the Extraordinary General Meeting.

Silkeborg, 27 March 2017

Group Supervisory Board
(Lyon/Dusseldorf, 27 March 2017) Statkraft, Europe's largest producer of renewable energy, has closed its first power purchase agreement (PPA) under the new French support mechanism for renewable energies. The company will purchase power and capacity certificates from the wind farm Eole Source de la Sensee Hamelincourt in the North of France. The 6.15 MW wind farm is owned by TTR Energy, an investment fund investing in renewables.

"We are happy to have concluded our first wind PPA in France and look forward to working with TTR Energy over the next years. For us as a company, this is an important step in order to establish Statkraft in the French renewable scene," says Lillian Dale, International Business Developer and responsible for market access in France.

"We are very proud to contribute to the integration of intermittent renewable energy in this young and fast developing market. With our expertise and experiences as a leading PPA provider in Germany, Scandinavia and the UK we are a reliable partner for the French market players in the transition to a market based system," Dale adds.

The French market is one of the largest power markets in Europe and has ambitious targets for development of renewable energies. As of 1 January 2016 the new regime "complement de remuneration", a market-based mechanism, has been replacing the existing feed-in tariff scheme. The new regime is a contract for difference mechanism similar to the systems in Germany and the UK.

Since the publication of the applicable regulation in December 2016, market players have been able to conclude business under the new regime. Renewable producers are obliged to sell their production on the wholesale electricity market. Statkraft is actively participating in this market offering market access services and is and is confident that it will be able to expand its portfolio in the near future.

The company has been active in this form of market access business since the launch of the market premium model in Germany in 2012. With a portfolio of around 13,000 MW, the company is one of the leading players in market access for renewable energy throughout Europe.





About Statkraft

Statkraft is a leading company in hydropower internationally and Europe's largest generator of renewable energy. The Group produces hydropower, wind power, gas-fired power and district heating and is a global player in energy market operations. Statkraft has 3800 employees in more than 20 countries.

About Eole Source de la Sensee Hamelincourt

Total installed capacity: 6.15 MW

Number of turbines: 3

Type: Senvion MM92

Estimated yearly production: 17.8 GWh

Contact persons

Anne Joeken, Communications, Statkraft Markets GmbH

Tel. +49 211 60244-166 | Mob. +49 163 9120014

anne.joeken@statkraft.com

Judith Tranninger, Communications, Statkraft Markets GmbH

Tel. +49 211 60244-166 | Mob. +49 163 9120014

judith.tranninger@statkraft.com

Social Media Statkraft
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pure Energy Minerals Limited (TSX VENTURE:PE) (FRANKFURT:A111EG) (OTCQB:PEMIF) (the Company or Pure Energy) is pleased to announce that it has completed a constant-rate pumping test at its newest exploration well, CV-8, at the Clayton Valley South Project (the CVS Project). The test ran continuously for three days and included a collection of brine samples along with extensive hydrogeological data on the brine aquifer system. CV-8 is believed to be the deepest well drilled in Clayton Valley, having reached a total depth of 3,194 ft (974 m) below ground level. The drillers completed the well with casing and filter pack to a depth of 2,874 ft (876 m), installing perforated casing and seals around two separate intervals. This type of well construction allows for isolation and separate testing of shallow and deeper zones of the aquifer system.



The well encountered numerous aquifers, including the interlayered volcanic ash and silt that are typical of Clayton Valley lithium production. At greater depths, the well passed through travertine (hot springs deposits) and conglomerate (gravel) that had not previously been described on the CVS Project, thus offering the potential for new brine hosting aquifers. Down hole fluid logging revealed elevated electrical conductivity to the bottom of the well, suggesting the presence of brine at greater depths than any previous sampling on the project.

The pumping test was configured using an electric submersible pump and monitoring apparatus in CV-8. The test ran at a constant pumping rate of approximately 2.0 litres per second (30 gallons per minute) for its duration. The hydrogeologists collected approximately 48 separate brine samples (including QA/QC samples) for lithium analysis over the 72-hour pumping period.

Monitoring during the test revealed that the extracted brine from CV-8 reached near steady-state elevated fluid conductivity and fluid density, comparable to other brine wells on the CVS Project. Based on previously observed correlations between conductivity and lithium content, this suggests the production of consistent lithium-bearing brine during the entire pumping test. Data collected during the pumping test will be used to enhance understanding of the hydrogeology of the CVS Project. The team also collected depth-specific brine samples for chemical analysis. These results are expected in April. The upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) will include a full discussion and interpretation of the data from CV-8.

Patrick Highsmith, Pure Energy Minerals CEO commented, CV-8 probed greater depths and encountered new aquifers not yet seen on the CVS Project. It is significant that CV-8 more than doubled the thickness of known brine-saturated sediments in our resource when compared with the drilling in the maiden resource. This pumping test is an important milestone as it adds considerably to our knowledge for the resource model and the preliminary design of a production well field. We look forward to working through the data as we update the mineral resource and deliver the first PEA at the CVS Project.

This pumping test was designed and supervised by Pure Energys hydrogeological consulting specialists, Montgomery & Associates (Montgomery). The test was performed in accordance with State of Nevada waivers and permits issued to Pure Energy by the Nevada Division of Water Resources and the Division of Environmental Protection, which allowed for the extraction of brine from the well for the extended duration of this test and subsequent discharge to surface.

Quality Assurance

Patrick Highsmith, Certified Professional Geologist (AIPG CPG # 11702), is a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, and has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Mr. Highsmith is not independent of the Company as he is an officer and director.

About Pure Energy Minerals Ltd.

Pure Energy is a lithium resource developer that is driven to become a low-cost supplier for the burgeoning lithium battery industry. The Company is currently focused on the development of the CVS Lithium Brine Project and the adjoining Glory Lithium Clay Project in Clayton Valley, Nevada. Pure Energy also recently announced the acquisition of a purchase option on a major new lithium brine project in the Lithium Triangle of South America, the Terra Cotta Project (TCP). The TCP is located on Pocitos Salar in Salta, Argentina, where it enjoys some of the best infrastructure and access of any lithium brine exploration project in the country. Execution of the definitive agreement concerning the Terra Cotta purchase option is expected during Q1 of 2017.

Pure Energy has developed core strengths in innovative development and processing technologies for lithium brines and lithium mineral deposits. The Companys key attributes and activities include:

Generating positive results on a large land position with excellent infrastructure in a first-class mining jurisdiction: approx. 11,000 acres in four main claim groups in Clayton Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada;

The only lithium brine resource in North America except for its neighbor, which is the only producing lithium operation in the United States (Albemarles Silver Peak lithium brine mine);

An inferred mineral resource containing approximately 816,000 metric tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) at an average grade of approximately 102 mg/L lithium, reported in accordance with NI 43-101 (see July 2015 Inferred Resource Report);

An advanced program of testing the efficacy and economics of modern environmentally-responsible processing technologies to convert the CVS brines into high purity lithium products for new energy storage uses;

A new early stage exploration program on the 13,000 hectare Terra Cotta Project (TCP), located on Pocitos Salar in Salta Province; and

An active business development program, applying its expertise to the evaluation of new lithium targets around the world.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,



Patrick Highsmith

Chief Executive Officer

Forward Looking Statements: The information in this news release contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Forward-looking statements in this release may include statements regarding mineral processing, adaptation of test work to larger scale and/or future operational scales, estimates of reduced future capital and operating expenses, delivery of a preliminary economic assessment, future exploration programs, operation plans, geological interpretations, and mineral tenure issues. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
NOVA Chemicals Corporation, 1000 Seventh Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 5L5

www.novachemicals.com | 403.750.3600 tel | 403.269.7410 fax

Calgary, Alberta (March 27, 2017) - NOVA Chemicals Corporation ("NOVA Chemicals") and Borealis AG ("Borealis") signed a preliminary agreement to form a joint venture (JV) with Total Petrochemicals and Refining USA, Inc. ("Total") that will develop and own a new light feed cracker and a new Borstar polyethylene (PE) facility in Bayport, Texas.

Key aspects of the JV will include:

Building a new 2.2 b lb (1000 ktpa) ethylene cracker in Port Arthur, Texas

Building a new 1.35 b lb (625 ktpa) Borstar PE plant in Bayport, Texas

Total's existing Bayport PE facility, total capacity 880 m lb (400 ktpa)

The ethylene cracker and Borstar PE unit are expected to start-up in late 2020. A final investment decision is expected in late 2017, pending NOVA Chemicals' Board and regulatory approvals and execution of definitive agreements.

The JV is expected to create significant synergies by enabling strong integration of the value chain and the first-time use of the proprietary Borstar PE process technology in the Americas. It is also expected to provide competitive export access to markets outside of North America to help meet the growing global demand for PE.

"This opportunity will complement NOVA Chemicals' existing asset structure in Canada and broaden our PE product slate as we continue to grow our business in the Americas to deliver products that make everyday life healthier, safer and easier," stated Todd Karran, President and CEO, NOVA Chemicals. "It also paves the way for NOVA Chemicals to collaborate further with Borealis as part of the IPIC family of companies," continued Karran.

"Working in a JV with NOVA Chemicals and Total on a cost effective brownfield investment project, integrated with a cracker is an attractive opportunity. We can also leverage our proven technology and benefit from large scale experience gained in other projects (e.g., Borouge) and develop the project together with NOVA Chemicals," said Borealis CEO Mark Garrett.

About NOVA Chemicals

NOVA Chemicals develops and manufactures chemicals and plastic resins that make everyday life safer, healthier and easier. Our employees work to ensure health, safety, security and environmental stewardship through our commitment to sustainability and Responsible Care. NOVA Chemicals, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

About Borealis

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With its Head Office in Vienna, Austria, the company currently has around 6,600 employees and operates in over 120 countries. Borealis generated EUR 7.2 billion in sales revenue and a net profit of EUR 1,107 million in 2016. The International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi owns 64% of the company, with the remaining 36% belonging to Austria-based OMV, an integrated, international oil and gas company. Borealis provides services and products to customers around the world in collaboration with Borouge, a joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

About Total

Total is a global integrated energy producer and provider, a leading international oil and gas company, and a major player in solar energy with SunPower and Total Solar. Our 98,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, cleaner, more efficient, more innovative and accessible to as many people as possible. As a responsible corporate citizen, we focus on ensuring that our operations in more than 130 countries worldwide consistently deliver economic, social and environmental benefits.

For more information visit:



www.novachemicals.com

www.borealisgroup.com

www.total.com

###

For further information please contact:

NOVA Chemicals - Media Inquiries

Jennifer Nanz

Leader, Corporate Communications

e-mail: jennifer.nanz@novachem.com

NOVA Chemicals - Investor Inquiries

Tracey Simpson

Leader, External Financial Reporting

e-mail: tracey.simpson@novachem.com

Borealis

Patrick Laureys

Senior External Communications Manager

Tel. +43 (0)1 33 400 726 (Vienna, Austria)

e-mail: patrick.laureys@borealisgroup.com

The NOVA Chemicals logo is a registered trademark of NOVA Brands Ltd.; authorized use.

Responsible Care is a registered trademark of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada

Borstar is a registered trademark of the Borealis Group.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the preliminary agreement to form a joint venture with Total, including the expected timing of start-up of the venture and potential synergies and opportunities. By their nature, forward-looking statements require NOVA Chemicals to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. NOVA Chemicals' forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. In addition, the forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this news release, and except as required by applicable law, NOVA Chemicals undertakes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.
Guwahati, Mar 27 (IBNS) : At least ten passengers of a tourist bus were killed and 24 others injured after it fell into a stream in Senapati district of Manipur in the wee hours of Monday, officials said.

The incident took place between Chakumei and Makhan Tabio bridge under Mao police station of the district around 3-15 am.

A top official of Manipur police said the driver of the tourist bus bearing the registration number MN-014-A-9503 was heading for Imphal from Nagaland's Dimapur.

The driver lost his control over the vehicle and the bus went off the road and fell into a stream.

The top Police official said eight persons died on the spot while two others succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

The injured persons were rushed to the nearest Assam Rifles Maram Hospital and other hospitals in the vicinity.

According to the reports, 34 Assam Rifles personnel are helping the survivors.

The police official said , the death toll is likely to increase as many of the injured persons are in serious condition.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
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Kolkata, Mar 27 (IBNS): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee flew to North Bengal for a two-day visit over a host of administrative works for the first time during her second term in the office, on Monday.

Mamata is scheduled to hold administrative review meetings in Jalpaiguri along with public distribution ceremonies, on Tuesday.

WB CM who has held 100 administrative meeting across the state during her first tenure, would visit North Bengal for the first time after being re-elected in 2016.

CM informed that she would visit Darjeeling and Kalimpong for meetings on Wednesday where she would also announce Mirik sub-division.

She even announced her plans to visit South Bengal next week.

While interacting with the media, Mamata said: "I would visit Jhargram, Bankura, Purulia next week."

WB government has announced earlier that Jhargram will become a new district on the day of Bengali New Year in 2017.

(Image: Official Facebook page of Mamata Banerjee)
Guwahati, Mar 27 (IBNS) : Saying that teachers have the big responsibility of building good citizens who are committed to the cause of the society Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday said that primary school teachers are the agents of change for the society who can instil good qualities in the students from a nascent stage.

Taking part in the ceremonial distribution of appointment letters to 4823 Assistant Teachers, 2688 Teachers in Lower Primary and 2135 Teachers in Upper Primary, recruited through Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) in the primary schools of the state at Veterinary College Playground at Khanpara in Guwahati, Chief Minister Sonowal said that cleanliness, discipline, punctuality are the important traits the teachers need to inculcate in the students for a better society.

A One Day Orientation Programme for Newly Recruited Teachers of Elementary Education was also organised by Sarba Siksha Abhiyan, Assam in collaboration with Krishna Kanta Handique State Open University and Swacch Vidyalaya Puraskar were also distributed to ten schools of the state in recognition of excellent sanitation and hygiene practices in the school campuses.

For building a society based on equality where all people are empowered to lead a life of dignity and to meet modern day challenges like corruption and increasing crimes, the education system must produce citizens with high moral values and integrity, Sonowal said.

Calling upon the teachers to take their duty as a service to the society and not as a mere job, Sonowal said that teachers must strive towards realising their potential to become the role models for the society and establish Assam as one of the best of the country.

Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was also present at the meeting, announced that the government would regularise all 88,571 TET qualified teachers in a phased manner and he also said that all newly recruited teachers would be able to draw salary as per the 7th pay commission recommendations.

Saying that the teachers must abstain from the tendency of seeking transfer near home Sarma stated that teachers must be willing to work anywhere in the state as the whole state is like home and they must dedicate themselves to spread knowledge to the remotest part of Assam.

Informing that Gunotsav campaign initiated by the Education Department of the state will revolutionise the whole education scenario of the state, the Education Minister said the campaign will help the government in finding loopholes in the education system and rectify them.

Media Adviser to Chief Minister Hrishikesh Goswami, Legal Adviser Shantanu Bharali, MLAs Utpal Bora, Suren Phukan, Commissioner and Secretary Primary Education Pritam Saikia, Mission Director of SSA Assam Aruna Rajoria, VC of KKHSOU Hitesh Deka were present among others on the occasion.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
It was not immediately clear how many of the victims were students, an official said, Joinfo.com reports with reference to Reuters.

The avalanche occurred on Monday morning near a ski slope in Nasu, 160 km (100 miles) north of Tokyo, where 52 high school students and 11 teachers were climbing, a local government official said.

The eight showed no vital signs, officials said.

Japanese officials typically do not declare victims dead until a doctor has made a formal announcement.

We have avalanche incidents once or twice a year around here, but havent had anything this big, a fire department official said.
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 ...
Phoenix OS is an Android-based operating system designed to work like a desktop OS. Theres a taskbar, support for running apps in windows that can be positioned anywhere on the screen, and theres a sort of start menu instead of a full-screen app drawer.

We first took a look at Phoenix OS more than a year ago, when it was based on Android 5.1. Now the developers have released an early build of Phoenix OS 2.0, which is based on Android 7.1.

Among other things, that means the new software includes all the security updates and performance optimizations in the newer version of Google. While Android 7.1 also includes native multiwindow support, thats something Phoenix already had, so the new version of Phoenix OS might not look all that different from earlier builds.

Theres also support for additional network adapters, some bug fixes, new wallpapers, and updated pre-installed apps as well as support for virtual machines.

Phoenix is hardly the only Android-as-a-desktop operating system around. Chinese startup Jide has also been developing Remix OS for the past few years. And theres mounting evidence that Google is planning to launch a new operating system called Andromeda that combines features of Android and Chrome OS to further blur the line between desktop and mobile operating systems.

But Phoenix is worth watching, since its already a pretty well polished example of multi-window Android, and since the developers have already partnered with some well-known companies, including Alcatel, to preload Phoenix OS on some devices.

via xda-developers
Thanks to a critical fibre connection in the brain (green) by the age of four years we suddenly start to understand what other people think. Credit: MPI f. Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

By the age of four years we suddenly start to understand what other people think and that their beliefs about the world might differ from our own. We then manage to do what 3-year-olds are not yet capable of  we can put ourselves in someone else's shoes. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig were able to show what supports this milestone in development: the maturation of a critical fibre connection in the brain.

If you tell a 3-year-old child the following story of little Maxi, they will most probably not understand: Maxi puts his chocolate on the kitchen table, then leaves to play outside. While he is gone, his mother puts the chocolate in the cupboard. Where will Maxi look for his chocolate? A 3-year-old child will not understand why Maxi would be surprised not to find the chocolate on the table where he left it. It is only by the age of 4 years that a child will correctly predict that Maxi will look for his chocolate where he left it and not in the cupboard where it is now.

Something similar can be observed when you show the 3-year-old child a chocolate box that contains pencils instead of chocolates. If you ask the child what another child would expect to be in the box, they will answer "pencils," although the other child would not know this. Only a year later, around the age of four years, however, they will understand that the other child had hoped for chocolates. Thus, there is a crucial developmental breakthrough between three and four years: This is when we start to attribute thoughts and beliefs to others and to understand that their beliefs can be different from ours. Before that age, thoughts don't seem to exist independently of what we see and know about the world. That is, this is when we develop a "Theory of Mind."

The maturation of fibres of a brain structure called the arcuate fascicle (green) between the ages of three and four years establishes a connection between two critical brain regions: A region at the back of the temporal lobe (brown) that supports adults thinking about others and their thoughts and a region in the frontal lobe (red) that is involved in keeping things at different levels of abstraction. Credit: MPI f. Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig have now discovered what this developmental breakthrough is associated with. The maturation of fibres of a brain structure called the arcuate fascicle between the ages of three and four years establishes a connection between two critical brain regions: A region at the back of the temporal lobe that supports adults thinking about others and their thoughts and a region in the frontal lobe that is involved in keeping things at different levels of abstraction. It therefore helps us to understand what the real world is and what the thoughts of others are. Only when these two brain regions are connected through the arcuate fascicle can children start to understand what other people think. This is what allows us to predict where Maxi will look for his chocolate. Interestingly, this new connection in the brain supports this ability independently of other cognitive abilities, such as intelligence, language ability or impulse control.

"The strong arcuate fascicle might be the reason why humans are particularly good at understanding what other people think and predicting their actions," says the first author of the recently published article, Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann from the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig. "Although apes also seem to understand other individuals, they do this to a much lesser extent. This might result from the weaker fibre connection."

More information: Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann et al. White matter maturation is associated with the emergence of Theory of Mind in early childhood, Nature Communications (2017). Journal information: Nature Communications Charlotte Grosse Wiesmann et al. White matter maturation is associated with the emergence of Theory of Mind in early childhood,(2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14692
New Delhi, Mar 27 (IBNS): The Supreme Court of India ordered that the Aadhaar card cannot be made mandatory for people to obtain benefits from welfare schemes of central government, on Monday.

The central government has earlier announced that the Aadhaar card would be made mandatory for obtaining benefits from around 30 central welfare schemes which even includes the mid-day meal given to school children.

Union Finance Minister during discussion on Financial bill few days back, said that the government was trying to make a single identity card for all citizens of India.

FM earlier stressed on the importance of Aadhaar card since it is safer.

However, SC did not rule out the mandatory Aadhaar card for filing income tax as well as to create bank accounts.

Welcoming the order of the Apex court, Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that around 108 crore people have an access to Aadhaar card.

All opposition parties including Congress, TMC and CPI(M) have welcomed the order of SC.

However, Government of West Bengal sent a letter to central government already stating that they are not willing to make Aadhaar card mandatory for its state welfare schemes like rice at Rs 2 per kilogram.
(HealthDay)Breast-feeding may not make kids sharper or better behaved than their non-nursed peers over the long-term, a new study suggests.

Breast-feeding is known to have many positive effects for babies and moms. But the notion that it makes kids smarter or better able to regulate their behavior is unproven.

"The belief that babies who are breast-fed have advantages in their cognitive development, in particular, has been a topic of debate for over a century now," said Lisa-Christine Girard, the lead researcher on the new study.

Her team found that 3- and 5-year-olds who'd been breast-fed did, in fact, score higher on tests of vocabulary and problem-solving. The children also typically had fewer behavioral issues, based on parents' ratings.

But most of those connections seemed to be explained by other factorssuch as the mothers' education and the family's social class.

Breast-feeding was tied to one positive effect: fewer problems with hyperactivity at the age of 3. But even that link disappeared by the age of 5, the study found.

Still, the finding does suggest that breast-feeding might have a direct effect on young children's hyperactivity, according to Girard, a research fellow at University College Dublin in Ireland.

But it's possible that things change after kids start school, she added. At that point, other factors might "exert a larger role on children's hyperactivity once the home environment is no longer the predominant environment in which children spend the majority of their waking hours."

The findings, published March 27 in Pediatrics, are not the final word on breast-feeding and child development, however.

Researchers are still trying to understand the "complete picture," Girard said. But it's challenging to weed out the effects of breast-feeding, per se, from all of the other factors that influence something as complex as child development.

It's clear, Girard said, that at least in developed countries, mothers who breast-feed tend to differ from moms who don't. On average, they are more educated and less likely to smoke or engage in other "risky behaviors" during pregnancy, for example.

Girard and her colleagues dug into the issue by reviewing data from a long-term study of roughly 8,000 Irish families.

The majority of children in the study had been breast-fed for some amount of time.

And in general, they did better on tests of "expressive" vocabulary and problem-solving, versus kids who'd never been breast-fed. Their parents also gave higher ratings to their behavior on a standard questionnaire.

In the end, though, most of those connections seemed to be explained by other factors. That was the case even for kids who'd been breast-fed for a relatively longer timeat least six months.

There was one exception: 3-year-olds who'd been exclusively breast-fed for at least six months had slightly lower hyperactivity ratings.

Dr. Lydia Furman, a pediatrician at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, described the study as "thoughtful."

It does have limitations, though, according to Furman, who wrote an editorial published with the findings.

For one, she said, few children in the studyless than 5 percenthad been exclusively breast-fed for the first six months of life.

That's what is recommended by groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Both Furman and Girard stressed the bigger picture: There are already plenty of reasons for moms to breast-feed if they can.

Breast-feeding can help protect babies from respiratory illnesses, ear infections and diarrhea, according to the U.S. Department of Health. It's also tied to longer-term benefitsincluding lower risks of asthma and obesity in children, and lower risks of breast and ovarian cancers in moms.

"It's important to emphasize that our findings in no way take away from that," Girard said.

Many women, however, face barriers to prolonged breast-feeding, Furman said.

It's well-known, for example, that younger, lower-income and minority moms are less likely to breast-feed compared to their white, higher-income counterparts.

"It's critical to give all women information on breast-feeding starting at their prenatal visits," Furman said.

After they give birth, she said, some women may also need a referral to a breast-feeding support program.

Then there's this question: What happens when a breast-feeding mom returns to work?

In the United States, Furman noted, federal law requires employers to give hourly workers break time and a private place where they can pump their breast milk. That does not apply to salaried employees, though, she said.

Furman recommended that women plan ahead and talk to their employer about their return to work.

"Tell your boss that you plan to keep breast-feeding, and ask, 'What can we do to make this work?'" she said.

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
(HealthDay)Millions of Americans battle bothersome nighttime conditions, such as sleep apnea or the need to get up frequently to urinate.

Now, new research suggests that treating the former condition with CPAP "mask" therapy might also help ease the latter.

"This is the first study to show the true incidence of nocturiapeeing at nightin patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea. It's also the first study to show the size of the effect of positive pressure mask treatment [CPAP] in patients with obstructive sleep apnea on their nocturia symptoms," said lead researcher Sajjad Rahnama'i, of Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

Rahnama'i presented his team's findings Sunday at the European Association of Urology (EAU) annual meeting in London.

One U.S. apnea expert who reviewed the new findings said apnea and nighttime overactive bladder often go together.

"No one is certain why this association occurs, although there are plausible theories," said Dr. Alan Mensch, chief of pulmonary medicine at Plainview Hospital in Plainview, N.Y.

"It is known that untreated sleep apnea patients produce a larger urine volume at night," he said. Also, the oxygen depletion that occurs in episodes of sleep apnea stimulate blood flow to the kidneys, Mensch said, and simply being awakened may also make people more aware of the need to pee.

Whatever the cause, Mensch said research shows that almost one-third of men aged 60 and older are bothered by nocturia.

Could treating sleep apnea lower that number? To find out, the Dutch researchers tracked outcomes for 256 people who were treated for obstructive sleep apnea with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). In this therapy, patients receive a constant stream of air through a mask, which helps prevent their airways from collapsing during sleep.

Before starting CPAP, 69 percent of the patients had to get up more than once a night to urinate, Rahnama'i's team noted.

However, after starting CPAP, nighttime pee breaks were reduced in nearly two-thirds of those patients. For example, 32 of the 77 patients who previously got up twice a night to pee could go the whole night without doing so after they started on CPAP, the researchers explained in an EAU news release.

EAU spokesman Marcus Drake said, "It may seem surprising that breathing problems can cause excessive urine production while asleep, but actually the problem is very real. To have a study showing the link, and the potential benefits of therapy, may help establish the treatment into routine clinical practice."

Dr. Manish Vira is vice chair of urologic research at the Arthur Smith Institute for Urology in Lake Success, N.Y. Reviewing the findings, he stressed that although they are promising, "several different medical conditions" can cause nocturia besides sleep apnea.

So, for some patients, CPAP may ease sleep apneabut leave those nighttime pee breaks unchanged, Vira said.

And another expert pointed out that nocturia can sometimes be a useful diagnostic tool for apnea.

Dr. Steven Feinsilver directs the Center for Sleep Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. He said that the need to void frequently each night "may be a clue to look for sleep apnea, particularly in older adults with no obvious kidney or prostate problem."

Feinsilver added, "I have on many occasions seen older men who were treated for prostate enlargement because of nocturia symptoms without improvement, until the sleep problem was addressed."

Because the new findings were presented at a medical meeting, they should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information: Alan Mensch, M.D., chief, pulmonary medicine, Plainview Hospital, Plainview, N.Y.; Manish A. Vira, M.D., vice chair, urologic research, Arthur Smith Institute for Urology, Lake Success, N.Y.; Steven H. Feinsilver, M.D., director, Center for Sleep Medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; European Association of Urology, news release, March 26, 2017 Alan Mensch, M.D., chief, pulmonary medicine, Plainview Hospital, Plainview, N.Y.; Manish A. Vira, M.D., vice chair, urologic research, Arthur Smith Institute for Urology, Lake Success, N.Y.; Steven H. Feinsilver, M.D., director, Center for Sleep Medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; European Association of Urology, news release, March 26, 2017 The National Sleep Foundation has more on nocturia.

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Dr. Terri Ashmeade at Tampa General Hospitals NICU.

For generations, nurses tending to newborns have been able to tell the subtle difference between a baby's cry of hunger and that of pain.

That ability to distinguish those differences is now being combined with continuous facial expression recognition software in hopes of offering a new way to help health care providers more precisely gauge whether a baby is experiencing pain or simply needing a diaper change.

Neonatal experts in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine are partnering with facial expression recognition experts in the USF College of Engineering to build data that combines known information collected through facial expression recognition capabilities and the known information from nurses who have years of training and on-the-job experience using the neonatal infant pain scale (NIPS).

"Our intent is to develop a methodology and technology to allow us to better detect when the patients we are caring for experience pain," said Terri Ashmeade, MD, professor of pediatrics in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and chief quality officer for USF Health.

"Babies hospitalized in the NICU experience many painful procedures and research has shown that these painful experiences are associated with altered development of the infants brains and can impact them long term. Babies cannot tell us when they are experiencing pain, or how intense their pain might be. So the most important thing about this research is that, by coupling computer vision technology with vocal responses, we can have a fuller understanding for what our patients are experiencing and know when we should intervene. And that precision in knowing when they are feeling pain would prevent us from exposing babies to medications they don't need."

Cameras continually monitor the newborns. Credit: University of South Florida

The preliminary study looked at 53 infants in the NICU at Tampa General Hospital. Using small video cameras attached to infant incubators, the researchers collected footage of the young patients before, during and after scheduled procedures and interventions. The footage was examined later through facial expression analysis software and was also coupled with vital signs that were measured in sync with the footage, with audio that was also collected, and with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which measures oxygen levels in the brain.

All of those datasets  facial expressions, body movements, sounds of crying and vital signs  were combined and then matched with the nurses' own professional expertise of what particular cries and facial expressions mean, the NIPS score. The resulting overlay could provide a tool in a NICU that would constantly monitor a baby and then alert the health care team when there is evidence the baby is feeling any distress from pain. Currently, these NICU-skilled nurses build in typically hourly assessments of the infants to gauge a NIPS score  the new technology would offer round-the-clock monitoring.

This new use of computer vision and pattern recognition adds a new dimension to existing software, said Rangachar Kasturi, PhD, the Douglas W. Hood Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, USF College of Engineering.

"USF's expertise in computer vision and pattern recognition is well known, so naturally we have a strong interest in using it to help this population," Dr. Kasturi said.

"The key difference here is that we're not trying to recognize or identify a face, we are measuring the baby's muscle movement and how their creases and lines move, to determine if they are experiencing pain. We are comparing the nurses' scores with those we get from the technology to determine how accurate our scores are. We want to replicate what these talented nurses do so the babies can be constantly monitored."

Babies may require multiple medical procedures while in the neonatal intensive care unit.

In gauging facial expression, capturing known meanings in babies can be difficult, said Ghada Zamzmi, a doctoral student in the USF Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

"There are common expressions such as happy, sad, angry etc. that we know about adults, but those cannot be applied to newborns," Zamzmi said. "In this study, we are capturing the facial muscle movements in video, or optical flow, and classifying them as relating to pain or no pain. In addition to facial expression, we are automatically analyzing other signals such as sounds, body movement, and heart rate to increase the reliability of detecting pain in case of missing data. We believe developing an automated multimodal system can provide a continuous and quantitative assessment of infants' pain and lead to improved outcomes. "

This type of technology and assessment could be used beyond the NICU, including for any patient who is not able to communicate directly with their health care team about whether or not they're experiencing pain, such as elderly patients with dementia, Dr. Ashmeade said.

NICU babies are some of the most vulnerable and require multiple medical procedures  even surgeries  that are painful, Dr. Ashmeade said.

"These newborns, many of them born prematurely, cannot communicate their feelings, which is why and how the nursing staff has become the go-to experts for gauging the babies' needs," she said. "While we have had many successes in neonatal care and improving survival of our babies, what we really want to focus on is a great outcome. Anything we can do to foster appropriate development, especially of the brain, is what we want for these babies."

In addition to Drs. Ashmeade and Kasturi, and Zamzmi, researchers on the study included: Chih-Yun Pai, Dr. Dmitry Goldgof, and Dr. Yu Sun. The team has applied for further funding with the National Institutes of Health and expects to hear if an expanded study is approved by next Fall. In June, the research will be presented in Norway at the Scandinavian Conference on Image Analysis, which is sponsored by the International Association for Pattern Recognition.
(HealthDay)MRI screening might greatly reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment of prostate cancer in older men, a preliminary study suggests.

Compared to the current screening method, MRI can reduce overdiagnosis of prostate cancer by 50 percent, and unnecessary biopsies by 70 percent in men over 70, Dutch researchers reported Saturday at a conference in England.

Prostate cancer is common in aging men, but it's often slow-growing and non-threatening.

Screening sometimes begins with a blood test to measure the level of PSA (prostate specific antigen). If elevated, it might indicate cancer. So, the next step is a needle biopsy, where a doctor takes multiple samples from the prostate and has them tested for cancer.

Because PSA testing is an inexact science, "the benefit of early prostate cancer detection with random biopsy generally does not outweigh the harm induced by screening," particularly in men 70 and older, said lead researcher Dr. Arnout Alberts.

These harms can include unnecessary radiation and surgery, explained Alberts, who is in the urology department at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

However, some elderly men may benefit from early detection, "and the use of MRI scans significantly reduces the harms and drawbacks of screening," he said.

For the study, Alberts and colleagues focused on 335 men, aged 71 and older, who had elevated blood PSA levels.

To determine who did and did not have prostate cancer, the investigators took six biopsy samples from the prostates of 177 men. Another 158 men had 12 samples taken, plus an MRI scan of their prostate before the biopsy.

If the MRI revealed a potentially cancerous area, then further MRI-targeted biopsy samples were taken, Alberts explained.

The research team found that biopsies using either six or 12 samples were, in most cases, able to detect serious cancers.

However, Alberts' team found that 70 percent of the men in the study would not have needed biopsies at all if MRI had been used beforehand, because no suspicious areas showed up on their scans.

Although MRI is more expensive than PSA testing, it could save money in the long run, in much the same way that mammography breast cancer screening has paid off for women, the researchers suggested.

One specialist, however, doesn't think MRI is the answer to the prostate cancer screening controversy.

"There is not enough data to say MRI is a home run, and there is not enough data to say it is cost-effective," said Dr. Anthony D'Amico, a professor of radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Data from other institutions shows that MRI finds only 80 percent of severe cancers and misses 50 percent of the other high-grade cancers, D'Amico said.

"So having a negative MRI doesn't mean that you don't have aggressive prostate cancer," he added.

Alberts countered that a larger trial has started, with 40,000 men randomly selected for MRI screening at various PSA levels or for no screening.

"This trial will hopefully further elucidate the role of MRI in prostate cancer screening," he said.

D'Amico believes the only way to know for sure if MRI effectively screens for prostate cancer is to scan thousands of patients and remove their prostate to analyze the type of cancer.

"This would need to be done before we could justify the cost of MRI, which could be several thousand dollars, as opposed to a PSA, which is in the $50 to $70 range," D'Amico said.

D'Amico said MRI might be of value in certain cases, however.

"If you have a high PSA and you have biopsies and they are all negative, consider MRI, not for screening, but because you probably have a cancer that has gone undetected," he said. "But if you don't have a high PSA, we shouldn't be using MRI as a substitute for PSA."

The study results were scheduled for presentation Saturday at a European Association of Urology conference in London. Findings presented at meetings are usually considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information: Arnout Alberts, M.D., department of urology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Anthony D'Amico, M.D., Ph.D., professor, radiation oncology, Harvard Medical School, Boston; March 25, 2017, presentation, European Association of Urology Conference, London, U.K. Arnout Alberts, M.D., department of urology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Anthony D'Amico, M.D., Ph.D., professor, radiation oncology, Harvard Medical School, Boston; March 25, 2017, presentation, European Association of Urology Conference, London, U.K. For more about prostate cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Most older Americans drink alcohol. Given that this segment of the population is projected to almost double by 2050, reaching 112 million, in the future, there will likely be many more older drinkers in the United States than currently. Importantly, older individuals are more sensitive to alcohol's effects than their younger counterparts, and are also more likely to take prescription medications that can interact negatively with alcohol, potentially leading to falls and other injuries. This study examined trends in drinking status among U.S. adults 60 years of age and older.

Researchers analyzed data from the 1997-2014 National Health Interview Surveys: 65,303 respondents 60 years of age and older (31,803 men, 33,500 women) were current drinkers; 6,570 men and 1,737 women were binge drinkers. Analysis of respondents by sex, age group, and birth cohort showed differing trends over time.

The observed upward trends in drinking among adults 60 years of age and older, particularly women, are of public health concern. Among older men, the prevalence of current drinking trended upward an average of 0.7 percent per year, while average volume and the prevalence of binge drinking remained stable. Among older women, the prevalence of current drinking trended upward an average of 1.6 percent per year, while average volume remained stable; moreover, the prevalence of binge drinking increased an average of 3.7 percent per year. These findings indicate a need for alcohol-related public-health education, screening, and treatment for the growing older population.

More information: Rosalind A. Breslow et al. Trends in Alcohol Consumption Among Older Americans: National Health Interview Surveys, 1997 to 2014, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (2017). Journal information: Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research Rosalind A. Breslow et al. Trends in Alcohol Consumption Among Older Americans: National Health Interview Surveys, 1997 to 2014,(2017). DOI: 10.1111/acer.13365
SOUTH PORTLAND, Me.  Jolly Ntirumenyerwa ran her fingers over the stethoscope that she had slung around her neck. It was a comforting connection to her career as a physician in her home country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she worked in emergency medicine.

Her credentials did not transfer when she moved to the United States in 2012, and she could not work as a doctor. So, she took jobs as a health aide in an assisted living facility.

Now, thanks to an unusual program that is training immigrants to become emergency medical technicians, she is preparing to make better use of her medical background and, she hopes, work her way up to becoming a physician assistant if not, someday, a doctor.

I want to do what I was trained to do, Ms. Ntirumenyerwa, 37, said the other day as she took a break from her E.M.T. class, being conducted in a cavernous ambulance bay at Southern Maine Community College. I put in a lot of years training to be a physician, and I dont want to throw them away.
Telkom plans to break out its real estate assets and telecommunications towers into a new unit listed separately on the stock market, reported Bloomberg.

The new unit will reportedly be listed as a new entity and will focus on property and revenue generation for Telkom.

Telkom said it would like its property portfolio, which is one of the largest real estate portfolios in South Africa, to contribute more to the companys earnings.

According to the report, the creation of the property-focused entity is part of the next step in Telkom CEO Sipho Masekos plan to turn the company around.

Masekos plan also involves an inspection of other Telkom operations.
Singapores Minister of Transport is confident that aerial transport will be a means of urban mobility by 2030.

The Singapore Business Times reported that the minister is in talks with companies to start trials of drones that can carry passengers.

According to the report, the minister said it will be sensible to pay for different mobility services tailored for different kinds of journeys.

It may thus be possible to ride in a driverless pod to work, cycle to the gym after work, and then take an aerial taxi home, he said.

Flying taxis are not a new concept. Airbus plans to test a prototype of its autopilot flying taxi by the end of the year.

Airbus also recently unveiled Pop.Up, the first modular, electric concept vehicle system designed to relieve traffic congestion in cities.

This follows Dubais Road and Transport Agency stating that the EHang 184 passenger drone will begin operations in July.

Now read: Passenger drones set to take flight this year
The world land speed record attempt by the Bloodhound SSC team has been delayed, with the record attempt now set for the second half of 2018.

The group said the Hakskeen Pan in South Africa flooded in January and March, which pushed the planned test runs further forward.

Allowing for similar events next year, and building in time to make final preparations to the track, we expect our advanced party to deploy to the Kalahari in summer 2018.

We will begin our first World Land Speed Record campaign in the second half of 2018.

Further developments to the monopropellant rocket to increase its power output are also required before the record run.

Project Director Richard Noble said it was frustrating to change the schedule.
President: UAE is a responsible energy supplier as long as the world needs oil and gas

EU has serious concerns about US inflation reduction act

Head of IMF: The global surge in consumer prices may be close to the high point

Germany wants EU to resume trade talks with US as soon as possible

Pashinyan's closed meeting with MPs of ruling Civil Contract faction is over

Hungary will not support EU efforts to help Ukraine with joint funds

Greece to soon ban sale of spyware

U.S. military delegation arrives in Turkey

German industry calls for postponement of global minimum corporate tax

Podolyak: Ukraine has never refused to negotiate

Elon Musk calls on 'independent-minded' voters to vote for Republicans

Bezos Earth Fund pledges $1 billion by 2030 to protect carbon stocks and biodiversity

7 people killed in collision between truck and passenger bus in Turkey

Nikol Pashinyan holds closed meeting with members of ruling party faction

Qatar's foreign minister calls criticism of West 'arrogant' and 'racist'

Algeria officially applies to join BRICS group

Delegations headed by Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs meet in Washington

French Finance Minister calls on EU to oppose U.S.

Armenian President: Aliyev's statements about intentional destruction of mosques have nothing to do with reality

German MFA reports constructive talks in EU on new sanctions against Iran

Kazakhstani President Tokayev instructs to increase oil supplies bypassing Russia

President of Artsakh holds expanded working meeting

Armenian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports to receive more than 250 billion drams in 2023

Borrell says EU is dependent on supplies from China

Armenia official: Peace treaty implies restoration of sovereign territory

Guterres thinks mankind is heading for climate hell

Dollar, euro gain value in Armenia

General: Iran riots were US plan to derail nuclear deal

Minister: 'Lydian Armenia' may start exploitation of gold mine on Mountain Amulsar

Armenia political scientist: Balance is formed in region thanks to Iran

Minister: 70 schools will be repaired or newly built in Armenia in 2023

UAE lifts most COVID-19 restrictions for tourists

Political scientist: There is no Armenian-American agenda

President of Finland says country has no plans to host nuclear weapons

Russian Ambassador to Armenia: We are not used to making PR and playing games

Flight restrictions extended to 11 airports in Russia

Kopirkin: Spiritual core will help Armenia, Russia overcome difficulties, challenges

Armenia ranks among top 5 CIS countries for winter tourism

Envoy: Russian president awarded Armenian philologist with medal

Iranian intelligence arrests 26 terrorists: an Azerbaijani citizen among them

Russian Defense Ministry confirms: Azerbaijan fired at Khramort village in Artsakh

Number of oil and gas drilling rigs is up in US

Economy minister: Azerbaijan aggression prevented increase of Armenia wheat sowing areas

Gegharkunik governor: There are observers who recorded that Azerbaijan carried out aggression against Armenia

The National Interest: Iran turns attention to the Caucasus

Tokayev: Kazakhstan is ready to use other measures, besides diplomacy, for its defense

Economy minister: Primary agricultural products ensure 11%-13% of Armenia GDP

FAO: World grain prices rise in October

Kremlin urges Yerevan and Baku to refrain from destabilization

Governor of Armenias Tavush on possible handover of enclaves to Azerbaijan: Not being discussed now

Governor of Armenias Vayots Dzor: We have pastures that are monitored by Azerbaijan

WSJ: Sullivan is in contact with Ushakov and Patrushev on Ukraine

Vayots Dzor governor: Azerbaijan military that infiltrated Armenia can be seen with naked eye from Jermuk city

Armenia President: Military clashes, hostilities have direct impact on soil, air pollution

IRGC seizes over 1,500 weapons in Iran riots

Minister: $879 million worth of agricultural products exported from Armenia

Japan to exterminate 150 thousand chickens because of bird flu outbreak

Armenia informational online platform for promoting highly qualified specialists engagement is launched

South Korea's president apologizes for crush in downtown Seoul

Documento: Greek PM Mitsotakis used intelligence services to spy on dozens of people

Close to $98M to be allocated from Armenia state budget for agricultural projects in 2023

Man who set self on fire near Armenia government mansion is in severe condition

Anti-Iranian action to take place in Baku

UN promises to lift restrictions on Russian grain exports in near future

Fighter jet crashes in Saudi Arabia

About $770M to be assigned to Armenia territorial administration, infrastructure ministry next year

Armenia parliament vice-speaker: There is very important note in Sochi statement

Copper falls in price

New York bank robberies up 42% this year

Armenia President to attend climate change convention in Egypt

Gold prices change slightly

World oil prices falling

Mirzoyan, Blinken, Bayramov to meet in Washington today

How long will it take to know US midterm elections results?

Iranian Armenian MP: Iran-Armenia trade is expected to reach $1B

U.S. National Park Service urges against licking the Sonora desert toad

Azerbaijan army units open fire in direction of Armenia positions

Minister: Britain's government faces tough decisions

Pashinyan: Teachers in Armenia must get 800,000, 1,000,000 and 1,200,000 drams wages

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

U.S. arms sales in Europe are soaring

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

Iranian Parliament Speaker's visit to Azerbaijan postponed

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

Civilian exploded on mine in Artsakh

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
Image: twitter.com/tarun_gogoi

Guwahati, Mar 27 (IBNS) : While protests mounted in Assam following the statement made by NSCN (IM)as General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah regarding Greater Nagalim, former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday demanded the Union government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clear their stand over the Framework Agreement signed with the Naga outfit group in 2015.

In a press conference held in Guwahati, the former Assam CM said that, the statement of NSCN (IM) General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah regarding Greater Nagalim has created a lot of confusion and exposes the governments double-standard policy.

We strongly demand that PM Modi should make it clear about the Framework Agreement and whether he accepted, what Muivah has stated, Gogoi said.

People of Assam will never accept any extension of boundary and we will oppose it tooth and nail if it harms states interest, Gogoi said.



The former Assam CM criticising the both BJP-led Union and state government for their double-standard policy over the issue and questioned, if Muivahs statement was wrong, then why the government would not clear their stand.

On the other hand, Tarun Gogoi also criticised the state government on the Namami Brahmaputra festival and said that, the government has organised the festival in the name of the mighty river Brahmaputra, but they used the festival name as Namami on the lines of Namami Gange.

The former Assam CM also said that, his stand will always being against the alliance between Congress and AIUDF.

I was opposed alliance with AIUDF and will do it in future also, Gogoi said.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Srinagar, Mar 27 (IBNS): Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday busted a Hizbul Mujahideen module tasked to disrupt upcoming bye elections and said it arrested seven of its members in Kulgam district in South Kashmir.

According to police on specific intelligence input on March 21, Hizbul Mujahideen has constituted a module and tasked it to carry out attacks on government forces and disrupt election process.

Our police team successfully busted a module which by arresting seven members of Hizbul Mujahideen along with mastermind, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kulgam, Shridhar Patil told reporters on Monday.

He said that accordingly the police registered a case and arrested modules king pin namely Zubair Ahmad Badar from Nai Basti locality of Qaimoh after his name came to fore during probe.

During his questioning, we came to know about his associates and among them till now six have been arrested and we expect more arrests, Patil said and claimed that the aim of the module was to target government forces including senior cops and kill them ahead of elections.

The SSP said a pistol, three bullets and two AK-47 magazines were recovered from busted modules possession.



(Reporting by Saleem Iqbal Qadri)
YEREVAN. - We hope that in the near future the two foreign ministers will be able to meet together in Moscow or perhaps elsewhere to prepare the ground for the presidents to meet, U.S. co-chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, Ambassador Richard Hoagland told reporters on Monday, answering the question of Armenian News  NEWS.am as to whether there are specific agreements on organizing a high-level meeting.

In his words, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and others, including the their political leadership, are always working to find the right condition to bring together the foreign ministers, or, eventually even the presidents. There is a process going on right now. I think its no secret that the two foreign ministers have been meeting in Moscow separately. We hope that in the near future the two foreign ministers will be able to meet together in Moscow or perhaps elsewhere to prepare the ground for the presidents to meet, Hoagland said.

Responding to the second question of Armenian News  NEWS.am reporter as to whether he sees prospects for the resumption of the negotiation process, considering the military rhetoric of Baku and its refusal to settle the issue by peaceful means, Mr Hoagland said: This is part of the diplomatic process, you see. Our job right now as co-chairs means that we are talking to all the players. And, in fact, tomorrow we will go to Nagorno-Karabakh. We will meet with authorities in Stepanakert. And we want to make sure that everyone knows what are the options because it is time to begin negotiating again. We cannot allow violence to be the solution to this long-standing issue. Violence is not an answer. Violence destroys families; violence harms economies, so we must look for the most possible solutions.
Lucknow, Mar 27 (IBNS): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a host of policy decisions after taking over the office but without holding a single cabinet meeting in his opening week, media reports said.

The monk from the saffron party, who has taken up the role as the UP CM, has said that every individual will be treated equally his policies will be enforced upon all sections of the society.

Some of his most talked about initiatives are the crackdown on slaughterhouses run mainly by Muslims, and the deploying of police squads to secure women from sexual harassment.

The Chief Minister also warned that those who can work for 18-20 hours every day can remain while "others can go their own way."

The UP CM is taking initiatives to do away with the VIP cultures in his state.

He has also ordered his ministers to come out details of their assets and wealth within 15 days.
As airlines look to the end of the first quarter, they face two emerging questions.

One concerns the impact of capacity increases. The other is whether negative international perceptions of President Trump's proposed travel ban could lead to diminished travel to the U.S. from abroad.

Regarding capacity, United (UAL) disclosed last week that it will boost full-year 2017 consolidated capacity growth to between 2.5% and 3.5%, up from previous guidance between 1% and 2%. United's domestic capacity will grow between 3.5% and 4.5%, up from guidance between 1.5% and 2%.

On Monday, Cowen & Co. analyst Helane Becker raised her 2017 capacity growth estimate for American (AAL) to 1.5% from 1%.

Also Monday, Delta (DAL) announced it will begin new service between Seattle and Chicago, a route already served by three hub carriers as well as Southwest. Delta said it will operate three daily Seattle departures, starting June 19, aboard an Airbus A319 seating about 130 passengers.

In a report, issued Monday before Delta's announcement, Becker wrote, "We are seeing airlines increasing capacity and overlaying one another's capacity in the U.S. domestic market.

"We continue to view the U.S. domestic market as a zero-sum game, as the market is mature and year-over-year traffic growth is not a guarantee," she said. "When a carrier increases capacity in one market, it will directly impact the other carriers serving the same market.

"Operating margins will remain under pressure until fares start to increase," Becker said.

The issue of capacity gains is "a question that constantly comes up," John Heimlich, chief economist for A4A, the airline industry trade group, said Monday on a conference call with reporters. "I don't think it's new this year or last year.

"Carriers need to demonstrate {that} it's margin accretive capacity, that {new routes} make short-term or medium-term sense," Heimlich said. "Capacity growth in and of itself is not negative for financials. {But} it's definitely something they need to manage in how it's communicated. So far, it's been successful."

Heimlich said it's unclear whether the travel ban is impacting international travel.

"We don't have access to booking data here, {but} we are three weeks from first-quarter earnings calls -- I'm sure that will be a topic," he said.

"I suspect the strong dollar and other issues are resulting in some pockets of weakness," he said. "We've heard a lot from airlines about areas of strength -- Latin American is coming back with Brazil's economy. I suspect it's a mixed bag -- {but} I think they are more bullish than bearish at this time."

Trump has proposed a ban on the entry of travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries. It faces legal challenges and was halted earlier this month. In January, courts rejected a similar but more expansive ban.

Heimlich had been questioned about a World Travel & Tourism Council report, released Monday, that said growth in the U.S. travel and tourism sector will slow to 2.3% from 2.8% in 2016.

"Inbound to the U.S., it's the strength of the dollar, so it's much more expensive for people to go this year -- so you'll see some effect of that, and the Trump ban is not helpful," David Scowsill, CEO of the council, told CNBC on Monday. As for outbound international travel, he cited inflation and declining disposable income as barriers to growth.

Airlines including American, Delta, Copa and Qatar have said they have seen no impact from the travel ban proposal. However, Emirates President Tim Clark said recently that the January proposal led quickly to a 35% decline in Emirates' bookings to the U.S.

The ban, first implemented on Jan. 6, banned U.S. entry for travelers from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, all majority-Muslim countries. "The effect it had was instantaneous," Clark told reporters at a travel conference in Berlin.

"I am concerned," Clark said, according to The National, a United Arab Emirates newspaper. "It's the tone of it. We have brought millions of Muslims to the United States, but now they may not feel welcome, they may look at going on holiday elsewhere."

Editors' pick: Originally published March 21.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.
"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee is back! 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. Follow along with the #DrinkOnMke hashtag too. Grab a designated driver and dive in!

The coronavirus pandemic has changed everyday life for people across the nation and the entire globe. But while these are concerning times and our habits may have to change for an extended time, that doesn't mean it needs to change who we are. So, in addition to our ongoing coverage of the coronavirus  from closings to methods of supporting local businesses to ways of distracting yourself during social distancing and more  OnMilwaukee will continue to report on the cool, fun, fascinating, inspiring and strange stories throughout the city. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay informed and stay joyful, Milwaukee. We're all in this together. #InThisTogetherMKE

The history and application of bitter liqueurs is fascinating. And it's a beverage category that's grown in recent years. More people are enjoying apertifs, thanks largely to bars and restaurants including new additions like Aperitivo, whose menu is an homage to the Italian tradition.

But, while apertifs make a beautiful beginning to any meal, there are equal beauties to be found in digestifs, the bitter delights often enjoyed after dinner.

Unless you grew up in Europe, or were blessed enough to have a nonna who cooked you multi-course Sunday dinners, it's likely your enjoyment of a digestif (or digestivo) is a rare pleasure.

You can blame the increasingly frenetic pace of our society for that one. Unlike European dinners, which are often drawn out over multiple hours, meals in the U.S. are quick-hitting affairs. We seldom, if ever, take the time to enjoy a pre-dinner beverage (apertif), let alone an after-dinner tipple over which we linger with friends, conversing and allowing our digestive processes to begin.

While apertifs are meant to whet the appetite, digestifs are meant to settle the stomach. They tend to be higher in alcohol than apertifs, and although they often have similar ingredients and aromas, they tend to be darker, richer, sometimes sweeter and more potent. However, one could make the argument that the true difference is more situational; that is, more a matter of when (and why) it is consumed than what it actually is.

Amore amaro

Although there are digestifs in nearly every country (remember that diddy about Jagermeister? Thats a favorite in Germany), the digestivi in Italy are perhaps the most varied of any country in the world. Theres fragrant pomace brandy (grappa) in the north and sweet, floral limoncello in the south. And there are bitter libations across the board, from the artichoke-based Cynar, the piney green Centerba and the ever-enticing bittersweet amaro.

Amari (plural of amaro) are particularly diverse and numerous. Created by infusing a distilled spirit with an intricate mix of bittering agents, botanicals, spices and fruits, each blend is unique. Some have a touch of nuanced sweetness, while others are more bitter, botanical and even medicinal. As they say, there is an amaro for just about everyone.

"Every region has their local expression of the digestif," notes Britt Buckley of Buckleys. "In Milan, everyone drinks their favorite flavor of Fernet. Its fascinating. Every variety is an expression of this idea that a digestif is part of the culinary process."

Like other bitter elixirs, amaris roots lie in the herbal tonics formulated centuries ago in monasteries and abbeys, most of which were valued for their restorative or medicinal properties. By the 1800s, these elixirs had gained popularity and began to be produced commercially. Today precious few of the aged elixirs are produced by religious orders. And yet, as they have been for centuries, the recipes for most are still highly guarded, a fact that in many ways contributes to their allure.

The past decade has been good to amari, as a growing number of bitter-liqueur-loving barkeeps have helped to fuel a passion for the bittersweet Italian digestif. Distribution has grown, and more and more brands are making their way into consumers hands. And thats as true in Milwaukee as much as it is anywhere.

Take Buckleys for instance, where Britt Buckley oversees a list of close to 25 amari, a feat that would have been impossible just a few years ago.

"The majority of people arent familiar," notes Buckley. "But those who are are really driving us as bartenders and beverage directors to really push our distributors to bring things in that arent currently in the market. And that includes chefs, who really pushed us to think about bringing in these things."

An expression of regionality

"When I think of Italy, I think of food. Scooters. And bitter spirits," says Jordan Burich of Voyager Wine Bar in Bay View. "And when it comes to the latter, its all about terroir. The topology, geography and geology of the regions of Italy are so unique. And that impacts the types of soil, the microclimates and the flavors of the foods and beverages produced in each area."

As it is with wine, so it is with amari.

"When I look at the Italian peninsula, there are four cardinal directions," explains Burich. "In the south, theres bitter lemon and myrtle leaf that comes to the fore. In the north, toward the Alps and wine country, there are more grappa-based liqueurs. But along either side of the Appenines, there are all these interesting variations, like Sibilla Amaro, which is named after an oracle from the Middle Ages. Its an intense amaro that verges on Fernet. Its dry, minerally and tastes of bark. And its a recipe thats been in the family for generations."

He says the category has almost gained a reputation as a rite of passage for those who consider themselves among the spirits savvy.

"Theres so much confusion in terms of what types of amaro to order, and how to order it." he says. "In some ways, thats an amazing opportunity for bartenders. That mysterious nature and this sort of no rules approach is really fascinating."

For Burich, the beauty of bitter is in its function.

"If you can make any generalization about Italian culture its that it revolves around eating and drinking. And these bitter liqueurs do a number of things to complement that. They aid in digestion after a meal. They also help to cleanse the palate in between courses. And employing bitterness on the palate is a great tool. It opens your palate up to really tasting the next thing."

A culinary match

One of the best ways to try amaro is at the hand of a knowledgeable bartender who can zero in on a variety that you have the best chance of enjoying.

"The first time I was offered an amaro at the end of a meal was at Ristorante Bartolotta," notes Britt Buckley. "I was eating at the bar and the bartender shared it with me. By that point, I already had an affinity for Campari, but I hadnt really gotten into digestifs. But it was so perfect at the end of the meal. And that started it all. Once you get the itch and start delving in, learning about the history and the process  and the love for these local spirits that exist throughout Italy  you cant go back."

Buckley says its a welcome challenge to introduce the genre to guests.

"So many people arent familiar," he says. "Or theyve had Fernet and they dont appreciate it. But if you ask them: What do you dislike about it? Is it the bitterness, the heft? Is it too syrupy? Then I can reach for something on the shelf that appeals a bit more. For example, there are brands like Nonino or Maletti. They have a light to medium weight. They sit on your tongue a bit, but they dont linger in their bitterness."

Buckley says amari arent so different from a spirit like Scotch.

"Youre never going to start someone out with a super peaty Islay Scotch. And you dont start there with amaro either. Part of why we have a selection of this size is because having just one or two is really limiting from a culinary standpoint.

"Our menu covers a broad range of flavors, and we want the beverage offerings to do the same. If someone has the Moroccan lamb and another person has the swordfish, there are more fitting pairings. Something spicier will pair better after the lamb, whereas an amaro with saffron and caramel notes might go better with the swordfish."
Today, March 27, the Milwaukee County Transit System has gotten an early start on April Fool's, posting an article on its web site with the headline, "Milwaukee County Transit Announces New Round Trip Service to Japan."

The article, which at press time was available here, was also tweeted out via the MCTS Twitter feed.

MCTS Announces New Round Trip Service to Japan.https://t.co/aGLG1WjplT pic.twitter.com/oCaLx9l7Hi  RideMCTS (@RideMCTS) March 27, 2017

The article reads:

The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) announced today new, non-stop daily service to Japan. The trips will begin running on Saturday, April 1st. Fares will mirror local bus fares, only $2.25 cash or $1.75 MCARD. "For far too long, Mitchell International Airport has cornered the market on flying, but that is all about to change," said Orville Wright, the head of the newly created MCTS Aeronautics Division. "Besides physics, nothing says we cant fly a bus to the other side of the globe." Each MCTS bus has seating for 40 people, meaning everyone will travel in first class. If service to Japan meets expected demand, other flights will be added in the future to Australia, Brazil and the moon. To learn more about this new service and to plan your trip visit RideMCTS.com/AprilFools

Way to get the creative juice flowing, MCTS! Maybe we here at OnMilwaukee should consider doing something for April 1, too.
A second location for Chicagos Red June Cafe is slated to open later this spring at 773 N. Jefferson St. in the former East Town Chic Hair Boutique above Cora Beauty and Spa.

The cafe, which is named after the prized Southern baking apple, will offer a full assortment of coffee and espresso drinks, along with breakfast items, pastries and grab-and-go lunch items.

Kimberly Blackburn, who will operate the cafe with partner Hewerton Moreira, says the decision to open a cafe in Milwaukee was one born of both opportunity and serendipity.

"We were looking around in Chicago," says Blackburn, who purchased the Bucktown cafe five years ago, "but we really started to get beaten down with prices and the difficulty in negotiating for properties. So when this location became available in Milwaukee, I was excited."

Originally from Fennimore, Wisconsin, Blackburn moved to Chicago after returning to the States from Italy, where she lived for a number of years with her ex-husband. She says shes excited to move back to her home state and plans to relocate to Milwaukee in the coming months.

As for the cafe, Blackburn says the interior of the Milwaukee location will be very industrial, playing off of elements like wood and metal and incorporating the cafes signature red accents.

"I love the black and white awning outside," she says. "So well keep that. And Im hoping we can paint the door red to give it some pop."

She says that, although the Downtown cafe will have a different customer demographic, she hopes she can replicate the feel of Chicagos neighborhood cafe.

"Its a great, friendly spot," she says. "Ninety percent of our customers are regulars, and everyone knows everyone by name  its a bit like Cheers  and you dont find that too often in the city."

Blackburn says shell be featuring coffee from Austrian roaster, Julius Meinl, a company she discovered and fell in love with during her travels to Europe. Meanwhile, the menu will be similar to that at the Chicago cafe, featuring breakfast and lunch items like avocado toast, oatmeal, wraps and breakfast sandwiches with the cafes signature steamed eggs.

"We dont have a huge kitchen at the cafe," she says. "So we steam our eggs with the espresso machine wand. So theyre light and fluffy and really healthy."

She says shell also be looking for unique local items to serve at Red June.

"We know the owner of Cranky Als," she says. "So well be bringing their doughnuts into the cafe and hopefully introducing people Downtown to something delicious from Wauwatosa. Well also be looking for other little hidden local gems to serve."

Hours for the cafe will depend on the amount of foot traffic the cafe gets once open, notes Blackburn, though she says shed like to stay open later in the day to capture business from events like Jazz in the Park during the summer months.

If all goes well, Red June could open as soon as May.

Watch OnMilwaukee for additional details as they develop.
Kolkata, Mar 27 (IBNS): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has welcomed the Supreme Court's direction that the government cannot make Aadhaar card mandatory for it's welfare schemes.



"We welcome the SC order on Aadhaar card. Govt cannot impose it on people," Banerjee said.

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the Government cannot make Aadhaar card mandatory for it's welfare schemes, reports said.

The top court, however, said the Government can not be stopped either from using aadhaar in other schemes like opening of bank accounts and filing of income tax.

Meanwhile, on the matter of hearing pleas that challenge use of Aadhaar, the court said that a seven-member bench is required to hear these petitions, but right now it is not possible.

The apex court's ruling came after the Government announced making Aadhaar mandatory for income tax returns and PAN cards.

The Government also issued directives to telecom operators to re-verify users using Aadhaar-based process.
Smapshot lets users position archival photos over a virtual map of contemporary Switzerland. Credit: EPFL/Swisstopo

A crowdmapping project developed by EPFL and HEIG-VD gives volunteers the chance to compare the Switzerland of the 1960s with that of today through archival photos. An exhibition organized by EPFL's Modern Construction Archives will show the research implications of these historical photos.

Launched just six weeks ago, Smapshot is a public web portal on which anyone can geotag aerial photographs of Switzerland from the 1960s. They superimpose the provided photos onto a virtual map of contemporary Switzerland that was built from data provided by the Federal Office of Topography (Swisstopo). Users can then add anecdotes about the location, provide additional topographical information, chat with other users and share their discoveries on Facebook. And as thanks for their help, they are allowed to print the archival photo that they geotagged.

The crowdmapping project, a joint initiative of EPFL and HEIG-VD (the Vaud School of Management and Engineering), could lead to some interesting applications in research, urban development and augmented reality. An exhibition organized by EPFL's Modern Construction Archives (ACM), from 27 to 31 March 2017, will describe how Smapshot works and the promise that it holds. The display will include archival photos of the A1 highway under construction, the city of Lausanne, the Vaud landscape seen from Lake Geneva and the Gotthard Pass.

Initially a business venture

In the 1960s, Perrochet SA was a thriving photography business in Lausanne. Aerial photos were its calling card, and its main product was postcards for tourists. In 1960, Perrochet SA created Pleinciel, a company that spent the next eight years taking aerial photos of the entire country. The oblique photos were taken relatively close to the ground, and interesting features of the landscape and built areas often stand out.

Fifty years later, the Perrochet Pleinciel Collection of photographs, held at the ACM, gives us a full aerial view of Switzerland in the 1960s. In this it prefigures Google Earth  and it represents a gold mine for researchers. "Pleinciel was initially a business venture. Its creators had no idea how important their work would be," said Salvatore Aprea, EPFL scientist and the deputy curator of the ACM.

Major research value

Credit: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

These photos are extremely valuable for research purposes, especially if Smapshot is a hit with internet users. "By geotagging these archives, we'll see how Switzerland has changed over the past 50 years  melting glaciers, receding forests and the impact of development on the countryside. It will give urban planners, geographers, civil engineers and landscape architects a broader historical perspective of a given site, which will help them plan future development," said Timothee Produit, a scientist at HEIG-VD. The Smapshot project arose out of Produit's dissertation, which he conducted in EPFL's Laboratory of Geographic Information Systems and completed in 2015. Aprea adds: "We could also recreate 1960s Switzerland using augmented reality, giving viewers the chance to travel back in time through the stories and facts provided by contributors."

For the deputy curator, this pilot project will encourage people to view archives as a living depository of knowledge rather than a simple database. "I really believe that intelligent digitization and an open-source approach, guided by a defined goal, is the future of archives. At the ACM, we think we can achieve that by working together with other Swiss organizations."

So where's Google?

So far, around 1,200 of the 35,000 archival photos in the Perrochet Collection have been uploaded to Smapshot. They are mainly aerial views of the lower Valais region. Since Smapshot went live, 40% of those photos have been geotagged by volunteers. The ACM would eventually like to see the entire Perrochet Collection imported into the website's virtual globe.

But Produit is thinking bigger: "I'm surprised that a company like Google doesn't offer this type of service with Google Maps and Google Earth, you know, a feature for adding scanned archival photos to Google's maps, the same way Smapshot does."
With the support of the Austrian Science Fund FWF, an international group of researchers is investigating to what extent the forest floor serves as a carbon sink and how bacteria and fungi interact in this context. The researchers have found deadwood to be populated by a great diversity of life.

"The wealth of microorganisms we found in deadwood was astounding", says the microbiologist Judith Ascher-Jenull. It has long been known that soil contains a great amount of such microorganisms. When it comes to deadwood slowly decomposing on forest soil, researchers had previously assumed that its decay was mainly driven by fungi.

The results of the FWF-funded project "Climate-driven Degradation-Dynamics of Deadwood in Alpine Soils" suggest otherwise. Actually, there seems to be a synergetic interaction between fungi, bacteria and archaea. "This research outcome lays the foundation for future studies on the interaction between fungi and bacteria in deadwood and their impact on the soil carbon balance and, thus, the productivity of forests", explains the principal investigator Heribert Insam from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Innsbruck.

Investigating microbial communities

It is well known that forests play an important carbon sink role and thus occupy an eminent position in the context of global climate change. Carbon is not only stored by trees, but also by the forest floor. Many aspects of the carbon cycle are, however, still largely obscure.

"We want to understand the system", notes Insam. Why this is important is clear: "Forests are part of the global carbon pools which can be either bound in the soil or in biomass or out there in the atmosphere. The question that arises is how does climate change impact the decay of wood", the microbiologist elucidates further.

In order to pursue this issue, the team from Innsbruck co-operated with geologists, dendrochronologists (experts determining the age of wood) and modelling experts in the context of the international DecAlp project (www.decalp.org/) at Val di Rabbi in the Italian Trentino province. There, the researchers investigated the structure and function of microbial communities along selected altitudinal climosequences at ten study sites, both north- and south-facing, at altitudes between 1,200 and 1,400 meters above sea level. Insam and his group, consisting of Judith Ascher-Jenull, Maria Gomez-Brandon and Tommaso Bardelli, employed state-of-the-art techniques and instruments. "Deadwood research has been an issue for decades, probing what happens in and under the wood. But only the advent of molecular methods enabling us to gather data on the microbiota made it possible now to characterise bacterial processes", notes Insam.

Temperature as a driving factor

"The assumption was", Ascher-Jenull goes on to explain, "that fungi had a priori an advantage when it comes to wood decay. We have now been able to demonstrate that nitrogen-fixing bacteria are active in deadwood and feed nitrogen to the fungi." This has an immediate impact on the decaying of the wood and the storage of carbon. The fungi are driven, as it were, to top performance through the boost from the bacteria.

"We were also able to demonstrate", Insam continues, "that decay is faster on north-facing than on south-facing slopes." A surprising result which shows that humidity is more important than temperature. And what does that mean with respect to climate change? Will higher temperatures with the associated lesser availability of water lead to slower decay and less carbon being stored in the soil? "Our study is just one piece in a jigsaw puzzle", cautions Insam. The trial is now being pursued in the Apennine region as well, where there are different trees  beeches rather than larch trees  and a different climate.

More global conclusions will be possible only on the basis of a meta-study including the results from Val di Rabbi, the Apennines and other research projects.

For the time being the project has furnished the insight that deadwood in a forest is not merely essential for insect life, but probably plays a much more vital role in the composition of forest floors and their functioning as carbon sinks.  Which is the reason why it should be allowed to remain in the forest.

More information: Bardelli, T., Gomez-Brandon, M., Ascher-Jenull, J., Fornasier, F., Arfaioli, P., Francioli, D., Egli, M., Sartori, G., Insam, H., Pietramellara, G.: Effects of slope exposure on soil physico-chemical and microbiological properties along an altitudinal climosequence in the Italian Alps. Science of The Total Environment 575, 10411055, 2017. media.wix.com/ugd/9f6c39_f4983  862efdd963c3cd99.pdf Gomez-Brandon, M., Ascher-Jenull, J., Bardelli, T., Fornasier, F., Sartori, G., Pietramellara, G., Arfaioli, P., Egli, M., Beylich, A., Insam, H., Graefe, U.: Ground cover and slope exposure effects shape distribution of micro- and mesobiota in forest soils. Under revision in Ecological Indicators, 2017 Gomez-Brandon, M., Ascher-Jenull, J., Bardelli, T., Fornasier, F., Fravolini, G., Arfaioli, P., Ceccherini, M.T., Pietramellara, G., Lamorski, K., Sawinski, C., Bertoldi, D., Egli, M., Cherubini, P., Insam, H.: Physico-chemical and microbiological evidence of exposure effects on Picea abies  coarse woody debris at different stages of decay. Forest Ecology and Management 391, 376-389, 2017. www.sciencedirect.com/science/  ii/S0378112716312063 Longa, C.M.O., Ascher-Jenull, J., Gomez-Brandon, M., Bardelli, T., Pietramellara, G., Egli, M., Sartori, G., Insam, H.: Culturable fungi associated with wood decay in subalpine forest soils. Under revision in Fungal Ecology, 2017 Journal information: Science of the Total Environment , Forest Ecology and Management
A fire salamander infected with the Bsal fungus. It died the day after this photo was taken. Credit: Ghent University

Scientists have identified the genes of a deadly fungus that is decimating salamander and newt populations in Northern Europe.

Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), dubbed the 'amphibian plague', is a highly infectious chytrid fungus that affects many species of salamanders and newts, literally digesting their skin, which quickly leads to death. Since its discovery in 2013, very little has been found about how the fungus causes disease.

Now, researchers from Imperial College London, Ghent University, and the Broad Institute, have sequenced and identified the genes responsible for Bsal from an infected salamander. The authors say the findings, published last week in the journal Nature Communications, could ultimately help conservation efforts and provide drug targets in the future to help curb the disease.

Dr Rhys Farrer, co-author from Imperial's School of Public Health, said: "Until now, no one knew the exact mechanisms Bsal uses to cause disease. Our findings mean that policy makers and conservationists are now equipped with more knowledge on how best to curb this amphibian plague."

Dr Rhys Farrer and co-author Professor An Martel from Ghent University sequenced the genes from a salamander that had died from Bsal, and compared the genes with those of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a closely related deadly fungus that affects not just salamanders and newts, but all amphibians. Bd has caused more extinction events than any other infectious disease known to science.

The fire salamander and great crested newt (pictured) are among the species that rapidly die once infected. Credit: Imperial College London

The researchers in this study found that, like Bd, Bsal is equipped with a range of genes for infecting and causing disease in amphibians. They found most genes were found in both species, but some genes were uniquely found in either Bd or Bsal. Therefore, the researchers hope that by comparing the genes in common between the two fungus types, they can gain insight of how Bsal works.

One gene category that Bsal and Bd had in common were genes for metalloproteases, which are enzymes that digest amphibian skin so the patches can be colonised by the fungus. However, they were present in vastly different quantities in each type of fungus. This might explain the differences and similarities in the way each fungus type infects amphibians.

For example, Bsal had three times the amount of genes for metalloproteases, which are enzymes that digest amphibian skin so the resulting patches can be colonised by the fungus. This likely explains why skin ulceration is a major symptom of Bsal, but not so much in Bd.

The researchers also found that the newly identified fungal genes are highly 'switched on' during infection of salamanders, but recognise that more work is needed to definitely categorise them as harmful or non-harmful. Unlike Bd, Bsal also appeared to suppress salamanders' immune systems, suggesting that this is a mechanism through which Bsal colonises its hosts.

The fire salamander in its natural habitat. Credit: Imperial College London

Dr Farrer said: "The genes we have sequenced are from only one infected salamander, and as such, there could be variation in the population of salamanders and Bsal that affects their interactions. Furthermore, no drug has currently been identified to target the genes we found, or the proteins they help create. We hope to eventually know enough about how Bsal infects their hosts to be able to target and treat those areas."

Bsal was first discovered in 2013 by scientists from Imperial College London and Ghent University who were investigating a massive drop in numbers of fire salamanders in the Netherlands. The disease appears to have originated from Asia and is now spreading through Europe. Last year, the US government banned the import of salamanders to reduce the threat posed by Bsal, where it hasn't yet been detected.

Dr Farrer added: "We are pleased to have finally found some clues about this devastating and rapidly emerging plague."

The next step for the researchers will be to sequence genes from more infected salamanders to build a bigger picture of the genes.

More information: Rhys A. Farrer et al. Genomic innovations linked to infection strategies across emerging pathogenic chytrid fungi, Nature Communications (2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14742 Journal information: Nature Communications
The entire body of Asteronyx loveni as seen with micro-computed tomography (CT). Credit: Masanori Okanishi

Not only have scientists from Japan performed the first non-destructive morphological observations on the Fleshy brittle star, Asteronyx loveni, using micro X-ray tomography, but they also published their research as the first study supported via crowdfunding in the Asian country.

The team leader, Dr. Masanori Okanishi, Ibaraki University, managed to raise part of the funds via Japan's pioneering crowd-funding platform academist. The study by Dr. Masanori Okanishi, Dr. Toshihiko Fujita, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba, Yu Maekawa and Dr. Takenori Sasaki, University of Tokyo, is now openly available in the open access journal ZooKeys.

While taxonomy is generally considered as "minor" and "basic" discipline within biology, it could be extremely strenuous for taxonomists to apply for and receive funding. Thus, Dr. Okanishi jumped to the conclusion that his planned study might have a go via crowdfunding instead.

Dr. Okanishi approached academist in April 2014, when he was a Postdoctoral researcher at Kyoto University. Titled "Taxonomy of bathyal euryalid ophiuroids", it was not long before his research project successfully raised 634,500 JPY (ca. 5,600$).

Having already stumbled across several undescribed species of the brittle star genus Asteronyx, the scientists directed the raised funds towards the genetic and morphological analysis of Asteronyx loveni.

As suggested by its common name, the fleshy brittle star (Asteronyx loveni) is covered by thick skin, making it particularly difficult for scientists to observe the body in detail without dissolving the skin. However, modern computed tomography with micrometer resolution allowed for the 3D images of skeletal ossicles and soft tissues to be constructed with no physical intervention whatsoever.

"The present case indicates that crowdfunding will increase the chances to finance the funds for researchers in those disciplines and activate the research area," conclude the authors.

The newly discovered brittle star species are yet to be published.

More information: Massanori Okanishi et al, Non-destructive morphological observations of the fleshy brittle star, Asteronyx loveni using micro-computed tomography (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea, Euryalida), ZooKeys (2017). DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.663.11413 Journal information: ZooKeys
Using around 250 million measurements taken by ESAs CryoSat mission between 2010 and 2016, scientists at the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling have generated a unique 3D view of Antarctica. Credit: CPOM

Around 250 million measurements taken by ESA's CryoSat over the last six years have been used to create a unique 3-D view of Antarctica, offering a snapshot of the undulating surface of this vast ice sheet.

CryoSat's radar altimeter detects tiny variations in the height of the ice across the entire continent, including on the steeper continental margins where the vast majority of ice losses occur.

Importantly, the satellite's orbit takes it to latitudes within 200 km of the north and south poles  closer than other Earth observation satellites.

Naturally, the mission is also used to map changes in the thickness of ice floating in the polar oceans, which is particularly important for the Arctic.

This new 'digital elevation model' was revealed at this week's gathering of CryoSat scientists in Banff, Canada.

Tom Slater, researcher at the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM), said, "We used around 250 million measurements taken by CryoSat between 2010 and 2016 to create the most comprehensive picture of Antarctic ice elevation currently available."

It offers wide range of applications  showing the surface of Antarctica in such detail means it can be used in anything from planning fieldwork to modelling the ice sheet.

Using around 250 million measurements taken by ESAs CryoSat mission between 2010 and 2016, scientists at the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling have created the most comprehensive picture to date of the height of the Antarctic ice sheet. With a resolution of 2 km, it provides an elevation measurement for 91% of the total ice on land and 97% of Antarcticas floating ice shelves. Credit: CPOM

It also allows scientists to distinguish between changes in topography and ice motion when working with other satellite measurements, such as those used to calculate the balance between how much the ice sheet is gaining by accumulating snow and losing through melting and creating icebergs.

The model will soon be freely available via the CPOM portal, which already provides information on sea-ice volume and thickness, ice velocity and, shortly, ice sheets. In the meantime, however, the model can be downloaded here.

CPOM Director Andrew Shepherd added, "We want the digital elevation model to be accessible to anyone who uses ice-sheet surface topography measurements in their work.

"This should benefit not only studies of the Antarctic ice sheet, but also projections of future sea-level rise."

ESA's CryoSat mission manager, Tommaso Parrinello, said, "We are hearing some great results from our mission at the meeting here in Banff.

ESAs Earth Explorer CryoSat mission is dedicated to precise monitoring of changes in the thickness of marine ice floating in the polar oceans and variations in the thickness of the vast ice sheets that blanket Greenland and Antarctica. Credit: ESA/AOES Medialab

"It's now widely recognised that dwindling polar ice is one of the first casualties of climate change, but it's important to provide the hard facts  and this we can do with CryoSat.

"It's equally important to make sure the satellite's data are correct and so we have a huge international field campaign just started in the Arctic to take 'ground truth' measurements from aircraft and on the ice to compare with those of CryoSat. It's a tough environment  so we wish them lots of luck."
The location and energy potential, in terawatt hours, of eastern and southern African renewable resources (wind, solar photovoltaic and concentrating solar power). Credit: UC Berkeley

As Africa gears up for a tripling of electricity demand by 2030, a new Berkeley study maps out a viable strategy for developing wind and solar power while simultaneously reducing the continent's reliance on fossil fuels and lowering power plant construction costs.

Using resource mapping tools, a University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory team assessed the potential for large solar and wind farms in 21 countries in the southern and eastern African power pools, which includes more than half of Africa's population, stretching from Libya and Egypt in the north and along the eastern coast to South Africa.

They concluded that with the right strategy for placing solar and wind farms, and with international sharing of power, most African nations could lower the number of conventional power plants - fossil fuel and hydroelectric - they need to build, thereby reducing their infrastructure costs by perhaps billions of dollars.

"The big surprising find is that the wind and solar resources in Africa are absolutely gigantic, and something you could tap into for relatively low cost," said senior author Duncan Callaway, a UC Berkeley associate professor of energy and resources and a faculty scientist at Bekeley Lab. "But we need to be thinking now about strategies for fostering international collaboration to tap into the resource in a way that is going to maximize its potential while minimizing its impact."

The main issue, Callaway says, is that energy-generating resources are not spread equally thoughout Africa. Hydroelectric power is the main power source for one-third of African nations, but it is not available in all countries, and climate change makes it an uncertain resource because of more frequent droughts. The best areas for wind and solar are not equitably distributed either, and many argue that wind and solar are too erratic and undependable.

Based on the team's analysis, however, choosing wind sites to match the timing of wind generation with electricity demand is less costly overall than choosing sites with the greatest wind energy production. Assuming adequate transmission lines, strategies that take into account the timing of wind generation result in a more even distribution of wind capacity across countries than those that maximize energy production.

Importantly, the researchers say, both energy trade and siting to match generation with demand reduces the system costs of developing wind sites that are low impact, that is, closer to existing transmission lines, closer to areas where electricity would be consumed and in areas with preexisting human activity as opposed to pristine areas.

"If you take the strategy of siting all of these systems such that their total production correlates well with electricity demand, then you save hundreds of millions to billions of dollars per year versus the cost of electricity infrastructure dominated by coal-fired plants or hydro," Callaway said. "You also get a more equitable distribution of generation sources across these countries."

"Together, international energy trade and strategic siting can enable African countries to pursue 'no-regrets' wind and solar potential that can compete with conventional generation technologies like coal and hydropower," emphasized UC Berkeley graduate student Grace Wu, who conducted the study with fellow graduate student Ranjit Deshmukh. Wu and Deshmukh are the lead authors of the study.

The study will appear online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Charting Africa's energy future

The team set out to tackle a key question for electricity planners in Africa and the international development community, which helps fund such projects: How should these countries allocate their precious and limited investment dollars to most effectively address electricity and climate challenges in the coming decades? The fear, Callaway said, is that reliance on traditional hydro and fossil fuel - mostly coal - power plants will push out more environmentally friendly renewable sources in the future.

Wu and Deshmukh gathered previously unavailable information on the annual solar and wind resources in 21 countries in eastern and southern Africa, and hourly estimates of wind speeds for nine countries south of the Sahara Desert.

They developed an energy resource mapping framework, which they call Multi-criteria Analysis for Planning Renewable Energy, or MapRE, to identify and characterize potential wind and solar projects. They then modeled various scenarios for siting wind power and examined additional system costs from hydro and fossil fuels.

The team concluded that even after excluding solar and wind farms from areas that are too remote or too close to sensitive environmental or cultural siteswhat they term "no-regret" sites - there is more than enough land in this part of Africa to produce renewable power to meet the rising demand, if fossil fuel and/or hydroelectric power are in the mix to even out the load. Nevertheless, choosing only the most productive sites for development - the windiest and sunniest - would leave some countries with little low-cost local renewable energy generation.

If, however, countries can agree to share power and build the transmission lines to make that happen, all countries could develop sites that are low-cost and accessible, and have low environmental impact, while reducing the number of new hydro or fossil fuel plants that need to be built.

Callaway says that a few countries already share power, such as South Africa with Mozambique and Zimbabwe, but that more countries will need to broker the agreements and build the transmission lines to allow this. International transmission lines are being planned, but primarily to share hydropower resources located in a handful of countries. These transmission plans need to incorporate sharing of wind and solar in order to help them be competitive generation technologies in Africa, he said.

Provided by University of California - Berkeley
Estonian e-Residency.

Estonia is a small country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe with a population of 1.3 million and a GDP of US $23 billion, roughly 10% of Apple's annual earnings.

Since its independence from Russia in 1991, Estonia has been rapidly implementing a digital economy. It established online voting in 2007, has provided many government services online, has medical records and prescriptions online and has a fibre broadband network that gives it average speeds similar to those of Korea.

Perhaps the most radical move by the Estonian Government was to introduce an e-Residency program in 2014 which would allow anyone from around the world to become a virtual citizen and start, and run, a business from Estonia.

Applying for e-Residency is simply a matter of filling out an online form, uploading a copy of a passport and a photo, and paying a 100 Euro fee. The application process takes about 4 weeks, during which time a police background check is run. Once approved, it is necessary to turn up at a collection point, usually an Estonian embassy, and collect a smart card that is loaded with a digital certificate representing an e-Resident's digital identity.

Every e-Resident is given an official email address @eesti.ee and is then able to use one of the many services to set up a company and bank account in the country, although the bank requires the person opening the account to visit Estonia at least once to open the account. One of the benefits of establishing a company in Estonia is that there is no corporate tax on money that is left within the company.

Since its inception, there has been 17,000 e-Residencies approved with the majority originating in Finland, Russia and the USA. 1,380 new companies have been established by e-Residents, mostly in the technology area but covering a range of other activities. There has been a surge in interest from the UK since the vote to leave the EU with an Estonian e-Residency seen as one way of retaining the ability to operate within the economic zone.

The aim is to have 10 million e-Residents by 2025 and so there is still a way to go to reach that number but the concept has created a constant stream of visitors from other countries trying to learn about the programme.

The idea of a "cloud country" that follows the same principles of cloud computing or cloud data storage is one that resonates with all sorts of possibilities. Firstly, it acknowledges that as far as our lives on the Internet are concerned, the idea of nationality has less meaning as we are able to interact with any one, at any time, with almost any service, around the globe. Physical restrictions that are imposed by geography, like licensing of content for example, can be circumvented through the use of VPNs connecting through to any country at will.

Once a business is online, it can operate globally with relative ease, handling different currencies and different tax requirements transparently. Even language is no longer a barrier with services like Google Translate becoming increasingly fluent.

The Internet and social networks have created and facilitated global communities that are organised by common interests and ideals rather than the main driver of national identity: physical location.

Like Amazon has done with its computing technology, Estonia has put its government services online and made spare capacity available for others outside its country. It has stopped short of extending the benefits and services offered to e-Residents but that is really only a matter of time as e-Residents contribute increasing amounts of revenue to the country. e-Residency doesn't give the holder any additional rights to enter the country or the EU, but considering that travel is sometimes a necessity for business at least, it makes sense to provide e-Residents with some form of access to travel freely within the European Union.

In researching this article, I applied for an Estonian e-Residency whilst in Helsinki at the Slush startup festival in November, 2016. Once accepted, to pick up the identity card, I had to travel to the Estonian Embassy in Canberra, Australia from Perth where I live. Walking through Australian bush on a hot day was a far cry from the subzero temperatures of Helsinki. Having returned home, e-Residency has now thankfully moved online.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Oxford researchers to analyse video footage of children learning about quadratic equations. Credit: Shutterstock images

Oxford researchers are taking part in an international study to film the teaching of quadratic equations for secondary school pupils. The hope is that lessons will be learned on how to bring out the best in pupils learning about mathematics.

Over the next few months, video cameras will appear in secondary schools across England that have chosen to take part in an international study to observe maths lessons focused on quadratic equations. Researchers from the University of Oxford have joined forces with the Education Development Trust to undertake the study in England, which will involve up to 85 schools from different parts of the country. The research team has to enlist 85 teachers and around 1,200 pupils, so they can analyse video footage of different teaching practices and pupils' responses to assess what works best. Schools in Oxfordshire will be among those approached about taking part in the pilot.

The research project is led by Education Development Trust, working with Dr Jenni Ingram and Professor Pam Sammons from the Department of Education at the University of Oxford. They will analyse how pupils' attitudes toward quadratic equations are linked with their progress and results, and observe how teachers' attitudes and methods affect outcomes.

Dr Ingram said: "We believe this study will improve our understanding of the relationships between a range of teaching practices and various student outcomes, including their enjoyment of mathematics, mathematical knowledge and engagement with learning."

Professor Sammons added: "The findings will provide important new evidence to inform policy and support teachers' classroom practice and professional development."

England is one of nine countries taking part in the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) Video Study. The pilot, run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), will also study the teaching of mathematics across Japan, Chile, Mexico, Columbia, Spain, USA, China and Germany, with a total of 750 maths teachers internationally taking part. Teaching professionals chose the theme of the research study after being contacted by TALIS. A dedicated videographer will work with schools in England that opt to take part, and the project will only film children with the consent of parents and guardians involved.

Anna Riggall, head of research at Education Development Trust, commented: "Teachers in some of the most celebrated education systems routinely watch other teachers to learn more about their own teaching. We are not just talking about classroom observation for performance management or an individual teacher's professional development, but instead videoing and analysing carefully the elements of teaching that take place. By doing this in a systemic way, we can learn a great deal about what teachers do and how pupils respond and this will all be shared to allow others to learn."

Videographer Kim Morrison, from Education Development Trust's London Connected Learning Centre, says schools are increasingly using digital technologies to help improve teaching methods: "Classroom video observation gives teachers the opportunity to take control of their own professional development, enabling them to try out new strategies and interventions. The technique provides flexibility, allowing teachers to reflect on their success and areas for development alone, or with colleagues at a convenient time. As more and more professionals use online training programmes to develop their skills, video observation gives teachers an exciting opportunity to collaborate and share best practice with colleagues from across the globe."

The data will be gathered systematically and then coded so particular individuals or schools will not be identified from the results. Unlike the OECD PISA global education survey, the TALIS study will not rank different countries according to pupil performance. In 2013, TALIS carried out another study exploring the effectiveness of different teaching practices more broadly.
Graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of graphite, consists of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice. Credit: OliveTree/Shutterstock

With graphene, Rutgers researchers have discovered a powerful way to cool tiny chips  key components of electronic devices with billions of transistors apiece.

"You can fit graphene, a very thin, two-dimensional material that can be miniaturized, to cool a hot spot that creates heating problems in your chip, said Eva Y. Andrei, Board of Governors professor of physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. "This solution doesn't have moving parts and it's quite efficient for cooling."

The shrinking of electronic components and the excessive heat generated by their increasing power has heightened the need for chip-cooling solutions, according to a Rutgers-led study published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Using graphene combined with a boron nitride crystal substrate, the researchers demonstrated a more powerful and efficient cooling mechanism.

"We've achieved a power factor that is about two times higher than in previous thermoelectric coolers," said Andrei, who works in the School of Arts and Sciences.

The power factor refers to the effectiveness of active cooling. That's when an electrical current carries heat away, as shown in this study, while passive cooling is when heat diffuses naturally.

Graphene has major upsides. It's a one-atom-thick layer of graphite, which is the flaky stuff inside a pencil. The thinnest flakes, graphene, consist of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice that looks like chicken wire, Andrei said. It conducts electricity better than copper, is 100 times stronger than steel and quickly diffuses heat.

The graphene is placed on devices made of boron nitride, which is extremely flat and smooth as a skating rink, she said. Silicon dioxide  the traditional base for chips  hinders performance because it scatters electrons that can carry heat away.

In a tiny computer or smartphone chip, billions of transistors generate lots of heat, and that's a big problem, Andrei said. High temperatures hamper the performance of transistors  electronic devices that control the flow of power and can amplify signals  so they need cooling.

Current methods include little fans in computers, but the fans are becoming less efficient and break down, she said. Water is also used for cooling, but that bulky method is complicated and prone to leaks that can fry computers.

"In a refrigerator, you have compression that does the cooling and you circulate a liquid," Andrei said. "But this involves moving parts and one method of cooling without moving parts is called thermoelectric cooling."

Think of thermoelectric cooling in terms of the water in a bathtub. If the tub has hot water and you turn on the cold water, it takes a long time for the cold water below the faucet to diffuse in the tub. This is passive cooling because molecules slowly diffuse in bathwater and become diluted, Andrei said. But if you use your hands to push the water from the cold end to the hot, the cooling process  also known as convection or active cooling  will be much faster.

The same process takes place in computer and smartphone chips, she said. You can connect a piece of wire, such as copper, to a hot chip and heat is carried away passively, just like in a bathtub.

Now imagine a piece of metal with hot and cold ends. The metal's atoms and electrons zip around the hot end and are sluggish at the cold end, Andrei said. Her research team, in effect, applied voltage to the metal, sending a current from the hot end to the cold end. Similar to the case of active cooling in the bathtub example, the current spurred the electrons to carry away the heat much more efficiently than via passive cooling. Graphene is actually superior in both its passive and active cooling capability. The combination of the two makes graphene an excellent cooler.

"The electronics industry is moving towards this kind of cooling," Andrei said. "There's a very big research push to incorporate these kinds of coolers. There is a good chance that the graphene cooler is going to win out. Other materials out there are much more expensive, they're not as thin and they don't have such a high power factor."

The study's lead author is Junxi Duan, a Rutgers physics post-doctoral fellow. Other authors include Xiaoming Wang, a Rutgers mechanical engineering post-doctoral fellow; Xinyuan Lai, a Rutgers physics undergraduate student; Guohong Li, a Rutgers physics research associate; Kenji Watanabe and Takashi Taniguchi of the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Japan; Mona Zebarjadi, a former Rutgers mechanical engineering professor who is now at the University of Virginia; and Andrei. Zebarjadi conducted a previous study on electronic cooling using thermoelectric devices.
Titan image taken by Cassini on Oct. 7, 2013. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

As you probably know, NASA recently announced plans to send a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa. If all goes well, the Europa Clipper will blast off for the world in the 2020s, and orbit the icy moon to discover all its secrets.

And that's great and all, I like Europa just fine. But you know where I'd really like us to go next? Titan.

Titan, as you probably know, is the largest moon orbiting Saturn. In fact, it's the second largest moon in the solar system after Jupiter's Ganymede. It measures 5,190 kilometers across, almost half the diameter of the Earth. This place is big.

It orbits Saturn every 15 hours and 22 days, and like many large moons in the solar system, it's tidally locked to its planet, always showing Saturn one side.

Before NASA's Voyager spacecraft arrived in 1980, astronomers actually thought that Titan was the biggest moon in the solar system. But Voyager showed that it actually has a thick atmosphere, that extends well into space, making the true size of the moon hard to judge.

This atmosphere is one of the most interesting features of Titan. In fact, it's the only moon in the entire solar system with a significant atmosphere. If you could stand on the surface, you would experience about 1.45 times the atmospheric pressure on Earth. In other words, you wouldn't need a pressure suit to wander around the surface of Titan.

You would, however, need a coat. Titan is incredibly cold, with an average temperature of almost -180 Celsius. For you Fahrenheit people that's -292 F. The coldest ground temperature ever measured on Earth is almost -90 C, so way way colder.

You would also need some way to breathe, since Titan's atmosphere is almost entirely nitrogen, with trace amounts of methane and hydrogen. It's thick and poisonous, but not murderous, like Venus.

Titan has only been explored a couple of times, and we've actually only landed on it once.

The first spacecraft to visit Titan was NASA's Pioneer 11, which flew past Saturn and its moons in 1979. This flyby was followed by NASA's Voyager 1 in 1980 and then Voyager 2 in 1981. Voyager 1 was given a special trajectory that would take it as close as possible to Titan to give us a close up view of the world.

Voyager was able to measure its atmosphere, and helped scientists calculate Titan's size and mass. It also got a hint of darker regions which would later turn out to be oceans of liquid hydrocarbons.

Saturns moon Titan lies under a thick blanket of orange haze in this Voyager 1 picture. Credit: NASA

The true age of Titan exploration began with NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which arrived at Saturn on July 4, 2004. Cassini made its first flyby of Titan on October 26, 2004, getting to within 1,200 kilometers or 750 miles of the planet. But this was just the beginning. By the end of its mission later this year, Cassini will have made 125 flybys of Titan, mapping the world in incredible detail.

Cassini saw that Titan actually has a very complicated hydrological system, but instead of liquid water, it has weather of hydrocarbons. The skies are dotted with methane clouds, which can rain and fill oceans of nearly pure methane.

And we know all about this because of Cassini's Huygen's lander, which detached from the spacecraft and landed on the surface of Titan on January 14, 2005. Here's an amazing timelapse that shows the view from Huygens as it passed down through the atmosphere of Titan, and landed on its surface.

Huygens landed on a flat plain, surrounded by "rocks", frozen globules of water ice. This was lucky, but the probe was also built to float if it happened to land on liquid instead.

It lasted for about 90 minutes on the surface of Titan, sending data back to Earth before it went dark, wrapping up the most distant landing humanity has ever accomplished in the solar system.

Although we know quite a bit about Titan, there are still so many mysteries. The first big one is the cycle of liquid. Across Titan there are these vast oceans of liquid methane, which evaporate to create methane clouds. These rain, creating mists and even rivers.

Is it volcanic? There are regions of Titan that definitely look like there have been volcanoes recently. Maybe they're cryovolcanoes, where the tidal interactions with Saturn cause water to well up from beneath crust and erupt onto the surface.

Is there life there? This is perhaps the most intriguing possibility of all. The methane rich system has the precursor chemicals that life on Earth probably used to get started billions of years ago. There's probably heated regions beneath the surface and liquid water which could sustain life. But there could also be life as we don't understand it, using methane and ammonia as a solvent instead of water.

To get a better answer to these questions, we've got to return to Titan. We've got to land, rove around, sail the oceans and swim beneath their waves.

Now you know all about this history of the exploration of Titan. It's time to look at serious ideas for returning to Titan and exploring it again, especially its oceans.

The spacecraft, balloon, and lander of the Titan Saturn System Mission. Credit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Planetary scientists have been excited about the exploration of Titan for a while now, and a few preliminary proposals have been suggested, to study the moon from the air, the land, and the seas.

First up, there's the Titan Saturn System Mission, a mission proposed in 2009, for a late 2020s arrival at Titan. This spacecraft would consist of a lander and a balloon that would float about in the atmosphere, and study the world from above. Over the course of its mission, the balloon would circumnavigate Titan once from an altitude of 10km, taking incredibly high resolution images. The lander would touch down in one of Titan's oceans and float about on top of the liquid methane, sampling its chemicals.

As we stand right now, this mission is in the preliminary stages, and may never launch.

In 2012, Dr. Jason Barnes and his team from the University of Idaho proposed sending a robotic aircraft to Titan, which would fly around in the atmosphere photographing its surface. Titan is actually one of the best places in the entire solar system to fly an airplane. It has a thicker atmosphere and lower gravity, and unlike the balloon concept, an airplane is free to go wherever it needs powered by a radioactive thermal generator.

Although the mission would only cost about $750 million or so, NASA hasn't pushed it beyond the conceptual stage yet.

The Aerial Vehicle for In-situ and Airborne Titan Reconnaissance (AVIATR) concept for an aerial explorer for Titan. Credit: Mike Malaska

An even cooler plan would put a boat down in one of Titan's oceans. In 2012, a team of Spanish engineers presented their idea for how a Titan boat would work, using propellers to put-put about across Titan's seas. They called their mission the Titan Lake In-Situ Sampling Propelled Explorer, or TALISE.

Propellers are fine, but it turns out you could even have a sailboat on Titan. The methane seas have much less density and viscosity than water, which means that you'd only experience about 26% the friction of Earth. Cassini measured windspeeds of about 3.3 m/s across Titan, which half the average windspeed of Earth. But this would be plenty of wind to power a sail when you consider Titan's thicker atmosphere.

And here's my favorite idea. A submarine. This 6-meter vessel would float on Titan's Kraken Mare sea, studying the chemistry of the oceans, measuring currents and tides, and mapping out the sea floor.

On the left is TALISE (Titan Lake In-situ Sampling Propelled Explorer), the ESA proposal. This would have its own propulsion, in the form of paddlewheels. Credit: bisbos.com

It would be capable of diving down beneath the waves for periods, studying interesting regions up close, and then returning to the surface to communicate its findings back to Earth. This mission is in the conceptual stage right now, but it was recently chosen by NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts Group for further study. If all goes well, the submarine would travel to Titan by 2038 when there's a good planetary alignment.

Okay? Are you convinced? Let's go back to Titan. Let's explore it from the air, crawl around on the surface and dive beneath its waves. It's one of the most interesting places in the entire solar system, and we've only scratched the surface.

If I've done my job right, you're as excited about a mission to Titan as I am. Let's go back, let's sail and submarine around that place. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Guwahati, Mar 27 (IBNS) : Angeekar Films on Monday launched the official teaser of the first full-length Assamese feature film on witch hunting problem Aei Maatite.



At a sober function held at Guwahati Press Club, the films Director Dr Sitanath Lahkar, Editor Dr A Nagraj and Sound Designer-cum-Mixer Devabrot Chaliha released the Official Teaser.



The official teaser has been edited by Hiranya Kalita, who is a faculty of Dr Bhupen Hazarika Regional Government Film and Television Institute.

The length of the video clip, which gives the first motion view of the film, is one minute and three seconds.

The action-drama film has some very critical scenes, shooting of which were done with utmost care and precision. Such type of rustic action scenes are hardly seen in Assamese films. The film cinematically showcases some of the inhuman killings in the name of witch hunting.

Aei Maatite is directed by independent filmmaker and eminent theatre personality Dr Sitanath Lahkar and it is an adaptation of his famous stage play Tamasaa on the burning problem of witch hunting.



The Story, Screenplay, Dialogues and Lyrics have also been penned by Dr Lahkar, a retired Principal of Cotton College.



It is indeed a matter of immense joy to launch the Official Teaser for the movie lovers. Through this video clip, the public will get the first glimpse of the film. I sincerely hope that movie enthusiasts will appreciate this promotional clip, which will increase their inquisitiveness about Aei Maatite manifold, Dr Lahkar said after releasing the Teaser.

An experienced Editor of a number of documentary films Dr A Nagraj, who is from Hyderabad, worked on the films various aspects for almost three months.

Aei Maatite is his first Assamese feature film and he took extra care in treating the subject matter considering its seriousness.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Nagraj said that it has been a good experience for me, especially because it is on such an important social problem. Looking into the good speed of the film, we took extra care in treating some elements. We wanted to portray the society in the best possible way, but at the same time we were conscious that the film does well commercially as well.

Aei Maatites sound is Designed and Mixed by Devabrot Chaliha, a well-known face in Bollywood.

For over two months, he did intensive research and added attractive sound flavours to the film. The entire sound design and re-recording mixing were done in Mumbai.

Commenting on his experience, Chaliha said that at the time of working on the film, we had to be very sensitive and careful while dealing with the sound as the theme of the film is quite heart touching. We have tried our best to create the real feel of the places and surroundings so that unfortunate incidents of witch hunting get expressed in realistic way. We hope, the people will surely love the sound quality of Aei Maatite.

Angeekar Films received the clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board) for Aei Maatite with a U/A certificate without any cut or modification.

Aei Maatite has a very strong message against witchcraft, upholding the value of scientific temperament and human life. The film mainly talks about the witch hunting problem in Assam and how a section of people are using witchcraft for their own interest. Witchcraft has no reason at all and is shrouded with darkness of superstition, which is to be overcome by the society  this is the say of the film.


Shot from In My Shoes. Credit: Cesar Hidalgo

(Phys.org)"What if the Kardashians were physicists?" asks Cesar Hidalgo, an associate professor at MIT and director of the Collective Learning group at the MIT Media Lab.

Fortunately they're not, but that odd-sounding blend might be the best way to imagine Hidalgo's new project: a video series called "In My Shoes" that documents his professional life as a researcher and his personal life as a husband and father of a young daughter.

The final producteight episodes ranging in length from 10 to 20 minutescan be viewed at https://www.inmyshoes.info.

"The goal of the series is to help show younger people considering an academic career what the day-to-day of the life of a scholar is like," he said. "Personally, I think that this would have been very useful to me 20 years ago, when I was considering an academic career but had no role models in Chile."

Hidalgo self-recorded his life over the course of three months in 2016. During that time, he traveled extensivelyfrom Boston to Washington, D.C.; Saudi Arabia; Switzerland; Portland; Monterrey; and Paris.

One of the major projects that Hidalgo was working on at the time was DataUSA, a website that presents all kinds of data (economic, demographic, health, education, housing, etc.) in a visual, rapidly digestible way. It's intended to provide information for policymakers, business owners, students, and job-seekers.

The video series, however, is not intended to inform us of the technical details of such projects. Instead we get an inside look at what's it like to actually be the person developing and sharing these projects, complete with all of the thoughts and concerns that any ordinary person would have. Hidalgo's narration is thoughtful, entertaining, modest, andwhen it comes to what jet lag feels like after 24 hours of travelpainfully sincere. It's a unique and personal perspective of the academic life that breaks down the traditional stereotypesespecially as we learn that even MIT professors find it challenging to dress a two-year-old in the morning.

 2017 Phys.org
NASA has selected a science mission that will untangle the complexities of the interstellar medium, and map out large sections of the plane of our Milky Way galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud. Credit: NASA, ESA, and Hubble Heritage Team

NASA has selected a science mission that will measure emissions from the interstellar medium, which is the cosmic material found between stars. This data will help scientists determine the life cycle of interstellar gas in our Milky Way galaxy, witness the formation and destruction of star-forming clouds, and understand the dynamics and gas flow in the vicinity of the center of our galaxy.

The Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) mission, led by principal investigator of the University of Arizona, Christopher Walker, will fly an Ultralong-Duration Balloon (ULDB) carrying a telescope with carbon, oxygen and nitrogen emission line detectors. This unique combination of data will provide the spectral and spatial resolution information needed for Walker and his team to untangle the complexities of the interstellar medium, and map out large sections of the plane of our Milky Way galaxy and the nearby galaxy known as the Large Magellanic Cloud.

"GUSTO will provide the first complete study of all phases of the stellar life cycle, from the formation of molecular clouds, through star birth and evolution, to the formation of gas clouds and the re-initiation of the cycle," said Paul Hertz, astrophysics division director in the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "NASA has a great history of launching observatories in the Astrophysics Explorers Program with new and unique observational capabilities. GUSTO continues that tradition."

The mission is targeted for launch in 2021 from McMurdo, Antarctica, and is expected to stay in the air between 100 to 170 days, depending on weather conditions. It will cost approximately $40 million, including the balloon launch funding and the cost of post-launch operations and data analysis.

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, is providing the mission operations, and the balloon platform where the instruments are mounted, known as the gondola. The University of Arizona in Tucson will provide the GUSTO telescope and instrument, which will incorporate detector technologies from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Arizona State University in Tempe, and SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research.

NASA's Astrophysics Explorers Program requested proposals for mission of opportunity investigations in September 2014. A panel of NASA and other scientists and engineers reviewed two mission of opportunity concept studies selected from the eight proposals submitted at that time, and NASA has determined that GUSTO has the best potential for excellent science return with a feasible development plan.

More information: For more information on the Explorers Program, visit explorers.gsfc.nasa.gov

Provided by NASA
CEPD polypeptides are switched on in the shoots in response to nitrogen starvation in the roots. These polypeptides then descend into the roots, and activate a nitrate transporter gene. Credit: Nagoya University

Nagoya University researchers discovered the molecular mechanisms underlying the shoot-to-root stage of nitrogen-demand signaling in plants. The team found that genes encoding CEPD polypeptides are switched on in the shoots in response to nitrogen starvation in the roots. These polypeptides then descend into the roots, and activate a nitrate transporter gene only if sufficient nitrate is available in the surrounding soil. These findings have implications for maximizing plant nutrient acquisition and improving agricultural productivity.

Research at Nagoya University uncovers molecular shoot-to-root signal in nitrogen-starved plants, revealing role for mobile plant hormone.

Although not able to actively forage for their food, plants can nevertheless overcome problems relating to nutrient scarcity or varied distribution using a long-distance signaling mechanism. This helps determine their competitive success and productivity. For instance, nitrogen (usually in the form of nitrate) is essential for plant growth, but is often only present as patches in the soil. Nitrogen-starved roots express a mobile plant hormone (CEP) that travels upward to the shoot and eventually triggers compensatory nitrogen uptake by roots in more nitrogen-rich areas. This CEP signal is received by a receptor protein in the leaves, but the molecules involved in the shoot-to-root response signal were unknown.

Nagoya University research has now revealed that phloem-specific polypeptides (chains of amino acids) are activated in response to the CEP signal, and switch on the expression of a nitrate transporter gene only when nitrate is present in the soil immediately surrounding the root. The study was reported in Nature Plants.

To identify the gene(s) switched on when the CEP receptor is activated, researchers screened genetic candidates that were highly upregulated following treatment of the model plant Arabidopsis with CEP.

Two genes matching this description and also regulated by the nitrogen status of the roots were discovered to encode polypeptides that the team named CEPD1 and CEPD2 for CEP downstream 1 and 2, respectively.

The team showed that these polypeptides accumulated in the roots, although the genes encoding them were expressed only in the shoots. This indicated that the polypeptides act as mobile descending shoot-to-root signals.

Plants were then grown with their roots separated into two parts, each receiving different levels of nitrogen, to explore the roles of CEPD1 and CEPD2. "Roots exposed to nitrogen-rich medium showed increased expression of a nitrate transporter gene," co-first author Yuri Ohkubo says. "However, mutant plants in which CEPD1 and CEPD2 genes were switched off showed no such activation of the nitrate transporter."

CEPD polypeptides were detected at similar quantities in both nitrogen-rich and nitrogen-starved roots. However, they only switched on the nitrate transporter gene on the nitrogen-rich side of the plant. "The plant response to a lack of nitrogen therefore depends on the availability of nitrate in the soil surrounding its roots," corresponding author Yoshikatsu Matsubayashi says. "The extent of this nitrate availability ultimately determines if CEPD activates the nitrate transporter gene."

Such a sophisticated signaling system ensures that plants maximize the efficiency at which they obtain nutrients, and could be exploited to improve fertilizer application and enhance plant productivity.

More information: Yuri Ohkubo et al. Shoot-to-root mobile polypeptides involved in systemic regulation of nitrogen acquisition, Nature Plants (2017). DOI: 10.1038/nplants.2017.29 Journal information: Nature Plants
The illustration identifies the high-latitude North Atlantic as a significant CO2 sink (The purple areas are the most efficient sinks, while red ones are sources of CO2 in the modern ocean). The white star shows the location of the studied sediment core. The map was generated using data of Takahashi et al. Credit: M. Ezat

Norwegian Sea acted as CO2 source in the past. It pumped the greenhouse gas into the atmosphere instead of absorbing it, as it does today.

At the same time the pH of the surface waters in these oceans decreased, making them more acidic. Both of these findings imply changes in ocean circulation and primary productivity as a result of natural climate changes of the time. The findings were recently published in Nature Communications.

Oceans changed function

Today, the cold Arctic and Nordic Seas are especially efficient areas for uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere. The oceans are capable of mitigating some of the increase in greenhouse gas release resulting from human activities such as combustion of fossil fuels, by absorbing about 40 percent of the emitted CO2

"Our research shows that areas in Norwegian Sea had changed their function on several occasions through the past 135 000 years: Instead of absorbing CO2 from the air, they released more of the greenhouse gas into it." says first author of the study Mohamed Ezat from Centre of Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate (CAGE), Department of Geosciences at UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

First study of its kind from the Nordic Seas

Ice cores from Antarctica show that the amount of atmospheric CO2 varied in pace with the shifting climate of ice ages and interglacial periods of the past.

"We always thought that oceans played a major role in these shifts, as it is the largest active CO2 reservoir on this time scale. But it has remained unclear how and where in the ocean CO2 was stored and released from," says Ezat.

Ezat and colleagues measured the boron isotopic composition of the fossil shells of near-surface dwelling, single celled organisms called foraminifera. These were collected from a marine sediment core, a record of the environment of the Norwegian sea spanning 135000 years. This period includes two warm interglacial periods, and one long lasting ice age characterised by abrupt climate changes.

Microfossils of single celled organisms record environmental changes of the time in their shells. Credit: Erik Thomsen and Tine Rasmussen.

"We saw that at the end of several of the severe cooling periods in the region, so-called Heinrich events, the ocean became more acidic and later released CO2 into the atmosphere. These episodes of CO2 pumping from the Nordic Seas coincide with times of increase in atmospheric CO2." says Ezat.

Measuring pH through thousands of years

"The variations in boron isotopes can tell us about the development in seawater pH through time and in turn give us information about the CO2 concentration in the seawater. " explains co-author professor Tine L. Rasmussen, also from CAGE.

Doing so, the scientists were able to reconstruct the surface ocean pH and CO2 in the Norwegian Sea in relation to past climate variations, when it was warmer or colder than today. Ezat and colleagues also tried to understand why the air-sea CO2exchange reversed in the Norwegian Sea during these times.

"We found that changes in primary productivity, input of terrestrial organic matter, and deep-water formation in the Nordic Seas, all contributed to the release of CO2 from the ocean," says Rasmussen

Never as acidic as today

The study shows that these seas had lower pH during the episodes of CO2 release. This can however not be compared to the extent of ocean acidification that we see happening today.

"Results of our study actually show that the sea surface pH throughout the last 135 000 years has never been as low as today in our study area. This is not an unexpected result. It is similar to previous studies conducted in other ocean areas. It does however add a body of evidence to the hypothesis that human activity is profoundly affecting the chemistry of our oceans," Ezat says.

Scientists hope that the results will contribute to a better understanding of complex interactions between the ocean and atmosphere.

"In general, the more we learn about past changes in the Earth's climate system, the more accurate we hope we can predict the future," says Ezat.

More information: Mohamed M. Ezat et al. Episodic release of CO2 from the high-latitude North Atlantic Ocean during the last 135 kyr, Nature Communications (2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14498 Journal information: Nature Communications
Unexpected life events ranging from illness to relationship stress can lead to political polarization, pushing moderates toward the spectrum's extremes, according to a recently published study that's breaking new ground on personally-experienced adversity and its effect on political attitudes.

Though a handful of studies have explored the effect of community-wide tragedies on personal beliefs, this current research, which appears in the latest issue of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, looks exclusively at self-reported personal experience, a phenomenon that can produce different responses than what happens in the wake of collective events, such as reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The paper is among the first to take research on uncertainty theory outside of the laboratory in favor of examining personal, real-world situations.

"We're talking about people's experience with adversity broadly construed," says Michael Poulin, an associate professor of psychology at the University at Buffalo and co-author of the study led by Daniel Randles, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto.

"It's the cumulative effect of adversity. These feelings of uncertainly can have us adopting more extreme attitudes as a way of coping with that uncertainty," adds Poulin.

"What we found isn't like a light switch," says Randles. "Most people experience occasional adversity and it doesn't drive them to extreme positions. But repeated events seem to add up, nudging someone closer to their preferred view."

To test their hypothesis, the research team used a representative sample of about 1,600 Americans and asked them to complete surveys toward the end of 2006, 2007 and 2008. The researchers asked participants about their political attitudes and personal adversity experiences to learn if those attitudes changed following these stressors.

There were about 37 negative events in the questionnaire, such as injury, bereavement or assault. The idea was to acquire a big picture of adversity and consider the different situations that could have upset people.

"Our results suggest increased polarization towards both the left and the right, with a slightly greater tilt toward conservative attitudes," says Poulin. "Our surveys were done toward the end of the second George W. Bush administration, so supporting the War on Terror was considered a conservative policy, but I'm not sure in a vacuum that's the right label.

"The polarization piece was much stronger," he says.

Because of that possible limitation, Poulin says future directions might consider a broader sampling of attitudes that aren't necessarily time and situation specific.

"I also think it would be interesting to see this idea applied to a wider swath of political attitudes," says Poulin. "Name a social issue and ask if it works the same way. I'd hypothesize, yes. But we don't know."
Illustrations of (a) two spatially separated identical qubits, (b) two identical qubits in the same space, and (c) two identical qutrits in the same space. Credit: Sciara et al. Nature Scientific Reports

(Phys.org)In a new study, physicists have shown a way to establish real entanglement between two identical particlesa topic that has been disputed until now. The results provide a better understanding of the fundamental nature of entanglement between identical particles and have potential applications in quantum information processing.

One of the many strange features of quantum entanglement is that, if two particles are identical, then they automatically appear to be entangled. In this case, "identical" means that the particles are of the same typefor example, any two photons are considered identical because there is no way to tell any particular photon apart from another.

This type of entanglement, which physicists call "entanglement due to indistinguishability," arises because of the standard way that identical particles are labeled. Although the particles are identical, physicists assign them different labels in order to tell them apart. Because of the way that entanglement is determined, with respect to their labels, identical particles inevitably appear to be entangled.

Although this type of entanglement is different than entanglement between non-identical particles, there is disagreement among physicists over what exactly it is and whether or not it is useful for applications. In one viewpoint, the entanglement holds even for distant particles but cannot be exploited for practical use. In another viewpoint, the entanglement is simply an artifact of labeling and should not really be considered entanglement at all.

Ideally, an appropriate way to settle the debate would be to investigate the entanglement between identical particles using a process called Schmidt decomposition, which is commonly used to study entanglement between non-identical particles. Unfortunately, Schmidt decomposition doesn't apply to identical particles in a straightforward way, and its use in this area has been controversial and inaccurate, giving obviously incorrect results for identical particles.

The main result of the new study is that the physicists have generalized Schmidt decomposition so that it can be applied to identical particles equally as well as non-identical particles.

"The results show that entanglement between identical particles is not merely a mathematical artifact, but that, under certain conditions, the entanglement due to indistinguishability is true physical entanglement," coauthor Rosario Lo Franco at the University of Palermo, Italy, told Phys.org.

When applied to two identical qubits, the method shows that, in certain situations, particles can be physically entangled only when in close proximity, and not when spatially separated as it previously appeared.

"The key to the achievement was to do away with the standard practice of assigning labels to identical particles, and instead simply describe the particles in terms of their states," said coauthor Giuseppe Compagno at the University of Palermo.

The researchers also discovered a somewhat surprising result for qutritsthree-level particles which are relevant for storing quantum informationthat contrasts with a previous result using a different method. The researchers said that this difference requires further investigation.

Overall, the physicists expect the method to provide a new type of entanglement resource for applications.

"In the case where the particle wave functions overlap, entanglement due solely to indistinguishability and unveiled directly by the Schmidt decomposition can be utilized operationally in protocols of quantum information processing," Lo Franco said. "This achievement may first require a separation of the identical particles as obtained by the so-called extraction procedures."

More information: Stefania Sciara, Rosario Lo Franco, and Giuseppe Compagno. "Universality of Schmidt decomposition and particle identity." Scientific Reports 7, 44675 (2017). DOI: 10.1038/srep44675 Journal information: Scientific Reports

 2017 Phys.org
Satellite images have shown a dramatic loss of habitat for migratory shorebirds like these passing through California. Seasonally flooded farm fields could provide additional habitat for these birds. Credit: Danica Schaffer-Smith, Duke University

Drought and reduced seasonal flooding of wetlands and farm fields threaten a globally important stopover site for tens of thousands of migratory shorebirds in California's Sacramento Valley, a new Duke University-led study shows.

The researchers' analysis of historical biweekly NASA Landsat satellite images of the valley reveals that flooded habitat near the peak time of spring migration has shrunk by more than twice the size of Washington, D.C. over the last 30 years.

"On average, we're losing an area about four times the size of Central Park each year, during a critical window of time in late March," said Danica Schaffer-Smith, a doctoral student at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, who conducted the study with researchers from the nonprofit Point Blue Conservation Science.

More than half of all shorebird species in the Western hemisphere are now in decline, Schaffer-Smith noted.

The Sacramento Valley site is an internationally important resting and refueling stop for tens of thousands of these wetland-dependent birds traveling along the Pacific Flyway. Some of these species migrate thousands of miles from Argentina to Alaska and back again each year.

"The fact that these highly mobile species are increasingly struggling to find flooded habitat on their migrations is an indicator that our freshwater wetland systems are in trouble," Schaffer-Smith said. "Freshwater is essential for all life. Many other species rely on these same habitats, too."

This is Landsat satellite data showing the presence of water for spring months in the Sacramento Valley from 1983 to 2015. This frequency was calculated as the number of times water was identified in each pixel, corrected by the total number of cloud-free instances. Credit: Remote Sensing of Environment, May 2017, pgs. 180-192.

The Sacramento Valley once supported a huge network of wetlands connected to the San Francisco Bay Delta, but more than 90 percent of them have been drained for agriculture. Analysis of recent satellite images by Schaffer-Smith and her team shows that open water covers just three percent of the landscape during peak migration in April, when the birds urgently need flooded habitat to rest and feed.

This winter's heavy rains are unlikely to reverse these habitat losses.

"One season of plentiful rainfall can't undo the effects of years of habitat destruction and increased water consumption for a growing number of competing uses," she said. "However, most water in California is captured in reservoirs and diverted through a system of canals and ditches, which also makes it possible for us to intentionally manipulate flooded habitat on the landscape."

During the worst of the recent drought years, conservation organizations joined forces to launch BirdReturns, a payment-for-services program that compensated farmers for flooding their fields to provide additional habitat for birds, Schaffer-Smith said. The new study's findings could help guide the future timing and location of such initiatives.

"Years of drought have heightened scrutiny of water use in California to the point that even rice farmers have begun to explore a switch to drip irrigation to conserve water, but these fields provide important habitat where wetlands have been lost," she said.

Schaffer-Smith and her colleagues published their peer-reviewed paper this month in the journal Remote Sensing of Environment. The study is freely available online through May 3, 2017.

"Satellite imagery can help us get the biggest bang for our buck by targeting conservation initiatives in a specific window of time at key locations," she said. "Landsat is the longest running Earth observation satellite system we have, and free access to this data enables researchers to look at the effects of seasonality, climate cycles, and long-term trends in land-use change."

More information: Danica Schaffer-Smith et al, Three decades of Landsat-derived spring surface water dynamics in an agricultural wetland mosaic; Implications for migratory shorebirds, Remote Sensing of Environment (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2017.02.016
Researchers at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences found a majority of first-year medical students changed their online behavior after participating in a social media and professionalism course. The study results show that a formal education on responsible social media use is beneficial to medical students as they develop professional habits that are inclusive of social media, and look to avoid behavior that would be detrimental to their careers.

The study, published in Teaching and Learning in Medicine, includes analysis of social media and professionalism courses hosted in 2012-2014. A six-month follow-up survey found 94 percent of students reported increased awareness of their social media behavior as it relates to their careers and 64 percent made changes to their social media behavior as a result of the session.

The course was designed and led by Alexandra Gomes, M.S.L.S., M.T., associate director for education, information and technology services, and Gisela Butera, M.L.S., reference librarian, both at Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library at GW, as well as Terry Kind, M.D., M.P.H., assistant dean for clinical education and associate professor of pediatrics, and Katherine Chretien, M.D., assistant dean for student affairs and associate professor of medicine, both at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

During the social media and professionalism course, instructors aim to "empower students to learn how to use social media professionally and responsibly so that they can use it to their greatest advantage," explained Chretien. The course is not meant to dissuade students from using social media, but rather encourages discussion about opportunities and challenges.

"We were able to move past a focus on negative and highlight the positive ways that social media can be used to enhance students' professional lives," said Kind.

The team found that discussion and explanation of professionalism on social media must put emphasis on both negative and positive examples of usage, along with a framework for interpreting the gray areas in between. With the right components in place for a formal sessionsuch as a professional panelstudents can better understand how to use their personal social media identities to show their new professional identities. The course is offered to all first-year students at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences as a required part of the curriculum.

"The Development and Impact of a Social Media and Professionalism Course for Medical Students," is published in Teaching and Learning in Medicine.

More information: Alexandra W. Gomes et al. The Development and Impact of a Social Media and Professionalism Course for Medical Students, Teaching and Learning in Medicine (2017). DOI: 10.1080/10401334.2016.1275971
A solar flare captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, a satellite launched by NASA in 2010

For the first time, model calculations show a plausible way that fluctuations in solar activity could have a tangible impact on the climate. Studies funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation expect human-induced global warming to tail off slightly over the next few decades. A weaker sun could reduce temperatures by half a degree.

There is human-induced climate change, and there are natural climate fluctuations. One important factor in the unchanging rise and fall of the Earth's temperature and its different cycles is the sun. As its activity varies, so does the intensity of the sunlight that reaches us. One of the key questions facing climate researchers is whether these fluctuations have any effect at all on the Earth's climate. IPCC reports assume that recent solar activity is insignificant for climate change, and that the same will apply to activity in the near future.

Researchers from the Physical Meteorological Observatory Davos (PMOD), the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), ETH Zurich and the University of Bern are now qualifying this assumption. Their elaborate model calculations are supplying a robust estimate of the contribution that the sun is expected to make to temperature change in the next 100 years. For the first time, a significant effect is apparent. They expect the Earth's temperature to fall by half a degree when solar activity reaches its next minimum.

According to project head Werner Schmutz, who is also Director of PMOD, this reduction in temperature is significant, even though it will do little to compensate for human-induced climate change. "We could win valuable time if solar activity declines and slows the pace of global warming a little. That might help us to deal with the consequences of climate change." But this will be no more than borrowed time, warns Schmutz, since the next minimum will inevitably be followed by a maximum.

Strong fluctuations could explain past climate

At the end of March, the researchers working on the project will meet in Davos for a conference to discuss the final results. The project brought together various research institutions' capabilities in terms of climate effect modelling. PMOD calculated what is known as "radiative forcing" taking account of particle as well as electromagnetic radiation, ETH Zurich worked out its further effects in the Earth's atmosphere and the University of Bern investigated the interactions between the atmosphere and oceans.

The Swiss researchers assumed a greater fluctuation in the radiation striking the Earth than previous models had done. Schmutz is convinced that "this is the only way that we can understand the natural fluctuations in our climate over the last few millennia." He says that other hypotheses, such as the effect of major volcanic eruptions, are less conclusive.

Exactly how the sun will behave over the next few years remains a matter of speculation, however, since appropriate data series have only been available for a few decades and they reveal no evidence of fluctuations during this time. "To that extent, our latest results are still a hypothesis," says Schmutz, "and it remains difficult for solar physicists to predict the next cycle." But since we have been observing a consistently strong phase since 1950, it is highly likely that we will experience another low point in 50 to 100 years' time. It could be every bit as intense as the Maunder Minimum, which brought particularly cold weather during the 17th century.

Important historical data

The research project also placed great importance on the historical perspective. The Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Bern compared data series on past solar activity with other specific climatic conditions. People have been recording the number of sunspots, which correlates well with solar activity levels, for some three centuries now. However, it is much more difficult to quantify exactly how cold it was on Earth back then. "We know that the winters during the last minimum were very cold, at least in northern Europe," says Schmutz. The researchers still have a fair amount of work to do before they have a detailed understanding of the relationship between solar activity and the global climate both in the past and in the future.

More information: Future and Past Solar Influence on the Terrestrial Climate II. p3.snf.ch/project-147659
Credit: George Hodan/public domain

Proton therapy is a promising form of radiation treatment used to kill cancerous cells and effectively halt their rapid reproduction. While this treatment can also be delivered in different modalities (i.e. electrons and X-rays), proton therapy limits damage to healthy tissue by depositing energy in a highly localized dose volume.

The fundamental understanding for proton therapy is contained in the radiation induced water chemistry that occurs immediately after the interaction. This is because as much as 66 percent of the radiation deposited into a tumor volume is initially absorbed by water molecules in the cancer cells. The ensuing processes are therefore a subject of considerable scientific interest.

"It is at those fundamental levels that the seeds for the subsequent radiation chemistry are sown," explained Brendan Dromey, the lead researcher on this project and a reader in the Centre for Plasma Physics at Queen's University Belfast. "And it's from there that we can begin to build models from first principles that will allow us to gain a full understanding of how these early processes ultimately affect tumor cell death."

When energetic protons enter water, they can ionize the water molecules generating free electrons. In response, nearby water molecules can shift themselves so that their positive sides orient towards these freed electrons and shield their negative charge. To date, methodology to monitor the earliest stages of this process relied on "indirect scavenging techniques." This, however, requires the use of chemical additives that simultaneously increase the complexity of the observation. The new approach substitutes chemical scavengers for an experimental setup with enhanced temporal resolution.

Dromey and his colleagues in Sweden, Germany and Northern Ireland describe their work this week in the journal Applied Physics Letters.

"To use an analogy from photography, the existing methodology had a time resolution that functioned like a camera with slow shutter speed. If processes, such as these initial chemical changes, were progressing quickly, the slow shutter speed meant that one wouldn't capture the details of the movement and the image generated would be blurred. The new set-up and methodology that we outline in our article operates like a camera with a fast shutter speed. It allows us to capture rapid chemical evolution in high detail," Dromey said.

"Since our methodology does not use scavenging chemicals, we can work with water molecules in a pristine, controlled environment. Moreover, our technique features a fundamental time resolution that is less that one picosecond or one trillionth of a second. Even when we factor in diagnostics, the time resolution is less than five picoseconds. We can now track the radiation chemistry that follows the initial ionization of water molecules as they unfold in real-time," Dromey said, whose research is also funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in the U.K.

"Two major innovations account for this improvement. First, we use bursts of protons accelerated by the high power TARANIS laser facility in Queen's University Belfast. The sub-picosecond acceleration of an initially cold proton population permits the generation of an ultrafast pulse with low inherent thermal spread. Second, we use the same laser to generate both the pulse of protons and the probe that allows us to track the progress of the radiation chemistry. This eliminates the electrical jitter that one finds in more traditional, radiofrequency cavity based systems," Dromey said. "That said, it is important to note that in terms of energy stability and beam quality there is still significant development required for laser-based accelerators to match the performance of these machines."

Lovisa Senje, a doctoral student from the Department of Physics at Lund University and lead author on the paper, added, "The ultrashort proton pulses produced in our experimental set-up, in combination with the high number of protons per pulse, lead to a unique possibility of studying how water reacts to extreme irradiation by protons. We can actually see that under these conditions the processes following energy deposition of protons in water change."

"One of the most interesting things that we have discovered with the benefit of better temporal resolution is that there appears to be a delay in the formation of the absorption band of solvated electrons after exposure to protons," Dromey said. "This was surprising because past research suggests that you don't typically see this delay when you expose water molecules to X-rays or electrons. Our future work will focus on systematically exploring this delay further."

More information: L. Senje et al, Experimental investigation of picosecond dynamics following interactions between laser accelerated protons and water, Applied Physics Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1063/1.4977846 Journal information: Applied Physics Letters
Hobart, Mar 27 (IBNS): Following the assault of a Keralite Catholic Priest in Australia a week ago, a second Keralite faced the same in Hobart on Saturday, reports said.

Limux Joy, a cab driver who resides in Hobart in Tasmania, was reportedly punched in the face several times by a gang of five, including a woman.

The attack has been viewed as a race crime.

The Hindu quoted the victim as saying that they shouted racial slurs at him.

"You bloody Indian b.. they yelled and continued to punch me on my face,' he said.

Speaking about his plight, Joy said that he had faced a similar incident a few weeks ago, where a school student spat on his face.

Joy hails from Meenadom in Kottayam, Kerala.



image: http://www.taxi-times.com
It is generally accepted by wildlife managers that coyotes kill relatively few adult deer. However, this one is carrying an adult deer head. The coyote may not have been involved in killing the deerit may have scavenged the skull. Credit: Penn State

Deer fawns in Pennsylvania face a cruel realityonly half of them survive until their first birthday, and much of that mortality results from predation.

Gaining a better understanding of fawn survival and predators was part of the motivation for research that began in 2015. As a part of that study, a researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is deploying cameras, called trail cams, in Penn's Woods, using a novel technique called camera trapping to gauge numbers and distribution of predators.

Collaborating with colleagues in the Penn State-based Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and the Pennsylvania Game Commission, doctoral degree candidate Asia Murphy is in the midst of a two-year study using trail cams to monitor bears, coyotes, bobcats, fishers and foxes in parts of three state forestsBald Eagle, Rothrock and Susquehannock.

At any given time during the warm-weather months, she has 88 trail cams in operation, overlooking sites baited with scent attractants. Those attractants include bobcat urine, plaster-of-paris tablets impregnated with fatty acids, and a special attractant made from skunk glands. Murphy noted that each of these scents has a different appeal to the predator species she is studying. Last year, her trail cams collected thousands of photos, with many "captures" of predators.

Camera traps are being used more and more by scientists to study the space use of species and the interaction among species. Credit: Penn State

"I'm interested in looking at just how these fawns are using the landscape and surviving in this space where all these predators are out to get them," said Murphy, who earned her undergraduate degree in fisheries and wildlife science from North Carolina State University and a master's degree in fish and wildlife conservation from Virginia Tech University. "The photos show how are they using the habitat, and at what times, and how they are co-occurring with predators in these big forests."

The first question the researchers hope to answer is whether there is a relationship between where predators are found and where fawns survive, explained Duane Diefenbach, adjunct professor of wildlife ecology, who is Murphy's adviser. For example, he noted, there is evidence to suggest that fawn predation is greater in forested habitats compared to agricultural lands. If so, this study will be able to measure the variation in the distribution of predators.

Second, camera traps record not only where we find predators but where we don't, added Diefenbach, who is leader of the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. This may be important to fawn survival in certain forest habitats, such as areas with denser understory vegetation.

obcats, like the one shown, may avoid areas with coyotes. And, researchers say, they are less efficient predators of fawns than coyotes. Credit: Penn State

"Third, camera traps are being used more and more by scientists to study the space use of species and the interaction among species," he said. "The multi-predator system that exists in Pennsylvania means that these predators have to share space and prey. We're hoping that Asia's work will provide a greater understanding of the interrelationships of these predators."

After a season of camera trapping in Pennsylvania, Murphywho came to Penn State solely to conduct this research, in part, because "the project sounded cool"has perhaps more questions than answers about predators.

The research might show whether the predators are avoiding each other, she pointed out. For instance, it is known that coyotes kill bobcats, so her results might show that coyotes and bobcats are not using the same habitat areas. "If they are avoiding each other, then it might be safer for fawns to be in areas both predators aren't using," she said.

The research is looking at just how fawns are using the landscape and surviving in a space where so many predators are out to get them. The photos show how fawns are using the habitat, and at what times, and how they are co-occurring with predators in Pennsylvania's expansive forests. Credit: Penn State

"Predators differ, in time and space, in how dangerous they are to fawns. We know bobcats are not as efficient as coyotes at preying on very young fawns. So if bobcats are avoiding an area because there are coyotes there, it might be a better area for older fawns."

A native of Sacramento, California, Murphy is uniquely qualified to conduct the research in Pennsylvania. Before arriving at Penn State, she participated for two years in a Virginia Tech camera-trapping project focused on carnivores in Madagascar's Makira National Park. She started camera trapping in 2011 when she was an undergraduate using trail cams to study carnivore distribution in southwest Virginia.

"With wildlife, cameras can teach us a lot that we can't learn with traditional research methods," she said. "But they still can't tell us everything."
Artemisia annua leaf is seen under the scanning electron miscroscope. The glandular trichomes (with a more circular shape) which produce artemisinin are clearly visible. Credit: CRAG

Scientists have discovered a gene that allows to double the production of artemisinin in the Artemisia annua plant.The artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the standard treatment for malaria worldwide, endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO).The paper, published in The Plant Journal, represents an important step towards reducing artemisinin production costs.

Since the ancient times, mankind has used plants to treat diseases. An example is the plant Artemisia annua, used for over 2,000 years in traditional Chinese medicine to treat intermittent fevers. Nowadays, the artemisinin molecule - the active ingredient synthesized in the microscopic hairs (trichomes) of this plant - is the main component of malaria treatments worldwide. In fact, the Chinese scientist Youyou Tu was awarded in 2015 with the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of artemisinin and its application in therapies against malaria.

Regardless of artemisinin's effectiveness against malaria and other diseases caused by parasites and despite its anti-tumour potential, its usage faces a problem: the low content produced by the plant and the high cost of its chemical synthesis result in a scarce and expensive drug.

Now, an international research team led by researchers from the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) and Sequentia Biotech S.L. has been able to obtain, through genetic engineering, Artemisia annua plants that produce twice as much artemisinin. The work, published today in The Plant Journal, identifies a gene involved in the formation of plant trichomes and in the synthesis of terpenes, such as artemisinin. "We have discovered that the AaMYB1 gene has a dual function: it promotes trichome formation in the leaves and artemisinin synthesis inside the trichomes", explains Soraya Pelaz, ICREA researcher at CRAG and senior author of the article. "By manipulating this gene, we have managed to grow plants which contain much more artemisinin than their wild-type counterparts," she adds. Noting that 90% of malaria cases and 92% of deaths caused by this disease occur in sub-Saharan Africa, this finding could be a major step towards reducing the production costs of such a necessary drug.

The plant as a factory

This study is a perfect example of knowledge transfer. Luis Matias-Hernandez, first author of the discussed work, began to study the formation of trichomes in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana when he was a postdoctoral researcher at the CRAG group led by Soraya Pelaz. The acquired insight made him think that the formation of trichomes could be manipulated in plants with industrial applications. For the past two years, and thanks to a Torres Quevedo contract, Luis Matias-Hernandez has been directing a line of research aimed at obtaining Artemisia plants that produce large amounts of artemisinin at the spin-out Sequentia Biotech, from which he keeps collaborating with CRAG.

"One of the main goals of Sequentia Biotech is to produce artemisinin of the same quality but at a lower cost. Our ambition is to reduce the price of the drug, so it can be accessible to everyone in the future", underlines Luis Matias-Hernandez. "We want to use Artemisia as a natural low-cost factory for antimalarials, and we are testing different strategies to do it," adds the researcher.

The researchers Luis Matias-Hernandez and Soraya Pelaz are observing Artemisia annua plants at CRAG's greenhouses. Credit: CRAG

Beyond artemisinin

Collaborating with Peter E Brodelius, researcher at the Linnaeus University in Sweden, the scientists were able to identify the gene AaMYB1 among the array of genes expressed in Artemisia trichomes. At CRAG, the researchers designed transgenic plants that overexpressed this gene and found that they accumulated larger doses of artemisinin than non-genetically modified plants.

But the investigation went further. To confirm the role of the AaMYB1 gene in the formation of plant trichomes, the researchers searched for similar genes in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and found the gene AtMYB61. When this gene was overexpressed in the model plant, it also produced a higher amount of trichomes on its leaves, demonstrating that these genes play a key role in the formation of trichomes in evolutionarily distant species. Soraya Pelaz explains that "in addition to its role in Artemisia, the identification of this gene can also be useful for other plants whose trichomes produce substances of interest". Luis Matias-Hernandez adds "There are many plants that produce substances of interest in their trichomes. For example, menthol and thymol are terpenes produced in the trichomes of mint and thyme, respectively."

More information: Luis Matias-Hernandez et al, AaMYB1 and its orthologue AtMYB61 affect terpene metabolism and trichome development inand, The Plant Journal (2017). DOI: 10.1111/tpj.13509 Journal information: The Plant Journal

Provided by Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics
President Donald Trump may face a cool reception at the Environmental Protection Agency when he announces plans to reverse climate laws

US President Donald Trump will on Tuesday roll back a slew of environmental protections enacted by Barack Obama, in a bid to untether the fossil fuel industry.

In a maiden trip to the Environmental Protection Agency, Trump will sign an "Energy Independence Executive Order," a White House official told AFP.

The new president will unveil a series of measures to review regulation curbing oil, gas and coal production and limiting carbon emissions.

The centerpiece of Trump's plan is an effort to slow walk Obama's Clean Power Plan, which restricts emissions from coal-fired power plants.

The measures will "help keep energy and electricity affordable, reliable, and clean in order to boost economic growth and job creation," the White House said.

But the new president could face a cool reception at the agency's imposing Washington headquarters.

Trump has repeatedly questioned humans' role in warming the planet, leaving environmentally-focused EPA staff to wonder whether the fox is guarding the hen house.

Trump has done little to assuage those fears, vowing to slash EPA funding by a third, appointing anti-climate litigator Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA and Exxon's CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State.

But Trump's climate skepticism has struck a chord with many Republican voters.

Some 68 percent of Americans believe climate change is caused by humans, but just 40 percent of Republicans say they worry about it according to Gallup.

During the 2016 election campaign Trump donned a hardhat and embraced miners from Kentucky to West Virginia, promising to return jobs to long-ravaged communities.

He won both states by a landslide.

Since coming to office he has coupled his pro-miner rhetoric with support for the fossil fuel industry.

'War on coal'

The United States is the world's second largest polluter. Around 37 percent of domestic carbon dioxide emissions come from electricity generation.

Curbing emissions from coal-fired power plants was a pillar of America's commitment in the Paris Climate Accord.

It remains to be seen whether stalling implementation and defunding the EPA will bring coal back.

And some experts warn the economic payoff from ditching the clean power plan will be limited.

"In my view, it will have virtually no impact," said professor James Van Nostrand of West Virginia University, who said the decline of coal had more to do with higher mining costs and cheaper natural gas and renewables.

"Defunding or dismantling the EPA and repealing its regulations is not going to bring the coal industry back."

"The constant narrative about the 'war on coal' and the alleged devastating impact of EPA's regulations on West Virginia's coal industry will now be exposed for its inherent speciousness," he predicted.

In 2008 there were 88,000 coal miners in the United States, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Today the number of coal miners has fallen around 25 percent. More people work in Wholefoods, an upscale supermarket chain.

 2017 AFP
UBS Deploys Qualified Electronic Signature Service with Cryptomathic and SwissSign

Switzerlands largest retail bank pioneers service digitization, increases document security and enables a fully mobile digital user experience

27 March 2017  Shortly after the launch of their joint centralised solution for Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES), Cryptomathic and SwissSign today announce the completion of a major deployment at UBS, Switzerlands largest retail bank.

As one of the worlds largest banks, UBS is transforming its services through digitization and now offers clients the convenience and efficiency of remote electronic signatures that provide the same legal value as a handwritten signature. The QES service is deployed via Cryptomathics Signer solution and supported by SwissSigns Qualified Certificate Authority services.

UBS retail and wealth management clients can now utilise the secure signing service through their E-banking and have the freedom to digitally sign legally binding documents at any time on any device, from anywhere in the world.

Andreas Kubli, Head Multichannel Management & Digitization, UBS Switzerland, comments:

Previously, our clients had to print, sign and send documents manually for compliance reasons. Now they can do it in a smart, easy and time-saving way. Thanks to Cryptomathic and SwissSign, customers can sign their contracts digitally in e-Banking  while meeting all legal and compliance requirements.

The Cryptomathic and SwissSign QES solution has enabled UBS to move more of its services online, pioneering a superior and fully mobile digital user experience while enhancing security and control of its document management. As an added benefit, the financial and environmental costs of managing millions of paper documents have also been reduced significantly. By digitizing the entire customer journey, UBS has become one of the first banks globally to deploy a QES service on such a large scale.

Cryptomathic Signer is a remote signature solution and the main component of the QES infrastructure deployed with UBS. Signer offers centralised digital signature services in a secure, convenient and cost effective fashion, where users signing keys are protected using Thales e-Security n-Shield hardware with EAL 4+ certification. UBS clients can use their existing strong authentication means and can sign from the award-winning e-banking channels with no need for additional tokens or PKI cards. The unique Cryptomathic What-You-See-Is-What-You-Sign (WYSIWYS) technology ensures that users can only sign a document that is presented to them if the document is genuine and has not been tampered with.

Guillaume Forget, Managing Director at Cryptomathic GmbH., remarks:

Each year, UBS processes millions of documents that require a legally binding signature. The ability to digitize this process brings considerable savings both in terms of costs, time and CO2 consumption.

Cryptomathic is pleased to see UBS launch a Qualified Electronic Signature service based on our Signer technology.

SwissSign, a leading Certificate Authority (CA) provider in Switzerland, partnered with Cryptomathic to deliver the complete QES solution. SwissSign delivers the Qualified Certificates in accordance with Swiss signature law (ZertES) and EU regulations (eIDAS). Other components include the OCSP services, certificate management and Qualified Time Stamping services.

Click here to read the full case study on how UBS deployed their qualified electronic signature service.

About Cryptomathic

Cryptomathic is a world-leading innovator and provider of specialised software security solutions to businesses across industry sectors, including finance, mobile, technology, government and cloud. With over 30 years experience, Cryptomathic provides systems for e-banking, mobile payments, PKI initiatives, card payments, eID, advanced key management and managed cryptography through best-of-breed software solutions and services. Cryptomathic prides itself on its strong technical expertise, customisation capabilities and unique market knowledge. Together with an established network of partners, Cryptomathic assists companies around the world with building security from requirement specification to implementation and delivery.

www.cryptomathic.com

About SwissSign

Secure e-business processes are built on trusted identities. SwissSign is a leader in providing access to trusted digital identities. SwissSign offers digital certificates for servers and devices as well as for persons, government bodies and companies  delivered as single products or within managed PKI services. Other SwissSign offerings are qualified timestamping  and signing-services. SwissSign, a subsidiary of Swiss Post, is certified by EU (eIDAS) and Swiss (ZerES) laws and member of swiss made software.



Other Point of Sale blogs of interest:
By Brenda Goh SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China Southern Airlines <600029.SS><1055.HK> is in talks over a tie-up with American Airlines that could involve the U.S. carrier taking a stake in the state-owned airline, boosting routes between the world's two largest travel markets. The potential deal would make American Airlines the second U.S. carrier to own part of a Chinese airline after Delta Air Lines Inc bought 3.55 percent of China Eastern Airlines Corp <6000115.SS><0670.HK> for $450 million in 2015. China Southern, the country's largest carrier by passenger numbers, said in a filing the tie-up could involve a share issue as well as other forms of cooperation, but that it was still subject to shareholder and government approval. The company's Hong Kong-listed shares jumped as much as 5.3 percent in early morning trading on Monday, while its mainland-listed shares remained suspended. The tie-up comes as Beijing has vowed to shake up its airlines by implementing mixed-ownership reforms and introducing private capital and strategic investment into its state-owned enterprises in a bid to improve efficiency and competitiveness. BOCOM International analyst Geoffrey Cheng said the tie-up was the best way for the two companies to offer consumers more flights overseas given the lack of new flight slots available. He added any equity stake - expected to be similar in size to the Delta deal - would help cement ties between the airlines, but in reality would be little more than a glorified code-sharing arrangement by which airlines pool resources and share flights. "The rationale is probably like what Delta has been doing with China Eastern," he said, adding it would allow them to link up with more second-tier cities in China and the United States. "Essentially if there's no voting rights, it's just symbolic." Chinese airlines have been aggressively expanding their fleet and increasing the number of their international routes as they seek to capitalise on strong growth in outbound Chinese travel that has far outpaced tourism at home. China Southern has flights from its home base of Guangzhou to U.S. cities New York, Boston and Chicago as well as Hawaii. It is also a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance and has code-sharing agreements with Virgin America and Delta. For American Airlines, the deal could widen access to China, one of the biggest sources of tourists to the United States, and will help it compete with rival Delta, which has invested in foreign carriers in Mexico, Brazil and Britain in recent years. Delta, which also owns 49 percent of Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd [VA.UL], gained an observer seat on China Eastern's board as part of its deal in 2015. At the time, the two said they would cooperate on areas such as sales and market, frequent flyer plans and joint investments in lounges. (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by David Goodman and Randy Fabi)
The European Union's health commissioner said Monday that Brazil will have to "restore trust" in its meat exports after being hit by a scandal over expired meat being passed off as fresh. "I expect that (the Brazilian authorities) will understand that it's up to them to act as soon as possible to restore trust in the official control system," said health and food safety commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis as he began a visit to Rio de Janeiro. "I expect good cooperation and mutual understanding. I expect effective solutions," he told AFP. Andriukaitis, whose visit was already planned before the scandal broke on March 17, will meet with the Brazilian agriculture minister on Tuesday. Brazil, the world's top beef and poultry exporter, has been rocked by investigators' accusations that 21 meat processing companies used chemicals to hide the smell of rotting meat and bribed health inspectors to pass off their products as safe. Brazil's average daily meat exports plunged 19 percent in a week, or $11.7 million, according to the trade ministry. Several countries have slapped restrictions or suspensions on Brazilian imports, though key markets including China have already reopened their doors, blocking only meat from the plants under investigation. The EU has also barred imports from the plants in question. "This kind of crisis always affects people's trust," Andriukaitis said. "The EU has the highest safety standards. We will follow our agenda and our own standards. We have proposed to Brazil to introduce measures that would help to restore trust." Brazilian Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said the EU commissioner's visit was an important chance for Brazil to offer "clarifications." "Our image was very heavily attacked in recent days. The comments overseas were very bad," he said. "Our competitors... are taking advantage of this moment of fragility to win clients and market attention."
(Bloomberg) -- A pledge by crude producers to consider extending their output-cut deal failed to excite oil bulls, with prices dropping as more time was seen needed to trim swollen global stockpiles.

Futures lost as much as percent 1.3 percent in New York, extending their third weekly drop this month as rising U.S. supplies offset the effect of output curbs by other producers. Five OPEC nations joined with non-member Oman to voice support for prolonging cuts past June, with Kuwait saying it should be for an additional six months. Russia said it needs more time before making a decision.

Oil last week slid to the lowest since November as U.S. stockpiles, output and drilling increased while the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other nations continued with efforts to ease a global glut. A committee of ministers from Kuwait, Algeria and Venezuela and their counterparts from Russia and Oman, meeting over the weekend, asked OPEC to review the market and make a recommendation in April on rolling over output reductions.

The relative lack of price reaction perhaps reflects some disappointment that nothing more concrete was forthcoming at the OPEC committee meeting, said David Wech, an analyst at JBC Energy GmbH in Vienna. It also shows the markets increasing skepticism that either a rollover of the cuts can be agreed, or that it would have a lasting and significant impact on balances.

West Texas Intermediate for May delivery dropped as much as 63 cents to $47.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $47.66 as of 12:55 p.m. London time. Total volume traded was about 30 percent below the 100-day average. Prices rose 27 cents to close at $47.97 on Friday, paring the weekly loss to 1.7 percent.

Brent for May settlement was down 19 cents at $50.61 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, and traded at a $2.95 premium to WTI. The global benchmark contract gained 24 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $50.80 on Friday.

Story continues

See also: Oil speculators cant dump bets on rally fast enough amid glut

Russia needs more time to assess the market, inventories and production in the U.S. and other non-OPEC countries, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview. The nation has cut its output by 185,000 barrels a day compared with a target of 300,000, Novak said Saturday.

Oil-market news:

Libyas biggest oil terminal was loading its first tanker since fighting this month halted shipments. The Suezmax vessel Demetrios, which can carry as much as 1 million barrels, is loading at the port of Es Sider for export to China, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Rigs targeting crude in the U.S. rose by 21 to 652 last week, the highest level since September 2015, according to data Friday from Baker Hughes Inc.

--With assistance from Perry Williams and Ben Sharples

To contact the reporter on this story: Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Herron at jherron9@bloomberg.net, Amanda Jordan

2017 Bloomberg L.P.
Daraa, Mar 27 (IBNS): Terrorist groups affiliated to Jabhat al-Nusra fired shells al-Sahare neighborhood and the Panorama area in Daraa city of Syria, injuring a child, medioa reports said on Monday.

A source at the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) branch in Daraa told SANAs reporter that terrorists fired a rocket shell on the Panorama area in the northern part of Daraa city, and as a result a child was injured in the foot by shrapnel from the shell.

Daraa is a city in southwestern Syria, located about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of the border with Jordan.

File Photo: UNICEF/Rami Zayat


Its a huge problem for Alibaba. Almost 90 per cent of Taobao listings for the shoe company New Balance are fake

Alibaba Group seems to struggle in its fight with counterfeit items, especially when the United States Trade Representative (USTR) last year listed Taobao, Alibabas sprawling online shopping website in China, as one of the worlds most notorious markets for fake goods.

The Chinese e-commerce giant, however, claimed that it has been taking steps to deal with the issue of fake goods. Earlier this year, the Chinese firm filed a lawsuit against sellers of counterfeit Swarovski watches on Taobao at the Shenzhen Longgang District Peoples Court, claiming RMB 1.4 million (about USD 203,240) in damages.

This might seem like a small amount of money for Alibaba, but the lawsuit itself was meant to scare off more online sellers of counterfeit items.

Blacklisted last year by American trade officials, the Chinese firm is not taking a disgrace like this lightly, and has kept pushing forward its strategy of cracking down on purveyors of counterfeit items.

AliHealth, Alibabas healthcare subsidiary, launched a third-party tracking system in May 2016 to further combat fake items and ensure the quality of its products. Consumers can scan the QR codes attached on the package of the products, and track the origins of products such as farm produce, baby formula or even wine.

It didnt come as a surprise when AliHealth announced on Wednesday that they are ensuring the authenticity of their products and clearing up the food safety concerns by putting tracking QR codes on many more products, even including putting tracking codes on eggs.

Also Read: Alibabas finance arm to allow financial institutions to set up shop in investing app



Customers can scan QR codes on the packages to check the origins of the eggs. (Photo by AllChinaTech)

This is the firms first attempt to partner with Chia Tai Group (or CP Food) to attach QR codes on their egg products. By scanning the code stickers on the packages, consumers are able to check all kinds of data related to the eggs that theyre purchasing, such as the location, temperature, humidity index and even the air quality of the henhouses.

Story continues

By showing the birth certificates of the eggs, the Chinese tech giant is hoping to eliminate food safety concerns. CP Food claimed that they have over 20 henhouses across China, producing 6.4 million eggs for about 360 million Chinese consumers.

The page of the birth certificates states the conditions of henhouses. (Photo screenshot by AllChinaTech)

Earlier this year, Alibabas executive chairman Jack Ma traveled to New York Citys Trump Tower to meet with US President Donald Trump. After the meeting, Ma pledged to create one million US jobs by growing trade between small U.S. businesses and Chinese consumers.

This might seem promising for Alibaba to join hands with US trade firms, but the first thing must come first: the Chinese tech giant boasting about its consumer-to-consumer online bazaar must come up with more strategies to solve its problem of counterfeit goods.

Also Read: Flyspaces Malaysia Country Manager to speak in Echelon Malaysia 2017, to talk about creating value through workspace communities

According to Fortune, you can search on Taobao and still find hundreds or thousands of illegitimate or dubious goods from top brands. As much as 90 per cent of New Balances 117,000 listings on Taobao are fake or suspect products, according to the clothing companys last estimates.

Alibaba has certainly been taking some actions to clean up fake items. CNBC reported that the firm has employed 2,000 permanent staff and 5,000 volunteers to find counterfeit goods. The e-commerce giant also uses artificial intelligence to help spot fake items by scanning images and logos for mismatches.

From QR code tracking system to AI scanning, Jack Ma is trying all sorts of ways to gain back the trust of customers, while Alibaba is making forays into the United States, Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Well have to wait and see Alibabas next action regarding this issue, and see if American trade officials will remove Alibaba from the list of notorious markets next year.



Want to be part of the ecosystem?

Save 10% on Echelon Malaysia passes just for being our favourite e27 reader! Register NOW.

The article Is Alibabas battle with counterfeit goods getting any better? first appeared on AllChinaTech.

Copyright: pxhidalgo / 123RF Stock Photo

The post Is Alibaba battle with counterfeit goods getting any better? appeared first on e27.
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
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
Home improvement projects are on the rise. In fact, the industry is projected to reach more than $384 billion in 2020, according to the Home Improvement Research Institute. Even as some industries have suffered this year, it is one segment that has continued to grow, providing many business opportunities.

Because of healthy demand, property improvement businesses are gaining momentum. If you want to put your DIY, management, and entrepreneur sales skills to work, home improvement franchises may be the perfect business model and opportunity. Luckily, there are tons of home services franchises that can appeal to people of all interest areas. Before getting started, simply check out the opportunities below and find the options that are the best match for your skills, budget, and preferences.

Home Improvement Franchise Opportunities

Here is a list of 19 home improvement franchises every talented DIYer in the United States should consider.

1. The Brothers That Just Do Gutters

The Brothers That Just Do Gutters was established in 1999 and has developed into a highly credible national franchise company. The organization provides cleaning, installation and repair services for gutters. For entrepreneurs, it offers the chance to run a successful business in a niche and in-demand market. To become a franchisee, individuals can be of any background but must be business-minded, serious about running their own business and focused. The company provides training. So no special certifications are required. The fee for franchises ranges from $40,000 to $60,000. The total investment ranges from $108,000 to $170,000.

2. Budget Blinds

Budget Blinds prides itself as being the number one window coverings franchise in North America. This custom window covering franchise business provides a one-stop service for window coverings and other home decor accessories. The company wants to partner with motivated and driven individuals looking to start their own business. The ideal candidate will have sales expertise and be passionate about customer service. The franchise cost requirements for Budget Blinds range from $125,000 to $254,000. The fee for franchises is $19,950.

3. Decorating Den Interiors

Decorating Den Interiors has more than 45 years experience helping people turn their decorating passion into a thriving business. Decorating Den Interiors brings interior decorating to peoples doors and is always on the lookout for Franchise Partners. People with a passion for interior decorating and who are serious about starting a rewarding business in decorating can apply to become a franchisee of Decorating Den Interiors. The business can also be run remotely and starts with a comprehensive study program. The franchise costs between $53,000 and $70,000 to get started. The initial fee for franchises is $39,900.

4. The Great Frame Up

The Great Frame Up started in Chicago more than 35 years ago, and has grown to become a nationwide organization for bringing inspiring artwork, photographs and other accessories into commercial and domestic premises around the United States. The Great Frame Up offers lucrative opportunities for individuals looking to start their own business in the thriving market of interior decor. Franchisees can take advantage of low start-up and inventory costs and comprehensive training programs. Applicants must be business-focused and enjoy working with artwork and interior decor. The fee for franchises is $30,000. Initial costs range from $112,000 to $183,000.

5. iDeal Furniture

iDeal Furniture claims to be the number 1 business opportunity in America. This family-run organization has been in operation since 1982, encouraging people to set up their own distribution centers to sell furniture directly to the public. Business-minded individuals can purchase a distribution center for their own exclusive territory and join this fast-growing network of furniture business owners. Its not a traditional franchise opportunity, so the fee structure is different. However, the minimum investment required for iDeal Furniture is $10,000. Upfront costs range from $19,000 to $59,000.

6. Bloomin Blinds

Bloomin Blinds was established in 2001 with the aim of helping entrepreneurs open their own business and be a business owner. This nationally recognized organization provides blinds sales and repairs. With a home-based business model, franchisees require minimal overhead. Those serious about running their own business can invest in Bloomin Blinds for between $34,495 and $117,425. The initial fee for franchises ranges from $25,000 to $40,000.

7. N-Hance Wood Refinishing

N-Hance Wood Refinishing is a wood refinishing franchise which specializes in the refinishing of wood cabinets, wood floors and other interior wood surfaces. N-Hance franchise owners have their own exclusive area, in a network that is rapidly spreading throughout the U.S. and Canada. Business-focused individuals can start their own N-Hance business franchise from $52,369 to $168,747. The fee for franchises ranges from $11,669 to $47,752.

8. DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen

DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen offers quality and professional remodeling services for bathrooms and kitchens across America. The organization offers remodeling franchises for individuals looking to start their own business in a lucrative and sought-after market. DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen franchises allow businesses to grow into full interior remodeling companies. The ideal franchisee will have ambition, an interest in interior design and remodeling. The fee for franchises ranges from $40,000 to $48,000. Total upfront costs range from $142,000 to $364,000.

9. Kitchen Solvers

Kitchen Solvers began in 1982 as a home-based kitchen cabinet refacing company. Today the organization operates in 20 U.S. states and has remodeled more than 45,000 kitchens. The company provides franchise opportunities. Franchisees do not require any former remodeling or installation experience, as they are predominantly involved with the customer service and sales side of the business. The total investment ranges from $91,584 to $116,720. And the fee for franchises is $60,000. Franchisees get a two-week training course, an advanced customer management and marketing platform and ongoing training and support.

10. ProSource

ProSource provides franchising opportunities in the home improvement market. It is open to trade professionals and has a 320,000-strong network of builders, designers, installers, contractors and other trade professionals, making home improvements to properties across the United States. Qualified tradesmen will need to make an initial investment between $509,649 and $518,258. This includes a $46,450 franchise fee. Other requirements include the ability to lead and motivate people, to be technologically savvy, as well as outgoing and self-assured.

11. Mr. Sandless

Mr. Sandless is hailed as the number one wood floor refinisher in the world! The company claims to have invented sandless refinishing, providing flooring improvements to customers with no downtime or clean-up. Mr Sandless offer franchising opportunities for driven individuals looking to start their own business. Applicants can be of any background and dont have to have experience in design or installation. With a $15,000 franchise fee, you get a large exclusive territory and tech systems to run your business. Total upfront costs range from $26,810 to $87,745.

12. Fancy Art N.F.P

Framed artwork remains a key design feature of homes and businesses throughout the United States. Fancy Art N.F.P capitalizes on our love affair with framed art, providing custom framing to domestic and commercial premises. Fancy Art N.F.P provides the opportunity for business-minded people to start their own business in the home improvement industry. No art experience is required to become a successful franchisee with Fancy Art N.F.P, only motivation and a desire to succeed. The fee for a Fancy Art N.F.P franchise is $24,500. The initial investment range starts at $70,000.

13. Real Deals Home Decor

Real Deals Home Decor was established more than a decade ago by five sisters who had a passion for home decor. The business provides a myriad of home furnishing items, including mirrors, furniture, wall art and more, for low cost. With an initial investment between $130,000 and $161,000, entrepreneurs can open their own Real Deals Home Decor franchise. The fee for franchises is $30,000. Franchisees typically have a passion for home decor and a strong business sense.

14. Gorgeous Garage

Gorgeous Garage offers dealer opportunities for those who want to sell and install shelving systems, cabinets, and garage flooring. Dealers have access to the products provided by the company. You also receive full training. So no previous home improvement expertise is necessary. Its not a traditional franchise model. So theres not a specific fee for franchises. But the initial investment is between $15,000 and $35,000. Candidates must be focused, ambitious and serious about starting a lucrative and profitable business.

15. Sam the Concrete Man

Sam the Concrete Man proudly asserts it is the worlds only residential concrete franchise. The organization specializes in the installation and repair of concrete areas, such as driveways, patios, steps, walkways, garage floors, and other areas comprised of concrete. Franchisees of Sam the Concrete Man are not required to do any of the concreting work themselves. Instead, they coordinate with sub-contractors to do the work to meet the companys quality standards. Candidates must provide outstanding customer service ad satisfaction representing the Sam the Concrete Man brand. Initial costs range from $59,000 to $111,000, with fee for franchises starting at $64,000.

16. California Closets

California Closets provides customized organizational systems for homeowners. These can be installed in closets, garages, and pantries. The company provides training for franchisees and staff. So you dont need any certifications or specialized experience beforehand. And since home organization is experiencing a major boom right now, this brand could come with lots of opportunities for profit. The initial fee for franchises ranges from $40,000 to $70,000. Total upfront costs range from $170,000 to $950,000.

17. Kitchen Refresh

Kitchen Refresh is a kitchen remodeling business that is seeking franchisees across the United States. Franchises provide cabinets, countertops, hardware, glass, finishing, and full remodeling services for homeowners. Franchisees typically have a background in interior design or remodeling. The company especially loves couples with varying skill sets who want to run a business together. For example, one may be skilled in the technical aspects while the other focuses on design. The company also offers co-branding opportunities for existing business owners. The initial fee for franchises ranges from $6,000 to $40,000. Additional startup costs range from $4,000 to $20,000.

18. Re-Bath

Re-Bath is a bathroom remodeling franchise that has more than $180 million in systemwide sales. The company offers a number of profitable services. You can provide full remodels, bath installations, and other services. Bathrooms and kitchens are areas where homeowners are generally willing to spend. So the company really touts the profitability of its franchises. Franchisees dont need specific remodeling experience. But home improvement or business and marketing experience is preferred. The initial fee for franchises is $35,000. Total startup costs range from $140,000 to $308,000.

19. Miracle Method Surface Refinishing

Miracle Method Surface Refinishing provides refinishing services for everything from bathtubs to countertops. Franchisees attend a 15-day training course and receive a proven operating method. The company says it has seen record sales growth over the past 10 years. Franchisee candidates should have management and sales skills and also have a willingness to learn. But the companys training program covers their specific processes. So you dont need industry experience to be an effective franchisee. The fee for franchises is $45,000. Startup costs range from $84,500 to $180,000.

How Much Does a Home Improvement Franchise Cost?

Home improvement franchises can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $500,000. Most fall somewhere between $50,000 and $150,000 in initial costs. It all depends on the type of business you want to operate. Mobile or home-based home improvement businesses tend to cost less. Those that include a showroom or physical location often fall on the more expensive end.

What is the Best Home Improvement Franchise?

Identifying the best home improvement franchises is tricky and depends on your priorities. For example, those who want a low-cost franchise business may opt for Gorgeous Garage. Those who are passionate about design may be drawn to Decorating Den. To those looking for profitable home services franchises, California Closets and Re-Bath may stand out. If youre looking for the best franchise opportunity, start by making a list of your needs and preferences. Include your budget and consider what services are most in-demand in your area.

Franchise or Independent: Which Home Improvement Business is Best?

If you want to start your business and get it up and running quickly, home improvement franchises are likely the way to go. Home services franchises provide everything you need to operate a successful business under an established brand. However, you do need to stick to their methods, materials, and processes. For those who want more control over the process, independent home services business opportunities may be a more attractive option.
A disturbing majority of businesses in the U.S. are being negatively impacted by prescription painkiller abuse and addiction among employees.

Opioid Addiction Statistics

A survey recently released by the National Safety Council reveals more than 70 percent of workplaces are feeling the negative effects of opioid abuse. Nearly 40 percent of employers said employees are missing work due to painkiller abuse, with roughly the same percent reporting employees abusing the drugs on the job. Despite the prevalence of addiction in offices across the country, employers are doing little to mitigate risk. Record pill abuse in workplaces is coming at a time when Americans are taking more opioids than ever before, reports The Washington Post.

A recent survey from Truven Health Analytics and NPR reveals more than half of the U.S. population reports receiving a prescription for opioids at least once from their doctor, a 7 percent increase since 2011. Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Friday reveals that almost half of non-cancer patients prescribed opioids for a month or more are still dependent on the pills a year later.

Experts say that current opioid and heroin abuse is driven in large part by the over-prescribing of pain pills from doctors. Despite the problems opioid abuse is causing in the workplace, many employee drug tests do not look for the substance. Fifty-seven percent of businesses test for drugs, but 41 percent of those businesses do not test for opioids.

Employers must understand that the most dangerously misused drug today may be sitting in employees medicine cabinets, Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, said in a statement. Even when they are taken as prescribed, prescription drugs and opioids can impair workers and create hazards on the job.

Among people not currently taking opioids, nearly half view addiction as the biggest threat from using painkillers. Among current patients on opioids, fears over unwanted side effects still dwarf fears about long-term dependence and addiction. Medical professionals say doctors need to start by prescribing the least potent and least addictive pain treatment option, and then cautiously go from there.

Experts also say the patient must take greater responsibility when they visit their doctor and always ask why before accepting a prescription.

Addicts may begin with a dependence on opioid pills before transitioning to something harder after building up a tolerance that makes pills too expensive. States hit particularly hard by this are beginning to crackdown on doctors liberally doling out painkillers.

When four out of five new heroin users are getting their start by abusing prescription drugs, you have to attack the problem at ground zero  in irresponsibly run doctors offices, New Jersey Attorney General Porrino said in a statement March 1. Physicians who grant easy access to the drugs that are turning New Jersey residents into addicts can be every bit as dangerous as street-corner dealers. Purging the medical community of over-prescribers is as important to our cause as busting [edited] rings and locking up drug kingpins.

A record 33,000 Americans died from opioid related overdoses in 2015, according to the CDC. Opioid deaths contributed to the first drop in U.S. life expectancy since 1993 and eclipsed deaths from motor vehicle accidents in 2015. Combined, opiate-based painkillers account for roughly 63 percent of drug fatalities, which claimed 52,404 lives in the U.S. in 2015.

Republished by permission. Original here.
After failure by the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill that could repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act Friday, Vice President Mike Pence and SBA Administrator Linda McMahon made a stop in West Virginia to reassure small business owners and listen to their concerns.

The pair met with a crowd of small business leaders at Foster Supply, a family-owned business in Charleston, W.V., Hosted by owner Ronald Foster and Delegate Nancy Reagan Foster, the event featured remarks from both Pence and McMahon about small businesses and the fight against Obamacare.

Pence told the events attendees, I truly believe that President Trump is the best friend small business will ever have. Among the reasons for that sentiment, Pence cited Trumps family history of business ownership. He also said that the administration is focused on creating an environment with less regulation, fewer tax burdens, free and fair trade and more.

Pence also touted McMahons business acumen, explaining her history of building a small company into the worldwide brand WWE.

Small Businesses and the Fight Against Obamacare

Repealing Obamacare has been a major talking point for the Trump administration since the early days of the campaign. And its something that small business owners have been following closely.

While Fridays effort failed to accomplish this goal, Pence and McMahons visit to West Virginia mainly showcased the administrations interest in listening to small business owners when shaping policies going forward.
The benefits offered may help to attract and retain them, but do not guarantee they will stay in the job.

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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.

In the current situation, with companies struggling to find people to fill certain positions, firms are competing with one another by offering various benefits that would make the job offer more attractive for potential employees.

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The benefits offered may help to attract and retain them, but do not guarantee they will stay in the job. Generally speaking, employees stay with an employer mostly due to their relationships and the atmosphere in the workplace, and meaningful work, not benefits. Also, relationships with superiors and management are very important. In addition, employees want to participate in creating the vision and strategy, have trust in management, be respected, and feel they can count on them in the future. This creates a relationship with the company, as well as the long-term satisfaction and loyalty of employees.

The benefits make the job more attractive, though it is not possible to offer advantages that will be interesting across the board for all employees. It is necessary to distinguish benefits based on age (younger employees prefer different advantages than older ones), job character, working position, managerial level, and also region.

Older employees will appreciate benefits concerning family, health, healthy food and wellness. The benefits preferred by this group, like environment, additional pension insurance, home office (suitable for employees with small children), discounts on products also for other family members, or other company events for families, are not attractive for younger employees. They expect benefits to increase their qualifications, but they also seek flexible working hours as they really seek a work-life balance.

Popular benefits Home office

Flexible working hours

Parking place or repaid parking

Use of modern technologies

Permanent pass to sports centres

Wellness and beauty procedures

Trainings, conferences, language courses

Business travels, work abroad

Discounts on company products or services

More holiday

100-percent reimbursement of sick leave

There is also a difference between work positions. For traders, life insurance, and a secure business car with reimbursement for kilometres driven for private purposes belong among interesting benefits, while for IT specialists this may include reimbursement for dioptre glasses or technically-focused training. Regarding lower income employees, an increase in salary via various vouchers or higher meal vouchers is the biggest benefit. Senior management comprises a separate category, as they look at benefits also from the perspective of status. The best possibility is to offer employees to contribute to the creation and selection of benefits. Bigger companies offer a so-called cafeteria (the catalogue of benefits), from which employees can choose their own benefits. Smaller companies create benefits individually, while there are also companies which cannot afford to offer benefits. It is important to communicate within the company about financial results and benefits offered, as well as to carry out regular surveys about the satisfaction of employees. To communicate, to ask employees, and to respond to their demands.

Despite the efforts of companies to find a proper combination of the benefits, there will always be dissatisfied staffers, but with appropriate internal communication and work with employees, it is possible to increase their satisfaction.

Dana Blechova is managing partner at Blechova Management Consulting
Every journalist and editor has the responsibility to take a story beyond their daily beat, says Martha Mendoza, one of the team of four women who won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for their Seafood from Slaves investigation.

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As a result of the work of the AP reporters, more than 2,000 slaves who were captives of the Thailand seafood industry are free today. They were forced to catch or process seafood that then made its way into the supply chains of almost every major food retailer, and to dinner tables worldwide.

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Mendoza answered the questions of The Slovak Spectator in an e-mail interview ahead of her visit to Slovakia in early April, where she is scheduled to give public lectures in Bratislava and Kosice about her work but also about human trafficking in general and how journalists can approach it as an issue.

The Slovak Spectator (TSS): Your work on fishermen slaves has made a strong impact. You have managed to raise public awareness about slave work in fisheries, a new law is in place that bans slave-produced goods, hundreds of

video //www.youtube.com/embed/pS7BhZxrJ_s

people were freed from forced labour. What is the most important outcome of it for you personally?

Martha Mendoza (MM): As a journalist I always try to do my best, but I wonder what I can do, whether I can make a difference. In this case, more than 2,000 fishermen are free, a dozen people have been jailed, ships worth millions of dollars seized and businesses shut down. There have been Congressional hearings, lawsuits and proposed changes to legislation. Some of the worlds largest companies, after being called out, have vowed to clean up supply chains. The Thai seafood sector and the Global Aquaculture Alliance have pledged to bring all shrimp processing in-house by January 1, 2016, eliminating peeling and processing sheds. One of the problems we have faced in addressing these challenges is the lack of specificity of allegations, US business groups representing Red Lobster, Whole Foods and others wrote in a letter to foreign diplomats in Washington. The AP article changes this dynamic.

TSS: How did the topic of present-day slavery come about? What brought your attention to this problem?

MM: Slavery at sea had been an open secret for decades, with especially bad conditions in the Thai fishing industry. The AP team, frustrated that the problems persisted despite government, NGO and media reports, set (and met) two ambitious goals: Find captive slaves, to counter industry claims that the problems have been solved, and follow specific loads of slave-caught seafood to supply chains of particular brands and stores, so companies no longer could deny culpability. They never imagined theyd find an entire slave island. For months they turned over leads until they heard about Benjina  a remote Indonesian island village that was unreachable for months at a time because of stormy seas. There, the AP discovered hundreds of Burmese slaves, some locked in a cage, others buried under fake names in a company cemetery. This was where the series began.

 On the morning authorities went to Benjina and began freeing people, I ran to my childrens beds, I shook them awake and said Theyre freeing the slaves! 

TSS: How would you describe the work on a big project like your Fishermen Slaves? How big is the team of people who participate on it and how long did it take from the start of the project until publishing?

MM: This project began in 2014 and continues today, as there are still workers trapped on boats at sea catching seafood that ends up in the US and Europe. We worked as a four woman team  Esther Htusan, Margie Mason, Robin McDowell and myself  and our editor Mary Rajkumar, on the reporting. The production took dozens of people, for making videos and websites, preparing photos and captions, lawyers and standards editors, and more.

TSS: Did you know from the start the story was going to be as big as it turned out in the end?

MM: We had no idea, and couldnt have imagined where this was heading. On the morning authorities went to Benjina and began freeing people, I ran to my childrens beds (it was 5 am when Robin told me). I shook them awake and said, Theyre freeing the slaves!

TSS: Modern-day slavery also concerns Slovakia. There are victims of trafficking, for instance, from among the Roma people who live in poor settlements. What would be your advice for an investigative journalist who wants to look into this problem? What are the things to be particularly careful about when dealing with such a sensitive issue?

MM: I want to encourage and implore your journalists to look into this. Uncovering human trafficking can be dangerous and requires sensitivity but it can make a real difference in someones lives. Be careful about the perpetrators  these can be criminals and a journalist can disrupt their livelihood. And take care with victims  they have been traumatised and a difficult, aggressive and demanding reporter can be additionally abusive. Before publishing, the AP went to the International Organisation for Migration for help rescuing the men that had been photographed and filmed out of fear they could be punished or possibly killed for talking to reporters. Only after they were removed from the island and taken to a safe place did AP run the story.

Read also:

Read also: Pulitzer laureate: We need to pay attention to climate change now Read more

TSS: What are the ethical dilemmas you face most often in your work as an investigative journalist? Were they any different in this particular case of fishermen slaves?

MM: As journalists we often wonder: when do we put down our notebook or camera and help a subject or source we are writing about? The principles at stake included our AP news value to avoid behaviour or activities that compromise our ability to report the news fairly and accurately, uninfluenced by any person or action. A second principle commits us to minimising harm to our sources and subjects. Using photos taken from space, we found trawlers loaded with workers in waters off Papua New Guinea that had fled a slave island in Indonesia. We desperately wanted to tell the story of these men who should have been freed in Benjina with the others. But we also felt a great responsibility to make sure they were helped, even if it did not result in a story.

Usually a news story is enough to alert authorities to wrongdoing without having the journalists get involved. But in this case it was going to take a while for law enforcement to muster the resources necessary to respond at sea. And we feared they might flee when our story published, subjecting the victims to further abuse. So we decided to contact authorities and share what we knew, maintaining our vigilance and outside oversight from editors to make sure we were not compromising our impartiality or integrity in telling the story.

TSS: Why does a good newspaper need to have an investigative desk?

MM: Im not sure it does. But every journalist and editor has the responsibility to take a story beyond their daily beat, digging deeper. Investigative reporting is simply reporting with more resources  more time, funding, research and collaboration. At the end of the day everyone can and should be doing it if theyre working at a newspaper.

Read also:

Read also: This is the Golden Age of access Read more

TSS: Increasingly, non-profits now take up the role of doing investigative journalism. Some of the Pulitzer-winning journalists I spoke to in the past saw this as a way out of the situation when news organisations often cannot afford to undertake long-term investigative projects. How do you see the role of these NGOs?

MM: AP is also a non-for-profit, although our business model and history is more as a cooperative. I like the non-profit model for investigative reporting, and I appreciate all of the new innovative ways journalism is finding for funding. We hit a bit of a crisis in recent decades, and there are wonderful, brilliant, creative people working on financial solutions.

TSS: Why did you become a journalist  and would you make the same choice if you were to do it all over again?

MM: I went from high school to college for one year and I didnt know what I wanted to study. I took history and calculus and chemistry and art for a year. I lived on campus. And nothing was really working for me. That next summer I went to Central America with a congressional delegation which a friend of mine was helping organise and it was there that I saw people who were really in need. I saw bodies in the streets in El Salvador and heard about the US involvement and about what was happening. And somebody there said we are telling you our story, what are you going to do about it? I thought I dont know, I better go back to college. So I went back to college and took a journalism class with a teacher named Conn Hallinan who instantly became my mentor. He is still a very important person in my life and my career. I feel tremendously fortunate to have been able to do this work. For me going places and meeting people, hearing their stories, this is fun. I love the writing process, a challenge where I always have room for improvement. And its such an honour to meet so many people of conscious and integrity around the world, working incredibly hard, living amazing lives. What an extraordinary opportunity I have to ask them questions, spend time with them and tell their stories.
Former MP Frantisek Gaulieder, who once was illegally excluded from parliament by HZDS and its chairman, was killed by a train near the village of Trnovec nad Vahom (in Nitra Region) in the early hours of March 25.

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Gaulieder, aged 66, left home and his whereabouts had been unknown to his family for some time, the private JOJ TV channels news website noviny.sk reported on the same day.

The police first found Gaulieders car, which contained his identification documents, parked between Trnovec nad Vahom and the district town of Sala (also in Nitra Region) during the night. Later on, at around 1:50 am, a train passing through the area struck and killed a man who was later identified as Gaulieder.

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A bit of bitter history

Elected on a joint slate of Vladimir Meciars HZDS and Slovakias Farmers Party (RSS) in 1994, Gaulieder eventually became a critic of Meciars reign in 1996 and left the party to continue in parliament as an independent MP. I always have been principled, had my opinion and I have never been servile, he told the Dennik N daily last year. As a member of the parliamentary committee overseeing the intelligence service SIS with Ivan Lexa at its helm, he refused to read at a plenary session and later sign the report that criticised the previous head of the SIS Vladimir Mitro. He was then stripped of his mandate within a few weeks by the Meciar-dominated parliament, the TASR newswire wrote.

Shortly after Gaulieder was stripped of his deputy mandate, a bomb exploded outside his house in Galanta, near a gas connection, Sme wrote.

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A year after his expulsion from the House, the Constitutional Court decided that it was at odds with the constitution. Later, the European Court of Human Rights described this as a violation of his rights. The state subsequently paid him 30,000 in compensation. Prime Minister Robert Fico, who represented Slovakia before the Strasbourg Court, said at that time that Gaulieder is a notorious complainer. From the HZDS party, only MP Vlastimil Vicen apologised to him for his expulsion from the House. During his second successful presidential campaign, the then-speaker of parliament for HZDS Ivan Gasparovic, upon being asked by a journalist who inquired about Gaulieder, responded by asking whether the journalist did not have other topics to ask about.

Over the past years, Gaulieder served as a municipal councillor in Galanta. Repeatedly, he found envelopes with a pigeon in his mail box.

Investigation

The police are investigating the accident of March 25, including the possibility that the accident was a suicide.

Most recently, the noviny.sk website wrote that his death is being investigated as a murder and as illegal restraint, adding that shortly before his death he received an envelope with intriguing photographs. His relatives and friends also told the media that he was not inclined to suicide and that both a coincidental death and suicide are very improbable

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The MP and LSNS vice-chair claimed he wasn't able to evaluate the Jewish transports during WWII as he is not a historian.

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Moreover, all participants of the programme on March except for him condemned, on the 75th anniversary of the first transport of Slovak Jews to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp (on March 25, 1942), what happened, the Pravda daily wrote.

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I respect that we commemorate it but I didnt live then, he said. I cannor evaluate it, as I am not a historian; and I dont know the historical circumstances. I dont think we should feel eternal guilt, he summed up, according to the Sme daily.

On another point of discussion, the scrapping of amnesties of Vladimir Meciar, ex-chair of the now dysfunctional HZDS party back in 1990s, Uhrik considers this issue a substitute one, as other cases and scandals ceased to be discussed. He did not say, however, whether LSNS supports the coalition- or the opposition proposal on how to scrap amnesties  he opined that the Constitutional Court must decide.

Opposition should yield

One year after the current government took over, Miroslav Ciz of Smer considers it important that opposition, having in mind the stability of the country gives up confrontational clashes. If Slovakia is to succeed within the EU, it must tsay unified internally as well as stable. It is the constant political fight that divides the society, Ciz said as quoted by Sme, adding that this division slows Slovakia down. He also stressed that the cabinet has to continue fighting against extremism and corruption; while the legal framework has been done in two spheres.

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The government cares insufficiently for people, and does not protect their interests, Milan Krajniak (of the opposition Sme Rodina  Boris Kollar party) opined. This government does only a little for the people, he summed up, pointing to the low salaries compared to the countries with a similar economic performance, while ascribing the responsibility to the government of Robert Fico.

Cabinet must intensify the fight against corruption, while the opposition should also get more space in parliament, Lubomir Galko (of the opposition Freedon and Solidarity-SaS party) said. We are ready to seek functional solutions but coalition refuses all the expert proposals of us, he stated. Veronika Remisova (also opposition OLaNO-NOVA) claims that the government fails in the long term to deal with the health care  which is heavily indebted  as well as the education sector where the results are zero so far.

We try to fulfil lour programme, which is one of the best in the education and in health care, she said. But we fail to push through our proposals. The problem of Slovakia remains to be corruption on to positions, according to Remisova, against which the government does not fight sufficiently. Corruption scandals have been not solved, those to blame remain unpunished, she opined.

Coalition seeks a mechanism

As for the scrapping of Meciar amnesties, Ciz repeated that this is a purely legal issue, as our legal system doe not know any institute like the revoking of amnesties. We are looking for a constitutional mechanism which would enable this, the Smer MP said for Sme, adding that the negotiations are taking place on the level of both coalition and opposition. SaS wants, according to Galko, the amnesties to be scrapped; and to achieve this, it is even ready to make concessions in some of its requirements and support the coalition proposal. Everyone involved in the abduction and maybe even the murder should be punished, Galko stated.

Such a serious as matter as scrapping the amnesties should not be the subject to politicking, according to Remisova. We are ready to support even the coalition proposal; but we are not sure that the coalition really aims at scrapping the amnesties, she said. Krajniak deems it important that Slovakia shows, by abolishing the amnesties, that it does not support the impunity of some people.
The submitters point to the allegiance to neo-Nacism; but LSNS MP Milan Uhrik sees no reason for submitting the complaint.

MPs Ondrej Dostal (SaS) and Viera Dubacova (OLaNO-NOVA) during the constituent meeting of the parliament in March 2016. (Source: TASR)

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The MP for the far-right Peoples Party  Our Slovakia (LSNS) Milan Uhrik, may be prosecuted for his statements voiced during the political talk show O 5 Minut 12 (Five to Twelve) broadcast by the public-service RTVS on March 26.

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Uhrik, however, does not see any reason for the complaint.

We have submitted a criminal complaint due to a suspicion that the crimes of founding, supporting and promoting a movement leading to the suppression of fundamental human rights and freedoms according to the Criminal Code or the expression of sympathies towards a movement leading to the suppression of fundamental human rights and freedoms, might have been committed, said Ondrej Dostal, MP for Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), who submitted the complaint, as quoted by the SITA newswire.

Apart from him, a complaint was also submitted by non-affiliated Bratislava city councillor Lucia Stasselova, non-affiliated MP Viera Dubacova and deputy chair of the Civic Conservative Party (OKS) Juraj Petrovic.

During the talk show, SaS MP Lubomir Galko called on Uhrik to comment on the racist and fascist statements of other LSNS deputies and distance himself from them.

Those statements are not the official programme of the party, so yes, we distance ourselves from them, Uhrik said, as quoted by SITA.

He added however, that he liked a particular one, pointing to the need to secure the future of white children.

I dont see anything bad in that, Uhrik said, as quoted by SITA. Consider me racist but I think that yes, we should also secure the future of white children, not only the other ones.

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Stasselova in this respect recalled the statement, we must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children which is a well-known statement of racists and neo-Nazis.

The author of this sentence is American racist David Lane, Stasselova said, as quoted by SITA, adding that the sentence has 14 words. This figure is often used as a neo-Nazi symbol, together with 88, which refers to the Nazi greeting.

Uhrik did not distance himself from this well-known neo-Nazi statement during the talk show; he rather claimed allegiance to it, said Petrovic.

The politicians also say that LSNS chair Marian Kotleba has recently distributed cheques amounting to 1,488 to three families. Since there is a suspicion that the party claimed allegiance to the neo-Nazi symbol, the Special Prosecutors Office launched an investigation into the case, SITA reported.

Dostal meanwhile reminded people of the anniversary of the first transport of Jewish girls and young women to the death camp at Auschwitz, which took place on the same weekend as Uhrik discussed his views on the RTVS talk show.

Uhrik, however, sees no reason for submitting the complaint against him. The statement is about protecting someone, not hurting them, he claimed, as reported by SITA.
The film Masaryk that tells the story of Czech diplomat Jan Masaryk, rather than that of his more famous father-president, comes to Slovak cinemas after festive premiere at Berlinale film festival and after having won 12 Czech Lions.

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It was nominated for the awards of the Czech Film and TV Academy in 14 categories, i.e. in all but one  the Best Actress.

Masaryk won Czech Lions it in category the Best Film, Julius Sevcik for the Best Director, Karle Roden for the best Actor, Oldrich Kaiser for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Martin Strba for the Best Camera, Marek Opatrny for the Best Editing, Viktor Ekrt , Pavel Rejholec for the Best Sound, Michal Lorenc, Krystof Marek for the Best Music, Milan Bycek for the Best Scenography, Katarina Strbova Bielikova for the Best Costumes, and Lukas Kral for the Best Masks.

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Even for those who may not be impressed by these awards, the film can be interesting as it focuses on one specific moment of Czech history  the mess, the feverish efforts, the scheming and disguise preceding the Munich Agreement that first divided Czechoslovakia, offering one part of the country to German Nazi power, and later resulted, directly of indirectly, in the World War II.

Individual in a melting pot of history

The film directed by Sevcik can be interesting, however, even for audiences who do not know  or do not care, for that matter  a lot for the military, or wider European, history, as it shows the ups and downs of growing up in the first family, of being forced, by brothers death, to follow in fathers footsteps, and to defy all natural inclinations and temperament by starting a political career, with the character and ambitions of a bohemian.

Masaryk, mixing facts with fiction and some national myths, also shows the mental complexity and fragility of the pre-war Czechoslovak foreign minister, including treatment in the USA, and his weaknesses that can give a strange impression for a politician in crucial historical era, but show excellently his non-public, human features. The story also enables viewers to see the different extremes of Jan Masaryks personality, the extroverted introvert, the convivial companion and seducer as well as the lonely man who could never feel the acceptance and unconditional love of the man closest to him, whom he admired the best and whom he felt he could never even come close to compare  the father of the country, first and long-time Czechoslovak president, Tomas. G. Masaryk who was ailing by the time of crisis for his fatherland  and the whole Europe.

Due to the timing, some persons important in the son-Masaryks life never appear in the movie, while we also do not come to watch his mysterious decline and death after the communists came to power in his homeland after WWII. But we do learn some of the people (e.g. the love of his life, president Edvard Benes) who were crucial to him, privately of professionally. And the soft camera and dim locations help audience understand the moods and twists of events preceding the devastating war.

After a brief screening in a pre-premiere and the premiere at Berlinale, Masaryk now comes to Slovak cinemas, to be offered also with English sub-titles; so far only in the Usmev cinema in Kosice, as Denisa Biermannova of the Garfield Film distribution company said.
Authorities call on consumers to check origin of meat.

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Inspections in Slovakia have found Brazilian meat that does not make the grade. Seventeen types of meat products failed to measure up to the required standards during probes ordered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development last week. Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matecna and State Veterinary and Food Administration (SVPS) head Jozef Bires informed about the findings on March 27.

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The SVPS have suspended the sale of 327 products and tested 82 samples, with more tests still under way, said Matecna as cited by the TASR newswire. It turned out that we were right to exercise foresight and redouble efforts to protect consumers. The probes showed that two products of Brazilian origin that were implicated in the scandal have been imported into Slovakia despite the EUs assurances that no such products are in the EU.

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Matecna informed that 10 out of 66 sensory tests failed; these involved chicken liver. Five out of 60 meat preparations labelled as chicken also failed. Tests aimed at preservatives and salmonella have yet to be concluded.

Given the gravity of the findings, sales of the products from the Brazilian plant that has exported tainted meat have been suspended in Slovakia, said Matecna. Im encouraging all consumers to read the labels of meat products carefully and to check their origin.

As much as 80 percent of Brazilian meat exports make it to the EU via the Netherlands.

The minister urged all consumers in restaurants and the parents of children that use pre-school canteens to enquire into the origin of the meat served there because that is beyond SVPSs purview, and it cannot exclude the possibility that tainted meat has also been distributed there.

Irregularities have been found mainly in large retailers and in warehouses, which will now face administrative proceedings.

Bires said that, in comparison with other EU-member countries, Slovakia imports relatively large quantities of meat from Brazil.

We import 240 tonnes of beef annually and an alarmingly high amount of chicken  some 9,000 tonnes, Bires said.
They will sign the document on Tuesday, March 28.

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Trade unionists and the management of the carmaker Kia Motors Slovakia in Teplicka nad Vahom, have agreed on an increase of tariff wages and bonuses for night shifts, bringing a week-long strike alert to an end. An appendix to the collective agreement will secure manufacturing employees a tariff monthly wage rise of 75 and a hike in the bonus for night work by 0.36 per hour. The carmaker will release the exact figures and other changes after signing the document with trade unions on Tuesday, March 28.

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We consider this to be a partial success, said Miroslav Chladek, the head of the local basic trade union at the Kia plant as cited by the SITA newswire. They are taking it as a starting line not only for them but also for all employees in Slovakia who feel they deserve higher wages given the economic results that are being achieved here.

Originally the trade unions requested a 10 percent rise in tariff wages for manufacturing workers and a 7 percent increase for administrative workers. Kia offered 5.5 percent for the former and 3.5 percent for the latter.

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The trade unions and Kias management pointed out that the agreed increase is historically the highest increase in remuneration in the 10-year history of the carmaker in Teplicka nad Vahom.

Kia is already the second carmaker in Slovakia increasing wages for its employees. The Trnava-based PSA Peugeot Citroen announced an agreement on an average 6.3-percent pay hike in early March.

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Its owner was inspired by the castles of the Loire Valley when giving the castle its current look.

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Some are more than 900 years old while others were given their current shape during the last few centuries. This year, the respected magazine, The National Geographic, has selected the 10 most beautiful castles in Europe. This time Slovakia has a representative on the list  the fairy-tale castle of Bojnice.

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The magazine describes this most visited castle in Slovakia as a setting perfect for daydreams. Built as a wooden fort in the 12th century, the castle changed hands many times but attained its current good looks in the late 1800s from the last private owner, Count Janos Ferenc Palffy, who admired the majestic castles of the Loire Valley, the magazine recalls. Sadly he died before the renovations were complete. Night tours by candlelight are especially popular at Bojnice Castle, as is the annual International Festival of Ghosts and Spooks which is held at the end of April.

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Among other castles on the list are the famed Bran Castle in Transylvania also commonly known as Draculas Castle, the Prague Castle and the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.
When we originally made plans for South East Asia one of the things we wanted to do was motorbike around Vietnam. After watching that famous Top Gear episode we knew just how much the country had to offer and how much riding a bike would allow us to see. Having finally, and somewhat miraculously, gotten bikes and made it half way up the country after considering many time whether to actually do it or not, here we were, at the main feature of that inspirational episode: The famous Hai Van Pass! It was time to see what all the fuss was about!

The famous Hai Van Pass: The Top Gear inspiration

Waking up that morning I was more excited than most days to throw my leg over the bike and get the throttle going. It had been an amazing adventure up to now but a damn tiring one. Nobody seems to mention the early mornings, aching limbs, saddle soreness and long days when they talk of the dream of riding through Vietnam. But as my tush toughened up, my body clock began adjusting and I gained more confidence on the bike I began to look forward to the riding days. But today was a special one!







The ride was a short one for us, only 64km from Da Nang to Hue, or next stop. On this journey we managed almost 500km in one day, over 18 hours of riding from early morning until well after dark. So today at least we could get up at a reasonable hour, relax over breakfast and take our time on what was billed to be one of the highlights our 7 week road trip through Vietnam.

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A bikers paradise of twists, turns and scenic views on perfect tarmac!

The Hai Van pass is as dramatic as it is scenic. What also makes it one of the best roads in the country to ride is the fact that a new tunnel cut into the rock below to avoid this inconveniently longer route has been made. This means all the annoying huge trucks and buses are all diverted down here, leaving the high road only for the bikers! This also means the road is in good condition with perfect sticky tarmac without the heavy trucks creating dangerous potholes like on many of the other roads in Vietnam.

Translated into the Ocean Cloud Pass this wonderful name describes perfectly the scene that will lay itself out in front of you. Lasting a mere 21km the series of twists, turns, bends, curves and contours begin shallow and tame. Skirting the cliffside of the azure ocean as it glistens in the beating sun. The corners soon become more winding, tighter and more extreme. Our weeks of riding paying off and allowing us to take them smoothly and with the freedom of a bird mid flight. The feeling as you swing around perfect bend after perfect bend is almost indescribable, if travel is freedom then this really is the next level.

The road begins to become steeper, dropping down the gears to negotiate the banked contours of the jaw dropping turns. On one side of you is the stunning Vietnamese coast, to the other is the the breathtaking mountain that characterise central Vietnam, the usual cloud hugging their ridges and peaks. Riding into the clouds the weather suddenly changes and visibility drops down to only a few meters, but weve encounters this before! Stopping off to see the abandoned Viet Cong structures near by the aptly named cafe in the clouds we continued on, chasing the sun on the other side of the pass!

Riding in Vietnam turned us into bikers! We only wish this historic road was longer!

Top Gear presenters called the Hai Van Pass a deserted ribbon of perfection, one of the best coast roads in the world, and it certainly was! Vietnam might have better roads out there thats for sure, but not many of them as a accessible or as diverse as this beauty.

Riding the Hai Van pass might have been a little shorter than we wanted if any criticism can be bestowed on this perfect snake of tarmac. But what it lacked in length it makes up for in sheer beauty and history. Not only should you come here for the views, but this place is also a symbolic and strategic place of important. Traditionally the border between the Champa people and the Dai Viet above it was seen as a major land barrier for advancing armies and people. It is also seen as the border area between the climates of Vietnam, the south being generally warm and sunny all year round and the north having more well defined seasonswhich we can attest too!







Riding on the vast and varied roads of Vietnam was a major challenge for us, who had never ridden a motorbike before. But its roads like this that turned us from novices into bikers with a passion for two wheels, in the future we foresee many more adventures on bikes and when we do settle we will be getting a couple of bikes for certain!

Other great riding in the area:

The Hai Van pass was for sure one of the highlights of riding through Vietnam, a road that felt like it was made to be ridden on two wheels. But it is by far not the end of the amazing riding in this region alone. Whilst in Hoi An we headed over to the nearby city of Da Nang to get our 1000km mark oil change as per our agreement with Tigit (who we bought the bikes off and sold them back too). Whilst there we met a nice chap from Alaska who had been riding bikes for 50 years. Being retired he was taking his time touring the country and had been in Da Nang for 3 months, exploring all the riding potential the area had to offer, it was safe to say he was taken with the city!

We decided to have a few nights in Da Nang itself and meet up with Bob for a ride. We had an amazing day of riding and really on that day fell in love with motorbiking. No longer where we just using the bikes as a method of transport but instead we were now going on on them for fun, the thrill of zipping around corners and weaving around bends had turned us into bikers with a passion for the road. The mountain of Da Nang proved to be a perfect place to spend the day riding, near perfect roads snaked their way up and down the peaks with no one to be seen for hours. Views over the perfect blue waters and rich green forests were only punctuated by the monkey infested concrete road that allowed us deep into this wonderful terrain! Da Nang is a city with miles and miles of amazing and quiet roads to explore as well as having a chilled out and relaxed vibe in the city itself.

How to experience this amazing road yourself!

The only way to truly experience the Hai Van pass is on a motorbike, whether than be manual or just a scooter, getting out on two wheels and feeling the curves, leaning into the perfect tarmac on the bends and stopping whenever and wherever you are to take photos and take in the stunning scenery is what it is all about.

Watching that Top Gear episode all those years ago was what made us want to bike the full country, from Saigon to Sapa, over 2500 miles. But the part that got us in the first place was the Hai Van Pass, its a motorbikers heaven!

The Hai Van Pass is situated between the cities of Da Nang (near Hoi An) and Hue. It is roughly 65km to travel between these but the Hai Van pass is only around 20km long, meaning if you wish you could cross there and back in a day.

Rent a bike

Renting bikes from anywhere in Vietnam is simple and easy, it usually costs around $5 and there is often no questions asked. You wont fail to see signs for rentals all over Hoi An, Da Nang and Hue. Filling a full tank, which on our Honda Blades was 3L and got us 120km cost between 30,000 and 40,000 Dong, thats around 1-1.50!

Go on a tour

If renting your own bike out feels a bit too risky or out of your comfort zone. Fear not! All over Vietnam you will see easy rider tours where you can jump on the back of a big comfortable bike ridden by a seasoned professional. You can take these either as day trips back to your original destination or as a method of transport from Da Nang/ Hoi An over to Hue. You can even take them on multi day tours through some amazing areas of the country to get that feel of biking without the danger of going it alone!

A tour will cost between $50-$70 for the day.

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Book your accommodation here

Hey, youve got your Travel Insurance sorted havent you?

Travelling and especially backpacking is a wild adventure, but make sure you are covered just incase something goes wrong, which if youre living it up to the fullest its always a possibility!

Check travel insurance prices with World Nomads here!

Have you ever ridden on such an amazing road?

See more from this country:

See more from our backpacking adventures:
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TMP Context: How to investigate prisoner transport in your state. man has filed alawsuit alleging outrageous conduct by employees of a prisoner extradition company, Inmate Services Corp., during a 15-day, 8,000-mile, 31-state journey. ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER How to investigate prisoner transport in your state. THE MARSHALL PROJECT Oregon is confronting a new wave of racist vandalism and a new round of debate over the meaning of a hate crime. is confronting a new wave of racist vandalism and a new round of debate over the meaning of a hate crime. BUZZFEED Connecticut has a hospice program  rare in the nation  where inmates help each other die with dignity. This medium-security prison inhas a hospice program  rare in the nation  where inmates help each other die with dignity. NARRATIVELY COMMENTARY Mob rules. The law exists to protect us from the mob. When a governor leads a mob you get what we have in Florida in the case of prosecutor Aramis Ayala. The law exists to protect us from the mob. When a governor leads a mob you get what we have in Florida in the case of prosecutor Aramis Ayala. TAMPA BAY TIMES When the punishment doesnt end after prison. Its time for state lawmakers to take a long, hard, new look collateral consequences  civil penalties such as banishment from certain jobs  that contribute to recidivism. Its time for state lawmakers to take a long, hard, new look collateral consequences  civil penalties such as banishment from certain jobs  that contribute to recidivism. THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION Whose lives matter? A terror attack in New York typically generates an immediate and passionate outpouring of sympathy from public officials. Why the silence over white supremacist Timothy Caughman? A terror attack in New York typically generates an immediate and passionate outpouring of sympathy from public officials. Why the silence over white supremacist Timothy Caughman? THE NEW YORK TIMES Kentucky killings. We should not feel comfortable raising children in a world where they learn how to order flowers for their friends funeral before they learn how to buy a house or start a retirement fund. We should not feel comfortable raising children in a world where they learn how to order flowers for their friends funeral before they learn how to buy a house or start a retirement fund. THE COURIER-JOURNAL A reformer who reformed nothing. Even apart from the corruption Philadelphia DA Seth Williams was a disappointment to those who hoped he would change an injustice system. Even apart from the corruption Philadelphia DA Seth Williams was a disappointment to those who hoped he would change an injustice system. SLATE ETC. Leak of the Day: In which the secret disciplinary files of Daniel Pantaleo, the NYPD officer who killed Eric Garner in 2014, are reportedly made public. In which the secret disciplinary files of Daniel Pantaleo, the NYPD officer who killed Eric Garner in 2014, are reportedly made public. THINKPROGRESS Public Shaming of the Day: Trump administration officials are scouring privacy law for ways to more freely disseminate personal information about immigrants. Trump administration officials are scouring privacy law for ways to more freely disseminate personal information about immigrants. THE WASHINGTON POST Transcript of the Day: In which the Supreme Court justices ponder the conflict between police immunity and Second Amendment gun rights. In which the Supreme Court justices ponder the conflict between police immunity and Second Amendment gun rights. U.S. SUPREME COURT Warning of the Day: How face recognition software threatens to turn police body cameras into surveillance machines. How face recognition software threatens to turn police body cameras into surveillance machines. THE INTERCEPT First Person of the Day: The scariest part of working in a prison is not the inmates its the way we set them up for failure and then punish them when they fail, says a substance-abuse counselor working with prisoners. The scariest part of working in a prison is not the inmates its the way we set them up for failure and then punish them when they fail, says a substance-abuse counselor working with prisoners. THOUGHT CATALOG
BELFAST, March 27 (Reuters) - The British government on Monday gave Northern Ireland's largest political parties more time to form a power-sharing regional government and said there was no appetite for another election in the province.

"I think there are a few short weeks in which to resolve matters," Britain's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire told reporters.

Speaking after the passing of a three-week deadline to form a new government following the March 2 election, he said there was no appetite for a suspension of devolution and a return to direct rule from London.

"I believe there is an overwhelming desire among the political parties and the public here for strong and stable devolved government," he said. (Reporting by Ian Graham; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by William Schomberg)
Bulgarias veteran politician, Boiko Borisov and his pro-Europe centre-right party have claimed victory in the countrys snap election. With most votes counted the European Development of Bulgaria or GERB party won about 33% of the vote, but thats well short of an outright majority in the 240-seat parliament. Exit polls show Gerb party won early elections in Bulgaria for the 3rd time since 2009 https://t.co/bm4SfDb6i3 pic.twitter.com/i7WUWYVFj1 Bloomberg (@business) March 26, 2017 Claiming to be the nights winners, GERB leader Boiko Borisov set out the challenges ahead: As a country, we have the rare opportunity to assume the presidency of the EU in January. We must build a stable government in the months to come, and a stable opposition as well, with a sense of responsibility. The situation is very complicated but we must do our best to unite the nation. So begins the search for a coalition partner. Reporting from Sofia for euronews, Damian Vodenticharov: Borissovs call for national unity comes ahead of tough talks with potential partners in the new parliament, which could take weeks, or even months. And a looming deadline is the choice of a new European commissioner from Bulgaria. But the pro-Russia Socialists and their leader Kornelia Ninova who came second with around 28% have already rejected any possibility of working with Borisov. If GERB invites us to a coalition, we will not join. There are principles in politics, we always stated during the campaign that our programs are completely opposed and as the alternative to GERB our goal is to change the status quo. #Bulgarias center-right #GERB party narrowly won parliamentary elections on March 26, Reuters. https://t.co/TUzfphrtNY pic.twitter.com/jK0RhpJunm Stratfor (Stratfor) March 27, 2017 Preliminary results show 5 parties have passed the electoral threshold and GERB will have to form as coalition with one of two of them. Analysts forecast possible talks with either the United Patriots nationalist alliance or an ethnic Turkish party. (MRF) Bulgaria which is the European Unions poorest country, where the average monthly salary is just 500 and corruption is rife. It has been unstable for years, this being the third parliamentary election in four years. After snap #elections in #Bulgaria most probably again instable center-right coalition led by Boyko #Borissov and his party #GERB. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/AgWcZK5ZYp Michael Hein (@DrMichaelHein) March 26, 2017
By Tife Owolabi YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Former militant leaders in Nigeria's Niger Delta oil region have urged the government to pay out delayed stipends granted under a 2009 amnesty or face protests, a statement said on Thursday. An uneasy peace is currently being kept in Nigeria's oil-producing heartland, which was rocked last year by militant attacks that cut crude production by as much as a third. Failure to pay off former militants under the amnesty could jeopardise the relative stability in the region and even result in oil production again being choked off. "We are calling for the immediate release of the balance sum of the 2016 supplementary budgetary allocation ... to avert any situation that will warrant beneficiaries of the programme going to the streets to protest and barricade roads," the former militants said in a statement. The government is now in talks with militants to end the attacks which cut Nigeria's output by 700,000 barrels a day (bpd) for several months last year, reducing total production at that time to about 1.2 million bpd. It has since rebounded. Under the amnesty programme, each former militant is entitled to 65,000 naira ($213.68) a month plus job training. But last week a special adviser to Nigeria's president said the programme was facing a cash crunch. Authorities had originally cut the budget for cash payments to militants to end corruption. They later resumed payments to keep pipeline attacks from crippling vital oil revenues. Two months of stipends were paid out in January, but the amnesty office said foreign schools fees and other allowances had not been sent by the federal government yet. The damage from attacks on Nigeria's oil industry has exacerbated a downturn in Africa's largest economy, which slipped into recession in 2016 for the first time in 25 years, largely due to low oil prices. Crude oil sales make up around two thirds of government revenue. (Reporting by Tife Owolabi; writing by Ulf Laessing and Paul Carsten; editing by David Clarke and David Evans)
How WhatsApps end-to-end encryption works (Getty)

Amber Rudd has called for police and intelligence agencies to be given access to encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp, sparking a row over civil liberties.

In the wake of the Westminster terrorist attack, the Rudd said that it was completely unacceptable that the government could not read messages sent via the app, the largest messaging service in the world.

Critics, however, have branded the Home Secretarys calls as mathematically impossible.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd (Getty)

What is Amber Rudd asking for?

Police are investigating reports that terrorist Khalid Masood, who killed four people outside of parliament before he was shot dead, had sent a Whatsapp message shortly before the attack. But since last year, the company  which is owned by Facebook  has used end-to-end encryption, meaning intelligence services cant access the data.

Rudd, speaking on the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, said the government needs to make sure that organisations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, dont provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other. During the interview, she failed to rule out legislation to allow access, but said she was hoping to win the argument.

MORE: Home Secretary Amber Rudd calls WhatsApp encryption totally unacceptable

MORE: New arrest over London attack as govt eyes WhatsApp

What is end-to-end encryption?

Whatsapp, which was founded in January 2009, and now has more than one billion users, says privacy and security is in [its] DNA. Last year, following a high-profile battle between Apple and the FBI over access to data, it rolled out end-to-end encryption. In short, this means that no one outside of the conversation can read messages  this include intelligence services, hackers and WhatsApp itself (Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes, as it puts it). When a conversation is started with a user, the app retrieves their public key from the companys server, but not the encrypted private key, which exists only on the users phone. In theory, this makes snooping impossible, although some have argued that a backdoor exists that would allow WhatsApp to grant case-by-case access to governments.

Story continues

Should the government be able to access it?

Many critics, including Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, say no, and have called Rudds plans disproportionate. These terrorists want to destroy our freedoms and undermine our democratic society, Paddick said. By implementing draconian laws that limit our civil liberties, we would be playing into their hands. My understanding is there are ways security services could view the content of suspected terrorists encrypted messages and establish who they are communicating with, he added.

Experts also point to the security threat from hackers, particularly in Russia, noting that end-to-end encryption protects users from this infiltration. There is also the question of whether Silicon Valley-based companies are likely to listen to the UK government.

Sam Dumitriu, from think tank the Adam Smith Institute, said Ms Rudds call for access was deeply misguided.

It is mathematically impossible to build a back door for just the good guys, he said.

It means building a back door to your private messages for (Russian President Vladimir) Putins favourite hacker Guccifer. It means opening up your private photos to perverts like the iCloud hacker. End-to-end encryption keeps us safe.

Khalid Masood wasnt even on MI5s 3000 strong list of suspected jihadis. Ending end-to-end encryption would not have stopped the Westminster attack, but it would mean a free-for-all for cyber criminals and Putins hackers.

Amber Rudd wants the government to have access to encrypted messages (Getty)

Is this what security services want?

Perhaps not. On the Radio 4s Today programme this morning, major general Jonathan Shaw, who was in charge of cyber security at the Ministry of Defence, accused the government of using the terrorist attack to pushing for more control. Theres a debate in Parliament about the whole Snoopers Charter and the rights of the state and I think what they are trying to do is use this moment to nudge the debate more in their line, he said. He also noted that terrorists would likely switch to a new service if they could no longer use WhatsApp. The problem will mutate and move on. We are aiming at a very fluid environment here. We are in real trouble if we apply blunt weapons to this, absolutist solutions, he said.

Rudd is to meet technology companies on Thursday 30 March to discuss the matter.
Irans President Hassan Rouhani has arrived in Russia for a two-day official visit. He was greeted by a guard of honour after landing in Moscow to discuss bilateral issues and cooperation between the two countries. Rouhani will see his counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday, and he will also meet Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev during the trip. A number of bilateral documents are expected to be signed after the series of meetings. Earlier Rouhani said he welcomed Russian investment in Irans gas and oil fields, signaling major developments in energy cooperation between the two countries. As Syrias six year-long civil war has sucked in both regional and international players, Iran and Russia have found themselves forging a new strategic alliance in the Middle East. Along with Turkey, Russia and Iran have taken the lead in peace talks  mainly because the United States influence in the region has waned. And notably those talks have taken place in Astana, the capital of a former Soviet Republic, Kazakhstan. A new group of leaders are in the ascendant in Syria, at least in the government controlled areas. On the rubble strewn streets of newly recaptured Aleppo the posters of four leaders loom large: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Theyve formed a new strategic alliance after Syrias military  mainly with the help of Russian airstrikes  finally defeated the anti-government rebels in Aleppo which were principally backed by the Sunni Gulf states By letting Russian warplanes use one of its military bases to launch strikes on Syria, Iran also grew closer to Assads fellow Shiite regime. And now Iran and Russia find themselves firm allies in Syrias growing sectarian conflict. The Shiite regimes of Syria, Iraq and Iran are positioned on one side and the Sunni regimes of the Persian Gulf, as well as Turkey and Jordan, on the other. Ominously its also evolved into an international conflict with Russia and America on opposing sides of the sectarian divide. That is in part down to Israel, which is itself a close ally of the US. Its president Benjamin Netanyahu views Iran as Israels arch-enemy, and earlier this month he met with Putin, telling him that there can never be peace in Syria whilst Iran has a presence there. Meanwhile sophisticated weaponry, is flowing into the region, changing the military balance there. Iran has been showing off its Russian made S300 missiles: on state TV. Ten years after agreeing a deal for their delivery with Russia, Iran finally got hold of them last year. It was a deal Israel tried hard to block as crucially the S300s are capable of shooting down other missiles. But theres also other sides to the new Tehran Moscow alliance. Both rely on large energy reserves to keep their economies well-oiled and neither want to see see energy prices fall even further than they already have. And both are fervently anti-Western on the international stage a message which goes down well with most Iranians and Russians, for now at least.
For the past 14 years, Iraq has lurched from one multi-ethnic, multi-religious conflict to another.

Some 10,000 to 12,000 refugees are fleeing the western part of Mosul every day - a great exodus from a city that once numbered five million.

Residents have been driven out by heavy shelling and street-to-street combat between the Iraqi Army and Islamic State - but they are also exhausted and desperately hungry.

Lisa Grande, the person leading the UN's humanitarian response in the country, has spent her career working in some of the largest humanitarian crises in the world and knows the next one lurks just around the corner in Iraq.

She said: "There's something that people do not realise.

"The successful protection and, if necessary, relocation of residents from west Mosul is just as important as the battle for the city itself."

With parts of IS-controlled west Mosul under siege by the Iraqis, the price of basic supplies has skyrocketed.

"It is a catastrophe," one woman told us as she boarded a bus for the refugee camps.

"There is famine, there is hunger. One kilo of onions costs 180,000 dinars (122). One kilo of sugar is one million to 1.4 million dinars (680-950). This is my neighbourhood."

Their requirements are straightforward and immediate - a place to stay, food and clean water, and health care to keep people alive.

What is in doubt however, is the ability of multiple bodies to provide it to the extraordinary numbers involved.

New camps are being built and established ones expanded, but nine Iraqi government ministries, three regional governments, five UN agencies and multiple NGOs are struggling to keep up.

It is something that Ms Grande is open about.

She said: "The numbers here are higher than expected and if the pace accelerates further, it's going to stretch us to the breaking point."

Finding a tent for every evacuee may be the biggest challenge of them all and an Iraqi general called Basim al Taee is the man ultimately responsible.

Story continues

We met him at a waterlogged spot in a town called Hammam al Alil and he told us that UN agencies had not been acting quickly enough.

"We have a problem with resettlement.

"The United Nations has been slow in finishing the camps there is a problem with bureaucracy," he said.

"We call on the UN and the (provincial governments) to finish these camps."

There is certainly a problem in Hammam al Alil. The Iraqis have set up a reception centre in the town through which every Mosul evacuee must pass.

The males are screened by intelligence officers looking for members of IS - while the women start searching for a place to stay.

Unsurprisingly, the refugee camp attached to this centre is absolutely crammed - "the place is an absolute disaster," one senior humanitarian administrator told me.

The general told us he hoped to have another 10,000 tents ready this week but co-ordination is clearly an issue.

We watched him field dozens of requests and complaints from refugees and members of NGOs. At one point he lost his temper: "I am responsible here, they didn't co-ordinate with me, they can **** off."

Upon our entry into one of the kitchen tents on site, which is operated by the provincial government, the staff told him they had no gas or ingredients to cook with.

I watched as General Basim took out a bundle of banknotes from his pocket and handed them over to the cook. "I had to pay them out of my own pocket," said the 37-year military veteran, shaking his head.

Ms Grande says UN teams and partner agencies are doing the very best they can but says they are working in a very challenging environment.

"Our partners and staff have received authorisation from the Iraqis to build camps and sanitation facilities, only to find that authorisation has been rescinded - whether it is by a government ministry or a local official - for reasons which aren't clear or justified. It isn't easy," she said.

It is essential, however, that the relocation of Mosul's population is done competently and that people are returned to their homes voluntarily, safely and in dignity - this, perhaps, is Ms Grande's most important point.

The majority of its residents are Sunni - a largely disenfranchised, minority group in Iraq - and some members will find themselves attracted to the call of extremists if despair sets in.

:: Watch a special programme, The Battle For Mosul, at 12pm and 7pm on Monday on Sky News.
This is the shocking moment a group of shoppers were injured when an escalator they were suddenly doubled speed and travelled in the opposite direction.

At least 18 people were rushed to hospital after the incident inside the busy Langham Place shopping mall in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, on Saturday afternoon.

Footage shows people falling to the bottom of the escalator and piling on top off each other when the 45-metre long automatic stairway dramatically changed direction.

As those caught in the middle of the accident, some managed to stay upright as they desperately held onto the rail.

Two technicians have been arrested and released on bail in connection with the incident.

Otis Elevator Company (Hong Kong) employees  52-year-old Yu and 22-year-old Cheung  were charged with obstructing justice and will appear in court in April.

They are accused of tampering with evidence connected to the escalator accident in Langham Place, Mong Kok, am730 reported, citing an Electrical and Mechanical Services Department preliminary investigation.

One eyewitness told the South China Morning Post: I heard people screaming the escalator was going down but the speed accelerated.

People fell to the base of the escalator after it reversed direction (Grab)

People started to panic and some fell down.

The woman, identified only as Tina, added that the same escalator had stopped for several minutes earlier in the day.

Lau Kit-ying, who also witnessed the accident, added: Most of the [injured] were young people and they stood up quickly afterwards

MORE: BBC Breakfast presenter loses new pound coin down the back of the sofa

MORE: School blasts parents for sending child to school with cold McDonalds Happy Meal for packed lunch

Im glad that there wasnt any elderly at that time.

A Langham Place spokeswoman said the escalator had passed a recent inspection and it was up to the safety standard.

She said contractor Otis Elevator Company (HK) Limited  the company responsible for maintaining all the elevators in the mall  had been asked to investigate the cause of accident.
PROMOTIONS

Mtuccis Italian, with four restaurants and a catering company, has promoted five staff members to partner status. They are Sherri Rivenburgh, controller; Austin Leard, operations manager and beverage director; Chris OSickey, chef de cuisine; Cory Gray, chef; and Shawn Cronin, sous chef. They join founding partners Jeff Spiegel, Katie Gardner and John Haas.

APPLAUSE

Debbie Brickman, finance manager at S.A.F.E. House, an intimate partner domestic violence shelter, has received the Advocacy in Action (AIA) Service Award from the New Mexico Crime Victims Reparation Commission.

Viola E. Florez, Ph.D., has received the Estrella Brillante Award from the Hispanic Womens Council (HWC) in recognition of her extraordinary service to HWC. Florez was commended for promoting the educational goals of HWC. She is a professor and the PNM endowed chair of the College of Education at UNM.

WELCOME

Lovelace Medical Group has hired two new providers. They are

Katherine Lee, M.D., board-certified internal medicine provider specializing in breast health at the Lovelace Womens Hospital Breast Care Center. Lee has a bachelors degree from Kent State University; a medical degree from Northeastern Ohio University; and completed an internship and residency at the University of California  Davis. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians; Southwest Oncology Group; International Association of Medical Science Educators; and Speakers Bureau for Breast Cancer Lectures.

Catherine Lukes, CNM, ND, a certified nurse midwife with a doctoral degree in naturopathic medicine. Lukes has a masters degree in nurse midwifery from the University of New Mexico. She will be located at the Lovelace Womens Hospital Clinic.

Lauren Henriksen has joined Creative Santa Fe as office, media and events coordinator. Henriksen previously spent eight years working and teaching at various art and nonprofit organizations and galleries throughout California and Colorado. She has a bachelors degree, with honors, in ceramics from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Robin Dozier Otten has joined the Parker Center for Family Business (PCFB) at the University of New Mexicos Anderson School of Management as the executive director. Dozier Otten is president and CEO of RDO Strategic Consultants LLC, a public issues consulting firm founded in July 2003. She has a bachelors degree in government and a law degree, both from UNM.

Ries Robinson, M.D., has joined Presbyterian Healthcare Services as senior vice president and chief information officer. Robinson has 20 years experience in transitioning ideas and concepts into operational systems. He has a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and a medical degree from UNM.

ETC.

United Way of Central New Mexico (UWCNM) has elected new 2017-18 board of director officers and board members.

New officers elected are Kirby Jefferson  retired from Intel, chair; Kyle Beasley  Bank of Albuquerque, immediate past chair; Jason Harrington  HB Construction, chair elect; Lisa Kruger  Rio Grande Realty & Investments, secretary/treasurer; Ryan Shell  New Mexico Gas Company, campaign chair; Norm Becker  New Mexico Mutual, strategic development chair; Carol Mayo Cochran  REDW, public policy chair; Tony Dees  Sandia Area FCU, community impact chair; Del Esparza  Esparza Advertising, marketing chair; Guido Kemp  Wells Fargo, corporate cornerstone chair; and Alejandro Ortega  UNM, rural communities chair.

Board members elected are Bobbie Collins, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie; Lisa Eden, PNM; Duke Halle, D.D.S.; Jessica Hernandez, city of Albuquerque; Lisa Kruger, Rio Grande Realty & Investments; Sonya Priestly, community volunteer; and Shyla Shepperd, Bow and Arrow Brewery.
Immigrant labor is like bread and butter to the New Mexico economy.

Without it, according to economists and business owners, key industries  including oil and gas, agriculture, construction, and hotel and restaurant operations  would face major hurdles to keep the wheels turning.

Without immigrants, our labor force would essentially stop growing, making it very difficult to increase our gross domestic product, said New Mexico State University economist Jim Peach. I understand the desire to control our borders but, if you disrupt the ecosystem, there are going to be bad consequences.

Many believe the strong enforcement against undocumented workers expected under the new administration of President Donald Trump would free up more jobs for U.S. workers. But thats not necessarily the case, Peach said.

If the Trump administration removes a lot of these people, it would not necessarily generate jobs for native-born New Mexicans because a lot of these are low-wage occupations that are not very attractive, he said. In addition, foreign-born workers pay taxes like everyone else and generate income. Thats a big deal for the state economy, even with immigrants making up less than 10 percent of the labor force.

Some economic sectors would be hit particularly hard. Food crops, dairy operations, and oil and gas production would be especially vulnerable.

Without the foreign-born labor pool, agriculture would pretty much collapse, said Al Squire, a dairy producer in Hagerman. It would impact everyones operations. If you take 5 to 10 percent of the workforce out of the dairy industrys labor pool, thats huge.

Immigrants occupy more than half of the jobs in oil and gas in southeastern New Mexico, during both boom and bust cycles.

Theyre in all areas of operation, from management to hauling and roustabout, said Gregg Fulfer, former Lea County commissioner and owner of the Fulfer Oil and Cattle Co. in Jal. The culture is pretty well ingrained at all levels.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 197,000 people, or just under 10 percent of New Mexico residents, are foreign-born immigrants. That includes about 72,000 naturalized U.S. citizens.

The total undocumented population is unknown. But the Pew Research Center estimates about 85,000 people  more than 90 percent of them from Mexico  illegally resided here as of 2014. That represents about 4 percent of the total state population, giving New Mexico one of the top ten highest ratios for undocumented immigrants nationwide.

Employers from all industries say they strive to hire only immigrants with legal documents to work here. And everyone supports efforts to deport criminals, particularly dangerous felons.

But most say they want comprehensive immigration reform that would allow businesses to legally hire foreigners willing to take the jobs that they cant otherwise fill with native-born citizens. That could include new guest worker visas for agriculture and other industries, or novel programs for employers to sponsor immigrants.

The pendulum may have swung too far to the right, although at other times its swung too far to the left, said James Johnson of W.R. Johnson and Sons farm west of Columbus. It needs to swing back to the midpoint, to a more neutral position.
AGRICULTURE

New Mexico agriculture has always depended heavily on immigrant labor, overwhelmingly Mexican, to manage the states fields and pastures.

About 9 percent of farm laborers here are foreign born, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But in some sectors, particularly the dairy industry, its much higher.

At SouthWind Dairy in Hagerman, for example, about half of the companys nearly 50 employees are immigrants, said co-owner Al Squire. The family-run operation milks about 4,000 cows a day.

About 50 percent of our workers are foreign born, and its the same thing at most of the dairies in eastern New Mexico, Squire said.

The industry directly employs about 4,500 people at nearly 150 dairies, most of them family operations like SouthWind. Thousands more are employed indirectly in related service-and-supply businesses, said Dairy Producers of New Mexico Executive Director Beverly Idsinga.

Immigrant labor is vital to our industry, Idsinga said. Most of our employees are immigrant workers.

Like the vast majority of New Mexico farm operations, dairy producers require immigrants to show legal documents before theyre hired, Idsinga said.

But undocumented workers can slip through the cracks. And even when employees do have legal papers, many of their family members may not. If employees relatives are deported, it could pressure legal immigrants to depart as well.

Immigration is a major concern for us now, Idsinga said. We need comprehensive immigration reform, or at least a more functional visa program.

Todays guest-worker programs are seasonal, allowing immigrants to legally work here only during growing and harvest periods. But dairies operate 24/7 all year round, making seasonal visas unrealistic, Squire said.

Those programs dont work for chickens, cows or hogs, he said. Cows simply must get fed or milked, and if these people (immigrants) are not out there doing that, wed have a lot of suffering animals. It would be virtually impossible to succeed without those people who are willing to do this work.

Like the dairies, New Mexicos vegetable farms also depend heavily on immigrants for their labor needs. Those operations can take more advantage of seasonal guest worker programs and most farmers say they rigidly abide by the law to exclude people without documents.

But immigrants are important to everything, said James Johnson of W.R. Johnson and Sons farm west of Columbus, a 3,200-acre operation with about 250 employees.

Located near the border, Johnson says his farm is particularly vigilant about employing only legal workers. Nevertheless, undocumented immigrants can often find agricultural work elsewhere, he said.

Chile and onion growers in Hatch said they, too, adhere strictly to immigration laws. But they face chronic labor shortages.

Its a problem for everybody, said Jimmy Lytle, a retired grower whose sons now manage about 100 acres of chile and other crops.

Longtime Hatch grower Byron Adams said labor shortages are aggravated by the expense of guest worker programs, which require employers to provide housing and benefits. In addition, the immigrants with legal documents usually end up as short-timers who head further north for better-paying, non-agricultural jobs.

The labor shortages are a constant, he said.
In the magnificent fierce morning of New Mexico one sprang awake, a new part of the soul woke up suddenly, and the old world gave way to a new.  DH Lawrence

Smokey Bear, the atomic bomb, Microsoft and the breakfast burrito  the similarities are striking.

They all have profoundly influenced our nations culture. All have experienced at least some degree of controversy. And all are products of New Mexico (though parts of Texas dare to call the breakfast burrito a breakfast taco and claim the misnamed creation as their own).

What elusive quality about the Land of Enchantment inspired the creativity behind these inventions? Or led artistic and social visionaries like Georgia OKeeffe, Mabel Dodge Lujan and Millicent Rogers to choose to move here, relinquishing their Gatsby-like lives in New York? Or leads so many Albuquerque residents of today to take the uncertain, but adventurous, path toward entrepreneurship and new discovery?

It could be, as OKeeffe observed  that, in New Mexico, one seems to have more sky than earth in ones world. Or, as Willa Cather wrote, Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth (is) the floor of the sky.

Anyone who has been here knows that looking upward or out toward the horizon is to see infinity and to feel that you exist in a space without bounds. Even in the rare instance that clouds tuck in the expansive blue for a brief nap, the shift from turquoise to gray doesnt oppress. Instead of a low ceiling taking shape, as is typical elsewhere, here clouds merely provide a different view of forever.

That kind of environmental freedom naturally extends to freedom of thought. Clarity of mind exposes new possibilities or dormant ideas that could otherwise have remained buried.

But environment alone is not always enough to help a person transcend ordinary thought, and begin to see and act in extraordinary new ways. The ability to actualize innovative ideas often requires an inclusive and supportive culture that not only allows, but also encourages, full freedom of expression. New Mexico is known for that, too.

In Albuquerque, there is physical diversity  a population dense with varied nationalities, colors, creeds and sexual orientations  but there is also diversity of thought and dialogue. Freedom to express opinions and beliefs is so pervasive that residents of every stripe routinely gather at coffee shops, in co-working spaces, in innovation district hangouts, at bars and even at City Hall to share ideas and engage in open conversation. Walk into a microbrewery, and youll see someone with pink hair and piercings talking with someone in a three-piece suit, and a six-person table occupied by six different skin colors will be expressing 15 different opinions.

To facilitate the collision of ideas, Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry convened public, private and philanthropic organizations together to accomplish a pipeline to success. Along with the University of New Mexico, Central New Mexico Community College, Nusenda Credit Union, Bernalillo County and others are building new spaces Downtown to ensure ideas become actualized and turned into something that helps the world.

In Albuquerque, we know that when diversity of thought embodied in people who want to make a difference meet, talk and create together, history can be made  even down to changing what the nation eats for breakfast.

The Executives Desk

NAME: Gary Oppedahl

TITLE: Director

NAME: Autumn Gray

TITLE: Communications Manager

ORGANIZATION: City of Albuquerque Economic Development Department
Adolescence can be a time of vulnerability, high-stakes choices, relationships, risks and unattended health problems. These can be stressful and can result in profound consequences later for adult health and well-being.

Results of the 2015 New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey completed by high school students show that youth in Bernalillo County are at particular risk for: unintentional injury (text/email while driving and rarely/never wore seat belt); violence (in a physical fight, sexual dating violence); marijuana and other substance use, and mental health problems (self-injury and feeling sad or hopeless).

In general, adolescents can benefit greatly from physical and behavioral health care, yet they access health care less than any other segment of society. Youth do not get the preventive or counseling services they need through the conventional health-care structure. As a result, health risks are missed as is illustrated in the risk screenings of high school students using New Mexico school-based health centers (SBHC):

 32 percent felt down, depressed, irritable, hopeless;

 12 percent thought, planned or attempted suicide;

 48 percent were having sex, while only 64 percent of those were using condoms;

 14 percent were physically, sexually or emotionally abused.

Adolescents should be actively targeted by our health-care system for preventive services, proactive follow-up and timely management of current medical and behavioral health issues, including referral, if needed.

In Albuquerque, the school-based health centers have been effective in addressing this need. They offer youth-friendly preventive services and provide students access to the health care they need in a place they trust that is convenient so they can stay in class, ready to learn. The centers can have a positive effect on students health, improve school attendance and can reduce student discipline referrals. They also help keep parents and families on the job.

School-based health centers are active in only eight Albuquerque high schools, five middle schools and one elementary school. Recent reductions in the state budget now threaten the continuation of the centers; five of their contracts were cut in last years Department of Health budget.

University of New Mexico Hospital will receive continued financial support with the vote to extend the Bernalillo County mill levy for the next eight years, which will amount to around $95 million per year. Until very recently, these funds were used to offset the costs of uncompensated care services provided to uninsured indigent residents of the county. However, since the advent of the Affordable Care Act and expansion of insurance, particularly Medicaid, in New Mexico, the number of uninsured indigent patients has sharply fallen. As reported in a Nov. 2, 2016, Albuquerque Journal article, Indigent care costs have been cut nearly in half at the University of New Mexico Hospital system over the course of two years, thanks in part to the expansion of Medicaid 

This has released some of the mill levy from the need to offset indigent care and opens up discussion of other needs the hospital might be able to cover on behalf of the countys residents. These should include focusing hospital operations on increasing preventive and anticipatory services strategically aimed at high-risk groups with the intent of reducing risks, future burdens of disease and injury and their costs and addressing shortened life expectancy.

One easy example would be improving the health of children and youth by increasing access to care through school-based health clinics. UNM has experience with this model of care and could expand it so more children and youth are served.

Establishing SBHCs in all APS high schools and middle schools should be prominent on the list of priorities for UNMHs mill levy.

Dr. William Wiese is a former chair of the University of New Mexico Department of Family and Community Medicine, former director of the Department of Health public health division and an advocate for better adolescent health care.
You have to admire 9-year-old Akilan Sankarans perseverance and attitude  traits that helped the youngster out-spell 38 other competitors in the New Mexico Spelling Bee held March 18 at Sandia Preparatory School.

The Manzano Day School fourth-grader said he practiced the word list 30 to 45 minutes every day, and that he entered the competition because he just wanted to have fun.

Though he was a rookie at the state bee, he successfully spelled the word retablo, the small folk-art paintings placed near altars to venerate Christian saints, during the final round to win.

The accomplished speller now heads to the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee, set for May 28-June 2 in Washington, D.C., courtesy of the Albuquerque Journal and The Education Plan.

The national spelling bee, a six-day contest that will be televised on ESPN, carries a $40,000 grand prize.

Congratulations, Akilan, and best of luck in D.C.

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.
Its always good to see people, and especially young people, getting involved in the political process.

But the leadership of Santa Fe Public Schools shouldnt have canceled school for half a day last week in support of a well-attended rally at the Roundhouse to protest potential state education funding cuts, even with the prospect of bigger class sizes, loss of school days or even closing schools altogether if the governor and the Legislature cant agree on a way to find more money for public schools.

The loss of a couple of hours of classroom time on one afternoon wont make much difference in students academic lives in the long run. Without much snowfall this winter causing canceled classes, the district says it will easily exceed the required number of instructional hours for the school year. The afternoon off was called a snow day of action.

The main problem was that the closure injected resources of a public school district into a political fight.

The district says the local teachers union paid a standard field trip rate to cover the cost of the Santa Fe Public Schools buses used to take participants to the rally, and that bus drivers volunteered their time. District administrators werent given any leave time to attend the rally. But teachers were paid to get the hours off, similar to what happens when schools are closed early during a snow storm.

But, at the very least, staff time was used to arrange for the afternoon off, provide notice and make sure children were looked after when the schools closed early. The district used its website for a poll on whether to close school for a whole day, a half-day or not at all.

There are other cases where students get out of school to show up at the Roundhouse  theres been a weekday, teen-organized anti-DWI march now for several years; public school students have participated and the event has been seen as a commendable civic exercise. There might not be a political argument about DWI being a bad thing, but New Mexico has certainly had some testy political arguments on how to deal with it.

Still, the district-wide school closure for the last weeks rally crossed a line onto the proverbial slippery slope.

School funding is certainly a pressing issue deserving of intense advocacy right now in New Mexico, but not this way. What if a conservative school district somewhere (probably not in New Mexico) called off classes so students and parents could rally against teaching evolution, and public school buses were used to haul people in?

Gov. Susana Martinezs administration says its now investigating whether the Santa Fe Public Schools violated any laws regarding use of public resources for political purposes. Regardless of whether this probe is political tit for tat  the snow-day rally seemed aimed mostly at getting Martinez to back off her no-new-taxes stand  the Santa Fe schools certainly opened the door to this kind of scrutiny.

School leaders should leave the political rallies for after-school hours from now on.

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.
By Press Trust of India: Select foodgrain prices increase on the opening day Chennai, Mar 27 (PTI) Prices of Thoor Dal, Moong Dal, Gram dal and Maida increased while rest all other commodities remained unchanged in the wholesale foodgrain market here today.

Thoor dal went up by Rs 300 per quintal to Rs 8000 from its previous rate of Rs 7700.00. Gram dal rose by Rs 200 per quintal to Rs 7700.00 from its last weeks closing rate of Rs 7500.00. Likewise, Moong dal moved up by Rs.100 per quintal to Rs 7500.00 from its previous rate of Rs 7400.00

advertisement

In addition, maida (90 kg) moved up by Rs.100 to Rs.2700 from its previous rate of Rs.2600.

However, Urad dal, sugar,wheat and sooji (90 kg) prices ruled steady.

Following are the wholesale rates of various agri-commodities (rates in rupees per quintal, unless stated otherwise): Thoor Dal Rs 8000, Urad Dal Rs 9600, Moong Dal Rs 7500, Gram Dal Rs 7700 Sugar Rs 4250, Wheat Rs 2700, Maida (90 kg) Rs 2700 and Sooji (90 kg) Rs 3200. PTI KK KK

--- ENDS ---
A quartet of Desert Ridge Middle School students made quite the splash at this years New Mexicos MATHCOUNTS Competition at UNMs Centennial Engineering Center.

The competition is held nationwide in March and the top four students at the state level move on to represent New Mexico at the National Competition in May, organizers said in a news release.

The most exciting thing about this competition (was) the amazing performance by Desert Ridge Middle School, a public school in Albuquerque. The top four students were all from DRMS, volunteer state coordinator Sarah C. Tuite said in a statement.

Results from the New Mexico MATHCOUNTS competition held March 18 were as follows.

Team Results:

1  Desert Ridge Middle School, Albuquerque

2  Los Alamos Middle School, Los Alamos

3  Jefferson Middle School, Albuquerque

4  Mountain Elementary School, Los Alamos

5  Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque

6  Hermosa Middle School, Farmington

Individual results:

1st  Joseph Camacho, 7th Grade, DRMS (National Team)

2nd  James Camacho, 7th Grade, DRMS (National Team)

3rd  Berkan Dokmeci, 7th Grade, DRMS (National Team)

4th  Melody Yeh, 7th Grade, DRMS (National Team)

5th  May Vo, 8th, Los Alamos Middle School (National Team Alternate)

6th  Janie Xiong, DRMS

More information on the Mathcounts Competition program can be found at www.mathcounts.org. The program is coordinated through the New Mexico Society of Professional Engineers.
A trio of Albuquerque area high school seniors were part of a group of 320 students from 45 countries and 27 U.S. states that recently completed a wildly enjoyable stint at Space Camp, also known as the Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

They were Ashley Fitzpatrick from Cottonwood Classical Prep School in Albuquerque, Jessie Linder from East Mountain High School and Jacob Steckbeck from Volcano Vista High School.

Students went through many of the same training simulations as NASA astronauts at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center at Huntsville, Ala., including: simulated shuttle missions and a moon walk; designing, building and testing their own rockets; and a new program on writing/deploying the computer application codes to launch them. Students also met NASA scientists, engineers and former astronauts;

Fitzpatrick actually was on her second tour, chosen as an Ambassador participant to return as a result of her leadership and success in the program the previous year, and continued academic achievement and leadership at home.

She was one of seven Ambassadors selected from around the globe to help lead the 300-plus first-time students this year, officials said in a news release.

One of the objectives of the program is to increase interest in STEM subjects.

Only 16 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in math and interested in a STEM career, and of the students who choose to pursue a college major in STEM fields, only half choose to work in a related career, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The goal of sending students to space academy is to help ignite their passion for STEM-related subjects through a week of interactive workshops and training, officials said in a statement.

We welcome suggestions for the daily Bright Spot. Send to newsroom@abqjournal.com.
FORT COLLINS, Colo.  Police arrested a suspect in connection with the vandalism at a mosque near Colorado State University, a case they are investigating as a hate crime.

Joseph Scott Giaquinto, 35, was arrested on suspicion of several charges, including a crime motivated by bias, The Coloradoan reports (http://noconow.co/2mKWQEG ).

Police had asked for the publics help in identifying the person who overturned benches, broke windows and threw a Bible into Islamic Center of Fort Collins, which is about 60 miles north of Denver.

A police spokeswoman told the newspaper that she did not have details on how police came to identify Giaquinto as the suspect.

Police released two clips of surveillance video that captured the vandalism at the Islamic Center of Fort Collins before dawn Sunday. In one, a man wearing a hoodie, believed to be in his late teens or early 20s, is shown picking up a paving stone and walking away. In another clip, he kicks a door.

The centers president, Tawfik Aboellail, said the man tried to break into the mosque about 4 a.m. Sunday, but he did not get inside.

The vandalism prompted the center to cancel religious classes for children that morning, but it has also led to an outpouring of support. The Coloradoan reports that congregants from Plymouth Congregational Church visited after their morning service, and later about 1,000 people gathered at the mosque for a rally of support organized by a rabbi Sunday evening.

Many have also been making donations online to pay for repairs and improved security.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations had urged police to investigate the case as a possible hate crime.

Police Chief John Hutto, who attended the support rally, said the incident has a very real impact on our Muslim friends and neighbors.

The criminal act against their sacred space is unacceptable, he said in a statement.

The vandalism comes about a month after someone threw a rock through a window at a mosque in the Denver area. The incident at the Colorado Muslim Society was also captured on surveillance video, but no one has been arrested. Investigators in the Arapahoe County Sheriffs Office have exhausted their leads, spokeswoman Julie Brooks said Monday.
STEWART DETENTION CENTER, LUMPKIN, Ga.  In a tiny hearing room at one of the countrys most remote and unforgiving immigration courts, Elena Albamonte walked right past the table she had used for years as the governments highest-ranking prosecutor here. Instead, she put her briefcase on the other table, taking a seat next to an Armenian man in prison garb who had illegally crossed into the United States.

After a three-decade career overseeing deportations as a government immigration lawyer, Albamonte has switched teams.

Ready, your honor, Albamonte said to immigration court Judge Dan Trimble after tidying a thick file of legal documents.

She knew her chances of persuading Trimble to grant her client political asylum were awful. Even before President Donald Trumps crackdown on the countrys 11 million undocumented immigrants, the judges at Stewart had been deporting detainees at startlingly high rates. Trimble had turned down 95 percent of those seeking asylum from fiscal 2011 to 2016, according to a study of immigration judges by Syracuse University.

But for 40 minutes, Albamonte gamely made the case for Geregin Abrahamyan, a 23-year-old who said he was repeatedly beaten and threatened because of his political activity in Armenia.

Abrahamyan had been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since the day he and his pregnant partner and their 3-year-old daughter crossed from Mexico seven months earlier and turned themselves in at a Border Patrol office. Mother and daughter were quickly granted parole and live with Abrahamyans parents in California. But Abrahamyan was shipped across the country and had yet to meet his son, who was born in August.

Albamonte, 60, argued he was eligible for asylum despite being turned down once before and that he had suffered additional beatings in Armenia that the court should know about.

The prosecutor, Cassondra Bly, pushed back on each point, just as Albamonte had done when she was ICEs deputy chief counsel at Stewart. Indeed, it was from that old seat that Albamonte grew bothered by some of the lawyering she saw across the room. Not only did a lot of immigrants attorneys show up unprepared for bond hearings, many didnt show up at all, appearing instead by audio link. At Stewart,a privately run detention center three hours from the closest major airport, many lawyers literally phone it in.

They really put their clients at a disadvantage, Albamonte said. She described a lawyer who called in to a bond hearing, having never met his client or reviewed much of his file. A winnable asylum claim was denied. The mans family, out $3,000 in attorneys fees, was distraught.

Sometimes you just cringe, wondering if [the opposing lawyer] is going to make the obvious argument, Albamonte said. She couldnt do the other sides work for them, but she took little pleasure prevailing in a lopsided contest.

She doesnt apologize for prosecuting hundreds of asylum cases that ended in deportation.

Not everyone has a right to asylum under the law as it is written, she said. But everybody does deserve competent, fair representation. Thats how the system is supposed to work.

And that is how she wound up staying here, far from her home in the Washington suburbs, living in a tiny Southern town and working on the opposite side of the issue that defined her career.

I never expected any of this, she said.



Albamonte witnessed the growing dysfunction of the countrys immigration system throughout her years of government service. She began in the State Departments citizenship program two years before the last major immigration reboot, the 1986 amnesty granted to 2.7 million undocumented people by President Ronald Reagan. She went on to handle immigration cases for the Justice Department and then ICE.

In 2011, amid a surge in Central American refugees, she agreed to move to ICEs facility in Stewart County, Ga., 800 miles and cultural light-years from the Washington region where shed grown up and raised two children of her own. It was a big switch for a city dweller who grew up thinking barbecue meant hot dogs and hamburgers on a gas grill.

I had a lot to learn about the South, she laughed.

She had only planned to stay three or four years before returning to Washington. But she grew fond of Americus (pop: 18,000), a Victorian enclave 45 minutes from Stewart. The town reminded her of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls, and she found a newly renovated three-bedroom house to rent for less than studio apartment in D.C.

And she liked the job, which was essentially making sure no one got asylum who didnt meet the criteria, especially if they had broken the law in the United States.

I have no problem seeing criminal aliens sent back, she said. I mean, I dont think you can compare shoplifting to murder, but for anything serious, its reasonable to send people back.

Albamonte took pride in protecting the country from what Trump calls bad hombres. But she also worried about the good people the system sent back. Even as a government lawyer, she saw judges and prosecutors failing to find the mercy that she feels is buried within the statutes.

I do see people denied that I personally believe should be should be granted [asylum], she said.

By the time she retired in 2014, she had met a guy  a local lawyer named Chuck Faaborg  and decided to stick around for another year or two. The couple talked about opening a bookstore. Albamonte thought she might hang her shingle and handle visa cases. An easy, low-gear use of her expertise.

But the phone calls came right away from Catholic Charities and desperate families: Could she take this asylum case? And this one? With up to 1,900 detainees at Stewart, the need is huge.

There is no one else down here, Albamonte said. I said yes.



The offices of Albamonte Immigration Law occupy an old insurance office in downtown Americus, a precinct of barber shops and antiques stores in handsome 19th-century buildings.

Her seven employees field 20 or so calls a day from detainees seeking help in a badly backlogged immigration system. More than 500,000 pending cases clog immigration courts even as Trump promises to build more detention centers, hire more immigration judges and ramp up deportations.

Can you spell that, your sponsors name? asks Zoya Hasnian, 21, a paralegal whose parents, both dentists, immigrated from Pakistan. She handles the Urdu translations and plans to begin law school in the fall.

Were still waiting for the forms, lawyer Jessica Canado-Wallace told another client in Spanish.

Elena, called a voice from another cubicle, someone wants to know if we speak Russian.

No, Albamonte called back. Tell them to try the Kuck firm in Atlanta.

Her office features an extra-large window she requested as an antidote to those years of working in a sunless prison. Next to it  near the Live the Life Youve Imagined plaque  is a whiteboard list of clients: Hoxha, Ozkan, Mendez, Matiroysyan.

She went back to Stewart for the first time in the service of an asylum seeker just months after leaving ICE. She didnt have to flip any ideological switches. Shes a lawyer, not an activist. Yes, it was weird at first to go up against her former colleagues, but not uncomfortable.

Its not like Im a different person, she said. I think they appreciate that I know what Im doing.

Dana Leigh Marks, an immigration judge in San Francisco and president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said team switchers can be welcome in a legal thicket as tangled as immigration.

I say its more complex than tax law because there is no TurboTax for immigration, Marks said. It can be a tremendous advantage to the system to have someone knowledgeable about how both sides work.

In the past year, Albamonte has represented 15 Stewart asylum seekers facing deportation. She prevailed in six of those cases, and those people will be eligible for green cards. Five are in removal proceedings, one is appealing, and three are waiting for a ruling. Not a bad batting average in a court with one of the countrys highest rates of denial.

One reason Stewart rejects so many asylum seekers is that many immigration lawyers wont take cases there. Its too remote and its inmates too poor to pay the $5,000 or more that most asylum cases cost. Albamonte said she does some pro-bono work and charges others a range of fees based on the complexity of the case.

These days, when Albamonte passes through security at the door of the detention center (no cellphones, no car keys, no money), it is as routine as when she did it with an ICE badge.

Hey Elena, a guard greets her on the morning of Abrahamyans hearing.

Hey Jackie, said Albamonte, who has learned to say Hey instead of Hi.

A uniformed ICE agent talking to a detainees family stops to give her a hug.

How is life on the outside? he asked. Better money, right?

Ha! Better money on the inside. I have all these mouths to feed, she said, looking over at her co-counsel Canado-Wallace and paralegal Hasnian.

He turned back to the family. As Albamonte walked on, he told them in Spanish that she was a local lawyer who handled asylum cases.

Waiting in the hearing room were Abrahamyans parents, who had flown five hours from Los Angeles and driven three from Atlanta in the hope that their son would be granted bond.

They themselves had gotten asylum 12 years ago. The father, Arshaluys Abrahamyan, was a doctor who operated a blood bank and ran afoul of corrupt officials in Armenia.

Abrahamyans case turned on old documents and vague law: Did a failed attempt to gain asylum in 2003 make him ineligible or could his previous case be reopened? Trimbles view might mean the difference between quick deportation and a chance for asylum. When Albamonte sensed the judge leaning toward the former, she seized his offer to delay the hearing for a month.

Abrahamyan was led away with a last look at his parents. Later, in the centers bare visitation room, he shook his head at the long delay. He spends his days playing chess with detainees from Russia, Armenia, El Salvador. He walks in the warm Southern sun each day in the exercise yard and talks to his 3-year-old daughter  almost 3,000 miles away  whenever he can.

I have never seen my son, he said, tears welling over at the mention of his children. I am not a criminal, but I am here seven months.

In the hallway outside, his parents crowded around Albamonte, baffled and anxious over the additional wait.

This helps us, she assured them. More time would give them a chance to gather evidence that his life in Armenia was at risk. It would also allow time for the habeas petition she had filed on Abrahamyans behalf to work its way through the court.

Im glad you understand all of this, Arshaluys Abrahamyan said with his hands out.

As Albamonte left she exchanged a friendly goodbye with Bly, the ICE prosecutor, once a peer, now her opponent in this case. The womans post in Georgia was over, and she was heading to Minnesota.

Albamonte wished her well and began driving home to a desk stacked with files and voice mail filled with anxious clients. Her life was here now. And so was her work.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.  Heather Huyck never would have let her students climb the rickety stairs up to the attic of an empty building in Richmond, Virginia. But shes glad she wasnt there to stop them.

Under piles of debris, the young researchers from the College of William & Mary found about 30 boxes filled with old documents. They appeared to tell the story of Maggie Lena Walker, an African-American whose accomplishments in the early 20th century are just beginning to be widely recognized.

Walker was the first African-American woman to run a bank in the United States. She also started a newspaper and a department store and ran a nationwide insurance system. She spread the tools of economic independence while Jim Crow was perpetuating bondage, and she hired and trained black women at a time when even white women struggled for opportunity.

Huyck sensed a major find. After negotiating with the family who owned the building, she brought the papers back to Williamsburg to begin going through them.

It was then that something extraordinary happened. Huyck couldnt do the work alone, so over time she gathered volunteers. Through church, word-of-mouth and the network of history buffs around Colonial Williamsburg, a corps of mostly retired women came together on the project.

They met every Tuesday over the past eight years, a diverse group  black, white, Asian  ranging in age from 50 to 89. In between the rote work of removing paper clips and transcribing letters, they talked. About history, but also about marriage. And children. And food. They helped each other through surgeries and health scares. One woman transitioned to assisted living. Another lost her spouse.

So while they were preserving the papers that told how Walker navigated the challenges of race and gender in early 20th century America, they were finding the same threads in their lives.

What we have gained from this, Huyck said, is an amazing community.

The Maggie Walker Community, they call themselves. But now its coming to a close. Huyck finished the project earlier this month and returned the boxes to the owners in a ceremony in Richmond attended by brass from the National Park Service, which maintains Walkers home as a historic site.

This is a good example of how stories that havent been easily accessible are now going to be available to a much wider audience, said Stephanie Toothman, the Park Services associate director for cultural resources. Walkers papers, she said, help with understanding the role of black women as community builders and organizers.

Its unclear where the papers will end up. The Stallings family, which owns the papers, are undecided; some members want to donate them to the Park Service, others favor the Smithsonian. For now, theyre in storage.

Huyck hopes there is a lasting legacy not just in the papers, but in the connections formed in their group of about 16. Especially in a town such as Williamsburg that is devoted to retelling history but has struggled with race in its depictions of Colonial charm.

Ive met this wonderful group of women who have opened my eyes to a world I did not know about and have been accepting of everybodys differences, said group member Marsha Kalison, a retired accountant.

I think it would be terrible for the group to die, said Sharon Ochsenhirt, a retired archivist. My goal is to make sure they keep going.

Huyck spent years working for the National Park Service before retiring in Williamsburg and becoming a research associate and adjunct professor at William & Mary. Her specialty is womens history, and the students who found the documents in Richmond nearly 10 years ago had gone there to make a film about Walker.

Walker has long been a towering figure in Richmond, where a governors school is named for her. Her father was an Irish-born Confederate working at a nearby hospital for wounded soldiers. Her mother was a former slave who cooked for Elizabeth Van Lew, the abolitionist and Civil War spy. As Reconstruction gave way to Jim Crow in the early 1900s, Walker took over leadership of a mutual aid society called the Independent Order of St. Luke.

With its budget flagging, Walker elbowed past the male establishment to impose financial discipline on the group and used its national scope to build institutions to help the black community. She died in 1934 at age 70, and her funeral brought thousands of mourners.

The papers that Huycks students found in the former St. Luke building gave glimpses of the lives she touched. There were letters from people asking how to finance a home, from a church looking to raise enough money to burn its mortgage, from women applying for jobs.

Walkers personality came through  tough, demanding, persistent. She told one young woman asking for work not to bother until she had polished her handwriting. When a field organizer kept seeking more money, she demanded to know why he wasnt producing more members.

Walker was a grand woman, fond of feathers and hats, owner of a Pierce-Arrow. She corresponded with luminaries such as W.E.B. Du Bois and NAACP leader Walter White and spoke up to the white establishment. Walker believed the African American community needed to support its people. She urged residents to boycott Richmonds white retailers, who often made blacks enter through separate doors or stay out of showrooms, and started her emporium as an alternative.

The women working on her papers sat in pairs, one reading, the other transcribing. They wore purple smocks, rubber gloves and breathing masks to protect the fragile documents. Huyck and her husband bought acid-free folders and file boxes. Scanning company Iron Mountain donated services to digitize 100 of the most important documents, and for the past two years, Colonial Williamsburg provided meeting space in a library building.

Many letters in the files felt personal to the volunteers. One woman wrote to Walker after being stopped from trying on coats in the Miller & Rhoads department store in downtown Richmond. Walker complained to the president of the company, who replied that there are nice people and there are not-nice people and we try to serve the nice people, and therefore the manager may have made a mistake, Huyck recalled.

What he meant, she said, is that he would give this woman permission to try on coats because she was affluent and of a certain complexion. Vivian Miller Short, one of the volunteers, was horrified when she realized that the woman in the letters was an old family friend.

It hurts, she said, still embarrassed at the notion of complexion defining someones station. Its painful.

But those situations triggered conversations among the women working on the letters. Short recalled having to shop in the basement at Richmond department stores because of her race. Other women in the group remembered separate drinking fountains and waiting rooms in the train station in Richmond, the bus station in Williamsburg.

It wasnt all painful. Much of the conversation involved everyday things, cultural touchstones that they shared. It turned out, for instance, that most of the black women in the group had been born with the aid of midwives. They sometimes had a second birth date  the day the midwife got around to filing the official paperwork.

Some topics brought universal agreement  they all loved the movie Hidden Figures, set in nearby Hampton  while others broke them into factions.

One of the first things I learned, Ochsenhirt said during a recent gathering of the group, is there are two kinds of turnip salad.

There are? June Ross asked.

Theres the turnip salad made with leaves and the turnip salad made with turnips, Ochsenhirt said.

My grandfather made dandelion salad, said Belinda Randall, and the room spiraled into a salad debate.

It was the way they connected as women, mothers, wives  as people  that made them feel they had achieved something special.

Theyve lived life. They say what they mean and mean what they say. You dont have to guess and play mind games. Theyre lovely ladies, said Cynthia Davis, at 50, the youngest member of the group. She has been attending only for the past of couple of months; shes a caregiver for the groups most senior member, Doris Crump Rainey, 89.

And in many ways, the spirit of Maggie Walker  merely suggested by the brittle, crumbling papers  came to feel like a presence in their lives. When things would get frustrating, the women asked themselves: What would Maggie do?

That included when Huyck was laid up after surgery a few years ago, and the Maggie Walker Community came to her aid. They organized, and a different woman showed up with food every day. Lots of food.

I had never been part of such an amazing outpouring, Huyck said.

Finally, earlier this month, the group finished the last of the original boxes. The women put everything into neat files and on March 10 staged a ceremony at the Hippodrome Theater near Walkers house in Richmond. They had assembled gift bags  containing womens health pamphlets, toothbrushes, Kleenex and, in a grandmotherly touch, hard peppermint candy  to thank the Stallings family and others who had helped.

But Ronald Stallings Jr., who hosted the event, had a surprise. On the floor in the back of the meeting hall was one more box of documents, discovered by the family just that morning.

It was dirty and smelled like smoke and dry rot, but the ladies lit up when they saw it. Huycks husband carried it out to the car, and a few days later, she ordered more acid-free folders from Staples.

And for at least one more month, or until they lose access to their space in the library, the Maggie Walker Community is back at work.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has asked the White House to lift Obama-era restrictions on U.S. military support for Persian Gulf states engaged in a protracted civil war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to senior Trump administration officials.

In a memo this month to national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Mattis said that limited support for Yemen operations being conducted by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates  including a planned Emirati offensive to retake a key Red Sea port  would help combat a common threat.

Approval of the request would mark a significant policy shift. U.S. military activity in Yemen until now has been confined mainly to counterterrorism operations against al-Qaidas affiliate there, with limited indirect backing for Gulf state efforts in a two-year-old war that has yielded significant civilian casualties.

It would also be a clear signal of the administrations intention to move more aggressively against Iran. The Trump White House, in far stronger terms than its predecessor, has echoed Saudi and Emirati charges that Iran is training, arming and directing the Shiite Houthis in a proxy war to increase its regional clout against the Gulfs Sunni monarchies.

The administration is in the midst of a larger review of overall Yemen policy that is not expected to be completed until next month.

But the immediate question, addressed by Mattis memo and tentatively slated to come before the principals committee of senior national security aides this week, is whether to provide support for a proposed UAE-led operation to push the Houthis from the port of Hodeida, through which humanitarian aid and rebel supplies pass.

The Pentagon memo does not recommend agreeing to every element of the Emirati request. A proposal to provide American Special Operations forces on the ground on the Red Sea coast was not part of the request [Mattis] is making, said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss planning and the review.

This official and several others said that Mattis and his advisers have asked for removal of President Barack Obamas prohibitions, which would enable the military to support Emirati operations against the Houthis with surveillance and intelligence, refueling, and operational planning assistance, without asking for case-by-case White House approval.

A similar Emirati proposal for help in attacking Hodeida was rejected late last year by the Obama administration, on the grounds that Emirati ships and warplanes, U.S. Special Operations forces and Yemeni government troops were unlikely to succeed in dislodging the entrenched, well-armed rebels and could worsen the humanitarian situation. The effort was seen as sure to escalate a war that the United States and the United Nations have been trying to stop.

Some advisers to President Donald Trump share those same concerns, the senior official said. There has been no decision yet as to whether [the restrictions] will be lifted. There is certainly broad disagreement across our government.

While acknowledging that some might see ending the limits as a green light for direct involvement in a major war . . . we cant judge yet what the [review] results will be, the official said, adding that the limits could be modified, removed or left in place.

Advisers are considering whether direct support for the anti-Houthi coalition would take too many resources away from the counterterrorism fight against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and a nascent Islamic State organization in Yemen, the U.S. priority there.

At the same time, what is described as a bare-bones UAE plan has given rise to worry that the Emiratis may not be capable of such a large operation, including holding and stabilizing any reclaimed area, without sucking in U.S. forces.

Without knowing whether the Houthis will give in or fight back  including with Iranian-supplied missiles  there is also concern among U.S. officials that the offensive would further undermine stalemated efforts to negotiate an end to the war and make an already dire humanitarian situation worse.

Yemens population centers have been decimated by the conflict, in which indiscriminate Saudi airstrikes and fighting on the ground have killed an estimated 10,000 civilians. Both the Houthis, who hold the capital, Sanaa, Hodeida and other cities, and Saudi Arabia, which controls the sea perimeter around Hodeida, have restricted delivery of aid and other goods flowing through the port to other population centers.

On Wednesday, U.N. humanitarian officials said that millions of Yemenis were on the verge of starvation. Yves Daccord, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, warned that an extended battle for the port city would put even more pressure on the population and could tip the country into greater humanitarian crisis.

While the warring parties have taken part in U.N.-brokered peace talks, negotiations are stalled and all parties remain in practice most interested in battlefield victory, Daccord said in an interview. Thats the problem in Yemen, he said. They all still think they can win militarily.

Gulf nations see Hodeida as a vital asset for the Houthis and a lifeline to their backers in Iran.

A plan developed by the U.S. Central Command to assist the operation includes other elements that are not part of Mattiss request, officials said. While Marine Corps ships have been off the coast of Yemen for about a year, it was not clear what support role they might play.

The Obama administrations reluctance to take part in the Yemen war was part of Trumps campaign indictment of his predecessor as weak on dealing with Iran, and it led to tensions between the United States and Persian Gulf states.

Obama provided limited support for the Saudi and Emirati operations, selling them weapons and refueling their aircraft. But dismay over reports of Saudi pilots repeated strikes on hospitals, schools and other soft targets prompted his administration to distance itself from the Houthi campaign and impose restrictions. Administration lawyers also raised concerns about U.S. legal responsibility for acts committed by the Saudi-led Gulf coalition.

Late last year, in response to a particularly gruesome strike, the Obama administration further scaled back support to the air campaign and froze the sale of certain munitions to Riyadh.

For their part, Gulf leaders complained that Obama was pushing them to wrap up the war quickly while withholding support they saw as crucial to pushing the Houthis to the negotiating table.

Trump shares the Sunni Gulf States antipathy for Obamas Iran nuclear deal, along with their belief that Tehran is the principal driver in the Yemen war, and he has signaled a new approach. In a statement last month condemning Iranian ballistic missile tests, Michael Flynn, then Trumps national security adviser, spoke at length about the Iran-Houthi threat and said the administration was putting Iran on notice.

A senior administration official said at the time that we assess Iran seeks to leverage this relationship with the Houthis to build a long-term presence in Yemen and that we are going to take appropriate action. We are considering a whole range of options.

Early this month, the State Department approved a resumption of sales of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia. A White House spokesman would not comment on whether Trump had signed off on the sales, saying only that the requisite congressional notification had not yet been made.

For the administration, the response to the Emirati proposal is partly rooted in a desire to act against a troubling threat off Yemens western coast, where officials say Houthi missile attacks have threatened freedom of navigation in a key commercial waterway. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait provides a narrow entry into the Red Sea between the Arabian Peninsula and the African continent.

In a rare direct attack on Houthi interests, the United States in October struck Houthi-controlled coastal radar sites with Tomahawk cruise missiles, in retaliation for an assault on U.S. and allied ships. One of the Houthi missiles launched at the USS Mason, a guided-missile destroyer, was fired from Hodeida, officials said at the time.

Restrictions on some intelligence-sharing have already been lifted, allowing the United States to reveal more detailed information on the location of Houthi missile sites. The United States is expected to take other steps to counter that threat, including positioning additional ships in the area.

Some former officials believe stepped-up action is overdue. One of our bedrock interests in the Middle East is freedom of navigation in and around the Arabian Peninsula, and while I understand why no one wanted to get further enmeshed in the Houthi conflict, we came dangerously close to dropping the ball on protecting our interests toward the end of the administration, said Andrew Exum, who was a senior Pentagon official under Obama. We were too hesitant to respond forcefully.

With Trumps selection of Mattis to lead the Pentagon and other Iran hawks at the White House, Gulf officials see an opportunity to act jointly against their regional rival.

Saudi Maj. Gen. Ahmed Asiri, a spokesman for the Gulf coalition, said in a phone interview that at least now we understand that the government of the United States sees the reality on the ground . . . and that there is a country in the area that wants to use militias and spoil the situation.

Now the U.S., Saudis and the UAE are back on the same page, Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to Washington, said. Were getting the support we need.

Full consideration of Mattiss proposal, and the overall Yemen review, have been delayed by other national security issues, including a major meeting last week in Washington of the 68-member U.S. coalition against the Islamic State.

But if decisions are not made soon, the senior administration official said, were afraid the situation in Yemen may escalate, and our partners may take action regardless. And we wont have visibility, and we wont be in a position to understand what it does to our counterterrorism operations.

Regional experts expressed varying opinions about U.S. support for the Hodeida operation,

My own view is that we should be encouraging the government and the coalition not to undertake offensive actions with the single exception if they can get Hodeida to relieve the humanitarian crisis, said Gerald Feierstein, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen.

But April Longley Alley, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, warned that the offensive could intensify Yemenis suffering and prolong the negotiations stalemate.

Its a tragic situation for Yemen, and one that could backfire on the coalition, Alley said.



Thomas Gibbons-Neff contributed to this report.
DALLAS  The oil industrys history is punctuated with boom-and-busts cycles that create and erase fortunes and drive economies.

That sector is tentatively emerging from the worst downturn since at least the 1980s. Oil prices hovered around $100 per barrel in 2014 before dropping by half just months later, a level where they remain. A year ago, prices dipped below $30 for the first time since 2003, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Much like the recovery from the Great Recession a decade ago, oils bounce back has been hesitant. Experts say technology, slower demand and a more cautious approach by oil patch executives and bankers could  at least in the near term  give the industry a leaner look.

Companies are automating jobs once held by traditional oilfield workers and focusing on projects that can succeed with todays modest and uncertain oil prices.

Jim Kiser, lead client service partner in Deloittes energy industry practice, said this wasnt an ordinary cycle.

Whats different about this is the pace of the price decline and the depth, he said. Most didnt believe it would go that low, and most didnt believe it would stay that low.

That bust was felt strongly in oil field employment.

Last March, Texas saw an overall job loss for the first time in 11 months because of oils price slump. Worldwide, an estimated 440,000 plus oil industry jobs were lost, according the consulting firm Graves & Co.

Thats slowly improving now. There were job gains late last year. And the January monthly jobs report for Texas estimated that about 1,900 new jobs were created in the energy sector.

Michael Walls, a Colorado School of Mines professor who has written about corporate risk-taking in the oil and gas industry, said there is always restructuring when a downturn is this severe. Following all the consolidations and bankruptcies, the industry is likely to keep job growth in check.

Youre going to see companies trying to operate even leaner, although theyre pretty lean right now based on the numbers of layoffs the industry has experienced, he said.

Even with fewer jobs, there could also be a supply problem too. Kiser said his companys clients are concerned about attracting new employees as the business starts growing again.

There are a lot of people who left the industry as a result of the contraction that took place in a short amount of time, he said. And some of those (people) are going to be hesitant to come back.

Computer scientists, engineers and business analysts have other options, ones with less risk of severe boom-and-bust cycles, Kiser said. Skilled field staff, including electricians, welders and pipefitters, could also be in demand and scarce.

Chris Cheatwood, executive vice president of business development and geoscience at Pioneer Natural Resources, said geography could also be a hindrance. The Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico is one of the hottest fields now since its economic to drill even in the $30 to $35 range.

Its very difficult to get that many people, one, to move there, and two, to sustain that number people in whats frankly a pretty remote part of the country, he said.

But its also likely that fewer workers would be needed as more drilling work is automated and companies operate more efficiently.

Cheatwood said Pioneers cost to drill has dropped by at least 35 percent in recent years and continues to go down. That has been driven, in part, by the shale revolution. He said new drilling techniques and technology showed that shale provides the industry with a newfound bounty of oil in the United States.

And without high oil prices, efficiency is crucial to shale oil.

We have a reason to push that competitive edge, Cheatwood said. We have proven that we have a huge resource base here in the United States that can compete on a global scale.

Pioneer has started drilling in more repetitive patterns in the Permian and using walking rigs that use hydraulic feet to walk from site to site without a complete tear down and reassembly. Thats cut transportation time between drill sites by half.

We were drilling the same zone over and over, so sort of drilling the same well over and over, he said. So we began to drill them faster.

They now drill wells in about 15 days rather than 30 or 45 days.

Even the financiers may soon show a new willingness to lend, said Bernard Buddy Clark, co-chairman of the Energy Practice Group at Haynes and Boone. Since the downturn, banks have been more restrictive with the independent producers.

If the industry learns a lesson from the downturn from a financial perspective, its less debt and more equity, he said.

Mike Holcomb, president of Patterson-UTI Drilling Company, which operates in the U.S., Canada and Dubai, said the market was forgiving at $100 a barrel. But drilling inevitably became more efficient as the industry contracted when prices dropped. Eventually, the best crews and best rigs were drilling in the best locations.

A new boom would cut some of that efficiency, he said.

The industry tends to get a little sloppier naturally.



2017 The Dallas Morning News

Visit The Dallas Morning News at www.dallasnews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
PHOENIX  Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is seeking funding for 97 new positions across state government, an apparent contradiction to his earlier calls for a state hiring freeze.

Ducey, a Republican, implemented the hiring freeze shortly after taking office in 2015 and said it saved Arizona $21 million last year. His most recent budget proposal, however, calls for new positions across several departments, agencies, boards and commissions for a total cost of about $10 million per year, The Arizona Capitol Times reported (http://bit.ly/2nYmYvC ).

Daniel Scarpinato, the governors spokesman, said the hiring freeze always came with exemptions for positions relating to health or safety of the public, employees directly involved in collecting state revenues and any mission critical employees.

The governor isnt breaking his own hiring freeze pledge, said Scarpinato. He pointed out that most agencies have fallen below a target employee headcount set by the Governors Office through attrition.

Theyd have to be managing that within their budget, but I think our goal was, lets bring down the headcount, mostly through attrition, and then manage the numbers, Scarpinato said.

Some Republican lawmakers are less than pleased about the new positions, which include 25 jobs at the Department of Child Safety.

It was Republican Rep. Anthony Kern who asked the Legislatures budget experts to go through Duceys proposal and tally up the new positions proposed by Ducey.

Kern said the new positions are unnecessary, even those at DCS, where employees have been fighting to reduce a backlog of child abuse and neglect cases.

We keep throwing money and positions at DCS, said Kern, arguing that the agency claims to be reducing its caseload and therefore shouldnt need 25 new workers at a cost of about $107,000 each.

He said he would have a hard time voting for a budget that funds additional government employees and expects some of his fellow fiscal conservatives to feel the same.

Do you see anywhere in the budget where were actually cutting government, cutting spending? he asked. This is not less government, bottom line.

___

Information from: Arizona Capitol Times, http://www.arizonacapitoltimes.com
PARIS  French Guiana faced a strike Monday over crime and economic difficulties, amid protests that have paralyzed the French territory in South America, halted flights and a rocket launch and prompted a U.S. travel warning.

The French government has sent an emergency mission to try to quell tensions in the territory of a quarter-million people before Mondays general strike by some 27 unions.

Protests have already blocked roads to neighboring Brazil and Suriname, and shuttered many businesses and schools. Air France canceled all flights Sunday and Monday because of the strike. Flights from regional airlines to the city of Cayenne were canceled.

As tensions mounted, French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced plans to send a high-level ministerial mission before weeks end aimed at signing a pact addressing anger over high crime, the cost of living and the quality of health care and other social services.

The Collective of 500 Brothers, the group largely behind the protests, has been demanding that the French government send a minister to negotiate with them. The group, initially created to focus on fighting crime, includes dozens of men wearing black clothes and black hoods to hide their faces.

The unrest is a reminder of the deep economic, social and racial divides between Frances mainland and its former colonies from the Caribbean to the South Pacific that remain French today. Some territories use the euro currency, and they all depend heavily on imported goods and policy decisions made in Paris.

Candidates for Frances two-round April-May presidential election have urged aid or intervention in Guiana, as the concerns of overseas voters suddenly entered the spotlight.

Ericka Bareigts, the French government minister for overseas holdings, called for calm Monday, and said on RTL radio that the government mission has made progress on demands from fishermen and farmers. However, she said conditions for dialogue are not met for her to visit Guiana herself.

The ambitious pact includes aid to the agriculture sector, the construction of a penitentiary and a new court to meet demands and security needs.

French Guiana senator Antoine Karam told BFM-TV the population has been ignored despite grave problems, such as 50 percent unemployment among young people and 30 percent of the population lacking drinking water or electricity in their homes.

Were not treated in the same way as the mainland French, he said, despite French Guiana being the site of Europes Ariane rocket launches.

A visit by Segolene Royal, the French minister of ecology, to the territory on March 17 was cut short after masked demonstrators from the Collective of 500 Brothers stormed a regional conference on biodiversity she was attending in Cayenne.

Protests also disrupted the planned launch last week of an Ariane 5 rocket from the space center in Kourou that was carrying a South Korean satellite and a Brazilian satellite.

The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning because of the potential for the protests to turn violent, saying its citizens should avoid travel to French Guiana.
Mohamad Khweis quit his job as a Metro Access driver in Virginia, sold his car and created a new email account to buy a one-way ticket abroad, prosecutors said, traveling a circuitous route to the border between Turkey and Syria before contacting an Islamic State facilitator to take him across. He was undeterred by reports of land mines and bombs along the route.

He made it from his couch in Alexandria to an Islamic State safe house in Raqqa in about two weeks, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick wrote in a court filing last week. This is not a person who frightens or breaks down easily. . . . This defendant knew exactly what he was doing.

Fitzpatrick is pushing back against contentions by defense attorneys that Khweis, 27, who is charged in federal court in Virginia with providing material support to terrorists, was coerced into making incriminating statements when he was detained in Iraq. His lawyers claimed earlier this month that he was denied access to the American attorney his parents hired and that authorities took advantage of his intense desire to return home to Alexandria, Virginia.

At the heart of the dense legal filings on both sides is a fundamental dichotomy. Was Khweis, who allegedly joined and then left the Islamic State early last year, a hapless dreamer or a sophisticated operator?

Khweis, born and raised in Virginia to Palestinian immigrants, spent months with the Islamic State before running away and getting captured by Kurdish forces in Iraq. While with the terror group, he went through intensive religious training in various Islamic State safehouses. Videos of terrorist attacks were found on his phone. He told investigators, according to the court documents, that he thought he was destined for military training because he didnt have any skills to offer ISIS, using another term for the Islamic State.

Fitzpatrick said Khweis was repeatedly offered a Kurdish lawyer, including a free public defender, and declined the offer. He was also regularly visited by a U.S. consular officer.

When interviewed by intelligence agents looking for sensitive national security information, prosecutors say, Khweis was treated well.

He was often observed smiling, laughing, appearing engaged, answering all questions and willingly volunteering information to assist the interviewers, Fitzpatrick wrote.

When he later met with an FBI clean team whose interviews could be used in court, Fitzpatrick says Khweis remained cooperative and at each interview signed away his right to remain silent or speak only with an attorney present.

The defendant was also informed that an American-trained attorney is available to him, but (given that he was in Kurdish custody at the time), the agents ability to provide the defendant with access to him may be limited by the decisions of the local authorities, Fitzpatrick wrote.

Khweis was given a sheet by the State Department, according to court filings, saying that Iraqi lawyers do not argue for either side and that the right to remain silent does not apply.

Khweis was interviewed by the FBI multiple times before his attorney, John Zwerling, was added to his list of contacts. But Fitzpatrick said that even after the State Department official met Khweis and got Zwerling approved as a contact, the prisoner waived his rights and gave another interview.

Six times, according to court documents, Khweis signed papers waiving his right to remain silent. He also signed a document consenting to a search of his electronics.

His detention was not secret, prosecutors add  he was seen by Red Cross and State Department officials and received letters from his family addressed to the Irbil facility. He also appeared on Kurdish television, in an interview discouraging others from joining the Islamic State.

The defense filing exposed tension between the FBI, State Department and Kurdish authorities over the Americans detention. Kurdish officials said Khweis needed to be moved out of the country or into their court system. State Department officials complained that they couldnt get access to the prisoner.

Zwerling said prosecutors chose to smear the defendant rather than confront the issues raised in those messages, because the facts that we used came directly from the communications of government officials.

Fitzpatrick acknowledges that some emails reflect pressure placed on the FBI by Kurdish authorities to bring the investigation to a premature conclusion. But, he contends, the Kurds were not being manipulated by the FBI into keeping Khweis detained. In fact, the Kurds dictated the schedule of interrogations.

It is sheer folly to suggest that one FBI Special Agent had the authority or the ability to control the actions of senior members of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Fitzpatrick wrote.
The apex court, however, said the government cannot be stopped from using Aadhaar in other schemes like the opening of bank accounts.

By India Today Web Desk: The Supreme Court today said the Aadhaar card can't be made mandatory by the government for extending the benefits of its welfare schemes to the people.

The apex court, however, said the government cannot be stopped from using Aadhaar - or the the unique identification number - in other schemes like the opening of bank accounts.

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Last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said the Aadhaar card may become the only identity card in future, and will be mandatory for filing of Income Tax returns to curb tax evasion and frauds.

Replying to the debate on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley said that Aadhaar may become the only card in future replacing all other types of identity cards such as Voter ID and PAN cards.

The government has also said the Aadhaar card is a must for anyone seeking to obtain or renew a driver's license, a new telephone number as well as for existing connections to stay operational after February 2018.

In a controversial decision, it has also been mandated for children to get their mid-day meals and for 11 other government schemes.

The critics of Aadhaar claim the government is violating a Supreme Court order of October 2015 which specified that the Universal Identification Document cannot be made mandatory for government schemes.

The Supreme Court today said it will set up a seven-judge bench to hear the pleas challenging Aadhaar. "But right now, it is not possible," a bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said.

Senior counsel Shyam Divan had challenged a spare of orders issued by the government making Aadhaar mandatory to access benefits under various schemes.

The apex court refused to give an early date to hear a petition on making the biometric-based identity number mandatory, saying it would hear the case in due course of time.

A number of Opposition parties walked out of Lok Sabha last week, accusing the government of forcing Indians to get Aadhaar cards.ALSO READ:Aadhaar mandatory for filing I-T returns, applying for PAN card

After PAN, mobile numbers, Aadhaar now to be mandatory for driving licenses: Report

--- ENDS ---
BOULDER, Colo.  The University of Colorado is considering asking student applicants to disclose their sexual orientation.

The Daily Camera reports (http://bit.ly/2nYx53o ) that many colleges have already added this question to their applications and CU officials believe it will create a more welcoming environment.

University officials say they are also considering adding the question to better track the Boulder campus LGBTQ population. Officials say they do not have a tentative date for when the question may be added.

CU spokesman Ryan Huff says if the change is passed, the question will be voluntary and that the applicants answer will not impact their chance at admission.

___

Information from: Daily Camera, http://www.dailycamera.com/
Gov. Susana Martinez says her administration is preparing to order state employees to take unpaid days off as soon as next month to help save money as New Mexico faces a budget crisis.

And she plans to call the Legislature back into special session soon, she said, to work not only on next years budget but to fix this years.

It would be the third time lawmakers and the governor have made adjustments to this years budget, with the goal of sweeping unused cash into the general fund to pay state bills.

Without more budget changes, furloughs will start next month, Martinez, a Republican, told reporters after a speech in Albuquerque. Parks and museums will start closing because there is no cash on hand to continue all of these systems operating through the end of June.

Democratic lawmakers say theyre surprised by the talk of employee furloughs and government closures. The Legislature adopted a solvency package earlier this year  in addition to changes made in a special session last year  aimed at providing enough money to get through June 30, the end of the fiscal year.

House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, said Monday that the governor never bought up problems with this years budget once the solvency package was adopted in late January. The legislative session continued through mid-March.

Lawmakers, he said, have no reason to believe furloughs or other dramatic steps are necessary to balance this years budget.

The solvency package is still totally adequate, according to everything we know, Egolf said in an interview. If shes got data that contradicts that, she should tell us.

Sen. John Arthur Smith, a Deming Democrat and chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee, said the state government would have had more margin for error this year if the governor hadnt vetoed parts of the solvency package adopted by the Legislature. But even so, he said, theres been no indication the states financial situation has deteriorated substantially since then.

I think we can squeeze by unless shes aware of other revenues that arent materializing, Smith said.

Dire situation

Martinez, in turn, said it was lawmakers who didnt go far enough to shore up this years budget, discarding some of her ideas without much debate.

Many in the Legislature failed to do their job, she said.

Her remarks came in a speech to about 400 business leaders gathered for a luncheon sponsored by NAIOP, the commercial real estate development association. She received a standing ovation as she took the stage for a 25-minute speech.

Employee furloughs  or unpaid days off  could begin as early as next month, the governor said. Law enforcement officers and employees in other critical functions could be spared, Martinez said.

The governor has already imposed a hiring freeze for agencies under her control.

It is a dire situation, Martinez told the audience, and its up to us as leaders to fix it.

The hiring freeze and furloughs are intended to help ensure the government has enough cash to continue paying its bills through June 30.

The governor and her staff said theyre still calculating how much money they need to save this year through furlough days.

They also said some of the savings produced by the solvency package wont happen in time to help pay this years bills.

This is completely unacceptable, Martinez said of the budget trouble. New Mexicans everywhere deserve better.

Two budget battles

The Legislature and governor have not agreed on a budget for the next year, either. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

State lawmakers adopted a $6.1 billion budget this month that relies on about $350 million in tax increases to help pay for the spending and build reserves. Among the new revenue would be an increase of 10 cents a gallon in the state gasoline tax.

The budget passed with a bipartisan majority in the Senate and then along party lines in the House. Democrats control both legislative chambers.

Outside the Marriott on Monday, about 50 protesters gathered, carrying signs urging Martinez to sign the budget approved by the Legislature and avoid spending cuts.

Inside, however, Martinez vowed again to veto tax increases.

I will not let politicians bail out big government on the backs of New Mexicans, she said.

She said she plans to call lawmakers into a special session soon to craft a new plan to balance the budget. That means legislators would have two budgets to work on  shoring up this years spending plan and adopting a new one for next year.

The agenda may go beyond that, too. Martinez said she is weighing other topics for the Legislature to consider in a special session, such as stiffer penalties for people who harm employees of the Children, Youth and Families Department. A similar proposal won overwhelming approval in the House this year but didnt clear the Senate before the end of the session.

The budget trouble comes as the state is squeezed by low oil and gas prices  a critical part of New Mexicos economy and an important source of revenue for the state government.

Martinez described it as a historic crash in oil prices.

New Mexico already has faced a downgrade in its credit rating, and the states unemployment rate is the highest in the nation.
STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, England  Just over four centuries ago, the third-born child of a leather tradesman walked the streets of this medieval market town, nestled in the countryside of an enchantingly verdant island, and imagined stories set on a vast continent he would likely never see.

Epic French battles. Illicit Italian love affairs. Brooding Danish princes.

William Shakespeare, forever after known as Englands national poet, was obsessed with Europe.

Its an obsession that continues in Stratford-upon-Avon, where the men and women who tread daily in the Bards footsteps past half-timbered Tudors are fixated on their countrys imminent rupture from the European Union.

But is that break a historical triumph, or a tragedy?

Nine months after Britain voted to leave the E.U.  and just before the United Kingdom formally gives notice to its soon-to-be erstwhile partners across the English Channel next Wednesday  there is nothing remotely approaching consensus. Stratford is every bit as polarized as the U.K. as a whole, split between those basking in glorious sunshine and others mired in the winter of their discontent.

The vote here exactly mirrored the national tally  52 percent opted to leave, 48 percent chose to stay  and if anything. the battle lines have only hardened as Britains departure draws near. Despite endless debate, neither side has convinced the other. Britain remains a house divided as it prepares to leap into the unknown of a first-ever E.U. defection.

To Brexit opponents in this charming tourist magnet of a town, the country is making an epic mistake, a misguided turn away from the world after centuries of looking outward. The internationally-minded Bard, they insist, would have cringed.

My daughter lives in Madrid, shes married to a Mexican, her children were born in Amsterdam. Thats the nature of the world now, said Meg Gain, a retired librarian who is campaigning for Britain to somehow pull back from the Brexit brink. And all I can see is borders being enclosed and walls being put up.

But to supporters, British liberation is nearly at hand after decades under the thumb of unelected Brussels bureaucrats. Shakespeares English heroes, they insist, would have approved.

The country is ready, said Kate Himmens, an enthusiastic Brexit backer, former civil servant and local guide. Were ready to have our freedom back.

Standing on the site of Shakespeares final home in Stratford  it was torn down long ago, although the grounds were opened last year as the towns newest tourist attraction  she was seized by a verse from Henry V in which the English king orders his men into battle against the French at Agincourt midway through the Hundred Years War.

Follow your spirit, and upon this charge cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!  she crowed, punching the air for emphasis.

Then she stopped and suggested a modern twist:

It should be, I suppose, For Harry, England and Brexit! 

Shakespeare gets no say in Brexit, of course, having died 401 years ago  long before even the United Kingdom existed, much less the still-in-its-infancy experiment that is the European Union.

But that hasnt stopped both sides from periodically attempting to enlist the services of the Bard of Avon, widely regarded as the greatest-ever writer in the English language.

During last years campaign, politicians, columnists and scholars all pondered what the Bard might have made of it all.

Brexit backers point to his patriotic verse  This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England  and his often unflattering depictions of continental Europeans. Plus, they note, theres no evidence he ever left his native island, despite the French coast looming a mere 19 miles across the English Channel.

Pro-EU advocates, meanwhile, argue that he read deeply about continental Europe, even if he never visited, that many of his plays were set there, and that he saw England as rooted firmly in a broader European history.

He takes the English people to Venice, to Rome, to Athens. For Shakespeare that idea of Europeanism connects us back to our roots  to who we are, said Carol Chillington Rutter, professor of Shakespeare at the nearby University of Warwick.

He didnt travel to Europe, she speculated, less because he lacked interest and more because it cost too much money for a jobbing playwright with a family to support in Stratford.

And even his seemingly patriotic verses, she noted, arent always so. Henry Vs famous order to charge the French positions at Agincourt  Once more unto the breach, dear friends  rings less of glory when you know what happens next.

The English are about to get their behinds whipped, she said. Those guys are doomed.

Regardless of his stance on Brexit, scholars say that Shakespeare would have undoubtedly been intrigued by the subject  and may not have needed to go far had he chosen to write about it.

I think he would find it most interesting that Stratford was as accurately divided on this matter as the nation, said Paul Edmondson, head of research at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

The town of Shakespeares birth, death and much in between would not be unfamiliar to him.

The basic layout of central Stratford, set on the banks of the swan-saturated Avon, is unchanged since medieval times. The brown-and-cream palette of half-millennium-old buildings dominates the streetscape. The Bards spacious, two-story childhood home on Henley Street is precisely where he left it.

If Shakespeare came back, he might wonder what Marks and Spencer is, said Himmens, the volunteer guide, referring to the ubiquitous British retailer. But hed have no trouble finding his way around.

Two hours by train from London, or a five-day walk in Shakespeares era, Stratford is heavily reliant on the tourists who stream in from around the world, giving it an international outlook and affluence unusual for provincial England. But like much of the country outside the major cities and university towns, it swung in favor of Brexit.

To Himmens, who once lived in Spain and who regularly visits longtime friends in France, it was an easy choice.

Were the closest of friends with Europe, she said. We want to remain friends  but not be governed by them.

Her husband, a fellow guide who stands where Shakespeares front door once stood, welcoming children with a doff of his black feathered cap, agrees.

There are 27 other countries being told what do by unelected people. It can only end in tears, said George Himmens, a mustachioed 69-year-old. We want to get out before the tears start.

And the notion that there may be tears in Britain once the economic costs of breaking up with the countrys closest trading partner come to bear? The Europeans, Himmens suggests, doth protest too much: Those French farmers! What are they all going to do with that bloody Camembert?

Brexit looks very different to Jonathan Baker, a former English teacher who chairs a local group campaigning to keep Britain in even as it heads out.

The voters may have spoken last June, he acknowledged. But as the reality of Brexit sets in, he clings to the hope that the country can still change its mind  especially when the stakes are so high.

Weve had 70 years of peace thanks in part to the European Union, he said. Thats something not to be taken for granted.

Nor, said Tomas Budi, is the effect that Brexit will have on Britains young. The 21-year-old is from Spain but has spent the semester in the U.K. under an EU student exchange program known as Erasmus. The program is named for the Dutch theologian whose writings are believed to have influenced the Bard.

It is a program that Shakespeare, keen student of Europe that he was, may have found appealing. But its one that could end, for Britain at least, once it is out of the E.U.

Since coming here Ive met students from England and Greece and France and Italy. You grow up as a person, and your thoughts become more global, Budi said as he and his mother paused for coffee after a day of sightseeing in Stratford. If the U.K. leaves, European students wont have the opportunity to come here and study. And British students wont have the opportunity to go to France or to Spain.

I think thats a mistake.
Roger W. Wilkins, a ranking Justice Department official during the 1960s who later composed Pulitzer Prize-winning editorials about the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post and wrote unsparingly about the conflicts and burdens he experienced as a black man in positions of influence, died March 26 at a nursing home in Kensington, Maryland. He was 85.

The cause was complications from dementia, said his daughter, Elizabeth Wilkins.

In a career that traversed law, journalism and education, Wilkins made matters of race and poverty central to his work as an assistant attorney general in the Johnson administration and later as one of the first black editorial board members at The Post and the New York Times.

By kinship or friendship, he was linked to many black leaders of the civil rights era. Roy Wilkins, who led the NAACP from 1955 to 1977, was an uncle. In law school, Roger Wilkins was an intern for Thurgood Marshall, then director-counsel of the NAACPs Legal Defense and Educational Fund and later a U.S. Supreme Court justice.

From a young age, he once wrote, he was compelled to spend his life blasting through doors that white people didnt want to open.

Wilkins said he lived at times with a painful duality as an African-American who had risen to positions of leverage in white-controlled halls of power.

He felt an obligation to serve the black community but that he also desired an identity independent from it  my own personal exemption, he said. In New York, he could feel at home in Harlem, in the bohemian Greenwich Village and in a tony apartment on Central Park West.

He spent periods of his life at the Ford Foundation, where he awarded grants from its luxurious New York offices, and on the riot-ravaged streets of Detroit, where he was confronted by gun-wielding state troopers unaccustomed to encountering a black federal authority. At checkpoints, he learned to hold up his hands and shout, Department of Justice, Department of Justice!

Intense and sensitive, Wilkins described himself as restless, given to heavy drinking and susceptible to bouts of despair and deep depression. He saw himself as a microcosm of high-achieving black America at a time of limited new opportunity amid still-festering historical bigotry.

I was a man living in a never-never land somewhere far beyond the constraints my grandparents had known but far short of true freedom, he wrote in his 1982 autobiography, A Mans Life. I knew no black people  young or old, rich or poor  who didnt feel injured by the experience of being black in America.

After an early career as a welfare caseworker in Cleveland and an international lawyer in New York City, he came to Washington in 1962 as a special assistant to the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Four years later, President Lyndon B. Johnson tapped Wilkins to lead the Community Relations Service, an agency established under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and eventually overseen by the Justice Department.

In an era of urban rioting, Wilkins, then 33, became one of the administrations point men on inner-city rage that exploded from Washington to the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The three years he spent in the job, he recalled, were a blur of pain and glory. His resources were meager and the need monumental.

Wilkins said he frequently was received during his travels as an outsider from official, white Washington. He felt betrayed by Justice Department colleagues who, amid the race riots in Detroit, dined with a city powerbroker at a segregated club. Wilkins was not invited.

After Richard M. Nixon became president in 1969, Wilkins left government service for the Ford Foundation, where he oversaw funding for job training, drug rehabilitation and education for the poor. He described the job as a glass prison, a well-funded, well-intentioned endeavor that was constantly stymied by internal politics and a leadership that was disproportionately white, elite and out of touch with minority struggles.

Compounding his frustration was his ambivalence about the glittering social life he led. Through a relationship with the MCA heiress and writer Jean Stein vanden Heuvel, Wilkins moved in a high-society circle that included Norman Mailer, Arthur Miller and Leonard Bernstein.

I loved it but it tore me apart, he wrote in his memoir. It was as if, by entering that world at night, I was betraying everything I told myself I stood for during the day. He came to think of himself as an ersatz white man.

In 1972, he left the Ford Foundation to join The Post, which two years earlier had published a commentary by Wilkins, titled A Black at the Gridiron Dinner. The essay excoriated the organization, a club frequented by Washington journalists and politicians, for applauding gross displays of racial offensiveness  including a sketch that featured Vice President Spiro T. Agnew singing Dixie as a tribute to Nixons effort to win white votes with his Southern strategy.

Wilkins said he and then-Washington Mayor Walter E. Washington were the only blacks among the 500 media and political leaders in attendance.

There were no Indians, there were no Asians, there were no Puerto Ricans, there were no Mexican-Americans, he wrote in The Post. There were just the Mayor and me. Incredibly, I sensed that there were few in that room who thought that anything was missing.

The piece struck like thunder in Washington and impressed editorial page editor Philip L. Geyelin. From his place on the editorial board, Wilkins later told an interviewer, he wanted to help make The Post speak more precisely and more powerfully to the needs of the poor and the outcast, whoever they were.

But his brief tenure was consumed by the unfolding Watergate political scandal that led to Nixons resignation in 1974.

When The Post received a 1973 Pulitzer Prize for public service for its Watergate coverage, Pulitzer board members cited the investigative work of reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the editorial cartoons of Herbert L. Block, known as Herblock, and the newspapers editorials, many of them written by Wilkins.

In 1974, he received an overture from the Times and spent a few years on its editorial board before working as an urban-affairs columnist from 1977 to 1979.

As he did at The Post, Wilkins had disagreements at the Times with highly educated, liberal-minded white colleagues who assumed his sparkling credentials and pedigree made him a voice of what they considered moderation on race and social issues.

In his memoir, he wrote that his years-long attempt to gently enlighten colleagues and political leaders had little impact, and that he had come to believe in groin fights as the way to achieve progress.

Roger Wood Wilkins was born on March 25, 1932, in Kansas City, Missouri, where he began his schooling in a one-room, segregated schoolhouse.

His father, Earl, a business manager of the Kansas City Call, a black newspaper, died of tuberculosis at 35. His mother, the former Helen Jackson, was instrumental in the racial desegregation of the national Y.W.C.A. and eventually served as its first African-American president.

After his fathers death in 1941, Wilkins lived briefly in Harlem near his uncle Roy, whom he recalled as a distant, dignified man. He moved with his mother to Grand Rapids, Michigan, after her marriage in 1943 to a doctor, Robert Claytor.

The family lived in a racially mixed neighborhood, where Wilkins said he had many white friends but where interracial dating would have been unthinkable. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1953 and its law school in 1956.

He left the Times in 1979 and remained involved in public affairs as a senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, a professor of history and American culture at George Mason University, a commentator in print and broadcast media, and a publisher of the NAACPs journal, the Crisis, from 1998 to 2010.

In 1980, Wilkins and Post columnist William Raspberry became the first black members of the Pulitzer Prize board, which Wilkins later chaired.

In 2001, he published Jeffersons Pillow, a well-regarded historical study addressing the contradictions between the ideals of the Founding Fathers from Virginia and their ownership of slaves.

Wilkins marriages to Eve Tyler and Mary Floy Myers ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 36 years, Patricia King, a law professor at Georgetown University, of Washington; two children from his first marriage, Amy Wilkins and David Wilkins, both of Washington; a daughter from his third marriage, Elizabeth Wilkins of Washington; two half-sisters; and two grandsons.

Ive always thought that if I had 15 lucid moments before I die, Ill want to look back and see that I tried to act with honor, 15 minutes by 15 minutes throughout my life, Wilkins wrote in A Mans Life.

He added: The struggle of life is not won with one glorious moment like Reggie Jacksons five straight home runs in a recent World Series  wonderful and thrilling though that was  but a continual struggle in which you keep your dignity intact and your powers at work, over the long course of a lifetime.



The Washington Posts Matt Schudel contributed to this report.
A drug frequently prescribed for pain is no more effective than a placebo at controlling sciatica, a common source of pain in the lower back and leg, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers at the George Institute for Global Health in Australia followed 209 sciatica patients who were randomly assigned to receive either pregabalin, more commonly known as Lyrica, or a placebo.

The results showed no significant differences in leg-pain intensity between the group on the placebo and that on Lyrica after eight weeks taking the drug or during the rest of the year on follow-up exams. Similarly, there were no differences for other outcomes such as back pain, quality of life and degree of disability.

After Lyrica was approved in 2004, it has become the most commonly prescribed medicine for neuropathic pain, which is caused by damage to the nervous system. The drug was ranked as the 19th-highest-earning pharmaceutical in 2015, with worldwide sales rising annually at a rate of 9 percent and U.S. sales of more than $3 billion in 2015.

We have seen a huge rise in the amount of prescriptions being written each year for patients suffering from sciatica. Its an incredibly painful and disabling condition, so its no wonder people are desperate for relief and medicines such as pregabalin have been widely prescribed, Christine Lin, one of the authors of the study, said in a news release.

Sciatica can be particularly debilitating and is a symptom of a problem with the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body. In most cases, the cause of the pain remains unclear. Often accompanied by weakness, numbness and tingling, the pain usually radiates on one side of the body and can spread from the lower back to the lower leg and the foot. Sciatic symptoms can subside on their own.

According to the researchers, around 12 percent of the worlds population has lower back pain at any one time, and around 5 to 10 percent of those with such pain have sciatica.

The randomized, double-blind placebo study also found significantly more side effects in people who took Lyrica than in those who were on the placebo. Nearly two-thirds of the participants were very satisfied or satisfied with their drug regimen, regardless of whether they were taking Lyrica or a placebo.

It seems people associate a drop in pain being due to taking a capsule, rather than something which would happen naturally over time. General practitioners who are prescribing Lyrica should take note of these findings and talk with their patients about other ways of managing and preventing pain, Lin said.

Lyrica became the best-selling drug for Pfizer after the companys patent for the statin Lipitor expired in 2012.

Pfizer issued a statement about the study saying, Lyrica is currently approved in more than 130 countries and regions globally. The efficacy and safety of Lyrica for its approved indications has been demonstrated in large-scale, double blind, randomized, placebo controlled pivotal trials. Lyrica continues to be an important treatment option for the conditions for which it is approved.
Chello N Grill, a new Mediterranean eatery, will open soon in the Pavilions at San Mateo shopping center, a move the company hopes will breathe new life into the area near San Mateo and Menaul.

It will occupy the space once leased to Boston Market, next to Einstein Bros. Bagels.

Chello N Grill, owned by the Pizza 9 Franchise Corp., will be the first in the nation, but the owners hope to expand to other New Mexico locations and other states. Pizza 9 is Albuquerque-based, with restaurants in Texas, Oklahoma and Nevada.

Construction is under way on Chello, and it is expected to open in 45 to 60 days, marketing director Sarah Ortiz said Monday.

This is a truly unique restaurant for this part of town, Ortiz says. It is our hope that we can breathe new life into the area.

The eatery will function in a line style, with customers ordering at the counter and served at their table. Dishes will start with rice (or chello in Farsi), and customers may choose from an array of meats and vegetables to go on top. Meals include fresh baked flat bread, and there will be a specialty tea bar.

Ortiz says the new restaurant hopes to employ 20 to 25 full-time workers.

Leasing is being handled by Phillips Edison and Company, which is also handling the leasing for several other properties in the Pavilions at San Mateo, including the Old Navy remodel.

That store is occupying a temporary space in the shopping center during the remodel, required after a suspected arson last year. Old Navy plans to reopen in its permanent spot soon.

As far as the rest of the shopping center, Phillips Edison and Company is continuing to search for retailers who meet the needs of the community, spokeswoman Sarah Bicknell said.

Two other boxes next to Chello N Grill are empty.
WASHINGTON  If your company is being sued for patent infringement, theres an awfully good chance youll need to get familiar with Marshall, Texas, population around 25,000.

The Eastern District of Texas is where a stunning number of patent cases are born  nearly 45 percent of the nations total, according to an amicus brief filed at the Supreme Court.

One U.S. district judge, Rodney Gilstrap, who presides over the federal courthouse in Marshall, received about one-quarter of all the patent cases initiated between 2014 to 2016  more than were assigned to all federal judges in California, New York and Florida combined, according to Mark Lemley, a Stanford law professor who filed the brief on behalf of himself and other professors.

The Supreme Court on Monday debated whether such forum-shopping is what Congress intended to happen with patent litigation  and whether there was anything wrong with it.

Briefs in the case are filled with this thing about a Texas district which they think has too many cases, said Justice Stephen Breyer, adding I dont know whether thats good, bad, or indifferent.

James Dabney, a New York lawyer representing a company called TC Heartland, said, right or wrong, it was contrary to a Supreme Court ruling that is 60 years old. He contends that a patent suit must be filed in the place where the alleged infringer is headquartered or where it has a regular and established place of business.

Instead, the Indiana-based Heartland was sued in Delaware, the district with the second highest number of patent suits, about 10 percent. Kraft Heinz alleges that Heartlands liquid water enhancers infringe on Krafts MiO.

Companies like to sue in places such as east Texas and Delaware, because those courts are seen as patent-friendly, with rules on speed, discovery and dismissal of claims that favor patent-holders. Critics say they also encourage costly litigation and settlements.

Krafts lawyer at the Supreme Court, William Jay, told the court that Congress is looking at the situation. But if theres a problem, he said, it is not one that should be settled with his companys case.

The justices acknowledged that their case from 1957 seemed definitive. The problem is that Congress has altered the law about legal venues twice since then, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has basically rewritten the rules from what the Supreme Court set.

Justice Elena Kagan noted the unusual nature of the case. Usually when the Supreme Court rules, we can be pretty confident that Congress is acting against the backdrop of that decision, she said. But I think that that would be an odd thing to say in this case, given that for 30 years the Federal Circuit has been ignoring our decision and the law has effectively been otherwise.

Under the Federal Circuit rules, patent lawsuits can be filed wherever a company has even minimal sales of its products. Heartland, for instance, shipped a relatively small portion of its water enhancer for sale in Delaware, but two lower courts ruled that was enough to keep the case there, rather than transferred to Indiana.

Dabney told the court there was no reason to adhere to the Federal Circuits ruling. This court has again and again and again stood up for its authority to declare what the law is, he said.

The case is TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group Brands.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  The Arkansas Parole Board recommended Monday that the governor reject long-shot bids for clemency by two of inmates facing lethal injection next month, as a new lawsuit challenges the states unprecedented plan to conduct four double executions over a 10-day period.

The board told Gov. Asa Hutchinson the clemency requests by convicted murderers Stacey Eugene Johnson and Ledell Lee were without merit. The ultimate decision on whether to spare the mens lives rests with Hutchinson, who scheduled the executions last month.

Three other inmates scheduled for executions have asked the Parole Board to spare their lives, with decisions expected in the next week. Johnson and Lee are set to die April 20, which would mark the first execution in Arkansas since 2005. The other double executions are set for April 17, April 24 and April 27.

The eight inmates asked a federal judge earlier Monday to block the states unprecedented plan, arguing that the execution schedule and Arkansas planned use of the controversial sedative midazolam violates their constitutional rights. The states current stock of midazolam expires at the end of April.

The rushed schedule appreciably increases the risk of harm to plaintiffs, falls far outside the bounds of modern penological practice, and disrespects the plaintiffs fundamental dignity  defects that all run against the Eighth Amendments protection, the inmates attorneys said in their request for a preliminary injunction.

Arkansas hasnt executed an inmate in more than a decade because of court challenges and difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs. The state hasnt carried out a double execution since 1999, and while Texas has executed eight people in a month  twice in 1997  no state in the modern era has executed that many prisoners in 10 days.

Johnson, 47, was condemned for the 1993 death of Carol Heath, who was beaten and strangled, and had her throat slit. DNA evidence included a hair found on Heaths body and a cigarette butt with Johnsons saliva that was found in the pocket of a shirt left at a roadside park with Heaths blood on it.

Lee, 51, was sentenced to die for the 1993 death of Debra Reese, a neighbor who was beaten to death in her home with a tire iron that her husband had given her for protection. She was struck 36 times.

Both men have claimed they were innocent, and their attorneys cited problems with the way their cases were handled in lower court. The victims family members urged the board to not commute the inmates sentences, saying they wanted closure.

Of the 27 people executed in Arkansas since 1990, 20 had clemency requests rejected and the others didnt apply. In 1999, against the parole boards recommendation, then-Gov. Mike Huckabee reduced Bobby Fretwells sentence to life without parole after a juror said he went along with Fretwells condemnation because he didnt want to be ostracized in his small town.

Johnsons attorney said he was disappointed but not surprised by the boards decision. He acknowledged the chances of Hutchinson reversing course may be slim.

The odds are against it, but well just have to see. He still has time to think about it, attorney Jeff Rosenzweig said.

Mondays lawsuit is the latest of several efforts by the inmates to halt the executions. A separate challenge against Arkansas lethal injection law  which keeps the source of the states lethal injection drugs secret  is pending in Pulaski County Circuit Court. The inmates have also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its decision to not weigh in on a state court ruling upholding the laws constitutionality.

The new lawsuit argues that the state doesnt have appropriate training or protocols in place for the four double executions. Attorney General Leslie Rutledges office called the suit yet another attempt to delay justice.

She will continue to fully defend Arkansas method of execution, and she expects the executions to proceed as scheduled, spokeswoman Jessica Ray said in an email.

Marcel Williams, who was convicted in the 1994 murder of Stacy Errickson, appeared before the Arkansas Parole Board on Monday morning to ask for clemency; Erricksons family and prosecutors urged the panel to move forward with his April 24 execution. Hearings are set before the board on Friday for two other inmates.

___

Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo
WILLIAMS, Ariz.  A suspected car thief who allegedly fired shots at law enforcement officers in northern Arizona was arrested Monday evening after an hourslong search, authorities said.

John Freeman, 31, was arrested without incident around 5:30 p.m., Yavapai County Sheriffs officials said.

He was found in a culvert about a half-mile south of Interstate 40 near the Bearizona Wildlife Park, which was evacuated around noon so authorities could search for Freeman.

Authorities said Freeman had a warrant for his arrest out of Kingman and was considered armed and dangerous. But he wasnt armed when arrested, and authorities were searching for the firearm.

Two other men who were in the car with Freeman earlier Monday during a chase that reached 100 mph also were in custody, but their names werent immediately released.

A sheriffs deputy tried to stop Freemans vehicle for a traffic violation on Interstate 40 near Ash Fork around 10:45 a.m. Monday. The vehicle kept going, and a man who was thrown from the car was detained, authorities said.

A chase that reached 100 mph ensued until the suspects vehicle became disabled and crashed into a culvert near the wildlife park, according to sheriffs officials.

They said Freeman exited the car and fired at least one shot at the deputy before disappearing into the forest.

A third man found near the vehicle after it crashed also was detained, sheriffs officials said.

It took more than three hours to evacuate about 200 people from the wildlife park after it was placed on lockdown and motorists in the area were warned not to pick up any hitchhikers.
Nearly two dozen people from five states are accusing Attorney General Jeff Sessions of lying to the Senate Judiciary Committee about his communications with the Russian government, and subsequently trying to cover up that lie, according to a complaint sent to the Department of Justice.

The complaint, which names 23 residents, states that Sessions gave false and misleading testimony during his confirmation hearing in January when he told the Senate committee that he did not have communications with the Russians. It further accuses the attorney general of covering up the alleged perjury by directing a spokeswoman to make a public statement saying he did not mislead the committee.

We feel there is probable cause to charge him with a crime, J. Whitfield Larrabee, a Massachusetts lawyer who represents the 23 residents, told The Washington Post. We want indictments in the case. We want Attorney General Sessions to be treated just the same as anyone else. We dont think that just because hes the attorney general, that there should be a higher standard to bring charges against him.

Larrabee said the complaint was sent Monday to three Justice Department divisions that investigate alleged crimes and misconduct by agency employees and public officials.

How the agency will handle a complaint against its leader is unclear. Larrabee said the department should appoint a special prosecutor to handle the investigation and prosecution.

A spokesman for one of the divisions, the Office of Inspector General, declined to comment on the allegations. Other Justice Department spokespersons have not responded to a request for comment.

The group of complainants, which includes three doctors and pastor, are from California, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Vermont.

In March, The Washington Post revealed that Sessions met with Russias ambassador to the United States twice last year and did not disclose those communications when asked during his confirmation hearing. The report intensified calls for a congressional investigation into Russias involvement in the presidential election and also prompted ethics complaints calling for disciplinary actions against Sessions, whos been an attorney for more than four decades.

After The Posts March 1 story, Sessions acknowledged that he briefly spoke with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July and again at his Senate office in September, but denied discussing President Donald Trumps campaign. The former Republican senator from Alabama, who became Trumps nominee for attorney general in November, has also recused himself from Justice Department investigations related to the election, saying he was following the advice of the agencys ethics officials.

The allegations in the complaint were partially over Sessionss answer to a question by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., during his Jan. 10 confirmation hearing. Franken asked Sessions what hell do if anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign had communications with the Russian government.

Im not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians, Sessions responded.

Sessions submitted written statements a week later in response to questions by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt. Leahy asked: Several of the president-elects nominees or senior advisers have Russian ties. Have you been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after Election Day?

His response: No.

The complaint further accuses Sessions of making additional false statements to cover up the perjurious testimony. It cited a March 6 letter he wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee in which he defended his earlier testimony, as well as a statement posted on social media saying Sessions never discussed the presidential campaign with any Russian officials.

In the March 6 letter, Sessions said he correctly and honestly answered questions about a continuing exchange of information between Trump surrogates and intermediaries of 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, he wrote.

Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union filed an ethics complaint against the attorney general with the Alabama State Bars disciplinary commission. Sessions, whom the Senate confirmed last month following an acrimonious partisan debate, has been a member of the bar since 1973.

Chris Anders, deputy director of the ACLUs legislative office in Washington, claims that Sessions had violated Alabamas rules of professional conduct preventing lawyers from engaging in conduct involving dishonest, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, according to the complaint, which also cites The Posts story.

Larrabee, the Massachusetts attorney, also filed a complaint with the Alabama bar around the same time the ACLU did.

It seems to me that this is part of a pervasive culture of dishonesty in the White House, Larrabee said, citing Michael Flynn, Kellyanne Conway and the president as examples.

Flynn resigned from his post as Trumps national security adviser last month over revelations about his potentially illegal contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States, and his misleading statements about the matter to senior Trump administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, The Posts Greg Miller and Philip Rucker reported.

Conway, counselor to the president, attracted criticism when she said during a television interview in January that White House press secretary Sean Spicer gave alternative facts about the size of Trumps inauguration crowd.

President Trump himself has been a purveyor of false claims, many of which have been repeatedly debunked.
By Press Trust of India: Ahmedabad, Mar 27 (PTI) Resident doctors of the civil hospital here went on a flash strike after their colleague was attacked by a mob following the death of a patient, but the stir was called off today after the security was stepped up.

Around 300 resident doctors of the hospital stopped work around 10 pm on Sunday after a woman colleague was assaulted last evening by a group of around 50 persons, upset due to the death of a patient, who had suffered a serious head injury.

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However, the doctors resumed the duty from noon today, after the hospital administration scaled up the security arrangement there, an official said.

The incident came in the wake of the five-day strike by resident doctors in Maharashtra to protest against a spate of assaults.

"A mob of around 50 persons entered the hospital premises and attacked a woman doctor after a patient died due to head injury. Following this, doctors refused to join duty and demanded better security arrangements at the hospital last night," medical superintendent of civil hospital, M M Prabhakar told PTI.

"Protesting doctors demanded better security arrangements and a facility to file FIR without delay. We offered them written assurance to enhance security and with immediate effect, security arrangement of the hospital has been enhanced. With this, the doctors called off strike and joined duty," Prabhakar said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 4, Pratiksha Rathod, said that as per the demand made by the doctors, security arrangement of the civil hospital has been beefed up with the deployment of more police personnel.

"We have deployed State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) personnel at nine different points of the hospital, and a PCR van has been stationed there permanently. We have also deployed three police personnel at trauma centre of the hospital," Rathod said.

Earlier, only two policemen were deployed at the hospital and one had to call up police control room for any additional assistance, she said. PTI KA PD NP

--- ENDS ---
Prosecutors in New York have upgraded the charges against a white man who police say admitted to fatally stabbing a black man in a burst of racial hatred, indicting him on two new charges of murder as an act of terrorism.

Police say James H. Jackson, a 28-year-old from Baltimore, admitted to traveling to New York specifically to target and kill black men. Once in the city, they say, he stalked numerous potential victims before confronting Timothy Caughman, 66, and stabbing the man to death with a sword in what he intended to be the first of many attacks.

Accounts from police and Jacksons statements to the media detailed a long-standing, visceral hatred of black people that culminated in his decision this month to board a Bolt Bus to Manhattan and attack black men where he could gain the most attention.

James Jackson prowled the streets of New York for three days in search of a black person to assassinate in order to launch a campaign of terrorism against our Manhattan community and the values we celebrate, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, said in a statement Monday.

Jackson was indicted in New York State Supreme Court on one count of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder, both as acts of terrorism. Jackson had been charged last week with murder as a hate crime and three counts of criminally possessing a weapon. His attorney declined to comment on the additional charges Monday.

The new charges against Jackson, announced Monday afternoon by Vance, came nearly a week after Caughman was killed. Police say he was stabbed repeatedly, went to the authorities for help and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died.

Vance decried the attack, saying Jackson acted on his plan, randomly selecting a beloved New Yorker solely on the basis of his skin color, and stabbing him repeatedly and publicly on a midtown street corner.

Jackson, an Army veteran, turned himself in to police a little more than a day later, walking into a substation and telling officers that he was the person they were seeking, Assistant Police Chief William Aubry said at a news briefing last week.

Police said Jackson left no doubt about what motivated his attack, saying in a complaint filed last week that he was angered by black men mixing with white women. In an interview with the New York Daily News published Sunday, Jackson said he hoped his attack would make white women decide not to enter romantic relationships with black men.

In the complaint, police said, Jackson acknowledged targeting Caughman because of his race. They also said that Jackson intended to carry out attacks in a high-profile place aimed at getting the widest possible audience.

Jackson regarded the killing as practice prior to going to Times Square to kill additional black men, the complaint stated.

But Jackson said he felt regret after the attack, telling the Daily News that he didnt know he was elderly. Jackson told the newspaper that he would have rather killed a young thug or a successful older black man with blond women.

On Monday, Jackson was in court for a hearing that included the new counts, and childhood friends of Caughman were in attendance, as well.

Tim Caughman did not deserve to die like that, said Portia Clark, one of his friends, according to the Associated Press. Nobody does. I mean, come on, were black, white, yellow, brown  thats ridiculous. Were trying to get along.

Another friend wept outside after seeing Jackson. It really hurt me to see that man, because I cant do nothing about it, Carl Nimmons told the AP. I dont have the power to do anything about it.

Since details began to emerge about the attack, public officials, civil rights groups and members of the public have expressed disgust and, in some cases, called for more charges against Jackson.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) called the attack an assault on what makes this the greatest city in the world: our inclusiveness and our diversity.

Last week, Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director counsel of the NAACPs Legal Defense and Educational Fund, wrote a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions saying that the stabbing should be investigated as a potential act of terrorism.

She also invoked other recent incidents and reports that have shaken a country already uneasy about a spike in reports of hate crimes. Ifill pointed in particular to the shooting of two Indian men in Kansas, which the FBI is investigating it as a hate crime, as well as a recent increase in reports of hate groups to show what she called a significant uptick in hate-related activities since President Donald Trump began launched his campaign for office.

At the White House on Monday, press secretary Sean Spicer was asked about the rise in hate crimes and the New York attack in particular. Spicer said the administration decried hate crimes, then he pivoted to say that people are unfair to those on the political right after such incidents.

In her letter to Sessions, Ifill said her group encouraged him to speak clearly and forcefully against hate crimes, and to use the full powers of your office to confront and prosecute violent white supremacist acts against innocent Americans.

The Justice Department received the letter and is reviewing it, according to a spokesman.
AUSTIN, Texas  The Texas Senate has approved a bill prohibiting coverage of abortion by some health insurance plans in Texas  despite similar efforts stalling previously.

Mondays 21-10 vote sends Friendswood Republican Sen. Larry Taylors bill to the state House. It came as activists in the Senate gallery shouted abortion is healthy care and briefly unrolled a protest banner before being escorted out.

The proposal bars health insurance plans offered through the Obama administrations health care law from covering the cost of abortions unless policyholders purchase supplemental coverage.

Texas never established health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, but state policies are offered via federal exchanges. Twenty-five states already restrict abortion coverage in plans purchased through exchanges.

A bill by Taylor doing the same thing stalled in the Legislature last session.
ROSWELL, N.M.  Police in Roswell have issued an arrest warrant for an imprisoned man suspected of killing two brothers nearly 12 years ago.

They say 33-year-old Gabriel Thyberg is believed to have fatally shot 50-year-old Reynaldo Jimenez and 54-year-old Robert Jimenez in the kitchen of their east Roswell home in May 2005.

Police say Thyberg allegedly was angry that the brothers had previously refused to give him heroin when he didnt have the money to pay for it.

Thyberg currently is incarcerated in the federal prison in Herlong, California after a conviction.

Hes scheduled to be released in November 2020.

Roswell police and the Fifth Judicial District Attorneys Office say theyre working to have Thyberg temporarily transferred to New Mexico custody so he can be arrested and prosecuted on the double-murder case.
LAS VEGAS  Energy Secretary Rick Perry toured the site of a shuttered nuclear waste dump at Nevadas Yucca Mountain on Monday, his first visit to a U.S. Energy Department site since taking over the department.

Perrys visit occurred less than two weeks after President Donald Trump proposed $120 million to restart a licensing process for the site in the desert outside Las Vegas  much to the chagrin of Nevada politicians whove spent more than a decade making sure it remains in moth balls.

Perry said he met Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a fellow Republican, at the Nevada Supreme Court building following his tour of the site. He said he and Sandoval, who are longtime friends dating to Perrys time as governor of Texas, had a frank and productive conversation in which Sandoval reiterated his opposition to the project.

Todays meeting with Gov. Sandoval was the first step in a process that will involve talking with many federal, state, local and commercial stakeholders, Perry said in a statement.

Sandoval followed with a statement agreeing it was a frank conversation on an array of issues, but added, this meeting was not the beginning of a negotiation with regard to Yucca Mountain.

The storage of high-level waste at Yucca Mountain is not something I am willing to consider, the governor said.

The visit came as a surprise to some Nevada Congress members, who are unified in opposition to reviving proposals to store high-level radioactive waste at Yucca.

I am troubled that the new energy secretary is visiting the site without informing members of the Nevada congressional delegation, said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev.

Rep. Ruben Kihuen, D-Nev., said he was informed of Perrys plans over the weekend and has requested a meeting with him to discuss his concerns. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said he spoke with Perry ahead of time and reiterated Nevadas staunch opposition to turning Yucca into a nuclear waste dump.

Nye County Commission Chairman Dan Schinhofen, who wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to settle the licensing question once and for all, said he was unaware until Monday that Perry would visit but looks forward to sitting down and talking with him as the host county.

It is important to note that nine of 17 Nevada counties have asked for the science to be heard and that has been Nye Countys position for years, he told The Associated Press. If science proves its not safe, no one wants it. But if it is safe, who would say no to a multi-billion dollar multi-generational public works project?
WASHINGTON  The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee acknowledged Monday that he had made a secret visit to the White House last week to view intelligence files he then cited as proof of potentially improper spying activity against President Donald Trump, casting new doubt on the independence of a congressional investigation into Russian election interference.

The admission by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., triggered calls among Democrats for his removal as chairman of the House panel and bipartisan appeals for an independent probe of Kremlin meddling in the 2016 election and potential connections between Russia and Trump associates.

The committees ranking Democrat, Adam Schiff, Calif., called late Monday for Nunes to recuse himself from any further involvement in the Russia investigation and all oversight matters pertaining to any incidental collection of the Trump transition, noting Nunes was a member of Trumps transition team.

Nunes has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed calls for him to step down Monday night, saying on Fox News that Im sure that the Democrats do want me to quit because they know that Im effective at getting to the bottom of things.

The development coincided with the disclosure that Trumps son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, had privately met in December with the chief executive of a Russian bank being targeted by U.S. sanctions and that Kushner has agreed to discuss such contacts with the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Trump administration officials sought to play down the significance of both developments, describing Kushners contacts as inconsequential and refusing to answer questions about the Nunes visit. Im not going to get into who he met with or why he met with them, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.

Trump, in his response, sought to pressure the House committee, arguing that the panel should be probing Bill and Hillary Clintons ties to Russia instead of those of his campaign advisers.

In a pair of evening tweets, Trump wrote that the Trump Russia story is a hoax and listed a string of financial and other connections the Clintons have had over the years with Russia. He asked why the House Intelligence Committee is not investigating the former president and former secretary of state.

Nunes meeting with a source and his review of intelligence material apparently occurred in a secure space for handling classified files within the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House. Nunes returned to the White House the next day  bypassing colleagues on the House committee  supposedly to brief Trump on what he had learned.

The attempts to keep such matters hidden from public view, however, added to the perception that the Trump administration has failed to be forthcoming about contacts with Russia and is working with allies on Capitol Hill to blunt congressional probes.

The Senates top Democrat said that House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., should remove Nunes to salvage that chambers investigation of Moscow influence. If Speaker Ryan wants the House to have a credible investigation, he needs to replace Chairman Nunes, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said.

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.

Asked about Nunes White House visit, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said, Not good. Its not a confidence builder. He said were rapidly getting to the point where a select committee or independent commission is need to conduct the investigation into Russian meddling.

Nunes said in an interview Monday that no one in the Republican leadership had asked him to step aside, and he defended his actions as part of an attempt to investigate potential misconduct by U.S. spy agencies against Trump associates.

Everybody is worried by process and they should be worried about what Ive actually said about what Ive seen, Nunes said, when asked whether it was proper for him to visit the White House under those circumstances. Why all the worry about where I saw information? We go to the White House all the time, our job is providing oversight of the executive branch.

Nunes had previously refused to say how or where he had seen classified files he cited in a hastily arranged news conference last week, saying that he had obtained troubling evidence that U.S. spy agencies incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition.

At a time when the White House was struggling to defend Trumps baseless accusation that he had been wiretapped under orders issued by then-President Barack Obama, the Nunes assertion helped shift public attention and, to some, cast Trump as a victim of espionage abuse.

In reality, Nunes appeared to be referring to legitimate intelligence operations against foreign individuals who were either in contact with Trump associates or mentioned them in conversations that were monitored as part of routine U.S. surveillance. Nunes reiterated Monday that he has seen no evidence of illegality.

Current and former national security officials described Nuness trip to the White House complex, apparently late in the evening after he had slipped away from his staff, as highly unusual. Doing so would ordinarily require Nunes and the person he met with to have been cleared in advance and accompanied by an escort  requirements that seemed to undercut White House claims to have no information about the encounter.

How incredibly irregular, said Matt Olsen, who served in the Obama administration as the head of the National Counterterrorism Center and the general counsel at the National Security Agency. The only explanation youre left with is that this is all being orchestrated by the White House.

Nunes again declined to disclose with whom he met, citing the need to protect people who bring information to the committee, and Im going to protect my source. His office said he met the source on the White House grounds.

The House Intelligence Committee is authorized to handle classified information and routinely meets with officials  including whistleblowers  from U.S. spy agencies.

Nunes spokesman Jack Langer said that because of limitations on House computer systems, Nunes could not have used secure facilities at the Capitol to review the files. He added that the White House grounds was the best location to safeguard the proper chain of custody and classification of these documents.

Nunes has said that the documents include references to Trump advisers and associates, but do not pertain to Russia. In the past few days, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former campaign advisers Carter Page and Roger Stone volunteered to make themselves available for interviews with the Senate and House Intelligence committees.

On Monday, officials from the White House and Senate said that Kushner had also offered himself for an interview with the Senate Intelligence Committee, at a date yet to be determined. The development was first reported by the New York Times.

A senior congressional official said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., spoke with the White House counsel some weeks ago to warn that the panel would be seeking to speak with administration officials, including Kushner. The White House indicated to the committee over the weekend that Kushner would be willing to participate.

The White House had previously disclosed that Kushner met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at Trump Tower in December, a session also attended by former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was fired for lying about the nature of his contacts with Kislyak.

On Monday, the White House acknowledged a previously undisclosed meeting between Kushner and Sergey Gorkov, chief of Russian government-owned Vnesheconombank. The bank, which handles Russias pension funds and deals with development activity for the state, including foreign debts and investments, has been under U.S. sanctions since July 2014, in response to Russias intervention in Ukraine.

The bank also has been tied to Russian intelligence services.

In early 2015, one of the banks New York-based employees, Evgeny Buryakov, was arrested and accused of being an unregistered spy for Russias foreign intelligence service, working with two Russian diplomats who were also secretly acting as spies. According to the U.S. government, they collected information about U.S. sanctions against Russia, and American efforts to develop alternative energy resources.

Buryakov pleaded guilty in March 2016 to conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government, though he never admitted to being an employee of Russias foreign intelligence service.

Spicer defended Kushners meetings, saying that he was the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials during the campaign and transition period.



The Washington Posts Robert Costa and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.
Kantars brand, communications and media research unit Kantar Millward Brown conducted its annual Media Conclave 2017 in Mumbai. This years Media Conclave focussed on the impact of various media Ad Formats on campaign performances. The conclave played host to some of the countrys top most Marketing, Media and Media Insights leads.

Fuelled by the perpetual quest to optimize marketing spends, the phenomenon of defragmenting media has begun driving unique Brand building initiatives. The transition has evidently been exponential for digital channels. As newer avenues of outreach programs continue to flock around Advertisers, the uncomfortable counter-views on questionable impact of various ad formats obviously crop-up.

In the words of Gonzalo Fuentes, Global CEO Media & Digital Practice, Kantar Insights: Digital as an investment is not small anymore and we need to start thinking more seriously on how as a medium, it can help to drive our brand strategy;how it contributes to other traditional media like TV, Print that are here to stay and most importantly how do we bring the focus to what is really keeping us in business: our brands.

Kantar Millward Brown India has collated and mined campaign performances of around50 Indian campaigns theyve evaluated in the recent past. A consolidated analysis of the studies, revealed some thought provoking insights. Some of the findings include,

TV still the strongest medium to build Reach and Salience across generations

Social Media has high Reach but has lesser capability to driveBrand Impact among Gen Y and Gen X. However it drives better Reach and Brand Impact among Gen Z

and However it drives better Reach and Brand Impact among Online Videos work as well as TV in driving Consideration for the brand among Gen Z and Gen Y buthave lowerBrand Impacton Gen X

and buthave lowerBrand Impacton Social Media has higher Reach than Online Videos among Gen Z; but Online Video advertising hasa better BrandImpact

Ashish Karnad, Executive Vice President, Media & Digital, Kantar Millward Brown says: Today, communication at every touch point with the consumer demands thoughtful optimisation. With Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z displaying different levels of ad avoidance to various ad formats across media; delivering a consistent Brand Experience using Media synergies coupled with scientific measurement is the order of the day.

As per AdReaction 2016, Kantar Millward Browns recently released annual study on receptivity to ads, Ad avoidance on digital devices is now a serious issue. All generations use the capabilities of Ad avoidance in one or the other form. Across generations, the main reason to install an ad blocker is to avoid being interrupted (through interruptive formats).All generations show positivity towards the ability to control ad exposure. Skipping ads is the most used method to avoid ads.

Meheer Thakare, Head, Digital Solutions, Kantar Millward Brown said, Creative strategies for mobile phones need to be rethought! Younger audiences (Gen Z) highly disregard conventional digital ad formats like Pop-ups on their mobile phones. Keeping the shrinking screen in perspective, greater adoption of relatively newer digital ad formats such as sponsored lenses and mobile-based augmented reality (AR) seems inevitable. 

Kantar Millward Brown Indiapredicts- Online Video advertising will deliver brand impact like never before, but not in all cases.While the need for more receptive online video formats is imperative, the benefits of creating a sharable video and capitalising the viral effect cannot be ignored.

Demystifying the secrets of how videos go viral, Nigel HollisChief Global Analyst at Kantar Millward Brown : True viral video has proven to be a mythical creature- like the goose that laid golden eggs- but great creative can still earn a sharing bonus.The more compelling the creative the more people will seek it out and share it. But people need to know that creative exists in order to seek it out and share it. Today you have to promote your creative in order to ensure it is seen and shared.
In one of the biggest account moves in recent times, ITC has awarded its media AOR mandate to the GroupM media conglomerate after a multi-agency pitch across some of the largest media and advertising networks. Madison was the incumbent agency on the business. Keeping in mind the highly-diversified portfolio ITC offers across multiple locations, Maxus is putting together a highly specialised team, called Team ITC. The servicing team will be based out of Bengaluru and Mumbai, and the mandate is effective April 1, 2017.

Kartik Sharma, MD, Maxus, South Asia, said, We are excited and humbled to be chosen by ITC to be their media partner. We have huge respect and admiration for ITC in the way they have built their business and brands. We are confident that through our consistent investments behind cutting edge tools and a diversified talent pool across data, digital and content we will help deliver competitive edge to ITC for their future growth.

Speaking about the win, CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM, South Asia, said, We are delighted to be chosen by ITC as their media agency partner. This win comes as a huge recognition that we are on the right path as far as future proofing our business is concerned in an otherwise highly commoditised media industry. The investments we have made in talent, technology and data are helping us keep our clients ahead of the curve. We look forward to partnering ITC on its next phase of growth.

Over the last year, Maxus has been on an accelerated growth trajectory, adding several innovative services to their media investment planning capabilities. In 2016, Maxus Kaleidoscope a mood based planning tool was launched. This web-based tool will enable brands in India to align their communication basis the emotional and behavioural parameters of the audience. This is Maxus Indias second initiative on behavioural mapping, the first being Moribus, the first-of-its-kind behavioural sciences lab by a media agency.

Maxus also launched Mesh, a marketing command centre and dialogue engine, in partnership with Singapore-headquartered social media marketing firm Vocanic. Deployed across many blue chip advertisers in India and globally, Mesh enables Maxus to track brand health by reading environmental signals in real-time and offers actionable insights on earned, owned and paid media. Last year, Maxus also partnered with IoTBLR for pervasive computing. IoTBLR is the worlds largest IoT (Internet of Things) focused Meetup group.

Maxus has brought down its innovation technology consulting unit Maxus Metalworks to India as well. Partnering with tech startups, universities, industry groups and artists, Metalworks incubates promising ideas and research and help brands market better in a connected world, working on areas of wearables, connected devices and other emerging technologies. All these developments give Maxus clients to edge with sharper targeting and effectively reaching their consumers.

ITC is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal, with diversified business includes five segments: Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Hotels, Paperboards & Packaging, Agri Business & Information Technology. The pitch was for the entire media mandate of the company across categories, for both urban and rural markets.
Federal Statistical Office

Neuchatel, 27.03.2017 - (FSO)  In 2016, the number of burglaries fell again by 11%, according to the Police crime statistics (PCS) compiled by the Federal Statistical Office. Since the revision of the police statistics in 2009, 2012 stood out as a record year with 201 burglaries registered by the police each day in Switzerland. In 2016 this figure fell to 127. Furthermore, the number of minors charged declined by almost half between 2009 and 2016 for all offences under the Swiss Criminal Code.

This press release and further information on this topic can be found on the FSO website (see link below)

Address for enquiries

Philippe Hayoz, FSO, Crime and criminal justice section, +41 58 463 64 54, PKS@bfs.admin.ch

Publisher

Federal Statistical Office

http://www.statistics.admin.ch




Federal Department of Finance

Bern, 27.03.2017 - On 27 March 2017, Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer is on a working visit to his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki. During the meeting, financial and economic policy issues will be addressed, as well as collaboration in international financial institutions.

The two ministers will talk about the global economic outlook and developments in Europe. The long-standing cooperation between the two countries in international financial institutions, particularly the constituency in the Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank and International Monetary Fund), will also be discussed.

Poland is an important partner for Switzerland in the joint constituency. The position of IMF Executive Director has been held by the two countries on an alternating basis since 2014. Poland took up this position for the first time in November 2016, and will hold it for two years. During that time, Switzerland will remain represented by a Deputy Executive Director on the IMF Executive Board. Switzerland will again take over the position of Executive Director in 2018. Switzerland retains its permanent seat in the ministerial committee, i.e. the International Monetary and Financial Committee.

Switzerland and Poland traditionally maintain close ties. In recent years, both countries have greatly expanded and strengthened their overall bilateral relations.

Address for enquiries

Roland Meier, Media Spokesperson FDF

Tel. 058 462 60 82, roland.meier@gs-efd.admin.ch

Publisher

Federal Department of Finance

https://www.efd.admin.ch/efd/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.
A senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader has alleged the BJP is trying to divide and take away his party's name and symbol, and influence a BJD Member of Parliament.

By India Today Web Desk: A senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader has alleged the BJP is trying to divide and take away his party's name and symbol, and influence a BJD Member of Parliament.

In a series of tweets today, BJD MP Tathagata Satpathy claimed the BJP was trying an AIADMK-style split within his party.

"They want to take away @bjd_odisha's party name & symbol. Rumors afloat that only one MP will swing this deal for them. Ha!" Satpathy claimed.

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"BJP hard at work to divide @bjd_odisha in Parliament, maybe even in assembly. They want AIADMK type split," he said in another tweet.

The BJP has been accused of orchestrating a split within the AIADMK by propping up the rebel O Panneerselvam faction against the Sasikala camp.

Satpathy said the attempt at split within the BJD is aimed at an early election in Odisha, originally scheduled in 2019.

"If split happens, no matter how small, BJP will try for early elections in Orissa with Raj, Guj, MP. Will EC play along?" he went on.

Satpathy's claims came ahead of the BJP holding its National Executive meeting in Bhubaneswar next month to make further inroads into the state. Modi and BJP president Amit Shah will attend.

"BJP National Convention scheduled on 15-16 April in Orissa. PM to attend. Intention to put pressure to make state govt defunct," Satpathy said.

The BJP is of the view that it is perhaps the best time to consolidate its base in the state if it wants to win the next Assembly election in Odisha and boost its chances for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. At present, the BJP has 10 MLAs as well as one Lok Sabha MP from Odisha.

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Taiwanese tech giant HTC made a number of new announcements related to its Vive-branded virtual reality (VR) efforts. The company on Monday launched MakeVR, a CAD engine designed for professional 3D object modeling meant for VR content, in addition to announcing a new collaboration with Warner Bros. Pictures that will see HTC produce VR content for Steven Spielbergs upcoming movie Ready Player One. Additionally, the Taoyuan-based consumer electronics manufacturer announced the expansion of its Vive X accelerator as 30 more startups have now joined the $100 million incubator and will be making VR experiences for both the Vive headset and other related devices.

Regarding MakeVR, the CAD engine is now already available for purchase from HTC digital marketplace Viveport, priced at $19.99. The Taiwanese company said that MakeVR is targeting over ten million active creators of VR content that are on the lookout for capable tools that will facilitate their developmental efforts. The aforementioned partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures guarantees HTC exclusive rights to all VR shorts, experiences, and related content that will be developed with the purpose of promoting Steven Spielbergs upcoming movie adaptation of Earnest Clines 2011 science fiction novel. The Ready Player One movie is currently scheduled to debut in theaters in March 2018, but HTC will likely launch a broad range of promotional content in the months prior to the movies release.

Finally, HTC also announced the immediate availability of its Vive Trackers that were initially announced at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. All interested developers can now purchase the Vive Trackers for $99 directly from Vive.com, the company confirmed. HTC also just released an open source solution for full body tracking based on three Vive Trackers, hoping that its move will help speed up development of new room-scale VR experiences. You can get your hands on the Vive Trackers by following the link below and refer to the gallery beneath this writing to see first screenshots of the MakeVR engine in action. HTCs latest set of announcements marks yet another important step in the companys efforts to fuel the growth of the VR industry and bring this emerging technology to as many people as possible, all with the goal of reviving its somewhat struggling business.
LG Electronics is conducting rigorous testing on the batteries soon-to-be-powering the LG G6, and the company recently opened the doors to its 640,000 square-meter LG Digital Park testing facility for South Korean media outlets who may want to take a closer look at the procedures. The company claims that they are testing the quality of the LG G6 more rigorously seeing how consumers are increasingly concerned about the safety of their smart devices. More specifically, LG is conducting various tests in order to determine the resistance of their batteries to shock, penetration, pressure, heat and flammability.

A battery is like a bomb explained Kim Sung-woo, a chief engineer at LGs Digital Park lab, adding that the company is conducting these tests to prevent injuries to people even if the battery explodes. In other words, the company is not only testing batteries in order to avoid unwanted scenarios similar to the unfortunate story surrounding the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, but LG also wants to make sure that if a battery would be subjected to damage and explode, it would do so in the most confined way possible. In one of the tests, LGs engineers have thrown a battery into a fire and trigger an explosion in order to analyze the debris. The test is passed only if the debris is confined within a certain distance from the explosion. Another test includes a sharp nail being driven through the center of a battery without the unit bursting into flames, and the company claims that the test is carried out in order to guarantee safety in scenarios where a pet would bite and puncture the battery. Another procedure includes drop tests of the LG G6 from heights of one meter on a variety of surfaces including steel, wood, and carpet, and the entire process is monitored via cameras installed on the floor and later analyzed in greater depth.

LGs mobile communications chief Lee Seok-jong added that the company is currently manufacturing 50,000 LG G6 units every day in anticipation of the smartphones market launch on April 7. The LG G6 is powered by a 3,300 mAh Li-Po (lithium polymer) battery, and unlike previous smartphones in the series, the LG G6 will enclose its battery in a unibody metal design, which will make the unit inaccessible to the end user.
Despite the best efforts of Google and others, Nokias recently released malware report looks to confirm that malware and other security concerns have hit an all-time high for Android and the Internet of Things (IoT). The Threat Intelligence Report released bi-annually, looks for trends in infections for both fixed and mobile network connections. To do that, it analyzes data and statistics about infections and vulnerabilities. The report for the second half of 2016 was released on March 27 and contains several key points worth noting. First, 2016 saw a steady increase in malware infection rates and smartphones took the brunt of it with a staggering 400-percent increase in 2016. Smartphones also made up the vast majority of infections with 85-percent of infections occurring on the handsets.

Unfortunately, Android smartphones and tablets are the most targeted, according to the report. Which makes sense since, in the world of security, the OS with the higher market holdings holds the highest potential for a return on efforts for a malicious entity. The reported increase was also accompanied by a decrease in infections across Windows PCs, which is likely indicative of the switch in trends from PC computing to mobile computing as mobile devices continue to catch up in terms of usability. It should be noted that some of the data analyzed in the report came from one highly-controversial software type that allows users calls, texts, and other information to be tracked by another user. That is still a significant sign of vulnerability since such software can be used in a way that most would deem malicious, but that kind of mobile spyware also has a history of being used by parents to track the activity of their children. It is not clear from the report just how much of the 400-percent malware increase comes down to that type of software.

However, Nokias report also points out that it isnt just mobile devices under threat from increased attacks. According to Kevin McNamee, the current head of the Nokia Threat Intelligence Lab, The security of IoT devices has become a major concern. McNamee cites the reports finding that there have been an increasing number of attacks on IoT platforms using DDoS attacks, which cripple those devices ability to interact with an IoT network. McNamee goes on to claim that Nokias network-based security can help mitigate such attacks by enabling service providers to take corrective actions, but its worth mentioning that there is no such thing as a totally secure network-connected device. Although, anti-malware software for Android can also help offset a substantial amount of the risk for smartphones.
Qualcomm is preventing Samsung from selling its Exynos chips to other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the Taiwanese Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said earlier this week, as reported by The Korea Economic Daily. The FTC made that claim while giving its verdict in a case pertaining to Qualcomms abuse of market power, stating that the San Diego-based semiconductor manufacturer has been abusing the so-called standard essential patent license for years with the goal of preventing Samsung from selling its chipsets and modems to third parties. Despite the fact that Samsungs offerings are seemingly comparable to those of Qualcomm in terms of performance, the U.S. chipmaker has been abusing a licensing deal with Samsung for approximately 25 years in order to prevent it from competing, the FTC said. Both parties have yet to comment on the ruling.

The latest turn of events sheds some light on the fact that Samsung-made chipsets never powered a third-party device before 2015 and the Meizu Pro 5. Even today, third-party devices featuring an Exynos system-on-chip (SoC) are a rarity, but most industry watchers have so far been convinced that Samsung was simply reluctant to license its technology. It was previously believed that the Seoul-based consumer electronics manufacturer wasnt willing to license its Exynos chips to third-party OEMs due to the fact it was protecting its intellectual properties, but it seems that the company was actually prevented from doing so because of an old licensing deal with Qualcomm.

The FTCs ruling marks another legal issue for Qualcomm that has recently been clashing with antitrust regulators all over the world. The company was issued a historic $854 million fine in South Korea in late 2016 and a $975 million fine in China in early 2015, both due to market power abuse. The European Union also previously accused the San Diego-based company of abusing its dominant position in the market but has yet to issue any sanctions over the matter. Regardless of Samsungs troubles with Qualcomm, the South Korean tech giant continues to use the companys Snapdragon chipsets in its Galaxy devices made for the United States due to a variety of reasons. The U.S. variants of the upcoming Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus are also expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 835 SoC.
Samsung Electronics has today confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will return to the market as a refurbished device. While also confirming that returned units which can no longer be saved and reused, will be recycled  with the South Korean tech giant setting in place a couple of ground rules to ensure that all the recycled units will be processed in an environmentally-friendly manner.

The companys first priority will be to relaunch some of the returned Samsung Galaxy Note 7 units as refurbished or rental devices where applicable. Evidently, only certain units able to meet a certain level of quality will be re-released, and the relaunch will only be applicable in regions where the smartphone meets the necessary approvals from regulatory agency and carriers. The company made no mention of any markets in particular, but confirmed that it will consider local demand when picking which region(s) will see a relaunch. Samsung previously excluded the Indian market as a potential candidate for the relaunch of a refurbished Samsung Galaxy Note 7, but according to the new press release, pricing and availability details will be established accordingly, and at a later date. Secondly, remaining Samsung Galaxy Note 7 units which will not be deemed for a relaunch will be deconstructed into components by companies specializing in such services, and components such as camera modules and semiconductors will be used for test sample production purposes. Lastly, precious metals from all the leftover components  including copper, gold, silver, and nickel  will be recycled and extracted through eco-friendly companies who specialize in these processes.

Samsung made no mention of whether or not the relaunched Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will differ in any way from the original model introduced last year. However, previous rumors have suggested that the refurbished model will be equipped with a smaller 3,000 or 3,200 mAh battery, leaving more proverbial breathing room for the internal components and the battery itself, and thus lessening the chance of any fire-related issues arising. While the battery may see some adaptions, it probably is to be expected that the rest of the specs and features will remain the same, including the 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440, an Exynos 8890 System-on-Chip, an S Pen stylus, a fingerprint scanner, iris scanner, a heart rate monitor, and more.
Samsung Electronics has apparently filed a new patent application with South Koreas KIPRIS (Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service), revealing that the manufacturer is working on creating its own dual-camera setup for mobile devices. The dual sensor is described as a camera module including multi-lens and electronic device but the document is in Korean and certain details may have been lost in translation. Nevertheless, the dual-camera was reportedly designed to be very thin and proficient in low light conditions, and apparently, the module is capable of 3D photography with distances and dimensions included.

As exciting as a dual-camera module from Samsung Electronics might sound, it should be noted that patent applications dont always bear fruit to the end users. In other words, there are numerous patented technologies that have yet to be put into practice, and the dual-camera sensor at hand comes with the same caveat, as it may or may not see the light of day in a commercially available device. Nevertheless, an increasing number of smartphone manufacturers seem to be on board with the dual-camera concept, and Samsung has yet to adopt a dual-camera setup for any of its smartphones. Judging by recent images leaked in the wild, the Samsung Galaxy S8 will also have a single rear-facing sensor so needless to say, the patent application at hand doesnt seem to be related to the companys upcoming premium mobile device. However, its evident that the company is at least considering the possibility of building a dual-camera smartphone in the future.

Of course, there is more to the idea of Samsung building a dual-camera setup than the recent patent application at hand. In January 2017, a different dual-camera setup was submitted by Samsung for patenting in South Korea, and Samsung Venture Investment revealed that the conglomerate invested in dual-camera manufacturer Core Photonics. As for the benefits of having a dual-camera setup on a smartphone, there are plenty and depending on the manufacturers approach to the technology, a dual-camera setup can provide new imaging tools including bokeh modes, post-processing effects, and 3D imaging. Reportedly the more recent patent application seems to put an accent on improved low-light and 3D photography, as well as the packages small dimensions compared to other dual-camera sensors currently on the market.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 has just popped up on AnTuTu. As some of you probably already know, the Galaxy S8 Plus surfaced on Geekbench a while back, both the Exynos and Snapdragon variants of the device popped up on Geekbench. Well, this time around AnTuTu is in focus, and were looking at a Snapdragon 835-powered variant of the Samsung Galaxy S8 here. Now, the first thing that youll probably notice here is the fact that this phone has a fullHD (1920 x 1080) display. Well, the Galaxy S8 will, almost certainly, sport a 5.8-inch 2960 x 1440 WQHD+ Super AMOLED panel, but it will come with a resolution changer included in its software, so it is possible that a test unit was set to a fullHD display and that AnTuTu picked up the wrong resolution somehow, which is why this listing reports 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Having that in mind, every other spec fits, most definitely. The Galaxy S8 (SM-G9500) will, according to this listing, ship with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, though a 6GB RAM variant is also a possibility. Samsung might introduce two variants of this device, though the 6GB RAM model might launch in China only, and not at the same time as the regular model, but well see. In any case, according to AnTuTu, the Galaxy S8 will sport a 12-megapixel shooter on its back, while an 8-megapixel camera will be available on the devices front side. The Snapdragon 835 64-bit octa-core processor will fuel this smartphone, as already mentioned, and an Adreno 530 GPU will be included in the package as well, and will be in charge of graphics processing. Android 7.0 Nougat will come pre-installed on the Galaxy S8, with Samsungs custom software on top of it, of course.

That being said, the Galaxy S8 will launch on March 29, which is in two days, and the Galaxy S8 Plus will almost certainly launch alongside it. The Galaxy S8 will be made out of metal and glass, while its display will be curved on the sides, same goes for its back side. The device will sport a fingerprint scanner on the back, and this time around Samsungs flagship will not sport a physical home button, on-screen keys will replace the companys signature home key.
After unlimited post-paid plans made their rounds in the news, and all the way up the ladder to Verizon, pre-paid plans are now getting some attention from T-Mobile with the arrival of new $45 and $55 unlimited Simply Prepaid plans. Both plans give you unlimited talk and text, and the ability to stream as much music as you want with Music Unlimited. The only difference being that on the $45 plan you get up to 4GB of 4G LTE data, and on the $55 plan you get up to 6GB of 4G LTE data. Also, for $5 per month you can add unlimited calls to friends or family in Canada or Mexico, and for an additional $15 per month you can add unlimited calling to landlines in over 70 countries and unlimited calling and text messaging in over 30 countries. If 4GB or 6GB of 4G LTE data is not enough, T-Mobile also has a $75 a month plan that gives you unlimited text and talk with Canada and Mexico included, unlimited 3G Mobile Hotspot and unlimited 4G LTE data. You can also stream as many HD videos as you want with T-Mobiles On-demand $3 HD 24-hours passes.

In many cases, a pre-paid plan works out to be cheaper for the customer with no contracts to sign and adds increased flexibility allowing you to pick up and move to another carrier at any time. It may just suit a customers budget better or help them to reel in their usage, but with new pre-paid plans offering unlimited talk and text, the lines are narrowing between the pre-paid and post-paid plans. For those that are on a very strict budget, T-Mobile still has a Pay As You Go plan that cost $3 per month to belong to, and gives you up to 30 minutes of talk and 30 text messages with additional minutes and texts at $0.10 each. Your data or smartphone mobile hotspot must be purchased through a separate data pass.

One thing is constant, and that is the ever-changing mobile phone plans. T-Mobile likes to stir the pot and get things rolling, then Sprint typically make a counter move, and even AT&T is quick to react, although they have the power of DIRECTV to further sweeten their plans. Verizon has typically adopted the stance that having the best network is worth the extra money. Which while a true statement previously, the other networks are starting to close in. In either case, you can find out more about T-Mobiles new $45 and $55 plans by heading through the link below.
YouTubes automatic caption generation feature has been in the spotlight lately due to some serious improvements, and the newest improvement gives the service a basic ability to pick up and interpret non-vocal sounds. Right now, the range of sounds is quite limited, with basic things like audience applause, laughter, generic music tags and the like being covered for now. Like any other technology involving machine learning, of course, this will improve over time as Googles engineers tackle issues like determining whether its a doorbell, cell phone, or alarm ringing, and as the machines behind the algorithms pick up more and more information from successfully deciphering videos.

The new ability, while still basic in scale and compatibility, is already going public on some videos, such as the one attached below. In the video below, a pair of dancers earn applause and Howard Sterns coveted golden buzzer, and if you switch on captions, their music and the audiences uproarious applause earn the recognition of YouTubes automatic caption system. The stream of sounds comes right alongside the usual stream of auto-captioned speech. The captioning happens mostly automatically, but during this formative period for the new capability, Googles engineers will be keeping a close eye on things to look for chances to improve the service. It should go without saying that this ability, for now, is only on a small amount of videos, all of which were already eligible for automatic captioning.

YouTubes automatic caption system recently hit a huge milestone, with over 1 billion videos captioned. The systems machine learning and neural networking backend is improving by the day, and this newest addition to its growing repertoire is a telltale sign that Google is buckling down and getting serious about automatic captioning on YouTube. The timing for ramping up YouTubes features could not be better; the service is in the midst of a crisis of sorts surrounding its advertising, and both direct rival video services like Vimeo and more niche options like Twitch are beginning to gain ground on the internet video giant. For now, YouTube remains the de facto home of user-generated video content on the internet.
Anupam Kher, in an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, said that there was no comparison of his achievements in Hollywood with Priyanka Chopra's.

By Samrudhi Ghosh: From Bend It Like Beckham to the Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook, Anupam Kher's filmography boasts of some impressive Hollywood projects. But back home, the actor never received the love that Priyanka Chopra Deepika Padukone are now getting for their ventures in the West. Kher tells IndiaToday.in in an exclusive chat that he is not resentful for it.

"At that time there was no social media. People who wanted to know what I did knew about it, whether it was Bend It Like Beckham or any other film. But today, everyone knows the fact that I have four releases coming, thanks to social media," the actor says.

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Talking about India's most famous export to the West, the Naam Shabana actor says, "Priyanka Chopra is the biggest international star that we have today. Her achievements are amazing. I'm so proud to have someone from India who is on every magazine cover, on billboards, at every event and on every talk show. So there is no comparison of my achievements with her."

Anupam Kher's upcoming Hollywood films include The Big Sick and Gerard Butler-starrer A Family Man, while Priyanka will make her Hollywood debut in Baywatch.

ALSO READ | Anupam Kher on CM Yogi Adityanath: Don't want to dignify troll attack

ALSO READ | Kareena's dig at Deepika, Priyanka: Working abroad doesn't mean anything

ALSO READ | Did Priyanka Chopra face racism in Hollywood?

ALSO WATCH | After Quantico, Priyanka Chopra in Hollywood film Baywatch now

--- ENDS ---
YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. Eduard Sharmazanov, deputy speaker of Armenias Parliament and head of the Armenian parliamentary delegation to the CSTO PA, participated in the CSTO PA council session in St. Petersburgs Tauride Palace where he delivered a speech, the parliaments press office told ARMENPRESS.

Sharmazanov namely said:

Dear colleagues,

I congratulate us all on the 15th anniversary of CSTO formation and 10th anniversary of the CSTO parliamentary assembly formation. In the modern world, withstanding challenges requires tactical, flexible and accurate decision making.

Today the CSTO PA faces new issues. We live in a rapidly changing world, and the rise in tension in the CSTO responsibility zone, including Southern Caucasus, is obvious.

During the autumn and spring sittings of the CSTO PA Azerbaijan engaged in armed adventurism in the Armenian state border, breaching the 1994 ceasefire, as well as the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements. This kind of behavior is inadmissible and condemnable.

The CSTO has officially condemned the December sabotage, labeling the Azerbaijani actions as provocation. I find it noteworthy to mention that in addition to the statements of the CSTO Secretary General and our Russian parliamentary colleagues, the other CSTO allies refrained from statements condemning the Azerbaijani provocative actions. Azerbaijans such behavior is a provocation not only against Armenia, but also the CSTO. Therefore, the condemnable statements of the CSTO PA representatives are more than a necessity.

Dear colleagues,

Our parliamentary delegation is in favor of exclusively peaceful settlement of conflicts in the CSTO responsibility zone, namely in the issue of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. We have to do everything that depends on us for the establishment of peace in the region. However, for strengthening peace and stability, Azerbaijan must first of all recognize the full exercise of the self-determination right of the people of Artsakh.

I hope in case of working together in international platforms and assisting each other, we can have our positive contribution in establishing and strengthening security in the CSTO responsibility zone.
The people in charge of a momentarily mysterious Chinese carmaker probably think the same, which is why the camouflaged vehicle in the adjacent photo gallery looks like a mix between a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Bentley Mulsanne The spy photographers who were lucky enough to spot the prototype while testing in the coldest regions of Norther Sweden aren't sure what kind of car it is, but they are pretty adamant that it's definitely too short and too narrow to be a luxury brand model.Geely used to build a Phantom copy called the Geely GE back in the day, a model which was rebranded as the Geely Emgrand GE between 2010 and 2014, when it went out of production. There is a good chance that this prototype is a Geely as well, especially since the carmaker is currently pushing for a global presence and the car was spotted in Europe.That said, we're not so sure that BMW and Volkswagen , the owners of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, would be too happy with the production model running around on European roads and being available in European showrooms.Despite having the potential to be banned from selling on Western markets, we think the Rolls/Bentley four-wheeled thingamajig our spy photogs captured on camera looks awesome.We don't have any reference points apart from the approximate size of the two passengers, but it looks like it's about as long as a Volkswagen Passat, if not slightly shorter. This fact, along with its possible low price would make it kind of impossible for its customers to cross-shop it with a real Bentley or a Rolls. In other words, there's a pretty good chance that we will be seeing more of this funky Chinese clone in the following months.As it happens, we were wrong in estimating this mashup to be of Chinese origin. The car is actually a short wheelbase version of an upcoming Russian luxury car called the Kortezh. Developed together with Porsche, of all carmakers, the model will also have an armored, long-wheelbase version that will carry Russian President Vladimir Putin and his bodyguards. It seems that the Chrysler 300C-like exterior was dropped in favor of something a little more British.
A tidal wave of change is coming that will soon make the way we work almost unrecognizable to todays business leaders. In an age of rapidly evolving technologies, business models, demographics, and even workplace attitudesall shifting concurrentlychange is not only constant but also exponential in its pace and scope. Companies from startups and online businesses to incumbents in all industries will experience the effects in far-reaching and transformational ways.

During a comprehensive, yearlong analysis of the global work landscape, The Boston Consulting Group identified 60 major trends propelling this tidal wave, which weve grouped into 12 primary forces. These forces, or megatrends, fall into four categories. The first two address changes in the demand for talent: technological and digital productivity and shifts in ways of generating business value. The second two address changes in the supply of talent: shifts in resource distribution and changing workforce cultures and values. (See Exhibit 1. For a list of all 60 trends, see the Appendix.)

Together, these forces will revolutionize the way that work gets done in companies and will compel leaders to rethink even the most basic assumptions about how their organizations function. They will need to discover new ways of organizing, performing, and leading, along with new approaches to recruiting, developing, and engaging employees. All this in organizations with limitless data, open boundaries, employees and machines working side by side, and rapidly evolving employee value propositions.

BCG has assessed the impact of these megatrends on organizations. In this report, the first in the New New Way of Working series, we identify several companies that are leading the way. Yet most organizations still have far to go.

Changes in the Demand for Talent

Six of the forces we identified are having a profound effect on the demand for talent. (See Exhibit 2.) We categorize them into two groups:



Technological and digital productivity: automation, big data and advanced analytics, and access to information and ideas

automation, big data and advanced analytics, and access to information and ideas

Shifts in ways of generating business value: simplicity in complexity, agility and innovation, and new customer strategies

simplicity in complexity, agility and innovation, and new customer strategies

Technological and Digital Productivity

The three trends in the realm of technological and digital productivity are arguably creating the most significant changes worldwide. Enabling advances deemed unlikely even a decade ago, they are transforming the world of work in unprecedented ways. Automation is replacing jobs; big data and advanced analytics are unlocking vast customer, operational, and employee insights; and increased access to information and ideas is blurring the boundaries of traditional institutions.

Automation. Although companies have been gradually automating for decades, recent advances in areas such as robotics and artificial intelligence are not only obligating people to work side by side with machines but are also creating replacements for human workerseven in fairly sophisticated jobs.

For example, Amelia, a cognitive agent developed by IPsoft, can assume a variety of service desk roles, including technology support, customer care, and procurement processing. In manufacturing, industrial robots already handle a number of repetitive production tasks. These robots once cost upwards of $500,000 and were fairly limited in their abilities. Todays robots, such as Baxter, by Rethink Robotics, cost only $22,000 for a basic model and are flexible and trainable.

Automation will replace assembly line and office workers even as companies require increasing numbers of programmers and other highly skilled digital talent, along with an enormous upgrade in the skills and capabilities of these workers. As machines assume a greater role in the workplaceturning virtual reality into the new reality of the working worldhumans will clearly have to adapt.

Companies will need to develop talent in rapidly emerging areas such as data analytics (including data mining and collection), app development, and user experience design. In fact, nearly every organizational role will eventually require the use of sophisticated technology. In response, individuals and organizations will have no choice but to invest in massive, ongoing skill development programs. Similarly, executives will need to become far more comfortable leading in a digital worlda potential challenge given that many people with the best digital skills are often younger than leadership team members and have different working styles.

Big Data and Advanced Analytics. The past two decades have seen unprecedented gains in the storage, processing, and transmission of data, leading to an explosion in the amount of information available to businesses around the world. An iPhone 7 has more processing power than the entire NASA organization had in 1969. Advanced analytics, in turn, makes it possible to analyze enormous amounts of unstructured data, improving forecasting and decision making as never before. Through the use of big data and advanced analytics, companies are now able to improve marketing, productivity, and other essential aspects of their existing operations, lower costs, and gain real-time insights into promising new approaches and opportunities. BCG estimates that big data and advanced analytics could unlock more than $1 trillion in value annually by 2020.1 Notes: 1 The Value of Our Digital Identity, BCG report, November 2012.

Moreover, data analytics can be used to improve employee management and engagement. Companies such as VMware, Saberr, and Humanyze are using people analytics to predict affiliation and retention and to better understand team dynamics. These and other analytic capabilities will transform HR, along with every other business function, enabling the delivery of highly customized and effective service to internal and external customers.

The implication for management teams is clear: companies will need to adopt analytics in every aspect of their operations. Once a novelty, the technology will become a basic competitive requirement. As a result, leadership teams will need mechanisms for capturing, cleaning, aggregating, and analyzing data. They will also need to rely on data, rather than their gut instinct, in decision making.

Access to Information and Ideas. The ability to tap information and ideas from anyone, anywhere, is multiplying exponentially, both for individuals and for businesses. As the cost of technologyincluding both hardware and datacontinues to fall and global internet penetration expands, recent advances in cloud computing and storage are lowering the cost of access and processing. The implications are wide-ranging: people can be continuously connected, access data from any location, work remotely with ease, and collaborate with their global colleagues in real time. They need not even be employees: at several leading IT companies, outside contractors make up almost half of the full-time staff.

Rapidly expanding access is giving rise to crowdsourcing and the sharing economy. The most innovative solutions today are being developed by people around the world who come together in online communities, internet platforms, and digital ecosystems that disrupt the traditional models of venture funding, product development, and product life cycle management.

Crowdsourcing communities such as Kaggle and InnoCentive allow companies to rent talent without much upfront investment. Instead of hiring full-time employees, companies can staff projects with the specific expertise needed. And freelancers come with the added benefit of being well-connected to developments in the wider industry, unlike employees, who tend to get caught up in internal dynamics. Allstate, the insurance giant, is using Kaggle to host competitions to solve business challenges. One such competition led to an algorithm for claims predictions that was 271% more accurate than Allstates existing model.2 Notes: 2 Jessica Day, Crowdsourcing and the Future of Car Insurance, IdeaFactory blog, April 4, 2013.

In this environment of temporary and virtual teams, leaders will need to adapt to increasingly blurry boundaries between employees and contractors. They will also need to rethink the way they engage with talent and how they get their work done.

Shifts in Ways of Generating Business Value

Advances in digital productivity have many benefits, but they also increase complexity and accelerate business cycles. In response, companies need to put a premium on simplicity, agility and innovation, and understanding the needs of customers.

Simplicity in Complexity. Organizations tend to respond to new challenges by adding teams, functions, and departments. As organizations grow, their structure becomes increasingly complicated. New silos develop, the number of stakeholders involved in decision making increases, and interdependencies between functions multiply. The plethora of stakeholders, decision rights, processes, and policies slows down every decision and hinders collaboration across departments, reinforcing the silo effect.

Not surprisingly, organizational complexity imposes a tremendous cost, both in terms of managers ability to meet their goals and employees engagement and productivity. It is often at the root of a companys inability to make quick decisions and innovate rapidly. A BCG survey of business leaders found that three-quarters believed complexity was making it harder to meet business goals. Yet only 17% thought that their current efforts to simplify would resolve the issue.

Organizations must learn how to manage complexity in entirely new ways if they hope to thrive, understanding how to get results without adding more layers, processes, and silos. BCGs Smart Simplicity helps organizations deal with complexity.3 Notes: 3 Yves Morieux,  Smart Rules: Six Ways to Get People to Solve Problems Without You, Harvard Business Review, September 2011. The central premise of the approach is that rather than adding organizational elements, leaders need to understand desired employee behaviors and then reshape the context in which employees work so that they make the right decisions on their own.

Agility and Innovation. A number of innovative approaches that began in software development are now being adapted by organizations for non-IT products and processesincluding agile, scrum, kanban, design thinking, and other creative methodologies. For example, Bosch, one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world, recently employed flexible organizational structures and agile methods to halve its usual development time for calibrating hardware and software components for electric vehicles.4 Notes: 4 Volkmar Denner,  Agility at Bosch: mission impossible? Bosch Connected World blog, June 16, 2015.

Bringing such approaches to day-to-day work beyond IT requires organizations to become far more fluid than the traditional rigid structures allow. In addition, companies must create room for experimentation, rapid prototyping, the testing of new ideas, and the introduction of a fail-fast innovation culture. Most important, new, agile work processes call for entirely new skills, attitudes, and knowledge on the part of employees. Nonetheless, such measures can increase employee satisfaction because they empower widely autonomous teams and treat all opinions as equally valuable.

ING, one of the worlds largest banks, has overhauled its operating model in the Netherlands to create a scaled agile organization. The company began this multiyear transformation by focusing on changing employees behavior. It introduced a new way of working, breaking up internal silos and creating small, interdisciplinary teams with members from IT, marketing, product management, business units, and other functions. These squads had the authority to develop a new product or process from start to finish and then focus on a new mission. Over time, the model was scaled up and rolled out across the organization. Already, the move has significantly increased the pace of development in several areas, boosting speed to market and reducing the size of the workforce by up to 30% in some departments.5 Notes: 5 The Power of People in Digital Banking Transformation, BCG Focus, November 2015.

New Customer Strategies. Boundaries between companies and consumers are fading as people, informed and enabled by the internet, become more aware and demanding. They want personalized offerings and will collaborate with companies to help develop the products and services they desire. Procter & Gamble, for example, is now getting information about the shelving of its products in major retail chains directly from individuals in the stores. The company works with Gigwalk, a startup with a network of more than 1 million paid Gigwalkers, who check up on product displays and availability. In this way, P&G can easily track its execution in retail stores and quickly make changes to improve performance. (Even as companies encourage customers to share information, they must protect the privacy and data of those customers.)

People also want the businesses they frequent to provide more than just value: they want to see socially and environmentally responsible behavior as well. Organizational goals, then, must go beyond profitability to include the subjective aspects of corporate responsibility across the value chain. In response, many companies will need to adopt an entirely new approach to engaging customers, continuously evolving their value propositions to stay ahead of the competition.

Changes in the Supply of Talent

As these six forces propel a variety of changes in the demand for talent, six social, economic, political, and technological forces are shaping the supply. We have divided these forces into two groups. (See Exhibit 3.)



Shifts in resource distribution: a new demographic mix, skill imbalances, and shifting geopolitical and economic power

a new demographic mix, skill imbalances, and shifting geopolitical and economic power

Changing workforce cultures and values: diversity and inclusion, individualism and entrepreneurship, and well-being and purpose

diversity and inclusion, individualism and entrepreneurship, and well-being and purpose

Shifts in Resource Distribution

An increasingly dynamic global economy has led to shortages of skilled, knowledgeable employees in some markets and may create a surplus of less-skilled workers in others. As Baby Boomers age, the demand for scarce and specialized talent grows, and as talent disperses as a result of various geographic, economic, and political factors, companies will be increasingly challenged to attract and retain the highly skilled people they need.

A New Demographic Mix. The global population is aging. After rapid population increases during the 20th century, birth rates have stalledand even reversedin many regions. By 2035, one in five people worldwide will be 65 or older. On the basis of several simulations using demographic data and global trends, BCG projects a global workforce crisis within the next 15 years, with a labor deficit in most of the 15 largest economies, including in three of the four BRIC nations. Given that these 15 economies make up 70% of global GDP, the crisis will affect almost every large multinational company.6 Notes: 6 The Global Workforce Crisis: $10 Trillion at Risk, BCG report, July 2014.

At the same time, in some emerging markets, the number of young people is still increasing rapidly. But many of them do not acquire the skills that would make them employable. The challenge is to help them develop those skills, orfor some young peopleto increase their mobility so that they can find jobs elsewhere.

Meanwhile, millennial and Generation Z digital natives are entering the global workforce with new expectations and orientations. In their search for a healthy work-life balance and opportunities for self-expression, they are harder to please than their predecessors. They are also harder to retain.

These demographic shifts will put pressure on companies to devise entirely new ways to attract, retain, and develop talent across locations and age groups. They will need to hold on to experienced older workers and find ways to facilitate the transfer of those workers deep knowledge to incoming generations. For example, Bosch has started an initiative in which older and younger employees from different divisions (with at least a ten-year age difference) meet on a regular basis in order to learn from each other. The young employees learn best practices and get career advice, while the older workers gain insight into new technologies and the use of social media.7 Notes: 7  Networked across generations, Bosch website, February 26, 2016.

Skill Imbalances. The skills and capabilities businesses require are rapidly evolving. Even as automation may yield a surplus of unskilled and semiskilled labor, the digitalization of products and services is creating an enormous demand for skilled digital talent. Nearly half of US and German companies in a BCG survey cited the lack of qualified employees as the biggest constraint to a full digital transformation. In addition, according to a Gartner study, a third of all technology jobs will go unfilled by 2020 because of talent shortfalls. Perhaps thats why some US colleges now offer majors in programs that didnt even exist five years ago, such as robotics engineering, game design, cybersecurity, and data science.8 Notes: 8 Charles Coy,  8 College Majors That Didnt Exist Five Years Ago, Cornerstone ReWork, May 8, 2015.

Companies are trying a variety of unconventional methods to bring in digital talent. Facebook, for example, has acquihired the employees of more than a dozen companiesbuying these companies as much or more for the employees as for the business itself. Meanwhile, Citigroup and others are introducing online gaming apps, either as recruiting tools or to identify hidden skill sets among employees.

Others are attempting a more sustainable remedy for skill shortages: developing them among the existing workforce, including among many of the employees potentially displaced by automation. Given that many universities are already overwhelmed with demand, the responsibility for this radical retraining will likely fall into the hands of business. Moreover, programs designed for the academic domain are increasingly ineffective in building the skills required in the modern workplace. Instead, companies are turning to organizations such as Udacity, edX, and Coursera, which allow people to receive training while working full-time.

For many companies, incubating talent internally is more likely to pay off than depending on the marketplace. To that end, GE has introduced a mobile application that prompts employees to work on development areas and provides real-time feedback. The company expects this app eventually to replace traditional performance management.

Regardless of their current talent situation, companies should systematically analyze future supply and demand for various jobs under different scenarios and then plan accordingly. This approach, known as strategic workforce planning, helps businesses ensure that they will have enough people with the appropriate skills.9 Notes: 9 Rainer Strack, Jens Baier, and Anders Fahlander,  Managing Demographic Risk, Harvard Business Review, February 2008.

Shifting Geopolitical and Economic Power. Talent is more mobile than ever, with workers willing to cross borders and cultures to improve their career prospects. Yet a number of geographic, economic, and political developments are blocking the smooth flow of talent to areas of demand, thereby compounding the overall talent shortage.

The first such development is the emergence of digital hot spots, such as Silicon Valley, where a high concentration of capital, universities, and entrepreneurial enterprises draws disproportionate numbers of technologically skilled candidates. Of the more than 60 hot spots worldwide, nine out of ten are in the United States. Companies will need to learn how to compete for talent in these locations while developing talent in other areas.

The second is growing protectionism and rising anti-immigration sentiment in many regions of the world today, exemplified by Britains vote to leave the European Union. This trend is forcing global companies to grow their operations or find talent elsewhereeven in markets where they have no existing interest.

Third, income disparity is increasing, especially in developed and rapidly developing regions. The top 1% of the global population currently owns 48% of the wealth and is projected to own 54% by 2026. As a result, the migration of workers from the poorest and most rural areas to the richest and most urban areas is accelerating, as is the desire of employees to work virtually. Yet, more worryingly, the rising disparity also means that more and more people are being left behind on the education front, unable to afford the ongoing training or reskilling they need to compete.

Large organizations can address these pressing talent issues by establishing a presence in digital hot spots or helping new hot spots emerge. They can take full advantage of cloud computing and other technologies to create virtual teams and mechanisms for collaboration across regions. Finally, they can think about how to address the growing income gap: providing training and educational opportunities to some of the worlds poorest populations would help to reduce the talent shortage worldwide while creating a socially responsible environment that attracts and retains highly skilled employees.

Changing Workforce Cultures and Values

As the skill shortage increases, new attitudes among talented people are also changing the workplacein particular, the growing preference for independent work instead of dedicated corporate careers. Many people are also stressing the importance of three areas: diversity and inclusion, individualism and entrepreneurship, and well-being and purpose.

Diversity and Inclusion. As values change across the business landscape, diversity and inclusion, often seen as nice to have, are increasingly becoming a necessityand for good reason. The business case has never been stronger, as studies show that diverse teams are much more likely to foster employee engagement and improve business performance.10 Notes: 10 David Rock, Heidi Grant, and Jacqui Grey,  Diverse Teams Feel Less Comfortableand Thats Why They Perform Better, HBR.org, September 22, 2016.

At American Express, women make up more than half of the workforce and 21% of the board, while 48% of senior management team members are women and/or minorities. The company uses diversity to improve innovation and productivity and to reach customers in various demographic segments. Kimberly-Clark increased the proportion of women at the director level and above by 82% from 2010 to 2014 by building a diversity analytics team assigned to hardwire diversity into the business. As Sue Dodsworth, the companys chief diversity officer, explained in Fortune, We want to look, think and behave like the people who use our products. If we dont represent them, were not necessarily making all the right decisions.11 Notes: 11 Molly Petrilla,  How analytics helped Kimberly-Clark solve its diversity problem, Fortune, December 10, 2014.

Some companies are turning to technology to help them improve diversity. For example, the use of new technology and online communities can help prevent a high bias rate in recruiting. Apple uses a blind recruiting application that hides candidates names, photos, and dates in order to mitigate unconscious bias in hiring decisions. Pinterest and American Express are using Jopwell, a career advancement platform for black, hispanic, and Native American students and professionals.

Companies can achieve significant business outcomes from diversity only if they make it a part of their core strategy. Not only will they improve performance, but they will position themselves as a force for economic and social equality.

Individualism and Entrepreneurship. Independence is becoming the dominant motivator for a large section of the population, particularly for millennials (born from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s) and Gen-Zers (born in the mid- to late 1990s and after). These younger people tend to get bored doing the same kind of work for long stretches, and they are especially interested in independent careers. Empowered by digital platforms and ecosystems, many are choosing entrepreneurship and self-employment over traditional corporate employment.

Among those still interested in corporate jobs, many are keen to experiment with new ideas, take long career breaks, and even work part-time as a volunteer or freelancer in entirely new fields. A recent survey found that 79% of Gen-Zers want to integrate education with work and 42% expect to become entrepreneurs.12 In addition, one study estimates that freelancers will make up half of the full-time workforce by 2020.13 Notes: 13 Micha Kaufman,  Five Reasons Half of You Will Be Freelancers in 2020, Forbes, February 28, 2014.

As organizations begin to rent rather than hire talent, they will have to make do with a lower level of commitment. They will need to create career paths and roles to serve the entrepreneurial aspirations of the highly skilled talent they seek. And leaders will have to tailor their leadership style to the hyperindividualized environment, finding new ways to empower and inspire individuals and teams in their dispersed organization.

Well-Being and Purpose. Millennials and Gen-Zers, who are taking on an ever-increasing role in the workplace, want more from their jobs than just competitive compensation: they are looking for well-being. In a recent survey, 62% of millennials said they want a career with social impact, and 53% said they will work harder to increase that impact.14 Notes: 14 Matthew Jenkin,  Millennials want to work for employers committed to values and ethics, The Guardian, May 5, 2015. Companies such as Sony are tapping into these aspirations by making social work a part of their internship curriculum. And the benefits go both ways. A recent study by BrightHouse, an ideation and branding company within BCG that helps companies become more purpose driven, found that companies with a culture based on shared values outperformed their competitors in revenue, profit, employment growth, and stock performance.15 Notes: 15 Kotter International,  Does corporate culture drive financial performance? Forbes, February 10, 2011.

Moreover, one in five employees said they would be willing to give up 5% of their salary in exchange for working from home one or two days a week.16 Notes: 16 Christian Schappel,  One option that could save companies 5% on salaries, HRMorning.com, October 25, 2009. Offering flexible schedules and investing in the health of employeeswith initiatives such as improving indoor air quality and providing ergonomic furniture and fresh foodare ways that companies are meeting this need. Businesses such as Google, Chevron, and JPMorgan Chase are already implementing such programs and realizing benefits, including fewer sick days, lower insurance premiums, and more-productive employees.17 Notes: 17  The Fortune 100 and Their Fitness and Wellness Programs, Health Fitness Revolution, August 15, 2015.

As a result of these powerful attitudinal shifts, companies will need to begin making job offers that go far beyond traditional compensation and perks, offering instead a comprehensive set of flexible work and development opportunities that appeal to the personal aspirations and values of their employees. Moreover, they will need to begin defining their organizations in terms of a unique purpose and work to ignite a passion for that purpose. In the future, organizations will be judged not just for the quality and price of their products but for who they arein relation to their customers, their employees, and society as a whole.

The New Age of Work

What changes will these trends bring? As companies respond to the 12 forces, we expect several key developments in the next few years.



Companies will develop a more fluid sense of what is inside and what is outside their boundaries. They will move beyond rigid distinctions between employees, outside suppliers, and customers, developing platforms to promote collaboration among all stakeholders. Eventually, as value chains break up into networks and platforms, the role of the organization will shift from that of a controller of resources to that of a facilitator of ecosystems and a conduit for realizing individual aspirations.



Speed and agility will be essential to competitiveness. Many companies will look to break up entrenched departments and reporting lines, opting to organize work in smaller and more agile interdisciplinary teams. These teams will learn to work in short sprint cycles to produce minimal viable products and services, solicit feedback on them, and refine them through rapid iterations. Individuals will rotate among projects, training, internal incubators, and even social impact initiatives. These agile and innovative approaches, along with design thinking and other related methodologies, will soon become the norm, not just in IT (where they originated) but across functions and practices.



Companies will continually develop (and redevelop) their people, so that they are equipped to deal with the tidal wave of change. They will also inculcate diversity, inclusion, and flexibility in their corporate DNA. They will shift from HR processes, policies, and systems to problem-solving interactions. And as flexible, cloud-based software replaces traditional documentation and controls, HR will customize its interfaces with employees to better support individual needs and desires.



The increased prevalence of digital technology and artificial intelligence will lead to new job functions and categoriesbut also to shortages of people with the skills needed to fill those roles. Many companies will need to focus more on developing digital skills among their current workers or identifying and recruiting potential new hires. In addition, companies will need digital bridge builders: intermediaries between employees with specialized digital talent and those in nontech roles.



Smart leaders will monitor these changes and experiment with new ways of working that align with their companys context and capabilities. In addition, they will define their businesses not in terms of their competitive advantages but in terms of the purpose that makes them relevant in a rapidly evolving world.





These 12 trends are complex and interrelated. To cope with them, companies need a well-thought-out strategy that can translate into concrete interventions. Those that do not develop such a strategy may soon find themselves bumping up against nimbler rivals, unable to adapt to the disruption in time.

In future publications in the New New Way of Working series, we will discuss the implications of these trends in more detail as we explore the following topics:



Organizational structures that support more agile and nimble ways of working and allow for open boundaries



New ways of developing talent, including leadership talent, that incorporate technology and analytics



New models for managing change in an environment of always-on transformation



The value and importance of a corporate purpose, not just as a fad but as a differentiator and a source of competitive advantage



Appendix

Our yearlong analysis revealed 60 trends, which we consolidated into 12 megatrends in four areas.

Technological and Digital Productivity

Automation: Industry 4.0; artificial intelligence, machine learning, and wearables; digital channels; augmented reality; and robotics

Big Data and Advanced Analytics: Predictive technology, integrated tools to optmize performance, social media insights, behavioral sensors, and big data

Access to Information and Ideas: Cloud-based technology and the Internet of everything, open-source software and processes, open innovation and peer-to-peer technology, decreasing degrees of separation, and new capital and infrastructure platforms

Shifts in Ways of Generating Business Value

Simplicity in Complexity: The value of simplicity, lean methodologies, the evolution from silos to more holistic organizations, specialization, and organizational complicatedness

Agility and Innovation: An accelerating pace of change, increasing uncertainty and black-swan events, exponential organizations, agile development, and digital stakes and subsidiaries

New Customer Strategies: Personalization and premium products and services, the sharing economy, data security, ethics, and the environment

Shifts in Resource Distribution

A New Demographic Mix: The demographic dividend, talent scarcity, aging populations, multiple generations in the workforce, and talent imbalances

Skill Imbalances: New skills, waning skill life, formal curricula and development, digital late-comers, and skills education and reach

Shifting Geopolitical and Economic Power: Disparity in wages and economic growth rates, multiple centers of power, urbanization and resource depletion, migration, and the rise of the middle class in developing countries

Changing Workforce Cultures and Values

Diversity and Inclusion: Multiculturalism, racial and ethnic diversity, gender equality, value pluralism, and equitable economic development

Individualism and Entrepreneurship: Freelance work versus employee loyalty, risk taking and entrepreneurism, multidisciplinary pursuits, talent renting and freelancing, and individualized aspirations

Well-Being and Purpose: Desire for personal, social, and communal impact; reflection and purpose; self-expression; appreciation and respect; and physical and mental health and balance

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to their BCG colleagues Aditya Chauhan, Benedikt Leying, Kriti Mittal, and Johannes Willberg for their contributions to this publication. In addition, they thank Jeff Garigliano and June Limberis for their help with the development and writing of this report and Katherine Andrews, Gary Callahan, Angela DiBattista, Kim Friedman, Abby Garland, Amy Halliday, and Sara Strassenreiter for assistance with editing, design, and production.


A story about her son's love affair that she rejected as the girl belonged to a 'lower caste' has surfaced.

By India Today Web Desk: What could turn out to be a major embarrassment for hardline pro-Pakistan separatist leader Asiya Andrabi, a story about her son's love affair that she rejected as the girl belonged to a 'lower caste' has surfaced.

The younger son of the Dukhtaran-e-Milat chief reportedly had an affair with a girl from Srinagar. Sources say that he was quite adamant on marrying her. However, as the girl's father is a tailor, Andrabi reportedly was quite upset.

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Sources added that despite repeated pleadings by the girl's father, she refused to accept the girl as her daughter-in-law. Andrabi is a 'peer', the highest caste among Kashmiri Muslims.

As matters deteriorated, Andrabi is understood to have used her position, influence and strong connections to threaten the girl's family. Sources say at one point of time, the girl's father contemplated approaching the police to register a case against Andrabi and her family, but backed off after repeated threats.

REPORTS FABRICATED, SAYS ANDRABI

When INDIA TODAY tried to get in touch with Andrabi, she called the reports 'fabricated' and said, "Indian agencies cannot harm my pious institution by these fabricated stories."

Andrabi claims to be working for the betterment of women in Kashmir and has often been making false allegations against security forces and the government of 'harassing women in Kashmir as a matter of state policy'.

She claims to be an ardent follower of Islam, advocates Kashmir to be an Islamic issue and vociferously calls for merger of the state with Pakistan. Andrabi has faced flak earlier too for her hypocrisy.

While she exhorts the youth to join terrorism, sacrifice their lives and indulge in unrest, her elder son Mohd. Bin Qasim, after completing his Bachelors in Information Technology from Malaysia International University, is presently pursuing higher studies in Australia for a cozy, comfortable and secure future.

Interestingly, her elder son, in a Facebook post related to actress Zaira Waseem's criticism, described them as 'jaahil'. After he faced severe criticism, he deleted the post. Andrabi's husband Qasim Fakhtoo is a murder convict lodged in Srinagar.

He heads an organisation named Muslim Deeni Mahaz with the objective of 'preaching, propagating and promoting Islam'.

ALSO READ | Separatist leader Asiya Andrabi, personal secretary arrested in Srinagar

Watch the video here

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Filmmaker SS Rajamouli thanked his lead actors- Prabhas, Rana Daggubati and Anushka Shetty for their contribution to make Baahubali possible.

By India Today Web Desk: Bidding farewell is hard. Especially after spending five years to create something unimaginable like Baahubali. Arguably, Baahubali is no longer a film, but a franchise. One that made some of the Hollywood films pale in comparison.

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli, who is gearing up for the release of the most anticipated Indian film, Baahubali: The Conclusion, took to Twitter to thank his lead actors- Prabhas, Rana Daggubati and Anushka Shetty for their dedication to make Baahubali possible.

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In a series of emotional tweets, the father of Baahubali bid farewell to his artists.

Sweetu...thank u so much for ur contribution to Baahubali. I believe all your fans will be even more enthralled with your presence in Part2.- rajamouli ss (@ssrajamouli) March 27, 2017

Rana i was surprised that i didnt feel emotional on the last day of our shoot. Your speech yesterday triggered it and was like- rajamouli ss (@ssrajamouli) March 27, 2017

opening the flood gates of a dam. Will Miss you. Thanks a million for being my Bhallaladeva...:)- rajamouli ss (@ssrajamouli) March 27, 2017

I am not able to frame my words for prabhas here.. my interviews will explain what he is to Baahubali.. why he is BAAHUBALI...- rajamouli ss (@ssrajamouli) March 27, 2017

On Sunday, Rajamouli and team hosted a very grand pre-release event at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, where Baahubali 2 album was also launched. The highlight of the event was the big 'Baahubali 2 Selfie' that went viral on the internet.

Speaking at the event, Rajamouli also thanked his wife Rama.

Last week, the makers finally unveiled the theatrical trailer of Baahubali: The Conclusion. The 2 minutes and 20 seconds trailer received overwhelming response from the audience, garnering more than 36 million views on YouTube. Cumulatively, the trailer has earned a mind-boggling 100 million views, to become the most watched Indian film ever.

Also starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Tamannaah, Sathyaraj and Nassar, Baahubali: The Conclusion will hit the screens on April 28.

ALSO READ: Katappa reveals why he killed Baahubali. Finally!

SEE PIC: Rajamouli, Prabhas, Rana, Karan Johar click 'The Baahubali 2' selfie

ALSO READ: Katamarayudu box-office collection Day 3

ALSO WATCH: Saahore Baahubali song from Baahubali 2 is out

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Carter Center Contact (Atlanta): Emily Staub, Emily.Staub@cartercenter.org, +1 404-420-5126

OFID Contact (Vienna): Reem Aljarbou, r.aljarbou@ofid.org, +431 515 64 291

En Francais



ATLANTA  The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has awarded The Carter Center a grant of US$800,000 to help support an initiative to eliminate blinding trachoma in Mali and Niger.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter; Ambassador (ret.) Mary Ann Peters, the Centers CEO; and Dr. Walid Mehalaine, head of OFIDs Grants and Technical Assistance Unit, gathered Friday, March 24, for a signing ceremony at The Carter Center in Atlanta. Dr. Mehalaine represented Mr. Suleiman Al-Herbish, Director-General of OFID.

This support is deeply appreciated and will improve health for many people as we strive for the elimination of blinding trachoma as a public health problem in Mali and Niger, said President Carter, founder of The Carter Center, which has been a leader in the fight against trachoma for two decades.

Including this grant, OFID has given The Carter Center $3 million since 1997 to support multiple public health programs.

I commend the Carter Center for its leading role in the battle against neglected tropical diseases such as blinding trachoma and Guinea worm, Al-Herbish stated. Eliminating and treating preventable diseases is particularly important in the fight against poverty. Since 1997, cooperation between our organizations has been very beneficial. OFID values this partnership and looks forward to deepening it in these and other areas of mutual interest.

Trachoma, caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, is the worlds leading infectious cause of blindness. Evidence of it can be traced to as early as 8,000 B.C. It affects millions of people in communities that lack access to clean water and sanitation.

The Carter Centers Trachoma Control Program has worked with the Mali and Niger National Trachoma Programs to implement the full World Health Organization SAFE strategy since 1999. SAFE is an acronym for Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness, and Environmental improvement.

To date in Mali and Niger, The Carter Center has facilitated 94,919 surgeries, distributed more than 4 million doses of antibiotics through surgical activities and mass drug administration, provided more than 4,000 villages with health education (including the importance of facial cleanliness to ward off flies), supported the construction of 219,947 latrines, and trained and equipped 10,084 masons in Mali and Niger.

The three-year project supported by the OFID grant will enable the program to do even more to eliminate blinding trachoma in those countries by 2020, including the provision of free corrective surgeries to around 36,000 individuals, distribution of antibiotic eye ointment, promotion of hygiene campaigns, and the construction of latrines to limit fly populations. Also planned are support to national programs, health education training for an estimated 9,500 health workers, community leaders, womens groups and school personnel, and research in support of the global trachoma program. The elimination of blinding trachoma is in line with OFIDs mission to eradicate all forms of poverty in partner countries, particularly the least developed countries, and its support to the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals agenda (SDG3).

Its gratifying to have generous partners like OFID join us in the effort to eliminate blinding trachoma in West Africa and elsewhere, Peters said. Strong, dependable partners allow us to keep advancing against this horrifying disease among impoverished populations.

A recently announced $5.1 million Conrad N. Hilton Foundation challenge grant to The Carter Center will match the OFID grant dollar-for-dollar, effectively doubling the impact of the gift.

More about trachoma

Infections often begin in early childhood. Multiple infections can eventually cause inflammation and scarring of the inner eyelid, which leads to trachomatous trichiasis, the painful, blinding stage of trachoma in which the eyelashes turn inward and scratch the surface of the eyeball. A simple outpatient surgical procedure can relieve pain and, if done early enough, reverse the condition.

Women and children are disproportionately affected by trachoma because of their frequent close contact, said Kelly Callahan, director of the Carter Centers Trachoma Control Program. Infected secretions from the childs nose and eyes get on the mothers hands and clothing; when she happens to touch her own eye, the mother becomes infected.

Trachoma can be found in over 50 countries, most in Africa and the Middle East, and a few countries in the Americas and Asia. Globally, 200 million people are at risk for trachoma, and over 3.2 million are at immediate risk for blindness from trichiasis. Although trachoma is easily preventable, more than 2 million of the worlds poorest people are blind today because they did not have access to eyelid surgery or prevention strategies. The disease is responsible for an estimated annual productivity loss of up to $8 billion.

About The Carter Center

The Atlanta-based Carter Center is a pioneer in disease eradication and elimination. For more than three decades, the Center has led efforts to end suffering related to neglected tropical diseases, including Guinea worm, river blindness, and trachoma. As part of that work, The Carter Center has delivered more than 500 million doses of medication.

About the OPEC Fund for International Development

The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) is the development finance institution established by the Member States of OPEC in 1976 as a channel of aid to developing countries. OFID works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international donor community to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions of the world. It does this by providing financing to build essential infrastructure, strengthen social services delivery, and promote productivity, competitiveness and trade. OFIDs work is people-centered, focusing on projects that meet basic needs  such as food, energy, clean water and sanitation, health care and education  with the aim of encouraging self-reliance and inspiring hope for the future.

Translation

L'OFID attribue une subvention de 800 000 $ au Centre Carter pour l'elimination du trachome aveuglant au Mali et au Niger

                 

###

The Carter Center

"Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope."

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
A few years ago, a group of climate scientists infamously changed the numbers in their data set so that they could hide the decline. In what is now known as the Climategate scandal, the scientists/activists fudged the underlying data to bolster their claims that global temperatures were rising due to increased carbon-dioxide emissions.

These days, New York governor Andrew Cuomo and his appointees at the Public Service Commission are eager to hide the increase in electricity prices that will soon be showing up on ratepayers bills, thanks to the governors Clean Energy Standard, which provides subsidies for renewable energy and for three upstate nuclear plants. This year alone, the cost of the Clean Energy mandate will total about $500 million.

New Yorks utilities dont want to hide the increase; they want transparency. Last December, four big electricity providers -- Con Edison, Orange & Rockland Utilities, National Grid, and Central Hudson Gas & Electric -- asked the states Public Service Commission for permission to add one or two lines to ratepayers bills that would explain the surcharges being added to cover the cost of the Clean Energy Standard. But in February, the commission rejected the utilities request, saying that it was important to maintain general consistency and limit customer confusion resulting from the addition of new lines on customers bills. The agency said that it is preferable to recover the costs for the renewable- and nuclear-energy subsidies through existing supply mechanisms and bill lines.

Cuomos efforts to hide the increase were first reported by Ken Girardin, an ace analyst at the Empire Center in Albany. Girardin has calculated that the renewable and nuclear subsidies will cost ratepayers nearly $3.4 billion between 2017 and 2021. Girardin told me that Cuomos attempt at an extreme makeover of the states electric grid will result in one of the largest tax hikes in state history. Cuomo, whos clearly positioning himself for a White House run in 2020, doesnt want that tax hike to be spelled out on ratepayers bills. Better to hide it than be saddled with the label of tax-and-spend liberal in advance of a presidential campaign.

Who will benefit from the tax hike, er, the governors valiant attempt to fight climate change? Some of the cash will go to wind-energy giant NextEra Energy. In January, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced a deal that will give NextEra, the biggest wind-energy producer in North America, about $140 million in subsidies over the next 20 years. That deal is based on a subsidy of $24.24 for each megawatt-hour of electricity the company produces from a wind project it is building in the state. When combined with the federal production-tax credit of $23 per megawatt-hour, NextEra will likely collect subsidies worth $47.24 per megawatt-hour. In 2016, according to the New York Independent System Operator, the average wholesale price of electricity in the state was $34.28 per megawatt-hour. Therefore, thanks to Cuomos Clean Energy Standard, NextEra will be bringing in wind subsidies that exceed the 2016 average wholesale price of power in New York by nearly $13 per megawatt-hour.

While NextEra will rake in plenty of ratepayer cash, the biggest winner from the Clean Energy Standard will likely be Chicago-based Exelon Corporation. Under a deal struck last year, the Cuomo administration agreed to help keep three money-losing upstate nuclear plantsFitzPatrick, Nine Mile Point, and Ginnaby giving them a zero-emission credit (ZEC) of $17.48 for each megawatt-hour of electricity they produce. Exelon owns Nine Mile Point and Ginna and recently purchased the FitzPatrick plant from Entergy. A group of New York power-generation companies and environmental groups opposes the ZECs and has filed a lawsuit in federal court aimed at halting the subsidies. The three nuclear plants are now producing about 25.8 terawatt hours per year. If the ZECs are upheld in court, Exelon could be collecting more than $450 million per year from ratepayers.

Whether you like wind energy or nuclear energy doesnt matter. What should matter is transparency in government and honest accounting. By hiding the cost of the Clean Energy Standard from ratepayers, Cuomo doesnt put much value on either one.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A 22 month old baby and his mother in the stabilization centre in the Borama Hospital in Borama, Somaliland

The Disasters Emergency Committees East Africa appeal has raised more than 36m in the 11 days since it launched, it announced yesterday.

The DEC, which is made up of 13 Leading UK aid agencies, launched the appeal on 15 March to help millions of people facing hunger in East Africa.

Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the DEC, said: The response has been phenomenal. I cannot thank the British public, trusts and companies enough for their generous support to the DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal, which has now raised an incredible 36m.

Our member charities are already on the ground providing life-saving assistance to some of the worst affected people. Your generosity is helping them step up their response, providing more food, water and medical care to millions of people across East Africa who are in dire need.

The appeal has been shown on all major UK broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky.

Six million children could be without education

The DEC has also warned that six million school children in East Africa will have their education disrupted if funds arent raised and aid does not get through.

It said that figures released by the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs showed that in Somalia and Ethiopia, nearly 340,000 school children are being forced out of education due to schools temporarily closing and in Kenya, 175,000 pre-primary and primary school children in ten counties are out of school due to the impact of drought.

In South Sudan, statistics released by Unicef in 2016 showed 51 per cent of children who are primary and lower secondary school age are out of education; the highest proportion of children not attending school in the world.

In Kilifi county, south of Kenya, a lack of rainfall has led to crop failure and livestock deaths. Food is scarce and there isnt enough to go around. At one local school, 14 per cent of pupils have dropped out due to lack of food at home and only 15 pupils sat their national exams this year.

Tanya Barron, chief executive of Plan International UK, said: Keeping girls and boys in education is incredibly important, especially in a time of crisis. Going to school maintains a sense of normality, keeps up their learning and is also where other key services can be delivered. In the long run it will also help them break the cycle of poverty, which is so important for the future of East Africa.
Comic Relief has said that it has raised over 73m from last weeks Red Nose Day telethon, with more donations set to come in over the coming days.

In a statement on the Comic Relief website, it confirmed that the public have so far managed to raise 73.026m, money which will now be put to work, transforming lives across the UK and the worlds poorest communities.

In 2015 the on-the-night total was 78m.

The Red Nose Day telethon was held in London on Friday, and one of the biggest donations of the night came from Sainsburys which raised 11.6m, which Comic Relief said was: the biggest ever cheque from a business to the charity.

Other large, corporate donations on the night included 4m from TK Maxx and 3m from British Airways.

BBC Radio2 presenter Sara Cox also raised 1.1m by conducting a 24-hour danceathon.

Comic Relief said that, at its peak, the Red Nose Day night of television on BBC One and Two peaked at 7.6 million viewers.

In Fundraising Magazine

Speaking about the event, Lenny Henry, co-founder of Comic Relief, said: Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that has helped to raise an incredible amount of money this Red Nose Day for people who really need it most here in the UK and across the world.

From the fantastic people across the UK who baked cakes, hosted parties and wore crazy outfits to work and school, to those who took on Red Nose Day challenges and donated, your money is seriously going to change lives. On behalf of everyone at Comic Relief, we cannot thank you enough.
Esme van Herwijnen states the case for why climate change should matter to charities.

Climate change is undeniably one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century and it is affecting our environment, society and economy. Current levels of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are not sustainable, and they are rising. This upward trend means catastrophic global warming is unavoidable if current emission levels are not reduced. Weather patterns are expected to change, sea levels will rise, biodiversity will decline and populations will be affected  especially those who are already vulnerable.

The world is determined, however, to ensure that the increase in average global temperature is kept well below two degrees when compared to pre-industrial levels. This was agreed at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), in Paris in December 2015. Post COP21, 188 countries have committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and the momentum from politicians, corporates and investors has been maintained. This is welcome given that the challenge is too big to be left to governments to solve on their own.

Investors have a crucial role and responsibility in tackling this issue as the text of the Paris agreement states that financial flows should be consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate resilient development. Investors have already affirmed their commitment to a safer climate when in December 2015 over 120 global investors signed the Paris pledge for action during COP21. Over 1,300 non-party stakeholders signed the pledge in total. Nonetheless, this now needs to be reaffirmed in practice.

Why does climate change matter to charities?

We believe that companies that are not taking action to reduce their emissions could run into reputational, regulatory and financial difficulties in the future, which in turn will impact shareholder returns. Companies which proactively manage their environmental impact are more likely to be better positioned to adapt to a carbon-constrained world. We believe failure to consider climate change in portfolio construction could therefore negatively impact financial returns.

Charities with defined mission statements should consider whether their investments are in line with their objectives and ethical principles. Investments that conflict with a charitys mission or values can cause severe reputational risk. Obvious examples include the exclusion of tobacco for health-oriented charities or a ban on weapons for charities focused on peace or emergency relief. It may be less obvious at first sight, but investments that contribute to climate change could easily be added to the list.

Climate change is not only an environmental issue, but also a social and an economic one. It should therefore be considered by a range of charities and not just those with an environmental focus. Climate change not only impacts the environment, it is much more complex. It is a human rights issue, especially for island nations that are at risk of rising sea levels and may become climate refugees. Additionally, it negatively impacts human health. In the UK alone, more than 50,000 deaths a year are estimated to be caused by air pollution, according to Dr Tim Chatterton and Prof Graham Parkhurst of the University of the West of England, Bristol. It is also likely to further increase inequalities, as climate change will mostly affect those who are vulnerable and unable to protect themselves.

A recent legal opinion in November 2015 highlighted that investments which have the possibility to alienate those who supposedly benefit from the charitys work may represent a latent conflict with the charitys mission. Christopher McCall QC, on behalf of Bates Wells Braithwaite, suggested that additional due diligence is required from charities when it comes to investing in companies that contribute to climate change. Specifically he stated: The potential financial risks attaching to carbon-intensive assets are of such a nature and magnitude that they should at least be considered and assessed by any prudent charity trustee.

Divestment and engagement on climate change

Fossil fuel extractives have received the highest level of scrutiny from civil society and NGOs. Various campaigns including 350.org and The Guardians Keep it in the Ground have targeted investors and advocated fossil fuel divestment. Current fossil fuel reserves on the balance sheets of oil majors alone exceed the carbon budget needed to avoid global warming of two degrees. Technically these reserves are unburnable and therefore potentially represent stranded assets. To date 595 institutions have pledged to withdraw investment from fossil fuels, representing $3.4tn in total assets. Fossil fuel divestment certainly removes the exposure to carbon reserves, but despite growing momentum around divestment it is not the only question to ask. Our economies still heavily depend on fossil fuels and other sectors such as materials, industrials or consumer staples rely on oil, gas and coal for their operation. Utilities are also responsible for a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Engagement with the extractives sector has been another way for investors to raise their concerns and demand better reporting on risks and opportunities related to climate change. The Aiming for A investor coalition, through shareholder resolutions filed at oil and mining companies, has been encouraging companies to prepare for a low-carbon transition and report publicly on their portfolio resilience.

The extractives sector is, however, not the only sector responsible for climate change and divestment from oil majors does not make a portfolio fossil-free and certainly not carbon-free. Investment strategies that exclude extractives can still be harmful and generate greenhouse gases as most companies have a carbon footprint. Conducting a portfolio carbon footprint of investments is key in order to understand and manage risks in a carbon-constrained world.

Conducting a carbon footprint of EdenTree portfolios revealed some surprises. For instance, the emissions are highly concentrated and a handful of companies in a variety of sectors including utilities, paper and pulp, waste management and cement are responsible for the majority of them.

The carbon footprint also revealed the added value from stock picking. Investing in emission-intensive sectors such as utilities or materials did not prevent the funds outperformance on greenhouse gases. Selecting the right companies that have strong ESG performance can help ensure that the companys carbon footprint is managed and reducing. More interestingly it became the starting point of detailed engagement with the largest emitters in the funds in order to understand how they are managing their impact and how they aim to reduce it in the future.

What more can charities do?

More tools are becoming available and an increasing number of investor initiatives address the materiality of climate change and greenhouse gases. This also means that it becomes easier for charities to challenge their managers. Trustees should ask their managers whether they have signed up to the Montreal pledge  a voluntary commitment by investors to monitor and publicly report the emissions related to their investments  and challenge them on their climate change positions. Charities should also review how their managers voted on climaterelated resolutions and whether they supported shareholder resolutions asking for improved reporting on climate change risks such as the Aiming for A resolutions. Charities also have the ability to participate in public policy debate by joining like-minded investors in groups such as IIGCC (Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change), which aims to encourage public policies that address long-term risks and opportunities associated with climate change.

With more than 55 countries that account for over 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions having accepted and signed the Paris agreement, this agreement has now been ratified and subsequently can be enforced. It is clear that the reduction of greenhouse emissions can no longer be avoided  how will your charity respond?

Esme van Herwijnen is responsible investment analyst at EdenTree

Civil Society Media wishes to thank EdenTree for its support with this article
03/27/2017

Photo (c) AdobeStock Defying President Trump, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted Friday to keep the states clean car regulations in place, reducing smog-forming emissions and other air pollutants from cars and passenger trucks.

The move is seen as an open challenge to the Trump Administration, which is expected to loosen Obama Era regulations that govern most of the nation. But California's stiffer rules are followed by 12 other states, including New York and Pennsylvania.

With the additional states, California's rules cover 130 million people and more than a third of the auto market, in effect making California's clean air rules the de facto national standard since it's not economically feasiable for automakers to buid two versions of every car.

It's possible the Trump Administration will challenge California's action and argue that federal rules pre-empt state-imposed standards, but existing law appears to be heavily on California's side. Under the Clean Air Act, California has longstanding authority to set vehicle emission standards that are tailored to its needs  and can be more protective than federal standards.

"Vital protections"

Environmentalists were quick to praise California's action.

We strongly support Californias decision to maintain its protective clean car standards and to move forward in providing vital additional clean air protections over the long-term. Todays vote means Californians will make forward progress in providing cleaner, safer air for our families and communities, said Quentin Foster, Environmental Defense Funds California Climate director.

In a prepared statement, CARB said the vote was "based on extensive technical analysis showing the standards are being achieved at a fraction of the estimated costs."



Experts who testified before CARB noted that the array of pollutants from cars are one of the single largest threats to human health for millions of Californians. Pollution from cars and trucks contributes to smog and climate change. Vehicle pollution is linked to increased asthma attacks, an increased risk of heart disease and lung cancer, and more premature deaths.



The Environmental Protection Agency also found, after an extensive and rigorous mid-term review, that the national Clean Car standards should stay as adopted. However, last week the Trump Administration announced that it would reopen that review, which could lead to weakening the standards.
By Press Trust of India: From Anisur Rahman

Dhaka, Mar 27 (PTI) Heavily-armed commandos neutralised all four "well-trained" Islamist militants, including a woman, who were holed up in a building, during four days of siege that saw powerful blasts claimed by the Islamic State that killed six people in Bangladeshs northeastern Sylhet city.

"Weve found four bodies inside the building. All are with suicide vests," Brig General Mohammad Fakhrul Ahsan told reporters at a news briefing on the fourth day of the security siege of the five-storey building Atia Mahal.

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"Our intelligence earlier suggested four militants, one being a woman, were inside the building...So we assume that no militant was alive anymore," he said.

He, however, said the Operation Twilight has not ended.

Sylhet-based 17 Infantry Divisions Major General Anwarul Momen is leading the operation, assisted by polices SWAT and counter-terrorism units.

Of the four militants, two including a woman were killed today, Ahsan said, adding that the bodies of female militant and one man were handed over to police but two others were inside as they were wired or surrounded by explosives.

The army is planning how to recover the bodies, he said.

The slain militants were yet not identified. However, officials had earlier indicated that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh chief Musa could be inside the building.

The neo-JMB, said to be inclined to the Islamic State, was behind the July 1 terror attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed.

"The militants we found were well-trained," Ahsan said. "Our operation will take some more time. We will proceed with instructions from our superiors."

The building is very risky as a huge cache of explosives including improvised explosive devices have been found scattered inside its premises, he said, adding that "the building will collapse if all these were to explode."

The development came shortly after Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told reporters in Dhaka that the commandos could wrap up their ongoing assault anytime after neutrilising the militants.

"We expect the operation to end anytime, defeating the militants there," he said, adding that the para-commandos "proceeded slowly to minimise casualties" at the scene.

Earlier, fire broke out at the building occupied by the militants. Large gusts of smoke were seen coming out of the ground floor around 3:40 PM (local time). Fire fighters rushed to the scene and controlled the flames.

Army quickly moved in from the rear preparing for what it seemed like another assault, it said.

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Around noon, the army used megaphones to ask the militants, who were holed up in the building, to surrender. However, there was no response from the other side.

After a relative lull since last night, sporadic gunfire and explosions were heard this morning from the building.

The military operation was launched after a suicide bomber on Friday night blew himself up at the international airport in Dhaka in an attack claimed by the ISIS. It came a week after an identical attack on a RAB camp in Dhaka.

Authorities called out commandos on Saturday morning, two days after a security siege to the building.

On Saturday evening, two powerful bombs ripped through a crowd near the building, killing six people, two being police officers and injuring about 50, including two army officers.

Elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Intelligence Wing chief Lt Col Abul Kalam was seriously wounded in blasts and flown to Dhaka for treatment. He was later flown to Singapore.

The attacks were carried out by the extremists from outside who were mixed up with onlookers, police said.

Hours later the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its propaganda news agency Amaq.

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Home Minister Khan, however, rejected the ISIS claim, saying that there was no presence of any foreign terrorist group in the country.

The encounter continued into Sunday, when army commandos shot dead two militants at the building.

The commandos located the militants wearing suicide vests on the ground floor of the building and shot them dead.

The militants were equipped with small arms, explosives and grenades and laid out booby traps at different corners of the building, slowing down the military operation.

The commandos earlier evacuated 78 ordinary residents including children from the building.

Meanwhile, residents who lived in the building said they were virtually taken hostage by militants who warned them of bombs implanted on their way out. The commandos brought them out from the top of the building making their way there from the rooftop of an adjacent structure.

Bangladesh has been witnessing a spate of attacks on secular activists, foreigners and religious minorities since 2013. The country launched a massive crackdown on militants specially after the Dhaka cafe attack. PTI AR UZM NSA ZH AKJ ZH

--- ENDS ---
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Bangkok, March 27, 2017Thai media regulators should immediately reverse their suspension of the operating license of Voice TV and should allow the media to broadcast and publish freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Media regulators today suspended the channels operating license for seven days.

The state National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission ordered Voice TV, a satellite channel which is aligned with the elected government ousted in a 2014 military coup, to cease broadcasting for a week, saying the station had shown bias and had made unjustified criticisms in several of its news programs, according to news reports.

Lt. Gen. Phirapong Manakit, an NBTC member, was quoted in news reports as saying that the station had been warned several times but had continued to make the same mistakes. He said the station had violated both the NBTC Act, a media regulation law, and orders from the military government that broadly restrict media criticism, including of military rule. Phirapong did not indicate in the news reports which specific reports had motivated the suspension.

Thailands military government has consistently said it is preparing to restore democracy but it continues to censor the media in a crude, authoritarian fashion, said Shawn Crispin, CPJs senior Southeast Asia representative. We call on regulators to reverse the week-long suspension of Voice TV and to stop censoring and harassing the media.

The news website Khaosod English reported that the ban was in response to the stations reporting on the killing of an ethnic Lahu activist by a soldier at a military checkpoint last week in the northern province of Chiang Mai. The report also cited Voice TVs coverage of the governments seizure last week of an arms cache authorities claimed was owned by a fugitive activist aligned with the former government ousted in the 2014 military coup.

The reason we were suspended was due to the NBTCs claim that we have repeatedly committed violations that affect national security and have presented one-sided reports, of which we beg to differ, Prateep Kongsib, the stations director of content and news, was quoted as saying by Khaosod English. This is because we believe opinion is not a threat to national security as long as it is factual.

Voice TV said they would challenge the ban and would continue broadcasting online during the suspension period, news reports said. The station was not immediately available for comment.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ochas military-backed government, known as the National Council for Peace and Order, has imposed measures that give it broad authority to muzzle the media. Military orders 97/2557 and 103/2557 respectively ban news reporting that could create confusion, instigate unrest, or deepen divisions among people, or could be considered malicious or misleading about the NCPO.

Executive order No. 41/2559, passed in July 2016, empowered the NBTC to shutter media outlets for reasons of national security, without the right of appeal, and to block the broadcast of any news or information it deems detrimental to the political system, or [that] may destabilize national stability or damage the moral values of the people.

The regime has singled out Voice TV for harassment, including a month-long ban in the direct aftermath of the May 2014 coup. In August 2016, Voice TV political program hosts Nattakorn Devakula and Atukkit Sawangsuk were suspended for 10 days for their critical coverage and analysis of a referendum on a military-backed constitution that was passed amid restrictions on free expression.

Nattakorns news programs have been suspended at least four times since the military takeover, most recently last month, according to news reports and interviews with CPJ.

CPJ sent an open letter to Prayuth on February 3 calling on him to repeal all military orders that restrict media freedoms and to scrap pending draft legislation that aims to institutionalize government controls on private media, including a proposed new licensing regime for journalists.
Josh Weinstein, corporate treasurer of Carnival Corporation, will become president of Carnival UK following the planned departure of current CEO David Noyes in July after six years in the business, according to Carnival.

Weinstein will be responsible for overseeing both P&O Cruises and Cunard.

He will report to Stein Kruse, currently CEO of the Holland America Group, who is promoted to group CEO of Holland America Group and Carnival UK.

Noyes will remain in his role until July 18 to ensure a smooth transition, Carnival said.

The Southampton-based Carnival UK executive team will then report to Weinstein, following his move to the UK in April. Carnival UK chairman David Dingle will continue in his role.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the New York University School of Law, Weinstein, 43, joined Carnival Corporation 15 years ago as an attorney in the corporate legal department before assuming the role of corporate treasurer.

Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald said: "Some time ago, David Noyes advised me that he wished to step down as CEO Carnival UK during 2017 to spend more time with his family.

"David has excelled in his time as CEO of Carnival UK and has planned a smooth and effective transition.

"We greatly appreciate his leadership, his team spirit and the many important contributions he has made to our success."

Donald added: "In his current role, Josh Weinstein has been a strong contributor to the company's successful results.

"I am confident he will do a great job in his new role and continue to build on our strong legacy of success in the UK."

Donald continued: "Stein Kruse has done an exemplary job in leading the Holland America Group.

"The two groups will continue to be managed separately as they are today but will benefit from more closely aligned collaboration."

Noyes said: "I will be leaving Carnival UK as a thriving, profitable and market leading business. I know that with Josh at the helm, the company will continue to go from strength to strength as the UK cruise sector maintains its exceptional levels of growth."
MSC Cruises USA announced today that Joseph Jiffo will join the company as senior vice president of sales, effective April 11.

With more than 30 years of experience in the travel industry  including positions at other cruise lines, a major travel agency consortium and a land-based tour operator  at MSC Cruises Jiffo will be responsible for strategically continuing and expanding our valued relationships with trade partners, according to a statement.

We are extremely excited to welcome Joe as the newest member of our executive team, said Roberto Fusaro, president of MSC Cruises USA. Joe is well-respected and has a proven track record of exceeding sales goals and increasing market share. His relationships with the travel agent community and broad experience within the travel industry will prove invaluable as MSC Cruises significantly grows its brand in North America.

Prior to joining MSC Cruises, Jiffo served as vice president of sales for Exclusive Group Travel, a division of Tourism Holdings Inc. Jiffo has also held leadership roles at Ensemble Travel Group as well as multiple cruise lines.

I am thrilled to be joining the team at MSC Cruises, said Jiffo. The company is expanding incredibly fast and I am looking forward to continuing the teams initiatives to grow the brand in North America and ensuring that MSC Cruises is the easiest and most profitable brand to work with.
NAFCU staff this week will be monitoring congressional hearings on the role of financial companies in fostering economic growth and how small businesses confront regulations, along with the CFPBs Credit Union Advisory Council meeting and a Supreme Court case regarding the patent system.

The Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday will discuss the role of financial companies in fostering economic growth. Witnesses for the 9:30 a.m. hearing include former Federal Reserve Gov. Robert Heller, former FDIC Chairman Donald Powell and Professor of Economics and Chief Economist of AFL-CIO William Spriggs.

Last week, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, asked for legislative proposals to foster economic growth. NAFCU plans to submit recommendations.

The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday examining how small businesses confront and shape regulations. The hearing, slated for 3 p.m. Eastern, includes witnesses from the National Association of Home Builders and the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce.
Kataria, a senior leader in the state BJP, had wondered why the girl did not make the gangrape allegation the same day.

By Dev Ankur Wadhawan: Congress has lambasted Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria over his remarks in the Bikaner gangrape case. Hitting out at his comments, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot mentioned, "Rajasthan home minister Gulab Chand Kataria has no right to continue as home minister. The kind of allegations he has made (in Bikaner girl case) are inhuman."

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Kataria had raised doubts over the allegations of gangrape of a minor girl by eight of her school teachers in Bijaner. Kataria, a senior leader in the state BJP, had wondered why the girl did not make the gangrape allegation the same day.

The girl's father had alleged on the 23rd of this month that his daughter was gangraped by her school teachers in 2015. Allegedly, a video was also made which was later used to threaten the girl. However, before that, on the 20th, another case was registered against the girl's family members alleging that they indulged in manhandling inside the school.

Today a team from the state women commission visited Bikaner and sought to know the status of investigation in the case.

Also read:

Bikaner gangrape case: Minor girl discharged from hospital, but Rajasthan home minister raises doubts over allegation

Bikaner gangrape case: Minor girl recalls the horror

Also watch:

State Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria questions timing of FIR in Bikaner gangrape case

--- ENDS ---
By Dev Ankur Wadhawan: A couple of days after Rajasthan Home minister Gulab Chand Kataria raised doubts over the authenticity of the Bikaner gangrape case, several ministers in the Rajasthan government today completely debunked the case claiming it to be fraud.

"Bikaner incident has proven to be false and I believe sometimes rumour is spread in the society regarding such heinous acts. The information that has been received today is that the girl's father has given a statement that he got the FIR registered as he got emotional. Its unfortunate," state Panchayati Raj Minister Rajendra Rathore told India Today.

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State women and child development minister Anita Bhadel claimed that the girl in question had left the school around 4-5 years ago.

She said, "The FIR that was registered in the context of Bikaner's Nokha tehsil incident, the update in that is the FIR that was filed was a fraud FIR by the girl's father. The girl, who claimed was raped, is not available for statement under 164 and father has also said that because of consuming some intoxicating substance, he made the wrong statement and when you look at other facts of the case, it appears that she had left the school around 4-5 years ago because the daughter has cancer".

Apart from that, she said from the school some FIR was registered against the family and as retaliation against that FIR, a counter FIR was registered by the father against school teachers.

A couple of days ago, Kataria had raised doubts over the allegations of gangrape of a minor girl by eight of her school teachers in Bikaner. Kataria, a senior leader in the state BJP, had wondered why the girl did not make the gangrape allegation the same day.

Today while speaking with the media in the state Assembly precincts, Kataria stated, "Because of some family dispute, it appears this case can be fake as well but cannot say. Today her father gave a statement before the women's commission which is appearing as something else. But I think those about whom they have raised suspicion till they are not interrogated, after that its possible to take this sequence of events forward".

Also read:

Bikaner gangrape case: Minor girl discharged from hospital, but Rajasthan home minister raises doubts over allegation

Rajasthan: Congress seeks home minister's resignation over comments in Bikaner gangrape case

Bikaner gangrape case: Minor girl recalls the horror

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: complaint, says women panel

Bikaner/Jaipur, Mar 27 (PTI) Mystery shrouded the alleged gang rape of a 13-year-old cancer-affected girl here with the Rajasthan Commission for Women today stating that the girls father was in an "unstable state of mind" while filing the complaint in the incident.

"The father of the girl said that his mental condition was not good, therefore, he lodged the case," Sushma Kumawat, member of the state commission for women, told PTI.

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However, she said, it could not be concluded whether the case was fake or genuine until the girls statement was recorded.

The Commission also visited the victims village and spoke to the locals and her family members.

Rajastha Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said in Jaipur that the medical report of the girl was not clear as the alleged incident had happened two years back.

Women and Child Development minister Anita Bhadel also questioned the delay in reporting the matter to the police.

"Facts have emerged contrary to the allegations of the father, which in turn raise doubts," she told reporters, adding that the final report would make things clear.

Circle Officer Banwari Lal said the girls statement will be recorded tomorrow.

The matter of the gang rape came to light on Friday last after the minor girls father alleged that his daughter was raped by eight teachers of a private school. He also alleged that the accused made a video of the heinous act.

The alleged incident occurred in April 2015 and the FIR was registered against the teachers after the girls father gave a complaint to the SP.

Before the rape FIR, one of the accused teachers had filed a case against four persons including two brothers of the girl on March 20 for allegedly thrashing him.

The state government has maintained that the case has many chinks.

Kataria had said that the case was lodged by the father of the girl as a counter to another case and the examination by the medical board will only verify the allegations.

"I cannot understand if eight people rape a girl and she does not inform the (family) the same day. However, the allegations are serious and we have formed the medical board and only after the medical examination, it will become clear," he had said.

Manan Chaturvedi, the chairperson of the state commission for protection of child rights, also said the matter should be thoroughly and impartially investigated as to why the father did not approach the police to file a case earlier. PTI CORR SDA SRY

--- ENDS ---
The husband and father-in-law of a Bihar woman who died after allegedly being set ablaze by her in-laws, have been arrested after the minister's intervention, an official said.

By Arpan Rai: After Krishna Kumar faced several days of ordeal to get an FIR registered against his dead sister Rani's in-laws, who allegedly set her on fire, women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi swung into action and delivered the first step to justice for Krishna.

"Rani's husband and father-in-law have been arrested after Maneka Gandhi's intervention and the Union minister has also written to the superintendent of police to nab the other accused involved in the case," an official confirmed to MAIL TODAY.

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Gandhi also asked the superintendent of police in Buxar area to ensure the safety and well-being of Rani's three children aged seven, five and three.

SET ABLAZE BY IN-LAWS

Thirty-year-old Rani Patwa was allegedly set ablaze by her in-laws at their house in Buxar, Bihar, on the midnight of March 7. She suffered 90 per cent burn injuries and later succumbed to death after a cardio-respiratory failure on March 11.

MAIL TODAY was the first to report on the incident after Krishna Kumar tweeted to Maneka Gandhi, following which ministry officials got the FIR registered on March 25.

"Rani's husband has said that she poured kerosene on herself after a fight over eggs and he had tried to save her by covering her in a blanket, while the kids were sleeping," said the police officer who arrested Rani's husband and father-in-law.

"I am in touch with the Buxar SP. The husband & father-in-law have been arrested & efforts are on to nab the other accused. I've directed the SP to ensure the safety and wellbeing of her three young children.

The issue of statement recorded by magistrate and the dying declaration by @krishna60274940 is also being sorted out," Maneka Gandhi tweeted in response to Krishna.

ALSO READ | Bihar dowry death: No FIR even after 2 weeks, Maneka Gandhi assures swift action

No one-stop centres for women who have suffered sexual violence despite six rapes in Delhi every day

ALSO WATCH | Maneka Gandhi's special cell to monitor cyber-trolling

--- ENDS ---
MILAN - Europe's only vertically integrated textile mill has announced the results of a pioneering initiative to measure the product environmental footprint (PEF) of a 100 per cent 'Made in Italy' jacket. Warp knitted fabric manufacturer Eurojersey worked in partnership with Italian yarn business Radici Group and Herno design and manufacturing on the research, which was aimed at certifying and tracking the environmental impact of a Herno man's jacket at all stages of its production process.
Many cancer patients struggle with the adverse effects of chemotherapy, still the most prescribed cancer treatment. For patients with pancreatic cancer and other aggressive cancers, the forecast is more grim: there is no known effective therapy.

A new Tel Aviv University study published last month in Oncotarget discloses the role of three proteins in killing fast-duplicating cancer cells while they're dividing. The research, led by Prof. Malka Cohen-Armon of TAU's Sackler School of Medicine, finds that these proteins can be specifically modified during the division process -- mitosis -- to unleash an inherent "death mechanism" that self-eradicates duplicating cancer cells.

"The discovery of an exclusive mechanism that kills cancer cells without impairing healthy cells, and the fact that this mechanism works on a variety of rapidly proliferating human cancer cells, is very exciting," Prof. Cohen-Armon said. "According to the mechanism we discovered, the faster cancer cells proliferate, the faster and more efficiently they will be eradicated. The mechanism unleashed during mitosis may be suitable for treating aggressive cancers that are unaffected by traditional chemotherapy.

"Our experiments in cell cultures tested a variety of incurable human cancer types -- breast, lung, ovary, colon, pancreas, blood, brain," Prof. Cohen-Armon continued. "This discovery impacts existing cancer research by identifying a new specific target mechanism that exclusively and rapidly eradicates cancer cells without damaging normally proliferating human cells."

The research was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Shai Izraeli and Dr. Talia Golan of the Cancer Research Center at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, and Prof. Tamar Peretz, head of the Sharett Institute of Oncology at Hadassah Medical Center, Ein Kerem.

A new target for cancer research

The newly-discovered mechanism involves the modification of specific proteins that affect the construction and stability of the spindle, the microtubular structure that prepares duplicated chromosomes for segregation into "daughter" cells during cell division.

The researchers found that certain compounds called Phenanthridine derivatives were able to impair the activity of these proteins, which can distort the spindle structure and prevent the segregation of chromosomes. Once the proteins were modified, the cell was prevented from splitting, and this induced the cell's rapid self-destruction.

"The mechanism we identified during the mitosis of cancer cells is specifically targeted by the Phenanthridine derivatives we tested," Prof. Cohen-Armon said. "However, a variety of additional drugs that also modify these specific proteins may now be developed for cancer cell self-destruction during cell division. The faster the cancer cells proliferate, the more quickly they are expected to die."

Research was conducted using both cancer cell cultures and mice transplanted with human cancer cells. The scientists harnessed biochemical, molecular biology and imaging technologies to observe the mechanism in real time. In addition, mice transplanted with triple negative breast cancer cells, currently resistant to available therapies, revealed the arrest of tumor growth.

"Identifying the mechanism and showing its relevance in treating developed tumors opens new avenues for the eradication of rapidly developing aggressive cancers without damaging healthy tissues," said Prof. Cohen-Armon.

The researchers are currently investigating the potential of one of the Phenanthridine derivatives to treat two aggressive cancers known to be unresponsive to current chemotherapy: pancreatic cancer and triple negative breast cancer.

###

Tel Aviv University (TAU) is inherently linked to the cultural, scientific and entrepreneurial mecca it represents. It is one of the world's most dynamic research centers and Israel's most distinguished learning environment. Its unique-in-Israel multidisciplinary environment is highly coveted by young researchers and scholars returning to Israel from post-docs and junior faculty positions in the US.

American Friends of Tel Aviv University (AFTAU) enthusiastically and industriously pursues the advancement of TAU in the US, raising money, awareness and influence through international alliances that are vital to the future of this already impressive institution.
Healthcare professionals across the Atlantic and around the world need to think beyond single-disease guidelines as they look to provide high-quality, person-centered care for more and more older adults living with multiple chronic conditions, so say editors from the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and the British Geriatrics Society's (BGS's) Age and Ageing in the first from a series of joint editorials launched today. The series will look for common ground in geriatrics "across the pond," beginning here with the U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on multimorbidity, the medical term for those living with several chronic health concerns.

"The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on multi-morbidity challenges physicians and health care providers to adopt an holistic approach that takes full and proper account of multimorbidity. It addresses a common flaw in all contemporary health services that frail, multi-morbid patients are often subjected to futile or even harmful investigations and treatments," note David J. Stott, MBChB, MD, FRCP, and John Young, MSc, authors of the BGS editorial and Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor, respectively, of Age and Ageing.

Added William B. Applegate, MD, MPH, AGSF, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and author of joint commentary from the American Geriatrics Society (AGS): "These editorials quite literally cross an ocean to expand our expertise. We hope they will broaden dialogue on shared priorities today, and so shape better care and policies tomorrow."

In their jointly published editorials, Dr. Applegate, Prof. Stott and Prof. Young discuss regional and trans-Atlantic reactions to the NICE guideline "Multimorbidity: Clinical assessment and management." The guideline builds on previous work by an AGS expert panel, addressing what remains a top-priority for geriatrics health care professionals in the U.K., U.S., and elsewhere: coordinating care for the growing number of older adults who live with multiple chronic conditions. Following the publication of the initial editorial, Prof. Stott will be Chairing a special symposium at The British Geriatrics Society's Spring Meeting on 27 April 2007 in Newcastle, England, addressing multimorbidity. Dr. John Hindle, Consultant Geriatrician and Honorary Senior Lecturer at Bangor University in Wales, will be the key speaker on the issue.

The World Health Organization has already declared the rise in chronic conditions a worldwide epidemic. They account for more than 65 percent of total health expenditures in high-income countries like the U.K. and U.S., and can contribute to more than 60 percent of deaths reported annually across the globe. Against this backdrop, guidance like the NICE guidelines and the work of the AGS's Expert Panel on the Care of Older Adults with Multimorbidity remain essential because they respond to and respect the multifaceted nature of managing multiple health concerns simultaneously.

AGS and BGS experts commend the U.K.'s guidance as both "comprehensive and compelling." It embraces a growing trend in Europe and North America for eliciting "person-centered care goals" that account for individual preferences across care for several different conditions. The guideline also transcends traditionally limited organ-specific approaches to care, balancing the benefits and burdens of recommendations across the whole of an older person's well-being. According to the AGS-BGS experts: "The aim is to give the recipients of care control over decisions and actions affecting their health...a philosophy of clinical practice that should be integral to the management of all patients, multimorbid or not."

###

The AGS and BGS editorials are available for free and open access from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jgs.14803/full and https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/ageing/afx031, respectively. Editorial board members from Age and Ageing and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society hope to publish additional collaborative commentary with increasing frequency in the months and years to come.

About the American Geriatrics Society

Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a nationwide, not-for-profit society of geriatrics healthcare professionals that has--for 75 years--worked to improve the health, independence, and quality of life of older people. Its nearly 6,000 members include geriatricians, geriatric nurses, social workers, family practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and internists. The Society provides leadership to healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the public by implementing and advocating for programs in patient care, research, professional and public education, and public policy. For more information, visit AmericanGeriatrics.org.

About the British Geriatrics Society

To arrange an interview contact Marina Mello on 07850 271579 or email press@bgs.org.uk.

The British Geriatrics Society (BGS) is the professional association of doctors practising geriatric medicine, nurses, therapists, scientists, GPs, old age psychiatrists and others engaged in the specialist care of older people and in promoting better health in old age. We have over 3,600 members and are the only society in the UK offering specialist medical expertise in the wide range of healthcare needs of older people. The society is a registered charity.
What matters most starts out differently for providers and patients

MINNEAPOLIS - (March 27, 2017) - Eric Anderson, MD, Allina Health LifeCourse principal investigator and co-researcher Sandra Schellinger, NP-C, performed an in-depth analysis of advanced heart failure patients' goals several years prior to death.

"The results highlight the tendency of both patients and health care providers to wait too long for discussions about serious illness," said Schellinger. "Knowing the social, emotional, and spiritual priorities of patients will equip clinicians to better discuss serious illness care in a way that addresses the most important priorities in their patients' lives."

Their study, "What is Important? Eliciting Deep Insights from Patients and Families: A Workshop for Opening Doors to Important Conversations," will be presented at the Minnesota Network of Hospice and Palliative Care 2017 Annual Conference April 2 to 4 in Minneapolis.

Allina Health researchers will present three studies at the conference based on the LifeCourse Research Study funded by the Robina Foundation and conducted at Allina Health.

Other studies and presenters are:

"Collaborating to Increase Access to LifeCourse, a Late Life Supportive Care Approach" by Vivian Anugwom, MS, and Paul Erickson, MD, provides lessons learned when LifeCourse expanded outside the mainstream healthcare system to address disparities among communities of color. Erickson is with NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center in North Minneapolis.

"LifeCourse: An Innovative Approach to Late Life Care" by Anderson, and Karl Fernstrom, MPH, compares LifeCourse and usual care patients on utilization, quality of life and experience.

LifeCourse, built on the tenets of palliative care, provides supportive care during the time between advanced illness diagnosis and end of life. At its core, is a lay healthcare worker who visits patients monthly in their homes, communicates across care settings and organizations, and works with primary and specialty care teams and social service partners.

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About Allina Health

Allina Health is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of illness and enhancing the greater health of individuals, families and communities throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. A not-for-profit health care system, Allina Health cares for patients from beginning to end-of-life through its 90+ clinics, 12 hospitals, 15 retail pharmacies, specialty care centers and specialty medical services, home care, home oxygen and medical equipment and emergency medical transportation services.

For more information, visit us at allinahealth.org
Researchers at Aalto University have manufactured artificial materials with engineered electronic properties. By moving individual atoms under their microscope, the scientists were able to create atomic lattices with a predetermined electrical response. The possibility to precisely arrange the atoms on a sample bring 'designer quantum materials' one step closer to reality. By arranging atoms in a lattice, it becomes possible to engineer the electronic properties of the material through the atomic structure.

Working at a temperature of four degrees Kelvin, the researchers used a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) to arrange vacancies in a single layer of chlorine atoms supported on a copper crystal.

"The correspondence between atomic structure and electronic properties is of course what happens in real materials as well, but here we have complete control over the structure. In principle, we could target any electronic property and implement it experimentally", says Dr. Robert Drost who carried out the experiments at Aalto University.

Using their atomic assembly method, the research team demonstrated complete control by creating two real-life structures inspired by fundamental model systems with exotic electronic properties.

The approach is not limited to the chlorine system chosen by the research team either. The same method can be applied in many well-understood systems in surface and nanoscience and could even be adapted to mesoscopic systems, such as quantum dots, which are controlled through lithographic processes.

"There are many fascinating theoretical proposals that don't exist in real materials. This is our chance to test these ideas experimentally", explains Academy Research Fellow Teemu Ojanen at Aalto University.

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The study was performed at Aalto University's Department of Applied Physics and the groups are parts of the Academy of Finland's Centres of Excellence in Low Temperature Quantum Phenomena and Devices (LTQ) and Computational Nanosciences (COMP). The Aalto Centre for Quantum Engineering (CQE), Academy of Finland and the European Research Council (ERC) funded the research. A consortia funding application to further pursue designer matter is currently under review.
Since the ancient times, mankind has used plants to treat diseases. An example is the plant Artemisia annua, used for over 2,000 years in traditional Chinese medicine to treat intermittent fevers. Nowadays, the artemisinin molecule - the active ingredient synthesized in the microscopic hairs (trichomes) of this plant - is the main component of malaria treatments worldwide. In fact, the Chinese scientist Youyou Tu was awarded in 2015 with the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of artemisinin and its application in therapies against malaria.

Regardless of artemisinin's effectiveness against malaria and other diseases caused by parasites and despite its anti-tumour potential, its usage faces a problem: the low content produced by the plant and the high cost of its chemical synthesis result in a scarce and expensive drug.

Now, an international research team led by researchers from the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) and Sequentia Biotech S.L. has been able to obtain, through genetic engineering, Artemisia annua plants that produce twice as much artemisinin. The work, published today in The Plant Journal, identifies a gene involved in the formation of plant trichomes and in the synthesis of terpenes, such as artemisinin. "We have discovered that the AaMYB1 gene has a dual function: it promotes trichome formation in the leaves and artemisinin synthesis inside the trichomes", explains Soraya Pelaz, ICREA researcher at CRAG and senior author of the article. "By manipulating this gene, we have managed to grow plants which contain much more artemisinin than their wild-type counterparts," she adds. Noting that 90% of malaria cases and 92% of deaths caused by this disease occur in sub-Saharan Africa, this finding could be a major step towards reducing the production costs of such a necessary drug.

The plant as a factory

This study is a perfect example of knowledge transfer. Luis Matias-Hernandez, first author of the discussed work, began to study the formation of trichomes in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana when he was a postdoctoral researcher at the CRAG group led by Soraya Pelaz. The acquired insight made him think that the formation of trichomes could be manipulated in plants with industrial applications. For the past two years, and thanks to a Torres Quevedo contract, Luis Matias-Hernandez has been directing a line of research aimed at obtaining Artemisia plants that produce large amounts of artemisinin at the spin-out Sequentia Biotech, from which he keeps collaborating with CRAG.

"One of the main goals of Sequentia Biotech is to produce artemisinin of the same quality but at a lower cost. Our ambition is to reduce the price of the drug, so it can be accessible to everyone in the future", underlines Luis Matias-Hernandez. "We want to use Artemisia as a natural low-cost factory for antimalarials, and we are testing different strategies to do it," adds the researcher.

Beyond artemisinin

Collaborating with Peter E Brodelius, researcher at the Linnaeus University in Sweden, the scientists were able to identify the gene AaMYB1 among the array of genes expressed in Artemisia trichomes. At CRAG, the researchers designed transgenic plants that overexpressed this gene and found that they accumulated larger doses of artemisinin than non-genetically modified plants.

But the investigation went further. To confirm the role of the AaMYB1 gene in the formation of plant trichomes, the researchers searched for similar genes in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and found the gene AtMYB61. When this gene was overexpressed in the model plant, it also produced a higher amount of trichomes on its leaves, demonstrating that these genes play a key role in the formation of trichomes in evolutionarily distant species. Soraya Pelaz explains that "in addition to its role in Artemisia, the identification of this gene can also be useful for other plants whose trichomes produce substances of interest". Luis Matias-Hernandez adds "There are many plants that produce substances of interest in their trichomes. For example, menthol and thymol are terpenes produced in the trichomes of mint and thyme, respectively."

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About the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG)

The Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) is a centre that is a member of the CERCA system of research centres of the Government of Catalonia, and which was established as a partnership of four institutions: the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Institute for Agri-Food Research and Technology (IRTA), the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and the University of Barcelona (UB). CRAG's research spans from basic research in plant and farm animal molecular biology, to applications of molecular approaches for breeding of species important for agriculture and food production in close collaboration with industry. CRAG has been recognized as "Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2016-2019" by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

The work published on The Plant Journal, which has also involved researchers from Linnaeus University (Sweden) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China), has been funded by projects of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through ERDF funds and through a COST action of the European Union.

Reference article

Matias-Hernandez, L., Jiang, W., Yang, K., Tang, K., Brodelius, P. E. and Pelaz, S. (2017), AaMYB1, and its orthologue AtMYB61, affect terpene metabolism and trichome development in Artemisia annua and Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Journal. doi:10.1111/tpj.13509
Emil Bogenmann, PhD, EdD, at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles, received a five-year renewal grant of $1.3 million from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide biomedical research training to disadvantaged college undergraduates. The new funding supports continuation of the Short-Term Research Experience for Underrepresented Persons (STEP-UP).

Initially started in 2007, STEP-UP is a national research training and career development summer program for undergraduate students enrolled at colleges and universities in the United States and its Territories. The purpose of the training program is to promote careers in biomedical research and academic medicine and increase the number of individuals from underserved communities among the workforce in these fields.

Each year, the program recruits up to 24 highly qualified undergraduate students with an interest in research and academic medicine from underrepresented minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities nationwide.

During an intensive 10-week summer program, students participate in hands-on biomedical research in the laboratories of federally funded scientists in research areas relevant to the mission of the NIDDK. The program culminates in a trip to the National Institutes of Health for a science symposium where all students present their research.

The STEP-UP center at The Saban Research Institute of CHLA is one of only three such sites in the nation and has trained more than 230 students over the past ten years. Of the students that completed their undergraduate degrees, 80 percent have successfully enrolled in doctoral or professional degree programs, with a majority attending medical schools.

According to Bogenmann, founder and director of the program, more than 70 percent of the program's participants have continued to do research after their STEP-UP experience and more than 33 percent of them have published an article in a peer-reviewed journal.

"We're providing students with the opportunity to perform cutting-edge biomedical research under the mentorship of faculty at research institutions around the country," said Bogenmann who is also an associate professor in the department of Pediatrics and holds a secondary appointment in the department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. "The unique part of the program is that it allows and encourages participating students to decide at which institution they will work as well as what kind of the research they would like to perform."

The renewed grant enables the STEP-UP program to continue its mission to advise and support the next generation of scientists and academic physicians by improving scientific knowledge, strengthening academic self-confidence, and creating a personal career vision that motivates minority students in these fields.

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About Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Children's Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children's hospital in California and among the top 10 in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Children's Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. Children's Hospital is also one of America's premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation since 1932 with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. For more information, visit CHLA.org. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn, or visit our blog at http://researchlablog.org/.
On the occasion of the 300th birthday of Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780), many cliches about one of the most powerful women in history need to be abandoned according to the latest research. "Maria Theresa embodies a myth that was to remind Austria of lost greatness for a long time, but this spell must be broken today", says historian Prof. Dr. Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger, Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" of Munster University. "The myth describes Maria Theresa as a sovereign of people's hearts who loved her children and her subjects, as a heroine who defended right against power, as a pious regent who strengthened the practice of religion, as a respectable civil 'housewife of the empire' who cleared up the privileges and stiff ceremony at the royal court, and as the founder of the modern administrative state. However, many of these stereotypes can no longer be supported." The scholar proves them wrong in the new biography "Maria Theresia. Die Kaiserin in ihrer Zeit" (Maria Theresa. The Empress in her Times. A Biography) relying on many, partly unknown sources. The book is published by C.H.Beck and is nominated for the "Non-Fiction" Prize of the Leipzig Book Fair which will be awarded on Thursday.

"Maria Theresa was not just the devoted mother of the country as historians often depicted her", says Stollberg-Rilinger whose 1000-page work reflects an entire era and purposefully confronts many contemporary voices. "In fact, the sources present other aspects. She was an extremely self-confident regent, firmly convinced of her dynasty's divine mission. This conviction, this belief gave her the confidence to hold her ground even in hopeless situations, such as uncompromisingly carrying on a war for her heritage for years and enforcing reforms. However, it also resulted in the relentlessness with which she treated her own children and the mercilessness with which she prosecuted those of different faith - Protestants and Jews." In order to protect the "true Catholic religion", the Habsburg empress had Protestants, "mangy sheep within the Christian flock that was entrusted to her", re-conditioned in so-called conversion houses or had them deported. When looking at her marriage politics, she sacrificed her children with all the severity of dynastic reason, fully aware of the fact that some of the marriages were, even according to the standard at that time, an unreasonable demand.

As stated by Stollberg-Rilinger, Maria Theresa's numerous correspondences prove how she always tried to manipulate her environment, but at the same time demanded absolute sincerity from everyone else. "This did not work out. Hypocrisy and pretence ruled." Similarly, there was an "agonising feud" between Maria Theresa and her son and co-ruler Emperor Joseph II whom she mistrusted: "a communicative dilemma over years, under which both of them suffered without finding a way out". These were only a few elements of a large control programme as the author sets out: Maria Theresa attempted to influence the allied courts through her daughters, had a census of the countries and population carried out and her subjects conditioned into becoming puritan and industrious. At the court in Vienna life was substantially more exclusive than often portrayed, the rules of patronage were not abolished. "Far fewer subjects were admitted to the Empress than the myth of her mildness and affability suggests."

The Empress knew how to foster her reputation of being a gentle and generous regent herself - for instance by deliberately conferring favours, using a rhetoric that evokes closeness and familiarity, but also by controlling the tradition of her own history. "It is probable that Maria Theresa destroyed a large part of her husband's documents, tried to eliminate her daughter-in-law's letters, and coerced children and intimates into burning their letters." Her many reforms did not lead to the modern bureaucratic state, the foundation of which historiography previously accredited to Maria Theresa. Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger sees a lack of participatory procedures and structures from the central up to the local level.

Male fantasies in historiography

"If you look at it more closely, the popular image of the empress-queen is still marked by the nationalistic historiography of the 19th and early 20th century, whereas younger historians have been avoiding her", says Stollberg-Rilinger. A new, post-heroic biography could understand Maria Theresa only in her own time, not by the re-projections of the 19th century. "The historians saw the ideal civil family's mother and loving spouse in Maria Theresa; to them she embodied the feminine ideal of the 19th century. That she was at the same time a powerful ruler, made her an exceptional figure and inspired male fantasies: she seemed to be the procreator of the state." Actually, a "petticoat government" was not unusual at that time, the historian explains. "What was new was the fact that the regent took ruling seriously as a personal task. Many other monarchs preferred to pursue their inclinations." The lifelong opponent Frederick II of Prussia became her counterpart in historiography: "Prussia against Austria, that was male against female principles, cold reason against warm affection, offence against defence, unbelief against piety."

For the biography the academic evaluated quite different sources: archival materials of the central authorities, messenger reports and ceremonial descriptions, diaries and travel journals, and above all, correspondences. "The most important sources are Maria Theresa's letters and handwritten cards. She took care of everything herself and spent day and night at the writing desk", the historian relates. She emphasises that a biography today could no longer be written from point of view of the omniscient narrator. Instead the author links analytical and narrative elements and often juxtaposes different ways of perception. A wide range of contemporaries get a chance to speak: from the enlightened personal physician to the economic project maker, from the English lady in transit to the old aristocratic Lord Chamberlain, from the Praguer Jew to the Tyrolese farmer's son. "Of course we can also hear the voices of Maria Theresa herself and her family members." (vvm)

Nominated for the Prize of the Leipzig Book Fair

The new biography "Maria Theresia. Die Kaiserin in ihrer Zeit" (Maria Theresa. The Empress in her Times. A Biography) by early modern period historian Prof. Dr. Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger at the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" of WWU has been nominated for the Prize of the Leipzig Book Fair. It will be ceremonially awarded on Thursday, 23 March 2017. The book concerning the Habsburg regent Maria Theresa (1717-1780) has just been published by C.H.Beck. There are four other books nominated in the category "Non-Fiction/Essay Writing".

The jury's reason for its decision is that an entire era is reflected in the work. Stollberg-Rilinger tells "in a new and unusual manner" the life of one of the most powerful women in history, "who as regent mastered female and male roles, the world of symbols, and the politics of the day with virtuosity." The scholar classified the Empress relating to the traditions of her time and always reflected the gender of her "heroine" without putting it in the centre of attention. The Prize of the Leipzig Book Fair, amounting to 60,000 euros in total, will also be awarded for the categories "Fiction" and "Translation".

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The author

Since 1997, the early modern period historian Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger has held the Professorship of Early Modern History at the Westfalische Wilhelms-Universitat Munster (WWU). In 2005 she received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Award of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and in 2013 the Award of the Historical Collegium of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. From 2011 until 2015 she was the spokesperson of the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" of Munster University and since then has been deputy spokesperson. Within the research association she heads the project B2-22 "Beyond Confessional Clarity: On the Discursive Formation of Heterodox Groups in the Early Modern Period". The biography of Maria Theresa is, amongst others, the result of a fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study Berlin (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin) from 2015 until 2016.

Literature: Stollberg-Rilinger, Barbara: Maria Theresia. Die Kaiserin in ihrer Zeit. Munchen: Verlag C.H.Beck 2017, 1,092 pages, ISBN 978-3406697487, 34.00 Euros.
New York, NY March 27, 2017 - Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian, in coordination with the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Biomarkers Consortium, is launching a three-year research collaboration to develop new methods for analyzing digital images that track a patient's response to cancer therapy.

Many new cancer drugs fail in the latter stages of development, exposing patients who participate in early stage clinical trials to ineffective treatments and wasting valuable resources. In a 2012 review of 253 phase III drug clinical trials for treatment of solid tumors, 62 percent of the studies were unable to verify the expected positive benefit previously observed with the therapy in earlier stage trials. These results suggest that the tools used to assess drug benefit are inadequate for measuring efficacy in the early stages of development, and indicate the need for new methods of evaluating tumors.

The FNIH raised $2.7 million from the private sector to address these issues through a new project called "Advanced metrics and modeling with Volumetric CT for Precision Analysis of Clinical Trial results" (Vol-PACT). This project is the first to use imaging data from multiple completed, pharmaceutical industry-sponsored, phase II/III clinical trials to develop drug response metrics. "Vol-PACT's goal is to identify the optimal method of measuring and assessing tumor burden," said Lawrence Schwartz, MD, the James Picker Professor of Radiology at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), chair of the department of radiology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, and Co-Principal Investigator of Vol-PACT. "While there are general guidelines available for drug development, tumor response criteria are usually based on intuition. With this collaboration, we hope to define a data-driven methodology that more closely correlates tumor burden with patient outcomes." Binsheng Zhao, DSc, professor of radiology (physics) and Director of the Laboratory for Computational Image Analysis in the Department of Radiology at CUMC, will lead the effort to deliver quantitative tumor measurements from all of the clinical trials using lab-developed advanced segmentation and characterization software.

The Vol-PACT project team will analyze the imaging data to measure characteristics of cancer progression and generate potential biomarkers. Since the project has access to multiple completed datasets, the team can rapidly develop robust imaging biomarker criteria and verify their utility in different settings. The project will compare the new biomarkers to the current image analysis standards used for therapies that target specific genes and proteins, as well as those that stimulate immune response. Current methods are unable to predict the efficacy of immunotherapies in many cancer types.

"This work has the potential to improve the accuracy and efficiency of future clinical trials across multiple treatments and cancer types, to accelerate the development of cancer therapies, and improve patient care," said Dr. Schwartz.

The project team, co-led by Geoffrey Oxnard, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, includes experts from the National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as Co-Investigators Mithat Gonen, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Michael Maitland, MD, PhD, of the Inova Center for Personalized Health and the Inova Schar Cancer Institute. To date, four companies have donated imaging and clinical trial data to support Vol-PACT and five companies have committed funding.

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For more information, see the FNIH website.

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, preclinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest faculty medical practices in the Northeast. The campus that Columbia University Medical Center shares with its hospital partner, NewYork-Presbyterian, is now called the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. For more information, visit cumc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org.

NewYork-Presbyterian is one of the nation's most comprehensive healthcare delivery networks, focused on providing innovative and compassionate care to patients in the New York metropolitan area and throughout the globe. In collaboration with two renowned medical school partners, Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, NewYork-Presbyterian is consistently recognized as a leader in medical education, groundbreaking research and clinical innovation.

NewYork-Presbyterian has four major divisions: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is ranked #1 in the New York metropolitan area by U.S. News and World Report and repeatedly named to the magazine's Honor Roll of best hospitals in the nation; NewYork-Presbyterian Regional Hospital Network is comprised of leading hospitals in and around New York and delivers high-quality care to patients throughout the region; NewYork-Presbyterian Physician Services connects medical experts with patients in their communities; and NewYork-Presbyterian Community and Population Health features the hospital's ambulatory care network sites and operations, community

care initiatives and healthcare quality programs, including NewYork Quality Care, established by NewYork-Presbyterian, Weill Cornell and Columbia. NewYork-Presbyterian is one of the largest healthcare providers in the U.S. Each year, nearly 29,000 NewYork-Presbyterian professionals deliver exceptional care to more than 2 million patients.

For more information, visit http://www.nyp.org and find us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health creates and manages alliances with public and private institutions in support of the mission of the National Institutes of Health, the world's premier medical research agency. The Foundation, also known as the FNIH, works with its partners to accelerate biomedical research and strategies against diseases and health concerns in the United States and across the globe. The FNIH organizes and administers research projects; supports education and training of new researchers; organizes educational events and symposia; and administers a series of funds supporting a wide range of health issues. Established by Congress in 1990, the FNIH is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For additional information about the FNIH, visit fnih.org.
By Virendrasingh Ghunawat: "Cambata Aviation has not indulged in any siphoning of funds or diverted its money to tax havens. Instead, massive investment of around Rs 55 crore was done between 2010 and 2013," Nelson Cambata, chairman of Cambata Aviation Pvt Ltd. , told Indiatoday.in in an exclusive interview from Florida, US.

Cambata Aviation, the oldest private ground handling company, is under the Enforcement Directorate's scanner on the allegations of financial irregularities and money laundering activities.

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In August 2016, Cambata Aviation closed its operation and left almost 1,000 employees in the lurch without paying their salaries, provident funds and other dues, running into Rs 110 crore. Subsequently, the Maharashtra government filed a criminal complaint against the company and took action by attaching its properties. In an email interview to Indiatoday.in, the first since he left the country in 2015, Nelson Cambata said the Cambata family and the management team in India did their best to ensure continuance of employment but ran out of funding and cash to do so.

Social activist Anjali Damania, an authorised representative of workers for Cambata Aviation, brushed aside Cambata's clarification. She said, "I have papers which show that Cambata Aviation took their money through various companies and routed it out of the country. I have handed over the documents to Enforcement Directorate and would refrain from giving details till the investigation of ED is complete."

RUNNING INTO POLITICAL HURDLES

The employee union of Cambata Aviation was affiliated to the Shiv Sena. When asked if political parties or politicians played a role in turning a once-successful company into a defunct entity, Cambata said, "Standard relationship with various political parties who were unable to convince workforce/unions to change work practices and other terms to ensure survivalists in this competitive market were the factors".

Sources within the company, however, told Indiatoday.in that whenever Nelson Cambata decided to sell off the company, "Shiv Sena blocked it". Details shared indicate that at least 17 individuals closely linked to the Shiv Sena, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and the Congress were on Cambata's payroll. Nelson Cambata admitted to having Kiran Pawaskar, NCP MLA and former general secretary of Bhartiya Kamgar Sena, on its payrolls till 2012. Bhartiya Kamgar Sena is affiliated to the Shiv Sena.

Cambata claimed, "Pawaskar was paid till 2012 despite numerous attempts to terminate his employment. His employment was terminated in 2014 and he subsequently approached the industrial court for reinstatement. The last time he was on duty was in 1998. The industrial court ruled in Cambata's favour and upheld the termination. From 2010, the total paid employees not reporting to work were reduced by 60 per cent."

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In mid-January 2017, the Mumbai suburban district collector officers sealed the Cambata Building, which houses Eros theatre, weeks after it filed a FIR against Cambata Aviation and Bird Worldwide Flight Service (BWFS) for allegedly refusing to cooperate with government officials who were confiscating its equipment on court orders.

Nelson Cambata defined these actions as political and publicity stunt. He said, "Cambata is a large family with many business concerns and locations worldwide. The Eros theatre building is an "in-trust" property with many Cambata family members being the beneficiaries. (It has) nothing to do with Cambata Aviation. Except for two or three individuals being similar. We believe, and the High Court supports this view, that the attachment of this building was done in haste with no consideration as to the actual ownership etc., of this iconic building. Purely a political and publicity stunt".

WHY CAMBATA AVIATION CLOSED OPERATIONS?

Cambata won the concession tender in 2010 to provide services under a concession agreement with the airport operators in Delhi (GMR) and Mumbai (GVK). The company was third in addition to Air India and Celebi NAS in Mumbai. In Delhi, it was fourth in addition to AI/SATS (a joint venture with Air India and SATS Limited), Celebi and BWFS (Bird Group).

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As a legacy operator for over 40 years, "Cambata's salary structure was more than 40 per cent higher than its competitors". This coupled with bad labour practices made Mumbai a loss-making entity from 2009 and Delhi reasonably profitable but declining nonetheless. Mumbai, since 2009, saw its losses mounting and was supported by Delhi as the latter always had a surplus (Rs 2 crore a month) revenue.

"Repeated attempts to change all restrictive working practices in Mumbai were unsuccessful and where implemented were met with strikes, go-slows, legal cases, intimidation and in some cases physical assault, and affected the company's operations", Cambata said. Cambata Aviation had 30 per cent staff in excess in Mumbai to meet the shortfall due to restrictive labour practices by permanent staff cadre, alleged Cambata. "Delhi profit was steadily declining due to rate reduction and losing business. In September 2013, Delhi was unable to support Mumbai and this is when the real cash troubles started", Cambata said.

Cambata said the company ran out of cash and with no one willing to fund the cost of winding up, it had to stop operations. "Myself, the board and the management did all within our power and resources to ensure Cambata succeeds but unfortunately we were unsuccessful", Cambata said.

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IN SEARCH OF NEW INVESTORS

Even before the company stopped operations, it's board and local management team were searching for investors/purchasers as it was evident that in the current market conditions Cambata as a private-family held company would not survive for long. "There were various interested parties, including BWFS with whom the company had extensive talks during July-September 2015. Unfortunately, this could not reach a final conclusion and Cambata Aviation continued to operate under cash-crunch situation while searching for another investor", Cambata said.

In February 2016, Hyderabad-based Turbo Aviation expressed interest in taking over Cambata Aviation and turning it around into a profit-making operative. This investment was conditional based on the workforce and unions agreeing to a change in terms and conditions more in line with the current industry practice. This not only included salary and benefits but a range of standard efficiency work practices that the competitors were following. "Unfortunately, in May 2016, they were unable to get the concessions required and withdrew their conditional offer", Cambata told Indiatoday.in.

Market sources, however, have a different version of the events and said "the Turbo deal was on right track, but a political party spooked it for its own benefits".

CAMBATA'S STAND ON BWFS

On the allegations of BWFS having political links, Cambata said, "As I am aware, BWFS is a family-owned company with the exception of their international partner, Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) of Hong Kong".

When talks to acquire Cambata broke down in September 2015, BWFS entered a competitive tender process with Mumbai International Airport Limited (GVK) to become the fourth handler in Mumbai. BWFS was awarded the concession in May 2016. With Cambata's financial troubles, BWFS along with the other two ground handlers became the net recipient of customers leaving Cambata. "To earn revenue, excess equipment was leased to both BWFS and Celebi NAS", Cambata admitted.

After July 2015, when it was quite evident that Cambata Aviation would not survive, the company entered into a tentative sale agreement with BWFS and others. It was decided that the company's equipment would be sold off for Rs 22 crore. The loans taken from NBFCs too would be repayed.

The Maharashtra government in January filed an FIR against Cambata Aviation and BWFS, which had leased the former's equipment, for not cooperating with officials to seize the equipment as directed by the court to pay the dues of employees.

Cambata said, "a tahsildar was appointed by the industrial court and following intervention by Damania, all sale/leases were made null and void. Thus, no funds were received. Unfortunately, had this sale progressed, all salary dues till June and may be till July 2016 would have been paid to all Mumbai employees. This process was communicated to both the labour authorities and Damania. Time frame and what funds would now be generated, based on the legal constraints placed on the tahsildar, are unknown."

ALSO READ:

Cambata Aviation to open a can of political worms, ED begins examination

CM asks Cambata Aviation to immediately settle employees dues

FIR against Cambata Aviation, BWFS for non-cooperation

--- ENDS ---
DURHAM, N.C. -- Drought and reduced seasonal flooding of wetlands and farm fields threaten a globally important stopover site for tens of thousands of migratory shorebirds in California's Sacramento Valley, a new Duke University-led study shows.

The researchers' analysis of historical biweekly NASA Landsat satellite images of the valley reveals that flooded habitat near the peak time of spring migration has shrunk by more than twice the size of Washington, D.C. over the last 30 years.

"On average, we're losing an area about four times the size of Central Park each year, during a critical window of time in late March," said Danica Schaffer-Smith, a doctoral student at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, who conducted the study with researchers from the nonprofit Point Blue Conservation Science.

More than half of all shorebird species in the Western hemisphere are now in decline, Schaffer-Smith noted.

The Sacramento Valley site is an internationally important resting and refueling stop for tens of thousands of these wetland-dependent birds traveling along the Pacific Flyway. Some of these species migrate thousands of miles from Argentina to Alaska and back again each year.

"The fact that these highly mobile species are increasingly struggling to find flooded habitat on their migrations is an indicator that our freshwater wetland systems are in trouble," Schaffer-Smith said. "Freshwater is essential for all life. Many other species rely on these same habitats, too."

The Sacramento Valley once supported a huge network of wetlands connected to the San Francisco Bay Delta, but more than 90 percent of them have been drained for agriculture. Analysis of recent satellite images by Schaffer-Smith and her team shows that open water covers just three percent of the landscape during peak migration in April, when the birds urgently need flooded habitat to rest and feed.

This winter's heavy rains are unlikely to reverse these habitat losses.

"One season of plentiful rainfall can't undo the effects of years of habitat destruction and increased water consumption for a growing number of competing uses," she said. "However, most water in California is captured in reservoirs and diverted through a system of canals and ditches, which also makes it possible for us to intentionally manipulate flooded habitat on the landscape."

During the worst of the recent drought years, conservation organizations joined forces to launch BirdReturns, a payment-for-services program that compensated farmers for flooding their fields to provide additional habitat for birds, Schaffer-Smith said. The new study's findings could help guide the future timing and location of such initiatives.

"Years of drought have heightened scrutiny of water use in California to the point that even rice farmers have begun to explore a switch to drip irrigation to conserve water, but these fields provide important habitat where wetlands have been lost," she said.

Schaffer-Smith and her colleagues published their peer-reviewed paper this month in the journal Remote Sensing of Environment. The study is freely available online through May 3, 2017. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034425717300779)

"Satellite imagery can help us get the biggest bang for our buck by targeting conservation initiatives in a specific window of time at key locations," she said. "Landsat is the longest running Earth observation satellite system we have, and free access to this data enables researchers to look at the effects of seasonality, climate cycles, and long-term trends in land-use change."

###

Coauthors of the study are Jennifer J. Swenson, associate professor of the practice of geospatial analysis at Duke's Nicholas School, and Blake Barbaree and Matthew E. Reiter of Point Blue Conservation Science in Petaluma, Calif.

Funding came from a NASA Earth and Science Fellowship (NNX13AQ15H) and a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Award in Geography and Spatial Science (1459226).

CITATION: "Three Decades of Landsat-derived Spring Surface Water Dynamics in an Agricultural Wetland Mosaic; Implications for Migratory Shorebirds," Danica Schaffer-Smith, Jennifer J. Swenson, Blake Barbaree, Matthew E. Reiter. Remote Sensing of Environment, March 14, 2017. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2017.02.016
Observations using ESO's Very Large Telescope have revealed stars forming within powerful outflows of material blasted out from supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies. These are the first confirmed observations of stars forming in this kind of extreme environment. The discovery has many consequences for understanding galaxy properties and evolution. The results are published in the journal Nature.

A UK-led group of European astronomers used the MUSE and X-shooter instruments on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile to study an ongoing collision between two galaxies, known collectively as IRAS F23128-5919, that lie around 600 million light-years from Earth. The group observed the colossal winds of material -- or outflows -- that originate near the supermassive black hole at the heart of the pair's southern galaxy, and have found the first clear evidence that stars are being born within them [1].

Such galactic outflows are driven by the huge energy output from the active and turbulent centres of galaxies. Supermassive black holes lurk in the cores of most galaxies, and when they gobble up matter they also heat the surrounding gas and expel it from the host galaxy in powerful, dense winds [2].

"Astronomers have thought for a while that conditions within these outflows could be right for star formation, but no one has seen it actually happening as it's a very difficult observation," comments team leader Roberto Maiolino from the University of Cambridge. "Our results are exciting because they show unambiguously that stars are being created inside these outflows."

The group set out to study stars in the outflow directly, as well as the gas that surrounds them. By using two of the world-leading VLT spectroscopic instruments, MUSE and X-shooter, they could carry out a very detailed study of the properties of the emitted light to determine its source.

Radiation from young stars is known to cause nearby gas clouds to glow in a particular way. The extreme sensitivity of X-shooter allowed the team to rule out other possible causes of this illumination, including gas shocks or the active nucleus of the galaxy.

The group then made an unmistakable direct detection of an infant stellar population in the outflow [3]. These stars are thought to be less than a few tens of millions of years old, and preliminary analysis suggests that they are hotter and brighter than stars formed in less extreme environments such as the galactic disc.

As further evidence, the astronomers also determined the motion and velocity of these stars. The light from most of the region's stars indicates that they are travelling at very large velocities away from the galaxy centre -- as would make sense for objects caught in a stream of fast-moving material.

Co-author Helen Russell (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK) expands: "The stars that form in the wind close to the galaxy centre might slow down and even start heading back inwards, but the stars that form further out in the flow experience less deceleration and can even fly off out of the galaxy altogether."

The discovery provides new and exciting information that could better our understanding of some astrophysics, including how certain galaxies obtain their shapes [4]; how intergalactic space becomes enriched with heavy elements [5]; and even from where unexplained cosmic infrared background radiation may arise [6].

Maiolino is excited for the future: "If star formation is really occurring in most galactic outflows, as some theories predict, then this would provide a completely new scenario for our understanding of galaxy evolution."

###

Notes

[1] Stars are forming in the outflows at a very rapid rate; the astronomers say that stars totalling around 30 times the mass of the Sun are being created every year. This accounts for over a quarter of the total star formation in the entire merging galaxy system.

[2] The expulsion of gas through galactic outflows leads to a gas-poor environment within the galaxy, which could be why some galaxies cease forming new stars as they age. Although these outflows are most likely to be driven by massive central black holes, it is also possible that the winds are powered by supernovae in a starburst nucleus undergoing vigorous star formation.

[3] This was achieved through the detection of signatures characteristic of young stellar populations and with a velocity pattern consistent with that expected from stars formed at high velocity in the outflow.

[4] Spiral galaxies have an obvious disc structure, with a distended bulge of stars in the centre and surrounded by a diffuse cloud of stars called a halo. Elliptical galaxies are composed mostly of these spheroidal components. Outflow stars that are ejected from the main disc could give rise to these galactic features.

[5] How the space between galaxies -- the intergalactic medium -- becomes enriched with heavy elements is still an open issue, but outflow stars could provide an answer. If they are jettisoned out of the galaxy and then explode as supernovae, the heavy elements they contain could be released into this medium.

[6] Cosmic-infrared background radiation, similar to the more famous cosmic microwave background, is a faint glow in the infrared part of the spectrum that appears to come from all directions in space. Its origin in the near-infrared bands, however, has never been satisfactorily ascertained. A population of outflow stars shot out into intergalactic space may contribute to this light.

More information

This research was presented in a paper entitled "Star formation in a galactic outflow" by Maiolino et al., to appear in the journal Nature on 27 March 2017.

The team is composed of R. Maiolino (Cavendish Laboratory; Kavli Institute for Cosmology, University of Cambridge, UK), H.R. Russell (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK), A.C. Fabian (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK), S. Carniani (Cavendish Laboratory; Kavli Institute for Cosmology, University of Cambridge, UK), R. Gallagher (Cavendish Laboratory; Kavli Institute for Cosmology, University of Cambridge, UK), S. Cazzoli (Departamento de Astrofisica-Centro de Astrobiologia, Madrid, Spain), S. Arribas (Departamento de Astrofisica-Centro de Astrobiologia, Madrid, Spain), F. Belfiore ((Cavendish Laboratory; Kavli Institute for Cosmology, University of Cambridge, UK), E. Bellocchi (Departamento de Astrofisica-Centro de Astrobiologia, Madrid, Spain), L. Colina (Departamento de Astrofisica-Centro de Astrobiologia, Madrid, Spain), G. Cresci (Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Firenze, Italy), W. Ishibashi (Universitat Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland), A. Marconi (Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Firenze, Italy), F. Mannucci (Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Firenze, Italy), E. Oliva (Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Firenze, Italy), and E. Sturm (Max-Planck-Institut fur Extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Germany).

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 in Nature

* Photos of the VLT - http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/category/paranal/

Contacts

Roberto Maiolino

Cavendish Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Cosmology

University of Cambridge, UK

Email: r.maiolino@mrao.cam.ac.uk

Richard Hook

ESO Public Information Officer

Garching bei Munchen, Germany

Tel: +49 89 3200 6655

Cell: +49 151 1537 3591

Email: rhook@eso.org
More than 35 million Americans are trying to quit smoking. Smoking cigarettes causes 480,000 premature deaths each year due mainly to a two-fold risk of cardiovascular disease and a 20-fold risk of lung cancer. In a commentary published in the current issue of the American Journal of Medicine, researchers from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University reassure clinicians and their patients that varenicline, whose brand name is Chantix, is a safe and effective way to achieve smoking cessation and that failure to use this drug has caused preventable heart attacks and deaths from cardiovascular disease.

In 2006, varenicline was approved as a safe and effective means to quit smoking and achieved permanent quit rates of approximately 25 percent. In 2009, however, varenicline received a black box warning by the FDA based on their adverse event reports of neuropsychiatric symptoms like depression and thoughts of suicide.

There were plausible alternative explanations including that nearly half of the subjects had psychiatric histories, 42 percent were taking psychotropic drugs and about 42 percent were suffering from depression. Nonetheless, since then, there has been a 76 percent decline in the number of prescriptions dispensed from a peak of about 2 million in the last quarter of 2007 to about 531,000 in the first quarter of 2014.

In their commentary, the FAU researchers emphasize that, until recently, the totality of randomized evidence on varenicline had been restricted to eight small trials, which did not demonstrate a hazard. The researchers caution that the reliable detection of small to moderate risks and benefits of drug therapies requires cogent data from large-scale randomized trials designed a priori to test the hypothesis.

Such a large randomized trial was recently completed that included both apparently healthy individuals as well as those with severe mental illness. The trial was conducted for 12 weeks on about 8,000 long-term smokers and included equal subgroups of those without as well as with psychiatric disorders. In subjects without psychiatric disorders, those treated with varenicline had less neuropsychiatric symptoms and in subjects without psychiatric disorders there were no increases in these symptoms. Both groups of participants assigned at random to varenicline achieved significantly higher abstinence rates at 12 weeks than those assigned to placebo, nicotine patch or bupropion. Just a few months ago, the FDA removed the black box warning from varenicline.

The commentary was coauthored by Dianna Gaballa, a fourth-year medical student; Joanna Drowos, D.O., M.P.H., an associate professor of integrated medical science and associate chair of the Department of Integrated Medical Science; and Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.P.H., the first Sir Richard Doll Professor and senior academic advisor to the dean, all in FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine.

"The existing totality of evidence suggests an urgent need to increase the use of varenicline in the general population as well as in those with serious mental illness who on average die about 20 years earlier than the general population, in part, because their smoking rates may be as high as 75 percent," said Hennekens.

Quitting smoking significantly reduces risks of cardiovascular disease beginning within a matter of months and reaching the non-smoker status within a few years, even among older adults. For lung and other cancers, however, reductions do not even begin to emerge for years after quitting and, even after 10 years, quitters achieve death rates only about midway between the continuing smoker and non-smoker.

"For reducing risks of cardiovascular disease it's never too late to quit, but to reduce risks of cancer, it's never too early," said Hennekens.

The authors speculate that if use of varenicline had not plummeted by 76 percent following the black box warning in 2009, perhaps 17,000 premature deaths from cardiovascular disease may have been avoided each year during the last few years. Public health efforts and effective cessation treatments including behavioral counseling and medication have resulted in a 14 percent decrease in smoking in the U.S. while the rates are markedly increasing in developing countries.

###

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading killer among men and women causing approximately 600,000 deaths each year.

Among the numerous honors and recognitions Hennekens has received include the Ochsner Award for reducing premature deaths from cigarettes in 2014. From 1995 to 2005, Science Watch ranked him as the third most widely cited medical researcher in the world and five of the top 20 were his former trainees and/or fellows. In 2012, Science Heroes ranked Hennekens No. 81 in the history of the world for having saved more than 1.1 million lives. In 2016, he was ranked the No. 14 "Top Scientist in the World" with an H-index of 173.

About the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine:

FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine is one of 145 accredited medical schools in the U.S. The college was launched in 2010, when the Florida Board of Governors made a landmark decision authorizing FAU to award the M.D. degree. After receiving approval from the Florida legislature and the governor, it became the 134th allopathic medical school in North America. With more than 70 full and part-time faculty and more than 1,300 affiliate faculty, the college matriculates 64 medical students each year and has been nationally recognized for its innovative curriculum. To further FAU's commitment to increase much needed medical residency positions in Palm Beach County and to ensure that the region will continue to have an adequate and well-trained physician workforce, the FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Consortium for Graduate Medical Education (GME) was formed in fall 2011 with five leading hospitals in Palm Beach County. In June 2014, FAU's College of Medicine welcomed its inaugural class of 36 residents in its first University-sponsored residency in internal medicine.

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--March 20, 2017 -- Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes discovered a key mechanism that protects mice from developing a human disease of aging, and begins to explain the wide spectrum of disease severity often seen in humans. Both aspects center on the critical role of telomeres, protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that erode with age.

Erosion of telomeres has long been associated with diseases of aging, but how telomere length affects human disease has remained largely a mystery. Now, scientists find that shortening telomeres in mice carrying a human genetic mutation linked to heart disease results in a deadly buildup of calcium in heart valves and vessels. This innovative model allows the researchers to test viable new drugs for this disease, and it provides a potential solution to studying other human disorders of aging in mice.

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) causes calcium to accumulate in heart valves and vessels until they harden like bone. It can only be treated by replacing the valve through heart surgery and is the third leading cause of heart disease, affecting three percent of adults over the age of 75. CAVD develops with age, and it can be caused by a mutation in one of two copies of the NOTCH1 gene.

Humans typically have two copies of each gene. When one copy is lost, the remaining gene may not produce enough of its protein to sustain normal function. While reducing protein levels by half often causes disease in humans, mice with the same change are frequently protected from disease, but scientists have been unsure why. In the new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the Gladstone scientists linked telomere length to risk for or resistance to these types of diseases. Laboratory mice have naturally longer telomeres than humans, which the researchers now think protects them from age-related genetic conditions, such as CAVD.

"Our findings reveal a critical role for telomere length in a mouse model of age-dependent human disease," said first author Christina Theodoris, an MD/PhD student in the laboratory of Deepak Srivastava, MD. "This model provides a unique opportunity to dissect the mechanisms by which telomeres affect age-dependent disease and also a system to test novel therapeutics for aortic valve disease."

The researchers, who previously identified NOTCH1 as a genetic culprit in human CAVD, created mice that had shorter telomeres and were also missing one copy of the NOTCH1 gene, since mutation of NOTCH1 alone failed to induce valve disease in mice. Remarkably, mice with both shorter telomeres and the NOTCH1 mutation showed all the cardiac abnormalities seen in humans, including the disease-defining calcification of the aortic valve. Mice with the shortest telomeres had the greatest heart damage, with some even showing signs of valve disease as newborns. The scientists think that telomere length affects disease severity by changing gene expression in pathways implicated in CAVD, such as anti-inflammatory and anti-calcifications pathways.

Previous studies found that patients with valve calcification have shorter telomeres than healthy individuals of the same age. Additionally, some patients who have the NOTCH1 mutation develop CAVD in their 50s, while others are born with deadly valve abnormalities. Based on the new findings, the researchers suspect telomere length explains the variations in disease severity.

"Historically, we have had trouble modeling human diseases caused by mutation of just one copy of a gene in mice, which impedes research on complex conditions and limits our discovery of therapeutics," explained Srivastava, director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease and senior author on the study. "Progressive shortening of longer telomeres that are protective in mice not only reproduced the clinical disease caused by NOTCH1 mutation, it also recapitulated the spectrum of disease severity we see in humans."

Prior research by Helen Blau, PhD, and Foteini Mourkioti, PhD, of Stanford University--who were co-authors on the current study--demonstrated that shortening telomeres in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy also elicited a more human-like disease, raising the possibility that telomere length may be protective for many disease-causing mutations.

The researchers plan to use the mouse models of CAVD to test several potential drug therapies they identified, in the hopes of discovering the first medical treatment for the disease.

###

Other Gladstone scientists on the study include Yu Huang, Sanjeev Ranade, and Lei Liu. Researchers from Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania also took part in the study.

Funding was provided by The Roddenberry Foundation, Younger Family Fund, L.K. Whittier Foundation, The Winslow Family Foundation, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institute on Aging, California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, and the American Heart Association.

About the Gladstone Institutes

To ensure our work does the greatest good, the Gladstone Institutes focuses on conditions with profound medical, economic, and social impact--unsolved diseases of the brain, the heart, and the immune system. Affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco, Gladstone is an independent, nonprofit life science research organization that uses visionary science and technology to overcome disease.
A report published in Teaching and Learning in Medicine highlights effective methods for teaching medical students about the importance of responsible social media use as it relates to their careers

WASHINGTON (March 27, 2017)--Researchers at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences found a majority of first-year medical students changed their online behavior after participating in a social media and professionalism course. The study results show that a formal education on responsible social media use is beneficial to medical students as they develop professional habits that are inclusive of social media, and look to avoid behavior that would be detrimental to their careers.

The study, published in Teaching and Learning in Medicine, includes analysis of social media and professionalism courses hosted in 2012-2014. A six-month follow-up survey found 94 percent of students reported increased awareness of their social media behavior as it relates to their careers and 64 percent made changes to their social media behavior as a result of the session.

The course was designed and led by Alexandra Gomes, M.S.L.S., M.T., associate director for education, information and technology services, and Gisela Butera, M.L.S., reference librarian, both at Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library at GW, as well as Terry Kind, M.D., M.P.H., assistant dean for clinical education and associate professor of pediatrics, and Katherine Chretien, M.D., assistant dean for student affairs and associate professor of medicine, both at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

During the social media and professionalism course, instructors aim to "empower students to learn how to use social media professionally and responsibly so that they can use it to their greatest advantage," explained Chretien. The course is not meant to dissuade students from using social media, but rather encourages discussion about opportunities and challenges.

"We were able to move past a focus on negative and highlight the positive ways that social media can be used to enhance students' professional lives," said Kind.

The team found that discussion and explanation of professionalism on social media must put emphasis on both negative and positive examples of usage, along with a framework for interpreting the gray areas in between. With the right components in place for a formal session--such as a professional panel--students can better understand how to use their personal social media identities to show their new professional identities. The course is offered to all first-year students at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences as a required part of the curriculum.

###

"The Development and Impact of a Social Media and Professionalism Course for Medical Students," published in Teaching and Learning in Medicine, is available at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10401334.2016.1275971.

Media: To interview Dr. Chretien or Dr. Kind, please contact Lisa Anderson at lisama2@gwu.edu or 202-994-3121.

About the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences:

Founded in 1824, the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) was the first medical school in the nation's capital and is the 11th oldest in the country. Working together in our nation's capital, with integrity and resolve, the GW SMHS is committed to improving the health and well-being of our local, national and global communities. smhs.gwu.edu
Astronomers have used a radio telescope in outback Western Australia to see the halo of a nearby starburst galaxy in unprecedented detail.

A starburst galaxy is a galaxy experiencing a period of intense star formation and this one, known as NGC 253 or the Sculptor Galaxy, is approximately 11.5 million light-years from Earth.

"The Sculptor Galaxy is currently forming stars at a rate of five solar masses each year, which is a many times faster than our own Milky Way," said lead researcher Dr Anna Kapinska, from The University of Western Australia and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Perth.

"This galaxy is famous because it's beautiful and very close to us, and because of what's happening inside it--it's quite extraordinary."

The Sculptor Galaxy has an enormous halo of gas, dust and stars, which had not been observed before at frequencies below 300 MHz. The halo originates from galactic "fountains" caused by star formation in the disk and a super-wind coming from the galaxy's core.

"We're very fortunate to have such a great example of a starburst galaxy in our own cosmic backyard--it's like having a galaxy-sized laboratory on hand to conduct experiments and test our theories," said Dr Kapinska.

The study used data from the 'GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA', or 'GLEAM' survey, which was observed by the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio telescope located in remote Western Australia.

"With the GLEAM survey we were able, for the first time, to see this galaxy in its full glory with unprecedented sensitivity at low radio frequencies," said Dr Kapinska.

"It's remarkable how easily the MWA detected the diffuse halo, we managed it with just an hour of observing as the galaxy passed overhead," she said.

"We could see radio emission from electrons accelerated by supernova explosions spiralling in magnetic fields, and absorption by dense electron-ion plasma clouds --it's absolutely fascinating."

The MWA is a precursor to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope, part of which will be built in Western Australia in the next decade.

Co-author Professor Lister Staveley-Smith, from ICRAR and the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), said the SKA will be the largest radio telescope in the world and will be capable of discovering many new star-forming galaxies when it comes online.

"But before we're ready to conduct a large-scale survey of star-forming and starburst galaxies with the SKA we need to know as much as possible about these galaxies and what triggers their extreme rate of star formation," he said.

"By getting to the bottom of what's causing this galaxy to produce so many stars, we can better understand how other galaxies form, grow and change over time throughout the Universe."

###

More Information:

The MWA: The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a low frequency radio telescope located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia's Mid West. The MWA observes radio waves with frequencies between 70 and 320 MHz and was the first of the three Square Kilometre Array (SKA) precursors to be completed.

The SKA: Co-located primarily in South Africa and Western Australia, the SKA will be a collection of hundreds of thousands of radio antennas with a combined collecting area equivalent to approximately one million square metres, or one square kilometre.

ICRAR: The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, or ICRAR, is a joint venture between Curtin University and The University of Western Australia with support and funding from the State Government of Western Australia.

CAASTRO: CAASTRO is a collaboration of The University of Sydney, The Australian National University, The University of Melbourne, Swinburne University of Technology, The University of Queensland, The University of Western Australia and Curtin University. It is funded under the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence program, with additional funding from the seven participating universities and from the NSW State Government's Science Leveraging Fund.

Multimedia:

High-resolution images (plus captions and credits) are available from http://www.icrar.org/starburst

Contacts:

Dr Anna Kapinska (ICRAR-UWA, CAASTRO)

Ph: +61 474 476 790 E: Anna.Kapinska@icrar.org

Dr Lister Staveley-Smith (ICRAR-UWA, CAASTRO)

Ph: +61 425 212 592 E: Lister.Staveley-Smith@icrar.org

Pete Wheeler (Media Contact, ICRAR)

Ph: +61 423 982 018 E: Pete.Wheeler@icrar.org
In a research effort that merged genetics, physics and information theory, a team at the schools of medicine and engineering at The Johns Hopkins University has added significantly to evidence that large regions of the human genome have built-in variability in reversible epigenetic modifications made to their DNA.

In a report on the research published March 27 in Nature Genetics, the team says the findings also suggest that such epigenetic variability is a major factor in the ability of cancer cells to proliferate, adapt and metastasize.

"These results suggest that biology is not as deterministic as many scientists think," says Andrew Feinberg, M.D., M.P.H., the King Fahd Professor of Medicine, Oncology, and Molecular Biology and Genetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Center for Epigenetics in the Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences. "If so, they could have major implications for how we treat cancer and other aging-related diseases."

Epigenetic modifications, achieved along the genome by the chemical attachment of methyl molecules, or tags, to DNA, are reversible changes that alter which genes are turned on or off in a given cell without actually altering the DNA sequence of the cell. Such changes enable a complex organism, like a human, to have a wide range of different tissues that all still have the exact same genetic template.

However, in some studies with laboratory mice, Feinberg had observed that these epigenetic tags varied considerably among the mice even when comparing the same type of tissue in animals that have been living in the exact same conditions. "These weren't minor differences, and some very important genes were involved," Feinberg says.

Feinberg, who is also a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Public Health at The Johns Hopkins University, suspected that this variation might be an adaptive feature by which built-in epigenetic randomness would give some cells an advantage in rapidly changing environments.

To find out if that was the case, he teamed up with John Goutsias, Ph.D., professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, to find a way to measure this controlled type of randomness, scientifically termed epigenetic stochasticity, by using the information-theoretic concept of Shannon entropy.

Using a mathematical model known as the Ising model, invented to describe phase transitions in statistical physics, such as how a substance changes from liquid to gas, the Johns Hopkins researchers calculated the probability distribution of methylation along the genome in several different human cell types, including normal and cancerous colon, lung and liver cells, as well as brain, skin, blood and embryonic stem cells.

As Goutsias explains, this distribution reflects the chance that a particular region of a genome will be methylated in a population of similar cells. In areas of low randomness, this probability would mostly be 0 or 100 percent, but in areas of high randomness, the numbers would be 50-50 or thereabouts.

The analysis revealed that the human genome is organized into large pieces of low or high epigenetic stochasticity, and that these regions correspond to areas of chromosomes that are structurally different in the cell nucleus. Feinberg thinks that a main function of a cell's nucleus might be to partition the genome to make sure that regions of low or high stochasticity are well-defined.

The other significant finding of the study, says Garrett Jenkinson, Ph.D., assistant research scientist at the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering who carried out much of the analyses, was that this variability goes haywire in cancer cells, which may display significant regional differences in methylation stochasticity compared to normal cells. Based on the evolutionary idea that targeted epigenetic stochasticity can improve adaptation, these observations could explain how cancer cells are good at evading chemotherapy treatments and spreading from one part of the body to another, he adds.

"Researchers have understood the importance of epigenetics in driving cancer growth, but the focus has been trying to reverse epigenetic changes to specific genes," Feinberg says. "We need to readjust and think more broadly about the epigenetic process as a whole." Looking at ways to reverse aberrant changes in variability to make cancer cells more epigenetically controlled should be a target for therapy, he adds.

Earlier this year, Feinberg led a study that considered this view of epigenetics in metastatic pancreatic cancer cells. Using an experimental drug called 6-aminonicotinamide, his group reversed the large-scale epigenetic changes that enabled the tumor cells in mice to metastasize and slow the growth of further tumors.

###

In addition to Goutsias, Feinberg, and Jenkinson, Elisabet Pujadas, a graduate student in the Center for Epigenetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine contributed to this study.

This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01CA054358, DP1ES022579, and AG021334) and National Science Foundation (CCF-1217213 and CCF-1656201).
According to the American Cancer Society, there will be an estimated 1,688,780 new cancer cases diagnosed and 600,920 cancer deaths in the U.S. in 2017.

These numbers are stark and sobering, and worse yet, we still do not know exactly why cancer develops in its victims or how to stop it.

An online publication in Nature Nanotechnology this week by Kent State University researchers and their colleagues at Kyoto University in Japan, however, may offer new understanding about what turns good cells bad.

Hanbin Mao, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and biochemistry in Kent State's College of Arts and Sciences, co-authored a paper with his graduate students, Prakash Shrestha and Sagun Jonchhe, along with four Kyoto University colleagues, titled "Confined Space Facilitates G-quadruplex Formation," which was published March 27 on the esteemed journal's website. The article discusses the genetic factors that influence formation of cancer cells.

"Traditionally, DNA has a two-strand shape -- the double helix -- and its purpose is to code the proteins that form life," Mao said. "But recently, people have discovered that some DNA has four strands, and we call this the G-quadruplex. This is associated with the inhibition of cancer cells."

However, while most G-quadruplex DNA is beneficial, Mao said some strands go bad and such mutations actually will enable cancer cell growth. To understand why this happens, scientists first had to learn why DNA sometimes develops into four-strand structures.

All DNA is generated by enzymes and operates like an assembly line. However, Mao said, there comes a point where DNA makes a decision to form a double helix or a quadruplex. He said most DNA takes the two-strand route simply because it is the easiest path.

Mao said nanometer-sized (one billionth of meter; 25,400,000 nanometers = 1 inch) spaces inside the enzymes are where these formations occur. The inability to mimic these spaces in laboratory settings has prohibited deeper study of the G-quadruplex formation. That is, until now.

With help from chemists and engineers at Kyoto University in Japan, Kent State's Mao and graduate students Shrestha and Jonchhe used "DNA origami" to create a "nano cage." They accomplished this through single-molecule mechanochemical sensing -- a technology Mao's lab developed in 2014. Over the past few years, he has published several studies involving the use of "laser tweezers," a tool that provides the ability to hold micrometer- and nanometer-sized biological materials in place.

That technology allowed Mao to create 6-by-6 nanometer-sized cages, then observe how DNA folded into different shapes inside the space.

"It's easier for the DNA to fold inside the cage," he said. "It folds to adapt to the small space, and here DNA naturally folds into the G-quadruplex."

He said the process occurs two to three orders of magnitude faster inside the cage than out, folding 100,000 per second -- a speed that makes forming G-quadruplex as fast and easy as forming a double helix.

"With that observation, we may follow the fate of the cell to be cancerous or healthy," he said. "So we can perhaps learn how to introduce molecules or chemicals to interfere with that process."

He said scientists can use ligands -- bonded molecules -- to facilitate this effect with greater potency, thereby reducing the likelihood that cancer cells will form.

"We can prevent or better treat cancer by stabilizing G-quadruplex structures," Mao said.

###

For more information about Kent State's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, visit http://www.kent.edu/chemistry.

For more information about research at Kent State, visit http://www.kent.edu/research.

Media Contacts:

Dan Pompili, dpompili@kent.edu, 330-672-0731

Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Total Joint Center at The Miriam Hospital has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement. The certification recognizes the Total Joint Center's quality, consistency and safety of services and patient care set by The Joint Commission.

The Total Joint Center is the only such program in the state and among only three in New England to earn the advanced designation.

"This advanced Joint Commission certification is recognition of The Miriam Hospital's team approach to ensuring patients have the best possible outcome. This is achieved by providing safe, state-of-the-art care, starting prior to surgery and through the rehabilitative process," said John A. Froehlich, M.D., program director of the Total Joint Center.

Earlier this month, The Miriam Hospital underwent a rigorous onsite review by the Joint Commission to become one of only 32 advanced total hip and knee centers in the country. Joint Commission experts evaluated compliance with advanced disease-specific care standards and total hip and total knee replacement requirements, including orthopedic consultation, and pre-operative, intraoperative and post-surgical orthopedic surgeon follow-up care.

A program of Lifespan's Orthopedics Institute, The Total Joint Center at the Miriam Hospital is the region's highest volume joint replacement program with clinical and quality outcomes that rank among the best in the nation. Medical and surgical services at the Total Joint Center are provided in a personalized, caring environment and all services focus on the patient experience from initial consultation through recovery. More than 1600 joint procedures were performed in 2016.

###

About The Miriam Hospital

The Miriam Hospital is a 247-bed, not-for-profit teaching hospital affiliated with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. It offers expertise in cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, men's health, and minimally invasive surgery and is home to the state's first Joint Commission-certified Stroke Center and robotic surgery program. The hospital, which received more than $23 million in external research funding last year, is nationally known for its HIV/AIDS and behavioral and preventive medicine research, including weight control, physical activity and smoking cessation. Named 2015-16 best regional hospital in Rhode Island and the Providence metro area by U.S. News & World Report, The Miriam Hospital has been awarded Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Services five times and is a founding member of the Lifespan health system. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@MiriamHospital) and Pinterest.
According to a theoretical model developed by physicists of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich, in cell protrusions, cargo-transporting motor proteins often get in each other's way. The upshot is that freely diffusing proteins reach the leading edge faster.

Summertime, school's out - and holidaymakers pile into their cars and make a beeline for the nearest highway. The increased volume of traffic on the motorways at such times regularly results in a plethora of traffic jams and slow-go conditions. Mathematical simulations of the transport of cargo in localized cell protrusions by motor proteins suggest that a very similar phenomenon takes place in living cells. In a new paper which appears in the journal Physical Review Letters, LMU Professor Erwin Frey and Isabella Graf describe the development of a theoretical model, which indicates that the most effective way for proteins to reach their destinations in narrow protrusion is to diffuse most of the way and "hop on the bus" (i.e. attach to a motor protein) a short distance from their goal.

Cells produce thin spike-like protrusions called filopodia or microvilli by recruiting subunits to polymerizing actin filaments in localized regions immediately under the plasma membrane. The growing filaments interact with cross-linking proteins to form stiff bundles that push the cell membrane outwards and stabilize the extending projection. Such protrusions are involved in cell migration, wound healing or intercellular signaling processes, and form characteristic "brush borders" on the apical surfaces of intestinal epithelia. Depending on the functions of these projections, specific proteins must be conveyed to their tips. This process can be accomplished by passive diffusion in the cytoplasm surrounding the filaments or by active transport mediated by specialized, cargo-binding motor proteins. These motors attach to and "walk" along the subunits of the directionally polarized actin filaments, bearing their cargo toward the tips of the protrusions. "One would naively assume that the directed transport system would get the proteins there much faster than free diffusion," says Isabella Graf. "But we have now used a mathematical model to simulate and analyze the interplay between active and diffusive transport in cell protrusions, which represent a semi-closed system - open at the base, closed at the tip. - And to our surprise we found that diffusive transport is actually the more efficient mode of transport."

Simulations based on the model, which incorporates dynamic attachment and detachment of motor proteins from, and stepwise directional movement along the filaments, reveal that rates of directed, active transport within protrusions are significantly reduced by steric hindrance between the motor proteins on the filaments. Since they can neither hop over those ahead of them nor occupy the same space, correlations emerge between them, such that they no longer behave independently. The result of this correlated behavior is traffic congestion - just like that seen on a busy highway - and progress towards the tip is drastically slowed down.

The mathematical model developed by the authors takes both the density of the motor proteins and their mutual interference into account, and accurately reflects the transport dynamics along the actin filaments. Based on the results of their simulations, the authors conclude that proteins that take the diffusive option get to the tip faster, but may actually make use of the filament system for the last stretch of the journey. "Provided the tailback is not too long, it may actually have a positive effect in the vicinity of the tip," says Graf. "Because the rate of advance is slow, motor proteins spend more time in this region than they otherwise would, and their cargoes therefore have more time to perform their function." In addition, the model suggests that it would be biologically beneficial if the detachment rate near the tip of the filament were higher than elsewhere, as this would reduce the length of the tailback, while simultaneously favoring accumulation of the motor proteins at the tip.

###
Separated at Birth?

More mystifying than the BJP's choice of Yogi Adityanath as the face for development in UP is the Twittersphere's insistence that he resembles Vin Diesel. Twitter reactions to Adityanath's appointment were either anguished or, in much larger numbers, celebratory. Even sober, analytical media commentators gave rein to triumphalism. "The rest is noise," said one sniffily. Yes, well, democracy is mostly noise, isn't it? But enough about the politics. Twitter soon reverted to puerile type too, moving on to mark the supposed resemblance between the diminutive yogi and the action movie star. Yes, they're both bald. But not sure Yogi Adityanath would appreciate being described as 'beefy'.

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Strange Fruit

With the Dutch and Turks both going to the polls, politicians on both sides found an opportunity to grandstand when two Turkish ministers were prevented by Dutch authorities from attending rallies in the Netherlands to drum up support among the sizeable Turkish population. In Holland, the extreme anti-immigration right wing, like in the rest of Europe, is enjoying a newfound currency. Geert Wilders, who has created a political career out of trash-talking Muslims, and Recep Erdogan, the authoritarian Turkish president, took the opportunity to fan the flames in their respective countries. Funniest reaction, though, goes to the angry-looking Turkish men who flooded social media with pictures of them stabbing oranges and beheading tulips.

No Hard Feelings

And back to UP. While the election rhetoric might have got personal (remember Akhilesh's donkeys of Gujarat crack?), erstwhile rivals came over all chummy at Yogi Adityanath's swearing-in ceremony. The prime minister greeted Mulayam Singh Yadav with a big smile and handshake, as he did Akhilesh Yadav. Narendra Modi even seemed to play peacemaker, holding son and father's hands awkwardly together. But while Yadavs senior and junior had warm smiles for Modi, Akhilesh couldn't quite bring himself to look his father in the eye. Of course, the video went viral.

--- ENDS ---
The first non-destructive morphological observations of the fleshy brittle star, Asteronyx loveni, using micro-computed tomography

Not only have scientists from Japan performed the first non-destructive morphological observations on the Fleshy brittle star, Asteronyx loveni, using micro X-ray tomography, but they also published their research as the first study supported via crowdfunding in the Asian country.

The team leader, Dr. Masanori Okanishi, Ibaraki University, managed to raise part of the funds via Japan's pioneering crowd-funding platform academist. The study by Dr. Masanori Okanishi, Dr. Toshihiko Fujita, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba, Yu Maekawa and Dr. Takenori Sasaki, University of Tokyo, is now openly available in the open access journal ZooKeys.

While taxonomy is generally considered as "minor" and "basic" discipline within biology, it could be extremely strenuous for taxonomists to apply for and receive funding. Thus, Dr. Okanishi jumped to the conclusion that his planned study might have a go via crowdfunding instead.

Dr. Okanishi approached academist in April 2014, when he was a Postdoctoral researcher at Kyoto University. Titled "Taxonomy of bathyal euryalid ophiuroids", it was not long before his research project successfully raised 634,500 JPY (ca. 5,600$).

Having already stumbled across several undescribed species of the brittle star genus Asteronyx, the scientists directed the raised funds towards the genetic and morphological analysis of Asteronyx loveni.

As suggested by its common name, the fleshy brittle star (Asteronyx loveni) is covered by thick skin, making it particularly difficult for scientists to observe the body in detail without dissolving the skin. However, modern computed tomography with micrometer resolution allowed for the 3D images of skeletal ossicles and soft tissues to be constructed with no physical intervention whatsoever.

"The present case indicates that crowdfunding will increase the chances to finance the funds for researchers in those disciplines and activate the research area," conclude the authors.

The newly discovered brittle star species are yet to be published.

###

Original source:

Okanishi M, Fujita T, Maekawa Y, Sasaki T (2017) Non-destructive morphological observations of the fleshy brittle star, Asteronyx loveni using micro-computed tomography (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea, Euryalida). ZooKeys 663: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.663.11413

Additional information:

About the academist:

academist Inc. is a pioneering academic crowd-funding platform in Japan, treating disciplines of natural, art and social sciences etc., established in 2014. At present, more than 35 projects have already received a total of about 40,000,000 JPY (ca. 357,000$). For more information, visit the website at https://academist-cf.com/

Additional contacts:

Ryosuke Shibato (CEO, academist Inc.)

Contact Phone: 080-5505-8625

Contact E-mail: rshibato@academist.jp

Kazuki Yamazaki (PR Officer, Ibaraki University)

Contact Phone: +81 29-228-8808

Contact E-mail: koho-prg@ml.ibaraki.ac.jp
Recently, Prof. Jian Wang in collaboration with Prof. Jian Wei, Prof. Xiong-Jun Liu, Prof. Shuang Jia at Peking University and Prof. Yong Wang at Zhejiang University, discovered tip induced unconventional superconductivity by hard point contact on Weyl semimetal TaAs crystals, which might be topological non-trivial. Topological superconductors have attracted great attention for their ability to host Majorana zero modes, which could be used in topological quantum computation. Therefore, the present discovery not only opens a new route in investigating the novel superconducting states based on Weyl materials, but also demonstrates a new method to induce potential topological superconductivity by hard point contact modulation on non-superconducting topological materials.

This work has been published in Science Bulletin 2017(6) issue with the title of "Discovery of tip induced unconventional superconductivity on Weyl semimetal". Prof. Jian Wang, Prof. Jian Wei and Prof. Xiong-Jun Liu are corresponding authors of this paper. He Wang, Huichao Wang and Yuqin Chen contributed equally to this work. Jiawei Luo helped in point contact measurements. The TaAs samples were grown by Zhujun Yuan and Prof. Shuang Jia. The tunneling electron microscopy (TEM) study of TaAs showing atomic structures was carried out by Jun Liu and Prof. Yong Wang.

Topological superconductors show superconducting gap in bulk state but support gapless Majorana fermions or Majorana zero modes in the boundary, of which the Majoran zero modes obey non-abelian statistics and can be applied to topological quantum computation and to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer. Scientists have been mainly searching for topological superconductors by superconducting proximity effect in hybrid structure of superconductor-topological material or superconductor-spin orbit coupled material. In 2016, Prof. Jian Wang in collaboration with Prof. Jian Wei, Prof. Xiong-Jun Liu, Prof. X. C. Xie and Prof. Shuang Jia at Peking University, reported unconventional superconductivity induced by hard point contact on 3D Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 crystals (Nature Materials 15, 38 (2016)). The results reveal a new way to detect and study potential topological superconductivity by using hard tip/point contact on topological non-trivial materials, which is different from the prevailing proximity effect method for realizing topological superconductivity and Majorana fermions.

Weyl fermion, the long pursued massless Dirac fermion with definite chirality, has been realized as low-energy excitation around Weyl point in Weyl semimetal, which possesses Weyl fermion cones in the bulk and nontrivial Fermi arc states on the surface. Being of topological Fermi surfaces, Weyl semimetals could be natural candidates for the realization of topological superconductors if superconductivity can be induced. Recently, Prof. Jian Wang and collaborators reported the discovery of PtIr tip induced unconventional superconductivity on non-superconducting Weyl semimetal TaAs single crystals. The point contact spectroscopy exhibits zero bias conductance peak and double conductance peaks as well as double conductance dips, which reveal the characteristics of unconventional superconductivity. Furthermore, the control experiments show that the W tip can also induce superconductivity but the relatively soft Au tip cannot induce superconductivity on TaAs crystals. It means the local "uniaxial" pressure and doping effect etc around point contact region are important to the appearance of superconductivity. Theoretical study further suggests that the induced superconductivity on TaAs may have nontrivial topology. Thus, this work demonstrates an effective method to detect and study topological superconductivity by using hard tip point contact on non-superconducting topological Weyl semimetals.

Prof. Jian Wang, Prof. Jian Wei, Prof. Ji Feng and Prof. Xiong-Jun Liu etc also previously studied Au2Pb superconductor by hard point contact measurements (npj Quantum Materials 1, 16005 (2016)). When "soft" Au tip is used, the superconducting transition temperature obtained by point contact spectroscopy is same with the result obtained by standard four-electrode measurement. However, when "hard" W tip is used, the superconducting transition temperature obtained by point contact spectroscopy is significantly enhanced. These results further demonstrate that the point contact measurement technique is reliable to induce and detect superconductivity and could become a universal method to realize novel superconductivity on topological non-trivial materials.

Point contact measurement was previously considered in a few cases to study superconducting materials. The present work reports the developed technique to induce superconductivity on non-superconducting topological materials by using non-superconducting tip (hard point contact), different from previous point contact experiments, where the samples are superconductors themselves. Therefore, the present discovery may motivate more investigations to fully reveal the topological superconductivity induced by hard tip on topological materials.

###

This work was financially supported by National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB934600, 2012CB927400, 2012CB921300, and 2016YFA0301604), the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (RFDP) of China, the Open Project Program of the Pulsed High Magnetic Field Facility (PHMFF2015002), Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Open Research Fund Program of the State Key Laboratory of LowDimensional Quantum Physics, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11474008 and 11574008).

See the article:

He Wang, Huichao Wang, Yuqin Chen, Jiawei Luo, Zhujun Yuan, Jun Liu, Yong Wang, Shuang Jia, Xiong-Jun Liu, Jian Wei, Jian Wang. Discovery of tip induced unconventional superconductivity on Weyl semimetal, Science Bulletin 2017, 62(6)425-430

doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2017.02.009

Science China Press

http://www.scichina.com/
JUPITER, FL - March 27, 2017 - Scientists may have found a new tool for studying--and maybe even treating--Type 2 diabetes, the form of diabetes considered responsible for close to 95 percent of cases in the United States.

A team of scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School and the Yale University School of Medicine, among others, have identified a new class of compounds that reduce production of glucose in the liver. One of these compounds, designed and optimized by TSRI scientists, significantly improves the health of diabetic animal models by reducing glucose levels in the blood, increasing insulin sensitivity and improving glucose balance.

The study, published recently in the journal Cell, was led by Pere Puigsever of Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and included Patrick Griffin, co-chair of the TSRI Department of Molecular Medicine, and Theodore Kamenecka, TSRI Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine.

The compound they identified, called SR-18292, modifies a protein known as PGC-1. This protein plays a pivotal role in energy balance and helps control genes involved in energy metabolism. When cells overexpress PGC-1, during fasting or starvation, for example, glucose production in the liver soars. But when scientists modify PGC-1 function through a process called acetylation, glucose production declines.

"This protein was generally considered non-druggable," said Griffin. "But the team approached the problem through the process of acetylation, which means we can influence the protein's behavior indirectly. SR-18292 increases acetylation of PGC-1, which in turn shuts down glucose production in liver cells."

Suppressing this overproduction makes PGC-1a target ripe for exploitation in anti-diabetes treatments.

"After the screening process found several potential candidates, the TSRI team designed derivatives of those initial hits," Griffin said. "We selected this compound based on its ability to induce acetylation and the fact that it had good pharmaceutical properties-so we could use it in animal models of Type 2 diabetes."

While it isn't known at this point what protein or enzyme is directly targeted by SR-18292, Griffin explained, this new compound, plus several others we've made, can be used as chemical tools to study the regulation of glucose metabolism. The researchers added that these same small molecules could one day be developed as either a single agent to treat diabetes, or used in combination with current anti-diabetic drugs.

###

The first author of the study, "Small Molecule Screen Identifies Selective PGC-1 Gluconeogenic Inhibitors that Ameliorate Type 2 Diabetes," is Kfir Sharabi of Dana-Farber and Harvard Medical School. Other authors include Hua Lin of TSRI; Clint D. J. Tavares, John E. Dominy and Amy K. Rines of Dana-Farber and Harvard Medical School; Mark P. Jedrychowski and Steve P. Gygi of Harvard Medical School; Joao Paulo Camporez and Rachel J. Perry of Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Yale University; Jaemin Lee and Umut Ozcan of Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School; Marc Hickey, Melissa Bennion, Michelle Palmer, Partha P. Nag, Josh A. Bittker and Jose Perez of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants F32 DK102293-01, U54HG005032, R24DK080261, R01DK-409369, 2U2CDK059635, R03DA032468 and R01 DK069966), the American Heart Association (15POST22880002) and the American Diabetes Association (1-16-PDF-111 and 7-12-MN-68). About The Scripps Research Institute

The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is one of the world's largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. TSRI is internationally recognized for its contributions to science and health, including its role in laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, and other diseases. An institution that evolved from the Scripps Metabolic Clinic founded by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in 1924, the institute now employs more than 2,500 people on its campuses in La Jolla, CA, and Jupiter, FL, where its renowned scientists--including two Nobel laureates and 20 members of the National Academies of Science, Engineering or Medicine--work toward their next discoveries. The institute's graduate program, which awards PhD degrees in biology and chemistry, ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. In October 2016, TSRI announced a strategic affiliation with the California Institute for Biomedical Research (Calibr), representing a renewed commitment to the discovery and development of new medicines to address unmet medical needs. For more information, see http://www.scripps.edu.
How does type 2 diabetes develop? A team of researchers headed by the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and the Technical University of Munich has come closer to finding an answer to this problem. The team examined the functional effects of exemplary genetic variations relevant for type 2 diabetes. Their approach can be applied to many clinical pictures.

The risk of complex diseases such as type 2 diabetes increases by changes in our genetic makeup -- our DNA. One contributing factor in the development of diseases are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), which scientists call 'snips' for short. SNPs are variations of a single base pair occuring in a DNA molecule, but the modulated mechanisms remain elusive in most cases.

It is known that some of these risk SNPs influence the regulation of genes. Furthermore, it is also known that special proteins control gene regulation. Risk SNPs probably influence how these proteins or protein complexes bind to DNA. "So far scientists have only rarely succeeded in detecting a differential binding of gene-regulating protein complexes at disease-specific SNPs," explained Dr Helmut Laumen of the Clinical Cooperation Group (CCG) Nutrigenomics and Type 2 Diabetes and the Department of Pediatric Nutritional Medicine at the Technical University of Munich. The CCG is a cooperation project between the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen (Institute for Epidemiology 2) and the Technical University of Munich (Else Kroner-Fresenius Center for Nutritional Medicine, EKFZ).

"It would be particularly interesting to learn more about the different involved proteins that have a strong influence on gene regulation," said Laumen. A team from the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and TUM performed a closer analysis of these mechanisms influenced by SNPs and published a study on the topic in Nucleic Acids Research.

Gap closed between genetic variations and an understanding of their function

The team has successfully used highly sensitive mass spectrometric methods to identify previously unknown proteins and protein complexes, whose binding to DNA is influenced by SNPs. "Here we could close the gaps that exist today between genetic variations and an understanding of their functional effect on the organism," explained Dr Stefanie Hauck, head of the Research Unit Protein Science and Core Facility Proteomics at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen.

"Concretely, we apply these methods to SNPs that are relevant to type 2 diabetes and to age-related macular degeneration (AMD)," said Hauck. "In the future, the method will make it possible to identify functionally relevant proteins for all disease-associated SNPs, in order to uncover the mechanisms behind a clinical picture." An exact understanding of the molecular mechanisms that are modulated by regulatory SNPs can contribute to further development of personalized medicine.

###

Further information

Participating in the work were the Protein Science Research Unit and Proteomics Core Facility (Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen), the Nutrigenomics and Type 2 Diabetes Clinical Cooperation Group (Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, Technical University of Munich) and the Else Kroner-Fresenius-Center for Nutritional Medicine (Technical University of Munich, Clinical Nutritional Medicine, Paediatric Nutritional Medicine).

Publication: Allele-specific quantitative proteomics unravels molecular mechanisms modulated by cis-regulatory PPARG locus variation. Nucleic Acids Research, DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx105 Verlinken mit: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkx105

Contact:

Technical University of Munich

Chair for Paediatric Nutritional Medicine

Dr. Helmut Laumen

Phone: 0049-8161-71-2467

Mail: helmut.laumen@tum.de

Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen

Research Unit Protein Science

Dr. Stefanie Hauck

Ph.: 0049-89-3187-3941

Mail: hauck@helmholtz-muenchen.de

Technical University of Munich (TUM) is one of Europe's leading research universities, with more than 500 professors, around 10,000 academic and non-academic staff, and 40,000 students. Its focus areas are the engineering sciences, natural sciences, life sciences and medicine, combined with economic and social sciences. TUM acts as an entrepreneurial university that promotes talents and creates value for society. In that it profits from having strong partners in science and industry. It is represented worldwide with a campus in Singapore as well as offices in Beijing, Brussels, Cairo, Mumbai, San Francisco, and Sao Paulo. Nobel Prize winners and inventors such as Rudolf Diesel, Carl von Linde, and Rudolf Mobauer have done research at TUM. In 2006 and 2012 it won recognition as a German "Excellence University." In international rankings, TUM regularly places among the best universities in Germany.

The Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, as the German Research Center for Environmental Health, pursues the objective of developing personalized medicine for the diagnosis, therapy and prevention of widespread diseases such as diabetes mellitus and lung diseases. To this end, it investigates the interactions of genetics, environmental factors and lifestyle. The Zentrum's headquarters is located in Neuherberg in the north of Munich. The Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen employs around 2,300 people and is a member of the Helmholtz Association, which has 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centres with around 37,000 employees.
As Africa gears up for a tripling of electricity demand by 2030, a new Berkeley study maps out a viable strategy for developing wind and solar power while simultaneously reducing the continent's reliance on fossil fuels and lowering power plant construction costs.

Using resource mapping tools, a University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory team assessed the potential for large solar and wind farms in 21 countries in the southern and eastern African power pools, which includes more than half of Africa's population, stretching from Libya and Egypt in the north and along the eastern coast to South Africa.

They concluded that with the right strategy for placing solar and wind farms, and with international sharing of power, most African nations could lower the number of conventional power plants - fossil fuel and hydroelectric - they need to build, thereby reducing their infrastructure costs by perhaps billions of dollars.

"The big surprising find is that the wind and solar resources in Africa are absolutely gigantic, and something you could tap into for relatively low cost," said senior author Duncan Callaway, a UC Berkeley associate professor of energy and resources and a faculty scientist at Bekeley Lab. "But we need to be thinking now about strategies for fostering international collaboration to tap into the resource in a way that is going to maximize its potential while minimizing its impact."

The main issue, Callaway says, is that energy-generating resources are not spread equally thoughout Africa. Hydroelectric power is the main power source for one-third of African nations, but it is not available in all countries, and climate change makes it an uncertain resource because of more frequent droughts. The best areas for wind and solar are not equitably distributed either, and many argue that wind and solar are too erratic and undependable.

Based on the team's analysis, however, choosing wind sites to match the timing of wind generation with electricity demand is less costly overall than choosing sites with the greatest wind energy production. Assuming adequate transmission lines, strategies that take into account the timing of wind generation result in a more even distribution of wind capacity across countries than those that maximize energy production.

Importantly, the researchers say, both energy trade and siting to match generation with demand reduces the system costs of developing wind sites that are low impact, that is, closer to existing transmission lines, closer to areas where electricity would be consumed and in areas with preexisting human activity as opposed to pristine areas.

"If you take the strategy of siting all of these systems such that their total production correlates well with electricity demand, then you save hundreds of millions to billions of dollars per year versus the cost of electricity infrastructure dominated by coal-fired plants or hydro," Callaway said. "You also get a more equitable distribution of generation sources across these countries."

"Together, international energy trade and strategic siting can enable African countries to pursue 'no-regrets' wind and solar potential that can compete with conventional generation technologies like coal and hydropower," emphasized UC Berkeley graduate student Grace Wu, who conducted the study with fellow graduate student Ranjit Deshmukh. Wu and Deshmukh are the lead authors of the study.

The study will appear online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Charting Africa's energy future

The team set out to tackle a key question for electricity planners in Africa and the international development community, which helps fund such projects: How should these countries allocate their precious and limited investment dollars to most effectively address electricity and climate challenges in the coming decades? The fear, Callaway said, is that reliance on traditional hydro and fossil fuel - mostly coal - power plants will push out more environmentally friendly renewable sources in the future.

Wu and Deshmukh gathered previously unavailable information on the annual solar and wind resources in 21 countries in eastern and southern Africa, and hourly estimates of wind speeds for nine countries south of the Sahara Desert.

They developed an energy resource mapping framework, which they call Multi-criteria Analysis for Planning Renewable Energy, or MapRE, to identify and characterize potential wind and solar projects. They then modeled various scenarios for siting wind power and examined additional system costs from hydro and fossil fuels.

The team concluded that even after excluding solar and wind farms from areas that are too remote or too close to sensitive environmental or cultural sites -- what they term "no-regret" sites - there is more than enough land in this part of Africa to produce renewable power to meet the rising demand, if fossil fuel and/or hydroelectric power are in the mix to even out the load. Nevertheless, choosing only the most productive sites for development - the windiest and sunniest - would leave some countries with little low-cost local renewable energy generation.

If, however, countries can agree to share power and build the transmission lines to make that happen, all countries could develop sites that are low-cost and accessible, and have low environmental impact, while reducing the number of new hydro or fossil fuel plants that need to be built.

Callaway says that a few countries already share power, such as South Africa with Mozambique and Zimbabwe, but that more countries will need to broker the agreements and build the transmission lines to allow this. International transmission lines are being planned, but primarily to share hydropower resources located in a handful of countries. These transmission plans need to incorporate sharing of wind and solar in order to help them be competitive generation technologies in Africa, he said.

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Other co-authors are Daniel Kammen, a UC Berkeley professor of energy and resources, Jessica Reilly-Moman and Amol Phadke of the International Energy Studies Group at Berkeley Lab, Kudakwashe Ndhlukula of the Southern Africa Development Community Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the Namibia University of Science and Technology in Windhoek, and Tijana Radojicic of the International Renewable Energy Agency in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The International Renewable Energy Agency supported much of the initial research. The National Science Foundation and the Link Foundation supported the expanded analysis on wind siting scenarios.
A pioneering new project, designed to lead an ethical and sustainable international 'mining revolution', has received a multi-million pound funding boost.

The pivotal IMP@CT project, led by geology experts from the Camborne School of Mines, based at the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall, will look to tap into a significant number of small, international metal deposits.

It aims to establish an innovative method of mining - described by the team as "switch on-switch off' mining - to excavate raw materials that play a crucial role in the production of many household and technological goods. This "switch on-switch off" mining will also enable miners to respond rapidly to market demands, and excavate materials that are desired most in any given period.

The project, which features 10 partner organisations from the UK, France, Germany and Finland, is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Dr Kathryn Moore, a lecturer in Critical and Green Technology Metals at the Camborne School of Mines and project lead explained: 'This research is exciting because it has the potential to unlock many small deposits globally, which would ultimately improve the security of supply of materials for manufacturers.

"The project connects the companies creating the necessary technological innovations with academia and a national survey, who will investigate and model the broader step-changes required to roll out the new mining system in a sustainable way.'

At present, mining methods revolve around extracting materials from substantial 'world-class' ore deposits - such as the Lisheen zinc mine in Ireland, which closed in January 2016.

Furthermore, production of metals from world-class mines is concentrated in certain countries, such as the antimony mines in China that produced more than 75% of global supplies in 2014.

The closure of mines, coupled with increasing prices from metal-producing countries, helps creates market demand and opportunities for mining companies.

To set up new world-class mines, companies have to develop innovative mining techniques to deal with potentially low grade deposits, invest in large-scale infrastructure to meet demand for quantities, and conduct expensive feasibility studies to prove long-term commercial viability for potential sites.

However, the global economic downturn over the last decade has meant that large-scale investment in these areas is limited - which has had a devastating effect on the raw materials sector.

The IMP@CT project's 'switch on-switch off' (SOSO) method to mine many critical metal and other small complex deposits will look to develop targeted, technological innovations in mining equipment design, as well as mine planning. The innovations will not only reduce the feasibility studies required, but also improve the quality of the extracted material, infrastructure, land use, resource consumption and waste. The team believe that this model can be adopted by European and national policy makers, as well as the wider mining industry in general.

Dana Finch, also from the Camborne School of Mines and the Project Manager added: 'Ethical issues are at the heart of the project. One of our partners will be conducting a social survey in the Balkans, in the region of the first test mine for the project, and we have involved experts in the fields of geo-ethics and social and environmental sustainability from the outset, to inform the way the technology might be implemented in the future.'

IMP@CT: Integrated Modular Plant and Containerised Tools for Selective, Low-impact Mining of Small High-grade Deposits is co-ordinated by the University of Exeter, and runs until 31 May 2020.

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Sitta von Reden, Professor of Ancient History at the University of Freiburg, is to receive a 2.5 million euro Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). With her international, multidisciplinary research team, von Reden plans to develop a comprehensive model of exchange and interaction between ancient empires. She will investigate the multiple connections between economics, cultural exchange, migration, and the significance of border regions - precisely the factors which among other things made it possible for Chinese silk to reach Rome. The Advanced Grant is one of the most prestigious research awards in Europe. The ERC makes the grant to projects which promise to yield high scientific gain but also carry high risk.

"We aim to understand how economies and cultural exchange worked in the ancient empires and kingdoms, what were the differences in the economic systems of the Mediterranean, the Indian subcontinent, and of China; and then we plan to explain why and in what form they traded goods beyond their spheres of influence," von Reden explains. She adds that the early Silk Road which is believed to have been a major highway from the first century BCE onwards - as wealthy Roman ladies flaunted the delicate fabric from China - is a myth. "That was made up by the geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen in the 19th century. No merchant ever went all the way from Xi'an to Rome - by ship or overland."

Rather, there were differentiated structures in which trade was merely one of many forms of exchange. The empires paid tributes and exchanged gifts with nomad societies on the borders of China and Bactria - today's Afghanistan - rather than conducting trade with them. Armies stationed in the border regions obtained their supplies locally and maintained contacts beyond the borders. Highly mobile groups migrated long distances. Buddhist monks were in contact with other members of their religion regardless of borders and sponsored their temples. This in turn made it possible for Buddhists there to obtain exotic prestige goods - leading to a unique, culturally hybrid art tradition in Gandhara, today's northern India and Pakistan.

The focus of the research will be on frontier zones - border regions which were geographically closer to the neighboring empire than to the center of their own. Yet historical investigation is particularly difficult in such regions, von Reden says. "We will be working with complicated and often isolated archaeological finds, analyzing coins, and reading texts in many languages." This is one reason why the group's multidisciplinarity is so important - no individual researcher today could get an overview of the complex economies along the antique trade routes between the Mediterranean, India, and China.

But what makes the project risky? There is a much more comprehensive body of research into Greek and Roman antiquity than there is into the Qin and Han dynasties in China, or into the era of the Indian ruler Ashoka. Ancient Historians and archaeologists from all over the world have been investigating the ancient Mediterranean economy for decades. We have many ancient historical writings in Greek and Latin. That history also describes central Asia and India and has influenced national research in the countries there. Therefore, says von Reden, the danger of eurocentricity is enormous. "We could accept an imperial history in which the Greeks - after the campaigns of Alexander - and then the Romans changed everything in Asia. But that is exactly what we must avoid."

Sitta von Reden has been teaching in Freiburg since 2010. She studied Economics, History, and Latin in Freiburg and Berlin. She then went to England, completed her doctorate in Cambridge, and launched her academic career in Oxford and Bristol. In 2005 she returned to Germany, completing her habilitation in Augsburg. She spent 2013 and 2014 at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, USA, where she developed her current ERC-sponsored project.

###

Contact: Institute of Ancient History

University of Freiburg
CHAPEL HILL, NC - Opioids have long been an important tool in the world of pain management, but the side effects of these drugs - from addiction and respiratory failure to severe itching and dizziness, can be overwhelming. Scientists have been trying to understand how these side effects happen so they can create better, less problematic pain relievers.

New findings published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology by UNC School of Medicine scientists show that MRGRPX2, a receptor protein on the surface of mast cells, can trigger the immune system response that leads to itching associated with some opioids.

Kate Lansu, the paper's first co-author and a graduate student in the lab of Bryan Roth, MD, PhD, explains how this process works.

"Receptors in mast cells - part of the immune system - respond to an activation signal and release inflammatory factors like histamine, in a process called degranulation," she said. "When that happens, other cells are recruited to the site of inflammation to clear the infection. This response is also important for things like allergies. And this is what presents itself as itching."

"Opioid drugs have been link to degranulation also, but it was through an unknown mechanism. We think that our data could potentially explain why degranulation occurs as a side effect of opioid ligands (morphine and other drugs), something that is well-known but not well-understood."

The findings are significant not only because they offer a potential explanation for opioid-induced itching, but also because the data suggest a way to characterize the function of the orphan receptor MRGRPX2.

Currently there are about 120 orphan receptors in humans. They are "orphan" because, though we know they exist, we don't yet know what they do. The Roth lab screens these receptors against thousands of small molecules to find out what might activate them. This process involves a combination of physical screening and computational modeling.

"We start with the physical screening data to give us a sense of what types of molecules interact with the receptor," Lansu said. "Working on MRGRPX2, I screened around 7,000 molecules, and that data gave us a sense of what the binding site might look like. Once that tentative picture was in place, we were able to use computational tools to create a more precise model of the site."

The computer modeling, performed by co-first author Joel Karpiak, a graduate student at the University California at San Francisco, tested 3.7 million models for potential interaction with the receptor.

"And that's so many more different types of chemicals than I could do by hand in an assay," said Lansu.

The physical data combined with the computational models allowed the researchers to create a chemical probe designed to interact specifically with MRGRPX2. This new tool made it possible to gain a more precise understanding of this receptor's effects without the noise of other receptors. An opioid might activate the orphan receptor, but it might also activate other receptors that it interacts with.

Imagine trying to recreate a musical score by listening to an orchestra perform a piece of music. "You hear the whole ensemble play and you might think 'this is very moving' but it may not explain much about how that effect is achieved," Lansu said. "But if you had a tool that allowed you to isolate just the trumpets, for example, it could teach you something about how that part contributes to the whole - something you may not be able to hear otherwise."

Understanding what triggers the itching response could help pharmacologists develop an antagonist for this receptor to reduce the itching side effect. In other cases, clinicians may want to induce histamine release, thereby boosting the immune response, as in the case of vaccine adjuvants, where an increased immune response may improve immunity. These findings suggest there may be a way to do that selectively.

The researchers will now move onto other orphans. There are four receptors in the same family as MRGRPX2, and Lansu hopes to find chemical probes that can interact with each one.

She also emphasized that work like this would not be possible without the cooperation of a wide variety specialists.

"This kind of work speaks to the importance of collaborative sciences because you have modeling, you have pharmacologists doing in vitro experiments and you have chemists making stepwise changes on the molecule. And all of these specialists working together makes findings like these possible."

###

This work was funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH), the NIH Department of Pharmacology Training Grant, a Genentech Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship, and a PhRMA Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship.

In addition to Lansu and Karpiak, contributors to this research include Jing Liu, assistant professor of pharmacological sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai; Xi-Ping Huang, PhD, and Wesley K. Kroze, PhD, research assistant professors in the UNC department of Pharmacology; UNC research associates John D. McCorvy, PhD, and Tao Che, PhD; Hiroshi Nagase, PhD, professor of at the International Institute for Intregrative Sleep Medicine at the University of Tsukuba, Japan; Frank Carroll, PhD, distinguished fellow of medicinal chemistry at RTI International, and Brian Shoichet, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at UC San Francisco. Bryan Roth, the Michael Hooker Distinguished Professor of Protein Therapeutics and Translational Proteomics in the UNC School of Medicine, was the paper's senior author.
PHILADELPHIA - The American Association of Plastic Surgeons have recognized two renowned members of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania as the Clinician and Mentor of the Year. The AAPS, the most prestigious medical organization in plastic surgery, honored the Penn physicians at its 96th Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas.

Linton Whiatker, MD, professor and chief emeritus of Plastic Surgery, received the Clinician of the Year award, one of the most esteemed awards in the field. Joseph Serletti, MD, chief of Plastic Surgery, received the Robert Goldwyn American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons Mentor of the Year award. Both men were honored on Sunday, March 26th.

Whitaker, a pioneer in the field, is internationally recognized for his innovations and expertise in craniofacial reconstruction and cosmetic surgery of the face in adults and children. He founded the craniofacial program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and he has made numerous contributions over five decades, including introducing widely used surgical advances, early involvement in the development of infant craniofacial surgery and the nation's first cleft palate program, and breakthroughs in bone/soft tissue relations.

In 1982, he founded the Edwin and Fannie Gray Hall Center for Human Appearance at Penn, the first academic center dedicated to interdisciplinary clinical and basic science research and treatment in all aspects of human appearance - from cosmetic surgery and procedures to reconstructive trauma surgery, post-caner reconstruction repair, and birth defect repair, all in both children and adults. Its members include plastic surgeons, dermatologist, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, ENT specialists, oculoplastic surgeons, head and neck surgeons, and psychologists.

Whitaker has received numerous professional awards, served on and was a founding member of many professional boards and associations, published approximately 250 professional articles, was perennially listed among the Best Doctors in America, and contributed to and edited six volumes in the field of plastic surgery. He has delivered more than 300 invited professional lectures nationally and internationally, and he has trained dozens of craniofacial surgeons worldwide. Three Whitaker lectureships have been established in his name. He earned his MD from Tulane University in 1962.

The Robert Goldwyn American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons Mentor of the Year Award recognizes a Council member "who has contributed significantly to the development of ethical, compassionate, and academically productive surgeons for the next generation." Serletti, this year's recipient, is internationally recognized for his work in reconstructive microsurgery, including breast, head and neck, and extremity reconstruction. He is an authority in free flap autogenous breast reconstruction, which uses tissue from other placesin the body for breast reconstruction. He has published more than 200 professional articles and book chapters.

In his 30-year career, Serletti has mentored dozens of medical students, interns, residents, post-doctoral fellows, and young physicians, researchers, and surgeons. He is widely respected for the highly personalized attention he provides as well as the significant time he spends on mentoring activities.

Serletti earned his MD from Rochester University School of Medicine in 1982 and was a fellow in craniofacial surgery at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in 1989-1990. He has been consistently recognized by America's Top Doctors, best Doctors in America, and in Philadelphia Magazine's Top Docs issue.

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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 $6.7 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 20 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 $392 million awarded in the 2016 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 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 2016, Penn Medicine provided $393 million to benefit our community.
By Press Trust of India: (Reopens FGN 18)

(Reopens FGN 18)

Trade and investment volumes between China and Nepal have fast grown in the past few years as the two countries enhanced their economic ties.

Bilateral trade have increased 24 per cent year-on-year to hit USD 85 million in January 2017, Jiang Zengwei, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade said today.

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During the past decade, bilateral trade surged from USD 108 million to USD 888, Jiang said at a roundtable on investment opportunities in Nepal in Beijing, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Direct investment of Chinese enterprises in Nepal reached USD 355 million as of the end of January, covering fields such as hydroelectricity, aviation, minerals and medical treatment.

China is Nepals biggest source of foreign direct investment and its second-largest trade partner, Nepalese officials said at the roundtable. PTI KJV ABH

--- ENDS ---
Delaying school start times in the UK is unlikely to reduce sleep deprivation in teenagers, research from the University of Surrey and Harvard Medical School has found. The research, conducted in collaboration between mathematicians and sleep scientists, predicts that turning down the lights in the evening would be much more effective at tackling sleep deprivation.

Teenagers like to sleep late and struggle to get up in time to go to school. The commonly accepted explanation for this is that adolescents' biological brain clocks are delayed. It has been suggested that to remedy this, school start times should be delayed for older teenagers so that they are again in tune with their biological clock.

The study, which is published today in Scientific Reports, used a mathematical model that takes into account whether people are naturally more of a morning or evening person, the impact of natural and artificial light on the body clock and the typical time of an alarm clock, to predict the effects of delaying school start times.

The mathematical model showed that delaying school start times in the UK would not help reduce sleep deprivation. Just as when clocks go back in the autumn, most teenagers' body clocks would drift even later in response to the later start time, and in a matter of weeks they would find it just as hard to get out of bed. The results did, however, lend some support to delaying school start in the US, where many schools start as early as 7am.

The mathematical explanation has its roots in the work of the 17th century Dutch mathematician Huygens. He saw that clocks can synchronise, but it depends on both the clocks and how they influence each other. From research over the last few decades we know that body clocks typically run a little slow, so they need to be regularly 'corrected' if they are to remain in sync with the 24-hour day. Historically, this correcting signal came from our interaction with the environmental light/dark 'clock'.

The mathematical model shows that the problem for adolescents is that their light consumption behaviour interferes with the natural interaction with the environmental clock - getting up late in the morning results in adolescents keeping the lights on until later at night. Having the lights on late delays the biological clock, making it even harder to get up in the morning. The mathematics also suggests that the biological clocks of adolescents are particularly sensitive to the effects of light consumption.

The model suggests that an alternative remedy to moving school start times in the UK is exposure to bright light during the day, turning the lights down in the evening and off at night. For very early start times, as in some US regions, any benefit gained from delaying school start times could be lost unless it is coupled with strict limits on the amount of evening artificial light consumption.

Lead author Dr Anne Skeldon said: "The power of the mathematics is that we are able to use existing knowledge about how light interacts with the biological clock to make predictions about different interventions to help reduce 'social jetlag'.

"It highlights that adolescents are not 'programmed' to wake up late and that by increasing exposure to bright light during the day, turning lights down in the evening and off at night should enable most to get up in time for work or school without too much effort and without changing school timetables."

Co-author Dr Andrew Phillips said: "The most interesting part of this analysis for me was the counter-intuitive finding that the most extreme evening types are predicted to derive the least benefit from a delay in school start times, because they tend to use evening artificial light for a longer interval of time.

"For evening types, it is critical to keep evening light levels low to derive any of the potential benefits of a delay in morning alarm times, otherwise their bed time is very prone to shifting later. Understanding these individual differences, and how they are influenced by light consumption, is necessary to maximize the effects of any policy change."

Co-author Prof Derk-Jan Dijk said: "Just as mathematical models are used to predict climate change, they can now be used to predict how changing our light environment will influence our biological rhythms.

"It shows that modern lifestyles make it hard for body clocks to stay on 24 hours, which shifts our rhythm of sleepiness and alertness to later times - meaning we are sleepy until late in the morning and remain alert until later in the evening.

"As a result, during the working week our alarm clocks go off before the body clock naturally wakes us up. We then get insufficient sleep during the week and compensate for it during the weekend. Such patterns of insufficient and irregular sleep have been associated with various health problems and have been termed 'social jet lag'."

The mathematical understanding of biological clocks suggests that adolescents are particularly sensitive to the effects of light consumption. However, the model can be applied to other age-groups as well. It can be used to design new interventions not only for sleepy teenagers but also for adults who suffer from delayed sleep phase disorders or people who are not synchronised to the 24-hour day at all.

The research draws attention to light, light consumption and darkness as important environmental and behavioural factors influencing health. This has implications for how we design the light environment at work and at home in our modern light-polluted societies.

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A University of Texas at Arlington psychologist who has completed groundbreaking work in health psychology - particularly in the causes, assessment and treatment of chronic pain behavior - has been named recipient of one of the highest honors in psychology.

Robert J. Gatchel, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Nancy P. & John G. Penson Endowed Professor of Clinical Health Psychology, has been awarded the American Psychological Foundation's 2017 Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Application of Psychology. He also is the director of the Center of Excellence for the Study of Health and Chronic Illnesses.

The award recognizes a distinguished career and enduring contribution to advancing the application of psychology through methods, research and/or application of psychological techniques to important practical problems, according to the APF's website.

Gatchel will receive the award during the 125th Annual American Psychological Association Convention, scheduled for Aug. 3-6 in Washington, D.C. APF President Terence Keane will present the award at the convention.

"This Gold Medal Award represents the pinnacle of one's scientific and professional contributions to the field of psychology," Gatchel said. "I am very honored to now be part of history in this select group of who's who of the science of psychology, which will be one of my major passing legacies."

Gatchel has spent more than 40 years studying chronic stress and pain, and the emotional, behavioral and physiological effects they have on people. Areas of particular interest have included managing anxiety and pain during dental treatments; acute and chronic lower back and spinal pain; and the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders.

Gatchel began planting the seeds for the creation of the Center of Excellence for the Study of Health and Chronic Illnesses in 2004 and, in 2013, the work of Gatchel and others culminated with the Center's opening. The goal was to make the Center a place where scientists from different disciplines could collaborate on biopsychosocial and interdisciplinary research, as well as community-based education and prevention efforts pertaining to the causes and management of chronic illnesses.

"This is a tremendous and well-deserved honor for Dr. Gatchel, who is a pioneer in the study of what causes chronic pain and how to best treat it," said Morteza Khaledi, dean of the UTA College of Science. "He has had such a significant impact in the field of pain management and his work has done much to improve health and the human condition, which is one of the main pillars of UTA's Strategic Plan 2020 Bold Solutions|Global Impact."

The APF Gold Medal Award is the latest in a long line of prestigious awards Gatchel has received during the course of his career. Other honors include: the 2003 Award for Outstanding Contributions to Science from the Texas Psychological Association; the 2004 Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research from the American Psychological Association; the 2006 John Liebeskind Pain Management Research Award from the American Academy for Pain Management; the 2007 Wilbert E. Fordyce Clinical Investigator Award from the American Pain Society; UTA's Academy of Distinguished Scholars Award, 2008; the 2008 Pain Management Center of Excellence Award from APS; the 2009 Health Care Heroes Award from the Fort Worth Business Press/Health Point; the 2011 Distinguished Career Contributions to Health Psychology Award (Division 38 of the American Psychological Association); the 2011 UTA Graduate Dean's Excellence in Doctoral Mentoring Award; the 2011 Texas Psychological Association's Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award; and the 2017 Goldstein Lecture Award from the UNT Health Science Center's Osteopathic Research Center.

Gatchel received a bachelor of arts degree in Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1969, and went on to earn master's and doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1971 and 1973, respectively. He joined UTA in 1973. From 1978-81 he was a member of the medical psychology faculty at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md.

In 1981, Gatchel joined the psychology faculty at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He has remained at UT Southwestern in various capacities ever since, while rejoining UTA in 2004. He served as chair of the UTA Department of Psychology from 2004-13.

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About The University of Texas at Arlington

The University of Texas at Arlington is a Carnegie Research-1 "highest research activity" institution. With a projected global enrollment of close to 57,000, UTA is one of the largest institutions in the state of Texas. Guided by its Strategic Plan 2020 Bold Solutions|Global Impact, UTA fosters interdisciplinary research and education within four broad themes: health and the human condition, sustainable urban communities, global environmental impact, and data-driven discovery. UTA was recently cited by U.S. News & World Report as having the second lowest average student debt among U.S. universities. U.S. News & World Report lists UTA as having the fifth highest undergraduate diversity index among national universities. The University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is ranked as the top four-year college in Texas for veterans on Military Times' 2017 Best for Vets list.
"Because certain geological events record everything, studying them helps to reconstruct the environmental past and to determine how human beings have influenced the environment. They will even be able to offer valuable information to tackle possible effects of climate change," asserted Nikole Arrieta, author of the study analysing beachrocks. They are rock formations that are produced in intertidal areas, normally in tropical and sub-tropical zones. Despite that, they can also be found on the Biscay coast. The beachrocks studied are recent formations located on the right bank of the Nerbioi-Ibaizabal estuary where they have been severely affected by human activity. "Their presence in temperate latitudes like ours is rare, there are 8-10 cases all over the world," added Arrieta. These sedimentary formations are produced by the intergranular precipitation of carbonate cements (CaCO3). "A cement has formed between the various sediments. So the sand, instead of being loose as on normal beaches, forms these rocks," explained Arrieta. Yet even though the cements that the beachrocks are made up of are carbonates, the geological formations on our coast also have ferruginous cements. The slag trapped in the cemented blocks has undergone dissolution processes as a result of meteorization or atmospheric events, such as acid rain, and has even re-precipitated in the pores as insoluble iron salts.

The research carried out in the work published focussed on the characterisation of these cements. Firstly, to study the types of cements, innovative spectroscopic techniques were applied and which allowed the various mineral phases to be thoroughly analysed. "On a microscopic scale various layers of cement appear, and each one provides information on the moment when they precipitated, the conditions that existed, etc." Secondly, they analysed the materials trapped in these cements where "we found foundry slag from the industrial revolution, even waste bearing the seals of European companies that used to dump their slag when they arrived with their vessels. That is why we can find the so-called technofossils or traces of human activity on the beaches, in this case the industrial waste of international companies which helps to calculate the age of the beachrock".

Evidence of the Anthropocene

All this would constitute an example of the geological record of the Anthropocene epoch, currently being discussed among specialists across the world. And the fact is that according to the scientific supporters of this name, the Earth is in a new geological epoch, "the era of the human being", since human action is leading to major changes that are leaving their mark on the Earth's geological strata. Its detractors, by contrast, argue that it is a political rather than a scientific question. This geological era would include the most recent period of the Quaternary, and right now is of great interest for specialists all over the world. "The strata of the Tunelboka, a cove located on the right bank of the estuary which is the focus of the research, have been discussed across the world with a view to offering evidence of the Anthropocene," said Arrieta. And besides the fact that there are very few locations in the world in temperate latitudes that display this event, "there are even fewer that display the characteristics of ours; the quantity of slag they contain is mind-boggling. I have collaborated with various researchers of recognised prestige at universities in the United States and Australia, and they are all fascinated when they see the photos or materials of the location".

Nikole Arrieta, the author of the study, says "we have to keep alive the research into this geological event that is so special and unique and which we have on our coasts, for the geochemical, environmental and historical interest of these formations, their applications in the fields of engineering and restoration, their importance in defining the recent Anthropocene epoch and, why not, the industrial archaeological interest of the materials that form them".

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Additional information

This study is part of the PhD thesis of Nikole Arrieta-Irazabal (Bilbao, 1985), 'The study of an unusual temperate latitude beachrock formation. Characterization of the Azkorri beach and Tunelboka cove locations', written up in the Department of Analytical Chemistry of the UPV/EHU's Faculty of Science and Technology. It was supervised by Juan Manuel Madariaga-Mota, a UPV/EHU professor, and co-supervised by Irantzu Martinez-Arkarazo, a tenured lecturer at the UPV/EHU. The researcher went on an academic stay at the University of Kansas.

Bibliographical reference

Arrieta, N., Iturregui, A., Martinez-Arkarazo, I., Murelaga, X., Baceta, J.I., de Diego, A., Olazabal, M.A., Madariaga, J.M. (2017). Characterization of ferruginous cements related with weathering of slag in a temperate anthropogenic beachrock. Science of The Total Environment, 581-582, 49-65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.12.132
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute scientists and their collaborators have developed a new analysis tool that was able to show, for the first time, which genes were expressed by individual cells in different genetic versions of a benign blood cancer.

Single cell RNA sequencing can define cell types by revealing differences in the proteins produced by individual cells, however analysing the data remains challenging. Reported in Nature Methods today, the new open source computer tool called Single Cell Consensus Clustering (SC3) was shown to be more accurate and robust than existing methods of analysing single-cell RNA sequence data, and is freely available for researchers to use*.

Recent advances in single-cell genomics technology has made it possible to separate individual cells from different tissues and organs, and measure the sets of RNA messages - called the transcriptome - which help give each cell its own identity. These individual transcriptomes can be used to define cell types and to understand the functions of healthy and diseased cells in the human body. This technology has enormous potential for biological research.

In order to analyse the transcriptomic data, similar cells need to be grouped together. However, it is hard to know what criteria to use to group them, and the data is often very complex. The researchers developed the SC3 computer tool to overcome these problems and validated it using several publicly available gold standard datasets.

Dr Vladimir Yu Kiselev, first author from the Sanger Institute, said "We created the new SC3 tool to analyse complex single-cell RNA-sequence data, and showed that it is more robust and accurate than existing methods at grouping cells. The SC3 tool contains added features that help interpret the biological function of the cells in that group, such as lists of marker genes for each group. We expect this will be used by many researchers around the world."

The SC3 tool was then used to analyse single-cell RNA-sequence data from two patients diagnosed with myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) blood cancers. Pre-malignant MPN occurs when the bone marrow makes too many blood cells, and in 10 per cent of patients can lead to overt leukaemia.

Patients often have multiple versions of the cancer, called subclones, which have different mutations, and the researchers wanted to find if the expression levels of RNA correlated with the different mutations. Previous attempts to analyse the RNA datasets with other methods had failed, however SC3 was able to resolve the datasets and showed that each cancer-causing mutation led to different proteins being expressed.

Prof Tony Green, an author from the Wellcome Trust-MRC Stem Cell Institute and Cambridge University, said: "The SC3 tool was able to use patterns of gene expression to distinguish, within an individual cancer, subclones that carried different mutations. This approach will help us define the cellular heterogeneity within each cancer, an important step towards improving cancer treatment".

Dr Martin Hemberg, lead author on the paper from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: "It has been difficult to fully exploit single-cell RNA-sequence data due to the current lack of computational methods for analysing them. Our study shows that SC3 is an accurate and user-friendly tool, which can analyse complex datasets. We hope that this tool will help researchers gain new biological insights from transcriptome datasets in the future and provide information for diseases that affect specific cell types."

###

Notes to editors:

*SC3 is available from http://www.bioconductor.org/packages/SC3/ and the source code can be found at https://github.com/hemberg-lab/SC3

Selected Websites:

The Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute

The Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute explores and defines the properties of stem cells to establish their true medical potential. Leading research scientists, technology specialists and doctors work side by side to create a world-leading centre of excellence in stem cell biology and medicine. The Institute also provides high level training for young researchers from around the world and collaborates with bio-industry. http://www.stemcells.cam.ac.uk/

The University of Cambridge

The mission of the University of Cambridge is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. To date, 96 affiliates of the University have won the Nobel Prize. Founded in 1209, the University comprises 31 autonomous Colleges, which admit undergraduates and provide small-group tuition, and 150 departments, faculties and institutions. Cambridge is a global university. Its 19,000 student body includes 3,700 international students from 120 countries. Cambridge researchers collaborate with colleagues worldwide, and the University has established larger-scale partnerships in Asia, Africa and America. The University sits at the heart of one of the world's largest technology clusters. The 'Cambridge Phenomenon' has created 1,500 hi-tech companies, 14 of them valued at over US$1 billion and two at over US$10 billion. Cambridge promotes the interface between academia and business, and has a global reputation for innovation. http://www.cam.ac.uk

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is one of the world's leading genome centres. Through its ability to conduct research at scale, it is able to engage in bold and long-term exploratory projects that are designed to influence and empower medical science globally. Institute research findings, generated through its own research programmes and through its leading role in international consortia, are being used to develop new diagnostics and treatments for human disease. http://www.sanger.ac.uk

Wellcome

Wellcome exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive. We're a global charitable foundation, both politically and financially independent. We support scientists and researchers, take on big problems, fuel imaginations and spark debate. http://www.wellcome.ac.uk
Long before the advent of agriculture, hunter-gatherers began putting down roots in the Middle East, building more permanent homes and altering the ecological balance in ways that allowed the common house mouse to flourish, new research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates.

"The research provides the first evidence that, as early as 15,000 years ago, humans were living in one place long enough to impact local animal communities -- resulting in the dominant presence of house mice," said Fiona Marshall, study co-author and a professor of anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis. "It's clear that the permanent occupation of these settlements had far-reaching consequences for local ecologies, animal domestication and human societies."

Marshall, a noted expert on animal domestication, considers the research exciting because it shows that settled hunter-gatherers rather than farmers were the first people to transform environmental relations with small mammals. By providing stable access to human shelter and food, hunter-gatherers led house mice down the path to commensalism, an early phase of domestication in which a species learns how to benefit from human interaction.

The findings have broad implications for the processes that led to animal domestication.

"The findings provide clear evidence that the ways humans have shaped the natural world are tied to varying levels of human mobility," said Marshall, the James W. and Jean L. Davis Professor in Arts & Sciences. "They suggest that the roots of animal domestication go back to human sedentism thousands of years prior to what has long been considered the dawn of agriculture."

Led by Thomas Cucchi of National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, France, and Lior Weissbrod of the University of Haifa in Israel, the study set out to explain large swings in the ratio of house mice to wild mice populations found during excavations of different prehistoric periods at an ancient Natufian hunter-gatherer site in the Jordan Valley of Israel.

Examining tiny species-related variations in the molar shapes of fossilized mice teeth dating back as far as 200,000 years, the team built a timeline showing how the populations of different mice fluctuated at the Natufian site during periods of varying human mobility.

The analysis revealed that human mobility influenced competitive relationships between two species of mice -- the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) and a short-tailed field mouse (M. macedonicus) -- that continue to live in and around modern settlements in Israel. These relationships are analogous to those of another pair of species called spiny mice which Weissbrod and Marshall discovered among semi-nomadic Maasai herders in southern Kenya.

Findings indicate that house mice began embedding themselves in the Jordan Valley homes of Natufian hunter-gatherers about 15,000 years ago, and that their populations rose and fell based on how often these communities picked up and moved to new locations.

When humans stayed in the same places for long runs of time, house mice out-competed their country cousins to the point of pushing most of them outside the settlement. In periods where drought, food shortages or other conditions forced hunter-gatherers to relocate more often, the populations of house mice and field mice reached a balance similar to that found among modern Maasai herders with similar mobility patterns.

The study confirms that house mice were already a fixture in the domiciles of eastern Mediterranean hunter-gatherer villages more than 3,000 years before the earliest known evidence for sedentary agriculture.

It suggests that the early hunter-gatherer settlements transformed ecological interactions and food webs, allowing house mice that benefited from human settlements to out-compete wild mice and establish themselves as the dominant population.

"The competition between commensal house mice and other wild mice continued to fluctuate as humans became more mobile in arid periods and more sedentary at other times -- indicating the sensitivity of local environments to degrees of human mobility and the complexity of human environmental relationships going back in the Pleistocene," said Weissbrod, currently a research fellow at the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa.

Weissbrod's research involves analysis of microvertebrate remains from a wide range of prehistoric and historic sites in Israel and the Caucasus dealing with paleoecology and human-ecosystem interactions.

A 2010 graduate of the doctoral program in archaeological anthropology at Washington University, he began research for this study as part of a dissertation examining fluctuations in populations of mice and other small animals living around Maasai cattle herding settlements in Kenya.

Marshall helped Weissbrod to develop the ethnographic context for underlying research questions about the ecological impact of human mobility. Together they built field-based ecological frameworks for understanding changing animal human interactions through time focusing on mice and donkeys.

Working from his lab in Paris, Cucchi used a new technique called geometric morphometrics to identify the mouse fossils and reliably distinguish telltale differences in the miniscule remains of house mice and wild species. The method relies on high resolution imaging and digital analysis to categorize species-related variations in molar outlines nearly as thin as a single millimeter.

The findings, and the techniques used to document them, are important to archaeological research in a broader sense because they lend further support to the idea that fluctuations in ancient mouse populations can be used as a proxy for tracking ancient shifts in human mobility, lifestyle and food domestication.

"These findings suggest that hunter-gatherers of the Natufian culture, rather than later Neolithic farmers, were the first to adopt a sedentary way of life and unintentionally initiated a new type of ecological interaction -- close coexistence with commensal species such as the house mouse," Weissbrod said. "The human dynamic of shifts between mobile and sedentary existence was unraveled in unprecedented detail in the record of fluctuations in proportions of the two species through time."

###
Monday, March 27, 2017

The APICS Southwest District recently hosted 23 teams in San Diego from the Western United States, Hong Kong and Mexico in a student case competition to solve computer-simulated supply chain problems, provide analysis and present their recommendations. Undergraduate team Harvey Mudd College won the top spot representing the Southwest District in the national competition in San Antonio, Texas. These simulations challenged students, most with backgrounds in operations management, supply chain management, business management, industrial engineering, or MBA students, to create solutions to the problems posed and provide the rationale for their recommendations. Their work cumulated into judged presentations explaining their strategies and proposed outcomes.

"I am always impressed with how well the students perform, and this year was no exception  in fact, they raise the bar higher every year," explains APICS West Coast Student Case Competition co-chair Lisa Anderson of LMA Consulting Group, Inc. "This is such an excellent opportunity for students to showcase their supply chain and business management problem-solving talents and presentation skills to their peers, professors and potential employers. I am especially thrilled because Harvey Mudd is an APICS Inland Empire Chapter student team."

Winning team member Katherine Shim of Harvey Mudd College was thrilled with the outcome, stating, "It was exciting to see the theories we learned at school working. It was a great opportunity to experience the power of teamwork and the effectiveness of a rigorous technical approach. Harvey Mudd College educates their students to become creative problem solvers who also effectively communicate with others as leaders."

As in previous years, there were two separate divisions  a Graduate and an Undergraduate division. Ten teams competed in the graduate division, and 13 teams in the Undergraduate division. Arizona State University took first and second place in the Graduate division. Undergraduate division winner was Harvey Mudd College with second place awarded to San Diego State University. Harvey Mudd College received the highest overall score and will be invited to compete at a case competition at the APICS International Conference & Expo in San Antonio, TX in October, representing the Southwest District.

"The opportunity to apply supply chain principles has helped me achieve a deeper understanding and gain confidence in my skills," shared Harvey Mudd student Joe Sinopoli. "I appreciate the resources that APICS provided to help us prepare. The environment of the competition was collegial, welcoming, and wonderful for networking. The shared knowledge and opportunity to hear ideas from students at other institutions has benefited my education."

Saagar Anand, of Arizona State University, felt the competition provided valuable practical experience. "The simulation called for a deep understanding of what it takes to make a business profitable. We focused on getting to the root cause of the problem and used data analytics to make our decisions. The competition was one of the best I have attended as it simulated a real-world business situation by making us present to the Board of Directors. We had to explain the decisions we made and answer questions. It also fostered a good learning environment as one could see what other teams had done differently."

Fellow ASU student, Moose Fritz, agreed, saying "The APICS West Coast student case competition was a tremendous experience which built upon the traditional analytical requirements of a simulation competition, demanding both teamwork and communication skills. This holistic learning system, combined with the chance to meet and network with professionals in the field, made this one of the most valuable experiences I have had at any level of education."

Judging was provided by APICS professionals with extensive experience in supply chain and operations management with 50 percent of the final score focused on the return on investment results from their computer-simulated exercise and the other 50 percent graded on presentation effectiveness.

"Student case competition is about leadership, decision making, strategic thinking and communication. What a great experience for the students!" Prof. Kash Gokli, Professor of Manufacturing Practice at Harvey Mudd College.

The annual competition provides students with experience working as a team to solve supply chain issues that take place in companies today. Participants are able to showcase their talent for fellow students, professors and future employers. The event was coordinated and chaired by the APICS Southwest District Student Case Competitor Chairs APICS-IE and LMA Consulting Group president, Lisa Anderson and The ACA Group's Ellen Kane.

For more information on the competition, visit the APICS Southwest District Website.
The European Commission has given the go-ahead to the $130 billion merger of US chemical giants Dow Chemical and DuPont.

The takeover, announced last year, is the first to win EU approval out of a trio of mega-deals that would reshape the global agrochemicals industry.

Recent transactions including Bayer AG's plan to buy Monsanto Co., and China National Chemical Corp's agreement to buy Syngenta AG, would reduce six key industry players to three located in the United States, Germany and China.

The Commission's approval is dependent on DuPont and Dow selling off some parts of their businesses to satisfy competition concerns.

'Effective competition'

DuPont has agreed to divest 'a significant part' of its existing pesticide business, including R&D activities.

"We need effective competition in this sector so companies are pushed to develop products that are ever safer for people and better for the environment," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

"Our decision today ensures that the merger between Dow and DuPont does not reduce price competition for existing pesticides or innovation for safer and better products in the future."

'Growth synergies'

In addition to the cost savings, the transaction had the "potential for $1bn in growth synergies", Dow said in a statement.

"Longer term, the intended three-way split is expected to unlock even greater value for shareholders and customers and more opportunity for employees as each company will be a leader in attractive segments where global challenges are driving demand for their distinctive offerings," it added.

Antitrust experts said regulator's demand to sell large swatches of R&D facilities could set the benchmark for future deals.

Dow will sell two plants in Spain and the U.S. that make acid co-polymers.
The impact of First Milks recent focus on its core customers was further emphasised last week as they received the prestigious Supplier of the Year award from their largest fresh milk customer, Nestle UK & Ireland.

Picking up the award from Dame Fiona Kendrick, outgoing First Milk CEO Mike Gallacher said: This Supplier of the Year award recognises the strength of the partnership between Nestle and First Milk.

Nestle have provided huge support to both the business and our British Dairy Farmers over the most challenging two years many can remember.

Together we have brought best practice to the industry, including programs such as our joint Next Generation Farmer Program. In addition, winning the Quality award speaks volumes about the work done by our British Farmers and supply chain team every day of the year.

Robin Sundaram, Responsible Sourcing Lead - Milk Buyer, Nestle UK & Ireland said: These awards reflect the outstanding levels of service and quality that we receive from First Milk as well as First Milks willingness to work with us on long-term initiatives to drive environmental and social sustainability.

First Milks turnaround program has been based on a renewed focus on its core business and customers. The Supplier of the Year award follows the recent announcement of a new long term contract between Nestle UK and First Milk.
The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has dismissed any suggestion of diluting growth targets for the Irish farming and food industry because of Brexit.

Irish farming and the agri-food sector is particularly vulnerable to Brexit due to a high dependence on the UK market, high EU tariff protection applying to major agricultural products and the importance of the CAP budget to farm income  UK being a net contributor.

The land border with Northern Ireland, with the potential to disrupt trade flows, and undermine animal health co-operation, is also seen as a major challenge.

IFA President Joe Healy said: I expect the Government to redouble their efforts in working to achieve the increase in (Irish) exports to 19bn and the value of primary production to almost 10bn. A successful outcome to the Brexit negotiations will be instrumental in keeping the plan on track.

IFA will hold a major Brexit event on 24th April. The IFA President said the key priorities for the farming and the food sector are maintaining 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.

Specifically, IFA has identified that, if the UK exits the Single Market and Customs Union, there must be a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between the EU and UK.

'Most significant challenge'

Joe Healy said IFA is clear that farming and food must be top of the Brexit agenda, not only in Ireland, but at EU level.

With 12 million farmers and 40 million related jobs overall, there is a wider strategic objective here to maximise the future value of the EU farming and food sector.

Joe Healy said the threat of Brexit is the most significant challenge facing the Irish farming and food sector, with 40% of Irish food exports going to the UK.

He said farmers expect the Irish Government to launch a major diplomatic offensive at EU level that places farmers' issues at the heart of the negotiations.

The implications of a hard Brexit are stark: the ESRI estimates a potential reduction of EU trade to the UK of over 60% for dairy and 85% for meat. Translating this to an Irish context would mean a fall of 1.5bn in meat exports, with dairy exports falling by over 600m.

IFAs Project Team led by the President Joe Healy will be undertaking high level contacts with the Oireachtas, Government Departments, the EU Commission and the EU Parliament in the coming weeks. IFA will also be engaging with the wider agri-food sector and with farming organisations across Europe.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) In a setback to the AAP ahead of the crucial MCD polls, its MLA Ved Parkash today resigned from the party and the Delhi assembly to join the BJP, alleging the Arvind Kejriwal government has "failed" to deliver on poll promises.

The move is seen as a shot in the arm for the BJP as elections to the three municipal corporations of Delhi (MCDs) are scheduled to be held on April 23.

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Ved Parkash, who represented Bawana in the assembly, alleged that the MLAs who talk of development are "suppressed" by the partys top leadership.

He joined the BJP at its Delhi unit office in the presence of Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari and state party incharge Shyam Jaju. Later, accompanied by Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, he submitted his resignation at the Assembly Speakers office.

Ved Parkash claimed there are 30-35 AAP MLAs who are not happy with the partys leadership, indicating that an unrest has been brewing within the Aam Aadmi Party.

He said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is not "concerned" about what is happening at ground level and instead, he only focuses on how to "defame" Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.

He said that the AAP government is "being run through laptop" and that there is no connect with the ground reality.

"I had joined the AAP with a hope that there will be some change, but I am disillusioned...I have neither quit under duress nor will I take any post in the BJP and will abide by the decisions taken by the party leadership.

"I have been influenced by the BJPs recent decision to make a priest (Adityanath Yogi) the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Modiji is a saint and with this hope I have joined the BJP," he told a press conference at the Delhi BJP office.

Delhi BJP chief Tiwari said that the people of Delhi have now understood how they were "cheated" by the Aam Aadmi Party.

"Corruption has not been brought down in Delhi. There is corruption in every department in government. People are unhappy with the governments performance. Every person is feeling cheated.

"They (AAP) have failed to deliver on promises made in the run-up to assembly elections. What is about promises like Wi-Fi, CCTVs and women safety," he said.

Ved Parkash resignation has brought down the AAPs tally to 65 in the 70-member Delhi Legislative Assembly.

There are also four rebel MLAs -- Devinder Sehrawat, Pankaj Pushkar and former ministers Sandeep Kumar and Asim Ahmed Khan.

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The political development comes days after BJP President Amit Shah gave a call to "uproot" the Aam Aadmi Party from Delhi at the partys booth in-charge convention here.

Reacting to the resignation, a senior AAP leader said, "The party ticket for the MCD polls were given after consulting Ved Parkash. There could be a disagreement over one seat, but we did not expect him to quit."

Ved Parkash, who also resigned all government-run bodies, alleged that the issues of Dalit are being "ignored" by the AAP government.

He alleged that AAP ministers do not pick up calls of legislators, adding that no work has been done by the government in his constituency.

He also took a dig at Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodias ambitious project to send the governments principals abroad for training skills.

"In my constituency, there is a shortage of 30 per cent of teachers in a government school and they (AAP) talk of sending teachers abroad. Also, SC/ST fund has been lying unspent," he said.

"I am leaving the party with a heavy heart after I saw no hope in the AAP. I am quitting to protect my identity," he added. PTI BUN PR SMN

--- ENDS ---

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Billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson has said that New Zealand farmers should grow cannabis instead of expanding dairy operations.

Branson was in the country over the weekend to speak at a charity event.

In an interview with New Zealand's Newshub, he predicted cannabis would become more acceptable in the near future.

Branson urged the country to legalise and grow cannabis at the expense of slowing the dairy industry there down.

He said: "I think that would be wonderful because obviously the amount of dairy cows that New Zealand has is damaging the rivers, if you could put some of that land over into growing cannabis would be just as profitable for them, if not more profitable."

'Farmers welcome any opportunity'

Federated Farmers, New Zealand's farming organisation which lobbies on behalf of its members, said they would look at it if it was legal and profitable.

National president William Rolleston told Newshub: "Farmers welcome any opportunity to add another string to their bow, and would look at that option only if it was legal and profitable to do so... But that is a long way down the track," he said.

Agriculture is a big player in the New Zealand economy, and has recently been blamed for the increasing pollution of the country's rivers and waterways.

However, it is reported that New Zealand's dairy farmers have spent billions of dollars in combating river pollution.
The U.S. Army wants General Dynamics (GD 0.89%) to build it a super-tank -- an improvement over the ubiquitous M1 Abrams main battle tank that is currently the mainstay of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps.

According to recent reports, the U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) wants its new tank to come equipped with "light-weight composite armor" for defense and a light-weight XM360 120 mm cannon -- half the weight of the Abrams' current main gun. Together, these improvements should result in a tank weighing 20% less than an M1 Abrams' 72-ton mass.

This new super-tank would therefore be fleeter of foot on the battlefield, and more fuel efficient (i.e., cheaper to operate) to boot. A lighter tank would also make for a lighter burden on military aviation, permitting a wider variety of airframes to deliver it to the battlefield.

And those are just the most obvious improvements. Open the hatch, and within this new super-tank you'll find:

Advanced sensors permitting the tank to shoot targets "beyond line-of-sight"

Advanced communications gear enabling the tank to control its own drones

"Active protection systems," possibly including lasers, to track and destroy incoming enemy fire

An electric generator to power future defensive laser weapons

Spare room to accommodate future upgrades to engines and power systems.

Fleet of foot -- but with an Achilles' heel?

And yet, it's these same advances in technology that TARDEC is mooting that may get an investor to wondering: If it takes the Army, and General Dynamics, nearly 15 years to bring this new tank, with all its newfangled equipment, into being, what will the battlefield of the 2030s look like when it arrives? Will tanks even be relevant then?

After all, elsewhere in the military, there's a lot of talk going on about the introduction of high-energy laser weapons to the battlefield. In military aviation, for example, there's been a lot of talk about the possibility of putting laser weapons aboard C-130 gunships as early as 2020 -- and you have to expect that near-peer adversaries like Russia and China will be looking to do something similar.

Such an airborne laser, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold during a 2015 symposium, might put out as much as 200 kilowatts of power and burn "a beer-can [shaped] hole" through a target that, to opposing ground forces, is still over the horizon and invisible to sensors. And if the Air Force thinks it will have weapons that good by 2020 -- a full decade before the Army's new super-tank arrives on the field -- how much more lethal might laser weapons be by the time the super-tank does arrive?

Boeing's portable tank-killer

It gets worse. General Dynamics' rival Boeing (BA 3.06%) has already developed a prototype laser weapon that doesn't need an airplane -- or even another tank -- to lug it around. Boeing's new compact laser weapon system, demoed in 2015, is small enough to be carried into combat by a an infantry squad. Boeing's current version only puts out about 10 kilowatts of power, and probably isn't powerful enough to burn through tank armor yet -- but it might still do serious damage to a tread, and immobilize a tank.

What's more, you can bet that Boeing is working to amp up the power on its device. Given how rapidly laser weapons are evolving, there's a good chance that any tank -- however "super" -- that arrives on the field 15 years from now will find itself already overmatched by advances in laser weaponry.

So what does this mean for General Dynamics, and its $5.6 billion "combat systems" unit that builds the Army's battle tanks? What does it mean for the prospects of General Dynamics building a new tank for the Army?

Honestly, it's hard to say. On one hand, if laser weapons are coming, it's a sure thing that today's generation of M1 Abrams tanks won't be ready to meet the threat, so maybe that's an argument in favor of accelerating the push for TARDEC and General Dynamics to come up with something better. On the other hand, what if it turns out that the best tank that can be put together by 2030 is one that will be nearly as vulnerable to laser weapons as the current model?

Well, that would be a good argument in favor of rethinking whether any tank at all will be relevant in the future -- and whether General Dynamics should start thinking of finding a new line of business.
By India Today Web Desk: After Uttar Pradesh success, Yogi Adityanath to be BJP's star campaigner in Modi's Gujarat

Keen to do a UP in Gujarat, the BJP plans to bring in none other than Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as the star campaigner for the election season.

United Airlines barred girls from flying for wearing leggings. Social media slams act

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A United Airlines' gate agent reportedly forced the girls, one of them aged 10, to change their clothes or wear dresses over the leggings.

Kohli missed Dharamsala Test to save himself for IPL? Hodge thinks so

Former Australia batsman Brad Hodge has suggested that Indian captain Virat Kohli, who missed the fourth Test in Dharamsala due to an injury, could be saving himself for the IPL starting next month.

Naam Shabana's Anupam Kher: PC is the biggest international star we have

Anupam Kher, in an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, said that there was no comparison of his achievements in Hollywood with Priyanka Chopra's.

--- ENDS ---
A weekly arti is reportedly held at Harvard University (HU), one of the worlds top and United States oldest institution of higher education established in 1636.

Organized by Harvard Dharma (Harvards Hindu Students Association), it is held in Dharma Prayer Space at Canaday Basement in Harvard Yard of HU in Cambridge (Massachusetts) on Fridays at five pm, reports suggest.

Arti is a Hindu worship ceremony/offering performed in adoration/honor of deity/deities by circular movement of a lighted lamp accompanied by hymn singing and may include sounding of handbells and other instruments. Worshippers pass their hands over the flames of the lighted lamp and then touch their faces/heads with these hands, thus transferring the deitys blessings.

Applauding Harvard for reported provision of dedicated prayer space, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, described it as a step in the positive direction. Zed commended Harvard for recognizing the intersection of spirituality and education, which was important in Hinduism.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged all USA universities, colleges and residential schools; both public and private; to respond to the spiritual needs of diverse student body and provide permanent and dedicated Hindu prayer/meditation room for rituals, quiet reflection, festivals and spiritual exercise. It would help in the personal growth of Hindu students who were present in substantial numbers on various campuses. It was important to meet the spiritual needs of these students, Zed added.

Rajan Zed suggested that these Hindu prayer rooms should have an altar containing murtis (statues) of popular Hindu deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Durga, Venkateshwara, Ganesha, Murugan, Saraswati, Hanuman, Lakshmi, Kali, etc.; besides being equipped with ghanta (big metallic bell hanging from the ceiling), dholak (two-headed hand-drum), Shiva-linga, etc. He or other Hindu scholars would be glad to help, if asked, regarding the structure of Hindu Prayer Room, Zed indicated.

Harvard Dharma, focusing on Hindu spiritual and cultural life at Harvard University, also celebrates various Hindu festivals like Deepavali, Holi, etc.; organizes discussions and speaker events about Hinduism and related issues on the campus; etc. Priyanka Kumar, Gunjari Raychaudhuri and Aniket Zinzuwadia are Co-Presidents.

HU, whose motto is Veritas (Latin for truth) and which has about 22,000 students, boasts of 48 Nobel Laureates, 32 heads of state, 48 Pulitzer Prize winners. The Harvard Libraryclaimed to be the largest academic library in the worldincludes about 20.4 million volumes. Drew Gilpin Faust is the HU President, while Kenji Yoshino is President of its Board of Overseers. It was named after John Harvard, a Christian minister.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA.

Source : From Our Correspondent
Hotel Nikko Hai Phong to Open 2020 in Vietnam

Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Hotel Okura Co., Ltd., announced today that it has agreed with Chuo Vietnam Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Chuo Limited Liability Company, owned by Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd., and Fujita Corporation to manage Hotel Nikko Hai Phong when it opens for business in Hai Phong, Vietnam in 2020. The 269-room hotel will be operated under the Nikko Hotels International (NHI).

Hai Phong, which is some 100 kilometers east of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is one of Vietnams most developed coastal cities. Hotel Nikko Hai Phong will be located within Waterfront City, a coastal district under development. The average hotel room will be 35 square meters large and guests will have choices of traditional Japanese dining and all-day dining and bar facilities.

Okura Nikko Hotel Management CEO Marcel P. van Aelst said, Hai Phong offers robust transportation infrastructure, including motorways and an international airport. The city is attracting numerous Japanese multinational corporations, which is expected to create strong demand for accommodations in the Hai Phong area. NHI looks forward to offering sophisticated hospitality services and exceptionally comfortable hotel experiences for visitors to Hai Phong

Hotel Nikko Hai Phong will be Okura Nikko Hotel Managements fourth hotel to open in Vietnam, after Hotel Nikko Hanoi (1998), Hotel Nikko Saigon (2011) and the to-be-opened The Okura Prestige Saigon (2020). Aiming to operate 100 hotels worldwide by 2020, Okura Nikko Hotel Management is focusing on developing properties in the fast-growing Asian region. Investment in Vietnam is closely aligned with the strategy to optimize hotel management efficiency and increase brand recognition by venturing into countries with strong economic growth.

Hotel Okura Co., Ltd. was founded in 1958 and opened its flagship Hotel Okura Tokyo in 1962. Hotel Okura has extensive expertise in the hospitality world, including asset ownership and hotel development, as well as hotel management, restaurant business and chain operations through its subsidiaries and other group companies. The brand unites its member hotels under the Best Accommodation, Cuisine and Service (Best A.C.S.) philosophy to ensure that all guests enjoy Okuras signature hospitality, which combines Japanese attention to detail and Western functionality.

Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Hotel Okura operates 74 properties (49 in Japan and 25 overseas) encompassing nearly 23,000 guest rooms (March 1, 2017) under three hotel groups: Okura Hotels & Resorts, Nikko Hotels International and Hotel JAL City.
Astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly, Kelly McGonigal, and Ronan Tynan to Keynote ATD 2017 International Conference & Exposition

Posted by Press Releases on Monday, 03-27-2017 5:18 am

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The Association for Talent Development will host attendees from 90 countries at premier training industry event in Atlanta, Georgia. The Association for Talent Development (ATD) will hold its 2017 International Conference & Exposition on May 21-24, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference is the premier international event for trainers and everyone working in the talent development profession. ATD 2017 is anchored by three general sessions featuring Mark and Scott Kelly, NASA astronauts and retired U.S. Navy Captains, Dr. Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University, and Dr. Ronan Tynan, who, as an Irish Tenor, Paralympic Champion, and M.D., has been described as a modern-day Renaissance-man. These three dynamic speakers will share their stories and perspectives on leadership, conquering stress, and living life to the fullest. Learning opportunities at this conference are abundant. There are more than 300 networking a...

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Bindomatics Global Distributors Conference Coming to Dubai April 2-4, 2017

Posted by Press Releases on Monday, 03-27-2017 2:50 am

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The biennial conference will introduce Bindomatic's ground-breaking new line of thermal binding machines.WILMINGTON, NC (PRWEB) MARCH 26, 2017Bindomatic AB, the Binding Efficiency Experts parent company of Coverbind Corporation today announced its Global Distributors Conference will be held at the Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach in Dubai, UAE. Beginning April 2, the conference will introduce Bindomatics ground-breaking new line of thermal binding machines the Accel Series to distributors and reinforce strong, working partnerships.I am very proud and excited to personally introduce our newest technology as well as innovative distributor-focused programs to help ensure the future success of our partners in the binding industry, said Gran Tolf, Bindomatic's CEO.Distributors will enjoy hands-on exploration of the new Accel Series machines: Accel Cube, Accel Ultra, and Accel Ultra+. The machines boast speeds that are twice as fast as the previous generation with the same great bindin...

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Cyber criminals are taking advantage of tax season to lure valuable W-2 information from vulnerable businesses. An example of a common phishing scheme starts with a scammer posing as a legitimate employee of a company, sending an email that looks like it is coming from an internal email address, often the human resources department or the finance department, or even from the CEO of the company. A cyber-criminal may even impersonate an employee using stolen personal data from that employee. The email from the scammer attempts to trick the recipient into sending the scammer W-2s, often creating a sense of urgency for a quick response. As we all know, a W-2 contains valuable information such as an individuals name, address, social security number, salary and withheld taxes. Cyber criminals can use this information to file fake tax returns and pocket tax refunds. As recently as February 17, 2017, the IRS warned of a new phishing scam where tax professionals and state tax agencies are sent an email impersonating a software provider with the subject line Access Locked. The email tells the recipient that access to the software was suspended due to errors in the recipients security details. Then, the email requires the recipient to unlock the software by clicking on a link that directs the recipient to a fake web page, prompting the recipient to provide his/her user name and password, which is ...
San Quintin Farmworkers Take Demands to Mexico City by El Enemigo Comun

Last March 4th, the Caravan for a Fair Wage and Decent Life began with a blockade of the Transpeninsular Highway by the day laborers from the fields of the San Quintin Valley. The workers then went on to cover 3,000 kilometers, arriving in Mexico City on March 17th.

x carolina



Last March 4th, the Caravan for a Fair Wage and Decent Life began with a blockade of the Transpeninsular Highway by the day laborers from the fields of the San Quintin Valley. The workers then went on to cover 3,000 kilometers, arriving in Mexico City on March 17th.



Two years ago, the strike of thousands of farm workers brought to light the appalling conditions in which at least 80,000 men, women and children toil as day laborers in Baja California agribusiness. The hours are long, up to 14 hours a day with no rest on the weekends at a deplorable wage, with no vacations, no social security and no decent housing with basic services. Striking workers denounced human rights violations, and especially sexual abuse and harassment of the mainly indigenous women workers by the foremen.



In response to a call sent out by the National Democratic Independent Farm Workers Union (SINDJA) and the Alliance of National, State and Municipal Organizations for Social Justice, this years Caravan was organized to protest non-compliance of agreements reached with federal and state government officials in Baja California. The struggle continues for decent wages and benefits, the right to social security and an end to the sexual harassment of women.



The exploitative companies are mainly consortiums like Driscolls in the United States. Working together with human rights organizations and territorial defenders in both countries, the day laborers succeeded in launching a widespread boycott against this corporation as a way of pressuring the owners to meet their demands.



As the Caravan made its way through nine states in Mexico, it was joined by teachers of the CNTE, collectives in defense of the water in Mexicali and several different labor and social organizations supporting the farm workers struggle.



Ke Huelga Radio reported that the Caravan made a stop in the city of Ensenada to condemn the lack of basic services, such as drinking water, sewerage and highways. Caravan members also denounced the lack of specialized medical attention, especially maternity and pediatric benefits and those related to on-the-job accidents and pollution damages suffered due to the use of agro-chemicals in the field.



In Tijuana, the Caravan stopped at the Chaparral border crossing between the two Californias, where migrant day workers and social organizations from the United States joined Mexican workers in denouncing outrageous labor conditions in both agricultural territories. Furthermore, they decided to resume the global boycott of berries produced by Driscolls.



As the Caravan approached Mexicali, it was pursued by police in patrol trucks who pointed at people with long arms, forcing them to get off the buses. The detained workers, however, turned the aggression into a protest, blocking the highway for several hours before they were able to continue on their way.



In a news program of Hijos de la Tierra, it was reported that around noon on March 8th, the travelers met with Mario Luna and the traditional authorities of the Yaqui Tribe in Vicam, Sonora. The meeting was very moving with the two groups recognizing each other as actors in significant struggles of original peoples, who after 500 years of living under constant siege, are still very much alive and standing up for their rights. On International Womens Day, both groups noted the valuable contributions made by women to the struggle.



Mario Luna insisted that we must set an example for others, not to be leaders or bosses, because our communities are organized from the ground up, by the people, by our troops. If one falls down, another gets up.



After passing through the states of Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacan, Queretaro and Mexico state, the Caravan brought its activities to a close in Mexico City on May 17th.



Outside the federal Attorney Generals Office on Reforma Avenue, the farm workers met with the Committee of the Fathers and Mothers of Ayotzinapa to demand that the federal government undertake a real investigation of the events of September 26 and 27 of September, 2015 and punish those responsible for the disappearance of the 43 students.



Other farmer and worker organizations joined in a march to the Anti-Monument of the 43 and then continued on to the rally at the Monument of the Revolution. There, the SINDJA spokesperson underscored the demands raised by the Caravan and proposed the formation of a national union of agricultural day workers. It was also announced that solidarity actions were underway that day in Baja California.



Photos: Ke Huelga Radio, Hijos de la Tierra
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh state government over an attack on Nigerian students in Noida.

By India Today Web Desk: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh state government over an attack on Nigerian students who were assaulted by local residents at Pari Chowk, Greater Noida.

Residents of NSG's Black Enclave on Monday were protesting following the death of a teenage boy due to suspected overdose of drugs. According to the residents, the five Nigerian students who were living in the same society had drugged 19-year-old Manish Khera.

I have asked for a report from Government of Uttar Pradesh about the reported attack on African students in Noida.- Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 27, 2017

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The Nigerian students were booked, detained, and released because of lack of evidence.

The residents were protesting against African residents living in the colonies of Greater Noida

ALSO READ | Greater Noida: Boy dies under mysterious circumstances, parents blame Nigerian neighbours

ALSO WATCH | Indian woman harassed in UK, seeks Sushma Swaraj's help

--- ENDS ---
Burma Army Chief: Tatmadaw Will Prevent Political Intervention on Rohingyas Behalf

The 72 Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYIDAW  Burma Army Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing has warned against what he described as a political intervention in Burma in the name of assisting the Rohingya.

The Burma Army chief, in his address on the 72nd Anniversary Armed Forces Day observed in the administrative capital Naypyidaw on Monday, reiterated that Bengalis did not belong to Burma, but were interlopers from Bangladesha reference to the self-identifying Rohingya community largely concentrated in Arakan State.

The senior general said any international political intervention on the pretext of assisting refugees from this community would threaten Burmas sovereignty.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 70,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh following a crackdown by security forces in northern Arakan State, following coordinated attacks on border police outposts last October.

We are responsible to prevent, based on the Tatmadaw Spirit, those actions done on the pretext of [addressing the] political situation as well as religious or racial issues in our country, because they can harm the sovereignty of our country, said the army chief.

On Friday, the 34th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted a resolution on Burma tabled by the EU, and resolved to dispatch an independent international fact finding mission to Burma. They also extended the mandate of the UNs Special Rapporteur on Burma, Yanghee Lee.

The same day, Burmas Foreign Affairs Ministry, headed by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, released a statement, raising objections to the resolution.

Regarding military operations in northern Arakan State, northern Kachin State, Mong Ko in Shan State and Laukkai, in the Kokang region, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said on Monday that the military had to defend the country and its political future.

The Tatmadaw firmly adopts the stance of ensuring the stability, unity and development of the country and monitoring to ensure that [the country] can walk firmly on the multi-party democracy path chosen by the people, said the army chief.

The Tatmadaw will play a role in assisting elected governments to ensure development for the country, said the army chief.

The 72nd Armed Forces Day ceremony was attended by senior military leaders, government officials, lawmakers, retired military officers and diplomats.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko
Burma Philippine President Offers Humanitarian Aid to Arakan State

Rodrigo Duterte meets with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw on Monday, where he announced that the Phillippines would contribute to humanitarian aid in Arakan State. / State Counsellors Office

NAYPYIDAW  President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte, presently in Burma for an official visit, has formalized a donation of US$300,000 in humanitarian aid designated for to conflict-stricken Arakan State.

The Philippine president had a meeting with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday afternoon in Naypyidaw.

According to sources from Burmas Presidents Office, Duterte put forward the aid funds during the meeting with the State Counselor, as she also serves as the chairperson of the Central Committee for the Implementation of Peace and Development in Arakan State.

Duterte and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also signed memorandums of understanding on issues concerning food security and agriculture. They also discussed cooperation between their two countries regarding anti-human trafficking, counterterrorism, and anti-drug initiatives.

On Monday morning, Duterte met with Burmas President U Htin Kyaw to discuss the strengthening of relations between two Southeast Asian countries.

Duterte had a separate meeting with Burmese military chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, at Horizon Lake View Hotel on Monday, where he is staying.

The Philippine President arrived Naypyidaw on Sunday evening and will be in Burma for two days. The visit also coincides with the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations between the Philippines and Burma.
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

The meme du jour about the protests in Russia on Sunday is that Donald Trump did not criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin for arresting the protesters, including their leader, Alexei Navalny.

Apparently the pressure on the State Department from Russia hawks in Congress was so great that State issued a brief statement condemning the arrest of protesters.

But Trump was uncharacteristically quiet.

It is a fair point, and signals Trumps double standards.

But the irony is that Navalny is even more like Trump than Putin is, and in fact is a little scary.

Navalny is a nationalist, who has been seen at far-right, ultra-nationalist events. His platform not only attacks corruption but also calls for deportation of undocumented workers.

Navalny accused Russian prime minister Dimitry Medvedev of embezzling so much money he has become a billionaire. He has a Non-Governmental organization intended to track corruption in Russias elite.

Medvedev may well be extremely corrupt. But this campaign against him looks like Trumps demands that Hillary Clinton be locked up without trial.

Navalny was behind the demonstrations throughout Russia, in 80 cities, on Sunday, and was detained after they broke out.

BBC Monitoring translated his and his supporters tweets to the effect that all the employees of Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation were arrested on Sunday:

Moscow police have detained all employees present at the headquarters of opposition leader Alexei Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), according to Navalny himself. All employees of the Anti-Corruption Foundation have been detained. This is the best possible appraisal of their work. The FBK will not allow thieves a quiet life, Navalny wrote on Twitter on 26 March (bit.ly/2n6O4N7). FBK staff had been broadcasting live footage of anti-corruption protests taking place in Moscow and other cities around Russia. According to Navalny ally Leonid Volkov, who had been presenting the live feed, during his detention he was asked by police whether the broadcast had been sanctioned by the authorities (bit.ly/2ojF3AP). Earlier, Navalny himself was detained at the beginning of the protest on Moscows central Tverskaya street. He later tweeted, urging his supporters to continue marching without him.

But Navalnys agenda goes beyond corruption. The Atlantic writes,

In an interview in January, Navalny laid out the main points of the so-called nationalist agenda, including combating illegal immigration and ethnically based organized-crime groups; protecting ethnic Russians abroad; and bringing order to the North Caucasus, which he has called a de facto lawless off-shore zone. 

He has also demanded that all Federal funding for the Caucasus be suspended.

So the Caucasus is to Navalny as Mexico is to Trump.

In Moscow authorities appear to have asked Navalny and his protesters to move somewhere quieter, rather as George W. Bush (unconstitutionally) proposed protest zones for those unhappy with his Iraq War.

This is not the liberal opposition in Russia, but something dark and even to Putins right. While Navalnys followers should have the right to demonstrate freely, there is no particular point in demanding that Trump swing around and blindly support Navalny just because he isnt Putin.



Related video added by Juan Cole:

CNN: Protesters clash with Russian police
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TeleSur |  

Protesters gathered under the banner, Jews wont be free until Palestinians are, reject AIPAC, reject occupation.

Jewish protesters marched Sunday outside the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington as they slammed the lobbying firm for its support for policies of the right-wing Israeli government.

Protesters held a banner saying, Jews wont be free until Palestinians are, reject AIPAC, reject occupation. IfNotNow, a group of young, left-wing U.S. Jews organized the action, which was billed as a Reclaim, Resist, and Reimagine rally. Almost 700 people said they would attend on the events Facebook page, Haaretz reported.

The outlet also said that it was the first time that a protest against the organization had drawn such big numbers and so many Jewish people.

The protesters carried signs against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands as well as the increasing abuses against Palestinians.

How can we have a sustained Jewish community in this country and a democratic Jewish community in Israel as long as an occupation persists, Jeremy Zelinger, one of the protesters, told the Times of Israel. AIPAC does not represent us.

The Israeli lobbying arm blames Palestinians entirely for the absence of peace talks and refrains from criticizing any Israeli policies, including its illegal settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

The right-wing Israeli government, as well as AIPAC, welcomed the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president as they see him as a true ally to Israel who will not criticize settlement building and will not push for a two-state solution with the Palestinians allowing far-right factions to push for the annexation of the West Bank.

Trump has also said he would move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city of Jerusalem. Speaking at the AIPAC conference, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday revived talk of the possibility the U.S. may move its embassy, saying Trump was seriously considering the matter.

After decades of simply talking about it, the president of the United States is giving serious consideration to moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Via TeleSur

-

Related video added by Juan Cole:

Haaretz.com: Hundreds march outside AIPAC in protest of Israeli settlements | Credit: Jerome Korman
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By Jon Else | ( Tomdispatch.com) |  

On a glorious afternoon in August 1963, after the massive March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom wrapped up on the national mall, President John F. Kennedy, prodded by Attorney General Robert Kennedy, welcomed John Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin, and other march organizers to the White House for a discussion of proposed civil rights legislation. Fifty-four years later, on an afternoon in January 2017, when the even more massive Womens March on Washington wrapped up, President Donald Trump responded with a sarcastic tweet. Just the day before, Trumps team had removed the civil rights page from the issues section of the WhiteHouse.gov website and replaced it with a new entry entitled Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community. The page is still missing.

Today, with the three branches of government controlled by men intolerant of dissent and hounded by their own dark vision of pluralism, few human rights advocates of any stripe can reasonably expect a hearing in Washington. Our long-running, ongoing, unfinished American civil rights struggle that so often focused on pressing the federal government toward justice, is suddenly in uncharted territory. The legacy of Reverend Martin Luther King has slammed up against the legacy of Alabama Governor George Wallace, whose snarling campaign for president in 1968 has come home to roost in the presidency of Donald Trump. Where civil rights leaders, warriors, and foot soldiers found support in high places they will now find a void.

Partners With Power

Amid discussion of renewed civil rights activism, you may well ask whether well need to fight those fights all over again. Will black people once more have to claim their humanity? For perspective on this moment, lets consider why the strategies of the southern liberation struggle worked as well as they did back in the day.

The classic civil rights movement (1954-1965) was sparked, organized, and driven by local people and leaders (maids, teachers, farmers, cooks, janitors, students, ministers) in a hundred southern towns who, with ferocious courage, stood up and said No more! Their victories  some temporary, some lasting  regularly depended on their ability as citizens to reach beyond local and state segregationists to faraway presidents, congressional representatives, federal circuit court judges, and Supreme Court justices in Washington, appealing to them to respond with regulations, executive orders, laws, and even armed force.

Dogged organizing by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Congress Of Racial Equality (CORE), and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), together with the NAACPs decades-long legal campaigns, Martin Luther Kings rhetorical genius, and the massed moral crusade of black southerners first shamed and finally forced the latent hand of federal power. Alert to this leapfrog tactic, Malcolm X, W.E.B. Du Bois, and others went a step further and tried unsuccessfully to appeal to the United Nations, as more recently have the parents of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Jordan Davis.

With its unanimous 1954 Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation decision, the Supreme Court signaled to African Americans in the former Confederacy that they had a friend in Washington. In Brown, by the sheer weight of evidence, moral suasion, and reason, a handful of African American parents, children, and their lawyers had compelled nine aging white justices (including former Ku Klux Klansman Hugo Black) to agree that all citizens deserve equal education.

In a similar manner over the next decade, one powerful judicial, congressional, and presidential ally after another would step up, willfully or grudgingly, to affirm simple justice, rights long promised but also long deferred. Their embrace of civil rights was sometimes a matter of conscience, sometimes a savvy calculation of their constituents electoral mood. Those actions would, in the end, help open doors and extend legal rights to ethnic minorities, women, immigrants, workers, and most recently gay, lesbian, and transgendered citizens.

Major legislation  the Civil Rights Act of 1957 which established the Justice Departments civil rights division, the 1964 Act which outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968  and hundreds of decisions handed down by federal district courts, circuit courts, and the Supreme Court all slowly expanded protections to African Americans and set precedents for all Americans. Unlike blacks within white-ruled South Africa who, at the time, were not citizens of their own nation and had little hope of federal protection, blacks across the deep South could succeed because they were citizens not only of their own states, but of the United States.

Few in the 1960s believed that marching, demonstrating, sitting in, agitating, witnessing, disrupting, or singing could ever change the minds, much less the policies, of a half-dozen southern governors, a hundred county sheriffs, or millions of white segregationists. The Montgomery bus boycott was successful in driving the bus company to the edge of bankruptcy, but legal bus segregation remained intact until the Supreme Court stepped in.

Well-schooled in the strategies of Gandhi, civil rights leaders knew of the critical value of mass meetings, collective action, and civil disobedience for building resolve, visibility, and a powerful sense of community, but they also knew its limits: solidarity was not enough. Coming together to raise awareness would not in itself achieve concrete results. Birmingham leader Fred Shuttlesworth put it this way: Look, America, look at your promises; look how youve treated your poor Negro citizens. But you cant shame segregation. Rattlesnakes dont commit suicide.

Persuasion, appeals to reason, and simple justice certainly recruited northern liberals and some white southern moderates to the cause, but southern blacks could have preached the Sermon on the Mount or the U.S. Constitution daily to White Citizens Councils to no effect. In the end, the decisive language that spoke to white oppression was power, and the power that proved decisive often lay in Washington.

While economic boycotts might sometimes force compromise on local businesses and segregationist officials, generally the trick was to vault over them to, if necessary, the president himself. In the documentary Eyes On The Prize, Burke Marshall, head of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division under President Kennedy explained, that, when push came to shove, no deep southern city or state could resist escalating federal force. I suppose, he commented, the president could have sent the United States Navy up the Mississippi River  which was exactly what Abraham Lincoln had done a century earlier.

At the extreme, Republican and Democratic presidents deployed deputies, federal marshals, national guardsmen, and in the end even Army troops to enforce federal anti-discrimination laws and protect dissenters rights under the First Amendment when state and local officials refused to do so. If the attack dogs, bombings, and mass arrests of children got bad enough in Birmingham, and if it all appeared on television nationwide, local black organizers came to understand that they could usually depend on predictable moral outrage in the White House, a Congress worried about reelection, or the Supreme Court for a remedy.

In 1957, faced with news bulletins of white rioters and Alabama national guardsmen blocking nine black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, Republican President Dwight Eisenhower reluctantly sent in elements of the Armys 101st Airborne Division, declaring on prime-time television, Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of the courts. Five years later, President Kennedy, a convert to the civil rights cause, would similarly dispatch his Assistant Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and 200 federal marshals backed by the U.S. Army to ensure that James Meredith could enter the besieged campus of the University of Mississippi.

The Revolution Will Be Televised

Movement leaders patiently calculated a strategy for success that often depended on the press, in particular the new medium of television news, to haul Jim Crows physical, social, and civic brutality out of the backwoods and into the nations living rooms. They understood that news crews would flock not only to record Martin Luther Kings oratory but also the flamboyant antics of a few southern sheriffs and the grand theater of mass non-violent resistance. Confronted with televised attacks on peaceful demonstrators, a majority of congressmen, including dozens of Republicans, might acknowledge the searing contradictions of state racism for what they were. Whether good will, cynicism, or electoral savvy drove politicians actions, the strategy worked.

The national media provided a direct prod that regularly stiffened spines in Washington, but such public disapproval by hectoring northern journalists also brought white southerners together in solidarity against the media elites (a phenomenon that should have a certain resonance in present-day America). White crowds knew that network television coverage spelled trouble for legal segregation and often went for the cameras. Those mobs understood the postmodern power of images as well as any postmodernist. When the first Freedom Riders bus rolled into Birminghams bus station in 1961, dozens of Klansmen attacked the waiting newsmen first before they went after the riders. There would be no news clips of that event on TV that evening.

On the horrific night when James Meredith tried to enter the University of Mississippi, the mob, flying Confederate battle flags, attacked the media, smashing cameras, beating cameramen, and killing a reporter from Agence France-Presse execution-style, before shooting 35 federal marshals.

Second only to the courage of African Americans was the courage of those highly visible TV crews. They would stay miraculously calm and focused, navigating the mayhem between marchers, mobs, and lawmen. Though they were constrained by journalistic standards from partisanship in reporting, many of those crews could not escape their growing sympathy for the movement, and found themselves ready to join in the reformation of America with their pictures and words. They were televising a particularly disgusting pageant: officers, under the sanction of state and local laws, bludgeoning, fire hosing, arresting, punching, cattle prodding, whipping, tear-gassing, and even shooting defenseless, unresisting black people who had declared their commitment to nonviolence. It happened month after month throughout the 1960s.

The Selma Show

Movement leaders chose their sheriffs carefully, judging their battlegrounds in part by the quality of available villains. They favored bad actors like Chief Bull Connor, the proud bigot of Birmingham, who unleashed fire hoses on teenaged marchers with operatic fury, and Selmas increasingly unhinged arch-segregationist sheriff, Jim Clark.

The 1965 battle royal in Selma, Alabama, marked a milestone in the expansion of democracy for the towns African Americans, which had begun with the emancipation of its slaves during the Civil War. Selma first came under siege by Union regulars in April 1865. The Confederate defenders, an ill-trained muster of white militiamen, kids, and old men, were no match for the northern troops who ran them out of their hometown, then spent the night burning and looting. Selmas slaves were officially freed, but after a fleeting window of hope, Reconstruction and Jim Crow would strip them and their immediate descendants of nearly all their constitutional rights.

By 1965, almost a century after the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, which unambiguously declares, The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, the percentage of registered black voters in Alabama was actually falling. Local white voter registration clerks in Selma had allowed only 2% of the citys 14,000 black citizens to register, compared to 90% of Selmas whites. A carefully targeted registration campaign by local organizers and SNCC (later joined by the SCLC) aimed to shine a national spotlight on local oppression and so spur congressional action that would open up voting for black citizens throughout Alabama and eventually across the entire deep South.

Strategically deploying Martin Luther King (just back from accepting the Nobel Prize in Sweden), the movement in Selma set out to provoke Sheriff Clark and his famously brutal posse. As SNCCs Jim Forman said, We were laying a trap. The aim was to heighten a moral battle of Shakespearian proportions that television would then beam directly to President Lyndon Johnson.

At one point, the city would have 20 times more blacks in jail than on its voting rolls. Confrontations simmered throughout the winter of 1964-1965, punctuated by sudden explosions of violence. Reason, brotherly love, massed demonstrations, and inflamed national opinion made no dent in Jim Clarks enduring pathology. Like a man possessed, he simply couldnt stop himself from behaving badly in front of the cameras. He delivered the gaudy media goods, week after week, exactly as movement strategists had hoped he would, exactly as Selmas few moderate whites feared. The scenes of violence flashed around the country on TV every night, and appeared in the pages of the New York Times and Washington Post.

By 1965, President Johnson, a Texas Democrat, was ready to take risks on civil rights. He had already directed his White House staff to secretly prepare sweeping voting rights legislation and even a constitutional amendment. Now, the only thing needed was a trigger, and that finally came on March 7th, Bloody Sunday, when John Lewis, Hosea Williams, Bob Mants, and Albert Turner, leading hundreds of locals, crested the Pettus Bridge on their way to deliver a voting rights petition to Governor George Wallace at the state capitol.

All hell broke loose. Whites cheered from the roadside as Alabama state troopers and Clarks mounted posse clubbed, bullwhipped, and tear-gassed their way through 600 unarmed black men, women, and children. A trooper fractured John Lewiss skull with his billy club. Here was the massacre of the innocents for all Americans to see: southern lawmen in their pig-faced gas masks going berserk against African Americans who stood and took it. That televised attack, a crystalline icon of the era, worthy of Dante, had by evening rallied nearly all of Washington to the marchers cause. It would one day become a sturdy staple of history texts and documentaries. That night, local whites murdered a northern Unitarian minister.

Selmas young white mayor, Joe Smitherman, said, I didnt understand how big it was until I saw it on television That looked like a war; that went all over the country. And then the wrath of the nation came down on us. Citing television coverage, 31 Republican leaders condemned the situation in Alabama, as well as the administrations delay in proposing new federal voting legislation. Republican Senator Everett Dirksen rose to declare, The time is now.

President Johnson sent 2,000 federal troops to Selma as Lincoln had done 100 years before, this time to protect peaceful citizens of Alabama from Alabama state troopers. He went on national television to proclaim, Their cause must be our cause, and together we shall overcome! and then dispatched a sweeping voting rights bill to a willing Congress. After it passed the House by a vote of 328 to 74 and the Senate by 79 to 18, Johnson signed the act into law with John Lewis and Dr. King at his side.

By their determined organizing, marching, demonstrating, and most of all by their relentless courage, local black people had successfully appealed to Washington, finally brought legalized American apartheid to its knees. Black voting in Alabama jumped seven-fold in the next three years.

Without the media slamming blunt facts in the face of sympathetic (or politically savvy) power brokers in Washington, Bloody Sunday might have left in its wake little more than a few hundred broken and bleeding marchers and the Jim Crow voting system still intact. Without the TV coverage and a president and Congress capable of being won over, it might have been the civil rights equivalent of a tree falling silently in the forest, not the engine of sweeping change that it was.

Freedom Is A Constant Struggle

But that was then.

Back in 1965, the charm of Selma was lost on most of us who ventured there. Ive returned a few times since, first in 1985 to shoot scenes for Eyes on the Prize, including an interview with an unrepentant Jim Clark. The town was, by then, smaller, blacker, and poorer.

In 2015, I returned again with producer Orlando Bagwell to work on a film for the Southern Poverty Law Center. From a distance, nestled on a bluff above the Alabama River, Selma looked to me like a picturesque little town in southern France. The air below the Edmund Pettus Bridge, now a national historic landmark, was alive with swallows. Selmas lovely historic district seemed nicely parked somewhere between 1850 and 1950, but much of the rest of the once-prosperous town had, like so much of small town America, been hollowed out by recession and a changing economy. We could find only one restaurant open for supper downtown. Many of its beautiful nineteenth-century buildings were boarded up. Gaping bullet holes pockmarked the granite tombstone of Jimmie Lee Jackson, whose murder by a state trooper had sparked the original Bloody Sunday march. The Civil War Battle of Selma is still reenacted annually on a field outside town, with the Confederates defeated again, each year.

The Voting Rights Act forged in Selma had been a triumph of the classic civil rights movement, the hinge between everything that came before and so much that would come after. But we had little reason to suspect or notice when, shortly after the acts passage in 1965, conservative organizers began a methodical 40-year campaign to gut it. As black voter rolls in rural Alabama swelled, the states young federal prosecutor, Jeff Sessions, brought charges of voter fraud against civil rights organizer Albert Turner, a leader of the Bloody Sunday march. His case collapsed in court, but resistance continued, culminating in a 2013 Supreme Court decision that struck down one of that acts key provisions (federal approval of state changes in their voting laws). Ever since, a Republican campaign to put new voting restrictions in place has only gained momentum.

In 2015, however, few had noticed the most profound changes of all, even though they were stirring just below the surface of things: sweeping working class frustration; previously dormant strains of racism, misogyny, and nativism; galloping income inequality; and Democratic Party failures that went unnoticed and uncorrected. All of these factors would help lay the groundwork for the successful candidacy of Donald J. Trump. He was slow indeed to reject the white supremacists and nationalists who rushed to endorse his presidential bid and he was brought to office in some measure by the very forces that the civil rights movement naively thought it had largely silenced. Because the lid had been kept on overt public racism and nativism for so long, many Americans were slow to understand how deeply systemic the problem is.

The citizens of Selma voted for Hillary Clinton by a wide margin, but no matter. Trumps wave has driven from power the vital center with which mass movements had once been able to partner. Vestiges of the very ethos against which the civil rights movement fought have grown ever stronger and found a welcome place in his White House, their strength buoyed by a growing societal disapproval of media elites. In the process, Trump has inoculated himself against appeals for justice as has no president in our lifetime.

When it comes to any rights appeals in the immediate future, no one with real federal power is likely to be listening. There will be no sympathy for human rights petitioners from majority Republicans in the House of Representatives untroubled by reelection fears in their ferociously gerrymandered districts, nor from the soon-to-be-devastated civil rights division of the Department of Justice. What mechanisms will remain for the activists to activate?

In a country becoming less white every day, Democrats recently stood helpless when it came to blocking the confirmation of the whitest cabinet in decades. Soon enough, the Supreme Court will have a conservative majority and then President Trump will have the run of the table, racking up a political monoculture unknown in our time.

What many Americans think of as the civil rights movement  something in our black and white past, back there, back then  is, in fact, a deep running project launched long before we were born and sure to endure long after we are gone. In one now-historic decade, civil rights organizers brilliantly identified the levers of government power they could seize, but most of those levers are today out of reach.

In response, will activism translate into concrete results the way it once did? Surely, a new generation of organizers now rising with a resolve and passion not seen in years, having broadened the civil rights project into a human rights one, will develop new strategies. Surely, they will discover or invent new means of stopping what threatens to be a contraction of democracy. Surely, with the power of social media  a veritable television station in the hands of every citizen  they will find their own ways of ensuring that oppression cant dodge the spotlight. Already, the bottom-up strategy championed by SNCC has found new fluency in the ascendance of hyper-democratic Internet organizing and the raw eloquence of #BlackLivesMatter.

Does reform still demand powerful allies, and if so, who might they be? A few centrist Republicans, courageous career attorneys in the Justice Department, billionaire Silicon Valley CEOs committed to pluralism, a mass of determined young people running for office?

As organizers have discovered more than once since the early days of the republic, new levers lie waiting somewhere deep in the grand clockwork of our democracy. The only question is: Where?

Jon Else worked on the SNCC staff in 1964 and 1965 He was series producer and cinematographer for Eyes on the Prize, has produced and directed many award-winning documentaries, including The Day After Trinity and Cadillac Desert. A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, he is a professor at the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. His new book is True South: Henry Hampton and Eyes on the Prize, the Landmark Television Series That Reframed the Civil Rights Movement.

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 Jon Else

Via Tomdispatch.com
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Special Correspondent* | Niqash.org | Baghdad |  

Mosul Locals Explain Extremists Desperate Tactics

Mosul locals, some of whom have escaped the extremists and some who are still under their control, describe the Islamic State groups desperate tactics. They will fight to the death, trapped locals warn.

A month has passed since Iraqi pro-government forces began to try and push the extremist group known as the Islamic State out of the western side of Mosul. And the Islamic State, or IS, group appears to be becoming increasingly desperate, fighting to the death with no regard for civilian lives or property and no apparent escape routes.

One Mosul local described what the IS fighters were doing as a scorched earth policy. They had not launched any successful attacks, they were shelling indiscriminately, bombing areas that were no longer under their control, and were basically trapped, he said.

In a recent press statement Lieutenant General Talib Shaghati, head of the Iraqi counter-terrorism forces who are leading the fight to retake the northern city confirmed this, saying that, we are not fighting a regular army with clear methods and plans. We are fighting an extremist organization that changes its tactics all the time and does not follow any rules. This is an organization that has no consideration for any humanitarian issues in war.

While he was torching the cars, he kept saying: obedience to God, obedience to God.

Fighting in western Mosul was always going to be more difficult. The population density is higher in this part of the city and there are many houses built close to one another in an old city with narrow alleyways, that wont allow larger vehicles like tanks or armoured vehicles to pass easily.

On the eastern side of the city, the IS group used a lot of car bombs, driven by suicide bombers. The cars would be driven to obstruct Iraqi troops from getting closer to the IS fighters, or to trap them. Shaghati says an estimated over 850 exploding cars were used against them on that side of the city.

However very few car bombs are being used on the western side. For one thing the streets are too narrow for anything other than restricted movements and there has also been an increase in air cover for the pro-government forces.

On the western side of Mosul the IS group have been deploying snipers, many of them from Russia or other central Asian countries, locals caught in the fighting report. Fighters bearing light to medium weaponry and suicide bombers with explosive belts have been moving quickly through and around the crowded housing.

This kind of action had been prepared for. The IS group had instructed local homeowners to make holes in their walls that were 100 centimetres high and wide. This meant that their fighters could move from house to house without being detected.

Saad Agha*, a resident of the New Mosul neighbourhood, which was freed of the IS group around a week ago, told NIQASH that he had refused to make a hole in his wall. Angry IS fighters then gave him an hour to make the required hole or they would blow up his house, they said.

They scared me and they scared my family, Agha says. So I made the hole.

The holes were used by the IS fighters to escape and eventually also by the counter-terrorism troops, Agha recounts. The Iraqi soldiers also came through these holes and told us that we are free, he says.

IS fighters had also told civilians to park their cars on the streets so that they could use them as barriers and impede the troops advancing. When pro-government forces get close to a vehicular blockade, the IS members set the cars on fire, in order to obscure the vision of aircraft that might target them. There are hundreds of burned out cars all through the areas that the IS group has been expelled from.

Ahmad Saeed*, a local of the Risalah neighbourhood which the pro-government forces reached just a few days ago, told NIQASH how his familys vehicles were destroyed.

This dirty person came to our house and asked us to give us some fuel. He then started to pour it on our cars and our neighbours cars and then set them alight, Saeed says angrily; the corpse of the fighter in question now lies on the street. While he was torching the cars, he kept saying: obedience to God, obedience to God.

When the IS group realizes it is about to lose control of an area, it has started forcing locals to move into other areas with them, in order to use them as human shields.

Thousands of people have been moved into mosques, schools and health centres in the old city in western Mosul.

In a telephone conversation, Um Amar* says that the IS group forced her family to take in another family from the neighbourhood known as 17 July. And this is just one family they have brought from the southern neighbourhoods against their will, she says. There are hundreds more. Each house in our area now has more than ten people living there and we do not have enough to eat or drink, she says fearfully.

We do not know how things are going to go from here. We live near the outskirts of the city but the war is so close to us now, she says. Will they try and take us with them too? And where would they take us? The Iraqi forces are gaining control of the city and there is no escape for the extremists.

Some of the civilians have tried to escape this fate. But it is very difficult to get out of the IS-controlled area and into the pro-government-held parts of the city; there is no established or safe route.

Local man Abdul Samir* and his family of six tried to escape but were caught.

They beat me and then they dragged me out to shoot me, he told NIQASH in a phone call. I begged them not to, and my children were crying. They had female police with them and they searched my wife and found her mobile phone. So they became even more angry and accused me of fighting for the Iraqi army. They wanted to kill our whole family then and there, but just one of the fighters didnt like the idea. He managed to argue them around and they released us.

But to what kind of fate, Samir does not know. They brought us back to the Caliphate so I guess we must stay here, in this house, in the middle of this war. All I can do is put one hand on my head to protect myself from the bombs falling, and the other hand on my stomach, to protect me from starvation. I know that either we will die here or we will be free, he said, shortly before starting to cry and hanging up.

*Real names have not been used for reasons of security.

Via Niqash.org



Related video added by Juan Cole:

Sky TV: Frontline: the battle for Mosul
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pure Energy Minerals Limited (TSX VENTURE:PE) (FRANKFURT:A111EG) (OTCQB:PEMIF) (the Company or Pure Energy) is pleased to announce that it has completed a constant-rate pumping test at its newest exploration well, CV-8, at the Clayton Valley South Project (the CVS Project). The test ran continuously for three days and included a collection of brine samples along with extensive hydrogeological data on the brine aquifer system. CV-8 is believed to be the deepest well drilled in Clayton Valley, having reached a total depth of 3,194 ft (974 m) below ground level. The drillers completed the well with casing and filter pack to a depth of 2,874 ft (876 m), installing perforated casing and seals around two separate intervals. This type of well construction allows for isolation and separate testing of shallow and deeper zones of the aquifer system.

The well encountered numerous aquifers, including the interlayered volcanic ash and silt that are typical of Clayton Valley lithium production. At greater depths, the well passed through travertine (hot springs deposits) and conglomerate (gravel) that had not previously been described on the CVS Project, thus offering the potential for new brine hosting aquifers. Down hole fluid logging revealed elevated electrical conductivity to the bottom of the well, suggesting the presence of brine at greater depths than any previous sampling on the project.

The pumping test was configured using an electric submersible pump and monitoring apparatus in CV-8. The test ran at a constant pumping rate of approximately 2.0 litres per second (30 gallons per minute) for its duration. The hydrogeologists collected approximately 48 separate brine samples (including QA/QC samples) for lithium analysis over the 72-hour pumping period.

Monitoring during the test revealed that the extracted brine from CV-8 reached near steady-state elevated fluid conductivity and fluid density, comparable to other brine wells on the CVS Project. Based on previously observed correlations between conductivity and lithium content, this suggests the production of consistent lithium-bearing brine during the entire pumping test. Data collected during the pumping test will be used to enhance understanding of the hydrogeology of the CVS Project. The team also collected depth-specific brine samples for chemical analysis. These results are expected in April. The upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) will include a full discussion and interpretation of the data from CV-8.

Patrick Highsmith, Pure Energy Minerals CEO commented, CV-8 probed greater depths and encountered new aquifers not yet seen on the CVS Project. It is significant that CV-8 more than doubled the thickness of known brine-saturated sediments in our resource when compared with the drilling in the maiden resource. This pumping test is an important milestone as it adds considerably to our knowledge for the resource model and the preliminary design of a production well field. We look forward to working through the data as we update the mineral resource and deliver the first PEA at the CVS Project.

This pumping test was designed and supervised by Pure Energys hydrogeological consulting specialists, Montgomery & Associates (Montgomery). The test was performed in accordance with State of Nevada waivers and permits issued to Pure Energy by the Nevada Division of Water Resources and the Division of Environmental Protection, which allowed for the extraction of brine from the well for the extended duration of this test and subsequent discharge to surface.

Quality Assurance

Patrick Highsmith, Certified Professional Geologist (AIPG CPG # 11702), is a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, and has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Mr. Highsmith is not independent of the Company as he is an officer and director.

About Pure Energy Minerals Ltd.

Pure Energy is a lithium resource developer that is driven to become a low-cost supplier for the burgeoning lithium battery industry. The Company is currently focused on the development of the CVS Lithium Brine Project and the adjoining Glory Lithium Clay Project in Clayton Valley, Nevada. Pure Energy also recently announced the acquisition of a purchase option on a major new lithium brine project in the Lithium Triangle of South America, the Terra Cotta Project (TCP). The TCP is located on Pocitos Salar in Salta, Argentina, where it enjoys some of the best infrastructure and access of any lithium brine exploration project in the country. Execution of the definitive agreement concerning the Terra Cotta purchase option is expected during Q1 of 2017.

Pure Energy has developed core strengths in innovative development and processing technologies for lithium brines and lithium mineral deposits. The Companys key attributes and activities include:
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - March 27, 2017) - Osisko Mining Inc. (TSX:OSK) ("Osisko") is pleased to announce, further to its press release issued on January 10, 2017, that it has entered into and commenced an earn-in agreement with Barrick Gold Corporation (TSX:ABX)(NYSE:ABX) ("Barrick") in respect of an exploration earn-in (the "Exploration Earn-In") on the Kan property located in northern Quebec ("Kan Property"). See below under the heading "About the Kan Property".

Under the Exploration Earn-In, Barrick must commit $15 million in work expenditures on or prior to December 31, 2020 to earn a 70% interest in the Kan Property, subject to certain annual work expenditure thresholds, including a guaranteed expenditure threshold of $6 million on or prior to December 31, 2018. Following the completion of the Exploration Earn-In, the Kan Property will be transferred to a new joint venture entity to be owned 30% by Osisko and 70% by Barrick. Osisko and Barrick will then enter into a joint venture agreement in respect of the Kan Property. In addition, Barrick may earn a further 5% interest in the joint venture entity (for a total interest of 75%) by electing to fund an additional $5 million of project level expenditures (such as a preliminary economic assessment or pre-feasibility study).

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed, prepared and approved by Mr. Mathieu Savard, P.Geo. Vice President Exploration Quebec, who is a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About the Kan Property

The Kan Property is located in the Nunavik Territory in northern Quebec. The property is a large gold and base-metal exploration project covering a surface area of over 30,000 hectares in the Labrador Trough, 85 kilometres southwest of Kuujjuaq. A silicate-carbonate iron formation of regional extent represents a significant auriferous unit on the property sharing similarities with the world-class Homestake gold deposit. Historical work conducted in the 1990's led to the discovery of numerous gold showings within the iron formation, with drill results returning 5.1 g/t Au over 6 metres (Ferricrete Showing) and 9.46 g/t Au over 2 metres (Kan Showing). Work carried out by Rio Silver Inc. in 2011-2012 yielded 3.12 g/t Au over 13.9 metres in channels and 1.2 g/t Au over 10.4 metres in drilling on the Pump Pad Ridge showing. Exploration work performed in 2014-2016 by Virginia Mines Inc. (subsequently Osisko Exploration James Bay) led to the discovery of additional gold mineralization associated with the silicate-carbonate iron formation on the Kan Property. Best results from this work include values of: 8.1 g/t Au over 7 metres (Pump Pad Ridge showing); 10.7 g/t Au over 5 metres (Winchester showing); and 8.6 g/t Au over 3.2 metres (KTR showing) obtained from channels; and values of 2.13 g/t Au over 8 metres and 4.62 g/t over 8 metres obtained from drilling (Winchester-Pump-Pad Ridge).

About Osisko Mining Inc.

Osisko is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal resource properties in Canada. Osisko holds a 100% in the high-grade Windfall Lake gold deposit located between Val-d'Or and Chibougamau in Quebec and holds a 100% undivided interest in a large area of claims in the surrounding Urban Barry and Lebel-sur-Quevillon areas, a 100% interest in the Marban project located in the heart of Quebec's prolific Abitibi gold mining district, and properties in Ontario, including the Jonpol and Garrcon deposits on the Garrison property. Osisko continues to be well financed with approximately $190 million in cash and investments. Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. (TSX:OR)(NYSE:OR) is a significant shareholder of the Corporation with approximately 14% ownership.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO--(Marketwired - Mar 27, 2017) - Gold Resource Corporation ( NYSE MKT : GORO) (the "Company") declares its monthly instituted dividend of 1/6 of a cent per common share for March 2017 payable on April 24, 2017 to shareholders of record as of April 11, 2017. Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA.

The Company has returned $109 million to shareholders in monthly dividends since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010, and offers shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends and take delivery in physical gold and silver. For more information on Gold Resource Corporation's physical dividend program, visit the Company website at http://goldresourcecorp.com/gold-silver-dividends.php.

Dividends may vary in amount and consistency or be discontinued at the Board of Directors' discretion depending on variables including but not limited to operational cash flows, Company development requirements and strategies, construction, spot gold and silver prices, taxation, general market conditions and other factors described in the Cautionary Statements below and the Company's public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

About GRC:

Gold Resource Corporation is a mining company focused on production and pursuing development of gold and silver projects that feature low operating costs and produce high returns on capital. Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA. The Company has 56,839,823 shares outstanding, zero warrants, zero debt and has returned $109 million back to shareholders since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010. Gold Resource Corporation offers shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery. For more information, please visit GRC's website, located at www.Goldresourcecorp.com and read the Company's 10-K for an understanding of the risk factors involved.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - March 27, 2017) - Tango Mining Limited ("Tango" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:TGV) announces that further to its news releases dated February 28, 2017 and March 1, 2017 the Company has eliminated the intermediary step of acquiring from Mr. Kevin Gallagher a related party, a 23% interest in African Star Minerals (Pty) Ltd ("ASM"). As a result, the terms of the agreement with Mr. Georges Zard ("GZ") the owner of the international conglomerate The GZA Group, have been amended whereby Mr. Zard will now acquire from the Company an 8% interest in ASM in lieu of the 31% interest previously announced. Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Zard have entered into a private transaction whereby Mr. Zard will acquire the 23% interest directly from Mr. Gallagher.

GZ Acquisition of 8% of ASM

ASM owns 100% of the Oena Diamond Mine ("Oena") which consists of 8,800 hectares Converted Mining Right ("CMR") located on the lower Orange River, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Mr. Zard has agreed to pay Tango US$35,000 for the 8% interest in ASM and purchase CAD$225,000 in securities from the Company by way of private placement.

An application for a nine-year renewal of the mining right was lodged with the Department of Mineral Resources with a Mining Work Programme, Environmental Management Plan and recently a revised Social and Labour Plan has been submitted in support of the renewal. The application for renewal of the CMR is pending. The transfer of the 8% interest to GZ is subject to South African regulatory consents and approvals required to implement the transaction.

While the CMR is being renewed, Tango must place in escrow, 3,425,160 Tango shares ("Escrowed Shares") in the name of Mr. Zard as security for its interest in ASM. Upon receipt of the renewal of the CMR the Escrowed Shares will be cancelled and returned to the treasury. In the event the CMR is not renewed, the Escrowed Shares will be released to Mr. Zard and Mr. Zard will transfer back to Tango a 31% interest in ASM, being the 8% acquired from Tango and the 23% interest acquired privately from Mr. Gallagher.

ASM has also submitted applications for other applicable approvals as required under South African regulatory consents and approvals and should the transfer of 8% of ASM not occur, Tango will release 930,755 of the Escrowed Shares to Mr. Zard.

The 8% ASM disposition has received conditional approval by the TSX Venture Exchange. In connection with the sale of the 8% interest in ASM, Tango has agreed to pay to Merlin Partners LLP, a 5% finder's fee and issue 46,228 share purchase warrants exercisable at a price of $0.05 for a period of 2 years.

Finance Update

The Company confirms that is has issued 4,938,729 shares in the capital stock of the Company at a price of $0.05 per share in full and complete settlement of indebtedness and the number of securities issued and outstanding now is 186,055,619 common shares.

About Tango Mining Limited

Tango, via its South African subsidiaries, hold four thermal coal, metallurgical and processing plant and engineering contracts that process 6.5 Mt of coal per annum, with clientele that include Exxaro and Glencore. The four projects are located within the Ogies and Highveld coalfields, Mpumalanga Province and Kliprivier coalfield, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The Company also holds an interest in the Oena Project, an alluvial diamond property, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Tango has a continued development plan in place to grow the business using the successful past 19-year business model of the South African operations, an established market presence and its proven successful operational reputation in the coal, base and precious metal and precious stone mining sector in Southern Africa.
More than 170 farmers stayed put at Jantar Manar carrying the skulls of colleagues who they said had committed suicide after losing their livelihoods to Tamil Nadu's worst drought in 140 years. The farmers are demanding more action from the state and central government.

Since March 14, more than 170 farmers have stayed put at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to demand more action from the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre to help those whose livelihoods have been devastated by the worst drought to hit the state in 140 years. To focus attention on just how serious their plight is, the farmers carried the skulls of colleagues who they said had committed suicide. As many as 106 farmers have reportedly committed suicide in just one month, spurring the National Human Rights Commission to seek a report from the Tamil Nadu government. The farmers had first taken the skulls to protest outside the prime minister's residence but were directed to Jantar Mantar by the police.

--- ENDS ---

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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - March 27, 2017) - Pure Gold Mining Inc. (TSX VENTURE:PGM) ("Pure Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that a new zone of near surface gold mineralization has been discovered at the Russet South target on the Company's 100% owned Madsen Gold Project ("Madsen"). These new discovery holes add critical mass to Russet South, which is shaping up to be an important component of Pure Gold's modern development strategy. Consistent drill results from new areas such as Russet South, McVeigh, A3 and Starratt, reinforce the resource expansion program that is underway and the widespread untapped potential of the Madsen Gold Project.

Highlights from new drilling at Russet South include:

23.1 g/t gold over 1.9 metres in hole PG17-310

in hole PG17-310 8.3 g/t gold over 1.7 metres in hole PG17-316

in hole PG17-316 4.4 g/t gold over 12.0 metres in hole PG17-335 Including 14.3 g/t gold over 2.0 metres

in hole PG17-335 21.4 g/t gold over 1.9 metres in hole PG17-341

"Our drilling has been highly successful in intersecting widespread gold mineralization at Russet South," said Darin Labrenz, President and CEO of Pure Gold. "The mineral system is similar in setting and style to that of significant portions of the existing resource at Madsen, and results released today have expanded this satellite gold target significantly. Drilling has now intersected gold mineralization across a 650 metre by 650 metre footprint, to depths less than 250 metres demonstrating the near-term, near-surface potential for meaningful resources within a short distance of Madsen's permitted mine infrastructure.1"

New Zone of Mineralization Discovered

The new gold zone at Russet South is highlighted by hole PG17-335 which returned 4.4 g/t gold over 12.0 metres. This zone lies on the eastern side of Russet South, approximately 200 metres north and along strike of intercepts drilled in 2015 and 2016, including 12.3 g/t gold over 2.9 metres in PG15-0452 and 17.7 g/t Gold over 1.0 metre in PG16-0993. Gold mineralization in all of these holes is associated with deformed blue-grey quartz veins hosted in a 200 metre thick wedge of Basalt located between two distinct Ultramafic units. This near surface setting is structurally and stratigraphically analogous to known deep mineralization that forms the Madsen 8-Zone deposit which has Indicated Resources of 132,000 ounces gold at 12.21 g/t Au (in 0.34 million tonnes) and Inferred Resources of 185,000 ounces gold at 18.14 g/t Au (in 0.32 million tonnes)1, 5.

Drilling at Russet South expands Mineralized Zones and Builds Continuity

Additionally, new drill holes reported herein have intersected gold mineralization in the hanging wall of the previously reported mineralization on the western extent of Russet South, expanding the scale of, and demonstrating continuity of mineralization in this area. The reported intercepts from PG17-310 are 150 metres along strike to the southwest from a previously reported intercept in PG15-028 of 8.2 g/t gold over 11.0 metres4, with both intercepts hosted in a package of folded quartz veins on the lower contact of an Ultramafic unit. The intercept reported from PG16-341 was a 50 metre step out to the North from this visible gold mineralized intercept in PG17-310 highlighting the along strike continuity of the mineralized quartz vein envelope.

Drill Results Summary

New assay results from select drill holes are outlined below:

Hole ID From

(m) To

(m) Length

(m) Gold

(g/t) Zone PG17-302 104.6 106.30 1.7 6.3 Russet South PG17-310 138.2 140.00 1.9 23.1 Russet South 174.4 175.4 1.0 5.0 Russet South 178.8 190.0 11.2 2.4 Russet South incl. 181.45 183.00 1.6 6.8 Russet South 254.00 255.20 1.2 6.0 Russet South PG17-313 251.80 252.90 1.1 7.3 Russet South PG17-316 128.40 130.10 1.7 8.3 Russet South PG17-328 118.00 125.38 7.4 2.8 Russet South PG17-335 190.0 202.0 12.0 4.4 Russet South incl. 190.0 194.0 4.0 8.9 incl. 190.0 192.0 2.0 14.3 PG17-336 126.2 152.5 26.3 1.8 Russet South incl. 139.0 140.7 1.7 8.8 PG17-341 156.1 158.0 1.9 21.4 Russet South *Assay composites were calculated using uncut assays and true widths are interpreted to vary from 70-90% (80%, on average) of reported core lengths above.

Plan map showing the setting of the Russet South targets



Complete list of 2017 drill results to date



Pure Gold's 2017 exploration program is on-going with four drill rigs currently testing resource growth potential near the mine infrastructure and along the more than five kilometre strike length of the Madsen mineral system. The program is expected to include 70,000 metres of core drilling, and will include underground drilling, expected to commence in Q2 2017. Further results will be released as available.

ABOUT MADSEN

The Madsen Mine operated for over 36 years with historic production of 2.5 million ounces at an average grade of 9.9 g/t gold. The Madsen Gold Project hosts a permitted mill and tailings facility, and access to power, water and labour. The Madsen Gold Project has an Indicated Resource of 928,000 ounces gold at 8.93 g/t gold (in 3.24 million tonnes) and an Inferred Resource of 297,000 ounces gold at 11.74 g/t gold (in 0.79 million tonnes)5. The mineral resource is based on 13,624 drill holes, evenly dispersed throughout the mineral resource. A robust geologic model based on 27 levels of geological mapping and chip sampling provides a solid understanding of the geology and continuity of mineralization.

In addition to the mineral resource, the Madsen Gold Project hosts a number of prospective new discoveries including the Fork Zone and Russet South targets, as well as, two significant historic underground mines. Pure Gold believes the opportunity exists to advance these targets through the application of modern exploration science and a new understanding of the district.

The proximity and geologic similarities to Madsen does not mean that Pure Gold will obtain similar results at Russet South or other exploration targets on the Madsen Property. Russet South is an early stage exploration project and does not contain any current mineral resource estimates. The potential to define a mineral resource at Russet South or other targets is conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource. It is uncertain if further exploration at these or other targets at Madsen will yield a mineral resource See news release dated June 16, 2015 See news release dated May 4, 2016 See news release dated March 2, 2015 See the National Instrument 43-101 technical report entitled "Technical Report on the Preliminary Economic Assessment For the Madsen Gold Project," prepared by Nordmin Engineering Ltd., dated effective April 20, 2016. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.

QA/QC and Core Sampling Protocols

Drill core samples are bagged and sealed and submitted to SGS in Red Lake, Ontario for sample preparation by crushing to 75% less than 2mm, a riffle split of 1kg, and pulverization of the split to better than 85% passing 75 microns. Gold analysis is completed in the SGS Red Lake lab with a 30g fire assay and AAS finish (code GE-FAA313). Samples returning >5 g/t Au are re-assayed with a gravimetric finish (code GO-FAG303). Mineralized zones with visible gold are also analyzed by a 1kg screen fire assay with screening to 106 microns (code GO-FAS51K). Two 30g fire assays are conducted on the screen undersize and combined with an assay of the entire oversize fraction. Control samples (accredited standards and non-accredited blanks) were inserted on a regular basis. Results are assessed for accuracy, precision and contamination on an ongoing basis.

Qualified Persons and 43-101 Disclosure

Phil Smerchanski, P. Geo., Vice President, Exploration for the Company, is the designated Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") and has reviewed and verified that the technical information contained herein is accurate and approves of the written disclosure of same.

ABOUT PURE GOLD

Our mandate is pure and simple. To dream big. To colour outside the lines. To use smart science and creativity to unlock the next major discovery at the Madsen Gold Project in Red Lake, Ontario. And become Canada's next iconic gold company.

Additional information about the Company and its activities may be found on the Company's website at www.puregoldmining.ca and under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - March 27, 2017) - Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd. ("Mineral Mountain" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:MMV) is very pleased to report that Robert Brozdowski, Ph.D., P.Geo., Curt E. Hogge, M.Sc., P.Geo., and Kevin E. Leonard, P.Geo., have been appointed to form the Company's highly experienced technical team to explore its Rochford Gold Project located along the Homestake Gold Belt about 26 km south of the world's richest, deepest iron formation-hosted gold deposits producing over 40 million ounces of gold.

"We are extremely pleased and fortunate to be adding three such highly accomplished geologists to the Mineral Mountain team," comments Nelson W. Baker, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Their collective experience exploring for iron formation-hosted gold deposits in the Black Hills and their excellent track record, will play a key role in the Company's growth strategy."

Robert Brozdowski, VP of Exploration

Robert has over 30 years of diverse minerals exploration experience for iron formation-hosted gold, magmatic nickel-copper-PGE, various base metals, and uranium deposits globally. He worked with Callahan Mining Corp. from 1983-91, subsequently with Western Mining Corporation across Canada & the US from 1992-98, primarily focused on iron-formation hosted gold, and afterwards globally as a Consulting Exploration Geologist for various clients, engaged in regional project generation through drill-stage projects. He holds a Ph.D. Geology (Western University, London, Ontario, 1990), M.A. of Geology (Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 1983), and B.S. Geosciences (Pennsylvania State University, 1980). He co-managed Western Mining Corporation's Joint Venture with Homestake Mining Corporation targeting iron formation hosted gold deposits in the Black Hills, South Dakota, focused on the Rochford District from 1991-95. He led or participated in all phases of the program, including initial targeting, compilation, geological-structural-alteration mapping, rock and surficial media geochemical surveys, drill target selection, and drill testing of several targets that defined extensive alteration zones with local gold in iron formation in the Rochford District. As part of the Joint Venture, he participated in extensive on-site visits at the Homestake Gold Mine and discussions with Homestake staff regarding the details of their exploration strategy for Homestake-type iron formation hosted gold deposits.

Curt E. Hogge, Chief Geologist

Curt has over 30 years of diverse mineral exploration experience. He holds a B.Sc. degree in Geology from Boise State University, 1977 and an M.Sc. in Geology from Washington State University, 1982 completing a thesis involved with mapping a sequence of meta-sediments that had undergone multiple fold deformation. He has worked for Bear Creek Mining Co. (Kennecott), Exxon Minerals Co., Molycorp, Amselco, Noranda and has consulted for several junior exploration companies. Curt has an extensive background in exploring for iron formation-hosted gold deposits including the Proterozoic Homestake-type terrane Black Hills, South Dakota; Archean Wyoming Province of Montana and Wyoming; and Proterozoic Lake Superior-type iron formation of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. He has generated and managed several well-funded Homestake-type gold projects in the Black Hills. In particular, he successfully managed Noranda's Rochford Gold District project between 1986 and 1992. He was later involved with Naneco Resources, Genesis Gold Ltd. and now BHB Partners in the advancement of the Rochford Gold District. He was involved in managing and directing Noranda's Rochford program from permitting to definition drilling and was subsequently in an advisory position for Naneco Resources. An important resource that is open in multiple directions was discovered on the Cochrane property (268,000 ounces Au indicated + inferred) *non-43-101.

Kevin W. Leonard, Project Manager

Kevin has over thirty-three years of diversified mineral exploration experience including managing and supervising a branch exploration office for Royal Oak Mines (US) for several years primarily focused on gold and base metal projects in North America and globally. During his extensive career he was responsible for global property acquisitions and the economic evaluations for large-scale projects for LAC Minerals, American Barrick, St. Joe Canada, HudBay Exploration, Royal Oak Mines (US) and Urangesellschaft Canada. Kevin co-managed drill operations for Sabina on their Goose Lake project. This drilling resulted in the discovery of 2 significant iron formation-hosted gold deposits at Umwelt and Llama. Since 2012, Kevin was Project Manager for Mineral Mountain in Northwestern Ontario and in the Keystone Gold District about 35 km south of the Rochford Gold Project. Between 2012 and 2015, Kevin managed a US $6.9 million drill program exploring for iron formation-hosted gold mineralization in its Holy Terror project. Kevin has dual US and Canadian citizenship, displays very strong leadership skills and is an excellent ambassador for the Company.

Rochford Gold District

The Rochford Gold District is located approximately 26 kilometers south of the world's largest iron formation hosted gold deposit, the Homestake Mine, which produced over 40,000,000 ounces of gold from 152 Mt of ore averaging 8.4 g/t Au over the life of the mine from 1876 to 2001.

The geology of the Rochford District is remarkably similar to that at the Homestake Mine with gold hosted in multiply deformed Proterozoic carbonate facies and local sulfide-facies iron formation that has typically been metamorphosed to cummingtonite/grunerite phyllites/schists and chlorite schists. There are numerous, relatively shallow, high-grade past producing gold mines and prospects in the district that were developed in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Mineral Mountain's property package covers the approximately 9 km long by 5 km wide core of the district, with multiple trends of locally structurally thickened and sheared auriferous iron formation considered to have many geological and mineralogical aspects in common with the Homestake Mine 26 km to the northwest.

The Rochford Gold Belt covers more than 78 square kilometers and has been explored intermittently, but never comprehensively nor systematically to depth, by a number of major companies including Getty, Cominco, Newmont, Noranda, Western Mining and Homestake Mining in the 20th century. Despite gold prices hitting $1,900 US per ounce in 2011, the last serious exploration in for the Rochford District was completed in 1997.

Qualified Persons

The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed and approved by Nelson W. Baker, P.Eng. the President and CEO of Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd. and a Qualified Person for this project. All exploration activities at the Rochford Project are carried out under the supervision of Kevin Leonard, P.Geo., the Company's Project Manager and also a Qualified Person for this project.

About Mineral Mountain Resources and the Rochford Gold Project

Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd., through its wholly owned subsidiary Mineral Mountain Resources (SD) Inc., is focused on the exploration and, if warranted, development of its 100%-owned Rochford Gold Project situated along the highly prospective Homestake Gold Belt in the Black Hills of South Dakota, U.S.A. The Rochford Project covers approximately 7,500 acres and straddles five major trends of structurally thickened auriferous iron formation that host ledge-type gold mineralization.

Since 2013, the Company has continued to expand its land position in the Rochford Gold District by professional claim staking and also by purchasing strategically located private properties that fall along two of the major sub-parallel structural trends that host Ledge-type gold mineralization. The Company now owns the largest land position in the Rochford greenstone belt and now possesses by far the largest and most comprehensive database for the district in modern day exploration history! The Rochford Project is vastly under-explored and has the potential to host several district scale gold discoveries.
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